I afterwards wrote an article on the neutrality of Luxemburg, and the perfidious way in which people there are taking advantage of it to help the French in every sort of way. It ran as follows:—We declared at the commencement of the war that we would respect the neutrality of the Grand Duchy, the neutrality of its government and people being thereby assumed. That condition, however, has not been fulfilled, the Luxemburgers having been guilty of flagrant breaches of neutrality, although we on our part have kept our promise in spite of the inconvenience to which we have often been put, especially in connection with the transport of our wounded. We have already had occasion to complain of the fortress of Thionville having been provisioned by trains despatched at night with the assistance of the railway officials and police authorities of the Grand Duchy. After the capitulation of Metz numbers of French soldiers passed through Luxemburg with the object of returning to France and rejoining the French army. The French Vice-Consul opened a regular office at the Luxemburg railway station, where soldiers were provided with money and passports for their journey. The Grand Ducal Government permitted all this to go on without making any attempt to prevent it. They cannot, therefore, complain if in future military operations we pay no regard to the neutrality of the country, or if we demand compensation for the injury done by breaches of neutrality due to such culpable negligence.
Sunday, December 4th.—We were joined at dinner by Roggenbach, a former Baden Minister, and von Niethammer, a member of the Bavarian Ambulance Corps, whose acquaintance the Chief made recently in the hospital.
The Chief spoke at first of having again visited the wounded, and afterwards added:—“Leaving Frankfurt and St. Petersburg out of account, I have now been longer here than in any other foreign town during my whole life. We shall spend Christmas here, which we had not expected to do, and we may remain at Versailles till Easter and see the trees grow green again, whilst we wait for news of the Loire army. Had we only known we might have planted asparagus in the garden here.”
The Minister afterwards said, addressing Roggenbach:—“I have just looked through the newspaper extracts. How they do abuse the treaties! They simply tear them into shreds. The National Zeitung, the Kölnische,—the Weser Zeitung is still the most reasonable, as it always is. Of course one must put up with criticism; but then one is responsible if the negotiations come to nothing, while the critics have no responsibility. I am indifferent as to their censure so long as the thing gets through the Reichstag. History may say that the wretched Chancellor ought to have done better; but I was responsible. If the Reichstag introduces amendments every German Diet can do the same, and then the thing will drag on and we shall not be able to secure the peace we desire and need. We cannot demand the cession of Alsace if no political entity is created, if there is no Germany to cede it to.”
The question of the peace negotiations to follow in the approaching capitulation of Paris was then discussed, and the difficulties which might arise. The Chief said:—“Favre and Trochu may say, ‘We are not the Government. We were part of it at one time, but now that we have surrendered we are private persons. I am nothing more than Citizen Trochu.’ But at that point I should try a little coercion on the Parisians. I should say to them: ‘I hold you, two million people, responsible in your own persons. I shall let you starve for twenty-four hours unless you agree to our demands.’ Yes, and yet another four-and-twenty hours, come what might of it.
“I would stick to my point—but the King, the Crown Prince, the women who force their sentimental views upon them, and certain secret European connections—I can deal with those in front of me—but those who stand behind me, behind my back, or rather who weigh upon me so that I cannot breathe!—people for whom the German cause and German victories are not the main question; but, rather, their anxiety to be praised in English newspapers. Ah, if one were but the Landgrave!—I could trust myself to be hard enough. But, unfortunately, one is not the Landgrave.[16] Quite recently, in their maudlin solicitude for the Parisians, they have again brought forward a thoroughly foolish scheme. Great stores of provisions from London and Belgium are to be collected for the Parisians. The storehouses are to be within our lines, and our soldiers are merely to look at them, but not to touch them, however much they may themselves suffer from scarcity and hunger. These supplies are to prevent the Parisians starving when they shall have capitulated. We, in this house, it is true, have enough, but the troops are on short commons; yet they must suffer in order that the Parisians, when they learn that supplies have been collected for them, may postpone their capitulation till they have eaten their last loaf and slaughtered their last horse. I shall not be consulted, otherwise I’d rather be hanged than consent to it. But I am, nevertheless, responsible. I was imprudent enough to call attention to the famine that must ensue. It is true I mentioned it merely to the diplomatists. But they have thus become aware of the fact. Otherwise it would not have occurred to them.”
Swiss cheese having been handed round, some one raised the question whether cheese and wine went well together. “Some descriptions with certain wines,” was the Minister’s decision. “Not strong ones like Gorgonzola and Dutch cheese, but others are all right. I remember that at the time when people drank hard in Pomerania—two hundred years ago or more—the good folks of Rammin were the greatest topers in the country. One of them happened to get a supply of wine from Stettin, which was not quite to his liking. He complained accordingly to the merchant, who replied: ‘Eet kees to Wien, Herr von Rammin, deen smeckt de Wien wie in Stettin ook to Rammin.’” (Low German: “Eat cheese to your wine, good sir, from Rammin, then the wine will taste as good in Rammin as it does here in Stettin.”)
Abeken, who had been with the King, came in afterwards, and reported that his Majesty considered it would be well to write again to the Emperor of Russia, and give him the views held here respecting the Gortschakoff Note. The Chief said: “I think not. Enough has been already written and telegraphed on the subject. They know in St. Petersburg what we think. At least we must not write discourteously, but rather in a friendly and amiable spirit: It is better however to say nothing. If it were England! But we shall still want Russia’s good will in the immediate future. When that is no longer necessary, we can afford to be rude.”
Bohlen said: “They are quite beside themselves in Berlin. They will have tremendous rejoicings there to-morrow, about the Emperor. They are going to illuminate the town, and are making immense preparations—a regular scene from fairyland!” “I fancy that will have a good effect on the Reichstag,” observed the Chief. “It was really very nice of Roggenbach to start off at once for Berlin” (in order to urge moderation upon the grumblers in the Reichstag). “They” (the members of Parliament, or the Berliners?) “attach much more importance to the title of Emperor than the thing really deserves—although I do not mean to say it is of no value.”
“That was really funny,” said Bohlen, “what Holnstein told us about his interview with the King of Bavaria while he had a toothache!”