596 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE -VII 



statesmen, and especially members of the imperial house, 

 were welcomed in Berlin. One morning, taking up my 

 copy of the paper most directly inspired by the chancel 

 lor, I found an article on the shortcomings of Russia, 

 especially pungent almost vitriolic. It at once occurred 

 to me to look among the distinguished arrivals to see 

 what Muscovite was in town ; and my search was rewarded 

 by the discovery that the heir to the imperial crown, after 

 ward Alexander III, had just arrived and was staying 

 a day or two in the city. 



When Bismarck uttered his famous saying, &quot;We Ger 

 mans fear God and naught beside, &quot; he simply projected 

 into the history of Germany his own character. Fear 

 lessness was a main characteristic of his from boyhood, 

 and it never left him in any of the emergencies of his 

 later life. 



His activity through the press interested me much at 

 times. It was not difficult to discern his work in many of 

 the &quot; inspired &quot; editorials and other articles. I have in 

 my possession sundry examples of the originals of these, 

 each page is divided into two columns, the first the 

 work of one of his chosen scribes, the second copiously 

 amended in the chancellor s own hand, and always with 

 a gain in lucidity and pungency. 



Of the various matters which arose between us, one is 

 perhaps worthy of mention, since it has recently given 

 rise to a controversy between a German- American jour 

 nalist and Bismarck s principal biographer. 



One morning, as I sat in dismay before my work-table, 

 loaded with despatches, notes, and letters, besides futili 

 ties of every sort, there came in the card of Lothar 

 Bucher. Everything else was, of course, thrown aside. 

 Bucher never made social visits. He was the pilot-fish of 

 the whale, and a visit from him &quot;meant business. 7 



Hardly had he entered the room when his business was 

 presented: the chancellor wished to know if the United 

 States would join Germany and Great Britain in repre 

 sentations calculated to stop the injuries to the commerce 



