arl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Bismarck, of Sch?nhausen, born on the 13th November, 1771, once belonging to the Body Guard (No. 11 in the old list), who quitted the service as Captain, was married on the 7th of July, 1806, to Louise Wilhelmina Menken, born on the 24th of February, 1790; died the 1st of January, 1889, at Berlin.
Frau von Bismarck was an orphan2 daughter of the well-known Privy3 Councillor, Anastatius Ludwig Menken, who had served with distinction under three sovereigns of Prussia and possessed5 great influence during the first years of the reign4 of Frederick William III. He was born at Helmstadt on the 2d of August, 1752, and was a member of a family distinguished6 for its literary attainments8. To a certain[102] extent he was a pupil of the Minister Count Herzberg,[25] by whose means he was appointed to a post in the Privy Chancery. Frederick the Great held him in great esteem9, he having rendered an important service to his sister, the Queen Louise Ulrike, in Stockholm; and he employed him from the year 1782 in the capacity of Secretary to the Cabinet for Foreign Affairs. From 1786 he became Privy Councillor to Frederick William II., and in that office was again intrusted with the administration of foreign affairs, but after the war with France was supplanted10 by General von Bischofswerder,[26] and retired11 into private life. Menken was the only adviser12 of King Frederick William II., who was recalled and reappointed at the accession of Frederick William III. He was the author of the well-known Cabinet Order issued by Frederick William III., which insured the young King the confidence of his subjects. Menken was no revolutionist, as Bischofswerder and his partisans14 asserted, but to a certain extent he agreed with the principles of the first French National Convention. He is portrayed15 as a gentle, liberal, prudent16, and experienced man, but of delicate health; and he died on the 5th August, 1801, in consequence of illness brought on by a life of unintermitting labor17. According to the opinion of Stein, Menken was a person of generous sentiments, well educated, of fine feeling and benevolent18 disposition19, with noble aims and principles. He desired the good of his native land, which he sought to promote by the diffusion20 of knowledge, the improvement of the condition of all classes, and the application of philanthropic ideas; but his indisposition for war at an important juncture21 was adverse22 to his fame; his too eloquent23 and humane24 edict, and his singular gentleness of mind, invested the Government with an appearance of weakness.
His orphan daughter became the mother of Count Bismarck. It is interesting to note that a hundred years before a daughter of the same family, Christine Sybille Menken, deceased in 1750, as the wife of the Imperial Equerry Peter Hohmann von Hohenthal, was the ancestress of the Count von Hohenthal of the elder line.
The brothers and sisters of Count Bismarck were:—
I. Alexander Frederick Ferdinand, born 13th April, 1807; died 13th December, 1809.
II. Louise Johanne, born 3d November, 1808; died 19th March, 1813.
III. Bernhard, born 24th June, 1810, Royal Chamberlain and Privy Councillor, and Chief Justice of the Circle of Naugard, near Külz and Jarchelin, in Pomerania.
IV. Francis, born 20th June, 1819; died 10th September, 1822.
V. Franziska Angelika Malwina, born the 29th June, 1827; wedded26 at Sch?nhausen on the 30th October, 1844, to Ernst Frederick Abraham Henry Charles Oscar von Arnim, of Kr?chlendorff, Royal Chamberlain and a member of the Upper House.
The Minister-President himself, Otto Edward Leopold, was born at Sch?nhausen on the 1st April, 1815.
His earliest youth, however, was not passed at his ancestral estate in the Alt Mark, but in Pomerania, whither his parents had removed in the year 1816. By the decease of a cousin they had succeeded to the knightly27 estates of Kniephof, Jarchelin, and Külz, in the circle of Naugard. At Kniephof, where his parents took up their residence, Bismarck passed the first six years of his life, and to Kniephof he returned in his holidays from Berlin, so that this Pomeranian estate of his parents may be regarded as the scene of his earliest sports.
