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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Given in memory of
IMRIE de VEGH

AUSTRIA IN 1848-49 :

BEING A HISTORY OF THE

LATE POLITICAL MOVEMENTS

VIENNA, MILAN, VENICE, AND PRAGUE;

DETAILS OF THE CAMPAIGNS OF LOMBAEDY AND NOVARA;
A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE
REVOLUTION IN HUNGARY;

AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT AND THK
PROVINCES OF THE EMPIRE.

BY WILLIAM II. STILES,
LATE CHARGE D'AFFAIRES OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE COUHT OF VIENNA-

$orttnfts of t$e 3Emj)etor, JVCetternfcfi, 3£taTiet^£, WUdc, airti 3Eto«sitti».
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
339 & 331 PEARL STREET,
VRAKKI.IN SQUARE.
1852.

Iv Preface.
races which inhabit the provinces now composing Austria, the
manner in which they became subject to the sway of a com
mon sovereign, as well as considered the wholly different cir
cumstances through which they have respectively developed ;
subjects little understood, yet indispensable to a correct appre
ciation of subsequent events. No one who has not had occa
sion to investigate the obscure early history of the various
races of Eastern Europe, or who has not attempted to recon
cile the contradictory statements of those whose sole aim, in
relating more recent events, appears to have been that of ex
tolling one party and ascribing the worst motives and the foul
est crimes to their opponents, can have an adequate idea of
the obstacles in the way of arriving at truth. In tracing the
past history of the Austrian empire, he has relied on the stand
ard authorities ; and in reference to events comparatively re
cent, he has labored, by a full investigation of a vast amount
of conflicting evidence, to educe from the confused mass a
clear and, as he believes, a reliable statement of facts ; while
his own views, in many cases, are modified by ample citations
from the leading reviews and journals of the day, as well as
the most approved works of late travelers and historians. His
object has been to give the reader all the facts, and at the
same time intimate frankly the various phases of public sen
timent. In his comments on the actions of individuals, the
reader must bear in mind that three parties are distinctly rec
ognized, the government party, or Monarchists ; the Radicals,
or reckless agitators ; and the intelligent or moderate reform
ers. It is important that the movements and opinions of each
should be distinctly appreciated. The intention has been to
report all parties fairly, and to elicit truth from a careful sur
vey of authentic facts. To the author, the examination of
these subjects has been replete with interest and instruction,
and he ventures to hope that his labors will be favorably re
garded by those who follow with interest the general tendency

Preface. v
of events in Europe. To such he commends them, with the
sincere conviction that no partisan spirit has dictated the views
advanced ; while, as an American, he could not be indifferent,
first, to the joyful burst of acclamation which hailed the ad
vent of an era of liberty, nor, afterward, to the mournful fate
to which the constitutional system in Austria seemed doomed ;
yet, taught by the duties of his position to regard the moment
ous events which transpired in such rapid, succession around
him with the calm reflection which should characterize offi
cial station, he has been guided by the same impartial spirit
in recounting them.
If, in the elucidation of truth, the author has found it nec
essary to allude to the errors of all parties, the unpleasant
duty has been attempted for that object only, and under the
hope that, while interest would be excited by a relation of
events in which they were conspicuous, lessons of practical
wisdom might at the same time be learned from their exposure.
No 55 Broadway, New York.

CONTENTS OF VOL. I.

BOOK I.
CHAPTER I.

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. PAGE
Austria and its Provinces. — Account of their Origin, and History of their Con
nection with the Empire, to the Treaty of Vienna in 1815  I
CHAPTER II.
historical introduction — Continued.
Foreign Policy and internal Administration of the Austrian Empire, from the
Treaty of Vienna, in 1815, to the Vienna Revolution, in March, 1848  32

BOOK II.
CHAPTER I.
The Revolution in Vienna on the 13th of March, 1848.— The Triumph of the
People, and fall of Metternich. — Subsequent Escape of the Emperor from
Vienna, and Reign of Terror which followed  97
CHAPTER II.
Insurrection in Milan. — Radetzky and his Army driven from the City. — In
vasion of Lombardy by the Piedmontese, Tuscans, Romans, and Neapol
itans. — Their Overthrow and Expulsion by Radetzky, and his complete
Subjugation of the revolting Kingdom  185
CHAPTER III.
The Political History of Venice, from its Origin to the late Revolution. — The
Expulsion of the Austrians, and Proclamation of the Republic of St. Mark.
— Its Existence for upward of a Year, and final Overthrow. — Besieged by
Land aud Blockaded by Sea  2fi 1
CHAPTER IV.
Historical Account of the early Political Institutions of Bohemia. — Its Con
version by the Habsburg Dynasty from a constitutional and elective Mon
archy into an unlimited and hereditary Kingdom. — The Outbreak at Prague
in 1848, and establishment of a Provisional Government. — Conflict between
the Troops and People. — Bombardment and Subjugation of the City  342

AUTHORITIES.
The following standard works, official documents, private memoirs, and publio
journals have been examined during the preparation of the following volumes,
and, while the author most gratefully acknowledges the great assistance they
have rendered him, he relies upon them confidently to establish the authenticity
of his statements.
Coxe's History of the House of Austria.
Menzel's History of Germany.
Politz, Geschichte des Oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates.
Sigismond Calles, Annales Austria! ab ultimas oetatis memoria, ad Habsburgicas
gentis Principes deducti.
Franz Ferdinand Schrotter, Versuch einer Oesterreichischen Staatsgeschichte
von dem Ursprunge Oesterreich bis nach dessen Erhohung in ein Herzogthum.
Lilnig's Reichs-Archiv.
Mailath, Oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates.
Palacky's History of Bohemia.
Melch. Goldasti, Commentarius de Bohemia) regno.
F. A. Fessler's Geschichten der Ungarn.
Heeren's Historical Researches.
Allgemeiue Congress-Acte (9 Juni, 1815).
Staats Lexikou, von Carl von Rottech und Carl Welcher.
Adrian Rauch, Rerum Austriacarum Scriptores, etc., ex authenticis bibl. Vindob.
codicibus ustis et Diplomaticis instrumentis.
Kasp. Lehmann, Versuch einer Geschichte Oesterreichischen Regenten.
Ferrand, Histoire des Demembrements de la Pologne.
Von Raumer, Polens Untergang.
Sanctio Pragmatica.
Wheaton's Digest of the Laws of Nations.
Europe after the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, by M. De Pradt.
Cuiigies de Vienne, par M. Capefigue.
Alison's History of Europe.
Turnbull's Austria.
Kohl's Austria.
Thompson's Austria.
Wilde's Austria.
Fiirst Clemens von Metternich und sein Zeitalter, von Josef Binder.
Tablettes Autrichiennes.
Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary, by G. R. Gleig.
Daru's History of Venice.
Sketches of Venetian History, from the Family Library.
Hallam's Middle Ages.
Der Oesterreichischen Universal-Kalender fUr das Jahr 1849. 1 Gang, Richtung
der Wiener-Revolution von 13 Miirz bis 6 Oct., 1848, von Dr. F. C. Weidmann,
2. Wien und Buda-Pesth im Herbste 1848, von Joh. Moshamer.
Dunder's Wiener Revolution.
Paget's Hungary.

x Authorities.
Klapka s War 01 Hungary.
Schlessinger's War in Hungary.
Pragay's Hungarian Struggle for Freedom.
Scenes of the Civil War in Hungary.
Memoirs of a Hungarian Lady, by T. Pulszky.
History of Slavic Literature.
Demain's Tableau de la Hongrie.
De l'Esprit publique en Hongrie, par A. Degerando.
Encyclopaedia Americana.
British Encyclopedia.
Hormayer's Franz und Metternich.
Franz der Erste, Kaiser von Oesterreich, und sein Zeitalter.
A Voice from the Danube.
Blue Book of the English Parliament.
Biography of Manin.
Williston's Campaign of Lombardy.
Custoza.Campagne de Novara, par l'Auteur de Custoza.
Le Spectateur Militaire.
La Hongrie en 1848, par J. Bold6nyi.
La Hongrie, par Emile Marguerin.
Lettres sur la Hongrie, par Ladislas Szalay.
The Case of Hungary stated by Count Ladislas Teleki.
Question Austro-Hongroise et l'lntervention Russe.
De l'lntervention Russe, par le Comte Ladislas Teleki.
Parallels between the Constitutions of England and Hungary, by J. T. Smith.
Correspondence relative to the Affairs of Hungary, 1847-49, presented to both
Houses of Parliament by Order of Her Majesty.
Events in the Austrian Empire in 1848-49, by Baron Pillersdorf.
Count Hartig on the Events of 1848.
Edinburgh, Quarterly, Westminster, and North British Reviews ; Blackwood's
Magazine; AUgemeine Zeitung, Wiener Zeitung, Lloyd's Gazette, Gazzetta di
Milano, Gazzetta di Venezia, Piedmontese Gazette, Galignani's Messenger, La
Presse, London Times, Chronicle, Examiner, North American Review, Christian
Examiner, &c.

AUSTRIA IN 1848 AND 1849.

BOOK I.
CHAPTER I.
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION.

AUSTRIA AND ITS PROVINCES.— ACCOUNT OF THEIR ORIGIN, AND HISTORY OF
THEIR CONNECTION WITH THE EMPIRE, TO THE TREATY OF VIENNA IN 1815.
The present Empire of Austria, with its two hundred and
fifty-six thousand square miles, and thirty-eight millions of
inhabitants, was, at the period when its name became first
known, literally, as it has been described in a recent state
paper, "but as a patch on the earth's surface."*
"When the "barbarian irruptions" of the fourth, fifth, and
sixth centuries, which overwhelmed the Roman provinces,,
obliterating the boundaries of Vindelicia, Noricum, Pannonia,.
Illyricum, and Rhsetia, had subsided, the River Ennst was
found to constitute the eastern limit of civilization in Central
Europe. On the left bank of this river were established the Bavari
ans, or Bajoarii, descending from the Boii ; and the right bank
was inhabited by the Avars, a wild Tatar race.
While the former remained stationary, and lived under their
own dukes — recognizing, however, the supremacy of the
Frankish kings, by the performance of feudal military service
— the latter continued, during the short period of their histor
ical existence, mere lawless invaders and wandering plunder
ers. After the incorporation of Bavaria with the Frankish
empire, Charlemagne marched against the Avars, and sub-
* Letter of Mr. Webster, U. S. Secretary of State, to Chevalier Hulsemann,
Dec. 21, 1850.
t The Enns, a small river emptying into the Danube on its right bank, a little
below Linz. A

2 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
dued them, in 791-799. Ten thousand of these barbarians
were drowned in the Danube, and the remainder were driven
beyond the River Raab, which then became the eastern bound
ary of the empire.
The territory between the Enns and the Raab, thus vacated
by the expulsion of the Avars, known as Avaria, was subse
quently called Austria. It was also designated Marca Ori-
entalis, or the Eastern Frontier, and the administration and
defense of this newly - created fief were committed to mar
graves. The name given by the Germans to this recently-con
quered country was Ostirrichi (Ostirrich, Osterreich, and finally
Oesterreich), signifying domain of the East, and appeared
for the first time, in the year 996, in an imperial document.
Suabian and Bavarian families, who colonized the country,
introduced the first germs of civilization ; and the territory,
thus limited in extent, formed the nucleus around which, during
the lapse of centuries, there have been gathered sixteen great
states, besides numerous small principalities, inhabited by four
of the seven different races of Europe, among whom are spoken
twelve distinct languages and countless dialects, and between
whom the only bond of union has been the sway of a common
sovereign. What were the different countries that formed this
empire — what was the period, and what the manner of their
acquisition — whether by conquest, election, succession, or mar
riage,* the following brief chronological account will make
manifest ; while, at the same time, it will render more intel
ligible, if not more interesting, the events and considerations
hereafter disclosed. Archduchy of Austria.
The new margraviate of Austria had existed but a brief
period, when it was invaded by the fierce and invincible Mag
yars (Hungarians, abandoning their homes on the northern
* A great portion of Austria was acquired by marriage with princesses who
were heiresses to these kingdoms and principalities. It was thus that Hungary,
Bohemia, and the Tyrol were acquired. Hence the lines :
" Bella gerant alii: tu felix Austria, nube;
Nam quae Mars aliis, dat tibi regna Venus."
You, Austria, wed as others wage their wars,
And crowns to Venus owe, as they to Mars.

Chap. I.] Archduchy of Austria. 3
coasts of the Black Sea, wandered in the plains of the Dan
ube), who, by their victorious arms, acquired the largest por
tion of this territory.
The empire of the Franks had by this time, on the death
of Charlemagne, been divided between France, Italy, and Ger
many ; and Austria, from its geographical position, had fallen
to Germany. Louis, " the child"* who then sat on the German
throne, terrified by the disasters which encompassed him, con
sented to the payment of a ten years' tribute to the Magyars,
and made Mblk the eastern boundary of the Austrian margra-
viate. To mark the spot, a royal castle was erected by the
Hungarians, on the commanding hill overlooking the Danube,
on which now stands the splendid monastery of Mblk, to chal
lenge the admiration of every traveler who descends the waters
of that picturesque stream. Margraves of different houses,
under the appointment of the emperor, succeeded to the Aus
trian fief, until 983, when it became hereditary in the family
of Babenberg. Leopold von Babenberg having saved the life
of Otho the First, of Germany, in a boar hunt, the emperor
presented to him the margraviate of Austria as a reward for
this service.
After the victory of Otho the First on the Lechfeld (955),
the original boundaries of the margraviate were nearly re-es
tablished, and the Magyars, driven from Mblk, were compelled
to confine themselves within the limits of modern Hungary.
The family of Babenberg ruled in Austria from 982 to 1246,
although the succession was not regulated by primogeniture,
but solely by the will of the German emperor. The fiefs were,
at first, held for a term of years, afterward for life, and finally
they became hereditary.
During this period Austria extended its frontiers on the
east to the Leitha, which formed for a long time her bound
ary with the Hungarians ; while on the west, in consequence
of the struggles between the Hohenstaufen — the reigning fam
ily of Germany — and the Welfs — the dukes of Saxony and
Bavaria — she gained the country above the Enns, belonging

* " Woe to the land whose king is a child," then preached in Germany, is now
repeated by the Hungarians ; but the youth of the emperor, which then favored
the Hungarians, is now regarded as their greatest misfortune.

4 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
to Bavaria, and which was taken from the Welfs and confer
red by the emperor on his kinsmen, the margraves of Austria,
for their highly-esteemed services and fidelity in 1156.
Both territories, that above as well as that below the Enns,
were then united, and this enlarged territory was afterward
created by Barbarossa — the Emperor Frederick the First — a
duchy, and was acknowledged an hereditary fief, with the
right to leave it by testament, after the expiration of the male
line, to the female posterity.
Besides this, many rights and liberties were granted to the
new duchy,* so that Austria may be considered from this pe
riod as an established state in the German Confederacy.
Styria.
The first accession of territory to the Duchy of Austria was
the annexation of Styria, the limits of which, during the reign
of Conrad the First, had been gradually extended from the
fortress of Steyer on every side.
After the victory of the emperor, Otho the First, over the
Hungarians, this territory was added, in 955, to the German
empire ; and in 1180, Ottocar the Sixth, obtaining the title
and powers of duke, disposed of the duchy in favor of his fa
ther-in-law, Leopold the Sixth of Austria.
The German feudatories had already become sufficiently
powerful to compel the monarchs to respect such testament
ary dispositions as they might make of their fiefs ; and al
ready had Lothar the Third established a law that fiefs ren
dered vacant by the extinction of the family of the incumbents
should, instead of lapsing to the crown, fall to the next of kin.t
Thus the Duke of Austria, in 1192, became legally and right
fully invested with the possession and control of Styria.
* This new duchy was smaller than the present " Austria above and below
the Enns," as the southern boundaries were not yet extended to the Semmering
Mountain ; while, as far as the Piesting River, all belonged to the Carenthani-
an, and on the east only, as now, the Leitha continued to remain the frontier.
After the political organization of Carinthia, Styria belonged to the Marchia Ca-
renthana ; but the proprietors of the castle and city of Steyer soon obtained the
title of margrave. Leopold the Brave, son of Ottocar of Styria, acquired the
largest portion of this marchia by purchase, inheritance, and investiture. From
his time the name of his dynasty became attached to the land itself.
t Menzel.

Chap. I.] Freisingen. 5
Lands of the Ecclesiastical Principality of Freisingen, in
Carniola.
In 1229, Leopold the Seventh purchased of the Ecclesias
tical Principality of Freisingen certain lands in Carniola, and
prepared the way, by this purchase, for the future connection
of Carniola with Austria.
Leopold the Seventh, or the Glorious, as he was called, ex
celled in the administration of internal affairs. He built the
palace in Vienna, in which the emperors still reside, and, with
the ransom paid by England's king, Richard Coeur de Lion, is
said to have constructed the walls which surround the capi
tal. To his brilliant court the most renowned embassadors
were dispatched, and Austria shone forth in the highest splen
dor of the Middle Ages. But, amid all this magnificence, the
useful sciences were neglected, and the worthy duke absolute
ly died for want of a surgeon to amputate a fractured limb.
Having fractured his leg by a fall from his horse, he seized an
ax, and, placing its edge on the broken limb, ordered his at
tendant to strike upon it with a mallet ; and thus was his
leg severed from his body.
With the death of Frederick the Warrior, son of Leopold,
in 1246, the male line of the house of Babenberg became ex
tinct. Austria and Styria were then declared vacant fiefs,
and provisionally governed by imperial stadtholders. The pe
riod from 1246 to 1282, and styled the Austrian interregnum,
proved disastrous to the union of both countries. The Ger
man emperor was plaoed under ban by the Pope, and the anti-
emperor and the kings of Hungary and Bohemia were enjoined
by the pontiff to take possession of the Austrian lands.
The Estates or Diets of Austria and Styria at length elect
ed Ottocar, son of the King of Bohemia, to the office of duke.
His father, King Wenzel, having bribed the Austrian deputy,
as he passed through Prague on his errand to tender the duke
dom to Henry von Meissen, and having also succeeded in in
ducing the Estates to make choice of his son.
Ottocar having soon after ascended the throne of Bohemia,
and having been invested by Richard of Cornwall, the aspi
rant to the German throne, with the vacant fiefs of Austria

6 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
and Styria, and having reduced under his authority the Duchy
of Carinthia, and the largest portion of Carniola, with Friul
and Istria (bequeathed to him by the Duke Ulrich von Osten-
burg, who died without issue), became the most powerful
prince of Europe. ,
Too confident of his power, Ottocar refused to acknowledge
the election of the Count Rhodolph of Habsburg as Emperor of
Germany (1273), and entered into war with him. On the
March-field opposite Vienna, on the same plain where nearly
six centuries afterward occurred the famous battles of Aspern
and Wagram between the Archduke Charles and Napoleon,
Ottocar was totally defeated and slain ; and his son, to pre
serve his hereditary states, was obliged to renounce all claim
to the Austrian possessions.
All the lands of Ottocar, except his hereditary states, were
now conferred by the emperor on his sons Albert and Rho
dolph ; but Carinthia, at their request, was reserved by the
emperor, and bestowed on Meinhard of Tyrol, father-in-law of
Albert, in reward for his services during the war with Otto
car. At the solicitation of the Estates, the emperor (1283)
declared Austria and Styria an inalienable and indivisible do
main, with their former ancient rights and privileges, vesting
the sole administration in Albert, and assigning a specific reve
nue to Rhodolph and his heirs. From that period the success
ors of Rhodolph assumed to themselves the title of " Princes
of Austria." Indeed, the chief object of Rhodolph seemed to
be the confirmation of the Austrian possessions in his family.*
Carinthia.
A new accession of territory followed in 1336, upon the
death of the Duke of Carinthia. After the invasion of Nori-
cum by the Slavi, and the invaders had retired, Carinthia, a
portion of that territory, was occupied by the Carnians (Caran-
tani). From the seventh century they had existed under their
own princes, but at the same time acknowledged some de
pendence upon Bavaria.

* Not content with this, he was also desirous of making the imperial crown
hereditary, and of naming his son Albert his successor to the throne. But the
refusal of the prince hastened his death, which occurred in 1291.

