The Project Gutenberg eBook of A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year, by Edwin Emerson, Jr.

Member of the American Historical Association, New York
Historical Society, Franklin Institute of Philadelphia,
Honorary Member of the Royal Philo-Historical
Society of Bavaria, etc., etc.

ILLUSTRATED WITH SIXTEEN COLORED PLATES AND
THIRTY-TWO FULL-PAGE, HALF-TONE CUTS
AND TWO MAPS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

1816

[Pg 605] AN ERA of peace and reconstruction had begun. After a generation of war and turmoil France was started on her new career of parliamentary government. The brief period of retaliation ended with the so-called amnesty act of January, which condemned Napoleon and all his relatives to perpetual exile. Parliamentary rule in France The Chambers now entered into a prolonged discussion of the propositions for a new election law. The Ministry was headed by the Duc de Richelieu, who had taken the place of Talleyrand and Fouché. The latter was compelled to leave France forever. Marshal Gouvion St. Cyr, who succeeded Davoust, reorganized the army on a permanent footing of military equality which satisfied even Napoleon's veterans. In the Chambers, the Comte d'Artois represented the ultra-royalist right wing, while the left was brilliantly led by Lafayette, Manuel, and Benjamin Constant. Guizot, during the same year, for the first time ascended the tribune as spokesman of the moderate party—the so-called Doctrinaires.Revival of French letters Chateaubriand so offended the king by his book "La Monarchie selon la Charte" that his name was crossed from the list of the Council of State. Yet he remained the foremost man of letters in France.

[Pg 606] Béranger was the foremost lyric poet. A typical song by him is that rendered by Thackeray:

With pensive eyes the little room I view,
Béranger Where, in my youth, I weathered it so long;
With a wild mistress, a stanch friend or two,
And a light heart still breaking into song:
Making a mock of life, and all its cares,
Rich in the glory of my rising sun,
Lightly I vaulted up four pair of stairs,
In the brave days when I was twenty-one.

Yes; 'tis a garret—let him know't who will—
There was my bed—full hard it was and small;
My table there—and I decipher still
Half a lame couplet charcoaled on the wall.
Ye joys, that Time hath swept with him away,
Come to mine eyes, ye dreams of love and fun;
For you I pawned my watch how many a day,
In the brave days when I was twenty-one.

And see my little Lizette, first of all;
She comes with pouting lips and sparkling eyes;
Behold, how roguishly she pins her shawl
Across the narrow easement, curtain-wise;
Now by the bed her petticoat glides down,
And when did woman look the worse in none?
I have heard since who paid for many a gown,
In the brave days when I was twenty-one.

One jolly evening, when my friends and I
Made happy music with our songs and cheers,
A shout of triumph mounted up thus high,
And distant cannon opened on our ears:
We rise,—we join in the triumphant strain,—
Napoleon conquers—Austerlitz is won—
Tyrants shall never tread us down again,
In the brave days when I was twenty-one.

Let us be gone—the place is sad and strange—
How far, far off, these happy times appear;
All that I have to live I'd gladly change
For one such month as I have wasted here—
To draw long dreams of beauty, love, and power,
From founts of hope that never will outrun,
And drink all life's quintessence in an hour,
Give me the days when I was twenty-one!

In the other Latin countries, Spain, Portugal and Italy, the restoration of Reaction in southern Europe the old monarchies was not attended by like beneficent results. In Spain, the re-establishment of the Inquisition stifled free thought and free speech to such a degree that some of the most progressive Spaniards emigrated to the revolted Spanish dependencies in America. The return of Bourbon rule in Naples and Sicily was made odious by a general suppression of Freemasons and kindred secret societies.

In the German States, similar measures of persecution were invoked against the student societies at the universities. The University of Erfurt was suspended. The Duke of Hesse, who had gained early notoriety by renting his subjects to foreign armies, now revived corporal punishment together with the stocks and other feudal institutions. In Wurtemberg serfdom was re-established.Metternich's influence Throughout Germany the reactionary suggestions of Prince Metternich were carried into effect. A good opportunity for Metternich to assert his ascendency was presented by the first session of the new German Diet. Late in the year the delegates from all the States of the New Germanic Confederation met at Frankfort, Austria holding the permanent presidency. Count Buol von Schauenstein opened the Diet with a solemn address, which fell flat. First of all, it was settled that Hesse would have to cede a large part of Westphalia to Prussia. Next, the title of the Duke of Cambridge to rule as Regent[Pg 608] in Hanover was fully recognized. In all resolutions relating to fundamental laws, the organic regulations of the Confederation, the jura singulorum and matters of religion, unanimity German Confederation established was required. All the members of the Confederation bound themselves neither to enter into war nor into any foreign alliance against the Confederation or any of its members. The thirteenth article declared, "Each of the confederated States will grant a constitution to the people." The sixteenth placed all Christian sects on an equality. The eighteenth granted freedom of settlement within the Confederation, and promised "uniformity of regulation concerning the liberty of the press." The fortresses of Luxemburg, Mainz and Landau were declared common property and occupied in common by their troops. A fourth fortress was to be raised on the Upper Rhine with twenty millions of the French contribution money. This was never done. For future sessions of the Diet the votes were so regulated that the eleven States of first rank alone held a full vote, the secondary States merely holding a half or a fourth of a vote, as, for instance, all the Saxon duchies collectively, one vote; Brunswick and Nassau, one; the two The Frankfort Diet Mecklenburgs, one; Oldenburg, Anhalt, and Schwartzburg, one; the petty princes of Hohenzollern, Lichtenstein, Reuss, Lippe, and Waldeck, one; all the free towns, one; forming altogether seventeen votes. In constitutional questions the six States of the highest rank were to have each four votes; the next five States each three; Brunswick, Schwerin, and Nassau, each two; and all the re[Pg 609]maining princes each, one vote. This arrangement, as it turned out, proved fruitful of endless trouble.

Austria and Prussia at that time contained forty-two million inhabitants; Unfair representation the rest of Germany merely twelve million. The power of the two predominant States, therefore, really were in proportion to that of the rest of Germany as seven to two, whereas their votes in the Diet stood merely as two to seventeen, and in the plenary assembly as two to fifteen.

Though Prussia had lost Hanover and East Friesland, she had received Prussia predominant sufficient compensation still—thanks to Hardenberg's diplomacy—to start her on her future career as the predominant German State. Incorporated with the Prussian provinces now were half of Saxony, the Grandduchy of Posen, a portion of Westphalia, nearly all of the Lower Rhine region from Mainz to Aix-la-Chapelle, and Swedish Pomerania, for which Prussia paid some eight million thalers by way of indemnity.

In Holland, the new Stadtholder, Prince William Frederick of Orange-Nassau, having incorporated Belgium as an integral part of the kingdom of the Restoration of the Netherlands Netherlands, set himself to nullify the French racial traits of his Belgian subjects. A suggestion of future strife on this score could already be found in Van der Palm's memorial on "The Restoration of the Netherlands," published during this year.

The final settlement of Napoleon's great upheaval of Europe left England feverish and exhausted. The prolonged financial strain of twenty years of war had saddled Great Britain with a national debt of eight hundred million pounds. Of material gain[Pg 610] there was little to show but the acquisition of England's commanding position Ceylon and the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch; of the former French colony of Mauritius, and of a few West Indian islands. The continued possession of the Rock of Gibraltar, and of Malta, the old stronghold of the Knights of Malta, together with the British protectorate over the Ionic Isles, assured to England her commanding position in the Mediterranean. At home the pressure of the heavy taxes required to meet the financial legacies of the war was imbittered by the general distress of the country. The new tax on the importation of grains resulted in famine prices. Industrial depression Corresponding tariff restrictions abroad kept British markets overstocked with goods. Mills and factories had to be shut down, while at the same time the labor market was glutted with several hundred thousand discharged sailors and soldiers. The starving working people grew bitter in their opposition to new labor-saving devices. Thus the appearance of the first steamship on the Thames and of the earliest ships constructed of iron, followed shortly by Sir Francis Reynold's invention of an electric clock-work telegraph and by James Watt's introduction of stereo plates in book-printing, heightened this feeling. The resentment of laboring men found expression in riotous meetings at Manchester, Littleport and Nottingham. The movement spread to London. A great labor meeting was held there on the Spa fields. The favorite newspaper of the workingmen, Cobbett's radical "Two Penny Register," rivalled the London "Times" in power. In Parliament the leaders of[Pg 611] the radical opposition grew ever more importunate. Not until the end of the year did matters mend. The most comforting sign of better times was a partial resumption of specie payments by the Bank of England, followed shortly by the opening of the first Savings Bank in London. Other memorable events of the year were the acquisition of the famous Elgin marbles from the Parthenon in Athens, Art and Letters celebrated in Keats's sonnet "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles," and the publication of Shelley's long poem "Alastor," and Leigh Hunt's "Story of Rimini." A diplomatic setback pregnant with future trouble was the dismissal of Lord Amherst, the British Ambassador at Pekin, for refusing to kow-tow to the Emperor of China.

In America the depression of commerce and industry resulting from the war Depression in America with England continued unabated. To relieve the situation, the Secretary of the Treasury, A.J. Dallas, proposed as a measure of relief the chartering of a new national bank with increased capital and enlarged powers and the readjustment of the tariff by the imposition of higher duties. The bank was Financial relief measures chartered for twenty-one years with a capital of $35,000,000, a portion of the stock to be owned by the government and the institution to have in its management five government directors in a board of twenty-five. The tariff policy of Madison was sustained by the Southern party and opposed by the Federalists, especially in New England. Thus it became more a question of sectional interests than of abstract political economy. The capital of New[Pg 612] England was invested in shipping, so that the exclusion of articles of foreign production was bound to injure, by a high tariff, New England's Tariff vs. Free Trade carrying trade. On its part, the South sought to establish a home market for its cotton—almost the only staple of the Gulf States. Efforts were made to encourage the domestic manufacture of those coarse fabrics which were indispensable in a slave-holding region. The question thus grew into a struggle between slave labor and free trade. The free-trade party was led by Daniel Webster, and the tariff party by Calhoun. During the first year of the new tariff the value of foreign imports fell off about thirty-two per cent. In the adjustment of capital and trade to an enforced industrial policy, the American people passed through a commercial crisis which Changes in New England paralyzed the flourishing sea-ports of the New England coast. Newburyport, Salem, Plymouth, New London, Newport, and intermediate places sank from lucrative commercial centres into insignificant towns. Manchester, Lowell, Fall River, Pawtucket, Waterbury and other New England cities on the other hand became great manufacturing places.

The Fourteenth American Congress, under the leadership of Clay, imposed a protective tariff of about twenty-five per cent on imported cotton and woollen goods, with specific duties on coal and iron. The average duties on imports amounted almost to prohibition. Late in the year Indiana was admitted as the nineteenth State.

The tranquillity of the end of Madison's administration was broken by new troubles with the south[Pg 613]ern Indians. General Jackson by his impulsive manner of dealing with the Indians of Florida nearly forced the United States into a war with Spain and England. The Indians had reason to complain of the injustice that had marked their treatment by the whites. Florida had become a refuge for runaway slaves from Georgia and South Carolina. The treaty of 1814 was repudiated by many of the Creeks, who resented the new settlements of the whites. Those who were most dissatisfied made common cause with the Seminoles. For a year, General Gaines, in command at the frontier, complained to the authorities at Washington of the conduct of the Indians and Spaniards. General Jackson, to War with Florida Indians whom the matter was referred, wrote to Gaines that the forts standing in Spanish territory "ought to be blown off the face of the earth, regardless of the ground they stand on." In July, a detachment of men and gunboats under Colonel Church advanced upon Fort Negro. A shot from one of the boats blew up the powder magazine. The fort was laid in ruins. Of the 324 inmates 270 were killed. Most of the survivors were wounded.

During this year, the "Washington," the first American line-of-battle ship put to sea with seventy-four guns on her decks. The first American rolling mill and plant for puddling iron-ore were built at Red Stone Bank in Pennsylvania. Bishop Asbury, the founder of Methodism in the United States, preached his last sermon at Richmond, Virginia. During the same year he Death of Gouverneur Morris died at the age of seventy-one. Other noted Americans who died this [Pg 614] year were Gouverneur Morris of New York, and Spaulding, the reputed author of the book of Mormon.

Miranda, the South American revolutionist, expired on July 14, in a dungeon Death of Miranda at Cadiz. A British officer who saw him shortly before his death, described him as "tied to a wall with a chain about his neck like a dog." Ever since his defeat and detention in Venezuela, his last years had been spent in captivity. He passed from prison to prison—now at San Carlos, now in Porto Rico, and finally in Spain. Miranda's failure to obtain grants of amnesty for Bolivar and his fellow rebels, when he came to terms with the Spanish general Monteverde, left him discredited with the patriots of South America. In the meanwhile, Miranda's friend, San Martin, was fighting in Independence of Argentine Chile and Peru for South American independence, and was aided in his struggle by Louis Beltran, an unfrocked friar. On July 9, the independence of Argentine was proclaimed. Pueyrredon was made President of the new republic. Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia established independent governments.

After Miranda's defeat and the fall of Porto Cabello, Bolivar had fled to Curaçoa. He enlisted a corps of refugees in Cartagena and headed an The struggle in Venezuela expedition into New Granada. There he rallied more revolutionists about him, and, capturing Madalena from the Spaniards, fought his way through to Caracas. He was welcomed there with extravagant demonstration as the "Savior of Venezuela." After one more victory on the field of Araure his star de[Pg 615]clined. The Spanish general, Boves, defeated him at La Puerta, and took a terrible vengeance on the patriots. The wounded and prisoners were killed on the field; the homes of all reputed rebels were burned to the ground; and the entire population of Aragua was massacred.

Montalvo, the Spanish War Minister, reported officially: "General Boves Spanish vengeance does not distinguish between the guilty and innocent—soldiers or non-combatants. All alike are killed for the crime of being born in America." Bolivar retired to New Granada and thence to Jamaica. An attempt to assassinate him there failed; for the negro cut-throat who had undertaken to murder Bolivar killed the wrong person. Bolivar crossed over Bolivar's adventures to Hayti. There he raised a new expedition. A negro leader, Petion, then acting-governor of Hayti, helped him in this enterprise, and strongly advised him to proclaim the freedom of all slaves as the first step on landing in his country. "For, how can you free your country," said Petion, "if you don't free all the people in it?" Bolivar heeded his advice. With six ships and one hundred and fifty men, he set out to reconquer Venezuela from Spain. He landed at Margerita, where he had the good fortune to capture several Spanish ships. With them he returned to Santo Domingo for more men and ammunition. Petion furnished him with funds. Thus reinforced, Bolivar made a dash for Barcelona in Venezuela. The end of the struggle was at hand.

1817

[Pg 616] BOLIVAR landed on the north coast of Venezuela on the first day of the new year. His landing place, Barcelona, was a small town at the foot of the Maritime Andes, so unprotected against attack that he resolved to leave it at once. He marched his force in the direction of Santa Fé in New Granada, hoping to push through to Peru. Marino and Piar, two insurgent leaders operating in the south, joined forces with Bolivar, and brought 1,200 additional men. By the time their joint column had penetrated well into General Piar shot Orinoco, the three leaders were at odds with each other. Piar tried to incite revolt among his followers. Bolivar caused Piar to be seized, and after a drum-head trial had him shot. In the meanwhile a Spanish force had swooped down on Barcelona, and massacred the inhabitants. Things were at this pass when the standard of revolt was once more raised in Chile by O'Higgins Bernado O'Higgins. He was a natural son of Ambrosio, and had just returned from school in England. At the time the supreme command of the revolutionary forces was given to him this famous South American leader was still a young man, as was his chief lieutenant, MacKenna. By his clever handling of the campaigns that followed he won the[Pg 617] title of "El Primer Soldado del Nuevo Mundo"—the first soldier of America. It was still at the San Martin outset of his career, in 1817, that help came to the Chileans from Buenos Ayres across the Andes. The man who brought this aid was San Martin.

At Mendoza, on January 17, San Martin reviewed his little army of 5,000, all Gaucho horsemen, as lightly clad and provisioned as the Indians of the Pampas. The women of Mendoza presented the force with a flag bearing the emblem of the Sun. San Martin held the banner aloft, declaring it "the first flag of independence which had been blest in South America." This same flag was carried through all the wars along the Pacific Coast. And under its tattered shreds San Martin was finally laid to rest sixty years later.

Marching from Mendoza, San Martin made a feint of crossing the Andes by way of Planchon, thereby inducing a Spanish column under Captain-General Marco del Ponte to concentrate at Talca. During the progress of these movements, San Martin and his followers crossed the mountains by the steep route of Putaendo and Cuevas. Three hundred miles of the stiffest mountain riding were covered in less than a fortnight. Early in February, San Martin's army, now barely 4,000 strong, descended upon Villa Nueva. On February 7, Battle of Chacabuco they fought their first battle on Chilean soil with the Spanish outposts at Chacabuco. Driving the Spaniards before him, San Martin, advanced into the plain, and presently joined forces with O'Higgins' infantry. New mounts were provided for the cavalry. At the strong post [Pg 618] of Acuoncagua the Spaniards made a stand, but they were outnumbered by the insurgents. San Acuoncagua Martin delivered a frontal attack, while O'Higgins outflanked the enemy with an impetuous charge, with the result that the whole Spanish force was routed beyond recovery. The officers fled to Valparaiso. By the middle of February, San Martin entered Santiago de Chile. A new republican junta was formed and complete independence of Spain was declared. O'Higgins assumed the position of dictator.

All Chile was free now except in the south. General Ordoñez, commanding the Spanish forces there, was defeated and fell back to Talcahuano. San Martin prepared to invade Peru. Anticipating such an attack, Abascal, the Spanish Viceroy of Peru, despatched Osorio with an expedition of 3,500 veterans, Battle of Talca who had just arrived from Spain, to Talcahuano. As soon as these reinforcements came, Ordoñez set out from Talcahuano with the vanguard to march on Santiago de Chile, and met the patriot forces near Talca. The revolutionists largely outnumbered the Spaniards, but were poorly disciplined and ill-provisioned. While they lost time the Spanish main column under Osorio came up. Ordoñez took advantage of the clumsy manœuvres of the revolutionists to drive a sharp attack between their two wings, piercing their centre. The battle was won after the first fifteen minutes. O'Higgins was wounded and had to be carried out of the fight. San Martin, with his right wing, fell back on San Fernando. With great difficulty O'Higgins man[Pg 619]aged to reach Santiago, where he was presently joined by San Martin. Steadily the Spanish column advanced on Santiago. The two revolutionary leaders by almost superhuman efforts succeeded in rallying and equipping a force of 5,000 defenders. On April 5, Battle of the Maypo the Spanish army appeared before Santiago de Chile. Near the Maypo, nine miles from Santiago, the revolutionists took up a strong position. Osorio opened the battle about noon with artillery. Soon all the troops were engaged, the fiercest fight raging around a hacienda where San Martin and O'Higgins had their headquarters. Several times the ranch was lost and retaken. By sundown the Spaniards advanced all along the line. The battle seemed lost to the patriots. At this juncture, as the famous regiment of Burgos on the Spanish right was drawing in its deployed lines for a final column attack, Colonel O'Brien, at the head of the insurgent cavalry reserves, charged into the opening and overthrew the Burgos battalions. O'Higgins immediately charged the rest of the Spanish right wing, and San Martin simultaneously attacked in the centre. The whole Spanish army gave Liberation of Chile away. More than 2,000 Spaniards were killed and wounded. Osorio with his staff escaped to Peru. The victory of Santiago not only freed Chile, but left Peru open to the revolutionists.

In the United States of North America, during this interval, a new President had begun his administration. James Monroe was inaugurated as President in his fifty-ninth year. He had been a member of the Continental Congress, and at thirty-six a Min[Pg 620]ister to France. Under Madison he served as Secretary of War. Crawford, Calhoun, Meigs, Wirt and Rush were members of his Cabinet, and were all of the dominant Democratic-Republican party. Business throughout the country began to revive almost at once when the re-chartered National Bank went into operation in Philadelphia on the day of Monroe's inauguration.

In June, President Monroe undertook a three months' personal inspection of the military posts of the country. Passing through New York, Boston and Portland, and crossing New Hampshire and Vermont to Ogdensburg, he took a boat to Sackett's Harbor and Niagara. From there he went to Buffalo and Detroit, and returned to Washington. Everywhere the people greeted him by thousands. Monroe on this occasion wore the three-cornered hat, "Era of good feeling" scarlet-bordered blue coat and buff breeches of the American Revolutionary army. The "Boston Journal" called the times the "Era of Good Feeling," and the expression has passed into American history as a characteristic of Monroe's entire administration.

It was an era notable for the extraordinary growth of the Western States. Settlers were encouraged to buy government land on the instalment plan, and the States refrained from levying taxes on these lands until years after the settlers had received their title deeds. Endless processions of prairie wagons passed through New York and Pennsylvania. On one turnpike alone, 16,000 vehicles paid toll during the year. Pittsburg at this time had a population[Pg 621] of 7,000 persons. The log cabin was the house of all, with its rough chimney, its greased paper in a single window, its door with latch and string, a plank floor and single room, corn husk brooms and its Dutch oven. In the newly broken ground corn and wheat were planted, which, when harvested, were thrashed with the flail and winnowed with a sheet. Little Western prairies settled settlements sprang up here and there on the rolling prairie, with store-taverns, blacksmith shops and mills. This a thousand times repeated was seen in western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.

During the same year the newly organized territory of Mississippi, formed from a division of Alabama, was admitted as the twentieth State to the Union. The first line of steam propelled ocean packets was organized to run between New York and Liverpool. In the western frontier town of St. Louis the first steamboat made its appearance. On July 4, ground was broken for The Erie Canal the Erie Canal, which was to connect the city of New York with the great inland waters. On the strength of this progressive achievement De Witt Clinton became a candidate for the governorship of New York. Among other notable events of this year were the foundation of the New York State Library, Gallaudet's foundation of the first school for the deaf and dumb at Hartford, and the establishment of the earliest theological seminaries of the Episcopal Church in America, as well as of the first Unitarian Divinity School at Harvard. William Cullen Bryant, barely come of [Pg 622] "Thanatopsis" age, published his master work, "Thanatopsis," in the "North American Review."

In other parts of the world, likewise, the return of peace was followed by a general advance in culture and civilization. Shortly after the re-establishment of the American National Bank, Canada followed suit with government banks at Montreal and Quebec. Hanka, in Bohemia, claimed to have discovered the famous medieval lyrics of Rukopis Kralodvorsky written at Stenography the end of the thirteenth century. Across the border in Poland the new University of Cracow began its career. In Munich, Franz Gabelsberger invented the first working system of shorthand, which, in a perfected form, is still in use in Germany. During this year common school education took an immense stride in Germany, after the establishment in Prussia of a distinct Ministry for Public Education. Unfortunately the government soon German liberalism came into conflict with the bolder spirits at the universities. By reason of the more liberal privileges allowed to it by the Duke of Weimar, the University of Jena took the lead in the national Teutonic agitation inaugurated by Fichte. On October 18, the students of Jena, aided by delegates from all the student fraternities of Protestant Germany, held a festival at Eisenach to celebrate the three-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation. It was also the anniversary of the battle of Leipzig. Five hundred ardent young men, among them scholars who had fought at Leipzig, Ligny and Waterloo, assembled in the halls of Luther's Wartburg Castle. They sang and[Pg 623] The Wartburg festival drank, and fraternized with the members of the militia of Eisenach. In the evening they had a torchlight procession and lighted a huge bonfire on the hill opposite the castle. In imitation of Martin Luther's burning of the Pope's Bull they consigned a number of their pet aversions to the flames. Thus they burned a soldier's straight-jacket and corporal's cane, as well as a recent pamphlet by one Schmalz written in defense of the old Prussian bureaucracy. Rash words were uttered about the broken faith of princes. They were aimed at King Frederick William of Prussia, who had promised to give his country a constitution, but had failed to keep his word. The Wartburg festival, childish as it was in many of its manifestations, created singular alarm throughout Germany and elsewhere. The King of Prussia sent his Prime Minister, Hardenberg, to Weimar to make a thorough investigation of the affair. Richelieu, the Prime European courts alarmed Minister of France, wrote from Paris whether another revolution was breaking out; and Metternich insisted that the Duke of Weimar should curtail the liberties of his subjects. The heavy hand of reaction fell upon all German universities. German scholars were compelled to turn their interests from public affairs to pure science and scholarship, to the benefit of German learning. The study of history and archeology took an Advances in scholarship upward turn with Brentano's publication of old German ballads and Lachmann's original version of the Nibelungen songs. At this time an Italian archeologist, Belzoni, was adding new chapters to ancient history by his original researches [Pg 624] in Egypt, which resulted in the removal of the Colossus of Memnon to Alexandria, and in the opening of the great Cephren African missionary work pyramid. In distant South Africa the first English missionaries began their labors among the blacks. Although the Governor of Natal at first refused to permit Robert Moffat, the first Wesleyan missionary in those parts, to disturb the Kaffirs with his preachings, Moffat pressed on undismayed and soon established a mission beyond the Orange River.

In England, industrial depression dragged on. Early in the year riots broke out in London on the opening of Parliament. While driving to the House of Lords, the Prince Regent, now grown thoroughly unpopular on account of the scandals with his wife, was hooted by a crowd in St. James's Park. The Green Bag inquiry police claimed that an air gun had been discharged at the Prince and made an attack on the crowd. A number of persons were injured. This was followed in February by the great Green Bag Inquiry, when Lord Sidmouth laid before Parliament a green bag full of reports concerning seditions. Bills were introduced to suspend the habeas corpus act and to provide for the coercion Manchester Blanketers of public meetings. Seditious publications were likewise to be suppressed. In March occurred the rising of the so-called Blanketers in Manchester—dissatisfied workingmen who started in a body for London carrying blanket rolls and other necessaries. Their march was stopped by the military. In April, seven members of the so-called society of Luddites were hanged at Leicester for breaking labor-saving ma[Pg 625]chinery. Shortly afterward eighteen persons were hanged for forging notes on the Bank of England. It was found that since the redemption of specie payments no less than 17,885 forged notes had been presented. Nearly two hundred persons Dissatisfaction in England were apprehended and tried in court for this offence. Shortly afterward another insurrection which broke out in Derbyshire, and which was led by Jeremiah Brandrett, was suppressed by soldiers.

While the working classes of England and Ireland were thus struggling against their miseries, English literature shone forth in new splendor. Shelley brought out his "Revolt of Islam" and Tom Moore published his "Lalla Rookh." John Keats at the age of barely twenty-one published his "Lalla Rookh" first poems. The volume attracted little attention. The appearance of Blackwood's new magazine in Edinburgh, on the other hand, was hailed as an John Keats event in English letters.
"Blackwood's"

In France, likewise, the return of peace gave a new lease of life to literature. The French Academy was reorganized to consist of forty members, French letters who were elected for life, and who were to be regarded as "the highest authority on questions relating to language, grammar, rhetoric, poetry and the publication of the French classics." Chateaubriand was the Academy's foremost member. Béranger on the other hand, albeit his lyrics had reached Béranger the height of their popularity, fell into official disfavor by reason of his glorification of Napoleonic times, as exemplified in his ballads "La Vivandière," "La Cocarde Blanche," or "Le Juge de Charenton."[Pg 626] The last poem, with its veiled allusions to the Lavalette episode, was made the subject of an interpellation in the Chamber of Deputies. While this was still pending further offence was given by the publication of Béranger's satirical piece on "The Holy Alliance." Béranger had to give up his position as secretary at the University of France, and was soon afterward arrested among his boon companions at Madame Saguet's near Le Moulin Vert. He was placed on trial for the alleged blasphemies committed in his song "Le Dieu des Bonnes Gens," and condemned to spend three months in prison and to pay a heavy fine.

Other literary events of the year were the publication of Beyle's "Lives of Mozart and Haydn"; the performance of Scribe's early plays, and the death of Madame de Staël, which occurred on July 14. This gifted daughter of Necker had not been allowed to return to France until after the fall of Napoleon. Her last work was a treatise of the Constitutional Government, entitled "Considerations sur les Principaux Evénements de la Révolution Française," and published posthumously by her long time German companion Death of Masséna and adviser, Schlegel. Marshal Masséna died during the same year. His funeral was attended with imposing military honors rendered him by his old followers and comrades-in-arms, who recalled the triumphs of Rivoli, Essling, and a score of other victories in which this famous warrior had borne the brunt of the fighting.

This year would have been one of peace, the first since the outbreak of the French Revolution, but[Pg 627] for another uprising of the Wachabites in Arabia Wachabite rebellion under the standard of Tourkee and the re-occurrence of North American Indian troubles. A year had passed after the destruction of Fort Negro in Florida before the whites found a pretext for another attack. King Natchez was accused of receiving fugitive negroes, and he replied: "I have no negroes.... I shall use force to stop any armed American from passing my lands or my towns." The Seminoles looked with alarm on the new forts of the Seminole war United States. At Fowltown, on Flint River, the Indians, in November, put up a war pole, and the chief warned Colonel Meigs in command at Fort Scott not to cross the Flint River. Gaines reached the place with some regular troops and volunteers, and Twiggs, with 250 men, moved upon the town, killed some of the people and burned the village. The revenge of the Seminoles was swift and bloody. Settlers were massacred and the property of the whites within reach of the Indians was destroyed. Over 2,700 Seminoles took the field. General Jackson assumed command on the day after Christmas. He declared that so long as the Spaniards held Florida the trouble would continue.

About the same time the British in India were plunged into further wars with the natives. First the Pindarees sent out plundering bands from Malwa. Pindaree war To suppress them, Lord Hastings had to collect an army of 120,000, the largest force yet mustered in India. From Madras, four army divisions under Sir Thomas Hislop crossed the Nerbudda, and drove the Pindarees toward Bengal. By the great number[Pg 628] of his remaining troops Lord Hastings overawed the neighboring rulers, Peishwa Sindia of the Mahratta, Ameer Khan, Holkar Treaty of Toona and Runjit Singh of the Punjab. Peishwa Baji Rao was compelled to sign a treaty of neutrality at Toona. In October, thereupon, Lord Hastings left Cawnpore and crossed the Jumna. The Pindarees were routed in a series of swift-fought engagements. One of their chieftains, Khurin, gave himself up with his whole household, while another, Chetu, was killed by a tiger while hiding in the jungle.

The Peishwa of the Mahrattas, who was biding his time until the British forces should withdraw from his dominions, grew impatient and threatened open war. To appease him a newly arrived British regiment was withdrawn from Toona to Khirki, a village about four miles from the British Residency. This concession only encouraged the Peishwa to further resistance.

The Mahratta war opened with a romantic incident. Trimbukji Dainglia, one of the favorites of the Peishwa, was held closely confined by the English at Thanna for his share in the murder of one of Baji Rao's enemies. Before the outbreak of hostilities the Mahrattas managed to get word to him of what was coming. A native groom in the service of one of the British officers passed the window of the prisoner every day leading his master's horses. As he did so he trolled a native song the purport of which the British guards neither understood nor suspected. It has thus been translated by Bishop Heber:[Pg 629]

A few days after this Trimbukji Dainglia was missing. He had broken a bar from its setting, scaled the wall, and joined a party of horsemen lying in Outbreak of Poonah wait. With them he fled to the jungles of Kanderish. Just before the outbreak of hostilities a British officer thought he recognized him at Poonah. On November 5, the British Resident, Elphinstone, left Poonah to inspect the forces at Khirki. On that same day the Mahrattas burned Elphinstone's house and rich Sanskrit library. Baji Rao attacked the military post Khirki with 26,000 men, but was repulsed with a loss of five hundred. The British immediately despatched an army under General Smith for Flight of Baji Rao Poonah. On November 15, they prepared for a general attack on the morrow, but in the night Baji Rao fled from Poonah. Thus he surrendered his dominions without a blow.

Appa Sahib, the Rajah of Nagpore, meanwhile had made common cause with Baji Rao. On the evening of November 24, he brought up his forces and attacked the British Residency at Nagpore. The resulting battle of Sitaboldi is famous in Hindu annals. As Wheeler, the historian of British India, describes it:

"The English had no European regiment, as they[Pg 630] had at Khirki; they had scarcely fourteen hundred Sepoys fit for duty, including three troops of Bengal cavalry, and only four six-pounders. Appa Sahib had an army of eighteen thousand men, including four thousand Arabs, the best soldiers in the Dekhan; he had also thirty-six guns. The battle lasted from six o'clock in the evening of the 26th of November until noon the next day. For many hours the English were in sore peril; their fate seemed to hang upon a thread. The Arabs were beginning to close round the Residency, when a happy stroke of British daring changed the fortunes of the day. Captain Fitzgerald, who commanded the Bengal cavalry, was posted in the Residency compound and was anxious to charge the Arabs; but he was forbidden. Again he implored permission, but was told to charge at his peril. 'On my peril be it!' cried Fitzgerald. Clearing the inclosures, the Bengal cavalry bore down upon the enemy's horse, captured two guns, and cut up a body of infantry. The British Sepoys hailed the exploit with loud huzzahs, and seeing the explosion of one of the enemy's tumbrels, rushed down the hill, driving the Arabs before them. The victory was won, but the English had lost a quarter of their number."

Appa Sahib surrendered himself and was placed under arrest. Presently he Appa Sahib's escape made good his escape and found a refuge with the Rajah of Jodhpur. In Holkar's State of Indore affairs ran in a similar groove. The Regent Mother showed herself inclined to come to an agreement with the British marching northward under Sir Thomas Hislop. But the Mahratta [Pg 631] chiefs were bent on war, and murdered the Regent Mother. A battle, henceforth, was unavoidable. Already the British supply train had been plundered by the Mahrattas. The Battle of Nahidpore battle was fought on December 21, at Nahidpore. On each occasion Sir John Malcolm commanded the British troops and won a complete victory. All the Hindu guns and swords fell into British hands. Then came the heroic defence of Korygaun, still celebrated in British Indian annals. A detachment of Bombay Sepoys and native cavalry, under the command of Captain Staunton and ten English officers, in all 800 men with two guns, were caught unawares by the Peishwa's army of 30,000 Mahratta Gosains. Captain Staunton's force Defence of Korygaun intrenched itself in the village of Korygaun and prepared for the worst. The Mahrattas completely surrounded the place and the defenders were cut off from all water and supplies. Then came a succession of fierce rushes by the Mahratta horse and foot, every one of which had to be fought off in desperate hand-to-hand encounters. Of the ten white officers eight were killed; besides them Staunton lost one-third of his Sepoys. The Mahrattas left 600 on the field. To the present day the exploit is celebrated in the songs and stories of the Dekhan. The Peishwa witnessed the long fight from a neighboring hill, and was beside himself when his discouraged troops refused to renew the battle. After this Baji Rao could no longer hold his End of Mahratta rule army together. By the close of the year his forces were dispersed. It was the end of Mahratta rule in the Dekhan.

1818

[Pg 632] PEACE was re-established in India shortly after New Year's day. Lord Hastings would stop at nothing but the absolute deposition of the Peishwa. He had long resolved to reduce Baji Rao to the condition of Napoleon at St. Helena. Accordingly, he delivered the Rajah of Satara from the thraldom of generations, and assigned to him sufficient territory for support. This Battle of Ashti done he set himself to hunt down the deposed Peishwa. For several months Baji Rao remained at large. He made a feeble stand at Ashti, but fled at the first shot, leaving his army to be defeated by General Smith. It was on this occasion that the Rajah of Satara fell into English hands. Later in the year Baji Rao was surrounded by British troops, under the command of Sir John Malcolm. No alternative was left him but to die or give up. The terms offered by Malcolm were so liberal as to excite astonishment in Europe. While the great Napoleon was condemned to spend his remaining days Baji Rao's surrender on a mere pittance at St. Helena, this most cowardly of Indian princes was allowed to live in luxury near Cawnpore, on a yearly grant of £80,000. His friend Trimbukji Dainglia, however, when captured, was condemned to close confinement in the fortress of Chunar.[Pg 633]

The remains of the Holkar states were permitted to endure, nor would Hastings sanction the proposed dethronement of the family of Jaswant Rao. Holkar was merely required to seize certain territories, and to confirm the grants already made to Ameer Khan. From a sovereign principality the land was reduced to a subsidiary state under British guarantee. Otherwise the infant Mulhar, Rao Holkar, was treated as an independent prince and his Lord Hastings' Indian policy administration was left in the hands of a native Durbar, aided by the British Resident. The policy of Lord Hastings, although severely criticised in England, must be pronounced a success in the light of later events. From the suppression of the Pindarees and the extinction of the Peishwa in 1818, down to the days of the great mutiny, no serious attempt was made to overthrow British suzerainty by means of an armed confederation of native states.

In some respects the administration of Lord Hastings marks a new era in the history of India. Hastings was the first Governor-General who encouraged the education of the native population. Early in his administration he denounced the maxim of his predecessors, that native ignorance would insure the security of British rule, as an utterly unworthy and futile doctrine. Accordingly, he promoted the establishment of native schools and publications.

The affairs of India were kept before the British public by the renewed discussion that followed the death of Lord Hastings' great namesake, Warren Hastings. It was due to the scandals of Warren[Pg 634] Hastings' career in India, and his famous impeachment toward the close of the previous century, that the administrative reforms and modern rule in India were inaugurated during the nineteenth century. This reform began with the act, known at Pitt's Bill, by which the British Crown assumed supreme authority over the civil and military administration of the affairs in India by the British East India Company. Henceforward, no alliances could be formed with any native prince without the express sanction of Parliament. This act arose directly out of Warren Hastings' confession that he had accepted a present of a hundred thousand pounds from Asof-Ud-Daula. Warren Hastings' record, though he was ultimately acquitted, was lastingly besmirched by his dubious Hastings' career monetary transactions, and it was for this reason that William Pitt refused to recommend him for the peerage, or for honorable employment under the British Crown. Yet he was the greatest statesman that ever ruled India. His overthrow of the French in India, of the first Mahratta rising, and of the formidable rebellion of Hyder Ali, are among the greatest achievements of British colonial extension. The disgrace of Warren Hastings was a great event in English history, but it made no impression on the people in India. They only knew him as one of the greatest of conquerors and their deliverer. Philip Francis, who brought about Hastings' downfall, so far from supplanting him, is remembered now only as the probable author of the anonymous "Letters of Junius."

[Pg 635] Besides the death of Warren Hastings, several other notable events preoccupied the attention of Englishmen. During this year Sir John Ross sailed north to discover a northwest passage. Another relief expedition under Lieutenant Franklin, which had sailed after him, resulted only in failure. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley published her curious novel "Frankenstein," and John Keats brought out his long poem "Endymion," for "Frankenstein" which he was violently assailed by the critics, notably by Jeffries, of "Blackwood's Magazine." Shelley, Moore, Hunt, and eventually Byron, warmly "Endymion" took his part. In the meanwhile a number of industrial reforms were introduced in England. Infant schools were first thrown open during this year, and steam was first used for heating purposes. A company in Edinburgh Macadam roads undertook to light the streets with gas. John Loudon Macadam's new system of road building was successfully introduced. In France similar strides were made in industrial progress. Joseph Nicéphore Niepce invented his Invention of Velocipede velocipede. The kindred invention of the "draisine," or dandy-horse was patented for Baron Drais of Sauerbron. These inventions contained the germ of the modern bicycle.

The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, consisting of the sovereigns of Russia, Austria and Prussia, aided by ministers of Great Britain and France, signed a convention for the withdrawal of the army of occupation from France, and for the reception of France into the European concert. For other countries the deliberations of this Congress were not so beneficent. Since the Polish Diet in the spring,[Pg 636] when Alexander had promised to give all Russia a constitutional government, a change of spirit had come over the Czar. This change has been explained by the revelation of a military conspiracy against his person. At all events, Alexander appeared at Aix-la-Chapelle Czar Alexander aroused with the most reactionary proposals. Up to this time Metternich, the inveterate foe of liberalism, had found in the Czar his most formidable opponent. Now the Czar distributed among his fellow sovereigns a pamphlet written by one Stourdza, which described Germany as on the brink of revolution, and blamed the universities and public press. Metternich instantly took his cue from the Czar. Before the end of the conference he delivered to the King of Prussia and to Hardenberg two papers containing his recommendations for the management of Prussian affairs. Frederick William was warned against giving his people a national parliament. After the example of the Czar, Metternich inveighed against the universities and the press.

"The revolutionists," he said, "despairing of attaining their end themselves, have formed the settled plan of educating the next generation for revolution. The high school establishment is a preparatory school for university disorders. The university seizes the youth as he leaves boyhood, and gives him a revolutionary training. This mischief is common to all Germany, and must be checked by joint action of the governments. Gymnasia (high schools), on the contrary, were first invented at Berlin. For these, palliative measures are no longer sufficient;[Pg 637] it has become a duty of State for the King of Prussia to destroy the evil. The whole institution in every shape must be closed and uprooted."

The reactionary policy outlined in these papers became the guiding star of King Frederick William of Prussia. They outline the history of what actually was carried out in Prussia during the succeeding generation.

It was not only in Germany that the new spirit of liberalism gave concern to the members of the Holy Alliance. In Spain it appeared in a more dangerous form, since it was espoused there by the military class. Misgovernment in Spain Ferdinand's misgovernment of Spain had soon resulted in an empty treasury, in consequence of which soldiers and sailors received no pay for several years. Military revolts were instituted by General Mina, and by Porliar and Lacy at this period; but they failed through the indifference of the soldiers themselves. The government's attempt to offset the numerous desertions from the army by seizing and enrolling some 60,000 beggars in military service, proved a complete failure. Napoleon's prediction to Rear-Admiral Cockburn that Spain was doomed to lose all her colonies was reaching fulfilment in America.

Amelia Island, at the mouth of the St. Mary's River in Florida, had long been the resort of lawless men, among whom were European adventurers attracted by the South American revolution, and many fugitive slaves from Defection of Spanish colonies Georgia and South Carolina. A plan was formed to organize a revolution on that island and to add Florida to the revolting South[Pg 638] American republics. The forces gathered there became too strong for the Spaniards, and President Monroe decided to interfere. Gaines was sent to Amelia Island; but before he arrived, Aury, the commander of the malcontents, had surrendered to Commodore Henley. General Jackson, who was operating in those parts against the Seminoles, declared that "the cause of the United States must be carried to any point within the limits of Florida where an enemy is permitted to be protected." All eastern Florida, he set forth to the President, should be seized when Amelia Island was taken, and should be held as an indemnity for the outrages of Spain upon American citizens. This plan, Jackson said, could be carried out without implicating the United States. "Let it be signified to me that the province of Florida would be desirable to the United States, and in sixty days it will be accomplished."

When the order to assume command reached Jackson, he raised a volunteer force in Tennessee from among his old soldiers. With these and the troops left by Gaines he marched into Florida. On the site of the Negro fort he built Fort Gadsden. He then advanced to the Bay of St. Marks, defeating the few Seminoles whom he encountered. On April 7, he raised the American flag there in place of the standard of Spain. Two Seminole chiefs who had taken refuge on an American vessel in the bay, and who were supposed to have participated in the massacre of a party of Americans, were brought on shore and hanged. Leaving a strong garrison at St. Marks, Jackson marched a hundred miles to the[Pg 639] Indian town of Suwanee, where he hoped to capture Billy Bowlegs and his band. But the Indians, warned of his approach, Summary military measures escaped across the river. Suwanee was destroyed. Jackson, when at St. Marks, had taken prisoner one Arbuthnot, a Scotchman and supposed Indian sympathizer, whom he ordered to be confined until his return. At Suwanee, Captain Ambrister, a former English officer, intending to join the Indians, blundered into Jackson's camp, and was held a prisoner. On his return, Jackson ordered the two men to be tried by court-martial, on the charge of warning the Indians of the approach of the American soldiers, and both were convicted and executed. Jackson, on reaching Fort Gadsden, received from Pensacola occupied the Spanish Governor of Pensacola a protest against his invasion. He turned back, occupied Pensacola, and took the Fort of Carrios De Barrancas, to which the governor had fled.

When the news of Jackson's course reached Washington, Congress engaged in a heated debate over his occupation of the forts of a friendly power. In defending himself Jackson wrote that the Secretary of War had given him full power to conduct the campaign in the manner which seemed best. Spain, he claimed, had failed to fulfil that article of the treaty by which she was bound to restrain the Florida Indians from hostilities. Popular feeling Jackson unrebuked proved too strong for Congress to assert its privileges as the sole war-making power. Jackson was not even rebuked for his course. During all those months, Onis, the Spanish Minister, and Adams were in negotiation[Pg 640] over a treaty, which was not ratified until two years later. Florida was to be ceded to the United States on a payment of $5,000,000, to be applied in satisfying the claims of American citizens against Spain. The Sabine River, instead of the Rio Grande, was made the dividing line between the United States and Spanish territory. The line was to run from the mouth of the An amicable settlement Sabine to the 32d parallel, thence north to the Red River and along it to the 100th meridian, thence north to the Arkansas and along that river to its source on the 42d parallel, and thence west to the Pacific. War with Spain was thus averted.

While the Florida question was under consideration, there arose another far more momentous to America. Free labor in the North and slave labor in the South were brought squarely face to face. Slave labor was fast rising in value. The new lands of the lower Mississippi opened a vast field for the employment of slaves in the production of cotton, sugar and tobacco. It was The slavery issue believed the extension of slavery into that new territory would save it from gradual extinction. The interstate traffic in slaves was viewed with abhorrence by many leading men in the South. John Randolph, while upholding slavery, denounced the traffic that was carried on in the Southern plantations. On the other hand it was seen that compromise would be of little value if the North only was to be permitted to increase its power by the admission of new States. New slave States as well were demanded by the Southerners.[Pg 641]

In March, the citizens of Missouri had asked permission to form a State constitution and to be admitted into the Union. It was tacitly understood that slavery might be carried into territory east of the Mississippi belonging originally to the existing slave States. But Louisiana, west of the Mississippi, belonged to the whole of the United States rather than to any one of the several States. The question now arose whether Congress should establish slavery anew in territory of the United States. The Contention over Missouri alternative was presented to the people of the North whether to submit to the demands of the South or to consent to a dissolution of the Union. Though represented by a majority in Congress, the Northern States were defeated after a long struggle. John Quincy Adams doubted if Congress, under the American Constitution, had the right to prohibit slavery in a territory where it already existed. "If a dissolution of the Union should result from the slave question," he wrote, "it is obvious that it must shortly afterward be followed by a universal emancipation of the slaves."

During this same year Congress first granted pensions to needy veterans of American Pension system inaugurated the Revolutionary War and soon afterward to the widows and children of dead soldiers. Thus began the system of American pension legislation for former American soldiers which was destined to grow to such gigantic proportions in later years. Up to that time the number of stripes in the American flag had been eighteen. Now a bill was approved reducing the number of stripes to thirteen, the number of original States comprising the[Pg 642] Union. The number of stars was to be made equal to that of the States. Soon afterward, the new flag, with twenty stars in its quartering, was first raised over the halls of Congress. Shortly after this the Fifteenth Congress adjourned. On October 20, a convention with Great Britain was signed respecting fisheries and boundaries, giving to Americans the right to fish in Newfoundland waters and renewing the agreement of 1815, making the 49th Oregon in dispute parallel the boundary between the United States and British North America. The convention also provided for the joint occupation of Oregon for ten years longer.

The glossy finish to leather known as "patent" leather was first patented in this year. Another notable invention of the time was the process of engraving on soft steel.

The second session of the American Congress was not called until late in the year. Illinois was then admitted as the twenty-first State of the Union.

1819

[Pg 643] EARLY in the year Andrew Jackson was called to Washington. He was the hero of the day. When he visited New York he was received with public honors. On February 22, a treaty with Spain was adopted by which she surrendered all claims to Florida and ceded West Florida. The cost of the war to the United States had been forty million dollars. The year was marked by the enforced Southern Indians dispossessed retirement of large bodies of the Cherokees from Georgia to the Mississippi. The Cherokees as well as the Creeks, the Choctaws and the Chickasaws were greatly perturbed at the prospect of their final removal from the land which the United States had guaranteed to them. Partly as a result of these changes, the Territory of Alabama was admitted to the Union as the twenty-second State.Alabama a state

There were now eleven free and eleven slave States; and serious opposition arose to the admission of Missouri. In February, the first bill was introduced in the House for the admission of that Territory. James Tallmadge, Jr., of New York, proposed that there should be no personal servitude in the State except by those already held as slaves, and that these should be manumitted within a certain period. This proposition he modified by moving [Pg 644] The Missouri problem an amendment providing that the introduction of slavery should be prohibited, but that those already slaves in Missouri should remain so, and that the children of such slaves should be liberated upon reaching the age of twenty-five. The proposition to hold in slavery a generation yet unborn was fiercely resented. The two Houses did not agree, and the question went over to another year. The South presented an unbroken and unyielding front. Caleb of Georgia said that this attempt to interfere with slavery was "destructive of the peace and harmony of the union"; that those who proposed it "were kindling a fire which all the waters of the ocean could not extinguish. It could be extinguished only in blood."

The Missouri question having been left for the next session, the cognate issue concerning a government for the Arkansas country south of parallel 33° 30' was taken up. In both Houses an amendment to prohibit slavery was lost. As a compromise a representative from Delaware suggested a division Antagonism to slavery of the Western Territory between the free and slave States. The contest was renewed at the December session. Resolutions of Northern Legislatures condemning the placing of slavery under the national government were presented, and were treated with contempt by the Southern statesmen. Senator Mason of North Carolina said: "They may philosophize at town meetings about it as much as they please, but they know nothing about the question." In the House the matter was brought up in the same form as in the previous session. James W. Taylor of New[Pg 645] York presented an amendment prohibiting slavery, but holding in bondage those who were already slaves. He kept this point clearly in view through the debate that followed. Finally the bill was passed by a vote of 91 to 82, the prohibitory amendment being adopted by a majority of eight. The bill for the admission Maine vs. Missouri of Missouri was attached to that for the admission of Maine. The suggestion of this stratagem was made on the 20th of December by Henry Clay, who declared that he did "not mean to give his consent to the admission of Maine, so long as the doctrine was upheld of annexing conditions to the admission of States beyond the mountains." The analogy was scarcely just. Under the Constitution the right was absolute; Maine was a part of the original thirteen States of the Republic. The problem respecting Missouri was radically different, and resolved itself into the question whether Congress, under the American Constitution, had the right to create a new State out of the purchased territory, and to admit it to the Union without a republican form of government. Clay's threat was improved upon. The judiciary committee reported the House bill for the admission of Maine, adding an amendment for the admission of Missouri. Roberts of Pennsylvania moved to amend the amendment by prohibiting slavery in Missouri, but his motion was rejected by a majority of eleven (including six Senators from free States). A motion to make the admission of Maine a separate question was also defeated. The two Houses now stood directly opposed to each other. The Representatives would[Pg 646] not retreat from their decision to prohibit slavery in Missouri; the Senate was equally determined that Missouri should be admitted as a slave State. Had the House maintained its ground, the United States for the next half century might have had another history.

Senator Thomas of Illinois, who had voted thus far with the South, now came forward with a compromise. He proposed to prohibit slavery in that portion of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36° 30' excepting Missouri. This was accepted in the Senate by thirty-four votes against ten. But when the bill came up two days later for its final passage it received only a majority of four. After much delay the compromise measure was finally passed through the House by a majority of 134 to 42 votes. The measure was a Northern victory, having been carried by Northern votes. For the moment peace was gained; but the fire was only smothered. On the one side there was a gain of one slave State; on the other side, a mere promise to prohibit slavery in future States.

Notwithstanding the political agitation, general progress in America was pronounced and rapid during this period. Steam navigation was no longer a Modern progress novelty. The Erie Canal was well under way. New towns were springing up along its course. Blanchard invented his lathe for turning irregular forms. The famous Danish physicist, Hans Christian Oersted, made his classical electrical experiments with the magnetic needle and laid the foundation of our modern theory of electromagnetism.[Pg 647] The literary event of the year in America was the appearance of Washington Irving's "Sketch Book." The work Irving's "Sketch Book" found favor in England, where Sir Walter Scott befriended Irving.

In England, too, it was a period of new industrial and colonial expansion. Following the unsuccessful polar expeditions of the previous year, Lieutenant Franklin undertook his second search for the northwest passage, Polar expedition and a similar expedition, under Perry and Liddon, set out for Arctic waters. In India, where the Sikhs under Runjeet Singh were engaged in their great conquest of Cashmere, a British settlement was established in Singapore. British supremacy at sea received its tribute in an invitation from the Chileans to Sir Thomas Cochrane to command their new navy. After their victory on the Maypo, the patriot leaders of Chile had set to work to create a navy for their country. The British ship "Cumberland" was purchased in London, and renamed the "San Martin." Within a few months she captured the "Maria Isabella" from the Spanish. The prize was taken to Cochrane in Chilean service Valparaiso, remounted, and renamed the "O'Higgins." To these ships were added the "Galvarino," "Araucano," "Interpodo," and the "Independencia." With the "O'Higgins" for a flagship, Cochrane took this squadron up and down the coast of South America, harrying the Spanish sea-ports everywhere.

In England, meanwhile, there was renewed agitation for Parliamentary reforms. Henry Grattan in Parliament moved for a Committee of the Whole House to consider the laws excluding Catholics from[Pg 648] public offices. His motion was defeated by a narrow vote of 243 against 241. Instead of this reform the British Government, falling in line with the reactionary The "Six Acts" measures of the Continental governments, passed through Parliament the so-called "Six Acts" for the prevention and punishment of sedition in England. To latter-day Englishmen this year is principally noted for the birth of Queen Victoria. The little princess, the daughter of Edward, Duke Birth of Victoria of Kent, son of George the Third and Maria Louisa Victoria of Saxe-Coburg, a sister of Leopold I. of Belgium, was born at Kensington Palace, and was named Alexandrina Victoria.

Germans of the present day remember this year for the appearance of Schopenhauer's great philosophic work "The World, as Will and Idea"—"Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung." Schopenhauer, in this book, laid down the doctrine that the universe, and therefore human life as such, is governed by the conflicting principles of the ungoverned will and of the unattainable ideal. The true solution of life, he held, was to be found in subjecting brute will to the intellectual force of the ideal.

Schopenhauer's book at that time passed almost unnoticed. The educated classes of Germany were in too much of a ferment over the recent police restrictions inflicted upon the universities and public press. By this time it had become well known what part Czar Alexander had played at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle. A vehement outcry arose at the universities against the interference of foreigners in German affairs. The wrath of the Liberals turned[Pg 649] against August von Kotzebue, the prolific playwright, who held the office of Russian agent in central Germany. Kotzebue conducted a weekly newspaper at Mannheim in which he inveighed against the German national movement of the day, and ridiculed the patriotic eccentricities of the students. Having himself studied at Jena, Kotzebue was denounced by the students there as a traitor. He was believed to be responsible for the Czar's conversion from liberal ideas to reactionary principles. This belief cost Kotzebue his life. One Sand, a theological student at Jena, noted for piety and patriotic ardor, formed a fanatical resolution to do away with this enemy of the country. An extract from Sand's diary, written on the eve of his last New Year's day, reveals the character of the man: "I meet the last day of this year in an earnest festal spirit, knowing well that the Christmas which I have celebrated will be my last. If our strivings are to result in anything, if the cause of mankind is to succeed in our fatherland, if all is not to be forgotten, all our enthusiasm spent in vain, the evil doer, the traitor, the corrupter of youth must die. Until I have executed this, I have no peace; and what can comfort me until I know Assassination of Kotzebue that I have with upright will set my life at stake? O God, I pray only for the right clearness and courage of soul, that in that last supreme hour I may not be false to myself." On March 23, Sand sought out Baron Kotzebue in the midst of his family and stabbed him to the heart. Then he turned the dagger against himself. Unfortunately Sand recovered[Pg 650] from his wounds, and thus lived to die on the scaffold.

The mad deed was followed by the worst possible results for Germany. Minister Hardenberg, when he heard of the murder of Kotzebue, declared that Retaliatory measures a Prussian Constitution had now been rendered impossible. Metternich, who was then in Rome, instantly drew up a scheme for further repressive measures and summoned the ministers of the various German States for a meeting at Carlsbad. "By the help of God," wrote Metternich, "I hope to defeat the German revolution, just as I vanquished the conqueror of the world. The revolutionists thought me far away, because I was five hundred leagues off. They deceived themselves; I have been in the midst of them, and now I am striking my blows." A number of innocent persons were arrested in various parts of Germany under utterly unwarrantable circumstances. The houses of professors were searched and private papers were seized. Jahn, the founder of the popular Gymnastic schools, was arrested in Berlin. De Wette, a professor of theology at the University of Berlin, had to flee to German liberals persecuted Switzerland on account of a letter of sympathy addressed by him to Sand's mother. With him Oken, the great naturalist, and Corres, the pamphleteer, became exiles in Switzerland. Professor Fries lost his chair at Jena; the poet Arndt was suspended at Bonn, and his private papers, in garbled form, were published by the government. Many of the younger professors, accompanied by their favorite students, emigrated to America.[Pg 651]

During August the German ministers met at Carlsbad. Their conferences, in the memory of the German people, are justly associated with the suppression of intellectual freedom for a whole generation. It was ordered that in every State within the German federation a strict censorship should be established over all publications. Within fifteen days an inquisitorial commission was called together at Mainz to investigate the students' societies at the universities. The commission was empowered to arrest any Police censors appointed subject in any German State. Special police commissioners were appointed at the universities, whose duty it was to keep a strict eye on the drift of the professor's teachings. Any professor or student expelled from a university was not to be employed by any other German government. The Binzer's poem students' societies were suppressed, at least to all outward appearance. The poet Binzer wrote a defiant song ending with the lines:

So far was repression carried in Prussia that out of 203 students arrested for wearing black-red-yellow ribbons, no less than 94 were condemned to death. Wilhelm von Humboldt, the best and most liberal of Prussian Resignation of Wilhelm Humboldt Ministers during the first half of the nineteenth century, resigned his portfolio in disgust. The zeal with which the Prussian Government accepted these measures made it useless for the minor German States to offer much opposition. Yet they formed the only remaining bulwark against[Pg 652] Metternich's restrictive policy. In spite of his strenuous opposition, the rulers of Bavaria and Baden granted to their subjects constitutional forms South German liberalism of government. Representative assemblies with lower and upper houses, after the manner of the English Parliament, were established. In Wurtemberg, serfdom was abolished, and a constitution was published a few days before the enrolment of the decrees of Carlsbad.

In France, Dr. Laënnec published his epoch-making work "Traité d'Auscultation Médiate," the result of his recent experiments in listening to human heart-beats and lung respirations through a hollow cylinder. Various names were given to the instrument until Laënnec decided to call it "stethoscope," the name it has ever since retained. Laënnec's contributions to the study of diseases of the lungs, of the heart and of the abdominal organs may be said to have laid the foundation of modern clinical medicine.

Parliamentary government in France worked none too smoothly. In the Chambers the rise of the independent party and anti-Bourbon faction caused the Duc de Richelieu to resign. When the news of Kotzebue's assassination reached Paris, the Comte d'Artois remarked exultingly to the king: "Well, Decazes Prime Minister brother, you see what they are driving us to." Louis XVIII. intrusted to his favorite, Decazes, the formation of a new Cabinet. Decazes found it difficult to select competent men for the various portfolios. His Cabinet, when finally brought together, lacked internal unity and outward support.[Pg 653] Its career was early imperilled by the untoward election of Bishop Gregoire The Gregoire episode of Grenoble, one of the regicides, to the Chamber of Deputies. This popular manifestation, though sufficiently explained by the sterling public qualities of the bishop himself, created the utmost apprehension among the Royalists. Decazes had to bend to the storm, and the election of Gregoire was declared null and void by the Ministerial majority in the Chambers. The French Royalists next professed to find cause for apprehension in Spain. Danger of war with the United States, before the cession of Florida, had Troubles in Spain caused King Ferdinand of Spain to assemble an army at Cadiz to embark for America. It was now proposed to send these troops to South America to quell the revolutionary movements there. The return of a number of soldiers stricken with yellow fever in the colonies filled the troops at Cadiz with consternation. The common soldiers, lying in squalor and inaction at their barracks, came to regard their expected order of embarkation as a sentence of death. Their officers plotted with the secret societies in Cadiz and neighboring towns. Abisbas, the commandant at Cadiz, to safeguard his own interests pretended to encourage these plots. Then, convinced of their ultimate failure, he arrested the principal leaders by a stratagem and hurried to Madrid to reveal all and claim credit for saving the crown. The ringleaders were imprisoned and the troops were distributed into cantonments. As it turned out this only served to foment the growing spirit of dissatisfaction throughout Spain.

1820

[Pg 654] NEW YEAR'S DAY was fixed for the outbreak of revolt by the revolutionists of Spain. The chosen leaders were Riego, Cabazes and Quiroga. It was arranged that Quiroga, who was held in light confinement at Medina, east of Cadiz, should gather the battalions outside of Cadiz, throw himself into the city, and there await the co-operation of his fellow conspirators. Riego with a band of chosen men was to pounce upon the military headquarters at Arcos, and to arrest the general officers before they could interfere. Accordingly, Riego, on the first day of January, proclaimed the Spanish military revolt Constitution of 1812, and, falling upon headquarters, seized the general officers and rallied the men to his standard. Quiroga was less successful. After gaining possession of San Fernando at the eastern point of the peninsula of Leon, he failed to get into Cadiz. The commandant closed the gates against him, and the troops within gave no sign of defection. By the time Riego arrived, there were but 5,000 insurgents wherewith to overcome the strong garrison and fortifications of Cadiz. Leaving Quiroga before Cadiz, Riego set himself to raise the people of the surrounding towns. He was received with kindness, but the obvious weakness of[Pg 655] his force discouraged others from joining him. Strong forces were sent in pursuit, and the insurgents were compelled to march back and forth through the Riego's plight country to escape their pursuers. At Cordova, Riego was made to realize that the game was lost. The soldiers of the government were upon him, and he had only some two hundred followers left. The little band took to the mountains and there dispersed.

The revolt, despite its miserable end, was followed by widespread results. The example of a bold stroke had been given, and the weakness of the government had been exposed. While Riego's followers were still hunted from place to place, the soldiers and citizens of Corona together declared for the Constitution. The revolutionary movement spread to Ferrol and thence along the coast towns of Galicia.

In South America, Cochrane in a brilliant action took the Spanish Cochrane's exploit stronghold of Valdivia, held to be a Gibraltar in strength. King Ferdinand in Madrid was terrified. From all points of Spain the commandants wrote that they could not answer for their garrisons. Abisbas was ordered to return to Cadiz with reinforcements. On leaving Madrid he boasted to the Abisbas' treachery king that he knew how to deal with rebels. By the time he reached Ocaña, early in March, he himself proclaimed the Constitution. The news of Abisbas' defection created consternation in Madrid. On the night of March 6, the king convoked his Council of State. On the morrow he issued a summons for the Cortes. This was not enough. Crowds gathered in the streets and clamored for the Consti[Pg 656]tution. A report that the guards were on the point of going over to the people brought the king around. From the balcony of the royal palace Ferdinand announced his readiness to take the oath to the Constitution. The next day was spent in riotous rejoicing. The prison of the Inquisition was sacked and all political prisoners were liberated. On the following day the mob broke into the gates and gardens of the royal palace. The members of the old municipal council entered the royal private King Ferdinand succumbs chamber and called for a fulfilment of the king's public promise. Ferdinand accepted the inevitable under a smiling exterior, and swore an oath of fidelity to the Constitution of 1812. A provisional Junta took charge of affairs until the new Cortes should be convened.

The news of the Spanish revolution astounded Europe. In France a fanatic by the name of Louvel deemed the moment come to strike at the reigning house of France. Louvel had followed Napoleon to exile in Elba. After the Hundred Days he dogged the footsteps of the Bourbon princes with a settled project of murder. The heir-presumptive to the French crown was the Duc de Berry. Duc de Berry assassinated If he died without a son the elder Bourbon line was bound to become extinct as a reigning house. On the night of February 13, Louvel attacked the Duc de Berry at the entrance of the opera house and plunged a knife into his heart. The Duchess was covered with her husband's blood. That night Duc de Berry died beseeching forgiveness for the man who had killed him. King Louis XVIII. himself closed the eyes of his nephew.[Pg 657]

The assassination of the Duc de Berry involved the ruin of the Ministry of Decazes. The ultra-royalists in their frenzy of grief and indignation charged their chief opponent with complicity. Clausel de Coussergues, a member of the Court of Cassation, moved the impeachment of Minister Decazes in the Chambers as an accomplice in the assassination. The King himself felt menaced by the unwarranted accusation. "The Royalists give me the finishing stroke," said he; "they know that the policy of M. Decazes is Fall of Decazes' Ministry also mine, and they accuse him of assassinating my nephew." Yet he had to abandon his favorite to the violent entreaties of the Comte d'Artois and the Duchesse de Angoulême. Decazes was permitted to retire, and set out for London with his new titles of Duke and Ambassador to the Court of St. James. Richelieu was recalled to the Ministry. The Duchesse de Berry retired to Sicily.

In Naples and Sicily the recent events in Spain and France exerted a powerful influence over the minds of the people. In southern Italy the secret society of the Carbonari had become a power in the land. The members of this society, after the manner of Freemasons, took their name and the Rise of the Carbonari symbolism of their rites from the calling of the charcoal burners. Since the revolt against Bourbon tyranny in 1799, the Carbonari had played their part as revolutionary conspirators. By the year 1820 it was believed that one person out of every twenty-five in Naples belonged to the society. To offset their hidden power, the government encouraged the foun[Pg 658]dation of a rival society, known as the Calderari, or Braziers. This only made matters worse. After the success of the revolution in Spain, the head lodge of the Carbonari in Salerno issued orders for a rising in June. Later the date was Neapolitan military revolt postponed. A score of Carbonari serving in the ranks of a cavalry regiment at Nola, persuaded one of the officers, Lieutenant Morelli, to head a revolt in favor of a constitutional government. On July 2, Morelli marched out with a squadron of 150 men, and proclaimed for the Constitution. Only one trooper refused to follow his standard. The others rode along the road to Avellino and were received with enthusiasm all along the way. The country was ripe for revolt. At Avellino the commandant with all his garrison and the Bishop with the townspeople gave them a magnificent reception. The news of the revolt spread like wildfire throughout the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Everywhere the Carbonari declared in its favor. Before the government had taken a single step, the Constitution was generally proclaimed and joyfully accepted by the populace. From Naples the King sent General Carrascosa to negotiate with the insurgents. In the meanwhile General Pepe, himself a Carbonaro of high rank, hastened to Avellino and placed himself at the head of the revolution. On July 6, the King published an edict promising a constitution within eight days, and then, feigning illness, committed the royal authority to his son, the Duke of Calabria. The Carbonari, recalling the fact that the King, in order to preserve his contingent rights to the Spanish[Pg 659] crown, had but recently helped to sign the Spanish Constitution of 1812, insisted that this same Constitution should be proclaimed for Naples. Old King Ferdinand yielded and signed an edict to that effect. General Pepe and Morelli, at the head Revolution in Naples of the garrison of Avellino, and the national guards of Naples, triumphantly entered the city with public honors, and were received by the Duke of Calabria, in his capacity as viceroy. On July 13, the King in person swore to support the Constitution. Standing before the altar in the royal chapel, he raised his eyes to the crucifix and prayed that the vengeance of God might fall upon him if ever he broke his oath. Immediately Bourbon duplicity afterward he wrote to the Emperors of Austria and Russia, declaring that his conduct on this occasion was a mere farce and that he regarded his obligations as null and void.

The contagion of Spain and Sicily proved too much for the people of Portugal. The continued absence of the royal family in Brazil, and the unwelcome prolongation of the British regency had long caused dissatisfaction in Portugal. The feeling of discontent was deepened by industrial and commercial distress which made the manifest prosperity of Brazil seem all the more galling. Marshal Beresford, the English commander-in-chief of the Portuguese army, was generally execrated for his barbarous treatment of military conspirators. After the outbreak of the Spanish revolution, the aspect of affairs became so threatening in Portugal that Beresford set out for Rio Janeiro to induce the Princes of Braganza to return to their Court in[Pg 660] Lisbon. Before he could accomplish his purpose, the government that he had left behind him was overthrown by the people. On August 24, the city of Oporto rose against the regency. The officers of the army, the magistrates, the priests and townspeople united in declaring Revolution in Portugal against the regency. They established a provisional Junta to govern in the name of the King until the Cortes of Portugal could be convened to frame a constitution. The authority of the regency in Oporto was lost without a blow. The Junta immediately seized the reins of government, and began its career by dismissing all English officers and paying the arrears of the soldiers. In Lisbon the regency itself tried to stem the storm by giving its formal approval to the measures of the Junta of Oporto. The troops of Lisbon, however, would no longer recognize the authority of the government. Within a fortnight the regency was deposed, and a Junta installed in its End of Lisbon regency place. Beresford was forbidden to return to Portugal. He went to England, but found there that the British Ministry did not deem it advisable to interfere further in the domestic affairs of Portugal. Dom Juan VI., in Rio Janeiro, promised to return to Portugal and bestow on his subjects a liberal constitution.

In England, Lord Beresford's attempt to induce the government to suppress the revolutionists of Portugal only served to strengthen the popular antipathy that had grown up against the reactionary tendencies of the Holy Alliance. Prior to this an attempt had been made to persuade England to[Pg 661] act as instrument of the Alliance by suppressing the rebellious colonies of Spain in South America. At the last session of the Holy Alliance, the envoys of Russia and France submitted a paper in which they suggested that British liberalism Wellington, as "the man of Europe," should go to Madrid to preside over a negotiation between the Court of Spain and all the Ambassadors, regarding the terms to be offered to the transatlantic States. If the colonies continued rebellious, England's fleet was counted upon to reduce them to submission. But the force of liberalism was too strong in England for any British Minister to enter into such a scheme. Then it was that the Czar of Sale of Russian fleet Russia sold a large part of the Russian fleet to Spain. To Englishmen, who had seen these same ships in their harbors at the time they were held as hostages by England, this action gave but little concern. The scandal that followed in Spain was anticipated in England. On their arrival at Cadiz, the Russian ships were found to be useless rotten hulks.

Another more trying scandal engrossed public attention in England. On January 29, old King George III. had at last sunk into his grave. His son, Death of George III. George IV., became king, and began his rule with the same Ministry under Lord Liverpool that had served him as Prince Regent. The new king's first public act was to call for a bill for the divorce of his wife, Caroline of Brunswick. The Cabinet refused to favor such a bill. On April 23, Parliament met. The King sent "a green bag" to each House of Parliament, containing a mass of testimony and accusations concerning the queen's conduct with[Pg 662] her Italian chamberlain, Pergami. On June 6, Queen Caroline arrived from Italy. Having been refused passage on a royal ship, she chartered a vessel of her own. This bold step was taken to imply innocence. She was received with great popular demonstrations in her favor. Before a secret committee of Parliament, Queen Caroline offset the King's charges Queen Caroline's trial against her by laying stress on his own well-known failings as a husband. On July 5, Lord Liverpool introduced a bill of "Pains and Penalties" to dissolve the marriage of Queen Caroline. Her trial was taken up by the House of Lords, where she was defended by Lord Brougham. To this day the proceedings of the trial are remembered as one of the most outrageous scandals in England. The feelings thereby engendered in the people have been immortalized in the trenchant writings of Thackeray. Before the trial was concluded, Lord Liverpool's bill was brought up for the third time in Parliament. It passed by a majority of a few votes. With so slender an indorsement, the Ministry had cause to tremble for its existence. Lord Death of the Queen Liverpool prevailed upon the King to recede from his extreme position, and, succeeding in this, moved for the abandonment of the bill. The trial was quashed. Queen Caroline died shortly afterward.

In America, public feeling was no less excited. The occasion for this was the first serious clash of the Northern and Southern factions of the United States over what was known as the Missouri Compromise. On February 18, the Missouri Compromise bill passed the Senate, and on March 2 the[Pg 663] House. It admitted Missouri as a slave State, and prohibited slavery north of The Missouri Compromise parallel 36° 30', the southern line of Missouri. Henry Clay declared that it settled the slavery question "forever." The bill went to the President. There was still another compromise, and that was in the Cabinet. The President asked advice on two points. The first point was whether Congress had a Constitutional right to prohibit slavery in a Territory. The Cabinet agreed that the right existed. Then the question arose whether the section prohibiting slavery "forever" referred only to the territorial condition, or whether it also applied when the Territory became a State. The Cabinet, with the exception of Adams, agreed that "forever" applied only to the territorial condition; Adams held that "forever" meant literally forever, in State as well as in Territory. In order to escape this dilemma it was proposed that the question of "forever," as relating to States, should be avoided; and that the only question should be, whether the section Cabinet in a quandary prohibiting slavery in the Territories forever was Constitutional. The order of proceeding was reversed; Mr. Adams was to reply in the affirmative without giving his reasons, while the others were to explain in writing that the provision was Constitutional; but "forever" meant only while the territorial condition existed. With this understanding the bill was signed. It is plain now that in the unsettled point the whole pith and meaning of the Missouri Compromise was contained, as the country learned fully and decisively thirty-five years afterward.[Pg 664]

New issues then came to the front—protection, internal improvements, and recognition of the South American republics. Presently, in order to preserve the balance of power between slavery and freedom, it was enacted that Maine was to be admitted on March 15, making twelve free and twelve slave holding States. A bill was passed pronouncing the maritime slave Monroe elected President trade piracy. On October 20, Spain ratified the treaty ceding Florida. Congress reassembled in November. James Monroe and John Quincy Adams were the opposing candidates for the Presidency. Monroe received 231 electoral votes; Adams received one from a New Hampshire elector who voted in sympathy with a popular sentiment that Washington should stand alone in the high honor of a unanimous choice.

In this year the great fever drug quinine was first clearly separated and identified by Drs. Pelletier and Caventou, who were spurred on to their labors by the previous experiments with the drug by Drs. Gomez and Lambert. In its crude form the bark of the chinchona tree had been used for its medical properties since times immemorial.

It was about this time that the German physician Hahnemann's theory of homeopathy caused general discussion among medical practitioners and laymen. Hahnemann's first thesis was that many diseases could most quickly be eradicated by similar effects—fever with fever, poison with anti-poison. This theory of "like with like"—the Greek ὁμοια ὁμοιοις—was accordingly named by him homeopathy. It [Pg 665] was most fully Homeopathy expressed in his "Dogma of Rational Healing" and in the later treatise "Chronic Ailments and their Homeopathic Cure." These books created such a widespread sensation that they were at once translated into several languages and ran through a great number of editions. As a matter of course, Hahnemann's peculiar theories were violently combated by his fellow practitioners.

Almost at the same time with the rise of the new science of homeopathy came Vincenz Priessnitz's innovation of hydropathy or water cure. He established his first sanitarium at Grafenberg, his birthplace, and in the face of vehement medical opposition soon won government recognition for his sanitarium. Similar water-cure establishments were erected by many imitators and followers in Germany and elsewhere.

Late in the year Emperor Alexander of Russia and Metternich came together to settle on the counter strokes to be delivered against the revolutionists of Spain and southern Italy. When Metternich first heard of the fall of absolute government in Naples he was dismayed. Gentz, who saw him at that time, has left this record: "Prince Metternich went to-day to inform the Emperor of the sad events in Naples. As long as I know him I have never seen him so upset by any event." Metternich had reason to feel alarmed. A revolution in Naples was almost sure to be followed by an Italian uprising in the Austrian possessions of Venice and an insurrection in the Papal States. Had Metternich felt free to follow his own devices, he would forthwith have[Pg 666] marched an Austrian army into southern Italy to put an end to the troubles there. With all his exasperation he did not feel free to Convention of Troppau cut loose from joint action with the Czar and with the other sovereigns of Europe. Thus it came that the summer was spent in arranging for another conference of the allied monarchs. They met on October 20, at Troppau in Moravia. The Emperors of Austria and Russia and the King of Prussia received one another in state. The envoys of England and France were found to be in accord against armed intervention in southern Italy. The other powers determined to proceed on their course without them. Metternich's diplomatic dealings with the Czar were greatly hampered by the clever intrigues of Count Capodistrias, Alexander's foreign minister. For once Metternich found himself matched by a diplomat even more subtle than himself. In the end, he prevailed over Capodistrias sufficiently to Intervention in Naples overcome Alexander's scruples against harsh measures in Naples. It was determined to invite King Ferdinand to meet the sovereigns at Leibach, in Austria, and to address a summons to the Neapolitans commanding them to abandon their constitution, under threat of immediate invasion. Accordingly a note was issued from Troppau to all the courts of Europe, embodying the doctrine of federative intervention, as applied to Naples.

As soon as King Ferdinand received the summons he prepared to leave Naples. The populace became aroused, and angry crowds surrounded the palace. Ferdinand was not allowed to leave Naples until he[Pg 667] had once more sworn on his honor to maintain the constitution borrowed from Spain. The King took King Ferdinand's duplicity this oath as readily as he did the other. Then he journeyed northward. Half way, at Leghorn, he sent letters to each of the five principal sovereigns of Europe declaring his last declaration just as null and void as his previous perjuries. His double-dealing was rather too much even for the Holy Alliance. As Gentz, the secretary of the Congress, expressed himself in private: "The conduct of this wretched sovereign, since the beginning of his troubles, has been nothing but a tissue of weaknesses and lies. Happily they will remain secret. No Cabinet will care to draw them from the graveyard of its archives. Till then there is not much harm done."

Benjamin West, the celebrated American-English artist, died at London in Benjamin West his eighty-second year. At the opening of the Eighteenth Century, West was in the forefront of the agitation that grew out of his contested succession to Sir Joshua Reynolds as president of the Royal Academy. Wearied with these quarrels he visited Paris, where he studied the newly pillaged masterpieces at the Louvre. He resigned from the Royal Academy, but was almost unanimously re-elected. It was then that he painted his famous "Christ Healing the Sick." His later works failed to attain the success of his earlier historical paintings. When West died, his reputation had declined appreciably, still a public funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral was accorded to him, a unique honor for an American.

1821

[Pg 668] THE Congress of Leibach met in January. It was attended by the representatives of Russia, Austria, Prussia, England, France, Sardinia and Modena. When King Ferdinand of Naples arrived he was received by the Congress of Leibach Emperors of Russia and Austria in person. It was predetermined that absolute government in Naples should be restored by Austrian arms. The only problem remaining to diplomacy was to put a respectable face on King Ferdinand's dishonor. Capodistrias offered to make up some fictitious correspondence in which Ferdinand was proudly to uphold the constitution which he had sworn to support, and to yield protestingly to the powers only after actual threats of war. The device was rejected as too transparent. Moreover, the old king scarcely cared how his conduct appeared to his subjects. A letter was sent in his name to his son, the acting-viceroy, stating that the Powers were determined not to tolerate the order of things Naples under duress sprung from revolution, and that certain securities for peace would have to be given. The reference to securities meant the occupation of the country by an Austrian army. The letter reached Naples on February 9. Three days before the Austrian troops had received their orders to cross the Po.[Pg 669]

The invading army of Austria was 50,000 strong. The Neapolitan soldiers numbered a little more than 40,000, of whom 12,000 were in Sicily engaged Battle of Rieti at Palermo in suppressing a counter revolution for home rule. At the first encounter at Rieti in the Papal territory, the Neapolitans under General Pepe were utterly routed. Their forces melted away, as they did when Murat made his last stroke for Italy and Napoleon. Not a single strong point was defended. On March 24, the Austrians entered Naples. Then came a moment of danger. Rebellion broke out in Piedmont, and an attempt was made to unite Revolt of Piedmont the troops of Piedmont with those of Lombardy. The King of Piedmont rather than sign the Spanish Constitution abdicated his throne. On the refusal of the King's brother, Charles Felix, to recognize a constitution, his cousin Charles Albert of Carignano was made the regent and commander of the troops. He advanced so cautiously that the conspirators at Milan dared not follow suit with a revolution of their own. In the meanwhile the Czar had ordered 100,000 Russians to march in the direction of the Adriatic. The Austrian forces advanced westward from the Venetian strongholds, and, brushing aside all resistance, entered Piedmont.

The victory of absolutism in Italy was complete. Courts-martial sat all over Italy. Morelli, the officer who had led out the so-called sacred band of Nola, was shot. His followers were expressly excluded from all amnesty acts. An attempted insurrection in Sicily cost the conspirators their lives. Hundreds of persons were cast into prison, or were[Pg 670] marched off to distant fortresses in Austria. It was at this time that Silvio Pellico, the Silvio Pellico author of the famous "Prison Records," was sent to the dungeon of Spielberg. Then began that long stream of fugitives to England and America.

The Holy Alliance, sitting at Leibach, thought the time was ripe to pronounce its anathema against all peoples seeking their liberties Revolt in Brazil elsewhere than in the grace of their legitimate sovereigns. Yet the spirit of revolt was abroad, and its flames continued to flicker up at widely separated points. On February 26, the Portuguese troops in Brazil rose in revolt. The king, still residing at Rio Janeiro, was compelled to appoint a new Ministry pledged to give to both Portugal and Brazil a new representative system. In Mexico, General Iturbide, at the same time, Mexican independence issued a pronunciamiento, containing his so-called "Plan of Iguala," which proposed independence for Mexico under a Spanish Bourbon prince. Several rebel leaders acquiesced in this, and forced the Spanish viceroy to resign. Juan O'Donoju became acting-viceroy. He signed a treaty with Iturbide virtually accepting the plan. The people of Buenos Ayres profited by the military troubles in Brazil to throw in their lot with that of the San Martin's Campaign Argentine Republic. Their popular idol, San Martin, meanwhile was leading his victorious troops from Chile into Peru. Lima, one of the greatest Spanish strongholds in South America, was threatened by the revolutionists.

At the other end of the earth, the new force of national feeling showed itself in popular uprisings. [Pg 671] War in Annam In distant Annam the death of Emperor Gia-Long, followed by a bloody struggle for the succession between his sons, incited the people to a national demonstration against the encroachments of the French in Tonquin. In China the new Emperor Taouk-Wang Taouk-Wang was enthroned. He was the first to throw his whole personal influence against the evils of the opium trade inflicted upon China by English merchants since 1800.

In Greece and in the Balkans the people rose against the yoke of Turkey. The plan of the Philike Hetairia—i.e. Patriotic Association—was to begin their revolution on the Danube, so as to induce Russia to take a hand in their favor. They believed that Capodistrias, the Prime Minister of Russia, himself a Greek, would win the Czar to their cause. Unfortunately for them, Metternich's influence proved stronger than that of the Greek Minister. Capodistrias deemed it advisable to publish a pamphlet warning Ypsilanti his countrymen against any rash step. Failing to win the open support of Capodistrias, the Hetairists turned to Prince Alexander Ypsilanti, a Greek exile serving in the Russian army. Ypsilanti agreed to raise the standard of revolt in Moldavia. It was arranged that Theodore Vladimiresco, a Vladimiresco Roumanian who had served in the Russian army, was to call his countrymen to arms against the Turk. Then the Greeks were to step in, and the help of Russia was to be invoked.

In February, Vladimiresco proclaimed the abolition of feudal servitude in Roumania, and marched with a horde of peasants upon Bucharest. Early[Pg 672] in March, the Greek troops at Galatz, let loose by their commander, Karavias, massacred the Turkish population of that town.

Ypsilanti, waiting on the Russian frontier, crossed the Pruth and appeared at Jassee with a few hundred followers. A proclamation was issued, calling upon all Christians to rise against the Crescent. Ypsilanti went so far as to declare that "a great European power," meaning Russia, was "pledged to support him." The Greek Hospodar of Jassee immediately surrendered the government, and supplied a large sum of money. Troops to the number of 2,000 gathered around Ypsilanti. The road to the Danube lay open.

Ypsilanti wasted valuable time loitering at Jassee. A month was lost before Ypsilanti repudiated he reached Bucharest. He delayed partly on account of his expectations of Russian help in response to a letter he had written to the Czar. The delay proved fatal to him. The Czar, now wholly under the influence of Metternich, sent a stern answer from Leibach. Ypsilanti was dismissed from the Russian service. The Russian consul at Jassee issued a manifesto that Russia repudiated and condemned Ypsilanti's enterprise. The Patriarch of Constantinople was made to issue a ban of excommunication against the rebels. In an official note of the Powers, the Congress of Leibach branded the Greek revolt as a token of the same spirit which had produced the revolution of Italy and Spain. Turkish troops crossed the Danube. The Roumanian peasants, seeing no help from Russia, held aloof. Vladimiresco plotted against the[Pg 673] Death of Vladimiresco Greeks. It was in vain that brave Georgakis captured the traitor at his own headquarters and carried him to his death in the Greek camp. Ypsilanti was defeated in his first encounter with the Turks. He retired before them toward the Austrian frontier. In the end he fled across the border and was promptly made a prisoner in Austria. His followers dearly sold their lives. At Skuleni, 400 of them under Georgakis Georgakis made a last stand on the Pruth. They were surrounded by ten times their number. Georgakis refused to surrender. Bidding his followers flee, at the moment when the Turks broke in the doors, he blew himself up in the monastery of Skuleni.

At the news of Ypsilanti's uprising in Moldavia the entire Greek population of the Morea rose against the Turk. From the outset, the Moreotes waged a Revolt of Morea war of extermination. They massacred all Turks, men, women and children. Within a few weeks the open country was swept clear of its Mohammedan population. The fugitive Turks were invested within the walls of Tripolitza, Patras, and other strong towns. Sultan Mahmud took prompt vengeance. A number of innocent Greeks at Constantinople were strangled by his executioners. The fury of the Moslem was let loose on the Infidel. All Greek settlements along the Bosphorus were burned. But the crowning stroke came on Easter Sunday, the most sacred day of the Greek Church. The Patriarch of Constantinople, while he was celebrating service, was summoned away by the dragoman of the Porte. At the order of the Sultan he[Pg 674] was haledGregorios hanged before a hastily assembled synod and there degraded from his office as a traitor. The synod was commanded to elect his successor. While the trembling prelates did their bidding, Patriarch Gregorios was led out in his sacred robes and hanged at the gate of his palace. His body remained hanging throughout the Easter celebration, and was then given to the Jews to be dragged through the streets and cast into the Bosphorus. A similar fate befell the Greek archbishops of Salonica, Tirnovo, and Adrianople. The body of Gregorios floating in the sea was picked up by a Greek ship and carried to Odessa. This return to Christian soil of the remains of the Patriarch was hailed as a miracle in Russia. Gregorios was solemnly buried by the Russian Government as a martyr.

If the will of the Russian people had been carried out, the Russian army and nation would have avenged the murder of their high-priest by an Russia aroused immediate war upon the Turks. Strogonov, the Russian Ambassador at Constantinople, at once proposed to his diplomatic colleagues to join him in calling for warships to protect the Christians there. Lord Stranford, the British Ambassador, refused to accede to this proposition. Single-handed, Strogonov presented an ultimatum to the Sultan demanding the restoration of Christian churches and the Porte's protection for Christian worship. A written answer was exacted within eight days. Encouraged by England's attitude, the Sultan ignored Strogonov's requests. On July 27, the Russian Ambassador left Constantinople. To the amazement of his moujiks, the Czar did not[Pg 675] declare war. The councils of Prince Metternich The Czar found wanting prevailed. With the help of the representatives of England, Metternich persuaded the Czar to view the rebellion of Greece as a mere unfortunate disturbance. Any countenance of it, he argued, would imperil the peace of Europe.

The murder of the Greek Patriarch was followed by risings of the Greeks throughout continental Greece and the Archipelago. Here, as in the Morea, the cause of Greek freedom was disgraced by massacres, and indignities to Turkish women. The Sultan's troops, led by able commanders, retaliated in kind. Khurshid, with a large Turkish army, besieged Janina. He held firmly to his task, even after his whole household fell into the hands of the Moreotes. The Greeks in Thessaly failed to rise, and thus the border Ali Pasha provinces were saved for the Ottoman Empire. The risings in remoter districts were soon quelled. In Epirus, Ali Pasha, the Albanian chieftain, was surrounded by overwhelming numbers and lost his life. On the Macedonian coast the Hetairist revolt, in which the monks of Mount Athos took part, proved abortive. Moreover, the desultory warfare on water carried on by the Moreote campaign islanders of Hydra, Spetza, and Psara served only to annoy the Turks. The real campaign was waged in the Morea, where Tripolitza, the seat of the Turkish Government, was besieged by the insurgents. Demetrios Ypsilanti, Prince Alexander's brother, landed on the coast and was welcomed as a leader by the peasants in arms. Three other leaders rose to prominence. [Pg 676] Petrobei First, in the eyes of the people, came Petrobei, chief of the family of Mauromichalis. Surrounded by his nine sons, this sturdy chieftain appeared like one of the old Homeric kings. Second in popular favor was Kolokotrones Kolokotrones, a typical modern Clepht, cunning and treacherous, but a born soldier. The ablest political leader was Maurokordatos, a man of some breadth of view and foresight, but over-cautious as a general. The early Maurokordatos insurgent successes were marred by bad faith and gross savagery. On the surrender of Navarino, in August, a formal capitulation was signed, safeguarding the lives of the Turkish inhabitants. In the face of this Massacre of Navarino compact the victorious Greeks put men, women and children to the sword. Two months later the Turkish garrison of Tripolitza, after sustaining a siege of six months, began negotiations for surrender. In the midst of the truce, the Greek soldiery got wind of a secret bargain of their leaders to extend protection for private gain. In defiance of the officers, the peasant soldiers stormed Tripolitza and scaled the walls. Then followed three days Sack of Tripolitza of indiscriminate looting and carnage. By thousands, the Turks, with their women and children, were slaughtered. Kolokotrones himself records how he rode from the gateway to the citadel of Tripolitza, his horse's hoofs touching nothing but human bodies.

The Greek struggle for independence aroused conflicting emotions in Europe. The passionate sympathy of the Russians rested wholly on their religious bonds. The more enlightened Philhellenes [Pg 677] of France and Germany affected to Philhellenism see in this struggle a revival of the ancient Greek spirit that blazed forth at Thermopylæ and Marathon. For this same reason, perhaps, Metternich and his colleagues in the Holy Alliance looked upon the Greek revolution with an evil eye. Any cause espoused by the hot-headed liberals at the universities in those days of itself became obnoxious to the reactionary rulers of the German and Austrian states.

The sympathy with the Greeks was most pronounced in England. There the stirring lyrics of Lord Byron had reached the height of their popularity. Lord Byron's Greek lyrics His songs of Greece and Greek freedom were justly regarded as among his best. It was but a short time before this that the poet, to use his own phrase, had awakened one morning to find himself famous. Now his Greek songs were hailed by the whole world as classics. Notable among them were the "Isles of Greece," embodied in the third canto of his "Don Juan" with the famous stanza:

In English literary annals this year was marked furthermore by the death of Death of Keats John Keats. He was but twenty-five, still in the first flush of his genius. Keats was buried in Rome, where he died. On his gravestone is the epitaph composed by himself: "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." It was generally assumed in England that the poet's death was caused by his anguish over the merciless criticisms of "Blackwood's Magazine" and the "Quarterly Review." Lord Byron was unkind enough to exploit this notion in his "Don Juan":

As a matter of fact Keats died of consumption. The ravages of this disease in his case were accelerated by his feverish passion for poetry, his love Keats's work affair with Fanny Brawne, financial embarrassments, and only to a slight extent by the inevitable disappointment arising from adverse criticisms. What Byron did for modern Greece in England, Keats may be said to have done for ancient Greece. The beautiful songs of Greece, embodied in "Endymion" and "Hyperion," no less than the enthusiastic odes and sonnets in praise of Hellenic works of art, opened the eyes of many of the contemporaries of Keats to the enduring beauties of Greece. It was [Pg 679] in his exquisite "Ode to a Grecian Urn,"that Keats expressed his poetical master passion for beauty:

Shortly after Keats's death appeared one of the most beautiful of Shelley's longer poems—"Adonais," written as an elegy on the death of Keats:

Other literary events of the year were the publication of Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister's Wander Jahre," and of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin's first long poem, "Ruslan and Ludmilla." In this epic, written during Pushkin's early banishment to Bessarabia, an old Russian theme of the heroic times of Kiev Rise of romantic literature was treated much after the manner of Byron's romantic examples. In France the romantic period in literature was inaugurated by young Victor Hugo, who, but the year before, had been crowned as "Maître des jeux floraux" for a prize poem on Henri IV. Now Chateaubriand, in his journal "Le Conservateur," welcomed him as "Un enfant sublime." By his own romantic Victor Hugo followers Hugo was hailed as chief of their poetic "Bataillon Sacré." During the same year the poet, then barely nine[Pg 680]teen, married Mademoiselle Foucher, a girl of fifteen.

The most important event of the year for Frenchmen was the death of Napoleon Bonaparte at Longwood, in St. Helena. He died on May 5, after taking the holy sacrament. He left a last will with several codicils. In it Napoleon made the following declarations:

"I die in the Apostolical and Roman religion, in the bosom of which I was born more than fifty years ago. It is my wish that my ashes may repose on the banks of the Seine, in the midst of the French people whom I have loved so well. I have always had reason to be pleased with my dearest wife, Maria Louisa. I retain for her, to the last moment, the most tender sentiments. I beseech her to watch, in order to preserve my son from the snares which yet environ his infancy. I recommend to my son never to forget that he was born a French prince, and never to allow himself to become an instrument in the hands of the triumvirs who oppress the nations of Europe: he ought never to fight against France, or to injure her in any manner; he ought to adopt my Napoleon's will motto—Everything for the French people. I die prematurely, assassinated by the English oligarchy and its tool. The English nation will not be slow in avenging me. The two unfortunate results of the invasions of France, when she had still so many resources, are to be attributed to the treason of Marmont, Augereau, Talleyrand, and Lafayette. I forgive them—may the posterity of France forgive them as I do! I pardon Louis for the libel he published in 1820;[Pg 681] it is replete with false assertions and falsified documents. I disavow the 'Manuscript of St. Helena,' and other works, under the title of 'Maxims, Sayings,' etc., which persons have been pleased to publish for the last six years. Such are not the rules which have guided my life. I caused the Duc d'Enghien to be arrested and tried because that step was essential to the safety, interest and honor of the French people, when the Comte d'Artois was maintaining, by his own confession, sixty assassins at Paris. Under similar circumstances I should act in the same way."

To his son and immediate relatives, Napoleon left most of his personal effects. Among his relatives and favorite followers he distributed a sum of 6,000,000 francs, left in the hands of his bankers at the time of his flight from Paris; likewise the proceeds of a possible sale of his confiscated crown jewels. Count Lavalette and the children of Labédoyère were remembered with bequests of 100,000 and 50,000 francs, respectively. The final clauses were:

"To be distributed among such proscribed persons as wander in foreign countries, whether they be French, Italians, Belgians, Dutch, Spanish, or inhabitants of the departments of the Rhine, under the directions of my executors, one hundred thousand francs. To be distributed among those who suffered amputation, or were severely wounded at Ligny or Waterloo, who may be still living, according to lists drawn up by my executors. The Guards shall be paid double, those of the Island of Elba quadruple, two hundred thousand francs."[Pg 682]

A curious bequest was that of 10,000 francs to Cantillon, a French subaltern, who was tried and acquitted for the attempted assassination of the Duke of Wellington in Paris on February 11, 1818. Napoleon thus explained this bequest:

"Cantillon had as much right to assassinate that oligarchist as the latter had to send me to perish upon the rock of St. Helena. Wellington, who proposed this outrage, attempted to justify it by pleading the interest of Great Britain. Cantillon, if he had really assassinated that lord, would have pleaded the same excuse, and been justified by the same motive—the Last fling at Wellington interest of France—to get rid of this general, who, moreover, by violating the capitulation of Paris, had rendered himself responsible for the blood of the martyrs Ney, Labédoyère, etc., and for the crime of having pillaged the museums, contrary to the text of the treaties."

Late in the year the Ministry of Duc de Richelieu succumbed to the machinations of Comte d'Artois. Before his resignation, Richelieu complained to the Count, reminding him of his promises of support at the first formation of the Cabinet. "The fact is, my dear Duke," replied Fall of Richelieu's Ministry Monsieur, "if you allow me to say so, you have taken my words too literally. And then the circumstances at that time were so different." The Prime Minister rose abruptly and sought out the King. "Monsieur has broken his word of honor," he said, "he has broken his word as a gentleman." "What would you have me do?"[Pg 683] said Louis XVIII. "He conspired against Louis XVI.; he conspires against me; he will conspire against himself." The explosion of a barrel of gunpowder in the royal palace raised apprehensions of Villèle Prime Minister another painful scene, like that preceding the fall of the Ministry of Decazes. Richelieu resigned, and Villèle took his place. Chateaubriand was sent to London as Ambassador. While Parliamentary government in France labored thus under the onslaughts of the Royalist plotters in the Chambers, the so-called Era of Good Feeling in America was continued under the second administration of President Monroe.

The 4th of March fell on a Sunday, and Monroe was the first President to be inaugurated on the 5th. Missouri was admitted conditionally, and, on August 10, the President proclaimed its admission as the twenty-fourth State amid a tempest of political excitement. The contest over the slavery question was now supposed to be forever settled. In the debates of 1821, the House stood firmly against Missouri's admission as a slave State, and the Senate was equally determined that the colored citizens of other States should be denied citizenship in Missouri if the people so desired. At last it came to a conference committee. It was decided that the State should be admitted, as soon as its Legislature would agree that the section of the Constitution Missouri admitted to Statehood in question should not be construed as authorizing a law excluding any citizens of other States from the immunities and privileges to which they were entitled under the Constitution. The Legislature of Missouri gave this pledge, but it remained open[Pg 684] whether free negroes and mulattoes were citizens in other States, and whether they were to be made citizens in Missouri. In the admission of Missouri there was for the first time an unmixed issue on the question of a free government or a slave-holding government in the United States. Doubtful dealings on the part of the Senators from Indiana and Illinois were followed by an attempt to make these States both slave-holding States, in face of the binding law of the Ordinance of 1787. A popular movement led by Governor Edward Coles of Illinois defeated this project.

On May 5, the territory of Liberia was secured on the west coast of Africa, and a colony was founded for the repatriation of negro slaves, with Junius Brutus Booth Monrovia for a capital. During this same period Junius Brutus Booth made his first appearance in America, as Richard III., at Richmond. Late in the year the remains of André, the British officer who was shot as a spy during the American Revolution, were placed on a British ship for interment in Westminster Abbey.

1822

[Pg 685] GREEK independence was declared on January 27. After the fall of Ali Pasha in February, the Sultan was able to turn his undivided attention to the Greek revolt. In March, a body of Samian revolutionists landed in Chios and Greek independence declared incited the islanders to rise against the Turk. They laid siege to the citadel held by a Turkish garrison. Had the fleet of the Hydriotes helped them, they might have prevailed. As it was they rendered themselves a prey to the Turkish troops on the mainland. An army of nearly 10,000 Turks landed in Chios, and relieved the besieged garrison. Then the fanatical Moslems were let loose on the gentle inhabitants of the little island. Sack of Chios Thousands were put to the sword. The slave markets of Northern Africa were glutted with Chian women and children. Within a month the once lovely island was a ruined waste. All Greece and Europe was filled with horror. Maurokordatos, now at the head of Greek affairs, was bitterly blamed for not sending over a fleet to save Chios. One single Greek took it into his hands to avenge his countrymen. The Turks were celebrating their sacred month of Ramazan. On the night of June 18, the festival of Biram, the Turkish fleet, under[Pg 686] command of Kara Ali, was illuminated with colored Kanaris' exploit lanterns. On that night Constantine Kanaris, a sea-captain from Psara, drove a fire-ship into the midst of the Turkish fleet. Sailing close up to the admiral's flagship he thrust his bowsprit into one of the portholes. Then setting fire to the pitch and resin on board his ship, he dropped into his small boat and pulled away. A breeze fanned the flames, and in a moment the big Turkish man-of-war was afire. The powder magazine blew up and the lifeboats went up in flames. The burning rigging fell down upon the doomed crew, and the admiral was struck down on his poop-deck. The ship was burned to the water's edge. The Turkish fleet scattered before the shower of blazing sparks, and was only brought together under the guns of the Dardanelles. This exploit made Kanaris the hero of Greece. Within the same year he repeated the feat.