These estates were held in fee from the Dewitz family, in the circle of Pomerania, then known as the Daber and Dewitz circle, and were ceded28 with the feudal29 rights to the Colonel August Frederick von Bismarck, the great-grandfather of the Minister-President, on his marriage with Stephanie von Dewitz. After the death of the Colonel, his three sons, Bernd August, Charles Alexander (the Minister’s grandfather), and Ernst Frederick (Royal Conservator of Palaces) possessed these estates in common, until, on the partition of 12th August, 1747, they were[104] handed over to Captain Bernd August alone. He bequeathed them to his son, the Deputy of the Daber-Naugard circle, and to Captain August Frederick von Bismarck and his sister Charlotte Henrietta, who was married to Captain Jaroslav Ulrich Frederick von Schwerin. By a deed dated the 7th of August, 1777, August Frederick became the sole possessor, and bequeathed them to Charles William Frederick von Bismarck, the father of the Minister-President.
The knightly estate of Kniephof is about a (German) mile from Naugard to the eastward30; its situation is pleasant, being surrounded by woods and meadows, close to the little river Zampel. Even in the last century the beautiful gardens and carp-lake were famous.
Jarchelin, formerly31 called Grecholin, some quarter of a mile distant from Kniephof, which is incorporated with the parish of the former place. A small stream runs through this village.
Külz is nearer to Naugard; the church there was originally a dependency of Farbezin; formerly it possessed oak and pine forests, and the hamlet of Stowinkel was planted with oaks.
In the year 1838, Captain von Bismarck ceded these estates to his two sons, who farmed them for three years in common, but then divided them so that the elder, Bernhard, retained Külz, while the younger, the Minister-President, took for his share Kniephof and Jarchelin. When, after his father’s decease in 1845, the Minister-President took Sch?nhausen, Jarchelin was surrendered to the elder brother. Kniephof was retained by Count Bismarck until 1868, when, after the purchase of Varzin, it passed into the possession of his eldest32 nephew, Lieutenant33 Philip von Bismarck.
As the possessor of Kniephof, the Minister sat till 1868 for the ancient and established fief of the Dukedom Stettin in the Upper Chamber25. On its cession13 the King created him a member of that chamber for life. In the adjacent estate of Zimmerhausen, belonging to the Von Blanckenburgs, Otto von Bismarck was then and afterwards a frequent guest. The youthful friendship which he then contracted with the present General County Councillor Moritz von Blanckenburg, a well-known leader of the Conservative party in the Chamber of Deputies and at the Diet, remains34 unshaken to the present day.
About the Easter of 1821, Otto von Bismarck entered the then renowned35 school of Professor Plamann, in Berlin (Wilhelmstrasse 130), where his only surviving elder brother Bernhard then was. Bismarck remained in this place till 1827, when he left it to pursue his more classical studies at the Frederick William Gymnasium. He was there received into the lower third class—his elder brother having by that time reached the second class.
His parents were accustomed to pass the winter months in Berlin, and during those times received both their sons at home, so that the boys ever retained feelings of relationship to the home circle, although not always there.
From the year 1827 both brothers became chiefly residents at the Berlin establishment of their parents, and were committed to the care of a faithful servant, Trine Neumann, from Sch?nhausen, who still lives at the Gesund-Brunnen, at Berlin, though she no longer wears the black and red petticoat of her native spot. Well qualified36 masters attended, especially during the absence of the parents in the summer time. By their aid they became acquainted with several of the modern languages. Among these tutors, the first was M. Hagens in 1827, then a young Genevese, named Gallot, and in the year 1829, a certain Dr. Winckelmann, unquestionably a clever philologist37, but a man of no principle, who vanished one morning with the cash-box, and left his charges behind with Trine Neumann. This occurred at the residence of the parents in Behrenstrasse No. 39; they afterwards resided at No. 52, in the same street, and subsequently on the D?nhofsplatz. At this time Otto von Bismarck laid the foundation of his prowess in English and French, which he ulteriorly brought to perfection.
