Prince Bismarck, deeply irritated by the publication of the Diary,
has demanded and obtained from the Emperor William a criminal prosecution of the Deutsche Rundschau, intended, it is supposed, to compel the proprietor to give up his authority. As the prosecution is under the law for- bidding the betrayal of State secrets, it will be necessary to success to admit the genuineness of the Diary. This, however, the Chancellor denies, though in a very cautious and peculiar way. He says the Crown Prince was ill- informed, the late King dreading lest, if the Crown Prince were admitted to a knowledge of " esoteric " politics, " indis- creet revelations might be made to the English Court,"
sharp hit en passant at the Empress-Mother. There are, besides, chronological blunders, the conversation on the future of Germany having occurred at .Donchery on September 3rd, and not at Versailles. The idea that the Prince could have thought of using force against
German allies is a calumny on him. It may have existed among his entourage, but was too " dishonourable to find an echo in his heart." Prince Bismarck admits tacitly that he drafted the King of Bavaria's letter, offering the Imperial Throne to King William, but says King Ludwig had shown his loyalty by placing his army at Prussian dis- position. As to Infallibility, Prince Bismarck did not utter the opinion attributed to him at the time stated, so the Diary could not have been written up daily. All this is weak. If the Diary has been published without sanction, Prince Bismarck has deep reason to complain ; but minute criticism of this kind amounts to nothing. Literary forgers do not devise great policies.