Chap. I.] Tyrol. 7
After the death of Carlman, son of Louis the German, in
880, his illegitimate son Arnulf became Margrave of Carinthia.
In 926 it was separated from Bavaria, by the Emperor Otho
the Second, and elected its own dukes.
The last duke of the house of Sponheim, m 1269, declared
the King of Bohemia heir of Carinthia, to which belonged also
the largest portion of Carniola, with the Friul and Istria.
After the fatal war between the emperor and Ottocar, those
lands were transferred to Albert and Rhodolph, sons of the em
peror ; but, at their request, were resumed by the emperor,
and conferred on the Count of Tyrol, who possessed them un
til 1336. During this year the last Count of Tyrol died, and
Carinthia, with all its appendages, reverted to the Dukes of
Austria. This title, however, did not consist so much in the former
possession of the land as in the new investiture bestowed upon
them by the emperor, who feared the increasing power of the
Luxemburgs in Bohemia, and against whom they were now
united. The emperor even revoked, on this occasion, the dec
laration of succession to Carinthia and Tyrol, which he had
previously made, in favor of the kings of Bohemia. But the
triumph of the King of Bohemia and his allies prevented, then,
the transfer of the Tyrol, and Carinthia was, consequently,
the sole accession which Austria at that time received.
Tyrol.
A still further acquisition took place in 1364. Tyrol, a
name derived from the ancient Roman Teriolis, formed a part
of Rheetia, and, with the exception of some portions afterward
added to Carinthia, had, ever since the sixth century, belonged
to Bavaria. The southern part remained occupied by the Lon-
gobards. When Henry the Lion was put under the imperial
ban, Tyrol was divided, and bishops and counts formed of it
separate and independent states.
The most conspicuous of these new masters were the counts
of Andecks, who received from the emperor, Frederick the First,
the title of dukes. In 1248, the dukes of Meran Andecks,
who guarded, according to Hormayer, the frontier of the em
pire, as far as the shores of the Adriatic (hence their name

8 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
Meer-an), becoming extinct on the death of Otho, their pos
sessions fell to their cousin Albert, count of Tyrol, whose
daughter Adelheid brought them afterward, in dower, to her
husband, Meinhard the First, count of Gbritz.
Meinhard left two sons, Meinhard the Second, who inherited
the Tyrol, and obtained the investiture of Carinthia from the
emperor ; and Albert, who succeeded to Gbritz. In 1310 the
inheritance of Tyrol fell to Henry the Second, father of the fa
mous Margaret, called Maultasch — a name derived, as some
authors say, from her pouting lips ; or, according to others,
from her castle of Maultasch. She procured from the Emperor
Louis a decree, recognizing Carinthia and Tyrol as feminine
fiefs — a document which he afterward found it expedient to
annul, when he chose to invest the dukes of Austria with Ca
rinthia and Tyrol.
After a war between Margaret's adherents and the Austrian
princes, Carinthia, together with Carniola, which was attached
to it, remained in possession of the latter, and Tyrol was as
signed to Margaret.
The marriage of Margaret Maultasch, heiress of the Tyrol,
with Louis of Bavaria, not having been confirmed by the Pope,
her son Meinhard was branded as illegitimate. Through the
exertions of Rhodolph the Fourth, duke of Austria, the pontiff
was induced to sanction the marriage, and to establish the le
gitimacy of Meinhard, on whom he then bestowed the hand
of his sister Margaret. In gratitude for these favors, Marga
ret Maultasch gave the reversion of the Tyrol to the dukes of
Austria, should her husband and son die without issue.
After the death of her husband in 1361, and that of her son
in 1363, Rhodolph, fearful lest the Bavarian princes should
obtain possession of the Tyrol by virtue of the marriage con-'
tract of Margaret with Louis, which secured the reversion of
that province, in failure of his issue, to the house of Lower
Bavaria, crossed the Alps, with great difficulty and danger, in
the depth of winter, and prevailed on Margaret to ratify the
former grant, and to yield to him immediate possession of the
Tyrol. But a far greater difficulty yet remained, that of ob
taining the sanction of the emperor to the arrangement ; for,
notwithstanding the tie of Rodolph's marriage with Catha-

Chap. I.] Feldkirch — Trieste. 9
rine, the daughter of the Emperor Charles, the natural jeal
ousies of the houses of Austria and Luxemburg had occasioned
frequent contests between them. At this juncture, Rhodolph
and his three brothers united in a league with the kings of
Hungary and Poland against the emperor as king of Bohemia.
Fortunately, however, Catharine was enabled to effect a
reconciliation between her father and husband, and in 1364 a
meeting took place at Briinn between Charles and the Aus
trian princes, when Charles confirmed the donation of Marga
ret, invested Rhodolph with the Tyrol, and even entered into
a family compact with the Austrian princes for the reciprocal
reversion — in failure of male issue — of their respective terri
tories.* In the same year (1364) Rhodolph and his brothers concluded
a compact with Albert the Fourth, count of Gbritz, a collat
eral branch of the house of Tyrol, which opened the way to
the subsequent acquisition, by the Austrian house, of the coun
ties of Gbritz, and of Gradisca and Mittenburg.
Feldkirch.
In 1375, Leopold the Third purchased the claims of the
Count of Feldkirch for 36,000 gold guldens, and this beauti
ful country was added to the Duchy of Austria. With Feld
kirch was also purchased a portion of the county of Bregenz,
called the Innerwald.t Trieste.
In 1382 the territory of Trieste was acquired. This was
originally a Roman colony, and from the time of the visit of
Constantine the Great to Italy, after the defeat of Maxentius,
became attached to the Occidental empire, and remained sub
ject to the exarchat of Ravenna, until the contest between the
Pope Virgilius and the Bishop of Aquileia in the sixth century.
It afterward fell to the dukes of the Friul ; and in 973 be-
* Coxe's House of Austria. v
The same Rhodolph, provoked by the article of the Golden Bull, which gave
the electors precedence over all other princes, assumed the title of Archduke
Palatine ; but the title was dropped by his successors, until confirmed by the
Emperor Frederick the Third, 1453.
t Jos. Bergmann.

10 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
came subject to the Patriarch of Aquileia, and soon afterward
to the Count of Gbritz. In 1202, the city placed herself un
der the protection of Venice. During the Venetian wars, the
inhabitants, dissatisfied with the government of Venice, re
belled, and surrendered themselves to the confederate forces,
and the sovereignty of the city was again transferred to the
Patriarch of Aquileia. But the people, harassed with intes
tine commotions, and finding the new sovereign too weak to
protect them against their former rulers, whose dominion they
dreaded, offered their submission to Leopold the -Second of Aus
tria. He acceded to their overtures, promised to respect their
privileges and preserve their municipal government, appointed
a captain or prefect in the city, and thus secured to the house
of Austria this most important port of the Adriatic*
Pludentz, with the Valley of Montavon
In 1394 the Duke Leopold the Second, who equaled his
ancestors in his eagerness to increase his possessions, pur-
* It should here be remarked that the Austrian possessions became divided in
1379 between the two brothers Albert and Leopold; that by this division two
lines were formed — the Austrian and the Styrian. The possessions of the last of
the Austrian line (of Albert) devolved on the Styrian line in 1457 ; and the lands
became again divided between the members of this line, until the year 1496, when
Maximilian the First reunited the Austrian possessions.
Not only had the family compact, but the imperial investiture, established the
indivisibility of the Austrian territories, and vested the administration in the eldest
brother, but the discordant characters of the two Austrian princes proved fatal to
the family union ; and Leopold applied for and obtained the consent of the em
peror to the division, who, in readily yielding his sanction, Charles remarked,
" We have long labored in vain to humble the house of Austria, and now the dukes
of Austria have humbled themselves." The rapid development of the European
states during this age, together with the political and religious disturbances, re
quired a strong head and powerful arm for the occupant of the German throne ;
and as, in these respects, the German princes were inferior to the Austrian, it was
very natural that selections Bhould be made for that post from the latter house.
With the election of the reserved Albert the Fifth to the German throne, in
1438, who died the following year, began the unbroken chain of German emper
ors elected from the Austrian house. Thus began, in the Middle Ages, the con
nection of Austria with Germany by the union of the crown in the person of the
same monarch. This connection continued until August 1st, 1806, when, upon
the fiat of Napoleon, and the construction of the Confederation of the Rhine, the
empire was dissolved. In consequence, Austria laid aside the imperial crown of
Germany, adopting, instead, the imperial crown of Austria, and Francis the Sec
ond of Germany became Francis the First of Austria.

Chap. I.] Castria, the " Vorderwald," Etc 11
chased from the Count Albert of Werdenberg the county of
Pludentz, with the valley of Montavon.*
Castria.
This Estate, now in the province of Illyria, was purchased
in 1400. The "Vorderwald" of the county of Bregenz.
The remainder of the former county of Bregenz, called
" The Vorderwald," was sold by Elizabeth, wife of the mar
grave, William of Hochberg, to the Archduke Sigismund of
Austria, in 1451. Sonnenberg.
The county of Sonnenberg, in Tyrol, was bought by the
Archduke Sigismund for 34,000 gold guldens, in 1474.
Goritz, Gradisca, Mittenberg, and the Pusterthal.
In 1500 the counties of Gbritz, Gradisca, Mittenberg, and
the Pusterthal were escheated to the princes of Austria.
These lands constituted an important acquisition from their
extent and their local situation, as they joined the frontiers of
Carinthia and Carniola, and connected those countries with the
territory of Trieste. The Counts of Gbritz and those of Tyrol
were probably of the same descent. The first mention of the
Counts of Gbritz is found under the Emperor Henry the Fifth.
In 1362, Albert the Fourth, Count of Gbritz, concluded a
compact with Rodolph, Duke of Austria, by virtue of which
his possessions were to fall to Austria on the extinction of the
male succession. In 1500 the male line ceased, upon the
death of Count Leonard, and his three counties fell to Max
imilian of Austria.
Subsequently to this acquisition, Gradisca was bestowed by
Ferdinand the Third, in 1641, on the princes of Eggenberg ;
but in 1717 it fell back again to Austria, after that line be
came extinct.
* Jos. Bergmann's Frtthesto Kunde tiber den Bregenzerwald, &c.

12 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
Bohemia, Moravia, and Austrian Silesia,
A most important acquisition of territory was made by Aus
tria in the annexation of Bohemia, together with Moravia and
Silesia. Bohemia was, as Tacitus relates, inhabited by the Boji,
who, one hundred years (P. C. TJ.) were driven from it by the
Marcomanni. After the irruptions of the Huns, Goths, and
Lombards, the Marcomanni were, in turn, expelled, and their
places supplied by a new people from the East, called Czecks,
of whom the earliest accounts are fabulous and obscure.
In the eighth century, Crocus reigned in Bohemia. His
daughter and successor was the prophetess Libussa,* and her
husband the peasant Przemisl, the Bohemian Cincinnatus,
who was called from the plow to the highest office of state.
As among the Slavian nations generally, so with the Czecks,
the first elements of their political constitution were patriarch
al and democratic. Their chiefs afterward obtained the title
of dukes, and, still later, that of kings.
After the treaty of Verdun, in 843, when the country had
been subdued by the Franks, under Charlemagne, Bohemia
was added to the German empire, although the dukes had
been indefatigable in their efforts to preserve its independence. t
The sovereignty of the country, however, always rested with
their own princes. They, in conjunction with the Estates,
made the laws, declared war, concluded treaties, &c, without
the sanction of the German emperor.
The Duke Wratislaus was the first who received the royal
dignity. It was in 1086 ; at which time, also, Moravia was
declared a margraviate. With Wenzel the Third, who was slain
in 1306, terminated the race of native Bohemian kings, and
the Estates elected, in 1309, John of Luxemburg, son of the
German emperor, to the vacant throne.
The last king of the line of Luxemburg in Bohemia was
" After the death of Libussa broke out " the War of the Maid- servants," under
the celebrated Wlasta. This war of the Bohemian Amazons is replete with wild
and picturesque legends.
t The tribute imposed on the conquered Bohemians was only one hundred
and twenty fattened oxen.

Chap. I.] Bohemia — Moravia — Silesia. 13
Sigismond, who died in 1437, after having recommended to
the principal nobles of Bohemia and Hungary (for he was also
king of the latter country) his son-in-law, Albert the Fifth of
Austria, who had rendered him essential service in the Hussite
war, as his successor. Sigismond wept on this occasion, and
concluded his address to the Estates as follows : " I beseech
you by these tears, comfort my soul, which is departing to God,
by confirming my choice and fulfilling my will." Though
repeated compacts had been made between the Bohemian and
Austrian sovereigns, they had been ineffectual in transferring
the crown, so long as the Estates continued to reserve to them
selves the right of election. Albert died in 1439, and many
contests between the various pretenders took place, until
George Podiebrad, a simple, but true and resolute nobleman,
was raised to the throne, and which he occupied until his
death, in 1471.
The Estates then made choice of Wladislaus, a Polish
prince of the house of Jaghello ; and upon the death of his
son Louis, who lost his young and vagabond life in the battle
of Mohatz, in 1526, the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary, ren
dered vacant by his death, were then claimed by Ferdinand of
Austria, under a double title : one derived from family com
pacts, which secured the reversion to the house of Austria in
failure of male issue to the reigning family ; the other through
his wife, the only sister of the deceased monarch, to whom the
Estates of Bohemia once promised the crown, in case Louis
should die without nearer successors. The Bohemians and
Hungarians would neither respect these compacts nor acknowl
edge his claims as husband of the princess, and Ferdinand,
prudently waving these pretensions, offered himself according
to the usual mode of election. On the 26th of October, 1526,
he was elected by a committee of twenty persons, appointed
by the Estates to choose a king to. succeed Louis ; and on the
4th of February, 1527, Ferdinand was duly crowned, with his
wife Anne, in the cathedral at Prague.
Since this period Bohemia has remained united with Aus
tria. Ferdinand the Second, who soon succeeded to the throne,
having abolished all the rights and privileges of the Estates,
which he had sworn to observe, rendered the throne of Bohe
mia hereditary in the house of Austria.

14 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
Moravia, which fell together with Bohemia to Ferdinand the
First, formed, in the eighth century, a Slavic kingdom. The
king, Samoslaw, was defeated by Charlemagne, and Moravia
became subject to his successors. The German margraves
placed over them Wilhelm and Engelschalk, who treated the
Moravians so arbitrarily that they rebelled. Swatopluk* the
nephew of the Moravian Prince Rastiz, left his honorable con
finement at Ratisbon, under pretext of appearing against them,
but in truth to make common cause with them. The armies
sent into Moravia against them were defeated, but Swatopluk
was victorious on the Danube, and laid the country waste un
til the weak and despicable " Charles the Thick" appeared, in
884, in person, to sue for peace. Swatopluk not only pre
served, but extended his dominion. After the death of Swato
pluk, the kingdom of Moravia was divided, and portions of it
fell to Germany, to Poland, and to Hungary. That part of it
which lay next to Bohemia placed itself under the protection
of the Bohemian Duke Wratislaus the First, who defeated the
Hungarians and annexed this portion of Moravia to his posses
sions. The Bohemian Duke Udalrich, and after him Brzetis-
laus, acquired still more of the dissolved kingdom, so that, in
1026, Moravia embraced about the same extent of country that
it does at this day.
The dukes and kings of Bohemia left Moravia at different
times as a fief to their sons or successors. Since the dissolu
tion of the kingdom, the Moravian territory has remained con
stantly annexed to Bohemia, and its affairs administered, from
the eleventh to the seventeenth century, by relatives of the
Bohemian kings.
With Bohemia and Moravia there also fell to Austria that
portion of Silesia which, after the wars of Austria and Prussia,
was continued in possession of Austria by the treaties of 1742,
1745, and 1763, and embrace at this time but two small cir
cles. This province was in the tenth century subdued by the
dukes of Poland, and in 1163 was divided into three parts, and
assigned to their own princes. In the thirteenth century the
whole territory was divided into so many portions that a de-
• Zwentibald.

Chap. I.] Gurk, Lekau, Lavant, Etc 15
fense against the Mongols could only be effected by successive
submissions to the Bohemian kings. Charles the Fourth de
clared Silesia a fief of Bohemia, and incorporated it with Ger
many. After the second half of the seventeenth century, the
last Silesian Piast died, and the whole of Silesia was then unit
ed to Bohemia as an accessorium.
Principalities of Gurk, Lekau, and Lavant.
In the year 1521, there existed within the limits of Austria,
lying mostly in her own provinces, three petty but independent
principalities, viz., those of the bishops of Gurk, of Lekau,
and of Lavant, which in the course of time were either pur
chased or merely secularized, and submitted to the authority
of the house of Habsburg. Hungary and Croatia.
The disastrous and untimely death of King Louis of Hun
gary resulted in the annexation of this country to Austria.
The territory now known as Hungary was formerly embraced
in the Roman province called Pannonia, and a part of that of
Dacia. Afterward it was successively occupied by the Huns,
Goths, and Gepidee, between the years 489 and 526 ; by the
Lombards until 568 ; and later by the Avars.
In the year 889, the Magyar,* an Asiatic tribe, driven from
their homes beyond the Ural Mountains by the Petchenegues,
under their leader Arpad, invaded Hungary, then parceled out
among several petty lords and princes, who formed a kind of
federal aristocracy, or union of clans, owing a limited obedience
to a superior or chief.
The Magyars, under Arpad and his posterity, overran, plun
dered, and left desolate a large portion of the Continent, par
ticularly the centre of Europe.
These formidable enemies, whose active cavalry it was al
most useless to attack, and who at this early period displayed
great strategic skill, were first defeated by Henry the First,
emperor of Germany, at Merseberg, in 933. Their last in-
* A name derived, as M. De Besse says, from the Tatar Madjar, meaning a
long car or wagon, still in common use in Hungary.

16 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
cursion into Bavaria, in 954 and 955, terminated in their com
plete overthrow on the Lech, by Otho the First of Germany.
They gradually learned from the Slavonians and Germans,
whom they conquered, the arts of peace, and, dropping their
migratory habits, became settled in the valleys of the Danube
and Theiss, and devoted themselves to agriculture.
Stephen, the son of Geysa (third in descent from Arpad,
and who was the first to embrace Christianity), attained the
dukedom in the year 1000. For the services rendered to
Christianity "in extirpating the heathen," he was raised by
Pope Sylvester the Second to the dignity of king, with the
approval of the German emperor, Otho the Third. The mon
archy was elective, but the legitimate heir was generally the
individual elevated by election to the throne. Stephen, dur
ing his reign, added Transylvania to the Hungarian kingdom.
Under the succeeding reign in 1077, Croatia and Slavonia
were also annexed to the Hungarian crown.
The male descendants of the house of Arpad sat upon the
throne of Hungary four hundred years, but with Andrew the
Third the male line became extinct in 1301.
The unsettled state of the succession to the crown, and the
consequent interference of the neighboring princes and of the
Roman- court in the domestic concerns of Hungary ; the in
veterate hatred of the Magyars to all foreigners (a character
istic they .still retain, and which proved so fatal to them in
the late revolution) ; the arrogance of the clergy and nobility :
the crusades ; and the steady advance of the Mongul hordes
on Eastern Europe, long retarded the prosperity of the country.
The crown next passed, by election of the Diet, to the house
of Anjou, whose princes claimed their descent from Arpad
through the female line. Under the princes of this house
Hungary attained the summit of its power. The dominion
of the Hungarian throne extended from the Baltic Sea to the
Adriatic ; the University of Buda was founded, and the court
of Hungary became the resort of men of learning and science
from all parts of Europe.
In 1526, on the invasion of the Turks, and the death of the
youthful King Louis without heirs, in the disastrous battle of
Mohatz, the crown of Hungary became again vacant.

Chap. I.] Hungary and Croatia.

17

Ferdinand of Austria, brother of the Emperor Charles the
Fifth, who had married his cousin Anne, daughter of Ladis-
laus and sister of Louis, the late king of Hungary and Bohe
mia, presented himself as a candidate for the vacant throne.
His personal character, his connection with the royal family
of Hungary, and the assistance he might be expected to ob
tain from his brother, the emperor, in the war against the
Turks, prevailed over the national antipathy to Austria, and
he was, though not without much difficulty, elected to the
throne. In 1505 an attempt was made by Count Zapolya, a power
ful magnate, for the passage of an act to revive an ancient
law, to the effect that, in the event of a failure of the royal
line, fhe choice of a sovereign should be limited to natives of
Hungary. On the death of Louis, the party which had sup
ported Zapolya declared in favor of his succession to the throne.
A civil war ensued, in which Ferdinand was at length success
ful, and in 1547 he was regularly installed in the regal office,
which has ever since been filled by his descendants, the em
perors of Germany and Austria, as kings of Hungary.
The Emperor of Germany surrendered to Ferdinand the
crown of Austria ; and thus were the three crowns of Hunga
ry, Bohemia, and Austria, for the first time, united in a prince
of the house of Habsburg.*
The monarchy of Hungary continued to be elective, and the
nation continued to give a preference to the heirs of the late
monarch. The princes of the house of Habsburg, who suc
ceeded to the throne of Austria, and were thus successively
elected to that of Hungary, were separately crowned in the
latter kingdom, according to its ancient customs, and at their
coronation took the same oath to support the laws, Constitution,
rights, and privileges of the Hungarians which Ferdinand the
First had taken. In 1687, the Diet of Hungary decreed that
the throne, which had hitherto been elective, should thencefor
ward be hereditary in the male heirs of the house of Habsburg ;
and in 1723, the Diet, by assenting to the Pragmatic Sanction
of Charles the Third of Hungary (Charles the Sixth of Germa-
* These states were altogether independent of each other, and had no other
bond of connection than the accidental union of the crowns in one person.
B

18 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
ny), extended the right of succession to the female descend
ants of that prince.*
By these steps has Hungary, with its dependencies, become
permanently attached to the Austrian dominions.
The mode of annexation with Hungary was precisely simi
lar to that of Bohemia. In both instances the connection com
menced by the acts of their respective Diets in electing mem
bers of the Habsburg family to the throne, and ended in the
foul intrigues and usurpations by which the descendants of
the same family succeeded in crushing the liberties of the
people, and converting those free and elective monarchies into
their own enslaved and hereditary kingdoms.
Of all the partes annexes regni Hungarice, Croatia alone
formed a considerable part of Hungary, the remainder having
been seized in the several invasions of the Turks.
Croatia, in the time of Augustus, belonged to Illyria, which,
by the division of the Roman empire, passed to the Greek em
perors. After the downfall of the Western Roman empire, the Avars
became masters of the country, but were expelled from it in
the seventh century, by the Chrobati (Horvatit), a Slavian
tribe, who descended upon them from the Northern Mount
ains. They remained under their own chiefs (zupans), who
were at first dependent upon the Frankish, and later upon the
Greek emperors, and finally became, for a short period, alto
gether independent. Their first king was called Dircesla.
After the extinction of his house, about the end of the eleventh
century, the Croatians, as their historians maintain, submit
ted themselves to the Hungarians.
The indivisibility of the hereditary provinces of the house
of Habsburg passed into a law in 1621.
Transylvania.
Although Transylvania became united with Hungary in the
year 1002, and so remained until 1526, it became in that year
separated from Hungary, under its own voyvod, John Zapolya,

* For the influence exercised in effecting these changes, see book ii., chap. vi.
t Horvati, from Hora, a mountain.

