Bismarck-Schænhausen, Karl

OTTO, PRINCE VON, Prime Minister of Pru ia, and one of the ablest statesmen in Europe, B. at Brandenburg, 1st April, 1813, studied at Göttingen, Berlin, and Greifswalde; entered the Pru ian army, and was afterwards a lieutenant in the Landwehr. He became a member of the Diet of the prov. of Saxony in 1846, and of the United Diet, 1847, where he made himself remarkable by the boldne of his speeches. On one occasion he argued that all great cities should be swept from the face of the earth, because they were the centres of democracy and constitutionalism. Nor did the events of 1848 modify his opinions; but, on the contrary, he even censured and denounced the king for affiliating with the national party and following the tri-colored flag. The German parliament, a embled at Frankfort, unfurled the black, red, and gold ensign, and sent a deputation to Berlin with the offer of the imperial dignity to Frederick William IV. B. opposed this movement, because it recognized the sovereignty of the people. He declared that democratic, representative ideas, and the principles upon which the Pru ian monarchy rests, were mutually exclusive, and could never be made to amalgamate; the former deriving their authority from the will of the people, - which is only a euphemism for the club-laws of the barricades, while the latter are of divine installation. They can never be reconciled by parliamentary debates; sooner or later, indeed, the God of battles must decide between them by a throw of the iron dice. He then added that "the crown offered by the Frankfort A embly may be very brill i art, but the gold of which it is to be formed must be first obtained by putting the Pru ian crown into the melting-pot, and I have no confidence that, when mingled with the alloy of constitutionalism, the re-casting will succeed." In 1851, B. entered the diplomatic service, and was intrusted with the legation at Frankfort. Regarding Austria as the antagonist of Pru ia, he was sent, in 1852, to Vienna, where he proved a constant adversary to Count Rechberg. In 1858, a pamphlet, entitled La Pru e et La Question Italienne, appeared, the authorship of which was generally attributed to B. In this publication reference was made to the antagonism existing between Austria and Pru ia, and a triple alliance between France, Ru ia, and Pru ia was advocated. In March, 1859, B. was sent as amba ador to St. Petersburg, which post he held until 1862, and having conciliated the Czar, was decorated with the order of St. Alexander Newski. In May, 1862, he was appointed amba ador to Paris, where he received the Grand Cro of the Legion of Honor from Napoleon III., and on 22d Sept., in the same year, he was made Minister of the King's House and of Foreign Affairs. The Fig. 362. -PRINCE BISMARCK. budget having been rejected by the Deputies, but adopted by the Upper Chamber, B. , in the narne of the king, di olved the former after a series of angry altercations. The newspapers which protested against this despotic act were proceeded against with great severity, as were numerous public officials, magistrates, and others, who Deputies presented to the king, in which he was accused of having violated the constitution. Shortly afterward the affairs of Poland caused fresh difficulties. The Chamber of Deputies, by a majority of five to one, censured the ministry for having concluded (Feb. 8) a secret treaty with Ru ia. After the close of the aggre ive war waged by Pru ia and Austria against Denmark, (1864,) and in which Austria had reluctantly taken part, B. thought that the time had arrived for carrying out his long cherished project of making Pru ia the real head of Germany. His preparations for another aggre ive war were completed, and, aided by an alliance with Italy, in the white oxide was at one time very largely used, either as a dusting-powder, or combined with white ointment to dry up ill-conditioned sores, and as an application to cutaneous diseases. In a large dose it acts as an irritant poison; and as it not unfrequently contains arsenic, its use is by no means free from danger. It enters largely into the preparation known as Pearl Powder, used so extensively by ladies both on and off the stage; and very serious consequences often arise from its constant employment as a cosmetic, as is shown by paralysis of the mouth or eyelids, and other serious effects resulting from its use. Bis'muthal, a. Consisting or containing bismuth. Bis'muthic Acid. ( Chem.) See BISMUTH. MUTH.