The Story of Mankind [153]
his brother Alexander in
1825, firmly believed in the Divine Right of his own family,
and the thousands of Polish refugees who had found shelter
in western Europe bore witness to the fact that the principles
of the Holy Alliance were still more than a hollow phrase in
Holy Russia.
In Italy too there was a moment of unrest. Marie Louise
Duchess of Parma and wife of the former Emperor Napoleon,
whom she had deserted after the defeat of Waterloo, was
driven away from her country, and in the Papal state the
exasperated people tried to establish an independent Republic.
But the armies of Austria marched to Rome and soon every
thing was as of old. Metternich continued to reside at the Ball
Platz, the home of the foreign minister of the Habsburg
dynasty, the police spies returned to their job, and peace
reigned supreme. Eighteen more years were to pass before a
second and more successful attempt could be made to deliver
Europe from the terrible inheritance of the Vienna Congress.
Again it was France, the revolutionary weather-cock of
Europe, which gave the signal of revolt. Charles X had been
succeeded by Louis Philippe, the son of that famous Duke of
Orleans who had turned Jacobin, had voted for the death of his
cousin the king, and had played a role during the early days
of the revolution under the name of ``Philippe Egalite'' or
``Equality Philip.'' Eventually he had been killed when
Robespierre tried to purge the nation of all ``traitors,'' (by
which name he indicated those people who did not share his own
views) and his son had been forced to run away from the
revolutionary army. Young Louis Philippe thereupon had
wandered far and wide. He had taught school in Switzerland
and had spent a couple of years exploring the unknown ``far
west'' of America. After the fall of Napoleon he had returned
to Paris. He was much more intelligent than his Bourbon
cousins. He was a simple man who went about in the public
parks with a red cotton umbrella under his arm, followed by a
brood of children like any good housefather. But France had
outgrown the king business and Louis did not know this until
the morning of the 24th of February, of the year 1848, when
a crowd stormed the Tuilleries and drove his Majesty away and
proclaimed the Republic.
When the news of this event reached Vienna, Metternich
expressed the casual opinion that this was only a repetition
of the year 1793 and that the Allies would once more be obliged
to march upon Paris and make an end to this very unseemly
democratic row. But two weeks later his own Austrian capital
was in open revolt. Metternich escaped from the mob through
the back door of his palace, and the Emperor Ferdinand was
forced to give his subjects a constitution which embodied most
of the revolutionary principles which his Prime Minister had
tried to suppress for the last thirty-three years.
This time all Europe felt the shock. Hungary declared itself
independent, and commenced a war against the Habsburgs
under the leadership of Louis Kossuth. The unequal
struggle lasted more than a year. It was finally suppressed by
the armies of Tsar Nicholas who marched across the Carpathian
mountains and made Hungary once more safe for autocracy.
The Habsburgs thereupon established extraordinary
court-martials and hanged the greater part of the Hungarian
patriots whom they had not been able to defeat in open battle.
As for Italy, the island of Sicily declared itself independent
from Naples and drove its Bourbon king away. In the Papal
states the prime minister, Rossi, was murdered and the Pope
was forced to flee. He returned the next year at the head of a
French army which remained in Rome to protect His Holiness
against his subjects until the year 1870. Then it was
called back to defend France against the Prussians, and
Rome became the capital of Italy. In the north, Milan and
Venice rose against their
1825, firmly believed in the Divine Right of his own family,
and the thousands of Polish refugees who had found shelter
in western Europe bore witness to the fact that the principles
of the Holy Alliance were still more than a hollow phrase in
Holy Russia.
In Italy too there was a moment of unrest. Marie Louise
Duchess of Parma and wife of the former Emperor Napoleon,
whom she had deserted after the defeat of Waterloo, was
driven away from her country, and in the Papal state the
exasperated people tried to establish an independent Republic.
But the armies of Austria marched to Rome and soon every
thing was as of old. Metternich continued to reside at the Ball
Platz, the home of the foreign minister of the Habsburg
dynasty, the police spies returned to their job, and peace
reigned supreme. Eighteen more years were to pass before a
second and more successful attempt could be made to deliver
Europe from the terrible inheritance of the Vienna Congress.
Again it was France, the revolutionary weather-cock of
Europe, which gave the signal of revolt. Charles X had been
succeeded by Louis Philippe, the son of that famous Duke of
Orleans who had turned Jacobin, had voted for the death of his
cousin the king, and had played a role during the early days
of the revolution under the name of ``Philippe Egalite'' or
``Equality Philip.'' Eventually he had been killed when
Robespierre tried to purge the nation of all ``traitors,'' (by
which name he indicated those people who did not share his own
views) and his son had been forced to run away from the
revolutionary army. Young Louis Philippe thereupon had
wandered far and wide. He had taught school in Switzerland
and had spent a couple of years exploring the unknown ``far
west'' of America. After the fall of Napoleon he had returned
to Paris. He was much more intelligent than his Bourbon
cousins. He was a simple man who went about in the public
parks with a red cotton umbrella under his arm, followed by a
brood of children like any good housefather. But France had
outgrown the king business and Louis did not know this until
the morning of the 24th of February, of the year 1848, when
a crowd stormed the Tuilleries and drove his Majesty away and
proclaimed the Republic.
When the news of this event reached Vienna, Metternich
expressed the casual opinion that this was only a repetition
of the year 1793 and that the Allies would once more be obliged
to march upon Paris and make an end to this very unseemly
democratic row. But two weeks later his own Austrian capital
was in open revolt. Metternich escaped from the mob through
the back door of his palace, and the Emperor Ferdinand was
forced to give his subjects a constitution which embodied most
of the revolutionary principles which his Prime Minister had
tried to suppress for the last thirty-three years.
This time all Europe felt the shock. Hungary declared itself
independent, and commenced a war against the Habsburgs
under the leadership of Louis Kossuth. The unequal
struggle lasted more than a year. It was finally suppressed by
the armies of Tsar Nicholas who marched across the Carpathian
mountains and made Hungary once more safe for autocracy.
The Habsburgs thereupon established extraordinary
court-martials and hanged the greater part of the Hungarian
patriots whom they had not been able to defeat in open battle.
As for Italy, the island of Sicily declared itself independent
from Naples and drove its Bourbon king away. In the Papal
states the prime minister, Rossi, was murdered and the Pope
was forced to flee. He returned the next year at the head of a
French army which remained in Rome to protect His Holiness
against his subjects until the year 1870. Then it was
called back to defend France against the Prussians, and
Rome became the capital of Italy. In the north, Milan and
Venice rose against their