Chap. I.] Transylvania. 19
and his heirs, until 1699, when it was again annexed to Hun
gary and the Austrian dominions.
This country was the Daoia Mediterranea of the Romans,
and for one hundred and seventy years formed a province of
that empire, until subdued by the barbarians, when the Ro
mans abandoned the country. The names of Trajan, who con
quered the country ; of Constantine,* who sent back their pris
oners handless ; and of Aurelius, who carried away the legions
and left the country to the invaders, are still familiar to the
inhabitants of Transylvania. After the Romans, this country
was successively invaded by Goths, Huns, Gepidse, and Avars,
until the Gyla, a race of the Petchenegues, the early settlers.
of the country, together with the remnants of the Roman de
scendants, were conquered by the Magyars in the year 1002.
The Magyars called it Sylvana Regio, the land of woods ;
and, from its location on the southeastern extremity of Hun
gary, gave to this Dacia Mediterranea the name of Ultra or
Transylvania. In the twelfth century, Geysa the Second, king of Hungary,
probably with a view of protecting his southern frontiers, and
at the same time of introducing the arts of civilization among
his rude subjects, encouraged the emigration of Saxon settlers
in Transylvania. In 1160 they founded Hermanstadt, and
have to the present day preserved their native language, cus
toms, and privileges. In 1222, Andrew the Second granted to
them more extensive privileges. They remained separate as a
Saxon nation ; paid merely a small tax, which they themselves
were allowed to fix ; elected a count of their own nation, who,
in recognition of his newly-received rank, was honored with
the present of a banner, a sabre, and a club. The Szecklers,
another nation in Transylvania, entered the country about the
same time with the Magyars, and are supposed to be a branch
of the same race.
After the death of Louis, king of Hungary, in the battle of
Mohacs, Transylvania fell to John Zapolya, the opponent of
Ferdinand the First of Austria, and voyvod of Transylvania,
who was protected by the Sultan of the Osmans. Transylva-
* See the handless Dsicinin cm Couslanti.ii''i Arch, al Rome.

20 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
nia was then governed by elective princes, but tributary to the
Porte. The Austrian princes, however, could never forget that
rich country, and its former annexation to the Hungarian
crown. After a long and bloody contest between the Turks and the
princes of Transylvania and Austria, Michel Apafi, a native
prince, resigned in favor of Austria, and the whole country, at
a later day, passed as a princedom to Austria ; and this com
pact was duly recognized by the Turks, in the treaty of Carlo-
witz, in 1699, concluded with Austria after their defeat at
Zenta, in 1697. Slavonia.
By the treaty of Carlowitz, the Austrian princes also acquired
a part of Slavonia. The first inhabitants of this land had- been
the Scortisci, after whom followed the Pannonians. After it
was subdued by the Romans, it received the name of Panno
nia Savia. During the great migration of nations, the Avars
took possession of this land, but they were subsequently con
quered by Pepin, the son of Charlemagne. The land was then
laid waste and completely deserted, and Slavonians were called
in from Dalmatia, by the Germans, to settle it. Slavonians
lived under their own princes as early as the time of Louis the
Pious. In 1079, the country was conquered by the Magyars ; in
1524, by the Turks, who created there a paschalic ; and final
ly by Leopold the First of Austria, to whom it was then ceded
by the Turks, in the treaty of Carlowitz, 1699.
Mantua.
In the year 1708, the house of Austria made its first ac
quisition in Italy — it was the Duchy of Mantua. Mantua be
longed first to the Longobardian union of cities, and preserved
its authority and privileges even during the long and atrocious
contest with the German emperors. As in other parts of Ita
ly, so in Lombardy, the power and influence of certain fam
ilies arose to such a pitch that it resulted in their obtaining
hereditary possession of those cities or districts.
From the year 1328 Mantua was governed by her own

Chap. I.] Milan. 21
princes, the Gonzagas, whose memory is still dear to the Man-
tuans. The emperor, Charles the Fourth, recognized the dig
nity of the Gonzagas as vicars of the state of Mantua. The
Emperor Sigismond erected it into a margraviate ; and Charles
the Fifth made it a duchy. But when, in the Spanish War
of Succession, the Duke of Mantua, Charles the Fourth (from
the house of Nevers), whose hatred against the Austrians
was so great as to induce him to take part against Joseph
the First ; the latter put him under the ban, and executed
it by appropriating Mantua in 1707.
Milan.
A still further addition of Italian territory followed in 1714,
by the annexation of the Duchy of Milan. This country, now
known as Lombardy, derived its name from the Lombards or
Longobardi, with their long beards,* who first occupied the
districts in Pannonia which the Ostrogoths had abandoned.
Their king, Alboin, who drank from the skull of the king
whom he had conquered, had been invited by the valiant eu
nuch and rebel, Narses, to assist him in the invasion of Italy.
Milan was taken, and sacked by him and his Longobardi. The
Lombards took possession of the upper part, and Pavia became
their capital. Lombardy formed, in the eighth century, a part
of the Frankish empire, having been conquered by Pepin, son
of Charles Martel. After the dissolution of the Frankish em
pire, Milan, though called an imperial city, was still inde
pendent. The Emperor Barbarossa, irritated by the insolence of its in
habitants, or instigated by the neighboring rival cities, razed
it to the ground, and, if some historians are to be credited,
tore up its foundations, and passed the plowshare over its
ruins. These cities of Lombardy with their territories, in the thir
teenth century, formed numerous independent republics. All
became more or less opulent and powerful, but they were har
assed by external and internal discord, and, before the end of
the thirteenth century, Milan was under the rule of Signori.
* Their name has also been derived from the word Hellebard, a halbert. —
Menzel.

22 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
Next ruled the Torreani, and then the Visconti, whose pas
tors, like the Roman pontiffs, after having long been the bene
factors and fathers of their flocks, at length became their sov
ereigns. The most distinguished of these, both by his mili
tary talents and the useful institutions which he introduced,
was John Galleazzo Visconti, who purchased of the Roman
emperor Wenzel, in 1395, the ducal dignity for 100,000 gold
guldens. The dynasty of Visconti becoming extinct in 1447,
the Milanese then elected the natural daughter of the last
duke, Bianca Maria, whose husband was Francisco Sforza.
But the family of the Visconti, having formed matrimonial
connections with the royal dynasty of France, this dynasty,
on the extinction of the Visconti, laid claim to their terri
tories, and made repeated attempts, with various success, to
take possession of them. These attempts at length termin
ated in the decisive battle of Pavia, which broke the French
power in Italy, when Milan was declared a fief of the Roman-
German empire. Upon the extinction of the last Sforza in
1535, the Emperor Charles the Fifth invested his son Philip,
afterward King of Spain, with Milan, which then remained
attached to the Spanish crown until 1700, when, on the death
of Charles the Second, the Habsburg family became extinct
in Spain. The destinies of the duchy followed the Spanish
War of Succession, which ended with the treaty of Baden in
1714, and by which Milan was taken possession of by the
Emperor Charles the Sixth, and by him added to the domin
ions of Austria.
Banat and City of Temeswar, and the Turkish Posses
sions on the left Bank of the Sava River.
The remainder of Hungary and of the parts annexed, which,
after the treaty of Carlowitz, continued still under the do
minion of the Turks, viz., the Banat and city of Temeswar, and
the Turkish possessions on the left bank of the River Sava,
were acquired by Austria in 1718, by the treaty of Passarovitz.
With the death of Charles the Sixth, the male line of the
Habsburgs became extinct. He was succeeded by his daugh
ter, Maria Theresa, whose husband was Francis, duke of
Lorraine. The Pragmatic Sanction by which Charles would

Chap. I.] Castiglione — Bukowina, Etc 23
assure the female succession in Germany, produced long and
serious wars among the European powers. The electoral
votes were finally cast, in 1745, for Francis of Lorraine, who
opened a new line, which reigned in Germany for fifty-nine
years, and rules in Austria at this day.
Hohenembs.
In 1759 the county of Hohenembs, in Tyrol, was rendered a
vacant imperial fief by the death of Count Francis William
Maximilian, and, by the conclusion of the imperial court coun
cil in 1765, bestowed upon the house of Austria, to which it
remained, even after the dissolution of the German empire.
Castiglione.
In 1773, the small principality of Castiglione, west of the
lake of Garda, in Italy, was purchased by Austria for 200,000
florins. Bukowina.
In 1777, Bukowina was acquired from Turkey by a treaty
of boundaries.
This province belonged originally to Transylvania, and sub
sequently to 1482 to Moldavia.
In 1774 it was conquered by Russia, and delivered over to
Austria, a transfer which the Porte recognized in the above-
mentioned treaty. Poland.
During the whole geographical development of Austria, from
the time of the first Babenberg until the latter part of the
eighteenth century, no acquisition of territory occurs which
could not be defended or justified under some legitimate, or, at
all events, specious title ; but such is far from being the case
with Poland, whose divisions between the three great powers
is without excuse or justification, as it is without a parallel in
the history of civilized nations.
Poland was settled by a Slavic tribe, and acquired its name
from a Slavic word, signifying a plain, from the level charac
ter of the country, which is one of the most extensive plains
in Europe.

24 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
Until the reign of the family of Piasts, and the introduction
of Christianity, which occurred about a century after, the ear
ly accounts of Poland are too intimately blended with the fab
ulous to be relied on.
The family of Piasts, who came to the throne in the year
830, preserved their authority, with some interruption, until
1386, when that dynasty became extinct by the death of Casi-
mir the Great, and that of the Jaghellos commences. The Ja-
ghellos reigned until 1572, when the constitution of Poland un
derwent a great change, and the crown became elective.
The period following the extinction of the Jaghellos seemed
to prepare the way for the eventual downfall of the country.
The arbitrary power of the nobility, the absurd right of the
liberum veto,* the luxury and licentiousness produced by the
sudden acquirement of liberty, undermined the moral and phys
ical power of the people, and rendered them supple instru
ments in their own destruction.
"With the interference of Russia in the regal elections, com
mences," says Rotteck, " the history of the passion of Poland,
and opens the most gloomy drama in modern history."
August the Third ascended the throne of Poland by the will
of Russia, and through his whole reign proved himself rather
a Russian officer than a Polish king.
After the death of August, in 1763, the Diet assembled, sur
rounded by Russian troops. Its first endeavor was tp amend
the Constitution, and to abolish the fatal veto ; but the Prussian
and Russian embassadors would not consent, nor permit them
to pass any laws except a few of an unimportant character on
the subject of subsistence, &c
On the 6th of September, 1764, the members finally made
choice of Stanislaus Poniatowsky, whose election was alto
gether owing to the fact of his being one of the favorites of the
Empress Catharine — the northern Clytemnestra — who then sat
upon the throne of her murdered husband.
The animosities between the Catholics and the dissidents,
who contended for equality of rights, were fomented by Cath-
* Liberum veto was the right by which every representative (nuntius terreslris)
at the " Free Diet" could defeat with his own vote a law, and even dismiss the
whole assembly, as it happened in 1652.

Chap. I.] Poland. 25
arine, and her troops behaved with the utmost insolence. A
civil war and a struggle against the Russian intruders agi
tated the unhappy country. Futile old claims were trumped
up against Poland, and the king and people both invoked jus
tice, but in vain, for the fatal hour of Poland's doom had come.
The conscience of the Austrian princess was relieved by her
confessor (a Jesuit, who undertook to intercede for her at
Rome), and by the purchased opinions of hireling jurists ; the
Russian empress had no conscience to relieve ; and the Prus
sian king expressed his readiness to share the booty and shame ;
and thus the definitive treaty between Austria and Russia and
Prussia was concluded in 1772, and Poland dismembered.
Austria's portion of the spoils was consolidated and annex
ed to the Austrian territories, under the ancient appellation of
the kingdoms of Galicia and Lodomeria. A third part of the
Polish kingdom was thus divided among the royal plunder
ers. To add insult to injury, a Diet was convoked under the in
fluence of the great powers, to legalize this outrage, by giving
their sanction to the dismemberment of their country, after
possession had already been taken. A majority of six votes
in the senate, and one in the assembly of nuncios, sanctioned
this base act in 1773.
After a period of ever-varying destinies, Poland once more
attempted to assume the attitude of a sovereign state. By a
change of the Constitution in 1791, Poland became a heredi
tary instead of an elective monarchy. The Elector of Saxony
was declared the successor, the throne made hereditary in his
house, and the king, with the Council of State, invested with
the executive power. The Diet was to continue in two cham
bers, with the abrogation of the liberum veto ; all the privi
leges of the nobility were confirmed, though some favors were
accorded to the citizens and peasants.
To these proceedings on the part of Poland, Catharine, in
volved in a war with the Turks, observed an intentional and
ominous silence ; but as soon as the peace of Jassy left her
free, Poland was again divided between Russia and Prussia,
and lost all but a third of her former territory in 1793, and
Russian bayonets again compelled the indignant Diet to ac-

26 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
quiesce in this dismemberment of their country. The rem
nant of Poland was now under Russian guardianship.
The heroic Kosciusko, unable to submit quietly to this deg
radation, became the head of the confederates of Cracow in
1794, and in the holy contest for their country, Warsaw and
Wilna were liberated. The battle of Raclawiee, and the re
lief of Warsaw, besieged by a Prussian army in 1794, are the
most glorious periods of Polish history. But it was too late.
Without fortresses, discipline, allies, or even arms, surrounded
by Russians, Austrians, and Prussians, the convulsive efforts
of national despair were unavailing, and " this barrier and out
work of Brandenburg," as Frederick the Great called it, against
the barbarians of the North, was broken down. In the third
partition of Poland, Austria obtained West Galicia ; Russia
and Prussia received their respective shares; and there re
mained to the unhappy Poles nothing but wounded feelings
and national pride, a bitter hate against Russians and Ger
mans, and fruitless appeals for French aid and public sympathy.
Circle of the Inn.
Within the periods embraced by the two acquisitions of
Polish territory, Austria obtained the province of the Inn or
Innkreis. Joseph the Second, then at the head of the Aus
trian dominions, on the death of Maximilian Joseph, Elector
of Bavaria, without issue, in 1777, persuaded the next heir,
Charles Theodore, to cede Lower Bavaria to Austria. The
so-called Potato War ensued.
Frederick the Second of Prussia espoused the cause of Ma
ria Anna, the talented widow of Duke Clement Charles, The
odore's sister-in-law, who placed herself at the head of the
Bavarians. Neither party seemed in earnest. Frederick was
old and infirm, and Maria Theresa, who conducted the nego
tiations without the knowledge of her son, too timid for effi
cient action. A compromise was finally effected by the treaty
of Teshen in 1779, in which Austria agreed to accept the
province of Inn, and to relinquish the remainder of the dis
puted territories to Bavaria.

Chap. I.] Venice — Dalmatia — Istria. 27
Venice, Dalmatia, and Istria.
In 1797 the Austrian dominions received a most important
addition by the acquisition of two thirds of the republic of
Venioe, inoluding Dalmatia, its islands, the Venetian part of
Istria, and the Bocca di Cattaro. The origin of this republic
dates from the time of Attila, the leader of the Huns, who,
invited* by Honoria, the sister of the Roman emperor Valen-
tinian, crossed the Alps into Italy in 452. Desolation, rapine,
and slaughter marked the progress of this self-styled " Scourge
of God." On the extreme western point of the Adriatic Sea
dwelt the Veneti, whose territories, called Venetia, formed a
part of Cis-Alpine Gaul. Many of the inhabitants of this re
gion, on the approach of the Huns, fled for refuge to the small
marshy islands of the Adriatic, at the mouth of the Brenta,
on which they built the town of Riva Alta — high banks — af
terward called Venice. Sheltered by their position and their
poverty, they continued gradually to increase, so that, by the
end of the seventh century, they occupied not less than seven
ty-two islands.
The maritime situation of Venice rendered the inhabitants
expert in navigation ; her commerce increased, and power ex
tended. She was the recipient of all the treasures of the East,
and at length became not only " Qneen of the Adriatic," but
mistress of the Mediterranean.
The provinces of Istria and Dalmatia, exposed to the rav
ages of pirates, a prey to civil dissensions, and unsupported
by the dying Greek empire, threw themselves under the pro
tection and dominion of Venice.
Vicenza, Verona, Bassano, Feltre, Belluno, and Padua, with
their territories, fell to Venice in 1402, and Friuli in 1421.
Venice, after an independent existence of more than thir
teen hundred years, submitted without a blow, on the demand
of Napoleon, to be blotted from the list of nations. " Lost in
stupor for a century," says Heeren, " this republic had resort
ed, in the conflict of the more powerful, to neutrality, the
usual defense of weak states. She had long outlived herself;

By the offer of her hand in marriage.

28 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
but her fall first disclosed her utter weakness. She was not
only without energy, but without counsel. She fell, the vic
tim of convenience and the desire of contiguity of possessions.
But, apart from this, how could a constitution exist which
stood in the most direct contradiction to the prevailing max
ims of the age."*
By the treaty of Campo Formio (1797) Austria renounced
all its claims to the Netherlands in favor of France, but ob
tained, in lieu thereof, the territory of Venice, from the Adige
River to the Adriatic ; the city of Venice itself ; the Venetian
Istria, Dalmatia, with the islands, and Bocca di Cattaro.
Dalmatia, now a province of Austria, receives its name, ac
cording to Strabo, from the town of Dalmium or Delmium.
The inhabitants of this country, who were conquered by Oc-
tavius, were a union of different tribes, mostly pirates, and
utter barbarians. The latter Roman emperors enriched the
land with cities and palaces, and Diocletian exchanged even
the throne of Rome for the gardens of the proud Salona. After
the death of Honorius, Dalmatia was united to the Byzantine
empire, and formed a part of IUyricum.
The inhabitants who appeared upon the soil after the bar
barian invasions of Alaric, Attila, and the Ostrogoths, were of
the Slavic race, and they still populate the country, while the
towns are mostly made up of Italians.
As was the case with the Western Roman Empire, so also
with the Eastern, the distant boundaries of the empire were
left unprotected, and the Franks were enabled to extend their
limits to the Sava River.
Following the example of the Croats, a part of the Dalma
tian cities submitted to the dominion of Charlemagne. But
the Frankish supremacy lasted only fifty years. The Greeks
again took possession of the country at the end of the ninth
century, and permitted all the cities and inhabitants on the
coast to be subject to the princes of Croatia, in order to ob
tain protection against the Saracens, and the Narentini, who
were the pirates of their own country.
But as perfect and complete protection to commerce at that

Heeren's Historical Researches.

Chap. I.] Trient— Brixen.

