like
Treitschke, who came from Saxony, Prince von Buelow is not a Prussian.
Like Bluecher, his family originates from the Grand Duchy of
Mecklenburg, that strange paradise of a medieval and feudal
Junkerthum. But, like most of the naturalized servants of the
Hohenzollern, von Buelow proved even more Prussian than any native of
Pomerania or Brandenburg. The son of one of Bismarck's trusted
lieutenants, he always remained a loyal pupil of the Iron Chancellor.
It is significant that the first visit which Buelow paid on his
accession to power was a visit to the fallen statesman. He was brought
up on Bismarckian traditions and ideals. He is not a creative genius
like the hermit of Friedrichsruhe. He has been accused of being a
trimmer, but he was a trimmer like the great Lord Burleigh, always
keeping in mind the final goal to be reached. He had to work with
different materials and under conditions entirely different from those
which prevailed under Bismarck. He had to embark on a _Weltpolitik_,
whereas Bismarck was content with a Continental policy. He had to
initiate the colonial and naval policy of William, while Bismarck
systematically kept clear of colonial ventures. But as far as
circumstances permitted, the "new course" of Buelow was but the
continuation of the old course of Bismarck. Like Bismarck, he fought
the Socialists. Like Bismarck, he in turn fought and conciliated the
Clericals. Like Bismarck, he enforced in Poland the inexorable policy
of expropriation and appropriation. Like Bismarck, he remained true to
the Austrian alliance. Like Bismarck, he tried to work in close
co-operation with Russia, and tried to build up again the reactionary
alliance of the three Central Empires. And in these many difficult
tasks, which had become much more difficult even than in the
'seventies or 'eighties, Buelow was as little hampered as his
predecessor by any moral principles or scruples. He proved even more
Machiavellian than his predecessor, adhering as steadfastly to the
same implacable realism.

IV.

But, if Prince von Buelow has revealed the same aims and is imbued with
the same political philosophy as Bismarck, he has tried to attain his
end by very different means. He has none of the cynical sincerity of
his master. Bismarck carried into diplomacy the directness and
brutality of the soldier. Buelow introduced into politics the tortuous
practices of Italy. He reminds one of Cavour much more than of the
master-buil