The Secret Memoirs of the Courts of Europe: William II, Germany; Francis Joseph, Austria Hungary, Volume I. (of 2) by Mme. La Marquise de Fontenoy
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Mme. La Marquise de Fontenoy >> The Secret Memoirs of the Courts of Europe: William II, Germany; Francis Joseph, Austria Hungary, Volume I. (of 2)
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Yet she carried the day in the end, and her son is now the very first
to acknowledge his mother's cleverness and the fact that she showed
herself more than a match in statecraft for the man reputed as the
greatest statesman of the century, namely, Bismarck.
One of the cleverest of the many clever things that she did, was the
manner in which she brought about the fall of Bismarck. She was too
shrewd to dream of exercising any direct pressure on her son. It was
done indirectly, and with so much diplomacy, that William never dreamt
at the time of dismissing the iron chancellor that he was playing his
mother's game. Abstaining from any steps towards a reconciliation
with her son, she merely took advantage of the kaiser's visit to
Westphalia, to place in his path his old tutor, Professor Hintzpeter,
a pedagogue of whom William had been very fond, and whose teachings
had left a deep impression upon the mind of his imperial pupil. The
empress knew the professor's characteristics, his fads, and his views.
She likewise recognized and understood, as only a mother can do, the
complex character of her son, and she foresaw the effects that
were likely to be achieved by bringing the two men once more into
communication with each other.
Like William II., Hintzpeter is full of contrasts, for while on the
one hand he has always professed the most advanced radical and even
socialistic doctrines,--doctrines with which he impregnated the mind
of his princely charge,--yet he would tolerate no familiarity or
condescension on his part towards inferiors, and was even wont to
force William to wash his hands when he had so far forgotten himself
as to shake hands with anyone of a subordinate or menial rank. Another
trait of character of Professor Hintzpeter, is his firm conviction
that difficulties, no matter how vast and intricate, are always
capable of being settled and satisfactorily arranged by means of
eloquent phrases and good intentions.
At the time when William renewed his acquaintance, in the capital of
Westphalia, with his old tutor, the socialistic and labor problems
were engaging the attention not merely of Germany, but likewise of
all Europe. Prince Bismarck was in favor of a continuance of harsh
measures with regard to labor, and of persecution of the most
resentless nature so far as the socialists were concerned. Hintzpeter,
full of his former sympathies for autocracy and socialism at one and
the same time, called William's attention to the fact that Bismarck's
policy had merely had the effect of vastly increasing the strength of
the socialists as a factor in German politics, and of rendering the
labor difficulties more acute. He, therefore, suggested to the emperor
the idea that he should endeavor to solve both problems by means of
an international congress, under his own presidency, at which means
should be devised for reconciling the interests of socialism with the
state, and those of capital with labor.
William, with all his common-sense and cleverness, has inherited
from his ancestress, Queen Louise, and one might almost say from his
grand-uncle, King Frederick William IV., a very strongly developed
tendency towards idealism. It was to this phase of his nature that the
recommendation of Professor Hintzpeter particularly appealed, and the
more he considered the matter, the more he discussed it with his old
tutor, the more convinced he became that it was in his power to solve
the difficulties of both socialism and labor, and thus to earn the
gratitude, not only of his own people, but of the entire civilized
world.
Of course, Prince Bismarck immediately realized the Utopian character
of the scheme, saw its impracticability, and proceeded to condemn it
with more than his ordinary irritability and _brusquerie_. Finding,
however, that the emperor was not to be argued out of the idea of
holding a labor conference, he proceeded to ridicule it, and what was
worse, to cause it to be scoffed at and treated with derision as
the vaporings of an inexperienced and altogether too generous-minded
youth, in German as well as foreign papers, which William knew derived
their inspiration from the chancellor's palace in the Wilhelmstrasse.
All this served to embitter the relations between the emperor and the
prince. The latter perceived that the kaiser was getting beyond his
control, and was subject to other influences, while the emperor
now commenced to appreciate the extent to which, he had been made
subservient to the policy and to the wishes of his chancellor.
Meanwhile the necessity became apparent of taking some immediate
step, one way or another, in connection with the prolongation of the
exceptional measures against the socialists which were just expiring.
