The Chief had been to Mont Valérien to-day. “I was never there before,” he said, “and when one sees the strong works and the numerous contrivances for defence—we should have terrible losses in storming it. One dares not even think of it.”
The Minister said one of the objects of Favre’s visit to-day was to request that the masses of country people who had fled to Paris in September should be allowed to leave. They were mostly inhabitants of the environs and there must be nearly 300,000 of them, “I declined permission,” he continued, “explaining to him that our soldiers now occupied their houses. If the owners came out and saw how their property had been wrecked and ruined they would be furious, and no blame to them, and they would upbraid our people and then there might be dangerous brawls and perhaps something still worse.” The Chancellor had also been to St. Cloud, and whilst he was looking at the burnt palace and recalling to mind the condition of the room in which he had dined with Napoleon, there was a well-dressed Frenchman there—probably from Paris—who was being shown round by a man in a blouse. “I could catch every word they said, as they spoke aloud, and I have sharp ears. ‘C’est l’œuvre de Bismarck,’ said the man in the blouse, but the other merely replied ‘C’est la guerre.’ If they had only known that I was listening to them!”
Count Bismarck-Bohlen mentioned that the Landwehr, somewhere in this neighbourhood, gave a refractory Frenchman, who tried to stab an officer with a penknife, seventy-five blows with the flat of the sword. “Seventy-five!” said the Chief. “H’m, that, after all, is somewhat too much.” Somebody related a similar instance that had occurred in the neighbourhood of Meaux. As Count Herbert was passing recently, a miller, who had abused Count Bismarck and said he wished he had him between two millstones, was laid flat by the soldiers and so fearfully beaten that he was not able to stir for a couple of hours.
The election addresses posted on the walls by the candidates for the National Assembly were then discussed, and it was observed that, in general, they were still very aggressive, and promised to achieve wonders at Bordeaux. “Yes,” said the Chief; “I quite believe that. Favre also tried once or twice to ride the high horse. But it did not last long. I always brought him down with a jesting remark.”
Some one referred to the speech made by Klaczko on the 30th of January in the Delegation of the Reichsrath against Austria’s co-operation with Prussia, and to Giskra’s revelation in the morning edition of the National Zeitung of the 2nd of February. Giskra said that Bismarck wished to send him from Brünn to Vienna with proposals for peace. These were, in effect: Apart from the maintenance in Venetia of the status quo before the war, the Main line was to be recognised as the limit of Prussian ascendancy, there was to be no war indemnity, but French mediation was to be excluded. Giskra sent Baron Herring to Vienna with these proposals. The latter was, however, coolly received by Moritz Esterhazy, and after waiting for sixteen hours obtained only an evasive answer. On proceeding to Nikolsburg, Herring found Benedetti already there, and was told: “You come too late.” As Giskra points out, the French mediation accordingly cost Austria a war indemnity of thirty millions. It was observed that Prussia could have extorted more from Austria at that time, and also a cession of territory, for instance, Austrian Silesia, and perhaps Bohemia. The Chief replied: “Possibly, as for money, what more could the poor devils give? Bohemia would have been something and there were people who entertained the thought. But we should have created difficulties for ourselves in that way, and Austrian Silesia was not of much value to us; for just there the devotion to the Imperial house and the Austrian connection was greater than elsewhere. In such cases one must ask for what one really wants and not what one might be able to get.”
In this connection he related that on one occasion, as he was walking about in mufti at Nikolsburg, he met two policemen who wished to arrest a man. “I asked what he had done, but of course as a civilian I got no answer. I then inquired of the man himself, who told me that it was because he had spoken disrespectfully of Count Bismarck. They nearly took me along with him because I said that doubtless many others had done the same.”
“That reminds me that I was once obliged to join in a cheer for myself. It was in 1866, in the evening, after the entry of the troops. I was unwell just then, and my wife did not wish to let me go out. I went, however—on the sly—and as I was about to cross the street again near the palace of Prince Charles, there was a great crowd of people collected there, who desired to give me an ovation. I was in plain clothes, and with my broad brimmed hat pulled down over my eyes, I perhaps looked like a suspicious character—I don’t know why. As some of them seemed inclined to be unpleasant, I thought the best thing to do was to join in their hurrah.”
From 8 P.M. on read drafts and despatches, including Favre’s answer to the Chief in the matter of Gambetta’s electioneering manœuvre. It runs as follows:—
“You are right in appealing to my sense of rectitude. You shall never find it fail me in my dealings with you. It is perfectly true that your Excellency strongly urged upon me as the sole way out of the difficulty to convoke the former legislative bodies. I declined to adopt that course for various reasons which it is needless to recall, but which you will doubtless not have forgotten. In reply to your Excellency’s objections, I said I was convinced that my country only desired the free exercise of the suffrage, and that its sole resource lay in the popular sovereignty. That will make it clear to you that I cannot agree to the restrictions that have been imposed upon the franchise. I have not opposed the system of official candidatures in order to revive it now for the benefit of the present Government. Your Excellency may therefore rest assured that if the decree mentioned in your letter to me has been issued by the Delegation at Bordeaux, it will be withdrawn by the Government of National Defence. For this purpose I only require to obtain official evidence of the existence of the decree in question. This will be done by means of a telegram to be despatched to-day. There are, therefore, no differences of opinion between us, and we must both continue to co-operate in resolutely carrying into execution the Convention which we have signed.”
Called to the Chief at 9 P.M. He wants to have an article written pointing out that the entry of our troops into Paris is at present impracticable, but may be possible later on. This is in answer in the National Zeitung to an article criticising the terms of armistice.