A NEW BOOK ON THE LATE WAR.* [FIRST NOTICE.] GENERAL

HAZEN, of the United States' Army, has made an ad- dition—both popular and scientific—to the literature of the Franco-German war which will be read with much interest when it reaches this country. We have reason to believe that at present there is only a single copy here, and from this we propose to make some extracts, at greater length than we should do if the book were already accessible to the English public. General Hazen, who was educated at West Point, distinguished himself under Sherman in his famous March to the sea" by taking the im- portant Fort McAllister by storm. After the war he came to Europe, where he predicted, from what he saw of the French

* The School and the Army in Germany and France, with a Diary of Siege We at Versailles. By Wel. Maj.-Genl. W. B. Hazen, U.S.A., Colonel Sixth Infantry. New York: Harper and Brothers. 1872.

Army, and especially of the Army of Instruction under Marshal L'Admirault at Chalons, what would be the result of a war with Germany ; and then, after having witnessed that war in progress from the German head-quarters, he returned to active military duties at home, and while in command of the frontier posts of Arizona and Kansas has, at that distance from books and men, prepared the volume before us, partly consisting of his Diary when at Versailles during the siege, and partly of a series of Essays on the organisation of the French and German armies, and on the military and civil system of education in both countries, comparing them with those of America, and endeavouring to dis- cover the moral and intellectual causes of the French defeats and the German victories, and to draw practical conclusions for the benefit of his own countrymen.

The Diary extends only from September 27 to November 13, 1870, being limited to the writer's personal observations at the German Head-quarters, and given apparently just as it was then written down, and without any attempt to modify or confirm those observations by subsequent information from other sources. This gives to the incidents a value of their own, which is specially shown in the account of an interview with Prince Bismarck from which we are about to make some extracts. General Hazen gives us the note in which some months later the Prince sent him permission to use his discretion as to publishing his record of their interview ; but with what is now known from other sources as to the events which led to the war, it is impossible to take this account of them as history, though it not only tells us what Count Bismarck then wished the world to accept as such, but also gives us a striking portrait of the statesman himself —apparently so frank and simple, really so unfathomably astute—which is in acctirdance with all we pre- viously knew of him, yet with some inimitable touches which are new. General Hazen could not then know, what all the world knows now, the strong grounds for believing that the French were at last goaded into declaring war at the exact moment that was most opportune for Prussia, and therefore, if there are any statements which the reader cannot in any way reconcile with what Count Bismarck must have known to be the facts, we may easily believe that his interlocutor may unconsciously, and in per- fect honesty, have somewhat modified the words in which those statements were made. Yet, on the whole, we see great evidence that they are accurately reported in the fact that if they are carefully weighed they may be interpreted in a sense very different to that which they seemed at the time to bear. How probable that King William did moralise about German princes and Latin subjects ! How probable that Count Bis- marck—taking his ease in the bosom of his family—did talk to his wife and children of the advantages to the Spaniards of having a king "of correct life," with "an exemplary, good woman for his wife!" How conceivable that the French sovereign —he does not say the French people—might not find the candi- dature of the son of his relative and old comrade "distasteful" l- and so on. Yet how improbable or impossible that these things had anything to do with that actual course of events to which the Count avowed that he at last forced the king to commit himself by ordering the mobilisation of the army ! Read between the lines, and the "politician who would circumvent God" is as visible as the frank, open-minded country gentleman who masks him, or the honest soldier who is listening to his words ; and who thus reports :—

"BISMARCK.

°September 27,1870.-1 have just visited Count Bismarck with General Burnside. We found him quartered at Ferrires, the country seat of the Paris branch of the Rothschild; where the king at present has his head-quarters. On our arrival Count Bismarck was engaged with one of the French legitimate princes, who was urging upon the Premier the Claims of his House. On being shown in, we found Count Bismarck busily engaged in copying, with a lead-pencil as thick as one's thumb, some very rough draft of a document. He came forward and received us with warmth and a smile of genuine amiability and kindness, and after a few remarks upon the latest war news, begged to be permitted to finish his copy, which would take but a moment. He occupied a small room, in which were a few chairs and a writing-desk. He is something over six feet in height, with a large frame, well filled out, but not gross ; hair quite gray, and clear blue eyes. In conversation, the usual stern- ness of his countenance changes to kindness with a manner of open frankness that cannot fail to win the listener. On finishing and despatching his copy, he turned to us, and scarcely waiting for a fresh cigarette, began a very interesting talk of at least two houra' duration, in which be was the uninterrupted speaker. "He said, 'The German people were astonished to find themselves involved in a general war. After a long and laborious season of duties at Berlin, I had gone down to my place in Pomerania, and was engaged in laying out my grounds and planting my gardens, with my wife and all my children about me, happy in the belief that I should have an uninterrupted summer, without the distraction of official work. Some time in May despatches began to reach me, sometimes in cipher, indicating that there might be trouble with France ; but I gave little heed to them,