The chancellor was determined that they should be renewed, while the
emperor felt that, with the international congress coming on, he would
be handicapped in his role of arbitrator, and his good faith would
justly be suspected by the socialists were he to consent to the
continuance of repressive measures against them that were extra-legal,
that is to say, beyond the laws of the land, and as such, strictly
speaking, unconstitutional.
Finally, William discovering that Bismarck was negotiating with the
various party leaders, notably with the late Dr. Windhorst, leader of
the Catholic party in the Reichstag, with a view to the prolongation
of the anti-socialist measures, made up his mind to dismiss him, and
called for his resignation for having ventured to negotiate with the
opposition leaders in the Reichstag, without his knowledge or consent,
in order to obtain their support to a measure about which he had
expressed his disapproval. That was the real cause of Bismarck's fall,
despite all other stories current on the subject, and had not Empress
Frederick engineered the meeting in the Westphalian capital between
her son and his former tutor, it is possible that Prince Bismarck
might have died in office.
It is scarcely necessary to remind my readers that, as predicted by
the old chancellor, the international labor congress resulted in
a fiasco, while the emperor ultimately became so embittered by the
failure of the socialists to appreciate his kindly intentions towards
them, that he now regards them as his most bitter enemies, and
practically calls upon every soldier who joins the army to be prepared
to use his rifle, not only against the enemies from without, but also
against the enemies within--that is, the socialists.
Naturally William to-day regrets that he permitted himself to be
talked into any such schemes as the reconciliation of the socialists
with the crown, and of capital with labor, and Professor Hintzpeter,
while retaining the affection of his former pupil, has long ceased to
enjoy his confidence as a political adviser. He is no longer looked
upon in the light of a German Richelieu, as the foreign newspapers
were wont to describe him when he was at the climax of his power,
and he no longer possesses anything in common with his Russian
counterpart, Professor Pobiedenotsoff, except in a singular
peculiarity of appearance. Indeed, Hintzpeter's looks invite
caricature. He is lanky, ungainly and lantern-jawed, and seems like
a man who has never been young, and who has not yet obtained the
venerability of old age. His manners are exceedingly ungracious, and
even repellent, but when once he becomes interested in a discussion
he seems to undergo an entire transformation. He is no longer the same
man, and gives one at that moment the impression of being nothing but
a bundle of seething nerves, the vibrations of which seem to extend
to, as well as to influence, all those who are within range of his
voice.
The Empress Frederick was shrewd enough to keep in the background all
the time! She took no part in the fight between her son and Prince
Bismarck, and was particularly careful to avoid identifying herself in
any way with Professor Hintzpeter. The result was that the kaiser did
not dream of ascribing to her any responsibility for the mistake into
which he had been led by his former tutor.
As foreseen by Empress Frederick, with Prince Bismarck once in
retirement and disgrace, and the emperor disposed to reverse the
entire Bismarckian policy, it commenced to dawn upon his majesty that
among other errors into which he had been led by his ex-chancellor was
his own harshness and unfriendliness towards his mother. It was
while under this impression that he took the first steps towards
a reconciliation with the imperial widow, who, by showing herself
particularly affectionate and amiable, made her son feel still more
bitterly the unfilial nature of the conduct which he had been led
by Bismarck to adopt until then towards his mother. The friendly
relations thus established between mother and son have subsisted
ever since, and the emperor does not disdain now to seek Empress
Frederick's advice in a number of matters, having realized how clever
she is, while there is no one whose approval he values more highly
than hers. Most people are in the habit of portraying the Empress
Frederick as a woman embittered and soured by disappointment. Yet if
the truth were known, there are few whose existence at the present
moment is of a more ideal character, She has lost a noble and devoted
husband, but this bereavement must, to a certain extent, have been
softened by the genuine sorrow manifested by all, not only in his
own country, but throughout the civilized world, when he died. Her
marriage was a singularly happy one, unclouded by even the faintest
difference of opinion with her consort, and she is now enjoying a
delightfully contented eventide of life.
