The Story of Mankind [157]
the last of the Austrian troops had been destroyed at
Koniggratz and Sadowa and the road to Vienna lay open. But
Bismarck did not want to go too far. He knew that he would
need a few friends in Europe. He offered the defeated
Habsburgs very decent terms of peace, provided they would
resign their chairmanship of the Confederation. He was less
merciful to many of the smaller German states who had taken
the side of the Austrians, and annexed them to Prussia. The
greater part of the northern states then formed a new organisation,
the so-called North German Confederacy, and victorious
Prussia assumed the unofficial leadership of the German
people.
Europe stood aghast at the rapidity with which the work of
consolidation had been done. England was quite indifferent
but France showed signs of disapproval. Napoleon's hold
upon the French people was steadily diminishing. The Crimean
war had been costly and had accomplished nothing.
A second adventure in the year 1863, when a French army
had tried to force an Austrian Grand-Duke by the name of
Maximilian upon the Mexican people as their Emperor, had
come to a disastrous end as soon as the American Civil War had
been won by the North. For the Government at Washington
had forced the French to withdraw their troops and this had
given the Mexicans a chance to clear their country of the enemy
and shoot the unwelcome Emperor.
It was necessary to give the Napoleonic throne a new
coat of glory-paint. Within a few years the North German
Confederation would be a serious rival of France. Napoleon
decided that a war with Germany would be a good thing for his
dynasty. He looked for an excuse and Spain, the poor victim
of endless revolutions, gave him one.
Just then the Spanish throne happened to be vacant. It
had been offered to the Catholic branch of the house of Hohenzollern.
The French government had objected and the Hohenzollerns
had politely refused to accept the crown. But
Napoleon, who was showing signs of illness, was very much
under the influence of his beautiful wife, Eugenie de Montijo,
the daughter of a Spanish gentleman and the grand-daughter
of William Kirkpatrick, an American consul at Malaga, where
the grapes come from. Eugenie, although shrewd enough, was
as badly educated as most Spanish women of that day. She
was at the mercy of her spiritual advisers and these worthy
gentlemen felt no love for the Protestant King of Prussia. ``Be
bold,'' was the advice of the Empress to her husband, but she
omitted to add the second half of that famous Persian proverb
which admonishes the hero to ``be bold but not too bold.''
Napoleon, convinced of the strength of his army, addressed
himself to the king of Prussia and insisted that the king give
him assurances that ``he would never permit another candidature
of a Hohenzollern prince to the Spanish crown.'' As
the Hohenzollerns had just declined the honour, the demand
was superfluous, and Bismarck so informed the French government.
But Napoleon was not satisfied.
It was the year 1870 and King William was taking the
waters at Ems. There one day he was approached by the
French minister who tried to re-open the discussion. The king
answered very pleasantly that it was a fine day and that the
Spanish question was now closed and that nothing more
remained to be said upon the subject. As a matter of
routine, a report of this interview was telegraphed to
Bismarck, who handled all foreign affairs. Bismarck edited
the dispatch for the benefit of the Prussian and French
press. Many people have called him names for doing
this. Bismarck however could plead the excuse that the doctoring
of official news, since time immemorial, had been one
of the privileges of all civilised governments. When the ``edited''
telegram was printed, the good people in Berlin felt that
their old and venerable king with his nice white whiskers had
been insulted
Koniggratz and Sadowa and the road to Vienna lay open. But
Bismarck did not want to go too far. He knew that he would
need a few friends in Europe. He offered the defeated
Habsburgs very decent terms of peace, provided they would
resign their chairmanship of the Confederation. He was less
merciful to many of the smaller German states who had taken
the side of the Austrians, and annexed them to Prussia. The
greater part of the northern states then formed a new organisation,
the so-called North German Confederacy, and victorious
Prussia assumed the unofficial leadership of the German
people.
Europe stood aghast at the rapidity with which the work of
consolidation had been done. England was quite indifferent
but France showed signs of disapproval. Napoleon's hold
upon the French people was steadily diminishing. The Crimean
war had been costly and had accomplished nothing.
A second adventure in the year 1863, when a French army
had tried to force an Austrian Grand-Duke by the name of
Maximilian upon the Mexican people as their Emperor, had
come to a disastrous end as soon as the American Civil War had
been won by the North. For the Government at Washington
had forced the French to withdraw their troops and this had
given the Mexicans a chance to clear their country of the enemy
and shoot the unwelcome Emperor.
It was necessary to give the Napoleonic throne a new
coat of glory-paint. Within a few years the North German
Confederation would be a serious rival of France. Napoleon
decided that a war with Germany would be a good thing for his
dynasty. He looked for an excuse and Spain, the poor victim
of endless revolutions, gave him one.
Just then the Spanish throne happened to be vacant. It
had been offered to the Catholic branch of the house of Hohenzollern.
The French government had objected and the Hohenzollerns
had politely refused to accept the crown. But
Napoleon, who was showing signs of illness, was very much
under the influence of his beautiful wife, Eugenie de Montijo,
the daughter of a Spanish gentleman and the grand-daughter
of William Kirkpatrick, an American consul at Malaga, where
the grapes come from. Eugenie, although shrewd enough, was
as badly educated as most Spanish women of that day. She
was at the mercy of her spiritual advisers and these worthy
gentlemen felt no love for the Protestant King of Prussia. ``Be
bold,'' was the advice of the Empress to her husband, but she
omitted to add the second half of that famous Persian proverb
which admonishes the hero to ``be bold but not too bold.''
Napoleon, convinced of the strength of his army, addressed
himself to the king of Prussia and insisted that the king give
him assurances that ``he would never permit another candidature
of a Hohenzollern prince to the Spanish crown.'' As
the Hohenzollerns had just declined the honour, the demand
was superfluous, and Bismarck so informed the French government.
But Napoleon was not satisfied.
It was the year 1870 and King William was taking the
waters at Ems. There one day he was approached by the
French minister who tried to re-open the discussion. The king
answered very pleasantly that it was a fine day and that the
Spanish question was now closed and that nothing more
remained to be said upon the subject. As a matter of
routine, a report of this interview was telegraphed to
Bismarck, who handled all foreign affairs. Bismarck edited
the dispatch for the benefit of the Prussian and French
press. Many people have called him names for doing
this. Bismarck however could plead the excuse that the doctoring
of official news, since time immemorial, had been one
of the privileges of all civilised governments. When the ``edited''
telegram was printed, the good people in Berlin felt that
their old and venerable king with his nice white whiskers had
been insulted