and continued the rural work of which I am so fond, and which my health seemed to require. My place is not directly on the line of communication, so that my letters and papers did not reach me very regularly, and I had almost forgotten the events made possible by previous despatches. " ' The subject of the young Hohenzollern's pretensions to the throne of Spain had already been brought to the notice of the king, who had opposed them, on the ground of the unfitness of German princes to rule Latin subjects, as shown by the experiment in Mexico. I had not been officially consulted on the subject, but it appeared to me a pity for a young man who desired a kingly career, and had the position at his disposal, not to take it ; and as he was married to an exemplary, good woman, and was himself a man, a man of uprightness and correct life, his religion also being that of Spain, I thought that his example, with that of his wife, together with the management of Spain promised by his scholarly habits, might be advantageous to the Spanish people, and his reign successful. The matter had the year before been brought to the notice of the young man, who visited Paris soon after, and acquainted the emperor with the scheme, as a matter which his sovereign character gave him a right to know. The Prince's acceptance, if the matter should at last be favourably considered, was still to be subject to a vote of the Spanish people. On his mentioning to me casually that the Spanish throne had been offered to him, I remarked that a crown was not offered to a lieutenant of hussars every day, and urged him to make sure of it, promising I would see that the king consented.

"'The king at last reluctantly gave his consent, not as sovereign, for the matter had not advanced so far as to be discussed in that light, but as the head of the army of Prussia, in which the young man held a com- mission. The king had grave doubts as to the propriety of Prussia's favouring the scheme, for the political reason that Prince Leopold would be too strongly in favour of the French idea and against Prussia. He was a blood relative of the emperor ; his father had projected for the emperor his Strasbourg fiasco, and had always been the bosom friend of Napoleon ; and it was he, in fact, and not the son, who was arranging the Spanish throne business. The thought that it could in any way be distasteful to the French Sovereign never occurred to any member of the Prussian Government.

"It was at this juncturelhat a note came from the French Government requiring the renunciation of the young man's ambition. Seeing that it was likely to make serious trouble between the two countries, he had, by the advice of his father, made personal renunciation before the matter had been fairly brought to the notice of the Prussian Government; and coming himself to Berlin, found, as he supposed, everything settled, and next morning went back to his country home, and the king went to his summer resort at Ems.

"'Imagine the surprise of all Prussia, on hearing in a few days that France was not satisfied, but required that the Prussian Government should disclaim all future intention of placing a German prince upon the Spanish throne. Instructions were at once given to the Prussian ambassador at Paris to see to it that the dignity of his Government was fully sustained, but he did not quite seem to comprehend the character of the business he was dealing with. The Government of Berlin now wrote me that it seemed inexpedient for the king to remain longer at Ems, unaccompanied by his ministers. The king abhors war, and our military system is such as to bring into the ranks the very beet of our men. He seemed ready to make great concessions rather than bring sacrifices upon the country, and wrote a dispatch to the emperor, virtually making the disclaimer asked. This dispatch was sent to me, his minister, for revision, and its tone I somewhat altered, to better suit the emergency. I now telegraphed again to our minister to sustain the dignity of Prussia. The king was not offended by the conduct of Benedetti, but saw fit to treat him with consideration. The ambassador at Paris was still unequal to his work, and wrote the king a letter urging the withdrawal of his dispatch and full compliance with the wishes of the Emperor. The king, to save war, was inclined to do so, but the sentiment of Germany and the advice of his ministers prevented him, and upon his refusal to withdraw his dispatch set out for Berlin, where the ministry were summoned to meet him. By accident we all met at the railway station in Berlin, were joined by the crown prince, and had set out for the Assembly Chamber, when our attention was attracted by the newsboys crying out that war had been declared by the French. We sought the papers, and the king believing that war had been declared, put up his hands to his head, and said, 'Must I, in my old age again go to war" and tears ran down his cheeks. Upon examining the papers, it was found quite uncertain whether war had been declared or not. There was no actual declaration, but a telegram saying that a declaration had been made. But the time for action had arrived, and the crown prince, just behind me, whispered in my ear, Radical or nothing ! ' I then said to the king that there was no impediment to mobilising the whole army, and that no occasion had ever been BO favourable. He at once replied that he would mobilise the whole army. Fearing that he would retract, spoke out quickly and in a loud voice, so that forty persons could hear me, 'The king has declared that he will mobilise the whole Army,' and the war minister, who was present, said, 'I have heard it, and will at once give the necessary orders.' The work was now beyond recall, and what followed you all know. Germany is a peaceful nation. We have a nearly perfect military system, but it is for defence and not for aggres- sion, and is rendered necessary by our geographical position.