It is evident that labor, care, or expense were not spared by the parents to foster the talents of these gifted children. This was, indeed, a special duty with their mother, a lady of great education, who combined with many accomplishments38 the sentimental40 religious feeling of her period, and had inherited the liberal views of her father. Madame von Bismarck was no doubt a distinguished woman, not only esteemed41 for her beauty in society, but exercising considerable influence in society. Her activity, which zealously42 espoused43 modern ideas, was probably less wanting[108] in insight than in persistency44, but from that very cause operated unfavorably in the management of the estates. The conduct of agriculture suffered under numerous and costly45 institutions and experiments, reducing the family income to a considerable extent, especially as the brilliant winter establishment in Berlin, and the summer visits to watering-places, demanded extensive resources. She evidently sought at a very early age to awaken46 ambition in her sons; it was particularly her desire that the younger son, Otto, should devote himself to a diplomatic career, for which she considered him especially fitted, while the elder brother was from the first destined47 for the commission of Provincial48 Councillor (Landrath). Both these aspirations49 were fulfilled, but not in their mother’s lifetime; she had long died when her younger son entered on diplomatic life, but her maternal50 instinct is honored by her early perception of the path by which Bismarck was to attain7 the highest distinction. How often must Bismarck have thought of his mother’s heartfelt wish, in his position as ambassador in Frankfort, Petersburg, and Paris! How frequently his earliest friends must have exclaimed, “Bismarck! had your mother only survived to see this!”
In contradistinction to the wise, ambitious, but somewhat haughty51 mother, his father, a handsome, personable, and cheerful man, full of humor and wit, rather represented the heart and mind, without very great claims to strong intellect, or even knowledge. Strangely enough, the cultivated and literary Charles Alexander von Bismarck, transformed from a diplomatist into a cavalry52 officer by the command of the Great Frederick, educated his four sons for the army.
This cavalier, of French sentiments, who subscribed53 to Parisian journals, still preserved at Sch?nhausen—a custom not usual with the aristocracy of the Marks—and who lived with great simplicity54, but drank wine, and ate off silver plate—brought up his sons like centaurs55, and his greatest pride was in the excellence56 of their horsemanship.
Bismarck’s father entered the Body-guard (white and blue), the commander of which was also a Bismarck, and, as he often told his sons in later times, “measured out the corn every morning at four o’clock to the men for five long years.” He loved a country life, grew wearied in Berlin, especially when he had[109] grown somewhat deaf, but, with chivalrous57 devotion to his lady wife, conformed to her wishes on this point.
Madame von Bismarck, besides esteeming58 the company of talented persons and scholars, was devoted59 to chess, of which she was a complete mistress; but her husband’s amusement was the chase to the end of his life. How strangely the old gentleman pursued this pastime we learn from a letter of Bismarck’s to his newly-married sister, in the latter part of 1844; very characteristic of the relations maintained by the son and brother.
ow you have departed, I have naturally found the house very lonely. I have sat by the stove smoking and contemplating60 how unnatural61 and selfish it is in girls who have brothers, and those bachelors, to go and recklessly marry, and act as if they only were in the world to follow their own sweet wills; a selfish principle from which I feel that our family, and myself in proper person, are fortunately[110] free. After perceiving the fruitlessness of these reflections, I arose from the green leather chair in which you used to sit kissing and whispering with Miss and Oscar, and plunged62 wildly into the elections, which convinced me that five votes were mine for life or death, and two had somewhat lukewarmly supported me; while Krug received four, sixteen to eighteen voted for Arnim, and twelve to fifteen for Alvensleben. I therefore thought it best to retire altogether. Since then I have lived here with father; reading, smoking, walking, helping63 him to eat lampreys, and joining in a farce64 called fox-hunting. We go out in the pouring rain, or at six degrees of frost, accompanied by Ihle, Bellin, and Charles, surround an old bush in a sportsmanlike way, silent as the grave, as the wind blows through the cover, where we are all fully65 convinced—even perhaps my father—that the only game consists of a few old women gathering66 faggots—and not another living thing. Then Ihle, Charles, and a couple of hounds, making the strangest and most prodigious67 noise, particularly Ihle, burst into the thicket68, my father standing69 perfectly70 stock still, with his rifle just as if he fully expected some beast, until Ihle comes out, shouting “hu! la! la! fuss! hey! hey!” in the queerest shrieks71. Then my father asks me, in the coolest manner, if I have not seen something; and I reply, with most natural air of astonishment72, nothing in the world! Then, growling73 at the rain, we start for another bush, where Ihle is sure we shall find, and play the farce over again. This goes on for three or four hours, without my father, Ihle, and Fingal exhibiting