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MEMOIRS OF 
 M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
M. DE BLOWITZ IN LATER LIFE 
 [From the painting by Benjamin Constant] 
 
%emoirs of 
 M.DE BLOWITZ 
 
 New York 
 Doubledqy Pqgre and Co, 
 
 19 3 
 
THEliBRAKYOF 
 COKC^K&SS 
 
 Two Copies Kecelvet 
 
 OCT 2 '^03 
 
 Copytigh* tiAty 
 CLASS <^ XXc No 
 
 y ^ ^ ^ c 
 
 
 Copyright, 1889, 1891, 1892. 189^, by 
 
 Harper & Brothers 
 
 Copyright, I902, 1903. by 
 
 Curtis Publishing Company 
 
 Copyright, 1903, by 
 
 Doubleday, Page & Company 
 
 Published, October, 1903 
 
PUBLISHERS' NOTE. 
 
 Much of the material which forms this 
 volume has appeared serially in Harper^s 
 Monthly Magazine and in The Saturday 
 Evening Post. About a third of the volume 
 has not been published hitherto. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. 
 
 Early Youth 
 
 3 
 
 11. 
 
 How I Became a Journalist 
 
 23 
 
 III. 
 
 A Champagne Conspiracy 
 
 52 
 
 IV. 
 
 Alphonso XII. Proclaimed King of Spair 
 
 L 68 
 
 V. 
 
 The French Scare of 1875 
 
 91 
 
 VI. 
 
 The Berlin Congress 
 
 116 
 
 VII. 
 
 What Bismarck Told Me 
 
 140 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Gambetta and Bismarck 
 
 150 
 
 IX. 
 
 Alva 
 
 156 
 
 X. 
 
 The Revenge of Venus 
 
 194 
 
 XI. 
 
 A Life Struggle .... 
 
 212 
 
 XII. 
 
 Why France Did Not Go to Egypt . 
 
 . 234 
 
 XIII. 
 
 My Interview with the Sultan 
 
 242 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Exile of the French Princes 
 
 270 
 
 XV. 
 
 San Remo 
 
 ■ 279 
 
 XVI. 
 
 How Bismarck Retired 
 
 292 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Diplomacy and Journalism 
 
 307 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 M. DE Blowitz in Later Life . . . Frontispiece 
 
 From the painting by Benjamin Constant 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 The DE Blowitz Family Tree ..... 4 
 Madame de Blowitz ....... 20 
 
 From a photograph made during the last year of her life 
 
 M. Thiers 38 
 
 The de Blov/itz Coat of Arms ..... 88 
 
 M. DE Blowitz in 1878 at the Berlin Congress . 116 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe ....... 128 
 
 From an autographed photo presented to M. de Blowitz 
 
 M. DE Blowitz as Often Seen in the Streets of 
 
 Paris with His Niece .... 148 
 
 From a photograph made during the last year of his life 
 
 Specimen of the Handwriting of M. de Blowitz, 
 Written a Few Days Before the Opening of 
 THE Chicago Exposition ..... 180 
 
 LesPetites Dalles, in Normandy .... 226 
 
 Showing the country house of M. de Blowitz, situated on the top 
 of the hill 
 
 Les Lampottes ........ 232 
 
 M. de Blowitz's country house in Normandy 
 
 MoNS. de Blowitz ....... 258 
 
 As he travelled to Constantinople in 1883 and as he was received 
 by Sultan Abdul-Hamid 
 
 Facsimile of Part of Letter from the Comte 
 de Paris, the French Pretender, to M. 
 de Blowitz ........ 272 
 
 About the book which the Comte de Paris was writing on the Ameri- 
 can Civil War 
 
 ix 
 
LIST OF ILUJSTRATIONS— Continued 
 
 Dinner Given by M. de Blowitz, Showing the 
 
 Guests ........ 290 
 
 Silver Statue Given to M. de Blowitz on His 
 Retirement, by the Paris Correspondents 
 of All Foreign Papers, December 18, 1902 . 302 
 
 All the Paris Correspondents of the Foreign 
 
 Press Assembled Around M. de Blowitz . .316 
 
 At the Hotel Ritz, Paris, on the day of his retirement, December 
 18, 1902 
 
 X 
 
MEMOIRS OF 
 M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
CHAPTER I 
 Early Youth 
 
 MY origin, infancy and youth have been narrated 
 so often that no one will, I hope, find fault 
 with me if, in my turn, I myself give an account 
 of them. Since they have appeared sufficiently inter- 
 esting for others to relate, I also have acquired the right 
 to do so without being taxed with presumption. In any 
 case, I venture to say that, instead of the fantastic tales 
 which have appeared, nothing but "information derived 
 from an absolutely authorised source" will be found in 
 the following pages. In writing these lines, which will 
 not appear until after I am in the grave, I have but one 
 ambition: that of saying the truth, all the truth; and 
 I have but one desire: that of preventing persons from 
 disfiguring, for their own pleasure or passion, events 
 with which I have been closely connected. 
 
 On December 28, 1825, at the Chateau of Blowsky, in 
 the region of Pilsna, in Bohemia, there was born a child 
 with a big head and a feeble body. The doctors who 
 had been summoned to his bedside shook their heads in 
 silence and declared ' ' that he had a weak heart and was 
 ill formed," and, consequently, would not live. The 
 child's mother thereupon decided that the proper thing 
 to do was to have him baptised without delay. And so, 
 on December 29th, while the snow was falling heavily and 
 
 3 
 
4 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 a strong wind was carrying off a peal of bells, he was 
 conveyed to the little chapel of the little village of 
 Blowsky, and there the Reverend Father Wasck, Arch- 
 priest of the parish, administered him with the holy 
 sacrament of baptism. At the same time, on the old 
 register of the church, which contained the names of all 
 his ancestors, from Seigneur Kaspar de Blowitz of 
 Palatine, who founded the village school, to Seigneur 
 Marc Opper de Blowitz, who owned the ancient chateau, 
 he entered the newborn child under the names of Henri- 
 Georges-Stephan-Adolphe, and promised to say a mass 
 in order that God might allow him to live. 
 
 I should not be telling the truth were I to say that I 
 recall all these facts, for however good my memory may 
 be it is not capable of that. But they have been affirmed 
 to me so often by my mother, repeated by the venerable 
 Archpriest, and denied by the Doctor, that, finally, I 
 am absolutely persuaded they are true. The parish 
 register may, however, be taken as evidence; it leaves 
 no doubt as to my having been bom a Catholic, baptised 
 twenty-four hours after my birth, and that I did not 
 have time to become a Jew. I regret it, moreover — 
 for Israel 
 
 Of my early childhood I remember but little ; the few 
 incidents that I am able to recall do not appear to me 
 worthy of being rendered public. I will say, however, 
 one thing. When I was six years of age but little was 
 wanting — that little being a bridge over a stream — ^for 
 me never to have been correspondent of The Times. 
 This is what happened. 
 
 One summer evening there was nobody at home in the 
 paternal chateau. My father was away hunting in the 
 
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 . VII 
 
 
 THE DE BLOWITZ FAMILY TREE 
 
EARLY YOUTH 5 
 
 environs with some of his lordly friends, and my mother 
 was absent. I was playing in the park, when at a turn 
 of the road an old, worn-out gypsy cart appeared on the 
 scene. It was drawn by an emaciated horse and driven 
 by a sordid old woman in shreds. A pale and wretched- 
 looking man followed. In the vehicle were some raggedly 
 garbed children, among them being a little girl with a 
 beautifully dressed Polichinelle. The fact is, the doll 
 Punch was altogether too beautifully dressed. 
 
 What took place ? Did the man take me by the hand ? 
 Did the woman speak to me? I have forgotten, but 
 what I have not forgotten is the attractive Polichinelle 
 and its bright black eyes. Ten minutes afterward I 
 was being rolled along in the gypsy cart. I had been 
 kidnapped. It seemed to me as if new life had been 
 suddenly infused into the emaciated horse, whose pace 
 was quickened, and the tired-looking man pushed the 
 cart so as to advance faster. 
 
 "If you are a good boy," said the woman, "we will 
 let you play the drum and blow a trumpet all the time." 
 
 And in order to give me an advance taste of these 
 future pleasures, they brought out from the back of the 
 vehicle an old box which, when unpacked, was found to 
 contain, helter-skelter, costumes, drums, wigs, horns — 
 all things that I had greatly admired at the recent 
 village fete. 
 
 " Have you got a locket on you?" was a question asked 
 me by the young girl with the beautiful black eyes. 
 
 I answered by showing her a small gold locket hanging 
 from a chain round my neck and which my mother had 
 given me. 
 
 "All right," she said, somewhat sadly. "Be careful 
 
6 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 and keep it, and always tell everybody that your mother 
 placed it there. I have one also, look — and I keep it. 
 But my mother has never come to claim me yet." 
 
 Our ride in the cart continued without a halt for five 
 or six hours and we must have covered quite a respectable 
 distance, when suddenly far away in the silence of the 
 forest we heard shouts and the sounds of hunting- 
 horns. 
 
 " They are looking for us," said the woman. 
 
 The man uttered an oath and whipped the horse. 
 The little girl with the black eyes grasped my hand and 
 in a very low voice said to me : 
 
 "It is better it should be thus. It is preferable 
 that they should find you. You do not know what is in 
 store for you if you remain with us." 
 
 I was very much amused and I looked about and 
 listened. Evidently at the chateau my absence had 
 been remarked and they were looking for me. 
 
 A terrible race ensued. The horse seemed suddenly 
 endowed with fresh vigour, as if he were conscious of the 
 chase that was in progress and as if he were accustomed 
 to adventures of the kind. 
 
 The old gypsy cart jolted noisily over the stones with 
 v/hich the road was strewn. In the distance the sounds 
 of the horns were distinguishable, first a long way off, then 
 nearer, and then far away again. Will they overtake 
 us ? Will they not overtake us ? 
 
 Until now we had been driving along one solitary road 
 which bruskly ran into a glade, and two roads appeared. 
 Which were we going to take ? The one on the right or 
 the one on the left? The man, who had not ceased 
 swearing, hesitated. And here I firmly believe mv fate 
 
EARLY YOUTH 7 
 
 was settled. If he had taken the road on the right I do 
 not know where I should have been at this hour. 
 
 But he took the one on the left, which led us down a 
 little hill toward a river. After another mile the stream 
 appeared, but there was no bridge across it. The road 
 went no farther. As we reached this spot the horns were 
 blowing louder than ever. The clamours of a number 
 of men on horseback could be heard plainer and plainer. 
 There could no longer be any doubt ; they were in pursuit 
 and about to overtake us. The spare man and the ragged 
 woman and the wretched children certainly understood 
 what was going on, for they quickly abandoned horse, 
 cart, boxes and all their possessions and threw themselves 
 into the water, swam across, and two minutes later could 
 be seen running away at full speed on the other bank of 
 the river. 
 
 I remained alone in the gypsy cart, alone with Polichi- 
 nelle. A few minutes later my father, for he was among 
 the men on horseback, found us lying down quietly in 
 the rear of the cart. I had been found. I was taken 
 back home. I do not know whether they said anything 
 to Polichinelle, but I do know that they said something 
 to me. And I also know very well that if the gypsy who 
 had kidnapped me had taken the road on the right, which 
 disappeared in the mountain mazes, I should never have 
 been found. Que diablel What should I have been 
 doing now? 
 
 The above episode is the only one of any importance. 
 All the remainder is monotonous. I never went to school, 
 much less to any tiniversity. My young days were 
 spent entirely in the large ancestral chateau, in the shade 
 
8 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 of the wild forest. I read and worked but little. I 
 walked a great deal. My memory, which all my lifetime 
 has been my powerful and precious atixiliary, was formed 
 almost entirely alone. It was innate and natural. It 
 required no training. 
 
 In my father's room there used to be an enormous 
 stick with a gold knob which I always admired and 
 envied. Every time I saw it I used to ask for it ; I longed 
 to have it and keep it. 
 
 One day my father said to me : 
 
 "Listen, I will give you this stick if to-morrow you 
 recite to me by heart the legend of ' Kosros the Wise.' " 
 
 That was a way of getting rid of me, for the Hungarian 
 legend of "Kosros the Wise" is quite as long as 
 Shakespeare's "Hamlet," and Sir Henry Irving will tell 
 you that twenty-four hours constitute a very short time 
 for one to learn "Hamlet." 
 
 Nevertheless, the following day I went to my father's 
 room, and without a mistake or hesitation I recited to him 
 all the wonderful legend, from the day when the daughter 
 of Kosros chose as husband Pryemilas, a mere labourer, 
 imtil the day when his sister Wlaska, at the head of an 
 army of Amazons, won, with the aid of the Czechs, the 
 battle of the White Mountain. 
 
 The stick with the gold knob became my property. 
 I did not keep it. But, thank Heaven, I kept my 
 memory. 
 
 At the age of fifteen, after a somewhat rudimentary 
 education that, nevertheless, included various poetic 
 legends, which I learned whenever I had a longing for some 
 of the paternal belongings, my father decided that I should 
 travel. He supplied me with money and gave me as 
 
EARLY YOUTH 9 
 
 companion a tutor who had taken his degree of doctor 
 of philosophy. I started out one morning on foot, and 
 was soon lost in the distance, en route for unknown parts. 
 
 I think I must have travelled through the whole of the 
 immense Empire of Austria. It was not, at that time, 
 what civilisation has made of it at the present day. In 
 the distant or frontier provinces superstition and fanati- 
 cism reigned supreme. During my long peregrinations I 
 had some striking examples of both, and they have left 
 on my mind an indelible impression. 
 
 Not very far from my native village was a quiet little 
 country town called Griinberg. Any travellers who 
 might nowadays venture to explore this little out-of-the- 
 world nook of Bohemia would notice, close by a peaceful 
 pool, an old church, an odd mixture of all styles of archi- 
 tecture. It is a very poor, modest little church, but it 
 possesses a life-size statue of St. John in massive silver. 
 Curiously enough, this statue has only one arm, and one 
 would be inclined to protest against this willful mutila- 
 tion if it were not connected with a strange incident of 
 which I was a witness. 
 
 The day after I had left my father's chateau I arrived 
 at Grunberg and found the town in the wildest state 
 of excitement. The statue of St. John had been stolen 
 a week before, and the whole country was searching 
 for it. The Bishop of Klattau had ordered proces- 
 sions in all the neighbouring districts, and every 
 day the priest of St, John's, an old man, but upright and 
 of commanding appearance, besought his parishioners 
 to tell what they knew of the theft. 
 
 I have already spoken of a small pool which is near 
 the church. This pool was surrounded by a bank, which 
 
lo MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 was very steep on the side near the water ; at the top of 
 which was a narrow path. The procession was about to 
 take place just as I arrived, and in order to reach the other 
 side of the pool it had to walk for about two hundred 
 yards along this narrow path at the top of the bank. 
 
 At the head of the procession was the old priest, pray- 
 ing as he walked along, and carrying a second relic, which 
 was almost as much venerated as the statue. 
 
 Half-way along the path — I can see the whole scene 
 distinctly — the priest stimibled against the roots of a 
 newly planted tree, and before he had time to think of 
 saving it, the cross fell from his hands, glided slowly down 
 the bank and disappeared in the muddy waters of the pool. 
 
 All the people, following the example of the unfortunate 
 ' priest, fell on their knees, their eyes fixed on the spot in 
 the water where the cross had disappeared. 
 
 The dam was at once opened so that the water should 
 not carry the sacred relic away, and every one waited 
 for several hours. At the end of that time, to the delight 
 of all, just as the last water was disappearing through the 
 dam, the cross was seen. And by the side of the cross 
 was the statue — the famous silver statue of St. John. 
 
 A cry of joy rang through the air; the cross and the 
 statue were taken up, and it was then that the disap- 
 pearance of the left arm was discovered. The thieves, 
 whilst waiting for an opportunity of conveying the 
 statue to a safe place, had broken off this arm, which 
 has never been found. 
 
 The people, singing psalms and hymns of thanksgiving 
 as they went along, repaired to the church, in order to 
 replace the venerated statue on the pedestal which for 
 the last week had been deprived of its sacred burden. 
 
EARLY YOUTH ii 
 
 Just as the last individual was entering the church a 
 part of the archway over the door gave way, fell straight 
 on the shoulder of a peasant and cut off his left arm. 
 
 The crowd immediately surrounded the wretched man, 
 yelling : " He's the thief ! He's the thief ! St. John has 
 punished him by cutting off his arm ! " 
 
 There was a terrible rush from all sides. The people 
 attacked the peasant and in a moment his clothes were 
 all in shreds. They were about to drag him along and 
 hurl him into the pool without having asked him 
 a question, or without even hesitating as to whether 
 or not he were the real author of the theft, when the 
 old priest interfered. 
 
 "I, alone, have the right to command here," he said. 
 ** Do not touch that man." 
 
 The crowd fell back a little and the priest continued: 
 "You are in my church," he said, addressing himself to 
 the peasant, "and this is an inviolable and sacred place. 
 No one has a right to touch you here. Stay inside the 
 church and do not leave it, for once outside you belong 
 to human justice." 
 
 And the mutilated peasant remained there. He was 
 in the church all day and all night, and he was still there 
 the following day when I left Grunberg. 
 
 Five years later, when my voyage through Europe was 
 accomplished, as I passed through Grunberg on my way 
 to my native village, I saw, at the door of St. John's 
 Church, an old man who had lost his left arm. He was 
 on his knees at the threshold of the sanctuary, which 
 he had never dared to leave, lest he should be torn to 
 pieces by the people. 
 
 This incident shows the superstition which then reigned 
 
12 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 in certain Austrian provinces. The following episode 
 will show the fanaticism which was dominant. 
 
 One evening after a long journey I reached, with my 
 travelling companion, the Croatian frontier. A drear}^- 
 looking rough road stretched as far as the eye could see 
 alongside the mountain, and poles were placed on the 
 roadside at intervals, just as in France the telegraph 
 poles are seen forming a straight line along the banks of 
 a road. 
 
 At the top of these poles human heads had been fixed, 
 and I shuddered with horror on discovering that as far as 
 one could see there were these poles and these heads. 
 There had been a revolt the week before, and the Governor 
 of the district, who had proved victorious, had decided 
 to make an example and to inspire the population with 
 wholesome fear. 
 
 This Governor I can see distinctly now. I was dining 
 that evening with my tutor in a wretched little inn, on 
 the very borders of the frontier, when he came back from 
 his expedition. He was a sort of bashi-bazouk, with 
 a hooked nose, long, fair mustache, and a face with a 
 hard expression. He had three escorts, the com- 
 manders of each of which appeared to hate each other. 
 
 I could not resist asking him, later on, when he was 
 sitting next to me at table, why he had three escorts. 
 
 "The first one," he answered, "keeps watch on the 
 second, and the third prevents the other two from coming 
 to any understanding with each other." This will give 
 an idea of the social position of a governor of Croatia in 
 the first half of the last century. 
 
 After supper, while the Governor was smoking a long 
 pipe and the officers of the escort were playing at dice, 
 
EARLY YOUTH 13 
 
 we heard, outside, issuing from the darkness, a dismal cry 
 followed by shouts, disputes and fighting. The officers 
 left their dice, and the Governor, mechanically, put his 
 hand to his belt, from which his sword was hanging. 
 
 Upon inquiry we found it was nothing of importance; 
 merely a woman, a kind of fortune-teller, who was going 
 along the road when the bashi-bazouks of the escort 
 had set upon her. The Governor ordered them to bring 
 her in so that she could tell our fortunes. We each of 
 us showed her our hand and she proceeded to foretell the 
 future. I remember the scene with the most astonishing 
 distinctness. In the smoky room with its low ceiling, 
 near to the fire, which was nearly out, the poor creature 
 was intent on the lines of our palms, and in a slow, monot- 
 onous voice she told us her rigmarole. 
 
 When she came to mine, though, she suddenly became 
 more animated, and her dull eyes lighted up a little. 
 
 "Oh!" she exclaimed, "I've never seen a hand like 
 yours. There's a fine fate in store for you." 
 
 "What is it?" I asked. 
 
 "You'll sit down with kings and have princes at your 
 table." She did not tell me any more, but that was 
 quite enough, and all night long I dreamed of nothing 
 but conquests and kingdoms. I tried to imagine all the 
 situations which would allow me to sit down with 
 sovereigns, but I never thought of the only one which 
 could ever enable the prophecy to come true. 
 
 This voyage was to last five years, and five years it 
 lasted. I went through Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy 
 and Switzerland. The most tragic part of it was the 
 return home. 
 
14 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 I was just twenty years of age, and when I approached 
 my native village all the memories of my childhood 
 crowded to my mind. One learns a great many things 
 in a five-years' journey through the world, and one for- 
 gets much also very quickly. Suddenly, at a turn in the 
 road, flanked by the mountain, the Chateau of Blowksy 
 came in sight, and I do not know how it was, but as 
 soon as I saw its old, cracked fagade, so gloomy and 
 dismal-looking, as soon as I glanced at its dark, mys- 
 terious tower, a sort of presentiment took possession 
 of me. 
 
 I hurried on and soon reached the park. It seemed 
 to me that everything looked neglected and rather de- 
 serted. The grass was long, and the meadows appeared 
 to be imtended. I pushed the door open, and a cry 
 rang through the house. It was my mother. 
 
 "Where is father?" I asked anxiously. 
 
 "Here he is," she replied; and, seated by the fire in the 
 large dining-room, I saw him, but he was so changed that I 
 scarcely recognised him. 
 
 When the first excitement of my arrival was over he 
 began to question me. 
 
 "Did not you see any one before you reached the 
 house?" he asked. 
 
 "No one," I replied. 
 
 "And you do not know all that has happened here since 
 you left?" 
 
 "I know nothing," I answered. 
 
 My father's voice trembled slightly as he told me. 
 It was a very ordinary, every-day story. The fortune 
 of the whole family was lost. A notary with whom the 
 greater part of our money had been left had risked it 
 
EARLY YOUTH 15 
 
 in speculations which had turned out badly, and to sum 
 up the matter briefly, we were ruined. 
 
 "You'll have to work for your living," said my father 
 in conclusion. I do not know why, but the thought of 
 the gypsy woman whom I had seen at the Croatian 
 frontier suddenly crossed my mind, and I remembered 
 her prediction. I did not appear at all discouraged; 
 on the contrary, I smiled as I answered my father. 
 
 "All right," I said, "don't you worry yourself about 
 me. I shall be able to earn a living." 
 
 "What do you think of doing?" he asked. 
 
 "I shall start to-morrow for France, and from there go 
 to America. A year ago, when I was in Genoa, I made 
 the acquaintance of one of the leading industrial men of 
 Ohio. He offered me a situation in a big agricultural 
 affair out there. I refused, but I shall go to him now, 
 and I am certain he will give me employment." 
 
 "That's right," said my father; "I see that you have 
 plenty of determination." The evening, however, was 
 very sad, and that night was the last I spent in my father's 
 house. Life was before me, full of chance and unexpected 
 things. I did not fear anything, but bravely decided to 
 venture forth. The farewell moment was even more sad 
 than the evening had been. My mother was in tears, 
 and my father, who was very pale, stood on the terrace 
 until I was out of sight. 
 
 "Good-by," I said, and my last words were, "Perhaps 
 you will never see me again, but I hope you will hear 
 something about me." 
 
 And I plunged into the unknown — into life, 
 
 A few weeks later I arrived at Anglers, in France, on 
 
i6 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 the banks of the Loire, on my way to Havre, where I 
 intended to embark for America. 
 
 I travelled in what the French call a "diligence," 
 which was merely a horrible carriage, badly built, badly 
 appointed, and with wretched horses. If modern 
 civilisation had done nothing but give us railways 
 instead of the diligence, it would deserve the gratitude 
 of all human beings — I mean, of course, of all htmian 
 beings who travel. 
 
 My particular diligence went along that wonderful 
 and admirable road which all English and Americans 
 who have visited France know so well, and which skirts 
 the bank of the Loire. It started from Tours, passed 
 through Anglers, and was to go on to Nantes. At 
 Nantes I intended travelling by water to Havre, where 
 I hoped to embark for the United States. 
 
 As we entered the chief street of Anglers some- 
 thing occurred which was destined to influence my 
 whole career. This was the second incident which 
 decided my fate in life. The first was the wrong road 
 which the gypsies, who had kidnapped me, took to 
 cross the river. This second incident happened in 
 driving over the paving-stones of Anglers when the 
 diligence gave such jolts that the stem of my pipe 
 broke between my teeth. 
 
 My first care in getting out of the conveyance was, of 
 course, to rush to a shop for a new stem. I had scarcely 
 finished this most prosaic transaction when, on leaving the 
 shop, I knocked up against a tall, slight man, with hair 
 just turning gray, who happened to be coming in. I 
 apologised, but the gentleman, after gazing at me intently, 
 suddenly exclaimed: 
 
EARLY YOUTH 17 
 
 "Why, upon my word, I think I recognise you. Are 
 you not young Blowitz?" 
 
 "Certainly." 
 
 "Don't you remember me?" 
 
 "Not at all." 
 
 "I saw you five or six years ago at your father's 
 chateau. I am Coimt Kolowrath, an old friend of your 
 family." 
 
 I remembered now having seen the Count in days 
 gone by, and I recognised him. We talked together a few 
 minutes, and I told him the sad events that had taken 
 place at our home in Bohemia. He took the greatest 
 interest in my story, and insisted on my letting the 
 diligence continue its journey without me, and delaying 
 my departure for a day. He was only passing through 
 Anglers and lived in Paris, where he was very intimate 
 with all the political men of the day. 
 
 The result of our meeting was that I did not start for 
 America the next day, nor yet the day after, nor even 
 the week after, but I went with him to Paris. 
 
 Serious events were then taking place there. A 
 republic — the Republic of 1848 — had succeeded the 
 monarchy of King Louis Philippe. I was too much 
 interested in all that was going on, too much taken up 
 by this political fever, by this overthrowing of a govern- 
 ment and by this destruction of old-established institu- 
 tions, to think of going to America. I remained in 
 Paris, and I obser\^ed what was happening around me. 
 
 I must now make a confession to my readers. Nature, 
 cities and countries have never had much attraction for 
 me. The stone facades of houses, picture galleries, the 
 sculpture of public buildings and monuments, the clever 
 
1 8 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 arrangement of gardens, all these things have very 
 rarely captured my attention. That which appeals to me 
 and which I am always searching for is the soul which 
 is concealed behind the silent immobility of things — it is 
 life and movement which interest me. I have spent hours 
 contemplating a crowd, studying its agitation, taking 
 note of its continual motion. And what life, what 
 movement, what a crowd there was, there before me, in 
 this Paris, which is the brain of one of the leading countries 
 of the world, and toward which came ebbing all the 
 passions, all the anger, all the aspirations of a whole 
 race and of a whole nation ! 
 
 Count Kolowrath did not abandon me, but introduced 
 me to some of the influential French persons with whom 
 he was on friendly terms. Among the number were 
 M. Thiers and M. de Falloux, the latter of whom was 
 destined to have such an admirable career as a statesman, 
 and who was the veritable organiser of Public Instruction 
 in France. M. de Falloux was very curious about men 
 and things in foreign lands; he always talked willingly 
 with me, and he invited me to private literary gatherings, 
 at which lectures were given on the most varied subjects. 
 One day I received from M. de Falloux an invitation card 
 
 on which were the following words : " M " (a name 
 
 which I have forgotten) "will speak on literature in 
 Germany and Provence." I went to this soiree and, on 
 arriving, I found M. de Falloux, usually so calm and so 
 reserved, in a great state of excitement and nervousness. 
 
 I inquired what was the matter. 
 
 M. de Falloux told me that his lecturer had not yet 
 arrived and that he feared he would not now come. 
 
 "I am very much annoyed," he said, "as several of 
 
EARLY YOUTH 19 
 
 my guests had been looking forward to hearing him 
 discuss this question, and I fear they will be disappointed." 
 
 An idea flashed through my mind. "Why not get 
 some one immediately to take the lecturer's place?" 
 I suggested. 
 
 "That would not be very easy," replied M. de 
 Falloux. 
 
 "Will you let me try?" I asked. "I know very little 
 about Provence, or, to speak frankly, I don't know 
 anything at all, but I am very well up in German literature 
 and I would do my utmost not to bore your guests." 
 
 M. de Falloux smiled ; he was very much amused. 
 
 "Agreed," he said, " and I am very much obliged." 
 
 Five minutes later, with plenty of assurance, I was 
 discussing German literature and its connection with the 
 literature of Provence. I compared, quoted and analysed 
 examples. I was witty, evidently, for my audience 
 laughed a great deal; and I was even eloquent, for I 
 was applauded. 
 
 When I had finished a lady approached me and in the 
 most affected way said: "Oh, monsieur, there are, 
 perhaps, several things to find fault with in what you say 
 about German literature, but all that you said about 
 the literature of Provence was perfect. One can see 
 how thoroughly you know that country." 
 
 M. de Falloux, who was standing near, burst 
 out laughing, and then, shaking hands, thanked me 
 heartily and, drawing me aside, said: "What an 
 admirable lecturer on foreign literature you would 
 make!" 
 
 "If ever you become Minister," I answered, "I will 
 take you at your word, and ask you for a professorship." 
 
20 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 "Agreed," he said; "yours shall be the first appoint- 
 ment I make." 
 
 And it happened as he had said, for M. de Falloux, 
 on becoming Minister of Public Instruction, appointed 
 the yoimg man, who had been seen having his pipe 
 mended in one of the shops of Anglers, to a professorship 
 of foreign literature in that very city. 
 
 I was not destined to stay very long in Anglers, though, 
 nor in the University. In 1856 I was appointed to the 
 chair of foreign literature at Marseilles. It was there that 
 I met the lady who became my wife, and who, as the 
 companion of my life for thirty -five years, was with me 
 always, through good and through evil days. She was 
 French, and her father, M. Amaud d'Agnel had been 
 Paymaster in the Navy; her uncle on her father's side 
 had been a Brigadier. Her mother belonged to an old 
 aristocratic family of the Var, and her maternal imcle was 
 connected with the Bourbon family. 
 
 Our marriage took place in 1858, and it was not until 
 twelve years later that I embraced the career which was 
 to be the veritable passion of my life. 
 
 Some of these twelve years were spent in commercial 
 affairs, for I had always had the mania of believing 
 myself very clever in mechanics. I had invented a 
 machine for combing flax at great speed. I began by 
 buying a workshop large enough to hold the machine, 
 and the next thing I did was to have the said machine 
 constructed, at great expense. 
 
 When everything was ready I gave a big fete, in 
 order to celebrate the success of my invention. 
 Every one came for miles rotmd, and more than a 
 thousand persons were present. They all congratulated 
 
MADAME DE BLOWITZ 
 From a photograph inide during the last year of her Ufe 
 
EARLY YOUTH 21 
 
 me, drank champagne, looked at the machine, and 
 admired it. 
 
 When the reception was over, the guests gone and the 
 champagne glasses empty, I thought the moment had 
 arrived for trying the machine and setting it in motion. 
 
 As everything was ready and the steam up, I said 
 to the engineer: "Go!" and I myself turned the 
 tap which was to set it in motion. There was imme- 
 diately a most formidable detonation. Everything 
 blew up in the air, the window panes were all broken, 
 and I was thrown violently down, whilst a great iron 
 bolt struck my forehead. 
 
 I was picked up for dead, and it was owing to my 
 wife's nursing that I was able to get about again three 
 weeks later, cured of my wound, and still more effectually 
 cured of my industrial inventions. Never from that time 
 forth have I attempted to set any machinery in motion. 
 
 It is with this incident that my reminiscences of early 
 youth come to an end. It has required a certain effort 
 on my part to recall them, first, because I do not care 
 to dwell on those far-olf days of the past, and, secondly, 
 because I have been obliged to put myself constantly in 
 the foreground, instead of speaking about the events 
 with which I have been connected and the men with 
 whom I have come in contact. 
 
 In my next chapter I shall endeavour to retrace some 
 of these events, and describe some of these men, who, 
 one and all, belong to the history of the nineteenth 
 century. 
 
 But, such as they are, without order and without 
 coherence, the few lines I have written may at least have 
 a certain philosophical value. They will show that great 
 
22 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 results may sometimes spring from very slight causes, j 
 
 and that in order to become a journalist of note in the J 
 
 world very little is often all that is required— just j 
 
 a pipe to break at the right moment on a journey. i 
 
CHAPTER II 
 How I Became a Journalist 
 
 In 1869, the second French Empire was beginning to 
 show signs of yielding to the numerous and combined 
 assaults of the liberal opposition. When a throne has 
 been seized by a bold stroke, when it has been retained by 
 repression, when the hold over the country is dependent 
 on the docile vote of the unthinking masses, there can 
 be no abandonment of the absolute prerogatives the 
 ruler has bestowed on himself. The slightest concession 
 becomes a weapon in the hands of the assailant, and 
 the autocratic fortress only remains impregnable so long 
 as no breach can be made. 
 
 In 1869 the torrent of the opposition had been dashing 
 for seventeen years against the foundations of the Second 
 Empire, and the attentive eye could already discover 
 some of the breaches that were being made in the fortifica- 
 tions which surrounded the throne of Napoleon III. At 
 Paris, however, the central power remained under great 
 illusions, and played with the fire of liberal reform. In 
 the provinces, on the contrary, the representatives of 
 the Government felt that their power was diminishing. 
 They were constantly colliding with audacious oppo- 
 nents, and in consequence of the opposition they met 
 they became more overbearing, more tyrannical, and, 
 for that very reason, more unpopular. From this 
 
 23 
 
24 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 syllogistic circle there was no retreat or escape except 
 by revolution or reaction. 
 
 For many years I had now been living at Marseilles. 
 I had married, as I told my readers in a preceding 
 chapter, a lady, a native of the great southern French 
 city. But at that time I was not yet naturalised, and I 
 considered it almost a duty to stand aloof from the 
 domestic politics of France. Nevertheless, as my marriage 
 inevitably brought me into contact with certain persons, 
 I was supposed by everybody to belong to the Legitimist 
 party, at the time militant around me. 
 
 The elections of 1869 were close at hand. It was 
 apparent that the contest would be a violent one in the 
 extreme. All sides were preparing for the fight. The 
 opposition formed a league called "The Liberal Union," 
 within which there was room made for the three parties 
 — the Legitimists, the Orleanists, and the Democrats. 
 The Government did what it could to strengthen its posi- 
 tion. It reinforced its Prefects; it decorated with the 
 Legion of Honour its chief political supporters, and 
 dismissed auxiliaries of whom it was not sure. In the 
 great centres it established newspapers to all appearances 
 violently democratic, but the real purpose of which was to 
 sow dissension among the parties forming the Liberal 
 Union. 
 
 During the day the editors or their staff wrote articles 
 denouncing the Empire and the Royalist party. At 
 night these same journalists repaired to the Prefectures 
 to receive their instructions. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs throughout France and 
 more especially at Marseilles. In that city the candi- 
 dature of M. de Lesseps, in opposition to M. Thiers and 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 25 
 
 M. Gambetta, was very popular. Gambetta and his 
 pretensions were made the subject of endless jokes and 
 laughter on the part of the pseudo-democratic official 
 press. M. de Lessep's candidature was represented as 
 quite independent. Therein resided his only chance 
 of success, for if there had been a suspicion that it was 
 official, his position would have been irremediably 
 compromised. 
 
 Strange to say, I was the man who almost unwittingly 
 dealt the fatal blow to his chances. Even at this time of 
 my life the uncontrollable desire to get at the bottom 
 of sensational reports haunted me. While it was strongly 
 suspected at Marseilles that M. de Lesseps was an official 
 candidate, and while the Government was making every 
 effort to prove the contrary, one of my friends had gone 
 to Egypt. I kept up a correspondence with him. In 
 v/riting to me he recounted with much detail incidents 
 which threw a strong light on the whole subject. An 
 orderly officer of the Emperor had arrived in Egypt. 
 A special train was placed at his disposal by Ismail 
 Pasha. This officer lost no time in posting on to ]\I. de 
 Lesseps. At the urgent request, and in compliance 
 with an almost formal order, of the Emperor, the construc- 
 tor of the Suez Canal, who, as such, had already become 
 popular, consented to become a candidate for Marseilles. 
 
 Without considering the consequences, I lost no time 
 in communicating this information to one of my friends 
 — ^the editor of a Legitimist newspaper. The news burst 
 like a tempest on the public of Marseilles, and swept away 
 in its irresistible whirl the candidature of M. de Lesseps. 
 
 The very next day the Socialist newspaper, in obedience 
 to orders, made an incredibly violent attack on me. I 
 
2 6 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 was terrified at what I had done. I was somewliat in the 
 position of an elephant from whose back a cannon has been 
 discharged, and which first feels the shock without know- 
 ing whence it comes. I was a foreigner without protection, 
 at the mercy of a Government still feared. My friends 
 begged me to take no notice of the abominable calumnies 
 directed against me by the sham-democratic newspaper, 
 which for years afterward was the source of the abuse 
 poured upon me. I was simple-minded enough to bring 
 an action against it in the law courts. I won my case, 
 but by that time the newspaper had ceased to appear, and 
 the editor, as a reward for his electioneering services, 
 had obtained the post of Sub-Prefect in an out-of-the-way 
 district of the Basses-Alpes. 
 
 In the election, M. de Lesseps had the support of a 
 wretched minority; and it was M. Gambetta who, to the 
 surprise of everybody, was returned by a majority of two 
 to one. 
 
 He entered the Corps Legislatif triumphantly. The 
 journal and its editor disappeared, but the defeated 
 Prefect survived, and it was on me that he sought to 
 avenge himself. 
 
 In a long report, which I have since been able to peruse, 
 he applied for my expulsion from France. Scarcely an 
 hour after it was written he saw my wife in the street, 
 and was not ashamed to hold out to her the very hand 
 which had just signed that miserable denunciation. The 
 same evening I was informed of the fact, and hurried off 
 to Paris to ward off its consequences. 
 
 M. Thiers, whom I had met very often on my arrival in 
 France at the house of M. de Falloux and at Cotmt Kolow- 
 rath's, took the matter in hand, and the demand for my 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 27 
 
 expulsion was put aside. My friends advised, nay, 
 besought me to leave Marseilles, and toward the end of 
 1869 I followed their advice and retired to a small 
 estate in the Drome, near Valence. 
 
 Such was my first experience in journalism, and it 
 might easily have caused me to abandon the career. 
 
 I lived for some months in my retreat, and to pass the 
 time I read a great deal, not only books but newspapers 
 of France, Germany and northern Europe. I had nothing 
 else to do. 
 
 When the Hohenzollem question came up, I wrote 
 regularly to M. Thiers, giving him the news which reached 
 me. He continued to show me great good-will. I 
 knew that since the hurried conclusion of peace between 
 Prussia and Austria, in 1866, the Germans expected a 
 conflict with France, and were preparing for it. I knew 
 that the southern States of Germany were under the 
 watchful and suspicious surveillance of Prussia, and I 
 also knew that if there should be war the result would 
 cruelly disappoint the hopes of France. I never ceased 
 writing to this effect, and bringing facts confirming my 
 opinions to the knowledge of M. Thiers, whose own 
 experience had led him to similar conclusions. 
 
 When the war broke out I contemplated with terror, 
 from my retreat, the complete and fatal ignorance preva- 
 lent in France, and the false feeling of security which 
 was to be so promptly and terribly dispelled. 
 
 One piece of disastrous news rapidly followed another — 
 Reichshofen; Spiekem; the abandonment of the first 
 lines of defense; the retreat; the admitted want of food, 
 anus and supplies; the telegrams of MacMahon, "I am 
 defeated; send me, supplies"; and lastly, the astounding 
 
28 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 despatch from Napoleon III.: "We have been sur- 
 prised in the very act of forming. The enemy had also 
 mitrailleuses." All this left no doubt as to the future 
 toward which France was drifting. 
 
 On September 2nd came the disaster of Sedan, immedi- 
 ately followed by the fall of the Empire. 
 
 The Republic was proclaimed. 
 
 i\.s soon as the new regime began to work I applied for 
 my naturalisation papers. My request was complied with. 
 Some weeks later I became a French citizen, and I 
 received, at the time, a letter from M. Adolphe Cremieux, 
 then Minister of Justice, which ran as follows : 
 
 "Your application for naturalisation, in the midst of 
 our great disasters appears to me as the signal of a new 
 life for us. A country which, in the midst of such 
 catastrophes, recruits citizens like you is not to be 
 despaired of." 
 
 As always happens, having been persecuted by the 
 Empire, I was now ranked in the now dominant party, 
 and those who had stood aloof from me now showed 
 a great desire to be on better terms with me. 
 
 I returned to Marseilles. 
 
 I found that city in a lamentable and grotesque state 
 of anarchy. Numerous associations had been hastily 
 formed under the pretext of making the Germans with- 
 draw from France. One of the leaders had proclaimed 
 himself Commissary of the Government. He had 
 recruited into a noisy and discontented, but purely 
 home-abiding guard, all the "foaming dregs" of Christo- 
 phanes. From that element of roughs, rowdies, loafers, 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 29 
 
 he drew the pretorian group who surrounded him and 
 by means of whom he terrorised the city. 
 
 Toward the latter days of March, 1871, the situation 
 became alarming. The Commune was proclaimed on 
 the 23rd, five days after its official announcement in Paris. 
 A grotesque and lamentable state of anarchy prevailed. 
 The revolutionary forces took possession of the Prefecture. 
 
 The enemies of order flocked in from foreign countries, 
 and terrorists from all parts of the world seemed to have 
 congregated in the town. 
 
 As I had now become a naturalised Frenchman, I felt 
 it my duty to assist my adopted country as well as I 
 could, and I offered my services to General Espivent de 
 la Villeboisnet, who had been entrusted with the difficult 
 task of restoring order. 
 
 The post and telegraph office had been seized by the 
 Revolutionists. They suppressed every suspected letter; 
 they retained every telegram which might have informed 
 the regular Government at Versailles of the frightful 
 state of affairs prevailing in the great southern city. 
 
 I had just let a flat, in a house belonging to my wife, 
 to the Eastern Telegraph Company, which had a special 
 wire to Oran. I had a private interview with the local 
 manager of the Eastern Telegraph Company, and obtained 
 from him permission to make a junction between his wire 
 and that of the Versailles Government. Then one 
 night, when the insurgent officials at the Marseilles 
 post-office thought they had entire control of the wires, 
 I threw a ladder from a neighbouring house, reached by 
 the roofs the offices of the Eastern Telegraph Company, 
 and opened a secret and direct communication with the 
 outside world. 
 
30 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 The Lyons office replied to me, and put me in communi- 
 cation with Versailles. 
 
 I immediately informed the Government of the doings 
 of the Communists. 
 
 M. Thiers fully realised the danger. If the Commune 
 triumphed in Marseilles, the whole of the south of France 
 would rise against his Government. 
 
 Accordingly, in reply to my first telegram, M. Thiers 
 gave orders to the effect that General Espivent de la 
 Villeboisnet must at any price restore order in the town. 
 
 Two days later, on April 5th, the regular troops, which 
 had been concentrated at Aubagne, near Marseilles, burst 
 into the town and recaptured the Prefecture, which had 
 become the headquarters of the insurgents. 
 
 I need not enter here into the details of that terrible 
 day. Everybody did his duty, and I was, I trust, no 
 exception to the rule. Be this as it may, twenty-four 
 hours later the battle was won, and the Commune of 
 Marseilles was extinguished. 
 
 General Espivent and my comrades of the loyal 
 National Guard appointed me to report personally to 
 M. Thiers, at Versailles, what had taken place, as, having 
 been an eye-witness, I could narrate the facts better 
 than any one else. Accordingly on April 6th I set out 
 for Versailles. 
 
 On my arriving there, after informing M. Barth61emy 
 Saint-Hilaire, then General Secretary of the Government, 
 of the mission entrusted to me, he made an appointment 
 with me at his residence for the following morning. He 
 then took me at once to M. Thiers. 
 
 The President of the Republic was in a very simply 
 furnished room. In one of the corners was a narrow, 
 
 li 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 31 
 
 low camp-bed, covered with brown leather. The floor 
 was littered with maps; and M. Thiers was on his knees 
 poring over a plan of Paris, 
 
 He looked up and, on recognising me, said without 
 rising: "Oh, yes, you have come from Marseilles; but I 
 have no time at present to hear your report. You must 
 go and see Calmon." And he became again engrossed 
 in the map of Paris. 
 
 I therefore saw M. Calmon, Under-Secretary at the 
 Ministry of the Interior. He listened rather heedlessly 
 to what I said, for he cared much less to know those who 
 had done their duty than the men who had neglected 
 it. I therefore cut short what I had intended telling and 
 hurriedly left him. 
 
 I was quite discouraged, I bitterly regretted having 
 vainly undertaken a long journey and exposed myself to 
 such a disappointment, and I felt that my best course 
 would be to return to Marseilles. 
 
 Two days later I returned to take leave of M. Thiers. 
 He came forward and welcomed me in a more friendly 
 way. 
 
 "My reception was not encouraging to you the other 
 day," he said, "but I was then in the deepest anxiety. 
 I thought all was lost. Now I know that we shall get over 
 this trial. I feel more master of myself than I did the 
 other day, and I am ready to hear what you have to 
 tell me. I am aware of the great services you have 
 rendered us. I have received letters from friends at 
 Marseilles which leave no doubt as to that." 
 
 He then put a number of questions to me, and I de- 
 scribed to him the events that had taken place, both in 
 their burlesque and in their gloomy aspects. He seemed 
 
32 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 to be very much interested in my narrative, and when I 
 had finished he asked me : 
 
 "Well, what are you going to do now?" 
 
 "I have come, Monsieur le President, to bid you fare- 
 well. I am going home to-morrow, as I have left my 
 family in the South." 
 
 "Do not go away," he said briskly. "Stay here a 
 little longer. Come again and tell me what you are 
 doing. I will soon let you know in what way you can 
 be useful to us." 
 
 I yielded to M. Thiers's desire. 
 
 Some days later I was able to take a step which had 
 no small influence on my destiny. The siege of Paris, by 
 the Versailles troops, was nearing its end. I had gone to 
 Brimborion to see the batteries shelling the Communists. 
 In a casemate near the batteries a young American 
 lady was looking through a loophole. We discussed the 
 events which were taking place, and in the midst of our 
 conversation, on looking again through the hole, the 
 young lady exclaimed : 
 
 "What is this? Look here! Some one is waving a 
 white flag over the ramparts." 
 
 I took up my glasses and saw that a white flag was 
 being waved violently and that there was a great stir 
 among the soldiers encamped all about the Seine, while 
 large columns were marching forward. 
 
 The demon of journalism took hold of me. I turned to 
 the young American lady (whom I have never since met) 
 and said to her: "Please remain here and be good 
 enough to notice attentively all that happens. I shall 
 be back in half an hour. ' ' 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 37, 
 
 I left the casemate and rushed to the Sevres road, 
 where I had left my cab. I said to the driver, "To the 
 Versailles Prefecture as fast as you can." 
 
 I had the good luck to arrive in the courtyard of the 
 Prefecture at the very moment M. Thiers was taking his 
 daily "constitutional." 
 
 I ran up to him exclaiming, "Monsieur le President, 
 the troops are entering Paris." 
 
 M. Thiers gave a sudden start. "Where do you come 
 from?" he asked. 
 
 "From Brimborion. A man is waving a white flag 
 on the ramparts, and the troops are now moving 
 onward." 
 
 Ten minutes afterward M. Thiers was leaving Versailles 
 in a carriage on the road to Paris. 
 
 Some days later he sent for me and made me tell in 
 detail all that had occurred. He was very much in- 
 terested and he said : 
 
 "It is a latest news department that would best suit 
 you. In a day or two I think I shall be able to tell you 
 something about your future career." 
 
 When I saw him again he told me he was thinking 
 of giving me a consulate. 
 
 " It will only be for a start," he said. " I am going to 
 send yoti to Riga as Consul-General, but depend upon it, 
 you will not remain there long." 
 
 I concluded that the affair was settled, and began to 
 study the situation of Riga. But M. Thiers had reckoned 
 without his host. M. Meurand was then at the nend of 
 the French Foreign Office. He jealously guarded the 
 consular fortress against the invasion of any outsider, 
 and when M. Thiers proposed me for the post at Riga, 
 
34 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 M. Meurand did not openly oppose him, but postponed 
 the appointment. Later on he proposed to M. Thiers 
 to send me to Rustchuk. M. Thiers refused and two 
 months passed by, M. Thiers insisting all the time upon 
 my being sent to Riga, and M. Meurand persisting in his 
 idea of sending me to Rustchuk. I was quite disheartened. 
 
 A few weeks later, however, some consolation was 
 afforded me. It came about as follows : One morning a 
 friend of mine came in great haste to my house. He said : 
 
 "Do you know you have been decorated for having 
 rendered exceptional services?" 
 
 The Official Journal, in fact, after announcing my 
 nomination, used the following words: "Gave evidence 
 of the most disinterested devotion to the cause of 
 order — exposed himself to the greatest danger on the 
 4th of April in conveying the orders that had been 
 entrusted to him." 
 
 I take this opportunity of reproducing the above 
 words, for they show exactly why my decoration was 
 granted. Let them be remembered by those who, 
 when I am no more, may have to defend my memory, 
 should it ever be attacked. 
 
 As soon as communications with Paris had been opened 
 I went into the town. I made several calls, but one of my 
 principal visits was for my old and dear friend, Mr. 
 Frederick Marshall, whose eldest daughter was at the 
 time very ill. Of her let me say one word. She was a 
 girl of fifteen, of high spirits, and of bright and poetic 
 beauty, with qualities of heart and soul which made her 
 too good for this commonplace world. 
 
 It was at this house I met, for the first time, Laurence 
 Oliphant, then the special correspondent of the Times 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 35 
 
 Sitting with him for hours near the couch of the sick 
 girl, I soon yielded to the charm which Oliphant inspired 
 in all who had the good fortune to have any intercourse 
 with him. He had come to France in compliance with an 
 order from the head of the sect to which he then belonged, 
 the " Brethren of the New Life. " He fulfilled his mission 
 with the ardent docility of a well-initiated and sincere 
 disciple, and from the somewhat lofty standpoint of a man 
 who had drunk too deeply of the sweets of life not to 
 despise them. His observations were sharp and severe, 
 but his political doctrines were of unswerving rectitude, 
 and his judgments on men and things were both caustic 
 and infallible. His letters in the Times were read with 
 avidity, combining as they did accurate observation with 
 a lively style. This, at all events, is what I have heard, 
 for I never read them myself. 
 
 On July 2ist — the date is an historical one for me — my 
 dear friend, Mr. Frederick Marshall, came and told me : 
 "Something has just happened which may interest you. 
 Mr. Hardman, who is the colleague of Laurence Oliphant, 
 the special correspondent of the Times, has just left 
 Paris and will not return for a fortnight. Oliphant is 
 very much inconvenienced. He cannot be both at 
 Versailles and Paris, and he is looking out for some one 
 who could at least do a part of Hardman's work. I 
 thought the post would suit you, as you see M. Thiers 
 daily, and you complain of not having enough to do." 
 
 " You are right," I replied. " I not only like your pro- 
 posal, but you are doing me a real favour, for in this way 
 I can see M. Thiers without the unpleasant necessity of 
 reminding him of his promises." 
 
 Marshall lost no time in conveying my reply to Oliphant, 
 
36 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 who was much pleased. We all three met. Then 
 Oliphant, who had not yet broached the subject to 
 me, explained to me the duties discharged by Hard- 
 man and requested me to begin the following day. I 
 listened attentively to what he said, but he saw that I 
 felt some difficulty which I did not venture to express. 
 
 Finally he said: "You seem to hesitate. Did you 
 expect me to speak about the remuneration ?" 
 
 "Not at all," I promptly replied. "In this case it is 
 not a question of money, I can assure you ; it is something 
 more embarrassing. Before beginning I should like to 
 see a copy of the Times'' 
 
 Both looked at me in amazement. 
 
 "What?" exclaimed Oliphant, "you do not know the 
 Times f 
 
 "Excuse me," I replied, "I know the Times very well. 
 I know quite well what it is. I have a friend at Marseilles 
 who concludes all his political discussions with the words : 
 ' There can be no question about that ; the Times says so.' 
 The phrase has become proverbial among his friends. 
 But I have long been living in the somewhat remote 
 southern departments and I have never seen a copy of 
 the paper." 
 
 Oliphant broke into loud laughter. He went out of 
 the room and came back with a copy of the Times, con- 
 taining some twenty pages, which he spread out on the 
 floor, covering the best part of the carpet with it. I was 
 dumbfounded. 
 
 "A friend of mine," I said, "always told me I ou^jht to 
 write in a roomy daily paper. I think that size would 
 satisfy him." 
 
 Mr. Oliphant then explained to me the mechanism of 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 37 
 
 the paper — the telegrams; the leaders; the record of 
 Parliamentary proceedings; the law and police reports; 
 the money market and commercial intelligence; the 
 foreign correspondence; the letters to the editor; the 
 court circular and fashionable news; the reports and 
 speeches out of Parliament and the sermons by eminent 
 preachers; the paragraphs; the literary, dramatic, 
 musical and artistic criticisms; the column of births, 
 deaths and marriages; the meteorological reports and 
 storm warnings; the sporting news, including horse- 
 races, yachting, cricket matches, etc. ; the articles on 
 geographical discoveries and on scientific questions; 
 and the reviews of important books. 
 
 I was shown the long, compact columns of advertise- 
 ments, all carefully scrutinised, classified and arranged 
 under headings, where supply and demand are brought 
 into juxtaposition with the regularity of machine work; 
 where no advertisement unworthy of the newspaper is 
 at any price inserted, precautions being taken to insure 
 the good faith of the advertiser. All this explained to me 
 the success of the great English newspapers, how they 
 came into possession of the vast resources at their disposal, 
 and the benefits they confer on the people for whom they 
 are at once a curb, a power, a stimulant and a glory. 
 I was delighted to find employment, even for a time, 
 on the greatest of such journals. 
 
 The following day I went to Versailles. I found 
 M. Thiers in a very irritable state of mind. He was 
 indignant with all French political parties. He accused 
 the Royalists of perfidy, the Republicans of ingratitude 
 and the Bonapartists of imprudence. I left him without 
 da.ring to speak of my new occupation, but on reflecting 
 
38 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 on what he had said I drew up a note which I sent to 
 Mr. Oliphant. He was very much pleased with it. 
 
 "A genuine hit," he said. "There is not a word to 
 alter in it. You are a bom journalist." 
 
 He then sent off my first telegram to the Times. The 
 following afternoon, as I was walking along the boule- 
 vards, I bought a copy of the Liberie. In the latest news 
 I saw the telegram I had sent on the previous night under 
 the words, "A telegram from Paris to the Times says." 
 I experienced one of the strongest emotions I ever felt 
 in my life. The power of the telegraph in its connection 
 with journalism flashed upon me at that moment, and I 
 felt I could turn it to account. I then resolved that I 
 would remain in Paris and become a journalist. 
 
 The day after the publication of my first telegram I 
 went to see M, Thiers, not without apprehension. He 
 was awaiting me with impatience. 
 
 "Tell me," he said at once, "how it comes about that 
 the Times, and after it all the French papers, were able 
 to publish a conversation which I had with you when 
 none else was present," 
 
 All hesitation was out of the question, so I told him the 
 truth immediately. It was a most dramatic surprise. 
 He, too, saw at once the power he would gain in an 
 indirect but striking manner by placing his ideas thus 
 before the public mind. At the same time, I think he 
 felt relieved at being able to discontinue his struggle with 
 M. Meurand, who persisted in defending his position 
 with the utmost tenacity. M, Thiers was not over- 
 pleased when I told him that my appointment was 
 temporary. 
 

J 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 39 
 
 The conversation I had with him supplied me with 
 matter for a new telegram and for a fresh and no less 
 admirable letter by Oliphant, and it was in this way that 
 we were able to carry on our joint work. Some days 
 afterward I asked permission from M. Thiers to visit 
 with Oliphant the prisons in which the Communists were 
 confined. M. Thiers gladly granted the permission. 
 
 I must explain that Mr. Hardman, carried away by 
 his feelings and without taking into consideration the 
 frightful difficulties the Government of Versailles had 
 to overcome, had, hastily and in perfect good faith, 
 given an account in his letters of these temporary and 
 defective makeshift buildings, which had produced a 
 deep impression on public opinion all over Europe. M. 
 Thiers was delighted to see us set right the errors which 
 had found their way into these letters. Accompanied 
 by Colonel Gaillard, who at that time assisted General 
 Appert, we went through the prisons of the Orangerie, 
 the Chantiers, and the camp of Satory, where the 
 Communists were confined. 
 
 General Appert, who afterward discharged the duties 
 of Russian Ambassador in a way which gained for him 
 general esteem, was at that time entrusted with the 
 organisation and direction of the temporary prisons. 
 He displayed in this capacity all the humanity com- 
 patible with the circumstances. The events had taken 
 everybody by surprise. Each day that passed between 
 the 2ist and the 26th of May, the incendiary fires, the 
 massacres and the fusillades — the most horrible episode 
 in modern history — had sent swarms of captives to 
 Versailles. It had been impossible to do otherwise than 
 huddle them together. 
 
40 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 When we visited the prison the Commune was not 
 finished. It appeared to us hideous, grotesque and 
 sublime. In the prisons of the Chantiers we saw a 
 young woman squatting on the floor who attracted 
 special attention. 
 
 She was one of the most beautiful women I have ever 
 seen. Her long black tresses fell over her bare shoulders, 
 and as she had torn her dress to shreds, not to wear the 
 clothes of the "accursed Versaillaise, " one could see her 
 naked body through the rents. She was tall and graceful, 
 and on the approach of visitors she reared her head 
 proudly, like a war-horse about to neigh. Her bright 
 eyes glistened; a blush overspread her face. She com- 
 pressed her lips, ground her teeth, and burst into a shrill, 
 defiant, vindictive laugh when she recognised the officer 
 of the prison who accompanied us. In the last struggle 
 of the Commune she had been fighting at the side of 
 her lover. She had seen him fall and, armed with a 
 dagger, had rushed upon the Captain who had just taken 
 the barricade and furiously stabbed him, plunging her 
 weapon again and again into her victim. Before she 
 could be removed from his body she had cut, bitten and 
 torn it with all the fury of a hyena. She was taken to 
 the prison covered with blood, which she had dabbled 
 over her body and clothes. She had to be bound and 
 gagged before she would allow the blood to be washed 
 off. Hideous ! 
 
 At Satory, while we were passing through the camp, 
 one of the prisoners, jauntily and with a smile on his face, 
 came up to Colonel Gaillard. I never saw a more ridicu- 
 lous caricature. He was thin, bony and narrow-should- 
 ered. His head was compressed, and his features looked 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 41 
 
 as if they had not been meant for the same face. He 
 was in rags, but he wore, like a Castilian beggar, soiled 
 linen — on which it would have been necessary to write, 
 "This is a shirt" — a long, loose overcoat, and a dilapi- 
 dated tall hat. He was a student nicknamed "Pipe-en- 
 Bois," who had discharged the duties of secretary to the 
 Delegate of Foreign Affairs. On one occasion he had 
 offered a pot of beer to Lord Lyons, to pass the time 
 while waiting in the Grand Salon d'Attente at the 
 Quai d'Orsay. The offer had not been accepted, but 
 had been acknowledged with a smile. He came up 
 to Colonel Gaillard. 
 
