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THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
^i,u^Uf9/i- /^^^ (py^^i^-^
PRUSSIA
Franco-Prussian War.
CONTAINING
A BRIEF NARRATIVE OF THE ORIGIN OF THE KINGDOM,
ITS PAST HISTORY, AND A DETAILED ACCOUNT
OF THE CAUSES AND RESULTS OF THE
LATE WAR WITH AUSTRIA;
AN ACCOUNT Of THE ORIGIN OP THE PRESENT WAR WITH
PRANCE, AND OP THE EXTPulORDINARY CAMPAIGN
INTO THE HEART OP THE EMPIRE.
INCLUDING
JStograpfjtcal Sftctc|}cs of Iting JiEilliam anti (JTount bon Utsmarck.
By JOHN S. C. ABBOTT,
AUTHOR OF " LIFE OF NAPOLEON I.," " LIFE OF NAPOLEON III.," " LIFE OF FREDERICK
THE GREAT," " PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES," ETC.
BOSTON :
PUBLISHED BY B. B. RUSSELL, 55 CORNHILL.
i'lIILADELPniA: QUAKEI?.-C1TY PUI5LISIIING-U0USE.
CIUCAOO : JAMES P. SXELL.
SAN FRANCISCO : A. L. BANCKOFT & CO.
POUT HOPE, ONT. : P. R. RANDALL & CO.
1871.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S70,
By B. B. RUSSELL,
/n the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
BOSTON :
ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTKD BY RAND, AVERV, & FRVE.
TO
THE GERMANS WHO FROM "VATERLAND,"
AND
THE FRENCH WHO FROM "LA BELLE FRANCE,"
HAVE MET
BENEATH THE STARS AND STRIPES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
AS FELLOW-CITIZENS, COMRADES, AND BROTHERS,
CTIjis Jjooh is DrttcatcU,
WITH THE HOPE THAT GERMANY AND FRANXE MAY SOON CLASP HANDS
FRATERNALLY ACROSS THE RHINE.
JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
/l3
PEEFAOE.
IT is less tlian two hundred years since the petty Marqiiisatc of Brandrn-
hiirg and the little Duchy of Prussia were united in a kingdom. Prussia,
as thus constituted, was so insignificant a realm in territory and population
as quite to excite the contempt of the proud monarchs of Europe. England,
France, Austria, and Russia were by no means disposed to admit the newly-
created king of so paltry a domain on social equality with them.
Prussia is now recognized not only as one of the great powers, but as,
probably, the first military power in Europe. The steps by which this
greatness has been attained constitute one of the most interesting chapters
in the history of modern times. Prussia is the representative, not of lib-
eralism, but of absolutism. It has been under the banner of despotic sway
that most of its victories have been achieved.
Prussia now presents to the world the somewhat appalling spectacle of
a nation of forty millions, in which every able-bodied man is a trained
soldier. It has been able, at a moment's warning, to send into the field
armies so overwhelming in numbers, and so admirably organized and disci-
plined, as to crush the military power of France, to batter down her strong-
est fortresses, and even to penetrate the heart of the empire, and invest her
proud metropolis with beleaguering hosts. The object of this volume is to
give a narrative of the origin, growth, and present condition, of this gigantic
power. It would be difficult to find anywhere a theme more full of in-
structive and exciting incidents.
The mad jjranks of the halfcrazcd Frederick William ; the wild and
.wonderful career of I'^rederick the Great; the awful reverses which over-
whchncd Prussia in the wars of the French Revolution ; the astounding
victories and conquests achieved in the late war with Austria, which culmi-
nated in the great i)attle of Sadowa, where Austria, a helpless victim, lay
prostrate at the feet of the conqueror ; and the recent campaign in France,
which has excited the wonder of the world, as the French armies have
lVi31.75(>8
6 PEEFACE.
melted away before the Prussian legions, as fortress after fortress has
fallen before their batteries, and as Paris itself has surrendered to hosts
such as Attila could scarcely have brought into the field, — these are events
which are to be chronicled among the most momentous which have trans-
pired upon our globe.
The narrative here given of the Franco-Prussian War is an impartial
recital of facts known by all intelligent men. If this record be not sub-
stantially true, then is it impossible to obtain any truth of history. Never
did events take place under a broader blaze of day. Wherever our sympa-
thies may rest, the facts here given are indisputable; and it is a weakness
for one to shrink from impartial truth because it is not, in all respects,
flattering to national pride.
It cannot be gratifying to any Frenchman to read this record of the
utter humiliation and the ruin of his country, and of that lamentable want
of stability on the part of his countrymen which has caused this humilia-
tion and ruin.
And, in the creation of the new Germanic Empire, there have been some
distinctly-avowed motives which have inspired the actors, and some meas-
ures which have been adopted before the eyes of all the world, which many
Germans will not reflect upon with pleasure.
But both French and Germans will find in these pages as honest and
impartial a record of facts as it is possible to give. The intelligent Ameri-
can community, who month after month have watched with the utmost
interest the development of these transactions, will be able to testify from
its own personal observation to the accuracy of this account of the
Franco-Prussian War. But we must remember that it is a pardonable
weakness for men, when in a foreign country, to be even unduly zealous in
reference to the good name of their native land.
The accuracy of the portraits, we think, may be relied upon. They
have been obtained from the most authentic sources. The beautiful group
of the Imperial Family of France has been taken, by express permission,
from the private collection of the Emperor, and has been engraved by the
most skilful of French artists. The writer can testify to the remarkable
fidelity of the likenesses.
JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
New Haven, Conn.
OONTEIS'TS.
CHAP. PAGE.
I. Origin of the Monarchy 9
II. Fritz, and the Commencement of iii.s Ueicjn 2.5
III. TriF, Seven-Years' War 40
rv. The Partition of Poland, and the Invasion of France . . 53
V. Prls.sia and the French Revolution 68
VI. Prussia Overwhelmed 83
Vll. Frederick William III. and the New Coalition .... 07
VIII. Struggles for Liberty 113
TX. King William 1 120
X. The Chief Supporters of the Crown 137
XI. SCIILESWIG AND IIOLSTEIN 152
XII. Tin; LinuRATioN of Italy 168
XIII. The GER.MAN War 174
Xrv. Fr.\nce demands her Ancient Boundary 1S3
XV. Tni: Policy of Count Bismarck T"2
XVI. The Declaration of War 200
XVII. The Eastern Question 2;i.S
XVIir. France Invaded 2I7
XIX. Pru.^sian Victories and French Defeats 223
XX. The Capture of Sedan 2.34
X.\I. The Overthrow of the E.mpire 217
XXII. The Prisoner and the E.xile 2r.o
X.\III. War and its Woes 271
7
8 CONTENTS.
CHAP. P-^OE.
XXIV. The Germanic Empiiie 287
XXV. The Siege of Paris 312
XXVT. The Political Embarrassments 327
XXVU. Peace 341
ILLUSTPvATIOXS.
Frederick the Great Frontispiece.
Prussian Group. — Containing Portraits of King William, the Crown Prince,
Prince Frederick Charles, Count Bismarck, and Gen. Von Moltke . . 137
Imperial Group.— Viz., Napoleon III., the Empress Eugenie, and the Prince
Imperial 247
MAPS.
Prussi.i, 1740 31
Prussia, 1786 61
Prussia, 1815 107
Prussia, 1866 181
March of the Germans to Paris 221
The German Empire 247
niSTORY OF PRUSSIA.
CHAPTER I.
its place.
ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY.
BOUT the year of our Lord 997, Adelbert,
Bishop of Prague, Avith two companions, set
out on a missionary tour to the shores of
the Baltic. The savage inhabitants killed
him. Still Christianity gradually gained
ground. As the ages rolled on, idolatry
disappeared, and nominal Christianity took
The people were poor, ignorant, widely dis-
persed, and but partially civilized. During weary cen-
turies, as generations came and went, nothing in that
reg'ion occurred of interest to the world at large.
When, in the sixteenth century. Protestantism was
rejected by Southern Europe, it was accepted by the
inhabitants of this wild region. At the commencement
of the eighteenth century, there was found upon the
soulliern shores of the Baltic a small territory, about as
large as the State of Massachusetts, called tlu; Mar'
quisate of Brandenburg. The marquis belonged to a
10 HISTORY OF PEUSSIA.
very renowned family, known as th^ House of Hohen-
zoUern. At the distance of some miles east of this
marquisate, there was a small duchy called Prussia.
The Marquis of Brandenburg, who had come into
possession of the duchy, being a very ambitious man,
by skilful diplomacy succeeded in having the united
provinces of Prussia and Brandenburg recognized by
the Emperor of Germany as the kingdom of Prussia.
The sovereigns of Southern Europe looked quite con-
temptuously upon this new-born and petty realm, and
were not at all disposed to receive the parvenu Idng into
their society as an equal.
Berlin was the capital of the Marquisate of Branden-
burg : Konigsberg was the capital of the Duchy of
Prussia. Though the marquis, Frederick, was crowned
at Konigsberg, he chose Berlin as the capital of his new
kingdom. He took the title of Frederick I. The king
had a son, Frederick WiUiam, then ten years of age.
As heir to the throne, he was called \kvQ, Crown Prince.
When eighteen years of age, he married Sophie Doro-
thee, his cousin, a daughter of George, Elector of Hano-
ver, who subsequently became George I. of England.
On the 24th of January, 1712, a son was born to the
Crown Prince, who received the name of Frederick, and
subsequently became renowned in history as Frederick
the Great. The babe, whose advent was hailed through-
out the kingdom with so much joy as heir to the crown,
had at that time a sister, Wilhelmina, three years older
than himself. At the time of the birth of Frederick,
the monarchy was but twelve years old. His grand-
father, Frederick L, was still living ; and his father Avas
Crown Prince.
When Frederick was fourteen months old, his grand-
ORIGIN OF THE MOXARCQY. 11
father, Frederick I., died, and his fatlier, Frederick Wil-
liam, ascended the thi-one. He was one of the strangest
men of whom history makes mention. It is difficult
to account for his conduct upon any other supposition
than that he was partially insane. His father had been
fond of the pageantry of courts. Frederick William
despised such pageantry thoroughly. Immediately u])on
assuming the crown, to the utter consternation of the
court he dismissed nearly every honorary official of the
palace, from the highest dignitary to the humblest page.
His household was reduced to the lowest footing of
economy. Eight servants were retained, at six shillings
a week. His father had thirty pages. All were dis-
missed but three. There were one thousand saddle-
horses in the royal stables. Frederick retained thirty.
Three-fourths of the names Avere struck from the pen-
sion-list.
The energy of the new sovereign inspired the whole
kingdom. Everybody was compelled to be industrious.
Even the apple-women were forced, by a royal decree,
to knit at their stalls. The king farmed out the crown-
lands, drained bogs, planted colonies, established manu-
factures, and encouraged every branch of industry by
all the energies of absolute power.
Frederick William, a tliick-set, burly man, ever
carried with him, as he walked the streets of Berlin, a
stout ratan-cane. Upon the slightest provocation, he
would soundly tlirash any one whom he encountered.
He especially hated the refmement and polish of the
Frencli nation. If he met a lady in rich attbe, she was
sure to be rudely assailed : he would often even give
her a kick, and tell her to go home and take care of her
brats. No young man fashionably dressed coidd cross
12 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
the king's path without receiving a sound caning if the
royal arm could reach him. If he met any one who
seemed to be lounging in tlie streets, he would hit him
a blow over the head, exclaiming, " Home, you rascal,
and go to work ! "
Frederick was scrupulously clean. He washed five
times a day. He would allow in the palace no carpets
or stuffed furniture. They caught the dust. He ate
rapidly and voraciously of the most substantial food,
despising all luxuries. His dress usually consisted of a
blue military coat with red cuffs and collar, buff waist-
coat and breeches, and white linen gaiters to the knee.
A well-worn triangular hat covered his head.
By severe economy, small as were his realms, and
limited as were his revenues, he raised an army of nearly
a hundred thousand men. An imposing army seemed
to be the great object of his ambition. He drilled his
troops, personally, as troops were never drilled before.
Possessing an u^on constitution, and regardless of com-
fort himself, he had no mercy upon his soldiers. Thus
he created the most powerful military engine, for its
size, ever known upon earth.
The French minister at Berlin, Count Rothenburg,
was a very accomphshed man. He wore the dress, and
had the manners, of the French gentlemen of that day.
He and liis associates in the embassy excited the ire of
the king as they appeared at Berlm in the gorgeous
court-dresses of the Tuileries and Versailles. The king,
in his homespun garb, resolved that the example should
not spread.
There was to be a grand review at Berlin. The
French embassy would be present in theu' accustomed
costume of cocked hats, flowing wigs, and laced coats.
ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY. 13
Tlic king caused a party of llio lowest of the populace
of Berlin, equal in number, to be dressed in the most
grotesque caricature of the French costume. As soon
03 the French appeared upon the field, there was a
great sound of trumpets ; and these harlequins were
brought forward to confront them. Military discipline
reigned. There was no derisive laughter. There waa
perfect silence. The king sat upon his horse as im-
movable as a marble statue. With French politeness,
the ministers of Louis submitted to the discourtesy, and
ever after appeared in the homespun garb of Berlin.
Frederick was very desirous that his son, whom he
called by the diminutive Fritz, should develop warlike
tastes ; but, to his bitter disappointment, the child
seemed to be of an effeminate nature. He was gentle,
affectionate, fond of music and books, and clung to his
sister Wilhelmina with almost feminine love. The king
deemed these qualities unmanly, and soon began to
despise, and then to hate, the child. Still the energetic
king resolved to leave no efforts untried to make a
soldier of his boy.
"When Fritz was six years old, his father organized a
company of a hundi'cd high-born lads, to be placed
under his command. Tlie number was gradually in-
creased to a regiment, of which Fritz was colonel. When
seven years of age, he was placed under the care of
tutors, who were directed to press forward his education,
iiitellectual and military, with the most merciless vigor.
In the orders given to the distinguished military men to
whom the education of the child was intrusted, tlie
king said, —
" You have in the highest measure to make it your
cai"e to infuse into my son a true love for tlie soldier-
14 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
business, and to impress on him, that as there is nothing
in the world which can bring a prince renown and honor
like the sword, so he would be a despised creature be-
fore all men if he did not love it and seek his sole glory
therein."
The poor little fellow was exposed to almost incredi-
ble hardships. His father took him on his journeys to
review his garrisons. Theu* carriage was what was called
a sausage-car. It consisted merely of a stuffed pole,
about ten feet long, upon which one sat astride, as if
riding a rail. This pole rested upon wheels before and
behind, without springs. Thus they rattled over the
mountains and through the mud. The delicate, sensi-
tive child was robbed of his sleep as liis cast-u'on father
pressed him along on these wild adventures, regardless
of fatigue or storms. " Too much sleep," said the king,
" stupefies a fellow."
Every fibre in the soul of Fritz recoiled from this rude
discipline. He hated hunting boars, and riding on the
sausage-car, and being drenched with rain, and spat-
tered with mud.
Instinctive tastes are developed very early in child-
hood. When Frederick Wilham was a bo}'", some one
presented him with a very beautiful French dressing-
gown embroidered with gold. He thrust the robe into
the fire, declaring that he would never wear such finery.
Fritz, on the contrary, could not endure homespun.
He loved clothes of fine texture, and tastefully orna-
mented. Most of the early years of the prince were
spent at Wusterhausen. This was a plain, rectangular
palace, surrounded by . a ditch, in a very unattractive
region. Though there were some picturesque drives,
yet, to Frederick's eye, the gloomy forests and pathless
ORIGIN OF THE MOXARCHY. 15
morasses head no charms. The pahices of Berlin and
Potsdam, which the pleasure-loving monarch, Frederick
I., had embellished, still retained much splendor; but the
king furnished the apartments wliich he occupied in
stoical simplicity.
The health of Fritz was frail. He was very fond of
study, particularly of the Latin language. His illiterate
father, who could scarcely write legil^ly, and whose
spelling was ludicrous, took a special dislike to Latin.
One day he caught his son with a Latin book in his
hand, under the guidance of a teacher. The king was
infuriated. The preceptor escaped a caning only by
flight. Still more vehemently was he enraged in de-
tecting his son playing the flute, and with some verses
which he had written by his side. With inexpressible
scorn he exclaimed, " My son is a flute-player and a
poet .! "
There was no point at which the father and the son
met in harmony. Every month, they became more es-
tranged from each other. The mother of Fritz, Sophie
Dorothee, and his sister Wilhelmina, loved him tenderly.
This exasperated the king. He extended his hatred for
the boy to his mother and sister.
At length, another son was born, — Augustus Wil-
liam,— ten years younger than Frederick. The father
now evidently wished that Frederick would die, that
Augustus William might become heir to the throne. He
hoped that he would develop a different character from
that of Fritz. Still the king persevered in his endeavors
to inspire Fritz with his own rugged nature and tastes.
George of Hanover having become George I. of Eng-
land, his daugliter, the mother of Fritz, became very
desu-ous of marrying her two children, Wilhelmina and
16 HISTORY OF PKUSSIA.
Fritz, to Frederick and Amelia, the two children of her
brother George, who was then Prince of Wales. But
Frederick William, and George, Prince of Wales, had
met as boys, and quarrelled ; and they hated each other
thoroughly. The other powers of Europe were opposed
to this double marriage, as thus the kingdoms of Prus-
sia and England would virtually be united.
The young English Frederick bore the title of the
Duke of Gloucester. It was at length agreed by the
English court that Frederick should marry Wilhelmina ;
but there were still obstacles in the way of the marriage
of Fritz with Amelia. The Duke of Gloucester sent
an envoy with some presents to Wilhelmina. In the
following graphic terms, the Prussian princess describes
the interview : —
" There came, in those days, one of the Duke of
Gloucester's gentlemen to Berlin. The queen had a
soiree. He was presented to her as well as to me. He
made a very obliging compliment on his master's part.
I blushed, and answered only by a courtesy. The queen,
who had her eye on me, was very angry that I had an-
swered the duke's compliments in mere silence, and
rated me sharply for it, and ordered me, under pain of
her indignation, to repair that fault to-morrow. I re-
tired, all in tears, to my room, exasperated against the
queen and against the duke. I vowed I would never
marry him."
Wilhelmina was a yqvj remarkable girl, endowed with
a very affectionate, intellectual, and noble nature. Fred-
erick of England was eighteen years of age, a very dis-
solute fellow, and exceedingly unattractive in personal
appearance. Wilhelmina says that her grandfather,
George I., after he became King of England, was intoler-
ORIGIN OF THE MONAIICIIY. 17
ably puifod up with pride. He was disposed to luuli
quite contemptuously upon her father, who was king of
so feeble a realm as that of Prussia. Though George
had given a verbal assent to the marriage of his grand-
son with Wilhelmina, he declined, upon various frivolous
excuses, signing a marriage-treaty. Wilhelmina was
quite indifferent to the matter. She declared that she
cared nothing for her cousin Fred, whom she had never
seen ; and that she had no wish to marry him.
When Fritz had attained his fourteenth year, his
father appointed him captain of one of the companies in
the Potsdam Grenadier Guard. This was a giant regi-
ment created by the caprice of Frederick William, and
which had obtained world-wide renown. Such a regi-
ment never existed before, and never will again. It was
composed of giants, the shortest of whom were nearly
seven feet high : the tallest were almost nine feet in
lieight. Frederick William had ransacked Europe in
search of gigantic men. No expense of money, intrigues,
or fraud, were spared to obtain such men wherever
found. The Guard consisted of three battalions, —
eight hundred in each.
Frederick William swayed a sceptre of absolute power
never surpassed in Turkey. It was a personal govern-
ment. The property, the liberty, and the lives of his
subjects were entirely at his disposal. He was anxious
to perpetuate a race of giants. If he found in his
domains any young woman of remarkable stature, he
would compel her to marry one of his military Goliaths.
It does not, however, appear that he thus succeeded in
accomplishing his purpose.
One only thought seemed to engross the mind of
Sophie Dorothee, — the double marriage. Her maternal
2
18 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
ambition would be gratified in seeing Willielmina Queen
of England, and her beloved son Fritz married to an
English princess. Frederick William, with his wonder-
fully determined character, his military predilections, and
]iis army of extraordinarj^ compactness and discipline,
began to be regarded by the other powers as a very for-
midable sovereign, and one whose alliance was greatly to
be desired. Notwithstanding he had an army of sixty
thousand men, — which army he was rapidly increasing,
and subjecting to discipline hitherto unheard of in
Europe, — he practised such rigid economy, that he was
rapidly filling his treasury with silver and gold. In the
cellar of his palace a large number of casks were stowed
away, filled with coin. A vast amount of silver was also
wrought into massive plate, and even into furnitiu"e and
the balustrades of his stairs. These, in case of emer-
gency, could be melted and coined.
This strange king organized a peculiar institution,
which was called " The Tobacco Parliament." It con-
sisted of a meeting of about a dozen of his "confidential
friends, who were assembled almost daily in some room
in the palace to drink beer, smoke their pipes, and talk
over matters. Distinguished strangers were sometimes
admitted. Fritz was occasionally present, though always
reluctantly on his part. His sensitive physical system
recoiled from the beer and the smoke. Though he was
under the necessity of putting the pipe in his mouth, he
placed no tobacco in the bowl. His father despised the
fragile boy, whom he deemed so effeminate.
The double marriage was still the topic of conversa-
tion in all the courts of Europe. In the year 1726, the
Emperor of Germany,- who was invested with extraor-
dinary power over all the German princes, issued a de-
OKIGIN OF THE MONARCHY. 10
crce, declaring that he coukl not consent to the douhlo
nuptial alliance with England. This decision did not
trouble Frederick William ; for he so thoroughly hated
his English relatives, that he was not desirous of any
very ultimate alliance with them. He was willing that
Wilhelmina should marry the Duke of Gloucester, be-
cause she would thus become eventually Queen of Eng-
land.
On the other side, the King of England earnestly
desired that his grand-daughter Amelia should marry
Fritz ; for she would thus become Queen of Prussia. He
therefore declared that he would not allow the Duke of
Gloucester to marry Wilhelmina unless Amelia also
married Fritz.
But Frederick William was opposed to the marriage
of Fritz and Amelia for three reasons : First, He was,
by natiu-e, an intensely obstinate man ; and the fact that
the King of England was in favor of any project was
sufficient to make him opposed to it. Secondly, He hated
Fritz, and did not wish him to enjoy the good fortune of
marrying a rich and beautiful English princess. ' And,
thirdly. He knew that Amelia, as the bride of Fritz,
would bring to Berlin wealth of her own, and the refine-
ments of the British court, and that thus Fritz might be
able to organize a party against liis father.
Fredei'ick William therefore said, " Frederick of Eng-
land may marry Wilhelmina ; but Fritz shall not marry
Amelia." George I. replied, " Both marriages, or none."
Thus matters were brought to a dead lock.
While these intrigues were agitating both courts,
Fritz was residing, most of the time, at Potsdam, — a fa-
vorite royal residence, about seventeen miles west from
Berlin. In the year 1729 lie was seventeen years of ago,
20 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
a very handsome boy, attracting much attention by his
vivacity and liis engaging manners. He was occasion-
ally dragged by his father into the Tobacco Parhament,
where, sickened by the fumes of tobacco and beer, he
sat in mock gravity, puffing from his empty white clay
pipe.
In June, 1729, a courier brought the intelligence to
Berlin that George I. had suddenly died of apoplexy.
He was sixty-seven years of age when Death's fatal shaft
struck him, while on a journey in his carriage. As he
sank before the blow, he exclaimed, " All is over with
me ! " and his spirit passed away to the judgment.
Much as the half-insane King of Prussia hated
George I., his sudden death deeply affected him. He
became very religious in all pharisaic forms of self-de-
nial, and in spreading almost sepulchral gloom over the
palace by the interdict of all enjoyment. Wilhelmina
writes of her father at this time, —
" He condemned all pleasures. ' Damnable all of
them,' he said. You were to speak of nothing but the
word of God only. All other conversation was forbid-
den. It was always he who carried on the improving
talk at table, where he did the office of reader, as if it
had been a refectory of monks. The king treated us
to a sermon every afternoon. His valet-de-chambre
gave out a psalm, which we all sang. You had to listen
to this sermon with as much devout attention as if it had
been an apostle's. My brother and I had all the mind in
the world to laugh. We tried hard to keep from laugh-
ing ; but often we burst out. Thereupon reprimand,
with all the anathemas of the Church hurled on us,
which we had to take with a contrite, penitent air, — a
thing not easy to bring your face to at the moment."
ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY. 21
Fritz, about tliis time, was takon by his fallier on
ft visit to Augustus, King of Poland, at Dresden. The
court was exceedingly dissolute, filled with every temp-
tation which could endanger an ardent young man.
Fritz, Avho had hitherto encountered only the severity
and gloom of his father's palace, was bewildered by
scenes of voluptuousness and sin which could liave
hardly been surpassed at Belshazzar's feast.
He was very handsome, full of vivacity, and remarkably
(j^ualified to shine in society ; and, being direct heir to the
tin-one of Prussia, he was the object of incessant atten-
tions and caressings. Child as he was, he fell before
these great temptations. It was a fall from which he
never recovered. His moral nature received a wound
which poisoned all his days.
Upon his return to Potsdam, after a month of reckless
abandonment to sin, he was seized with a severe fit of
sickness. It was many years before his constitution re-
covered its vigor. His dissipated habits clung to him.
He chose for his companions those who were in sympa-
thy with his newly-acquired tastes and character. His
vigorous father, keeping an eagle-eye upon his son, often
assailed him with the most insane ebullitions of rage.
Still, Sophie Dorothee, notwithstanding all obstacles,
clung with a mother's pertinacity to the idea of the
double marriage. Her brother, George II., was now
King of England ; and Frederick was Prince of Wales,
direct heir to the crown. He was then twentj^-one
years of age, living an idle and dissolute life in Hanover.
Wilhelmina was nineteen years old.
Fritz, though he had never seen Amelia, had received
licr miniature. She was pretty ; would bring with her a
large dowry; and the alliance, in point of raidc, would
22 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
be as distinguished as Europe could furnish. He was,
therefore, quite desirous of securing Amelia for his
bride. By the advice of his mother, he wrote to Queen
Carohne, the mother of Amelia, expressing his ardent
affection for her daughter, and his unalterable resolve
ue^er to lead any one but her to the altar.
Frederick WiUiam knew nothing of these intrigues ;
but his dislike for his son had now become so intense,
that often he would not speak to him, or recognize him
in the slightest degree. He treated him at the table
with studied contempt. Sometimes he would give liim
nothing whatever to eat : he even boxed his ears, and
smote him with his cane. Fritz was induced to write a
very suppliant letter to his father, endeavoring to win
back at least his civil treatment. The answer which
Frederick William returned, incoherent, confused, and
wretchedly spelled, was as follows. Contemptuously he
spoke of his son in the third person, writing he and his
instead of you and yours.
" His obstinate, perverse disposition, which does not
love his father; for when one does every thing, and
really loves one's father, one does what the father re-
quires, not while he is there to see it, but when his back
is turned too. For the rest, he knows very well that I
can endure no effeminate fellow who has no human in-
clination in him ; who puts himself to shame; cannot
ride or shoot ; and withal is dirty in his person ; frizzles
his hair like a fool, and does not cut it off. And all this
I have a thousand times reprimanded, but all in vain,
and no improvement in nothing. For the rest haughty,
proud as a churl ; sp>eaks to nobody but some few ; and
is not popular and affable ; and cuts grimaces with his
ORIGIN OF THE MONARCHY. 23
face' as if he were a fool ; and docs my will in nothing
bat following his own whims ; no use to him in any
thing else. This is the answer.
" Frederick William."
The king was a hard drinker ; very intemperate. In
January, 1729, he was seized with a severe attack of the
gout. His boorish, savage nature was terribly developed
by the pangs of the disease. He vented his spleen
upon all who came within hearing of his tongue, or
reach of his crutch ; and yet this most incomprehensible
of men, while assailing his wife with the most vituperative
terms which the vocabulary of abuse could afford, woulc]
never allow a profane expression or an indelicate allusion
in his presence ! His sickness lasted five weeks . Wil-
helmina writes, " The pains of purgatory could not equal
those which we endured."
The unhappy royal family at this time consisted of
the following children : Wilhelmina, Fritz, Frederica,
Charlotte, Sophie Dorothec, Ulriquc, August Wilhelm,
Amelia, and Henry, who was a babe in arms.
Frederica, who is described as beautiful as an angel,
and a spoiled child of fifteen, became engaged to the
Marquis of Anspach. She was the only one of the
family who ventured to speak to her father with any
freedom. One day, at the table, just before her ap-
proaching nuptials, the king, who was then suffering
from the gout, asked her how she intended to regulate
her housekeeping. She replied, —
" I shall have a good table, delicately served, — better
than yours ; and, if I have children, I will not maltreat
them as you do, nor force them to eat what they have
au aversion to."
24 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
" This," writes Wilhelmina, " put the king quite in a
fury ; hut all his anger fell on my brother and me. He
first threw a plate at my brother's head, who ducked out
of the way. He then let fly another at me, which I
a^ oided in like manner. He then rose into a passion
against the queen, reproaching her with the bad training
which she gave her children.
" We rose from the table. As we had to pass near
him in going out, he aimed a great blow at me with
his crutch, which, if I had not jerked away from it, would
have ended me. He chased me for a while in his wheel-
chair ; but the people drawing it gave me time to escape
to the queen's chamber."
While the king's peculiarly irascible nature was thus
stimulated by the pangs of the gout, he was incessantly
venting his rage upon his wife and children.
" We were obliged," writes Wilhelmina, " to appear
at nine o'clock in the morning in his room. We dined
there, and did not dare to leave it, even for a moment.
Every day was passed by the king in invectives against '
my brother and myself. He no longer called me any
thing but the English blackguard : my brother was
named the rascal Fritz. He obliged us to eat and drink
the things for which we had an aversion. Every day
was marked by some sinister event. It was impossible
to raise one's eyes without seeing some unhappy people
tormented in one way or another. The king's restlessness
did not allow him to remain in bed : he had placed him-
self in a chair on rollers, and was thus dragged all over
the place. His two arms rested upon crutches which
supported them. We always followed this triumphal
car, hke unhappy captives who are about to undergo
theu' sentence."
CHAPTER II.
FRITZ, AND THE COMMENCEMENT OF HIS REIGN.
S we have mentioned, Fritz was very fond
of music. A teacher from Dresden, by the
name of Quantz, was secretly instructing
him on the flute. His mother, in sympathy
with her child, aided him in this gratifica-
tion. They both knew full well, that, should
the king detect him with a flute in his hand,
the instrument would instantly be broken over the poor
boy's head. Fritz resided with his regiment at Pots-
dam. He never knew when his father would make his
appearance.
Whenever Fritz was with his music-teacher, an inti-
mate friend, Lieut. Katte, was placed on the lookout.
His mother also, at Berlin, kept a vigilant watch, ready
to despatch a courier to her sou whenever she suspected
that the king was about to visit Potsdam.
One day, the prince, luxuriating in a rich French
dressing-gown, was in the height of his clandestine en-
joyment with his flute, when he was terrified by Katte's
Inirsting into the room with the announcement that his
wily and ever-suspicious father was already at the door.
Katte and (Quantz seized flute and music-books, and
rushed into a wood-closet. Fritz threw oft' his dressing-
gown, and, linrrying on his military coat, sat down at tho
26 HISTORY OP PEUSSIA.
table as if engaged in some abstruse mathematical prob-
lem. The father burst into the room, frowning like a
thuncler-cloud. A French barber had dressed Fritz's
hair in the most approved Parisian style. The sight of
his frizzled curls called down upon the head of the prince
the most astonishing storms of vituperative epithets.
Just then, the king caught sight of the dressing-gown.
With a new outburst of rage, he crammed it into the
fire. Hating every thing that was French, he searched
the room, and collected every book he could find in that
language, of which Fritz had quite a library. Sending
for a neighboring bookseller, he ordered him to take
them awa}^ and sell them for what they would bring.
Had he chanced to open the door of the wood-closet,
Katte and Quantz would have been terribly beaten,
even had they escaped the headsman's block.
" The Idng," writes Wilhelmina, " almost caused my
brother and myself to die of hunger. He always acted
as carver, and served everybody except us. When, by
chance, there remained any thing in the dish, he spit
into it to prevent our eating of it. I was abused with
insults and invectives all day long, in every possible
manner, and before everybody.
" The queen contrived in her bedroom a labyrinth of
screens, so that I could escape without being seen,
should the king suddenly enter. One day, he surprised
us. In attempting to escape, several of the screens fell.
The king was at my heels, and tried to catch hold of
me and beat me. He overwhelmed me with abuse, and
endeavored to seize me by the hair. I fell upon the
floor, near the fire. The scene would have had a tragi-
cal end had it continued, as my clothes were actually
beginning to take fire. The king, fatigued with crying
FRITZ. 27
out and with his passion, at length put an end to it, and
went his wa3\"
Again Wilhelmina writes, " This dear brother passed
his afternoons with me. We read and wrote together,
and occupied ourselves in cultivating our minds. The
Idng now never saw my brother without threatening
him with the cane."
The following occurrence is recorded by Wilhelmina,
as related to her by Fritz : " As I entered the king's
room this morning, he first seized me by the hair, and
then threw me on the floor; along which, after having
exercised the vigor of his arm upon my person, he
dragged me, in spite of all my resistance, to a neighbor-
ing window. His object, apparentl}^ was to perform the
office of the mutes of the seraglio ; for, seizing the cord
belonging to the curtain, he placed it around my neck.
I seized both of his hands, and began to cry out. A
servant came to my assistance, and delivered me from
his hands."
In view of this event, Fritz wrote to his mother, " I
am in despair. The king has forgotten that I am his
son. This morning, at first sight of me, he seized me
by the collar, and struck me a shower of cruel blows
^^'ith his ratan. He was almost beside himself with
rage. I am driven to extremity. I have too much
honor to endure such treatment, and I am resolved to
put an end to it one way or another."
In June, 1700, tlic King of Poland held a magnificent
review at ]\luhlberg. Frederick William attended, tak-
ing his son with him. Fritz was exposed to every mor-
tification which his unnatural parent could inflict upon
him. In the presence of the monarch, the lords and
ladies, he was treated by his father with the grossest
28 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
insults. The king even openly flogged liim with a
ratan. Adding mockery to his cruelty, he said, —
" Had I been so treated by my father, I would have
blown my brains out. But tliis fellow has no honor:
he takes all that comes."
Fritz, goaded to madness, attempted, with the aid of
a friend (Lieut. Katte), to escape to England. He was
arrested. The king, in his rage, seized him by the col-
lar, hustled him about, tore out handfuls of his hair,
and smote him on the face with his cane, causing the
blood to gush from his nose.
" Never before," exclaimed the unhappy prince, " did
a Brandenburg face suffer the like of this. I cannot
endure the treatment which I receive from my father, —
his abuse and blows. I am so miserable, that I care but
little for my own life."
The king assumed that his son, being an officer in the
army, was a deserter, and merited death. He impris-
oned him in a strong fortress to await his trial as a
deserter. He assailed Wilhelmina with the utmost
ferocity because she was in sympathy with her brother.
"He no sooner noticed me," writes Wilhelmina, "than
rage and fury took possession of him. He became black
iu the face, his eyes sparkling fire, his mouth foaming.
' Infamous wretch,' said he, ' go keep your scoundrel
brother company ! '
" So saying, he seized me with one hand, strildng me
several blows in the face with the other fist. One of
the blows struck me on the temple. I lay on the floor
without consciousness. The king, in his frenzy, pro-
ceeded to kick me out of the window, which opened to
the floor. The queen and my sisters ran bet wee q, pre-
venting him. My head was swollen with the blowa
FRITZ. 29
which I had received. ITiey threw water upon my
face to bring me to life ; which care I lamentably re-
proached them with, death being a thousand times better
in the pass things had come to. The king's face was so
disfigured with rage, that it was frightful to look upon.
" ' I hope,' said he, ' to have evidence to convict the
rascal Fritz and the wretch Wilhelmina, and to cut their
heads off. As for Fritz, he will always, if he lives," be
a worthless fellow. I have three other sons, who will
all tiu^n out better than he has done.' "
Wilhelmina was imprisoned in her room. Two senti-
nels were placed at the door. She was fed upon the
coarsest prison-fare. A court-martial was convened.
By order of the king, Fritz was condemned to die.
Lieut. Katte, the friend of Fritz, was accused of being
privy of the attempt of Fritz to escape, and of not mak-
ing it known. He was condemned to tAvo years', some
sa}' to life-long, imprisonment. The king was exasper-
ated by the leniency of the verdict.
." Katte," he exclaimed, " is guilty of high treason !
He shall die by the sword of the headsman ! "
A scaffold was erected in the yard of the castle where
Fritz, then a slender, fragile boy of eighteen, was im-
prisoned. Katte was taken to the scaffold on the death-
cart. Four grenadiers held Fritz at the window to
compel him to see his friend beheaded. Fritz fainted
as Katte's head rolled upon the scaffold. The Emperor
of Germany interfered in behalf of the prince, whom his
father intended to have also beheaded. The Idngs of
Poland and Sweden also interfered. Thus the life
i)f Fritz was saved.
Such were the influencgs under "which the charactei
of Frederick tlie Great was formed. On the 20th of
30 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
November, 1731, Wilhelmina was, by moral compulsion,
married to the Marquis of Baireuth. Tlie Idng gradually
became so far reconciled to liis son as to treat him with
ordinary courtesy. By a similar compulsion, on the
8th of Januar}'', 1733, Fritz was married to Elizabeth,
daughter of the Duke of Brunswick. Elizabeth was
beautiful, amiable, and accomplished, and of irreproach-
able integrity of character.
But the Crown Prince of Prussia was cold, severe, un-
loving. With undisguised reluctance, he took the hand
of his innocent bride ; while, then and ever after, he
treated her with the most cruel neglect. Soon after the
ceremony of marriage was performed, he caused, by
previous arrangement, a false alarm of fire to be raised.
Frederick rushed from the apartment of his bride, and
did not return. He had often declared that he never
would receive the princess as his wife.
Frederick ever recognized the legal tie of their mar-
riage. On state occasions, he gave Ehzabeth the position
of queen, and treated her with that stately courtesy
with which he addressed other ladies of the court who
were entitled to his respect. Such was the only recog-
nition Elizabeth ever received as his wife.
On the 31st of May, 1740, Frederick William, after a
long and painful siclvuess, found himself dying. Tliat
dread hour had come to liim, which, sooner or later,
comes to all. He sent for a clergyman, M. Cochins,
and, as he entered, exclaimed, —
" Pray for me! — pray for me! My trust is in the
Saviour."
He called for a mirror, and carefully examined his
emaciated features " Not so worn out as I thought,"
he said : " an ugly face, — as good as dead already."
i^ lis
13 ^ ■§ r-1
^^ F Hj.y f^^
KEIGN OF FREDERICK II. 31
As he was thus faintly and ahuost inarticulately
talking, he seemed to experience some monition that
death was immediately at hand. " Lord Jesus," he
exclaimed, " to thee I live ; Lord Jesus, to thee I die.
In life and in death, thou art my gain."
These were his last words on earth. Thus the soul
of Frederick passed to the judgment-seat of Christ.
Fritz was now King of Prussia, — King Frederick IT.
lie was just completing his twenty-eighth year. His
realms comprised an area of about fifty-nine thousand
square miles ; being about the size of the State of
Michigan. It contained a population of 2,240,000 souls.
Frederick was absolute monarch, restrained by no par-
liament, no constitution, no custom, or laws superior to
his own resolves. He commenced his reign by declar-
ing that there should be entire freedom of conscience in
religion, that the press should be free, and that it was
his wish to make every one of his subjects contented
and happy.
Speedily he taught all about him that he was to be
undisputed monarch. " I hope," said a veteran officer,
spealdng in behalf of himself and liis sons, " that we
shall retain the same posts and authority as in the last
reign."
" The same posts" replied the king, " certainly. Au-
thority— there is none but that which resides in the
sovereign."
One of his boon-companions advanced, as had Ijecn
his wont, to meet him jovially. The young monarch,
fixing a stern eye upon him, almost floored him with the
rebuir, " I am now king ! "
Those who had been his friends in the days of liis ad-
versity were not rewarded ; those who had been his foes
32 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
were not punished. The Giant Guard was disbanded ;
and, instead of them, four regiments of men of ordinary
stature were organized. The king unexpectedly devel-
oped a very decided military taste. He immediately
raised his standing army to over ninety thousand men.
Very systematically, every hour was assigned to some
specific duty. He rose at four o'clock in the morning :
a single servant lighted his fire, shaved him, and dressed
his hair. He allowed but fifteen minutes for his morn-
ing toilet. The day was devoted untiringly to the im-
mense cares which devolved upon him.
His nominal wife he recognized in public as queen,
and ever treated her, when it was necessary that they
should meet, with cold civility. Gradually these meet-
ings grew rare, until, after three or four years, they
ceased almost entirely. Frederick was anxious to em-
bellish his reign with men of literary and scientific
celebrity. He established an academy of sciences,
corresponded with distinguished scholars in other parts
of Europe, and commenced correspondence and intimate
friendship with Voltaire.
On the River Maas, a few miles from Liege, there was
a renowned castle, which, with some thousand surround-
ed acres of land, had long been considered a dependency
of the lords of Herstal. Frederick demanded this prop-
erty upon a claim too intricate to be here fully explained.
Voltaire, who drew up the manifesto, declares the claim
to have been a mere pretext. Two thousand men,
horse and foot, were sent to take possession of the sur-
rounding territory, and to quarter themselves upon the
inhabitants until the property, or its equivalent, was
surrendered.
The Bishop of Liege, who was in possession, was a
EEIGN OF FREDERICK 11. 33
feeble old man of eigli<;y-two years. Resistance was
impossible. The snm of a hundred and eighty thou-
sand dollars was paid as a ransom. " This," writes
Voltaire, " the king exacted in good hard ducats, which
served to pay the expenses of his pleasure-tour to Stras-
burg."
On the 20th of October, 1740, the Emperor Charles VI.
died. He left no son. That he might secure the crown
to his daughter, Llaria Theresa, and thus save Europe
from a war of succession, which otherwise appeared in-
evitable, he issued a decree called " The Pragmatic
Sanction." This law had been accepted and ratified by
the several estates of the Austrian monarchy. Prussia,
all the leading powers of Europe, — England, France,
Spain, Russia, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, — and the
Germanic body, had solemnly pledged themselves to
maintain the Pragmatic Sanction.
Thus, by the death of the emperor, his daughter
Maria Theresa, a very beautiful young wife, twenty-four
3'ears of age, whose husband was Francis, Duke of Lor-
raine, and who was just about to become a mother, in-
lierited the crown of Austria. She was inexperienced ;
had scarcely the shadow of an army ; and her treasury
was deplorably empty.
On the south-eastern frontier of Prussia, between
tliat kingdom and Poland, Maria Theresa had a province
called Silesia. It was about twice as large as the State
of Vermont, and contained a population of two millions.
For more than a century, Silesia had belonged to Austria.
The assent of Europe had sanctioned the title.
Frederick was ambitious of enlarging his dominions :
it was not pleasant to be king of a realm so small, that
other sovereigns looked upon it with e()ntem[)t. With
34 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
his powerful standing army, it was easy to take military
possession of Silesia : it had no strong fortresses : there
were not two thousand Austrian soldiers in the province.
Frederick could present no claim to the territory which
was deserving the slightest respect. In conversation
with his friends, he frankly admitted, that " ambition,
interest, the desire of making people talk about me,
carried the day ; and I decided for war."
With the utmost secrecy he matured his plans, gathered
his army near the frontier, and then, after some slight
diplomatic manoeuvring, but without any declaration of
war, rushed his troops across the border, and commenced
taldng military possession of all the important posts. It
was proposed that he should place upon the banners the
words, " For God and our Country." " Strike out the
words, ' For God^' " said the king : " I am marcliing to
gain a province, not for religion."
That Austria might not send troops to the rescue of
her invaded province, Frederick commenced his cam-
paign in mid-winter. The roads were miry : storms of
sleet swept the bleak plains: there ^ was scarcely any
enemy to be encountered. In the course of a few weeks,
the whole country seemed subjugated. Frederick left
Berhn for this campaign on the 12th of December, 1740.
The latter part of January, he returned to receive the
congratulations of his subjects upon the conquest of
Silesia. In six weeks he had overrun the province, and
vh-tually annexed it to his realms.
But Maria Theresa developed character which alike
surprised Frederick and all Europe. The chivalric
spirit of the surrounding monarchies was enlisted in
behalf of a young queen thus unjustly assailed, and
despoiled of an important province of her realms. The
REIGN OF FREDERICK II. 35
preparations wliicli IMaria Theresa made to regain her
lost possessions induged Frederick to send an arm}- of
sixty thousand men into Silesia to hold firmly his con-
quest. A terrible war was the consequence, — a war in
which nearly all the nations of Europe became involved,
and Avhich extended even to the distant colonial posses-
sions of England and France. Milhons of money weie
expended, hundreds of thousands of lives sacrificed,
cities sacked, and villages burned ; while an amount of
misery was spread through countless homes which no
imagination can gauge.
Year after year rolled on, while the strife was con-
tinuing in ever-increasing fury. France, wishing to
weaken Austria, joined Frederick ; England, jealous of
France, joined Maria Theresa; Prussia, Sweden, and
Poland were drawn into the maelstrom of fire and
blood. The energy displayed by Frederick was such as
the world had never before witnessed : he was alike re-
gardless of his own comfort and that of his soldiers.
His troops were goaded forward, alike over the burning
plains, beneath the Ijlaze of a summer's sun, and
through winter's storms and drifts and freezing gales.
" On the head of Frederick," writes Macaulay, " is all
the blood which was shed in a war which raged during
many years and in every quarter of the globe, — the
1)lood of the column of Fontenoy, the blood of the brave
mountaineers who were slaughtered at CuUoden. The
evils produced by this wicivcdncss were felt in lands
v/here the name of Frederick was unknown. In order
that he might rob a neighbor whom he had promised to
defend, black men fought on the coast of Coromandel,
and red men scalped each other l)y the Great Lakes of
North America."
36 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
Frederick was equally versed in diplomacy and in
war. He did not hesitate to resort to any measures of
intrigue, or of what would usually be called treachery,
to accomplish his ends. Several of the victories which
he gained gave him world-wide renown. By a secret
treaty, in Avhich he perfidiously abandoned his French
alhes, he obtained possession of the Fortress of Neisse,
and thus became, for a time, undisputed master of Si-
lesia.
On the 11th of November, 1741, Frederick returned
to Berlin, congratulating himself and his subjects with
the delusion, that his conquest was established, and that
there would be no further efforts on the part of Austria
to regain the province. He was thus secure, as ho sup-
posed, in the possession of Silesia.
There seems to have been no sense of honor or of
honesty in any of these regal courts. The province of
Moravia was a part of the Austrian kingdom : it was
governed by a marquis, and was about one-third larger
than the State of Massachusetts. Frederick entered
into an alliance with Saxony, Bavaria, and France, to
wrest that territory from Maria Theresa. Moravia,
which bounded Silesia on the south, was to be annexed,
in general, to Saxony ; but Frederick, in consideration
of liis services, was to receive a strip five miles in width
along the whole southern frontier of Silesia. This strip
contained the important miUtary posts of Troppau,
Friedenthal, and Olmutz. Again the storms of Avar
burst forth with renewed fury; again Frederick dis-
played that extraordinary energy which has filled the
world with his renoAvn.
In the midst of winter, on the 26th of January, 1742,
Frederick set out upon this campaign. Speaking of the
REIGN OF FREDERICK II. 37
first day's movement from Glatz to Landscrona, Gen.
Stille says, —
" It was such a marcli as I never before witnessed.
Through the ice and through the snow which covered
that dreadful chain of mountains, we did not arrive till
very late : many of our carriages were broken down,
and others were overturned more than once."
By the skilful diplomacy of Frederick, aided by
France, Maria Theresa was thwarted in her efforts to
place her husband, Duke Francis, on the throne of the
empire ; and Charles Albert, King of Bavaria, was
chosen emperor. This was regarded as a great triumph
on the part of Frederick. Charles Albert, whose life
fi'om the cradle to the grave was a constant tragedy,
took the title of the Emperor Charles VII.
Frederick, in the intensity of his earnestness, was
greatly annoyed by the lukewarmness of his allies. He
was not disposed to allow any considerations of humani-
ty to stand in the way of his plans. Regardless of his
own comfort, he was equally regardless of that of his
troops. But the alHes, whom he had with some difficulty
drawn into the war, and who were not goaded on by his
ambition, had no taste for campaigning through blinding;
smotlicring snow-storms, and bivouacking on fi-ozen
plains swept by wintry gales.
At last, Frederick, in disgust, withdrew from his allies,
and with marvellous sagacity and determination, though
at an awful expense of suffering and death on the part
of his troops, conducted the campaign to suit his own
purposes, and in accordance with his own views. An
incessant series of bloody battles ensued. Cities were
bombarded, villages laid in ashes, and whole piovincea
38 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA,
devastated and almost depopulated. Frederick was
again triumphant.
On the 11th of June, 1742, a treaty of peace was
signed at Breslau. Again his conquest was assured to
him : Silesia was ceded to Frederick an,fl his heirs for-
evermore. Elate with victory, the young conqueror
cantoned his troops in Silesia, and, with a magnificent
suite, galloped to Berlin, greeted all along the road by
the enthusiastic acclaim of the people.
In the following terms, Frederick, in his " Histoire
de mon Temps," narrates the results of these two cam-
paigns : —
" Thus was Silesia re-united to the dominions of
Prussia. Two years of war sufficed for the conquest of
this important province. The treasure which the late
king had left was nearly exhausted. But it is a cheap
purchase where whole provinces are bought for seven or
eight millions of crowns. The union of circumstances
at the moment peculiarly favored this enterprise. It
was necessary for it that France should allow itself to
be drawn into the war ; that Russia should be attacked
by Sweden ; that from timidity the Hanoverians and
Saxons should remain inactive ; that the successes of
the Prussians should be uninterrupted; and that the
King of England should become, in spite of himself, the
instrument of its aggrandizement.
" What, however, contributed most to this conquest
was an army, which had been formed for twenty-two
years by means of a discipline admirable in itself, and
superior to the troops of the rest of Europe ; generals
who were true patriots ; wise and incorruptible min-
isters ; and, finally, a certain good fortune which often
EEIGN OF FREDERICK II. 39
accompanies youth, and often deserts a more advanced
ago."'
Maria Theresa regarded the loss of Silesia as the act
of a highway robber. She never ceased to deplore the
calamity. If the word " Silesia " were spoken in her
presence, her eyes would be immediately flooded with
tears.
CHAPTER III.
THE SEVEN-YEARS WAR.
FREDERICK, having obtained Silesia, felt now
^ disposed to cultivate the arts of peace. He
\3 had withdrawn from his allies, and entered
into externally friendly relations with Austria.
But still the storms of war were raging over
nearly the whole of Europe. Though Fred-
erick had dexterously escaped from the tem-
pest with the spoil he had seized, other nations were still
involved in the turmoil.
Maria Theresa became signally victorious over France.
Austrian generals had arisen who were developing great
military ability. Bohemia and Bavaria were recon-
quered by Austria ; and the emperor, Charles VI., deso-
late, sad, and pain-stricken, was driven from his realms.
Encouraged by these successes, Maria Theresa was
quietly preparing to win back Silesia.
Thus influenced, Frederick, in the spring of 1744,
entered into a new alliance with France and the emper-
or. With characteristic foresight, he had kept his army
in the highest state of discipline ; and his magazines
were abundantly stored with all the materials of war.
Having arranged with his allies that he was to receive,
as his share of the spoils of the anticipated victory, the
tluee important Bohemian principalities of Koniggratz,
40
THE SEVEN-YEARS' WAR. 41
Buntzlau, and Leitmcritz, he issued a manifesto, saying,
with unblushing falsehood, —
" Ilis Prussian majesty requires nothing for himself:
he has taken up arms simply to restore to the emperor
his imperial crown, and to Europe peace."
In three strong military columns the king entered
Bohemia, and on the 4th of September, having thus far
encountered no opposition, invested Prague. The cam-
paign proved to be the most sanguinary and woful he
had yet experienced. The sweep of maddened armies
spread desolation and misery over all Bohemia. Starv-
ing soldiers snatched the bread from the mouths of
starving women and children. Houseless families froze
hi the fields. In the dead of winter, Frederick was
compelled to retire to Silesia in one of the most dis-
astrous retreats recorded in the annals of war.
Cantoning his shattered army in the Silesian villages,
ho returned to Berlin to prepare for a new campaign.
His pecuniary resources were exhausted, his army dread-
fully weakened, and his materiel of war impaired or con-
sumed.
It was in such hours of difBculty that the genius of
Frederick was developed. The victorious Austrians
had pursued his troops into Silesia. The unhappy
emperor died in poverty and pain. France alone re-
mained an ally to Frederick. His situation seemed
almost hopeless. On the 29th of March, 1745, he
A\i()(e from Neisse to his minister, Podewils, at P)cr-
lin, —
" We find ourselves in a great crisis. If we do not,
by mediation of England, get peace, our enemies from
(lifff^rcnt sid(!S will come plungiiig in against me. Peace
1 cannot force them to; but, if we must have war, wo
42 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
will either beat tliem, or none of us will ever see Berlin
again."
On the 20tli of April he again wrote, " If we needs
must fight, we will do it like men driven desperate.
Never was there a greater peril than that I am now in.
The game I play is so high, one cannot contemplate the
issue in cold blood."
Another desolating campaign, with its series of san-
guinary battles, ensued. At Hohen-Friedberg and at
Sohr, Frederic gained great victories, though at the ex-
pense of the terrible slaughter of his own and of the
Austrian troops. Dreadful as were the blows he in-
flicted upon others, he received blows almost equally
terrible himself. At length, once more a victor, having
captured Dresden, the capital of Saxon}^, he again
sheathed his dripping sword, and concluded a peace.
In his comments upon this war, Frederick writes, —
" Considering, therefore, things at their true value, we
are obliged to acknowledge that this contest was in every
respect only useless effusion of blood, and that the con-
tinued victories of the Prussians only helped to confirm
to them the possession of Silesia. Indeed, if considera-
tion and reputation in arms meant that efforts should
be made to obtain them, undoubtedly Prussia, by gaining
them, was recompensed for having undertaken the war.
But this was all she gained for it ; and even this imagi-
nary advantage excited feehngs of envy against her." ^
Frederick returned to his capital on the 1st of January,
1746. Prussia now enjoyed a few years of repor.e. The
king, with energies which never tired, devoted himself
to the development of the resources of his realms, and,
^ Histoire de mon Temps
THE SEVEX-YEARS' WAR, 43
like Csesar, to writing the history of his own great
achievements. In a letter to Voltaire upon this subject,
he writes modestly, —
" ' The History of my Own Time,' which at present
occupies me, is not in the way of memoirs or commenta-
ries. My own history hardly enters into my plan ; for I
consider it a folly in any one to think himself sufficiently
remarkable to render it necessary that the whole uni-
verse should be informed of the details relating to him,
I describe generally the disturbed state of Europe ; and I
have particularly endeavored to expose the folly and the
contradictions which may be remarked in those who
govern it," ^
The impulse which Frederick gave to industry was
very great ; and the reforms which were introduced into
the laws b}^ the Code Frederick were worthy of all praise,
when compared with the semi-barbaric and confused
system which had before existed. During this time,
Frederick became involved in a bitter quarrel with Vol-
taire, into the details of which Ave have no space here to
enter. But again the clouds of war began to gather,
and darken the horizon.
Maria Theresa, ever anxious to regain Silesia, entered,
with that object in view, into a secret alliance with
Elizabeth, Empress of Russia, and with Augustus III.
of Poland. Both EUzabeth and Maria Theresa enter-
tained a very strong personal dislike for Frederick, The
Marchioness of Pompadour, who ruled France, had con-
sidered herself insulted by the sarcasms of his Piussiau
majesty. Anxious for revenge, she also joined the alli-
ance. It so chanced, at that time, that three women
' Letter to Voltaire of tho 24th of April, 1747,
44 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
ruled Continental Europe. These three women were
arrayed against Frederick. Thus, in addition to the im-
portant diplomatic issues which were involved, personal
pique envenomed the conflict. Tliere were also many
rumors that Frederick was contemplating additional
conquests. Frederick, by bribery, became acquainted
with the plan of the coalition. It was nothing less than
taking possession of Prussia, and essentially dividing it
between them ; leaving to their vanquished foe, perhaps,
a small duchy or marquisate. The king resolved to an-
ticipate his foes, and to strike them before they had
begun to move. France was at that time at war with
England, and hoped to take Hanover. This led the
JBritish court, trembling for its Continental possession, to
enter into a reluctant and inefiicient alliance with Prussia.
Thus commenced the Seven -Years' War.
France had already assembled an immense force on
the Rhine to march upon Prussia from the west. The
Swedes, who had been drawn into the alliance, and the
Russians, were marshalling their forces in Pomerania and
Livonia for an attack from the north. Austria had
gathered a hundred and fifty thousand men on the
frontiers of Silesia to invade Prussia from the south.
Prussia seemed now doomed to destruction.
Frederick, having demanded, as a matter of form, the
object of these military demonstrations, and receiving
an evasive answer, informed the court of Vienna that
he considered their answer a declaration of war. Im-
mediately, three divisions of the Prussian army, amount-
ing in all to over a hundred thousand men, entcj'ed
Saxony, and were soon united near Dresden. Dresden
was easily captured ; and its archives fell into the hands
of the victor. Immense sums of money were levied
from the people.
THE SEVEN-YEARS' WAR. 45
Austria rushed to the aid of Saxony. The utmost
liuman energy was expended in the mortal struggle.
The reader would weary at the recital of the names
even of the battle-fields. Dispersing his foes, though at
a vast expense of misery and blood on the part of his
own troops, the Prussian monarch rushed into Bohemia,
and fell fiercely upon the Austrian troops intrenclied
outside of the walls of Prague. The renowned battle
of Prague, which, says Carlyle, " sounded througli all the
A\-orld, and used to deafen us in drawing-rooms within
man's memory," was fought on the otli of May, 1757.
" This battle," writes Frederick, " which began to-
wards nine in the morning, and lasted till eight at night,
was one of the bloodiest of the age. The enemy lost
twenty-four thousand men. The Prussian loss amounted
to eighteen thousand. This day saw the pillars of the
Prussian infantry cut clown."
The routed Austrians fled for shelter behind the walls
of Prague. The city, which contained one hundred
thousand inhabitants, was quite unprepared for a siege.
The garrison, daily expecthig an Austrian army to march
to its relief, held out with great firmness. The scene
of misery witnessed in Prague was awful. An incessant
storm of shot and shell fell upon the crowded dwellings.
Confl.igrations were continually bursting forth. There
was no safety anywhere. Famine came ; pestilence fol-
lowed. DcuKJiis could not have inflicted more misery
than the wretched inhabitants of Prague endured.
At length the banners of INIarshal Daun appeared,
waving over sixty thousand Austrians. The antagonists
met, and fought with the utmost ieToe'itj. The slaugh-
ter on both sides was awful. Frederick, almost frantic
with grief, saw his battalions meltuig away before tho
46 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
batteries of the foe. Six times his cavalry charged;
six times they were repulsed. Frederick was beaten.
Sullenly he Avithdrew, leaving fourteen thousand behind
him slain, or prisoners. With but twenty-five thousand
men, their ranks shattered and bleeding, and their hearts
despondent, Frederick retreated to the Fortress of Bres-
lau in Silesia. An allied force of ninety thousand Aus-
trians and French pursued them. Soon another terrific
battle ensued. The Prussians, having lost eight thou-
sand more men, were driven from Breslau.
It was now mid-winter. The allies supposed that
Frederick was ruined. The Austrians spoke of his shat-
tered bands with ridicule and contempt. Marvellous are
the vicissitudes of war. On the 4th of December, 1757,
the antaGfonistic hosts ao^ain met on the Plains of Lissa.
Frederick had thirty thousand men ; the allies, ninety
thousand. The battle was short and decisive : it lasted
only from the hour of noon to the going-down of the sun.
The Austrians were thoroughly routed. Seven thou-
sand of their slain were strewed over the blood-stained
snow. Twenty thousand were made prisoners. All
their baggage, their military chest, one hundred and
thirty-four pieces of cannon, and fifty-nine standards,
fell into the hands of the victors. The Prussians paid
for this victory five thousand lives.
Frederick, with triumphant banners, marched upon
Breslau. The city capitulated, surrendering its whole
garrison of eighteen thousand men and its supplies.
The victor then turned upon the approaching Russians,
and drove them out of the kingdom. He then advanced
upon the Swedes : they fled precipitately to take shelter
behind the walls of Stralsund. Thus terminated the
campaign of 1757.