She resides during the greater part of the year in a home constructed
in one of the loveliest portions of Germany, near Homburg, according
to her own designs, and her own ideas; she possesses a vast fortune,
which renders her independent of all her relatives, and which she is
free to spend as she wishes. With all her sons and daughters married,
she has no domestic cares of her own, and is at liberty to order her
mode of existence as she pleases, unhampered by any obligations or
restrictions, save those which her son may see fit to impose. Her rank
is of the highest, for she is the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria,
and the mother of the present German emperor, besides which she has
the status and title of an empress-queen. In fact, she has the rank
of a sovereign, without any of the responsibilities that are
attached thereto, and while she may have experienced, at one moment,
disappointment at being deprived by her husband's premature death
of engineering a number of political, social and economic reforms in
Germany, upon which she had set her heart, yet she cannot but have
realized by this time that her existence as an empress-dowager is
infinitely more agreeable than that of an empress-regent would have
been, for had she been at the present moment seated by her husband's
side on the throne, she would have found no time to devote to those
arts and sciences to which she is so passionately devoted, and which
nowadays occupy the greater portion of her life.
In spite of being a great-grandmother, Empress Frederick is still
in splendid bodily health and vigor. She rides on horseback daily in
summer, and in winter spends a considerable amount of time skating
on the ice. She is not handsome, and, in fact, has never been even
pretty, but has always had a bright, intelligent and pleasing face.
Moreover, she has inherited her mother's peculiarly melodious voice.
Unfortunately, she is imperious, and intolerant of stupidity; it is
this, coupled with her lack of tact, which is responsible for her
unpopularity.
In spite of all her philanthropy, her generosity, and her cleverness,
and notwithstanding the blamelessness of her life, she is not liked
by the people of her adopted country, and this, while it has not
prevented her from playing a preponderant role in German politics,
as above described, has proved an obstacle to her exercise of any
influence upon the German people. After all, this absence of tact may
be excused, for it is usually wanting in people of genius. She is very
tender-hearted, and will not, if she can prevent it, allow any living
thing on the estate to be disturbed or killed.
No description of Empress Frederick seems complete without adding
thereto a brief reference to the grand-master of her court, Count
Seckendorff, who may be said to have devoted his entire life to her
service, and to that of her husband. A scion of one of the oldest
houses of the Prussian aristocracy, and bearing a name that figures
frequently in the pages of German history, he was attached to the
household of Empress Frederick as chamberlain in the early days of her
marriage, and the only time since then when he has been absent from
her side was during the war; for the count is no mere drawing-room
soldier, as is the case with so many military men who are in
attendance on royalty. He has seen active service in the wars of
1864, 1866 and 1870, winning the iron cross for bravery in the latter
campaign, and was likewise attached to Lord Napier's expedition to
Abyssinia, which found its climax in the storming of Magdala, and in
the death of Emperor Theodore.
As an artist he may be said to be almost as gifted as Empress
Frederick is herself, and his paintings have won distinctions of the
highest order at many national and foreign exhibitions. Indeed, it
is this sympathy of artistic tastes that has contributed in no small
measure to the altogether exceptional position which he enjoys in
the favor and confidence of the widowed empress. He has seen all her
children grow up around her, has been the confidant of many of her
sorrows, and at a moment when both she and her dying husband were
surrounded by chamberlains and officers who were devoted to the
interests of Bismarck, and virtually traitors in the camp, he alone
remained loyal in evil as well as in happier days. Being a bachelor,
he makes his home with the empress, attends her wherever she goes,
and, after having been the object of much abuse and even calumny,--the
latter originated and circulated by the so-called "reptile
press,"--that is to say, the newspapers, domestic and foreign, drawing
pay and inspiration from Prince Bismarck,--he now enjoys the regard
and the good-will of everyone at the Courts of Berlin and Windsor,
particularly at the latter, where his lifelong devotion to the widowed
empress is keenly appreciated by her mother, Queen Victoria.
