TheCrimesofEngland

ByG.K.Chesterton

THECRIMESOFENGLAND

I—SomeWordstoProfessorWhirlwind

DEARPROFESSORWHIRLWIND,

YournameintheoriginalGermanistoomuchforme;andthisisthenearestIproposetogettoit:butunderthemajesticimageofpurewindmarchinginamovementwholly circular I seem to see, as in a vision, something of yourmind.But thegrand isolationofyour thoughts leadsyou toexpress them insuchwordsasaregratifyingtoyourself,andhaveaninconspicuousorevenanunfortunate effect upon others. If anything were really to be made of yourmoral campaign against the English nation, it was clearly necessary thatsomebody,if itwereonlyanEnglishman,shouldshowyouhowtoleaveoffprofessing philosophy and begin to practise it. I have therefore soldmyselfinto the Prussian service, and in return for a cast-off suit of the Emperor'sclothes (theuniformofanEnglishmidshipman),aGermanhausfrau's recipe

for poison gas, two penny cigars, and twenty-five Iron Crosses, I haveconsentedtoinstructyouintherudimentsofinternationalcontroversy.Ofthispart of my task I have here little to say that is not covered by a generaladjuration to you to observe certain elementary rules. They are, roughlyspeaking,asfollows:—

First, stick to one excuse. Thus if a tradesman, with whom your socialrelationsareslight,shouldchance tofindyoutoyingwith thecoppers inhistill,youmaypossiblyexplainthatyouareinterestedinNumismaticsandareaCollector of Coins; and he may possibly believe you. But if you tell himafterwards that you pitied him for being overloaded with unwieldy copperdiscs,andwereintheactofreplacingthembyasilversixpenceofyourown,thisfurtherexplanation,sofarfromincreasinghisconfidenceinyourmotives,will(strangelyenough)actuallydecreaseit.Andifyouaresounwiseastobestruckbyyetanotherbrilliantidea,andtellhimthatthepennieswereallbadpennies,whichyouwereconcealingtosavehimfromapoliceprosecutionforcoining, the tradesman may even be so wayward as to institute a policeprosecutionhimself.NowthisisnotinanywayanexaggerationofthewayinwhichyouhaveknockedthebottomoutofanycaseyoumayeverconceivablyhavehadinsuchmattersasthesinkingoftheLusitania.WithmyowneyesIhave seen the following explanations, apparentlyproceeding fromyourpen,(i)thattheshipwasatroop-shipcarryingsoldiersfromCanada;(ii)thatifitwasn't, itwasamerchant-shipunlawfullycarryingmunitionsfor thesoldiersin France; (iii) that, as the passengers on the ship had been warned in anadvertisement,Germanywasjustifiedinblowingthemtothemoon;(iv)thattherewereguns,andtheshiphadtobetorpedoedbecausetheEnglishcaptainwasjustgoingtofirethemoff;(v)thattheEnglishorAmericanauthorities,bythrowing the Lusitania at the heads of the German commanders, subjectedthem to an insupportable temptation; which was apparently somehowdemonstratedorintensifiedbythefactthattheshipcameuptoscheduletime,therebeingsomemysteriousprinciplebywhichhavingteaattea-timejustifiespoisoningthetea;(vi)thattheshipwasnotsunkbytheGermansatallbutbytheEnglish,theEnglishcaptainhavingdeliberatelytriedtodrownhimselfandsomethousandofhisowncountrymeninordertocauseanexchangeofstiffnotesbetweenMr.WilsonandtheKaiser.Ifthisinterestingstorybetrue,Icanonlysaythatsuchfranticandsuicidaldevotiontothemostremoteinterestsofhiscountryalmostearnsthecaptainpardonforthecrime.Butdoyounotsee,mydearProfessor,thattheveryrichnessandvarietyofyourinventivegeniusthrowsadoubtuponeachexplanationwhenconsideredinitself?Wewhoreadyou inEngland reach a condition ofmind inwhich it no longer verymuchmatterswhat explanation you offer, orwhether you offer any at all.We areprepared to hear that you sank theLusitania because the sea-born sons ofEnglandwouldlivemorehappilyasdeep-seafishes,orthateverypersonon

board was coming home to be hanged. You have explained yourself socompletely, in this clearway, to the Italians that they have declaredwar onyou, and if you go on explaining yourself so clearly to theAmericans theymayquitepossiblydothesame.

Second,when telling such lies asmay seem necessary to your internationalstanding,donottelltheliestothepeoplewhoknowthetruth.DonottelltheEskimosthatsnowisbrightgreen;nortellthenegroesinAfricathatthesunnevershinesinthatDarkContinent.RathertelltheEskimosthatthesunnevershines inAfrica; and then, turning to the tropical Africans, see if theywillbelievethatsnowisgreen.Similarly,thecourseindicatedforyouistoslanderthe Russians to the English and the English to the Russians; and there arehundredsofgoodoldreliableslanderswhichcanstillbeusedagainstbothofthem. There are probably still Russians who believe that every Englishgentlemanputsaroperoundhiswife'sneckandsellsherinSmithfield.TherearecertainlystillEnglishmenwhobelievethateveryRussiangentlemantakesa rope to his wife's back and whips her every day. But these stories,picturesque and useful as they are, have a limit to their use like everythingelse; and the limit consists in the fact that they are not true, and that therenecessarilyexistsagroupofpersonswhoknowtheyarenottrue.Itissowithmattersoffactaboutwhichyouasseveratesopositivelytous,asiftheyweremattersofopinion.Scarboroughmightbeafortress;butitisnot.Ihappentoknowitisnot.Mr.MorelmaydeservetobeuniversallyadmiredinEngland;butheisnotuniversallyadmiredinEngland.TelltheRussiansthatheisbyallmeans;butdonottellus.Wehaveseenhim;wehavealsoseenScarborough.Youshouldthinkofthisbeforeyouspeak.

Third,don'tperpetuallyboastthatyouareculturedinlanguagewhichprovesthatyouarenot.Youclaimtothrustyourselfuponeverybodyonthegroundthat you are stuffed with wit and wisdom, and have enough for the wholeworld.Butpeoplewhohavewitenoughforthewholeworld,havewitenoughfor awhole newspaper paragraph.And you can seldom get through even awholeparagraphwithoutbeingmonotonous,orirrelevant,orunintelligible,orself-contradictory,orbroken-mindedgenerally.Ifyouhavesomethingtoteachus,teachittousnow.Ifyouproposetoconvertusafteryouhaveconqueredus, why not convert us before you have conquered us?As it is, we cannotbelieve what you say about your superior education because of the way inwhichyousayit.IfanEnglishmansays,"Idon'tmakenomistakesinEnglish,notme,"wecanunderstandhisremark;butwecannotendorseit.Tosay,"JeparlerleFrenchelanguage,nondemi,"iscomprehensible,butnotconvincing.Andwhenyou say, asyoudid in a recent appeal to theAmericans, that theGermanicPowershavesacrificedagreatdealof"redfluid"indefenceoftheirculture,wepointouttoyouthatculturedpeopledonotemploysuchaliterary

style.Orwhen you say that theBelgianswere so ignorant as to think theywerebeingbutcheredwhentheyweren't,weonlywonderwhetheryouaresoignorant as to think you are being believed when you aren't. Thus, forinstance,whenyoubragaboutburningVenice to expressyour contempt for"tourists,"wecannotthinkmuchoftheculture,asculture,whichsupposesSt.Mark'stobeathingfortouristsinsteadofhistorians.This,however,wouldbetheleastpartofourunfavourablejudgment.Thatjudgmentiscompletewhenwe have read such a paragraph as this, prominently displayed in a paper inwhich you specially spread yourself: "That the Italians have a perfectknowledgeof the fact that thiscityofantiquitiesand tourists is subject,andrightly subject, to attack and bombardment, is proved by themeasures theytook at the beginning of the war to remove some of their greatest arttreasures." Now culture may or may not include the power to admireantiquities, and to restrain oneself from the pleasure of breaking them liketoys. But culture does, presumably, include the power to think. For lesslaboriousintellectsthanyourownitisgenerallysufficienttothinkonce.Butifyouwillthinktwiceortwentytimes,itcannotbutdawnonyouthatthereissomethingwronginthereasoningbywhichtheplacingofdiamondsinasafeproves that theyare"rightlysubject" toaburglar.The incessantassertionofsuchthingscandolittletospreadyoursuperiorculture;andifyousaythemtoo often people may even begin to doubt whether you have any superiorcultureafterall.Theearnestfriendnowadvisingyoucannotbutgrieveatsuchincautious garrulity. If you confined yourself to single words, uttered atintervals of about a month or so, no one could possibly raise any rationalobjection,orsubjectthemtoanyrationalcriticism.Intimeyoumightcometousewholesentenceswithoutrevealingtherealstateofthings.

Through neglect of these maxims, my dear Professor, every one of yourattacksuponEnglandhasgonewide. Inpure fact theyhavenot touched thespot,whichtherealcriticsofEnglandknowtobeaveryvulnerablespot.WehavearealcriticofEnglandinMr.BernardShaw,whosenameyouparadebutapparentlycannotspell;forinthepapertowhichIhavereferredheiscalledMr.BernhardShaw.Perhapsyou thinkhe andBernhardi are the sameman.But if you quotedMr. Bernard Shaw's statement instead of misquoting hisname,youwouldfindthathiscriticismofEnglandisexactlytheoppositeofyour own; and naturally, for it is a rational criticism. He does not blameEngland forbeingagainstGermany.HedoesmostdefinitelyblameEnglandfornotbeingsufficientlyfirmlyandemphaticallyonthesideofRussia.HeisnotsuchafoolastoaccuseSirEdwardGreyofbeingafiendishMachiavelliplotting against Germany; he accuses him of being an amiable aristocraticstickwhofailedtofrightentheJunkersfromtheirplanofwar.Now,itisnotinthe least a question of whether we happen to like this quality or that: Mr.Shaw, I rather fancy, would dislike such verbose compromise more than

downrightplotting.ItissimplythefactthatEnglishmenlikeGreyareopentoMr.Shaw'sattackandarenotopentoyours.ItisnottruethattheEnglishweresufficiently clearheaded or self-controlled to conspire for the destruction ofGermany.AnymanwhoknowsEngland,anymanwhohatesEnglandasonehatesalivingthing,willtellyouitisnottrue.TheEnglishmaybesnobs,theymaybeplutocrats,theymaybehypocrites,buttheyarenot,asafact,plotters;andIgravelydoubtwhethertheycouldbeiftheywantedto.Themassofthepeopleareperfectly incapableofplottingatall,and if thesmall ringof richpeoplewhofinanceourpoliticswereplottingforanything,itwasforpeaceatalmost any price. Any Londoner who knows the London streets andnewspapers as heknows theNelson columnor the InnerCircle, knows thatthereweremen in thegoverningclassand in theCabinetwhowere literallythirsting to defend Germany until Germany, by her own act, becameindefensible.IftheysaidnothinginsupportofthetearingupofthepromiseofpeacetoBelgium,itissimplybecausetherewasnothingtobesaid.

YouwerethefirstpeopletotalkaboutWorld-Politics;andthefirstpeopletodisregardthemaltogether.Evenyourforeignpolicyisdomesticpolicy.ItdoesnotevenapplytoanypeoplewhoarenotGermans;andofyourwildguessesabout some twenty other peoples, not one has gone right even by accident.Yourtwoorthreeshotsatmyownnot immaculatelandhavebeensuchthatyouwouldhavebeenmuchnearerthetruthifyouhadtriedtoinvadeEnglandby crossing the Caucasus, or to discover England among the South SeaIslands. With your first delusion, that our courage was calculated andmalignantwhen in truthourverycorruptionwas timidandconfused, Ihavealreadydealt.Thecaseisthesamewithyoursecondfavouritephrase;thattheBritisharmyismercenary.Youlearntitinbooksandnotinbattlefields;andIshould like to be present at a scene in which you tried to bribe the mostmiserable little loafer in Hammersmith as if he were a cynical condottieresellinghisspeartosomeforeigncity.Itisnotthefact,mydearsir.Youhavebeenmisinformed.TheBritishArmyisnotatthismomentahirelingarmyanymorethanitisaconscriptarmy.Itisavolunteerarmyinthestrictsenseoftheword; nor do I object to your calling it an amateur army. There is nocompulsion,andthereisnexttonopay.Itisatthismomentdrawnfromeveryclassofthecommunity,andthereareveryfewclasseswhichwouldnotearnalittlemoremoneyintheirordinarytrades.Itnumbersverynearlyasmanymenas itwould if itwereaconscript army; that iswith thenecessarymarginofmenunabletoserveorneededtoserveotherwise.Oursisacountryinwhichthat democratic spirit which is common to Christendom is rather unusuallysluggishandfarbelowthesurface.AndthemostgenuineandpurelypopularmovementthatwehavehadsincetheChartistshasbeentheenlistmentforthiswar. By all means say that such vague and sentimental volunteering isvaluelessinwarifyouthinkso;orevenifyoudon'tthinkso.Byallmeanssay

thatGermanyisunconquerableandthatwecannotreallykillyou.Butifyousay that we do not really want to kill you, you do us an injustice. You doindeed.

Ineednotconsidertheyetcrazierthingsthatsomeofyouhavesaid;asthattheEnglishintendtokeepCalaisandfightFranceaswellasGermanyfortheprivilegeofpurchasingafrontierandtheneedtokeepaconscriptarmy.That,also, is out of books, and pretty mouldy old books at that. It was said, Isuppose, to gain sympathy among the French, and is therefore not myimmediatebusiness,astheyareeminentlycapableoflookingafterthemselves.Imerelydroponewordinpassing,lestyouwasteyourpowerfulintellectonsuchprojects.TheEnglishmaysomedayforgiveyou;theFrenchneverwill.YouTeutonsaretoolightandfickletounderstandtheLatinseriousness.MyonlyconcernistopointoutthataboutEngland,atleast,youareinvariablyandmiraculouslywrong.

Nowspeakingseriously,mydearProfessor,itwillnotdo.Itcouldbeeasytofence with you for ever and parry every point you attempt to make, untilEnglishpeoplebegan to think therewasnothingwrongwithEnglandat all.But I refuse toplay for safety in thisway.There is averygreatdeal that isreallywrongwithEngland, and it oughtnot tobe forgotten even in the fullblazeofyourmarvellousmistakes.Icannothavemycountrymentemptedtothose pleasures of intellectual pride which are the result of comparingthemselveswithyou.Thedeepcollapseandyawningchasmofyourineptitudeleavesme upon a perilous spiritual elevation. Yourmistakes arematters offact; but to enumerate them does not exhaust the truth. For instance, thelearnedmanwho rendered the phrase in an English advertisement "cut youdead" as "hack you to death," was in error; but to say that many suchadvertisementsarevulgarisnotanerror.Again,itistruethattheEnglishpoorareharriedandinsecure,withinsufficientinstinctforarmedrevolt,thoughyouwillbewrongifyousaythattheyareoccupiedliterallyinshootingthemoon.It is true that the average Englishman is too much attracted by aristocraticsociety;thoughyouwillbeinerrorifyouquotediningwithDukeHumphreyasanexampleofit.Inmorewaysthanoneyouforgetwhatismeantbyidiom.

I have therefore thought it advisable to provide youwith a catalogue of therealcrimesofEngland;andIhaveselectedthemonaprinciplewhichcannotfailtointerestandpleaseyou.Onmanyoccasionswehavebeenverywrongindeed.WewereverywrongindeedwhenwetookpartinpreventingEuropefromputtinga term to the impiouspiraciesofFrederick theGreat.WewereverywrongindeedwhenweallowedthetriumphoverNapoleontobesoiledwith the mire and blood of Blucher's sullen savages.We were very wrongindeedwhenweallowedthepeacefulKingofDenmarktoberobbedinbroad

daylight by a brigand named Bismarck; andwhenwe allowed the Prussianswashbucklers toenslaveandsilence theFrenchprovinceswhich theycouldneithergovernnorpersuade.Wewereverywrong indeedwhenwe flung tosuchhungryadventurersapositionsoimportantasHeligoland.WewereverywrongindeedwhenwepraisedthesoullessPrussianeducationandcopiedthesoulless Prussian laws.Knowing that youwillmingle your tearswithmineoverthisrecordofEnglishwrong-doing,Idedicateittoyou,andIremain,

Yoursreverently,

G.K.CHESTERTON

II—TheProtestantHero

AquestioniscurrentinourlooserEnglishjournalismtouchingwhatshouldbedone with the German Emperor after a victory of the Allies. Our morefeminineadvisersinclinetotheviewthatheshouldbeshot.Thisistomakeamistakeabouttheverynatureofhereditarymonarchy.AssuredlytheEmperorWilliam at his worst would be entitled to say to his amiable Crown PrincewhatCharles II. saidwhenhisbrotherwarnedhimof theplotsofassassins:"Theywillneverkillmetomakeyouking."Others,ofgreatermonstrosityofmind, have suggested that he should be sent to St. Helena. So far as anestimateofhishistoricalimportancegoes,hemightaswellbesenttoMountCalvary.Whatwehave todealwith is an elderly, nervous, not unintelligentpersonwhohappens tobeaHohenzollern;andwho, todohim justice,doesthinkmoreof theHohenzollernsasasacredcaste thanofhisownparticularplaceinit.Insuchfamiliestheoldboastandmottoofhereditarykingshiphasahorribleanddegeneratetruth.Thekingneverdies;heonlydecaysforever.

IfitwereamatterofthesmallestimportancewhathappenedtotheEmperorWilliamwhenoncehishousehadbeendisarmed, I should satisfymy fancywith another picture of his declining years; a conclusion that would bepeaceful,humane,harmonious,andforgiving.

InvariouspartsofthelanesandvillagesofSouthEnglandthepedestrianwillcome upon an old and quiet public-house, decoratedwith a dark and fadedportrait in a cocked hat and the singular inscription, "TheKing of Prussia."These inn signs probably commemorate the visit of the Allies after 1815,though a great part of the Englishmiddle classesmaywell have connectedthemwiththetimewhenFrederickII.wasearninghistitleoftheGreat,along

with a number of other territorial titles to which he had considerably lessclaim.Sincereandsimple-heartedDissentingministerswoulddismountbeforethatsign(for in thosedaysDissentersdrankbeer likeChristians,andindeedmanufacturedmostofit)andwouldpledgetheoldvalourandtheoldvictoryofhimwhomtheycalledtheProtestantHero.Weshouldbeusingeverywordwithliteralexactitudeifwesaid thathewasreallysomethingdevilish likeahero.WhetherhewasaProtestantheroornot canbedecidedbestby thosewho have read the correspondence of awriter calling himselfVoltaire,whowas quite shocked at Frederick's utter lack of religion of any kind. But thelittle Dissenter drank his beer in all innocence and rode on. And the greatblasphemerofPotsdamwouldhavelaughedhadheknown;itwasajestafterhisownheart.Suchwasthejesthemadewhenhecalledupontheemperorstocome tocommunion,andpartakeof theeucharisticbodyofPoland.Hadhebeen such a Bible reader as the Dissenter doubtless thought him, hemighthaply have foreseen the vengeance of humanity upon his house. He mighthaveknownwhatPolandwasandwasyettobe;hemighthaveknownthatheateanddranktohisdamnation,discerningnotthebodyofGod.

WhethertheplacingofthepresentGermanEmperorinchargeofoneofthesewaysidepublic-houseswouldbeajestafterhisownheartpossiblyremainstobeseen.Butitwouldbemuchmoremelodiousandfittinganendthananyofthe sublime euthanasias which his enemies provide for him. That old signcreakingabovehimashesatonthebenchoutsidehishomeofexilewouldbea much more genuine memory of the real greatness of his race than themodern and almost gimcrack stars and garters that were pulled inWindsorChapel. Frommodern knighthoodhas departed all shadowof chivalry; howfarwehavetravelledfromitcaneasilybetestedbythemeresuggestionthatSirThomasLipton, letussay,shouldwearhis lady'ssleeveroundhishatorshould watch his armour in the Chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury. ThegivingandreceivingoftheGarteramongdespotsanddiplomatistsisnowonlypart of that sort of potteringmutual politenesswhich keeps the peace in aninsecureandinsincerestateofsociety.Butthatoldblackenedwoodensignisat least and after all the sign of something; the sign of the time when onesolitaryHohenzollerndidnotonlysetfiretofieldsandcities,butdidtrulysetonfirethemindsofmen,eventhoughitwerefirefromhell.

