A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year Part 43

[Sidenote: "Essay on Revolutions"]

[Sidenote: "Atala"]

[Sidenote: "Rene"]

[Sidenote: "Genius of Christianity"]

[Sidenote: "The Last of the Abencerrages"]

[Sidenote: "The monarchy under the Charter"]

[Sidenote: The poet's political career]

Another figure of world-wide renown was lost by the death of the French poet Francois Rene de Chateaubriand. Born at chateau Combourg in 1768, the scion of one of the n.o.blest families of France, he received a careful education at chateau Combourg. Roaming about on the sea-sh.o.r.e 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 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 n.o.bility, Chateaubriand hastily returned to France and joined the army of emigres under Prince Conde. At the siege of Thionville he was wounded and went to England. By 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 Revolutions," in which he compared the recent rising in France to that of the English Commonwealth. On the fall of the Directorate he returned to 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, who sought death rather than violate a solemn vow of chast.i.ty given to her mother. In 1802 appeared the second episode, "Rene," 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 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 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 1810, Chateaubriand published the famous political pamphlet "La Monarchie selon la Charte," which was made the basis of the subsequent royal const.i.tution 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 amba.s.sador to Berlin and then to London, from where he was recalled into the Cabinet. Crowded out of the Cabinet by Villele, 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 "Memoires d'Outre-Tombe," containing the famous comparison between the characters of George Was.h.i.+ngton and Napoleon Bonaparte.

[Sidenote: Paris reform banquet]

[Sidenote: Ministry impeached]

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 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 a.s.semblage would be dispersed by force. Thereupon the banquet was abandoned. The evening papers declared that the deputies of the opposition had agreed to abstain from the proposed manifestation. A manifesto published by the "Journal National" was the cause of a noisy demonstration in the streets of the 12th Arrondiss.e.m.e.nt. 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.

[Sidenote: Street demonstrations]

[Sidenote: National Guard disaffected]

On the morning of the eventful 22d of February, the Parisian populace congregated by thousands near the Madeleine and the Rue Royale, shouting "Vive la reforme; a bas les ministres!" and singing the "Ma.r.s.eillaise." No troops made their appearance; but encounters occurred at several points between the mob and the munic.i.p.al guards. Still the day pa.s.sed 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 reforme!" 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, the National Guard everywhere interfered in favor of the former. Thus confronted, officers and soldiers hesitated to commit a general a.s.sault upon their fellow citizens. They allowed themselves to be reduced to inaction. The insurrection thus triumphed almost without actual strife.

[Sidenote: Fall of Guizot's Ministry]

[Sidenote: Barricades erected]

[Sidenote: Thiers' manifesto]

[Sidenote: The last stroke]

[Sidenote: Louis Philippe succ.u.mbs]

The King at length became acquainted with the true situation. In the afternoon of the 23d, Guizot 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 Mole 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 down. Their dead bodies were paraded through the city. This spectacle raised the indignation of the mult.i.tude 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. Mole having declined the task of constructing a Ministry, the King summoned Thiers to the head of affairs.

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 resigned his command. The soldiers quitted their ranks, giving up arms and ammunition to the insurgents. The National Guard openly joined the ma.s.ses of the people and marched with them upon the Tuileries. The catastrophe was now inevitable. Louis Philippe, feeling that all was lost, signed an act of abdication in favor of his grandson the Comte de Paris, and withdrew to St. Cloud.

[Sidenote: Mob invades the Chamber]

An attempt was made to obtain the recognition of the d.u.c.h.ess of Orleans as regent, and thus to preserve the throne to the heir of Louis Philippe, according to the terms of his abdication. The d.u.c.h.ess went to the Chamber of Deputies, holding by the hand her sons the Comte de Paris and the Duc de 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 Bocklin, 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-establis.h.i.+ng public confidence and order. Cremieux, Ledru-Rollin and Lamartine in turn insisted on a new government and const.i.tution to be sanctioned by the sovereign people. The proposition was hailed with tumultuous acclamations.

The d.u.c.h.ess of Orleans and her children retired precipitately.

[Sidenote: Provisional Government formed]

[Sidenote: Fulsome promises]

[Sidenote: Proclamation of French Republic]

The Republicans remained masters of the field. A provisional government was forthwith nominated. It included the poet Lamartine, Ledru-Rollin, Garnier-Pages and Arago. While the mob was searching the Hotel de Ville these men conferred in a small out-of-the-way chamber behind 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, until the government gained a breathing s.p.a.ce 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, Caussidiere, the new police prefect, succeeded at last in keeping the mob out of the Hotel de Ville and the Palais Bourbon. On 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.

[Sidenote: Flight of royal family]

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.

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 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 a.s.sumed the name of William Smith, landed at Newhaven in Suss.e.x. 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 d.u.c.h.ess of Nemours fled to Belgium, as did the d.u.c.h.ess of Orleans.

[Sidenote: English Chartists encouraged]

[Sidenote: Inflammatory speeches]

[Sidenote: London ready for revolution]

[Sidenote: Rioters discouraged]

The French Revolution gave quickening impulse to the Chartist movement in 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 pet.i.tion should be carried to the House of Commons, to be followed by a procession of half a million persons. The idea got abroad that a revolution might break out in London on the presentation of the pet.i.tion. 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 April 10 a great demonstration was to be held on Kensington Common. In antic.i.p.ation, 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; the Admiralty was garrisoned by a body of marines, and the Tower guns were mounted. On the eventful morning, London a.s.sumed 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 hands of the Duke of Wellington. Owing to these thorough precautions the threatened ma.s.s meeting collapsed. The procession was never held. The whole affair was covered with ridicule. The "monster pet.i.tion" was found to contain not six million signatures as was alleged, but only 1,975,469, and many of these proved to be fict.i.tious, whole sheets being found to be in the same handwriting, and containing such names as Victoria Rex, Prince Albert, Punch, and so forth.

[Sidenote: Collapse of Chartism]

[Sidenote: End of Feargus O'Connor]

In the words of a contemporary, "Chartism had received its death-blow.

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, 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 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."

[Sidenote: Progress of Italian Revolution]

[Sidenote: Austrians driven northward]

[Sidenote: Radetzky seeks refuge]

All Italy now, from the southern sh.o.r.es 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 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 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 stubbornly held his ground. Nothing remained to Austria on Italian ground but Verona and the neighboring fortresses on the Adige and Mincio.

[Sidenote: Kossuth's appeal]

[Sidenote: Magyar Const.i.tution proclaimed]

[Sidenote: Stocks fall in Vienna]

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 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 const.i.tutional principle. Our task is to found a happier future on the brotherhood of all the races in Austria. For a union enforced by bayonets and police spies let us subst.i.tute the enduring bond of a free const.i.tution!" On March 3, the Hungarian Lower House triumphantly pa.s.sed a resolution to that effect. The cry for a liberal const.i.tution 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 a.s.sembly. The political agitation in Vienna became feverish. The students indulged in noisy demonstrations. Rumors of the impending repudiation of the paper currency and of State bankruptcy made matters worse. A sharp decline in stocks showed Metternich that a public catastrophe was near at hand.

[Sidenote: Viennese Diet stormed]