Memoirs of the Duchesse De Dino (Afterwards Duchesse de Talleyrand et de Sagan), 1841-1850

140

On March 13 a formidable insurrection broke out at Vienna: the population rose in a body; the railways were torn up and the air resounded with cries, "The constitution and the liberty of the Press."]

141

Prince Adam Czartoryski, who retained his delusions, was inspired with fresh hopes by the disturbances which prevailed on every side, and from which the Poles were trying to derive some advantage for themselves. The Prince arrived at Berlin where disorder was general and proclaimed with considerable effrontery that Lord Palmerston and M. de Lamartine had promised to support him by land and sea, if Prussia would declare the re-establishment of Poland. The presence of Prince Czartoryski at Berlin was regarded with such disfavour by the Emperor of Russia, that he informed his Minister, Baron Meyendorff, that he would be withdrawn from Poland, if the Prince prolonged his stay in that capital.

142

On April 2, 1848, at midday the second general Diet was opened at Berlin in one Chamber without any distinction of rank or representation. The commissary of this Diet, Herr von Camphausen, the President of the Council, accompanied by all the Ministers, opened the Diet in the King's name. He delivered a speech, at the conclusion of which he brought forward proposals for a law concerning elections for the purpose of bringing into force upon a wide basis the constitution which the King had granted to his people after the events of March 18.

143

After a collision between the troops and the people at Vienna on March 13, 1848, and after the insurrection in Venice, Prince Metternich, who was too prone to overrate his capacity for resistance, was forced by an infuriated mob to resign and to flee from Austria with his wife. At first they stayed in Dresden, but the unpopularity of the Prince was so great that they were obliged to proceed to Holland and thence to England. In 1849 they settled at Brussels.

144

This assembly was spontaneously convoked at Frankfort to provide the country with a centre of action in case the Princes declined to support the movement for amalgamation which was then in progress among the Germanic races. It was dissolved on April 2, after securing from the Princes at the Diet the promise that a German parliament should meet. A commission, however, was appointed by the army consisting of fifty members, to secure the execution of this promise, and these members were ordered to convoke a national parliament within one month, assuming that a parliament had not been already elected by the different states.

145

The news of the Paris Revolution had produced a great sensation in the Grand Duchy of Posen. A revolt broke out at Posen itself, where Mieroslawski, who was released from prison on March 19, formed an army and prepared for war. At Cracow when the news of the Vienna disturbances came in, seventy thousand Poles went to Count Deyne, the civil commissary, and demanded the liberty of four hundred of their compatriots.

146

There was no ultimatum properly so-called; this was only a newspaper report. The Polish National Committee merely published a manifesto proclaiming that until the independence of Poland was re-established, the Poles would consider any arbitrary division of their national districts as a new partition of Poland, and threatened to protest against any such violation before Europe as a whole. This protest was eventually made on April 26 by two letters from Prince A. Czartoryski, addressed to M. de Lamartine, the Minister of Foreign Affairs at Paris, and to Baron Arnim who held the same position at Berlin.

147

The noble and chivalrous Charles Albert, desiring to throw off Austrian influence, had formed a highly organised army and proclaimed a constitution. On him the hopes of Italian independence were set. Taking advantage of the insurrection which had broken out at Milan on March 18 and which had been followed by the defeat of the Austrian army and the flight of the Archduke Reynier, the King had declared war upon Austria on March 20. At first he rapidly carried the positions of the enemy as far as the Adige, but he was attacked by superior forces and afterwards (in August) he lost the murderous battle of Custozza and was obliged to evacuate Milan.

148

After Milan, Venice revolted in turn. On March 20 the Arsenal was captured by the insurgents. The civil governor, Count Palfy, placed his authority in the hands of Count Zichy, the military governor, who hesitated before the prospect of bloodshed and finally surrendered to the municipality and made a capitulation with the provisional government on March 22; Venice was thus freed from the Austrians. On March 21 Treviso had also been forced to capitulate and the Austrian garrison had left the town.

