While the war was being prosecuted with vigor, the question as to the internal constitution of Germany was not lost sight of. The idea of re-establishing the Ger man Empire was in many minds, but historical reasons and local prejudices made it an exceedingly difficult question to touch. The crown-prince was undoubtedly the most active among leading men in urging the matter forward. The late king of Bavaria got credit for having done much to promote it. But the truth is, he had no steady opinion from the com. mencement in favor of the empire.

was on the 4th of July. The excitement | to arms." Some days afterwards the in France, however, became more and French declaration of war was received, more intense. The Duc de Gramont and the great struggle began. Everybody directed M. Benedetti to go to Ems, knows the result — in a few months whither the king of Prussia had gone to France lay prostrate at the feet of her drink the waters, to see that sovereign conqueror. and force him to order the prince Leopold to withdraw his candidature. When this request was made to King William, he replied that he had neither encouraged nor opposed the acceptance of the crown of Spain by his kinsman, and that he had no responsibility in the matter. In the mean time, Prince Antony of Hohenzollern sent a despatch to Marshal Prim, announcing on behalf of his son his renunciation of all pretensions to the crown, and a copy of this message was sent also to Señor Oloaza, the Spanish ambassador in Paris. This took place on the 12th of July, and everybody hoped peace would be pre- The time has not yet come to let the served. M. Ollivier, the prime minister, world know the course of action which strongly entertained this opinion for sev- that monarch pursued during the great eral hours. But the Duc de Gramont was struggle in which his country was endeep in negotiations for forming a coali-gaged. He never once showed an intertion against Prussia, and he desired war. est in the progress of the campaign. The He confessed to Lord Lyons that the with king of Saxony despatched a general ofdrawal of the prince Leopold's candida- ficer to Munich during the autumn, to ture was a great embarrassment, and he urge the king to take some initiative in hit upon the expedient of ordering Bene- the restoration of the empire, lest perdetti to ask the king for a declaration.that | chance the movement should acquire a he would not at any future time sanction dangerously centralized character. King the acceptance of the crown of Spain by Prince Leopold or any of his kinsmen. On the morning of the thirteenth the French ambassador met the king in the public garden, and in accordance with his instructions, asked him for his promise. The king gave, of course, a pointblank refusal to so preposterous a demand, and said that he neither could nor would bind himself to any engagement without limit of time, and that he must reserve his right to act according to circumstances. Subsequently the king went so far as to send an aid-de-camp to Benedetti, and to tell him that the decision of Prince Leopold in renouncing the proffered crown had his approval. Later in the day the king left Ems, and arrived in Berlin on the evening of the fifteenth. He was met at the railway station by Bismarck, Moltke, and Roon. It was by that time plain that France was bent on war. Before the old sovereign reached his palace he had made up his mind to give orders for the mobilization of the army. The news was communicated to the crowd, who heard it with wild enthusiasm. That very night the necessary telegraphic messages were sent to all parts of the country, and in the words of Moltke "United Germany stood

Lewis refused to see the messenger. Another secret envoy who came from another sovereign was hardly more suc cessful with the king. He was at last persuaded to move by a gentleman who was sent to speak to him by Bismarck.. And the letter which the king then wrote, and which was the immediate cause of the establishment of the empire, was suggested by Prince Bismarck.

When the German Empire was reestablished, Bismarck became the first chancellor. The constitution, which was chiefly his work, was modelled on that of the North German Confederation. It was the main object to be contented with the minimum of those concessions which the particular States of Germany were willing to make for the good of the whole. "I believe," he said, speaking of the German Constitution on the 10th of March, 1877, "our Constitution possesses a self-constructive faculty resembling that to which the British Constitution owes its formation, not through the setting up of a theo retical ideal."

It is impossible to imagine Bismarck apart from his influence in Parliament, and this brings me to consider him as a public speaker. He has always been fond

Among his personal characteristics Bismarck's extraordinary coolness and courage are very prominent. Dr. Droysen told me that once during the revolutionary days of 1848 Bismarck went into an inn to get a glass of beer. There was a man in the room talking to a very excited audience, and speaking most disrespectfully of the queen of Prussia. Bismarck went up to him and instantly called upon him to apologize. The man demurred, but he soon thought better of it, and expressed his regret before the whole revolutionary crowd. Three-and-twenty years after, in 1871, Busch tells us that during the partial occupation of Paris Bismarck could not resist the temptation of going into the city. He was soon recognized, and a crowd gathered round and became threatening. He went up to the man who looked specially truculent, pulled out a cigar, and asked him for a light. The man was so astounded that he pulled his short clay pipe out of his mouth and offered it to Bismarck with the most polite of bows. Stories illustrating Bismarck's humor are endless, and we meet them at every turn.

