At dinner the conversation turned on the Grand Duke of Weimar and such matters. The Minister said that the Grand Duke had been to see him the evening before, and wished to obtain some information which he (the Chief) was unable to give him. “He thinks that I am also _his_ Chancellor. On my politely declining, he said he must then apply to the King. ‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘but in that case his Majesty will have to refer in the first place to his Minister.’ ‘And the Minister?’ (Here the Chief bent his head a little to one side and smiled sweetly.) ‘He will maintain an impenetrable silence.”’ The Chancellor then said that he had been asked what was to be done with the Garde Mobiles captured at Strassburg. They were disposed to set them at liberty and let them go home. “God forbid,” said I; “send them to Upper Silesia.” _Friday, September 30th._--Received another letter from Bamberger, who is in Baden-Baden. He continues to use his talents and influence in the press to advance the Chancellor’s views. In my answer I begged him to counteract the ill-considered arguments of certain German journalists who now, while we are still at war, and have hardly done the heaviest part of our task, are already strongly urging moderation. The worst of these is Dr. Kruse, of the _Kölnische Zeitung_, with whom the idea that Metz must not be annexed because the inhabitants speak French has become almost a monomania. These gentlemen offer their advice as to how far we can or may go in our demands, and plead in favour of France, while they would do much better to insist upon still heavier demands, “in order,” as the Minister said in complaining of this being “preposterous” behaviour, “that we may at least get something decent, if not all that we ask for. They will compel me in the end to claim the Meuse as our frontier. Write also to Bamberger that I had credited him with more political acumen than to imagine that we really want to replace Napoleon on the French throne.” _Sunday, October 2nd._--At teatime to a remark that the poorer classes suffered comparatively more than the upper and wealthier, the Chief replied that this reminded him of Sheridan’s observation at Reims, for it was perhaps after all as well it should be so, as there were more poor people than well-to-do, and we must always keep in mind the object of the war, which was to secure an advantageous peace. The more Frenchmen suffered from the war the greater would be the number of those who would long for peace, whatever our conditions might be. “And their treacherous franctireurs,” he continued, “who now stand in blouses with their hands in their pockets, and in the next moment when our soldiers have passed by take their rifles out of the ditch and fire at them. It will come to this, that we will shoot down every male inhabitant. Really that would be no worse than in battle, where they fire at a distance of 2,000 yards, and cannot recognise each other’s faces.”