Everythingwasyoungonce,evenFrederick theGreat. ItwasanappropriateprefacetotheterribleepicofPrussiathatitbeganwithanunnaturaltragedyofthelossofyouth.Thatblindandnarrowsavagewhowastheboy'sfatherhadjust sufficient difficulty in stamping out every trace of decency in him, toshowthatsomesuchtracesmusthavebeenthere.If theyoungerandgreaterFrederickeverhadaheart,itwasabrokenheart;brokenbythesameblowthatbrokehisflute.Whenhisonlyfriendwasexecutedbeforehiseyes,therewere

two corpses to be borne away; and one to be borne on a high war-horsethroughvictoryaftervictory:butwithasmallbottleofpoisoninthepocket.Itisnotirrelevantthustopauseuponthehighanddarkhouseofhischildhood.ForthepeculiarqualitywhichmarksoutPrussianarmsandambitionsfromallothersof thekindconsists in thiswrinkledandprematureantiquity.There issomething comparatively boyish about the triumphs of all the other tyrants.There was something better than ambition in the beauty and ardour of theyoungNapoleon.Hewas at least a lover; and his first campaignwas like alove-story.AllthatwaspaganinhimworshippedtheRepublicasmenworshipa woman, and all that was Catholic in him understood the paradox of OurLadyofVictories.HenryVIII., a far less reputable person,was in his earlydaysagoodknightofthelaterandmorefloridschoolofchivalry;wemightalmostsaythathewasafineoldEnglishgentlemansolongashewasyoung.EvenNerowaslovedinhisfirstdays:andtheremusthavebeensomecausetomakethatChristianmaidencast flowersonhisdishonourablegrave.But thespiritof thegreatHohenzollernsmelt fromthefirstof thecharnel.Hecameouttohisfirstvictorylikeonebrokenbydefeats;hisstrengthwasstrippedtothe bone and fearful as a fleshless resurrection; for theworst ofwhat couldcome had already befallen him. The very construction of his kingship wasbuiltuponthedestructionofhismanhood.Hehadknownthefinalshame;hissoulhadsurrenderedtoforce.Hecouldnotredressthatwrong;hecouldonlyrepeatitandrepayit.Hecouldmakethesoulsofhissoldierssurrendertohisgibbet and his whipping-post; he could 'make the souls of the nationssurrendertohissoldiers.Hecouldonlybreakmeninashehadbeenbroken;whilehecouldbreakin,hecouldneverbreakout.Hecouldnotslayinanger,nor even sinwith simplicity.Thushe standsaloneamong theconquerorsoftheirkind;hismadnesswasnotduetoameremisdirectionofcourage.Beforethewhisperofwarhadcometohimthefoundationsofhisaudacityhadbeenlaidinfear.

Oftheworkhedidinthisworldthereneedbenoconsiderabledebate.Itwasromantic, if it be romantic that the dragon should swallow St. George. Heturned a small country into a great one: he made a new diplomacy by thefulness and far-flung daring of his lies: he took away from criminality allreproach of carelessness and incompleteness. He achieved an amiablecombination of thrift and theft. He undoubtedly gave to stark plundersomething of the solidity of property. He protected whatever he stole assimpler men protect whatever they have earned or inherited. He turned hisholloweyeswithasortofloathsomeaffectionupontheterritorieswhichhadmostreluctantlybecomehis:attheendoftheSevenYears'Warmenknewaslittle howhewas tobe turnedout ofSilesia as theyknewwhyhehad everbeenallowed in it. InPoland, likeadevil inpossession,he toreasunder thebodyheinhabited;butitwaslongbeforeanymandreamedthatsuchdisjected

limbs could live again. Nor were the effects of his break from Christiantradition confined to Christendom; Macaulay's world-wide generalisation isvery true thoughveryMacaulayese.But though, ina longview,hescatteredtheseedsofwarallover theworld,hisownlastdayswerepassed ina longand comparatively prosperous peace; a peace which received and perhapsdeserved a certain praise: a peacewithwhichmanyEuropean peopleswerecontent. For though he did not understand justice, he could understandmoderation.Hewasthemostgenuineandthemostwickedofpacifists.Hedidnotwantanymorewars.Hehadtorturedandbeggaredallhisneighbours;butheborethemnomaliceforit.

The immediatecauseof thatspiriteddisaster, the interventionofEnglandonbehalf of the newHohenzollern throne, was due, of course, to the nationalpolicy of the firstWilliam Pitt. Hewas the kind ofmanwhose vanity andsimplicity are too easily overwhelmed by the obvious.He saw nothing in aEuropeancrisisexceptawarwithFrance;andnothing inawarwithFranceexceptarepetitionoftheratherfruitlessgloriesofAgincourtandMalplaquet.HewasoftheErastianWhigs,scepticalbutstillhealthy-minded,andneithergood enough nor bad enough to understand that even the war of thatirreligiousagewasultimatelyareligiouswar.Hehadnotashadeofironyinhiswhole being; and beside Frederick, already as old as sin, hewas like aratherbrilliantschoolboy.

But the direct causeswere not the only causes, nor the true ones. The truecauseswereconnectedwiththetriumphofoneofthetwotraditionswhichhadlongbeenstrugglinginEngland.Andit ispathetic torecordthat theforeigntraditionwasthenrepresentedbytwooftheablestmenofthatage,Frederickof Prussia and Pitt; while what was really the old English tradition wasrepresented by two of the stupidestmen thatmankind ever tolerated in anyage,GeorgeIII.andLordBute.ButewasthefigureheadofagroupofTorieswhosetaboutfulfillingthefineiffancifulschemeforademocraticmonarchysketchedbyBolingbrokein"ThePatriotKing."Itwasbentinallsincerityonbringing men's minds back to what are called domestic affairs, affairs asdomestic as George III. It might have arrested the advancing corruption ofParliamentsandenclosureofcountry-sides,byturningmen'smindsfromtheforeigngloriesofthegreatWhigslikeChurchillandChatham;andoneofitsfirst actswas to terminate thealliancewithPrussia.Unfortunately,whateverwas picturesque in the piracy of Potsdam was beyond the imagination ofWindsor. But whatever was prosaic in Potsdam was already established atWindsor;theeconomyofcoldmutton,theheavy-handedtasteinthearts,andthestrangenorthernblendofboorishnesswithetiquette.IfBolingbroke'sideashad been applied by a spirited person, by a Stuart, for example, or even byQueenElizabeth(whohadrealspiritalongwithherextraordinaryvulgarity),

thenationalsoulmighthavebrokenfreefromitsnewnorthernchains.Butitwas the irony of the situation that the King to whom Tories appealed as arefugefromGermanismwashimselfaGerman.

WehavethustorefertheoriginsoftheGermaninfluenceinEnglandbacktothe beginningof theHanoverianSuccession; and thenceback to the quarrelbetween the King and the lawyers which had issue at Naseby; and thenceagaintotheangryexitofHenryVIII.fromthemediaevalcouncilofEurope.Itis easy toexaggerate thepartplayed in thematterby thatgreat andhuman,though very pagan person, Martin Luther. Henry VIII. was sincere in hishatredfortheheresiesoftheGermanmonk,forinspeculativeopinionsHenrywaswhollyCatholic;andthetwowroteagainsteachotherinnumerablepages,largelyconsistingoftermsofabuse,whichwereprettywelldeservedonbothsides. But Luther was not a Lutheran. He was a sign of the break-up ofCatholicism;buthewasnotabuilderofProtestantism.ThecountrieswhichbecamecorporatelyanddemocraticallyProtestant,Scotland,forinstance,andHolland, followedCalvin and notLuther.AndCalvinwas a Frenchman; anunpleasant Frenchman, it is true, but one full of that French capacity forcreatingofficialentitieswhichcan reallyact,andhaveakindof impersonalpersonality, such as the French Monarchy or the Terror. Luther was ananarchist,andthereforeadreamer.Hemadethatwhichis,perhaps,inthelongrun, the fullest andmost shiningmanifestation of failure; hemade a name.Calvinmadeanactive,governing,persecutingthing,calledtheKirk.Thereissomething expressive of him in the fact that he called even his work ofabstracttheology"TheInstitutes."

InEngland,however,therewereelementsofchaosmoreakintoLutherthantoCalvin.Andwemaythusexplainmanythingswhichappearratherpuzzlingin our history, notably the victory of Cromwell not only over the EnglishRoyalists but over the Scotch Covenanters. It was the victory of that morehappy-go-luckysortofProtestantism,whichhadinitmuchofaristocracybutmuchalsoofliberty,overthatlogicalambitionoftheKirkwhichwouldhavemade Protestantism, if possible, as constructive as Catholicism had been. Itmight be called the victory of Individualist Puritanism over SocialistPuritanism.ItwaswhatMiltonmeantwhenhesaidthatthenewpresbyterwasan exaggerationof theoldpriest; itwashis officethat acted, and actedveryharshly.Theenemiesof thePresbyterianswerenotwithoutameaningwhenthey called themselves Independents. To this day no one can understandScotlandwhodoesnotrealise that it retainsmuchof itsmediævalsympathywith France, the French equality, the French pronunciation of Latin, and,strangeasitmaysound,isinnothingsoFrenchasinitsPresbyterianism.

In this loose and negative sense only it may be said that the great modern

mistakesofEnglandcanbetracedtoLuther.Itistrueonlyinthis,thatbothinGermanyandEnglandaProtestantismsofterandlessabstractthanCalvinismwas found useful to the compromises of courtiers and aristocrats; for everyabstract creed does something for human equality.Lutheranism inGermanyrapidlybecamewhatitisto-day—areligionofcourtchaplains.Thereformedchurch in England became something better; it became a profession for theyoungersonsofsquires.Buttheseparalleltendencies,inalltheirstrengthandweakness, reached, as it were, symbolic culmination when the mediævalmonarchywas extinguished, and theEnglish squiresgave towhatwas littlemorethanaGermansquirethedamagedanddiminishedcrown.

ItmustberememberedthattheGermanicswereatthattimeusedasasortofbreeding-ground for princes. There is a strange process in history bywhichthingsthatdecayturnintotheveryoppositeof themselves.ThusinEnglandPuritanismbeganas thehardestofcreeds,buthasendedas thesoftest;soft-hearted and not unfrequently soft-headed. Of old the Puritan in war wascertainlythePuritanathisbest;itwasthePuritaninpeacewhomnoChristiancouldbeexpected to stand.Yet thoseEnglishmen to-daywhoclaimdescentfromthegreatmilitaristsof1649expresstheutmosthorrorofmilitarism.AninversionofanoppositekindhastakenplaceinGermany.Outofthecountrythatwasoncevaluedasprovidingaperpetualsupplyofkingssmallenoughtobestop-gaps,hascomethemodernmenaceoftheonegreatkingwhowouldswallowthekingdomsoftheearth.ButtheoldGermankingdomspreserved,andwereencouragedtopreserve,thegoodthingsthatgowithsmallinterestsandstrictboundaries,music,etiquette,adreamyphilosophy,andsoon.Theyweresmallenoughtobeuniversal.Theiroutlookcouldaffordtobeinsomedegreebroadandmany-sided.Theyhadtheimpartialityofimpotence.Allthishasbeenutterlyreversed,andwefindourselvesatwarwithaGermanywhosepowersarethewidestandwhoseoutlookisthenarrowestintheworld.

It is true, of course, that the English squires put themselves over the newGerman prince rather than under him. They put the crown on him as anextinguisher.Itwaspartoftheplanthatthenew-comer,thoughroyal,shouldbe almost rustic. Hanover must be one of England's possessions and notEnglandoneofHanover's.ButthefactthatthecourtbecameaGermancourtprepared the soil, so to speak; English politicswere already subconsciouslycommitted to two centuries of the belittlement of France and the grossexaggeration of Germany. The period can be symbolically marked out byCarteret, proud of talkingGerman at the beginning of the period, and LordHaldane,proudof talkingGermanat theendof it.Culture isalreadyalmostbeginningtobespeltwithak.ButallsuchpacificandonlyslowlygrowingTeutonismwasbroughttoacrisisandadecisionwhenthevoiceofPittcalledus,likeatrumpet,totherescueoftheProtestantHero.

Among all the monarchs of that faithless age, the nearest to a man was awoman.MariaTheresaofAustriawasaGermanof themoregenerous sort,limitedinadomesticratherthananationalsense,firmintheancientfaithatwhichallherowncourtierswere sneering, andasbraveas ayoung lioness.FrederickhatedherashehatedeverythingGermanandeverythinggood.Hesets forth in his own memoirs, with that clearness which adds somethingalmost superhuman to the mysterious vileness of his character, how hecalculatedonheryouth,herinexperienceandherlackoffriendsasproofthatshecouldbedespoiledwithsafety.HeinvadedSilesiainadvanceofhisowndeclarationofwar(as ifhehadrunonahead tosay itwascoming)and thisnew anarchic trick, combined with the corruptibility of nearly all the othercourts,lefthimafterthetwoSilesianwarsinpossessionofthestolengoods.ButMariaTheresahadrefusedtosubmit to the immoralityofninepointsofthelaw.ByappealsandconcessionstoFrance,Russia,andotherpowers,shecontrivedtocreatesomethingwhich,againsttheatheistinnovatoreveninthatatheist age, stood up for an instant like a spectre of theCrusades.Had thatCrusadebeenuniversal andwhole-hearted, thegreat newprecedent ofmereforce and fraudwouldhavebeenbroken; and thewhole appalling judgmentwhich is fallen upon Christendom would have passed us by. But the otherCrusaderswereonlyhalfinearnestforEurope;FrederickwasquiteinearnestforPrussia;andhesoughtforallies,bywhoseaidthisweakrevivalofgoodmight be stamped out, and his adamantine impudence endure for ever. TheallieshefoundweretheEnglish.ItisnotpleasantforanEnglishmantohavetowritethewords.

Thiswasthefirstactofthetragedy,andwithitwemayleaveFrederick,forwearedonewiththefellowthoughnotwithhiswork.Itisenoughtoaddthatifwecallallhisafteractionssatanic,itisnotatermofabuse,butoftheology.He was a Tempter. He dragged the other kings to "partake of the body ofPoland,"andlearnthemeaningoftheBlackMass.Polandlayprostratebeforethreegiants inarmour,andhernamepassed intoasynonymforfailure.ThePrussians, with their fine magnanimity, gave lectures on the hereditarymaladies of theman they hadmurdered.They could not conceive of life inthoselimbs;andthetimewasfaroffwhentheyshouldbeundeceived.Inthatdayfivenationswere topartakenotof thebody,butof thespiritofPoland;and the trumpet of the resurrection of the peoples should be blown fromWarsawtothewesternisles.

III—TheEnigmaofWaterloo

ThatgreatEnglishmanCharlesFox,whowasasnationalasNelson,went tohisdeathwith the firmconviction thatEnglandhadmadeNapoleon.Hedidnotmean, of course, that any other Italian gunnerwould have done just aswell;buthedidmeanthatbyforcingtheFrenchbackontheirguns,asitwere,wehadmadetheirchiefgunnernecessarilytheirchiefcitizen.HadtheFrenchRepublic been left alone, it would probably have followed the example ofmost other ideal experiments; and praised peace along with progress andequality. Itwould almost certainlyhave eyedwith the coldest suspicion anyadventurer who appeared likely to substitute his personality for the pureimpersonalityoftheSovereignPeople;andwouldhaveconsideredittheveryflowerof republicanchastity toprovideaBrutus forsuchaCaesar.But if itwas undesirable that equality should be threatened by a citizen, it wasintolerable that itshouldbesimplyforbiddenbyaforeigner.IfFrancecouldnot put up with French soldiers she would very soon have to put up withAustrian soldiers; and it would be absurd if, having decided to rely onsoldiering,shehadhamperedthebestFrenchsoldierevenonthegroundthathewasnotFrench.SothatwhetherweregardNapoleonasaherorushingtothecountry'shelp,oratyrantprofitingbythecountry'sextremity,itisequallyclearthatthosewhomadethewarmadethewar-lord;andthosewhotriedtodestroy the Republic were those who created the Empire. So, at least, Foxargued against that much less English prig who would have called himunpatriotic;andhethrewtheblameuponPitt'sGovernmentforhavingjoinedthe anti-French alliance, and so tipped up the scale in favour of a militaryFrance.Butwhetherhewas rightorno,hewouldhavebeen the readiest toadmitthatEnglandwasnotthefirsttoflyatthethroatoftheyoungRepublic.SomethinginEuropemuchvasterandvaguerhadfromthefirststirredagainstit.Whatwasitthenthatfirstmadewar—andmadeNapoleon?Thereisonlyonepossibleanswer:theGermans.ThisisthesecondactofourdramaofthedegradationofEnglandtothelevelofGermany.Andithasthisveryimportantdevelopment;thatGermanymeansbythistimealltheGermans,justasitdoesto-day. The savagery of Prussia and the stupidity of Austria are nowcombined. Mercilessness and muddleheadedness are met together;unrighteousnessandunreasonablenesshavekissedeachother;andthetempterand the tempted are agreed.Thegreat andgoodMariaTheresawas alreadyold.Shehadasonwhowasaphilosopherof theschoolofFrederick;alsoadaughterwhowasmorefortunate,forshewasguillotined.Itwasnatural,nodoubt, thatherbrotherandrelativesshoulddisapproveof theincident;but itoccurred long after thewholeGermanic power had been hurled against thenewRepublic.LouisXVI.himselfwasstillaliveandnominallyrulingwhenthefirstpressurecamefromPrussiaandAustria,demandingthatthetrendofthe French emancipation should be reversed. It is impossible to deny,therefore, thatwhat the unitedGermanicswere resolved to destroywas the

reformandnoteventheRevolution.ThepartwhichJosephofAustriaplayedin thematter is symbolic. For hewaswhat is called an enlightened despot,whichistheworstkindofdespot.HewasasirreligiousasFredericktheGreat,but not so disgusting or amusing. The old and kindly Austrian family, ofwhichMariaTheresawas the affectionatemother, andMarieAntoinette therather uneducated daughter, was already superseded and summed up by aratherdried-upyoungmanself-schooledtoaPrussianefficiency.Theneedleisalreadyveeringnorthward.Prussiaisalreadybeginningtobethecaptainofthe Germanics "in shining armour." Austria is already becoming aloyalsekundant.

ButtherestillremainsonegreatdifferencebetweenAustriaandPrussiawhichdevelopedmore andmore as the energy of the youngNapoleonwas drivenlike a wedge between them. The difference can be most shortly stated bysayingthatAustriadid,insomeblunderingandbarbaricway,careforEurope;butPrussiacaredfornothingbutPrussia.Austriaisnotanation;youcannotreallyfindAustriaonthemap.ButAustriaisakindofEmpire;aHolyRomanEmpire that never came, an expanding and contracting-dream. It does feelitself,inavaguepatriarchalway,theleader,notofanation,butofnations.ItislikesomedyingEmperorofRomeinthedecline;whoshouldadmitthatthelegionshadbeenwithdrawnfromBritainorfromParthia,butwouldfeelitasfundamentally natural that they should have been there, as in Sicily orSouthernGaul.IwouldnotassertthattheagedFrancisJosephimaginesthathe isEmperorofScotlandorofDenmark;butIshouldguess thatheretainssomenotionthatifhedidruleboththeScotsandtheDanes,itwouldnotbemore incongruous than his ruling both the Hungarians and the Poles. Thiscosmopolitanism ofAustria has in it a kind of shadow of responsibility forChristendom.Anditwasthisthatmadethedifferencebetweenitsproceedingsand those of the purely selfish adventurer from the north, the wild dog ofPomerania.

Itmaybebelieved,asFoxhimselfcameatlasttobelieve,thatNapoleoninhislatestyearswasreallyanenemytofreedom,inthesensethathewasanenemyto that very special and occidental form of freedom which we callNationalism. The resistance of the Spaniards, for instance, was certainly apopularresistance.Ithadthatpeculiar,belated,almostsecretivestrengthwithwhichwarismadebythepeople.ItwasquiteeasyforaconquerortogetintoSpain;hisgreatdifficultywastogetoutagain.Itwasoneoftheparadoxesofhistorythathewhohadturnedthemobintoanarmy,indefenceofitsrightsagainsttheprinces,shouldatlasthavehisarmyworndown,notbyprincesbutby mobs. It is equally certain that at the other end of Europe, in burningMoscowandon thebridgeof theBeresina,hehad found thecommonsoul,evenashehadfoundthecommonsky,hisenemy.Butallthisdoesnotaffect

the first great lines of the quarrel, which had begun before horsemen inGermanicuniformhadwaitedvainlyupontheroadtoVarennesorhadfailedupon themiry slope up to thewindmill ofValmy.And that duel, onwhichdependedallthatourEuropehassincebecome,hadgreatRussiaandgallantSpainandourowngloriousislandonlyassubordinatesorseconds.Thatduel,first, last,and forever,wasaduelbetween theFrenchmanand theGerman;thatis,betweenthecitizenandthebarbarian.

