III.

1832-1833.  AEt. 18-19.

Study and travel in Europe.

Of the two years divided between the Universities of Berlin and Gottingen I have little to record.  That he studied hard I cannot doubt; that he found himself in pleasant social relations with some of his fellow-students seems probable from the portraits he has drawn in his first story, “Morton’s Hope,” and is rendered certain so far as one of his companions is concerned.  Among the records of the past to which he referred during his last visit to this country was a letter which he took from a collection of papers and handed me to read one day when I was visiting him.  The letter was written in a very lively and exceedingly familiar vein.  It implied such intimacy, and called up in such a lively way the gay times Motley and himself had had together in their youthful days, that I was puzzled to guess who could have addressed him from Germany in that easy and off-hand fashion.  I knew most of his old friends who would be likely to call him by his baptismal name in its most colloquial form, and exhausted my stock of guesses unsuccessfully before looking at the signature.  I confess that I was surprised, after laughing at the hearty and almost boyish tone of the letter, to read at the bottom of the page the signature of Bismarck.  I will not say that I suspect Motley of having drawn the portrait of his friend in one of the characters of “Morton’s Hope,” but it is not hard to point out traits in one of them which we can believe may have belonged to the great Chancellor at an earlier period of life than that at which the world contemplates his overshadowing proportions.

Hoping to learn something of Motley during the two years while we had lost sight of him, I addressed a letter to His Highness Prince Bismarck, to which I received the following reply:—­

Foreignoffice, Berlin, March 11, 1878.

Sir,—­I am directed by Prince Bismarck to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 1st of January, relating to the biography of the late Mr. Motley.  His Highness deeply regrets that the state of his health and pressure of business do not allow him to contribute personally, and as largely as he would be delighted to do, to your depicting of a friend whose memory will be ever dear to him.  Since I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mr. Motley at Varzin, I have been intrusted with communicating to you a few details I have gathered from the mouth of the Prince.  I enclose them as they are jotted down, without any attempt of digestion.

                    I have the honor to be
                                   Your obedient servant,
          
                                        Lothair Bucher.

     “Prince Bismarck said:—­