table-talk, etc. The best known are those of Busch, which have been
translated into English--and in spite of the fact that his sayings come
to us at second hand and colored by the personality of the transmitter,
we recognize the qualities which, by the universal testimony of those
who knew him, made him one of the most fascinating of talkers. These
qualities, however, come out most clearly in a little volume of letters
('Bismarck briefe'), chiefly addressed to his wife. (These letters have
been excellently translated into English by F. Maxse.) They are
characterized throughout by vivid and graphic descriptions, a subtle
sense of humor, and real wit; and they have in the highest degree--far
more than his State papers or speeches--the literary quality, and that
indescribable something which we call style.

Bismarck furnishes, once for all, the answer to the old French question,
whether a German can possibly have _esprit_--witness his response to the
German prince who desired his advice regarding the offer of the crown of
one of the Balkan States:--"Accept, by all means: it will be a charming
recollection for you." He possessed also to a high degree the power of
summing up a situation or characterizing a movement in a single phrase;
and his sayings have enriched the German language with more quotations
than the spoken words of any German since Luther.

Of the numerous German biographies, Harm's gives the greatest amount of
documentary material; Hesekiel's (which has been translated into
English) is the most popular. The best French biography is by Simon; the
only important English work is that by Lowe. For bibliography, see
Schulze and Roller, (Bismarck-Literatur) (1895), which contains about
600 titles. The Frankfort dispatches and the speeches have been
translated into French, but not into English.