THE SEVEN-YEARS' WAR. 47
During the winter, both parties were recruiting their
strength for the renewal of the fight. The returning
sun of spring opened new woes for war-stricken Europe.
The summer was passed in a series of incessant bat-
tles, sweeping over nearly the whole of Germany. In
tlio battle of Hochkirchen, on the 14th of October,
Frederick, in his turn, encountered a wof ul defeat. He
retreated, leaving behind him nine thousand slain or
prisoners, and a hundred and one guns. Nothing deci-
sive was accomplished by the enormous expenditure of
treasure, and the carnage and woe of this campaign.
Thus ended the third year of this cruel and wasting
war.
The spring of 1759 came. Maria Theresa was elated
by her victories at the close of the last campaign. The
allies redoubled their efforts. Catholic Germany gener-
ally rallied with religious zeal against heretical Prussia
and England. England, a maritime nation, could afford
Frederick but little assistance, save in money. Ilcr
gifts in that respect were small, amounting to but little
over three millions of dollars a year. Indeed, England
did but little, save to protect her own province of
Hanover.
The armies of France, Austria, Poland, Sweden, and
Russia, were now marching upon depopulated and impov-
erished Prussia. The allies represented a population of
over a hundred millions. The population of Prussia
was less than five millions. Thus Frederick had against
him about twenty to one. With incredible exertions,
the king had raised forty thousand troops. Early in
June, he met eighty thousand of the allies near Frank-
fort on the Oder. Both parties Avere vanquished : first
the allieij m awful slaughter ; then, by a sudden and an-
48 HISTORY OF PEUSSIA.
expected turn in tlie tide of battle, the Prussians were
overwhelmed.
Frederick, in the moment of supposed success, sent
the following despatch to Berlin: "We have driven
the enemy from his intrenchments. In two hours, ex-
pect to hear of a glorious victory."
The two hours of battle's hideous and hateful clamor
passed away ; and another courier was despatched with
the appalling message, " Remove from Berlin with the
royal family. Let the archives be carried to Potsdam,
and the capital make conditions with the enemy."
Twenty-four thousand of the allies, and twenty thou-
sand Prussians, fell on that bloody day. Two horses
were shot beneath Frederick ; and his clothes were
pierced with many balls. In the darkness of the night,
he retreated with the remnant of his troops. The allies
had sujffered so severely, that they did not attempt to
pursue.
Disaster never disheartened Frederick : it only
aroused anew his energies. With amazing vigor he ral-
lied his scattered forces, dismantled distant fortresses,
and brought their cannon into the field, and in a few
days was at the head of twenty-eight thousand men to
dispute the advance of the foe upon Berlin. Week af-
ter week, the thunders of war continued to echo over
this wretched land. Winter came. The soldiers, on
both sides, suffering more from famine, frost, and sick-
ness, than from the bullets of the foe, could no longer
remain in the open field. In the Austrian army, four
thousand died in sixteen days from the inclemency of
the weather. Thus terminated the campaign of 1759,
the fourth year of this desperate conflict.
The sx3riug of 17G0 found both parties equally eager
THE SEVEN-YEARS' WAR. 49
for the renewal of the war. Maria Theresa was elate
with hope. Frederick was inspired by despair: the vet-
eran army of the Prussians was almost annihilated.
The Prussian king had filled his broken ranks with
peasants and boys, and any raw recruits whom he could
force into the ranks by the energies of absolute power.
With his utmost efforts, he could muster but seventy-
five thousand men ; and these, to use his own language,
" were half peasants, half deserters from the enemy, —
soldiers no longer fit for service, but only for show."
The " deserters " were prisoners of war, whom Freder-
ick had compelled to enlist under his banners.
The allies were marching upon him with two hun-
dred and fifty thousand men. Against such unequal
numbers, Frederick fought with energy and skill which
filled Europe with wonder. Villages were burned ;
harvests were trampled under foot ; fields were crim-
soned with gore ; widows and orphans starved on the
dreary plains ; and still there were no decisive results.
On the whole, the campaign was in Frederick's favor.
To the surprise of all, he had succeeded in thwarting
the endeavors of the allies to crush him. Again the
combatants retired to winter-quarters ; and the fifth year
of the war was ended.
Frederick, in his correspondence with his friends, con-
fessed that his prospects were hopeless. He, however,
resolved to struggle to the last, and to l)ury himself be-
neatli the ruins of his kingdom. Having rejected
Christianit}^, and having none of the consolations of
religion to sustain liim, he carried constantly with him
a phial of poison, that, as a last resort, he might commit
suicide.
The sixtli campaign, that of 17G1, proved uneventful.
50 HISTORY OF PllUSSIA.
Frederick fortified himself with so much skill at Kiiners-
dorf, that the allies did not venture to attack him.
They surrounded him in large numbers, as hounds sur-
round a tiger at bay. There were many bloody skir-
mishes and sieges : large regions were devastated, and
thousands perished in their misery. Frederick encoun-
tered severe reverses, and was, apparently, every month
approaching nearer to his end. Despairing, yet reso-
lute, when the storms of winter drove the allies from
the field, the Prussians sought refuge in a camp near
Leipsic. The sixth year of blood and woe had ended.
Frederick could no longer conceal his despondency.
The English withdrew their subsidy : the Prussians de-
clared that they could struggle no longer against such
fearful odds. The allies were elated : it seemed mani-
fest that one campaign more would finish their work,
and that Prussia would He helpless at their feet. In
this dark hour, in a day as it were, the whole prospect
became changed.
One individual chanced to be taken sick and die :
that individual was Elizabeth, the Empress of Russia.
She died on the 5th of January, 1762. Her death
changed the fate of Europe. Peter III., who succeeded
Ehzabeth, hated Maria Theresa, and admired Frederick.
He ordered his troops immediately to withdraw from the
alHance, and sent them to the aid of Frederick. The
Swedish court was so alhed with that of Russia, that
their troops also withdrew. Peter III. even sohcited a
position for himself in the Prussian army.
The change was as sudden as that caused by a turn
in the kaleidoscope. Again there was a transient re-
verse. Peter HI. was assassinated. His wife, the world-
renowned Catharine II., ascended the throne : she dis-
THE SEVEX-YEARS' WAR. 51
solved the Prussian alliance, and ordered her troops to
return to Russia. In the mean time, Frederick had
roused the Turks against Austria. Before the Russians
had left his camp, he attacked the Austrians with his
accustomed impetuosity, and they were routed with
great loss. Maria Theresa was now in dismay : her
allies Avere leaving her ; her treasury was exhausted.
The Turks, sweeping all opposition before them, were
ascending the Danube : Frederick, victorious, was en-
riching himself with the spoils of Saxony and Bohemia.
On the 1.3th of February, 1763, peace was concluded.
Frederick retained Silesia.
According to Frederick's computation, the conquest
of the province had cost the lives of six hundred and
seventy thousand of the allies, and one hundred and
eighty thousand Prussians who had perished on the field
of battle. The treasure expended and wasted in the
desolations of war can never be estimated ; neither can
there be any accurate estimate of the hundreds of thou-
sands of men, women, and children, who had perished
of exposure, famine, pestilence, and misery. The popu-
lation of Prussia had diminished five hundred thousand
during the Seven -Years' War.
The day after the treaty of peace was signed, Freder-
ick wrote to his friend D'Argens, " For me, poor old
man that I am, I return to a town where I know noth-
ing but the walls ; where I find no longer any of my
friends ; where great and laborious duties await me ;
and where I shall soon lay my old bones in an asylum
which can neither be troubled by war, by calamities,
nor by the wickedness of men."
Under the energetic and sagacious administration of
Frederick, Prussia rapidly recovered from its ruinous
52 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
condition. " To form an idea," he writes, " of the gen-
eral subversion, and how great were the desolation and
discouragement, you must represent to yourself coun-
tries entirely ravaged, the very traces of the old habita-
tions hardly discoverable : of the towns, some were ruined
from top to bottom, others half destroyed by fire. Of
thirteen thousand houses, the very vestiges were gone ;
there was no field in seed, no grain for the food of the
inhabitants ; noble and peasant had been pillaged, ran-
somed, foraged, eaten out by so many different armies,
that nothing was now left them but life and miserable
rags."
CHAPTER IV.
THE PARTITION OF POLAND, AND THE INVASION OF
FRANCE.
OTWITHSTANDING the acquisitions which
Frederick had made to his domains, Prussia
was still but a feeble kingdom, compared
with the great monarchies of Austria, France,
and Russia. To place Prussia upon any
thing like an equality with these first-class
powers, it was necessary for his Prussian
majesty still more to enlarge his realms.
The kingdom of Poland occupied a territory of two
hundred and eighty-four thousand square miles. It
contained a population of twenty millions. Poland was
surrounded by Austria, Russia, and Prussia. It is not
certain with whom the idea originated, of dismembering
this kingdom, — whether with the Russian empress, or
with Frederick. The king was chosen by the nobles.
Upon the death of Augustus, King of Poland, on the 5th
of October, 17Go, Catharine, by bribery, succeeded in
placing upon the throne a handsome young Pole, Stanis-
laus Poniatowski, who had for some time been a very
special favorite at her court. He was crowned King of
Poland on the 7th of September, 1764.
Two or three years passed away of wars and insur-
rections, and all the usual tumult and woe wliich have
68
54 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
characterized the progress of the nations. There were
some secret interviews between the courts of Russia,
Prussia, and Austria, in which it is supposed that the
question of the dismemberment of Poland was agitated.
Frederick, however, informs us that he at length sent
to Catharine a sketch of a plan for partitioning several
provinces in Poland ; " to Which," he says, " the court
at Petersburg, intoxicated with its own outlooks on
Turkey, paid not the least attention." ^
Joseph, the son of Maria Theresa, had become em-
peror, through the agency of his mother, after the death
of his father, the Emperor Francis. On the 25th of
August, 1769, he visited Frederick, at Neisse. Under
cloak of the festivities, the all-important question was
discussed, of the partition of Poland, which was then
in such a state of anarchy as to render any attempt at
resistance hopeless. Another interview took place be-
tween the King of Prussia and the emperor, on the 3d
of September, 1770, at Neustadt, near Austerlitz.
Not long after this interview, Frederick drew up a
new plan of partition, which he presented to Russia
and Austria. By this plan, which was adopted, Russia
took eighty-seven thousand five hundred square miles.
Austria received sixty-two thousand five himdred. The
share which was allotted to Prussia was but nine thou-
sand four hundi'ed and sixty-four square miles. Small,
in respect to territory, as was Prussia's share, it was re-
garded, in consequence of its position and the character
of the region, equally valuable with the other portions.
In the carrying-out of these measures of partition,
which the world has usually regarded as one of the most
* (Euvres de Fr^d^ric, vi. 20.
THE PARTITION OF POLAND. 55
atrocious acts of robbery on record, resort was had both
to bribery and force. A common fund was raised by
the three powers to purchase the acquiescence of the lead-
iucc members of the Polish diet. Each of the confeder-
ate powers also sent an army to the frontiers of Poland
to crush the distracted people, should any forcible resist-
ance be attempted. Thus the deed was accomplished.
It would seem that the conscience of Maria Theresa
recoiled from the political crime ; but she was over-
borne by her son, the emperor, and by the imperious
spirit of the prime-minister, Kaunitz. Wliile, therefore,
reluctantly she gave her assent to the measure, she
issued the following extraordinary document : —
" When all my lands were invaded, and I knew not
where in the world to be brought to bed in, I relied on
my good right and the help of God. But in this thing,
where not only public law cries to heaven against us,
but also all natural justice and sound reason, I must
confess never in my life to have been in such trouble.
I am ashamed to show my face. Let the prince (Kau-
nitz) consider what an example we are giving to the
world, if, for a miserable piece of Poland, we throw our
honor and reputation to the winds. I see well that I
am aloue, and no more in vigor : therefore I must, though
to my very great sorrow, let things take their course." ^
In allusion to the same subject, Frederick writes, " A
new career came to open itself to me ; and one must
have been either without address, or Ijuried in stupidity,
not to have profited hy an opportunity so advantageous.
I seized tliis uni'xpected opportunity l>y the forelock.
By dint of negotiating and intriguing, 1 succeeded in
1 " ir.rmayr, Taschoiilnich, 1831, s. GO."— Cited by Dr. .T. D. E. Prcus*
hlstoriograplier of liraudenburg, iu his Life of li'redorick tlio Gieiit, iv. 38.
56 HISTOKY OF PRUSSIA,
indemnifying our monarchy for its past losses by incor-
porating Polish Prussia with my old provinces."
It was unquestionably a great benefit to the region,
thus acquired, to be brought under the energetic admin-
istration of Frederick. " As Frederick's seven years
struggle of war may be called superhuman, so was there
also, in his present labor of peace, something enormous,
which appeared to his contemporaries almost preternat-
ural, — at times inhuman. It was grand, but also terri-
ble, that the success of the whole was to him, at all
moments, the one thing to be striven after. The com-
fort of the individual Avas of no concern at all." ^
Frederick died, as he had lived, a dreary death of
pain and hopelessness. He had no faith in the immor-
tality of the soul, or in the existence of any God who
takes an interest in the affairs of men. In the severe
anguish of his dying-hours, he avoided any allusions to
religious subjects. There is no royal road to the tomb.
The sufferings of the dying monarch were very severe ;
but he bore them without a murmur. The king was
unreasonably dissatisfied with his phj^sicians, who could
not reheve him from pain ; and sent for the renowned
Dr. Zimmerman of Hanover. In the following terms,
Dr. Zunmerman describes the appearance of the king at
his first interview : —
" When I entered the apartment of the king, I found
him sitting in an elbow-chair, with his back turned to-
ward that side of the room by which I had entered.
He had on his head a large hat very much worn, orna-
mented with a plume of feathers equally ancient. His
dress consisted of a cloak of sky-blue satin, all bedaubed
* Freytug, p. 397.
TUE PAKTITION OF TOLAND. 57
and tinged (of a brownish-yellow color) with Spanish
snuff, lie wore boots, and rested one of his legs, which
wa» very much swelled, upon a stool ; while the other
hung down to the floor.
" When he perceived me, he pulled off his hat in
a very civil and condescending manner, and in a mild
tone of voice said, ' I return you many thanks, sir,
for your kindness in coming hither, and for the speed
with which you have performed your journey.' " ^
At times, the Idng appeared exceedingly dejected.
There could have been but little in the memory of the
past to give him pleasure. The present was shrouded
in the gloom of sickness in its most painful and revolt-
ing forms. The future opened before him but the
abyss of annihilation. One day, as the doctor entered
his room, the king greeted him with the words : —
" Doctor, I am an old carcass, fit only to be thrown
to the dogs."
The doctor at length was compelled to leave his
royal patient, and return to Hanover. " I left the
king," he writes, "not only in a dangerous, but in
a desperate condition, — with a confirmed dropsy, to
all appearance an abscess in the lungs, and such a
prostration of strength, that he could neither stand nor
move without support."
In taking leave of Dr. Zimmerman, the king said,
" Adieu, my good, my dear Mr. Zimmerman ! I
ask pardon of your patients for having deprived them
of your assistance. I thank j-ou for your kindness in
staying with me so long. i\Iay you be always happy I
Do not forget the old man you have seen here."
* Entxetiena de Fr^d^ric, Roi do Prusse, avec le Docteur Zimmormon.
58 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
For six weeks longer, the dying king remained in
a state of constant suffering. The dropsy was in his
(Stomach and chest. His limbs were greatly swollen,
frequently bursting into loathsome and very offensive
wounds. Asthma caused him to gasp for breath. He
could not lie down by night or by day, but was confined
to a wearisome position in his chair. Mirabeau, who
was in Berlin at the time, writes, —
" The king has not been in bed for six weeks. The
swelling augments. He sees it, but will not perceive
what it is, or, at least, will not appear to do so. He
talks as if it were a swelling accompanying conva-
lescence. He is determined not to die if violent
remedies can save him, but to submit to punctures and
incisions to draw off the water."
It is not difficult, in youth, health, and prosperity,
to reject the religion of Jesus ; but when these dark,
sad hours of the dying-chamber come, if one have
not the consolations which Christianity proffers, the
most dreadful and impenetrable gloom must overshadow
the soul. One can scarcely conceive of a scene more
utterly joyless and dismal than the dying-chamber
of Frederick the Great.
On the ITth of August, 1786, at twenty minutes past
two in the morning, he died, in the seventy-fifth year
of his age, and the forty-sixth of his reign. There
was one clause in his will which was judiciously disre-
garded. " He had directed himself to be buried near
his dogs, in the gardens of Sans-Souci, — a last mark
of his contempt for his own species. He was buried
in a small chapel in the church of the garrison, at
Potsdam, where, side by side, repose Frederick and
his father, — the former in a coffin of block tin, the latter
THE PARTITION OF POLAND. 59
in one of copper, and equally without ornament of any
Idnd." '
The Prussian territory had been nearly doubled
under the reign of this extraordinary man. He left
the crown to his nephew, his deceased brother's son.
Frederick William II. commenced his reign in possession
of a territory of 71,670 square miles, being but little
larger than the State of Missouri. It contained nearly
six million inhabitants. Tliis little realm, proud of
its military prestige, maintained a standing army of two
hundred and twenty thousand men. This army con-
sumed four-fifths of the revenues of the state.
Frederick "William II. was a profligate and a weak
man. He was a feeble ruler, and a Avretched financier;
speedily exhausting his treasur}', and involving the
kingdom in debt.
The French Revolution soon began, like a moral
earthquake, to shake all the thrones in Europe. In
the first partition of Poland, to which we have referred,
there had still been a considerable portion of the king-
dom left under its king, Poniatowski. The example
of France had reached the wilds of Sarmatia. On
the 3d of Ma}', 1701, the Poles ventured to establish
a republican constitution under monarchical forms.
Perpetuating an heredltanj monarchy, they proclaimed
rehgious toleration, the emancipation of the hourgensle,
and the progressive emancipation of the serfs.
Burke said of this movement, '"In it humanity has
every thing to rejoice and glory in. It is probably
the most pure public good ever yet conferred on
manldnd. Ten millions of men were placed in a way
' Life of Frederick II., by Lord Dover, vol. ii. p. 328.
60 HISTOEY OF PRUSSIA.
to be freed gradually, and therefore, to themselves,
safely, not from civil or political chains, which, bad
as they are, only fetter the mind, but from substantial
personal bondage. Not one drop of blood was spilled ;
no insults on religion, morals, or manners." ^
Prussia and Russia assumed that this constitution
was bringing dangerous Jacobinism too near their
thrones. They united their armies for a second dis-
memberment. In overwhelming numbers, their com-
bined troops crossed the frontiers, and were cantoned
in the provinces they had seized. Thus was Poland
overrun by the armies of the two most jDOwerful mihtary
monarchies in Europe.
The chivalric Poles were roused to energies of de-
spair such as the world had never witnessed before.
Kosciusko was chosen as military leader. With his
brave band he retook Warsaw, driving out the Russian
and Prussians. To recapture the city, Frederick V/il-
liam II. sent thirty thousand of his perfectly-drilled
soldiers to co-operate with forty thousand Russian
veterans sent by Catharine. After a series of bloody
conflicts, Warsaw was taken by storm on the 4th of
November, 1794. Amidst conflagrations, bombard-
ments, shrieks, and death, the Polish battalions were
driven into the Vistula. Ten thousand soldiers perished ;
ten thousand were taken prisoners ; and twelve thou-
sand of the inhabitants of Warsaw were put to the
sword. Stanislaus was sent captive into Russia, where
he died. The conquerors divided Poland between
them.^
1 Burke's Appeal to the Old Whigs. Works, vol. ii. p. 224.
" Alison's History of Europe, vol. i. p. 358.
"^3'S' HXM
THE PARTITION OF POLAND. 61
In reference to this great crime, the poet CamplDcll
has written beautifully in his " Pleasures of Hope : " —
"Oh bloodiest picture in the book of Time !
Sarmatia fell unwept, -without a crime ;
Found not a generous friend, a pitying foe.
Strength in her arms, nor mercy in her woe ;
Dropped from her nerveless grasp the shattered spear;
Closed her bright eye, and curbed her high career.
Hope for a season bade the world ftirewell ;
And Freedom shrieked as Kosciusko fell."
Frederick Wilham II., the King of Prussia, died at
Berlin on the 16th of Nov. 1797. He did not leave
behind him an enviable reputation in any respect. In
the final partition of Poland, Prussia received twenty-
one thousand square miles, with one million inhabitants.
In all, Prussia had rol)bed Poland of fifty-seven thou-
sand square miles, and two million five hundred and fifty
thousand inhabitants.^
Frederick William HI., son' of the deceased king, who
now ascended the throne, was twenty-seven years of
age. Sir Archibald Alison, whose predilections are
strongly in favor of kings and nobles, thus describes
him : —
'' His character and habits already presaged the im-
mortal glories of his reign. Severe and regular in pri-
vate hfe, he had lived, amid a dissolute court, a pattern
of every domestic virtue. Married early to a beautiful
and high-spirited princess, he bore to her that faithful
attachment which her captivating qualities Avere so well
fitted to excite, and which afterwards attracted the ad-
miration, though they could not relax the policy, or meet
* Encyclopaedia Americaua.
t)2 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA
tlie sternness, or excite a spark of cliivalry in the cold
and intellectual breast, of Napoleon." ^
The young king wrested from the Countess Lich-
stenau, one of his deceased father's guilty favorites,
many crown-jewels which were found in her possession,
and a large portion of the enormous wealth which hud
been lavished upon her. She was assigned a retreat
near Berlin, with a salary of three thousand dollars.
All the Continental monarchs were soon alarmed by
the revolutionary principles which were so rapidly
spreading throughout France. Prussia and Austria en-
tered into a coalition to unite with the royahst party in
France, crush out the popular movement with the tread
of their armies, and restore the absolutism of the ancient
regime. With that purpose they assembled an immense
army at Coblentz, on the Rhine. The march of the in-
vaders was commenced on the 25th of July, 1792.
The allied troops consisted of eighty thousand of the
veteran soldiers of Prussia, and sixty-eight thousand
Austrians.- These troops were placed under the com-
mand of the Duke of Brunswick. His mother was one
of the sisters of Frederick the Great. His wife was the
Princess Augusta of England.
In three great divisions, this army, one hundred and
forty thoasand strong, entered France. The Duke of
Bnmswick ascended the left bank of the Moselle, to
march upon Paris by the way of Verdun and Chalons.
His immense force, in all its immense array of infantry,
cavalry, guns, and baggage, crowded forty miles of road.
Prince tlohenlohe, marching twenty miles on the left,
* Alison's History of Europe, vol. i. p. 473.
* Ibid., vol. i. p. 126; also Thiers' History of the French Revolution vol. L
p. 278.
THE INVASION OF FRANCE. 63
pursued a route which passed through Thionvillc and
Metz. Count de Clairfayt led his battalions on the
right, by the iMezidres and Sedan.
The Duke of Brunswick issued a proclamation, which
at once became world-renowned, and which exasperated
the popular party in France to the highest degree.
'' Their majesties," said the duke in his famous mani-
festo, " the Emperor of German}'- and the King of Prus-
sia, having intrusted me with the command of the
combined armies assembled l)y their ordecs on the
frontiers of France, I desire to acquaint the inhabitants
of that kingdom with the motives which have deter-
mined the measures of the two sovereigns, and the in-
tentions by which they are guided.
" They wish to put an end to the anarchy in the
interior of France ; to stop the attacks against the throne
and the altar; to re-establish the royal power; to restore
to the king the security and liberty of which he is de-
prived, and to place him in a condition to exercise the
authority which is his own.
" Such of the national guards as shall have fought
against the troops of the two allied courts, and who
shall be taken in arms, shall be treated as rebels, and
punished as rebels to their king.
" The members of the departments, districts, and
municipalities, shall be responsible, with their lives and
property, for all misdemeanors, fires, murders, pillage,
and acts of violence, which they shall suffer to be com-
mitted, or which they shall notoriously not strive to
prevent in their territory.
" The inhabitants of the cities, towns, ;uid villages,
who shall dare to defend themselves against the troops
of their imperial and royal majesties, and to fire upon
64 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
them, either in the open field, or from the windows,
doors, and apertures of their houses, shall be instantly
punished with all the rigor of the law of war, and theii
houses demolished or burned.
" The city of Paris, and all its inhabitants, without
distinction, are required to submit immediately, and
without delay, to the king ; to set that prince at full
and entire liberty ; and to insure to him, as well as to all
the royal personages, the inviolability and respect which
the laws of nature and nations render obligatory on sub-
jects toward their sovereigns.
" Their imperial and royal majesties will hold per-
sonally responsible, with their lives, for all that may
happen, to be tried militarily, and without hope of par-
don, all the members of the national assembly, of the
department of the district of the municipality, and of
the national guard of Paris, the justices of the peace,
and all others whom it may concern.
" Their majesties declare, moreover, on their faith and
word as emperor and Idng, that if the Palace of the
Tuileries is foreed or insulted, that if the least violence,
the least outrage, is offered to their majesties, the king
and queen, and to the royal family, if immediate provis-
ion is not made for their safety, they will take exem-
plary and ever-memorable vengeance by giving up
Paris to military execution and total destruction, ai-d
the rebels guilty of outrages to the punishments they
shall have deserved," &c.^
" The greatest sensation," writes Prof. Smyth, " was
produced in our own country of Great Britain, and
all over Europe, by a manifesto like this, which went
* Thiers' History of the French Revolution, vol. i. p. 314.
THE INVASION OF FRANCE. 65
in trulli to say that two military powers were to
inarch into a neighboring and independent kingdom, to
settle the civil dissensions there as they thought best,
and to punish by military law all who presumed to re-
sist them. No friend to freedom could, for a moment,
tolerate such a procedure as this." ^
The result was, the Palace of the Tuileries was
stormed b}^ the exasperated populace of Paris ; the
royal family was taken captive, and incarcerated in the
Temple ; and soon both king and queen were led to
the guillotine. Onward pressed the allies with resist-
less tramp. All opposition melted before their solid
battalions. Thionville and Verdun were surrounded
and captured. The victorious invaders crowded the
defiles of the Argonne. The army of Dumouriez, sent
to oppose them, was almost annihilated, l^'ugitives
rushed into Paris, pale and breathless, declaring that no
further opposition was possible.
Terrible was the consternation in Paris. France rose
en masse. Every man on the popular side, pale with
deathless resolve, grasped his arms. All who were sus-
pected of being in alliance with the Prussians were
mercilessly assassinated. The venerable Vergniaud ut-
tered a word which nerved every arm.
" The plan of the enemy," said he, " is to march di-
rectly upon Paris, leaving the fortresses behind him.
Let him do so : this course will be our salvation, and his
ruin. Our armies, too weak to withstand him, will be
strong enough to harass him in the rear. When he ar-
rives, pursued by our battalions, he will find himself
face to face with our Parisian army, drawn up in bat-
• Prof. Smyth's Lectures on the French Ilcvolutioii, vol. ii. p. 320.
ft
t)6 . HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
tie array under tlie walls of the capital. There, sur-
rounded on all sides, he will be swallowed up by the
soil which he has profaned."
The excesses committed in Paris against royalists in
the blind frenzy of the hour are beyond the powers of
any pen to describe. Dr. Moore, an English gentle-
man, who was an eye-witness, writes, —
" Amid the disorders which have taken place, it is
impossible not to admire the generous spirit which glows
all over the nation in support of its independence. No
country ever displayed a nobler or more patriotic enthu-
siasm." ^
On the 20th of September, 1792, the Duke of Bruns-
wick encountered, to his surprise, a French army,
strongly intrenclied upon the heights of Valmy, near
Chalons. Seventy thousand men, peasants and artisans,
had rushed to those heights. For twenty days, the storm
of battle raged there with tremendous fury. The young
men from the shops and the fields fought from behind
their ramparts with the bravery of veterans. From all
parts of France, re-enforcements were hurrying to the
scene of the conflict. The supplies of the invaders
were cut off. Sickness decimated their camp. The
freezing gales of winter were at hand. In deep humili-
ation, the Prussians broke up their camp on the 15th of
October, and retii-ed to their fortresses on the Rhine^
They left behind them twenty-five thousand, who had
perished of sickness, the bullet, and the sword.
" The force," writes Alison, " with which the Prus-
sians retired, was about seventy thousand. Their re-
treat was conducted in the most imposing manner ; tak-
* Journal of Sir John Moore, vol. i. p. 160.
THE INVASION OF FRANCE. C7
Lng position, and facing about, on occasion of every
lialt. They left behind them, on their route, most
mehancholy proofs of the disasters of the campaign.
All the villages were filled with the dead and dying.
The allies had lost by dysentery and fevers more than a
fourth of their numbers."
CHAPTER V.
PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
S the allied army retreated, after its defeat
at Valmy, in September, 1792, Gen. Du-
mouriez pursued a division of twenty-five
thousand Austrians under Gen. Clairfayt.
On the 4th of November he overtook
the fugitives, strongly intrenched upon
the heights of Jemappes, near Mons. One
day was employed in concentrating the French forces
and arraying the batteries. Twenty-five thousand men
were behind the ramparts : sixty thousand advanced to
storm them. Early in the morning of the 6th, the can-
nonade began : a hundred pieces of artillery opened their
thunders. All day long, war's fierce tornado, with its
whirls, its eddies, and its onward rush, swept the field.
The Austrians were routed. In broken bands they fled,
having lost fifteen hundred prisoners, and four thousand
five hundred in killed and wounded.
" The sensation," writes Thiers, " produced by this
important battle, was prodigious. The victory of Je-
mappes instantaneously filled all France with joy, and
Europe with new surprise. Nothing was talked of but
the fact of the coolness with which the Austrian artil-
lery had been confronted, and the intrepidity displayed
68
PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 69
in storming their redoubts. The danger and the victory
were even exaggerated ; and throughout all Europe the
faculty of gaining great battles was again awarded to
the French." ^
The Duke of Orleans (subsequently King Louis Phi-
lippe), at that time a young man, known as the Duke of
Chartres, greatly signalized himself by his bravery in
this conflict. The French armies now swept triumph-
antly towards the Rhine, driving their foes before them.
Cheered by these victories, the convention in Paris, on
the 19th of November, 1792, issued the decree, —
"That they would grant fraternity and succor to
every people who were disposed to recover their liberty ;
and that they charged their generals to give aid to all
such people, and to defend all citizens who had been
or might be disquieted in the cause of freedom."
This decree was followed ]:)y another, on the 15th of
December, declaring that France would proclaim, in all
the provinces it conquered, " the sovereignty of the
people, the suppression of all the constituted authori-
ties, of all feudal and territorial rights, of all the privi-
leges of nobility, and exclusive privileges of every de-
scription."^
The people were invited to meet, and organize new
republican governments founded on popular suffrage.
By these defeats, the Prussians were placed in a very
deplorable condition. Winter was at hand ; disease was
making dreadful ravages in their camps ; republican
principles were penetrating even the ranks of the army.
A flag of truce was sent by Frederick William III. to
» Thiers' History of flio Frencli Ilovohition, vol. ii. p. 10.
» Jomini, Histoiro des GueiTes de In U(!volution, ii. 264.
70 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
confer upon terms of compromise. Dumouriez wrote to
the French Government, —
" The proposals of the King of Prussia do not appear
to offer a basis for negotiation ; but they demonstrate
that* the enemy's distress is very great. I am per-
suaded that the King of Prussia is now heartily sorry in
being so far in advance, and that he would readily
adopt any means to extricate himself from his embar-
rassments." ^
The negotiations for peace were not successful.
During the winter, the allies gathered their forces
anew ; and, in the spring, Frederick William commenced
another campaign by besieging the French fortress of
Mayence, on the left bank of the Rhine. The King
of Prussia brought forward fifty-five thousand men ; and
Austria sent enough troops to swell the number to
eighty thousand. The French had about the same
number in the Valley of the Moselle and in their for-
tresses on the Rhine.
The King of Prussia crossed the river, without oppo-
sition, at a point a little below Mayence, and invested
the city from both sides of the Rhine. The garrison
consisted of twenty thousand men. The investment
commenced in April, 1793.
The city of Mayence, nearly opposite the mouth of the
River Majaie, was even then a ver}^ strongly fortified
place. The King of Prussia, in person, conducted the
siege. There were the usual scenes of bombardment,
tumult, and blood, storming-parties repulsed, and sorties
driven back. Two hundred pieces of artillery played
upon the fortress ; while floating batteries, placed upon
* Dumouriez' despatch to the French Government.
PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 71
the Rhine, threw into the streets an incessant storm
of shells.
" Distress was at its height. Horseflesh had long
been the only meat the garrison had. The soldiers ate
rats, and went to the banlcs of the Rhine to pick np the
dead horses which the current brought down with it.
A cat sold for six francs ; horseflesh, at the rate of forty-
live sous per pound. The officers fared no better than
the soldiers. Gen. Albert Dubayet, having invited his
staff to dinner, set before it, by way of a treat, a cat,
flanked by a dozen mice.
" Communications were so completely intercepted,
that, for three months, the garrison was wholly ignorant
of what was passing in France. The Prussians, who
had practised all sorts of stratagems, had false " Moni-
teurs " printed at Frankfort, stating that Dumouriez had
overthrown the Convention, and that Louis XVIII.
was reigning with a regency. The Prussians placed at
the advanced posts transmitted these false " Moniteurs "
to the soldiers in the French garrisons.
" At length the distress became so intolerable, that
two thousand of the inhabitants solicited permission to
depart. Albert Dubayet granted it ; but, not being re-
ceived by the besiegers, they remained between two
flres, and partly perished under the walls of the place.
In the morning, soldiers were seen bringing in wounded
infants wrapped in their cloaks." ^
On the 2.jth of July, the starved garrison was com-
pelled' to capitidate. The King of Prussia allowed the
troops to march out with their arms and baggage. T!ioy
simply engaged not to serve, for a year, against tho
allies.
» Thiers' French Revolution, vol. ii. p. 260.
72 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
But Frederick William III. had now become weary
of the war. He would have abandoned the enterprise ;
but England came forward with liberal promises of
gold. England, uniting with Holland, agreed to pay
the King of Prussia two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars a month, and also to meet all the expenses of
bread and forage for the Prussian army. There was
also granted the Prussian king a gratuity of one mil-
lion five hundred thousand dollars to aid him in com-
mencing operations, with the promise of five hundred
thousand dollars upon his return to the Prussian States.
In consideration of this subsidy, Frederick Wilham
agreed to furnish sixty-four thousand five hundred men
to the coalition ; of which coalition, England was now
the acknowledged head. The Prussian army was to be
under a Prussian commander. All the conquests made
of French territory were to belong jointly to England
and Holland.^
" The discontent of the Prussian troops," writes Ali-
son, " was loudly proclaimed when it transpired that
they were to be transferred to the pay of Great Britain.
They openly murmured at the disgrace of having the
soldiers of the great Frederick sold like mercenaries to
a foreign power. The event soon demonstrated that
the succors stipulated from Prussia would be of the
most inefficient description."
The conflict raged on the Rhine, month after mnnth,
with varying success. Gen. Kleber, who was in com-
mand of the French forces, driving the allies before
him, crossed the Rhine, and carried the horrors of war
into the territory of the enemy. Ere long he encoun-
* Thiers' French Revolution, vol. iii. p. 18.
PliUSSIA AND THE FKENCEI IlEVOLUTIOX. 73
tered overwhelmiuG^ numbers, and was compelled to
retreat across the Rhine, back into France. Again, re-
enforcements arriving, the French republicans assumed
the offensive, and carried the war across the river to the
right bank. Thus the blood-red tides of battle cbbetl
and flowed.
This majestic stream, the Rhine, wliieli had so long
been the boundary of the Roman Empire, mainly sep-
arated the antagonistic armies from the Alps to tlie
ocean. The allies had an immense advantage in still
holding the strong fortress of i\Iayence, which they had
captured on the French side of the Rhine ; but as the
rcjjublican troops gained victory after victory, and Rrus-
sia itself was threatened with invasion by the tricolor
flag, Frederick William, disheartened and trembling,
again resolved to withdraw from the alliance.
Republican France had so roused herself, that she had
twelve hundred thousand men under arms. All the
important military points on the liliine were in their
possession. Holland was organizing as the Republic of
the United Provinces, and entering into alliance with
the French Republic.
Frederick William HI. sent a commissioner to the
headquarters of the French commander to propose
l)eaee. ' The commissioners met at Basle ; and on the
6t]i of April, 171).'), peace was concluded M"ith Prussia.
Tlie French agreed to evacuate all the provinces they
had conquered on the right bank of the Rhine. 1'lie
Prussian king pledged himself to friendly relations with
the French Republic.
Still I'^ngland, Austria, and Naples continued the
war lor three years longer. The Freiieh armies, having
encouulercd some repulses in the conflict with tlic Aub*
74 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
trians, occupied the left bank of the Rhine, and, with
that broad and rapid river for their protection, warded
off invasion from Germany. Immense French victories
gained by tlie young general, Bonaparte, over the Austri-
ans in Italy, led to a convention at Rastadt to confer upon
terms of peace. We give the substance of these nego-
tiations as stated by M. Thiers. The intelligent reader
will be deeply interested in comparing the claims of
France and the reply of Germany in 1798 with the
claims of Germany and the reply of France in 1870.
France demanded, not only that the line of the Rhine
should be the recognized frontier between the two coun-
tries, but that France should also have possession of all
the islands in the Rhine, which were very important in
a military point of view. France also demanded Kehl
and its territory, opposite to Strasburg ; and Cassel and
its territory, opposite Mayence ; and that fifty acres of
land on the German side of the Rhine, facing the old
bridge of Huningen, should be transferred to the Re-
public. In addition to this, France insisted that the
important fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, nearly opposite
Coblentz, shoidd be clemohshed. These concessions, it
was asserted, were essential to protect France from the
menace of Germanic invasion.
The deputation of the German Empire, on the other
liand, replied, that the River Rhine was the natural
boundary between the two nations, offering equal se-
curity to both ; that, if France were to keep all the
offensive points, this security would cease to exist for
Germany. They proposed, as the real boundar}^, the
channel of the main branch of the river, — all the islands
on the right of that line to belong to Germany; all
on the left, to France. The deputation was not willing
PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCFI REVOLUTION. 75
that France should retain an}^ offensive points on the
river, while Germany was to lose them all.^
After long negotiation, the obviously reasonable Ger-
man proposition was accepted. The main channel of
the River Rhine was declared to be the boundary be-
tween France and Germany. This important treaty
was signed in September, 1798.
The establishment of, first the consulate, and then
the empire, in France, increased rather than diminished
the exasperation of the old feudal monarchies. Under
these new organizations, the republican doctrine of
equal rights for all men was retained. Hereditary no-
bility was rejected, at first entirely rejected, and then
but partially revived. Titles of honor were conferred as
the reward of merit only. The doctrine of the " di-
vine riglit" of kings was utterly repudiated; and the
powers of government were based upon popular suf-
frage.
The feudal kings and nobles of Europe were not to be
deceived by a name. The fact that the Republic called
itself an Empire, and that the elected executive was
called Imperator, instead of President, rendered repub-
licanism, thus arrayed, as formidable as ever. The
principles avowed were in direct antagonism with all
the old regimes : consequently, coalition aftei coalition
was organized against these democratic principles, what-
ever names tliey might assume.
The antagonism which had so long existed between
Prussia and Austria was qne of the inlluenecs wliich
induced Frederick William III. to witlidraw from the
uliiancc against France. During the ten years of
' 'I"hiers' History of the Froncli Itcvolution, vol. iv. p. 20(>.
76 HISTOEY OF PRUSSIA.
peace which Prussia enjoyed, the kingdom had rapidly
increased in popuhxtion and wealth. The vicissitndes
of war had thrown a large portion of the commerce
of Germany into its hands. The population had
increased to nine million five hundred thousand souls ;
its net income amounted to about fifty million dollars ;
its standing army numbered two hundred thousand
highly-discipUned troops.^
" The Prussian capital was one of the most agreeable
and least expensive in Europe. No rigid etiquette, no
rigid line of demarcation, separated the court from the
people. The royal family lived on terms of friendly
equality, not only with the nobility, but with the
leading inhabitants of Berlin. An easy demeanor, a
total absence of aristocratic pride, an entire absence
of extravagance or parade, distinguished all the parties
given at court ; at which the king and queen mingled
on terms of perfect equality with their sul)jects.
" Many ladies of rank, both in Paris and London,
spent larger sums annually on their dress than the
Queen of Prussia. None equalled her in dignity and
grace of manner and the elevated sentiments with
which she was inspired. Admiration of her beauty,
and attachment to her person, formed one of the strong-
est feelings of the Prussian monarchy." ^
The King of Prussia was the first of the monarchs,
among the great powers, who recognized the empire in
France. Wlien, in 1804, Russia, in coalition with
Austria and England, was preparing to send down her
Muscovite legions into France, Frederick entered into
an agreement with the French Empire to maintain a
^ Bignon, Hi^toire de Fi-ance dopuis le 18mc Brumaire, t. ii. p. 293.
* Alison's Ilistoiy of Europe, vol. ii. p. 2Sfe.
PItUSSIA AND THE FRENCH KEVOLUTIOX. 77
Btrict neutrality, and not to permit Russian or any other
foreign troops to cross her territories.
Early in the spring of 1803, England, Austria, and
Russia formed a new coalition against France, into
which Sweden, Hanover, Sardinia, and Naples were
soon drawn. The luiited army of the allies was to
number live hundred thousand men.
" It was a great object," writes Sir Archibald Alison,
" if possible, to unite Prussia in the alliance. For this
purpose, M. Xoviltzoff was dospatclicd to Berlin. Not-
withstanding all the efforts of England and Russia, it
was found impossible to overcome the leaning of Prus-
sia towards the French interest. The real secret of
this partiality was the effect of the glittering prize,
which her ministers had long coveted, in the electorate
of Hanover. The Prussian Government could never
divest itself of the idea, that by preserving a dubious
neutrality, and reserving her interposition for the deci-
sive moment, she might, without danger, add that im-
portant acquisition to her domains.
" The Prussian ministers at length openly broached
the project of taking provisional possession of tliat
electorate, 'as the union of the Continental dominions
of liis Britannic Majesty to Prussia is of such conse-
quence to tliat monarch}^, that it can never relinquish
the prospect of gaining such an accjuisition, providing
it can be done Avithout compromising the cliaractcr of
his Majesty.'
" The king at length put the question, ' Can I, witliout
violating tie rules of morality, witliout being lield up in
history as a king destitute of faith, depart, for the
acquisition of Hanover, from tlie character which I
have hitherto maintained?'
78 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
" It was easy to see in wliat sucli contests between
duty and interest would terminate. Before the middle
of August, the Prussian cabinet intimated to the
French minister at Berlin their willingness to conclude
a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, with the
French Government, on the footing of the annexation of
Hanover to their dominions. Subsequent events pre-
vented the treaty being signed, and saved Prussia from
this last act of cupidity and infatuation." ^
During all this time, there was a strong minority in
Prussia in favor of war, against the rapidly-spreading
liberal opinions of France. The Queen Louisa and
Prince Louis were prominent in this party. A French
army-corps had marched through a corner of Anspach,
thus violating the territory of Prussia. Though
immediate apology was made, " the cabinet at Berlin,"
writes Alison, " had taken umbrage to an extent which
could hardly have been anticipated, and which was
greatly beyond the amount of the injury intlicted.
" Matters were in this inflammable state when the
Emperor Alexander arrived at Berlin, and employed
the whole weight of his great authority, and all the
charms of his captivating manners, to induce the king
to embrace a more manly and courageous policy. Under
the influence of so many concurring causes, the French
influence rapidly declined.
" On the 3d of November, 1805, a secret conven-
tion was signed between the two monarchs, for the
regulation of the affairs of Europe, and to erect a
barrier against the encroachments of France.
" The conclusion of this convention was followed by
* Alison, vol. ii. p. 322.
PRUSSIA AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 79
a scene as remarkable as it was romantic. Wlicn tlicy
signed it, both were fully aware of the perilous nature
of the enterprise on which they were adventuring.
The Archduke Anthony had arrived two days before
witli detailed accounts of the disastrous result of the
combats around Ulm.
" Inspired with a full sense of the dangers of the
Avar, tlie ardent and chivalrous mind of the queen con-
ceived the idea of uuiling the two sovereigns by a
bond more likely to be durable than the mere alliance
of cabinets with each other. This was to bring them
together at the tomb of the great Frederick, where, it
was hoped, the solemnit}'" and recollections of the scene
would powerfully contribute to cement their union.
" The emperor, Avho was desirous of visiting the mau-
soleum of that illustrious hero, accordingly repaired to
the church of the garrison at Potsdam, where his re-
mains are deposited ; and at midnight the two monarchs
proceeded together, by torchlight, to the hallowed
grave. Uncovering when he approached the spot, the
emperor kissed the pall ; and taking the hand (sword?)
of the King of Prussia, as it lay on the tomb, thc}^ swore
an eternal fricndsliip to each other, and bound them-
selves by the most solemn oallis to maintain their en-
gagements inviolate in the great contest for European
independence in wliich they were engaged.
"A few hours after, Alexander departed for GalHcia,
to assume, in person, the command of the army of re-
serve, which was advancing through that province to
the support of Kutusoff. Such was the origin of that
great alhance, which, tliougli often interrupted by mis-
fortune, and deeply checkered with disaster, was yet
destined to be brought to so triumphant an issue, and
80 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
ultimatel}^ wroiiglit sucli wonders for the deliverance of
Europe." ^
Before the Prussians had brought their two hundred
thousand troops into the field, the French armies, under
Xapo](ion, had captured Vienna, and had almost annihi-
lated the Prussian army in the great victor}^ of Austerlitz.
Prussia had, as yet, made no declaration of war. The
treaty was kept a profound secret. The 15th of Decem-
ber, 1805, was the appointed day in which war was to be
declared against France, and hostilities were to com-
mence. The result we give in Sir Archibald Alison's
words, somewhat abbreviated.
The Prussian minister, " Hauguitz, had come to Vi-
enna to declare war against Napoleon ; but the battle
of Austerlitz had totally deranged their plans. The
armistice liad completely detached Austria from the
coalition. The severest morality could not condemn a
statesman who sought to withdraw his country from a
contest which now appeared hopeless. But, not content
with this, Hauguitz resolved to go a step farther.
" On the breaking-up of the confederacy into which
he had just entered, he determined to secure a part of
the spoils of his former allies, and, if he could not
chase the French standards beyond the Rhine, at least
wrest from England those Continental possessions which
fihe now appeared in no condition to defend.
" With matchless effronter}^, he changed the whole
object of his mission ; and when admitted into the pres-
ence of Napoleon, after the victory, congratulated liim
upon his success, and proposed a treaty, the basis of
which should be the old project of annexing Hanover
to the Prussian dominions.
* Alison's History of Europe, vol. ii. p. 357.
PRUSSIA AND THE rRENCII REVOLUTION. 81
" Although Napoleon IkuI not received full accounts
of the treaty of the 3d of November, he was aware of
its substance. Upon receiving Hauguitz, therefore, he
broke out into vehement declamation against the perfidy
of the Prussian cabinet ; informed him that he was ac-
quainted with all their machinations ; and that it now
lay with hira alone, after concluding peace with Austria,
to turn his whole forces against Prussia ; wrest from them
Silesia, whose fortresses, unarmed and unprovisioned,
were in no condition to make any defence ; excite an in-
surrection in Prussian Poland, and punish them in the
most signal manner for their perfidy.
" Reasons of state, however, he added, sometimes
compelled sovereigns to bury in oblivion the best
founded cause of animosity. On this occasion, he was
wilhng to overlook their past misconduct, and ascribe it
entirely to the efforts of England ; but this could be
only on one condition, — that Prussia should at length
abandon its doubtful policy, and enter, heart and hand,
into the French alliance. On these terms, he was still
willing to incorporate Hanover in to their dominions, in
exchange for some of its detached southern possessions,
which were to be ceded to France and Bavaria.
" Overjoyed at the prospect thus afforded of extri-
cating his country, not only M'itliout loss, but with great
accession of territory, Hauguitz at once accepted the
stipulations. It was agreed that Prussia should enter
into an alliance with France, and receive, besides tlie mar-
graviate of Baireuth, the whole electorate of Hanover,
in fuU sovereignty, as avcII as all the other Continental
dominions of his Britannic Majesty." ^
* Alison's History of Europe, vol. ii. p. 394.
6
82 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
This treaty was signed on the 15th of December,
1805, — the very day on which Prussia was to have com-
menced hostihties against France. The indignation
which tliis transaction excited in Great Britain was in-
tense. ]\Ir. Fox, who was then minister, said in his
place in parliament, " The conduct of Prussia is a union
of every thing that is contemptible in servility with
every thing that is odious in rapacity." ^
* Parliamentaiy Debates, vi. 891.
CHAPTER VI.
PRUSSIA OVEllWIIEI.MED.
|OUISA, the Queen of Prussia, was, intellectu-
ally, far the superior of her husband. She
saw clearlj^ that the principles of the French
Revolution, organized in the empire of
France, if unchecked, would inevitably nn-
dermine the Prussian and all other feudal
thrones. The war-party in Berlin, with the
queen and Prince Louis at its head, were unmeasured
in their vituperation of this alliance with France.
Their remonstrances, however, were of no avail.
The annexation of Hanover to Prussia gave to that
kingdom an increase of territorv amounting to fourteen
thousand eight hundred square miles (equal to about
twice the State of Massachusetts), and increased the
population by over a million. The course, however,
A\liicli Prussia pursued, was so vacillatiug, that " all
sincere friendship had become impossible between Prus-
sia and France. Prussia was regarded as a suspected
power, whose hollow friendship had ceased to have any
value." '
England was gi'catly exasperated. The Prussian har-
bors were immediately declared in a state of blockade,
• Bignon, Ilistoirc dc France, t. v. p. 223.
83
84 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
and ail embargo laid upon all vessels of that nation in
tlie British harbors.
" An order of council," writes Alison, " was soon
after issued, authorizing the seizure of all vessels navi-
gating under Prussian colors. And such was the effect
of these measures, that the Prussian flag was instantly
swept from the ocean ; and, before many weeks had
elapsed, four hundred of its merchant-vessels had found
their way into the harbors of Great Britain." ^
Queen Louisa and Prince Louis were still consecrat-
ing all their energies to bring Prussia into co-opera-
tion with England, Russia, and Austria, in antagonism
to the principles of the French Revolution, which Avere
now being borne widely through Europe on the imperial
banners. Suddenly Prussia changed front, renounced
the alliance with France, and commenced vigorous hos-
tilities against the French Empire. We give the reasons
for this change as expressed by Sir Archibald Alison : —
1. France had overturned the constitution of the
Germanic Empire, and, by the newly-formed confedera-
tion of the Rhine, had made Germany essentially tribu-
tary to the French Empire.
2. The Queen and Prince Louis did not appeal in vain
to the patriotic spirit of the nation. " The inhabitants
of that monarchy, clear-sighted and intelligent beyond
almost any other, as well as enthusiastic and brave, per-
ceived distinctly the gulf into which they were about
to fall. One universal cry of indignation burst forth
from all ranks. The young officers loudly demantjed to
be led to the combat : the elder spoke of the glories
of Frederick and of Rosbach. An irresistible current
swept away the whole nation.
* Alison, vol. ii. p. 425.
PRUSSIA OVERWHELMED. 85
" 3. But all these causes of complaint, serious as they
were, sank into insignificance compared to that which
asose when it was discovered by jM. Lucchesini, the
Prussian ambassador at Paris, that France liad entered
into negotiations with England, on the footing of the
restitution of Hanover to its lawful sovereign ; that,
while continually urging the cabinet at Berlin to look
for indemnities for such a loss on the side of Pomera-
nia, Napoleon had* engaged to Russia to prevent them
from depriving the King of Sweden of any part of his
German dominions ; and that, while still professing sen-
timents of amity and friendship to Frederick William,
he had offered to throw no obstacles in the way of the
re-estaljlishment of the kingdom of Poland, including
the whole of Polish Prussia, in favor of the Grand
Duke Constantine.
" Irritated beyond endurance by such a succession of
insults, and anxious to regain the place which he was
conscious he had lost in the estimation of Europe, the
King of Prussia put liis armies on a war-footing ; de-
spatched ]M. Krusemark to St. Petersburg, and 'Si. Lacobi
to London, to endeavor to effect a reconciliation with
ihese powers ; opened the navigation of the Elbe ; con-
cluded his difficulties with the King of Sweden ; and
caused his troops to defile in the direction of Leipsic.
" The torrent of public indignation at Berlin became
irresistible. The war-party overwhelmed all opposi-
tion. In the general tumult, ' the still small voice ' of
reason, which counselled caution and preparation in the
outset of so great an enterprise, was overtossed. Prince
Louis and his confederates openly boasted, that Prussia,
strong in the recollection of the great Frederick and
the discipline he had bequeathed to his followers, wa^
86 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA
able, singie-handed, to strike down the conqueror of
Europe. Warlike and patriotic songs resounded, amidst
thunders of applause, at the theatres ; and the queen
roused the general enthusiasm to the highest pitch by
displaying her beautiful figure on horseback in the
streets of Berlin, at the head of the regiment of hus-
sars, in the uniform of the corps." ^
The Prussian armies, numbering two hundred thou-
sand, entered the heart of Saxony. Frederick William
compelled the King of Saxony to join the alliance.
" Our cause," he said, " is the common cause of legiti-
mate kings. All such must aid in the enterprise."
The young emperor, Alexander of Russia, anxious to
efface the stain of Austerlitz, was hastening by forced
marches over the wilds of Poland, with two hundred
thousand veteran troops in his train. The invincible
fleet of England crowded the shores of the Mediter-
ranean and of the Channel.
At midnight on the 24:th of September, 1806, Na-
poleon entered his carriage at the Tuileries to join his
army in the Valley of the Rhine. In his parting mes-
sage to the senate, he said, " In so just a war, which we
have not provoked by any act, by any pretence, the true
cause of which it would be impossible to assign, and
where we only take arms to defend ourselves, we de-
pend entirely upon the support of the laws, and upon
that of the people, whom circumstances call upon to
give fresh proofs of their devotion and courage."
" Napoleon," says Alison, " had no gallantry or chiv-
alrous feeling in his breast. In his first bulletin he
wrote, ' The Queen of Prussia is in the army, dressed
1 Alison, vol. ii. p. 428.
PRUSSIA OVERWHELMED. 87
OS an Amazon, bearing the uniform of the regiment of
dragoons, writing twenty letters a day to spread the
eonflagration in all directions. We seem to behold Ar-
mida in her madness, setting fire to her own palace.
After her follows Prince Louis of Prussia, a young
prince full of bravery and courage, hurried on by the
spirit of party, who flatters himself he shall find a great
renown in the vicissitudes of war. Following the ex-
amples of these illustrious persons, all the court cries,
' To arms ! ' but when war shall have readied them,
with all its horrors, all will seek to exculpate them-
selves from having been instrumental in bringing its
thunders to the peaceful plains of the North.'
" Such," continues Sir Archibald Alison, " was the
language in which Napoleon spoke of the most beauti-
ful princess in Europe."
By skilful manoeuvres, the whole French army, in a
few days, having crossed the Rhine, were thrown into
the rear of the Prussians, thus cutting off all their sup-
plies. Victory seemed no longer doubtful. Under
these circumstances, the emperor wrote as follows to
Frederick William : —
" Sire, I am now in the licart of Saxony. Believe
me, my strength is such, that yoTU' forces cannot long
bidance the victory. But wherefore shed so much
blood? to what purpose? Why should we make our
subjects slay each other? I do not prize a victory Avhuh
is purchased by the lives of so many of my chiklrcn.
If 1 were just commencing my military career, and if I
had any reason to fear the chances of war, this language
would be wholly misplaced. Sire, your INIajesty will bo
vanquished : j'ou will have compromised the repose of
88 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
your life and tlie existence of your subjects, without
the shadow of a pretext. At present you are uninjured,
and may treat witli me in a manner conformable with your
rank. Before a month has passed, you will treat, but
in a different position. I am aware that I may, in thus
writing, irritate that sensibility which belongs to every
sovereign ; but circumstances demand that I should
use no concealment. I implore your Majesty to view in
this letter nothing but the desire I have to spare the
effusion of human blood. Sire, my brother, I pray God
tliat he may have you in his worthy and holy keeping.
Your Majesty's good brother, " Napoleon."
" Finding affairs," writes Alison, " in a situation so
much more favorable than he could have anticipated, Na-
poleon, to gain additional time to complete the encircling
of his antagonist, despatched an officer of his household
with proposals of peace to Frederick William." What-
ever may have been the motives which dictated the pa-
cific overture, no reply was returned to the letter.
Though the despatch was intrusted to a Prussian officer,
it is said that the king did not receive it until the
morning of the battle of Jena.
On the morning of the 14th of October, the two
hostile armies met, face to face, on the plains of Jena
and Auerstadt. The two battle-fields were at the dis-
tance of but a few miles from each other. On each
side the soldiers were equally brave, equally inured to
war, and were led by able generals. Immediately
there was commenced one of the most awful storms
of battle which has ever desolated this globe. For
eight hours the struggle continued, with the summoning
of all possible human energies. About mid-day, the
PRUSSIA OVERWHELMED. 89
Prussian commander felt sanguine of victor}'. He de-
spatched the following order to one of his generals: —
" Send all the force you can to the chief point of
attack. At this moment, v/e beat the enemy at all
points. My cavalry has captured some of his cannon."'
A few hours later, the whole aspect of the field
was changed. The tide of disaster was surging in
upon the Prussian general from all directions. The
following almost frantic despatch was sent to his
reserve : —
" Lose not a moment in advancing with your yet
unbroken troops. Arrange your columns so that
through their openings there may pass the broken
bands of the battle. Be ready to receive the charges
of the enemy's cavalry, which in the most furious
manner rides on, overwhelms and sabres the fugitives,
and has driven into one confused mass the infantry,
cavalry, and artillery."
Night came. The Prussian army was destroj'ed.
It was no longer a battle, but a massacre. All order
was lost, as the Prussians, a rabble rout, lied like
an inundation from the field. The king himself nar-
rowly escaped being made prisoner. In the gloom
of night, and almost alone, he leaped hedges and
fences, and plunged through field and forest, to effect
his escape. Prince Louis fell in one of the conflicts
which ushered in tlie great battle, his head being split
open by a sal)re blow.
The Prussians lost, during tliis disastrous da}', twenty
thousand in killed and wounded ; and twenty thousand
were taken prisoners. In iioliiing was tiie militaiy
genius of Napoleon more conspicuous than in the vigor
and ability with which he pursued a vanquished foo.
90 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
Ill less than fourteen days, every remnant of the Prussian
army was taken, and all the fortresses of Prussia were
in the hands of the French.
Frederick William III. fled to the confines of Russia
to seek protection behind the bayonets of the troops
of Alexander.
Prussia was struck as by a thunderbolt. The history
of the world presents no other example of such a
power being so speedily and so utterly destroyed.
In one month after the emperor left the Tuileries, the
feat was accomplished. An army of two hundred
thousand men was killed, captured, or dispersed. For-
tresses hitherto deemed impregnable had been com-
pelled to capitulate. Napoleon was reposing in the
palace of the Prussian king at Berlin, while the French
army was encamped in the streets and squares of the
city. Prussia was a captive in the hands of France,
bound hand and foot.
By what is called the right of conquest, Prussia now
belonged to France. Monarchical Europe heard these
tidings with amazement and dismay.
Wherever the French army appeared, it was the
propagator of the revolutionary doctrines of " equal
rights for all men." Every soldier in the ranks was
animated by the conviction, that all the avenues of
honor and of wealth were open before him ; that merit,
not birth, was the passport to distinction. Many of t:ie
Prussian ofiicers appreciated the tremendous power
with which the doctrine of equality invested the French
soldier.
One of them wrote, in a letter which was inter-
cepted, " The French, in the fire, become supernatural
beings : they are urged on by an inexpressible ardor,
PRUSSIA OVERWHELMED. 91
not a trace of which is to be discovered in our soldiers.
What can be done with peasants who are led into battle
by nobles to encounter every peril, and yet have no
share in the honors or rewards? "
The King of Saxony, as we have mentioned, had
been compelled to join Prussia against France. Such
is the fate of the minor powers. Immediately after
the great battle, the emperor assembled the Saxon
officers in one of the halls of the University of Jena.
"I know not why," he said to them, " I am at war
with your sovereign. He is a wise, pacific prince,
deserving of respect. I wish to see your country
rescued from its humiliating dependence upon Prussia.
"Why should the Saxons and the French, with no
motives for hostility, fight against each other ? I am
read}^ on my part, to give you a pledge of my amicable
disposition, by setting jou all at liberty, and by sparing
Saxony. All I require of you is, no more to bear arms
against France."
