The Better Cigar
Bismarck once gave to some friends the following droll account of Count Moltke.
“When a declaration of war is floating in the air,” the Chancellor said, “even Moltke gets talkative, and when we were in for it in 1870, he grew ten years younger in a day. Before, taciturn and cross, he now chatted pleasantly, got an appetite for champagne and heavy cigars, and lost the last remnant of gout that he had acquired while resting on laurels that had grown old. But at any rate, the famous old General is a comforting example for all enthusiastic smokers. He shows how healthy smoking is, and that one can grow old doing it. He showed his fondness for a good cigar even in the battle of Königgrätz.
“On that memorable day in July, 1866, when victory and defeat hung for hours in the balance, I was filled with disquietude and apprehension. I rode up to Moltke, who sat on his horse like a statue, following every movement of the battle. To talk to him was impossible; but I had in my case two cigars left, a good one and a bad one. Without a word I offered the case to Moltke, and without a word he took it, examined the two cigars and selected the good one. This was enough encouragement for me, for I said to myself, if the General can so calmly select the better cigar, our chances must be good.”