The Sultan had thrown his whole land force into the Greek mainland. Morea reinvaded Khurshid, after his defeat of Ali Pasha, marched to Larissa, in Thessaly. Thence two armies, 50,000 strong, under Bramali and Homer Brionis converged upon the Morea. In the face of so formidable an invasion, Maurokordatos took the field himself. He mismanaged things badly. At Arta he sacrificed End of Philhellene corps his choicest regiment, the famous corps of Philhellenes, composed of foreign officers and commanded by men who had won distinction in Napoleon's campaigns. They were cut down almost to a man. Maurokordatos fell back to Missolonghi. In the meanwhile Dra[Pg 687]malis with 25,000 foot and 6,000 horse penetrated into the Morea. The Greek Government at Argos dispersed. All would have been lost for the Greeks had Dramalis not neglected to cover the mountain passes behind him. While he marched on to Nauplia, the Greek mountaineers rose behind him. Demetrios Ypsilanti, the acting-president of Defence of Argos Greece, with a few hundred followers threw himself into Argos. There he held the Acropolis against the Turkish rearguard. Kolokotrones, calling out the last men from Tripolitza, relieved Ypsilanti at Argos. The mountain passage was seized. Dramalis had to give up his conquest of the Morea, and fight his way back to the Isthmus of Corinth. Without supplies and harassed Turks demoralized by hostile peasant forces the Turkish army became badly demoralized. Thousands were lost on the way. Dramalis himself died from over-exposure. The remainder of his army melted away at Corinth under the combined effects of sickness and drought.

A decisive turn in the Greek war for independence was reached. Europe realized that the revolt had grown to the proportions of a national war. Popular sympathy in Russia became more clamorous. Capodistrias, the Russian Capodistrias resigns Prime Minister, rightly measured the force of this long pent-up feeling. Unable to move the Czar, who still floundered in the toils of the Holy Alliance, Capodistrias withdrew from public affairs and retired to Geneva.

In England, the suicide of Castlereagh brought Canning once more into prominence. Robert Peel[Pg 688] Suicide of Castlereaghwas made Home Secretary. Canning's long retirement after the fiasco of his American policy, and his breach with Castlereagh, had served to chasten this statesman. As leader of the opposition, he had learned to reckon with the forces of popular feeling. When he returned to Canning power in 1822, he was no longer an ultra-conservative, but a liberal. He now made no disguise of his sympathies with the cause of Greece, and with the struggle for independence in South and Central America. There the course of freedom had gathered so much momentum that it was plain to all that Spain could never prevail without help from others. In Mexico, upon Iturbide Emperor of Mexico the refusal of Ferdinand VII. to accept the separate crown of Mexico, General Iturbide proclaimed himself emperor. On May 19, he assumed the dignity. As Augustine I., he was crowned in the Cathedral of Mexico in July. At the same time San Martin and Bolivar met at Guayaquil to dispose of the destinies of South America. San Martin had just succeeded in liberating Peru, and had made his triumphal entry into Lima. Bolivar had brought aid to Ecuador, and established independence there. José de Sucre, Battle of Pichincha whom Bolivar called the "soul of his army," defeated the Spaniards in the famous battle of Pichincha, fought at a height of 10,200 feet above the sea. When Bolivar and San Martin met on July 25, San Martin announced his determination to give a free field to Bolivar. The two men parted at a great public love-feast at which San Martin toasted Bolivar as the "liberator of Colombia." In his farewell ad[Pg 689]dress he said: "The presence of a fortunate general in the country which he has conquered is detrimental to San Martin retires the state. I have won the independence of Peru, and I now cease to be a public man." Speaking privately of Bolivar, he said: "He is the most extraordinary character of South America; one to whom difficulties but add strength." With his daughter Mercedes, San Martin retired to Europe, to Battle of Junin dwell there in obscurity and poverty. Bolivar, with Generals Sucre, Miller and Cordova, assembled a great liberating army at Juarez. After a preliminary victory at Junin, Bolivar returned to Lima to assume the reigns of government, while his generals pushed on against the forces of the Ayacucho Spanish viceroy. Late in the year a decisive battle was fought at Ayacucho. The revolutionists charged down the mountain ridges upon the Spaniards in the plain, and utterly routed them. The viceroy himself was wounded, with 700 of his men, while 1,400 Spaniards were killed outright. In these casualties the unusual disparity between killed and wounded reveals the unsparing ferocity of the fight. In Brazil a peaceful revolution was Independence of Brazil effected in September. After the return of Juan VI. to Portugal his son Dom Pedro reigned as regent. On September 7, he yielded to the demands of his American subjects, and proclaimed the independence of Brazil. He was declared constitutional emperor of Brazil on October 12, and was crowned as such shortly afterward at Rio Janeiro.

The South American colonies had now in great part secured independence. Spain was thereby[Pg 690] robbed of her best resources. As financial distress became more widespread, the spirit of discontent rose. The King's plottings with the extreme Royalists of France lost him the confidence of his subjects. In the south the triumphant party of the so-called Exaltados Discontent in Spain refused obedience to the central administration. The municipal governments of Cadiz, Cartagena and Seville took the tone of independent republics. In the north, the Serviles, instigated by French agitators and their money, broke into open rebellion. After the adjournment of the Cortes, Ferdinand attempted to make a stroke for himself. The Royal Guards were ordered to march from Aranjuez to Madrid to place themselves under the King's personal command. The people took alarm, and several regiments of disaffected soldiers were induced to head off the guards. A fight ensued in the streets of Madrid. The guards were scattered. The King found himself a prisoner in his own palace. He wrote to Louis XVIII. that his crown was in peril. The Foreign aid invoked Bourbon sympathizers in the north at once seized the town of Seo d'Urgel, and set up a provisional government. Civil war spread over Spain. Napoleon's final prophecy that Bourbon rule would end in the ruin of Spain, and the loss of all the best colonies was near fulfilment. It was then that the Continental powers of Europe proposed to interfere on behalf of the Spanish monarchy. The death of old Minister Hardenberg in Berlin did not loosen Metternich's hold on Prussia. Emperor Alexander hoped to conciliate his army, burning to fall upon the Turk, by treating[Pg 691] them to a light campaign in Spain. In France, the Spanish war party likewise had the upper hand.

Nothing could save Spain; but Spanish South and Central America presented another issue. The new republics had developed a thriving trade with Great Britain and the United States of America, which made it impossible for these countries to ignore their flags. In America, Henry Clay on the floor of Congress, had already urged the recognition of South American independence. In his annual message to Congress in 1822 President Monroe took up the question. On behalf of the United States he declared that, the American continents were henceforth not to be considered a subject for further colonization by any European power. "In the war between Spain and Monroe Doctrine her colonies," said President Monroe, "the United States will continue to observe the strictest neutrality.... With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered and shall not interfere. But with the governments who have declared their independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great considerations and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny by any European power, in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States."

It was the famous Monroe Doctrine, a doctrine that in its substance, if not in words, had already served as the guiding star of Thomas Jefferson's and [Pg 692] Jefferson's indorsement Madison's foreign policy. It is related that President Monroe, applying to Thomas Jefferson for his opinion on the matter, was surprised at the positive nature of the reply which he received. "Our first and fundamental maxim," said Jefferson, "should be never to entangle ourselves in the broils of Europe; our second, never to suffer Europe to intermeddle with cis-Atlantic affairs." At the same time that America thus flung down her gauntlet to Europe, Canning, on behalf of the British Ministry, proposed to inform the allied Cabinets of England's intention to accredit envoys to the Canning's part South American republics. Assured of the support of the United States, and of Great Britain as well, South America could feel free to work out her own destiny. This was the master-stroke of Canning's career. When brought to bay afterward in Parliament, he could proudly boast: "I called the New World into being, in order to redress the balance of the Old." To Americans Fyffe's comment Canning's boast has ever seemed to rest on a flimsy foundation. As Fyffe, the English historian of modern Europe, has justly said, "The boast, famous in our Parliamentary history, has left an erroneous impression of the part really played by Canning at this crisis. He did not call the New World into existence; he did not even assist it in winning independence, as France had assisted the United States fifty years before; but when this independence had been won, he threw over it the ægis of Great Britain, declaring that no other European power should reimpose the yoke which Spain had not been able to maintain."[Pg 693]

At the time that Canning made British liberalism respected abroad, literary Death of Shelley England suffered another irreparable loss by the death of Percy Bysshe Shelley. The last few weeks had been spent by Shelley in Italy in the company of Trelawney, Williams and Lord Byron. Before this Maurokordatos, now battling in Greece, had been their constant companion. In June Leigh Hunt arrived. Shelley and Williams set out in a boat to meet him at Leghorn. The long parted friends met there. On July 8, Shelley and Williams set sail for the return voyage to Lerici. Their boat was last seen ten miles out at sea off Reggio. Then the haze of a summer storm hid it from view. Ten days later Shelley's body was washed ashore near Reggio. It was identified by a volume of Sophocles and of Keats's poems found on his person. In the presence of Byron, Trelawney and Leigh Hunt, Shelley's remains were cremated on the shore. His ashes were buried in the same burial ground with Keats, hard by the pyramid of Caius Cestius in Rome.

Shelley's poetry belongs primarily to the Revolutionary epoch in modern Lyric quality of his work history. Though he wrote several long narrative poems and one great tragedy, he was above all a lyric poet—according to some the greatest lyric poet of England. His life, like his poetry, was almost untrammelled by convention. Both gave great offence to the stricter elements of English society. In some respects Shelley was peculiarly unfortunate. At the age of eighteen, after his expulsion from Oxford University, he married Harriet Westbrook, a girl of sixteen, and then[Pg 694] found himself unable to support her. Later he abandoned her and eloped with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Shelley's career Within a year his first wife committed suicide, and, three weeks later, Shelley married Mary Godwin. The tragedy stirred up much feeling among his friends. Among others the poet-laureate, Southey, remonstrated with Shelley. Shelley replied: "I take God to witness, if such a Being is now regarding both you and me, and I pledge myself, if we meet, as perhaps you expect, before Him after death, to repeat the same in His presence—that you accuse me wrongfully. I am innocent of ill, either done or intended." Next came Shelley's trouble with the Chancery. Lord-Chancellor Elden refused to give to Shelley the custody of his own children on the ground that Shelley's professed opinions and conduct were such as the law pronounced immoral. Shelley replied with his famous poetical curse "To the Lord Chancellor." While the poem stands as a masterpiece of lyric invective it did not mend matters for Shelley in England. In many of his other poems his detractors saw nothing but the glorification of revolution, incest, and atheism. When he wrote a satirical drama on so delicate a subject as the unhappy affairs of Queen Caroline, even his publisher turned against him. Yet the charm and beauty of Shelley's purely lyric pieces was such that he must ever stand as one of the foremost poets of England. Either his "Adonais" or the beautiful "Ode to the West Wind," would alone have perpetuated his name in English letters.[Pg 695] One of Shelley's most exquisite pieces, written shortly before his death, has come to stand as the poet's own threnody:

During this same year Thomas de Quincey published his "Confessions of an Revival of letters Opium Eater," a masterpiece of balanced prose. In other parts of the world, likewise, it was a golden period for literature. In France, Victor Hugo published his "Odes et Poésies Diverses," a collection of early poems which contained some of his most charming pieces. The rising Swedish poet, Tegnér, brought out his "Children of the Last Supper." In Germany, Heinrich Heine, then still a student at Bonn, issued his earliest verses. For Germany this was no less a golden age of music. Beethoven, though quite deaf, was still the greatest of living composers. His great Choral Symphony, the ninth in D minor, was produced during this year, as was his Solemn Mass in D major. As a virtuoso he[Pg 696] was rivalled by Hummel, who at this time gave to the world his famous Septet, accepted by himself as his Golden age of music masterwork. Two other German composers so distinguished themselves that they were invited to London to conduct the Philharmonic accompaniments. They were Carl Maria von Weber, who had just brought out his brilliant opera, "Der Freischütz," and Ludwig Spohr, who performed in London his new Symphony in D minor. Of other composers there were Franz Schubert, whose melodious songs and symphonies won him the recognition of the Esterhazys and of Beethoven. Among those whose career was but beginning were Jacob Meyerbeer, a fellow pupil with Weber under Abbé Vogler at Vienna, and Felix Mendelssohn, the precocious pupil of the famous pianist Moscheles.

Sir Frederick William Herschel, the greatest modern astronomer, died at Death of Herschel Slough in England. Herschel was born in 1738 at Hanover. He was a musician of rare skill and a self-taught mathematician of great ability. In 1757, he deserted the band of Hanoverian Guards in which he played the oboe, although a mere boy, and fled to England, where he taught music and achieved success as a violinist and organist. His studies in sound and harmony led him to take up optics; and from optics to astronomy the step was short. Dissatisfied with the crude instruments of his time, he made his own telescopes; for it was his ambition to be not a mere star-gazer, but an earnest student of the heavens. By day, he and his brother and sister ground specula; by night he observed the heavens.[Pg 697] His astronomical work includes a careful study of variable stars; an attempt to explain the relation of sun-spots to terrestrial phenomenæ; the determination that the periods of rotation of various satellites, like the rotation of our own moon, are equal to the times of their revolutions about their primaries; and the discovery of the planet Uranus and two of its satellites, and of the sixth and seventh satellites of Saturn. His greatest work was his study of binary stars and the demonstration of his belief that the law of gravitation is universal in its application. His labors were invariably systematic, and were characterized by dogged, Teutonic perseverance. His discoveries were never purely accidental, but were made in accordance with a well-conceived plan.

Late in the autumn news came from Venice that Canova, the celebrated Death of Canova sculptor, had died. Antonio Canova was born in 1757 at Passaguo near Treviso. He was first an apprentice to a statuary in Bassano, from whom he went to the Academy of Venice, where he had a brilliant career. In 1779 he was sent by the Senate of Venice to Rome, and there produced his Theseus and the Slain Minotaur. In 1783, Canova undertook the execution of the tomb of Pope Clement XIV., a work similar to the tomb of Pope Clement XIII. His fame rapidly increased. He established a school for the benefit of young Venetians, and among other works produced the well-known Hebe and the colossal Hercules hurling Lichas into the sea. In 1797, Canova finished the model of the celebrated tomb of the Archduchess[Pg 698] Christina of Austria. Napoleon called the rising sculptor to France, and he there executed the famous nude portrait of Napoleon now preserved in Milan. After his return to Italy he fashioned his Perseus with the Head of Medusa at Rome. When the Belvidere Apollo was carried off to France, this piece of statuary was thought not unworthy of the classic Apollo's place and pedestal in the Vatican. Among the later works of Canova are the colossal group of Theseus Killing the Minotaur, a Paris, and a Hector. After Napoleon's second fall in 1815, Canova was commissioned by the Pope to demand the restoration of the works of art carried from Rome. He went to Paris and succeeded in his mission. At his return to Rome in 1816, the Pope created him Marquis of Orchia, with a pension of 3,000 scudi, and his name was entered into the Golden Book at the Capitol. His closing years were spent in Venice. There he died October 13, 1822.

Upon Canning's accession to the Ministry in England, Wellington was appointed representative of Great Britain at the Congress of Powers convened at Vienna. The unsettled state of public opinion kept Wellington Congress of Verona in England and later at Paris. He did not join the Congress until after its adjournment to Verona, to dispose of purely Italian affairs. Thus it happened that the supplementary meetings at Verona became the real European Congress of 1822. With the Neapolitan problem practically settled, and the Greek war with Turkey at a standstill, the situation in Spain was the most[Pg 699] vital issue. The Czar of Russia and Metternich were determined not to tolerate the Constitution of the Spanish liberals. Alexander hoped to make good Russia's non-intervention in Greece by marching a victorious army into Spain. The extreme Royalists of France, on the other hand, were so bent on accomplishing this task themselves that they were resolved not to permit any Russian troops to pass through France. With the spectre of a general European war thus looming on the horizon, England endeavored to hold the balance for peace. Acting under the instructions of Canning, Wellington declared that England would rather set herself against the great alliance than consent to joint intervention in Spain. In his despatches to Canning, England slighted Wellington expressed his belief that this would result in a decision to leave the Spaniards to themselves. The only result was that England was left out of the affair altogether, as she had been in the case of Naples. It was partly owing to this international slight that Canning put his foot down so firmly in behalf of Portugal and the South American colonies.

At the Congress of Verona, Metternich once more won the day. With this backing, the French envoys, Montmorency and Chateaubriand, in defiance of their home instructions, committed France to war with Spain. An agreement was reached that, in default of radical changes in the Spanish Constitution, France and her allies would resort to intervention. On the part of England, Wellington rejected this proposal, but all the other powers con[Pg 700]sented. When the French Ambassadors returned to France, their Prime Minister, Villèle, vented his dissatisfaction by repudiating his envoys. He addressed himself to the foreign Ambassadors at Paris with a request that the allies' demands on Spain be postponed. Montmorency at once French attitude toward Spain resigned. No notice was taken of Villèle's request except by England. The King himself went over to the war party and appointed Chateaubriand his Minister of Foreign Affairs. Great Britain's tentative offer of mediation was summarily rejected by France. To Villèle, King Louis XVIII. thus explained his attitude: "Louis XIV. destroyed the Pyrenees; I shall not allow them to be raised again. He placed my house on the throne of Spain; I shall not allow it to fall."

1823

[Pg 701] THE Spanish Government was resolved to maintain the national independence of Spain. It would make no concession. The French Ambassador in Madrid was recalled. At the opening of the French Chambers in January, the King himself announced his decision: "I have ordered the recall of my Minister. One hundred thousand Frenchmen, commanded by a prince of my family, whom I fondly call my son, are ready to march with a prayer to the God of St. Louis that they may preserve the throne of Spain to the grandson of Henri IV. They shall save that fair kingdom from ruin and reconcile it to French invasion of Spain Europe." By the middle of March, the Duke of Angoulême and his staff left Paris. On April 7, the French vanguard crossed the Bidassoa, and the Duke entered Irun, welcomed by Spanish royalists. About the same time the Cortes and Constitutional Ministry left Madrid, and compelled King Ferdinand VII. to accompany them to Seville. The forces of the Spanish Government fell back without striking a blow. Bands of freebooters calling themselves royalists went pillaging throughout the northern provinces. The commandant of Madrid felt constrained to beg the French to hasten their advance[Pg 702] lest the city fall a prey to the freebooters. Already the looting of the suburbs had begun, when the French entered the Spanish capital on the 24th of May. A regency was appointed under the Duke of Infantado. The Continental powers sent accredited representatives to Madrid. Meanwhile the Cortes withdrew to Cadiz. King Ferdinand refused to accompany them; so they suspended his powers and appointed a regency over his head. The French prepared to lay siege to Cadiz.

Civil war broke out in Spain. Across the border in Portugal, Dom Miguel, Revolution in Portugal the second son of the absent king, excited a counter revolution. This state of affairs in the Peninsula gave a finishing stroke to the royal cause in America. In Central America, the revolutionists of Costa Rica and Independence of Central America Guatemala, who had made common cause with Mexico, proclaimed their independence. In Mexico, Santa Anna proclaimed the republic at Vera Cruz. Emperor Iturbide, who felt his throne tottering beneath him, retired, and was banished from Mexico with an annuity. His sympathizers in Costa Rica were overthrown in a battle at Ochomoco. On the first day of July, Costa Rica was united with its neighboring States in the federation of Central America. Nor had Peru been idle. Two royalist armies under Santa Cruz had entered the upper provinces. During the summer months they overran the The South American struggle country between La Paz and Oruro. But in early autumn they were forced back by the revolutionists under Bolivar, who entered Lima on September 1, and had himself proclaimed dictator of[Pg 703] Peru. In Brazil, during this interval, the Constitutional Assembly had been convoked in accordance with Dom Pedro's promise. Under the leadership of the two Andrade brothers the delegates insisted on the most liberal of constitutions. Dom Pedro's first attempt to suppress the liberal leaders was foiled by the Assembly. Finally he dissolved the contentious assembly and exiled the Andrade brothers to France. In the provinces of Pernambuco and Ceara a republic was proclaimed. Rebellion broke out in Cisplatina.

In Spain, the two opposing regencies vied with each other in retaliatory Warring factions in Spain measures. Odious persecutions were instituted on both sides. In vain the Duke of Angoulême tried to restrain the reprisals of the Spanish royalists. In August he appeared before Cadiz. He called upon King Ferdinand to publish an amnesty and restore the medieval Cortes. But the Spanish Ministry, in the King's name, sent a defiant answer. Cadiz was thereupon Siege of Cadiz besieged. On August 30, the French stormed the fort of the Trocadero. Three weeks later the city was bombarded. For the Spanish liberals, the cause had become hopeless. The French refused all terms but the absolute liberation of the King. On Ferdinand's assurance that he bore no grudge against his captors, the liberals agreed to release him. At last, on the 30th of September, Ferdinand signed a proclamation of absolute and universal amnesty. Next day he was taken across the bay to the French headquarters. The Cortes dissolved.

The Duke of Angoulême received King Ferdinand [Pg 704] Release of Ferdinand VII. with misgivings. Already he had written to France: "What most worries the liberals is the question of guarantees. They know that the King's word is utterly worthless, and that in spite of his promises he may very well hang every one of them." Angoulême's first interview confirmed his impression. In reply to his demand for a general pardon, Ferdinand pointed to the ragged mob shouting in front of his windows, and said: "You hear the will of the people." Angoulême wrote to Villèle: "This country is about to fall back into absolutism. I have conscientiously done my part, and shall only express my settled conviction that every foolish act that can be done will be done."

Within twelve hours Ferdinand annulled all acts of the Constitutional Royalist reprisals Government during the preceding three years. By approving an act of the regency of Madrid, which declared all those who had taken part in the removal of the King to be traitors, Ferdinand practically signed the death warrant of those men whom he had just left with fair promises on his lips. Even before reaching Madrid, Ferdinand VII. banished for life from Madrid and from the country fifty miles around it every person who had served the government in Spain during the last three years. Don Saez, the King's confessor, was made Secretary of State. He revived the Inquisition, and ordered the prosecution of all those concerned in the pernicious and heretical doctrines associated with the late outbreak. Ferdinand justified his acts with a royal pronunciamiento containing[Pg 705] this characteristic passage: "My soul is confounded with the horrible spectacle of the sacrilegious crimes which impiety has dared to commit against the Supreme Maker of the universe.... My soul shudders and will not be able to return to tranquillity, until, in union with my children, my faithful subjects, I Riego executed offer to God holocausts of piety." Thousands of persons were imprisoned, or forced to flee the country. On November 7, Riego was hanged. Young men were shot for being Freemasons. Women were sent to the galleys for owning pictures of Riego.

The Duke of Angoulême was indignant and would have nothing more to do with the King. In a parting letter of remonstrance he wrote: "I asked your Majesty to give an amnesty, and grant to your people some assurance for the future. You have done neither the one nor the other. Since your Majesty has recovered your authority, nothing has been heard of on your part but arrests and arbitrary edicts. Anxiety, fear, and discontent begin to spread everywhere." Angoulême returned to France thoroughly disenchanted with the cause for which he had drawn his sword.

In France, as in England, the return of absolute rule in Spain was viewed with extreme disfavor by the Liberals. The success of the French arms, to be sure, gave the government an overwhelming majority at the elections. The voice of the Liberals was heard, however, in the first debate over the The French elections Spanish war. Manuel, a Liberal deputy, denounced foreign intervention in Spain. He said: "Can any[Pg 706] one be ignorant that the misfortunes of the Stuarts in England were caused by nothing so much as the assistance granted them by France—an assistance foreign to the Parliament and to the people. The Stuarts would have avoided the fate that overtook them had they sought their support within the nation." For this alleged defence of regicide Manuel was excluded from the Chambers. On his refusal to give up his constitutional rights, he was forcibly ejected by the National Guards. "It is an insult to the National Guard," exclaimed the venerable Lafayette. In spite of the momentary triumph of the Royalists, Guizot's final verdict on French intervention in Spain expresses the true attitude of France:

"The war was not popular in France; in fact, it was unjust, because Guizot's verdict unnecessary. The Spanish revolution, in spite of its excesses, exposed France and the Restoration to no serious risk; and the intervention was an attack upon the principle of the legitimate independence of States. It really produced neither to Spain nor France any good result. It restored Spain to the incurable and incapable despotism of Ferdinand VII., without putting a stop to the revolutions; it substituted the ferocities of the absolutist populace for that of the anarchical populace. Instead of confirming the influence of France beyond the Pyrenees, it threw the King of Spain into the arms of the absolutist powers, and delivered up the Spanish Liberals to the protection of England."

During this year in France occurred the deaths of[Pg 707] Dumouriez, the famous general of the Revolution, and of Marshal Davoust, the hero of Eckmühl, Auerstädt, and a score of other victories won during the Napoleonic campaigns. At Rome, Pope Pius VII., the one time prisoner of Napoleon, died in old age, and was succeeded by Pope Leo XII.

Dr. Edward J. Jenner, the great English surgeon and originator of Death of Jenner vaccination, died in the same year at London. Jenner was led to his great discovery by the remark of an old peasant woman: "I can't catch smallpox, for I have had cowpox." In 1796, Jenner performed the first vaccination on a boy patient, James Phipps, whom he subsequently endowed with a house and grounds. The scientific results of this experiment and those that followed were embodied by Jenner in his "Inquiry into the causes and effects of the Vaccination variolæ vaccinæ," published on the eve of the Nineteenth Century. Unlike so many other medical innovations, Jenner's epoch-making cure for the dread disease of smallpox won him almost instant general renown. Parliament, in 1802, voted him a national reward of £10,000, and a few years later added another gift of £20,000. After his death a public monument was erected to Jenner's memory on Trafalgar Square.

In India, Lord Hastings retired from the governorship at Calcutta and was succeeded by Lord Amherst. At the time of his accession to office, Dutch influence had already become paramount in Borneo, whereas the British were firmly settled in Singapore.[Pg 708]

In North America it was a year of industrial progress. On October 8, the first boat passed through the new Erie Canal from Rochester to New York. In Brooklyn the first three-story brick houses were built and the paving of streets was begun. The new system of numbering houses came in vogue. The earliest steam printing press was set up in New York and issued its first book. The manufacture of pins was begun, and wine in marketable quantities American letters was first made in Cincinnati. American letters saw the appearance of Cooper's novels, "The Pioneers" and the "Pilot." Halleck published his famous poem, "Marco Bozarris." During this year an American squadron under Commodore Porter put an end to piracy and freebooting in the West Indies. On the first day of December the Eighteenth Congress met and Henry Clay was once more elected Speaker of the House.

1824

[Pg 709] IN JANUARY, a protective tariff bill was introduced in the American Congress. It was opposed by the South and by New England. On May 22, Congress, by a majority of five in the House and four in the Senate, passed American high tariff Clay's measure. The average rate of tariff was thirty-seven per cent. Before the passage of the bill England had been importing goods more cheaply than Americans could manufacture them. American manufacturers could now sell their goods at a profit. Even then there were believers in free trade, who held that the country would naturally produce that which was prohibited, and that the productions which were brought into existence by taxation put a portion of the people into unprofitable employment, advantageous only to the manufacturers. But the Middle and Western States, with the aid of the representatives from the manufacturing districts of New England, were strong enough to give the tariff a small majority. From 1824 the imposition of protective duties has been the bone of contention of the two great political parties in America. The economical struggle between Southern ascendency waning protection and free trade has since gone on with varying features. Political leadership in the United States was passing from the South to the North.[Pg 710] New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio were fast pushing to the front. Buffalo had 20,000 population; and other interior towns were growing rapidly. Millions of acres of valuable lands were put under cultivation in the central and western counties of New York and Pennsylvania and in Ohio; manufacturing industries multiplied. From a sparsely inhabited country in 1800, Ohio had grown, in 1824, to be the fifth State in population.

American letters were enriched in this year by Irving's "Tales of a American letters Traveller," Paulding's "John Bull," Bancroft's "Politics in Ancient Greece," and Verplanck's "Revealed Religion."

During the first session of Congress a special message from President Monroe recommended the establishment of intercourse with the new South American republics recognized independent States of South America—Venezuela, New Granada, Buenos Ayres, Chile and Peru. Congress voted for recognition by an overwhelming majority, and the President signed the bill. The United States was the first among the civilized powers to welcome the new republics.

The struggle for independence in South America was furthered more than ever by the unsatisfactory state of affairs on the Peninsula. In Spain the return of absolute rule was still followed by a reign of terror. The people there relapsed into medieval barbarism.

In Portugal, the revolution stirred up by Dom Miguel ended with the expulsion of that prince from Lisbon. His father, Dom Pedro, in Brazil, thought it wise to recognize the liberal constitution [Pg 711] imposed upon him byPortuguese Constitution triumphant his people. In the other Latin-American countries the people rebelled against one-man rule. In Chile, General O'Higgins was forced to resign his dictatorship and a provisional Triumvirate assumed the government. At Lima, Bolivar found his powers curtailed. Mariano Prado was elected president. The feeling against imperialism was so strong in Central America that all the smaller States joined in confederation to ward off this danger Growth of republican sentiment threatening them from Mexico. The Junta of San Salvador went so far as to pass a resolution favoring annexation by the United States of North America in case the Mexican imperialists crossed its borders. Eventually San Salvador, together with Nicaragua and Costa Rica, joined the Central American Union. The first Congress in Costa Rica elected Juan Mora president. In Mexico, in the meantime, a strong provisional government was established by Santa Anna. Ex-Emperor Iturbide, who in defiance of his exile returned to Mexico, was arrested as he landed at Sota la Marina in Iturbide shot July. He was taken to the capital, tried, condemned, and shot. As he faced death he said: "Mexicans, I die because I came to help you. I die gladly, because I die among you. I die not as a traitor, but with honor." With Iturbide out of the way, Santa Anna established a government strong enough Santa Anna in power to accomplish the annexation of California. Henceforth there was no danger of a return to Spanish rule. In England, Canning followed Monroe with an absolute recognition of the independent governments in America.[Pg 712]

By this time public opinion in England had been aroused in behalf of the Greeks still struggling for their independence from the yoke of Turkey. A powerful impetus was given to this feeling by the tragic death of Lord Byron in Greece. A few months before the poet had sailed from Genoa for Death of Byron Greece to take active part in the war for freedom. He died of fever at Missolonghi on April 19, at the age of thirty-six. One of his last poems was a spirited translation of Rhegas' famous Greek national hymn:

Byron's death served the Greek cause better perhaps than all he could have achieved had his life been prolonged. It caused a greater stir throughout Continental Europe than it did in England. In[Pg 713] truth Byron's poetry was more appreciated by the world at large than by his countrymen—a literary anomaly that has prevailed even to the end of the Nineteenth Century. Goethe on Byron Goethe said of Byron after his death: "The English may think of Byron as they please; but this is certain, that they can show no poet who is to be compared with him. He is different from all the others, and for the most part greater." Mazzini, many years later, concluded his famous essay on Mazzini's verdict Byron and Goethe with this vindication of the English poet's claim: "The day will come when Democracy will remember all that it owes to Byron. England too, will, I hope, one day remember the mission—so entirely English, yet hitherto overlooked by her—which Byron fulfilled on the Continent; the European cast given by him to English literature, and the Shelley's estimate appreciation and sympathy for England which he awakened among us." Shelley, who knew Byron intimately, has given perhaps the best expression to the English view of him. He said of him in 1822: "The coarse music which he produced touched a chord to which a million hearts responded.... Space wondered less at the swift and fair creations of God when he grew weary of vacancy, than I at this spirit of an angel in the mortal paradise of a decaying body." To most Englishmen of his day, Byron, like Shelley, appeared as a monster of impious wickedness. Unlike Shelley, he attained thereby the vogue of the forbidden. His earliest poems achieved what the French call a succès de scandal. His satire, "English Bards and Scotch Reviewers,"[Pg 714] brought to the youthful poet a notoriety amounting to fame. After the publication of the first two cantos of "Childe Harold," in 1812, according to his own phrase, he awoke to find himself famous, and became a spoiled child of society. Trelawney has recorded that Byron was what London in the days of the Prince Regent made him. One of Byron's ablest critics, Symonds' judgment Symonds, has put this even more strongly: "His judgment of the world was prematurely warped, while his naturally earnest feelings were overlaid with affectations and prejudices which he never succeeded in shaking off.... It was his misfortune to be well born, but ill bred, combining the pride of a peer with the self-consciousness of a parvenu." Byron's life in London between 1812 and 1816 certainly increased his tendency to cynicism, as did his divorce from his wife. While these experiences distorted his personal character, they supplied him, however, with much of the irony wrought into his masterpiece, "Don Juan." His poetic genius derived its strongest Byron's best works stimulus from his imbittered domestic life and from his travels in Spain, Italy and Greece. This twofold character of the poet it is that is revealed in his best poems, "Childe Harold" and "Don Juan." He used both works as receptacles for the most incongruous ideas. "If things are farcical," he once said to Trelawney, "they will do for 'Don Juan'; if heroical, you shall have another canto of 'Childe Harold.'" This means of disposing of his poetic ideas accounts for the great volume of Byron's verse as well as for its inequality. That "Don[Pg 715] Juan" was never finished cannot therefore be regretted.

Byron's last verses were lines written on January 22, 1824, at Missolonghi. To one of his English military associates in the expedition of Lepanto he remarked: "You were complaining that I never write any poetry now. This is my birthday, and I have just finished something which, I think, is better than what I usually write." They were the famous lines, "On this Day I complete my Thirty-sixth Year":

When Byron died, Missolonghi had been delivered from its first siege. Greece was plunged in civil war. Kolokotrones, who set himself up against the government of Konduriottes and Kolletes, wasRussian suzerainty rejected by Greeks [Pg 716] overthrown and lodged in a prison on the island of Hydra. An offer of Russian intervention at the price of Russian suzerainty was rejected by the Greeks. Encouraged by this, the Sultan appealed to his vassal, Mehemet Ali of Egypt, to help him exterminate the Greeks. The island of Crete was held out to Mehemet Ali as a prize. The ambitious ruler of Egypt responded with enthusiasm. He raised an army of 90,000 men and a fleet, and sent them forth under the command of his adopted son Ibrahim. Early in the spring the Egyptian expedition landed Ibrahim invades Greece in Crete and all but exterminated its Greek population. The island of Kossos was next captured; and its inhabitants were butchered. In July, the Turkish fleet took advantage of the Greek Government's weakness to make a descent upon Psara, one of the choicest islands of Greece. In spite of Sack of Psara desperate resistance, the citadel of Psara was stormed, and the Psariotes were put to the sword. Thousands were slain, while the women and children were carried off as slaves. How little the miseries of the Greeks affected the rulers of Europe may be gathered from this bright side light on Metternich given by his secretary Gentz:

"Prince Metternich was taking an excursion, in which unfortunately I could not accompany him. I at once sent a letter after him from Ischl with the important news of the Psariote defeat.... The prince soon came back to me; Metternich's comment and (pianissimo, in order that friends of Greece might not hear it) we congratulated one another on the event, which may very well prove the beginning of the end for[Pg 717] the Greek insurrection." The Greeks, instead of desponding, were aroused to fiercer resistance than ever. A Hydriote fleet foiled Ibrahim Pasha's attempt on Samos. When he tried to return to Crete Defeat of Turkish fleet his fleet was beaten back with a signal reverse. Finally, late in the year, the Egyptians succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the Hydriote sea-captains, and regained their base of supplies in Crete.

While Canning's Ministry was still preparing the ground for European intervention in Greece, the British Government in India found itself with another native war on its hands. In 1822, the Burmese leader Bundula had Burmese war invaded the countries between Burma and Bengal. The Burmese conquered the independent principalities of Assam and Munipore, and threatened Cachar. Next Bundula invaded British territory and cut off a detachment of British sepoys. It was evident that the Burmese were bent on the conquest of Bengal. Lord Amherst, who had assumed charge early in 1824, sent an expedition against them under Sir Archibald Campbell. The resistance of the Burmese was despicable. The British soldiers nowhere found foes worthy of Siege of Rangoon their steel. In May, the British expedition, having marched straight to Burma, occupied the capital Rangoon, which was found deserted and denuded of all supplies. Ill fed and far from succor, the British had to spend a rainy season there. Taking advantage of their precarious position, Bundula returned late in the year with an army of 60,000 men. The Englishmen were besieged. In[Pg 718] British checked at Donabew December they made a successful sortie and stormed the Burmese stockades. Bundula with the remains of his army was driven up the banks of the river Irawaddy. They made a stand at Donabew, some forty miles from Rangoon, where they held the British in check.

The rest of the world throughout this year lay in profound peace. In Germany the rulers of the various principalities were allowed to continue their reigns undisturbed. Only in Brunswick the assumption of the government by Charles Frederick William met with the disapproval of the German Diet. Although pronounced incapable of reigning, he succeeded none German letters the less in clinging to his throne. A more important event for the enlightened element in Germany was the appearance of the first of Leopold von Ranke's great histories of the Romance and Teutonic peoples. In the realm of poetry a stir was created by the publication of Rueckert's and Boerne's lyrics, and Heinrich Heine's "Alamansor" and "Ratcliffe."

In France, Lamartine brought out his "Death of Socrates," and Louis Thiers published the first instalments of his great "History of the French French literature Revolution." Simultaneously there appeared François Mignet's "History of the French Revolution." While these historians were expounding the lessons of this great regeneration of France, the Royalists in the Chambers did their best to undo its work. After the ejection of Manuel from the Chambers, and the Ministers' consequent appeal to the country, the elections were so manipulated by the government [Pg 719] that only nineteen LiberalClericals in the ascendant members were returned to the Chambers. Immediate advantage was taken of this to favor the Clericals and returned Emigrées, and to change the laws so as to elect a new House every seven years, instead of one-fifth part of the Chamber each year. Monseigneur Frayssinous, the leader of the Clericals, was made Minister of Public Instruction. The friction between Prime Minister Villèle and Chateaubriand was ended by Villèle's summary Chateaubriand dismissed dismissal of Chateaubriand as Foreign Minister. Chateaubriand at once became the most formidable opponent of the Ministry in the "Journal des Débats," and in the Chamber of Peers. At this stage of public affairs Louis XVIII. died, on September 16, with the ancient pomp of royalty. Before he expired he said, pointing to his bed: "My brother will not die in that Death of Louis XVIII. bed." The old King's prophecy was based on the character of the French people as much as on that of his brother. Indeed, Louis XVIII. was the only French ruler during the Nineteenth Century who died as a sovereign in his bed. He was duly succeeded by his brother, Count of Artois, who took the title "Charles X." and retained Villèle as Minister of France.

1825

[Pg 720] CHARLES X. was crowned King of France in the Cathedral of Rheims. His first public measure was the appropriation of a million francs to indemnify the Charles X. French Royalists, whose lands had been confiscated during the French Revolution. Next came the proposal of a law on sacrilege, and one for primogeniture. Both bills were strenuously opposed by the Liberals. Broglie exclaimed: "What you are now preparing is a social and political revolution, a revolution against the revolution which changed France nearly forty years ago." Old Lafayette was glad to leave the country to visit North America.

In the United States the election of 1824 had to be decided by the House of Representatives. For the Presidency the candidates were Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Crawford and Clay, and for the Vice-Presidency Calhoun, American election contest Sanford, Macon, Jackson, Van Buren and Clay. They all belonged to the Democratic-Republican party. Jackson had received the highest number of electoral votes—99 were for him and 84 for Adams. Calhoun, as candidate for Vice-President, led with 182 votes. In the House of Representatives Clay, as leader, opposed Jackson. Adams was declared President,[Pg 721] with Calhoun for Vice-President. The electoral vote of thirteen States was given John Quincy Adams President to Adams, while Jackson received seven. John Quincy Adams was then fifty-eight years of age. Washington had made him Minister to The Hague, and then to Lisbon, and in 1797 his father, then President, sent him as Minister to Berlin. In 1803, he was United States Senator. Six years later he was Minister to Russia. During both of Monroe's terms he was Secretary of State. Upon his inauguration as President, Adams made Clay Secretary of State. Wirt, McLean and Southard were retained in the Cabinet. The adherents of Jackson declared that a bargain had been made between Clay and Henry Clay rewarded Adams, who then paid Clay they alleged for his support in the "scrub race" for the Presidency. Randolph characterized the supposed arrangement as a "bargain between the Puritan and the Black Leg," and in consequence was challenged by Clay to fight a duel. Neither was injured. The election was followed by an immediate reorganization of political parties, on the question of supporting Adams's administration. Whether the successor of Adams should be a Northerner or a Southerner was the question at issue. His Changes in American politics opponents were slave-holders and their Northern friends; his supporters, the antagonists of the Democratic party, whether known as National Republican, Whig or Republican party, all of which terms were in use. For the first time the new Congress, under the reapportionment, represented the entire population of the country, with New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio in the lead. In the Senate[Pg 722] were men of brilliant promise. Clay was still a leader, and so was Webster, in the rising majesty of his renown. The contest between the parties was narrowed down to two great issues—internal improvements under national auspices and tariff for the protection of Adams's first message manufactures. President Adams in his first message gave opportunity for concerted opposition. He took advanced ground in favor of national expenditure on internal improvements, and urged the multiplication of canals, the endowment of a national university, expenditures for scientific research, and the erection of a national observatory. He announced that an invitation had been accepted from the South American states to a conference at Panama, in regard to the formation of a political and commercial league between the two Americas. The Senate requested President Adams to give it information "touching the principles and practice of the Spanish-American states, or any of them—in regard to negro slavery." The subject was debated for almost the entire session. When enough had been said to show that slavery must not be interfered with, the delegates were nominated and an appropriation was made. The delegates never went.

On November 4, the first boat travelling along the new Erie Canal reached Erie Canal completed New York. Through the efforts of De Witt Clinton, the State of New York without Congressional aid had completed the great Erie Canal. Its annual tolls were found to amount to half its cost. The financial and commercial results of the great work were immediate and [Pg 723] manifest. The cost ofBeneficial results carrying freight between Albany and New York was reduced from the 1820 rate of $88 per ton, to $22.50, and soon to $6.50. Travel was no less facilitated, so that it was possible for emigrants to reach Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin cheaply. These fertile States grew accordingly in population. In 1825 the Capitol at Washington was nearly completed; the outer walls proved to be uninjured by the fire of 1814. The foundation of the central building had been laid in 1818, and this edifice was now completed on its original plan.

The American visit of the old Marquis de la Fayette—to give him his French name—was celebrated with national rejoicings. Years ago, when he left the American republic after its independence was achieved, it was a poor, weak Lafayette visits America and struggling nation. Its prosperity and increasing power now amazed him. The thirteen colonies along the coast had increased to twenty-four independent, growing and progressive commonwealths, reaching a thousand miles westward from the sea. Lafayette was the nation's guest for a year. On June 17, 1825, just fifty years after the battle of Bunker Hill, he laid the cornerstone of the obelisk which commemorates that battle in Boston. On this same occasion Daniel Webster made one of his great speeches. Lafayette returned to France in the American frigate "Brandywine," named in honor of the first battle in which Lafayette fought and was wounded half a century before. Congress presented him with a gift of $200,000 in money, and with a township[Pg 724] of land in recognition of the disinterested services of his youth.

Shortly before President Adams accepted the invitation to send North American representatives to the proposed Congress of Panama, thirteen independent States joined at Buenos Ayres in a powerful confederation and Argentine Republic formed the Republic of Argentine. A national constitution was adopted and Rivadiera elected President. The new republic was soon called upon to prove its mettle in the war levied against it by Brazil for the possession of Uruguay. In the end Uruguay remained a part of Argentina. Brazil had previously achieved its complete independence from the mother country by assuming the public debt of Portugal, amounting to some ten million dollars. England gave its official recognition to these new changes of government as it had to the others.

The British war against the Burmese was nearly over. Early in the year the British forces left at Rangoon advanced up the river Irawaddy toward Donabew. The first attempt to take this stronghold was repulsed, whereupon Burmese reverses the British settled down to a regular siege. While trying to get the range with their mortars the gunners succeeded in killing Bundula, the chieftain of the Burmese. His brother flinched from the command of the army and was promptly beheaded. The Burmese forces went to pieces. The British proceeded to Prome, and inflicted another crushing defeat on the remaining detachments of the Burmese army. At the approach of the British column the Burmese rulers[Pg 725] at Ava became frantic. All the demented women that could be found in and about Ava were gathered together and conducted to the front that they might bewitch the English. When this measure proved ineffectual, Prince Tharawadi tried to stem the British approach, but could not get his New British acquisitions followers to face the enemy. All the country from Rangoon to Ava was under British control. The Burmese came to terms. As a result of the conflict the territories of Assam, Arrakan and Tenaserim were ceded to the British.

While the British were still in the midst of this campaign a crisis occurred in Bhurtpore. The sudden death of the Rajah there left no successor to the throne but an infant son of seven. He was proclaimed Rajah under the guardianship of his uncle. A cousin of the dead king won over the army of Bhurtpore, and putting the uncle to death imprisoned the little Crisis in Bhurtpore Rajah. Sir David Ochterlony, the aged British Resident at Delhi, interfered in behalf of the little prince and advanced British troops into Bhurtpore. His measures were repudiated by Lord Amherst. Sir David took the rebuff so much to heart that he resigned his appointment. Within two months after his retirement the old soldier died in bitterness of soul. The sequel vindicated his judgment. In defiance of the British Government, the usurper of Bhurtpore rallied around him all the dissatisfied spirits of the Mahrattas, Pindarees, Jats and Rajputs. Lord Amherst was forced to retreat to Vera. The British army under Lord Combermere crossed the border and pushed through to [Pg 726] Summary British dealings Bhurtpore. The heavy mud walls of the capital had to be breached with mines. The usurper was deposed and put out of harm's way in a British prison. With the restoration of the infant Prince in Bhurtpore, all danger of another great Indian rising seemed at end.

At home in England it was a period of unprecedented scientific and industrial development. Following Faraday's recent conversion of the electric current into mechanical motion, Sturgeon invented the prototype of The first railway the electro-magnet. The first public railway for steam locomotives was opened between Stockton and Darlington by Edward Peese and George Stephenson—an innovation which caused great excitement throughout England. On the opening day, September 27, an immense concourse of people assembled along the line to see the train go by. Nearly every one prophesied that the "iron horse" would be a failure. The train weighed about ninety English tons, and consisted of six wagons loaded with coal and flour, then a covered coach containing directors and proprietors, with twenty-one coal wagons fitted up for invited passengers, nearly 600 in number. Stephenson's engine, named the "Locomotion," had a ten-foot boiler and weighed not quite 1,500 pounds. As six miles an hour was supposed to be the limit of speed, it was arranged that a man on horseback should ride on the track ahead of the engine carrying a flag. The train was started without difficulty amid cheers. Many tried to keep up with it by running, and some gentlemen on horseback galloped[Pg 727] across the fields to accompany the train. After a few minutes, Stephenson shouted to the horseman with the flag to get out of the way, for he was going to "let her go." Ordering the fireman to "keep her hot, lad," he opened wide the throttle-valve and the speed was quickly raised to twelve miles an hour and then to fifteen.

The runners on foot, the gentlemen on horseback and the horseman with the Stephenson's practical demonstration flag were left far behind. So, with the cross-beams and side-rods trembling from the violent motion, the red-hot chimney ejecting clouds of black smoke, amid the cheers of the delighted spectators and to the astonishment of the passengers—the immortal George Stephenson brought his train safely into Darlington.

As the "Newcastle Courant" (October 1, 1825) put it, "certainly the performance excited the astonishment of all present, and exceeded the most sanguine expectations of every one conversant with the subject. The engine arrived at Stockton in three hours and seven minutes after leaving Darlington, including stops, the distance being nearly twelve miles, which is at the rate of four miles an hour; and upon the level part of the railway, the number of passengers was counted about four hundred and fifty, and several more clung to the carriages on each side. At one time the passengers by the engine had the pleasure of accompanying and cheering their brother passengers by the stage coach, which passed alongside, and of observing the striking contrast exhibited by the power of the engine and of horses; the engine with her six hun[Pg 728]dred passengers and load, and the coach with four horses and only sixteen passengers."

So successful was the Stockton and Darlington railway that a bill was brought in Parliament for the construction of a railroad between Liverpool Immediate railroad development and Manchester after Stephenson's plan. The scheme was violently opposed. Its detractors, among whom were Lords Lefton and Derby, declared that Stephenson's locomotive would poison the air, kill the birds as they flew over them, destroy the preservation of pheasants, burn up the farms and homesteads near the lines; that oats and hay would become unsalable because horses would become extinct; travelling on the highways would become impossible; country inns would be ruined; boilers would burst and kill hundreds of passengers. Indeed, there was no peril imaginable that was not predicted to attend the working of a railroad by steam.

When Stephenson was examined by a Parliamentary committee, one of the members put this question: "Suppose, now, one of these engines to be going along a railroad at a rate of nine or ten miles an hour, and that a cow were to stray upon the line, and get in the way of the engine, would not that, think you, be a very awkward circumstance?" "Yaw," replied Stephenson, in his broad Northumbrian dialect, "ay, awkward—for the coo." On account of his speech Stephenson was denounced as a "foreigner," and the bill was thrown out by the committee, by a vote of 37 against 36. After a second Parliamentary battle, the bill was passed[Pg 729] through both Houses by a majority of forty-seven votes. The passage of the act cost £27,000.

Almost coincidentally, Faraday found that benzine was a constituent of petroleum, a discovery destined to affect the modern construction of Other modern inventions automobile vehicles toward the close of the century. A number of other achievements made this an important year for science in England. John Crowther took out a patent for his invention of a hydraulic crane. The steam jet was first applied to construction work by Timothy Hackworth. Joseph Clement built a planing machine for iron. One of the earliest chain suspension bridges was erected at Menai Strait by Thomas Thelford, and at the same time Brunel sunk his first shaft for the Thames tunnel. Significant of the industrial revival of those days was the opening of mechanics' institutes at Exeter and Belfast. In Canada, the newly founded English financial crisis averted McGill College was raised to the rank of a university. A financial measure of far-reaching import was the Bank of England's sudden diminution of its circulation to the extent of £3,500,000 by the combined exertions of the bank and of the royal mint. A crisis in public funds was thus averted. The most important political measure of the year was Canning's attempt to Canning's attempted reforms repeal the political disabilities of the Catholics in England. A bill to this effect was passed through the Commons, but was thrown out by the House of Lords. Canning's friend Huskisson inaugurated a commercial policy, which was founded on the theory of free trade, destined to bring about the repeal of the corn laws.[Pg 730]

The situation in Greece was calculated to stiffen the backbone of Canning's foreign policy. On February 22, Ibrahim's Egyptian army had crossed the sea Greek reverses unopposed and overran the Morea. The Greeks were defeated near Nodoni, and the garrison of Sphakteria was overwhelmed. The forts of Navarino capitulated. In vain was old Kolokotrones released from his prison to oppose the onslaught of Ibrahim's Arabs. The Greeks were driven back through Tripolitza, and did not succeed in making a stand until the Turks Nauplia and Missolonghi besieged reached Nauplia. Here Demetrios Ypsilanti with a few hundred men repulsed the Turkish vanguard at Lerna. Ibrahim settled down to the siege of Nauplia and of Missolonghi. The country round about was laid waste and the people killed. Ibrahim's hordes even cut down all trees and saplings. Thus the fertile mountains and hillsides of Greece were changed into the barren rocks they are to-day. Nothing so excited the sympathy of the lovers of liberty in Europe as these wanton ravages on classic soil committed by the Greece devastated savages of the desert. Even Alexander of Russia was so moved by the rising indignation of his people that he dissolved diplomatic conferences at St. Petersburg in August. He issued a declaration that Russia, acting on its own discretion, would put a stop to the outrages of Greece. Accompanied by the leaders of the Russian war party, he left St. Petersburg and travelled to the Black Sea. All Europe waited for the long-threatened Russian advance on Constantinople. Suddenly news arrived that the Czar had died at Taganrog.[Pg 731]

Alexander expired on November 19 (December 1), in the arms of Empress Death of Czar Alexander Elizabeth. His last hours were clouded by revelations of a plot to assassinate him. As if to recant his reactionary measures of the last few years, he said: "They may say what they like of me, but I have lived and will die republican"—a curious boast which is justified only by the earlier years of Alexander's reign. In the beginning of his rule the Czar reversed the despotic tendencies of his predecessors. Free travel was permitted; foreign books and papers were allowed to enter; the better classes of the community were exempted from corporal punishments; the emancipation of serfs was begun, and the collegiate organization of the Alexander's early reforms administration was supplanted by ministries modelled after those of the chief European countries. As early as 1802 Alexander could boast of a Cabinet as good as that of any constitutional monarch. Another far-reaching reform was the reorganization of Russian public education, and the encouragement given to the publication of Bibles. A temporary relaxation of the censorship resulted in the foundation of societies of literature and of such journals as the "Russian Messenger," "The Northern Mercury," and the Russian letters stimulated "Democrat." Writers like Pushkin and Gogol brought forth their earliest works. Koltsov discovered a new source of poetry in the popular songs. Lermontov sang the wild beauty of the Caucasus, and Ozerov wrote his classical drama "Dmitri Donskoi," which recalled the struggles of Russia against the Tartars. Modern romantic ten[Pg 732]dencies were advanced by Joukovsky's translation of Schiller's and Byron's poems. Ginka composed the scores for his earlier operas.

When Alexander came under the influence of Madame de Krüdener and the more baneful ascendency of Metternich everything was changed for the worse. The publication of Bibles was stopped; the censorship was re-established in its full rigor; Speranski's great undertaking of a Russian code of laws was nipped in the bud; Galytsin, the liberal Minister of Publication, had to Araktcheyev resign, and Araktcheyev, a reactionary of extreme type, was put in his place. Some idea of the dark days that followed may be gathered from Araktcheyev's first measures. The teaching of the geological theories of Buffon and of the systems of Copernicus and Newton were forbidden as contrary to Holy Writ. Medical dissection was prohibited, and the practice of medicine was reduced to that of faith cure. All professors who had studied at seats of learning abroad were dismissed. Then it was that the The Russian succession secret societies sprang up in Poland and in the north and south of Russia. One of the foremost conspirators was Pestel, who had undertaken to frame a new code of laws for Russia. When Alexander died, Russia was on the brink of a military revolution. It was the intention of the conspirators to assassinate the Czar in the presence of his troops and to proclaim a constitution; but his unexpected departure to the Black Sea frustrated the plan. Alexander's death threw the Russian court into confusion. For a while it was not known who was to succeed him.[Pg 733] The supposed heir to the throne was Alexander's brother, Constantine. Unbeknown to the people he had formally renounced his right to the throne. At the time of his brother's Conflicting proclamations death he was in Warsaw. His younger brother, Nicholas, at St. Petersburg, had him proclaimed emperor. When they brought him Constantine's written abdication, Nicholas refused to acknowledge it and caused the troops to take their oath of allegiance to his brother. Constantine in Warsaw proclaimed Nicholas emperor. Nicholas would not accept the crown unless by Nicholas, Czar of Russia the direct command of his elder brother. At length the matter was adjusted, after an interregnum of three weeks. On Christmas Day, Nicholas ascended the imperial throne. The confusion at St. Petersburg was turned to account by the military conspirators who had plotted against Alexander's life. To the common soldiers they denounced Nicholas as a usurper who was trying to make them break their recent oath to Constantine. When ordered to take the Moscow mutiny oath to Nicholas, the Moscow regiment refused, and marched to the open place in front of the Senate House. There they formed a square and were joined by other bodies of mutineering soldiers. It is gravely asserted by Russian historians that the poor wretches, ignorant of the very meaning of the word constitution, shouted for it, believing it to be the name of Miloradovitch shot Constantine's wife. An attack upon them by the household cavalry was repulsed. When General Miloradovitch, a veteran of fifty-two battles against Napoleon, tried to make himself heard, he was shot. The mutineers would[Pg 734] not listen even to the Emperor. Not until evening could the new Czar be brought to use more decisive measures. Then he ordered out the artillery End of revolt and had them fire grapeshot into the square. The effect was appalling. In a few minutes the square was cleared and the insurrection was over. Its leaders were wanting at the moment of action. A rising in the south of Russia was quelled by a single regiment. Before the year ended, Nicholas was undisputed master of Russia.

By the death of Augustin Jean Fresnel, France lost a brilliant scientist, Death of Fresnel who shares with Thomas Young the honor of discrediting the old emission theory of light, and of formulating the undulatory theory.

Jacques Louis David, founder of the new French school of classicism in painting, died at the close of the year at Brussels. Many of his paintings Death of David were on exhibition before the fall of the old régime in France. In the days of the French Revolution, David was a Jacobite and friend of Robespierre, and suffered in prison after the latter's fall. It was not, however, until the time of the First Empire that David's fame spread. He then reached the zenith of his success. His masterpieces of this period are "Napoleon Crossing the Alps"—a canvas on which is founded Hauff's story of "The Picture of the Emperor"—"The Coronation of Napoleon," "Napoleon in His Imperial Robes," and the "Distribution of the Eagles." Equally famous is his portrait of "Madame Recamier resting on a Chaiselongue." After the fall of the First[Pg 735] Empire, David was exiled from France, and retired to Brussels. David, unlike so many other beneficiaries of the Empire, remained warmly attached to Napoleon. Once when the Duke of Wellington visited his studio in Brussels and expressed a wish that the great artist would paint him, David coldly replied, "I never paint Englishmen." In his declining years he painted subjects taken from Grecian mythology. Among the paintings executed by David during his banishment were "Love and Psyche," "The Wrath of Achilles," and "Mars Disarmed by Venus." The number of David's pupils who acquired distinction was very great, among whom the best known were Gros, Gérard, Derdranais Girodet, Jugros, Abel de Pujel and Droming.

1826

[Pg 736] DRIVEN to assert his rights to the crown by bloodshed, Nicholas I. showed himself resolved to maintain the absolute principles of his throne. He Czar Nicholas' measures accorded a disdainful pardon to Prince Trubetskoi, whom the conspirators of the capital had chosen as head of the government. The mass of misled soldiery was likewise treated with clemency. But against the real instigators of the insurrection the Czar proceeded with uncompromising severity. One hundred and twenty were deported to Siberia; and the five Ryleyev and Pestel hanged foremost men, among whom were Ryleyev, the head of the society in the north, and Pestel, were condemned to be hanged. All died courageously. Pestel's chief concern was for his Code: "I am certain," said he, "that one day Russia will find in this book a refuge against violent commotions. My greatest error was that I wished to gather the harvest before sowing the seed." In a way the teachings of these men gave an impetus to Russia that their death could not destroy. Even the Czar, with his passion for military Russian laws codified autocracy, made it his first care to take up the work of codifying the Russian laws. Alexis Mikhaielovitch during the next four years turned out his "Complete Code of the Laws of the Russian Empire."[Pg 737]

The military ambitions of Nicholas found a vent in the direction of Persia. Persian war The encroachments of Ermolov, the Governor-General of the Caucasus, so exasperated the Persians that soon a holy war was preached against Russia. Ebbas-Mirza, the Prince Royal of Persia, collected an army of 35,000 men on the banks of the Araxes. A number of English officers joined his ranks. Defence of Choucha Nicholas at once despatched General Kasevitch with reinforcements for Ermolov. Ebbas-Mirza was checked on his march on Tivlas by the heroic defence of Choucha. In the meanwhile the Russians concentrated their forces. The Persian vanguard, 15,000 strong, was defeated at Elizabethpol. Russian victories On the banks of the Djeham, Paskevitch, with a division of the Russian army, overthrew the main body of the Persians and forced them back over the Araxes. The Persians continued their resistance, relying on the terms of Persia abandoned by England the treaty of Teheran, wherein England had promised financial and military subsidies in case of invasion. The English, promise was not kept. Hence forth the Persians were at the mercy of the Russian army of invasion. Almost simultaneously a rebellion against the Chinese Government broke out in Kashgar. Undeterred by this diversion, Nicholas took up a vigorous stand against the Turks. In March he presented an ultimatum insisting on the Russia's ultimatum to Turkey autonomy of Moldavia, Wallachia and Servia, and on the final cession to Russia of disputed Turkish territory on the Asiatic frontier. Turkey yielded. Nicholas then joined in an ultimatum with England and France for an immediate stop of the[Pg 738] Turkish outrages in Greece. In this matter Nicholas, who regarded the Greeks as rebels, showed himself more lenient to Massacre of Janizaries the Turks, and negotiations with the Porte were permitted to drag. The Sultan profited by the lull to execute a long contemplated stroke against the Janizaries. The whole of this famous corps of bodyguards was massacred.

During this year two men died in Russia who had distinguished themselves at Death of Bennigsen and Rostopchin the time of Napoleon's invasion. One was General Bennigsen, a soldier of German extraction and training, who took a leading part in all the Russian campaigns against Napoleon. The other was Prince Rostopchin, who as Governor of Moscow consigned that city to the flames after Napoleon's triumphant entry.

England lost two men who had distinguished themselves in India. One was the Death of Hastings and Heber Marquis of Hastings, who had but lately relinquished his Governor-Generalship of British India, and whose rule there both from a military and from a political-economical point of view must be regarded as pre-eminently successful. The other was Reginald Heber, the Bishop of Calcutta, who endeared himself to Anglo-Indians by his translations of the Alfred Tennyson folk songs and classic writings of Hindustan. In other respects this year is notable in English literary annals. Alfred Tennyson published his earliest verses in conjunction with his brother; Elizabeth Barrett also brought out her first poems; Macaulay had begun to captivate England by his essays; Thomas Hood issued his "Whims and Oddities"; Scott and Coleridge were then in the heyday of English letters flourishing [Pg 739] literary favor. Scott had just brought out his "Talisman" and "The Betrothed," and now published "Woodstock." Coleridge contributed his "Aids to Reflection." A new impetus was given to scholarship by the foundation of the Western and Eastern literary institutions of England, and the establishment of a professorship for political economy at Oxford. London University was chartered. Drummond's Scientific progress namesake, Lieutenant Thomas Drummond, perpetuated his name by his limelight, produced by heating lime to incandescence in the oxy-hydrogen flame.

While Herschel was working out his spectrum analysis, Fox Talbot contributed his share by his observation of the orange line of strontium. John Walker perfected his invention of friction matches. Industrially, on the contrary, England still suffered from the canker of the corn laws and English lotteries suppressed the recent financial crisis resulting from the operations of ill-fated stock companies. In Lancashire nearly a thousand power looms were destroyed by the distressed operatives. Some relief was given by Canning's abolition of all public lotteries.

In Germany, arts and literature flourished in the same degree. King Louis Louis I. of Bavaria I. of Bavaria, upon his accession to the throne, gathered about him in Munich some of the foremost artists and writers of Germany. The capital of Munich was embellished with public monuments; public buildings were decorated with fresco paintings, and art galleries were established. The University of Bavaria was transferred from Landshut to Munich, and other institutions [Pg 740] Munich embellished of learning were erected by its side. Streets were widened, new avenues and public squares laid out, and public lighting introduced throughout the city. Within a short time the quasi-medieval town of Munich was changed into a modern metropolis and became the Mecca of German art. German romantic literature Among the artists who gathered round Louis of Bavaria were Moritz von Schwind, Cornelius, Hess, Raupp, and the elder Piloti. Among the writers who drew upon themselves the notice of this liberal king were the Count of Platen, who during this year published his "Ghazels" and the comedy "The Fatal Fork"; and Hauff, who brought out his romantic masterpiece, "Lichtenstein." Of the rising writers, Heinrich Heine alone withstood the "Die Wacht am Rhein" blandishments of Louis with verses of biting satire. Little noticed at the time was the appearance of Reichardt's "Wacht am Rhein," a song which was destined to become the battle hymn of Germany. Scant attention, likewise, was given to Froebel's epoch-making work, "The Education of Man." On the Froebel other hand much pother was made over some curious exchanges of sovereignty, characteristic of German politics in those days. The Dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Meiningen exchanged their respective possessions. Saalfeld Meiningen received Gotha. Altenburg was assigned to Saxe-Hilburghausen, which latter principality in turn was relinquished to Meiningen. The settlements of the succession in those petty principalities called forth volumes of legal lore.

Jens Baggesen, the most prolific Danish humorist,[Pg 741] died this year, seventy-two years of age. After his death Baggesen's writings declined in popularity.

In America, the people of the United States commemorated the American semi-centennial semi-centennial of their independence. The Fourth of July, the date of the declaration of American independence, was the great day of celebration. The day became noted in American history by the simultaneous death of two Death of Jefferson and Adams patriots: Jefferson and Adams. Thomas Jefferson's greatest achievements, as recorded by himself on his gravestone at Monticello, were his part in the declaration of American independence, in the establishment of religious freedom and in the foundation of the University at Virginia. He was the most philosophic statesman of his time in America. Much of the subsequent history of the United States was but the development of Jefferson's political ideas. His public acts and declarations foreshadowed the policies of his most worthy successors. The essentials of the Monroe Doctrine, of the emancipation of slaves, as well as of the doctrine of State rights and "The Father of Democracy" of American expansion, can all be traced back to him. Thus he has come to be venerated by one of the two great political parties of America as "The Father of Democracy."

Jefferson's principles were stated in his first inaugural address: "Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments and all their rights as the most competent of administrations for[Pg 742] our domestic concerns; the preservation of the general government in its whole Jefferson's principles constitutional vigor, as a sheet anchor of peace at home and safety abroad.... The supremacy of civil over military authority; economy in public expense, honest payment of public debts; the diffusion of information; freedom of religion; freedom of the press and freedom of the person, under the protection of the habeas corpus and trial by jury." When Jefferson's second term as President came to an end he retired from the White House poorer than he had entered it. A third term was declined by him with these words: "To lay down a public charge at the proper period is as much a duty as to have borne it faithfully. If some termination to the Third term discountenanced services of a chief magistrate be not fixed by the Constitution or supplied by practice, this office, nominally four years, will in fact become for life; and history shows how easily that degenerates into an inheritance." Together with Washington's similar action, this established a custom which has since been followed in the North American Republic.

Jefferson's predecessor, John Adams, who died on the same day, though likewise a model President, was less fortunate in his career. His John Adams's career administration was a struggle almost from beginning to end. The troubles with France, though not attaining the dignity of international warfare, presented all the difficulties of such a war. Adams's extreme measures against domestic danger, as embodied in his "alien and sedition laws," were unfortunate. They were in fact an infringement of the[Pg 743] rights of free speech and personal liberty, and were with justice denounced as unconstitutional and un-American. His departure from the American Bill of Rights among other things effectually prevented his re-election as President. His wisest closing act was the appointment of John Marshall to the Chief Justiceship of the American Supreme Court.

In the annals of the American stage the season of 1826 is remembered for the first appearance of the three great actors Edwin Forrest, Macready and James H. Hackett, the American comedian. The same year saw the first appearance of Paulding's "Three Wise Men of Gotham," and Cooper's "Last of "The Last of the Mohicans" the Mohicans."

The Greek cause found friends in Switzerland, England and America. Two loans for $14,000,000 were raised in London by American and English subscriptions. Both loans were disgracefully financed. Barely one-half of Philhellenic efforts the amount was finally accounted for. With the proceeds contracts were made for eight warships. The "Perseverance," a steam corvette, mounting eight 68-pound cannon, reached Nauplia in September. The "Hope," a staunch frigate of 64 guns, built in New York, arrived in December. She was rechristened the "Hellas."

The death of Dom Juan de Braganza in March had placed the throne of Portugal as well as that of Brazil at the disposal of his oldest son, Dom Pedro IV., at Rio. Under the terms of England's mediation of the previous year, Dom Pedro renounced the throne of Portugal in favor of his [Pg 744] infant Dom Pedro IV. daughter, Maria Gloria, while at the same time he conferred upon Portugal a liberal constitution, the so-called Charta de Ley, similar to that conceded to Brazil in 1822.

Dom Pedro IV. had intrusted the throne of Portugal to the regency of his sister Maria Isabella, on condition that his infant daughter should marry her uncle, Dom Miguel. It was his intention that the infant Princess should be recognized as Queen, while Dom Miguel would reign as regent. Under the leadership of Marquis de Chaves, instigated by Dom Miguel, several provinces revolted and declared for Miguel as absolute king. Conquered in Portugal, the insurgents retired to Spain, where they were well received. Dom Miguel's revolt The Portuguese constitutional government called for help from England. France threatened to invade Spain. Canning acted at once: "To those who blame the government for delay," declared Canning in Parliament, "the answer is very short. It was only last Friday that I received the official request from Portugal. On Saturday the Ministers decided what was to be done. On Sunday our decision received the King's sanction. On Monday it was communicated to both Houses. At this very moment the troops are on their Canning's policy way to Portugal." It was then that Canning delivered the great speech in defence of his foreign policy which he closed with Shakespeare's famous lines:

1827

[Pg 745] ON THE first day of January an English army corps under Clinton was landed at Lissabon and a squadron of eleven British ships of the line came to Portuguese revolt suppressed anchor at the mouth of the Tagus. The news of this foreign intervention dismayed the revolutionists. On the banks of the Mondego the Marquis de Chaves, with 10,000 rebels, still commanded the approach to Coimbra. On January 9, a drawn battle was fought with 7,000 constitutional troops under Saldanha. Next morning Dom Miguel's followers, on the news of an approaching British column, quitted the field and dispersed. The Spanish troops on the frontier disarmed those that crossed into Spain.

In France, the government of Charles X., after some violent attacks in the Chambers, recalled the Swiss brigade sent to protect the royal family in Dissatisfaction in France Madrid. There was trouble enough at home. The clerical reaction in France brought about a popular outcry against the order of the Jesuits. On the occasion of a royal military review on April 29, some of the companies of the National Guards shared in demonstrations against them. "I am here," said the King, "to receive your homage, not your murmurings." The entire National Guard of Paris was disbanded by royal ordinance.[Pg 746]

Early in the spring the Russian forces under Paskievitch had crossed the Russians invade Persia Araxes and forced the defiles of the Persian frontier. By a rapid flank movement an army of 10,000 Persians was detached and brought to surrender. Erivan, the bulwark of Persia, was taken by assault. The triumphant Russian column entered Pauris, the second city of the kingdom. Thence an advance was made on Teheran.

These easy victories in Persia left the Czar free to resume his threatening attitude toward Turkey. In this he received the hearty support of Canning. A protocol at St. Petersburg, concluded between the Duke of Wellington and Nesselrode, formed the basis for Anglo-Russian intervention in the East. The royalists of France were won over by an offer from the Greek insurgents Intervention in Greece favored to place the Duke of Nimours on the throne of Greece. Without giving actual support to the proposed intervention the French ambassador in Constantinople was instructed to act with his English and Russian colleagues. Under the weight of this combination even Prince Metternich gave way.

Affairs in Germany were calculated to excite his alarm. At Dresden the accession of Anthony Clement to the crown of Saxony met with extreme disfavor on the part of the Saxon people by reason of Anthony's pronounced Catholicism. Soon his measures provoked a rising of the people. Anthony had to resign, and Frederick Augustus II. became regent.

In Wurtemberg, where public affairs had taken a more liberal turn, the death of Wilhelm Hauff,[Pg 747] the young author, was felt as a great loss. Hauff died in his twenty-fifth year, while still in the first promise of his Death of Hauff literary activity. His stories of the Black Woods and his Oriental Tales, together with his medieval romance "Lichtenstein," modelled after the best of Walter Scott's romances, have assured him a prominent place in German letters.

On March 15, Marquis Pierre Simon de Laplace, one of the greatest mathematicians and physical astronomers of all time, died at Arcueil. Laplace Laplace was born in 1749, in Normandy. Although a poor farmer's son, he soon won the position of a teacher at the Beaumont Military School of Mathematics, and later at the Ecole Militaire of Paris. One of the early notable labors of Laplace was his investigation of planetary perturbations, and his demonstration that planetary mean motions are invariable—the first important step in the establishment of the stability of the solar system and one of the most brilliant achievements in celestial mechanics. In his The nebular hypothesis "Exposition du Systeme du Monde" was formulated the theory called the "nebular hypothesis," the glory of which he must share with Kant. "He would have completed the science of the skies," says Fourier, "had the science been capable of completion." As a physicist he made discoveries that were in themselves sufficient to perpetuate his name, in specific heat, capillary action and sound. In mathematics he furnished the modern scientist with the famous Laplace co-efficients and the potential function, thereby laying the foundation of the mathematical sciences of heat and electricity.[Pg 748] Not satisfied with scientific distinction, Laplace aspired to political honors and left a public record which is not altogether to his credit. Of his labors as Minister of the Interior, Napoleon remarked: "He brought into the administration the spirit of the infinitesimals." Although he owed his political success, small as it was, to Napoleon—the man whom he had once heralded as the "pacificator of Europe"—he voted for his dethronement.

Shortly after the death of Laplace, Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna on March 26. The last years of his life were so clouded by his deafness and by Death of Beethoven the distressing vagaries of his nephew that he was often on the verge of suicide. In December, 1826, he caught a violent cold, which brought on his ultimate death from pneumonia and dropsy. Beethoven, though he adhered to the sonata form of the classic school, introduced into his compositions such daringly original methods that he must be regarded as the first of the great romantic composers. Some of his latest compositions notably, were so very unconventional that they found no appreciation, even among musicians, until years after his death. Technically, his art of orchestration reached such a perfection of general unity and elaboration of detail that he must stand as the greatest instrumental composer of the nineteenth century. The profound subjective note that pervades his best compositions lifts his music above that of his greatest predecessors: Bach, Haydn and Mozart.

Beethoven came of a line of musical ancestors.[Pg 749] His grandfather and namesake was an orchestral leader and composer of operas. His father was a Beethoven's career professional singer, who took his son's musical education in hand at the age of four. At eight the boy was a fluent performer both on the violin and on the piano. When but ten years old Beethoven produced his first pianoforte sonata, and was installed as assistant organist in the Electoral Chapel at Bonn. When the lad visited Vienna, in 1787, his extemporizations on the piano made Mozart exclaim: "He will give the world something worth listening to." It was Haydn that persuaded Beethoven's patron to send the youth to Vienna; there he became Haydn's pupil and received material support from Prince Lichnovsky, one of his warmest admirers. From his first entrance into the musical circles of Vienna, Beethoven was justly regarded as a highly eccentric man. His generosity of soul and transcendent genius made all those that learned to know him condone his freaks. It was after the opening of the Nineteenth Century that Beethoven reached his freest creative period. Between 1800 and 1815 he composed the first six of his Notable compositions great symphonies, the music to "Egmont," the best of his chamber-music pieces, fourteen pianoforte sonatas, among them the "Pastorale" and the "Appassionata," and his only opera "Fidelio." This opera, which was first named "Leonore," with an overture that was afterward abandoned, had its first public performance in Vienna just before Napoleon's entry into the capital in 1805. After three representations it was withdrawn. Nearly ten years[Pg 750] "Fidelio" later, after complete revision by Beethoven, "Fidelio" achieved its first great success. The great "Heroica Symphony" composed at the same time was originally dedicated to Bonaparte. When Napoleon had himself proclaimed Emperor, Beethoven tore up the dedication in a rage. It was subsequently changed "to the memory of a great man." After 1815, when the composer had grown quite deaf, his compositions, like his moods, took a gloomy cast. The Beethoven's declining years extravagances of his nephew, whose guardianship he had undertaken, caused him acute material worries. In truth he need have given himself no concern, for his admirers, Archduke Rudolph and Princes Lobkovitz and Kinsky, settled on him an annuity of 4,000 florins; but to the end of his days the unhappy composer believed himself on the verge of ruin. When he died, his funeral was attended by the princes of the imperial house and all the greatest magnates of Austria and Hungaria. Twenty thousand persons followed his coffin to the grave.

By this time a number of foreign volunteers had flocked to Greece. Lord English officers in Greece Cochrane, an English naval officer of venturous disposition, was appointed High Admiral. Sir Richard Church was put in command of the Greek land forces. Early in May, Church and Cochrane sought in vain to break the line of Turks under Kiutahi Pasha pressing upon Athens. They were defeated with great loss, and on June 5 the Acropolis of Athens surrendered to the Turks. Fall of Athens In July a treaty for European intervention in Greece was signed in London. Turkey and [Pg 751] Greece were summoned to consent to an armistice, and to accept the mediation of the powers. All Turks were to leave Greece, and the Greeks were to come into possession of all Turkish property within their limits on Turks reject armistice payment of an indemnity. Greece was to be made autonomous under the paramount sovereignty of the Sultan. The demand for an armistice was gladly accepted by Greece. But the Sultan rejected it with contempt. The conduct of the Turkish troops in Bulgaria caused the Bulgarians to rise and call for Russian help.

It was at this crisis of European affairs that Canning died. His Ministry, Death of Canning brief as it was, marked an epoch for England. Unlike his predecessors, George Canning was called to the Ministry by a king who disliked him. What he accomplished was done amid the peculiar embarrassments and difficulties of such a situation. On the other hand, it freed him from certain concessions to the personal prejudices of his sovereign that hampered other Ministers. Thus he was able to introduce in Parliament his great measure for the removal of the political disabilities of the Catholics, a reform on which so great a Prime Minister as the younger Pitt came to grief. Had this Canning's policy measure passed the House of Lords it would stand as the crowning act of Canning's administration. By an irony of fate the same Canning that so bitterly opposed the French Revolution and the claims of America achieved highest fame by his latter day recognition of the rights of revolution in the New World.

William Blake, the English poet and artist, died[Pg 752] at Fountain Court inWilliam Blake London on August 12. While Blake's poems and paintings belonged to the Eighteenth Century, chronologically, the spirit of his works, with its extraordinary independence of contemporary fashions, make him a herald of the poetic dawn of the Nineteenth Century. An engraver by profession and training, Blake began while still very young to apply his technical knowledge to his wholly original system of literary publication. As a poet Artist and poet he was not only his own illustrator, but his own printer and publisher as well. Beginning with the "Poetical Sketches" and his delightful "Songs of Innocence," down to the fantastic "Marriage of Heaven and Hell," all of Blake's books, with the exception of his "Jerusalem" and "Milton," were issued during the Eighteenth Century. Blake's artistic faculties seemed to strengthen with advancing life, but his literary powers waned. He produced few more satisfying illustrations than those to the Book of Job, executed late in life. His artistic work also was left comparatively untainted by the morbid strain of mysticism that runs through his so-called "prophetic Blake's mysticism writings." The charm of Blake's poetry, as well as of his drawings, was not fully appreciated until late in the Nineteenth Century. Charles Lamb, to be sure, declared, "I must look upon him as one of the extraordinary persons of the age," but his full worth was not recognized until Swinburne and Rossetti took up his cause. In America, Charles Eliot Norton, at Harvard, was Blake's ablest expounder. Famous are James Thomson's lines on William Blake:

In this year Dr. Richard Bright of London published his famous "Reports of Richard Bright medical cases with a view to illustrate the symptoms and cure of diseases by a reference to morbid anatomy." A special feature of the book was a full description of Bright's discoveries in the pathology of the peculiar disease of the kidneys which bears his name. Bright, in response to urgent demands, lectured more fully on his great discovery before the London College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Eugene Delacroix, the great exponent of French romantic art, and a pupil of Delacroix Guerin, exhibited this year his "Christ in the Garden of Olives." He had previously exhibited "Dante and Virgil," which created a sensation by its rich coloring. This was followed by his "Massacre of Scio," "The Death of the Doge," "Marino Faliero," "Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi" and "Death of Sardanapalus." Not until some time after his death was he[Pg 754] recognized as the greatest early master of the French art after David. The great majority of his works, embracing mural paintings and pictures of immense size, are to be found in the principal churches and galleries of France.

After the brief interregnum of Goderich's administration in England, Wellington Prime Minister Canning was succeeded by his rival, the Duke of Wellington. The good sense and great renown of this distinguished soldier promised strength and prestige to his administration. For a while the change of Ministry brought no avowed change in Canning's plans. Huskisson and Palmerston were retained in the Cabinet, and Canning's policy of active intervention in Greece was upheld. In consequence of the Turkish refusal of mediation, the war continued on both sides. The Turks got heavy reinforcements from Egypt, and a strong expedition was on the point of leaving Navarino to make a descent Powers intervene in Greece upon Hydra, the last stronghold of the insurrection. An Anglo-French fleet under Admirals Codrington and Regnier made a demonstration in Greek waters. The foreign admirals exacted a promise from Ibrahim that he would make no movement until further orders should arrive from Constantinople. An oral agreement to this effect was reached late in September. A few days later Greek Naval victory the Greeks in free continuance of hostilities won a brilliant naval victory in the Gulf of Corinth. The hero on this occasion was Captain Hastings, an English volunteer. Ibrahim was so incensed that he sailed out of Navarino and made for Patras. Codrington threw his British squadron[Pg 755] across the track of the Egyptian ships and forced them to turn back by a threat to sink them. It was regretted at the time that Codrington did not compel Turkish warships stopped Ibrahim to take his expedition out of Greek waters back to Alexandria. As it was, Ibrahim returned to Navarino, and there found orders from the Sultan to carry on the war without regard to Western intermeddling. Another Turkish column was forthwith despatched into the Morea and devastated that country with fire and sword. Clouds of smoke revealed to the European naval officers how the Turks had met their proposals for peace. Admiral Codrington sent messages to Ibrahim, calling for instant cessation of The Morea ravaged hostilities, for the evacuation of the Morea, and the return of his fleet to Constantinople and Alexandria. The answer to this message was that Ibrahim had marched into the Morea and could not be reached. The three squadrons of England, Russia and France cruising off Zante immediately came together. They consisted of twenty-nine vessels, ten ships of the line, ten An international demonstration frigates, four brigs and five schooners. United in one column, under command of Codrington as senior admiral, they sailed for Navarino.

Codrington was unhampered by instructions. He could feel sure of the support of his government, however, for in his pocket was a confidential note from the Duke of Clarence, the royal commander of the navy, encouraging him to "find" a quarrel with the Turkish admiral.

On October 20, the three squadrons sailed into Navarino harbor in battle array, and came to anchor[Pg 756] within pistol shot of the Turkish fleet, composed of seventy warships, forty transports and four fire-ships, Navarino anchored under cover of the land batteries. To windward of the British corvette "Dartmouth" lay a Turkish brulote or fire-ship. A gig was sent to demand the withdrawal of this dangerous vessel. The Turks fired on the boat with cannon-shot and musketry. When Codrington sent a boat to the Egyptian flagship, Moharem Bey, the admiral, opened with his guns. One shot struck the "Asia," Codrington's flagship, and his pilot was killed. Codrington opened with all his guns. The British broadsides soon reduced the Egyptian flagship on one side, and a Turkish man-o'-war on the other side to mere wrecks. The French and Russians joined in. The Moslem ships, which had a superiority of 800 guns, replied with spirit. At close range they fought the combined fleets of their hated Christian adversaries. From the surrounding shores 20,000 Moslem soldiers discharged their guns into the land-locked harbor. The fight lasted from three in the afternoon until seven in the evening. All bravery was in vain when pitted against Western seamanship and gunnery. In the course of a short afternoon one Turkish ship after another was sunk or blown to pieces. By sundown little was left of the Turkish fleet but a mass of wreckage. Only fifteen ships escaped, to be scuttled by their own sailors. Four thousand Moslem seamen lost their lives. All night long the Turkish gunners on shore kept up their fire. On the morrow, when Ibrahim returned to Navarino, he found the waters[Pg 757] of the harbor strewn with wreckage and the floating bodies of his sailors. One of the best accounts of the battle of Navarino has been given by Eugène Sue, the novelist, who then served as surgeon on one of the French vessels.

The island of Hydra and with it all Greece was saved. The subsequent course Greece saved of Sultan Mahmoud was that of blind infatuation and fury. So far from accepting the European demands for an armistice, he put forward a peremptory request for an indemnity for the losses inflicted upon him. The Ambassadors of the Powers quitted Constantinople. It was then that the loss of Canning was felt in England. Instead of pursuing the vigorous policy to which it stood committed by the battle of Navarino, Great Britain hung back. Further intervention, with the profits accruing therefrom, was left to Russia.

1828

[Pg 758] THE time for undisturbed intervention in the East was most auspicious for Russia. Peace with Persia was concluded early in the year. By the treaty of Peace of Tourkmanchay Tourkmanchay, Fet Aly of Persia ceded to Russia the provinces of Erivan and Nakhitchevan and paid an indemnity of 20,000,000 roubles. The river Araxes was recognized as the frontier of both states. England's ascendency in Persia was effectually set at naught. Even in China Emperor Taouk-Wang felt encouraged to issue edicts prohibiting England's pernicious opium trade on the Chinese coast. Russia's armies were now let loose on Turkey.

In the meanwhile, the Greeks profited by the Turkish check at Navarino to Independence of Greece assert themselves as an independent people. On January 18, Capodistrias, the former Prime Minister of Russia, was summoned from Geneva and made president of the Greek republic. His term of office was to last seven Capodistrias summoned years. This eminent statesman justified his selection by immediate beneficent measures. A grand council of state was established and a national bank opened in Athens. With the help of France, immunity from further incursions from the Turks was practically assured. To preserve [Pg 759] the status quo in Greece, Russia undertook to limit its single handed war on Russia's double game Turkey to operations on the mainland and in the Black Sea. Within the waters of the Mediterranean the Czar proposed to continue as an armed neutral in harmony with the other Powers under the treaty of London, and, to allay the apprehensions of Austria, the Russian forces in the Balkans were ordered to carry their line of operations as far as possible from Austria's sphere of influence. A still more effectual check on Austria was secured by the Czar's secret encouragement of French aspirations toward the Rhine. Charles X. exposed the plot when he said: "If the Czar attacks Understanding with France Austria, I will hold myself in reserve and regulate my conduct according to circumstances. If Austria attacks, I will instantly march against her." As Prince Metternich put it, "The two powers were at one: France against the European status quo; Russia against that of the Orient."

Although the recent Turkish concessions to Russia left to the Czar no ground for war, a pretext was supplied by Sultan Mahmoud himself. With true Turkish infatuation he chose this moment to issue a direct challenge to Russia. The Czar was denounced as the instigator of the Greek rebellion, Holy War proclaimed in Turkey and the arch enemy of Islam. The treaty of Akerman was declared null and void. A holy war was proclaimed against the Muscovites. "The Turk does not count his enemies. If all the unbelievers together unite against us we will enter on the war as a sacred duty, and trust to Allah for help."[Pg 760] This proclamation was followed by the expulsion of all Christians from Constantinople. Unfortunately for the Sultan, his recent massacre of the Janizaries deprived him of the flower of his troops, and the reorganization Russia declares war of the Turkish army, which was the motive of that act, was only under way. For seven years the Russians had been preparing for this war. Nicholas lost no time in answering the Sultan's challenge. He replied with a declaration of war on April 26. Field Marshal Wittgenstein crossed the Pruth, while Paskievitch entered Asia Minor. The Russian troops overran the Roumanian provinces, Wallachia and Moldavia. The Danube was crossed early in June, under the eyes of the Czar. Unable to meet their enemy in the open field, the Turks withdrew into their strongholds, Ibraila and Silistria on the Early success Danube, Varna and Shumla in the Balkans. The Russians besieged and stormed Ibraila, and thence pushed on through the Dubrudsha toward the Black Sea. In the meanwhile Paskievitch in Asia Minor defeated two Turkish armies and captured Erzeroum.

After these early successes the Russian operations began to lag. The Czar's presence at headquarters was a source of embarrassment rather than of strength. Wittgenstein committed the error of dividing his army into three slender columns. Too weak to conduct forward operations, they were held in check before Silistria, Varna and Shumla. The Russian transport service, none too good at best, collapsed under the threefold strain. The ill-fed soldiers wasted away by thousands. At length [Pg 761] Homer Brionis, the commandant Brionis victorious of Shumla, took advantage of the weakness of his besiegers. On September 24 he broke out of Shumla and marched to the relief of Varna. The Czar, notwithstanding the evident weakness of his troops, ordered his cousin, Eugene of Wurtemberg, to check the Turkish advance with a frontal attack. The result was a severe defeat. Had Brionis marched onward Varna would have Surrender of Varna been relieved. He clung to Shumla, however, and the Turks at Varna were forced to surrender. It was late in autumn now, and cold weather put a stop to the campaign for the year. The display of military weakness seriously injured the prestige of Russia. The manifold mistakes of this campaign have been unsparingly laid bare in a famous monograph of Moltke. Henceforth the successful prosecution of the war became a sine quâ non for Russia.

During the progress of these events, French forces were landed in Greece. They occupied Navarino, Patras and Modon. The Turks gave in and consented Turks evacuate Morea to evacuate the Morea. In France, the ultra-royalist measures of Charles X. gave rise to an ever growing spirit of dissatisfaction. The death of Manuel, the outcast of the Chambers, was made the occasion of a great public demonstration. The coalition of Liberals with a faction of Royalists opposed to the Ministry had a brilliant triumph. Villèle's Cabinet offered to resign. Instead of that, the King placed Martignac above him. "You are deserting M. Villèle," said the Princess Royal to the King. "It is your first step downward from the throne." The[Pg 762] Duc de Broglie wrote: "Should we succeed, after the fall of the present Ministry, in getting through the Vacillation in France year tranquilly, it will be a triumphant success." By way of concession to the Liberals, a royal edict suppressed all the educational institutions maintained by the Society of Jesus. The effect of this measure was offset later in the year by renewed imprisonment and a heavy fine inflicted upon Béranger for writing political songs.

Latin attempts at parliamentary government in America were productive of even more discouraging results. In the Argentine Republic, the army, after defeating the Brazilians, was led against its own government by General Lavalle. The administration was overturned and President Dorrego was shot. South American revolutions General Rosas became the leader of the Federalist forces and took the field against the revolutionists. In Chile, the different parties contending for the government patched up a precarious peace which was not destined to last long. In Colombia, the Nueva Granada of the Spaniards, Bolivar clung to the dictatorship. A new proclamation of dictatorial powers was issued by him on February 10. Soon afterward an insurrection broke out against him led by Peadella. Scarcely had this uprising been quelled when an attempt was made to kill Bolivar at his seat of government. Henceforth the history of Latin America degenerated into an endless series of revolutions and counter-revolutions. The only real strength supplied to the various republican governments, so called, was that derived from strong personal characters, yielding one-man[Pg 763] power. General Mitré, the great statesman and Mitré's résumé historian of South America, has drawn up this striking résumé of the fate of the foremost leaders of Spanish American revolutions. Their story is the quintessence of the subsequent turbulent career of Latin America during the Nineteenth Century.

"The first revolutionists of La Paz and of Quito died on the scaffold. Miranda, the apostle of liberty, betrayed by his own people, died, alone and naked, in a dungeon. Moreno, the priest of the Argentine revolution, and the teacher of the democratic idea, died at sea, and found a grave in the ocean. Hidalgo, the first popular leader of Mexico, was executed as a criminal. Belgrano, the first champion of Argentine independence, who saved the revolution, died obscurely, while civil war raged around him. O'Higgins, the hero of Chile, died in exile, as Carrera, his rival, had done before him. Iturbide, the real liberator of Mexico, died a victim to his own ambition. Montufar, the leader of the revolution at Quito, and his The gratitude of republics comrade Villavicencio, the promoter of that of Cartagena, were strangled. The first presidents of New Granada, Lozano and Torres, fell sacrifices to colonial terrorism. Piar, who found the true base for the insurrection in Colombia, was shot by Bolivar, to whom he had shown the way to victory. Rivadavia, the civil genius of South America, who gave form to her representative institutions, died in exile. Sucre, the conqueror of Ayacucho, was murdered by his own men on a lonely road. Bolivar and San Martin died in exile."[Pg 764]

In North America, likewise, the radical issues between the Northern and Southern States produced ever more dissensions and discord. The question of Dissension in North America State sovereignty was prominent in the discussion of the tariff law of 1828, and assumed more and more a sectional aspect. The North had grown rich and prosperous; when under free trade her energies were directed to agriculture and commerce. This was the more emphasized when, under a protective policy, her labor and her capital were devoted to the development of manufactures. The Southern States had originally desired a protective policy for their own supposed advantage; now they demanded free trade for the same reason. But the North had put much money into manufactures, and therefore demanded that Congress, which had placed her in this position, should protect her in it. So the tariff of 1828, the highest adopted in the United States up to that time, was a more comprehensive New tariff measure than any which preceded it, and was adjusted throughout to encourage Northern industry. New England was largely at one on this subject, and the Middle and Western States were practically united. Thus it became a question of party politics. From the tariff of 1828 dates a new era in American Federal legislation. The division between the North and the North vs. South South began. Led by Daniel Webster, the New England States became advocates of the protective system. The question, from being a national issue, became distinctly sectional.

State sovereignty was the most important prob[Pg 765]lem that presented itself Injustice to Indians during John Quincy Adams's administration. The trouble with the Creek and Cherokee Indians in Georgia brought this issue to the front. These tribes were now partially civilized, and were tilling their lands in contentment. Although they held their lands under treaty with the United States, Georgia sought to eject them. Instead of protecting the Indians the national State rights precedent government allowed Georgia to have its way and sent them to the Indian Territory. Thus was an individual State permitted to act in defiance of the national government.

In other respects, it was a year of great prosperity and progress for the United States. The differences with British North America in regard to boundaries and to the proposed joint settlement of Oregon were amicably settled by arbitration. The question of indemnities arising out of the differences with England was likewise satisfactorily adjusted. England's recent introduction of railroads was eagerly followed up in America. The rails of the first American steam road were laid at Baltimore. They were made of wood covered with iron bars. At Baltimore, too, the manufacture of Industrial development fire bricks was begun. Boston harbor beheld its first steamboat. The new canal between Providence and Worcester was opened and produced an instant increase of traffic for New England. In the other Eastern States factories grew in number and new processes were introduced. Thus, the first varnish made in America was produced at New York. Damask table linen was manufactured at Pittsburg.[Pg 766] The first straw paper was turned out at Meadville, Pennsylvania. The planing mill was introduced. The Franklin Institute at Philadelphia awarded to Stephen Boyden of Newark the premium Webster's Dictionary for his malleable castings. Arts and literature likewise flourished. Among the new paintings exhibited during this year in America were Inman's portrait of Halleck, Stuart's "Jared Sparks," Greenough's "Chanting Cherubs," Dunlap's "Calvary" and Thomas Cole's "Garden of Eden." At Boston the first lithographic press was established. Noah Webster published his The "Book of Mormon" dictionary. Fenimore Cooper brought out his American romances, "The Prairie" and "Red Rover," while Richard H. Dana published his "Buccaneer." A book of singular fruition was Joseph Smith's "Book of Mormon," a corrupted version of Spaulding's "The Manuscript Found."

About the same time Wergeland in Norway published his tragedy, "Sinclair's Death." In Germany the appearance of the "Book of Songs," instantly raised Heine to the foremost rank among German lyric poets. The early influence of Heine's "Book of Songs" Byron was revealed by his masterly translations from "Manfred," and of the opening stanzas of "Childe Harold" and the lines addressed to "Inez." Most felicitous was Heine's German version of Byron's famous farewell to his wife:

Heine's own lyrical pieces, now put forth in profusion, were fully equal to those of his English[Pg 767] prototype. The "Book of Songs" throughout breathed the spirit of the poet's sad boast:

Heine's love songs, alone, by their subtile fusion of exquisite simplicity with cynicism in a perverse form, won him immediate recognition outside of Germany. This in itself has never been forgiven by the Germans. Such prejudice did not deter German song composers from setting to music Heine's melodious verses. Franz Schubert, the foremost song composer, just before his death found inspiration in Heine's poems for his famous "Swan Song."

Schubert died in Vienna on the 19th of October, at the age of thirty-one. Notwithstanding his brief career and lack of systematic schooling, he was Death of Schubert one of the most prolific as well as original of German composers. His earliest extant song, "Hagar's Lament," was written at the age of fourteen. Such early master works as "Margaret at the Spinning Wheel," and the "Erl-King," both written for Goethe's words, mark the swift development of his genius. During his eighteenth year, when he wrote the "Erl-King," he composed no less than 144 songs. On one day alone he wrote eight. Besides this he composed two operettas, three song plays, three other stage pieces, four masses and several cantatas. In spite of his astonishing fecundity the young composer suffered signally from lack of recognition. His whole life was a long-drawn battle for subsistence. All his efforts to obtain a steady income were unavailing. Though he composed[Pg 768] scores for no less than seventy-two of Goethe's lyrics, that great poet was indifferent to the young composer. Beethoven, too, gave him but reluctant recognition. Not until the year of his death did Schubert succeed in giving a public concert that was a pecuniary success. He was wretchedly underpaid by his publishers, and his greatest works utterly failed of contemporary recognition. He died in the depths of poverty. In accordance with his last request, Schubert was buried in the eastern graveyard at Waehring, close to the grave of Beethoven. Schubert achieved immortal fame as the creator of the modern lyric song. No less original were his effective transfers of the song motive to pianoforte music, as shown in his "Moments Musicales" and "Impromptus." Some of his symphonies, notably that in C and the "Fragment" in B minor, are equal to those of Beethoven.

Spain lost one of her most distinguished modern playwrights by the death of Moratin Nicolas Fernandez de Moratin, a pupil of Goldoni, and the author of such enduring Spanish comedies as "El Baron," "La Mogigata" and "El Sí de Las Niñas." Besides his plays, Moratin also wrote an authoritative work on the "Origins of the Spanish Stage."

Toward the end of the year the disorders in Portugal appeared to have subsided sufficiently to warrant the withdrawal of the British troops. Dom Miguel, the regent, promptly proclaimed himself King. After having grasped the reins of power, one of his first measures was the dissolution of the seven ancient estates of Portugal. In Spain King[Pg 769] Ferdinand VII., in December, celebrated his wedding to Maria Christina of Naples.

Domestic affairs in England at this turn furnished an all-absorbing topic. In the Cabinet, Huskisson's strong stand on the rotten borough question, Huskisson with his desire to accord Parliamentary representation to the working people of Birmingham, had caused his expulsion from the Duke of Wellington's councils. His resignation was followed by that of the former members of the Canning Cabinet. Among those chosen to supply their place was Vesey Fitzgerald, member for County Clare in Ireland. His acceptance of O'Connell office compelled him to go back to his constituents. It was then that Daniel O'Connell, the great leader of the Catholic Association in Ireland, saw his chance to strike a blow for Catholic emancipation. Though disqualified from sitting in the Commons as a Catholic, O'Connell ran against Fitzgerald. From the first Fitzgerald's cause was hopeless. The great landowners, to be sure, supported his cause with all their wealth and influence, but the small freeholders, to a man, voted against him. After a five days' poll, Fitzgerald withdrew from the contest. The result was that the hitherto irresistible influence of England's territorial aristocracy lay shattered. The Protestant conservatives of England were filled with consternation. Every debate in Parliament showed that the Catholic party was daily gaining strength, while the resistance of the government became weaker. It was clear that something must be done. At this crisis Robert Peel, hitherto the champion of the Protestant party[Pg 770] in the House ofRobert Peel Commons and Cabinet, became convinced of the necessity of yielding. He lost no time in imparting this conviction to the Duke of Wellington, his chief, and therewith offered his resignation. Wellington had learned a lesson from the events that followed Huskisson's withdrawal. He refused to let Peel go. Reluctantly he became a party to Peel's change of views. As late as December 11, Wellington wrote a letter to the Catholic primate of Ireland, deferring all hope of Catholic emancipation to the distant future. Before the year closed, however, Wellington, armed with the arguments of Peel, wrung from the King the Crown's consent to concede Catholic emancipation without delay. Peel, as the author of this radical measure, consented to take charge of the bill in Parliament.

1829

[Pg 771] AT THE opening of Parliament in England, the concessions of the government in regard to Catholic emancipation were revealed in the royal speech, delivered by commission. The great Tory party, thus taken unawares, was furious. The Protestant clergy opposed the bill with all their influence and clamored for a dissolution of Parliament. In the excited state of Wellington's change of front public feeling, an immediate appeal to the country would undoubtedly have wrecked the bill. Unable to carry out such a plan, the Tory opposition showed itself ready to unite with any party in order to defeat the measure and wreak vengeance on its framers. Within the Cabinet itself, Wellington's change brought him bitter opposition. When the bill was brought into Parliament in March, the Attorney-General, Sir C. Wetherell, not content with refusing to draw the bill, sprang up to explain his position.

"Am I, then," he exclaimed, "to blame for refusing to do that, in the subordinate office of Attorney-General, which a more eminent adviser of the Wetherell's attack Crown, only two years ago, declared he would not consent to do? I dare them to attack me! I have no speech to eat up. I have not to say that a thing[Pg 772] is black one day and white another. I would rather remain as I am, the humble member for Plympton, than be guilty of such treachery, such contradiction, such unexplained conversion, such miserable and contemptible apostasy.... They might have turned me out of office, but I would not be made such a dirty tool as to draw that bill. I have therefore declined to have anything to do with it." Of course, Wetherell was at once dismissed.