29

period could only be obtained from the Venetians, they sub
mitted themselves to the city of the Lagunes, and remained
under their dominion until the peace of Campo Formic
The first inhabitants of Istria were probably emigrants from
the city of Istrianopolis, at the mouth of the Ister, or Danube,
though several derive them from Jason, or his persecutors at
Colchis. The Istrians harassed the Roman merchants on the
Adriatio, and the Roman consul* sent to demand satisfaction.
Having by his insolence provoked their queen, Penta, she or
dered him to be put to death. The murder of the Roman em
bassador led to a long and bloody war. The Istrians, accord
ing to Livy, fought with great bravery ; but their metropolis,
Nexantrium — where women and children were destroyed by
their own husbands and parents, to prevent them from falling
into the hands of the enemy — fell, and was replaced by Roman
colonies. Istria flourished in the time of the Emperor Augustus. The
splendid ruins of Pola, its amphitheatre, the Temple of Au
gustus, the Porta Aurea, &c, still in a state of excellent pres
ervation, serve to exhibit the ancient importance of this coun
try. The Romans, agreeably to Pompeius Festus and Plutarch,
first derived a knowledge of theatrical representations from the
Istrians, and from this circumstance arises the name histrio-
nes, given to actors.
The province of Istria was administered by a Roman con
sul till 452, when Attila visited the country with his terrible
devastation. In 500 the Ostrogoths became masters of Istria,
in 535 the Lombards, and in 789 the Franks. The Slavians
afterward overran the land, and the inhabitants could find an
asylum only in the fortified cities and castles. Istria fell aft
erward under the Dukes of Bavaria, who bore the titles of
Marchiones Istriae. In 1208, Istria was ceded to the Patri
archs of Acquileia, and in 1308 to the Venetians, who retained
it until their own fall in 1797.
Trient and Brixen.
In 1803 the archbishoprics of Trient and Brixen were secu-
* Lucius Coruncanius.

30 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
larized and delivered to Austria. Before that time both arch
bishops were independent German princes, entitled to seats
and votes in the German Diet. Salzburg.
In 1805, Austria became possessed of that part of the modern
Austrian archduchy known as Salzburg.
It formed at one time a part of the bishopric of Salzburg,
whose head was also primate of Germany. Salzburg was, by
the treaty of Luneville, secularized, and in the peace of Press-
burg in 1805, conferred on Austria, more in ridicule than by
way of indemnification for the loss of the large and valuable
territories which she had sustained.
Although the wars following the French Revolution at the
commencement of the present century produced a great change
in the hereditary possessions of the Austrian emperor, by deci
mating their extent, the Congress of Vienna, in 1814 and 1815,
restored all which the ruthless hand of Napoleon had torn from
the princes of Habsburg.
The simple declaration made by Napoleon to the German
Diet, that he no longer recognized the empire, was sufficient to
subvert the structure of a thousand years. In consequence,
Austria voluntarily laid aside the imperial crown of Germany
in 1806, having adopted instead the hereditary imperial crown
of Austria on the 11th of August, 1804. From that time Aus
tria formed a monarchy in the proper sense of the word.
Brescia, Bergamo, Crema, &c
By the treaty of Vienna in 1815 the Emperor of Austria ob
tained, in full sovereignty for himself and his successors, the
territories between the Ticino, the Po, and the Adige, which
formerly belonged to the Venetian Republic, as Brescia, Ber
gamo, Crema, &c
The Valleys of the Veltline, of Bormio, and of Chiavenna.
By the same treaty of Vienna in 1815 fell to Austria the val
leys of the Veltline, of Bormio, and of Chiavenna, which be
longed, before the formation of the Cisalpine Republic and the
Italian kingdom, to the bishopric of Chur.

Chap. I.] Divisions of Austria. 31
Republic of Ragusa.
A further acquisition of territory made by the treaty of Vi
enna in 1815 was the Republic of Ragusa.
This republic dates its existence from the thirteenth century,
and remained independent (though, since the year 1357, first
under Hungarian and afterward under Venetian protection)
till the year 1807, when it was conquered by France, and by
the above-mentioned treaty delivered to Austria.
Sabionetta.
By the treaty of Vienna, Austria finally received the small
territory of Sabionetta (now in the delegation of Mantua),
which belonged previously to the Duchy of Guastalla, and was
separated from it to arrange the boundaries of Austria more
advantageously.

Present Divisions of the Austrian Empire, and their Char
acter and Administration.
Out of these many portions, acquired up to 1815, at thirty
different epochs, the following division, for their administra
tion, was then adopted, and existed in force until 1848.
I. Bohemia : two thirds Slavi, the remainder Germans,
Jews, and Gipseys, under one governor.
II. Moravia and Silesia: two thirds Slavi, the remainder
Germans and Jews, under one governor.
III. Galicia and Lodomeria : four fifths Slavi, the remainder
Wallachians, Magyars, Germans, and Jews, under one gov
ernor. IV. Austria, below the Enns River : Germans, under one
governor. V. Austria, above the Enns : Germans, under one governor.
VI. Tyrol: five eighths Germans, the remainder Italians,
under one governor.
VII. Styria : two thirds Germans, the remainder Slavi, un
der one governor.
VIII. Carniola and Carinthia : two thirds Slavi, the remain
der Germans, under one governor.

32 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
IX. The province of Trieste : one half Slavi, the remainder
Italians and Germans, under one governor.
X. Dalmatia : five eighths Slavi, the remainder Italians,
under one governor.
XI. Lombardy : Italians, under one governor.
XII. Province of Venice : Italians, under one governor.
XIII. Hungary, Slavonia, and Croatia : two fifths Magyars,
the remainder Slavi, Wallachians, Germans, Greeks, Jews,
Gipseys, under the Palatine and the Ban.
XIV. Transylvania : one third Magyars, the remainder Sax
ons, Wallachians, Bulgarians, Gipseys, etc., under one governor.
XV. The military frontier along the boundaries of Turkey :
three fourths Slavi, the remainder Wallachians, Magyars, Ger
mans, under entirely military rule.

CHAPTER II.
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION— Continued.
FOREIGN POLICY AND INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE AUSTRIAN EMPIRE,
FROM THE TREATY OF VIENNA IN 1815, TO THE VIENNA REVOLUTION IN
MARCH, 1648.
When Napoleon, in his victorious march in 1813, had com
pleted the tour of Europe, and planted his triumphant stand
ard in every great capital of the Continent, from the Tuileries
to the Kremlin, the princes, who had every where fled at his
approach, appealed to the fidelity as well as to the interest of
their subjects, to " save their thrones from overthrow, and the
national liberty from the destruction of a foreign despot."
In this war of " Liberation," as it was most ingeniously mis
called, all Europe was summoned to arms, and the call was
answered by the people with an enthusiasm equaled only by
the embarrassment of their sovereigns.
" Every one," says a German author, " that could bear arms,
seized them ; the plow and work-shops were abandoned, the
lecture-rooms and counting-houses were deserted ; even young
females, dissembling their sex, hastened in arms to the ranks
of the combatants, while matrons, undismayed at contagion

Chap. II.] Foreign Policy, Etc 33
or death, nursed the sick and the wounded." But the history
of the time is nowhere more correctly described than in the
following proclamation of the King of Prussia.
"When, in time of danger, I called my people to arms, to
combat for the freedom and independence of the country, the
whole mass of the youth, glowing with emulation, thronged
around the standards, to bear with joyful self-denial unusual
hardships, and resolved to brave death itself. Then the best
strength of the people intrepidly joined the ranks of my brave
soldiers, and my generals led with me into battle a host of
heroes, who have shown themselves worthy of the name of
their fathers, and heirs of their glory. Thus we and our allies,
attended by victory, conquered the capital of our enemy. Our
banners waved in Paris. Napoleon abdicated his authority.
Liberty was restored to Germany, security to thrones, and to
the world the hope of a durable peace."
Thus the foreign despotic power was broken, and the duty
of organizing German liberty devolved upon the Congress of
Vienna. The enemy once subdued, the people, credulous as brave,
waited in confident reliance on the promises of the monarchs.
From Vienna, where the latter were assembled or represented,
was expected the realization of those laws and institutions
which were to repay all sacrifices, meet all wishes, and close
the bloody arena so long occupied by contests for personal
aggrandizements. However strange it may appear, it is undoubtedly true that,
on the first assembling of this Congress, the spirit of the allied
powers was sincerely liberal. The efforts of the people, stim
ulated by the promises of their rulers, had produced the expul
sion of the French armies, and it was apparently not more in
acknowledgment of the debt they owed them, than for the pro
motion of their own honest designs, that the monarchs in theii
turn felt disposed to make some concessions to the people.
Austria, in the person of the President of the Congress, de*
clared that " the subjects of every German state under the an
cient empire possessed rights against their sovereign which had
of late been disregarded, but that such disregard must be ren
dered impossible for the future." Prussia deliberately pro-
C

34 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
posed a scheme of almost the same Constitution, which thirty-
two years after was revived by the present king. Russia was
naturally called upon for very little exertion as regarded her
unawakened provinces ; but her propositions in behalf of Poland,
and which were in part actually realized, were so remarkably
liberal as to excite serious apprehensions in her western neigh
bors. While Hanover insisted upon the declaration as the fun
damental law of the alliance, that Constitutional Estates should
be created wherever they did not already exist ; and all three
of these powers, viz., Austria, Prussia, and Hanover, placed on
record a note (November 16, 1814), in which was maintained
the necessity of introducing universal Constitutional Estates,*
and giving to them a voice in questions of " taxation, public
expenditure, the redress of public grievances, and general leg
islation." The plan for a German Confederation originally proposed by
Prince Metternich declared that its object should be the main
tenance of the internal and external security of Germany, and
of the independence and inviolability of the confederated states,
" as well as that of the rights of each class of the nation."
These last words were especially objected to on the part of the
King of Wurtemberg, at that time engaged in a dispute with
his subjects respecting their constitutional rights, in which he
was joined by the King of Bavaria.t
The conferences on this point had been broken off in No
vember, 1814, when the King of Wurtemberg abruptly quit
ted Vienna. Scarcely had they been resumed in 1815, when
tidings of the return of Napoleon from Elba arrived, and all
other questions became of secondary importance to the aim of
uniting entire Germany in arms against the usurper, who was
declared, by a special act of that body, "the enemy of nations,
and to have forfeited the protection of the laws." Wurtem
berg, on this occasion, was absent. Bavaria, however, was
represented, and she contested, from the same point of view
as Wurtemberg, the thirteenth Article of that Confederation.
which guaranteed a representative Constitution to each of the
states ; while, on the opposite side, Stein and his friends were
* Diets or Parliaments. + Wheaton, 473.

Chap. II.] Foreign Policy, Etc. 35
anxious to pledge the Confederation to the establishment of a
popular representation in each state.
A medium course was at last adopted, after a discussion of
four weeks, chiefly through the influence of Austria, and the
result was the concise expression of the thirteenth Article, viz.,
" a representative Constitution, to be adopted in all the fed
erative states," which, like the Delphic oracle, committed its
authors to no very definite result, and of which the true mean
ing has been to this day a subject of dispute.*
The occurrence of the Hundred Days must ever be a subject
of deep regret to Germany, by reason of its having precipitated
the settlement of this and other important internal questions.!
All hopes of the union of Germany were just on the point of
being abandoned, when a higher destiny, confirming the tardy
resolutions of the princes by an appeal to their fears, revived
them, and, owing to a concurrence of other favorable circum
stances, the act of the German Confederation was at length
brought to a successful issue.
The wars of the French emperor had not only destroyed the
former metes and bounds of empires, but left scarcely a state
in Europe whose territorial relations were not in an embar
rassed condition.
Upon the reassembling of the Congress in the following
year, it was the territorial distribution and international or
ganization between the states, and not the political rights or
social condition of the people, that now exclusively occupied
the attention of the sovereigns. Only the limitation of France
to its ancient boundaries by the treaties of Paris, in conse
quence of which so many important countries on that side of
the Rhine and the Alps were placed at the disposal of the al
lies, could render adjustment or restoration possible. But a
complete restoration could not, it was thought, be effected
without greater injustice than had been previously inflicted.
As to territorial arrangements, the Congress took little heed
of nationality, of race, of natural sentiments, of historical tra
ditions, or of popular predilections. The number of inhabit
ants and square miles, and the amount of revenues, were the
* Quarterly Review, March, 1849.
t For the Act of Confederation, see Heeren.

36 Historical Introduction. [Book 1.
general, and, in many instances, the only criterion of adjust
ment. They treated states and principalities as so many un
conscious and lifeless parts of a huge machine. They mar
shaled provinces and people like squadrons and battalions in
a line of battle, calculated by the individual decisions of a com
mander. They did even more. They carried their distribu
tive powers beyond any pretended compulsion of necessity, and
partitioned populations to satisfy ministerial crotchets or roy
al greed. There was a formal partage d'ames. Claims to
so many millions of souls, founded on previous bargains, pre
sumptions, or services, were put in and recognized, at the cost
of all national feelings, and in councils over which no requi
site geographical or historical knowledge is said to have pre
sided.* Although this repartition of territory by the Congress was
a measure of great importance, it was quite as remarkable
when it is considered that the professed object for which this
body assembled was the peace of Europe ; and yet that, in
their efforts to accomplish this, they exhibited, by their part-
age d'ames, the utmost contempt both for personal rights and
national feeling.
It is, indeed, wonderful that it should never have occurred
to them that satisfaction among the people, and protection of
their just rights, was more essential to the tranquillity of Eu
rope than the gratification of the ambitious lusts of monarchs ;
and that a peace violated in this manner would probably give
rise to a war, not merely between the states of Germany, but
a war of opinion that might extend its influence beyond the
country, and even beyond the age in which it originated.
As soon as the new formation of states had been effected,
the great powers of Austria and Prassia, notwithstanding the
liberality at first exhibited, retained for their own dominions
the system of absolutism, a form of government totally un-
suited to the age ; and the influence of that system, pursued
with blind obstinacy, exercised upon the German confederated
Diet, paralyzed all the efforts of the other princes, who had
made partial concessions to the times by adopting the consti-
* Edinburgh Review, Oct., 1848.

Chap. IL] Foreign Policy, Etc 37
tutional system, the necessity of which the wants of the age
amply demonstrated.* It is to this period and to these trans
actions that we must look for the germs of those revolution
ary ideas by which all governments are at this time threat
ened.! The people had made, with great enthusiasm, the dear
est sacrifices, and they were entitled to expect a reward for
them. This they confidently anticipated in obtaining those in
stitutions by which a just degree of liberty should be assured
them, based on the natural rights of humanity ; in short, by
the possession and enjoyment of a constitutional monarchy.
This just as well as reasonable demand, sustained by a well-
founded claim, was not regarded. The Vienna Congress, by
which Europe was reorganized, zealously proteoted the rights
of the dynasties ; but the rights of the people were almost to
tally neglected. The appeals of the latter against such a con
dition of things, being unheeded, could not but produce reac
tion. The obstinate course of the rulers, sustained by no legal
grounds, but directed solely by their own arbitrary will,, soon
created a bitterness in the hearts of the people, which became
more injurious and demoralizing in proportion as the attempt
was made to repress it. A deep and painful breach had taken
place in the confidence between the people and their princes.
Threatening symptoms of the existence of that bitter hos
tility soon manifested themselves. In the hour of need, as it
was sufficiently proved, the yoke of the foreign oppressor, be
coming more and more insupportable, could not be thrown
off except by a general and armed rising of the people ; no
means, therefore, were spared to accomplish this result, and
to awaken the German people to a consciousness of their power.
It was by eloquent appeals, by watch-words, t songs, and he
roic deeds, that the people of Germany had been inspired with
an ardent desire for liberty. Impressed with this hope, they
rushed into the contest and achieved the victory ; but it was
without fruits for them.'
* Constitutions were formed in Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Hanover, Baden, Grand
Duchy of Hesse, Brunswick, Nassau, Mecklenberg, Saxe-Weimar, &c. Amer.
Encyc, art. "Constitutions," p. 473; Engl. Encyc, art. "Constitutions," p. 469
Heeren, 485.
t History of Vienna Revolution, Almanac, 1849. t Ibid.

38 Historical Introduction. [Book I
The system of absolutism, as created by the treaties of
1815, founded upon a basis alike adverse to national and liber
al ideas, grew intolerable as the people became aware that their
noblest feelings of patriotism had been fraudulently converted
into instruments of their own thraldom. Dissatisfaction and
excitement, therefore, increased among the people throughout]
Germany. They began to discover to what extent they had
been deceived ; instead of the restoration of a powerful empire,
they were to accept the mere phantom of a Constitution; in
stead of the promised liberty, new fetters were forged, which,
by diplomatic shrewdness, were concealed for a time under the
Act of Confederation. The beautiful dreams of a German em
pire, with but one man at its head, and the revival of its an
cient splendor, had been dissipated. Germany had delivered
herself from the bonds of the powerful Corsican, only to put
on the more disgraceful chains of a German Congress. It was
natural that a feeling of shame should stir the German na
tion, and with it the desire to throw off the yoke, and to ac
quire those sacred rights and privileges to obtain which had
cost the blood of thousands. On every side the people rose, and
demanded the accomplishment of the thirteenth Article of the
Confederation, " In all the states of the Confederation will be
given a representative Constitution;" became louder and loud
er ; the people knocked at the doors of the princes, and sum
moned them to fulfill their promises. To meet this tergiver
sation of the courts, all the modifications of Carbonarism,
and its traditionary details, were now put into operation ; and
every state in Central Europe had its secret societies for the
prosecution of its pecuhar object.
This indignation was naturally strongest in the hearts of
the students, from the baffled enthusiasm of youth. Secret!
associations were formed in the universities, and the first man
ifestation of that excitement occurred at the Wartzburg fes
tivity, so well known.* The governments did not hesitate to
employ coercive measures to suppress this spirit. It was, how
ever, far too widely extended to be overcome by such means.
Excited to fanaticism, these youthful demagogues did not scorn

* Occurred 18th October, 1817. See Menzel's Germany

Chap. IL] Foreign Policy, Etc. 39
any means, not even assassination, to effect a revolution, the
object of whioh was the overthrow of all thrones, as they con
sidered the wearers of the crowns the only obstacles in the
way to the accomplishment of the end at which they aimed,
viz., German freedom accordant with their ideas. By one of
these misled youths, Kotzebue fell, and this assassination —
permitted, no doubt — suggests to what extremes this party
was ready to go. The united measures of the German gov
ernments succeeded, however, at that time, in preventing any
further outbreak ; but the revolutionary spirit was only sup
pressed, not extinguished.
It was distinctly known that not Germany alone had become
the seat of revolutionary ideas and plans, but that, since the
fall of Napoleon, a revolutionary propaganda had been formed,
the seat of which was involved in impenetrable obscurity, un
discovered by the whole police of the European powers ; and
that this association was indefatigable, and furnished with
powerful means to effect the overthrow of all thrones, and to
transform the countries of Europe into republican states.*
These movements upon the part of the people very natural
ly led to movements on the part of the monarchs ; and the
common danger, with which they were all equally threatened,
was not long in producing a union among the crowned heads.
It is a remarkable fact which the history of Congresses dis
closes, that never, previous to the year 1814, had monarchs
* These secret societies of students were aroused during the war of the liber
ation; their motives were at first strictly social and patriotic (they had the spe
cial approval of their sovereigns), but they afterward became political. They
Berved as excellent auxiliaries in the war of liberation ; but even at that time the
enlightened statesmen of Germany could not but tremble at the power which
had been evoked. They felt that the mind of Germany was making giant strides
in advance of the body, and threatened, if it pursued its course without a check,
to part company from it. With the conclusion of the war, the secret societies,
instead of dissolving themselves or contracting their sphere of action, assumed a
much wider development. It was attempted, accordingly, in 1816, to put them
down by a royal edict. In the following year the fraternization of the Burschen-
schaft took place at Wartzburg, in Saxe-Weimar, when the students of Jena wel
comed the students of twelve other universities, and an association of the Burschen
of Germany was formed under an established directory.1 The next year saw
the union still more effectively organized, with its leaders and its banners, the flag
of the ancient empire, black, red, and gold.

1 Quarterly Review, March, 1849.

40 Historical Introduction. [Book I
agreed so well and acted so much in concert, because, since
that date, they have felt the necessity of making common
cause agajnst liberty. Never before were so many Congresses
held in the same space of time ; the constant instances of in
subordination required frequent consultation ; and the uneasy
state of the monarchs at home made it particularly desirable
for them to meet in Congresses abroad.* The first Congress
of the sovereigns, having for its object the suppression of all
liberal sentiments, and riveting more closely the chains of the
people, was that of Aix la Chapelle.
At this Congress, which met on the 13th of November, 1818,
no measures were openly concerted for suppressing the liberal
movements ; yet the apprehensions excited, especially in Ger
many, by these popular manifestations, had been chiefly in
fluential in provoking the conference ; and it was there determ
ined to retract or suspend those concessions of constitutional
privileges which had been originally promised.
Congress of Carlsbad.
The next Congress of the crowned heads which followed
was that held at Carlsbad, in Bohemia, and commenced its
sittings on the 29th of September, 1819 ; the objects and con
clusions of which can not be better explained than they are in
the address presented to them, on assembling, by Prince Met
ternich, the presiding officer of that body.
" The imperial royal presiding embassador has received
from his exalted court the most high order to make to the
federal Diet the following communication :
" His imperial majesty believes that he expresses, the same
time with his own, the desire of all the members of the con
federacy, on summoning the confederated Diet, to direct, be
fore its adjournment, its whole attention to the troublesome
movements and fermentation of the spirits throughout a great
portion of Germany ; to examine studiously the causes of the
serious appearances which have disclosed themselves for the
* Americana Encyclopedia.

