Memoirs of Bertha von Suttner: The Records of an Eventful Life (Vol. 2 of 2)Suttner, Bertha von
History
Memoirs of Bertha von Suttner: The Records of an Eventful Life (Vol. 2 of 2)
Suttner, Bertha von
Peace; Suttner, Bertha von, 1843-1914; Women -- Austria -- Biography
At Paris during that time I formed a new bond of friendship which has
proved very valuable to me. An English lady, the daughter of a sea
captain, earning her living in Paris by giving English lessons, had
asked to be presented to me in the Congress hall. I exchanged a few
pleasant words with her and then turned to others. The following day she
wrote me a letter. This was filled with such enthusiasm, with such
devotion to my cause and my person, that I was captivated and asked the
writer to come to see me. Miss Alice Williams—for that was her name—came
immediately and brought me a bunch of roses. But more than flowers, she
brought me a soul—a soul overflowing with the ideals that are precious
to me. As the daughter of an English “sea-bear,” and rather
chauvinistically educated and inclined, she had been, so she told me,
converted by reading _Die Waffen nieder_, and from that time forth had
been a devoted adherent. In the course of years she has proved that such
was the case. I am deeply indebted to her for her friendship, her wise
suggestions, her energy, and her activity.
After our return to Harmannsdorf I devoted myself once more to literary
occupations. I wrote the novel _Marthas Kinder_, the sequel to _Die
Waffen nieder_. My Own also again resumed his labors and wrote on his
novel _Im Zeichen des Trusts_. But in spite of this we did not neglect
our work for the Unions and our journalistic writing. I took especial
pains to make the newspaper public acquainted with the Hague business,
which now threatened to be entirely forgotten in the excitement of
Chinese and South African events.
But, in the meantime, the various conventions were ratified and the
judges of the permanent tribunal were nominated. In accordance with the
agreement, each country was to nominate four judges from among its most
influential and distinguished men. The number of names thus selected
furnishes a list from which, in case of a controversy which is referred
to the Hague tribunal, the contending parties may each select two
judges, not belonging to their own land; and these in their turn will
choose a fifth to serve as president of the court.
The newspapers brought us the names of the nominees. Among those from
Austria were Count Schönborn, and Lammasch; from Hungary, Count Apponyi;
from France, Bourgeois and D’Estournelles. Of the Russian judges I found
only the name of Professor von Martens. So I wrote to him both to
congratulate him and also to ask him who were the three others named by
the Russian government. I received the following letter in reply:
St. Petersburg, November 1 (14), 1900
My dear Baroness:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account