But an opportunity to avenge his dismissal was soon afforded. Robert Peel, Defeat of Peel since he was not suffered to withdraw from the Ministry, felt in honor bound to go back to his constituents at Oxford. The Protestant party that had sent him to Parliament now opposed him with a simple country gentleman, Emancipation of English Catholics in no wise his Parliamentary equal. Peel was crushingly defeated. On the other hand, the Whig party almost in a body went over to the government. With their help the Catholic Emancipation act was passed. The Tories waited only for the time to strike down their former leaders.

The precarious position of Wellington's Ministry at home was offset by a Reforms in India firm policy abroad. In British India the new Governor-General, Lord Bentinck, upheld British prestige by his firm abolition of the native custom of burning widows and by his extermination of the roving gangs of Thugs. In regard to the Eastern Question and the war in the Balkans, England came to an agreement with Austria to frustrate Russia's plans with respect to Constantinople. Thanks to this entente cordiale between the two countries, enterprising English capital[Pg 773]ists and engineers were allowed to put into operation the first line of steamboats that plied the waters of Fanny Kemble the Danube. Among other minor events of interest to Englishmen during this year, may be mentioned the first public appearance of Fanny Kemble, the actress, and the earliest boat race between student crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. England lost two of her famous scientists during this year—Sir Humphry Davy and Thomas Young. Davy was Humphry Davy born in 1778 and died in Geneva. Besides inventing the miner's safety lamp, with which his name will be forever associated, he made valuable experiments in photography; discovered that the causes of chemical and electrical attraction are identical; produced potassium and sodium by the electric current; proved the transformation of energy into heat; formulated a theory of the properties of particles of matter (or atoms); and made remarkable experiments which led to the theory of the binary composition of Thomas Young chemical compounds. Young was born in 1773. At Cambridge they called him "Phenomenon Young," because he was said to know everything. In truth, Young developed into the most profound English scientist of the century. When only twenty he was asked to read papers before the Royal Society. In 1801 he delivered the Bakerian lecture, his subject being "The Theory of Light and Colors." That lecture marks an epoch in physical science; for it brought forward for the first time convincing proof of the correctness of the undulatory theory of light. The intangible substance which pulsates[Pg 774] and undulates to produce light, Young christened the "luminiferous ether." And the term is still to be found in our scientific vocabulary.

In the Balkans Russia's war with Turkey was waged with vigor. The winter War in the Balkans months had been spent in bringing up reserves. The Czar withdrew from interference at headquarters, and Wittgenstein was superseded by General Diebitsch, a trained Prussian soldier. This general made preparations to cross the Balkans as soon as Silistria should have fallen, without waiting for the fall of Shumla. On the other side of the Balkans the Russian fleet made a diversion so as to prepare the way for joining forces on the banks of the Black Sea. In accordance with these plans Diebitsch sent a strong force against Silistria. Before anything had been effected in front of Silistria, Reshid Pasha, the Turkish Grand Vizier, moved eastward from Shumla and took the field against the weak Russian forces at Varna. He lost time, however, and suffered himself to be held at bay by the Russians. Diebitsch hurried across Bulgaria in forced marches. Coming up in Reshid's rear he could either fall upon Shumla or force the Turks to open battle. He Battle of Kulevtcha chose the latter course. The Turks, harried in their rear, attempted to regain the roads to Shumla. On June 10, the two forces met in a pitched battle at Kulevtcha. Reshid was badly defeated, losing 5,000 men and forty-three guns, but made good his retreat to Shumla. Diebitsch had to lay siege to Shumla. Soon after this, Silistria fell into the hands of the Russians. Turning Varna over to [Pg 775] the Bulgarians, and leaving a blockading force before Shumla, Diebitsch boldly crossed the Balkans. The resistance Fall of Adrianople of the Turks was weak. On August 19, the Russians appeared before Adrianople. In the Black Sea the Russian frigate "Mercury" defeated two Turkish men-of-war. The Turks were seized with terror. Adrianople surrendered without a blow. In the Morea the Turks evacuated Tripolitza and Missolonghi and acknowledged the independence of Greece. The ports of the Black Sea, almost as far south as the Bosphorus, fell into Russian hands. Flying columns of the Russian army penetrated down to the Ægean coast and as far as the Euxine. Yet the Russians were so weak in numbers that anything like determined resistance could easily have checked them. As it was, all Turkish resistance collapsed before the Russian onward march Powers save Turkey toward Constantinople. The Sultan appealed to the Powers for help. England and Austria intervened, and peace was forced upon Russia. The treaty of Adrianople, signed on September 14, confirmed to Russia its protectorate over the Danubian principalities. No Mussulman was to be permitted to stay within the principalities, and all Turkish lands were to be sold within eighteen months. No fortified point on the left bank of the Danube was left to Turkey. Territory in Asia was ceded to Russia, as well as the ports of Poti and Anapa on the Black Sea. The waters of this sea were thrown open to international navigation; and the straits of Constantinople and the Dardanelles were declared open to the merchant ships of all [Pg 776] powers at Russia's hold on Turkey peace with the Porte. The payment of a money indemnity of 2,000,000 roubles to Russia was deferred, thus leaving to Russia the means for exerting pressure on the Yildiz Kiosk.

Russia's acceptance of foreign mediation at Adrianople brought disappointment to France. Reverting to Napoleonic ambitions, King Charles's Ministers had proposed a partition of the Ottoman Empire on the basis of a general rearrangement of Europe. Russia was to have the Danubian provinces French ambitions near the Austrian empire, Bosnia and Servia; Prussia was to have Saxony and Holland; Belgium and the Rhine provinces were to fall to France, and the King of Holland was to be installed in the Sultan's divan at Constantinople. It was a chimerical project which it was hoped might avert the impending troubles at home by dazzling acquisitions abroad. A formidable majority had been raised up against the government by its Polignac Prime Minister persistent encroachments upon the freedom of speech and of the press. Martignac's Ministry resigned and Prince Polignac, a crony of the King, was put in his place. In August, the "Journal des Débats" thundered against him: "Now again is broken that bond of love and confidence which joined the people to the monarch. The people pay a million of taxes to the law; they will not pay two millions on the orders of the Minister. What will he do Liberal opposition then? Will he bring to his assistance the force of the bayonet? Bayonets in these days have become intelligent. They know how to defend the law. Unhappy France, unhappy King!" The Bertins were prose[Pg 777]cuted for that article and condemned. It only made matters worse. Societies were formed throughout France to refuse the payment of taxes should the government attempt to raise them without the consent of the Chambers. In the face of this growing popular opposition, the King and his Minister resolved to prepare an expedition against Algiers. As Guizot put it, "They hope to get rid of their difficulties through conquest abroad and a resulting majority at home." The death of Paul Barras about this time served to revive revolutionary memories in France.

The memory of Madame de Staël and her struggle for freedom of speech and of literary opinion against Napoleon were recalled by the death of her The Schlegels long-time friend and biographer, Karl Friedrich Wilhelm von Schlegel, brother of August Wilhelm, the German poet. Karl studied at Göttingen and Leipzig, devoting most of his time to the classics. It was his ideal to become the "Winckelmann of Greek Literature." Schlegel's first publication was "Greeks and Romans." In 1798 he wrote "Lucinda," an unfinished romance, and "Alarcos," a tragedy. In 1803 he joined the Roman Church, and several years later was appointed an imperial secretary at Vienna. He served as Consul of Legation for Austria in the German Diet at Frankfort. Besides his published lectures, Schlegel's chief works are: "History of the Old and New Literature" (1815), "Philosophies of Life" (1828), "Philosophy of History" (1829), and the posthumous work "Philosophy of Language." His wife, a daughter of Moses Mendelssohn, was the author[Pg 778] of several works published under Schlegel's name. During the same year Pope Leo XII. died at Rome and was succeeded by Pius VIII.

In the United States of North America, John Quincy Adams was succeeded by Andrew Jackson. Calhoun was re-elected Vice-President. A motley crowd of Andrew Jackson inaugurated backwoodsmen and mountaineers, who had supported Jackson, crushed into the White House shouting for "Old Hickory." For the first time the outgoing President absented himself from the inauguration of his successor. He had remained at his desk until midnight of the previous day signing appointments which would deprive Jackson of so much more patronage. Jackson took his revenge by the instant removal of 167 political opponents. His remark, "To the victor belong the spoils," became a byword of American politics. The system of rotation in office dates from his administration.

Jackson's first Cabinet was headed by Van Buren, with Samuel D. Ingham for Secretary of the Treasury. The President also encouraged a set of "The Kitchen Cabinet" confidential advisers, among whom Kendall, Lewis and Hill were the most influential. They came to be known as the "Kitchen Cabinet." The regular members of the Cabinet were treated as mere head clerks. In one week Jackson vetoed more bills than any of his predecessors had done in four years. Other bills he held back until after the adjournment of Congress, and then failed to sign them. The bills remained, as it were, in the President's pocket. This new method of vetoing became notorious [Pg 779] as the"Pocket Vetoes" "Pocket Veto." In other respects Jackson's first administration was stormy. International relations were repeatedly threatened by the long-standing controversy over the indemnity for French spoliations. An adjustment of the indemnity claims with Denmark was likewise forced to an issue. At home, Jackson's abandonment of the principle of extreme protection and his hostility to the United States Bank lost him the support of the loose constructionists. As a Freemason, the President was likewise opposed by the Peggy O'Neill new anti-Masonic party in politics. In a quarrel over the character of the wife of Secretary Eaton, the beautiful Peggy O'Neill, all Washington was involved. It was commonly believed that the subsequent break-up of Jackson's Cabinet was caused by the social bickerings among the wives of the members. Van Buren was the first to resign. Soon he was appointed Minister to England, but the Senate rejected him through the vote of Vice-President Calhoun. Jackson afterward took his revenge by defeating Calhoun's aspirations to the Presidency through Van Buren. The new Cabinet consisted of Livingston, McLean, Cass, Woodbury, Tracy and Berry. By reason of the new protective tariff, the States of Georgia and South Carolina, toward the close of 1829, returning to the Kentucky Resolutions of 1799, affirmed the right of any State to declare null and void any act of Congress which the State Legislature deemed unconstitutional. This was the doctrine of nullification which grew to secession in 1860.[Pg 780]

The industrial progress of the United States was little affected by the political dissensions during Jackson's first Presidential year. On July 4, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was opened. The first trip of an American locomotive was made on the Carbondale and Honesdale road. Throughout the American development country many canals were opened; to wit, the Delaware and Chesapeake Canal, the Delaware and Hudson, and the Oswego in New York; the Farmington in Connecticut, and the Cumberland and Oxford Canal in Maine. Among the literary productions of the year were a collection of minor poems by Edgar Allan Poe, Parkman's earlier essays, Cooper's "Wept of the Wish-ton-Wish," Sparks's "John Ledyard," and Washington Irving's "Granada."

In England the first successful experiments with steam-propelled stage coaches were made by Sir Goldsworth Gurney. These machines were the precursors of the latter-day automobile vehicle. This account of a ride in the Gurney stage coach was published by the "United Service Journal":

"We numbered four in a coach attached to the steam carriage, and we had travelled without difficulty or mishap as far as Longford, where they were repairing the bridge over the Cambria. On this was a large pile of bricks, so high as to conceal what was happening on the other side. Precisely at the moment we began to cross the bridge the mail-coach from Bath arrived on the other end. As soon as we perceived it we shouted to the driver to take care; but, as he was not aware of the extraordinary [Pg 781] vehicle he was goingA contemporary description to meet, he did not slacken speed. To avoid a collision, Mr. Gurney guided our steam carriage into the pile of bricks. Some damage to our apparatus resulted, but was repaired in less than a quarter of an hour. As to the horses of the coach, they had taken the bit between their teeth and had to be cut loose.

"Upon our arrival at Melksham, we found that there was a fair in progress, and the streets were full of people. Mr. Gurney made the carriages travel as slowly as possible, in order to injure no one. Unfortunately, in that town the lower classes are strongly opposed to the new method of transportation. Excited by the postilions, who imagined that the adoption of Mr. Gurney's steam carriage would compromise their means of livelihood, the multitude that encumbered the streets arose against us, heaped us with insults, and attacked us with stones. The chief engineer and another man were seriously injured. Mr. Gurney feared we could not pursue our journey, as two of his best mechanics had need of surgical aid. He turned the carriage into the court of a brewer named Ales, and during the night it was guarded by constables."

To have assisted at the experiment of Gurney's steam carriage was, in those days, almost a title to glory. These carriages became speedily one of the curiosities of London. Foreign travellers who printed accounts of their Jobard journeys, did not fail to devote a chapter to the new means of locomotion. Jobard, the Belgian savant and economist, was of[Pg 782] the number, and so were Cuchette, St. Germain Leduc and C.G. Simon, three prominent scientific writers of that time. Jobard's impressions noted down at the time are Jobard's impressions worthy of record: "My first visit in England was to the starting station of Sir Goldsworth Gurney's steam omnibus, running between London and Bath. This carriage does not differ materially from other stage-coaches, nor has it had any serious mishap as yet. For my benefit it manœuvred back and forth over the street pavement and later on the smooth macadam of the highway, without any apparent difficulties of guiding. The drivers of other stage-coaches are agreed that the thing is a success, and that before long it will do them much harm."

Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, a forerunner of Charles Darwin died in this year. Lamarck As early as 1801 Lamarck had outlined his ideas of the transmutation of species and attempted to explain the manner in which that transmutation had been brought about. There is no such thing as a "species," he held; there are only individuals descended from a common stock and modified in structure to suit their environment. Lamarck was scoffed at in his own time; he was respected as a naturalist, but unrecognized as a prophet.

1830

[Pg 783] EARLY in the year, Bartholemy Thimonnier, a French tailor, took out a patent for his invention of a sewing machine. It was an invention destined First sewing machine to revolutionize the manufacture of clothing and the matter of dress in all civilized countries. Thimonnier's device was a chain stitch sewing machine worked with a treadle. It had taken the inventor, ignorant as he was of mechanics, four years of painful application to perfect it. The first to recognize the real value of the invention was M. Beunier, supervisor of mines at Paris. He took Thimonnier to Paris and installed him as a partner and manager of a large clothing firm that manufactured army uniforms. They set up eighty machines and did so well with them that the workmen of Paris, profiting by the revolutionary disturbances of the times, wreaked their vengeance on the new labor-saving device by wrecking the establishment. The inventor was compelled to flee for life. During the same year, another Frenchman, Charles Barbier, invented the system of raised printing for the blind.

Sir Thomas Lawrence, the celebrated English portrait painter, died at the outset of the year. In his early youth at Bristol and Oxford, this ar[Pg 784]tist showed marked talent for portraiture, and became a pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds at the Royal Academy. His delicate pastel portraits obtained great Sir Thomas Lawrence vogue in the most aristocratic circles of London. On the death of his master, Lawrence was appointed painter to the King. He became the fashionable portrait painter of the age. As such, Lawrence was summoned to Aix-la-Chapelle during the International Congress of 1818 to paint the various dignitaries of the Holy Alliance. While at Vienna he painted the famous pastel of Napoleon's son, the little King of Rome—by all odds the most charming of all the many likenesses of that unfortunate eaglet. Lawrence returned to England a few days after the death of Benjamin West, and was immediately elected to succeed him as President of the Royal Academy. He held this office for ten years, until his death. Among the most noted works of Lawrence, executed during this time, were the portraits of Master Lambton and of the Duke of Wellington. Lawrence's ambitious essays beyond the limits of portrait painting, such as his once celebrated "Satan," obtained no lasting success. After the artist's death a number of his best known canvases were collected for permanent exhibition in the Waterloo Gallery of Windsor.

In this year Joseph Jackson Lister, an English amateur optician, contributed to the Royal Society the famous paper detailing his recent experiments with the compound microscope. Aided by Tully, a celebrated optician, Lister succeeded in making of the microscope a practical scientific implementLister's microscope [Pg 785] rather than a toy. With the help of his own instrument Lister was able to settle the long mooted question as to the true form of the red corpuscles of the human blood.

In the face of the menacing attitude of the liberal elements of France, which had been rendered more acute by the King's increase of the Chamber of Peers to the detriment of the Deputies, the French Government launched forth upon the conquest of Algiers. It was believed to be an auspicious moment. The Sultan's reluctant acknowledgment of the independence of Greece, April 25, showed how powerless he was. The Dey of Algiers had insulted France by his discourteous treatment of a French consul. He refused the satisfaction demanded by France. On the failure of a blockade Conquest of Algiers to reduce the city of Algiers, an expedition commanded by Bourmont set out for Africa in spring. A landing was successfully effected by the middle of June. Early in July, Algiers was taken. Immense spoils, valued at 48,000,000 francs, were seized by the French. England grew apprehensive. George IV. had just died (June 26), and the Duke of Wellington, who was retained in power by the new king, William IV., demanded from the French England's vain protest Government an engagement to retain none of its new conquests. "Never," said Lord Alverdon to Lavel, the French Ambassador, "never did France, under the Republic or under the Empire, give England such serious ground of complaint as she has been giving us for the last year." It was in vain. The seething spirit of the people in France[Pg 786] seemed to demand an outlet. The victories of French arms in Africa were cast before the French people as a sop. The permanent annexation of Algiers was announced. It was too late.

The heated spirit of the rising generation had already been revealed in the "Hernani" hysterical demonstrations that occurred on the occasion of the first performance of Victor Hugo's "Hernani" on February 25. Conspicuous among the leaders of the literary tumult was Théophile Gautier, then a youth of Théophile Gautier eighteen, but already an author and an Hugolâtre intransigeant, who led the claque on this first night resplendent in a rose-colored doublet and streaming long hair. With him was young Balzac, who had just won renown and notoriety by his "Physiologie du Mariage," and the first of his "Contes Honoré de Balzac Drôlatiques." In March, the Liberals in the Chambers declared their want of confidence in the government by a majority of forty votes. Charles X., staking all on the success of his Algerian campaign, dissolved the Chambers. "No compromise, no surrender," was the motto of the Royalists as French Government outvoted they appealed to the people. The result was an overwhelming majority against the government. No less than 202 deputies pledged to opposition were elected. The whole of France was now waiting for the coup d'état, and Europe waited with France. "Your two weakest points are the electoral law and the liberty of the press," said Metternich to the French Ambassador in Vienna, "but you cannot touch them except through the Chambers. A coup d'état would ruin the dynasty." The[Pg 787] Czar, in St. Petersburg, spoke in a like strain to the Duc de Mortemart. Charles X. could not be restrained. "There are only Lafayette and I who have not changed since 1789," said the Charles Xth's Coup d'État King. On July 24, a Sunday, after attending mass, Charles X. signed the orders that were to rid him of his Chambers. All his Ministers signed with him. "For life and for death, gentlemen," said the King. "Count upon me as I count upon you."

The Orders in Council appeared in the "Moniteur" the next day. It was said that Sauvo, the editor of the "Moniteur," as he gave the order to go to press, exclaimed: "God protect the King." The publication of the edict Thiers caused an instant extraordinary fall in stocks. Thiers thundered against it in the "Journal des Débats." Government troops seized the printing presses of the leading journals. Murmuring crowds gathered on the streets. The King appointed Marshal Marmont commandant of Paris. It was the last stroke, for Marmont Marmont was popularly execrated as the betrayer of Napoleon. The National Guards brought forth their old tricolor cockades of the Revolution and the Empire. Though military patrols tramped the streets, the night passed quietly. Next morning all work stopped, and the people fell to building barricades. Whole streets were torn up. The pupils of the Polytechnic School broke open the gates and the tricolor flag floated on the towers of Notre Dame. Marshal Marmont reported to the King: "Sire, it is no longer a riot, but a revolution. There is urgent need for your Majesty to take means of pacifi[Pg 788]cation. Thus the honor of the Crown may yet be saved. To-morrow it will be too late." The King's answer was to declare Paris under a state The July revolution of siege. The so-called "Great Week," or "three days' revolution," had begun. The bourgeoisie or middle class and all the students joined the revolt. Before nightfall 600 barricades blocked the streets of Paris. Every house became a fortress. "Where do the rebels get their powder?" asked the King in astonishment. "From the soldiers," was the curt reply of the Procureur-General.

In the evening the Hôtel de Ville was captured. That evening the Ministers tried to enlighten the King, but he only replied: "Let the insurgents lay down their arms." While the discharges of artillery shook the windows of Charles X. obstinate the palace the King played whist. Next day two line regiments openly joined the revolt. The Louvre was stormed. Still the King at St. Cloud would not yield. "They exaggerate the danger," said he. "I know what concessions would lead to. I have no wish to ride like my brother on a cart." Instead of concessions he vested the command in the Dauphin, having grown suspicious of Marmont. The mob sacked the Tuileries and hoisted the tricolor flag on the clock tower. At the Hôtel de Ville a municipal Fall of Ministry commission was installed, composed of Lafayette, Casimir Périer, General Lobau and Audry de Puyraveau. At last, when it was too late, the King countermanded his obnoxious orders and dismissed Polignac with his Ministry. The people no longer paid attention to the King's acts. He was declared deposed. [Pg 789] A republic was proclaimed and its presidency offered to An interim republic Lafayette. But the old hero declined the honor. With Thiers he threw his influence in favor of the Duke of Orleans. The Duke of Orleans, the son of Philip Egalité, of Revolutionary fame, was invited to Paris to exercise the functions of lieutenant-general of the kingdom. The deposed King at St. Cloud hastened to confirm the appointment. The Duke of Orleans respectfully Duke of Orleans summoned declined the royal appointment. "You cannot receive things from everybody," said Dupont. General Lafayette soon came to pay his respects. "You know," said he, "that I am a republican, and consider the Constitution of the United States as the most perfect that has been devised." "So do I," replied the Duke; "but do you think that in the present condition of France it would be advisable for us to adopt it?" "No," answered Lafayette; "what the French people must now have is a popular throne, surrounded by republican institutions." "That is just my opinion," said Prince Louis Philippe.

Lafayette's conversation with the prince led to the so-called programme of the Hôtel de Ville. "I shall not take the crown," said the Duke of Orleans, "I shall receive it from the people on the conditions it suits them to impose. A charter will henceforth be a reality." At last Charles X. Charles X. abdicates abdicated in favor of his grandson, the Duke of Bordeaux. The Duke of Orleans refused to recognize the claims of Henri V., and France and Europe were with him. Charles X. relinquished further hopes.[Pg 790]

The Dauphin, formerly Duke of Angoulême, in like manner resigned his rights to his nephew. The act was signed on the 2d of August. Charles X. now set out for Normandy with his guards, commanded by Marmont, and, on August 16, embarked at Cherbourg in two American vessels, with the Dauphin and Louis Philippe, King of France Dauphiness, the Duchess of Berry, the Duke of Bordeaux, and a numerous suite of attendants. The ships sailed for England, and, anchoring at Spithead, the royal fugitives took up their residence at Lulworth Castle, in Dorsetshire, but eventually removed to Holyrood Castle at Edinburgh, which was placed at their disposal by the British Government. On August 9, Louis Philippe, on the formal request of the two Chambers, accepted the crown of France with a solemn oath to uphold the Constitution.

The overthrow of the Bourbons was not a revolution in the sense of the great French Revolution of the previous century. It resulted chiefly in the transfer of government from one political faction to another. Louis Philippe, raised to the throne by reason of his supposed democratic principles, rather than for his royal lineage, was a Republican only in name. His early education, together with that of his brothers, was directed Louis Philippe's previous career by the Countess of Genlis. On the outbreak of the Revolutionary war, the young Prince, then Duke of Chartres, fought with distinction by the side of Kellermann and Dumouriez at Valmy and Jemmapes. He accompanied the latter when he took refuge in the camp of the imperialists in April, 1793. After the death of[Pg 791] his father, Philippe Egalité, refusing to bear arms against France, he joined his sister and Madame de Genlis in Switzerland, where Sojourn in America they lived for some time under an assumed name. In 1795 he travelled into the north of Germany, Sweden and Norway, and in the following year sailed from Hamburg for the United States of America. Here he was joined by his two brothers, and after some years in America, during which they were often in distress, the three princes went to England in 1800. The Duke of Orleans now obtained a reconciliation with the heads of his family, Louis XVIII. and the Count of Artois. Subsequently he became a guest at the court of Ferdinand IV., the dispossessed King of Naples, at Palermo; and here was celebrated, in November, 1809, his marriage with the Princess Marie Amelie, daughter of that monarch. Upon the restoration of Louis XVIII. he re-entered France, and took his seat in the Chamber of Peers; but having fallen under suspicion of disaffection, he once more retired to England and "Le Roi Citoyen" did not reappear in France till 1817. During the remainder of the reign of Louis he took no part in public affairs and lived in tranquillity at his favorite villa of Neuilly. He was a "citizen king," only in so far as he sent his children to the public schools and walked about the streets of Paris with an umbrella under his arm. The most lasting effect in France of the July revolution was the obliteration of clerical influences in the administration and public education. The Royalist nobility likewise lost what political ascendency they had regained during the Restoration. Henceforth[Pg 792] A new power in France the party in power was that of the bourgeoisie or great middle class of France, of which Louis Philippe himself was the self-constituted representative.

Outside of France, on the contrary, the effects of the short revolution were far-reaching. In the Netherlands ever increasing friction between the Dutch-speaking Protestants of Holland and the French Catholics of Belgium Revolution in Belgium had excited the country to the point of revolution. Recent repressive measures on the part of the Dutch Government made matters worse. On August 25, the performance, at the Brussels Opera House, of Auber's "La Muette di Portici," with its representation of a revolutionary rising in Naples, gave the signal for revolt. From the capital the insurrection spread throughout Belgium. The King summoned the States-General to The Hague and agreed to an administrative separation of Belgium and Holland; but the storm was not quelled. On the appearance of Dutch troops in Brussels, barricades were Bombardment of Antwerp erected and the insurgents drove the soldiers out of the city. For several days fighting continued in the outskirts. A provisional government declared the independence of Belgium. Mediation by a conference in Holland was frustrated by the bombardment of Antwerp by its Dutch garrison. The French Liberals were burning to give assistance. Austria and Russia stood ready to prevent their intervention by force of arms. Louis Philippe, while holding the French war party in check, felt constrained to look about him for an ally. In this extremity[Pg 793] Talleyrand's last mission Prince Talleyrand, the old-time diplomat of the Bourbons, the Republic, the Empire and the Restoration, now in his eightieth year, was sent to London. He approached Wellington and the new King with such consummate address that an understanding was soon reached with England, which set at naught all projects of European armed Belgian Independence recognized intervention on behalf of the Prince of Orange. Such intervention could not have failed to drag the French into war. Now it was agreed that the regulation of Belgian affairs should be submitted to a conference at London. In the interim Belgian independence was accepted in effect and hostilities ended.

In Greece, the government of Capodistrias was beset with such difficulties Leopold of Coburg declines Greek crown that it was decided to invite some European prince to set up a constitutional monarchy. The throne was offered to Prince Leopold of Coburg, the husband of the late Princess Charlotte of England. Leopold accepted, but when he learned that the Powers would not grant complete independence to Greece, without restoring Ætolia, Thessaly and the fertile islands of Samos and Candia to the Sultan, he withdrew his acceptance.

Peace had scarcely been restored in the Netherlands when the spirit of revolt, travelling northward, seized the ardent people of Poland. Alexander's recognition of home rule in Poland had given the Poles a parliament and army of their own. After the Polish conspiracies at the outset of Nicholas's reign, Alexander's successor would no longer invoke the Polish Diet, and Russian troops and officers were sent into Poland. Of course this[Pg 794] was bitterly resented. Plans for an uprising had already been Revolution in Poland made in 1828 during the Turkish war. The example of the successful risings in Paris and Brussels now brought matters to a head. On November 29, the revolt broke out in Warsaw. The Polish regiments of the garrison joined the insurgents. The Russian troops, finding the odds against them, withdrew. Grandduke Constantine narrowly escaped with his life. A provisional Polish Diet was convoked. Prince Czartoryski was elected President. The Poles, in remembrance of the late Czar's kindly attitude toward them, flattered themselves that the fruits of their revolution might be left to them. Lubecki, the former chief of the Imperial Council in Poland, with two associates, set out for St. Petersburg to voice the Polish demands for constitutional government before the Czar. It was even proposed that constitutional government should be conceded to those Russian provinces that had formerly belonged to Poland. On the way to St. Petersburg the eyes of the envoys were opened as they met the formidable columns of Russian troops marching to the Polish frontier. Forthwith, Lubecki forsook the cause of Poland. His colleagues found difficulty in obtaining a hearing from the Czar. When they were finally admitted to the imperial palace, Nicholas gave them clearly to understand that Poland had but two alternatives, unconditional submission or complete subjugation. When this answer reached Warsaw it was too late to swing the outside Polish provinces and Lithuania into the movement.[Pg 795] War declared on Russia Yet the Polish Diet, in a spirit of patriotic frenzy amounting to national suicide, passed a resolution declaring that the House of Romanoff had forfeited the Polish crown. Feverish preparations were made for a life and death struggle with Russia.

The fall of the Bourbons in France had once more raised the hope of the Spanish Liberals. On the other hand, King Ferdinand's abolition of the Salic law of succession in Spain, so as to assure the throne to his new wife, raised up a party of absolutists against him. His brothers, Don Revolt in Spain Carlos and Francisco, became the heads of this movement and rallied their supporters around them, in the Basque provinces. In Portugal kindred dissensions rent the land in twain. Dom Miguel's claims to the crown were disputed on behalf of the constitutional government by the Duke of Palermo. Across the seas, Dom Pedro of Brazil proclaimed himself the legitimate heir to the throne of Braganza.

Like other South American States, Brazil was itself a prey to internal dissensions and civil strife. To put an end to the recurrent revolutions of South America, Simon Bolivar conceived a scheme for a Pan-American Congress to weld together all the quasi-republican governments of the Southern Hemisphere and Central America. Unfortunately for this project, Bolivar's own aspirations to dictatorial rule told against him. His chief opponents were those who were striving for a disruption of the Colombian Union. His own States, Peru and Bolivia, had already declared against him. The[Pg 796] Congress finally voted to give Bolivar a pension of $3,000 a year on Death of Bolivar condition that he should leave America forever. Bolivar's pride was stung to the quick. He resigned all public offices and honors, and went to Caracas to sail for England. He died at Santa Marta, on the sea-shore, on December 17. His last words were: "The people send me to the tomb, but I forgive them."

In Bolivar, South America lost the most fiery of her liberators. Born at Caracas, in 1783, he was pre-eminently a child of the modern spirit engendered by the French Revolution of 1792. He saw Spain in the days of its quasi-medieval darkness, and was in Paris at the close of the great Bolivar's career revolution. Later he was a witness of Napoleon's coronation as King of Italy, and saw for himself the benefits of republican institutions in North America. The turning-point in his career was the loss of his young wife after two years of domestic happiness. As he said himself: "I loved my wife so much that at her death I made a vow never again to marry. I have kept my oath. Perhaps, had I not lost her, my career would have been different. I might not, then, have been General of the Liberators. My second visit to Europe would never have been made. The ideas which I imbibed during my travels would not have come to me, and the experience I have had, the study of the world that I have made, and of men and things—all this, which has so well served me, would never have been. Politics would never have attracted me. But the death of my wife caused the love of my country to burn in[Pg 797] my heart, and I have followed the chariot of Mars rather than Ceres' plow."

In the new English penal colony of Van Diemen's Land in Australia, the Tasmania of latter days, the self-assertive and domineering traits of the Anglo-Saxon race were no less apparent among the convicts than among the few free settlers. A few years before this the colonists had proclaimed Van Diemen's Land themselves independent of New South Wales and established a separate government. The Van Diemen's Land Company received a grant of twenty-five thousand acres; white population increased; religious, educational and commercial institutions were founded. The natives were all but exterminated. During this year Governor Arthur made an extraordinary attempt to settle the native problem. His idea was to catch all the aborigines of the island and pen them up on the narrow neck of land known as Tasman's Peninsula. Upward of three thousand five hundred white persons, including three hundred soldiers, turned out for the exciting operation of clearing Van Diemen's Land by means of a cordon across the island. All seemed to be going well until the line of beaters contracted, when it was Extermination of natives found that the natives were in the rear, instead of in the front. The attempt proved a total failure; only two natives were captured. The total cost of the expedition amounted to £35,000. The individual measures of the settlers against the despised natives proved more efficacious. Within a few years, when the last of the Tasmanian aborigines were transferred from the mainland to Flin[Pg 798]der's Island, by the instrumentality of George Augustus Robinson, it was found that but three hundred were left. The white population—largely of convict antecedents—by this time numbered more than 15,000 persons.

In North America the doctrine of nullification, newly put forth, emphasized North American dissensions the growing differences between the Northern and Southern States. The great debate between Hayne and Webster came about casually in the course of a discussion of the sale of public lands. The topic of nullification was dragged in by Southern speakers. Webster felt called upon to uphold the Nullification debate cause of the Northern States. Smarting under some of his animadversions of Southern sloth, Hayne made a two-day speech in which he inveighed against the spirit of the New Englanders. His own State, South Carolina, and her sister States in the South, he declared, would defend their sovereign rights, or "perish in the last ditch." Webster's reply to those prophetic Webster's declaration words was the grandest oratorical effort of his life. He declared for the continued union of all the States in all their strength: "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." Jackson's progressive foreign policy poured oil on the troubled waters. His repeal of the shipping acts of 1818 and 1823 brought about a resumption of direct trade with the West Indies. On October 5, Jackson was able to issue a proclamation announcing the opening of permanent trade with all ports of the West Indies, Bermudas, Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico and South America.[Pg 799]

Anglo-American treaty This friendly treaty with America was the last satisfactory measure passed by Wellington's Ministry in England. As elsewhere in Europe the success of the sudden revolution in Paris created a great stir, and was brought home to Englishmen all the more forcibly by the deposed king's flight to English O'Connell's State trial shores. In Ireland, matters were stirred up by Daniel O'Connell, who now commenced an agitation for the repeal of the union with England. His prosecution for treason became a State trial. O'Connell's ultimate conviction once more alienated the powerful Catholic Association of Ireland. The Duke of Wellington became so prejudiced against reform that he declared in Parliament: "I am not only averse to bringing forward any Anti-reform utterances measure of this nature, but I will at once declare, so far as I am concerned, so long as I hold any station in the government of the country, I shall always feel it my duty to resist such a measure when proposed by others." After this declaration the fall of the Ministry was assured. Stocks fell in London from 84 to 77 points. Abuse and obloquy were heaped upon the Ministers from every quarter. Caricatures of them were stamped even on handkerchiefs and calico aprons. The Duke was mostly represented in the livery of an old hackney coachman, while Sir Robert Peel figured as a Wellington unpopular rat catcher. The King no longer concealed his dislike of Wellington, who in former days had mortally offended him by his support of Admiral Cockburn, resulting in the resignation of the Prince as Lord High Admiral of England. As soon as Parliament was reopened[Pg 800] late in the year, a significant rebuff was administered to the Ministry by the Crown. The King preferred to deliver his speech in person. In the face of the Prime Minister's Fall of Ministry declaration against reform, Sir Harry Parnell, even before the delivery of the King's speech, announced a bill for the revision of the civil list. Parnell's motion was carried. Brougham followed this up with a motion for a reform of the rotten borough system. Rather than submit to another inevitable defeat Wellington's Ministry resigned. Earl Grey, leader of the Earl Grey, Prime Minister Whig opposition, was made Prime Minister. Brougham was raised to the peerage, and accepted the post of Lord Chancellor. Palmerston was reappointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Lord Grey's appointment of six or seven of his relatives to administrative posts weakened his Ministry from the outset.

1831

[Pg 801] UNDER the leadership of Lord Palmerston, the Belgian Conference in London was conducted to a successful issue. Early in January the representatives of the Powers signed a protocol defining the limits of Belgium and Holland and apportioning to each country its share in the national debt. The problem of providing an acceptable government for Belgium still remained. The Belgians themselves would have welcomed incorporation into France. With Belgian conference this object in view they elected for their sovereign the Duc de Nemours, second son of Louis Philippe. When a proclamation to this effect was made on February 3, Louis Philippe, acting under Talleyrand's advice, withheld official sanction. Privately he had encouraged his son's candidacy, the more so as a Bonapartist rival, the son of Eugene Beauharnais, was in the field. The conference at London determined not to permit Belgium thus to become a dependency of France. The British Government decided that it would no longer discountenance armed intervention in Belgium against French schemes of aggrandizement. Talleyrand obtained the best terms open to his sovereign by insisting on the withdrawal of the Bonapartist pretender.[Pg 802] Leopold, King of Belgium The selection of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who had just been disappointed in his aspirations for the empty throne of Greece, was encouraged by France on the understanding that Leopold, if elected King of Belgium, should marry a daughter of Louis Philippe. Leopold was elected on June 4, and accepted the crown only on the condition that the London Conference should modify Luxemburg question its territorial arrangements of January. This brought up the Luxemburg question. Since the Paris treaty of 1814, the formidable stronghold of Luxemburg, though under the sovereignty of the King of Holland, was maintained as the strongest border fortress of the German Confederation. Dutch invasion of Belgium Now, the Luxemburgers had made common cause with the Belgians. Leopold accordingly insisted that Luxemburg should be treated as an integral part of Belgium. The powers at London yielded to this demand sufficiently to annul the declarations of January, with the promise of a future settlement of the status of Luxemburg. On this repudiation of the recent international French counter-invasion declaration in favor of the Netherlands, the King of Holland took up arms. A Dutch army of 50,000 advanced into Belgium. Leopold at once appealed to France for assistance. A French army marched into Belgium from the other side. The powers at London made haste to intervene. A British fleet made a Foreign intervention demonstration before Antwerp. Under pressure Leopold signed an agreement to raze the fortifications on the Belgian frontier. Reluctantly the King of Holland recalled his army. Under the threat of another armed[Pg 803] coalition against France, Louis Philippe withdrew his forces. Outward tranquillity was once more restored. No immediate settlement, however, was reached in regard to Luxemburg. The union of the Luxemburgers with the Belgians remained in effect, while on the other hand strong German garrisons continued to hold the fortifications. For years to come this remained a vexatious problem.

After the restriction of the Greek frontiers by the Powers, Capodistrias' government was appreciably weakened. As difficulties thickened about him, he resorted to the restrictive measures he had become accustomed to while Prime Minister of Russia. He felt that the cause of Greece would be Difficulties in Greece jeopardized unless order was maintained at any cost. When the old revolutionary leaders became turbulent, Capodistrias only put his government on a firmer basis. Mavrocordato, Konduriottes and Miaulis at this juncture waited upon the President as a committee from the opposition Holocaust of Greek fleet and demanded the withdrawal of the obnoxious measures. Capodistrias would not yield, and the popular leaders betook themselves to Hydra. Preparations for civil war were begun. The President sent out an expedition to suppress them. To prevent the fleet from falling into his hands at Paros, Miaulis set fire to the "Hellas," the American-built frigate, and that ship and twenty-eight others were burned to the water's edge. Among those that were Mavromichalis imprisoned imprisoned by Capodistrias was Petro Mavromichalis, the hero of the Morea. The Russian admiral sailed to Nauplia to intercede in his behalf, but in vain. Mavro[Pg 804]michalis' brother and son, Constantine and George, appealed to the President in person, but were put under arrest themselves. On October Assassination of Capodistrias 9, Constantine and George Mavromichalis fell upon Capodistrias as he was going to church and shot him dead. One of the assassins was killed on the spot while the other was executed later. Capodistrias' brother, Augustine, assumed charge. His government was short-lived. After a few months he sailed away with his brother's body to Corfu.

Revolt in Bologna In the meantime another blow for national unity was struck in Italy. On the death of Pius VIII., late in 1830, Gregory XVI. was elected. He had scarcely been installed in the chair of St. Peter, when a report reached him that Bologna had revolted against papal rule. On February 3, Menotti Menotti raised the signal of revolt at Modena. He was lured into the power of the Grandduke of Modena, but the insurrection spread so rapidly throughout the north of Italy that the Grandduke had to fly to Austria. Menotti was carried to Austria and there put to death. It was about this time that Mazzini Mazzini made his first public appearance as a revolutionist and was imprisoned. Pope Gregory sent Cardinal Benvenuti to Bologna as a legate to treat with the rebels, but the legate was made a captive and the revolt Papal legate repudiated spread southward to the papal dominions. In his extremity the Pope called upon Austria for help.

Austria, whose own dominions in Italy were threatened, had every reason to grant this request. The only obstacle was the threatening attitude of[Pg 805] France. Before sending out his troops, Metternich took pains to ascertain Austrian intervention invoked the immediate intentions of France. The official answer given to the inquiries of the Austrian Ambassador in Paris, was that Austrian intervention in favor of the sovereigns of Parma and Modena, who were related to the House of Hapsburg, might be tolerated. An extension of such intervention to the Papal States or to Piedmont would certainly constitute Attitude of France a casus belli. In token of this declaration, the French Ambassador at Constantinople was instructed to make overtures for an offensive and defensive alliance to the Sultan.

In this crisis Metternich put forth all the powers of statesmanship at his command. He declared that it was better for Austria, if necessary, to perish by war than by revolution. On the instant he assured to Russia the Metternich diplomacy support of Austria against the Poles, while he worked upon the fears of Louis Philippe by pointing to the presence of young Louis Bonaparte and his brother with the Italian insurgents. As a last resort he could always let loose upon France Napoleon's son, the Duke of Reichstadt, now growing to manhood at Vienna. In defiance of the French declaration, Austria advanced Papal dominions invaded a strong army through northern Italy into the papal dominion. The insurrection was ruthlessly stamped out. Louis Philippe did nothing. Lafayette resigned his Ministry in chagrin. He was succeeded by Casimir Périer, a constitutional statesman of modern mold. On behalf of France he put forward a double-edged demand that the Austrians[Pg 806] should evacuate the papal dominions as soon as the papal government should reform its abuses. Casimir Périer's French policy For the first time in their history, Austria and the Papacy were made to declare for constitutional reforms. A conference at Rome agreed upon the schemes of reforms to be instituted by the Pope. Further pretext for revolution was thus removed. In July, the last Austrian forces were withdrawn from the Papal States.

The Polish struggle, during the earlier part of this year, had assumed the War in Poland proportions of a national war. In February, the Russians took the offensive. General Diebitsch at the head of a column of 120,000 men marched into Poland. In the first encounters against the Polish forces, who were led by officers who had served under Napoleon, the Russians sustained such losses at Stoczek, Grochov and Bialolenska that Diebitsch had to call for Early successes reinforcements. The main body of the Russian army had to abandon the bank of the Vistula. Three detached corps remained stationed there. The Polish general, Skrzynecki, who had succeeded Prince Radzivil in the command, then took the offensive. He defeated the Russians under Geismas at Waver, and Polish disasters General Rosen at Dembevilkie and Igknie, but then stopped short. In the meanwhile a Polish expedition into Volhynia failed completely. Dvernicki was driven back into Gallicia. Another Polish expedition sent into Lithuania under Vilna likewise ended in disaster. The main body of the Ostrolenka Poles had to cross the Prussian frontier. Only one division under Dembinski recovered the road to Warsaw. In the[Pg 807] interval, the Polish army under Skrzynecki fought a pitched battle on May 26 with the right wing of the Ravages of cholera Russian main army at Ostrolenka. After a severe fight the Poles had to fall back over the Narev. Cholera now broke out in both camps. General Diebitsch and Grandduke Constantine on the Russian side succumbed to the disease. During this breathing space for the Poles, a revolution against the Death of Diebitsch provisional government broke out in Warsaw. The streets ran with blood. Czartoryski fled in disguise. General Krukoviecki was made dictator. He shot a number of the mutineers and replaced Skrzynecki by Dembinski. Prussia and Austria turned against the Poles. The Prussian arsenals and Civil war in Poland military stores at Dantzig and Kœnigsberg were placed at the disposal of Diebitsch's successor, General Paskievitch. He crossed the Vistula at Warsaw and marched on the capital along the left bank. On September 6, the Russians attacked Warsaw from the side of Vola and Czyste. On the Polish Paskievitch, Russian commander side Wysocki, who had begun the revolution, and General Suvenski, who had lost a leg at Borodino, were killed. Krukoviecki offered to capitulate. The Russians demanded unconditional surrender. The Polish Diet deposed Krukoviecki and put Niemoievski in command. Paskievitch ordered a general attack on the city. The Russians stormed the ramparts and Warsaw Fall of Warsaw capitulated. "Sire, Poland lies at your feet," wrote Paskievitch to the Czar. It was the truth. At Plock 20,000 Poles laid down their arms. Ramarino took 15,000 into Gallicia.[Pg 808]

Emperor Nicholas made an example of Poland. All those who had borne a prominent part in the insurrection were banished to Siberia. The Poland's aspirations crushed constitution granted by Alexander was annulled. No more Polish Diets were tolerated. Poles in public office were superseded by Russians. The Polish soldiers and officers were mustered into Russian ranks and distributed over widely different points of the empire. The country was divided into Russian provinces, and Russian systems of taxation, coinage and of administration of justice were imposed upon Poland. In Lithuania, the Polish language was Polish patriots scatter banished from the schools. The University of Vilna was suppressed. Henceforth the ancient spirit of Poland lived only in those foreign exiles who fomented revolutionary risings in Italy, France, Austria and Germany.

Until the subjugation of Poland, the German governments, apprehensive of the course that events might take, had shown moderation in meeting the liberal movements incited by the French and Polish revolution. Trouble first broke out in Brunswick and Hesse, the two worst-governed States of Spirit of revolt in Germany Germany. The despotic princes of Brunswick and Hesse had to resign, and reforms were instituted by their successors. In Hanover and Saxony, too, the people had to be appeased by parliamentary concessions and an extension of the liberty of the press. In the Bavarian Palatinate, where French institutions and ideas prevailed, the tricolor of France and the flag of Poland were saluted side by side with the red, black and gold banner of[Pg 809] ancient Germany. After the fall of Warsaw the governments of Prussia and Austria insisted on new reactionary measures. The Diet of the German Liberal leaders lost Confederation began a campaign against all liberal tendencies. German liberalism during this dark period lost some of its foremost leaders by the deaths of Stein the statesman, Arnim the poet, Niebuhr the historian, and Hegel the philosopher.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born in 1770 at Stuttgart. He held chairs successively at the Universities of Jena, Heidelberg and Berlin. His works Death of Hegel reached an aggregate of eighteen volumes. As a philosopher he was one of the most brilliant exponents of modern rationalism. He reached this standpoint by pushing to their extreme logical conclusions the philosophical doctrines enunciated by Kant. Hegel's most lasting works proved to be his "Phenomenology of the Mind," "History of Philosophy," and German emigration to America "Philosophy of Religion." At the time of Hegel's death there was a general exodus of German liberals to Switzerland, France and America.

Despite a small but influential class of Americans who copied foreign manners, the United States of America had gained something of a national character in European estimation. In the New World alone, labor was deemed compatible with gentility. The increasing facilities of traffic and manufacture gave a tremendous impulse to the development of the country. Thus a surprising number of railroads were opened in the States of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Improvements connecting Phila[Pg 810]delphia and Pittsburg were completed at a cost of twelve million dollars. Several thousand miles were covered by canals.

The American census of 1831 showed nearly 13,000,000 inhabitants, a Development of the United States doubling of the population since the beginning of the century. An area of 725,406 square miles of territory was contained in thirty-four States and three Territories. The population spread westward, no longer in large groups, but in small bodies of pioneers, travelling along the chief rivers. West of the Missouri River all was still virgin soil. During this year Chicago founded Schoolcraft discovered the source of the Mississippi. The settlement of Chicago was laid out and the first sale of lots there was held. A boundary and commercial treaty was concluded with Mexico in the spring. Later in the year President Jackson obtained from the French Government a promise of 25,000,000 francs indemnity for the spoliations on American commerce made Black Hawk war under Napoleon. On April 21, the so-called Black Hawk war broke out with the Indian tribes of the Sacs and Foxes. Some 6,500 soldiers were despatched to subdue them. In this war it so happened that Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis served as captain and lieutenant.

The issue of slavery was brought to the front early in the year. On the Abolitionist movement first day of January, Garrison's "Liberator" appeared in Boston. Garrison advocated immediate and unconditional emancipation of the black slaves. In his first issue he said: "I will not retreat a single inch, and I will be heard." It was not long before Garrison made[Pg 811] himself heard, and gathered about him a few men and women as determined as himself. Among them was the William Garrison young poet Whittier, Louis Tappan, and Lucretia Mott, the Quaker. A storm of obloquy and persecution was raised against Garrison. Social and public ostracism was visited upon him and his fellow abolitionists. Garrison's efforts to free the negroes were made especially unwelcome in the South by Nat Turner's revolt an insurrection of blacks led by Nat Turner of South Hampton. The revolt was speedily suppressed, and Turner with seventeen of his followers suffered death by hanging. Turner's attempt called forth a debate of several weeks in the Virginia Legislature, remarkable throughout for its exposure of the evils of slavery and their bad effect on national prosperity.

One of the foremost statesman of the day was lost to America by the death Death of Monroe of James Monroe. He expired on July 4, the third President to die on Independence Day. Monroe was born in Virginia in 1758. He was educated at William and Mary College, studied law under Jefferson, and became a member of the Continental Congress at twenty-five. He saw his first military service in the War of the Revolution. Appointed Minister to France in 1794 he was recalled in 1796, and was Governor of Virginia from 1799 to 1802. He then returned to France as envoy extraordinary and helped to accomplish the purchase of Louisiana. In 1811 he was again made Governor of Virginia. He served as Secretary of State under Madison from 1811 to 1817 and also as Secretary of War from 1814[Pg 812] Monroe's career to 1815. When the War of 1812 emptied the national treasury he pledged his personal credit for the defence of New Orleans. In 1816 he was elected President of the United States. While serving his second term as President, Monroe sent to Congress the famous message against European intervention in South America, which has permanently linked his name with the doctrine of "America for the Americans." His name has been preserved likewise in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, the negro free state in Africa, which was founded under his auspices.

Throughout this year in England raged the great debate over the The Reform Bill government's proposed reform of the rotten borough system. A bill to this effect was introduced by Lord Russell on March 1, immediately after the opening of Parliament. In the seven days' debate that followed the best speakers of England took part, among them Lord Palmerston, Sir Robert Peel, Daniel O'Connell, and young Macaulay, who had only just entered Parliament. By the opponents of the bill reform was denounced as revolution. The government of the United States of North America was cited as a deterrent example. Thus Sir Robert Peel said:

"Many experiments have been tried to engraft democratical on monarchical Robert Peel's speech institutions, but how have they succeeded? In France, in Spain, in Portugal, in the Netherlands, in every country on the face of the earth, with the exception of the United States, has the experiment of forming a popular government, and of uniting it with monarchy, been[Pg 813] tried; and how, I will again ask, has it succeeded? In America, the House has been told that the most beneficent effects of a representative form of government are plainly visible. But I beg to remind the House that there is a wide difference indeed between the circumstances of this country and of America. America a "Deterrent Example" In the United States the Constitution has not been in existence more than forty years. I will not say it has been deteriorating, for I wish to avoid all invidious phrases; but it has been rapidly undergoing a change from a republic to a mere democracy. The influence of the executive—the influence of the government—has been daily becoming less, and more power has consequently been vested in the hands of the people. And yet, in that country, there is land uncultivated to an extent almost incalculable—there is no established church, no privileged orders—property exists on a very different tenure from that on which it is held in this country; therefore let not the people of England be deceived, let them not imagine, from the example of the United States, that because democracy has succeeded and triumphed there, it will also succeed and triumph here."

Altogether seventy-one speakers joined in the debate. In the end the Reform Bill debate government obtained a second reading of the bill by a bare majority of one. The opposition had made a motion to withdraw the bill. After another prolonged debate this was carried against the government by a majority of eight. Parliament was dissolved as both Houses were on the point of carrying a motion asking the[Pg 814] King not to consent to a dissolution. The Exciting elections elections which followed were turbulent in the extreme. Throughout England the reformers raised the cry: "The bill, the whole bill, and nothing but the bill." It was then that the custom of electioneering by means of processions and bands of music came into vogue. When the results of the Tories defeated elections were announced it was found that the Tories had lost more than a hundred seats. On the other hand a few of the most prominent supporters of the government suffered signal defeat, notably Lord Palmerston and Cavendish. On the Tory side, young Gladstone, then still a student at Oxford, came into notice by his warm speech against the proposed reform. Parliament was reopened with another hot debate on the all-engrossing bill. Cobbett's state trial It was passed to a second reading by a strong majority of 135 votes. Scarcely had this been accomplished when the government was embarrassed by William Cobbett's state trial for sedition. Throughout the trial the Attorney-General treated Cobbett with marked courtesy, speaking of him as "one of the greatest masters of the English language who had ever composed in it."

In truth Cobbett's pure, virile, racy, Saxon style, while it delighted men of taste, was also intelligible to the humblest commoner, and accounted in some measure for the tremendous popularity of his journal, the "Political Register." The government was unable to secure Cobbett's conviction and he was suffered to escape punishment by a disagreement of the jury. After this interlude the debate on the[Pg 815] Macaulay Reform Bill went on. On the second night of the debate Thomas Babington Macaulay delivered his first reform speech. When he sat down he had taken rank among the best Parliamentary orators. "Portions of the speech," said Sir Robert Peel, "were as beautiful as anything I have ever heard or read. It reminded me of old times. The names of Burke, Fox and Canning during the evening were linked with that of Mr. Macaulay." The "Spectator" computed the number of speeches which were delivered in committee between the middle and end of July at more than two hundred. Sir Robert Peel alone spoke forty-eight times, while Wetherell, the Tory wag of the House, spoke fifty-eight times. Finally the Opposition was caught unawares late one night on September 19, when they could muster Commons pass Reform Bill but fifty-eight votes before the doors closed for division, and the bill was thus passed to its third reading. The Tories took pains to be present in force a few days afterward, when the final passage of the bill was moved. After a last passionate debate lasting through three days and nights the Commons passed the bill by a majority of 106 votes. That same night Earl Grey proposed the bill before the Lords. Addressing himself to the bishops he said significantly: "I specially beg the spiritual portion of your lordships to pause and reflect. If this bill shall be thrown out by a narrow majority and the scale should be turned by the votes of the prelates, what would be their situation? Let them set their houses in order!" These menacing words gave great offence to the clergy. The Duke of Wellington [Pg 816] Rejected by the Lords spoke strongly against the measure. The bill was thrown out by the Lords after an all-night debate.

The immediate effect was a sharp decline in stocks. A few hours after the House of Peers adjourned at six o'clock in the morning, a run for gold began on the Bank of England. The simultaneous effort of the French to abolish their hereditary peerage was hailed as an omen of what was coming in England. Riots broke out all over England. The return to Bristol of Sir Riots in England C. Wetherell, one of the chief opponents of the bill, was made the occasion of ominous demonstrations. A riotous mob burned the mansion house over his head. Next, the Bishop of Bristol was driven from his episcopal seat. The mob fired the mansion house, the bishop's palace, the excise office, the custom house, three prisons, four toll houses, and forty-two private houses of prominent Tories.

No one was injured until the troops were called in to disperse the mob. Then a number of rioters were sabred and shot. About the same time riots broke out at Bath, Worcester, Coventry, Warwick, Lichfield, Nottingham and Canterbury. With difficulty Archbishop Howley of Canterbury was rescued from the hands of an infuriated mob. The Bishops of Winchester and Exeter were burned in effigy before their very palaces. The Bishop of London did not dare to hold services at Westminster. The news from France served to increase the alarm. Disturbances of a far more serious character were reported from Lyons.[Pg 817]

Late in the year, after another rejection of the Reform Bill by the Lords, Reform Bill up again the bill was triumphantly reintroduced in the Commons. The question now was no longer, "What will the Lords do?" but, "What will be done with the Lords?" Rather than risk the threatening downfall of the House of Peers, the Ministers reluctantly determined to pack the Upper House by the creation of a sufficient number of new peers pledged to vote for the Reform Bill. A verse attributed to Macaulay ran:

"Thus," as Molesworth, the historian of the Reform Bill, has put it, "amid the anxieties of the reformers on one hand, and the dread of revolution on the other, amid incendiary fires and Asiatic cholera spreading throughout the country, amid distress of trade and dread of coming bankruptcy, the year 1831 went gloomily out."

1832

[Pg 818] THE new year opened in England with a series of trials arising out of the English sedition trials disturbances which followed the rejection of the Reform Bill in the House of Lords. A great number of rioters were convicted. Altogether, seven men were put to death at Bristol and Nottingham. The officers who commanded the troops during the riots were court-martialed. When Parliament reassembled, the Commons once more passed the Reform Bill and carried it up to the Lords. In the course of the renewed debate on the Reform Bill in the House of Peers the Duke of Wellington announced that he had reason to believe that the King did not approve of the bill. The statement was confirmed by Fall of Grey's Cabinet the King's refusal to create new peers wherewith to pass the bill through the Upper House. Thereupon Lord Grey and his colleagues resigned from the Ministry. The King accepted their resignation. Monster petitions were immediately sent in to the Commons from Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and other great centres of population, urging the Commons to refuse the supplies until reform should have been secured. Once more stocks fell sharply. For the express purpose of embarrassing the King's chosen successors for the[Pg 819] Cabinet, runs were made on the Bank of England, and on the savings banks at Birmingham and Manchester. The streets of London were covered with placards: "Go for gold and stop the Duke!" In the face of this Wellington impotent agitation the Duke of Wellington declined the King's offer to form a Ministry. Sir Robert Peel likewise declined. As a last resort Wellington consented to form a Ministry, but could not get together a Cabinet strong enough to stem the storm. The Iron Duke's popularity as well as the King's was at an end. When the King came up to London, accompanied by his sons, they were received with hoots and insults. Missiles were thrown at the The King humiliated royal carriage, and the Life Guards had to fight a way through the mob with their swords. The King was driven to the humiliating expedient of recalling his dismissed Ministers. William IV. now consented to create the required number of new peers. Lord Brougham gave mortal offence to the King by a request that he should put his promise in writing. With the King's written pledge in their hands the Ministers obtained an agreement from their opponents to pass the bill without further coercion. Early in June, at Passage of Reform Bill length, the Reform Bill passed through the House of Lords after a third reading. One hundred and six peers voted for it and only twenty-two against it. On this occasion Sir Robert Peel made a remark to which his subsequent change of front gave peculiar significance: "Whenever the government comes to deal with the corn laws, the precedent formed by the present occasion will be appealed to." The reform measure,[Pg 820] as at last adopted, swept away 142 seats in the Commons. It gave to the counties sixty-five additional Changes effected representatives and conferred the right of sending members to Parliament on Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and thirty-nine other large towns hitherto unrepresented. The King showed his disapproval of the reform by peremptorily declining to give his assent to the bill in person. The Crown's sanction was given by commission. This ended all agitation for the time being.

It was in May that the great Powers, in response to another appeal from Otto, King of Greece Greece, suggested Prince Otto of Wittelsbach, the second son of the Philhellene King of Bavaria, for the vacant throne. This choice was ratified in October amid general rejoicings by the population of Greece.

In Italy, early in the year, the Pope's failure to carry out his promise of reform created new troubles. An amnesty, which had been granted by the legate Benvenuti, was disregarded and the papal soldiery practiced all manner of repression. Another revolt broke out and once more the Austrians, at the Pope's request, crossed the frontier. They restored order so well Foreign intervention in Italy that they were actually welcomed as protectors against the ruthless condottieri of the papal troops. Austria's intervention was resented by France as a breach of the peace. Casimir Périer, now on his deathbed, despatched a French force to Ancona. The town was seized before the Austrians could approach it. Austria accepted the situation, and both powers in Italy remained face to face jealously watching each other.[Pg 821] Had Casimir Périer lived he might have made Ancona a lever for effecting the desired reforms at Rome. As it was, the French garrison at Ancona remained merely as a balancing point between the contending parties in Italy.

France in the same year lost one of its distinguished men of science, by Death of Cuvier the death of Baron Cuvier, the great naturalist. Georges Leopold Cuvier was born in 1769 at Montbeliard. After studying at Stuttgart he became private tutor in the family of Count D'Hericy in Normandy, where he was at liberty to devote his leisure to natural science and in particular to zoology. A natural classification of the Vermæ or worms was his first achievement. The ability and knowledge shown in this work procured him the friendship of the greatest naturalists of France. He was invited to Paris, took a chair at the Ecole Centrale, and was received by the Institute as a member of the first class. His lectures on natural history, distinguished not less for the elegance of their style than for profound knowledge and daring speculation, were attended by some of the most accomplished persons of Paris. In January, 1800, Cuvier was appointed to the Collège de France. Under Napoleon, who fully recognized his merits, Cuvier held important offices in the department of public instruction. Under the Restoration he was made one of the forty members of the French Academy. In 1831, a year prior to his death, he was appointed a Peer of France. Among the numerous works by which Cuvier greatly expanded the study of natural history[Pg 822] may beCuvier's Works mentioned as foremost "Researches into Fossil Bones," "Discourse of the Revolutions on the Surface of the Globe," "A Course of Comparative Anatomy," "Natural History of Fishes," and his great work, "The Animal Kingdom," with its subdivisions into the four great classes—vertebrates, mollusks, articulates and radiates.

On March 22, Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany's foremost man of letters, Death of Goethe expired at Weimar. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in 1749, at Frankfort-on-the-Main, the son of a councillor under the old German empire. His best traits were inherited from his mother. As he himself sang in later years:

His father had him educated for the study of law. In his sixteenth year he Goethe's career was sent to the University at Leipzig. Later he went to Strasburg, where he became acquainted with the poet Herder, and had his first love affair with Friederike Brion of Sesenheim, whose charm has been kept alive in Goethe's autobiography, "Dichtung und Wahrheit." In 1772 he returned to Frankfort "Goetz von Berlichingen" and practiced law. While thus engaged he wrote his first romantic-historical play, "Goetz von Berlichingen." In the following year he published his sentimental romance, "The[Pg 823] Sorrows of Werther," based in a measure on one of his own unfortunate love affairs at Wetzlar. Both of "The Sorrows of Werther" these early works achieved instant success. "The Sorrows of Werther" inaugurated in German literature what is known as the period of storm and stress. Disenchantment of life, or "Weltschmerz," became a fashionable malady. The romantic suicide of Goethe's sentimental hero Werther was aped by a number of over-susceptible young persons. Wieland drew the attention of the Duke of Weimar to Goethe, and the young poet was invited to Weimar. Goethe at Weimar He remained under the patronage of this enlightened prince until the end of his days. At Weimar, Goethe was the centre of a court comprising some of the foremost spirits of Germany. The little capital became a Mecca for poets, scholars, artists and musicians from all over the world. Goethe's only rival poet in Germany, Schiller, was drawn into the circle and the two became life-long friends. Most of Goethe's lyric poems were written during the first ten years at Weimar. At the outbreak of the French Revolution he "Hermann und Dorothea" accompanied the Duke of Weimar in one of the campaigns against France. The thrilling atmosphere of the Revolution furnished him with a literary background for his epic idyl, "Hermann und Dorothea." Goethe's subsequent journey to Italy, which was a turning-point in the poet's career, was commemorated in his "Letters from Italy"—a classic among German books of travel. Another eminently successful creation was the epic of "Reynard, the Fox," modelled after the [Pg 824] famous bestiary poems of early Flemish and French literature.

Goethe's dramas During the same period Goethe wrote four of his greatest dramas, "Iphigenie in Tauris," "Torquato Tasso," "Egmont," and the first part of "Faust." Later he wrote his great prose work, "Die Wahlverwandtschaften," a quasi-physiological romance; "Wilhelm Meister's Lehr und Wander Jahre," a narrative interspersed with some of Goethe's finest lyrics, such as the "Wilhelm Meister" songs of Mignon and of the old harper, as well as the famous critique of Hamlet. The height of Goethe's superb prose style was reached in "Dichtung und Wahrheit," which stands as one of the most charming autobiographies of "Dichtung und Wahrheit" all times. Goethe's versatility as a writer and man was shown not only by his free use of all literary forms, but also by his essays on such abstruse subjects as astrology, optics, the theory of color, comparative anatomy and botany. Shortly before his death, the poet finished the greatest of his "Faust" works, the tragedy "Faust." He died in the eighty-third year of his life, uttering the words "More Light." Goethe was entombed in the ducal vault at Weimar, by the side of his friends, Friedrich Schiller and Carl August of Weimar.

Like Heine, Goethe offended his fellow Germans by his apparent lack of purely national and patriotic sentiments. To the present day his outspoken admiration of Napoleon and his cold abstention from the ardent enthusiasm of the Prussian war of Liberation have not been forgiven by certain Germans. As a man, Goethe has been denounced as an egotist,[Pg 825] for the apparently selfish character of his relations with women, ending with his Goethe's genius marriage to a woman far below him. On the other hand, Goethe must be regarded as the most universal literary genius produced by Germany. He stands in line with those master spirits of all ages, Homer, Virgil, Dante, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Molière.

Death of Scott A few months after the death of Goethe, in September, Sir Walter Scott died in England. Goethe was accustomed to speak of Scott as "the greatest writer of his time." Shortly before his death Goethe said: "All is great in Scott's 'Waverley Novels'—material, effect, characters and execution." Scott himself derived much of his inspiration from Goethe's writings. One of his earliest works was a translation of "Goetz von Berlichingen." The creation of Mignon, in "Wilhelm Meister," furnished Scott with the Walter Scott's poems character of Fenella in his "Peveril of the Peak." Scott began his career as a writer with a translation of Buerger's "Ballads." His most successful metrical pieces, "The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border," "The Lay of the Last Minstrel," "Marmion," and "The Lady of the Lake," for the most part appeared during the opening years of the Nineteenth Century. Then came the great series of the "Waverley Novels," named after the romance of "The Waverley Novels" "Waverley," published anonymously in 1814. The series comprised such classics as "Guy Mannering," "The Heart of Midlothian," "Kenilworth," "Quentin Durward," and "Ivanhoe." Scott's historical romances, based as they were on painstaking researches into old chroni[Pg 826]cles, revived in Englishmen an interest in their own past. The romance of the Middle Ages was recognized for the first time, if in an exaggerated degree, throughout the civilized world. The romantic movement in French literature, now in full swing, was directly inspired by Scott. Notwithstanding his great success as a writer, Scott's later career was clouded by difficulties and debt. Through his friendship with Canning early in his career he obtained the post of court clerk in Edinburgh. This left him leisure to edit a number of literary works, such as the editions of Swift, Dryden and Sir Tristan. The great popular success of his novels soon made him rich. His hospitality at Abbotsford grew so lavish that in order to defray his Scott a bankrupt expenses he joined in a financial partnership with his publishers. The failure of the Bank of Constable, in 1826, and the consequent failure of the house of Ballantyne, ruined Scott. His debts amounted to £117,000. In his efforts to earn enough money wherewith to pay this enormous sum, Scott became a literary drudge. It was at this time that he wrote his seven-volume history of the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, "Tales of a Grandfather," and a two-volume "History of Scotland." His work as a historian was by no means equal to that of his purely literary creations. Literary drudgery In 1830, as the result of overwork, Sir Walter Scott suffered from a stroke of paralysis. A journey to Italy brought no relief. Two years later he died. He was buried at Dryburgh Abbey. For several generations after his death Scott remained one of the most popular authors of England.[Pg 827]

A remarkable instance of good resulting from evil was afforded this year by the revolting murders committed by Burke and Hare in Edinburgh. These two men deliberately killed a number of persons to sell their bodies to medical dissecters. The discovery of their crimes led to a Parliamentary investigation in the course of which Sir Astley Cooper boldly stated that any man's body could be obtained in the United Kingdom if enough money were offered. The scandal resulted in the passage of an Anatomy Act licensing the traffic in human bodies within strict limitations. Before this reform surgeons experimenting in human anatomy had to rely on body-snatchers for Advances in Medicine their material. The repeal of the old laws on this subject removed much of the odium hitherto attached to the science of dissection, while the increase of experimental material gave a fresh impetus to the study of anatomy.

A menace to the royal crown of France was removed by the death of Napoleon's son, the young Duke of Reichstadt, erstwhile King of Rome. He expired at Schœnbrunn, after an empty life spent under Metternich's Death of Napoleon II. tutelage in Vienna, and was buried there. His death at the time was commemorated in the famous German ballad, beginning with the lines:

The French playwright Rostand made the life and death of this unfortunate Prince the subject of a romantic tragedy "The Eaglet," in which Sarah[Pg 828] Bernhardt achieved so striking a success at the close of the Nineteenth Century.

The removal of another menace to Louis Philippe's throne was accompanied by circumstances less tragic. In April, the Duchesse de Berry, wearying of her exile, crossed over to Marseilles and travelled thence in disguise to Château Plassac, in the Vendée, where she summoned the Royalists to arms. She was betrayed into the hands of constables sent to arrest her, and was Attempted revolts in France placed in safe keeping at Château Blaye on an island in the Gironde. The affair took an awkward turn for the cause of the Orleanists in France, when the Duchess gave birth to an infant daughter, whose parentage she found it difficult to explain. Next, the death of General Lamarque, a popular soldier of France, started an insurrection at Paris in the summer. An attempt was made to build barricades, and conflicts occurred in the streets, but the National Guard remained true to the army and the King, and the revolt was soon put down. The government of Louis Philippe resorted to severe repressive measures, and trials for sedition were common. In Germany Repressive measures a revolutionary appeal to arms, made at a popular festival at the Castle of Homburg, near Zweibrücken, resulted in renewed reactionary measures. The German Diet, at the instance of Metternich, declared that the refusal of taxes by any legislature would be treated as an act of rebellion. All political meetings and associations were forbidden and the public press was gagged.

The excesses of Dom Miguel's followers in Por[Pg 829]tugal were followed by more serious international results. A series of wanton attacks upon foreign subjects in Lisbon called for outside intervention. English and French Naval demonstration at Lisbon squadrons appeared in the Tagus. Lord Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary, declared himself satisfied after Portugal had apologized and paid an indemnity to the British sufferers. The French admiral, unable to obtain quick redress, carried off the best ships of the Portuguese navy. The worst result for Dom Miguel was the foreign encouragement given to his brother, Emperor Pedro of Brazil, who was preparing an expedition against him in the Azores. Some of the best British naval officers and veterans of the Peninsular War were permitted to enlist under Dom Pedro's banner. Civil war in Portugal Captain Charles Napier took charge of Dom Pedro's navy. In July a landing was made near Oporto, and that important city was captured by Dom Pedro's forces. Dom Miguel was constrained to lay siege to Oporto. Thus the civil war in Portugal dragged on.

The most formidable revolt of the year was that of Mehemet Ali, the Viceroy of Egypt, against his suzerain, Sultan Mahmoud of Turkey. The disappointing results of Egypt's participation in Turkey's war in Greece left Mehemet Ali dissatisfied. He considered the acquisition of Crete by Egypt but a poor recompense for the loss of his fleet at Navarino.

Mehemet Ali's revolt A quarrel with the Pasha of Acre, Abdallah, gave Mehemet Ali a chance for Egyptian aggrandizement in that direction. Egyptian forces under[Pg 830] the command of Mehemet Ali's adopted son Ibrahim marched into Palestine and laid siege to Acre. That stronghold resisted with the same stubbornness that Bonaparte had encountered years before. The protracted struggle there Siege of Acre gave the Sultan time to prepare an expedition wherewith to intervene between his warring vassals. He took the part of the Pasha of Acre. A proclamation was issued declaring Mehemet Ali and his son rebels. A Turkish army under Hussain Pasha entered Syria. The fall of Acre, while the relieving army was still near Antioch, enabled Ibrahim to throw his full force against the Turks. In the valley of the Orontes the two forces met. The Turkish vanguard was routed and the Turkish main column fell back on Aleppo, leaving Antioch and all the surrounding country to the Egyptians. The Pasha of Aleppo, won over by Mehemet Ali, closed the gates of his city against Hussain's disordered forces. The Turks retreated into the mountains between Syria and Cilicia. The Egyptians pursued. At the pass of Beilan a Turkish reverses stand was made by Hussain. The fierce mountain tribes turned against him, and with their help Ibrahim won a signal victory over the Turks, on July 29. The retreat continued through Cilicia far into Asia Minor. After several months a new Turkish army under Reshid Pasha, Ibrahim's colleague in the siege of Missolonghi, advanced from the north. A pitched battle was fought at Konieh on the 21st of December. The Turks were utterly routed. The army was dispersed and Reshid himself was made a prisoner. The road to Constantinople[Pg 831] Russian intervention now lay open to Mehemet Ali. Sultan Mahmoud was so alarmed that he turned to his old adversary, Russia, for help. General Muravieff was summoned to Constantinople and was empowered to make terms for Turkey with Mehemet Ali.

In America, likewise, President Jackson had found it necessary to assert the rights of the United States by means of a punitive expedition. This grew out of the affair of Quallah Buteau on the Island of Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies. The American ship "Friendship" had put in there during the previous year to load with pepper. The captain, whose men were on shore, permitted the crew of a Malay boat to come on board. There was not a Affair of Quallah Buteau sign of danger, when suddenly the Malays attacked the Americans, killing the first officer and two sailors and plundering the vessel. They then tried to beach the vessel, but two other American ships compelled the Malays to flee. The Rajah of Quallah Buteau appropriated the plunder and refused to return it. Commodore Downs, with the frigate "Potomac," was ordered to Sumatra. He reached there early in February. Finding that nothing could be accomplished by peaceful means he landed two hundred and fifty of his sailors under command of Lieutenant Shubrick. The Malays refused to give or receive quarter. Their palisades were torn down and turned into a bridge, and the fort was stormed. The Stars and Stripes were hoisted. Another fort with its magazines was blown up. The town was occupied. In all one hundred and fifty Malays were killed and wounded,[Pg 832] among them the Rajah. The total loss of the Americans was two men. The offending town was razed.

Jackson's domestic policy during this year brought him into conflict with two powerful factors. One was the United States Bank at Philadelphia. Jackson disapproved of the Bank on the ground that it failed to establish a sound and new form of currency. A financial panic had been caused by worthless paper currency issued by so-called "wildcat" banking institutions. A petition for the renewal of the National Bank's charter, which was to expire in 1836, was laid before the Senate. Both Houses passed a bill to that effect. Jackson vetoed it, and a two-thirds vote wherewith Struggle over United States Bank to override his veto could not be obtained for the measure. Jackson then ordered the Bank's deposits removed. He read to the Cabinet a long paper, in which he accused the officers of the Bank of mismanagement and corruption, and stated that he would assume the entire responsibility for the removal of the deposits. The Bank made a stubborn fight and spent over $50,000 in defending itself. In the Senate, Benton was the chief opponent of the Bank, and Webster was its principal defender. In December, the President sent a message to Congress recommending the removal of the public funds from the National Bank to certain State banks. Congress refused to remove the funds.

American tariff legislation The passage of a new tariff law, on July 14, which was considered harmful to Southern interests, brought the Federal Government into armed conflict with the South. On November 19, a State[Pg 833] Convention met at Columbus, South Carolina, in response to a call of the Legislature, and on the 24th a nullification ordinance was adopted. The tariff laws were declared South Carolina nullification unconstitutional, and therefore "null and void and no law, nor binding upon the State." On December 10, President Jackson issued a proclamation against nullifiers, threatening them with trial for treason. Governor Hamilton of South Carolina in reply warned citizens not to be diverted from their allegiance to their State by this Federal proclamation. Jackson summoned General Scott to Washington and sent a part of the army to Charleston with Jackson's vigorous measures a ship of war to collect the revenues. On December 28, J.C. Calhoun resigned the office of Vice-President on account of Jackson's proclamation. He was forthwith elected Senator from South Carolina.

It was during this year that renewed troubles with the Seminoles in Florida resulted in one of the most serious Indian wars of the century. By the treaty of Fort Muller, in 1823, the Indians were to be confined to a Treaty of Payne's Landing reservation on the eastern peninsula, but the Territorial Legislature petitioned Congress for their removal. Finally, in 1832, the treaty of Payne's Landing stipulated that seven Seminole chiefs should examine the country assigned to the Creeks west of the Mississippi, and that if they could live amiably with the Creeks, the Seminoles were to be removed within three years, surrendering their lands in Florida, and receiving an annuity of $15,000 and certain supplies. President Jackson sent a commission to the West to[Pg 834] Troubles with Indians convince the seven chiefs that the country was eminently desirable, and a supplementary treaty from these seven was obtained without consulting the rest of the Seminoles. Many Seminoles were opposed to moving West through fear of the Creeks. The Sacs and Foxes and Winnebago Indians of Wisconsin by treaty, in 1830, had ceded their lands to the United States, but they still refused to leave their territory. Governor Reynolds, of Illinois, called out troops to compel them to go to the lands set apart for them, west of the Mississippi. Black Hawk returned, but was again Black Hawk War driven off. In 1832 he came back with a thousand warriors and Indian warfare broke out. Generals Scott and Atkinson were sent with troops to Rock Island. It was the first time that a steamboat was used as a military transport. The force was there divided. General Scott could effect nothing, but General Atkinson pushed on, and in August defeated the Indians and took Black Hawk and his two sons prisoners.

In many other ways public attention was engrossed in America. On June 21, Cholera reaches America the Asiatic cholera appeared in New York with appalling results. The epidemic spread to Philadelphia, Albany, Rochester, and westward. A number of new railroads were opened in New York and Pennsylvania. The first horse-drawn street cars began running in New York. On July 2, the Agricultural Society of New York was founded, and the first public trial was held of Obett Hussy's new reaping machine, which Cyrus MacCormick also[Pg 835] claimed as his invention. The device was destined to give a tremendous impetus to agriculture in the development of the western prairies. About the same time the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, Death of Charles Carroll Charles Carroll of Maryland, died at the age of ninety-six. In American letters, this year is noted for the appearance of Smith's national anthem, "My Country, 'tis of Thee." Among the books that attracted attention were Whittier's "Moll Pitcher," Sparks's "Gouverneur Morris," and Irving's "Alhambra." James Gordon Bennett began the publication of the "New York Globe."

1833

[Pg 836] AT THE very outset of this year in America the slavery question burst into flame. The abolition movement inaugurated by Garrison and Whittier in the North was in full sway. In the slave-holding States large rewards were American abolition movement offered for the apprehension of Garrison, Whittier and others connected with the publication of the Boston "Liberator," Philadelphia "Freeman" and New York "Emancipator." The legislatures of Northern States were called upon to suppress anti-slavery societies by penal enactments. Governor Edward Everett of Massachusetts and Governor Marcy of New York commended such legislation. Prominent Northern citizens travelling in the South were arrested, imprisoned and flogged for flimsy reasons. At New York, Montpelier, Utica, Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Alton, meetings were broken up, houses sacked, newspapers destroyed and public halls burned. Berry's "Philanthropist" at Cincinnati and Lovejoy's "Observer" at Alton were destroyed and Pennsylvania Hall at Philadelphia, a costly building intended for anti-slavery discussion, was burned on the day after its dedication, at which a poem by Whittier had been read. The firemen refused to extinguish the flames. In Boston, Gar[Pg 837]rison was dragged through the streets with a rope around his neck. Whittier and Thompson tried to lecture against slavery in Boston, but their meeting could not be held in the face of the following placard posted in all parts of Boston:

"That infamous foreign scoundrel, Thompson, will hold forth this afternoon A typical manifesto at 46 Washington Street. The present is a fair opportunity for the friends of the Union to snake Thompson out. It will be a contest between the Abolitionists and the friends of the Union. A purse of one hundred dollars has been raised by a number of patriotic citizens to reward the individual who shall first lay violent hands on Thompson, so that he may be brought to the tar-kettle before dark. Friends of the Union, be vigilant!"

These events inspired Wendell Phillips, who was present at a meeting in Wendell Phillips Faneuil Hall, Boston, called to approve these outrages, to take an open stand in favor of the rights of the people, which were threatened, and gave to the cause for thirty years his active brain and eloquent tongue.

As a counterpart to the popular excesses in behalf of slavery, the Catholics of New England had to suffer persecution. At Charlestown, in Massachusetts, a mob burned the Ursuline Convent. Another indignation meeting was held at Faneuil Hall in Boston to denounce this outrage. As a Compromise tariff concession to the Southern agitators, the American Congress, on February 26, adopted a so-called "Compromise tariff." The new bill cut down all duties of over twenty per cent by one-tenth of the surplus of each[Pg 838] year, so as to bring about a uniform rate of twenty per cent within a decade. On the other hand, Congress passed a "force bill," which empowered the President to execute the revenue laws in South Carolina by force of arms. A State Convention in South Carolina for its part repealed the ordinance of nullification, but proceeded to declare the new Federal force bill null and void.

On May 24, John Randolph of Roanoke, Virginia, a descendant of Pocahontas, Death of Randolph died at the age of sixty. He commenced public life in 1799, and served thirty years in Congress. There he became distinguished for his eccentric conduct, his sharpness of wit, and his galling sarcasm, which made him feared by all parties. He had to resign from the Cabinet under odious charges. In 1830, Jackson appointed him Minister to Russia. Randolph's speeches are still widely read.

In the extreme South the American settlers of Texas, aided by Davy Texas filibusters Crockett's filibusters from the United States, began a war for independence against Mexico.

English abolition movement The abolition of slavery was likewise the most absorbing topic that came up during this year in the Parliament of England. Young Gladstone, the newly elected member from Newark, taunted with his father's slave-holding methods at Demerara, made his maiden speech in Parliament on this subject. One who Gladstone's first speech in Parliament heard the rising orator recorded: "Burke himself could not be more sympathetic, more earnest, and more strong." Another engrossing topic was that of Ireland. The state of Ireland at this period,[Pg 839] as conceded by a Tory historian of modern England, was a disgrace to the history of the Nineteenth Century. So wretched was the government of this unhappy dependency that during the year 1832 alone nearly 1,500 people were Misgovernment in Ireland murdered and robbed in Ireland. Instead of giving to Ireland a better administration, Parliament passed another coercion bill. Tithes for the Protestant clergy were collected at the point of the bayonet. The cause of Ireland, as heretofore, was pleaded most eloquently by Daniel O'Connell. He denounced the Irish Church bill as "the basest act which a national assembly could sanction." The people became so enraged that when an Englishman was killed in a riot the coroner's jury returned a verdict of justifiable homicide. The Court of King's Bench quashed the verdict and Irish resentment tried the murderer before a jury. He was acquitted in the face of the clearest proofs against him and in direct contravention of the instructions of the judge. The spirit of the English aristocracy was indicated by the fact that a bill for relieving Jews from their civil disabilities was thrown out by the House of Lords.

On July 26, William Wilberforce died in his seventy-fourth year. He lived Death of Wilberforce long enough to hear that the bill for the abolition of slavery in the British colonies, to which he had devoted the greater part of his life, had passed its second reading, and that success was assured. Of all English advocates of human freedom he was the most persevering and faithful. After a distinguished Parliamentary career of forty-five years, he gave up all political ambitions[Pg 840] to devote himself to the cause of humanity and religion. He had been the intimate friend and associate of Pitt, Fox, G. Milner, Brougham and Macaulay. His wish that he be buried simply and privately was not granted by England. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to the tombs of Pitt, Fox and Canning. Around his open grave stood the royal dukes of Sussex and Gloucester, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Chancellor Brougham, the venerable Archbishop Howley, with other representatives from the House of Lords and Commons.

Tractarian Movement It was at this period of the ecclesiastical history of England that the Tractarian Movement began at Oxford. It is a significant fact that the "Tracts for the Times" appeared at Oxford within less than a year after the passage of the Reform Bill. The connection of the two movements has been Newman revealed in Newman's "Apologia Pro Vita Sua." In January, Dr. Arnold, the celebrated headmaster at Rugby, published his "Principles of Church Reform." He aimed at a reunion of all Christians within the pale of a great Dr. Arnold national church. In the discussion that followed, the foremost spirits were Newman, Froude, Dr. Pusey, and Keble, the sweet singer of the Church of England, whose "Christian Year" will live as long as that Church endures.

Browning Enlightened Englishmen were further stirred at this time by the publication of Robert Browning's "Pauline," a narrative in unusually virile verse, and by Edmund Keane's original creation of the character of "Othello." The new Keane invention of steel pens[Pg 841] first came into general use during this same year, as did Hansom's "safety cab," and Lord Brougham's favorite style of Steel pens carriage. Robert Brown, an English scientist, in the course of his microscopic studies of orchids happened to make the important discovery of the nucleus of cells. Joseph Saxton, an American, constructed the first Electro-magnetism electro-magnetic machine in England.

The invention of the electro-magnetic telegraph was claimed by Gauss and Weber in Germany. The first telegraph actually constructed and used was set Bismarck up at Göttingen. Among those who witnessed it was young Bismarck, who had already achieved a reputation as a duellist among the students of Göttingen. An impulse toward his political ambitions of the future may possibly have been given by the sensational events at Frankfort during this year. A band of misguided enthusiasts attempted to establish German unity Revolt at Frankfort by a coup de main. They overpowered a small detachment of guards and hoisted the black-red-gold banner of Germany. The expected rising of the population did not follow. The little band of revolutionists was dispersed at the first appearance of a strong military force. It is characteristic of the premature nature of this movement that it excited less serious Caspar Hauser attention in Germany than the death of Caspar Hauser, a freak foundling, whose unexplained origin has remained one of the mysteries of the Nineteenth Century.

The affair at Frankfort received the usual serious consideration by Teplitz conference Metternich, who arranged for meetings of the allied monarchs at Münchengrätz, and[Pg 842] of their ministers and authorized representatives at Teplitz. The most beneficial measure agreed on at these meetings was the Zollverein comprehension of all German States in a tariff union known as the Zollverein.

Full recognition was given to Prince Otto of Wittelsbach as King of Greece. The young prince, then in his eighteenth year, had already landed at Nauplia. He commenced his reign with a regency consisting of Bavaria's ablest ministers, Count Armandsberg, Von Maurer, and Heideck. King Louis of Otto's reign in Greece Bavaria commemorated the accession of his son to the throne of Greece by erecting a number of monumental buildings at Munich in imitation of the architecture of ancient Greece, and by mural paintings in the arcades of his palace garden depicting all the most famous places and incidents of the Greek struggle for independence.

French painters In France, a new impetus was likewise given to art. Jean Baptiste Leloir began his career as a painter of religious and historical subjects; Lecquereux, the great historical painter, stood already at the zenith of his power, and Corot's exquisite landscapes were receiving their full measure of appreciation. In French letters, this year is noted for the Death of Legendre first appearance of Balzac's "Eugénie Grandet" and Prosper Mérimée's "Double Erreur." Legendre, the great French mathematician, died during this year.

It was the foreign policy of France to supplant Russia as mediator between Turkey and Egypt. Admiral Roussin had made it plain to the Sultan that if Syria could not be reconquered from the re[Pg 843]bellious Mehemet Ali except by Treaty of Keteya Russian forces the province was more than lost to Turkey. Accordingly, a French envoy was sent to Mehemet's victorious son, Ibrahim, with powers to conclude peace on any terms. The French suggestions were adopted on April 10, in the treaty of Keteya. The Sultan made over to his viceroy all of Syria and a part of Adana. The Egyptians consented to leave Anatolia. The Sultan took the spoliation so much to heart that he turned from France. Once more he entered into negotiations with Russia. Russian warships were permitted to enter the Dardanelles, and Russian troops camped side by side with the Turks on the east bank of the Bosphorus. A secret treaty for Compact of Unkiarskelessi defence and offence was concluded between Russia and Turkey at the palace of Unkiarskelessi: The Porte undertook to close the Dardanelles to the warships of all other nations whenever Russia should be at war. Thus the entrance to the Black Sea was made practically a Russian stronghold. As soon as the purport of this treaty was apprehended it had the effect of uniting the rest of Europe against Russia—notably, France and England. Henceforth Russia's ascendency in the East was watched by the chancelleries of Europe with growing suspicion. Sultan Mahmoud set himself seriously to Moltke reorganize his army after Western models. Following the example of Mehemet Ali, he summoned foreign officers to his general staff. It was then that Moltke, the subsequent strategist of Germany, entered Turkish service.

Lord Napier's namesake, Captain Charles Napier,[Pg 844] had won fresh laurels inPortuguese civil war the Portuguese war for the succession to the throne. In command of the fleet fitted out by Dom Pedro of Brazil he attacked and annihilated Dom Miguel's navy off St. Vincent. Napier's colleague, Villa Flor, landed his forces and marched on Lisbon. The resistance of Dom Miguel's forces was overcome. On July 28, Dom Pedro was able to enter Lisbon as a victor. Still the struggle went on. Among those who linked themselves with Dom Miguel was Don Carlos, the rebellious pretender to the throne of Spain. Upon the death of King Ferdinand VII., in September, and the coronation of the Infanta Isabella as Queen of Spain under a regency, Don Carlos was proclaimed king Civil war in Spain by his followers. The Basque provinces declared in his favor. Civil war began. Had Don Carlos crossed the border at once he might have captured his crown. Unfortunately for his cause, he lingered in Portugal until the end of the year. The regency of Spain, in the face of this embarrassment at home, was called upon to proceed energetically against a revolutionary Revolt in Cuba rising in Cuba under the leadership of Manuel Quesada. Henceforth the Pearl of the Antilles was no longer the "ever faithful Isle."

1834

[Pg 845] THE death of Pedro IV., the Emperor of Brazil and claimant king of Death of Pedro IV. Portugal, made matters worse in Portugal. Diego Antonio Fergio set himself up as Regent. Monasteries were suppressed and the Society of Jesus was expelled from the kingdom. Dom Miguel continued his fight for the throne. Don Carlos, the Spanish pretender, remained with him. The situation grew so threatening for the established governments in Portugal and Spain that they, too, combined for mutual defence. Queen-Regent Christina of Spain found that she would have to rely for support upon the Spanish Liberals. Martinez de la Rosa was made Prime Minister. His first measure was to give his country a constitution, which was ratified, on April 10, by royal statute. He then entered into negotiations with Portugal as well as with Quadruple alliance England and France to crush the two rebellious pretenders by a combined effort. On April 22, a fourfold treaty was signed at London by the terms of which the Spanish and Portuguese Governments undertook to proceed conjointly against Miguel and Carlos. England promised to co-operate with her fleet. France agreed to send an army into the Peninsula if called upon. Before the treaty had been ratified[Pg 846] Foreign intervention in Portugal even by the English Parliament and French Chambers, General Rodil marched a Spanish division into Portugal. Dom Miguel's forces were driven before him. The threatening demonstrations of British cruisers and the simultaneous publication of the terms of the quadruple alliance in Lisbon and Madrid cowed the revolutionists. On May 22, Dom Miguel yielded. On the promise of a handsome pension, he renounced Pretenders withdraw his rights to the crown of Braganza and agreed to leave Portugal forever. Don Carlos, while declining thus to sell his rights, took refuge with the British admiral on his flagship and was taken to London.

For a while it seemed as if order had been restored in the Peninsula. The Return of Don Carlos problem of Portugal was settled. Don Carlos' shrewd move, however, left matters open in Spain. The pretender had not been made a prisoner of war, nor was he placed under any constraint or obligations. After a short residence in England he crossed the Channel, and, travelling through France in disguise, reappeared on July 10 in Navarre, where Zumalacarregui, a Zumalacarregui brigand chief of considerable military ability, was conducting brilliant operations against the Spanish government forces. Of the detachments sent against him one after another was defeated in the mountains of Navarre.

All manner of help from the peasants was obtained by a system of ruthless intimidation. The personal presence of Don Carlos strengthened the cause. It was in vain that old General Mina, who had won renown in these parts ten years ago,[Pg 847] was sent against the Carlists. Unable to cope with them, the old soldier resigned from his command. The Spanish Minister, Valdes, Spanish reverses thereupon took the field himself. His attempt to operate in Navarre with a large army resulted in the worst defeat that had yet befallen the government forces. He had to retreat before the victorious Carlists. Zumalacarregui prepared to cross the Ebro to march upon Madrid.

The Spanish Ministry in alarm turned to its allies for aid. The English Delacey's expedition to Spain Government would render no further aid beyond that already given by the British squadron in Spanish waters. Permission, however, was granted to enroll volunteers for the Spanish cause in England and in Ireland. Colonel Delacey Ebbons raised a corps of needy adventurers, and, having been supplied with arms and funds, crossed over to Spain. The first appeal for French intervention refused French intervention resulted in like failure. France had cause to hesitate before embarking in another Peninsular War. Lord Palmerston's refusal on behalf of the British Government to co-operate with France in any such undertaking gave Louis Philippe reason to reflect. A large party in France, moreover, was in sympathy with Don Carlos. The Spanish Government was informed that French military assistance, under the circumstances, was Fall of La Rosa's Ministry impossible. The first result of this refusal was the downfall of La Rosa's Ministry in Spain. The civil war continued.

In France, domestic troubles rather than international questions were the problems of the day. On April 5, a violent outbreak had been precipitated [Pg 848] Revolts in France by Mazzini among the workingmen of Lyons, which arose from a labor strike involving thousands. Soon the whole city was in uproar. Barricades were thrown up. Blood was shed in hand-to-hand fights with the troops. Similar outbreaks had been prepared at St. Etienne, Vienne, Grenoble, Châlons, Auxerre, Arbois, Marseilles, and Luneville. The insurrection spread to Paris. On April 13, a conflict of some workmen with the troops was followed Fall of Broglie's Ministry by the building of barricades all over the city. The revolt was ruthlessly suppressed by General Bugeaud, the commandant of Paris, who was henceforth denounced as a butcher. After it was all over the Ministry of Duc de Broglie fell in consequence of an adverse vote of the Chambers on the subject of the indemnities due to America. The succeeding Ministry lasted Thiers, Prime Minister just three days. Then came the recall of Thiers, Guizot, Duchatel, Humann, and Rigny. Marshal Mortier became President of the Council. The Chamber of Deputies was dissolved. The aged Prince Talleyrand quitted the embassy at London. A proposal to form a Ministry headed by Marquis de la Fayette for the last time brought the name of that venerable hero into the public affairs of France. Shortly afterward he died in peace at La Grange, surrounded by his children and calling for his dead wife. His burial in the Death of Lafayette graveyard of Picpus, consecrated to the memory of the victims of the Terror, was left undisturbed by political demonstrations.

The name of Lafayette is indissolubly linked with the cause of the American Revolution and[Pg 849] struggle for independence. To join the revolutionists' cause, Lafayette not only had to sacrifice his private fortune and Lafayette's career brilliant prospects at home, but also to leave a young, dearly-loved wife with an unborn babe. Throughout the weary struggle of America against the overwhelming power of England, Lafayette, together with Kosciusko and De Kalb, stood by Washington and the cause for which he had drawn his sword. Lafayette's presence in the American army, and the example of his constant financial sacrifices for the American cause, were instrumental in winning France over to that offensive alliance against England which helped to turn the tide of war against that country. Throughout his subsequent career, Lafayette sustained the reputation he had won in early manhood. He was one of the few prominent figures of the French Revolution who emerged from that ordeal with untainted reputation. From then until his closing days he was the foremost champion of liberal thought and political freedom in France.

Another distinguished Frenchman who died during this year was Jacquard, the inventor of the loom which bears his name. In the French Salon in spring, Delaroche "The Execution of Lady Jane Grey in the Tower," by Paul Hippolyte Delaroche, took the highest prize. The picture was a happy medium between the ultra-romantic method of Delacroix and the classicism of David. Three years previous to this, Delaroche sent to the Salon his famous paintings "Cromwell at the Bier of Charles I.," and "The Children of Edward IV. in the Tower."[Pg 850] At this same time he was engaged on the greatest of his works, "The Hemicycle," now in the Hall of the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Death of Blackwood England lost three men prominent in letters, Blackwood, Lamb, and Coleridge. Blackwood's contribution to English letters was the "Edinburgh Magazine," founded and maintained by him from 1817 until his death.

Charles Lamb appeared in the world of letters as "Elia," a fancifully adopted name of an Italian fellow clerk at the South Sea House, where Lamb Charles Lamb served his literary apprenticeship. While serving as a clerk for the South Sea Company he published his first poems at the age of twenty-two, followed shortly by "Rosamond Gray" and "John Woodville," at the beginning of the century. With his sister Mary he shared in the publication of the two children's books, "Tales from Shakespeare" (1806), and "Poetry for Children" (1809). During this same period he compiled and edited the famous "Essays of Elia" "Specimens of Dramatic Poets Contemporary with Shakespeare." The "Essays of Elia," which made Lamb's reputation, did not appear until 1823. The charm of these essays is a frank note of autobiography tempered by a kindly humor and whimsicality peculiar to Lamb. His fond appreciation of the poetry of Elizabethan days, as revealed in these essays, was instrumental in bringing about that revival of Shakespeare and old English poetry which set in early in the Nineteenth Century.

Thus it happened that Lamb and Coleridge were intimately associated. Lamb's first poems appeared[Pg 851] Death of Coleridge in a volume of Coleridge's. Lamb repaid the debt by his tribute to Coleridge in his letters. There he has aptly described him as a "logician, metaphysician and bard." It so happened that both friends, who were almost of the same age, died in the same year.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born in 1772 at Ottery St. Mary, in Devonshire, the son of a clergyman. He studied at Cambridge and then went to London, where he enlisted as a trooper in a regiment of dragoons. Finding military service uncongenial, he obtained a discharge and devoted himself to literature. Together with Southey and Lovell he undertook to found a communistic colony on the banks of the Susquehanna in America. The project The "Lake School" failed from lack of money. The three friends married the three sisters Fireckes of Bristol and settled in Stowey. There Coleridge, Southey and Wordsworth founded their so-called "Lake School of Poetry." Coleridge has told in his "Biographia Literaria," how the "Lyrical Ballads," issued at that time, derived their inspiration from two sources; to wit, supernatural themes, which appealed to Coleridge, and homely every-day subjects, which "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" Wordsworth loved to beautify. Occasionally Coleridge tried himself in the other field, as in his "Lines to a Young Ass." In the same year Coleridge brought out the famous "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," his "Odes," and wrote his first version of "Christabel." The period at Nether Stowey, from 1797 to 1798, was Coleridge's most fruitful year as a poet. All his best poetic works[Pg 852] Swinburne on Coleridge had their origin at that time. Swinburne has said of Coleridge: "For height and perfection of imaginative quality he is the greatest of lyric poets, this was his special power and is his special praise." Much of the charm and magnetic suggestion of his famous poem "Christabel" rests on its exquisite vowel-music. The same is true of his wonderful "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." There the running prose glossary accompanying the poem displays the same delicate, fanciful tone as his most musical verse. By these two poems alone Coleridge proved himself the most successful of the English poets who have tried to imbue their verse with an eerie sense of the invisible and the unreal:

After his twenty-fifth year, Coleridge's poetic qualities declined. As a result of his travels in Germany he published, in 1800, a translation of Schiller's "Wallenstein," after which he reluctantly undertook to edit the "Aids to Reflection" "Morning Post," a government organ. In 1804 he went to Malta as secretary of Governor Ball. His last works were "Biographia Literaria" (1817), "Zapolya" (1818), "Aids to Reflection" (1825), "Constitution of the Church and State" (1826), as well as his posthumous "Literary Remains," "Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit," and the "Theory of Life." In English [Pg 853] "Sartor Resartus" literary annals this year is noted likewise for the appearance of Carlyle's "Sartor Resartus."

A Parliamentary bill admitting dissenters to university honors in England was thrown out by the House of Lords. Another bill for the removal of the civil disabilities of the Jews was again carried in the Lower House only to be rejected by the Lords. Next, another coercion bill against Ireland was introduced by the Ministry early in July. In the Commons much fault was found with the Government's manner of dealing with Irish questions. In spite of the concessions to O'Connell, that formidable leader had not been The Church of Ireland won over. The Tories held that the Ministry had gone altogether too far. At this critical moment, on the King's birthday, the Irish prelates, with the Primate at their head, presented an address signed by fourteen Irish clergymen in which they deprecated the proposed changes in the discipline of the Church in Ireland. Instead of leaving the reply to his Ministers, the King answered it in person: "I had been by the circumstances of my life led to support toleration to the utmost extent of which it is justly Royal interference capable, but toleration must not be suffered to go into licentiousness.... I have spoken more strongly than usual, because of unhappy circumstances that have forced themselves on the observation of all. The words which you hear from me have not been learned by heart, but do indeed flow from my heart." This speech was received with transports of joy by the opposition. Earl Grey resigns Earl Grey and his colleagues, on July 9, handed in their resignation.[Pg 854] Viscount Melbourne was called in with a heterogeneous Cabinet. During this interregnum, on October 16, the two Houses of Parliament burned down. Westminster Hall, the Abbey and the Speaker's residence were saved, but all the rest, including the interior of the tower and the library of Parliament, was destroyed.

