Bismarck had been forced to accept constitutionalism, but he did not unconditionally do so: it was at least to be a Prussian constitution, or modelled on Prussian principles, not directly inimical to the Kingship.
Prussia, said he, must be distinguishable from other countries. The downfall of German States kept tolerable pace with the concessions made by their Governments to the people. A reference to England was a mistake. “Give us every thing English that we do not possess; give us English piety, and English respect for the law; give the entire English constitution, but with this the entire relations of the English landlords, English wealth, and English common-sense—then it will be possible to govern in a similar manner. The Prussian Crown must not be forced into the powerless position of the English Crown, which appears more like an elegant ornament at the apex of the edifice of the State. In ours I recognize the supporting pillar.”
England, he added, had given itself the leading principles of the constitution of 1688, only after having been, for more than a century, under the curatorship of an omnipotent aristocracy, consisting of a very few families. Parliamentary Reform had now, it was true, broken the power of the aristocracy, but it was yet to be seen whether it would endure like the influence of the aristocracy. “We are deficient in the very class which controls politics in England, the class of wealthy and thence conservative gentlemen, independent of material interests, whose whole education is directed to becoming statesmen.”
Bismarck’s words were no longer hesitating, as at the United Diet, although there was always some slight impediment until his language began to flow more readily. But, as now, we perceive in his speeches that he had always to contend with the too rapidly advancing flood of thought. In his outward appearance his aspect was the picture of manly perfection; the tall, strong-boned frame was erect, but light and unconstrained; his attitude was somewhat daring, but the blue-gray eye glanced forth earnestly and sharply, when it was not animated with the light of sincere friendship. It was not the contemplative eye of the thinker, but the straightforward look of the man of action.
In the last days of autumn, Bismarck was commanded to the royal hunting-parties at Letzlingen, as he afterwards always continued to be, if not too far away. Frederick William IV. treated him with especial favor on this occasion; it was also with peculiar pleasure that he hunted on the moors and among the forests, centuries before the proud heritage of his race; a heritage his ancestors had surrendered only under the influence of affection for their princes, and reverence for their liege lord. These old Bismarckian preserves are the richest in Prussia: the red deer and bucks are counted by thousands, and the royal hunts, which take place every winter since the restoration of the mansion of Letzlingen by Frederick William IV., at the beginning of his reign, are among the best in Europe. Frederick William IV., although familiar with the chase, was not at all times a keen sportsman. Once he leaned his gun against a tree, drew a volume of Shakspeare from his pocket, seated himself on a stump, and was so absorbed in the poetry, that he never noticed that an inquisitive stag, who wished to know what the King was reading, crept up behind him and looked into the book over his shoulder. This pretty scene was witnessed by several sportsmen, and among these Bismarck, from a distance.
In this winter of 1849-50 Bismarck established his family in Berlin, although he retained his seat at Schönhausen; his household lived on the first floor on Dorotheen-Strasse, No. 37; here his second child and eldest son Herbert was born.
He was christened on the 13th February, 1850, by the well-known and so highly esteemed preacher, Gossner. In the spring of 1868 the heirs of Gossner, with other manuscripts, presented the letter of Bismarck, in which he asked Gossner to christen his son, to a bazar for missionary purposes. A cousin of the Minister-President—General Count Bismarck-Bohlen, the Commandant of Berlin—purchased the letter, and presented it to Count Herbert. This letter is as follows:—
Berlin, 11th February, 1850.
Reverend Sir,—Although I have not the honor to be personally known to you, I venture to hope, as we have friends in common, that you will not refuse to baptize my first-born son; and I beg respectfully to ask whether it will be agreeable to your engagements to perform this holy office on the day after to-morrow, Wednesday, the 13th current, at about half-past eleven, at my residence, Dorotheen-Strasse, No. 37, and for this purpose would honor me with a visit. In case of your consent, I trust you will make an appointment for to-morrow afternoon or evening, when I can visit you and make the further necessary arrangements.