It is not necessary nowadays to defend the French Revolution, it is notnecessarytodefendevenNapoleon,itschildandchampion,fromcriticismsinthe style of Southey and Alison, which even at the time had more of theatmosphere of Bath and Cheltenham than of Turcoing and Talavera. TheFrench Revolution was attacked because it was democratic and defendedbecauseitwasdemocratic;andNapoleonwasnotfearedasthelastoftheirondespots,butas the firstof the irondemocrats.WhatFrancesetout toproveFrancehasproved;notthatcommonmenareallangels,oralldiplomatists,orallgentlemen(fortheseinanearistocraticillusionswerenopartoftheJacobintheory),butthatcommonmencanallbecitizensandcanallbesoldiers;thatcommonmencanfightandcanrule.Thereisnoneedtoconfusethequestionwith any of those escapades of a flounderingmodernismwhich havemadenonsense of this civic common-sense. Some Free Traders have seemed toleaveamannocountrytofightfor;someFreeLoversseemtoleaveamannohousehold to rule.But these thingshavenotestablished themselveseither inFranceoranywhereelse.WhathasbeenestablishedisnotFreeTradeorFreeLove, but Freedom; and it is nowhere so patriotic or so domestic as in thecountryfromwhichitcame.ThepoormenofFrancehavenotlovedthelandlessbecausetheyhavesharedit.Eventhepatriciansarepatriots;andifsomehonestRoyalistsoraristocratsarestillsayingthatdemocracycannotorganiseandcannotobey,theyarenonethelessorganisedbyitandobeyingit,noblylivingorsplendidlydeadforit,alongthelinefromSwitzerlandtothesea.

ButforAustria,andevenmoreforRussia,therewasthistobesaid;thattheFrenchRepublicanidealwasincomplete,andthattheypossessed,inacorruptbutstillpositiveandoftenpopularsense,whatwasneededtocompleteit.TheCzar was not democratic, but he was humanitarian. He was a ChristianPacifist;thereissomethingoftheTolstoyanineveryRussian.Itisnotwhollyfanciful to talkof theWhiteCzar: forRussiaevendestructionhasadeathlysoftnessasof snow.Her ideasareoften innocentandevenchildish; like theidea of Peace. The phraseHolyAlliancewas a beautiful truth for theCzar,though only a blasphemous jest for his rascally allies, Metternich andCastlereagh.Austria, thoughshehad lately fallen toasomewhat treasonabletoying with heathens and heretics of Turkey and Prussia, still retainedsomethingoftheoldCatholiccomfortforthesoul.Priestsstillborewitnessto

that mighty mediaeval institution which even its enemies concede to be anoblenightmare.Alltheirhoarypoliticaliniquitieshadnotdeprivedthemofthatdignity.Iftheydarkenedthesuninheaven,theyclotheditwiththestrongcolours of sunrise in garment or gloriole; if they had givenmen stones forbread,thestoneswerecarvedwithkindlyfacesandfascinatingtales.Ifjusticecountedon theirshamefulgibbetshundredsof the innocentdead, theycouldstillsaythatforthemdeathwasmorehopefulthanlifefortheheathen.Ifthenewdaylightdiscoveredtheirviletortures,therehadlingeredinthedarknesssome dimmemory that they were tortures of Purgatory and not, like thosewhichParisianandPrussiandiabolists showedshameless in thesunshine,ofnakedhell.Theyclaimedatruthnotyetdisentangledfromhumannature;forindeed earth is not even earth without heaven, as a landscape is not alandscapewithoutthesky.Andin,auniversewithoutGodthereisnotroomenoughforaman.

Itmay be held, therefore, that theremust in any case have come a conflictbetween theoldworldand thenew; ifonlybecause theoldareoftenbroad,whiletheyoungarealwaysnarrow.TheChurchhadlearnt,notattheendbutatthebeginningofhercenturies,thatthefuneralofGodisalwaysaprematureburial. If the bugles of Bonaparte raised the living populace of the passinghour, she couldblow that yetmore revolutionary trumpet that shall raise allthe democracy of the dead. But if we concede that collisionwas inevitablebetween the newRepublic on the one hand andHoly Russia and the HolyRomanEmpireontheother,thereremaintwogreatEuropeanforceswhich,indifferent attitudes and from very different motives, determined the ultimatecombination.NeitherofthemhadanytinctureofCatholicmysticism.NeitherofthemhadanytinctureofJacobinidealism.Neitherofthem,therefore,hadanyrealmoralreasonforbeinginthewaratall.ThefirstwasEngland,andthesecondwasPrussia.

It is very arguable that Englandmust, in any case, have fought to keep herinfluenceontheportsoftheNorthSea.Itisquiteequallyarguablethatifshehadbeenasheartilyon the sideof theFrenchRevolutionas shewasat lastagainstit,shecouldhaveclaimedthesameconcessionsfromtheotherside.Itis certain that England had no necessary communion with the arms andtorturesof theContinental tyrannies,and that shestoodat thepartingof theways. England was indeed an aristocracy, but a liberal one; and the ideasgrowing in themiddleclasseswere thosewhichhadalreadymadeAmerica,andwereremakingFrance.ThefiercestJacobins,suchasDanton,weredeepintheliberalliteratureofEngland.Thepeoplehadnoreligiontofightfor,asinRussiaorLaVendée.Theparsonwasnolongerapriest,andhadlongbeena small squire. Already that one great blank in our land had madesnobbishness theonlyreligionofSouthEngland;and turnedrichmenintoa

mythology.Theeffectcanbewell summedup in thatdecorousabbreviationbywhichour rustics speakof "Lady'sBedstraw,"where theyonce spokeof"Our Lady's Bedstraw." We have dropped the comparatively democraticadjective,andkeptthearistocraticnoun.SouthEnglandisstill,asitwascalledintheMiddleAges,agarden;butitisthekindwheregrowtheplantscalled"lordsandladies."

Webecamemoreandmoreinsularevenaboutourcontinentalconquests;westooduponourislandasifonananchoredship.WeneverthoughtofNelsonatNaples, but only eternally at Trafalgar; and even that Spanish name wemanaged to pronounce wrong. But even if we regard the first attack uponNapoleon as a national necessity, the general trend remains true. It onlychanges the tale from a tragedy of choice to a tragedy of chance. And thetragedywasthat,forasecondtime,wewereatonewiththeGermans.

ButifEnglandhadnothingtofightforbutacompromise,Prussiahadnothingtofightforbutanegation.Shewasandis,inthesupremesense,thespiritthatdenies.ItisascertainthatshewasfightingagainstlibertyinNapoleonasitisthatshewasfightingagainstreligioninMariaTheresa.Whatshewasfightingforshewouldhavefounditquiteimpossibletotellyou.Atthebest,itwasforPrussia;ifitwasanythingelse,itwastyranny.ShecringedtoNapoleonwhenhebeather,andonlyjoinedinthechasewhenbraverpeoplehadbeatenhim.Sheprofessed to restore theBourbons, and tried to rob themwhile shewasrestoring them. For her own hand shewould havewrecked the RestorationwiththeRevolution.Aloneinallthatagonyofpeoples,shehadnotthestarofonesolitaryidealtolightthenightofhernihilism.

TheFrenchRevolutionhasaqualitywhichallmen feel; andwhichmaybecalledasuddenantiquity. Itsclassicalismwasnotaltogetheracant.When ithadhappeneditseemedtohavehappenedthousandsofyearsago.Itspokeinparables;inthehammeringofspearsandtheawfulcapofPhrygia.Tosomeitseemedtopasslikeavision;andyetitseemedeternalasagroupofstatuary.Onealmostthoughtofitsmoststrenuousfiguresasnaked.Itisalwayswithashock of comicality that we remember that its date was so recent thatumbrellas were fashionable and top-hats beginning to be tried. And it is acurious fact, giving a kind of completeness to this sense of the thing assomethingthathappenedoutsidetheworld,thatitsfirstgreatactofarmsandalsoitslastwerebothprimarilysymbols;andbutforthisvisionarycharacter,wereinamannervain.Itbeganwiththetakingoftheoldandalmostemptyprison called theBastille; andwealways thinkof it as thebeginningof theRevolution,thoughtherealRevolutiondidnotcometillsometimeafter.AnditendedwhenWellingtonandBluchermetin1815;andwealwaysthinkofitas the end ofNapoleon; thoughNapoleon had really fallen before.And the

popular imagery is right, as it generally is in such things: for themob is anartist, though not a man of science. The riot of the 14th of July did notspeciallydeliverprisoners inside theBastille,but itdiddeliver theprisonersoutside.Napoleonwhenhe returnedwas indeed a revenant, that is, a ghost.ButWaterloowasallthemorefinalinthatitwasaspectralresurrectionandaseconddeath.Andinthissecondcasetherewereotherelementsthatwereyetmorestrangelysymbolic.ThatdoubtfulanddoublebattlebeforeWaterloowaslike thedualpersonality inadream. It correspondedcuriously to thedoublemind of the Englishman.We connect Quatre Bras with things romanticallyEnglish to the verge of sentimentalism, with Byron and "The BlackBrunswicker."Wenaturally sympathisewithWellington againstNey.Wedonot sympathise, and even then we did not really sympathise, with BlucheragainstNapoleon.Germany has complained thatwe passed over lightly thepresenceofPrussiansatthedecisiveaction.Andwellwemight.Evenatthetime our sentiment was not solely jealousy, but very largely shame.Wellington, the grimmest and even the most unamiable of Tories, with noFrenchsympathiesandnotenoughhumanones,has recordedhisopinionofhis Prussian allies in terms of curt disgust. Peel, the primmest and mostsnobbishTorythateverpraised"ourgallantAllies"inafrigidofficialspeech,could not contain himself about the conduct of Blucher's men. Our middleclasses didwell to adorn their parlourswith the picture of the "Meeting ofWellington and Blucher." They should have hung up a companion piece ofPilate andHerod shaking hands.Then, after thatmeeting amid the ashes ofHougomont, where they dreamed they had trodden out the embers of alldemocracy, the Prussians rode on before, doing after their kind.After themwentthatironicalaristocratoutofembitteredIreland,withwhatthoughtsweknow;andBlucher,withwhatthoughtswecarenot;andhissoldiersenteredParis,andstoletheswordofJoanofArc.

IV—TheComingoftheJanissaries

The late Lord Salisbury, a sad and humorous man, made many public andserious remarks that have been proved false and perilous, andmany privateand frivolous remarks which were valuable and ought to be immortal. Hestruck dead the stiff and false psychology of "social reform," with itssuggestion that the number of public-housesmade people drunk, by sayingthat therewereanumberofbedroomsatHatfield,but theynevermadehimsleepy.Because of this it is possible to forgive him for having talked about"livinganddyingnations":thoughitisofsuchsayingsthatlivingnationsdie.

InthesamespiritheincludedthenationofIrelandinthe"Celticfringe"uponthe west of England. It seems sufficient to remark that the fringe isconsiderablybroaderthanthegarment.ButthefearfulsatireoftimehasverysufficientlyavengedtheIrishnationuponhim,largelybytheinstrumentalityof another fragment of the British robe which he cast away almostcontemptuouslyintheNorthSea.ThenameofitisHeligoland;andhegaveittotheGermans.

ThesubsequenthistoryofthetwoislandsoneithersideofEnglandhasbeensufficiently ironical. If Lord Salisbury had foreseen exactly what wouldhappentoHeligoland,aswellastoIreland,hemightwellhavefoundnosleepat Hatfield in one bedroom or a hundred. In the eastern isle he wasstrengtheningafortressthatwouldonedaybecalledupontodestroyus.Inthewesternislehewasweakeningafortressthatwouldonedaybecalledupontosaveus.In thatdayhis trustedally,WilliamHohenzollern,wastobatterourshipsandboatsfromtheBightofHeligoland;andinthatdayhisoldandonce-imprisonedenemy,JohnRedmond,wastoriseinthehourofEnglishjeopardy,andbethankedinthunderforthefreeofferoftheIrishsword.AllthatRobertCecil thoughtvaluelesshasbeenour loss, andall thathe thought feebleourstay.Amongthoseofhispoliticalclassorcreedwhoacceptedandwelcomedthe Irish leader's alliance, therewere somewhoknew the real past relationsbetweenEnglandandIreland,andsomewhofirst felt themin thathour.Allknew thatEnglandcouldno longerbeameremistress;manyknew that shewas now in some sense a suppliant. Some knew that she deserved to be asuppliant.Theseweretheywhoknewalittleofthethingcalledhistory;andifthey thought at all of such dead catchwords as the "Celtic fringe" for adescriptionofIreland,itwastodoubtwhetherwewereworthytokissthehemof her garment. If there be still any Englishman who thinks such languageextravagant,thischapteriswrittentoenlightenhim.

InthelasttwochaptersIhavesketchedinoutlinethewayinwhichEngland,partly byhistorical accident, but partly also by false philosophy,was drawnintotheorbitofGermany,thecentreofwhosecirclewasalreadyatBerlin.Ineed not recapitulate the causes at all fully here. Luther was hardly aheresiarch for England, though a hobby for Henry VIII. But the negativeGermanism of the Reformation, its drag towards the north, its quarantineagainstLatinculture,wasinasensethebeginningof thebusiness.It iswellrepresentedintwofacts;thebarbaricrefusalofthenewastronomicalcalendarmerely because it was invented by a Pope, and the singular decision topronounceLatinas if itweresomethingelse,making itnotadead languagebutanewlanguage.Later, thepartplayedbyparticular royalties iscomplexand accidental; "the furious German" came and passed; the much lessinterestingGermans came and stayed. Their influencewas negative but not

negligible; theykeptEnglandoutof thatcurrentofEuropeanlife intowhichtheGallophilStuartsmighthavecarriedher.OnlyoneoftheHanoverianswasactivelyGerman; soGerman that he actually gloried in the nameofBriton,and spelt itwrong. Incidentally, he lostAmerica. It is notable that all thoseeminentamongtherealBritons,whospeltitright,respectedandwouldparleywith the American Revolution, however jingo or legitimist they were; theromanticconservativeBurke,theearth-devouringImperialistChatham,even,in reality, the jog-trot Tory North. The intractability was in the Elector ofHanovermorethanin theKingofEngland; in thenarrowandpettyGermanprincewhowasboredbyShakespeareandapproximatelyinspiredbyHandel.What really clinched the unlucky companionship of England and GermanywasthefirstandsecondalliancewithPrussia;thefirstinwhichwepreventedthehardening traditionofFrederick theGreatbeingbrokenupby theSevenYears' War; the second in which we prevented it being broken up by theFrenchRevolutionandNapoleon.InthefirstwehelpedPrussiatoescapelikea young brigand; in the second we helped the brigand to adjudicate as arespectable magistrate. Having aided his lawlessness, we defended hislegitimacy.WehelpedtogivetheBourbonprincehiscrown,thoughouralliesthePrussians(intheircheeryway)triedtopickafewjewelsoutofitbeforehegot it.Through thewhole of that period, so important in history, itmust besaidthatwewere tobereckonedonfor thesupportofunreformedlawsandthe ruleofunwillingsubjects.There is,as itwere,anuglyechoeven to thenameofNelsoninthenameofNaples.Butwhateveristobesaidofthecause,theworkwhichwedid in it,withsteelandgold,wassoableandstrenuousthatanEnglishmancanstillbeproudofit.Weneverperformedagreatertaskthan that in which we, in a sense, saved Germany, save that in which ahundredyearslater,wehavenow,inasense,todestroyher.Historytendstobeafacadeoffadedpicturesquenessformostofthosewhohavenotspeciallystudiedit:amoreorlessmonochromebackgroundforthedramaoftheirownday.To these itmaywellseemthat itmatters littlewhetherwewereononesideor theother inafight inwhichall thefiguresareantiquated;BonaparteandBlucher areboth inold cockedhats;Frenchkings andFrench regicidesare both not only deadmen but dead foreigners; thewhole is a tapestry asdecorativeandasarbitraryastheWarsoftheRoses.Itwasnotso:wefoughtfor something realwhenwe fought for theoldworldagainst thenew. Ifwewant toknowpainfullyandpreciselywhat itwas,wemustopenanoldandsealedandveryawfuldoor,ona scenewhichwascalled Ireland,butwhichthenmightwellhavebeencalledhell.

Having chosen our part andmade war upon the newworld, we were soonmade to understand what such spiritual infanticide involved; and werecommittedtoakindofMassacreoftheInnocents.InIrelandtheyoungworldwas represented by young men, who shared the democratic dream of the

Continent,andwereresolvedtofoiltheplotofPitt;whowasworkingahugemachine of corruption to its utmost to absorb Ireland into the Anti-JacobinschemeofEngland.TherewaspresenteverycoincidencethatcouldmaketheBritish rulers feel they were mere abbots of misrule. The stiff and self-conscious figureofPitt has remained standing incongruouslypurse inhand;whilehismanlierrivalswerestretchingouttheirhandsforthesword,theonlypossibleresortofmenwhocannotbeboughtandrefusetobesold.Arebellionbroke out and was repressed; and the government that repressed it was tentimes more lawless than the rebellion. Fate for once seemed to pick out asituation in plain black and white like an allegory; a tragedy of appallingplatitudes. The heroeswere really heroes; and the villainswere nothing butvillains.Thecommontangleoflife,inwhichgoodmendoevilbymistakeandbadmendogoodbyaccident,seemedsuspendedforusasforajudgment.Wehadtodothingsthatnotonlywerevile,butfeltvile.Wehadtodestroymenwhonotonlywerenoble,butlookednoble.TheyweremenlikeWolfeTone,astatesmaninthegrandstylewhowasnotsufferedtofoundastate;andRobertEmmet,loverofhislandandofawoman,inwhoseveryappearancemensawsomethingoftheeaglegraceoftheyoungNapoleon.ButhewasluckierthantheyoungNapoleon;forhehasremainedyoung.Hewashanged;notbeforehehadutteredoneofthosephrasesthatarethehingesofhistory.Hemadeanepitaphoftherefusalofanepitaph:andwithagesturehashunghistombinheavenlikeMahomet'scoffin.AgainstsuchIrishmenwecouldonlyproduceCastlereagh; one of the fewmen in human recordswho seem to have beenmadefamoussolelythattheymightbeinfamous.Hesoldhisowncountry,heoppressed ours; for the rest he mixed his metaphors, and has saddled twoseparate and sensible nations with the horrible mixed metaphor called theUnion. Here there is no possible see-saw of sympathies as there can bebetween Brutus and Caesar or between Cromwell and Charles I.: there issimply nobodywho supposes that Emmetwas out forworldly gain, or thatCastlereagh was out for anything else. Even the incidental resemblancesbetween the two sides only served to sharpen the contrast and the completesuperiorityofthenationalists.Thus,CastlereaghandLordEdwardFitzgeraldwerebotharistocrats.ButCastlereaghwasthecorruptgentlemanattheCourt,Fitzgerald the generous gentleman upon the land; some portion of whoseblood, along with some portion of his spirit, descended to that greatgentleman, who—in the midst of the emetic immoralism of our modernpolitics—gave back that land to the Irish peasantry. Thus again, all sucheighteenth-century aristocrats (like aristocrats almost anywhere) stood apartfrom the popular mysticism and the shrines of the poor; they weretheoretically Protestants, but practically pagans. But Tone was the type ofpaganwho refuses topersecute, likeGallio:Pittwas the typeofpaganwhoconsents to persecute; and his place is with Pilate. He was an intolerant

indifferentist; ready to enfranchise the Papists, but more ready to massacrethem.Thus,oncemore,thetwopagans,ToneandCastlereagh,foundapaganend in suicide.But thecircumstanceswere such that anyman,of anyparty,feltthatTonehaddiedlikeCatoandCastlereaghhaddiedlikeJudas.

