“I thank your Majesty respectfully and heartily for the beautiful Christmas present, conferring fresh distinction upon me.
“My father entered the regiment of Carabineers of the Life Guard in 1783, and also had the honour, at the review, of being presented to Frederick the Great as a Junker, on which occasion the great king condescended in gracious recognition to hold up to him as a model his grandfather, Major von Bismarck (of the Schulenberg, afterwards Bayreuth, Dragoons), who fell at Czaslau.
“This and many other impressive reminiscences, which my father handed down to me from the time of Frederick the Great, as reproduced in the work of art now standing before me, and which I can supplement with a well-preserved series of letters from my grandfather in the field during the Seven Years’ War, form the permanent impressions of my childhood. I have always regretted that, by the will of my parents, I was not allowed to prove my devotion to the Royal House and my enthusiasm for the greatness and renown of the Fatherland in the fighting ranks of the army, rather than behind the writing desk. Even to-day, after your Majesty has raised me to the highest honours as a statesman, I cannot entirely suppress my regret at not having been able to win similar advancement as a soldier. I beg your Majesty, as it is Christmas Eve, to forgive this expression of personal feelings in a man who is accustomed on Christian festivals to look back upon his past. I might have been, perhaps, a worthless general, but I should have preferred to win battles for your Majesty, like those generals who adorn the monument, rather than diplomatic campaigns. By the will of God, and your Majesty’s favour, I have a prospect of seeing my name recorded in books and in bronze when posterity immortalises the memory of your Majesty’s glorious reign. But, independently of the loyalty of every honourable nobleman to his sovereign, the cordial attachment which I entertain for your Majesty’s person, and the pain and anxiety which I feel at not being always able to serve your Majesty as I wish, and no longer with my whole strength, can find expression in no monument. Yet in the last resort it is only this personal feeling which makes the servant follow his monarch and the soldier his leader with uncalculating devotion on such paths as under Divine Providence Frederick II. and your Majesty have entered upon. My strength for work is no longer equal to my will, but up to my last breath the latter shall be devoted to your Majesty.
“von Bismarck.”
The letter from Frederick William IV. was also published, in No. 13, and all were reproduced by numerous other papers.
I insert here, first the remaining letters from Bismarck to William I. which I copied at his desire, and then some of the more important papers in the new batch.
Further Letters from Bismarck to Emperor William I.
4.
“Varzin, August 13, 1875.
“I have received with respectful thanks your Majesty’s gracious letter of the 8th instant, and am pleased above all things to see that the cure has agreed with your Majesty in spite of the run of bad weather in the Alps. With respect to the letter from Queen Victoria I have the honour to add again that it would have been very interesting if her Majesty had expressed herself more fully as to the origin of the rumours of war circulated at that time. The sources must have been regarded as very trustworthy by that exalted lady, as otherwise her Majesty would not have again referred to them, and the English Government would also not have taken in connection with them measures of such an important character and such an unfriendly nature towards us. I do not know whether your Majesty considers it possible to take Queen Victoria at her word when her Majesty asserts that ‘it is an easy matter for her to prove that her apprehensions were not exaggerated.’ It would also be doubtless of importance to ascertain from what quarter such ‘serious errors’ could have been despatched to Windsor. The hints as to persons who must be regarded as ‘representatives’ of your Majesty’s Government would appear to refer to Count Münster. He, like Count Moltke, may very well have spoken academically of the usefulness of a timely attack upon France, although I do not know that he has, and he was never instructed to do so. It may indeed be said that it is not calculated to promote the maintenance of peace for France to have the assurance that she will never be attacked under any circumstances, do what she may. Now, as in 1867 in the Luxemburg question, I would never advise your Majesty to begin hostilities at once, merely because it was probable that the enemy would shortly enter upon them. One can never foresee the ways of Providence with sufficient clearness to do that. But it is also of no use to give the opponent the assurance that one will wait for his attack under all circumstances. I should therefore not blame Münster if he had spoken in that sense occasionally, and the English Government would have no right to take official steps upon non-official remarks of our Ambassador, and, sans vous dire gare, to invite the other Powers to bring pressure to bear. Such a serious and unfriendly course of action gives reason to suspect that Queen Victoria had yet other grounds for believing in warlike intentions than incidental remarks by Count Münster, the authenticity of which I do not even credit. Lord (Odo) Russell declares he has always reported his firm belief in our peaceful intentions. On the other hand, all the Ultramontanes and their friends have charged us secretly, and openly in the press, with wishing to bring on war in a short time, and the French Ambassador, who moves in these circles, sent these lies to Paris as trustworthy information. But at bottom that too would not be sufficient to inspire Queen Victoria with such trust and confidence in falsehoods that had been denied by your Majesty in person, as she still expresses in her letter of the 20th of June. I am too little acquainted with the idiosyncrasies of the Queen to be able to form an opinion as to whether the phrase about its being ‘easy to prove’ may possibly be intended merely to conceal, instead of openly confessing, a hastiness of action which could no longer be recalled. I beg your Majesty to excuse me if my ‘professional’ interest has led me, after three months’ forbearance, to dwell at such length upon an incident which has already been settled.