The most serious of the many embarrassments inherited from the Administration of Grey was the trouble with China, that had arisen out of Troubles in China the East India Company's opium trade in the Far East. When the charter of the East India Company was renewed in 1834, it was shorn of its monopoly of this trade. The consequent extension of the trade in opium, so strenuously opposed by the Chinese Government, incensed Emperor Taouk-Wang. Lord Napier, the new British Commissioner, reached the Canton River in July. His instructions from Lord Palmerston were to foster the English opium trade not only at Canton, but to demand an extension of the trade to other parts of the Chinese empire. The Chinese mandarins, under instructions from the Opium trade resented Viceroy of Canton, refused to have anything to do with Napier. He was lampooned in Chinese prints as "the foreign eye." The Viceroy issued an edict forbidding the British Commissioner to proceed up the river. At the same time all trade with English merchants was suspended. In defiance of the Chinese orders Lord Napier left Macao, and sailing up the river made his way to the English factory at Canton. There he found himself isolated. An Imperial proclamation declared that the national[Pg 855] dignity was at stake, and ordered all Chinese subjects to keep away from the Englishmen. The Lord Napier's defiance Canton factory was deserted by all of its coolies and domestic servants. Lord Napier, ailing in health as he was, found his position untenable. He sent a final defiance to the Viceroy of Canton: "The merchants of Great Britain wish to trade with all China on principles of mutual benefit. They will never relax in their exertions until they gain this. The Viceroy will find it as easy to stop the current of the Canton River, as to carry into effect his insane determination." After this the Viceroy sent his troops British ships fired on into the foreign settlements, and ordered the Bogue forts to fire on any English ship that attempted to pass. On September 5, two British ships in the river were fired upon by the Chinese. The English merchants petitioned Lord Napier to retire to Macao. This he did with a futile protest against China's acts "of unprecedented tyranny and injustice." Lord Napier died, leaving to others the settlement of the difficulties which his presence had intensified.

The death of Earl Spencer, which raised Lord Althorp, his son, to the Upper Lord Melbourne dismissed House, gave the King a chance to get rid of his new advisers. When Lord Melbourne, on November 14, submitted to the King the changes he proposed to make in the Ministry in consequence of the vacancies in the Exchequer, William IV. expressed his disapproval and called in the Duke of Wellington in his stead. The Duke advised that the task of forming a new Cabinet be intrusted to Sir Robert Peel, then in Rome. Sir[Pg 856] Peel dissolves Parliament Robert arrived in London on December 9, and at once accepted the task imposed on him. The opposition against his new-formed Ministry was so strong that it was decided to appeal to the country. On December 30, Parliament was dissolved.

In North America, the contest between the Northern and Southern States in regard to slavery steadily gathered force. President Jackson, in his annual message, called attention to "the fearful excitement produced in the South American slavery agitation by attempts to circulate through the mails inflammatory appeals addressed to the slaves." The Federal postmasters of the South and in several cities of the North were encouraged in the practice of rifling the mails of possibly offensive matter. John Quincy Adams was threatened with public censure at the bar of the House for proposing to print a petition for "Atherton Gag" freedmen. All attempts to get such petitions before Congress were defeated by a standing rule known as the Atherton Gag. During this year the national debt was almost liquidated by Jackson's payment of $4,760,082. A measure was passed through Congress establishing the value of gold and silver. Gold flowed into the Treasury through all channels of commerce. The mint was kept busy, and specie payments, which had been suspended for thirty years, were resumed. Gold and silver became the recognized currency of the land. The President's measures against the National Bank were less successful. On March 28, the Senate debated Clay's resolution censuring the President for his removal of the government deposits. A joint resolution by [Pg 857] both HousesAmerican events of Congress was passed, in the Senate, June 3, by a vote of 29 to 10. Other events of the year of interest to Americans were the popular riots that threw New York into a turmoil on the occasion of the first mayoralty election in that city, the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Legislature of Illinois, the establishment of the Indian Territory; and the first appearance of Bancroft's "History of the United States."

Of world-wide interest was the emancipation of all black slaves in the British West Indies, South Africa, and other colonies; the establishment of the German tariff union, including all German States except Austria; the transfer of the capital of Greece from Nauplia to the site of Athens; the Friction matches foundation of the free university of Brussels, and the death of the great German theologian Schleiermacher. An innovation that was destined to add to the convenience and comfort of domestic life throughout the world was the introduction of lucifer matches during this year.

1835

[Pg 858] ON February 19, Parliament reassembled. It was found that a working majority of Tories had been returned, but the first vote on the King's Irish balance of power speech revealed a junction of the Whigs with O'Connell's Irish party, which foreboded disaster to the government. For the first time in Parliamentary history the Irish members held the balance of power. In vain did Sir Robert Peel attempt to stave off his downfall by the introduction of welcome measures of reform. Once more it was on a question affecting Ireland that the government was defeated. This was Peel's high commutation bill. Lord Russell in reply moved that the surplus revenues of the Irish Church be used for non-ecclesiastical purposes. In the debate that followed, Gladstone spoke strongly against the measure. For this early speech, Gladstone's anti-Irish speech embodying as it did views so radically different from those of his later life, he was constantly reproached during his career. It ended with the words, "I hope I shall never live to see the day when such a system shall be adopted in this country; for the consequences of it to public men will be lamentable beyond all description." O'Connell said in reply: "I shall content myself with laying down[Pg 859] O'Connell's reply the broad principle that the emoluments of a church ought not to be raised from a people who do not belong to it.... All that the Catholics of Ireland require is justice—equal and even-handed justice."

When the matter came to a vote the government was defeated by a majority of Fall of Peel's Ministry thirty-three. On April 8, the resignation of the Ministry was announced to Parliament. The King sent for Earl Grey, and, on his refusal to form a Ministry, was driven to the humiliating expedient of recalling Lord Melbourne. On April 18, a new Cabinet was formed, composed largely of the men who had been so summarily dismissed by the King a few months before. Melbourne's second Administration Lord Melbourne's second Administration was marked by the elevation of the settlements of South Australia to a Crown colony. The city of Melbourne, which was founded that year, was named in his honor.

An extraordinary career was ended, on June 18, by the death of William Cobbett, from overwork in Parliament. With but little school education, Death of William Cobbett this remarkable man succeeded in becoming not only one of the foremost prose writers of English, but the leader of a great popular party.

During the early part of Lord Melbourne's Administration, the discontent and irritation prevailing in Ireland were heightened by the agitation against the Orange lodges. The original purpose of these lodges had been to defend, against the Stuarts and their supporters, the Protestant ascendancy which had begun with the reign of William of Orange.[Pg 860] The lodges had grown The Orange Lodges in strength until, in 1835, it was estimated that they numbered 140,000 members in Ireland, and as many as 40,000 in London alone. The Grand Master of all the Orange Lodges was no less a personage than the Duke of Cumberland, the King's brother. It was believed in Ireland that a conspiracy existed on the part of the Orangemen to set aside the Princess Victoria, the next heir to the throne, in favor of the Duke of Cumberland. The subject was brought to the notice of Parliament by Hume and O'Connell, who drew special attention to the illegal introduction of Orangemen into Duke of Cumberland implicated the British army, under warrants signed by the Duke of Cumberland. The scandal grew to such an extent that the Duke of Cumberland hastened to dissolve the order before a resolution condemning his conduct could pass through the Commons.

In South Africa, another war over boundary questions broke out between the D'Urban in South Africa Dutch and English settlers and the Kaffirs. Sir Benjamin d'Urban advanced the frontier of Cape Colony to the Keir River. The Zulu chief, Dingaan, on the assassination of King Chaka, who had welded together a confederation of warlike tribes, succeeded to his powers. In the midst of these difficulties an advance guard of Boers, exasperated by Great Britain's abolition of the Beginning of Boer trek old Dutch moot courts or "Heemraden," and of slavery in Cape Colony, trekked across the Orange River and founded a colony of their own.

In South America, political changes rapidly followed one upon the other. Rocafuerte seized the[Pg 861] South American disorders reins of power in Ecuador. About the same time General Rosas had himself re-elected for fifteen years as dictator of the Argentine Republic. President Santa Cruz of Bolivia made a raid into Peru, and in his absence the State of Bolivia promptly fell a prey to internal disorders. In Mexico, General Santa Anna established his rule as dictator. The affairs of Texas soon demanded his attention. On December 20, Texas Revolution of Texas declared itself independent of Mexico. Support came from the United States. The revolution began with the battle of Gonzales, in which 500 Americans took part. The Mexicans were defeated. Soon afterward Goliad and the strong citadel of Bexar, known as the Alamo, were taken and the Mexican forces dispersed.

In the meanwhile the Seminole war in Florida had assumed a serious aspect. The chief Indian leader who opposed the removal of the Seminoles west of Osceola in Florida the Mississippi was Osceola, son of a half breed squaw and an Englishman. His wife, the daughter of a slave, had been seized and returned to her mother's master. Thenceforth Osceola became an uncompromising enemy of the whites. The Indian controversy with the American Government turned on the interpretation of a pronoun in the treaty of Payne's Landing. President Treaty of Payne's Landing disputed Jackson held that the word "they" in the most important clause of the treaty relating to the compensation of the despoiled Indians referred only to the deputies who executed the document, whereas Osceola contended that it was meant to stand for all the Indians. The continued quibbling so enraged[Pg 862] Osceola that he drove his knife into the table exclaiming: "The next treaty I will execute is with this."

American progress Among the intellectual and scientific achievements of this year in America must be reckoned Colt's invention of a revolver and the manufacture of pins. Longfellow brought out his "Outre-Mer," and Audubon published his "Birds of America." On December 16, a disastrous fire destroyed most of the New York conflagration commercial houses of New York City. In all 530 houses burned down and $18,000,000 worth of property was consumed. Chief Justice Marshall of the United States Supreme Court died during this year, eighty years of age. As a member of Congress, a Cabinet officer, and the foremost jurist of the United States, Marshall won lasting distinction. His ability as a writer Death of Justice Marshall was conspicuously displayed in his popular "Life of Washington."

In Europe, in the meanwhile, there had been some significant changes. On March 2, Emperor Francis of Austria died at the age of sixty-seven. The Ferdinand, Emperor of Austria succession of Archduke Ferdinand to the throne produced no change in the national policy. Metternich was retained at the head of affairs. Almost of more moment to Germany was the death of Karl Wilhelm von Humboldt, the diplomat, and brother to Alexander, the great German explorer and philosophic writer. Besides his services as a statesman at the time of the international conferences at Paris and Vienna, he is distinguished for his Wilhelm von Humboldt philological researches in the Basque and Kauri languages. About the same time Hans Christian Andersen,[Pg 863] the Danish author, published his first collection of fairy tales. The book had an immediate success, and after its translation into German achieved a world-wide reputation. Various Andersen's Fairy Tales translations from the German version and from the original had large sales in England and America.

In France, too, notwithstanding political disturbances, fine arts and letters flourished. New creations appeared from the pens of Lamartine, Artistic activity in France Victor Hugo, Balzac, De Vigny and Alfred De Musset. Théophile Gautier brought out his masterpiece "Mademoiselle de Maupin." Among the musicians at Paris, Meyerbeer, Auber, Berlioz, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Spontini, and Schapa were at the height of their activity. Politically it was a year of disturbances for France. The opening of the State trial of last year's conspirators before the Chamber of Peers was followed by diatribes in the May riots of Paris press. The liberties of the press were further restricted. Riots again broke out in May. After all, but one man was condemned to death. Most of those who were implicated were sentenced to transportation. New laws for the repression of sedition were proposed by the Cabinet. Then it was that the first serious attempt was made on the life of Louis Philippe. Already seven projects of assassination had been discovered and frustrated, when a grand review of the National Guards, on July 28, gave an opportunity for a Fieschi's infernal machine telling stroke. At the moment when the royal procession arrived on the Boulevard Temple, an infernal machine was set off by a Corsican named Fieschi. The King was[Pg 864] saved only by the fact that he had bent down from his horse to receive a petition when the machine was discharged. Among those that were struck down were the Dukes of Orleans and Broglie, Marshal Mortier, General Verigny, and Captain Vilate. The perpetrators of the crime Second campaign in Algiers were put to death. In French foreign affairs a renewed uprising of Arab tribes under Abd-el-Kader necessitated another military campaign in Algeria.

In Greece, King Otto, having come of age on June 1, dissolved the Bavarian regency and assumed his full royal powers at Athens. His reign, lacking though it was in national spirit or sympathies, assured to Greece an era of undisturbed peace and tranquillity.

Toward the close of the year, the American Government's attempt to remove the Seminole Indians from their hunting grounds in Florida resulted in a sanguinary Indian war. Micanopy the Seminole Sachem and Osceola were the Indian leaders. Osceola opened hostilities with a master stroke. On Seminole War December 28, he surprised General Wiley Thompson at Fort King. Thompson had wantonly laid Osceola in chains some time before. Now Osceola scalped his enemy with his own hands. On the same day, Major Dade, leading a relief expedition from Tampa Bay, was ambushed and overwhelmed near Wahoo Swamp. Only four of his men escaped death. Within forty-eight hours, on the last day of the year, General Clinch, commanding the troops in Florida, won a bloody fight on the banks of the Big Withlacoochee.

1836

[Pg 865] THROUGHOUT this year the Seminole War in Florida dragged on. Gaines's command was assailed by the Indians near the old battleground of the Withlacoochee Withlacoochee on February 27. In May, the Creeks aided the Seminoles in Florida, by attacking the white settlers within their domain. Success made them bold, and they attacked mail carriers, stages, river barges and outlying settlements in Georgia and Alabama, until thousands of white people were fleeing for their lives from the savages. General Scott was now in chief command in the South, and he prosecuted the war with vigor. The Creek Indians subdued Creeks were finally subdued, and during the summer several thousand of them were forcibly removed to their designated homes beyond the Mississippi. Governor Call of Georgia marched against the Seminoles with some two thousand men in October. A detachment of five hundred of these had a severe Fight in Wahoo's swamp contest (November 21) with the Indians at Wahoo swamp, near the scene of Dade's massacre. As in so many other engagements with the Seminoles in their swampy fastnesses, both sides claimed the victory.

In Europe, early during 1836, the conclusions reached by the long-sitting Diet of Hungary[Pg 866] opened the eyes of the new Emperor of Austria and of Diet of Pressburg Metternich to the changed spirit within their own dominions. For many years during the long period when the government did not dare to convoke the Diet, the Hungarians in their county assemblies had opposed a steady resistance to the usurpations of the crown. These county assemblies, rejoicing as they did in the right of free discussion, and the appointment of local officials, were one of the hardiest relics of home rule existing anywhere in Europe, comparable only to the democratic government of the Swiss cantons and to the old English town meetings reconstituted in New Magyar demands England. By banishing political discussion from the Diet to the county sessions, Metternich only intensified the provincial spirit of opposition which he thought to quell. When the Hungarian Diet reassembled at Pressburg at last, the new spirit showed itself in the demand of the Magyars for the substitution of their own language, in all public debates, for the older customary Latin. The government speakers, who attempted to address the Kossuth deputies in Latin, were howled down by the Magyars. When the government forbade the publication of all Magyar speeches, Kossuth, one of the youngest of the deputies, circulated them in manuscript. After the dissolution of the Diet, in summer, he was punished for this act of defiance by a three years' imprisonment. The foremost leader of the Scechenyi Hungarian Liberals at this time was Count Scechenyi, a Magyar magnate of note. He it was that opened the Danube to steam navigation by the destruction of the rocks[Pg 867] at Orsova, known as the Iron Grates, and to him, too, Hungary owes the bridge over the Danube that unites its double capital of Budapesth and Ofen. Of the Hungarian noblemen he was one of the few who recognized the injustice of the anomalous institution which restricted Parliamentary representation to the noblemen, and absolved them at the same time from taxation. The new liberal spirit thus manifested was turned into revolutionary channels by Metternich himself. The dissolution of the Transylvanian Diet Hungarian Diet and the subsequent imprisonment of deputies whose persons should have been inviolable aroused bad blood among the Magyars. This was made worse by the peremptory dissolution of the Transylvanian Diet, where the Magyar element likewise predominated. The leader of the Transylvanian opposition, Count Vesselenyi, a magnate in Hungary, betook himself to his own county session and there inveighed against the government. He was arrested and brought to trial before an Austrian court on charges of high Vesselenyi treason. His plea of privilege was supported by the Hungarian county sessions as involving one of their oldest established rights. In the face of this agitation Count Vesselenyi was convicted and sentenced to exile. Henceforth opposition to the government and hostility to all things Austrian were synonymous with patriotism in Hungary.

The discontent in Hungary and the Slav provinces of Austria was fomented by a keen sympathy with the misfortunes of Poland groaning under the yoke of Russia. Notwithstanding Austria's official conference [Pg 868] Poland restive with Russia, Polish refugees were received with open arms in Galicia, Bohemia and Hungary.

In various other parts of the world the spirit of revolution would not be quelled. More Dutch settlers in South Africa sought relief from British interference with their customs and the institution of slavery by The great Boer trek emigrating into the virgin veldt lying to the north of their former settlements. It was in vain that the British authorities of Cape Colony tried to stop this "great trek." Rather than submit to British domination, the Boers preferred to renew the inevitable struggle with the wild beasts and the savages of the African wilderness. While one part of the emigrant body remained in the Transvaal and Northern Free State, the foretrekkers Piet Retief passed over the Drakensberg Mountains into Natal, under the leadership of Piet Retief. The land of Natal was at that time practically unpopulated. Chaka and his warriors had swept the country clean of its native inhabitants, so Dingaan considered it within his sphere of influence. The Boers accordingly made overtures to Dingaan, Chaka's successor, who resided at his kraal on the White Umvolosi, a hundred miles distant in Zululand, for the right to trek into this country. This was granted after the Boers had undertaken to restore some cattle of the Zulus stolen by the Basutos. A thousand prairie wagons containing Boer families trekked over the Drakensberg into Natal, and scattered over the unpeopled country along the banks of the Upper Tugela and Mooi Rivers. Piet Retief, with sixty-five followers, went to visit Dingaan in his kraal.[Pg 869] They were made welcome. AZulu treachery solemn treaty of peace and friendship was drawn up by one Owens, an English missionary with the Zulus. During a feast, the Boers, disarmed and wholly unprepared for an attack, were suddenly seized and massacred to a man. Then the Zulus, numbering some ten thousand warriors, swept out into the veldt to attack the Boer settlements. Near Colenso, at a spot called Weenen Massacre of Weenen (weeping), in remembrance of the tragedy there enacted, the Zulus overwhelmed the largest of the Boer laagers, and slaughtered all its inmates—41 men, 56 women, 185 children and 250 Kaffir slaves. In spite of this and other battles the Boers held their ground.

The Englishmen likewise extended their colonial conquests. The unsettled South Australia settled Bushland of South Australia was colonized by Captain Hindmarsh and his followers. They founded the city of Adelaide, named after the consort of William IV. A wrecked British ship having been plundered by Arabs, the Sultan of Aden, under a threat of British retaliation, was made to cede British seize Aden Aden to Great Britain. New claims for territory were preferred by Great Britain against the Republic of Honduras, in Central America.

The neighboring republic of Mexico, under the dictatorship of Santa Anna, Mexican independence acknowledged at last succeeded in having its independence formally acknowledged by Spain. On March 6, Santa Anna, having raised a new force of 8,000 men, marched on Fort Alamo, which had been left in charge of a small garrison of Americans under Colonel Jim Bowie. All night[Pg 870] they fought. Every man fell at his post but seven, and these were killed while asking quarter. Here died David Crockett, the famous American frontiersman, whose exploits had Defence of the Alamo made him so popular in Tennessee, that, though unable to read, he was thrice elected to Congress. Joaquin Miller, the American poet, based on this encounter his stirring ballad on "The Defence of the Alamo":

On April 21 was fought the decisive battle of San Jacinto, in which Santa Anna with 1500 men was defeated by 800 Texans under Sam Houston. On the Battle of San Jacinto next day General Santa Anna was captured. He was compelled to acknowledge the independence of Texas, but the people of Mexico refused to ratify his act. Nonetheless serious hostilities against the Texans were abandoned.

The abolition of slavery in Bolivia gave a new impetus to the government of that republic. President Santa Cruz of Bolivia felt encouraged by this to Peru and Bolivia joined attempt to carry out his pet project of the amalgamation of Peru with Bolivia. A prolonged guerilla war was the result.

The example of these movements in Central and South America encouraged the revolutionists of Cuba to keep up their struggle against the rule of Spain. Unfortunately for them, the apparent weak[Pg 871]ness of the Spanish constitutional government at Madrid did not extend to the more distant Spanish rule in Cuba and Philippines possessions of Spain. The only result of the rising of Manuel Quesada was that Cuba was deprived of her representation in the Spanish Cortes. In the Philippine Islands, Spanish rule was extended to the Island of Sulu. On the Peninsula, on the other hand, matters went from bad to worse. The Carlist war continued unabated. On May 5, General Evans, commanding the constitutional troops and foreign volunteers, won a victory over the Carlists at Vigo, but within a few months he was himself defeated at San Civil war in the Peninsula Sebastian. On Christmas Day, another crushing defeat was inflicted on the Constitutionalists by the Carlist leader Espertero at Bilboa. In Portugal the marriage of Princess Maria II. to Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was followed by fresh disorders. Revolution broke out at Lisbon, on August 9, and could be subdued only by the re-establishment of the Constitution of Portuguese slave trade abolished 1832. On November 8 came another popular rising. It was a sign of the times and of a more liberal turn of affairs at Lisbon that one of the first measures of the new government was a total abolition of Portuguese slave trading.

Reform of all kinds had become popular in England under the dexterous resistance of O'Connell, who held the balance in Parliament. The government British reforms was induced to bring in a corporation reform bill for Ireland. An official register of births, deaths, and marriages was conceded to the dissenters. Next came the abolition of one of the most[Pg 872] barbarous practices of EnglishCharles Dickens and Irish law courts. Up to this time prisoners accused of felony were not allowed to be defended by counsel. At the instance of Lord Lyndhurst this was now changed. Another gain for humanity was made by the abolition of the law which required that persons convicted of murder should be executed on "Pickwick Papers" the next day but one. On the other hand a bill for the abolition of imprisonment for debt miscarried. The most potent plea against the abuses of this particular relic of barbarism in England was put forth by Charles Dickens in his "Pickwick Papers." These serial papers relating the humorous adventures of Mr. Pickwick and his body servant Sam Weller, when brought in Marryat conflict with the English laws governing breach of marital promise and debt, had an immense success in England and all English-speaking countries. Already Dickens had published a series of "Sketches of London," under the pseudonym of Boz, while working as a Parliamentary reporter for the Landor "Morning Chronicle." The success of the "Pickwick Papers" was such that he felt encouraged to emerge from his pseudonym and to devote himself entirely to literature. Other literary events of the year in England were the publication of the initial volumes of Lockhart's "Memoirs of the Life of Death of Mill Sir Walter Scott," of Captain Marryat's "Mr. Midshipman Easy," and "The Pirate and the Three Cutters," and of Landor's "Pericles and Aspasia." The first Shakespeare jubilee was celebrated at Stratford-on-Avon in the spring. A loss to English letters was the death of James Mill, the great political economist,[Pg 873] in his sixty-third year. About this time Wheatstone Wheatstone constructed his electro-magnetic apparatus by which he could send signals over nearly four miles of wire. The Irish composer Balfe began his brilliant career as a composer of English operas with the "Siege of Rochelle," produced at Drury Lane in London. About the same time Balfe Mendelssohn brought out his "St. Paul" in Düsseldorf.

Maria Felicitá Malibran, the great contralto singer of the early part of the Nineteenth Century, died on September 23, at Manchester, in her Death of La Malibran twenty-eighth year. Taken from Paris to Naples at the age of three, she made her first appearance as a public singer in her fifth year. Two years later she studied solfeggio with Panseron. At the age of sixteen she made her début as Rosina in "Barbiere di Seville" at London. The success of her first appearance was so great that she was at once engaged for the season. Next she appeared in New York, where she was a popular favorite for two Her operatic career years, singing in Mozart's "Don Giovanni," in "Tancred," "Romeo and Juliet," and two of her father's operas. Here she married a French merchant, Malibran. After her separation from him she returned to Paris, where she was engaged as prima donna at a salary of 50,000 francs. Thereafter she sang at every season in Paris, London, Milan, Rome and Naples. For one engagement of forty nights in Naples she received 100,000 francs. Both as a singer and woman she exercised an extraordinary fascination over her contemporaries. Only a few months before her death she married the violinist De Beriot. In England she[Pg 874] suffered a severe fall from her horse, which shattered her health. After this she literally sang herself to death. Her loss was mourned most of all in France, where her death has been commemorated by Alfred de Musset's beautiful threnody ending with the lines:

Meyerbeer's "Huguenots" In France, great strides had been made in music, art and literature. Giacomo Meyerbeer, whose real name was Jacob Beer, surpassed the success of his "Robert le Diable" with his greatest opera "Les Huguenots," produced on February 20, at the Paris Opera House. The success of this masterpiece so Gounod disheartened Rossini that he resolved to write no more operas, and withdrew to Bologna. Charles François Gounod, on the other hand, now began his Chopin musical career by entering the Paris Conservatory. Frederick Chopin, the Polish composer, at this time was at the height of his vogue as the most recherché pianist of Paris. He was the favorite of a circle of friends Liszt consisting of Meyerbeer, Bellini, Berlioz, Liszt, Balzac, and Heine. It was during this year that Liszt introduced Chopin to Madame Dudevant, better known as Georges Sand, the famous French novelist. Their attachment was the Georges Sand talk of Paris. André Marie Ampère, the noted French mathematician and physicist, died during this year[Pg 875] at sixty-one years of age. He was theDeath of Ampère inventor of the electrical unit of measure which bears his name.

Politically it was a turbulent year for France. On the question of the Thiers Prime Minister budget the Ministry was defeated in January and had to resign. The new Ministry called in went to pieces on February 22, when Guizot and De Broglie retired from the Cabinet. Thiers was placed at the helm. On June 26, another attempt to assassinate the King was made by Louis Alibaud, a former soldier of the south who had taken part in the revolution of July. The military expedition to Algeria under Marshal Clauzel and the Duke of Orleans first met with distinguished success. The French army occupied Algerian reverses Mascera. But later the unfortunate issue of an expedition against the town of Constantine caused the retirement of Marshal Clauzel as Governor-General of Algeria. Commander Changarnier at the head of a French battalion was beaten back step by step by an overwhelming body of Achmet Bey's cavalry of the desert. The question of French intervention in Spain resulted in the downfall of the Ministry of Thiers. King Louis Philippe, ever since Lord Palmerston's chilling reply to his overtures for joint intervention, was opposed to such a project. "Let us aid the Spaniards from a distance," said he, "but never let us enter the same boat with them. Once there we should have to take the helm, and God knows where that would bring us." He demanded the retirement of the French corps of observation in the Pyrenees. Thiers was utterly opposed to this: "Nothing can bring the King to intervention," said[Pg 876] Thiers resigns he, "and nothing can make me renounce it." On September 6, the Cabinet resigned, having been in power but six months. Count Molé was charged with forming a new Ministry. A new cause of disquietude was given late in October by Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte at Fiasco of Strasburg Strasburg. On the last day of that month, Louis Napoleon, with no other support than that of Persigny and Colonel Vauterey, paraded the streets of that town and presented himself at the barracks of the 4th regiment of artillery. He was received with the cry "Vive l'Empereur." An attempt to win over the soldiers of the other barracks failed. The young prince was arrested. Ex-Queen Hortense interceded in his behalf. The attempt to regain the Napoleonic crown had been so manifest a fiasco that Louis Philippe Louis Napoleon exiled thought he could afford to be generous. Louis Napoleon was permitted to take himself off to the United States of America with an annuity of fifteen thousand francs from the royal purse. His adherents were taken before the court at Colmar and were all acquitted by the jury. A simultaneous military mutiny at Vendome was treated with like leniency. After the death of Amnesty acts ex-King Charles X., Prince Polignac and other of his Ministers who had come to grief after the revolution of 1830 were sent out of the country. A general amnesty was announced.

The arrival of Prince Louis Napoleon created little stir in the United States. The people there were in the midst of a Presidential election. President Jackson wished Vice-President Van Buren to be his successor. He therefore recommended that[Pg 877] the Democratic nomination should be by national convention. The National Republicans had by this time generally adopted the American elections name of Whigs. They supported William H. Harrison and John McLaine of Ohio with Daniel Webster of Massachusetts. The opposition hoped to throw the Presidential election into the House, but did not succeed in doing so. A majority of Van Buren electors were chosen by 761,549 votes against 736,656 divided among the other candidates. Congress met on December 5. Arkansas and Michigan were admitted as new States of the Union. Before this Jackson's Administration had won a complete success over his opponents. The President gave his sanction to a Congressional resolution in favor of the The "Gag Law" South, that "all petitions, memorials, and resolutions relating to slavery shall be laid on the table, and no further action whatever shall be had thereon." A select committee resolved that "Congress cannot constitutionally interfere with slavery in the United States and it ought not to do so." The so-called "Gag Law" was adopted by 117 over 68 votes. About this same time Congress accepted the bequest of James Smithson, an Smithson's bequest Englishman, who left $515,169 to be expended in America "for the general diffusion of knowledge among men." After the fall of the United States Bank, a number of State banks were formed, many of which were without adequate capital. Their notes were used in large quantities for the purchase of public lands from the United States. Thereupon President Jackson issued the so-called specie circular, ordering[Pg 878] federal agents toJackson's specie circular receive no other money but gold and silver. This caused such a demand for specie that many of these minor banks fell into difficulties. By the close of the year bank failures had become so numerous that a financial crisis was at hand.

Ex-President James Madison died this year at the ripe age of eighty-five. Death of Madison His entire career was such as to make him one of the great line of Southern Presidents of Virginian stock: Washington, Jefferson and Monroe.

The military campaign against the Seminoles was far from satisfactory. Many of the soldiers sent into Georgia and Florida succumbed to disease. They had to abandon Forts King, Dane and Micanopy, giving up a large tract to Seminole War the Indians. The Indians were defeated in battle at New Mannsville, and in the fall of the year General Call rallied them on the Withlacoochee, but could not drive them into the Wahoo Swamp. A change in commanders was once more made, and Jesup succeeded Call. With 8,000 men he entered on a winter campaign. The Indians were forced from their positions on the Withlacoochee, and were pursued toward the Everglades, and at the end of 1836 sued for peace. On December 15, the Federal Post-Office and American railroad development Patent-Office burned down. Irreparable loss was caused by the destruction of 7,000 models and 10,000 designs of new inventions. At the close of Jackson's Administration some three thousand miles of railroad had been constructed. Eight years previously, when he came into office, no railway had ever been seen in America.

1837

[Pg 879] THE financial crisis of this year was not only one of the most severe, but also the most remarkable in the financial history of the United States. A American financial crisis Congressional act of the previous year provided that after January 1, 1837, all surplus revenues of the government should be divided as loans among the States. The amount to be distributed this year aggregated $28,000,000. No part of this large sum was ever recalled. When the government called for its deposits in order to distribute the surplus an immediate shrinkage of specie was the result. As bank after bank suspended, it was found that the paper issue had increased from $51,000,000 in 1830 to $149,000,000 in 1837. Jackson's attacks on the National Bank had shaken public confidence in this institution, and it likewise suspended specie payments. The mercantile Government relief measures failures of a single fortnight in New York City amounted to $100,000,000. A repeal of Jackson's order that payments for public lands should be in coin filled the National Treasury with paper money. Congress met in special session to relieve the financial distress. A law was passed authorizing the issue of $10,000,000 in Treasury notes. This brought some relief. President Van Buren's first message recom[Pg 880]mended the adoption by the government of the Sub-Treasury plan. A bill for the establishment of an independent treasury passed the Senate, but was defeated in the House by a union of Sub-Treasury system Whigs and Conservatives. The Sub-Treasury plan, as eventually carried out, provided for complete separation of the National Bank and the government, and established the principle that the government revenues should be received in coin only. President Van Buren in his message specially deprecated any interference by Congress in the struggle between Texas and Mexico. Texas, which had been bargained away by Southern votes in 1819, was Texas independent now an eagerly desired prize. It had now become a part of Coahuila, and had declared its independence. Still Congress persisted in its attempt to interfere, but a bill to that effect was voted down by the adherents of the President.

In Mexico, Bustamente had again become President. In the neighboring State of Colombia, President Marquez, likewise, had himself re-elected. The influence of North American progress was shown in Cuba by the opening of Distress in Spain the first railway there, long before the mother country, Spain, could boast of such an advance in civilization. There the civil war was still draining the resources of the country. On May 17, General Evans took Trun, but failed to follow up his success. In Portugal, the restoration of Pedro's Charta de Ley was proclaimed by the Duke of Terceira.

In France, an unfortunate attempt to fix large dowries on the Duc de Nemours and the Queen of[Pg 881] the Belgians raised an outcry against the private avarice of the King. As the result of the Ministerial crisis that followed Fall of Guizot the defeat of these measures in the Chambers Guizot had to retire from the Ministry. Molé remained in charge with the reconstituted Cabinet. The success of a second expedition against Constantine, in which the Duc de Nemours gained distinction, invested Molé's new Ministry with a certain popularity. Measures for a general political amnesty and for the closing of gambling houses were readily voted by the Chambers. The people of Paris were kept amused first by the marriage of the Duc d'Orleans to Princess Hélène of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and by the subsequent wedding of Princess Marie d'Orleans, the amateur sculptress, to Duke Alexander of Wurtemberg, a dilettante, like herself, in letters. The occasion provoked the German poet Heine, then lying ill at Paris, to some of his most pungent witticisms. Ailing though he was, Heine was made a member of the new "Société des Gens de Lettres," founded by Balzac, Lamennais, Dumas and Georges Sand. Further events in French letters were the publication of Eugène Sue's Death of Fourier "Latréaumont," and the appearance of the early part of Michelet's "History of France." François Charles Marie Fourier, the philosophic writer and follower of St. Simon, died in his sixty-fifth year. Before his death his well-elaborated system of communism, as put forward in his "Traité de l'Association Domestique et Agricole," had found general acceptance among the radical orders of France.[Pg 882]

Count Giacomo Leopardi, the foremost lyric poet of modern Italy, died on Death of Leopardi June 14. Leopardi's genius was tinctured with pessimism. Like Byron, he was powerfully moved by the painful contrast between the classic grandeur of ancient Italy and the degeneracy of its latter days. The tendency toward pessimism was increased by his own ill health. His first works were the result of his eager study of classic antiquities. Thus he brought out a new edition and translation of Porphyrios' "De vita Plotini." His earliest verses, such as the fine "Ode to Italy," and his poem on a projected monument for Dante, already contained the strain of sadness that ran through all his later poems. On the publication of Leopardi's first collection of verses, Niebuhr, the Prussian Ambassador at Rome, offered him a professorship at Berlin, but the poet's failing health prevented Ode to Brutus Minor acceptance. Religious dissensions with his father depressed his spirits still more. He gave expression to his increasing sadness in the beautiful ode on the "Minor Brutus." In 1825 he took part in bringing out the famous "Antologia" at Florence, and also issued an edition of Petrarch and two collections of Italian verse. Another collection of his own poems was published in 1826, followed by the prose dialogues "Operette Morali." In 1833, declining health led Leopardi to withdraw to Naples. One year before his death he brought out a last collection of poems distinguished alike for poignant pessimism and for their high lyric beauty. Characteristic of Leopardi's verse is this poem addressed to himself:[Pg 883]

Russia lost her foremost man of letters at this period by the death of Count Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, as the result of a duel. His last Death of Pushkin work, the drama "Boris Goudunov," was left uncompleted. After his recall from his exile in Bessarabia, Pushkin had been appointed as imperial historian by Czar Nicholas, in which capacity he wrote a history of Peter the Great and an account of the conspiracy of Pugatshev. Of his poetic works, the most important was "Eugene Onegin," an epic written after the manner of Byron's "Don Juan." "Eugene Onegin" has remained one of the Lermontov classics of Russian literature throughout the Nineteenth Century. Pushkin's brother poet Lermontov, then an officer of the Guards, wrote a poem demanding vengeance for Pushkin's death. He was banished to the Caucasus, and his writings were suppressed. Under a false name he now wrote his famous epic: "Song of Czar Ivan Vasilyevitch."

A joyful event in German letters was the great[Pg 884] festival at Mainz in honorThe first kindergarten of Gutenberg and his invention of the art of printing. Froebel opened his first kindergarten at Blankenburg in Thuringia. Auerbach, the popular novelist, brought out his "Spinoza." Much was made by Germans of the opening of the first railway between Dresden and Leipzig, and of the invention of coal-tar colors, or aniline dyes, by a process destined to revolutionize the arts of coloring and dyeing throughout the world. A great German clerical struggle stir was created by the imprisonment of the Archbishop of Cologne at Minden after a quarrel with the Prussian Government concerning marriages between persons of different creeds. He was forbidden to go to Bonn. Backed by the Holy See in Rome, he continued to defy the Protestant authorities.

A change of rule, fraught with future consequences for Hanover, resulted from the death of William IV., King of England and Hanover, on the 20th of Death of William IV. June. By the death of the old King, his niece, Victoria Alexandra, then in her eighteenth year, became Queen of England. Miss Wynn, in her "Diaries of a Lady of Quality," has told how the news was brought to the young Princess at Kensington by the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Howley) and the Lord Chamberlain (Marquis Conyngham): "They did not reach Kensington Palace until five o'clock in the morning. They knocked, they rang, they thumped for a considerable time before they could rouse the porter at the gate; they were again kept waiting in the courtyard, then turned into one of the[Pg 885] lower rooms, where they seemed forgotten by everybody. They rang the bell, and desired that the attendant of the Princess Victoria might be sent to inform Her Royal Highness that they requested an audience on business of importance. After another delay, and another ringing to inquire the cause, Victoria's accession the attendant was summoned, who stated that the Princess was in such a deep sleep that she could not venture to disturb her. Then they said, 'We are come on business of state to the Queen, and even her sleep must give way to that.' In a few minutes she came into the room in a loose white nightgown and shawl, her nightcap thrown off, and her hair falling upon her shoulders, her feet in slippers, tears in her eyes, but perfectly collected and dignified."

Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister, was summoned, and at eleven o'clock that same morning a Privy Council was held, which is thus described by Charles Greville, an eye-witness: "Never was anything like the first impression she produced, or the chorus of praise and admiration which is Her first Privy Council raised about her manner and behavior, and certainly not without justice. It was very extraordinary, and something far beyond what was looked for. Her extreme youth and inexperience, and the ignorance of the world concerning her, naturally excited intense curiosity to see how she would act on this trying occasion, and there was a considerable assemblage at the palace, notwithstanding the short notice which was given. The first thing to be done was to teach her her lesson, which for[Pg 886] this purpose Melbourne had himself to learn.... She bowed to the Lords, took her seat, and then read her speech in a clear, distinct, and audible voice, and without any appearance of fear or embarrassment."

The first signature to the Act of Allegiance was that of Ernest, Duke of Hanover separates from England Cumberland, eldest surviving brother of the late King William. To him passed the crown of Hanover, which for a hundred and twenty-five years had been held by the occupants of the British throne. Under the Salic law, restricting succession to the male line, Hanover now became separated from England. On June 28, the new King arrived in Hanover. He refused to receive Ernest, King of Hanover the deputation of the estates that had come to greet him. Dispensing with the formality of taking the required oath to the constitution, he dissolved the estates. The validity of the Hanoverian Constitution was next called in question, and the restoration of the less liberal constitution of 1819 was ordained. The first to protest against this royal breach of faith were Royal breach of faith seven professors of the University of Göttingen. Among them were the two brothers Grimm, to whom the German language and literature are so deeply indebted, and Gervinus, the great historian of modern Europe. The professors were instantly dismissed. This high-handed act provoked an Revolt at Göttingen insurrection among the students, which had to be quelled by troops, with bloodshed.

The departure of the unpopular Duke of Cumberland and the dissolution of the embarrassing connection with Hanover wrought distinct relief to the[Pg 887] people of England. According to usage on the accession of a new sovereign, Parliament was dissolved, in this instance by the Queen in person. She drove to the House of Lords in state, and created a sensation by her youth and graciousness. What she said of her own good intentions, her confidence in the wisdom of Parliament and the love of her people and her trust in God, was re-echoed throughout the English dominion. Her popularity speedily became unbounded. The change in the person of the sovereign was a great advantage for the Melbourne Ministry. They had no longer to fear such a summary dismissal or interference by the throne as they had suffered during the last reign. The dissolution of Parliament only resulted in their favor. The Tories were in despair. The departure of the Duke of Cumberland, their power behind the throne, had deprived them of a leader. The old Duke of Wellington regarded the accession of a female sovereign a probable bar to his return to power. To a friend he said: "I have no small talk, and Peel has no manners."

The Victorian era in England, a period comparable for brilliancy only to that of Queen Elizabeth, began indeed under auspicious circumstances. In The Victorian era the field of letters there was the galaxy of diverse spirits: Southey, Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Browning. A new start was given to English prose by such powerful writers as Lord Macaulay, Carlyle, Charles Dickens, and William Makepeace Thackeray, who brought out his "Yellowplush Papers" this very year. Another newcomer in the field[Pg 888] of romance was the Irish novelist, Charles Gaines Lever, whose early "Adventures of Harry Lorrequer" found instant favor. Among the women writers were Maria Edgeworth, Jane Austen, and Elizabeth Barrett. Great strides were also made in science. Shortly after the appearance of Whewell's "History of Inductive Sciences," the Ornithological and Electrical Societies were founded at London. The principle of working clocks by electricity was advanced by Alexander Bain. Wheatstone and Cooke invented the magnetic needle telegraph. Ericsson's new screw steamer "Francis Bogden" was found to develop a speed of ten miles an hour. John Upton patented his steam plow, and the first photographic prints on paper were made by Fox Talbot.

When Parliament was reconvened, Lord Macaulay was added to the Cabinet. In Macaulay joins Cabinet the northwestern provinces of East India a widespread famine, which cost the lives of 8,000 natives, necessitated relief measures on a large scale. In the midst of these troubles the death of the ruling King of Delhi caused Famine in India a vacancy, which was filled by Mahmoud Bahadour Shah, the last titular Great Mogul under the protection of the British colonial government. In South Africa some measure of home rule was accorded to Cape Colony by the institution of a representative legislative council under a governor appointed by the Crown. To the north of Cape Colony the Boer emigrants carried on their war of revenge against the Zulus. In a fierce battle on December 16, at Blood River, the Boers under Maritz andBoers defeat Zulus [Pg 889] Potgieter utterly defeated Dingaan's warriors. Pantah, the brother of Dingaan, became King of the Zulus. The anniversary of this battle was ever after celebrated as a holiday by the Boers. A settlement was founded in the conquered land, and the first church was built on the site of Pietermaritzburg, named after the Boer leaders.

On December 22, the British Parliament received the news of rebellion in Lower Canada. The distress occasioned by the financial panic of this year Canada restive in the United States had spread to Canada. It found vent in agitation against English rule on the part of the French Canadians. On the occasion of the announcement of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne, when Te Deums were sung in the churches, the French Canadians signified their Papineau disapproval by walking out of church. Louis Joseph Papineau, Speaker of the Lower House, led the opposition to the government proposals regarding the application of the revenues of the province. The home government kept up a narrow "British party" devoted to the so-called interests of the mother country. The majority in the Legislative Council constantly thwarted the resolutions of the vast majority of the popular Assembly. In Upper Canada, The "family compact" a British and official class practically held within its control the government of the province. This class became known as the "family compact." The public offices and lands were parcelled out among themselves and their followers.

The immediate points in dispute in 1837 were, that the government retained in its service cer[Pg 890]tain officials contrary to the wishes of the Representative Assembly, and insisted on paying their salaries out of Supplies refused colonial funds. The Representative Assembly declined to furnish the supplies, complained of arbitrary infringement of the Constitution, and demanded that the Legislative Council, instead of being nominees of the Crown, should be made elective.

When intelligence reached England that the Assembly obstinately refused supplies for the payment of public officials, and of the arrears, which up to that time amounted to nearly one hundred and fifty thousand pounds Lord Russell's measures sterling, Lord John Russell carried in the English House of Commons a series of resolutions rejecting the demand for an elective legislative council and other changes in the Constitution, and empowering the executive government to defray the expenses of the public service out of the territorial and casual revenues.

Fils de la Liberté On November 6, the so-called "Fils de la Liberté" rose in Montreal under the leadership of Papineau. In Upper Canada, a similar rising was headed by William Lyon Mackenzie, a journalist. On December 4, an attempt was made to Mackenzie surprise Montreal. With the help of the militia the insurgents were defeated, on December 4, at St. Eustace. The leaders of the insurrection at Toronto fled to the United States and persuaded Van Rensselaer with other citizens of Buffalo to join them. On December 12, they seized Navy Island American filibusters in Niagara River, established a provisional government, and issued paper money. Loyalists of Canada attempted in vain to[Pg 891] capture the place. On December 29, they attacked the steamer "Carolina" and sent her over the Sinking of "Carolina" Falls, resulting in the loss of several lives. This incident caused great excitement, both in England and this country. President Van Buren issued a proclamation of neutrality forbidding all interference in Canada, and sent General Wool with a military force to compel obedience to the proclamation. In Upper Canada, Major Head—afterward Sir Francis Head—undertook to Major Head's measures suppress the rebellion by throwing the Canadians on their honor. Trusting to the good will of the people, he sent all the regular soldiers out of the province to the assistance of Governor Gosford in Lower Canada. The plan worked well. The Canadians, proud of the confidence reposed in them, enrolled themselves in the militia to the number of ten or twelve thousand, and when Mackenzie and the rebels assembled to show fight, they were routed at the first encounter, and the rebellion in Upper Canada was at once suppressed. But Major Head's policy was not approved by the British Government, and Head had to make way for Lord Durham, the newly appointed Governor of Canada.

1838

[Pg 892] EARLY in the year the Canadian insurgents and their sympathizers at Navy Island were compelled to surrender. United States troops were posted at the Lord Durham in Canada frontier. In the meanwhile Lord Durham had taken charge in Canada with dictatorial powers. He undertook to remodel the Constitution of Canada. His first act was a proclamation of amnesty from the Queen. The beneficent effect of this was spoiled by a clause of exceptions providing for the perpetual banishment of a number of men implicated in the recent rising. On April 2, Lunt and Matthews, two conspicuous rebels, were hanged. Lord Durham's confession that his measures were illegal evoked a storm in Parliament. Lord Brougham, who had a personal quarrel with him, led the opposition there. In Canada, Mackenzie promptly proclaimed a republic. On Napierville June 5, a fight between the rebels and British troops near Toronto quelled the rebellion for a short time. Within a few months it broke out again at Beauharnais. A pitched battle was fought at Napierville early in November. After their defeat there, the rebels made another stand at Prescott on November 17, but suffered so crushing a defeat that the insurrection was Prescott believed to have been ended. In the mean[Pg 893]while, Lord Brougham had succeeded in passing a bill through the House disapproving Lord Durham's measures. Durham, he said, had been authorized to make a general law, but not to hang men without the form of law. To save his own Administration Lord Melbourne on the next day announced that the Cabinet had decided to disallow Durham's Durham repudiated expatriation ordinances. Durham was called upon to proclaim to the rebellious colonists that the ordinance issued by him had been condemned by his own government. Venting his mortification in a last indignant proclamation, he quitted Canada without waiting for his recall. By the express orders of the government the honors usually paid to a Governor-General were withheld from him. Lord Durham returned to England a broken-hearted and dying man. He was succeeded by Sir John Colbourne. His Canadian interregnum first measure was to offer a reward of £1,000 for the apprehension of Papineau. The storm of indignation that followed was so violent that Colbourne incontinently threw up his post, and hastened back to England. The Hudson's Bay Fur Company improved the interval of the interregnum to monopolize the functions of government in the vast regions of the extreme north of America. An expedition was sent out to explore the northernmost coast. The United States also fitted out an Antarctic exploring expedition, consisting of six vessels, under the command of Lieutenant Wilkes.

In the British Parliament, the question of the adoption of the ballot was raised by Duncombe, but Lord John Russell spoke against it, stating that the[Pg 894] majority of the people were against fresh changes, or any renewal of Renewed agitation in England the agitating circumstances which preceded the Reform Bill. But twenty members voted with Duncombe, of whom six were asked to meet six members of the Workingmen's Association to discuss a programme of action. At that meeting a document in the shape of a Parliamentary petition was prepared containing "six points," which were: Universal suffrage, or the right of People's Charter voting by every male of twenty-one years of age; vote by ballot; annual Parliaments; abolition of the property qualification for members of Parliament; members of Parliament to be paid for their services; equal electoral districts. At the conclusion of the meeting, Daniel O'Connell rose and handed the petition to the secretary of the Workingmen's Association, saying, "There, Lovett, is your Charter. Agitate for it and never be content with anything else."

The "People's Charter" was submitted to a large public meeting and enthusiastically approved, and the leaders of the movement began to Feargus O'Connor organize. They soon fell into two factions; those who were in favor of force and those in favor of agitation only. The leader of both parties was Feargus O'Connor, an Irish barrister, and once a follower of O'Connell, with whom he subsequently quarrelled. Associated with him as leaders of the Chartist leaders movement at various periods were Lovett, Heatherington, Henry Vincent, Ernest Jones, and Thomas Cooper "the poet of Chartism."

In France, the sympathies of the people with the cause of the French Canadians were kept under firm[Pg 895] control by the government of Louis Philippe. A dissolution of the Chambers, which modified the condition of French expedition to Mexico the Assembly, served to strengthen the Ministry of Molé. To vent the feelings excited in behalf of the Frenchmen of Canada, the French Government picked a quarrel with the Republic of Mexico. Reparation was demanded late in March for injuries inflicted on French residents during the internal dissensions of Mexico. The demand was refused. A French squadron of warships, under Admiral Baudin and Prince de Joinville, was Coast towns bombarded sent out to blockade the coast of Mexico. On November 27, San Juan de Ulloa was bombarded. Vera Cruz likewise suffered bombardment. The Argentine Republic became involved and declared war on France. French cruisers blockaded Buenos Ayres.

On the occasion of his mother's death, Prince Louis Napoleon returned to Louis Napoleon returns Europe. His book, "Idées Napoléoniennes," which was widely read throughout France, at once drew attention upon him. At the request of the French Government he was expelled from Switzerland. Louis Philippe's friend, Alexandre Dumas, at this time achieved a popular success with his book "Le Alexandre Dumas Capitaine Paul." Dumas's romantic plays and several of his latest comedies, written in the style of Scribe, were at the height of their vogue.

In the French salon of this year, François Daubigny, the great pupil of Daubigny Delaroche, first exhibited his early masterpieces, "Banks of the River Oulins" and "The Seine at Charenton." Both paintings were purchased by the French Government.[Pg 896]

Poe In America, a new writer had arisen in Edgar Allan Poe, who disputed the field with Longfellow and Whittier. Poe's "Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym," a story of marine adventures, which had begun in Poe's own journal, "The Messenger," was published in complete form by Harpers. Before this several Hawthorne of his works, among them that of "Ligeia," had already brought him into some prominence. Nathaniel Hawthorne during this same year wrote his early stories, which were afterward collected under the title of "Twice Told Emerson Tales." Ralph Waldo Emerson at Concord, Massachusetts, had begun to deliver those penetrating lectures which, rewritten in the form of essays, later established his rank as the foremost philosophic writer in America. Wendell Phillips made his appearance as a lecturer against slavery in Boston. Wendell Phillips Shortly before this a pro-slavery mob at Alton, Illinois, murdered the Rev. E.P. Lovejoy and destroyed the press and building of his newspaper, published in the interests of abolition. Abraham Lincoln, who had been re-elected to the Legislature of Illinois, voiced a strong protest against this and other pro-slavery tendencies in Illinois.

Other acts of persecution during this year brought lasting disgrace upon America. In direct violation of the Federal treaties with the Indians the Removal of Cherokees State troops of Georgia forcibly removed 16,000 Cherokees from their lands in that State. Nothing was done to alleviate the sufferings of the Cherokees, who were driven from their settlements in midwinter. The resulting death rate was fearful. More than[Pg 897] 4,500 Indians, or one-fourth of the whole number, perished before they reached their destination in the distant Indian Territory.

The members of the new sect of Mormon, numbering some 12,000 souls, were Persecution of Mormons driven from their homes at Nauvoo in western Missouri. They went across the plains of Iowa, stopping temporarily at Council Bluffs. From there they passed over the great American prairies, and, crossing the Rocky Mountain range, settled near the Great Salt Lake of Utah.

Chicago was incorporated with a population of 4,170 residents. Much comment Record transatlantic trip was excited by a record trip of the steamboat "Great Western," which steamed from Bristol, England, to New York in fifteen days. Among those who lived to witness this event was John Stevens, one of the pioneers of modern steamboat building. Shortly afterward he died in his eighty-ninth year.

Within a short time after suing for peace, the Southern Indians broke the Indian truce broken truce and made a determined effort to take Fort Mellon. In this they were unsuccessful. In March, at Fort Dade, five of the chiefs signed an agreement, in which they stipulated to cease from war until the government decided whether they might remain in Florida. Some seven hundred Indians and negroes were taken by the government before its decision was announced, and were sent off to Tampa for shipment. In violation of a flag of truce, Betrayal of Osceola Osceola and several of his principal chiefs were seized and sent to Fort Moultrie as prisoners. Their treatment there was such that Osceola soon died. In May, Colonel Zachary Taylor[Pg 898] succeeded Jesup. The remaining forces of the Indians were now wary. They scattered in the swamps, eluding attempts of organized troops to capture them. In December, Colonel Taylor Zachary Taylor in Florida set out with over a thousand men for their almost inaccessible haunts. On Christmas Day they found the Seminoles prepared to receive them near Okeechobee Lake. After a hard fought battle, in which Taylor lost 139 men, the Indians once more retreated into the swamps of Florida.

In South Africa during this year, the new community of Dutch settlers, who had evaded English jurisdiction, soon revived their peculiar institutions in the region that is now Natal—from the Drakensberg to the sea at Durban, Boers in Natal and from the Tugela River to the Umzimbolbu. The fight against the African savages continued. Early in the spring, a Boer expedition was defeated by the Zulus, who followed up their advantage by an attack on the nearest Boer laager. Seventy Boers, with their Kaffir servants, were massacred. A large Boer settlement, numbering some 800 persons, was saved from extermination only by a timely relief expedition under Pretorius, in December. On the Pretorius other side troubles arose between the Boers and the Bechuanas in consequence of King Moroka's prohibition of the importation of spirituous liquors into Bechuanaland. The growth of a new Dutch State to the north of Cape Colony caused uneasiness among the British authorities at Cape Town. A movement was started to extend British rule to Natal, and to secure the important seaport of Durban.

1839

[Pg 899] THE French expedition against Mexico was brought to a successful close French hold on Mexico after the capture of the fort of San Juan d'Ulloa and the town of Vera Cruz. General Santa Anna's attempt to relieve Vera Cruz resulted only in another upheaval of the government at the capital. President Bustamente had to call in a new Ministry, with which, through the mediation of England, negotiations for peace were undertaken. On March 9, the terms of peace were concluded. Mexico had to pay an indemnity of $600,000. Further use for the French squadron in American waters was found in the complicated affairs of Ancona evacuated the small South American republics at the mouth of the Plata and the alleged injuries suffered by Frenchmen from the disordered state of affairs in Hayti. On the other hand, France withdrew its troops from the citadel of Ancona in the Papal dominions, simultaneously with the withdrawal of the Status of Belgium Austrian forces of occupation from the Papal States. The long-pending difficulties between Belgium and Holland were brought to a settlement at last by the King of Holland's acceptance of the conditions of separation fixed by the international conference. The abandonment[Pg 900] of Casimir Périer's vigorous foreign policy in Europe was viewed with regret by the Liberal party in France. Guizot combined with Thiers and Odilon Barrot against the Fall of Molé's Ministry Ministry, and thus accomplished its downfall, though they retained Marshal Soult, the most popular member of Molé's Cabinet. "I must have that gallant sword," remarked Louis Philippe. Their efforts to conduct the government proved a failure. The King established a provisional government in their place, which prolonged the crisis. On May 12, an insurrection broke out in French provincial government the most populous quarters of Paris. Under the leadership of Barbes, Bernard and others, attacks were made on the Hôtel de Ville, the Palace of Justice and the Préfecture of Police. The revolt had to be put down by merciless measures. Marshal Soult was placed at the head of the government to the exclusion of Guizot and Odilon Barrot, while Thiers was made president of the Chambers. Guizot employed his leisure time to write his Parisian revolt suppressed famous "Life of Washington." About the same time Daguerre published his new invention of making the sun prints which were called daguerreotypes after him. A life pension of 6,000 francs was awarded to him by the government of Louis Philippe. The interest in the family of Bonaparte and its dreaded pretensions in France was revived by the death of Letizia Buonaparte, the mother of Napoleon, in her eighty-ninth year. The first problem confronting the new administration of France was the fresh trouble that had broken out in the Orient.[Pg 901]

The long-brewing war between Sultan Mahmoud of Turkey and his vassal, Turkish-Egyptian War Mehemet Ali of Egypt, broke out in May. In the face of new assurances of peace, the Sultan ordered his commander-in-chief of the Euphrates to commence hostilities. The Turkish troops crossed the Euphrates on May 23. In spite of the good counsels of Moltke and other European officers at the Turkish headquarters, the Turks were outmanœuvred by the Egyptian forces Battle of Nissiv under Ibrahim. June 24, Ibrahim Pasha inflicted a crushing defeat on the Turkish army at Nissiv. All the artillery and stores fell into his hands. The Turkish army dispersed in another rout. Mahmoud II. did not live to hear of the disaster. One week after the battle of Nissiv, before news from Abdul Medjid, Sultan the front had reached him, he died. The throne was left to his son, Abdul Medjid, a youth of sixteen.

Scarcely had the new Sultan been proclaimed when the Turkish admiral, Achmet Fevzi, who had been sent out to attack the coast of Syria, sailed Turkish fleet betrayed into Alexandria and delivered his fleet over to Mehemet Ali. Turkey, now practically rulerless, was left without defence, on land and on water. Mehemet Ali not only declared Egypt independent of the Porte, but, encouraged by France, prepared to move on Constantinople. In this extremity Anglo-French intervention the foreign Ambassadors at Constantinople addressed a collective note to the Divan, announcing European intervention. Shortly afterward a squadron of British and French warships sailed into the Dardanelles for the ostensible purpose of protect[Pg 902]ing Constantinople against Mehemet Ali, in reality to prevent Russia from profiting by the terms of its treaty of Unkiar Skelessi. In vain did Russia propose to join the coalition. The recent acquisition of Aden gave England the upper hand. Russian diplomacy French diplomacy offset accordingly directed itself toward effecting a breach between the allies. A good opening was afforded by the French intrigues at Cairo, which fell in with the ambitions of Mehemet Ali. As a result, France was gradually crowded out of the European coalition during the course of 1839.

At the French Salon of this year Decamps exhibited his celebrated Decamps "Punishment of the Hooks," "Executioners at the Door of a Prison," and "Children Playing with Turtles." Decamps with Delacroix, the leader of the French school of romanticism, was praised at this time for the exceeding charm of his colors.

England during this period passed through a Cabinet crisis. The popularity of Melbourne's Ministry was waning. Lord Melbourne was a typical Whig, opposed to the policy of the Tories, or, as they were beginning to be called at that time, the Conservatives. The alteration in title is Rise of English Conservatives attributed to John Wilson Croker, who, in the "Quarterly Review," referred to "what is called the Tory, but which might with more propriety be called the Conservative party." This new name was indorsed by Lord John Russell, who said, "If that is the name that pleases them, if they say that the old distinction of Whig and Tory should no longer be kept up, I am ready, in opposition to their name of Con[Pg 903]servative, to take the name of Reformer, and to stand by that opposition." Sir Robert Peel defined Conservatism when he said, "My object for some years past has been to lay the foundation of a great party, which, existing in the House of Commons, and deriving its strength from the popular will, should diminish the risk and deaden the shock of collisions between the two branches of the legislature."

In May, the government's proposition to suspend the Constitution of Jamaica Fall of Melbourne Ministry brought about the fall of the Ministry. The measure was sustained by a majority of only five. The Queen sent for Sir Robert Peel. Her wish to retain as ladies of her household the wife and sister of two members of the last Cabinet brought forth a respectful remonstrance from Peel. The Queen replied in this wise: "The Queen having considered the proposal made to her Bedchamber question yesterday by Sir Robert Peel, to remove the Ladies of her Bedchamber, cannot consent to a course which she considers to be contrary to usage, and is repugnant to her feelings."

This ended Peel's attempt to form a Ministry and Melbourne was recalled. The question created much discussion at the time. Lord Brougham maintained that Lord Melbourne "had sacrificed liberal principles and the interests of the country to the private feelings of the sovereign." "I thought," he said, "that we belonged to a country in which the government by the Crown and the wisdom of Parliament was everything, and the personal feelings of the sovereign were absolutely not to be named at[Pg 904] the same time." In the Queen Victoria yields end the Queen yielded her point. A statement was put forth that "the Queen would listen to any representation from the incoming Prime Minister as to the composition of her household, and would arrange for the retirement, of their own accord, of any ladies who were so closely related to the leaders of Opposition as to render their presence inconvenient."

On behalf of the Chartists large public meetings were organized in London and in all parts of England at which violent speeches were made. On the 1st of April, at a public meeting in Edinburgh to support the Ministry, the Chartist agitation Chartists took possession of the platform, ejected the Lord Provost, and passed their own resolutions. On the same day at Devizes, in Wiltshire, Vincent entered the town at the head of about a thousand men, carrying sticks, and attempted to address them in the market-place. In May, the Chartist National Convention removed from London to Birmingham. There they were met by a mob of five thousand persons and conducted through the principal streets to the meeting-place.

Meanwhile, Great Britain was embroiled in another Oriental war. The despatch of Admiral Maitland and Captain Elliot to China to deal with the difficulties growing out of the English opium trade there only served to Chinese oppose opium trade make the situation more acute. In January, Emperor Taouk-Wang ordered Lin Tsiaseu, Viceroy of Houk Wang, to proceed to Canton to put a definite stop to the opium traffic. The peremptory instructions given to Com[Pg 905]missioner Lin were "to cut off the fountain of evil, and if necessary to sink the British ships and to break their caldrons, since the hourly thought on the Emperor's part was to do away with opium forever." Within a week of Lin's arrival at Canton he issued an edict wherein he stigmatized the foreigners as a heartless people who thought only of trade and of making their way by stealth into the Flowery Land, whereas the laws of England, he asserted, English opium destroyed prohibited the smoking of opium in their own country. A demand was made to surrender to him all stores of opium within three days. To enforce this demand, Chinese troops were concentrated around the European settlement. Eventually more than 20,000 chests of opium were seized and dumped into the sea. After this triumph, Lin wrote a letter to Queen Victoria calling upon her government to interdict the importation of opium. At the same time a memorial was sent to England by the British merchants of Canton begging the government to protect them against "a capricious and corrupt government" and demanding compensation for the opium confiscated by the Chinese. On the part of the British Government no answer was vouchsafed to the demands of the viceroy. In China, matters took their course. Captain Elliot at Canton, British resentment on May 22, issued a notice in which he protested against the action of the Chinese Government "as utterly unjust per se," and advised all British merchants to withdraw to Hong Kong. The merchants acted on the suggestion, and the English factory at Canton, which had existed for nearly 200 years, was abandoned.[Pg 906] The British sailors in Chinese waters threw off all restraint. Frequent collisions occurred between them and the natives. In one of them a Chinaman was killed. The Chinese viceroy denounced this act as "going to the extreme of disobedience to the laws" and demanded the Chinese orders defied surrender of the British sailor who perpetrated the murder. This demand was flatly refused. The Chinese thereupon refused to furnish further supplies to the ships and prohibited all British sailors from coming ashore on Chinese soil. The official notice said: "If any of the foreigners be found coming on shore to cause trouble, all and every one of the people are permitted to withstand and drive them back, or to make prisoners of them." The English naval officers retaliated by sending out their men to seize by Opening of hostilities force whatever they needed. A boat's crew of the British ship "Black Jack" was massacred. Thus hostilities began. Two British men-of-war exchanged shots with the forts in the Bogue. On November 3, the two frigates "Volage" and "Hyacinth" were attacked by twenty-nine junks-of-war off Chuenpee. A Sea fight off Chuenpee regular engagement was fought and four of the junks were sunk. On the news of the fight at Chuenpee, Emperor Taouk-Wang promoted the Chinese admiral. On December 6, an imperial edict prohibiting all trade with Great Britain British squadron sails for China was issued. Already a strong British squadron was on its way to China.

Simultaneously with these troubles the British had become embroiled in war with the Afghans. The ostensible purpose was to depose Dost Mo[Pg 907]hammed Khan from his usurpation of the throne of Afghanistan. In reality this chieftain had aroused the ire of England by entering into negotiations with Russia, War with Afghans after Lord Auckland had declined to call upon Runjit Singh to restore Peshawar to Afghanistan. When it was learned that a Russian mission had been received at Kabul, the British Government resolved to dethrone Dost Mohammed Khan and to restore Shah Shuja to the throne of Kabul. War was declared at Simla. Columns were sent out from Bombay and Bengal and were Fall of Kandahar united at Quetta under the command of Sir John Keene. Kandahar was captured in April. In July, Ghasni was taken by storm. It was on this occasion that Sir Henry Durand, then a young subaltern, distinguished himself by blowing British enter Kabul up the Ghasni gate. In August, the British entered Kabul. Dost Mohammed Khan fled over the Oxus into Bokhara. Shah Shuja was restored as ruler of Afghanistan under the tutelage of a British resident minister. In response to Dost Mohammed's appeals, the Russian Government sent out an expedition Failure of Russian counter move toward Khiva, in November; but the winter weather in the mountains was so severe that the expedition had to return.

Other problems engaged the attention of the British Colonial Office. A rebellion in Borneo had to be suppressed by force of arms. In Canada, the new Governor-General, Charles Pollot Thompson, later Lord Sydenham, found it difficult to carry out Durham's scheme of union. In November, martial law had to be declared again at Montreal.[Pg 908] The reported discovery of gold British colonial problems by Count Strzelescki in New South Wales, and the discovery of copper in South Australia, drew great numbers of emigrants thither. New Zealand was incorporated in New South Wales. The wild financial speculations engendered by these changes plunged almost all of Australia into bankruptcy. In Cape Colony the public school system was introduced by Sir W. Herschel.

In England, it was a period of material advances in civilization. Postal reforms were introduced by Sir Roland Hill. In July, a bill for penny Industrial development postage was introduced in Parliament, resulting in a new postage law providing a uniform rate of fourpence per letter. New speed records were made on land and on water. While the steam packet "Britannia" crossed from Halifax to Liverpool in ten days, the locomotive "North Star" accomplished a run of thirty-seven miles in one hour. Wheatstone perfected his invention Charles Darwin of a telegraph clock. A patent was obtained for the process of obtaining water gas. Charles Darwin, having returned from his scientific travels on H.M.S. "Beagle," published his "Journal of Researches."

Death of Schelling A loss to German philosophic literature was the death of Joseph Schelling, whose theories formed the main inspiration of the romantic poet Novalis. Agassiz, the naturalist, published his original researches on fresh-water fishes.
Agassiz

It was then that Dr. Theodore Schwann, stimulated in his microscopic researches by the previous discoveries of Robert Brown, Johannes Müller and[Pg 909] Schleiden, propounded the famous cell theory in his work, "Microscopic Schwann's cell theory Researches Concerning the Unity in the Structure and Growth of Animals and Plants." Schwann's book became a scientific classic almost from the moment of its publication. It was Schwann, too, who, simultaneously with Cagniard la Tour, discovered the active principle of gastric juice to be the substance which he named pepsin. The cell theory was for some time combated by the most eminent German men of science. Thus Liebig, in apparent Liebig's theory of fermentation agreement with Helmholtz, took a firm stand against the new doctrine with his famous "theory of fermentation" promulgated this same year.

In England, William Smith, "the father of English geology," died. Born in 1769, Smith, like many another English scientist, was self-taught and Death of William Smith perhaps all the more independent for that. He discovered that the fossils in rocks, instead of being scattered haphazard, are arranged in regular systems, so that any given stratum of rock is labelled by its fossil population; that the order of succession of such groups of fossils is always the same in any vertical series of strata in which they occur, and The new geology that a fossil, having once disappeared, never reappears in a later stratum. The facts which he unearthed were as iconoclastic in their field as the discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo.

In Spain, a signal defeat of the Carlists at Pennecerrada during the previous year had caused a decisive turn in the civil war. Don Carlos' attempted march on Madrid had to be abandoned, and was fol[Pg 910]lowed by the Spanish civil war retreat of his forces to the Ebro. General Espartero forced back the Carlist forces step by step, and carried the fight into the Basque provinces. There the struggle degenerated into a war of extermination. The Carlist leaders turned against one another. The priests excommunicated the Carlist reverses generals, and the generals in turn shot the priests. At last, by the middle of September, so many of the insurgents had surrendered to Espartero that Don Carlos found himself almost without followers. He gave up the struggle Flight of Don Carlos and fled into France. This ended the civil war. It had lasted six weary years, and had proved almost as disastrous for Spain as the great Peninsular War. Robbed of her former colonial resources, excepting only those from Cuba and the Philippines, Spain's finances were all but ruined. Decline of Spain Of industrial progress there was next to none. The country relapsed into semi-barbarism.

In the United States, prominent Northern abolitionists met at Warsaw, New American Whig Convention York, and resolved to form an independent political party. A Whig Convention, the first of such gatherings, was held at Harrisburg, fifteen months before the next Presidential election. Harrison was nominated for President and John Tyler for Vice-President. In the West, Henry Clay, Henry Clay's candidacy. popularly known as "Harry of the West," was the ideal of a strong minority. His repeated failures to attain the Presidency led to the remark: "He is too good a man to be President." The first session of the Twenty-sixth Congress opened in December. An organization of the House was at last effected by John Quincy Adams, who[Pg 911] put a question to vote which the Speaker had refused to present. The Representatives indulged for the first time in the practice of "pairing off." Adams opposed this, declaring that it was a violation of the Constitution, of an express rule of the House which the Representatives owed to their constituents. Another event of the year in America was the failure of the United States Bank at Philadelphia, Financial failures in consequence of speculations in cotton, as the result of which the government lost $2,000,000 of its deposits. Other bank failures followed. Mississippi repudiated $5,000,000 of its State bonds. The first power loom for making carpets was set up at Lowell, Massachusetts. Charles Goodyear obtained his first patent for making vulcanized rubber. The express business was organized by Harndon, who sent his first pack from New York to Boston by the public messenger. Longfellow published his romance Longfellow's poems "Hyperion," and "Voices of the Night," a collection of verses embracing some of his most widely known poems. In the same year appeared Willis's "Letters from Under a Bridge" and Cooper's "History of the Navy."

Toward the close of the year, Queen Victoria held a Privy Council at Buckingham Palace, at which she announced her intention to marry her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

Greville wrote in his diary that "about eighty Privy Councillors were present, the folding-doors were thrown open, and the Queen came in, attired Queen Victoria's betrothal in a plain morning gown, but wearing a necklace containing Prince Albert's portrait. She read the[Pg 912] declaration in a clear, sonorous, sweet tone of voice, but her hand trembled so excessively that I wonder she was able to read the paper which she held."

All this time the agitation for the People's Charter in England went on unabated. In the autumn, St. Paul's Cathedral in London was temporarily taken possession of by a large body of Chartists. Churches were likewise entered in Manchester.

At Newport, in Monmouthshire, an organized attempt was made, under the Popular riots in England leadership of John Frost and Zephaniah Williams, to rescue Henry Vincent from prison. Armed with guns, crowbars and pick-axes the mob poured into the town twenty thousand strong. They were met by a small body of soldiery, and after a sharp conflict were scattered with a loss of ten killed and fifty wounded. The leaders were arrested and condemned in court. A vast periodical literature kept alive the agitation. Among the new Chartist The Charter propaganda newspapers were the "Northern Star," the property and the organ of Feargus O'Connor; the London "Despatch"; the Edinburgh "New Scotsman"; the Newcastle "Northern Liberator"; the Birmingham "Journal," and many others.

1840

[Pg 913] THE Chinese edict prohibiting all trade and intercourse with England was put in force on January 5. The English missionaries in China fled to Hong England declares war on China Kong, which port was put in readiness for defence against the Chinese. Great Britain declared war, and sent out an expedition consisting of 4,000 troops on board twenty-five transports, with a convoy of fifteen men-of-war.

In South Africa, during January, the Boers inflicted a crushing defeat on End of Dingaan the Zulus under Dingaan. The Zulu King himself was killed. His brother, Upanda, succeeded him as ruler.

On the other side of the globe, the legislative union of Upper and Lower Union of Upper and Lower Canada Canada was at last effected, after a separation of forty-nine years. Each had equal representation in the common legislature, with practical concession on the part of the mother country of responsible government. Kingston was selected as the new seat of government, to be shifted presently to Montreal. To settle the long pending boundary dispute between Canada and the United States, a commission was appointed, consisting of Canadian boundary commission Lord Ashburton for England and Daniel Webster for America. Between the line claimed by Great Britain and that demanded [Pg 914] by the United States lay 12,000 square miles of territory. The commission sat all the year.

The American Senate early in the year passed the Sub-Treasury bill. By this measure it was required that the national funds should be kept at Washington, and in federal sub-treasuries in some of the large cities, subject to the orders of the Washington office. The first National Convention against anti-slavery met at Albany. James G. Birney, a Kentuckian, was nominated for President. The Whigs were incensed at the nomination and Birney withdrew. The Democratic National Convention at Baltimore unanimously renominated Van Buren. The political campaign that American Presidential election followed began a new era in American elections. The facilities of transit effected by the railroads now first rendered possible immense gatherings at central points. In May, 20,000 political followers gathered at Baltimore in Harrison's interest. The contest had just opened, when a leading Democratic paper stated "if some one would present Harrison with a barrel of cider he would sit down on a log content and happy the rest of his days." The log cabin and hard cider jug forthwith became the emblems of the Whigs. Log Morse cabin songs were heard, with shouts for "Tippecanoe, and Tyler too." All the Middle States gave their majorities to Harrison. Harrison and Tyler were elected by a vote of 1,275,017 to 1,128,702 for Van Buren. It was a political revolution, breaking the Democratic success of forty years. It Draper was during this year that Samuel F.B. Morse obtained his first American patent on the telegraph. William Draper[Pg 915] of New York turned out the most successful daguerreotype portraits yet obtained. Florence, the actor, made Florence his first appearance at the National Theatre in Philadelphia, while Fanny Ellsler appeared at the Park Theatre in New York City. Ralph Waldo Emerson published the "Dial." Other notable publications in American letters were Poe's "Tales of the Arabesque and Grotesque," Willis's "Loiterings of Fanny Ellsler Travel," Cooper's "Pathfinder," and Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast."

New Mexico In Central and South America, it was likewise a year of political upheavals. The Yankee settlers of Texas maintained their independence against Mexico. Their movement was joined by the Northern States along the Yucatan Rio Grande. The independent State of New Mexico was formed. Yucatan likewise became an independent government. On July 25, a revolution broke out in the City of Mexico. General Urrea captured in person President Bustamente. After two days Bustamente was released on a pledge of general Revolution in Mexico amnesty and administrative reforms. Santander, the first President of Colombia, died in May. The election of Marquez to the Presidency was followed by civil war. The province of Cartagena seceded from Colombia. The union of Central American States was dissolved, and Costa Rica became an Dom Pedro II. of Brazil independent republic. In Brazil, another political overturn resulted in material changes in the Constitution. In July, the Brazilian Legislature declared Dom Pedro II., then still under age, Emperor of Brazil. In the Argentine Republic, General Lavalle, who had taken the field General Lavalle shot [Pg 916] against his opponents, was utterly defeated and shot. A new treaty was concluded between Argentina and Montevideo.

In the distant South Seas, the Hawaiian Islands were recognized as an Hawaiian Islands recognized independent kingdom by the Powers on the condition that free access be given to white missionaries and the teachings of Christianity.

In regard to the affairs of the Orient, the Powers found agreement more difficult. France gave continued support to the pretensions of Mehemet Ali of Egypt against Turkey. The French scheme to anticipate Russia's designs on Constantinople by a dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire and the Oriental problems establishment of Mehemet Ali at Constantinople found little favor with the Powers. The Russian statesmen understood the true weakness of Turkey, and were willing to bide their time. Metternich and Lord Palmerston clung to the belief that the Ottoman Empire could still be reconstructed. Thus Lord Palmerston said at this time: "All that we hear about the decay of the Turkish Empire, and its being a dead body, or a sapless trunk, and so forth, is pure and unadulterated nonsense." Metternich affected to look upon Mehemet Ali as a mere rebel. At last, on July 15, the negotiators of Egypt's status defined Great Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia, without waiting for France, concluded a treaty at London. Egypt was offered to Mehemet Ali in perpetuity with southern Syria for his lifetime. If this offer was not accepted within ten days, Egypt alone was to be ceded; if, after twenty days, this alternative[Pg 917] were not accepted, joint action was to be taken against Mehemet Ali.

The exclusion of France from the concert of Europe aroused a storm of anger France slighted at Paris. Guizot, the French Ambassador at London, expostulated with Lord Palmerston. Thiers, then at the head of affairs in France, issued orders for an increase of the strength of army and navy. The long-delayed fortifications at Paris were begun. Military spirit was so awakened in France that the familiar cry was raised to avenge Waterloo and recover the French pretensions on the Rhine Rhine. The Germans fiercely resented this threat of invasion, prompted largely by French exasperation over the turn which Egyptian affairs had taken. Even the Rhenish provinces, which owed so much to France, shared in this national feeling. It was at this time that Becker, himself a man from the Rhine, wrote the lines which in later years became one of Germany's most famous war songs:

Under the stress of this new military ardor in France, agitation was revived for the return of Napoleon Bonaparte's remains from St. Helena to France. The consent of the British Government having been obtained, a decree to this effect was passed by the French Chambers. Other events helped to fan to fresh life the smouldering flames of Napoleonic imperialism. Thus the death of[Pg 918] Napoleonic memories Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's eldest brother, and of Marshal MacDonald, hero of Wagram, recalled a host of Napoleonic memories. On August 6, Prince Louis Napoleon deemed the time ripe for another Napoleonic rising. Crossing over from England with General Moltenon and fifty followers he attempted to incite an insurrection at Vimereux near Boulogne. He hoped to re-enact the events after Elba. Once Louis Napoleon's second fiasco more his plans ended in a fiasco. "Bonaparte or not, I see in you only a conspirator," exclaimed Colonel Puygelier. The conspirators fled back to their boat and capsized. Louis Napoleon was taken and sentenced to life imprisonment within the fortress of Ham. As a sop to popular feeling, King Louis Philippe permitted the bronze statue of the Great Napoleon to be replaced on the column of the Grande Armée in Paris.

In England, great popular rejoicings had been occasioned by the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. A bill was passed Prince Consort Albert appointing the Prince Consort regent of England in case of the Queen's death. The royal couple were well matched. The credit of having brought about this marriage was chiefly due to Lord Melbourne. The tactful conduct of Prince Albert after the marriage fully justified his choice. Yet Prince Albert was never popular in England. Parliament cut down his proposed income from the Crown by nearly one half. The lower classes were prejudiced against him as a foreigner, while the nobility and army turned against him when they found that he preferred the society of men eminent for their intellectual[Pg 919] attainments to that of dukes and marquises. On June 10, an First attempt to assassinate Victoria insane pot-boy named Oxford attempted to assassinate the Queen and the Prince Consort with a pistol. The would-be assassin was confined in an asylum. On November 21, Queen Victoria gave birth to her eldest child, Augusta, who subsequently became Empress of Germany.

Other English events of domestic importance were the passage of the vaccination act, the introduction of screw propellers in the British navy, First Charter petition and the State trial of the three leaders of the Chartist movement of the previous year. A monster petition subscribed by 1,280,000 signatures on a great cylinder was rolled into Parliament. In it were embodied new demands for a bill of rights, or the "People's Charter," comprising universal suffrage, including that of woman, secret ballots, payment of Parliamentary representatives, and the like. The denial of this petition provoked a Jack Frost's revolt popular uprising under the leadership of Jack Frost at Newport, which had to be suppressed by the military. After a sensational trial, the leaders were condemned to deportation.

Echoes of the English Regency were re-awakened by the death of "Beau" Brummel, a dandy after the manner of the French exquisites. It was a boast Death of Beau Brummel of this leader of fashion that he spoiled twenty-five cravats before one was tied to his liking. The Prince Regent in his dress imitated Brummel. The offended beau retaliated one day, when some of his friends saluted the Prince on Rotten Row, by asking, "Who is your fat friend?" Leigh Hunt im[Pg 920]proved upon this in his "Examiner" by describing the Prince as "a corpulent Adonis of fifty." For this Hunt was sentenced to imprisonment for two years and fined £500. After George IV. became king, Brummel fell into disfavor and had to leave London. Years later, the bankrupt beau, who had been cheated out of a snuff-box by Prince George, presented the King with another in token of submission. In the words of Thackeray, "the King took the snuff, and ordered his horses, and drove on, and had not the grace to notice his old companion—favorite, rival, enemy, superior." Poor Beau Brummel died in extreme poverty. Some of the striking episodes of the beau's career were dramatized in a play, which has kept alive the memory of this lesser light of modern English society.

The career of another striking figure of the Nineteenth Century was ended Death of Paganini by the death of Paganini, the most remarkable of violin virtuosi. The son of a poor shopkeeper, with little musical knowledge, but of some proficiency on the mandolin, Paganini received an indifferent early schooling in music. After the boy had come under the tutelage of Costa, the orchestral leader of Genoa, his progress on the violin was rapid. At the age of eight he composed a violin sonata. Soon he surpassed his instructors. At sixteen he ran away from his father, after a concert at Lucca, and made a tour of his own through Italy. Already he was addicted to gambling and other forms of dissipation. At Leghorn he had to sell his violin to pay a gambling debt. A French[Pg 921]man, M. Levron, lent him his own Guarnero violin. When he heard him play on it he was so charmed that he made him a present of the instrument. Paganini kept the Guarnero throughout the rest of his life. It was the turning-point of his career. After two Foremost violin virtuoso years of incessant practice, Paganini appeared in public again at Lucca, where he aroused unbounded enthusiasm by his novel performances on the G string. For the next twenty years he travelled and played throughout Italy, vanquishing all rivals. His superstitious countrymen believed him to be in league with the Evil One, an impression which Paganini loved to confirm by dark utterances and eccentricities of dress. Not until 1828 did he leave his own country to gather foreign laurels. His first appearance at Vienna was an unprecedented triumph. The Emperor appointed him court violinist and the city of Vienna presented him with a gold medal. From there he made a triumphal tour through Europe, appearing in Berlin, Paris and London. He was acknowledged the most wonderful violinist that had ever been heard. He soon amassed a colossal fortune. Withal, Paganini was almost as much a Genius and charlatan charlatan as he was an original genius. He liked to impress his audiences by fantastic eccentricities and by mere tricks of legerdemain, such as dropping and catching his instrument, or breaking one string after another to finish his concert on one alone. Other tricks of virtuosity, such as tuning up the A string by a semi-tone, left hand pizzicato, or his double thirds, were executed with such stupendous tech[Pg 922]nique that they held connoisseurs and amateurs spellbound. His individuality, in fact, was so abnormal that it rendered him unfit to play with others in quartets or other chamber music. As a man he had all the worst faults of a genius. The vast sums of money which he accumulated were gambled away. His whole life Paganini's compositions was disgraced by unbridled sensuality coupled with sordid avarice. This explains in a measure Paganini's inferior rank as a composer. Famous are his variations on the tune "God Save the King," his "Studies," his twenty variations on "Il Carnevale di Venezia," and the concert allegro "Perpetual Motion." The celebrated twenty-four violin capricci, written early in Paganini's career, have been rendered familiar by their transcriptions to the pianoforte by Schumann and Liszt. Paganini died from the results of dissipation. He left his famous Guarnero fiddle to his birthplace, Genoa.

In Germany, King Frederick William III. of Prussia died in his sixty-sixth Frederick William IV. King of Prussia year. He was succeeded by Frederick William IV. The pending dispute between the Prussian Government and the Vatican, arising out of the refusal of the Rhenish priests to sanction marriages between Catholics and Protestants, found a temporary adjustment by the new king's concessions to the clergy.

In England, too, church questions temporarily rose uppermost during debates in Parliament over the proposed government assistance to schools in which the Douay Bible, or Roman Catholic version of the Scriptures, was used. On account of these Parliamentary debates, and the attempted reform of[Pg 923] IrishReligious discussions registration by which more Roman Catholic voters were to be admitted, a loud anti-Popery cry was raised by the English Tories. Once more the House of Peers rejected a bill for removing the political disabilities of the Jews, after its passage through the Commons by a handsome majority of 113 yeas. The attention of Englishmen at this time was diverted to questions of Chinese naval brigade foreign policy. The British expedition against China had arrived at the mouth of the Canton River in June. A naval blockade was established in Chinese waters. The Chinese retaliated by offering a reward for every Englishman taken, and a prize of $20,000 for the destruction of a British Capture of Chusan man-of-war. Sir Gordon Bremer sent an expedition against the Island of Chusan. The Chinese officials refused to surrender until after the city of Tinghai had been all but demolished by the English guns. Tinghai was made a British base of supplies, but proved a very unhealthy place. The Chinese capture of an English subject, Vincent Stanton, was followed by a British expedition into the Canton River. The barrier forts, after a heavy bombardment, were taken by storm. Stanton was released. The British fleet made demonstrations at Amay, Ningpo, and in the Gulf of Pechili. Emperor Taouk-Wang sent for troops from the interior. Mandarin Lin, who had entered into negotiations with the British, was degraded and was succeeded by Viceroy Keshen of Peiho. Keshen received Lord Palmerston's formal demands upon China and forwarded them to Pekin. By dilatory tactics he succeeded in gaining a breathing space.[Pg 924]

In India, the British occupation of Kabul continued. New trouble broke out Burmese expedition in Burma where the British Resident was expelled from Ava. An expedition had to be sent against Burma. The death of Runjit Singh led to a series of revolutions which shook the Sikh dominion to its foundations. The successive deaths of Runjit Singh's son and grandson, who had succeeded him Sikhs restive as Maharajas, led to a general belief that they had been murdered by the Prime Minister, Dhian Singh. All the chief Sirdars rose against Dhian. The Sikh army of Khalsak, numbering 7,000 soldiers, became a menace for Hindustan. In July, the British garrison of Kelat in Beluchistan was Fall of Kelat overpowered by the natives. Lord Auckland had to prepare another expedition to restore English prestige in that quarter. Kelat was retaken by the British in November. New complications arose at Herat. This had long been the bone of contention between Great Britain and Russia in Central Asia. British ascendency over Herat had been gained by large financial subsidies, which had been spent in frustrating the designs of the Persians and Russians in that quarter. Major d'Arcy Todd, the English envoy at Herat, incensed by King Kamram's continued dealings with Russia, withheld the further payment of the British subsidies, unless British troops were Todd leaves Herat admitted to Herat. The situation became so acute that Major Todd on his own authority threw up his post and left Herat. It was a severe setback for British influence in Central Asia. Lord Auckland in exasperation dismissed his erstwhile ambassador from political employ. Todd[Pg 925] found a soldier's death on the field of Ferozeshahar. The continued rebellion of the Sarawacks in Borneo gave the British an opportunity for interference there. Sir James Brooke, at the head of a British expedition, helped the Sultan of Borneo in quelling the rising.

The operations of the international coalition against Mehemet Ali of Egypt had now begun. Though the Viceroy's soldiers lay on Turkish soil without a Turkish-Egyptian War foe before them, and France stood at his back, Mehemet Ali found himself checkmated. While Russia undertook to keep Ibrahim's army out of Constantinople, all French support was neutralized by Germany's mobilization on the Rhine. A naval squadron, composed of British and Austrian warships, was free to land the Turkish forces in Syria. On October 10, Commodore Napier bombarded Beyrout. The Syrians were armed against their Egyptian oppressors. On November 3, the British and Austrian fleets captured Acre. Ibrahim, with the remains of his army, fell back toward the Egyptian frontier. When the British fleet arrived before Alexandria, Mehemet Ali brought to terms Mehemet Ali made haste to come to terms. In contravention of the ultimatum of the Powers, he was allowed to retain his hereditary dominion over Egypt upon relinquishment of Syria, and of the Turkish fleet, which had been betrayed into his hands. Sir Charles Napier in later years, while speaking of his part in this expedition in Parliament, said: "I was ashamed for my country and for myself."

The humiliating position forced upon France[Pg 926] caused the downfall of theFall of Thiers' Ministry Ministry of Thiers. Marshal Soult was placed at the head of affairs. Guizot was recalled from his embassy at London to take the portfolio of Foreign Affairs. He succeeded in restoring France to her former place in the concert of Europe. The French Government joined with the other powers in the restoration of the ancient rule of the Ottoman Empire by which all foreign warships were excluded from the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. Oriental affairs readjusted Russia thereby virtually conceded the abrogation of her treaty of Unkiar Skelessi. On the other hand, Sebastopol and the Russian arsenals of the Euxine were thus safeguarded against any maritime attack except by Turkey.

The revival of the Napoleonic legend by such writers as Béranger, Lamartine, and Victor Hugo, together with other influences which served to keep bright the glories of the Empire, bore their fruit in the return of Napoleon's remains to France. On October 15, his body had been removed from Napoleon's body returned the simple tomb at St. Helena. On November 30, the ship bearing Napoleon's remains arrived at Cherbourg. A million francs were voted by the Chambers for the new sepulchre under the dome of the chapel of the Hôtel des Invalides. On this occasion great publicity was given to Lord Palmerston's letter to Ambassador Granville: "The government of her British Majesty hope that the promptness of their response to this French request will be considered in France as a proof of their desire to efface all traces of those national animosities which, during the life of the Emperor armed against each other the French[Pg 927] and English nations. The government of her Majesty are confident that if such sentiments still exist anywhere, they will be buried in the tomb in which the remains of Napoleon are to be laid." Napoleon's reburial was witnessed by a million of persons including a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers drawn up in line to do him honor. The ceremonies were attended by the royal family and all the dignitaries of France, excepting only the immediate relatives of the great Napoleon. As it happened, those of the Napoleonides that were not dead were either in exile or in prison.

Shortly before this, great havoc had been wrought in France by disastrous Floods in France inundations of the Saone and Rhone. The water, which covered 60,000 acres, and flooded Lyons, rose higher than it had within 250 years. In Greece, a tremendous earthquake laid the city of Zante in ruins. These catastrophes Earthquake of Zante were made the object of special study in Germany and Switzerland, where Agassiz was in the midst of his epoch-making discourses on the glacial period.

Toward the end of the year wretched Spain suffered another political upheaval. After the last abandonment of the cause of Don Carlos by General Cabrera, in July, the Queen-Regent found herself confronted by a strong democratic party both in the Cortes and the country. The scandals of her private life undermined her political authority. By an insurrection at Isabella abdicates Barcelona she was forced to call in General Espartero, the chief of the Progressist party, as her Prime Minister. Rather than submit to his demands she abdicated the Regency in Octo[Pg 928]ber and left Spain. Espartero, toward the close of the year, was acknowledged by the Cortes as Regent of Spain. His first measures turned a large part of the people against him. On December Rule of Espartero 29, as a result of the growing discussions between the government and the clergy, the Papal Nuncio was expelled from Madrid. Thereafter Espartero and the clerical party of Spain were at daggers' points.

This year Friedrich Overbeck finished his masterpiece, the "Triumph of Religion and the Arts." This German artist, at the time when the classicism of David was at its height, had become his most strenuous opponent, and had brought about the regeneration of the German religious school of painting. Overbeck He and several of his followers formed the Nazarites, whose fundamental principle was that art existed only for the service of religion. Overbeck's frescoes of the "History of Joseph" and "Jerusalem Delivered" are best known. Among his paintings of this period, "The Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem" at Luebeck, "Christ on the Mount of Olives" at Hamburg, and "The Coronation of Mary" in the Cathedral of Cologne, are the most celebrated.

1841

[Pg 929] THE dilatory tactics of Viceroy Keshen in China had prolonged the negotiations there for several weeks. In the meanwhile a large Chinese army was gathering in the interior. Early in the year, after the arrival of the British plenipotentiaries, orders were issued for an attack on the Bogue British capture Bogue forts forts. On January 7, 1,500 British troops were landed on the flank and rear of the forts at Chuenpee. After a sharp cannonade by the fleets, the forts were carried by a storming party under Captain Herbert. Simultaneously the forts at Taikok were destroyed by the fleet, and their Chinese garrison was routed by landing parties. Several Chinese junks were sunk during the engagement. In all the Chinese lost some 1,500 men in casualties; the British losses were small. After the capture of the Bogue forts, Viceroy Hong Kong ceded to Britain Keshen came to terms. He agreed to pay a large money indemnity and to cede Hong Kong absolutely. On January 29, Hong Kong was declared a British possession, and was heavily garrisoned with the troops transferred from Chusan. The importance of the new acquisition was scarcely realized by Englishmen at the time.

The suspension of hostilities proved but temporary. Keshen was degraded and banished. Em[Pg 930]peror Taouk-Wang issued an edict that he was resolved "to Chinese convention repudiated destroy and wash the foreigners away, without remorse." Keshen's successor, Elang, repudiated the convention signed by his predecessor. On February 25, the British proceeded to attack the inner line of forts guarding the approaches to Canton. The formidable lines of Anunghoy, with batteries of two hundred guns, were carried in the first rush. In quick succession the other positions of the Chinese were taken, until, on March 1, the English British threaten Canton squadron drew up in Whampoa Reach, under the very walls of Canton. On the arrival of Sir Hugh Gough, to take command of the British forces, a brief armistice was granted. After a few days, hostilities were renewed by the capture of the outer line of defences. Under the threat of immediate military occupation, the Viceroy of Canton came to terms. On March 18, the British reoccupied their opium factories in Canton. Emperor Taouk-Wang's anti-foreign policy remained unshaken. He appointed a new commission of three mandarins to govern Canton, and collected an army of 50,000 men in that province. In May, Captain Elliot was insulted in the streets of English opium factory destroyed Canton. He sent for reinforcements from Sir Hugh Gough at Hong Kong. A notice was issued advising all Englishmen to leave Canton that day. On the following night the Chinese sacked the opium warehouses and fired upon the British ships lying at anchor. Fire rafts were let loose against the squadron, but drifted astray. The British promptly took the offensive. They sunk forty war junks, and dismantled the Chinese bat[Pg 931]teries. On May 24, Sir Canton bombarded Hugh Gough arrived at Canton with all his forces. The fleet advanced up the Macao passage, and troops were landed under unusually difficult circumstances. The Chinese failed to take advantage of this, preferring to await the British attack in a strong line of intrenchments north of the city. On May 25, two British columns of 2,000 men each, with sixteen pieces of artillery and fifty-two rockets, advanced to the attack across the sacred burial grounds. Three of the hill forts were carried with slight loss. At the fourth fort desperate resistance was encountered. After this fort had succumbed to a bayonet attack the Chinese rallied in an open camp one mile to the rear. Intrenchments were thrown up with remarkable rapidity. The British troops, led by the Royal Irish Fusiliers, streamed over the open ground and scattered the remaining forces of the Chinese. The brilliancy of this exploit was dimmed by the slaughter of Chinamen while asking quarter. The British losses were 70 killed and wounded. A general Heavy ransom exacted attack on the city was ordered for the next day. A fierce hurricane and deluge of rain frustrated this plan. During the day the Canton mandarins came to terms. They agreed to pay an indemnity of $6,000,000, and to withdraw their troops sixty miles from the city. A few days after this, when $5,000,000 of the indemnity had already been paid, the Chinese broke the armistice by an attempt to surprise the British camp. Instead of driving the attack home, the Chinese soldiers, some 10,000 in number, contented themselves with waving their[Pg 932] banners and uttering yells of British camp attacked defiance. The British artillery opened on them, and a running fight ensued. In the midst of it a violent thunderstorm burst over Canton. A detachment of Madras Sepoys lost its way, and was all but overwhelmed by the Chinese. They had to be extricated by a rescue party of marines, armed with the new percussion gun, which was proof against wet weather. Under threat of More ransom saves Canton immediate bombardment, the payment of more ransom was exacted from Canton. In the end the city was spared, to remain, according to the English formula, "a record of British magnanimity and forbearance."

After this the opium trade reverted to its former footing. To bring the Chinese Emperor, himself, to terms, Sir Henry Pottinger, the new British plenipotentiary, sailed northward, and appeared before the seaport of Amoy, Reduction of Amoy nominally at peace with England. The Viceroy of Amoy sent a flag of truce to demand what was wanted. He was called upon to surrender the town. This he refused to do. The British ships at once engaged the land batteries, and landing parties were sent around the rear. The Chinese gunners were driven from their pieces, but several of their officers committed suicide. The commandant of the chief fort drowned himself in the face of both armies. The capture of Amoy remained barren of useful results. The British fleet proceeded northward until scattered by a hurricane in the Channel of Formosa. Coming together off Ningpo, the fleet attacked Chusan for the second time. Spirited resistance was offered by the Chi[Pg 933]nese. In the defence of the capital city Tinghai, Keo, the Chinese general-in-chief, was Chinese reverses killed. All his officers fell with him. Leaving a garrison at Chusan, the British attacked Chinhai on the mainland. Here the Chinese suffered their heaviest losses. After this victory the city of Ningpo was occupied without opposition. The inhabitants shut themselves up and wrote on their doors: "Submissive people." Nevertheless, Ningpo was put to ransom, under threats of immediate pillage. More British troops and warships were arriving to An Indian diversion carry the war to the bitter end, when news arrived of disastrous events in Afghanistan. Troops had to be diverted in that direction, and a more definite settlement of the Chinese question was accordingly postponed.

The attention of Englishmen at home was all but engrossed by domestic topics. In Parliament, the opposition found its strongest issue in the long Corn Law agitation demanded reform of the Corn Laws. Various circumstances, such as increase of population and bad harvests, contributed to bring this issue to the front. The retaliatory tariffs adopted by America, Russia, France, Sweden and the German Zollverein had their serious effect on British trade. The Richard Cobden resulting financial depression engendered discontent. It was at this time that Richard Cobden came into prominence with his free trade views. Then began the great struggle over the Corn Laws which, until its settlement, remained the most important question of the day in England. Lord Melbourne's Ministry by its attempt to adjust the sugar bounties, and inciden[Pg 934]tally the Corn Laws, dealt the first formidable blow against the great system of monopoly called protection. The government's proposals on that subject were denounced as an encouragement of the produce of the Defeat of Melbourne's Ministry sugars of Cuba and other slave states at the expense of the British West Indies, where slavery had been abolished. As a result the anti-slavery Whigs joined with the Tories, under the leadership of Peel. The government was defeated by a majority of thirty-six votes. In contravention of Parliamentary customs, Lord Melbourne's Ministry did not hand in their resignations, neither did they see fit to dissolve Parliament. When Parliamentary precedents defied Parliament met again Sir Robert Peel, amid tumultuous cheering from his followers, moved a direct vote of want of confidence in the government. By a majority of one the motion was carried. The dissolution of Parliament was announced on the morrow. The appeal to the country resulted in a strong gain of Conservatives. The moribund Ministry made another attempt to carry Adverse elections their measures before retiring from office. Sir Robert Peel, in his proposals for a sliding scale in the duties on corn, already showed some bias toward that free-trade policy to which he afterward became committed. On the first division on this question the government was outvoted by a majority of sixty-four. Melbourne's resignation was of course followed by Peel, Prime Minister the elevation of Peel to the Prime Ministry. Lord Palmerston was replaced by the Earl of Aberdeen in the Foreign Office. Lord Lyndhurst was retained in the Chancellorship. The leadership of the Upper House was left[Pg 935] to the Duke of Wellington, who joined the Cabinet without taking any office.

Throughout the year industrial distress prevailed in England and Ireland, with the usual consequence of an increase in crime. The vigorous support of British trade in the Far East was followed by an extension of Christian Growth of mission work missions. Thus missionary work was resumed in China, while Livingstone preached the Gospel to the Hottentots of South Africa. The growth in colonial bishoprics caused Sidney Smith to say that soon there would not be a rock in the ocean without an English bishop and archdeacon. During this year adhesive postage stamps were first used in England. Wheatstone patented his alphabetic printing telegraph, and telegraph wires were strung as far as Glasgow. Almost simultaneously with the death of Hook, the British humorist, the new publication of "Punch, or the London Charivari," made its appearance. One of its earliest contributors was George Cruikshank, the caricaturist.