ThemarchofPitt'spolicywenton;andthechasmbetweenlightanddarknessdeepened. Order was restored; and wherever order spread, there spread ananarchymoreawfulthanthesunhaseverlookedon.TorturecameoutofthecryptsoftheInquisitionandwalkedinthesunlightofthestreetsandfields.Avillagevicarwas slainwith inconceivable stripes, andhis corpse set on firewithfrightfuljestsaboutaroastedpriest.Rapebecameamodeofgovernment.Theviolationofvirginsbecameastandingorderofpolice.Stampedstillwiththe same terrible symbolism, the work of the English Government and theEnglish settlers seemed to resolve itself into animal atrocities against thewivesanddaughtersofaracedistinguishedforarareanddetachedpurity,andof a religion which makes of innocence the Mother of God. In its bodilyaspects it became like a war of devils upon angels; as if England couldproduce nothing but torturers, and Ireland nothing butmartyrs. Suchwas apartofthepricepaidbytheIrishbodyandtheEnglishsoul,fortheprivilegeofpatchingupaPrussianafterthesabre-strokeofJena.

ButGermanywasnotmerelypresentinthespirit:Germanywaspresentintheflesh. Without any desire to underrate the exploits of the English or theOrangemen, I can safely say that the finest toucheswere added by soldierstrainedinatraditioninheritedfromthehorrorsoftheThirtyYears'War,andofwhattheoldballadcalled"thecruelwarsofHighGermanie."AnIrishmanIknow,whosebrotherisasoldier,andwhohasrelativesinmanydistinguishedpostsof theBritisharmy, toldme that inhischildhood the legend(or ratherthetruth)of '98wassofrightfullyalivethathisownmotherwouldnothavetheword"soldier" spoken inherhouse.Whereverwe thus find the traditionalive we find that the hateful soldier means especially the German soldier.WhentheIrishsay,assomeofthemdosay,thattheGermanmercenarywasworse than the Orangemen, they say as much as human mouth can utter.BeyondthatthereisnothingbutthecurseofGod,whichshallbeutteredinanunknowntongue.

ThepracticeofusingGermansoldiers,andevenwholeGermanregiments,inthe make-up of the British army, came in with our German princes, andreappeared on many important occasions in our eighteenth-century history.They were probably among those who encamped triumphantly uponDrumossieMoor,andalso(whichisamoregratifyingthought)amongthosewho ran away with great rapidity at Prestonpans. When that very typicalGerman,George III., narrow, serious, of a stunted culture and coarse in his

very domesticity, quarrelled with all that was spirited, not only in thedemocracyofAmericabutinthearistocracyofEngland,GermantroopswereveryfittedtobehisambassadorsbeyondtheAtlantic.Withtheirwell-drilledformations they followed Burgoyne in that woodland march that failed atSaratoga; andwith their wooden faces beheld our downfall. Their presencehad longhad its effect invariousways. Inoneway, curiously enough, theirverymilitarismhelpedEnglandtobelessmilitary;andespeciallytobemoremercantile. It began to be felt, faintly of course and never consciously, thatfightingwasathingthatforeignershadtodo.Itvaguelyincreasedtheprestigeof the Germans as the military people, to the disadvantage of the French,whomitwastheinterestofourvanitytounderrate.ThemeremixtureoftheiruniformswithoursmadeabackgroundofpageantryinwhichitseemedmoreandmorenaturalthatEnglishandGermanpotentatesshouldsaluteeachotherlikecousins,and, inasense, live ineachother'scountries.Thus in1908theGerman Emperor was already regarded as something of a menace by theEnglishpoliticians,andasnothingbutamadmanbytheEnglishpeople.Yetitdid not seem in any way disgusting or dangerous that Edward VII. shouldappearuponoccasioninaPrussianuniform.EdwardVII.washimselfafriendtoFrance,andworkedfortheFrenchAlliance.YethisappearanceintheredtrousersofaFrenchsoldierwouldhavestruckmanypeopleasfunny;asfunnyasifhehaddressedupasaChinaman.

ButtheGermanhirelingsorallieshadanothercharacterwhich(bythatsamestrainof evil coincidencewhichwe are tracing in this book) encouraged allthatwasworstintheEnglishconservatismandinequality,whilediscouragingall thatwasbest init.It is truethat theidealEnglishmanwastoomuchofasquire;but it is just toadd that the ideal squirewasagoodsquire.ThebestsquireIknowinfictionisDukeTheseusin"TheMidsummerNight'sDream,"whoiskindtohispeopleandproudofhisdogs;andwouldbeaperfecthumanbeing if hewerenot just a littlebit prone tobekind tobothof them in thesameway.Butsuchnaturalandevenpagangood-natureisconsonantwiththewarmwetwoodsandcomfortablecloudsofSouthEngland;itneverhadanyplaceamongtheharshandthriftysquiresintheplainsofEastPrussia,thelandof theEastWind.Theywere peevish aswell as proud, and everything theycreated, but especially their army, was made coherent by sheer brutality.Disciplinewascruelenoughinalltheeighteenth-centuryarmies,createdlongafterthedecayofanyfaithorhopethatcouldholdmentogether.Butthestatethat was first in Germany was first in ferocity. Frederick the Great had toforbidhisEnglishadmirerstofollowhisregimentsduringthecampaign,lestthey should discover that the most enlightened of kings had only excludedtorturefromlawtoimposeitwithoutlaw.Thisinfluence,aswehaveseen,leftonIrelandafearfulmarkwhichwillneverbeeffaced.EnglishruleinIrelandhadbeenbadbefore;butinthebroadeninglightoftherevolutionarycenturyI

doubtwhetheritcouldhavecontinuedasbad,ifwehadnottakenasidethatforcedustoflatterbarbariantyrannyinEurope.WeshouldhardlyhaveseensuchanightmareastheAnglicisingofIrelandifwehadnotalreadyseentheGermanisingofEngland.Buteven inEngland itwasnotwithout itseffects;and one of its effectswas to rouse amanwho is, perhaps, the bestEnglishwitnesstotheeffectontheEnglandofthattimeoftheAlliancewithGermany.WiththatmanIshalldealinthechapterthatfollows.

V—TheLostEngland

TellingthetruthaboutIrelandisnotverypleasanttoapatrioticEnglishman;butitisverypatriotic.ItisthetruthandnothingbutthetruthwhichIhavebuttouchedoninthelastchapter.Severaltimes,andespeciallyatthebeginningofthiswar,wenarrowlyescapedruinbecauseweneglectedthattruth,andwouldinsistontreatingourcrimesofthe'98andafterasverydistant;whileinIrishfeeling,andinfact,theyareverynear.Repentanceofthisremotesortisnotatallappropriate to thecase,andwillnotdo. Itmaybeagood thing to forgetandforgive;butitisaltogethertooeasyatricktoforgetandbeforgiven.

ThetruthaboutIrelandissimplythis:thattherelationsbetweenEnglandandIrelandaretherelationsbetweentwomenwhohavetotraveltogether,oneofwhomtriedtostabtheotheratthelaststopping-placeortopoisontheotheratthelastinn.Conversationmaybecourteous,butitwillbeoccasionallyforced.The topic of attemptedmurder, its examples in history and fiction,may betactfully avoided in the sallies; but it will be occasionally present in thethoughts. Silences, not devoid of strain, will fall from time to time. Thepartiallymurderedpersonmayeventhinkanassaultunlikelytorecur;butitisaskingtoomuch,perhaps,toexpecthimtofinditimpossibletoimagine.Andeven if, asGodgrant, thepredominantpartner is really sorry forhis formermannerofpredominating,andprovesitinsomeunmistakablemanner—asbysaving theother fromrobbersatgreatpersonal risk—thevictimmaystillbeunabletorepressanabstractpsychologicalwonderaboutwhenhiscompanionfirstbegantofeellikethat.NowthisisnotintheleastanexaggeratedparableofthepositionofEnglandtowardsIreland,notonlyin'98,butfarbackfromthe treason that broke the Treaty of Limerick and far onwards through theGreatFamineandafter.TheconductoftheEnglishtowardstheIrishaftertheRebellion was quite simply the conduct of one man who traps and bindsanother,andthencalmlycutshimaboutwithaknife.TheconductduringtheFaminewasquitesimplytheconductofthefirstmanifheentertainedthelater

moments of the secondman, by remarking in a chattymanner on the veryhopefulchancesofhisbleedingtodeath.TheBritishPrimeMinisterpubliclyrefused to stop the Famine by the use of English ships. The British PrimeMinisterpositivelyspreadtheFamine,bymakingthehalf-starvedpopulationsof Irelandpay for the starvedones.Thecommonverdict of a coroner's juryuponsomeemaciatedwretchwas"WilfulmurderbyLordJohnRussell":andthatverdictwasnotonlytheverdictofIrishpublicopinion,butistheverdictofhistory.ButtherewerethoseininfluentialpositionsinEnglandwhowerenot content with publicly approving the act, but publicly proclaimed themotive. The Times, which had then a national authority and respectabilitywhichgaveitswordsaweightunknowninmodernjournalism,openlyexultedintheprospectofaGoldenAgewhenthekindofIrishmannativetoIrelandwouldbe"asrareonthebanksoftheLiffeyasaredmanonthebanksoftheManhattan." It seems sufficiently frantic that such a thing should have beensaidbyoneEuropeanofanother,orevenofaRedIndian,ifRedIndianshadoccupiedanythingliketheplaceoftheIrishthenandsince;ifthereweretobeaRedIndianLordChiefJusticeandaRedIndianCommander-in-Chief,iftheRed Indian Party in Congress, containing first-rate orators and fashionablenovelists,couldhaveturnedPresidentsinandout;ifhalfthebesttroopsofthecountrywere trainedwith the tomahawkandhalf thebest journalismof thecapitalwritteninpicture-writing,iflater,bygeneralconsent,theChiefknownasPineintheTwilight,wasthebest livingpoet,or theChiefThinRedFox,the ablest living dramatist. If thatwere realised, the English critic probablywouldnot sayanything scornfulof redmen;or certainlywouldbe sorryhesaidit.Buttheextraordinaryavowaldoesmarkwhatwasmostpeculiarintheposition. This has not been the common case of misgovernment. It is notmerely that the institutionswe set upwere indefensible; though the curiousmarkofthemisthattheywereliterallyindefensible;fromWood'sHalfpenceto the Irish Church Establishment. There can be no more excuse for themethodusedbyPittthanforthemethodusedbyPigott.Butitdiffersfurtherfromordinarymisrule in thevitalmatterof itsobject.Thecoercionwasnotimposed that the people might live quietly, but that the people might diequietly.Andthenwesitinanowlishinnocenceofoursin,anddebatewhethertheIrishmightconceivablysucceedinsavingIreland.We,asamatteroffact,havenotevenfailedtosaveIreland.Wehavesimplyfailedtodestroyher.

Itisnotpossibletoreversethisjudgmentortotakeawayasinglecountfromit. Is there, then,anythingwhatever tobesaidfor theEnglish in thematter?Thereis:thoughtheEnglishneverbyanychancesayit.NordotheIrishsayit;thoughitisinasenseaweaknessaswellasadefence.OnewouldthinktheIrish had reason to say anything that can be said against the English rulingclass, but theyhavenot said, indeed theyhavehardlydiscovered, onequitesimple fact—that it rules England. They are right in asking that the Irish

should have a say in the Irish government, but they are quite wrong insupposing that the English have any particular say in English government.AndIseriouslybelieveIamnotdeceivedbyanynationalbias,whenIsaythatthecommonEnglishmanwouldbequite incapableof thecruelties thatwerecommittedinhisname.But,mostimportantofall,itisthehistoricalfactthatthere was another England, an England consisting of common Englishmen,whichnotonlycertainlywouldhavedonebetter,butactuallydidmakesomeconsiderableattempttodobetter.Ifanyoneasksfortheevidence,theansweristhattheevidencehasbeendestroyed,oratleastdeliberatelyboycotted:butcan be found in the unfashionable corners of literature; and,when found, isfinal.IfanyoneasksforthegreatmenofsuchapotentialdemocraticEngland,theansweristhatthegreatmenarelabelledsmallmen,ornotlabelledatall;havebeen successfully belittled as the emancipationofwhich theydreamedhas dwindled. The greatest of them is now little more than a name; he iscriticisedtobeunderratedandnottobeunderstood;buthepresentedallthatalternativeandmore liberalEnglishry;andwasenormouslypopularbecausehepresented it. In takinghimas the typeof itwemay tellmost shortly thewholeofthisforgottentale.And,evenwhenIbegintotellit,Ifindmyselfinthepresenceof thatubiquitousevilwhich is the subjectof thisbook. It isafact,andI thinkit isnotacoincidence,that instandingforamomentwherethisEnglishmanstood,IagainfindmyselfconfrontedbytheGermansoldier.

ThesonofasmallSurreyfarmer,arespectableToryandchurchman,venturedtopleadagainstcertainextraordinarycrueltiesbeinginflictedonEnglishmenwhose hands were tied, by the whips of German superiors; who were thenparading in English fields their stiff foreign uniforms and their sanguinaryforeign discipline. In the countries from which they came, of course, suchtormentsweretheonemonotonousmeansofdrivingmenontoperishinthedeaddynasticquarrelsofthenorth;buttopoorWillCobbett,inhisprovincialisland, knowing little but the low hills and hedges around the little churchwhere he now lies buried, the incident seemed odd—nay, unpleasing. Heknew,ofcourse,thattherewasthenfloggingintheBritisharmyalso;buttheGermanstandardwasnotoriouslysevereinsuchthings,andwassomethingofan acquired taste. Added to which he had all sorts of old grandmotherlyprejudices aboutEnglishmenbeingpunishedbyEnglishmen, andnotions ofthatsort.Heprotested,notonlyinspeech,butactuallyinprint.Hewassoonmade to learn the perils ofmeddling in the high politics of theHighDutchmilitarists. The fine feelings of the foreign mercenaries were soothed byCobbett being flung intoNewgate for two years and beggared by a fine of£1000.ThatsmallincidentisasmalltransparentpictureoftheHolyAlliance;ofwhatwas reallymeant by a country, once half liberalised, taking up thecause of the foreign kings. This, and not "The Meeting ofWellington andBlucher," should be engraved as the great scene of the war. From this

intemperateFeniansshouldlearnthattheTeutonicmercenariesdidnotconfinethemselves solely to torturing Irishmen. Theywere equally ready to tortureEnglishmen: for mercenaries are mostly unprejudiced. To Cobbett's eye weweresuffering fromalliesexactlyasweshouldsuffer from invaders.Boneywasabogey;buttheGermanwasanightmare,athingactuallysittingontopofus.InIrelandtheAlliancemeanttheruinofanythingandeverythingIrish,fromthecreedofSt.Patricktothemerecolourgreen.ButinEnglandalsoitmeant the ruinofanythingandeverythingEnglish, from theHabeasCorpusActtoCobbett.

After this affairof the scourging,hewieldedhispen likea scourgeuntilhedied.This terriblepamphleteerwasoneof thosemenwhoexist toprovethedistinctionbetweenabiographyandalife.FromhisbiographiesyouwilllearnthathewasaRadicalwhohadoncebeenaTory.Fromhislife,iftherewereone,youwouldlearnthathewasalwaysaRadicalbecausehewasalwaysaTory. Fewmen changed less; it was round him that the politicians like Pittchopped and changed, like fakirs dancing round a sacred rock.His secret isburiedwithhim; it is that he really cared about theEnglishpeople.Hewasconservativebecausehecaredfortheirpast,andliberalbecausehecaredfortheir future. But he wasmuchmore than this. He had two forms of moralmanhoodveryrareinourtime:hewasreadytouprootancientsuccesses,andhewasreadytodefyoncomingdoom.Burkesaidthatfewarethepartisansofatyrannythathasdeparted:hemighthaveaddedthatfewerstillarethecriticsofa tyranny thathas remained.Burkecertainlywasnotoneof them.WhilelashinghimselfintoalunacyagainsttheFrenchRevolution,whichonlyveryincidentallydestroyedthepropertyoftherich,henevercriticised(todohimjustice,perhapsneversaw)theEnglishRevolution,whichbeganwiththesackofconvents,andendedwiththefencinginofenclosures;arevolutionwhichsweepingly and systematically destroyed the property of the poor. WhilerhetoricallyputtingtheEnglishmaninacastle,politicallyhewouldnotallowhimonacommon.Cobbett,amuchmorehistoricalthinker,sawthebeginningof Capitalism in the Tudor pillage and deplored it; he saw the triumph ofCapitalism in the industrial cities and defied it. The paradox he wasmaintainingreallyamountedtotheassertionthatWestminsterAbbeyisrathermorenationalthanWelbeckAbbey.ThesameparadoxwouldhaveledhimtomaintainthataWarwickshiremanhadmorereasontobeproudofStratford-on-AvonthanofBirmingham.HewouldnomorehavethoughtoflookingforEnglandinBirminghamthanoflookingforIrelandinBelfast.

TheprestigeofCobbett'sexcellentliterarystylehassurvivedthepersecutionofhisequallyexcellentopinions.ButthatstylealsoisunderratedthroughthelossoftherealEnglishtradition.Morecautiousschoolshavemissedthefactthat the very genius of the English tongue tends not only to vigour, but

specially to violence. The Englishman of the leading articles is calm,moderate,andrestrained;butthentheEnglishmanoftheleadingarticlesisaPrussian.ThemereEnglishconsonantsare fullofCobbett.Dr. Johnsonwasourgreatmanofletterswhenhesaid"stinks,"notwhenhesaid"putrefaction."Takesomecommonphraselike"rainingcatsanddogs,"andnotenotonlytheextravagance of imagery (though that is very Shakespearean), but a jaggedenergy in theveryspelling.Say"chats"and"chiens"and it isnot the same.Perhaps the old national genius has survived the urban enslavement mostspiritedly in our comic songs, admired by allmen of travel and continentalculture, byMr.GeorgeMoore as byMr.Belloc.One (towhich I ammuchattached)hadachorus—

"OwindfromtheSouthBlowmudinthemouthOfJane,Jane,Jane."

Note,again,notonlythetremendousvisionofclingingsoilscarriedskywardsin the tornado, but also the suitability of themere sounds. Say "bone" and"bouche"formudandmouthanditisnotthesame.Cobbettwasawindfromthe South; and if he occasionally seemed to stop his enemies' mouths withmud,itwastherealsoilofSouthEngland.

And as his seeminglymad language is very literary, so his seeminglymadmeaningisveryhistorical.Modernpeopledonotunderstandhimbecausetheydo not understand the difference between exaggerating a truth andexaggeratingalie.Hedidexaggerate,butwhatheknew,notwhathedidnotknow. He only appears paradoxical because he upheld tradition againstfashion.Aparadox is a fantastic thing that is saidonce: a fashion is amorefantastic thing that is said a sufficient number of times. I could givenumberlessexamplesinCobbett'scase,butIwillgiveonlyone.Anyonewhofinds himself full in the central path of Cobbett's fury sometimes hassomething like a physical shock.No onewho has read "TheHistory of theReformation"willeverforgetthepassage(Iforgettheprecisewords)inwhichhesays themere thoughtofsuchapersonasCranmermakes thebrain reel,and,foraninstant,doubtthegoodnessofGod;butthatpeaceandfaithflowbackinto thesoulwhenweremember thathewasburnedalive.Nowthis isextravagant.Ittakesthebreathaway;anditwasmeantto.ButwhatIwishtopointoutisthatamuchmoreextravagantviewofCranmerwas,inCobbett'sday, the accepted view of Cranmer; not as a momentary image, but as animmovablehistoricalmonument.Thousandsofparsonsandpenmendutifullyset down Cranmer among the saints and martyrs; and there are manyrespectablepeoplewhowoulddosostill.Thisisnotanexaggeratedtruth,butan established lie. Cranmer was not such a monstrosity of meanness as

Cobbett implies;buthewasmean.But there isnoquestionofhisbeinglesssaintly than theparsonagesbelieved; hewasnot a saint at all; andnot veryattractive even as a sinner.Hewas nomore amartyr for being burned thanCrippenforbeinghanged.