the least symptom of being tired. Besides this, we visit the orangery twice a day, and the sheep-pens once, consult the four thermometers in the parlor74 every hour, mark the weather-glass, and since bright weather has set in have brought all the clocks so exactly with the sun, that the clock in the library is only one stroke behind all the rest. Charles V. was a silly fellow! You can understand that, with such a multitude of things to do, we have no time to visit parsons; as they have no votes at the elections, I did not go at all—impossible. Bellin has been for these three days full of a journey to Stendal he made, and about the coach which he did not catch. The Elbe is frozen, wind S. E. E., the last new thermometer from Berlin marks 8° (27° Fahr.) barometer75 rising 28.8 in. I just mention this to show you how you[111] might write more homely76 particulars to father in your letters, as they amuse him hugely—who has been to see you and Curts, whom you visit, what you have had for dinner, how the horses are, and the servants quarrel, whether the doors crack, and the windows are tight—in short, trifles, facts! Mark me, too, that he detests77 the name papa—avis au lecteur! Antonie wrote him a very pretty letter on his birthday, and sent him a green purse, at which papa was deeply moved, and replied in two pages! The Rohrs have lately passed through here without showing themselves; they baited at the Inn at Hohen-G?hren for two hours, and sat, wife and children and all, with ten smoking countrymen, in the taproom! Bellin declared they were angry with us; this is very sad and deeply affects me! Our father sends best love, and will soon follow me to Pomerania—he thinks about Christmas. There is a café dansant to-morrow at Genthin; I shall look in, to fire away at the old Landrath, and take my leave of the circle for at least four months. I have seen Miss ——; she has moments when she is exceedingly pretty, but she will lose her complexion78 very soon. I was in love with her for twenty-four hours. Greet Oscar heartily79 from me, and farewell, my angel; don’t hang up your bride’s rank by the tail, and remember me to Curts. If you are not at A. by the eighth—I’ll!—but enough of that. Entirely80 your own “forever,”
Bismarck.
Otto von Bismarck, on his sixteenth birthday, as his brother had been before him, was confirmed at Berlin, in the Trinity Church by Schleiermacher, at the Easter of 1830. The same year he went to board with Professor Prévost, the father of Hofrath Prévost, now an official in the Foreign Office under Bismarck; and as the house was very remote from the Frederick William Gymnasium in the K?nigs Strasse, he quitted it for the Berlin Gymnasium, Zum Grauen Kloster. Bismarck, after a year, passed from Professor Prévost to Dr. Bonnell, afterwards director of the Frederick-Werder Gymnasium, then at the Grauen Kloster, but who had not long before been Bismarck’s teacher at the Frederick William. Bismarck remained with him until, at Easter, 1832, he quitted the Kloster after his examination, to study law.
This is an outline of Bismarck’s life in his boyhood and school-days;[112] let us endeavor to form some picture of the lad and youth, from the reports of his tutors and contemporaries.
We see Junker Otto leaving his father’s house at a very early age, as did his brother. The reasons for this we can not assign, but no doubt they were well meant, although scarcely wise. Bismarck used subsequently himself to say that his early departure from the paternal81 roof was any thing but advantageous82 to him. Perhaps his mother was afraid he might get too early spoilt; for with his gay nature and constant friendliness83, the little boy early won all hearts. He was especially spoilt by his father, and by Lotte Schmeling, his mother’s maid, and his own nurse.
At the boarding-school of Plamann in Berlin, whither he was next brought, he did not get on at all well. This then very renowned institution had adopted the thorough system of old Jahn, and carried out the theory of “hardening up,” then fashionable, by starving, exposure, and so forth84—not without carrying it to extremes in practice. Bismarck, who had always submitted meekly85 to all his masters, could not, in later days, refrain from complaining bitterly of the severity with which he was treated in this institution. He was very miserable86 there, and longed for home so much, that when they were out walking, he could not help weeping whenever he saw a plough at work. The masters were especially obnoxious87 to him on account of the strictness with which they insisted on gymnastics and athletic88 sports, from the hatred89 of the French they methodically preached, and by the tough German usage they exercised towards the little scion90 of nobility. In his paternal house, Bismarck had not been educated in class-hatred, as it is called; on the contrary, his mother was very liberal, and had no sympathy with the nobility. Marriages between nobles and citizens were then much more unfrequent; Madame von Bismarck had very likely encountered some slights from the proud families of the Alt Mark and of Pomerania, and caste feeling could scarcely have been felt by Bismarck in his childhood. It was not any want of sympathy with his school-fellows, but the democratic doctrines91 of some of the masters, which roused the Junker in the bosom92 of the proud lad. We shall see that in later years it was the incapacity of two masters at the Graue Kloster which caused them to handle him[113] ungently, because of his noble birth, and thus impelled93 him to resistance.