 "They tell me. Colonel," he said, "that we are to be 
 taken down to be called as witnesses before the court- 
 martial. Can you inform me how long we shall be 
 kept there?" 
 
 "I am sorry I cannot, as I do not know," was the 
 Colonel's courteous reply. 
 
 "Excuse the liberty I took," continued Pipe-en-Bois, 
 drawing together his overcoat; "it was only to know 
 what linen would be required." 
 
 Grotesque ! 
 
 The Commune was also sublime. A prisoner, a man, had 
 been captured with arms in his hands, was imprisoned 
 and condemned to death. His wife made heroic efforts 
 to save him, and succeeded in securing the sympathy of 
 a man who had influence in those times. Her husband 
 was saved from capital pimishment, and was condemned 
 to transportation. Left alone and abandoned, without 
 resources, she had formed an intimacy with the man 
 who had saved her husband. After living for years with 
 this lover, to whom she was deeply attached, she 
 
42 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 besought him to apply for a pardon for her husband. 
 Although he felt that he was destroying her happiness 
 and his own, he did so. The husband returned full of 
 love for the wife who had saved him from execution and 
 procured his liberation. On the way home, however, he 
 learned the truth. He changed his name, disappeared, 
 and lived in hiding for many years. Then, when divorce 
 became possible in France, he wrote to his wife : "Apply 
 for a divorce from me ; I will do all I can to secure one 
 for you. Marry him and be happy." 
 
 Sublime ! 
 
 Oliphant wrote admirable letters on this visit, in which 
 he gave a most accurate description of what he saw, 
 and they produced a great impression. The Times 
 then asked permission to send Mr. Charles Austin, a clever 
 and humorous writer, to the fortified prisons in the 
 south of France as special correspondent, and his com- 
 munications to the paper completely rectified the wrong 
 impressions that had prevailed with respect to the treat- 
 ment of the French political prisoners. 
 
 It was just at the time when my new occupation had 
 the greatest charm for me that Mr, Hardman returned 
 to his duties. It was a hard blow for me to bear. 
 
 M. Thiers thought of applying on my behalf to the 
 Times. He was now accustomed to my visits. I was 
 one of the political elements which gravitated around 
 him. He was imwilling that any change should be 
 made. Oliphant, however, objected to his intervention. 
 He said it would be a sure way of losing all chance of 
 admission on the staff of the paper. M. Thiers accord- 
 ingly abandoned his scheme. 
 
 Riga, this eternal phantom of the snowy North, came 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 43 
 
 once more to the front. This time M. Thiers promised 
 formally to hand me my letter of appointment within 
 eight days. Riga ! It appeared to me now a place of 
 exile. 
 
 I had drunk too deeply of the sweets of a life the very 
 straggles of vv^hich were full of delight. I clung to it. I 
 made some advances to the Paris newspapers. I soon 
 felt that to become a French journalist, talent, even if 
 one has it, does not suffice. Many other qualities are nec- 
 essary, and these I did not possess. Extreme suppleness, 
 readiness in understanding the public taste and in con- 
 forming to it, are indispensable in a French editor. He 
 must possess, besides, the art of repelling a public adver- 
 sary by alarming the individual, skill to command in- 
 fluence by asserting the possession of it, a natural way 
 of using the editorial "we" without a smile, a perfection 
 of style which throws into the shade the interest of the 
 facts and the skill with which they are grouped, a bril- 
 liancy of detail which dazzles and distracts attention, 
 something which is at once aggressive, bold and skeptical. 
 All these gifts the French newspaperman possesses 
 instinctively, and brings them to perfection by living in 
 a special milieu. I felt that I was destitute of all 
 these qualifications, without which no one can reach an 
 eminent position on the French press. Sadly, then, I 
 determined on the course I should take. I resolved 
 to see M. Thiers in the course of the day, and to 
 remind him of the letter of appointment he had 
 formally promised to obtain for me. 
 
 Breakfast was just over when suddenly Oliphant made 
 his appearance. He had a telegram in his hand. 
 
 "Hardman," he said, "was called back the day 
 
44 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 before yesterday. He will not return to Paris, I 
 telegraphed yesterday to the Times, and I have this 
 moment received a reply. A proposal is made to give 
 you a permanent appointment. If you accept, you will 
 remain in the meantime with me ; and the other matters 
 can easily be arranged." 
 
 My satisfaction was so apparent that I had no need to 
 reply. I set out for Versailles, where I announced to 
 M. Thiers that Mr. Hardman had again left, and that 
 I was once more to take his place. He told me my ap- 
 pointment to Riga was ready, and that he would delay its 
 announcement till he heard from me again, for I did not 
 inform him that I was permanently engaged by the Times. 
 
 I must confess that for a long time I concealed the fact 
 from him, and that frequently, by asking for my appoint- 
 ment to Riga, I overcame the difficulties that arose 
 between him and me. When he became aware of the 
 truth, he, in turn, said nothing of it to me, but I felt that 
 "Riga" was of no more use. Fortunately at this time 
 I had multiplied my sources of information. The 
 intercourse between M. Thiers and me was at times less 
 cordial, for I had to give news which embarrassed him, 
 instead of the one-sided information which he communi- 
 cated to me to help his policy. 
 
 Here is an instance. 
 
 One evening M, Thiers, who had by this time taken 
 up his abode at the Ely see, had a private reception. 
 M. Timachief, the Russian Minister, was for a short 
 time in earnest conversation with him. The President 
 was evidently annoyed. I went to another part of the 
 room not to overhear what was said. As I was leaving 
 M. Thiers said to me : 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 45 
 
 "The Russian Minister congratulated me yesterday 
 morning on the discipline I have introduced into the 
 Republican party. He said the European monarchic 
 governments were much impressed by it," 
 
 I did not for a moment call in question the accuracy 
 of the statement, but it was in no respect consistent with 
 the attitude of the two speakers I had seen in conversation. 
 I accordingly resolved to wait a little before writing on 
 the subject. As it happened, on making my way out 
 
 of the palace I overtook Count , the Prefect of one 
 
 of the chief French departments, who had stopped at 
 the gate and was busy writing notes in the light of the 
 gas lamp. I went up to him. I said : 
 
 "My dear Prefect, the detectives will take us into 
 custody. They will think you are making plans of the 
 palace to carry out some plot." 
 
 "Their imagination will bring them no reward," he 
 said; " I was simply taking a note of some remarks made 
 by M. Thiers, whom I found very indignant, and on 
 what I consider very good grounds, too. It appears 
 that M. Timachief, the Russian Minister, used strong 
 language in speaking to him this evening about the revolu- 
 tionary speech made at Romans by Gambetta, which 
 he said would spread alarm in the European monarchies." 
 
 After a moment's reflection he added, "I think it 
 would be a service to everybody if you were to mention 
 the fact." 
 
 I remained with him for a few minutes, talking of 
 general subjects ; but on leaving I lost no time in writing 
 that M. Timachief, after having congratulated M. Thiers 
 on the discipline he had introduced into the Republican 
 party, had on the following night — that on which I 
 
46 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 wrote — protested strongly against the disquieting atti- 
 tude it had assumed. 
 
 I am going, for the benefit of yoimger joumaHsts, to 
 give a hint which a good many of them whom I know 
 would do well to bear in mind. When a man gives a 
 correspondent an important piece of news, the latter 
 should continue to remain with him for some time, but 
 change the conversation, and not leave him until it 
 has turned to something quite insignificant. If the cor- 
 respondent takes his departure abruptly, a flash of caution 
 will burst upon his informant. He will reflect rapidly, 
 and will beg the journalist not to repeat what he has 
 said till he sees him again. The information would 
 be lost, and the correspondent would suffer annoyance 
 that might have been avoided if he had heard nothing. 
 A newspaper has no use for confidential communications 
 it cannot transmit to its readers. 
 
 Taking this view, I published my double information. 
 An explosion followed. The Conservatives were delighted 
 and set M. Thiers at defiance. Prince Orloff was irritated. 
 M. Thiers was very exasperated, and he went so far as 
 to say to me : 
 
 "I never spoke of that to any one. You should have 
 communicated with me before repeating what had been 
 only partially told you." He thought I had overheard 
 his conversation with M. Timachief. 
 
 I was indignant. I gave way to one of those fits of 
 nervous excitement which at times will master us. And 
 in a loud voice I replied: "The ruler of a State commits 
 a great imprudence when he receives a journalist who can 
 repeat aloud what is told him in a whisper," and I burst 
 out of the room furiously. 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 47 
 
 Three weeks afterward I met M. Thiers in the Galerie 
 des Tombeaux. He came up to me smiHng. "You are 
 certainly a good journalist," he said; "but your nerves 
 are so highly strung that I shall never think of making 
 you an ambassador." Then he asked me to call on 
 him, as he had an interesting piece of news to give me. 
 Peace was restored between us. 
 
 This is a sufficient illustration of the difficulty a news- 7 
 paper correspondent has in both serving his friends and / 
 telling the truth. It is prudent for him to accept no i 
 favour which can give those who bestow it a right or 
 claim to control him. 
 
 A short time after I had officially entered on my duties 
 as a Times correspondent, Mr. Oliphant took a holiday, 
 and, with the approval of the newspaper, entrusted me 
 with the non-telegraphic correspondence. I was delighted 
 to see my first letter copied into the newspapers of every 
 country. I had the same satisfaction in 1872, when I 
 gave an account of my interview at Antwerp with the 
 Count de Chambord. 
 
 Not long afterward a lucky accident secured for me 
 the approbation and good-will of Mr. John Delane, who 
 for thirty-two years was editor of the Times, and who, 
 I need scarcely say, was the most competent judge of the 
 merits of a journalist, and the honour and glory of the 
 profession. 
 
 In the year referred to Mr. Delane came to Paris, and 
 I then saw him for the first time. I accompanied him 
 to Versailles, and we were present at a sitting of the 
 Chamber, which was entirely taken up by an admirable 
 speech by M. Thiers, delivered amidst the greatest excite- 
 ment. We returned together to Paris, and the same 
 
48 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 night Mr, Delane left for London. It was toward the end 
 of April, and I went with him to the station. At 
 that time there was no proper arrangement for the 
 publication in Paris of the debates at Versailles, The 
 summary appeared very late, and the report of the pro- 
 ceedings given by the Soir could not be had in Paris in 
 time to be made use of by us. 
 
 "What a pity," said Mr, Delane, on leaving me, "that 
 things are so badly organised ! If we could have given 
 that speech from one end to the other in to-morrow's 
 paper, what a glorious thing it would have been !" 
 
 When he had left, a wild idea came into my head. 
 Following the old habit which I still retain, I sat down 
 and shut my eyes. I then strove to call up the image of 
 the Assembly, with M. Thiers in the rostrum, and as 
 I had listened very attentively to what he had said, it 
 seemed as if I could hear him speaking, and that I could 
 write down his speech. 
 
 I went at once to the telegraph office in the Rue 
 de Grenelle. I obtained writing materials in an empty 
 room. There I put into operation my mnemonic process. 
 Alternately I shut my eyes to see and hear M. Thiers and 
 opened them to write out the speech for the wire. I 
 was able to recall and report all his speech, which was of 
 course instantaneously transmitted to London. When Mr, 
 Delane, next morning, opened the Times, in England, he 
 found in it two columns and a half, reporting the 
 speech he had heard on the previous afternoon at 
 Versailles, 
 
 The direct wire which the Times obtained two years 
 afterward — in May, 1874 — and which has now been so 
 generally imitated, was the result of the effort I made 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 49 
 
 on this occasion to outstrip the Paris journalists in 
 reporting their own news. 
 
 Mr. Oliphant, as I told my readers, had come to 
 Europe from America in compliance with orders he 
 had received from the founder of a sect whom he 
 spoke of as "the prophet Harris." He had for years 
 led a troubled life in London. His countrymen had 
 been both amused and scandalized by the publication 
 of a satirical sheet, the Owl. 
 
 He was beginning to reflect on the vanity of a life 
 leading to nothing great or noble, when he made the 
 acquaintance of Mr. Harris, who was looking out in 
 Europe for converts and recruits to join a colony 
 they had founded in the United States. His 
 doctrine soon took a firm hold of the imagination 
 of Oliphant, who recognised "the prophet" as one 
 whom it was his duty to serve and obey. In proof 
 of this, he submitted to the hardest and meanest work. 
 Thus, as a labourer, he drove carts filled with manure, 
 for the new colony — the "Brethren of the New Life." 
 
 Harris sent Oliphant back to Europe on the outbreak 
 of the Franco-German war, and it was then he entered 
 the employment of the Times, at first as a special war 
 correspondent and afterward as chief Paris representative 
 of the paper. He had married a charming wife, whom he 
 easily converted to the new faith ; she, in fact, accepted 
 her husband's teaching with the docility of a loving heart, 
 blind to the errors of the apostle. From the commence- 
 ment of our official intercourse I had taken special care 
 to make known to my colleague my religious opinions, 
 in order to avert any controversy or misunderstanding 
 between us. 
 
50 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 The first time he began to explain his doctrines I 
 interrupted him. 
 
 " Excuse me, " I said, " I think we ought to settle once 
 for all this question of proselytism which might cause 
 differences between us. I cannot accept the views of 
 your prophet, which are based on pride. He has proved 
 to you that you are greater than other men because you 
 / have submitted to drive a dust-cart. I prefer the word 
 / of Christ, who taught us not to consider ourselves greater 
 / or better than other men, because we are dust ourselves. 
 Humanity oscillates between atheism, which rejects 
 ( reason, and reason, which bows to faith. Those who 
 j would substitute the everlasting harmony of the world 
 by successive aggregations arising out of chaos in fulfil- 
 ment of an unconscious and sublime order, claim a greater 
 effort from me than those who ask me to believe in one 
 God and in the doctrine of the Trinity. When I have 
 admitted that God created the world, I have expressed 
 a belief, certainly, which makes revealed religions appear 
 infinitely less miraculous and a thousandfold more 
 acceptable than the theory of spontaneous creation and 
 automatic development. That from the midst of the 
 people of God, trodden under the hoof of the pagan 
 conqueror in the corrupt Grasco-Roman world, there 
 should have arisen a prophet who, instead of hatred 
 and revolution, preached charity, forgiveness, brotherly 
 love and good-will toward all men, was itself a greater 
 miracle than any of those attributed to Christ during 
 his sojourn on earth. Unless you can teach me a religion 
 which inculcates precepts more sublime than those of 
 the divine philosopher of Nazareth, which your prophet 
 does not do, leave me my faith without seeking to trouble 
 
 ._, .J 
 
HOW I BECAME A JOURNALIST 51 
 
 it. You may make an unhappy man, but you will not 
 make a disciple. " 
 
 Oliphant did not reply. He was perhaps pleased that I 
 had spoken with so much sincerity, and the subject was 
 never again referred to. 
 
o 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 A Champagne Conspiracy 
 
 On the 31st of July, 1872, Count de Keratry, who was 
 then Prefect of the Department of Bouches-du-Rhone, 
 came to Versailles. His object was to induce M. Thiers 
 to bring to the notice of the National Assembly the 
 serious contention which existed between himself and 
 the Mayor of Marseilles. M. Thiers received him most 
 kindly, listened to what he had to say, and, by way of 
 reply, invited him to luncheon. At table he was most 
 attentive to his guest, paying him all the honours due 
 to his position as head official of one of the largest Prefec- 
 tures of France. He offered him the seat to the right of 
 Madame Thiers, facing himself. This strict observance 
 of etiquette was, at the same time, a clever piece of 
 strategy, for M. Thiers had given M. de Keratry the only 
 place at table from which it was impossible for him to 
 discuss with his host the question about which he had 
 come. M. de Keratry understood this, and immediately 
 after luncheon, as M. Thiers appeared to be greatly 
 pressed for time, he took leave of him and we left the 
 house together. 
 
 "He was afraid," said M. de Keratry, "that I should 
 compel him to delay the prorogation of the National 
 Assembly." 
 
 That was quite true. M. Thiers was leaving the 
 following day for Trouville, where he was to spend a few 
 
 52 
 
A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 53 
 
 weeks. The National Assembly was to cease work that 
 very afternoon and take its vacation. 
 
 The idea of this visit to Trouville delighted M. Thiers 
 and he was as excited as a child about it, for, thanks to 
 his chubby appearance, short and stout as he was, his 
 exhibitions of joy or anger were apt to appear childlike. 
 
 He had taken the Cordier Chalet at Trouville. Every- 
 thing was arranged ; all preparations had been completed, 
 and part of the presidential household already installed 
 in the chalet, expecting to receive its master at any 
 moment. The train in which M. Thiers was to travel 
 was waiting in the Versailles station ready to start. 
 The various localities where the presidential train was 
 to stop had been advised of the hour and of the length 
 of time the train would remain there. In short, all the 
 preliminaries which are necessary for an official and, 
 one might almost say, a triumphal voyage had been 
 arranged, and M. Thiers was in a state of joyful im- 
 patience which made the idea of any delay in his 
 departure unbearable. 
 
 Count de Keratry gained nothing by his journey. 
 The National Assembly was prorogued, and M. Thiers 
 was free to start. 
 
 The departure was fixed for the first of August, at an 
 early hour in the morning. 
 
 At Versailles the silence which had followed the 
 departure of the National Assembly was broken by 
 unusual animation. A somewhat large group had 
 gathered in front of the gates of the Prefecture, where 
 open carriages awaited the Chief of the State, whilst his 
 civil and military household, in full uniform, were in the 
 courtyard. The sun was radiant — less radiant, though, 
 
54 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 than M. Thiers himself when, dressed in black, with his 
 frock-coat buttoned, tight-fitting gloves and a gray hat, 
 he came down into the courtyard, accompanied by 
 Madame Thiers and Mademoiselle Dosne. 
 
 Colonel Lambert, Captain Fayet and Lieutenant de 
 Salignac-Fenelon, drawn up in a line, gave the military 
 salute, with a smile on their lips. They, with M. Leroux 
 and M. Andrieux, chief secretaries and their assistants, 
 walking bareheaded, formed the retinue which was to 
 accompany the President to Trouville. 
 
 The little crowd gave a few confused shouts when the 
 carriages, at a slow, measured pace, passed through the 
 gates in the direction of the station. 
 
 As they proceeded, quite a number of people raised 
 their hats respectfully. The travellers formed a line, 
 the Democrats remaining bareheaded and the Reactionists 
 keeping their hats on and holding their heads up in a 
 defiant way. The station was decorated, and a railway 
 inspector preceded M. Thiers to the carriage reserved 
 for him, and remained at his orders until he arrived at 
 his destination. It was the departure of a sovereign, 
 without his state dress, travelling incognito. 
 
 The train left by a side line, joining the main line I do 
 not remember where, and on the platform of the first 
 station at which it stopped we saw a stout man appear, 
 with a red face, wearing the tri-coloured sash. He 
 placed himself in front of M. Thiers with several other 
 men round him, all of whom had very red faces. He 
 then took out a paper and proceeded to read, but his 
 slow, monotonous voice did not reach our ears. 
 
 M. Thiers, who had turned his back on us, bowed 
 several times, raised his hat slightly and then, with 
 
A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 55 
 
 quick, graceful gestures, replied in his clear, refined 
 voice, and every one applauded. There were a few shouts 
 heard, which were taken up by the crowd that had 
 gathered outside the station alongside the railings of the 
 platform. M. Thiers continued talking for a few minutes. 
 He made inquiries about the needs and wishes of the 
 little town, but he stopped the Mayor in his enumeration 
 and took his leave just as the poor man, with his arm in 
 the air, was continuing the list of all the wants and 
 requirements of this particular part of the country. 
 We could see nothing of M. Thiers but his back, but he 
 must have been delighted, for positively his very back 
 was laughing heartily. The President, leaving the 
 Mayor rather surprised at the unexpected way in which 
 the interview ended, went back to his compartment, 
 and we set off once more on our journey. At Trouville, 
 the station was very nicely decorated. Carriages were 
 waiting for M. Thiers in the courtyard where there was 
 a rather large crowd, which included the Mayor and the 
 members of the Municipal Council. The Mayor was a 
 man well known to M. Thiers and to all of us, and his 
 little speech sounded very well. 
 
 The President and suite drove through the town, 
 which had been decorated here and there, to the Cordier 
 Chalet. He was greeted cordially by the population, 
 whilst from the top of the Honfleur road, behind the 
 Hotel des Roches-Noires, could be heard the firing of a 
 cannon. It was merely by chance, and was rather 
 ironical, as it had not been intended in honour of the 
 President's arrival. This incident provided members of 
 the opposition, who happened to be promenading on the 
 famous planks, with an excellent subject for endless jokes. 
 
S6 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 M. Thiers was soon installed, without much ceremony, 
 in the Cordier Chalet. But on the day following his 
 arrival it was evident that Trouville was inhabited by 
 some one of note, and that the seaside resort had become 
 a centre of importance. The trains brought visitors, 
 whose appearance attracted attention. A whole troop 
 of individuals who had favours to ask swooped down 
 on the beach. Men, who were either imperious or 
 ruined and desperate, came to beg for themselves, for 
 their cousins, their friends or their sons, prefectures, 
 sub-prefectures, consulates or tax collectorships, or other 
 government appointments of all kinds and of all classes. 
 Women, outrageously made up, pushed forward into the 
 front row as the old President passed by, and when once 
 there, with their enticing looks, they endeavoured to 
 bombard with their eyes the dispenser of the favours 
 they hoped to obtain. 
 
 They were all of them convinced that M. Thiers could 
 do anything he wished, and that a smile from him meant, 
 for them, at least six thousand francs a year. 
 
 It seemed as though the hour for sharing the spoils had 
 come. The Empire in its fall had left behind the widows 
 of the Budget and the orphans of the Civil List. The 
 eighteen years of its reign had sharpened the teeth of 
 those who had only seen the feast at a distance, and all 
 those of yesterday, and those of to-day, were asking for 
 their share of the taxpayers' flesh. 
 
 Besides these ordinary, starving creatures "who walked 
 the planks," as the saying was at Trouville at the time, 
 there were also certain persons in a higher position, who 
 were more interesting and better qualified to get situa- 
 tions. Then there were Ambassadors, Members of the 
 
A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 57 
 
 Assembly, Ministers of yesterday and of to-morrow, 
 financiers both sound and unsound, exotic visitors, women 
 merely elegant or titled who wanted to see the celebrities 
 of the day and be able to tell, de visu, anything that would 
 be of interest at their receptions or at their dinner-parties, 
 foreign statesmen who suddenly felt the need of visiting 
 the seaside resorts of Normandy, a crowd that came from 
 all parts, a pack of human cards which chance, or political 
 or social strategy, mixed together — all these flocked round 
 M. Thiers. The salon of the Cordier Chalet, more often 
 than not, contained the rarest mixture of people, and as 
 finally every one felt at liberty to speak freely, nothing 
 was more lively, more piquant and more suggestive than 
 these soirees of the Trouville Court, during which the 
 President was sometimes dozing peacefully in his arm- 
 chair in the midst of a gentle hum of voices murmuring 
 around him. 
 
 The firing or testing of the Reffye cannon on the top 
 of the Honfieur road was at the time one of the pastimes 
 of this seaside resort. A rough enclosure had been 
 erected on the plateau and soldiers were stationed there. 
 A few cannons, without any horses, but with men 
 and ammunition, had been placed there. 
 
 The French flag waved from the top of a pole. A few 
 artillerymen mounted guard most solemnly and a crowd 
 of curious and well-dressed people were always loitering 
 there. 
 
 M. Thiers, nearly every day, after luncheon, went up 
 to the plateau attended by his military suite. 
 
 The soldiers shouldered arms. The artillery officers 
 grouped themselves round him, by the side of the three 
 
58 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 officers of his household. A few foreign military attaches 
 walked up the hill and were present at the experiments. 
 In the distance, on the moving water, an old black barge, 
 pierced with holes like a battle-flag, tossing and rocking 
 about, served as a target. M. Thiers, with his gray hat 
 pushed slightly back, his big field-glass up to his eyes, 
 his frock-coat buttoned, and sometimes affecting the 
 traditional pose of Napoleon, watched the balls fly 
 through the air, saw when they struck, and waved his 
 hat enthusiastically when a straight shot shook the 
 barge, made it dance about, and hollowed out a gaping 
 hole in its already perforated hulk. 
 
 The crowd applauded. M. Thiers raised his hat again, 
 congratulated the artillerymen who had pointed the gun 
 and those who had fired and then rejoined Madame Thiers 
 and Mademoiselle Dosne, and, followed by an imposing 
 procession, continued his daily promenade along the 
 sandy road. From the balcony, where I was, I could 
 see him, lifting his gray hat incessantly, whilst, as he 
 passed, the men all took off their hats, and the vieille 
 garde, in brilliant colours, stood aside or bowed like a 
 cornfield ravaged by the hail and interspersed with 
 daisies, corn-flowers and poppies. 
 
 My stay at Trouville had already extended beyond the 
 time which had been allotted me. M. Thiers seemed 
 annoyed whenever I spoke of returning to Paris, and I 
 began to wonder how I should manage to escape, when, 
 on the 13th of August, in the afternoon, I was told that 
 the President, whom I had seen in the morning, had 
 just started for Paris. One of his secretaries informed 
 me that he had been recalled suddenly to preside at a 
 
A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 59 
 
 Council which was to meet on the morrow, and after 
 which he would return to Trouville. The following 
 day, although I had no council whatever at which to 
 preside, I took the same route as the President and 
 returned to Paris. 
 
 It was with a great sense of comfort and relief that I 
 entered my own home once more, closing the doors to all 
 that went on in the outside world, and giving orders that 
 neither letters nor newspapers should be brought to me. 
 For the last twenty-five years this has been my method 
 of obtaining absolute rest. On the 1 5th, however, in the 
 evening, in spite of my strict orders, the outside world 
 did succeed in penetrating into my house in the form 
 of an official despatch. 
 
 "Come back as soon as possible. You are impatiently 
 awaited." 
 
 The despatch, on yellow paper, was signed by one of 
 M. Thiers 's secretaries. That was the end of my short 
 rest. 
 
 I felt veryisad. I took the first train the next day and 
 had a compartment to myself. I did not open a news- 
 paper, and went straight from the station to the Cordier 
 Chalet. 
 
 The very moment I arrived I was struck by the unusual 
 attitude of things. At the gateway quite a number of 
 soldiers and policemen had been stationed. On entering 
 every one was examined with visible distrust, and 
 although I was well known, I had to imdergo a sort of 
 progressive inspection before crossing the first threshold. 
 From the gates to the chalet the most extraordinary 
 precautions appeared to have been taken. There were 
 
6o MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 patrols, or men who seemed to be acting as such, walking 
 along the paths, and through the leaves of the summer 
 arbours I could see the disciples of "Saint Detective," 
 dressed like well-to-do citizens of the suburbs of Paris, 
 promenading about warily and watching over the welfare 
 of the State. The man servant on duty introduced me 
 without even announcing me. I was expected. M. 
 Thiers was alone in the large drawing-room, the principal 
 door of which, leading on to a flight of stone steps, was 
 open to the sunshine. He rose quickly and shook hands 
 with me. 
 
 "Well, what do you think of it?" he asked. 
 
 "To what are you referring. Monsieur le President?" 
 I answered. 
 
 "To what am I referring? Have you been asleep for 
 the last twenty-four hours?" 
 
 The reproach was well deserved, for I had been asleep 
 for the last forty-eight hours. I could only bow in 
 silence. 
 
 "Well, now," continued M. Thiers laughing, "you are 
 a well-informed correspondent ! Is it possible that you 
 have not heard about the conspiracy, of which I came 
 very near being the victim yesterday afternoon ?" 
 
 "No, really I have not," I answered. "I was taking my 
 holiday, and as my work consists in knowing everything, 
 my holiday consists in not knowing anything." 
 
 "Oh, well," continued M. Thiers in his low, hissing 
 voice, "yesterday being the 15th of August, the Emperor's 
 birthday, a band of conspirators in a Russian boat 
 approached the shore and as they fired their cannons 
 they shouted: 'Long live the Emperor,' just at the time 
 when I am accustomed to rest on the terrace of the 
 
A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 6i 
 
 Roches-Noires. They went toward the Hotel des Roches- 
 Noires, in front of which some harmless-looking little 
 boats were tacking about near the shore, whilst the big 
 boat had gone back to the high sea and was also tacking. 
 The plan was to get hold of me and carry me off to the 
 ship. You see at once the consequences. The Assembly 
 is having its vacation. There is no doubt a watchword 
 had been agreed upon, and accomplices were waiting 
 from one end of France to the other for the news that I 
 was captured. They would then have brought about a 
 general rising ; the Emperor would have landed on a cer- 
 tain point of the coast, and they would have endeavoured 
 to restore the Empire. I have not yet the list of all the 
 conspirators, but I know the two principal ones. First 
 and foremost is M. Gimsbourg, the owner of the Russian 
 boat. Oh, as for him, he can set his mind at rest ! Orloff 
 came at once and declared that he would have Gunsbourg 
 recalled and his boat burned. The other is M. Bertrand 
 de Valon, son of the Countess de Valon, whom I saw only 
 a few days ago. I promised her that I would do some- 
 thing for her son, not knowing that he was a Bonapartist. 
 I shall send them both to the Assize Court, where they 
 will have to answer the charge of armed conspiracy." 
 
 I was simply dumfounded on hearing this story. How 
 could I have had the bad luck not to know anything about 
 so serious a matter ! How was it that I, after accompany- 
 ing M. Thiers to Trouville and for a fortnight keeping 
 my readers well-informed with regard to his doings and 
 movements — how was it that I, who, to use an expression 
 which he had so good-naturedly applied to me, had 
 constituted myself his "affectionate historiographer," 
 how could I have allowed such an event to happen without 
 
62 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 even mentioning it? By the expression of my face 
 M. Thiers could read my thoughts. He looked at me 
 over his spectacles and came close up to me, as he was 
 accustomed to do when he wanted to penetrate an}^ one's 
 inner reflections. 
 
 "We'll make up for all this," he said; "I'm delighted 
 that you have not yet written anything about it. You 
 have not, as they say, taken up your position yet." 
 
 He then gave me the details, and begged me to read 
 the letter to him which I was to send to my paper that 
 same night. It was the first time he had ever asked me 
 such a thing, and when I left him I was somewhat vexed 
 at his request. I made no promise about the matter. 
 On entering the Roches-Noires, I found M. Gunsbourg 
 very much abashed. Every one was aware that I had 
 just returned and that I had seen M. Thiers. Trouville 
 is too small a place for that not to have been known. 
 It was rumoured on all sides that I had gone direct to the 
 Cordier Chalet, and that I had just come from there, 
 after a conversation of an hour and a half, and about 
 twenty persons, among whom was M. Gunsbourg, 
 gathered around me. 
 
 At Trouville, the population had been apprised of 
 M. Thiers' s anger, and was eager to hear what terrible 
 decisions the indignant old man had taken. I refused 
 to reply to any question ; I sent for M. Gunsbourg and 
 asked him to come to the rooms on the ground floor 
 which had been reserved for me. 
 
 Never shall I forget the look of consternation on the 
 young man's face when I questioned him about the plot 
 in which he had taken so active a part. Recovering 
 at last from his surprise, and understanding that M. 
 
A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 63 
 
 Thiers was mistaken and that people had deceived him 
 or that he had wanted to be deceived, with an accent of 
 truth which could not be doubted, and taking the whole 
 town as witness, he told me the story of what had really- 
 taken place. 
 
 He had come to Trouville in his yacht and was sailing 
 round the coasts of the English Channel. On the morning 
 of the fifteenth of August he had started with some 
 of his friends, among whom was M. Bertrand de Valon, 
 with the idea of having a sail and a lunch out at sea. 
 They had a good meal, drank copiously, and on approach- 
 ing the shore they remembered, in spite of the effect of 
 the champagne, that the fifteenth of August was the 
 Emperor's birthday, and so, in the midst of the noise of 
 corks flying out of the bottles and the firing of the parade 
 cannon loaded with powder, to which one of them had set 
 a light, they all began in their liveliness and folly to 
 shout, " Long live the Emperor." 
 
 The crowd understood the incident and roared with 
 laughter at them. The police had endeavoured to 
 capture them, but the crowd, very naturally, had taken 
 their part. There had been a great commotion, and 
 the conspirators, sobered down and rather ashamed of 
 themselves, had disappeared, whilst an action had been 
 commenced against the owner of the yacht and against 
 M. Bertrand de Valon, who had remained with him. 
 M. Gunsbourg, in the name of his comrades, begged me 
 to explain to M. Thiers how the affair had come about, 
 to express to him the regret that these young madcaps 
 now felt, and to add that they were themselves prepared 
 to apologise to him. As soon as M. Gunsbourg had 
 gone I sent for the Paris evening papers of the fifteenth 
 
64 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 and the morning papers of the sixteenth, which I had not 
 read (all the above had taken place on the fifteenth), and 
 I proceeded to read them. They varied in tone, style 
 and in the version they gave, according to the political 
 opinion of the paper or according to the temperament 
 of the reporter. By reading all these stories and 
 comparing all the information I obtained elsewhere, 
 it was quite clear to me that the event had been 
 exaggerated beyond measure, and that, if the young 
 men implicated were far from being quite innocent, 
 they were also far from being really guilty. 
 
 Toward the end of dinner that evening M. Thiers asked 
 me, quietly, if my letter were written. I replied that, as 
 it would have been too late for the post that day, I had 
 postponed it for the next morning ; that there would be no 
 time lost, as I was not going to give the items of news, 
 but was going to explain and comment on the event ; and 
 I asked him to discuss the subject again with me. 
 
 But as soon as I endeavoured to attenuate the nature 
 and the significance of the incident, M. Thiers grew 
 angry and looked at me distrustfully. He was still 
 furious, or he pretended to be so. 
 
 As a matter of fact, people abroad understood what 
 had happened, and the Countess de Valon summed up 
 the general opinion in a letter she wrote to me a few 
 days later: 
 
 "These young men," she said, "had lunched rather 
 too festively out at sea, and, like so many big children, 
 they had played at the landing of the Emperor — seven 
 of them ! It was more like a charade than anything 
 
A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 65 
 
 else. That is my explanation of their freak, and that is 
 how it has been understood abroad. M. Thiers has too 
 much common sense, and is too wise, to give to this piece 
 of child's play more importance than it deserves. No 
 doubt certain zealous officials thought they were serving 
 or flattering M. Thiers by magnifying the incident, and 
 at the same time they were able to take the credit of 
 having saved him from danger." 
 
 I wrote my letter, which was a scathing one. An 
 attorney for the Republic entrusted with the case would 
 have signed it with both hands. I read it to M. Thiers, who 
 was delighted with it. He even asked me to soften down 
 a few sentences. As it was then the seventeenth and the 
 news was growing stale, he called my attention to the 
 fact that the letter would only reach London on the 
 eighteenth, and that on account of Sunday it would only 
 be published on the twentieth. I replied that it would 
 go that night by wire, and that very night the telegraph 
 communicated the original to the ofifice. 
 
 Is there any need for me to add that the letter was 
 never intended to appear and that it never did appear ! 
 My newspaper had been informed on the morning of the 
 seventeenth of what had happened, of what was then 
 happening, and what would happen. 
 
 But thanks to the letter which I had read to him, 
 M. Thiers was greatly appeased with regard to the con- 
 spirators. He even allowed me to say that my state- 
 ment of the case had been harsher than the gravity of the 
 event warranted. 
 
 An inquiry was instituted. It was dragged on for a long 
 time, some extraordinary attenuations being given to the 
 
66 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 first reports. M. Thiers himself now came over to my 
 opinion and thought that my letter had perhaps gone too 
 far. For several days he asked for the Times. His 
 secretaries, whom I had warned, invented various pre- 
 texts for explaining the absence of the paper, which 
 was never to be found; it was always being mislaid. 
 After three or four days M. Thiers appeared to 
 have forgotten about it, btit at the end of the week, 
 as I was going away, one evening he said to me with 
 a sly look: 
 
 "Did you pay for that wire?" 
 
 "No, Monsieur le President," I answered, "my paper 
 paid for it." 
 
 M. Thiers came nearer and looked at me over his 
 spectacles : 
 
 " Did you know that it would not appear?" 
 
 "The paper was free to publish it. Monsieur le Presi- 
 dent." 
 
 "Ah — well, that was money very wisely thrown away. 
 I don't regret it." And then after a minute he added: 
 "They no doubt thought as I did, that your letter was 
 too severe " 
 
 A fortnight later the conspirators were summoned 
 to appear before the court at Pont-l'Ev^que. They 
 were each sentenced to pay a fine of sixteen francs 
 for disturbance of the peace. But M. Thiers 
 had received letters, messages and telegrams from 
 all parts of the world and he was delighted. 
 He knew that in order to be truly a cousin of 
 
A CHAMPAGNE CONSPIRACY 67 
 
 kings it is necessary to inspire the people who are 
 fortunate enough to be living under your reign with 
 the violent desire of ridding themselves at any price 
 of your presence. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 Alphonso XII. Proclaimed King of Spain 
 
 It was only in October, 1872, if I remember rightly — 
 for his letter bears no date — that Laurence Oliphant 
 informed me that he had just heard from Mr. Mowbray 
 Morris, then manager of the Times, whose duty it was 
 to appoint the correspondents of the paper and their 
 assistants, to the effect that I was to remain definitely 
 under his orders, Mr. Charles Austin continuing to be 
 attached to the Paris office as second correspondent. 
 
 Soon after, Laurence proposed that I should take up 
 my abode with his mother and himself, who lived in a 
 small house with court and garden in the Rue du Centre, 
 now the Rue Lamenais. Oliphant and his mother lived 
 on the first floor; my wife, my adopted daughter and I 
 occupied the second floor. The upper stories, as well as 
 the dining-room on the ground floor, were common to us 
 both. We took our meals together, my wife having charge 
 of all the domestic arrangements. The anxieties and 
 practical difficulties attendant upon the management 
 of a double household of this sort were beyond the power 
 of Mrs. Oliphant. Like so many English ladies who have 
 spent much time in the colonies, she had always been in 
 the habit of shifting the responsibility of domestic and 
 household worries upon others and upon her servants. 
 
 We met every day at meals, at noon and at seven 
 o'clock. In the morning I went to Versailles, which 
 
 68 
 
ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 69 
 
 was then the centre of poHtical information. At the 
 luncheon hour I was back in Paris, when we discussed 
 the information that I had gathered, considering it from 
 the point of view of its value for our correspondence. In 
 the evening I sent, under the signature of Oliphant, who 
 had relieved me of the duty of communicating them to 
 him in advance, all those items of news which would 
 have grown stale if consigned to the tardy post, and 
 which, owing to the lateness of their reaching me, I was 
 unable to communicate to my chief. 
 
 Oliphant, as I have said before, had come to Europe 
 and France by order of Mr. Harris, who still continued 
 to be a prophet, or rather his prophet. Harris had not 
 told him why he was to come to Europe; he had merely 
 told him to come. Was it that the Prophet did not 
 himself know? 
 
 In any case, as long as Oliphant had to describe to 
 the readers of the Times the agitated life of camps with 
 the fever of revolutions and the thousand crises that 
 attended the painful situation in France during the war 
 and the Revolution, he proved himself to be a marvellous 
 correspondent; but when the country, apparently ex- 
 hausted, crushed and scorched under fire and war, 
 attempted with extraordinary elasticity to raise itself from 
 the ruins and walk again with head erect among the 
 nations, Laurence Oliphant felt himself, as it were, humili- 
 ated at having to do the work of a peaceful and faithful 
 historian, which was now incumbent upon him. 
 
 His relations with the Times, therefore, became now 
 more and more irksome, and it was only by a strong 
 effort that he succeeded in fulfilling his daily task. 
 His attitude toward the Thiers Government was an 
 
70 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 indication of his state of mind at this time. He always 
 refused to go to Versailles to see M. Thiers, and when 
 he did see him he was irritated and almost haughty, 
 and treated the opinions and theories of M. Thiers with 
 a kind of ironical and supercilious indulgence very much 
 like disdain. He refused the offer of the Legion of 
 Honour almost rudely, as though the Red Rosette were 
 intended as a badge of servitude. His young wife, whose 
 aspirations were more elevated than his, perhaps, and 
 more romantic, could not be satisfied by this daily task, 
 a little too exactingly regular, so that she was not likely 
 to induce him to love it any the more. He threw the 
 bridle upon my neck, approved in advance of all my 
 communications, and received them rather with the 
 pleasure of a reader than with the attention of a corre- 
 spondent called upon to render them public. These 
 tendencies were often prejudicial to the best exercise of 
 his abilities, and clearly presaged the end. 
 
 I was not surprised, therefore, when, in the year 1873, 
 he announced to me one day that as a result of some 
 rather sharp correspondence betv/een Mr. Macdonald, 
 then manager of the Times, and himself, he had just 
 sent in his resignation as special correspondent of that 
 paper in France. 
 
 Some days later he introduced me to his successor. It 
 was Mr. Frederic Hardman, whom I had succeeded at 
 the start and replaced afterward. It did not take long 
 for me to understand, and undoubtedly Mr. Hardman 
 understood also, that we should have many difficulties 
 in our intercourse. 
 
 Mr. Frederic Hardman was a veteran among Times 
 correspondents. His position, his great loyalty, the 
 
ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 71 
 
 uprightness of his character, his devotion to the cause 
 of the paper, and his fine talent and great experience 
 had won for him the friendship of his chiefs and of all 
 connected with the Times. He had lived for a long 
 period in Spain, and he had very accurate notions in 
 regard to that country and its political parties, then 
 so eagerly wrangling among themselves. He had lived 
 in Rome and in Germany as well; he knew many states- 
 men in all countries, and he was on the best of terms with 
 men of the old regime in France. 
 
 But the new political structure and the men who were 
 at this moment governing France were unknown to him. 
 He did not see that defeat had produced in every one a 
 nervous condition, a kind of chronic distrust, something 
 bitter in the feelings toward foreigners and everything 
 foreign. 
 
 His first attempts to seek information and to put 
 together some elements of work were not a success, and 
 he generally summed up the result with a "There is 
 nothing new." He had, besides, the American 
 method. He took down the words that were said 
 to him in a note-book which he held in his hand, a 
 method which in France is infallible for learning abso- 
 lutely nothing; for, as M. Duclerc said, "This method 
 of cross-examination puts you immediately on the defen- 
 sive, and shuts your mouth while it opens your eyes." 
 
 After some days' trial he explained to me that he was 
 anxious to arrange our work as I had done before with 
 Oliphant ; that I was to go in search of information, and 
 that he would make my results the theme of correspon- 
 dence. He left me also the department of the prepara- 
 tion of rapid news necessitating short despatches. 
 
72 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 This plan worked well for some time. Unfortunately 
 the situation was false. He was my chief, but he was 
 unknown to the majority of Frenchmen, and whenever 
 we found ourselves together in the same salon, in spite 
 of all precautions that I took, the positions, in the eyes 
 of a third person, seemed inverted. Some incidents, 
 unfortunate, but inevitable, complicated matters. Once 
 he went to the Elys6e, handing his card to the usher, in 
 order to speak to Viscount d'Harcourt, the President's 
 secretary. The usher replied that M. d'Harcourt could 
 not be seen. 
 
 "Tell him that it is the correspondent of the Times 
 who wishes to see him." 
 
 The usher looked at him rudely: "Pardon me," he 
 said, "but the correspondent of the Times has just left 
 the Secretary." 
 
 On another occasion one of his friends, Lord X , 
 
 left a visiting card at the Hotel Chatham, to be sent to 
 the correspondent of the Times. It was taken to my 
 house. As it constantly happens for one to receive 
 cards from unknown persons, I thought that this card 
 was meant for me, and I returned the visit. 
 
 The crisis after these incidents became acute. I had 
 arranged, at Mr. Macdonald's order, the special wire to 
 the Times, which was the first then established, and which 
 was used for the first time on May 4, 1874. 
 
 Mr. Hardman, without any experience in that kind 
 of work, was obliged to adapt himself to this most exacting 
 method of improvising upon the most recent events that 
 were in progress as one wrote an account of them. Letters 
 logically conceived throughout had to be written while 
 the telegraph waited, without opportunity for revision. 
 
ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 73 
 
 This had a baneful effect ; the strain affected the health, 
 temper and nervous system of Mr. Hardman, and made 
 collaboration with him impossible. Four times did 
 pressing telegraphic recalls to Paris interrupt my holidays, 
 and finally, when I was summoned thither a fifth time, 
 after an absence of only three days, I returned obediently, 
 but resolved to send in my resignation, which now 
 seemed inevitable. 
 
 I had neither the wish nor the power to act otherwise, 
 and so once more I was on the point, notwithstanding 
 that I had reached an advanced time of life, of abandoning 
 a career for which I had so sincere an enthusiasm and to 
 which I had dreamed of devoting the remainder of my 
 existence. But on reaching Paris I learned that Mr. 
 Hardman was seriously ill. 
 
 He was then living across the river in the Rue Solferino. 
 It was his habit, after the nervous excitement of his 
 work, to return on foot to his house always at a late hour 
 of the night — sometimes, indeed, in the early morning, 
 thus courting the illness which was destined to carry him 
 away. It was pleurisy, contracted during his walk, 
 on coming out from his work in a state of perspiration 
 into the icy air, which finally, after a few days of resistance, 
 proved fatal. In every sense of the word, he was upright 
 and devoted to his duty, and he died from having heroic- 
 ally undertaken something beyond his strength. It 
 was neither our characters nor our sympathies nor our 
 wills that made our intercourse so difficult — nay, I 
 may say all but impossible — but it was the falsity of 
 the position in which we happened to be placed. None 
 of my friends who knew me well were surprised to see 
 me weeping sincerely at the premature death of this 
 
74 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 excellent man. The Times devoted to him an eloquent 
 article, ftill of kind sentiment, which, notwithstanding its 
 notes of eulogy, scarcely did him justice, and then — all 
 was over. 
 
 There is nothing in the world more melancholy than 
 the sudden silence that falls round the tomb of those 
 painstaking, steady workers who follow with unwearying 
 conscientiousness up to the very end the furrow of their 
 daily task, without arousing hatred, without provoking 
 jealousy, and who leave at the last the memory of a calent 
 to which every one pays equal homage. In the journal- 
 istic career posthimious enthusiasm is never noisy. 
 Even beyond the tomb the fame of the dead is an offense, 
 and the very haters seem to prefer to hold their peace, 
 lest in attempting to gain satisfaction they revive the 
 memory of the contestants who have disappeared. 
 
 Nothing is more melancholy than the startling rapidity 
 with which these turbulent existences, linked in a merely 
 ephemeral work, enter into the dark oblivion of the 
 tomb. The most distinguished among them scarcely 
 survive, and future generations know them not, because 
 even living generations have passed them by in silence. 
 The Royer CoUards, the Benjamin Constants, the Thiers, 
 have survived in the memory of men not because they 
 were journalists, but in spite of it. Armand Carrel is 
 not yet forgotten because he was killed in a duel with 
 Girardin; and the latter, who was a man of business as 
 well as a journalist, lives because he was the promoter 
 of postal reform rather than because for forty years he 
 had been the most active of journalists. Laurence 
 Oliphant's life was written because he lived an existence 
 full of agitation, because he was nearly massacred in Japan, 
 
ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 75 
 
 because he published books of satire and philosophy, 
 because his ever-inquiring mind pursued, beyond the 
 barriers of reality, the solution of problems that con- 
 stantly escaped his insight and his power, and because 
 in the solitude of Haifa, scaling in his turn Mount Carmel, 
 he sought to preach from its heights a new law which he 
 believed to be true. 
 
 But no one has dreamed, or dreams, so far as I know, of 
 writing the life of that admirable journalist, John Delane, 
 the editor of the Times. For thirty-two years he was 
 the Moltke of a venerated chief, sacrificing to the 
 triumph of the common work his right of remonstrance. 
 Under the reign of Mr. John Walter, the third of the 
 dynasty which gave to England the uncontested power 
 of the Times, John Delane, for thirty-two years, without 
 even leaving behind him memoirs which could recall his 
 success, led his troops to continual victories. He began 
 his fruitful career almost at the accession of Queen 
 Victoria. He was editor-in-chief of the Times at the 
 age at which Pitt became Prime Minister. At different 
 epochs, and in the midst of dissimilar generations, these 
 two — the one before the admiring gaze of the entire 
 world, the other in the distant silence of the editorial 
 room; the one amid the acclamations of the crowd, the 
 other with only the approval of his conscience — worked 
 with equally precocious qualities and displayed equal 
 genius in the accomplishment of their varied tasks and 
 in the steady realisation of their designs. 
 
 During John Delane' s career the following events took 
 place: The Revolution of 1848, the coup d'etat of the 
 second of December, the proclamation of the Second 
 Empire, the Crimean War, the Italian War, the Mexican 
 
76 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 Expedition, that against Schleswig-Holstein, and the war 
 of 1866, the war of 1870, the Commune, the proclama- 
 tion of the German Empire, the DuaHsm in Austria, the 
 Russo-Hungarian campaign, the conception and the 
 opening of the Suez Canal, the Nihilist plots, the great 
 reforms that mark the internal policy of the reign of 
 Queen Victoria, and a thousand others which for the 
 moment I forget. Always and everywhere the dominant 
 voice of his journal sounded far above the clamour of the 
 combatants, and everywhere and always he lent to those 
 to whom he gave his support a real power, while he 
 weakened incontestably those against whom he fought. 
 Yet when he died not a single voice in the world among 
 his bitterest opponents was raised in disparagement of 
 his conscientiousness, his justice and his honour. For 
 thirty-two years he allowed nothing to prevent his 
 going to his room in the Times at half -past ten in the 
 evening and leaving it at half-past four. He gave his 
 entire life to this silent work by night, subordinating to it 
 everything save independence of judgment, and having 
 as his only recompense the one single ambition to be true. 
 During these thirty-two years he made and unmade 
 hundreds of reputations which the world, by involuntary 
 homage rendered to the infallibility of his judgment, has 
 left in the place to which he assigned them. It has for- 
 gotten one thing, however — to reserve for John Delane a 
 corner in its memory. It has forgotten that its duty was 
 not to allow him to be so promptly submerged by events. 
 It is almost with a feeling of bitterness that I have recalled 
 the great career of this toiler, unknown among the 
 crowd, and yet so worthy to figure among those who are 
 placed in the front ranks of their times. 
 
ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 77 
 
 On the morning of the death of Mr. Hardman I received 
 a very touching letter from Mr. Macdonald, who had 
 loved him so much. He invited me to continue till 
 further orders the duties of Paris correspondent of the 
 paper, with the valuable collaboration of Mr. J. C. Alger, 
 who very long occupied, with recognised ability, the 
 same post. We set ourselves bravely to our task. They 
 were difficult months that followed. My pro visionary 
 situation prevented my having the absolute authority 
 that was necessary for my work. Furthermore, there 
 was a question as to continuing the telegraphic corre- 
 spondence, which was still an experiment, the success of 
 which was watched everywhere with jealous anxiety. 
 
 The Times remained for some time the only paper in 
 the world possessing a private wire, and it was necessary 
 to justify this fact to its readers as well as to itself. We 
 accomplished this result, however, for to-day the impor- 
 tant papers without a special wire are the exception. 
 
 It was in the month of October that Mr. Hardman 
 died. As soon as his death was known, on every side 
 men from all countries and from all ranks, of the most 
 varied talents, origin or position, applied for the post of 
 Paris representative of the Times. At every moment 
 the papers announced the appointment of one or the 
 other, but never, I must say, was I mentioned for the 
 post. The Times itself reserved to me a very curious 
 surprise. Mr. John Delane was still the editor-in-chief. 
 He knew me personally, but it was his rule never to 
 write directly to correspondents, but only officially as the 
 head of the staff. I had never had any direct personal 
 correspondence with him. 
 
 While I was thus filling the vacant post in the interim, 
 
78 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 I wrote one day a letter entitled "De Profundis," 
 predicting the approaching fall of the De Cissy cabinet. 
 The letter appeared with comment in a leading article, 
 but the next day came a telegram from Mr. Delane asking 
 who was the author of it, A similar thing happened 
 four or five times, and I learned — which was, indeed, the 
 inevitable consequence of anonymity — that the editor of 
 the paper himself did not quite know what to think of 
 my ability as a writer and a journalist. 
 
 Three months rolled by in this way. During those 
 months a him.dred rumours were bruited about, but not 
 a word had been exchanged between the journal and my- 
 self in regard to my present or future situation. All that 
 I knew was that, whosoever might be the head appointed 
 over me, I could do nothing but withdraw. My experi- 
 ence with Mr, Hardman had enlightened me, and the 
 position that I occupied after his death made a similar 
 prospect still more intolerable. However, I did nothing 
 to put an end to this state of things. I understood that 
 the paper, in presence of the most tempting offers, know- 
 ing the difficulties that would attend my appointment, 
 and realising the necessity of conducting itself according 
 to a certain etiquette, as one might say, on account of 
 its unique position in the world's press, would take a long 
 time to consider. However great my annoyance might 
 be, I was prepared to bow before its decision. 
 
 This decision came at the end of the year 1874, The 
 service had not suffered. The special wire was proving 
 its value more and more; the Paris correspondence, 
 sustained by the combined efforts of my collaborator and 
 myself, had succeeded in gaining the approbation of our 
 chiefs. There appeared to be no reason why the situa- 
 
ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 79 
 
 tion, in itself provisional and precarious, should not be 
 prolonged for some time still. But the 31st of December, 
 1874, ushered in an event which put a sudden end to 
 the delay of my chiefs. 
 
 The evening of that day I had gone to bed very late. 
 The day was icy cold ; snow covered all Paris. Wearied 
 out and suffering from a slight fever, I had remained in 
 bed, and was on the point of sending to Mr. Alger, to inform 
 him of my condition, in order to discuss with him what 
 food we could supply to that Minotaur called the private 
 wire, when the evening papers were brought to me. 
 The Liberie, whose proprietors were then on excellent 
 terms with the Spanish dynasty, announced by telegraph, 
 and with some words of comment, that a prommciamento, 
 provoked by Martinez Campos, had taken place in Spain, 
 and that the Prince of Asturias, then in Paris, had been 
 proclaimed King under the title of Alphonso XII . 
 
 It was a veritable thunderclap. 
 
 Half an hour later I was at the Spanish Embassy, 
 which, at the time, was under M. Abarzuzza, a revolution- 
 ary Spaniard of the first water and who was then walking 
 in the flower-beds of diplomacy with, one might say, 
 the easy lightness of an elephant. He received me very 
 ironically, after I had waited for more than an hour — 
 a thing not unnatural, however, as some three hun- 
 dred people were pressing into his waiting-rooms. I 
 had remained below in order to watch those who 
 entered or departed by the only door admitting 
 to the Embassy, and to see if the Ambassador re- 
 ceived many telegrams from abroad. When a revo- 
 lution breaks out in a country, as long as the 
 Government remains master of the situation its repre- 
 
8o MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 sentatives are sure to receive ample information; for 
 there is nothing more agreeable than preparing bulletins 
 of victory. But as soon as the situation changes, it is 
 the Ambassadors who send the eager telegrams — ^which 
 so often do not reach their destination, however, and to 
 which, even when they do, there is frequently no reply. 
 On this occasion I saw messengers continually hurrying 
 out with half -concealed despatches in their hands, to be 
 sent by telegraph, but during all the time that I waited 
 I did not see a single telegraphic message entering the 
 Embassy. 
 
 When finally I was conducted to the Ambassador, in 
 spite of the irony with which he treated the telegram in 
 the papers, I had almost made up my mind as to its truth. 
 He told me that it was merely an abortive revolution; 
 that a few soldiers, speedily silenced, had cried out 
 " Viva el Rey,'' but that at that moment — it was then 
 half -past six — the excitement had been suppressed, order 
 had been reestablished in Madrid, the Government 
 having taken energetic measures, and he authorised me 
 to telegraph to my paper that the attempt to restore 
 the monarchy had been easily suppressed by the 
 Government. 
 
 In such a case, as in many others, when it is a question 
 of serving his Government or serving himself, an Ambassa- 
 dor will never hesitate to throw a journalist quite over- 
 board and to sacrifice him body and soul, and, if he can, 
 his reputation and his honour, to further his own designs. 
 I left the Ambassador convinced that the pronunciamento 
 of Martinez Campos had succeeded, and I resolved not 
 to repeat the story he had told me, or at least to send 
 it with pointed comments. I did not dare to give a 
 
x\LPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 8i 
 
 positive form to my conviction by sending an absolutely 
 contrary telegram, for I had no positive proof of the 
 truth of that of which I was persuaded, and I could not 
 discover any justifying facts. I returned discouraged 
 enough, for the time at my disposal was short and the 
 fever had not yet left me. But I ordered a carriage to 
 be in readiness, and with weariness and disappointment 
 betook myself to my chamber in a state almost of 
 madness, because I could see no means of gaining better 
 information. 
 
 Queen Isabella, to be sure, with the Prince of Asturias, 
 occupied the Hotel Basilewski, only a few doors from my 
 house, but I neither knew her nor her son, nor any 
 member of their entourage, and it was not probable — 
 indeed, it was scarcely possible — that in the circumstances 
 and at such a moment I should be received. Moreover, 
 in returning I had instinctively passed by the Avenue 
 Kleber in front of the Hotel Basilewski (the Palais de 
 Castille), as if to see whether the walls of this house 
 could not tell me something. I saw an enormous crowd 
 in front of the gates, which were all closed, and some 
 policemen who had been sent in haste were with the 
 greatest difficulty holding the throng in check. I 
 imagined that all the reporters of the Paris papers and 
 all the correspondents of foreign papers were mingled 
 in this crowd, trampling down the snow. I considered 
 it useless to increase the number, yet I was more and 
 more in despair at my helplessness. 
 
 On the evening of the 31st of December it was use- 
 less to try to find any members of the Government in 
 Paris, and as the official seat was at Versailles there 
 seemed no issue out of my difficulties. 
 
82 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 Suddenly an idea flashed across my brain. 
 
 Some time previously I had met at the Spanish Em- 
 bassy, then at Versailles, Count de Banuelos, a Senator of 
 Spain, who had spoken in warm terms of the Queen and 
 her son, who was well acquainted with England, and who 
 was a careful reader of the Times. He had been quite 
 charming to me. I had called upon him and had been 
 introduced to the most delightful of families, consisting 
 of a very gracious and affable mother and two charming 
 girls. His private residence, 27 Rue de Lisbonne, was 
 near at hand. 
 
 It was nine o'clock. 
 
 I rushed down to my carriage and gave the address 
 to the coachman. Two minutes after I arrived at the 
 Banuelos mansion. As I entered the hall, the Count, 
 one of the finest-looking men of his time, in full dress, 
 followed by his two daughters, also in evening dress, 
 was descending the stairs to enter the salon on the 
 ground floor. 
 
 I was extremely embarrassed. I had come by instinct 
 at a venture, without plan or forethought and without 
 knowing exactly why. 
 
 On seeing these preparations, indicating that the 
 Count was about to go to a ball, I understood that I 
 could expect no help from him, for at the moment the 
 idea came to me that the only way of penetrating into the 
 Palace of Castille was to go with him. 
 
 I asked him if he had any details. He replied that he 
 had learned the news that very moment, that he had 
 previous reasons for thinking it true, and that as he was 
 going to a ball at the Duchess de Malakoff's, with his 
 two daughters, he intended to congratulate the future 
 
ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 83 
 
 King on the following day. I had not advanced very- 
 far ; the two daughters, who were ready and impatient to 
 go, came to ask for their father. 
 