Cobbett was defeated because the English people was defeated. After theframe-breakingriots,men,asmen,werebeaten:andmachines,asmachines,hadbeatenthem.PeterloowasasmuchthedefeatoftheEnglishasWaterloowasthedefeatoftheFrench.IrelanddidnotgetHomeRulebecauseEnglanddidnotgetit.CobbettwouldnotforciblyincorporateIreland,leastofall thecorpseofIreland.ButbeforehisdefeatCobbetthadanenormousfollowing;his "Register"waswhat the serial novels ofDickenswere afterwards to be.Dickens, by the way, inherited the same instinct for abrupt diction, andprobablyenjoyedwriting"gasandgaiters"morethananytwootherwordsinhisworks. ButDickenswas narrower thanCobbett, not by any fault of hisown, but because in the intervening epoch of the triumph of Scrooge andGradgrind the linkwith ourChristian past had been lost, save in the singlematter of Christmas, which Dickens rescued romantically and by a hair's-breadthescape.Cobbettwasayeoman;thatis,amanfreeandfarmingasmallestate.ByDickens'stime,yeomenseemedasantiquatedasbowmen.Cobbettwasmediaeval;thatis,hewasinalmosteverywaytheoppositeofwhatthatwordmeansto-day.HewasasegalitarianasSt.Francis,andasindependentasRobinHood.Likethatotheryeomanintheballad,heboreinhandamightybow;whatsomeofhisenemieswouldhavecalledalongbow.Butthoughhesometimesovershotthemarkoftruth,henevershotawayfromit,likeFroude.His account of that sixteenth century in which the mediaeval civilisationended,isnotmoreandnotlesspicturesquethanFroude's:thedifferenceisinthe dull detail of truth. That crisiswas not the foundling of a strong Tudormonarchy,forthemonarchyalmostimmediatelyperished;itwasthefoundingofastrongclassholdingallthecapitalandland,foritholdsthemtothisday.Cobbettwouldhaveaskednothingbetter than tobendhismediaevalbowtothecryof"St.GeorgeforMerryEngland,"forthoughhepointedtotheotherandugliersideoftheWaterloomedal,hewaspatriotic;andhispremonitionswereratheragainstBlucherthanWellington.Butifwetakethatoldwar-cryashisfinalword(andhewouldhaveacceptedit)wemustnotehoweverytermin it points away from what the modern plutocrats call either progress orempire. It involves the invocation of saints, themost popular and themostforbiddenformofmediævalism.ThemodernImperialistnomorethinksofSt.George in England than he thinks of St. John in St. John's Wood. It isnationalistinthenarrowestsense;andnooneknowsthebeautyandsimplicityoftheMiddleAgeswhohasnotseenSt.George'sCrossseparate,asitwasatCreçyorFlodden,andnoticedhowmuchfineraflagitisthantheUnionJack.Andtheword"merry"bearswitnesstoanEnglandfamousforitsmusicand

dancingbeforethecomingofthePuritans,thelasttracesofwhichhavebeenstampedoutbyasocialdisciplineutterlyun-English.Not for twoyears,butfor ten decades Cobbett has been in prison; and his enemy, the "efficient"foreigner,haswalkedaboutinthesunlight,magnificent,andamodelformen.IdonotthinkthateventhePrussianseverboastedabout"MerryPrussia."

VI—HamletandtheDanes

IntheoneclassicandperfectliteraryproductthatevercameoutofGermany—Idonotmean"Faust,"butGrimm'sFairyTales—thereisagorgeousstoryaboutaboywhowentthroughanumberofexperienceswithoutlearninghowtoshudder. Inoneof them, I remember,hewassittingby the firesideandapair of live legs fell down the chimney and walked about the room bythemselves.Afterwardstherestfelldownandjoinedup;butthiswasalmostan anti-climax. Now that is very charming, and full of the best Germandomesticity. It suggests trulywhatwild adventures the traveller can find bystoppingathome.ButitalsoillustratesinvariouswayshowthatgreatGermaninfluence on England, which is the matter of these essays, began in goodthingsandgraduallyturnedtobad.Itbeganasaliteraryinfluence,intheluridtalesofHoffmann, the taleof "Sintram," and soon; the revisualisingof thedark background of forest behind our European cities. That old GermandarknesswasimmeasurablylivelierthanthenewGermanlight.ThedevilsofGermanyweremuchbetter than theangels.Lookat theTeutonicpicturesof"The Three Huntsmen" and observe that while the wicked huntsman iseffectiveinhisownway,thegoodhuntsmanisweakineveryway,asortofsexlesswomanwith a face like a teaspoon.But there ismore in these firstforest tales, thesehomelyhorrors.Intheearlierstagestheyhaveexactlythissaltofsalvation,thattheboydoesnotshudder.Theyaremadefearfulthathemaybefearless,notthathemayfear.Aslongasthatlimitiskept,thebarbaricdreamland isdecent; and though individuals likeColeridge andDeQuinceymixeditwithworsethings(suchasopium),theykeptthatromanticrudimentuponthewhole.Buttheonedisadvantageofaforestisthatonemayloseone'swayinit.Andtheonedangerisnotthatwemaymeetdevils,butthatwemayworship them. In other words, the danger is one always associated, by theinstinctoffolk-lore,withforests;itisenchantment,orthefixedlossofoneselfin some unnatural captivity or spiritual servitude. And in the evolution ofGermanism,fromHoffmanntoHauptmann,wedoseethisgrowingtendencyto take horror seriously,which is diabolism.TheGermanbegins to have aneerieabstractsympathywiththeforceandfearhedescribes,asdistinctfrom

their objective.TheGerman is no longer sympathisingwith the boy againstthegoblin,but ratherwith thegoblinagainst theboy.Theregoeswith it, asalwaysgoeswith idolatry, adehumanised seriousness; themenof the forestarealreadybuildinguponamountaintheemptythroneoftheSuperman.Nowit is justat thispoint thatI forone,andmostmenwholove truthaswellastales,begintoloseinterest.Iamallfor"goingoutintotheworldtoseekmyfortune,"butIdonotwanttofindit—andfinditisonlybeingchainedforeveramongthefrozenfiguresoftheSiegesAllees.Idonotwanttobeanidolator,stilllessanidol.Iamallforgoingtofairyland,butIamalsoallforcomingback.Thatis,Iwilladmire,butIwillnotbemagnetised,eitherbymysticismormilitarism.IamallforGermanfantasy,butIwillresistGermanearnestnesstill I die. I am all for Grimm's Fairy Tales; but if there is such a thing asGrimm'sLaw,Iwouldbreakit,ifIknewwhatitwas.IlikethePrussian'slegs(intheirbeautifulboots)tofalldownthechimneyandwalkaboutmyroom.But when he procures a head and begins to talk, I feel a little bored. TheGermanscannotreallybedeepbecausetheywillnotconsenttobesuperficial.Theyarebewitchedbyart,andstareatit,andcannotseeroundit.Theywillnotbelievethatartisalightandslightthing—afeather,evenifitbefromanangelic wing. Only the slime is at the bottom of a pool; the sky is on thesurface. We see this in that very typical process, the Germanising ofShakespeare. I do not complain of theGermans forgetting that Shakespearewas an Englishman. I complain of their forgetting that Shakespeare was aman;thathehadmoods,thathemademistakes,and,aboveall,thatheknewhisartwasanartandnotanattributeofdeity.ThatiswhatisthematterwiththeGermans;theycannot"ringfancy'sknell";theirknellshavenogaiety.ThephraseofHamletabout"holdingthemirroruptonature"isalwaysquotedbysuchearnestcriticsasmeaningthatartisnothingifnotrealistic.Butitreallymeans(oratleastitsauthorreallythought)thatartisnothingifnotartificial.Realists, likeotherbarbarians, reallybelieve themirror; and thereforebreakthemirror.Alsotheyleaveoutthephrase"as'twere,"whichmustbereadintoeveryremarkofShakespeare,andespeciallyeveryremarkofHamlet.WhatImeanbybelieving themirror,andbreaking it,canberecorded inonecaseIremember;inwhicharealisticcriticquotedGermanauthoritiestoprovethatHamlethadaparticularpsycho-pathologicalabnormality,whichisadmittedlynowherementionedintheplay.Thecriticwasbewitched;hewasthinkingofHamletasarealman,withabackgroundbehindhimthreedimensionsdeep—which does not exist in a looking-glass. "The best in this kind are butshadows."NoGermancommentatorhasevermadeanadequatenoteonthat.Nevertheless,ShakespearewasanEnglishman;hewasnowheremoreEnglishthan in his blunders; but he was nowhere more successful than in thedescriptionof veryEnglish typesof character.And if anything is to be saidaboutHamlet,beyondwhatShakespearehassaidabouthim,Ishouldsaythat

HamletwasanEnglishmantoo.HewasasmuchanEnglishmanashewasagentleman,andhehadtheverygraveweaknessesofbothcharacters.ThechiefEnglishfault,especially in thenineteenthcentury,hasbeenlackofdecision,notonlylackofdecisioninaction,butlackoftheequallyessentialdecisioninthought—whichsomecalldogma.Andinthepoliticsofthelastcentury,thisEnglishHamlet,asweshallsee,playedagreatpart,orratherrefusedtoplayit.

There were, then, two elements in the German influence; a sort of prettyplayingwithterrorandasolemnrecognitionofterrorism.Thefirstpointedtoelfland, and the second to—shall we say, Prussia. And by that unconscioussymbolismwithwhichallthisstorydevelops,itwassoontobedramaticallytested,byadefinitepoliticalquery,whetherwhatwereallyrespectedwastheTeutonicfantasyortheTeutonicfear.

The Germanisation of England, its transition and turning-point, was welltypifiedbythegeniusofCarlyle.TheoriginalcharmofGermanyhadbeenthecharm of the child. The Teutons were never so great as when they werechildish;intheirreligiousartandpopularimagerytheChrist-Childisreallyachild, though the Christ is hardly a man. The self-conscious fuss of theirpedagogyishalf-redeemedbytheunconsciousgracewhichcalledaschoolnotaseed-plotofcitizens,butmerelyagardenofchildren.Allthefirstandbestforest-spirit is infancy, itswonder, itswilfulness, even its still innocent fear.CarlylemarksexactlythemomentwhentheGermanchildbecomesthespoiltchild.Thewonderturnstomeremysticism;andmeremysticismalwaysturnstomereimmoralism.Thewilfulnessisnolongerliked,butisactuallyobeyed.Thefearbecomesaphilosophy.Panichardensintopessimism;orelse,whatisoftenequallydepressing,optimism.

Carlyle,themostinfluentialEnglishwriterofthattime,marksallthisbythemental interval between his "French Revolution" and his "Frederick theGreat."InbothhewasGermanic.CarlylewasreallyassentimentalasGoethe;and Goethe was really as sentimental as Werther. Carlyle understoodeverything about the French Revolution, except that it was a Frenchrevolution.Hecouldnotconceive thatcoldanger thatcomesfroma loveofinsultedtruth.Itseemedtohimabsurdthatamanshoulddie,ordomurder,forthe First Proposition of Euclid; should relish an egalitarian state like anequilateral triangle;or shoulddefend thePonsAsinorumasCodesdefendedthe Tiber bridge. But anyone who does not understand that does notunderstand the French Revolution—nor, for that matter, the AmericanRevolution."Weholdthesetruthstobeself-evident":itwasthefanaticismoftruism. But though Carlyle had no real respect for liberty, he had a realreverence for anarchy. He admired elemental energy. The violence which

repelledmostmenfromtheRevolutionwastheonethingthatattractedhimtoit. While a Whig like Macaulay respected the Girondists but deplored theMountain, a Tory like Carlyle rather liked the Mountain and quite undulydespisedtheGirondists.Thisappetiteforformlessforcebelongs,ofcourse,totheforests,toGermany.ButwhenCarlylegotthere,therefelluponhimasortofspellwhichishistragedyandtheEnglishtragedy,and,innosmalldegree,the German tragedy too. The real romance of the Teutons was largely aromanceoftheSouthernTeutons,withtheircastles,whicharealmostliterallycastlesintheair,andtheirriverwhichiswalledwithvineyardsandrhymessonaturallytowine.ButasCarlyle'swasrootedlyaromanceofconquest,hehadtoprovethatthethingwhichconqueredinGermanywasreallymorepoeticalthananythingelseinGermany.NowthethingthatconqueredinGermanywasaboutthemostprosaicthingofwhichtheworldevergrewweary.ThereisagreatdealmorepoetryinBrixtonthaninBerlin.Stellasaid thatSwiftcouldwrite charmingly about a broom-stick; and poor Carlyle had to writeromantically about a ramrod. Compare him with Heine, who had also adetachedtasteinthemysticalgrotesquesofGermany,butwhosawwhatwastheir enemy:andoffered tonailup thePrussianeagle likeanoldcrowas atargetforthearchersoftheRhine.Itsprosaicessenceisnotprovedbythefactthatitdidnotproducepoets:it isprovedbythemoredeadlyfactthatitdid.The actualwrittenpoetryofFrederick theGreat, for instance,wasnot evenGerman or barbaric, but simply feeble—and French. Thus Carlyle becamecontinuallygloomierashisfitofthebluesdeepenedintoPrussianblues;norcan therebe anywonder.Hisphilosophyhadbroughtout the result that thePrussianwasthefirstofGermans,and,therefore,thefirstofmen.Nowonderhelookedattherestofuswithlittlehope.

But a stronger test was coming both for Carlyle and England. Prussia,plodding, policing, as materialist as mud, went on solidifying andstrengtheningafterunconqueredRussiaandunconqueredEnglandhadrescuedher where she lay prostrate under Napoleon. In this interval the two mostimportanteventswerethePolishnationalrevival,withwhichRussiawashalfinclined to be sympathetic, but Prussiawas implacably coercionist; and thepositive refusal of the crown of a united Germany by the King of Prussia,simplybecauseitwasconstitutionallyofferedbyafreeGermanConvention.PrussiadidnotwanttoleadtheGermans:shewantedtoconquertheGermans.And she wanted to conquer other people first. She had already found herbrutal, if humorous, embodiment inBismarck; and he beganwith a schemefull ofbrutality andnotwithouthumour.He tookup,or ratherpretended totakeup,theclaimofthePrinceofAugustenbergtoduchieswhichwereaquitelawful part of the land of Denmark. In support of this small pretender heenlistedtwolargethings,theGermanicbodycalledtheBundandtheAustrianEmpire. It is possibly needless to say that after he had seized the disputed

provinces by pure Prussian violence, he kicked out the Prince ofAugustenberg, kicked out the German Bund, and finally kicked out theAustrian Empire too, in the sudden campaign of Sadowa. He was a goodhusbandandagoodfather;hedidnotpaintinwatercolours;andofsuchistheKingdomofHeaven.Butthesymbolicintensityoftheincidentwasthis.TheDanesexpectedprotectionfromEngland;andiftherehadbeenanysincerityin the ideal side of ourTeutonism theyought to havehad it.Theyought tohavehaditevenbythepedantriesofthetime,whichalreadytalkedofLatininferiority:andwereneverwearyofexplainingthatthecountryofRichelieucould not rule and the country of Napoleon could not fight. But if it wasnecessaryforwhosoeverwouldbesavedtobeaTeuton,theDanesweremoreTeutonthanthePrussians.Ifitbeamatterofvitalimportancetobedescendedfrom Vikings, the Danes really were descended from Vikings, while thePrussiansweredescendedfrommongrelSlavonicsavages.IfProtestantismbeprogress, the Danes were Protestant; while they had attained quite peculiarsuccessandwealthinthatsmallownershipandintensivecultivationwhichisverycommonlyaboastofCatholiclands.Theyhadinaquitearrestingdegreewhat was claimed for the Germanics as against Latin revolutionism: quietfreedom, quiet prosperity, a simple love of fields and of the sea. But,moreover, by that coincidence which dogs this drama, the English of thatVictorianepochhad found their freshest impressionof thenorthern spirit ofinfancyandwonderintheworksofaDanishmanofgenius,whosestoriesandsketchesweresopopularinEnglandasalmosttohavebecomeEnglish.GoodasGrimm'sFairyTaleswere, theyhadbeencollectedandnotcreatedbythemodernGerman;theywereamuseumofthingsolderthananynation,ofthedatelessageofonce-upon-a-time.WhentheEnglishromanticswantedtofindthefolk-talespiritstillalive,theyfounditinthesmallcountryofoneofthosesmall kings,withwhom the folk-tales are almost comically crowded.Theretheyfoundwhatwecallanoriginalwriter,whowasneverthelesstheimageofthe origins. They found a whole fairyland in one head and under onenineteenth-centurytophat.ThoseoftheEnglishwhowerethenchildrenoweto Hans Andersen more than to any of their own writers, that essentialeducational emotion which feels that domesticity is not dull but ratherfantastic;thatsenseofthefairylandoffurniture,andthetravelandadventureofthefarmyard.Histreatmentofinanimatethingsasanimatewasnotacoldandawkwardallegory:itwasatruesenseofadumbdivinityinthingsthatare.Through him a child did feel that the chair he sat onwas something like awooden horse. Through him children and the happier kind ofmen did feelthemselvescoveredbya roofasby the foldedwingsof somevastdomesticfowl;andfeelcommondoorslikegreatmouthsthatopenedtoutterwelcome.Inthestoryof"TheFirTree"hetransplantedtoEnglandalivingbushthatcanstillblossomintocandles.Andinhistaleof"TheTinSoldier"heutteredthe

truedefenceofromanticmilitarismagainsttheprigswhowouldforbiditevenasa toy for thenursery.He suggested, in the true traditionof the folk-tales,thatthedignityofthefighterisnotinhislargenessbutratherinhissmallness,in his stiff loyalty and heroic helplessness in the hands of larger and lowerthings.Thesethings,alas,wereanallegory.WhenPrussia,findinghercrimesunpunished,afterwardscarriedthemintoFranceaswellasDenmark,Carlyleandhisschoolmadesomeeffort to justify theirGermanism,bypittingwhattheycalled thepietyandsimplicityofGermanyagainstwhat theycalled thecynicism and ribaldry of France. But nobody could possibly pretend thatBismarckwasmorepiousandsimplethanHansAndersen;yettheCarlyleanslooked on with silence or approval while the innocent toy kingdom wasbroken likea toy.Hereagain, it isenormouslyprobable thatEnglandwouldhave struck upon the right side, if the English people had been theEnglishGovernment.Amongothercoincidences,theDanishprincesswhohadmarriedtheEnglishheirwassomethingverylikeafairyprincesstotheEnglishcrowd.Thenationalpoethadhailedherasadaughterofthesea-kings;andshewas,andindeedstillis,themostpopularroyalfigureinEngland.Butwhateverourpeoplemayhavebeen like, our politicianswereon thevery tamest level oftimidityandthefearofforcetowhichtheyhaveeversunk.TheTinSoldieroftheDanisharmyandthepaperboatoftheDanishnavy,asinthestory,weresweptawaydownthegreatgutter,downthatcolossalcloacathatleadstothevastcesspoolofBerlin.

Why,asafact,didnotEnglandinterpose?Therewereagreatmanyreasonsgiven,but I think theywereall various inferences fromone reason; indirectresults and sometimes quite illogical results, of what we have called theGermanisationofEngland.First,theveryinsularityonwhichweinsistedwasbarbaric, initsrefusalofaseat inthecentralsenateofthenations.Whatwecalledoursplendidisolationbecamearatherignominioussleeping-partnershipwith Prussia. Next, we were largely trained in irresponsibility by ourcontemporary historians, Freeman and Green, teaching us to be proud of apossible descent from King Arthur's nameless enemies and not from KingArthur. King Arthur might not be historical, but at least he was legendary.HengistandHorsawerenotevenlegendary,fortheyleftnolegend.AnybodycouldseewhatwasobligatoryontherepresentativeofArthur;hewasboundtobechivalrous,thatis,tobeEuropean.ButnobodycouldimaginewhatwasobligatoryontherepresentativeofHorsa,unlessitweretobehorsy.Thatwasperhaps theonlypartof theAnglo-Saxonprogramme that thecontemporaryEnglish really carried out. Then, in the very real decline from Cobbett toCobden(thatis,fromabroadtoanarrowmanlinessandgoodsense)therehadgrownup thecultof averycuriouskindofpeace, tobe spreadallover theworldnotbypilgrims,butbypedlars.Mysticsfromthebeginninghadmadevows of peace—but they added to them vows of poverty. Vows of poverty

werenotintheCobdenite'sline.Then,again,therewasthepositivepraiseofPrussia, to which steadily worsening case the Carlyleans were alreadycommitted. But beyond these, therewas something else, a spirit which hadmoreinfectedusasawhole.ThatspiritwasthespiritofHamlet.Wegavethegrandnameof"evolution"toanotionthatthingsdothemselves.Ourwealth,ourinsularity,ourgraduallossoffaith,hadsodazedusthattheoldChristianEngland haunted us like a ghost in whom we could not quite believe. Anaristocrat like Palmerston, loving freedom and hating the upstart despotism,musthavelookedonatitscoldbrutalitynotwithoutthatuglyquestionwhichHamletaskedhimself—amIacoward?