The officers, with many expressions of gratitude,
departed for Dresden ; and Saxony immediately with-
drew from the coalition. But the armies of Russia,
two hundred thousand strong, rapidly advancing, were
still to be encountered.
" It was shortly after having detached Saxony from
the Prussian, and united it to his own alliance, tliat
Napoleon received an answer from the King of Prussia
to the illusory proposals of accommodation made by
him Ijcfore the battle of Jena, and which that unhappy
monarch easily caught at after tliat disaster, as the
only light which seemed to break upon his sinking
fortunes." ^
* Alison, vol. ii. p. 455.
92 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
The emperor replied, that he had then no time to
negotiate upon the terms of a final peace ; that the
campaign was but just begun, and that he must
await its issue. He, however, entered into an armistice
with a foe who was disarmed and bound, and entirely
at his mercy.
The French army then pressed forward, through
December storms, for the banks of the Vistula. There
they encamped for the winter. On the 7th of Feb-
ruary, 1807, the terrible battle of Eylau was fought.
Immediately after this great victory, the French emperor
wrote to the King of Prussia as follows : —
" I desire to put a period to the misfortunes of your
family, and to organize, as speedily as possible, the
Pi'ussian monarchy. Its intermediate power is necessary
for the tranquillity of Europe. I desire peace with Rus-
sia ; and, provided the cabinet of St. Petersburg has no
designs upon Turkey, I see no difificulty in obtaining it.
Peace with England is not less essential with all na-
tions. I shall have no hesitation in sending a minister
to Memel, to take part in a conference of France,
Sweden, England, Russia, Prussia, and Turkey ; but
as such a congress may last many years, which would
not suit the present condition of Prussia, your Majesty
therefore will, I am persuaded, be of opinion, that I
liave taken the simplest method, and one which is most
likely to secure the prosperity of your subjects. At all
events, I entreat your Majesty to believe in my sincere
desire to re-establish amicable relations with Russia and
England."
These overtures the allies peremptorily rejected. The
King of Sweden wrote to the King of Prussia, —
" I think that a pubhc declaration should be made in
PRUSSIA OVERWHELMED. 93
fnvor of the legitimate cause of the Bourbons by openly
espousing their interests, Avliich is phiinl}' that of all
established governments. My opinion on this point is
fixed and unalterable." ^
In reference to these proposals of peace made by the
Emperor of the French, Alison savs that the Russian
general strongh* advised Frederick William not to treat.
He urged, that the fact of Napoleon proposing an armis-
tice, after so doubtful a battle as that of Eylau, was the
best evidence that it was not for the interest of the
allies to grant it. Napoleon, being thus foiled in his
endeavors to arrest the war by negotiation, gathered
up his strength to conquer a peace with his s\yord.
Scarcely had the snows of winter begun to melt, ere
the French army commenced its march northward from
the banks of the Vistula to the Banks of the Niemcn.
A campaign of ten days, wliicli culminated in the great
French victory of Friedland, secured the following re-
sults : —
The French took one hundred and twenty pieces of
cannon, seven colors, and killed, wounded, or captured
sixty thousand Russians. They took from the hostile
army all its magazines, its hospitals, its ambulances, the
fortress of Kijnigsberg, witli three hundi'cd vessels
which were in that port, laden with all kinds of mili-
tary stores, and one hundred thousand muskets, which
England was sending to the aid of the Russians.'-
Frederick William was with Alexander at the time of
tliis terrible defeat of the Russian arms. The confer-
ence at Tilsit, between the Emperor of France and the
Emperor of Russia, ensued.
* M^moires 'run lloinme d"fit:it (I'lincc II:>nlenberj:;), t. ix. p. 30(5.
• Bigiion, Ilijtoire do France ile])ui-; le 18ino Bnimaire, t. vi. p. ail.
94 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
" France," says Alison, " had nothing to demand of
Russia, except that she shoukl close her ports against
England ; Russia nothing to ask of France, but that she
should withdraw her armies from Poland, and permit
the emperor to pursue his long-cherished projects of
conquest in Turkey." ^
The two emperors speedily agreed upon terms of
peace. The poor King of Prussia was quite disregarded
in these arrangements.
" The King of Prussia arrived two days after in Til-
sit, with his beautiful and unfortunate queen, and the
ministers on both sides, — Talleyrand on the part of
France, and Marshal Kalkreuth on that of Prussia.
But they were of little service ; for such was the extraor-
dinary length to which the intimacy of the two em-
perors had gone, that not only did they invariably dine
and pass the evening together, but almost all the morn-
ing conferences, during which the destinies of the
world were arranged, were conducted by them in per-
son." 2
" Had the Queen of Prussia arrived earlier ao our
conferences," says Napoleon, " it might have had much
influence upon the result of our negotiations ; but,
happily, she did not make her appearance till all was
settled. As soon as she arrived, I went to pay her a
visit. She was very beautiful, but somewhat past the
first flower of youth. She received me in despair, ex-
claiming, ' Justice, justice ! ' and throwing herself back
with loud lamentations. I at length prevailed on her
to take a seat ; but she continued, nevertheless, her pa-
thetic entreaties.
* Alison, vol. ii. p. 541.
* Memoires de Savary, Duke of Rovigo, t. iii. p. 77.
PRUSSIA OVERWHELMED. 95
" ' Prussia,' said she, ' was blinded in re.!jard to her
power. She ventured to enter the lists with a hero,
oppose herself to the destinies of France, and neglect
its fortunate friendship. She has been severely punished
for her folly. The glory of the great Frederick, the
halo his name spread round our arms, had inflated the
heart of Prussia. They have caused her ruin.'
" Magdeburg," continues the emperor, " was the ob-
ject of her entreaties ; and when Napoleon, before din-
ner, presented her with a beautiful rose, she at first
refused it, but immediately after took it with a smile,
adding, ' At least with Magdeburg,'
"'I must observe to your Majesty,' replied the em-
peror, ' that it is I who give, and you only who must
receive.'
" The Queen of Prussia," Napoleon continues, " un-
questionably possessed talents, great information, and
singular acquaintance with affairs. She was the real
sovereign for fifteen years. In truth, in spite of my ad-
dress and utmost efforts, she constantly led the conver-
sation, returned at pleasure to her subject, and directed
it as she chose, but with so much tact and delicacy,
that it was impossible to take offence." ^
The Queen of Prussia was most bitterly disappointed
at the terms of the treaty which her husband felt con-
strained to sign. The losses of Prussia, by this treaty,
were en))rmous. Frederick William had about one-half
his kingdom restored to him. The portion which Prus-
sia had ^vrested from Poland was organized into a Po-
lish state, called the Duchy of Warsaw. The provinces
of Prussia upon the left bank of the Elbe were formed
1 Najtoleon at St. Helena, by Johii S. C. Abbott, pp. 371, 27a.
^6 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA,
into the kingdom of Westphalia. The Idngdom of
Prussia was reduced from about nine million of inhabit-
ants to about five millions. Her revenue of twenty-
four million dollars was diminished to fourteen mil-
lion dollars. The fortresses left her, whether in Si-
lesia or on the Oder, remained in the hands of France
as security for the payment of the war-contributions.^
" At the same time," writes Alison, " enormous con-
tributions, amounting to the stupendous, and, if not
proved by authentic documents, the incredible sum of
twenty millions sterhng, were imposed on the countries
which had been the seat of war between the Rhine and
the Niemen. This grievous exaction completely para-
lyzed the strength of Prussia, and rendered her, for the
next five years, totally incapable of extricating herself
from that iron net in which she was enveloped by the
continued occupation of her fortresses by the French
troops." ^
» Bignou's Histoire de France, t. vi. p. 35. * Alison, vol. ii. p. 547,
#
CHAPTER VII.
FREDERICK AVILLIAM III. AND THE NEW COALITION.
REDERICK WILLIAM of Prussia, though of
moderate abilities, seems to have been an
honest and humane man. The folloAvin^
touching proclamation, which he issued to
the inhabitants of his lost provinces, won for
him the esteem of every generous heart in
Europe : —
" Dear inhabitants of fiiitliful provinces, districts, and
towns, my arms have been unfortunate. Driven to
the extreme boundaries of my empire, and having my
powerful ally conclude an armistice, and sign a peace,
no choice remained to me but to follow his example.
That peace imposed on me tlie most painful sacrifices.
The bonds of treaties, the reciprocal ties of love and
duty, the fruit of ages of labor, have been broken
asunder. All my efforts (and they have been most
strenuous) have proved in vain. Fate ordains it. A
father is compelled to depart from his children. I
hereby release you from your allegiance to me and my
house. j\Iy most ardent prayers for j^our welfare will
always attend you in your rekitions to 3-our new sover-
eigns. Be to them what you liave ever been to me.
7 97
98 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
Neither force nor fate shall ever sever the remembrance
of you from my heart." ^
The grief of the unhappy Queen of Prussia wore so
heavily upon her spirits, that she soon sank into the
grave, when but thirty-nine years of age. She, above
all others, had instigated the war ; and she could not
brook the ruin which she had thus brought upon her
country and her house. Her life was indeed a sad one,
full of trouble. Her virtues were her own : her faults
were to be -attributed to her education and the times.
The kingdom of Frederick the Great had apparently
met with an irreparable blow ; but the king, Frederick
William IH., instead of sinking in despair, nobly roused
himself to additional exertions to develop the wealth
and resources of his diminished realms. The calamity
wliich had befallen Prussia, in the end proved a bless-
ing. A new era of freedom and equality dawned upon
the realm, which had hitherto been governed by abso-
lute power.
The illustrious Baron Stein, in the retirement of his
estates, had pondered the great questions which were
now agitating Europe. His mind, greatly liberalized,
had become deeply convinced of the necessity of politi-
cal reform. Upon being appointed minister of the
interior, he issued an ordinance, conferring upon
peasants and burghers the right, hitherto confined to
the nobles, of acquiring and holding landed propert3\
The nobles, in their turn, were permitted, without losing
caste, to engage in pursuits of commerce and industry.
Every species of slavery and of feudal servitude was
forever abolished. The inhabitants of cities were
allowed to choose councillors, who should regulate all
' Scott's Napoleon.
FREDERICK WILLIAM IIL 99
local and municipal concerns. Thus the disastera
which Prussia had encountered led her to relax tho
fetters of the feudal system, and vigorously to com-
mence the introduction of repuljlican reforms.^
Gen. Scharnhorst was appointed minister of war.
" In him," says Alison, " a blameless life and amiable
manners were combined with the purest patriotism
and the soundest judgment. Exalted attainments were
undisfigured by pride."
Gen. Scliarnhorst, following the admirable example
of Baron Stein, threw open to the common soldiers the
higher offices of the army, from which they had
hitherto been excluded. He abolished those degrading
corporal punishments under which the self-respect of
the soldier had wilted. He also abolished those invidi-
ous distinctions, which, by exempting the aristocratic
classes from the burden of military service, caused its
weight to fall more severely upon those who were not
relieved.
By the engagements with France, it was stipulated
that Prussia should not keep on foot an army of more
than forty-two thousand men. The letter of this
agreement was kept, while its spirit was evaded, by
never having more than the agreed number at once in
arms. The young recruits, having been thoroughly
drilled, were sent to their homes ; and others took their
places : thus, while but forty thousand were enrolled,
there were soon more than two hundred thousand
thoroughly trained to arms.
In the year 1812, Napoleon commenced liis fata]
campaign to Moscow. The latter part of December,
» MC-moires d'un Ilomme d'iitat (Prince Uanlenborg), t. ix. p. 460.
100 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
the tidings of the utter disaster which had over-
whelmed the French armies reached Berhn. The
opponents of the French alliance, still numerous in
Prussia, were clamorous for a general uprising, to
attack the French in the disorder, the misery, and the
helplessness of their retreat ; but the king, and his
able minister Hardenberg, remained faithful to their
treaty-obligations. Great anxiety was felt in Paris in
consequence of the past fickleness of Prussia : but
Augereau, the French minister at Berlin, wrote to the
French Government, that France had no cause for
anxiety ; that the Berhn cabinet would remain firm to
the French alliance.^
Still the opponents of France were unwearied in their
endeavors to change the policy of the government,
and enter into an alliance with Russia. One of the
Prussian generals, De York, treacherously entered into
a secret treaty with a Russian general to do nothing
to oppose the advance of the Russian troops in their
pursuit of the French. He excused himself for this
act of perfidy by the declaration that the French were
so utterly routed, and his own forces so weak, that in
this way only could he save his army-corps from de-
struction. In a despatch to the King of Prussia, he
stated, —
" Now or never is the time for jonr Majesty to ex-
tricate yourself from the thraldom of an ally whose
intentions in regard to Prussia are veiled in impenetra-
ble darkness, and justify the most serious alarm. That
consideration has guided me : God grant it may be for
the salvation of the country ! " ^
* Augereau to Berthier, Dec. 22, 1812.
» Baron Fain, Campagne de 1S14, t. ii. p. 209.
FREDERICK WILLIAM III. 101
" Never," -writes Alison, " was a monarch more
embarrassed by a step on the part of a lieutenant than
the King of Prussia was on this occasion. His first
words were, ' Here is enough to give one a stroke of
apoplexy.' Deeply impressed with the sanctity of his
existing treaties with France, and feeling, as every man
of honor would, that the obligation to maintain them
inviolate was only rendered the more stringent by the
disasters which had overwhelmed the imperial armies,
he saw clearly that the agitation in his dominions was
such, that it was not improbable that the people would
ere long take the matter into their own hands, and,
whatever the government might do, join the Russians
as soon as they advanced into the Prussian territory." ^
Oppressed by these embarrassments, the king re-
mained faithful to his treaty-obligations. Gen. De York
was ordered under arrest. His command of fifteen
thousand men wa^ conferred on Gen. Kleist, who was
ordered to take his contingent as rapidly as possible to
the aid of the retreating French. At the same time,
Prince Hardenberg submitted to the French ambassa-
dor at Berlin, with the approval of the king, a proposal
to consolidate the union between Prussia and France
by the marriage of the Prince Royal of Prussia with a
princess of the family of the French emperor. Fred-
erick William engaged, under these circumstances, to
raise the Prussian contingent in the service of France
to sixty thousand men.''*
Frederick William wrote to the French minister, the
Duke of Bassano, on the 12th of January, 181-3, —
" Tell the emperor, that, as to pecuniary sacrifices,
» Alison, iv. 40. * Baron Fain, Campagne de 18U, t. i. p. 207.
102 HISTORY OF PHUSSIA.
they are no longer in my power ; but that, if he will
give me money, I can raise and arm fifty thousand or
sixty thousand men for his service. I am the natural
ally of France. By changing my system of policy, I
should only endanger my position, and give the emperor
grounds for treating me as an enemy. I know there
are fools who regard France as struck down ; but you
will soon see it present an army of three hundred thou-
sand men as brilliant as the former." ^
Early in January, 1813, the Russian armies, pursuing
the retreating French, entered the Prussian territory.
Proclamations were scattered broadcast, urging the in-
habitants of Prussia to rise, and join in the war agauist
France. The Russians rapidly took possession of the
fortresses of Prussia. On the 4th of March, the ad-
vance guard of Cossacks entered Berlin ; and, on the
11th, Berlin became the headquarters of the Russian
army. Still the Prussian monarch, who had retired to
Breslau, remained firm in his allegiance to France.
On the 15th of May, 1813, the Prussian minister, Har-
denberg, wrote to the French minister, St. Marsau, —
" The system of the king has undergone no altera-
tion. No overtures, direct or indirect, have been made
to Russia. If the emperor approves the steps which
have been taken to secure the neutrality of Silesia, and
will grant some pecuniary assistance to Prussia, the al-
liance could be contracted more closely than ever.
Nothing but despair will throw Prussia into the arms of
Russia." 2
" There can be no doubt," writes Alison, " that these
protestations on the part of the Prussian monarch were
1 Baron Fain, t. i. p. 213. * M^moires d'un Homme d'Etat, t. xii. p. 32.
FKEDERICK WILLIAM IIL 103
sincere ; and that it only lay with Napoleon, hy giving
him some pecuniary assistance, to secure the cabinet of
Berlin in the French alliance, and gain an auxiliary
force of sixty thousand men to aid him in defending the
course of the Elbe." ^
But it was obvious to the emperor, that Prussia, over-
run by the triumphant armies of Russia, would be com-
pelled to join in the coalition against France. lie judged
correctly. The anti-French party, sustained by the Rus-
sian armies, rapidly increased in influence. Secret ne-
gotiations were opened between them and the Russian
general. At length a treaty was formed, called the
" Treaty of Kalisch," to which Frederick William was
induced, with great difficulty, to give his assent.
By this treaty, an alliance, " offensive and defensive,"
was formed between the Emperor of Russia and the
King of Prussia to prosecute the war with France.
Prussia agreed to bring eighty thousand men into the
field, independent of the garrisons in the fortresses.
Neither party was to make peace Avithout the consent
of the other : jointly, they were to do every thing in
their power to induce Austria to join the alliance, and
to induce England to afford pecuniary aid to Prussia.
The Emperor of Russia engaged never to lay down his
arms until all the possessions wrested from Prussia in
the campaigns of Jena and Auerstadt were restored.
The treaty was to be kept secret from France for two
months, while privately communicated to England, Aus-
tria, and Sweden.''^
" Frederick William," writes Alison, " who was only
brought to accede to this treaty with the utmost diffi-
' Alison, vol. iv. p. 45.
• Martin'3 Collections dcTiait(5 dc Pays, sup. iii. 234.
104 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
culty, was well aware that his political existence was
thenceforth bound up in the success of Russia in the
German war. His first words, after agreeing to the al-
liance, were, ' Henceforth, gentlemen, it is an affair of
life and death.' Great pains, accordingly, were taken
to conceal the treaty from the knowledge of the French
ambassador: but, notwithstanding every effort, its ex-
istence soon transpired; and it was thought unneces-
sary to dissemble any longer. The French Government,
informed of these facts, which were not unexpected, re-
plied to the Prussian minister, —
"'As long as the chances of war were favorable to
lis, your court remained faithful to its engagements ; but
scarcely had the premature rigors of winter brought
back our armies to the Niemen than the defection of
Gen. Do York excited the most serious suspicions. His
Majesty the Emperor of France prefers an open enemy
to an ally always ready to abandon him. A power
whose treaties are considered binding only so long as
they are deemed serviceable can never be either useful
or respectable. The finger of Providence is manifest
in the events of last winter. It has produced them, to
distinguish the true from the false friends of humanity.
His Majesty feels for your situation, M. Baron, as a sol-
dier and a man of honor, on being obhged to sign such
a declaration.' " ^
The Emperor of France, speaking upon this subject
at St. Helena, said, —
" The King of Prussia, in his private character, is a
good, lo3^al, and honorable man ; but, in his political ca-
pacity, he was unavoidably forced to yield to necessity.
* Baron Fain, t. i. p. 260.
FltEDERICK WILLIAM III. 105
You were always the master with him when you had
force on your side, and the hand uphfted." ^
Frederick - Wilham issued a proclamation, informing
his subjects, that, if they would volunteer their services,
he would, as a reward, confer upon them a constitution
securing to them many civil rights.^ Universal enthu-
siasm pervaded the nation. In the terrible conflict which
ensued, the Prussian troops took a conspicuous part.
At Waterloo, it was the appearance of Blucher with
sixty-five thousand Prussians, late in the day, upon the
field, which secured the victory of the allies, the over-
throw of the French Empire, and the re-establishment
in France of the old regime of the Bourbons.
"It is almost certain," says Gen. Jomini, "that
Napoleon would have remained master of the field of
battle, but for the arrival of sixty-five thousand Prus-
sians in his rear."
The Prussian army returned in triumph to Berlin.
And now the people demanded the promised constitu-
tion ; but the Emperor of Austria interposed.
" I cannot allow," he said, " free institutions so near
my throne. They will excite disaffection among my
subjects. I shall therefore consider the granting of a
constitution as a declaration of war against me."
The Emperor of Russia also issued an equally impera-
tive remonstrance. Thus the king forfeited his pledge,
being unable to redeem it without involving his king-
dom in a desolating and hopeless war.
When the allies met at Vienna to partition out
' Las Casas, ii. 3C5.
' "This was a gigantic contest; for liis enemies, by deceiving their subjoctj
with false promises of liberty, had brouglit whole nations agaiust him." — Na^
pier'B War in tlie Peninsula, vol. iv. p. 205.
106 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
Europe among them, they were not generous in theil
treatment of Prussia. Though the kingdom was con-
siderably enlarged, the treaties of 1815 did not give
compactness to her irregular territory. The kingdom
was divided into two very unequal parts, — the eastern
and the western, — separated by the German States of
Hesse, Hanover, and Brunswick. With but a third of
the population of France, Prussia had seven hundred
miles more of frontier to guard. One extremity of
Prussia reached the walls of the French fortress of Thi-
onville, on the Moselle, far west from the Rhine ; while
the other extremity was bordered by the Memel and the
Niemen. There were, in reahty, three Prussias, — one
in Poland, one in Germany, and one on the Rhine. ^
After these terrible convulsions, Europe, exhausted,
enjoyed repose for many years. Nothing occurred in
Prussia particularly calling for historic notice. In the
year 1840, Frederick William HI. died, in the sixty-
sixth year of his age. His reign was long, exceedingly
disastrous at its commencement ; and though, at its
close, he left Prussia apparently prosperous and happy,
the fires of approaching revolution were slumbering be-
neath the surface.
The sceptre passed to the king's son, Frederick Wil-
liam IV. To the surprise and consternation of the
king and court, at the time of his coronation, the Prus-
sian diet passed a motion, by a majority of ninety to five,
requesting the kmg to grant a new law for the organi-
zation of the provincial diets, by which the national
representation should he chosen hy the people, in accord-
ance with the royal declaration of 1815, which had
never yet been fulfilled.
* Encyclopsedia Americana.
FREDERICK WILLIAM III. 107
After an embarrassing delay, the king declared that
*' he would never consent to a general popular represen-
tation, but that he would pursue a course in accordance
with historical progress, and suited to German nation-
ality." 1
Republican principles were now bursting forth in all
directions throughout the kingdom of Prussia. There
were loud demands that the censorship of the press
should be abolished, that a general parliament of the
whole kingdom should be convoked, and that there
should be publicity of debates. This fermentation of
liberty was peculiarly active in the Rhine j)rovinces.
There was now a stead}-, constant struggle for many
years, without revolutionary violence, — on the part of
the people for reform, and on the part of the court to
check the progress of liberal ideas.
At length, in the year 1847, the demand for a repre-
sentative government had become so loud and universal,
that the royal cabinet could no longer venture to resist.
On the 3d of February an edict was issued, convoking
a general assembly of the States of Prussia. This was
an immense step in the path of popular liberty. But
still the spirit of the court was manifest in the royal
speech at the opening of the assembly.
" I have convoked tliis assembly," said the king, " to
make myself acquainted with the wants of the people ;
but the government will not be changed in its essence.
Tlie absolute monarchy has only become consulthi;/. I
do not deem it for the interest of my j-jcople to adopt a
proper representative government. I consider it m}-
duty to resist the levelling and innovating spirit of the
• Annual Ilistory, vol. xxiii. p. 422.
108 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
age. I will never permit a charter to intervene between
me and the duty I owe my people. I will never yield
to the rule of majorities, and will resist to the last
extremity the ruinous democratic designs which are the
disgrace and peril of the age." ^
A stormy debate, of course, followed these bold decla-
rations. There were three hundred and fifty-three
members of the assembly. Even in this body, the royal
party — that is, the party in favor of absolute govern-
ment — was so strong, that only by a majority of fifty-
three could a vote be carried in favor of a constitution.
Germany consisted of a conglomeration of a large
number of States, consisting of Idngdoms, electorates,
duchies, and principalities. Each State was independ-
ent in the regulation of its local affairs, but bound in
offensive and defensive alliance with the great con-
federation. Austria had long been the predominating
power in this league. Though the crown of the Ger-
manic Empire was elective, it had for some time been
almost hereditary in the royal family of Austria. Prussia
had become exceedingly jealous of the domination of
Austria.
A party had arisen in Germany, as in Italy, calling
for unity. Germany contained a population of forty
million inhabitants, and had two thousand walled cities.
It was affirmed, that, by concentration and unity like
that which existed in France and Russia, Germany
might become the controlling power in Europe. There
were many leading minds in Prussia in favor of this
unification, hoping by diplomatic intrigue to secure the
imperial crown of United Germany for the King of
Prussia.
* Annual History, vol. xxx. p. 325.
FREDERICK WILLIAM IIL 109
On the 18th of March, 1818, Frederick William IV.
issued a royal proclamation, in which he said, —
" Above all, we demand that Germany shall be trans-
formed from a confederation of States into one federal
State. We demand a general military system for Ger-
many; and we will endeavor to form it after that model
under which our Prussian armies reaped such unfading
laurels in the War of Independence. We demand that
the German army be assembled under one single federal
banner ; and we hope to see a federal commander-in-
chief at its head," &c.
This remarkable document placed the King of Prussia
at the head of the party in favor of German unity,
wliich was then considered the liberal or popular party.
Austria was by no means disposed thus to yield her
supremacy. The ultra democrats of the liberal party
regarded this movement of the Prussian king as a mere
feint to gain power which he would wield against
them.
On the evening of March 19, 1848, — the day after
the issuing of the proclamation, — there was an immense
gathering of the populace in King Street, opposite the
palace, in Berlin, to testify their gratitude to the mon-
arch who had thus apparently espoused their cause.
When the king appeared upon the balcony, the sky was
rent with their acclamations.
A squadron of cavalry and a body of infantry were
drawn up under the windows of the palace to preserve
order. The disaffected party wished to provoke the
hostility of the people against the government by excit-
ing a collision between the citizens and the royal troops.
With this design, in the midst of the tumult caused by
the immense gathermg, some pistol-shots were fired at
110 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
■%■
the troops ; and an eager party commenced throwing up
barricades.
The cavalry, without drawing their swords or making
a charge, moved their horses forward, upon tlie walk
only, to clear the square. Either by design or accident,
two muskets were discharged from the ranks of the in-
fantry into the retreating mass of the populace. The
response was a general discharge of fire-arms upon the
soldiers from numerous insurgents who had come pre-
pared for that purpose.
The insurrection proved to be very formidable. The
students of the university, as brave as they were intel-
ligent, were at its head. A battalion of the guard soon
joined them.
" The cavalry now drew their sabres, and charged the
mob in good earnest. A sanguinary conflict ensued ; for
the insurgents had among them a great number of old
soldiers as well trained to arms as the royal troops, and
the students combated with the utmost resolution.
The conflict continued until nightfall, and even long
after it had become dark, by the light of the burning
houses, several of which were broken into, and, after
])eing sacked, were set on fire by the inhabitants.
" Overwhelmed with terror at this calamitous event,
which cost sixty persons their lives, besides four times
that number wounded, the king issued a proclamation,
addressed to ' My beloved Berliners,' in which he ex-
pressed the utmost regret at the events which had
occurred, and declared that the conflict had arisen
from accident and the shots first fired from King
Street." '
* Alison, vol. vili. p. 413.
FKEDERICK WILLIAM IIL 111
The king was an ultra absolutist. Ilis cabinet Avas in
perfect sympathy with him in his hatred of popular
liberty. The more intelligent of the liberal party under-
stood full well that the king, in advocating German
unity, sought only to consolidate the powers of despot-
ism. He wished to become emperor of united Germany,
that he might sway a sceptre of unrestrained power like
that wielded by the Sultan of Turkey and the Czar of
Russia. He could thus easily silence the clamors of the
people for reform. But the king was greatly alarmed
by the indication the insurrection gave of the most for-
midable opposition to his views. There was infinite
danger that the insurrection would become revolution
unless he instantly retraced his steps.
" The next morning, the king gave token of his sub-
mission by accepting the resignation of his whole minis-
ters, who were immediately succeeded by a new cabinet,
composed of known liberals.
" On the 20th, a general amnesty was proclaimed ; and
the whole persons in custody on account of the insurrec-
tion were liberated without bail ; and two additional
ministers were appointed, known to belong to the most
advanced liberals. On the 22d, the bodies of the citizens
who had been killed in the affray on the evening of the
18th were paraded with great pomp before the royal
palace ; and the king was obliged to submit to the hu-
miliation of inclining his head before the lifeless remains
of those Avho had perished under the sabres of his
guards. At the same time, the king pul)lis]ied a decree
appointing a national guard in the capital, and ordered
the royal troops to leave the city; and after riding
throuu'h the streets in the German inuiorni, in I he
112 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
course of which he made repeated protestations of his
anxious desire for German freedom, he issued two proc-
lamations, in which he openly announced his intention
of putting himself at the head of the restored and united
German nation." ^
^ Alison, vol. ill. p. 413.
CHAPTER VIII.
STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY.
^ T is a great mistake to suppose, that, in the
^^ J(3 great conflicts which have agitated the
^ %^1 P monarchies of Europe, there has been a
clearly-marked line of division between
the oppressed people on the one side, and
the despotic kings and courts on the other.
The people have been in antagonism be-
tween themselves ; and often the large majority have
been in favor of the old feudal despotisms. The people
in Prussia were thus divided. The Catholic party,
which was quite numerous, and which embraced a large
part of the peasantry, strongly opposed the liberal
movement. The Poles were mostly in favor of it. As
a general rule, the liberals, as they were called, were
confined to the large towns. Tlie peasantry were
opposed to change.
Wliile Prussia was in this state of agitation, the
newly-appointed assembly met, on the 2d of April, to
draw up a constitution. The king, in opening the
assembly, said, —
" His Majesty has promised a real constitutional
charter, and we are assembled to lay the foundation-
stone of the ediiice. We hope that the work will
8 113
114 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
proceed rapidly, and that it will perfect a constitution
for the whole G-erman race.'''' The following were the
fundamental principles of the constitution, presented by
the king, and adopted by the assembly : —
1. Every householder twenty-four years of age was
entitled to a vote for representation in the lower house.
2. Every five hundred voters could choose an elector.
3. Every householder thirty years of age was eligible
as a deputy.
4. Two deputies were to be chosen by every sixty
thousand inhabitants.
The king also promised to lay before them a bill
providing for freedom of the press, personal liberty, the
right of meeting and petitioning, the publicity of judi-
cial proceedings, trial by jury, and equal ci\T.l and
political rights for all persons.
These regulations referred to Prussia alone, and
could bind no other State of German3^ Still the agita-
tion in Prussia extended throughout all the German
States.
The legislature was to consist of two houses. The
first, or senate, was composed of the princes of the
blood royal, and sixty peers appointed by the king ; and
also of one hundred and eighty members, to be chosen
by the people. The dignity of the sixty peers was
hereditary. The others were chosen for eight years.
No commoner could be chosen who was not in receipt
of an income of two thousand five hundred dollars.
The members of the lower house were to be elected
for four years, and were subject to no property qualifica-
tion. This constitution, though a great advance fi'om
the absolutism of the past, did by no means satisfy the
democratic leaders. During the whole summer, there
STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY. 115
vrere excited gatherings of the people, and violent and
inflammatory debates. There were mobs in the streets
of Berlin, and many acts of violence were perpetrated.
Under these circumstances, the king resolved on very
energetic repressive measures. Assuming the pretence
of a general review of the royal forces, fifty thousand
troops Avere assembled at Potsdam. Gen. von Yv^rangel,
a very determined royalist, was appointed to command
them. The review took place on the 22d of September,
1848. In an order of the da,j, the general thus ad-
dressed the troops : —
" The king has honored me with the highest proof of
his confidence in giving me command of all the troops.
I will establish order when it is disturbed. The troops
are stanch, their swords are sharpened, and their mus-
kets are loaded. It is not against you, men of Berlin,
that this is done, but to protect you. Grass is growing
in your streets. Your houses are empty. Your shops
are full of goods, but void of purchasers. This must be
changed ; and it shall bo changed. I swear it to you ;
and a Wrangel never yet failed in keeping his word."
The Burgher Guard, a body somewhat corresponding
with our militia, were in sympathy with the people.
Though this was the natural force to be called upon to
preserve order in the city, it could not be relied upon by
the king. In a discussion which took place upon the
articles of the constitution, it was decided, by a vote of
two hundred and seventeen to one hundred and thirty-
four, that, in the title given to the king, the words, " by
the grace of God," should be omitted. Tliis was very
distinctly announcing the democratic principle, that the
king's sole title to the throne was the will of the jyoplc.
Nearly all branches of business were thrown into
116 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
confusion by these distractions and agitations. The
chief manufactories were closed. Tliousauds were
without employment and without bread. The assem-
bly, chosen by popular suffrage, had a decided majority
in favor of reform. This majority kept up a constant
warfare against the Idng and court, confident of sup-
port, should it be needed, from the Burgher Guard and
the populace at Berlin.
On the 31st of October, 18-18, the assembly passed a
resolution, " that all Prussians are equal before the law ;
that neither privileges, titles, nor rank, are to exist in
the State ; and that the nohility are abolished^ In fact,
the democratic clubs now governed the assembly, con-
trolling its measures by the menaces of the mob.
" Not content with the majority which they already
possessed in the assembly, the mob from without, with
the avowed purpose of intimidating the conservative
members, broke into its hall, amply provided with ropes,
nails, and nooses, as a preparation for summary hang-
ing."i
The king speedily developed the resolute measures
he had decided to adopt. He dismissed his liberal min-
istry, and appointed, defiantly, an administration of
the most decided conservatists. It was certain that a
collision would soon occur. The king, having inaugu-
rated the new ministrj^, sent in a royal decree to the
assembly, stating that the insubordination in the streets
of Berlin was such, that he transferred the sittings to
Brandenburg.
A scene of fearful violence ensued. The monarchical
party, fifty in number, withdrew with the president.
* Alison, vol. viii. p. 423.
STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY. 117
The rest, in a state of intense excitement, passed a
series of indignant remonstrances, and declared them-
selves in permanence. Tliirty of the members remained
in the house all night.
The next morning, as the members began to arrive,
they found the building surrounded by royal troops,
who were ordered to allow any one to go out, but none
to go in. The Burgher Guard warmly espoused the
cause of the assembly. The majority, two hundred
and twenty-five in number, which remained after the
withdrawal of the monarchical members, re-assembled,
at an early hour next morning, in the hall of the Schiit-
zcn Gild. Before daylight, a numerous body of the
Burgher Guard, well armed, had met around that hall
for the protection of the assembl}'.
The king immediately issued a proclamation, dissolv-
ing the Burgher Guard, and ordering them to give up
their arms. No attention was paid to the order. The
order was reiterated more peremptorily ; thirty thou-
sand royal troops were brought into the city ; and Ber-
lin was declared in a state of siege. As there were but
fifteen thousand Burgher Guards, and the royal troops
were incomparably better disciplined, the Guard dis-
persed, and a blood}'' contest was avoided.
The next day, the assembly again met in the Schiit-
zcn Gildhall. An officer from Gen. Wrangel ordered
them to disperse as an illegal assembly. "Never, till
forced by arms ! " was the cry of the assembly. The
vice-president was in the chair. A body of soldiers en-
tered. Four officers quietly lifted up the chair upon
which the vice-president was seated, and carried ii,
with its occupant, into the street. . The members fol-
lowed in a state of great exasperation.
118 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
The assembly made several other efforts to meet ;
but it was always dispersed by the soldiery, witliout
bloodshed. T]ie months rolled on, fraught with in-
trigue, agitation, peril, and distress. The people, in
their blindness, were often warring against their own
interests. The court was struggling to retain the des-
potic power which had descended to it through the
dreary ages.
Throughout all the States of Germany, there had been
a struggle between the democratic and monarchical party
in reference to the choice of the Emperor of the Ger-
man Confederacy. The democrats wished to have any
man of ability eligible : the monarchists wished to con-
fine the choice to one of royal blood.
In the diet at Frankfort, in 1849, it was voted, by 258
to 211, that the choice should be limited to one of the
ruling sovereigns of Germany. It was then moved
that the imperial crown should be offered to the King
of Prussia. After an exciting debate of eleven days
upon this subject, it was announced, by a vote of 290
out of 558, that the King of Prussia was chosen em-
peror.
" The time was when this flattering offer would have
been joyfully accepted ; but time had worked many
changes. The imperial crown, as now tendered, was
very different from the imperial crown as originally
coveted. Being elective, it more nearly resembled the
presidency of America, or the empire of imperial Rome,
than the old Germanic diadem.
"Austria had openly declared against the union of
all the confederacy under one head; and there could
be little doubt that the acceptance of the imperial
crown by Frederick William would at once bring on a
STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY. 110
war with that power, backed by Russia, with whom she
was now in closest alliance. Influenced by these con-
siderations, the king determined to decline the proffered
honor." 1
The new constitution prepared by the general as-
sembly at Frankfort was rejected* by Austria, Bavaria,
Hanover, and Saxony. It was, however, received by
twenty-one of the lesser States of Northern Germany.
These minor States concurred, by a collective vote, in an
address to the King of Prussia, urging him to accept
the proffered dignity.
All Germany was thrown into confusion by these dis-
cussions ; and there were insurrections, which were
only quelled by the sword. It was manifest that the
constitution of Frankfort could not be accepted. The
Kings of Prussia, Hanover, and Saxony, met, and drew
up, with great precision, a constitution of a hundred
and ninety articles. By this arrangement, the imperial
crown was made hereditary in the Prussian monarchy.
The liberals, in derision, called this the " Constitution
of the Three Kings." Neither Austria nor Bavaria
would accept it. Thus it failed.
While the King of Prussia was thus struggling to
gain the ascendency in Germany, the spirit of revolu-
tion continued to agitate his kingdom. A new cham-
ber of deputies was chosen, which consisted strongly
of democrats. The representatives boldly declared
themselves against the government. The challenge
tlius thrown down was accepted l)y the court. On tlio
29th of April, 1849, a circular was addressed by the
Prussian cabinet to all the States of Germany. In this
it was said, —
* Alison, vol. viii. p. 431.
120 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
" Prussia engages to oppose the revolutionary agita-
tion of the times with the utmost energy, and promises
to furnish the other governments with timely assistance
for the same purpose. The danger is a common one.
Prussia will not betray its mission to interfere, in the
hour of peril, wherever and in any manner it may deem
necessary. It is convinced that a limit must be put to
the revolution of Germany. This cannot be effected
by mere passive resistance : it must be done by active
interference." ^
Thus the King of Prussia endeavored to place him-
self at the head of the party opposed to reform ; and
thus he called upon all throughout Germany, who were
in sympathy with his views, to rally to his support. He
wished for a united Germany, that he might consoli-
date the powers of absolutism, and, with the tramp of
his armies, crush out the revolutionary spirit. The lib-
erals wished for a united Germany, that republican
freedom might work in unison, and that their nation
might be brought more in harmony with the United
States of America.
The king invited a congress of all the German
princes to meet in Berlin in May, 1849. Twenty-two
of the minor princes came ; but Austria, Bavaria,
Wurtemberg, and Saxony declined the invitation. Tlie
assembly was a failure.
An American gentleman, who was in Berlin at that
time, gives the following interesting account of the
scenes which he witnessed. This was in 1848, when
William I. was not yet king, but only crown prince, the
king's brother. We give the narrative in his words,
though abbreviated : —
» Annual Register, 1849, p. 849.
STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY. 121
" The king, in those days, was his poor Majesty Clic-
quot, as he was called, — a man not without literary cul-
tivation, of a great deal of maudlin sentimentality, and
a prodigious capacity for drinking champagne ; but
champagne and political sentimentality were his bane
and ruin. It was a great pity both for him and his
country ; but his Majesty was not respected.
" For many days, in Berlin, there had been thunder in
the air. It was evident that something impended. The
reading-rooms along the pleasant street, Unter den Lin-
den, and all the hier loJcals, were full of attentive students
of th'j papers, who discussed the chances of events. At
leng'li, the final news came.^ The first thing that we
heard in Berlin was, that the government was ready, and
had plenty of soldiers. Probabl}' it knew the necessity:
for the city had an air of suppressed excitement ; and
the feeling was such, that troops of the cavalry of the
paternal government paraded the streets at night to
help everybody keep quiet.
" But the amazing and sudden success of the revolu-
tion in France put all the crowned heads of Europe in a
panic ; and they began to make concessions to the people.
It was pitiful to see, because it implied a kind of con-
scious robber relation between the rulers and the nations.
The kings seemed like pirates who had been overtaken,
and, in mortal terror at the probable consequences of
their crimes, proposed to disgorge their plunder. They
professed willingness to restore large shares of the treas-
ures of liberty that they had stolen ; and were evidently
much more conscious, at that moment, of the power of
the people, than of their ' God-given ' authority. King
* Tlio news of tlie revolution in France of 181S, rumors of wliich hiul iilrcaily
spread through all Kuropc, creating iutcubO excitement.
122 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
Clicquot went with the rest, and promised well : there
should be a constitution, and all the modern improve-
ments, added to the political edifice of Prussia. There
were optimists in those starthng days, who thought that
Europe was to be republicanized by the mere force of
reason ; and that kings were about gracefully to own
themselves in the wrong, and to retire.
" But suddenly, one Saturday afternoon in Berlin, the
mere force of reason gave way. The writer was dining
with some student friends at the old Belvidere. While
we Avere yet dining, anxious faces appeared ; and we were
told that trouble was brewing. A crowd of people had
been to the royal palace to demand arms, and they had
been refused. The revolution was coming : the tidal
wave was even now lifting us. We all arose, and went
out. A huge concourse of men was swiftly swarming
from the palace into the broad street. As it passed
along like a dark cloud, covering every thing with
shadow, doors and windows were closed ; and shop-keep-
ers hurried to make all fast. Before the*" palace of the
Prince of Prussia, his present Majesty King William, a
carriage was standing; and, the moment the crowd had
passed, the Princess of Prussia, the present queen, and
a beautiful woman, came out with children, and stepped
quickly into the carriage, which drove off rapidly to-
ward the king's palace. The crowd swept on ; and the
leaders of revolution knew that the hour had come.
" As we strolled curiously along, we saw men with
clubs and iron bars, hurrying by, evidently, to a rendez-
vous ; and officers on horseback clattered through the
streets, which all carriages had deserted. The leaders
knew that no time could be safely lost ; and by three
o'clock barricades were rising in the chief streets that
STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY. 123
led into Unter den Linden. We turned into our room
in tlie Fricdrich Strasse, and at the same moment saw
fi'om the window that a crowd had brought the materi-
als to build a barricade just beneath it.
" The barricade was soon built ; and the sound of
firing grew heavier and nearer. We heard the approach
of soldiers advancing upon the barricade. At the same
ujoment, the sloping roof of the .house opposite the
window began to heave, and Avas finally burst through
by the iron bars of the insurgents, who, completely pro-
tected by the eaves from the fire of the soldiers in the
street, could throw down upon them every kind of
deadly missile. But the clear voice of the commanding
officer ordered, loud enough for all on the neighboring
houses to hear, that the troops should fire upon every
person who appeared at a wiudoAv; and he sent a de-
tachment into the opposite house. The barricade was
then assaulted and carried. But for hours the alarm-bells
rang, and the sharp volleys of musketry rattled, and the
dull heavy cannon thundered and shook the air. A
great battle was going on in the city. The moon shone ;
the white clouds drifted through the sky ; and there was
no other sound than that of the bells, the muskets, and
the cannon.
" The next day, .the city Avas like a city that had been
carried by assault. The soldiers had taken the barri-
cades, and held the streets. But there was a universal
feeling that the people were strong enough to bring
King Clicquot to terms ; and there was bitter hatred of
the Prince of Prussia, who had counselled and directed
the operations of the night. The king issued a senti-
mental proclamation to his Uehe Berliner (liis dear Ber-
liiiese). But the dead were carried to the royal palace,
124 HISTOEY OF PRUSSIA.
and brought into tlie court ; and his poor Majesty was
compelled to come to the window and look upon his
subjects, whom he was plainly told that he had mur-
dered. He wept and promised ; and it was understood
that his brother sharply reproached him for not main-
taining his prerogative by the grace of God. But there
was a Idnd of national guard organized and armed.
There was a solemn and triumphal funeral of the dead,;
and Humboldt walked in the procession among the na-
tional mourners. There was a little feeble talk of Clic-
quot as Emperor of Germany ; but, after the ludicrous
and brief empire of the Archduke John, the last of poor
Clicquot's wits ebbed away. Robert Blum, the popular
leader, had been shot ; and the Prince of Prussia, becom-
ing Idng, stoutly held that he owed his crown to God,
and was responsible to him, and not to the people." ^
* Harper's Magazine, November, 1870.
CHAPTER IX.
KING WILLIAM I.
riUS the tumult of affairs coutinucd, ever
varying, and yet ever essentially the
same, until the year 1857. The king',
Frederick William IV., then ^ave indu-
bitable evidences of insanity : it conse-
quently became necessary for him to
withdraw from the government. As he
had no children, his next brother, William, was declared
regent. William was exceedingly unpopular, in conse-
quence of his openly-avowed advocacy of absolutism,
and his implacable hostility to popular reform. For
four years, the Crown Prince, William, reigned as
regent; then, upon the death of his brother, he was
crowned king on the 2d of January, 18G1.
William I., who now occupies the throne, was the
second son of Frederick William III. He was born
on the 22d of March, 1797. In 1829, he married the
Duchess Catharine of Saxe -Weimar. He has two
children. The eldest, the Crown Prince, Frederick
William Nicholas Charles, was born Oct. 18, 18.')1.
Jle was married to Victoria, Princess Royal of
(h-eat Britain, on the 2oth of January, 1858. Tho
younger child, the Princess Louisa Maria, was born
125
126 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA,
Dec. 3, 1838 ; and married, on tlie 20th of September,
1856, the Grand Duke Frederick of Baden.
The coronation of the king Look place in the ancient
town of Konigsberg. In this city, which is situated
upon one of the inlets of the Baltic Sea, there is an
antique castle, very imposing in its structure, which
overlooks and commands the city. In the chapel
of this venerable ecUfice, the ceremony of coronation
took place.
There was no enthusiasm on the occasion. The
king, who had already attained the age of sixty-four,
a bluff, stern man, fully conscious that he was hated
by the populace, whom he despised, apparently made
no efforts to secure popularity. He was far too proud
to seek the applause of the canaille. An eye-witness
thus graphically describes the scene at the coro-
nation : —
" The first time I saw the king was when he rode
in procession tlu'ough the ancient city, some two or
three days before the performance of the coronation.
He seemed a fine, dignified, handsome,, somewhat bluff
old man, with gray hairs and gray mustache, and an
expression, which, if it did not denote intellectual
power, had much of cheerful strength and the charm
of a certain kind of frank manhood about it. He
rode well, — riding is one of the accomplishments in
which kings almost always excel, — and his military
costume became him.
" Certainly no one was just then disposed to be very
enthusiastic about him : but every one was inclined to
make the best of the sovereign and of the situation ; to
forget the past, and to look hopefully into the future.
The manner in which the coronation ceremony was
KING WILLIAM I. ll>7
couducted, aud the speech which the king delivered
soon after it, produced a terrible shock of disappoint-
ment ; for in each the king manifested that he under-
stood the crown to be a gift, not from his people, but
from Heaven.
" To me, the ceremonies in the chapel, splendid and
picturesque as was the mise en sceiie, appeared absurd,
and even ridiculous. The king, bedizened in a regal
costume which suggested Drury Lane or Niblo's
Garden, lifting a crown from off the altar, and, without
intervention of human aid other than his own hands,
l)lacing it upon his head to signify that he had his
crown from Heaven, not from man ; then putting
another crown upon the head of his wife to show that
she derived her dignities from him ; and then turning
round, and brandishing a gigantic sword, as symbolical
of his readiness to defend state and people, — all this
seemed to me too suggestive ot the opera comique
to suit the simple dignity of the handsome old
soldier.
" Far better and nobler did he look in his military
uniform, and with his spiked helmet, as he sat on his
horse in the streets, than when, arrayed in crimson
velvet cloak and other such stage paraphernalia of
conventional royalty, he stood in the castle chapel, the
central figure in a ceremonial of mediajval splendor, and
worse than medieval tediousness." ^
The king is a man of unusuall}^ fine physique. Ho
is of majestic and Avell-proportioned form ; and his
finely-chiselled features are expressive of that indomita-
ble resolution which has characterized every act of lii^
* ilr. Justin McCarthy, in Galaxy for October, 1870.
128
HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
life. There was present on this occasion Marsha]
McMahon, Duke of Magenta. He had just returned
from the campaign in Italy against the Austrians,
where he had won his title and European renown.
At the coronation, he represented the empire of
France.
"There was great curiosity among the Konigsberg
public to get a glimpse of the military hero ; and, al-
though even Prussians could hardly be supposed to take
delight in a fame acquired at the expense of other
Germans, I remember being much struck with the
quiet, candid good humor with which people acknowl-
edged that he had beaten their countrymen. There
was, indeed, a little vexation and anger felt when some
of the representatives of Posen, the Prussian Poland,
cheered somewhat too significantly for McMahon as
he drove in his carriage from the palace.
" The Prussians generally felt annoyed that the Poles
should have thus publicly and ostentatiously demon-
strated their sympathy with France, and their admiration
of the French general who had defeated a German
army. But except for this httle ebullition of feeling,
natural enough on both sides, McMahon was a popular
figure at the Idng's coronation; and, before the cere-
monies were over, the king himself had become any
thing but popular.
" The foreigners liked him, for the most part, because
his manners were plain, frank, hearty, and agreeable ;
and to foreigners it was matter of little consequence
what he said or did in accepting his crown. But the
Germans winced under his blunt repudiation of the
principle of popular sovereignty; and, in the minds
of some alarmists, painful and odious memories began
KING WILLIAM L 129
to revive, and transform themselves into terrible omens
for the future." ^
William I. had but a bloody record to present.
Every uprising of the people in behalf of liberty,
whether in Prussia or in any other of the States, he had
been eager to cut down with the sword. More than
once, his dragoons had crimsoned the pavements of the
streets of Berlin with the blood of its citizens ; and
when, in Hanover, in Saxony, in Baden, the people
attempted by violence to effect that reform which they
found themselves unable to attain by peaceful means,
the helmeted squadrons of Prince William hewed them
down, and trampled them in the dust.
" This pleasant, genial, gray-haired man," writes Mr.
McCarthy, " whose smile had so much of honest frank-
ness, and even a certain simple sweetness, about it, had
a grim and blood-stained history behind him. The blood
of the Berliners was purple on those hands which now
gave so kindly and cheery a welcome to all comers. The
revolutionists of Baden held in bitter hate the stern
prince, who was so unscrupulous in his mode of crush-
ing out agitation.
" From Cologne to Konigsberg, from Hamburg to
Trieste, all Germans had for years had reason, only too
strong, to regard William, Prince of Prussia, as the most
resolute and relentless foe of popular liberty. During
the greater part of his life, the things he promised to do,
and did, were not such as free men could approve. He
set out in life with a general detestation of liberal prin-
ciples and of any thing which suggested popular revolu-
tion."
* Mr. Justin McCartliy, Galaxy, October, 1870.
a
130 HISTORY OF PEUSSIA.
King William is not regarded by any who know him
as a man of superior abilities, or of much intelHgence.
He has a dogged firmness of character, which his friends
call decision, and his enemies stigmatize as obstinacy.
His strongest mental development consists of a cling-
ing to' the despotism of the past, and a horror of reform.
In the year 1815, he was one of the princes who entered
Paris with the allies as they trampled beneath iron hoofs
the first empire in France. Since then, he has seemed
conscientiously to deem it his divinely-appointed mis-
sion to keep the people in subjection.
Frederick William IV. was one of the most vacillatino-
of men. He was kind-hearted, and sought the happiness
of the people, but had not sufficient force of character
to mark out and pursue any clearly-defined policy.
William I. is one of the most inflexible monarchs who
ever sat upon a throne. The fundamental principle of
his reign seems to be, that there shall he no innovations.
The poUcy of the government is, not to bend to meet the
exigencies of modern times, but to force those exigen-
cies to frame and mould themselves in accordance
with the existing government.
" Wilham I.," writes Mr. McCarthy, " was for many
years a downright, stupid, despotic old feudalist. At
one of his brother's councils he flung his sword upon
the table, and vowed that he would rather appeal to that
weapon than consent to rule over a people who dared
to claim the right of voting their own taxes."
Unattractive as appears the character of William I.,
he has secured a certain degree of respect by the un-
questionable and almost religious sincerity with which
he pursues his inflexible course. The simplicity of his
mode of living and of his address invested the bluff,
KING WILLIAM I. 131
unpolished soldier with a certain charm over the minds
of the people. The gray-haired old man could often be
seen by the passers in the streets, sitting at one of
the windows of his palace, reading or writing.
It is reported that domestic discord disturbs the repose
of the palace. In the celebrated diary of Varnhagen
von Ense, which seems to be authentic, and which very
graphically describes life in the Prussian court, it is
stated that the king and his wife Augusta do not hve
very lovingly together. Augusta has a vein of radical-
ism in her nature, and cannot conceal a certain degree
of admiration for some of those popular leaders in Ger-
man)', and other parts of Europe, whom her husband
detests and despises. King William is far too stubborn
a man to be a yielding and agreeable companion.
Varnhagen represents the king as naturally kind-
hearted, but didl, brusque, and pig-headed in the ex-
treme, — a man who will not do what he thinks is wrong ;
and who will do what he believes to be right, come what
may. He is hke those conscientious inquisitors who
prayed God to strengthen them to break the bones of her-
etics on the rack, and to consign them to the flames.
From the revelations of Varnhagen, which have never
been contradicted, it docs not appear that the court in
Berlin has been, in modern times, a model of purity.
Humboldt was a constant inmate of that court. From
his diary, it appears how thoroughly ho despised most of
those royal personages by whom he was patronized.
His life at court must often have been almost loathsome
to him. The following anecdote throws a flood of light
upon the character, or at least the reputation, of the
court : —
" The late King of Hanover was a coarse, rough, un-
132 HISTORY OF PEtJSSIA.
cultivated man. His reputation for brutality was sucli,
that he was accused, by the general voice of the people,
of the murder of his valet.
" He once accosted Humboldt in the palace of the late
King of Prussia, and, with his customary brusqueness,
inquired why it was that the court was always full of
philosophers and dissolute characters. Humboldt re-
plied, ' Perhaps the king invites the philosophers to
meet me, and the others to please your Majesty.' " ^
After the coronation of the king, he grew, month after
month, increasingly unpopular. He quarrelled con-
stantly with his parliament, silenced the journals, and
persecuted every one who ventured to speak in favor of
reform. Count Bismarck, to whom we shall hereafter
allude, was in entire sympathy with the king in his
hostihty to representative governments, and in his sup-
port of absolutism. Pie was called into the council of
the king, and became the power behind the throne
stronger than the throne itself.
" There was, probably," writes Mr. INIcCarthy, " no
public man in Europe so generally unpopular as the
King of Prussia, — except, perhaps, his minister, the
Count von Bismarck. In England, it was something
like an article of faith to beheve that the king was a
bloody old tyrant. The dislike felt towards the king
was extended to the members of his family ; and the
popular conviction in England was, that the Princess
Victoria, wife of tlie king's son, had a dull, coarse
drunkard for a husband. It is perfectly wonderful how
soon an absurdly erroneous idea, if there is any thing
about it wliich jumps with the popular humor, takea
hold of the public mind of England."
» Galaxy for November, 1870.
KING WILLIAM L 133
In the month of July, 1861, as the king was taking a
walk, accompanied by one or two of his suite, along the
fasliionable avenue of Baden-Baden, a fanatic discharged
at him two barrels of a pistol. Both balls, happily,
missed the king. The event caused many deputations
to wait upon him with congratulations for his providen-
tial escape.
An American gentleman who chanced to be in Baden
at that time accompanied a delegation of Englishmen to
present an address to the king. In the following terms
he describes the interview : —
" At the appointed day and hour, we assembled, some
fifteen or twenty of us, in the lower story of the hired
house which the king occupied. It was known in Baden
parlance as the Blesmeric Mouse, from the name of its
owner, Herr Mesmer.
" We were all in full evening-dress. The spokesman
of the delegation, while mustering his forces, said to us,
' Gentlemen, please take off your gloves.' So I learned
one bit of court etiquette, — that you take off your gloves
to a king ; at least, to the King of Prussia.
" The gloves being removed, we were conducted up
stairs, and ushered into his jMajesty's presence. The
first impression his Majesty gave me was that of a very
badly-dressed man. His dark cutaway and striped
trousers looked as if they had been bought at a slop-
shop, and a second-rate one at that.
" The next impression that his Majesty gave me was,
that his manners were no better, that is, no more ele-
gant or graceful, than his dress. He reminded one of a
military puppet. All his actions were stiff and jerky.
When he advanced, it was ' Forward, march ! ' AVhen he
tui-ned, it was a manoeuvre executed by pivoting on one
134 HISTORY OF PEUSSIA.
heel. His massive features and powerful frame could
not be deyoid of a certain dignity ; but it was a clumsy
dignity at best, — like that of an ^schylean actor in
mask and buskins.
" The king's reply to the address — probably the same
speech which he had made to each successive deputation
— was brief, and well worded. One expression some of
us noted at the time, and had reason to remember after-
wards: ' I am convinced,' said he, ' that Providence has
preserved me for a special purpose.' But, when each
individual Avas successively presented to him, his awk-
wardness came out again." ^
With discriminating criticism Mr. LlcCarthy writes,
" I do not believe that the character of the king is any-
wise changed. He was a dull, honest, fanatical marti-
net when he turned his cannon against the German lib-
erals in IS-IS ; he was a dull, honest, fanatical martinet
when he unfurled the flag of Prussia against the Aus-
trians in 18G6, and against the French in 1870.
" The brave old man is only happy when doing what
he thinks is right ; but he wants alike the intellect and
the susceptibilities which enable people to distinguish
right from wrong, despotism from justice, necessary
firmness from stolid obstinacy. But for the war, and the
great national issues which rose to claim instant decis-
ion. King William would have gone on dissolving par-
liaments and punishing newspapers, levying iaxes
wii^hout the consent of representatives, and making the
police-officer master of Berlin. The vigor which was
so popular when employed in resisting the French,
would assuredly, otherwise, have found occupation in
' Mr. Carl Benson, in Galaxy for November, 1870.
KING WILLIAM L 135
repressing tlie Prussians. I see nothing to admire in
King William but his courage and his honestj'.
" For all the service he has done to Germany, let him
have full thanks ; but I cannot bring myself to any
warmth of personal admiration for him. It is, indeed,
hard to look at him, without feeling, for the moment,
some sentiment of genuine respect. The fine head and
face, with its noble outlines, and its frank, pleasant
smile ; the stately, dignified form, which some seventy-
five years have neither bowed nor enfeebled, — make the
king look like some splendid old paladin of the court
of Charlemagne. He is, despite his years, the finest
physical specimen of a sovereign Europe just now can
show.
" But I cannot make a hero out of stout King Wil-
liam, although he has bravery enough of the common
military land to suit any of the heroes of the Nibelungen-
lied. He never would, if he could, render any service
to liberty. He cannot understand the elements and
first principles of jiopular freedom. To him the people
is always as a child, — to be kept in leading-strings,
and guided, and, if at all boisterous or naughty, to be
smartly bu'chcd, and put in a dark corner.
" There is nothing cruel about King William ; that is
to say, he would not willingly liurt any human creature,
and is, indeed, rather kind-hearted and humane than
otherwise. He is as utterly incapable of the mean spites
and shabby cruelties of the great Frederick, whose statue
stands so near his palace, as he is incapable of the sav-
age brutalities and indecencies of Frederick's father.
" He is, in fact, simply a dull old disciplinarian, satu-
rated through and through with the traditions of the
feudal past of Germany ; his highest merit being the
136 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
fact, that he keeps his word ; that he is a still, strong
man, who cannot lie ; his noblest fortune being the
happy chance which called on him to lead his country's
battles, instead of leaving him free -to contend against,
and perhaps, for the time, to crush, his country's aspira-
tions for domestic freedom.
" Kind Heaven has allowed him to become the cham-
pion and the representative of German unity, — that
unity which is Germany's immediate and supreme need,
calling for the postponement of every other claim and
desire. And this part he has played hke a man, a sol-
dier, and a king.
" But one can hardly be expected to forget all the
past, — to forget what Humboldt and Varnhagen von
Ense wrote ; what Jacobi and Waldeck spoke ; what
King Wilham did in 1848, and what he said in 1861.
And unless we forget all this, and a great deal more to
the same effect, we can hardly help acknowledging, that,
but for the fortunate conditions which allowed him to
prove himself the best friend of German unity, he
would probably have proved himself the worst enemy
of German liberty."
rON . B B.flUSS£L
CHAPTER X.
