18, 1871, he had the satisfaction of seeing King William of Prussia crowned Emperor of Germany in the Palace of the French kings, at Versailles. In the same month he was appointed by his Imperial master Chancellor of the German Empire, and in the following March raised to the rank of Prince. In September of the same year he was present at the memorable meeting of the German and Austrian emperors at Gastein. Subsequently Prince Bismarck greatly offended the Catholic party throughout Germany by promoting the legal measures which were directed against the freedom of the Church, and which resulted in the expulsion of the Jesuits, and the incarceration of several bishops. In Dec., 1872, he resigned the presidency of the State Ministry, although he continued to confer with the Emperor on the affairs of the empire and its foreign policy. The Emperor also authorised him, in the event of his being unable to appear personally at a meeting of the Ministry of State, to give his vote on matters concerning the interests of the empire through the President of the Imperial Chancellery. On this occasion Prince Bismarck received from his royal master the Order of the Black Eagle, set in diamonds. In Oct., 1873, he was re-appointed as Prussian Premier. On July 13, 1874, as the Prince was driving in the country at Kissingen, he was fired at by a young man named Kullman, and slightly wounded by a shot which grazed his right wrist. The culprit was apprehended, and eventually sentenced to fourteen years' hard labour, with a further ten years' loss of civil rights, police inspection, and costs. An attempt was made to prove that Kullman was connected with the clerical party, and a statement to that effect made by Prince Bismarck himself afterwards led to an exciting scene in the German Parliament. Towards the close of 1874, at the instigation of Prince Bismarck, Count Arnim was imprisoned, and tried on a charge of having abstracted documents from the archives of the German embassy at Paris. He presided over the Congress of the representatives of the Great Powers which assembled at Berlin to discuss the provisions of the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878.
BJÖRNSON, Björnstene, a Norwegian novelist and dramatic poet, born at Quikne (Oesterdal), Dec. 8, 1832, first became known in consequence of some articles and stories which he contributed to newspapers, especially the "Folkeblad," an illustrated journal, in the columns of which appeared his "Aanum," "Ole Stormsen,"and "En munter Mand." The years 1856 and 1857 he passed at Copenhagen, where he studied the works of Baggesen, of Œlenschläger, and of the principal Danish writers. Afterwards he published in "Faedrelandet," his novel of "Thrond," which was followed by "Arne" and "Synnœve Solbakken." He has also produced several tragedies and other pieces for the stage. The following works of his have been translated into English:—"Arne: a Sketch of Norwegian Country Life," translated from the Norwegian, by A. Plesner and S. Rugeley Powers, 8vo, London, 1866; "Ovind: a Story of Country Life in Norway," translated by S. and E. Hjerleid, 8vo, London, 1869; "The Fisher Maiden," a Norwegian tale, translated from the author's German edition, by M. E. Niles, 8vo, New York, 1869—also translated from the Norwegian, under the title of "The Fishing Girl," by A. Plesner and F. Richardson, 8vo, London, 1870; "The Happy Boy: a Tale of Norwegian Peasant Life," translated by H.R.G., Boston, U.S., 1870; "The Newly-married Couple," translated by S. and E. Hjerleid, 8vo, London, 1870; and "Love and Life in Norway," translated from the Norwegian, by the Hon. A. Bethell and A. Plesner, 8vo, London, 1870.
