A STRONG PRUSSIA

“_Lorenzo._ A prince above all things must seem devout; but there is nothing so dangerous to his state as to regard his promise or his oath.

“_Alphonsus._ Tush, fear not me, my promises are sound, But he that trusts them shall be sure to fail.”

_George Chapman_: ‘_Alphonsus, Emperor of Germany._’

“I know that our dear angel Albert always regarded a strong Prussia as a necessity, for which, therefore, it is a sacred duty for _me_ to work.”--_Queen Victoria in a letter to Ernst of Saxe-Coburg._

One of the most remarkable sentiments held by Queen Victoria was her affection for Germany in general and Prussia in particular, she regarding these countries as a sacred care bequeathed to her by her beloved prince, and whenever she mentioned her desire for “a strong Prussia,” she would add a pious reference to the departed Albert.

Frederick William IV, the Prussian king who was set aside in 1857 as insane, had stood sponsor for Victoria’s eldest son; his brother William, when Regent, married his son William Frederick to Victoria’s eldest daughter, and he visited England many times. But the friendship of the sovereigns did not mean the friendship of the public, nor did it include political amity. Constant annoyance was felt in Berlin over the long letters from the Prince Consort advising the King how to rearrange his form of government, letters often sent through Baron Stockmar; indeed, the perusal of a chapter or so of that period of _The Life of the Prince Consort_ will show what a passion Albert had for interfering in other people’s concerns.

In Berlin this was violently resented, especially when William became Regent. It was said that England had dared to interfere with Prussian politics and that Stockmar had come over the Channel with the new “Prussian Ministry all cut and dried in his pocket.” From this time Prussian outbursts against England became a “hardy annual,” the anger being mainly directed against Albert, and after his death against British influence, “the scheming Queen,” and the “English” Crown Princess. Victoria never did make concessions to public opinion, and consistently under-rated the value of the sentiments of a people; so this resentment made no impression on her feeling for Germany, and she still worked for Albert’s ideal of a “strong Prussia” and a “united Germany.”

When William was crowned King of Prussia at Königsburg--only the second Prussian king who went through the coronation ceremony--he boldly asserted that the Prussian kings “received their crown from God,” a sentiment with which Victoria entirely agreed. As a writer in _The Quarterly Review_ for April 1901 stated, though she “probably would not have signed a paper saying she believed in the divine right of kings, in her heart she never questioned that she was the anointed of the Lord.” That the first King of Prussia had bought his crown one hundred and sixty years earlier from the Emperor of Germany did not seem to affect the claim made by the new monarch at all, and when his bombastic utterances were strongly commented upon in the English Press, a very furore of retort arose in Berlin, England being roundly invited to attend to her own affairs and leave Prussia alone. The Queen again sympathized, feeling very angry with _The Times_ and other censorious journals.

In 1862 William had so much trouble with his Parliament and his people that he had decided to abdicate, in spite of his divine right, and had already written out the deed of abdication when Bismarck came to his aid, and still further frightened him by his drastic views and deeds.

“I can perfectly well see what the end will be,” he said, after one of Bismarck’s addresses in the Landstag. “Over there in front of the Opera House, under my windows, they will cut off your head, and mine a little later,” for he was obsessed by the fate of Charles I and Strafford. But his Minister laughed and went on his victorious way, and William became his grateful, if sometimes rebellious, servant.

With Bismarck the occasional anger of Prussia became a settled jealousy against England, and though for the sake of Albert’s idea of a strong Prussia, Victoria always worked for Bismarck’s policy, she had a great dislike for the man, a dislike which he reciprocated fully in a mean and jealous way, condescending to coarse abuse of the Queen in conversation with his entourage, and imputing evil and cunning reasons for all that she did. This dislike he extended in double strength to the Crown Princess, and all through his life he did his utmost to foster adverse criticism of her in Germany. He claimed in the name of the King extraordinary rights over her household, and always had his spies placed in official positions about her.

In 1864 there was a family quarrel between the two Courts. Count Philip Eulenburg, a young sublieutenant at Bonn, whose brother later became, in Bismarck’s pay, master of the Crown Princess’s Household, was unintentionally jostled in the street by a portly stranger; Eulenburg replied with foul and insulting language and, being answered in kind, drew his sword and cut the man down, he being so badly injured that he died in the hospital. He was a Frenchman named Ott, a chef to Victoria, and then in Germany in attendance on the Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen and her son were very indignant, and acrimonious discussions took place between England, France and Germany, which lasted for months, Eulenburg in the end being sentenced to pay heavy damages to Ott’s widow and undergo a year’s imprisonment in a fortress.