 During this conversation I had become convinced 
 that Count Banuelos alone could open to me the doors 
 of the Palais de Castille, and that there and there only 
 could I hope to obtain any information. But at my 
 first suggestion in this direction the two charming girls 
 were in consternation. Politics did not much interest 
 them. The young Prince of Asturias, whom they greatly 
 liked, had been proclaimed King, but the rest mattered 
 little, and their dance cards were filled with engagements, 
 and their partners were waiting. They were likely to 
 pain many and disappoint others, and to be unkind to 
 the beautiful and good lady, their hostess, who counted 
 upon them. All this drove me to despair. Without 
 insisting, I kissed the young ladies, but my face betrayed 
 the bitter disappointment I felt as I slowly rose to take 
 leave. My disappointment was so obvious that the 
 two girls were moved, and simultaneously, without 
 understanding why I was so much troubled, they con- 
 sented to let their father go. 
 
 It was then for me to refuse. I reproached myself 
 with great selfishness for having troubled the two girls, 
 without even letting them know why they were called 
 upon to sacrifice themselves so completely for me, and I 
 prepared to take my departure. 
 
 At that moment the door of the salon opened, and the 
 Countess de Banuelos, her face as sympathetic as ever, 
 especially resplendent, for the idea of pleasing others 
 was to her a very great pleasure, now appeared in full 
 dress. No sooner had she learned the difficulty than 
 
84 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 she immediately solved the entire situation ; she went up 
 to her room and came down ready to take her daughters 
 to the Duchess de Malakoff's, where she promised to 
 await her husband's arrival to relieve her of her charge. 
 There, as always, the soft hand of a woman removed the 
 obstacles that lay in the pathway of my life. With her 
 intervention all difficulties disappeared. We put the 
 ladies into their carriage, and the Count and I betook 
 ourselves to mine, ordering the coachman to drive to 
 the Palais de Castille. 
 
 The crowd there was as great as ever, and the greatest 
 precautions had been taken against intruders. Since 
 nine that night nobody had been allowed to enter. A 
 Commissary of Police, with a sufficiently strong squadron 
 of policemen under his orders, was guarding the great 
 gateways opening on the courtyard. Our carriage was 
 stopped even before we had penetrated the crowd. 
 
 Count Banuelos put out his head, summoned a police- 
 man and begged him to send for the Commissary. The 
 Count explained who he was, and informed him that he 
 was going to salute the King. The Commissary excused 
 himself with great politeness, but said that he could not 
 allow us to pass. Count Banuelos then gave him his 
 card and begged him to send it by one of his men to 
 Count Morphy, Governor of the Prince of Asturias, 
 henceforth King of Spain. The Commissary of Police 
 glanced at the card, bowed on reading the name that it 
 bore, and granted the request. Ten minutes later a 
 strong cordon of police made a passage in the crowd for 
 our carriage, men protected us and defended the gate, in 
 order to prevent a sudden rush within the courtyard. I 
 was seated in the dark comer of the carriage, and as we 
 
ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 85 
 
 were driven through the great doorway the gates were 
 closed quickly behind us. A journalist who happened 
 to be there, however, recognised my driver. 
 
 I heard him crying, "It is Blowitz's carriage," and I 
 also caught the sound of other cries and shouts of 
 objection as we ascended the stone steps leading to 
 the vestibule of the palace. 
 
 There was great commotion everywhere. All the 
 intimate friends of the royal palace had been ordered 
 thither, and they went and came, joyous salutations 
 resounding throughout the house in a fashion that seri- 
 ously compromised the etiquette of the Spanish Court. 
 Here one felt that beyond all doubt the pronuncia- 
 mento had indeed succeeded, and that Alphonso XII. 
 had certainly been proclaimed and recognised as King 
 of Spain. 
 
 Count Morphy came to meet us. After the introduc- 
 tions were over, he said to Count Banuelos: "The King 
 will see you with great pleasure ; and as for you, monsieur, 
 come in here, I beg you, into the King's study, where he 
 has been till just now. I will tell the King that you 
 are here. I will explain the object of your visit and will 
 return to tell you what he authorises me to say to you." 
 
 All who have had the good fortune to know Count 
 Morphy will understand that I had reason to congratulate 
 myself on my introduction to one of the most amiable, 
 accomplished and refined of gentlemen. Every time my 
 good star has brought me since into his presence — at 
 Madrid during the first marriage of the King, and at 
 Paris during the painful incidents of the return from 
 Germany — I recognised in him the same man, as kind, 
 as sympathetic and amiable to others as he was at our 
 
86 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 first meeting and, indeed, at the very first moment of 
 that meeting. 
 
 While Count Banuelos, accompanied by Count Morphy, 
 ascended to the next floor, where the King was, I entered 
 the " study" of the Prince of Asturias, a room to the left 
 on the ground floor, in that part of the house devoted 
 to Count Morphy. The walls were covered with geo- 
 graphical maps and photographs of sovereigns and 
 princes and princesses of reigning houses, all bearing 
 gracious dedications. On one table was a chart of both 
 hemispheres, and on another, covered with books and 
 papers, lay a volume of "Tacitus," bearing, in whose 
 handwriting I did not know, annotations in Spanish. 
 While I was excitedly engaged in noting the pages of 
 the book thus lying open under my eyes, eager to 
 know what the Prince of Asturias had last read, the 
 door opened and some one entered. I thought it was 
 Count Morphy. 
 . "You see, Count," I said, "I am trying to find the 
 
 passage " I looked up. It was the young King 
 
 himself, who with a smile on his lips and a beaming eye 
 stretched out a slightly feverish hand. 
 
 He was dressed with irreproachable taste and wore 
 his evening dress, with its narrow silk lapel, with 
 youthful and easy grace, while a gardenia adorned 
 his buttonhole. 
 
 In spite of his extreme youth, his face was serious, 
 his bearing energetic, and a slight line already seamed a 
 broad and intelligent brow, surmounted by fine dark 
 hair arranged with great care. 
 
 "May your Majesty pardon me," I said; "I thought 
 it was Count Morphy." 
 
ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 87 
 
 The King made a slight movement, his cheeks coloured 
 rapidly, and his mouth, a little melancholy even at this 
 moment and shaded by a fine youthful mustache, 
 began to smile frankly. 
 
 "Excuse me," he said, "for this little movement of 
 surprise, but, although I believe I may consider myself 
 King of Spain, you are the first stranger who has yet 
 greeted me with this title, and I could not repress the 
 slight movement which I perceive did not escape you." 
 
 Then, with his back against the fireplace^and with an 
 easy and charming simplicity, he told me himself all the 
 details of the movement which had just taken place. 
 He recalled the proclamation of Martinez Campos, the 
 attitude of the troops, the proclamation of the Governor 
 of Madrid, the feeling of the populace there and in the 
 provinces as indicated to him by telegrams. He then 
 spoke of the proclamation that he would himself address 
 to the Spanish people, and he outlined to me the entire 
 plan of the Constitution which he had conceived and 
 was on the point of elaborating. 
 
 "I have been utterly surprised at the event," he said, 
 "although I was expecting it. I was afraid it might 
 be too long delayed, but my friend, Martinez Campos, 
 wished to make me a present on this appropriate day of 
 the year, and," he added, laughing, "he could not have 
 chosen a finer one. 
 
 "I went out immediately after breakfast to take 
 advantage of a moment's sunshine, and when I returned 
 I saw people running toward the palace. The great 
 gateway was open, with everybody awaiting me on the 
 steps. The Queen was at the top of the stairs and coming 
 down to throw herself into my arms, while the others 
 
88 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 cried: 'Vive le Roil' Then I understood, and I had 
 all the difficulty in the world to keep from bursting into 
 tears, for I understand very well that my poor Spain has 
 need of a long rest in order to rise from her ruins, and I 
 do not know whether my strength is sufficient." 
 
 After some minutes of silence he took my hand as a 
 sign of farewell, and added gaily, "Between ourselves, 
 my intention is to avoid all future pronunciamentos, and 
 for that purpose I shall see the army immediately on my 
 return, and see it often in order to teach it that it has 
 only one head, who commands it and its commanders as 
 well, and that that head is the King. " 
 
 Count Morphy then came to me, while the young King 
 ascended to his apartments on the first floor. I thanked 
 him from the bottom of my heart for my good fortune, 
 to which he had so powerfully contributed, for the King 
 had said to me in our conversation: "My friends, Count 
 Banuelos and Count Morphy, both begged me to see you 
 myself. They probably thought that you had never seen 
 a King so soon after his accession, and that what I told 
 you myself would have more authenticity than what I 
 might say through them. You see I am not yet at 
 that epoch in my reign at which they no longer dare to 
 counsel me." 
 
 And I experience great pleasure now, after many 
 years, in expressing to those whom Alphonso XII. 
 called his two friends the feeling of profound and. affec- 
 tionate gratitude which I have ever since this event 
 entertained for them. 
 
 Both, happily, while Alphonso XII. reposes in the 
 royal vault of Spain, still live, and can accept the 
 expression of my enduring gratitude. 
 

 k a : 
 
 I^Ut 
 
 
 % ^ ■ t'y' 
 
 i<R.0NE r ! , 
 
 
 <S r. i,nrl<a t," 
 
 THE DE BLOWITZ COAT OF ARMS 
 
ALPHONSO XII. PROCLAIMED KING 89 
 
 But I admit I did not prolong my conversation with 
 Count Morphy, who was himself, in spite of the late hour, 
 wearied by many calls upon him. ]\Iessages followed one 
 another without cessation, and during the few moments 
 that I remained with him several packages of telegrams 
 were brought in. 
 
 It was half -past eleven. Count Banuelos had gone, 
 I know not how, leaving my carriage at my disposal. I 
 ordered my driver to go at a rapid trot, but the 
 snow and slipperiness made this impossible, and he 
 had to take the greatest precaution in order to avoid 
 an accident. It was almost one o'clock when I reached 
 the office of the Times. Every moment was precious. 
 I sent off two columns of matter, giving the 
 principal items and my interview with the King, 
 but it was too late to send the details that I have just 
 given. 
 
 The following day I remained in bed in a state of 
 intense fever, quite unable to write, and the day after that 
 it was too late to return to the details of that evening. 
 I could therefore only give them in these pages of my 
 journalistic life, as connected with the political events 
 of the time. 
 
 But although I could not publish everything, what 
 appeared in the Times on the following morning was 
 absolutely unknown to anybody. The correspondence 
 from Madrid was only a repetition of the telegrams in 
 other papers, and it was my story, given by the Times, 
 which the telegraphic agencies sent throughout the world. 
 
 On the 3rd of January, for the first time since I had 
 been imder his orders, Mr. John Delane wrote to me 
 direct, and congratulated me upon what he called my 
 
90 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 real masterly stroke. Mr. Delane usually corresponded 
 only with the chiefs of the service, which is sufficiently 
 explained by the fact of his enormous correspondence as 
 editor-in-chief of the Times. On receiving this letter, so 
 replete with enthusiasm on the success obtained on the 
 31st of the previous month, I imderstood that this last 
 effort, more than all others put together, had triimiphed 
 over all the obstacles in the way of my appointment as 
 the Times representative at Paris. I awaited with confi- 
 dence this appointment, which was officially annoimced 
 on the ist of February, 1875. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 The French Scare of 1875 
 
 My desire in this chapter is to narrate in all simplicity 
 the story of a historical episode in which I played a 
 certain part — an episode that has been travestied by 
 almost everybody who has written about it, and that 
 has often been spoken of in ignorance. Yet it is one 
 which deserves to be placed in its true light before 
 posterity. 
 
 In 1875 the Duke Decazes was Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs and one of the most conspicuous figures in the 
 French political world. From the early days of his 
 appointment as Minister he had become famous as a 
 clever diplomatist. He had taken possession of the post 
 just after the fall of Thiers, succeeding Count de Remusat, 
 a man whose diplomatic despatches are still regarded as 
 models of their kind. But it must be admitted that the 
 difficulties that lay in the path of the Duke Decazes were 
 infinitely greater than those against which Count de 
 Remusat had to contend. 
 
 As long as Thiers remained in power, Europe was 
 convinced that France would never dream of abandoning 
 the republican form of government. Europe was aware 
 that the home problem in France, in her struggle in 
 defense of the Republican idea against all the furious 
 hostility of the former parties, was of itself so difficult 
 
 91 
 
92 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 as to be an earnest of peace. But the accession of the 
 Conservatives, and in particular of the Orleanist party, 
 aroused abroad a great deal of anxiety. It was feared 
 that this party might try to overturn the Republic and 
 establish the Monarchy, and that the peace of Europe 
 might thereby be troubled. Indeed, the new Government 
 seemed at a very early date to be giving some show of 
 reason for this dread. The French bishops, in the very 
 year of the change, and the Bishop of Nancy in particular, 
 published certain pastoral letters which aroused indig- 
 nation and the anxiety — perhaps only feigned — of Ger- 
 many. The two monarchical houses, the Legitimists and 
 the Orleanists, united their forces to a common end; a 
 delicate situation was created with Italy; the policy of 
 England was opposed; Spanish susceptibilities were 
 irritated by foreign suspicion to the effect that the new 
 Government favoured the Carlists; and then, little by 
 little, as if in the natural course of things, France found 
 itself hedged about by a circle of suspicious and dis- 
 trustful neighbours. 
 
 This general feeling among European statesmen was 
 not lessened by the elevation of Marshal MacMahon to 
 the Presidency. It was believed that military reorganisa- 
 tion would henceforth be the chief preoccupation of 
 France; and when the National Assembly patriotically 
 voted the creation of the Fourth Battalion, this vote, 
 which had almost been forced upon Parliament, was 
 the expression of widespread national anxiety, which 
 Germany did not fail to note. 
 
 Therein resides the true origin of the diplomatic 
 incident of May, 1875. 
 
 As soon as the creation of this Fourth Battalion was 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 93 
 
 decided on, the military party in Germany betrayed much 
 agitation, of which Count Moltke, the personification, 
 after the Emperor, of German mihtary power, was the 
 first to give the signal. From the very start the Emperor 
 William I. had shown that he was resolved to be the sole 
 master in military matters, but he left Prince Bismarck 
 almost absolute freedom in all questions not pertaining 
 to the army. It was in this way, indeed, that he succeeded 
 in soothing the suspicious and the irascible nature of 
 his Chancellor. Even at the present day it is impossible 
 to say what were the secret aspirations of the Chancellor 
 after the treaty of Frankfort, which had sealed the 
 triumph of Germany over France. He had certainly 
 regarded himself from the outset as the sole founder 
 of the new German Empire. His constant utterances 
 after his fall prove how deep-rooted was this conviction. 
 From the start he was clearly discontented. For a 
 long time he had nursed the all but impossible dream of 
 expelling Austria from Germany, and of including as 
 parts of a single empire, of which he saw the vision, the 
 southern States, the Kingdom of Saxony, and all the 
 independent States scattered over German territory. 
 This end he had constantly pursued amidst the greatest 
 obstacles, and this ambitious scheme he had succeeded 
 in accomplishing solely by his persevering genius. When 
 at the close of the war, after the treaty was signed, 
 M. Pouyer-Quertier said to him, "There's no reason 
 why you should complain; you have been made a 
 Prince," the Chancellor replied, showing him a parch- 
 ment roll: "You think, then, I have no reason to 
 complain. Certainly I have become a Prince. As for 
 my principality, here it is." 
 
94 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 This secret discontent, this disenchantment of a 
 man who thought himself the founder of the empire, 
 was instinctively understood by the Emperor. And 
 it was as a sop to his overleaping ambition that he 
 made Prince Bismarck the real sovereign of Germany, 
 reserving for himself only the absolute control of 
 the army. 
 
 Prince Bismarck and Count Moltke were never rivals, 
 for each kept to his respective field, although the former, 
 by his sovereign's pleasure, always wore the uniform 
 with characteristic regularity. 
 
 When, therefore, the creation of the Fourth Battalion 
 was decided on, and when Count Moltke, who was ever 
 most vigilant, saw how the active army of France was 
 being strengthened, he communicated his fears not to 
 Prince Bismarck, but to the Emperor William himself. 
 And Prince Bismarck was well aware that it was of no 
 use for him to intervene in any way, either to hasten or 
 retard or even to stop the scheme conceived by Count 
 Moltke, knowing full well beforehand that all inter- 
 vention in this question would be trespassing on for- 
 bidden ground. 
 
 Prince Bismarck always energetically protested not 
 only against his being considered the author of an 
 aggressive scheme formulated in 1875 against France, 
 but he has constantly maintained that no such idea 
 had occurred to any one in Germany, and that it 
 existed only in the malevolent minds of the French. 
 The latter, however, claimed that these plans had 
 nearly been successful, and were thwarted only by 
 Russian intervention. 
 
 The result of this accusation was calculated to preju- 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 95 
 
 dice the German nation in the eyes of posterity. It 
 threw upon Russia the entire honourable responsibility 
 of checkmating this design; and on the other hand, 
 Prince Bismarck's attitude toward the French, whom 
 he treated as calumniators, had the result of detracting 
 from the renown of France while it placed Russia in the 
 light of a pretentious Don Quixote. 
 
 It is to rectify so many erroneous statements, to 
 apportion to each, in all fairness, his responsibilities and 
 his successes — it is, in a word, to throw light upon a 
 historical event until now left in vague obscurity, that 
 I now write these pages. 
 
 All the European foreign offices were secretly informed 
 at the beginning of 1875 of the excited state of feeling 
 in Germany, caused by the creation, by the French 
 chamber, of the Fourth Battalion. 
 
 Prince Bismarck's intentions remained, however, a 
 mystery. 
 
 It was well known that the Emperor would brook from 
 him no intervention so far as military affairs were con- 
 cerned; and the German army corps and the German 
 military party looked at matters only from the militaiy 
 point of view. Prince Bismarck, who at the time, 
 evidently, was of opinion that discretion was the better 
 part of valour, assumed an attitude of alert observation, 
 gathered from every quarter of Europe all possible 
 impressions, and bided his time. 
 
 Thus the various European foreign offices became 
 aware of the state of mind of the German military party, 
 while they were entirely ignorant of the Chancellor's 
 intentions. On the whole, the general impression was 
 that Prince Bismarck's decisions would in one way or 
 
96 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 another triumph, and that, notwithstanding the precision 
 of the resolutions formed by the mihtary party, the 
 matter would still be left vague and uncertain and never 
 develop into anything. This very vagueness was omi- 
 nous, though, and the air of mystery which in European 
 diplomatic circles surrounded the crisis that had been 
 secretly concocted in the German capital was a quite 
 natural result. 
 
 I myself was indirectly informed by various people of 
 the actual state of affairs. I was asked to watch what 
 was going on between Germany and France. I was the 
 constant recipient of letters from all over Europe, asking 
 if it was true that France was becoming so strong as to 
 be a legitimate menace at Berlin and if the Fourth 
 Battalion was a dangerous addition to the French Army. 
 And I saw that these inquiries usually emanated from 
 persons who were the mouthpieces of others. All 
 this was further evidence of the general preoccupation 
 that existed in all European countries. 
 
 About this epoch I met M. Clasczko, the keen-sighted 
 author of " Les Deux Chanceliers." He had just returned 
 from a trip through Europe. He had been received 
 everyivhere as he deserved to be, for he was a man to 
 be trusted, and he had been struck by the widespread 
 anxiety that was noticeable among European statesmen. 
 He came to see me and we had a long and absolutely 
 frank conversation. Our conclusion was that the situa- 
 tion demanded my keenest attention, and we parted with 
 the agreement to keep each other mutually informed of 
 all that came to our notice. 
 
 On the 14th of April, 1875, I met the Duke Decazes 
 at a soiree at the house of the Prefect of Police, M. Leon 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 97 
 
 Renault. The Duke was standing near the door a Httle 
 apart from the company, as if preferring to be alone. 
 As I went by him I bowed. He stopped me and said: 
 
 " You seem in a great hurry." 
 
 "No," I replied; "but you appear to have something 
 on your mind, and I did not wish to be indiscreet." 
 
 "You are paying me a very poor compliment," he 
 retorted, "for, if I really have something on my mind, I 
 ought not to show it; and if I have not, it is a great 
 mistake to appear to have. But confess that you said 
 this for a purpose : you wanted to let me know that you 
 think I really ought to be anxious." 
 
 " No, Monsieur le Due," I said, " I was not as subtle as 
 that. The truth is, that, thinking you were worried, I 
 discovered that your face betrayed it." 
 
 " We cannot talk here," said the Duke. "Come to see 
 me to-morrow evening and we will have a long talk. In 
 my rooms no one will interrupt us." 
 
 On the following evening at nine I was at the house of 
 the Duke Decazes. I knew how much he hated being 
 forced to talk or to have information wrung from him. 
 As this process had always seemed to me childish and 
 commonplace, I was tempted less than ever to apply it 
 in his case. I therefore produced and read aloud in a 
 clear voice the letters that I had received about the 
 German military party, the notes I had taken on the 
 subject from conversations with foreign diplomatists 
 and even with members of the Paris diplomatic corps, 
 and in particular the very characteristic words of 
 M. Clasczko. 
 
 After listening for some time, the Duke said : 
 
 "I really have not anything to tell you. You know 
 
98 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 all that has come to my knowledge, and my information 
 so strongly corroborates yours that there is only one 
 conclusion to be drawn, namely, that every foreign office 
 in Europe is preoccupied with our relations with Germany. 
 I must add, however, to what you have said merely this : 
 Hohenlohe came here and tried to turn the conversation 
 upon our armaments and the anxiety which they are 
 causing in Germany. I tried to turn the subject, as it is 
 too risky to discuss. But I know Hohenlohe well, and 
 I know his orders. He will come back, and if I continue 
 to avoid the topic, and refuse all explanations, he will 
 arrange to bring about a coup d'etat of some kind or other. 
 He will succeed in obtaining leave of absence, and will 
 manage to leave Paris in such a way as to compromise 
 the situation, for his presence here is a gage of peace. 
 What troubles me is that the Germans still surround 
 their plans with so much mystery that the world con- 
 tinues to be ignorant of them, and that these plans may 
 come to maturity at any moment, when it will be too 
 late to do anything. 
 
 "The Russian Emperor thinks of going to Berlin at 
 the beginning of May, and everything that is possible will 
 be done to keep the matter dark. The Emperor will, 
 of course, be told about these plans, but he will pretend 
 that he does not know about them and refuse to believe 
 them; and he will not venture to allude to them so long 
 as they are not mentioned to him. How, indeed, can 
 a sovereign allow another sovereign, a friendly one, to 
 suppose that he regards the latter capable of such an act 
 of aggression against a vanquished and disarmed people — ■ 
 an aggression which, in the present circumstances, would 
 be little short of barbarous ? So that all possible secrecy 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OP 1875 99 
 
 will be kept at Berlin during the Emperor's stay, and if 
 the matter should come to the surface at all it will be 
 after he has gone. 
 
 "For this reason I think that there is only one way to 
 prevent the Russian Emperor from being compelled, while 
 at Berlin, to hold his peace. I will tell you how. Some 
 authoritative journal, known throughout the world, 
 should expose the entire situation, and this journal, I 
 need hardly tell you, should be the Times. 
 
 "No French journal could possibly do it, for the 
 Germans would have the right to regard it as a provoca- 
 tion, and no one would believe the statement abroad. 
 To adopt such a course would therefore be a very great 
 mistake. Nor could such an exposure be made in an 
 Italian journal; those friendly to us have no authority. 
 In Austria no important paper would care or dare to do 
 it ; and the Russian press is obviously out of the question, 
 as its intervention, even were the censors to allow it, 
 would put the Russian Emperor in a false position at 
 Berlin. The Times is the only paper in the world which 
 can possibly publish such information with any telling 
 and authoritative effect. And that is what I ask you 
 to do." 
 
 "I am perfectly ready, as far as I am concerned," I 
 said, "to undertake this work, but you will understand 
 that the subject is too important for me to be able 
 to guarantee publication without previously inform- 
 ing the Times and obtaining its assent. I shall write 
 to-morrow to Mr. John Delane, and act according to 
 his orders." 
 
 I did so. I placed the exact situation before Mr. 
 Delane and asked explicitly for permission to write a 
 
 LofC. 
 
loo MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 letter publicly denouncing the plan of aggression against 
 France conceived by the German military party. 
 
 Mr. John Delane replied that my commimication had 
 greatly interested, even moved him, but he said that 
 such an insinuation against a civilised nation could not 
 be risked by a paper like the Times unless it were backed 
 up in the most positive and official manner, so that, if 
 called to account, absolute and crushing proof could be 
 adduced in reply. I showed his letter to the Duke 
 Decazes, and it caused him much disappointment, 
 although he agreed with me that Mr. John Delane 
 could scarcely act differently. He began to walk 
 up and down the room in great agitation, constantly 
 repeating : 
 
 "Time presses. We must act, or it will be too late. 
 I persist in my idea: the Times is the only paper which 
 can do what I ask; and if it does not do it, all may be 
 lost." Then turning to me suddenly, he said, "What 
 Mr. Delane wants, then, is information so authorita- 
 tive that he may be sure he is acting on the best faith 
 in the world?" 
 
 "Certainly," I replied; "that is Mr. Delane's idea." 
 
 "Very well," he said; "come back and see me this 
 evening." 
 
 On returning in the evening I found him in one of the 
 small first-floor rooms, where he was alwavs to be seen 
 when alone. 
 
 "Do you think," he asked, "that Mr. Delane would 
 publish your letter if you assured him on your word 
 of honour that you referred to an absolutely authen- 
 tic document?" 
 
 " I am sure of it," I replied. " The day when my word 
 
PRINCE HOHENLOHE 
 [Prom an autographed photo presented to M. de Blowitz] 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 loi 
 
 of honour is not enough for Mr. Delane he will no longer 
 find me under his orders." 
 
 "Then," said the Duke Decazes, "I am going to do 
 something that is absolutely unusual. I am going to 
 communicate to you an official and confidential docu- 
 ment; but in so acting I am convinced that I am acting 
 in my country's interest and in that of Europe. I must 
 ask you, though, to swear to me that, in my lifetime, you 
 will not say that I have shown you this document unless 
 you are compelled for the honour of your paper to do so. 
 Not that I fear to confess to all the world what I am going 
 to do, but because I know the passions that exist all 
 about us. If the misfortune that I fear should occur, I 
 should be blamed for not having warded it off; and if I 
 succeed in preventing it, it will be said to have existed 
 only in my imagination. For this reason I ask you to 
 keep your own counsel as to our interview — at least as 
 long as I am in this world. If you survive me, I authorise 
 you to speak ; for by that time I hope the hour of justice 
 will have arrived for me, and my act will be seen to be 
 that of an ardent patriot, anxious only to defend his 
 country against a fresh calamity." 
 
 With these words the Duke took out of a drawer in a 
 small desk that stood at the right of the chimney-piece 
 a rather large paper note-book and handed it to me. 
 
 The book contained a despatch from the Count de 
 Gontaut-Biron, French Ambassador at Berlin. In this 
 despatch the Count de Gontaut-Biron, who w^as always 
 most highly respected by all those who knew him, had 
 given the Duke Decazes a detailed account of his inter- 
 view with M. de Radowitz, whom he bad met at a ball. 
 
 M. de Radowitz, having turned the theme of conversa- 
 
102 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 tion to the famous Fourth Battalion and the French 
 armaments, which were arousing the anxiety of the 
 German Government, revealed to him the plans 
 conceived against France by the German military 
 party. M. de Radowitz stated that Coiint Moltke 
 had great influence over the Emperor and had proved 
 to him the necessity of an immediate war with 
 France. The German armies were to invade France, 
 crush instantly all opposition, press on to Paris, invest 
 the capital, and take up a position on the plateau of 
 Avron, whence they could overlook Paris and, if need be, 
 destroy it. This done, Germany would dictate a treaty 
 reducing France to absolute subjection for many years. 
 It would insist on a permanently reduced army, impose a 
 war indemnity of 10,000,000,000 (ten milliards) of francs, 
 payable in twenty annuities, without any clause allowing 
 payment to be made in advance, with annual interest at 
 five per cent., and keep garrisons in the principal towns 
 of France until the whole sum should be paid. Count 
 de Gontaut-Biron had scarcely been able to maintain his 
 sang-froid during this revelation. He pretended to 
 M. de Radowitz that he did not believe it, and he had 
 thus forced him to confirm his words in the most absolute 
 fashion. He left M. de Radowitz in the greatest excite- 
 ment, for he felt sure that the latter had spoken by order, 
 although he could not conceive who had commanded it, 
 or why. He believed that the idea was to frighten 
 France, and to force that country into some overtures of 
 explanation which would reassure Germany. But he 
 left no stone unturned to investigate the matter and 
 corroborate this information. The result of his inquiries 
 was that he had become certain that the scheme had been 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 103 
 
 concocted only by the military party, and that Prince 
 Bismarck, as far as his responsibility went, was an 
 absolute stranger to the plan. 
 
 As may be easily imagined, I was profoundly impressed 
 by the reading of this document. In tones betraying my 
 emotion I returned the note-book, and, thanking the 
 Duke, said : 
 
 "I will write the letter, and I swear to you to do all 
 that is in my power to obtain its publication." 
 
 On going home, without a moment's delay I wrote a 
 letter revealing the entire plan of the German military 
 party as told by M. de Gontaut-Biron from the informa- 
 tion given by M. de Radowitz. And on receiving this 
 letter, Mr. John Delane, frightened at its contents, took 
 measures himself to discover what was true and what was 
 false in the terrible scheme thus circumstantially revealed. 
 
 Some days went by without the letter's appearing. I 
 began to be apprehensive, when suddenly, on May 4, 1875, 
 it was published under the title, "The French Scare." 
 
 The effect was instantaneous and universal. The 
 Emperor Alexander H. no longer had any excuse, during 
 his approaching visit to Berlin, not to know all about the 
 matter; and indeed, in the midst of the excitement 
 aroused by my letter, the German Chancellor himself 
 had nothing left to do but to bring before the Russian 
 Emperor the question of this bellicose scheme imputed 
 to Germany, and to wash his hands of it. 
 
 The German Emperor, too, on meeting M. de Gontaut- 
 Biron, said to him, "They are trying to embroil 
 matters between us, but fortunately they have not 
 succeeded." 
 
 Prince Gortchakoff lost no time in addressing to the 
 
I04 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 Russian representatives a circular beginning "Peace 
 is henceforth assured." Lord Derby, on his part, assured 
 Englishmen of the same fact. 
 
 But the French press, mistaking altogether the motives 
 which had dictated the Times letter, and quite without 
 reflection, heaped upon its author the most incredible 
 insults. The German press, seeing what had been the 
 effects of it, echoed the attacks of the French news- 
 papers, until the latter, finally detecting the real motive 
 that had inspired the letter, ceased their diatribes. Six 
 weeks later, as I was entering the Countess de Valon's 
 salon with a friend, a Frenchman who was there asked 
 my friend how much Prince Bismarck had paid me for 
 "publishing the scare letter." 
 
 This is sufficient to show to what degree of blindness 
 my act of loyalty had driven the French press, an act 
 made possible by the courageous and enlightened 
 support of my chief. 
 
 I confess that the following letter from Mr. John Delane 
 made up for all these attacks and insults : 
 
 "May 1 8. 
 
 ''My Dear Mr. de Blowitz: I did not need your very 
 interesting letter of the 14th inst. to appreciate the entire 
 success of that startling public letter by which you 
 alarmed Europe to a sense of its imminent danger. It 
 has been of the greatest public service, and, as I sincerely 
 believe, has done even much to spare the world the horrors 
 of another war. No greater honour than to have aided 
 in averting war is within the reach of the journalist. 
 
 "As to the French and German press, I hope you 
 have philosophy enough to bear their attacks with con- 
 temptuous equanimity. ' ' 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 105 
 
 On December 17, 1878, I was dining at the Cafe Voisin. 
 General Leflo entered and sat down at a table in a comer 
 close by. As I had finished my dinner, I joined him. 
 General Leflo had been French Ambassador at St. 
 Petersburg during the period of the incidents called by 
 the Times "The French Scare." He, better than any 
 one, was able to give me details of the incident in which 
 I had been myself so closely associated. The following 
 is a faithful account of what he said to me : 
 
 "I was in Paris when the incident of 1875 first began 
 to arouse the attention of European statesmen. I called 
 on the Duke Decazes and took the liberty of telling him 
 that, to my mind, his fears in reference to an attack by 
 Germany upon France were greatly exaggerated. The 
 Duke replied that he had in his possession certain trust- 
 worthy documents which appeared to him to justify all 
 his fears. As a result of this conversation I was to 
 return as soon as possible to St. Petersburg. But before 
 my departure I wished to call on Prince Orloff, then 
 Russian Ambassador in Paris, to let him know that I was 
 going back to Russia. 
 
 " 'I have just mentioned your name in a telegram to 
 Prince Gortchakoff, ' said Prince Orloff to me. ' I am 
 quite of your opinion that the fears of the Duke Decazes 
 are chimerical, and I do not believe that any one now 
 thinks of attacking France. ' 
 
 "From Prince Orloff I went to the Elysee to see the 
 Marshal, for I wished to tell him, as well as the Duke 
 Decazes, of the encouraging impression left upon me by 
 Prince Orloff's words. The Marshal was out, so I pro- 
 ceeded to the house of the Duke Decazes. He, too, was 
 away from home. Returning to the Elysee, I found an 
 
io6 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 aide-de-camp of the President, whom I entrusted with a 
 message for the latter to the effect that, as I did not wish 
 to leave Paris for my post without seeing him, I would 
 call again on the morrow, postponing my journey for a 
 day. The same evening I received from the Marshal a 
 note fixing an appointment for nine o'clock on the 
 following morning. I went there at the hour named. 
 In all frankness I told him what I myself thought, adding 
 that my opinion had been corroborated by other men of 
 standing ; and I protested against the views held not only 
 by him but by his Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Duke 
 Decazes, as well as by some other French statesmen. 
 
 "'You seem to take the whole matter very easily,' 
 said the Marshal, and with a key attached to his watch- 
 chain he opened a drawer and took out a packet of 
 papers. 
 
 "These papers were official documents of all kinds, 
 including some military reports to the Government and 
 to the President. They came from all the French military 
 attaches in Europe, and testified to the recent activity 
 of Germany in provisioning its troops, in purchasing 
 horses, and in storing up fresh ammunition. It was 
 stated that all these horses and this ammunition had 
 been transferred to the neighbourhood of the French 
 frontier. They contained the fullest and most astound- 
 ing details as to the process of mobilisation which had 
 been secretly going on in Germany for some time. 
 
 " It took me more than an hour to look through these 
 documents with care, and I made a brief summary of 
 them, which I submitted to the Marshal, and which I 
 wished to take with me to St. Petersburg. 
 
 "The following morning I set out. It was a tiresome 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 107 
 
 journey, especially for a man of my age. I had seen 
 Prince Orloff before leaving, and, with the consent of the 
 Marshal and the Duke Decazes, had told him what I had 
 just learned and how I had begun to share their fears. 
 He entrusted me with a long despatch for Prince Gort- 
 chakoff , the exact contents of which were not known to 
 me. On arriving at St. Petersburg I was so exhausted 
 by my journey that, in sending to Prince GortchakofE the 
 despatch, I excused myself for not calling upon him 
 immediately, and said that I should go to see him within 
 forty-eight hours. 
 
 "But on the morrow, before I was up — on account of 
 my fatigue I had remained in bed longer than usual — 
 my man-servant came to tell me that Prince Gortchakoff 
 was in the salon. I dressed in haste and went down to 
 see him. 
 
 " ' I came to inquire about your health, ' he said, ' and 
 to talk over Prince Orloff's despatch. I am rather of 
 his opinion that your fears are a little exaggerated. It 
 is true enough that they are angry in Berlin at the energy 
 you are displaying in repairing your disasters, and at 
 the remarkable result you have already obtained in the 
 short space of four years, while other nations would have 
 spent the time in thinking matters over. But anger 
 such as this does not mean that they think of attacking 
 you, and I really believe that you insult the national 
 honour of our time by imagining that they entertain in 
 Germany any such intention. ' 
 
 " I made no reply. This was clearly the part that 
 Prince Gortchakoff might be expected to play. He 
 knew that it was not by adding fuel to the fire of our 
 anxiety that the situation could be made less serious, or 
 
io8 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 that minds could be calmed. Instead of discussing the 
 matter with him, I asked to be immediately presented 
 to the Emperor. The Prince promised to arrange the 
 matter that very day. 
 
 " The Emperor had the very correct rule, I well knew, 
 of always replying on the following day to any request 
 for an audience made by a member of the diplomatic 
 corps. When three days went by without an answer, I 
 began to be greatly troubled. I took his silence as 
 evidence of his slight regard for French anxiety at the 
 moment, and my distress increased with my irritation. 
 
 " It was in this state of mind that I met Prince Gort- 
 chakoff again. I confessed to him how anxious I felt, 
 and I told him how much I feared a failure in my mission 
 of interesting the Czar in my country. 
 
 " My words evidently had their effect, for on that very 
 evening I was told that the Emperor would receive me 
 on the following day. I was there at the appointed hour. 
 The Emperor, although amiable, was a little cool in his 
 manner. Even before I had begun to speak of my 
 mission, he said to me, as if echoing Prince Gortchakoff's 
 words: 'I know what brings you here, but I hope that 
 your fears are exaggerated. People at Berlin are cer- 
 tainly startled at your extraordinary activity, but that 
 doesn't mean that they are thinking of attacking you. ' 
 
 " This language frightened me. The Czar had spoken 
 in a tone of such evident firmness that it seemed as though 
 nothing could change his opinion. I felt that it was the 
 expression of an irrevocable foregone conclusion in favour 
 of Germany, and that any words of mine would be taken 
 only as a calumny against that country's honour. But 
 I could not hesitate. I placed before him all the com- 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 109 
 
 munications shown to me by Marshal MacMahon, the 
 reports of the mihtary attache's and Foreign Ministers, 
 and without comment I merely begged him to look them 
 through. He did so with some attention and his face 
 betrayed his emotion. 
 
 "I then began to speak. I admitted to him that 
 France was weak, it was true, but just then in such a 
 state of mind that so perfidious, so barbarous an attack 
 by Germany would drive it to exasperation; that if the 
 worst should really happen it would be a war to the death 
 without quarter, and that all Europe would be dragged 
 into this struggle of extermination. I was so deeply 
 affected by the sense of the enormous responsibility that 
 weighed upon me that I burst into tears. 
 
 "The Emperor rose quickly. He came up to me, and, 
 drawing himself up to his full height, with one hand he 
 took mine, and placing the other, with a dignified and 
 friendly gesture, upon my shoulder, said, in a voice of 
 restrained emotion: 
 
 "'Becalm. You shall not be attacked. I promise 
 you to prevent any such scheme. Europe will never see 
 such a spectacle ! ' 
 
 " My joy at these words was profound. A man so 
 omnipotent as Alexander H., a man so alive to the sense 
 of sovereign responsibility, could not possibly have used 
 this language without being sincere. In circumstances 
 like these the word of a sovereign was more sacred, more 
 inviolable, than any treaty. His promise, 'Europe will 
 never see such a spectacle,' was an encouragement in 
 which I could have absolute confidence. I left the royal 
 presence relieved of an enormous weight. Hurrying 
 home, I sent to the Duke Decazes a despatch in cipher. 
 
no MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 warning him to have it read in his presence by his most 
 confidential clerks; and I so wrote it that if deciphered 
 in portions by several persons there cotdd be no possible 
 danger of its sense being indiscreetly detected. 
 
 "The reply of the Duke Decazes came very speedily. 
 It was full of the greatest admiration for and gratitude 
 toward Alexander II. It said that France, under the 
 shelter, as it were, of this imperial utterance, might 
 await the future in all confidence, and bare its face to 
 the storm without fear. But in a private portion the 
 Duke added: 'It must not be forgotten that the war, 
 now being secretly planned in Berlin in so much mystery 
 and silence, might at any time burst forth suddenly, and 
 as the Czar has solemnly affirmed that this shall not hap- 
 pen. His Majesty may feel called upon to draw his own 
 sword to keep the promise of his inviolable word. His 
 Majesty, in the enthusiastic expression of his generous 
 soul, has perhaps not thought of such a contingency ; but 
 we should be disloyal and ungrateful to His Majesty if, 
 while using the greatest prudence, we did not make this 
 possibility quite clear.' 
 
 "This telegram worried me considerably. I wondered 
 if the Duke Decazes was not carrying a little too far his 
 feelings of loyalty and gratitude to the Czar, and I also 
 wondered if, in communicating this excessive scruple, 
 I might not upset all that I had done and expose France 
 again to isolation. Looking through the despatch again, 
 I marked with a red pencil the confidential passages 
 in order to leave them out when I read it to Prince 
 Gortchakoff. 
 
 "Simultaneously with, this despatch, I received a copy 
 of a conversation between Count de Gontaut-Biron and 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 m 
 
 M. de Radowitz, and a circumstantial account of a min- 
 isterial council held in Berlin, in the Emperor William's 
 presence when Coimt Moltke had spoken as follows: 'It 
 is not peace that we have made, but only a truce. To-day 
 France is without an army and without money. In spite 
 of its all but inexhaustible prosperity, it could not pos- 
 sibly raise the sums necessary to organise a resistance 
 worthy of the name. It would certainly try to fight — 
 and fortmiately, too, for us, for we would not think of 
 attacking a nation unable to do its best to resist us. 
 But now, whatever the resistance, our success is certain. 
 A new war is only a question of time, and if we post- 
 pone it for eighteen months, France, with the marvellous 
 resources which it has at its disposal, will have so far 
 recovered from its disasters as to be able to set against 
 us an army equal to our own. Its frontiers will have 
 been reestablished, and in eighteen months it will have 
 as strong an artillery as we have to-day. It is a matter 
 of whether we wish to sacrifice or not 100,000 men, 
 for that is what will be inevitable if we put matters 
 off. From every point of view, military, political, 
 philosophic, and even Christian, an immediate war is a 
 necessity.' 
 
 "Taking the diplomatic paper which contained these 
 words, the military reports and the despatch of the 
 Duke Decazes, I called unexpectedly upon Prince Gort- 
 chakoff . I foimd him lying on a sofa, laid up with an 
 injured foot. Seeing him in this state, I was about to 
 withdraw, but the Prince insisted that I should stay. 
 I began to read to him the despatch from the Duke 
 Decazes, of course leaving out the marked passages. 
 But the room was not well lighted, and I stumbled at a 
 
112 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 certain place. The Prince noticed that I was not read- 
 ing it all, and interrupting me, said : 
 
 " 'My dear General, you really believe that Germany is 
 planning to attack your country because you are now 
 imable to defend yourself successfully; and you think, 
 therefore, that this must at any cost be prevented, lest a 
 great blot should stain the history of this country. So 
 be it, but in these circumstances all hesitation is a crime, 
 and reticence would be bad policy. I know my master. 
 I know how he is touched by confidence placed in him, 
 if only it be absolute and without reserve. He did not 
 speak as he did lightly, for he has since repeated his words 
 to me. Give me, then, the whole of your document, 
 and I will send it to him this very moment, without even 
 looking at it myself.' 
 
 "I hesitated no longer, but handed the paper to him 
 just as it was. The Prince wrote a note there in my 
 presence. He put the manuscript with the note into an 
 envelope, and calling an aide-de-camp, sent the package 
 to the Emperor. 
 
 "I confess that on leaving Prince Gortchakoff I was in 
 what may be called a 'state of mind.' The Emperor was 
 to leave for Berlin within four days. I could not ask for 
 another audience. Prince Gortchakoff was laid up at 
 home, and it was not even certain that he would be 
 able to accompany the Czar. How, then, could I learn 
 the effect produced upon him by the despatch from the 
 Duke Decazes with its dangerous passages ? I was myself 
 ill on the following day, having been overexcited by the 
 events which had taken place, and I was obliged to remain 
 in bed. My secretary brought me the news that the 
 Emperor was to go that very evening to a soiree at the 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 113 
 
 Princess Yousoupoff's. I sent for my doctor, and after 
 much persuasion induced him to let me get up and go 
 to this party. I arrived after the entertainment had 
 begun, but I was scarcely inside the great gallery when I 
 saw the Emperor entering it at the opposite end. I 
 noticed that he was looking at me. Then he made a 
 slight sign of recognition and came slowly toward me 
 between the hedge, so to speak, of guests that was formed 
 on either side. As he advanced, I felt myself turning 
 pale. But when he had come up he stretched out both 
 hands, and as everybody had discreetly gone a short 
 distance away, said: 
 
 " * I have been greatly touched by your confidence. Do 
 not regret it. You may be sure that all that is humanly 
 possible I shall do. You will not be attacked unawares. 
 I swear it.' 
 
 "Two days afterward I was present among the staff 
 officers near the Emperor during a review. At its close, 
 and as I passed before the Emperor to take leave of him, 
 he stopped me with a sign, and said: 'Adieu, General; 
 oil, niiciix, an revoir. Rassiirez voire gouvernement.' 
 Then, with a kindly smile, he recalled the confidential 
 passages in the despatch from the Duke Decazes, saying : 
 'Tell the Duke Decazes he may be tranquil. There 
 will be no surprise.' 
 
 "There," concluded General Leflo, turning to me; 
 "now you have the complete and detailed account of my 
 personal action in the affair of 1875. The rest took 
 place in Berlin, for on the morrow the Emperor left St. 
 Petersburg, and I did not see him again." 
 
 If the preceding narrative has been read with attention, 
 the conclusion will appear obvious. As has been seen, 
 
114 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 it was M. de Radowitz who revealed to M. Gontaut-Biron 
 the plan of the military party in all its details. Such an 
 indiscretion as this on the part of a German diplomatist, 
 unless it was committed by order, would have drawn 
 down upon him the severest punishment. But who 
 could possibly have ordered this indiscretion ? Certainly 
 not Count Moltke, who was pursuing his plan of attack 
 with his characteristic tenacity. It was Prince Bismarck 
 — and the fact does him the greatest honour — who 
 ordered M. de Radowitz to let M. de Gontaut-Biron know 
 what was going on in Germany. Prince Bismarck knew 
 that the Emperor WiUiam I. had been much influenced 
 by Count Moltke' s pertinacity. He knew that on the 
 military ground there was no chance of his intervention. 
 But he saw, not only that the rights of nations and 
 national honour forbade the execution of this scheme 
 as an ineradicable blot on the pages of history, but 
 also that politically — ^from the point of view, that is, 
 of the attitude of England and Russia — such an en- 
 terprise might turn out to be most disastrous for 
 Germany. Austria, moreover, had not forgotten the 
 defeat of 1866, and there was the danger that it 
 might join Russia and England to prevent such 
 an attack on France. Prince Bismarck, therefore, 
 thought that the best way to cut short a project of which 
 he was himself no longer the master was to reveal it to 
 official Europe and let the force of public opinion take 
 its dissuasive course. 
 
 It has been said that this action on his part was 
 traitorous toward the German military party. But that 
 is absurd. There was a consideration in Prince Bismarck's 
 mind above and beyond this. It was the historic honour 
 
THE FRENCH SCARE OF 1875 115 
 
 of the German nation and the danger to which, in spite 
 of French weakness, his country might be exposed. 
 Moreover, all who remarked that during the Berlin 
 Congress M. de Radowitz, as secretary, was seated for 
 an entire month directly in front of Prince Bismarck, 
 that the Prince treated him always with the utmost 
 kindness, and that until Prince Bismarck's fall he was 
 the recipient of constant favours from the Chancellor, 
 perceived clearly enough in these marks of special honour 
 the evidence of M. de Radowitz 's great role during the 
 crisis of 1875. There can be no doubt that the latter 
 acted by special order, and that this historic episode 
 occurred as I have related it. The hostile projects of 
 Count Moltke remained unfulfilled only because of 
 Prince Bismarck's failure to cooperate. He undermined 
 them by bold but direct tactics, which were quite in 
 keeping with his well-known audacity. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 The Berlin Congress 
 
 The publication, in the Times, of the Treaty of BerHn 
 at the very hour it was being signed in Berlin, was, 
 according to universal opinion, the greatest journalistic 
 feat on record, and that publication, due to me, is the 
 subject of the chapter I am writing. I say this plainly 
 because I feel no pride about it. To have published an 
 important document before anybody else does not make 
 you a great writer or even a great journalist, and I would 
 rather have written "The Battle of Dorking" than have 
 published all the secret documents in the world. Any 
 journalist by profession might have done what I did if 
 he had said "I will do it," and had thought over the 
 ways of accomplishing his scheme. It was a feat in 
 which neither talent nor science stood for anything. 
 
 The story I am about to tell must not therefore be 
 ascribed to vanity, but should merely be considered as 
 the fulfilment of a duty to my journalistic profession, 
 to which I am devoted. People ought to know by what 
 efforts of imagination and perseverance one sometimes 
 succeeds in keeping them posted, especially as the 
 reader who runs his eye over a document paraded in the 
 columns of a newspaper is apt to fancy that it had 
 simply to be asked for or bought. Now, if documents 
 had merely to be bought, nothing would be easier than 
 to procure them. Rich papers would purchase them, 
 
 ii6 
 
M. DE BLOWITZ IN 187S AT THE BERLIN CONGRESS 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 117 
 
 while the others, as is customary, would reprint them 
 gratis without informing their readers from what source 
 they were derived. But this is not enough. To be able 
 to pay for a document is not sufficient, for in the majority 
 of cases bought documents are spurious ; men who possess 
 genuine ones refuse to sell them. I will, therefore, 
 relate the history of the acquisition of a docu- 
 ment which necessitated not only the spending of money, 
 but long preliminary labour, the warding-off of failure, 
 and the throwing off the scent of those who sought to 
 discover the origin of the communication. I give the 
 story because it ought not to die with me, and because 
 it belongs to the history of modem journalism. 
 
 In October, 1877, on calling one morning on the 
 Duke Decazes, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the large 
 office he occupied on the first floor at the Quai d'Orsay, 
 he said to me : 
 
 "There will soon be a Congress for the settlement of 
 the Eastern question. I shall be the representative of 
 France. I shall then have been Member of Parliament, 
 Ambassador, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Plenipo- 
 tentiary representing France at an International Diplo- 
 matic Congress. People will no longer be able to twit 
 me with not having worthily upheld the name I bear, 
 and with not having at least endeavoured to give fresh 
 lustre to it." 
 
 Then, after a few minutes' silence, he added : 
 
 "You ought to go to the Congress; it will be very 
 interesting; and I will do all I can, consistently with my 
 duty, to facilitate your task." 
 
 "You forget. Monsieur le Due," I said, "that rather 
 more than two years ago there appeared in the Times a 
 
ii8 MEMOIRS OP M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 letter entitled 'A French Scare,' denouncing the war- 
 like projects of the German military party, and stating 
 that the author of that letter could not go to Berlin, 
 where the Congress will be held, without incurring the 
 risk of much that is disagreeable." 
 
 " I am sure that nothing will be done to remind you of 
 that, and I still think that, if you are told to go, you should 
 willingly do so." 
 
 By a rather curious coincidence I had received a call 
 that very afternoon from a young foreigner, whom a 
 friend warmly recommended to me. This young man 
 had a pleasing, intelligent countenance, and impressed 
 me very favourably. He told me he had left the country 
 because his brother had been induced to gamble, had 
 lost all that both of them possessed, had victimised 
 people, and had gone away leaving his debts; that he 
 himself, though clear of it all, had been forced to emigrate 
 to escape the shame of constantly hearing abused the 
 name of his brother, whom he nevertheless dearly loved. 
 What he now wanted was to earn a small sum which 
 would enable him to go to the colonies, to try and 
 make a fortune and to retrieve his name by paying his 
 brother's debts. 
 
 The story was quite true. This honest young man 
 interested me very much. I felt that he was ready to 
 make the greatest efforts to attain his object, and I 
 promised to see what I could do for him. 
 
 I made several applications in his favour, but without 
 success. This was all the more strange, as the young 
 man had an excellent bearing, was very intelligent, spoke 
 several languages, wrote them fairly well, and would 
 have made the most valuable secretary imaginable. 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 119 
 
 He called on me several times and I became more and 
 more interested in him. One morning when he arrived 
 I had just had a letter informing me that there was an 
 idea of sending me to the Berlin Congress, the meeting 
 of which had been delayed for a time, but which was 
 certain to take place in the course of that year. It was 
 then January, Marshal MacMahon had been defeated, 
 and the Duke Decazes had fallen. There was an 
 attempt to put forward the Duke as Plenipotentiary, 
 M. Waddington, Minister of Foreign Affairs, being too 
 much of a novice in diplomacy to assume such a post. 
 
 I knew M. Waddington well. M. Dufaure had deputed 
 me two days before the formation of his Cabinet to ask 
 him whether he would consent to take over the portfolio of 
 the Foreign Office, and I am bound to say that, although 
 Madame Waddington had strongly dissuaded him, he 
 had nevertheless accepted. He was very nervous at 
 first, and afraid of opening his mouth lest he should 
 commit a blunder. I knew, therefore, that there was 
 no relying on him at Berlin for helping me in my 
 task, and that for fear of compromising his diplomatic 
 fame he would maintain absolute reticence. 
 
 I reflected that in going to Berlin I should encounter 
 the hostility of the Chancellor and most of his supporters, 
 as they resented my letter of 1875. The English diplo- 
 matists make it a rule to communicate nothing; the 
 Russians would distrust the correspondent of an English 
 journal ; Count Corti, if it were he who represented Italy, 
 would be exposed to a violent opposition, and would not 
 risk receiving blows by making confidences; and the 
 Austrians, hedged in by Germany and Russia, would not 
 venture to open their mouths. As for the Turks, like all 
 
I20 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 those marked out beforehand for victims, they would be 
 afraid of their own shadow, even if they had a shadow, of 
 which I was not certain. 
 
 On reflection I felt that I was going to make a grand 
 fiasco at Berlin and compromise a career which, tolerably 
 brilliant at the outset, had already brought on me much 
 resentment, as well as calttmnies and attacks of which I 
 have not ceased to be proud. The idea was unbearable, 
 and I felt that, in the interest of the Times as well as in 
 my own interest, it would be better for me not to go to 
 the Congress. 
 
 Just then my young friend was announced. I had not 
 seen him for a long time and had positively allowed 
 him to slip my memory. Here I must confess that I 
 have a theory which will perhaps be ridiculed, but which 
 has governed my whole life. I believe in the constant 
 intervention of a Supreme Power, directing not only our 
 destiny in general, but such actions of ours as influence 
 our destiny. When I see that nothing in nature is left 
 to chance, that immutable laws govern every movement, 
 that the faintest spark that glimmers in the firmament 
 disappears and reappears with strict punctuality, I 
 cannot suppose that anything to do with mankind goes 
 by chance, and that every individuality composing it 
 is not governed by a definite and inflexible plan. The 
 great men whose names escape oblivion are like the 
 planets which we know by name, and which stand out 
 from among the multitude of stars without names. We 
 know their motions and destinies. We know at what 
 time the comet moving in infinite space will reappear, 
 and that the smallest stars, whose existence escapes us, 
 obey the fixed law which governs the universe. Under 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 121 
 
 various names, in changing circumstances, by successive 
 and coordinate evolutions, the great geniuses known to 
 the world, those whose names have escaped oblivion, 
 reappear. Moses is reflected in Confucius, Mohammed 
 in John Huss, Cyrus lives again in Caesar, and Ccesar in 
 Napoleon, Attila is repeated in Peter the Great, and 
 Frederick II. in Bismarck, Louis le Debonnaire in Philip 
 VII., and Catalina in Boulanger. Charlemagne and 
 Joan of Arc alone have not yet reappeared, the one to 
 revive authority and the other la piideur. . . . Every- 
 thing moves by a fixed law, and man is master of his 
 own destiny only because he can accept or refuse, by 
 his own intervention and action, the place he should fill 
 and the path traced out for him by the general decree, 
 which regulates the movements of every creature. 
 
 By virtue of this theory, it will be easily understood 
 that I have always endeavoured to divine the intentions 
 and designs of the Supreme Will which directs us. I 
 have always sought not to thwart that ubiquitous guid- 
 ance, but to enter on the path which it seemed to point 
 out to me. As at the very time the idea of going to 
 Berlin plunged me in despair my door opened and I saw 
 my young friend enter, it struck me that he was destined 
 to assist me in the accomplishment of the task devolving 
 on me at Berlin. 
 
 " You are still bent on undertaking whatever is honestly 
 possible to effect your purpose?" I asked. 
 
 " I am," he replied. 
 
 " Then call on me again in a few days. " 
 
 I went to see Prince Hohenlohe, the German Ambassa- 
 dor to the French Republic. 
 
 "Your Highness," I said (this title appertains to him 
 
122 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 as a descendant of a mediatised family), " I shall probably 
 be deputed to attend the Berlin Congress as correspond- 
 ent of my paper. I know there is a lively recollection 
 of a letter published in 1875 against the projects of the 
 German military party, and, as your Highness has been 
 friendly to me, I have come to ask whether or not you 
 would advise me to go to Berlin, or whether I am not 
 liable to meet with a reception that would render my 
 mission very difficult, if not impossible. ' ' 
 
 The Prince was silent a few seconds, 
 
 "I must reflect," he said; "come again in three days." 
 
 Three days meant that he would make inquiries 
 at Berlin. 
 
 When I returned he said: 
 
 "I have reflected. You can go to Berlin. You will 
 be well received." 
 
 Two days later my young friend called again. "This," 
 I said, "is what I want you to do. You must leave 
 Paris in a few days. Here is a letter of introduction, 
 from a friend of mine not concerned in politics, to the 
 private secretary of a foreign statesman who will cer- 
 tainly represent his country at the Berlin Congress. 
 You will present yourself with this letter, as a young 
 man seeking a situation that is liable to improve rapidly, 
 but to which at present no salary is attached. You 
 have some weeks, perhaps months, before you. You 
 will employ them in getting an introduction to the chief 
 of the person to whom you are recommended, and you 
 will manage so that, when the Congress convenes, if he 
 goes you go with him. I shall be there. I do not ask 
 you to divulge the smallest secret to me or to commit 
 the slightest indiscretion. You will never speak to me 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 123 
 
 of things about to be done. You will simply help me in 
 forestalling the information of others, and when the Con- 
 gress has adopted articles you will communicate them to 
 me ; but I shall not publish them till the day the Congress 
 holds its last sitting, in order not to thwart its labours. 
 Here is the address at which you will keep me posted; 
 and when the Congress is over, provided you have faith- 
 fully performed your task, I will hand you the sum you 
 deem necessary for making your fortune in the colonies." 
 
 Four days afterward he started. 
 
 Several weeks elapsed, and the constantly deferred Con- 
 gress was convened for the 13th of June, 1878. I arrived 
 at Berlin on the nth. On the way and at Berlin I had 
 a pleasant reception, as I had been assured. Everybody 
 was affable, but, as I had foreseen, nobody gave me the 
 slightest information. Some days before starting I had 
 said to a German diplomatist : 
 
 "At Paris, the fish talk ; atBerlin, the parrots are dumb." 
 
 The remark had been repeated, and people seemed 
 resolved on confirming it. 
 
 Lord Odo Russell, though neither a parrot nor a 
 fish, received me with the charming manners which 
 made him so popular, but did not give me the smallest 
 item of information. 
 
