“The Emperor therefore demanded at a ministerial conference the submission of ministerial edicts which should contain what subsequently they in fact did contain.  Bismarck would not hear of it.  The Emperor then laid the question before the Council of State, and eventually obtained the edicts in spite of Bismarck’s opposition.  Bismarck, however, secretly continued his opposition, and tried to persuade Switzerland to persevere with its idea of an International Labour Conference.  The attempt was rendered nugatory by the loyal attitude of the Swiss Minister in Berlin, Roth.  At the very same time Bismarck was trying to influence the diplomatists against the conference.

“The relations between the Emperor and Bismarck, already shaken by these dissensions, were still further embittered by the question of the Cabinet Order of 1852.  Bismarck had often advised the Emperor to summon the Ministers to him.  This the Emperor did, and as the intercourse became more frequent Bismarck took it ill, was jealous, and dragged out the Order of 1852 so as to keep Ministers from the Emperor.  The Emperor resisted and acquired the abrogation of the Cabinet Order.  Bismarck at first agreed, but gave no further sign in the matter.  The Emperor now demanded either that the recission of the Order should be laid before him, or that Bismarck should resign—­a demand which the Emperor communicated to Bismarck through General von Hahnke.  The Chancellor delayed, but at length gave in the resignation on March 18th.  It should be added that already, at the beginning of February, Bismarck had told the Emperor that he would retire.  Afterwards, however, he declared that he had thought the position over and would remain—­a thing not agreeable to the Emperor, though he made no remonstrance until the affair of the Cabinet Order came in addition.  The visit of Windthorst to the Chancellor also gave rise to unpleasantness, though it was not the deciding factor.  In any case the last three weeks were filled with disagreeable conversations between the Emperor and the Chancellor.  It was, as the Emperor expressed it, a ‘devil of a time,’ and the question was, as the Emperor himself said, whether the dynasty Bismarck or the dynasty Hohenzollern should reign.  The Emperor spoke very angrily, too, about the article in the Hamburg News.  In foreign policy Bismarck, according to the Emperor, went his own way, and kept back from the Emperor much of what he did.  ‘Yes,’ he said, ’Bismarck had it conveyed to St. Petersburg that I wanted to adopt an anti-Russian policy.  But for that,’ the Emperor added, ’he had no proofs.’

“This conversation,” concludes Prince Hohenlohe, “between the Emperor and myself was told partly on the way to the lodge and partly on the way back.  Between came the shooting; but there was no sport, as the Emperor took his stand in the dark under a tree on which was a