Chap. IL] Congress of Carlsead. 41
last few years, becoming daily more perceptible, but at last
manifesting itself in undisguisable symptoms, by pamphlets
preaching insurrection, by widely-extended unlawful unions,
and even by repeated crimes ; and to take into consideration
all means by which order and peace, respect for the laws, con
fidence in the governments, general satisfaction, the undis
turbed enjoyments of all those benefits which will be confer
red on the German nation under the protection of peace, may,
by the hands of the princes, be secured and strengthened for
the future. The sources of this evil (to stop the further ad
vance of which must be, at present, the most sacred duty of
all German governments) are to be found partly in the pres
ent condition of affairs, upon which no government is enabled
to exert an influence direct or momentary, and partly they
are connected with certain indigenous errors and abuses, and
which can only be corrected by a happy agreement and well-
considered measures.
" Among those points which require the earliest and most
careful consideration, the following are predominant :
" 1st. The uncertainty, and consequently the false interpret
ation as to the sense and meaning of the thirteenth Article of
the Act of Confederation.
"2d. Incorrect ideas as to the rights of the confederated
Diet, and the insufficiency of the means to exercise those
rights. " 3d. The faults of the schools and the system of instruc
tion. " 4th, The abuse of the press, and particularly mischief car
ried on by newspapers and pamphlets."
In conclusion, the prince says, " It is the most ardent desire
of his majesty that the confederated Diet may occupy itself
without delay in these important matters, and the presiding
embassador is therefore ordered to communicate suitable proj
ects for conclusion upon these four points, and upon the nomi
nation of a Central Commission, the efficacy of which will be
more detailed in the course of these deliberations."*
The results of this Congress were that laws were passed for
* The eighteenth Article of Confederation guarantees liberty of the press.
Wheaton, 454.

42 Historical Introduction [Book I.
the establishment of a stricter police in the universities, which
since that time have been brought into closer contact with the
governments, and officers appointed to watch over the conduct
of the students. Periodical works, and such as contain less
than twenty sheets, were put for five years under a severe cen
sorship ; and the Diet was to have the right to suppress any
books which disturbed the peace or attacked the dignity of any
member of the Confederation, or tended so to do. For the de
tection and prosecution of secret political societies throughout
Germany, and the checking of demagogic tendencies, a cen
tral police was commissioned and organized.*
Second Congress of Vienna, 1820.t
The second Congress of Vienna immediately followed, May
15th, 1820, which produced the final act of the Confederation,
a heterogeneous composition, the design of which was to annul
by interpretation the spirit, while it kept within the letter of
the act of 1815. No one of its articles in favor of popular
rights had ever been enforced, but all those against them had
been executed ostentatiously, and were now paraded anew in
the protocol before the house.
From this it was learned that the Diet was offended at the
journals and pamphlets which inundated the country, and with
the abuse of liberty of speech in the legislative chambers. It
invoked the eighteenth Article of the Federal Act of 1815,
which declared that uniform laws should be established to se
cure liberty of the press, and, at the same time, stated that,
until all the governments should concur in establishing such
laws, the decree of Carlsbad (September 20th, 1819), abolish
ing the liberty of the press, should continue to be rigorously
executed throughout the Confederation. If after this the Diet
should be enabled to sustain itself, it was well; "but if not,
Austria and Prussia would, at the invitation of one of the con
federated states, employ every means at their disposal for the
maintenance and execution of the Federal Constitution, its im
portant execution," etc.t The important point to be observed
is the attitude gradually assumed by the allied powers, and its
* Americana Encyclopedia.
t Congress of Vienna, 1820 ; see Wheaton, 455. X Wheaton, 476

Chap. IL] Congress of Troppau. 43
remarkable influence upon the publio policy of Europe. The
contracting parties represented themselves as charged with the
general superintendence of tranquillity, and characterized their
combination against the " revolutionary" spirit of Europe as
the natural continuation of that alliance, which, by overwhelm
ing the power of Napoleon, had restored the peace of the world.
The result was a perpetual league of crowned heads, which,
if originally directed against license, was soon made available
against liberty. The principle now promulgated was this —
that if any disturbance of the " tranquillity" constituted and
prescribed by the dispensing powers should occur at any place
in Europe, the entire force of the alliance should be immedi
ately employed to suppress it. In this manner the political
system as usually organized between sovereign and independ
ent states, was to be superseded by a kind of confederation,
which would have transformed the governments of Europe into
a Diet, of which Austria or Russia would have seized the pres
idency. Forms of government were put in the same category
with configurations of frontiers, and the mutual guarantee was
extended from integrity of territory to integrity of absolutism.
Intervention upon these principles, in the internal affairs of an
independent state, was proclaimed a duty incumbent upon the
allied governors of the world ; and so strict was the union thus
contracted, and so hearty the concurrence of purpose, that it
was hoped wars and tumults would never again be found af
flicting nations or dethroning kings.*
By this Congress, the extent of the powers conferred on the
Diet by the Federal Act of 1815, was more fully defined by an
additional act (composed of one hundred articles), signed May
15th, 1820, and ratified by the Diet at Frankfort on the 8th
of June of the same year.
Congress of Troppau.
In Germany the insurrectionary spirit took the disgraceful
form of assassination ; in the Italian and Spanish peninsulas
the more dangerous guise of military revolts. In this Con
gress, which took place from October to December, 1820, the
* Edinburgh Review, October, 1848.

44 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
assembled monarchs, the Emperors of Austria and Russia,
and the King of Prussia announced the principle of armed in
tervention. The revolutions of Spain, Portugal, and Naples,
more especially, gave occasion to this Congress. The object
of the deliberations was also to effect a compact between the
great powers, that they would not acknowledge any Constitu
tion which should deviate from the legitimate monarchical
standard, England and France endeavored to establish the
system of neutrality. Great Britain expressed her unwilling
ness to take part in any measures of violence against Naples ;
and France would join the league only upon certain conditions,
which were, however, refused by Austria, Russia, and Prus
sia, as these powers were resolved to use force to put down
the insurrectionary spirit. It was further resolved, at Trop
pau, that in case a war should actually break out with Naples,
Austria should carry it on alone ; while Russia and Prussia
pledged themselves to keep watch on the rest of Europe, and
guaranteed the security of the Austrian states.
Congress of Laybach.
The Congress of Laybach was held from the 26th of Janu
ary, 1821, to May of the same year. This assembly forms a
conspicuous epoch in the history of European politics, as it
was here that the right of armed intervention, agreed upon at
Troppau, was regularly proclaimed and diplomatically admit
ted into the international code of the European continental
powers. The consequences of this Congress, from whence the
allied powers issued a proclamation against Naples, were the
occupation of Naples, Sicily, and Piedmont by Austrian arm
ies ; the abolition of the Spanish Constitution in these coun
tries, and the restoration of the old order of things. Such
armed interventions arose from the fellow-feeling of sover
eigns, who claimed the right of assisting each other against
their subjects, and directly to contravene the right of independ
ent development which belongs to the character of a nation.
It was a natural consequence of the Holy Alliance, and tho
Congresses of rulers or their representatives assembled, only,
to prop the pillars of despotism. Such a step not only contra
vened the rights of other neutral nations, but was in direct vi-

Chap. IL] Congress of Verona. 45
olation of the Second Article of the German Confederation, as
established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which guaran
tees " the independence and inviolability of each of the Ger
man states." It is the instrument always used to suppress
liberty, and of which we have recently had a striking illustra
tion in the inhuman intervention of Russia in aid of Austria
against Hungary, and the Republic of France to crush the lib
erties and extinguish the Republic of Rome, which presented
a more striking example of order and greater prospect of sta
bility than France itself. Congress of Verona.
The two emperors had determined, at Laybach, to hold a
new Congress, in 1822, at Florence. Verona was afterward
substituted for Florence, and a Congress was held there, from
October to December, 1822, on account of Spain and Portu
gal, and the political state of Greece. The war of France
against Spain, in 1823, was a consequence of this Congress,
as the powers permitted France to re-establish the ancient
monarchy in Spain by force of arms, and promised assistance,
if it should be necessary, to put down the Cortes and suppress
the Constitution of that country. Measures were also here
taken for the suppression of secret societies.
What were the circumstances which at this time strength
ened the power of absolute monarchy ? The first, undoubt
edly, was the intimate union formed among the monarchs for
mutual support, the discovery they had made that it was
better for them to fight together against the liberties of their
people, than to fight with each other for the mere enlarge
ment of their dominions. The detestable conspiracy into
which they had entered, under the blasphemous name of the
Holy Alliance, was the great means of sustaining more ty
rannical measures, upon which each now thought he might
safely proceed to administer his government ; and, so long as
they look upon increase of personal power and security in
practical tyranny as of more value than mere increase of ter
ritory or of foreign influenoe, so long it is not impossible that
this unhallowed confederacy may continue. Another great
source of the strength and immediate safety of these govern-

46 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
ments was the general diffusion of improvements in the art
of war, and the maintenance and equipment of armies, by
means of which a much smaller force was capable of keeping
in awe a larger population, and, at the same time, a limited
revenue enabled to maintain more numerous forces. These
were the immediate and occasional causes of the confidence
and apparent security with which arbitrary power has since
been proclaimed as the only legitimate spring of European
government.* But there was another and a more ominous cause, which
has only begun to operate of late years, to exercise influence in
support of the same system, and this was the improved knowl
edge and pohcy of absolute governments themselves, and their
gradual correction of many of the abuses which did not tend
to maintain their despotism.
Tyrannical governments had before been singularly igno
rant and prejudiced, and more than one half of the abuses
which made them odious in the eyes of their subjects, had no
immediate connection with political rights or institutions, and
might have been safely redressed without at all improving
the Constitution, or increasing the political consequence of
their subjects.
Their great danger was the superior inteUigence of the peo
ple, with whom the policy of their rulers had usually been a
subject of contempt as well as of resentment, and who, in their
plans of reform or resistance, had uniformly possessed a most
mortifying advantage in point of contrivance, combination, ad
dress, and prudence. A new era, however, began as to all these
particulars ; the eyes of the rulers were at last opened to their
own nakedness and weakness, and great efforts were made,
and are still making to secure to the cause of tyranny some part
of those advantages which the spread of intelligence and gen
eral increase of ability had conferred on all other institutions.*
They employed better casuists and more ingenious sophists
to defend their proceedings ; they sought spies of more activi
ty and intelligence, and agents of corruption more crafty and
acute, than they had previously thought it necessary to retain

* Edinburgh Review, 1824. \ Idem.

Chap. IL] Progress of Absolutism. 47
in their service. But, above all, they endeavored to rectify
those gross errors in their internal administration which had
been a source at once of weakness and discontent, and by the
correction of which they did infallibly extend and multiply
their resources, while they cut off one fruitful spring of dis
affection. They continued to seek, therefore, not only to im
prove the economical part of their government, and to amend
the laws and usages by whioh the wealth and industry of the
people were affected, but endeavored to conciliate their good
will, by mitigating all those grievances from which they them
selves derived no advantage, and which might be redressed
without at all advancing the people in their pretensions to the
character of freemen.
They constructed roads and canals, encouraged agriculture
and manufactures, and reformed the laws of trade, abolished
local and subordinate oppressions, endowed seminaries of edu
cation, inculcated a reverence for religion, and patronized acad
emies of arts ; and all this good they did not hesitate to per
form at the instigation of that more enlightened, but more
determined hostility to popular rights,* by which they have
ever been professedly actuated, and with a view merely to
these two plain consequences. In the first place, that, by in
creasing the wealth and population of their subjects, they
might be enabled to draw from them larger taxes and sup
plies, and to recruit greater armies to uphold their tyrannical
pretensions ; and in the second place, that, by keeping the body
of the people, in other respects, in a comfortable condition,
they might have a better opportunity of reconciling them to
the privations of political rights, and not be annoyed by the
discontents which arise from distress, and be forced to combat,
at the same time, those which arise from injustice.t
During this period and the following years, the attention of
the allied powers was sufficiently occupied in directing the
movements during the revolutionary outbreaks in Spain, Na
ples, and Sicily, occasioned by the struggles of those countries
against the absolutism which, under the pretense of a consti
tutional system, was enforced among them.
* Edinburgh Review. t Ibid.

48 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
In the mean time, the dissatisfaction of the people of the
German states continued to increase, not only on account of
the total disregard by the sovereigns of all their rights, but
from the obnoxious measures which the Diet of Frankfort,
from time to time, thought proper to adopt. In the protocol
of that assembly, the final act of 1820 was made responsible
for all these new enactments of the Diet. But the article first
cited for this purpose was unfortunate. It declared that " the
sovereign can not be bound to admit the co-operation of the
Estates, except in the exercise of rights especially determined."
But in many states the co-operation of the Diet in granting
and appropriating taxes was already specially determined, and,
in order to escape from the effect of this provision, it was stated
that the internal constitution of the confederated states could
not be so construed as to prejudice the objects of the Confed
eration, and especially so as to defeat the supplies of money
which each state was bound to contribute for the common de
fense. The protocol also repeated the provision of the final
act of 1820, that, if any state, in case of internal troubles,
was prevented from applying for the assistance of the Confed
eration, the Diet was bound, though not called on, to inter
fere ; so that the Diet, or, rather, Prussia and Austria, were
left the sole judges of the necessity of such interference ; and
the protocol finally concluded with a sweeping clause, that the
Diet should be, in all cases of doubt, the ultimate judges of
the extent of their own powers, which thus completed the an
nihilation of the chartered liberties of Germany.
The fermentation continued to increase the spirit of fellow
ship created in the wars of the Revolution, and which resulted
in the liberation of Germany from foreign oppression, impart
ed to them the ideas of unity and nationality, wliich have ever
since distinguished them, and which, thirty years after, they
attempted to embody in some palpable form. Such of the con
stitutions as, agreeably, to the thirteenth Article of the Confed
eration, had been bestowed, were, by the repressive measures
on the part of the separate powers, or of the Frankfort Diet,
cither completely withheld, or rendered, by those measures,
totally void, and inadequate for the satisfaction of the people.
In 1827 the Burschenschaft was revived, with a more definite

Chap. IL] Progress of Absolutism. 49
object, and which was the unity and freedom of Germany, at
all hazards.
From this period until the events of July, 1830, in France,
which again constituted a new era for Germany, years glided
on in profound peace ; but the deep feeling of popular indig
nation was working its silent and sullen way. No period of
the world's annals contains such an instance as this of rulers
owing so much to those they governed, yet refusing, with per
fidious breach of faith, the payment of their debt of gratitude,
and persecuting those who had fought and bled in their serv
ice, for making use of the very words and phrases which those
same princes had so profusely lavished when entreating the
assistance of the people. Every one who raised the voice of
patriotism was put under the ban ; imprisonment, confisca
tion, and exile were the lot of all who dared to whisper that
the bloody battles which had been fought and won had any ob
jects beyond the re-establishment of absolute power and aris
tocratic prerogative.
As an act in the general movement of the people, and of that
excitement in the public mind which prevailed every where,
the Revolution of July, 1830, then occurred. He who, upon
the fall of Napoleon, proclaimed to the people of France "the
triumph of liberty, the reign of the laws," was found violating
(with his unpopular ministry) the charter which he had sworn
to support, and by the people hurled from power, and Louis
Philippe of Orleans called to the throne. By the election of
the king, the calculations of the Republican party were disap
pointed for a moment, yet the throne of a popular king, sur
rounded by such democratic forms, was certainly an advance
in the condition of things, and the destiny of the people seemed
already ameliorated. The interval between the original paci
fication and the late convulsions of Europe is divided into two
nearly equal portions by the French Revolution of 1830, which
conveniently separates one period from another, and constitutes
an important epoch in the history of human rights. Previous
to that year, the policy of the allied powers, described above,
had almost undisputed sway, and the incidents of European
history, during the fifteen years which intervened, were mainly
confined to such manifestations of its force as were supplied
D

50 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
by the successive suppression of liberal movements in Germa
ny, as well as in Naples, Piedmont, Portugal, and Spain. But
the Revolution of July gave a new aspect to affairs. Not only
was France, a leading power, transformed into a real consti
tutional* monarchy, and transferred in the balance of political
principles from the side of the Allies of Laybach and Verona
to the side of Great Britain and its reformed Parliament, but
the effect of this metamorphosis was most sensibly felt in the
several revolutions which followed then, as now, in the train
of Parisian catastrophies.t
The insurrections in Belgium and Poland were the imme
diate, if not the legitimate successors of the Paris Revolution.
The first ended with the separation or overthrow of the king
dom of the Netherlands, the handiwork of the Congress of 1815,
and the entire independence of Belgium ; the second with the
complete defeat of the Poles by the Russians under Paskiewitch.
In Italy, too, revolution had raised its head, but was again
overpowered by an Austrian army entering the states of the
Church. In Germany, also, matters did not remain untroub
led : the people of Brunswick drove away its Duke Charles.
The Hessians forced their sovereign to grant a Constitution.
The desire of the people was also acceded to, and the king then
granted a Constitution, on the 4th of September, 1831. In
several small duchies the example was followed, but every
where prevailed the utmost dissatisfaction.^ This movement
* Edinburgh Review, October, 1848. f Ibid.
t The following is a list of the sovereigns who complied with the letter of their
promise, by granting Constitutions to their subjects :
Sovereigns. Date of Constitutions.
King of Bavaria  May 26, 1828.
King of Wurtemberg  September 25, 1819.
King of Hanover  December 7, 1819.
King of Saxony  March 1, 1831.
Grand Duke of Baden  August 28, 1828.
Grand Duke of Hesse Darmstadt  December 17, 1820.
Elector of Hesse  January 1, 1831.
Grand Duke of Luxemburg  August 24, 1815.
Duke of Brunswick  April 2, 1820.
Duke of Nassau  September 2, 1814.
Duke of Saxe-Weimar  May 1, 1816.
Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Hilburghausen  August 23, 1829.
Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha  August 8, 1821.

Chap. IL] Progress of Absolutism. 51
was not confined to a blind and fanatical party, but prudent,
and well-disposed, and high-minded men (like Rottech and
Welcher) declared themselves openly and decisively in favor
of the imperious neoessity that concessions should be made to
the claims of an advanced age, to the full exercise of constitu
tional institutions, that a legal and reasonable* liberty should
be granted upon a reconciliation between prince and people,
and upon the re-establishment of reciprocal confidence between
them.t The effects of the French Revolution of 1830, in its reac
tion upon the public mind throughout Europe, manifested
themselves in Germany in popular commotions, which were
followed by various reforms in the local constitutions of sev
eral states, such as Saxony, Electoral Hesse, and Hanover.
In the states of Germany which had already obtained, by
Duke of Swarzburg Rudolstadt  January 8, 1816.
Prince of Lechtenstein  November 9, 1818.
Prince of Waldeck  April 15, 1816.
The following is a list of those who violated their pledge, both in its letter and
spirit, by refusing Constitutions :
Emperor of Austria.
King of Prussia.
Grand Duke of Mecklenberg Schwerin.
Grand Duke of Mecklenberg Strelitz.
Grand Duke of Oldenberg.
Duke of Holstein.
Duke of Saxe-Altenberg.
Duke of Anhalt Dessau.
Duke of Anhalt Bernberg.
Duke of Anhalt Coethen.
Prince of HohenzoUern Heckingen.
Prince of HohenzoUern Sigmaringen.
Prince of Reuss, Senior Branch.
Prince of Reuss, Junior Branch.
Prince of Lippe, ) who offered the mockery of a Constitution,
Prince of Lippe Schaumberg, 5 which the people rejected.
Prince of Swarzenberg Sonderhausen.
Landgrave of Hesse Hamberg.
* German Almanac.
t On the 27th of May, 1832, the Hambacher festival took place, the confused
effusion of all vague ideas of German demagogism, and this unfortunate meeting
gave a pretext to the Diet of the Confederation, a month after, to decree a still
stricter repression of constitutional liberty, and which had been previously de
termined on.1 i German Almanac.

52 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
the voluntary concessions of their sovereigns, representative
constitutions more or less corresponding to the wants and
wishes of the people, the legislative chambers assumed an at
titude and a tone of discussion which had been unknown since
the repressive measures adopted under the additional powers
given to the Diet by the final Act of the Confederation in 1820.*
The liberty of the press, which was still tolerated, to a certain
extent, in some of the minor states, was freely used to arraign
the German governments before the tribunal of public opinion,
to demand further concessions in favor of popular rights — in
some instances to excite popular commotions. The Diet at
first contented itself with exercising its acknowledged powers,
by specific measures for suppressing the publication of certain
offensive newspapers. But these measures proving insuffi
cient, in the opinion of the Austrian and Prussian cabinets, to
check the rapid progress of the revolutionary spirit, a decree
was adopted by the Diet on the 28th of June, 1832, on the mo
tion of Austria, seconded by Prussia, by which very important
modifications were introduced into the fundamental laws of
the Confederation established in 1815 and 1820. t
The motives for adopting the decree were stated by the pre
siding officer, and delegate from Austria, Count Munch Bel-
linghausen ; and after reading a communication to the same
effect, to the Diet of the Confederation, from the Emperor of
Austria, the propositions contained therein were converted into
a law of the Confederation by an act of the Diet, dated the
28th of June, 1832.J
Besides this resolution of the Frankfort Diet of 1832, " a
similar object (says Binder, the biographer of Metternich), to
gether with the completion and clearer explanation of some
points of the Treaty of Federation, occupied the great Congress
of ministers assembled, at the desire of Prince Metternich, at
Vienna, from the 13th of January to the 13th of June, 1834,
some of whose resolutions have been pubhshed by the Diet."
The purport of these resolutions, which so palpably infringed
that clause of the treaty of Vienna of 1815, which guaranteed
internal independence to every state of Germany, was the in-
• Wheaton, p. 460. t Ibid., 460-461. 1 See Appendix, No. 1.

