Blood and Iron Part 5

-- Bismarck now decided to try various gastronomic oddities; ordered his staff to shoot pheasants from the Baron's preserves, and commanded the cook to stew the birds in champagne!

-- When Napoleon wrote his famous note, at Sedan, "Not having been able to die in the midst of my troops, there is nothing left for me but to place my troops in your Majesty's hands," Bismarck saw the human nature side at a glance! He urged peace, then and there, with the Prince Imperial on the throne, and "under German influence," which would thus give to Prussia the whip hand. General Sheridan tells the story.

It was an instantaneous look into the far future, and although it did not prevail, for certain important reasons, the Chancellor caught the human side of the combination, with the clarity of a dramatist constructing a plot.

-- On his mother's side, Otto von Bismarck comes of hunting, fighting and farming stock.

Shrewd, wise, ambitious, and haughty--with these traits she richly endowed her son. His father was handsome, bright, solid, emphatic-looking, but with a yielding disposition; the iron will and sharp tongue of the wife overawed the husband. The shrewish frau had things largely her own way, was able to read a lecture like the wrath of G.o.d. However, on the whole, the couple got along pa.s.sably well--for Karl never took Louise too seriously! When Frau Louise's efforts to make a lackey of him got on his nerves, Karl called his cronies and away they went fox-hunting.

11

At the tender age of six, already is Otto forced out of the family circle; the wolf's breed shows its teeth.

-- Well, the incensed Louise, weary of the softness of Karl, and fearing lest Karl would spoil Otto by too much petting, packed the child off to Plamann Inst.i.tute, Berlin, a school of the Squeers type.

Otto remained in this Spartan school-prison for nearly six years, and to the end of his life carried unpleasant memories. Plamann Inst.i.tute idea was to harden lads, but instead of hardening the practices there embittered.

-- The half-starved boys were up at 6; breakfast of bread and milk; religious exercises at 7; at 10, luncheon of bread and salt; then, a run in the garden; at noon, dinner from the hands of Frau Plamann; and if a lad wanted a second plate, and couldn't eat it all, he was punished by being sent to the garden, there to remain till he had gulped down the last morsel, even though he fairly choked; at teatime, bread and salt, or warm beer and slices of bread; all day, studies of interminable length and dullness;--but, best of all, fencing exercises wound up the day.

-- In the school yard was a lone lime-tree, and here the boys came running as a goal for their sports. Using this lime-tree as a pulpit, Otto used to read to his companions chapters from Becker's stories about giants.

-- There was a pond near Schoenberg where the pupils used to go bathing. Otto's chum was Ernest Kriger.

-- After six years of this life on salt and potatoes, Otto was transferred to Dr. Bonnell's Frdk-Wm. Gymnasium, Berlin, and in another year to Grey Friars' Gymnasium. Soon after Dr. Schleiermacher confirmed Otto, at Trinity Protestant church.

In the light of subsequent history, it is significant, almost uncanny, to recall the life-text offered to Otto at this solemn moment by his pastor: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." Many years later--just before his death--Bismarck ordered the motto to be carved on his tomb; all his life he had followed the text.

-- The lad was two years at Grey Friars' school. While there Otto's deep-seated hatred of the French is again visible for a decisive moment.

In 1806 Marshal Soult had slashed the genealogical tree of the Bismarck family; and young Otto, who often heard the story, grew up with the idea that the French were ogres.

The school schedule, among other studies, called for French, or English as an optional selection; although all Otto's chums decided for French, the lad flatly refused to follow and instead stood almost alone in the English cla.s.s.

-- He is no longer a child when he says good-bye to Grey Friars; he is a young man of 17--and life is opening before him.

Life! The joyous care-free life of youth and inexperience; with the world and its cares still seemingly far away!

12

At Goettingen, he joined the Hannovera Corps and his record is twenty-eight duels; his face bore many scars, among them a long cut from left jaw to corner of his mouth.

-- Otto's mother, who had strong social aspirations and held to the rigid exclusiveness of the upper cla.s.ses, wished to send her son to an aristocratic university. So she selected Goettingen. Her ideas were to make her son a man of dignity and solid social qualities.

Alas, he became but an indifferent student, excelling princ.i.p.ally in dueling, beer-bouts in college taverns, dog-fighting, flirting, and general deviltries unnumbered, for which he spent considerable time in the college dungeon. Listen to this:

-- Many years ago, in his roaring student days, long before Otto von Bismarck was famous, he received an invitation to a ball, and went to the shoemaker to be measured for high-topped military boots, affected by the beaux of that day. Calling some days later, he was told that it would be impossible to get them finished in time; and he would therefore have to wear his old boots to the ball.