 M. Waddington was visibly embarrassed at receiv- 
 ing me. It was much the same everywhere — affable 
 greetings, pressing invitations, great courtesy, but 
 nothing, absolutely nothing, for the impatient tooth of 
 the correspondent. 
 
 Prince Bismarck, in receiving the Plenipotentiaries, 
 had told them that indiscretions must be avoided at all 
 cost, and that the journalists who had invaded Berlin 
 
124 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 must be prevented from sending their papers authentic 
 information. Outside rumours must not hamper the 
 march of the Congress; and it was also, I think, a 
 question of keeping up the reputation for muteness of 
 the German capital. 
 
 On the 13th of June the Congress opened. The jour- 
 nalists assembled at Berlin walked like exiled shadows in 
 the Wilhelmstrasse, lying in wait for the echoes which 
 escaped or might escape from the Congress hall. They 
 learned that the Chancellor had made the members 
 pledge themselves to absolute silence on the deliberations 
 of the Congress. Hence, general consternation ! 
 
 On the night of the 13th I talked with my young friend, 
 the only interview I had with him during my whole stay. 
 He had succeeded splendidly. He was at Berlin as a kind 
 of diplomatic outsider, receiving no salary, no lodging, 
 nothing, indeed, but deputed to cooperate in the labours 
 imposed by the Congress on one of its members. He felt 
 himself, however, closely watched. He brought me some 
 summary information of no great importance, but 
 which served me as a starting-point, and enabled me, 
 indeed, from the very next day, to give my correspond- 
 ence a more dignified character and to collect some 
 positive facts. 
 
 The real labours of the Congress had not begun. We 
 felt that we should not meet again, and, indeed, I never 
 met him afterward. It was settled that we should on 
 no accotmt employ an intermediary, which would have 
 caused us constant uneasiness and would have exposed 
 us to voluntary or unvolimtary imprudence. Finally, 
 at four in the morning, we adopted the following plan — 
 a very poor one, but it seemed preferable to any others : 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 125 
 
 As I had hired a carriage by the month, I was to 
 let it stand waiting in the evening at some spot. 
 The carriage windows were to be open, and he in passing 
 was to throw in his communications, written on very- 
 thin paper and forming a tiny memorandum-book. 
 Though not very well satisfied with this plan, I could 
 hit on no other, nor he either, and we parted with 
 this understanding. 
 
 He left the room, but he returned almost immediately, 
 saying : 
 
 "Excuse me; I have taken your hat for mine." 
 
 An idea struck me. 
 
 "Shut the door," I said, "and sit down; your method 
 of communication is found." 
 
 That method, which succeeded admirably, was of 
 childish simplicity. 
 
 I was staying at the Kaiserhof . Every day he came 
 there for his lunch and dinner. There was a rack where 
 hats were hung. He placed his communications in 
 the lining of his hat, and we exchanged hats on leaving 
 the table. When I was to dine out, I gave him notice 
 overnight, and told him at what hour, before or after 
 dinner, I should take tea. Only twice were we forced 
 to put off the communication till the following day. 
 
 Once, however, we had a scare. 
 
 One of my English colleagues, on leaving the dining- 
 room, made a mistake and took my friend's hat. Without 
 looking at each other, we felt, as he wrote me next day, 
 that we turned pale. If the colleague in question had 
 kept the hat, he might have discovered the third article 
 of the treaty, which had been adopted at the previous 
 day's sitting, and also a hint of the difficulties that had 
 
126 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 arisen between Russia and England on the question 
 of the boundaries of Bulgaria, and very disagreeable 
 consequences for my friend might have been the result. 
 Fortunately, on reaching the door the Englishman put on 
 the hat, which dropped over on his nose. He laughingly 
 took it off and replaced in on its peg. I had risen to take 
 the hat from him, but sat down again. I breathed 
 freely, and my friend must have done the same. 
 
 This plan was pursued without a hitch until the 
 3rd of July. The brief notes which I received in this 
 way enabled me to see several members of the Congress 
 during the evening, beginning with the most communi- 
 cative one and then going to others, piecing things 
 together, and thus composing a perfect description of 
 the sitting just held. 
 
 As an example of how, in such a case, information 
 might be gathered, one evening after dinner I found this 
 in the hat : 
 
 "I have not gleaned much. Prince Gortchakolf has 
 made a speech which created a little amusement, ending 
 with the words: 'Russia is more jealous of gathering 
 the laurels of glory than the olive branch of peace ! '" 
 
 With this phrase, I went to a diplomatist who was 
 an ardent admirer of the old Chancellor. The conversa- 
 tion began with commonplaces, but inevitably turned 
 on the labours of the Congress. ^ 
 
 " It seems," I said, " that some members of^the Congress 
 ridicule the speech just delivered by Prince Gortchakoff, 
 especially the phrase with which he ended, ' Russia, ' etc. " 
 
 The diplomatist drew himself up. 
 
 "It is very wrong to ridicule it," he said, "and I 
 hope you are not going to be the echo of these unjust 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 127 
 
 railleries. The Russian Chancellor's speech was very 
 acute and clever, despite its apparent pretentiousness. 
 He clearly showed that — " and he proceeded to repeat 
 some passages of the speech. 
 
 I paid two other visits, and toward midnight could 
 telegraph the speech accurately enough for Lord Salisbury 
 laughingly to say to me next evening at Count St. 
 Vallier's soiree : 
 
 "You forgot a few commas and semicolons, but with 
 that exception the speech was given quite accurately. ' ' 
 
 This did not prevent a newspaper from declaring it 
 apocryphal, because I had said "Prince Gortchakoff 
 rose," whereas Plenipotentiaries always speak seated. 
 
 I only wish to show how I had to go to work to learn 
 what had taken place at the Congress. 
 
 I afterward learned that Prince Bismarck was very 
 much annoyed at the publication of the speech, and that 
 at the next sitting, seated next to a diplomatist from 
 whom he fancied I had obtained it, he lifted up the 
 table-cloth and sarcastically said : 
 
 " I am looking to see if Blowitz is not underneath." 
 
 The fact is, I had done well to go there. Tongues 
 had been looser at Berlin than at Paris, and I was able 
 on the morning of the 22nd of June to publish the agree- 
 ment effected the previous night between England and 
 Russia on the Bulgarian question. 
 
 That question had raised such difficulties that the 
 sittings of the Congress had been suspended, and Mr. 
 Disraeli, the future Lord Beaconsfield, either from adroit- 
 ness or in all sincerity, had engaged a special train for 
 Monday, the 24th, to leave Berlin. 
 
 It would have been a disastrous rupture. 
 
128 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 The whole world was anxiously waiting. 
 
 The 22 nd was a Saturday. 
 
 If I had not been able to publish that morning that an 
 agreement had been effected, Saturday's stock exchange 
 would have had a terrible fall and many people would 
 certainly have been ruined. But the agreement was 
 effected at midnight on Friday, and was known in London 
 at six o'clock in the morning and in the rest of Europe 
 at eight or nine. No stock exchange maneuver was 
 practicable, and by this revelation I made numberless 
 enemies among those who were speculating on a rupture. 
 
 When the Wolff Agency at Berlin published a London 
 telegram quoting the information, many even among 
 the members of the Congress — for I knew them — were 
 ignorant of the agreement. It was not to be communi- 
 cated to them till Saturday's sitting ; the only thing they 
 knew was that they were convened for that day. 
 
 I had every reason, therefore, to be satisfied, and 
 things went on well till the 4th of July. 
 
 On the 3rd my friend had committed an imprudence. 
 
 When I started for Berlin — or rather, when Prince 
 Hohenlohe had encouraged me to go — I had said to him : 
 
 "Does your Highness think the Chancellor will grant 
 me an audience? In the first place, I am very anxious 
 to know a statesman who is the great historical figure 
 of the second half of the nineteenth century. Moreover, 
 to go to Berlin without seeing Prince Bismarck is like 
 going to Rome without seeing the Pope. It would be a 
 mortification for me. " 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe, who is the most perfect gentleman 
 I have ever known, and who possesses great diplomatic 
 -finesse but does not employ it in his private relations, 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 129 
 
 especially when he meets any one who trusts him, replied 
 that he could pledge himself to nothing on that point. 
 
 "All I can promise you," he said, "is that I will do 
 my utmost to assist you in obtaining an audience, but I 
 do not answer in any way for the success of a step which 
 I shall take but once. I could not ask for it a second 
 time." 
 
 The I st of July arrived. Prince Bismarck had replied 
 in the negative to the request for an audience, which had 
 been addressed to him in my name by Prince Hohenlohe. 
 
 "He had received," he said, "hundreds of applications 
 for an audience. Everybody was at Berlin, and all the 
 leading personages had asked to see him. He could not 
 receive me without receiving the others, especially the 
 journalists. The German journalists, whom he had 
 always refused to receive, would never forgive him if he 
 granted me an interview. " 
 
 I abandoned the hope of seeing him and felt very much 
 vexed, for by strange ill-luck I had not even caught sight 
 of him. 
 
 But on the afternoon of the ist of July, on entering 
 the hotel, Prince Hohenlohe' s card was handed to me. 
 He had called at the hotel, and had written on the card 
 that he wished to see me as soon as possible. He added 
 that he would be at the English Embassy reception 
 that evening. 
 
 I went to the Embassy, and the Prince arrived at about 
 eleven o'clock. My surprise was great indeed when he 
 informed me that Prince Bismarck asked me to dine 
 with him next day at half -past six, in morning dress. 
 
 On the 2nd, accordingly, at a quarter-past six. 
 Prince Hohenlohe, as had been arranged, called for me 
 
I30 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 at the hotel. I was waiting at the door for him, and we 
 went together to the Chancellor's. 
 
 I remained there until eleven at night. 
 
 I will tell you in the next chapter all about that 
 memorable interview of five hours' duration. 
 
 It was one of the very rare ones I have had in my life 
 which did not disappoint me and which even surpassed 
 my expectations. 
 
 All that I will mention here is that on the following day, 
 the 3rd of July, every one in Berlin knew that I had 
 dined with the Chancellor, and, as was natural, the 
 attitude of the diplomatists toward me suddenly changed. 
 They made a great deal of me and made overtures to me. 
 I had no further need to ask for information, as the infor- 
 mation I required came to me. 
 
 This was all the more pleasant as I was not able from 
 this time forth to obtain what I needed from the source 
 which had served me so well at the commencement. 
 
 My friend, who had until then been exceedingly 
 prudent, on learning that I had seen the Chancellor 
 in so special a way, assumed airs, and, without 
 betraying me in any way, provoked distrust. From 
 that time he was kept at a distance, and from the 
 4th of July his hat contained nothing but rueful 
 confessions of his imprudence and bitter regrets at 
 being unable to serve me. I did my utmost to console 
 him, and, though I did not see him again, I learned that 
 he had left Europe and has since succeeded admirably 
 in his enterprises. Still, I lost all chance of having the 
 treaty, though information of the Congress reached me 
 thenceforth, as I have said, without difficulty. 
 
 On the 5th of July, a week before the Congress closed, 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 131 
 
 I was reading in the hall of the Kaiserhof a private 
 letter which had just arrived and which contained the 
 following passage : 
 
 "I have watched with delight your campaign in Berlin. 
 You would be crowning that campaign if you were the first 
 to publish the treaty, and I need not tell you with what 
 joy I should see you realise what would be the greatest 
 feat of modern journalism." 
 
 At that moment a diplomatist who had always been 
 friendly to me walked through the hall of the hotel. I 
 must have looked downcast, for he came up to me with 
 alacrity and said, "Have you been getting bad news?" 
 
 With the instinctive idea of which I have already 
 spoken, and according to which a man's destiny depends 
 on the sagacity with which he seizes the indications given 
 by fate, instead of replying, I showed him the letter. He 
 perused it attentively and then said, turning to me, 
 "So you are absolutely bent on forestalling the publi- 
 cation of the treaty?" 
 
 "If I were asked to choose between all the orders and 
 decorations in the world and the treaty, I should select 
 the latter." 
 
 "And how are you going to get it ?" 
 
 "I have just had an assurance that Prince Bismarck 
 is highly satisfied with what I wrote on our conversation, 
 and he thinks I have rendered a service to peace. I am 
 going to ask him to reward me by communicating the 
 treaty to me." 
 
 My friend reflected a minute, then exclaimed: "No; 
 do not ask him till you have seen me again. Walk out 
 
132 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 to-morrow between one and two in the Wilhelmstrasse, 
 and I will see you." 
 
 Next day, on going into the street, he came up to me 
 and hurriedly said, "Come for the treaty the day before 
 the end of the Congress and I promise that you shall 
 have it." 
 
 I could scarcely restrain my delight. Now that 
 I was certain of getting the treaty I had a twofold 
 anxiety. 
 
 In the first place, the Congress was to terminate on the 
 13th. The Chancellor had positively said so. It was a 
 Saturday, I should have the treaty on the 12th, and it 
 was necessary at all cost for it to appear on the 13th, for 
 the English papers are not published on Sundays, and 
 Monday would have been too late. Secondly, it was not 
 enough to have the treaty; I must be the only one to 
 have it. The German papers were angry with the Chan- 
 cellor for not receiving their representatives. I reflected 
 that probably, in order to pacify them, he would give 
 them the treaty, which would thus appear at Berlin on 
 Saturday, and thus I should be beaten. I was in despair. 
 How was I to prevent Prince Bismarck from doing 
 what he chose ? How could I telegraph the treaty ? It 
 was impossible in Germany or Austria; and as for 
 Paris, it would be too late, for, getting it only on 
 Friday, I could not be in Paris in time for it to be 
 published on Saturday in London. 
 
 Finally I came to two decisions: I felt that Brussels 
 was the only place from which to telegraph. 
 
 I called on Baron Nothomb, the Belgian Minister at 
 Berlin. I told him that there was an idea of organising a 
 nightly telegraphic service between Brussels and London. 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 133 
 
 I then asked him to give me a letter for M. Vinchent, the 
 Director-General at Brussels, urging him to telegraph 
 immediately a long message which I might have to for- 
 ward to London, to prove the speed with which Brussels 
 and London could communicate. He readily gave me 
 the letter. 
 
 This reassured me as to telegraphic transmission. 
 There remained the question of preventing anybody else 
 from having the treaty. 
 
 After long and elaborate reflection, I hit upon a plan 
 which appeared both simple and rational. I asked 
 Prince Hohenlohe and Count de St, Vallier to ask Prince 
 Bismarck to give me the treaty, and I reasoned thus: 
 The Prince says I have rendered service to peace. I 
 ask him to reward me by giving me the treaty. If he 
 gives it, all will be well; he is not a man to do things by 
 halves. As it is to reward me, he will not give it to 
 anybody else. As he alone can give it to the German 
 press, if I get it I can wait till the end of the Congress, 
 send it on Sunday and have it published on Monday 
 morning. If he refuses me, I am certain he will refuse 
 others. In either case I shall not be forestalled. 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe and Count de St. Vallier were good 
 enough to listen to my request. 
 
 On the evening of the nth of July, Prince Hohen- 
 lohe informed me that next morning he would communi- 
 cate to me the Chancellor's answer. 
 
 At half -past nine I went for the treaty promised me 
 as above related. It was given me with the exception 
 of the last two articles, which were not to be adopted 
 till the penultimate sitting ; and the preamble, entrusted 
 to M, Desprez, had not yet been drawn up. / 
 
134 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 With the treaty in hand I returned to the Kaiserhof, 
 to await Prince Hohenlohe's answer. 
 It arrived at ten, and was as follows: 
 
 " I much regret being unable to give you a favourable 
 reply, but, considering the ill-humour of the German 
 press, the Chancellor is afraid of irritating it too much 
 by giving you the treaty." 
 
 Thereupon I pretended to be very angry. I ordered 
 my luggage to be packed, I asked for my hotel bill, I 
 engaged a compartment in the 12 130 train, and announced 
 that I was leaving without waiting for the last sitting the 
 next day. One of my fellow-correspondents, the most 
 talkative of them all, asked the reason of my sudden 
 departure. I confided to him that I was enraged, that 
 Prince Bismarck, in spite of the service rendered by me, 
 as he himself had qualified it, to peace, had just refused 
 to give me the treaty. I showed him Prince Hohenlohe's 
 letter, and I said that I considered this shameful, and 
 that I would not stop an hour longer in a city where 
 I was treated in such a fashion. 
 
 My colleague departed to repeat my words, and all my 
 brethren came to condole with me. My colleague, Mr. 
 Mackenzie Wallace, who had been very devoted to me 
 throughout the Congress, was apprised by my secretary 
 that I was leaving, and that in the interest of the paper 
 I begged him to start with me. I stated that I was 
 going to take leave of the Count de St. Vallier. 
 
 I ordered my luggage to be sent to the station where 
 we were to meet Mr. Wallace and my secretary, in the 
 compartment reserved for me. 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 135 
 
 Count de St. Vallier, then French Ambassador at 
 Berlin, and one of the three Plenipotentiaries at the 
 Congress, was a typical French nobleman. Amiable, 
 elegant, attentive, listening readily, having a natural 
 polish which allowed him to be very gracious without 
 risk of seeming familiar, he had received me with a 
 warmth which touched me. He suffered from indiges- 
 tion, had to diet himself strictly, lived on milk, and 
 presided with perfect grace over grand banquets at which 
 he could touch nothing. His receptions were one of the 
 charms of the Congress, and no higher compliment can 
 be paid to them than by saying that invitations to attend 
 them were most eagerly sought after. 
 
 As he had never ventured to give me information, he 
 had, with all the more alacrity, undertaken with Prince 
 Hohenlohe to submit to my request the failure of which 
 had just been intimated to me. 
 
 I called on him at eleven, having asked him to receive 
 me because I was leaving. He advanced with his usual 
 grace, saying: 
 
 " I am vexed, believe me, at the failure of our request, 
 but it is useless to dwell upon it. I regret that you take 
 the thing so very much to heart. Remain two days 
 longer. The Congress will be over to-morrow, and, the 
 day after, as simple Ambassador, I could give you 
 retrospective details which would be interesting." 
 
 I thanked him, but said I adhered to my plan of 
 departure. 
 
 "Pleasant journey, then. What can I do for you?" 
 
 "A great deal, Monsieur le Comte. Give me the text 
 of the preamble which M. Desprez must have drawn 
 up and which must be in your hands." 
 
136 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 "The preamble, indeed, has just been given to me, 
 but what good can that be to you? You do not want 
 to pretend to know the treaty by pubHshing the 
 preamble?" 
 
 "Give me your word of honour, Monsieur le Comte, 
 to keep my secret for forty-eight hours, and I will explain 
 what use I am going to make of the preamble." 
 
 " If it is not contrary to my duty, I promise." 
 
 I unfastened my coat and showed him the treaty. 
 
 He turned slightly pale on seeing it. 
 
 " I regret," he said, "that you have told me the secret, 
 for if the Chancellor asks whether I knew all about this, 
 I shall be forced to confess. In spite of this, though, 
 nothing could have amused me more than this way of 
 seeing our rebuff retrieved," and he laughed heartily. 
 "As to the preamble," he continued, "I cannot let you 
 copy it or give you the text, for I have no other. But 
 sit down. I will read it slowly and aloud. Now is the 
 time to justify your reputation for a wonderful memory." 
 
 And taking up the manuscript, he read it slowly and 
 very distinctly. 
 
 I thanked him and took leave. 
 
 I reached the station a few minutes before the train 
 started. Mr. Mackenzie Wallace was already seated in 
 our compartment. My secretary was waiting on the 
 platform. He told me some of my colleagues were 
 there to bid me farewell. 
 
 " And to see if I really start," I remarked. 
 
 I assumed a gloomier and sterner air than ever, 
 which allowed me to keep silence; for I was afraid of 
 forgetting the preamble if my attention were diverted 
 by conversation. 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 137 
 
 At length I was able to enter our compartment and to 
 salute politely the persons who had come to take leave 
 of me. 
 
 The train started. 
 
 It had not been difficult to see that in the crowd 
 collected on the platform there were people deputed to 
 watch me, and I even perceived that one of them, whom 
 I had noticed during my stay in Berlin, was in the adjoin- 
 ing compartment. 
 
 Mr. Wallace, who had taken a really fraternal interest 
 in my Congress labours and had often devotedly facili- 
 tated them, was visibly annoyed at my rebuff, and my 
 secretary had an air of consternation which delighted 
 me; for the sincerity of his disappointment must have 
 been obvious to every one. 
 
 When we had passed the outskirts of Berlin I said 
 to my secretary, "Take pen and ink; I am going to 
 dictate something." I then dictated the preamble. 
 
 When he had written this, I pulled out the treaty. 
 There was a perfect outburst of joy, the sweetest 
 recompense which my efforts could obtain; for I 
 saw that two honest hearts affectionately and unre- 
 servedly sympathised with a success achieved with 
 such difficulty. 
 
 " Now we are not going to read the treaty," I said to 
 Mr. Wallace. "Here are needles and thread; open your 
 coat ; we will sew the treaty and preamble in, so that you 
 will not have to trouble about its safety, and we will 
 append Baron Nothomb's letter to M. Vinchent." 
 
 When this was done, I said to Mr. Wallace: "We are 
 evidently being watched, myself more particularly. At 
 the first large station you will leave this compartment 
 
138 MEMOIRS OP M. DE BLOWITZ 
 
 and go into one some way off on the left, for on the right 
 I believe there is some one watching us. I shall pretend 
 not to know you; and you must do the same about me. 
 At Cologne you will take the Brussels train, and you will 
 arrive at five in the morning. You will go straight to 
 the telegraph office. If, as I expect, they refuse to 
 transmit the treaty without higher orders, you must 
 wake up M. Vinchent, present Baron Nothomb's letter, 
 and ask him for the order of transmission." 
 
 Things happened just as I had foreseen. Mackenzie 
 Wallace went into another compartment, and we did 
 not approach each other ; but at the stations where we 
 alighted I laughed heartily, for, though the treaty was 
 firmly sewed to the lining of his coat, I saw him from 
 time to time put his hand to his heart, as if to assure 
 himself of its safety. 
 
 When, on reaching Brussels, he offered the telegrams 
 for the clerk to count the words, the latter explained : 
 
 "Why, it is the treaty of Berlin; I cannot undertake 
 to send it." 
 
 Wallace thereupon asked to see M. Vinchent. He 
 was in bed. Wallace showed Baron Nothomb's letter 
 and insisted on seeing him. The letter was sent to the 
 Director's house, he was aroused, and a quarter of an 
 hour later he wrote at the foot of the Baron's letter the 
 order of transmission. 
 
 At the very hour on the 13th of July when the treaty 
 of 1878 was signed at Berlin, a London telegram an- 
 nounced that the Times had published the preamble and 
 sixty-four articles, with an English translation appended. 
 
 "How could it have obtained the preamble yesterday 
 morning seeing that it was not drawn up?" asked Prince 
 
THE BERLIN CONGRESS 139 
 
 Bismarck of Count de St. Vallier. "Was it not you, 
 Count, who gave it ?" 
 
 M. de St. Vallier had now no reason for keeping the 
 secret any longer, and he was bound to reply without 
 hesitation. He therefore frankly related what had 
 happened. 
 
 "And what did he say when you told him?" I asked 
 M. de St. Vallier. 
 
 "Excuse me," replied the Count, smiling, "but he did 
 not tell me to repeat it to you." 
 
 At Berlin the news of the publication of the treaty 
 caused a great sensation. Many persons immediately 
 set to work to discover from whom I obtained the treaty. 
 I will relate in another part of my memoirs how, five 
 years afterward, the Chancellor tried to make me reveal 
 the secret. Meanwhile, the account I have just given is 
 an authentic narrative of how the treaty fell into my 
 hands. Nothing more will ever be known, and if I have 
 written this much, it is in order that the public may 
 know by what efforts, sacrifices and difficulties, and at 
 the cost of what anxiety, one sometimes succeeds in 
 satisfying its thirst for knowing and forestalling events. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 What Bismarck Told Me 
 
 I CANNOT truthfully say that I was quite calm and 
 composed on the evening of July 2, 1878, when at half- 
 past six, accompanied by Prince von Hohenlohe, I 
 mounted the pink-and-white flagged staircase leading to 
 the private apartment occupied by Prince Bismarck 
 in Wilhelmstrasse. 
 
 For a month past, ever since the European diplo- 
 matists had assembled round that table at the Congress 
 of Berlin, I had been wishing for and trying to obtain 
 an interview with the extraordinary man before whose 
 authority every one bowed and who was master of the 
 events of the day. And now, at the last moment, I felt 
 a sort of pang as I wondered whether I was going to be 
 cruelly disappointed and whether all my illusions were 
 about to be destroyed at one blow. 
 
 The door of the drawing-room, into which Prince von 
 Hohenlohe and I had been shown, opened and the 
 Chancellor appeared. 
 
 He was much taller than I had imagined. I had 
 never seen him except at Madame Tussaud's in London, 
 where there is only a small figure of him, and when I 
 saw this giant in uniform enter the room I was quite 
 taken aback. There was something still more extra- 
 ordinary about his head. His ears were large, wide 
 open to the hundreds of rumours which came to them 
 
 140 
 
WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 141 
 
 from the four comers of the universe. His chin made a 
 strong foundation for the big jaws, which would certainly 
 never loose anything they held until it was in shreds, 
 whilst his eyes, well set between a projecting eyelid and a 
 well-exposed eyebrow, had a far-away look in them, as 
 though they were gazing out beyond the visible horizon. 
 
 The Princess came into the room with the Chancellor. 
 She sat down on a sofa, whilst he sank into an enormous 
 armchair near me. 
 
 I had asked Prince von Hohenlohe whether I ought to 
 speak in French or in German, and he had replied that I 
 must wait for the Prince's first words. These first words 
 were in German. 
 
 On hearing my reply, the Princess asked inquisitively: 
 
 "Do you speak English as well as you do German ?" 
 
 The Prince interrupted her with a laugh and turned 
 to me. 
 
 *T must tell you," he said, "that my wife has a theory 
 that only thin people can talk English well. According 
 to this, neither you nor I will make our mark in that 
 language." 
 
 A few moments later we were seated at table in the 
 dining-room. The Prince appeared to be in an excellent 
 humour that evening. 
 
 "I saw you yesterday," he said to me, "on foot, in Unter 
 den Linden. You were going into a bazaar. What in 
 the world can a man who comes from Paris want to buy 
 in our bazaars?" 
 
 "Your Excellency would be very much more surprised 
 to hear what I was in search of," I replied. 
 
 "What was it?" 
 
 "A clock ! I must ask you to excuse my mentioning 
 
142 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 it, but I cannot imagine what has become of all those 
 that were brought from France, for there is not a single 
 one in my hotel !" 
 
 The Chancellor laughed heartily at this joke, which 
 was, perhaps, rather risque, and then he immediately 
 began to discuss a more serious subject. He asked me 
 what were the latest impressions of the public on the 
 work of the Congress. 
 
 "The Rumanians are not very well pleased, "I replied. 
 "They reckoned on receiving money, which they appear to 
 require badly." 
 
 " Oh, well ! " said the Prince, with a certain amount of 
 vivacity, "they are not the only ones who need it; every 
 one is in the same condition, and every one is economising. 
 France is the only country which does not hesitate to 
 spend millions on its slightest caprices !" 
 
 " Yes, " I answered ; " and yet it is a curious phenomenon, 
 when one takes into consideration the temperament of 
 the French, to see that these people, who appear to be so 
 thoughtless and so turbulent, should be the most econom- 
 ical people in the world, and that, in their country, saving 
 is organised in such a way that it has become a national 
 theory." 
 
 "Oh," interrupted Prince Bismarck, turning toward 
 me, "that is only surprising to those who are in the 
 habit of judging that country by Paris ! But there is 
 France and France, the French of Paris and the French 
 of the provinces. The former are immensely vain and 
 amusing, agreeable, wasteful, always ready to knock down 
 the lamp-posts, have revolutions, and declare war. They 
 have nothing to do with economy. The whole world 
 takes money to them and they squander it. But at her 
 
WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 143 
 
 side is the other France, the real France, that of the 
 provinces and of the rural districts — the French who 
 work and labour, who are steady and who economise, 
 and who pay for all the giddy actions, all the follies of 
 the other. When the former bring about a revolution, 
 it is the latter who suffer; when the former declare war, 
 it is the latter who fight. And yet the French of the 
 provinces love their native soil, and their greatest sacrifice 
 is to tear themselves away from it in order to make 
 their military service. 
 
 " When I was in France, I was very much interested in 
 the "common soldiers, and I often chatted with them. 
 They all of them had one great desire, and that was to 
 finish their military service and return to their fields. 
 
 " If one only listened to the French peasant, there would 
 never be any war; and yet, when he does fight, he fights 
 well. When he is beaten he is very much cast down, 
 and when he is victorious he is delighted — there can be 
 no doubt about it; but, conqueror or conquered, the 
 one thing he sees clearly is that victory or defeat will 
 bring the battle to a close and he will then be able to 
 return home. " 
 
 The conversation then reverted to the Congress. The 
 Prince remarked rather severely: 
 
 " The Peace of San Stefano was one of the most thought- 
 less actions of modern history. Ignatieff made a blunder 
 which no true statesman would ever have committed. 
 He took everything that he could get. When an enemy 
 is vanquished, and one has one's foot on his neck, he 
 can be made to give whatever one wants, but one must 
 think of the consequences of the victory as well as the 
 consequences of the defeat. We should not be where we 
 
144 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 now are if, in 1866, I had acted like Ignatieff, if I had 
 taken territory from Austria. At that time every one 
 was against me. I had said when we started: 'If we 
 should be victorious I shall not annex any Austrian 
 territory, for we must not remain enemies forever. In 
 ten or twelve years' time we must be able to come to an 
 understanding with her.' When we were victorious, 
 every one wanted me to take territory from her. I 
 held my own, though, and since then I have often had 
 cause to congratulate myself that I did so. " 
 
 At these words I could not help looking the Prince in 
 the face, and he at once read in my eyes the question that 
 was on my lips, for without flinching he said: 
 
 "I know what you mean: you are thinking about the 
 last war. But in 1871 I acted in the same way. At 
 that time France was in our hands. Paris was con- 
 quered, the Commune was brewing, everything was 
 disorganised; and if I had acted like Ignatieff I should 
 have demanded Picardy and Champagne. Now this 
 never occurred to any one; and when I was urged to 
 take Belfort and Metz I refused, saying, 'No, Belfort is 
 in the hands of the French; it must remain theirs.' And 
 even with regard to Metz, on seeing the despair of poor 
 M. Thiers, I hesitated. But, as you know, at the con- 
 clusion of a campaign such as that was, one has to take 
 into consideration the military element, and I was obliged 
 to listen to Moltke, who kept repeating to me at every 
 hour of the day, 'Metz in our hands, or in the hands 
 of the French, means a difference of 100,000 men, more 
 or less, in the army.' I could not impose upon my 
 country the burden of putting 100,000 more men into 
 active service at a given moment. " 
 
WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 145 
 
 Then, as all this recalled M. Thiers to his mind, the 
 Chancellor continued: 
 
 "Ah, the French were not just to poor Thiers ! And 
 yet he was a true patriot, and the most striking figure 
 I have hitherto come across in contemporary France. 
 I felt a sort of pity for the poor old man who had travelled 
 through Europe in the midst of a hard winter to beg for 
 help, which it was impossible to obtain, and who kept 
 crossing and recrossing our lines around Paris, fired on 
 by our posts in spite of the strict orders they had 
 received." 
 
 The Chancellor stroked his forehead as though trying 
 to recall something, and then continued: 
 
 " I remember, " he said, " an incident that I shall never 
 forget. We were discussing a question about which we 
 could not come to an understanding. M. Thiers held his 
 own in the most spirited manner possible. M. Jules 
 Favre was pathetic, gesticulating in the most tragic way ; 
 but nevertheless no progress was made with our business. 
 All at once I began to talk German. M. Thiers looked 
 at me in amazement. 
 
 " 'You know we do not understand German,' he said. 
 
 "'Certainly,' I replied in French. 'When I am dis- 
 cussing matters with people with whom I believe I 
 can finally come to an understanding, I speak their 
 language, but when I see that it is useless to argue with 
 them I talk my own language. You had better send for 
 an interpreter.' 
 
 " To tell the truth, I was in a hurry to conclude matters. 
 For the last week I had been in boiling oil. Every night 
 I expected to be roused by a despatch containing some 
 request from England, Russia, Austria or Italy, in 
 
146 MEMOIRS OF M, de BLOWITZ 
 
 favour of France. I know, of course, that I should 
 have ignored it, but it would, all the same, have 
 been an indirect intervention in the quarrel between 
 France and Germany. I wanted to avoid this at all 
 costs; that is why, in spite of my admiration for the 
 patriotic persistence of M. Thiers, I had been so brusk 
 in replying in German. The effect of these tactics was 
 very odd. M. Jules Favre threw up his long arms as 
 though appealing to Heaven, and then, with his hair 
 standing on end and his face hidden in his hands, he 
 rushed like a huge bat to a comer of the room, turning 
 his face to the wall as though he did not wish to see the 
 humiliation inflicted upon the representatives of France. 
 M. Thiers looked over his spectacles with a scandalised 
 expression and then trotted off quickly, in a petulant 
 way, to a table at the other end of the room, and I heard 
 his pen scratching away nervously on the paper. After 
 some time he walked toward me. His small eyes were 
 flashing behind his spectacles, his mouth was contracted 
 with anger, and in an abrupt manner he held out the 
 paper to me, saying dryly and in a somewhat hard voice : 
 
 " ' Is that what you want ?' 
 
 "I looked at what he had written. It was admirably 
 drawn up, and it was very nearly what I had stipulated. 
 I then spoke French again, and the negotiations were 
 concluded in that language. Thiers, you know, always 
 seemed to me like a big child, but when he was driven 
 to extremities one could preceive how courageous and 
 intelligent he was. He was the very deuce ! " 
 
 All this was told by Bismarck in the simplest and most 
 natural way, without any posing or seeking for effect. 
 He spoke just as he thought, with a certain familiarity 
 
WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 147 
 
 and perhaps even a certain triviality of language. 
 He was smoking an enormous pipe and sending 
 out thick puifs, and between two stories he would 
 gaze out silently beyond the gardens of Wilhelm- 
 strasse at the setting sun. The Congress and its 
 work was what interested and preoccupied him the 
 most. He referred to it continually and brought every 
 other subject to bear on it. It seemed as though he had 
 endless things to say about it. 
 
 "At the Congress," he told me, "there is simply 
 nothing left to desire. M. Waddington, who represents 
 France, is absolutely devoted to his country. He is a 
 modest, straightforward man, who likes work and wishes 
 to understand things thoroughly. I have never seen 
 a more laborious Minister of Foreign Affairs. Every one 
 likes him, and he must have rendered great services to 
 his Government. 
 
 "Now one may not be a Republican, but one must 
 admit that there is nothing possible for France at the 
 present day but a republic. If the various Pretenders 
 could come to some agreement I should not perhaps 
 speak in the same way. But if one of them should get 
 into power, he would have all the rest of France against 
 him; that would mean civil war immediately, and civil 
 war in France is like having the plague at one's door. 
 
 " I admire Shuvaloff at the Congress. He has to hold 
 his own against every one. They are all after him ; he 
 is like a stag under pursuit that shows its horns when 
 too hard pressed. Neither Gortchakoff nor Von Oubril 
 are of any great assistance to him ; yet he is most polite, 
 ever a gentleman, never making any mistakes, and 
 always commencing with a polite formula, such as 
 
148 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 * Prince, may I be allowed to say a word in reply, etc.* 
 He is certainly a typical diplomatist. Shuvaloff and 
 Beaconsfield are the two principal figures of this Congress, 
 and I am perfectly charmed to have the opportimity 
 of observing them. 
 
 " Beaconsfield has the most extraordinary presence of 
 miad. He is accommodating and energetic, and never 
 allows himself to be disturbed by anything. He defends 
 his cause admirably, and last Friday, when the nego- 
 tiations were broken off, he was ready to lead his country 
 courageously to war. It was then that I intervened. 
 He and Shuvaloff have both done their duty, and they 
 have both saved their country from war. Personally, 
 my only merit is that of having brought them together 
 at a moment when it was no longer possible for them to 
 approach each other again. 
 
 "Two years ago, when I saw Beaconsfield for the first 
 time, I said to him: 'Why are you opposed to Russia? 
 You might come to an understanding with her. It 
 would be to the interest of both countries. Why do you 
 not take Egypt ? France would not bear you any ill-will 
 on that account for very long. Besides, you could give 
 her a compensation — Tunis or Syria, for instance — and 
 then Europe would at last be free from this question of 
 Turkey, which is constantly bringing her within an ace 
 of a fresh war.' Beaconsfield did not reply, but I saw 
 that my words had not fallen on a deaf ear." 
 
 The Prince stopped and there was a long silence. It 
 was getting late, and a neighbouring clock struck eleven 
 slowly and deliberately. Prince von Hohenlohe rose, 
 as a signal for our departure, and I did likewise. Prince 
 Bismarck laid his pipe down on a small table specially 
 
M. DE BLOWITZ AS OFTEN SEEN IN THE STREETS OF PARIS, WITH HIS 
 
 NIECE 
 [From a photograph made during the last year of his life] 
 
\ 
 
WHAT BISMARCK TOLD ME 149 
 
 designed for that purpose and, turning to me, held out 
 his large hand. 
 
 "Adieu !" he said, in a rough and at the same time 
 melancholy way, "You generally reside in Paris, so jl 
 do not think we shall see each other again for some time. 
 But I am very glad to have made your acquaintance, and 
 I think you will be on my side as long as you are convinced 
 that I wish for peace." 
 
 Just as I was going out of the room the Chancellor asked 
 me if I would not have another cigar. I accepted the 
 cigar, and was once more moving toward the door, when 
 he stopped me and insisted on lighting it for me himself ; 
 and he held the match for about a minute. My cigar was 
 lighted at last, and I went away. The interview — an 
 interview which had lasted five hours — was at an end. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Gambetta and Bismarck. 
 
 During the historical conversation the principal points 
 of which I have faithfully retraced in the preceding 
 chapter, Bismarck touched upon many subjects, just as 
 they occurred to him. He spoke of diplomacy and of 
 war, of the Congress and of Europe, of French states- 
 men and even of French literature, and one name was fre- 
 quently mentioned by the Chancellor — that of Gambetta. 
 
 The celebrated tribune was then at the very height of 
 his glory. His big voice frequently crossed the frontiers, 
 and its echo could be heard in foreign countries. He 
 possessed that formidable and much-envied power of 
 appearing to incarnate in himself a whole country, a 
 whole democracy. In the French Republic he played 
 the part of Dictator. 
 
 "Gambetta," said Prince Bismarck to me after a 
 pause, "is a man I should like to see before I die. In 
 spite of all that one hears to the contrary, he is a really 
 remarkable character. He soars above his compatriots. 
 I'm told that he is fascinating, and yet fascinating men 
 are never supposed to be good statesmen." 
 
 "M. Thiers told me once," I remarked, laughing, "that 
 Your Highness was fascinating, and yet you have the 
 reputation of being a great statesman ! " 
 
 "I have not that reputation — in Germany," replied 
 the Chancellor, and then, going back to his first idea, 
 he said: 
 
 150 
 
GAMBETTA AND BISMARCK 151 
 
 "Yes, I certainly should not like to die until I have seen 
 Gambetta." 
 
 His insistence on this point struck me. Prince von 
 Hohenlohe, who was then Ambassador at Paris, and Baron 
 von Holstein, attache to the Minister of Foreign Affairs 
 at Berlin and the Chancellor's confidant, accompanied me 
 on my way back to the Kaiserhof . As we passed in front 
 of the gardens of the Radziwill Palace, I said to them: 
 
 "I cannot think it was only by chance that Prince 
 Bismarck twice mentioned his wish to see Gambetta. He 
 knows that I am acquainted with him and that I may 
 see him on my return to Paris. He did not tell me not 
 to repeat what he said, and he praised Gambetta in such 
 a way that it appeared as if he were entrusting me with 
 a graceful message. I do not know the Prince as well as 
 you do, but it seems to me that we ought to arrange an 
 interview. I might pave the way, and you, Prince, might 
 take part in the negotiations." 
 
 Prince von Hohenlohe, according to his custom when 
 an idea interested him, looked down on the ground and 
 then, after a moment's silence, smiled at me approvingly. 
 
 As to Baron von Holstein, he merely remarked : 
 
 "Let me have forty-eight hours for reflection, and then 
 I will give you an answer with a thorough knowledge of 
 the matter." 
 
 Whenever he had any important decision to make, 
 Baron von Holstein always asked for forty-eight hours' 
 reflection. He employed them in discovering the opinion 
 and desires of his master, so that his reply was in reality 
 Bismarck's. Two days later, as if by accident, he passed 
 by the Kaiserhof. I was at the door talking, and we 
 strolled along together. 
 
15^ MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 "Well," I said, laughing, "are you in a position to answer 
 me yet?" 
 
 "Yes," he replied. 
 
 He admitted that the Chancellor had persisted in 
 talking about Gambetta in order to see whether I would 
 undertake to open negotiations for bringing about an 
 interview between the two statesmen. He even added 
 that the interview might easily take place at Kissingen, 
 where the Chancellor was prolonging his sojourn. 
 
 ' ' You will understand, ' ' he continued, in a solemn tone, 
 "that this interview is a serious matter, and that all the 
 possible consequences must be well weighed before any 
 arrangements are concluded. The Chancellor has the 
 firm conviction, and that conviction has grown stronger 
 since he has spoken with you, that M. Gambetta is 
 destined before long to become a great power in France, 
 and that that power will be of a most decisive character. 
 The Chancellor desires peace, and he would like to meet 
 the man on whom may depend in the near future the 
 rupture or the maintenance of peace. He hopes by this 
 interview to acquire some knowledge of the private ideas 
 of M. Gambetta, no matter how skilfully the latter may 
 endeavour to conceal them. That, of course, is neither 
 your business nor mine. Everything that takes place 
 between these two men must have a most conciliatory 
 character; the interview must not appear like a passage 
 of arms. The past must be the past. These men have 
 fought against each other, each one for his own country. 
 All that has happened belongs now to the past — the 
 present undertaking is in view of the future. If this 
 interview should take place, everything must be averted 
 which might alter the character of it or interfere with the 
 
GAMBETTA AND BISMARCK 153 
 
 object in view. No overture must be made which might 
 lead to a refusal on the part of one of these personages 
 or to a rebuff for the other. There must be no question, 
 as you will readily understand, of any compromise, of 
 any retrocession, of any modification of existing treaties. 
 In brief, there must be no question of Alsace-Lorraine. 
 
 "It must be clearly understood that neither Prince 
 Bismarck, nor the Emperor, nor any other person, could 
 allow the conversation to turn upon the subject. The 
 German nation would not accept any discussion, even an 
 academic one, of accomplished facts which caused 
 German blood to be shed and which strewed France with 
 the corpses of German soldiers. An interview between 
 these two men, animated by pacific intentions and 
 impressed by the duties which are incumbent on them, 
 may bring about a salutary result, if they do not seek for 
 the personal satisfaction of triumphing over each other. " 
 
 The conversation continued for some little time and 
 then we separated. 
 
 On my return to Paris, toward the month of August, 
 1878, I wrote to M. Gambetta, asking him for an inter- 
 view, and this interview, the only one he ever granted 
 to a journalist, took place forty-eight hours later. M. 
 Gambetta received me in the editor's office of his news- 
 paper, La Republique Frangaise, a large room which 
 looked onto a flight of stone steps opposite the en- 
 trance to the Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin. He greeted 
 me very cordially and was extremely agreeable, for he 
 was anxious to find out exactly what had taken place 
 in Berlin. 
 
 I proved to him easily enough how prejudicial was the 
 
154 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 policy of his paper, which, for causes it would take too 
 long to enumerate here, had shown itself violently hostile 
 to the French Plenipotentiaries who were representing 
 their country at a great international congress — ^the first 
 held since the terrible Franco-Prussian War. I was 
 fortunate enough to see him come round to my opinion. 
 
 When I had finished this part of my conversation, I 
 introduced the second part — the interview with the 
 Chancellor. 
 
 M. Gambetta, I must confess, was very pleased. He 
 also had a certain fascination about him which one would 
 never imagine on seeing him in ordinary, everyday life, 
 and he now proved to be quite irresistible. He appeared 
 to be delighted at the prospect of an interview, and 
 declared that the results he anticipated from it would 
 be beneficial and fruitful to all parties. 
 
 I listened to him with infinite pleasure. His words 
 were brimming over with the most ardent patriotism, 
 which inspired me with a veritable admiration for him, 
 and he did not conceal the satisfaction he felt at the 
 idea of being able at last to meet the man on whom 
 depended, perhaps, the future peace of the whole of 
 Europe. Finally, turning to me, he asked : 
 
 " But how, in the event of this interview, do you sup- 
 pose I should be able to approach the great question 
 which preoccupies us and about which we are at 
 variance?" 
 
 I had foreseen this dread point, and I answered : 
 
 "This first interview, I think, is only to have a pre- 
 liminary character. As far as I imderstand, there mtist 
 be nothing said on this initial occasion about the lost 
 provinces. All that must be reserved for later interviews, 
 
GAMBETTA AND BISMARCK 155 
 
 in order that a denial may be given to those who declare 
 — ^with a view to stirring up public opinion — that the 
 question of Alsace-Lorraine has been discussed." 
 
 "That," he said promptly, "is absolutely impossible. 
 I cannot approach the German Chancellor without speak- 
 ing to him of Alsace-Lorraine. If I were to be silent on 
 that subject it would spoil our whole conversation, and 
 he would feel, too plainly, that he had a man before him 
 who did not say what he thought and who did not think 
 what he said !" 
 
 " Well, " I replied, " instead of talking to him of Alsace- 
 Lorraine, you might speak of Alsace and of Lorraine, 
 and in that way lessen the problem by dividing it." 
 
 "Oh," said M. Gambetta, "I don't fancy that would 
 alter much ! " 
 
 He thought the matter over for a minute in silence, 
 and then, like a man who had made up his mind, he rose 
 and held out his hand to me : 
 
 "I should consider it my duty and an honour," he 
 said, somewhat ceremoniously, "to be able to ap- 
 proach the Chancellor and to endeavour with him to 
 solve the problem of European peace and happiness. 
 But in order to attain that end, when we approach 
 each other we must have in view the tranquillity of 
 humanity, and not personal success; that is why I 
 must be able to speak to him not of Alsace and of 
 Lorraine, but of Alsace-Lorraine!" 
 
 The following day I called on Prince von Hohenlohe, 
 to whom I repeated the conversation and resigned my 
 offices as negotiator. 
 
 There was never again any question of an interview 
 between Prince Bismarck and M. Gambetta. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 Alva 
 
 General de Galliffet once announced that for the 
 last forty years he had been taking daily notes, and he 
 thereupon began the publication in two Parisian papers 
 of fragments of these notes. These fragments, by an 
 odd coincidence, contained, every now and then, blunders 
 in dates which did not escape the attention of his readers. 
 
 I desire to say to readers of these memoirs that I have 
 never in my life taken many notes as to the events in 
 which I have been mixed up, and that consequently 
 nothing would be more natural than that I should from 
 time to time make certain errors of dates like General de 
 Galliffet. But I attach no importance to a possibility 
 of this sort, my chief concern being with the accuracy of 
 the facts which I relate. 
 
 I nevertheless remember as if it were yesterday that 
 on September 5, 1878, under the arcades of the Rue de 
 Rivoli, I met my dear old friend. Hector Pessard, coming 
 out of one of the big hotels that abound in that street. 
 M. Hector Pessard was then the manager and editor-in- 
 chief of the National. When he took the paper over, it 
 was on the point of disappearing altogether, but he 
 rapidly made it one of the most important organs of the 
 moment in Paris. The National belonged in truth to 
 that class of Parisian newspapers which bud, bloom and 
 die. During my long experience as a journalist, which 
 
 156 
 
ALVA 157 
 
 has lasted nearly one-third of a century, I have seen 
 born, grow up and perish so many newspapers that as I 
 look back upon them my memory resembles those old 
 Norman churches surrounded by a cemetery into which 
 one enters without knowing exactly whether the cere- 
 mony one goes to witness is to be a baptism, a marriage 
 or a funeral. 
 
 " Ah ! " said M. Hector Passard to me, " I am delighted 
 to meet you, for my intention was to go and see you. 
 You are only just back from the Berlin Congress ; you are 
 sailing on the top of the wave; your name is constantly 
 under the public eye; it is well known that the Prime 
 Minister, M. Dufaure, has had a long conversation with 
 you on what took place at the Berlin Congress. You 
 are what is called ' the man of the day, ' and you will not 
 be surprised, therefore, if I ask you to come with me 
 and call on Madame Marsa Chamil, who lives in this 
 hotel. I have promised her that you shall go to see her." 
 
 " But in the first place," I replied, " I am, as you say, 
 for the time being, very much occupied; and secondly, 
 who is Madame Marsa Chamil, whose name I now hear 
 for the first time ?" 
 
 " Mon Dieiil" exclaimed Hector Pessard, "I will be 
 frank. I don't know much more about her than you. 
 It is in a certain measure in order to find out that we 
 all, Henri de Pene and his wife, Francis Magnard, Henri 
 Fouquier and the others, would like you to see her, for 
 we suppose that with your knowledge of all that 
 is going on behind the scenes in European society you 
 will assist us in deciphering the very interesting enigma 
 which she appears to be. We generally call her the 
 Duchess, and she accepts the name with a smile, because 
 
158 MEMOIE.S OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 everything belonging to her in this hotel — the table 
 linen, the china, the glass and the silver, and all the rare 
 and curious bibelots — are marked with a ducal crown, 
 and attest great wealth and elegance." 
 
 "And what sort of a woman is this Duchess? " 
 
 " She is under forty, charming, a tall, graceful brunette, 
 although perhaps not a descendant of any very ancient 
 family, speaks several languages correctly, knows the 
 upper circles in most continental countries, spends a 
 great deal of money, has a very smart team and respectful, 
 well-trained servants; entertains freely and with taste 
 and refinement, pays her bills regularly and promptly, 
 has the most fashionable dressmakers, goes out little, 
 talks of men and things with much knowledge and insight, 
 but rarely of herself, and never speaks ill of others. 
 Finally, she has with her a young lady named Alva, of 
 whom one gets only rare and furtive glimpses, a girl of 
 eighteen, absolutely well-bred, whom the Duchess calls 
 'my child,' a fact which authorises one to suppose that 
 she is her daughter." 
 
 "Really," I replied, "you arouse my curiosity keenly, 
 but I am bound to tell you that I am curious only by 
 profession, caring little to know what I cannot repeat 
 publicly. But what you have just said renders it impos- 
 sible for me to refuse to make the visit you propose, so, 
 if you will allow me, as soon as I have a little more 
 liberty I will send you word and we will go together to 
 call upon the Duchess. " 
 
 Were I to relate all the traps which hatred or jealousy 
 or mere spite have laid for me, for more than thirty years, 
 all the columns of a newspaper would not suffice. I will 
 mention, therefore, only a single one in order to give 
 
ALVA 159 
 
 readers an idea of the methods employed to catch 
 me off my guard and to involve me in irremedi- 
 able complications. 
 
 When the second Dreyfus trial broke out, I beheld one 
 day entering my home a man still young, who appeared 
 to be quite out of breath, and whose expression was 
 that of a person in trouble. He related that he was a 
 married man and a father, that he held a confidential 
 position at the War Office, that he had just met with 
 heavy losses at the gaming table, and that, in exchange 
 for a sum that would help him to save his reputation, he 
 would supply me with military documents of the highest 
 importance. I discovered later on that this man had 
 been sent to me by powerful enemies, solely in order to 
 try to implicate me in that wretched affair. 
 
 I say this in order to explain the precautions which I 
 took in the matter that I am now narrating, and why, a 
 few days after my meeting with M. Hector Pessard, I 
 called on the manager of the hotel where the Duchess was 
 staying — a man who was under some obligations to me 
 and who always showed much deference toward me — 
 with a view of obtaining more detailed information about 
 the Duchess than M. Hector Pessard had imparted to me. 
 
 The manager of the hotel placed himself immediately 
 at my service. 
 
 "The Duchess," said he, "has been residing here for 
 the past eleven months. There is evidently a little 
 mystery about her, but I should not be telling the truth 
 if I did not add that, apart from this instinctive and 
 justifiable feeling that one has, there is nothing to be said 
 against her, and her entire bearing and attitude give rise 
 to no criticism. Five or six days before her arrival one 
 
i6o MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 of the leading employees of a well-known bank came to 
 choose the suite of rooms she now occupies. He selected 
 an apartment on the third floor, so that the visitors should 
 not be troubled by the noise of the street. Their suite 
 looks out on the Tuileries gardens and is composed of a 
 drawing-room, dining-room, two bedrooms for herself 
 and her daughter, a 'study,' and three small rooms for 
 her butler and her two lady's maids, who live on the same 
 floor. On the first of the month the butler, who appears 
 to be a highly respectable old servant, takes a cheque to 
 the bank I have mentioned, and with the utmost regularity 
 the Duchess, on his return, settles her bills here. She 
 has never kept us waiting a single day. Her valet, who 
 acts as a general man-servant, lives at the stables outside 
 the hotel. The Duchess rarely goes out, receives only 
 highly honourable visitors — ^more men than women, that 
 is true — but men who for the most part are well known 
 here as well as elsewhere. She shops a great deal, almost 
 always in the same establishments. Her dressmakers 
 are well known and she habitually pays immediately for 
 all that is brought to her; and she is regarded, owing 
 to her long stay here and the regularity of her orders 
 and payments, as a valuable patron. She has more than 
 once asked for her bills before they were presented. I 
 calculate, without having been guilty of any misplaced 
 curiosity, that this lady must have more than 200,000 
 francs a year to spend, and all I hope is that she will 
 remain here as long as possible, for, I repeat, neither the 
 prosperity nor respectability of the hotel has to regret 
 her presence. " 
 
 The next day I wrote to M. Pessard to tell him that 
 I was at his disposal for any date he would like to fix, 
 
ALVA i6i 
 
 and on September 14, at four in the afternoon, I went 
 with my friend to call on IMadame IMarsa Chamil, who 
 had invited us to tea. 
 
 The portrait of the Duchess had been well portrayed 
 to me by M. Pessard. As I entered she rose from the arm- 
 chair in which she was sitting, and greeted me very ami- 
 ably without offering me her hand, afterward begging 
 me to take a chair. She began in the most natural way 
 in the world to talk of the events of the day, of the crisis 
 of May 16, 1877, the solution of which she had witnessed 
 almost immediately on her arrival in Paris, and of the 
 fall of M. Jules Simon, for whom she had a letter of intro- 
 duction which she had refrained from presenting on learn- 
 ing that since his defeat he had no inclination to receive 
 strangers. She then talked of the statesmen whom I 
 had seen at the Berlin Congress; of Count Andrassy, 
 who was so characteristically the type of the Magyar 
 race, nervous, breezy and hale, as if his ruddiness had 
 been caught under the sun of his native forests ; of Count 
 von Haymerle, so refined and elegant, subtle and active, 
 but for whom people predicted a brief career because his 
 incessant activity was like a tongue of fire that devoured 
 his constitution; of Kara Theodori, the melancholy 
 representative of a decadent power, who had haunted 
 the diplomatic salons of Berlin like a silent and furtive 
 shade, remaining timidly in the background, for he was 
 somewhat bashful and the interests he upheld were most 
 confused and precarious. She then spoke to me of Prince 
 Bismarck, whom she had certainly met, for, quite natu- 
 rally, in repeating a conversation which she had had, 
 she imitated in a respectful but amusing way his habit of 
 stopping suddenly and without embarrassment in the 
 
i62 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 midst of a phrase and of remaining quite silent until he 
 had found the exact word which he wanted. She spoke 
 tome, finally, but with great discretion, without flattery 
 and without exaggeration, of the role that I had played 
 in Berlin and of certain episodes of my sojourn there, 
 which would almost have led me to believe that she 
 had seen me in Berlin, if I had not been aware that she 
 had not absented herself from Paris for a whole year. 
 
 I was, during this visit, struck by the intellectual 
 superiority of this woman who, during our conversation, 
 had made use of several languages, which she seemed to 
 know perfectly well and which she spoke with an accent 
 that belonged to none of them, without my being able 
 exactly to discover to what nationality it was due. I 
 saw perfectly well that this first visit would not be the 
 last, for from the outset I felt for the Duchess, whom 
 I had just seen for the first time, a really sympathetic 
 curiosity ; and I made a firm resolve, without any vulgar 
 or hidden motive, to try to penetrate into her intimacy 
 and to get at the meaning of the very real mystery which, 
 so to speak, floated in the ambient air surroimding her. 
 
 There had been, on this occasion, besides M. Pessard 
 and myself, three or four persons with whom she knew 
 that I was acquainted, and to whom, therefore, she did 
 not feel obliged to introduce me ; but, among two or three 
 others, she introduced to me a young man, of easy and 
 elegant manners and of real distinction, as the Prince 
 Karageorgewitch, and as the question of the future Prince 
 of Bulgaria was then being discussed, she added a few 
 words which appeared to indicate that this young man 
 was regarded by some persons as among the candidates 
 for that dignity. In brief, I took leave of the Duchess 
 
ALVA 163 
 
 with the sensation that my visit had been one of the most 
 interesting which I had made for some time past. From 
 that day, I went to see her almost regularly for more or 
 less long calls two or three times a week. I was more 
 and more impressed by her superior intelligence, her 
 good breeding, and by the accuracy of her opinions and 
 reflections ; and while noting that, in spite of my constant 
 attention, I had not succeeded in piercing the somewhat 
 impenetrable veil enveloping her, I remained convinced 
 that I was dealing neither with an adventuress nor with a 
 woman capable of a dishonest act ; and my sympathy for 
 her grew apace without my ignorance in regard to her 
 being a whit diminished. 
 
 One evening, in December, it was a little late when I 
 made my call, and I found her alone. She said to me : 
 
 "Let me introduce you to my dear child, Alva, whom 
 you do not yet know, and, so that you may become better 
 acquainted with her, you will, if possible, share our 
 dinner, for we are dining alone to-night." 
 
 At my movement of assent she rang and told Hugot, 
 the butler, to ask mademoiselle to come to her in the 
 drawing-room. The introduction was brief, for Alva 
 seemed to have been apprised fairly accurately as to the 
 person now introduced to her, and, contrary to the custom 
 of the Duchess, she immediately extended her hand in a 
 cordial and almost familiar way. i\.lva was a great 
 beauty, elegantly slender, of harmonious proportions, 
 with hands and feet of perfect distinction, and she was 
 dressed with refined and irreproachable simplicity. She 
 had a delicate little head, a rather brilliant complexion, 
 a superb forehead, hair of the purest and most wavy gold, 
 and eyes of that greenish blue which characterises the 
 
i64 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 women of the North, and which, under eyebrows finely 
 arched and beneath long brown lashes, seemed read- 
 ily to change their colour and, according to the impres- 
 sions they reflected, became more azure-hued and 
 more profound. 
 
