The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1921-12-31
MEN, WOMEN
A ND HIN G S

While in Chattanooga with the farmers of
Calhoun county ran across "Count Hartzfeldt's
Letters, 187O-71," and knowing that he was
one of Bismarcks secretaries bought them ex-
pecting to get some interesting and inside in
formation on the Franco-German war.
If they had been letters of state might have
let them alone but looking through the
preface and finding that they were written to
his wife from the headquarters of the King
of Prussia, naturally supposed that they would
be filled with interesting anecdotes and gossip
not to be found in formal history.
know that he had married an American girl,
daughter of Mr.. Charles Frederick Moulton, and
was a well known member of the society scs
in New York city; and that they were divorced
about 1886, but were remarked in 1888, at
Frauenstein, as their daughter was then engaged
to Prince Max du Hohenloe- Oehringen, whose
parents would not hear of their son marrying
the daughter of divorced parents.
The mother of the writer of the letters,
Grafin Sophie Won Hatfield who married Graf
Won Hatfield Wildenburg, divorced from
him in 1851. Interest hovers around her as she
tried to play a part in the social movement
with which Lasalle was connected, but failed
She was the patroness and companion of the
great social democrat, the friend of Bismarck;
and the philosophic connection between Las
salle the countess and the chancellor, explains
the friendship which existed between the great
statesman and his secretary.
Count Won Hatzfedt was evidently man of
parts, but writing letters to his wife was not
his forte, for very few of them lit up with
any matter worth reading or preserving, and
after having waded through them I am at
loss to know why they ever appeared in book
form. The count was in position to have
shed much light on the Empress Eugenie's
"merry little war;" for he was of Prince
Bismarck's secretaries when that statesman was
in Paris in 1862, and he continued in that
pacity during the Franco-German war.
He was a diplomat having been sent to Madrid
as ambassador in 1874 from whence he was
transferred to Constantinople in a similar ca
pacity, remaining however, only three years,
where he was recalled to Berlin to become
foreign minister; but in 1885 he succeeded
Count Munster minister at the Court of st.
James. These appointments given as they
only increased my wonder that he was so inept
in describing the great events in which he
took so intimate part.
never expected to be thrilled by a Germans
correspondence with his American wife but
did have a right to expect that he would give
vivid accounts of the world making drama in
which he was conspicuous actor. But after
reading his letters / am not surprised that the
Germans misjudged the psychology of tie
American people as the counts remarks about
the French were so far from the point for he
characterized them as being funny people,
ignorant and frivolous beyond description"
He was in the closest touch with the King,
the crown prince, Moltke and Bismarck, yet
his sdelights on them are commonplace, just
his comments upon Favre and Theirs were of
the most conventional kind, although he had
ample opportunity to see them passing through
crises which try mems souls. About the only
thing which he seemed to be greatly interested
in was the fear that Paris would not be bonn
barded and that the German army would not
enter it.
You can get line on his enthusiasm by the
following: To-day is big day; and, despite my
laziness and dislike of crowds, have decided
to do what everybody else will do, at noon we
shall meet in the grand gallery of the Palais de
Versailles, where there will be religious func-
ton, after which the King will declare that he
accepts the imperial crown of Germany" He
did admit it would be historic event and it
would be interesting TO nave recoliecIeu mat
he had witnessed it.
l can usually get something out of the life
of even those who have played small part in
the worlds affairs, but put down the volume
in which man who was in the middle of big
events was so blase, or so little used to making
them live that his letters to his wife were about
as tame and unnteresting as if he had been
writing her from a country hotel instead of
from the headquarters of the King of Prussia
in France.
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