ItcannotbeButIampigeon-liveredandlackgallTomakeoppressionbitter;or'erethisIshouldhavefattedalltheregionkitesWiththisslave'soffal.

Wemadedumbourangerandourhonour;butithasnotbroughtuspeace.

VII—TheMidnightofEurope

AmongtheminorcrimesofEnglandmaybeclassedtheshallowcriticismandeasyabandonmentofNapoleonIII.TheVictorianEnglishhadaverybadhabitofbeinginfluencedbywordsandatthesametimepretendingtodespisethem.Theywouldbuild theirwholehistoricalphilosophyupon twoor three titles,and then refuse to get even the titles right.The solidVictorianEnglishman,with hiswhiskers and his Parliamentary vote,was quite content to say thatLouisNapoleonandWilliamofPrussiabothbecameEmperors—bywhichhemeant autocrats. His whiskers would have bristled with rage and he wouldhave stormed at you for hair-splitting and "lingo," if you had answered thatWilliamwasGermanEmperor,whileNapoleonwasnotFrenchEmperor,butonlyEmperoroftheFrench.Whatcouldsuchmereorderofthewordsmatter?YetthesameVictorianwouldhavebeenevenmoreindignantifhehadbeenaskedtobesatisfiedwithanArtMaster,whenhehadadvertisedforaMasterofArts.His irritationwould have increased if theArtMaster had promisedhim a sea-piece and had brought him a piece of the sea; or if, during thedecoration of his house, the same aesthetic humourist had undertaken toprocuresomeIndianRedandhadproducedaRedIndian.

The Englishman would not see that if there was only a verbal difference

betweentheFrenchEmperorandtheEmperoroftheFrench,so,ifitcametothat,itwasaverbaldifferencebetweentheEmperorandtheRepublic,orevenbetweenaParliamentandnoParliament.ForhimanEmperormeantmerelydespotism; he had not yet learned that a Parliament may mean merelyoligarchy. He did not know that the English people would soon be madeimpotent, not by the disfranchising of their constituents, but simply by thesilencingof theirmembers; and that thegoverning class ofEnglanddidnotnowdependuponrottenboroughs,butuponrottenrepresentatives.Thereforehe did not understand Bonapartism. He did not understand that Frenchdemocracybecamemoredemocratic,not less,whenit turnedallFrance intooneconstituencywhichelectedonemember.Hedidnotunderstandthatmanydragged down the Republic because it was not republican, but purelysenatorial. He was yet to learn how quite corruptly senatorial a greatrepresentative assembly can become. Yet in England to-day we hear "thedecline of Parliament" talked about and taken for granted by the bestParliamentarians—Mr. Balfour, for instance—and we hear the one partlyFrenchandwhollyJacobinhistorianoftheFrenchRevolutionrecommendingfortheEnglishevilarevivalofthepoweroftheCrown.Itseemsthatsofarfrom having left Louis Napoleon far behind in the grey dust of the deaddespotisms, it is not at all improbable that our most extreme revolutionarydevelopmentsmayendwhereLouisNapoleonbegan.

In other words, the Victorian Englishman did not understand the words"EmperoroftheFrench."Thetypeoftitlewasdeliberatelychosentoexpressthe idea of an elective and popular origin; as against such a phrase as "theGerman Emperor," which expresses an almost transcendental tribalpatriarchate,or suchaphrase as "KingofPrussia,"which suggestspersonalownershipofawholeterritory.TotreattheCoupd'étatasunpardonableistojustify riot againstdespotism,but forbidany riot against aristocracy.Yet theidea expressed in "TheEmperorof theFrench" is not dead, but rather risenfrom the dead. It is the idea that while a government may pretend to be apopulargovernment,onlyapersoncanbe reallypopular. Indeed, the idea isstill the crown of American democracy, as it was for a time the crown ofFrenchdemocracy.Theverypowerfulofficialwhomakes thechoiceof thatgreatpeopleforpeaceorwar,mightverywellbecalled,notthePresidentoftheUnitedStates,but thePresidentof theAmericans. In ItalywehaveseentheKingandthemobprevailovertheconservatismoftheParliament,andinRussiathenewpopularpolicysacramentallysymbolisedbytheCzarridingattheheadofthenewarmies.Butinoneplace,atleast,theactualformofwordsexists; and the actual formofwordshasbeen splendidly justified.Onemanamong the sons ofmen has been permitted to fulfil a courtly formulawithawfulanddisastrousfidelity.Politicalandgeographicalruinhavewrittenonelastroyaltitleacrossthesky;thelossofpalaceandcapitalandterritoryhave

butisolatedandmadeevidentthepeoplethathasnotbeenlost;notlawsbuttheloveofexiles,notsoilbutthesoulsofmen,stillmakecertainthatfivetruewordsshallyetbewrittenin thecorruptandfancifulchroniclesofmankind:"TheKingoftheBelgians."

It is acommonphrase, recurringconstantly in the real if rabideloquenceofVictorHugo,thatNapoleonIII.wasamereapeofNapoleonI.Thatis,thathehad,asthepoliticiansays,in"L'Aiglon,""lepetitchapeau,maispaslatête";that hewasmerely a bad imitation. This is extravagantly exaggerative; andthosewhosayit,moreover,oftenmissthetwoorthreepointsofresemblancewhichreallyexistintheexaggeration.Oneresemblancetherecertainlywas.Inboth Napoleons it has been suggested that the glory was not so great as itseemed;but inbothitcanbeemphaticallyaddedthat theeclipsewasnotsogreatas it seemedeither.Both succeededat first and failedat last.Butbothsucceededat last, evenafter the failure. Ifat thismomentweowe thanks toNapoleonBonaparteforthearmiesofunitedFrance,wealsoowesomethankstoLouisBonaparte for thearmiesofunited Italy.Thatgreatmovement to afreer and more chivalrous Europe which we call to-day the Cause of theAllies,haditsforerunnersandfirstvictoriesbeforeour time;anditnotonlywonatArcola,butalsoatSolferino.MenwhorememberedLouisNapoleonwhenhemoonedabouttheBlessingtonsalon,andwassupposedtobealmostmentallydeficient,usedtosayhedeceivedEuropetwice;oncewhenhemademen think him an imbecile, and once when he made them think him astatesman.Buthedeceived thema third time;whenhemade them thinkhewasdead;andhaddonenothing.

InspiteoftheunbridledverseofHugoandtheevenmoreunbridledproseofKinglake,NapoleonIII. is reallyandsolelydiscredited inhistorybecauseofthe catastrophe of 1870. Hugo hurled any amount of lightning on LouisNapoleon; but he threw very little light on him. Some passages in the"Châtiments"arereallycaricaturescarvedineternalmarble.Theywillalwaysbe valuable in reminding generations too vague and soft, as were theVictorians,of thegreat truth thathatred isbeautiful,when it ishatredof theuglinessofthesoul.ButmostofthemcouldhavebeenwrittenaboutHaman,orHeliogabalus, orKing John, orQueen Elizabeth, asmuch as about poorLouis Napoleon; they bear no trace of any comprehension of his quiteinteresting aims, and his quite comprehensible contempt for the fat-souledsenatorialpoliticians.AndifarealrevolutionistlikeHugodidnotdojusticetothe revolutionary element in Cæsarism, it need hardly be said that a ratherPrimrose League Tory like Tennyson did not. Kinglake's curiously acridinsistenceupontheCoupd'étatis,Ifear,onlyanindulgenceinoneoftheleastpleasing pleasures of our national pen and press, and onewhich afterwardsaltogetherranawaywithusovertheDreyfuscase.Itisanunfortunatehabitof

publiclyrepentingforotherpeople'ssins.IfthiscameeasytoanEnglishmanlikeKinglake,itcame,ofcourse,stilleasiertoaGermanlikeQueenVictoria'shusbandandeventoQueenVictoriaherself,whowasnaturallyinfluencedbyhim. But in so far as the sensible masses of the English nation took anyinterest in thematter, it is probable that they sympathisedwith Palmerston,who was as popular as the Prince Consort was unpopular. The black markagainstLouisNapoleon'snameuntilnow,hassimplybeenSedan;anditisourwholepurposeto-daytoturnSedanintoaninterlude.Ifitisnotaninterlude,itwill be the end of the world. But we have sworn to make an end of thatending: warring on until, if only by a purgatory of the nations and themountainousannihilationofmen,thestoryoftheworldendswell.

There are, as itwere, valleysofhistoryquite close tous, buthiddenby thecloserhills.One,aswehaveseen, is that fold in thesoftSurreyhillswhereCobbett sleepswith his still-bornEnglishRevolution.Another is under thatheightcalledTheSpyofItaly,whereanewNapoleonbroughtbackthegoldeneaglesagainsttheblackeaglesofAustria.YetthatFrenchadventureinsupportof the Italian insurrection was very important; we are only beginning tounderstanditsimportance.ItwasadefiancetotheGermanReactionand1870wasasortof revengefor it, justas theBalkanvictorywasadefiance to theGermanReactionand1914wastheattemptedrevengeforit.ItistruethattheFrenchliberationofItalywasincomplete,theproblemofthePapalStates,forinstance, being untouched by the Peace of Villafranca. The volcanic butfruitful spirit of Italy had already produced that wonderful, wandering, andalmost omnipresent personality whose red shirt was to be a walking flag:Garibaldi. And many English Liberals sympathised with him and hisextremistsasagainstthepeace.Palmerstoncalledit"thepeacethatpassethallunderstanding":buttheprofanityofthathilariousoldheathenwasnearerthemarkthanheknew:therewerereallypresentsomeofthosedeepthingswhichhedidnotunderstand.ToquarrelwiththePope,buttocompromisewithhim,was an instinct with the Bonapartes; an instinct no Anglo-Saxon could beexpected to understand. They knew the truth; thatAnti-Clericalism is not aProtestantmovement,butaCatholicmood.AndafteralltheEnglishLiberalscouldnotgettheirownGovernmenttoriskwhattheFrenchGovernmenthadrisked;andNapoleonIII.mightwellhaveretortedonPalmerston,hisrivalininternational Liberalism, that half a war was better than no fighting.Swinburne called Villafranca "The Halt before Rome," and expressed arhythmicimpatienceforthetimewhentheworld

"ShallringtotheroarofthelionProclaimingRepublicanRome."

Buthemighthaveremembered,afterall,thatitwasnottheBritishlion,thata

Britishpoetshouldhavetherighttosaysoimperiously,"Lethimroaragain.Lethimroaragain."

ItistruethattherewasnoclearcalltoEnglandfromItaly,astherecertainlywasfromDenmark.ThegreatpowerswerenotboundtohelpItalytobecomeanation, as theywerebound to support theunquestioned fact thatDenmarkwasone. Indeed thegreat Italianpatriotwas toexperiencebothextremesoftheEnglishparadox,and,curiouslyenough, inconnectionwithboth the twonational and anti-German causes. For Italy he gained the support of theEnglish, but not the support of England. Not a few of our countrymenfollowedtheredshirt;butnotintheredcoat.AndwhenhecametoEngland,nottopleadthecauseofItalybutthecauseofDenmark,theItalianfoundhewasmorepopularwith theEnglish than anyEnglishman.Hemadehiswaythroughaforestofsalutations,whichwouldwillinglyhaveturneditselfintoaforestofswords.Butthosewhokepttheswordkeptitsheathed.FortherulingclassthevalouroftheItalianhero,likethebeautyoftheDanishPrincess,wasa thing to be admired, that is enjoyed, like a novel—or a newspaper.Palmerstonwas the very type of Pacifism, because hewas the very type ofJingoism. In spirit as restless asGaribaldi,hewas inpracticeas cautiousasCobden. England had the most prudent aristocracy, but the most recklessdemocracyintheworld.Itwas,andis,theEnglishcontradiction,whichhassomuchmisrepresented us, especially to the Irish. Our national captains werecarpetknights;ourknightserrantwereamong thedismounted rabble.Whenan Austrian general who had flogged women in the conquered provincesappeared in the London streets, some common draymen off a cart behavedwiththedirectquixotryofSirLancelotorSirGalahad.Hehadbeatenwomenandtheybeathim.Theyregardedthemselvessimplyasavengersofladiesindistress, breaking the bloody whip of a German bully; just as Cobbett hadsought to break it when it was wielded over the men of England. Theboorishnesswas in theGermanic or half-Germanic rulerswhowore crossesandspurs:thegallantrywasinthegutter.EnglishdraymenhadmorechivalrythanTeutonaristocrats—orEnglishones.

I have dwelt a little on this Italian experiment because it lights up LouisNapoleonaswhathe reallywasbefore the eclipse, apolitician—perhaps anunscrupulous politician—but certainly a democratic politician. A powerseldom falls being wholly faultless; and it is true that the Second Empirebecamecontaminatedwithcosmopolitanspiesandswindlers,justlyreviledbysuch democrats as Rochefort as well as Hugo. But there was no Frenchinefficiency thatweighed a hair in the balance comparedwith the huge andhostileefficiencyofPrussia; thetallmachinethathadstruckdownDenmarkandAustria,andnowstoodreadytostrikeagain,extinguishingthelampoftheworld.Therewasahitchbeforethehammerstroke,andBismarckadjustedit,

as with his finger, by a forgery—for he hadmanyminor accomplishments.Francefell:andwhatfellwithherwasfreedom,andwhatreignedinhersteadonlytyrantsandtheancientterror.ThecrowningofthefirstmodernKaiserintheverypalaceof theoldFrenchkingswasanallegory; likeanallegoryonthoseVersailleswalls.Foritwasatoncetheliftingoftheolddespoticdiademanditsdescentonthelowbrowofabarbarian.LouisXI.hadreturned,andnotLouisIX.;andEuropewastoknowthatsceptreonwhichthereisnodove.

TheinstantevidencethatEuropewasinthegripofthesavagewasassimpleas it was sinister. The invaders behaved with an innocent impiety andbestiality thathadneverbeenknown in those landssinceCloviswassignedwith thecross.To thenakedprideof thenewmennations simplywerenot.The struggling populations of two vast provinceswere simply carried awaylikeslavesintocaptivity,asafterthesackingofsomeprehistorictown.Francewasfinedforhavingpretendedtobeanation;andthefinewasplannedtoruinherforever.UnderthepressureofsuchimpossibleinjusticeFrancecriedouttotheChristiannations,oneafteranother,andbyname.HerlastcryendedinastillnesslikethatwhichhadencircledDenmark.

One man answered; one who had quarrelled with the French and theirEmperor;butwhoknewitwasnotanemperorthathadfallen.Garibaldi,notalwayswisebuttohisendahero, tookhisstation,swordinhand,underthedarkening skyofChristendom,andshared the last fateofFrance.Acuriousrecord remains, in which a German commander testifies to the energy andeffect of the last strokes of the wounded lion of Aspromonte. But Englandwentawaysorrowful,forshehadgreatpossessions.

VIII—TheWrongHorse

InanotherchapterImentionedsomeofthelateLordSalisbury'sremarkswithregret,butItrustwithrespect;forincertainmattershedeservedalltherespectthat can be given to him.His critics said that he "thought aloud";which isperhapsthenoblestthingthatcanbesaidofaman.Hewasjeeredatforitbyjournalistsandpoliticianswhohadnotthecapacitytothinkorthecouragetotelltheirthoughts.Andhehadoneyetfinerqualitywhichredeemsahundredlapsesofanarchiccynicism.Hecouldchangehismindupontheplatform:hecouldrepentinpublic.Hecouldnotonlythinkaloud;hecould"thinkbetter"aloud.Andoneoftheturning-pointsofEuropehadcomeinthehourwhenheavowed his conversion from the un-Christian and un-European policy intowhichhisdexterousOrientalmaster,Disraeli,haddraggedhim;anddeclared

thatEngland had "put hermoney on thewrong horse."When he said it, hereferredtothebackingwegavetotheTurkunderafallaciousfearofRussia.ButIcannotbutthinkthatifhehadlivedmuchlonger,hewouldhavecometofeelthesamedisgustforhislongdiplomaticsupportoftheTurk'sgreatallyintheNorth.Hedidnotlive,aswehavelived,tofeelthathorserunawaywithus,andrushonthroughwilderandwilderplaces,untilweknewthatwewereridingonthenightmare.

What was this thing to which we trusted? And howmay we most quicklyexplain itsdevelopment fromadream toanightmare, and thehair's-breadthescapebywhichitdidnothurlustodestruction,asitseemstobehurlingtheTurk?Itisacertainspirit;andwemustnotaskfortoologicaladefinitionofit,forthepeoplewhomitpossessesdisownlogic;andthewholethingisnotsomucha theoryasaconfusionof thought. Itswidestandmostelementarycharacter isadumbrated in thewordTeutonismorPan-Germanism;andwiththis (which was what appeared to win in 1870) we had better begin. ThenatureofPan-Germanismmaybeallegorisedandabbreviatedsomewhatthus:

Thehorseasserts thatallothercreaturesaremorallybound tosacrifice theirinterests to his, on the specific ground that he possesses all noble andnecessaryqualities,and isanend inhimself. It ispointedout inanswer thatwhen climbing a tree the horse is less graceful than the cat; that lovers andpoetsseldomurgethehorsetomakeanoiseallnightlikethenightingale;thatwhen submerged for some long time underwater, he is less happy than thehaddock;andthatwhenheiscutopenpearlsarelessoftenfoundinhimthanin an oyster. He is not content to answer (though, being a muddle-headedhorse, he does use this answer also) that having an undivided hoof ismorethanpearlsoroceansorallascensionorsong.Hereflectsforafewyearsonthe subjectof cats; andat lastdiscovers in thecat "thecharacteristic equinequalityofcaudality,oratail";sothatcatsarehorses,andwaveoneverytree-top the tailwhich is theequinebanner.Nightingalesare found tohave legs,whichexplains theirpowerofsong.Haddocksarevertebrates;and thereforearesea-horses.Andthoughtheoysteroutwardlypresentsdissimilaritieswhichseemtodividehimfromthehorse,heisbytheall-fillingnature-mightofthesamehorse-movingenergysustained.

Nowthishorseisintellectuallythewronghorse.Itisnotperhapsgoingtoofarto say that this horse is a donkey. For it is obviously within even theintellectual resources of a haddock to answer, "But if a haddock is a horse,whyshouldIyieldtoyouanymorethanyoutome?Whyshouldthatsinginghorsecommonlycalledthenightingale,orthatclimbinghorsehithertoknownas thecat, falldownandworshipyoubecauseofyourhorsehood?Ifallournative facultiesare theaccomplishmentsof ahorse—why thenyouareonly

another horse without any accomplishments." When thus gently reasonedwith, thehorse flingsuphisheels,kicks thecat,crushes theoyster,eats thehaddockandpursuesthenightingale,andthatishowthewarbegan.

