ere only three persons who understood the Danish succession.
One was the Queen Dowager of Denmark, the second was God Almighty, and the
third was a German professor, but he had gone mad. While attempting to
settle the terms of the succession the five great Powers and Sweden signed
a treaty guaranteeing the integrity of the Danish monarchy. The throne was
granted to Christian of Sonderburg-Gluecksburg. Christian, Duke of
Augustenburg-Holstein, consented to surrender his rights for a money
consideration. The treaty was not recognized by the German Confederation,
but was accepted by Hanover, Saxony and Wurtemberg. In June, Germans had
the humiliating experience of seeing their fleet, the formation of which
was undertaken in 1848, sold at public auction. All aspirations for sea
power had been abandoned by the Bund. In July, Prussia's representative at
the Bund meetings, Baron Bismarck, was sent as envoy to Austria. Through
his efforts at Vienna the Austrian Government was prevailed upon to join
the German Zollverein and to sign commercial treaties.

[Sidenote: Death of Froebel]

During this year in Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel, the German
educator, died at Marienthal on July 21, in his seventieth year. After an
unsettled and aimless youth, he started teaching, and soon developed a
system which has become famous under the name of Kindergarten (children's
garden). It was intended to convert schooling into play, which, according
to Froebel, is the child's most serious business. The first Kindergarten
was opened in 1840 at Blankenburg, Prussia. Meeting at first with little
encouragement, it gradually gained a footing in most civilized countries.
Froebel was largely assisted in the propagation of his ideas by the
Baroness Marenholz-Buelow. He was the author of "Die Menschenerziehung"
(Human Education) and "Mutter und Koselieder," a book of nursery songs and
pictures for children.

[Sidenote: "Prometheus" affair]

In England, the dismissal of Lord Palmerston left the Foreign Office in an
embarrassing position as regarded Louis Napoleon's government. Other
embarrassments were likewise bequeathed. Thus, on January 10, Lord
Palmerston's successor, Lord Granville, had to disavow to the American
Minister the act of the British man-of-war "Empress," which had fired into
the American steamer "Prometheus." England offered an apology which was
accepted.

[Sidenote: "The Third of February"]

The caustic comments of the English