No greater contrast can be conceived than that which exists between
Empress Frederick and her daughter-in-law, the empress-regnant. Far
less brilliant than either her husband's mother or grandmother, she
has nevertheless managed to achieve, as I have remarked before, not
only an infinitely greater degree of popularity, but likewise a more
extensive influence upon the German people. Experience and history
show that ordinary sense on the throne is far more beneficial to
the population than a lofty order of intellect, and Empress
Augusta-Victoria merely offers another illustration of the truth of
this assertion. None of the queens of Prussia, nor either of the
first German empresses, can be said to have left any impress upon the
subjects of their respective husbands. There is no doubt that the
so celebrated Queen Louise of Prussia was the cause of Prussia's
receiving infinitely harsher treatment at the hands of Napoleon than
the kingdom would otherwise have experienced; while the consort of
old Emperor William, a pupil of Goethe, and famed for her culture and
accomplishments, was disliked by the people, and was just as little
in touch with them as her still more talented daughter-in-law, Empress
Frederick.
For Empress Augusta-Victoria, however, a most profound sympathy
extends throughout the length and breadth of Germany. Every housewife,
every mother, looks to her as to a model, knows that she is satisfied
to excel in her purely domestic duties, and that she does, not strive
to render herself superior to her sex by intellectual brilliancy and
scientific attainments. Thanks to this sympathy which she inspires,
and to the fact that she is looked upon by men and women alike in her
husband's dominions as the ideal of what a German "_hausfrau_" should
be, she has been able to exercise an influence of infinitely greater
importance upon the nation at large than any other consort of a
Prussian sovereign can have boasted to achieve.
It is to this estimable woman, whom some were disposed at first to
denounce as narrow-minded and witless, that must be attributed
the very strongly developed religious revival apparent throughout
Protestant Germany since the present emperor came to the throne. Prior
to the present reign, church-going was as a rule eschewed by the male
sex, women constituting the backbone of the congregation, while the
clergy of the Lutheran persuasion was looked down upon, being treated
by the territorial nobility much in the same way as upper servants,
that is to say, on a par with the farm bailiffs, the stewards and the
housekeepers In a word, religion and everything pertaining thereto was
not considered fashionable.
To-day all this is changed. Under the guidance of the empress, her
husband, reared by his broad-minded mother in the ideas of Strauss
and of Renan, has become a strict churchman, and court, nobility,
bureaucracy and in fact the middle and lower classes too, have
followed suit. Free-thinking and neglect of religious duties are
at present considered the acme of bad form in Germany. Everybody
professes the most profound interest in questions and enterprises
relating to the church, and a large number of daughters of the most
illustrious houses of the German nobility have conferred their hands
and their hearts upon penniless Lutheran pastors, whose social status
has thereby been entirely changed. Moreover, if during the past ten
years more churches have been built, particularly in Berlin, than had
been the case in the entire previous half-century, this is because
every one has become aware that the most facile way of winning
the good graces of the empress, and the favor of her consort is by
building a church, or endowing some hospital.
The empress is ever ready to help in every good work, and her private
charities are very great, but she does not approve of the higher
education or the emancipation of women, and entertains a holy horror
of everything pertaining to the female suffrage movement. Women,
according to her views, should remain in their own sphere, and should
regard their duties to their husbands, their children, and their homes
as their first and foremost obligations; the nursing of the sick,
the training of young people, and the organization and direction of
charitable institutions, affording plenty of scope for those members
of the fair sex who have no domestic tasks to occupy their time.
[Illustration: _AUGUSTE VICTORIA EMPRESS OF GERMANY_]
_From Life_
She claims that in this way a woman is able to exercise a far more
important and beneficial influence than by endeavoring to supplant
men in professions essentially masculine, and certainly she herself
constitutes a striking illustration of the truth of her contention,
for the influence of the present German empress is felt throughout the
length and breadth of the land--a gracious womanly influence in every
sense of the word.
Among the many philanthropic organizations which owe their origin to
the empress, is the Central Association of German Actresses, which has
of late years done more towards elevating the stage than has ever been
accomplished by members of the aristocracy who have seen fit to join
the dramatic profession with that avowed object in view. The work
of this society is to enable actresses to provide themselves, at the
lowest possible cost, with the costumes considered necessary by the
managers of the theatres. It is well known that while in Germany the
pieces are beautifully put on the stage, the salaries paid to the
actresses do not in many cases cover the expenses of the stage
dresses. The empress makes a point of giving all her court and evening
gowns, which were formerly the perquisites of her dressers and maids,
to the association, and has invited the ladies of the Court of Berlin
to follow her example. Those ladies who feel that they cannot afford
to give the dresses, are asked to sell them to the Association as
cheaply as possible, and the latter then turns them over at a
merely nominal cost to such ladies of the dramatic profession as are
considered worthy of support and assistance.
