THE HUNGARIAN CONTEST. 431 A. D. against Hungary. This step occasioned a violent outbreak Ch.30 in the capital. The Viennese flew to arms, formed barricades, gained the city, and organized a Provisional Govern- 1849. ment. For ten days the army of the Emperor was defied, but at the end of that time military power triumphed, and Outthe soldiery took possession of the city. The leaders in the break in rebellion were immediately shot or hanged, and the imperial power was re-established. Vienna. Hun The war with Hungary was now commenced in earnest, an army of 130,000 men, under the ablest generals of the empire, being despatched to subdue the kingdom. The contest was a terrific one. Kossuth, who had been appointed chief, displayed throughout the struggle the highest talent and wonderful perseverance. The Hungarians gained victory after victory, and by the spring of 1849 had succeeded in driving back the The Austrian army, and asserting their independence. In this War in dilemma the Emperor sought and obtained the aid of Russia, gary. and fresh troops now poured upon the devoted nation. For nearly four months longer the contest was prolonged by the Hungarians with a courage and determination which has never been surpassed and rarely equalled. At length further resistance became impracticable; in August, 1849, the army surrendered to the Russians, and the Hungarians, left to the tender mercies of Haynau, were exposed to every form of revengeful cruelty. Count Batthyani, one of the noblest of patriots, was shot, others were hanged, while Kossuth, Bem, and their associates sought, and, to Subthe honour of the Porte, found a refuge in Turkey, in spite of the of the threats of Russia, who demanded that they should be Hungagiven up. The Emperor of Austria, unable to cope with the difficulties of his situation, in December, 1848, abdicated in favour of his nephew, and Francis Joseph, the present monarch, then but eighteen years of age, succeeded to the throne. The various rulers of the smaller States of Germany, following in the wake of Austria, now severally revoked the mission rians. 432 SETTLEMENT OF AFFAIRS. Ch. 30 privileges they had been forced to yield, and again unserv pulously trampled on the liberties of their subjects. A. D. . 1849. War with Den mark. Prussia, which for a time appeared likely to become the recognized head of a united Germany, failed to improve the opportunity, and allowed herself to be diverted from mor important objects by a war with Denmark, in support of the pretensions of the duchies of Holstein and Schleswig, where in consequence of the people being mainly Germans, a revol had been got up in favour of union. The Great Powers quickly interfered on behalf of Denmark. and an armistice followed. This enraged the populace of Berä beyond measure, and serious disturbances took place both there and at Frankfort. Military power, however, quickly triumphe over this attempt on the part of the ultra-democrats to contro! the King, and in Prussia, as in other places, although the forms of constitutional government were preserved, matters The gradually returned to the condition they were in before the Frank- outbreak in Paris. The Frankfort Parliament soon after Parlia expired from inanition; and Prussia and Austria, after apment. proaching the very verge of hostilities, at length adjusted their disputes peaceably. fort A desire for German unity, with Prussia as the head of the States, is, however, still largely indulged. It was this feeling which, more than any other, led to the formation, in the year 1831, of the great commercial league called the Zollverein. The professed object of the league was to promote freedom of trade among the German States, by abolishing German duties; but the real intent was to further a closer political unity. union. The jealousy of Austria is continually excited by these tendencies, inasmuch as the avowed object of the promoters of the change is to exalt Prussia at her expense. ENGLAND and BELGIUM, strong in the possession of representative institutions adapted to the age, remained unmoved amid the turmoils of the year. A Chartist insurrection was, indeed, threatened in London when the news of the French CHARTISM IN ENGLAND. 