 Aiva bade me welcome, and as it was late I asked to be 
 allowed to return home in order to dress. At dinner, 
 the girl expressed herself in perfectly pure French without 
 the slightest accent. She, too, knew English, German,. 
 Spanish and a little Russian. She had the experience 
 of her age, for she was not yet eighteen, but she showed 
 an exact and penetrating intelligence and a judgment 
 both firm and indulgent. During dinner the Duchess 
 told me that she had that day been informed that the 
 young man whom I had seen at her house, and whom she 
 had called Prince Karageorgewitch, was accustomed to 
 call himself by that name, but he in no way belonged, as 
 he claimed, to the princely family of Servian pretenders. 
 I took this opportunity to tell her that she ought 
 to be extremely circumspect as to the choice of 
 her habitual guests, and that, without wishing to 
 mention any names, there were among them certain 
 persons who gave rather an unfavourable impression, 
 and this influenced people in their judgment in regard 
 to her. She thanked me warmly, and, with that 
 energy which always distinguished her, told me, on my 
 next visit, that she had closed her door to some of her 
 usual visitors, whose names she mentioned. This proved 
 to me that she had very accurately judged the persons 
 whom she was bound to exclude from her society. 
 
 In these pages I intend to relate an event which 
 deserves to figure in my personal reminiscences, but I 
 
ALVA 165 
 
 do not wish, by giving details not directly bearing upon 
 this story, to lengthen needlessly the tale which I am 
 now narrating. So I shall not speak of the visits which 
 ensued, nor of the incidents that occurred during the 
 three or four months following upon the first dinner of 
 the Duchess at which I was present. What I can say, 
 and what I feel bound to say, is that my attachment to 
 these two women increased as I began to know them 
 better, and it rapidly developed into veritable friendship. 
 Both of them, each in her own way, were calculated to 
 captivate: the one by the remarkable maturity of her 
 superior and cultivated intelligence, her upright conduct, 
 her native penetration and rare knowledge of men and 
 things, of which for the most part she made no display, 
 but which became evident whenever she took pains to 
 analyse her thoughts; the other, Alva, by her youthful 
 radiance, her eloquence and simplicity, her gentle and 
 fascinating melancholy, and by the intellectual precocity 
 that was so noticeable whenever — which was rare — she 
 chanced to take part in the conversation. 
 
 About the end of April, 1879, however, it seemed to 
 me that a significant change was taking place in the 
 existence of these two women. The mother was more 
 nervous and irritable; more reserved than heretofore. 
 The quivering of her nostrils and the way in which she 
 knit her brows betrayed now and then her excitement; 
 her lips, previously so apt to smile, had strange twitchings ; 
 and she gave her orders more sharply and imperiously 
 than was her wont. The girl, on such occasions, gave 
 her mother an anxious and melancholy look, and more 
 than once I noticed that her lashes were wet with a 
 quickly suppressed tear. The change disturbed me. 
 
1 66 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 but such was the attitude of these two women that I 
 should have thought it indiscreet to display the slightest 
 anxiety. This state of things continued and even 
 became more accentuated. It was, to be sure, purely 
 a moral impression I had, for, apart from what I have 
 noted, there had been no alteration in the style in which 
 the Duchess lived. She received at the same hours 
 exactly in the same manner as before; she went out as 
 usual, did her shopping and errands as before; and the 
 hotel servants, when she came down into the court- 
 yard to enter her brougham or her open carriage, bowed 
 with the same respect as they had always shown, as she 
 passed. I was much perplexed by all this, and such 
 was now my friendship for these two ladies that I could not 
 help feeling real anxiety. I suffered at being kept in the 
 dark with regard to their troubles. This situation, 
 which was so painful to me, continued until nearly the 
 middle of June, and as I thought that my visits caused 
 sometimes a painful embarrassment I began to go less 
 frequently, and, in spite of the real privation that I felt, 
 I now remaine4 at times almost a week without calling 
 on the Duchess. 
 
 Toward the middle of June, during one of the rare 
 visits which I then made them, I tried, by cordial phrases, 
 to attenuate my indiscretion in coming to see them, when 
 the Duchess suddenly seemed to want to enter upon a 
 conversation of a confidential character. She exclaimed : 
 
 " I must tell you " 
 
 Just then her eyes fell upon Alva. I cannot say what 
 she read upon the girl's face, but she stopped short, and, 
 as she appeared to have grown somewhat nervous, I 
 hastily got up and took leave of her. As I crossed the 
 
ALVA 167 
 
 hotel court the manager appeared in the doorway of his 
 office, as though he wanted to speak to me. I went to 
 meet him and he asked me into his room. He shut the 
 door and said: 
 
 "You must excuse me, sir, for what I am going to tell 
 you, but a few months ago, before you knew the Duchess, 
 you asked for accurate information in regard to her, 
 which I gave you; since then you have become, in the 
 eyes of the Duchess and her daughter, the real friend of 
 the house. I feel bound to tell you, for it seems to me 
 to be a duty, that during the last two months certain 
 things have been going on here which will perhaps seem 
 to you, as they do to me, disquieting. Since the first of 
 May this lady has neither asked for nor settled her hotel 
 bill, which amounts to-day to about eighteen thousand 
 francs. She has made many purchases and, contrary to 
 her custom, has not paid for them immediately, but has 
 even sent back some of the bills, asking for a delay ; and 
 if I am not mistaken, the Duchess, during the two and a 
 half months in which this change has been taking place, 
 must have become indebted to the extent of more than 
 fifty thousand francs, for, as often happens in cases of the 
 kind, she has bought some new things in order to defer 
 payment of those for which she already owes. I must 
 even add that for some time now I see, hovering about 
 the hotel, personages who appear to be spying on her ; that 
 I have received the visit of an official who came to make 
 a detailed inquiry as to the Duchess and her daughter; 
 and that this lady's servants appear worried. It seemed 
 to me I ought to inform you of all this lest you should 
 be surprised by some event which might annoy you." 
 
 It will readily be understood that I was impressed and 
 
i68 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 disturbed by this communication. I passed a bad night, 
 and the next morning wrote to the Duchess asking her to 
 receive me at three o'clock. 
 
 At that hour I arrived at her house. I was ushered 
 in and found her alone. With a great deal of precaution 
 and considerable apprehension I explained to her that 
 I felt it my duty to repeat to her what the manager of 
 the hotel had said to me. She listened to me in silence. 
 Two big tears ran down her cheeks. 
 
 "What the manager of the hotel has told you," she 
 said, after a pause, "is true. For three months now I 
 have been completely without funds. I thought, and 
 still think, that I shall get my money back. I did not 
 wish to change my way of living — in the first place, out 
 of pride, which you will understand; secondly, not to 
 alarm Alva. The time has come, though, to tell you 
 what you do not yet know, and what on more than one 
 occasion I have intended to tell you, without, however, 
 daring to do so. Among all the persons I have known, 
 you are the one who has shown me the most serious, the 
 most sincere and the most disinterested sympathy; and 
 you are the one in whom Alva and I feel the most confi- 
 dence and for whom we cherish the greatest friendship. 
 I am going, therefore, to tell you everything, and you can 
 then judge whether you should respond to the appeal 
 which I am going to make to you. 
 
 "Alva, whom I call my child, is not my daughter. She 
 belongs to a royal house ; she is the daughter of a princess, 
 and the explanation of the ducal crown visible on every- 
 thing belonging to us here is that most, of these objects 
 come from her mother, and that Alva, in reality, if not 
 by right, can claim the crown. She was born when her 
 
ALVA 169 
 
 mother was only eighteen years old. Alva is remarkably 
 like her mother, who was very beautiful. Her father 
 was a captain in an Austrian regiment garrisoned in the 
 Germanic confederation. I was her maid of honour. 
 When I heard of the affair, her suffering attached me to 
 her more than ever, and after having been her confidante 
 I became her accomplice. We wept long over the situa- 
 tion together. Finally, an idea came to me which 
 simplified the whole situation, and I felt that I had found 
 a way of saving her, I will even say of saving us, for, if 
 the truth became known, I was in as much danger as she 
 was, and perhaps even more. Without telling her my 
 plan, I went to one of the Court physicians for whom I 
 entertained the greatest admiration. Unhesitatingly, 
 and after he had promised to keep my disclosure a secret, 
 I told him all I know. 
 
 "Doctor Alven — we will call him thus, for it was 
 under that name that he took, later on, all the necessary 
 steps — ^Doctor Alven listened in silence, and when I had 
 finished said: 
 
 " 'Tell Madame that she must not appear to-night at 
 dinner ; that she must go to bed and complain of violent 
 headaches and of great difficulty in breathing. Then, 
 to-morrow morning early let her send for me to visit 
 her. Do not worry. I hope that I shall find a way to 
 save you both.' 
 
 " Doctor Alven ordered her to take a potion. The 
 consequence of this draught was that the face of the 
 unfortunate Princess became violently red and a heavy 
 fever ensued. Our rescuer submitted her to this treat- 
 ment for two weeks. He directed me to stay with her,- 
 because she wanted to be nursed only by me. Two 
 
I70 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 weeks later, the Court having meanwhile been greatly 
 alarmed, and with the exaggeration habitual in such 
 cases having announced her death on the sixteenth day, 
 at Doctor Alven's request and by order of the Sovereign 
 there was a consultation of physicians. The father of 
 the Princess was present, and the doctors adopted Doctor 
 Alven's suggestion, declaring that the only way of saving 
 her was, first, to send her away to the south of France, 
 and then, accompanied by a young doctor recommended 
 by Alven, to have her travel in Algeria, Cairo, the Canary 
 and the Balearic Islands. 
 
 " Doctor Alven declared that he would give the Princess 
 certain potions which, in spite of her weak condition, 
 would enable her to start, adding, in order that the 
 illness should not give rise to any alarming rumours, that 
 she must leave without any sort of ostentation and 
 travel incognito. 
 
 "Doctor Alven's plans were adopted, and three days 
 later in the evening we set out, under the most favourable 
 circumstances possible, accompanied by Hugot, the 
 butler, who is still with me, by the young doctor, who left 
 us a little later, and by the two lady's maids, who are still 
 in our service. 
 
 " We left immediately for one of the estates belonging 
 to the Princess beyond the frontier, a domain which came 
 to her direct from one of her aunts. It had not long been 
 at her disposal, as she had only a short time attained her 
 majority, and on that occasion her father had reduced by 
 half the personal appanage which she enjoyed. 
 
 "On reaching our destination the Princess sent for the 
 official who governed the district and the functionary 
 who dealt with all matters pertaining to the attestation 
 
ALVA 171 
 
 of contracts. In their presence the Princess had an act 
 drawn up in which she authorised her steward, assisted 
 by the Governor of the district, to make a transfer, upon 
 an order signed by her, of her entire property, and to 
 convert the sum thus obtained into paper, consols. 
 Government annuities, municipal bonds and railway 
 shares, according to Doctor Alven's indications. All this 
 property when realised was, at the Princess's orders, 
 to be entrusted by the Governor of the district and the 
 steward, acting conjointly, to the person indicated by 
 the Princess in the two orders which she proposed to 
 send them. 
 
 "I will not needlessly lengthen this story. We made 
 all the peregrinations that had been planned for us, until 
 finally the Princess was conducted into a Hungarian 
 convent, the Superioress of which was a sister of Doctor 
 Alven, The Princess and I were installed with our 
 servants and the Doctor in a cottage at a remote comer 
 of the convent park, where there was a private entrance, 
 and where we lived well removed from curious eyes, even 
 from those of the nuns. As the convent was the seat of 
 the head of the order, and sent out nuns on missions in 
 all directions, whenever one of them left she was ordered, 
 on reaching her destination, to post letters to the Court, 
 so that it should appear as though we were still travelling. 
 
 " When the young Doctor left us to return to the Court, 
 he announced that the Princess, now completely recovered, 
 was coming home. The child, a girl, was inscribed on the 
 convent registers simply under the name of Alva, the 
 Princess herself having chosen the name out of grati- 
 tude to Doctor Alven. The Superior found a nurse for 
 her, and a few months later nurse and child were intro- 
 
172 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 duced into the convent, the latter passing for a daughter 
 of a niece of the Superior. 
 
 "My dear and unfortunate mistress wept bitterly 
 when she was told that she must live separated from her 
 child. I did my best to console her, promising that she 
 should see her shortly and that, with Alven's aid, we 
 would return before long to the convent. 
 
 "Two months later, early in 1862, we returned to the 
 Court. No one there had the slightest suspicion of what 
 had occurred. The young Doctor had said nothing on 
 account of his professional duty. The devotion of the 
 three servants amounted to heroism, and Doctor Alven 
 avoided any step that could have given rise to a 
 suspicion of there being anything special between him 
 and us. 
 
 "Eleven years elapsed. The Princess had found it 
 impossible to undertake the journey she longed to make. 
 Alva had been separated from her nurse, and she con- 
 tinued to be educated at the convent in the most perfect 
 manner possible. She was loved there, all the nuns 
 doing their best to contribute to her intellectual and 
 physical development. 
 
 "Great political changes had taken place meanwhile. 
 Austria had come forth from the Germanic confedera- 
 tion. The war of 1870-71 had altogether modified the 
 confederated sovereignties of Germany. The Princess, 
 who possessed a fairly important appanage, and also, as I 
 have said, estates abroad which she had inherited from 
 one of her aunts, was more eager than ever to realise her 
 property, which, transformed into paper, would have a 
 value of more than five millions of francs. She was bent 
 on leaving her country and taking refuge with Alva in a 
 
ALVA 173 
 
 foreign land, whence it would be impossible to compel 
 her to return. 
 
 "Alas ! just then a terrible misfortune befell us. Our 
 presence in the convent, which we had fancied abso- 
 lutely unknown to any one, had been witnessed by the 
 gardener — the park-keeper, who never penetrated into 
 the convent, but who lived in a small house at the farther 
 extremity of the grounds, a house which, like our own, 
 possessed an independent entrance. His attention had 
 been drawn to what went on in our cottage. He 
 had played the spy and discovered everything save our 
 identity. 
 
 "Unfortunately, one of the nuns who had been sent 
 out of the convent on a mission and had imperfectly 
 understood her instructions in regard to posting one of the 
 Princess's letters, entrusted it to the gardener whom she 
 met as she was leaving. He, suspecting that there was 
 some relation between this letter and the mystery of the 
 cottage, did not hesitate an instant to read it. The 
 address, the signature and the contents of it gave him 
 the key to the whole mystery. This man, I cannot say 
 why, had just been brutally deprived of his place, and 
 without the slightest hesitation he resolved to take his 
 revenge in revealing to the Princess's father the mystery 
 that he had discovered. 
 
 "The latter' s indignation was terrible. He had an 
 attack and his life was in danger. At 11 p. m. Doctor 
 Alven was sent for, and he took all the necessary measures 
 to prevent the father in his wrath from revealing the 
 secret, for the Doctor had just become aware of the 
 frightful danger with which we were menaced. 
 
 " "Without a minute's delay he went to see the Princess, 
 
174 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 awoke Hugot, and ordered the maids to awaken the 
 Princess and myself. 
 
 "We immediately prepared to receive the Doctor. 
 He communicated to us the terrible news. He informed 
 us that it was particularly against me that the 
 Sovereign's exasperation was directed, and said that, 
 accompanied by Hugot and by 'the two maids, for 
 whom he dreaded a terrible punishment, I must flee 
 without losing a moment. On leaving, he informed us 
 that an hour later his landau, with two of his best horses, 
 Avould await us at a side door, and that we should be driven 
 across the frontier, which was only nine miles away. 
 
 "Hugot and the two maids, who were cool and collected 
 through all this, had quickly prepared, in several bags, 
 everything of which I stood in immediate need, and I, 
 on my part, collected all my jewels and all the silver 
 that the Princess and I possessed. 
 
 "It was 4 A. M. when we started, and it was hardly 
 five o'clock when we had crossed the frontier. As 
 the first anticipated action taken against the Princess 
 would be the kidnapping of Alva without a minute's 
 delay, armed with a letter from Alven I set out for 
 the convent, where I immediately saw the Superioress. 
 Two hours later Alva — ^to whom some years before I had 
 paid a visit of several days on the pretext of visiting, 
 during a holiday, an estate of mine on the Danube — was 
 entrusted to my care. 
 
 "Alva, who, save the nuns, had never seen any one 
 but myself, and who knew all the tenderness I felt for 
 her — ^Alva vaguely, so to speak, believed that I was her 
 mother. She flung herself effusively into my arms and 
 was glad to go with me. 
 
ALVA 175 
 
 "We settled down, with Hugot and the two maids, 
 on my estate. It was in an independent coimtry and 
 I knew we were quite safe. I devoted myself to Alva's 
 education, having at my disposal more than adequate 
 resources sent to me by the steward from the abundant 
 revenues of the Princess's lands ; and we lived there for 
 some years, pending the events which were to bring to us 
 the solution of the painful situation in which we found 
 ourselves." 
 
 "Meanwhile terrible scenes were being enacted at the 
 Court. The reigning Prince, on being apprised of what 
 he called the disgrace of his house, was in such a paroxysm 
 of wrath that he himself, so deprived was he of all com- 
 mon sense, did not dare to face his daughter, the Princess. 
 
 "The miserable informer, the gardener, immediately 
 after having told his tale in the presence of the Prince, 
 had been imprisoned. He was now sent for and obliged 
 to sign a declaration which might involve a death sentence 
 for him. An important sum of money was given to him, 
 he was taken to Bremen under good escort, and sent off 
 to one of the American States, with orders never, under 
 pain of death, either to reveal a word of what he knew or to 
 return to Europe. Moreover, several months ago, Alven 
 informed me that news had been received of his death. 
 
 "Immediately after his departure, the Prince, who 
 had been informed of the exact whereabouts of Alva, 
 had sent three men, on whose loyalty and decision he 
 could rely, to kidnap her. As you know, they arrived 
 too late. But the unfortunate Princess was the object 
 of the most monstrous persecution. All her attendants 
 had been changed. Her two maids were two jailers, 
 who never allowed her out of their sight, and who passed 
 
176 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 their time in torturing her. Her health suffered greatly. 
 Partial paralysis set in. At her request Alven was sent 
 for. The Doctor asked to be left alone with her, and his 
 request was granted. He did not conceal from her that 
 she was nearing her end. She displayed real heroism. 
 Her only sorrow was at not seeing her child. She made 
 all the necessary arrangements, and entrusted to the 
 Doctor a copy of the document which she had had drawn 
 up for the sale of her property, and the order to convert 
 it into securities which, in case of her death, were to be 
 given to me. At a second visit of the Doctor, who de- 
 clared to her that she could never undertake another 
 journey, she wrote to me with his aid that, when her 
 landed property had been converted and the securities 
 entrusted to me, she begged me to go with Alva to London, 
 taking the securities with me, to deposit them in one of 
 the large English banks which she named, and to use the 
 revenue for the common benefit of Alva and myself 
 until God should allow her to join us. 
 
 "The question of the sale and transfer of her property 
 took some time, for there was great need of discretion, and 
 it was only toward the middle of 1875 that the steward 
 and the Governor of the district brought me the product 
 of the sale in two immense boxes, accompanied with a 
 duplicate of the contents. 
 
 "The total amounted to a little more than ;^2oo,ooo, 
 which gave an annual income of ;^9,ooo, or about £7$'^ 
 a month. 
 
 "We left my estate several days later, and I went 
 quietly away with my dear Alva to London under an 
 assumed name, I deposited the securities in my name 
 in the bank indicated, and whilst awaiting the time when 
 
ALVA 177 
 
 the Princess could travel and join us, we devoted our days, 
 and a certain portion of our revenues, to completing 
 and perfecting the education of Alva, to whom thus far 
 I had avoided revealing her origin, 
 
 "Alas ! Alva could not long endure the English climate, 
 and just when, with her consent, I was planning to go to 
 spend the winter in Cairo or Algiers, there reached us the 
 painful news of the death of my dear and beloved Princess. 
 
 "My grief was such that I could not help sharing it 
 with Alva, and revealed to the girl her origin as well as 
 her mother's death. Alva was in profound despair, and 
 as I perceived that her health was suffering thereby, I 
 resolutely left London, and we visited in succession 
 Cairo, the Canary Islands, Palermo and Algeria. 
 
 ' 'Alva had quite recovered her health and the splendour 
 of her youthful beauty, and, as we both needed rest and a 
 fixed abode, at her wish we went on to Paris, where we 
 have now been residing for twenty months. 
 
 "I am doing my best to make the narrative short, but 
 I am bound to explain everything, since I must finally 
 appeal to your friendship, which, although not of very long 
 standing, is, nevertheless, one in which I have the most 
 complete confidence, 
 
 "I have now reached the epoch of our sojourn in Paris. 
 I knew we had been hunted for, but as we often changed 
 our name and residence, and as we were quite independ- 
 ent, we never made any debts, and, in a word, did 
 nothing that could attract special attention, it was really 
 almost impossible to discover us. Moreover, ever since 
 the death of the Princess, I had been aware that sooner 
 or later there would be attacks against me, for I knew 
 the harshness and avarice of those who had survived my 
 
178 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 unhappy friend. For some time past I had been worried 
 by the complexity of the requirements necessary for 
 receiving my income, all the securities being in England. 
 I mentioned these annoyances to one of the employees 
 of the bank who was acting as my agent, and who, I 
 may say in parenthesis, is at the present time behaving 
 himself abominably toward me. 
 
 " 'Madame,' replied this employee, 'nothing could be 
 easier to remedy. We receive every day quantities of 
 securities from London under policies of insurance. 
 You have only to direct your London banker to give to 
 one of our London agents, in exchange for our receipt, 
 the papers deposited with him, and we will receive them, 
 merely charging you for the insurance policy and the 
 carriage. We will place at your disposal one of our safes, 
 with a receipt to that effect.' 
 
 "Unfortunately I accepted this proposition, and this 
 is what has been done. Hugot on the first of every 
 month used to go with my receipt to the bank, where 
 the cashier, who was thoroughly trustworthy, regularly 
 detached the coupons from my securities in honouring 
 my monthly receipt. 
 
 "A few months ago, one of the detectives sent to dis- 
 cover our whereabouts found out our address. He had 
 met Hugot, whom he recognised, in the street, and 
 followed him to our hotel, where, quite quietly, he took 
 rooms in order to watch us. He kept his eye especially 
 on Hugot, and finally discovered the bank where our 
 money was deposited. And thus it came to pass when, 
 about three months ago, Hugot went to the bank with 
 my receipt, the cashier informed him that he could 
 not honour it, regular opposition having been noti- 
 
ALVA 179 
 
 fied on behalf of a foreign Court by one of the great 
 Embassies. 
 
 "Hugot returned in utter consternation. You can 
 imagine the effect of this news upon me. I rushed off to 
 the bank. I asked if I could not be given a sum quite out- 
 side and apart from my revenue, but this was refused. 
 Such was the nature of the opposition that it had aroused 
 suspicions against me at the bank. I returned home in 
 despair. The manager of the hotel, to whom, without 
 giving any details, I communicated the fact of my momen- 
 tary embarrassment, behaved admirably, and requested 
 me to make no change in my manner of living. 
 
 "I immediately wrote to Alven, with whom I can 
 correspond without any danger, but he was away from 
 home, and I had to wait for a reply until his return. 
 
 "When he got back he sent me a legal adviser whom I 
 could trust. We went together to consult one of the 
 most eminent members of the French bar. He asked 
 me to show him the titles guaranteeing my right to the 
 property. I possessed nothing but the London banker's 
 receipt and that of the Paris banker. He declared that 
 these two receipts appeared to him insufficient to secure 
 the cancelling of the opposition, but that in any case 
 I could bring legal action. The result, however, in the 
 dearth of further documents, appeared to him doubtful. 
 I refused to bring an aclfion, dreading sensation and 
 scandal, newspaper articles and reporters, and the whole 
 horror of a situation which was sure to end disastrously. 
 
 "The lawyer then went back to Alven, who began to 
 consider what should be done. Such is my present situa- 
 tion, and it is your own communication to me which has 
 led me to reveal to you these facts. I have long wanted 
 
i8o MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 to mention them to you, but now that you have heard 
 my story you can understand why I have hesitated, 
 fearing to place myself in a painful light if I had done so 
 earlier. If I do so now, it is because you yourself have 
 afforded me the occasion by taking, so to speak, the first 
 step. And now, if you will come to see me to-morrow> 
 and if you are disposed to champion my cause, as I 
 think you are, I will tell you the service which I have 
 to ask of you." 
 
 When I returned on the morrow she had, indeed, 
 reflected. 
 
 "I know," she said, "that Monsieur Waddington, the 
 Prime Minister, is a great friend of yours, and it is said 
 you have rendered him many services for which he is 
 grateful. We must learn from him how this opposition 
 has been obtained, for our enemies, you understand, 
 have fewer rights to put forward than I, as, after all, I 
 am in possession of my fortune, and the opposition in 
 question is, in spite of, or because of, its validity, an ab- 
 solutely arbitrary act. I want you to go to see Monsieur 
 Waddington, to explain the situation to him, to ask 
 him to find out how and on what grounds the opposition 
 has been taken, and then to use his authority to protect 
 me against the injustice of which I am the victim." 
 
 What Marsa had said was perfectly true. M. Wadding- 
 ton cherished a real sentiment of gratitude toward me. 
 On the 12th of November, 1877, at the fall of the Cabinet 
 of the 1 6th of May, M. Dufaure was about to form his 
 ministry, in which M. Waddington was to take the port- 
 folio of education and the Count de Saint Vallier that 
 of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 At the request of some friends I went to see M. Dufaure, 
 
ALVA i8i 
 
 who always showed me the greatest good-will, and 
 proved to him that he ought to give the portfolio of 
 education to M. Bardoux, his former associate at the 
 Ministry of Justice, that M. de Saint Vallier, for whom 
 Prince Bismarck professed particular sympathy, ought 
 to be sent to Berlin, and that for peremptory reasons he 
 ought to give the ministry of foreign affairs to M. Wad- 
 dington. To this M. Dufaure agreed, and on the spot 
 he confided to me the mission of seeing M. Waddington 
 and, in his name, of offering him the ministry of for- 
 eign affairs, instead of that of education. I went 
 immediately, in spite of the late hour, to the Rue Du- 
 mont d'Urville, to M. Waddington's house, to fulfil the 
 mission entrusted to me. 
 
 M. Waddington, after some hesitation, and notwith- 
 standing Madame Waddington's energetic opposition, 
 accepted the offer and became Minister of Foreign Affairs 
 in the Dufaure Cabinet. It was thus that he took part, 
 as first Plenipotentiary, in the Berlin Congress, where, 
 throughout the sessions, from the beginning to the end, 
 I was fortunate enough to render him daily services, and 
 where I constantly defended him by word and pen against 
 the attacks of the French newspapers. 
 
 After the Congress I explained and upheld his acts to 
 his chief, M. Dufaure, the Prime Minister, and finally, in a 
 long talk with M. Gambetta, a summary of which, in 
 the form of an interview, appeared in the Times, and 
 was, by M. Gambetta's orders, reproduced in the R/piib- 
 Itque Frangaise, I brought about between the two a 
 rapprochement, as a consequence of which M. Gambetta 
 abandoned his hostility toward M. Waddington. 
 
 The latter, moreover, never ceased to show his affection 
 
I82 
 
 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 for me, and when Marsa proposed to me to see him 
 I readily consented, sure in advance that I should 
 succeed, and delighted at the thought of making 
 her happy. 
 
 As I was crossing the courtyard of the hotel, I perceived 
 the manager looking at me from his office door. I went 
 up to him and told him that what he had said the night 
 before was true, but that the embarrassment of the 
 Duchess was temporary, and that I begged him to make 
 no change in his manner toward her, and even to speak 
 to the shopkeepers, in order to induce them to continue 
 to extend their confidence to the Duchess, for, I added, 
 "I guarantee that neither you nor any one will lose a 
 penny." The manager was delighted and promised to 
 do what I asked. I felt no anxiety in standing surety for 
 Marsa after what she had said, and, convinced as I was 
 that I should succeed almost immediately in arranging 
 matters, this detail seemed quite natural. 
 
 I went off to the Quai d'Orsay to see M. Waddington. 
 He received me with his customary warmth. I asked 
 him if he had time to listen to me. He rang for the usher, 
 gave orders that he should not be disturbed until he 
 called, and, opening the door that led into the bureau of 
 his Chef de Cabinet, gave similar orders there. He 
 listened to me attentively, insisting that I should omit 
 no detail, now and then showing that my story touched 
 him. When I had finished, he said : 
 
 " I thank you for telling me this, although I am really 
 troubled about it; but my knowledge of the affair was 
 very slight. I had heard of it, but had attached little 
 importance to the matter. I am going to examine it 
 carefully and without delay. If you will come back at 
 
ALVA 183 
 
 2.30 to-morrow I hope to be able to give you every 
 satisfaction." 
 
 I rushed off to Marsa to report the good news. She 
 was delighted and said to me : 
 
 " I have only just received a letter from Alven, of which 
 I will speak to you to-morrow when all is over, although 
 I may tell you that he says, even if I do not succeed in 
 averting the perfidious attack of which I am the object, 
 I must not despair." 
 
 "I hope," I replied, "that the day after to-morrow I 
 shall bring you a definite solution, and that you will 
 have no need of appealing to Doctor Alven." 
 
 Alas ! I did not bring her on that date a definite 
 solution. I found M. Waddington nervous and anxious, 
 almost irritated. He had immediately investigated 
 the matter. 
 
 " I have made the necessary inquiry," he said. "Although 
 I regret it, I am bound to tell you frankly that I cannot 
 possibly agree to do what you ask of me. We are face to 
 face with the direct intervention of a powerful Ambassador, 
 acting under the orders of his Government. The opposi- 
 tion to the payment is perfectly regular, and we are on 
 the point of receiving proofs of its validity and of the 
 rights of seizure which are demanded. I beg you to 
 excuse me for what I am going to say, but your two 
 protegees are described as adventuresses and accused of 
 embezzlement, while the story of the daughter of a royal 
 Princess is treated as a ridiculous fable. She is said to be 
 merely the illegitimate child of the woman called the 
 Duchess, and the latter is accused of having taken 
 advantage of the insanity of the Princess, whose maid 
 of honour she was, to steal from her the estate settled on 
 
i84 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 her. In order to satisfy you, I should have first to talk 
 the matter over with the President of the Republic, and 
 then bring it before the Cabinet Council. But I am sure 
 I should have M. Grevy against me as well as the Cabinet 
 — that is to say, I should have to resign, which would 
 in no way advance matters, for, after all, I may perhaps 
 be able to be of service to you," 
 
 I got up hastily. M. Waddington reproached me for 
 my brusk movement, and, as I saw that he deeply 
 regretted the whole affair, the idea of Doctor Alven's 
 letter came to me, and, quite by chance, and in order to 
 gain time, I said to M. Waddington that I had promised 
 to stand surety for Marsa, that I was personally much 
 embarrassed, and, since he was to be shown the proofs of 
 the legality of the opposition, I begged him to grant me a 
 little time. "Since the proof is to be given you," I said, 
 "you may at all events, in some way or other, find a way 
 of postponing the seizure for several months, particularly 
 as I shall be greatly inconvenienced now that I am surety 
 for these ladies." 
 
 M. Waddington was really troubled. "I think," he 
 said, "that you have the truth on your side. Your story 
 must be true, for you were the first to show me how to 
 verify it. But I can do nothing against the state of 
 things which would appear like assuming an insulting 
 attitude against the honoured representative of a great 
 power. Yet, in order to prove to you my complete good 
 faith, I promise that the authorisation for the seizure 
 shall not be granted before August 15th. That, I fear, 
 is all I can do for you." 
 
 Evidently, if Marsa did not faint on my telling her this, 
 it was because she still had faith in Alven, and because she 
 
ALVA 185 
 
 saw me, too, in such despair that she had recourse to all 
 her energy. She said to me : 
 
 "Alven is at present at Samaden in the Engadine, in 
 charge of a distinguished patient, whom he cannot leave 
 for a single day. He keeps me apprised of what is going 
 on. They are trying to collect the documents to prove 
 that the Princess was insane before she sold her lands and 
 before giving me the securities, Alven has interfered 
 heroically in this infamous plot. Other doctors have 
 come to his rescue. He does not know whether he will 
 succeed in thwarting this scheme, but in any case it will 
 take some time for things to come to a crisis, Alven begs 
 me to go to him with Alva, whom he longs to see. He 
 does not know, my poor dear friend, that I am myself a 
 prisoner, and that in spite of your intervention with my 
 creditors, my departure would look like flight, that I 
 should receive a legal summons, and that we should be 
 ruined. Yet Alven declares that he must know abso- 
 lutely all the details of what has occurred, and this can 
 be only viva voce. Moreover, I must be prompt, for he is 
 about to leave Samaden with his patient, probably for 
 Cairo." 
 
 " And what are you going to do ?" I asked. 
 
 She blushed, then grew pale. After a few moments of 
 hesitation, she finally said : 
 
 "I am going to appeal to the greatest devotion, the 
 greatest abnegation, the greatest sentiment of honour, of 
 which a man can give proof to two women whom he does 
 not know. Will you accompany Alva with one of my maids 
 to Samaden? I know that in confiding her to your 
 honour I am not wanting in my duty toward her. But I 
 do not wish it to be known that Alven has met her — • 
 
1 86 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 first, because they would take vengeance on him, and 
 secondly, because, if proved, this meeting would destroy 
 the intervention against the declaration of madness, and 
 everything would be lost." 
 
 " But when shall we start ?" I asked. 
 
 She grasped my hand and kissed it, covering it with 
 tears. 
 
 " Your kindness consoles me for all my woes. You will 
 leave on the fourteenth; Hugot, who will precede you, 
 will await you at Lucerne, where you will arrive on the 
 morning of the fifteenth. Go to the Hotel National, 
 where he will be introduced to you by the hotel people 
 and offer his services as courier. He knows quite well 
 what to do and is well acquainted with the country. 
 He will conduct you to Samaden and even farther, as a 
 tourist travelling by post-chaise. At Samaden you will 
 go to the hotel where Alven is stopping. Alva, toward 
 II p. M., will feel unwell, and Hugot, in seeking a doctor, 
 will naturally appeal to Alven, who will have returned 
 half an hour earlier. Alva will remain ill two days, 
 during which time she will be taken care of by her maid ; 
 and you three — ^Alva, you and Alven — will thus have 
 ample time to talk without arousing suspicion, and to do 
 what Alven tells you or directs me to do. ' ' 
 
 She interrupted her explanations and paused some 
 length of time. Then resolutely, as if summoning all her 
 courage, she said : 
 
 "Alas ! this is not all; but at present I dare not part 
 with the little money that remains, and " 
 
 I interrupted her : 
 
 "Do not let us lose precious moments in futile words. 
 I shall be delighted to take this trip, and I am sure that 
 
ALVA 187 
 
 Alva's presence will make it more charming. I will 
 advance the money. If you recover your property, you 
 will give me back Alva's half of the expenses. If not, I 
 shall endeavour to bear the loss." 
 
 On the morning of July 15th we arrived at Lucerne, 
 at the Hotel National. We waited for Hugot. Toward 
 noon the manager of the hotel, then the famous M. Ritz, 
 came to see me and informed me that a courier, who 
 had just left a family whom he had accompanied to 
 Lucerne, offered me his services. It was Hugot. 
 
 I wanted to start immediately, but Alva was fatigued 
 and wanted to rest until the morrow. Moreover — and 
 this was a very feminine trait — in spite of all I could say, 
 and although we were thus losing a day, she refused to 
 continue our journey without having made the ascent of 
 the Rigi. I had to yield. Hugot was to leave on the 
 morrow for Fluellen at the end of the Lake of Four 
 Cantons, where he transported our baggage, and we and 
 the maid were to stop at Vitznau, lunch on the Rigi, take 
 the afternoon boat, and meet Hugo at Fluellen. 
 
 We found him there with the hotel carriage, and he 
 told us he had engaged a four-horse team, such as is 
 habitually employed for this route, to drive by the 
 St. Gothard, by Andermatten and Chiaso to Lugano, 
 where we should cross the lake to continue, on the oppo- 
 site shore, our journey to Samaden. We started on the 
 following morning, and an incident on the route depressed 
 us by the lugubrious presentiments that it inspired, but 
 which, happily, were not realised. 
 
 Two years before I had gone from the Rigi, 
 where I was staying, to Goeschenen, to visit the works 
 in the St. Gothard tunnel. I had been received most 
 
1 88 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 hospitably there by M. Fabre, the contractor of the 
 tunnel, and he had shown me the work that had already 
 been accomplished. When, two years later, I passed 
 with Alva by Goeschenen, in front of the very hotel 
 where I had been received, I was asked to stop my 
 carriage, and I saw, issuing from the tunnel, an immense 
 procession of men in dark clothes following a coffin, 
 which passed before us. They were workmen of the 
 tunnel accompanying to his last resting-place the body 
 of M. Fabre. I was much impressed by the somber 
 coincidence, and arrived with a heavy heart at Ander- 
 matten, whence without further incident Vv^e proceeded 
 to Samaden. 
 
 There we remained two days. Alven was informed of 
 all the necessary details. He was delighted to see Alva, 
 and he parted from her in despair. Hugot's conduct 
 had been admirable. Not the slightest suspicion had 
 arisen in regard to us. When I went away, Alven gave 
 me a large and heavy letter in a double envelope, saying : 
 
 "Take great care of it; it is perhaps salvation itself . 
 I have rendered to the omnipotent person to whom it is 
 addressed the greatest service a man can render to 
 another man. I saved from certain death a human being 
 he adored. He has always said that there was nothing 
 he would refuse me. It is the first time I have ever 
 appealed to him, and if, on returning to Paris, the situation 
 has not yet improved, tear open the first envelope and 
 carry the letter, without even showing it to Marsa, 
 to the address on the second envelope." 
 
 Alva returned to her hotel, accompanied by Hugot 
 and her maid, and on the morrow, Marsa having informed 
 me that there had been no change, I tore open the first 
 
ALVA 189 
 
 envelope and saw that the second was addressed, with 
 the word "Confidential," to "Prince Orloff, Ambassador 
 of H. M. the Emperor of all the Russias, Paris." 
 
 When on the address of the second envelope I saw 
 Prince Orloff's name I was delighted, for I knew the 
 intervention would be a powerful one, and that my rela- 
 tions with the Prince would permit me to make the most 
 of it. I hastened to see him. Without offering any 
 explanations, I handed to him Alven's voluminous 
 missive. When he had opened it and looked at the 
 signature, he said to me with a voice full of emotion : 
 
 "Ah ! you come from a man who is as dear to me as any 
 one in this world outside of my family ; but I see that the 
 letter is very long. I should like to read it carefully, 
 whatever may be its contents, and we will talk about it 
 to-morrow if you will come back then." 
 
 I returned on the following day and found him in a 
 somewhat excited state. 
 
 " I will do all that is possible for a man to do," said he, 
 "all that is not contrary to my absolute duty, all, and 
 I am ready to talk with you." 
 
 The conversation was a long one, and more than once 
 he exclaimed : 
 
 " What ! this girl whom you call Alva is the daughter of 
 that adorable, that ever memorable Princess who was the 
 great star of my youth, and whose mystery I have never 
 been able to fathom! I will do everything, but what 
 can I do?" 
 
 "You must go to see M. Waddington," I replied, "to 
 destroy the effect of the abominable calumnies that have 
 been told him, to show to him the infamy of the whole 
 spoliation in which they want to make him their accom- 
 
I90 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 plice, and, if he refuses to listen to you, declare to him 
 that you will ask for your passports." 
 
 "Yes," said he, "I will do all except the last part, for, 
 if I declare that in case of refusal I shall ask for my pass- 
 ports, it would be a threat to which he could not yield 
 without compromising the dignity of his country. I 
 shall confine myself, therefore, to the first part of the 
 programme, and we shall see what happens." 
 
 This he did, and, as a consequence, M. Waddington told 
 him that he would submit the case to a still closer examina- 
 tion and inform him as to the result. 
 
 We waited two days, but nothing happened. I returned 
 to see Prince Orloff . 
 
 "I think I know," said I, "what is taking place. They 
 find themselves between the pressing intervention of 
 two powerful Ambassadors. They are going to try to 
 drag the affair along, and they will inform the Ambassa- 
 dor, our opponent, to hasten to present, without further 
 delay, the promised proof. But we, on our side, have no 
 time to lose. Every day is precious, and we ought to 
 push the matter forward or all is lost. " 
 
 "What, then, do you advise?" asked the Prince. 
 
 "I will tell you," I said. "Your Excellency, I am well 
 aware, cannot directly threaten to hand in your passports, 
 but I can go to see M. Waddington and tell him if he 
 refuses to accomplish the act of justice which he demands, 
 you are bound to consider it as a personal offense and will 
 then feel it your duty to demand your passports." 
 
 "But he will think you are merely talking," was the 
 reply, "and will pay no heed to it." 
 
 "No," said I, "if you will do what I ask, I will say to 
 him if he expresses any doubt, that, to prove to him the 
 
. ALVA 191 
 
 accuracy of my words, you will go to see him at 4 : 45 — 
 that is to say, a quarter of an hour before what is termed 
 the 'signature time,' when visitors are not allowed to 
 remain any longer — and that you will merely say to him, 
 in giving him your hand, without another word, 'I come 
 to say that I have authorised M. de Blowitz to speak to 
 you as he has done, and I hope that on my next visit I 
 shall have to thank you.' Then you will give him a 
 good hand-shake and take your leave." 
 
 "So be it," he answered; "only let me know if he 
 expects me." 
 
 When I had explained to M. Waddington the motive of 
 my visit he exclaimed excitedly and almost angrily: 
 "But it is araison d'etat that you are creating of this. 
 You are placing two great Ambassadors in opposition 
 to each other. Yet we cannot forget Prince Orloff's 
 attitude in 1875, when the German military party threat- 
 ened us with a second invasion. I await Prince Orloff's 
 visit, and if he comes, I promise, you that I will carry 
 the whole business before the President of the Republic 
 and call his special attention to it." 
 
 Prince Orloff's visit took place, and three days later 
 M. Waddington sent for me. 
 
 "The President, the Minister of Justice and I have had 
 two conversations during the last three days, and here 
 is our decision. We cannot offend the Embassy that is 
 your opponent, and I have declared that the situation 
 cannot go on as it is. We shall wait six days longer, and 
 if within that period the incontestable justification has not 
 reached us, the Minister of Justice will order the raising of 
 the opposition. Moreover, the present situation is unpre- 
 cedented. Neither the lady who possesses the fortune 
 
192 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 nor those who formulate the opposition can justify, nor 
 probably ever will be able to prove a right to this property ; 
 and if this should go on we should be obliged to hand 
 over these securities to the Caisse des Depots et Consigna- 
 tions, and this would probably be the end of them. We 
 should thus bequeath to the State endless difficulties for 
 the future, which it is our duty to try to avoid. Your 
 protegee, however, has on her side the right of possession, 
 and it is out of respect for this right that we are acting. 
 Tell her to hold herself in readiness, for I do not think 
 from the replies I have received that this justification 
 can arrive in time. On the 31st, at noon, if the 
 period elapses without the arrival of the proofs, come to 
 see me, and I will tell you what has occurred." 
 
 At the appointed hour I was with M. Waddington. 
 He informed me that orders had just been given and that 
 at 3 :3o the opposition would be raised, but that, as the 
 proof could, notwithstanding, arrive at any moment, he 
 urged us to lose no time, 
 
 Marsa and Alva were wild with joy. It was not only 
 their fortune, but their honour, their liberty and their life 
 that were at stake. Two enormous boxes had been 
 prepared in advance to contain the papers. At 3 130 
 Marsa, Alva and Hugot went to the bank, whither I had 
 refused to accompany them, and there, without any 
 obstacle being thrown in their way, the cashier delivered 
 the papers. The boxes in which they were placed were 
 nailed down immediately. As there had been no time 
 to detach the coupons, the bank itself bought and paid 
 for, cash down, certain securities amounting to 200,000 
 francs, which Marsa took; and that very evening 
 Hugot, accompanied by two policemen in plain clothes. 
 
ALVA 193 
 
 embarked for London, where he deposited the money 
 in the former repository. 
 
 As M. Waddington had urged me to induce these 
 ladies to leave Paris as soon as possible, Marsa spent the 
 next three days in settling to the last centime all her 
 Paris bills, and on the 5th of the month following, at 
 II A. M., after having packed all their belongings, they 
 left for England. 
 
 I went with them as far as Calais, and only left the 
 boat and returned to the quay when the whistle blew, 
 announcing the departure of the steamer for England. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 The Revenge of Venus 
 
 It all happened at the beginning of the winter of 1881. 
 Mr. Beckman, the Paris correspondent of the Berlin 
 National Zeitung, who was then living in the Rue de 
 Chateaudun, invited me to dinner at his house. An 
 amiable, active, boisterous, but kindly person, Mr. 
 Beckman, occupied at the time, and, in fact, maintained 
 until the end of his life, a position in Paris that was not 
 altogether an easy one. Before the war of 1870 he had 
 enjoyed most familiar and sympathetic relations with 
 Frenchmen. He wrote in Le Temps, one of the papers 
 most dreaded by the Empire. The numerous contributors 
 to that journal, all of whom were advancing with firm 
 and sonorous step along the path of Liberalism, were all 
 friends of Beckman. In its editorial rooms he had no 
 enemy. All the writers of Le Temps, who were waging 
 unceasingly a courteous but energetic battle against the 
 Empire, used to listen deferentially to him and, verily, to 
 open their hearts to him. 
 
 Suddenly war broke out and Beckman left Paris. 
 
 One can easily understand that it was, not possible for 
 him to remain in Paris, but it was thought that he would 
 withdraw into some neutral country. It appears that 
 he did not do this, and when, after peace was concluded, 
 he returned to France and resumed his duties as corre- 
 spondent, at the same time accepting the position of 
 
 194 
 
THE REVENGE OF VENUS 195 
 
 reader of French newspapers at the German Embassy, 
 French houses closed their doors to him, and he never 
 succeeded in getting them open again. As, however, 
 there was no necessity for me to take part in this quarrel, 
 and as Beckman was a kindly and serviceable colleague, 
 a mutual friend arranged for us to meet, and a short 
 time afterward Beckman invited me to dinner, calling 
 upon me himself in order to insist on my presence. 
 
 On the day appointed I arrived at his house. The 
 drawing-room filled rapidly with guests, almost all of 
 whom were conspicuous members of the foreign colonies 
 in Paris. It was past the time fixed for dinner, and 
 Beckm.an had chosen for the ladies their various partners. 
 I was rather surprised to find that I had evidently been 
 forgotten, when my host came up to me and said : 
 
 " We are waiting for a lady who is by no means the 
 least charming of my guests. Princess Kralta, and you are 
 to take her in to dinner." 
 
 A few moments later the door opened ; there was 
 a flutter of surprise, and I beheld a lady whose 
 exquisite elegance, complete ease and, in a word, beauty 
 attracted general attention. She smiled in the most 
 charming way, and in a melodious voice apologised for 
 her late arrival. Beckman led me up to her and intro- 
 duced me as her partner. Soon afterward the dining- 
 room doors were thrown open and we all went in to 
 dinner. 
 
 When the noise occasioned by the seating of a score of 
 guests had somewhat subsided, the boisterous voice of 
 our amphitryon rang out joyously : 
 
 " Ladies and gentlemen, let every one who is not 
 content with his or her neighbour put up the hand." 
 
196 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 Gravely the lady to the right of Beckman raised hers, 
 and the burst of laughter that ensued was the prelude to 
 an extremely gay and lively dinner. 
 
 The Princess Kralta turned quickly to me. Her 
 large blue eyes, which lighted up one of the most fasci- 
 nating faces I have ever seen, were levelled at me 
 coquettishly. She gave a little toss to the silky curls of 
 her light chestnut hair as she said with a smile which 
 revealed the brilliancy of her small teeth : 
 
 "I don't know whether you are inclined to put your 
 hand up, but I shall certainly do nothing of the sort, for 
 I am charmed with my neighbour, and this confession 
 will not make you too vain when I have told you why. 
 I will not conceal from you that I am just back from 
 Berlin and that the Prince" [Prince Bismarck] "on bid- 
 ding me good-by said to me : ' If you go to Paris look 
 up M. de Blowitz. There has been a violent discussion in 
 the papers between him and me. I allowed the press to 
 attack him violently. It was on the subject of a speech 
 about Gortchakoff, which he attributed to me during 
 the Berlin Congress. I fancy he somewhat embellished 
 this speech, but it is quite true that I did deliver it sub- 
 stantially as he gave it ; this is why I accused him indirectly 
 of mixing up truth and fiction. However, I bear him 
 no grudge. He exercises his profession as well as he can, 
 and that is far above the ordinary; so that, if you have 
 an opportunity, try to meet him. He knows Paris well, 
 and he is an excellent guide.' " 
 
 The Princess added: "I feel I need not hide this cir- 
 cumstance from you and it will allow us to dispense with 
 long preliminaries. As a proof of the unceremonious 
 way in which I make friends I will tell you this : although 
 
THE REVENGE OF VENUS 197 
 
 it is now some time since the Congress met, the curiosity 
 of the Prince is still very keen as to how you obtained 
 possession, in advance, of the treaty of Berlin. He 
 cannot understand it. He considers it natural that you 
 should have tried to get it, and he assured me that the 
 fact rather amused him than otherwise. He nevertheless 
 feels convinced that in one way or another he will event- 
 ually get at the truth. His chief grievance is that you, 
 by a combination that was very simple, should have 
 prevented him from communicating the treaty first to the 
 German press. He wished to do this as a gracious return 
 for the patriotic hospitality with which that press received 
 the members of the Congress in the capital of the new 
 German Empire. And I — I tell you frankly, because 
 I am eager to win your confidence and, perhaps later, 
 your friendship — I told him that I would try to obtain 
 the secret from you, since he appears to be so bent on 
 knowing it. I added that it could not be one of 
 those secrets which resist forever the firm will of a 
 woman ready to prove herself worthy of the confidence 
 she solicits." 
 
 I laughed and said that it really was a charming way of 
 making an acquaintance, when so fascinating a woman 
 let me know plainly at what price her friendship could 
 be won. And it can easily be imagined how, after these 
 preliminaries, the dinner was continued — a dinner the 
 memory of which remains still vivid in my mind, 
 after twenty years have flown. 
 
 I have not the slightest recollection as to who the other 
 guests were, nor as to the conversation that went on. 
 But what I do recall vividly is the harmonious voice of 
 my neighbour and her anecdotes about her life at Berlin, 
 
198 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 which had been one long fete. She had access there to 
 the most select circles. As I was obliged to leave immedi- 
 ately after dinner in order to work, I avoided the smoking- 
 room, and bade good-by to my radiant neighbour, 
 who said to me, "I sincerely hope that you will come 
 to see me, not so much on my day, but any time 
 you like." 
 
 After such a beginning, the reader will imderstand 
 that our acquaintance was not to end there. 
 
 Five or six days later I called on the Princess at her 
 very attractive home not far from the Arc de Triomphe. 
 She received me with a certain grace that had a touch 
 of familiarity, showing that she had pleasant recollec- 
 tions of her visitor. Some time afterward, as I had not 
 yet met her husband, she wrote to invite me to dinner, 
 adding that she should be charmed at this opportunity 
 of bringing us together. 
 
 When I entered her drawing-room on the evening of 
 this dinner I was struck by the somewhat heterogeneous 
 aspect of the company. Not only were there various 
 nationalities represented, but there was, as well, a curious 
 mingling of really great names of vanished French regimes 
 and of eminent personalities of the existing one. With 
 these there was a discreet infusion of Germans, for the 
 dinner was a sort of birthday banquet, although I did not 
 know it at the time, and the initiated had filled the house 
 with a profusion of fragrant flowers, the warm colours 
 of which, under the brilliant light that played over the 
 elegant toilets and glistened from the precious stones, 
 formed for the hostess a sumptuous and radiant frame. 
 
 The Princess introduced me to her husband in the 
 most correct way, but with a studied negligence, as if 
 
THE REVENGE OF VENUS 199 
 
 the introduction as merely an incident of secondary 
 importance. 
 
 After dinner she asked me which was my wife's day, 
 and begged me to say that she intended to call. During 
 the entire evening she was much absorbed by her duties 
 as hostess, but she said to me as I took my leave : 
 
 "I know that you never stay late, but I hope to see 
 you one of these days to resume our conversation, 
 for I warn you that I still cling to my idea of wresting 
 your secret from you, and I desire this all the 
 more as it is in order to give pleasure to a certain 
 person you know." 
 
 When I called upon her after this dinner we conversed 
 in a lighter vein, and I left the Princess without her being 
 able to touch on what she called "the great problem of 
 her coquetry." 
 
 She came to see my wife, and I returned her politeness 
 by inviting her and her husband to a dinner party at my 
 house. I inaugurated on this occasion a fashion which 
 pleased her and which shortly afterward was widely 
 imitated in Parisian society. I had installed two 
 orchestras, which played very softly alternately, in two 
 small rooms at either end of the table, so that the con- 
 versation continued with a double musical accompani- 
 ment which filled the room without interfering with the 
 conversation. The Princess, charmed with this idea, 
 lost no time in adopting it. Before long she invited us 
 to dinner, but I went alone, as my wife, who was often ill, 
 was obliged to decline at the last moment. I was not 
 surprised on sitting down to hear stringed instruments 
 filling the air with harmony, while in the gallery at some 
 little distance a Spanish orchestra played in swift sue- 
 
200 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 cession the characteristic dances and the Arab songs 
 which the Git anas sing in the streets of Granada. 
 
 This dinner had a character of its own and was iinlike 
 any given in other Parisian houses. There were not many- 
 ladies present — in fact, only a few of the most intimate 
 friends of the hostess ; but, on account of my position, the 
 men interested me greatly. The entire German Embassy 
 was there, with its great and illustrious chief, Prince 
 Hohenlohe, at the head. The Berlin Congress had con- 
 siderably tempered the relations between France and 
 Germany. Prince Bismarck had been most attentive 
 and deferential to the representatives of France. He 
 insisted at the Congress on settling the question of the 
 Rumanian Jews and also that of Greece, which M. 
 Waddington had so much at heart. He never lost an 
 opportunity of supporting the views of the French 
 Plenipotentiary, whom he consulted openly; he showed 
 particular attention to Count de St. Vallier, and he 
 managed that the writing of the protocols should 
 be entrusted to the exceptionally capable pen of 
 M. Despres, a chief secretary at the French Foreign 
 Office, and third French Plenipotentiary at the Berlin 
 Congress. Prince Hohenlohe himself was looked upon 
 as an ambassador of peace and conciliation. All his 
 endeavours and the efforts of those under him were 
 directed to smoothing the relations between France and 
 its former conqueror, and his capable associates, among 
 whom was the young secretary. Count Von Billow, now 
 Imperial Chancellor, seconded him in the most intelligent 
 manner. 
 
 On finding myself in the Princess Kralta's drawing- 
 room in the midst of this company, I apprehended that 
 
THE REVENGE OF VENUS 201 
 
 it was due to the intelligence and good-will of Prince 
 Bismarck that such elements as these had been brought 
 together in a Paris salon; and I must own that I experi- 
 enced a certain amount of apprehension, for I felt that 
 all here were of one mind, and I gathered that the hostess 
 was acting under the individual and collective influ- 
 ence of these incomparable strategists, with whom she 
 delighted in surrounding herself. 
 
 It was toward the beginning of the summer season of 
 1 881. The Princess was preparing for her round of 
 watering-places. My own vacation was approaching, 
 and I resolved after this particular evening to keep away 
 for a time from this woman whose actions I dreaded. 
 I saw quite well that she had not given up her idea of 
 discovering the secret she was bent on obtaining from 
 me. I felt that the whole official world assembled in that 
 room were taking an amused delight in seconding her 
 efforts, and I, on my side, was determined not to succumb 
 in the strange battle in which we were engaged. After 
 that evening I met the Princess only once again before 
 my departure, and during the autumn season I heard 
 that she was ill and could not see any one. 
 
 The season of 1882 was for me an extraordinarily absorb- 
 ing one. Now and then in some French or foreign salon 
 I met the Princess, who had recovered from her illness. 
 Her chestnut hair had turned golden, and the change 
 had so transformed her that she seemed to me like a 
 woman with a fresh and new charm. 
 
 The chances of renewing our acquaintance became 
 more and more remote, and I had almost forgotten her 
 when, toward the middle of 1883, I received a pressing 
 
202 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 invitation to luncheon at her new mansion in the Avenue 
 du Bois de Boulogne. 
 
 To my great surprise, and contrary to her custom, 
 she had no other guest but her mother, an Oriental 
 flower now somewhat faded, whose languishing eyes 
 gave the keynote to her daughter's beauty. During 
 luncheon the Princess, who had acquired additional 
 grace and whose experience of the world, of men and 
 of things seemed to have increased since I had last 
 seen her, displayed such a wealth of memory, such keen 
 observation and such resources in the way of anecdotal 
 chatter that I was perfectly charmed, and the time 
 passed only too quickly. 
 
 "I shall write you to-morrow," she said when I left, 
 " to ask you to come again, when I will tell you something 
 of my most recent history. I am sure it will hold its own 
 among any of the contemporary mysteries which you 
 may know. " 
 
 Her mother at these words looked up hastily. " But, 
 Christine," she said, "you promised me to say nothing 
 about that." 
 
 "In the first place," retorted the Princess, somewhat 
 vivaciously, "when I told you about it you made no 
 such objection; and, secondly, I mean to tell it to him 
 just to prove what an exception I make in his case. " 
 
 The next morning I received a single line: "Come to 
 see me day after to-morrow at four o'clock. " 
 
 On the day and at the hour indicated I went to the 
 house in the Avenue du Bois. The butler, who was wait- 
 ing in the antechamber, had, I believe, received his orders. 
 He ushered me into the second drawing-room,, where the 
 
THE REVENGE OF VENUS 203 
 
 Princess was wont to receive her unofficial visitors. 
 Although it was still long before nightfall, the shutters 
 of both drawing-rooms were closed. The side-brackets 
 in the large salon were lighted and shed only a vague 
 radiance across the lofty and spacious room. The 
 smaller salon was more brilliantly illuminated by an 
 immense candelabrum standing on an elegant table 
 in front of a sofa, the back of which was placed 
 against a mirror that reached to the ceiling. The 
 butler asked me to take a seat, and added that the 
 Princess would be with me immediately. In the deep 
 silence that reigned I heard that peculiar sound 
 which is made by the soft step of a woman advancing 
 over a heavy carpet, amidst the vague rustle of her silken 
 robes. It was the Princess, and I saw her crossing the 
 bright passage lighted by the brackets of the outer salon, 
 then partially disappear in the semi-obscurity of the 
 large room, and emerge again like a sudden vision at the 
 entrance of the smaller salon. I was impressed by the 
 imperiousness of all her movements and of her person, 
 and I had almost forgotten her promise to tell me 
 her adventures, when she invited me to take a seat near 
 her on the sofa, between the high candlesticks and the 
 immense mirror in which the light was reflected. 
 
 "And now," she said, "let me tell you the story of 
 which I spoke to you three days ago. It will prove 
 to you that I regard you henceforth as a friend to whom 
 one may confide one's most intimate thoughts without 
 any risk. I have, I think, just rendered an immense 
 service to the peace of the world, and have not feared to 
 expose myself to great danger in order to show the man 
 who asked this service of me how devoted I was to him. 
 