William H. Harrison inaugurated In British North America, the first Parliament of Canada was opened with great ceremony in June. After the changes in the Ministry, Sir Charles Bagett became Governor-General of Canada. In the United States, General Harrison was inaugurated as President. It rained on his inauguration day, and the aged General suffered so from exposure that he contracted pneumonia. One month later he died. The clamor of office-seekers during his Death of Harrison brief tenure contributed largely to his death. Harrison had been active in public life since he was[Pg 936] Secretary of the Northwest Territory in 1797. He acquired a national reputation by his victory over the Indians at Tippecanoe. He served as Senator from Indiana from 1825 to 1828, when he became Minister to the Republic of Colombia in South America. Congress, Tyler, tenth President after some debate, passed a bill to appropriate one year's Presidential salary to General Harrison's widow. Vice-President Tyler became President. A Virginian by birth, he was committed to the Southern theory of State rights. In his first message he recognized the veto of the United States Bank measure as approved by the nation. This caused a decisive break with the holdover Cabinet. All the members resigned except Daniel Webster, who Canadian boundary treaty was retained to complete the Canadian boundary treaty with England. The line at length agreed upon gave to the United States 7,000 square miles, and to Great Britain 5,000, with the navigation of the St. John's River. Lord Ashburton in a speech at New York declared that never again could war be possible between the two countries. Tyler's new Secretary of State was Upham. The first measure of the Whigs was the repeal of the independent Treasury act of the previous Congress, and the next was the establishment of a general system of bankruptcy, and for distribution of the public land American financial policy revenue. The former was more than a bankrupt law; it was practically an insolvent law for the abolition of debts at the will of the debtor. The bill passed both Houses. The land-revenue distribution was made imperative by the fact that various American States and municipalities owed[Pg 937] $200,000,000 to European creditors. These became uneasy, and wished the Federal Government to assume their debts. The system was first favored in 1838, and again in 1839, and in 1840 became a national issue. Although Calhoun and Benton both opposed the measure as a squandering of the public patrimony, it passed by a party vote.

A compromise tariff measure, advocated by Clay, provided for an upward scale of duties, to reach their maximum during the following year. The bill Tyler's vetoes was vetoed by the President. Another important measure was that for the rechartering of the National Bank. It passed both Houses by a close vote, but Tyler vetoed it, to the consternation of the Whigs. On the second vote the necessary two-thirds majority was not obtained. Thus the second attempt Loss of Whig support to resuscitate the old United States Bank resulted in failure. After this the Whigs withdrew their support from the Administration they had put into office.

During this year, in America, the grain drill was patented. Wilkes explored the coast of California. Graham's Magazine was published—one of the first American literary magazines of high pretensions. Among its earliest contributors was Edgar Allan Poe. At the same time Longfellow published his ballads, Cooper his "Deerslayer," and Ralph Waldo Emerson brought out his philosophical lectures in essay form.

War with the Seminoles continued unabated. In the spring, General William J. Worth had been appointed to succeed Armisted. During the summer,[Pg 938] Worth dispersed his troops into small parties, which ascended the rivers and penetrated the swamps to the islands to which the Indians had retired. Worth brought Chief Coacoochee to Tampa in irons. To secure peace, Worth bade him name five of his fellow chieftains, who were to return to the Indians and inform them that unless they should appear at Tampa within a given time and give themselves up, Coacoochee and his fellow prisoners would forthwith be hanged. The Indians came within the appointed time. As one band after another surrendered they were sent West to Mississippi. The Close of Seminole War cost of the war from first to last had been $40,000,000, which was twice the sum paid for the Territories of Louisiana and Florida together. It was estimated that for each black slave brought back from Florida to his owners, three white men had lost their lives, and $80,000 had been expended.

In Mexico, the Presidency of Bustamente was superseded by that of General Santa Anna. The northern States of Mexico maintained their independent attitude. The State of Costa Rica attempted to withdraw from the ascendant Latin-American upheavals influence of Guatemala. About the same time the city of Cartago was destroyed by an earthquake. In Colombia, Marquez maintained himself as President against his opponents. The States of Panama and Veragua seceded from the Colombian Union, but the President prevailed upon them to return to the confederation. In South America, an expedition from Peru invaded Bolivia and laid siege to La Paz, only to be driven back. Peru was now invaded by an army from Bo[Pg 939]livia, but General Bolnes, the newly elected President of Chile, interfered on behalf of Peru.

In Spain, General Espartero throughout this year continued his precarious rule. In October, Generals O'Donnel and Concha headed a rising at Pambulna Revolts in Spain in behalf of the former Queen-Regent Christina. The Queen's guard repelled an attack of Don Diego Leon on the palace. On October 15, Don Diego was captured and shot. One week later O'Donnel fled to France. On the same day, General Zurbano gained possession of the citadel and port of Bilbao. He declared himself in favor of the Queen-Regent.

On the other side of the Pyrenees the restoration of the French entente cordiale with England and the other European Powers was manifested in the conclusion of the International Convention of Alexandria in July, and the quintuple treaty for suppression of the slave trade proposed by the British Government. The French cry for the forcible recovery of the Rhine frontier died down and public funds rose accordingly. Alfred de Musset's second invective poem on "Le Rhin Allemand" scarcely raised a stir. All desire for French Algerian victories military conquests was satisfied for the moment by the exploits of French arms under General Bugeaud and the Duc d'Aumale in Algeria. For once the Arab chiefs of the Desert were cowed into submission. The effect of the Duc d'Aumale's triumphal return was spoiled somewhat by the attempt to assassinate him on September 13. Under Guizot's guidance the French Chambers showed their appreciation of the flourishing state of literature in France by their amendments to the[Pg 940] copyright law, extending the provisions of copyright to a period of thirty years after an author's death.

Michel Jurgevitch Lermontov, the Russian poet, died on July 27, as the Death of Lermontov result of a duel in the Caucasus. His romance, "A Hero of Our Time," was the immediate cause of the duel. This poet was the Russian spokesman of the so-called Weltschmerz (world-sorrow) which had come into vogue with the "Sorrows of Werther." Following in the wake of Chateaubriand and Byron, Lermontov wrote epic poems in a pessimistic, cynical strain, without attaining quite the bitterness of spirit of a Byron or Heine, nor the Lermontov's work melancholy lyric beauty of a Lenau or Leopardi. Pre-eminent, on the other hand, are his poetical descriptions of the scenery and wild national traits of the Caucasus, which furnished the background for almost all of his poems. Noteworthy among his epics are "The Circassian Boy," "Ismail Bey," "Valerik," "Hadshy-Abrak," and "The Demon." Under Czar Nicholas, Lermontov's works were forbidden in Russia. After having been banished to the Caucasus, for demanding revenge for Pushkin's death, the poet published his last brilliant epic, "Song of Czar Ivan Vasilyevitch," under a pseudonym.

In Germany, too, letters and arts were flourishing. In Vienna, Nikolaus Lenau (Baron Strehlenau) and his friend, Anastasius Gruen (Count German letters Auersperg), were the leaders of a literary movement which found its counterpart in the so-called "Young German" movement of the north, where Ferdinand Freiligrath, Laube, Gutzkow, and Emanuel Geibel came[Pg 941] under the ban of the German Bundesrath. The great political event of the year was the Prussian General Estates meeting of the first General Estates, convoked at Berlin. The new king's hostile attitude toward their popular demands for constitutional rights and larger liberties soon destroyed the hopes of liberal Germans for a change of spirit in the government of Prussia. A more material advance in civilization was assured by the opening of the first railway from Berlin to Magdeburg.

Peter von Cornelius, one of the leaders of the religious Catholic movement Cornelius in art which had followed the classicism of the first decade of the century, was commissioned by the King to decorate the cemetery at Berlin. These decorations afterward, as well as the mural paintings in the Church of Saint Louis at Munich, proved to be his masterpieces.

The British occupation of Afghanistan had continued since the last year. The expenses of the occupation were so heavy that economy was imperative. As soon as the British Resident cut down the subsidies paid to Shah Shuja Defence of Jellalabad the situation took a sinister turn. In October, Sir Robert Sale left Kabul with a brigade of British troops to reopen communications with Jellalabad, which had been interrupted by hostile mountain tribes. He got to Jellalabad only after a desperate struggle and heavy losses. His subsequent defence of that stronghold against the Afghans is one of the heroic traditions of British India.

At Kabul, in the meanwhile, the garrison had[Pg 942] been removed from the citadel of Bala Hasir to open cantonments outside of the city. Sir William MacNaghten, the British Resident, had been appointed Governor of Bombay, and was about to be succeeded by Sir Alexander Byrnes. Byrnes took up his abode in the centre of the city amid the turbulent bazaars. On November 2, the people of Kabul rose against the English. Byrnes barricaded his house and sent to MacNaghten for help. On the advice of General Elphinstone, MacNaghten decided to wait for further information before acting. The delay Massacre of Kabul was fatal for Byrnes. He held out with thirty-two others from eight in the morning until two in the afternoon. Then the ammunition gave out. The mob rushed in and tore the house to pieces. Byrnes and twenty-three of his followers were massacred. One hour later a British relief corps tried to enter the city. All Kabul turned against them. The British were forced to retire. The news of this set Afghanistan wild. Thousands of armed mountaineers flocked to Kabul, and the whole nation rose against the foreigners. The British troops were cut off from all supplies. They maintained their precarious position only by lavish promises of ransom. At Afghans up in arms length, after many parleys, a meeting was arranged, for December 23, between MacNaghten and the Afghan chiefs. When the English envoy walked into the meeting the Afghans fell upon him, and he was slain by Akbar Khan.

1842

[Pg 943] THE situation of the British in Afghanistan was so critical that they could MacNaghten's murder unavenged not avenge the murder of their countrymen. Negotiations were actually renewed with Akbar Khan upon his statement that he had not meant to murder the British envoy, but had been goaded into the act by the taunts of MacNaghten. Promises of safe conduct were obtained. In January the British forces began their retreat from Kabul. Then followed a series of treacheries and mutual breaches of faith. Akbar Khan and his hordes of Afghans dogged the retreating column exacting further concessions. The The retreat from Kabul English women and children were demanded as hostages. From the heights of the Khaibar Pass, the Ghilzai mountaineers poured a destructive fire into the Englishmen. Akbar Khan's followers made common cause with them. Thousands of Englishmen were slain, or perished in the deep snows of the Khaibar Pass. The wounded and those who fell behind were butchered by the Disaster of Khaibar Pass Afghans. A fortnight sufficed to cut the whole column to pieces. Of the entire force of 4,000 soldiers and 12,000 followers, one single survivor succeeded in reaching Jellalabad. He was a British surgeon named Brydon, who dragged himself on all fours[Pg 944] out of reach of the Afghans; but he lived to tell the tale for more than thirty years afterward.

Colonel Stoddart and Captain Connelly had been sent as British emissaries to Bokhara. When the news of the British massacre at Kabul reached Bokhara, both men were promptly thrown into prison. Later, when the news of the British disaster in the Khaibar Pass reached Bokhara, the Ameer had the two envoys taken from their dungeons. They were publicly beheaded in the market-place of Bokhara.

Such was the state of affairs in India when Lord Ellenborough landed at Lord Ellenborough in India Calcutta in February, to succeed Lord Auckland as Governor-General. The first trying need was to rescue the remaining British garrisons at Jellalabad and Kandahar. General Pollock, with a strong force of Sepoys, was sent through the Punjab and Peshawar. In April, he pushed his way through the Khaibar Pass, in the face of fierce resistance from the mountaineers. The relieving force reached Jellalabad none too soon. General Jellalabad relieved Sale and his garrison were fighting for time. In a last sortie they had just inflicted a telling defeat on Akbar Khan and his besieging army. From Kabul the boy sovereign of the Afghans fled out of Akbar Khan's reach and put himself under the protection of General Pollock. Akbar Khan now wrote to General Pollock, offering to deliver up his British prisoners and hostages if he would withdraw from Afghanistan. Lord Ellenborough showed himself inclined to accept this proposition. The British officers at the front were furious. General Pollock wrote to Nott at Kandahar[Pg 945] not to move until further instructions, while he himself reported to headquarters that he could not retire to Jellalabad for want of transports. Eventually, Lord Ellenborough consented to modify his instructions. Without waiting for this, General Nott was already marching on Kabul. Pollock, accompanied by Sale, left Jellalabad to support Nott's advance. In the Tezeen Valley the British came upon the scene of one of the bloodiest massacres of the retreat from Kabul. The sight of the murdered bodies of their comrades exasperated the soldiers. The heights around were bristling with Akbar Khan's men. In the face of a murderous fire from their matchlocks, the Recapture of Kabul British stormed the heights and gave no quarter. Akbar Khan fled into the northern hills. In September, Nott's column took Kabul and hoisted the British flag over the Bala Hassar. The English captives managed to bribe their keepers and to join the rescuing army, amid general rejoicings. The British conquest of Afghanistan was followed by barbarous deeds of vandalism. The great bazaar of Kabul, one of the handsomest stone structures of Central Asia, was blown up by gunpowder. The city itself was British vandalism turned over to loot and massacre. The bloodcurdling atrocities of the white men on that occasion kept alive the fierce hatred of all things British in Afghanistan for years to come. By the express orders of Lord Ellenborough the sacred sandalwood gates of Somnath, which had adorned the tomb of Mahmud of Ghasni since the Eleventh Century, were brought away as trophies of war.[Pg 946]

In South Africa, too, the seeds of enduring hatred were sown at this time. Scarcely had the new Boer community in Zululand become well settled when a Boers driven from Natal proclamation was issued in Cape Town, declaring that Natal should become a British territory. Soldiers were despatched to Durban to support this claim. After some sharp fighting the Boers were driven out of the seaport. When the British Commissioner arrived at Pietermaritzburg, a stormy mass meeting was held. For two hours Erasmus Smith, the Boer predicant, argued in vain in behalf of his flock. In the end the Boer women passed a unanimous resolution that rather than submit to English rule they would emigrate once more. Pointing to the Drakensberg Mountains, the oldest of the women said: "We go across those mountains to freedom or to death." Over Foundation of Transvaal these mountains almost the whole population of Natal trekked their way into the uninhabited regions beyond. Only 300 families remained, the ancestors of some 10,000 Afrikanders of Natal in later days. On the other side of the Orange and Vaal Rivers the Boer emigrants founded once more their commonwealth, known later as the Transvaal, or South African Republic.

In Australia the first representative constitution was granted to the English colonists of New South Wales. Almost simultaneously with this began the agitation for separating Victoria from New South Wales.

In England, early in the Parliamentary session, Sir Robert Peel on behalf of the government moved[Pg 947] his famous bill for a sliding scale of the duties on corn. In the debate that followed, the most notable speeches were made "The Sliding Scale" by Cobden and Macaulay, who advocated complete free trade. In spite of all opposition, the bill in an unamended form reached its third reading and was passed on the 5th of April. The most serious difficulty confronting the government was a financial deficit of £2,570,000, to which had to be added the heavy expenditures for the wars in India and China. To fill up this deficiency, Peel resorted to the levy of an income tax. To make this unpopular tax more acceptable a number of minor mischievous taxes were abolished. Thus rendered palatable, this bill, too, was carried through British Income Tax Parliament with tolerable speed, and was passed with handsome majorities by both Houses. It called for a tax of sevenpence on every pound of annual income above £150.

In emulation of the new provisions for copyright in France, a bill was brought in to extend English copyright from twenty-eight to forty-two years. Among the considerations which prompted Parliament to perform this long delayed act of justice was the recent lamented death of Sir Walter Scott. The royalties on his works were the only resource left to his family, and the copyright on the most important of them, the Waverley Novels, was about to expire. Southey, the Poet Laureate, before his recent illness, it was stated, had been deterred from undertaking a projected great work by the unsatisfactory copyright provisions. Wordsworth was about to lose the fruits of some of his earliest andCopyright reform [Pg 948] most patriotic poems. Among those who actively pressed the measure were Charles Dickens and Thomas Carlyle. The sixty years' copyright demanded in Carlyle's petition was not obtained; but authors were allowed to retain the property of their works during life, while their heirs could possess it for seven years after their "Lays of Ancient Rome" death. Coincident with this literary victory came other triumphs in literature. Thomas B. Macaulay published his "Lays of Ancient Rome"; Alfred Tennyson brought out "Locksley Hall" and other poems; Bulwer Lytton "Locksley Hall" finished "Zanoni"; the new Shakespeare Society issued some twenty volumes of researches. A new impetus to the making of books and printing was given by Woolwich's new system of electrotyping, and Charles Young's new device of a type-setting machine, first employed on the "Family Herald."

It was then, too, that Dr. Julius Robert Meyer, an obscure physician in Heilbronn, published a paper in Liebig's "Annalen," entitled "The Force of Inorganic Nature." Not merely the mechanical theory of heat, but the entire doctrine of the conservation of energy was clearly formulated. It is true that he was anticipated in a measure by Mohr, and that Helmholtz more exhaustively demonstrated the truth of the hypothesis of the conservation of energy; but Helmholtz himself hailed Meyer as the rightful claimant of the honor of having first clearly formulated the doctrine.

A great gain for humanity was made in Lord Ashley's successful bill for the restriction of work[Pg 949] done by women and children in mines and collieries. Under the leadership of O'Connell's former Irish rival, Feargus O'Connor, Second Charter petition the agitation for a People's Charter was revived. On May 2, another monster petition, containing nearly three and a half million signatures, was rolled into Parliament. Too voluminous to pass through the doors, it had to be cut up and carried into the hall by sixteen men. A motion to consider it was violently opposed by Macaulay. Once more the petition was rejected by 287 over 49 votes. Now followed one of the most singular labor strikes of The "Sacred Month" England. This was the so-called sacred month, or thirty days' idleness to be enforced throughout the United Kingdom. Within a few days the Chartists could boast that for fifty miles round Manchester every loom was still. The attempt to extend the strike to London was followed by the arrest of O'Connor and nearly a hundred of his associates. They were tried and convicted, but owing to a flaw in the indictment sentence could not be carried out. The agitation was made to appear more serious by two attempts to assassinate the Queen in May and July, but the young Queen was not deterred thereby from making her first visit to Scotland.

In August, the Duke of Wellington was reinstated as commander-in-chief of the British army. Among the military reforms undertaken was the general introduction of the percussion-cap musket in the infantry, and the use of the carbine in the artillery. The war in China was brought to a close. The long period of inaction following the occupation of[Pg 950] Ningpo had been broken Chinese opium war in March by Chinese attempts to recapture Ningpo, Chinhai and Chusan. In all three places the British beat off their assailants. At Ningpo the Chinese succeeded in breaking through the south and west gates, and reached the centre of the city only to be mowed down there by the British artillery. At Tszeki a strong Chinese camp was captured by the British. The Chinese losses on this occasion were over a thousand killed, including many Fall of Chapoo of the Imperial Guards. The British casualties did not exceed forty. A naval expedition next attacked Chapoo, China's port of trade with Japan. The main body of the Chinese was routed, but 300 of their soldiers shut themselves up in a walled inclosure, and held their ground until three-fourths of their number were slain. As heretofore, the British Shanghai occupied casualties were small. The important city of Shanghai was captured without appreciable resistance. The most serious affair of the war was the attack on Chinkiangfoo on the southern bank of the Yangtse-Kiang at one of the entrances of the great canal. A part of the Manchu garrison held out there Assault of Chinkiangfoo until shot down to the last man. The inner Tartar city was only taken after the Manchus had first killed the women and children and then themselves. The immediate losses of the British were nearly two hundred. Owing to the intense heat, they failed to bury the bodies of the Chinese. Pestilence and cholera broke out, and caused more serious losses than befell the main force sent against Nanking. On August 5, the British fleet appeared before Nanking, the second city of the em[Pg 951]pire. It was then that Minister Elepoo, China brought to terms the leader of the Chinese peace party, prevailed upon Emperor Taouk-Wang to give in. On August 26, peace was concluded on board the British flagship "Cornwallis." China paid an indemnity of $21,000,000, and confirmed the cession of Hong Kong to England. The English opium factory at Canton was to Treaty ports designated be reinstalled, and, in addition to this, foreign trading was to be allowed at the ports of Shanghai, Ningpo, Amhoy and Foochow, after a tariff should have been agreed upon and consular officers appointed. The final ceremonies of peace were marred by barbarous injuries inflicted upon the famous porcelain tower of Nanking by a party of British officers and soldiers. In the words of a British historian: "The only weak point in the commercial treaty was that it contained no reference to opium. Sir Henry Pottinger failed to obtain the assent of the Chinese government to its legalization." In reply to Sir Henry Pottinger's final demand for legalization of the Opium forced upon China opium trade in China, Emperor Taouk-Wang delivered this ultimatum: "True, I cannot prevent the introduction of the poison; but nothing will induce me to raise revenue from the vice and misery of my people." The emperor, himself a reformed opium smoker, had lost three sons by this vice. All this time American, Dutch and Russian trade with China had been continued. President Tyler made it the subject of his message to the American Congress during this year. From the first any American traffic in opium was discouraged.

The Webster-Ashburton treaty, regulating the[Pg 952] northeastern boundary between the United States and Canada, was signed on August 9. A strip of territory Webster-Ashburton agreementclaimed by the State of Maine was ceded to Canada, while a more important strip was yielded to Vermont and New York. The treaty also provided for a joint repressive action against the slave trade, and for the extradition of criminals. It was Webster's greatest achievement in diplomacy, as was indicated by the fact that the American Senate, notwithstanding its hostility to President Tyler, ratified it by a three-fourths vote. In England more serious opposition was encountered. In Parliament the treaty was termed "Ashburton's Capitulation," and Lord Palmerston went so far as to attribute its concessions to Ashburton's partiality toward his American "Battle of the Maps" wife. The ratification of the treaty was followed by an international controversy known as "The Battle of the Maps." An early map found by Jared Sparks, the American historian, in the Library of Paris, had been used in the Senate to insure the ratification of the treaty without the knowledge of Lord Ashburton. When this became known in England it was denounced as underhand dealing. Frantic search in the archives of the British Museum brought to light another map, bearing the autograph indorsement of King George III. As it turned out, this only sustained the American contentions, and was used in Parliament to vindicate Lord Ashburton, just as Sparks's map had been used in behalf of Webster. Credit also belongs to Webster for his strong stand made at the time the Hawaiian Islands were threatened by[Pg 953] American interests in Hawaii a French expedition. It was then stated, as reiterated by President Tyler to Congress, that, in view of the preponderant intercourse of the United States with those islands, the American government would insist that no European nation should colonize or possess them, nor subvert the native governments. After a settlement of these international questions, Daniel Webster was permitted to resign his secretaryship to join the Whig Daniel Webster resigns opposition on the floor of the House. His resignation was the more readily accepted since he was known to be out of harmony with the Administration's designs against Mexico. As the son of President Tyler has recorded: "The time had come when it was necessary to have in the office of the Secretary of State one who would go the full length of the Texas question. Certainly, that man was not Webster." In the Senate, Henry Clay resigned his seat, the better to carry on his canvass as a candidate for the Presidency.

At the time that Charles Dickens paid his first visit to America the agitation for a better copyright law was renewed, and was in a measure successful. Dickens's early impressions of the United States, as published First American submarine cable later in England, were distinctly unfavorable to the American people. Had he lingered longer he might have witnessed the laying of the first submarine telegraph between Governor's Island and New York City. In the extreme West another outlet toward the Pacific Ocean was found by Fremont and Kit Carson in the south pass of the Rocky Mountains.[Pg 954]

In Central America, General Morazan invaded Costa Rica to re-establish by force the federation of the Central American States. At first he was Latin-American affairs welcomed by the population and recognized as President of Costa Rica. But later, as the guerilla war dragged itself out, the opposition gained ground. José Maria Alfaro was recognized as President. In South America, General Rosas made another attempt to subject Montevideo. Gold was discovered in Uruguay. In the West Indies, the restoration of peace in Cuba was followed by educational, far-reaching reforms. Another revolution in Hayti provoked French interference.

The French squadron that had made demonstrations in the Caribbean Sea presently descended upon the Marqueso Islands in the southern Pacific. The islands were annexed to France. In Africa, the war against Abd-el-Kader was French-Algerian campaign pushed forward. The Arabs attacked Mostaganem and Arzee and lured Yussuf, the commander of the new French corps of native Spahis, into an ambush. General Vallè, with a division of 9,000 men, drove Abd-el-Kader from an intrenched pass between Medah and Muzaia; but the French lost heavily. The Algerian war during this year alone cost 12,000 lives and 50,000,000 francs. Vallè was superseded by Bugeaud.

The French general elections had just resulted in favor of the government, when, on July 13, the Duke of Orleans was killed by a fall from his carriage. After this event the Chambers fixed the succession to the throne upon the Duke of Nemours, until the children of the Duke of Orleans should be of age.[Pg 955]

By this time the socialistic theories of Saint Simon and Fourier were Louis Blanc exploited still further by Louis Blanc and Proudhon. Blanc's writings had an immense vogue among the workmen of Paris. This was especially true of his "Organisation du Travail," published this year, wherein he proclaimed the opportunity to work as a social right. Proudhon carried Etienne Cadet's Proudhon "Icarian" theories so far that in his famous book, "What is Property?" after describing the conditions under which property is held according to the Napoleonic Code, he delivered the categorical dictum, "If this be property, then property is theft." Other popular books of the day were Eugène Sue Eugène Sue's "The Mysteries of Paris," "Le Morne au Diable," and Georges Sand's famous novel "Consuelo." Marie Henri Beyle, known better under his pseudonym, "Stendhal," died during this year. As a novelist he was the precursor of the naturalistic school of romance in France, and was later "Stendhal" acknowledged as such by Balzac, Flaubert and Emile Zola. His powers of prose were most ably demonstrated in the novel "Rouge et Noir," treating of the adventures of a worldly Abbé.

Another notable figure in Paris passed away with Luigi Cherubini, the great Italian composer. Cherubini, many of whose works were brought out during the previous century was so popular by the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, that he was esteemed above Beethoven. A Viennese critic who ventured to say that Beethoven's "Fidelio" was of equal merit with Cherubini's "Fanisca" was laughed[Pg 956] Cherubini to scorn. Cherubini's best opera, "The Water Carrier," was brought out in Paris and London in 1800 and 1801. Owing to his disregard of Napoleon's musical opinions, Cherubini found himself out of favor throughout the First Empire in France. He retired to the estate of his friend, Prince de Chimay, and would have given up music but for the latter's request to write a Mass for his chapel. The result was the celebrated three-part Mass in F, which proved such a success that Cherubini thenceforward devoted himself to sacred music. After Napoleon's fall he received an appointment at the Paris Conservatory of Music, from the directorship of which he did not retire until 1841. Cherubini's voluminous compositions reveal him as one of the great modern masters of counterpoint. His great skill and erudition show to the best advantage in his sacred music.

Bunsen Germany about this same time lost her great Oriental scholar, F.W. Genesius. Bunsen invented his carbon battery. Gervinus, the banished Hanoverian professor, brought out his History of German Literature, which ended with a stirring appeal for political unity. The same ideal, in a Gervinus measure, was voiced during the ceremonies commemorating the resumption of work on the great Cathedral of Cologne. King Frederick William IV. of Prussia, fresh from the riots of Berlin, declared: "The spirit that builds this cathedral is the same that has broken our chains, and the disgrace of foreign domination over this German river—it is the spirit of German strength and unity." Even Archduke John, the[Pg 957] Forecasts of German union uncle of the Emperor of Austria, proposed this toast: "No Austria, no Prussia; but a great united Germany—firm-rooted as her mountains."

In Russia, a concession to modern ideas was made by Czar Nicholas, in his Reforms in Russia ukase of April 14, permitting the great landholders to liberate their serfs. Another imperial ukase deprived the Roman as well as the Greek clergy of all church lands upon condemnation proceedings and money payments by the government. Russian literature, notwithstanding the strict censorship, flourished during this period. A new source of poetry was Gogol discovered by Koltsov in the Slavic folk songs. Griboyodov's new comedy, "Gore Ot Ouma" (Too Clever by Half), had already become one of the stock pieces. The success of this play was rivalled by Gogol's comedy, "The Revisor." In 1842, this same writer brought out his celebrated romance, Turgenyev "Dead Souls." Ivan Turgenyev was just entering upon his career.

Toward the close of the year new troubles broke out in Spain. In November, a popular insurrection at Barcelona was joined by the National Guards. Following upon a bitter fight in the streets of the city, on November 15, the Guards retired into the citadel, where they held their ground. After one month's stubborn resistance there, they were subjected to such heavy artillery fire that they were glad to surrender to Espartero's government forces on Christmas Eve.

1843

[Pg 958] TO CARRY on the British war with Afghanistan it was necessary to pass troops through Scinde. The Ameers remonstrated. Emaun-Ghur, in the Desert Napier's desert march of Beluchistan, was a stronghold where the Ameers could gather a numerous army unobserved by the English. Sir Charles Napier determined to strike for this point with a small force, capable of speedily traversing the desert. On the night of January 5, he commenced his perilous adventure. With 360 Irish soldiers on camels, with 200 of the irregular cavalry, with ten camels laden with provisions, and with eighty carrying water, he set forth.

When the fortress, which no European eye had before seen, was reached, it was found deserted. Immense stores of ammunition had been left behind. Emaun-Ghur reduced Napier mined Emaun-Ghur in twenty-four places, and blew up all the mighty walls of its square tower. After great privations on the march back, Napier and his men rejoined the main army on the 23d near Hyderabad. The Duke of Wellington said that the march to Emaun-Ghur was one of the most arduous military feats of which he knew. On February 12, the Ameers at Hyderabad, who, according to the British Resident himself, had been "cruelly[Pg 959] wronged," came to terms. On the day after their apparent submission the British Resident, Major Outram, was attacked by the infuriated Beluchees. With a hundred followers he barely succeeded in fighting his way through to two British war steamers lying in the river. Napier, with his 2,600 men, now moved against the Beluchee army, numbering nearly 10,000. On February 17, the day of the battle of Meanee, Napier wrote in his journal: "It is my first battle as a commander. It may be my last. At sixty it makes little Battle of Meanee difference what my feelings are. It shall be do or die." It proved an all-day fight. Most of the white officers fell. In the end, Napier closed the doubtful struggle by a decisive cavalry charge. The Sepoy horsemen charged through the Beluchee army and stormed the batteries on the ridge of the hill of Meanee.

Napier followed up his victory the next day by a message sent into Hyderabad that he would storm the city unless it surrendered. Six of the Ameers came out and laid their swords at his feet. Another enemy remained—Shere Mahomed of Meerpoor. On March 24, Napier, with 5,000 Hyderabad troops, attacked this chief, who had come with 20,000 Beluchees before the walls of Hyderabad. Napier won another brilliant victory, which was followed up by the British occupation of Meerpoor. The spirit of the Beluchees was so broken that after two slight actions in June, when Shere Mahomed was routed and fled into the desert, the war was at an end. Scinde was annexed to the British Empire.

At home, in the meanwhile, the Chartist agitation,[Pg 960] with its "sacred month" strike, was carried over into this year, while the leaders were tried before the Lancashire Assizes. Popular meetings were held at Birmingham, English free-trade agitation Manchester and London. O'Connor, after his suspension of sentence in court, made the mistake of setting himself against the anti-corn law agitation led by Cobden and Bright. To most Englishmen of the day the free-trade issue appeared the most momentous. O'Connor's star paled accordingly. Early in the year a new free-trade hall had been opened in London, the largest room for public meetings in the United Kingdom. A dozen lecturers were kept busy. Cobden alone addressed some thirty great country meetings during the first half of the year. At the same time the Irish agitation for repeal of Irish disaffection the legislative union with England assumed formidable proportions. The Irish secret society of the "Molly Maguires" spread alarmingly. On March 16, Daniel O'Connell addressed 30,000 persons at Trim, urging repeal of the act of united legislation for Ireland and Great Britain. A few months later several hundred thousand people gathered on the hill of Tara to listen to O'Connell arrested his eloquent words. As a result of this agitation, O'Connell, with several of his followers, was arrested, in October, on charges of sedition. Simultaneously with this the so-called "Becca Riots" against turnpikes broke out in Wales. One month after O'Connell's arrest the greatest free-trade meeting of the year was held at Manchester. Both Cobden and Bright made speeches against the corn laws. One hundred thousand pounds were collected on the spot from[Pg 961] wealthy manufacturers who attended the Anti-corn law league meeting. This opened the eyes even of the editors of the London "Times." Under the caption "The League is a Great Fact," it announced that a new power had arisen in the State. This reluctant concession of the leading Tory paper of England caused a great sensation. Other events that excited the attention of Englishmen were the erection of the great Nelson column in Trafalgar Square and the opening of the Thames tunnel for pedestrians. Mill's "System of Logic" Thousands of curious Londoners passed through its shaft, measuring 1,300 feet in length. Nasmyth invented his steam hammer. Mill published his "System of Logic." The event of the year in English letters was the death of Robert Southey, the Poet Laureate. During the last few years his brain had softened, and his mind had become enfeebled. Southey was born at Death of Southey Bristol in 1774. He was educated at Westminster School and Baliol College, Oxford. While still at college he brought out two volumes of poems, together with Robert Lovell. His first long narrative poem, "Joan of Arc," was written at the age of nineteen, and gave him, as he called it, "a Baxter's shove into the right place in the world." At the opening of the Nineteenth Century, he published the "wild and wondrous song" of "Thalaba, the Destroyer," founded on Moslem mythology. "Kehema," founded on Hindu lore, followed. In 1803, after some years of wandering, the poet went to live at Greta Hall, near Keswick, which remained his home until his death. Besides a long line of prose works, Southey wrote innumerable short[Pg 962] poems. Famous among them is the ballad of the battle of Blenheim, with its homely irony:

Southey nourished a passionate hatred against Napoleon Bonaparte. Again and again he invoked the Muse against the world conqueror. Thus he wrote to Landor in 1814: "For five years I have been preaching the policy, the duty, Brilliant occasional pieces the necessity of declaring Bonaparte under the ban of human nature." Under this stress of feeling he wrote his great "Ode During the Negotiations for Peace." It was the most powerful of his occasional pieces. In 1813, he was made Poet Laureate. As such, it fell to him to write another occasional piece on the death of the Princess Charlotte. The grace and beauty of his lines on this occasion have long outlived the memory of that lamented princess. Unlike his great contemporaries, Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott, Southey never achieved a great material success. Having married young, he often walked the streets, so he himself confessed, "not having eighteen pence for a dinner, nor bread and cheese at his lodgings." In 1835, when he Southey's works was sixty-one years old, he wrote to Sir Robert Peel while declining the offer of a baronetcy, "Last year for the first time in my life I was provided with a year's expenditure beforehand." Yet his works at this time filled[Pg 963] nearly a hundred volumes. In the words of his brother poets:

It was in his declining age that he wrote the prophetic "Stanzas Written in My Library":

After Southey's death, William Wordsworth was made Poet Laureate. His Wordsworth, Poet Laureate acceptance of this benefice from the government incensed his more radical friends. Robert Browning then wrote the famous invective lines entitled "The Lost Leader":

Just for a handful of silver he left us,
"The Lost Leader" Just for a ribbon to stick in his coat—
Found the one gift of which fortune bereft us,
Lost all the others, she lets us devote;
They, with the gold to give, doled him out silver,
So much was theirs who so little allowed:
How all our copper had gone for his service!
Rags—were they purple, his heart had been proud!
We that had loved him so, followed him, honored him,
Lived in his mild and magnificent eye,
Learned his great language, caught his clear accents,
Made him our pattern to live and to die!
Shakespeare was of us, Milton was for us,
Burns, Shelley, were with us—they watch from their graves!
He alone breaks from the van and the freemen,
He alone sinks to the rear and the slaves!

[Pg 964] America this year lost three of her prominent literary men by the deaths of Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico" Allston, the poet and painter, Noah Webster, the lexicographer, and Key, the author of "The Star-Spangled Banner." The historian Prescott now brought out his great "Conquest of Mexico." Longfellow published his "Spanish Student." Edgar Allan Poe entered upon his new journalistic venture "The Stylus." For this he wrote his stories of "The Tell-Tale Edgar Allan Poe Heart," "Leonore," and his "Notes upon English Verse." For other publications he wrote "The Pit and the Pendulum," and the striking poem, "The Conqueror Worm." His fearful tale of the "Black Cat" was published in the "Saturday Evening Post." At this time he was ailing in health, while "The Gold Bug" his young wife, Virginia, was dying. During these trying months his principal income was a hundred dollar prize received for his famous story of "The Gold Bug," published in the "Dollar Newspaper." The judges confessed later that they awarded the prize to this contribution largely on account of its neat handwriting.

On June 17, the new Bunker Hill Monument of Boston was dedicated amid impressive ceremonies. Daniel Webster, who as a young man had spoken there when the cornerstone was laid by Lafayette, was once more the orator of the day. In the South, Jefferson Davis began his political career as a member of the Mississippi Convention, as did Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, who was then elected to Congress. The pending negotiations with Great Britain concerning the possession of Oregon were[Pg 965] Oregon controversy made more momentous by the exodus of some thousand American emigrants from Missouri, on an overland journey to distant Oregon. The first session of the Thirty-eighth Congress, in December, showed a Democratic majority in the House of sixty-nine votes. Under the Whig régime, the policy of a great navy had been developed. A Texas unannexed bill for a large increase in ships was passed. Tyler's last message recommended the annexation of Texas, for which a treaty was pending. It was voted down in the Senate by a two-thirds vote.

Under the shadow of impending war with the United States, a new Constitution was proclaimed in Mexico. Santa Anna prepared for the conflict by assuming the practical powers of a dictator. In Ecuador, too, a new Constitution was adopted. General Flores had himself made President for a Central-American upheavals third time. When the opposition to him became too formidable, he consented to yield and quit the country after accepting a bonus of $20,000 and the title of generalissimo. Another revolution in Hayti resulted in the expulsion of President Boyer.

In Spain a revolutionary junta in June once more assumed power at Revolution in Spain Barcelona. Other parts of the country declared for the ex-Queen Regent Christina. On July 15, General Narvaez compelled the surrender of Madrid to Christina. General Espartero laid siege to Seville. On November 8, the Spanish Cortes proclaimed as queen, Princess Isabella, then in her thirteenth year. With the crown of Spain on the head of a young girl, and Isabella proclaimed queen no immediate successor in sight but her sister, the King of France[Pg 966] and his Prime Minister, Guizot, deemed the time ripe for action. It was proposed to marry both Spanish princesses to the sons of Louis Philippe, so as to secure the throne of Spain to the House of Orleans, as it had once been secured to that of Bourbon. For the French people the interest in Spain was revived by Gautier's new book, "Tras los Montes." During the negotiations Spanish marriage projects over the new extradition treaty with England, the project was confidentially broached to Lord Aberdeen. He gave his consent to the proposed marriage of the Duke of Montpensier to the Infanta Fernanda, on the express understanding that it should not be celebrated until Queen Isabella had been married herself, and had children. For some time still the plan hung fire.

In the meanwhile, Hungary was once more in uproar. Kossuth, after his release from prison in 1840, had become the spokesman of the new generation of Magyars. The other wings of the Hungarian party were led by Scechenyi and Déak.

By the time the Hungarian Diet of 1843 was convoked, all parties united in Hungarian reform movement demanding the most important reforms, i.e. of a new electoral system, a new criminal code, trial by jury, and official recognition of the Magyar language. One of the first resolutions of the Lower Chamber was that no language but Magyar should be permitted in debate, and that all persons incapable of speaking Magyar should gradually be excluded from all public employment. Against the prohibition of Latin in the Diet, the Croatians appealed to the government. The Em[Pg 967]peror promptly vetoed the resolution. Clash at Agram Upon the publication of the imperial rescript a popular storm broke forth in Hungary. At Agram, the capital of Croatia, the two factions fought on the streets. The Austrian Cabinet receded from its position. A compromise was accepted whereby Latin was to be permitted in the Hungarian Diet for the next six years. Of all the important schemes for reform brought before the Hungarian Diet of this year, only the language compromise became law. This was due to the fact that the members of the Lower House were bound to Kossuth's oratory vote as directed by the Provincial Assemblies, which vetoed everything affecting their local interests. To do away with this anomaly Kossuth and his followers now set themselves to bring their appeal before the country at large. Kossuth dropped the pen and became an orator.

In other parts of the world the spread of Western civilization was carried on with accustomed vigor. A French squadron seized Tahiti in the Society Algerian campaign Islands. In Algiers the war against Abd-el-Kader was kept alive by occasional raids and by buying over the less faithful of his followers. The natives were enrolled in the French army in regiments of Turcos, Zouaves and Spahis. The barbaric glamour of their oriental garb, as well as the reputation of their dashing leader, Colonel Lamorcière, attracted many "Foreign Legion" formed Frenchmen and foreign adventurers to this service. Soon there were enough men to form the famous "Foreign Legion."

In China, after the ratification of the Nanking[Pg 968] treaty, the five treaty ports were opened to all foreigners on the same footing as to Englishmen. Chinese treaty ports opened Long before this, the Russians had already established themselves in certain parts of China. The smouldering resentment against the white men found vent in the truculent doings of the anti-foreign society of the "Green Water Lily" in Hoonan. Now trouble broke out in the Punjab. Jankoji Bao Sindia had died in February, and his widow, a girl of twelve, now ruled over the Sikhs. She outwitted her native Minister, who was supported by the British. Lord Ellenborough hastened to interfere. He ordered the British army to advance to Gwalior, under Sir Hugh Gough, in December. All Sindia British seize Sindia made common cause against the foreigner. The Sikh warriors tried to oppose the British advance in two simultaneous battles at Maharajpore and Punniar, fought on the twenty-ninth day of December. Both engagements resulted in their defeat. The Queen and her Ministers submitted to England's terms. They were deposed. The Sikh army was reduced to 6,000 men.

1844

[Pg 969] TYLER'S scheme for the annexation of Texas to the North American Union was uppermost in American affairs from the outset of this year. After the retirement of Daniel Webster from the State Department, active efforts toward that end were begun. The Mexican Government, learning of this Texas movement, notified the United States that annexation would be regarded as a cause for war. Texas first asked for American interference, and, failing in this, came to an agreement with Great Britain. In return for England's action in securing the recognition of independence by Mexico, Texas pledged itself not to be annexed to any other country. This agreement was approved in Mexico. The Texan debt was largely owed in England, and it was the policy of Lord Aberdeen, accordingly, to encourage her independence. In February, a note by Lord Aberdeen was transmitted to the American Government, stating that Great Britain desired to see slavery abolished in Texas, as elsewhere, but disclaimed any intention unduly to force that point. This statement in itself whetted the desire of the Southern States of the Union to incorporate Texas among the slave-holding States. Calhoun, who as early as 1836 had demanded the annexation of Texas[Pg 970] on behalf of the interests of Southern slavery, was invited to join Tyler's Cabinet as Secretary of State. The office had been rendered vacant by the calamitous Calhoun becomes Secretary of State explosion of a new monster gun on the U.S.S. "Princeton," killing Secretary of State Upshar and Secretary Gilmer of the Navy in the immediate vicinity of President Tyler. Calhoun entered office on March 6, and on April 12 the Texan treaty of annexation was signed. On April 18, Calhoun answered Lord Aberdeen's note, declaring that "the British avowal made it the imperious duty of the Federal Government to conclude in self-defence a treaty of annexation with Texas." As to this transaction, Von Holst, Calhoun's biographer, has said: "It may not be correct to apply, without modification, the code of private ethics to politics; but, however flexible political morality may be, a lie is a lie, and Calhoun knew there was not a particle of truth in these assertions." The annexation treaty was held back in the American Senate until the Democratic Convention of 1844 had declared Texan annexation rejected for the reannexation of Texas. In the hope that this would secure ratification the treaty was submitted in June, but the Senate once more rejected it by 35 to 16 votes. Undismayed by this, President Tyler within three days sent another message to the House of Representatives asking for reconsideration of the subject, but the matter went over until after the Presidential campaign in the autumn. Henry Clay's vacillating stand throughout this controversy proved fatal to his Presidential aspirations.

During this same year, the Indians surrendered[Pg 971] the regions adjoining Lake Superior, which were promptly settled by white men. Iron was then Anti-Mormon riots discovered at Marquette and copper at Kewenaw Point. At Nauvoo, Illinois, where the Mormons had just erected a temple, their revival of patriarchal polygamy excited the wrath of the people. Riots broke out June 27. The Mormon leader, Joseph Smith, and his brother, who had been lodged in jail, Brigham Young were killed. Brigham Young thenceforth became the leader of the Mormons.

By means of a Congressional grant of $30,000, Samuel B.F. Morse constructed Morse's telegraph his first telegraph line over the forty miles between Baltimore and Washington. The first message, "What hath God wrought?" is still preserved by the Connecticut Historical Society. Before this Alfred Vail had perfected his telegraph code of alphabetical signs, with his dry point reading register and relay key. Now Ezra Cornell contributed his invention of an inverted cup of glass for insulating live wires. Dr. Horace Wells, a Wells' anæsthetic discovery dentist of Hartford, Connecticut, first employed nitrous oxide gas, popularly known as laughing gas, in extracting one of his own teeth.

In England, Faraday published his first "Experimental Researches in Electricity." The anonymous publication of "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation," containing the first enunciation of Darwin's doctrine of the origin of species by evolution, was followed by a storm of controversy. Another subject for controversy was furnished by the invention of the new tonic system in music (Do re mi fa).[Pg 972] Kingsley brought out his "Village Sermons," while Max Müller came into prominence by his new edition and translation of "Hitopadesa," a collection of old Hindu fables. The Death of John Dalton necrology of the year in England includes John Dalton, the physicist, and Sir Francis Burdett, the parliamentarian and popular leader, who did so much for liberty of speech and of the press. John Dalton, a strangely original genius, and perhaps the greatest theoretical chemist of his generation, first came into prominence by showing that water existed in air as an independent gas. The wonderful theory of atoms, on which the whole gigantic structure of modern chemistry rests, was the logical outgrowth of the original conception of this country-bred, self-taught Quaker.

A feature of the year was the sensational trial of Daniel O'Connell and his O'Connell's trial associates on charges of sedition in Ireland. On May 30, O'Connell was sentenced to imprisonment for one year and fined £2,000. After Lord Heytesbury's advent as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland the judgment of the Irish Court of Queen's Bench against O'Connell was reversed and O'Connell and his associates were liberated. Baring's bill for a renewal of the Bank of England's charter was passed with a handsome government majority. The new Royal Exchange was opened by the Queen in October. Another measure which was speedily passed through Parliament, owing to the slight importance Government monopoly of English railways attached to it, was Gladstone's bill requiring the railroads of England to provide proper accommodations and to run cheap trains daily. The government was authorized, with[Pg 973] the approval of Parliament, to undertake the gradual purchase of all existing railways before the year 1866. At this same time there were but fourteen miles of railroad in all British America. Minor events of importance to Englishmen were the foundation of the Young Men's Y.M.C.A. founded Christian Association by certain drygoods clerks of London, and the demolition of the notorious Fleet Prison, made immortal by the novels of Dickens.

The discovery of gold in South Australia drew hordes of immigrants to that colony. Others were attracted to America by the discovery of diamonds in Brazil. In the West Indies, the successful rising against President Boyer Secession of Santo Domingo of Hayti resulted in the foundation of the Black Republic of Santo Domingo. President Rivière, at the head of 20,000 negroes from Hayti, was defeated and had to abandon his attempt to subdue the Dominicans. Guerrier superseded him as President of Hayti. The warlike spirit of these negroes spread to the neighboring island of Cuba. Various armed risings of the blacks in the province of Santiago and elsewhere were sternly put down by the Spaniards and their white descendants in Cuba.

A bloodless revolution in Greece resulted in the dismissal of King Otto's Bavarian Ministry and the King's acceptance of a Constitution, which left Otto's reign in Greece the King almost as absolute as before. Yet his government was weak and slipshod. The wretched fiscal system and heavy taxation of the old Turkish régime were retained, while ill-managed innovations from Bavaria, such as military conscription, drove[Pg 974] large numbers to brigandage. As an American traveller remarked at the time: "The whole Greek Government is one enormous job."

The long-smouldering discontent of the common people in Italy and Sicily, Revolt of Calabria fomented by the secret agitation of such men as Mazzini and Garibaldi, found premature vent in a popular insurrection in Calabria. The revolt was ruthlessly put down. The patriotic leaders, Attilio and Emilio Bandiero, with eighteen others, were shot for their part in the affair.

On March 8, Bernadotte, latterly known as King Charles XIV. of Sweden, died in his eighty-first year. During the last years of his reign he received Death of Bernadotte many signs of love and appreciation from his adopted people, notably on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his coronation. Shortly before his death this self-made king asserted with good reason: "No one living has made a career like mine."

The reign of Bernadotte produced a new line of eminent scientists and was the golden age of Swedish literature. Berzelius remolded the science of Progress in Sweden chemistry and founded theoretical chemistry. Elias Fries devised a new system of botany. Sven Nilsson, a distinguished zoologist, also became the founder of a new science, comparative archeology. Schlyter brought out a complete collection of the old Scandinavian laws, a work of equal importance to philology and jurisprudence. Ling invented the Swedish system of gymnastics and founded the Institute of Gymnastics in Stockholm, where his[Pg 975] Swedish massage or movement cure was further developed. Geijer, as a Geijer philosopher, was a follower of Hœijer, while as a historian he attained foremost rank in Sweden. As a poet and composer, Geijer also attained noteworthy success. Professor of History at Upsala, he was accused of atheism, but acquitted. His political career was equally remarkable. Geijer was a firm supporter of the government until fifty-seven years of age, when he joined the opposition. Swedish writers were divided in factions as opposed to each other as political parties. The old Gustavian school, of which Leopold remained the last representative, was attacked by the "New School," which was inspired by German Romanticism. Of this so-called "phosphoristic" school Atterbom was the leader. Stagnelius, the young poet, who died early, belonged to the same group. The New School was in turn Tegnér's "Frithiof's Saga" opposed by the Gothic Society or Scandinavian School, among whom were Ling and Geijer. Franzen and Wallin devoted themselves to religious poetry. The most famous of all modern Swedish poets was Esaias Tegnér, whose "Frithiof's Saga" achieved an international reputation. Politically, he was conspicuous for his inveterate hostility to the "Holy Alliance" and its reactionary spirit in state, church and literature.

Bernadotte's son, Oscar I., was forty-five years old when he ascended the Oscar I. of Sweden throne. Like his father, he was a patron of the fine arts. Upon his accession several important reforms were at once enacted by the new Riksdag. It was decided that this as[Pg 976]sembly should meet every third instead of every fifth year; the liberty of the press was extended, and equal rights were accorded to women in certain matters of inheritance and of marriage. This last reform aroused so much criticism that a powerful opposition was organized in the Riksdag, under the leadership of Hartmansdorff and Bishop Wingan.

Albert Bertal Thorvaldsen, the great Danish sculptor, died suddenly on Death of Thorvaldsen March 25, at Copenhagen. Thorvaldsen was the son of an Icelandic sailor, who incidentally earned a living by carving wooden figure-heads for ships. The boy was born at sea, in 1770, while his mother was making a voyage to Copenhagen. At the age of twenty-four, young Thorvaldsen, who had attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at Copenhagen, won the grand prize, which enabled him to pursue his studies at Rome. His first work was the model of a colossal statue of Jason, a marble execution of which was ordered by Thomas Hope, the English banker. For this work Thorvaldsen asked six hundred sequins. Hope offered him eight hundred. Yet Thorvaldsen did not The great sculptor's career fulfil his contract with Hope until fourteen years had passed. At the house of Baron Wilhelm von Humboldt, in Rome, Thorvaldsen met Count von Moltke, who commissioned him to execute two statues of Bacchus and Ariadne. About the same time he made his famous "Cupid and Psyche" for the Countess von Ronzov. The fame of these statues and others was such that the Academy of Copenhagen bestowed upon the young sculptor another prize of four hundred crowns.[Pg 977]

In the spring of 1805 Thorvaldsen made his first important bass-relief, "The Abduction of Brisëis," which still remains one of the most celebrated Famous works of the sculptor's works. Orders now began to come in from all over the world. Marquis Torlogna commissioned Thorvaldsen to make companion pieces to Canova's famous group "Hercules and Lycas" in the Palazzo Brazzino, while a government representative of the United States offered to pay five thousand crowns apiece for colossal statues of a Liberty and a Victory to be erected in the city of Washington. These and other works Thorvaldsen was prevented from executing by his unfortunate entanglement with Signora d'Uhden, whose fits of jealousy imbittered his life. About this time the sculptor formed life-long friendships with his German fellow-sculptor, Rauch, and with Prince Louis of Bavaria, who commissioned him to execute an Adonis for the Munich Museum, and to restore the Ægean marbles lately A Napoleonic order acquired by that prince. Napoleon's visit to Rome in 1811 resulted in a characteristic order. The Emperor left to Thorvaldsen the choice of the subject, but gave him only three months' time wherein to finish his models. The sculptor accordingly executed his colossal frieze presenting the "Entry of Alexander the Great into Babylon." It remains one of the largest and most ambitious of Thorvaldsen's works. It was intended for the Temple of Glory, now the Church of the Madeleine in Paris, and the price stipulated by Napoleon was 320,000 francs. Before Thorvaldsen could execute the frieze in marble, Na[Pg 978]poleon suffered his reverses and was exiled to Elba. The Bourbon Government in France refused to take the monument. A replica in marble now adorns the Palace of Christianborg in Denmark. No less abortive was Thorvaldsen's undertaking of a great monument intended to commemorate the re-establishment of Poland. The monument was ordered in 1812, after Napoleon's entry into Warsaw. By the time the work was finished Poland was "Morning and Night" no more. To the year 1815 belong Thorvaldsen's famous bass-reliefs "The Workshop of Vulcan," "Achilles and Priam," and the two well-known medallions, "Morning" and "Night," which were reproduced a thousand-fold throughout Europe. They were conceived, it is said, during a sleepless night, and were modelled in one day.

Despite the urgent requests of his countrymen, Thorvaldsen would not be weaned from Rome. About this time Thorvaldsen produced his famous "Dancing Girl," "Love Victorious," "Ganymede and the Eagle," and "A Young Shepherd with his Dog." It was then, too, that he modelled the portrait of Lord Byron which served for the monument subsequently erected to that poet in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge.

At last, after thirty-three years of absence from home, Thorvaldsen "The Lion of Luzerne" resolved to return to Denmark. On the way he stopped at Luzerne in Switzerland, and there executed the famous Lion of Luzerne, carved into the solid rock of the Alps. When he modelled this monument, Thorvaldsen had never seen a live lion. From Luzerne, Thorvaldsen pro[Pg 979]ceeded straight to Copenhagen. He was received like a royal sovereign. At Copenhagen the Thorvaldsen in Copenhagen artist began his great series of sculptural embellishments for the Cathedral. As completed, they comprised almost all his works on religious subjects, among them the colossal "Christ and the Twelve Apostles," the grand frieze of "Christ on the Road to Calvary," "The Baptism of Christ," "The Preachings of St. John the Baptist," "Christ's Entry into Jerusalem," and "The Lord's Supper." From Copenhagen Thorvaldsen went to Warsaw, where he executed a bust of Emperor Alexander, and an equestrian statue of Prince Poniatovski. This monument did not reach Warsaw until 1829. It was never put up. What became of it is still a matter of conjecture.

The accidental collapse of Thorvaldsen's studio at Rome, and the damage done to several of his sculptures there, hastened his return to that city. On the death of Pope Pius VII., shortly afterward, Thorvaldsen was commissioned by Cardinal Consalvi to execute a monument to his memory. The death of Canova having left the Academy of St. Luke without a president, Roman honors Pope Leo XII. himself nominated Thorvaldsen as Canova's successor. When objections were raised that he was a heretic, the Holy Father asked: "Is there any doubt that Thorvaldsen is the greatest sculptor in Rome?" "The fact is incontestable," answered the prelates. "Then Thorvaldsen shall be made president," said Leo XII. The office was held by the Danish sculptor for the full term of three years, when he was[Pg 980] glad to resign it. Just before the outbreak of the Paris Revolution of 1830, Thorvaldsen was commissioned to execute a colossal bust of Napoleon I. He entered upon this Thorvaldsen's friends task with enthusiasm. During the trying times of the revolution at Rome, Thorvaldsen formed a close friendship with Horace Vernet, the French artist, and Felix Mendelssohn, the German composer. Mendelssohn would play on the piano in Thorvaldsen's studio at Rome, while the sculptor worked on his models. About this time, too, occurred the famous interview between Thorvaldsen and Walter Scott. Neither understood the other's language, yet they took a warm liking to each other. Later, Thorvaldsen modelled a bust of Sir Walter Scott. Shortly after the Revolution of 1830, the new French Government of Louis Philippe appointed Thorvaldsen an officer of the Legion Sculptures for Germany of Honor. At the invitation of King Louis of Bavaria, Thorvaldsen went to Munich. There he finished his monument to Prince Eugene, the equestrian statue of Elector Maximilian, and another model of his famous "Adonis," ordered by that art-loving King. For the city of Mainz he finished his model of Gutenberg, for which he refused to receive any pay, while for the city of Stuttgart he made a monument of Schiller. On Thorvaldsen's return to Rome, his stay there was brought to an end by an epidemic of cholera. The government of Denmark sent a royal frigate to Leghorn to bring Thorvaldsen and all his sculptures back to his native land. Arriving in Copenhagen, the old artist was received with even greater[Pg 981] honor than before. The Castle of Nysoe was put at his disposal, and there he executed his last works, among them a statue of himself. In his seventy-second year he died very suddenly, while attending a performance at the Royal Theatre The Thorvaldsen Museum at Copenhagen. His obsequies were marked by all the pomp and ceremony due to a sovereign of Denmark. Four years later, after the completion of the Thorvaldsen Museum, his remains were laid in the vault that had been prepared for him there, amid the rich collection of his masterpieces.

As a sculptor, Thorvaldsen's name will always be linked with that of his great rival and contemporary, Canova. Both sculptors are equally remarkable for the way they returned to the classic traditions of Hellenic sculpture. It can be said of them that they bridged the chasm of nearly two thousand years that had elapsed between antiquity and modern times. It was reserved to their successors to introduce a modern note in sculpture. Like Canova, The master's pupils Thorvaldsen exerted great influence on almost all the sculptors who came to Rome in his day. Thus Rauch declared himself indebted to him for the purity of his style. From his school in turn issued Riechel of Dresden, Drake, Wolff and Blauser of Cologne. Among the friends of Thorvaldsen, who profited by his councils, were Dannecker, Schadow and Schwanthaler. At Rome, Tenerini, Louis Bienaimé, Pierre Galli and Emile Wolff proved themselves apt pupils of the Danish master, while, at Copenhagen, Thorvaldsen's influence was kept alive by Bisson.[Pg 982]

In France two other great personages of Napoleonic days passed away with Joseph Bonaparte, the great Napoleon's brother and quondam king of Naples and Spain, and Jacques Lafitte, Napoleon's banker, to whose honor were Death of Saint Hilaire intrusted the millions left behind by Napoleon, when he fled from Paris. More lamented than their death, perhaps, was that of Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, the great French naturalist. Born in 1772, he first came into prominence as the curator of the wild animals in the Jardin des Plantes. Here he formed his life-long friendship with Cuvier. General Bonaparte took him along on the expedition to Egypt, where Saint-Hilaire helped found the Institute of Cairo. In 1807 he was admitted into the French Institute, and two years later was appointed Professor of Zoology and Comparative Physiology in the Faculty of Sciences. This chair he retained until his death. Starting as a pure zoologist, Saint-Hilaire became the founder of the science of philosophical anatomy. This new doctrine was fully expounded in his "Philosophie Anatomique" (1818-1822). Other important works of Saint-Hilaire were "Histoire Naturelle des Comte Mammifères," collaborated with Cuvier (1819-1837); "Principes de la Philosophie Zoologique" (1830), and "Etudes Progressives d'un Naturaliste." During this same year Comte published his "Discours sur l'Esprit Positive." Père Lacordaire brought out his "Funeral Orations," while Charles Lacordaire Lenormais, with others, published the great French work on "Ceramographic Monuments." Practical effect to the teachings of[Pg 983] Saint-Simon, Fourier and Louis Blanc was given by the establishment of the so-called Crèches, or infant asylums for the temporary care of children of working mothers. The "Count of Monte Cristo" greatest literary success of the year was that of Alexandre Dumas's serial novel, "The Count of Monte Cristo."

The foreign affairs of France throughout this year were conducted by Guizot. As a result of the military occupation of Algiers, war with Morocco broke out in May. The Prince de Joinville bombarded and captured the French war with Morocco fortified town of Mogador. Marshal Buguead won a signal victory over the Moors on the banks of Isly. After the defeat of the rebellious subjects of the Sultan of Morocco, this potentate, Abder Rahman, made common cause with the French against Abd-el-Kader. A French treaty with China was negotiated by Guizot in October. In regard to the vexed problem of Tahiti and the Hawaiian Islands an understanding was reached with the other Powers. Amends Hawaiian independence guaranteed were made to England for the French indignities to the British Consul at Tahiti, while the independence of Hawaii was guaranteed by a joint declaration of France, Great Britain and the United States. Toward the close of the year the uncertainties of government in Spain were once more made manifest by a military insurrection, headed by General Zurbano.

1845

[Pg 984] AT THE beginning of the year, in America, came a literary sensation of Poe's "Raven" unwonted brilliancy. In the New York "Evening Mirror," January 29, Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven" was reprinted from the advance sheets of "The American Whig Review," in which the name of the author was masked under the pseudonym of "Quarles." The poem was copied all over America and soon reached England. Baudelaire translated it into French. As Poe's biographer, Woodberry, has said: "No great poem ever established itself so immediately, so widely and so imperishably in men's minds." A literary tradition has it that Poe only received ten dollars for this masterpiece, and had to wait a year and more for his money.

War between the United States of North America and Mexico was now seen to be inevitable. On January 25, a joint resolution for the annexation of Texas annexed to the United States Texas passed through the American House of Representatives by a vote of 120 to 98, and through the Senate by 27 over 25 votes. On March 1, President Tyler signed the bill. The tactics by which Texas was annexed were similar to those by which the Missouri Compromise had been forced through Congress in 1820, and the nullification compromise[Pg 985] in 1833. It meant a distinct gain for the pro-slavery party in the United States, and was denounced as such by the abolitionists of the North. Both in Mexico and in the United States active preparations were now made for war. American ships were still welcomed in the ports of Mexico, the more so since many of them brought needed munitions of war. In the United States strenuous efforts were made to settle all pending differences with other countries. In February, Great Britain had already accepted the forty-ninth parallel as a boundary line agreeable to the governments of both countries, and soon the Oregon Florida admitted to Union boundary dispute was likewise settled by treaty. Caleb Cushing's treaty with China was ratified by the Senate. Florida was admitted into the Union on March 3, the day before Tyler ceased to be President. James K. Polk succeeded him as the eleventh President. He had represented Tennessee in the House for fourteen years, serving twice as Speaker. Having declined the re-election to Congress, he was chosen Governor of his State. His James K. Polk, President nomination to the Presidency had been brought about by accident. Immediately after his inauguration, Polk appointed James Buchanan as his Secretary of State. Polk in his inaugural address suggested a settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute with England on the line of 54° 40'. The Democratic platform of 1844 had declared: "Fifty-four-forty, or fight." In other words, both Great Britain and the United States claimed the country on the Columbia River. When Calhoun proposed a line of boundary along the forty-ninth degree of[Pg 986] latitude, the British Ministry made a counter Oregon dispute settled. proposition, accepting the line to the summit and thence along the Columbia River to the Pacific. Despite much talk of war, Calhoun's successor in the end accepted the British proposition of a boundary along the line of forty degrees, continuing to the ocean.

By the aid of the Whig Senators a treaty on this basis was approved by the Senate. With this question out of the way, the brunt of preparing for war now fell upon the new administration. Troops were massed within striking distance, and General Taylor was put in command of the American army. He proceeded to St. Joseph's Island, and from there crossed over to Corpus Christi on the mainland, near the mouth of the Neuces. At this point more Death of Andrew Jackson troops were concentrated to remain in winter quarters until the opening of hostilities. On June 8, Andrew Jackson died at "The Hermitage" in Tennessee. He had lived there quietly ever since his retirement from the Presidency. One of his last acts was to write a public letter to President Polk, wherein he urged him to prompt action in the Oregon boundary matter so as to be ready for decisive measures in Texas.

The frustration of the British attempt to keep slavery out of Texas was offset in other directions. A convention was concluded between Ecuador and Slave trade under ban Great Britain to suppress slave trading in that region. In Cuba, likewise, General Concha took measures for the total suppression of the slave trade. A law was passed making the trade a crim[Pg 987]inal offence in the Spanish West Indies. The government of Spain after much reluctance recognized the General Zurbano shot independence of Venezuela. Affairs in Spain had taken a new turn. On January 21, General Zurbano was betrayed into the hands of his enemies and was shot. The Cortes adopted a reactionary constitution.

In France, a Liberal majority in the Chambers, after a prolonged struggle, brought about the expulsion of the Jesuits. In the midst of this movement, Cavaignac, the great opposition journalist, expired. The French war in Algeria by this time had degenerated into mere guerilla fighting. The chief Atrocities in Algiers event of the year brought execration upon the arms of France. A tribe of Kabyles had taken refuge in the caves of Dahra. Unable to dislodge them from there, General Pelissier gave orders to smoke them out. Some five hundred of the tribesmen, among them women, children and aged people, were suffocated.

Colonial extension in other parts of the world was carried on in like aggressive manner. Thus a joint expedition of France and Great Britain made an attack on Tamatave in Madagascar, but failed of success. Another joint Colonial expansion expedition of the two powers forced the Republic of Argentine to concede free navigation of the La Plata River. From China concessions were wrested by which Christian missionaries were to be admitted to all of the five treaty ports. As a consequence of these concessions a virulent hatred of the foreigners sprang up among the common people of China. In South Africa,[Pg 988] Governor-General Maitland of Cape Colony earned the everlasting hatred of the Boers by sending out an armed expedition to assist the black warriors of Griqualand against the Boers. In India, affairs at Lahore had Sikhs belligerent reached a crisis. There the boy Maharajah, with his regent mother and her favorite sirdar, Lal Singh, were at the mercy of their Sikh soldiery. To save themselves they determined to launch their army upon the British.

British enterprise found a vent in other ways beyond colonial conquests. In the spring of this year Sir John Franklin sailed out once more with the John Franklin's Arctic quest "Erebus" and "Terror," in quest of the Northwest Passage. The last message from him was received in July. News also reached England that he had entered Lancaster Sound, but it was long after that before anything was heard concerning him. Since then more than thirty Arctic expeditions have searched in vain for the body of Franklin. About the same time that Franklin sailed on this expedition, a great fire in Quebec destroyed 1,650 Conflagration of Quebec houses, rendering 12,000 people homeless. Just one month later, on June 29, a second fire destroyed 1,365 houses. Two-thirds of the city was laid in ashes. Another serious calamity was the Irish famine of this year, caused by the failure of the potato crop. The distress thus occasioned increased the agitation against the corn laws. As during the preceding year, great mass meetings were held in Birmingham and Manchester. Sir Robert Peel, early in the year, had showed his new leanings toward free trade, by the introduction[Pg 989] of a bill for the abolition of import duties on no less than four hundred and thirty articles. The government's discrimination in favor of the duties on sugar provoked a long debate in Parliament. Gladstone Irish famine continued to support his old colleagues in the government, while Cobden and Bright led the opposition on the floor of the House. By the time Parliament was prorogued in August, the Ministry had won a complete victory. The spread of the famine during the summer, when almost all harvests failed, reacted powerfully upon the government. A strong public letter from the pen of Lord Russell brought the precarious position of the government home to Peel's Cabinet resigns the Cabinet. Sir Robert Peel admitted the necessity of an absolute repeal of the corn laws. Rather than confess such a complete change of position, Peel's Cabinet resigned. Lord Russell was summoned to form a new Cabinet.

During this interim the practice of duelling in England, but recently countenanced in the army by the Duke of Wellington, fell under lasting disfavor by the fatal outcome of an army duel, in which Lieutenant Hawkes Death of Hood killed Lieutenant Seaton. About the same time occurred the death of Thomas Hood, the poet and humorist. Born in 1798, as a son of a bookseller, he soon became a writer. As one of the editors of the "London Magazine," he moved among all the principal wits of the day. His first book, "Odes and Addresses to Great People," was written in conjunction with J.H. Reynolds, his brother-in-law. This was followed by "Whims and Oddities," in prose and[Pg 990] verse; "National Tales," and "The Plea of the Midsummer Fairies," a Thomas Hood's Works book full of imaginative verse. Hood's rich sense of humor found scope in his "Comic Annual," appearing through ten successive years, and his collection of "Whimsicalities." Among his minor poems, "The Bridge of Sighs" and "The Song of the Shirt" deserve special mention.

Sir Sydney Smith, the essayist, died shortly before this. Born in 1771, he Death of Sydney Smith studied for orders and became a clergyman. At the opening of the Nineteenth Century he entered the field of authorship with the publication of "Six Sermons Preached at Charlotte Chapel." Then came the famous "Letters on the Catholics, from Peter Plymley to his Brother Abraham." This book established Sydney Smith's reputation as a satirist. For nearly twenty years he published no more books, though a constant contributor to the Pungent satire "Edinburgh Review." Some idea of Sydney Smith's pungent style may be derived from his famous remarks on England's taxation during the wars with Napoleon: "The schoolboy," he said, "whips his taxed top; the beardless youth manages his taxed horse with a taxed bridle on a taxed road; and the dying Englishman, pouring his medicine which has paid seven per cent, into a spoon which has paid fifteen per cent, flings himself back upon his chintz bed which has paid twenty-two per cent, and expires in the arms of an apothecary, who has paid a license of one hundred pounds for the privilege of putting him to death. His whole property is then immediately taxed from[Pg 991] two to ten per cent. Large fees are demanded for burying him in the chancel; his virtues are handed down to posterity on taxed marble, and then he is gathered to his forefathers to be taxed no more."

It was Sydney Smith, too, who asked the famous question: "Who ever reads an American book?" In 1824 Sydney Smith broke his long silence as an author, with the fervent pamphlet "The Judge that Smites Contrary to the Law." This was followed by a long series of open letters on clerical and political questions of the day. Shortly before his death he brought out a collection of sermons. A posthumous work was his collection, "Elementary Sketches of Moral Philosophy." Sydney Smith's case has been held up, together with that of Swift, as an example of political ingratitude. Despite all his labors Meagre literary remains for the Whig cause, but slender recognition was given to him by his political friends in office. The excuse for not making him a bishop was that his writings were generally regarded as inconsistent with clerical decorum. Like Jeffrey, Wilson and other distinguished contributors to English periodical literature at this time, he left no truly great work to posterity.

Elizabeth Fry, the great English prison reformer, died on October 15. She Elizabeth Fry's work it was that improved the condition of women prisoners at Newgate. Later her influence was apparent in most of the reforms introduced into the jails, houses of correction, lunatic asylums and infirmaries of England, the abuses of which were so eloquently voiced by Dickens.[Pg 992]

Lord John Russell's attempts to form a new Ministry proved unsuccessful, largely because Lord Howick—who by the death of his father had become Earl Peel recalled Grey—refused to join the new Ministry on account of his objections to the foreign policy of Lord Palmerston. Sir Robert Peel was presently recalled. All of his colleagues retained their posts, except Lord Stanley, superseded by Gladstone. Soon after Peel's re-entry into office, the London "Times" A premature announcement announced that the Cabinet had decided on proposing a measure for the repeal of the corn laws. This premature announcement was one of the most startling journalistic achievements of the time. Notwithstanding all the published denials it was generally believed, and was followed by a great fall in the price of corn.

In the mind of the Ministry, as well as of the country at large, the threatening state of foreign affairs claimed precedence. In Autumn the Sikh army of the Khalsa had crossed the Sutlej, to the number of 60,000 War with Sikhs warriors, 40,000 armed followers and 150 guns. Sir John Little marched out of Ferozepore with 10,000 troops and 31 guns to offer battle, but the Sikhs preferred to surround them. Meanwhile, Sir Hugh Gough and Sir Henry Hardinge, the new Governor-General, hurried toward the frontier with a Moodkee large relieving force. On September 18, they met the army of Lal Singh at Moodkee and won a slender success. But for the flight of Lal Singh, the Sikhs might have claimed the victory. The British troops now advanced on the Sikh intrenchments, Ferozeshahar, where they[Pg 993] effected a junction with Little. On December 21, the British advanced in force, but encountered such stubborn resistance that the day ended in a drawn battle. Not until after Ferozeshahar sunset did Gough's battalions succeed in storming the most formidable of the Sikh batteries. After a night of horrors the battle was resumed. The Sikh soldiers, who had risen in mutiny against their own leaders, fell back and yielded their strong position. The second army of the Sikhs under Tej Singh came up too late. After a brief artillery engagement, all the Sikh forces fell back across the Sutlej River.

1846

[Pg 994] IN JANUARY, the hostile forces on both sides of the Sutlej River in India were reinforced. The Sikhs recrossed the river, entered British territory, and hostilities were renewed. On January 27, Sir Harry Smith defeated a Battle of Sobraon part of the Sikh forces at Aliwal. The Sikhs threw up intrenchments at Sobraon. On February 10, the British army advanced to the attack under Gough and Hardinge. The battle proved one of the hardest fought in the history of British India. Advancing in line, the British had two battalions mowed down by the Khalsa guns. Tej Singh broke down the bridge over the river. After fighting all day, the British at last succeeded in driving the Sikhs into the Sutlej at the point of the bayonet. The victory was dearly End of first Sikh war won. The British losses were 2,000 men, while the Sikhs were said to have lost 8,000. This practically ended the first Sikh war. The British army crossed the Sutlej River by means of their pontoons, and, pushing on to Lahore, there dictated terms of peace. An indemnity of a million and a half pounds was exacted. It was paid by Gholab Singh, the Viceroy of Cashmere and Jamu, upon British recognition of his independence of the Sikh Government at Lahore. The British frontier[Pg 995] was extended from the banks of the Sutlej to those of the Ravi.

In England, Sir Henry Hardinge's services in the Sikh war were rewarded by his elevation to the peerage. The distress of the previous year continued, English internal affairs owing partly to a commercial panic brought on by overspeculation in railways, and partly to a repeated failure of the crops. To relieve the potato famine in Ireland, Parliament voted £10,000,000 for that country. In the midst of this general distress the twopenny omnibuses made their first appearance in London, and the first issue of the "Daily News" appeared in the metropolis. Leigh Hunt brought out his stories from the Italian poets. Death of Clarkson Sir Aubrey De Vere, the Irish poet, died in his thirty-ninth year. A few years before his death he had published his "Song of Faith" and other poems. A posthumous publication was the poetic drama "Mary Tudor." Thomas Clarkson, the great anti-slavery advocate of England, died soon afterward, in his eighty-sixth year. Early during the first Parliamentary session Sir Robert Peel avowed his complete change of face in regard to the corn laws. Disraeli The rage of the protectionists was voiced by Benjamin Disraeli, then known chiefly as a writer of novels remarkable for the wild exuberance of their fancy. He denounced Peel as a political trimmer and no more of a statesman "than a boy who steals a ride behind a carriage is a great whip." Peel, in speaking for the principle of free trade, declared that England had received no guarantees from any foreign gov[Pg 996]ernment that her example would Repeal of corn laws be followed. Notwithstanding their hostile tariffs, however, he showed that the value of British exports had increased above £10,000,000 since the first reductions in the tariffs were made. On June 26, a bill for the total repeal of the corn laws was at last accepted. It passed through the Commons by a majority of 98 votes, while in the House of Peers, largely through the efforts of the Duke of Wellington, a majority of 47 was attained. The wrath of the defeated protectionists found vent on the same day when another Irish oppression bill was brought before the House. Lord Bentinck, as the mouthpiece of the protectionist party, launched forth in vehement invective against Sir Robert Peel, "his forty paid janizaries, and the seventy other members who, in supporting him, blazoned forth their own shame." In Fall of Peel's Ministry conclusion, Lord Bentinck called upon Parliament to "kick the bill and the Ministry out together," exclaiming, "It is time that atonement should be made to the betrayed honor of Parliament and of England." After this speech the Ministry called for a vote of confidence. It was denied by a majority of 73 votes against the government. On June 29, Sir Robert Peel announced Richard Cobden's reward his resignation. In a final speech he gave all credit for the repeal of the corn laws to Richard Cobden. A few weeks later a testimonial of £80,000 was placed at the disposal of Richard Cobden for his eminent services in promoting the repeal of the corn laws. On July 16, Lord Russell succeeded Peel as Prime Minister. His Cabinet[Pg 997] included the Marquis of Lansdowne, Viscount Palmerston, Earl Grey, Earl Granville, Lord Auckland and Modern progress Gladstone. The Duke of Wellington was retained in supreme command of the army. Unlike other heroes, he lived to see several monuments raised to his fame. Thus the grand Wellington Monument in London, made chiefly from captured cannon, was erected at the corner of Hyde Park. Otherwise it was a year of bridge building in England. At Newcastle a high level bridge was erected, while at Conway and at the Menai Strait work was begun on two of the greatest tubular bridges of England. In Germany, Schœnbein invented gun-cotton. About the time of the death of Friedrich Bessel, the great German astronomer, one of the greatest triumphs of abstract astronomical reasoning was achieved. In France, Leverrier had worked out the position of the planet Neptune, finally determining it on September 23. He communicated Astronomical discoveries this to Johann Gallé at Berlin, who discovered the planet on the same night. Adams, in England, a few months previous, had made calculations to the same effect, and communicated with Challis, but owing to delays Challis did not discover the planet until after Gallé. The Royal Astronomical Sue's "Wandering Jew" Society at London awarded its gold medal to each as equally deserving. Within a few days after this discovery, on October 10, a satellite of Neptune was discovered by Laselle. Eugène Sue, moved by the popular agitation against the Jesuits, wrote his novel of the "Wandering Jew," first published in serials.

Another attempt to kill King Louis Philippe by[Pg 998] one Lecompte in April had Attempts to kill French kingbeen frustrated by the Guards. On July 29, Joseph Henry risked his life in the seventh attempt at the assassination of the King. Louis Bonaparte, the quondam king of Holland, who resigned his throne rather than submit to his brother Napoleon's demands, died in his sixty-eighth year. His namesake, Louis Napoleon escapes from Ham Prince Louis Napoleon, imprisoned in the fortress of Ham, succeeded in making a sensational escape disguised in the garb of a stone mason. Once more he returned to his exile in England.

On July 8, King Christian VIII. of Denmark published an open letter in which he reasserted the union of the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein with Schleswig-Holstein question Denmark regardless of the differing systems of succession prevailing in these provinces. The question of succession was so intricate that the Chancelleries of Europe despaired of satisfactory solution. Inasmuch as Schleswig and Holstein had been recognized as German principalities entitled to representation in the Germanic Confederation, the German people as such objected to their absolute incorporation with Denmark. The storm raised over King Christian's letter was such as to forebode no other settlement than by arms.

Pope Gregory XVI. died at Rome in his eighty-first year. At the time of his Gioberti death the Papal prisons were filled with conspirators and reformers, among whom were some of his best subjects. His death gave new hope to the followers of Gioberti, whose political dreams depicted a new Italy, regenerated by the moral force of a reforming[Pg 999] Papacy. Austria's candidate for the Papacy having failed to secure the requisite number of votes in the College of Cardinals, Mastai Ferretti, Bishop of Imola, was elected, and on Pius IX. June 17 assumed the title Pius IX. The choice of this popular prelate was taken to be a tribute to Italian feeling. The first acts of Pio Nono confirmed this impression. Universal amnesty was extended to political prisoners. Hundreds of Italian patriots who had been sentenced to imprisonment for life were set free. When, in addition to this, permission Early Papal measures was given to the citizens of Rome to enroll themselves in the new civic guard, all Rome gave itself up to popular rejoicings. The climax of national enthusiasm was reached when the new Pope took occasion to voice a formal protest against the designs of Austria upon Ferrara.

For the time being the Austrian Government was too preoccupied with its troubles at home to carry its Italian policy to extremes. The Polish refugees at Paris had long determined to strike another blow for the freedom of their country. It was arranged that the Polish provinces in Austria and Prussia should rise and revolt, early during this year, and extend the revolution to Russian Poland. But the Prussian Government Revolt of Cracow crushed the conspiracy before a blow was struck. In Austria the attempt was more successful. Late in February insurrection broke out in the free city of Cracow. General Collin occupied the city, but his forces proved too weak. The Polish nobles around Tarnow in Northern Galicia raised the standard of[Pg 1000] revolt. Some 40,000 Polish insurgents marched on Cracow. A severe reverse was inflicted upon them by the government troops. Now the peasants turned against the nobles, burning down the largest estates and plunging the country into anarchy. The landowners, face to face with the Anarchy in Austrian-Poland humiliating fact that their own tenants were their bitterest foes, charged the Austrian Government with having instigated a communistic revolt. In a circular note to the European courts, Metternich protested that the outbreak of the Polish peasantry was purely spontaneous. A simultaneous attempt at revolution in Silesia was ruthlessly put down. Austria, Russia and Prussia now revoked the treaty of Vienna in regard to Poland. Cracow, which had been recognized as an independent republic, was annexed by Cracow incorporated in Austria Austria with the consent of Russia and Prussia, and against the protests of England, France and Sweden. New measures of repression against Polish national aspirations were taken in Russia. The last traces of Poland were blotted from the map of nations. It was then that Tennyson wrote his famous sonnet on Poland:

In Russia during this year Otto von Kotzebue, the great navigator and Arctic explorer, died in his fifty-ninth year.

Almost simultaneously with the attempted revo[Pg 1001]lution of Poland, another revolt broke out in Portugal. On April 20, the northern provinces rose against the Ministry of Costa Cabral, the Duke of Tomar. After desultory Civil war in Portugal fighting, the Duke of Plamella, one of the commanders of the constitutional army, gave up the struggle. He resigned his post and was banished from the country. Late in the year the Marquis of Saldanha, with a force of Pedro loyalists, defeated Count Bonfinn at the Torres Vedras.

In Spain, the long-pending diplomatic struggle over the Spanish marriages culminated, on October 10, in the wedding of Queen Isabella to her cousin, Don Francisco d'Assisi, Duke of Cadiz. Put forward by France, this prince Spanish princesses married was physically unfit for marriage. Simultaneously with the Queen's wedding, her sister was married to the Duke of Montpensier, the son of Louis Philippe. Thus the King of France and his Minister, Guizot, had their way.

Lord Palmerston's candidature of the Prince of Saxe-Coburg for Queen Isabella's hand was foiled. It proved a doubtful success for France. The entente cordiale between France and Great Britain was broken. Guizot was Guizot's doubtful success charged in the Chambers with sacrificing the most valuable foreign alliance for the purely dynastic ambitions of the House of Orleans. Having cut loose from England, Guizot now endeavored through his diplomatic envoys to form a new concert of Europe from which England should be left out.

Great Britain's diplomatic dispute with America,[Pg 1002] concerning the northwestern boundary, was satisfactorily settled by the Oregon treaty, Oregon treaty signed signed on June 15. Before this a peremptory demand had been put forward by the American Congress that the joint occupation of Oregon should cease. The British originally claimed all the territory west of the Rocky Mountains, from Mexico to Alaska. For years the land was settled jointly. Now the forty-ninth degree of northern latitude was accepted as the boundary between British North America and the United States. The Columbia River was retained by the United States, with free navigation conceded to English ships, while the seaport of Vancouver, the importance of which was not as yet recognized, fell to England. The value of this possession was soon Rae's Arctic explorations revealed. Agents of the British Hudson's Bay Company selected Victoria, on the Island of Vancouver, as the most promising British port in the Pacific. During this same year, Dr. John Rae, by sledge journeys of more than 1,200 miles, explored the northernmost region, Boothia, wherein was determined the northern magnetic pole.

On October 16, Dr. J.C. Warren of Boston, to whom Drs. Wells and Morton had communicated their discoveries with sulphuric ether, demonstrated the potency of the drug in a public test. A severe operation was performed at Ether in surgery the Boston Hospital, in the presence of some of the foremost medical men of the city, while the patient remained unconscious. The news was heralded abroad and was received by medical men throughout the world as a new revela[Pg 1003]tion. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, the famous physician and author, named the new method "Anæsthesia." The credit of the new discovery was claimed forthwith by several persons—notably by Dr. Charles T. Jackson of Boston, and Dr. Crawford W. Long of Alabama. A few months after the value Chloroform of ether in surgery had come to be clearly recognized, a Scotch surgeon, Sir J.V. Simpson, discovered that chloroform could be administered with analogous effect.

In the United States, during this period, the long-expected war with Mexico was well under way. By a joint resolution of Congress, Texas had at last been admitted into the Union. General Taylor took position in Texas, opposite Matamoras on the Rio Grande, where the Mexican troops were Mexican war begun gathering. Taylor presently moved his troops to Point St. Isabel. There a fleet of seven ships brought supplies. Leaving a part of his force there, he marched to a point on the Rio Grande opposite Matamoras, where he built Fort Brown, named after Major Brown, whom he left in command. The ground was malarious, and many soldiers died of disease. On April 12, the Mexican general, Ampudia, moved forward with a strong force to drive Taylor beyond the Rio de la Nueces. Ampudia demanded that Taylor should withdraw within twenty-four hours, but Taylor refused to leave what he claimed to be the soil of the United States. Ampudia hesitated, and General Arista was appointed in his place. Learning that two vessels with supplies for the Mexicans were about[Pg 1004] to enter the Rio Grande, Taylor caused the river to be Mexican success blockaded, at the "cost of war." Arista prepared to attack Fort Brown, and cut off communication between Taylor and his supplies. Captain Thornton's command, sent out to reconnoitre, was captured on April 26. Only Thornton escaped by leaping his horse over a dense hedge. On May 1, leaving Major American reverse at Fort Brown Brown in command at the fort, Taylor made a forced march to Point Isabel. The Mexicans promptly sent men across the river to the rear of Fort Brown, and opened fire together with the guns of Matamoras on that work. Major Brown was first among the killed. Signal guns were fired to recall Taylor. With 2,300 men he turned back on May 6. Meanwhile, 6,000 Mexicans had Palo Alto arrived and taken up a strong position at Palo Alto. On the 8th, Taylor assaulted the superior force confronting him. Two eighteen-pounders and two light batteries made fearful havoc in the closed ranks of the Mexican infantry. The prairie grass between the two armies took fire. Both lines drew back, but soon renewed the fight. Taylor's left was met by cannonade, but the Mexican column was overthrown and the entire force fell back to Resaca de la Palma. The Americans took up their march to Fort Brown. When within three miles of the fort they encountered the Mexicans, strongly posted in Resaca de la Palma, a ravine three hundred feet wide bordered with palmetto trees. Taylor deployed a portion of his force as skirmishers, and a company of dragoons overrode the first Mexican battery. The Ameri[Pg 1005]cans then advanced their battery to the crest. Resaca de la Palma A regiment charged in column, and, joined by the skirmishers, seized the enemy's artillery. After hard fighting in the chaparral, the Mexicans were put to flight. The Mexicans lost one thousand men, the Americans conceded but one hundred. Refusing an armistice, Taylor crossed the river on May 18, and unfurled the Stars and Stripes on Mexican territory. Another attempted stand of the Invasion of Mexico Mexicans resulted in worse defeat. Arista's retreat became a rout. Of 7,000 men he brought only 2,500 to Linares. The American troops occupied Matamoras, Reinosa and Camargo. The three States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon were annexed to the territory of the Rio Grande. In the interior of Mexico a revolution broke out. General Paredes was made President.

In July, Colonel Philip Kearney, with an American force, marched unopposed Kearney annexes New Mexico from the Arkansas River and took possession of Santa Fé. On August 1, he annexed the State of New Mexico as a Territory of the United States. In May, Captain John C. Fremont, in charge of an exploring expedition in the South, received a message from Secretary of State Buchanan and Senator Benton, whose daughter he had married, suggesting that he should remain in Fremont in California California. Fremont took the hint and returned to Sacramento. There he learned that the Mexican commander was about to take the offensive. He at once assumed command of the American forces, and on June 15 captured Sonoma. Meanwhile Commodores Sloat and Stockton took[Pg 1006] possession of the coast towns as far as Los Angeles, and, on August 13, held Monterey, the capital of California. Fremont set up a provisional government, placing himself at the head. In the meantime, the United States had sent a company of artillery, which took two hundred days in making the journey around the Horn. Among its members were three future heroes of the American Civil War—Lieutenants Sherman, Halleck and Ord.

The news of these events did not reach Washington until after Congress had Tardy declaration of war declared war on April 26, authorized a call for 50,000 volunteers, and made an appropriation of $10,000,000. Three hundred thousand volunteers responded. Of these some 75,000 were enrolled with the regular army of 40,000. President Polk, on May 11, sent to Congress an aggressive measure, announcing that war existed by the act of Mexico. On May 23, Mexico made her formal declaration of war. General Taylor, with the army of occupation, was ordered to seize and hold points on the Rio Grande.

General Taylor waited at Matamoras until September 19, when, having been joined by General Worth, he encamped with 6,000 men within three miles of Monterey, a strongly fortified place, ninety miles distant from Matamoras. On the north, Monterey was protected by a strong citadel, with lunettes on the east, and by two fortified hills on either side of the river just above the town. Worth's division planted itself above the city on the Mexican line of retreat. Garland's brigade, advancing between the citadel and the first lunette,[Pg 1007] reached the city with heavy loss. After three companies had failed to move to Garland's support, two other companies passed to the rear of the citadel and compelled the Mexicans to abandon that point. An attempt Assault of Monterey on the second lunette failed with heavy loss to the Americans. The next morning Worth endeavored to capture the fortified eminence south of the river. The Americans advanced in the face of a plunging artillery fire. A host of skirmishers clambered over the parapet and turned its guns on the fleeing Mexicans, and, with two supporting regiments moving along the slope, drove the Mexicans out of Fort Saldado. At daybreak the hill on the north side of the river was carried. These positions commanded the western half of the city. On the morning of the 23d, the American troops fought their way in, but were driven out again. Worth's men then pushed into the town from the west, and finding the streets swept by artillery, broke into the houses. On the next morning, September 24, Ampudia capitulated. The capture of Monterey inspired the American poet, Charles F. Hoffman, to a song modelled after the famous St. Crispin's Day speech in Shakespeare's "King Henry V.":

An armistice of eight weeks was agreed upon. The armistice was disapproved Long armistice by the American Secretary of War, and, in November, General Scott was ordered to take command and conduct the war on his own plans.

In Mexico, General Paredes, who favored the restoration of monarchical rule, was opposed by General Alvarez in the south. When Paredes left the capital to go to the front, revolution broke out behind him. Don Mariano Revolution in Mexico Solas, the commandant of the City of Mexico, summoned to his aid General Santa Anna. On his arrival this popular general, but recently banished from the capital, was hailed as the saviour of his country and was invested with the supreme military command. Paredes went into exile. Santa Anna, after inexplicable delay, raised war funds to the amount of six million dollars, and advanced toward San Luis Potosi. There the "Napoleon of the West," as they called him in Mexico, wasted more precious months.

On the American side, too, little was done. On August 8, the Wilmot Proviso was considered. It was a proviso to the $2,000,000 bill asked by the President to arrange peace with Mexico, and it declared it to be "an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of any territory from Mexico, that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist therein." August 10 the proviso came up for final passage, but John Davis of Massachusetts, in order to defeat action on the bill, held the floor till the session expired. Congress adjourned on that day. Great agitation prevailed in the North[Pg 1009] over the defeat of this proviso. The Democrats lost their majority in the Twenty-ninth Congress, owing to the new tariff and Howe's sewing machine the predominance of pro-slavery issues in the war. Polk had but 110 votes against 118 when the new Congress met. Now the new tariff went into effect. Howe, the American inventor, secured a patent for an improvement in sewing-machines, which embodied the main features of the machine used at present; to wit, a grooved needle provided with an eye near its point, a Iowa becomes a State shuttle operating on the side of the cloth opposite the needle to form a lockstitch, and an automatic feed. On December 28, Iowa was admitted to the Union as the twenty-ninth State.

1847

[Pg 1010] GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT reached the harbor of Vera Cruz in January, and assumed command of all the American forces. He took with him the best Santa Anna's advance officers and troops on the field of action, and left Taylor with only 5,200 men, most of whom were volunteers. Santa Anna, who had gathered 12,000 men eager to be led against the Americans, was approaching Saltillo. Leaving Monterey on January 31, Taylor reached Saltillo on February 2, and passed on to Aqua Nueva, twenty miles south of Saltillo, where he remained three weeks. Thence he fell back to a mountain gorge opposite Buena Vista. On February 22, his troops and those of Santa Anna were within sight of each other. Under a flag of truce, Santa Anna demanded Taylor's surrender, which was refused. The famous battleground, taking its name from the estate of Buena Vista, is a rugged valley from two to five miles wide, between rocky walls a thousand feet high. The slopes on either side are cut by deep ravines. Taylor placed his forces in groups on the crests of the bluffs, at the base of the eastern mountain, and in the southern edge of the plateau. The Mexican troops attempted to flank his position, but were driven off. The Mexican cavalry were sent to[Pg 1011] Buena Vista Taylor's rear to intercept the American retreat, but they were beaten back after a fierce hand-to-hand fight, led by Taylor himself. Santa Anna made his first attack in three columns. Two of these combined and turned the American left. The third, thrown against the American right, was forced to retreat, the Americans having formed a new front. Again the Mexicans sought to gain Taylor's rear, but with two regiments supported by artillery and dragoons, the American commander drove them back, firing into their heavy mass.

At one point in the engagement, an Indiana regiment, through a mistaken order, gave way, thereby placing the American army in peril. But the Mississippians and the Kentuckians threw themselves forward; the Indiana troops rallied, and the Mexicans were repulsed. General Taylor, standing Taylor's order to Bragg near Captain Bragg's battery, saw signs of wavering in the enemy's line. "Give them a little more grape, Captain Bragg," he exclaimed—a command which was repeated all over the United States during the political campaign two years later. The Mexican column broke, and Taylor drove it up the slope of the eastern mountain. By means of a false flag of truce the endangered wing, however, escaped. Santa Anna, forming his whole force into one column, advanced. The Americans fell back, holding only the northwest corner of the plateau. When morning broke, the enemy had disappeared. The Mexican loss was 2,000, that of the Americans 746. Henry Clay, a son of the Kentucky statesman, as he lay wounded, was despatched by a Mexi[Pg 1012]can Conflicting claims of victory vacquero. Colonel Jefferson Davis commanded with distinction a regiment of Mississippi riflemen. Buena Vista was Taylor's last battle. Its fame was heralded throughout America. Both sides claimed the victory. The Mexicans chanted Te Deums. In the United States the poet Kifer sang:

After the battle of Buena Vista, General Taylor returned to the United States, his task finished. The exploit shed such lustre on his name that he was soon regarded as the fittest candidate for the Presidency.

In March, Scott's army of 12,000 landed at Vera Cruz. After four days' San Juan d'Ulloa captured bombardment by land and water, the city and castle of San Juan d'Ulloa surrendered. General Worth was left in command at Vera Cruz, and Scott started on his march to the City of Mexico, two hundred miles away. Santa Anna, with the flower of his army, awaited him in the strong position of Cerro Gordo, fifty miles northwest. General Twiggs turned the Mexican left flank. On the following morning, April 18, the Americans attacked in three columns. Pellow advanced against the Mexican right, where three hills at an angle in the road were crowned with batteries. Shields' division, climbing by a pass, fell upon Santa Anna's right and rear. Twiggs[Pg 1013] and Worth, Battle of Cerro Gordo bearing to the right, covered the El Telegrafo Hill, and attacked the height of Cerro Gordo, where Santa Anna commanded in person. Carrying this position, they turned its guns on the retreating Mexicans. Caught between the columns of Pellow, Twiggs and Worth, Santa Anna's forces surrendered. The American troops thus gained the national road to the capital of Mexico. They had made 3,000 prisoners and taken forty-three cannon, with $22,000 in silver and immense munitions of war. They lost, at Cerro Gordo, 481 killed American advance into Mexico and wounded; the Mexican loss was 2,000. Jalapa was occupied on April 19, and on the 22d the American flag waved above the Castle of Perote, fifty miles beyond. Puebla, containing 80,000 inhabitants, was occupied without opposition on May 15. On account of the sufferings of the men in the hot climate, General Scott rested at Puebla for several months.

The authority of the United States was established on the Pacific Coast, after a final defeat of the Mexicans at San Gabriel. Colonel Doniphan of Kearney's command, having been left in charge in New Mexico, compelled the Navajo Indians to enter into a treaty of peace, after which he set out with 1,000 Missourians to join General Wool. At Bracto, a Mexican commander with a superior force sent a black flag demanding his surrender. On refusal of this summons notice was given that no quarter should be granted. The Mexicans then advanced firing; the Americans lying down to escape the bullets. Cheering, the Mexicans ran[Pg 1014] forward, when suddenly Doniphan's Doniphan's exploit command rose and fired, killing more than 200 Mexicans. The rest turned and fled. Near the capital of Chihuahua, Doniphan, after a sharp encounter, dispersed 4,000 Mexicans. The Stars and Stripes were raised above the citadel. In May, Doniphan rejoined Wool at Saltillo. Then followed a long lull in the Mexican campaign.

The question concerning the power of the American Congress to legislate on slavery again came up in connection with the bill for the establishment of the Oregon Territorial government. In February Calhoun had introduced his new slavery resolution, declaring the Territories to be the common property of all the States, and denying the right and power of Congress to prohibit slavery in any Territory. Thus began the agitation which led to the abrogation of the Missouri Compromise. By the terms of an amendment offered for the extension of the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific Ocean, Slavery controversy revived slavery was to be excluded from all future territory in the West. This amendment was lost, but the bill passed with another, incorporating the anti-slavery clause of the ordinance of 1787. Calhoun declared that the exclusion of slavery from any Territory was a subversion of the Union, and proclaimed "the separation of the Northern and Southern States complete."

In British North America a new era of home rule began after the Earl of Elgin took his oath as Governor-General of Canada in January. The imperial government abandoned all control over the customs[Pg 1015] of Canada. The building of the first great Canadian railroad was begun on the main line of the Grand Trunk system. Discouraging reports from the extreme northern regions of America at last confirmed the impression that Sir John Franklin, with John Franklin's career the other members of his expedition, had perished in the Arctic regions. A romantic naval career was thus brought to a close. Born in 1786, John Franklin entered the British navy at the age of fourteen as a midshipman, and soon saw his first active service at the battle of Copenhagen in 1801. In the following year he was taken on his first trip of exploration to Australia by his cousin, Captain Flinders of the "Investigator." In 1818 he was a member of an expedition sent out by the British Government to attempt a passage to India by crossing the Polar Sea. His bold seamanship during this voyage brought him into such prominence that during the next year he was appointed by the Admiralty to command an expedition to travel overland from Hudson's Bay to the Arctic Ocean. During the course of this expedition Long overland journey he and his companions walked 5,560 miles and endured many hardships, of which Franklin wrote a thrilling narrative on his return to England in 1822. He then married Eleanor Porden, the author of the heroic poem "Cœur de Lion." In 1825 he was appointed to the command of another overland Arctic expedition. When the day of his departure arrived, his wife was dying of consumption. Lying at the point of death as she was, she would not let him delay his voyage, and gave him for a parting gift a silk[Pg 1016] flag to hoist when he reached the Polar Sea. On the day after Franklin left England she died. When he returned again he was knighted and showered with honors by various scientific societies of England and France. After serving as Governor of Van Diemen's Land, Sir John, in 1845, was appointed an admiral, and then another Arctic expedition to discover the Northwest Passage was organized. He sailed from Sheerness on May 26, 1845, and was last seen by a whaler in Baffin's Bay. Many years later a record was found on the northwest shore of King William's Land, announcing that Sir John Franklin died in the spring of 1847, and that the survivors of his The Northwest Passage expedition had attempted to make their way back on the ice to the American continent. To Sir John Franklin belongs the honor of the first discovery of the northwest passage leading from Lancaster Sound to Behring Strait.

