alone left
for the general public. When the new building near the Thiergarten
shall be occupied, it is hoped that greatly improved acoustics and
ventilation may be secured, and the accommodations for visitors such
that it may not be said that there are Germans in Berlin who have for
years desired visitors' tickets of admission without having been able
to secure them.

By a singular good fortune, our tickets gave us seats for this debate
in full view of the leaders of each of the great parties. On the
first day the Prime Minister made his great speech, and on the second
day thereafter, Richter, the leader of the progressive party, took up
the speech point by point, and with bold and vigorous oratory for two
hours held the attention of all to his own opposing views. A man of
robust physique, still in the prime of life, Richter's dark complexion
and facial expression give the impression of "staying qualities"
formidable as lasting. The session opened at eleven o'clock A.M., and
the veteran General and Field-Marshal Von Moltke was the first
speaker. His rising was the signal for a general hush, and for about a
quarter of an hour all listened in breathless silence. Half the width
of the hall from the observer, his more than eighty years seemed to
sit lightly on "the great taciturnist;" and his fair complexion, fine
brow, thin face, and singular firmness of mouth have the fascination
of genius. Later, during the long and sometimes denunciatory speech of
Richter, he seemed wearied. Rising from his seat in the front rank of
the Conservatives on the extreme right, he moved to the rear, stood in
the aisle, took a vacant seat,--resting by various changes for
fifteen or twenty minutes; but when, between one and two o'clock, the
time for Bismarck's entrance approached, he returned to his own seat
and thenceforth listened attentively. Like the aged Emperor, Von
Moltke's age was most apparent in his movements. Sitting or standing,
he was the graceful, well-bred gentleman, as well as the dignified
chief of the German army. In walking, his movement is slow, and
lacking vigor to a marked degree. The offer of the Opposition to vote
for the bill with a term of one, two, or even three years, while
declaring that they could not vote for seven, was haughtily received
by the Prime Minister, who had already given his reasons, supported by
the Emperor, by Von Moltke, and other eminent military authority, for
adhering to the longer term. "I wil