204 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 Some weeks ago I chanced to be at a watering-place 
 where the great German Emperor was staying. One 
 morning he sent for me. When I arrived he rose hastily, 
 came toward me and, stooping until his face was almost 
 on a level with mine, he said: 'I have a great service 
 to ask of you, for myself, for my country and for Europe. 
 For some time the letters, telegrams and reports of the 
 Prince have troubled me. They betray the anxiety and 
 irritation of a man in a very nervous state. He complains 
 of everybody. He has grudges against Belgium, Switzer- 
 land, Holland, France, England and Russia. He speaks 
 bitterly of all these coimtries and appears to suspect 
 them of hostility toward us. He accuses them of creat- 
 ing difficulties, and, with the exception of Austria- 
 Hungary and Italy, fancies that the rest of Europe is 
 ready to pick a quarrell with us. I am really afraid that 
 one of these fine days he may draw down upon us from 
 some of these countries a reply which might place us 
 in the alternative of imposing our will on them or of sub- 
 mitting to theirs. In my opinion, he is suffering from 
 one of those attacks of pathologic boredom to which he 
 is subject, and which, when they occur, really make him 
 alarming. He must have some kind of diversion as 
 soon as possible. He is alone on his] great estate, 
 spending his time in thinking over things, and he 
 has with him a certain number of subalterns who 
 always agree with him and who try to flatter him by 
 approving all he says and by encouraging his exagger- 
 ations. I asked you to come here, not to order you, 
 but to beg you earnestly to do something which will 
 restore to me the repose I need and which the Prince's 
 attitude demands.' 
 
THE REVENGE OF VENUS 205 
 
 " 'Sire,' I replied * I am ready to do whatever Your 
 Majesty asks, and that unhesitatingly.' 
 
 " ' I thank you,' he said, ' and I shall always be deeply 
 grateful to you. . . . Return home, then, without 
 saying you have seen me. Within half an hour I shall 
 send for your husband and bid him go to Berlin with 
 a message from me and wait there for a reply. He will 
 start this afternoon by the first train. Directly afterward 
 you will prepare as small a quantity of luggage as possible 
 for spending a week away from home. You will have 
 that luggage taken to the station, where a man who will 
 have received orders will arrange for its ultimate delivery 
 without being registered. This same person will meet 
 you at a neighbouring station, to which you and your 
 maid will be driven, and he will install you in a reserved 
 compartment. You will go to the Prince, and on the 
 eve of your return you will send off a telegram. You 
 will then come back here, and in the evening your husband 
 will return from his mission. Go, and accept my thanks.' 
 
 "Everything occurred exactly as arranged by the 
 Emperor. The Prince, whom I had informed of my 
 arrival a few hours beforehand, received me rather 
 impolitely. His first words were : 
 
 " ' Was it the Emperor who sent you ?' 
 
 " 'No,' I replied; 'I have come to see how a man like 
 you, whose will dominates that of Europe, will receive 
 a giddy little person who ventures to invade the lion's 
 solitude.' 
 
 " He burst out laughing, gave orders for me to be shown 
 to my apartments, and when my five trunks arrived said 
 to me gaily, ' I hope from your baggage that it is not 
 merely a short visit you are going to pay me.' 
 
2o6 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 " 'Oh !' I replied, 'with all the frills and furbelows I 
 require, five trunks are not enough for a long visit.' 
 Thereupon, gay as a child, he insisted upon being present 
 at the unpacking, and was immensely amused to see the 
 dresses and things I had hastily flung into the trunks 
 taken out and put in their places. 
 
 "When I left, he conducted me to my landau and said, 
 ' I have been delighted to forget the affairs of the world 
 for a time, and I shall postpone dealing with those affairs 
 as long as possible. ' 
 
 "I went back to my watering-place. My husband 
 returned on the same evening. Our absence had aroused 
 very little curiosity, and on the morrow before going 
 away I paid the Emperor a farewell visit. 
 
 "The great monarch received me with extreme joy. 
 He saw that everything had calmed down; that peace 
 seemed established, and that in all probability the year 
 1883 would pass off without incident. He was amused 
 at the thought of the stratagem he had employed and the 
 success that had attended it." 
 
 During this narrative I felt deeply moved. I sat there 
 in the presence of a beautiful and intelligent woman 
 who had just accomplished a most extraordinary mission, 
 considering the immense power of those whose inter- 
 mediary she had been. And to think that this great 
 Emperor had concocted his scheme merely to calm the 
 mind of a Chancellor to whom he dared not openly 
 dictate his will, but whom a few years later a single 
 gesture of his grandson was to reduce to utter impotence. 
 
 While the Princess was speaking I said to myself: "I 
 see what is about to take place. I have received proof of 
 her devoted affection. She is only just back, as it were, 
 
THE REVENGE OF VENUS 207 
 
 from her visit to the Prince, to whom she has promised 
 that she will solve a mystery which has irritated him 
 long enough. She has stopped at nothing in order to 
 have the right to ask about my secret, and I, for my part, 
 can scarcely refuse her, since she has confided to me her 
 secret, the divulgence of which might be fatal to her. 
 True, she made me swear not to mention it during the 
 Emperor's lifetime, and not before the Prince retired 
 from ofhce. But even in this, too, she showed great 
 confidence, for she believes in my promise, so that, as 
 in reality there is no great danger in letting the Prince 
 know how I got hold of the document, and as, probably, 
 he will be quite content if only his curiosity be satisfied, 
 there is no serious reason for keeping my secret." I 
 accordingly awaited her request quite prepared to grant it. 
 
 She turned to me and said: "Now I know you well 
 enough to be convinced that you will now accede to my 
 request, which you have hitherto always refused to do. 
 I need not employ stratagem, and it would be futile in 
 the case of a man like you. Quite simply and without 
 any circumlocution, I now beg you to prove to me that 
 I can count on you as an absolute friend. Tell me how 
 it occurred, and how you were able to accomplish an act 
 until then unique — the publication of a treaty of a 
 Congress at the very moment of its signature. 
 
 To her great surprise I was silent ! 
 
 For some moments, since the close of her narrative, 
 one of the candles of the candelabrum on the table in 
 front of the sofa had begun to flicker. I was astonished 
 at this, as the doors and windows were all closed. On 
 looking around I was unable to guess from what quarter 
 the current of air came which caused the flame to flicker. 
 
2o8 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 I moved and placed myself just in front of the candela- 
 brum, and I then felt, coming from the direction of the 
 mirror, an unmistakable draught which fanned my cheek. 
 
 I perceived at once that I was the victim of treachery, 
 which is what I hate above all else in the world. I 
 closely scrutinised the mirror and saw that a slight gap, 
 which had been made only during the last few instants, 
 separated the two halves of the glass, and I tmderstood 
 that behind it there was a witness ready to take down 
 what I might say. Rising suddenly, and in a voice 
 which I vainly strove to render calm, I said, pointing 
 first at the flickering flame and then at the cloven mirror, 
 just when the Princess was putting out her hand to 
 remove the candlestick: 
 
 "Madame, it is needless. You see that I have tmder- 
 stood. " 
 
 She saw that distinctly and, turning away her head, she 
 touched an electric button. The door opened, a servant 
 appeared, and, without looking at me, she stretched 
 out her hand and indicated the way to the door. 
 
 This story, which is already rather long, had an epilogue 
 and a conclusion which are not tragic, but which have a 
 certain irony, I met the Princess again in society. 
 Her mother and sister, on the morrow of this interview, 
 intervened. They explained that she had been obliged 
 to act as she did because she had attached so much 
 importance to her success that it was absolutely indis- 
 pensable to have an authoritative witness in order to 
 prove that it was from me she obtained the information 
 as to the treaty. 
 
 When I met the Princess afterward we were no longer 
 
THE REVENGE OF VENUS 209 
 
 on such friendly terms as before, but our intercourse 
 was quite pleasant after the temporary rupture. 
 
 Two years later I could not help noticing that her 
 manner had changed as well as her language and sur- 
 roundings. She went in for more luxury, even. It 
 seemed to me disproportionate with her means. But 
 as I was then a comparative stranger to her, I did not 
 trouble myself about the matter. One Sunday I received 
 a note from her asking me to call at six o'clock. I went, 
 and she then told me, with tears of despair in her eyes, 
 that she and her sister had allowed themselves to be 
 induced to speculate enormously in Suez Canal stock; 
 that they had sold large quantities; that these shares 
 were going up, and that if this rise continued for many 
 days longer they would be ruined. "And yet," she 
 said, "it is a purely fictitious rise. These shares are not 
 worth three-quarters of their quoted price, and it would 
 be an act of justice to enlighten public opinion on the 
 point. The friend who unfortunately and quite straight- 
 forwardly led us into this frightful speculation has sent 
 me a report which I have here. I beg you to read it. 
 You will, I am sure, be struck by its conclusions and you 
 would assist us by publishing the information it contains." 
 
 I was extremely embarrassed. " I am utterly ignorant 
 about such matters," I said, "but since you say this 
 report contains truths which ought to be known, I will 
 read it and send it to competent persons who will see 
 what ought to be done with it. " 
 
 As I had invited some people to dinner at my house, I 
 took the report, put it in my overcoat pocket and returned 
 home at once. I hung up my overcoat in the hall and 
 dressed hastily. My guests arrived and we sat down to 
 
2IO MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 table. Of course, I had not had time to look at the 
 report. While I was at dinner a telegram was handed 
 me and I asked to be allowed to read it. It was signed 
 by Baron Sartorius, a well-known banker and speculator. 
 The telegram was as follows; 
 
 " Monsieur, I am sure you will have laughed on find- 
 ing, in the report handed you this afternoon, a letter 
 from me to the Princess, but I know you are a man 
 who understands things, and I count on your not being 
 offended. " 
 
 Immediately after dinner I went to get the report 
 which was still in my overcoat pocket, and I discovered 
 with it the following letter from the Baron : 
 
 "Dear Madame la Princesse: Enclosed is the report 
 I mentioned to you. Sometimes these great journalists 
 are delighted to have their work done for them and to 
 show that they are capable on all subjects. If you 
 succeed in getting this report published it will be an 
 immense affair, and I promise you that those sapphires 
 and diamonds which attract you so often to the Rue de la 
 Paix shall be yours." 
 
 The next day I received the following typewritten 
 and unsigned lines: 
 
 "I have again been defeated. Really, I am most 
 unskilful when I undertake a struggle with you. But 
 it does not matter. I do not despair. I shall finally 
 have my revenge." 
 
THE REVENGE OF VENUS 211 
 
 A year later I was present at a costume ball given 
 by the famous bimetallist, Henri Cernuschi, in his 
 beautiful house in the Pare Llonceau. The ball was a 
 magnificent one. Toward one in the morning, as I 
 crossed a drawing room, I foiind myself face to face with 
 the Princess. She wore the splendid costume of an 
 odalisk. On her forehead, round her neck and arms and 
 on her breast gleamed, with an incomparable luster, a 
 superb setting of sapphires and diamonds. Behind 
 her walked Baron Sartorius and Baron Hoftenhausen, 
 two great financial powers. "Mon Dieu, Princess," I 
 said to her; "how radiant you are, and what magnificent 
 jewellery ! " 
 
 The two Barons bowed with a very satisfied air, as if 
 the compliment had been for them. The Princess, turning 
 to me with a haughty smile, said in a slightly ironic voice : 
 
 "You see now, I finish up by having my revenge." 
 
 "Yes, madame," I replied; "I see you have, but it is 
 neither the revenge of the diplomatist nor of the finan- 
 cier — it is the revenge of Venus ! " 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 A Life Struggle 
 
 In February, 1882 (for it was during the years immedi- 
 ately following the Congress of Berlin that the most 
 mysterious incident in my career took place) , I was living 
 in the Avenue Marceau, which was then called the Avenue 
 Josephine, after the Empress, but with the advent of the 
 republic a change was effected in its name and sex. 
 One morning, while I was at work in my study, my servant 
 announced to me that a lady, with a letter of introduction 
 from the manager of the Times, wished to speak to me. 
 
 The manager of the Times was then Mr. John MacDon- 
 ald, a Scotchman, who was a rigid Protestant, and exceed- 
 ingly simple in his habits. It was by no means easy for 
 the numerous persons who naturally besieged a man in 
 his position to gain access to him, and during the seven 
 years he had been manager of the paper, as successor to 
 Mr. Mobray Morice, he had only sent me one letter of 
 introduction, presenting Mr. George Buckle, who was on 
 the Times staff, and who became editor-in-chief. I 
 realised instantly, therefore, and especially on learning 
 that my visitor was a lady, that, either because of her 
 own merits or because of those of her friends, she must 
 be a person of importance — not a mere nobody — ^whom 
 I was bound to receive with consideration. I gave 
 instructions for her to be ushered into the drawing-room, 
 
 212 
 
A LIFE STRUGGLE 213 
 
 as my writing-room was somewhat encumbered, and I 
 went in to see her. 
 
 On entering the room I found her seated in a comer 
 holding in her hand an envelope bearing the crest of the 
 Times. She rose and handed it to me. Mr. MacDonald's 
 letter was closed, for, even in these details, English and 
 French customs differ. In France, letters of introduction 
 are left unsealed. French politeness requires that the 
 person introduced should know in advance the terms in 
 which he is presented. In England, where mere for- 
 malities have less importance than the real thing, a 
 letter of introduction is closed, so that the writer may be 
 free to say only what he wishes. 
 
 Mr. MacDonald's letter introduced to me Madame 
 Georgine Elou. He informed me that he did not give 
 me her family name, as she desired to keep it secret. He 
 earnestly insisted that I should do all in my power to 
 satisfy the "bearer of these lines," her cause being most 
 interesting and one to the success of w^hich he would 
 be most happy to contribute. He added that the lady 
 herself would give me verbally all the information I 
 might desire, and that, in obliging her, I should be render- 
 ing a service to persons dear to my manager, and defend- 
 ing a cause worthy of my interv^ention. 
 
 After reading the letter I turned toward my visitor 
 and asked her by what name I should address her. She 
 replied that I must call her Madame Elou, and added that 
 she had something confidential to ask of me. I begged 
 her, accordingly, to come into my study, and she rose to 
 follow me. I was then able to examine her at my ease, 
 and I was struck by the strangeness of her appearance. 
 Very tall, dressed in a dark gray robe of very light material, 
 
214 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 with her mantle folded under her left arm, her figure 
 seemed to be extremely elegant. She had the supple 
 and slender grace and the refined vigour of a huntress 
 of the forest or the mountain. Her well-gloved hands 
 looked unmistakably aristocratic. Her long neck was 
 graceful though strong, and her beautiful head well- 
 poised. Her hair was dark and wavy, with a fine luster 
 as the sun shone upon it through the window of the room. 
 She had strong, intelligent, dark-blue eyes, which seemed 
 darker than they really were, under the shadow of her 
 long lashes. Her nose was faultless, and her mouth, 
 though rather large, was richly coloured when she smiled, 
 and displayed dazzling white but somewhat large teeth. 
 Her cheeks, which were pale, but warm and full, were 
 slightly elongated toward a chin the girlish and artistic 
 outline of which, in spite of its strength, gave to this 
 strange physiognomy an expression of infinite sweetness — 
 softening and pacifying, as it were, this willful, proud, 
 imperious but saddened feminine face. 
 
 I was deeply impressed by her rare beauty, and by the 
 majestic and imposing prestige of her bearing, and by an 
 aristocratic refinement which gave her a sort of royal 
 air, so that it was not without embarrassment that I 
 besought her to tell me what had induced her to wish to 
 see me. She took a seat, and, in a voice sonorous, 
 tender and exceedingly flexible, but easily warming 
 with passion, and even becoming now and then somewhat 
 hoarse and rough, she said : 
 
 "Ever since I have been able to think for myself and 
 to reflect upon my own feelings and emotions I have 
 been a prey to the strongest contradictions. I am 
 twenty-three years old, and for ten years my mind and 
 
A LIFE STRUGGLE 215 
 
 soul have been troubled and tormented by ceaseless 
 struggle. I have abandoned myself to the most ardent 
 religious faith, given myself up to untiring charity; I 
 have dreamed of being a saint among saints, and have 
 traversed this world, my eyes ever turned toward Heaven 
 — yet never have I been able to find real peace of mind. 
 I cannot tell you now how far I have gone, nor what 
 means I have adopted, in order to secure that peace of 
 soul for which I am ever longing and which forever 
 escapes me. I have remained virtuous; I have obeyed 
 my conscience, and imposed silence upon my heart. I 
 have accepted all the severities that have been ordered 
 by my spiritual advisers, and I have wept bitterly in my 
 efforts to chase away the sorrows which are undermining 
 me. I fancied I had found refuge, but I had to abandon 
 it, and I have been once more plunged into the whirlpool 
 of life, where I remain incapable of discovering the path 
 which I ought to follow. 
 
 "In all this world there is but one being whose will 
 could calm me, the sight of whom could have an effect 
 upon me, whose words could bend my will: it is the 
 Pope. I want him to hear me, to listen to me. He is 
 the shepherd of our souls, for I am a Catholic, and a 
 Roman Catholic. He is the Will that directs, the Force 
 that binds, the Reason that guides, the Voice that speaks, 
 and what I ask you, for I know you can do it, is to persuade 
 him to receive me, to hear me, to heal me. 
 
 "I have long been seeking to attain this end. I have 
 made inquiries and taken advice; and finally, those 
 interested in me, influential persons who are able to 
 realise their desires, asked Mr. MacDonald to give me 
 a letter to you, a letter as urgent as possible, begging 
 
2i6 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 you to put me on the road to the Vatican and to 
 open the doors behind which Leo XIII . listens 
 patiently to those who need the infallible consolations 
 which he holds in reserve for suffering souls seeking 
 the path of salvation and peace. I cannot tell you any 
 more at present, but I beg you to do all that you can so 
 that the Holy Father may in his bountiful indulgence 
 grant me the favour I implore of him. 
 
 " I am leaving for Rome to-morrow. I do not ask you 
 to give me a letter of introduction, as that might be 
 confounded, in spite of you, with thousands of such 
 letters addressed to the Holy Father. 
 
 "What I do ask is that you will use your influence in 
 obtaining for me, not so much the audience, but the kind 
 greeting which I need. From Monday next I will go 
 every day to the post-office in Rome for the letter in 
 which you will announce to me either the failure or 
 success of your efforts — the letter in which you will 
 either tell me that I must renounce my hopes or point 
 out the course I must take in order to realise them." 
 
 Without waiting for an answer, she handed me a sheet 
 of paper on which was written "Georgina Elou, Poste 
 Restante, Rome." She then bowed, and with her figure 
 proud and erect and her head slightly bent she began to 
 move in the direction of the door. 
 
 I stopped her almost imperiously, for I felt that in 
 quitting me thus, in leaving without waiting for my 
 reply, she was giving me a sort of order, 
 
 "Do not hurry away, madame," I said, "for I see abso- 
 lutely no means at present of attaining the end which 
 you have in view. I do not say that if you go to Rome 
 you will find no way of being received by the Pope, who 
 
A LIFE STRUGGLE 217 
 
 has a prodigious faculty for displaying almost super- 
 human force, but, as far as I am concerned, I cannot give 
 you anything but a letter of introduction, and, however 
 pressing it may be, it would no doubt meet the usual 
 fate of all such letters, and be, I fear, a great disappoint- 
 ment to you. I am going to Rome, though, in a few 
 weeks' time. Here is the address of a friend of mine in 
 the Eternal City. You might call there and ask if I am 
 expected, and in case you have not already succeeded 
 in your enterprise when I arrive, call to see me and I 
 will consider what can be done. For the present, madame, 
 I can only bid you Godspeed." 
 
 She remained for a moment perfectly still, a prey, as 
 was evident, to bitter disappointment. As usual, my 
 influence had been exaggerated. She had fancied that 
 a letter from me would suffice to banish all difficulties. 
 She thought, also, perhaps, that it was merely my own 
 will which stood in the way of the immediate realisation 
 of her desire. She gazed at me with sad eyes, her nostrils 
 dilating, and her imperious lips ready to express what 
 she thought. But as she gazed she no doubt read on my 
 face an expression of real sincerity, and even of regret, at 
 my own impotence. Instantly her face softened. The 
 look of anger disappeared like a mask lifted by an in- 
 visible hand. Her extremely mobile features expressed 
 painful regret, her eyes dropped with a touching expres- 
 sion of repentance and gratitude, and with a melancholy 
 smile she said: 
 
 "I thank you very much — very much indeed. I beg 
 your pardon for the umjust thought which you saw I had, 
 I shall go to Rome and I will do all that I can. If I 
 succeed, I shall not trouble you during your visit to the 
 
2i8 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 Eternal City. If I do not succeed, though, I shall take 
 advantage of your offer and ask you to receive me." 
 
 Whereupon, with queenly grace, she bowed again 
 without offering her hand, and I escorted her to the hall 
 door. 
 
 A few days later I called on Monseigneur De Rende, 
 who was then at the Nunciature in Paris in the Avenue 
 Bosquet. My visit to Rome had been planned some- 
 time before, but I did not care to go thither without 
 being sure of the audience upon which I had set my 
 heart. I knew that I should see King Humbert and the 
 principal members of his Government. But I did not 
 want this to prevent my obtaining from Leo XIII. the 
 kindly reception to which I aspired. 
 
 Monseigneur De Rende had for some time been occupied 
 with this problem, displaying on my behalf a zeal quite as 
 great as the sympathy which he always showed me. He 
 was convinced, too, that, in preparing my visit to the 
 Vatican, he would be serving the cause which he was 
 defending. Monseigneur De Rende had succeeded Mon- 
 seigneur Czaski, who had honoured me with his friend- 
 ship, and he had learned from his predecessor that I had 
 certain claims to his own good-will. Monseigneur De 
 Rende, who had only held this office a very short time, 
 had hitherto followed the policy of the former Nim.cio — ■ 
 that is to say, instead of being a partisan of reactionary 
 ideas in France, he had become the 3xponent, to the 
 French Government, of Leo XIII. 's liberal policy. 
 
 He informed me that he had every reason to believe he 
 would be able to settle the question of my journey to 
 Rome in a way agreeable to me, and he announced that 
 in all probability he would have a favourable reply 
 
A LIFE STRUGGLE 219 
 
 to give me before the end of March, so that I might 
 prepare to leave Paris toward the end of the month. 
 In that case, I should arrive in Rome in the early days 
 of April. 
 
 On March 7 th he sent for me and gave me a letter for 
 Cardinal Jacobini, with whom he had arranged matters 
 and who w^as quite prepared to receive me. 
 
 A few days later I left Paris with a friend, who con- 
 sented to be my secretary, and I reached Rome on the 
 4th of April, 1882. 
 
 I put up at a hotel in the Corso, where rooms had been 
 retained for me, and the following day I was informed 
 that King Humbert would receive me on the 8th of April. 
 On the sixth, after having delivered Monseigneur De 
 Rende's letter. Cardinal Jacobini informed me that the 
 Holy Father would receive me on April loth, at noon, 
 in his private oratory. On that same day, the sixth, my 
 servant told me that the lady I had received some weeks 
 before in Paris was in the small waiting-room leading 
 out of my salon, and that she wished to see me. 
 
 Madame Elou was accordingly shown in. She was 
 dressed in black, and her face was very sad. She had 
 scarcely taken a seat when she burst into tears. She 
 told me that all she had done had proved in vain ; that 
 the persons to whom she had appealed had asked her to 
 state precisely the object of the audience which she 
 desired, and that when she demurred to this they had, 
 one and all, refused to do anything for her. She had 
 then appealed to Sir Augustus Paget, but he had observed 
 to her that he was accredited to the Quirinal and could 
 in no way serve her at the Vatican. Thereupon, she 
 had come to me, and she now begged me to intervene and 
 
2 20 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 to procure for her a favourable reply, which I alone was 
 in a position to obtain. 
 
 She had written to Cardinal Jacobini, and her 
 letter, which was somewhat obscure, had remained 
 unanswered. She had not ventured to write to the 
 Pope himself, lest the letter should be seen by- 
 Cardinal Jacobini, as she feared his relentless opposition 
 to her request. 
 
 I promised her I would do what I could, and bade her 
 come to see me on the nth of April — that is to say, the 
 day after my audience with the Pope. 
 
 On the 8th of April I had an interview with King 
 Humbert, which lasted the lifetime of two big cigars. 
 On the loth, at noon, I found myself in the anteroom, 
 waiting to be introduced into the presence of the Holy 
 Father. 
 
 Twenty minutes later I entered Leo XHI.'s private 
 oratory. I had not enquired as to the ceremonial to 
 follow. It was only when I perceived the Holy Father 
 that I began to wonder what I ought to do. The Pope, 
 however, did not leave me time to hesitate. With the 
 most touching affability, as soon as I advanced toward 
 him, he rose, and as he took a step forward he held out 
 his hand to me. I bent over it with respectful emotion. 
 
 Leo XIII. appeared to me most imposing. His tall, 
 slight, elegant figure, clothed entirely in white, stood out 
 with natural majesty against the simple and solemn 
 framework of his oratory, in which a rather ornate altar 
 was the most conspicuous object. 
 
 He took an armchair which stood in front of the altar 
 and made a sign to me to occupy another one near him. 
 As soon as the Holy Father was seated, I sat down and 
 
A LIFE STRUGGLE 221 
 
 the conversation commenced. The Pope spoke some- 
 times in French, sometimes in Itahan, but always rapidly 
 and in a sonorous voice. He often remained motionless, 
 but at certain moments he would half rise from his chair 
 in an impetuous way when he felt anything deeply — 
 and all this added to the impression he made on me. 
 
 In the robe of white woolen material, which clothed 
 him like a shroud, he seemed like a voluntary cap- 
 tive who had sacrificed the incomparable joy of liberty 
 for the sake of defending the rights committed to 
 his care. 
 
 During the long hour I spent with him I noticed that 
 his clear, melancholy eyes were presently fixed with 
 painful intensity on the -City of Rome, on the high hills 
 that surround it, on the Quirinal which faces the Vatican, 
 and on that splendid landscape which he could only par- 
 tially see through the bars that he had volimtarily 
 forged to his prison. 
 
 I regret that I may not write all that the Holy Father 
 said to me, but a solemn promise which I made has sealed 
 my lips forever with regard to this interview. But 
 without breaking my word, I think I may say that 
 toward the end of the conversation, recalling my promise 
 to Elou, I submitted the ardent prayer of my protege 
 to the Universal Father of Catholics. 
 
 I had scarcely broached the subject when he inter- 
 rupted me : " Yes," he said, " I know, without possessing 
 definite details, the case of the person of whom you 
 speak. One of my bishops of Great Britain has spoken 
 of her to me. I did not expect that you would mention 
 her, but since you have done so, introduce her to the 
 Cardinal, and tell him from me to arrange with her the 
 
222 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 day when I can receive her, and to submit this arrange- 
 ment for my approval." 
 
 I then thanked His Holiness warmly, as I left him after 
 receiving his final benediction. ^ 
 
 On the following day Elou came to see me. This time 
 she offered me her delicate, aristocratic hand, which was 
 hot and feverish. She then threw herself at my feet. 
 
 "If it be a refusal which you bring me, prepare my 
 reason to receive the blow. If it be the realisation of 
 my hopes, my blessing is yours in advance for the good 
 you will do me. During the last few days I have been 
 troubled with insomnia or frightful dreams. Every 
 mortal enemy of the peace of human beings seems to 
 have laid siege to my soul and to have inflicted upon it 
 tortures for which there is no name." 
 
 "The Pope will receive you," I said to her in a reassur- 
 ing tone. 
 
 I thought for an instant that she was going to faint. 
 Then with a cry of joy which I shall never forget, she 
 clasped her hands and burst into tears, exclaiming : 
 
 "Blessed be God, My Saviour and my Angel, who 
 protects me ! ' ' 
 
 She was as one transfigured. A supernatural calm then 
 took possession of her, and there was something divine 
 about her beauty, from which a certain grandeur and 
 solemnity emanated, changing the very atmosphere of 
 the commonplace hotel drawing-room. 
 
 Two days later I conducted her into the presence of 
 Cardinal Jacobini. We went up that straight, intermi- 
 nable staircase which leads to the top floor on which is 
 the Cardinal's study. The Under-Secretary of State had 
 received the Holy Father's orders. He listened to 
 
 J.1 
 
A LIFE STRUGGLE 223 
 
 Elou with paternal kindness, mingled with a sort of 
 tender, indulgent pity. He arranged with her the day 
 when she was to be received by the Pope, and was about 
 to continue the conversation, when the door of his study 
 was suddenly pushed open, and I beheld in the ray of 
 penetrating sunlight a priest of imposing aspect dressed 
 in ecclesiastical robes cut out of some heavy, silky 
 material the stiff folds of which fell in long, impressive 
 lines. The newcomer had dark hair and a powerful 
 forehead, which sheltered deep, somber-looking eyes, 
 almost hard in expression, but which seemed to light up 
 his whole face. It was a sudden and unexpected vision 
 of incontestable beauty. 
 
 The Cardinal rose with eager deference, introduced 
 me, and gave the name of Cardinal Ledochowski. Elou 
 fell on her knees, almost in front of the Cardinal, whose 
 pastoral ring she kissed timidly, and we then went out 
 together. She enlarged on the impression made upon 
 her by Cardinal Ledochowski, and it seemed to me that 
 her sympathies and admiration were much more directed 
 toward the dignified priest than toward the amiable 
 Cardinal Jacobini, who had been so gracious and kind, 
 and whose sympathetic but unimposing manner in no 
 way corresponded to the ecclesiastical ideal of Elou's 
 imagination. 
 
 She had, however, attained her end. Her joy was 
 immense, almost overwhelming. She was to be received 
 by the Holy Father within a few days. She entered 
 St. Peter's to pray. My own mission was accomplished 
 and I bade her good-by, as I was leaving Rome for 
 Naples. 
 
 I never expected to see her again. 
 
224 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 A few weeks after my return to Paris, when the memory 
 of Elou was beginning to fade out of my mind, I received 
 the following letter from her : 
 
 "I have had the great joy of being received by the 
 Holy Father, and the mere sight of him sufficed to give 
 me such peace of mind and such calm as I had not known 
 for a long time. I explained to His Holiness the cause 
 of my suffering, which he appeared to have some idea 
 of. After what has taken place I feel obliged to 
 tell you the object of my journey, the nature of my 
 struggle, my hopes and my disappointments. You 
 had the delicacy never to ask me what my object was 
 and why I wished to go to Rome; and it is of my own 
 free will that I tell you now, for you must be informed 
 in order to help me. Ever since my childhood I have 
 been troubled with strange contradictions. I will not 
 prolong my story by telling you about my early years. 
 When I arrived at the age of discretion a struggle began 
 in my soul between the highest good and the greatest 
 evil; and I have been obliged to combat, with the same 
 ardour, the invasion of evil when I was doing what was 
 right, as the empire of good when I felt drawn into sin. 
 When I was twenty, in order to escape from this battle, 
 I entered a convent, where the rigid discipline is a constant 
 protection against human temptations. I remained there 
 two years, and was about to take definite vows when 
 an act of startling revolt caused the Superior to send me 
 away from the convent. I was in such despair that later 
 on she took me back, but once again, just as I was to 
 take the vow, my spirit of insubordination induced 
 another outburst, which frightened the entire Order, and 
 I was once more expelled. Ever since then my soul 
 has constantly been tempted. I am haunted by ideas 
 of the greatest crimes, and I perceive clearly that my 
 salvation or my destruction depends upon a final effort 
 which will restore me to God or condemn me to hell. 
 
A LIFE STRUGGLE 225 
 
 Hence my visit to the Holy Father. I came to ask 
 him to insist upon the Superiors of my Order making 
 a final effort to wrest my soul definitely from the haunting 
 powers which torture and besiege it. The Holy Father 
 had pity on me. He said that he would do what he 
 could. He has done so, and I have just been informed 
 that he expressed to the Superiors his ardent desire to 
 see me enter the convent again. The reply was that 
 I had already made two attempts and that it was utterly 
 futile and impossible to allow me a third. And the Holy 
 Father thereupon sent me word that his authority does 
 not exceed the expression of a wish, and that he neither 
 has the power, the right nor the will to command. I am 
 told that there are exceptions to this rule, and that if an 
 English Ambassador were to ask the Holy Father to do 
 this for him as a personal favour he w^ould not be refused. 
 Now, as you have shown me so much kindness, I venture 
 to ask you to obtain the intercession of the British 
 Ambassador in Paris, who is a friend of yours. Have 
 mercy on me. Take pity on my soul, which otherwise 
 is irremediably lost." 
 
 This letter both affected me deeply and annoyed me. 
 I had obtained for Elou all that was humanly possible, 
 and I began to look upon her as having a soul beyond all 
 cure, haunted by visions to which she dared not confess. 
 Hence, after long reflection, I replied as follows : 
 
 "Madame: I am very grateful to the Holy Father for 
 the kindness he has shown you and the signal favour 
 manifested in taking into account your painful situation 
 and in intervening for you with your Superiors. But I 
 cannot possibly join you in insisting further with him; 
 and the energetic, I will even add, almost indomitable, 
 persistency which you employ in striving by main force 
 to open sacred doors that have. been closed to you proves 
 
226 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 to me that your Superiors and the Pope, better informed 
 as to your character, know you more thoroughly than 
 you know yourself, and that the refusal opposed to your 
 perseverance is the just and logical consequence of your 
 Superiors' acquaintance with you. Endeavour to master 
 yourself in the world outside convent w^alls. Make 
 your novitiate all alone there, proving that you deserve 
 other treatment and that you have within yourself 
 the energy and spirit of submission requisite for that life." 
 
 A single line was the reply to this letter : 
 
 " My soul is irremediably lost." 
 
 In the summer of 1881 I paid a visit to an old friend 
 who was living at Petites Dalles, on the Normandy coast. 
 I was struck by the picturesqueness of this little port 
 when seen from the coast of St. Martin, It is one of 
 those poetical landscapes which one sees on the Riviera, 
 along the Comiche, between Nice and San Remo. My 
 friend, to whom I expressed my admiration of the view, 
 said to me : 
 
 "Why do you not build here a temporary refuge where 
 you may find repose amid the ceaseless agitation of 
 your existence ? " 
 
 We were promenading at the time in the single street 
 of the village which leads from the valley to the beach. 
 I looked up at the cliff on my left and said to my friend : 
 
 " If I can buy that little plateau there on the edge of 
 the cliff, with the clump of beeches behind it, I will do 
 so, and build a house there for my old days." 
 
 My friend was delighted at the idea, and as I was 
 leaving that very evening, he promised to investigate 
 

A LIFE STRUGGLE 227 
 
 the matter for me. Forty-eight hours had not elapsed 
 since my return to Paris when I heard from him that 
 the owner accepted my price and that the bargain was 
 concluded. 
 
 In 1883 my little chalet, called by the peasants " Les 
 Lampottes," because of the two small towers in the 
 fagade, was finished. I had only to settle down there. 
 But between the two little towers, or lampottes, there 
 was a large empty space under the sharp angle of the 
 roof. I ought to say that this fagade has obtained a 
 great reputation among architects, and that not a season 
 goes by without some of them visiting it, as they consider 
 it the true Norman type. But I repeat that the angle 
 between the lampottes and the summit of the roof w^as 
 then empty, and this formed a gap which I was most 
 anxious to see filled up. One afternoon, at Rouen, in 
 the courtyard of a dealer in antiquities, I was struck 
 by the artistic beauty of a statue of the Virgin with the 
 Child Jesus in her arms. The statue had been carved 
 out of one immense half of the bole of an oak. I took 
 the measurements of it, and, as I had in my pocket the 
 plan of my country house, I noticed that this statue, 
 including its pedestal, would exactly fit into the empty 
 space of my Norman fagade. The next day I asked the 
 antiquary to sell it to me. 
 
 "Oh !" said he, "this is a statue of which I am very 
 fond, for its harmony rests the eye, but I will gladly sell 
 it to you. I bought it at the demolition of a nunnery, 
 which was pulled down on the plea of public utility, but 
 ever since I have had it it has taken away my peace of 
 mind. It always seems to me that all kinds of faint 
 sounds are buzzing about it at night. Besides, I cannot 
 
228 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 succeed in keeping it recumbent, and when upright it 
 annoys me. A dozen times I have laid it on the ground, 
 but the next day I have found it upright without being 
 able to explain how or why, and my wife, frightened 
 by this phenomenon, begs me to get rid of it." 
 
 "Very well, " I said with a smile ; " as I want to place 
 her upright against a wall, she won't wish to change 
 her position." 
 
 I had the Virgin transported in a hay-cart from Rouen, 
 and a week later the fisher peasants of Petites Dalles, 
 in their playful way, had baptised my Httle chateau 
 Notre Dame des Lampottes. 
 
 In 1887, about the beginning of August, as I was 
 seated on the terrace of the chalet, in the silence of the 
 countryside which was only broken by the regular motion 
 of the sea under the cliff, a peasant from the village 
 approached and, lifting his hat, said to me : 
 
 "There is a lady at the foot of the path who begs you 
 to come down to see her, for she is here only for a 
 short time and cannot come up." 
 
 I immediately put on my hat, and, taking a stick, I 
 descended to the road, where my unknown visitor was 
 waiting for me. As I approached the open carriage 
 drawn up under the ample shadow of a huge tree, I uttered 
 a cry of surprise. It was Elou. Her face was pale and 
 worn, but her eyes burned with a feverish light. She wore 
 an extremely elegant travelling dress and an immense 
 hat adorned with brilliant, black ostrich feathers. On 
 seeing me she uttered a sort of suppressed, hoarse cry, 
 but her movement was one of joy when she explained 
 her delight at having found me again. I drew near and 
 greeted her. 
 
 ._ jlJ 
 
A LIFE STRUGGLE 229 
 
 "How is it you are here?" I asked. "And why did you 
 not come up to my door ?" 
 
 "I am here because I was told to come to you," she 
 replied. "I did not go to the house because I perceived, 
 from a distance, on your fagade a statue which at the 
 nunnery was known as the 'rigid Virgin.' I have so 
 often knelt before her, bowing my head to the very dust 
 at her feet, that I do not care to enter a house over which 
 she seems to watch." 
 
 "Oh, I entreat you," I said, "come up to the chalet. 
 We will take the other path, if the sight of the 'rigid 
 Virgin' impresses you so deeply. You might stay several 
 days here and the quiet of my home will bring you peace." 
 
 "Never, never! She has made me suffer too much. 
 She has been too inflexible. She hates me. I will not 
 sleep under the same roof with her." 
 
 I was filled with an immense pity. I felt that I was in 
 the presence of a being utterly possessed by an incurable 
 ill. The poor woman's reason had given way, and she 
 was haunted by visions and fancies which baffled all 
 logic and will-power. 
 
 "But why did you come up here ?" I asked. 
 
 "Because I was directed to go to Eletot with you so 
 that you might be a witness of the meeting which is to 
 take place there. I beseech you to get into the carriage 
 with me and to take me there, for I do not know the road." 
 
 It is an hour's drive from Les Petites Dalles to Eletot. 
 The road passes by Sassetot, leaving on one side Les 
 Grandes Dalles, the shady villas of which one sees right 
 along the coast. The village of Saint- Pierre-en-Port is 
 passed, and from thence, by a road which is to-day an 
 exquisite avenue shaded by great trees, where the air is 
 
2 30 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 balmy and delicious, one reaches Eletot. On the way 
 Elou told me of her despair on receiving my letter, because 
 she knew that she would never succeed in inducing the 
 Superiors to grant her a new trial. She told me of the 
 nights she had tried to spend in prayer, in search of what 
 she called her peace of mind, of the futility of her efforts to 
 escape the visions that haunted her vigils and her sleep. 
 She declared that during the night she received orders 
 which she had tried to resist, but which she finally obeyed, 
 for she no longer had any hope of escaping from them by 
 entering a convent. She assured me that she was at 
 present carrying out the latest order she had received; 
 that she had just returned from Scotland, where she had 
 left the last refuge in which she had thought to recover 
 her peace of soul ; that she was bound to go to Eletot, and 
 that she had been equally obliged to beg me to accom- 
 pany her thither. 
 
 "Do you remember," she said, "that, when we went 
 to see Cardinal Jacobini, a man of imposing appearance 
 entered. It was Ledochowski, and it is he who has 
 done me the greatest harm which I have ever experienced 
 in all my life. He appeared to me first as an archangel 
 who would heal all my wounds. I have seen him since 
 and told him all my tortures, entreating him to be my 
 confessor. My admiration for him appeared to irritate 
 him; he refused to become my spiritual adviser, and one 
 day when I insisted that he should protect me against 
 myself, he rose suddenly, extending his hand, and showed 
 me the door, exclaiming : 
 
 " 'Away, away, cursed woman, for when you cross my 
 threshold you fill my soul with the terror of everlasting 
 punishment ! ' 
 
A LIFE STRUGGLE 231 
 
 "I quitted him, and since then I have felt that I was 
 abandoned by Heaven and destined to irremediable 
 destruction." 
 
 We reached Eletot, a little village not far from the 
 sea, separated from the waters of the channel by a great 
 plain behind the little Roman church of the style so often 
 seen along the coast. We left the carriage at the entrance 
 of the village. I had very rarely been there and had 
 never stopped in the place, but Elou seemed to know it 
 perfectly well. She took the path behind the church 
 which leads to the plain by the sea. She crossed the 
 corn and wheat -fields at the edge of the plain. For a 
 few moments she gazed at the steeple of St. Pierre-en- 
 Port which emerged on the right from the verdure of the 
 hills. She shook her head and, turning, while she gazed 
 upon the sea, with her arms stretched out, exclaimed : 
 
 "Yes, I know where I am — this is the spot. It is here 
 I am to find him of whom I am in search and who is in 
 search of me. Ah, yes, it is here ; I am going to him !" 
 
 "Thank you, thank you," she added. "You have 
 guided me to him, and it means rest ! " 
 
 Then with her arms outstretched and her figure magni- 
 fied, as it were, by a superhuman effort, she dashed 
 forward across the plain. At the edge of the steep cliff, 
 high over the sea, the plain had broken off abruptly, and 
 thus it is that this marvellous expanse of water has 
 never been utilised, and that the point, where this plain 
 and the sea meet, appears to be haunted by a spirit 
 of solitude and aridity. 
 
 Elou had rushed with extraordinary speed toward the 
 east side of the plain, where stakes and wire fencing have 
 been fixed to prevent people from falling into the sea, for 
 
232 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 when the tide rises the waters bathe the base of the cliff. 
 Before I had recovered from my surprise Elou was some 
 six hundred feet ahead of me. So rapidly had she run 
 along that the breeze had detached one after another 
 from her hat-brim the great, black ostrich feathers, 
 and as she bounded on with outstretched arms her 
 skirts floated about her like wings, while the feathers 
 of her hat, borne up by the wind, emphasised strangely 
 the madness of her flight. I tried to overtake her, 
 but it was all in vain. I had not gained half the 
 distance when I saw that she had reached the edge 
 of the cliff. For a moment she stopped, looked 
 all about her, uttered a terrible cry of anger and 
 despair, and as quick as a flash sprang over the 
 wire paling which protects the passers-by from falling 
 into the sea. 
 
 Breathless I reached the spot and gazed all around. 
 I passed beyond the circle protected by the wire hedge 
 and watched the waves that rose and fell gently under 
 my feet. I could see nothing whatever of Elou. 
 The surface of the sea wore its habitual aspect. Merely 
 the ostrich feathers, borne up on the wind, flitted across 
 the great expanse as if drawn outward and downward 
 to the sea. Two men strolling along by the wire fence 
 came up to me. 
 
 "You are looking for something?" they asked. 
 
 "Yes," I replied, "It seems to me that on the edge 
 of the cliff, outside the wire fence, I saw a person with 
 outstretched arms. Did you notice anything ?" 
 
 The two men looked at each other. 
 
 "We have seen nothing," they replied, "yet we have 
 been near all the time." 
 
LES LAMPOTTES 
 M. de Blowitz's country house in Normandy 
 
A LIFE STRUGGLE 233 
 
 We all three gazed at the sea. The two men went 
 their way ; I lingered on for a long time on the edge of the 
 cliff. I called out, but no voice answered mine, and my 
 search was all in vain. And never since, in spite of my 
 investigations and of my despairing researches, never 
 since, either dead or alive, have I been able to discover 
 the slightest trace that was capable of explaining to me 
 either the enigma of her life or the mystery of her death. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 Why France Did Not Go to Egypt 
 
 It is a strange fact, but it has often been obsen^ed 
 that the most serious events owe their origin to very- 
 small causes. But it is far more strange, and the story, 
 I believe, has never yet been told, that the Egyptian 
 question, which for twenty years has been affecting the 
 pleasant relations between England and France, which 
 at a certain moment brought them within a hair's- 
 breadth of war, and which for a long time yet will loom 
 in the international horizon like some evil phantom of 
 discord, was occasioned by an accident of the smallest 
 importance. If France did not go with England to 
 Egypt, it was merely on account of a certain portfolio. 
 The following is the history of the affair : 
 
 The 7th of November, 1881, the day on which the 
 Gambetta Cabinet was formed in Paris, fell on a Monday. 
 On Saturday, November 12th, I went to see M. de 
 Freycinet to ask him whether there was any truth in the 
 report that he had refused to enter into M. Gambetta's 
 combination and become a member of his Cabinet. 
 
 "People say," I told him, "that you have refused to 
 enter into this combination because you wished to lessen 
 the importance of it in the eyes of the public, and because 
 your refusal to associate yourself with it would, you 
 thought, prevent it from becoming the 'Great Ministry,' 
 
 234 
 
WHY FRANCE DID NOT GO TO EGYPT 235 
 
 as every one was prepared beforehand to style the 
 Gambetta Cabinet." 
 
 "That is absolutely inexact," replied M. de Freycinet. 
 " I did not refuse to enter the combination. It is just 
 the reverse, for I accepted a long time ago the offer 
 M. Gambetta made me. What I did refuse was to accept 
 the portfolio which M. Gambetta has just tendered me 
 under very singular circumstances, which I will explain 
 to you. There had been an understanding for a long 
 time past between M. Gambetta and myself that, when 
 he should be called upon to form a Cabinet, and there 
 seemed every likelihood of that coming to pass, I should, 
 in that Cabinet, be appointed Minister of War. I had 
 said to him : ' I want that appointment because it is, I 
 may say, absolutely necessary to me. My adversaries 
 have so often accused me of having by my presumption 
 and incompetence organised the defeat in the second 
 part of the war of 1870, that, in defense of my honour 
 and of my patriotism, it is indispensable that I should be 
 able to prove that I am capable of directing the War 
 Office. I must, therefore, ask you, when forming your 
 Cabinet, to give me this appointment, as the manner 
 in which I fill it will afford me an opportunity of 
 refuting all the slanderous accusations of which I have 
 been the victim, and of rehabilitating myself in the 
 eyes of the world.' 
 
 "M. Gambetta understood my persistency, approved 
 of my reasons, and promised to satisfy my demands on 
 this point. 
 
 " It was just then that I heard of the mission entrusted 
 to M. Gambetta to form his Ministry, and I held myself 
 in readiness to join it as Minister of War. But yesterday 
 
236 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 evening, Friday, at six o'clock, M. Gambetta entered 
 my house like a whiriwind. He explained to me that 
 he was in a desperate hurry ; that he was on his roimd to 
 see all his collaborators, and had come to tell me that I 
 should join his Cabinet as — Minister of Foreign Affairs. 
 Without giving me time to answer, without even telling 
 me the names of my future colleagues in the Ministry, 
 he left me and continued his visits. 
 
 "As soon as he had gone I decided not to accept the 
 change of ofhce which he had proposed. I understood 
 that at the Foreign Affairs Ministry I should be merely 
 his clerk, and that he himself would be the real Minister. 
 I knew very well that I should simply have to do as he 
 dictated, that if things went satisfactorily he would have 
 all the credit, and that I should be blamed for all the 
 mistakes. 
 
 " Besides, it had been agreed that I should take the 
 War portfolio. He knew why I wanted it. He under- 
 stood my reasons and had approved of them, so in view 
 of all this I wrote to him this morning, simply telling him 
 that I regretted not being able to join his combination. 
 This is all I have to say on the subject." 
 
 I quite understood the reasons which M. de Freycinet 
 gave me, and as it was Saturday and I had no article to 
 send to my paper that day, I decided to hold over what 
 I had been told until the following day, intending then 
 to see how much it would be wise to remember. 
 
 Later on the same day I went to a grand soiree 
 given by Madame Adam at her apartments in the 
 Boulevard Poissonniere. There the main topic of con- 
 versation was the formation of the Gambetta Cabinet. 
 
 In the course of the evening I came across one of 
 
WHY FRANCE DID NOT GO TO EGYPT 237 
 
 Gambetta's intimate friends. He told me that he had 
 seen the future Prime Minister that afternoon, and that 
 he was very much annoyed with M. de Freycinet. He 
 complained bitterly of the latter' s defection, and it was 
 evident that he considered the refusal as nothing more 
 nor less than treachery. 
 
 I explained to my interlocutor the reasons M. de 
 Freycinet had given me a few hours previous. I told 
 him that those reasons perfectly justified the attitude of 
 M. de Freycinet in my eyes, that they would justify him 
 in the opinion of the public, and that I was convinced 
 every one would blame M. Gambetta. 
 
 His friend, quite annoyed, assured me that he was 
 absolutely convinced M. Gambetta had no idea of the 
 motives which had dictated M. de Freycinet's conduct, 
 and when I said that it would be a great pity if these two 
 men were to be hostile to each other, and that at all 
 costs this hostility should be prevented from breaking 
 out, he replied that he was going to see M. Gambetta 
 that very evening, that he would report to him what I 
 had said, and the next morning, at eleven, he would 
 come and tell me what M. Gambetta had replied and 
 what could be done to prevent the rupture which seemed 
 to both of us so undesirable. But at two o'clock in the 
 morning there was a knock at my door and a letter was 
 brought to me to the following effect : 
 
 "I have not been able to see Gambetta himself, but I 
 learn on good authority that he is to go at nine this 
 morning, Sunday, to see M. Grevy at the Elysee to com- 
 municate the result of his negotiations, and he will 
 probably inform the President that, on account of 
 M. de Freycinet's refusal, he himself will take over the 
 
2 38 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 portfolio of Foreign Affairs. Therefore, after nine 
 o'clock it would be too late to make any communication 
 to M. Gambetta, so that if M. de Freycinet would like to 
 have an explanation with him which might modify his 
 plans it must take place before 8.30." 
 
 I rose at five o'clock, took a cab opposite my house, 
 and drove to M. de Freycinet's. It was about six when 
 I arrived there. M. de Freycinet was in bed. A candle 
 was burning on a little table by his side and he was 
 working by that light. He listened to me attentively, 
 thanked me very much, and told me that at 7.30 he 
 would be at M. Gambetta's. He was as good as his 
 word. M. Gambetta, who was then living in the Rue 
 St. Didier, was at his window smoking a cigar when he 
 saw M. de Freycinet arrive. 
 
 At the outset the interview was far from agreeable. 
 M. Gambetta reproached M. de Freycinet with not 
 wishing to compromise himself in the former's Cabinet, 
 so that he might keep free in order to succeed him. 
 M. de Freycinet protested energetically and declared 
 positively that no matter what might happen he would 
 never succeed him, M. Gambetta was appeased, and 
 when M. de Freycinet had explained the cause of his 
 refusal, M. Gambetta, who was broad-minded and frank, 
 admitted that his conduct had not been entirely blameless, 
 so that the interview, which had commenced so unfavour- 
 ably, ended in the most cordial manner. The next day, 
 November 14th, the Journal Officiel contained the 
 announcement of the formation of Gambetta's Cabinet, 
 and the Ministry settled down to work without delay. 
 From the time he came into power, Gambetta foimd 
 
WHY FRANCE DID NOT GO TO EGYPT 239 
 
 himself exposed to an underhand opposition, to unforeseen 
 resistance, to inconceivable maneuvers and to impla- 
 cable hostility. Among his secret adversaries, none was 
 more zealous than M. de Freycinet, who, in spite of his 
 explanation with the new Premier, had not forgiven 
 him for not appointing him Minister of War. 
 
 The consequence was that a few weeks later the 
 Gambetta Cabinet was defeated on the question of the 
 scrutin de liste at elections. 
 
 This scrutin de liste had been haunting M. Gambetta 
 for ten years. 
 
 In July, 1 87 1, when I paid M. Thiers my first visit in 
 the name of the Times, he said to me, "Gambetta and 
 Faidherbe have conceived the idea of being voted for 
 by universal suffrage, as they have their names at the 
 top of the scrutin de listed This was my first despatch 
 to the Times; it was reproduced as a special telegram, 
 and with it I inaugurated my entrance on the staff of 
 that paper. 
 
 On the 26th of January, 1882, whilst M. Gambetta was 
 delivering one of his finest speeches in defense of the 
 scrutin de liste, I was walking in the Salle des Pas Perdus 
 with M. Joseph Reinach. The great speaker was more 
 eloquent than ever, and we could hear plainly the applause 
 that greeted his arguments. He was pleading the cause 
 of the scrutin de liste, and as, in spite of the applause, I 
 expressed my fear lest M. Gambetta 's Cabinet should 
 be overthrown on account of this speech, M. Joseph 
 Reinach said, "They cannot overthrow him; there is 
 nobody to succeed him." 
 
 "W^hat about M. de Freycinet?" I asked. 
 
 "M. de Freycinet," replied M. Joseph Reinach, 
 
240 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 promptly, " has made a formal promise not to suc- 
 ceed M. Gambetta." Nevertheless, an hour later M. 
 Gambetta was defeated, and M. de Freycinet, 
 who was immediately asked to call at the Ely see, 
 agreed, in spite of his promise, to succeed M. 
 Gambetta. 
 
 "I shall never forget it," declared Gambetta when 
 he was told the name of the Prime Minister who was to 
 take his place. 
 
 And for six months Gambetta, who considered 
 M. de Freycinet's acceptance as an act of treachery, 
 made desperate onslaughts on his Cabinet on every 
 question. 
 
 Now, on the 29th of July, 1882, a very serious matter 
 was discussed ; namely, whether France should or should 
 not go with England to Egypt. M. de Freycinet had 
 adopted an uncertain attitude, but on the whole seemed 
 inclined to cooperate with England. M. Gambetta 
 then rose and opposed M. de Freycinet's projects with an 
 eloquence that was both aggressive and triumphant, 
 and, with the assistance of M. Clemenceau, overthrew the 
 Cabinet that very evening. M. Gambetta and his party 
 were avenged. 
 
 A year later, when in Rome, I was talking to Cardinal 
 Jacobini. 
 
 "Do explain to me," he said, suddenly, "why France 
 refused to accompany England to Egypt." 
 
 I told the Cardinal the story of the portfolio which 
 I have just related here, and I proved to him that if 
 M. de Freycinet had been offered the post of Minister 
 of War, which he greatly desired and had every reason 
 to expect, instead of that of Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 
 
WHY FRANCE DID NOT GO TO EGYPT 241 
 
 France would, at this moment, be with England in 
 Egypt. 
 
 A smile such as one sees only on the lips of a Roman 
 Cardinal hovered over his mouth, and he murmured in 
 Italian, " Small causes, great effects ! " 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 My Interview with the Sultan 
 
 When I left Paris, in 1883, for Constantinople, on the 
 inauguration train of the Orient Express, Essad-Pasha, 
 the Turkish Ambassador in Paris, gave me two letters 
 of introduction, one for Said-Pasha, the Grand Vizier, 
 the other for Munir-Bey, the Master of Ceremonies. 
 
 I had not hidden from Essad-Pasha my desire to avail 
 myself of this visit to Constantinople for approaching 
 the Sultan, and although the letters of introduction he 
 gave me were, according to diplomatic custom, sealed, 
 I am sure they mentioned my wish and suggested that 
 I should be helped to carry it out. 
 
 On arriving at Constantinople, a good friend of mine 
 who lives in that city called upon me. He knew every 
 one and everything there, and I told him that I had come 
 with some friends who were leaving in four days, that 
 I wanted first to see Constantinople with them, and that 
 I intended waiting until they had gone before using my 
 letters of introduction, as I was staying a week longer 
 than they were. My friend advised me to deliver the 
 letters at once, and he imdertook to see that they reached 
 their destination. 
 
 Two days later, on Thursday, we were told that it was 
 the eve of the Courbam-Bairam, and that the fetes would 
 commence on Friday and last until Monday evening. 
 
 This was a great disappointment to me. I understood 
 
 242 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 243 
 
 that I should not be able to meet any members of the 
 official world until after the fetes, on the following 
 Tuesday. As I was to leave on the Saturday following, 
 this left me only four days to settle the complicated 
 question of an audience with the Sultan. During the 
 three days I had been in Constantinople I had seen a 
 great many people and had talked about a great many 
 things, and I had begun to understand that this was no 
 easy matter. The Sultan had never granted a private 
 audience to any one in my position, and the persons 
 on whom I was relying for asking the Sultan to receive 
 me would more likely prevent my obtaining an interview 
 than otherwise. 
 
 Missak-Effendi, the First Secretary of the Ottoman 
 Embassy in Paris, a delightful man, a clever diplomatist, 
 always pleasant and amiable, as well as a good linguist 
 and an excellent functionary, had travelled with us. 
 He told me that I ought not to leave Constantinople 
 without seeing the Sultan, and he had mentioned the 
 matter to Said-Pasha and to Munir-Bey. With his 
 usual courtesy, he had told Munir-Bey not to forget to 
 remind the Sultan who I was and in what capacity I was 
 there, so that he might weigh his words and not lose 
 sight of the fact that what he said to me would not escape 
 publicity. To any one who knows Constantinople and 
 the palace it will be very evident that after this recom- 
 mendation, of which I knew nothing until my depart- 
 ure, there was no chance whatever of attaining the 
 end I had in view through official influence. Neither 
 Munir-Bey, Said-Pasha, nor any of those whose responsi- 
 bility is publicly acknowledged, would have cared to 
 risk the consequences of an audience accorded to me by 
 
244 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 the Sultan. Abdul-Hamid is too attentive and too 
 enlightened not to take into account the press, and 
 particularly the independent press of Europe, and not 
 to keep himself well posted about the various correspond- 
 ences published in Europe. Now, as it happened, some 
 of the correspondents of certain newspapers in Constanti- 
 nople, by their free and independent criticism of Turkey 
 and of the Ministers, and the deeds of the Sultan himself, 
 had roused the susceptibilities of His Majesty, who still 
 had a lively remembrance of some of those articles. 
 
 Who would be responsible if, in my turn, I should add 
 to the Sultan's bitter impressions, and who could ask these 
 high officials, whom a glance from their lord and master 
 could annihilate, to accept the consequences of such an 
 interview and to bear the responsibility of having brought 
 it about and of having asked the Sovereign to grant it ? 
 
 As my brief sojoiun furnished timorous officials with 
 a justification of their fears, it was quite probable and 
 almost certain that I should not see the Chief of Believers 
 before leaving his capital. A fresh circumstance added 
 to the complication of the question. 
 
 The Friday after the Bairam I went to Therapia to 
 call on Lord Duiferin. 
 
 When I told him that I had left two letters of intro- 
 duction from Essad-Pasha, the English diplomatist 
 was of my opinion that the time was too limited for me 
 to be able to count on an audience. 
 
 He assured me that Mr. Forster had obtained an 
 audience, but that it had been postponed twice, and that, 
 as he could not remain any longer, he had left without 
 waiting for the day appointed the third time. 
 
