“Ah, that was less the King than Podbielski. Well, you must omit that passage in future editions. For the rest, _once I am dead you can say whatever you like, everything you know_.” I replied: “May that day be far distant! and in the meantime the book shall remain as it is, unless you wish to make any additions yourself. I have no idea whatever of taking any independent action in the matter.” “How old are you, doctor?” he asked. “Fifty-eight, Serene Highness.” “Well then, I am six years older than you.” He then spoke of the opposition of the free-traders in the Reichstag who denounced his schemes of Customs reform. “It is remarkable,” he said, “how they, Richter and Bamberger, in their speeches always attack me personally instead of dealing with the question under discussion. The personality is of course a matter of indifference. My former ideas? How I have come to hold such views? Whether I have been consistent? I formerly consented to that which I now oppose; I have been playing a part; I am an amateur of genius, full of contradictions and always disposed to experiment at random. That is the main point for them. It is only incidentally that they refer to the matter itself. Whether I have a system? Richter at length said the only sensible and correct thing, that I doubtless had no system whatever. That statement is quite true, if it be limited to economic affairs--people are eventually forced to admit that I have one in politics. When I entered office my task was mainly a political one: the unification of Germany under Prussia. I was obliged to subordinate economic considerations, in so far as they were in any way affected, to that end. Otherwise I should have had no time. I had Delbrück for economic affairs, with which he was thoroughly acquainted, having administered them for years and being the first authority in his department. I reposed confidence in him, and when I was of a different opinion I sacrificed my opinions for political reasons, and also because I still wanted him for the founding of the Empire, after 1866 and 1870. If I was of a different opinion I did not enforce it officially. He has therefore acted for years by my side with perfect independence. It is true that afterwards my attention was called to the fact that we were not on the right track, at first through the complaints and admonitions of the public. But it was only when political questions no longer occupied the first place that I was able to consider the matter on its merits and not in connection with those questions. And it was not until Delbrück had retired in consequence of ill health--perhaps he had himself recognised that things could no longer go on as they had been doing--that I was obliged to form my own opinion, since I had no one to replace him. His two councillors were unsuitable. Michaelis is quite insignificant, and the other is only useful for certain things. In that way I was actually forced to take the matter in hand myself, and then I found that it