"Chap. IL] Progress of Absolutism. 53
stitution of a Board of Control or Arbitration, named by the
territorial sovereigns of Germany, which, as the highest court
of appeal, were to watch over the proceedings of the States-
General or Assemblies, and to decide all disputes which might
arise between them and their respective governments. The
sittings of the assemblies or chambers in the different states
were ordered to be held with closed doors, and the official pub
lication of their proceedings, which had been adopted volun
tarily by several, among others by Hanover, was prohibited.
Other points related to restrictions of the press, regulations at
the universities, and systems of education.
The people, through their respective assemblies, protested
against that decree, but, notwithstanding, it was enforced.
The last warning voice passed unheeded by the rulers. It
really seemed as if they intended to suppress such an intel
lectual movement by brute force. How had they mistaken
the time ! In the year 1815,* and even in the year 1830, it
would have been an easy task to have effected a reconciliation
by yielding to the public desires, which, until that time, had
always been respectfully proposed to the crown. The moder
ate party then formed an immense majority of the German
people. With gratitude and joy, concessions would have been
received at that time, which would not have limited the rights
of the crown, but only its abuses. Faithfully the grateful peo
ple would have rallied around the throne, and their 'breasts
would have proved the safest buckler against the criminal de
signs of the revolutionary propagandism. By the course adopt
ed, the people were exposed to demoralization, which afterward
brought forth its dreadful fruits. The disheartening conviction
now took root, that it was no longer possible to expect a settle
ment in a legal way, and that only by force or revolution could
the resistance be overcome which blind or culpable ministers
opposed to the wishes of the people.
The revolutionary propaganda was not idle in taking advant
age of this excited state of the public mind, and in applying
the match.t
Moral fidelity and obedience to law became, among a great

Coxe's House of Austria. t German Almanac.

54 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
part of the German people, undermined by systematic and
continued suggestions.
Increased poverty and proletarianism, strangers of all princi
ples and manners, furnished numerous elements to the crim
inal (demagogical) stratagems of the revolutionary party, and
the communistic principles and ideas infused a quantity of
poison into the body of the people.
From this time the tendencies of German liberalism took
another direction and wider scope. The exclusively German
and purely national ideas of 1812 to 1815, yielded to a percep
tion that the condition of the continent indicated that the
constitutional bond must be an universal one to insure suc
cess, and this idea gave rise to the party commonly called
Young Germany. Many sections of the old exclusive nation
al party, as it was called, could not forget their accustomed
hue-and-cry against France ; while Young Germany contend
ed that, now she had recovered her constitutional liberty, she
deserved to be considered as a sister nation. Young Ger
many gained many adherents by the truth of its suggestions ;
and as the antipathy to France subsided, public opinion was
more and more employed in scrutinizing domestic grievances,
and the melancholy fate of Poland indicated the dangers that
awaited their own country.*
The exertions of the advanced liberal party were not only
directed against that rotten body, the Frankfort Diet, but
against the whole compact of the treaties of 1815, by virtue
of which Russia and Austria held Poland and Italy chained,
like Prometheus, to the rock of absolutism, and the impas
sioned strictures which had hitherto been directed against
France, were now appUed to St. Petersburg and Vienna.
Thus the idea of German unity assumed a more general and
efficient character, being associated with the literature of Ita
ly and Poland ; and the people looked to England for the res
cue of the former, and of the latter to France. The policy of
Louis Philippe soon disenchanted the friends of liberty, as it
became apparent that he preferred making concessions to his
brother sovereigns, to forming such an alliance with England
* Westminster Review.

Chap. IL] Progress of Absolutism. 55
as might have compelled them to pursue a constitutional
course. Meanwhile, the general and ardent thirst for consti
tutional liberty, far from being checked by disappointment,
followed the general law of natural desires, and was increased
by the obstacles which opposed it. The German sovereigns
acknowledged the mutual-responsibility principles of Young
Germany, by taking care that their own subjects should al
ways pay for the folly of their trans-Rhenish neighbors. Ev
ery emeute in Paris was followed by wholesale imprisonments
in Berlin and Vienna ; and every attempt on the life of Louis
Philippe formed an excuse for fresh measures of coercion at
home ; and, after the subjugation of Poland, the triad of the
Holy Alliance — Russia, Austria, and Prussia — might be seen
walking hand in hand, and dragging their subjects through
the old dreary by-ways of absolutism and treachery.
These stringent measures on the part of the sovereigns were
attended with no popular outbreak, not because absolutism
had become more palatable, or the feeling of the necessity of
radical reform less vehement, but from the fact that a belief
seemed now to have taken possession of all minds that a great
change was at hand, and could not possibly be long deferred.
This change was expected to take place at the deaths of Louis
Philippe and Metternich,* who were regarded as the pillars of
the existing system. The people looked to these events like
a spendthrift heir, who expects, with Christian patience hap
pily tempered with certainty, the decease of a rich but indif
ferent relative Metternich seemed to share the general be
lief, but hoped that he should be allowed to enjoy his glory for
the term of his natural life; he bespoke peace and quiet for
himself, but bequeathed a deluge to his successors.
The events of 1848 were foreseen, nay expected, and yet
they took the world by surprise. No party was sufficiently
prepared either for attack or defense. Governments, secure in
stupid blindness, actively accelerated the convulsion they had
so long been anxious to avert, while the people had not the
* The four sponsors of the peace of Europe, as was thought a few years since,
were Louis Philippe, Prince Metternich, Mehemet Ali, and the Duke of Welling
ton. Two are now deceased, one driven from power, and the other perhaps too
advanced in age for efficient service.

56 Historical Introduction. [Book L
slightest idea of a sanguinary revolution. They thought that
the two obnoxious men were growing old, and would enjoy their
last days in peace ; and that, when they disappeared from the
stage, constitutional liberty would achieve a bloodless triumph.
Such an expectation was far less unpractical than might seem,
for as all parties were agreed upon the main principle of con
stitutional liberty, all other questions promised an easy solu
tion, as soon as the chief abettor of division, the great apostle
of divide et impera, should be gathered to his fathers. The
question was simply one of time. The death of Louis Philippe
or of Metternich was variously assigned as the moment beyond
which a general outbreak could not be deferred. Events have
been somewhat precipitated, but the outbreak was inevitable,
as another will be, if grievances are merely compromised for
the moment, and no provisions made to give security to the
political fabric of Europe.
Foreign Policy of Austria.
A brief reference to the foreign policy, as well as the internal
administration of the empire, will not fail to indicate that the
causes for popular dissatisfaction existed, in a still more strik
ing degree than in other parts of Germany, within the empire
of Austria, and that there, so far at least as oppression and dis
content are considered, the people were ready for the events
of 1848.
The foreign policy of Austria since 1815 is so intimately
blended with, and, in fact, inseparable from, the character of
her great statesman, that the biography of the one naturally
embraces the history of the other. Prince Metternich has long
held, by common consent, the rank of the most distinguished
statesman of Europe. Two conditions are essential to the high
est renown in public life, the possession of great qualities and
great opportunities for their exercise ; and with both he was
sufficiently provided. The career of the prince has been the
longest, the most difficult, and (for his own principles) the
most triumphant in the annals of modern diplomacy. He has
been now before the world for near half a century. During
the former part of his public life he was engaged in sustain
ing the fallen strength of Austria, and during the latter half

Chap. IL] Foreign Policy of Austria. 57
in the scarcely less difficult task of securing her established
power. The fortunes and policy of the imperial house of Aus
tria have been more than once identified with the characters
of those supreme servants of state, whose ministerial functions
have been extended to the utmost hmit of absolute power, and
protracted beyond the ordinary duration of human life. But
of these illustrious ministers, who have lived in the long and
secure administration of one of the greatest empires of the
earth, none ever retained that high and responsible position
amid events of such infinite magnitude and variety, or with
so unlimited control, as Clement, prince of Metternich.*
Prince Metternich was born at Coblentz on the 15th of
May, 1773. The son of an able Austrian minister, of ancient
and noble family, he was educated for diplomacy, and after
studying the national law of Europe at Strasburg, and going
through the admirable course of education appointed for the
eleves of the foreign office, he entered early into the service,
and was one of the masters of ceremony at the coronation of
Leopold the Second, in 1792. He afterward continued his
studies at Mentz until 1794. In 1795 he was sent as Aus
trian minister to the Hague. The first Congress which he at
tended was that of Radstadt, in 1797 ; in 1801 he was sent
minister to Dresden ; afterward to Berlin, where he represented
also the court of Westphalia ; and he rose with such rapidity,!
that in 1806, after the peace of Pressburg, he was selected for
the important post of embassador in Paris. Austria, like Prus
sia, had suffered excessively in her conflict with France.
Both were undergoing terrible retaliation by the sword of
the French emperor, for the feebleness of their assault on the
French Republic, and both, by their calamities, were exhibiting
the most direct moral of the hazards of national insincerity, of
timidity in council, and of slackness in the field. At length,
both powers, with all their strength mowed down, and their
sovereignty plowed and harrowed by the power of France, were
forced wholly to abandon dependence on themselves, and to

» Galignani's Messenger.
t Was the chief agent in uniting Austria, Prussia, and Russia, by the treaty of
Potsdam in 1805, for which he received the Grand Cross of the order of St.
Stephen.

58 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
wait for the chances of time and the course of things to reno
vate the moral soil. Diplomacy was now the only instrument
by which Austria could hope to preserve even the semblance
of an independent government ; and it is a signal proof of the
talents of young Metternich, that he was selected for that most
important of all missions, the embassy to France ; for it is in
times of national distress that court favoritism and imperial
folly lose their power of perverting the national choice, and the
claim of superior abilities establishes its right to distinction.
On his arrival at Paris, Count Metternich, although only thirty
years of age, yet, by his noble and engaging physiognomy, his
easy and graceful manners, his refined and cultivated mind,
descendant of the old and aristocratic family, and represent
ing a great and ancient monarchy, soon became distinguished
above all others, and gained for himself an easy access to the
favor and consideration of the French emperor.* Napoleon
never treated him with roughness, but seemed rather pleased
with his society ; and Metternich embraced the opportunity to
prove to him the necessity of a union between France and Aus
tria. The policy of Metternich was to conceal from the emperor
all thoughts of the intended breach ; and, with that dissimula
tion of which he was a perfect master, continued his assurances
of amity, while Austria armed herself for the coming contest.
Upon the declaration of war by Austria against France, Met
ternich returned to the imperial dominions, and joined the Em
peror Francis, who had taken refuge in the fortress of Comorn,
in Hungary. Three days after the memorable defeat of Wa
gram, Count Stadion retired from the office of minister of for
eign affairs, and Count Metternich was selected to suoceed him.
His first effort, upon his elevation to that station, was to con
duct the negotiations with the French minister Champagny,
and to. gain a respite for his bleeding country at the price of
an archduchess. The reasons assigned by Prince Metternich
for this step were, that he found the finances of the country
* Napoleon at this time had relaxed his policy toward the French noblesse,
and was, in consequence, snrrouuded by a mass of the ancient nobility, with whom
Metternich soon ingratiated himself with the insinuating address and graceful man
ners which he so eminently possessed. He was not long in penetrating the se
crets and scandals about the court of the Tuileries, and in captivating and obtain
ing the favor of the principal personages, and even of Napoleon himself.

Chap. IL] Foreign Policy of Austria. 59
embarrassed ; its military strength weakened ; its public spirit
crushed by misfortune ; and he hoped by this measure to raise
his country from the abyss into which it had fallen, as well as
to recover back such portions of the empire as Napoleon had
wrested from it. But if any thing can aggravate the humili
ation of that transaction, it is the conviction, which the court
of Austria must then have had, that this sacrifice was made
in tain.
The time approached when the great scourge of the Conti
nent was at length to be trampled under foot, and France to
feel a portion of the evils which she had inflicted upon Europe.
The march to Moscow was the phrensy of conquest ; the delay
at Moscow was the infatuation of a power which thought it
self irresistible ; the retreat from Moscow was the infliction of
a punishment long ripening for the crimes of the empire. On
the return of the French armies into the field, the murderous
battles of Bautzen and Lutzen gave formidable. demonstration
to the French emperor that he had taught his enemies to fight,
and that his European supremacy could no longer be main
tained by the sword. Diplomacy was now to decide the ques
tion of empire, and the fate of the war depended upon Austria.
In the interval of dubious peace which" had uneasily fol
lowed the treaty of Schbnbrunn, the Austrian government,
under the control of Metternich, had applied itself unostenta
tiously, but indefatigably to the arrangement of its finances ;
the restoration of its army, and to all the means by which na
tional vigor is to be infused once more into a fallen country.
Within the four years from the defeat in 1809 to 1813, Aus
tria had made prodigious advances in the renovation of her
power. The great object of the allies was to obtain her con
nection ; the great object of Napoleon was to secure her neu
trality. On this occasion, Austria proposed herself as mediator,
and Russia, Prussia, and France acknowledged her armed me
diation ; and Napoleon found the former embassador now the
organ of a voice which was virtually to decide his fate. Met
ternich met him in perhaps the most momentous conference
that ever was held in the field. His first proposal was peace,
but the conditions were the surrender of the French conquests
in Germany. Napoleon, with an infatuation only equaled by

60 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
his attempts to negotiate at Moscow, spurned the idea, and even
went to the length of charging the prince with receiving the
money of England.* An insult of this stamp, put an end to
the interview, which had lasted till near midnight, and was
carried on at times in tones of passion so violent as to be over
heard by the attendants. The alliance of Austria decided Na
poleon's fate. The 10th of August, 1813, had been assigned as
the period within which France might accede to the proposals
of the three powers. That fatal hour passed by, and Count
Metternich drew up on that night the declaration of war on the
part of Austria against France ; and on the morning of the 11th,
the Russian and Prussian troops marched over the Bohemian
and Silesian frontier. A month later, the grand alliance was
signed at Toeplitz ; and on the eve of the battle of Leipsic, the
Emperor Francis conferred on Metternich and his heirs the
dignity of a prince of the empire. In the conferences and ne
gotiations at Frankfort, Friburg, Basle, Langres, and Chau
mont, which accompanied the invasion of France, Prince Met
ternich took a prominent and active part. He directed the ne
gotiations of the Congress of Chatillon, signed the convention
of Fontainebleau with Napoleon, and subsequently that of the
first and second peace of Paris, in 1814 and 1815. Subse
quently he presided, as has been seen, at the several Congresses
of the allied powers at Vienna, Carlsbad, Troppau, Laybach,
and Verona ; and has, without exception, received all the high
est orders of distinction which the different monarchs of Eu
rope could bestow.
Prince Metternich in person is rather below the ordinary
size, has a well-formed head, nose large and aristocratic, eyes
blue and expressive, a mouth well shaped, and with a smile
ever at command. His whole person, countenance, and de
meanor, are indicative of high station, superior intellect, and
finished elegance. He was not remarkable for his native ge
nius or subsequent acquirements, but his distinguishing traits
were his knowledge and perception of character, and the arts
by which he bent them to his own purpose. He could enter
tain a circle of fifty persons with ease and amiability, without
* Alison's Europe.

Chap. IL] Foreign Policy of Austria. 61
resorting to ordinary resources. He would participate in the
dissipation and the follies of his superiors and equals ; but he
would, at the same time, be searching the means by which
he could turn them to profit. It was impossible to know bet
ter than he how to discover the weak sides of those around
him, and, what is still more difficult, to render himself neces
sary to their frailties.*
The mode of execution which Metternich employs is truly
singular. To a perfect knowledge of the principal persons
with whom he has transactions, he joins an address not less
astonishing in the choice of his instruments. He has formed
for himself a gallery of living Metternichs, from whence he
draws forth his embassadors and agents. With a gigantic
mind he spread his toils over the whole Continent — had his
spies in all the capitals of Europe : in Portugal he was with
the Miguels ; in Spain, France, and in Italy, with the aris
tocrats and priests ; and at Constantinople most intimate with
the sultan. It was by these means that he held for so long a
time the destinies of Europe in his hands.
Metternich was never the sanguinary tyrant that some have
supposed ; he was averse to all extreme measures, and partic
ularly opposed to shedding human blood. No political execu
tions ever took place at his instance. Those which occurred
upon the tumults in the empire, which followed the French
Revolution of 1830, occurred by the express orders of the Em
peror Francis. Metternich's disposition is more truly exem-

* L'Empereur de Russie, commencant a sefatiguer des bacchanales nocturnes
qui se succedaient pendant la duree du Congres de Vienne, et Metternich
craignant de se voir prive de sa presence et de perdre tout le fruit de ses belles
combinaisons, imagina de nouveaux passe-temps plus analogues aux gouts de son
nouveau maitre. Les magniflques tournois, les bals, et les diners, furent tout a
coup remplaces par de petites soiries donnees par Metternich, et auxquelles pie-
sidait, en quality de souveraine, la belle Princesse de S. nee Princesse de C. La
famille de cette dame, ne voulait point se preter a ce manege, fit manquer le plan
projete, et cette derniere quitta Vienne incognito pour se rendre a F  g, ou
Alexandre la suivit. La belle fugitive fut encore obligee de se derober aux
poursuites de celui qui voulait absolument faire sa conquete; mais Metternich,
dans cet interim sut profiter des circonstances; et c'est principalement par la
vertu des charmes transcendans de ce talisman, qu'il attira successivement Alex
andre aux ennuyeux Congres de Troppau et de Laybach. — Tablettes Autrich-
iennes.

62 Historical Introduction. [Book" I.
plified by the general amnesty for all political offenders
throughout the empire, with which commenced the reign of
the imbecile Ferdinand, and during whose term Metternich
was " indeed the state."*
As a legislator, Prince Metternich's capacities have ever been
regarded as moderate; as a finanoier, the bankruptcy of Aus
tria during his administration certainly furnishes no recom
mendation ; but as a skillful diplomatist or an adroit courtier,
it can not be denied that he has ever stood unrivaled.
The first great secret of his success was, that by the quali
ties described he ingratiated himself into favor with Napoleon,
and, during his residence at that court, occupied himself in ac
quiring a profound knowledge of the character of the French
emperor, and in devising his plans and preparing himself for
performing, in after years, the principal part in the political
drama of Dresden and Prague. The principal object in pro
curing the marriage between Napoleon and the Austrian arch
duchess, was not so much to restore the fallen fortunes of his
country, as by this means to obtain a still more perfect knowl
edge of even the private life of Napoleon, and to acquire such
influence over him as to make it, in after years, an easy task
to hold the conqueror of Europe in suspense, during the Con
gress of Dresden, the invasion, armistice, and Congress of
Prague, until the Austrian armies should have been sufficient
ly recruited and prepared to enter the contest.
The art with which Metternich passed from the alliance with
Napoleon to neutrality, from neutrality to mediation, and from
mediation to the coalition against him, will in every age be
considered a master-piece of diplomacy.
The great principles in the foreign policy of Austria which
Metternich seems, during his whole career, to have kept stead
ily in view, are :
1st. To preserve the principles of legitimacy throughout all
governments. 2d. To maintain peace, and secure the balance of power in
Europe. The term legitimacy is a modern device in the politics of
* Francis himself was heard to say, " In forgiving and pardoning I am a bad
Christian ; it is too difficult for me ; Metternich is much more compassionate."

Chap. IL] Foreign Policy of Austria. 63
Europe. When the allies dethroned Napoleon and his broth
ers, they wanted something to oppose to the claims which he
derived from his election by the people. A phantom was con
sequently created at the Congress of Vienna, called legitima
cy, and since that time has been constantly used, but never
defined, as indeed it would be difficult to do, since the facts
before the world are too stubborn for this theory of the heredi
tary descent of nations, like property. The Legitimists of Eu
rope, par excellence, and they who are especially known by
that name, are the Elder Bourbons, the oldest house except
that of the Guelphs, and one which has supplied one hundred
and twenty sovereigns to Europe, originated with a usurper.
But it is generally used to denote the lawfulness of the gov
ernment in a hereditary monarchy, where the supreme dignity
and power pass by law from one regent to another, according
to the right of primogeniture.
In the support of this system, nations and their rights be
came as chattels in his hands, which he disposed of at pleas
ure, where he could effect the greatest advantage. He sacri
ficed the Greeks to the Turks, the Poles to Russia, and the
Italians to their oppressors. He aided, in France, the restora
tion of the ancient absolutism, and favored the bigotry of Spain.
But his principles are best explained by himself.
When the Neapolitans, in 1820, heard that the Austrians
intended interfering to suppress the Constitution they had ex
torted from their king, Prince Cimitile was sent to Vienna to
deprecate the intervention, and to give assurances of the wish
of his government to conform as much as possible to the de
sires of the Austrians. The answer given by Prince Metter
nich, at a personal interview, is stated as follows: "The pres
ent Neapolitan revolution is the work of a profligate sect, the
work of surprise and force. Were the courts to grant it any
countenance, even by silently looking on, it would be equiv
alent to scattering the seeds of rebellion in lands where they
have never yet taken root.*
" The first duty, and the highest interest of the powers re
quired them to crush it in the beginning. As to the readiness

* Furst Clemens von Metternich und sein Zeitalter, von Dr. W. Binder.