of insisting that he is no orator. Like | Germany Carteret possessed a hundred
Kant and Göthe he heartily despises rhe years since."
torical gifts. His great effort has always
been to make his speech simple and plain,
and to express himself as neatly, as clearly,
and as concisely as possible, and appeal
solely to the good sense of his audience.
The result, however, is that of all speeches
his read far the best on account of the
total absence of verbosity. They are rich
in thought and elegant in expression, and
are sure to be read in time to come even
for their high literary merit. He speaks
with far more deliberation than any
speaker I have ever known. The nearest
approach to him in this characteristic was
Mr. John Stuart Mill. Niebuhr used to
say that M. de Serre was one of the great
est political orators that ever lived. M.
de Serre had by all accounts a great charm
of delivery, and no doubt great wealth of
expression. If Niebuhr had lived to read
the speeches of Bismarck he would have
discovered an orator who at least in many
respects would come up to his view of a
great speaker. In conversation he fre-
quently uses original and striking meta-
phors. A few years ago, speaking to an
English statesman, he compared the
French policy in Africa to a fiery steed
galloping across the desert of Sahara and
finding the ground much heavier than was
expected. It is now five-and-twenty years
since I had the honor of being first pre-
sented to Prince Bismarck, but the con-
versation I then had with him made such
an impression that, though followed by
many others, not a word of it has faded
from my memory. Various subjects were
discussed. Speaking of England, he ex-
pressed the opinion, which I know he has
not changed, that although more English
men than formerly spoke German, the
ignorance of Germany in this country was
greater than ever. Those who had ac-
quired the German language did not use
it for the purpose of studying literature
and trying to understand the German mind.
He did not believe that the work of any
considerable German poet, from the "Par-
zival" of Wolfram von Eschenbach to the
songs and ballads of Uhland, was at all
widely or properly appreciated in England.
"Nations," he said, "have not yet been
drawn closer together since locomotion
has become more easy. This is a melan-
choly reflection. In the days of my youth,
a certain number of English used to come
here and stay some time amongst us.
Now they fly like woodcocks across the
continent. No English leading public
man has anything like the knowledge of

On one occasion he had to meet Heinrich von Gagern at the house of Manteuffel on some business of a political character. Manteuffel left them alone to discuss the subject they came about. Gagern instantly drew himself up and began to talk in a very loud voice as if he were making a speech. Bismarck waited till he had finished and offered some cold and curt remark. Gagern started off again and made a second oration. Then a third; at last he went away. Manteuffel came back and asked whether everything had gone well. "We settled nothing," was Bismarck's reply. "That is a stupid fellow; he mistook me for a popular assembly."

Bismarck, as a boy, received the rite of confirmation from Schleiermacher in the Church of the Holy Trinity at Berlin. Schleiermacher started from the Moravian sect, and never lost the influence of his early training. Partly, perhaps, owing to the influence of Schleiermacher Bismarck has always been attracted by their literature. Busch tells us that early on the morning after the battle of Sedan the chancellor was summoned to meet the emperor of the French. After he left his room his neighbor entered it while the servant was putting it in order. Two books of devotion of the Moravian sect were in the room; one was called "Die

tägliche Erquickung für gläubige Christen," the other "Tägliche Lesungen und Lehrtexte der Brudergemeinde für 1870." And the servant stated that his Excellency was always in the habit of reading the books in question before going to bed.

No account of Bismarck would be complete without some allusion to his relations in private life. The letters which were written at various times to members of his family reveal a nature of the most extraordinary richness. His marvellous descriptions of landscape in Sweden, in Hungary, in France, in Spain, show an enthusiast for nature, and he speaks of the sea in language which recalls some of the finest passages in Victor Hugo. His kindness of heart was not alone exhibited to his own people. I was told once, by a person who had opportunities of knowing, that he never observed Bismarck say a really unkind or hard thing to any subordinate he conceived was doing his best. On the other hand a person entitled to the highest credibility assured me he once saw an official of position come out of the room of the chancellor showing by his garments unmistakable signs that an inkbottle had been hurled at him.

But the strongest of all Bismarck's personal characteristics is his firm, unshaken, and deep sense of his duty to the Almighty. At the height of the FrancoGerman war he said: "Did I not believe in a divine ordinance which has destined this German nation for good and great things, I would have never taken up my calling. To my steadfast faith alone I owe the power of resisting all manner of absurdities which I have shown during the past ten years. Rob me of my faith, and you rob me of my country. Find me a successor animated by similar principles and I will resign on the spot." All persons who take an interest in the future of Germany will earnestly hope that successor has been found.

arose between the young monarch and the chancellor. They existed to my knowledge a year ago and longer. The leading idea of Bismarck always was to maintain thoroughly good relations with Russia. This was one of his chief differences with the late Emperor Frederic and also with the most powerful members of the Prussian staff. The present emperor is a warm partisan of the triple alliance, but Bismarck while equally anxious to preserve that combination, has attached more impor tance than his sovereign to the necessity of bringing about an arrangement between Austria and Russia on such a basis as would secure the interests of each power in the Balkan peninsula. Moreover, the chancellor has always looked with cold suspicion on the colonial policy which has the sympathy of the emperor.

Although William the First did not always take the same view of things as bis great minister, he never took any impor tant step without telling Prince Bismarck beforehand. William the Second has not observed this rule so punctiliously. Prince Bismarck thought he had some right to complain of the action of his sovereign in this respect. And, considering the ser vices, experience, and fame of the great minister, it was not to be expected that he would consent to be responsible for acts about which he had not been previously consulted, and the consequences of which might be most momentous.

From Murray's Magazine.
MARCIA.

BY W. E. NORRIS.
Author of "THIRLBY HALL," ETC.

CHAPTER XV.

WILLIE DISAPPROVES.

IT is almost invariably the impetuous When the resignation of Prince Bis- people who get their own way in this marck was announced, many persons has- world; but it is to the phlegmatic that the tily assumed that it was the outcome of a majority of victories (that is to say all the serious misunderstanding with his sover- unimportant ones) fall, and thus the latter eign on economic and socialist questions. usually gain a reputation for firmness Those who came to that conclusion had which it would be ungenerous to grudge not followed with any care Prince Bis- them, since that represents about the sum marck's attitude to the pressing problem of their gains. Mr. Brett was so far sucof the hour. Had he been seriously op- cessful that when Marcia rose on the folposed to the action of the emperor in call-lowing morning she was suffering from ing together the labor conference, he would, of course, have resigned when his imperial master decided to summon it. The truth is that very soon after the accession of William the Second differences

the effects of reaction and was ready to haul down her colors for the time being. She had lived long enough to know that a woman who is separated from her husband is in a very false position; she could not