¶ William's "Tri-regal alliance" failed as fail it must on account of jealousies. Then Wuertemberg replied with a "quadruple" affair, composed of herself, Hanover, Bavaria and Saxony, side by side, under a constitution acceptable to Austria. Quite a stroke, that. In turn, William set up his Erfurt parliament, March 20, 1850. Bismarck was fast becoming a "practical politician." Through deft stacking of the cards, the radical delegates drew only the low cards, and the Kreuz-Zeitung crowd and other ultra-conservatives were well supplied with aces and kings. Bismarck naturally urged more concessions to the Prussian spirit; he tried also to muzzle the press gallery, calling newspapers "fire-bellows of democracy." Later, he even started newspapers for his political purposes. In this he was not inconsistent, merely logical; his attitude was based on the fact that, at this particular time, he felt called on to fight hostile editors; but made terms wherever it seemed worth while. Such was the man's discriminating glance. ¶ The Erfurt "tongue tournament" Bismarck called the whole affair. He did not oppose the King's position in this matter, because, as Bismarck said, "it makes no difference." He spoke contemptuously of the mystical high-flown speeches. Its "Constitution" was quickly forgotten! ¶ Bismarck's course would have been made somewhat easier had he not openly refused to sit with President Simpson, at the Erfurt convention, denouncing the President as "a converted Jew!" ¶ The convention broke up, to meet again in Berlin, where a Prussian Constitution was drawn up. ¶ Events moved rapidly. Austria now stood forth for resumption of authority by the Old Diet, established by the Congress of Vienna, while from Berlin one heard of a plan for a "restricted union." Talk, talk, talk. Finally, in September, 1850, Austria invited Prussia to a seat in the Old Diet. Prussia refused, and the cat was out of the bag. It meant that German Unity must come through Prussian supremacy and Austrian humiliation--otherwise all might well be forgotten. But Austria was by no means so easily disposed of. There was much life and fighting blood in her yet! ¶ Bismarck's opinions during his years of preparation were, on the whole, unchanging, though often presented in different dress. In 1848, he bitterly objected to the King's softness in recalling his troops from Berlin, instead of definitely crushing the March rebellions; in '49, he stood steadily beside the King in refusing the people's crown, from Frankfort; in 1850, he deplored the Prussian diplomatic defeat at Olmuetz, but swallowed his mortification because he saw that Prussia was not ready to strike; "and he thereon assisted in reconciling his party to a policy which he deplored."