THE "CHIEF SUPPORTERS OF THE CROWN.
^^
'HE Crown Prince, Frederick William, the
son of the hing, is not considered a man of
much abihty, or of any marked integrity of
character. He is now (1870) thirty-nine
years of age; having been born in 1831.
He has command of the central wing of
the Prussian army invading France. Hav-
ing seen considerable service, and not being wanting in
energy or courage, he occupies a respectable rank as a
military commander. Having married the eldest daugh-
ter of Queen Victoria, — who will thus, probably, soon
become Queen of Prussia, — it is difficult for the British
court to adopt any efficient measures to thwart the am-
■^jitious designs of the Prussian monarchy.
The most prominent military man is Prince Frederick
Charles. He is forty-two years of age, and is command-
er-in-chief of tlio Prussian forces. Frederick Charles
is the nephew of the king ; being the son of the king's
brother Frederick. At ten years of age, Frederick
Charles entered the army. It was deemed essential
that every prince of the House of Hohenzollern should
be thoroughly instructed in military service, that, in
137
138 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
case of necessity, he might be able efficiently to dra'W
his sword in defence of his country.
Even in those early years, it is said that he was a pas-
sionate admirer of the heroic deeds of Frederick the
Great. With great enthusiasm he studied the history
of the Seven- Years' War, thoroughly familiarizing him-
seK with all the strategic and tactical movements of
that renowned struggle. His innate love of military
affairs enabled him to make rapid progress in his studies ;
and his military genius soon became conspicuous to his
teachers and his companions.
When but twenty years of age, in 1848, he was as-
signed to the staff of the commander-in-chief of the
Prussian army, Gen. von Wrangel, in the first invasion
of Schleswig-Holstein. His recldess courage greatly
inspirited the troops, and contributed much to his re-
nown.
When, in 1849, his uncle, now King William I., was
sent to Baden to crush out with his dragoons a popular
uprising there. Prince Frederick Charles accompanied
him, and rendered signal service in the sanguinary con-
flicts which ensued. During the fifteen years of peace
which followed. Prince Charles devoted himself with'
renewed assiduity to his military studies ; making him-"
self familiar with every branch of the service, and pay-
ing special attention to the organization and movements
of large armies.
In the second invasion of Schleswig-Holstein, in 1863,
— to which we shall hereafter refer, — Frederick Charles
was intrusted with the command of the Prussian di-
vision. In the attack upon Diippel, one of the most
formidable of the Danish strongholds, Frederick Charles,
after two repulses, which were accompanied by terrible
THE CHIEF SUPPORTERS OF THE CROWN. 139
slaughter, grasped the flag of the Royal Guards, and per-
sonally led to a third attack, which was successful.
At the commencement of the war between Prussia
and Austria, in 186(3, Frederick Charles had command
of the first division of the Prussian army. On the 23d
of June he crossed the frontier, and, in ordering the
attack of his troops upon the Austrians, addressed them
in these singular words, characteristic of the blunt, un-
cultivated soldier : —
" May your hearts beat towards God, and your fists
upon the enemjM" A series of almost unparalleled vic-
tories ensued. Triumphant as was this campaign, which
was terminated by the utter defeat of the Austrians at
Sadowa, it revealed to the eagle-eye of Prince Frederick
Charles some serious defects in the organization of the
Prussian army. He subsequently published a pamplilet
upon the subject, which attracted great attention
throughout all Germany.
Baron von Moltke is another Prussian whom the agi-
tation of the times has brought prominently before the
world. Tlie baron was born in Mecklenburg on the 26th
of October, 1800. In early life, he served in the Danish
army. In the year 1822, he entered the Prussian army
as second lieutenant. His superior military abilities
soon rendered him conspicuous, and secured him rapid
promotion.
In 1835 he went to Constantinople to organize the
Turkish army. In the campaign which ensued against
the Viceroy of Egypt, he greatly distinguished himself,
and returned to Prussia crowned with new honors. In
1858 he was appointed chief of staff, and in 1864 took
a very distinguished part in the war which wrested
Schleswig-Holstcin from Denmark. Soon after, he pub-
140 HISTOEY OF PRUSSIA.
lislied several works on military science, which have
been widely translated, and which have given him great
celebrity in military circles.
" But the greatest field for the practical apjjlication
of his genius was offered him during the campaign of
1866. It is said that not only was he in constant pos-
session of information about every movement of the
army, but that he never was at a loss, one single mo-
ment, how to counteract all his adversary's operations,
and turn them to his own advantage.
" His character is as firm as a rock ; and, when once
engaged in the planning of a military movement, noth-
ing can detain him from carrying it out, as long as he
feels morally convinced that he is in the right, and that
there is a chance of success. In spite of his advanced
years (for he has reached his threescore years and ten),
he is said to be still very robust ; and has no fear of the
fatigues of a campaign."^
But by far the most remarkable man whom these mod-
ern agitations have brought prominently to view is Count
Otto Edward Leopold von Bismarck. He was born at
Schonhausen on the 1st of April, 1815. His parents
were opulent, and of an ancient family. Otto was the
youngest of six children. When he was but a year old,
his father removed to Pomerania, where he inlierited
some kuiglitly estates at Kniephof, about five miles to the
east of Naugard. Here Otto remained with his parents
until he was six years of age.
The rural mansion at Kniephof was plain, but cai3a-
cious. It was pleasantly situated. Its beautiful garden
and surrounding woods and meadows gave it no incon-
* The Great European Conflict, by G. W. Bible, p. 55.
THE CHIEF SUPPORTEES OF THE CROWN. 141
Biderable celebrity. In 1821, when Otto was six years
of age, he was sent to Berlin, and placed in the renowned
school of Prof. Plamann. Here lie remained for six
years, until 1827 ; when he entered the Frederick Wil-
liam Gymnasium. His elder brother was in the class
above him. Their parents were in the habit of spending
their winter-months in Berlin. Thus the boys enjoyed
mueli of home-life, as they resided with theu' parents.
The two boys were placed under the best of tutors ;
and Otto, in addition to becoming a good classical scholar,
attained so famihar an acquaintance with English and
French as to speak both languages with correctness and
fluency. No expense was spared in the education of
these children. Their mother was an accomplished
lady, aUke distinguished for her personal beauty and her
mental endowments. She seems early to have appre-
ciated the remarkable character and abilities of Otto ;
and she expressed a particular desire that he should de-
vote himself to a diplomatic career. The father of Otto
was a witty, kind-hearted, good-humored man, who
look the world easily, and who was not remarkable for
information or intellect.
In the year 1830, when Otto had attained his six-
teenth l)irthday, he was confirmed in the Trinity Church
at Berlin. Two years later, in 1832, he graduated at
tlie gymnasium, and entered upon the study of the law.
Dr. Bonnell, director of the gymnasium, speaks in the
following terras of Otto when under his care : —
" ]\Iy attention was drawn to Bismarck on the very day
of his entry ; on which occasion the new boys sat in the
schoolroom on rows of benches, in order that the mas-
ters could overlook the new-comers with attention
during the inauguration. Otto von Bismarck sat, as I
142 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
still distinctly remember, with, visible eagerness, a clear
and pleasant boyisb face and bright eyes, in a gay and
lightsome mood, among his comrades : so that it caused
me to think, ' That's a nice boy. I'll keep my eye on
him.'
" He became an inmate of my house in 1831, where
he behaved himself, in my modest household, in a
friendly and confiding manner. In every respect, he
was charming. He seldom quitted us of an evening.
If I were sometimes absent, he conversed in a friendly
and innocent manner with my wife, and evinced a strong
inclination for domestic hfe. He won our hearts ; and
we met his advances with affection and care : so that his
father, when he quitted us, declared that his son had
never been so happy as with us." ^
He is represented at this time as being quiet, retiring,
formal, and quite punctilious in observing and exacting
that courtesy which etiquette required. An admirable
memory aided him in the study of languages. He was
very fond of dogs and horses. Though, not fond of
athletic sports, he was a good fencer, an accomplished
swimmer, and danced gracefully. He had grown rap-
idly ; was tall, thin, with a pale face, though enjoying
good health. At the university he became acquainted
with Lothrop Motley, who has since become so distin-
guished.
Otto had wished to enter the University at Heidel-
berg. His mother objected, lest he should " contract
the habit, detestable to her, of drinking beer." He
therefore entered the University of Gottingen. Here
he plunged into dissipation with great recklessness. His
* Life of Bismarck, by John George Louis Hesekiel, p. 115.
THE CHIEF SUPPORTERS OF THE CROWN. 143
vigorous constitution cnal)led him to endure excesses
under which others wouhl have broken down. He
fought a duel, in which lie was slightly wounded. Soon
after, he had four challenges at the same time upon his
hands. In his " jolly life at Gottingen, he had no leisure
to attend the classes." ^
Upon going home in vacation, his dress and altered
manners greatly grieved his mother. The months of so-
called pleasure rolled on ; and Bismarck became nomi-
nally a lawyer, opening his office in Berlin. He was a
good-looking man, of majestic stature and courtly bear-
ing.
During the winter succeeding the summer of 1835,
young Bismarck attended a court-ball. Here he met, for
the first time. Prince William, son of King Frederick
William III. As Bismarck, with another lawyer of
equally majestic stature, was introduced to the immedi-
ate heir to the throne, William, scrutinizing the two
stately forms before him, said, "Well, Justice seeks
her young advocates according to the standard of the
guards." This was the first interview between the
future monarch and his future illustrious prime-minister.
In the 3^ear 1836, Bismarck was sent as an attache to
the legation to the court at Aix la Chapelle. Plere
again he plunged into all the fashionable dissipation of
the imperial city. He was thrown into convivial asso-
ciation with Englishmen and Frenchmen. Speaking
fluently the two languages, he became a great favorite,
and made several excursions to Belgium, France, ai d
the Rhine province.
Ill llio year 18:57, he was transferred to the crown
' Life of Bismarck, by John George Louis Hesekiel, p. 127.
144 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
office at Potsdam. The next year, lie entered tlie Jager
Guard to fulfil his military duties. He was a wild fel-
low. His improvident father had so managed the estate,
that the family was threatened with pecuniary ruin.
The sons begged their father to grant them the ad-
ministration of the Pomeranian property. The request
was acceded to ; and the parents retired to Schonhausen
to spend the evening of their days. The mother, who
was in feeble health, soon died, in November, 1839. It
was in the summer of this year that Bismarck entered
on the administration of the Pomeranian estates. He
was then twenty-three years of age. He had been ac-
customed to extravagant expenditure. Now bitter
want oppressed him. Thus impelled by necessity, he
devoted himself, for a time, to the care of the wasted
estates, with diligence and with wisdom.
But the change in his mode of life depressed him : he
became subject to deep despondency. With returning
prosperity came returning recklessness. His eulogistic
biographer says of him, —
" Despite liis wild life and actions, he felt a continually
increasing sense of lonelmess ; and the same Bismarck
who gave himself to jolly carouses among the officers of
the neighboring garrisons, sank, when alone, into the
bitterest and most desolate state of reflection. He suf-
fered from that disgust of life common to the boldest
officers at times, and which has been called ' first lieu-
tenant's melancholy.' The less real pleasure he had in
his wild career, the madder it became ; and he earned
himself a fearful reputation among the elder ladies and
gentlemen, who predicted the moral and pecuniary ruin
of ' Mad Bismarck.' " ^
' Life of Bismarck, by John George Louis Ilesekiel, p. 133.
■^IIE CHIEF SUrrOllTEllS OF THE CROWN. 145
The two brothers divided the estates in Pomerania, so
that Kniephof and its surroundings fell to the share of
Otto. " Strange scenes occurred at Kniephof when the
youthful owner, tortured by dark thoughts, dashed rcck-
lessl}'", to kill time, through the fields, — sometimes in soli-
tude, and sometimes in the company of gay companions
and guests: so that Kniephof became renowned far and
wide in the land.
" Strange stories were current about their nocturnal
carouses, at which none could equal ' Mad Bismarck ' in
emptying the great beaker filled with porter and cham-
pagne. Tales of a Avild character were whispered in the
circles of shuddering ladies. At each mad adventure,
each wild burst of humor, a dozen myths started up,
sometimes of comical, sometimes of a terrible character,
until the little mansion of Kniephof was looked upon as
haunted. But the ghosts must have had tolerably strong
nerves ; for the guests, slumbering with nightcaps of por-.
ter or champagne, were often roused by pistol-shots, the
bullets whistling over their heads, and the lime from the
ceilings tumbling into their faces." ^
Bismarck was of course, in his many hours of soli-
tude, restless and unhaftpy. In vain he sought repose
for his troubled spirit in reading. lie tried travels, and
visited France and England. His father died in 1845 ;
and Bismarck received, as an addition to his property,
the estate of Schonhauson. Here he took up his future
residence. Some local ofiices of trivial importance were
conferred upon him.
At tlie house of a friend Bismarck met a young lady,
Johanna von Putkannner, and fell deeply in love with
' Life of Bisrmirck, p. 134.
10
146 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
her ; but his reputation was such, that the friends of the
young lady were horror-struck at the thought of her
union with such a debauchee. Johanna, however, re-
turned the affection of her ardent lover ; and her parents,
with great reluctance, at length gave their assent to the
union. They were married in July, 1847. On his bridal
tour, Bismarck visited Switzerland and Italy. At Venice
he met King Frederick William IV., and was invited to
dine with him. They conversed for a long time upon
German politics. Bismarck had already imbibed a strong
antipathy to democratic progress, and was strenuously
in favor of preserving all the prerogatives of the crown.
The views he expressed in this conversation were evi-
dently very gratifying to the king. Here, probably,
was laid the foundation of that royal favor with which
the king ever after regarded his illustrious subject.
We are told by his eulogistic biographer that the first
enemy Bismarck saw to the power of the throne was
liberalism ; and he showed a firm front to it. Then de-
mocracy ventured upon some of its utterances ; and he met
this foe with the most unhesitating conviction. " Lib-
eralism, democrac}^, the inimical jealousy of Austria, the
envy of foreign nations, — such are the enemies of the
Prussian sovereignty; and Bismarck has, with equal
courage and firmness, with as much insight as success,
fought openly and honestly against these."
When, in 1847, Frederick William IV., constrained by
the general popular uprising in his realms, consented to
a constitution which granted many reforms, the old no-
bility were displeased. They adhered to the absolutism
of their former sovereigns. In the debate upon this
question, Bismarck, as deputy to the United Diet, first
made his appearance as a public speaker. He entered
TUE CHIEF SUPPORTEllS OF THE CROWN. 147
bis protest against the constitution, and against any con-
cession to the spirit of liberalism. His remarks were so
little relished, that his voice was drowned with hisses and
outcries.
The whole liberal press now came down upon Bis-
marck with the utmost ferocity. With singular cool-
ness, he had avowed himself the friend of feudal ab-
solutism and the enemy of " popular rights." " Thus,"
says his biographer, " he found himself in full battle-
array against hberalism. He gave utterance to his
opinions in conformity with his natural fearless na-
ture."
In a long speech in 1847, he said, " With whom does
the right reside to issue an authentic declaration ? In
my opinion, in the king alone. The Prussian sovereigns
are in possession of a crown, not by the grace of the peo-
ple, but by God's grace, — an actually unconditional
crown, some of the rights of Avhich they have volunta,rily
conceded to the people."
Thus Bismarck took his stand, with ever-increasing
boldness and ability, in support of the sovereignty of the
crown, and in antagonism to popular rights. The sum-
mer of 1848 was terrible in its menaces to the absolutism
of the Prussian throne. Bismarck was recognized as the
boldest and ablest of the advocates of royalty. Ilis
courage never faltered. Consequently he Avas hated by
the advocates of reform as much as he was cherished by
the court.
One evening, he was in a beer-saloon which was fre-
quented by those in political sympathy with him.
" He had just taken his seat, when a particularly offen-
sive expression was used at the next table concerning
a member of the royal family. Bismarck iuiniediately
148 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
rose to his full height, turned to the speaker, and thun
dered forth, —
" ' Out of the house ! If you are not off when I have
drunk this beer, I will break this glass on your head ! '
" At this there ensued a fierce commotion ; and out-
cries resounded in all directions. Without the slightest
notice, Bismarck finished his draught, and then brought
down the mug upon the offender's pate with such effect,
that the glass flew into fragments, and the man fell down
howling with anguish. There was a deep silence, during
which Bismarck's voice was heard to say in the quietest
tone, as if nothing whatever had taken place, —
" ' Waiter, what is to pay for this broken glass ? ' " ^
In the spring of 1851, Bismarck was appointed by
Frederick William IV. ambassador to the diet at Frank-
fort on the Main. The following anecdote is related
of him, which, if not absolutely true, is certainly charac-
teristic of the man : " He one day visited the presiding
deputy, Count Thun. The count received him with a
sort of brusque familiarity, and went on coolly smoking
his cigar, without even asking him to take a chair. Tlie
latter simply took out his cigar-case, pulled out a cigar,
and said in an easy tone, ' May I beg a light. Excel-
lency ? ' Excellency, astonished to the greatest degree,
supphed the desired light. Bismarck got a good blaze
up, and then took the unoffered seat in the coolest way
in the world, and led the way to a conversation."
In a letter from Bismarck to his wife, dated Frank-
fort, 3d Jul}^ 1851, we find the following sentiments : —
" I went, day before yesterday, to Wiesbaden, to ;
and, with a mixture of sadness and wisdom, we went to
* Life of Bismarck, p. 202.
TnE CHIEF SUPPORTERS OF THE CROWN. 149
see this scene of former folly. Would it might please
God to fill tliis vessel with his clear and strong wine, in
which formerly the champagne of twenty-one years of
youth foamed uselessly, and left nothing but loathing
behind ! Where now are , and Miss ? How
many are buried with whom I then fluted, drank, and
diced ! How many transformations have taken place in
my views of the world in these fourteen years ! How
little are some things to me now which then appeared
to me great ! How much is venerable to me which I
then ridiculed ! "
During the summer of 1855, Bismarck visited the Ex-
position at Paris. Here he was the guest of the Prus-
sian ambassador. Count Hatzfeld ; and was introduced,
for the first time, to the Emperor of the French. Again,
in the spring of 1857, he visited Paris, and had a .special
political conference with the emperor ; after which he
visited Denmark and Sweden. Sundry incidental re-
marks in his letters now begin to show how the idea of
adding to the power of Prussia was daily more and more
occupying his thoughts, and gaining strength in his mind.
In an apparently official communication, dated May 12,
1859, we find the following expressions : —
" Perhaps I am going too far when I express it as my
opinion, that we should seize every justifiable opportunity
to obtain a revision, necessary to Prussia, of our relations
to the smaller German States. I think that we should
wilhngly take up the gauntlet, and regard it as no mis-
fortune, but as real progress, if a majority at Frankfort
should decide upon a vote which we could regard as an
arbitrary change in the object of the confederation, a
violation of its treaties. The more unmistakable this
violation, the better. I sec in our position in the diet a
150 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
defect of Prussia, which we shall have, sooner or later,
to heal by fire and the sword."
The Italians were moving to escape from Austrian
thraldom, and to establish Italian unity. Unaided, the
divided States of Italy could by no means resist the pow-
erful Austrian monarchy. France was the only nation
to which the Italians could look for aid. Prussia had
engaged to unite with Austria, should the French armies
march to the aid of the Italians. In allusion to this sub-
ject, Bismarck wrote as follows, from St. Petersburg, on
the 22d of August, 1860 : —
" According to the journals, we have bound ourselves
verbally to assist Austria, under all circumstances, should
she be attacked by France in Italy. Should Austria find
it necessary to act on the offensive, our consent would
be requisite if our co-operation is to be anticipated.
Austria having security that we should fight for Venice,
she will know how to provoke the attack of France.
" Viennese politics, since the Garibaldian expedition,
desire to make things in Italy as bad as they can be, in
order that, if Napoleon himself should find it necessary
to declare against tlie Italian revolution, movements
should commence on all sides to restore the former state
of things.
" Some kind of general rumors reach me that the press
carries on a systematic war against me. I am said to
have openly supported Russo-French pretensions respect-
ing a session of the Rhine province, on condition of com-
pensation nearer home. I will pay a thousand Frede-
rick d'ors to the person who will prove to me that any
such Russo-French propositions have ever been brought
to my knowledge by any one." ^
* Life of Bismarck, p. 292.
THE CHIEF SUPPORTERS OF THE CROWN. 151
" The Edinburgh Review," in the following terms, ex-
presses its estimate of the character of Bismarck: " His
private life is pure. Nobody has accused him of having
used his high position for his pecuniary advantage ; but
by the side of these virtues the darker shades are not
wanting. He never forgets a slight, and persecutes
people who have offended him with the most unworthy
malice. His strong will degenerates frequently into
absurd obstinacy. He is feared by his subordinates ;
but we never heard that anybody loved him. He can
tell the very reverse of truth with an amazing coolness.
He laughs at the fools who took his fine words for solid '
cash. His contempt of men is profound.'' ^
jMr. Friedrich Kapp, in an article in " The New-York
Nation " of October, 1870, upon the conversatioiis of
Count Bismarck, narrates the following incident : —
" To the Austrian minister, when this gentleman
rather incredulously received one of Bismarck's asser-
tions, he said, a few weeks before the outbreak of the
war of 18GG, ' I never make a false statement whenever
I can avoid it. In your case it is not necessary. There-
fore I have no earthly interest to deceive you, and you
can believe my words.' "
'■ Ediuburgli Review, vol. cxxx. p. 457.
CHAPTER XI.
SCHLESWIG AND HOLSTEIN.
ARLY in the spring of 1859, Bismarck was
appointed ambassador to Russia. His la-
bors were not arduous. Much of liis time
was devoted to the education of his three
children, — one daughter and two sons. On
the 2d of July, before his family had joined
him in Petersburg, he wrote to his wife, —
" Half an hour ago, a courier awakened me with tidings
of war and peace. Our politics are sliding more and
more into the Austrian groove. If we fire one shot on
the Rhine, the Italo-Austrian war is over : in place of
it, we shall see a Prusso-French war, in which Austria,
after we have taken the load from her shoulders, will
assist, or assist so far as her own interests are concerned.
That we should play a very victorious part, is scarcely to
be conceded.
" Be it as God wills ! It is, here below, always a ques-
tion of time. Nations and men, folly and wisdom, war
and peace, — they come like waves, and so depart ; while
the ocean remains. On this earth there is nothing but
hypocrisy and jugglery ; and whether this mass of flesh
is to be torn off by fever, or by a cartridge, it must fall
at last. Then the difference between a Prussian and an
152
SCHLESWIQ AND HOLSTEIN. 153
Austrian, if of the same stature, will be so small, that it
will be difficult to distinguish between them. Fools and
wise men, as skeletons, look very much like one another.
Specific patriotism we thus lose ; but it would be des-
perate if we carried it into eternity."
That Bismarck possesses, some warm human sympa-
thies is evident from the following extracts from a letter
of condolence to a friend who had lost a beloved child : —
" A greater sorrow could scarcely have befallen you, —
to lose so charming and joyfully-growing a child, and
with it to bury all the hopes which were to become the
joys of your old age. Mourning cannot depart from
you as long as you live in this world. This I feel with
you in deeply painful sympathy. We are helpless in
the mighty hand of God, and can do nothing but bow
in humility under his behest.
" How do all the little cares and troubles which beset
our daily lives vanish beside the iron advent of real mis-
fortune ! We should not depend on this world, or regard
it as our home. Another twenty or thirty years, and we
shall both have passed from the sorrows of this world.
Our children will have arrived at our present position,
and will find with astonishment that the life so freshly
begun is going down hill."
On the 22d of May, 1862, Bismarck was appointed
ambassador to Paris. Nothing of special interest seems
to have occurred during his short mission there. He
was now regarded by the liberals as the leader of the
aristocratic, or Junker party as it was called. There was
no one more Ixjld and able than he in defence of the pre-
rogatives of the nobility and of the crown. Greatly to
the indigiialion of thu democracy, the king, in the au-
tumn of lyOo, appointed Bismarck prime-minister. The
154 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
biographer of his life, who was in entire sympathy with
his political views, writes, —
" When Bismarck arrived in Berlin, about the middle
of September, 1862, he found opposed to him the party
of progress, almost sure of victory, clashing onward like
a charger with heavy spurs and sword, trampling upon
every thing in its path, setting up new scandals every
day, and acting in such a manner that the wiser chiefs
of that party shook their very heads. Beside that party
of progress, and partially governed and towed along by
it, was the liberal party, possessed, with the exception of
a minority, of an almost still greater dislike for Bismarck
than was entertained by the progressists."
Having declared himself in favor of Italian unity,
which would weaken Austria, the hostility of that power
was strongly excited against him. He therefore entered
into more friendly relations with France. His great ob-
ject seemed now to be to unite all parties (aristocratic
and democratic), to wrest from Austria the leadership of
Germany, and to confer that leadership upon Prussia.
He was fully aware that this great feat could not be ac-
complished without war. Repeatedly he said, " The all-
important questions of the day are not to be settled by
speeches and by votes, but by iron and blood." ^
Bismarck complained bitterly that most of the German
Sta,tes were in sympathy witli Austria, and stood out
offensively against Prussia. One of the first acts of his
administration was to enter into an alliance with Russia
to suppress the Polish insurrection.
Upon the accession of William I. to the throne, Prus-
sia consisted of a territory of 24,464 square miles ; being
* Life of Bismarck, p. 340.
SCHLESWIG AND HOLSTEIN. 155
but about half as large as the State of New York. It
contained a population of but little more than eight mil-
lions. The kingdom was composed of eight provinces,
two of wliich, Prussia and Posen, did not belong to the
German Confederacy.^
Adjoining Prussia, on the north-west, there were two
small duchies, — Schleswig and Holstein. Bounded on
the north-west by the German Ocean, and on the north-
east by the Baltic Sea, with the River Elbe at their base,
they presented unusual facilities for commerce. Their
united population was about a million.
These duchies were a part of the dominion of the
King of Denmark, though under a different law of suc-
cession from that of the crown. For some time, both of
the duchies had been under one ruler, — Duke Frederick.
The title was hereditary. Upon the death of Frederick
VII. of Denmark, his successor on the throne. Christian
IX., claimed the dukedom of the two duchies. On the
other hand, the reigning duke, Frederick, claimed it.
Though the two duchies were inseparably connected,
one of them, Schleswig, belonged to the Germanic Con-
federation ; and the other, Holstein, did not : but, as one
belonged to the confederation, the contested claim to the
dukedom Ijecame a German question. The inhabitants
of the ducliies were, with great apparent unanimity, in
favor of Duke Frederick, and opposed to the claims of
Denmark. In view of this difficulty, the Danish govern-
ment had secured a treaty, on the 2d of May, 18G2, to
which Austria, Prussia, France, Russia, and England
were parties, guaranteeing the integrity of the Danish
monarch3% Thus all Europe became involved in the
controversy.
* AmfTican Annual Cyclopajcliii, 1867.
156 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA,
England was somewhat embarrassed in her action.
Victoria's daughter had married the Crown Prince of
Prussia, and thus was destined to be the queen of that
kingdom. The eldest son of Victoria, the Prince of
Wales, had married a daughter of the King of Denmark .
thus this Danish princess was prospective Queen of
England. This intimate family relationship between
the British court and both Prussia and Denmark greatly
embarrassed the court of St. James in its action.
Prussia and Austria, as members of the Germanic
Confederation, espoused the claims of Frederick to the
duchies. Notwithstanding their treaty obligations, tliey
furnished mihtary aid to wrest the duchies from the King
of Denmark. England, embarrassed by her matrimonial
connections, stood aloof. None of the other minor pow-
ers ventured to intervene. Thus, after a brief struggle,
Schleswig and Holstein were wrested from Denmark,
and were declared to be independent of the Danish
crown.
This was Bismarck's first step in his very shrewd and
successful intrigue. Immediately three new claimants
appeared, demanding the duchies by the right of inherit-
ance : these were the Grand Duke of Oldenburg, the
Prince of Hesse, and, to the surprise of all Europe, Wil-
liam I., King of Prussia. Thus, including Duke Frede-
rick and the King of Denmark, there were five claimants.
All Europe was at this time in a state of great agita-
tion. Poland was in insurrection. There was, mani-
festly, a conflict arising between Prussia and Austria in
reference to supremacy in Germany. Italy, triumphant
(with the aid of France) at Solferino, and having thus
attained almost entire unity, was gathering its forces for
the conquest of the Papal States and for the liberation
SOHLESWIG AND HOLSTEIN. 157
of Venetia; and France was clamorous fur the posses-
sion of her ancient boundary of the Rhine.
Under these circumstances, the Emperor of the French
adopted the extraordinary measure of addressing the
following circular to all the crowned heads in Europe.
It was dated
"Palace of the Tuilekies, Nov. 4, 1863.
" In presence of events which every day arise, and l)e-
come urgent, I deem it indispensable to express myself,
without reserve, to the sovereigns to whom the destinies
of peoples are confided.
" Whenever severe shocks have shaken the bases and
displaced the limits of States, solemn transactions have
taken place to arrange new elements, and to consecrate,
by revision, the accomplished transformations. Such
was the object of the Treaty of Westphalia in the seven-
teenth century, and of the negotiations of Vienna in
1815. It is on this latter foundation that now reposes
the political edifice of Eurojie ; and yet, you are aware,
it is crumbling away on all sides.
" If the situation of the different countries be atten-
tively considered, it is impossible not to admit that the
treaties of Vienna, upon almost all points, are destro3^cd,
modified, misunderstood, or menaced : hence duties with-
out rule, rights without title, and pretensions without
restraint. The danger is so much the more formida-
l)h', because the improvements brought about by civili-
zation, which have bound nations together by the identity
of material interests, would render war more destructive.
" This is a subject for serious reflection. Let us not
wait, before deciding on pur course, for sudden and irre-
sistible "events to disturb our judgment, and carry us
liway, despite ourselves, in op})Osite directions.
158 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
" I therefore propose to you to regulate the present,
and secure the future, in a congress.
" Called to the throne by Providence and the will of
the French people, but trained in the school of adversity,
it is, perhaps, less permitted to roe than to any other to
ignore the rights of sovereigns and the legitimate aspi-
rations of the people.
" Therefore I am ready, without any preconceived sys-
tem, to bring to an international council the spirit of
moderation and justice, — the usual portion of those
who have endured so many various trials.
" If I take the initiative in such an overture, I do not
yield to an impulse of vanity ; but, as I am the sovereign
to whom ambitious projects are most attributed, I have
it at heart to prove by this frank and loyal step that my
sole object is to arrive, without a shock, at the pacifica-
tion of Europe. If this proposition be favorably re-
ceived, I pray you to accept Paris as the place of meeting.
" In case the princes, alHes, and friends of France,
should think proper to heighten by their presence the
authority of the deliberations, I shall be proud to offer
them my cordial hospitality. Europe would see, per-
haps, some advantage in the capital, from which the sig-*
nal for subversion has so often been given, becoming the
seat of the conferences destined to lay the basis of a
general pacification.
" I seize this occasion, &c.,
"Napoleon.'*
In the speech which the emperor made the next day
at the opening of the Legislative Corps, he said, —
" The treaties of 1815 have ceased to exist. The force
of events has overthrown them, or tends to overthrow
SCHLESWIG AND HOLSTEIN. 159
them, almost everywhere. They have been hroken in
Greece, in Belgium, in France, in Italy, and upon the
Danube. Germany is in agitation to change them ; Eng-
land has generally modified them by the cession of the
Ionian Islands ; and Russia tramples them under foot at
Wai-saw.
" In the midst of these successive violations of the
fundamental European pact, ardent passions are excited.
In the south, as in the north, powerful interests demand
a solution. What, then, can be more legitimate or more
useful than to invite the powers of Europe to a con-
gress, in which self-interest and resistance would disap-
pear before a supreme arbitration ? What can be more
conformed to the ideas of the time, to the wishes of the
greater number, than to speak to the conscience and the
reason of the statesmen of every country, and say to
them, —
" ' Have not the prejudices and the rancor which di-
vide us lasted long enough ? Shall the jealous rivalry
of the great powers unceasingly impede the progress of
civilization ? Are we still to maintain mutual distrust
by exaggerated armaments ? Must our most precious
resources be indefinitely exhausted by a vain display
of our forces ? Must we eternally maintain a state of
things which is neither peace with its security, nor war
with its fortunate chances?
" ' Let us no longer attach a fictitious importance to
the subversive spirit of extreme parties, by opposing our-
selves, on narrow calculations, to the legitimate aspira-
tions of peoples. Let us have the courage to substitute
for a state of things sickly and precarious a situation
solid and regular, should it even cost us sacrifices. Let
us meet without preconceived opinions, without exclu-
160 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
sive ambition, animated by the single thought of estab-
lishing an order of things founded, for the future, on the
well-understood interests of sovereigns and peoples.'
• " This appeal, I am happy to believe, will be listened
to by all. A refusal would suggest secret projects, which
shun the light. But, even should the proposal not be
unanimously agreed to, it would secure the immense ad-
vantage of having pointed out to Europe where the dan-
ger lies, and where is safety. Two paths are open : the
one conducts to progress by concihation and peace ; the
other, sooner or later, leads fatally to war, from obstinacy
in maintaining a course which sinks beneath us.
" Such is the language, gentlemen, which I propose
to address to Europe. Approved by you, sanctioned by
public assent, it cannot fail to be listened to, since I
speak in the name of France."
The address of the Emperor of the French was sent
to all the crowned heads in Europe, — fifteen in number.
England declined the proposal. In a letter from Earl
Russell, dated Nov. 28, 1863, it was stated, —
"Not being able to discern the likelihood of those
beneficial consequences which the Emperor of the French
promised himself when proposing a congress, her Ma-
jesty's government, following their own strong convic-
tions, after mature deliberation, feel themselves unable
to accept his imperial Majesty's invitation." ^
Austria, following the lead of England, without posi-
tively declining, did not accept, the proposal. The em-
1 " The reception of the proposal of the emperor, in England, was generally
unfavorable. England could not expect any territorial aggrandizement from the
congress, but only the loss of her European dependencies, and, in particular,
Gibraltar. The press, almost unanimously, discouraged a participation in thn
congress." — American Annual Cyclopadia, 1863, p. 390.
SCHLESWIG AND HOLSTEIN. 1G1
peror stated that the treaties of 1815 were still regarded
by Austria as the public law of Europe, and asked sev-
eral questions, strangely assuming that it depended upon
France, and not upon the congress, to decide what meas-
ures should be discussed.
Alexander of Russia cordially acceded to the propo-
sal. In his reply, he said, " My most ardent desire is to
spare my people sacrifices which their patriotism accepts,
but from which their prosperity suffers. Nothing could
better hasten this moment than a general settlement of
the questions which agitate Europe. A loyal under-
standing between the sovereigns has alwa3's appeared
desirable to me. I should be happy if the proposition
emitted by j^our Majesty were to lead to it,"
All the other crowned heads accepted the proposal
with much cordiality. Victor Emanuel of Italy wrote,
" I adhere with pleasure to the proposal of your Majesty.
My concurrence, and that of my people, are assured to
the realization of this project, which will mark a great
progress in the history of mankind." Louis I., King of
Portugal, who had married one of the daughters of Victor
Emanuel, wrote, " A congress before war, with the view
of averting war, is, in my opinion, a noble thought of
progress. Whatever may be the issue, to France will
always belong the glory of having laid the foundation
of this new and highly philosophical principle."
The 3'outhful King of Greece, George L, who was the
second son of the King of Denmark, and consequently
brother to the wife of the Prince of Wales, wrote,
" This appeal to conciliation, which your ]\Iajesty has
jist made in tlie interests of European order, has been
inspired by views too generous and too elevated not to
liud iu me the most sympathetic reception. The noble
» 11
1G2 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
thought which predominates therein could not be better
enhanced than by the frank language and the judicious
considerations with which your Majesty has accompanied
your proposition."
In a similar strain, the kings of Belgium, of the
Netherlands, of Denmark, of Bavaria, Saxony, Wurtem-
berg, and Hanover, expressed their approval of the con-
gress. The Pope was prompt in his acceptance. Even
the Sultan of Turkey gave in his adhesion to the plan,
saying that he should be glad to attend the congress in
person, if the other sovereigns would do the same. The
Swiss Confederation replied, " We can only, there-
fore, accept with eagerness the overture your Majesty
has deigned to make."
It was regarded as essential to the plan, that there
should be a general congress ; that all the leading pow-
ers should unite. If any should refuse to join, they
would also refuse to be bound by the decisions of the
congress : thus the refusal of two such leading powers
as England and Austria thwarted the measure.
After all the replies were received, the French minis-
ter, M. Drouyn de Lhuys, in the name of the French
Government, issued another circular to the European
courts, with a summary of the responses, and giving the
following as the result : —
" The refusal of England has, unfortunately, rendeied
impossible the first result we had hoped for from the a])-
peal of the emperor to Europe. There now remains the
second hypothesis, — the limited congress. Its realiza-
tion depends upon the will of the sovereigns. After the
refusal of the British cabinet, we might consider oar
duty accomplished, and henceforth, in the events whicli
may arise, only take into account our own convenience
SCHLESWIG AND HOLSTEIN. , 163
and our own particular interests ; but we prefer to rec-
ognize the favorable dispositions wliich have been dis-
played toward us, and to remind the sovereigns who
have associated themselves Avith our intentions that we
are ready to enter frankly with them upon the path of a
common understanding."
The Emperor of the French was much disappointed at
this result. In a letter written soon after to the Arch-
bishop of Rouen, dated Jan. 14, 1864, he wrote, —
" You are right in saying that the honors of the Avorld
are heavy burdens Avliich Providence imposes upon us.
Thus I often ask myself if good fortune has not as many
tril)ulations as adversity. But, in both cases, our guide
and support is faith, — religious faith and political faitli ;
that is to say, confidence in God, and the consciousness
of a mission to accomplish."
In the mean time. Count Bismarck had submitted to the
syndics of the crown of Prussia at Berlin the question
of the legal title to the sovereignty of the duchies of
Schleswig and Ilolstein. After several conferences,
tliese legal gentlemen decided that tlie King of Denmark
had been the legitimate heir, but that the duchies noio
belonged, by right of conquest, to Austria and Prussia.
This curious decision, it is said, was brought about by
the diplomatic skill of Count Bismarck. Until this time,
Austria had never laid any claim whatever to the duch-
ies. Francis Joseph was as much surprised as he was
gratified to learn that one-half of the sovereignty of
the duchies enured to him. As, however, the duchies
were at a great distance from Austria, and consequently
of but little value to tliat kingdom, Count Bismarck
supposed that Francis Joseph would sell, for a considera-
tion, liis share of the sovereignty. Prussia, accordingly,
164 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
offered Austria sixty millions of dollars for the relin-
quishment of her title.
Austria refused : she would only consent that Prussia
should, for the present, hold Schleswig, while Austria
should hold Holstein. This agreement was entered into
at what was called the Convention of Gastein, which
was held in August, 1869. Both France and England
announced in diplomatic notes their dissatisfaction with
this arrangement. Austria appointed Marshal von
Gablenz governor of her newly-acquired province of
Holstein. Prussia appointed Gen. von Manteuffel gov-
ernor of Schleswig. The duchies were quite dissatisfied
with this arrangement. A large majority of the people
in both duchies sent memorials to the federal diet, pro-
testing against the division of the duchies, and demand-
ing the recognition of Duke Frederick. These remon-
strances of the people were of no avail.
Count Bismarck, having thus annexed Schleswig to
the Prussian crown, now turned his attention to the ac-
quisition of Holstein. The agitations in other parts of
Europe greatly favored his plans. The Prussian army
was placed on a war-footing. Negotiations were opened
with Victor Emanuel in Italy, stating, that if, while
Prussia should attack Austria upon the north, Italy
should assail Austria from the south, Venetia could be
wrested from her grasp, and re-annexed to Italy. " If
you will help us gain Holstein," said Prussia, " we will
help you gain Venetia."
Having thus made all his arrangements. Count Bis-
marck demanded the surrender of Holstein. The reason
assigned for this demand was as follows : —
" King William I. is grievously affected to see devel-
oped under the aegis of Austria tendencies revolutionary.
SCHLESWIG AND HOLSTEIN. 1G5
anti hostile to all the thrones. He therefore declares
that friendly relations no longer exist between Prussia
and Austria."
This astonishing declaration, that Austria was allow-
ing too much popidar freedom in Holstein, was soon fol-
lowed by another, in which it was declared that the
repose of Prussia rendered it necessary that the gov-
ernment should pursue with firmness the annexation of
both of the ducHies, so desirable in all points of view.
Still this was not a positive declaration of war. Aus-
tiia inquired of Prussia if she intended to break the
treaties of the Convention of Gastein.
" No ! " was the characteristic response ; " but, if we
had that intention, we should tell you we had not."
It seems to have been an avowed principle in Euro-
pean diplomacy, that sincerity was a virtue not to be
expected in the intercourse of cabinets. In one of Bis-
marck's letters, dated Frankfort, May 18, 1851, he
writes, —
" I am maldng enormous progress in the art of saying
nothing in a* great many words. I write reports of many
sheets, which read as tersely and roundly as leading arti-
cles ; and if Manteuffel can say what there is in them,
after he has read them, he can do more than I can." ^
» Life of Bismarck, p. 228.
CHAPTER XII.
THE LIBERATION OF ITALY.
'O understand those intrigues of cabinets
and those majestic military movements
which have recently arrested the attention
of the whole civilized world, it is necessary
that there should be brief allusion to the
Uberation of Italy from Austrian domina-
tion by the combined armies of France
and Sardinia.
By the treaties of 1815, the constitutional kingdoms
of Italy, which, by the aid of the French Empire, had
been estabhshed upon the foundation of equal rights
for all men, were overthrown. Italy was cut up into
petty States, over which the old despotic regimes were
inaugurated. Thus parcelled out, most of these States
were merely provinces of Austria ; and the vast armies
of Austria watched with an eagle-eye, ready instantly to
quell any popular uprising in any part of the Italian
Peninsula. The Idngs, dukes, and princes whom the
allies had placed over these petty States, were the guar-
dians of Austrian despotism.
Upon the re-establishment of the empire in France in
1852, the popular masses all over Italy were greatly
excited with the desire of regaining their former liber-
IGG
THE LIBERATION OP ITALY. 167
ties. Victor Emanuel was King of Sardinia ; Count
Cavour, his prime-minister. They applied to the newly-
elected French emperor to learn if France would sup-
port Sardinia against Austria, should Sardinia com-
mence the work of popular reform witliin her own
kingdom. The pledge was promptly given.
Sardinia entered upon enactments of liberty. Schools
were established, aristocratic privileges were abolished,
freedom of worship was proclaimed, and freedom of
the press restrained only by laws of libel. Austria
vigorously remonstrated, and gathered an army of two
hundred and fifty thousand troops upon the Sardinian
frontier. These reforms in Sardinia would excite dis-
content in despotic Austria.
The French minister in Austria informed the court
in Vienna, in very significant diplomatic phrase, " that
France could not look with indifference upon the in-
vasion of Sardinia by the Austrian troops."
The latter part of April, 1859, the Austrian troops
crossed the Ticino, and commenced a rapid march upon
Turin, the capital of Sardinia. The Emperor of France
immediately issued a proclamation, dated Tuileries,
May 3, 1859, containing tlie following words: —
" Austria, in causing her army to enter the territory
of the King of Sardinia, our ally, declares war against
us. She thus \'iolates treaties, justice, and menaces our
f I'ontiers. We are led to inquire what can be the reason
for this sudden invasion. Is it that Austria has brought
matters to this extremity, — that she must cither rule
up to the Alps, or Italy must be free to the shores of
the Adriatic ?
" The natural allies of France have been always those
who seek the amelioration of humanity. When she
168 HISTORY OF PllUSSIA.
draws the sword, it is not to subjugate, but to liberate.
The object of this war is, then, to restore Italy to her-
self, and not to impose upon her a change of masters."
Two hundred thousand French troops were imme-
diately transported to the plains of Sardinia. The
French nation, with great unanimity, approved of the
measure. M. Thiers, leading the opposition in the Legis-
lative Corps, severely condemned it. He declared that
enlightened statesmanship demanded that Italy should
be kept divided into fragmentary States, and not that a
strong kingdom of twenty-five millions of people should
be organized on the frontiers of France. He urged that
France should aid in maintaining the treaties of 1815.
But the voice of the French nation was almost unani-
mously with the government.
After a series of sanguinary conflicts, the Austrians
were driven out of Sardinia. Upon the plains of Ma-
genta and Solferino, they encountered another terrible
defeat, which liberated Lombardy. All Italy now rose
in insurrection against its Austrian oppressors. The
duchies of Tuscany, Parma, Modena, chased the Aus-
trian rulers out of their domains. From all parts of
Italy, the young men crowded to the liberating banners
of France and Sardinia.
All dynastic Europe was alarmed. The spirit of the
old French Revolution of 1789 seemed to have burst
from its long burial, and to be again menacing every
feudal throne. Hungarians were grasping their arms.
Polanders were shouting the battle-cry of freedom.
Ireland was clamoring for deliverance from that English
throne by which it had been so terribly oppressed.
In hot haste, a coalition was formed against France
and regenerated Italy. It was not only the wish but
THE LIBERATION OF ITALY, IGO
the intention of France and Sardinia to liberate Vcnctia.
Thus all Italy, delivered from the despotism of the
Anstrians, would be the master of its own destinies, and
could organize such institutions as it might see fit to
adopt.
England has always chosen alliance with despots,
rather than with the advocates of popular liberty. If
the twenty-five millions of Italy, emancipated by the
aid of French armies, were to be consolidated into one
kingdom or one confederacy, under the banner of the
aljolition of aristocratic privilege and the establishment
of equal rights for all, Italy and France would be in
sympathy. The two kingdoms, renouncing feudalism,
would support each other. This would add amazingly
to the strength of the principles of reform throughout
Europe.
Under these circumstances, England and Prussia en-
tered into an alliance, and informed Sardinia and France,
that, if they made any attempt whatever to liberate
Venetia, all the military power of England and of
Prussia should be combined with that of Austria to
repel the movement.
This was a fearful threat. There were indications
that other leading northern dynasties would also co-ope-
rate with England and Prussia. Tliis would surely lead
to an invasion of France from the Rhine. All Europe
would thus be plunged into one of the most desolating
wars earth ever witnessed.
Thus the liberating army of Sardinia and France was
arrested in its march. The poor Venetians, to their un-
utterable disappointment, were left bound more firmly
than ever, hand and foot, in Austrian cliains. The peauo
of Villafranca, wliich liberated all of Italy except Vene-
170 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
tia from Austrian rule, sounded the deatli-knell of tliose
peoples, who, not in Venetia only, but in Hungary, in
Poland, and in various other parts of Europe, were rising
to break their chains.
There is something very affecting in the tones in
which the noble Kossuth pleaded, and pleaded in vain,
with the British cabinet, not to intervene against Ve-
netia, and in favor of Austria. The sympathies of the
British people were cordially with Kossuth. In his
celebrated speech in the London Tavern on the 20th
of May, 1859, the lord-mayor being in the chair, the
eloquent Hungarian said, —
" Now, my lord, I do not remember to have heard one
single official or semi-official declaration, that, if her
Majesty's government were not to remain neutral, they
would side with Sardinia and France against Austria ;
but I have heard many declarations forcibly leading to
the inference that the alternative was either neutrality,
or the support of Austria. We are told, that, if a
French fleet should enter the Adriatic, it might be for
the interest of England to oppose it ; that, if Trieste
were attacked, it might be for the interest of England to
defend it ; that it might be for the interest of England
to defend Venice. From what ? Of course, from the
great misfortune of being emancipated from Austria.
" I love my fatherland more than myself, — more than
any thing on earth. Inspired by this love, I ask one
boon, one only boon, from England ; and that is, that she
shall not support Austria. England has not interfered
for liberty : let her not interfere for the worst of despot-
isms, — Austria."
Ta this imploring cry the cabinet of St. James paid
no heed. England united with Prussia to help Austria
TOE LIBERATION OF ITALY. 171
hold Venetia. Thus Venetians and Hungarians were
left to groan in their chains. England, as well as aU the
other feudal monarchies, has ever been in great dread of
any republican movement. A large part of the repub-
licans hoped, that by a compromise, in which monarchi-
cal forms should be retained, this hostility might be in
some degree disarmed, and that under these forms the
spirit of repubhcan equality might be established without
provoking the armed hostility of Europe.
Father Gavazzi, one of the most renowned champions
of Italian liberation, in a letter written to influence the
British cabinet, dated Aug. 4, 1860, says, —
" We fight for the sole purpose of uniting all Italy
under the constitutional sceptre of Victor Emanuel.
Let Englishmen repudiate the idea that there is any
thing republican in the present movement; since the
most ardent advocates of republicanism have sacrificed
theu' views to the great cause of our independence,
unity, and constitutional liberties. Be sure, that, if there
is no intervention in our figlitings, we shall arrive to
crown in the capital our dear Victor Emanuel king of
Italy."
Such was the state of affairs, when Bismarck, who
had aided England in preventing the liberation of Ve-
netia, suddenly changed his policy. He had for years
been maturing his plans to consolidate Germany in one
great empire, with the King of Prussia at its head.
In that enterprise, Austria was Prussia's only rival.
Bismarck had made tlie most extraordinary preparation
for war with Austria Ijy raising an immense army, giving
it the most perfect organization and discipline, and arm
ing it with the most deadly weapons.
Still Austria was a very formidable military power.
172 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA,
With her supremacy in Germairy, she could bring a much
larger force into the field than Prussia, though that ener-
getic little kingdom had arrayed every able-bodied man
under her banners. Bismarck, therefore, sent a confi-
dential envoy to Victor Emanuel to inform him that
Prussia was about to attack Austria from the north to
obtain possession of both of the Elbe duchies ; that this
would furnish Italy with an admirable opportunity, by
co-operating in an attack upon the south, to wrest Ve-
netia from Austria.
Italy eagerly availed herself of the opportunity,
though perfectly aware that she owed no thanks to
Prussia, who was consulting only her own interests in
the alliance. Thus the great Germanic war, so fatal to
Austria, was ushered in.
" The London Times " of Dec. 12, 1866, contained the
following very just tribute to the efforts of the Emperor
of the French for the hberation of Italy : —
" The Italians must acknowledge in the Emperor of
the French their greatest, most unwearied, most gener-
ous benefactor. To the Italians, the emperor has always
been, at heart, that Louis Napoleon who took up arms
for Italy, and against the temporal power, five and thirty
years ago. It seems as if some vow made by the bed-
side of his brother, dying in his arms at Forli, swayed
Napoleon's mind through life, and bade him go firmly,
however slowly, to his goal. In aU other measures, in
any other home or foreign policy, the emperor had
friends and opponents ; but the Italian game was
played by him single-handed, and the game is won."
M. Thiers, as we have mentioned, was bitterly opposed
to the aid which the imperial government lent Italy in
escaping from Austrian domination, and becoming a con-
THE LIBERATION OF ITALY. 173
BoliJated kingdom. In his celebrated speech before
the Legislative Corps on the 18th of March, 18G7, he
said, —
" As for me, when distinguished Italians have spoken
to me of unity, I have said to them, ' No, no, never ! For
my part, I will never consent to it.' And if, at the time
when that question came up, I had had the honor to hold
in my hands the affairs of France, I would not have con-
sented to it. I would say to you even, that, upon that
question, the friendship, very ardent and sincere, which
existed between Monsieur Cavour and me, has been in-
terrupted." ^
The imperial government has been consistent and un-
wavering in its approval of Italian unity and German
unity. But for the aid of France, Italy could by no pos-
sibility have shaken off the yoke of Austria, and have
become consolidated ; and nothing would have been
easier than for France to have united her armies with
those of Austria, and, thus driving back the invading
Prussians to their native Brandenburg, to have pre-
vented the unification of Germany. Truly does M.
Thiers say, that France created the unification of Italy,
and i)ermitted that of Germany.
1 "Je vous dirais memc, sur cette question, I'amitid tres sincere et tr^a
Vive, qui existe entre M. Cavour et moi, a iii iiiterrompue." — Mwiiteur, Msu-cli
16, 1867.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE GERMAN WAR.
USTRIA, which had just emerged from a
disastrous war with Italy aided by France,
and now menaced with war by Prussia aided
by newly-united Italy, had a standing army
at her disposal of nine hundred thousand
men. Prussia, having mobilized her whole
force, could bring six hundred thousand into
the field. Under the Italian banners, four hundred and
fifty thousand troops were marshalled. Thus Prussia
and Italy united could bring over a milhon of men to
assail Austria in front and rear.
It was necessary for Austria to divide her forces to
meet this double assault. Strong garrisons were also
requisite to hold the Hungarians in subjection, who
seemed upon the eve of rising. An outbreak in Hun-
gary would surely lead to an insurrection in Poland.
This would bring the armies of Russia into the arena.
Thus all Europe was menaced with war.
In view of this awful conflagration which now threat-
ened Europe, and to avert which the Emperor of the
French had proposed a congress, England manifested
regret in not having acceded to that pacific overture.
Lord Cowley was sent in haste with a despatch from
174
THE GEUMAN WAR. 175
Lord Clarendon to the Emperor of the French, contain-
ing the announcement that England would withdraw
her declinature to the proposal of a congress, and was
now prepared to unite with France in that measure.
The reply which the Emperor of the French made, as
reported to the British cabinet by Lord Cowley, was as
follows : —
" In 1859, England refused to assist me in the libera-
tion of Italy, and, by her coalition with Germany, com-
pelled me to stop short, leaving the work undone.
" When in 1864 I proposed a congress for the pur-
pose of removing the endless complications which I
foresaw would result from the Danish war, it was still
England that opposed my project, and did her utmost to
make it abortive.
" Now she wants peace, even at the price of the con-
gress which she then rejected. I will, however, assure
her jNIajesty that I am ready to do all I can to prevent
war ; but, as the most favorable opportunity for doing
so has passed, I can no longer take upon myself the re-
sponsibility for any event that may occur."
M. Thiers, in his very eloquent speech in the Legisla-
tive Coi-ps against the liberation of Italy, had said, —
" No sovereign should create voluntarily, on his own
frontier, a state of twenty-five millions of inhabitants.
By committing such a fault, we have not promoted the
welfare of France, of Italy, or of Europe."
The ambitious desires of Prussia to unite all Germany
under one empire, either roused M. Thiers' apprehen-
sions anew, or presented him another favorable opportu-
nity to attack the imperial government. He united with
the democrats in this opposition, hoping to reconstruct
upon the ruins of the empire the Orleans throne. On
176 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
the other hand, the democrats hoped upon those ruins
to rear a republic.
With terrible energies of denunciation, M. Thiers
condemned the government of being "guilty of the
greatest of all possible blunders " in allowing the forma-
tion of a united Germany. With great powers of elo-
quence, he called upon France to rouse all her military
strength to resist the ambitious encroachments of
Prussia.
It is clear, that, had France then pursued the policy
urged by Thiers, Prussia could have been overwhelmed.
Comparatively weak as Prussia then was, France, aided
by Austria, could, with all ease, have driven the Prus-
sians across the Rhine, and have regained her ancient
boundary. Thus the terrible humiliation which now
overwhelms France would have been averted ; and the
empire, protected by the Rhine, could bid defiance to
German invasion.
But, in pursuing this course, France must have proved
false to her most sacredly-avowed principle of allowing
the people of each nationality to unite in a consolidated
government. She would also have been compelled to
send her soldiers, fresh from the fields of Magenta and
Solferino, to fight against the unification of Italy, by
aiding Austria to retain her hold upon Venetia. The
empire refused thus to ignore its principles, and embrace
in their stead the doctrine of political expediency.
Therefore, in opposition to the forcible arguments of
M. Thiers, the imperial government emphatically re-
avowed its adhesion to the doctrine of " nationalities."
This doctrine had been unfolded in the following
terms by the Emperor Napoleon I. at St. Helena : —
" One of my great plans," said Napoleon to Las Casas
THE GERMAN WAR. 177
on the 11th of November, 1816, " was the rejoining, the
concentration, of those same geographical nations which
have been disunited and parcelled out by revolution and
pohcy. There are dispersed in Europe upwards of
thirty millions of French, fifteen millions of Spaniards,
fifteen milUons of Italians, and thirty millions of Ger-
mans ; and it was my intention to incorporate these sev-
eral people each into one nation. It would have been
a noble thing to have advanced into posterity with such
a train, and attended by the blessings of future ages. I
felt myself worthy of this glory.
" In this state of things, there would have been some
chance of establishing in every country a unity of
codes, of principles, of opinions, of sentiments, views,
and interests ; then perhaps, by the help of the uni-
versal diffusion of knowledge, one might have thought
of attempting in the great European family the appli-
cation of the American Congress, or of the Amphicty-
ons of Greece. V/hat a perspective of power, grandeur,
liappiness, and prosperity, would thus have appeared !
'^ Tlie concentration of thirty or forty millions of
Frenclimen was completed and perfected ; that of fifteen
millions of Spaniards was nearly accomplished. Three
or four years would have restored the Spaniards to pro-
found peace and brilliant prosperity. They would liave
become a compact nation, and I should have well de-
served then- gratitude; for I should have saved them
from the tyranny with which they are now oppressed,
and from the terrible agitations that await them.
" With regard to the fifteen millions of Italians, their
concentration was already far advanced : it only wanted
maturity. The people were daily becoming more estab-
lislied in the unity of principles and legislation, and also
178 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
in the unity of thouglit and feeling, — that certain and
infallible cement of human concentration. The union
of Piedmont to France, and the junction of Parma,
Tuscany, and Rome, were, in my mind, only temporary
measures, intended merely to guarantee and promote the
national education of the Italians.
" All the south of Europe would soon have been ren-
dered compact in point of locality, views, opinions, sen-
timents, and interests. The concentration of the Ger-
mans must have been effected more gradually ; and
therefore I had done no more than simplify their mon-
strous complication. How happens it that no German
prince has yet formed a just notion of the spirit of his
nation, and turned it to good account? Certainly, if
Heaven had made me a prince of Germany, I should
infallibly have governed the thirty millions of Germans
combined.
" At all events, this concentration will certainly be
brought about, sooner or later, by the very force of
events. The impulse is given ; and I tliink, that since
my fall, and the destruction of my system, no grand
equiLibrium can possibly be established in Europe, except
by the concentration and confederation of the principal
nationalities. The sovereign who, in the first great con-
flict, shall sincerely embrace the cause of the people,
will find himseK at the head of all Europe, and may
attempt whatever he pleases." ^
In advocacy of these views, France had assisted in
liberating the Italians from the thraldom of Austria, and
in promoting the unification of Italy. The emperor had
also stated, ia an address to the Corps L^gislatif, that
* Abbott's Napoleon at St. Helena, pp. 272-274.
THE GERMAN WAR. 179
France had neither the right nor tlic disposition to inter-
fere with the attempts which might be made for the uni-
fication of Germany. These views were very violently
assailed by the opposition, consisting of united legiti-
mists and republicans.
In the German war, France remained neutral. The
hostile armies were soon upon the move. Two millions
of men, along lines hundreds of leagues in extent,
armed with the most formidable weapons of modern
warfare, were rusliing against each other. Europe
looked on, appalled by the spectacle. The genius of
Bismarck was conspicuous on this occasion. For years
he had been preparing for the struggle which he knew
that the measures he was introducing would inaugurate.
The Prussian army was in the highest state of discipline ;
all the material of war abundant, and in the right posi-
tion ; and the infantry were provided with arms capable
of such rapidity of fire, that, in effective service, one
Prussian could throw as many bullets as three Austrians.
War was declared on the 18th of June, 18GG, with the
usual appeal to God, on both sides, for his aid, and the
usual declaratiou that each party had drawn the sword
only in defence of justice and liberty. At a given sig-
nal, the Prussian armies from the north plunged simul-
taneously and impetuously into the Austrian provinces.
At the same time, the Italians from the south, in divis-
ions whose united strength amounted to four hundred
thousand men, rushed into Venetia.
The reader wouhl be weary with the details of the
battles, — the cliarges and tlie repulses, the awful scenes
of carnage, conflagration, and misery, which ensued.
For forty days, this tempest of war raged with scarcely
a moment's intermission. The spectacle was sucli an
180 .HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
had seldom been witnessed on earth before. The disci-
pHne of the armies, their numbers, and the murderous
engines of war which they wielded, secured results which
had never before been accomplished in so short a period.
The advance of the Prussian armies was almost as
resistless as the sweep of the tornado or of the ava-
lanche. Their path was over smouldering ruins, and
through pools of blood, as they drove before them their
foes, ever desperately fighting. With perfect organiza-
tion, and armed with the terrible ne(;dle-gun, they over-
ran kingdoms, dukedoms, and principalities almost as
fast as armies could march.
