plans for bringing about the union of Germany, by subjecting the crown
and Prussia to a common German parliament. He had a seat in the
parliament of Erfurt, but only went there in order to oppose the
constitution which the parliament had framed. He foresaw that the policy
of the government would lead it into a position when it would have to
fight against Austria on behalf of a constitution by which Prussia
itself would be dissolved, and he was, therefore, one of the few
prominent politicians who defended the complete change of front which
followed the surrender of Olmutz.

Diplomatic career.

It was probably his speeches on German policy which induced the king to
appoint him Prussian representative at the restored diet of Frankfort in
1851. The appointment was a bold one, as he was entirely without
diplomatic experience, but he justified the confidence placed in him.
During the eight years he spent at Frankfort he acquired an unrivalled
knowledge of German politics. He was often used for important missions,
as in 1852, when he was sent to Vienna. He was entrusted with the
negotiations by which the duke of Augustenburg was persuaded to assent
to the arrangements by which he resigned his claims to Schleswig and
Holstein. The period he spent at Frankfort, however, was of most
importance because of the change it brought about in his own political
opinions. When he went to Frankfort he was still under the influence of
the extreme Prussian Conservatives, men like the Gerlachs, who regarded
the maintenance of the principle of the Christian monarchy against the
revolution as the chief duty of the Prussian government. He was prepared
on this ground for a close alliance with Austria. He found, however, a
deliberate intention on the part of Austria to humble Prussia, and to
degrade her from the position of an equal power, and also great jealousy
of Prussia among the smaller German princes, many of whom owed their
thrones to the Prussian soldiers, who, as in Saxony and Baden, had
crushed the insurgents. He therefore came to the conclusion that if
Prussia was to regain the position she had lost she must be prepared for
the opposition of Austria, and must strengthen herself by alliances with
other powers. The solidarity of Conservative interests appeared to him
now a dangerous fiction. At the time of the Crimean War he advocated
alliance with Russia, and it was to a great extent owing to his advice
that Prussia did not join the