This was, however, but a ripple on the surface of the Queen’s enduring love for Germany, and she took her stand as a buffer between her people and the aggressive German Government; she eagerly married her children to Germans, asking nothing in return in wealth or position, nothing, in fact, but the bridegroom and his nationality, but in these arrangements she did occasionally allow herself the gratification of spiting the Chancellor, Bismarck.

Queen Victoria has been regarded as a great statesman, but she did not show that quality in her dealings with Prussia; for during the first ten years of her widowhood Prussia put a ring of blood and fire round Germany; Poland, Denmark, Austria and France being successively attacked and more or less ruined. Englishmen had deeply desired to help some of these weaker countries, but Victoria fought every one--her people, her Government, the Opposition, her family, in her determination to let a strong Prussia and a united Germany arise. She consulted, not the safety of Europe or of England, not the balance of European power, then or in the future, but what she knew to have been the ideals of the Prince Consort. She had a bad time with her people, but she would have endured anything rather than have put out a finger against that German ideal by assisting one of the victims. She seemed honestly to endorse the sarcastic words of _Punch_--

“May Heaven further walk over Prussia and bless her, And still of her neighbours’ possessions possess her.”

In July 1862 Bismarck was in London, and he outlined his future policy before Disraeli over the dining-table of Baron Brunow, saying--

“When I take over the Prussian Government” (which he did two months later) “my first care will be to reorganize the army, with or without the Landstag. As soon as the army is sufficiently strong I shall seize a pretext to declare war on Austria, dissolve the Diet, reduce the small states and give Germany national unity under Prussia. I have come here to tell this to the Ministers of the Queen.”

It was a policy of which, except probably for the attack on Austria, Victoria approved, and which she helped Bismarck to carry out by an attitude of strict non-interference.

Bismarck, regarded as so “great,” did more evil than good; he made Prussia physically, but he destroyed her soul. He derided the arts, debased the Press, destroyed the Parliament, and tore up “scraps of paper” at will. He fostered the seeds of mental and moral degradation, indigenous in the Prussian, the fruit of which to-day has made of all Germany an outcast among the nations, a thing so unpardonable that the whole world is aghast at the sight.

Bismarck’s quarrel with Austria was that she had recently taken the initiative in calling together representatives of all the States to consider a plan for a united Germany, and this naturally pointed to the predominance of Austria. Of all the kingdoms and states Prussia alone stood aside from the great conference called at Frankfort. King William was very grieved over this, for he wanted to take part, and saw himself at the head of affairs there. The Dowager Queen, Queen Augusta and the Crown Princess all urged him to attend, and the King of Saxony visited him to make a personal appeal, with the result that William promised to go, and to send a signed letter to that effect. As soon as his visitor had departed, however, Bismarck entered, and had a long interview with his king, at the end of which, to quote his own words--

“I only succeeded with the utmost difficulty in preventing him [writing the letter]; I literally hung on to his coat tails.... His Majesty lay on the sofa and had an attack of hysterical weeping, and when at length I had succeeded in wringing from him the letter of refusal, I was myself so weak and exhausted I could scarcely stand.”

Having got this letter, Bismarck sent for a regiment to guard the palace and so prevent any one else from having access to his “master.”

This abstention of Prussia was a great disappointment and cause of anxiety to Queen Victoria, who went to Coburg that she might be nearer the scene of action, and there she invited both the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia to meet her, hoping to induce Prussia to join the Conference. She could not understand its isolated position, and saw it becoming an Esau among the nations; reprobated as it was by all because of its dastardly deed during the Polish rising, when it had deliberately given permission to the Russians to pursue Polish rebels through Prussian territory. From Coburg Victoria wrote to Duke Ernst, then at Frankfort--

“I must believe that Prussia’s position is growing worse and worse, and I am afraid she will have few voices in the Assembly of Sovereigns to speak in her interest. All the more would I beg you, as much as lies in your power, to prevent a weakening of Prussia, which not only my feeling resists--on account of the future of our children--but which would surely also be contrary to the interests of Germany; and I know that our dear angel Albert always regarded a strong Prussia as a necessity, for which, therefore, it is a sacred duty for _me_ to work.”

King William, attended by Bismarck, went to see his royal cousin at Coburg. Bismarck was not admitted to the interview, but his influence was on the King; and when it was over the Queen was extremely depressed, for William had told her nothing of Prussia’s hopes and plans. After the Conference her meeting with the Emperor of Austria took place at Castle Ehrenburg, and of this interview Duke Ernst has left us a description.

