New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-04

STUDIES or IT'S PRESENT LIFE.
GERMANY AND TIE GERMANS. BY William
Har3u:t Dawson. TWO volumes. PIP X. 1y;
,f-.t.

CArn,on life Cor himself While he writes
foreigner it is as a foreigner who has put HIM
self in the place Of those whom he aims 10 de-
scribe. lie has enleavorcd successfully to aVoid
generalites in discussing the traits OF the people
for the reason that ready-made theories Wonia
not apply to population so diverse IN oris.h
as that which overspreads the twenty-six States
OF the German Empire. Naturally he begins
with plea lie appeals to stolid, practical
Englishmen on point where they are most apt
to criticise Germans If Englishmen arc patriotic
they take pride i'm keeping silence on the subject
On the contrary, Germans are cffusve ana out
spoken on this topic. But MI. Dawson points
out that the possession Of a united country OF
something to be patriotic for IS barely more
than a novelty in Germany. l. was only III me
midst Of the anguish and humiliation inflicted
by the great Napoleon that the aspiration Tor
German unity awakened. lie points out as
the key 10 NapOleon's conduct. and To the results
unconsc,ouslv brought about by him, that vivid
and bitter remark: This old Europe makes me
tired" and shows how the conqueror would have
eracad ali boundaries on the Continent as he
did those in Germany. if he could have had his
way. In Germany he found country fitted 10
his nlan in some respects for Frederick the
Great had impressed upon Prussia and the
neighboring states, far as his influence eX-
tended. a sinister cosmopotansm. owing to-
which. as Goethe put it. NO German can buckle
his shoes before learning how 10 do 1t from a
foreign nation"
Honeess of national unity. the Germans of the
age preceding the Napoleonic wars PRETENDED u
despse it, and that is why those wars were, IN
Mr. Dawsons opinion, a blessing IN disguise
Germany needed shock; she needed 10 De
pulled together. TO be reminded OF What she was
hal hean should be; and the shock and the re-
mnder rude they were proved her saNauoh'
Almost the whole movement toward German
unity is within the memory of men still living.
Patriotism is naturally fresh and effusive in such
q cosa The children are taught IL from the
cradle and in school they reminded OF II
wherever they turn. They learn modern history
and particularly the history of Germany as no
children ever before learned the history OF 'he
recent past To this result have contributed the
most significant forces in literature. Mr. Dawson
touches with n loving hand the works OF the
lyric poets of Korner Arndt. Ruckert, Echen-
dorn Scbeukendorf INLAND. Miller. Schlegel
Arnin, Kerner. Hinkel, Kleist. Of Becker win
his one song The German Rhine, ana Man
scbneckcnburger author Of the "Wacht am
Rbne" These poets expressed every thought OF
the German heart its eagerness for battle its
storm determination to be trc1den down No
longer its melancholy willingness to die.
praCtlc0l
noon,e was the creation Of a nation Of soldiers.
Mr. Dawson IS far from cOndemnng the UNI
yarsa, obligation to military service. lie sees
the effect of the withdrawal Of so many young
nan from productive occupations, but he points
ort repeatedy that in spite Of this supposed
drawback Germany is steadily advancing to the
front rank in business The race Is not always
TO the swift. he suggests. and the German tor
toise even now acts as If hopeful of overakng
the English hare. What more than compen-
egtes Germany for all this computed loss Of
productive labor is the change which takes
place in the multitude which passes. year after
wear under the hands Of the drill master The
rigorous tests Of hardihood and endurance
tabNsh a mans physical condition for life; they
build ,p the weak and perfect the strong. while
the physically Incapable are relieved Of them
Between the p,oughboy when he enters the
army for his sthrec years service. with his
heavy awkward, slouching gait and the ma
ture erect man who is sent home the contrast is
wonderful; and this contrast is not brought
eSout now and then bat invariably in millions
Of individual cases. The mans habits are fixed
for life. he has attained self-control and he
has learned TO obey. Nor. rule, has he
felt the enforced service a disagreeable burden
He knows that all others. high or low, have 10
endure the thing and this impartial fate
Is less burdensome TO him on that account
Mr.. Dawson found that workngmen, as well as
every other class. proud and fond Of the
army They recall the incidents of their own
service with delight. Even the military aris-
tocracy constituted by the officers, though APP
parently an anomaly in an army which COM
prises all the citizens able to bear arms. Mr.
Dawson defends from the popular side.
Doubtless it is this pervasve military spirit
which makes patriarchal government possible
10 the extent known in Germany. nation
used to obedience willingly endures the over
sight and management Of grade upon grade Of
officials, from the policeman upward. The indi-
vidua citizen knows that as a rule this official
care is Systematically well-meant. Perhaps the
punctlous anxiety in the matter of titles has
been stimulated by the example of the army,
though 1t must have originated in the small
court life Of the old chaotic Germany The law
is sometimes appealed to against those who with
hold proper sautation. and in the society Of
small towns, says'Mr. Dawson the formality of
titles is observed to the point Of chdishness.
Thus he observes that a newspaper in Munich
recently recorded the death Of the Royal Court
Theatre Color grinders Assistants wife But
there is one thing worth noting about all titles
whether sensible or absurd, in Germany; they
are rightfully acquired. \ man does not-as he
may in England or Amcrica-call himself a
doctor unless he has a nght 10 do 50. There
are professors without claim upon the title
The artist is sculptor painter or "A musician.
not a minstrel dancer or a roller-skater
AS to all these points the constrant of German
social life is more apparent than real This
Is particularly true Of the condition Of women
who may seem to the foreign visitor little bet
ter than slaves but who are. in MIR Dawaon's
opinion more self-depreciated than Deprecated
by the other They are uncOnsciously under
restraint whose principal cause lies in them
selves. II they would. they might be az free
as air Tomorrow. for the cage that confines
them is, In part at any rate Of their own max
Ing and they can open the door IL they Will"
The wife shares the life Of her husband both at
home and abroad q n dearea u,l,nou,, r., ~,