The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-08-16
An English Tribute to Bismarck.

Not e,ra il the course Of BIsMARCK'S re-
cent triumphant tour through Germany did
he elicit a more cordial recognition NJ his
services to his country than is eviEccd in an
unsigned article contributed to the August
number Of the Contemporary Rcrie,c. The
wri.er is e disciple not Of BUCKLE, but OF
CARLYLE. He believes in great men. and
no can perceive no healthier instinct in
mankind thar that which prompts us to re-
we're and honor greatness.
To those who pretend that B~IsMARCK's
personality has been \ negligible factor in
the regeneration OF his fatherland. that
German unity was in the air, and that with
out him it must h.ve como quickly n in
ways essentially the sainc tho ContempO-
rnry replies hat they forget the situation
of Germany at large and OF Prussia in par
t!culnr early in the sixties. when a man.
before know only in diplomacy. was called
to Berlin to become Prime Minister. II at
that time the dream of German consoli.
dalton still fingered in beer gardens. the
preferred candidate for the post OF Emperor
was Duke ERNEST Of SaEe-Coburg -Gotha.
and the wisdom Of the selection measured
the chancc OF success. H. Prussia itself
tho prospects OF monarchy seemed 50
tdIh tldJ hlES "lLlslhh 10 ruiu W
have written ont and signed his own alb
dication. Not that in 1852. any more
than in 1892. thcre was any lack of clever
bureaucrats, university professors. and
platform orators in tho Prussian capital:
there We're plenty Of smart men. but no
| great ones. At his wits end and almost
desperate. the sovereign %bethought himself
OF BISMARCK. The latter was by no means
n learned .lan. From books he had gained
very little. but Nature had given him n pair
of eyes which with one unerring glance
took in the motives and capacities OF men.
and not only the Immediate but the ulti-
mate bearing OF events. To this man the
King said Things have an ugly look. The
air savors OF tragedy: Of unpleasant his
torical parallels: of STAMFORD and
CHARLES l." What Of that ?" was the
answer What matters it. il duty points
directly to the scaffold?" I'm that case.
Forward" replied tho monarch, who re-
membercd that he was n soldier. So BIS
MARCK settled down to his task. and a
tough task he found it. FOR he and his King
had u world against them. For upward OF
four years he boro in silence an ~cver-in-
creasing volume of hatred and SANDER. and
faced tho imminent risk of impeachment
and execution. He held on when an nssas-
sin fired at him. and babe the crowd, who
would have lynched tho ruGian: Don't
hurt him. He can be OF more use to us
alive" At last all was ready. The char
acteristic German failings OF envy. cal
umny. and dlssension temporarily hid
their heads. aud for ono short moment this
man managed to gather all the enthusiasm
Of a great historic race into his hands. For
Il m he wrought II whole people to
tho pitch OF willingness to die for an idea.
Tho result was the birth of IA mighty aud
united Germany. Emperor WILLIAM. Won
MOLTKE, and almost all the other leaders
who seized the opportunity which BISMARCK
gave them. and made the great war epic
of our time. have passed away. But still
of vanished splendor one lofty pillar tells.
The workmen have persisted. but the nun
who planned. the architect, remains.
1t is about this nan that we are told that
the young Emperor got tired Of his over
bearing manners" aud determined TO be
master in his own house. Whose house !?
Who made it? Who kept it from falling
about tho owners ears? Who transformed
the crumbling masonwork OF tho Prussian
monarchy into the r~ock-lounded structure
of the German empire? How can the little
man who calls himself WILLIAM ii.
imagine that he can take in any one by
his talk about duties and responsibilities.
and about his obligation to safeguard the
fabric OF German unity, Then his first net
was To cut down the central column which
sustained the edifce? One knows not
whether to pronounce more shameless or