 I thought, naturally, that if so important a personage 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 245 
 
 as Mr. Forster had been kept waiting like this I might as 
 well give up all idea of succeeding. I asked Lord Dufferin, 
 nevertheless, if he would not be kind enough to second me 
 in my attempt. With his usual perspicacity and knowl- 
 edge of all that concerns Oriental men and things, he 
 saw immediately that we should have to avoid taking 
 any direct, official step in the matter, as this would only 
 create a fresh obstacle. He told me that he would write a 
 private letter to Munir-Bey, merely informing him that 
 I was among the passengers of the Orient Express, and 
 suggesting that perhaps His Majesty might like to be 
 informed of the fact. He did this that same day. I 
 happened to know, too, that Munir-Bey was always 
 pleased to receive information of this kind through an 
 Ambassador, because in this way he was obliged to 
 convey it to his chief without incurring the responsi- 
 bility of having taken the initiative. The Sultan was, 
 therefore, apprised on Saturday that I was in Constanti- 
 nople, and when communicating to him the note from 
 Lord Dufferin, those who presented it added that, having 
 now discharged their duty, they had only to await the 
 decision of the Sovereign. Under these conditions 
 during the two next days a profound silence was main- 
 tained with regard to me. The amusing side of the affair 
 was that two parties were formed round the Sultan on 
 my account, in spite of the unimportance of my per- 
 sonality. Some had proceeded officially, almost compul- 
 sorily, and when once their official request had been made 
 they had remained quiet, rather glad on the whole of the 
 silence which was maintained with regard to me. Others, 
 anxious, on the contrary, that I should see the Sultan, 
 and in their enthusiasm for him convinced that this 
 
246 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 interview could only leave an excellent impression on 
 my mind, were most impatient as the hours slipped by 
 and the hour of my departure approached. They could 
 do nothing to break this silence themselves, nor to get 
 it broken by others, prevented as they were by the note 
 sent by an Ambassador and by the official intervention 
 of those whose functions authorised them to intervene. 
 Things went on in this way until Tuesday evening. 
 
 In three days' time I was to leave Constantinople. 
 
 On Tuesday evening I received from Said-Pasha the 
 following letter : 
 
 ''Sir: I had the pleasure of receiving the letter from 
 His Excellency, Essad-Pasha, which you were kind 
 enough to forward to me, and also the letter in which 
 you ask for an interview. I regret that on account of 
 my numerous occupations I could not reply earlier. I 
 will let you know the day and hour when I shall be able 
 to see you. Accept the assurance of my perfect con- 
 sideration. SaYd." 
 
 As I was to leave on Saturday, this letter was equiva- 
 lent to a refusal, and I heard the very next day that on 
 account of Abdul-Hamid's silence about the communi- 
 cation made by Lord Dufferin in his note, Said-Pasha 
 deemed it prudent not to receive me, which fact was very 
 evident from his letter. 
 
 Thereupon, I hastened the preparations for my depar- 
 ture, and that very evening went to keep an appointment 
 which had been arranged for me with the Sheik Abul- 
 Huda el-Rifai, the Grand Caziasker of Anatolia, in order 
 to complete, at any rate, my interviews with the men 
 of note of the capital. 
 
 My conversation with this eminent man lasted tmtil 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 247 
 
 very late into the night, and I have heard since that the 
 next morning he wrote to inform the Sultan about it. 
 
 The following day one of my friends came to tell me 
 that he had just received the visit of a person who fre- 
 quented the palace, who had told him that every one 
 there wanted me to see the Sultan, but that no one dared 
 introduce the subject for fear an official demand for an 
 audience should exist, as that would prevent any other 
 steps being taken. 
 
 I understood, then, the tact and finesse with which 
 Lord Dufferin had acted, and I was able to declare that 
 no official demand for an audience existed. 
 
 My friend appeared to be delighted. 
 
 That same day I had a visit from Waiss-Bey, the 
 Turkish Consul-General in Venice, a very distinguished 
 Orientalist, thoroughly devoted to the Sultan and 
 connected with the palace. He is an active, intelligent 
 man, very anxious to show up Turkey, of which he 
 is an ardent defender, in its best light. 
 
 He appeared to know what was going on. We talked 
 for a long time, and I heard later on that, on leaving 
 me, he wrote a long letter which the Sultan would see, 
 in which he pleaded warmly in favour of the audience. 
 All these movements, all these applications, and one 
 might even say all these struggles, were going on without 
 my suspecting them in the least. As my visit was to 
 come to an end in a couple of days, I considered my 
 cause lost. In spite of this, the next day, Thursday, I 
 heard that Philippe-Effendi, the editor of the Vakhit, 
 the special journal of the Sultan, a man who is very 
 devoted to His Majesty and who is broad-minded and a 
 protege of Osman-Bey, the First Chamberlain, had said 
 
248 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 that I ought not to be allowed to leave without seeing 
 the Sovereign. I knew, too, that Reschid-Bey, the 
 Sultan's Chief Secretary, a very highly educated young 
 man, in whom his master has every confidence and who 
 looks at things in an unprejudiced way, was among 
 those who were inclined toward the audience. Mr. 
 Guaracino, too, an Englishman, who had been in Constan- 
 tinople almost all his life, and who used to be a member 
 of the English Consulate, a very active and intelligent 
 man, who was liked by the ]\iussulmans and a great 
 favourite everywhere, was particularly interested in the 
 success of my enterprise. As I have said, all this agitation 
 was going on around me, and the greatest precautions 
 were taken so that I should not have any idea of it ; yet 
 I understood that all these people had not abandoned 
 the cause and had not given up all hope of conquering 
 the resistance opposed to them. I felt that I was breath- 
 ing in an atmosphere which, even for Constantinople, 
 was full of exceptional mystery. The Turks, who usually 
 converse in a low voice, spoke still lower in my presence, 
 and uttered Turkish monosyllables, almost in a whisper, 
 as they glanced at me. I went about like an actor in 
 a conspiracy on the stage, knowing that whatever 
 happened, whether failure or success, the result would 
 not be fatal to any one. 
 
 On Thursday, in the afternoon, Waiss-Bey came to 
 tell me that it would be well for me to go the next day, 
 Friday, to the Selamlik, which would take place at the 
 Medidjeh Mosque near Dolma-Bagchi. 
 
 "But," I said, "I went to the Bairam last Friday and 
 I saw the ceremony and the Sultan. There will be 
 nothing fresh to see to-morrow." 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 249 
 
 "No matter — it's better to go; there's no knowing. 
 It sometimes happens that the Sultan notices foreigners 
 and asks to see them. Besides, you will see him again, 
 and the ceremony is interesting." 
 
 "Very well, I'll go," I said. "At what time must I 
 be there?" 
 
 "At midday." 
 
 He had just gone away when I received a message to 
 the effect that Khair-eddin-Pasha would receive me the 
 following day at Nichanne-Tache, at half -past nine in 
 the morning. Soon after, one of my friends called 
 to tell me that Said-Pasha would see me at Nichanne- 
 Tache at six o'clock, Turkish time. 
 
 " What time will that be ?" I asked. 
 
 My friend began to calculate and then replied, " Half- 
 past eleven." 
 
 I reflected that if I went at half -past nine to see 
 Khaireddin, and at half -past eleven to Said's, I should 
 never be at the Selamlik at noon. But, as Said-Pasha 
 had given me Turkish time, it was quite allowable for 
 me to make a mistake of an hour in my calculations, 
 and so amve at half -past ten to see him. If he received 
 me then, I should have time to go to the Selamlik, 
 and if he did not receive me, I could apologise and leave 
 a few lines to him, explaining that it was impossible for 
 me to wait. 
 
 In the evening I went to a dinner given in my honour 
 at the Club. I asked Mr. Guaracino whether a seat at 
 table had been purposely left vacant, and he told me 
 that Philippe-Effendi was to have been there, but, he 
 added, lowering his voice, "he must have gone to the 
 palace to see whether there is anything fresh." I 
 
2 so MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 finished, the evening at the house of Mr. Smythe, a very- 
 pleasant sort of man, a director of the Ottoman Bank. 
 I was able to admire at his house some charming 
 specimens of the English colony, and I then returned at 
 rather a late hour to the Hotel d'Angleterre. Early 
 next morning, Weiss-Bey and Mr. Guaracino came to 
 tell me that they would wait for me between half -past 
 eleven and twelve, on the Dolma-Bagchi road, to take 
 me to the guard-house which faces the Medidjeh Mosque, 
 where I could see the Sultan quite close. I went to 
 Khair-eddin's at half -past nine, and left him at half -past 
 ten, to go to Said-Pasha's, who lives just opposite. 
 
 I had done well to go an hour earlier, for Said-Pasha 
 received me at once. 
 
 When I took leave of him, although the hands of my 
 watch pointed to a quarter to twelve, I feared that I 
 should miss the Selamlik. 
 
 I had scarcely departed from the house when I met 
 Mr. Guaracino, who had brought a horse and had 
 come at full speed to tell me that it was late. We 
 found Waiss-Bey stamping about impatiently, and we 
 went along at full gallop toward Dolma-Bagchi, when 
 we were told that the Selamlik was to take place at 
 Bechik-Tache, and not at the Medidjeh Mosque. There, 
 every one was waiting in a state of hesitation, for it 
 was expected that the ceremony would have taken place 
 at the Medidjeh Mosque, and, although the troops were 
 drawn up, the officers present, and instructions had been 
 given to the softas, yet at the last moment a counter- 
 order might arrive, and the Sultan, with that persistent 
 care not to appear in a locality that has been indicated 
 beforehand, might change the meeting-place. In cases 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 251 
 
 of this kind nothing can give an idea of the rapidity 
 with which this official change of quarters is effected. 
 The troops, the officials of the procession, the horses 
 and caniages, and the assembled crowd, disappear in the 
 twinkling of an eye and go quickly to the mosque indicated 
 without any surprise or displeasure, as though it were 
 the most natural thing; the guard-house looks just as 
 usual, and five minutes later a stranger passing by would 
 never imagine that, only a few minutes before, a crowd 
 had been waiting there, that soldiers had been drawn 
 up in line, that rows of carriages with the horses tm- 
 harnessed had been on the spot amidst all the ceremonials 
 of an absolute government whose chief deigns to be 
 saluted once a week. But when we saw that sand was 
 being thrown on the ground where the Sultan was to 
 pass, we understood that it was certainly here that the 
 ceremony would take place. The Turkish finances are 
 not in a state which allows of a waste of sand. 
 
 A few minutes later an aide-de-camp on horseback 
 galloped up, announcing that His Majesty was about to 
 leave the palace and come to the Mosque of Bechik- 
 Tache. 
 
 I was then advised to mount on the highest of the 
 steps leading to the guard-house, so that I might be 
 above the crowd and see the Sultan. 
 
 My companions, however, looked greatly distressed. 
 At Bechik-Tache the mosque is some distance from the 
 guard-house. It is beyond the little triangular square, 
 just opposite the door through which the Sultan enters. 
 I was in the midst of all the foreigners who had rushed 
 to see the ceremony, and if I should manage to see the 
 Sultan, how could I have the slightest chance of being seen 
 
2 52 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 by him ! If just then I had suggested to my two compan- 
 ions that we should go away, they would have been 
 delighted, so convinced were they that we were merely 
 wasting our time and that I should simply witness the 
 failure of their plans. As these thoughts were crossing 
 my mind, a tall, strongly built man, dressed in a grey 
 suit of European cut, holding a soft hat in his hand, 
 crossed the square which the troops were guarding. 
 He had a full face and dark complexion and a black, 
 stiff mustache. He was quite out of breath as he 
 approached us, and murmuring a few words to the 
 officer in command of the guard-house, he then made 
 a sign to us to follow him. 
 
 "It's Philippe-Effendi," said Mr, Guaracino; "he has 
 an irade for us to have good places." 
 
 We went through the guard-house, turned down a 
 small corridor to the right, and came into a drawing- 
 room, which was very clean, and furnished with arm- 
 chairs and a wide sofa occupying the whole length of 
 the two windows which looked on to the square and 
 the mosque. Evidently this word, irade, was of the 
 same derivation as "irradiation." From the moment it 
 had been pronounced in my favour I felt that luminous 
 efHuvia were irradiating around me. As we entered, the 
 officers, with their gold lace, who were seated, rose, 
 looked at me with respectful curiosity, and invited me 
 to take a seat on the sofa. As soon as I was seated, a 
 soldier brought me coffee and another one cigarettes. I 
 had become the Sultan's guest. 
 
 Suddenly a great noise was heard in the street. The 
 Sultan was approaching. Philippe-Effendi said a few 
 words to Mr. Guaracino, who opened the lower part of 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 253 
 
 one of the windows, told me to get up on the sofa, and 
 then invited me to sit down on the white marble of 
 the window. 
 
 Every one drew back a little, and at the same moment, 
 in obedience to an order given outside, a clear space 
 was made in front of the window on which I was seated. 
 
 I was thus completely isolated both from the outside 
 and the interior against the somewhat dark backgroimd 
 of the room, with the stin full on me, showing me up in 
 the foreground of the picture. I was seated sideways, 
 my legs hanging over the sofa, my body leaning forward 
 and my head out of the window. 
 
 I understood that I was posing for the Sultan, 
 
 "It is to be hoped," I said, in real terror, to Mr. 
 Guaracino, "that there is no photographer here with his 
 apparatus just facing us. My pose would certainly 
 not be to my advantage." 
 
 The cheering of the troops could be heard as the 
 Sultan appeared in a close carriage with the windows 
 drawn up. I did not see him very well. I knew he 
 would look toward me — he could scarcely do otherwise, 
 as I had been placed in such a conspicuous position, 
 and I bowed with all the respect due to the Sovereign 
 of the country. The carriage stopped, Abdul-Hamid 
 entered the mosque, after turning roimd toward the 
 crowd, and the muezzin having appeared on the gallery, 
 we understood that prayers had commenced within. 
 
 I at once left my uncomfortable seat and entered the 
 room again, but I had been inside only a few minutes 
 when Philippe-Effendi suddenly rushed out 
 
 " What's the matter ?" I asked Mr. Guaracino. 
 
2 54 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 "Another trade," he answered. 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 "There, the gentleman wearing a fez, who is just 
 crossing the road." 
 
 He was right, for the trade, in the red fez, was talking 
 to Philippe-Effendi. The latter soon returned and said: 
 
 "An order for us to be ready to go up to Yildiz-Kiosque 
 after the Selamlik." 
 
 Things were advancing very slowly, but still they were 
 advancing. My pose at the window had not caused the 
 Sultan to change his plans. 
 
 At this moment Mavroyeni-Pasha, a clever and witty 
 Greek, who was private physician to the Padishah, 
 came in. 
 
 We talked together for a few minutes. 
 
 "I am sorry you have not seen the Sultan," he said; 
 "you would have acquired for yourself proof of the 
 stupid untruths that are told about him. You would 
 have seen for yourself how sotmd his mind is, how just 
 he is, and how healthy, too. People say that he has all 
 kinds of diseases, that he has scrofula, and is subject to 
 fainting fits. It is infamous. I have never known him 
 ill, and I am the most expensive luxury that he allows 
 himself." 
 
 On looking round I noticed that Philippe-Effendi had 
 disappeared. 
 
 "Where has he gone?" I asked Waiss-Bey. 
 
 " There's another trade on your account." 
 
 Philippe-Effendi came back again. 
 
 "Strict orders have been issued to take you to Yildiz- 
 Kiosque. When there, a chamberlain will tell us what 
 is to be done," he said. 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 255 
 
 My companions were radiant. Evidently one of those 
 mysterious battles had been waged round the Sultan 
 with regard to me — one of those battles the secret of 
 which is guarded by the walls of the palace, and about 
 which conquerors and conquered are equally silent. I 
 was gradually penetrating it, and if I am able to tell all 
 the details now, it is because, in the first place, I was 
 able to observe everything for myself, and also because 
 victory makes the conquerors more readily inclined to 
 be communicative. Very soon the fourth and last 
 irade arrived, and I knew from the faces of my friends 
 that victory was nearly certain. 
 
 "An order to go to the Marshals' room and to wait 
 there." 
 
 We were now in the stronghold — or rather, we were 
 just about to enter. 
 
 "But who gives these orders, one after the other?" 
 I asked. 
 
 "The Sultan communicates them to a chamberlain, 
 who transmits them to officers on duty outside." 
 
 " Well, then, the Sultan is not at prayer ?" 
 
 "No; that is one of the thousand European errors. 
 The mosque is not a place entirely consecrated to 
 prayer. People can pray everywhere, since Allah is 
 ever3rwhere. The mosque is principally a meeting -place ; 
 all things can be discussed there, and they are dis- 
 cussed. It often happens, too, like to-day," and they 
 pointed to some servants who were carrying some trays, 
 "that the Sultan invites those who are with him to take 
 some refreshments. It is well to remember that the 
 Selamlik was instituted only by the reigning family. 
 Formerly the Sultan always remained invisible, and he 
 
2 56 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 might be assassinated in his palace and a successor sub- 
 stituted for him without the people's having any idea 
 of it. It was therefore decided that, cost what it 
 might, he should show himself at least once a week to 
 his people. It once happened that a Sultan who was 
 dangerously ill was nevertheless carried to the Selamlik 
 and died on his return to the palace." 
 
 Just at this moment military orders were heard, the 
 music struck up, the horses began to paw the ground, 
 people rushed to the windows, and Abdul-Hamid, leaving 
 the mosque, took his seat in a victoria, with Osman-Bey 
 at his side and two of his aides-de-camp opposite, and 
 started. We left the guard-house; our carriages were 
 waiting for us, and we drove to the palace by the new 
 road. This road was a wonderful sight. It is admirably 
 made, and rises in a gentle incline cut in the side of a 
 green slope, with trees dotted about here and there. 
 What remains of the hill out of which it was cut forms 
 a declivity sloping on both sides, leading, one toward the 
 new road and the other going down toward the old road. 
 The two slopes, the whole length of our drive, were 
 covered with men, women and children, who had hurried 
 there to see the Sultan. These are the rare occasions 
 when Turkish women and children leave their homes 
 to see an5n:hing that is taking place without, and no 
 Mussulman dare forbid his family to be present. On the 
 green grass of the slopes, and under the slight shade of 
 the trees, the bright, harmonious colours of the ferehjes, 
 or striped mantles of two colours, red and yellow, violet 
 and white, blue and pink, showed up in great brilliancy, 
 punctuated with red by the caps of the boys, who were 
 frolicking about in and out of the groups. The women 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 257 
 
 wore over their faces those veils which are more and 
 more transparent, and against which, for mere form's 
 sake, there are periodical trades ordering a return to 
 thick veils ; but these trades only cause fleeting tumult 
 that scarcely lasts a day. The veil is, I believe, 
 destined to disappear altogether soon, and Turkish 
 Women, conforming to the true precepts of the Koran, 
 will show their faces, which have not been seen hitherto 
 by curious travellers, and will only retain their flowing 
 draperies, which cover their entire body in a perfectly 
 modest manner. 
 
 As we reached the gate of Yildiz-Kiosque, a soldier, 
 acting as sentinel, advanced toward us. Philippe- 
 Effendi leaned forward and murmured the word trade. 
 The soldier stepped back respectfully, and, by a path 
 which starts from the gate and turns to the right a 
 hundred yards farther along, we reached a low door 
 and entered Yildiz-Kiosque. Philippe-Effendi left us 
 for an instant in order to ask Osman-Bey, the first 
 Chamberlain, to have us conducted to the Marshals' 
 room. As soon as he entered it, a caved ji brought us 
 some coffee and cigarettes. We were invited to sit 
 down and asked to wait. 
 
 Ten minutes later a chamberlain appeared at the door, 
 bowed, and asked me to follow him. We passed through 
 two drawing-rooms, then along a large gallery divided by 
 a red screen, and another drawing-room covered with 
 fine matting, and the chamberlain, who walked in front 
 of me, made a sign for me to wait there. I thought that 
 this chamberlain was taking me to one of the Sultan's 
 aides-de-camp, who would tell me when I could see his 
 master, for so far neither Philippe-Effendi nor Waiss-Bey, 
 
258 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 nor Mr, Guaracino — either because they did not know 
 or because, with that stubborn discretion peculiar to 
 Oriental diplomacy, they did not want to compromise 
 themselves — none of the three could or would tell me 
 which day would be fixed for my audience with the 
 Sultan. 
 
 After a few minutes the chamberlain who was con- 
 ducting me stopped in front of an open door, beckoned 
 to me to approach, and I must confess that I was much 
 surprised on advancing to find myself face to face with 
 Abdul-Hamid, who was standing up in front of me. The 
 Sultan was wearing the insignia of a Marshal of his 
 army and the uniform of his Life Guards. His trousers 
 were blue, with a double band of red, and were held by 
 straps over his patent-leather boots furnished with 
 rowels. On his straight coat he wore the military medal 
 which had been presented to him by his army ; his cloak 
 was lined with red and finished with plain, large buttons 
 of reddish gold, and on his head was a red fez. 
 
 Abdul-Hamid advanced to meet me and held out his 
 hand. He was wearing gloves of soft, white kid, such as 
 are adopted by European officers when on service. He 
 invited me to sit on an armchair, and he sat down 
 himself on a sofa covered with red damask with large 
 blue flowers. He leaned back against a cushion and 
 signed to a chamberlain who was standing in a doorway. 
 This chamberlain was Raghib-Bey, and the Sultan 
 ordered him to take the armchair near mine. 
 
 To my left, between the armchair on which I was 
 seated and the sofa where the Sultan was, there was a 
 small, wooden table, gilded and with a slab of malachite, 
 upon which were placed an onyx match-box, a small 
 
-•^i^^^ 
 
 MONS. DE BLOWITZ, 
 
 as he traveled to Constantinople in 1883 and as he was received by 
 
 Sultan Abdul- Hamid 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 259 
 
 oval ash-tray, also of onyx, and a cigarette case of 
 chased silver. 
 
 Raghib-Bey was to serve as interpreter. The presence 
 of an interpreter certainly does prevent the conversation 
 from being carried on rapidly, but this inconvenience is 
 largely compensated by numerous advantages. In the 
 first place, when one is in the presence of a personage 
 like the Sultan, it is easier to express one's ideas to an 
 interpreter, who will transmit them, than to the personage 
 in question. Then, too, while he is replying, one can 
 study his face without being preoccupied, because one 
 does not understand what he is saying and one can also 
 be preparing the conversation which is to follow. 
 
 During my interview I noticed these three advantages, 
 and to begin with, I was able to study Abdul-Hamid at 
 my ease. 
 
 He was rather above the average height, slight and 
 almost thin ; he had a brown skin, warm and dry looking ; 
 his beard was black, well groomed, and rather short and 
 thick. His mouth was energetic, but sad; his nose, a 
 regular Turkish nose, large, long and bony, with a slight 
 deflection of the upper part of the nostril. His eyes 
 were black, rather large, resolute, thoughtful, penetrating 
 but not gentle looking; they were deep -set in the orbit, 
 and as the light fell on one side of his face and left the 
 other side in the shade, his eyes appeared to be remark- 
 ably deep-sunk. His forehead was wide and straight, of 
 medium height and slightly furrowed. The black hair 
 which was visible on his temples, between the fez and the 
 beard, was short and almost close-shaven. Abdul-Hamid 
 was then forty-one years of age, but he looked more, 
 particularly as he had lost an upper tooth on the left side 
 
26o MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 near the middle. He spoke in a louder voice than his 
 subjects; his language was sonorous, his words distinct, 
 and his phrases lengthened out and terminated without 
 any hesitation. 
 
 I expected to have Munir-Bey for interpreter, as he 
 is the usual interpreter in such cases, but it was explained 
 to me later that it would have been imposing upon 
 Mimir-Bey an extraordinary task to have made him 
 act as interpreter for an interview which he had by 
 no means facilitated. 
 
 "I am very glad," I said, bowing, as the Sultan signed 
 for me to commence the conversation, "not to leave 
 Turkey without being admitted to Your Majesty's 
 presence, for, from all that I have seen and heard here, 
 I believe that I am in accordance with the absolute truth 
 in proclaiming that in Your Majesty are centred the great 
 hope of this coimtry and the most certain remedy 
 possible for all the many evils from which it is 
 suffering." 
 
 "I am very pleased to see you," he answered, "and I 
 thank you for having wished to judge this country for 
 yourself, for in Europe, and even in America, every one 
 slanders it systematically, without taking the trouble 
 to examine it closely. I am greatly encouraged in my 
 desire to remedy the evils of this country by the fine 
 qualities of its subjects and also by the great resources 
 of the land. Those who maintain that Turkey is incur- 
 able, slander us deliberately, and as though on purpose. 
 What is required? Ameliorations in our finances, in 
 our laws and in our administration, I have already 
 been able to reform the organisation of the finances with 
 regard to the civil list. My Government has not con- 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 261 
 
 tracted any fresh loan for a very long time, and I have 
 been able to arrange for the payment of the interest of 
 the public debt. The floating debt is not as considerable 
 as reported, but there must be some solution arrived at 
 about it, so that it may not be an ever-increasing obstacle. 
 People are wrong in representing me as opposed to liberty. 
 I know that a country must keep up with the times, but 
 the excess of a liberty to which one is unaccustomed is 
 as dangerous as the absence of all liberty. 
 
 "A country to which one gives liberty which the people 
 do not know how to use is like a man to whom one gives 
 a gun the handling of which he does not understand. 
 He kills his father, mother and brothers, and then finishes 
 by killing himself. We must, therefore, prepare the 
 country for this liberty, and that is what I am trying to 
 do. I have opened schools, and these are being multiplied. 
 Education in its various developments is the best means 
 of preparing people for liberty. I have also organised an 
 administrative school, which has given very good results ; 
 its pupils now occupy posts in our administrations — 
 Raghib-Bey here present is one of them. You see the 
 idea of making men capable of aspiring to liberty and 
 of knowing how to use^ it does not alarm me. Besides, 
 not one of our ills is incurable, and we have within us 
 forces and qualities which will facilitate a complete cure. 
 We have not many friends, but our country must be 
 very fine since so many envy it, and their policy consists 
 in discrediting us in order to make an easy prey of us." 
 
 After a minute's silence he asked : 
 
 " Were you at the Berlin Congress ?" 
 
 "Yes, Your Majesty; and if the Sultan will allow me 
 to say so, Turkey on that occasion made one of her 
 
262 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 greatest mistakes. When she ought to have been repre- 
 sented by her most important and most imposing 
 personages, she was represented by men who no doubt 
 were very devoted and well-intentioned but who had no 
 authority, who trembled before Prince Bismarck, and 
 upon whom he could impose silence by a mere glance. I 
 do not know why this mistake was made, but in Berlin 
 every one was struck by it, and it was generally thought 
 that the Turkish Government had sent plenipotentiaries 
 of foreign origin so that the eventual consequences of the 
 Berlin Treaty should not fall upon the Mussulmans." 
 
 " Yes, you are right ; I have greatly regretted what you 
 wisely call a mistake, and I still regret it, I understood 
 it when I saw that Greeks had been admitted to the 
 Congress who had no right to be there, and when I saw 
 that, in the face of their admission, my plenipotentiaries 
 did not protest and leave the meeting. It is when 
 nations have been conquered that it is their duty not 
 to cheapen their pride. But we were in a painful situa- 
 tion, the enemy was at our gates, and we did not reckon 
 much on the equity of Europe, for our friends there 
 were not numerous. We had very few men who cared 
 to go to Berlin to affront the decisions of this Congress, 
 and to give their signatures to the treaty of spoliation 
 which we foresaw. Sacrifices were imposed upon me 
 then from which I am still suffering. Do you 
 imagine that Bulgaria and Thessaly are any happier 
 at present than they were before their separation? 
 But no matter about that; this explains the mistake 
 we made — it does not excuse it." 
 
 "Your Majesty said that you did not count much on 
 the equity of Europe; but neither England nor France 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 263 
 
 have abandoned the defense of Turkey, and Your Majesty 
 cannot reproach them with that." 
 
 "Yes ; I have never reckoned them among my enemies. 
 We have always sought their friendship, and in spite of 
 all that has been done we have never failed to recognise 
 the necessity of it. Unfortunately, of late clouds have 
 arisen between us; but I hope that these clouds, and 
 particularly the two chief somber points, will be dissipated 
 by a friendly understanding. ' ' 
 
 "Your Majesty is alluding to Egypt and to Timis?" 
 
 "Yes. I saw with satisfaction that quite recently the 
 English Government seemed disposed to evacuate. Do 
 you think that England will soon decide to carry this 
 into effect?" 
 
 "I think, Sire, that in England they are contemplat- 
 ing political evacuation ; but, although every one is con- 
 vinced that England neither proposes annexation nor an 
 indefinite occupation, one must take into consideration 
 the political situation of that country. There is in 
 England a force which it is difficult to appreciate else- 
 where, and which is called public opinion. When 
 England saw herself obliged to go alone to Egypt, it was 
 necessary to stimulate this force in order to make it 
 consent to a costly and dangerous expedition, and 
 at present it will be necessary to allow the English 
 Cabinet, which depends on the public opinion of the 
 country, sufficient time to influence it and to make 
 it admit that the occasion has come for evacuating 
 Egypt. But, apart from these two points, Egypt and 
 Tunis, France and England can have no reservation at 
 present with regard to Turkey, and if Turkey, like all 
 nations which are suffering, had not become more dis- 
 
2 64 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 trustful than in her better days, she would understand 
 that she can from henceforth trust herself without 
 reserve to the friendship of these two nations," 
 
 "Yes; but in the meantime they have not hesitated 
 to violate my rights. It was a great trouble to me, 
 as I value their friendship very highly, and I fancy that 
 mine is not to be despised by either of them. In so 
 many different points we come into contact with each 
 other, and a nation should take this seriously into 
 account. Then, too, friendship between nations is not 
 manifested by diplomatic actions only; it is shown 
 also by the equitable way in which it judges a country. 
 My country is judged superficially, and that is the reason 
 it is calumniated. I value the opinion of Europe, and 
 I wish that credence were not given there to those who 
 amuse themselves with spreading satirical reports about 
 us. Your words will be heard — so tell them and prove 
 to them that after observing our country in an impartial 
 manner one has a better opinion of it. I am told 
 that you have seen a great many people here, and, 
 as you must be in the habit of observing, will you tell me 
 whether you have drawn any inferences from what 
 you have seen?" 
 
 "If Your Majesty will allow me to speak frankly, and 
 I can scarcely do otherwise, as if I did I might be obliged 
 to write to-morrow the contrary of what I said to-day, 
 my opinion is this: I believe that every evil from 
 which your country is suffering could be remedied, and 
 easily remedied. But there are two difficulties : the first 
 is, that all depends on only the will of Your Majesty, 
 and consequently Your Majesty would have to give up 
 to a certain degree this absolute will. The second 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 265 
 
 difficulty is, that if Your Majesty decided to do this, 
 those whom Your Majesty commands would have to agree 
 to this partial and progressive abdication. Now, the 
 curious part is, that those who depend on the absolute 
 will of Your Majesty will probably be the first to resist 
 a change which would prevent them from screening their 
 own faults under the cover of the absolute orders of 
 their Sovereign. But if once this were obtained, if 
 Your Majesty could succeed in creating an administra- 
 tion, with the capabilities and the energy necessary for 
 carrying out the reforms decided upon, it would be an 
 immense step toward the improvement of Turkey. Your 
 Majesty holds in your hand all liberty, because you alone 
 can will everything. If Your Majesty would open your 
 hand, little by little, setting this liberty gradually free, 
 in proportion as the country is capable of accepting 
 and of using it, Turkey would rapidly rise from her 
 present position. 
 
 " The consolidation of the floating debt, the suppression 
 of the havales, officials held responsible for what they 
 do, roads opened up through the country, courts of justice 
 established and public instruction always encouraged — 
 these are the reforms which would soon bear fruit ; but, 
 as I said before. Your Majesty must root out that 
 spirit of absolute submission which causes every offi- 
 cial to tolerate the continuation of abuses for which he 
 is not responsible," 
 
 " I understand perfectly well what you have just said," 
 answered the Sultan. "I am glad to find that you do 
 not share the opinion of those who believe that this 
 country cannot recover. As to what you say with regard 
 to myself, I am of your opinion, and I have quite decided 
 
266 MEMOIRS OP M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 to gradually open my hand. The difficulty is to know 
 just how far to go. When it v/as seen that this country 
 could not support a constitution and a parliament that 
 was not the entire representation of the country but 
 only a part of the country, people came to me and began 
 to talk about responsibilities. It was another way of 
 reorganising a constitution. I refused this. Those who 
 talked about responsibilities only saw in this a means 
 of substituting their will for mine at the expense of 
 others, and the consequence would have been that the 
 great mass of the country would only have changed 
 from the will of one to that of another. I am now 
 trying, as you have just said, to prepare this country 
 for the more independent part it has to play, and I 
 have already modified many things, which are not 
 remarked abroad, but which are, however, producing a 
 good effect at home." 
 
 Then returning obstinately to his first idea, he asked : 
 "Do you think that the English will soon consent to 
 evacuate Egypt ? " 
 
 "I have already had the honour of replying to Your 
 Majesty on this subject," I said. "But I will take the 
 liberty of remarking that England is in Egypt against 
 her will. When she asked Your Majesty to go with her 
 to Egypt, influenced as she was by that secret dread 
 which takes possession of all who are laying their hand 
 on no matter what Ottoman territory, she was absolutely 
 sincere. It was a great and terrible mistake of Turkey 
 to refuse to accompany England, thus obliging her to 
 go alone, which meant to remain there. History will 
 consider, with equal astonishment, this proposal of 
 England and Turkey's refusal. The only consolation 
 
 ._. J 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 267 
 
 of Turkey, if indeed that can be any consolation, is that 
 in this question France was no wiser than she was." 
 
 I knew perfectly well that I had just attacked the 
 Sultan direct. Not only had Abdul-Hamid been the 
 principal author of Turkey's refusal, but he had refused 
 to listen to the most trustworthy counsel; and for fear 
 of displeasing the Mussulmans, a fear which was chimerical, 
 far-fetched and not at all justified, Abdul-Hamid missed 
 an opportunity, perhaps unique, of changing the char- 
 acter of the Egyptian occupation and of maintaining 
 an uncontested supremacy over the Delta of the Nile. 
 
 I, therefore, awaited his reply with some impatience, 
 I thought, or rather I feared, that he would bring forward 
 some of those subtle arguments which the organs of the 
 Ottoman press have endeavoured to circulate in order 
 to attenuate the effect of the refusal of the Porte. But 
 Abdul-Hamid, I repeat and I proclaim it, is a man of 
 superior mind, who, when he is struck by sound reasoning 
 is perhaps annoyed, but at the same time is influenced 
 by it. As he had no good arguments to offer, and he 
 would not stoop to poor ones, he did not reply, but 
 changed the subject. This was, as any one can see, a 
 tacit approval of what I had just said, and I learned, 
 later on, that it was to be interpreted in this way. 
 
 "When are you leaving?" he asked. 
 
 " To-morrow, Your Majesty. " 
 
 "So soon! I am sorry you are not staying longer. 
 But I should like you to bear in mind that, if you write 
 to me, either about things that have happened or about 
 current topics, I will answer you. If, for State reasons, 
 I am unable to, I will tell you plainly that I cannot do so. 
 Take note, too, that if ever you come again to Constanti- 
 
268 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 nople, you must come the very day of your arrival to 
 see me. You have only to say that it was my wish that 
 you should come, that it was by my order you asked to 
 see me, and I promise you that I will receive you. And, 
 as I am now talking to some one who understands the 
 gravity of the mission confided to the journalist who 
 endeavours to find out the truth and to publish it, 
 remember that I do not wish to suppress existing liber- 
 ties, but to give new liberties; that I do not wish to 
 increase the financial troubles of my empire, but to 
 remedy them; and that I do not wish to suppress justice, 
 but t*o establish and consolidate it. Remember that this 
 nation, which bears in itself those causes of its weakness, 
 also contains the elements of great strength, and that I 
 wish to cure the former and make use of the latter. " 
 
 Abdul-Hamid rose, and at this moment there was an 
 expression in his eyes which showed that he was deeply 
 moved. I quite understood that he felt sincerely what 
 he had just been saying to me, but that at the same time 
 he saw rising up before him all the obstacles which stood 
 between his plans and their realisation. He had just 
 been pleading, as it were, to a European journalist, the 
 cause of his race and of his people, and a struggle was 
 perhaps going on within him between the duty of the 
 monarch and the pride of the Calif. It did not last long, 
 though. Abdul-Hamid drew himself up, went a few 
 steps with me, and then, taking my hand in his, held 
 it a few minutes while he spoke. 
 
 " His Majesty thanks you for your visit, which he will 
 remember with pleasure," interpreted Raghib Bey, 
 "and he begs you to accept this in memory of this 
 conversation." 
 
MY INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN 269 
 
 He handed me a book containing the insignia of the 
 second order of the Medjidie, just as I had bowed to 
 Abdul-Hamid for the second time at the door of the 
 room in which he had received me. 
 
 I found my friends where I had left them. They were 
 rather surprised at my long absence. I explained to 
 them what had happened, and we decided to go to 
 Osman-Bey, the First Chamberlain, and present my 
 thanks according to the custom of the country. 
 
 Osman-Bey, one of the most enlightened Turks, who 
 has established and endowed the largest existing printing 
 works in the Ottoman Empire, received me with the 
 affability peculiar to Turks of the educated class, and, 
 after offering us coffee, called one of his officials, who 
 appeared to be accustomed to this duty, to fasten on 
 the right side of my coat and to place around miy neck, 
 in spite of my tourist's costume, the insignia of my new 
 dignity, so that, as Osman-Bey said, according to the 
 prescribed formula, "the will of the Sultan may be ac- 
 complished." 
 
 I then left the Yildiz-Kiosque with my friends. The 
 numerous Turks whom we met saluted me respectfully 
 without appearing astonished at my accouterments, 
 which made me feel somewhat embarrassed. 
 
 The guards of the palace shouldered arms, and as I 
 passed through the last gateway I perceived a crowd of 
 persons looking at me. They understood that I had just 
 had an interview with the Sultan. But I could not 
 refrain from saying to myself : 
 
 " I only hope that no caricaturist will catch sight ci 
 me!" 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 Exile of the French Princes 
 
 There is no regime and no government which at some 
 time or another does not make a mistake, and I believe 
 that a grave error was committed by the French Republic 
 when, in May, 1886, it decided to expel from the country 
 the Princes belonging to the dynasties which had reigned 
 over France; the Count de Paris and his son, the Duke 
 d' Orleans, on the one side, and Prince Jerome Napoleon 
 and his son. Prince Victor Napoleon, on the other. I 
 think it was a mistake because, in the first place, when 
 a democratic government inscribes on the walls of its 
 public buildings the great word "Liberty," its desire 
 should be to have liberty exist not only for, but also 
 against, itself; in the second place, because exile is a 
 barbarous punishment which ought to disappear from 
 the customs of contemporary civilisation; and lastly, 
 because, by exiling the Princes, to whom she had hitherto 
 shown hospitality, the French Republic thereby gave them 
 the right to conspire against her. She could no longer 
 appeal to their sentiments of honour to respect the order 
 of established things ; she placed them in the best position 
 that claimants to the throne could wish — that of being 
 able to conspire at their ease. 
 
 Without paradox, I say that if I were the government, 
 it seems to me that for my own personal tranquillity, I 
 
 270 
 
EXILE OF THE FRENCH PRINCES 271 
 
 should allow myself the luxury of having in my country a 
 pretender as a hostage. 
 
 Now, the Count de Paris, in particular, the heir to the 
 throne of Louis Philippe, could not be considered as a 
 very dangerous pretender. Tall and strong, with a 
 frank, placid sort of face, intelligent, loyal but not bright 
 eyes, a firm-looking mouth, which had a kind but not 
 melancholy expression, sturdy on his legs, but with a 
 slight stoop, his shoulders square but sloping, his physical 
 appearance was, on the whole, more that of a bourgeois 
 than of a candidate for the crown. 
 
 He delighted in work of a long and serious nature, and 
 loved social problems the solutions of which are liable 
 to demand a lifetime. 
 
 It was with veritable enthusiasm that he penned a 
 voluminous work on the American Civil War, and, on 
 the 2ist of July, 1874, he wrote me a long letter on 
 that subject from which I quote the following character- 
 istic passage : 
 
 "I have," he said, "found great satisfaction, in the 
 midst of my trials during the last few years, in accom- 
 plishing this work, which has been considerable, and in 
 placing on the scene, after conscientious researches for 
 historical truth, actors who are most of them known 
 to me personally. I have found in this an occupation 
 during my exile, something to refresh my mind at critical 
 moments. It was not for the sake of bringing back 
 my vanished illusions, nor with the idea of turning my 
 thoughts from the present to the past, that I have con- 
 tinued this work, which I commenced a long time ago. 
 
2 72 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 What illusions could I have lost ? My confidence in the 
 future, my conviction that my country will recover 
 morally, outlive in my mind all the vicissitudes it has 
 experienced. And if my thoughts turn often toward 
 America, it is in order to recall to memory the crisis 
 which I witnessed, the discouragement and trouble which 
 in those difficult times seemed to have taken possession 
 of all hearts, the gloomy predictions which I heard on 
 all sides, and to say to myself that, after all, the day 
 came when those who had reasoned calmly saw their 
 patriotic confidence justified in a most brilliant manner." 
 
 It seems to me that the whole character of the Count 
 de Paris was reflected in that letter. He was waiting 
 without eagerness or regret for the hour that Providence 
 should decree for him to ascend the throne. He had 
 very few illusions and a kind of vague presentiment that 
 that hour would never arrive for him. He was an enemy, 
 not only of violent means, but even of all noise and 
 agitation. It seemed as though he were destined to 
 end his days peacefully. 
 
 This was the precise moment chosen by the Republic 
 to place round the forehead of this "model pretender" 
 the halo of exile. 
 
 As soon as I heard that the bill for the expulsion of 
 the French Princes had been introduced into the Chamber 
 of Deputies, I went to the Chateau d'Eu in Normandy, 
 where the Count de Paris and all his family were then 
 residing. 
 
 I had already had the honour of seeing the heir to 
 
 i 
 
EXILE OF THE FRENCH PRINCES 273 
 
 the throne of Louis-PhiHppe several times, and we had 
 kept up a rather lengthy correspondence with each other. 
 As soon as I asked for an audience, he accorded it willingly. 
 He received me in his library in the midst of his books 
 and of the telegrams of sympathy which were pouring 
 in upon his table from all parts of France. 
 
 I assured him that I had not come for an interview, 
 but to express to him how grieved I was personally at 
 the thought of the terrible exile with which he was 
 threatened. 
 
 "Oh!" he answered, "in this circumstance, as in so 
 many others, there is no need for me to ask you to keep 
 our meeting secret. When I heard at Tale vera that 
 the bill of expulsion had been laid before the 
 Chamber, it was not of myself that I first thought, 
 nor yet of my family. I thought of my country, and I 
 felt a great sadness come over me at the idea that, 
 after a hundred years of struggle and discord, the era 
 of proscription had not yet closed, and that the children 
 of France should be seen wandering about in a foreign 
 land without any home." 
 
 "And where do you think of going, monseigneur, " 
 I asked, "if, as seems probable, the bill should pass as 
 regards you and the Duke d' Orleans ?" 
 
 "I have not yet definitely decided, but I think very 
 seriously of going to England. I have received from that 
 country so many and such inviting proofs of general 
 sympathy, and I have such touching letters from persons 
 that I do not even know, that at present it will be difficult 
 for me to seek refuge elsewhere. I cannot go to Germany ; 
 Austria would be too far away from our beloved France ; 
 and I know only too well, from a certain experience that 
 
2 74 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 I have not yet had time to forget, that London is the 
 centre of information — so that I am very much drawn 
 toward it. 
 
 " I thought of Switzerland, but I can go there later on, 
 for I do not intend to stay definitely in any fixed place. I 
 have no intention of buying a house or of settling down 
 for good. Formerly, when in exile, I chose a fixed 
 residence, because circumstances were then different. I 
 was not at that time the uncontested head of the House 
 of France, so that I could then wait, without failing in 
 any duty, for events to take place. At present it is 
 not the same thing, and I do not give up hope of seeing 
 my country again, for, even under its present form, I 
 cannot believe that this persecution will continue and 
 that France will not reopen her doors to all her 
 children. 
 
 "That is why I do not wish to settle down definitely. 
 I shall go away and we shall try to imagine that we are 
 travelling; we shall change our abode without changing 
 our hopes." 
 
 "Is it true, -monseigneur, that a General said to you at 
 the reception on the 15th of May, 'Monseigneur, you have 
 not only soldiers, but an army?' " 
 
 " Such a remark was never made to me. Besides, there 
 were on the occasion, only two Generals present, both of 
 whom were retired officers, and neither of them had any 
 conversation with me — neither of them uttered the 
 phrase you mention. A great many reports were spread 
 on that occasion, and many pretexts were sought for. 
 I was told that the Premier had taken exception to my 
 having invited some Ambassadors. I could not have 
 advised him of the fact, for that would have been giving 
 
EXILE OF THE FRENCH PRINCES 275 
 
 to my invitations a political character they did not 
 have. I did not invite the diplomatic corps; I simply 
 invited to a family party some diplomats who were my 
 personal friends. 
 
 " I had known Lord Lyons, for instance, for twenty-five 
 years and had always been on friendly terms with him. 
 It would have been giving a political character to my 
 invitations if I had excluded Lord Lyons because he was 
 the Ambassador of England. I have also been blamed 
 for certain newspaper articles. That merely shows how 
 short of arguments some people were. I neither knew of 
 nor yet did I inspire these articles, otherwise I should 
 have said to their authors, as I have said to all my friends : 
 'Do not let any one misrepresent the character of this fete. 
 I am the father of a family inviting his friends, and this 
 little reunion has not been prompted by any other idea.' " 
 
 " Monseigneur, " I said, "as it is probable the bill will 
 be passed by which you alone and the Duke d' Orleans 
 will be exiled, and the other Princes will be allowed to 
 remain in a more or less tolerable position — will these 
 Princes follow you?" 
 
 "I have just communicated to my brother my formal 
 desire that he should remain, since he has a right to do so. 
 I particularly wish him to stay here where I can no 
 longer reside; I particularly desire that he should live in 
 the land from which I am exiled. I have already told 
 you I do not intend to take up any fixed abode. 
 
 " I cannot expect that he should travel about with me, 
 and make his home in the places where I stay according 
 to circumstances or according to my preferences. It will 
 be a consolation to me to feel that he is here, and I know 
 too well his affection for me not to be compelled to act 
 
2 76 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 with authority in order to insist on his staying in France. 
 A great deal has been said about the Duke d'Aumale. 
 When he learned the way in which his defense had 
 been taken in order to save him from exile he was very- 
 bitter. He came at once to see me and he made no secret 
 of his visit. 
 
 "It was the best and, indeed, the only way to reply to 
 those who wished to prove that they were right in insist- 
 ing that he should be allowed to remain in France. I 
 will say of him what I said about the Duke de Chartres : 
 I cannot compel him to go wandering about. He has 
 not, as I have, the duties of the exceptional situation 
 which this law demands of me; it treats me in such a 
 distinctly exclusive manner that if I had adopted it 
 myself it would have been imputed to me as a crime. 
 By separating me from the rest of my family, they 
 qualify me in a more ostensible way than I should ever 
 have done, and if my pride were greater than my love of 
 my country I should be now delighted. As to the other 
 Princes, they have never troubled about politics, but 
 have remained content with serving their fatherland. 
 It is only just, therefore, that they should be held 
 blameless of any crime, and it would be strange if I 
 were to show myself more exacting toward them than 
 are our adversaries." 
 
 " People say, monseigneur, that you wanted to wait 
 until you were expelled by force instead of obeying a 
 simple order." 
 
 " They do not know me well who say that. I can see 
 only two ways of proceeding. Three centuries ago a 
 Prince in my situation would have killed any one who 
 had come with such an order, and would have rushed 
 
EXILE OF THE FRENCH PRINCES 277 
 
 off to the country with his comrades to start a civil war. 
 But that is neither in accordance with my character nor 
 with our times. I shall obey the law. I owe that to 
 my friends and I owe it to my adversaries. I owe it to 
 my country, too, for it is being taught to scorn the law. 
 I shall depart in obedience to the law, of which I shall be 
 duly informed." 
 
 "Shall you keep the day of your departure a secret, 
 monseigneur?" 
 
 "No; certainly not. Unless I am obliged to act 
 differently, I shall start by daylight, and I know my 
 friends well enough to be sure that when I take leave of 
 them they will all act in a dignified way, as becomes the 
 friends of an exiled family dear to them. I shall be 
 glad to shake hands with those who come to see me off, 
 but when the moment arrives, it is for consolation that 
 I shall look rather than for noisy demonstrations." 
 
 I have taken care to reproduce the Count's exact 
 words; in the first place, because they do him honour, 
 and in the second place, because he adhered to them 
 scrupulously. 
 
 When, on the 22nd of June, 1886, at ten o'clock in the 
 evening, and in the same library where he had spoken 
 to me of his plans when in exile, the Count de Paris 
 received the decisive telegram announcing that by a 
 majority of thirty-seven votes the Senate had ratified 
 the decision of the Chamber of Deputies and voted his 
 exile, he showed no sign of anger or revolt. 
 
 He went down into the large salon, where all the 
 Princes of France , were anxiously awaiting him, and, 
 handing the telegram to the Duke d'Aumale, he simply 
 remarked : 
 
2 78 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 "The bill is adopted in its entirety by a majority of 
 thirty-seven votes. We start the day after to-morrow." 
 
 And on the second day, at two o'clock in the after- 
 noon, the piers being black with people, an English boat, 
 which had hoisted on its mainmast the tricoloured flag, 
 sailed slowly away from the Treport quay. 
 
 I can still see that scene. The sun was shining bril- 
 liantly and the deck of the boat was covered with flowers. 
 On the bridge stood a man, bareheaded, his handkerchief 
 in his hand, his head bent slightly sideways over his 
 shoulder. His figure, which usually had a slight stoop, 
 was now erect, making him look taller. It was the 
 Count de Paris leaving for England — an exile. 
 
 For a long time he remained thus standing on the 
 bridge, gazing at the sunny shores of France from which 
 he had just been torn away; and it seemed as though 
 his eyes wanted to take in every bend of the coast in 
 order to engrave it forever on his memory. Perhaps, 
 since he had the conviction that he would never reign 
 over this country, had he also at that solemn hour a 
 presentiment that in all his life he would never again see 
 the land of France ? 
 
 J 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 San Remo 
 
 I DOUBT if in modern times, or perhaps even in the 
 past, a greater or more impressive, more effectingly 
 tragic episode has ever taken place than that of which 
 the marvellous region of the Cote d'Azur, by the shore 
 of the eternally blue Mediterranean, was the scene during 
 the winter of 1887-88. 
 
 On the frontier which separates France and Italy, in 
 the delicious little town of San Remo, among the palms 
 and the orange trees in blossom, there, in the sunlight 
 and the fragrance which bathed the white city, a man 
 whom suffering had vanquished was slowly dying. He 
 was the son of the old Emperor William I. and son-in-law 
 of Queen Victoria. I refer to the Crown Prince, Frederick 
 William. 
 
 The whole world had its eyes fixed on this town and 
 on this man. With anxious curiosity everybody was 
 watching the frightful struggle in progress there, the 
 object of which was to prolong the life of the doomed 
 heir to a throne. Would he live long enough to become 
 Emperor? Would he have the strength to traverse the 
 little space separating him from one of the greatest 
 thrones on earth? Who would be the first to die, the 
 old Emperor, enfeebled by age, or his son, enfeebled 
 by sickness ? Who would be Emperor, the Crown Prince 
 Frederick or the young man, ardent, impetuous and 
 
 279 
 
2»0 
 
 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 impatient, known as Prince William? All the world 
 over these were the questions that people were asking 
 themselves and to which they were awaiting a reply, 
 
 San Remo had, one might almost say, been taken by 
 storm by reporters from every country immediately 
 after the arrival of the Crown Prince there. Opposite 
 his villa was a hotel, the Hotel de la Mediterranee, People 
 almost came to blows in order to secure a front room there. 
 Certain American papers had sent out young ladies as 
 reporters, relying on their sex for procuring them certain 
 privileges. These ladies from morning to night kept 
 levelling their photographic apparatus at the villa, the 
 garden, and more especially at the balcony on which, in 
 the afternoon, Frederick William was wont to try to 
 soothe his suffering as he listened to the somewhat 
 distant murmur of the sea. To protect him against this 
 inquisitorial examination, a high wall of verdure had been 
 constructed, and on the balcony a screen had been 
 placed. But this was all so much time and trouble thrown 
 away. The reporters, men and women alike, ascended 
 to the roof of the hotel, and from that vantage point, 
 plunging their vision beyond both screen and wall of 
 verdure, photographed and gazed and listened to their 
 hearts' content. 
 
 Yet they obtained little enough. No one, at all events, 
 had the slightest inkling of what was taking place in the 
 interior of the villa, whither no outsider had been allowed 
 to penetrate. The occupants, orderly officers, doctors, 
 maids of honour, servants, were all extremely discreet. 
 Not the slighest echo escaped by the windows; not a 
 morsel of gossip issued by the door. Reporters and 
 journalists remained in an ignorance anything but blissful. 
 
 ti 
 
SAN REMO 281 
 
 and telegraphed nothing of importance. i\s one of them, 
 a Frenchman, remarked: 
 
 "So little is known as to what is going on around the 
 Crown Prince that it is impossible even to exaggerate or 
 to give play to one's imagination. " 
 
 I myself, happening to be at Monte Carlo, had gone 
 over to San Remo, and had striven to penetrate a little 
 the mystery, to raise a comer of the veil, to bring back a 
 few echoes of the tragedy which was evidently taking 
 place — which I felt certain was going on behind the walls 
 of verdure. But I had completely failed, and had left 
 San Remo disappointed, irritated, but haunted by the 
 image of this villa, picturesquely suspended in its garden 
 of verdure, but tantalisingly mute and as enigmatic as a 
 sphinx. 
 
 One morning, however, in the first week of March, 
 1888, I found among my correspondence a letter with 
 a mauve envelope. 
 
 I recall vividly even now its very form and colour. 
 The letter was in a large and fine feminine handwriting. 
 It contained only four lines, as follows: 
 
 "If you wish to know all about the tragedy of San 
 Remo, why do you not try to find Madame Zirio?" 
 
 More than once during my long and adventurous 
 existence I have received just such mysterious and 
 anonymous suggestions. They were not always written 
 on mauve letter-paper, nor did they always emanate 
 from a feminine hand. According to my humour 
 at the time, or to the presentiment I felt, or to the 
 
282 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 sensations aroused in me, I either filing them into the 
 waste-paper basket or religiously heeded their contents. 
 And when I adopted the latter resolution I never had 
 cause to regret it. 
 
 I remembered quite well the name of Madame Zirio, 
 whom I had met once in the south of France. She was a 
 tall, handsome woman, with bright, honest eyes, a delicate 
 yet energetic mouth, and brilliant, black hair, in which, 
 like the women of Catalonia, she often wore a large 
 fantastic comb. Her whole bearing, thanks to her 
 Marseilles extraction, betrayed the suppleness of the 
 Phocians and the wavy motion of the Greeks. She was 
 married to an Italian, M. Baptiste Zirio, who was always 
 ill, and I was unable to make out what possible connec- 
 tion there could be between her and the dying heir of the 
 German Empire. Yet I felt a presentiment bidding me, 
 " Go ! " — and I went. The same evening I packed my bag 
 and boarded the Mediterranean Express for San Remo. 
 
 When there, I discovered without diihculty the little 
 house occupied by Madame Zirio. I rang the doorbell 
 and was ushered in. It was only after I found myself 
 seated in this lady's drawing-room that the humour of 
 the situation struck me, and that I began to wonder how 
 I should explain my position to my hostess. 
 
 I concluded that the simplest means were the best, 
 and when Madame Zirio appeared and we had exchanged 
 compliments I showed her the mauve letter. 
 
 She blushed a little and then turned pale. 
 
 "It is really strange," she said. "I, too, received a 
 letter yesterday almost identical with this one. The 
 handwriting was very much like this and the colour of 
 the paper was the same. Mine also contained four lines: 
 
SAN REMO 283 
 
 'If you receive the visit of a celebrated journalist, why 
 not tell him the truth about the tragedy of San Remo ?' " 
 
 The coincidence was, to say the least, odd. I hastened 
 to add that the mysterious person who had sent these two 
 letters certainly knew what she was about, for Madame 
 Zirio, whose name had hitherto been pronounced by no 
 one in the world, whose very existence was unsuspected by 
 any journalist, was, in reality, the proprietor of the white 
 villa occupied by the Crown Prince Frederick. It was 
 she who had supervised all the preparations and who, 
 having only five weeks allotted her, had engaged and 
 trained the admirably discreet corps of attendants, from 
 whom no one at San Remo had been able to extract the 
 slightest information. It was she who had daily access 
 to the interior of the princely habitation and who was 
 consulted hourly, by night as well as by day, as to what 
 had to be done ; and it was she to whom Prince William 
 had paid a visit during his forty-eight hours' stay at 
 San Remo, and to whom, in token of his gratitude 
 and friendship, he had even given his photograph 
 with a dedication. 
 
 Madame Zirio had herself arranged the apartments. 
 The ground floor was used as a general drawing-room 
 and dining-room The first floor was occupied by the 
 Crown Prince and his wife. A large bedroom, with two 
 small beds exactly alike, communicated by a large 
 dressing-room and by a small corridor with the apart- 
 ments of the Maid of Honour, Countess of Briihl. 
 
 On the second floor were the apartments of the Prin- 
 cesses, Princess Victoria, who was engaged to Prince Alex- 
 ander of Battenberg, and who, displaying her hands, which 
 
284 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 were intemiinably long, said with a laugh, in French, 
 ''Moi fai desHohenzollerns les mains, les pieds et les oreilles, 
 c'est enorme,^' and Princess Sophie, who on the eve of 
 her return to Berlin said, "I am glad to leave, for I 
 was almost forgetting here that I am a royal Princess. " 
 
 The Crown Prince was so delighted with the house 
 when he first entered it that, after almost joyfully raising 
 his cap and throwing aside his long, brown ulster, he 
 exclaimed to Madame Zirio: "I am touched by the 
 attentive way in which everything has been arranged for 
 our stay here. One feels that it is the eye of a woman, 
 and the eye of a woman of this lovely coast, which has 
 watched over everything for us." 
 
 And seated there in Madame Zirio's drawing-room, 
 only a few steps from the white villa and near the blue 
 sea, my hostess, obeying the mysterious letter on the 
 mauve paper, related to me what was called "The 
 Tragedy of San Remo. " 
 
 It was indeed a veritable tragedy, and behind the 
 peaceful walls of the sunlit house there were some terrible 
 struggles and certain frightful rivalries. The sick rnan 
 had brought with him German doctors, among whom 
 was Professor Bergmann, and English doctors, the most 
 prominent of the number being Sir Morell Mackenzie; 
 and between these doctors the quarrels were almost 
 dramatic in their intensity. At the outset the Germans 
 held their peace, relatively speaking; but later on they 
 expressed their opinions of Sir Morell Mackenzie with a 
 brutal want of self-control, even going so far as to say 
 that he furnished information to the press, and that on 
 this information he speculated on the Bourse. The 
 
SAN REMO 285 
 
 servants and attendants were all either German or 
 English and reflected the dissensions of the doctors. 
 Count von Seckendorff, who had taken up his abode in a 
 dark room, into which the sun never penetrated, on the 
 groimd floor, was the inflexible partisan of the royal 
 Princess, while Count Radolinski sided with the Germans. 
 
