Note 21 — Chapter XII

The sister of Sir Howard Elphinstone, at one time Equerry to the late Duke of Edinburgh, related to me that, when she was in Germany with her brother, they went one day to secure places for some ceremony in which a good many royal persons were interested. When they entered the room, a man showed Sir Howard Elphinstone the places reserved for him and his family, and as this person wore a kind of dress coat with gold lace, Sir Howard took him for a man-servant, and, on going away, slipped a thaler into his hand, which he accepted without making any remark. Later in the evening, Sir Howard and his sister discovered that the man whom they had tipped was Bismarck, who at that time, of course, was not so celebrated as he subsequently became.