MY RECOLLECTIONS OF BISMARCK-1879-1881 585 



Thereupon came an answer that settled the question: the 

 chancellor regretted that he was too much overwhelmed 

 with work to meet the gentleman ; but said that he would 

 gladly see the American minister at any time, and must, 

 for the present, be excused from meeting any unaccredited 

 persons. 



Of course, after that there was nothing to be said ; and 

 the special American agent was obliged to content himself 

 with what he could obtain in interviews with various 

 ministers. 



Mr. Kelly urged, as his excuse for publishing personal 

 details in his letters, that it was essential that the whole 

 world should know just what the great chancellor had said 

 on so important a subject. As it turned out, Mr. Kelly's 

 zeal defeated his purpose ; for, had the special agent been 

 enabled to discuss the matter with the chancellor, there is 

 little doubt that Germany would have at least endeavored 

 to establish a permanent double standard of value. 



Each year, during my stay, Bismarck gave a dinner to 

 the diplomatic corps on the Emperor's birthday. The 

 table was set then, as now, in the great hall of the chan- 

 cellor's palace the hall in which the Conference of Ber- 

 lin was held after the Russo-Turkish War. The culmi- 

 nating point of each dinner was near its close, when the 

 chancellor rose, and, after a brief speech in French, pro- 

 posed the health of the heads of all the states there rep- 

 resented. This was followed by a toast to the health of 

 the Emperor, given by the senior member of the diplo- 

 matic corps, and shortly after came an adjournment for 

 coffee and cigars. One thing was, at first sight, somewhat 

 startling ; for, as Bismarck arose to propose the toast, the 

 big black head of a Danish dog appeared upon the table 

 on either side of him ; but the bearing of the dogs was so 

 solemn that they really detracted nothing from the dig- 

 nity of the occasion. 



In the smoking-room the guests were wont to gather in 

 squads, as many of them as possible in the immediate 

 neighborhood of our host. During one of these assem- 



