“In the sittings of the military commission when Rochow was Prussian envoy, Austria alone smoked.  Rochow, who was a passionate smoker, would also have gladly done so, but did not venture.  When I came I did not see any reason against it; and asked for a light from the Presiding State; this seemed to be noticed with astonishment and displeasure by him and the other gentlemen; it was obviously an event for them.  This time only Austria and Prussia smoked.  But the others obviously held it so important that they sent home a report on it.  Someone must have written about it to Berlin, as a question from the late King arrived; he did not smoke himself and probably did not find the affair to his taste.  It required much consideration at the smaller Courts, and for quite half a year only the two great Powers smoked.  Then Schrenk, the Bavarian envoy, began to maintain the dignity of his position by smoking.  The Saxon Nostitz would doubtless have liked to begin too, but I suppose he had not yet received permission from his Minister.  But when next time he saw that Bothmer, the Hanoverian, allowed himself a cigar, he must have come to an understanding with his neighbour (he was a good Austrian, and had sons in the Austrian army), for he brought out his pouch and lit up.  There remained only the Wuertemberger and the Darmstadter, and they did not smoke at all, but the honour and the importance of their States required it, and so on the following day the Wuertemberger really brought out his cigar.  I can see him with it now, a long, thin, yellow thing, the colour of rye-straw,—­and with sulky determination, as a sacrifice for his Swabian fatherland, he smoked at least half of it.  Hesse-Darmstadt alone refrained.”

On another occasion Thun received Bismarck in his shirt sleeves:  “You are quite right,” said Bismarck, “it is very hot,” and took off his own coat.

In the transaction of business he found the same thing.  The plan seemed to be deliberately to adopt a policy disadvantageous to Prussia, to procure the votes of a majority of the States, thereby to cause Prussia to be outvoted, and to leave her in the dilemma of accepting a decision which was harmful to herself or of openly breaking with the Federation.  On every matter which came up the same scenes repeated themselves; now it was the disposal of the fleet, which had to a great extent been provided for and maintained by Prussian money; Austria demanded that it should be regarded as the property of the Confederation even though most of the States had never paid their contribution.  Then it was the question of the Customs’ Union; a strong effort was made by the anti-Prussian party to overthrow the union which Prussia had established and thereby ruin the one great work which she had achieved.  Against these and similar attempts Bismarck had constantly to be on the defensive.  Another time it was the publication of the proceedings of the Diet which the Austrians tried to make a weapon against Prussia.  The whole intercourse became nothing but a series of disputes, sometimes serious, sometimes trivial.