"France has within two hundred years invaded Germany twenty times, and Las for a long time past crowded us, and we have swallowed the insult until now, when we feel like a man in his strength with his family about him, who has been pushed and jostled all his life by some one wishing to quirrel with him, until at last he has turned round and said, 'Now let us have it out; let us have it out for good, and make that the end of it.' Ever since the war of 1866, a war necessary to clear the political skies of Germany, a purely family affair, having nothing to do with the outside world, and ever since the scheme of German unity commended itself as a scheme of strength and good to the German people, France has been jealous of our prosperity, and has wished to humble us. That idea could only end in war ; the sooner war the better ; but it must end with substantial guarantees of peace in future, and Germany would be untrue to herself and civilisation if she stopped short of this. "'The French people are anomalous, being neither like the Spaniard nor the Italian, but more like the Chinese. A Frenchman is content to be a servant, provided some one is servant to him, and never aspires to advance from his position. The American or German does not wish to be a servant, nor does he wish others to be servants to him, if there are ways to better their condition. They have within themselves elements of independent character, and always seek to improve their fortunes, and see their own prosperity in the prosperity of those anrrounding them. They both possess the elements of manhood which constitute Repub- licanism. It is doubtful if the French people do; but this is not our busi- ness, as we have not come here to meddle with such things. The French people have been taught errors about their country and them- selves from their infancy, until they are quite unable to compre- hend their true position in the scale of humanity. From having ts Bureau of the Government, I have often during the campaign been quartered in school-houses, to give room to my numerous clerks, and have thus seen much of French instruction from the text-books I have found in them. The elementary reading-books for the tendereat children are made up of the glories of France, and represent her as the birth-place of all the great men, the discoverer of all countries, the victor in all battles ; in fact, the invincible centre of all that is good and powerful, and all other countries as, in a sense, her dependencies. This self-laudation extends through the whole life of a Frenchman, and, in believing it to be true, the nation have neglected the means of making it BO.

"The terms of peace were casually mentioned in my conversation with M. Fevre, when he remarked that the fortresses were the gates of the frontier ; to which I replied that France held the keys of these gates, and the German people bad decided that for the security of Europe

was necessary to keep on our side. He said that France might agree to the dismantling of the border fortresses, and would give all the money

she had, but never agree to the cession of territory. I replied that money was no compensation for loss of life, that what were needed, and would be insisted on, were material guarantees of a nature that would secure Germany from the necessity of sacrificing life in the future ; that.

it seemed as if France, after choosing the arbitrament of war, was now seeking to escape the natural penalties of defeat ; that she now had her terms, which might not be our terms six months hence, and that if she compelled us to protract the war ten years, we might annex France, and crown our kings at Rheims.

"'We are glad to have military men from other countries to see our Operations, although our Generals have made some objections on the ground that they encumber our army ; but we have told them to come among us, taking their chances for comforts. We have nothing, and do nothing, but what we are willing the whole world should see and know ; and we have told the French people everywhere that everybody may write to anybody, and we will forward their letters, only stipulating that letters passing through our lines shall, for military reasons, be left unsealed.'" (pp. 11-19.)