¶ His son refused the request that a death-mask be made of the noble old face, but Lenbach’s famous painting will recall the stern head for years to come.
¶ Bismarck’s coffin was of polished dark oak, with eight silver handles in the shape of lion’s paws; candles burned around his coffin, the pale lights softened by veils of black and silver gauze that ornamented the silver candelabra. The floor was literally covered with wreaths, many bearing cards of sympathy in gold letters, from various eminent personages throughout the world.
¶ The Kaiser heard the funeral services.
¶ Bismarck’s mausoleum rests on a spot Bismarck selected for himself; a plain Romanesque House of Death against a background of trees; and to the right still may be seen his favorite bench where he used to sit, under the shade of spreading oaks.
The sarcophagus of yellow marble bears this inscription, selected by Bismarck himself:
Here Lies
PRINCE BISMARCK
A Faithful German Servant
of Emperor William I.
¶ Hostile critics of Germany, brought forth by the great war of 1914, profess to believe that this inscription on Bismarck’s tomb shows that Bismarck did not wish his work to be associated with the future of the Empire, but with its past.
Instead, it really proclaims the man’s great mind, his clairvoyant historical vision. He could have said many things about himself, touching the great part he played in sustaining the pomp and majesty of kings; but his simple acknowledgment of the rôle of faithful servant, is more eloquent than sermons in brass.