Francis Joseph, in terror, was compelled to withdraw
his troops from Venetia, to repel, if possible, the Prus-
sian advance upon his capital. Too proud to surrender
the province to the Italians, he transferred it to France.
It was probably his hope that France, in possession of
so magnificent a pledge, would be able, by some friendly
intervention, to arrest those devastations of war which
the imperial government had, before hostilities com-
menced, endeavored to avert by means of a congress ;
but Prussia, now flushed with victory, would listen to
no terms but such as she herself might dictate.
France immediately surrendered Venetia to Italy.
Kossuth was in Italy, shouting the war-cry, and calling
upon the Hungarians to rush into the Italian ranks.
" Hungarians ! " he exclaimed, " flock to the standard
of Victor Emanuel : here is your place of honor. Aus-
tria is our enemy. Italy gave shelter, bread, and kind-
ness to the exiled Hungarians.
" Italy is for Italians : Hungary is for the Hungarians.
Out with Austria from Italy ! Out with Austria from
Hungary I Come here, my braves ! I await you ; and I
^3S H lUO^^ ,;
THE GERMAN WAR. 181
call upon 3^011 also iu the name of Garibaldi, who is
ready to draw his glorious sword in behalf of Hungary,
which will rise and break her chains."
In the terrible battle of Sadowa, which was fought
near a small village of that name, about five miles from
Koniggratz, the mihtary power of Austria was, for the
time being, broken down. In that conflict there were
two hundred and fifty thousand men engaged on each
side. The very hiUs trembled beneath the concussion
of fifteen hundred pieces of artillery. The Austrians
were utterly routed, and with dreadful slaughter. In a
campaign of seven weeks, Austria had lost nearly one
hundred thousand men.
The banners of the victorious Prussians were now
visible from the steeples of Vienna. Further resistance
was hopeless. Humiliated Austria, prostrate and bleed-
ing, was compelled to accede to whatever terms the con-
queror proposed. Prussia demanded the sovereignty
over all the provinces she had overrun. Thus she
obtained both Schleswig and Holstcin, the kingdom of
Hanover, the kingdom of Saxony, the magnificent duke-
dom of Saxony, large parts of Bohemia, Austrian Silesia,
and Bavaria, wdth minor dukedoms and principalities
too numerous to mention.
Though there was, at first, a slight disposition mani-
fested by Prussia to veil these conquests behind tlie
verbiage of diplomatic phrases and pious utterances, it
was soon evident that all these realms were virtually
annexed to the Prussian kingdom. In a campaign of
about forty days. Count Bismarck had doubled the ter-
ritory, and doubled the population, of Prussia. Thus
suddenly, Prussia, from a second-rate kingdom, liad risen
to an equality in rank with tlic most powerful mon-
182 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
archies in Europe. In population and in military
strength, she was fully equal to France. In addition to
this, she held both banks of the Rhine. Prussia could
thus, from her strong fortresses on the Rhine, invade
France at her pleasure. Should she meet with any re-
verse, her armies could retire behind that broad and
rapid river, both banks frowning with Prussian fortress-
es, and bid defiance to pursuit.
The door from Prussia into France was wide open :
tlie door from France into Prussia was hermetically
sealed.
CHAPTER XIV.
FRANCE DEMANDS HER ANCIENT BOUNDARY.
N consequence of the immense conquests
made by Prussia, France found herself with-
out any natural boundary to protect herself
from one of tlie most formidable of European
powers. By the treaties of 1815, the allies
had placed in the hands of Prussia both
banks of the Rhine and the Valley of the
n
Moselle.
The avowed object of this cession to Prussia of those
provinces south of the Rhine which had belonged to
France was to deprive France of any available northern
boundary ; so that, should there be another popular
uprising in France, an avenue would be opened, lined
with Prussian fortresses, through which the allied troops
might march into the heart of the kingdom.
All France now became agitated with the new peril
with which the empire was menaced. A rival nation,
with institutions in many respects hostile to those of
France, and, in all the elements of national power, the
equal of France ; a nation ambitious, encroaching, and
with apparently boundless designs of enlargement, —
had the command of the portals of the empire from the
north. And this government, adhering to feudal abso-
183
184 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
lutism, was bitterly hostile to tlie republican principles
wliicli the empire advocated.
In a speech which M. Thiers addressed the Legislative
Corps on the 3d of December, 1867, he said, —
" The Germanic Confederation, which, for fifty years,
has been the principal authority for maintaining the
peace of the world, has disappeared, and has been re-
placed by a military monarchy, which disposes of forty
millions of men. You are placed between two unities, —
one of which, Italy, you made ; and the other, Prussia,
you permitted. They are joining hands over the Alps.
They only consent to preserve peace on condition that
you will allow the one to complete itself by seizing upon
the States of the pope, and the other to swallow up the
German governments of the south. Such is the situa-
tion ; and I defy any one to deny it."
In the course of this exciting debate, the French
minister, M. Drouyn de Lhuys, read a letter from the
Emperor of the French in reference to the proposed
congress, containing the following sentiments : —
" Had the conference assembled, my government
would have declared that France repudiated all idea of
territorial aggrandizement so long as the European equi-
librium remained undisturbed.
" We should have deshed for the German confederacy
a position more worthy of its importance, — for Prussia,
better geographical boundaries ; for Austria, the main-
tenance of her distinguished position in Europe after
the cession of Venetia to Italy in exchange for territo-
rial compensation.
" France could only think of an extension of her fron-
tiers in the event of the map of Europe being altered to
the profit of a great p>oiver^ and of the bordering provinces
FRANCE DEMANDS HER ANCIENT BOUNDARY. 185
expressing hi) a formal and free vote their desire for
annexation^ ^
Alluding to the severe attacks upon the government
for refusing to oppose the unification of Germany, the
emperor had said in his discourse at the opening of the
session of the Legislative Corps, on the loth of Feb-
ruary, 18G5, —
" In reference to the conflict wliich has risen upon the
Baltic, my government, cherishing sympathies for Den-
mark, and kind wishes for Germany, has observed the
strictest neutrality. Summoned in a conference to ex-
press its opinion, it has limited itself to the avowal of
the principle of nationalities, and of the right of the pop-
ulations to be consulted respecting their destiny. Our
language, corresponding with the attitude which we wish
to preserve, has been moderate, and friendly towards
both parties." ^
It is a little remarkable, that while the illustrious
French statesman, M. Thiers, so severely censures the
emperor for befriending German unity, the illustrious
American senator, Mr. Sumner, with equal severity con-
demns him for opposing that unity.
" Early in life," says Mr. Sumner, " a ' charcoal ' con-
spirator against kings, he now became a crowned con-
spirator against republics. The name of a republic was
to him a reproof; while its glory was a menace. Against
the Roman republic he conspired early ; and, when the
rebellion waged by slavery seemed to afford opportunity,
he conspired against our republic, promoting as far as he
> Monitcur, .Tunc 13, 18G6.
' La I'olitiquo ImjK/riale, Expo^^e paries Discours et Proclamations dc I'Em-
pcrcur Napol(5on III., dcpuis ic 10 Dccombrc, 1S48, jusqu'cn Juillct, 1865,
p. 423.
186 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
dared the independence of the slave States, and at the
same time, on the ruins of the Mexican repubhc, setting
up a mock empire. In similar spirit has he conspired
against German unity ^ whose just streyigth promised to he
a ivall against his unprincipled ambition.'''' ^
France had been terribly humiliated by the march of
the allies to Paris, and by those treaties of 1815, which,
wresting from her the natural boundary of the Rhine,
had left the kingdom defenceless from invasion from
the north. Even the Bourbons, who had taken part in
those treaties, felt keenly the national humiliation ; but
they submitted to it from fear that the people might
again rise in defence of popular rights, and that again
the presence of the allied armies might be needed to
maintain the Bourbon throne.
The years rolled on, — the sad years of disquiet and
suffering which have imbittered all the centuries. At
last, even the Bourbons could endure the shame no
longer of having the northern provinces of France in
the hands of a foreign nation, and those very fortresses
which had been constructed to guard France from in-
vasion garrisoned by foreign troops.
But these Rhine provinces had been assigned to Prus-
sia by treaties which all the governments assembled at
Vienna were pledged to maintain. Even the Bourbons
themselves had agreed to hold them sacred. They could
not be regained without war and also perfidy on the j art
of the Bourbon government.
The discontent, however, of the people was so great,
in view of this degradation, that the Bourbons thought
it would be a popular measure, and would strengthen
* Senator Sumner on the war, New- York Herald, Oct. 29.
FRANCE DEMANDS HER, AXCIKiNT BOUNDARY. 187
them oil the throne, should they make an attempt to
regain these provinces, even at the expense of their
plighted word and of a war.
Viscount Chateaubriand was one of the ministers of
Charles X. He testifies in his memoirs that the gov-
ernment of Charles X. had entered into a secret treaty
uith Russia to aid her in her designs upon Constantino-
ple ; and, in return, Russia was to aid France in regain-
ing her lost Rhenish provinces.
Just before there was time to execute this treaty,
there was, in the year 1820, a new revolution, in which
the French people a third time drove the Bourbons from
the throne. By the adroit management of a few opu-
lent and influential men in Paris, the crown was placed
upon the brow of Louis Philippe, without submitting
the question to the vote of the people.
Louis Pliihppe, who could claim the throne neither
by right of the popular vote nor by the doctrine of
legitimacy, fearing that the allies might again combine
in defence of the " divine right " of sovereigns, and re-
instate the Bourbons, endeavored to secure the support
of the surrounding dynasties by pledging himself to the
maintenance of their policy. He therefore wrote to each
of the leading sovereigns, promising that, in case his
government was recognized by them, he would respect
the treaties of 1815 ; which was equivalent to saying
tiiat he would make no effort to regahi the Rhine prov-
inces.
Alison writes in reference to the secret negotiations
to which we liave alluded between the Bourhoyi cahhwis
and Russia, " The result was a secret agreement that
Russia should support France in the eventual extension
of its frontier to the Rhine, and that France should
188 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
countenance Russia in the advancing its standards to
Constantinople. Prussia was to be indemnified for the
loss of its Rhenish provinces by the half of Hanover ;
Holland, for the sacrifice of Belgium, by the other half.
But this agreement, how carefully soever veiled in secre-
cy, came to the knowledge of the British Government ;
and it was the information which they had gained in
regard to it which led to the immediate recognition of
the government of Louis Philippe." ^
" The treaties of 1815," writes Louis Blanc, " had left
burning traces in the hearts of Frenchmen. These, it
was hoped, would be effaced by the recovery of the
Rhine as the frontier of France."
Again he writes, speaking of the government of Louis
Philippe, " The first thought of the new government
had been to obtain recognition. It therefore resolved to
base its policy upon the maintenance of the treaties of
1815. Louis Philippe promised to shield from every
blow the European system established in 1815. His
accession was therefore hailed with joy by the sovereigns
who had in 1815 divided the spoils of France between
them." 2
This subserviency of Louis Philippe to the policy of
the allies, rendered him, in France, by far the most un-
popular monarch who had ever sat upon that throne.
Still, sustained by the sympathies of all the surrounding
monarchies, who regarded him as their agent in arresting
the progress of liberal opinions, he retained the throne
for about eighteen years.
The downfall of Louis Philippe in 1848 was followed
1 Alison's History of Europe, vol. vi. p. 165; also France under Louis
Philippe, vol. i. p. 88.
'^ Louis Blanc, vol. i. p. 290.
FRANCE DEMANDS ITER ANCIENT BOUNDARY. 180
by the brief republic, and that by the re-establishment
of the empire in 1851. Upon the establishment of the
republic, it was feared by monarchical Europe that
French armies would immediately be pushed forward to
seize the ancient boundary of the Rhine. To allay these
fears, and thus to prevent an armed alliance against the
republic, the leaders of that party, Ledru Rollin and
Louis Blanc, issued a circular to the governments of
Europe, in which they said, —
" The treaties of 1815 do not exist in right in the
63-68 of the French Republic. But war does not neces-
sarily follow from that declaration. The territorial
limits fixed by those treaties are the bases which the
republic is willing to take as the point of departure iu
its external relations with other nations."
They hoped by this declaration, that, for the present^
they would make no attempt to push their boundaries to
the Rhine to allay the fears of those who were pledged
to maintain the treaties of Vienna.
When Louis Napoleon was chosen president, the allies
were much alarmed. It was quite manifest that this
election would prove but a stepping-stone to the re-es-
tablishment of the empire ; and it was very certain that
the empire, once consolidated in any thing like its fornun"
splendor, would insist, eventually, upon its ancient and
only natural boundary on the Rhine. " The London
Morning Post " of 1852 said, —
" The allies are wUling to tolerate the temporary presi-
dency of the nephew of Napoleon ; but they will not
tolerate the transformation of the presidency into an
empire."
The French people do not appear to have been intimi-
dated l)y tliis threat. They were not disposed to iiKpiire
190 HISTOEY OF PRUSSIA.
of the British cabinet what government France might
adopt. In six months after the utterance of this threat,
the French people, by majorities which astounded Eu-
rope, re-estabhshed the empire, and chose the heir of
Napoleon as emperor.
The two extreme parties, the legitimists and the
republicans, were united in the Corps L^gislatif in oppo-
sition to the imperial government. As we have men-
tioned, the government was severely censured by this
opposition for aiding in the unification of Italy, and for
permitting Prussia to create a great German nation of
forty millions of population. In an address at the open-
ing of the chambers on the 18th of November, 1866,
the emperor said, in allusion to these censures, —
" Notwithstanding the declaration of my government,
which has never varied in its pacific attitude, the belief
has been spread that any modification in the internal sys-
tem of Germany must become a cause of conflict. It is
necessary to accept frankly the changes which have taken
place on the other side of the Rhine ; to proclaim, that,
so long as our interests and our dignity shall not be
threatened, we will not interfere in the transformations
effected by the wish of the populations." ^
On the 14th of February, 1867, the emperor, after
the astounding conquests of Prussia, still more explicitly
expressed his views upon the subject in the following
words : —
" Since your last session, serious events have arisen in
Europe. Although they may have astonished the world
by their rapidity and by the importance of their results,
it appears, that, according to the anticipation of the first
* La Politique Imp^riale.
FKANCE DEMANDS HER ANCIENT BOUNDARY. 191
emperor, there was a fatality in their fulfihiient. Napo-
leon said at St. Helena, —
" ' One of ni}^ great ideas has been the agglomeration
and concentration of the same nations, geographically
considered, who have been scattered piecemeal by revo-
lutions and policy. This agglomeration will take place
sooner or later by force of circumstances. The impulse
is given ; and I do not think, that, after my fall and the
cUsappearance of my system, there will be any other
great equilibrium possible than the agglomeration and
confederation of great nations.'
" The transformations," continues Napoleon III.,
" which have taken place in Italy and Germany, pave the
way for the realization of this vast programme of the
union of the European States in one solo confederation.
The spectacle of the efforts made by the neighboring
nations to assemble their members, scattered abroad for
so many centuries, cannot cause disquiet in such a
country as ours, all the parts of which are irrevocably
bound up with each other, and form a homogeneous and
indestructible body.
" We have been impartial witnesses of the struggle
which has been waged on the other side of the Rhine.
In presence of these conflicts, the country strongly mani-
fested its wish to keep aloof from it. Not only did I
defer to this wish, but I used every effort to hasten the
conclusion of peace." ^
• Speech at the opening of the French Chambers, Feb. 14, 1867.
CHAPTER XV.
THE rOLICY OF COUNT BISMARCK.
'RANGE had felt very uneasy in having her
northern provinces and fortresses in the hands
of Prussia, even when that kingdom was a
feeble power, numbering but eighteen millions.
But France could not move to recover those
provinces without bringing against her all of
monarchical Europe, pledged to maintain the
treaties of 1815.
But now Prussia, in entire disregard of those treaties,
had engaged in as stupendous a system of conquests as
Europe had ever witnessed. She had suddenly risen to
the position of a first-class power. The Prussian king-
dom had become an organized camp. Every man was a
soldier. The armies of Austria had been scattered by
her military bands like sheep by wolves. In population,
in resources, in the number and appointment of her
armies, she had become at least fully the equal of France.
And yet she held both banks of the Rhine. She held
the Valley of the Moselle. There was neither mountain-
range nor river to present any barrier to the impetuous
rush of her legions into the heart of France.
On the other hand, should an invading Prussian army
be repelled, and find it necessary to retreat, it need only
192
THE POLICY OF COUNT BISMARCK. 193
retire behind the broad and rapid Rhine, with all the
bridges at its command, and the most formidable for-
tresses fringing both its banks ; and there it could rest in
security.
It is said that ambition grows with what it feeds upon.
Prussia, instead of being satiated with the enormous
acquisitions which she had made, was supposed to be
looking around for new conquests. The French " Jour-
nal Officiel " says, —
" No one can ignore the ambitious designs of Prussia
against Holland. Bismarck wishes that little nation to
submit, as the Danish duchies were forced to submit.
He wished to render Holland a naval State of the North
German Confederation. But for the stand taken by
France, Prussian policy woidd have proved fatal to the
inde*pendence of the Netherlands."
Under these changed circumstances, every man, of all
parties, in France, became alarmed. It was deemed fear-
ful to leave the key of entrance into France in the hands
of so majestic and menacing a power. Bourbonists,
Orleanists, Imperialists, and Republicans, all alike were
agitated. And yet the hands of France seemed tied.
Prussia made no attack upon France : she was simply
gaining gigantic strength, which would soon enable her
to dictate laws to the French Empire, and to be the con-
trolling power in Europe.
Such was the state of affairs when the sagacious Bis-
marck endeavored to place Leopold of Hohenzollern
upon the throne of Spain. Leopold was a prince of one
of the most important principalities of Prussia, a near
relative of the royal family, and a colonel in the Prussian
army. The successful accomplishment of this feat woidd
indeed have been the revival of the empire of Charle-
13
194 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
magne ; Spain would have been but a province of the
great German Empire, submissive to the crown of Prus-
sia ; France would have been quite at the mercy of this
gigantic power. And yet it was very adroitly done.
"You Frenchmen," said Bismarck through all his
organs, " profess that the people have a right to choose
their own sovereigns. Has not Spain, then, a right to
choose her monarch ? And, if Spain choose Leopold of
HohenzoUern, is it not intolerable insolence in France to
pretend to object to this free choice of a free people ?
and can Prussia submit to the insult of being commanded
by France to forbid Leopold to accept the crown offered
him by the suffrages of an independent nation? "
In reply, the French journal, " Le Gaulois," very
forcibly puts the other side of the question : —
" Let us look back a httle. Prussia seized Schleswig
and Holstein : we said nothing. Prussia accomphshed
Sadowa : we were silent. Prussia made fresh annexa-
tions : we held our peace. Prussia occasioned the
serious difficulty about Luxemburg : we were concilia-
tory. Prussia enthroned a HohenzoUern in Roumania :
we said nothing. Prussia violated her engagements at
the treaty of Prague : we do not resent it.
" Bismarck has now prepared for us a candidate for
the throne of Spain to cut our hamstrings, and to crush
us between him and the Spaniards as he crushed Aus-
tria between Germany and Italy. If we had submitted
to this last affront, there is not a woman in the world
who would have accepted the arm of a Frenchman."
A writer in " The New-York Herald," commenting
upon this subject, writes, " No statement touching the
war is more flagrantly impudent and unjust than that
accredited to ' The London Times,' — that France, with-
THE POLICY OF COUNT BISMARCK. 195
out a shadow of excuse or justification, plunges Europe
into war.
" On the contrary, regarding the situation from an im-
partial standpoint, it does not appear that France is
without justification. So far from it, it appears that
France could not, without humiliation, stand in any
other position than that which she now assumes.
" It was not merely the candidacy of Hohenzollern
France objected to : it was the appearance of Prussia
bej^ond the Pyrenees ; it was the assumption of Prussia
to take possession of Spain as if it were a German
duchy. France was fully justified in making an indig-
nant protest against this."
A very interesting article upon the war recently ap-
peared in " The New- York Observer," from the pen of
Mr. J. T. Headley, who probably is as famihar with
the politics of Europe as anj^ other American. In this
article, Mr. Headley says, —
" That Bismarck anticipated, na}^ desired war, there
can be little doubt. His object was twofold : first, to
consolidate Germany ; second, to secure a safe frontier
against France. Most people may have forgotten that
this question of placing a German prince on the throne
of Spain was raised a year ago, and demanded an ex-
planation. Bismarck ridiculed the whole thing as a
fable.
" From that moment, at least, he knew that an at-
tempt to bring about such an event would result in war.
Then why did he allow such a firebrand to be thrown
into France ? He knew, from the conduct of the
French minister a year before, that war would follow ;
and, if he did not desire war, he could easily have pre-
vented Prim's proposition from being offered or made
196 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
public. Moreover, Prim had no authority or power to
make it ; showing, conclusively, that the whole thing was
concocted between him and Bismarck to bring about
just what happened.
" To make this still more apparent, note, that from the
time, a year before, when the manner in which the ru-
mored proposition was received foretold the result, he
commenced putting Germany on a war-footing. Cars
for the express purpose of transporting troops were
built, and lay in trains along the various railroads of the
State. More than this, the result proved, that, before
the shell that had been prepared exploded, he had
called out and concentrated his troops so near the fron-
tier, that while Bonaparte, by his sudden declaration of
war, and advance to the Rhine, expected to be eight
or ten days ahead of his adversary, he was more than
that time behind him.
" Such an accumulation of circumstantial evidence
furnishes incontestable proof of a deep, well-laid plot,
on the part of Bismarck, to provoke a war." ^
A nation of forty millions of people, as intelligent, as
enhghtened and liberty-loving, as any people on the
globe, does not unanimously rush into war without
truly believing that there is some provocation.^
In France, this is not a war of the government, but
of the people ; not a war to aggrandize a dynasty, but
to rectify a frontier. It can, with more propriety, be
* New- York Observer, Oct. 27, 1870.
2 " Bismarck, who had played with Austria before 1866 till he kaew that
he had a force iu hand strong enough to crush her, gained time by fooling the
French diplomatists till every thing was in so perfect a state of preparation,
that, within a fortnight after war had been declared, half a million of trained
eoldiers were ready to enter France:' — Marichtster {Euffland) Guardian, Axxg*
25, 1870
THE POLICY OF COUNT BISMARCK. 197
said that the people impelled the government to the
war, than that the government dragged the people into
it. It is the general admission, that the people, instinc-
tively alarmed by the enormous growth of Prussia, and
less informed of the relative strength of the two powers
than the government, demanded war with a degree of
unanimity which no government could have withstood,
even if disposed to do so.
It has been the general impression in the United
States, that the imperial government had sedulously
fostered the war-spirit in France ; that the whole em-
pire was converted into a military camp, and that thus
all Europe was compelled to keep up enormous arma-
ments. The startling events Avhich have occurred
show how erroneous was this opinion. Just before the
breaking-out of the war, the French minister, the Duke
de Grammont, said, in a circular published in the " Jour-
nal Officiel," —
" If Europe remains armed, if a million of men are
on the eve of the shock of battle, it cannot be denied
that the responsibility is Prussia's, as she repulsed all
idea of disarmament lohen we caused the jrroposal to he
made and began hy giving the example. The conscience
of Europe and history will say that Prussia sought this
war by inflicting upon France, pre-occupied with the
development of her political institutions, an outrage no
nation could accept without incurring contempt."
The deputies of the Corps Ldgislatif, chosen by uni-
versal suffrage, and consequently representing all par-
ties, sustained tlie war by a vote of 24(3 to 10. In tlie
Senate, composed of two hundred and fifty of tlic most
illustrious men in France, it is not rc[)orted that there
was a single dissentient voice. Immediately after the
198 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
decisive vote in the Corps Legislatif, the Senate, in a
body, on the 17th of July, repaired to St. Cloud to
pledge to the emperor their cordial support in the con-
duct of the war. In a very emphatic speech which M.
Rouher made upon the occasion, he said, " Your Majes-
ty draws the sword, and the whole country goes with
you."
" The right is on our side," exclaims the " Courrier des
Etats-Unis : " " the world cannot refuse to see it. At
this hour, the hearts of all Frenchmen beat in unison.
'•To the Rhine ' is the cry of the whole nation."
One hundred million dollars were in a few hours sub-
scribed to the war-fund. A hundred thousand volun-
teers came forward, almost in a day, to join the army.
In Germany, the people followed, they did not lead,
the government ; but they followed with the enthusi-
asm, and all the deep conviction, that they were in the
right, which inspired the French. How deplorable is
this spectacle ! what a comment upon the frailty of
human nature ! Here are forty millions of people on
either side of the Rhine. They are rushing against
each other with the utmost conceivable fury, crimsoning
the battle-fields with blood, and filling the two kingdoms
with widowhood, orphanage, and misery ; and each par-
ty, through thousands of churches, appeals to God in
attestation of the righteousness of its cause. There
can be no doubt that there are, on both sides, thousands
of sincere Christians, who conscientiously invoke the
assistance of Heaven.
France assumes that she is fighting to regain her origi-
nal and legitimate boundaries, — boundaries which she
deems essential to her independent existence under the
changed .state of affairs in Europe. Prussia assumes
THE POLICY OF COUNT BISMARCK. 190
that she is fighting to resist a wanton and unprovoked
attack from France, who is endeavoring to wrest from
her important portions of her territory, — territory
which she has held, without dispute, for half a century.
Throughout Cluistendom, intelligent, conscientious
religious communities are divided. Millions are in
warm sympathy with Prussia : other milhons are no
less ardent in their prayers for the success of the arms
of France. Surely such facts should teach a lesson of
charity.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE DECLARATION OF WAR.
ND now events of the most momentous na-
ture succeeded each other with marvellous
rapidity. The ex-queen, Isabella of Spain,
an exile in Paris, on Sunday, the 26th of
June, 1870, formally abdicated the throne
in favor of her eldest son, Prince Alphonso.
On Tuesday, the 6th of July, the intelli-
gence was made public in the streets of Paris that the
Prussian court was secretly intriguing to place Prince
Leopold of Hohenzollern on the vacant throne of Spain.
The abdication of Isabella in favor of Alphonso had
but little force, since neither the ex-queen nor her son
dared to cross the Pyrenees to enter the Idngdom from
which insurrection had expelled them.
It will be remembered, that, once before, the rumor
had been circulated, that Prussia was intriguing to place
one of her princes on the Spanish throne, and that Bis-
marck had declared that there was no foundation for the
rumor. The tidings which now reached the French
court, that a Prussian prince was again a candidate for
the crown once worn by Charles V., caused agitation
throughout the whole of Paris. It gave immediate rise
to a very exciting debate in the Legislative Corps. All
200
THE DECLARATION OF WAR. 201
parties seemed to be united in the conviction, tluit this
renewed measure of Count Bismarck was a direct menace
to the independence of France. Ahiiost the universal
press gave utterance to tlie popular feeling, that the pro-
posed encroachment must be resisted, even at the peril
of war.
The question was one in which imperialists, monarch-
ists, and republicans were alike interested. If Prussia,
with forty millions of inhabitants, in compact military
organization, and already in possession of both banks of
the Rhine, were virtually to annex Spain to her domain,
France would be quite at her disposal. The republicans
had more to fear from this movement than either the
imperialists or the monarchists ; for there could be no
question respecting the deadly hostility of Prussia to a
republic. France had already advanced, in the line of
popular rights, from the old feudal monarchy to the
republican empire, founded, not upon " legitimacy," but
upon universal suffrage. Even this reform excited the
hatred and the dread of Prussia. Should France still
take another step, and advance to a republic, no one
could question that Prussia would summon all her ener-
gies to crush out those institutions which would be
threatening Europe with revolution.
Influenced by such considerations, after mature delib-
eration, the French minister (the Duke of Grammont)
gave ofi&cial notice to the Prussian court, on Monday,
the 11th of July, that France could not permit a German
prince to ascend tlie throne of Charles V. In the mean
time, agitation was rapidly increasing all over France.
The discussion clearly revealed the peril in which Franco
was placed in having both banlcs of the Rhino in the
possession of a power which had suddenly assumed such
202 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA. •
gigantic proportions. The conviction became apparently
universal, that France must immediately, and at all haz-
ards, reclaim her ancient boundary of the Rhine. She
did not demand both banks, but only the southern bank,
as essential to the protection of France ; leaving the
northern bank with Prussia for the protection of Ger-
many. Tlie war-cry resounded through France ; but
that cry was not, " On to Berlin ! " but " On to the
Rhine ! " AU that France demanded was that ancient
boundary which she deemed essential to her defence
from Germanic invasion.
The next day, July 12, it was announced that Leopold
was withdrawn from the candidature ; but the agitation
had become so great and extended, that something more
than this was needed to allay it.
" To-morrow," it was said, " sonje new intrigue may
place some other German prince upon that throne. It
is not to Leopold personally that we object. We demand
of Prussia the pledge that she will not place any of her
princes on the Spanish throne. One Prussian prince is
just as dangerous as another; and, moreover, these
encroachments of Prussia show the peril of France.
Since Prussia has trampled the treaties of 1815 beneath
her feet in her enormous encroachments, a regard to our
own safety imperatively demands that we should have
surrendered back to us the provinces which Prussia holds
on the south bank of the Rhine."
On the 14th of July, the King of Prustjia refused to
receive Count Benedetti, the French ambassador, under
circumstances which increased the exasperation then
rapidly rising between the two nations. King William
accused the count of presenting his demands at an un-
seemly time and in an insolent manner. The French
THE DECLARATION OP WAR, 203
court accused the king of insulting France in the person
of her ambassador, and of rudely refusing to receive
propositions intended to avert war. Each nation told
its own story. Forty millions of Germans believed that
their king had been impudently approached by the
French ambassador : forty millions of Frenchmen be-
lieved that imperial France had been designedly insulted
by the Prussian monarch.
On the 15th of July, the French Government, sus-
tained by the Legislative Corps, by the Senate, and appar-
ently by the enthusiastic acclaim of the French people,
declared war against Prussia. Though there were indi-
vidual remonstrants, it seems to be the undisputed testi-
mony of the French press, and of all the American and
English correspondents in France at that time, that the
general voice of the nation was for war. It is said that
the emperor, better acquainted than others with the mili-
tary preparation of the two nations, was almost the only
man in Paris opposed to the immediate declaration of
hostihties ; but the popular current was so strong, that
even he could not resist it. A very intelligent American
gentleman who Avas in Paris at the time, and who had
resided in Paris so much of his time as to be quite at
home in Parisian society, wrote me, —
" In respect to this war, it seems hardly fair to hold
Napoleon responsible for it ; since he said, so it is stated,
that he was opposed to it at the outset, but that the
French people ' slipped aivay from him,^ and that he was
obliged to go with them, or lose hold of them entirely.
This seems, I must acknowledge, rather against my
theory of government l)y the will of the people ; but
so, they say, it was. At any rate, all of whom we in-
quir(!d in Paris told us that the war was generally pop-
ular."
204 HISTOEY OF PRUSSIA.
In a brief speech which the emperor made to the
Senate on the occasion, he said, " War is legitimate
when it is made with the assent of the country and the
approbation of its representatives. You are right in
recalling the words of Montesquieu, ' The true author of
a war is not he who declares^ but he who renders^ it neees-
mry.^ "
In an address to the French people, issued on the 23d
of July, the emperor said, " There are in the life of
peoples solemn moments, when the national honor, vio-
lently excited, presses itself irresistibly, rises above all
other interests, and applies itself to the single purpose
of directing the destinies of the nation. One of these
decisive hours has now arrived for France.
" Prussia, to whom we have given evidence, during
and since the war of 1866, of the most conciliatory dis-
position, has held our good will of no account, and has
returned our forbearance by encroachments. She has
aroused distrust in all quarters, in all quarters necessi-
tating exaggerated armaments ; and has made of Europe
a camp, where reign disquiet, and fear of the morrow.
" A final moment has disclosed the instability of the
international understanding, and shown the gravity of
the situation. In the presence of her new pretensions,
Prussia was made to understand our claims. They were
evaded, and followed with contemptuous treatment.
Our country manifested profound displeasure at this
action ; and quickly a war-cr}^ resounded from one end
of France to the other.
" There remains for us nothing but to confide our des-
tinies to the chance of arms. We do not make war
upon Germany, whose independence we respect. We
pledge ourselves that the people composing the great
THE DECLARATION OF WAR. 205
Germanic nationality sliall dispose freely of tlicir desl i-
nies. As for us, we demand the establishment of a state
of things guaranteeing our security, and assuring the
future. We wish to conquer a durable peace based on
the true interests of the people, and to assist in abolish-
ing that precarious condition of things when all nations
are forced to employ their resources in arming against
each other."
King William of Prussia, in accepting the gage of
battle thus thrown down by France, addressed in the
following terms the North German Parliament on the
20th of July : —
" The King of Prussia had no interest in the selection
of the Prince of Hohenzollern for the Spanish throne,
except that it might bring peace to a friendly people.
It had, nevertheless, furnished the Emperor of the
French with a pretext for war unknown to diplomacy ;
and, scorning peace, he has indulged in language to Ger-
many which could only have been prompted by a mis-
calculation of her strength.
" Germany is powerful enough to resent such language
and repel such violence. I say so in all reverence, know-
ing that the event is in God's hands. I have fully
weighed the responsibility which rests on the man who
drives into war and havoc two great and tranquil nations
yearning for peace and the enjoyment of ^he common
blessings of Christian civilization and prosperity, and for
contests more salutary than those of blood."
In the declaration of war issued by the French Gov-
ernment, it was stated that the French were obliged to
consider the proposal to elevate a Prussian prince to
the tlirone of Spain as menacing the independence of
France ; that, consequently, France had requested Prus-
206 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
sia to disavow that scheme ; that Prussia refused to do
so; that this refusal imperilled France and the Euro-
pean equilibrium. The declaration concludes with the
following words : —
" The French Government, therefore, in taking step,3
for the defence of its honor and injured interests, and
having adopted all measures which the circumstances
render necessary, considers itself at war with Prussia."
The enthusiasm with which this declaration was
greeted in France was equalled by the enthusiasm with
which all Prussia sprung to arms. The whole popula-
tion rose in support of the king. Somewhat to the sur-
prise, and greatly to the disappointment, of France, the
jSouth German States declared their intention to support
Prussia. Thus both North and South Germany became
a unit in the prosecution of the war.
It was found that Prussia was thoroughly prepared
for the conflict, as though she had anticipated it, and
had made secret arrangements accordingly. France, on
the other hand, was found singularly unprepared, indi-
cating that her government was taken by surprise.
" The Moscow Gazette " declared, that, though France
commenced the conflict, it was originated by Prussia.
"A war with France," it said, "was absolutely neces-
sary for the unification of Germany. Prussia had felt
this fatal necessity hanging over her for more than
three years, and at last had seized the opportunity
when it was ripe. The war was prepared by the astute
policy of Berhn, not only at home, but also in the ene-
my's camp ; and when all was ready, and when France
was quite incapable of entering on a great war, she was
goaded into fighting, in such a manner that it seemed
as if the provocation came from France herself."
THE DECLARATION OF WAR. 207
One of the largest armies of which history gives an}'
record was immediately on the march from Prussia for
the invasion of France, — an army, in the aggregate, es-
timated at over seven hundred thousand men. These
troops were in the highest state of disciplitie, abundant-
ly supplied, and armed with the most powerful weapons
of destruction which modern art could create. Anoth-
er German army, equal in numbers, was held in reserve,
to be pushed forward in detachments as occasion might
require.
The Southern German States co-operating with Prus-
sia enabled Bismarck, from the Prussian fortresses upon
the Rhine, to commence his march uj)on Paris with
troops three or four times as numerous as France had
in tho field to repel them.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE EASTERN QUESTION.
EFORE proceeding any farther, let us turn
aside for a moment to contemplate what is
called " The Eastern Question," which has
become inextricably involved in the compli-
cations of European diplomacy. It is confi-
dently afifirmed by the partisans of France,
that Bismarck, anxious to extend along both
sides of the Rhine the territory of the great German
empire he was seeking to construct, goaded France into
the war (for which Prussia was all prepared), and pur-
chased the neutrality of Russia by a secret treaty, in
which he agreed to co-operate with the czar in his
designs upon Constantinople.
It has long been the great object of Russian ambition
to drive the Turks back into Asia, and, seizing upon
Constantinople, to make it the southern capital of the
Russian Empire. A brief reference to the geography
of those regions will show the vast importance of this
measure to Russia.
The Mediterranean Sea is connected with the Sea of
Marmora by a serpentine strait, usually called the
Hellespont, which is from half a mile to a mile and a
208
THE EASTERN QUESTION. 209
half in width. At the mouth of this strait there are
four strong Turkish forts, called the Dardanelles : con-
sequently the strait itself frequently takes the same
name. Nothing can be easier than to crown the crags
and bluffs which line these waters with fortresses that
no fleet can pass.
Having threaded the Strait of the Dardanelles, you
pass into the Sea of Marmora, — a hundred and eighty
miles in length, and sixty in breadth. Crossing this
sea to its northern shore, you enter the Bosphorus. This
strait, which is about fifteen miles long, and of an
average width of half a mile, conducts you to the Black
Sea, in itself an ocean, — seven hundred miles long, and
three hundred broad. The Strait of the Bosphorus is
considered the most attractive sheet of water upon the
globe. But a short distance up the strait, on the Euro-
pean side, the imperial city of Constantine is reared.
It seems to be the uncontradicted testimony of all
observers, that earth presents no other site so favorable
for a great metropolis.
The Black Sea receives into its immense reservoir not
only the Danube, but nearly all the majestic rivers of
Russia, — the Dnieper, the Dniester, and the Don.
The great empire of Russia, with a territory three
times as large as that of the United States, and with
more than twice its population, has no access to the
ocean for purposes of commerce but by a few sea-
ports on the Baltic, far away in the north, which, for a
large portion of the year, are blocked by the ice. It
seems essential to the prosperity of Russia, to the de-
velopment of her resources, to her emergence from cora-
parutive l)arl)arisni, that she should have free connnereial
intercourse with tlie outside world. It is only through
14
210 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
the Bospliorus and the Dardanelles that Russia can find
avenues to this commerce. But the Turks can at any
time close this door, and refuse to allow any Russian
ship to enter or depart. In case of war, Turkey can
thus almost annihilate Russian commerce.
For about a hundred years it has been the constant
object of Russian ambition to obtain Constantinople as
her southern capital, and the Dardanelles and the Bos-
pliorus as her commercial avenues. This has been the
constant effort of her diplomacy ; and it has led to many
sanguinary conflicts.
When, in 1827, the Greeks emancipated themselves
from the Turkish yoke, they were encouraged to the
effort, and aided in the struggle, by Russia. As the re-
sult of that conflict, the czar took a long stride towards
the possession of Constantinople ; but all the European
monarchies seem united in their determmation that
Russia shall not obtain Constantinople. They say that
Russia, in possession of the imperial city and of the
straits which lead to it, would be invulnerable, and
could bid defiance to combined Europe : the Black Sea
would become an impregnable harbor ; its shores a navy-
yard, which no fleet or army could penetrate.
The anxiety which England feels upon this subject
may be inferred from the following extract from " The
London Quarterly Review : " —
" The possession of the Dardanelles would give to
Russia the means of creating and organizing an almost
unlimited marine. It would enable her to prepare in
the Black Sea an armament of any extent, without its
being possible for any power in Europe to interrupt her
proceedings, or even to watch or discover her designs.
It is obvious, that, in the event of war, it would be in the
THE EASTERN QUESTION. 211
power of Russia to throw the whole weight of lier dispo-
sable forces on any point in the Mediterranean, without
any probability of our being able to prevent it. Her
whole southern empire would be defended by a single
impregnable fortress. The road to India would be open
to her, with all Asia at her back. The finest materials
in the world for an array destined to serve in the East
woidd be at her disposal. Our power to overawe her in
Europe would be gone ; and, by even a demonstration
against India, she could augment our national expendi-
ture by millions annually, and render the government
of the country difficult beyond all calculation."
M. Meneval, the private secretary of Napoleon I,,
testifies, that, in one of the interviews of the emperor
with Alexander I., the czar ofi^ered to co-operate with
the Emperor of France in all his plans of aggrandize-
ment, if Napoleon would consent that Russia should
take possession of Constantinople. The emperor, after
a moment's reflection, replied, " Constantinople, never !
It is the empire of the world." ^
On the 6th of November, 1816, Napoleon, at St.
Helena, conversing with Las Casas, said, " Russia has a
vast superiority over the rest of Europe in regard to the
immense powers she can call up for the purpose of inva-
sion, together with the physical advantages of her situa-
tion under the pole, and backed by eternal bulwarks of
ice, which, in case of need, will render her inaccessible.
Who can avoid shuddering at the thought of such a vast
mass, unassailaljlc on the flanks or in the rear, descending
upon us with impunity ; if triumphant, overwhelming
every thing in its course ; or, if defeated, retiring amidst
' SIciicviil, Vic Privde do Napol(5on.
212 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
the cold and desolation whicli may be called its forces
of reserve, and possessing every facility of issuing forth
again at every opportunity ? Constantinople is, from its
situation, calculated to be the seat and centre of univer-
sal dominion." ^
Again : on the 14th of February, 1817, Dr. O'Meara
inquired of the emperor if it were true that Alexander
of Russia intended to seize Constantinople. The em-
peror replied, —
" All his thoughts are directed to the conquest of
Turkey. We have had many discussions about it. At
first I was pleased with his proposals, because I thought
it would enhghten the world to drive those brutes, the
Turks, out of Europe ; but when I reflected upon the
consequences, and saw what a tremendous weight of
power it would give to Russia on account of the num-
ber of Greeks in the Turkish dominions who would
naturally join the Russians, I refused to consent to it,
especially as Alexander wanted to get Constantinople,
which I would not allow ; for it would destroy the equi-
librium of power in Europe."^
A few months after this, on the 27th of May, 1817,
the conversation again turned on this all -important
subject, in the humble apartment of the exile at St.
Helena. Speaking to Dr. O'Meara, the emperor said, —
" In the course of a few years, Russia will have Con-
stantinople, the greatest part of Turkey, and all Greece.
Almost all the cajohng and flattery which Alexander
practised towards me was to gain my consent to effect
this object. In the natural course of things, in a few
years Turkey must fall to Russia. The powers it could
* Napoleon at St. Helena, p. 451. * Idem, p. 534.
THE EASTERN QUESTION. 213
injure, who could oppose it, are England, France, Prus-
sia, and Austria. Now, as to Austria, it will be very
easy for Russia to engage her assistance by giving her
Servia, and other provinces bordering on the Austrian
dominions. Tlie only hypothesis that France and Eng-
land may ever he allied with sincerity will he in order to
prevent this. But even this alliance will not avail.
France, England, and Prussia, united, cannot prevent it :
Russia and Austria can at any time effect it." ^
In the month of June, 1844, the Czar Nicholas of
Russia visited the court of Queen Victoria. He was
received in a blaze of splendor at Windsor Castle. All
the honors which the court of St. James could confer
were lavished upon him. It was subsequently made
known to the world through the memorandum of the
Russian minister. Count Nesselrode, that the object of
the czar in this imperial visit was to induce England to
lend her countenance and co-operation in driving the
Turks out of Europe, and in dividing the conquered
territory between them. It was indeed a princely estate
which it was proposed thus to seize. Turkey in Europe
covers a territory twice as large as the Island of Great
Britain, and embraces a population of fourteen millions,
only three millions of whom are Mohammedans.
The following, according to Count Nessebode, was
the proposition which the czar made to the British cabi-
net : Russia was to incorporate into her dominions the
tlu-ee splendid Danubian provinces of Moldavia, Wal-
kichia, and Bulgaiia. This would give her the entire
command of the mouths of the Danube. The czar was
also to be permitted to establish nominally a Greek
' Napoleon at St. Ilolcna, p. 502.
214 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
power in Roumalia, but under Russian protection, with
Constantinople as its capital. This was, of course, sur-
rendering Constantinople to Russia.
Austria was to receive as her share in the division
the fertile and beautiful provinces of Servia and Bothnia.
These provinces, situated on the south side of the Dan-
ube, adjoined the Austrian possessions, and presented a
territory of great fertility, which enjoyed the lovely clime
of Italy. The provinces embraced over forty thousand
square miles, being a little larger than the State of Ken-
tucky, and contained about two million inhabitants.
Austria was also to be permitted to extend her southern
frontier so as to embrace nearly the whole of the east-
ern coast of the Adriatic Sea.
The lovely Island of Cyprus, the gem of the East-
ern Mediterranean, a hundred and forty-six miles -long
and sixty miles broad, was to be transferred to England.
With this island as a naval depSt, England was also
to take possession of the whole of Egypt. This would
give her the command of the canal between the Medi-
terranean and the Red Sea, and would greatly facilitate
her intercourse with India.^
And why did not England and Austria embrace this
magnificent and perfectly feasible plan? That there
was no moral principle to restrain them from any
measure of national aggrandizement, the past history
of the two kingdoms amply proves.
And, moreover, what claim, it might be asked, can the
Turk sliow to his European possessions ? He crossed
the Hellespont a blood-stained robber. With dripping
* Alison, vol. viii. p. 40.
THE EASTERN QUESTION. 215
cimcter he hewed his patli through the quivering nerves
of the vanquished Christians. Sraouklering ruins and
gory corpses marked every step of his progress.
Why, then, did not England and Austria consent to
this division of European Turkey? It was because this
arrangement woukl make Russia so powerful, that she
M' ould be the undisputed monarch of the Eastern world.
The balance of power in Europe would be destroyed,
and Russia would attain a supremacy before which all
other European po\vers would tremble.
And yet nothing in the future seems more certain
than that Russia will advance to Constantinople. The
late Crimean War did but postpone the event for a few
3-cars. On this side of the Atlantic, where questions of
European balances of power disturb ns not, the popular
sympathies are almost unanimously in favor of Russia.
There would be no mourning here should the crescent
fall, and should the Greek cross be raised over the dome
of St. Sophia, and over all the fortresses which frown
along the heights of the Bosphorus and the Darda-
nelles.
Such is the general aspect of the "Eastern Question."
In all the diplomacy which now agitates Europe, this
question invariably comes up as one of the most essen-
tial elements. There are many rumors that a secret
understanding now exists between Russia and Prussia,
by Avhich Russia consents tliat Prussia shall organize an
immense German empire in the heart of Europe, which
shall overshadow the surrounding monarchies; and Prus-
sia, in return, is to support Russia in her march to Con-
stantinople. If this be the fact, Russia and Germany
henceforth liold Europe in their grasp. All the other
216 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
monarchies will be virtually tributary to these two
gigantic powers. Russia enthroned at Constantinople,
and Prussia the head of imperial Germany, occupying
the whole Valley of the Rhine, from the sea to the Alps,
can bid defiance to Europe in arms.
France is now powerless. Prussia is acting in co-
operation with Russia. England, without the aid of
France, can accomplish but little. Any alhance between
England and democratic France is impossible. The
British Government has even more to fear from democ-
racy across the Channel than from Russia on the Bos-
j)horus and the Dardanelles.
The last phase of this all-exciting and ever-changing
question is, that England, Russia, and Prussia enter into
a virtual alliance ; that Prussia be permitted to work
her will upon France, now prostrate before her ; that
Russia be permitted to do as she pleases with the Otto-
man Empire ; and that England seize upon the Suez
Canal, thus appropriating to herself this new and mag-
nificent avenue of East-Indian commerce, which France
devised, engineered, and constructed. To this arrange-
ment, France, without a government, without an army,
impoverished, exhausted, bleeding, can present no op-
position.^
^ Telegram from London, Dec. 1, 1870.
CHAPTER XVIII.
FRANCE INVADED.
N Friday, the 22d of July, but one week
after the declaration of war, immense divis-
ions of the Prussian army were gathered
on tlie French or left side of the Rhine.
These vast military bands, numbering several
hundred thousands, v/ere marshalled between
the two massive and almost impregnable
fortresses of Coblentz and Mayence. Braver troops
than these German soldiers, or troops better disciplined,
armed„and officered, never marched to the sound of the
drum. They were inspired, not only by patriotic fervor,
l)ut by the full conviction that their cause was just in
tlie sight of God.
Tlie next day, July 28, a division of this army, ad-
vancing from Saar-Louis, on the southern frontier of the
Prussian-Rhine provinces, crossed the boundary, and,
invading France, marched directly south, some ten or
twelve miles, towards St. Avoid. There was nothing to
oppose them. The frontier was there but an imaginary
line, unprotected by river, mountain, or fortress.
In these modern days there is great power in public
oj)inion. Both France and Prussia were alike anxious
to obtain the moral support of other nations. As the
217
218 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
Prussian troops commenced their march, Count Bis-
marck caused a communication to be inserted in " The
London Times " of the 25th of July, in which he accused
M. Benedetti, the French minister at Berhn, of pro-
posing tliat Prussia should allow France to seize and
annex Belgium in compensation for the conquests Prus-
sia was making. This statement caused intense exas-
peration in England against the imperial government.
To this M. Benedetti rephed in an official communi-
cation to the Duke of Grammont, the French minister in
Paris. This document, which attracted the attention of
all Europe, was published in the " Journal Officiel " of
July 29. In this paper, M. Benedetti declares, that,
instead of making that proposal to Prussia, Count Bis-
marck himself had made it to the French minister ; and
that, upon its being transmitted to the French emperor,
he had immediately rejected it.
" It is matter of public notoriety," writes M. Bene-
detti, " that Count Bismarck offered to us, before and
during the last war, to assist in re-uniting Belgium to
France in compensation for the aggrandizement he aimed
at, and which he has obtained for Prussia. I might on
this point invoke the whole diplomacy of Europe. The
French Government constantly declined these overtures.
M. Drouyn de Lhuys is in a position to give, on this
point, explanations which would not leave any doubt
subsisting."
Count Bismarck had stated that he had this commu-
nication in the handwriting of M. Benedetti. To this
the French minister replied, —
" In one of these conversations, and in order to form
a thorough comprehension of his intentions, I consented
to transcribe them in some sort under his dictation. The
FRANCE INVADED. 219
form, no less than the substance, clearly demonstrates
that I confined myself to reproducing a project con-
ceived and developed by him. Count Bismarck kept the
paper, desiring to submit it to the king. On my side,
I reported to the imperial govermnent the communi-
cations which had been made to me. The emperor
rejected them as soon as they were brought to his
knowledge.
" If the initiative of such a treaty liad been taken
by the emperor's government, the draft would have
been prepared at the ministry, and I should not have
had to produce a copy in my own handwriting : besides,
it would have been differently worded, and negotiations
would have been carried on simultaneously in Paris and
Berhn."
These contradictory statements agitated the press of
England and America. Probably each reader came to
a decision in accordance with his predilections, whether
they were in favor of Prussia or France. There seemed
to be no room for misunderstanding. The contradiction
was positive and imquahfied. Either Count Bismarck
or Count Benedetti must have uttered a deliberate false-
hood.
We ought, in justice to the French minister, to state
that Lord Lyons, the British minister at Berlin, wrote
a letter to Lord Granville, in which he fully confirmed
the statements of the French ambassador. This letter
was dated "Foreign Office, July 29, 1870," and was
published in " The London Daily News" of Aug. 2.
"Those who have watched," he writes, "the course
of European affairs since the accession to office of M.
Bismarck, are aware from which side have come those
suggestions which are now attributed to France. Ever
220 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
since the year 1865, M. Bismarck has constantly endeav-
ored to carry out his own plans by endeavoring to turn
the attention of the French Government to territorial
aggrandizement. He told M. Lefebore de Behaine that
Prussia would willingly recognize the rights of France
to extend her borders wherever the French language is
spoken, thereby indicating certain Swiss cantons, besides
Belgium. These overtures the government of the em-
peror declined to entertain.
" After the battle of Sadowa, Count Bismarck told the
French ambassador that the course of France was clear :
The French Government should go to the King of Belgi-
um, and explain that the inevitable increase to Prussian
territory and influence was most disquieting to their
security, and that the sole means of avoiding these dan-
gerous issues would be to unite the destinies of Belgium
and France by bonds so close, that Belgium, whose
autonomy would, however, be respected, would become
in the north a real bulwark of safety for France. The
French Government declined to listen to these proposals.
These suggestions were again made at the time of the
Luxemburg affair. They were categorically rejected by
the emperor."
Lord Lyons closes his long letter by the statement,
" that the document under the handwriting of M. Bene-
detti was written under the dictation of Count Bis-
marck, who wished to entangle the French Government
in a conspiracy against the Uberties of Belgium."
On the 26th of July, at half-past six o'clock in
the evening. King William left Berlin for the seat of
war. The queen accompanied him to the railroad-
Ktation, which was decorated for the occasion with flow-
ers. The king was greeted with the cheers of an
FRANCE INVADED. 221
immense multitude. He issued the following procla-
mation : —
" On my departure to-day for the army, to fight with
it for Germany's honor and the preservation of our
most precious possessions, I wish to grant an amnesty
for all political crimes and offences, in recognition of the
unanimous uprising of my people at this crisis. My
l^eople know, with me, that the rupture of the peace,
and the provocation to war, did not emanate from our
side ; but, being challenged, we are resolved, placing
full trust in God, to accept the battle for the defence
of Fatherland."
Two ddjs after, on the 28th, the French emperor,
taking with him his son, fifteen years of age, left St.
Cloud for the frontier. The empress was left as regent.
As the emperor took his departure for a conflict
into which he had been so reluctantly drawn, he said, in
a brief and by no means exultant address to the Legis-
lative Corps, " We have done all in our power to avoid
war ; and I can say that it is the entire nation which
luis, in its irresistil)le impulse, prompted our resolution."
In his proclamation to the army, he said in despond-
ent tones, which, at the time, were severely censured,
" The war which now commences will be long, and
hardly contested ; for its theatre will be places hedged
with oljstacles, and thick with fortresses."
On Sunday, July ol, there was skirmishing between
the advance-posts of the French and Prussians near St.
Avoid. The French were repulsed ; but, as larger French
forces were in the vicinity, the Prussians recrossed the
boundary, and retired upon Saarbruck. On Tuesday,
the 2d of August, the Frencli troops crossed the fron-
tier, luarclu'd upon Saarl)ru('k, and in a sliort conflict,
222 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
which lasted from eleven o'clock, a. m., to one o'clock,
p. M., stormed the heights. The emperor and the
Prince Imperial were present. It was an affair of but
little moment, rendered memorable only by the private
despatch which the emperor, proud of his son's heroism,
sent to the mother of the boy. The telegram from the
battle-field was as follows : —
" Louis has just received his baptism of fire : he be-
haved with admirable coolness. A division of Gen.
Frossard took the heights which overlook the left bank
of Saarbruck. The Prussians made a short resistance.
We were in the first line : the balls and bullets fell at
our feet. Louis has kept a bullet which fell near him.
Some of the soldiers wept on seeing him so calm."
There were many who ridiculed this despatch as ab-
surd. " The London Echo " of Aug. 4, quoting from
" The London Standard," says, —
" The stern ordeal with which the Prince Imperial
was confronted was a state necessity. The baptism
of war is a sacrament which the French nation regards
with pecuUar devotion. When we are told that many
soldiers wept at seeing him so calm, we perceive that
the incident may have its theatrical side to English
eyes ; but to Frenchmen it is an episode not easily for-
gotten : and it may be, that, in after-years, the memory
of the baptism of fire at Saarbruck will serve the prince
better than all the traditions of his house."
CHAPTER XIX.
PRUSSIAN VICTORIES AND FRENCH DEFEATS.
EN. DOUAY'S division of Marshal Mac-
Mahon's corps was stationed at Weis-
senbourg, which was the extreme north-
eastern post of France. The pretty little
town, on the south bank of the Lauter, con-
tained about five thousand inhabitants.
The country around, rough and broken, was
covered with dense masses of forest.
There were about thirty thousand French troops at
WeissenbouTg. Considerably over a hundred thousand
Priissians, advancing from the strong fortresses of Landau,
Manheira, and Mayence, emerged unexpectedly from the .
forests, and fell upon the French with great fury. The
battle was long and bloody. The Prussians, marching
recklessly upon the ramparts of their foe, were cut
down with awful carnage by the accuracy and rapidity
of the French fire. The mitrailleuses annihilated whole
regiments ; but the French were overpowered, routed,
and put to flight.
The Crown Prince of Prussia led the Gorman troops
in this brilliant and successful assault. MacMalion re-
treated in a westerly direction to Bitclie and Woerth.
Tlie Prussians pursued vigorously. The French, liaving
223
224 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
received slight re-enforcements, made another stand, with
about thirty-five tliousand men, near Woerth. The
Prussians, a hundred and forty thousand strong, again
fell upon them.^ Notwithstanding the disparity of force,
the battle was fought with equal desperation on botli
sides. The slaughter was dreadful. The Prussians,
advancing in dense masses against the artillery, the mi-
trailleuses, and the musketry of their foes, suffered
more severely than the French. King William's ex-
ultant telegram to Queen Augusta was as follows : —
"Wonderful luck! — this new, great victory won by
Fritz. Thank God for his mercy ! We have taken thir-
ty cannon, two eagles, six mitrailleuses, four thousand
prisoners. A victorious salute of a hundred and one
guns was fired upon the field of battle."
Napoleon was at Metz. He sent the following tele-
gram to Paris : " Marshal MacMahon has lost a battle.
Gen. Frossard, on the Saar, has been compelled to fall
back. The retreat is being effected in good order. All
may be regained."
As the French retreated, the immense German army,
estimated at from five to eight hundred thousand men,
came pouring across the frontier into France. Their
impregnable fortresses upon the Rhine afforded them a
perfect base of operations.
The German cavalry, in pursuit, came upon many
thousand fugitives who had thrown away their arms.
All the villages were crowded with wounded from the
battle of Woerth.
' " It is positively ascertained at the ministry of war in Paris that Marshal
MacMahon had only thirty-five thousand men at the battle of Woerth, and that
the Prussians numbered a hundred and forty thousand." — Correspondent of
the Londun Times, Aug. 9, 1870.
PRUSSIAN VICTORIES AND FRENCH DEFEATS. 225
The Prussians testify to the valor of their foes on this
occasion. Eleven times the French charged the Prus-
sian lines, each time breaking through only to find a
mass of fresh troops behind. Nearly all of MacjNIahon's
staff were killed. The marshal himself, after having
been fifteen hours in the saddle, was unhorsed, and fell
fainting into a ditch. Nothing can be imagined more
liorrible than this flight, as thirty thousand fugitives
rushed pell-mell, pursued by four times their number,
hurling upon them a murderous storm of shot and shell.
The correspondent of " The London Times," then
with the Prussian army, writes, " The fighting of the
French was grand. The Prussian generals say they
never witnessed any thing more brilliant. But the
Prussians were not to be denied. With tenacity as
great, and a fierce resolution, they pressed on up the
heights, where the vineyards dripped with blood, and,
though checked again and again, still pressed on with a
furious intrepidity which the enemy could not withstand
in that long fight of six hours, during which the battle
raged in full vehemence. It lasted, indeed, for thirteen
houi-s."i
It is a wild and sad glimpse we catch of Marshal Mac-
Mahon at the close of this disastrous battle. Accom-
panied by a melancholy procession of the wounded, he
entered Nancy in search of food for his routed and
starving army. He was covered with mud ; his clotlies
were torn with bullets ; one of his epaulets had been
shot away ; and his face and hands were blackened with
p(nvder. It was almost impossible to recognize him.
At the hotel he asked for some cold meat. For twenty-
' London Times, Auji;- 9-
16
226 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
eight hours he had tasted no food. Some one asked him
of the cuirassiers. " There are none of them left," he
replied sadly. The Crown Prince was in hot pursuit.
The marshal, with his broken and dispirited ranks,
hurried on.^
The French retreated in two bands, — one, under Gen.
Frossard, towards Metz ; the other, under Gen. MacMa-
hon, by a more southerly route, towards Nancy. It was
manifest, to the surprise of France and all Europe, that
Prussia had brought into the field forces so overwhelm-
ing in numbers, that the French troops would be com-
pelled to take refuge in their fortresses until the nation
could be roused to arms. France had not more than
three hundred arnd fifty thousand troops in all her north-
ern departments. A gentleman in Berlin wrote, — and
subsequent facts sustain his declaration, —
" There are now in France over seven hundred thou-
sand effective German troops. Besides these, three new
armies are forming ; and in less than a fortnight they
will be where they are most needed. The rapidity with
which the present army was equipped and sent to the
frontier was one of the most stupendous achievements
of war. These new armies will" raise the effective Ger-
man force to something over a milhon. There are,
besides, enough trained and experienced soldiers here
to double that number, if there should be even a suspi-
cion of their necessity.
" The first principle the government adopted for car-
rying on the war was, not to see with how few soldiers
they could get on, but rather how many could in any
way be employed to hasten its successful termination.