149

The Prussian troops commanded by General Blum, had marched upon Miloslaw which they captured after a desperate combat; but an advance guard which was pursuing the Poles when approaching a wood, was received by so sustained a fire, that the Prussians fled, rushed upon their own infantry which was following them, broke their ranks and swept the whole force away in rout. The Poles pursued the Prussians in turn, drove them out of Miloslaw and captured two of their guns.

150

On May 4 Count Ficquelmont, Minister of Foreign Affairs at Vienna, was forced to resign by a tumultuous demonstration of the students who regarded him as a pupil of Metternich.

151

For several days manifestations in favour of Poland had been proceeding at Paris. On May 15 a band of insurgents attacked and invaded the National Assembly, but order was quickly restored.

152

On May 1 a revolutionary movement broke out at Rome, caused by the Pope's refusal to declare war against Austria. The Ministry resigned: the Pope was threatened with a provisional government, and declared in a manifesto that as chief Pontiff he could not declare war but that he left the power of declaring war as a temporal prince to his Ministry. On May 5 Pius IX. was forced to accept a Ministry composed wholly of laymen which was constantly in opposition to him.

153

The little exiled court lived very quietly at the seat of Claremont in England which belonged to King Leopold who had kindly placed it at their disposal.

154

M. Boismilon.

155

It was thought that the Liberalism of Herr von Camphausen had sufficiently calmed the popular excitement to allow the Prince of Prussia to return to Berlin. At the outbreak of the disturbance he had been forced to take refuge in England. However, no sooner had the Prince arrived than the Camphausen Ministry was overthrown on June 20, after the capture and plunder of the Arsenal and the Ministry of Auerswald came into power.

156

An insurrection had been broken out at Naples. After six hours' desperate fighting the royal troops retained possession of the town, though they lost three or four hundred men. The Chamber and the National Guard were dissolved and a new Ministry was formed under the Presidency of Signor Cariati.

157

After a bombardment and some street fighting which lasted from the 12th to the 17th of June, Prince Windisch-Graetz was able to overcome the insurrection at Prague. During these struggles his wife was treacherously shot near the window of her drawing-room, while standing between her sisters, from the other side of the street.

158

In the National Assembly at Frankfort the Committee of the Fifty had been tempted several times to form a triumvirate as a centre of power. Eventually a commission of eleven deputies was elected in June. This commission appointed Archduke John for Austria, the old Prince William for Prussia, and Prince Charles for Bavaria. The combination was ironically known as the directory of the three uncles, these princes being the uncles of the kings of their respective countries. The proposal was vigorously opposed, and the Session of June 23 eventually elected the Archduke John as sole director. A deputation offered the dignity to the Archduke who accepted it, and appeared in the National Assembly on the following 12th of July.

159

When seven thousand workmen had been dismissed from the national workshops, a further outbreak caused much bloodshed in Paris for four days. On that occasion the Archbishop, Mgr. Affre, was killed upon one of the barricades where he was attempting to pacify the people.

160

Herr von Pfördten.

161

The discussions concerning the proposal of a deputy, Herr Stein, with reference to the army and to the control which the Ministry should exert upon the political opinions of officers, were concluded in the Chamber against the desires of the Cabinet. The Auerswald Ministry therefore resigned on September 11; on the 22nd of the same month the King appointed a new Cabinet of which General Pfuel was President.

162

It will be remembered that the populations of Schleswig and Holstein, who wished to be united with Germany, had revolted against Denmark, and that the Prussians had come to their help. After several bloody conflicts an armistice was concluded between Denmark and Prussia at Malmæ on August 26, but the National Assembly at Frankfort refused to assent to this armistice on the ground that Prussia did not ask its authorisation. The council of Ministers and all the Ministers of the Empire had thereupon resigned.

163

The Château of Trachenberg, not far from Breslau.