64 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
of the Neapolitan government to endeavor to prevent the exten
sion of the propaganda, even if it be really able to do so, it
merits but little gratitude for that which we shall require
from it as a duty. The recognition of the new order of things
in that kingdom would both shake the foundation of our own
state, and deprive Naples of the only means she now possesses
of opposing the terrors of anarchy. These means are, order
and the support of those principles on which alone the tranquil
lity of states is grounded ; and these principles will conquer as
soon as the government is resolved to maintain its former in
stitutions against the attacks of innovators and party spirit."
When the embassador, not a little astonished at these remarks
upon the true state of things, inquired " if a peaceable arrange
ment was quite out of the question," the prince continued as
follows : " Here arrangement is not the object in view. We
must apply a cure. Use your endeavors to cause all the well-
disposed men in your country to request the king to reassume
the reins of government ; to annul every act since the 5th of
July ; to punish the individuals who have brought their coun
try to the brink of destruction ; and, finally, to adopt measures
likely to ensure the happiness and prosperity of the people.
Then will Austria, all Europe, support you in this praisewor
thy undertaking."*
On Cimitile's expressing his doubts that any one could be
found, in the actual state of things at Naples, to hold such lan
guage, the prince replied, with noble confidence, " If you do
not find such, his majesty, my emperor and master, will assur
edly supply them. He, the ruler of men who avow these prin
ciples, and who have power sufficient to effect the good I have
pointed out to you, will come to your aid. Dispose of eighty
thousand, or, if needful, one hundred thousand Austrian troops,
which shall advance at your first requisition, and conduct you
to Naples as conqueror of the rebels."
Prince Cimitile expressed, with bitter feeling, his regret
that, having come to prevent measures of violence and blood
shed, the Austrian cabinet should devote itself wholly to such
extreme measures. " Yes," continued Prince Metternich, and
 j 
* Binder.

Chap. IL] Balance of Power in Europe. 65
concluded the interview, "blood must flow, but it will fall upon
the heads of those who have sacrificed the honor and happiness
of their country to the suggestions of selfish ambition. As for
me, I throw off all responsibility, for I only act as the inter
ests of my nation make it incumbent for me to do."
This principle of legitimacy owes its origin more properly
to that aristocracy among the powers of Europe which was
commenced by the Quadruple Alliance, for twenty years, of
Austria, Russia, England, and Prussia, made at Chaumont
in 1814, confirmed by the form of negociations at Vienna, and
finally perfected by the accession of France, at the Congress
of Aix la Chapelle.
It is remarkable that a principle so totally at variance with
the rights of man, should have its origin in a convention which
could make the following declaration : " The sovereigns rec
ognize as the fundamental principle of the high compact now
existing between them the unalterable resolution, neither in
their own reciprocal concerns nor in their relations with other
powers, to depart from the strictest obedience to the maxims
of popular right ; because the constant application of these
maxims to a permanent state of peace, affords the only effect
ual guarantee for the independence of each separate power and
the security of the whole Confederation."
To maintain the Peace and preserve the Balance of Power
in Europe.
It is the complacent boast of his biographer that Metter
nich had maintained the peace of Europe for twenty years ;
and, in fact, the great monument which the prince has raised
for himself, after near half a century of public service, is that
of richly meriting a title which Louis Philippe arrogantly as
sumed, " the Napoleon of peace." In the first place, the po
sition which the Austrian empire occupies in relation to Eu
rope rendered the pacific policy, with her, more a matter of
necessity than it was an exhibition of virtue. By reason of
its geographical location, occupying a middle place between
the east and the west, between the north and the south of the
European continent, the empire is called upon to discharge
the functions of ballast in the European ship of state ; and as
E

66 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
the shock of every disturbance, in whatever quarter of Europe
it might occur, must vibrate through her, the readjustment of
the European equilibrium, on such occasions, becomes to her
a matter of vital interest.
While such have been the leading motives or inducements
to such a course, "the line of policy adopted by the Austrian
court to keep at a distance from the destructive movements
of the times," as he terms it, is explained by the biographer
of Metternich to have existed, not in the measures of internal
policy alone, but in endeavors to effect a restriction of the press
in Germany ; in the direct interference to suppress the Revo
lution of Naples ; and in the indirect intervention, by urging
an obsequious ally* to undertake the crushing of the revolu
tionary party in Spain.
To avoid " the destructive movements of the times," he aft
erward occupied the states of the Church with Austrian armies
upon the slightest disturbance. Even as late as two years be
fore he surrendered his power, he extinguished the Republic
of Cracow, the only foot of soil left of an empire that once ex
tended from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and the last refuge
of Polish nationality ; and the very last year of his more than
imperial sway, opposed the liberal party of Switzerland, and
supported their opponents, the Sonderbund, as is said, by the
"material aid" of a million of dollars. The twenty years of
peace so boastfully alluded to, have witnessed not fewer changes
than the period which preceded them, the sole difference being
that it will probably require more time and more bloodshed to
correct much of the evil accomplished in them. Such a peace
is not the peace of satisfaction and content ; it is the peace of
the grave, and which follows the extinction of all vitality and
energy among the people.
A lasting peace on the European continent can not be ex
pected until such a modification of the existing governments
takes place as shall cause the rights of individual citizens to
be respected under all circumstances, at home and abroad.
The system of crushing, by armed interference, the demands
which must, by turns, be made in every country for an enlarge-
* France.

Chap. 1 1.] Subserviency to Russia. 67
ment of popular rights, can only be justified by the supposition
that no progressive mental improvement takes place among
the people which would entitle them to what they claim ;
and as no government has hitherto gone the length of attempt
ing to prove that civilization is stationary in any part of the
world, these demands will not end, the pretext for encroaching
on the rights of the weaker states not cease ; but these com
motions and troubles continue to increase in frequency and
virulence, so long as the present system of opposition pre
vails on the part of the stronger governments.
Subserviency to Russia.
While Austria, in the furtherance of her pacific policy, has
extended her influence over her neighbors on three sides, a to
tally different policy has been pursued toward the powerful
and encroaching nation that joins her eastern frontier, and to
which she seems to have endeavored, of late years, by every
means to render herself subservient.
Had the Austrian monarchy been justly governed, the inter
est of the people properly regarded, the resources of the coun
try wisely developed, it might at this day have stood at the
head of all the powers of Europe.
The inexhaustible resources of every province, each large
enough to form a separate kingdom, combined with the vari
eties of mental capacity displayed in the inhabitants, constitute
materials for the creation of an unconquerable power. The
agricultural profusion and mineral wealth of the Hungarian
and Polish provinces ; the manufacturing spirit of the inhabit
ants of Bohemia and its agricultural wealth ; the mines of
Styria and Carinthia, and the unsurpassed fertility of Lom
bardy, united, offer a mass of internal wealth unrivaled by any
other European state. Large navigable rivers traverse the
country in all directions, and afford means of communication
to commercial enterprise, to which the possession of no unim
portant extent of sea-coast likewise invites. In the population
such varied elements combine as might be expected to turn
these means to the best advantage. The skillful, industrious
Lombard, the wily Illyrian, the hardy Hungarian, the medi
tative German, the patient, persevering Bohemian, and the

68 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
fiery but versatile Pole, form a mixture of energies admirably
calculated to assist and correct each other. With these ad
vantages, added to those of her geographical position in the
centre of Europe, and holding the supremacy of the German
Confederation, it is not a httle mysterious that Metternich
should have suffered, if not assisted to promote, Austria's sub
serviency to Russia.
The policy of Austria has been characterized for ages by an
insatiable thirst for the extension of territory, and by the op
pression of every country which she has held in subjection.
What has become of her former ambition, as boundless as that
of ancient Rome, and which dictated the device of the five
vowels graven on her earliest monuments, A. E. I. 0. U. ?
(Austrise est imperare orbi universo.) She could repel the
French from Italy in 1831, and restore the ancient regime,
but she does not oppose the ever-increasing influence of Rus
sia in Poland, Persia, Turkey, and even allowed her great
outlet, the mouth of the Danube, to be guarded by Russian
bayonets. Since the days of Catharine the First, Russia has
augmented the religious ties wliich exist between the Russian
and the Turkish provinces of Moldavia, Wallachia, Bosnia,
Bulgaria, and of Turkish Croatia and Dalmatia, and striven
to detach them gradually from the Ottoman Porte. They are
now almost entirely governed by Russian consuls, and that
influence increases the more from its being unobserved, as it
were, in the shade ; and the inhabitants are, even at this day,
more Russian than Turk. Sooner or later these provinces will
be attached to the colossal power of Russia, and they will be
come, with Greece, the natural allies of Russia (the same re
ligious tie binding them), and form one boulevard, which wil]
surround Austria, and bid defiance to all Europe, while she
controls the waters of the Mediterranean.*
In later years Austria has placed herself under obligations
to Russia, from the influence of which she will never be able
to escape ; in the first place, by pecuniary relief which Russia
afforded her, in 1847, by a loan of 50,000,000 florins, a sum
which has since been increased rather than diminished ; and,
* Tablettes Autrichiennes.

Chap. IL] Internal Administration, Etc. 69
in the second, by the incalculable debt of armed intervention,
in saving for the Austrian crown the important province of
Hungary, which, without the aid of the autocrat, would have
been lost to the empire.
Internal Administration of the Austrian Empire.
Throughout the empire the form of government is monarch
ical, though in some provinces the power of the sovereign is
absolute, in others limited ; in some he has always been he
reditary, in others he was formerly elective.*
In the hereditary or German states of Austria the power of
the emperor has long been absolute. These are under the di
rect control of the imperial chancery at Vienna, and are all
governed by one and the same code of laws, civil and crimin
al. The Italian states are governed by a viceroy, and have a
jurisprudence of their own. Hungary is a distinct kingdom,
under a palatine, in the selection of whom they have a voice,
with an independent Constitution. Transylvania, except that
it is but a principahty, stands on nearly the same footing as
Hungary. Throughout the empire (with the exception, per
haps, of Hungary), the whole legislative power is vested in the
emperor, who proceeds either by original edict or by rescript,
wliich is a reply to some pubhc body or person empowered to
make application to the crown.t
The edicts and rescripts are forwarded to the various func
tionaries, and copies are printed annually for general use.
No approval, adoption, or registration of any sort is required
to give efficacy to an edict or rescript, except on the subject
of finance ; but a money bill must be submitted to the Sfan-
de or State, meaning a kind of Diet, by which the right of
apportioning the taxes is exercised.
* The empire of Austria is not, as is frequently supposed, a pure monarchy ; it
is rather a cluster of monarchies, some of which are pure, others mixed ; some
parliamentary and constitutional, others not. Accordingly, the system of gov
ernment which has hitherto been pursued has endeavored to accommodate itself,
as mnch as possible, to the peculiarities of each monarchy; and, while the execu
tive functions have been exercised by the emperor alone, or by his officers, the
administrative functions have been exercised by him conjointly with the respect
ive Estates or Parliaments.' t Quarterly Review.
1 Eight kingdoms, one grand duchy, four duchies, one principality, one sovereign earldom,
and one margravate. — Thompson's Austria.

70 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
These Stande, which exist in the German, Illyrian, Bohe
mian, Galician, and Tyrolian provinces, are composed of four
classes : 1st, the clergy ; 2d, the nobility ; 3d, knights or in
ferior nobility ; and, 4th, the citizens or deputies of the royal
towns. The members who represent the clergy and the nobles,
sit, some in their own right as individuals, and some as depu
ties for the rest ; the burghers or citizens are elected by the cor
porations of their respective towns. The States meet once a
year or oftener ; they form a single chamber ; the governor of
the province or royal commissioner presides, and resolutions
are decided by a majority of votes. The deliberations of the
States extend only to subjects relating to the internal regula
tion of the provinces and legal apportionment of the taxes.
The land-tax, which it has been resolved on to raise, is conse
quently announced to them by the government in the form of
a postulate, and they have the right, in their legal assemblies,
to present remonstrances to the emperor or provincial govern
ment.* Possessed of no power, they have dwindled down into
mere agricultural societies ; the whole system is a mockery,
as no member, for years, has been found hardy enough to al
lude to subjects not contained in the postulate.
In the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom, a somewhat more pop
ular system prevails. Each of the two provinces has its As
sembly, with attributes and powers similar to those of the Ger
man Stande, but their internal composition is wholly different.
They have neither ecclesiastical members nor nobles sitting in
right of birth or property, nor deputies of close corporations.
The members are all elected ; but through the medium of a
double, or, rather, a triple stage of election. The two great
classes of Contadinni, the proprietors of land, and Cittadinni,
the inhabitants of towns, are the primary electors, the suffrage
dependent upon the payment of a certain sum in annual taxes.
Those primary electors choose by ballot, from their general
body, a Council of Election, the members of which must pos
sess a still higher property qualification than is requisite for
the primary elector himself. The Council of Election nom
inates by vote, from the members of its own body, a certain
* Turnbull's Austria.

Chap. IL] Internal Administration, Etc 71
number of candidates, and from these candidates the crown
selects those who shall act as members of the Provincial As
sembly ; with the power, however, in its discretion, of reject
ing them all, or of ordering a new selection.*
In Hungary and Transylvania the diets or parliaments, pre
vious to 1848, were purely aristocratical bodies, which have
been hitherto omnipotent in maintaining for the nobles their
feudal privileges and their exemption from all direct taxation.
They consist of two chambers — a chamber of hereditary mag
nates, and an elective chamber of deputies from the counties,
the free towns, the higher clergy, the magnates, and the wid
ows of magnates.! /
But of these deputies, the country members, who are them
selves all noble, and are chosen by nobles, have alone the priv
ilege of voting ; the deputies of the free towns, contrary to the
spirit of the ancient Constitution, being merely allowed by the
nobles to sit and speak, on the ground that, being under the
immediate protection of the crown, they might be obsequious
instruments in its hands.t The executive or sovereign acts
through central councils or boards, each of which has its chan
cellor or president, communicating below with the provincial
councils, and above with the cabinet, which surrounds the
emperor. The cabinet, for many years, in Austria, and down
to the outbreak of the late Revolution, consisted of the Arch
duke Louis, uncle of the late emperor ; the Archduke Fran
cis Charles, the brother ; Prince Metternich, and Count Kolo-
wrath. Nominally, the Home or Interior Department was
under the charge of Count Kolowrath, and the Foreign De
partment under Prince Metternich ; but the prince was the
animating spirit of the whole.
The policy of Francis (or, rather, the policy of Metternich),
which has governed Austria for the last fifty years, was, in a
measure, decided by the remarkable course of his uncle, the
Emperor Joseph, who almost immediately preceded. The
Emperor Leopold succeeded Joseph; but his reign, which
lasted but two years, was not distinguished by any particular
* Turnbull's Austria. t Ibid.
t Quarterly Review, 1849.

72 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
stroke of policy, other than an attempt to efface, as rapidly as
possible, the reforms of Joseph.
Joseph no sooner became sole sovereign than he began a
multitude of reforms. With headlong enthusiasm he at once
attempted to uproot every ancient abuse, and to force upon
his subjects liberty and enlightenment for which they were to
tally unfitted.* Abolishing, without hesitation, the customs
of the different countries which he undertook to reform, he re
quired all to surrender the portion of good they possessed, and
to receive at his hands what he imagined to be a fuller meas
ure of the means of acquiring prosperity. t With an abund
ance of excellent intentions, but with a total want of practical
sense, he pulled down the edifice of the state in order to con
struct a huge scaffolding, which broke under its own weight.
He established liberty of the press, a tolerance of all religions,
relieved the peasants from vassalage, emancipated the Jews,
abolished torture and capital punishment, also the begging or
ders, closed all nunneries, and six hundred and twenty-four
monasteries, humbled the hierarchy and the nobihty, and at
tempted to give unity to the state by establishing uniform laws
and a uniform administration throughout his empire. But these
reforms, although commendable of themselves, were so injudi
ciously applied, and the people so unprepared for their recep
tion, that they were unattended with any beneficial effects ;
but all tended to his own injury and final destruction, and the
latter part of his reign was devoted to revoking his most im
portant reforms, in order to avoid the necessity of resortino- to
extreme measures. The liberty of the press, which he grant
ed, was by the Jesuits employed mostly against himself. In
his abasement of the nobility!" and clergy, he created for him
self a host of implacable enemies, who harassed him to his
latest hour. His attempts at reform in Transylvania excited
a revolt of the peasantry against the nobility, which he quelled
only by the severest measures. Despite his abolishment of cap
ital punishment, the leaders of the revolt were condemned to

" Menzel's Germany. t Quarterly Review, 1837.
X Colonel Szekuly to exposure in the pillory for swindling, aud Prince Podtsat-
Bky Lichtenstein, for forging bank-notes, to sweep the streets.— 3 Menzel, 00.

Chap. II. ] Internal Administration, Etc 73
the wheel, and one hundred and fifty others impaled alive.*
The Hungarians rebelled ; and so intense and general was the
feeling against him, that, to the astonishment of all Europe,
he revoked all the acts of his government in that country.
Against his tax law of 1789, both nobility and peasantry rose,
and gave the signal for a general revolt. His attempts to gov
ern Belgium by laws suited to the Austrian empire created
an outbreak in that distant province. On hearing that even
the peasantry, on whom he had attempted to bestow such im
mense benefits, had arisen against him, he exclaimed, " I shall
die ! I must be made of wood, if this does not kill me !"
Broken-hearted and dejected, he died in three weeks, leav
ing behind him the following lines, which will serve as his ep
itaph : "I know my own heart ; I am convinced of the sincer
ity of my motives ; and I trust that, when I shall no longer
exist, posterity will judge more justly and more impartially
of my exertions for the welfare of my people."
It is, no doubt, comparatively easy for us, who have the ex
perience of half a century, the most fertile in historical results
that any age of history affords, to form a clear judgment of
the true course which the Emperor Francis ought to have pur
sued, on his accession to the throne, to consolidate his power,
and insure the prosperity of his people, than it was for him at
the time, bewildered as his view must have been by the fail
ure of the well-meant, but inconsiderate changes attempted
by his uncle Joseph. Had any enlightened friend been at his
side, who could have pointed out where the real faults of Jo
seph's policy lay, it is probable that the unsophisticated mind
of the young emperor, which raised the hopes of his subjects
to a high pitch, would have comprehended the truth; and the
firmness which he sufficiently displayed in after-life must have
secured his success in acting up to it.t As it was, nothing
could be more natural than that he should deem the people
incapable of appreciating efforts made for their good, and con
sider his uncle as the victim of the basest ingratitude. It was,
probably, the experience thus gathered, strengthened by the
terror and disgust which the disgraceful scenes of the French

* 3 Menzel, 85. t Quarterly Review, 1837.

74 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
Revolution at that time were calculated to awaken, which
brought the conviction into the mind of the Emperor Francis,
that an unlimited power in the chief governor of a nation is
the surest pledge of its prosperity ; and that, as all popular re
forms tend to limit that power, they must be opposed, as the
sources of all evil. He also looked upon this high prerogative
as an inherent right in his family — one holier and less dispu
table than any other ; and the line of conduct which he pur
sued aimed at first procuring its acknowledgment by all his
subjects, and then at securing it against all attacks.
As the policy of Joseph and of Francis were totally antago-
nistical, the first step of Francis was to annul all the popular
reforms of Joseph. The policy pursued by Joseph was to de
press the nobility and elevate the people ; the earliest efforts
of Francis were directed to the prosecution of opposite meas
ures. In order to keep the people in check, the privileged classes
were raised, conciliated, and supported. It was laid down as a
settled principle, that the preservation of the status quo should
be the unchangeable rule for the future ; that the inviolability
of their property and of their full rights should be guaranteed
to the possessors of estates ; that no further invasion of their
rights and possessions should be made by the state ; and that
thenceforth the privileges of the lords of the soil should be the
foundation of all rules of government, and its guide in the pro
tection of national rights. From this period the state became
nothing more than a guardian institution for the benefit of the
titles, privileges, and possessions of the great landholders ; and
on this the system of legislation was settled, and its political
course adopted.* The nobles by descent now acquired a great
er degree of personal freedom than they had ever before en
joyed ; at the same time, they secured the valuable preroga
tive of filling exclusively the different offices of the state, and
thus appropriated to themselves the first posts in every branch
of the administration.
Leagued with the clergy, they constituted themselves the
especial guardians and supporters of the throne, against which,
* Thompson's Austria.

