Page:American Historical Review, Volume 12.djvu/657

Delbrikk: Erinnevjuigen, Aufsdtzc imd Reden 647 tary history of the author of a History of flic Art of JJ'ar (2 vols., 1900) is strongly shown. The fact that the book appears as a third edition should perhaps insure the suppression of doubts as to its usefulmsss. But the reviewer may still venture to assert that such volumes are usually uncalled for and are rarely inspiring. Many of these chips from Professor Del- briick's workshop were interesting contributions in their time, appear- ing as they did with editorial prestige ; why the general reader should now value a collection of them, or why the special reader should not be quite content with their deposit in the files of the Preussischc Jahrhiichcr, would perhaps not be very easy to explain. The most serious studies in the volume are those entitled " Das Geheimnis der Napoleonischen Politik im Jahre 1870" (pp. 301-357) and "Der Ursprung des Siebenjahrigen Krieges " (pp. 240-269), and some idea of the nature and calibre of the whole may perhaps be given by a slight examination of them. They were in their day (1895-1896) rather noteworthy papers, for they set forth or called wider attention to novel if not paradoxical positions. As in them both the author placed himself in opposition to most of his old associates among the students of recent German history (mainly the Historische Zeitschrift group), we must credit him with independence and open-mindedness ; on the other hand he seems to betray an undue leaning to the historical novelty. The title of the first of these essays might be suspected of verging on sensa- tionalism, especially as it will be found that what is represented as the special Napoleonic secret (an intention on the part of the French gov- ernment to win by rapid military movements such advantages as would enable it to throw aside the association with Austria and Italy and force Prussia to concede Belgium to France in return for French sup- port of Prussian control in Germany) is given but a minor degree of attention and is by no means proved. Most of the paper is devoted to other sides of the situation in 1870, and Professor Delbriick is apparently more successful in maintaining (especially as against Sybel in his latest contributions), first, that there did exist in the early part of the year a warlike anti-Prussian understanding if not alliance between at least France and Austria, and second, that Bismarck was responsible for the manipulation of the Hohenzollern candidacy and the Ems incident so as to bring on war. The paper is thus of decided value, though even in this latest form it by no means clears up the situation. The article entitled "Der Ursprung des Siebenjahrigen Krieges" was originally even more controversial (in this revision the direct con- troversial parts are largely omitted). In it Delbriick had entered the lists as a thick-and-thin supporter of the Lehmann and Liickwaldt con- tention that Frederic as well as Maria Theresa was seeking war in 1756, that " zwei Offensiven seien aufeinandergestossen ", and that if Frederic were not to be assumed to have begun operations for the pur- pose of getting at least north Saxony if not also West Prussia, he must be deposed from the pedestal he had occupied. Ten years ago the con-