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128 arrested the conqueror at the gates of Vienna. A preliminary treaty of peace with Austria was concluded at Nikolsburg, July 26, 1866, and as Austria consented to retire from Germany, the terms of a general pacification were arranged. M. von Bismarck was created a Count, Sept. 16, 1865, on which occasion he received from the King of Prussia a valuable estate in Luxemburg. He lost no time in turning to account the victory gained by Prussia over Austria, and in advancing his favourite scheme for the unification of Germany, provinces and kingdoms were at once annexed. The free town of Frankfort received a Prussian garrison in spite of the indignant protests of the population; Hanover was incorporated in the Germanic Confederation; and at the close of the year 1866 Count Bismarck succeeded in concluding with Bavaria, Baden, and Wurtemberg treaties of peace, and of alliance offensive and defensive, with a proviso that in the event of war the King of Prussia should have the chief military command. In 1867 Count Bismarck organised the North German Confederation, which comprised twenty-two States, representing a population of 29,000,000. The king of Prussia was at the head of this powerful Confederation, and a Federal Council, composed of delegates of the different States, was established, together with a Diet or common Parliament, the members of which were elected by universal suffrage. The new federal constitution was adopted by the Prussian Chambers in June, and came into operation on the 1st of the following month, Count Bismarck receiving as the reward of his services the post of Chancellor of the Confederation and President of the Federal Council. The Luxemburg question now gave rise to serious differences between the Prussian and French Governments, and Count Bismarck strenuously opposed the projected cession of that province by Holland to France. Eventually the dispute was settled by the Luxemburg territory being neutralized, and the fortresses dismantled. After this both Powers declared their intention to be pacific, but nevertheless they both increased their already bloated armaments. Ill-health compelled Count Bismarck to retire from public life for a short period in 1868, but he returned to Berlin in October of that year, and resumed the direction of affairs. On the 1st of January he entered on his functions as Foreign Minister of the North German Confederation. In July, 1870, it transpired that General Prim had sent a deputation to Prussia to offer the Crown of Spain to Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern. The French people were greatly agitated at the receipt of this intelligence. Some of their leading statesmen declared that France would never consent to see a Prussian prince seated on the throne of Spain, and explanations were demanded from the Berlin cabinet. It was alleged by Count Bismarck that the King of Prussia gave his consent to the acceptance of the crown by the prince only as the head of the Hohenzollern family, and not as an act of the Government. A few days later the withdrawal of the prince's candidature was announced; but in spite of this France declared war against Prussia, and the campaign commenced, the latter Power receiving great assistance from the troops sent into the field by the King of Bavaria and the Dukes of Baden and Wurtemberg. This is not the place to record the complete successes of the German armies. Suffice it to say, that Count Bismarck accompanied the King throughout the campaign, and that after the capitulaion of Paris he dictated the terms of peace, which were adopted by the Assembly then sitting at Bordeaux. He succeeded in uniting Germany, and on Jan. 