On Saturday, Prince Bismarck had an almost Royal recep- tion
at Jena,—thousands of people flocking into the town to see the great statesman out of place, and lining the streets in spite of the pouring rain. He was received in state at the station by the Senate of the University and the members of the Town Council. Later, and in reply to the address of wel- come, Prince Bismarck made a very remarkable speech. People talked, he said, of the policy of Bismarck having luck. He wished he could say as much for the policy of the other Chancellor. His countrymen should produce a strong Par- liamentary majority so as to prevent absolutism, or govern- ment by bureaucracy,—a remark which, in spite of the fact that Germans read their Bibles, was not greeted with cries of : "Is Saul also among the prophets ? " In the evening there were bonfires on the hills, and on Sunday the ex-Chancellor made another speech, this time to a gathering of some fifteen thousand people in the market.place. "I have sworn to found a Protestant Empire," said Prince Bismarck ; and he went on to attack the Catholic patty as anti-national. He was a faithful subject of the Emperor, but he had a right to criticise the Emperor's Ministers as sharply as he pleased. Prince Bismarck bears his fall very ill. He evi- dently intends, if he can, to ruin the Caprivi Administration. In spite of his immense capacity for intrigue, however, we doubt his power to do this. The new Chancellor has done very well, and the country knows it.
Previous page
