Bismarck’s Excesses and Decline
Bismarck, the great German, was well called "The Iron Chancellor." He had not only an iron disposition but an iron constitution, or he never could have lived under the enormous strain which he put upon his digestive organs. He himself estimated that he had drunk ten thousand bottles of champagne and smoked one hundred thousand cigars, besides drinking vast quantities of brandy, beer, and various kinds of wine. It was this which brought his career of usefulness to a sudden close. His constitution finally yielded to the tremendous strain. He might have lived, clear-headed and strong, for a number of years longer. Strange it is that sensible men will yield to any of these indulgences which science shows neither strengthen one physically nor quicken the intellect.