1 Loudon Daily News, Aug. 20, 1870.
PRUSSIAN VICTORIES AND FRENCH DEFEATS. 227
If one million of men could make final success reasona-
bly certain, and two millions would hasten that success,
two millions were to be called without a moment's hesi-
tation."
There was now apparently a constant battle. The
roar of artillery, the crackle of musketry, and the tramp
of charging squadi'ons, were heard almost every hour of
every day. Wherever the French made a stand, they
were assailed. No matter how strong their position, no
matter with what desperation of valor they might face
their foes, they were invariably overwhelmed and routed.
Even if they succeeded for a time in repelling at any
pomt the Prussian assault, and literally covered the
field with the Prussian dead, new forces of the foe soon
came rushing forward ; and the French shouts of victory
were hushed in the silence of defeat, flight, and death.
The Prussian officers seemed quite reckless of human
life. The German soldiers fought as though life to them
was of no value. Not three weeks had passed from the
commencement of hostilities ere it was announced that
two hundred thousand Prussian soldiers had fallen, or
had been captured, in a constant series of Prussian vic-
tories.
While Gen. MacMahon was on his flight towards
Nancy, pursued by numbers which he could not resist,
another immense German army was advancing in rapid
strides for the investment of the French fortress of
Metz. This was by far the strongest military post which
France had in her north-eastern provinces. At the
same time, another German army marched to lay siege
to the -French city and fortress of Strasburg on the
Rhine.
The alaim in Paris was great. The government had
228 HISTORY. OF PRUSSIA.
no force sufficient even to retard the advance of the
victorious foe to the walls of the metropolis. Vigorous
measures were immediately adopted for the defence
of the city. Laws were passed summoning all unmar-
ried Frenchmen between the ages of twenty-five and
thirty-five to the defence of the country.
On the 7th of August, the Empress Eugenie, who had
been intrusted with the regency during the absence
of the emperor to the front, issued the following procla-
mation from the Tuileries : —
" Frenchmen, the opening of the war has not been in
our favor. Our arms have suffered a check. Let us be
firm under this reverse, and let us hasten to repair it.
Let there be among us but a single party, — that of
France ; but a single flag, — the flag of our national
honor.
" Faithful to my mission and my dutjs you will see
me first where danger threatens, to defend the flag
of France. I call upon all good citizens to preserve
order : to disturb it would be to conspire with our ene-
mies. " Eugenie."
Marshal Bazaine at Metz was appointed commander-
in-chief of the French armies on the Rhine. He had a
disposable force, could he concentrate it, of about two
hundred and thirty thousand men with which to repel
three times that number of Germans. Gen. MacMahon,
with thirty-five thousand troops, was effectually cut off
from him at Nancy, about thirty miles on the south.
The generalship of the French officers in these con-
flicts has been very severely, and perhaps justly, con-
demned. Still it is obvious that no skill of generalship
PRUSSIAN VICTOKIES AND FRENCH DEFEATS. 220
could counteract such a vast disproportion in numbers.
The Prussian troops were as brave, as well armed, and
as ably officered, as any troops that ever entered a battle-
field.
A correspondent, writing to " The London Standard "
from Berlin, Aug. 18, says, " Great credit is given the
French emperor, in Berlin, for the straightforward way
in which he has acknowledged his disasters. ' MacMa-
hon has lost a battle ' is a direct style of speaking not
usual among the French when there is any thing un-
pleasant to relate."
Just after the battle of Woerth, a French officer, who
was taken prisoner, reported in the " Gaulois," "His
Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Prussia talked to
us about the war, which he said he detested. He was in-
exhaustible in his praises of the bravery of the French.
' Two regiments of cuirassiers,' he said, ' were sent
against the Prussian batteries. Our infantry was deci-
mating them ; and yet they formed again as if on
parade, and charged again, sword in hand, with wonder-
ful ensemble.
"'I was at Paris,' he continued, 'about the end
of December, and saw the emperor, who always showed
great kindness to my wife and me.' " *
These reverses caused intense excitement in Paris,
and inspired the opponents of the government with new
energies. Jules Favre, the eloquent leader of the demo-
cratic opposition in the Legislative Corps, in an impas-
sioned speech, attributed the reverses of the army to the
absolute incapacity of the emperor. He demanded that
the emperor should relinquish the command, and tliat tho
' Le Gaulois, Aug. 12, 1870.
230 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
legislative body should take in hand the direction of the
affairs of the country.
Indescribable agitation followed this speech. The
deputies in opposition to the government applauded ;
but the majority protested. Gen. Cassagnac declared
that such a movement was the commencement of revo-
lution. Gesticulating frantically, he exclaimed, " If the
ministry did their duty, you would be tried by court-
martial, and shot ! "
There was a great uproar. The members rushed from
their seats. It is said that there were some personal
rencounters. The president, after in vain attempting to
restore order by ringing his bell, put on his hat, thus
announcing that the sitting was suspended. The com-
motion in the streets of Paris was still more exciting'.-'
The shattered fragments of the French army, no
longer able to cope with the foe, were on the retrograde
movement for the defence of Paris. The Germans vig-
orously pursued, spreading in all directions, foraging
freely, capturing small towns, and levying heavy contri-
butions upon the people. The vilest of men always
rush into the ranks of an army. There is no power
of discipline which can prevent awfiQ scenes of outrage
wherever armies move. Stories are told of atrocities
committed by both French and Germans, too revolting
to be repeated.
It was about sixty miles fi'om Woerth to Metz and to
Nancy. An army, with its artillery-train, can seldom
move more than fifteen miles a day. The Prussians
were in such amazing force, that they occupied all the
passes of the Vosges Mountains. One strong body of
' Lloyd's Weekly London Newspaper, Aug. 14, 1870.
PRUSSIAN VICTORIES AND FRENCH DEFEATS. 231
troops was sent to lay siege to Strasburg ; another
surrounded the fortress of Bitche; while the cavalry
from the army of the Crown Prince, Frederick William,
approached Metz. The cavahy of the army of the
Prince Royal, which was on the advance to Paris by
parallel roads about thirty miles south, moved upon
Luneville.
jMarshal Bazaine, with about a hundred and eighty
thousand men, was compelled to take refuge beneath
the walls of Metz. Beyond Metz, the road to the capital
was open. The Prussian army, pushing on between
Metz and Nancy, prevented any union of MacMahon's
division with that of Bazaine. MacMahon continued
his retreat towards Paris ; and, on the morning of the
12th of August, the Prussians took possession of the city
of Nancy. The Prussians were now within two hundred
and twenty miles of Paris.
Metz, which was to be the scene of so much heroism
and suffering, was a fine city of fifty -six thousand inhab-
itants. It was situated at the confluence of the Seillc
and the Moselle, and contained one of the largest arse-
nals in France, with founderies and machinery of all
kinds for the manufacture of arms and miUtary equip-
ments. Its defences were considered almost impregna-
ble ; the fortifications having been constructed by
Vauban. In the year 1552, the emperor, Charles V.,
besieged the place for ten months. Though the garrison
was small, it held the works firmly ; and the emperor,
after the unavailing efforts of nearly a year, was com-
pelled to raise the siege, having lost ten thousand men.
Into this fortress Bazaine was driven, with not less
than a hundred and eighty thousand troops under his
command. He was a man of great military renown. It
232 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
was supposed that such a fortress, so garrisoned, could
hold out against any odds for many months. Bazaine
had risen to his proud eminence as a marshal of France
through his own energies. In 1831 he had enlisted as
a private in the army, and had started for Africa with
his knapsack on his back. In four years he rose to a
sub-lieutenancy. He accompanied the army sent by
Louis Philippe to Spain to assist Isabella against the
Carlists. In 1839 he returned to Algiers with the rank
of captain. In 1850 he obtained a colonelcy. During
the Italian war, his bravery and military ability were
brilliantly displayed. In Mexico he won his marshal's
hdton. He is the youngest of the French marshals,
being now fifty-nine years of age. He has ever been
an ardent supporter of the imperial government in
France.
On the 14th of August, the emperor was at Verdun,
about thirty miles west of Metz. MacMahon had re-
treated from Nancy to Toul, moving towards Verdun.
Bazaine, leaving a garrison in the fortress of Metz,
endeavored with the main body of his army to effect
a junction with MacMahon at Verdun. He had trans-
ported about half his force across the Moselle, to the
left bank, when the Prussians fell suddenly upon him.
The battle was fierce even to desperation. The slaughter
on both sides was dreadful. The French were driven
back to Metz.
For days and weeks almost, an incessant battle raged
around this fortress. Marshal Bazaine had about a hun-
dred and fifty thousand men whom he could bring into
the field. Prince Frederick Charles, in command of the
Prussian force, had two hundred and thirty thousand.
With great military sagacity, he had so posted his troops
PRUSSIAN VICTORIES AND FRENCH DEFEATS. 233
as to cut oif all the avenues of escape. It has generally
been thought that Bazaine ought to have cut his way
through his foes. It is easy, seated by one's fireside, to
form such a judgment. No one can doubt the ability,
bravery, or patriotism, of Bazaine. The bloody battles
which were fought day after day testify to the energy
of his attempts. It must not be forgotten that Prince
Charles was one of the most able and experienced of
military commanders ; that he had an army outnumber-
ing the French by eighty thousand men ; that he had
thrown up intrenchments across every avenue of escape,
which intrenchments were bristling with artillery, mi-
trailleuses, and the needle-gun. Never before were
battles so bloody. The slain were counted by tens
of thousands*. The hospitals were crowded with the
mutilated victims of this awful strife.
CHAPTER XX.
THE CAPTURE OF SEDAN.
/HE " London Globe " of Aug. 15 contains
a letter from an intelligent gentleman in
Berlin, containing the following statement :
" A very reliable informant ^ states, that,
within one week, Germany will have an
effective army of 1,200,000 men. I should
feel great caution in giving currency to
these figures, were it not that I am certain that my in-
formant is in a position to know."
The movements of the Prussians were as cautious as
they were impetuous. It was their evident design that
the whole country behind the German armies, as far
back as the Rhine, should be cleared of every military
obstruction. They therefore seized upon all the barri-
ers of the Vosges ; and their numbers were so immense,
that, while a victorious army was advancing upon Paris,
they had all the forces they needed to conduct the
sieges of Metz, Strasburg, Bitche, and every other
fortress they found upon their way. The annals of war
scarcely present an example of so triumphant a march.
The dismay and distress occasioned in the homes of the
peasantry, and in the villages, as these apparently
countless thousands of Prussians swept triumphantly
234
THE CAPTURE OF SEDAN. 235
along, cannot bo imagined. Vast numbers (men, women,
and children) fled from their homes, abandoning every
thing, and in utter destitution sought refuge in tho
walled towns. God alone can comprehend the amount
of misery inflicted ; and as, on the field of battle, the
missiles of war strewed the ground with the mangled,
far away, amid the vineyards of Germany and the cot-
tages of France, the woe was reduplicated as mothers
and wives and loving maidens in despair surrendered
themselves to life-long woe.
A French officer who was taken prisoner gives the
following pleasing accounts of an interview with his
victor : —
" Prince Frederick William, heir to the crown of Prus-
sia, is a tall, thin man, with a tranquil and placid physi-
ognomy ; to which, however, the curve of his aquiline
nose and the vivacity of his eye lend a stamp of decis-
ion. He speaks the French language with great purity.
' We all,' said he, ' admired, yesterday, the tenacity and
courage evinced by the very meanest of your soldiers. I
do not like war : if I ever reign, I will never make it. But,
in spite of my love of peace, this is the third campaign
I have been obliged to make. I went yesterday over
the field of battle : it is frightful to look at. If it only
depended on me, this war would be terminated on the
spot. It is, indeed, a terrible war. I shall never offer
battle to your soldiers without being superior in num-
ber: without that, I should prefer to withdi-aw.' " ^
All alike seem to combine in testifying to the heroism
of the French soldiers. A writer in " The London
Times" of Aug. 16 says, "It may be questioned
> London Daily News, Aug. 15, 1870.
236 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
whether the French have not gathered more real glory
from their defeats than the Prussians from their victo-
ries. Greater devotion was probably never witnessed in
any war than that of certain French regiments, which
rushed, at the voice of their general, upon inevitable
destruction. The Prussians have fought where they
liked and when they liked, and always with treble
forces."
While Bazaine was in vain endeavoring to cut his Avay
from Metz over the ramparts of his foe, MacMahon,
with about thirty thousand men, was retreating upon
Chalons, pursued by the Crown Prince at the head of
a hundred and twenty thousand troops flushed with
victory. On the 16th of August, the remnants of Mac-
Mahon's corps, numbering but fifteen thousand men,
reached Chalons, where re-enforcements were met which
raised their number to eighty thousand.
" MacMahon," says " The London Times," " in this
retreat, has inflicted awful loss on the German army.
There will be mourning in many thousand households,
from the Rhine to the Vistula, and from the shores of
the Baltic to the frontiers of Southern Bavaria. But
then the Duke of Magenta has been utterly routed, and
his defeat must have carried terror to the gates of
Paris." 1
In these hours of disaster, Gen. Trochu, who had al-
ready attained celebrity as a brilliant officer, was ap-
pointed, by the emperor, Governor of Paris, and com-
mander-in-chief of all the forces assembled for its de-
fence. Gen. Trochu was an imperialist ; believing, with
the overwhelming majority of his countrymen, that the
1 London Times, Aug. 11, 1870.
THE CAPTURE OF SEDAN. 237
empire was a better government for France than the
old monarchy under a Bourbon or an Orleans prince, or
the republic under such men as Favre and Hugo and
Rochefort
Strasburg on the Rhine contained eighty-four thou-
sand inhabitants. " The Alsatians," says "The London
Times," " are more loyal Frenchmen, almost, than the
Parisians." A large force surrounded the city, and soon
opened upon it a terrible bombardment from the siege-
guns which they gathered from their fortresses near at
hand. MacMahon had retreated to Chalons, fifty miles
west of Metz, The Crown Prince, with a hundred
and fifty thousand troops, was on the triumphant march
towards Paris. Bazaine was hopelessly shut up in jMetz,
■svith his ammunition and provisions rapidly disappear-
ing. Bands of Prussian cavalry were riding in all di-
rections, emptying the granaries and the barn-yards of
the peasants, and imposing enormous contributions on the
towns which were captured. Desolation and misery were
everywhere. The fields were covered with the unburied
dead, Vionville, Flavigny, Rezonville, and Gravelotte
were mostly in ashes. Families were wandering in the
fields in terror and starvation.
The emperor was at Chalons, striving to assemble
there a new army to arrest the advance of the Prussians
upon Paris. There was no longer any French army in
the field. Such a sudden collapse of one of the strong-
est military powers in the world was never before wit-
nessed. A war of a fortnight had laid France pros-
trate ; and this was done by a nation which but about
a century ago could count but five million inhabitants.
It was supposed that the Prussians would march irre-
sistibly over the fortifications of Paris, and speedily en-
238 HISTORY OF PEUSSIA.
camp their hosts in the Garden of the Tuileries and in
the Elysian Fields. Sorrows never come singly. Dis-
aster followed disaster. The scenes described by eye-
witnesses appall the imagination. In the silence of night,
all the wooded gorges of the Ardennes resounded with
the moan of the mutilated and the dying, rising in one
continuous wail. The houses and the barns were filled
with the sufferers. In one short battle, the French alone
lost fifteen thousand in killed and wounded ; and the
Prussians, who marched recklessly up to their batteries
of artillery and mitrailleuses, lost twice as many. The
few surgeons could do comparatively nothing in the
midst of such an accumulated mass of misery. Thou-
sands groaned and died in the open fields, with none to
give them even a cup of cold water.
The great object of Prussia in this war, as expressed
by Bismarck after having entered upon it, and by all the
leading Prussian journals, was to wrest from France so
much additional territory, and so to weaken her, that she
could never again make an attempt to recover her lost
Rhine provinces. The panic in Paris was great ; and
frantic efforts were made to prepare for a siege.
The emperor remained with MacMahon's army, hop-
ing to effect a junction of his troops with those of
Bazaine. The plains of Chalons are as level as a floor,
and thus poorly adapted for a defensive battle. On the
21st of August the French camp at Chalons was broken
up, and the army retired about thirty miles to the north-
east, — to the more broken ground of Rheims. As these
armies of retreat and pursuit rushed along, scenes of
heart-rending woe were witnessed among the inhabitants
of the region thus swept by the devastating tempests of
war. The Belgian frontier was overrun with thousands
THE CAPTURE OF SEDAN. 239
of families seeking refuge there in utter impoverish-
ment.
The Crown Prince of Prussia was now within a hun-
dred miles of Paris. There was no force before him to
oppose his march. An advance force of cavalry had
been pushed forward to witliin sixty-five miles of the
capital. The zeal of the French people in the war, not-
withstanding their disasters, is manifest from the fact,
that a new war loan of a thousand million francs was
taken up in forty-eight hours. Strasburg was holding
out firmly against a terrible bombardment. The whole
populace of Paris was roused to prepare the city for the
approaching siege. Tliough the Prussians had encoun-
tered enormous losses, the railroad-trains from the Rhine
were crowded with their re-enforcements hurrying for-
ward to fill the places of those who had fallen.
Never was the march of an invading army more reso-
lute. On Sunday, the 25th of August, the Prussian
scouts had reached Mieux, within twenty-five miles of
Paris. It was a distance of three hundred miles from
Sierca, the nearest point on the Prussian frontier, to the
city ; and yet this long line, through French territory,
Prussia guarded perfectly against a warlike nation of
forty millions inhabitants. The French, unable to
meet their foes in the field, did what they could to
harass their march by blowing up bridges, cutting rail-
ways, and l)locking roads.
A constant stream of French prisoners and of captured
guns and flags was entering the streets of Berlin, causing
the frequent blaze of illuminations and the most enthusi-
astic demonstrations of joy. The French, acting on the
defensive, fought from 1)cliiiid their ram[)arts and in their
fortresses. Though invariably in the end defeated, they
240 HISTOKY OF PRUSSIA.
as invariably inflicted upon their assailants a heavier loss
in killed and wounded than they encountered. The
shouts of joy which resounded through the streets of
Berlin were answered by deeper wails of woe emerging
from thousands of German cottages, whose inmates
were plunged into life-long woe. It seems to be
authentically stated that Prussia had then 1,124,000
well-trained and disciplined men under arms. Seven
hundred and twenty thousand of these were in France.
The condition of France was apparently hopeless. The
exultant Prussians were marching wherever they pleased,
filling their camps with abundance, exacting enormous
contributions, and compelling France to drain the cup
of humiliation to its di'egs.
We have space for but one illustration of these ex-
actions. It is given by a correspondent of " The Lon-
don Times ; " which journal was in cordial sympathy
with the Prussians. The little town of Saverne con-
tained 5,331 inhabitants. As the Prussian troops ap-
proached, the more wealthy portion of the inhabitants
fled. The contributions demanded of the town were
ten thousand loaves of three pounds each ; sixteen
tliiDusand pounds of rice ; two hundred and fifty pounds
of roasted coffee ; fifteen hundred pounds of salt ; one
thousand pounds of tobacco ; seventy-five thousand
cigars of superior quality; fifteen thousand quarts of
wine ; two hundred pounds of sugar ; fifty pounds of
extract of meat ; a hundred and twenty thousand pounds
of oats ; fifty thousand pounds of hay ; fifty thousand
pounds of straw. These were all to be delivered before
six o'clock the next morning in warehouses appointed
for the piu'pose. A hundred wagons were to be fur-
nished to enable the victors to carry away this food
THK CAPTURE OF SEDAN. 241
and forage. Tlio penalty of non-compliance was the
general plunder of the town by the soldiers.
Scarcely any thing conceivable is more awful than
the m'arch through a country of half a million of hostile
troops. A garden may bloom before them : a desert
will be left behind. Famine and pestilence inevitably
follow in the train.
On Tuesday, the 30th of August, the army of the Crown
Prince overtook MaciMahon's corps a short distance north
of Rlieims ; and after a fierce battle, of enormous slaugh-
ter on each side, the Prussians drove the shattered army
of the French in utter rout towards Sedan. During all
the hours of the 31st, the battle raged in an incessant
series of bloody skirmishes, as the French troops, about
a hundred thousand in number, pressed on every side,
fell back, bleeding, exhausted, despairing, into Sedan.
From the commencement of the war, the Prince Im-
perial, notwithstanding his youth, had accompanied his
father, sharing all the fatigues of the campaign. At
the commencement of these hours of terrible disaster,
Marslial MacMahon, foreseeing that he was to be sur-
rounded by overwhelming numbers, urged the emperor,
with his son, to withdraw. The emperor resolved to
remain with the army, and share its fate. He sent his
son, however, to M^zieres, and thence into Belgium.
The dawn of the morning of the 1st of September
found the French so surrounded as to be cut off from all
possibility of retreat. They were crowded together in
a narrow space, while five hundred pieces oi artillery
were opening fire upon them. At five o'clock in the
morning, the terrific storm of battle opened its thunders.
It was an awful day. In the first hour of the battle.
Gen. MacMahon was struck by the splinter oi" a shell,
16
242 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
and, was carried back, severely wounded, into Sedan.
The command passed to Gen. Wimpffen. Nearly tliree
hundred thousand men were now hurling a storm of
bullets, shot, and shell, into the crowded ranks ©f the
French. It was an indescribable scene of tumult and
carnage. A correspondent of one of the London papers
writes, —
" All describe the conduct of the emperor as that of
one who either cared not for death, or actually threw
himself in its way. In the midst of the scene of con-
fusion which ensued upon the irruption of the panic-
stricken French into Sedan, the emperor, riding slowly
through a wide street swept by the German artillery
and choked by the disordered soldiery, paused a moment
to address a question to a colonel of his staif.
" At the same instant a shell exploded a few feet in
front of Napoleon, leaving him unharmed ; though it
was evident to all around that he had escaped by a
miracle. The emperor continued on liis way without
manifesting the slightest emotion, greeted by the enthu-
siastic vivats of the troops. Later, while sitting at a
window inditing his celebrated letter to the King of
Prussia, a shell struck the wall just outside, and burst
only a few feet from the emperor's chair, again leaving
him unscathed and unmoved."
For five hours the emperor had been exposed to a fire
which filled the air with bullets, ploughed up the gTound
at his feet, and covered the field with the mutilated
and the dead. At half-past three o'clock in the after-
noon. Gen. Wimpffen sent an officer to propose that the
emperor should place himself in the middle of a column
of men who should endeavor to cut their way through
the enemy. The emperor replied, that he coiald not con-
THE CAPTURE OF SEDAN. 243
sent to save himself at the sacrifice of so many men ;
that he had determined to share the fate of the army.
Though a large portion of the army was still fighting
valiantly upon the heights around the walls, the streets
of Sedan were choked with the debris of all the corps,
and were fiercely bombarded from all sides.
After twelve hours of so unequal a conflict, the com-
manders of the corps d^armSe reported to the emperor
that they could no longer offer any serious resistance.
The emperor ordered the white flag to be raised upon
the citadel, and sent the following letter to his Prussian
Majesty, who was v/ith the conquering army : —
" Sire, my brother, not having been able to die in the
midst of my troops, it only remains for me to place my
sword in the hands of your Majesty.
" I am of your Majesty the good brother,
" Napoleon."
William immediately replied, " Sire, my brother,
regretting the circumstances under which we meet, I
accept the sword of your Majesty ; and I pray you to
name one of your officers provided with full powers to
treat for the capitulation of the army which has so
hravely fought under your command. On my side, I
have named Gen. Moltke for tliis purpose.
" I am of your Majesty the good brother,
" William."
Gen. Wimpffen was sent to the Prussian licadquarters.
•' Your army," said Gen. Moltke, "does not number more
than eighty thousand men. We have two hundred and
thirty thousand, who completely surround you. Our
244 HISTOKY OF PRUSSIA.
artillery is everywhere in position, and can destroy the
place in two hours. You have provisions for only one
day, and scarcely any more ammunition. The prolonga-
tion of your defence would be only a useless massacre." ^
Gen. Wimpffen returned to Sedan. A council of
thirty-two general oflBcers was called. With but two
dissentient voices, it was decided to be useless to sacri-
fice any more lives. The capitulation was signed.
Our distinguished countryman. Dr. J. Marion Sims,
was present at the battle of Sedan as surgeon-in-chief
of the Anglo-American ambulance-corps. He testifies
as follows to the necessity of the surrender : —
" It was impossible for the French to do otherwise
than surrender. The emperor was not to be blamed.
It was simply an act of humanity to have surrendered.
On the morning of the 1st of September, MacMahon
left his hotel at six o'clock. The battle had been pro-
gressing for some time. At half-past six he received
his wound in the thigh, and was carried back to his
hotel. The command then devolved upon Gen. Wimpf-
fen, who had arrived only the day before. At five
o'clock in the evening, white flags were raised ; and, at
six o'clock, the firing ceased entirely.
" On the next day, when the emperor had an inter-
view with the Idng and talked of capitulation. Gen.
Wimpffen said he could not sign the articles ; but Bis-
marck showed him how the forces were situated, the
French hemmed in, and without ammunition or pro-
vision, and no way of escape. Then Gen. Wimpffen,
seeing he was surrounded by three times his own
' Campagne de 1870. Des Causes qui ont amen^ la Capitulation de Sedan,
par uu Officier attach^ a I'fitat Major-G6n(5ral.
THE CAPTURE OF SEDAN. 245
strength and was powerless, had to sign the articles,
after being but a few hours in command.
" The newspaper reports of the cruelty of the Prus-
sians are not in the least exaggerated. The particulars
are not fit for publication. Some eighty thousand
French marched from Sedan before the Prussian hues
to the little .peninsula formed by the river, where they
were halted after the capitulation. It was the saddest
day in my life when I followed the poor French prison-
ers ; and, if I lived a hundred years, I could never for-
get what I saw them endure. They were several days
there on that piece of lanxl, dying of sickness and
starvation.
" The Bavarians utterly destroyed Bazeilles, a town
of three thousand inhabitants. They say they were
fired upon from the windows of the houses. In their
rage they fastened up the doors, and set fire to each
house, burning a great number of women and children.
The smell of charred human flesh, for several days after-
wards, was sickening. The Bavarians also shot a priest
there, and some nuns and school-girls, besides a great
number of citizens.
" I think the emperor never looked better than on
the day of his surrender. It is a great mistake to sup-
pose he is a decrepit old man. His intellect was never
more vigorous ; and his physical health is perfect, with
the exception of some mere infirmities. He is occasion-
ally sul)ject to sciatica, but to no disease that threatens
life.
" It is said that the Prince Imperial is a scrofulous
boy. That is another great mistake. He is strong and
rosy, in perfect health, and very intelligent, — a splen-
did boy, take him all in all. When he was ill a few
246 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
years ago, and was reported scrofulous, he simply had
an abscess, the result of pressure m taking horse-riding
lessons, — nothing connected in the least with disease
of the bones or joints.
" They say the emperor has millions. I sincerely
hope it may be so ; but I have it, on the highest author-
ity, that he is poor. The empress has property ; and
the Prince Imperial has property, left him two years
ago by an Italian lady who died in Paris ; but the em-
peror is not a rich man." ^
* Testimony of Dr. Sims in the New- York Times, Nov. 4, 1870.
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Executed m Pans express^ for 'Abiott's life of Jfapoleou IH''
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CHAPTER XXI.
THE OVERTHROW OF THE EMPIRE.
ING WILLIAM, in a letter which he wTote
to Queen Augusta, speaks as follows of his
fallen foe : —
" You already know, through my three
telegrams, the extent of the great historical
event which has just happened. It is like a
dream, though one has seen it unroll itself
hour after hour. On the morning of the 2d I drove
to the battle-field, and met Moltke, who was coming to
obtain my consent to the capitulation. He told me that
the emperor had left Sedan at five o'clock, and had
come to Donchery. As he wished to speak to me, and
there was a chateau in the neighborhood, I chose this
for our meeting. At one o'clock I started with Fritz,
escorted by the cavalry staff. I alighted before the
chateau, where the emperor came to meet me. We
were both much moved at meeting again under such cir-
cumstances. What my feelings were, considering that
I had seen Napoleon only three 3^cars before at the
summit of his power, is more than I can describe."
" At this conference," writes one of the officers of
the imperial staff, " the king showed the lofty feelings
whicli animated him by exhibiting to the emperor all
247
248 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
the consideration wliicli his misfortunes demanded ; and
the emperor preserved an attitude of the utmost dig-
nity."
The illustrious captive was assigned to the Castle of
Wilhelmshohe, near Cassel, one of the most attractive
castles in Germany. Accompanied by his friends, sup-
phed with every comfort, and surrounded by a guard of
honor, the chains which held the prisoner of war were
invisible.^
The tidings of this great calamity soon reached Paris,
and created intense excitement. The democratic party,
which numbered in its ranks many of the lower orders
of the Parisian populace, deemed it a favorable oppor-
tunity to overthrow the empire and to grasp the reins
of power. An American gentleman then in Paris
writes, under date of Sept. 4, —
" Paris is in a state of riotous excitement. Crowds
are tearing down the imperial arms, and destroying the
golden eagles of the empire. Fears are entertained
that the city will soon be at the mercy of mobs."
The mob shouted, " Down with the empire ! " " Live
the republic ! " Gen. Trochu, Governor of Paris, was
called for. He told the mob, that, having taken the
oath of allegiance to the empire, he could not thus
renounce it. The crowd at length became so menacing,
1 Wilhelmshohe is one of the finest mansions in Europe. It is said to have
cost about ten million dollars, and was built from the money which the Elector
William received from England for the Hessian troops loaned her to fight the
North-American colonies. The castle is situated but a short distance from Cas-
sel, which was the capital of the kingdom of Westphalia. It is erected upon a
hill commanding a magnificent view of the adjacent country. It is approached
by a grand avenue, and is surrounded by one of the finest parks in Europe.
The palace, which is built of white sandstone resembling marble, consists of a
massive central tower, flanked by spacious wings. The garden, spreading out
fixim the foot of the tower, is renowned for its picturesque beauty.
THE OVERTHROW OF THE EMPIRE. 249
that the poKce dispersed it with firo-arras. At one
o'clock, P.M., a crowd of a hundred thousand armed
men surrounded the buikliug of the Legislative Corps,
and crowded all its avenues, rending the air with fren-
zied shouts. From all parts of the city, the agitated
masses were converging towards the Legislative Hall.
The friends of the government found it necessary to
secrete themselves, or to keep silent. The Place de la
Concorde presented a compact mass of human beings.
A strong military force guarded the Tuileries. Shouts
of " Vive r(ipublique ! " rose on all sides. The police
were overpowered by the populace, and their arms
thrown into the Seine. Paris was in the hands of the
mob. The populace began to shout for the abdication
of the empress-regent. Her life was menaced by braw-
ny men and women.
There are few things on earth more to be dreaded
than a Paris mob. The men were armed with muskets
and revolvers. The tumults, the shouts, the surgings
to and fro, and the menaces, were horrible. Terror had
commenced its reign ; and the friends of order, utterly
helpless, fled. The mob burst open the doors of the
Legislative Hall. The president trembled in his chair
as the blouses, with oaths and execrations, took possession
of the room. Some of the radical speakers tried in
vain to appease them. The A'iends of the government,
composing the very large majority of the deputies,
escaped as they could.
" What the minister of war would have said, what
M. Thiers, and even Jules Favre, would have said, re-
mains to be imagined ; for the people would not hear,
but yelled ' Dechcance ! ' so savagely, that nothing else
was heard. The crowd kissed the jubilant leaders of the
250 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
left, and hurrahed until the hall rang. The president,
putting on his cap to announce that such proceedings
could not be tolerated, received such a blow on the head
from a club, that he fell covered with blood, and was
led away moaning, while other infuriated workmen were
striving to hit him again. Enthusiastic blouses at once
set off up the boulevard, bearing huge placards announ-
cing that the republic was proclaimed by 185 votes
agamst 113. But there really was no voting at all, and
no one to vote against it." ^
In these hours of tumult and terror, the deputies
being all dispersed by the vast riot, the Empress Eugenie
was at the Tuileries. All were bewildered by the sud-
den outbreak of lawlessness and violence. Worn down
with care and sorrow, she listened ajipalled to the clamor
which was surging through all the streets. Tidings
came that the mob was advancing to sack the Tuileries.
Her woman's heart shrank from ordering the body-
guard to shoot them down. The conflict between the
small body-guard and the mob would be bloody, and
almost certainly unavailing. The only safety for the
empress was in immediate flight, with as few attendants
as possible, that she might avoid observation.
The empress had but just retired by a private door,
when the mob came surging through the gravelled
alleys of the garden, burst open the doors of the palace,
and rioted unrestrained through all its apartments. The
flag of the French Empire was hauled down, and insult-
ing sentences were scribbled upon the statues and the
walls. Hundreds of degraded women, foul and drunken,
ransacked the ai^artments of Eugenie, — that empress
* Paris correspondence of the Boston Journal, Sept. 5, 1870.
THE OVERTHROW OF THE EMPIRE. 251
who for twenty years had proved that the children of
sorrow could never appeal to her in vain. They broke
into the private cabinet of the emperor. The Babel of
their songs and cries resounded far and wide tlirough
the streets.
Wliile these scenes were transpiring, a few of tlnj
leaders of the democratic party in Paris met in the
H8tel de Ville, and organized themselves into a provis-
ional government. Gambetta, one of the most promi-
nent of these men, repaired to the office of the minis-
ter of the interior, and, with but two men to support
him, demanded the books. The imperial officers, aware
that the mob of Paris was at the command of Gambetta,
withdrew from the office, leaving him in full possession.
It was thus that the empire in France was over-
thrown by a few hundred men in Paris. The empu'e,
in an appeal to universal suffrage, iu every city and vil-
lage in France, in the army, in the navy, and in Algiers,
had been established by a vote of nearly eight millions.
There were but about three hundred thousand in the
negative. The republic was established by the demo-
cratic portion of the populace in Paris. The opponents
were overawed, and dared not express an opinion.
Outside of the walls of Paris, there were thirty-eight
millions of French people. Their voice was not listened
to at all. The ecclesiastics, almost without an excep-
tion, were in favor of the empire. The peasantry
composing the millions of the rural districts were sup-
porters of the empire with scarcely a dissenting voice.
The democratic party in the leading cities — Lyons,
Marseilles, &c. — followed the lead of the democrats in
Paris in renouncing the empire and in proclaiming a
republic ; but they refused to give in their adhesion
252 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
to the self-constituted provisional government in Paris,
and established governments of their own. Thus im-
mediately there sprang up four distinct governments in
France, each claiming to be " the French republic."
First, there was the self-constituted " committee of
national defence " in Paris. The second was a sort of
delegated government in Tours. The third was a com-
mittee of public safety at Marseilles, under the dictator
Alphose Esquhos. The fourth was the red republican
committee at Lyons. And there was still another at-
tempt to grasp the reins of power by the democrats of
Grenoble.
During the progress of the French revolution of 1789,
the people of France were divided in opinion respecting
the best form of government to be adopted. The aris-
tocracy, and all under their control, demanded the old
monarchy. They were sustained by wealth, by the
immense influence of ancestral rank, and by all the
coui-ts and nobles of Europe. On the other hand were
the repubhcans, mainly composed of the energetic
populace of the cities and the more intelligent of the
inhabitants of the rural districts. In some portions
of France, nearly all the peasantry were in favor of the
old monarchy. Never was there a more dreadful war
waged on earth than that between the French monarchists
and republicans in La Vendee.
The empire was an attempt at a compromise between
the old regime and the modern republic. It maintained
monarchical forms ; while it rejected all aristocratic
privilege, rearing the whole fabric of the government
upon the principle of equal rights for all men. It
rejected the principle of the divine right of kings, and
proclaimed the divine right of the people. The re-estab-
THE OVERTHROW OF THE EMPIRE. 253
lished empire wliich the democratic party in the great
cities was now endeavoring to overthrow had been
adopted by the voice of universal suffrage. Every man
in France, who was not a felon or a pauper, voted. The
historic facts, beyond all dispute, were as follows : —
In 1848, the French people overthrew the monarchical
throne of Louis Philippe, established a republic, and
chose Louis Napoleon Bonaparte president by 5,562,834
votes. The fairness of the vote cannot be questioned,
since the polls were in the hands of Gen. Cavaignac, a
rival candidate, who was then dictator.
A conspiracy was formed by the leaders of the Legiti-
mist, Orleans, and Jacobin parties, to overthrow this
repubhc. The monarchists deemed it too democratic
in its character, and the red repubUcans deemed it not
democratic enough. Thus the monarchist Thiers and
the radical Louis Blanc clasped hands for its overthrow.
Each hoped upon its ruins to rear his own favorite
governmental fabric.^
By the coup d'etat, on the morning of Dec. 2,
1851, the president thwarted this conspiracy, and res-
cued the repubUc from the- destruction with which it
was menaced. An immediate appeal to universal suf-
frage, on the 20th of December, sustained the president
in the coup d'etat. Thus France made the act her
own, and rewarded Napoleon by re-electing him presi-
dent of the republic, wliich he had saved, for an ad-
ditional period of ten years. The vote was taken
throughout the eighty- six departments of France.
There were 7,439,216 votes in favor of the president,
and but 640,737 against him.
* See Alison's Historj' of Europe, vol. vii. p. 535.
254 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
And now the people of France resolved to re-establish
the emph'e, — the old republican empire of Napoleon I.
Petitions were sent in from all parts signed by millions.
" It became every day more evident that Paris, all
entire, associated itself heart and soul in the wish uni-
versally and spontaneously uttered by the departments.
From all parts of the territory, addresses soliciting this
change, covered by thousands of signatures, flooded the
Senate, which alone, in accordance with the constitution,
could effect amendments of this nature. Thus it was
the totality of France which demanded the re-establish-
ment of the empire." ^
The polls, to decide upon the question whether the
empire should be re-established, were opened on the
21st and 22d of November, 1852. This was eleven
months after the coup d'etat^ by which the president
had saved the republic. There were 7,864,180 votes
in favor of the empire, and but 253,145 cast against
it.
Thus the empire was re-established with a degree of
unanimity quite unparalleled in the history of nations.'^
It is said that Napoleon, having taken an oath to be true
to the republic, could not, under these changed circum-
stances, lend liis aid to the establishment of the empire
1 MM. Gallix et Guy, p. 594.
^ It is generally estimated, that, where suffrage is universal with all males
over twenty-one years of age, there is one voter to about five of the population.
The empire was established by a vote of 7,864,180. This represents a population
of 39,320,900. Surely such unanimity was never before manifested in the
establishment of a government. For twenty years, this government confeiTed
upon France prosperity never enjoyed before, and was repeatedly sanctioned by
the votes of the people. The opposition was confined to the great cities. It is
easy to say that the vote was fraudulent ; but the cordial support of the
empire for twenty years proves that it was in harmony with the popular senti-
ment.
THE OVERTHROW OF THE EafPIRE. 255
without peijuiy. Such is Senator Sumner's opinion.
He says, —
" Promise, pledge, honor, oath, were all violated in
this monster treason. Never in history was greater
turpitude. As I am a repubhcan, and believe in repub-
lican institutions, I cannot forgive the traitor." ^
The re-establishment of the emph-e made but a slight
change in the republican constitution, which still re-
mained in force. The government consisted of the su-
preme executive called Emperor, his Ministers, a Coun-
cil of State, a Senate, and a House of Representatives
called the Corps Legislatif.
The emperor, chosen by universal sufli-age, transmit-
ted his crown to his natural heirs. He appointed his
ministers.
The Senate was composed of the cardinals, the mar-
shals, and the admirals of France, with enough others,
appointed by the crown from citizens most distinguished
for their services, to bring the number up to a hun-
dred and fifty. The senators held their seats for life.
After being appointed, tliey were entirely independent
of the crown.
The members of the Corps Ldgislatif were chosen by
the people ; one deputy for every thirty-five thousand
electors. Every Frenchman over twenty-one years of
age was a voter ; and the deputies were chosen for a term
of six years.
The councillors of state were from forty to fifty in
numl)cr, were appointed by the emperor, and were re-
movable by him. No law could be estabhshed, or tax
hnposed, without receiving the sanction of tlie Council
' Senator Suniiior on tlie war, — New-York IlcralJ, Oct. 29, 1870.
256 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
of State, tlie Senate, the Legislative Corps, and the sig-
nature of the emperor. The executive, legislative, and
judicial functions were clearly defined, and carefully
separated. This constitution could at any time he
amended by the votes of the people, without rendering
it necessary to resort to revolutionary violence.
While this constitution was less popular in its pro-
visions than that of the United States, it was an im-
mense advance from the spirit of the old Bourbon re-
gimes^ and was decidedly more repubhcan in its charac-
ter than the constitution of Great Britain.
Such, in brief, was the government which the demo-
cratic leaders in the great cities, in the midst of the
terrible disasters by which France was overwhelmed,
had overthrown, and replaced by several self-constituted
committees of public safety.^
Gen. Dix, who was for several years the American
ambassador to the French Empire, in his parting speech
to the American residents in Paris said, —
" It speaks strongly in favor of the illustrious sove-
reign who for the last twenty years has held the desti-
nies of France in his hands, that the condition of the
people, materially and intellectually, has been constantly
improving; and that the aggregate prosperity of the
1 " It was not from the necessity of circumstances that France chose Loi' \i
Napoleon. It was because France preferred him above all others, without ex-
ception. It is because he is the only man truly popular ; the only name to which
attach souvenirs of grand achievements accompUshed for the country. What
can any one say respecting the achievements of our legitimate kings? Who,
in cottage or shop, knows anything of them? Nobody. But all the world
knows of the man who raised France to grandeur unheard of before; who sub-
dued anarchy, and brought Europe to our feet ; the man who knew how to
recompense services rendered, and to discover merit wherever it existed; the
man who took the son of the citizen to make him a marshal, and the son of a
workman to make him a king." — MM. Gallix ei Guy, p. 9.
THE OVERTHROW OF TFTE EMPIRE. 2r>7
country is greater, perhaps, at the present moment, than
at any former period.
" As you know, debates in the Corps LdgisUitif, on
questions of public policy, are unrestricted. They are
reported with great accuracy, and promptly published in
the official journal and other newspaper presses. Thus
the people of France are constantly advised of all that
is said for or against the administrative measures which
concern their interests. In liberal views, in that com-
prehensive forecast which shapes the policy of the present
to meet the exigencies of the future, the emperor seems
to me decidedly in advance of his ministers, and even
of the popular body chosen by universal suffrage to aid
him in his legislative labors."
Bismarck scornfully called the new governments which
had usurped the place of the empire the " gutter democ-
rac}^" and refused to recognize them. M. Thiers, the
Orlcanist, would not acknowledge their authority, though
terril)ly embarrassed in consequence in his endeavors to
obtain a treaty of peace. The monarchies of Continental
Em'ope, almost with one accord, refused to recognize
any of these govemmeyits^ which were founded neither
upon legitimacy nor upon popular suffrage.
For twenty years the empire had been the acknowl-
edged government of France, recognized by all the
nations of Europe and America. Nearly every civil,
ecclesiastical, and military office was in the hands of tlie
fiiends of the empire. The marshals and generals and
tlie rank and file of the army were, with scarcely an
exception, ardent imperialists. Fearful as was the press-
ure upon them to drive back that Germanic invasion
which was perilling the very life of France, their ener-
gies were in a degree paralyzed by the rebellion against
17
258 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
the government which had so suddenly sprung up in the
great cities. Mar^lial Bazaine, at Metz, scornfully refused
any recognition of the self-constituted committee in Paris,
— a committee CL*-operating with the Prussian armies in
overthrowing the established government. But for the
presence of neaJy a million of armed Prussians in
France, the empire would have remained firm.
The democratic leaders in Europe are generally infi-
dels, bitter foes of the Church. The peasantry, almost
to a man, were friends of the empire, which respected
their religion. I'he priesthood had immense influence
in all the rural districts ; and the whole priesthood, as a
body, were opposed to the democracy. Thus, when Favre
and Rochefort chilled upon France to rise en masse to
repel the invaders, there was no cordial response. The
priests and the peasants scarcely knew which to dread
the most, — the Prussians, or the democrats ; and when
Garibaldi, who, by his assaults upon the Church, had ren-
dered liimself extremely obnoxious to all the Catholic
priesthood, hastened to the aid of the democratic gov-
ernment in France, thousands of the Catholic soldiers
refused to serve under such a leader.
Thus France was apparently doomed to destruction.
With no acknowledged government, with democrats re-
viling imperiahsts in the most unmeasured terms of
abuse, and impeiialists treating the democrats as the
enemies of religif n and order, while at the same time
the empire was overrun by as terrible an invasion as ever
afflicted a people, and with but few words reaching
French ears from England or America but words of
scorn, the cup of misery the nation was doomed to dizain
seemed to be full to the brim. There was a latent Or-
leans element in the community, which did not develop
itself in these disastrous hours.
TIIK OVERTHROW OF THE EMPIRE. 259
Bismarck seemed appalled. He had expected that the
overthrow of the republican empire would re-introduce
tlic old monarchy under a Bourbon or an Orleans king-.
Instead of this, the democrats leaped upon the vacant
throne, and grasped the sceptre. Bismarck, in conster-
nation, would gladly have wrenched the sceptre fiom
them, and restored it to the emperor. Democracy he
feared above all things else.
" A republic," says Mr. Headley, " stares him in the
face. He knows, from the effect of the last French
repuljlic on Germany, that another one established to-
day will threaten the stability of his government more
than Strasburg or Metz ever did or can ; that a repub-
lic surging up to the borders of Germany is a more fear-
ful menace than a hundred thousand French troops
stationed along the Rhine. This very fact may furnish
the key to his conduct in insisting on the overthrow of
Paris. He knows that Paris is not France ; and though
the city may vote for a republic, the entire country has
just cast an overwlielming vote in favor of an empire.
" Therefore, could he once occupy the capital, — so that,
on the one hand, it could not overawe the provinces, and,
on the other, give free scope to the monarchists to elec-
tioneer among the people, — a similar result would follow,
and thus France become an empire. With this he could
accomplish a double object, — secure Europe from the
dreaded effect of a vast republic rising in its midst, and
obtain also such a frontier as he desires. Such a plan
would be worthy of this prince of diplomatists."
CHAPTER XXII.
THE PRISONER AND THE EXILE.
EVER was the adage respecting one going
down hill more strikingly verified than in
the case of the emperor in his honrs of mis-
fortune. Even his buried mother Hortense
and the Empress Eugenie had to take their
share of the merciless vituperation. They
were held up to the scorn of the world as
women whose very touch was pollution. It was feared
by the foes of the empire that popular suffrage might
re-estabhsh the imperial throne. Resort was therefore
had to all the poisoned weapons of calumny to prevent
this result. Accusations were fabricated, and docu-
ments, letters, and private papers, forged to prove that
the Palace of the Tuileries, where for twenty years the
most pure and illustrious of the gentlemen and ladies of
England and America had found hospitable welcome,
had been but a warehouse of infamy, seething with
pollutions scarcely equalled by those of Sodom and
Gomorrah. Must it be forever so that political antago-
nism shall extinguish every sentiment of magnanimity
and honor ?
Probably never before in the history of the world
was a man assailed so fiercely and unscrupulously as was
260
THE PRISONER AND THE EXILE. 261
tlie Emperor of the French in his hours of misfortune.
A writer in " The London Sunday Times " of Aug. 14
raised a feeble voice of remonstrance.
" I feel constrained," he wrote, " to lift up my voice
in humble but earnest protest against the splenetic,
malevolent, and contemptuous tone adopted by too many
of your contemporaries in their allusions to the present
monarch of the great French nation.
" Even had the emperor no claim whatever on the es-
teem and courtesy of Englishmen, there would still be
spmetliing exceedingly repulsive and ignoble in the zest
with wliich the writers referred to have seized upon the
moment of his supreme anxiety to heap upon him abuse
which could only be merited by a monster in whom the
knave and the fool were equally dominant.
" The culmination of adversity should at least impose
some restraint upon scorn and resentment, even though
it fail to awaken compassion and sympathy. The Em-
peror of the French may have been at fault in permit-
ting his ministers to hurry him into a causeless and awful
war. It is not of legitimate comment and criticism that
I now venture to complain. I protest against violent,
scornful, unjust, and vulgar abuse ; against irritating
sneers and vindictive insolence ; against lying vitupera-
tion and swaggering impertinence. Let it not be said
that I exaggerate."
After quoting sundry of these assaults from " The
Daily News," " The Pail-Mall Gazette," and " The Lon-
don Times," which abundantly sustained his statement,
he continues : —
" Now, of whom is all this written ? Of a man, who,
during the whole period of his ascendency, has been the
self-sacrificing friend and the faithful ally of this coun-
262 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
try. For years after he assumed the chief direction of
affairs in France, he was treated every day and every
week, by nearly the whole Enghsh press, to foul and
scornfid reprobation; yet, under provocations which
would have goaded almost anybody else to madness,
he sustained those onslaughts with marvellous patience.
He never once resented them.
" In great enterprises he has co-operated with us, main-
taining a candor, a courtesy, a consideration, and delicacy
of respect, which all who have had directly to deal with
him have gratefully acknowledged. In evil report and
in good report, he has been fast and frank in his friend-
sliip with England. We owe vast expansions of our
trade to his sagacity in framing and instituting the com-
mercial treaty.
" Say what we will, under his auspices the material in-
terests of France have undergone a marvellous develop-
ment. The prosperity has been accompanied by some
of the higher forms of popular progress. Have we any
reasons for hunting down a monarch who never did us
harm, and who has estabhshed the most venerable claims
on our respect and gratitude ? "
On the 18th of October, an English gentleman had
an interview with the emperor at Wilhelmshohe. In a
communication he made to " The London Telegraph,"
he writes, —
" Napoleon III. was seated before a desk encumbered
with documents, books, and newspapers. The apart-
ment he uses as a study is a small square room not un-
like the cabinet he used at the Tuileries. The emperor
looked in every respect as well as when I last saw him
it St. Cloud in July last. I reminded him that he had
then spoken to me of the HohenzoUern incident, which
he had regarded as finished.
TnE PRISONER AND THE EXILE. 2G3
" ' Yes,' said the emperor with a sigh. ' Lliomyne
propose^ mais Dleu dispose. I had no wisli to make war ;
but fatality willed that it- should be so. Public opinion
was aroused in its favor ; and I was obliged to acquiesce
in the popular wish./
" The emperor confidently relies upon the verdict of
history to exonerate liim from all the charges heaped
upon his head. He alluded, but without bitterness, to
the numberless calumnies of which he is the object in
many parts of France. He spoke in despondent terms
of the present distracted condition of France, — a prey
to a foreign foe without, and anarchy within.
" When I ventured to ask him if the time would not
soon come when he would be authorized to make some
movement by his own initiative to retrieve his fortunes,
he at once replied, that the sole aim of France must now
be to drive out the invader of her soil ; and he would
never, by word or deed, throw any obstacles in the way
of accomplishing that task." ^
On the 9th of November, a correspondent of " The
New- York Herald " was favored with an interview
with the emperor at the Castle of Wilhelmshohe. Ho
found his Majesty perfectly free in his daily movements,
and treated with profound respect. Traversing a num-
ber of stately halls and apartments, he was presented
to the emperor in a room so small, that a writing-desk
before the fire took up nearly the whole floor.
In the course of the conversation, the emperor is re-
l)orted to have expressed the following sentiments : —
" All must admit that the press is a powerfid institu-
tion. In France it has worked much good, and also
' London Tclegnipli, Octobor, 1870.
'M4: HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
much injury. When I consented to its being freed
entirely from censorship, it was seized by demagogues
and unscrupulous politicians, who openly preached dis-
obedience to the laws ; and they were but too successful
in perverting the minds of the people.
" The same intelligience does not prevail in France
that is found in the United States. The seditious
arguments advanced by the press, when in the hands
of pretended reformers, easily inflamed the untutored
minds of the people.
" I suppose that Americans would naturally sym-
pathize with republican institutions ; but all the con-
ditions requisite to a true republican form of govern-
ment are absolutely wanting in France. Those who
boldly grasped the reins of power have already dis-
covered their utter inability to establish such a govern-
ment. That for which they blamed me most, they have
been compelled to do themselves, and in a form still
more obnoxious.
" The restraint imposed upon the press, for instance,
was the constant theme of the most violent attacks
upon my government. But while I made but moderate
use of this law, while fines and punishments were rare,
and were preceded by a mild system of avertissemeiits,
they have suppressed a number of journals because they
did not chime in with their fantastic ideas of republican
sentiments.
" The republic of America and the republic of France
are as diferent as white is from black. Your country
submits to law. Public sentiment and public spirit,
based upon general intelligence and morality, dictate
the control of society. In New York and Boston, the
theatres are allowed to perform such plays as they deem
THE PEISONER AND THE EXILE. 265
fit. Suppose they should treat the pubUc to impure
and offensive pieces : tlie press woukl denounce them ;
nobody woukl go to see them ; they woukl be con-
demned by the verdict of the pubhc.
"But, in France, the greater the departure from moral-
ity and decorum, the greater will' be the crowd flocking
to delight in it. It is no easy work to curb such an
extravagant and depraved spirit in a country so often
unhappily shaken by revolution. It requires the utmost
energy to build up any tiling, — any form of state gov-
ernment.
" I know the American people to be a frank-hearted,
generous nation ; and I cannot believe they approve of
the slanderous accusations now preferred against me.
Have you read the vile statement, published in the
' Inddpendance Beige ' and in other journals, that I
had appropriated the public funds, and conjured up war
to conceal such illegal transactions ? I wish to state
emphatically that such a breach of trust under my gov-
ernment in France is an utter impossibility. Not a sin-
gle franc is expended without severe checks on the
part of the administration. This fact is well known to
every intelligent person in France. I could hardly
attempt to contradict all these vile calumnies, though
I have denied a few of them."
In reference to the war the emperor remarked, " We
deceived ourselves as to the strength of our own army
as well as that of the Prussians. I have often cautioned
my ministers against erroneous statements. It was
proljaljly no fault of their hearts, but of their heads,
that they would not listen to me when I told them that
we could not compete with Prussia's military establish-
ment ; that our effective strength as compared to hers
266 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
was insufficient. This was the deception, the fault of
which must be shared more or less by all of us, which
has led to the most disastrous results. We were to have
reaiy for service, at a moment's notice, two hundred
thousand reserves. When they were needed, however,
not more than one-half the number was at hand. Tluis
the Prussians got ' ahead ' of us, as you would say. Not-
withstanding all this, the bravery of our troops obliged
them to use double numbers of men to gain easy vic-
tories.
" France needs peace ; but the conditions imposed by
Count Bismarck are too exacting. What government
in France could accept them, and at the same time
maintain itself against the outraged people ? France
cannot endure so deep a humiliation."
" Will your Majesty," the correspondent inquired,
" have the goodness to explain why the provisional gov-
ernment so obstinately refuses to hold an election for
representatives in the constituent assembly ? "
" In my opinion," the emperor replied, " it is because
it is afraid of the reds."
" May they not," it was asked, " have as much reason
to apprehend that a large number of Bonapartists may
be returned ? "
" I do not think so," said the emperor. " The dis-
cordant elements of socialism, communism, and an-
archy, have, spread terror throughout the country, and
gotten the upper hand ; and it is very difficult to con-
tend with such Utopian and seductive influences."
In reference to the restoration of the empire, and the
recall of the emperor by the popular voice. Napoleon
Baid, —
" When I consider the uncertainty lurking on the road
THE PRISONER AND THE EXILE. 267
to such an aim, when I consider the vast impediments
to be removed, I really feel but little ambition. I would
rather be independent. I would rather be as I now
am, — a prisoner, — and never step again on French
soil."
"But with regard to your Majesty's interest as a
father," it was said, "you must be naturally desirous of
bequeathing your throne to your promising son, and
thus upholding the dynasty."
" No," the emperor replied with much manifest emo-
tion : " not even for him could I wish it. I love him too
much to desire for him chances of such dread uncer-
tainty. If these cannot be avoided, he would be far
happier in private life, without the overwhelming respon-
sibilities attaching to such a station, and that, too, in
France, which can never forget a humiliation."
Some journals have expressed doubts respecting the
authenticity of the above narrative ; but the senti-
ments expressed are in manifest accord with every re-
port which has come from the prisoner of Wilhelm-
shohe.
The testimony in reference to the sentiments and
conduct of the Empress Eugenie, from all those who
were favored with an interview, is uniformly the same.
She had found a retreat at Chiselhurst, in the county of
Kent, England, a small, rambling village, about half an
hour's ride, on the railway, from Charing Cross. She,
with her suite, occupied Camden House, a three-story
mansion of red and yellow brick, with a park and pretty
ornamental grounds. A lady, writing from London to
" The New-York World " under date of Oct. 18, 1870,
gives the following account of an interview : —
" I have heard nuich of the beauty and grace of the
268 HISTOEY OF PRUSSIA.
empress j but I was not prepared to see a person of
such exquisite loveliness.
" While I do not feel at liberty to repeat the words
which the empress uttered, either to myself or to
others in my hearing, I may express the conviction with
which I left her presence. She loves France, and is
anxious for its welfare, — more anxious for that than
for the restoration of the empire and perpetuity of the
Napoleonic dynasty. She has nothing to do with the
intrigues that are going on here, or in Jersey, or at
Mons, or at Wilhelmshohe. She sees that the salvation
of France depends upon the maintenance of the pro-
visional government, now established there, until the
enemy has been driven from its borders ; and it is for
this that she hopes, for tliis she works, and for this she
prays daily, if not hourly ; being oftener on her knees
than on her feet, asking the intercession of our Blessed
Lady for the land which is so rich in faith, as well as so
sadly stained with unbelief.
" That the great majority of the French people still
look upon her husband as their lawful ruler, chosen by
them in the first place, and confirmed in his authority
by their repeated votes, she believes : that they will ask
him to return to them, or that, at least, they will de-
mand the restoration of his dynasty, she considers prob-
able. But that is not the question now. The question
now is, ' How to save France from being conquered
and crushed by Germany ; ' and he is her friend who
aids in that work, be he republican or imperialist.
" When peace is restored, and the country is once
more free to choose its form of government, it will be
time then to decide whether it will elect to recall a
ruler under whom a score of years of uninterrupted
THE PRISONER AND THE EXILE. 269
prosperity and peace were enjoyed, or to continue in
power a party who drove that ruler into a war for which
he was wholly unprepared, and which he was wholly
unwilling to undertake. It was liberal France that
made the war unavoidable ; it was imperial France that
desired peace, and dreaded war: but it remains for the
future to show whether Franco is still, at heart, impe-
rialistic, or republican. The empire was cstabhshcd by
the votes of the peox)le, and confirmed by their voices
over and over again. The people have not expressed
any wish for the substitution of a republic for the em-
pire : should they do so, the empress will not be found
plotting against them."
Gen. Dix, in his address to the Americans in Paris
upon his retirement from his embassy to the court of
the Tuileries, paid the following just and beautiful trib-
ute to the character of Eugenie : —
" Of her who is the sharer of the emperor's honors,
and the companion of his toils ; who in the hospital, at
the altar, or on the throne, is alike exemplary in the dis-
charge of her varied duties, whether incident to her po-
sition, or voluntarily taken upon herself, — it is difficult
for me to speak without rising above the level of tlie
common language of eulogium. But I am standing here
to-day as a citizen of the United States, without official
relations to my own government or any other. I have
taken my leave of the imperial family ; and I know of
no reason why I may not freely speak what I honestly
think, especially as I know I can say nothing which will
not find a cordial response in your breasts.
"As, in the history of the ruder sex, groat luminaries
have from time to time risen high above the horizon,
to break, and at the same time to illustrate, the monot-
270 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
ony of tlie general movement; so, in the annals of
her sex, brilliant lights have at intervals shone forth, and
shed their lustre upon the stately march of regal pomp
and power.
"And such is she of whom I am speaking. When I
have seen her taking part in the most imposing, as I
think, of all imperial pageants, — the opening of the
Legislative Chambers, — standing amidst the assembled
magistracy of Paris, surrounded by the representatives
of the talent, the genius, the learning, the literature,
and the piety of this great empire, or amidst the re-
splendent scenes of the palace, moving about with a
gracefulness all her own, and with a simplicity of man-
ner which has a double charm when alhed to exalted
rank and station, I confess tliat I have more than once
whispered to myself, and I believe not -always inaudibly,
that beautiful verse of the graceful and courtly Claudian,
the last of the Roman poets, —
' Divino servitu gressu claruit ; '
or, rendered in our own plain English, ' The very path
Bhe treads is radiant with her unrivalled step.' "
CHAPTER XXIII.
WAJl AND ITS WOES.