It is easy to understand that Otto von Bismarck, as long as he stayed at the hateful Plamann Institute, and at the Gymnasium, longed ardently94 for the holidays, for these times are the bright stars in the heaven of every schoolboy.
And how was the holiday journey performed in those days from Berlin to Kniephof in the Circle Naugard? The stagecoach95 of Nagler—then the pride of Prussia—set off in the evening from Berlin, and arrived at Stettin at noon the next day. There were not over-good roads at that time from Berlin to the capital of Pomerania. From Stettin young Bismarck proceeded, with horses sent by his parents, to Gollnow, where his grandfather was born, and where proverbially there was a fire once a fortnight. In Gollnow he slept at the house of an aged96 widow named Dalmer, who held some relation to the family. This aged lady used to tell the eager lad stories of his great grandfather the Colonel von Bismarck, who fell at Czaslau, and who once lay in garrison97 at Gollnow with his regiment98 of dragoons—the Schulenburg Regiment, afterwards the Anspach Bayreuth. After almost a century, the memory of the famous warrior99 and[114] huntsman remained alive. Stories were told of the Colonel’s fine dogs and horses. When he gave a banquet, not only did the sound of trumpet100 accompany each toast, but the dragoons fired off volleys in the hall, to heighten the noise. Then the Colonel would march with the whole mess, preceded by the band and followed by the whole regiment, to the bridge of Ihna, where the Wooden Donkey stood. This terrible instrument of punishment—riding the Donkey was like riding the rail—was then cast into the Ihna, amidst execrations and applause. “All offenders101 are forgiven, and the Donkey shall die!” But the applause of the dragoons could not have been very sincere, for they knew very well that the Provost would set up the Donkey in all its terrors the very next morning; therefore they only huzzaed to please their facetious102 Colonel.
This is a picture of garrison life under King Frederick William I. There still exists a hunting register belonging to this old worthy103, which reports that the old soldier in one year had shot a[115] hundred stags—an unlikely event nowadays. One of the first sportsmen of the present day—H.R.H. Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia—shot three hundred head of game between the 18th of September, 1848, and the 18th of September, 1868, pronounced “worthy of fire.” A correspondence of the old Colonel’s is still extant, which evinces a highly eccentric stanchness; in this his cousin, the cunning diplomatist Von Dewitz, afterwards Ambassador to Vienna, is severely104 enough handled. It was doubtless from these statements of the acute colonel of cavalry that the Great Frederick did not allow his son, Charles Alexander, to accompany him to Vienna in the Embassy, but ordered him to become a cornet, with some very unflattering expressions concerning the diplomatist.
The next day young Otto von Bismarck used to leave Gollnow, and thus on the third day he reached Kniephof, where for three weeks he led a glorious life, troubled only by a few holiday tasks. Among the most pleasant events of holiday time were visits to Zimmerhausen, to the Blanckenburgs, which possessed an additional charm from a sort of cheese-cake prepared in this locality.
From Plamann’s school, Bismarck passed to the Frederick William Gymnasium; and here he immediately attracted the attention of a master with whom he was afterwards to be more closely associated, and of whom mention will afterwards be made in this work. This gentleman (the Director, Dr. Bonnell) relates:—“My attention was drawn106 to Bismarck on the very day of his entry, on which occasion the new boys sat in the schoolroom on rows of benches in order that the masters could overlook the new comers with attention, during the inauguration107. Otto von Bismarck sat—as I still distinctly remember, and often have related—with visible eagerness, a clear and pleasant boyish face and bright eyes, in a gay and lightsome mood among his comrades, so that it caused me to think, ‘That’s a nice boy; I’ll keep my eye upon him.’ He became my pupil first when he entered the upper third. I was transferred at Michaelmas, 1829, from the Berlin Gymnasium to the Graue Kloster, to which Bismarck also came in the following year. He became an inmate108 of my house at Easter, 1831, where he behaved himself in my modest household, then numbering only my wife and my infant son, in a[116] friendly and confiding109 manner. In every respect he was most charming; he seldom quitted us of an evening; if I was sometimes absent, he conversed110 in a friendly and innocent manner with my wife, and evinced a strong inclination111 for domestic life. He won our hearts and we met his advances with affection and care—so that his father, when he quitted us, declared that his son had never been so happy as with us.”