On February 8, Daniel O'Connell, the great Irish Parliamentary leader, made his last speech in the English House of Commons. The question on which he O'Connell's last speech spoke was a proposed bill for the relief of famine in Ireland: "I am afraid," he said, in the course of this address, "that the English people are not sufficiently impressed with the horrors of the situation in Ireland. I do not think they understand the accumulated miseries which my people are suffering. It has been estimated that 5,000 adults and 10,000 children have already died from famine, and that one-fourth of the whole population must perish unless something is done." Failing in health himself, O'Connell went to Italy.[Pg 1017] At Rome, Pope Pius IX. prepared a Death of O'Connell magnificent reception for him. Before he could reach the Eternal City, O'Connell died in his seventy-second year. Lacordaire, who but shortly before this had pronounced his greatest of funeral orations over the bier of General Drouot, thus spoke of O'Connell: "Honor, glory and eternal gratitude for the man who gave to his country the boon of liberty of conscience. Where is a man in the Church since the time of Constantine who has at one stroke enfranchised six millions of souls?" When the body of O'Connell was buried at Glasnevin, it was followed to the grave by fifty thousand mourners, among whom Orangemen and Ribbonmen walked side by side. In England, O'Connell's death was regarded with a feeling akin to relief. There his persistent demands of "justice for Ireland" had come to be regarded with derision, bringing him the nickname of "Big Beggarman."

Another spirit that won religious renown in England passed away with Thomas Death of Thomas Chalmers Chalmers, the great Scotch divine. As a teacher of theology at Edinburgh he wrote no less than twenty-five volumes, the most famous of which is his "Evidences of the Christian Revelations," a reprint of his article on "Christianity" contributed to the "Encyclopedia Britannica." In other respects it was a notable year for English letters. Charles Dickens had "Vanity Fair" just published his famous stories "Dombey and Son" and "The Haunted Man." The success of these novels was surpassed by that of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair." Three writers now made their appear[Pg 1018]ance. Anthony Trollope brought out his "MacDermotts of Ballycoran"; Emily Brontë published her first "Jane Eyre" novel, "Wuthering Heights," while her sister, Charlotte Brontë, at the same time achieved an immense success with her story of "Jane Eyre." These successes were more than rivalled by that of Jenny Lind, the great soprano singer, who made her first appearance in London during this season. Another Jenny Lind event for intellectual England was the sale at auction of Shakespeare's house at Stratford. It was acquired by a united committee of Shakespeare lovers for the sum of £3,000.

The oft-mooted question of the civil disabilities of the Jews in England was brought up again by the election of Baron Rothschild as a member of Jewish disabilities reconfirmed Parliament for London, together with Lord John Russell. The Premier, whose name was already identified with the cause of civil and religious liberty, made another strong effort to obtain the recognition of his colleague's claim to his seat. He was supported in this not only by most of the Whigs in the House of Commons, but also by three such prominent men of the opposition as Lord Bentinck, Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli, himself of Jewish lineage. As heretofore, this proposed reform was accepted by the Commons only to be rejected by the Lords, now installed in their new House of Peers. Otherwise, Lord Russell's Ministry followed largely in the footsteps of their immediate predecessors. Palmerston pursued his wonted vigorous foreign policy.

It had been customary in Greek towns to cele[Pg 1019]brate Easter by burning an effigy of Judas Iscariot. This year the police of Athens were ordered to prevent this performance, and the mob, disappointed of their favorite amusement, ascribed the new orders to the influence of the Jews. The house Don Pacifico affair of one Don Pacifico, a Portuguese Jew of Gibraltar, happened to stand near the spot where the Judas was annually burned. Don Pacifico was known to be a Jew, and the anger of the mob was wreaked upon him accordingly. On April 4, his house was sacked. Don Pacifico made a claim against the Greek Government for compensation. He estimated his losses, direct and indirect, at nearly £32,000. Another claim was made at the same time by another British subject, Finlay, the historian of Greece. The Greek Government, British retaliation which was all but bankrupt, was dilatory in settling these claims. A British fleet was ordered to the Piræus. It seized all the Greek vessels belonging to the government and to private merchants that were found within those waters. The Greek Government appealed to France and Russia as Powers joined with England in the treaty to protect the independence of Greece. France and Russia both made bitter complaint of not having been consulted in the first instance by the British Government, nor was their feeling Palmerston obdurate softened by Lord Palmerston's peremptory reply that it was all a question between England and Greece. It was on this occasion that Palmerston made the famous speech harking back to the sentiment expressed in the old Roman boast "Civis Romanus Sum."[Pg 1020]

Next, new troubles arose with China. During the previous year riots broke out in Canton, by reason of a superstitious belief that a weather-vane on top of the flagstaff over the American Consulate interfered with the spirits of the air. A Chinaman was shot during the riots. The British had to interfere on behalf of the threatened Americans. The outraged feelings Troubles in China of the Chinese populace were allayed by a conciliatory declaration of Emperor Taouk-Wang, to the effect that the Christian religion could be commended as a faith for inculcating the principles of virtue. At the same time he sent a special commissioner, Ke-Ying, "amicably to regulate the commerce with foreign merchants at Canton." Trouble again broke out in March, when a small English hunting and fishing party violated the agreement confining them to the foreign concession at Canton. They were pelted with stones by the natives. Sir John Davis denounced this incident as international outrage, and, in disregard of the accepted treaty provisions, proclaimed "that he would exact and acquire from the Chinese Government that British subjects should be as free from molestation and insult in China as they would be in England." On April 1, all the available Bogue forts recaptured forces at Hong Kong were summoned to Canton. Three steamships, bearing two regiments of soldiers, convoyed by a British man-of-war, attacked the Bogue forts. The Chinese, acting under orders from Ke-Ying, made no resistance. A British landing force seized the batteries and spiked the guns. Next, the forts opposite Canton[Pg 1021] were captured without a blow. Without a shot fired, Canton, on April 3, lay at the mercy of the British guns. Ke-Ying accepted the British ultimatum that the whole city of Canton should be opened to A Chinese protest Englishmen two years from date. The agreement was closed with this significant statement on behalf of the Chinese Emperor: "If mutual good-will is to be maintained between the Chinese and foreigners, the common feelings of mankind, as well as the just principles of heaven, must be considered and conformed with."

A new phase in Great Britain's boundary dispute with Nicaragua was reached Nicaragua coerced by a British squadron's abrupt seizure of the harbor of San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua's only seaport on the Atlantic coast. In regard to the demands made for the free navigation of the La Plata River, the Argentine Republic at last came to terms. The joint squadrons of England and France thereupon raised their blockade of Buenos Ayres. At London a conference of English and French statesmen, to which Spain was likewise admitted, had come to an Threatened intervention in Portugal agreement to interfere on behalf of Queen Maria II., in Portugal. When this was made known, Bandiera, one of the chief partisans of Dom Pedro, announced his submission. Nonetheless, Pedro's followers persevered, and on June 26 the Junta at Oporto had to capitulate to Pedro's army.

In Germany, in the meanwhile, the agitation for Parliamentary government steadily gained ground. In Bavaria, where King Louis's open liaison with the dancer Lola Montez had turned his sub[Pg 1022]jects against him, the deputies of the Landtag exerted their power to abolish the crown lotteries by a unanimous vote. In Prussia, King Frederick William IV. at last issued his German Parliamentary essays long-promised summons for a united provincial Diet. A semblance of representative government was established. It was at this time that Frederick William became Elector of Hesse-Cassel. The agitation for a representative government grew. On September 12, the Liberals held a meeting at Orthenburg. Within a month the Constitutional party met at Heppenheim, in Hesse. At length a united Prussian Parliament, called the Landtag, was convoked at Berlin. The first question to claim the attention of this Parliament was that of Schleswig-Holstein. The gauntlet recently flung down to the German population of Schleswig and Holstein, by King Christian VIII. of Denmark, was picked up not only by the anti-Danish Schleswig-Holstein issue Holsteiners, but by the whole German nation as well. Little Schleswig, with its 160 square miles and 400,000 inhabitants, was claimed by every German as German borderland. King Christian at this time was failing in health. His condition had been aggravated by the recent great fire at Copenhagen, which, amid other costly properties, destroyed invaluable records of Icelandic literature, including more than 2,000 unpublished manuscripts.

An event of like international importance was the death of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, at the age of thirty-eight. He was the grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, and the son of the gifted Lea Solomon-Bartholdy, from whom he received[Pg 1023] Death of Mendelssohnhis first piano lessons. At the age of ten he joined the Singing Academy of Berlin, where a composition of his, the "Nineteenth Psalm," was performed shortly after his entry. In 1825 his father took him to Paris to consult Cherubini, as to his future. Cherubini offered to take him as a pupil, but his father preferred to bring him up in the musical atmosphere of his own home. There the boy perfected himself as a piano player and wrote a host of early compositions. The overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written in 1826, when Mendelssohn was but seventeen years old. Two years later his first opera, "The Marriage of Camècho," was given at the Berlin Opera. In Berlin, Mendelssohn became the leading figure in the propaganda for the music of Bach. Having undertaken a journey to England, at the suggestion of "Songs Without Words" Moscheles, he gave a series of concerts there, after which he travelled throughout Europe. It was at this time that he wrote his "Songs Without Words," and composed the overture, "A Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage." After filling a musical directorship at Düsseldorf, he was summoned to conduct the orchestra of the Gewandhaus there. This proved an important turn in his career. In 1841, Frederick William IV. of Prussia invited him to Berlin, where he organized the famous Cathedral choir. Returning to Leipzig, he founded the musical conservatory in that city. The sudden death of his favorite sister, Fannie, gave him such a shock that he died within a few months after her. Mendelssohn exerted little influence as an operatic[Pg 1024] composer, but achieved the highest rank by such vocal compositions as the oratorios "St. Paul" and "Elijah," and some of his beautiful songs, which have become folksongs. Of his orchestral pieces, the most famous are his concert overtures, such as that of the "Midsummer Night's Dream," or "Ruy Blas," and his "Funeral March." The most celebrated of his piano pieces are the popular "Songs Without Words," the "Wedding March" and the brilliant "Rondo Capriccioso."

By the death of Prosper Marilhat, a young artist of great promise was lost Death of Marilhat to France. But a few years before, Marilhat sent no less than eight masterpieces to the Salon, but they were received so coldly that the young artist fell into a state from which death was a happy deliverance. Théophile Gautier wrote of him, "That exhibition was Marilhat's swan song, and the works he sent were eight diamonds." After Marilhat's death, some of his unfinished paintings commanded great prices. Thus his "Entrance to Jerusalem," at the Wertheimer sale at Paris in 1861, fetched 16,000 francs. Fifteen years later, at the Oppenheim sale in Paris, Marilhat's "Ruins Near Cairo" brought no less than 29,000 francs. It was as a painter of Oriental subjects that Marilhat won his most lasting distinction. Having travelled to the East with Baron Hugel, he remained for many years in Egypt, painted portraits of the Khedive and decorated several of the buildings of Alexandria. In an obituary article published in the "Revue des Deux Mondes," Théophile Gautier wrote: "Marilhat was[Pg 1025] Gautier on Marilhata Syrian Arab. He must have had in his veins some blood of the Saracens whom Charles Martel did not kill.... One of the glories of Marilhat was that he preserved his originality in presence of Decamps. The talents of these two men are parallel lines, it is true, but they do not touch each other. The more fruitful fancy of the one is balanced by the character in the works of the other."

In France the dissatisfaction with Louis Philippe's government, as administered by Guizot, was steadily increasing. The Socialist party, led by Louis Blanc, agitated the country for reform. An appeal to Revolutionary traditions was made by the simultaneous publication of Blanc's and Michelet's histories of the French Revolution. At the same time, Lamartine Death of Oudinot brought out his "Histoire des Girondins." Napoleonic traditions were revived by a series of events following the death of General Drouot. In September came the death of Marshal Oudinot, the hero of Bitche, Moorlautern, Trêves, Ingolstadt, Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, Ostralenka, Friesland and Wagram. Oudinot was wounded innumerable times and was twice made a prisoner. He bore a prominent part throughout the Russian campaign and that of 1814. During the Hundred Days he remained in retirement. For this he was made Commander-in-chief of the National Guards under the Restoration, and passed through the campaign of Spain in 1823, when he captured Madrid. After his death, Marshal Soult, another veteran of the Napoleonic wars, succeeded him as general commander of the French[Pg 1026] Death of Grouchyarmy. Before this, Marshal Grouchy had likewise expired in his eighty-first year. He it was who was held responsible by Napoleon for the final crushing defeat at Waterloo. There he failed to support his chief, when Blücher came to the support of Wellington. To the end of his days, Grouchy insisted that Napoleon's orders to this effect never reached him, but it was held up against him that some of his officers on that occasion had vainly urged him to march on the sound of the cannons at Waterloo. On October 10, Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother and the quondam king of Westphalia, was permitted to return to France after an exile of thirty-two years. Late in Death of Marie Louise the year, ex-Empress Marie Louise, Napoleon's second wife, died at the age of fifty-six in Austria. Never beloved like her predecessor Josephine, she lost the esteem of all Frenchmen by her failure to stand by her husband after his downfall and exile to St. Helena, and by her subsequent liaison with her chamberlain, Neipperg, to whom she bore several children. Other events of lasting interest in France, during this year, were the opening of the great canal from Marseilles to Durano, the death of Duc de Polignac, Mérimée and Dumas who helped cause the downfall of his royal master Charles X., and the publication of Mérimée's "Carmen" and of "Aventures de Quatre Femmes et d'un Perroquet," by the younger Dumas.

Under the stimulus of Pius IX.'s apparent sympathy for the cause of national unity in Italy, as well as that of the teachings of Mazzini, the Italian patriots took heart again. One group, consisting[Pg 1027] mostly of the politicians and military men of Piedmont, centred their hopes in the traditional antagonism of the princes of Savoy against Austria. Charles Albert of Carrignano, whom Metternich had attempted to exclude from the succession, showed marked independence in his dealings with Austria. In 1847, the Italian question came uppermost again when the Austrian Austrians occupy Ferrara Government, on a new interpretation in one of the clauses in the treaty of Vienna, occupied the town of Ferrara in the ecclesiastical states. Pius IX. promptly protested against this trespass of his territories. The King of Sardinia openly announced his intention to take the field against Austria, should war break out. English and French warships appeared at Naples. In Sicily and southern Italy the attitude of the patriots grew threatening. Italy aroused Apprehensions of a general revolution throughout Italy at length induced Metternich to agree with the neutral powers on a compromise concerning the occupation of Ferrara. Lucca was united with Tuscany. Still patriotic passion seethed in Italy.

In America, after several months of comparative inaction, the war in Mexico Mexican campaigns resumed was renewed with vigor. On August 6, General Scott received reinforcements. Leaving a governor at Puebla, he marched on with 14,000 men. He met with no resistance at the passes of the Cordilleras. On August 10, from the top of the Rio Frio Mountains, the City of Mexico, lying in a fertile, lake-dotted basin, was in sight. The land around the city was under water, and the capital was approached by causeways across the low[Pg 1028] and marshy ground. The numerous rocky hills were all fortified. Scott passed around Lake Chalco to the southwest, and thence moved west skirting the south shore. Santa Anna, intercepting the Americans, took up his headquarters at San Antonio, five miles from the city. His position was flanked on the west by broken lava, and on the east by marshy ground. The ground was as bad as could well be Santa Anna outflanked encountered. Santa Anna sent orders to General Valencia, who held a fortified hill in front of the Americans, to spike his guns, destroy his stores and retreat, but Valencia refused. Riley, occupying a hill in his rear, took his intrenchments in reverse. He was cut off both north and south; 2,000 of his force were killed and wounded; a thousand with four generals were captured, and guns, stores and ammunition fell into the hands of the Americans.

The divisions of Pellow and Twiggs were ordered, August 19, to storm Contreras. The line between that position and Santa Anne's reserves was cut Battle of Contreras at the close of the day, and General Persifer F. Smith at sunrise the next morning led an assault on the Mexican camp, and in less than half an hour drove 6,000 Mexicans out of the fortification. Shortly afterward General Worth attacked Santa Anna and routed the garrison.

The Americans followed to Churubusco on the road to the capital, where Santa Anna had concentrated his whole force. Here the river was protected by levees, the head of the bridge strongly fortified, and the stone convent surrounded by a[Pg 1029] strong field-work. The attack on the bridge and the Churubusco convent was desperate. Pierce and Shields had made a detour to the main road in the rear of Churubusco. They struck the Mexican reserves, and all the troops on both sides were engaged. Worth and Pellow carried the bridge in time to save Pierce and Shields. The Mexican left gave way. A detachment crossed the river and threatened the bridge from the rear. Worth threw his whole force upon the broken line. Through ditches and over parapets they went with a rush, and the battle was won. The Americans lost a thousand men and seventy-six officers.

General Kearney had left Fort Leavenworth in the spring of 1847. To him Santa Fé captured fell the task of conquering New Mexico and California. On August 18, Santa Fé was captured, and all New Mexico submitted. From Santa Fé, Kearney, with 400 dragoons, set off for California. Kit Carson, whom he met on the road, informed him that Colonel Fremont had conquered California. On learning this Kearney sent back most of his force, and with the few remaining pushed on to the coast. In the five distinct victories thus far gained over the Mexican reverses Mexican army of 80,000, scarcely 10,000 Americans had been engaged, 4,000 Mexicans had been killed and wounded, and 3,000 made prisoners, and thirty-seven pieces of artillery were captured.

Scott again made overtures for peace. He had with him a government commissioner, Trist, who had already made a vain effort to secure peace. Scott accordingly advanced to Tecubaya within[Pg 1030] three miles of the capital, Another armistice and on August 21 sent to Santa Anna a proposition for an armistice looking to negotiations for peace. The proposition was accepted, and Trist entered the capital on the 24th, where he remained until September 5. He reported that the American proposition had not only been rejected, but that Santa Anna had improved the armistice to strengthen the city's defences. Scott instantly declared the armistice at an end.

Scott had now 8,500 men and 68 guns. He moved, September 7, upon Molino del Rey (King's Mill), a group of stone buildings 500 yards long, forming the western side of the inclosure surrounding the rock and castle of Chapultepec, and 1,100 yards from the castle, which is a mile and a half from the city wall. Scott's purpose was to enter the city on the south, and he considered the castle of slight importance. He supposed that the battle Molino del Rey of Molino would be a small affair. Worth anticipated a desperate struggle, and took up his position in the dark on the morning of the 8th. At 3 a.m. he opened fire with his twenty-four pounders, and his storming party advanced toward the point where the enemy's batteries had been, but their position had been changed, and they suddenly opened fire on the flank of his 500. After various contests, the fighting became a struggle for the possession of the Molino. A desperate and deadly fight took place. The southern gate gave way and the Americans passed in. The fight was renewed with bayonet and sword, and Worth lost a large[Pg 1031] number of the flower of his forces. At last the Mexicans, all but 700, retreated to Chapultepec. On the left the Americans were received with a murderous fire, which was long continued. Their whole artillery was then concentrated upon the Casa Mata and its works, which, after a desperate defence, were abandoned. Except as an outpost to Chapultepec, the position had no value. By Scott's order Worth withdrew his command, and left to the enemy the field which had been so dearly won. Of 3,500 Americans in the fight, 787 had fallen, including 59 officers.

The Rock of Chapultepec rises 150 feet, and is crowned by the great castle. Chapultepec The northern side was inaccessible; the eastern and southern sides nearly so, and the southwestern and western could be scaled. A zigzag road on the southern side was swept by a battery at an angle. The crest was strongly fortified; ditches and strong walls and a redoubt were constructed at various points. The garrison numbered 2,000, and thirteen long guns were mounted. A select party under Captain Joseph Hooker seized the Molino, and at night Pellow threw his whole force into it. Two forces made a desperate assault on the intrenchments in front, united and passed the Mexicans and mounted the western slope. A party passed around the western front, which they scaled, and gained the parapet. Their comrades on the western side climbed the southern slope at the same time and joined the two. The whole castle was occupied. The Mexicans were dislodged and many prisoners were taken.[Pg 1032]

The approach to the capital was difficult. It was by two roads, each along a stone aqueduct. On the Belen road the Mexicans were gradually pressed back, however, and the Americans entered the first work, where they were confronted by the citadel commanded by Santa Anna. A terrible fire rendered further advance impossible. On the San Cosme road the enemy was pursued to a second barricade, which was carried under Lieutenant U.S. Grant and Lieutenant Gire. Worth's columns pushed on. Having passed the arches, they began breaking their way through the walls of the houses. Howitzers were hauled to the roofs, and at last the main gate was carried. During the night a delegation proposed a capitulation. Scott refused to grant terms. Fall of City of Mexico At dawn Quitman advanced to the grand palace and occupied the Plaza, and an hour later Scott took up his headquarters there. Presently some 2,000 liberated convicts and others began casting paving stones on the soldiers, and it became necessary to sweep the streets with grape and canister. By the 15th Scott was in full possession of the City of Mexico.

On the morning of September 14, Generals Quitman and Worth raised the American flag over the national palace, and Scott soon afterward reined up at the Grand Plaza, where he removed his hat, and, raising his hand, proclaimed the conquest of Mexico. Santa Anna's men afterward treacherously attacked the hospital at Puebla, where were 2,000 Americans, sick and Flight of Santa Anna wounded. They bravely resisted and were presently rescued; the Mexicans [Pg 1033] being routed by General Lane. Santa Anna, again a fugitive, fled for safety to the shores of the Gulf.

Among the officers who distinguished themselves were many who gained a Many reputations made lasting reputation fifteen years later, during the American civil war; for instance, Jefferson Davis, Grant, Lee, McClellan, Beauregard, Sherman, Hill, Jackson, Hooker, Longstreet, Buell, Johnston, Lyon, Kearney, Reynolds, French, Ewell and Sumner.

Late in the year simultaneous risings against the Bourbon government of Naples and Sicily occurred in Calabria and at Messina. In the north a conspiracy against further government by Austria assumed the proportions of a national movement. In France the popular clamor for reforms grew to threatening proportions. Prime Minister Guizot declined to enter into any of the radical schemes for reform. In the Chambers, Guizot declared: "The Premonitions of trouble in France maintenance of the union of the Conservative party, of its policy and power, will be the fixed idea of the rule of conduct in the Cabinet." Late in December the Chambers met but promised no reforms. Defeated in this, the opposition determined to voice its protests at a political banquet in Paris similar to those that had been held at Strasburg, Lille, Lyons, Rouen, and other cities. The government forbade the banquet. It was postponed until the nest year. Popular passions for the moment were appeased by Abd-el-Kader's final surrender to General Lamorcière in Algeria, and the reported end of the troublesome war with the Arabs.

1848

[Pg 1034] THE long seething discontent of the lower classes in Italy, fomented by the national aspirations of such radical leaders as Mazzini and Manin, had reached its culmination by this time. The centenary of the expulsion of the Austrians from Genoa had just been celebrated with such enthusiasm throughout central Italy that Austria was forewarned of the storm that was Revolution in Palermo about to burst. Metternich wrote to Apponyi, "The world is very sick. The general condition of Europe is dangerous." Communications passed between the patriots in northern Italy and the opponents of the Bourbon government in Sicily. On January 12, the people of Palermo rose in revolt. The government troops were driven from the city. Palermo was bombarded and fighting continued for a full fortnight. In the end the insurgents were victorious, and a provisional government was established. Other towns in Sicily followed suit. On January 27, revolutionary riots broke out in Naples. Threatened by revolution throughout his dominions, King Ferdinand Neapolitan constitution granted II. of Naples and Sicily, like his grandfather, made haste to proclaim a popular constitution. A Liberal Ministry was called in on January 29. The city of Messina was still in full insurrection when[Pg 1035] the standard of revolt was raised in northern Italy. In order to deprive the Austrian Government of one of its chief financial supports, the patriotic societies of Italy Anti-Austrian riots at Milan formed a resolution to abstain from the use of tobacco, on which the government had a monopoly. On the following Sunday, Austrian officers, smoking in the streets of Milan, were attacked by the populace. The troops had to be called to arms, and blood was shed on both sides. Similar outbreaks followed in Padua and elsewhere. Radetzky, the Austrian Northern Italy aflame commander-in-chief, proclaimed martial law. On February 15, the people rose in Tuscany, and compelled their grandduke to proclaim a constitution. In March the insurrectionary movement spread from Lombardy to Piedmont. The republic of Venice was proclaimed. The King of Sardinia declared himself in sympathy with the liberation of Venice from Austrian rule. For a while Pope Pio Nono showed similar leanings. On March 15, the Nationalists of Rome Revolt at Rome declared against the Pope. The National Guards joined in the movement. The Papal troops had to be called out to put down the revolt by force of arms. The hordes of Roman lazzaroni or beggars profited by the confusion to commit hideous crimes. The Pope created a high council and Chamber of Deputies with privileges of limited legislation, the Pope retaining his full veto power on whatever they might decree. But on April 29, after the Jesuits had been expelled from Sardinia, Pio Nono turned his back on these reforms, and returned to the conservative policy of his immediate predecessors in[Pg 1036] Rome bombarded the chair of St. Peter. His definite refusal to declare against Austria provoked another insurrection at Rome. This time the revolt grew to such proportions that the city had to be subjected to bombardment by artillery.

In the meanwhile a revolution of far more serious proportions had broken Spread of the revolution out at Paris. Successful from the start, the contagion of its example had spread from France to most of the various principalities of Germany, to Austria, Bohemia and Hungary, and thence to almost every quarter in Europe. Few other events afford so striking an illustration of the modern cosmopolitan spirit that had arisen in Europe during the first half of the Nineteenth Century. The great revolutions of England, of America and of France, in previous times, affected the rest of humanity only long after their occurrence. The overthrow of Charles X. in 1830 gave rise to more or less abortive revolutions in Belgium, Italy and Poland, as well as some of the smaller German States. But the French February revolution of 1848 Democratic governments spared spread instantly to all the civilized communities of the world, except Switzerland, Great Britain, and the United States of North America. The exemption of these three countries, where alone true democratic forms of government prevailed, was in itself a revelation of the general discontent of European peoples. Other explanations in plenty have been given, every one of which contained its measure of truth. To Polish refugees the upheavals of this year have been in part attributed. The rise of the new national spirit in literature was revealed in[Pg 1037] Italy and Germany as well as among the Magyars, Slavs and Greeks. The apparently epidemic character of the movement found another explanation in the improved means of transit and communication, and the great development of the public press.

In the countries untouched by revolution internal progress kept pace with the continued spread of civilization. In Switzerland, the expulsion of the Jesuits resulted in the attempted secession of the seven Catholic cantons. Changes in Switzerland This was frustrated by General Dufour's prompt occupation of Freibourg and Luzerne. The so-called Sonderbund of the seceding cantons was dissolved. In place of the former union of sovereign cantons, the Swiss republic was now reconstituted after the model of the United States of North America, as a union of States with a central federal government at Berne. The Swiss army, postal system and finances were put under federal control and a national coinage was established. The separate interest of the cantons found representation in the Stænderat, while the Swiss people at large were represented in the Nationalrath, the members of which were elected from districts apportioned among the cantons according to equal numbers of population.

The people of England, though the stirring events on the Continent were England unaffected brought home to them by so many eminent refugees seeking shelter in their land, held the issues at stake too well settled by their own great revolution of 1649 to find a sufficient incentive for another such movement. The popularity of the young Queen doubtless contributed its share to[Pg 1038] the stability of the government. The renewed demonstrations of the Chartists in London were merely co-incident with the revolutionary demonstrations abroad. Still the influence of contemporaneous events in Insurrection in Tipperary Europe was strong enough to frighten Parliament into passing an act which made the utterance of seditious speeches a felony. A popular insurrection in Tipperary, Ireland, was made the pretext for once more suspending the habeas corpus act in Ireland. By the end of July the revolt was put down. Its leaders, John Mitchell, O'Brien and others were apprehended and tried in court for high treason. They were sentenced to death, but the Queen mitigated their sentences to transportation. A calming effect on Ireland Queen Victoria in Ireland was produced by the personal visit of the young Queen and her royal consort to Ireland. When she held her court at Dublin in midsummer, the most poignant causes for discontent were lost sight of amid wild demonstrations of apparently universal loyalty. A constitution on home rule principles was proclaimed in West Australia. In South Africa, Sir Harry Smith, the Orange River territory annexed to England Governor of Cape Colony, after his successful termination of a fourth war with the Kaffirs, proclaimed the authority of Great Britain over the Orange River territory. The Boer settlers there under the leadership of Pretorius found themselves unable to maintain their independence. The adjoining lands of the Basutos were declared under British protectorate.

Early in the year, Lord Dalhousie had relieved Lord Hardinge as Governor-General of India. Up[Pg 1039] to that time the British occupation of the Punjab had continued without material change. Now a new fiscal system was to be introduced there to settle up the arrears of Viceroy Mulraj of Multan. In April, Vance Agnew, a British commissioner, with a military escort of three hundred men, arrived at Multan to occupy the citadel as Massacre of Multan surety for these arrears. The British officers were admitted to the city, but as they emerged from the citadel they were attacked, and all the Englishmen were massacred. Mulraj called upon the Sikhs to rise against the English. A force of seven thousand British troops were sent against Multan. When they reached the city all the native troops turned against them. The Punjab up in arms whole of the Punjab revolted and a holy war was proclaimed against England. Lord Dalhousie rose to the occasion. As he left Bengal to go to the front he delivered a characteristic speech containing the historic declaration: "Unwarned by precedent, uninfluenced by example, the Sikh nation have called for war. On my word, sirs, they shall have it with vengeance!" The Sikhs and Afghans join revolt Sikh garrisons of Peshawar joined in the revolt, which was quickly taken up by the Afghans. George Lawrence, the British Resident there, was carried off as a prisoner. In the fort of Attock, Captain Herbert held out for a while, but in the end was forced to succumb. The first general engagement between Lord Gough and Sagr Singh at Ramluggar, late in the year, resulted in a drawn battle. On both sides reinforcements were hurried up wherewith to wage the coming year's campaign.[Pg 1040]

From England, during this time, two more expeditions had been sent out in search of Sir John Franklin. The first of these was commanded by Sir James More Arctic expeditions Ross, the famous Antarctic explorer. The second expedition, while discovering no trace of Franklin, claimed that it had discovered the long sought for Northwest Passage. The science of astronomy lost one of its most distinguished representatives in England by the death of Caroline Herschel, the sister of the famous discoverer of Uranus. Besides her the necrology of the year in England included the two authors, Isaac d'Israeli, the father of Lord Beaconsfield, and Captain Frederick Marryat, the romancer of the Death of George Stephenson sea; Lord Alexander Ashburton, the framer of the Canadian boundary treaty that commemorates his name, and George Stephenson, the inventor of the first practicable locomotive. Stephenson began life as a pit-engine boy at twopence a day near Newcastle-on-Tyne. Having risen to the grade of engineman, he was employed in the collieries of Lord Ravensworth improving the wagon way and railway planes under ground. In 1814 he completed a locomotive steam-engine, which was successfully tried on the Killingworth Railway. The locomotive "Rocket," constructed by Stephenson and his son Robert, which won the premium of five hundred pounds in 1829, offered by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company, ushered in the greatest mechanical revolution since the invention of the steam-engine by Watt. After this Stephenson became a locomotive builder on a large scale and[Pg 1041] Stephenson's career acquired enormous wealth. Another invention standing to the credit of Stephenson was one of the earliest safety lamps, but a committee which investigated the subject accorded to Sir Humphry Davy the priority of this invention. During this year Sir Austin Henry Layard published the results of his original researches of Nineveh and its remains. Macaulay printed the first two volumes of his "History of England," while Matthew Arnold brought out his "Strayed Reveller" and other poems. Elizabeth Gaskell published "Mary Barton."

Of the various expeditions undertaken in search of Sir John Franklin, the most noteworthy perhaps was Dr. John Rae's overland journey through the northwestern territory of America from the Mackenzie to the Copper Mine River. This opened up a vast tract of country to adventurous Canadians. Another lasting benefit was conferred upon Upper Canada by the reorganization of the public school system of Ontario.

On the part of the United States the war with Mexico was brought to a Peace with Mexico close. The President of the Mexican Congress assumed provisional authority, and, on February 2, that body at Guadaloupe Hidalgo concluded peace with the United States. With slight amendments the treaty was ratified by the United States Senate on March 10, and by the Mexican Congress at Queratero Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo on the 30th of May. President Polk, on July 4 following, finally proclaimed peace. The Americans under the terms of the treaty evacuated Mexico within[Pg 1042] three months, paid Mexico $3,000,000 immediately, and $12,000,000 in three annual instalments, and assumed debts of $3,500,000 due from Mexico to American citizens. These payments were made in consideration of new American expansion accessions of territory which gave to the United States not only Texas, but Arizona, New Mexico and California. The war had cost the United States approximately $25,000,000 and 25,000 men.

While these negotiations were under way, Colonel Sutter had begun the erection of a mill at Colonna on the American branch of the Sacramento River. In January one Marshall, who was engaged in digging a race-way for Gold found in California the mill for Colonel Sutter, found a metal which he had not seen before, and, on testing it in the fire, found that it was gold. The "finds" were sent to Sacramento and tested, with the result that they were declared to be pure gold. The mint at Philadelphia also declared the metal to be gold, and the President referred to the fact in his annual message to Congress.

Then the gold seekers poured into California. They arrived in multitudes from all parts of America and other countries—thousands tracking across the plains and mountains with ox-teams and on foot, and other thousands Influx of Gold Seekers crossing the Isthmus with scarcely less difficulty, while around the Horn a steady procession of ships passed up the coast of South America and Mexico to the new El Dorado. In two years the population of California increased 100,000, and still the hordes of gold seekers came.[Pg 1043]

Wisconsin, the thirtieth State, was admitted May 29. It had been one of the first districts to receive the visits of the fur traders and the French missionaries, who went thither in 1639.

John Quincy Adams was overtaken by death in the midst of his career. On Death of John Quincy Adams February 21 he entered the House and took his seat. Suddenly he fell to the floor, stricken with apoplexy. As he was carried to the Speaker's room and was laid on a lounge, he feebly murmured: "This is the last of earth. I am content." He died on February 23.

John Quincy Adams's long career is unique in American history. At the age of eleven he accompanied his father on a diplomatic mission to Europe, and early acquired a knowledge of French and German. When barely fourteen he went to St. Petersburg as private secretary to the American Minister, Dana. At sixteen Adams served as one of the secretaries of the American His diplomatic career Plenipotentiaries during the negotiations resulting in the treaty of peace and independence of 1783. At the age of twenty-seven he was appointed Minister to Holland by President Washington, and afterward was Minister to Berlin and Commissioner to Sweden. After serving for some years in the United States Senate he was sent, in 1809, as Minister to Russia, where he remained till 1815. Then he was transferred to London, where he resided till 1817, when he became Secretary of State. His career as President of the United States and his subsequent Congressional life was honorable in the extreme. Yet Adams's biographer, Morse, has aptly said: "Never[Pg 1044] did a Morse on Adams man of pure life and just purposes have fewer friends or more enemies.... If he could ever have gathered even a small personal following, his character and abilities would have insured him a brilliant and prolonged success; but for a man of his calibre and influence, we see him as one of the most lonely and desolate of the great men of history."

During this year James Russell Lowell published his "Bigelow Papers," a James Russell Lowell humorous satire on the Mexican war in Yankee dialect, the "Indian Summer Reverie," and "A Fable for Critics."

On April 8, Gaetano Donizetti—who together with Rossini and Bellini formed Death of Donizetti the brilliant triumvirate of Italian composers in the first half of the Nineteenth Century—died in his native town of Bergamo. Donizetti composed his first opera, "Enrico di Borgogna," in 1819, while serving as a soldier in Venice. Three other operas followed quickly. His fourth, "Zoraide di Granada," was such a success that he was exempted from further military Early operas service in 1822. During the following six years he wrote no less than twenty-three operas, many of which were cheap imitations of Rossini. In 1880, stung by the success of Bellini, he wrote "Anna Bolena," which inaugurated his second more original period, which included "Lucrecia Borgia" and the immensely popular "Lucia di Lammermoor." The prohibition of his opera "Poliecto," while he was serving as a director of the Naples Conservatory, so exasperated Donizetti that he betook himself to Paris in 1838. There he[Pg 1045] brought out the "Daughter of the Regiment" and "La Favorita." After a few years he went to Vienna, where his "Linda di Chamounix," sung in 1842, achieved an immense success. Having returned to Prolific compositions Italy he was stricken with paralysis from overwork in 1845. He never recovered. Besides more than threescore of operas, Donizetti composed seven masses, twelve string quartets, and a host of songs, cantatas and vespers, as well as pianoforte music.

Another figure of world-wide renown was lost by the death of the French Death of Chateaubriand poet François René de Chateaubriand. Born at château Combourg in 1768, the scion of one of the noblest families of France, he received a careful education at château Combourg. Roaming about on the sea-shore and in the famous forest of Brezilien, the youth received his earliest impressions of the grandeurs of nature. Shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolution he was sent to Paris, where he received a commission in the royal army. It was then he published his first poem, "L'Amour de la New world inspirations Campagne," in the Almanach des Muses. Dissatisfied with the revolutionary turn of affairs, he resigned his commission in 1790, and journeyed to North America. There he travelled extensively, seeking poetic inspiration from the wilderness and the primitive customs of the Indians. After the downfall of King Louis XVI. and the French nobility, Chateaubriand hastily returned to France and joined the army of émigrés under Prince Condé. At the siege of Thionville he was wounded and went to England. By[Pg 1046] "Essay on Revolutions"the time Chateaubriand recovered he found himself in abject poverty, and had to spend his days in bed for lack of fuel. In England, he wrote his "Essai sur les Révolutions," in which he compared the recent rising in France to that of the English Commonwealth. On the fall of the Directorate he returned to "Atala" France, and became one of the editors of Fontaine's "Mercure de France." At the opening of the Nineteenth Century he published "Atala," an episode of his epic poem "Les Natchez," treating of the suicide of an Indian virgin, "Réné" who sought death rather than violate a solemn vow of chastity given to her mother. In 1802 appeared the second episode, "Réné," a subjective story treating of the hapless love of a sister for her brother, full of a French form of maladie du monde akin to Goethe's Weltschmerz in the "Sorrows "Genius of Christianity" of Werther." During the same year, Chateaubriand brought out his famous "Genius of Christianity, or the Beauties of the Christian Religion," which achieved an immense success. It won the approbation even of Napoleon, who appointed Chateaubriand to diplomatic posts at Rome and Vallis. The execution of the Duc d'Enghien was so horrifying to Chateaubriand that he forthwith resigned his appointments. After extensive travels through "The Last of the Abencerrages" Greece, Egypt and the Holy Land, Chateaubriand went to Spain, where he found inspiration at the Alhambra to write "Le dernier des Abencerrages." There, too, he wrote his story of "The Martyrs, or the Triumph of the Christian Religion," brought out in Paris in 1809. Less successful was his tragedy "Moses." In[Pg 1047] "The monarchy under the Charter" 1810, Chateaubriand published the famous political pamphlet "La Monarchie selon la Charte," which was made the basis of the subsequent royal constitution of France. On the restoration of the Bourbons he wrote another political pamphlet, directed against Bonaparte, which sent him into exile together with Louis XVIII. during the Hundred Days. On the return of Louis XVIII. he was made a member of State, a peer of France, and member of the French Academy. In 1820 he was sent as ambassador to Berlin and then to London, from where he was recalled into the Cabinet. Crowded The poet's political career out of the Cabinet by Villèle, he became one of the leaders of the opposition. In 1828, he went on another diplomatic mission to Rome. The rest of his life was uneventful. Shortly before his death he brought out his complete works, including his latest "Etudes Historiques." A posthumous work was his "Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe," containing the famous comparison between the characters of George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte.

In the French Chambers, early in February, a great debate had been held on the Reform Bill. Guizot, the Prime Minister, held firm in his opposition to Paris reform banquet all the proposed reforms. It was now proposed to hold the reform banquet, that had repeatedly been prohibited and postponed, on February 22. The banquet was once more interdicted, and it was announced that any unlawful assemblage would be dispersed by force. Thereupon the banquet was abandoned. The evening papers de[Pg 1048]clared that the deputies of the opposition had agreed to abstain from the proposed manifestation. A manifesto Ministry impeached published by the "Journal National" was the cause of a noisy demonstration in the streets of the 12th Arrondissement. The National Guards were called out. On the same day fifty-two deputies of the Left laid before the Chambers a bill of impeachment against the Ministry. The King and his advisers were in a state of blind security.

On the morning of the eventful 22d of February, the Parisian populace congregated by thousands near the Madeleine and the Rue Royale, shouting Street demonstrations "Vive la réforme; à bas les ministres!" and singing the "Marseillaise." No troops made their appearance; but encounters occurred at several points between the mob and the municipal guards. Still the day passed over without serious hostilities. On the next day, the National Guards of Paris were called out. Their cry, as they marched through the different quarters of the city, was "Vive la réforme!" This emboldened the leaders of the revolutionists. The members of the secret societies flew to arms; and in the skirmishes which followed between the populace and the regular troops, National Guard disaffected the National Guard everywhere interfered in favor of the former. Thus confronted, officers and soldiers hesitated to commit a general assault upon their fellow citizens. They allowed themselves to be reduced to inaction. The insurrection thus triumphed almost without actual strife.

The King at length became acquainted with the true situation. In the afternoon of the 23d, Guizot[Pg 1049] Fall of Guizot's Ministry tendered his resignation, which was promptly accepted, and published as an act of satisfaction on the part of the King to the demands of the people. Count Molé was charged with the formation of a new Ministry. It was now generally expected that tranquillity would be at once restored. But late at night the detachment of troops posted at the Office of Foreign Affairs was attacked by a band of rioters. The commanding officer ordered them to fire, and several persons in the crowd were shot Barricades erected down. Their dead bodies were paraded through the city. This spectacle raised the indignation of the multitude to the highest pitch. Fresh barricades were erected in all the most populous quarters of the city, and the soldiers, stupefied and panic-struck, renounced all further opposition to the revolt. The King now named Marshal Bugeaud to the supreme command of the whole military force at Paris. Molé having declined the task of constructing a Ministry, the King summoned Thiers to the head of affairs. Thiers' manifesto This statesman, in conjunction with Odillon-Barrot, immediately issued a proclamation announcing their appointment as Ministers, and stating that orders had been given to the troops to withdraw and abandon the contest. This gave the last blow to the monarchy of Louis Philippe. Marshal Bugeaud The last stroke resigned his command. The soldiers quitted their ranks, giving up arms and ammunition to the insurgents. The National Guard openly joined the masses of the people and marched with them upon the Tuileries. The catastrophe was now inevitable. Louis Philippe, feeling that all[Pg 1050] Louis Philippe succumbs was lost, signed an act of abdication in favor of his grandson the Comte de Paris, and withdrew to St. Cloud.

An attempt was made to obtain the recognition of the Duchess of Orleans as regent, and thus to preserve the throne to the heir of Louis Philippe, according to the terms of his abdication. The Duchess went to the Chamber of Deputies, holding by the hand her sons the Comte de Paris and the Duc de Mob invades the Chamber Chartres. They took their seats in front of the tribune. More than one member spoke earnestly in favor of the regency. In the midst of the debate the Chamber was invaded by a tumultuous throng of armed men. One of them was Arnold Böcklin, the Swiss artist, who subsequently rose to highest rank among the painters of the Nineteenth Century. Marie, a violent Republican, ascending the tribune, announced that the first duty of the Legislature was to appoint a strong provisional government capable of re-establishing public confidence and order. Cremieux, Ledru-Rollin and Lamartine in turn insisted on a new government and constitution to be sanctioned by the sovereign people. The proposition was hailed with tumultuous acclamations. The Duchess of Orleans and her children retired precipitately.

The Republicans remained masters of the field. A provisional government was Provisional Government formed forthwith nominated. It included the poet Lamartine, Ledru-Rollin, Garnier-Pagès and Arago. While the mob was searching the Hôtel de Ville these men conferred in a small out-of-the-way chamber behind[Pg 1051] locked doors. Louis Blanc, the great socialistic writer, and one Albert, a locksmith, were added to the provisional government. Every half hour Lamartine had to confront some new crowd of rioters preferring fresh claims. The confusion lasted several days. Throughout this time more barricades were thrown up, Fulsome promises until the government gained a breathing space by a promise to distribute one million francs among the laboring men. Louis Blanc and Ledru-Rollin signed another decree whereby they pledged the government to furnish every Frenchman with work. With the help of National Guardsmen, and an organized body of students, Caussidière, the new police prefect, succeeded at last in keeping the mob out of the Hôtel de Ville and the Palais Bourbon. On Proclamation of French Republic February 27, the Republic was formally proclaimed from the Place de la Bastille. The barricades were levelled and the crowds that had surged through the streets of Paris gradually dispersed. Throughout France the Republic was accepted without serious opposition.

For a while it was feared that Louis Philippe's sons in Algiers, the Duke d'Aumale and Prince de Joinville, who commanded the French army and navy, disposing of more than a hundred thousand men, might make a stroke on their father's behalf. This hope of the Royalists was doomed to disappointment. Flight of royal family Both princes resigned their command, to be succeeded by General Cavignac, who took charge of the forces in the name of the French Republic. The other members of the dynasty accomplished their escape from France amid many[Pg 1052] curious adventures. After leaving Paris the party separated so as to avoid suspicion. Louis Philippe and the Queen with a few attendants fled to Honfleur, where they lay for nearly a week in concealment. At length the packet steamer "Express" was placed at their disposal by the British Government. On March 4, Louis Philippe, having assumed the name of William Smith, landed at Newhaven in Sussex. With the Queen he proceeded to Claremont, a country-seat belonging to his son-in-law, King Leopold of Belgium. The Duke of Montpensier with the Duchess of Nemours fled to Belgium, as did the Duchess of Orleans.

The French Revolution gave quickening impulse to the Chartist movement in English Chartists encouraged England. Feargus O'Connor had been returned at the General Election of 1847 as member for Nottingham. He threw himself into a renewal of the agitation with all the strength and vigor of a madman. A National Convention was summoned, and it was determined that another monster petition should be carried to the House of Commons, to be followed by a procession of half a Inflammatory speeches million persons. The idea got abroad that a revolution might break out in London on the presentation of the petition. Ernest Jones had exclaimed on Kensington Common, "Never fear the vile men of the law; the police, the troops, sympathize with you. Down with the Ministry! Dissolve the Parliament! The Charter, and no surrender!" At the National Convention, Vernon declared: "If a few hundreds do fall on each side, they will only be the casualties in a mighty movement." On[Pg 1053] April 10 a great demonstration was to be held on Kensington Common. In anticipation, special constables to the number of 170,000 were sworn in to keep the peace; troops were quartered in the houses of the main thoroughfares; two thousand stands of arms were supplied to the officials of the General Post-Office; the Custom House, Bank, Exchange, and other public buildings were similarly equipped; London ready for revolution the Admiralty was garrisoned by a body of marines, and the Tower guns were mounted. On the eventful morning, London assumed a military guise such as it had never worn before. Traffic was suspended along the streets for fear that the vehicles should be employed, as in France, in the construction of barricades. Finally a proclamation was issued warning people against collecting for disorderly purposes. The military arrangements were in the Rioters discouraged hands of the Duke of Wellington. Owing to these thorough precautions the threatened mass meeting collapsed. The procession was never held. The whole affair was covered with ridicule. The "monster petition" was found to contain not six million signatures as was alleged, but only 1,975,469, and many of these proved to be fictitious, whole sheets being found to be in the same handwriting, and containing such names as Victoria Rex, Prince Albert, Punch, and so forth.

In the words of a contemporary, "Chartism had received its death-blow. Collapse of Chartism O'Brien, Vincent, and others endeavored to revive it, but in vain. Its members fell off in disappointment and allied themselves with reformers of greater moderation,[Pg 1054] and Feargus O'Connor, who for ten years had madly spent his force and energy in carrying forward the movement, gave it up in despair. Everything he had touched had proved a failure. From being an End of Feargus O'Connor object of terror, Chartism had become an object of ridicule. O'Connor took the matter so much to heart that he soon became an inmate of a lunatic asylum, and never recovered his reason."

All Italy now, from the southern shores of Sicily to the Alps, was in a blaze of insurrection. Venice, Piedmont and Lombardy were in arms. Charles Albert, the King of Sardinia, put himself at the head of the movement in Progress of Italian Revolution northern Italy. From all parts of Italy volunteers crowded to his banners. In defiance of the Pope's orders a compact body of these volunteers marched from Rome. Radetzky, the Austrian commander, a veteran of all the Austrian wars since the outbreak of the French Revolution, had long prepared for this struggle by formidable fortifications at Verona. When Milan revolted Austrians driven northward and the Austrian Vice-Governor, O'Donnell, was captured, Radetzky evacuated the city at the approach of Charles Albert's army from Piedmont. His outlying garrison was cut off by the Italians. Preferring the loss of Milan to a possible annihilation of the army, Radetzky fell back upon Verona. On the banks of the Adige, about twenty-five miles east of the Mincio, he rapidly concentrated all available forces, while the Italians threw up intrenchments on the Mincio. There, with the armies of Piedmont and Lombardy in front of him and the revolutionary forces of Venice behind him, Radetzky seeks refuge Radet[Pg 1055]zky stubbornly held his ground. Nothing remained to Austria on Italian ground but Verona and the neighboring fortresses on the Adige and Mincio.

The Austrian Empire itself, by this time, was shaken to its foundations. When the news of the February Revolution in Paris reached Austria the Magyar Diet was in session in Hungary. The success of the revolutionists in Kossuth's appeal France inflamed the Liberal leaders in Hungary. Casting aside all reserve, Kossuth declared in the Diet: "From the charnel house of the Viennese system a poison-laden atmosphere steals over us. It would paralyze our nerves and pin us down when we might soar. The future of Hungary can never be secured while Austria maintains a system of government in direct antagonism to every constitutional principle. Our task is to found a happier future on the brotherhood of all the races in Austria. For a union Magyar Constitution proclaimed enforced by bayonets and police spies let us substitute the enduring bond of a free constitution!" On March 3, the Hungarian Lower House triumphantly passed a resolution to that effect. The cry for a liberal constitution was instantly taken up in the other dominions of Austria. It so happened that the Provincial Estates of Lower Austria were to meet about this time. It was planned that an address embodying demands similar to those of Hungary should be forwarded to the Emperor by this assembly. The political agitation in Vienna became feverish. The students indulged in noisy demonstrations. Rumors of the impending repudiation of the paper currency Stocks fall in Vienna and of State bank[Pg 1056]ruptcy made matters worse. A sharp decline in stocks showed Metternich that a public catastrophe was near at hand.

On March 13, the Provincial Diet met. Dense crowds surged about the Diet Hall. The students marched around in procession. Street orators harangued the crowds. The tumult was at its height when a slip of paper was let down Viennese Diet stormed from one of the windows of the hall, stating that the Diet was inclining to half measures. An announcement to this effect was received with a roar of fury. The mob overran the guards and burst into the Diet Hall. All debate was stopped, and the leading members of the Estates were forced to head a deputation to the Emperor's palace to exact a hearing. All the approaches to the palace were choked with people. Street fighting had already begun. Detachments of soldiers were hurried to the palace and to the Diet Hall. From the roof and windows of the Diet Hall missiles were hurled upon the soldiery. The interior of the Hall was demolished. The soldiers now fired a Fighting in the street volley and cleared the Hall with their bayonets. Blood flowed freely and many were killed. The sound of the shots was received by the crowds around the palace with howls of rage. The whole city was in an uproar. Barricades were thrown up and the gunsmith shops were sacked. At the palace, where the Emperor himself remained invisible, Metternich and his assembled Council received the deputation in state. The Council urged the aged Prime Minister to grant the demanded concession. At length he withdrew into an Imperial palace invaded ad[Pg 1057]joining chamber to draft an order annulling the censorship of the press. While he was thus engaged the cry was raised, "Down with Metternich!" The deputies in the Council Chamber peremptorily demanded his dismissal. When the old statesman returned he found himself abandoned even by his colleagues. Downfall of Metternich Metternich realized that the end had come. He made a brief farewell speech, marked by all the dignity and self-possession of his greatest days, and left the Council Chamber to announce his resignation to the Emperor.

The news of Metternich's downfall was received with deafening cheers. His personality was so closely identified with all that was most hateful in Quiet restored Austrian politics that the mere announcement of his resignation sufficed to quell the popular tumult. On the night of March 14, Metternich contrived to escape from Vienna unobserved, and fled across the frontier. On the same day a National Guard was established in Vienna, and was supplied with arms taken from the government arsenal. The Viennese outbreak gave irresistible force to the national movement in Hungary. Now the Chamber of Magnates, which had hitherto opposed the demands of the Lower House, adopted the same by a unanimous vote. On March 15, a deputation was despatched to Vienna to Hungarian demands demand from the Emperor not only a liberal constitution, but a separate Ministry, absolute freedom of the press, trial by jury, equality of religion, and a free public-school system. The Hungarians, with[Pg 1058] Kossuth in the lead, were received in triumph in Vienna. They paraded through the streets, and were greeted by Emperor Ferdinand in person. He consented to Kossuth in Vienna everything and issued an imperial rescript, promising a liberal constitution to the rest of Austria as well. The light-hearted Viennese indulged in indescribable jubilations. On March 18, the Emperor drove through the city. Somebody put a revolutionary banner into his hands. The black, red and gold ensign of united Germany was hoisted over the tower of Demonstrations of enthusiasm St. Stephen. In an intoxication of joy the people took the horses from the imperial carriage and drew it triumphantly through the streets. The regular troops around the imperial palace were superseded by the new National Guards.

By this time the same storm of revolution was sweeping over Germany. Germany in a ferment Popular demonstrations occurred at Mannheim, Cassel, Breslau, Kœnigsberg and along the Rhine region in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Aix-la-Chapelle. A popular convention at Heidelberg, on March 5, had resolved upon a national assembly to be held at Frankfort-on-the-Main by the end of March. Elections for this assembly were being held throughout Germany. The long-desired union of Germany was at last to be accomplished. On March 14, King Prussian Assembly convoked Frederick William of Prussia convoked the Prussian Assembly for April 27, to deliberate upon Prussia's part in the proposed German union. Then came the news of the events in Vienna. Crowds gathered in the streets excitedly discussing the events of the day.[Pg 1059] Attempts on the part of the police to disperse them led to threatening encounters. Under the stress of alarming King of Prussia cowed bulletins from Vienna, the King issued a rescript on March 18, in which he not only convoked the Prussian Assembly for the earlier date of April 2, but himself proposed such reforms as constitutional government, liberty of speech, liberty of the press, and the reconstitution of the Germanic Federation as a national union of states—a realization in brief of all the most ardent ideals of the German Liberals. Now the popular agitators proposed a monster demonstration to thank the King for his concessions. Shortly after noon, on March 18, the processions converged upon the palace. Immense crowds filled the streets. The appearance of the King upon the balcony was greeted with cheers. King Frederick William tried to speak but could not make himself heard. The troops set out to clear the palace grounds. Angry shouts arose for the withdrawal of the soldiery. In the Revolt in Berlin confusion two shots were fired. A panic ensued: "We are betrayed," cried the leaders, and called the people to arms. The troops of the garrison charged into the rioters. Barricades were thrown up, and here and there church bells rang the tocsin. From three in the afternoon until early the next morning, fighting continued in the streets. The entire garrison of Prince William's part Berlin was called out and with the help of the bright moonlight succeeded in clearing one street after another. Prince William, the future German Emperor, gained unenviable notoriety by his zeal. At two[Pg 1060] in the morning the King gave orders to stop firing. He issued a proclamation: "To my dear people of Berlin," the mild tone of which only betrayed his weakness. On the following day all the troops were withdrawn and ordered out of the city. Prince William likewise left Berlin in deep chagrin and departed for England. His palace had to be protected from the fury of the people by placards pronouncing it the property of the nation. Once more the rioters appeared before the royal palace with the bodies of some of their slain. The King convoked a new Ministry and consented to substitute armed citizens and students for his royal guards. A general amnesty was proclaimed. On March 21, the King agreed to adopt "the sacred colors of the German Empire" King of Prussia submissive for those of Prussia. After the manner of the weak Emperor of Austria, he rode through the streets of Berlin wearing a tricolor sash. Not satisfied with this, the revolutionists, on March 22, paraded before the palace with the open biers of 187 men that had been killed during the riots. Standing on his balcony with bared head, King Frederick William reviewed the ghastly procession. In a manifesto published at the close of the day he declared: "Germany is in ferment within and exposed from without to danger from more than one side. Deliverance from this danger can come only from the most Royal promises intimate union of the German princes and people under a single leadership. I take this leadership upon me for the hour of peril. I have to-day assumed the old German colors, and placed myself and my people under the[Pg 1061] venerable banner of the German Empire. Prussia is henceforth merged into Germany." Thus Frederick William, by word and acts, which he afterward described as a comedy, directly encouraged the imperial aspirations of liberal Germany. The passage of his address in which he spoke of external dangers threatening Germany came true sooner than was expected. King Christian VIII. of Denmark had died early in the year. The fear of revolution at Copenhagen drove his son Frederick VII., the last of the Oldenburg line, to prick the war bubble blown by his father. On March 22, he called the leaders of the Eider-Dane party—the party which regarded the Eider as the boundary of the Danish dominions, thus converting Schleswig into a Danish Rising of Schleswig-Holstein province—to take the reins of government. The people of Schleswig and Holstein protested. The King was checkmated at Kiel by the appointment of a provisional government. The troops joined the people, and the insurrection spread over the whole province. The struggle then began. Volunteers from all parts of Germany rushed to the northern frontier. The German Bundestag admitted a representative of the threatened Duchies, and intrusted Prussia with their defence. An attempt was made to organize a German fleet. General Wrangel was placed in command of the Prussian forces despatched toward Reverse at Bau Denmark. Before he could arrive, the untrained volunteer army of Schleswig-Holsteiners suffered defeat at Bau. A corps of students from the University of Kiel was all but annihilated.[Pg 1062]

An attempted rising of the Poles, in the Prussian province of Posen and at Cracow, was quickly suppressed. As soon as the news of the revolution in Paris reached Russia, the absolute ruler of that vast empire mobilized his armies, "so that, if circumstances should demand it, the tide of Anarchy Russia stems revolution could be dammed." After the abortive revolt at Cracow, Czar Nicholas issued an imperial manifesto, closing with a quotation from Isaiah: "Listen, ye heathen, and submit, for with us is God." When the spirit of revolt spread to Moldavia and Wallachia, Emperor Nicholas without further ado despatched a Russian army corps across the Pruth. The Sultan of Turkey was prevailed upon to do the same. Russian and Turkish troops occupied Jassy and Bucharest during the summer.

The German preliminary Parliament of five hundred delegates had met at Frankfort Vor-Parlament Frankfort in April. It lasted but five days. The Republicans found themselves outnumbered, when they submitted their scheme for a national constitution. Repulsed in this, the Liberals proposed that they should continue in session until the real National Parliament should meet, thus extending their function beyond the limits of a mere constituent assembly. Outvoted in this, the leaders of the extreme Republicans resorted to armed revolt. Assisted by Polish refugees and men from France, they raised the Revolution in Baden red flag in Baden. Friedrich Hecker, a popular orator and representative of Baden, headed the movement. George Herwegh, the poet, took charge of the refugees from Switzerland and a group of German oper[Pg 1063]atives recently returned from France. A provisional government was declared in the lake district of Baden. The Parliamentary majority of Frankfort, on breaking up, left behind a committee of fifty to prepare the draft of a constitution. The Bundestag meeting at the same time called for military measures against the insurgents. From three sides troops advanced into Baden. A Bavarian detachment marched from Lindau, Swabian troops came from the Black Forest, while from the north Hessian forces were led by General von Gagern, a General Gagern shot brother of the new Prime Minister of Hesse. On April 19, Von Gagern encountered the revolutionists under Hecker at Kandern. While haranguing the insurgents, he was shot from his horse. The troops charged the insurgents with the bayonet and dispersed them in less than an hour. Four days later the revolutionary intrenchments at Freiburg were stormed. On the 27th, Herwegh's corps of 1,000 refugees was dispersed by General Miller. Hecker fled to America. The other leaders likewise made good their escape. Flight of rebels On April 29 they issued a manifesto at Strasburg: "An overwhelming number of imported bestial mercenaries have crushed Republican aspirations in Baden, and have once more subjected the people to the hateful tyranny of princes."

The unexpected outbreak of revolution in Vienna and Hungary had inspired the Italians to rebel against Austrian rule with new confidence. On March 30, Pio Nono at Rome issued a proclamation to the people of Italy, in which he said: "The[Pg 1064] events which have followed one another with such astounding rapidity during the last two months are not the work of man. Woe to him The cause of Italy who, in this storm that shatters cedars as well as oaks, hears not the voice of the Lord." Under the command of General Durando, a band of Crociati, or crusaders, marched from Rome against the Austrians. Count Balbo was placed in command of the Piedmontese army. To the remonstrances of the British Ambassador at Turin, King Charles Albert replied that he must either march against Austria or lose his crown. England, indeed, was emphatic in its disapproval of the Italian national movement. In the pages of the "Edinburgh Review," Sir Archibald Allison, the court historian, wrote: "It is utterly repugnant to the first principles of English policy, and to every page in English history, to lend encouragement to the separation of nationalities from other empires." The new republican Other Powers hostile government in France, on its part, had no desire to see a strong Italian national State spring up on its southern frontier. Lamartine, the French Foreign Minister, declined Charles Albert's request to sanction his military occupation of Lombardy. A strong French army of observation was concentrated on the Italian frontier in the Alps. Germany, which in later years was destined to become the strongest ally of Italy, was still so bound up with Austria that when Arnold Ruge in the Frankfort Parliament dared to express a wish for the victory of Italian arms against Austria, a great storm of indignation broke out in Germany. As a last[Pg 1065] resort, Charles Albert, on April 6, proposed an offensive and defensive alliance to Switzerland, but the little republic wisely declined to emerge from its Italy isolated traditional neutrality. It was then that the Italians raised the defiant cry: "Italia fara de se" (Italy will fight her own battles). When the hard beset Austrian Government, in a confidential communication of Minister Wessendberg to Count Casati, showed itself inclined to yield Lombardy upon payment of Lombardy's share in the Austrian national debt, the proposition was curtly declined.

It was a fatal move. The course of Italy, as Dante once sang, seemed like that of "a ship without stars in a wild storm." Affairs took a wrong turn in Naples. There a new popular Parliament had just been elected, which was about to meet, when there were some final difficulties between the King and his Liberal Ministers over the exact wording of the oath of allegiance. The Set-back at Naples excitable Neapolitan populace forthwith became unmanageable. The Swiss Guards, who had long been the butt of the people, put down the revolt without mercy. Once more King Ferdinand was master. He hastened to dismiss his Cabinet and dissolved the Parliament before it could come to order. Orders were sent to General Pepe, who had marched to the front in northern Italy with 14,000 men, to return at once. General Pepe, who had already Neapolitan forces recalled reached Bologna and had entered hostilities under Charles Albert's command, declined to obey the orders of his sovereign. His rank and file trooped back to Naples. Only fifteen hundred Neapolitan[Pg 1066] volunteers remained with Pepe at the front. A number of the officers who returned felt their disgrace so keenly that they committed suicide. The Neapolitan fleet, which had already succeeded in raising the Austrian blockade of Venice, was likewise ordered home. A more serious blow to the cause of Italy was Pio Pio Nono's allocution Nono's apparent change of front. On April 29, without previous consultation with his new Ministry, the Pope issued the famous "Allocution," in which he declared that he had despatched his troops northward only for the defence of the Papal dominions, and that it was far from his intentions to join with the other Italian princes and peoples in the war against Austria. The Papal Ministry immediately handed in its resignation. The Municipal Council of Rome called upon the Pope to abstain from interference with his army. General Durando, commanding the Papal troops at the front, had already yielded to their entreaties by crossing the Po. Now he threw in his lot with Charles Albert. Pio Nono sent a confidential messenger to Naples to arrange for an asylum there, in case the people should turn against him at Rome.

Charles Albert on the Mincio lost three precious weeks. His army now Garibaldi numbered nearly one hundred thousand men, only sixty thousand of whom were trained soldiers. About this time he was joined by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who had just returned from the revolutionary battlefields of South America, whither he had been driven an exile from Charles Albert's own dominions. He was received with honor, and was put in charge of a volunteer[Pg 1067] corps which he had raised at Milan. The Austrian commander profited by the delay of his opponents to place his army between the strong fortresses of Verona, Mantua, Legnano and Peschiera, and to draw reinforcements from the Tyrol, Battle of Goito until the situation in Austria itself became so threatening that no further aid could be given him. In truth, the fate of the Austrian empire now rested on the aged shoulders of Radetzky. On April 8, the Sardinian army, in a sharp engagement at Goito, effected the passage of the Mincio. The Austrians lost one thousand men. Siege was now laid to Peschiera. A Tuscan division moved on Mantua, while the bulk of Charles Albert's army cut off Cortatone Verona from the roads to the Tyrol. Radetzky was driven to take the offensive. In a fight at Cortatone he defeated the Tuscans, but within twenty-four hours the Austrian garrison of Peschiera was brought to the point of capitulation. The Italians took two thousand one hundred and fifty Surrender of Peschiera men. On May 6, Charles Albert made an attempt to drive the Austrians out of their positions in front of Verona. Repulsed at Santa Lucia, he was forced to fall back on the Mincio. Under the influence of the peace party, the Austrian Emperor now directed Radetzky to offer an armistice to the Italians. Simultaneously with this, Austrian reinforcements cut their way through to Verona. Radetzky sent Prince Felix Schwarzenberg to Innsbruck to implore the Emperor for permission to continue the combat. This was reluctantly given. Fearing another reversal of his orders, Radetzky forthwith[Pg 1068] Radetzky firm threw his army into Venetia. General Durando and his Papal army were shut up in Vicenza, and compelled to capitulate. The capture of Vicenza was followed by that of all the Venetian mainland east of the Adige.

The republic of St. Mark sought shelter under the royal Ægis of Piedmont. Manin, the liberator of Venice, resigned his presidency and went into retirement. Charles Albert now moved on Mantua, leaving half his army at Peschiera and further north. Radetzky instantly threw himself on the weakly Custozza guarded centre of the long Sardinian line. Charles Albert sought too late to rejoin his northern detachments. At Custozza, on July 25, he suffered a signal defeat. While he was thrown back over the Mincio the northern divisions were also overcome. Charles Albert retreated to Milan closely followed by Radetzky. He declared himself unable to hold the city. The Fall of Milan people rose against him. On the night of August 5, he escaped with difficulty, protected by General La Marmora and a few guards. Milan capitulated on the following day. When the Austrians made their triumphant entry, half of the population left their homes to emigrate to Piedmont and Switzerland. On August 9, an armistice was arranged at Vigevano. Venice Truce of Vigevano refused to accept it, and detaching itself once more from Sardinia, restored Manin to power. Garibaldi with his volunteers likewise held aloof and carried the fight into the northern mountains. From there he was eventually dislodged by D'Aspre and crossed the frontier into Switzerland.[Pg 1069]

The picturesque scenes of the revolutionary struggle in Italy have been perpetuated by Denis-Auguste-Marie Raffet, a pupil of Charlot and of Gros, Raffet's battle scenes who had already distinguished himself by his lithographs of the brief Belgian war of 1832, and by his Russian and Oriental sketches made while travelling with Prince Demidov. The motley uniforms of the volunteers of Garibaldi, the Swiss Papal Guards and the Austrian, Piedmontese and French troops, as well as the picturesque costumes of the Italian peasantry, afforded a great scope for Raffet's brush. One of the most characteristic specimens of Raffet's art during this period is his well-known picture of "The Evening of the Battle of Novara."

The success of Radetzky restored a measure of confidence in Austria. The Emperor and his court, who had sought refuge at Innsbruck, consented to return to Vienna. There the promised elections had been held, and an Austrian court returns assembly representing all the provinces of the Empire, excepting Hungary and Italy, had met in the third week of July. With the armies of Radetzky and Windischgrätz within call, the Emperor and his Ministry assumed a bolder front toward the Magyars. The concessions exacted by Hungary in April had raised that kingdom almost to the position of an independent state. Under its separate management of the Hungarian army, Austria found it difficult even to use her Magyar troops at the front in Italy. The Magyars showed the same haughty spirit toward the Austrian Serbs, Slavs and Croatians. After Hun[Pg 1070]gary's successful emancipation in March, the Serbs of southern Hungary demanded from Kossuth the restoration of their own local autonomy. The Magyars insisted on maintaining their ascendency, and decreed that only the Magyar language should be the language of the state. Slavic race feeling was kindled to sudden hatred. The Croatian national committee Jellacic ban of Croatia at Agram, that had assumed charge of affairs after the catastrophe in March, elected Jellacic, the colonel of the first Croatian regiment, Ban of Croatia. The appointment was confirmed at Vienna, even before formal notification had reached the Emperor. On assuming office, Jellacic caused all Magyar officials to be driven out of the country, and broke off all relations with the Hungarian government at Pesth. Batthyany, the Hungarian Premier, hastened to Vienna, and obtained the disavowal of Jellacic. No attention was paid to this at Agram. Now, General Hrabovsky, commanding the Croats and Serbs secede from Magyars troops in the southern provinces, received orders from Pesth to suspend Jellacic from office and bring him to trial for high treason. In the meanwhile the Serbs, meeting in Congress at Carlowitz on the Lower Danube, proclaimed home rule, elected a Voiovode of their own and authorized him to enter into intimate relations with their fellow Slavs in Croatia. This was in the middle of May. Vienna during these same days was in a continual uproar. Early in May a report that the Austrian Ambassador at London had given a formal reception to Prince Metternich upon his arrival in England caused an outbreak of popular wrath in[Pg 1071] Riots in Vienna Vienna. A mob surrounded the house of Count Ficquelmont, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and compelled him to resign his office. Detachments of troops patrolled the streets at night. On May 15, the people revolted against this measure before the Palace, and compelled Minister Pillersdorf to sign an order for the withdrawal of the troops. The Emperor and his family fled to the Tyrol. At Innsbruck, where he was received with great demonstrations of loyalty, the Emperor issued a rescript in which he declined to return to his capital or to open the national assembly until order should be restored. In Croatia, on hearing of Hrabovsky's orders, the Palatine was burned in effigy. Batthyany hastened to Innsbruck to turn this Slavic affront to the crown to account. By Jellacic disavowed assuring to the Emperor the support of Hungary's troops against the Italians, Batthyany obtained the Emperor's signature to an emphatic condemnation of Jellacic and his suspension from office. Jellacic then set out for Innsbruck, accompanied by a large deputation of Croats and Serbs. On the day that he arrived at Innsbruck, Batthyany at Pesth published the text of the Emperor's orders against the Ban. Still Jellacic held his ground. He regained the Emperor's favor by issuing an address to the Croatian soldiers serving in Italy, enjoining them to stand by the colors no matter what reports reached them from home. He was permitted to return to Croatia and to resume his government at Agram. As soon as he reached home, he declared himself the champion of Austrian unity, and assumed Civil War in Hungary dic[Pg 1072]tatorial powers. Civil war broke out in Lower Hungary. General Hrabovsky, when he attempted to occupy Carlowitz, encountered serious opposition. He was attacked with such vehemence, by the Serbs led by Stratimirovic, that he had to beat a retreat. The Hungarian Diet at Pesth called for a levy of 200,000 men to crush the Slavic rebellion. In the face of a letter from the Emperor, condemning the resistance offered to the Hungarian government by the Slavs, Kossuth charged the Austrian Court with instigating the civil war. Evidence was brought forward to show that the Minister of War at Vienna was encouraging Austrian officers to join the insurrection. Such was the situation in Austria at midsummer. A characteristic comment on this apparently sudden disintegration of the Austrian Empire at this time was furnished by Prince Metternich to his fellow refugee, François Pierre Guizot, the fallen Prime Minister of Metternich's comment France. "During the catastrophes of 1848," writes Guizot, in his "Mémoires pour servir a l'Histoire de mon Temps," "meeting Prince Metternich at London one day, I said to him: 'Explain to me the causes of your revolution in Austria. I know why and how things happened in Paris; but in Austria, under your government, I cannot understand.' He replied with a smile of mingled pride and sadness: 'I have sometimes ruled Europe, but Austria never.'"

At Frankfort, during this interval, the national parliament of Germany was convened on May 18. The event was celebrated throughout Germany with The Frankfort Parliament [Pg 1073] the ringing of bells and bonfires at night. In truth, the assembly was such that Germany might well be proud of it. Of the 586 delegates, more than a hundred were university professors and scholars of eminence. Among them were such men as Arndt, the poet, Gervinus and Dahlberg, the historians, with others of like note. A promising unity of ideals seemed to prevail. Heinrich von Gagern, a man of high character and parliamentary experience, was elected chairman by a majority of 305 out of 397 votes. It was his John of Austria elected leader proposal to create a central executive in the person of a Reichsverweser. Archduke John of Austria, one of the most popular of German princes, was elected to this office by an overwhelming majority of 436 votes. The Archduke, who was then presiding over the new Austrian Assembly at Vienna, accepted the honor. By the time the German Bundestag adjourned, on July 13, everything seemed full of promise. The minor German States formally acknowledged the new Reichsverweser. King Frederick William of Prussia invited him, together with many members of the Frankfort Parliament, to the Cologne Cathedral festival on August 14. There the King pledged the Archduke at a public banquet: "May he give us," declared the King, "united Prussia discredited and free German peoples; may he give us united and free sovereigns." A few days later an event occurred which opened the eyes of the Germans to Prussia's real part in the destinies of Germany. This was the armistice of Malmö, concluded on August 26, between Denmark and Prussia. The early German victories at Dannewirk and[Pg 1074] Oversee had borne no fruit. The Danes were masters of the sea, and mercilessly ravaged the German coasts, unprotected by any navy. As King Frederick William remarked, it was like a fight between a hound and a fish. The Danes took innumerable prizes and crippled the commerce of the Hanseatic cities. General Wrangel thereupon exacted a contribution of 2,000,000 thalers in Jutland. For every fisherman's hut that the Danish fleet might injure on the German coast, he Foreign Powers intervene threatened to lay a Danish village in ashes. The foreign Powers objected to such ruthless campaigning. The Scandinavian States intervened on behalf of Denmark. Emperor Nicholas of Russia, who regarded the Schleswig-Holstein movement as an unjustifiable rebellion, came to their support. Lord Palmerston, who had once proposed to end the quarrel by simply cutting the disputed territory in two, according to the preferences of the inhabitants, now threw in the weight of England with the other Powers. Prussia was Truce of Malmö constrained to withdraw her army. According to the provisions of the seven months' truce forced upon Prussia at Malmö in Sweden, all prisoners were to be returned, the Schleswig-Holstein army was to be disbanded, while a temporary government of the duchies was to be administered by representatives of Denmark and Prussia. All Germany was in an uproar. The Frankfort Parliament repudiated the armistice by 238 against 221 votes. The new-formed German Ministry resigned. Prof. Dahlmann, one of the protagonists of the Schleswig-Holstein movement, was commissioned to form a new Minis[Pg 1075]try. Frankfort Parliament powerless His efforts resulted only in failure. The conviction grew that the German Parliament was powerless. Presently the Parliament revoked its own decision, approving the armistice by 258 over 236 votes. After all, it was plain that the most momentous German question of the day had been settled independently of united Germany by Prussia standing alone. In South Germany the revolutionists were once more called to arms.

The new republican government of France had been kept far too busy by the logical consequences of its revolutionary measures to take any active part The French Republic in the international settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein question. The majority of the provisional government were moderate republicans, representing the bourgeoisie, or middle class, rather than the workmen, but associated with them were such radicals as Louis Blanc, Ledru-Rollin and Albert, a locksmith. During the first few days of the installation they undertook to guarantee employment to every citizen. It proved a gigantic National workshops engagement. The mere distribution of idle workmen among the various industries in which they were employed called for a new branch of the administration. The task outgrew all expectations. Within four weeks the number of applicants for government work rose from 140 to 65,000. Under the stimulus of government competition, a series of labor strikes were declared against private factories and establishments. The scheme, as then attempted, grew utterly unmanageable. As Fyffe has said in his chapter on this subject: "If, instead of a group of benevolent theorists, [Pg 1076] the Fyffe's judgment experiment of 1848 had had for its authors a company of millionaires anxious to dispel all hope that mankind might ever rise to a higher order than that of unrestricted competition of man against man, it could not have been conducted under more fatal conditions."

The elections of April 23 gave the moderate element a handsome majority. An Radicals outvoted attempt to change the elections was frustrated by the National Guard. Strengthened by this manifestation of popular approval, Lamartine and his colleagues got rid of their radical associates in the Cabinet. The excluded radicals now planned a new revolution. On May 15, simultaneously with the renewed riots in Vienna, an attempt was made to overthrow the government. On the pretext of presenting a petition on behalf of Poland, a mob invaded Another attempted revolution the Chambers and dissolved the Assembly. A provisional government was installed at the Hôtel de Ville. The government supporters rallied the National Guard. The leaders at the Hôtel de Ville were taken captive. The Palais Bourbon was cleared, and the Deputies were reconvened in their assembly hall. Encouraged by this success, the government resolved to rid itself of the incubus of the national workshops, after a variety of schemes National workshop abolished with this purpose in view had been brought forward in the Assembly. The government cut the Gordian knot by a violent stroke. On June 21, an edict was issued that all beneficiaries of the public workshops between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five must enlist in the army or cease to receive support from the State.[Pg 1077]

At this time more than a hundred thousand destitute men had flocked to the national workshops. They rose as of one accord. The rising of June 23 was Paris up in arms the most formidable yet experienced in Paris. The number of the workmen alone exceeded that of several army corps. The unity of grievances and interests gave them an esprit de corps similar to that of an army. The whole eastern part of Paris was barricaded like a fortified camp. Instead of a mere revolt, the government found itself entering upon a civil war. General Cavaignac, the Minister of War, was placed in supreme command, the executive commission resigning its powers. He summoned all available troops into the capital. Regardless of private interests, Paris was treated as a great battlefield in which the enemy was to be attacked in a mass and dislodged from all his main lines. The barricades were battered down with field and siege artillery. Four days and nights the fight lasted. Whole Archbishop killed houses and blocks in which the insurgents had found a lodgment had to be demolished. On the third day the Archbishop of Paris was struck by a bullet while trying to stop the bloodshed. On both sides the fight was waged with inexcusable savagery. The National Guard, with a few exceptions, fought side by side with the regular troops. The workmen, threatened with the loss End of bloodshed of their subsistence, fought with the courage of despair. At the point of the bayonet they were at last driven into the northeastern quarter of the city. There, plied with grape and canister from every direction, they were brought to the point of surrender.[Pg 1078]

After this hard-won victory, the government did not hesitate to transport without trial the whole mass of prisoners taken alive. A policy of reaction Cavaignac set in. The government workshops and other concessions to socialism were abandoned. General Cavaignac, at the direction of the Assembly, retained his dictatorial powers until a new Constitution could be drafted. It seemed as if Cavaignac was marked to become the permanent ruler of France, but his own rigid republicanism stood in his way. It was at this time that Prince Louis Napoleon once more came into prominence. When he first made his reappearance in Paris he was requested to leave by the Provisional Louis Napoleon Government. Retiring to England, he awaited developments, while his friends and supporters agitated in his behalf. During the supplementary elections he was nominated for the Chambers by four districts at once, and, despite the government's efforts, he obtained a fourfold election. A vote of the Assembly declared the election valid. With unwonted self-command the Prince declined to take his seat, on the ground that it might embarrass the government in its difficult situation. His letter to the president of the Assembly ended with the significant declaration that if duties should be imposed upon him by the will of the people he would know how to fulfil them.

Three months later, in the midst of the debates on the constitution, while Cavaignac was still in power, Louis Napoleon was re-elected to the Assembly—this time by five departments. His hour had come. From this moment he was a recognized aspirant for[Pg 1079] power. The great name of his uncle shed its glory upon him. The new constitution of the Republic provided that France spellbound a President with executive powers should be elected by a direct vote of all citizens. Louis Napoleon at once became a candidate. In an address to the people he declared that he would devote himself without stint to the maintenance of the Republic. In well-worded generalities something was promised to all the classes and parties of France. The other candidates were Cavaignac and Lamartine. Out of seven millions of votes cast in this election, five million went to Louis Napoleon. The mere glamour of an imperial name cast a new spell over France.

In the midst of these stirring events in Paris, Frederick Chopin, the piano Death of Chopin composer, died on October 17. Born at Jelisovaya-Volia in Poland, he received his early musical education at Warsaw. At the age of nine he played a pianoforte concerto with improvisations in public. His first compositions were Polish dances. In his fifteenth year he published a rondo and a fantasie. Having perfected himself as a pianist, he set out on a concert tour through Vienna, Munich, Paris and London. After his first appearance in Vienna, the foremost musical critic there wrote of him: "From the outset Chopin took place in the front rank of masters. The perfect delicacy of his touch, his indescribable mechanical dexterity, the melancholy tints in his style of shading, and the rare clearness of his delivery are in him qualities which bear the stamp of genius. He must be regarded as one of the most remarkable meteors[Pg 1080] The pianist's career blazing on the musical horizon." In Paris he gave a concert at Pleyel's house. His reception was such that he gave up all idea of proceeding further and made Paris his home for life. He was welcomed to the intimacy of men like Liszt, Berlioz, Meyerbeer, Bellini, Balzac and Heine. As one after another of his unique compositions for the piano appeared, he took rank as the foremost composer for that instrument. On the publication of his preludes and new Polish dances, Schumann wrote of Chopin: "He is and ever will be the most daring and proud poetic spirit of the time."

In 1836, Chopin met Madame Dudevant, better known as the celebrated Chopin and Georges Sand novelist Georges Sand. Their attachment was mutual. For her he wrote some of his most inspired pieces. They spent the winter of 1838-39 together on the Island of Majorca, where Georges Sand nursed Chopin through a severe attack of bronchitis. Of this episode, which had its profound effect on Chopin's music, Georges Sand has left an unengaging record in the novel "Lucreticia Floriani," published shortly afterward, and another in her "Histoire de ma Vie." Chopin returned from Majorca broken in health. He was supplanted in Georges Sand's affections by Alfred de Musset. During the season of 1848-49 he gave concerts in London, whence he returned to Paris only to die. He was buried at Père la Chaise, between Bellini and Cherubini's graves.

In Italy, after the armistice between the Austrians and the Piedmontese, matters went from bad to worse. In Sicily, a National Parliament had met [Pg 1081] Sicilian elections and put Ruggiero Settimo at the head of affairs by a unanimous vote. King Ferdinand and the House of Bourbon were declared to have forfeited the crown of Sicily forever. Elections were ordered to call another Prince to the vacant throne. England, interested as ever in Sicilian affairs, impressed upon the Sicilian leaders the urgency of an early settlement. The elections were held in haste. On July 12, at two in the morning, the vote was announced in Parliament. The Duke of Genoa, Albert Amadeus of Savoy, Charles Albert's second son, was elected King. The British and French warships in Sicilian waters fired a royal salute. For Charles Albert this only meant fresh embarrassment. In case of acceptance, he was sure to be King of Sardinia wary involved in war with Naples in the south, as well as with Austria in the north. When the Sicilian deputies submitted their proposition in Piedmont, on August 27, they obtained no definite reply.

Meanwhile King Ferdinand of Naples gathered his forces to win back Sicily. In the north the cause of Italy was on the wane. Francis V. was reinstated as Duke of Modena, with the help of Austrian arms. On his return in August he granted an amnesty, from the benefits of which "only those who had taken part in the revolution" were to be excluded. Austrian troops under Count Thurn likewise occupied the Duchy of Parma, the Duke remaining in Germany. In Tuscany, the Archduke found it difficult to maintain himself at Florence. His principality was overrun by radical refugees. A revolutionary junta at Leghorn threatened to[Pg 1082] proclaim the republic unless the Duke of Venice steadfast Tuscany should appoint a governor in sympathy with their ideas. In his extremity the Duke sent them Montanelli, a political dreamer, who proclaimed Jesus Christ as the father of democracy. At Venice the Republic of St. Mark, under Manin's able leadership, still held its own. Austria's occupation of Ferrara and the Romagna brought new embarrassment to the Pope. Baron Von Welden, the Austrian general, made matters worse in the Romagna by his threatening language: "Woe to those who dare to oppose me!" Formal protests were made in vain by Pope Pio Nono and the diplomatic representatives of France and England. The Papal Ministry of Mamiani Riots at Bologna resigned. The Roman Radicals, under the leadership of Prince Canino, a Bonaparte, clamored for war, and some Austrian officers dared to show themselves in Bologna. They were attacked in the streets and murdered by the mob. Fighting began around Bologna. Too late the Austrians consented to relieve the Pope from this embarrassment by withdrawing their troops from his dominions. The Pope's new Minister, Count Pellegrino Rossi, an Rossi, Papal Minister unusually able and forceful man who had once acted as an envoy for Louis Philippe, was denounced as a Frenchman and an enemy to Italy.

In September, King Ferdinand of Naples, having got rid of his Parliament, launched his forces upon Sicily. General Filangieri, with 12,000 men, was sent against Messina. There the Neapolitan garrison still held the citadel—all that remained to[Pg 1083] Bombardment of Messina Ferdinand of his Sicilian kingdom. Three days before Filangieri landed, the gunners in the citadel began to bombard the helpless town lying beneath them. Half of the city was laid in ruins. The foreign warships in the harbor were filled with refugees. It was this outrage that gave to King Ferdinand the nickname of "King Bomba." The inhabitants remained steadfast. When Filangieri effected his landing, the fight was carried on with ferocity. The fall of the city was followed by barbarous excesses. For three days incendiary fires raged in the hapless town. At last the foreign admirals, Parker and Baudin, put a stop to the horrors, "as against all canons of civilized nations." An armistice was established between the Neapolitans and the Sicilians. King Ferdinand's dogged resistance to the remonstrances of the French and English Ambassadors was strengthened by the latest event in Rome.

On November 15, as the Roman Chambers were about to be opened, Prime Assassination of Rossi Minister Rossi was assassinated as he left his carriage to enter the Chambers. It was the signal for a new revolt. The delegates in the Hall of Chambers sought safety in flight. The National Guards made common cause with the insurgents. A howling mob beset the Quirinal. But for the resolute stand of the Pope's Swiss mercenaries, the palace would have been stormed. As bullets penetrated the walls of the Pope's ante-chamber, Pio Nono exclaimed: "Has Heaven no lightning?" For a while the Pope was practically a prisoner in his palace, while the Prince[Pg 1084] of Panino and Sterbini, the Flight of Pio Nono President of the Circolo Popolare, ruled Rome. At last, on the night of November 24, Pio Nono, in the disguise of a groom, escaped from Rome, seated on the box of the carriage of the Bavarian Ambassador, Count Spaur. He fled to Naples. From the Neapolitan fortress Gaeta he sent a letter to his "dearest son," the Emperor of Austria, imploring his help against the Republic of Rome.

At Frankfort, the ratification of the armistice of Malmö by the German Parliament had aroused the Radicals to fury. On September 17, the day after the second vote on this matter, a mass meeting was called at Frankfort. One delegate, Zitz, proposed the abolition of the Parliament; another, Ludwig Simon, declared the time had come to discuss all further questions from Revolt in Frankfort behind barricades. The Municipal Senate of Frankfort, taking alarm, ordered out the city troops and appealed for help to Prussia. On the morrow fighting began in the streets of Frankfort. Barricades had been erected overnight, and all day long the insurgents held their ground. It was known that a Prussian column was approaching. Prince Lichnovsky and General Von Auerswald, two leaders of the Conservative majority in the Parliament, rashly undertook to meet the Prussian troops halfway. At the gates of Frankfort both men were seized by the insurgents and were lynched by the mob. Shortly before midnight the Prussian troops arrived and soon overran the barricades with their bayonets. On the following day the city was under military rule.[Pg 1085]

In other parts of South Germany revolution had broken out anew. The Prince South Germany restive of Sigmaringen was driven from his little domain, which was proclaimed a republic. Insurgent expeditions were organized in Wurtemberg and Baden. There Karl Blind and Gustav Struve made another attempt on Freiburg. At Staufen, on September 24, they were beaten back by regular troops under General Hoffmann and fled toward Switzerland. Struve himself was captured near the frontier. On the same day the German Cabinet at Frankfort was reinstated. Still the ill success of popular government in Germany brought the Parliament into lasting disrepute.

The reaction was first felt at Berlin. There the return of General Wrangel's troops from Denmark was followed by friction between the soldiers and the democratic agitators in the streets. A resolution was passed in the popular Parliament of Prussia that all officers out of sympathy with Reaction in Berlin democratic government should be encouraged to leave the army. The failure of the Minister of War to act on this suggestion was followed by his downfall. Having succeeded in this, the parliamentary majority next passed a vote to eliminate the words "by the grace of God" from the titles of the King. Toward the end of October a national convention of democrats met at Berlin, and held its sessions amid tumultuous scenes in the streets. In exasperation, the King dissolved the Cabinet that had been forced upon him, Brandenburg Prime Minister and commissioned Count Brandenburg, a natural son of Frederick William II., to form another. It included Major-General von Strotha, Minister of[Pg 1086] War, and Otto von Manteuffel, Minister of the Interior. The Parliament sent a deputation to remonstrate with the King. One of the delegates, Jacoby, as the King terminated the audience, called after him: "Behold the chief misfortune of kings, that they will not listen to the truth!" Immediately after this King Frederick William IV. prorogued the Parliament to the town of Brandenburg. The majority of the delegates declined to adjourn. The Cabinet Ministers, followed by the members that had been outvoted, left the hall. On November 15, the remaining Parliament issued a proclamation to the Prussian Parliament dissolved people to withhold all further payment of taxes. General Wrangel posted his troops throughout Berlin. The Municipal Guards of Berlin were dissolved. An attempt on the part of the Parliament to meet again was easily frustrated. The taxes were collected as before. When the Parliamentary minority came to order at Brandenburg their sessions were dissolved by royal order. On his own initiative, King Frederick William IV. now proclaimed a constitution. The Chambers, provisions for which were contained in this royal constitution, were to meet at Berlin on February 24, 1849. Such was the end of the People's Parliament in Prussia.

About the same time Robert Blum, one of the radical Parliamentarians of Frankfort, was shot in Austria. Together with Froebel, he had been despatched to Vienna by the Parliamentary minority in Frankfort with messages of sympathy for the popular cause in Austria. To offset this, the majority sent two delegates to the Emperor to offer the[Pg 1087] Parliament's good services for mediation with his rebellious subjects. They were coolly received.

All Austria was in a state of civil war. After the example of the Slavs in Servia and Croatia, the Czechs of Bohemia rose at Prague. Austrian-German Slav Congress of Prague authority there collapsed. A National Guard was organized, and a popular Assembly convened. In midsummer a Congress of Slavs from all parts of Austria met at Prague. Popular excitement rose to a threatening pitch. On the day that the Panslavistic Congress broke up, barricades were erected and fighting began in the streets of Prague. The wife of Count Windischgrätz, the military commandant, was killed by a bullet. Windischgrätz, after withdrawing his troops, threatened to bombard the city Bohemian revolt suppressed unless the barricades were removed. This was not done. Windischgrätz then took the city by storm. Military law was proclaimed. This success, like that of Radetzky's arms in Italy, gave new hope to the Austrian Emperor. He pronounced his veto on Hungary's military measures against Croatia. A hundred delegates from the Magyar Diet at Pesth posted to Vienna to exact from the Emperor the fulfilment of his promises to Hungary. On September 9, the Emperor received them at his palace with renewed assurances that he Ferdinand's duplicity would keep his plighted word. A few hours afterward the official "Gazette" published a letter over the Emperor's signature, expressing his full approval of Jellacic's measures in Croatia. This was all Jellacic had been waiting for. On September 11, he crossed the Drave with his Croatians and marched[Pg 1088] upon Pesth. Archduke Stephen, the Hungarian Palatine, took command of the Magyar army and went to the front. At Lake Balaton he requested a Archduke Stephen withdraws conference with Jellacic. The Ban paid no attention to it. Realizing the secret support given to Jellacic by the Crown, Archduke Stephen resigned his command in Hungary. The Emperor now appointed General Lamberg at Vienna to the supreme command over the military forces of Hungary as well as Croatia. At the same time the Austrian Cabinet submitted a memorial suggesting that the laws establishing Hungarian autonomy be declared null Kossuth in power and void. On the publication of this memorial in Pesth, Batthyany's Ministry resigned. Kossuth openly proposed war with Austria. When Lamberg arrived at Pesth, Kossuth prevailed upon the Diet to withhold its ratification of Lamberg's appointment. Should Lamberg attempt to resume his military command Kossuth demanded that he should be outlawed as a traitor. Murder of General Lamberg As General Lamberg crossed the bridge at Budapesth he was recognized by the populace. A cry was raised that he meant to seize the citadel and bombard the town. He was dragged from his carriage and torn to pieces by the mob. His body was dragged through the streets, and finally strung up before one of the government buildings. A few days later, Count Zichy, one of the Magyar magnates, was court-martialled by order of Arthur Goergey, the Count Zichy shot Hungarian Honved leader, for entering into a correspondence with Jellacic, and was shot.

On the receipt of this news, Emperor Ferdinand[Pg 1089] declared the Hungarian Parliament dissolved, and pronounced all its acts null and void. Jellacic Imperial rescript repudiated was appointed representative of Austria in Hungary with command of all the forces. The Magyar Diet repudiated the Emperor's manifesto as a breach of the constitution, and pronounced Jellacic a traitor. Jellacic's forces were checked by the Hungarian army in their advance upon Pesth. General Latour, the Austrian Minister of War, ordered a division of troops at Vienna to go Troops mutiny in Vienna to the support of Jellacic. The Magyar sympathizers at Vienna raised a fearful uproar. As the troops were marching out of the city several battalions were prevailed upon to mutiny. The Hungarian flag was hoisted above the Cathedral of St. Stephen. The National Guard joined the mutiny. Other battalions of the line were driven out of the city. The guards at the arsenal capitulated. Vienna was at the mercy of the insurgents. The Flight of Emperor Emperor, who had sought refuge at Schœnbrunn, left his palace at four on the morning of October 1, and fled to Olmütz.

As soon as the news of these events reached Jellacic he evacuated his threatened positions on the banks of the Raab and marched for Vienna. Jellacic marches on Vienna Windischgrätz, with his garrison, set out from Prague. Revolutionists of all races flocked into Vienna. Among them were the German delegates Froebel and Blum, and the Polish general, Bem. The Hungarians pursued Jellacic no further than their frontier. The regiments expelled from Vienna, under the command of Count Auersperg, joined forces with Jellacic. The insurgents at Vienna manned[Pg 1090] their fortifications as well as they could, and called upon the people throughout Austria to take up arms. Emperor Ferdinand, at Olmütz, offset this by an imperial proclamation to his people in which he guaranteed all peasant rights. Prince Windischgrätz was created a field marshal, with full command over all the forces in the empire, except those under Radetzky in Italy. Windischgrätz took immediate steps to effect a Windischgrätz moves from Bohemia junction with Jellacic by seizing the bridges at Krems and Stein. In vain did the delegates from Frankfort, who now appeared upon the scene, present their offer of intervention. Windischgrätz would not listen to them. On October 23, the Austrian army, 80,000 strong, appeared before Vienna. The defence of the city had been intrusted to Captain Messenhauser, an officer of the regular army, and to General Bem. Robert Blum, the German Parliamentarian, fought in the ranks. While Windischgrätz was wasting his time in parleys, an army of 18,000 Hungarians crossed the frontier and threatened Jellacic's rear. On October 28, twenty-four hours after the time fixed in Windischgrätz's last ultimatum, he began his assault on the city. Assault on Vienna In the course of an all-day fight the troops succeeded in taking the suburbs. The scenes of that night were frightful. The troops bivouacked on the ramparts. The following Sunday was spent in further parleys. Already the terms of capitulation had been settled, when Messenhauser, from the top of the church of St. Stephen, made out the approaching columns of the Hungarians. The news of their arrival was signalled to the city by a column of[Pg 1091] Arrival of Hungarians smoke rising from the top of the tower. All negotiations for surrender were dropped. The Hungarians attacked Jellacic on the banks of the Schwechat, within a few leagues of the capital. The boom of their artillery could be plainly heard in Vienna. In a frenzy of enthusiasm the Viennese resumed the struggle. A corps of students attempted a sortie. Unfortunately Battle of the Schwechat for them, the engagement on the banks of the Schwechat turned against the Hungarians. Shortly after noon they gave way all along the line and fell back toward Hungary. On the ramparts of Vienna the hopeless fight of a few thousand civilians against an army of 90,000 men was continued until nightfall. At six in the evening the troops broke into the city.

On the following day, November 1, Prince Windischgrätz declared Vienna Fall of Vienna under military law. All arms had to be delivered within forty-eight hours. Arrests and courts-martial followed in profusion. Robert Blum was one of the first to be shot. His colleague, Froebel, owed his life to a political pamphlet signed with his name, in which he had defended the interests of Austria against those of a united Germany. A new Ministry was installed, Stadion's Ministry under the leadership of the notorious Prince Felix Schwarzenberg and Count Stadion. They announced their programme to be the maintenance of a strong central government and the integrity of the Austrian Empire, with quick suppression of the civil war in Hungary. A new Reichsrath was convoked at the village of Kremsier, near Olmütz. On December 2, it was announced that Emperor Fer[Pg 1092]dinand had resolved to abdicate his throne. His brother, Abdication of Ferdinand Archduke Francis Charles, renounced the succession. The Archduke's son, Francis Joseph, a youth of eighteen, was declared by a family council to have attained his majority. In virtue of this he ascended the throne as Emperor.

The Hungarian Diet, on learning of this transfer of the crown, refused to Francis Joseph, Emperor acknowledge Francis Joseph as King of Hungary. The whole nation was summoned to arms. The command of the army was given to Goergey. His first serious problem was a rising of the Roumanians in Transylvania against Magyar rule. The Roumanian peasants committed all conceivable atrocities. When they raised the standard of the Empire, the Austrian commander, General Puchner, espoused their cause. Transylvania was lost to Hungary. The Roumanians led by Puchner co-operated with Jellacic's forces in The war in Hungary Croatia, and moved on Hungary from that quarter. On December 15, the main Austrian army, under Windischgrätz, crossed over the River Leitha and invaded Hungary. Goergey declared from the first that Pesth would have to be abandoned. Kossuth's frantic efforts to prevent this only served to hamper Goergey's able campaign. One line after another had to be abandoned. At last, toward the close of the year, Kossuth and his Magyar Diet were compelled to evacuate Pesth. The Hungarian army fell back over the River Theiss, upon the fortress of Comorn, and the mountainous regions of northern Hungary. Kossuth's government was established at Debreczin.

1849

[Pg 1093] ON JANUARY 5, Windischgrätz and Jellacic made their triumphant entry into Budapesth. The Vienna "Gazette" announced "the glorious end of the Bem's aggressive campaign Hungarian campaign." Prince Windischgrätz rested on his arms. During this interval the Polish general, Bem, who had escaped from Vienna, aroused his countrymen in Siebenbürgen and carried the war into that region. The Austrian troops under General Puchner were beaten in a series of engagements. Goergey, aided by another Pole, Dembinsky, repulsed the Goergey and Dembinsky Austrian troops under General Schlik in the north. While Windischgrätz remained idle at Pesth, Klapkah, the new Hungarian Minister of War, organized the Magyar forces and created new defences for his country.

Prince Metternich, whiling away his idle hours among other notable refugees at London and Brighton, now had the satisfaction of seeing the dangers of Afghan war revolt brought home to the people of England. The tidings of a disaster in Afghanistan provoked an outburst of alarm and indignation in England. On January 13, Lord Gough had advanced on Sher Singh's intrenchments at Chilian Wallah. They were held by 30,000 Sikhs with sixty guns, screened by a thick jungle. As the British imprudently [Pg 1094] Chilian Wallah exposed themselves the Sikhs opened fire. Lord Gough ordered a general charge. The drawn battle that followed proved the bloodiest affair in the history of British India. Driven from their first line of defences, the Sikhs stood their ground in another stronger position, and repulsed the British attack. Nearly 2,500 British officers and men fell in the fight. In the face of the Afghan rejoicings Lord Gough claimed a victory. The British War Office, however, Lord Gough superseded hastily despatched Sir Charles Napier to India to supersede Lord Gough. There was still time for that commander to retrieve himself. General Whish captured the town of Multan, and by terrible bombardment of the citadel brought Mulraj to surrender. General Whish then joined forces with Lord Gough in his final struggle with Sher Singh. At Guzerat, on February 22, "Battle of the Guns" Lord Gough achieved the crowning victory known as "the battle of the guns." For two hours a terrific artillery duel was maintained, the Sikhs firing with all their sixty pieces. Finally the British stormed their batteries in a combined charge of bayonets and cavalry. The Sikh forces were scattered, and their camp, with most of their standards and guns, were captured by the Punjab annexed to England British. Dost Muhammad Khan and his Afghans were driven out of Peshawar and narrowly escaped to Kabul. Mulraj was imprisoned for life. The whole of the Punjab was annexed to British India. A successful administration of this hostile province was Lord Dalhousie's first great triumph.

