“But if, according to Minister To-be-sure’s information, every man should be obliged to share in the defence—”
“Oh, nonsense. So what I mean is, we will travel; we will bring up our Rudolf to be a pattern man; we will follow our noble aim—the propaganda of peace; and we—we will love each other!”
The carnival this same year brought with it once more balls and pleasures of all sorts; but my mourning kept me away from all such things. But what astonished me was that the whole of society did not abstain from such mad goings on. Surely there must have been a loss in almost every family; but, as it seemed, folks set all that at nought. A few houses, it is true, remained closed, especially among the aristocracy; but there was no want of opportunities for the young people to dance, and the most favoured partners were, of course, those who had come back from the battlefields of Italy and Bohemia; and the naval officers were those most fêted, especially those who had fought at Lissa. Half the lady world had fallen in love with Tegethoff, the youthful admiral, as they had done with the handsome General Gablenz after the campaign of Schleswig-Holstein. “Custoza” and “Lissa” were the two trump-cards which were everywhere played in any conversation about the war which was over. Along with this, the needle-gun and Landwehr came in—two institutions which must be introduced as speedily as possible—and then future victories were assured to us. Victories? when and over whom? On this point people did not speak out; but the idea of revenge, which is wont to accompany the loss of a game, even if it be only a game at cards, was hovering over all the utterances of the politicians. If even we did not ourselves take the field once more against the Prussians, perhaps there might be others who would take it on themselves to avenge us. All appearances seemed to show that France would get into a quarrel with our conquerors, and then they might get paid off for a good deal. The thing had even got a name in diplomatic circles—“La Revanche de Sadowa.” Such was the triumphant announcement to us of Minister To-be-sure.
It was at the beginning of spring that once more a certain “black spot” appeared on the horizon—a “question” as they call it. The news also of French preparations provided the conjectural politicians with what they love so—“the prospect of war.” The question this time was called that of Luxembourg.
Luxembourg? What was there then of such great importance to the world in that? On this subject I had again to embark in studies similar to those about Schleswig-Holstein. The name was indeed familiar to me only from Suppé’s Jolly Companions, in which, as is well known, a Count of Luxembourg “spends all he has in dress—dress—dress.” The result of my studies was as follows:—
Luxembourg belonged according to the treaties of 1814 and 1816 (Ah! there we have it! treaties—they contain ready-made the root of a national quarrel—a fine institution these treaties) to the King of the Netherlands, and at the same time to the German Bund. Prussia had the right to garrison the capital. Now, however, as Prussia had renounced her share in the old Bund, how could she keep the right of garrison? That was the point—the “question.” The peace of Prague had in fact introduced a new system into Germany, and thereby the connection with Luxembourg had been dissolved; why then did the Prussians maintain their right of garrison? “To be sure” that was an intricate affair, and the most advantageous and righteous way of settling it would be to slaughter fresh hundreds of thousands—that every “enlightened” politician must allow. The Dutch had never attached any importance to the possession of the Grand Duchy; the king also—William III—attached no importance to it, and would have been happy to cede it to France for a sum to be paid into his privy purse; so private negotiations now commenced between the king and the French Cabinet. Exactly; secrecy is always the essence of all diplomacy. The peoples are not to know anything of the matters in dispute; as soon as the latter are ripe for decision they have the right to bleed for them. Why and wherefore they are fighting each other is a question of no importance.
It was not till the end of March that the king made the official announcement, and on the same day as that on which his assent was telegraphed to France, the Prussian ambassador at the Hague was informed of it. On that began negotiations with Prussia. The latter appealed to the guarantees of the treaties of 1859, the foundations on which the kingdom of Holland stood. Public opinion in Prussia (What is meant by public opinion? Possibly the writers of leading articles) was indignant that the old German Reichsland should be torn away; and in the Reichstag of North Germany, on April 1, there were heated questions on the subject. Bismarck, it is true, remained cool about Luxembourg; but nevertheless he set on foot preparations against France on this occasion, and they of course were followed by counter preparations on the French side. Ah, how well I know that tune! At