^^
/HE capture of the array at Sedan, witli the
emperor, was an irreparable disaster to
France. There was no longer any force
in the field to resist the invaders ; there
was no longer any government which France
would recognize. It was no longer possible
for neighboring dynasties, despising democ-
racy, to enter into alliance to aid France, since such aid
would strengthen that democracy which the dynasties
feared far more, even, than they feared Germanic su-
premacy in Europe. Victorious Prussia was also deeply
embarrassed. She had overthrown the republican empire,
with its respect for monarchical forms, only to introduce
tlie genuine democracy of Favre and Hugo and Roche-
fort, which prided itself in trampling all monarchical
forms under its feet. Thus was Prussia inspired with a
new incentive to reject all terms of peace but those
which would re-establish monarchy in some of its forms
in France, or which would so degrade and weaken the
nation, that Europe would have nothing to fear from a
dishonored and powerless democracy.
Never before in tlie history of the world was tliero
so sudden and awful a collapse of a great nation.
271
272 HISTORY OF pnussiA.
France seemed ruined beyond all hope of redemp-
tion.
Catholic France could not rally with enthusiasm to
fight the battles of an infidel democracy. For such
a cause the priests could not pray ; for such a cause, the
peasants, who reflected the opinions of the Catholic
clergy, reluctantly advanced to meet the foe.
Imperial France, which embraced nearly the whole
rural population, and all the civil, ecclesiastical, and
military officers, maddened by the overthrow of the
government by city mobs in the hour of the most dire
extremity of the nation, was paralyzed in all her ener-
gies.^
The military leaders refused to recognize any authority
but that of the empire ; and every vestige of the empire
the democratic populace had swept from Paris. The
men who had thus grasped the reins of power had but
little confidence in the generals who were in open an-
tagonism to them ; and they accused these generals of
lukewarmness, and even treason.
Thus clouds and darkness enveloped France. From
no quarter could a ray of light be seen. The condition
of Marshal Bazaine was hopeless. The army of Prince
Charles and of the Crown Prince united in surrounding
him. In the mean time, the siege of Strasburg was prose-
cuted with great vigor ; while powerful Prussian armies
marched in all directions, capturing towns, levying
cuntributions, and gathering up ample supplies. What
» " If Napoleon were to make an appeal to the French people, France, mean-
while, seeing in the republic nothing but disorder, is it impossible that the peas-
ants, who are Bonapartists almost to a man, would vote for the restoration of the
empire V All our reliable news from the interior of France reveals the fact, that
the peasants are not republicans. We regret this fact, while we are compelled
to confess it." — New-Ym-k Herald. Oct. 1, 1870.
WAR AND ITS WOES. 273
a condition for proud France to be in ! TIio despatches
of the King of Prussia indicate his astonishment in
view of the marvellous results so suddenly accom-
phshed.
After an heroic resistance of two months, Strasburg
capitulated on the 28th of Sej)teraber. The terrific bom-
bardment commenced on the 15th of August. The
besiegers had four hundred heavy guns and mortars,
with which they threw an incessant storm of shot and
shell into the city night and day. It was the object
of the bombardment to inflict such misery upon the
inhabitants, that the soldiers in the citadel would be
compelled, from humane considerations, to surrender.
The sufferings in the city were awful beyond all
description. The bursting-forth of conflagrations, the
explosion of shells, the crash of falling walls, the shrieks
of the wounded ; famine, sickness, misery, — all combined
in converting wretched StrasJ3urg into a volcanic pande-
monium. There was no safety anywhere. Children
were torn to pieces in the streets, and their gory limbs
scattered far and wide over the pavements. Shells
crushed through the roofs, and exploded in the cellars
where mothers and maidens were huddled together in
terror. One shell fell in the third story of a house,
and killed twelve persons outright, wounding twelve
more.
Gen. Ulrich, who was intrusted with the defence, was
compelled to steel his heart against these cries of woe.
His defence was heroic in the highest degree. Four
hundred citizens — men, women, and children — were
killed ; seventeen hundred were wounded. Four hun-
dred houses were burned, rendering eight thousand
persons houseless. Three hundred children died of
18
274 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
starvation. Damage was inflicted upon the city to the
estimated amount of fifty million dollars.^
The surrender of Strasburg with its vast mihtary
stores released the besieging army of over fifty thousand
men to co-operate in the siege of Metz and in the march
upon Paris. A garrison of eight thousand Germans was
left to hold Strasburg, wliile the remainder of the be-
leaguering host pressed forward to new victories.
The provisional government in Paris, assuming that
the war was the criminal act of the imperial government,
which was now overthrown, applied through M. Thiers
for peace. " It is understood," said " The London
Times " of Sept. 14, " that M. Thiers offered an indem-
nity of five hundred million dollars, one-half the French
fleet, to dismantle the fortresses of Alsace and Lorraine,
and to leave the Rhine provinces, for which France had
.commenced the war, in the hands of Prussia."
The reply, so far as it can be gathered from the offi-
cial journals in Berlin, was, that there is no longer any
government in France with which Prussia could form a
treaty ; that the present government in Paris exists only
by leave of the gutter democracy ; that the security of
the new empire which Prussia is establishing in Ger-
many renders it essential that France should be so weak-
ened, that Germany shall never again have cause to fear
that France will cross the Rhine.
Then it was asked, " Is it not equally important that
France should have protection against Germanic inva-
sion ? " The emphatic and unanswerable reply was,
" The conquered must submit to the will of the con-
queror."
* Testimouy of Dr. Schnergaus, a member of the city council.
WAR AND ITS WOES. 276
The onward sweep of the Prussian armies was sub-
lime in its aspect. While nearly three huncbed thousand
troops were assailing Marshal Bazaine at Metz, in a war-
tempest whose thunders were unintermitted by day or
by night, four hundred thousand more veteran soldiers,
with rapid strides, in such array that no force could be
brought to resist them, circled around the doomed city
of Paris, gu-ding it with a chain of ponderous batteries
and bristhng steel, through which there was no escape.
It seemed as though there were no limit to the number
of troops which Germany had poured into France. There
were enough to besiege Metz, to besiege Paris, to be-
siege a score of other minor fortresses ; and there were
men enough left to send powerful armies, — north to
Amiens, and south to Orleans and Tours. Every day
announced some new German victory. Jules Favre
endeavored to represent the Bonaparte dynasty as ex-
clusively responsible for the war. To this, Bismarck's
organ in BerUn, " The North-German Correspondent,"
rephed, —
"M. Jules Favre has given himself the trouble to
defend this perversion of history and common sense in a
long circular despatch. We maintain, on the other hand,
and our asseverations are supported by all the facts of
the case, that the immense majority of the French peo-
ple, through all the organs of public opinion, — in the
press, the Senate, the Corps Legislative, and the army,
nay, down to the very street-mobs of Paris, — demanded
war. Even the small minority which hold at present
in their hands the reins of state are so far from honest-
ly seeking peace, that they are doing what in thom lies
to make peace impossible."
Wc can form some estimate of the state of feeling in
2T6 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
France upon this subject by supposing that Mexico were
a rich, powerful military empire, with a population of
forty millions, and every man a trained soldier. If the
Mississippi were the only natural boundary between
Mexico and the United States, it would indeed be hu-
miliating to allow Mexico to hold the territory on both
banks of the stream, from the Gulf to the Ohio.
The German Empire, now rising in such gigantic pro-
portions, is in direct and intense antagonism with the
political principles prevailing almost universally in
France. It is an absolute government, founded upon
the doctrine of the divine right of kings and the exclu-
sive privileges of the nobles. The French Empire, now
crumbling to decay, was founded upon the doctrine of
the divine right of the people^ universal suffrage, and
equal rights for all men.
There was necessary antagonism between two sys-
tems of government so diametrically opposed to each
other. There could be no possible peace between them
but by clearly-defined boundaries which neither could
easily pass, — which France sought to establish ; or by
the one empire so disarming and weakening the other as
to render it impotent, — which last Prussia sought to do.
It would require volumes to describe the scenes of
horror which were now every hour transpiring. The
Prussians, in this most wonderful of campaigns, displayed
military ability which certainly has never been surpassed,
and I know not that it has ever before been equalled.
Paris was invested, in a circuit forty miles in diameter,
by an army numbering three hundred thousand men.
Every avenue of escape was cut off. The most formi-
dable intrenchments were thrown up at every point
which a sortie could strike. These intrenchments were
WAR AND ITS WOES. 277
protected by thirty tliousaiul men. In case of a sortie^
telegraphic coniraunication instantly brought to their
aid thirty thousand men on either side of them to attack
the assailants on both flanks. Thus ninety thousand
men behind the strongest earthworks were prepared to
repel any attempts to pierce their lines.
Tliree hundred thousand men surrounded Metz, and
its doom was sealed. The storm of an incessant bom-
bardment fell upon Montraedi and Toul and Thionville
and Bitche and Phalsburg. Bazelle was in ashes ; and
its three thousand inhabitants were wandering along the
roads, houseless, foodless, clotheless, seeking relief from
those who were nearly as miserable as themselves.
Seventy thousand Prussian cavalry scoured the coun-
try in all directions, gathering ample supplies for the
invading army of nearly a million of men. Almost
every day announced the demolition of some fortress, or
the capture of some town, by the resistless Prussians.
France, bleeding, robbed, humiliated, almost helpless,
was without any recognized government or any spirit
of cordial co-operation among its distracted people. As
the Prussians advanced, they found almost a deserted
country before them. The peasants, in terror, fled into
the woods.
Mr. Malet, a secretary of the English legation in Paris,
gives the following report of an interview he held with
Count Bismarck. The Prussian minister said in refer-
ence to peace with France, —
" We don't want money : we are rich. We don't
want ships : Germany is not a naval power. But we
know very well that we shall leave behind us in France
an undying legacy of hate ; and that, happen what may
just now, France will at once go into training. What
278 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
we now insist upon is Metz and Strasburg. We shall
keep them for a bulwai-k against French invasion, mak-
ing them stronger than ever before."
Metz and Strasburg, which Bismarck thus demanded,
were the main fortresses of the important provinces
of Alsace and Lorraine. These provinces embraced the
six northern departments of France, spreading over
12,430 square miles, and containing a population of
about three million inhabitants, who were intensely
French in their feelings.
In continuation of the conversation which Mr. Malet
reports. Count Bismarck said, " What the king and I
most fear is the effect of a republic in France upon Ger-
many. No one knows as well as we do what has been
the influence of American republicanism in Germany."
M. Jules Favre, in behalf of the government of the
national defence in Paris, as minister of foreign affairs,
visited Bismarck at the Prussian headquarters at
Ferrieres. He gives a minute report of the interview in
the "Moniteur " of the 28th of September. He says, —
" The count maintained that the security of Germany
commanded him to guard tli^ territory which protected
it. He repeated several times, ' Strasburg is the key to
the house : I must have it.' ' The two departments,' he
said, ' of the Bas Rhin and the Haut Mhm, a part of
the Moselle, with Metz, Chateaux Chalins and Senones,
are indispensable. I know well,' he added, ' that they
are not with us. That will impose an unpleasant job
upon us ; but we cannot help it. I am sure, that, in a
short time, we shall have a new war with you. We
wish to make it with all our advantaores.' "
" It is clear," writes Jules Favre, " that, in the intoxi-
cation of victory, Prussia wishes for the destruction of
WAR AND ITS WOES. 279
France. She demands three of our departments, two
fortified cities, — one of a hundred thousand, the other
of seventy-five thousand inhabitants, — and eight or ten
smaller ones also fortified. She knows that the popula-
tions she wishes to tear from us repulse her ; but she
seizes them, nevertheless, replying with the edge of the
sword to their protestations against such an outrage of
their civic liberty and their moral dignity. To the nation
that demands the opportunity of self-consultation she
proposes the guaranty of her cannon, planted at Mt.
Valdrien. Let the nation that hears this either rise at
once, or at once disavow us when we counsel resistance
to the bitter end."
On the 16th of October, Soissons, after a severe bom-
bardment, fell into the hands of the Prussians, with a
large amount of mihtary stores. Some idea of the
terrors of these bombardments may be inferred from the
fact, that, from an official statement, it appears that in
the bombardment of Strasburg, which lasted thirty-one
days, 441 pieces of ordnance were used, which threw
into the city 193,722 shots, averaging 6,249 daily, or
between four and five each minute. Some of these
enonnous missiles of destruction weighed a hundred and
eighty pounds.
Day after day came fraught with disaster. Though
the broken bands of the French, and the new recruits
which sprang up here and there, fought with despera-
tion, and gained some victories, the majestic march of
the Prussians was resistlessly onward. Paris was every
hour becoming more hopelessly bound in the iron girdle
which surrounded it. Under the empire, Paris had
become the most beautiful city in the world. Scholars,
artists, pleasure-seekers, thronged it from all nations.
280 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
Even the bitterest foes of the empire did not deny its
rapid increase in wealth, beauty, and all artistic attrac-
tions.
" The life of this beautiful city," says " The New-
York Tribune " of Nov. 29, 1870, " has been for eighteen
years one of the most singular examples ever seen of
an unbroken tide of material success. It has increased
vastly in extent, in riches, in population ; and, in every
department of luxury and art, there has been an im-
provement without parallel in recent times."
King William, and his son the Crown Prince, had been
honored guests at the Tuileries, and had admired the
beauties of a city which has no rival in Europe. It is
said that they shrank from the Vandalism of throwing
their shells into the palaces, the churches, the thronged
streets, the homes of elegance, and the galleries of art,
with which the city abounded. They feared that the
sympathies of the world would be with Paris, thus
doomed to destruction.
The war had now become simply an effort, on the
part of Prussia, to wrest from France Alsace and Lor-
raine, that France might be thus weakened, and Prussia
thus strengthened. The openly-avowed object was ter-
ritorial aggrandizement. Would Christendom sustain
Prussia in the destruction of Paris and the slaughter of
thousands of its helpless citizens for such an object? It
is confidently said that Count Bismarck urged the hurl-
ing of the shells, but that the king hesitated.
It should also be stated that Paris was surrounded
by a cordon of forts, supporting each other at such
a distance outside of the walls, that the Prussians
could not plant their siege-guns near enough to throw
their shells into the city ; and that this fact, not con-
WAR AND ITS WOES. 281
siclcrations of hnmanitj, caused the bombardment to Ije
postponed.
But, whatever the cause may have been, the dreary
weeks rolled on, with mcessant and bloody battles around
the walls ; while two millions of people, shut out from
all intercourse with the outside world, were consigned
to the resistless approaches of famine, — a foe more to be
dreaded than fire or the sword.
A part of the provisional government was in Paris :
a part liad escaped in a balloon to Tours. A French
army was gathering near Tours for the defence of the
portion of the ministry assembled there. A large army
of Prussians was on the march to capture those minis-
ters, or-disperse them. The Prussian king and his suite
took possession of the magnificent saloons of Versailles,
where they " fared sumptuously every day." Jules Fa-
vre was in Paris, acting as President of France. Gen.
Trochu was military governor of the city, having received
his appointment from the emperor. The complications
would have been exceedingly ludicrous, had not the cir-
cumstances been so extremely distressing.
On the 27th of October, King William sent the
astounding telegram to Berlin, " This morning, Bazaine
and Metz capitulated. A hundred and fifty thousand
prisoners, including twenty thousand sick and wounded,
laid down their arms this afternoon, — one of the most
imi)ortant events of the war. Providence be thanked ! "
For sixty-seven days, the gallant troops had struggled
against overpowering numl)ers. They had expended
their ammunition, and had eaten up tlieir horses. Tlicir
hospitals were filled with the sick and wounded, and
starvation was staring them in the face. The army did
not fall unavenged. Forty-five thousand of the army
282 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
of Prince Charles had perished, during the siege, of sick-
ness or wounds, sending a wail of anguish into forty-
five thousand German homes beyond the Rhine. The
suiTender of this army with its veteran soldiers and
generals, and the surrender of this all-important fortress
with its vast supply of heavy guns and small-arms, was
a disaster apparently irretrievable.
Marshal Bazaine was an imperialist. He had no re-
spect for the democratic committees which had sprung
up in different parts of France. These committees con-
sequently denounced him as a traitor, and clamored for
his head ; but subsequent developments proved that
he had done every thing he could do for the salvation of
woe-stricken France.
The capitulation of Metz released an army of three
hundred thousand Prussians to co-operate in the siege
of Paris, and to march with the forces advancing to-
wards the Loire. On the morning of the 30th of Oc-
tober, the governmental committee in Tours issued a
proclamation, in which they said, —
" Metz has capitulated. A general upon whom France
relied has just taken away {yient (jfenlever) from the
country, in its danger, more than a hundred thousand of
its defenders. Marshal Bazaine has betrayed us. He
has made himself the agent of the man of Sedan, and
the accomplice of the invader. Regardless of the honor
of the army of which he had charge, he has surrendered,
without even making a last effort, a hundred and twen-
ty thousand fighting men, twenty thousand wounded,
guns, cannons, colors, and the strongest citadel of
France. Such a crime is above even the punishment
of justice.
" Meanwhile, Frenchmen, measure the depths of the
WAR AND ITS WOES. 283
abyss into which the empu'e has precipitated you. For
twenty years, France submitted to this corrupting power,
which extinguished in her the springs of greatness and
of hfe. The army of France, stripped of its national
character, became, without knowing it, an instrument of
tyranny and servitude, and is swallowed up, in spite of
the lieroism of the soldiers, by the treason of their chiefs.
It is time for us to re-assert ourselves under the aigis of
the republic."
This address was signed by Cremieux, Glais-Bisoin,
and Gambetta, — men who were regarded as political
adventurers, and in whom France had no confidence.
Nothing can more clearly show the unfitness of such
men to govern than the total want of acquaintance
with human nature which this proclamation evinced.
France, in these hours of anguish, needed the union of
all parties by the spirit of mutual conciliation.
For twenty years the empire had governed France,
crowning it with prosperity, and making it the leading
power in Europe. Again and again the empu^e had
been sustained by the votes of the overwhelming major-
ity of the people. The rural population were imperial-
ists almost to a man. The army, composed of young
men taken from the cottages and the workshops, ardent-
ly supported the empire. The generals who led these
armies had, without an exception, taken the oath of
allegiance to the empire. Without the support of these
generals, these armies, and these masses of the people,
France was powerless ; and yet these committee-men,
wlio assumed to be the government of France, who
bad gained power simply through the energies of a
Parisian mol), endeavored to unite France under tlicir
government by denouncing the emperor in the strong-
284 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
est language of contempt, by declaring the chiefs of the
army to be traitors, the soldiers to be dupes, — who had
been, without knowing it, the instruments of tyranny
and servitude, — and the masses of the people as guilty
of the inconceivable folly of submitting for twenty
years to a corrupting power which had extinguished the
springs of life in France.
Under these circumstances, with the cities under the
control of the democratic party, heaping scorn upon
the imperialists and the rural districts, and all the lead-
ing officers of the church, the army, and the state,
wedded to the empire, there seemed to be no possibility
of that enthusiastic co-operation of all France which
was essential to the repulse of the invaders.
Still the generals and the armies fought despairingly,
and gained some minor victories. New recruits some-
what languidly entered the field. During the month of
November, the battle raged almost incessantly over
vast regions of the northern and central departments
of France. The emperor was a prisoner. The empire
was overthrown. There was no government in France.
Prussia, on the contrary, was guiding her invincible
bands with all the energies of despotic power. The
world, which looked on, could see no hope for France.
Her doom of utter defeat and humiliation seemed in-
evitable. Could France rally en masse with entliusiasm
under any recognized government, — imperial, monarchi-
cal, or republican, — with the seven millions of fighting
men she could bring into the field, with the entire com-
mand of the sea, enabling her to obtain any amount of
arms and munitions of war, she might still drive the
invaders bleeding and breathless from her soil; but
there seemed now to be no possibihty of this co-opera-
tion.
WAR AND ITS WOES. 285
Were the question between Fnince and Germany pre-
sented to an impartial umpire, the decision woukl uu-
douljtedly be, " Let the forty milKons of Germans be
organized under any form of government they may
choose, with the River Rhine as their southern frontier.
Let the forty millions of Frenchmen be organized luider
any form of government they may like, with the River
Rhine as their northern frontier."
This woidd be settling the question according to the
dictates of reason ; according to the boundary which
Nature has marked out. This would give neither party
the advantage over the other. With such a boundary,
the absolute empire of Germany and the republican
empire of France, or republican Germany and republi-
can France, might live on terms of fraternal kindliness.
But it seems now (early in December, 1870) that the
question is not to be settled by reason, but by iron and
by blood. The conquered must submit to the dictation
of the conqueror. The rolling centuries have, however,
taught us one lesson, — that notldng is settled in this ivorld
until it is settled right. The infamous treaties of 1815
planted the seeds of the wars which in these later years
have drenched the fields of Italy and Austria with blood,
and of the conflict which is now filling Germany and
France with the wailing cry of widows and of orphans.
We know not Avhat God has in reserve for France, for
Europe, for humanity. Nations as well as individuals
need and receive chastening from the Lord. In view
of the woes which are still desolating this war-scathed
world, one is led to cry out in anguish, " How long, O
Lord ! how long ? " The awful carnage now drenching
the fields of France with French and German blood
must ere long come to a close. Then the settlement
286 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
which shall be accepted will decide whether there shall
be permanent peace and fraternity, or merely a truce, to
give place, after a few years, to another bloody conflict,
which shall again shroud t-u'O nations, and perhaps all
Europe, in woe. Every friend of humanity will pray
that God will so guide the event, that abiding peace may
come to our sad, sad world.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE GERMANIC EMPIRE.
LL the plans of Count Bismarck seemed
almost miraculously to succeed. The
thought of a great German empire in the
heart of Europe, which should rival in
grandeur and power the glories of Charle-
magne, apparently inspired all Germany
with such enthusiasm as to silence every
republican murmur, and cause all fears of despotism to
be forgotten, and all aspirations for popular rights to be
obliterated from the public mind. State after State of
Southern Germany professed allegiance to Prussia, and its
readiness to accept King William as Emperor of United
Germany, — emperor by divine right ; to be the ruler,
and not the servant, of the people.
Bismarck knew full well, and frankly gave expression
to the opinion, that France would never consent, except
by compulsion, to leane herself at the mercy of Germa-
ny ; which empire, holding both banks of the Rhine, could
at any time pour her armies resistlcssly into the empii'c
of France. It was certain, that, were peace made upon
those terms, France, so soon as she had recovered from
the exhaustion and ravages of the war, would gather
her strength anew, to regain those provinces which she
M7
288 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
deemed essential to her independent existence, now tliat
Germany liad become a power before which all Enrope
trembled. Hence it was that Bismarck deemed it essen-
tial to the success of his plans that Prussia should not
only hold those Rhenish provinces on the south side of
the Rhine upon which she had already reared so many
impregnable fortresses, but that she should wrest from
France the whole remaining line from her frontier-for-
tress of Lauterburg, — a hundred miles south, to Basle,
in Switzerland.
This acquisition, transferring to Prussia the magnifi-
cent provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, with the ancient
fortress of Strasburg, would sink France to a second-
rate power. Nothing could induce her to make this
sacrifice but the deepest conceivable humiliation. The
fact that Prussia was abundantly prepared for the war,
with her armies all marshalled, with her ammunition-
wagons all filled, with her transportation-cars all ready,
indicates clearly that the attainment of this end was the
prominent object which Prussia had in view at the com-
mencement of the war. And it must be admitted that
this was shrewd policy. It was an essential step in the
plan of revivmg the empire of Charlemagne upon the
old feudal foundation of the divine right of kings. To
all the pleadings of humiliated France for peace, the in-
variable reply was, " Surrender Alsace and Lorraine ! "
Terrible as was the loss which the Prussians encoun-
tered in their series of almost uninterrupted victories,
their ranks were kept full by an incessant stream of re-
cruits forwarded from the Germanic States. The loss
of life seemed to be a matter not taken into considera-
tion in the prosecution of these plans of territorial
aggrandizement.
THE GERMANIC EMPIRE. 280
At no time from the commencement of the invasion
was there less than half a milUon of well-trained Ger-
man soldiers in France. Within a few weeks, they cap-
tured or destroyed three hundred and fifty thousand
regular French troops. It is said that there were about
four hundred thousand soldiers of all arms, many merely
citizen-soldiers, who were shut up in Paris. They manned
the forts, kept up an incessant fire on the Prussian hues,
and made many despei'ate sorties. Though at times
partially victorious, they were, in the end, always haffled.
Not a wagon could enter the city ; not an individual
could leave but by soaring through the clouds in a
balloon.
Various attempts were made, with more or less of
success, to create in different parts of France, beyond
the reach of the Prussian cannon, new armies. But the
well-trained Germans swept the territory in all direc-
tions, and almost every day brought its catalogue of
their victories and their conquests. Everywhere that
any considerable French force made its appearance, either
in the north near Amiens, or in the south upon the Loire,
they were pretty sure to be promptly assailed by a supe-
rior force of Prussians ; and however fiercely they fought,
and however densely they strewed the ground wdth the
slain of their assailants, they were eventually put to
flight.
Early in December, a sortie was attempted from Paris
with a hundred thousand men. The battle was as fierce
as mortal energies could wage. The slaughter on both
sides was dreadful. Both parties made victorious onsets ;
both parties shared in disastrous defeats. Thousands of
hearts in the cottages of France and Germany were rent
with anguish as tidings reached them of loved ones who
19
290 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
would never return. Still Prussia was steadily winding
her chains more tightly around the doomed city, crying
out, " Give us Alsace and Lorraine ! " and still the de-
spairing French exclaimed, " We will bury ourselves
beneath the ruins of Paris ere we will submit to any
further dismemberment of the empire ! " The tide
of public opinion in England and America was no^v
rapidly turning in favor of the French, who were
now fighting so heroically for the integrity of their
realms. All that France now hoped for was to obtain
such terms of peace as would not compel every French-
man to hang his head for shame. A writer in the " New-
York Herald " of Dec. 3 undoubtedly gave expression
to the rapidly-increasing public sentiment in saying, —
" And here we are led to look at the present object
and spirit of the war on the part of Prussia. Both the
purpose and character of this dreadful conflict have
changed. From a war of defence, and against ' the
Bonapartes,' it has become an ambitious and a relent-
less one. To squelch the French republic, and to dis-
member France, is now the object of the King of Prus-
sia. He says, or rather Count Bismarck says for him,
that it is not continued from hostility to republicanism.
Both pretend that they are not making war upon the
republic of France ; that they are comparatively indiffer-
ent as to what form of government the French people
may choose ; and that they have no wish to interfere with
such choice, or to impose any government upon the
nation. This declaration does not accord with their ac-
tion, nor with their sentiments and policy. It is unrea-
sonable to suppose a proud monarch, an absolutist of
the old ' divine-right ' school, like King William, would
be indifferent to the establishment of a republican gov-
TTTE GERMANTC EMPIRE. 291
ernment in France, or that lie would not try to prevent
it. It is as unlikely that his aristocratic minister, or the
proud aristocracy of Prussia, and the hundreds of petty
princes of Germany, are indifferent. No: they" fear too
much the danger to their own privileges from a great
republic in the heart of Europe, embracing such a vast
territory and population. They know by experience
a!id from the lessons of history what an extraordinary
influence a French republic has m awakening and diffus-
ing republican ideas and aspirations in surrounding na-
tions. They dread this propagandism of liberty and
democracy ; and, if possible, will extinguish the fire before
it is well lighted."
The pressui'e of defeat and misery was gradually
uniting all parties. The Catholic priesthood, which
has almost boundless influence over the peasantry, was
at first bewildered in view of the usurpation of the
government by democratic leaders in Paris, who were
as hostile to the church as to the empire ; but the
priests now began to see that the triumph of the Prus-
sians was the ruin of France.
« The priests," said " The London Times " of Dec. 2,
" in the rural districts, are preaching against the Prus-
sians. The rustics are, conscquentl}', terribly incensed
against the invaders. German patrols in the Valley of
the Loire are shot down from every hedge and build-
ing. The Prussian bearers of despatches are killed
when nobody but innocent-looldng ploughmen are in
sight. Many of these priests have been captured by
the Prussians, and they will be brought to trial."
The French troops did not rally with any enthusiasm
around Garibaldi : he was a foreigner and a heretic.
Though he fouglit heroically, and gained some minor
292 HISTOTIY OF P'RUSSIA.
victories with his small band, he could accomplish noth-
ing which would have any serious bearing on the issues
of the war. After almost every victory, he found it
necessary to order a retreat.
Early in December, Gen. De Paladines, who had gath-
ered an army of two hundred thousand new levies near
Tours, commenced a march for the relief of Paris. As
he approached the walls, a sortie was to have been made,
and the Prussian line at that point was to have been
crushed between the hosts. The soj-tie was attempted,
and, though partially successful, did not accomplish the
end desired. Gen. De Paladines commenced his march.
He was soon encountered by a superior force under
Prince Frederick Charles, and after a two-days' battle,
having inflicted and suffered terrible slaughter, was
driven back to Orleans.
The Prussians pursued them, and, having erected
their batteries, threatened to open fire upon the city.
To save the citizens from the horrors of a bombardment,
De Paladines withdrew his army, and, retiring to the
left bank of the Loire, permitted Orl(ians for the second
time to fall into the hands of the foe. This was on the
4th of December. The victorious Prussians, moving in
various directions, recaptured five important towns in
the vicinity. Still the French did not yield to despair.
" The London Times " of Dec. 5 says, —
" Special despatches show that the people are more
encouraged and better assured than ever before. Al-
though in the midst of almost crushing misfortunes, the
republicans are waging a desperate struggle for life and
liberty."
The disastrous defeat of De Paladines' army seemed to
destroy all hopes in Paris for relief from abroad. Fam-
THE GERMANIC EkPIRE. 293
iiic is a foe against which no power in the end can
contend. There were two millions of j^eople shut np
in J^aris. Rapidly tlieir provisions were disappearing ;
and no additional supplies could by any possibility bo
brought into the city. Haggard cheeks and skeleton
frames were already seen in the streets ; the animals in
the menagerie in the Jardin des Plantes were slain and
eaten ; cats and dogs and rats were, in the disguise of
French cookery, eagerly devoured ; horse-flesh became
a coveted dainty. To all the world it appeared that
the end was at hand, and that Paris must speedily
capitulate.
All accounts agreed in describing the conduct of the
French in these engagements as heroic in the extreme.
jNIany of the charges they made excited the admiration
of their foes. They disprove the assertion so frequently
made, that the Frenchmen of the present generation are
wanting in the chivalric courage which characterized
their ancestors.
Still the democratic provisional government at Tours
distrusted the old generals of the empire. They at-
tril)uted every defeat to their devotion to the empire,
and to tlieir want of zeal in fighting for a republic.
" It is a standing belief of the French," says one of
the daily journals, " that every general of theirs who is
beaten is a traitor. Napoleon, Bazaine, Leboeuf, Canro-
l)ert, and the rest, are traitors, or they never would have
suffered defeat. Cambriel also is a traitor, or he would
have permitted the Garibaldians to ride rough-shod over
liim. The last traitor is De Paladincs, — even ho wlio
was the idol of last week. We place him in tlio list
because the French already talk of having him court-
martialled. All idea that the Germans are mainly re-
294 HISTOJIY OF PKUSSIA.
sponsible for the defeat of their armies is scouted by the
people ; it is impossible ; and so the poor generals get
the blame."
The news was soon flashed along the wires that the
ancient city of Rouen, the world-renowned capital of
Normandy, was in the hands "of the conqueror. This
enriched the Prussians with the sjDoils of one of the
most fertile departments in France, — filling their maga-
zines with grain, and abundantly supplying them with
herds of fat cattle. Rouen was within sixty miles of
Havre, one of the most important seaports in France,
and the seat of many of its most celebrated manufac-
tures. The occupation of Rouen by the German troops
cut off all communication between Havre and the inte-
rior of France. Havre was trembling with fear, and all
her energies were paralyzed. Thus, day after day, the
prospects of France became more dark and hopeless ;
every Frenchman understood that it was a struggle for
national life. The surrender to the great German Em-
pire of the south bank of the Rhine, for the entire dis-
tance from Belgium and Holland to Switzerland, would
prove a blow from which France could never hope to
recover. Whether France were to exist as a republic,
a monarchy, or an empire, she must forever relinquish
the proud supremacy she had so long held in Euroj)e.
The Emperor of Germany could at any time say, " Obey
me, or I shall punish you."
Gen. Trochu had conducted the defence of Paris with
great ability. He had marshalled under his banners
four hundred thousand men, whom he had carefully
drilled, and supplied amply with arms from the arsenals
of Paris. By the incessant fire of his forts, he had kept
the enemy at such a distance from Paris, that he mani-
THE GERMANIC EMPIRE. 295
festly could not open upon the city any e£Fective bom-
bardment. Still it was reported in the journals that the
private secretary of the United-States ambassador (Mr.
Washburne) had stated on the 4tli of December tliat
famine would compel the surrender of Paris within three
weeks. Prince George of Saxony also telegraphed to
the king at Dresden, that it would not be possible for
tlie French to attempt any more offensive movements.
Still many considered it probable that Gen. Trochu
would make another desperate effort to cut through the
lines of the beleaguering foe.
As we write these lines, near the middle of Decem-
ber, one immense portion of the Prussian army, various-
ly estimated at from four to five hundred thousand men,
surrounds Paris with impregnable lines over thirty miles
in circuit. Another army, over two hundred thousand
strong, is driving the army of Gen. De Paladines, con-
sisting of two hundred thousand men and five hundred
pieces of cannon, across the Loire to the southern bank,
and is threatening a march upon Tours to disperse that
portion of the provincial government which is assembled
there. Another large German army is near Amiens,
sending out clouds of cavalry to scour the country in all
directions.
The only intercourse which the government in Paris
can have with the outside world is by means of balloons.
Watching the wind, an immense balloon is sent up some
two or three miles into the air, and then is left to drift
over the Prussian lines, often the target for sharpshoot-
ers and artillery, until, beyond the reach of Prussian
(japture, it descends into the fields of France with its
compact mail, and often with several passengers. A few
days ago, one of these balloons was seen flying before a
296 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
fierce wind, far off to sea, where all must have per-
ished.
Carrier-pigeons are taken from Paris in these balloons.
Letters are tied around their necks, when they return
on s^/ift wing to their accustomed cotes in Paris. Thus
only does the government in Tours hold any communica-
tion with the committee within the walls of the city.
The tremendous cannon planted upon the forts sur-
rounding Paris keep up an incessant cannonade upon
the Prussian lines. The thunders of the bombardment
shake the hills by day and by night. There are daily
battles as the French emerge from some portion of
their works, and fall fiercely upon the bristling circuit
of bayonets and batteries which surround them. An
eye-witness, who stood upon an eminence in the Prus-
sian lines on the 4th of December, thus describes the
scene in a despatch dated the next day : —
" A grand effort was made yesterday and the day be-
fore. There was a heavy cannonade ; but no infantry
appeared on the north side. Very early yesterday, it
was apparent there was hot work in the west. Mont
Valdrien was thundering away in every direction. From
the eminence overhanging Argenteuil every thing was
visible : a battle was progressing south of Valdrien.
Closer to me, the work was very warm. In the morning,
shells from the batteries at Nanterre and Courbevoie
had been crashing into Bezons and Argenteuil. A shel-
tered road behind the latter town is scored in many
places with deep ruts made by the shells.
" On the other side of the eminence where I stood,
the batteries kept up an unremitting fire of shells, which
ploughed its summit in all directions ; and the buildings
which crown the eminence were knocked about remorse-
THE GERMANIC EMITRE. 'l\)l
lesslj. As the day broke, my position became too dan-
gerous, notwithstanding its great advantages as a point
of outlook. I was compelled to evacuate, and retreat
into the low ground beyond it, which was only ' out of
th(; frying-pan into the fire.' If I went east, shells from
Labriche were tumbling into Epernay. St. Gratian and
Deuil and Montmigny and Stains were having rough
times at the hands of Fort du Nord. Farther round,
Digny and Le Bourget were attacked by Fort de TEst.
From Margency I accompanied a staff-officer through
Montmigny, round by Garagi and Arnonville. For the
first time during the siege, the Fort du Nord was throw-
ing shells into IMontmorency.
" In the forenoon, there had been a sortie toward
Stains. Three battalions came over the flat against it,
supported by a close-sustained fire from the Fort du Nord
and Lunette de Stains. The village was garrisoned by
the second regiment of the Guard, and battalions of
Queen Elizabeth's Regiment. The French had two bat-
talions of Gardes Mobiles, and one of Garde Imp6riale.
They came on with great resolution and in excellent
order. The German Guards, who were waiting for them,
received them with a steady fire within short range.
The Frenchmen tried a rush ; but the bullets stopped
them. After holding their ground for a little while, and
exchanging shots with the Germans, the inevitable result,
a retrograde movement, set in. The French, however,
deserve credit for the regular manner of the retreat.
" Another demonstration, in the direction of Bourget,
was made at a later hour. Dense columns of French
tro(»[)s appeared on the plain in front of Fort Aubers-
villier, and advanced steadily towards Bourget ; but they
lost heart before they got nearer than the railway-sta-
298 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA
tion, and never came within range. Bourget, already
pounded with shells, was again bombarded all day. In
fact, the fire of shells from the forts all round the circuit
was heavy and continuous, but so wild and purposeless,
withal, that it did little damage. Every thing on the
northern side has been in the nature of a feint."
Such are the scenes, which, while we write these lines,
are transpiring around unhappy Paris. To human view,
there is no hope for France. The cup of humiliation is
placed to her lips ; and, unless there should be some al-
most supernatural interposition, she must drain it to its
dregs.
The conduct of the Committee of National Defence in
Tours, under these trying circumstances, did not secure
the confidence of the people in France, or of intelligent
observers in any part of the world. A writer in " The
New- York Tribune " of Dec. 8 says, —
" The behavior of the Tours Government, on learning
of the defeat of the Army of the Loire at Orleans, is
more discouraging to the true friends of France than re-
verses in the field ; for it shows that the men who are
now suffered to direct the destinies of the nation have
neither the intelligence nor the temper of statesmen, and
that, in the days of humiliation and internal discord
which must follow the close of the war, they will proba-
bly be found wanting in the real qualities of leadership
which the country will then need.
" The policy of the Committee of Defence thus far
has been to utter magnificent boasts, and, when their
recklessness had been exposed, to throw the blame of
failure upon people who don't deserve it. Very soon
there will be a collapse of the whole fabric of deception,
just as there was of Napoleon's military organization.
THE GERMANIC EMPIRE. 209
M. Gambetta had better ask himself what he thinks will
become of the government of the national defence when
the day of enlightenment arrives."
Thomas Carlyle, who is the avowed advocate of abso-
lute governments, and the opponent of government by
the people, and who is probably more famihar with Prus-
sian and German politics than almost any other man,
expresses the following views in reference to the great
German empire now rising into being. We give his
words as reported in a letter from Mr. Moncure D. Con-
way, dated London, Oct. 25, and published in " The
Cincinnati Commercial : " —
" I have just passed an evening," writes Mr. Conway,
" with Thomas Carlyle. Long ago, he recognized ' mag-
nanimous Herr Bismarck,' as he called him, as a man
after his own heart, and as the ' coming man ' of the
fatherland. As you may judge, recent events have only
increased his enthusiasm for Germany, and his esteem
for Bismarck.
" With regard to Count Bismarck, he said, ' All the
politicians in the world seem to me as mere windbags
beside him. He has shown himself capable of throwing
himself utterly into his cause ; and all other causes are
simply insignificant in comparison with his, — the build-
ing-up of a great genuine power and government in
Europe out of the only solid materials left in it; for,
really, it seems to me that the true principles of order
and government have almost disappeared from Europe,
were it not for Germany.'
"■ Speaking of the destiny of Germany,. Carlyle ex-
pressed the opinion that it was inevitable that it would
become speedily consolidated, and that the chief, more
particularly the German portions of Austria would, a
300 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
little later perhaps, be united with the rest of Germany.
He anticipated that the influence of such a Germany
would be infallibly peaceful. ' The very name of the
German indicates how strong he has already been in
war. German means only guerre-man, or war-man.' "
Every day since the commencement of the war, the
conflict has been marked with increasing ferocity on both
sides. This, of course, was to have been expected. A
small party of Prussian cavalry came clattering into a
defenceless village near Rouen, and commenced levying
some«petty exactions from the people. Wliile thus en-
gaged, a body of French cavalry rode suddenly in, fired
upon them, and killed several. The rest sprang to their
horses, and escaped. The next day, the Prussians re-
appeared with re-enforcements numbering six hundred
men, and with two cannon. Ascending a neighboring
eminence, they bombarded the town until it was laid in
ashes, and then turned their guns upon the two neigh-
boring villages of H^ricourt and Le Fresnoy, which they
also demohshed. While engaged in this work, a party
of French sharpshooters rapidly gathered, and placed
themselves in ambush, to assail them as they retired ;
and this they did with a fire so deadly, that twenty-six
wagons were required to carry ofp the slain.
" Every thing," writes a correspondent from Havre
to " The Boston Journal," " leads me to believe that
the Prussians are now becoming unduly ferocious.
They meet a more decided resistance than heretofore,
and revenge themselves on any one they catch. Their
mode of procedure is to tie any unfortunate fellow they
catch on the road by the wrists with a rope, which they
attach to the pommels of their saddles. If one dragoon
succeeds in arresting half a dozen, he ties them all in
THE GERMANIC EMPIRE. 301
this wa}', and brings them in, dragging them at the ani-
mal's heels with the same exultation that an Indian would
parade so many scalps. A hasty trial, in which there
are only two or three formulas, is hurried through ; and
the nearest thicket answers for a place of execution.
This is to strike terror into the hearts of all the civilians
who desire to arm themselves. At the town of Ar-
mentieres, a perfectl}'^ trustworthy eye-witness, recently
returned from Rouen, declares that he saw this sad
spectacle. J\Icn, pale with rage, were trying in vain
to extinguish the fires that were burning down their
houses ; women, in despair, had thrown themselves on
the ground, trying to cover their screaming childi'en
with their bodies, and huddling around them the frag-
ments of their wretched furniture, which they had
dragged from the flames ; one old woman, eighty-four
years old, was screaming to l)e taken out of a l)urning
house, and her son tore his hair as he tried in vain to
drag the smouldering l)eams from her aged limbs ; and
one villager, a tremendous athlete, was so overcome
with anger and sorrow, that he expired from apoplexy
in the midst of his four widowed children. Meantime
the hideous projectiles continued to fall, as by and by
they will fall on dear old Paris and all the familia?
haunts, to baptize in blood the new republic. One
of the incidents of this avenging bombardment had
sinister consequences. Four men stood up together
amid the ruins of their burned and blackened houses,
and swore each to kill a Prussian before the next sun-
set. Four lancers were found dead near each other on
the high road from Armcntieres to Ilericourt the next
day. Extravagant as this may seem, it is strictly true
To amuoc themselves as they were returning liouic, tiie
302 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
Prussians took a dozen stout peasants whom they found
repairing a bridge over a road whereon French troops
were expected to pass, and gave them each twenty-five
lashes on their bare backs, — so mangling them, that
none could stand alone after it."
It would be difficult to number the French cities
which were exposed to the horrors of bombardment ;
and no one who has not witnessed the spectacle can
form any conception of the terror and horror of the
scene. An immense projectile, weighing from one to
two hundred pounds, rises majestically into the air, and
then, with a terrific noise, rushes headlong towards the
ground, bursting as it strikes with a loud explosion, scat-
tering ruin in all directions. Ponderous walls crumble
before these thunderbolts of war. Massive buildings are
demolished by them. There is no safety anywhere.
There is much more of sincere piety among many of
the peasantry and the liumble orders in France than
is generally supposed in Protestant countries. When
Strasburg was enduring the agony of bombardment,
one who was present, sharing the peril and the terror,
describes the scene as follows : —
" At a quarter before nine last night, the bombard-
ment began. From that time until eight o'clock this
morning (eleven hours), the firing did not cease. It
was one continuous roaring, — a rushing and whistling
of missiles in the air, followed by the crashing of cliirn-
neys, and, from time to time, cries of misery and terror.
The night was very dark. It rained ; and it was impos-
sible, standing on the ramparts, to distinguish the
position of the hostile batteries, which were placed
behind some building, or protected by the scarp of the
railroad ; and they were thus enabled to carry on their
THE GERMANIC EMPIRE. 30,3
work of destruction uiiptiiiisbed. Our people at>k v hat
this treatment signifies. . . . Our enemies know that
there are eighty thousand inhabitants in the city, a
harmless population, — childi-en, trembling mothers ; that
the city is full of the sick and wounded, who are thus
robbed of invigorating sleep, or whose death they ac-
celerate. It is not possible to give an estimate of the
damage done to innumerable buildings during the night.
We should have to record nearly every street in the
city ; and, in some streets, nearly all the houses. The
shells came from all sides, and into all quarters of the
city.
" The shells fell by tens and hundreds in one and the
same street. As soon as one house was set on fire, shell
after shell was poured in upon the flames, preventing
the work of the firemen. The whole city is covered
with ruins : the roofs, chimneys, and facades are de-
stroyed on all sides."
Such are the scenes which are now, as we write these
lines, continually transpiring in France. It is, indeed,
incomprehensible that a loving God can look calmly
down in the permission of such enormities. While the
city was shaken, and blazing beneath this terrific tempest
of war, the pastor of the Church of St. Thomas issued
the following notice to his flock: —
" If the dear God spare our life, a prayer-service will
be held Sunday morning at half-past nine : if not, dear
fathers and mothers, perform the religious deities your-
selves, amid your own families. Read a hymn from the
hymn-book, a chapter from the Bible. The God of old
still lives : call on liiiu in your need. And, though Imdy
and soul languish, we will still remain true to him, and
thank him ; for he is our Helper and our God."
304 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
The general course pursued by the Prussians upon
the capture of a town is described by all correspondents
as follows: A certain number of soldiers are imme-
diately marched into the place. These generally arrive
towards evening, after a day's march, hungry and cross.
The mayor is sent for, and informed that so many
cattle, so many bushels of grain, and so much wine,
must be immediately furnished. The requisition usually
amounts to very much more than it would be possible
for the place to furnish. The trembling mayor collects
every thing he can. The soldiers are billeted in the
different houses : the horses are often stabled in the
church and town-hall. The Prussian flag is hoisted ;
and the slightest opposition to the will of the conqueror
draws down upon the inhabitants the severest punish-
ment. The soldiers must be fed, though women and
children starve.
There were, occasionally, amusing events in the midst
of these scenes of woe. The Prussians, emboldened
by victory, often resorted to measures of astonishing
audacity. It is said that the Mayor of Fontainebleau
had gathered the city council around him, and was
vigorously passing war-measures, when the clatter of a
squadron of horsemen was heard in the court3^ard.
The leader of this cavalcade of forty men leaped from
his horse, and, armed to the teeth, entered the council-
chamber, and demanded the keys of the city.
"• We hjive no keys," the mayor calmly replied.
" Fontainebleau is an open town."
" Well, then," said the dragoon, " let us know where
we can lodge ; and prepare at once the necessary rations
for thirty thousand men, who are only a few hours be-
hind."
THE GERMANIC EMPIRE. 305
" All riglit," said the ma3^or ; and then, turning to the
council, added, *' Let us conduct these gentlemen to the
chateau, since we must ; and there we can provide thum
with stabling and lodging."
The party immediately left for the magnificent
chateau, a world-renowned edifice associated with
many of the most extraordinary events in French his-
tory. The dragoons were conducted into the court-
yard ; and, while feeding their horses, the gates were
suddenly closed. The mayor on the outside, looking
through the iron railing, said, " Gentlemen, you are my
prisoners : try and make yourselves at home." The
dragoons were in a terrible rage, uttered fearful threats
of vengeance to be inflicted so soon as their troops
should come up, and refused to surrender.
" Very well," the mayor replied, " your poor beasts
shall not suffer ; but you shall not have one morsel of
bread until you lay down your arms, and yield your-
selves as prisoners. When the thirty thousand troops
come, we will surrender to them,, but not to forty
di'agoons."
In two hours the dragoons surrendered, and were
sent to a safe place within the French lines. The
thirty thousand troops did not come.
In conclusion, let us reflect upon the following historic
facts, which probably no intelligent reader will con-
trovert : —
1. Prussia, or rather Count Bismarck, who repre-
sented Prussia, some years ago formed the project of
re-organizing Germany into a vast empire founded u\)on
the divine right of kings to rule, and of the duly of the
people to be ruled.
20
306 HISTOEY OF PRUSSIA.
2. In the accomplishment of this plan, the treaties of
1815, which Prussia had sworn to respect, were entirely
disregarded and overthrown.
3. By diplomacy and war, Prussia suddenly rose from
a nation of about fifteen millions to a nation numbering
forty millions, with every able-bodied man a trained
soldier, constituting a military power unsurpassed by
that of any other nation.
4. France could easily have prevented this expansion
by uniting with Austria, as M. Thiers urged the im-
perial government to do. This union would inevitably
have crushed Prussia at Sadowa, and would have saved
France from the ruin in which she is now involved.
5. The imperial government refused thus to oppose
the unification of Germany, declaring that the Ger-
mans had a right to manage their own affairs, and that
it was desirable for the prosperity of Germany that its
fragmentary States should be consolidated into one na-
tion.
6. This consolidation being thus effected, the imperial
government in France asked, that, in consideration of
its assent to the unification of Germany, Prussia should
surrender to France those Renish provinces on the
French side of the Rhine which had been wrested from
her by the treaties of 1815, and placed in the hands
of Prussia, — provinces which France deemed, in the
altered state of affairs, essential to her independence ;
qualifying, however, the request with the provision, that
the people of those provinces should decide by vote
whether they would return to France, or would remain
with Prussia.
7. Prussia peremptorily refused this proposition, but,
xecoiT-nizing in a measure the reasonableness of the
THE GERMAN lU EMI'lUE. 307
demand, proposed, according to the testimony of the
French and English ambassadors, that France shoukl
extend her frontier to the Rhine by seizing upon Bel-
gium. Tliis proposition France instantly rejected.
8. France tlien proposed to all the crowned heads of
Europe that a congress should be called to reconstruct
the boundaries of the nations, so that the agitating
questions then arising, menacing Europe with war,
should be settled by an appeal to reason, and not by the
sword. This pacific plan was rejected.
9. Prussia, while France was thus trembling in view
of her peril in having the immense fortresses on the
left bank of the Rhine in the hands of so formidable a
power, and leaving the gateway of France wide open
to German invasion, endeavored by secret intrigue to
place a German prince upon the throne of Spain. This
would convert Spain into a German province, re-creating
the old German empire of Charles V. Thus France
would find herself powerless, exposed to be crushed by
Germany at her leisure,
10. All France was alarmed. Imperialists, monarch-
ists, and republicans alike shared in the general agita-
tion. Prussia was informed that France could not
consent to the conversion of Spain into a province of
Germany by placing the Spanish crown upon the brow
of a German prince.
11. Prussia consented to withdraw Prince Leopold,
to whom, as a man, France had no objection, but peremp-
torily (France says insultingly) refused- to give any
assurance that she woidd not place some other German
prince upon the Spanish throne.
12. Thus menaced, the people of France exclaimed
with one voice, that it had become essential to the indo-
308 HISTORY OF PKUSSIA.
pendence of France that she should rechiim her ancient
boundary of the Rhine. The uprising of the whole
nation, of men of Ihe most antagonistic parties, in
this demand, is not to be regarded as an act of frivolity,
but as a deep conviction, pervading the entire of
France, that the independence of the nation was im-
perilled.
13. It is manifest that Count Bismarck, who represents
Prussia, was aware that the measures he was adopting
would lead to war; that he desired war; that he had
made the most ample preparations for war ; and that the
results have, thus far, been just what he hoped to
accomplish. Prussia retains the provinces on the left
bank of the Rhine, crushes the military power of
France, and seizes upon Alsace and Lorraine, thus in-
creasing her territory, multiplying her fortresses, and
commanding both banks of the Rhine from Belgium to
Switzerland.
14. One of the last telegrams which has crossed the
Atlantic, as we write these lines, is as follows : —
" Intelligence from Brussels gives the assurances that
Prussia is fully resolved to annex Luxembui-g, upon the
ground that Luxemburg is essential to render Lorraine
strategically useful."
No intelligent man doubts that similar considerations
will lead speedily to the positive or the virtual annexa-
tion of both Belgium and Holland. The grandeur of
the Germanic Empire seems to leave them both at her
mercy.
15. The action of the democratic leaders in the great
cities, in taking advantage of the Prussian invasion, and
of the captivity of the emperor, to seize upon the reins
of power, operates in many respects very disastrous! v-
TOE r.ERMAXIC EMTTRE. 300
The empire was the choice of the French people. The
democratic party in Paris, Lyons, and Marseilles, com-
posed of an incongruous mass of moderate republicans,
red republicans, and socialists, in deadly hostility to
each other, has not the confidence of the people of
France. They cannot with entlmsiasm rally around
usurpers, who in the hour of disaster have grasped
power, unsustained by either the old feudal doctrine
of divine right, or by the modern doctrine of popular
suffrage.
16. France is effectually cut off by this action of
the democratic leaders from any alliance with any other
power. Prussia refuses to recognize these committees
even enough to treat with them. England, Italy, Aus-
tria, all tremble in view of the enormous encroachments
of Prussia ; but not one of these powers can interfere
in behalf of anarchic France. The British Government
will not enter into an alliance with a self-constituted
democratic committee in Paris. Victor Emanuel can-
not lend his armies to build up a democracy in France,
which has overthrown the empire, to which he is in-
debted for the crown of Italy, — a democracy whose first
attempt, in case of success, would be to demolish his
throne, and erect upon the ruins an Italian republic.
Spain, which lias rejected a republic and voted for a
monarchy, and which has placed a son of Victor Eman-
uel upon her throne, refusing to recognize the committee
for national defence as the government of France, can-
not be expected to cross the Pyrenees with her armies
to aid in consolidating a government which Spain has
refused to acknowledge. And Austria is the last nation
on tlie continent of Europe to be fighting for the estab-
lishment of democracy in France.
310 HISTOr.Y OF PRUSSIA.
17. Thus the disastrous overthrow of the repub-
lican empire in these hours of misfortune and dis-
may — a government which was acknowledged and
respected by all the nations of Europe, and which was
established and sustained by the overwhelming majori-
ty of the French people — seems to doom France to
irretrievable destruction. There is no cordial union at
home, there is nothing to be hoped for from abroad.
18. France, under the empire, has for twenty years
been one of the most prosperous, influential, and happy
nations on the continent of Europe. All the arts of
industry have flourished; the most magnificent works
of internal improvement liave been constructed ; and the
nation has been advancing with rapidity never before
experienced in education, wealth, and power. Paris
has been one of the most orderly, well-regulated, and
attractive cities on the globe. The most refined" and
wealthy families from all nations have there found a
happy home. Could France but hope that the next
twenty years would be like the last, she would be happy
indeed.
Suddenly a moral earthquake has come ; and all
France presents the aspect of consternation, ruin, and
woe. More than half a million of invaders arc: sweeping
over her territory, leaving behind them famine, smould-
ering ruins, and fields crimsoned with blood. There is
no recognized government in France which Europe will
acknowledge, or around which the French people are
willing to rally. A darker hour than that which, at the
close of the year 1870, spreads its gloom over France,
few nations upon this globe have ever experienced.
The world looks on with wonder to see what results
THE GERMANIC EMPIRE. 311
God designs to evolve from these scenes of ruin and of
wretchedness. \yiicn may we hope that the prayer
wliich our Saviour has taught us will be answered? —
'•'' Tliy kingdom come ; Thy ivill he done, in earth as in
hi-aveny
CHAPTER XXV.
THE SIEGE OF PAEIS.
'HE empire in France was a republican
empire, founded upon universal suffrage,
recognizing the right of the people to or-
ganize their own form of government,
abolishing all aristocratic privilege and all
feudal immunities, and establishing the
doctrine of equal rights for all men. Not-
withstanding its attempt to conciliate Europe by its
adoption of monarchical forms, and its disavowal of any
design to disturb other governments by inciting demo-
cratic insuiTections, its entu-e renunciation of " leaiti-
macy" and of "privilege" rendered it obnoxious to
dynastic Europe. If the people of France might choose
their own sovereign, adopt such form of government as
pleased them, frame their own constitution, and enact
and execute their own laws, why might not the people
of England, Prussia, Austria, demand the same right ?
Still there was embarrassment. In France there were
essentiallj^ three parties : 1. The old feudal party of
legitimacy. 2. The compromise party of the empire.
3. The democratic party, in its various shades of mod-
erates, radicals, and communists. The overthrow of
the empire might not re-introduce the old feudal reyime
312
THE SIEGE OF TARIS. 313
under the Bourbons, or its somewhat modified spirit
under the Orleanists, but might possibly be succeeded
by some form of democracy under avowed and deadly
hostility to every European throne : therefore the dy-
nasties reluctantly tolerated the empire, fearing that its
overthrow might lead to something worse.
It was under these circumstances that Count Bismarck
formed the plan of re-organizing the ancient German Em-
pire upon the basis of the divine right of kings and the
exclusive privileges of nobles. Only such modifications
of the old feudal refjimes were submitted to as the
changed state of the times rendered inevitable. The
avowed object of this movement was to head off and
crush out the sentiment of popular rights, which was
gradually being disseminated throughout Europe. Count
Bismarck and King William were in entire harmony in
this aim ; and they prosecuted their enterprise with
sagacity, energy, and success, which has astonished the
world.
It is said that revolutions never roll backwards. Per-
haps they do not ; but here there is an apparent reflex
flow of the most appalling kind. This gigantic German
Empire, formed, not by the people of Germany, but by
the twenty-five German princes who hold their ofiices
by divine right, and who have combined in the organi-
zation of the empire, can instantly silence, throughout
all Germany, any voice which may dare to speak in favor
of popular rights.
Still it may prove to be an excellent government. It
may be that the German people are like children, who
cannot be safely trusted with the management of their
own affairs. It is for the interest of the emperor and
his associate kings and princes to seek the prosperity
314 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
and happiness of tlieir several peoples. In tlieir com-
bined action they are certainly so strong, that they
can easily and instantly crush out any attempt at a
popular uprishig in any portion of their realms. It
is also very certain that a democratic government may .
he very corrupt, oppressive, and ruinous. Tiiis holy
alliance of the princes of Germany in a consolidated
empire will undoubtedly secure Germany from revolu-
tions for many years to come ; and may, perhaps, confer
upon the people blessings, which, under present circum-
stances, could not be attained in any other way.
The power of this new and majestic empire is con-
trolled by the emperor and the associate princes. There
are three bodies recognized in the government : 1. The
Emperor. The crown is hereditary in the person of the
King of Prussia, who is almost the absolute sovereign
in his own realm. 2. The Imperial Council. This con-
sists of the twenty-five princes of various degrees of
power and dignity, whose realms constitute united Ger-
many. Their votes are in accordance with the extent
and population of their domains : the King of Prussia
has seventeen votes, — one-third of all ; Bavaria casts six
votes \ Saxony and Wurtemberg, four each ; Baden and
Hesse, three; Mecklenburg, Schwerin, and Brunswick,
two; the rest, one each. The princes are all hereditary
legislators, ruling by right of birth or divine right.
3. There is a third body, called the Reichstag. It con-
sists of three hundred and eight3^-two members, chosen
by universal suffrage, — one deputy for each hundred
thousand of the population. This gives Prussia two
hundred and forty members, — nearly two-thirds of the
whole.
It seems rather hard for France, that as the reward
THE SIEGE OF PARIS. 315
for her having consented to the unification of Germany,
wliich she could easily have prevented, she should Ije
trampled so mercilessly beneath the feet of that gigantic
empire. Pere Hyacinthe said, in a speech in London
the latter part of December, 1870, —
" Justice has been denied the second empire ; for that
government made the unity of Italy, and caused that of
Germany. It was a generous policy, well expressed by
Napoleon III., during the Italian campaign, in these
words : ' Every one knows that before the flag of France
there goes a great idea, and l)ehind it a great people.' " ^
On the 11th of August, 1870, as the Germanic legions
were pouring into France, King William issued a proc-
lamation, addressed " To the French Nation," dated at
Saarbriick, in which he said, " Prussia wars, not on
France, but on Bonaparte." To Napoleon personally
he had no objections : they were friends. It was the
republican empire to which he was opposed. But
when the imperial army was overthrown, and Napoleon
was a prisoner, and " the gentlemen of the pavement of
Paris," as Bismarck designated them, had seized upon
1 In a sermon preached by the Rev. 0. B. Frothingham, and reported in the
New- York Herald of Jan. 2, 1871, we find the following striking remarks: —
" We examine French imperialism, and we find that we cannot condemn it
more than other imperialisms in history. You say that the country was licen-
tious: there wfis not so much licentiousness in France under Napoleon III. as
under Louis XIV. or Louis XV. You say the empire was extravagance: the
cost of governing France for the last ten years was not so much as for five years
imder Louis' reign. It costs no more to keep Paris clean than to keep New
York dirty. The empire was peace, order, and prosperity. You say the
emperor wa,s a tyrant : he was elected by the people. You say that the elec-
tion was not a fair one, and that the ballot-boxes were stufled: the ballot-boxes
arc stulled in New York. In spite of cavil, Napoleon submitted the question
of imperialism to the people four times; and four times the people said, 'Rule
over us.' The empire was splendor: the glory of Paris wa.s the glory of tho
world."