Bismarck to this day has preserved the most grateful intimacy112 with Dr. Bonnell and his wife; even as Minister-President he loved to cast a passing glance at the window of the small chamber he had occupied in K?nigsgraben No. 18, while he resided with Dr. Bonnell. The window is now built up. The powerful minister and great statesman ever remained the friendly and kindly113 Otto von Bismarck towards his old teacher. He sought his counsel in the selection of a tutor for his sons, and afterwards sent them to the Werder Gymnasium, that still flourishes under the thoroughly114 excellent guidance of Bonnell.
Among the favorite masters of Bismarck at the Frederick William Gymnasium, he distinguished Professor Siebenhaar, an excellent man, who subsequently unfortunately died by his own hand. He found himself welcomed at the Graue Kloster by Koepke with great friendship—his youth alone prevented his being placed in the first class. Besides Bonnell, he here found a great friend in Dr. Wendt; Bollermann, however, and the mathematician115 Fischer, raised the Junker in him in an unwise manner. He also got into many disputes with the French Professor, and learnt English in an incredibly short space of time, in order not to be submitted to the test of the French Professor; as it was allowed to the pupils to choose either English or French for a prize theme.
As a pupil, in general, Bismarck’s conduct preserved him almost entirely from punishment, and seldom was he amenable116 to censure117. He exhibited such powers of understanding, and his talents were so considerable, that he was able to perform his required tasks without great exertion118. He even at that time exhibited a marked preference for historical studies—especially that of his native Brandenburg, Prussia, and Germany. He laid the foundations of his eminent119 historical attainments, afterwards so formidable to his opponents in parliamentary discussion, in these[117] youthful years. The style of his Latin essays was always clear and elegant, although perhaps not, in a grammatical sense, always correct. The decision on his prize essay of Easter, 1832, was, Oratio est lucida ac latina, sed non satis castigata. (The language is clear and Latin, but not sufficiently120 polished.)
On his departure for the University, Bismarck was not seventeen years of age, and possessed none of the broad imposing121 presence he later attained122; his stature123 was thin and graceful124. His countenance125 possessed the brightness of youthful liberality, and his eyes beamed with goodness. His eldest son Herbert now recalls in his likeness126 the vivid image of his father in those last days of his pupilage. Bismarck has inherited his tall stature from his father, who, with his fine presence and cultured manners, had been a personage of most aristocratic appearance. But in general the elder son, Bernhard, was more like his father than the younger brother.
When the cholera broke out in Berlin, in 1831, in the general[118] cholera mania127, Bismarck was desired by his father to return home so soon as the first case had declared itself in that city. Like a true schoolboy, it was utterly128 impossible for him to receive the news too soon. He hired a horse, and several times rode to the “Frederick’s field,” from which district the cholera was expected. He, however, fell with the horse by the new Guard House, and was carried into his dwelling129 with a sprained130 leg. To his greatest annoyance131 he was now obliged to remain for a considerable time in bed, and endure the approach of the cholera to Berlin, before he could leave. But he never lost his gayety and good humor on this account. Bonnell, as might be expected, was greatly alarmed, when, on returning home, he learnt that Bismarck had tumbled from the horse and had been carried to his room; but he was soon comforted by the good temper with which the patient recounted the particulars of the accident.
