conflict; and
that civilization itself was the stake at issue. We shall see that
beyond the wreck of empires and troubled days of reconstruction now upon
us--through it all approaches a wonderful new age. Autocracy has
crumbled; a higher form of democracy will arise and in peaceful days to
come the nations of the world will rapidly advance in all that
constitutes national well-being.

THE GERMAN STATES.

The early history of Germany is a confused panorama of a thousand years,
during which time Central Europe was a country of numerous separate
states, many of them at times coming together as a more or less closely
knit confederacy under the lead of a powerful state, only to fall apart
into a mass of confused units at a later date. It is interesting to
learn that among the Teutonic knights of that early time, none was more
noted than Count Thassilo Von Zollern who founded the house of
Hohenzollern, that played such an ambitious role in European history,
the house whose downfall was one of the dramatic results of the war.

THE RISE OF PRUSSIA.

At its height the German Empire consisted of a union of twenty-five
Germanic states of various grades and the Reichland of Alsace-Lorraine
under the leadership of Prussia, by far the most important state of the
Empire. The foundation of Prussia's greatness was laid by Frederick the
Great in 1763 when he tore Silesia from Austria in an entirely
unprovoked war. He wished to enlarge the bounds of Prussia, he coveted
Silesia, so he took it. In that deed of spoliation we see manifested the
spirit that has animated official Germany since that date. Not only is
the House of Hohenzollern descended from the Robber Knights of old, but
the same is true of the military caste of Germany generally. Recent
centuries have cast only a thin veneer of modern thought over
essentially medieval conceptions of national rights and duties.

THE DAYS OF BISMARCK.

For a century after the reign of Frederick, Prussia remained the most
prominent Germanic state in Europe. Then we come to the days of
Bismarck. He is regarded as a remarkable statesman. He himself delighted
to be known as the man of "Blood and Iron." Judging from his acts his
one motive in life was to advance the power and influence of Prussia. In
the decade 1860-1870 he instigated three wars,--with Denmark in 1864,
with Austria in 1866, with France in 1870,--not one of which was
justifiable. The war with France was occasioned by delib