Prince Bismarck was sixty-nine on Tuesday, and his birth- day
was, as usual, the signal for a shower of congratulations from all Germany. He is materially better in health, having recently submitted to physicians who insist upon reasonable diet ; but feels himself, he says, growing old. He has con- sequently requested the Emperor to relieve him of all his Prussian offices, the Premiership, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce. The Emperor was supposed to have agreed, and the new Ministers were even named ; but at the last moment, the old Monarch hesitated to make the change. The matter, therefore, is undecided, and the Prince remains for the present head of both Ministries. The change is -of little importance to Europe, as the Chancellor will in any case rule the German Empire, and everybody in it, Prussian Ministers included ; but if the application were sincere, it would indicate a certain consciousness of age.
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