ThisapologueisnotintheleastmorefantasticthanthefactsoftheTeutonicclaim.TheGermansdoreallysaythatEnglishmenareonlySea-Germans,asourhaddockswereonlysea-horses.TheydoreallysaythatthenightingalesofTuscanyor thepearlsofHellasmust somehowbeGermanbirdsorGermanjewels.Theydomaintainthat theItalianRenaissancewasreallytheGermanRenaissance,pureGermanshavingItaliannameswhentheywerepainters,ascockneyssometimeshavewhentheyarehair-dressers.TheysuggestthatJesusandthegreatJewswereTeutonic.OneTeutonistIreadactuallyexplainedthefreshenergyof theFrenchRevolutionand thestaleprivilegesof itsGermanenemiesbysaying that theGermanicsoulawoke inFranceandattacked theLatin influence in Germany. On the advantages of this method I need notdwell: if you are annoyed at Jack Johnson knocking out an English prize-fighter,youhaveonly tosay that itwas thewhitenessof theblackmanthatwonandtheblacknessofthewhitemanthatwasbeaten.ButabouttheItalianRenaissance theyare lessgeneralandwillgo intodetail.Theywilldiscover(in their researches into 'istry, as Mr. Gandish said) that Michael Angelo'ssurnamewasBuonarotti;andtheywillpointout that theword"roth"isveryliketheword"rot."Which,inonesense,istrueenough.MostEnglishmenwillbe content to say it is all rot and pass on. It is all of a piece with thepreposterous Prussian history, which talks, for instance, about the "perfectreligious tolerance of the Goths"; which is like talking about the legalimpartiality of chicken-pox. He will decline to believe that the Jews wereGermans; though hemayperhaps havemet someGermanswhowere Jews.But deeper than any such practical reply, lies the deep inconsistency of theparable. It is simply this; that if Teutonism be used for comprehension itcannot be used for conquest. If all intelligent peoples are Germans, thenPrussiansareonlytheleastintelligentGermans.IfthemenofFlandersareasGermanasthemenofFrankfort,wecanonlysaythatinsavingBelgiumwearehelpingtheGermanswhoareintherightagainsttheGermanswhoareinthewrong.ThusinAlsacetheconquerorsareforcedintothecomicpostureofannexing the people for beingGerman and then persecuting them for beingFrench.TheFrenchTeutonswhobuiltRheimsmustsurrenderittotheSouthGermanTeutonswhohavepartlybuiltCologne; and these in turn surrenderCologne to theNorthGermanTeutons,whoneverbuiltanything,except thewooden Aunt Sally of old Hindenburg. Every Teutonmust fall on his facebeforeaninferiorTeuton;until theyallfind,inthefoulmarshestowardstheBaltic,theverylowestofallpossibleTeutons,andworshiphim—andfindheisaSlav.SomuchforPan-Germanism.

ButthoughTeutonismisindefinable,oratleastisbytheTeutonsundefined,itisnotunreal.AvaguebutgenuinesouldoespossessallpeopleswhoboastofTeutonism;andhaspossessedourselves,insofaraswehavebeentouchedbythatfolly.Notarace,butratherareligion,thethingexists;andin1870itssunwasatnoon.Wecanmostbrieflydescribeitunderthreeheads.

The victory of theGerman armsmeant beforeLeipzic, andmeans now, theoverthrowofacertainidea.ThatideaistheideaoftheCitizen.Thisistrueina quite abstract and courteous sense; and is notmeant as a loose charge ofoppression. Its truth is quite compatible with a view that the Germans arebetter governed than the French. Inmanyways the Germans are very wellgoverned.Buttheymightbegovernedtenthousandtimesbetterthantheyare,or thananybodyevercanbe,andstillbeasfaraseverfromgoverning.TheideaoftheCitizenisthathisindividualhumannatureshallbeconstantlyandcreativelyactiveinalteringtheState.TheGermansarerightinregardingtheidea as dangerously revolutionary. Every Citizenis a revolution. That is, hedestroys,devoursandadaptshisenvironmenttotheextentofhisownthoughtandconscience.Thisiswhatseparatesthehumansocialeffortfromthenon-human; the bee creates the honey-comb, but he does not criticise it. TheGermanrulerreallydoesfeedandtraintheGermanascarefullyasagardenerwaters a flower.But if the flower suddenly began towater the gardener, hewouldbemuchsurprised.SoinGermanythepeoplereallyareeducated;butin France the people educates. The French not onlymake up the State, butmake theState;notonlymake it,but remake it. InGermany the ruler is theartist, always painting the happy German like a portrait; in France theFrenchman is the artist, always painting and repaintingFrance like a house.NostateofsocialgoodthatdoesnotmeantheCitizenchoosinggood,aswellas getting it, has the idea of the Citizen at all. To say the Germanies arenaturally at war with this idea is merely to respect them and take themseriously: otherwise their war on the French Revolution would be only anignorantfeud. It is this, to them,riskyandfancifulnotionof thecriticalandcreativeCitizen,which in1870 layprostrateunderUnitedGermany—undertheundividedhoof.

Nevertheless,whentheGermansayshehasorlovesfreedom,whathesaysisnot false.Hemeans something; andwhat hemeans is the second principle,which I may summarise as the Irresponsibility of Thought.Within the ironframework of the fixed State, theGerman has not only liberty but anarchy.Anything can be said although, or rather because, nothing can be done.Philosophy is really free. But this practicallymeans only that the prisoner'scellhasbecomethemadman'scell:thatitisscrawledalloverinsidewithstarsandsystems,so that it looks likeeternity.This is thecontradictionremarkedbyDr.Sarolea, inhisbrilliantbook,betweenthewildnessofGermantheory

andthetamenessofGermanpractice.TheGermanssterilisethought,makingitactivewithawildvirginity;whichcanbearnofruit.

Butthoughtherearesomanymadtheories,mostofthemhaveoneroot;anddepend upon one assumption. It matters little whether we call it, with theGerman Socialists, "the Materialist Theory of History"; or, with Bismarck,"bloodand iron." It canbeputmost fairly thus: that all important eventsofhistoryarebiological,likeachangeofpastureorthecommunismofapackofwolves.Professorsare still tearing theirhair in theeffort toprove somehowthat theCrusadersweremigratingfor food likeswallows;or that theFrenchRevolutionists were somehow only swarming like bees. This works in twoways often accounted opposite; and explains both theGermanSocialist andtheJunker.For,first,itfitsinwithTeutonicImperialism;makingthe"blondebeasts" of Germania into lions whose nature it is to eat such lambs as theFrench.ThehighestsuccessofthisnotioninEuropeismarkedbypraisegiventoa race famous for itsphysical firmnessand fightingbreed,butwhichhasfranklypillagedandscarcelypretendedtorule; theTurk,whomsomeToriescalled"thegentlemanofEurope."TheKaiserpausedtoadoretheCrescentonhis way to patronise the Cross. It was corporately embodied when GreeceattemptedasolitaryadventureagainstTurkeyandwasquicklycrushed.ThatEnglish guns helped to impose the mainly Germanic policy of the ConcertuponCrete,cannotbeleftoutofmindwhilewearemakingappealstoGreece—orconsideringthecrimesofEngland.

But the same principle serves to keep the internal politics of the Germansquiet,andpreventSocialismbeingthepracticalhopeorperilithasbeeninsomanyothercountries.Itoperatesintwoways;first,byacuriousfallacyabout"the time not being ripe"—as if time could ever be ripe. The same savagesuperstitionfromtheforestshadinfectedMatthewArnoldprettybadlywhenhemade apersonalityoutof theZeitgeist—perhaps theonlyghost thatwasever entirely fabulous. It is tricked by a biological parallel, by which thechicken always comes out of the egg "at the right time." He does not; hecomesoutwhenhe comesout.TheMarxianSocialistwill not strike till theclockstrikes;andtheclockismadeinGermany,andneverstrikes.Moreover,the theoryofallhistoryasa search for foodmakes themassescontentwithhaving food and physic, but not freedom. The best working model in thematter is thesystemofCompulsoryInsurance;whichwasa total failureanddead letter in France but has been, in theGerman sense, a great success inGermany.Ittreatsemployedpersonsasafixed,separate,andlowercaste,whomustnotthemselvesdisposeofthemarginoftheirsmallwages.In1911itwasintroducedintoEnglandbyMr.LloydGeorge,whohadstudieditsoperationsinGermany,and,bythePrussianprestigein"socialreform,"waspassed.

Thesethreetendenciescohere,orarecohering, inaninstitutionwhichisnotwithout a great historical basis and notwithout greatmodern conveniences.AndasFrancewasthestandard-bearerofcitizenshipin1798,Germanyisthestandard-bearerofthisalternativesolutionin1915.TheinstitutionwhichourfatherscalledSlaveryfitsinwith,orratherlogicallyflowsfrom,allthethreespiritsofwhichIhavespoken,andpromisesgreatadvantagestoeachofthem.ItcangivetheindividualworkereverythingexceptthepowertoaltertheState—thatis,hisownstatus.Finality(orwhatcertaineleutheromaniacswouldcallhopelessness)ofstatusisthesoulofSlavery—andofCompulsoryInsurance.Thenagain,Germanygivestheindividualexactlythelibertythathasalwaysbeengiventoaslave—thelibertytothink,thelibertytodream,thelibertytorage;thelibertytoindulgeinanyintellectualhypothesesabouttheunalterableworld and state—such as have always been free to slaves, from the stoicalmaximsofEpictetustotheskylarkingfairytalesofUncleRemus.Andithasbeen truly urged by all defenders of slavery that, if history has merely amaterialtest,thematerialconditionofthesubordinateunderslaverytendstobegoodrather thanbad.WhenIoncepointedouthowprecisely the"modelvillage" of a great employer reproduces the safety and seclusion of an oldslaveestate, theemployer thought itquiteenoughtoanswer indignantly thathe had provided baths, playing-grounds, a theatre, etc., for his workers. HewouldprobablyhavethoughtitoddtohearaplanterinSouthCarolinaboastthat he had provided banjos, hymn-books, and places suitable for the cake-walk.Yet theplantermusthaveprovided thebanjos, foraslavecannotownproperty.AndifthisGermanicsociologyisindeedtoprevailamongus,Ithinksome of the broad-minded thinkers who concur in its prevalence owesomethinglikeanapologytomanygallantgentlemenwhosegravesliewherethelastbattlewasfoughtintheWilderness;menwhohadthecouragetofightforit,thecouragetodieforitand,aboveall,thecouragetocallitbyitsname.

With the acceptance by England of the German Insurance Act, I bring thissketchofthepastrelationsofthetwocountriestoanend.Ihavewrittenthisbookbecause Iwish, once and for all, to be donewithmy friendProfessorWhirlwind of Prussia, who has long despaired of really defending his owncountry,andhasfallenbackuponabusingmine.Hehasdropped,amidgeneralderision,hisattempttocallathingrightwheneventheChancellorwhodiditcalled itwrong.Buthehasan idea that ifhecanshow that somebody fromEngland somewhere did another wrong, the twowrongsmaymake a right.AgainstthecryoftheRomanCatholicPolesthePrussianhasneverdone,orevenpretendedtodo,anythingbuthardenhisheart;buthehas(sucharethelovable inconsistencies of human nature) awarm corner in his heart for theRoman Catholic Irish. He has not a word to say for himself about thecampaign inBelgium,buthestillhasmanywise, reproachfulwords toutteraboutthecampaigninSouthAfrica.Iproposetotakethosewordsoutofhis

mouth.Iwillhavenothingtodowiththefatuousfront-benchpretensionsthatourgovernorsalwaysgovernwell,thatourstatesmenareneverwhitewashedandneverinneedofwhitewash.TheonlymoralsuperiorityIclaimisthatofnot defending the indefensible. Imost earnestly urgemy countrymennot tohide behind thin official excuses,which the sister kingdoms and the subjectraces can easily see through.We can confess that our crimes have been asmountains,andstillnotbeafraidofthepresentcomparison.Theremaybe,inthe eyesof some, a risk in dwelling in this darkhour onour failures in thepast:Ibelieveprofoundlythat theriskisall theotherway.Ibelievethat themostdeadlydangertoourarmsto-dayliesinanywhiffofthatself-praise,anyflavour of thatmoral cowardice, any glimpse of that impudent and ultimateimpenitence, thatmaymake oneBoer or Scot orWelshman or Irishman orIndian feel that he is only smoothing the path for a second Prussia. I havepassed the great part of my life in criticising and condemning the existingrulersandinstitutionsofmycountry:Ithinkitisinfinitelythemostpatrioticthing that a man can do. I have no illusions either about our past or ourpresent. I thinkourwhole history in Irelandhas been a vulgar and ignoranthatred of the crucifix, expressed by a crucifixion. I think the SouthAfricanWarwasadirtyworkwhichwedidunderthewhipsofmoneylenders.IthinkMitchelstownwasadisgrace;IthinkDenshawiwasadevilry.

Yet there isonepartof lifeandhistory inwhichIwouldassert theabsolutespotlessnessofEngland.Inonedepartmentweweararobeofwhiteandahaloofinnocence.Longandwearyasmaybetherecordsofourwickedness,inonedirectionwehavedonenothingbutgood.Whoeverwemayhavewronged,wehave never wrongedGermany. Again and again we have dragged her fromunderthejustvengeanceofherenemies,fromtheholyangerofMariaTeresa,from the impatient and contemptuous common senseofNapoleon.Wehavekept a ring fence around the Germans while they sacked Denmark anddismembered France. And if we had served our God as we haveservedtheirkings,therewouldnotbeto-dayoneremnantoftheminourpath,eithertoslanderortoslayus.

IX—TheAwakeningofEngland

In October 1912 silent and seemingly uninhabited crags and chasms in thehighwesternregionoftheBalkansechoedandre-echoedwithasingleshot.Itwasfiredbythehandofaking—realking,whosatlisteningtohispeopleinfrontofhisownhouse(foritwashardlyapalace),andwho,inconsequence

ofhislisteningtothepeople,notunfrequentlyimprisonedthepoliticians.Itissaid of him that his great respect for Gladstone as thewestern advocate ofBalkan freedom was slightly shadowed by the fact that Gladstone did notsucceed in effecting the bodily capture of Jack the Ripper. This simplemonarchknewthatifamalefactorweretheterrorofthemountainhamlets,hissubjectswouldexpecthimpersonallytotakearmsandpursuetheruffian;andifherefusedtodoso,wouldveryprobablyexperimentwithanotherking.Andthesameprimitiveconceptionofakingbeingkeptforsomekindofpurpose,ledthemalsotoexpecthimtoleadinaforeigncampaign,anditwaswithhisownhandthathefiredthefirstshotofthewarwhichbroughtdownintothedusttheancientempireoftheGrandTurk.

His kingdom was little more than the black mountain after which it wasnamed:wecommonlyrefertoitunderitsItaliantranslationofMontenegro.Itis worth while to pause for a moment upon his picturesque and peculiarcommunity,becauseitisperhapsthesimplestworkingmodelofallthatstoodinthepathofthegreatGermanicsocialmachineIhavedescribedinthelastchapter—stood in its path andwas soon to be very nearly destroyed by itsonset.ItwasabranchoftheSerbianstockwhichhadclimbedintothisalmostinaccessible eyrie, and thence, for many hundred years, hadmocked at thepredatoryempireoftheTurks.TheSerbiansintheirturnwerebutonebranchofthepeasantSlavs,millionsofwhomarespreadoverRussiaandsubjectonmany sides to empires with which they have less sympathy; and the Slavsagain,inthebroadfeatureswhichareimportanthere,arenotmerelySlavonicbut simplyEuropean.But a particular picture is generallymorepointed andintelligible than tendencies which elsewhere are mingled with subtlertendencies; and of this unmixed European simplicity Montenegro is anexcellentmodel.

Moreover, the instance of one smallChristianStatewill serve to emphasisethatthisisnotaquarrelbetweenEnglandandGermany,butbetweenEuropeand Germany. It is mywhole purpose in these pages not to sparemy owncountry where it is open to criticism; and I freely admit that Montenegro,morallyandpoliticallyspeaking,isalmostasmuchinadvanceofEnglandasitisofGermany.InMontenegrotherearenomillionaires—andthereforenexttonoSocialists.Astowhytherearenomillionaires,itisamystery,andbeststudied among the mysteries of the Middle Ages. By some of the darkingenuities of that age of priestcraft a curious thingwas discovered—that ifyoukill everyusurer, every forestaller, everyadulterater, everyuserof falseweights, every fixer of false boundaries, every land-thief, everywater-thief,you afterwards discover by a strange indirectmiracle, or disconnected truthfromheaven, thatyouhavenomillionaires.Withoutdwellingfurtheronthisdarkmatter, wemay say that this great gap in theMontenegrin experience

explains the other great gap—the lack of Socialists. The Class-consciousProletarianofAllLandsiscuriouslyabsentfromthisland.Thereason(Ihavesometimesfancied)isthattheProletarianisclass-conscious,notbecauseheisaProletarianofAllLands,butbecauseheisaProletarianwithnolands.Thepoor people inMontenegro have lands—not landlords.They have roots; forthepeasantistherootofthepriest,thepoet,andthewarrior.Andthis,andnota mere recrimination about acts of violence, is the ground of the age-longBalkanbitternessagainsttheTurkishconqueror.MontenegrinsarepatrioticforMontenegro;butTurksarenotpatrioticforTurkey.Theyneverheardofit,infact.TheyareBedouins,ashomelessasthedesert.The"wronghorse"ofLordSalisburywasanArabsteed,onlystabledinByzantium.Itishardenoughtorulevagabondpeople,likethegypsies.Toberuledbythemisimpossible.

Neverthelesswhatwascalledthenineteenthcentury,andnamedwithasortoftranscendentalfaith(asinaPythagoreanworshipofnumber),waswearingtoits closewith reaction everywhere, and theTurk, the great type of reaction,stronger than ever in the saddle.Themost civilised of theChristian nationsovershadowedby theCrescent dared to attack it andwasoverwhelmed in acatastrophethatseemedasunanswerableasHittin.InEnglandGladstoneandGladstonism were dead; and Mr. Kipling, a less mystical Carlyle, wasexpending a type of praise upon the British Army which would have beeneven more appropriate to the Prussian Army. The Prussian Army ruledPrussia; Prussia ruledGermany;Germany ruled theConcert ofEurope. Shewasplantingeverywheretheappliancesofthatnewservilemachinerywhichwas her secret; the absolute identification of national subordination withbusiness employment; so that Krupp could count on Kaiser and Kaiser onKrupp.Everyothercommercialtravellerwaspatheticallyproudofbeingbothaslaveandaspy.Theoldandthenewtyrantshadtakenhands.The"sack"ofthebosswasassilentandfatalasthesackoftheBosphorus.Andthedreamofthecitizenwasatanend.

Itwasunderaskysoleadenandonaroadsostrewnwithbonesthatthelittlemountaindemocracywith itspatriarchalprincewentout, firstandbeforeallits friends, on the last and seemingly the most hopeless of the rebellionsagainst the Ottoman Empire. Only one of the omens seemed other thandisastrous; and even that was doubtful. For the successful MediterraneanattackonTripoliwhileprovingthegallantryoftheItalians(ifthateverneededproving) could be taken in twoways, andwas seen bymany, and probablymost,sincereliberalsasamereextensionoftheImperialistreactionofBosniaand Paardeberg, and not as the promise of newer things. Italy, it must beremembered, was still supposed to be the partner of Prussia and theHapsburgs.FordaysthatseemedlikemonthsthemicroscopicstateseemedtobeattemptingalonewhattheCrusadeshadfailedtoaccomplish.Andfordays

Europeandthegreatpowerswerethunderstruck,againandyetagain,bythenews ofTurkish forts falling,Turkish cohorts collapsing, the unconquerableCrescentgoingdowninblood.TheSerbians, theBulgarians, theGreekshadgatheredandrisenfromtheirlairs;andmenknewthatthesepeasantshaddonewhatallthepoliticianshadlongdespairedofdoing,andthatthespiritofthefirstChristianEmperorwasalreadystandingoverthecitythatisnamedafterhisname.

ForGermanythisquiteunexpectedrushwasareversalofthewholetideoftheworld.ItwasasiftheRhineitselfhadreturnedfromtheoceanandretiredintotheAlps.ForalongtimepasteveryimportantpoliticalprocessinEuropehadbeen produced or permitted by Prussia. She had pulled down ministers inFrance and arrested reforms in Russia. Her ruler was acclaimed byEnglishmenlikeRhodes,andAmericanslikeRoosevelt,asthegreatprinceoftheage.Oneofthemostfamousandbrilliantofourjournalistscalledhim"theLordChiefJusticeofEurope."HewasthestrongestmaninChristendom;andhehadconfirmedandconsecratedtheCrescent.Andwhenhehadconsecrateditafewhilltribeshadrisenandtrampleditlikemire.Oneortwootherthingsaboutthesametime,lessimportantinthemselves,struckinthePrussian'searthe same new note of warning and doubt. He sought to obtain a smalladvantageon thenorth-westcoastofAfrica;andEnglandseemed toshowacertainstrangestiffness in insistingonitsabandonment.In thecouncilsoverMorocco,EnglandagreedwithFrancewithwhatdidnot seemaltogetheranaccidentalagreement.ButweshallnotbewrongifweputthecrucialpointoftheGermansurpriseandangerat theattackfromtheBalkansandthefallofAdrianople. Not only did itmenace the key ofAsia and thewhole Easterndream of German commerce; not only did it offer the picture of one armytrainedbyFranceandvictorious,andanotherarmy trainedbyGermanyandbeaten. There was more than the material victory of the Creusot over theKrupp gun. It was also the victory of the peasant's field over the Kruppfactory.BythistimetherewasintheNorthGermanbrainanawfulinversionof all the legends and heroic lives that the human race has loved.Prussiahatedromance.Chivalrywasnotathingsheneglected;itwasathingthattormentedherasanybullyistormentedbyanunansweredchallenge.Thatweird process was completed of which I have spoken on an earlier page,whereby the soul of this strange peoplewas everywhere on the side of thedragonagainsttheknight,ofthegiantagainstthehero.Anythingunexpected—the forlorn hopes, the eleventh-hour inspirations, by which the weak canelude the strong, andwhich take the hearts of happiermen like trumpets—filledthePrussianwithacoldfury,asofafrustratedfate.ThePrussianfeltasaChicagoporkbutcherwouldfeelifthepigsnotonlyrefusedtopassthroughhismachine,butturnedintoromanticwildboars,ragingandrending,callingfortheoldhuntingofprincesandfittobethecrestsofkings.

