tion,
von Trott zu Solz; and for the interior, von Dallwitz, are of the old
nobility; but the other 7 ministers are not. Of the 12
Oberpraesidenten, men who rule the provinces, 6 are noblemen; of the 37
Regierungspraesidenten, 14 are of the nobility, 23 are not. This should
dispose finally of the frequently heard assertion that Germany and
Prussia are ruled by a small group of the landed nobility and that
there is no way open to the talents. It is fair to say that a very
small and intimate court group do have a certain influence in naming
the candidates for these posts, but they are too wily to keep these
positions for themselves.

I suppose we all like, in a childish way, to wear placards of our
prowess in the form of orders and decorations, but the evening attire
of this bureaucratic nobility often looks as though there had been a
ceramic eruption, a sort of measles of decorations. Men's breasts are
covered with medals, stars, porcelain plaques, and their necks are
hung with ribbons with a dangling medallion, all distributed from the
patriarchal imperial Christmas-tree for every conceivable service from
cleaning the streets to preaching properly on the imperial yacht. Men
collect them as they would stamps or butterflies, and some of them
must be very expert.

The officers and the officials who are recognized as giving their
services as a family tradition, as a patriotic service, or out of
sheer love of the profession of arms, are rather liked than disliked,
and give a tone and set a standard for all the rest. Both these
officers and their men are respected. Of no German soldier could it be
written:

"I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the
stalls."

On the contrary, every effort is made to keep the army pleased with
itself and proud of itself. The chancellor of the empire is always
given military rank; officers are not allowed to marry unless they
have, or acquire by marriage, a suitable income; the dignity of the
officer is upheld and his pride catered to; officers are made to feel
that they are the darlings of the Fatherland by everybody from the
Emperor down.

This artificial stimulant goes far to keep them contented, and the
fact that the scale of comfortable living in Germany was twenty years
ago far below, and is even now not