March 16th, 1873. Cloudy.

At twelve o'clock we travelled by carriage to the Arsenal. This is a square building enclosing a quadrangle, and on entering through the gates we saw in the middle a giant brass statue of a lion standing over ten feet high. Originally this was made by the Danes to commemorate a victory over Prussia long ago, and it had been cast by melting weapons and set up in the Danish capital. After Prussia defeated Denmark in 1864, however, it was taken down and brought to Berlin and kept here in the Arsenal [it was later returned to Denmark].

The individual nations of the West are fiercely competitive and possess a strong spirit of independence based on their inhabitants' love of country. This is so intense that the nations never miss an opportunity to avenge a slight to their honour, even after hundreds of years. Western people seem to possess a more passionate sense of patriotism than people in the East. Thus, British people do not care to enter the United States' Capitol because of a painting inside which depicts an American victory over the British army. Yet there is a constant stream of British visitors to Belgium who come to pay their respects at the site of the Battle of Waterloo, whereas the French avoid the area completely.

On another occasion, when the French defeated the Prussians, the bronze statue on top of the Brandenburg Gate was taken down and set up in front of the Palais-Royal in Paris, but after the Prussian victory of 1815 it was brought back and restored to its original place.