About the same time, General Taylor, the con[Pg 1095]queror of Buena Vista, was President Taylor inaugurated inaugurated as President of the United States. One sentence in his inaugural address provoked derision: "We are at peace with all the world and the rest of mankind." The old Spanish missions in the conquered territory were deprived of their wealth and influence. The name of San Francisco was adopted in place of Yerba Buena. Besides California, the new Development of Western America territory included the subsequently admitted States of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Kansas. The Apache and Navajo Indians in those regions gave immediate trouble. The gold seekers tracking across the plains were the first to suffer from the Indians. Still the stream of immigrants poured into California. Their halfway stations on the Missouri River developed into the two thriving towns of Omaha and Council Bluffs. The Bay of San Francisco was soon surrounded by a settlement of tents and sheds. A Vigilance Committee took affairs into its The "Forty-Niners" own hands, and administered justice without fear or favor. Six times the new city was destroyed by fire. Within two months all traces of the disaster would be lost. California soon had a population entitling it to Statehood. President Taylor eagerly seconded the wishes of the people for a government of their own. The first Constitutional Convention of California declared against slavery. More than $40,000,000 worth of gold was produced in the new State, and the first gold dollars were coined.

The death of Edgar Allan Poe, the American poet, was as tragic as his life had been. After the death[Pg 1096] Death of Poe of his wife, Poe had engaged himself to marry a wealthy lady in Richmond, and the wedding day was fixed. On his way to New York to settle up affairs in anticipation of his marriage, Poe fell in with some of his companions in dissipation at Baltimore. He became drunk, wandered through the streets, and was finally taken to a hospital in an unconscious condition. Later he became delirious and finally expired, Posthumous poems saying: "Lord, help my poor soul!" After Poe's death the simplest and sweetest of his ballads, "Annabel Lee," and the wonderful poem of "The Bells," were published. His former friend and editor, Griswold, published a scathing denunciation of the dead man in the New York "Tribune." Poe's fame as a master of the weird and fanciful in literature was already established wherever his thrilling tales and superb poem "The Raven" had penetrated. He was one of the few poets of America at that period who had succeeded in achieving an international reputation. The best of his poems were rendered in choice French by Baudelaire, while his short stories were translated into almost all European languages. As his biographer, Woodberry, has said: "On the roll of American literature Poe's name is inscribed with the few foremost, and in the world at large his genius is established as valid among all men. Much as he derived nurture from other sources, he was the son of Coleridge by the weird touch in his imagination, by the principles of his analytic criticism, and the speculative bent of his mind." Most characteristic of Poe's genius perhaps are[Pg 1097] these lines from his famous poem "The Conqueror Worm":

Lo! 'tis a gala night
"The Conqueror Worm" Within the lonesome latter years!
An angel throng, bewinged, bedight
In veils, and drowned in tears,
Sit in a theatre, to see
A play of hopes and fears,
While the orchestra breathes fitfully
The music of the spheres.

That motley drama—oh, be sure
It shall not be forgot!
With its Phantom chased for evermore
By a crowd that seize it not,
Through a circle that ever returneth in
To the self-same spot,
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,
And Horror the soul of the plot.

Out—out are the lights—out all!
And over each quivering form
The curtain, a funeral pall,
Comes down with the rush of a storm,
And the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy "Man,"
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.

In Europe, the startling upheavals of the previous year were followed by an Abortive Spanish rising aftermath no less startling. Even in Spain, where a first attempt at revolution had easily been crushed at Madrid, Don Carlos deemed the time ripe to join Cabrera's revolutionary rising in Catalonia. On his way there he was arrested at the French frontier. Deprived of his support, Cabrera himself had to remove his forces to French soil. In Italy, the revolutionary movement spread. On February 7, Duke Leopold of[Pg 1098] Florence wasItalian republics driven out of Tuscany. A republican government was established at Florence under the triumvirate of Guerazzi, Montanelli and Manzoni. Taking refuge on a British man-of-war, the Duke of Tuscany fled to Gaeta to share the Pope's exile there. On the same day that the new republic was proclaimed at Florence a popular assembly at Rome formally deposed the Pope from temporal power and proclaimed the Republic of Rome. The armistice in Sicily was about to expire. King Ferdinand's final concessions to his rebellious subjects were repudiated. Lord Palmerston, who had vainly offered British Situation in Sicily mediation to Ferdinand, on the floor of Parliament openly defended the uncompromising attitude of the Sicilians. In preparation for the inevitable conflict, Filangieri gathered an army of 20,000 Neapolitans, while Mierolavsky, a Pole, took command of the Sicilian insurgents.

Meanwhile the tide of war set against the Hungarians. On February 4, Bem was defeated on the site of his former victory at Hermannstadt. While Hungarian defeats retreating he was defeated again at Paiski. By the middle of February the Austrians succeeded in taking the fortress of Essek from the Hungarians. Toward the close of the month a disastrous defeat was inflicted upon the Hungarians under the command of General Dembinsky at Kapolna. Kossuth had made the mistake of superseding Goergey by that commander. Now Goergey was reinstated. The Hungarians rallied. On March 5, the Magyar Csikos, or irregular cavalry, under Janos Damjanies, defeated the Austrians under General Grammont at[Pg 1099] Austrian reverses Szolnok. A few days later the Hungarian army in Transylvania, under General Bem, retrieved their ill-fortune by another glorious victory at Hermannstadt. A Russian contingent from Wallachia, which had crossed the frontier to assist the Austrians, was defeated by Bem at Brasso. General Puchner and his Russian allies sought refuge across the border. Goergey relieved Komorn. The ablest of the Austrian generals, Schlik, was beaten at Hapvan, while Jellacic was overthrown at Isaszteg and Windischgrätz "Reconcentrates" Goedoelloe. Prince Windischgrätz had to give up Pesth, or, as he put it in his immortal thirty-fourth bulletin: "Reconcentrate the army in front of Budapesth, a movement hastily imitated by the enemy." Goergey added another touch of humor by attributing the Hungarian victory solely to the activity of Windischgrätz and Jellacic. On March 4, Emperor Francis Joseph had annulled the old Hungarian constitution. Kossuth retaliated in kind. Under his influence the Magyar Diet at Debreczin pronounced the deposition of the Hungarian declaration of independence House of Hapsburg from the throne of Hungary and declared the independence of Hungary and the adjoining southern provinces. While the Hungarian army, instead of marching on Vienna, lost valuable time before Ofen, the Austrian Government improved the interval to perfect its long-threatened alliance with Russia.

In the interim war had broken out anew in Schleswig-Holstein and in Italy. Before the expiration of the Austrian-Italian armistice, Charles Albert of Sardinia, in a spirited address on Febru[Pg 1100]ary 1, Sardinia renews war announced his determination to renew the war. To this desperate resolve he was driven by the increasing turbulence of Italian affairs. The spread of the revolutionary movement to his dominions could be forestalled only by placing himself once more at the head of the Italian movement. In some respects the moment appeared propitious. Charles Albert's army now numbered a hundred and twenty thousand men, while Radetzky had little more than seventy thousand Austrians. A characteristic note of the times was the appointment of Poles Polish leaders to command the Italian troops. Prince Chrzanovsky, who had fought under Napoleon at Leipzig and Waterloo, and had subsequently commanded a Russian division at Varna, was put in supreme command, seconded by Alexander La Marmora. Another Pole, or half Pole, Ramorino, who had figured in the unfortunate rising of 1833, commanded the legion of Lombardy. On March 12, the pending termination of the truce was officially announced. At noon on March 20, hostilities were to be resumed. The campaign that followed lasted The "Five Days' Campaign" but five days. Radetzky, by his preliminary feint, made the Italians believe that he would evacuate Lombardy as heretofore; but at the last moment he quickly concentrated his five army corps at Pavia. At the stroke of noon, on March 20, he threw his army across the Tessino on three bridges. While the Italians believed that Radetzky was retreating on the Adda, the Austrians were already bivouacking on the flank of the Piedmontese army. Three bloody engagements at Mortara, Gam[Pg 1101]bola and Sforzesca, on March 21, ended in a retreat of the Italians all along the line. Ramorino had received orders to move northward and to destroy the bridges behind him. Out of accord with his countryman, Chrzanovsky, he disobeyed his orders and lingered at Stradella. Radetzky flung his army in between, and cut off the Italian line of retreat upon Turin and Alessandria. It was then that Benedek, an Austrian colonel, distinguished himself by leading his troops far in advance of the Austrian army, and cutting his way through an Italian brigade, under the cover of night. At midnight of March 21, Charles Albert had to order a general retreat on Novara. There Chrzanovsky determined to make a stand with his main column of about 50,000 men. Radetzky was in doubt whether the Italians had fallen back on Novara or Vercelli. To make sure he sent his troops in either direction. He himself remained at his headquarters, so as to be ready to ride either way. The roar of artillery from Novara, on the morning of March 23, told him where the battle was to be fought. There General D'Aspre, Battle of Novara commanding the second Austrian army corps, undertook to win some laurels on his own account by a bold attack on the superior position of the Italians. As Charles Albert rode out of the gate of Novara he received the last cheers of his devoted Bersaglieri. After a three hours' fight the scale turned against the Austrians. Count D'Aspre repented of his rashness, and sent for help to Count Thurn at Vercelli. Fortunately for him, Radetzky and Thurn had marched in that direction[Pg 1102] as soon as they heard the sound of the cannon. It was a race between the two divisions. As Radetzky, at the head of the first army corps, galloped through Nebola, the aged marshal met the retreating columns of D'Aspre's second corps. Both the first and the third Austrian corps rushed into the battle almost simultaneously. The Italian Italian retreat advance was checked. At last, when Thurn's fourth corps arrived at sundown, the Austrian bugles sounded for a general charge. The Italian line of battle was overthrown. The Austrian cavalry circled around the flank. While the Italians fled into Novara they suffered from the fire of their own artillery. Charles Albert was one of the last who left the Bicocca to seek refuge in Novara. The town itself was bombarded by the Austrian artillery far into the night. Standing on the ramparts of Novara, Charles Albert realized the disastrous nature of his defeat. His losses aggregated more D'Aspre's heavy losses than seven thousand, of whom three thousand had been taken captive. Of the Austrian losses of 3,158 men, five-sevenths fell to D'Aspre's corps. The other Austrian divisions were practically intact. The Italians were in confusion. Charles Albert, who throughout the day had exposed his person with the utmost gallantry, had to be dragged from the ramparts by General Durando. As the Austrian shells struck all around them he exclaimed, "Leave me, General. Let it be the last day of my life. I wish to die." At last he consented to send his Minister, Cadorna, to Radetzky's headquarters to sue for an armistice. Cadorna was received in an insulting manner. Charles[Pg 1103] Charles Albert abdicates Albert came to the conclusion that his own person was an obstacle in the way of peace. That night he resigned his crown. In the presence of his generals he pronounced his eldest son, Victor Emmanuel, King of Sardinia. Accompanied by but one attendant he left Novara, and passed unrecognized through the enemy's lines. Sending a farewell letter to his wife, he went into exile. A few months later he died at Oporto in Portugal.

As Fyffe has said of this unfortunate Prince: "Nothing in his reign became Death of Charles Albert him like the ending of it. He proved that there was one sovereign in Italy who was willing to stake his throne, his life, the whole sum of his personal interests, for the national cause.... The man who, beaten and outnumbered, had for hours sat immovable in front of the Austrian cannon in Novara, had, in the depth of his misfortune, given to his son not the crown of Piedmont only, but the crown of Italy."

On the day after the battle of Novara, King Victor Emmanuel sought out Victor Emmanuel yields Marshal Radetzky and came to terms. Venice and the Italian duchies had to be relinquished to the Austrians. Austrian troops, in conjunction with those of Piedmont, occupied Alessandria. Piedmont was to reduce its army to a peace footing, to disperse all volunteers, and to pay a war indemnity of 75,000,000 francs. The Austrian demand that Victor Emmanuel should annul the liberal constitution granted by his father was unconditionally refused. For this Piedmont had to suffer a prolonged military occupation by Austrian troops, but Victor Emmanuel, by the same token, retained [Pg 1104]his father's Italian Princes reinstated claim to the leadership of the national cause of Italy. The victory of Austrian arms was speedily followed by the return of the princes of northern Italy to their petty thrones. Radetzky's troops undertook the reconquest of Venice. To forestall an Austrian movement against Rome, France undertook to reinstate Pio Nono in the Holy Chair of St. Peter. A French expedition to Rome French expedition under Oudinot, a son of the famous marshal, disembarked at Civita Vecchia. Mazzini and Garibaldi alone rallied their men to the defence of the republic.

In Sicily, hostilities had been likewise renewed on March 29. The Sicilians were discouraged by the report of the Italian defeats in the north. Filangieri succeeded in capturing Taormina, the Sicilian base of supplies. In the defence of Catania the Polish general commanding the Sicilian Subjection of Sicily troops, Mierolavsky, was severely wounded. At the foot of Mount Etna, the Sicilians were again defeated on April 6, Good Friday. Catania was taken. Syracuse surrendered to the Neapolitan fleet. Filangieri's army penetrated into the interior. In vain did the English and Austrian Ambassadors offer mediation. Ruggiero Settimo resigned his Presidency of the Sicilian Republic. The heads of the insurrection fled the country. Palermo surrendered. The customary courts-martial and military executions followed. Until the accession of King Ferdinand's eldest son to the throne, Filangieri ruled as military governor. In commemoration of one of the cities he had laid in ashes, he was created Duke of Taormina. When England tried to exact the[Pg 1105] promised recognition of the Constitution of 1812, King Ferdinand rejected the proposal with the sardonic statement that peace had been re-established in Sicily, and everybody was content.

The armistice of Malmö with Denmark expired on February 26. The German Danish war Bundestag mobilized three divisions of the allied German federation. Within a month Prussian, Bavarian and Swabian troops marched into Holstein. A Prussian general, Von Prittwitz, assumed supreme command. On April 3, the Danes opened hostilities by a bombardment of the Island of Allston. Then came the battle of Eckenfoerde, when German shore batteries blew up the Dueppel trenches stormed Danish ship of the line, "Christian VIII.," and two smaller vessels, the crews of which surrendered. On April 13, the Bavarians and Saxons stormed the intrenchments of Dueppel. One week later, the German troops, in conjunction with the volunteers of Schleswig-Holstein, under Von Bonin, occupied Jutland, and defeated the Danes at Kolding. A Danish advance from Battle of Gudsoe Fridericia was repulsed after a seven hours' fight, on May 7, at Gudsoe. The Danes fell back on Fridericia, where they were invested.

Meanwhile the German Parliament had met again at Frankfort. After the resignation of the former Austrian chief of the Cabinet, Schmerling, the Parliament was split into two factions, according to their preferences for a German union with or without Austria. Early in January it had been decided to elect some German prince to assume the leadership of German affairs as Emperor of the Germans. To[Pg 1106] this plan the minor German Francis Joseph's "Constitution" sovereigns gave their consent. During the first week of March, when the Emperor of Austria issued his new Constitution, which declared the whole of the Austrian Empire under one indivisible constitutional monarchy, it was plain to the German delegates that Austria could no longer be reckoned on. German Constitution adopted On March 28, King Frederick IV. of Prussia was elected by 290 votes. Some 284 delegates, among whom were 100 Austrians, abstained from voting. An imperial constitution was adopted which limited the former sovereign rights of the various principalities, declared for the liberties of speech and of the press, religious worship, free public schools, and the total abolition of all feudal titles of nobility. On April 23, the great Parliamentary German imperial crown rejected deputation, with President Simpson at its head, came to Berlin to notify the King of Prussia of his election. To the consternation of all, Frederick William declined the honor. He explained in private that he did not care "to accept a crown offered to him by the Revolution."

The immediate effects of his rejection were new attempts at revolution in Germany. After Frederick William's refusal to enter into the plans of the German Parliament, this body fell into utter disrepute. Its radical Saxon revolution elements could no longer be kept in control. Armed revolts, encouraged by the radical delegates, broke out in Frankfort, Kaiserslautern and throughout Saxony. The King of Saxony, with his Ministers, Von Beust and Rabenhorst, fled from Dresden. From the barricades the provis[Pg 1107]ional government was proclaimed. The garrison was at the mercy of the insurgents, great numbers of whom flocked to Dresden from Leipzig and Pirna. Prussian troops overran Saxony. The revolutionary movement spread to Hesse, Baden, the Rhine provinces, Wurtemberg and the Bavarian Palatinate. Encounters South German risings with the troops occurred at Elbafeldt, Düsseldorf and Cologne. The reserves and municipal guards sided with the insurgents. All Baden rose and declared itself a republic, forming an alliance with the revolted Palatinate. The people of Wurtemberg, in a turbulent mass-meeting, demanded coalition with both of these countries. It was then that the Parliament at Frankfort decided to hold its future sessions at Stuttgart. Those principalities which had not yet succumbed to revolution withdrew their delegates. Prussia now gave to the Parliament its coup de grace by arrogating to herself all further prosecution of the Danish war, on the ground that "the so-called central government of Frankfort had no more weight of its own to affect the balance of peace or war." The remnants of the Parliament tried to meet at German Parliament dispersed Stuttgart, under the leadership of Loewe and Ludwig Uhland, the foremost living poet of Germany. When they came together at their meeting hall they found the doors blocked by troops. Attempts at protest were drowned by the roll of drums. Under the threat of a volley the delegates dispersed. Such was the end of the first German Parliament.

Prussian troops advanced into the Palatinate, Baden and Wurtemberg. After desultory encounters[Pg 1108] Princes reinstated with ill-led bands of insurgents, the sovereigns of these principalities were reinstated on their thrones by the Prussian army. The refugees thronged into Switzerland. In the north, on the other hand, Prussia's further advance into Denmark was stopped by the threatening attitude of England, Russia and France. On July 5, the Danes made a sortie Battle of Fridericia from Fridericia and inflicted a crushing defeat on the Schleswig-Holsteiners, capturing 28 guns and 1,500 prisoners. The Germans lost nearly 3,000 men in dead and wounded.

Five days after this disgrace to German arms, the Prussian Government accepted an armistice, according to which Schleswig was to be cut in two to Danish armistice be occupied by Swedish and Prussian troops. The provisional government of this province was intrusted to a joint commission, presided over by an Englishman. Holstein was abandoned to its fate. The final downfall of all the ideals of the German Liberals was followed by a feeling of dejection in Germany akin to despair. The number of immigrants who left Germany to seek new homes in America and elsewhere rose abruptly to 113,000 persons.

Worse even than in Germany fared the cause of popular government in Hungary. On the day that Goergey's Hungarians stormed Ofen (May 21), Austrian-Russian alliance Emperor Francis Joseph had a personal interview with Czar Nicholas at Warsaw. A joint note announced that the interest of all European States demanded armed interference in Hungary. The Emperor of Russia placed his whole army, under the command[Pg 1109] of Paskievitch, at the disposal of his "dear brother, Francis Joseph." On June 3, the vanguard of the Russian main army occupied Pressburg. Paskievitch called upon all Magyars to submit. Instead of that, Kossuth called upon his countrymen to destroy their homes and Russians invade Hungary property at the approach of the enemy, and to retreat into the interior as did the Russians before Napoleon. The rapid course of military events made this impracticable. While Kossuth and his government retired to Scegedin in the far southeast, Goergey, with the bulk of the army, took post on the upper Danube to prevent the junction of the Austrians and Russians. There the notorious Haynau, who had been recalled from Italy, was in command. While Goergey attacked his left wing on the River Vag, Haynau perfected his Fall of Budapesth junction with the Russians. On June 28 their united forces, 80,000 strong, captured Raab, under the eyes of Francis Joseph. The Russians occupied Debreczin, while the Austrians moved on Budapesth. Goergey's attempts to stop them resulted only in placing him in a dangerous position between both armies. On the same day that the Austrians reoccupied Budapesth, the Last Hungarian victories Hungarians under Vetter succeeded in inflicting another disastrous defeat on Jellacic at Hegyes. Three days later, Goergey won his last victory over the Russians at Waitzen. After this the tide of war turned against Hungary. The united army of Austria and Russia exceeded 225,000 men and 600 guns. The Hungarian resources were exhausted. In the first week of August the final conclusion of peace between Aus[Pg 1110]tria and Sardinia and the victorious movement against Venice put new forces at Austria's disposal. Dembinsky, who was to defend the passage of the Theiss before Scegedin, was defeated, Kemmisvar on August 5, at Czoreg with heavy losses. Kossuth now gave the command to Bem. He fought the last battle of the campaign at Kemmisvar, on August 9, ending in the disastrous defeat of the Hungarians. Bem barely succeeded in saving the remnant of his army by crossing the Moldavian frontier. On August 11, Kossuth at Arad relinquished his dictatorship in favor of Surrender of Vilagos General Goergey. This headstrong soldier, in realization of his helplessness, led his army of 20,000 foot, 2,000 horse and 130 guns within the Russian lines at Vilagos and surrendered unconditionally. Goergey's life was spared. Not so those of his foremost fellow prisoners, who were handed over to the tender mercies of Haynau. "Hungary," wrote Paskievitch to the Czar, "lies at the feet of your Majesty." Goergey's galling explanation that he did not deign to surrender to his despised Austrian Batthyany hanged adversaries was brutally avenged by Haynau. The foremost Magyar officers and statesmen who fell into Austrian hands were court-martialled and shot. Count Batthyany, the former Prime Minister, was hanged as a common felon. Hungary lost all her ancient constitutional rights, besides her former territories of Transylvania and Croatia. The flower of her youth was Hungary crushed enrolled in Austrian ranks and dispersed to the most remote garrisons of the empire. Her civil administration was handed over to German bureaucrats from Austria. The[Pg 1111] exiled patriots sought refuge in Turkey and in America.

The French interference in Rome aroused the Republicans in France. While Oudinot was carrying on siege operations against Rome, Ledru-Rollin, in Paris insurrection suppressed Paris, demanded the impeachment of the Ministry. The rejection of this motion by the Chambers was followed by revolutionary risings at Paris, Lyons, Marseilles and other cities. Then it was shown that France had a new master. President Louis Napoleon was on his guard. Large forces of troops, held in readiness for this event, put down the insurrections without much trouble. The siege of Rome was pressed to its conclusion. On June 14, Oudinot began his bombardment of Rome. Garibaldi prolonged his defence French enter Rome until the end of the month. Then, when sufficient breaches had been opened, the French stormed the ramparts and entered Rome. Garibaldi attempted to throw his forces into Venice to prolong the war against Austria. With his ever-dwindling followers he was hunted from place to place. In the end, through the devotion of Italian patriots, he managed to escape to America. Flight of Garibaldi On July 14, the restoration of the Pope's authority over Rome was announced by Oudinot. Pio Nono, however, showed no inclination to place himself in the power of his protectors. Remaining at Gaeta, he sent a commission of cardinals to take over the government of Rome. Their first act was to restore the Inquisition, and to appoint a court for the trial of all persons implicated in the Roman revolution. Thereat great wrath[Pg 1112] arose among the Republicans of France. Louis Napoleon felt compromised. In Pio Nono firm reliance on the growing ascendency of Austria, the Pope insisted on his absolute rights as a sovereign of Rome. All that Pio Nono would consent to, under the pressure of the French Government, was to suffer his political prisoners to go into exile, and to bestow a small measure of local powers upon the municipalities of the various States.

After the fall of Rome and of Hungary no hope remained for Venice. A fortnight after the surrender of Vilagos, and several months after the subjugation of the Venetian mainland, the Republic of St. Mark, reduced by cholera and famine, gave up its long struggle. The Austrians re-entered Venice.

Having gained a free hand in her Hungarian and Italian dominions, Austria set to work to recover her ascendency in Germany.

1850

[Pg 1113] AT THE opening of the year the British Foreign Office determined to bring Blockade of the Piræus pressure to bear upon Greece for payment of the public debts which were owing to English bankers. A British squadron, during January, blockaded the Piræus. On January 17, a resolution was passed in the British House of Lords condemning the foreign policy of the government in Greece. Later France interposed in behalf of Greece and the blockade was discontinued. Cholera in England Throughout the earlier part of the year the scourge of cholera continued in England. In London alone the death-rate for a while was 1,000 per week. More than 50,000 people died from the epidemic in England and Wales.

William Wordsworth, the English Poet Laureate, died on April 23, at Rydal Mount. Born at Cockermouth in 1770, Wordsworth received his academic Death of Wordsworth education at Cambridge University. Two years after his graduation, he made his first appearance as a poet with the publication of "An Evening Walk; an Epistle in Verse." In the same year he published "Descriptive Sketches in Verse," inspired by a pedestrian tour through the Alps. These poems brought the appreciation of Coleridge, and both men soon became friends. Together with Wordsworth's sister they made a tour of Germany.[Pg 1114] "Lyrical Ballads" and "Peter Bell"On their return, Wordsworth brought out the first volume of his "Lyrical Ballads," which won great popularity, and the anonymous "Peter Bell," the most condemned of all his poems. After his marriage in 1803, Wordsworth settled at Grasmere in the lake country, where he was joined by Southey and Coleridge. This caused the writings of all three to be classified under the generic title of "The The "Lake School" Lake School of Poetry" by the "Edinburgh Review." The fame of Wordsworth's poetic productions, and especially of his sonnets, slowly grew. While he won the immediate approbation of his countrymen by some of his stirring patriotic pieces, his strongest appeal to the world at large and to future generations lay in his poetic appreciation of the beauties of nature and of the essential traits of human character. As he sang in the famous preface to "The Excursion":

The annunciation of this doctrine was greeted by the critic of the "Edinburgh Review" with the insolent: "This will never do." In truth, Words[Pg 1115]worth's fondness for the inner beauty of common things sometimes led his verse into the commonplace. Wordsworth reached the height of his poetic fervor in his "Ode on the Intimations of Immortality," containing the famous lines:

It is at the end of this ode that Wordsworth summed up his veneration for nature in the lines:

After the death of his friend Southey, the mantle of the Poet Laureate fell upon him. His acceptance of this honor, and of the humble office of stamp distributer in the counties of Westmoreland and Cumberland, was decried by some of his fellow poets as a sordid compromise. Robert Browning then wrote his stirring invective, "The Lost Leader," while Shelley wrote the famous sonnet addressed to Wordsworth:

[Pg 1116] Sir Robert Peel's recognition of Wordsworth's genius, on the other hand, was regarded by the English Liberals as one of the brightest points in that famous statesman's career. The University of Oxford, shortly afterward, bestowed upon Wordsworth an honorary degree. One of Wordsworth's latest poems was addressed to the Mount of Wanswell, rising above his country home at Ambroside, closing with the prophetic lines:

"The Prelude" After Wordsworth's death, appeared "The Prelude, or Growth of the Poet's Mind," an autobiographical poem.

The next noted death in England this year was that of Sir Robert Peel, which occurred after a stirring debate on the foreign policy of Lord Death of Peel Palmerston in Greece. On the following day Peel was thrown from his horse while riding near London. The injuries he received were such that he died three days later. A monument to his memory was erected in Westminster Abbey; but in accordance with his own wish he was buried in the village churchyard of Drayton Bassett. Of other events arousing interest in First international cable England, the most noteworthy was the laying of the first submarine electric telegraph between England and France. The cable, which was twenty-seven miles long and covered with gutta-percha, stretched from Dover to Cape Gris Nez.[Pg 1117] Messages were interchanged, but the cable soon parted. During the same year the great East Indian diamond, Koh-i-noor, was presented to Queen The Koh-i-noor Victoria. The history of this great jewel was more stirring, in its way, than that of any living man. Its original weight was nearly 800 carats. By the lack of skill of the European diamond cutters this was reduced to 270 carats.

Beyond the immediate shores of England the course of events kept the British Colonial Office fully occupied. In Canada, a movement arose for the annexation of British America to the United States. Earl Grey, the Colonial Secretary, took occasion to warn all Canadians against this movement as an act of high treason. In India, the Afghans succeeded in reconquering Balkh. Death of Taouk Wang The fifth Kaffir war broke out in South Africa. The affairs of China gave fresh concern. On February 24, Emperor Taouk Wang died in his sixty-ninth year. The thirty years during which he reigned were among the most eventful, and in some respects the most portentous, for China. His strenuous opposition to the evils of the opium trade mark him as a wise, if not a powerful, ruler. He never wasted the public moneys of China on his own person, and his expenditures in behalf of the court and mere pomp were less than that of most of his predecessors. One of Taouk Wang's last acts showed how his mind and his health had been affected by the recent misfortunes of the empire. It appeared that the Chinese New Year's Day—February 12, 1850—was marked by an eclipse of the sun. Such an[Pg 1118] event being considered inauspicious in China, the Emperor decreed that the new year should begin on the previous day. The decree was utterly disregarded, and the Chinese year began at the appointed time. Taouk Wang's end was hastened by the outbreak of a great fire in Pekin, which threatened the Hien Fong, Emperor imperial city with destruction. On February 25, a grand council was held in the Emperor's bedchamber, and Taouk Wang wrote in his bed an edict proclaiming his fourth son, Yihchoo, ruler of the empire. Prince Yihchoo, who was less than twenty years old, took the name of Hien Fong, which means great abundance, and immediately upon his accession drew to his aid his four younger brothers, a new departure in Manchu rule. Their uncle, Hwuy Wang, who had made one attempt to seize the throne from his brother Taouk Wang, once more put forward his pretensions. After the imperial Ministers, Kiaying and Muchangah, had been degraded, Hwuy Wang's attempt signally The Taiping rebellion failed, but his life was spared. Later in the year, as a result partly of poor harvests, the great Taiping rebellion began. The great secret society of the Triads started the movement by raising an outcry in southern China against the Manchus. Their leader, Hung Tsiuen, a Hakka or Romany, proclaimed himself as Tien Wang, which means the head of the Prince. Under Chinese emigration the cloud of the impending upheaval, Chinese coolies in great numbers began to emigrate to the United States. At the same time the bitter feeling against foreigners was intensified by an encounter of the British steamship[Pg 1119] "Media" with a fleet of piratical Chinese junks. Thirteen of the junks were destroyed.

In California, where most of the Chinese immigrants landed, this movement was scarcely considered in the heat of the discussion whether California California an American issue should be admitted into the Union as a pro-slavery or anti-slavery State. In the American Senate, Henry Clay introduced a bill for a compromise of the controversy on slavery. His proposal favored the admission of California as a free State. On March 7, Daniel Webster delivered a memorable speech in which he antagonized his anti-slavery friends in the North. This was denounced as the betrayal of his constituents. State Conventions in South Carolina called for a Southern Congress to voice their claims. Not long afterward a fugitive slave bill was adopted by the United Fugitive slave bill States Congress. A fine of $1,000 and six months' imprisonment was to be imposed on any person harboring a fugitive slave or aiding him to escape. Fugitives were to be surrendered on demand, without the benefit of testimony or trial by jury. This served to terrorize some 20,000 escaped slaves and created intense indignation in the North. The issues were still more sharply drawn by the resignation of Jefferson Davis from the Senate, to run as a State-rights candidate for Governor of Mississippi. His Unionist rival, Foote, was elected.

In the meanwhile trouble had arisen with Spain and Portugal. On May 19, American filibusters in Cuba General Narcisso Lopez, with 600 American filibusters, landed at Cardenas to liberate Cuba from the dominion of Spain. He[Pg 1120] was defeated and his expedition dispersed. Another Cuban expedition was agitated in America. On April 25, President Taylor felt constrained to issue a second proclamation against filibusters. In May, the United States, in conjunction with Great Britain, recognized the independence of the Dominican Republic. Both countries at the same time agreed not to interfere in the affairs of Bulwer-Clayton treaty Central America. In accordance with this agreement the famous Bulwer-Clayton Treaty was completed. It provided that neither country should obtain exclusive control over any inter-oceanic canal in Central America, nor erect fortifications along its line. In June an American squadron was sent to Portugal to support the United States demand for American war claims of 1812. The claims were refused and the American Friction with Portugal Minister was recalled from Lisbon. The American fleet was withdrawn without further hostile demonstrations. The American President, in pursuance of his policy of peace, proclaimed neutrality in the civil war which had arisen in Mexico.

The furious slavery debate was resumed when Clay's so-called "Omnibus Bill" was offered for final consideration. It was during this debate that Senator Shields' prophecy Shields of California uttered his famous prophecy that the United States, so far from dissolving, would within a few generations send its soldiers to Asia and into China. On July 9, Webster soothed the angry passions of the legislators when he announced that President Taylor was dying. Webster's support of the Compromise Act[Pg 1121] of 1850, with its fugitive slave bill, dimmed his Presidential prospects. It was then that Whittier wrote the scathing lines entitled "Ichabod":

So fallen! so lost! the light withdrawn
Webster scourged Which once he wore!
The glory from his gray hairs gone
For evermore!

Revile him not! the tempter hath
A snare for all;
And pitying tears, not scorn and wrath,
Befit his fall.

Oh, dumb be passion's stormy rage,
When he who might
Have lighted up and led his age
Falls back in night!

Scorn! would the angels laugh to mark
A bright soul driven,
Fiend-goaded, down the endless dark,
From hope and heaven?

Let not the land once proud of him
Insult him now,
Nor brand with deeper shame his dim
Dishonor'd brow!

But let its humbled sons, instead,
From sea to lake,
A long lament, as for the dead,
In sadness make!

Of all we loved and honor'd naught
Save power remains,
A fallen angel's pride of thought
Still strong in chains.

All else is gone; from those great eyes
The soul has fled:
When faith is lost, when honor dies.
The man is dead.

Then pay the reverence of old days
To his dead fame!
Walk backward, with averted gaze,
And hide the shame!

[Pg 1122] John Caldwell Calhoun, after a final speech on the issues of the country, Death of Calhoun died on the last day of March. He was the most prominent advocate of State sovereignty. He was noted for his keen logic, his clear statements and demonstrations of facts, and his profound earnestness. Webster said concerning him that he had "the indisputable basis of high character, unspotted integrity, and honor unimpeached. Nothing grovelling, low, or mean, or selfish came near his head, or his heart."

On July 9, President Taylor died, and Vice-President Fillmore succeeded Death of President Taylor him. He received the resignations of all the Cabinet. His new Cabinet was headed by Webster, Secretary of State (succeeded by Everett in 1852). The new fugitive slave bill was signed by Fillmore. But the law was defied in the North as unconstitutional. Benton called the measure "the complex, Fillmore's Presidency cumbersome, expensive, annoying and ineffective fugitive slave law." In Boston occurred the cases of the fugitives Shadrach, Simms and Anthony Burns. Fillmore and Webster came to be looked upon in the North as traitors to the anti-slavery cause. But for this Fillmore would have had a fair chance of re-election to the Presidency.

Then appeared in the "National Era" at Washington the opening chapters of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin." A million copies of the book were sold in America and in Europe. It spread and intensified the feeling against slavery. Emerson published "Representative Men"; Hawthorne "The Scarlet Letter"; and Whittier brought[Pg 1123] "The Scarlet Letter" out his "Songs of Labor." Parodi, the Italian singer, made her first appearance in America. She was eclipsed presently by Jenny Lind, whose opening concert at Castle Garden in New York netted $30,000 to her manager, Barnum.

Under the stress of another Mohammedan rising against the Christians in Russian conscription Syria and the Balkans, Emperor Nicholas of Russia decreed a notable increase of the Russian army. Out of every thousand persons in the population seven men were mustered into the ranks in western Russia, thus adding some 180,000 men to the total strength of the Russian force. In midsummer, the city of Cracow, in Poland, was nearly destroyed by fire. Later in the year occurred the death of the Polish general Bem, in Turkey, who had won such distinction while serving the cause of Hungary. Another Schleswig-Holstein abandoned attempt to win Schleswig-Holstein from Denmark was made in summer. Unaided by the Germans, the Schleswig-Holsteiners, under the leadership of Willisen, a former Prussian general and distinguished theoretical strategist, engaged a superior Danish army at Idstedt. They were beaten. Their defeat had so discouraging an effect that Prussia abandoned the Ibsen struggle in their behalf. In Norway, about this time, Henrik Ibsen came into prominence with a publication of his early drama "Catalina."

In France, the younger Dumas proved himself a formidable rival of his Dumas Fils father by such works as his "Trois Hommes" and "Henri de Navarre."

The death of Honoré de Balzac, the celebrated French novelist, was an event in literature. Born[Pg 1124] Death of Balzac at Tours in 1799, he soon devoted himself to writing. His first work, the tragedy "Cromwell," written at the age of nineteen, proved unsuccessful, as did all of his earlier novels, which appeared under a pseudonym. Various unfortunate undertakings, such as the publication of new editions of "La Fontaine" and "Molière," plunged him into debt. He returned to writing novels. Not until late was his authorship openly avowed. By this time several of his stories, such as "Le Dernier Chouan," "La Femme de Trente Ans," and his sprightly "Physiologie du Mariage," had achieved immense success. Still Balzac failed to turn his successes to financial account. He sank ever deeper in debt. In 1843 he turned upon his critics with a slashing "Monograph on the Parisian Press." The major part "The Human Comedy" of his striking, realistic novels was published in the famous series "La Comédie Humaine." This in turn was divided into these seven parts: "Scenes of Private Life," "Life in the Provinces," "Life in Paris," "In Politics," "In the Army," "In the Country," with "Philosophical Studies" and "Studies in Analysis." In his preface of 1842, Balzac thus explained the scheme of his work:

"In giving the general title of 'The Human Comedy' to a work begun nearly thirteen years ago, it is necessary to explain its motive, to relate its origin, and briefly sketch its plan, while endeavoring to speak of these matters as though I had no personal interest in them. This is not so difficult as many imagine. Few works conduce to much vanity; much labor conduces to great diffidence....[Pg 1125]

"As we read the dry and discouraging list of events called History, who can have failed to note that the writers of all periods, in Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome, have forgotten to give us the history of manners? The fragment of Petronius on the private life of the Romans excites rather than satisfies our curiosity....

"A sure grasp of the purport of this work will make it clear that I attach to common, daily facts, hidden or patent to the eye, to the The novel defined acts of individual lives, and to their causes and principles, the importance which historians have hitherto ascribed to the events of public national life.... I have had to do what Richardson did but once. Lovelace has a thousand forms, for social corruption takes the hues of the medium in which it lives. Clarissa, on the contrary, the lovely image of impassioned virtue, is drawn in lines of distracting purity. To create a variety of Virgins it needs a Raphael.

"It was no small task to depict the two or three thousand conspicuous types of a period; for this is, in fact, the number presented to us by each generation, and which the Human Comedy must require. This crowd of actors, of characters, this multitude of lives, needed a setting—if I may be pardoned the expression, a gallery. Hence the division into Scenes of Private Life, of Provincial Life, of Parisian, Political, Military and Country Life. Under these six heads are classified all the studies of manners which form the history of society at large.

"The vastness of a plan which includes both a history and a criticism of society, an analysis of its evils, and a discussion of its principles, authorizes me, I think, in giving to my work the title 'The Human Comedy.' Is this too ambitious?"

Altogether, Balzac brought out more than a hundred prose romances. They contain the most[Pg 1126] Balzac's Works graphic pictures of the life of the French people under Louis Philippe. Balzac said of himself that he described people as they were, while others described them as they should be. A few months before his death Balzac improved his circumstances by a marriage with the rich Countess Hanska. On his death Victor Hugo delivered the funeral oration, while Alexandre Dumas, his rival throughout life, erected a monument to him with his own means.

One week later Louis Philippe, the deposed King of France, died at Claremont in England, in his seventy-seventh year. His career, from the time that he followed the example of his father, Philippe Egalité, by fighting the battles of the Revolution, and through the vicissitudes of his exile until he became King in 1830, was replete with stirring episodes.

Gay-Lussac, the great French chemist and physicist, died during the same Death of Gay-Lussac year. Born at Saint Léonard, Haut-Vienne, in 1788, Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac distinguished himself early in his career as a scientist by his aerial voyages in company with Biot for the observation of atmospheric phenomena at great heights. In 1816, he was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the Polytechnic School of Paris, a chair which he held until 1832. Promoted to a professorship at the Jardin des Plantes, Gay-Lussac labored there incessantly until his death. There is scarcely a branch of physical or chemical science to which Gay-Lussac did not contribute some important discovery. He is noted chiefly for his experiments with gases and for the discovery of the law of combination by volumes.[Pg 1127]

Louis Napoleon, while administering affairs as President, began to let Louis Napoleon's presidency France feel his power. Early in the year he created his incapable uncle, Jerome Bonaparte, a marshal of France. On August 15, his Napoleonic aspirations were encouraged by a grand banquet tendered to him at Lyons. His government felt strong enough to enact new measures for the restriction of the liberty of the press.

In Germany, as well as in Austria and Russia, similar reactionary measures were enforced. Frederick William IV. of Prussia for a while appeared Prussian constitution anxious to undo the effects of his narrow policy of the previous year. A constitution had been adopted in Prussia on the last day of January, and on February 6 the King took the constitutional oath. Austria now began to edge her way back into the management of German affairs. Under her influence Hanover withdrew from the alliance of the three North German powers, South German alliance Hanover, Saxony and Prussia. Later Saxony also withdrew. On February 27, the Kings of Bavaria, Wurtemberg and Saxony signed a joint agreement for a restoration of the German Confederation and a maintenance of the federal union. The Emperor of Austria gave to this scheme his full support. When the Bundestag met again at Frankfort, Austria insisted on her rights as a German State. Too late the Prussian representative advocated a German federal State, with Austria excluded. The disastrous failure of Prussian intervention in Schleswig-Holstein about this time brought Prussia into further disrepute with the rest of Germany. England, France and Sweden [Pg 1128] Denmark's integrity guaranteed united to guarantee the integrity of Denmark. Prussia left the Duchies to their fate. On July 19, Austria called for another assembly of the old Confederation. Prussia and her adherents could not join. On August 17, the German sovereigns met on the call of Austria at Frankfort to consider a plan of federal union. The old Bundestag was reopened at Frankfort on September 2, under the auspices of Austria. Prussia clung to her rival federal union. A bone of contention was furnished by the little State of Hesse. The Archduke of Hesse, the most reactionary of German princes, had resumed his rule with the help of his hated Prime Minister, Hassenpflug. Hessians resist despotism The financial budget of this Minister was disapproved by the Hessian Estates. Hassenpflug now dissolved the Assembly and proceeded to levy taxes without its sanction. The people refused to pay. The courts decided against the government. Even the soldiers and their officers declined to lift a finger against the people. In the face of this resolute attitude the Prince and his Minister fled the country, on September 12, and appealed to the new Bundestag at Frankfort for help. The restoration of the Archduke to his throne was decreed.

Prussia now took a decided stand. On September 26, General von Radowitz, the originator of the North German Union, was placed at the head of Prussia's foreign affairs. He declared for the cause of the people in Hesse. The Prussian troops were withdrawn from Baden over the military roads leading through Hesse. To meet this situation, Francis Joseph of Austria, in October, had a personal inter[Pg 1129]view Prussians intervene with the Kings of Bavaria and of Wurtemberg at Bregenz. It was decided to crowd the Prussians out of Baden and Hesse by moving Bavarian and Austrian troops into those countries. Another personal conference between Francis Joseph and Czar Nicholas at Warsaw assured to Austria the support of Russia. In vain did Frederick William send his cousin, Count Brandenburg, to win over the Czar Austria prepares for war to his side. Count Brandenburg met with so haughty a reception that he returned chagrined, and, falling ill, died soon afterward. Both Austria and Prussia mobilized their armies. At Vienna the Austrian Prime Minister avowed to the Ambassador of France that it was his policy to "avilir la Prussie, puis la démolir." On November 8, the vanguards of the Prussian and Austrian troops exchanged shots. The single casualty of a bugler's horse served only to tickle the German sense of humor. The Prussians retired without further encounters. Radowitz resigned his Ministry. Otto von Manteuffel was put in charge. On November 21, the Austrian Ambassador at Prussia cowed Berlin, Prince Schwarzenberg, demanded the evacuation of Hesse within forty-eight hours. Prussia gave in. Manteuffel requested the favor of a personal interview at Olmütz. Without awaiting Austria's reply he posted thither. In a treaty signed at Olmütz late in the year, Prussia agreed to withdraw her troops from Baden and Hesse, and to annul her military conventions with Baden, Anhalt, Mecklenburg and Brunswick. Thus miserably ended Prussia's first attempt to exclude Austria from the affairs of Germany. As heretofore, the Prussian-[Pg 1130]Polish provinces of Posen and Silesia were excluded from the Confederation. Austria, on the other hand, tried to bring her subjected provinces in Italy and Hungary into the Germanic Hessia ground under Confederation. Against this proposition, repugnant to most Germans, France and England lodged so vigorous a protest that the plan was abandoned. The Elector of Hesse-Cassel returned to his capital. Under the protection of the federal bayonets he was able to bring his wretched subjects to complete subjection.

The profound disappointment of the German patriots at the downfall of their Gervinus political ideals found its counterpart in German letters and music. Georg Gottfried Gervinus, the historian, who had taken so active a part in the attempted reorganization of Germany, turned from history to purely literary studies. It was then that he wrote his celebrated "Study of Shakespeare." Richard Wagner, who had escaped arrest only by fleeing from Dresden, gave Richard Wagner up active composition to write pamphlets and essays, and published his remarkable essay on "The Revolution and the Fine Arts." In the meanwhile, Franz Liszt at Weimar brought out Wagner's new operas "Lohengrin" and "Tannhäuser." Nicolas Lenau, the most melodious of the German lyric poets Lenau after Heine, died insane. Lenau, whose true name was Niembsch von Strehlenau, was a Hungarian by birth. He joined the group of German poets among whom were Uhland, Gustav Schwab and Count Alexander von Wurtemberg, whose literary aspirations were ridiculed by Heine as "la Romantique défroquée." Stimulated by his fellow poet[Pg 1131] Chamisso's voyage to Bering Strait, Lenau sought new inspiration in America. On his return he wrote a Lenau's pessimism number of poems on America, which were published under the title of "Atlantica." In later years Lenau's verses, like those of Leopardi in Italy, became ever more melancholy, owing partly to inherited tendencies. In the early forties the poet's pessimism turned into absolute melancholia.

Uhland After the death of Lenau the mantle of German poetry fell upon Uhland. One of the younger poets, Paul Heyse, at the same time made his first appearance with the poetic drama "Francesca da Rimini." Heyse

In this year, Mirza Ali Mohamad, the great founder of the new Bab religion in Persia, with his disciples Aka Mohamad Ali and Sayyid Husayn of Yezd, Babism in Persia suffered martyrdom. Sayyid Husayn recanted under torture, but the Bab and Aka went firmly to the place of execution. Condemned to be shot, the Bab escaped death by an apparent miracle. The bullets only cut the cords that held him bound. He was afterward slain by a soldier. His body was recovered by his disciples. Thus, in the words of Denison Ross, the Persian scholar, "died the great Prophet-Martyr of the Nineteenth Century, at the age of twenty-seven, having during a period of six brief years, of which three were spent in prison, attracted to his person and won for his faith thousands of devoted men and women throughout Persia, and having laid the foundation to a new religion destined to become a formidable rival to Islam." Further persecution of the Babis during this same year did much to forward the new religion.

1851

[Pg 1132] PRESIDENT LOUIS NAPOLEON'S growing mastery of France was revealed early in Louis Napoleon's measures the year. On January 3, as the result of his restrictions of the liberty of the press, the Ministry had to resign. The President deprived General Changarnier, a pronounced Republican, of the command of the Paris garrison, and dissolved the Assembly, which might have objected to these measures.

Gasparo Spontini, the celebrated Italian composer, died on January 24, at Death of Spontini his birthplace in Ancona province. Born in 1774, Spontini was intended for the priesthood, but while still a lad ran away and took up music. A sympathetic uncle sent him to the musical conservatory at Naples, where he studied under Sala Tritto. Spontini began his career as a dramatic composer at the opening of the century while acting as orchestral conductor at Palermo. In 1800 he brought out three operas, and wrote others for Rome and Venice, so that by the time he went to Paris in 1803 he had sixteen operas to his credit. His study of Mozart's music served to bring about a complete change in his style. Thus his one-act opera "Milton," dedicated to Empress Josephine, may be regarded as the first of his truly[Pg 1133] original works. Empress Josephine appointed him her chamber composer, and secured a hearing for his new opera "The Vestal," produced at the Grand Opera. Napoleon Spontini's career awarded to him the prize for the best dramatic work of that year. In 1810, Spontini became the director of the Italian opera, and there staged Mozart's "Don Giovanni." Dismissed in 1812, on charges of financial irregularity, he was reappointed as court composer by Louis XVIII. His stage pieces in glorification of the Restoration only achieved a succès d'estime. He was glad to accept an appointment to Berlin as court composer for Frederick William III. There he brought out "Lalla Rookh," "Alcidor," and "Agnes Hohenstauffen," none of which found currency in other cities. His overweening conduct gradually made his position at Berlin untenable. He was finally driven out by the hostile demonstrations of his audiences, and retired, in 1841, a broken man. After a few years spent in Paris he returned to Italy, where the Pope created him a count. Spontini returned to his birthplace of Magolati village only to die.

In Germany, King William IV. at Berlin celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Prussian monarchy on January 18. A colossal statue of Frederick the Prussian events Great was made for this occasion by the sculptor Christian Rauch. At the same time a further humiliation upon Prussia was inflicted by the military occupation of Schleswig-Holstein by Austria. The Austrian troops, who came to put a definite stop to hostilities in those provinces, [Pg 1134] marched into Schleswig-Holstein again Schleswig-Holstein over a pontoon bridge laid by the retreating columns of the Prussians. As a concession to outraged German feeling, representatives from Schleswig-Holstein were to be readmitted to the Diet of the Germanic Confederation. This superannuated Diet met again at Frankfort as in the days of the Holy Alliance. Before this a conference of Ministers had been held at Dresden, at which Prussia was represented by Baron Lamsikell, while Metternich returns Prince Felix Schwarzenberg appeared for Austria. With the powerful backing of Russia, Austria could force the hand of Prussia into reacceptance of the old order of things. As if to emphasize this, old Prince Metternich made his reappearance in Vienna as if nothing had happened. On May 30, the Bismarck Confederate Diet met again at Frankfort. Baron Bismarck was appointed as a delegate from Prussia. On the day after the opening of the Diet, the sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and Prussia met at Olmütz to renew the former alliance of these countries. A period of reaction set in. The The Dreibund Prussian Constitution was modified. The Emperor of Austria began to undo the reforms granted by the Liberal Constitution of 1849. On August 20, he arrogated to himself absolute powers in a series of Cabinet letters, in which he declared that his Ministers were "responsible to no other political authority than the throne," while the Reichsrath was to be merely "considered as the council of the throne." Before this the Austrian and Turkish Governments had come to a settlement respecting Hungarian and[Pg 1135] Polish refugees in Turkey. With the exception of Kossuth and seven others Austrian-Turkish agreement of the foremost leaders of the Hungarian revolution, a so-called amnesty was extended to all refugees, provided they did not set foot in Hungary. About this time another popular rising occurred in Bosnia. A Turkish army was sent to suppress it, and Austrian troops took up their station on the frontier. Many of the exiled Hungarians betook themselves to America. Kossuth first went to England. A magnificent reception awaited him there.

Lord Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary, in the meanwhile had compromised himself with his colleagues in the Cabinet by his independent threats of interference in regard to the Hungarian refugees in Turkey. Queen Victoria sent a letter to Prime Minister Russell containing these significant words: "The Queen expects to be kept informed by Lord Palmerston rebuked Palmerston of what passes between him and the foreign Ministers, before important decisions are taken based upon that intercourse; to receive the foreign despatches in good time; and to have the drafts for her approval sent to her in sufficient time to make herself acquainted with their contents before they be sent off." Lord Palmerston replied: "I have taken a copy of this memorandum of the Queen, and will not fail to attend to the directions which it contains." Some of the most troublesome foreign complications, as often before, first came up for settlement in the Colonial Office. Thus, in March a British force under Sir Harry Smith defeated a commando of[Pg 1136] Boers lose Orange Colony Boers at Boomplaatz. Other Boer forces were dispersed. The British flag was hoisted beyond the Orange River and the annexation of that territory to Great Britain was accomplished.

In India, war was renewed with the King of Burma. As usual, the trouble started with complaints of the British merchants at Rangoon calling for the Second Burmese war protection of their country. Lord Dalhousie sent Commodore Lambert to Rangoon on the "Fox." Lambert seized one of the ships of the Burmese king lying in the river, promising to restore it on receipt of ten thousand rupees as compensation for the injured merchants. In reply the Burmese opened fire on the "Fox." Now all Burmese ports were declared in a state of blockade. Lord Dalhousie sent nineteen steamers and 6,000 men to Rangoon under General Godwin. Rangoon was captured after a heavy cannonade. The Fall of Rangoon three terraces of the great Pagoda there were carried by storm, and the British flag hoisted over the golden dome of the sacred Pagoda. The capture of Rangoon was followed by that of Bassie on the Irawaddy, and Prome. The whole of Pegu was annexed to the British Empire.

In Australia great excitement was created by the discovery of gold in various places. As early as February, gold was found in New South Wales by Gold found in Australia returned gold seekers from California. A great number of immigrants rushed into that province. In July, a squatter on Meroo Creek found a mass of virgin gold weighing above a hundred pounds. Thereupon the famous gold fields of Ballarat were[Pg 1137] opened in Victoria. In October, gold discoveries were made near Melbourne surpassing all others. As a result of the great tide of immigration that swept into Victoria that province separated itself from New South Wales. Melbourne became the capital of Victoria.

In England, throughout the summer, a great international exposition in the Crystal Palace show so-called "Crystal Palace" erected on Hyde Park attracted visitors from far and wide. A special ode by Alfred Tennyson was sang at the opening:

The Exposition was the most ambitious affair of the kind held so far. The building, which covered an area of nineteen acres, cost about £180,000. The total receipts of the Exposition were more than a half million pounds. At one time it was calculated nearly a hundred thousand visitors were assembled under its roof. The difficult problem how to place the exhibits of various countries was settled by awarding the choice places in an arrangement according to Mercator's projection of the map of the world. Even then Spain refused to be represented at the Exposition unless she were provided with an entrance distinct from that of Portugal.

Portugal was scarcely in a condition to share in any exhibition of industrial progress. Another outbreak of the persistent conflict between the Sep[Pg 1138]tembrists Civil war in Portugal and Cabralists broke out in April. An insurrection in Oporto declared for the fugitive Duke of Saldanha. On April 29, he arrived at Oporto. The movement assumed such threatening proportions that Queen Maria da Gloria dismissed Count Thomar de Costa Cabral, and made Saldanha Prime Minister.

In Portugal's former colonial possessions a civil war, no less wearing, was maintained. On October 2, General Urquiza of the Argentine Republic, having joined forces with Brazil and Montevideo, compelled General Oribe to South American convulsions capitulate at Montevideo. This ended the nine years' investment of Montevideo. Later in the year General Urquiza overthrew General Rosas at Montevideo and proclaimed himself military dictator. In Chile, about the same time that a violent earthquake wrecked more than four hundred houses at Valparaiso, a military insurrection broke out under Colonel Ourriola. In a sharp engagement between the government troops and the insurgents Ourriola with three hundred of his followers was killed. The insurrection was prolonged by General José Maria de la Cruz. Between four and five thousand men were killed in the desultory engagements that followed. At last the revolt was crushed by the decisive defeat of General Cruz in the battle of Longamilla.

In China, the threatening Taiping rebellion gathered force. In Siam, the unusual spectacle was beheld of the simultaneous enthronement of two kings as rulers of that country. The progress of modern civilization was attested by the opening of a steam[Pg 1139] Extension of railways railway in Egypt between the cities of Cairo and Alexandria. In Russia, too, a straight line of railroad was laid over the long stretch between St. Petersburg and Moscow, and work was begun on others no less ambitious.

The fears of unpleasant complications between the United States and Spain, American filibusters pardoned by reason of Cuban filibustering expeditions, were allayed by a general pardon extended to the American filibusters on the part of the Queen of Spain. On August 11, Lopez had landed with more filibusters in Cuba. He was captured shortly after his landing and was shot. The same fate was shared by his Cuban followers. Only to the American adventurers who accompanied American yacht victory the expedition did the Spanish Queen's pardon apply. An event of joyful interest to Americans was the victory of the American schooner-yacht "America" over all her English competitors in the yacht races at Cowes on October 22. She carried off the trophy of an international cup, which, under the name of the America's Cup, was destined to remain beyond the reach of English racing yachts throughout the rest of the century. Not long after this the visit of two distinguished Europeans excited general interest in America. One was Lola Montez, the famous Spanish dancer, whose Kossuth in America relations with King Louis I. of Bavaria had resulted in the loss of his crown. The other was Louis Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, who had been brought from England on an American vessel. His reception in America surpassed even that which had been accorded to him in England. During this same year[Pg 1140] Death of Fenimore Cooper in America occurred the deaths of Audubon, the great naturalist; Gallaudet, the benefactor of deaf-mutes, and James Fenimore Cooper, the novelist. Cooper was born in Burlington, New Jersey, the son of a wealthy father, who settled on the shores of Lake Otsego in New York. After attending Yale College for three years, Cooper entered the United States navy as a common sailor. He was promoted after some time to the rank of midshipman and eventually to that of lieutenant. On his marriage in 1811 he left the service, and soon began his career as an author. His first novel, "Precaution," was not promising. In "The Spy," which appeared in 1821, he gave the first indications of his peculiar originality. It made Cooper's reputation as an American author. The knowledge that Cooper had acquired in his father's estate on the borders of the wilderness and later on the sea Cooper's novels was turned to account in his many tales of Indian life and sea stories, which took his contemporaries by storm. Most famous among them are: "Deerslayer," "The Last of the Mohicans," "Pathfinder," "Pioneers," "Prairie," and the sea tales "The Pilot" and "Red Rover." His strictures on American customs in "Homeward Bound" and "Home as Found" brought upon him much newspaper abuse. About the time of Cooper's death, Francis Parkman published his "Conspiracy of Pontiac," Longfellow his "Golden Legend," while Nathaniel Hawthorne brought out "The House of the Seven Gables."

In England, Alfred Tennyson had been selected as the worthiest successor of William Wordsworth[Pg 1141] Tennyson, poet laureate in the office of Poet Laureate. He showed his appreciation of the honor by his famous dedication to Queen Victoria in "The Keepsake."

Revered, beloved—O you that hold
A nobler office upon earth
Than arms, or power of brain, or birth
Could give the warrior kings of old,

Victoria—since your Royal grace
To one of less desert allows
This laurel greener from the brows
Of him that utter'd nothing base:

And should your greatness, and the care
That yokes with empire, yield you time
To make demand of modern rhyme
If aught of ancient worth be there;

Then—while a sweeter music wakes,
And thro' wild March the throstle calls,
Where all about your palace walls
The sunlit almond-blossom shakes—

Take, Madam, this poor book of song;
For tho' the faults were thick as dust
In vacant chambers, I could trust
Your kindness. May you rule us long,

And leave us rulers of your blood
As noble till the latest day!
May children of our children say,
"She wrought her people lasting good;

"Her court was pure; her life serene;
God gave her peace; her land reposed;
A thousand claims to reverence closed
In her as Mother, Wife, and Queen;

"And statesmen at her council met
Who knew the seasons when to take
Occasion by the hand, and make
The bounds of freedom wider yet

"By shaping some august decree,
Which kept her throne unshaken still,
Broad-based upon her people's will,
And compass'd by the inviolate sea."

[Pg 1142] Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, daughter of Godwin and wife of the poet Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Shelley, died during this year. She wrote some half dozen novels and stories, the best of which was "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus." The weird story, which was written in 1816 in a spirit of friendly rivalry with Shelley and Byron, achieved great popularity. This was largely by reason of the originality of the author's conception of the artificial creation of a human monster which came to torment its maker. Mrs. Shelley's last book was an account of rambles in Germany and Italy. She also brought out a careful edition of her husband's complete works.

Joseph M.W. Turner, the most celebrated English artist of the Nineteenth Death of Turner Century, died in this same year. Born in 1775, he displayed his artistic talents at an early age. At the outset of the Nineteenth Century he achieved a national reputation by his "Battle of the Nile," but did not reach the apotheosis of his fame until Ruskin sang his praises. One of his most discussed pictures was that of the "Slave Ship," which has in turn "The Slave Ship" excited the most scathing ridicule and the most extravagant admiration. Thus George Inness, the American artist, wrote of him: "Turner's 'Slave Ship' is the most infernal piece of clap-trap ever painted. There is nothing in it." Thackeray confessed with delightful frankness: "I don't know whether it is sublime or ridiculous." Mark Twain, the American humorist, has voiced both of these views at once, whereas Ruskin has recorded:

"I believe if I were reduced to rest Turner's[Pg 1143] immortality upon any single Ruskin's estimate work, I should choose 'The Slave Ship.' Its daring conception, ideal in the highest sense of the word, is based on the purest truth, and wrought out with the concentrated knowledge of a life. Its color is absolutely perfect, not one false or morbid hue in any part or line, and so modulated that every square inch of canvas is a perfect composition; its drawing as accurate as fearless; the ship buoyant, bending, and full of motion; its tones as true as they are wonderful; and the whole picture dedicated to the most sublime of subjects and impressions (completing thus the perfect system of all truth, which we have shown to be formed by Turner's works)—the power, majesty, and deathfulness of the open, deep, illimitable sea."

The picture, having first been acquired by Ruskin, finally went to America. Some Turner prices About this time Turner's canvases began to command fabulous prices. "Van Goyen Looking for a Subject," sold in 1833 for a few hundred pounds, was resold in London thirty years later for 2,510 guineas. At a Turner sale in 1878 hitherto unsold canvases and unfinished sketches brought over £73,000, or about $365,000. Over a hundred of Turner's paintings and as many sketches and drawings, dating from 1790 to 1850, are now in the National Gallery of London.

In France, Marshal Horace François Sebastiani, one of the favorites of Death of Sebastiani Napoleon the Great, died on July 21 at Paris. Sebastiani was a Corsican like Napoleon. He was identified with his great countryman's career from beginning to end. A soldier of fortune, like his illustrious chief, he distin[Pg 1144]guished himself chiefly by his Machiavellian talents for diplomacy. It was he who stirred up Napoleon's first war with England by his famous mission to the East to lay bare England's weakness in that quarter. After this, Sebastiani's name figured in many confidential missions. By his machinations at Constantinople, at one time he embroiled both England and Corsican diplomacy Russia with Turkey, when such a diversion came most welcome to Napoleon, who was then fighting on the frontiers of Poland. On the downfall of Napoleon, Sebastiani was temporarily intrusted with the management of affairs at Paris. His conduct at this time as at all others laid him open to charges of double dealing and treachery. Napoleon showed his appreciation of Sebastiani's services by remembering him in his will. The famous old marshal's death gave to Prince Louis Napoleon a welcome opportunity to recall the lost glories of the First Empire. A still better chance was presently afforded. For, soon after Sebastiani, Marshal Soult Death of Soult died at château St. Amans, on November 26, in his eighty-second year. The death of this distinguished Marshal-General of France served to recall some of the brightest glories of Napoleonic days. Born in 1769 at St. Amans-la-Bastide, Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult joined the royal army of France at the age of sixteen. He served as a sous-lieutenant under Marshals Lukner and Ustine, and so distinguished himself that he soon won his steps and was attached as adjutant-general to Marshal Lefebvre's staff. As a brigadier-general he turned the tide of[Pg 1145] victory at the battle of Fluress. Soult's early successes After this he was intrusted with the command of a division, and took part in all the campaigns in Germany, and through the Swiss and Italian campaigns waged by Massèna. In a sortie from Genoa he was taken prisoner. Set at liberty after the battle of Marengo, he returned to France at the peace of Amiens, and was made one of the four colonels of the guard of the consuls. Napoleon Bonaparte, though by no means fond of Soult, was quick to detect his great talents as a soldier. After this a prominent part was assigned to Soult in all of Napoleon's campaigns. He was one of the first First Peer of France of the generals selected for the new rank of marshal in 1804, and was the first of the marshals to be advanced to the dignity of a peer of France. In 1805, Soult led the main column of the Grand Army, which gained the Austrian rear, and thus brought about the disastrous capitulation of Ulm. On the field of Austerlitz he was charged with the execution of the brilliant manœuvre which decided the fate of that battle. His share in the battle of Jena was scarcely less distinguished. After this victory, Soult defeated Kalkreuth, captured Magdeburg, and put to flight Blücher and Lestocq. On the bloody field of Eylau, Soult's ardor helped to secure the semblance of victory for France. In 1808 he was sent to secure the French conquest of Spain. He defeated the Spaniards at Manuessa and fought the battle at Coruña where Sir John Moore lost his life. The English army having fled, Soult overran Galicia and the north of Portugal, where he [Pg 1146] Foremost soldier of Empire stormed Oporto. On the landing of Wellington he retreated before that commander into Spain, but after the battle of Talavera once more drove the Spaniards and English before him into Portugal.

After the loss of Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo, Soult was recalled to aid Napoleon in Germany after the catastrophe of Moscow. He was the Emperor's chief-of-staff in the battles of Luetzen and Bautzen. On Wellington's invasion of France, Soult was sent against him. Marching through the passes of the Pyrenees, he succeeded in inflicting great losses on the English. Last stand at Toulouse His attempts to secure Pampeluna and San Sebastian having failed, Soult was compelled to face Wellington on the soil of France. His dispirited troops were driven back at Toulouse, where he held his ground tenaciously until the allies had lost 5,000 men. At the Peace of Paris he signed a separate suspension of arms, and was rewarded for this by Louis XVIII. with the Minister of war cross of St. Louis and the portfolio of the Ministry of War, but during the Hundred Days he declared for Napoleon, and once more served as his chief-of-staff at Waterloo. On his return from exile in 1819 his marshal's baton was restored to him. Charles X. also confirmed him in his rank as Marshal-General of France peer. Louis Philippe twice made him Minister of War. At the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838, Soult was elected to represent France. When he retired into private life, nearly ten years later, the King revived for him the ancient dignity of Marshal-General of France.

By the time of Marshal Soult's death, the storm[Pg 1147] that arose over Louis Napoleon's abrupt removal of Changarnier had been suppressed with a firm Louis Napoleon's aspirations hand. The majority in the Assembly who voted for a revision of the Constitution was found to be ninety-seven less than the three-fourths required, and all further opposition of the Assembly against Louis Napoleon's measures was denounced as factious. Maupas, the obsequious Chief of Police, discovered dangerous plots against the government and against Maupas the person of the President. Fears of possible Napoleonic aspirations had been silenced by Louis Napoleon's energetic protests. He himself stated publicly: "They think that I wish to revive Napoleon. What could I revive of Napoleon? One sole thing—a crime. I am not a genius—so I cannot copy Emphatic disavowals Napoleon; but I am an honest man—so I will imitate Washington. My name, the name of Bonaparte, will be inscribed on two pages in the history of France. On the first there will be crime and glory; on the second propriety and honor. And the second, perhaps, will be worth the first. Why? Because, if Napoleon is the greater, Washington is a better man. Between the guilty hero and the good citizen I choose the good citizen. Such is my ambition."

Later, after a caricaturist had been imprisoned and fined for depicting Louis Bonaparte in the act of shooting at the French Constitution as a A last denial target, Morigny, Minister of the Interior, declared in the Council that "a guardian of public power should never so violate the law, as otherwise he would be—" "A dishonest man," interposed President[Pg 1148] Napoleon. Such was the situation on the eve of December 2. As Victor Hugo put it, in the opening chapter of his "History of a Crime": "People had long suspected Louis Bonaparte; but long continued suspicion blunts the intellect and it wears itself out by fruitless alarms." On December 1, the session of the Assembly was devoted to a discussion on municipal law. It terminated with a peaceful tribunal vote. Prince Louis Napoleon held an informal reception at the The Coup d'État Elysées. During that night, Louis Napoleon, in complicity with the bastard princes, De Morny, Valevsky, Saint-Arnaud, Persigny, Maupas and others, having made sure of the commanding officers of the troops on duty, caused the arrest before daylight of all the leading Republicans. It was alleged afterward that Colonel Espinasse, who was in charge of the soldiers stationed at the Legislative Palace, received 100,000 francs and the promise of a general's rank for his part in the affair.

At the stroke of five in the morning, columns of soldiery filed out of all the Paris barracks and occupied the commanding positions where barricades had been thrown up in former times. At the same time a score of detectives in closed carriages apprehended the leading members of the Assembly. Among them were Cavaignac, Changarnier, Thiers, Bedeau, General Lamorcière, the Acting-Secretary of War, and Charras. The government printing establishment and all the newspaper offices were occupied by troops. Soldiers were placed at the side of the printers, who were[Pg 1149] then ordered to set up a series of proclamations. Before six in the morning bands of bill stickers, hired for the occasion, posted them up all over Paris. At breakfast time, when "Boxed up" sixteen deputies and seventy-eight citizens had been arrested and were held secure, the Duke of Morny reported the success of the undertaking to Louis Napoleon with the two words: "Boxed up." Louis Napoleon hereupon issued the following decree in the name of the French People:

"Article I.—The National Assembly is dissolved.

Louis Napoleon's manifesto

"II.—Universal suffrage is re-established. The law of May 31 is abrogated.

"III.—The French People are convoked in their electoral districts from the 14th December to the 21st December following.

"IV.—The State of Siege is decreed in the district of the first Military Division.

"V.—The Council of State is dissolved.

"VI.—The Minister of the Interior is charged with the execution of this decree.

"Given at the Palace of the Elysée, 2d December, 1851.

"Louis Napoleon Bonaparte.

"De Morny, Minister of the Interior."

"Frenchmen! The present situation can last no longer. Every day which A Napoleonic address passes enhances the dangers of the country. The Assembly, which ought to be the firmest support of order, has become a focus of conspiracies. The patriotism of three hundred of its members has been unable to check its fatal tendencies. Instead of making laws in the public interest it forges arms for civil war; it attacks the power which I hold directly from the People, it encourages all bad passions, it compromises the tranquillity of France; I have dissolved it, and I constitute the whole People a judge be[Pg 1150]tween it and me. The men who have ruined two monarchies wish to tie my hands in order to overthrow the Republic; my duty is to frustrate their treacherous schemes, to maintain the Republic, and to save the Country by appealing to the solemn judgment of France.

"Such is my firm conviction. If you share it, declare it by your votes. If, on the contrary, you prefer a government without strength, Monarchical or Republican, borrowed I know not from what past, or from what chimerical future, answer in the negative.

"But if you believe that the cause of which my name is the symbol—that is to say, France regenerated by the Revolution of '89, and organized by the Emperor, is to be still your own, proclaim it by sanctioning the powers which I ask from you.

"Then France and Europe will be preserved from anarchy, obstacles will be removed, rivalries will have disappeared, for all will respect, in the decision of the People, the decree of Providence.

"Given at the Palace of the Elysée, 2d December, 1851. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte."

During the same day the Assembly was dissolved by troops. Attempts at The Second December public protests were roughly suppressed. A few barricades were thrown up, but the crowds were quickly dispersed, and those agitators who were caught were hurried off to prison. On December 4, the troops were ordered out in force, and proceeded to clear the streets. Nearly a thousand persons were Summary executions shot during the course of the day. The insurrection was stamped out. A few days later, when the National Assembly tried to meet again, a hundred and eighty members were arrested. Then appeared two parallel lists of names. One contained the names of those who could be counted on for the purposes of Prince Napoleon. They were all created members of a consultative committee, which was to sit "until the reorganiza[Pg 1151]tion of the legislative party." The other list contained the names of those who were proscribed Proscription from French territory, from Algeria, and from the colonies "for the sake of public safety." Among them were Victor Hugo, Thiers, Baune, Laboulaye, Theodore Bac, and Lamarque. Many hundreds of compromised Republicans fled before they were proscribed. Others were transported across the borders without any publication of the fact. Still others were summarily shot in the barrack courtyards.

On December 21, the result of the so-called popular plebiscite was announced. Louis Napoleon had been elected President for ten years by an The plebiscite alleged vote of 7,473,431 ays against 641,341 nays. He was clothed with monarchical power and was authorized to issue a constitution for France. Outside of France the results of the coup d'état were received with equanimity. Pope Pius IX. went to a review held by General Gémeau in Rome and begged him to congratulate Prince Louis Napoleon for him. Lord Foreign congratulations Palmerston in London, it was stated, told the French Ambassador that he "entirely approved of what had been done, and thought the President of the French fully justified." The British Ambassador at Paris was instructed to make no change in his relations with the French Government, and to do nothing that might wear the appearance of English interference. It appeared Palmerston dismissed that Lord Palmerston had once more acted on his own initiative. He was requested to resign. Before long the dismissed Minister had an opportunity of showing the government how formidable an adversary he could be.

1852

[Pg 1152] ON THE first day of January, Louis Napoleon was reinstalled as President of France in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The day was made a public holiday. Louis Napoleon in power On New Year's Eve the Diplomatic Corps had congratulated Prince Napoleon at the Palace of the Tuileries. A few days later some of the more prominent of the President's opponents, among them Changarnier and Lamorcière, were conducted to the Belgian frontier. On January 10, the President banished eighty-three members of the Legislative Assembly. Some six hundred persons who had been arrested for resisting the coup d'état at the same time were taken to Havre for transportation to Cayenne. On January 14, the new constitution was made public. All real powers were vested in the President. He had the initiative for all new measures, as well as the veto on deliberations of both Senate and Legislative Assembly. The Senators were to be appointed by him. The sessions of both bodies were to be held behind closed doors. The impotence of the legislators was offset by their princely salaries. Senators were to receive 30,000 francs per year, while the Deputies drew half that sum. The actual sessions of the Legislature were limited to three years. The President[Pg 1153] himself was to draw an annual salary of 12,000,000 francs. The money for these expenditures was raised by extraordinary means. A decree on January 22 confiscated all former crown lands and the estates of the Princes of Orleans. The press was gagged by a decree prohibiting the publication of any newspaper without the sanction of the government. All liberty poles were chopped down, and the motto of Empire foreshadowed "Liberté, Fraternité, Egalité," was tabooed. On February 29, the elections for the Legislative Assembly were held. The government nominated all the candidates, and practically all were elected. Late in March, Prince Louis Napoleon opened the Senate and Corps Legislatif. His address throughout was couched in the language of a monarch. While he conceded the intention of the republican reforms to be harmless, he suggested the possibility that he might be called upon "to demand from France in the interest of peace a new title, by which the powers that have been conferred upon me may be confirmed once for all." A Cabinet was formed of the President's most devoted followers, under the nominal leadership of Persigny. One of the first votes of the Legislature, after fixing the President's salary, was a grant of 80,000,000 francs for public works wherewith to occupy the laboring classes. This done, the President made a triumphal tour of France. The government officials saw to it that he received a magnificent welcome wherever he appeared.

In the neighboring countries the progress of events in France created less misgivings than had the[Pg 1154] doings of the Republic. In Austria, Emperor Death of Schwarzenberg Francis Joseph further undid the work of the recent revolution by his total abolition of the rights of trial by jury on January 15. Shortly afterward, Prince Felix Schwarzenberg, the Prime Minister, died in Vienna. He was a nephew of Charles Philippe, the famous Prince of Schwarzenberg who negotiated the marriage of Napoleon and Marie Louise, and later led the Buol Schauenstein, Austrian Minister allied armies against Napoleon. In 1848, Prince Felix Schwarzenberg commanded a division in Italy. Later he joined Windischgrätz in the military occupation of Jena, and soon took charge of the civil administration of the empire, in which he continued until his death. He was succeeded by Count Buol von Schauenstein.

Throughout the year the affairs in Germany were tranquil. Shortly after the death of the old King of Hanover, a tariff union was established with Russia, while a postal and telegraph union was extended to all the German German affairs States. Early in the year the King of Prussia revived the old Council of State as it was before 1848. The Constitution underwent new modifications. In May, a conference of the great Powers met at London to treat of certain German affairs. An agreement was signed practically assuring the independence of the Swiss district of Neuchâtel, which had revolted from Prussia in 1848. Three days later, on May 8, a protocol was signed concerning the Danish succession. This intricate problem continued to vex the souls of diplomats. Lord Palmerston, when interrogated about it, said that there were only three persons who understood the [Pg 1155] Danish succession.The Danish succession One was the Queen Dowager of Denmark, the second was God Almighty, and the third was a German professor, but he had gone mad. While attempting to settle the terms of the succession the five great Powers and Sweden signed a treaty guaranteeing the integrity of the Danish monarchy. The throne was granted to Christian of Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Christian, Duke of Augustenburg-Holstein, consented to surrender his rights for a money German fleet sold consideration. The treaty was not recognized by the German Confederation, but was accepted by Hanover, Saxony and Wurtemberg. In June, Germans had the humiliating experience of seeing their fleet, the formation of which was undertaken in 1848, sold at public auction. All aspirations for sea power had been abandoned by the Bund. In July, Prussia's representative at the Bund meetings, Baron Bismarck, was sent as envoy to Austria. Through his efforts at Vienna the Austrian Government was prevailed upon to join the German Zollverein and to sign commercial treaties.

During this year in Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel, the German educator, died at Marienthal on July 21, in his seventieth year. After an Death of Froebel unsettled and aimless youth, he started teaching, and soon developed a system which has become famous under the name of Kindergarten (children's garden). It was intended to convert schooling into play, which, according to Froebel, is the child's most serious business. The first Kindergarten was opened in 1840 at Blankenburg, Prussia. Meeting at first with little encouragement, it gradually gained a footing[Pg 1156] in most civilized countries. Froebel was largely assisted in the propagation of his ideas by the Baroness Marenholz-Buelow. He was the author of "Die Menschenerziehung" (Human Education) and "Mutter und Koselieder," a book of nursery songs and pictures for children.

In England, the dismissal of Lord Palmerston left the Foreign Office in an embarrassing position as regarded Louis Napoleon's government. Other embarrassments were likewise bequeathed. Thus, on January 10, Lord "Prometheus" affair Palmerston's successor, Lord Granville, had to disavow to the American Minister the act of the British man-of-war "Empress," which had fired into the American steamer "Prometheus." England offered an apology which was accepted.

The caustic comments of the English press on French affairs, together with the free utterances of Victor Hugo and other French exiles on English soil, gave great offence to Louis Napoleon. Count Valevski's diplomatic protests "The Third of February" found support in the British House of Lords. It was then that Alfred Tennyson, undeterred by the supposed reserve of his Poet Laureateship, wrote the invective lines entitled "The Third of February."

About the same time Thackeray brought out his "History of Henry Esmond," a "Henry Esmond" masterpiece of English historical fiction. In the dedication to Lord Ashburton, Thackeray thus announced his departure for America. "My volume will reach you when the author is on his voyage to a country where your name is as well known as here."

In South Africa, at the Sand River Convention[Pg 1157] on January 17, the British Transvaal's independence recognized virtually accepted the independence of the Transvaal. In the meanwhile the fifth war with the Kaffirs was begun by Sir George Cathcart. Incidentally a crushing defeat was inflicted on the Basutos at Guerea. Toward the close of the year the situation grew so alarming that martial law was proclaimed by the Governor of Cape Colony. All inhabitants were bidden to the frontier for the defence of the colonies.

In China, the Taiping rebellion grew ever more threatening. Early in the year Tien Wang decided to march out of Kmaysi to invade the vast untouched provinces of Central China. He averred that he had "the divine commission Progress of Taiping rebellion to possess the Empire as its true sovereign." The rebels now became known as Taipings, after a town of that name in Kwangsi province. Tien Wang began his northern march in April. Irritated by the conduct of Tien Wang's lieutenants, the Triads took a secret departure and made peace with the Imperialists. Their secession put an end to the purpose of attacking Canton which Tien Wang had cherished, and he made an assault on Kweisling. The Imperial Commissioners at that place having beaten them back failed to pursue and conquer them, and they advanced unopposed across the vast province of Hoonan. At Changsha they encountered strong resistance. After a siege of eighty days they abandoned the attack and marched northward. They captured Yoochow, which was an important arsenal, and soon afterward Hankow, Manchong and How-Kong were taken.[Pg 1158]

In the Argentine Republic, the civil war and its consequent upheavals were continued. On February 3, General Urquiza, commanding the combined army of Entre Rios and Brazil, defeated General Rosas at Monte Cazeros, "the gate South American struggles of Buenos Ayres." The city capitulated and the civil war seemed ended. Urquiza announced himself as provisional dictator. On May 31, he was elected Provisional President, while Vincente Lopez was elected Governor of Buenos Ayres. One month later, Urquiza, having won over the army by a sudden coup d'état, seized the reins of government as dictator. His first measure was to acknowledge the independence of Paraguay. In September, Urquiza's refusal to recognize the political and commercial pre-eminence of Buenos Ayres produced another revolt. On September 11, the people of Buenos Ayres, under the leadership of Bartholomay Mitré, seceded from the confederacy. Urquiza was compelled to leave Buenos Ayres and proceeded to Santa Fé, where he was acknowledged as President by the thirteen other provinces. They bound themselves by a treaty to secure the free navigation of all rivers flowing into the La Plata. On November 20, the Congress of the Confederation met at Santa Fé and invested Urquiza with full powers to suppress the revolution in Buenos Ayres. Urquiza's blockade of the city by sea led to another revolution within the walls of Buenos Ayres. General Pintos assumed charge and Urquiza withdrew.

Nicholas Vasilievitch Gogol died on March 4 at Moscow. Born in 1810, at Soroczince, in the dis[Pg 1159]trict Death of Gogol of Poltava, he began his career as a writer with poems and a metrical tragedy, written in the dialect of Little Russia. To this period belongs his ballad "Two Fishes." After travelling in Germany, he was called to a professorship at the patriotic institute of St. Petersburg, where he wrote his famous prose romances in Greater Russian dialect. His "Evenings at a Farm" admitted him to the literary circles of the capital and brought him the friendship of his fellow poet, Pushkin. He wrote a series of short stories, treating of life in the Russian provinces, and among the middle class, which were subsequently published in the collection of four volumes, entitled "Mirgorod." In 1833, Gogol brought out his satirical comedy, "The Commissioner," in which he laid bare the all-pervading corruption of Russian official life. After prolonged travels through Germany, France, Italy and Palestine, Gogol returned to Russia and "Dead Souls" settled near St. Petersburg. He wrote more short stories and descriptions of travel, and finally published the incomplete satirical novel, "Dead Souls," which is the best of his works. In this novel he handled Russian life fearlessly, with satirical comments on the weak points of Russian society. It is stated that he finished the story before his death, but burned the manuscript. When he died he was acknowledged as the best writer of satirical prose in Russia.

On February 20, Lord Palmerston was enabled to make his former colleagues in the Cabinet feel his power. Owing to general vague apprehensions that Prince Louis Napoleon might revive his illus[Pg 1160]trious namesake's projects Palmerston's revenge against England, a cry had arisen for the strengthening of the national defences. To satisfy this demand, Lord John Russell brought in a local militia bill. Lord Palmerston promptly moved an amendment for a general volunteer force instead of local militia, thus totally altering the nature Earl of Derby Premier of the bill. The amendment was sustained by a majority of eleven votes. Lord John Russell's Ministry thereupon resigned, and the Earl of Derby was called in. The most conspicuous member of the new Cabinet was Benjamin Disraeli, who took the portfolio of the Exchequer. Disraeli by this time had already achieved popularity as an author. Some idea of his personality may be gathered from a contemporary's description of his outward appearance in those days:

"Usually he wore a slate-colored velvet coat lined with satin, purple Disraeli's appearance trousers with a gold band down the outside seam, a scarlet waistcoat, long lace ruffles falling down to the tips of his fingers, white gloves with brilliant rings outside them, and long black ringlets rippling down over his shoulders. When he rose in the House, he wore a bottle-green frock coat, with a white waistcoat, collarless, and a needless display of gold chains."

The new Ministry was so distinctly protectionist that the Anti-Corn Law League was reorganized to resume the agitation for free trade. Soon the perennial troubles with America about the fisheries of Newfoundland broke out afresh. The new Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Malmesbury, insisted upon a strict fulfilment of the terms agreed upon in the[Pg 1161] convention of American fisheries dispute 1818. Armed vessels were sent to the coast of British North America. The United States likewise sent a war steamer to the disputed fishing-grounds. Many vessels were boarded for information, but both sides abstained from giving serious grounds for complaint.

In the United States, the Whigs, encouraged by their success with Taylor, put forth another military officer, General Scott, as their Presidential candidate. At the convention held in Baltimore in June, Webster, Fillmore and Scott were put in nomination. Fifty-two ballots were cast before Scott was nominated. The candidates before the Democratic Convention in Baltimore Franklin Pierce elected were Buchanan, Cass, Marcy and Douglas. Franklin Pierce was chosen after more than forty ballots. The Free Democrats selected John P. Hale and Julian of Indiana. Pierce carried twenty-seven States, to Scott's four, receiving 254 votes to Scott's 42.

Henry Clay died in June. He was a candidate for the Presidency three times. Death of Clay Few Americans have been more idolized than he. His great success was largely due to his manner, which captivated opponents as well as friends. In will and fine sense of honor he was as firm and lofty as Jackson or Jefferson. He it was who said that he would "rather be right than Death of Webster President." His death was followed in October by that of his great rival, Daniel Webster. This great American orator was born in 1782, the son of a New England farmer. He was graduated from Dartmouth College, and began the study of law. While reading Vattel,[Pg 1162] Webster's oratory Montesquieu, and Blackstone, he eked out a humble income as a school teacher. He became associated with Christopher Gore, a noted lawyer of those days in Boston, and presently acquired a reputation as an orator. An address delivered at Fryeburg in 1802 furnished the model for his great Concord speech four years later. As The Concord speech a result of the speeches in opposition to Jefferson's and Madison's embargo policy against England, Daniel Webster was elected by the Federalists of New Hampshire to represent them in the Thirteenth Congress. Henceforth Webster's stirring addresses were delivered in the national forum of the Webster in Congress United States. Pitted against such distinguished speakers as Calhoun and Henry Clay, he gradually came to be acknowledged the foremost orator of America. He was at the height of his reputation when he died. His most lasting achievement, perhaps, was the conclusion of the famous Webster-Ashburton treaty with England, settling the boundaries between British North America and the United States.

Shortly before Webster's death another orator of world-wide reputation was heard at Washington. This was Louis Kossuth, the Hungarian exile. On the occasion of a banquet tendered to him by the American Congress early in the year, Kossuth delivered the famous speech in which he compared the Roman Senate of antiquity to that of the New World.

Junius Brutus Booth, the great English tragedian, died in America while returning from a lucrative tour to California. Booth made his début at Covent[Pg 1163] Junius Brutus Booth Garden Theatre in London in 1814 as Richard III. His personal resemblance to the hunchbacked tyrant conformed so well to the traditions of the stage, and his personification of the character was in other respects so striking, that he eclipsed Edmund Keane, then acting at Drury Lane. The rivalry of the two actors grew so intense that Booth was driven from the stage by a serious theatrical riot. In 1821, he made his first appearance in the United States, again as Richard III., and was received with such enthusiasm that he settled permanently at Baltimore. From here he made professional excursions to other American cities. Among his most familiar personations were Iago, Hamlet, Shylock, Sir Giles Overreach, and Sir Edmund Mortimer. Over his audiences he ever exercised a wonderful power. On his death he left two sons, both actors like himself, and both destined to make their mark in life.

The death of Thomas Moore, the Irish poet, excited as much attention in Death of Tom Moore America as it did in England. Born at Dublin in 1779, Tom Moore, as he was usually called, wrote verses in early youth. Like Pope, he may be said to have lisped in numbers. At the age of thirteen he was a contributor to the "Anthologia Hibernica." After graduating at Trinity College he came to London, and there dedicated his translation of the poems of Anacreon to the Prince Regent. He became a favorite of fashionable society. Among his patrons were the Earl of Moira, Lord Holland, the Marquis of Lansdowne, and other noblemen of the Whig party. He obtained the appointment of Registrar to the Admiralty in[Pg 1164] Bermuda, but on arriving there hired a deputy to Moore's American impressions discharge the duties of the office and went on a tour to America. Like some other famous travellers, he conceived a poor opinion of the American people. In commemoration of his trip, Moore brought out "Epistles, Odes and other Poems," containing many defamatory verses on America. One scurrilous stanza read:

In a footnote Moore was careful to explain that this allusion was to the President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The poems were roughly handled by the "Edinburgh Review." This led to a duel between Moore and Jeffrey—a bloodless encounter, which resulted in a life-long friendship "Irish Melodies" between the two men. The same affair produced a quarrel and Moore's subsequent friendship with Byron. Throughout this time Moore brought out his charming "Irish Melodies," the most popular of all his productions. Messrs. Longwin, the publishers, agreed to give him £3,000 for a long poem "Lalla Rookh" on an oriental subject. Moore retired to the banks of the Dofe, surrounded himself with oriental books, and in three years produced "Lalla Rookh." The success of this work was beyond the expectations of the publishers. After achieving this triumph, Moore travelled abroad in the company of the wealthy poet Rogers, and later of Lord John Russell. At Venice he visited Lord Byron. The affairs[Pg 1165] of his office in Bermuda next called him there, after which he resided in Paris, where he wrote his famous "Fables for the Holy Alliance." Returning to England, he settled at Bow-wood near Wiltshire, the seat of his life-long friend, Lord Lansdowne. There he spent his declining years and died in dotage.

Tom Moore, while a very popular poet, produced few poems of lasting quality. Most characteristic of Moore, perhaps, are his lightest verses, such as "The Time I Lost in Wooing," the melodious lines "Oft, in the Stilly Night," or the famous Irish apostrophe:

Dear Harp of my Country! in darkness I found thee,
"Dear Harp of My Country" The cold chain of silence had hung o'er thee long,
When proudly, my own Island Harp, I unbound thee,
And gave all thy chords to light, freedom, and song!

The warm lay of love and the light note of gladness
Have waken'd thy fondest, thy liveliest thrill;
But, so oft hast thou echoed the deep sigh of sadness,
That ev'n in thy mirth it will steal from thee still.

Dear Harp of my Country! farewell to thy numbers,
This sweet wreath of song is the last we shall twine!
Go, sleep with the sunshine of Fame on thy slumbers,
Till touch'd by some hand less unworthy than mine;

If the pulse of the patriot, soldier, or lover,
Have throbb'd at our lay, 'tis thy glory alone;
I was but as the wind, passing heedlessly over,
And all the wild sweetness I wak'd was thine own.

The death of Wellington, on September 14, was felt as a national loss in Death of Wellington England. The Iron Duke died in his eighty-fourth year, having grown more and more infirm in his last few years. Arthur Wellesley, or Wesley, as the name was originally written, singularly enough received his first military education in France, under the direction of Pi[Pg 1166]gnorel, the celebrated engineer. He saw his first active service with the Duke of York's disastrous expedition to the Netherlands in 1794. There he gained his colonelcy. After his transfer to India he served under his elder brother, Marquis Wellesley, and gained the brilliant victories of Assaye and of Wellesley's campaigns Argaum. On his return from India he was appointed Secretary of Ireland, and there established the celebrated police force which later served as a model for that of London. In 1807, he took part in the expedition against Copenhagen, and after the death of Sir John Moore was sent to Portugal, where he won the battles of Rolica, Vimiera, the brilliant passage of the Douro, and the hard-fought field of Talavera. The battle of Busaco, the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, the victories of Salamanca and Vittoria, followed, and the Viscount successively became Earl and Marquis of Wellington, and a grant from Parliament subsequently placed him in possession of the domain of Strathfieldsaye. The capture of Pampeluna and St. Sebastian, and the defeat of the French in the passes of the Pyrenees, enabled him to plant the British ensign on French ground.

The concluding triumphs of Orthes and Toulouse were succeeded by the general peace and by his own promotion to a dukedom, the baton of a field-marshal having previously been conferred upon him for his victory at Salamanca. In 1814, the Duke of Wellington was appointed Ambassador to France, and proceeded in that capacity to the Congress of Vienna. While there, the return of Napoleon from[Pg 1167] Elba once more called him to the field; and on June 18, 1815, he gained his greatest triumph at Waterloo. After this Wellington served his country in the capacity of a diplomat, as Commander-in-Chief of the army, Prime Minister, and again as Commander-in-Chief of the army. A public funeral was of course decreed. Wellington's funeral William Gladstone pronounced the funeral oration in Parliament. In the procession that followed Wellington's bier, British soldiers of every arm and of every regiment of the service for the first time marched together. From Grosvenor Gate to St. Paul's Cathedral there was not a foot of unoccupied ground. An unbroken silence was maintained as the procession moved slowly by to the mausoleum where the remains of England's great warrior were to be placed side by side with those of Nelson. Alfred Tennyson recited his famous ode on the death of the Duke of Wellington:

A new Parliament assembled in November. The result of the elections left the government in as hopeless a minority as before. An elaborate sys[Pg 1168]tem of finance brought forward by Disraeli was rudely handled by Gladstone. The Disraeli and Gladstone debate was one of the fiercest ever heard in Parliament. The excitement on both sides was intense. Disraeli, animated by the power of desperation, was in a mood neither to give nor to take quarter. He assailed Sir Charles Wood, the late Chancellor of the Exchequer, with a vehemence which more than once went to the very limits of Parliamentary decorum. The House had not heard the concluding word of Disraeli's bitter and impassioned speech, when Gladstone leaped to his feet to answer him. The Government was defeated. Disraeli took his defeat with characteristic composure. The morning was cold and wet. "It will be an unpleasant day for going to Osborne," he quietly remarked to a friend as they went down Westminster Hall together and looked out into the dreary street. That day, at Osborne, the resignation of the Ministry was accepted by the Queen.

The Earl of Aberdeen formed a new Ministry including Lord John Russell as New English Ministry Foreign Secretary; Lord Palmerston, Home Secretary; Earl Granville, President of the Council; Gladstone, Chancellor of the Exchequer, while Sir W. Molesworth, the historian, was Commissioner of Public Works. The Marquis of Lansdowne occupied a seat in the Cabinet without holding any office. It was another Ministry of all the talents. Recent events in France demanded instant attention, the more so since the municipal council of London had taken upon itself to send an address of congratulation to Louis Napo[Pg 1169]leon upon his assumption of the empire. In the end the British Government took the same course.

In Paris, the Senate had been reconvened to consider the reinstitution of End of French Republic the empire. Within three days a senatus consultum was ready recommending the desired change to another plebiscite. Every one of the Senators, so the Parisians suggested, had 30,000 francs' worth of reasons for advocating the change. The formality of a plebiscite was accomplished by November 21. The government functionaries reported 7,854,189 yeas against 253,145 nays. On the anniversary of his coup d'état of the previous year, Louis Napoleon took the title of Napoleon III., by the grace of God and the will of the Second Empire nation, Emperor of the French. The title was made hereditary. In vain did the Count of Chambord voice the protest of the Royalists, and Victor Hugo, in his exile on the Island of Jersey, that of the Republicans. France was once more under imperial rule, and seemed content to remain so. About this time the great Crédit Mobilier was established as a joint-stock company by Isaac and Emile Pereire.

Outside of France, Louis Napoleon's second coup d'état created little stir. Only Emperor Nicholas of Russia refused to recognize Louis Napoleon Holy Sepulchre controversy as a full-fledged monarch. An ecclesiastical dispute concerning the guardianship of the holy places in Palestine threatened to make trouble between France and Russia. In the end the Sultan was prevailed upon to sign a treaty confirming the sole custody of the Holy Sepulchre to the French.

1853

[Pg 1170] ON JANUARY 30, Louis Napoleon married Eugénie Marie de Montijo de Guzman, a Empress Eugénie Spanish beauty. Raised to the rank of Empress, this ambitious lady at once became a leader of fashion. The Czar of Russia, acting in conformity with the sovereigns of Austria and Prussia, finally consented to acknowledge Napoleon III. as Emperor of the French, and Great Britain followed. Strengthened by this outward recognition, Louis Napoleon deemed it safe to extend an amnesty to some 4,500 political prisoners and Republican exiles. On February 5, however, General Saint-Priest, with many other Royalists, was secretly arrested on charges of communicating with the Comte de Chambord and of sending false news to foreign newspapers. Not long afterward a bill was passed restoring capital punishment for attempts to subvert the imperial government and for plots against the life of the Emperor. On the recognition of the Empire by Great Britain, application was made to the English Government for a surrender of the Great Napoleon's last testament. The request was granted. Louis Napoleon thereupon undertook to carry out his famous uncle's bequests. Under the stress of adversity, the two branches[Pg 1171] of the Bourbon family became reconciled to each other. The French Royalists reconciled Duke de Nemours, on behalf of the House of Orleans, made his peace with the Comte de Chambord. Henceforth, the Count of Paris was recognized by the Royalists of France as the rightful pretender to the crown.

In Germany, reactionary measures of repression were still in order. An alleged democratic conspiracy was unearthed at Berlin in March, and another Gervinus' State trial in April. In Baden, Georg Gervinus, the historian, on charges of high treason for writing his "Introduction to the History of the Nineteenth Century," was sentenced to ten months' imprisonment, and his book was ordered to be burned. The sentence of imprisonment, however, was not executed. On April 28, Ludwig Tieck, the great German Shakespearian scholar and romantic poet, died at Berlin. Born in 1778 at Berlin, he entered into Death of Tieck literary activity at the opening of the Nineteenth Century, and joined the enlightened circle of Weimar. There he issued his great collection of German medieval romances, and of the works of the Minnesingers. It was he who drew Goethe into the study of Shakespeare, and who persuaded Henry Steffens, the Norwegian philosopher, to try his hand at purely literary productions. Together with Schlegel he was the greatest German exponent of the works of Shakespeare.

In Italy, likewise, severe measures of reaction were inflicted on the people of the governments of Austria, Naples and some of the petty principalities. In Tuscany, the reading of the Bible was prohibited.[Pg 1172] In February, a revolt at Milan, instigated by Mazzini, was ruthlessly put Reaction in Italy down. A few months later a revolutionary plot was revealed at Rome. Some hundred and fifty conspirators were thrown into prison. As heretofore, Garibaldi figured in these movements. In Sardinia alone, under the enlightened Ministry of Count Cavour, the liberal movement for united Italy was encouraged. The Pope's hostile attitude was resented by the passage of anti-clerical measures in Sardinia. Thus at first ecclesiastical jurisdiction was abolished, and later bills were proposed for the suppression of convents and for the ultimate withdrawal of all State support from the clergy.

In October, while the conspiracy trials were still in full prosecution at Milan, Tommaso Grossi, the Italian romantic poet, died in that city. Grossi Tommaso Grossi was born at Belland, on Lake Como, in 1791, and at an early age won distinction by a patriotic satire against Austrian rule in northern Italy. In 1817 he published "La Fuggitiva," a love story of the French wars, which found great favor. Inspired by his intercourse with Manzoni, a few years later he wrote "Ildegonda," a romantic poem treating of the times of chivalry and cloister life. This poem won a great success. Less happy was his attempt to rival Tasso with an epic poem in fifteen cantos on the Crusades. Among his prose tales, the most lasting in interest are the historical novel "Marco Visconti" and the idyl "Ulrico e Lida." Of his lyric songs, "La Rondiella" achieved the greatest popularity.

Gustave Courbet, the French originator of realism[Pg 1173] Gustave Courbet in painting, the author of "Le Beau c'est le Laid," the man who claimed that all search for the beautiful or ideality in art was a gross error, this year exhibited his "Women Bathing," and again created a stir on the exhibition of his "Funeral at Ornans" and his "Drunken Peasants at Flagny." This early exponent of realism in its most radical form, despite his taste for vulgar types, showed such strength of technique that his landscapes were accepted almost at once as masterpieces.

In England, a period of great prosperity had set in, notwithstanding several great labor strikes, among them that of the London cabmen, and of many thousands of operatives at Stockport and Preston. The success of the International expositions Crystal Palace Exhibition had been such that another great Industrial Exhibition was held at Dublin. It was made the occasion of Queen Victoria's second visit to Ireland. International expositions were likewise held at Berlin and in New York.

