ably and how to summarize decisions. He was quite at home in the most divergent branches of the life of the State, and he had an enormous experience and a good knowledge of human nature at his disposal. He was a bureaucrat of the first order, indefatigably assiduous and punctual as a clock. He lived exclusively for his duties, and was prepared to sacrifice everything to them, even his views, his liberty and his comfort. He was one of the most objective men that I have ever known, and never allowed himself to be guided by his feelings. His being lacked all impulse completely. In his hands everyone was only a tool. He possessed little genius, and he had a command of detail rather than a power to view things as a whole, for he occupied himself far too much with the details of each department to allow him to find time to weigh the main decisions. He was a good stylist and possessed clear, sound taste, but he had no trace of an artistic nature. For anything new, uncommon or modern, he had absolutely no comprehension.
He probably did not possess a warm heart. At any rate, he knew how to control his feelings. Shortly after the terrible death of the Crown Prince Rudolf, my father had to see the monarch on a political subject, namely, the question of the new armament-proposals in connection with which he advised the King to give way. The King was the more calm, or at any rate, appeared to be so, of the two men. He began at first to talk about the official business. If nature had given him a more sensitive heart; he would never have been