433 Revolution first arrived, and the 10th of April, 1848, was fixed Ch. 30 upon as the day when it was to break out. But the Govern- A. D. ment was prepared for the emergency. Tens of thousands of 1848. citizens enrolled themselves as special constables; and the enemies of order, instead of accomplishing the confusion they anticipated, were covered with well-deserved ridicule. Some Charof the leaders in the movement were soon after arrested, movetried, and transported for life, and since then the peace of the ment. country has been undisturbed by political agitators. tist distur A few months after this abortive attempt, Mr. Smith O'Brien, a man of good family, but vain and weak, endeavoured to excite a rebellion in Ireland, the conduct of which was as contemptible as the termination of it was speedy. Irish Happily no lives were lost. Mr. O'Brien was arrested, tried bances. for high treason, and sentenced to death. But mercy prevailed, and the foolish enthusiast was merely transported for life; a sentence which ultimately was diminished to penal expatriation for a few years. of Eng The safety of England, during a crisis like that we have been describing, may well lead us adequately to appreciate institutions which have proved capable of withstanding so violent a storm. It should teach us that the highest security of a nation is not in its armies, however large or welldisciplined, but in the loyalty of its thoughtful men, and the Safety sympathy of class with class; that true freedom exists by land. antagonism; that it is in the balance of contending forces, in the toleration of differences, and in the alternate rise and fall of parties, that liberty becomes strong and healthy; and, above all, that it is in popular Protestantism, involving as it does freedom of conscience, and the enjoyment of unshackled religious opinion, will be found the best preparation for the possession of civil rights, and the surest guarantee for their legitimate exercise. 434 PRESIDENCY OF LOUIS NAPOLEON. A. D. CHAPTER XXXI. EUROPE, FROM THE RISE OF LOUIS NAPOLEON TO THE Ch.31 THE election of Louis Napoleon to the Presidency of the French Republic, notwithstanding the immense majority of 1849. votes in his favor, was far from appeasing the spirit of party which raged throughout the nation. Scarcely had the result of the appeal that had been made to the people been announced, when plotting commenced. Early in 1849 the Assembly was dissolved, and a new election took place, which resulted rather in a balance of parties than in the predomiFrench nance of any one political element, although most of the dency. leading democrats were amongst the excluded. This circum The Presi stance excited the rage of the clubs, and plans were forthwith put in motion for an insurrection. An attempt of this character, under the direction of Ledru Rollin, was made on the 13th of June, but was instantly suppressed; and a similar revolt in Lyons, on the day following, was at once put down by artillery, yet not without the sacrifice of a great number of lives. These events greatly strengthened the position of the President, whose dependence from the first had been placed rather on the troops than on any party, and he now defied the Assembly, by electing a ministry altogether irrespective of Power them or their debates. From that hour parliamentary governof Louis ment was at an end; all real power was vested in one man; Napothe Assembly coalesced, and protested, and became violent, but-gained nothing; while the President day by day strength loon. PUBLIC EVENTS IN ENGLAND. 435 A. D. ened the army, and sought to ally its interests firmly with his Ch. 31 own-an object which he before long fully accomplished, and with consummate skill. The death of Louis Philippe, which 1850. took place at Claremont on the 26th of August, 1850, excited little notice, either in France or elsewhere. The Citizen King and his dynasty had already passed away. land. ENGLAND, during this time, had been gradually recovering Engfrom the commercial difficulties occasioned by the troubles of 1848; the Continent was gradually settling into repose; the discovery of gold, first in California and subsequently in Australia, was accelerating colonization at a rate hitherto unknown; and peace congresses were holding in Paris and Frankfort for the purpose of uniting the nations in a bond of everlasting brotherhood. of Sir The sudden death of Sir Robert Peel, which took place on Death the 1st of July, 1850, in consequence of the injuries he received Robert through a fall from his horse, occasioned universal grief, all Peel, parties concurring in the eloquent tribute of Mr. Gladstone, when he spoke of him as having died prematurely, though full of years, since it had been fondly hoped that whatever position Providence might assign him, he might still have been spared to render service to his country by the weight of his abilities, the splendor of his talents, and the purity of his virtues. ation. The Papal usurpation-an attempt made by the Pope and Papal Cardinal Wiseman in the year 1850 to divide England into surpdioceses, and to give to Romish bishops titles derived from English sees-excited the indignation of all classes, and led to the passing of a bill forbidding such titles as illegal. About the same time the election of Baron Rothschild, as member of Parliament for the City of London, revived the question of Jewish disabilities, and finally brought about the complete removal of all obstacles to the admission of Jews to a seat in the legislature. The event of the year 1851 was the holding of the first great Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations, which took |