Bismarck awaited his convalescence132 with patient resignation, and when he was finally able to enter upon his journey to[119] Kniephof, an event took place owing to the strange cholera measures caused by the cholera mania. Travellers by stage, for instance, might not alight at such places as Bernau or Werneuchen on any account, but the coaches drove side by side until their doors touched and then the exchanges were effected, while the local guard paraded with spears in a manner almost Falstaffian. In another place, Bismarck was allowed to alight, but he could enter no house; there was a table spread in the open street, where tea and bread and butter were provided for travellers, and the latter breakfasted, while the inhabitants retired to look upon them in abject133 terror. When Bismarck called to a waitress to pay her, she fled shrieking134, and he was obliged to leave the price of his breakfast on the table. The saddest case was that of a lady traveller, who was proceeding135 as governess to Count Borck’s mansion136, in Stargard. This poor girl dreaded137 travelling, and got into the condition which so outwardly resembles an attack of cholera. The doctors of Stargard were in an uproar138, so the poor governess was put into quarantine in the town jail. Bismarck himself went into quarantine, and was first locked up in the police office at Naugard, and afterwards at his native place. His mother, it should be mentioned, had taken every precaution then in fashion, and had engaged a retired military surgeon, named Geppert, who had seen much of the cholera during his residence in Russia, as a cholera doctor, for her immediate105 service. With this doctor Bismarck was used to hold arguments, for though his conversation was rude and desultory139, he could tell the story of his voyages in a practical and animated140 manner. Madame von Bismarck would have been very angry had she had an idea of the carelessness with which her son observed the severe quarantine rules. However, despite all the pains which the wise lady took, cholera showed itself on her estate, while all the neighbors were free from it. At Jarchelin Mill two boys had bathed, against the regulations; they had eaten fruit and drunk water—they were sacrificed to the disease. It can be easily understood what a nuisance the quarantine, even in its mildest form, must have been for Bismarck, who never believed in the infectious nature of cholera. In later times, when the two brothers farmed the estates, there was a case of cholera in Külz; no one dared to enter the house; the two Bismarcks[120] went in, and declared that they themselves would not quit it until they were properly relieved. This shamed every one, and proper medical aid was obtained.
As a boy and youth Bismarck was not usually very animated. There was rather a quiet and observant carriage in him, especially evinced by the “blank”, eyes, as they were once very aptly called by a lady; these qualities were soon accompanied by determination and endurance in no insignificant141 degree. He was obliging and thoughtful in social intercourse142, and soon acquired the reputation of being “good company,” without having transgressed143, in the ways so common among social persons. He never allowed himself to be approached without politeness, and severely censured144 intruders. His mental qualifications very early showed themselves to be considerable; memory and comprehensiveness aided him remarkably145 in his study of modern languages. He exhibited a love for “dumb” animals even as a child; he went to much expense in fine horses and dogs; his magnificent Danish dog, so faithful to him, long continued a distinguished personage in the whole neighborhood of Kniephof. Riding and hunting were his favorite pastimes. He has always been an intrepid146 and elegant horseman, without being exactly a “riding-master.” To this he added the accomplishment39 of swimming; he was a good fencer and dancer, but averse147 to athletic sports. The gymnastic ground of the Plamann Institution had caused him to regard that branch of culture with profound dislike. As a boy and youth he had grown tall, but he was slim and thin; his frame did not develop itself laterally148 until a later time; his face was pale, but his health was always good, and he was, from his youth up, a hearty149 eater. A certain proportion of daring was to be noticed in his carriage, but expressed in a kindly way; his whole gait was frank and free, but with some reticence150. Thus we do not find that he retained many friends of his boyhood and pupilage, a time usually so rife151 in friendships for most men. But such friendships as he did form, continued for life. Among Bismarck’s friends of the Gymnasium period, were, besides Moritz von Blanckenburg, Oscar von Arnim, afterwards his brother-in-law, William von Schenk, afterwards the possessor of Schloss Mansfeld and Member of the Chamber of Deputies, and Hans von Dewitz, of Gross Milzow in Mecklenburg. At[121] the University he added to these Count Kayserlingk of Courland, the American Lothrop Motley,[27] Oldekop of Hanover, afterwards Councillor of War, and Lauenstein, subsequently pastor152 of Altenwerder on the Elbe.
