, 1877-11-07
PRUSSIA.

The great literary event OF the ycar In Ger
many has been the publication Of Won Rankefs
Memoirs Ut Prince lIar1cnbrrg, Prime Minister
Of Prussia during tho first years Of the century.
lts peculiar history, aided to tic fact that it IL
probably the last great work of the venerable
hfstortan,-lIc Is In his SD ycar,-Icnd tu 1t an
almost dramatic interest. 0n,l1aracnbcrg's death
in 1sa!!, his papers wcrr sealrd up mud placed in
tho cro5al arclfycsat Berlin, with tue direction That
they shoul rctnain unopened for tlfty yenrs.
Notwithstanding this wcll-known fact, a,l enter-
prlslng Frcncliman published IN 1873 work
entitled "Afcmotres ttrccs des pa1ttrs dun
Hommo d'Etat." purportlng to be derived from
tlcEe papers. Yet, though tllis assumption was
denied IN thn very highest authority, the tor
gerry WIS CHincntlv successful IN FFance and
Englnnu Allson, with other historians, drew
largely from, It on tho s1,pposftt0n Of It's gctu.
inrncss, md 1t is still to he found iu soino H.
brarics rataioguca under 1farlrnberg as autllor.
At the clUse VI the lifty years, tho package was
brought to Bismarck, who, with Ets own llnnd,
broKu tho eeal mud minded tlIe inrlosed papers
to Won lkanke. tho hlstor'ogrnpher Of Prussia, to
edit.
Thc contents were in somo respects disap-
pointing. The ulen0lra lclt by tho prussan
Statesman. Instead OF extending, as was hoped,
through tic Whole of his career rs Minister Of
Frederick William Ill, unly covered Tho ycnrs
1s04-'G and part OF 1o07. In addition to this
manuscript, which was In HarlcnhcrEfs own
lio Iron, lip 10 isl2, ty Frie,irle syl,oil. TGia
latter Included d large number Vi official docu-
nlents, 1t WIS rot deemed advisable, for various
reasons, to publish this latter tl:l'luscrpt, but IL
alnctIon ansl appendix to tlle rlcnIUira. Thu
Whole wnrk consists vi fur vollttars tho first
and fourth bcing history Of tho wlolo period
iron, iist, to the war q liberation ~ 1913. BY
Fur Nankc, tho second atII th1rd Icing tho
It IL not diliIeult to imnginc tho interest with
which tAls testimony oi one u the foremost
actors III the great Sunolcunic drama, uecotn.
panied and explained os 1t IL l,y the rrcatcst OF
living historians, lIas Ecen welcomed 0Y tho
t;erInans. 1t tlllows lar the tlrst time the
cleartst iGht upon tlle causes Wllict! led to tho
disastrous defeat of jena, 1t slows llat!lenberg
during his enforced retfrcmeut-Sapuleun ~
fused to nrgottatc with tlu kiig unlil lie bad
tst,l.artl ulid baMisnc0 tis Misunderstanding
viii. Slc.,u.r mil Attenstcn tho relurtns Which
sllo,s!l r,1!sr Prussia FROM the ruiu Into which
Abuye ull, u enablrs us 10 so1yG that n.nst In
portnut pt htstortcai problems, why rrussia,
which, under Frederick tho tiEeat. had Just con
guefed lcatilng rank nniong European powers,
shuslla, Within fifty years u tho tr!un,phs Ut
| lsussbartl anA Lruthcn, eoilaps0 nin,pst nt a
tourll, anl then ngain In sixty years utterly
a,nax9 tho world by o. display OF military
aii otIsr powers. . ~ to i iiar,len6crs moru thaa
any ulhcr man u that yeneratlaH, sayu etcin,
bvluiEs tlIG credit VI this marvellous revival.
To Lis keen prccepton Of t',o cases Ut tho rapId
decay of Prussia, and Ills lirlnt!ess in carrying
out thu reforms which lto conceived wcrg neces
| Bary to remedy thesu evils, n bue III great
measures thu commanding position VI prussIa
1t il |: po4.,blc here only In tue very briris.t
tnanneF to Indicate tbs tnnsc Important measures
by WHICH ttts was accomplished. They were thu
emancipation u the 1a1l1, and. as 11atliral cou-
seFilon resembling; TINT Ut sussla thu elevation
| Ut tho industrial c}a1ses by the nboiittun pt