164

In the morning of October 6 a number of the population of Vienna opposed the departure of the troops which were marching upon Hungary to reinforce Baron Jellachich, and a bloodthirsty struggle broke out. The residence of the Minister of War was captured by assault, and the Minister, the Comte de la Tour, was stabbed, hung to a lamp-post, and riddled with bullets. The troops retired, were driven back at every point and forced to evacuate the town. The Emperor and the Imperial Family, who had returned to Vienna in the month of August, were obliged to retire once more and went towards Olmütz. There the emperor abdicated on December 2 in favour of his nephew, Francis Joseph I.

165

General Count Lamberg had been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Hungarian troops on September 25: the National Assembly at Pesth refused to recognise this nomination and declared all guilty of high treason who should obey him, and on his arrival at Pesth put him to death on the bridge which unites Buda and Pesth.

166

When Hungary was in a state of insurrection, the insurgents seized Count Eugène Zichy, accused him of communicating with the Austrian Army and of distributing copies of the emperor's proclamation. He was tried before a court presided over by Georgei and was condemned to death and shot in the island of Czepel and not hung, as the first rumour related.

167

General Brédy was killed at Vienna on October 6, 1848, during the struggle between the people and the National Guard in the suburb of Leopoldstadt, a few hours before the insurgents seized the residence of the Minister of War.

168

By the Black and Yellow party is meant the Imperial party, the members of which wore these colours.

169

On October 16 a further and bloodthirsty outbreak took place at Berlin, ending in a collision between the National Guard and the workmen. The result was to revive the agitation which had prevailed in this town with short intermissions since the month of March.

170

M. Arago, the French Minister, showed himself to the crowd which was cheering him before his residence. He uttered a few words in French and held out his hand to the people who were nearest to him.

171

A new Ministry, of which Count Brandenburg was President and Herr von Manteuffel was Minister of the Interior, had been appointed at Berlin on November 8. Its very first administrative act ended in a defeat: an ordinance of the King countersigned by the Count of Brandenburg transferred the National Assembly to the town of Brandenburg; the Assembly decided against this transference by a vast majority, and as the Government could not continue amid this increasing anarchy, it resolved upon vigorous action. On November 10 a considerable number of troops were drafted into the capital and occupied the entrance to the Assembly room. The Assembly protested against this violence, and an ordinance of the King then declared the civil guard disbanded; another ordinance issued on the 12th proclaimed Berlin to be in a state of siege. General Wrangel commanded the military forces and every measure was taken to avoid a collision.

172

In November 1848 the whole of the Royal Family had suffered from poisoning in consequence of the leaden pipes through which the water was carried.

173

The Austrian Diet had been sitting since November 15 at Kremsier in Moravia, in the beautiful castle of the Archbishops of Olmütz. The new Ministry was composed as follows: Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, President of the Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs; Stadion, Minister of the Interior; Krauss, Financial Minister; Bach, Legal Minister; Gordon, Minister of War; Bruck, Minister of Commerce; Thinnfeld, Minister of Agriculture; Kulmer, unattached.

174

The Pope had given his subjects a constitution on March 14, and after changing his Ministry several times he had at length decided on December 15 to appoint as his Prime Minister, Pellegrino Rossi, formerly French Ambassador to His Holiness and a personal friend of M. Guizot. Rossi undertook to establish a regular parliamentary government in the Papal States, relying upon the middle classes and intervening between the parties in opposition. He was not given the time to carry out his proposals: on November 15, as he was going to a Cabinet Council, he was stabbed in the throat by a militiaman and fell dead. This deed was a signal for a republican rising. The Pope confined himself to appointing a new Minister who was out of sympathy with the people, upon which the mob and the troops made their way to the Quirinal and ordered the Pope to change his Ministers. Pius IX., who was supported by the diplomatic body, declined to accede, and popular exasperation then reached its height. A desperate struggle broke out between the people and the guards, and the bullets even reached the interior of the palace. Eventually the Pope yielded under protest and consented to accept as his Ministers Sterbini, Galletti, Mamiani, and the Abbé Rosmini. But on November 25, dressed as an ordinary Abbé, he left Rome and sought the protection of the King of Naples at Gaeta, from which town he sent a protest to the Romans against recent events.