-- Bismarck scowled and going back to his rooms, whistled for his two ferocious dogs with which he was wont to trail around town; returning to the cobbler's the daring rascal said in a loud voice: "Mister bootmaker, at a signal from me the dogs will tear you to pieces! I am here to tell you, in the most friendly way in the world, that it is absolutely necessary to have my boots on time."

-- Bismarck then went away, but he hired a man to parade up and down in the vicinity of the shop with the two mastiffs; and now and then this man dropped in, and in a voice of sorrow, said to the cobbler: "My master has a terrible temper and I am sorry for you." At that, the shoemaker told his wife: "Frau, I am going to work all night, to get Herr Bismarck's boots finished in time for that ball!"

-- It is needless to add that young Bismarck had his boots on time.

-- In discussing Bismarck's life and personality many writers will tell you that the man is inconsistency itself; advocating now what in a year he will recant; that for this and other reasons it is baffling to try to make a picture many-sided enough to portray adequately his complex life.

-- On the contrary, Bismarck, once you get the biographic clue, is as open, free and direct as the light of the noonday sun. And the story of the poor cobbler and the boots is all there is to it!

Repeat this story in a hundred and one forms, and the same man is always behind.

-- Among his cronies, he early gained the name "The Mad Bismarck." At Goettingen university, Otto fought 28 duels and his face bore his fighting scars.

-- To scare the girls and to make them shriek and lift their skirts, a sight that the rascal Otto enjoyed, one night at a dance he let loose a small fox in the ball room! And he had ridden like the devil, some 30-odd miles to be at this dance.

-- As for drinking, no man could put him under the table. Later in life, he invented his own special draught, a combination of champagne and porter; ordinary men dropped under the deadly compound as from a dose of cyanide of pota.s.sium, but Otto could drain his quart without taking the tankard from his lips. He soon had all the company under the chairs, like dead soldiers.

-- Often, at country houses, he fired pistols to awaken guests in the morning.

-- His groom fell into the ca.n.a.l, the young giant Bismarck leaped in and dragged the drowning man to safety; for this heroic deed, Bismarck won his first medal.

-- Bismarck's student life was tempestuous. He was indeed full of the very devil.

His every-day get-up comprised top boots, long hair flowing over the collar of his velveteen jacket; a big bra.s.s ring on the first finger of his left hand; two fierce mastiffs trotted sullenly at his side. He trailed around, smoking a long pipe.

-- The young man's high animal spirits broke all restraints; he smoked, he drank, he sang, he flirted, and he fought; but as for books, he did as little studying as he could.

He was sent many times to the university "carcer" or prison; an interesting souvenir is still to be seen at Goettingen, the student-prison door, on which Bismarck carved his name in 1832, when he was "doing" ten days for acting as second in a pistol duel.

-- With a Mecklenburg student, Otto's great chum, a trip was made through the Hartz mountains, and on returning a wine dinner was offered to other students.

All the fellows drank too much brandy. Bismarck made an inflammatory speech, at table, ending by showing his derision of scholasticism by hurling ink bottles out of the window. For this breach of the rules, he was hauled before the university court. Here, he appeared in outlandish get-up, jack boots, tall hat, long pipe, dressing gown--and coolly asked the proctor what 'twas all about. Bismarck's huge dogs, with which he was always accompanied, frightened the proctor half to death! Bismarck was promptly fined five thalers for his absurdities; he paid the fine and began studying up more deviltry.

-- Joining the Hannovera Corps of fighting men, Otto was soon known as "Achilles," leading the fellows in all sword-play. He fought duel after duel, and finally under the influence of Morley, an American student, decided to switch over from the Hannovera to the Brunswick corps--whereon every Jack in the Hannovera sent Otto a challenge.

-- On a trip to Jena, the fellows decided on a riot, and were deep in their cups when the Goettingen proctor arrived to bring the runaway Bismarck back, and put him in the "carcer" till he cooled off. The Jena fellows carried on at a great rate to think that the beloved "Achilles" had to leave so unceremoniously, but at the last moment hitched up six horses and paraded Bismarck around town, as a demonstrative fare thee well!

-- The scene of many of his drinking bouts was "Crown" tavern, an ancient Goettingen resort, where the fellows sat on wooden benches in front of a long bar and drank till they felt like fighting c.o.c.ks. By the way, it is a bit strange that Otto had such amazing capacity; for he was as thin as a knitting needle.