Omaha daily bee., 1898-08-07
STORIES ABOUT BISMARCK
Events, Incidents and Anecdotes Illustrating
Phases Of His Life.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A NATION BUILDER
How He Shocked Conservative. shat
tered Customs, Tanned Nations and
Precipitated wars-Beauty
OF His Home Life.

marck occupied during the past week a
large space in the public prlnts-a space
commensurate with his share in the worlds
activities during the last half Of the nine
teenth century. The various epochs oil his
life. the national and individual destinies
he fashioned, the events he foresaw and
prepared for, his triumphs and defeats, and
the magnificent fruits Of his labors for
German nationhood have been related In
detail. But there was much in his career
necessarily omitted by obituary writer's.
Occupying as he did the center OF the worlds
stage for more than a quarter of a century,
his public acts commanded attention and
more or less obscured incidents which best
illustrate the character of the man.
One OF the personal traits Of Bismarck
conspicuous throughout his life was his
domineering temper. In his younger days
he was notorious as a rollicking student,
a rough riding squire, an incorrigible cadet,
and later on a brow-beating diplomat and
despot. OF his student days there remain
tales OF his duels, his brow-beating Of shop
keepers, his insolence to professors. or his
brief years as a squire there are legends
with n medieval smack to them-orgies at
Kniephof, his country seat; midnight rides
on horseback, drinking bouts in which cham
payne was the sole beverage for prolonged
debauches, and the firing Of pistols at the
most unearthly hours. The peasants there
abouts used to say that the Demon Hunter
Of old wine stories had come back into
his own again, and in view of the shady
goings on at Kniephof, they changed the
spelling Of the word-which as 1t stood had
no instant signiHcance-to Kneiphof, which
means "Rollickers' farm"
Shocked the Professors.
Before the first twenty-four hours of his
student life in Gottingen we're up he had
swung himself, attired in a long dressing
gown and accompanied by his big dog, into
the presence of the university rector to an
swer a charge of misconduct. The enormity
of appearing in a dressing gown and with
n dog before the rector nagniicus Of d
German university can hardly be exagger-
ated, for a German rector is an authority OF
unsurpassed dignity, installed In office with
all the medieval pomp of scarlet robes and
gilded slaves and possessed OF a golden chain
which in an "open sesame" to the doors OF
the local princeling's audience chamber
Even today a German student could do few
things more reckless than to call in a dress
ing gown on a rector magniicus. and Off
cial dignity in Germany today is nothing
compared with official dignity in Germany
sixty-six years ago.
Somehow Bismarck managed to escape the
pcndlly WHlCu TIC ueluOuSueSs VI lie OleuSe
merited, and was allowed perfect liberty to
make himsel generally obnoxious as only a
German student can. He bullied and brow
beat and staggered, and insulted people,
and quarrelled with them for being insulted,
and challenged them and fought with them,
and beat them. lie trod on other students
toes. cuffed their dogs. stared them out
OF countenance and called them STU
pid boys"-all Of which performances
constituted formal and objectionable insults,
which, according to university etiquette, had
to be atoned for on the field of honor. Very
few students got any real satisfaction out
OF crossing swords with the dashing young
aristocrat, however, for he was an expert
fencer and knew how to make the best OF
his long, why arms and his tall figure. Mos,
German students then, as now, came out oil
their first duels with cheeks like Hamburg
steaks. Bismarck, in twenty-eight duels
received but one wound, and that only
through the breaking of his opponents
sword. A scar on his left cheek marked fol
life the spot where the flying steel STRUCK
him. What with keeping himself in no
water and parading the streets in the saucer
hat Of his corps, big boots and a cutoff
Jacket, young Bismarck found little tint
for hearing professors lectures. One IA
nous professor spoke for many others wher
he said that. although he had young Bis
marck's name on his list Of hearers, he hat
never had the pleasure of seeing the yount
man in the lecture room.
After five years Of carousing and desultor!
reading Bismarck left the university, a doc
tor without high praise" AS clerk in
court, or auscultator, he made some pre-
tence of continuing his studies for the civil
service, but he still distinguished himsel
only for effrontery and ready wit.
"Sir!" he once shouted to an obstinat,
witness. take care or l will kick you QUIT
"Mr. Auscultator,' demonstrated tn
Judge, discipline is my business in thi
court
Sir said Bismarck. turning back to tn
witness, take care or / will get the judg
to kick you out"
Tanning Austria.
Among the first things Bismarck did afte
shaping his plans for humbling the pride o
Austria was to fracture one Of the rules o
the diet OF Frankfort in 1851. How h
tanned Austria and at the same time opene'
the struggle which ended at Koeniggraet
is best illustrated by his most famous ciga
story:
AT the sittings OF the military committee
when Roehow was the Prussian representa-
tive at the Diet, Austria alone smoked. Ro
chow, who was a furious smoker, ~certainl
would have liked to. do 1t, but did not ven
ture. When / succeeded him !. too, han
kered after a cigar and as l did not see VIII
] should not have 1t l asked the power |
the presidents chair for a light, whic
seemed to cause him and the other gentle
men both establishment and displeasure. ]
was evidently an event for them. That tim
only Austria and Prussia smoked. But tn
other gentlemen thought the matter so serl
Gus that they reported 1t to their r~espectiy
courts. The mater required careful delibera
ion and for half a year only the two grea
powers smoked. Then Schrenck, the Ba
varian envoy, asserted the dignity OF hi
position by smoking. Nostitz, the Saxor
certainly had also n wish to do so, but ha
not received the necessary authority frol
his minister. When, however. he saw Both
mer, the Hanoverian, INDUCING himself Q
the next sitting. he also took a cigar out
his case and pulled away. Only Wuertember
and Darmstadt were left and they were ne
personally In the habit Of smoking. But III
honor and dignity OF their states impera
lively required 1t, SO the next time we mi
Wuertemberg produced a cigar. l see
now-the long. thin, light-yellow thing-an
smoked at least half Of 1t as a burnt Offer
ing to the fatherland."