 Between the two parties there was not one single mo- 
 ment of truce. The struggle was somber and silent, but 
 it was visible on any and every occasion. The two 
 camps attacked and dishonoured each other. When the 
 moment arrived to perform the operation of tracheotomy, 
 the wretched battle continued even around the tube 
 which was to prolong the agony of Frederick III. The 
 German doctors wanted a German tube; the English 
 doctors an English one. Finally, under the direction of 
 the famous American doctor, Thomas Evans, a gold- 
 smith constructed the model which was adopted. 
 
 On the 9th of November, 1887, at 6:30 p. m., another 
 element of tragedy heightened the dramatic character 
 of the situation. Prince William of Prussia arrived at 
 San Remo. The local authorities. Prince Henry, his 
 brother, and the aides-de-camp awaited him. With his 
 characteristic impulsiveness, Prince Henry rushed for- 
 ward to throw himself into his brother's arms. Prince 
 William stopped him with a haughtiness that did not 
 escape observation. His face was grave and he looked 
 sedate and hierarchic. The smiles vanished from the 
 lips of the onlookers and the veil of sadness seemed 
 still heavier. 
 
 During his visit, which lasted forty-eight hours, 
 Prince William saw very little of his father, if, indeed, he 
 saw him at all. But he had a long talk with the German 
 
i286 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 doctors, displaying toward their English colleagues 
 either disdain or utter indifference. 
 
 "My mother," he said, "is really very shortsighted in 
 substituting English for German science. Bismarck, who 
 never makes a mistake, considers German science superior 
 to all other." 
 
 He went with his brother and sisters on a few short 
 sea trips, which was his way of spending the afternoon, 
 and appeared quite gay, as though he had nothing 
 whatever to worry him. 
 
 "You see," he said, "it is better to have only boys, 
 for a girl gives much more trouble and is a great 
 deal more expensive. One must have a governess for 
 her, a maid of honour and quite a complicated house- 
 hold, whereas boys can be dressed all alike in uniform. 
 One piece of stuff serves for them all. My boys are all 
 dressed as gunners, even the youngest, who is only 
 eighteen months, and who is corporal. On his last 
 birthday I took command of his company and marched 
 it past the Emperor William. It was the last time he 
 laughed, and he laughed till the tears came trickling 
 down his cheeks, for he saw the little corporal marching 
 past, straight and upright, turning his head at the word 
 of command." 
 
 On the day following his arrival Prince William 
 announced his departure. 
 
 "Ah, so much the better!" said Madame Zirio, who 
 chanced to be there. "Then the Crown Prince is im- 
 proving and the last consultation was reassuring?" 
 
 "Oh, no!" replied Prince William; "on the contrary, 
 my father, as was foreseen when I left Berlin, is despaired 
 of. He is suffering, without the slightest doubt, from 
 
SAN REMO 287 
 
 cancer. It is a matter of only a certain number of 
 days, perhaps weeks. I am going, because there is no 
 longer anything to hope for. My grandfather is much 
 weaker. The Czar is coming, and my presence at Ber- 
 lin is indispensable. I think I shall still have time to 
 return here." 
 
 There were a few moments of silence, and then 
 Madame Zirio exclaimed, laughing : 
 
 "Will you allow me to say, ' Au revoir, future 
 Emperor ? ' " 
 
 "Willingly," replied the Prince, and he then took his 
 leave. 
 
 The following day he left San Remo for Berlin. He 
 was absolutely sure that his father's case was hopeless, 
 and his conviction was strengthened by the verdict of 
 those doctors in whom alone he had faith. In his 
 opinion, Morell Mackenzie was an ignoramus whose 
 assertions were not worth discussing in presence of the 
 infallible verdict of the German faculties. 
 
 On the 7th of February — just four weeks before I 
 arrived at San Remo — at 11 a. m., the Crown Prince and 
 his wife were about to go for a drive on the Corniche in an 
 open carriage. Doctor Mackenzie and Doctor Bramann, 
 Doctor Bergmann's assistant, were at the door of the 
 villa. Just as the driver was about to start the horses, 
 who were growing impatient, a slight breeze sprang up on 
 the coast. Mackenzie, walking toward Bramann, made 
 a sign to the driver, who pulled back his team. 
 
 The Prince, with a sad look in his eyes, turned his head 
 toward the doctors. 
 
 "This promenade is imprudent," said Mackenzie to 
 Bramann. " The respiration is becoming difficult. Two 
 
288 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 hours hence it may perhaps be too late, and. Bergmann 
 will not be here for two days. We must come to a 
 decision." 
 
 "I shall never have the courage to assume the 
 responsibility of this operation," replied Doctor 
 Bramann. 
 
 The Prince, who was watching them both, saw that 
 Bramann was growing pale. 
 
 "At all events," replied Mackenzie, "before allowing 
 him to go out we must make a fresh examination." 
 
 He signed affectionately to the future Emperor, 
 inviting him to get out of the carriage, and the Crown 
 Prince flung off the furs that covered his knees, and, 
 turning toward the Princess as if to ask her pardon for 
 having spoiled her drive, he stepped down and entered 
 the house. 
 
 The doctors then examined the throat once more. 
 
 "I will wait an hour." said Doctor Mackenzie. "If 
 there is no change, you must operate." 
 
 An iron bedstead was sent for, the head-rail of which 
 was broken for the convenience of the doctors. The 
 bed was placed in the middle of the room with a red 
 cushion on the pillows. 
 
 At one o'clock there was a fresh examination. 
 
 Doctor Mackenzie, after a rapid glance, merely turned 
 to Doctor Bramann and said : 
 
 "Are you ready?" 
 
 " Yes," was the latter' s reply. 
 
 The Prince lay down on the little iron bed. He was 
 quite calm. 
 
 " Is chloroform indispensable ? " he asked. 
 
 "Yes, Prince," replied the Doctors. 
 
SAN REMO 289 
 
 The anesthetic then began its work and Bramann took 
 off his coat. The operation was commenced. 
 
 Two hours later it was over and the Crown Princess 
 Frederick entered the apartment of her maid of honour, 
 the Countess of Briihl, exclaiming v/ith sobs : 
 
 ' ' Fritz has the tube in his throat. ' ' 
 
 All this, I need hardly say, is history, and even now 
 as I write these lines I can recall vividly the scene at 
 San Remo, when Madame Zirio related to me, as the 
 shadows fell, the whole story of this tragedy in which 
 she herself had been so absorbed a spectator. 
 
 This interview, as I have said, occurred on the 8th of 
 March, 1888. As I sat there drinking in every word 
 that fell from the lips fo my hostess, and fixing them 
 faithfully in my memory, something more intensely 
 dramatic than all that precedes took place. 
 
 The drawing-room door suddenly burst open and a 
 servant rushed in, completely out of breath : 
 
 " Madame, madame ! " she exclaimed, " you don't know 
 the news?" 
 
 "No. What is it?" 
 
 "It has just come from the White Villa. The old 
 Emperor has just died at Berlin." 
 
 A moment later we were on our way to the White 
 Villa. 
 
 I shall never forget this historical scene, one of the 
 most affecting I have ever witnessed. 
 
 In the Crown Prince's garden a pall of sorrow seemed 
 to hang like an atmosphere. Officers, major-domos, 
 sentinels and servants were hurrying hither and thither 
 in strange confusion. The large drawing-room on the 
 
290 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 ground floor was brilliantly lighted, and through the 
 windows we could see everything that was going 
 on within. 
 
 The members of the household had all assembled there 
 and were standing in a circle. The conversation was in 
 undertones. All seemed to feel the strangeness, the 
 really extraordinary position of this sudden elevation of 
 the Prince, whose death had already been discoimted 
 and deplored. 
 
 Suddenly the door was opened and the "Emperor" 
 appeared. 
 
 He had become handsome again as in the radiant days 
 of his youth. His beard, with a few silver streaks, 
 glowed in the brilliant light of the chandelier. Tall and 
 well built, he dominated the entire company. His blue 
 eyes were slightly misty. His delicate complexion, now 
 heightened with a little colour, seemed to show the real 
 tranquillity which had taken possession of his soul, and 
 his mouth, with the red lips, had now that fascinating 
 smile which characterised him. 
 
 With a firm step he walked straight to a small table 
 in the middle of the drawing-room and wrote — ^for the 
 tube prevented him from speaking — a few lines, which 
 he signed. An officer read the paper aloud. It was 
 the announcement of the death of the Emperor William I. 
 and of his own accession as Frederick III. 
 
 The Emperor then walked toward the Empress, made 
 a long and reverent bow, paying full homage to his wife's 
 valiant courage, and with a grave and tender gesture 
 passed round her neck the ribbon of the Black Eagle. 
 
 The Empress, with tears in her eyes, threw herself into 
 the arms of Frederick III., and as they embraced they 
 
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SAN REMO 291 
 
 gave full vent at last to their sobs, which they had so 
 long and so heroically restrained. 
 
 All then present marched past the new Emperor. 
 Doctor Morell Mackenzie, who had performed the 
 operation, stopped somewhat longer than the others. 
 Frederick III. had seized his two hands, clasping them 
 warmly. At a small table the Emperor wrote for him 
 a few words of gratitude : 
 
 " I thank you for having made me live long enough to 
 recompense the valiant courage of my wife." 
 
 After this brief scene everybody left the drawing- 
 room. The Emperor ascended with the Empress to his 
 apartments on the first floor. The lights gradually 
 went out. Once more the White Villa was plunged in 
 shadow and silence. 
 
 The next day I left San Remo for Paris. I have never 
 since seen Madame Zirio, and I cannot say whether she 
 has kept the mysterious mauve letter. Nor have I any 
 idea even now as to the author of its strange contents. 
 
 During my journalistic career I have been aided by 
 many a chance; I have met with many extraordinary 
 incidents, but no chance, no incident has appeared to 
 me more marvellous than that which led me to San Remo 
 to witness the final scenes of that historic tragedy which 
 had aroused the passionate interest of the whole world. 
 
 And I felt it my duty in these, my memoirs, to devote 
 to this episode an entire chapter, for it will show the 
 remarkable part which the inscrutable goddess called 
 Destiny plays in the career of a journalist. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 How Bismarck Retired 
 
 This chapter might also be entitled, "Of the diffi- 
 culties experienced by a journalist who wishes to 
 maintain cordial relations with a diplomatist. " 
 
 And I write it, not only for the sake of retracing an 
 episode of contemporary history with which I was con- 
 nected, but also to show the strange obstacles, the 
 unexpected contradictions, and the unheard-of difficulties 
 that a journalist must face in order to keep the public well- 
 posted on the great events that are happening in the world. 
 
 In 1892 Germany was represented in Paris by an 
 Ambassador who was first Count, and then Prince 
 Miinster. 
 
 Count Miinster was one of the most striking types of a 
 German I have ever met. He was like a straight, healthy 
 tree brought from one of the German forests, and the 
 continual contact with the diplomatic world had only 
 softened very slightly the ruggedness of his bark. He 
 had that frigid and somewhat monotonous slowness of 
 Germans who are given to reflection. He had neither 
 that feminine gracefulness so frequently found in 
 diplomatists, nor yet that quick understanding with 
 which women are usually credited. His somewhat 
 imposing physical heaviness gave one the exact idea 
 of his moral nature, and this curious and rare con- 
 
 292 
 
HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 293 
 
 cordance of the exterior and the interior was almost 
 perfect in his case. 
 
 Count Miinster was Ambassador at Paris at a very 
 difficult period. The relations between the two countries 
 were far from being then what they have since become. 
 There was great tension between Paris and Berlin, or, to 
 speak more exactly, between the French nation and the 
 German nation. There were frequent incidents springing 
 up, either on the frontier or in the very heart of the 
 capital, which rendered the task of the diplomatist and 
 the Governments of both countries extremely arduous. 
 
 Rumours of war were sometimes heard in the distance. 
 In addition to this, the mission of Count Miinster 
 was rendered all the more complex from the fact that, 
 in Germany, the most serious and disquieting quarrels 
 were beginning to take place between the Emperor, 
 William II., and his formidable Chancellor, Prince 
 Bismarck. There were rumours of resignation in the air, 
 and German diplomatists abroad did not know whether 
 the orders they received from Wilhelmstrasse came from 
 the master of yesterday or the master of the future. 
 
 Finally the resignation of the Chancellor was announced 
 in March 1 89 1 and fell like a thunderbolt. All the subordi- 
 nates of Bismarck wondered whether the retirement of 
 their chief from power meant their own dismissal. 
 
 Count Miinster on his arrival in Paris had done his 
 utmost to be agreeable to every one and had proved 
 himself to be most conciliating. He had invited me 
 several times to the Embassy and had talked to me a 
 great deal about the difficulties of his mission, the com- 
 plexity of his position, and the unsatisfactory condition 
 of international relations. He had always welcomed 
 
294 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 me most cordially, and had almost insisted upon my 
 returning to see him, to keep him posted with regard 
 to public opinion, and to give him any advice I might 
 think useful for the maintenance of peaceful relations 
 between the two countries. 
 
 One morning in June, three months after the resigna- 
 tion of Prince Bismarck, I read without much surprise, 
 in several journals, a telegram from Berlin to the effect 
 that "there was a rumour afloat there of the recall of 
 Count Miinster, German Ambassador in Paris, and that 
 he was to be replaced by another diplomatist. " 
 
 I went immediately to the Embassy and asked the 
 Count how much truth there was in this statement con- 
 cerning him. 
 
 The Ambassador was rather nervous and irritated. 
 
 "They aie stabbing me in the back, " he said. " They 
 cannot forgive me because, in the quarrel between the 
 Emperor and the Chancellor, I sided with my Sovereign. 
 Prince Bismarck cannot put up with the situation of 
 being nobody, and he wants to drag others down with 
 him in his fall." 
 
 "Excuse me," I interrupted, "but I thought that, on 
 the contrary, the Chancellor had accepted his withdrawal 
 from public affairs very philosophically, and that he 
 was rather glad to be relieved of the burden of 
 power." 
 
 "I thought so, too," answered Count Miinster, "but 
 I thought so for only half an hour. At the end of thirty 
 minutes my illusions had vanished and I knew what 
 to think of his frame of mind." 
 
 And then, before I had added a word or asked another 
 question of any kind, Count Munster, with a shade of 
 
HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 295 
 
 irony in his voice, began the following extraordinary 
 story, which I now tell without altering a single word : 
 
 "On Wednesday, the 19th of March of last year" 
 [1891], " I arrived at Berlin. My first call was on Prince 
 Bismarck. I was quite ignorant of w^hat had taken 
 place the previous day. The Prince, after the exchange 
 of the first greetings, told me that he had resigned. He 
 made the statement in a calm voice, a smile on his lips, 
 congratulating himself on being able to resume his country 
 life, of which he was so fond, to revisit his forests and 
 broad plains, for which he had a strong liking, and of 
 becoming himself once again during the few remaining 
 years he had to live. In short, he was happy at the idea 
 of its being possible for him to spend the whole of his time 
 without being harassed by constant anxieties and worries. 
 I evinced great surprise at this news and attempted 
 some objections; but I did not maintain this line of 
 conduct long, for the countenance of the Prince, his 
 language and tone of voice impressed me greatly, and, I 
 should add, filled me with admiration for him. I dis- 
 covered in him a wonderful philosophy, the accents of a 
 man who divests himself of his honours and power 
 with ease and manly resolution, and who, with the 
 satisfaction of having well occupied his life and accom- 
 plished his duty, resumes the path which leads him to 
 nobly won repose. I asked myself how such a man's 
 place could be filled, and I did not comprehend how, in 
 view of the attitude he must to the last moment have 
 maintained, the young Emperor could have taken it 
 upon himself to part with a man who, by the self-control 
 of which he was giving proof at so very critical a moment, 
 showed what eminent services he might yet have rendered 
 
296 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 his master. Yes, I confess the more the Prince's 
 attitude excited my admiration the less could I account 
 for the Emperor's having decided on overturning him, 
 and the less could I see how such a man was to be replaced. 
 This twofold idea haunted me while the Prince was 
 speaking, and then, as often happens in such circum- 
 stances, I suddenly recalled to mind in full detail two 
 scenes which I had witnessed, two conversations which 
 I had heard. From that moment, while listening to 
 the Prince's monologue, I understood how the Emperor 
 could have conceived and realised the idea of provoking 
 and accepting the Chancellor's retirement, and I foresaw 
 the successor he would give him. Then all became 
 clear to me on the two points. I knew the yoimg 
 Emperor's perfect veneration for his grandfather, and 
 I placed together this respectful homage and the first 
 scene which my mind had called up. 
 
 "A year before his death, at a tea-party which he 
 attended, the old Emperor, who had long been conversing 
 with a lady, raising his voice so as to be heard by me and 
 others, uttered the following words, which had fixed them- 
 selves in my memory : 
 
 '"Yes, I assure you, you do not see things from such 
 a good standpoint as I do, but Bismarck has become 
 very stubborn, and it takes all my strength of will to 
 put up with him ; but when I am driven to extremities 
 and things cannot go on further, the choice of his successor 
 will not embarrass me. My mind is made up — it will be 
 General Capri vi.' 
 
 "As the lady appeared somewhat amazed at the name, 
 Emperor William continued : 
 
 "'Yes, the man is not very well known, but I have 
 
HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 297 
 
 had him under my orders, I have often talked with him, 
 and I assure you his appointment is the best possible 
 choice if it ever becomes necessary to part with 
 Bismarck.' 
 
 "I was, therefore, almost convinced that General 
 Caprivi would come into office, for I was sufficiently well 
 acquainted with Emperor William I. to know that he 
 must have held the sam_e language to his grandson, to 
 whom he always repeated on the following day the con- 
 versations he had had, and to whom he must certainly 
 have repeated the one I have just recalled. 
 
 "As I continued to listen to, and at times to converse 
 with, Prince Bismarck, my surprise increasing at the 
 continued calmness with which he was relating his 
 resignation, another of the Emperor's conversations 
 flashed across my mind and greatly lessened the astonish- 
 ment I had at the first moment experienced when Prince 
 Bismarck informed me of his retirement. I remembered 
 that some considerable time before the Emperor William's 
 death, at a period when his health was fairly good, he at- 
 tended a 'punch' given by his grandson, the present 
 Emperor, to officers of all arms. Prince Bismarck had 
 shortly before appointed his son. Count Herbert, Secretary 
 of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 "The Emperor William I,, speaking aloud, concealing 
 nothing from all the officers who were listening, said: 
 ' It must be admitted that this young Count Herbert has 
 got on prodigiously fast under the rule of his father. 
 It is the greatest act of nepotism which politics have 
 ever recorded.' 
 
 "I took the liberty of saying to the Emperor, 'But 
 how is it Your Majesty has not made the remark to him, 
 
298 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 for I see that this act of favour, of such importance to 
 pubHc affairs, has not escaped your observation ?' 
 
 "'Why,' said the Emperor, 'I cannot at this moment 
 part with the Prince ; he is necessary to his country and 
 is still necessary to me. I should have readily made the 
 remark to him, but I reflected that, as he does not feel 
 the impropriety of these extraordinary promotions, 
 he could not take the remark coolly, and that, if I made 
 it, it might have more serious consequences than I 
 intended.' 
 
 " The more I reflected on these two conversations of 
 the Emperor William I., the less surprised I was both at 
 Prince Bismarck's resignation and at the young Emperor's 
 resolution, for I saw that, in accepting the resignation, 
 he had, as it were, followed the indications of his grand- 
 father's desire, and had beforehand chosen the successor 
 pointed out to him. Knowing how profound was his 
 respect for the old monarch, I felt convinced that he 
 considered himself screened by these recollections and 
 by that authority ; and that they had inspired him with 
 the energy and resolution of which he had given proof 
 in parting, almost harshly, with the Great Chancellor. 
 
 " I rose and said to the Chancellor that, as the Chamber 
 was sitting, I was going thither. 
 
 " The Prince replied : 
 
 "'Wait a moment; I will put on my uniform and 
 accompany you. ' 
 
 "He left the room. A few minutes afterward I heard 
 the Prince and the Princess talking in a very animated way 
 and in a loud tone. Their conversation lasted a quarter 
 of an hour, at the end of which time the Prince reentered 
 the room, without having changed his attire. He had 
 
HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 299 
 
 a large letter open in his hand. He had turned pale 
 and had an irritated expression. He came up to me 
 and said : 
 
 "'I cannot accompany you. I have this moment 
 received a letter from that young man in which he informs 
 me that he confers on me the title of Duke of Lauenburg ; 
 this plainly indicates that my resignation is definitive 
 and my disgrace complete. I cannot accept such a 
 retirement. He will soon see that a Bismarck is not 
 dismissed in this style.' 
 
 "He then began walking up and down the room in 
 great wrath, uttering threats, accusing everybody, 
 inveighing against his adversaries and the intriguers 
 who had worked in opposition to him. I saw, in short, 
 a man who was vociferating against his fall, and whom 
 the conversation with the Princess had evidently worked 
 up, for at all times she and his son had incited him to 
 violent resolutions. It was they who encouraged him 
 in all the precipitate or extreme acts with which he had 
 been reproached. 
 
 " I then comprehended that when he had received me 
 and had talked with such philosophic calmness and 
 dignity of his resignation, he did not believe it was final, 
 but, notwithstanding all that had passed, was persuaded 
 that the Emperor would ask him to resume his post and 
 not to consider his resignation as definitive. I confess 
 that I was then struck by surprise and sadness. I took 
 leave of a man who in the space of a single visit had so 
 strangely altered in my eyes." 
 
 So spoke Count Miinster. He added to his extraordinary 
 story a detail which was decidedly piquant. On going 
 away after his last interview with the Chancellor, 
 
300 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 he asked before leaving the house whether it would not 
 be possible for him to pay his respects to Princess 
 Bismarck. But an aide-de-camp of the Emperor, who 
 was just passing by and who recognised him, said : 
 
 "Oh, no, Excellency! I do not think it would be a 
 favourable moment for you to see the Princess. . . . 
 To give you an example of the state of mind she is now 
 in, a little while ago I took her a portrait of the 
 Emperor which had been sent by His Majesty to Prince 
 Bismarck as a souvenir. On seeing it the Princess 
 exclaimed, 'Let it be taken to Friedrichsruhe and placed 
 in the stable!' " 
 
 As he finished, Count Miinster turned to me and said : 
 "You see why I have reason to believe that Prince 
 Bismarck is not reconciled to his fall. I have also reason 
 to believe that he does not forgive me for not having 
 followed him, and the report of my recall, spread abroad 
 by his friends, is more the expression of a desire than of 
 a reality," 
 
 Thereupon, after' talking about several other matters, 
 I left Count Miinster and went away. 
 
 In the evening I telegraphed an account of this memor- 
 able interview to the Times. The next day it appeared 
 in the coltimns of that paper. The day following it was 
 reproduced by the press of the whole world, for it had 
 been transmitted by telegraph to the farthest extremities 
 of the globe. It gave rise everywhere to the most varied 
 comments; some were ironical, others indignant, still 
 others amused. An English paper which republished it 
 in extenso added the following line: 
 
 "M. de Blowitz has once more been guilty of grave 
 indiscretion. " 
 
HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 301 
 
 Here, by way of parenthesis, I should like to say a few 
 words on a subject which I have deeply at heart. In 
 the course of my long career the phrase I have just 
 quoted has been printed about me at various intervals. 
 I have more than once been accused of indiscretion and 
 more than once the epithet "indiscreet" has been applied 
 to my name. 
 
 I will begin by saying that none of those persons who 
 have reproached me in this way could ever quote one 
 example, one single example, to show that when I gave 
 my word of honour to be silent, or when I promised not to 
 repeat anything, I have ever broken my word or promise. 
 I defy any one to prove that I have ever committed an 
 act of treachery, and only to give one instance, when 
 Pope Leo XIII., after a conversation of more than an 
 hour, in the course of which he had made certain state- 
 ments that would have caused a great stir in the world, 
 asked me, through Cardinal Jacobini, to give my word of 
 honour not to repeat what had been said, I gave it, and 
 not only did I never repeat a word of the pontifical 
 statements, but I even destroyed the notes I had taken 
 and endeavoured to forget what had been said. 
 
 But if one calls it an indiscretion to repeat things that 
 have been said to me, a journalist, by persons who have 
 not taken the precaution to demand secrecy; if it be an 
 indiscretion to try to find out what is going on and to 
 tell what one knows, to inform the public of all that one 
 has discovered— why, certainly, then I flatter myself 
 that I have been indiscreet; I boast of it, and it is an 
 extra reason for my being proud. I consider that a 
 journalist is, first of all, the servant of his paper and of 
 the public. I consider that he ought to keep nothing 
 
302 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 hidden from them; I consider that all he knows, all he 
 learns, all he sees, all he hears and all that he feels belongs 
 to his paper, and that there is only one single law in the 
 world which should prevent him from speaking, which 
 should close his lips — the law of honour ! 
 
 How often have people, sometimes people in very high 
 positions, come to me and said, " I am going to tell you 
 something extremely interesting, but it is with the under- 
 standing that what I tell you is for you alone, and you 
 must not say a word about it in your paper. " 
 
 I have always answered them : 
 
 "Then don't tell me your story; keep it to yourself. 
 I am not inquisitive for my own sake — only for that of 
 my paper. I do not care to know what happens if the 
 public is not to know it. I am a journalist and not a 
 confessor !" 
 
 And it has always seemed to me extremely grotesque 
 for people to imagine that a man who is a journalist, who 
 spends all his time, uses all his efforts, his brain, his 
 energy to know about things, who goes to see Ministers, 
 who receives Ambassadors at his table, who rushes to the 
 other end of the world to interview Sovereigns, should do 
 all that for the solitary pleasure of being well posted, of 
 knowing for himself, just for his own private self, what 
 is happening, so that he may store it up in his own 
 memory and never let it be known. 
 
 No; I have always told things when no imperative 
 obligation prevented my doing so. I have always told my 
 paper and my readers all that I knew, because they had a 
 right to know it. And I maintain that journalists who 
 are silent when they could speak fail in their duty to the 
 paper which they are supposed to serve and in their 
 
SILVER STATUE, REPRESENTING "TELEGRAPHIC CORRE- 
 SPONDENCE," GIVEN TO M. DE BLOWITZ ON HIS 
 RETIREMENT, BY THE PARIS CORRESPONDENTS 
 OF ALL F0REI(;N PAPERS, DECEMBER i8, ig02 
 
HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 303 
 
 duty to the public for whom they are supposed to be 
 working. 
 
 This said, I return to my story. 
 
 When Count Miinster, who had not asked for secrecy, 
 saw in the Times of June 30, 1881, the account of 
 Prince Bismarck's resignation which he had related 
 to me, he did not at first show any signs of displeasure 
 or of surprise. He did not offer the slightest protest. 
 
 His displeasure only commenced three or four days 
 later, when he received some cuttings from German 
 papers criticising in disagreeable terms his statements. 
 His displeasure was transformed into serious annoyance 
 when the cuttings were followed by letters from friends 
 of Prince Bismarck, written in the most angry and 
 threatening terms. 
 
 The Ambassador then, and not until then, weighed 
 the importance of the words he had uttered, and was 
 anxious about the consequences to himself that those 
 words might entail. Accordingly, eight or ten days 
 after the publication in the Times, Count Miinster sent 
 me a secretary from his Embassy, who spoke to me as 
 follows : 
 
 "The Ambassador," he said, "regrets that in the 
 account you published, and which was very exact, you 
 should have introduced the name of Princess Bismarck. 
 He fears that the comments raised by this incident may 
 cause him serious unpleasantness. He therefore wishes 
 me to inform you that, in order to attenuate the effect 
 produced, he will ask the Wolff Telegraphy Agency 
 to declare that there was a certain amount of imagination 
 in the story published. He sincerely hopes that you 
 will not take this amiss, and that you will only attribute 
 
304 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 this rectification to the imperative necessity of circum- 
 stances." 
 
 I merely replied : 
 
 "Tell Coiint Miinster that if the publication of his 
 conversation is really likely to cause any annoyance to 
 him, I shall take no exception to the slight reserve he 
 wishes to make, and will not even protest in any way." 
 
 Thereupon, Count Miinster's messenger thanked me 
 heartily, and the next day the Wolff Telegraph Agency 
 communicated an official note to all the papers, stating 
 in the name of the German Ambassador in Paris that 
 there was a certain amount of imagination in the account 
 published in the Times about the resignation of Prince 
 Bismarck. In accordance with my promise, I made no 
 reply. 
 
 But, strangely enough, this official note, instead of 
 calming the papers devoted to Bismarck, appeared to 
 have exasperated them still more. They declared that 
 this rectification was equal to an avowal ; they denounced 
 the German Ambassador in Paris in the most violent 
 terms; they demanded that he should take back his 
 words; they coupled with his name epithets which were 
 almost abusive — in a word, they opened wide the flood- 
 gates of their anger and indignation. 
 
 This fearful deluge caused Cotmt Munster to lose all 
 his composure, and without consulting me this time, a 
 month after my article had appeared in the Times, he 
 published a fresh denial in the following terms : 
 
 " We are authorizd by Count Munster, who is at present 
 at his country seat at Demebourg, near Hanover, to 
 deny the authenticity of the account of an interview 
 
HOW BISMARCK RETIRED 305 
 
 with him published a few weeks ago in a newspaper. 
 The article appeared without his knowledge, and he 
 repudiates all responsibility for the statements contained 
 in it." 
 
 And as the storm, far from calming down, continued 
 to rage, on the 2nd of August — I say the 2nd of August — 
 absolutely wild with terror (that is his only excuse), 
 Count IMiinster went so far as to write to Coiint Herbert 
 Bismarck a letter beginning as follows : 
 
 "I beg you to tell the Prince that I am quite beside 
 myself on account of the invention of this . 
 Blowitz, and to express to him my regret at the wrong 
 use which has been made of my name." 
 
 The dots in this phrase represent an epithet, probably 
 abusive, which the Hamburger Nachrichten thought 
 better to suppress. 
 
 I will stop here, and will not qualify the action of a 
 man bearing a well-known and respected name, who, 
 after having acknowledged the exactitude of a statement 
 made by him, after having asked permission, for private 
 reasons, to add some attenuation, after publicly declaring 
 that there was "some imagination" in what had been 
 published, leaving it understood that there was much 
 that was true, and after asking for a promise that no 
 reply should be made to his statement, could forget 
 himself to such an extent as to write a letter of the kind. 
 
 I was, however, more than avenged, for public opinion, 
 which finally gave judgment on the matter, did not 
 doubt for a single instant who told the truth — the diplo- 
 matist who spoke or the journalist who was silent. 
 
3o6 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 For more than six months afterward, the organs 
 of Prince Bismarck continued their attacks against 
 Count Miinster, thus proving the value they attached 
 to his denials, and the Ex-Chancellor himself said 
 "I shall never forget it," clearly showing toward ■which 
 side his opinion leaned. 
 
 I particularly wished to write this chapter in order 
 to show the treatment to which a correspondent exposes 
 himself when he wants to tell the public all he knows, 
 and also to show how almost impossible it is for those 
 two complex beings, the diplomatist and the journalist, 
 to have any intercourse with each other. In order for 
 them to agree, the former must keep silent about what 
 he knows and the latter must talk about that of which 
 he knows nothing. As soon as the one ceases to keep 
 his counsel and the other tries to be informed about 
 that of which he talks, what happened to me will 
 happen again. 
 
 May this serve as a lesson to diplomatists and also to 
 journalists ! 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 Diplomacy and Journalism 
 
 And nov/, as I have dwelt briefly on that deHcate and 
 complex question of the relations between Journalism 
 and Diplomacy, I do not see why I should not narrate, 
 in a final chapter, some of the numerous anecdotes on 
 the same subject which are now present in my memory, 
 or why, before the last pages of the book are reached, 
 I should not give some proofs of the ingratitude and 
 treachery which represent to the journalist who does 
 his duty the cost-price of any success he may obtain. 
 
 During my long career it has happened to me only 
 once that a public man, a statesman, has testified with 
 any warmth his surprised gratitude at an act of personal 
 discretion on my part done at the expense of immediate 
 journalistic success, when he himself had, so to speak, 
 furnished me with the very element of this success. 
 
 One evening in November, 1875, I happened to be at 
 the Quai d'Orsay house of the Due Decazes, who was 
 then French Minister of Foreign Affairs. We were in 
 the billiard room. The Duke was full of spirit. He was 
 playing at billiards with a friend of the Duchess, who 
 was playing so well that she seemed likely to win. 
 Suddenly the door opened. A Cabinet attache entered 
 and handed to the Duke a small bundle of telegrams. 
 Opening the packet, the Duke began to read one of the 
 telegrams. Suddenly he became red, then pale, and 
 
 307 
 
3o8 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 wiped his temples moist with sweat. Then, as if 
 maddened, with an irresistible movement, he took the 
 billiard cue, which he had put down, struck it on the rim 
 of the table, broke it across his knee and threw the bits 
 into the fire. The persons present, it may be imagined, 
 were in a great state of mind. Suddenly approaching 
 me, his teeth set with anger, he said: "Do you know 
 what I have just heard? Derby has just bought 200,000 
 Suez shares from Ismail, while every possible effort has 
 been made to conceal from us, not only the negotiations, 
 but even Ismail's intention of selling them. It's an 
 infamy ! It's England putting her hand on the Isthmus 
 of Suez, and my personal failure has in no way retarded 
 the act. I authorise you to say what you have just 
 seen. I even beg you to say it, and to add that Lord 
 Derby will have to pay for that." And he added, half 
 /^ talking to himself, " Yes, I swear that he shall pay for 
 it ! " He then quickly left the room, and I, too, went out. 
 On the way I went over the scene in my mind as I have 
 here described it from my notes of the time. I saw 
 instantly what an impression the story would make 
 when told in my telegram, and reproduced throughout 
 the world to the glory of the journal in which it appeared. 
 But when I took up my pen to write it out, other 
 thoughts invaded my mind. I saw the two Ministers 
 of Foreign Affairs of England and France pitted against 
 each other, the malignity of certain diplomatists poisoning 
 the wound, and I understood that, after all, I could not 
 tell the story, even though I added that I was authorised 
 to do so, for the mere publication would have all the 
 aspect of a veritable provocation. I saw that it would 
 only furnish arms to the foes of the Due Decazes, whom 
 
DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 309 
 
 so many people desired to overturn, and that this revela- 
 tion of Lord Derby's cleverness would be gratuitously 
 interpreted as in itself an aggression, I dropped the 
 pen and left the ofiQce, announcing that I would not return 
 that night. On the morrow, at eleven o'clock, I was 
 told that there was a messenger from the Due Decazes. 
 
 Immediately after luncheon I went to the Quai d'Orsay. 
 The Due Decazes had just come down to his work, and 
 I was immediately introduced into his cabinet. He 
 handed a telegram to me. In a tone almost harsh he 
 asked, "Why didn't you publish the scene that you 
 witnessed yesterday, as I asked you to do ?" I explained 
 to him my reasons for keeping silent. He got up, seized 
 both my hands, looked at me with profound emotion, 
 and said: "You understand that I have just said what 
 I did as a joke. You have acted as a friend of the 
 Minister, as a friend of peace; and never shall I forget 
 what you have done for me — for us ; for you have sacrificed 
 a journalistic success to your sense of duty. Believe 
 me, the latter is the better memory." 
 
 The Due Decazes remained two years longer in power, 
 when he was carried away by the electoral storm which 
 burst in the false coup d'etat of the i6th of May, 1877. 
 If he ever referred to the purchase of the Suez Canal 
 shares by Lord Derby, the matter has remained a diplo- 
 matic secret; the public has known nothing of it, and 
 the spirit of France was not troubled. To-day Lord 
 Derby and the Due Decazes are no more. The shares 
 have remained in the peaceful possession of Great Britain, 
 and Lord Derby could feel at his death that he had been 
 the author of one of the most clever and paying acts of 
 patriotism possible; for besides the immense hold which 
 
3IO MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 this act has given to England on the affairs of the Suez 
 Canal, it annually gets from this possession to-day the 
 enormous sum of ;^i 7,000,000. 
 
 I must add that on two other occasions I saw the 
 Due Decazes the victim of almost the same anger, and 
 on both occasions he recalled to me the incident of which 
 I had just spoken and the gratitude which he felt in 
 reference to it. I happened once to be with him at 
 Vichy, when the sons of Ismail were stopping there 
 in the charge of an Egyptian colonel and a tutor whose 
 name escapes me. One day these Princes gave a dinner. 
 They invited the Due Decazes and me as well. The 
 Duke sat at the right of Ismail's eldest boy, and I was 
 on the second son's left. The dinner, entirely in the 
 European fashion, was served by a single mattre d'hotel. 
 The soup had been passed before we sat down to table. 
 The maltre d'hdtel first served the eldest of the Princes, 
 then the second, then the others (I believe they were 
 four), and it was only then that he served the Due Decazes, 
 who appeared to be somewhat surprised. But he un- 
 doubtedly thought it only a single oversight, and, as 
 he was forbidden fish, he refused the course. But the 
 same thing occurred throughout the dinner. The younger 
 Princes were mere children, with good appetites, accus- 
 tomed to be humoured like Princes brought up by tutors 
 who trembled before them, and they turned and returned 
 the dishes to get the best portions, so that by the time 
 the plates reached the Due Decazes they presented 
 anything but an appetizing appearance. The Duke 
 had become a little pale. He had omitted the second 
 course, as I have said. The following course he had 
 refused so as to make his thought apparent, hoping that 
 
DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 311 
 
 that would suffice to call attention to the mistake that 
 was being committed. He was the French Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs; Vichy was French soil; and it was, so 
 to speak, France whom these young foreign Princes had 
 invited to their table. All honour was due to France. 
 The dishes ought certainly to have been first passed to 
 the Duke, and only if he refused to help himself before 
 the eldest Prince, should the plate have reached him 
 second. But matters went on quite differently. During 
 the entire dinner — and it was a long one — the plates 
 were offered in succession to all the Princes, and came 
 back pillaged to the Due Decazes, who refused them. 
 
 I saw his anger rising to his face as the dinner went 
 on. I feared an explosion. But the diplomatist re- 
 strained himself, and the gentleman in him found a 
 smile to respond to the Prince every time that the latter 
 addressed him, which, however, was not often. When 
 the dinner was over the Duke called to him the Master 
 of Ceremonies, and said to him quietly, but in a tone of 
 muffled wrath : " You are not very well up in the arrange- 
 ment of official dinners, sir. I will see that you get 
 better instructions." And while the officer became 
 livid at these words, the Duke turned his back on 
 him and, coming up to me, said: "This time, too, I 
 beg you not to say anything about this ridiculous busi- 
 ness; it will be quickly set right." And, indeed, the 
 result was, I believe, that the unfortunate officer soon 
 lost his situation. 
 
 The other time when I saw the Due Decazes angry, 
 and when he silently recalled my discretion in reference 
 to the Suez shares, was as follows: France had sent a 
 vessel, the Orenoque, to Civita Vecchia, where it anchored 
 
312 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 and for some years was there as a sort of defiance to the 
 conquered unity of Italy. The idea was that if it were 
 necessary the Pope might find there a refuge in Itahan 
 waters as a safe stage in getting away to foreign soil. 
 This ship, anchored there in constant protest against the 
 occupation of Rome by the Italians, became an object 
 of irritation in Italian eyes. The Chevalier Nigra, then 
 Italian Ambassador in Paris, often spoke to me of what 
 he picturesquely called '' une faute d'orthographie obstineey 
 which France was committing in her relations with 
 Italy. 
 
 "But why," said I to him one day, "why don't you 
 speak to the Due Decazes ?" 
 
 "That's impossible," replied the ChevaHer Nigra. 
 "Once I mention the matter to him, we shall have to 
 go up to the very end. In a matter of this sort there is 
 no half-way point, for when a nation has said, 'I beg 
 you to withdraw this ship,' it must soon add, 'I wish 
 you to withdraw it.' But you, when you see the Duke, 
 explain to him what I have just been saying, that he 
 may understand why, notwithstanding the irritation 
 this matter of the Orenoque causes, I cannot speak of it 
 to him." 
 
 And, indeed, as a result of this conversation I saw the 
 Due Decazes. 
 
 "We certainly should have this matter out between 
 us," said he to me; "but it must be quite clear that 
 the conversation is to be a purely friendly one, quite un- 
 official, and that no written trace shall remain of it, and 
 that all that is said shall be said from me to him, and 
 from him to me." 
 
 The conversation took place. I afterward learned 
 
DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 313 
 
 that it finished with these words, uttered by the Chevaher 
 de Nigra: "You will force us to seek the friendship of 
 those who treat us less cavalierly." I had the bad luck 
 to drop in at the Quai d'Orsay just at the moment when 
 the Chevalier de Nigra was going out. The conversation 
 with the latter had exasperated the Due Decazes, and 
 when I entered his room he was in a paroxysm of anger. 
 I saw it as soon as I entered, but it was too late, and in my 
 embarrassment, not quite knowing what to say, I limited 
 myself to these words, which were quite contrary to my 
 habit: 'Eh hien, M. le Due, qu'y a-t-il de nouveauf 
 (" Well, Duke, what is the news?") The Duke, who was 
 only looking for an excuse to burst out, roughly replied : 
 " Really, mon cher, it isn't my business to do your corre- 
 spondence. " I got angry in my turn ; I stopped suddenly 
 and replied: "True, sir; but it's a very good thing for 
 my readers that it is not your business." The Duke 
 remained a moment uncertain, but as I started toward 
 the door he burst into a laugh and, getting up, came to 
 me and said : " Allons, give me your hand and make peace. 
 You know well enough that I promised never to get 
 annoyed with you." And, indeed, amid all the vicissi- 
 tudes of time and things, I had the honour of keeping his 
 friendship to the end. 
 
 On another occasion, and so to speak, in spite of myself, 
 I mentioned a diplomatist from whom I had a commu- 
 nication. This diplomatist, who still occupies a highly 
 important post, wrote to me in 1876 as follows, thanking 
 me for an invitation to dinner addressed to him on the 
 intervention of a common friend, " I have now for a 
 long time desired to make the acquaintance of a man 
 whose reputation is based on a journalistic work beyond 
 
314 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 and above all criticism, " etc. We were soon on the best 
 of terms, and I know few persons whose gift of lively, 
 piquant, anecdotal talk was so fine as his. One day, 
 while passing through Paris, he fell ill at a hotel. I 
 went to see him, and showing me a copy of a confidential 
 despatch addressed to his Government, he said, "Sac-a-la- 
 papier" (this was his way of saying Sac-a-papier) "read 
 that — it would be amusing to publish. " I was naturally 
 of his opinion, and he ended by giving it to me, urging 
 me to cut out anything which appeared to me compro- 
 mising. I went through this work of expurgation most 
 conscientiously. The telegram appeared in a remote 
 corner in the outer sheet of the paper. It did not make 
 the stir I had expected, and, indeed, it was very little 
 spoken of. But the Minister of Foreign Affairs to whom 
 it was addressed noticed its publication and spoke of it 
 to my friendly informant, who forthwith wrote me a 
 violent letter as if I had abused his confidence, quite 
 forgetting that it was he himself who had entrusted the 
 despatch to me for publication, 
 
 I have never seen this remarkable and charming man 
 since, and the loss of his friendship is the price I had to 
 pay for having involuntarily stripped him, as regards his 
 chief, of that useful anonymity behind which alone a 
 trained diplomatist manages to preserve the sweetness 
 of his manners and the charming smile of his lips. 
 
 Need I recall for the edification of any journalist who 
 reads this that in his relation with diplomacy he must 
 always remember that the true diplomatist necessarily 
 knows nothing of gratitude ; that he regards the journalist 
 as an auxiliary, sometimes useful and always dangerous; 
 and that he will never hesitate to throw him overboard 
 
DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM 315 
 
 when it suits his ideas of his duty to do so? In this 
 connection I recall a striking and decisive illustration. 
 
 It was in 1874, at the moment when the Arnim trial 
 was going on in Germany. Baron Holstein, who had 
 played so curious a role in connection with Count Arnim, 
 was Second Secretary of the German Embassy at Paris. 
 His intervention in this terrible question between Arnim 
 and Bismarck was not liked and was badly judged here. 
 French public opinion looked askance on the hand of 
 Germany in the interior politics of the country, and 
 Baron Holstein was violently attacked for his role in this 
 matter. The Journal des Debats, which enjoyed then a 
 real power and influence, was particularly noticeable in 
 its campaign against Baron Holstein, and its attitude 
 was such that, if persisted in, Baron Holstein's stay at 
 Paris must necessarily have become impossible. It 
 was at this time that I received a visit from Mr. Rodolphe 
 Lindau, who was also at the German Embassy and who 
 brought to me a document justifying Baron Holstein. 
 By very convincing arguments he showed me that I ought 
 to undertake his defense against the Journal des Debats. 
 In the existing state of French public opinion this was a 
 heavy task ; but I undertook it conscientiously as a duty, 
 and I had the satisfaction — always so rare, however — of 
 seeing that paper lay down its arms before my arguments. 
 This took place toward the end of December, 1874, and 
 on the 30th of that month Baron Holstein wrote to me 
 that if he had not been kept at home by an attack of 
 la grippe he would have hastened to come in person to 
 thank me. A week later, on January 8, 1875, indeed, 
 he did come, and thanked me warmly. I had made, he 
 said, by my courageous intervention, his stay in Paris 
 
3i6 MEMOIRS OF M. de BLOWITZ 
 
 possible. We talked for some time of his personal situa- 
 tion. I told him that I was myself just then in a critical 
 place, not surely knowing whether or not I should succeed 
 Mr. Hardnian as chief correspondent of the Times, and 
 that I had, of course, many competitors to whom I could 
 oppose only my devotion and my work. Some days 
 after — ^that is, on January i6 — a friendly hand sent me 
 a letter of Baron Holstein, sixteen octavo pages in length, 
 bearing the superscription: " Kaiserlich Deutsche Both- 
 schaft in Frankreich, " and entirely written and signed by 
 the Baron's hand. It was addressed to one of the most 
 intimate friends of Mr. John Delane, editor of the Times, 
 and denounced me as quite under the thumb of the Due 
 Decazes, and as wilfully ignoring and concealing from 
 my readers an Orleanist plot which was preparing a coup 
 d'etat. In this letter the Times was urged to send to Paris 
 some clever and impartial person to keep the paper 
 informed of what was here going on underneath as well 
 as on the surface. 
 
 This letter, I repeat, reached me on January i6, a 
 week after Baron Holstein's visit of gratitude, and it had 
 been sent on the 12th. I need not say that I have care- 
 fully preserved this curious and instructive document 
 now for almost eighteen years, and if I divulge it to-day 
 it is because it is so appropriate in these pages, showing, 
 as it does, with what stoicism a diplomatist bent upon 
 his duty rids himself of the duty when he thinks that he 
 ought to do so in the interests of a higher cause. 
 
 My memoirs are now at an end. 
 
 The life of a journalist is so ephemeral, what he accom- 
 plishes is so swiftly swept away, what he writes is so 
 
DIPLOMACY AND JOURNALISM. 317 
 
 promptly wiped out by oblivion, that I have taken the 
 liberty, in the preceding pages, of retracing, as they 
 return to my mind, some of the historical events in 
 which I happened to play a part. 
 
 I have written this book without any other after- 
 thought than to survive, for a few months, TIME — that 
 rolls by and carries all away. I have not narrated every- 
 thing that I have seen or learned during my long and 
 adventurous career, because I consider that I have the 
 right to unfold only secrets that are mine, and because 
 I do not wish to follow the example of some men who, 
 when they speak from beneath the tomb, accuse, attack, 
 destroy — and only give their victims an opportunity to 
 reply by dipping their nails into the planks of one's 
 coffin. 
 
 All that I have written is the expression of truth. I 
 have considered it my duty to present, in their real 
 simplicity, events with which I have been closely con- 
 nected, and which others, in their narratives, have 
 amplified less in order to tell the truth than to disguise it 
 at my expense. 
 
 I have never sought applause nor feared criticism. 
 I know that the fatigued reader stops on the way. I 
 need not, therefore, ask those who have followed me to 
 the end to refrain from reproaching me too severely for 
 the time they have spent in the company of so poor a 
 personality as myself. 
 
 THE END 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abarzuzza, M., 79 
 
 Abdul- Hamid, Sultan of Turkey, 
 
 244, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 
 
 258-269 
 Abdul Huda-el-Rifai, 246 
 Adam, Mme., 236 
 Agnel, Armand d', 20 
 Alexander II., Emperor of 
 
 Russia, 98, 99, 103, loS, 109, 
 
 Alger, J. C, 77 
 
 Alphonse XII., King of Spain, 
 
 79, 86-88 
 Alva, 158, 163, 164, 165, 166, 
 
 158-177, 185-189, 192 
 Alven, Doctor, 169-176, 179-183, 
 
 165, 186, 188 
 Andrassy, Count, 161 
 Andrieux, M., 54 
 Appert, General, 39 
 Amim, Count, 315 
 Aumale, Duke d', 276-277 
 Austen, Charles, 42, 68 
 
 Banuelos, Count de, 82-S5 
 Banuelos, Countess de, 83 
 Bardoux, M., 181 
 Beaconsfield, Lord, 127, 148 
 Beekman, Mr., 194, 195 
 Bergmann, Professor, 284 
 Berlin, Congress of, 116-139 
 Bismarck, Prince, 93, 94, 95, 
 114, 115, 123, 127, 129, 139, 
 140—149, 150, 151, 161, 196, 
 197, 200, 204, 205, 206, 293, 
 294-300, 306 
 Bismarck, Princess, 141, 299, 300 
 Bismarck, Count Herbert, 297, 
 
 305 
 Blowitz, Henri Georges Stephan 
 Adolphe de, birth, 3; escape 
 from kidnappers, 4-7; educa- 
 tion, 7-8; early travels, 8-13; 
 return to the Chateau of 
 Blowsky and loss of family 
 fortune, 14; meeting with Count 
 
 Blowitz de — Continued 
 
 Kolowrath and visit to Paris, 
 16-18; appointment to chair of 
 foreign literature, 20; mar- 
 riage, 20; failure of industrial 
 inventions, 20-21; part in 
 elections of 1869, 24-27; 
 Franco-Prussian War, 27; 
 naturalization as French citi- 
 zen, 28; services during the 
 -Commune, 29-32; bringing to 
 M. Thiers nevv^s of entry of 
 troops into Paris, 32-33; pro- 
 posed consulate, ^^, 43, 44; 
 decoration for services during 
 Cominune, 34; meeting with 
 Laurence Oliphant, 35; tem- 
 porary appointment to the 
 Times, 35; first telegram to 
 Times, 38; permanent appoint- 
 ment to Times, 44; report 
 of M. Thiers's speech from 
 memory, 47-48; summer with 
 M. Thiers at Trouville, and 
 part in champagne conspiracy, 
 52-67; temporary appointment 
 to Times as Paris corre- 
 spondent, 77; interview with 
 Alphonse XII. on the night 
 of his proclamation as King 
 of Spain, and telegram to the 
 Times, 79-89; permanent ap- 
 pointment to Times as Paris 
 correspondent, 90; publication 
 of the letter known as "the 
 French Scare," 91-115; pub- 
 lication in the Times of the 
 Treaty of Berlin at the hour 
 of its signature in Berlin, 116— 
 139; five hours' interview with 
 Bismarck, 140-149; friendship 
 with Madame Marsa Chamil, 
 and connection with her affairs, 
 157-193; the Princess Kralta, 
 195-211; the mystery of 
 Mme. Elou, 212-233; P^rt in 
 
 319 
 
320 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Blowitz de — Continued 
 
 the events that led to France's 
 attitude toward the Egyptian 
 question in 1882, 234-241; 
 visit to Constantinople and 
 interview with Sultan, 242- 
 269; interview with the Count 
 de Paris on the occasion of 
 the introduction of the bill 
 for the expulsion of the French 
 princes, 270-278; the tragedy 
 at San Remo, 279-291; the 
 true story of the retirement 
 of Bismarck and the trouble 
 caused by its publication, 292- 
 306; instances of the gratitude 
 of statesmen, 307-317 
 Blowitz, Marc Opper de, 4 
 Bramann, Doctor, 287, 288 
 Briihl, Countess, 283, 289 
 Buckle, George, 212 
 
 Calmon, M., 31 
 Capri vi. General, 296, 297 
 Cemuschi, Henri, 211 
 Chamil, Mme. Marsa, 157-193 
 Champagne conspiracy, 59-67 
 Chartres, Duke de, 276 
 Clasczko, M., 96 
 Clemenceau, M., 240 
 Corti, Count, 119 
 Cremieux, Adolphe, 28 
 Czaski, Monseigneur, 218 
 
 Decazes, Duke, 91, 96-101, 105, 
 109, no, 117, 119, 307-313 
 
 Delane, John, 47, 48, 75- 77> 
 78, 89, 99, 100, 103, 104, 316 
 
 Despres, M., 200 
 
 Derby, Lord, 104, 308, 309 
 
 Desprez, M., 133, 135 
 
 Dosne, Mile., 54 
 
 Dufaure, M., 119, 180, 181 
 
 Dufferin, Lord, 244, 245 
 
 Elou, Mme. Georgine, 213-218, 
 219, 220, 221, 222—226, 228— 
 
 233 
 Essad-Pasha, 242 
 Evans, Thomas, 285 
 Exile of French princes, 270-278 
 Fabre, M., 188 
 FallouxMme., 18, 19 
 Favre, Jules, 145, 146 
 Fayet, Captain, 54 
 Foster, Mr., 244 
 
 Frederick William, Crown Prince 
 of Germany, 279-281, 283-291 
 
 Frederick, Crown Princess of 
 Germany, 283, 289, 290 
 
 French Scare of 1875, 91-115 
 
 Freycinet, M. de, 234-239 
 
 Gaillard, Colonel, 39, 40 
 Gallifet, General de, 156 
 Gambetta, M., 25, 26, 150, 151, 
 
 152, 153715s. 181, 234-239 
 Gontaut-Biron, Count de, loi, 
 
 102, 103 
 Gortchakoff, 103, 107, 108, in, 
 
 126 
 Gunsbourg, M., 61, 62, 63, 64 
 Guaracino, Mr., 248, 249, 250, 
 
 252, 253 
 
 Harcourt, Viscount d', 72 
 Hardman, Frederic, 35, 39, 42, 
 
 70. 72, 73. 316 
 Harris, Mr., 49, 69 
 Hay merle. Count von, 161 
 Henry, Prince, 285 
 Hoftenhausen , Baron, 211 
 Hohenlohe, Prince, 98, 121, 122, 
 
 128, 129, 130, 133, 134, 140, 
 
 151, 200 
 Holstein, Baron von, 151, 152, 
 ^ 3^5^ 316 
 Humbert, King of Italy, 220 
 
 Ignatieff, 143 
 
 Isabella, Queen of Spain, 81, 87 
 
 Ismail, 308, 310 
 
 Jacobini, Cardinal, 219, 220, 
 240, 241 
 
 Karageorgewitch, Prince, 162, 
 
 164 
 Keratry, Count de, 52, 53 
 Khair-eddin- Pasha, 249, 250 
 Klattau, Bishop of, 9 
 Kolowrath, Count, 17, 18 
 Kralta, Princess, 19 5-2 11 
 
 Lambert, Colonel, 54 
 Ledochowski, Cardinal, 223, 230 
 Leo XIII., Pope, 220 — 222, 301 
 Lefio, Count, 105 
 Leroux, Colonel, 54 
 Lesseps, M. de, 24, 25 
 Lindau, Rudolphe, 315 
 
INDEX 
 
 321 
 
 Macdonald, John, 70, 77, 212, 
 
 213 
 Mackenzie, Sir Morell, 284, 287, 
 
 288, 291 
 MacMahon, Marshal, 92, 105, 
 
 106, 119 
 Marshall, Frederick, 34, 35 
 Mabroyeni- Pasha, 254 
 Missak-Effendi, 243 
 Meurand, M., 32, ^S 
 Moltke, Count, 93, 94, 102, iii, 
 
 144 
 Morphy, Count, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89 
 Morris, Mowbray, 68 
 Munir-Bey, 243, 245, 260 
 Miinster, Prince, 292, 293, 294, 
 
 295-300, 303-306 
 
 Nancy, Bishop of, 92 
 Nigra, Chevalier, 312, 313 
 Nothomb, Baron, 132 
 
 Oliphant, Laurence, 34, 35, 
 37. 39. 42, 43. 47. 49. 68, 69, 
 70. 74 
 
 Oliphant, Mrs. Laurence, 68, 70 
 
 Orloff, Prince, 46, 61, 105, 107, 
 189, 190, 191 
 
 Osman-Bey, 247, 256, 269 
 
 Paget, Sir Augustus, 219 
 Paris, Count de, 271-278 
 Pessard, Hector de, 156, 157, 160 
 Philippe-Effendi, 247, 252, 253, 
 
 254. 257 
 " Pepe-en-Bois," 41 
 Pouyer-Quertier, M., 93 
 
 Radolinski, Count, 285 
 Radowitz, M. de, loi, 102, 115 
 Raghib-Bey, 258, 259, 268 
 Remusat, Count de, 91 
 Renault, Leon, 97 
 Rende, Monseigneur de, 218 
 Reschid-Bey, 248 
 Russell, Lord Odo, 123 
 
 Said-Pasha, 243, 246, 249 
 
 Saint-Hilaire, Barthelemy, 30 
 St. Vallier, Count, 127, 133, 135, 
 
 136, 139, 181, 200 
 Salignac, Lieutenant Fenelon de, 
 
 , 54 
 
 Salisbury, Lord, 127 
 San Reino, 279-291 
 Sartorius, Baron, 210, 211 
 Seckendorfif, Count von, 285 
 Shuvaloff, 147, 148 
 Simon, M. Jules, 161 
 Smythe, Mr., 250 
 Sophie, Princess, 284 
 
 Theodori Kara, 161 
 
 Thiers, M., 18, 24, 26, 27, 30, 
 
 31. 32, 33' 37. 38. 39. 42, 44. 
 
 45. 46, 47. 52-67, 91, 145. 146, 
 
 239 
 Thiers, Mme, 52, 54 
 Timachief, M., 44 
 
 Valon, Count Bertrand de, 61, 
 
 63 
 Valon, Countess de, 61, 104 
 Victoria, Princess, 283 
 Villeboisnet, General Espivent de 
 
 la, 29, 30 
 Vinchent, M., 133, 138 
 
 Waddington, M., 119, 123, 147, 
 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 189, 
 190, 191, 192 
 Waddington, Mme., 119 
 Waiss-Bey, 247, 248, 250, 254 
 Wallace, Mackenzie, 134, 137, 138 
 Wasck, Reverend Father, 4 
 William I., Emperor of Germany, 
 93, 95, 103, 204, 205, 206, 
 
 286, 288, 289, 296, 297, 298 
 William II., Emperor of Ger- 
 many, 283, 285, 287, 293, 296, 
 297 
 
 YousoupoFF, Princess, 113 
 
 ZiRio, Mme. de, 281-284, 286, 
 
 287, 289 
 
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