life was scandalized by the cynical
tactics of the Conservatives. The emperor, strong Christian though he
was, was shocked at the idea of serving Christianity by a compact with
unscrupulous demagogues and ignorant fanatics. Prince Bismarck growled
out a stinging sarcasm from his retreat at Friedrichsruh. Even Stocker
raised his voice in protest against the "Ahlwardtismus" and
"Bockelianismus," and called upon his Conservative colleagues to
distinguish between "respectable and disreputable anti-Semitism." As for
the Liberals and Socialists, they filled the air with bitter laughter,
and declared from the housetops that the stupid party had at last been
overwhelmed by its own stupidity. The Conservatives began to suspect
that they had made a false step, and they were confirmed in this belief
by the conduct of their new ally in the Reichstag. His debut in
parliament was the signal for a succession of disgraceful scenes. His
whole campaign of calumny was transferred to the floor of the house, and
for some weeks the Reichstag discussed little else than his so-called
revelations. The Conservatives listened to his wild charges in
uncomfortable silence, and refused to support him. Stocker opposed him
in a violent speech. The Radicals and Socialists, taking an accurate
measure of the shallow vanity of the man, adopted the policy of giving
him "enough rope." Shortly after his election he was condemned to five
months' imprisonment for libel, and he would have been arrested but for
the interposition of the Socialist party, including five Jews, who
claimed for him the immunities of a member of parliament. When he moved
for a commission to inquire into his revelations, it was again the
Socialist party which supported him, with the result that all his
charges, without exception, were found to be absolutely baseless.
Ahlwardt was covered with ridicule, and when in May the Reichstag was
dissolved, he was marched off to prison to undergo the sentence for
libel from which his parliamentary privilege had up to that moment
protected him.

His hold on the anti-Semitic populace was, however, not diminished. On
the contrary, the action of the Conservatives at the Tivoli congress
could not be at once eradicated from the minds of the Conservative
voters, and when the electoral campaign began it was found impossible to
explain to them that the party leaders had changed their minds. The
result was that Ahlwardt, although in prison, was elected by t