began he took great pains to defend a measure which was much attacked in other countries; he had used all his influence that the bombardment should not be delayed, and often spoke with great annoyance of the reluctance of the military authorities to begin.  He wished every measure to be taken which would bring the war to an end as soon as possible.  The long delay before Paris seems to have affected his nerves and spirits; there were many anxious hours, and it was always difficult for him to wait patiently the result of what others were doing.  The military authorities were, as always, very jealous of all attempts by him to interfere in their department, and he was not always satisfied with their decisions.  Like all the Germans he was surprised and angry at the unexpected resistance of Paris, and the success of Gambetta’s appeal to the nation.  He was especially indignant at the help which Garibaldi gave:  “This,” he said, “is the gratitude of the Italians”; he declared that he would have the General taken prisoner and paraded through the streets of Berlin.

During the long weeks at Versailles, Bismarck was much occupied with German affairs.  The victory of Sedan was the foundation of German unity; Bismarck’s moderation and reserve now earned its reward; he had always refused to press the southern States into the Federation; now the offer to join came from them.  Baden asked, as she had already done at the beginning of the year, to be received into the Union; the settlement with Wurtemberg, and above all with Bavaria, was less simple.  At the request of the Bavarian Government Delbrueck was sent to Munich for an interchange of opinion, and the negotiations which were begun there were afterwards continued at Versailles and Berlin.  There were many difficulties to be overcome:  the Bavarians were very jealous of their independence and were not prepared to put themselves into the position which, for instance, Saxony occupied.  But the difficulties on the Prussian side were equally great:  the Liberal party wished that the Constitution should be revised and those points in it which they had always disliked altered; they would have made the government of the Federal authorities more direct, have created a Federal Ministry and a Federal Upper House, and so really changed the Federation into a simple State, thereby taking away all the independence of the dynasties.  It was quite certain that Bavaria would not accept this, and there was some considerable danger that their exaggerated demands might lead to a reaction in South Germany.  Probably under any circumstances the unification of Germany would have been completed, but it required all Bismarck’s tact to prevent the outbreak of a regular party struggle.  The most extreme line was taken by the Crown Prince of Prussia; he desired the immediate creation of an emperor who should have sovereign authority over the whole of Germany, and he even went so far as to suggest that, if the Bavarians would not accept this voluntarily,