¶ This Holstein raid was justified as "statecraft," but the gambler's nerve and the gambler's methods were behind it, from end to end; and Bismarck shuffled and cut and stacked, and if now and then some shrewd player caught the sleight of hand and protested, Bismarck coolly banged him over the head with a chair or flung a wine bottle at his head and threw him into the street to make off as best he might, smarting for revenge but not daring to raise a hand; for in his heart the defeated player realized that in a game of this kind the only thing to do is to take one's medicine, "put up, pay up and shut up"--like the lesser known but equally discerning gamblers of old Mississippi steamboat days. ¶ What were they fighting about in Holstein? Alas, who knows, except that Bismarck had his great German enterprise well under way. It was said, at the time, that Disraeli was "the only man in Europe who really understood the Holstein question," but Disraeli was a British cynic on all things German, and his explanations must be taken with a grain of salt. However, Disraeli used Bismarck as "Count Ferroll" in "Endymion." 50 Bismarck sleeps surrounded by windrows of the dead; it was the moment he had awaited, all these years. ¶ One fact should never be overlooked. Whether Bismarck talks to his countrymen of patriotism or of religious duties, through it all and behind it all, while framing constitutions and putting the ballot in every man's hand, Bismarck always had something to draw to--and this something was the invincible Prussian army. This Prussian army, together with Prussian dog-like discipline, made Bismarck's plans possible. ¶ Also, he everlastingly kept the substance of power for himself and his King; for, however much Bismarck from time to time made concessions to the Liberal side, Bismarck always nourished sentiments of royalty, in the end deftly substituted the mailed fist for his talks on religious faith. ¶ His war-dramas are always rich in strife; but somehow, he makes them conclude in joy. * * * * * ¶ Realizing that the Austrian war could not much longer be put off, Bismarck's great care was that there should be no powerful coalitions against Prussia. ¶ We have spoken before of his closeness to Russia, and the means whereby Bismarck secured the Czar's neutrality in the oncoming Austrian war. The King's man next settled with Italy, behind the screen. He knew that she longed to come into possession of Venetian powers, held by Austria; Bismarck got after the Italian minister, Lamarmora; the bargain was this: A secret treaty promising Venetia to Italy; no separate peace to be made with Austria; the treaty not to be binding unless Prussia declared war within three months.