The change of Administration in the United States of North America gave a new tone to affairs there, and incidentally brought America into closer touch with the East. Congress had counted the electoral vote on February 9, giving to Pierce 254 and 42 to Scott. Franklin Pierce was forty-nine years President Pierce inaugurated of age when he became President, and was the youngest man who had been elected to that office. During the Mexican war he had fought with credit under Scott. William L. Marcy became Secretary of State, and Guthrie, McClelland, Jefferson Davis, Dobbin, Campbell and Cushing completed the Cab[Pg 1174]inet. It was said that Pierce came into office with no bitter opposition and went out with none. In his inaugural message he spoke with doubt concerning his own powers. In truth, he proved himself the tool of different managers.

The American Government also assisted Grinnell in fitting out a second Kane's Arctic voyage expedition to the Arctic under charge of Dr. Kane, who was surgeon and naturalist of the former expedition. The ships were frozen fast on the shores of Greenland. Kane's crew, without waiting for relief, set out to return in open boats, and after a voyage of 1,300 miles reached a Danish settlement in Greenland, where a relief expedition met them. They reached New York on October 11, 1855, where they were welcomed as men risen from the dead. They brought no news concerning Sir John Franklin.

Dominique François Arago died on October 2, at the age of sixty-seven. Death of Arago Scientists remember him chiefly for his experiments and discoveries in magnetism and optics. He was one of the few men who championed Fresnel during the controversy which raged at the time when the undulatory theory of light was first announced. As a popular expounder of scientific facts, Arago had few equals. With Gay-Lussac he was the founder of "Annales de Chimie et de Physique." He was also an active politician, and was a member of the French Provisional Government of 1848.

A thriving oriental trade had sprung up, fostered partly by the development of steam navigation and partly by the discovery of gold in California. A[Pg 1175] few years previously a first attempt had been made by the United States Government to break down if possible the system of exclusion kept up by Japan. Commodore Biddle was despatched with two war vessels. His mission proved unsatisfactory, and the Commodore was subjected to humiliating experiences. Early in 1853, President Fillmore sent Commodore Perry with a squadron of four vessels to present a letter from the President of the The opening of Japan United States to the Mikado of Japan, asking consent to the negotiation of a treaty of friendship and commerce between the two governments. On July 7, Commodore Perry's squadron steamed into the harbor of Yeddo. Perry got a favorable reception after using his big guns. The President's letter was left with the Mikado for the consideration of the Japanese Government, while Perry sailed away, promising to return the following spring. In the meanwhile violent upheavals in Japan resulted from the appearance of the American mission at Yeddo. The appearance of the squadron had long been anticipated, and was the subject of violent political discussions. Japan at that time was threatened with civil war. Two parties were disputing Japanese dissensions concerning the proper successor to the worn-out Shogun, who had hitherto wielded the powers of the impotent Mikado. The head of one party was Ee Kamong No Kami, the head of the Fudai Daimios. By right he was to be appointed Regent in case of an emergency. The head of the other party was the Prince of Mito, one of the "three families," hereditary Vice-Shogun in Yeddo, and connected by marriage with the family of[Pg 1176] the Emperor and with the wealthiest Daimios. The two parties made the arrival of the American squadron a pretext for grasping at the reins of power. Letters were sent to all the Daimios and Ometkis, requesting their opinions as to the reception to be given to the Americans. The majority were for resenting any foreign interference in the affairs of Japan by force. It was agreed, however, that Preparing for intrusion open declaration of war had best be deferred until the comparatively defenceless shores of Japan could be strengthened and sea forts could be erected. Orders were sent to the Daimios to muster the full strength of their retainers and munitions of war, for "if Japan does not conquer, it will be a great disgrace."

In China, the Taipings, having captured Kinkiang and Gurking, closely invested Nanking. After a fortnight's siege, the city surrendered to an armed rabble. The Tartar colony of 200,000 threw themselves upon Tien Wang's mercy, but not a hundred of them escaped: "We killed them all," said Taipings capture Nanking one of the Taipings; "we left not a root to sprout from." The acquisition of Nanking, the second city in the empire, made the Taipings a formidable rival to the Manchus, and Tien Wang became a contestant with Hienfung for imperial honors. It cut off communication between north and south China. Chinkiangfoo, at the entrance of the Grand Canal, and Yangchow, on the north bank of the river, also fell into their hands. Tien Wang proclaimed Nanking, the old Ming city, his capital. At a council of war it was decided to provision and fortify Nanking, and[Pg 1177] then march against Peking. By the end of May the Taiping army numbered 80,000. They attacked Kaifong and were Peking threatened repulsed, but continued their march toward Peking. After crossing the Hoang-ho, they were again repulsed at Hwaiking. Passing on, they defeated a Manchu force in the Sin Simming Pass, and in September added the province of Pechili, and came to Tsing, twenty miles south of Tien-tsin, less than a hundred miles from Peking. The fate of the Manchu dynasty trembled in the balance. The Mongol levies at last arrived under their great chief, Sankolinsin, and the invaders retired to their fortified camp at Tsinghai and sent to Tien Wang for succor. At Tsinghai they were closely beleaguered for some time to come.

The recurrence of American filibustering expeditions to Cuba appeared to the governments of England and France as evidence of an American purpose to secure Cuba and the West Indian Islands. To avert this, they suggested to the United States Government to make a treaty which should secure Cuba to Spain. The American Government was asked "to decline now and forever American declaration as to Cuba hereafter all intention to obtain possession of the island of Cuba and to discontinue all such attempts in that direction on the part of any individual or power whatever." Secretary of State Everett replied that the question affected American and not European policy, coming not properly within the scope of the interference of European Cabinets; that the United States did not intend to violate any existing laws; that the American Government claimed the right to act regarding[Pg 1178] Cuba independently of any other power, and that it could not view with indifference the fall of Cuba into any other hands than those of Spain. This was tantamount to a reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine. France did not reply to Everett's note, and the correspondence with the British Foreign Office was scarcely more satisfactory.

A new treaty with Mexico was negotiated by Gadsden, by which the United Gadsden's Mexican treaty States secured Marrila Valley, with 44,000 square miles, on the payment of $10,000,000. This settled the Mexican boundary dispute and averted all danger of further war.

Another international complication had arisen with Austria. On June 21, Martin Koszta, a Hungarian refugee and would-be American citizen, Koszta episode travelling under a United States passport, was arrested by the Austrian consul at Smyrna. Captain Ingraham of the United States sloop-of-war "St. Louis," cruising in Turkish waters, hearing of this, put into Smyrna. In accordance with the recent treaty governing Austrian refugees in Turkey, he demanded the surrender of Koszta within eight hours. If the man were not surrendered he threatened to land marines and take him by force. It was finally agreed to leave Koszta in the hands of the French consul, who presently released him. Austria issued a circular note to the courts of Europe protesting against the conduct of Captain Ingraham, and followed this up with a formal protest to the government of the United States. The reply of the American Congress was to vote a medal for Captain Ingraham. There the incident closed.[Pg 1179]

Other affairs absorbed the interest of Austria's Foreign Minister. A treaty was signed with Prussia establishing a virtual defensive and offensive alliance. At the same time Austria joined the German Zollverein for twelve years. When the Montenegrins rose against their Turkish oppressors, Austria supported their cause and demanded a redress of their grievances from Austria supports Montenegrins Turkey. After protracted negotiations this was granted. The wrongs of the Montenegrins and other Christian subjects of Turkey were warmly espoused by Russia. Czar Nicholas, as the pontiff of the Russian-Greek Church, claimed a protectorate over the Greek Christians in Turkey. The pending difficulties concerning the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem became part of the Russia threatens Turkey controversy. On the pretext of legalizing the predominant position of the Greek Church as one of the guardians of the Holy Sepulchre, the Czar assumed a threatening attitude toward Turkey. For a while Lord Stratford Canning, the British Ambassador at Constantinople, succeeded in mediating between Russia and France. A temporary agreement was effected. At this point the appearance of a French fleet in Turkish waters gave great offence to Russia, making it appear that the concessions to France had been extorted by a menace. Already Sir Hamilton Seymour, the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg, had been sounded by the Czar. It was on that occasion that Nicholas uttered the historic phrase that "the sick man was dying," meaning the Ottoman Empire. It was then, too, that tentative offers were made to England to let[Pg 1180] her take Egypt and the island of Candia, provided Russia could make herself mistress of the Balkans.

The traditional aspirations of Russia toward Constantinople were well International concern understood in Europe. With the exception of Prussia, the European Powers, contrary to the Czar's expectations, were resolved to preserve the integrity of Turkey.

The Continental Powers diplomatically met the Czar on his own religious ground. Protestant England, on the other hand, with no pilgrims to defend, could protest only on the score of preserving the balance of power. A deeper reason for British opposition lay in the possible opening of the Black Sea to Russian commerce, and the consequent loss of oriental trade to English merchants. Louis Napoleon, who could hardly begin his imperial reign in France more auspiciously than by avenging the disasters of his immortal uncle and of the Grand Army in Russia, entered the lists as the Austria's timely measures champion of the Roman Catholic Christians of the Orient. Austria, though she took no active part against her recent ally, ingeniously frustrated the plans of the Russian autocrat by bringing the Sultan to terms in his attempt to crush the insurgent Montenegrins, who had been incited by Russia to revolt. Thus was Nicholas robbed of his best pretext for impressing his will upon Turkey. Chagrined at the triumph of Austria, angered by the demands made by the French Ambassador, Marquis de Lavalette, in behalf of Roman Catholic pilgrims, Nicholas sent his Admiral, Prince Menzikov, as Ambassador Extraordinary to the Porte. With unusual ostentation[Pg 1181] MenzikovMenzikov's mission gathered the Russian fleet and an army of 30,000 men at Sebastopol, and then went alone to Constantinople. He demanded an audience of the Sultan, and on March 2 appeared before him in a plain overcoat and with boots covered with dust. His appearance was in keeping with his mission. In the name of his master he demanded the protectorate over all Greek Christians. French-English naval demonstration Failing to attain his end, Menzikov, after a six weeks' stay, delivered a Russian ultimatum. Late in May he left Constantinople, prophesying his speedy reappearance in uniform. Three weeks later the French and English fleets cast anchor in the entrance to the Dardanelles.

It was not to be expected that a ruler like Nicholas would shrink from war. On July 7, he despatched Prince Michael Gortschakov, together with two army Russians cross Pruth divisions of 40,000 men each, respectively commanded by Generals Lueders and Danneberg, across the Pruth, with orders to hold the Danube principalities until the Sultan had granted the Russian demands. Sultan Abdul Majid, through his grand vizier, Reschid Pasha, issued a firman recognizing the rights of his Christian subjects. Upon crossing the Pruth, Cossacks in Danube provinces the Russian Commander-in-Chief assured the people of Moldavia and Wallachia that their property and persons would not be molested; but the Russian soldiers seized the public funds, compelled peasants to give up their cattle and their grain, and pressed the native militia into the Czar's service.

Still, European diplomats hoped to preserve[Pg 1182] peace. The Porte was persuaded not to regard the invasion of the Danube principalities as a casus belli. The conference which was held by the representatives of the Powers resulted in the Viennese mediatory note, by the terms of which the Sultan was to yield to the Czar, with certain restrictions. Russia's claim of a protectorate was utterly ignored. The Czar accepted the conditions imposed, but held that the note gave him the desired protectorate by implication. In England, the press fiercely attacked the faint-hearted politicians of the Turkish ultimatum Continent. Layard, the discoverer of the royal palaces of Nineveh, appeared as the champion of Turkey in the House of Commons. Still more threatening was the attitude of the war party in Constantinople. The Sultan was forced to reject the note and to prepare for the storm. Hatred of Russia and religious fanaticism inspired the Turks with something of the old love of battle and lust of conquest. On October 4, an ultimatum was sent to Russia in which war was threatened if the invaded territory were not forthwith Russia declares war evacuated. Russia replied with a declaration of war on November 1. The Sultan, for complying with the wishes of his people, was rewarded by the ready payment of heavy war taxes, and by hordes of volunteers flocking to arms. Even Tunis and Egypt placed troops at the disposal of the mother country. In a short time a considerable fighting force was gathered under Oltenizza Omar Pasha on the south bank of the Danube. On the 4th of November the river was crossed and a defeat inflicted on the Russians at Oltenizza.

Had the Czar sent his troops into the Balkans immediately after he declared war, he might have struck a decisive blow before the Powers could come to the assistance of the Turks. But he had pledged himself not to cross the Danube when he met the Emperor of Austria at Olmütz, and again when he visited the King of Prussia in Berlin. Thus he had persuaded them to adopt a policy of neutrality. England and France now promised to give Turkey their armed support if the Czar persisted in his demands. Their fleets sailed for the Bosphorus.

At Sinope, a Turkish squadron composed of two steamers, two corvettes and seven frigates rode at anchor under the guns of a small battery. On November 30, the Turks were surprised by a Russian fleet commanded by Turkish naval disaster Admiral Nachimov, consisting of six ships of the line and three steamers—all vessels of large size, armed with the smooth-bore shell-gun. For the first time in naval history the disastrous effect of shell fire on wooden ships was demonstrated. Only one Turkish steamer escaped to tell the tale.

This blow, dealt beneath the very guns of the allied fleets, had its immediate effect. Lord Aberdeen, whose foreign policy was far too mild for the taste of most Englishmen, was so bitterly attacked that he resigned. The return of Palmerston to the Ministry was the signal for war. In December, the Vienna Conference sent to Nicholas a second note, demanding the evacuation of the Danube principalities.

1854

[Pg 1184] IN THE American Congress, on January 4, Senator Douglas introduced a bill Opening of Nebraska for opening the Territory of Nebraska. All land west of Iowa and Missouri had been closed against immigrants, so that it was impossible for them to secure a farm. By "Nebraska" was meant all territory north of Texas westward to the Rocky Mountains. On January 23, Douglas introduced his second bill, repealing the provisions of the Missouri Compromise for the proposed two Territories. This reopened the slavery discussion, which President Pierce six weeks before had declared to be closed forever. At the East, Mason and Dixon's line between Pennsylvania and Maryland had been regarded as separating freedom from slavery. At the West, the parallel of American slavery issue revived 36° 30', agreed on in 1820, was regarded as the border line. To cross this boundary, and remove all obstacles against slavery, promptly became the determination of the South. Douglas's bill now declared that the Compromise of 1850 left the question of slavery to the people within the Territory. General Cass gave to this doctrine the title of "Squatter Sovereignty." The bill passed by 113 to 100, and was taken up by the Senate, May 24, and passed by 35 to 13. President Pierce signed it on May[Pg 1185] 30. By the provisions of the bill, the country in question was to be organized into the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska; the slavery question was to be settled by the residents; the Supreme Court was to determine the title to slaves, if appeal was taken from the local courts, and the Fugitive Slave law was to be enforced. The Whig Party was destroyed and the Republican Party rose in its place. On July 6, a State Convention of all anti-Nebraska Rise of Republican Party citizens irrespective of former political affiliations assembled. This Convention designated the fusion of Whigs, Free Soilers, "Know Nothings," and Democrats who opposed the extension of slavery, by the name "Republicans."

Within the three months immediately preceding, treaties had been quietly made with a half score of Indian nations in Kansas, by which the greater part of the soil for 200 miles west was opened. In June, within a few days after the act had been passed, hundreds of Missourians crossed into Kansas, took up quarter-sections and claimed the right of pre-emption upon the eastern region. In Massachusetts and other Eastern States, societies were Opening of Kansas meanwhile formed for the purpose of making Kansas a free State. All the Northwest was eager to furnish squatters. In the East, Eli Thayer organized immigration to Kansas. When the country was thrown open to settlement, the company which he had organized took up claims at Lawrence. A population of 8,000 pressed in from the North. Meetings were held in Missouri in the slave interest, which pledged that State to send men to Kansas and remove all the[Pg 1186] Free State immigrants. A bloody election was held in Kansas. The pro-slavery Legislature made it a felony to circulate anti-slavery publications, or to deny the right to hold slaves. Reeder, the newly appointed first Governor, arrived. An election was ordered to choose a delegate for Congress. Armed Missourians from across the border took Fraudulent elections possession of the polls, and by methods of intimidation elected Whitfield, a slave-holding delegate, to Congress. At a second election 13 State Senators and 26 members of a Lower House were declared elected. For this purpose 6,320 votes were cast—more than twice the number of legal voters.

Foreign affairs for a short while served to distract attention from the all-engrossing subject. Mexican boundary disputes were further ended by a Mexican adjustment repeal of the obligation of Guadeloupe Hidalgo which required the Mexican frontier to be defended against the Indians. For this release the United States paid to Mexico $10,000,000.

A reciprocity treaty was made with Great Britain which opened to the United States all the frontiers of British America except Newfoundland, and gave to the British the right to share the American fisheries to the 36th Reciprocity with Canada parallel. Commerce in breadstuffs, fish, animals and lumber between the United States and the British provinces was made free. The St. Lawrence and Canadian Canals were opened to American vessels. All future differences were to be settled by arbitration.

During this year news arrived of the safe arrival of Fremont's fifth expedition to California. He had[Pg 1187] Fremont in California crossed the Rocky Mountains at the sources of the Arkansas and Colorado Rivers, passed through the Mormon settlement, and discovered a number of passes. He was chosen the first United States Senator from California, and served for a short term.

On February 28, the American steamship "Black Warrior" was seized in Havana Harbor, and was confiscated by the Spanish Government on the charge of Cuban filibusters filibustering. The American House of Representatives prepared to suspend the neutrality laws between the United States and Spain; but it was finally decided to demand an indemnity from Spain. This action gave an interest to filibustering operations in Cuba. Expeditions were fitted out, but were stopped by a proclamation of the President on June 1. The American representatives at the courts of England, France and Spain, by direction of the President, met at Ostend, Belgium, to confer on the best method of settling the difficulties of Cuba and obtaining possession of the island. In the Ostend Circular these diplomats recommended to the government of the United States that Cuba should be purchased if possible, and if that could not be done that it should be taken by force. "If Spain, actuated by Ostend manifesto stubborn pride and a false sense of honor, should refuse to sell Cuba to the United States, then by every law, human and divine, we shall be justified in wresting it from Spain if we possess the power." In this Messrs. Buchanan, Mason and Soule were held to have gone beyond the demands of public opinion.

In their camp at Isinghai the Taiping rebels, in[Pg 1188] China, were closelyCourse of Taipings beleaguered through the early part of the year until spring. Their provisions then becoming exhausted, they cut their way out and retreated southward. A relieving army from Nanking rescued them from imminent capture. They then captured Lintsing, where their headquarters remained for some months. During the rest of the year their successes were unimportant.

In South Africa, the difficulties of administering the recalcitrant communities of the Boers in the Orange River territory proved such that Orange Free State recognized during this year the struggle was abandoned as hopeless by the British authorities. The Orange River Free State, organized as an independent republic of Dutch settlers, was recognized as such.

On June 28, another military insurrection broke out near Madrid. General Espartero assumed charge of the movement. It found favor in Madrid and Espartero in Spain Barcelona. Within a fortnight the Ministry was overthrown. On July 19, Baldomero Espartero was welcomed with great enthusiasm on his return to power. On the last day of the month the Queen had to present herself on the balcony of her palace in Madrid while 3,000 revolutionists from the barricades paraded before her. Espartero on his return to power forthwith convoked the Cortes to frame a new liberal constitution, a task which was accomplished before the close of the year.

In Mexico, the celebrated operatic singer Henriette Sontag died of cholera. Born at Coblenz in 1805, she made an early début, and appeared with brilliant success in all the capitals of Eu[Pg 1189]rope, Death of Sontag where she was recognized as a worthy rival of Malibran. In 1829 she married Count Rossi, and in the following year retired from the stage. Twenty years later, in consequence of the loss of her fortune, she returned to the stage, and it was found that her voice had lost none of its power and charm.

In the Balkans, the Servians, Bulgarians and the Bosnians, in view of the meagre success of Russian arms so far, were disinclined to rise against The Crimean war Turkey. In Greece, on the other hand, Russian partisans succeeded in inciting the populace to revolt. From all sides volunteers rushed to the northern frontier. There was even some talk of establishing a new Byzantine Empire. King Otto, partly from lack of sympathy, but more through fear of the Western Powers, whose ships suddenly appeared at the Piræus, opposed the movement. The Greek volunteers who had gathered at the frontier were ordered to disperse.

The war had so far not fulfilled the expectations of Russia. Not only had Kalafat the Czar's troops been repulsed at Kalafat, despite their greater numbers, but they had also been surprised and beaten at Cetate. The respect which Cetate Russia commanded as a great Power had been engendered largely by her supposed inexhaustible resources. The Czar was therefore forced to maintain the old appearance of strength by recruiting troops throughout his empire and by intrusting the command of all his men to Prince Paskievitch, regarded, despite his great age, as the best general of Russia. Operations were shifted further[Pg 1190] to the east, partly to still the apprehensions of Russians cross Danube Austria, partly in the hope that more Slavic Christians would join the Russian army. In the middle of March, Paskievitch crossed the Danube not far from the mouth of the Pruth, despite the promises made by the Czar to Prussia and Austria. The Czar's rejection of a second pacific note from Vienna, together with the breach of the promise given to his fellow Powers declare war sovereigns, was followed, on March 28, by a formal declaration of war on the part of France and England.

Without effective resistance on the part of the Turks, General Lueders seized the Dobrudsha and joined General Schilder before the walls of Silistria, while Omar Pasha, in the face of a superior Russian force, was compelled to retire to the fortress of Shumla. These energetic Russian movements spurred the Western Powers to greater activity.

In April, an English army of 20,000 men under Lord Raglan, together with a French force more than twice as large under the command of Marshal St. Allied troops landed Arnaud, distinguished for his deeds in Africa and for his part in Louis Napoleon's coup d'état, landed at Gallipolis. The allies bombarded Odessa on April 22, taking good care, however, not to destroy English property in the city.

The crossing of the Danube by the Russians led Austria and Prussia to form an offensive and defensive alliance, both agreeing to wage war on the Czar Austrian-Prussian remonstrances if he sent his armies across the Balkans or incorporated the Danube principalities. But how little Prussia intended to engage in a struggle with the[Pg 1191] Czar was indicated by the retirement of Bonin, the Minister of War, and of Bunsen, the Ambassador to London. Even a tentative offer of Schleswig and Holstein made by England could not tempt Prussia to forsake her old confederate. A joint note was sent to St. Petersburg by Austria and Prussia, demanding the withdrawal of the Russian troops from the invaded territory of the Danube. Austria concluded a treaty with the Porte, by the Assault of Silistria terms of which she was to seize the Danube principalities, on the borders of which she had mobilized her troops. Paskievitch's efforts to reduce Silistria proved fruitless. The courageous example of Mussa Pasha and the skill of Grach, a Prussian officer of artillery, were more than a match for the strategy of the Russian commanding general. The hostile attitude of the Austrian troops on the frontier of Wallachia and Moldavia, and the landing of French and English expeditions at Varna, caused Paskievitch, on June 21, Paskievitch withdraws to withdraw his weakened force across the Danube and the Pruth. In the attempt to reduce Silistria the lives of many Russian soldiers had been sacrificed. Paskievitch himself was slightly wounded. Eighteen months after his defeat he died in Warsaw. Schilder, Mussa and Grach, all mortally wounded, had been carried off before him. The losses of the allies were also serious. An ill-considered march of the French from Varna into the Allies at Varna Dobrudsha resulted in the loss of 2,000 men, most of whom succumbed to the insufferable heat. In the camp at Varna cholera wrought terrible havoc.

Upon the sea the allies were no more successful.[Pg 1192] An English and French fleet, under Sir Charles Napier, proceeded to the Baltic Sea for the purpose of persuading Sweden to join France and England, of reducing the Ineffectual naval operations fortress of Kronstadt, the key to the Russian capital, and of attacking St. Petersburg itself. Sweden, despite the efforts of the Powers, held aloof like Prussia. The walls of Kronstadt defied the ships. Besides the capture of Bomarsund on August 16, nothing was accomplished.

In Varna, a council of war was held to decide upon the course to be pursued against the Russians. Among others, General Stein, or Ferhat Pasha, as he A council of war was called after his conversion to Mohammedanism, proposed the landing of troops in Asia in order to drive the enemy from the Caucasus. But St. Arnaud, who felt that he had not long to live, and, therefore, wished to end his career as gloriously as he could, voted for an attack on Sebastopol, the naval port of the Crimea. He was supported by Lord Raglan, who desired nothing more fervently than the destruction of the Russian fleet. So far no less than 15,000 men had perished in the campaign. The remaining force, composed of 56,000 soldiers, of whom 6,000 were Turks, was Before Sebastopol landed, on September 14, at Eupatoria on the west coast of the peninsula. To the south of Eupatoria the sea forms a bay which receives the waters of the River Tchernaya, flowing past the ruins of Inkermann. Upon the southern side is the fortified city of Sebastopol. On the northern side fortifications had been built to protect the fleet anchored in the bay. Upon the heights overlooking the river Alma,[Pg 1193] Prince Menzikov, Governor of the Crimea, had stationed his army of 39,000 men with 106 guns. Although the heights overhanging the Alma are more than five miles long, the Russian troops by which they were defended formed a front of but three miles. This left the extreme left of the Russians open to an attack by a ford opposite the village of Almatack. Against Menzikov, Marshal St. Arnaud and Lord Raglan could oppose 63,000 men and 128 guns. The weakness of the undefended left flank of the Russian army was discovered from the French ships. St. Arnaud laid his plans accordingly. On the morning of September 20, the attack was begun. The warships steamed up the river and opened fire on the enemy. Bosquet, in command of a French division and a Turkish contingent, was assigned to attack Menzikov's left. He pushed his way through the village of Almatack and forded the river. His Zouaves nimbly climbed the heights and reached the feebly defended plateau. Menzikov, busily engaged in resisting the advance of the English against his right, at first refused to believe the unwelcome tidings. He endeavored to shift a part of his force from right to left. Meantime the English, under Lord Raglan, were subjected to so fierce a fire from the Russian main position that they Battle of the Alma could make no headway. They lay passive upon the ground waiting for the French under Canrobert and Louis Napoleon to begin the attack in front, and thus divert the attention of Menzikov. Weary of their long delay, Lord Raglan took matters into his own hands. The English infantry rose from the field, advanced[Pg 1194] upon the Russian main position, and, under a hot fire, stormed the Russian redoubt with dreadful loss. Attacked on the one side by the English and on the other by the French, Menzikov was compelled to beat a retreat.

The battle of the Alma was one of the first modern engagements described by special war correspondents in the field. The news of the victory was despatched to London with a rapidity prophetic of the feats performed by latter-day correspondents. Besides the war correspondents, several artists War artists and correspondents of note followed the armies of the allies. Among the French painters who have perpetuated some of the well-known episodes of the Crimean War were Horace Vernet, who painted a "Battle of Alma," and Paul Alexandre Protais, a pupil of Desmoulins, who first came into note about that time. Another artist who made his early reputation in the war of the Crimea was Adolphe Schreyer.

On the Russian side, Count Lyof Tolstoi served at the front, together with Tolstoi his namesake and fellow writer, Count Alexander Tolstoi. There he gathered impressions for his stories on the siege of Sebastopol, and for his subsequent great novel of the Napoleonic invasion, "War and Peace."

Besides the news of victory, the Crimean War correspondents told of the Cholera sore plight of the English army, of the ravages of cholera, and of the wretchedly organized hospital system. No preparations had been made for a very long campaign. The taking of Sebastopol, it was thought by the English, would present no grave difficulties.[Pg 1195]

But Sebastopol was better prepared to meet an attack than England knew. True it is that early in the war the city might have been taken by a dash from the land and sea. But the chance was now gone. Three days after the defeat of Alma, Menzikov sank seven vessels of the Russian Black Sea fleet Todleben in the mouth of the harbor. On all sides the city was strongly fortified in accordance with the suggestion of Todleben, an ingenious artillery officer.

Instead of moving directly upon Sebastopol the allies first marched to Balaklava, further to the south, where they would be in constant Allies beaten off communication with the ships and could establish a base of supplies. On October 17, an unsuccessful attack was made on Sebastopol.

At dawn on October 25, the Russians crossed the Tchernaya and stole rapidly on until their vanguard had reached a position from which they could cannonade Canrobert's Hill, the post most distant from the forces of the allies and nearest the village of Kamara. The main Russian army under Liprandi soon came up and began to fire upon Canrobert's Hill and the adjacent works. The English replied with the assistance of a troop of horse Russian success artillery and of a field battery. Two English divisions and two French brigades were sent to the aid of the garrison on the hills. The Russians succeeded in storming Canrobert's Hill and in capturing the next and smaller fortification. Threatened by overwhelming numbers, the troops on the remaining hills withdrew.

Two English cavalry brigades—the Light and the[Pg 1196] Heavy—commanded by Lord Lucan, had been manœuvring to protect Balaklava. The Light Brigade, under Lord Cardigan, faced the Tchernaya; the Heavy Brigade, under Balaklava Scarlett, was on the Balaklava side of the ridge. A great body of Russian cavalry swept down the slope upon the Heavy Brigade, and for a moment threw it into disorder. But Scarlett's men charged the Russians. The two opposing bodies of cavalry clashed and seemed to melt one within the other. Then the Russian horsemen yielded, and fled over the ridge whence they had first appeared five minutes before.

A disposition on the Russian side to carry off the captured guns induced Lord Raglan to send Lord Lucan an order "to advance rapidly to the front and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns." The order was carried by Captain Nolan, who found Lucan between his two brigades, with the Light Brigade beyond Woronzov road. Whose "front" was meant Lucan did not know. Nolan conjectured that "the guns" in question were those which had retired with the retreating Russian cavalry. Already the Russian cavalry had taken protection behind its works toward the Tchernaya, and was supported by The charge of the Light Brigade Liprandi's troops posted along the Woronzov road, and by Russian guns bearing on the valley from the ridge and from Fedioukin heights. Nolan, Lord Lucan reported later, insisted that these very guns must be regained. Although Lord Cardigan of the Light Brigade shared Lucan's misgivings he obeyed the command. With the order, "The Brigade will advance!" the famous[Pg 1197] charge of the Six Hundred began. Nolan galloped obliquely across the Brigade as it started. He was killed by the first shell fired from a Russian gun. Into the thick of the Russians Cardigan rode with his men. The forlorn exploit has been immortalized by Alfred Tennyson:

The whole Brigade would have been wiped out after the repulse, when the Russian cavalry rode in pursuit, had not several squadrons of French Liprandi's victory cuirassiers ridden to the rescue. The fact that the Russians retained the hills which they had captured justified Liprandi in claiming the victory.

In November, the French infantry in the Crimea numbered 81,000, the British 16,000, and the Turkish 11,000. Brave as the Moslems undoubtedly were, they were not permitted to demonstrate their value in subsequent encounters. While the allies strengthened their batteries and replenished their magazines, the Russians likewise fortified their position and gathered Preparing for battle reinforcements. It was a race on both sides for the first delivery of the attack. On November 4, the allied commanders definitely arranged for a cannonade and an assault which was to place Sebastopol at their mercy. The Russians, recognizing their peril, completed the assembly of their forces to attack the allies and forestall them.[Pg 1198] In all, Menzikov could oppose 115,000 soldiers to the 65,000 available men of the allies. The Russian commander assigned the main attack to General Soimonov with 19,000 infantry and 38 guns and to General Paulov with 16,000 infantry and 96 guns. The regiments in the valley of the Tchernaya, formerly commanded by Liprandi, but now led by Gortschakov, were "to support the general attack by drawing the enemy's forces toward them." The garrison of Sebastopol was to cover with its artillery fire the right flank of the attacking force. After effecting their junction, the two divisions were to place themselves under General Danneberg's command.

Soimonov issued under cover of a thick fog from the fortress before dawn on November 5, and to the surprise of the allies began the attack on the English left. The timely arrival of reinforcements under Buller enabled the Inkermann British to repel the Russians. Soimonov was left dead on the field. The attack of Paulov on the right was no more successful. The Russians were here repulsed with frightful loss. When Danneberg arrived on the scene he found that, with Paulov's battalions on Mount Inkermann and with those of Soimonov, he could recommence the battle with 19,000 men and 90 guns. Ten thousand of these men were hurled against the English centre and right by Danneberg. The carnage was frightful. Between the hostile lines rose a rampart of fallen men. The Russians would probably have swept away the British by the sheer force of greater numbers, had they not been taken in the flank and[Pg 1199] repulsed by a French regiment which arrived just in time to save their English comrades.

Although the Russian attacking force had been diminished to 6,000 men, it was once more resolutely launched against the enemy, this time against the A dear victory centre and left of the allied armies. So impetuous was the assault, that for a time the Russians carried all before them. But a simultaneous, irresistible advance of the French and English not only repulsed the attacking force, but drove it off the field. Shortly before noon the battle was decided. The heavy losses suffered by the Russians enabled the allies to oppose greater numbers of men against Danneberg's broken battalions and his still unused reserve, and to make use of their guns, now for the first time superior in number to the Russian ordnance. The battle of Inkermann closed with no grand charge on the one side, nor wild flight on the other. When the Russians saw that success was hopeless, they withdrew gradually, with no attempt on the part of the wearied allies to convert the repulse into a rout. On both sides, men had been ruthlessly sacrificed.

Inkermann was followed by a gloomy winter. The Black Sea was swept by terrible storms which destroyed transport ships laden with stores for the Crimean horrors army. The horses that charged at Balaklava became unfit for service; the men who had fought at Inkermann languished in field hospitals. In the wretchedly organized lazarets at Scutari the sick and wounded died by scores for lack of proper[Pg 1200] medical attendance. Shameful frauds were perpetrated in filling the contracts for preserved meats. With grim humor "Punch" exclaimed: "One man's preserved meat is another man's poison." After the harrowing misery that prevailed in camp had been pictured in the London newspapers, something like system was finally established in the hospitals by the energy of Miss Florence Nightingale.

Balaklava and Inkermann had a profound effect upon the diplomatic negotiation of the Powers. England and France attempted to induce Austria and Prussia to take arms against the Czar. But Prussia would do nothing Sardinia's offered help without the Confederation; and Austria would do nothing without Prussia. Buol-Schauenstein, the Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, would gladly have mediated; but the prospects of success were not rosy. To the annoyance of Austria, Piedmont, which had maintained its position in Italy despite Austria, offered to take part in the war. Austria saw that she must now act quickly if she wished to preserve her European prestige. On December 2, she signed a treaty with England and France binding herself not to negotiate separately with the Czar; to defend the principalities which she had occupied in accordance with her compact with Turkey, after their evacuation by the Russians; and to deliberate with the Powers as to the best course to be pursued if the war were not ended by January 1, 1855. The treaty was intended merely to thwart Piedmont.

1855

[Pg 1201] COMPLAINTS of neglect and maladministration in the Crimea waxed ever louder. The reports of the war correspondents at the front aroused indignation in London and Paris. Now the London "Times" came out with a leading article which produced a profound sensation throughout England. The burden of it was a bitter complaint that "the noblest army ever sent from our shores has been sacrificed to the grossest mismanagement. Incompetency, Crimean war scandals lethargy, aristocratic hauteur, official indifference, favor, routine, perverseness and stupidity reign, revel, and riot in the camp before Sebastopol, in the harbor of Balaklava, in the hospitals of Scutari, and how much nearer home we do not venture to say. We say it with extremest reluctance, no one sees or hears anything of the Commander-in-Chief. Officers who landed on the 14th of September, and have incessantly been engaged in all the operations of the siege, are not even acquainted with the face of their commander." The exposures of the "Times" were taken up in Parliament. Already Lord John Russell had urged upon the Earl of Aberdeen the necessity of having the War Minister in the House of Commons, and recommended that Lord Palmer[Pg 1202]ston should be intrusted with the portfolio of war. The Prime Minister refused to recommend the proposed change to the Queen, on the ground that it would be unfair to the Duke of Newcastle, against whom, he said, no positive defect had been proved. As soon as Parliamentary inquiry Parliament assembled on January 25, the opposition moved for a commission of inquiry "into the condition of our army before Sebastopol, and into the conduct of those departments whose duty it has been to minister to the wants of that army." Lord John Russell at once wrote to Lord Aberdeen that since this motion could not be resisted, and was sure to involve a censure of the War Department, he preferred to tender his resignation. The retirement of the leaders of the House of Commons served to paralyze the government's resistance. After a debate of two nights the motion for an inquiry was accepted by 305 against 148 votes. As Mr. Molesworth, who was present, wrote:

"Never, perhaps, had a government been more decisively defeated. When the Aberdeen's Ministry defeated numbers were announced, the House seemed to be surprised, and almost stunned by its own act. There was no cheering; but for a few moments a dead silence, followed by a burst of derisive laughter. The Ministers of course resigned."

Lord John Russell and Lord Derby, each in turn, tried to form a Ministry, but both failed. Lord Palmerston was then called in, and succeeded in rallying a Cabinet composed largely of the members of the old Administration. Thus Lord Granville, Earl Grey, the Duke of Argyll, Lord Clarendon[Pg 1203] and William E. Gladstone were retained. The chief change was the Palmerston, Premier appointment of Lord Panmure to take the place of the Duke of Newcastle as Secretary of War. Lord Panmure, better known as Fox Maule, had already served as Minister of War during the six years of Lord Russell's administration, and had shown himself thoroughly capable in that post. Commissions of inquiry were now sent to the Crimea. At the same time diplomatic conferences were reopened at Vienna.

The evident insincerity of Count Buol stirred up a hornet's nest of indignation. The people of England and France became incensed as they saw Cavour's master-stroke that Austria showed no inclination to fight. Prussia flatly refused to assist Austria in any warlike undertaking. Victor Emmanuel of Sardinia took advantage of the situation to join the allies. On April 21 he sent 15,000 men to the Crimea.

During the diplomatic parleys of the Powers, the siege of Sebastopol wearily dragged along. The commissariat and land-transport systems broke down. The armies were weakened by cholera, cold, and starvation. Negotiations for peace were set on foot by Austria. A conference was opened at Vienna under promising auspices.

Czar Nicholas, with whom the war was a personal grievance, died on March Death of Emperor Nicholas 2—of pulmonary apoplexy, reported the physicians—of bitter disappointment and despair, claimed his people. His son, Alexander II., peace-loving as he was known to be, did not venture to show himself less of a true Russian than his father. The Conference proved a[Pg 1204] failure. Lord John Russell, England's representative, was instructed to insist upon the admission of Turkey into the Concert of Powers. To secure this end, four principal The Four Points points were to be considered, now famous under the name of the Four Points—the fate of the Danube principalities, the free navigation of the Danube, the limitation of Russian supremacy in the Black Sea, and the preservation of the integrity of the Ottoman Empire. The attempt to limit Russia's supremacy in the Black Sea was the chief point upon which the Powers could not agree.

The operations in the Crimea were vigorously renewed. Lord Raglan died and was succeeded by General Simpson. Long before him, old Marshal St. Arnaud Changes at the front was carried away by disease. His post was taken by Canrobert, who afterward resigned in favor of Pelissier. On August 16, the Russians under Liprandi made a desperate effort to raise the siege by an attack on the allies. The assault was made on the French divisions and on the Sardinian contingent. Liprandi was foiled. Northern Italy was in a delirium of joy when the news came that the banner of Piedmont had been carried to victory over a great Power, side by side with the flag of France. The far-sightedness of Cavour's audacious policy was now fully appreciated.

The repulse proved fatal to the Russians. Nearer and nearer the French drew to the city. But the ingenious Todleben threw up works which also brought the Russians closer to the enemy. Sometimes it seemed as if the allies were the besieged and[Pg 1205] Russian works assaulted not the besiegers. Malakov Tower and the Mamelon battery in front of it were the scenes of bloody conflicts. Night sorties were made and repelled. On June 7, the English assaulted the quarries in front of the Redan, and the French assailed the Mamelon. Both attempts were successful. On the 18th, a fierce attack was made on the Redan and the Malakov batteries, which resulted in failure, because the French did not act with sufficient precision. A simultaneous assault was made on the Malakov and Zouaves storm the Malakov the Redan on September 5. The French upon capturing the Malakov were to hoist their flag, and thereby signal to the English when to move against the Redan. A brilliant success was won by the Zouaves. Their tricolor waved over the ramparts fifteen minutes after they had started to scale the steep heights. The task of the English troops proved more difficult. They were compelled to advance under a galling fire, but stormed the parapets despite the resistance which they encountered. The attacking force, however, was too small; reinforcements did not come in time, and the remnant of the British beaten off party was compelled to withdraw. It was the story of Balaklava told over again with bloody emphasis—the story of splendid courage on the part of the men, of wretched generalship on the part of their commanders. After the attack, the Russians withdrew from the south side of Sebastopol. That portion of the city had been so thoroughly bombarded that Gortschakov could no longer hold out. "It is not Sebastopol that we have left to them, but the burning ruins of the town, to which[Pg 1206] we ourselves set fire," wrote the Sebastopol yielded to allies Russian commander after his brave defence. He could indeed boast that later generations would "recall with pride" the great siege and its stirring events. The investment had lasted eleven months. It involved the construction of seventy miles of trenches and the employment of 60,000 fascines, 80,000 gabions, and 1,000,000 sandbags. One and one-half million shells and shot were fired into the town from the cannon of the besiegers. The Russian forces in and about Sebastopol numbered 150,000; their losses sustained in its defence amounted, in killed, wounded and missing, to 90,142. The allied armies numbered 80,650 French, 43,000 English, and Cost of the great siege 20,000 Turks in January, 1855. The British troops suffered terribly from disease. The forty-one English infantry battalions, which embarked originally, mustered 36,923, and were reinforced by 27,884. Their strength at the conclusion of hostilities was 653 less than it was at the beginning. The Sardinians suffered proportionately. The wastage, due principally to disease, thus amounted to 28,537 men.

With the fall of Sebastopol the war may be said to have ended. A brilliant chapter which had little effect on the Crimean campaign, partly because it occurred after the fall of Sebastopol, partly because it concerned chiefly the Armenians, was the long defence of Kars by Colonel Williams and Wassif The defense of Kars Pasha against an overwhelming Russian army under General Muraviev. Williams sturdily held his ground, bravely repulsed a violent attack in which the Russians lost over 5,000 men, and sur[Pg 1207]rendered on November 27, with all the honors of war, only when starvation stared his little garrison in the face.

Hostilities still continued for a time in the Crimea. The allied fleet was sent to bombard various sea forts. The most important of these naval operations from a historical standpoint was the expedition against Kinburn, for here it was that the modern ironclad was first tried. On September 5, 1854, Napoleon had ordered the construction of five armored floating batteries, which embodied the results obtained in the tests of plating made before the War Ministry's representatives at Vincennes. The ships were of 1,400 tons displacement, were armed with eighteen 50-pounder smoothbores, and protected by four inches of iron armor. They were the prototypes of the First ironclads before Kinburn later ironclads. Not without some misgivings three of these batteries were sent to the Crimea to join the allied fleet under Admirals Lyons and Bruat. The English squadron consisted of six line-of-battle ships, seventeen frigates and sloops, ten gunboats, six mortar-boats and ten transports. The French fleet, besides the three armored batteries mentioned, included four line-of-battle ships, three corvettes, four despatch boats, twelve gun boats and five mortar-boats. The combined fleets prepared to attack the Russian works at Kinburn. On October 18, the bombardment began. The ironclads steamed up to within 800 yards of the main fort; the other ships took up positions at distances varying from 1,200 to 2,800 yards. Without appreciable effect the Russian 32-pound and 18-pound[Pg 1208] shot and shell dropped into the sea from the iron plating of the French ships. Whatever injury was sustained was caused by the entrance of shot and splinters through the portholes. Unable to withstand the well-directed fire of their invulnerable enemy, the Russians hoisted the white flag, after having lost Success of first trial 45 killed and 130 wounded. The allies lost but two killed and had but forty-five wounded—all on board the armored ships. "Everything may be expected of these formidable engines of war," wrote Admiral Bruat in his report. The Black Sea was the cradle of the modern ironclad.

Another achievement of far-reaching consequences was Captain Henry Bessemer's process for manufacturing steel. He took out a patent for his invention of forcing air through liquid molten iron. Other inventions of interest were Brewster's prismatic stereoscope, Garcia's laryngoscope (a Achievements in Science and Letter mirror for examining the throat), and Drummond's light, patented by Captain Thomas Drummond. Captain Robert Le Mesurier M'Clure of the "Investigator" received the £5,000 prize for the discovery of the Northwest Passage and was knighted. Famous English books of the year were Robert Browning's "Men and Women," Charles Kingsley's "Westward Ho!" and George Henry Lewes' "Life of Goethe."

Charlotte Brontë, the novelist, died on the last day of March. She was born Death of Charlotte Brontë in 1824, the daughter of the Rev. Patrick Brontë of Haworth in Yorkshire. In June, 1854, she married her father's curate, the Rev. Archer Bell Nicholls. Under the[Pg 1209] pseudonym of Currer Bell she published several novels, in which she displayed great power in the delineation of character. The most important of these were "Shirley," "Villette" and the celebrated "Jane Eyre." At the same time her sister, Emily Jane, who published under the name of Ellis Bell, won fame by her novel "Wuthering Heights." She died six years earlier.

This year Jean-Baptiste Corot, the famous French painter of "Paysage Corot Intime," and follower and modifier of the new realistic schools under the lead of Courbet, exhibited his "Souvenir de Marcoussy," which was purchased later by Napoleon III.

Samuel Rogers, the English poet, wit and patron of art, died, on December 18, in his ninety-second year. The son of a banker, he travelled Death of Rogers extensively while a young man, and applied himself to the study of art and letters. His first published essays and poetry were an "Ode to Superstition" and "The Pleasures of Memory." The death of his father in 1793 left him in the possession of an ample fortune, and he lost no time in retiring from active business. In 1798 he published "The Epistle to a Friend" and other poems. During the early part of the Nineteenth Century, Rogers figured in the foremost rank of the literary and artistic society in London, where he went by the name of "The Banker Bard of St. James's Place." In 1812 he brought out an epic on "The Voyage of Columbus," which met with indifferent success. This was followed by "Jacqueline" and "Human Life." His last and largest publication was his descriptive poem "Italy," brought out[Pg 1210] in 1822. Rogers devoted the rest of his literary life to the publication of exquisitely illustrated editions of his "Italy" and his "Poems." Shortly after Rogers' death a collection of his witty sayings was published under the title of "Table Talk."

At the Parisian Art Exposition of this year, Horace Vernet, the celebrated Horace Vernet French battle painter, had a Salon devoted entirely to his works. The walls were covered by his immense canvases. At this time Vernet was the most successful of French artists. Born at the Louvre at the outbreak of the French Revolution, Vernet in his early career was identified with the events of that epoch. For the Duke of Orleans he painted his celebrated series of the four revolutionary battles, "Jemmapes, Hanau, Montmirail, and Valmy." In 1812 he received his first important commission from King Jerome of Westphalia, and in 1813 another from Empress Marie Louise. In 1814, Horace Vernet, with his father and Géricault, fought on the Barrière de Clichy, and for his gallant conduct there received the decoration of the Legion of Honor from the hands of Napoleon. After the Restoration, Vernet achieved a great success by his "Battle of Torlosa," which was purchased His early works for 6,000 francs for the Maison du Roi. At the Salon of 1819 Vernet contested the field with Géricault and Ingres, whose "Medusa" and "Odalisque" were the success of the season. By his popular lithographs of Napoleonic scenes, Vernet so jeopardized his interests at Court that it was thought best for him to transfer his studio from Paris to Rome. On his return from there in 1822[Pg 1211] he painted his masterpiece, "The Defence of the Barrier of Clichy," for which Odiot paid 4,000 francs. It was presented to the Chamber of Peers, from which it was transferred subsequently to the Gallery of the Louvre. Thenceforward Vernet's pictures, the first of which had sold for a few hundred francs, commanded ever higher prices. For Avignon, his ancestral home, Horace Vernet painted "Mazeppa Pursued by Wolves," a picture which was injured by a sabre stroke in the artist's studio. After his election to the Institute, Vernet changed the style of Vernet's earnings his subjects, charging staggering prices. For a ceiling fresco in the Museum of Charles X. he received 17,910 francs; for "Phillip Augustus Before Bovines," now at Versailles, 24,775 francs; for "The Battle of Fontenoy," 30,000 francs. Still these pictures were scarcely up to the standard of the "Barrier of Clichy," and on Vernet's second removal to Rome his art seemed to decline. After many years spent in Rome and with French armies in Algiers and in the Orient, Vernet went to Russia, where he was Highest artistic honors received with great favor at the Court of the Czar. The highest financial point in his career was marked by a 50,000-franc commission for a portrait of the Russian Empress. He returned to France in good time to receive, in 1855, the greatest honors yet showered upon a French painter.

In America, Longfellow brought out his "Hiawatha" and Walt Whitman "Leaves of Grass" published "Leaves of Grass." At this period the "Know Nothing" Party had come to be a power in politics. The party had[Pg 1212] started from a New York society formed to check the influence of the Pope, for purifying the ballot and maintaining the Bible in the public schools. It was called the American American "Know Nothings" Party. Wherever the difference of opinion on the Missouri Compromise in 1854 dissolved party ties in the North, multitudes flocked to the new party. Before 1855 it had a million and a half of voters. In 1854 it all but wrecked the old organizations. In Virginia, Henry A. Wise, an old Whig, led the Democratic Party, and overthrew the new organization. At the National Convention of the new party, Southern resolutions were adopted by a vote of 80 to 59. The Northern delegates met and repudiated the anti-slavery alliance. In 1855 the party carried New York, California and Massachusetts, and the Democrats carried New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois.

The American Convention met in Philadelphia, February 22, and nominated Stirring party contest Fillmore and Donelson. On the same day a convention met at Pittsburg to effect a national organization of the Republican Party, which appointed a National Convention for the 17th of June, the anniversary of Bunker Hill. The Democratic Convention met at Cincinnati. Pierce, Douglas and Buchanan were candidates. On the seventeenth ballot Buchanan was chosen by unanimous vote with Breckenridge for Vice-President. The Republican Convention met, and in it were King, Clay, Wilson and Wilmot. Fremont was made a candidate by 359 votes against 196 for McLean. For Vice-President, Abraham Lin[Pg 1213]coln had 110 votes, but Dayton received the majority. The nominees of the American Convention were afterward withdrawn. The various nominees each represented real issues. Buchanan stood for the South, Fremont for Buchanan elected non-extension, and Fillmore for the Union. The election resulted in the choice of Buchanan, who received 1,838,169 votes, to Fremont's 1,341,000, and Fillmore's 875,000. Of the electoral votes, Buchanan received 174, Fremont 114, and Fillmore 8.

At another election in Kansas to choose members of the Territorial Legislature, armed bodies from Missouri took possession of the polls and elected a pro-slavery Legislature. Of 6,218 votes cast but 1,310 were legal. Governor Reeder set the election aside and ordered another. May 22, supplementary elections were held and the Free State men won. June 11, Governor Reeder was charged with fraud in the purchase of the Indian lands, and, on July 26, was removed. Dawson was appointed in his place, with Woodson as acting-governor. On July 2, the pro-slavery Legislature met at Pawnee, organized, expelled nine Free State members, and adjourned to the Shawnee Mission, near the Missouri State line. Thereupon the Free State men Struggle in Kansas met at Lawrence, repudiated the Shawnee Mission Legislature as spurious, and summoned a new convention at Topeka. The Convention adopted a Free State Constitution, and nominated Reeder for Congress. On October 1, the pro-slavery party elected Whitfield for Congress by more votes than the census list contained. The Free Staters declared the[Pg 1214] pro-slavery "Bleeding Kansas" Legislature to have been elected by fraud. A rival government was organized. Discord, violence, and crime prevailed for a year. "Bleeding Kansas" became an issue in American national politics.

The House resolved by 101 to 93 votes to send a special committee to Kansas to inquire into the anarchy prevailing there. The committee consisted of Howard, Sherman, and Oliver. After several weeks' investigation they returned and reported that every election in Kansas had been carried by Missourians, and the people had been prevented from exercising their rights; that the Legislature was illegal and its acts null and void; that Congress takes action Whitfield held his seat under no valid law, and Reeder had received more votes than he; that a well-devised election law was necessary, and impartial judges should be guarded by United States troops, and that the Topeka Free Soil Convention embodied the will of the majority. A bill admitting Kansas under her free constitution was defeated by 107 to 106, but was subsequently passed by 99 to 97. In the Senate the bill was defeated. Meanwhile turmoil and disorder continued in Kansas. Finally negotiations between Shannon, and the Free State leaders suspended the feud for a time.

The latest attempts to overthrow the government in Mexico, while they brought General Santa Anna once more to the head of affairs seriously imperilled his position. After the release of the United States Government from guarding the frontiers of Mexico, the Indians once more became troublesome. Pred[Pg 1215]atory bands of Apaches and Comanches so ravaged the Mexican filibusters province of Cohauila that the government had to distribute arms among the inhabitants. A filibustering expedition under Major Walker of Kentucky established itself in Lower California. They proclaimed the independence of that province, so as to bring about annexation by the United States. A strong display of Mexican forces had the effect of driving them into Texas. Another filibustering expedition led by a French adventurer who called himself Count Raousset de Bouldon terrorized the north. From Guyamas this Count Bouldon shot expedition marched inland, but was defeated in the first encounter with a strong Mexican force. Raousset de Bouldon was taken captive and was shot. More serious was a military revolution in the south led by General Alvarez. In his proclamation of Ayutla, Alvarez called for a new Constitution and a Alvarez revolution new Congress, and promised such reforms as the abolition of personal taxation, of military conscription, and of the feudal system of passports. Other popular leaders like Bravo and Moreno joined the movement. In vain did Santa Anna put forth all the powers of a military dictator. The revolutionists took Monterey, and the insurrection spread throughout the country until it reached the capital. Santa Anna gathered fourteen hundred Santa Anna withdraws of his best troops and left the City of Mexico to march upon his enemies. Soon the hopelessness of his enterprise became apparent. On the way to Vera Cruz he suddenly abdicated, and embarked on August 19 for Havana. Scarcely had Santa Anna left Mexico[Pg 1216] when the country was plunged into new disorders. General Carrera, on August 15, declared for the plan of Ayutla and proclaimed himself Vice-President. Funds were raised by a forced loan from the clerical orders. Several provinces of Mexico refused to recognize Carrera. Within a month he had to abdicate. He was succeeded at first by Anarchy in Mexico General Diaz de la Vavaga, and then by Juan Alvarez, the leader of the Puros. While he tried to establish his rule, General Vidini in the north strove to wrest the States of Cohauila, Tamaulipas and Nuego Leon from Mexico, to form an independent republic under the name of Sierra Madre. Before the close of the year Alvarez likewise found his position untenable General Comonfort and resigned. General Comonfort seized the reins of power as substitute president—the thirty-sixth President within forty years, the fifth within four months. He fell heir to the serious international complication with Spain resulting from the unpaid dividends of Mexico's original debt of indemnity to that country.

In China, the Taiping rebels still holding Lintsing were beset by the Growth of Taiping movement imperial troops. They were expelled from the province of Shantung during the spring, but on the other hand carried their arms up the Yangtse-Kiang as far as Ichang, and eastward from Nanking to the sea. The establishment of the Taiping power at Nanking attracted the attention of Europeans. At length a ruthless system of capital executions, by which nearly one hundred thousand victims are believed to have perished, terrorized China.

1856

[Pg 1217] IN AMERICA, the increasing virulence of the long controversy over slavery was brought home to the people by a cowardly assault committed by one Albert Rust upon Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York "Tribune," and one of the leaders of the agitation against slavery.

At a Territorial election in Kansas on January 15 a Legislature was chosen, and Robinson was elected Governor under the Free State Constitution. January 26, President Pierce recognized the pro-slavery Legislature in Kansas, and, on February 11, by proclamation ordered the dispersion of armed invaders of Kansas. The Legislature met at Topeka, March 4, and inaugurated Robinson. Congress appointed a committee to investigate the Kansas troubles. On May 5, the Grand Jury of Douglas County found indictments against Reeder, Robinson and Lane, the Free State leaders. In Buford in Kansas the spring of 1856, Colonel Buford of Alabama, with a thousand young men from South Carolina and Georgia, came to Kansas in military array. In May, Lawrence was surrounded by these men bearing Federal arms taken from the United States armory. Nearly all the pro-slavery leaders were with them. They demanded the surrender of the people's arms. The[Pg 1218] inhabitants were The "Kansas War" unprepared to resist. The armed pro-slavery force marched through the town, destroying the hotels and printing-offices and the residence of Governor Robinson, doing a damage of $150,000. Such was the beginning of the "Kansas War" which continued throughout the year.

Acting-Governor Woodson proclaimed the Territory to be in a state of "Osawatomie Brown" rebellion. A large pro-slavery force was gathering at Lecompton and another at Santa Fé. Osawatomie was captured, seven men were killed and thirty buildings burned. Among the killed was a son of John Brown. Atchison's pro-slavery force withdrew into Missouri. On September 1, in a municipal election at Leavenworth, an armed band of Missourians killed and wounded a number of Free State men, burned their houses, and compelled one hundred and fifty of them to embark for St. Louis.

The attack on Lawrence was renewed under the direct authority of the government. Many lives were lost. The United States troops at Leavenworth were used by Shannon. The Free State Legislature was dispersed by the United States forces. Other Missouri forces invaded the Territory and destroyed Brown's village of Osawatomie, but the Free State men compelled them to retreat across the Missouri. In September, President Pierce appointed Gray Governor of Kansas. Arriving at Lecompton, he released Fight at Lawrence Robinson and other Free State prisoners on bail, and ordered all hostile forces to disband. On September 15, three regiments of Missourians with cannon attacked Lawrence. Governor Gray[Pg 1219] with United States troops compelled them to retire. December 15, Lecompton, a partisan judge, was removed on demand of the Governor, and Harrison of Kentucky was appointed. The Free State preponderance among settlers constantly increased. Nearly all the clearing, plowing, and planting was done by Free State men. All manner of irregularities constantly thinned the ranks of volunteers from the South. Kansas, according to Greeley's expressive phrase, "was steadily hardening into the bone and sinew of a Free State."

The National Convention of the American Party virtually approved the Fugitive Slave law and the Kansas-Nebraska act. In Congress, Sumner Senator Sumner assaulted delivered a philippic on "The Crime against Kansas," in which he commented severely on Senator Butler of South Carolina. Thereupon Preston Brooks brutally assaulted Sumner in his seat in the Senate. As a result of his injuries Sumner was an invalid for four years.

In Mexico, President Comonfort had barely reached a temporary adjustment of difficulties with Spain when his government was embarrassed by a serious Puebla revolts insurrection in Puebla. Government troops in overwhelming numbers put a bloody end to the revolt. Orihuela, the rebel chief, was shot.

A new liberal Constitution in Mexico, proclaimed by President Comonfort, Friction with Spain did not mend matters much in that distracted republic. New troubles with Spain arose over unpunished robberies and murders of Spanish subjects. In March, diplomatic intercourse between the two countries was severed. Spanish[Pg 1220] warships were ordered to the Gulf of Mexico. At the last moment, diplomatic mediation on the part of England and France succeeded in averting war. General Comonfort, finding himself unable to make much Civil war in Mexico headway by constitutional means, invoked the help of General Zuloaga, and established himself once more as military dictator. When it came to dividing the spoils, Comonfort and Zuloaga fell out, and a seven days' conflict resulted. Comonfort's followers were routed. The defeated President had to flee the country.

Heinrich Heine, the foremost German lyric poet, died at Paris, February 18. Death of Heine The last ten years of his life were clouded by ill health. Heine derived his first poetic inspiration from A.W. Schlegel, while a student at the University of Bonn. In the literary and artistic circle of Rachel Varnhagel in Berlin he found further encouragement in his early literary labors. He was a Jew, but, for the purpose of taking up the study of law, he had himself baptized a Christian, and became a doctor of law at the University of Göttingen. After a journey to England, he gave up law to devote himself exclusively to the pursuit of letters. In 1827, he brought out his "Buch der Lieder," and followed this up with the first part of his famous "Reisebilder." Heine's lyrics, by their unwonted grace and sprightliness, captivated German readers. Some of his songs, like that of the "Lorelei" or "Thou Art Like a Flower," soon became German folksongs. More characteristic, perhaps, of Heine's light muse are lines like these:[Pg 1221]

Shortly after the July Revolution, Heine went to Paris, where he became a The poet in Paris contributor to several of the foremost literary journals of the day as a writer of French feuilletons. His French prose style was almost equal to his brilliant command of German. Not until 1844 did Heine bring out any new German poems. Then he published the epic satires "Germany, a Winter's Tale," and "Atta Troll, a Summer Night's Dream," two works which aroused intense indignation in Germany. Much was made of the fact that Heine accepted an annual pension of 4,800 francs from the government of Louis Philippe. On the other hand, Heine made the terse observation that whenever he was treated with rude discourtesy he could be sure that he had met a "La Mouche" German. In Paris, the poet was captivated by the charm of young Matilde Mirat, his "lotos flower," as he called her, or also "la mouche." The uneducated yet infinitely charming and loyal grisette was the good angel of Heine's later years. On the eve of the famous duel with his rival poet Börne, in 1841, Heine married Matilde at the Church of St. Sulpice.[Pg 1222]

To his sorrow the poet lived many more years suffering great agony from a spinal complaint which confined him to his bed, or "mattress grave" as he called it. His powers of wit and raillery never failed him, even to the Deathbed wit last. On the night before he died an anxious friend called to bid farewell. He asked if the dying man had made his "peace with God." Heine replied with a wan smile: "Do not trouble yourself. God will pardon me. That's his trade." These were the last recorded words spoken by Heine. Another story has it that when the physician put a handglass to the lips of the dying man and said, "Can you hiss (siffler)?" Heine murmured, "No, not even a play of Scribe."

Among German writers of this period, Friedrich Rueckert, the lyric poet, and Fritz Reuter, who wrote in Low German dialect, were at the height of their activity. Emanuel Geibel presented himself as heir presumptive to the mantle of Heine. Unlike Heine, this poet devoted his muse to the German romantic poets glorification of German patriotism. He achieved such a success that he was soon called to Munich, where he brought out the first "Golden Book of Poets." Other German poets, such as Gottfried Kinkel, the revolutionist, Hoffmann von Fallersleben, and Ferdinand Freiligrath, famous outside of Germany for his happy translations of English and American verse, had to write their poems in exile.

On February 18, Wilhelm von Biela, the great German astronomer, died at Venice. Born in 1782 at Rossla in the Hartz Mountains, he entered the Austrian military service in 1805, and was made[Pg 1223] colonel in 1826, and Biela's comet commandant of Rovigo in 1832. On February 27, 1826, he discovered the famous comet named after him. According to Biela's prediction, the comet returned every six years and thirty-eight weeks until 1852. Thereafter it was not seen as a comet during the century. Biela also discovered two other comets.

After the fall of Sebastopol, Austria made another attempt to secure peace. Two of the Powers, France and Russia, were heartily weary of the war. Louis Napoleon had entered the struggle merely to gain military glory and political prestige. He had succeeded in attaining his ends. Alexander II., who had continued the war largely as a matter of filial piety, was ready to Crimean peace conference seize the first opportunity to conclude peace with honor. A Congress was therefore assembled in Paris to draw up terms satisfactory to all concerned. On March 30, a treaty was signed which gave Kars back to the Sultan and restored Sebastopol to the Czar. The Porte was admitted to the Concert of Powers. Most important was the regulation of the navigation of the Black Sea. It was decreed in the treaty that "the Black Sea is neutralized; its waters and its ports, thrown open to the mercantile marine of every nation, are formally and in perpetuity interdicted to the flag of Black Sea and Danube opened war of the Powers possessing its coasts or of any other Power." Patrolling of the sea by small armed vessels was permitted. The Danube was thrown open to the commerce of the world. In order more fully to secure free navigation of the river, the Czar's frontier in Bessarabia was some[Pg 1224]what changed by Status Quo in Balkans the cession of certain territory to Moldavia under the suzerainty of the Porte. Both Wallachia and Moldavia continued under the protection of Turkey, and were permitted to enjoy their former privileges. The status quo of Servia was assured. It was further stipulated that, following the ancient rule of the Sultans, no foreign war vessels were to pass through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus while Turkey was at peace. To insure the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, England, France and Austria signed a treaty, on April 15, guaranteeing the independence of the Sultan's dominions and declaring that any violation of this would call for war.

Besides drawing up the treaty of peace, the Congress of Paris settled various moot points in international law. The plenipotentiaries all agreed The Paris convention to the doctrines: "First, privateering is and remains abolished. Second, the neutral flag covers enemy's goods, with the exception of contraband of war. Third, neutral goods, with the exception of contraband of war, are not liable to capture under an enemy's flag. Fourth, blockades in order to be binding must be effective; that is to say, maintained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the enemy's coast." The United States of America did not subscribe to this convention.

Russia came out of the conflict defeated but respected. She had received a Results of Crimean war check in the Black Sea and her frontier line had been readjusted. Still her political losses were trivial. The war most deeply affected Austria. She had played a false game[Pg 1225] and had lost. The sceptre of European leadership slipped from her. The situation afforded to Bismarck and Cavour the opportunity each was anxiously awaiting.

Cavour had won his first point. At the Conference of Paris he took his place as a representative of Sardinia by right of an alliance with the other great Powers. Then it was seen that every Italian soldier who had fallen on the Tchernaya, or who had wasted away in the fever-stricken camps, had died indeed for the honor of Italy among the nations of the world. At the close of the Conference Cavour made a plain statement concerning the misgovernment of southern and central Italy and the evils of the Austrian occupation. When Count Buol von Schauenstein protested, the French and English representatives supported Cavour. The effect of these representations was such that there was a sudden change in Austria's restrictive measures hitherto inflicted upon her Italian dominions. Old Italy benefited Marshal Radetzky, the man of the sword, was retired. The sequestrated Italian estates were returned to their owners. Emperor Francis Joseph came in person to Milan to proclaim a general amnesty. His brother Maximilian, a prince of liberal tendencies, came with his young bride Charlotte to undo the harsh measures of the military government. Maximilian's liberal policy proved too much for the narrow spirit of the Ministry at home.

One of the first results of the Crimean war was the threatened suspension After effects in England of the Bank of England. In November, it was found that the reserve funds[Pg 1226] of the Bank had shrunk to £1,462,153, while the deposits that might at any moment be drawn out aggregated £18,248,003. In these circumstances, a special bill of Parliament authorized a new issue of paper notes for £180,000 more than the law permitted. Furthermore, the war with Russia left behind it a dispute between the governments of Great Britain and of the United States. Under the provisions of a recent foreign enlistment bill in England, American citizens had been induced to enter the British military service. The American Government complained that the practice was in Friction with America violation of international law. The point was practically conceded by the English Government, which at once put a stop to the enlistment of American citizens and tendered an apology to the government of the United States. The situation was aggravated by the fact that one of the attachés of the American Legation in London at this very time was refused admission to a diplomatic levee at the Court of St. James because he did not appear in court dress. The British Minister at Washington received his passports. In Australian Home Rule Australia, the first Home Rule Parliament had been opened at Sydney by Sir William Denison. The popular elections were conducted under the famous ballot system which was afterward adopted in other parts of the world.

In South Africa, the province of Natal was separated from Cape Colony, and became an independent Crown Colony with a constitution of its own. The land of the Basutos, no longer under British protectorate, suffered greatly from hostile incursions[Pg 1227] Singular suicidal mania and cattle raids from the Boers. During the summer the Kaffirs fell victims to a fatal delusion. Their prophet Amaxosa foretold the resurrection of all their dead heroes and warriors, on condition that they themselves should put an end to their lives. In all, some 50,000 Kaffirs committed suicide. Emigrants from Cape Colony occupied the Kaffir lands, which had become depopulated.

In October, the Chinese Emperor, beset as he was by the victorious Taiping Affair of "The Arrow" rebels, was made to feel the heavy hand of Great Britain. A Portuguese lorcha, "The Arrow," flying the British flag though without British register, was overhauled by the Chinese authorities while at anchor near Dutch Folly. One of her crew had been recognized as one of a band of pirates who had committed some recent outrages. The Taotai of Canton had the offender arrested. Sir John Bowring at Hong Kong at once protested. The Chinese Imperial Commissioner Yeh replied that "The Arrow" was not a foreign vessel, and therefore declined to enter into any discussion about her. As a first step toward obtaining reparation the British seized a Chinese imperial junk and held her in reprisal. As this failed to bring the British reprisals on China Chinese to terms, Sir Michael Seymour with a British squadron bombarded and seized the barrier forts of Canton. The fleet proceeded up the river, and, after capturing the Chinese fort of Macao Passage, came to anchor before Canton. An ultimatum was addressed to Yeh, stating that unless he at once complied with all English demands they would "proceed with the destruction of all the defences[Pg 1228] and public buildings of the city and of the government vessels in the harbor." No reply was vouchsafed. The Canton forts were seized by the British and their men-of-war trained guns on the city. All Canton bombarded able-bodied Chinamen were called upon by the Viceroy of Canton to rally for the defence of their city. The British bombarded Canton and sunk a large fleet of Chinese war junks up the river. A fort at French Folly was reduced, and the Bogue forts on both sides of the river were captured. The Chinese retaliated by burning the whole foreign settlement, and by chopping off the heads of all the Englishmen who came into their power. Sir Michael Seymour found his force inadequate to capture Canton, and had to withdraw Insufficient British forces from his positions while he sent home a request for reinforcements. The urgency of the request opened the eyes of the British Foreign Secretary to the gravity of the situation. A force of 1,500 men was at once sent from England, another regiment from Mauritius, and a division from the Madras army. The situation in India shortly became such that this force never reached China.

New difficulties had arisen with Persia respecting Herat. The death of Yar Muhammad Khan in 1852 was followed by intrigues in Herat. The province became a bone of contention between the Shah of Persia and the aged Dost Muhammad Khan. This ruler's hostility to England during the second Sikh war had been condoned, and a treaty of friendship concluded between him and Lord Dalhousie. In virtue of this treaty the British sided with Dost Muhammad. When the Shah moved an army into[Pg 1229] Herat and captured the capital, British war with Persia England declared war on Persia. Arms and munitions in great quantity were presented to Dost Muhammad, together with a subsidy of ten thousand pounds a month so long as the Persian war should last. An expedition under Sir James Outram was sent from Bombay to the Gulf of Persia. The capture of Bushire by the English and their victory at Mohamrah brought the Shah of Persia to withdraw his troops from Afghanistan. Herat was relinquished. While the war lasted a new danger to the British Indian Empire arose at Delhi. In July, the heir-apparent of old Bahadur Shah, the reigning King of Delhi, suddenly died. A younger queen was believed to have poisoned him. She persuaded Bahadur Shah to proclaim her son heir to the throne. Lord Canning withheld Great Britain's recognition. An elder brother was recognized as successor by Lord Canning, on condition that he should leave Delhi upon his succession to the throne and take up his abode at Kutut. The young Queen was moved to wild wrath. She was a daughter of the House of Nadir Shah, burning with the traditional ambitions of her family. Forthwith she took a part in all manner of intrigues against the English on the side of Persia as well as of the Afghans. The remarkable outbursts of anti-British feeling that followed have been credited to her.

1857

[Pg 1230] THE REVERSES of the Persians brought the Shah to terms. A treaty of peace was presently concluded in which all claim to Herat was abandoned by Chinese war ships sank Persia. Early in the year the British expedition in China resumed hostilities. Commodore Elliot with five gunboats and a host of small boats destroyed a fleet of forty armed junks. Next an attack was delivered on the Chinese headquarters at Fatshan. A flotilla of English small boats cut their way through the long line of war junks, and a landing party under Commodore Harry Keppel attacked the main position. The Commodore's boat was Assault on Fatshan sunk and several others had to be abandoned. A number of the Chinese junks were burned. Keppel's force was found too small to capture Fatshan. Sir Michael Seymour decided to postpone further hostilities until the arrival of the promised reinforcements that were to come after Lord Elgin. When these troops failed to arrive in good time, Lord Elgin went to Calcutta himself to hasten their despatch. There he found affairs of far more serious import than those in China.

Some time previously rumors had been circulated concerning a danger to British rule in India. Mysterious little cakes were circulated far and wide.[Pg 1231] Murmurs in India Lord Canning, the new Governor-General, was blamed for not taking alarm. A dangerous story got abroad early in the year. The Enfield rifle had been introduced. Its cartridges were greased with animal lubricants. The fat of pigs was hateful to Mohammedans, while that of cows was still more of an abomination in the eyes of the Hindus. At Barrackpore, near Calcutta, where Sepoys were stationed, a Laskar reviled a Brahmin as defiled by the British cartridges. The whole of the Bengal army was seized with horror. The British authorities claimed that none of the greased The greased cartridges cartridges had been issued to the Sepoys. The story of the greased cartridges ran up the Ganges to Benares, Delhi and Meerut. It was soon noised abroad that the bones of cows and pigs had been ground to powder and thrown into wells with flour and butter in order to destroy the caste of the Hindus so as to convert them to Christianity.

In March, incendiary fires broke out at Barrackpore. The Sepoys from the Nineteenth Regiment refused to receive the cartridges dealt out to them. There was only one white regiment in the 400 miles between Barrackpore and Patna. After remonstrances had been made by the English officers, the Hindu soldiers demur Sepoys returned, but there still remained disaffection at Benares, Lucknow, Agra and other places. When it was believed that the excitement was allayed another outbreak occurred at Lucknow. Lawrence's energetic measures maintained order in Oude. The mutiny was only scattered, however. Within a week Meerut, thirty-eight miles northeast of Delhi,[Pg 1232] and the largest cantonment in India, was in a blaze. The story of the greased cartridges had been capped by that of the bone dust. Some eighty-five of a regiment of Sepoy cavalry refused to take the cartridges and were marched off to the guard-house. During the afternoon of the following Sunday, when the European officers were preparing for church, the imprisoned Sepoys were liberated with others. They shot down every European they met.

The mutiny became a revolt. The rebellious Sepoys marched on Delhi. When The Indian mutiny the rebel troops came up from Meerut the English officers prepared to meet them. Their Sepoys joined the mutineers. The revolt spread throughout Delhi. In despair, Willoughby blew up the fort with 1,500 rebels who were assaulting it. Only four of his command escaped. Willoughby himself died six weeks afterward, while India and Europe were ringing with his name. Fifty Englishmen whom the rebels had captured were butchered in cold blood. Delhi on Monday evening was in rebel hands. The remaining officers on the Ridge fled for their lives. Their subsequent suffering was one of the harrowing features of the great convulsion. The revolution at Delhi opened Lord Canning's eyes. He telegraphed for regiments from Bombay, Burma, Madras and Ceylon.

On May 11, the news of the outbreak at Meerut was brought to the authorities at Lahore. Meean Meer is a large military cantonment five or six miles from Lahore, and there were then some four thousand native troops there, with only about thirteen[Pg 1233] hundred Europeans of the Queen's and the Company's service. There was no time to be lost. A parade was ordered on the morrow at Meean Meer. On the parade-ground an order was given for a Lahore mutineers foiled military movement which brought the heads of four columns of the native troops in front of twelve guns charged with grape, the artillerymen with their port-fires lighted, and the soldiers of one of the Queen's regiments standing behind with loaded muskets. A command was given to the Sepoys to stack arms. Cowed, they piled their arms, which were borne away at once in carts by the European soldiers. All chances of a rebellious movement were over for the moment in the Punjab.

At three stations—Lucknow, Jhansi and Cawnpore—the mutiny was of political importance. The city of Lucknow, the capital of Oude, extended four miles along the right bank of the river Goomti. The British Residency Situation at Lucknow and other principal buildings were between the city and the river. The Residency was a walled inclosure, and near it stood a castellated structure, the Muchi Bowun. Since the affair of May 3, Sir Henry Lawrence had been making preparations for a defence in case of insurrection. The native force consisted of three regiments of infantry and one of cavalry, all Sepoys, and there was a European force of 570 men with sixty artillerymen. Lawrence brought all the European non-combatants within the Residency walls, and established a strong post between the Residency and the Muchi Bowun to command the two bridges which led to the cantonments. The outbreak began on[Pg 1234] Massacre of Jhansi May 30, when the insurgents rushed to the bridges, and, being repulsed by Lawrence, made off to Delhi. At Jhansi, the garrison of fifty-five men was butchered in cold blood.

At Cawnpore, on the Ganges, fifty-five miles southwest of Lucknow, the tragedy was even more terrible. Cawnpore had been in the possession of the English for more than fifty years. In May, sixty-one artillerymen and four Sepoy regiments were there. Sir Hugh Wheeler, the commandant, prepared for the coming storm. He took some old barracks and there quartered the white women, children and invalids. He accepted from the Nana, who professed great friendship, 200 Mahrattas and two guns. On the night of June 4, the Sepoy regiment at Cawnpore broke out in mutiny. The Nana overtook them on the road to Delhi and soon returned with them to Cawnpore. Sir Hugh was taken by surprise on the morning of the 6th, when he received a message from the Nana, announcing that his men were about to attack the Englishmen. Defence of Cawnpore Sir Hugh prepared for the defence of the barracks. The mutineers first rifled the city and cantonment, and murdered all the English who came in their way. At noon they opened fire on the intrenchments. From the 6th to the 25th of June, the inmates struggled against fearful odds. Though starving, they resisted successfully. On June 25, Wheeler received a proposal that safe passage would be given to Allahabad to those who were willing to lay down their arms. An armistice was proclaimed, and next morning terms were nego[Pg 1235]tiated. The English were to capitulate and march out with their arms and sixty rounds of ammunition for each man, to the river a mile away, where boats would be furnished for all. The next morning they marched down to the boats—the men on foot, the wounded and non-combatants on elephants and bullocks. They were all huddled together on Massacre of Cawnpore board the boats. Suddenly, at the sound of a bugle, a murderous fire was opened on them. The women and children, one hundred and twenty-five in number, were hurried off to prison, and the men were ordered to immediate execution. All was soon over. Nana was proclaimed Peishwa. English reinforcements were coming from Allahabad. Nana hastened back to Cawnpore. There, within a few days, more than two hundred English were taken prisoners. The men were all butchered, and eighty women and children were sent to join those in a house near the Nana. Great excitement prevailed in England, where it was believed that these women were subjected to all manner of outrage and made to long for death as an escape from shame. As a Englishwomen spared matter of fact the royal widows of the Nana's adoptive father did their utmost to protect the captive Englishwomen. They threatened to throw themselves and their children from the palace windows should any harm befall the English ladies. Thanks to them no worse indignity than the compulsory grinding of corn was inflicted on the white women. Meanwhile, Colonel Mill was pushing up from Calcutta. In July, he was joined at Allahabad by a column under General Havelock.[Pg 1236]

In July, Havelock left Allahabad for Cawnpore with 2,000 men, Europeans and Havelock to the relief Sikhs. He burned to avenge the massacre of Cawnpore. On the 12th and 15th of July he inflicted three defeats on the enemy. When within twenty miles of Cawnpore, having halted for the night, he heard that the women and children at Cawnpore were still alive, and that the Nana had taken the field to oppose him. He broke camp and marched fifteen miles that night. In the meantime, the crowning atrocity was committed at Cawnpore. The defeated Englishwomen slaughtered rebels had returned to the Nana. On receiving the tidings of their repulse, he ordered the slaughter of the 200 women and children. They were hacked to death with swords, bayonets, knives and axes. Their remains were thrown into a well. At 2 p.m. Havelock toiled on with a thousand Europeans and three hundred Sikhs, and without cavalry and artillery, to meet the 5,000 rebels. Failing to silence the enemy's batteries, Havelock ordered a bayonet charge. Nana Sahib with his followers took flight. He was never Capture of Cawnpore heard from again. The next morning Havelock marched into the station at Cawnpore, and there found the well filled with mangled human remains. On July 20, having been reinforced by General Neill, whom he left in charge at Cawnpore, Havelock set out for the relief of Lucknow.

The entire province of Oude was in a state of insurrection. The English had been closely besieged in Lucknow since the last day of May. The garrison had held out for two months against fifty thousand Hindus. On July 4, Sir Henry Law[Pg 1237]rence The defence of Lucknow was killed by a shell which burst in his room. Two weeks later, the rebels, learning of the advance of Havelock to Cawnpore, attacked the Residency with overwhelming force, but the garrison at last compelled them to retire. By the middle of August, Havelock advanced toward Bethan with 1,500 men. He met the enemy in force, and overcame him with a Havelock captures Bethan bayonet charge. The Mahratta palace was burned. This ended Havelock's first campaign against Lucknow. Without cavalry for the pursuit of the enemy, he fell back to Cawnpore.

During the months which followed the outbreak at Delhi, all political interest was centred in that ancient capital of Hindustan. Its recapture was vital to the re-establishment of British sovereignty. In the absence of railways the British were slow to cope with the situation. Every European soldier sent for the relief of Delhi from Calcutta was stopped en route. On June 8, a month after the affair at Delhi, Sir Henry Barnard took the field at Alipano, ten miles away. He defeated the mutineers, and then marched to the Ridge and reoccupied the old cantonment, which had been abandoned.

On June 23, the enemy made a desperate assault, and not long afterward Defence of Delhi repeated the attempt. Reinforcements came from the Punjab. The British now had 8,000 men. With their fifty-four guns they could shell the besiegers. At last, at 3 a.m. on September 14, three columns were formed for a sortie, with one in reserve. They rushed through the broken walls, and the first and second[Pg 1238] columns met at the Kabul Gate. Six days of desperate fighting followed. On September 20, the gates of the old fortified palace were Delhi recaptured broken open, but the inmates had fled. Thus fell the imperial city. The British army lost 4,000 men, among them Brigadier-General Nicholson, who led the storming party. The great mutiny at Delhi was stamped out, and the British flag waved over the capital of Hindustan. This was the turning point of the Sepoy mutiny.

The capture of Delhi was followed by acts of barbarous retribution. Hindu British vengeance prisoners were shot from the mouths of cannon. Hodson, of "Hodson's Horse," a young officer who had once been cashiered for high-handed conduct in India, offered to General Wilson to capture the king and the royal family of Delhi. General Wilson gave him authority to make the attempt, but stipulated that the life of the king should be spared. By the help of native spies Hodson discovered that when Delhi was taken the king and his family had taken refuge in the tomb of the Emperor Hoomayoon. Hodson went boldly to this place with a few of his troopers. He found that the royal family of Delhi were surrounded there by a vast crowd of armed adherents. He called upon them all to lay down their arms at once. They threw down their arms, and the king surrendered himself to Hodson. Next day the three Delhi princes murdered royal princes of Delhi were captured. Hodson borrowed a carbine from one of his troopers and shot the three princes dead. Their corpses, half naked, were exposed for some days at one of the gates of[Pg 1239] Delhi. Hodson committed the deed deliberately. Several days before, he wrote to a friend to say that if he got into the palace of Delhi, "the House of Timour will not be worth five minutes' purchase, I ween." On the day after the deed he wrote: "In twenty-four hours I disposed of the principal members of the House of Timour the Tartar. I am not cruel; but I confess that I do rejoice in the opportunity of ridding the earth of these ruffians."

The mutineers had seized Gwalior, the capital of the Maharajah Scindia, who The Princess of Jhansi escaped to Agra. The English had to attack the rebels, retake Gwalior and restore Scindia. One of those who fought to the last on the mutineers' side was the Ranee, or Princess of Jhansi, whose territory had been one of the British annexations. She had flung all her energies into the rebellion. She took the field with Nana Sahib and Tantia Topi. For months after the fall of Delhi she contrived to baffle Sir Hugh Rose and the English. She led squadrons in the field. She fought with her own hand. She was foremost in the battle for the possession of Gwalior. In the garb of a horseman she led An Amazon's death charge after charge, and she was killed among those who resisted to the last. Her body was found upon the field, scarred with wounds enough to have done credit to any hero. Sir Hugh Rose paid her a well-deserved tribute when he wrote: "The best man upon the side of the enemy was the woman found dead, the Ranee of Jhansi."

Lucknow was still beleaguered. Late in September, Havelock had prepared for a second attempt to[Pg 1240] relieve that place. Sir Colin Campbell had reached Calcutta as Commander-in-Chief. Sir James Outram had come to Allahabad on September 16. He joined Havelock with 1,400 men. With generous chivalry the "Bayard of India" waived his rank in honor of Havelock. "To you shall be left the glory of relieving Lucknow," he wrote. "I shall accompany you, placing my military service at your disposal, as a volunteer." On September Relief of Lucknow 20, Havelock crossed the Granges into Oude with 2,500 men. Having twice defeated the enemy, on September 25 he cut his way through the streets of Lucknow. Late in the day he entered the British cantonments. The defence of the Residency at Lucknow was a glorious episode in British annals. It has been sung in immortal strains by Alfred Tennyson. The fortitude of the garrison was surpassed only by the self-sacrificing conduct of the women who nursed the wounded and cared for all. They received the thanks of Queen Victoria for their heroic devotion. For four months the garrison had watched for the succor which came at last. The surrounding city remained for two months longer in rebel hands. In November, Sir Colin Campbell with 2,000 men took charge of the intrenchments at Cawnpore, and then advanced against Lucknow with 5,000 men and thirty guns. He defeated the enemy and carried away the beleaguered garrison with all the women and children.

Still the British were unable to disperse the rebels and reoccupy the city. Sir Colin Campbell left Outram with 4,000 men near Lucknow. He himself returned to Cawnpore. On approaching that city he[Pg 1241] heard the roll of a Cawnpore rises again distant cannonade. Tantia Topi had come again to the front. He had persuaded the Gwalior contingent to break out in mutiny and march against Cawnpore. General Windham resisted his advance. The whole city was in the hands of the rebel Sepoys, but the bridge of boats over the Ganges was saved to the British. Sir Colin Campbell marched over it, and in safety reached the intrenchment in which Windham was shut up. He routed the Death of Havelock Gwalior rebels and drove them out of Cawnpore. General Havelock the day after he left Lucknow succumbed to dysentery. Throughout the British Empire there was universal sorrow that will never be forgotten so long as men recall the memory of the mutinies of Fifty-seven. Havelock's victories had aroused the drooping spirits of the British nation.

The subsequent history of the Sepoy revolt is largely a recital of military operations for the dispossession of the rebels and the restoration of British supremacy. Sir Colin Campbell, now Lord Clyde, undertook a general and successful campaign against the rebels of Oude and Rohlikund, and Sir Aftermath of the Mutiny James Outram drove them out of Lucknow, and re-established British sovereignty in the capital of Oude. At the same time a column under Sir Hugh Rose and another under General Whitlock did a similar work in Central India and Bundelkund. Rose's campaign was peculiarly difficult. It was carried out amid the jungles and ravines of the Vindhya Mountains, and in the secluded regions of Bundelkund. He fought battles against baffling [Pg 1242] Rose's brilliant campaign odds, and captured the stronghold of Jhansi. He then marched against Tantia Topi, who had an army of 40,000 near Kalpi, which he routed and scattered. Having brought his campaign to a close, he congratulated his troops on having marched a thousand miles, defeated and dispersed the enemy, and King of Delhi transported captured a hundred guns. The old King of Delhi was put on trial, convicted and sentenced to transportation. He was sent to the Cape of Good Hope, but the colonists there refused to receive him. The last of the line of the Great Moguls of India had to go begging for a prison.

Toward the close of the year, when the Indian mutiny appeared to have spent its force, Lord Elgin returned from Calcutta to Hong Kong. In the meanwhile the English, French and American Governments had exchanged notes on the subject of Chinese outrages against Christians. Louis Napoleon was found to be in hearty accord with England's desire to make an example of China. Baron Gros was sent to China charged with a mission similar to that of Lord Elgin. The United States declined to join in active measures against China.

In the United States of America, James Buchanan had become President at Buchanan, American President sixty-six years of age. He had served as a member of Congress from 1821 to 1831; then as Minister to Russia from 1832 to 1834; United States Senator from 1834 to 1845; Secretary of State under Polk from 1845 to 1849, and Minister to Great Britain from 1853 to 1856.

Buchanan's first message repeated the assurance that the discussion of slavery had come to an end.[Pg 1243] The clergy were found fault with for fomenting the disturbances. The President declared in favor of the admission of Kansas with a Constitution agreeable to the majority of the settlers. He Dred Scott case also referred to an impending decision of the Supreme Court with which he had been acquainted and asked acquiescence in it. This was Judge Taney's decision in the Dred Scott case, rendered two days after Buchanan's inauguration. An action had been begun in the Circuit Court in Missouri by Scott, a negro, for the freedom of himself and children. He claimed that he had been removed by his master in 1834 to Illinois, a free State, and afterward taken into territory north of the compromise line. Sanford, his master, replied that Scott was not a citizen of Missouri, and could not bring an action, and that he and his children were Sanford's slaves. The lower courts differed, and the case was twice argued.

The decision nullified the Missouri restriction, or, indeed, any The decision restriction by Congress on slavery in the Territories. Chief-Justice Taney said: "The question is whether that class of persons (negroes) compose a portion of the people, and are constituent members of this sovereignty. We think they are not included under the word citizen in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges" of that instrument. "They were at that time considered as a subordinate and inferior class who had been subjugated by the dominant race—and had no rights or privileges but such as those who held the power and the government[Pg 1244] might choose to grant them. They had for more than a century been regarded as beings of an inferior grade—and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man is bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his (the white man's) benefit. The negro race by common consent had been excluded from civilized governments and the family of nations and doomed to slavery. The unhappy black race were separated from the whites by indelible marks long before established, and were never thought of or spoken of except as property." The Chief-Justice nullified the Missouri restriction, by asserting that "the act of Congress, which prohibited a citizen from holding property of this kind north of the line therein mentioned, is not warranted by the Constitution, and is therefore void." This made slavery the organic law of the land. Benton said that it was "no longer the exception with freedom the rule, but slavery the rule, with freedom the exception."

It was a year of financial distress in America, which recalled the hard Financial distress times of twenty years before. The United States Treasury was empty. There had been a too rapid building of railway lines in comparatively undeveloped regions where they could not pay expenses for years to come. Settlers did not come so quickly as was expected, and a fall in railway shares resulted. Trouble with Mormons There was great loss, yet the country suffered less than in 1837. During the summer the Mormons in Utah gave new trouble. Brigham Young, after Utah was excluded[Pg 1245] from the Union, destroyed the records of the United States courts, and practically drove Federal judges from their seats and other officials from the Territory. The Mormons now numbered 40,000 members, and felt strong enough to defy the government.

In September, the Indians, believed to have been instigated by the Mormons, Massacre of Mount Meadow massacred an immigrant train of 120 persons at Mountain Meadow in Utah. Alfred Cumming, Superintendent of Indian Affairs on the upper Missouri, displaced Young as Governor of Utah. Judge Eckles of Indiana was appointed Chief-Justice of the Territory. A force of 2,500 men under Colonel A.S. Johnston was sent to Utah to suppress interference with the laws of the United States. On the arrival of the Federal troops in the autumn, they were attacked, on October 6, by the Mormons, their supply trains were destroyed, and their oxen driven off. Colonel Johnston was compelled to find winter quarters at Fort Bridger.

Early in the year a Legislature had met at Topeka, Kansas, and was immediately dissolved by the United States marshals. A Territorial Legislature also met at Lecompton and provided for a State Constitution. The people of Kansas utterly refused to recognize the Legislature chosen by the Missouri invaders, and both parties continued to hold their elections.

Manuel José de Quintana, the Spanish playwright and patriotic poet, died on March 11, at Madrid. He was one of the many Spanish writers whose first poetic inspirations were derived from the stirring in[Pg 1246]cidents of the Peninsular War. On the return of King Ferdinand VII., Quintana had to Quintana expiate his liberal sentiments by a term of six years in the prison of Pampeluna. The revolution of 1820 brought about his release, but three years later he was banished again from Madrid. An ode on King Ferdinand's marriage restored him to royal favor. He was appointed tutor to the Infanta Isabella, and in 1833 was made Minister of Public Instruction. Two years before his death Queen Isabella publicly crowned the poet with a wreath of laurel in the hall of the Cortes. It was a well-merited honor, for the poet's patriotic odes and ringing lyrics long before this had taken rank among the finest productions of the modern literature of Spain.

Jules Breton, the famous French pupil of Drolling and of Devigne, exhibited Jules Breton this year at Paris one of his greatest works, "La Bénédiction des Blés." It was of this picture that Hamerton, the author of "Painting in France," wrote: "It is technically a work of singular importance in modern art for its almost perfect interpretation of sunshine."

Alfred de Musset, the French lyric poet, died on May 1, in Paris. Born in Alfred de Musset 1810, the scion of an old aristocratic family, he was brought up with the Duke of Orleans. They remained intimate friends until the Duke's death in 1842. In his eighteenth year De Musset took rank among the romantic writers of Paris by his first volume of poems—"Contes d'Espagne et d'Italie." During the next two years De Musset published another volume of poems and the collection "Un Spectacle dans un Fauteuil," and[Pg 1247] followed this up with several essays in dramatic verse, published under the title "Comédies Injouables." In 1833, De Musset went to Italy together with Georges Sand, Relations with Georges Sand but in Venice the lovers quarrelled and separated. The character of Stenio in Georges Sand's novel "Lelia" was recognized as a personification of De Musset. Alfred de Musset himself drew on these experiences for his novel "Confessions d'un Enfant du Siècle," published upon his return from Italy in 1836. Georges Sand, stung by De Musset's allegations concerning her, gave her version of their relations in the famous book "Elle et Lui," whereupon De Musset's brother Paul published an even less lovely version of the affair, in his book "Lui et Elle." During the succeeding year De Musset became one of the foremost contributors to the "Revue des Deux Mondes." In "Rolla" and "Les Nuits" its pages appeared most of his "Comédies et Proverbes," and the lyric pieces of "Rolla" and "Les Nuits." Among his prose tales of this period were "Emmeline," "Les deux Maitresses," "Frédéric et Bernerette," and "Le Fils du Titien." Having lost part of his income, the poet was made librarian of the Ministry of the Interior at the instance of the Duke of Orleans, and as such received an ample pension. After the revolution of 1848 he was deprived of this stipend. Louis Napoleon, on his coronation as Emperor, restored Alfred de Musset to office and had him elected to the French Academy. During his last years the poet wrote but little verse.

As a lyric poet, Alfred de Musset claims foremost[Pg 1248] rank among the modernDe Musset's pessimism writers of France. His verse, like that of his contemporaries, Byron, Lermontov, Leopardi, Lenau and Heine, is tinged with sadness and pessimism. Like them, too, he excels in the mastery of the subtile beauties of his native tongue. Characteristic of the spirit of his verse, if not of its outward form, are these lines, translated from his beautiful lyric "Rappelle-toi!"

Recall our love when the shy dawn unfoldeth
"Rappelle-toi" The enchanted radiance of the morning sun—
Recall our love when darkling night beholdeth
Veiled trains of silvery stars pass one by one,
When wild thy bosom palpitates with pleasure,
Or when the shades of night lull thee in dreamy measure;
Then lend a willing ear
To murmurings far and near:
Recall our love!

Recall our love when fate hath separated
Thy heart and mine, estranged for evermore—
When by the grief of exile ever mated
The soul is crushed that soared so high before—
Remember our sad love, remember how we parted—
Time, absence, grief, are naught for love full-hearted,
So long as fond hearts beat,
They ever must repeat:
Recall our love!

Recall our love when under earth reposes
This heart at last lulled in eternal sleep—
Recall our love when on my grave dark roses
In solitude their tender petals weep.
You will not see me more, but in immortal anguish
My stricken soul will ever near you languish;
Under the midnight sky
A spirit voice will sigh,
Recall our love!

During this same year in France the pessimism of Alfred de Musset was outdone by Baudelaire's famous collection of poems "Les Fleurs de Mal." [Pg 1249] "Les Fleurs de Mal" Baudelaire, as a poet, took a unique place in French literature. Following in the footsteps of Victor Hugo, and the American, Poe—whose works he was the first to translate into French—he outdid both these masters of the grotesque in bizarre creations. He was the founder of diabolism in French letters. As Sainte-Beuve wrote of Baudelaire: "S'est pris l'enfer et s'est fait diable." The lucubrations of the so-called Satanic School of Byron, Shelley and Hugo were surpassed by Baudelaire's rapt worship of evil as the great power of the world. Take his famous Litany to Satan:

Baudelaire's worship of evil was genuine, since he cared nothing for any virtue save the crowning virtue of artistic excellence. From beginning to end his "Fleurs de Mal" may be said to have blossomed in defiance of all that the world has accepted as virtuous. Baudelaire's unusual sense of the grotesque is believed to have been fostered by his early voyages in the Far East.

Carl Czerny, the eminent pianist and teacher, died on July 15, at the age Czerny of sixty-six, at his birthplace, Vienna. Czerny while a boy showed rare talent for music. He received encouragement from[Pg 1250] such men as Beethoven, Clementi and Hummel, and began his career as a teacher at sixteen. An early concert tour in 1804 had to be given up on account of the wars. The rest of his life was spent in Vienna, where he became one of the most influential teachers. In all he published over a thousand compositions, the most lasting of which were his pedagogic piano studies. As a musical writer he gained recognition by a work on the history of music.

On the day following Czerny's death, Jean Pierre Béranger, the great French Death of Béranger song writer, died at Paris. He was seventy-seven years old. Little cared for by his father, he was brought up by his grandfather, a tailor, who let him roam the streets as a gamin. At the age of nine he was sent to act as a tavern boy for his aunt, who kept a small inn near Peronne in Picardy. In his fourteenth year he was apprenticed to a printer, and learned the first The poet's early career principles of versification while setting up the poems of André Chenier. On his own behalf he soon printed a small volume of songs entitled "A Garland of Roses." In 1798, he returned to Paris, and was reclaimed by his father. For more than a year he had no settled occupation, during which time he composed some of his best songs. At the outset of the Nineteenth Century, Béranger definitely determined to follow the career of letters. He wrote a comedy, but failing to get it accepted threw it into the fire. Collecting all his poems he sent them to Lucien Bonaparte, the enlightened brother of the First Consul. Prince Lucien took the young poet under his patronage, but, unfortu[Pg 1251]nately for Béranger, soon had to leave France, an exile. On his arrival at Rome, Lucien Bonaparte transmitted to Béranger the salary coming to him as a member of the Institute. As a song writer Béranger made the most of his opportunities. In 1809, he was appointed Secretary of the University of France, an office which he held throughout the Napoleonic era. In 1813, he became a member of the Jolly Topers of the Caveau, then Napoleonic songs the resort of the most distinguished literary men of Paris. On the fall of Napoleon, Béranger took it upon himself to sing the glory of the fallen empire in elegiac strains. A severe reprimand was administered to him by the government. His second series of Napoleonic songs, published in 1821, cost him his place and three months' confinement in the prison of St. Béranger in prison Pelagie, while his third (1828) subjected him to nine months' imprisonment in La Force and a fine of ten thousand francs. The fine was paid by his admirers, and the prison in which he was incarcerated became the gathering place of the most celebrated literary men of the day. The songs which he composed during this period helped to bring about the revolution of 1830. Béranger now retired to Passy, then to Fontainebleau, and finally to Tours, where he completed what he called his "Mémoires Chantantes" by the publication of a fourth volume of songs. After the revolution of 1848 he was elected to the Constituent Assembly, but soon resigned that post. His declining years were spent at Passy.

Isidore Auguste Comte, the metaphysical writer and founder of modern positive philosophy, died[Pg 1252] on September 5, at Paris. He was born at Death of Comte Montpellier in 1798, and became acquainted in his early manhood with Saint-Simon. Failing to agree with Saint-Simon's doctrines, Comte began to lecture on his own system of philosophy as early as 1826. In 1849, he gave readings on the "History of Humanity." After the coup d'état, however, the government of Louis Napoleon prohibited the continuance of his readings. Comte's teachings are a combination of empiricism and socialism. The first of his numerous works was published in 1822—"Plan of Scientific Work Necessary for Reorganizing Society." Comte's most important work, "A Course of Positive Philosophy," was published in six volumes, 1830-1842. During the period of his religious enthusiasm Comte published his "System of Positive Politics, or a Treatise of Sociology." This was followed by his "Positivistic Catechism," "An Appeal to Conservators," and "Subjective Synthesis." In England and America, Comte's works found many illustrious interpreters, and congregations adhering to the "Positivistic Ritual" were formed at several places in England. Among his most fervent adherents were Miss Martineau, R. Congreve, Stuart Mill, Buckle, Lewes, Bridges, Tyler, and the American, Carey. Positivism also found some noted exponents in Italy and Germany.

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The Project Gutenberg eBook of A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year. Volume 2 (of 3)