The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-12-25

Empress Augusta, wife oil tine FRINGE Oh frusslh
afterward Emperor William l. It seems tina
Princess Augusta preserved. from her youthful
I days at Weimar to her life's end. the impress
sion that French. and still moro English
authorities and persons were superior to thos,
OF her own country. She was, observes Bis
marck. OF true German blood In one way. for IL
her was verified the national habit sharpl,
expressed In the phrase. That does not come
from afar. so It is good for nothing" In spite
Of Goethe. Schiller. and the other great mer
who had Inhabited or visited Weimar. that
intellectually eminent capital was not exempt
from the nightmare. which. until recent years
weighed upon the German national sentiment
namely. that q Frcnchman, and In the fullest
degree an Englishman. by reason OF his ma,
t~ionality and birth. is a superior being to a
German: and that the appreciation of public
opinion in Paris and in London constitutes a
more authentic proof OF a worth thau
does his own consciousness Her intellectual
endowments never wholly liberated the
Princess Augusta from the oppression of that
nightmare. A cocksure Frenchman. with II
yoluble French tongue, could impose upon her.
and an Englishman. till the contrary was
proved. always had the presumption on his
side that he was to be treated In Germany
as a superior person. We learn that,
during breakfast-and this habit OF the
Prince Of Prussia was retained BY the EN-
peror Willamette Princess used to dis
course TO her husband. laying before him letters
and newspaper articles. which. at times. had
been concocted expressly for the purpose of in
huencing the sovereign. Hints which Bismarck
took leave on occasion TO give that certain let
ters might have been procured and placed at
the sovereign's righthand by the Queens man.
agement brought upon him a very sharp snub.
The King. from a chivalrous feeling. entered
fhA NatR ahon1f,fn1- IN ht. r-gfopa Ill -,.-
when appearances were clearly against her.
He emphatically refused to believe such a
thing. even IL it were true. We read in Chap
ter VIII. that soon after tho arrival In Ger
many Of the Princess Royal Of England. who
was to become the Empress Frederick, Bis
marck became convinced. through members Of
the royal house and from his own observations.
that she was prejudiced against him personally.
The fact itself did not surprise him SO much
as the form in which her prejudice had been
expressed in the narrow family CIRCLE she
did not trust me-" We are told that Bismarck
was " prepared for antipathy on account Of my
alleged anti-Englieh feelings. and by reason of
my refusal to obey English influences: but
from q conversation which I had with the
Princess after the war Of 1896, while sitting
next to her at table. l was obliged to conclude
that she had subsequently allowed herself to
be influenced in her Judgment OF my character
by further-reaching calumnies. l was ambi-
tious. she said. in a half-iesting tone. to be a
King. or at least President OF a republic. I re-
piled In the same semi-jocular tone that l was
personally spoiit for a Republican that l had
grown up in the royalist traditions of the fam
lily and had need OF monarchical institutions
for my earthly we'll being; I thanked God.
however. l was not destined to live like a
King. constantly on show. but to be, until
death. the Kings faithful subject. / added
that no guarantee could. however. be given that
this conviction of mine would be universally
inherited. and this. not because royalists
would give out. but because perhaps Kings
might. I could not answer for it that for want
OF Kings the next generation might not be
republican. further remarked that In thus
expressing myself l was not free from nxiety
at the idea of a change in the occupancy OF the
throne without a transference OF the mo-
narchical conditions to the successor. But the
Princess avoided every serious turn. and kept
up the jocular tone. as amiable and entertain
Ing as ever. She rather gave me the impress
sion that she wished to tease a political op-
p~onent."
TIL twelfth chapter OF the first volume Is de-
voted to q retrospect OF Prussian policy. Here
attention is directed to the want Of indepen-
dence and energy evinccd in the foreign and
German polisb e Prussia since the time Of
that tha h;s,o NV ns plshiarcks opinion
drod u"ana ~ .,oh uuIlnE inc las' nun
NJ go. - ~ neH.ee.eo opportunities
- ~ ". ue0 s"n| a mistake was
LOO ~ p-'lsno, nep'nehpaen' July.
a 49, ve'oeu the orientai policy
p,.a"as.h an ,1tnIe 100 l peon. writes
rDs ndrIa, a freueriek william H..
~ V "outu fa.her nave oeen 10 support
oaonanS y Two powers IN nm
neI'ion out, IN return 10 DO
pn.si. 49, oenSeNhs; II austria ana
ru"n punu ocoupu'lon IN the East. 1t
- : i."s'no. nave peeh IN the interest
1non ,,. ,n,sra ne.hopl, whose power at that
~ a. hut r.,hnn " tn1.is. nor. L disturb them
thar Ori.ntai aa, LII u conhrm them IN
-. y p Il thns weaken the
a." - itus'iah poruers' AT that
.otrenoe VI ner mllitary
naiohhnrs ana oouLd aa y othah her
ao.Ssnna - 'n many suDseluent
could abe bsvs rs,rai,od IT, ."ns tuau'ness
t,ssnshIn " TN aanniu,t tron premature par,
So"'H'io" 10 aiso expressed