¶ How strange this sounds! 38 Here is the Man of the Hour, depicted in all his naked realism. ¶ This amazing German problem called for a wise despot, to confront and overawe weak men, gathered in German parliaments in which there were worlds of cackling, but no wisdom. The curse of Germany had been too much speechmaking, too much poetry, too much dreaming. The babble went on from 1815 to 1866, at least--fifty years! ¶ The times called for a hard-headed, dogmatic, tyrannical man with a plan large enough to subdue the thirty-nine warring parts, and weld the whole into a mighty Empire. This meant a tyrant of the massive Frederick the Great type. It called for a man erect and proud, keen of speech, with absolute self-confidence, who in a pinch was master at underhand dealing, and who could deliberately use harshness and malice. The man had to understand the delicate art of flattery, and at other times be blustering and outspoken. The roar of cannon should make him as cold as ice, but underneath his frozen exterior he should have a fiery nature, full of craft and guile, like a Gascon. He should have a torrent of cutting words, his eyes should flash and his blood should boil, yet he should be able to wage a secret war, masked under compliments, or draw his dagger and strike for the heart. He should have thousands of enemies and prevail over them all. He should have boundless ambition; action should be the zest of his life, and at crucial times he should display an uncontrollable temper. He should seek the path of glory; a man of fiery enthusiasm, who never forgives an enemy; has fits of rage; is jealous; a great swordsman, fights duels; a master horseman, able to ride day and night without fatigue. He should be at once cautious and headlong, realizing that in the end it is the bold play that wins. He should be able to live down public utterances that would cause other men years of disgrace. He should be able to quell a mutiny, check a mob or stamp out a rebellion. And, above all, whether admired or detested, he should justify his career by succeeding in what he started to do. ¶ In other words, he must be Bismarck, the greatest empire-builder since Cæsar's day--yes, not even barring Napoleon, for Napoleon's empire crumbled to dust, yet Bismarck's, fresh with youth, still lives on! CHAPTER XI The Mailed Fist 39 Supporting Bismarck's idea of the mailed fist; Democracy stems from and is supported by aristocracy. ¶ Why is it that, in the American Republic, there is aversion to acknowledging the services of men sprung from aristocracy, like Bismarck? Are the facts unrecognized, or is the silence only another form of political quackery?