The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13
CHAPTER V. BISMARCK.
By HERBERT CANTON.

E become incapacitated y mental disease, was
 succeeded first as regent and in 1861 as king
 by his brother William, who took the title William l. The late king had been looked upon as dreamer He was certainly not the monarch to rule Prussia in the years which were to come The king of different stuff. Bred in the army, he the beau ideal If the soldier. It was in military terms that he thought and he had almost as clear vision of his nations future as Bismarck himself
 He was cognizant of Prussa's position in Euro pean affairs. He knew her relations with France with the South German states, --ith Austria and Denmark He knew, too the temper of his people, and he had full realization that the time would come when united Germany must not only fight for its preservation but must strike it's enemies and strike them hard If Prussia was not to remain an isolated second rate nation it gather around it all the GermaRc states it could. To do this, war with Austria was not only possible, it was impera- tive. And the aggressive attitude of France must be quelled. This meant not intimidation, but war The Rhine German river. It must not wash the shores of France he German nation had for years had this a shibboleth .
 It has already been told low Prussian autocracy had for the time succumbed to the revolutionary movement in 1S4S. This was its fate also in most of the German states. Then the Frankfort diet was revived, and the attempt was made to furnish . constitution.
 Like the French as described in the chapter on the revolution, the Germans were so unused to par liaments that they lost themselves in the ntricaces of legislative procedure. No two seemed to think in the same terms and the confusion was hopeless. All the petty jealousy of states to troubc the diet, and opinions were thick blackbirds but common basis of agreement did not appear. By agreement an Austrian archduke was appointed im- peral vicar, with power to slect his own mnisters Strife Over Constitution.
 But when it to formulating basic laws the republicans and constitutionalists fell out Then. too, the Danish question arose. Denmark claimed part of its realm the duchy of Schleswig and a portion of Holstein. The latter was mem- Der of the German confederation. The German party in those duches f~d risen against the Danes in 184S, but had been defeated Later the Prussians drove the victors out of Scheswg, but this and the Danish blockade of Prussian ports on the Baltic had caused bad feeling on hoth sides.
 Meanwhile the question of the constitution had not been settled, and seemed far of ever. The revolutionary party was still nsistent; the aristo- crats of Prussia and elsewhere were more alarmed than ever, and the king, on whom demand had been made to recognize the Austrian revoutionists instead called out the troops in Berlin. Later quiet was restored and the diet agreed upon certain basic laws. It also decided that Austria should be excludcd. This meant the domination If Prussia, and the title emperor offered to Frederick Will lam He refused it, not wishing to accept crown from the mob, and ,trie the constitution be- gan among the states In several there were up- risings which the Prrssan soldiers sought to quell At last it was accepted by Ssxony and Hanover It curbed democracy and extended the rulers powers.
 After parliament had net and accepted the con- stitution, Saxony, Hanover Bavaria, and Wurttem- berg withdrew and asked Austria to reconsider re- vival of the confederation. This in fact done. There then grave trouble in Hesse-C -Cassel, and soon after the Danish recommended. This mat ter compromised in . few months however. The breaking out of .he Crimean divided the Germans those in the south siding with. Austria, while Prussia showed clearly the Russian nhuencs