ThePrussiansawthesethingsandhismindwasmadeup.Hewassilent;buthelaboured:labouredforthreelongyearswithoutintermissionatthemakingofamilitarymachinethatshouldcutoutoftheworldforeversuchromanticaccidentorrandomadventure;amachinethatshouldcurethehumanpigsforeverofanyillusionthattheyhadwings.Thathedidsoplotandprepareforanattack that should come from him, anticipating and overwhelming anyresistance, isnow,eveninthedocumentshehashimselfpublished,afactofcommon sense. Suppose a man sells all his lands except a small yardcontaining awell; suppose in the division of the effects of an old friend heparticularlyasks forhis razors; supposewhenacorded trunk is senthimhesendsbackthetrunk,butkeepsthecord.Andthensupposewehearthatarivalofhishasbeenlassoedwitharope,histhroatthencut,apparentlywitharazor,andhisbodyhiddeninawell,wedonotcallinSherlockHolmestoprojectapreliminary suspicion about the guilty party. In the discussions held by thePrussianGovernmentwithLordHaldane andSirEdwardGreywe cannowseequiteasplainlythemeaningofthethingsthatweregrantedandthethingsthatwerewithheld, the things thatwould have satisfied the Prussian plotterand the things that did not satisfy him. The German Chancellor refused anEnglishpromisenottobeaggressiveandaskedinsteadforanEnglishpromisetobeneutral.Thereisnomeaninginthedistinction,exceptinthemindofanaggressor.GermanyproposedapacificarrangementwhichforbadeEnglandtoformafightingalliancewithFrance,butpermittedGermanytoretainheroldfightingalliancewithAustria.WhenthehourofwarcamesheusedAustria,used the old fighting alliance and tried to use the new idea of Englishneutrality.Thatistosay,sheusedtherope,therazor,andthewell.

ButitwaseitherbyaccidentorbyindividualdiplomaticskillthatEnglandattheendof thethreeyearsevenhadherownhandsfreetohelpinfrustratingtheGermanplot.ThemassoftheEnglishpeoplehadnonotionofsuchaplot;and indeed regarded theoccasional suggestionof it as absurd.Nordideventhepeoplewhoknewbestknowverymuchbetter.ThanksandevenapologiesaredoubtlessduetothosewhointhedeepestlullofoursleepingpartnershipwithPrussiasawhernotasapartnerbutapotentialenemy;suchmenasMr.Blatchford,Mr.BartKennedy,orthelateEmilReich.Butthereisadistinctiontobemade.Fewevenofthese,withtheadmirableandindeedalmostmagicalexception of Dr. Sarolea, saw Germany as she was; occupied mainly withEurope and only incidentally with England; indeed, in the first stages, notoccupiedwithEnglandatall.EventheAnti-Germansweretooinsular.EventhosewhosawmostofGermany'splansawtoomuchofEngland'spartinit.Theysawitalmostwhollyasacommercialandcolonialquarrel;andsawitsissueundertheimageofaninvasionofEngland,whichisevennownotveryprobable.ThisfearofGermanywasindeedaveryGermanfearofGermany.ThisalsoconceivedtheEnglishasSea-Germans.ItconceivedGermanyasat

war with something like itself—practical, prosaic, capitalist, competitiveGermany,preparedtocutusupinbattleasshecutusoutinbusiness.Thetimeof our larger visionwas not yet,whenwe should realise thatGermanywasmoredeeplyatwarwiththingsquiteunlikeherself,thingsfromwhichwealsohadsadlystrayed.Thenweshouldrememberwhatwewereandseewhencewe also had come; and far and high upon that mountain from which theCrescentwascastdown,beholdwhatwaseverywhere therealenemyof theIronCross—thepeasant'scross,whichisofwood.

Even our very slight ripples of panic, therefore, were provincial, and evenshallow; and for themost part wewere possessed and convinced of peace.Thatpeacewasnotanobleone.Wehadindeedreachedoneofthelowestandflattest levels of all our undulating history; and itmust be admitted that thecontemptuous calculation with which Germany counted on our submissionand abstention was not altogether unfounded, though it was, thank God,unfulfilled.The full fruitionofouralliancesagainst freedomhadcome.ThemeekacceptanceofKultur inourbooksandschoolshadstiffenedwhatwasonceafreecountrywithaGermanformalismandaGermanfear.Byaqueerirony, even the same popularwriterwho had alreadywarned us against thePrussians,hadsoughttopreachamongthepopulaceaveryPrussianfatalism,pivotedupontheimportanceofthecharlatanHaeckel.Thewrestleofthetwogreatpartieshadlongslackenedintoanembrace.Thefactwasfaintlydenied,and a pretence was still made that no pact: existed beyond a commonpatriotism. But the pretence failed altogether; for it was evident that theleadersoneitherside,sofarfromleadingindivergentdirections,weremuchcloser toeachother than to theirown followers.Thepowerof these leadershadenormouslyincreased;butthedistancebetweenthemhaddiminished,or,rather,disappeared.Itwassaidabout1800,inderisionoftheFoxiterump,thattheWhigPartycamedowntoParliamentinafour-wheeler.Itmightliterallybesaidin1900thattheWhigPartyandtheToryPartycametoParliamentinahansom cab. It was not a case of two towers rising into different roofs orspires,butfoundedinthesamesoil.Itwasratherthecaseofanarch,ofwhichthefoundation-stonesoneithersidemightfancytheyweretwobuildings;butthe stonesnearest thekeystonewouldknow therewasonlyone.This "two-handedengine"stillstoodreadytostrike,not,indeed,theotherpartofitself,but anyonewhoventured todeny that itwasdoing so.Wewere ruled, as itwere,byaWonderlandkingandqueen,whocutoffourheads,notforsayingtheyquarrelledbutforsayingtheydidn't.Thelibellawwasnowused,nottocrush lies about private life, but to crush truths about public life.Representationhadbecomemeremisrepresentation;amazeofloopholes.Thiswasmainlyduetothemonstrouspresenceofcertainsecretmoneys,onwhichalonemanymencouldwintheruinouselectionsof theage,andwhichwerecontributed anddistributedwith less checkor record than is tolerated in the

lowest trade or club. Only one or two people attacked these funds; nobodydefendedthem.Throughthemthegreatcapitalistshadthehandleofpolitics,as of everything else. The poor were struggling hopelessly against risingprices;andtheirattemptsatcollectivebargaining,bythecollectiverefusalofbadly-paid work, were discussed in the press, Liberal and Tory, as attacksupontheState.Andsotheywere;upontheServileState.

SuchwastheconditionofEnglandin1914,whenPrussia,nowatlastarmedto the teethandsecureof triumph,stoodupbefore theworld,andsolemnly,like one taking a sacrament, consecrated her campaign with a crime. Sheenteredbyaforbiddendoor,onewhichshehadherselfforbidden—marchinguponFrancethroughneutralisedBelgium,whereeverystepwasonherbrokenword.Herneutralisedneighboursresisted,asindeedthey,likeourselves,werepledgedtodo.Instantly thewhole invasionwaslitupwithaflameofmorallunacy, that turned the watching nations white who had never known thePrussian.Thestatisticsofnon-combatantskilledandtorturedbythistimeonlystuntheimagination.Buttwofriendsofmyownhavebeeninvillagessackedby the Prussian march. One saw a tabernacle containing the Sacramentpatiently picked out in pattern by shot after shot. The other saw a rocking-horseand thewooden toys in anursery laboriouslyhacked topieces.Thosetwo facts togetherwill be enough to satisfy some of us of the name of theSpiritthathadpassed.

Andthenastrangethinghappened.England,thathadnotinthemodernsenseany army at all,was justified of all her children.Respected institutions andreputationsdidindeedwaverandcollapseonmanysides:thoughthechiefofthe states replied worthily to a bribe from the foreign bully, many otherpoliticians were sufficiently wild and weak, though doubtless patriotic inintention. One was set to restrain the journalists, and had to be restrainedhimself, for being more sensational than any of them. Another scolded theworking-classes in the style of an intoxicated temperance lecturer. ButEnglandwassavedbyaforgottenthing—theEnglish.Simplemenwithsimplemotives,thechiefoneahateofinjusticewhichgrowssimplerthelongerwestareatit,cameoutoftheirdrearytenementsandtheirtidyshops,theirfieldsand their suburbs and their factories and their rookeries, and asked for thearmsofmen.Inathrongthatwasatlastthreemillionmen,theislanderswentforth from their island, as simply as themountaineers had gone forth fromtheirmountain,withtheirfacestothedawn.

X—TheBattleoftheMarne

The impression produced by the first week of war was that the Britishcontingenthadcomejust in timefor theendof theworld.Orrather,foranysensitiveandcivilisedman, touchedbythemoderndoubtbutbytheequallymodern mysticism, that old theocratic vision fell far short of the sickeningterrorof the time.For itwasadayof judgment inwhichuponthe throneinheavenandabovethecherubim,satnotGod,butanother.

TheBritishhadbeenpostedattheextremewesternendofthealliedlineinthenorth.TheotherendrestedonthesecurecityandfortressofNamur;theirendresteduponnothing.Itisnotwhollyasentimentalfancytosaythattherewassomethingforlorninthepositionofthatlooseendinastrangeland,withonlythesadfieldsofNorthernFrancebetweenthemandthesea.Foritwasreallyroundthatlooseendthatthefoewouldprobablyflingthelassoofhischarge;it was here that death might soon be present upon every side. It must berememberedthatmanycritics,includingmanyEnglishmen,doubtedwhetherarusthadnoteatenintothisasintootherpartsofthenationallife,fearedthatEnglandhadtoolongneglectedboththeethicandthetechniqueofwar,andwouldproveaweaklinkinthechain.Theenemywasabsolutelycertainthatitwasso.Tothesemen,standingdisconsolatelyamidthehedgelessplainsandpoplars,camethenewsthatNamurwasgone,whichwastotheircaptainsoneofthefourcornersoftheearth.Thetwoarmieshadtouched;andinstantlytheweaker took an electric shockwhich told of electric energy, deep into deepGermany, battery behind battery of abysmal force. In the instant it wasdiscoveredthattheenemywasmorenumerousthantheyhaddreamed.Hewasactuallymorenumerouseventhantheydiscovered.Everyoncominghorsemandoubledasinadrunkard'svision;andtheyweresoonstrivingwithoutspeechin a nightmare of numbers. Then all the allied forces at the front wereoverthrowninthetragicbattleofMons;andbeganthatblackretreat,inwhichso many of our young men knew war first and at its worst in this terribleworld;andsomanyneverreturned.

In that blackness began to grow strange emotions, long unfamiliar to ourblood.Those sixdarkdays are as full of legends as the six centuries of theDarkAges.Manyofthesemaybeexaggeratedfancies,onewascertainlyanavowedfiction,othersarequitedifferentfromitandmoredifficulttodissipateintothedaylight.Butonecuriousfactremainsaboutthemiftheywerealllies,oreven if theywerealldeliberateworksofart.Notoneof themreferred tothoseclose,crowded,andstirringthreecenturieswhicharenearesttous,andwhich alone are covered in this sketch, the centuries during which theTeutonic influence had expanded itself over our islands. Ghosts were thereperhaps, but they were the ghosts of forgotten ancestors. Nobody sawCromwell or even Wellington; nobody so much as thought about Cecil

Rhodes.ThingswereeitherseenorsaidamongtheBritishwhichlinkedthemup,inmattersdeeperthananyalliance,withtheFrench,whospokeofJoanofArc in heaven above the fated city; or the Russians who dreamed of theMotherofGodwithherhandpointingto thewest.Theywere thevisionsorthe inventionsof amediæval army;andaprosepoetwas in linewithmanypopularrumourswhenhetoldofghostlyarcherscrying"Array,Array,"asinthat long-disbandedyeomanryinwhichIhavefanciedCobbettascarryingabow.Othertales,trueoronlysymptomatic,toldofoneonagreatwhitehorsewhowasnotthevictorofBlenheimoreventheBlackPrince,butafaintfigureout of far-off martyrologies—St. George. One soldier is asserted to haveclaimedtoidentifythesaintbecausehewas"oneveryquid."Onthecoins,St.GeorgeisaRomansoldier.

But these fancies, if they were fancies, might well seem the last sicklyflickerings of an old-world order now finally wounded to the death. Thatwhichwascomingon,withthewholeweightofanewworld,wassomethingthathadneverbeennumberedamongtheSevenChampionsofChristendom.Now, in more doubtful and more hopeful days, it is almost impossible torepicturewhatwas,forthosewhounderstood,thegiganticfinalityofthefirstGermanstrides. It seemedas if the forcesof theancientvalour fell away torightandleft;andthereopenedagrand,smoothgraniteroadrighttothegateof Paris, down which the great Germania moved like a tall, unanswerablesphinx,whose pride could destroy all things and survive them. In her trainmoved, like moving mountains, Cyclopean guns that had never been seenamong men, before which walled cities melted like wax, their mouths setinsolentlyupwardsas if threatening tobesiege the sun.Nor is it fantastic tospeaksoof thenewandabnormalarmaments; for thesoulofGermanywasreally expressed in colossal wheels and cylinders; and her guns were moresymbolicthanherflags.Thenandnow,andineveryplaceandtime,itistobenotedthattheGermansuperiorityhasbeeninacertainthingandofacertainkind. It isnotunity; it isnot, in themoral sense,discipline.Nothingcanbemore united in a moral sense than a French, British, or Russian regiment.Nothing, for that matter, could be more united than a Highland clan atKilliecrankieorarushofreligiousfanaticsintheSoudan.Whatsuchengines,insuchsizeandmultiplicity,reallymeantwasthis:theymeantatypeoflifenaturallyintolerabletohappierandmorehealthy-mindedmen,conductedonalarger scale and consuming larger populations than had ever been knownbefore. They meant cities growing larger than provinces, factories growinglargerthancities;theymeanttheempireoftheslum.Theymeantadegreeofdetailedrepetitionanddehumaniseddivisionoflabour,towhichnomanbornwould surrender his brief span in the sunshine, if he could hope to beat hisploughshareintoasword.ThenationsoftheearthwerenottosurrendertotheKaiser;theyweretosurrendertoKrupp,hismasterandtheirs;theFrench,the

British,theRussiansweretosurrendertoKruppastheGermansthemselves,afterafewswiftlybrokenstrikes,hadalreadysurrenderedtoKrupp.Throughevery cogwheel in that incomparable machinery, through every link in thatiron and unending chain, ran themastery and the skill of a certain kind ofartist;anartistwhosehandsareneveridlethroughdreamingordrawnbackindisgustorliftedinwonderorinwrath;butsureandtirelessintheirtouchuponthethousandlittlethingsthatmaketheinvisiblemachineryoflife.Thatartistwasthere in triumph;buthehadnoname.TheancientworldcalledhimtheSlave.

Fromthisadvancingmachineofmillions,theslighterarrayoftheAllies,andespecially the British at their ultimate outpost, saved themselves by asuccession of hair's-breadth escapes and what must have seemed to thesoldiers theheartrending luckofamousebeforeacat.AgainandagainVonKluck'scavalry, supportedbyartilleryand infantry,clawedround theendofthe British force, which eluded it as by leaping back again and again.Sometimes the pursuerwas, so to speak, somuchon top of his prey that itcouldnotevengivewaytohim;buthadtohitsuchblowsas itcouldinthehope of checking him for the instant needed for escape. Sometimes theoncomingwavewassoclose thatasmall individualaccident, thecaptureofoneman,wouldmeanthewashingoutofawholebattalion.Fordayafterdaythis livingdeathendured.Anddayafterdayacertaindarktruthbegantoberevealed,bitbybit,certainlytotheincredulouswonderofthePrussians,quitepossiblytothesurpriseoftheFrench,andquiteaspossiblytothesurpriseofthemselves;thattherewassomethingsingularabouttheBritishsoldiers.Thatsingularthingmaybeexpressedinavarietyofways;butitwouldbealmostcertainly expressed insufficiently by anyone who had not had the moralcouragetofacethefactsabouthiscountryinthelastdecadesbeforethewar.ItmayperhapsbebestexpressedbysayingthatsomethousandsofEnglishmenweredead:andthatEnglandwasnot.

The fortress ofMaubeuge had gaped, so to speak, offering a refuge for theunresting and tormented retreat; the British Generals had refused it andcontinuedtofightalosingfightintheopenforthesakeofthecommonplan.AtnightanenormousmultitudeofGermanshadcomeunexpectedlythroughthe forest and caught a smaller body of the British in Landrecies; failed todislodgethemandlostawholebattalioninthatbattleofthedarkness.Attheextreme end of the line Smith-Dorrien's division, who seemed to be nearlycaughtorcutoff,hadfoughtwithonegunagainstfour,andsohammeredtheGermansthattheywereforcedtoletgotheirhold;andtheBritishwereagainfree.When theblowingupof a bridge announced that theyhad crossed thelast river, something other than that battered remnantwas saved; itwas thehonourofthethingbywhichwelive.

ThedrivenanddefeatedlinestoodatlastalmostunderthewallsofParis;andtheworldwaitedforthedoomofthecity.Thegatesseemedtostandopen;andthePrussianwastorideintoitforthethirdandthelasttime:fortheendofitslongepicof libertyandequalitywascome.Andstill theveryableandveryFrench individual on whom rested the last hope of the seemingly hopelessAlliancestoodunruffledasa rock, ineveryangleofhissky-blue jacketandhisbulldogfigure.Hehadcalledhisbewilderedsoldiersbackwhentheyhadbroken the invasion at Guise; he had silently digested the responsibility ofdraggingontheretreat,asindespair, tothelastdesperateleaguesbeforethecapital; andhe stoodandwatched.Andevenashewatched thewholehugeinvasionswerved.

Out throughParis and out and around beyondParis, othermen in dimbluecoatsswungoutinlonglinesupontheplain,slowlyfoldinguponVonKlucklike blue wings. Von Kluck stood an instant; and then, flinging a fewsecondary forces todelay thewing thatwasswinging roundonhim,dashedacrosstheAllies'lineatadesperateangle,tosmashitinthecentreaswithahammer.Itwaslessdesperatethanitseemed;forhecounted,andmightwellcount,onthemoralandphysicalbankruptcyoftheBritishlineandtheendoftheFrenchlineimmediatelyinfrontofhim,whichforsixdaysandnightshehad chased before him like autumn leaves before a whirlwind. Not unlikeautumnleaves,red-stained,dust-hued,andtattered,theylaythereasifsweptinto a corner. But even as their conquerorswheeled eastwards, their buglesblewthecharge;andtheEnglishwentforwardthroughthewoodthatiscalledCreçy, and stamped it with their seal for the second time, in the highestmomentofallthesecularhistoryofman.

ButitwasnotnowtheCreçyinwhichEnglishandFrenchknightshadmetinamorecolouredage,inabattlethatwasratheratournament.Itwasaleagueofallknightsfortheremainsofallknighthood,ofallbrotherhoodinarmsorinarts,against thatwhich isandhasbeen radicallyunknightlyandradicallyunbrotherly from the beginning. Much was to happen after—murder andflamingfollyandmadnessinearthandseaandsky;butallmenknewintheirheartsthatthethirdPrussianthrusthadfailed,andChristendomwasdeliveredonce more. The empire of blood and iron rolled slowly back towards thedarkness of the northern forests; and the great nations of the West wentforward;wheresidebysideasafteralonglover'squarrel,wenttheensignsofSt.DenysandSt.George.

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