HEINE ON PRUSSIA.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 4007, 13 August 1915, Page 3

HEINE ON PRUSSIA.

The following quotation, in which ' Heine records his impression of Prussia, is interesting in the present crisis:— . . , ' “It is true that many friends ot . the Fatherland have lately been wish- .• ing for the aggrandisement of Prussia , and hoping that they might seo m the Kings' of Prussia the rulers of a united Germany; and they have managed to allure German; patriotism, and the , friends of freedom have begun to gaze trustfully towards the lime trees or Berlin. For my part I have never felt inclined, to repose tnis confidence in Prussia. I have rather been id ed with anxiety as I gazed upon this Prussian eagle, and, while others. boasted of tho bold way in which he 1 glared at the sun, my attention was drawn more and more to his claws. . i “J never tnisted this Prussian tins j tall canting hero in gaiters, with Ins ' big paunch, and his largo jaws and his corporal’s stick, wmch he dips m holy ‘water before he lays it about your back. I am not overfond ot this I philosophical Christian militarism, i this hodge-podge of thin beer lies, 1 and sand. I utterly loathe this Prussian, this stiff, hypocritical sanctimonious Prussia, this Tartuffo among the nations.”