_April 22nd._--Aegidi told me this morning that the Chief wished to see the following subject discussed in the press. Prince Leopold of Bavaria, in consequence of his betrothal to the Austrian Archduchess Gisela, was to enter the Austrian army. During the war with France he had distinguished himself by his gallantry and other high qualities. Therefore, in spite of the pleasure caused in Germany by his betrothal, it would be a matter for regret if he were to be lost to the German, and particularly to the Bavarian army. Up to the present, there had not been any such intimate personal connection between the Bavarian army and the dynasty as existed for instance in Prussia and Saxony, and it must therefore be hoped that the rumour would not be confirmed, or that the decision might still be altered. Aegidi added that he had just sent a paragraph to this effect to Zabel (then chief editor of the _National Zeitung_), but that he had declined to publish it.... _May 4th._--Aegidi assures me that an article in the _Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung_, written by himself, reproduces the ideas of the Prince, in several places “almost literally.” After alluding to the nomination of Cardinal Hohenlohe as German Ambassador to the Curia, and with the erroneous interpretation placed upon it by certain newspapers, the article goes on to say: “It is not the business of a diplomatic agent to have his own plans of campaign, to deliver battle or gain victories, nor to exercise influence through threats, stratagems, or persuasion. He is only the intermediary between the Governments and Courts that hold intercourse through him, the mouthpiece of his Government, whose instructions he must carry out skilfully and conscientiously. In the present instance the aim of the German representative at the Vatican cannot for a moment be to persuade or win over the head of the Catholic Church, and still less to bring the great struggle between the civil and ecclesiastical powers to an issue by diplomatic talent and resolution. The first task of the representative of Germany at the Vatican would doubtless be to prevent the Pope from being misled with regard to German affairs. Were such a representative--thoroughly acquainted with the questions at issue, and well informed both as to persons and things--to succeed in this respect it would be a great gain. It must not be forgotten that such subjects as are generally included in foreign politics do not come in any way within the province of his diplomatic mission. The envoy to the Papal See has nothing whatever to do with territorial questions or other worldly interests, but only with affairs of Church and State. Nor can these be settled in Rome, or be dependent upon any decisions arrived at there. They must, on the contrary, be regulated by legislation, with the co-operation of Parliament; and it is in that way that they will be regulated. It is none the less desirable