175

Herr von Gagern, who had undertaken to draw up a constitution for the Empire at Frankfort and to settle the central power upon a permanent basis, had come to Berlin to examine the situation and to learn whether the King of Prussia would be inclined to place himself at the head of the German Empire in the event of a rupture between Austria and Germany. The King absolutely declined this proposal, which was afterwards brought before him once more with more official authority in March 1849.

176

Like Pellegrino Rossi, Capo d'Istria suffered a violent death. He was accused by the Greeks of acting merely as the tool of Russia, and of using arbitrary methods to secure governmental power. He was assassinated in 1831 by the brothers George and Constantine Mavromichali, who wished to take vengeance upon him for the unjust imprisonment of their father and brother.

177

King Charles Albert did not abdicate until after the battle of Novara on March 23, 1849.

178

About December 15 Prince Windisch-Graetz at the head of the Austrian troops drove the Hungarians out of one position after another, until they retired behind the bastions of Raab, under the command of Georgei. As the great cold prevented their reinforcements from coming up, the Hungarians were obliged to abandon this position, which the Austrians captured without striking a blow, on December 27.

179

On September 29, 1848, near Veneleze, twelve miles away from Ofen, Jellachich was utterly defeated by General Moga. His army took flight and Jellachich was taken prisoner. He succeeded in escaping, however, and made his way through the forests to Mor, Risber, and at length to Raab.

180

Prince Louis Bonaparte had been nominated President on November 10, 1848. M. Molé related that on the morning of that day General Changarnier, the commander of the troops who were to take the President to the Elysée, after he had taken the oath, came to M. Molé and asked for directions, and said as he went out, "Well, supposing I take him to the Tuileries instead of to the Elysée!" to which M. Molé replied, "Mind you do nothing of the sort; he will go there soon enough of his own accord."]

181

The greatest confusion prevailed in Frankfort as soon as the question arose of providing a definite head to the German Empire, and realising the fine promises of union by means of a practical conclusion. Austria pretended to adopt a waiting attitude which would enable her to stand apart from all details, as though she had no idea of entering into relations with Germany until Germany became a constituted state. Her intention, in short, was to take no steps with reference to her union with Germany until the choice of the head of the empire and of pre-eminence was decided in her favour or against her.

182

This war, which began upon the accession of Francis Joseph to the Austrian throne, lasted for three years. Hungary eventually yielded before the overwhelming force of Austria in alliance with Russia.

183

As France and England had offered to intervene between Austria and Sardinia, the armistice between these two powers, which was signed on August 9, 1848, was tacitly prolonged to the end of the negotiations. As the negotiations came to nothing, Sardinia at length denounced the armistice on March 12, 1849, and hostilities began again upon the 20th of the month. On March 23 the Sardinian army performed prodigies of valour in the decisive battle of Novara, but the commanding officer, the Polish General, Chrzanowski, made deplorable mistakes and Austria was once again successful. King Charles Albert asked Marshal Radetzky for a further armistice, but the conditions offered were so harsh that the King refused to accept them, abdicated in favour of Victor Emmanuel, and went into exile. On the 27th the new King went to Marshal Radetzky's headquarters, and after a long conversation, signed an armistice which lasted until the eventual conclusion of peace.

184

The Electoral Union or the famous committee of the Rue de Poitiers, was formed at the beginning of 1849 by the conservative right to guide the elections and to oppose the democratic socialistic committee.

185

The King of Prussia had been elected on March 28 as Emperor of the Germans at the Frankfort Assembly, and a deputation immediately started to offer him this title. The deputation was received by Frederick William IV. on April 3, who replied that he would only accept the position when the kings, the princes, and the free towns of Germany had given their voluntary assent. After long negotiations the mission of the Frankfort deputies proved a failure.