This organization is managed entirely by great ladies, the empress
herself acting as president, and in this manner they are brought
into personal contact with actresses both of high and low degree. The
intercourse thus established has been most beneficial, for it has
not only helped to place the social status of the stage on a more
agreeable basis, but it also constitutes an incentive to actresses
to keep their names and reputations free from blemish, since they
naturally understand that the empress and the great ladies of the
aristocracy can only treat them as friends, so long as they live up
to the same standard of respectability as that which prevails in the
highest circles of society, and at court.
One of the most valuable qualities of Empress Augusta-Victoria is her
extraordinary tact. It is due to this, more than anything else, that
she has been able to retain, not only a hold upon the affection and
regard of her impulsive and brilliant husband, but also an influence
over him without his being aware of the fact. By the leading members
of his court, and by his principal ministerial advisers, she is
regarded not merely in the light of his guardian angel, but as his
most sensible counsellor. She may be relied upon at all times to
soothe his anger, soften any bitterness which he may entertain towards
this or that person, and call forth at critical moments the most
generous and chivalrous phases of his, on the whole, very attractive
character.
She is claimed by those who know the true state of affairs to act in
the capacity of a brake and a safety-valve to her husband, and it
is no secret that both the classes and the masses feel an additional
sense of security when they know their popular empress to be by the
emperor's side; for every mistake that he has made since he ascended
the throne has taken place during her absence, and he himself is the
first to acknowledge that she is largely responsible for every success
that he has achieved.
The sentiments of the empress towards Bismarck have been much
misunderstood and misconstrued. It is perfectly true that she was
brought up from her earliest childhood to regard him as the enemy
of her house, the prince having, as I have already related, been the
author of the indefensible act of spoliation, by means of which her
father had been deprived of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, now
forming part of the kingdom of Prussia. The manner in which the Iron
Chancellor was viewed in the home of the empress when a young girl,
may best be gathered from the fact that whenever her nurses and
governesses were desirous of putting a stop to her naughtiness and
of frightening her into obedience, they would exclaim: "_Bismarck's
coming! wow! wow!_" This childhood impression has continued so
deep that even to this day, whenever the empress shows any signs of
reluctance to comply with her husband's wishes, or betrays irritation,
the kaiser is in the habit of springing upon her the familiar old cry
of "_Bismarck's coming! wow! wow!_" which at first always makes her
start as she did in infancy and girlhood, and then causes her to burst
into laughter, and restores her to good humor.
These sentiments of aversion to Bismarck were to a great extent
modified at the time of her marriage by the knowledge that it was the
chancellor who had contributed more than anybody else to facilitate
and bring about the match. The latter was opposed by many of Emperor
William's kinsfolk, as well as by influential people at court, on the
ground that her rank was inadequate to render her a suitable match for
the heir to the throne of Germany. Bismarck, however, took the ground
that a marriage between the heir presumptive and the eldest daughter
of the _de jure_ Duke of Schleswig-Holstein would go a long way
to reconcile the inhabitants of the above-named duchies to their
annexation by Prussia, while at the same time it would constitute the
reparation of an act which he himself admitted was extremely unjust,
but to which he was compelled by imperative considerations of policy.
Empress Augusta-Victoria has been so supremely happy in her married
life that she has always felt a certain amount of gratitude to
Bismarck, which tended to obliterate her childhood's impressions
against him; and no more striking indication of her sentiments towards
the famous statesman can be given than the fact that she travelled all
the way to Friedrichsrueh at a moment when the sickness of her children
demanded her presence by their bedside, in order to attend the private
and home funeral of the man who had publicly described her father
as the most stupid prince in all Europe; who had deprived him of his
throne, and who had sent him to an early grave as a broken-spirited
and thoroughly embittered man.
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