316 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
the reins of government, — thus transferring the supreme
power, not back to the old regime^ but forward to the
democracy of the cities, — then Bismarck and King Wil-
liam were alarmed ; and they would gladly have re-
instated Napoleon upon the throne, after having wrested
from France both banks of the Rhine, from Belgium to
Switzerland. France thus deprived of any natural
boundary, with Germany in possession of the whole val-
ley of the Rhine and of the majestic fortresses which
frown along its shores, was entkely at the mercy of
Germany. At any hour the German legions could rush
into France from these vast ramparts ; while at the same
time the Rhine and its fortresses presented an impassable
barrier against any advance of the French troops into
the new empire.
Under these circumstances, it became quite manifest
that it was the policy of the German conquerors to re-
store Napoleon to" his throne, after having so weakened
France that she would be powerless in the hands of her
victors. And it was cruelly reported that the Emperor
of France was willing so to submit to such humiliation
as to allow himself to be carried back to the Tuileries
by the arms of the conquering Prussians. The emper-
or, with great good sense, had quietly submitted to his
fate ; for it had ever been one of the fundamental prmci-
ples of his belief, that he was borne along by providences
over which he had but little control. Prosperity did
not elate him ; adversity did not depress him. But, as
the rumors of his plottings to regain the throne by some
military stratagem became widely diffused, he, on the
12th of December, 1870, authorized, from his imprison-
ment at Wilhelmshohe, the following statement to be
made : —
TDE SIEGE OF PARIS. 317
" It would be quite well if it were j)ublicly understood
that I never intend to remount the throne on the strength
of a military pronunciamento, by the aid of the soldiery,
just as little as by that of Prussia. I am the sole sover-
eign in Europe who governs, next to the grace of God,
by the will of the people ; and I shall never be unfaith-
ful to the origin of either. The whole people, which
has four times approved of my election, must recall me
by its deliberate votes, else I shall never return to
France. The army possesses no more right to place me
on the throne than had the lawyers or loafers to push
me from it. The French people, whose sovereign I am,
has the sole decision." ^
Count Bismarck has testified to the cordial assent
which France gave to the unification of Germany, and
that Prussia had no fears that France would take any
dishonorable advantage of the war between Prussia and
Austria to regain her lost boundary of the Rhine. It
was always the desire of the imperial government, in
accordance with its declaration that " the empire is
peace," to avoid all war, and to obtain a rectification of
its boundaries by " reason," and not by " iron and by
blood."
In 1866, when all the military energies of Prussia
were concentrated in the march upon Sadowa, Count
Bismarck said to Mr. Benedetti, " Our trust in the good
faith of the French Government is so firm, that we have
not a sinjxle soldier left on the left bank of the Rhine." ^
As we have mentioned, France, at the commencement
of the war, had but about four hundred thousand sol-
* Correspondence of the New- York Herald, Dec. 30, 1870.
• Testimony of the Marquis de Gricourt.
318 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
diers in the field. Prussia, all prepared for the conflict,
with her troops in marching-order, her rail-cars for their
transportation all ready, and her vast magazines on both
banks of the Rhine filled with the materiel of war, in-
stantly, upon the declaration of hostilities, sent into
France nearly a million of men ; while another million
were held in reserve, following in a continuous stream,
to take the place of those who fell in battle, and to
replenish the German armies wherever they needed re-
enforcements.
The imperial troops of France, after a few bloody
battles, were overpowered, and all either slain or cap-
tured. The German hosts were so numerous, that on
every battle-field they could outnumber their foes by
two or three to one. The world probably never saw
braver and better disciplined soldiers, more skilful com-
manders, or better armaments, than the Germans brought
into the struggle.
Having annihilated the imperial armies, the Germans
had troops enough to send four hundred thousand men
to lay siege to the city of Paris, to besiege with over-
powering numbers every fortress and walled city which
the French still garrisoned, and also to send resistless
armies in all directions to gather supplies and to im-
pose contributions upon the people. The French sol-
diers in garrison, and the new recruits who were hur-
riedly summoned to the field, fought valiantly, but with
almost unvarying defeat. Every day witnessed the tri-
umph and the advance of the German arms.
The sieges of some of the walled towns were awful
beyond all imagination, attended with an appalling loss
of property and of life, and an accumulation of misery
v/Iiich God only can gauge. In the midst of terrific
THE SIEOE OF PARIS. 319
bombardments, sliells exi)loJing in tlie crowded streets
and in the tlii'oni;e<I dwellings, conflag'rations blazed
forth ; and scenes of tumult, dismay, and woe, were wit-
nessed, which could not have been surpassed had fiends
been the agents.
The annals of war contain no other record of such a
career of victories as attended the German arms. In
the course of a few weeks, Strasburg, Phalsburg, Toul,
Vitry le Fran^ais, Verdun, Metz, Laon, Soissons, Bitche,
Mclizieres, Rocroy, Schelestadt, Neuf Brisach, Thionville,
Montm(?dy, Perronne, Longwy, and many other places
of minor note, fell into the hands of the invaders.
Many of the towns were military posts of the first order.
The world was astounded to see these fortresses, one
after another, crumljling before the batteries of the Ger-
mans.
In the course of a few months sixteen pitched battles
were fought, with often two hundred thousand men or
more on either side. In nearly all these battles, the Ger-
mans were victorious. If they met with a momentary
repulse, they immediately replenished their thinned
ranks, and advanced again to certain victory. Besides
these general battles, there were innumerable minor con-
flicts. For five months, there was not an hour, by day
or by night, in which, in some part of the vast lield swept
by these opposing hosts, the murderous thunders of bat-
tle were not heard.
One division of the German array, under Gen. Von
Werder, swept in a broad path down the eastern frontiers
of France, scattering all opposition, a distance of two
hundred miles, to Dijon and Chalons. Another division,
un(l(!r the Crown I*niu;e, Ijatt^ringdown fortresses, rout-
ing armies, capturing opulent towns, ravaged the north-
320 HISTORY OP PRUSSIA.
era sections of France, through the whole breadth of
the empire almost to the English Channel. Another
host, more than two hundred thousand strong, marching
directly beyond Paris, bore their victorious banners
through many a bloody fight to the banks of the Loire,
capturing Orleans and Tours, and every other place on
their lines of advance.
King WiUiam, taking the magnificent palace of Ver-
sailles for his headquarters, with Count Bismarck and
Baron Moltke in his suite, invested Paris with four
hundred thousand veteran troops. The city was encom-
passed by military lines thirty or forty miles in extent.
The investment was commenced on the 19th of Septem-
ber, 1870 ; and was continued until the 25th of January,
1871. Wherever there was the least possibihty of the
beleaguered garrison attempting a sortie, ramparts bris-
tling with artillery and mitrailleuse were thrown up, so
as to render escape impossible.
There were two millions of inhabitants within the
city, about three hundred thousand of whom were
armed. They probably accomplished all that, under
the circumstances, mortal valor could accomphsh. Week
after week and month after month, for one hundi'ed
and thirty days, they beat off their foes. Gradually the
lines of the beleaguering hosts drew nearer. Three
several times, at the head of over one hundred thousand
men, Gen. Trochu endeavored to cut his way through
the coil of batteries and ramparts ever tightening around
him. The slaughter on both sides was immense. But
the Germans invariably held or regained their positions.
Every hour, hope in Paris grew fainter; and despair
settled down over the doomed city in darker folds.
Several armies Avere gathered in the provinces to
THE SIEGE OF PARIS. 321
march for the rchef of Paris ; but they were speedily
overpowered and dispersed by tlie Germans. The peas-
antry had h^ig been jealous of the disposition of the
democratic leaders in the great cities to usurp the con-
trol of affairs without consulting the inhabitants of the
riu-al districts. The sudden and lawless overthrow of
the government which had been established b}^ the
overwhelming majority of the people of France, and had
been maintained by them, by repeated votes, for more
than twent}' years, and the usurpation of the govern-
ment by a self-appointed committee without the shadow
of constitutional or legal authority, so alienated the peo-
ple, that there was no disposition to rise en masse under
such leaders, even to assail the invading Prussians.
The Bourbonis'ts, the Orleanists, the Imperialists, the
Red Republicans, and the Communists were alike opposed
to those "gentlemen of the pavement," as Bismarck
scornfully termed them, who, some in Paris and some in
Tours, called themselves "the Committee of National
Defence." Under these circumstances, there was no
hope of the vigorous uprising of the nation. The dem-
ocratic party, which was mainly confined to the great
cities, was divided into three quite distinct and bitterly
hostile sections, — the Moderate Republicans, the Red
Republicans, and the Socialists. Notwithstanding the
pressure of the war, these factions in Paris conspired
against each other ; and there were frequent scenes of
insurrection and bloodshed.
To add to the gloom of the condition, there was not
a single nation in Europe who manifested any sympathy
for the anarchic committees who assumed to govern
France ; not one who would cordially recognize them as
a government, or enter into any dijilomatic relations
21
322 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
with them ; not one which did not apparently feel that
Europe had more to dread from the establishment of
such a regime in Paris, antagonistic to every surrounding
monarchy, than even from the enormous encroachments
of Prussian absolutism, which, though it threatened to
dominate over all Europe, would lend its influence in
every kingdom to arrest the rising tide of democracy.
So heroic, notwithstanding all these discouragements,
was the defence of the inexperienced young soldiers in
Paris, that the Prussians did not succeed until the 9th
of January in planting any batteries sufficiently near to
throw shells over the walls into the city. On that day,
these terrific bolts of war, thrown from a distance of four
or fire miles, descending as from the clouds, fell thickly
in the western portion of the city, killing women and
children, kindling conflagrations, destroying the most
venerable works of art, and scattering dismay and death
on every side. Direful famine added its horrors to the
woes now desolating the most gay and beautiful metrop-
olis upon this globe.
On the 12th of January, a balloon succeeded in leaving
the city. Its despatches informed the outside world that
the bombardment had continued with great violence ;
that shells were falKng near the Palace of the Luxem-
burg ; that several citizens had been killed, and others
wounded; that the Red Repubhcans had placarded
the streets with revolutionary posters, trying to excite
insurrection, declaring the Government of Defence cow-
ardly and incompetent. Thousands of shells had fallen,
creating havoc in all directions; killing women and
children, and striking hospitals, ambulances, houses,
and churches.
The next day the Germans succeed in capturing a
TfTE SIEGE OF PAllIS. 323
Freucli battery, which enabled thein to push their siege-
guns a mile nearer the city. From Versailles could be
seen the smoke of numerous fires caused by the shells ;
and still far away over the frozen fields of France the
battle raged, and the trampled snow was crimsoned with
the blood of the slain as the drifts swept over the vic-
tors and the vanquished sleeping in death together.
And so it was, that day and night, over distant fields
and around the doomed city, the awful struggle was con-
tinued without intermission. An eloquent writer says,
speaking of the state of things on the 17th of January,
" The surroundings of the city are in ruins or in flames.
Explosive bolts of iron of over two hundred pounds in
weight, howling like demons in their destructive flight,
are plunging down through the humblest roofs and
grandest domes in the heart of the doomed metropolis.
It is the bombardment of Strasburg ten times magni-
fied. In its destructive projectiles, and in the warlike
engines and forces employed, it dwarfs all precedents
of ancient or modern times. The remorseless siege and
destruction of Carthage, we do not forget, involved the
extinction of a great nation and a great people ; nor
will the intelligent reader fiiil to recall the appalling
loss of human life — eleven hundred thousand souls —
involved in the siege and burning, of Jerusalem by
Titus ; nor do we overlook the sacking and burning
of Rome by Alaric. But neither Babylon, Tyre, Jeru-
salem, Carthage, nor Rome, furnishes any thing in the
horrors of war more shocknig to the Christian human-
itarian of the niiiotecnth century than this lionil^lo
bombardment of Paris, with its l)lind and indiscriminate
killing and mangling of sohliers and non-combatants, the
strong and the iielplcss, men, womcai, and children."
324 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
In seven months these German armies had crushed
the most renowned mihtary power of modern times, had
captured its emperor, and had taken possession of one-
half of its territory. Prince Frederick Charles was pur-
suing the routed forces of Gen. Chanzy, driven beyond
the Loire. Gen. Bourbaki, in the east of France, was
nearly surrounded by the Germans under Von Werder
and Manteuffel, and his doom seemed inevitable. In
the north, the posture of affairs was still more gloomy.
Gen. Faidherbe was sullenly retreating before the
stronger forces of Gen. Von Goeben.
On the 19th of January it was reported, that, the day
before, four hundred and fifty shells had been thrown
into the city ; that Sevres was in ruins ; that a German
battery was within four miles of Notre Dame ; that
Prince Hohenlohe had declared his determination to
destroy all the principal edifices in Paris ; that batteries
were already reared for the destruction of St. Denis, the
sepulchre of the ancient kings of France ; and that in
Paris "abominable plots" were formed for the over-
throw of the Committee of Public Defence, and for the
establishment of the reign of terror. An insurrection-
ary procession, numbering six hundred, had paraded the
streets.
Still the dismal hours of war and woe passed slowly
away. Nothing was to be heard on any side but disasters
to the French. Starvation threatened Paris. All the
animals in the menagerie were eaten. Horses, dogs, cats,
rats, furnished eagerly-coveted food for the famishing
people. The conservatory of the Jardin des Plantes,
containing the most magnificent collection of exotics in
the world, was in ruins ; and in the city there were
every hour new indications of hostility to the Provisional
Government, and new menaces of revolt.
THE SIEGK OF PARIS. 325
Gen. Trochii, utterly disheartened, tendered liis resig-
nation as Governor of Paris. But no one could be found
to take his place. It was mid-winter : the fuel was all
consumed ; the people were freezing as well as starving.
The German batteries were drawing nearer, the storm
of shells growing more thick and terrible. There was
no possible shelter. The government was in bewilder-
ment : it knew not what to do. Sorties were impossible.
Every hour of resistance was only submitting to heljiless
massacre. Starvation was steadily approaching : capitu-
lation would seal the destiny of the Committee for
Public Defence.
Under these circumstances, Jules Favre, the lead-
ing spirit in the Provisional Government, with anguish
of spirit which must have been awful, on the 25th of
January sought an interview with Count Bismarck, at
Versailles, to propose terms of surrender. France, Paris,
was at the feet of the conqueror. He could exact, and
he did exact, his own terms. Scornfully rejecting any
recognition of the "gentlemen of the pavement" as the
government of France, he consented to an armistice of
twenty-one days, upon condition that all the troops in
the city should surrender their arms, and that the forts
surrounding Paris should be given up to the Germans.
This was, of course, the unconditional surrender of Paris.
The German troops could march into the city unresisted
any hour of any day.
It Avas also exacted, that on the 8th of February
there should be an election, throughout France, of a
Constituent Assembly. This body should meet on the
ir>th, and immediately adopt some form of governnu-nt
which Germany would recognize, and with which Ger-
many would treat for conditions of peace. To that
326 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
government King William would present the following
terms, which, in the name of France, it must accept, or
the slaughter would continue ; for ivar, on the part of
the French, seemed no longer possible : —
1. France was to surrender to Prussia Alsace and
Lorraine, with Belfort and Metz ;
2.. To pay as indemnity for the expenses of the war
ten milKards of francs, — equal to two thousand million
dollars ;
3. To surrender to Prussia the French colony of
Pondicherry ; and,
4. To transfer to the German navy twenty first-class
French frigates.^
Such, essentially, were the terms which the victor
professed himself ready to offer to his prostrate and
humiliated foe.
» London Times, Feb. 1, 18T1.
CHAPTER XXVI.
'HERE is no satisfactory evidence, that, at
/C^ /j! ^ ^^y *™^ during the war, the masses of the
CrCm H T^ people in France were in sympathy with
the self-constituted committees in Paris
and Bordeaux. For obvious reasons, the
populace in large cities are more liable to
sudden impulses and to fickle changes than
the inhabitants of the rural districts. Still, in the great
cities there was no harmony of views in accepting what
Avas called the Republic, — a usurpation which did not
dare to appeal to the votes of the nation for its recog-
nition. Even in Paris, the democratic party was so
divided, that there were insurrections against the Gov-
ernment for the National Defence, and fearful menaces
of civil war, even when the bombardment of the Prus-
sians was shaking the windows of the Hotel de Ville.
Jules Favre, who may, perhaps, be considered a mod-
erate republican, was at the head of the government in
Paris, Gambctta, a red repu])lican of the most crim-
son die, was the leader of that portion of the govern-
ment which had taken refuge in Tours, and afterwards,
upon the approach of the Prussians, had escaped to Bor-
deaux. P'rom the commencement of the so-called repub-
327
328 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
lican government, there had been ever-increasing discord
between these two sections of the ruhng power.
Upon the surrender of the army in Paris as prisoners
of war, it is estimated that there was the ahuost incredi-
ble number of eight hundred thousand of unwounded
French prisoners in German hands, including the em-
peror and the marshals of France. The victors had
also captured six thousand cannon and rifles, and mili-
tary stores of all kinds in amount which can scarcely
be estimated. This had all been accomplished in six
months. It is safe to say that no such achievements had
ever before been performed in the history of this world.
Gambetta, while calling himself a republican, was
probably as bitterly opposed to a true republic as any
man in the empire. What he demanded was a dictator-
ship, with himself at its head. He forbade the conven-
ing of a National Assembly, silenced the remonstrances
of the press, and suppressed the councils-general of the
departments, which, under the empire, were steadily
advancing in the path of local self-government. It is a
painful and discouraging fact, that none have shown
greater hostility to republican institutions than the
French " republicans."
Upon the announcement of the .armistice by Jules
Favre, Gambetta issued a very fiery proclamation, ur-
ging France to improve the short armistice in getting
ready to renew the fight. The dictatorial acts of L6on
Gambetta were daily assuming an aspect of increasing
audacity. As Bismarck utterly refused to recognize the
irresponsible Government of National Defence, and de-
manded the convocation of a National Assembly to
or'T-anize a sfovernment which should have some claim
to represent the French nation, Gambetta could not
THE POLITICAL EMBARRASSMENTS. 329
resist that demand. lie, however, issued a decree, de-
claring that no man should be a candidate for that
Assembly who was a member of any of the families
which had reigned over France since 1789. This os-
tracized all relatives of the Bourbon, the Orleans, and
the Bonaparte families. He also declared all to be dis-
qualified for election, who, under the empire, had held
office, or been candidates for office, as ministers, sena-
tors, councillors of state, or prefects of the depart-
ments.
It was his object to limit the suffi'ages of the French
people to republican candidates alone. It would be dif-
ficult to find, under any regime^ more despotic decrees
than were issued by Gambetta. The Assembly was to
consist of seven hundred and fifty-three delegates for all
of France. " All the detailed conditions," writes a cor-
respondent from London, " laid down for the manage-
ment of the elections, are grossly in favor of the re-
publicans now in power." On the 2d of February,
Gambetta caused a new Committee of Public Safety to
be organized in Bordeaux, by which such extremists in
the radical ranks as Rochefort, Loui^ Blanc, and Dupor-
tal, Avere associated with him in power.
The Paris government issued loud remonstrances
against these despotic acts. In the midst of these ex-
citing scenes of tumult and of woe, there were, every
day, increasing indications that large numbers in France
were earnestly desiring the return of the captive emper-
or, under whose sway France had enjoyed twenty years
of prosperity and happiness unparalleled in all her ancient
annals. A correspondent from AVilhelmsh(ihe gives
us the following glimpse of the ap})earance of the illus-
trious prisoner during these days of trial : —
330 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA,
" Ever since the first despatch announcing the com-
mencement of the bombardment of Paris reached the
imperial prisoner, he seems to have been overwhelmed
with grief at the misfortunes of the fair city. How
very deeply it moved him is evident from a remarkable
change in his features ; their painful and melancholy
expression indicating how he loved dear Paris, that city
from which he has experienced so much wrong.
" Of the millions in and outside of France mourning
its terrible destruction, who has reason to be more dis-
tressed than Napoleon III. ? Are its architectural splen-
dors, and the beauty of its boulevards and noble streets,
not a monument erected, as it were, to himself, and com-
memorating a work, to the execution of which, during
nearly twenty years, he has devoted untiring energy and
pride ? The beautiful city would have been an imper-
ishable monument, speaking to generations to come of
the so well-abused empire in better and more truthful
language than the journals and pamplilets of the present
epoch.
" Of the many who are discussing the probability of
a return of the Napoleonic dynasty, none consider for a
moment that the greatest of all obstacles has first to be
overcome ; namely, that the emperor may refuse his con-
sent. The possibility of such an occurrence may be
doubted by those who have endeavored, for a series of
years, to portray the Emperor of the French in false
colors, and to caricature him before their contempora-
ries. They may doubt that the prisoner of Wilhelms-
hohe would reject that dignity of which he has been de-
prived by a comparatively small number of demagogues.
Let me endeavor to give you a few hints respecting the
aforementioned obstacles.
THE POLITICAL EMBARRASSMENTS. 331
" At first, there is that sentiment expressed by the
emperor, spoken of in a former letter to you, — that
the u'hole people only, through their legal representatives,
have a right to recall the emperor. Neither the army,
nor the Prussian Government, nor the demands of party,
could induce his return. The enth-e people are entitled
to repair the great wrong perpetrated against his person
by tliose political leaders who forced him into this war,
and who profited Ijy the hour of misfortune to carry out
th(;ir long-prepared and sinister designs."
Each day brought increasing indications of the an-
tagonism between Jules Favre with his associates at
Paris, and Leon Gambetta and his associates at Bor-
deaux. Messages of defiance passed between them.
The following extracts from the public journals will
show the state of affairs on the 7th of February, the
day before the general election of members for the
National Assembly was to take place : —
" There is little -to be expected from the Bordeaux
wing of the government. The very power at present
wielded by tlie fire-eaters who control it is a usurpation
of the legitimate authority which really belongs to
the Paris government. Yet from this very hot-bed of
the worst radicalism, misnamed republicanism, which tlie
world has witnessed in this generation, the immediate
destinies of a great nation must come forth. If the
teachings of Gambetta and his followers prevail, the
most direful results to the French peopla must follow.
" Henri Rochefort is again coming to tlie surface
from ih(; obscurity into whi(-h the startling events of
the past year had cast him. Now he appears on
the stage, if report speaks truly, as an advocate of
332 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
assassination. Gambetta, Rocliefort, Flourens, — these,
and men of like character and similar associations, are
the men who propose to regenerate France, and found
what they call a republic, but what sensible and think-
ing people consider would prove a despotism far worse
than that of the empire.
" The situation to-day is pitiful, and in all respects
unworthy of a great people. France herself is divided.
The Imperialists are in bad repute ; the Orl^anists are
of doubtful value ; the Legitimists are nowhere ; the
Republicans — behold the situation of the hour ! "
Feb. 8, 1871. — The news flashed across the wires
from ill-fated France to-day was as follows : —
" France presents the melancholy spectacle of a once
proud and powerful nation at the mercy of a noisy,
turbulent, and unprincipled crew of demagogues. Spe-
cial despatches from Paris, Bordeaux, Lyons, and other
points throughout the country, serve to show the
wretched character of the majority of the men who
are candidates for the National Assembly. It seems
as though the very slums of Paris, Bordeaux, Lyons,
and JNIarseilles, have thrown up their refuse to be used
by the unprincipled demagogues who wield temporary
power in France. While famishing people cry for
bread in the streets of Paris, the mob yell for a
Robespierre and the guillotine. In the agonj^ of their
despair, the terror-stricken people suffer in silence, afraid
to speak their thoughts, or raise their hands to save
themselves from the tide of violence which threatens
them with destruction. The mob rule, and despotism is
the law. Truly France is suffering. Bleeding from
every pore, paralyzed in every part, humiliated, cast
THE rOLITICAL EMBARRASSMENTS. 333
down, and prostrate, she is even now, in this bitter
hour, tormented by the dissensions and evil teachings
of her children." '■
Jules Favre and his colleagues were in disfavor be-
cause they liad agreed to an armistice. The feelhig
against Gambetta was increasing. Red republicanism
of the worst type began to show itself. One orator at
a public meeting declared that a Robespierre was re-
quired, and that the guillotine alone could save France.
Tliis declaration, so bloodthirsty, was received with yells
of delight.
" In keeping with this atrocious sentiment, we have
the fact that most of the Paris candidates for the As-
sembly are men taken from the slums of Belleville and
St. Antoine, — men notorious for their violence, reck-
lessness, and lack of ability. . We have no doubt that
these villains, madmen, and fanatics are a minority of
the population : but, unfortunately, they are the party
of action ; compact, and united against the party of
order; divided, and irreconcilable in their division."
.Tides Favre and his colleagues seem to dread ap-
proaching anarchy. Already their arrest and trial were
advocated; and one speaker (M. Gaillard) denounced
them as twelve bandits who have sold Paris for gold.
Rochefort's and Pyat's newspapers breathed nothing but
revolution and vengeance. Wliile the political situa-
tion was thus terrible, the horrors of starvation were
commencing their reign.
On the 8th of February, the election of delegates to
the National Assembly took place throughout France.
• Correspondence of the Now- York Herald.
334 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
In view of this event, the Emperor Napoleon, from his
captivity at Wilhelmshohe, issued the following procla-
mation to the French people. The proclamation gave
great satisfaction to his friends, and was reviled by his
enemies.
"Wilhelmshohe, Feb. 8, 1871.
" Betrayed by fortune, I have kept, since my captivity,
a profound silence, which is misfortune's mourning.
As long as the armies confronted each other, I abstained
from any steps or words capable of causing party dis-
sensions; but I can no longer remain silent before my
country's disaster without appearing insensible to its
sufferings. When I was made a prisoner, I could not
treat for peace, because my resolutions would appear to
have been dictated by personal considerations. I left
a regent to decide whether it was for the interest of
•the nation to continue the struggle. Notwithstanding
unparalleled reverses, France was unsubdued ; but her
strongholds were reduced, her departments invaded, and
Paris brought into a state of defence. The extent of
her misfortunes might possibly have been limited ; but,
while attention was directed to her enemies, insurrec-
tion arose at Paris, the seat of representatives was vio-
lated, the safety of the empress threatened, and the
empire, which had been three times acclaimed by the
people, was overthrown and abandoned.
" Stilling jny presentiments, I exclaimed, ' What mat-
ter my dynasty, if the country is saved ? ' Instead of
protesting against the violation of my right, I hoped for
the success of the defence, and admired the patriotic de-
votion of the children of France. Now, when the strug-
gle is suspended, and all reasonable chance of victory has
disappeared, is the time to call to account the usurpers for
THE POLITICAL EMBARRASSMENTS. 335
tlie l)loo(lslie(l iind ruin and s([uandcred resources. It is
impossible to aljandou the destinies of France to an uu-
aulliDvizcd government to wliicli was left no authority
emanating from universal suffrage. Order, confidence,
and s(^lid peace, are only recoverable when the people are
consulted respecting the government most capable, of
repairing the disasters to the country. It is essential
that France should be united in her wishes. For my-
self, banished by injustice and bitter deceptions, I do
not know or claim my repeatedly-conhrmed rights.
There is no room for personal ambition. But till the
people are regularly assembled, and express their will,
it is my duty to say that all acts are illegitimate. There
is only one government, in which resides the national
sovereignty^ able to heal wounds, to bring hope to fire-
sides, to re-open profaned churches, and to restore in-
dustry, concord, and peace."
The result of these elections proved that France was
by no means disjwsed to intrust her destiny to those
reckless men, who, by the aid of the mob of Paris, had
usurped the government, and established a despotism
which they dared not submit to the suffrages of the
French people, and which they yet absurdly called the
Repu])lic. Notwithstanding there were several hundred
thousand imperial soldiers prisoners in Germany, and
who consequently could not vote, France, by a vote of
more than four to one, rejected the self-constituted
government of Jules Favrc, Leon Gambetta, and their
colleagues, and elected candidates pledged to some form
of monarchy. Though the great cities chose as dele-
gates the most radical of the red republicans, the depart-
ments returned men of a very different character.
336 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
" The loose materials of the great cities, which have
nothing to lose and much to gain from a republic of
the communist order, calling for a new division of all
the lands and property in France among all the people,
have gone for the Gambetta republicans. On the other
hand, the property-holders, including the peasantry on
their small estates, prefer things as they are to any
cliange which threatens to dispossess them. And, again,
the Catholic clergy in France see in Gambetta, Gari-
baldi, and company, only the enemies of their church,
aiming at its destruction ; and so the influence of the
Church has been wielded against the republic." ^
On the 16th of February, reliable tidings were re-
ceived in this country of the result of the elections, and
of the probable character of the Assembly. In view of
the facts announced, " The New-York Herald " makes
the following remarks, which will commend themselves
to the intelligent reader : —
" To-day France presents a fresh spectacle for world-
wide observation and study. No part of the world
looks on more attentively, or questions more acutely,
than the United States of America ; and it is not unfair
to say that this people have ceased to have any faith in
France.
" This day, while we write, she is no longer the hope
of Europe : what is worse, she is either the object of pity
or the object of contempt. Republicans as we are, we
have to confess it with sorrow, that we can no longer
look to France as the possible regenerator of Europe.
She had a glorious first opportunity. That first was
1 Correspondence of the New-York Herald, Feb. 13, 1871.
TOE POLITICAL EMBARRASSMENTS. 337
lost or flung away. The opportunity has been again and
again repeated, but always with the same result. How
can we longer hope or trust ?
" We are now face to face with new facts. After a
defeat which has no parallel in history, France has been,
by the magnanimity of the conqueror, permitted to
pronounce on her own destiny. She has had, perhaps,
the fairest chance of speaking out the thoughts that are
Avitliin her that she ever had in her whole history ; and
she has once again, and most emphatically, spoken in a
manner which is disappointing to all those who love
republican institutions.
" Tlie results of the recent elections are clearly, as all
our readers must now be fully convinced, in favor of
monarchy. It is not yet time to say what is the exact
complexion of the Asseml^ly ; but if it be true that the
house of Orleans has practically polled four hundred
votes as against a hundred and fifty for the repubUc,
fifty for the old Bourbons or Legitimists, and twenty for
the Bonapartes, we have no choice but say France is
not yet ripe and ready for citizen sovereignty. Look at
the National Assembly to-day from what point of view
we may, we can come to no other conclusion than this,
— that France has heartily, and with not a little em-
phasis, condemned the empire and the Bonapartes,
condemned the republic and the infidels and the com-
munists, condemned divine right and the old Bourbons,
and gone in, if not for Phihp Egalitd, at least for the
principles represented by his son, the citizen-king. No
more empire, no more republic, but the constitution of
1830, and a citizen-king, — that is the residt of the elec-
tions which have just been finislicd in France, and wliicli
are represented in the National Assembly o( to-day.
338 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
" Why is it so ? Why are our republican hopes once
more blasted ? Why is this fresh French opportunity
lost to France and the world ? The answer to these
questions is not far to seek. Under the bright sunshine
of the empire, France indulged in proud memories, was
happy and gay, despised all shadow, and dreamed of no
sorrow. What had the empire not done ? It had made
France the central, the pivotal power of Europe. For
twenty years, the word of France, spoken by the em-
peror, was a word of authority which no nation on the
face of the earth could aiford to despise. Did not the
empire humble Russia ? Did not the empire give Italy
unity ? Did not the empire compel Prussia to halt at
Sadowa ? Was not the empire the bulwark of the
Papacy ? Was it not the hope of all struggling nation-
alities ? Was it not, as it once had been, a match for
the world in arms ? Was not Paris, adorned by the
empire, the eye of the civilized world, even as Corinth
was once said to be the eye of Greece ?
" Since Sedan, the so-caUed republic, headed by men
who dared not appeal to the French people, — because
they knew that French Catholics could not and would
not trust infidels, and that French proprietors could not
and would not trust communists, — has had its chance ;
but the failure of the so-caUed republic has been more
complete, more disastrous, and, if possible, more igno-
minious, than that of the empire. If France was hum-
bled by the surrender of Sedan, France is squelched by
the surrender and occupation of Paris. It is not for us
to say whether France has been just or unjust to the
empire, just or unjust to the republic. We must accept
facts. The facts are represented in the National Assem-
bly ; and the National Assembly is just as little imperialist
THE POLITICAL KMIIAIIUASSMENTS. 339
or republican as it is legitimist. If the stars have any
meaning, the star which France and the rest of the
civilized world see rising out of this six-months' dark-
ness shines benignantly on the house of Orleans."
The victory of Prussia is complete. France is hum-
bled and prostrate beyond all possibility of retrievement
for generations to come. And Avhat has Germany
gained? Upon tliis theme "The New-York World"
makes the following sensible observations : —
" But the most far-reaching consequence of this war
is the unification of Germany. It brings under one gov-
ernment a territory and population about equal to those
of France at the beginning of the war. The area of the
new German Empu-e is 20G,575 English square miles ;
containing, in 1867, a population of 38,522,336. Both
area and population will be somewhat increased by the-
French provinces retained. The area of France, pre-
vious to her losses, was 207,480 square miles; and her
population, in 1866, was 38,067,094 : so she will hereafter
be inferior to Germany both in territory and inhabitants.
She will have the further disadvantage of a much heavier
public debt. The national debt of France in 1869 was,
in round numbers, $2,766,000,000 of our money ; wliile
the aggregate debts of the several countries now united
to form the German Empire amounted, in the same year,
to only '$538,500,000, and bore quite as low a rate of
interest. The public debt of France was five times as
great as the collective debts which will be consolidated
by German unity ; and the disproportion will be greatly
increased by this terrible war, since France, besides de-
fraying her own expenses, will liave to rc-imburse a part
of the expenses of Germany.
340 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
" What advantages, aside from national weight and
importance, will attend the knitting-together of the Ger-
man States into one emph-e, cannot yet be estimated.
At present, the prospect looks unfavorable to the devel-
opment of free institutions. The empire will be too
powerful to be resisted by any of the small States which
have been merged in it. None of the local governments
will be any further respected than suits the convenience
of the central authority for purposes of local administra-
tion. The present rulers of Germany are the last men
in Europe to make any voluntary concessions to popular
rights ; and their power of repression is manifestly
strengthened by the new ascendency which this war has
given them over the national mind. But the Emperor
William, who will complete his seventy-fourth year on
the 22d of March must, in the course of nature, give
place ere long to the Crown Prince, who may not
inherit his father's narrow and bigoted notions and arro-
gant temper. His education has been more liberal ; and
his English marriiige would naturally have brought him
into contact with some people who might give his mind,
if it is at all open and receptive, some tincture of British
pohtics. But, if the haughty and unscrupulous Bismarck
should continue to be prime-minister, his stronger char-
acter and astuter intellect would be Hkely to mould the
government."
"^^
CHAPTER XXVII.
PEACE.
'HE establishment of the great Germanic
Empire, which is now un fait accompli^
has cost three sanguinary wars. First,
there was the war with Denmark for the
possession of Schleswig and Holstein.
Next came the war with Austria, terminat-
ing in the terrible slaughter of Sadowa, by
which Prussia doubled her territory and population, and
more than doubled her military power. Then ensued the
war with France, by wliich Prussia consoHdated her new
possessions, obtained both banks of the Rhine from Bel-
gium to Switzerland, and, by depriving France of any
natural frontier, left France entirely at the mercy of
any Germanic invasion ; while Germany, with the broad
Rhine and its impregnable fortresses in her possession,
was effectually guarded against any approach from
France. It is very seldom that any earthly plans ad-
vance so triumphantly from the commencement to the
conclusion as have these measures of Count Bismarck for
the establishment of the German Empire. True, the ex-
pense has been awful beyond all luunan estimation.
The number of lives sacrificed in the carnage of the
battle-field and in the wards of the hospital is to bo
311
342 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
counted by hundreds of thousands. Other multitudes,
which cannot be numbered, must pass through life with
mutilated bodies, consigning them to hopeless impover-
ishment. Germany and France have been literally filled
with widows and with orphans ; and their silent woe,
unheeded by men, will, through long years of suffering,
ascend to the ear of God. The destruction of property
in the bombardment and conflagration of cities, in the
villages and cottages laid in ashes, the trampling of har-
vests, and all the w!iste and ruin which accompany the
march of hostile armies, it is scarcely in the power of
human arithmetic to compute. The blessings which the
Germanic Empire shall confer upon humanity ought to
be very great indeed to compensate for the misery into
which millions have been plunged. It is said, that when
some one, in conversation with Count Bismarck, alluded
to these woes which the establishment of the empire
had cost, he replied, " Yes ; but, unfortunately, you can-
not have an omelette without breaking the eggs."
It is now obvious to every reflecting mind, that the
overthrow of the French Empire after the disaster at
Sedan, and the substitution of the irresponsible Com-
mittee of National Defence, was an irreparable calamity
for France. The Imperial Government, which had been
established and sustained by the votes of the over-
whelming majority of the people, had conferred upon
France twenty years of prosperity, and was recognized
and respected by all the governments of Europe, Asia,
and America.
, When such men as Favre, Gambetta, and Rochefort,
taking advantage of an hour of terrible disaster and
dismay, summoned the mob of Paris to their aid, and
with dictatorial hands seized the sceptre of power,
PEACE. 343
France was bewildered, stunned, paralyzed. Catholic
France would not listen to the voice of those whose cry-
was " Down with the church ! " as well as " Down with the
throne ! " Eugdnie, as regent, might have summoned all
France to rise en masse to repel the invader. The pope
would have contributed his powerful sjonpathy; and
every ecclesiastic in France would have echoed the
appeal. Thus, in an hour, seven millions of fighting
men might have sprung to arms. The vast fleet of
France, in perfect command of the seas, could have sup-
plied them with weapons. There was thus a prohability
of the calamity being mitigated ; and a i^ossihility^ even,
that it might be repaired. But the pope, the cardinals,
and the bishops all felt that they had no foes more to
be dreaded than the democracy of Paris, Lyons, and
]\Iarseilles. Thus, when Gambetta and Rochefort fran-
tically shouted for all France to spring to arms, the
priests were silent, and the peasants shook their heads.
The energies of France were paralyzed, and her doom
was sealed.
The empire, under the regency, could have looked to
the surrounding kingdoms with some hope, at least,
of securing an alliance. These kingdoms all feared the
enormous growth and military power of l^russia ; and
none of them wished to see France trampled in the
dust. They all maintained friendly relations with the
empire. The pope wielded a moral power stronger
than bayonets or batteries ; and the pope had ever
found in the emperor a firm friend. Victor Emanuel
owed his crown to the emperor ; and united Italy was
one of the creations of tlio empire. Tin- daughter of
Victor Emanuel, tlie Princess ('lutilde, had married the
emperor's cousin, Prince IJoiiaparte ; and she was one
344 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
of the most lovely and beloved of the inmates of the
Tuileries. This rendered it not impossible that an alli-
ance with Italy might soon have been formed.
Spain had, with singular unanimity, voted against a
republic, and had established a monarchy. Prhice Amo-
deus, a son of Victor Emanuel and a brother of Princess
Clotilde, was soon chosen King of Spain. This family
alliance tended to unite Spain with Italy in strong sym-
pathy with France. Hence it was by no means improb-
able that SjDain might have been induced to send her
armies across the Pyrenees to assist the French Empire
in its deadly struggle with its foreign foes. Family
alliance, religious faith, and harmonious institutions,
would all have lent their aid.
Austria, smarting beneath her terrible defeats, exas-
perated by the loss of immense territory, trembling in
view of the gigantic power which was overshadowing
her, and grateful to Napoleon for having, after the dis-
aster of Sadowa, prohibited the further encroachments of
Prussia, — thus saving Austria from annihilation, — must
have been in a position to listen to overtures which
would enable her to strike back some revengeful blows,
and perhaps to regain a portion of that which she had
lost. ^
The British Government was in far more cordial sym-
pathy with the French Empire than with any other
government upon the continent. The alliance in the
Crimean War had cemented the friendship of the gov-
ernments and the armies of England and France. By
friendly co-operation, the commerce of the two nations
had been vastly increased ; and constant intercourse
was fast uniting the two nations in sympathetic bonds.
In April, 1855, the emperor, with Eugenie, visited
PEACE. 345
the Queen of England. The palaces of Victoria hlazed
with regal fetfn in their honor. Their reception was
alike enthusiastic by the court and by the populace.
The Lord Mayor of Windsor, in welcoming the royal
guests to Windsor Castle, said, —
" We are sensible, sire, that to the wisdom and vifror
of your imperial majesty's counsels, and to your unceas-
ing endeavors to promote the true interests of the
poVerful and generous nation which Providence Has
committed to your care, may be attributed that pros-
perity and happiness which your country now enjoys."
" The London Times " of that date speaks as follows
of the reception which England gave to her distin-
guished guests : —
" They were the associations connected with Napoleon
III. — the remembrance of his deeds and the knowl-
edge of his worth — which pressed along his progress
the millions who this week have given to the world an
imperishable testimony of their appreciation of forti-
tude in troubles, energy in action, courage amidst dan-
gers, and clemency amid triumphs.
" They honored the wisdom and probity which occu-
pied a mighty throne, and honored the thousand princely
qualities whicli had won it. They honored the great
man who had retrieved the prosperity and the power of
France. They honored the good sovereign whose chief
care is the welfare of his people. And, in the greeting
offered to Napoleon, we may truly add, there was love
for the nation which he had restored to its legitimate
place amongst the powers of the earth at a moment
most critical to its destinies, and to which he had given
back, with the suddenness of enchantment, all its inter-
nal prosperity, after convulsions which made the most
346 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
sanguine despair of its future. Given back ! — he has
opened for it a new career of unprecedented success."
Addresses breathing the above spirit were showered
upon the emperor from all quarters. On the 17th of
April, the city of London offered a banquet to their
Majesties. In the response of the emperor to the very
complimentary address of the lord mayor, he said, —
" As for me, I have preserved on the throne, for the
people of England, the sentiments of esteem and sym-
pathy which I professed in exile, when- I enjoyed here
the hospitality of the queen ; and, if I have conformed
my conduct to my convictions, it is because the interest
of the nation which elected me, as well as those of
general civilization, constrain me to do so."
England needed an ally upon the Continent. France*
was the only nation to which she could look for cordial
alliance. Under these ckcumstances, the sympathies of
England would have been with France, had the empire
continued ; and it is by no means impossible that Eng-
land might have been induced to contribute more to the
empire than her moral support.
. But the suicidal act of the democra<;y in Paris in
seizing upon the moment of overwhelming disaster to
overthrow by mob-violence the constituted authorities,
and to establish a dictatorship which they absurdly
called a repubhc, which they dared not submit to popu-
lar suffrage, and which no government in Europe would
recognize, left France, wounded and bleeding, at the
mercy of her foes. There was no longer any hope of
efficient aid from home or from abroad. Catholic
France could not unite in measures which would place
the sceptre in the hands of infidel communism and
socialism ; and neither the governments of England,
PEACE. 347
Austria, Italy, or Spain, could think of aiding to estab-
lish and consolidate the sway of the self-cortfttituted
democratic committees of Paris and Bordeaux. Indeed,
were a republic, distinctively organized, to be estab-
lished in France, it would not enjoy the sympathy and
friendship of a single monarchy in Europe. It would
be simply tolerated ; while every neighboring power
would strive to embarrass its operations, and would
eagerly watch for its downfall. In this hostility, none
would be more prominent than the majestic German Em-
pire, which now, in possession of the most important
avenues of entrance into France, holds France entirely
at its mercy.
One of the most untoward yet inevitable results of
this conflict is, that it has irreparably impaired, through-
out Christendom, confidence in the French people.
They know not what they want. They are never
united. Revolution follows revolution in endless suc-
cession. The best friends of France have lost all hope-
fulness in her future, and are in desj^air. In a terrible
revolution of blood and misery, less than one hundred
years ago, the old Bourbon monarchy was overthrown.
They tried a republic ; it proved an utter failure : tried
the consulate ; abandoned it for the empire : shouted,
" Down with the empire ! " and took back the Bour-
bons ; drove them ignominiously a second time from the
kingdom, and reared the Orleans throne. After making
Louis Phihppe their "target-king" for about a score
of years, they drove him in shame and disgrace out of
the kingdom, and tried a repuljlic again. After the lapse
of two years, they repudiated the re[)ul)lic, and re-estal)-
lished the empire ; and now tlie c'in])ire is in ruins, and
the people of France arc asking, " Wiiat next? "
348 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
There is no new form of government which, human in-
geniiit|rcan devise. Shall they return to the old Bourbon
monarchy ? Twice they have tried that, and twice re-
jected it furiously. Shall they re-establish the repub-
lic ? Twice they have abandoned that in disgust. Shall
they attempt to rear again the throne of the empbe ?
The first and second empire have been trampled with
maledictions beneath the feet of the mob in Paris.
Shall they invite the House of Orleans back to the
throne ? Louis Philippe was, but a few years ago,
literally pelted out of the kingdom, barely escaping
with his life.
Whatever excuses may be made for any or all of
these events, the facts remain unchanged ; and they
have created, universally, a profound sentiment of dis-
couragement in reference to the future of France. Her
best friends are in despair. They feel that it is of but
little consequence what government the present Assem-
bly may decide upon ; for they have no confidence that
the government will last longer than a few years.
There are in France five very decided and hostile par-
ties, — Bourbonists, Orleanists, Imperiahsts, ^Moderate
Republicans, and very emphatically pronounced Radi-
cal Republicans. Whichever one of these five forms of
government may be adopted, there will be four fierce
assailants to fall upon it, obstructing its operations, and
endeavoring by revolution to secure its overthrow. The
world has lost faith in France.
The writer has ever been in favor of the empire, be-
lieving it to have been the choice of the majority of the
French people, and, under the circumstances, the best
government for France. He has thought, with nearly
eight millions of French voters, that monarchical forms
PEACE. 319
would disarm the hostility of the surrounding monar-
chies ; while a constitution under those forms, abolishing
all hereditaiy privilege, establishing universal suffi-age,
and recognizing the principle of equal rights for all men,
might gradually lead the nation in the path of liberty,
without the horrors of revolution.
Very many of his fellow-republicans in America have
been so far from agreeing with him in this opinion, that
they have regarded its avowal as a crime demanding the
severest denunciation. But the writer is constrained
still to admit, that in his judgment, could the minority
of the people of France have acquiesced in the decision
of the majority, and accepted the empire, with its con-
stitution purposely rendered so elastic that any reforms
which the people might choose could be introduced by
the peaceful operation of the ])allot-l)ox, the fort}^ mil-
lions of the French people would be in a far happier
condition and with brighter prospects than now.
It is a remarkable fact, that the friends of human
progress, at the present time, look rather to the empire
of Germany with hope than to France. They cannot
regard with approval many of the measures which have
been adopted in the creation of this empire. They in-
stinctively revolt from its absolutist political principles,
fi-om its hereditary legislators, and from its openly-
avowed hostility to popular reform. Still the empire
will probably prove a stable government. The Germans
are a stable and reliable people. It will be for the in-
terest of that strong government to promote the pros-
perity of the masses; and modern iulclligcnct', which
teaches that the wealth of one nation is not increased l)y
the impoverishment of others, will lead the t'inpire to
seek, by commercial activity, to promote the industry
and opulence of other States.
350 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
The writer regrets to see that there are some Ger-
mans in this country who are annoyed by the impartial
statement of the facts involved in the creation of the
new Germanic Empire. But it is of no avail to attempt
to conceal these facts, or to ignore them. This thing has
not been done in a corner. The eyes of the civilized
world has been upon the movement. The successive
steps by which this sublime creation has been accom-
plished are known to all attentive observers ; and no one
is ignorant of the fact, that neither Count Bismarck nor
King William is the friend of democratic progress, and
that this empire has been established as a check upon
that progress.
To attempt to conceal these facts would only expose
these pages to contempt. The^ narrative here given is
an impartial recital of facts known by all intelligent
men. If this record be not substantially true, then is it
impossible to obtain any truth of history. Never did
events take place under a broader blaze of day. The eyes
of the civilized world have followed these movements.
At the present moment, such intense emotions and
passions are excited by these tremendous events, that no
one who attempts to record these scenes, no matter how
candid, how impartial, can hope to escape obloquy.
When forty millions of Germans upon one side, and
forty millions of Frenchmen on the other, are arrayed
against one another in the most deadly hostility, with all
their passions roused to the highest pitch, he would be-
tray a strange knowledge of human nature who should
hope that he could give an impartial account of the con-
flict in terms which would be satisfactory to either party.
Under these circumstances, the writer has been only
anxious so to state the truth as to win the approval of
PEACE. 351
all impartial minds, and to secure the final verdict of the
antagonists, whose passions, now so fearfully aroused,
will ere long subside into a calm more favorable for the
contemplation of truth. Fortunately for the writer,
there are thousands of liis countrymen, who have watched
these events with the most intelligent and intense inter-
est, who will be able, by their testimony, to substantiate
the accuracy of this narrative.
March 2, 1871. — The great conflict is ended. France,
Ijeaten in every battle, and with her capital in the hands
of the conqueror, has been compelled to submit to what-
ever terms were proposed, and to drain to its dregs the
cup of humiliation presented to her lips. She surrenders
all of Alsace, one-fifth of Lorraine, and all the strong for-
tresses which had been reared in those regions. Thus
Prussia now holds both banks of the Rhine from Bel-
gium to Switzerland, all the fortresses in the Rhine Val-
ley, and commands all the passes of the Vosges Moun-
tains. One million five hundred thousand Frenchmen,
in the highest state of exasperation, are taken from
France, and transferred to Prussia. Thus France lies
entirely at the mercy of Germany, with no possibility of
striking back any l)lo\vs which may be received. In addi-
tion to this loss of territory, — which, in a strategic point
of view, is of inestimable value, — France is compelled
to pay the victor a thousand millions of dollars to remu-
nerate him for the expenses he has incurred in making
his magnificent conquest. This amounts to twenty-five
dollars for every man, woman, and child in Frane(\ In
addition to this, France has been compelled to submit to
the humihation of having the German army, with uu-
fui-led banners and jubilant trumpet-pcals, traverse lier
352 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
avenues into the very heart of Paris, and pitch their
tents in the Garden of the Tuileries and in the Elysian
Fields ; and, hardest of all, there are but few voices to
be heard, in England or America, speaking one word of
sympathy for France in her utter desolation and woe.
"The New- York Herald," which perhaps, as fully as
any other paper, reflects popular sentiment, says, —
" Very few who have been students of tliis war from
its commencement until now will be sorry that "things
are as they are to-day." ^
A correspondent of " The Herald," writing from Paris
under date of the evening of March 1, 1871, says, " The
dreaded hour has arrived. The German troops, with the
iron determination which has distinguished them during
the war, are at this moment carrying out their resolu-
tion to enter the capital of France, conquered by them.
Up to the last moment, it was hoped that the autocrat
at the head of the German Empire would yield, and not
be relentless in his purpose, but content himself with
the dismemberment and beggary of France, without add-
ing an apparently unnecessary and unprofitable humilia-
tion to the already overwhelmed French."
The scenes of grief and despair witnessed on the part of
the implusive French when their triumphant foes marched
exultingly into the city, with their batteries so arranged,
that, at the slightest exhibition of hostilities, the whole
city could be laid in ashes, cannot be described.
Terribly severe as were these terms of the Germans,
the French could not have resisted them even had they
been more unendurable. France, bound hand and foot,
was at the mercy of the conqueror. The terms of peace
1 New-York Herald, March.2, 1871.
PEACE. 353
to which M. Thiers and M. Favrc had assented, in their
conference with the Prussian court at Versailles, was
ratified by the General Assembly at Bordeaux by 546
yeas to 107 nays. These numbers, which have just been
flashed over the wires, may not prove exact ; but they
show the general unanimity of the vote.
Thus the war terminates. This, however, may prove
but the beginning of the end. German troops will hold
portions of the French territory till the debt is paid.
There may yet be many serious colUsions. What gov-
ernment will France now establish ? It matters not
whether it be Legitimist, Orl(5anist, Imperialist, or Re-
publican : France is at the mercy of Germany. Should
France now establish a republic in her friendlessness
and her poverty, even could she establish such on the
best and most orderly of bases, she would incur the
hostility of every monarchy in Europe, and the especial
hostility of that gigantic empii-e of absolutism now
frowning down upon her from the north.
Eiu'ope is bewildered by the suddenness of the change.
The great northern empires of Prussia and Russia, now
bound in closest alliance of governmental forms and
political principles, hold Europe at theu' disposal. Prus-
sia needs, for her full development, Belgium, Holland,
and Denmark": she can now take them whenever it may
please her to do so. Russia needs Sweden, and Turkey
in Europe : she can have them both before the snows
of another winter fall, if she think it worth while to be
in haste, and to put her armies in motion.
The fall of France is the fall of England. She has no
longer an ally upon the Continent. Sir Robert Perl, in
an impassioned speech in the English House of Commons,
has recently given expression to his alarm. He mourns
23
354 HISTORY OF PRUSSIA.
the downfall of France, whose independence he affirms
to be essential to the tranquillity of Europe, — "a coun-
try," he says, " which, for the last twenty years at least,
on twenty battle-fields, has, iri unison with England,
sacrificed her best blood and noblest sons ; " and he de-
clares that " the unification of Germany under a military
despotism cannot be for the good of Europe."
There is the prospect of very serious trouble in Europe
for years to come. The republican element in Germany
will not long remain quiescent under the sway of heredi-
tary princes. When we reflect upon the results of this
conflict, it is difficult to conceive of any good which
humanity has attained in the slightest degree commen-
surate with the misery which has been inflicted. The
human family might live in almost perfect happiness
upon this beautiful globe which God has allotted us ;
but the folly of wickedness has converted, and is stiU
converting, our whole world into a field of blood and a
vale of tears. The alike discordant shouts of the
victors, and groans of the vanquished, are ever blending.
Will the time ever come when kindly sympathies will
reign in human hearts ?
" O brother-man ! fold to thy heart thy brother :
Where pity dwells, the peace of God is there.
To worship rightly is to love each other, —
Each smile a hymn, each kindly word a prayer."
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To reach the other side.
Manhood looks forth with careful glance;
T^me steady plies the oar,
Wliile Old Age calmly waits to hear
The keel upon the shore.
Suited to frame 16x20]. Price $2.00.
"Nazareth" (just issued); very beautifully representing Joseph, Mary, and
the child Jesus, on their return from Egypt. " And he came and dwelt in a city
called Nazareth." Suited to frame 16.^203. Price $2.00.
" The Babe of Betlilehem," the best representation of the nativity of oer
Saviour ever published. The grouping of the picture is admirably portrayed. The
figures consist of Joseph, Mary, and the Babe; the shepherds, who have brought a
sacrificial Iamb; and a mother and child as interested spectators : the whole making
a fine picture, and an excellent match for the above or " Christ blessing Little Chil-
dren." Suited to frame 16x20]. Price $2.00.
" American Methodism," the only historical picture published to commemo-
rate American Methodism. It contains pictures of all the Bishops, with notcrl hlu-
torical scenes. Suited to frame 16x20]. Price $2.00.
Either of the above sent, postpaid, on receipt of the price. Addresft
B. B. RUSSELL, Publisher,
LIFE OF NAPOLEON III.,
EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH.
m
Embracing a Record of nearly all the Important National Events which have
occurred in Europe during the last half of a century.
BT
JOHN S. C. ABBOTT,
Aathor of "History of Napoleon I," "French Revolution," "Civil War In
America," " Lives of the Presidents," &c., &c.
" This work well becomes, in its size and mechanical execution, the subjects of
which it treats. France of all countries, the French of all nations, and Louia
Napoleon of all rulers, furnish the most interesting materials for a readable book.
Those who know with what romance Mr. Abbott's pen invests every subject of
which it treats may well («pect,in this royal octavo, interest as well as information.
Nor will they be disappointed. The author has had access to all the facilities needed
for the full development of his subject. From the first Napoleon, the annals of
France have been full of thrilling interest. The present emperor has become in six-
teen years the leading spirit in modern history, and is a marvel in himself. Mr.
Abbott has been careful to give documentary proof for his statements ; and those
that find fault with his details must blame history, and not the historian." — Port-
land (3fe.) Christian Mirror.
The book is a royal octavo of about 700 pages; finely illustrated by nine pure
line steel engravings, executed in Paris expressly for the work; and sold only by
gubscription.
For terms, address
B. B. RUSSELL, Publisher,
55 Cornliill, Boston, Mass.
A Book for every Household in America.
LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS
OP THE UNITED STATES,
P'rom W aslxington to the Present Time.
UX.USTRATED, ANU COiMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME.
BT
JOHN S. C. ABBOTT,
Author of the "Civil War in America," "Life of Napoleon," "History of the
French Revolution," " Mother at Ilome," &c., &c.
" It is hardly necessary to speak well of a book written to carry out a prncticol
idea, and by one of the most practical writerw in America. There is not a i)olitieian,
a newspaper editor, or intelligent citizen, who will not find this work of va«t im-
portance to him, saving much labor, and therefore time. It is not only a risiimt' of
the leading events in the characters of those who have presided over the Uovern-
ment, but is accompanied by ijhilosophical reflections, and by what we arc pleaMed
to notice, — the frank objections of the biographer to such errors as may have been
committed by these Chief Magistrates. It is a wonder that the idea of such a book
has not before been carried out; and we are glad that it has fallen into the hands of
a gentleman whose experience, discrimination, and intelligence qualify him to give
Ufl a complete and standard work of reference." — Washington Chronicle.
The work is an octavo volume of .020 pages, handsomely illustratecl by eight steel,
plate illustrations, and thirty-six engravings on wood; and sold excluHlvely by can-
vassing Agents.
For terms, address
B. B. RUSSELL, Publisher,
55 Cornliill, I'.daIoii, Maait.
THE
Life of George Peabody:
containing a record of those princely acts of benevolence whicn
entitle him to the gratitude and esteem of the friends of
education and of the destitute, both in america,
the land of his birth, and england,
the place of his death.
By PHEBE a. HANAFORD,
Member of tlie Essex Institute, and author of " Life of Lincoln^'' (fc.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY DR. JOSEPH H. HANAFORD.
The above, copied from the titlepage of the book, fully explains the work. That
the record of such a hfe will be instructive and interesting, no one will deny. Mrs.
Hanaford's ability to perform the task, no one will question. She was well
known for some years as the editor of " The Ladies' Repository." Her experience
as a writer and poetess is large; and, being a member of the Essex Institute (an
association that shared largely the muniiicence of Mr. Peabody), her facilities
are ample.
I need not enlarge upon the desirableness of possessing such a work. As Amer-
ican citizens, we are proud of the name of George Peabody. And, to place the
book within reach of the millions, I have published it in style and price suited to
the times.
It is unnecessary to present a long list of testimonials : a few will indicate the
universal favor with which the work is received : —
" The subject is a most interesting one; and the authoress has made good use of
the moat abundant material at hand." — Boston Traveller.
" Mrs. Hanaford has had ample facilities for preparing this work ; and her literary
abilities are widely known. She has succeeded in making a readable, accurate, and
very desirable book." — Boston Post.
" It is a book intended for circulation among the masses ; and Mrs. Hanaford has
written it in a very pleasant and attractive style." — Boston Journal.
" Every young man should have a copy, and make his character a model for his
future life." — Syracuse Standard.
"Mrs. Hanaford, by her pleasant and welcome style, has made a book peculiarly
attractive to the masses ; and everybody will be gratified and benefited by reading
it." — Northern Advocate.
'' I am quite delighted with the neat style of the books, which came to hand yes-
terday." — Mrs. E. C. Smithson, New Haven.
I am constantly receiving similar notices of the press, and expressions of satis-
faction from my agents in all parts of the country.
TERMS OF PUBLICATION.— The work contains 308 pages, 12mo; illus-
trated by a fine Steel Portrait of Mr. Peabody, and six other illustrations, including
his birthplace. Sold only by subscription.
1= I^ I O E S-
Sii1)stantiall7 lound in Muslin, $1.50. In Arabesque Morocco, $2.00.
B. B. RUSSELL, Publisher,
55 Cornhill, Boston.
14 DAY USE
RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED
LOAN DEPT.
This book is due on the last date stamped below or
on the date to which renewed ^'°'^' ""^
Renewed books are subjea to immediate recall.
i4Apr'58J7
^WM— Wi)U-
receTved"
loan dept.
DEC2UQI
LD 21A-50»i-8,'57
(C8481sl0)476B
Generr
Universitj
Ber
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