o party pretends to wish any
change of the present form of government. Patriotism has so long been
associated with simple devotion to the royal house, and the royal house
has so uniformly proved itself not unworthy of this devotion, that it is
no easy matter, especially for those who by nature are conservative, to
be satisfied with a change which reduces the monarchical office to a
merely empty hereditary honor. In addition to this, it would be unfair
not to recognize the fact that the most cultivated and religious part of
the Prussian people belongs to the Conservative party. This, as a
general statement, is, as all acknowledge, true. That the exceptions,
however, are very numerous, is no less true. It is also, doubtless, not
unjust to assume that the dependence of churches and universities on the
state leads to much hypocritical piety and selfish loyalty. Yet the
general fact that the most estimable citizens are royalists, is not so
to be accounted for. The War of Liberation was a war not only against
French aggression, but against a power whose origin was to be traced to
a contempt not only of time-honored political customs, but also of
Christianity itself. Revolutions and republicanism became associated
with infidelity. It was natural, therefore, that Christians should
acquire the notion that every approximation toward democracy would
involve danger to the church; especially as the church and state were
united, and the king not only professed personal belief in Christianity,
but endeavored to promote its interests by his administrative measures.
It was to them a touching recollection that their king and the Austrian
and Russian emperors kneeled together on the battle field of Leipsic to
offer to the Lord of hosts their thanks for the victory that he had
vouchsafed to them. And when two years later the same monarchs united
themselves in the Holy Alliance, it is not strange, whatever may now be
thought of their motives, that Christians should have rejoiced at the
sight of princes publicly acknowledging their obligation to rule in the
interests of Christianity, and binding themselves to promote the
religious good of their subjects. As republicanism in France had
appeared in a positively unchristian form, here monarchism appeared in a
positively Christian form. Nothing was therefore more natural than that
their devotion to the king--already, for other reasons, hearty and
enthusiastic--should be increased as they thought t