At the foot of the staircase stood the Queen with her children on either side--Victoria, Alice, Helena, Alfred, Leopold and Beatrice, while behind her stood her Ministers and officers of State. Francis Joseph entered the great hall with his suite, and the Queen kissed him on both cheeks and introduced her children. At two o’clock, after luncheon, Victoria invited him to an interview at which Ernst formed a third. He tells us that the Queen “maintained the usual pleasant level of her character,” that she first complimented Francis Joseph on the way in which he had conducted the Conference, and said that she had no intention of meddling with high diplomacy, but would make her appeal on purely personal grounds.

“She then remarked that it was not her business to enter into the actual political questions pending in Germany, but she had a personal request at heart. Her maternal anxiety for her children rendered it a matter of heart with her to recommend them to the Emperor. Whatever might be the actual difference between the views and policy of Prussia and Austria, she at all events hoped one thing, that the Emperor would never let the position and the rights of her dear children in Berlin be prejudiced.

“The Emperor was visibly surprised at this address. He replied in generally complimentary terms, but did not touch on the actual political question. If he left Coburg satisfied, that may be partly due to the effect of his having found, in this meeting with the Queen of England, a proof of how greatly his Frankfort expedition had contributed to raise his prestige with non-German monarchs.”

To King Leopold Ernst wrote--

“The Emperor’s interview with Victoria has passed off very well. It was an exalting scene, without stiffness.”

This was the interview which gained for Queen Victoria her first definite reputation as a statesman! No one then knew what had passed at these meetings, but it was believed that her thoughts were upon weighty European affairs; and all the time she was merely begging first one king and then another to be kind to her children who were settled in antagonistic parts of Germany. Bismarck must have been as much surprised as amused.

As has been said, Prussia had, in its anxiety for Russian friendship, played a dishonourable part towards the Poles, and had therefore been subjected to strong criticism in the English Press; but Prussia intended to go further. Her aim was to beat Austria down from her pre-eminence in Europe and to seize Schleswig-Holstein, but she went warily to work.

Alexandra’s father, as Christian IX, had succeeded to the Crown of Denmark in accordance with the treaty of 1852, but Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg [what terrible titles!], who thought he had a claim upon the Danish throne in virtue of his mother having been a Danish princess, demanded the kingdom, treaty or no treaty, and in spite of the fact that his father had taken a large sum of money to settle this claim. The great Diet of German States backed him up, among them being Hanover, Saxony and Coburg.

This was Bismarck’s opportunity, and he called upon Austria as the chief German power, and as once the possessor of Schleswig, to help him in upholding the treaty. It was so honest and simple that it deceived Victoria, but it deceived no one else, least of all Denmark, who knew the ways of Prussia, and she turned to England in her trouble, relying upon the aid which had been virtually promised during the last eleven years. Palmerston, Granville and Russell were prepared to give it, the first saying in the House in July 1863--

“We are convinced--I am convinced, at least--that if any violent attempt were made to overthrow the rights and interfere with the independence of Denmark, those who made the attempt would find in the result that it would not be Denmark alone with which they would have to contend.”

Every party, except the peace-at-any-price party, was with him; and the Danes, counting on us, prepared to defend themselves.

The question was a three-sided one, and like Christianity it divided families and friends. On one side of the triangle were the Ministry, the majority of the Opposition, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the people of England, all for Denmark. On the second, upholding Frederick of Augustenburg, were most of the German states, the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia--in spite of Bismarck--Alice and Louis of Hesse and Ernst of Coburg. The third party consisted of Prussia and Austria, and in consonance with the Prince Consort’s desire for a strong Prussia, Queen Victoria refused to act in any way which was against the interest of this third party. She was constantly confronted by the white, anxious face of Alexandra, and guarded herself by peremptorily refusing to listen to any word about Denmark from the Prince of Wales. Her daughter Victoria urged the claims of the Augustenburger with cleverness and asperity. Princess Alice did the same thing with gentle insistence. In the autumn, when the Crown Prince and Princess were staying at Windsor, with the intention of improving their kindly love for their new sister-in-law, the triangular discussions became so bitter that at last Victoria forbade the mention of the subject altogether, a course which did not tend to draw the sisters-in-law together.

Duke Ernst wrote to the Queen, urging her to take some action on his side, and she wrote him a long letter, from which the following is a paragraph--

“You seem quite to overlook the fact that England is bound by the treaty of 1852, and, greatly as I may deplore the manner in which that treaty was concluded, the Government here has _no other choice_ but to adhere to it. Our beloved Albert _could not_ have acted otherwise.”