In conclusion, we should not omit to say that he from youth preserved a proper attitude towards his domestics; they almost all loved him, although his demands were heavy on them at times. Afterwards, while administering the Pomeranian estates with his brother, he censured one of his Junior inspectors153 very severely. The inspector154 sought to turn aside the reproaches by pleading his own dislike to farming, that he had been forced to it, and so forth.
“Far from sufficient!” replied Bismarck, dryly.
This reply brought the inspector to his senses; since that time he has become an excellent agriculturist, and to this day thinks gratefully of Bismarck’s “Far from sufficient!”
This “Far from sufficient!” is associated in the Alt Mark with the name of Bismarck from olden time; in the country speech of the district it is proverbial.
“Noch lange nicht genug! (Far from sufficient!) quoth Bismarck.”
“Ueber und über! (Over and over!) quoth Schulenburg.”
“Grade aus! (Straight forward!) quoth Itzenplitz (Lüderitz?).”
“Meinetwegen! (I care not!) quoth Alvensleben.”
It would be interesting to trace the origin of these peasant proverbs. The Alvenslebens since early times were reputed “mild;” they are the Gens Valeria (Valerius Poblicola) of the Alt Mark. The Schulenburgs are “severe,” the Gens Marcia (Marcius Rex) of that country; and certainly we can perceive some affinity156 between these qualities and the proverbs; but what may the “Noch lange nicht genug! sagt Bismarck!” mean? Perhaps the energetic striving, the essential characteristic of the whole family in a greater or lesser157 degree: an element of progress which ever, in their own and others’ action, exclaims, “Far from sufficient!”
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1
cholera
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| n.霍乱 | |
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2
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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attainments
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| 成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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supplanted
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| 把…排挤掉，取代( supplant的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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cession
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| n.割让，转让 | |
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partisans
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| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
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portrayed
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| v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
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16
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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17
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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18
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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diffusion
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| n.流布；普及；散漫 | |
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juncture
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| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
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adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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knightly
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| adj. 骑士般的 adv. 骑士般地 | |
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28
ceded
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| v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 ) | |
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feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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32
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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34
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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37
philologist
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| n.语言学者，文献学者 | |
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38
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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40
sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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41
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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42
zealously
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| adv.热心地；热情地；积极地；狂热地 | |
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43
espoused
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| v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
persistency
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| n. 坚持(余辉, 时间常数) | |
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costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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46
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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51
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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subscribed
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| v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意 | |
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54
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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55
centaurs
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| n.（希腊神话中）半人半马怪物( centaur的名词复数 ) | |
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56
excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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57
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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58
esteeming
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| v.尊敬( esteem的现在分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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59
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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60
contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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61
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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62
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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63
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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64
farce
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| n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹 | |
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65
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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67
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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68
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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69
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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70
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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71
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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72
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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73
growling
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| n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼 | |
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74
parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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75
barometer
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| n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标 | |
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76
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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77
detests
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的第三人称单数 ) | |
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78
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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80
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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81
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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82
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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83
friendliness
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| n.友谊，亲切，亲密 | |
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84
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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85
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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86
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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89
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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scion
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| n.嫩芽，子孙 | |
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91
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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92
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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94
ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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95
stagecoach
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| n.公共马车 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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97
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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98
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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100
trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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101
offenders
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| n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物） | |
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102
facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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103
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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104
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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106
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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107
inauguration
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| n.开幕、就职典礼 | |
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108
inmate
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| n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人 | |
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109
confiding
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| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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110
conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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111
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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112
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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113
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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114
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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115
mathematician
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| n.数学家 | |
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116
amenable
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| adj.经得起检验的；顺从的；对负有义务的 | |
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117
censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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118
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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119
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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120
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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121
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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122
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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123
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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mania
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| n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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sprained
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| v.&n. 扭伤 | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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convalescence
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| n.病后康复期 | |
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abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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shrieking
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| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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desultory
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| adj.散漫的，无方法的 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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transgressed
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| v.超越( transgress的过去式和过去分词 )；越过；违反；违背 | |
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censured
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| v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的过去式 ) | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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intrepid
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| adj.无畏的，刚毅的 | |
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averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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laterally
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| ad.横向地；侧面地；旁边地 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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rife
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| adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的 | |
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pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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inspectors
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| n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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affinity
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| n.亲和力，密切关系 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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