The  tidings  of  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  France,  whose  prelimi-
naries were  completed  at  Frankfurt  on  the  loth  of  May,  1871,  filled  all  Ger-


238  BISMARCK  AND  THE  NEW  EMPIRE  OF  GERMANY

many  with  joy,  and  peace  festivals  on  the  most  splendid  scale  extended  from
end  to  end  of  the  new  empire,  in  all  parts  of  which  an  earnest  spirit  of
patriotism  was  shown,  while  Germans  from  all  regions  of  the  world  sent  home
expressions  of  warm  sympathy  with  the  new  national  organization  of  their
fatherland.
The  decade  just  completed  had  been  one  of  remarkable  political
changes  in  Europe,  unsurpassed  in  significance  during  any  other  period  of
A  Decade  of  equal  length.  The  temporal  dominion  of  the  pope  had  van-
Remarkable  ished  and  all  Italy  had  been  united  under  the  rule  of  a  single
king.  The  empire  of  France  had  been  overthrown  and  a
republic  established  in  its  place,  while  that  country  had  sunk  greatly  in
prominence  among  the  European  states.  Austria  had  been  utterly  defeated
in  war,  had  lost  its  last  hold  on  Italy  and  its  position  of  influence  among
the  German  states.  And  all  the  remaining  German  lands  had  united  into  a
great  and  powerful  empire,  of  such  extraordinary  military  strength  that  the
surrounding  nations  looked  on  in  doubt,  full  of  vague  fears  of  trouble  from
this  new  and  potent  power  introduced  into  their  midst.
Bismarck,  however,  showed  an  earnest  desire  to  maintain  international
peace  and  good  relations,  seeking  to  win  the  confidence  of  foreign  govern-
ments, while  at  the  same  time  improving  and  increasing  that  military  force
which  had  been  proved  to  be  so  mighty  an  engine  of  war.