The English Cabinet agreed upon a dispatch to be sent to Austria and Prussia, declaring that the Government would be forced to take a hostile attitude if Schleswig-Holstein were invaded. The Queen energetically opposed its being sent, and Lord John Russell resigned. “The Queen will not hear of going to war with Germany,” noted Lord Malmesbury in his diary, and he added that the country and the Government would like to fight for the Danes, “but found great difficulty in the opposition of the Queen.”

Victoria sent for the leader of the Opposition, Lord Derby, when she found that not only the Liberals under Palmerston, but the great body of the Tories were in belligerent mood, and made him promise that, no matter what his party wanted, he would resist every idea of war.

When the address from the Throne was drawn up in 1864, Lord Palmerston’s definite Danish pronouncement produced disagreement in the Cabinet, so a second and milder speech was prepared and sent to the Queen; this she promptly returned as impossible, and it was not until the evening before the opening of Parliament that she gave her assent to what was publicly regarded as the most futile speech which had ever emanated from a responsible ruler. The Prince of Wales was present the next day to listen to a statement of which the most important item was a paragraph of flowery congratulation upon the birth of his first son, and the next one of adulation of his mother--

“Her Majesty is honoured and admired not only in Europe, but throughout the world; her virtues live again in her children, and all their Lordships fondly hope that the infant Prince, who was born under these auspices and brought up under these happy influences, will at some future day reign over this realm with the same brilliant qualities which have adorned the reign of her present Majesty.”

To the Commons the address began with--

“Three years ago we had to lament the loss of a great and good prince, a loss from which her Majesty has not yet recovered, and from which we are afraid she never will recover.”

It is almost unbelievable that in a time of such public excitement the Queen could have sanctioned such puerilities, and that in this speech Poland, then being slowly martyred, was not mentioned, the war in America received no word, nor did the English soldiers fighting in China. As to Denmark, the House was simply reminded that by the treaty the powers had agreed that no territory should be filched from Denmark; but another clause, which showed that each Power had individually bound itself to protect Denmark, was ignored. In the discussion Lord Derby hoped paradoxically that we were not committed to a disastrous war with Germany nor to the betrayal of Denmark, which had put her trust in us.

Well might the Austrian ambassador, Count Vitzthum, say joyfully--

“The victory of the peace party is a victory of the Queen maligned, insulted and reproached with German sympathies. Her Majesty has checkmated the dictatorship of her Prime Minister, and beaten him three times over in his own Cabinet on a question of war or peace. The Queen has recognized the true interests and true wishes of her people, and not allowed herself to be misled by the gossip of the drawing-room or the declamation of the daily press.”

And well might the Americans say when they were pressing their claims for the roving acts of the _Alabama_ at the Geneva Conference, that England’s conduct over the Danish war proved that England would never fight again.

The Danes fought like heroes, but it was a foregone conclusion that alone they must be beaten. Prussia was then as Prussia is to-day, though less brutal. She bombarded unfortified towns--

“Danish homes our ordnance shattered, Dashed out Danish women’s brains, Danish children’s bodies shattered, Smashed both great and little Danes.”

In a duet which _Punch_ gave between William and Francis Joseph occurred these lines, accentuating the blatant Prussian piety so familiar to us to-day--

“_William._ And we smashed the young fry where pitched the live shell; So I turn up my eyes and go down on my knees, And give thanks that I’m able to do as I please.

“_Francis Joseph._ We’ll work our omnipotent will, We’ll torture and burn and slay. Let but England and France keep still, And a fig for what they say.”

Palmerston, his force of character relaxed by age, had come to heel, and there was little to be feared from him, but the satisfaction the Queen felt in this was dispelled by the fact that now the Opposition was crying out against ignoble inaction. Lord Derby’s sympathies were with his party, and he was on the point of yielding when he was again summoned to Windsor and sharply reminded of his promise. But Disraeli was left, and he was preparing a vote of censure on the Government’s foreign policy.

The usual course was being followed of summoning a Conference in London of all concerned, _except_ Schleswig-Holstein, to see if peace could not be arranged, and a month’s truce was proclaimed. Bismarck’s representative arrived, and so delayed matters, ten days late, that affairs might be left in a favourable position for Prussia when hostilities recommenced. The Conference failed, as it was bound to do, and Victoria told Palmerston that she would never consent to England’s participation if the war continued, instructing him at the same time to dissolve Parliament if the vote of censure was carried; so says Duke Ernst in his memoirs.

