New-York tribune., 1898-10-16
A DIPLOMATIC TRICK.
HOW BISMARCK INSURED lHE SAT- !"
PASSAGE OF HIS CoHRE-
SPONDENcE.

Baron de Malorti, in The Cornhili.
Stepping to the counter. Herr Won TsmarcH
asked a grinning young shCp-poy III S'iI'
sleeves. blue linen apron. not OF maiden tresn- .
ness and blessed with pair OF large rcu'
greasy paws, engaged in weighing some Duuh
cheese. to oblige him with sheet OF wri''he
paper. some sealing ak ana pen To u"eO'
a letter. -,
On the bog producing the needfn with the
traditional What else SIR Bismarck said'
My hands are rather cold; you had better 90
It for me- and h. handed the boy a coupe
of letters wrapped in the sheet of blush paper
forming envelope. for in those days mahe-
up envelopes were still unknown in Germany.
Evidently nattercd by the request of such an
imposing looking client for Herr Won Bis
marcks tall hat was almost touching tn" cei'-
ing Of tn. squalid little shop. the greasy handed
youth took the parcel, and having closed II
skilfully with some brown sealing wax and in
dorsed it with the initials Of the firm, he re-
turned it to its owner to write the address.
Sorry, my friend. to give you more uou-
be," said the future Chancellor, In his jovial
way but I cant manage to write with my
gloves on. just address ii FOR me, and he
handed him pencilled slip with the name OF
Herr Fritz Piepcnorink 81 some such name
oil and Colonial Wacohouscman No ro Fl,ed-
richs StrasSc. Berlin.
Thank YOU young man. thatl do capital
ly." and paying FOR the paper etc. with small
tip to the oily boy with th- stcrcotypcl grin.
he pockeled his letter, and ~e LEFT III" pac"
- continue our walk.
Il dare say you are wondering why treat
my correspondents To SUrH SlrdS! evil -Sl!ellliS
inissivcs?" and h. showed me the choesy finger
marks Of the boy ON both sides OF the impro-
/ vised envelope. "I'll tell you n secret and teach
you a useful lesson Tor future times You may
some day thank me- for tn" hint exclaimed
Her Won Bismarck laughing heartily. You
know We are blessed here IN Frankfort. as
! throughout all South Germany. with the Thurn
and Taxi. Postal Administration. a mine of
wealth To that fortunate family. but the most
wrctch"lly managed concern under tn" sun. "
You may imagin" il is under the thumb Of
Austria hence slow and the triumph OF red tape
with a pronounced weakness for diving into
other piles business and skimming. 0t course
/ the cOrroSpOndcncc Of al German aud foreign
cnvoyS. accredited to the Diet with prefer
enc" for mine. the ever suspected RUSSIAN cul
prit ana traitor. They have established a regular
Black Cabinet III the plinccly postothce. where
! specially trained imperial ana royal WiseacreS
p"riSc our prose with critical eye, transmitting
copies Of extracts Of all trcasuuable' matter
or parii'ularly interesting reports, 10 the august
/ BallplatZ. whore Gentand. and after him Kind
/ worth. have established lynX-cycd system o
political espionage (pOtischcs Schnuif"lnD cK
/ tendu. all over Europe. and comprising go ipS'
all German courts and chancelleries. MOI being
| particularly anxious to crafty the morbid curl
/ osity uf our Austrian ally, I have thought II al
! vsablr To- send important reports To the Berlin
i J.. o. as we'll all my letters To The King. Il
/ Herr Won Mantcufel and To my sister and some
J particular friends. under cover tp som" mcrcan
/ tile firm in Berlin. changing frequently and usu
ally asking a cOuntcr-ju jumper in cheesemOn
ger or Oilman's shop 10 address them for me
ana you can easily understand that the impcria
and ROYAL sniffers (So ohniifilcr) don't manage t,
guess the correspondent of the Prussan Repre-
! sentative under a greasy. ill-smclllng cover
such as YOU have seen. 1t stands 10 reason tha
/ the smell of cheese Or herring. and the mercan
I the sCribbling OF a shOp-boy. must deceive
sharper men than the Thurn and raxiS post Off
cials and the specially delegated Austrian post
Office clerks The only precautiOn have To tak'
is to go to different shops in quarters OF the
| town where | am not known, and TO vary the
: Berlin address from time to time-thus I'm per
fectly safe lie tour est Joue' ana snap my nm
gers AT the Ballplatz. Ii is simple enough. a!
YOU have seen yet 1t wouldn't do 10 send every
7 thing through that channel as they would oth
/ crwise get suspicious, 50 | treat my Austrian
! friends at least once a week TO some OF my diplo
matte prose -unimportant stuff and occasional,
| something want them to knoW-or 10 believe
and ne INDUCED in a boisterous laugh.