186

General von Pritwitz had taken command of the federal army in Schleswig-Holstein, after the appointment of General Wrangel as Commander of the Berlin troops.

187

Nicholas I. had threatened to declare war upon the Germanic Confederation if the German troops did not evacuate the duchies and retire beyond the Elbe.

188

Yielding to public opinion and to avoid a catastrophe, the King of Würtemberg eventually adopted the Constitution voted by the Frankfort Assembly, including the article dealing with the head of the Empire, which he had previously persisted in rejecting.

189

In the session of April 26 the Frankfort Assembly had declared that the King of Prussia could not accept the proposed position as head of the Empire if he did not also accept the Constitution.

190

On April 26 great agitation was produced in the Prussian Chamber among the Left by a letter found under the seats of the deputies. In this letter a large number of signatures from the Red faction proclaimed the sovereignty of the people and announced that all their efforts were being aimed at the formation of a great Polish republic. The same evening the King's ordinance dissolving the Chamber appeared.

191

General Bem, of Polish origin, who had distinguished himself in the defence of Warsaw in 1831, joined the Hungarians who revolted against Austria in 1848 and won some great successes in Transylvania, especially at Hermannstadt.

192

On May 3 the King of Saxony absolutely refused to recognise the constitution of the empire. His palace was immediately surrounded by the crowd, a defence committee was formed and the arsenal was attacked. The people seized the town hall and hoisted the German Tricolour. The Royal Family and the Ministers fled to Königstein. Had it not been for the Prussian intervention and the arrival of General Wrangel, the republic would have been proclaimed. The contagion of this revolt spread to Breslau, where, on May 7, the bands of insurgents paraded the streets with the red flag, which they brought before the town hall and proclaimed the republic. The military authorities stormed the barricades after a vigorous fusillade.

193

The anniversary of the death of M. de Talleyrand.

194

The German troops had entered Jutland after a battle between Wisdrup and Gudsor. The Danes, however, retired behind the ramparts of Fredericia which was bombarded by the Prussian troops, while negotiations for peace between Denmark and Prussia were proceeding at London under the auspices of Lord Palmerston. Some days later a Russian fleet left Cronstadt to help Denmark against Prussia, for the Emperor Nicholas maintained that Prussia was fomenting among her neighbours a spirit of revolt against the legitimate sovereign, and was doing all that she could to make herself mistress of the movements of Germany. The note which General von Rauch brought pointed out to the Czar that Prussia was only making war against Denmark at the orders of the central power and that no one was more anxious to see the end of these complications than the Prussian Cabinet.

195

The Prussian Cabinet had invited the other German Cabinets to a Congress at Berlin with the object of settling the difficulties raised by the refusal of the Frankfort Assembly to make any change in the constitution which it had voted.

196

Georgei had capitulated with twenty-two thousand combatants at Vilagos, where he handed his sword to the Russians. He was given up to the Austrians after a short confinement, at the request of Paskewitch.

197

An allusion to the blindness of the Crown Prince of Hanover.

198

The Vienna Cabinet, which was invariably jealous of Prussia's position in Germany, strove by every means to destroy Prussian influence. The Vienna Cabinet worked upon Hanover to withdraw that State from alliance with the King of Prussia, and pointed out that a federal State when confined by the terms of federation, was likely to advance the cause of democracy, and that Prussia by transforming the provisional central power into a permanent institution, would become supreme in Germany.

199

The Archduke John, who possessed large properties in Styria which he wished to develop, had come to Belgium to examine the iron and steel factories. On October 24 the King of the Belgians met him at Liège, and visited with him Seraing and the establishments of the Vieille Montagne at Angleux. The Archduke had contracted a morganatic marriage with Mlle. Plochel who was made Baroness of Brandhofen; their only son had received the title of Count of Meran.