Queen Victoria’s popularity had decreased when she refused to join in any attempt to stop the monstrous punishments dealt out to the Poles by Russia--Prince Albert had always condemned the Poles--and now over Denmark it fell to zero. Exchanging letters with Duke Ernst over the Conference, she wrote of loving Germany with all her heart, “especially our part,” and of having done all she could for peace. “I have been attacked here--what was still wanting in my sad position--on account of my German sympathies, and a few silly people have been giving out that I have been hindering the Government in its actions.... I would most earnestly request you not to mention me, nor lay any stress on the little merit I have had, as it might greatly aggravate my position, difficult and painful as it already is.”

Disraeli’s vote of censure was a crushing attack upon the policy which the Queen had imposed upon Palmerston and which Palmerston had allowed her to impose. “Within twelve months we have been twice repulsed at St. Petersburg. We have menaced Austria, and Austria has allowed our menaces to pass her like the wind. We have threatened Prussia, and Prussia has defied us. Our objurgations have rattled over the head of the German Diet, and the German Diet has treated them with contempt. During the last few months there is scarcely a form of diplomatic interference which has not been suggested or adopted.... Couriers from the Queen have been scouring Europe with the exuberant futility of abortive projects.... My policy is the honour of England and the peace of Europe, and the noble lord has betrayed both.”

In a flash of prescience Disraeli said, “If there is a cordial alliance between England and France war is most difficult; but if there is a thorough understanding between England, France and Russia war is impossible.” It might have been true then, but to-day the “strong Prussia” has grown so strong that the three allies have to fight it side by side.

Palmerston was only saved from defeat by Bright and his little peace party.

It has so often been stated that Queen Victoria was a true constitutional sovereign, that her power over State affairs was purely nominal, and that she abided most loyally by the decisions of her Ministers, that many people have believed it. No greater mistake concerning the Queen was ever made. She considered it her duty to express her opinion on every subject, and as far as was consistent with safety to impose her will upon her Ministers. In extreme cases she would give way and sanction something which she disliked, but this was only done to avoid some dangerous crisis, the two most notable incidents being the passing of the Irish Church Bill and the abolition of purchase of commissions in the army. In these Victoria did what Gladstone wanted, not that she agreed with him or because she thought it her duty to be loyal to the Government, but because she desired to save the House of Lords from the threatened effect of their own uncompromising opposition.

When the Danes were finally beaten the aggressors agreed that six years were to be allowed to the inhabitants of the two duchies in which they might decide whether they would choose to belong to Denmark or Prussia and Austria. This was Bismarck’s way of leaving the question open and so preventing Austria from taking possession of any part of the land, the whole of which he intended for himself. In a year and a half his hunger for possession grew ravenous. He was satisfied that there was nothing to fear from an Anglo-French alliance, that, as some one has put it--

“However Palmerston might bark, Queen Victoria would never allow him to bite a Hohenzollern.”

So he followed the usual Prussian course, massed troops on some one else’s territory--in this case, Hesse-Cassel, as a good jumping-off point, and when Austria, in alarm, brought her troops to defend her borderland he shouted aloud to all Europe that Austria was treacherously mobilizing her army and starting a war. Hesse-Cassel, indignant, sided with Austria, and when that country was defeated at the end of six weeks, was promptly swallowed by Prussia, as were Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, part of Hesse-Darmstadt, and other small states.

The Queen had watched this attack upon Austria with grief, and had recognized that there was, after all, something of the wolf in Prussia. She wrote to Lord Granville, “Prussia should at least be made aware of what she and her Government and every honest man in Europe must think of the gross and unblushing violation of every assurance and pledge that she had given which Prussia has been guilty of.”

But Victoria did not realize that she had, by her abstention from a just course, put into Prussia’s hands a powerful weapon against her own country; that she had given it possession of that seaboard for which it longed, and that henceforth its navy, helped later by another present from her, was to grow until it was thought strong enough to menace England.

If she deprecated the methods of Prussia, the results were not altogether disagreeable. Prussia was growing strong, and as a French writer, M. Abel Chevalley, says, “the progress towards the unity of Germany enchanted her! She saw her daughter an empress in the future.”

Austria had once been the Imperial head of Germany, henceforth the Emperor knew himself to be second to the family of Hohenzollern, which in earlier years had felt distinguished by being the cupbearers to the Hapsburgs. The blind King of Hanover and his son were sent wandering, and Victoria telegraphed to Duke Ernst, “Thank God, you are safe. It is too dreadful. Where is the poor King and his son?” To which she received answer that the King and his son had passed through Gotha early that morning in the best of health.