Chap. IL] Internal Administration, Etc 75
as they imagined and pretended, the people were hostile, and
meditated mischief.
Both the nobles and clergy were decreed to be inviolable
from all strictures of the press, an indulgence as ill-advised as
it was injurious ; for, in the absence of all restriction in respons
ibility, the nobles became overbearing, and the clergy negli
gent of their duties. The people, who had been raised, by the
humane and philanthropic consideration of Joseph, from a con
dition of slavish dependence to a state of freedom, and were
permitted to aspire to the highest honors, alarmed and intimi
dated at this sudden change of principles in the state, sub
mitted in silence to the yoke again imposed on them. They
were required to observe a demeanor passive toward the gov
ernment, placing a blind and unlimited confidence in its wis
dom, and submitting to its commands with prompt and patient
obedience.* The most striking contrast between the policy of Joseph and
Francis, consisted in the fact that the former attempted to reign
through the unity, the latter through the division of the dif
ferent nationalities of the empire. Joseph's great effort was to
give unity to the state, to establish uniform laws and a uni
form administration. In the plenitude of arrogant power, and
in the confidence of delegated wisdom, he planned laws from
the midst of a distant and enervated capital for the citizens
of Belgium, for the nobility of a Slavonic, and the rude and
haughty freemen of a Tatar nation ; but all his efforts were
contravened by the diverse nationalities, and by the different
decrees of civilization of the various provinces beneath his rule.
The fact that the Austrian Empire is composed of such het
erogeneous parts of different races, varying in interests, lan
guage, and civilization ; all bound up at different epochs to a
whole, actuated by a centrifugal tendency, and having no other
bond to connect them than the identity of a common sovereign,
would, to a superficial observer, appear to constitute a great
source of weakness, and the opinion would be unhesitatingly
advanced that such an empire could not possibly be held to-
cether. But, under Metternich, this very circumstance proved

b

* Thompson's Austria.

76 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
the great pillar of its strength ; by exciting the national an
tipathies, and successfully arraying one race against another —
German against Bohemian, Austrian against Italian, Croat
against Magyar, Serb against Szeckler, and Wallach against
Saxon, he managed to hold the whole in check, and thus pre
serve, by the exercise of his favorite policy, divide et impera,
the unity of the empire.
The subjects of the empire, divided by differences of race,
language, religion, and sentiment, were incapable of combin
ing against the monarch ; and, however solicitous each people
might be to preserve their own liberties and privileges, they
were not prepared to resist encroachments on those of a neigh
boring people, for whom they had no friendly feeling. Thus
the disunion, which was a source of weakness to the empire,
was a source of strength to the emperor.
The leading feature in the administration of Francis, and
which Metternich continued until the day of his abdication,
was the so-called Conservative system. It was only by main
taining the~ existing order of things, which he held to be the
only safe course, that Francis believed it possible to secure his
subjects from being led astray by speculative ideas, and from
entertaining notions of a constitutional form of government.
The practice of adhering firmly to a principle because it exists,
and is therefore presumed to be founded in justice, presup
poses perfection in government, and that no improvement can
be made. The result was, that all progress and advancement
in every art and liberal science, in every calling, employment,
and business of life, was impeded by the timidity of his cabi
net, and the empire of Austria became stupid, stagnant, and
torpid. But this was not conservatism or statesmanship ; for the
magic of true conservatism and statesmanship consists in lop
ping off what is bad or decayed, in repairing what is old or
broKen, and, if necessary, in adapting the state to altogether
new or different machinery.
The great effect of such a system was not only to arrest the
onward movement of society, prevent the development of na
tional characteristics, but its obvious tendency was to limit the
freedom of exertion in the people ; and this was the grand cause

Chap. IL] Bureaucratic System. 77
of their dissatisfaction with the government. And what ren
dered it still worse was, that this state of things, with the
pledges made by the government, was unalterable, since every
indulgence granted to the people, every improvement made in
their condition, every extension of their freedom, would have
been an invasion of the guaranteed status quo.
The impediment to change which this conservative system
presents under such circumstances, becomes, therefore, the
necessary apology for inactivity when policy requires exertion ;
while this plea is advanced to excuse an injustice, which causes
actual injury to individual as well as general interests.
Such being the policy determined on by the government,
all the means at its disposal were marshaled in its support.
Bureaucratic System.
1. The first source of influence brought by the government
to the support of this policy, after that of elevating the nobil
ity, was the " Bureaucratic system."
It is said to be a part of the plan of government in every
German state, to employ one half of the nation to govern the
other half ; and the paternal care of the sovereign is studious
to prevent the number of employes, who live at the expense,
and, as they doubtless imagine, for the benefit of their fellow-
subjects, from being diminished.* Besides, the number of
those whose appointments are either of too low a rank, or of
too secret a nature to be introduced in company with the first
men of the country, may amount to as many more. Imagine
these civil officers, dependent solely on the crown, dispersed
through a nation which contains so many jarring elements,
and where much loyalty can not, it seems, be presumed to ex
ist ; follow each of these as he enters into society, anticipa
ting defection in all out of office, and necessarily disposed to
vindicate the authority which gives him consequence ; add to
* It was reported to the government several years since, by Count Radetsky (in
his efforts to obtain an increase of the army), that the civil officers of the empire
(not including Hungary and Transylvania), both open and secret, were one fourth
larger than the army. The army at that time exceeded three hundred thousand ;
it has since been augmented to seven hundred and fifty thousand ; and if the
civil officers have borne any thing like a proportionate increase, some idea mav
be formed of the number of these officials at the present day.

78 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
these the number of fifteen thousand officers and non-commis
sioned officers of the staff and commissariat departments, all
of which are to be found within the empire at the head of an
army of seven hundred thousand,* including the peace estab
lishment, together with the landwehr or reserve, and we shall
see that the government has monopolized, by means of these
individuals and their families, a powerful number of defend
ers in every social circle.t When it is recollected that the
secrecy observed in all transactions, and especially in the ad
ministration of justice, screens every individual from the share
of responsibility which every public officer ought to incur to
ward the public, some idea may be formed of the fearful pow
er thus created, and of the abuses to which it must be subject.
If it be considered that these officials, civil and military, re
quire a rather superior degree of education to enable them to
fulfill their respective functions, it must be evident that an im
mense mass of talent is abstracted from the middle classes of
* To which may be added, also, three hundred thousand custom-house officers
throughout the whole empire, and at least fifty thousand grentzers. It is the mid
dle classes which are possessed with a mania for entering the bureaus.
t The following rough calculation, drawn from the official statistics of the em
pire, will afford some idea of the means at the disposal of the government to se
cure its influence and support.
Those interested or employed in the support of government are as follows, viz. :
1st. Clergy whose revenues are protected by government  70,000
2d. Nobility whose privileges exist only through government. 800,000
3d. The industry and commerce, " " " 784,000
4th. Civil officers, servants, and overseers in public offices . . 400,000
5th. Pensioned individuals  100,000
6th. Army  600,000
7th. Proprietors of houses in cities, at least  400,000
3,154,000
Of the thirty-eight millions of inhabitants in the empire, twenty-six millions, it is
calculated, are cultivators of the soil, unenlightened and removed from the stage
of political action. This leaves but twelve millions to embarrass the government ;
of these, one half, it may be calculated, are females; of the other half, viz., six
millions, three millions one hundred and fifty-four thousand are, as has been shown
above, interested in the support of the government. Of the remainder, viz., two
millions eight hundred and forty-six thousand, one third, viz., nine hundred and
forty-eight thousand, may be presumed to be young boys or imbecile old men,
incapable of mischief, leaving, out of thirty-eight millions of inhabitants, but one
million eight hundred and ninety-eight thousand who may be opposed to the
government, or just about one half the number of its hired servants and interest
ed agents.

Chap. IL] Monopoly in Trade, Etc 79
the nation, which, in the pursuit of science, agrioulture, com
merce, or the fine arts, could not be otherwise than productive
of the greatest benefits. Monopoly in Trade.
2. Another source of influence to the government in the
support of its policy is the system of monopoly in trade. A
fact that the history of the last fifty years has sufficiently
proved is, that popular tumults seldom originate among the
peasantry of a country, and that the great problem of internal
police is to keep the inhabitants of the towns satisfied and
tranquil. To this end every city in Austria, beginning with
the metropolis, is allowed to grant the freedom of trade to only
a limited number of individuals ; so that the mere fact of an
apprentice having served his time by no means warrants his
setting up in business.* Strangers who come into a city must
either show that they are provided with means of support, or
that they can procure employment, otherwise they are at once
expelled. In return for this privilege of exemption from much
competition, the merchant or tradesman pays a tax of no tri
fling amount, bearing the candid designation of earnings or
income-tax. t In this manner the whole industrial class in
Austria, being in some measure dependent on the govern
ment, which possesses the power to introduce a system of com
petition at will, are not dissatisfied with a state of things
which assures to it a certain competence ; and thus, apparent
ly on easy terms, their support is gained for the present sys
tem.}: Patronage of the Church.
3. Another source of influence to the government arises
from the extensive patronage of the Church. The superior
dignities are stated to consist, including those in Hungary, of
twelve Catholic archbishoprics, fifty-nine Catholic bishoprics,
* Quarterly Review. t Erwerb. Steuer.
t It does not seem that any exact compact exists between the trading classes
and the state, as to the number of privileged individuals in every branch; the
butchers, however, form an exception, their number being fixed. This immuni
ty is purchased by an extra tax, called the Slaughtering tax.

80 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
one hundred and fifty-one abbots and deans, with domains
and revenues, beside an innumerable host of canons, deacons,
archdeacons, and heads of convents. The monasteries have
been reduced to the number sufficient for the service of the
churches and the care of education ; but, still the number of
the clergy is immense, as may be inferred from the above
enumeration of the hierarchy : in addition to which, the Uni
ted Greek Church has five bishoprics ; the Armenian Catho
lics, one archbishopric ; the Schismatic Greeks, one archbish
opric and ten bishops, besides inferior dignities, all of which
(together with the nomination of all parish cures) are either
presented by the crown or under its influence. These charges
are also well provided for. The revenue of the Archbishop of
Gran, primate of Hungary, is generally computed at one mill
ion of florins. The archbishoprics of Prague, Olmiitz, and
Vienna are proportionably well endowed ; and, indeed, the
revenues of the Church, including the tithes, when compared
with the price of necessaries in so productive a land, may be
said to exceed in amount those of the clergy in any of the
great states of Europe.*
The remainder of the population, who are neither directly
or indirectly under the influence of the government, are op
erated upon and kept in check by the following repressive
measures of the government. Education.
1. The Emperor Francis, at the Congress of Laybach, in an
address to the professors of a public seminary, enjoined them
to be careful not to teach their pupils too much ; he did not
want learned or scientific men, but obedient subjects ;t and
the various scholastic institutions are so regulated as to teach
the several classes what is necessary for their respective call
ings, and, at the same time, to inculcate the precepts of religion
and the duties of morality. With this view, the general super
vision of the schools is vested in the clergy.
* For table of bishops and archbishops, also monasteries, see Appendix, note 2.
t " Leading principles of education to consist in guarding the mind against the
danger of entertaining political errors, instead of encouraging its full development
by free exercise of the faculties and well-regulated self-dependence."

Chap. IL] Education. Q\
Austria has exhibited a certain degree of determination and
vigor in her plans of national education, which is the more re
markable when we take into consideration the difficulty she
must have met with in organizing a scheme embracing the
whole of her vast empire, with its variety in language, relig
ion, and nationalities.
Education is under the direction of the Hof-Studien Com
mission in Vienna, i. e., a commission to superintend studies
appointed for the empire, whose duty it is to examine and re
port on every point connected with instruction, profane or sa
cred, civil or military ; but they have no legislative authority
of any kind, and even the substitution of one grammar for
another can not be effected without the sanction of an impe
rial edict.* Education is gratuitous, but compulsory : it is
not left to the option of parents whether they will or will not
have their children instructed ; they are compelled to send
them, when of a certain age, to the national school of their
parish. Besides, the disadvantages under which the unedu
cated labor are too many, and the laws too strictly enforced
against them, even in the most distant country districts, to
permit of general ignorance.! All children, both males and
females, from the ages of five to thirteen, come under what is
called the school age ; and, as the description of education
they are to receive is strictly defined, all, 'from the child of the
simple peasant to that of the highest university professor, must
pursue the path of instruction in the manner marked out by
the state.
Public instruction is divided into the popular or national,
the intermediate, and the superior. The popular consists of
that afforded at the elementary national schools (Trivial-Schu-
len), the superior primary schools (Haupt-Schulen), and the
(Wiederholungs-Schulen) repetition schools, for persons above
the age of twelve years, analogous to the Ecoles de perfectionne
ment in France. Between this last and the next class there
are a number of very admirably appointed seminaries, for the
* Thompson's Austria.
t Not only does neglect operate as a perpetual disqualification for employ
ment, public or private, but the parish priest is forbidden to marry any not pro
vided with a certificate of education. — Quarterly Review, 1839.
F

82 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
purpose of teaching the useful arts, and of giving special in
struction in particular trades, being the schools of utility (Real-
Schulen). The intermediate instruction is acquired in the
gymnasiums, lyceums, and faculties or academies of different
kinds, and the superior education is that attained in the uni
versities* All the elementary and primary schools are under the direc
tion and control of the clergy, the masters being the church
wardens of the parish. Besides these primary schools, gym
nasiums, and lyceums, there are nine universities, normal
schools for the education of teachers, and one establishment
unique of its kind and extraordinarily emblematical of the
character of the government. It is the Theresanium, a college
founded by the empress whose name it bears, for the purpose
of affording the youth of the aristocracy an education fitting
them for the posts of employes and of general officers through
out the empire. The effects of this are manifold. All the
scholars in the institution must be of the rank of von or baron,
at the least, and, as the great majority of the pupils are pen
sioners on the government, which thus provides for a number
of the children of poorer nobles, it links the high-born with
the state, and creates a bond of union, which it is the interest
of both parties to preserve. By keeping these young men dis
tinct and separate from the lyceums and universities, it assists
to preserve that line of demarcation between the noble and the
class below him, which it has ever (with the exception of Jo
seph the Second's reign) been the policy of Austria to maintain.
It affords to the students an early diplomatic education, and
furnishes to the state a sufficiency of men versed in the theory
of Austrian politics, to fill every office of emolument and trust
under the crown ; thus precluding the middle classes from ris
ing to a share, however humble, in the administration of af
fairs. When the effects of this system are considered, it of
fers some clew to the means by which this vast empire has not
only been preserved in tranquillity, but also in civil and polit
ical ignorance for so long a period, while the nations which
surround it have labored under convulsions that have either

Thompson's Austria.

Chap. IL] Education. 83
threatened, or ended in, revolution, long before even a silent
and unnoticed undercurrent was setting in that direction in
Austria.* In fact, throughout all the institutions of the Austrian em
pire, the system of studies prescribed by the state is in perfect
keeping with its principles of government, acting always on the
defensive, and jealous lest any thing should intrude itself op
posed to the prerogatives of the civil authority, the laws of the
country, or the rights of the sovereign. With respect to in
struction in ecclesiastical law, the broadest distinction is made
between the spiritual and temporal authorities, and that all
controversies as to the independence of the temporal over the
spiritual power, as to the immunities belonging to the ecclesi
astical order, as to the rights of the sovereign to decree laws
of mortmain, and to fix the age of vows, etc., are forbidden;
such discussions belonging, it is alleged, properly to former
ages, and not to the present time.
This excuse is a vail thrown over the governing principle of
the empire, a vain attempt to conceal its jealous fear of having
its principles touched upon, or an inquiry made into its rights.
But, clearly as this vail is seen through, it shrouds the empire
like a pall, which, corpse-like, rests beneath it.t
The University of Vienna, and, indeed, those of Austria gen
erally, are held in little estimation in other parts of Europe.t
But few professors of distinction, or works of celebrity, have
thrown a lustre over them. A reference to the book catalogues
of the Leipsic Easter fairs will present a state of facts which
require no comment, that, in the year 1839, out of three thou
sand one hundred and twenty-seven German publications, only
one hundred and eighty were Austrian. § Such a state of facts
is clearly attributable, not to the character of the country it
self, but to the spirit of the government, which fetters the ex
ertion of the human intellect, by coercing its energies, and by
its Procrustean policy of attempting to mold every capacity
after the same model. The system of education in Austria is
unique in the history of mankind. The government monopo-

* Thompson's Austria. + l0id-
X For the number of universities, schools, etc., see Appendix, note 3.
$ Quarterly Review, 1839.

84 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
lizes the charge ; no one dares to instruct youth who has not
received an authorization to that effect; the books employed
must be those written by agents appointed to the task, and
every word that falls from a professor's mouth is a subject of
inquiry and interest for the council of state.
Censorship.
2. The next restrictive measure of the government is the
Censorship. Soon after the invention of printing, when the authority of
the Church had been assailed, and was tottering under the
load of its abuses, the popes of Rome resorted to the expedient
of establishing this institution, in order to prevent the diffu
sion of knowledge, so injurious to the course which they were
pursuing. They endeavored, therefore, to prohibit, first, the
reading ; and, secondly, the printing of certain literary works.
They enforced the ancient decrees of the Church against the
reading of heretical books, and introduced an ecclesiastical
superintendency of the press in 1479 and 1496, which was
more completely established by a bull of Leo the Tenth in
1515. As the papal decree could not be carried into effect in
all countries, on account of the Reformation, the Council of
Trent, in 1546, not only renewed the censorship, but prepared
an index of books,* which nobody was to read under penalty
of the censure of the Church. The censorship was soon after
adopted by secular authority, particularly by the German Diet,
from 1541 to 1577. At the peace of Westphalia, 1648, the
institution was further not only sustained and sanctioned, but
the emperors, in their elective capitulations, promised to watch
strictly over the fulfillment of this Article. t In the capitula
tions of the Emperor Leopold the Second of Austria, in 1790,
and of Francis the Second, it was further added (Article VI.,
§ 8), " that no work should be printed which could not be rec
onciled with the hyperbolical books of both Catholics and Prot
estants, and with good morals, or which might produce the
ruin of the existing Constitution or the disturbance of pub
lic peace." Since then the censorship of the press has been
* Index librorum prohibitorum. t Americana Encyclopedia.

Chap. IL] Censorship. 85
upheld in all the nations of Europe (except England, where
it was abolished in 1694), as one of the most important ma
chines of government.*
In accordance with the decrees of the Carlsbad Congress,
1819, and the resolutions of the German Diet sustaining them,
September 20, 1819, the censorship in all the states of the
German Confederation became one of the conditions of union.
In Vienna twelve censors are established, to some of whom
every book published within the empire, whether original or
reprinted, every article which appears in the newspapers, even
to an advertisement, must be submitted. The censor having
received the manuscript, exercises his own taste and judgment
in erasure or alteration of such passages as he disapproves ;
and being generally some phlegmatic personage, well imbued
with the genius of the government, one great object of his care
is to exclude all expressions which might appeal to the imag
ination or the passions of the reader. It is not permitted even
to elucidate the actually-established political system, the dread
ed discovery of whose weakness is carefully guarded against
by purging the language of common usage from all such dan
gerous words and expressions as " popular rights," " popular
opinion," "public spirit," and "nationality."
Their corrections are sometimes exceedingly ludicrous, as
appears from the following example of a work treating of con
flicts quite unconnected with the Austrian empire, where the
expression "heroic champions" was cut down to " brave sol
diers ;" and " a band of youthful heroes, who flocked around
the glorious standard of their country," became " a consider
able number of young men who voluntarily enlisted them
selves for the public service."! The effect of this institution
upon the literature of Austria has been already hinted at.
Chilled by the restrictions of the censorship, more vigorous
and stringent than in any other of the German states, in fact,
than in any other state of Europe except Russia, the litera
ture of Austria possesses no character, and hardly a name.
An Academy of Sciences, such as exists in all the other capi
tals of Eui->pe, uniting men remarkable for their capacity and

* Americans Encyclopedia. t Turabull's Austria.

86 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
merit, and stimulating by encouragement their emulation, was
never attempted in Vienna before the year 1847, and then was
likely to prove a failure, because, notwithstanding all the ex
ertions of Baron von Hammer Purgstall, its most zealous as
well as distinguished supporter, they were unable to procure
for their efforts an exemption from the strictures of the cen
sors. If the refining process was limited in its operations,
and works of an exceptionable character alone excluded from
circulation, an excuse might readily be found for the main
tenance of the system ; but when a tyrannical and meddling
authority is exercised, descending even to puerilities, genius
revolts from the rule, and, rather than be controlled by official
ignorance, narrow-minded prejudice and intolerance, it refrains
from the exercise of its powers, and sinks into apathy.
Espionage.
3. The next repressive measure of the government is through
the system of espionage.
The institution of a secret police — if we do not consider the
informers which every tyrant, from the earliest ages, probably,
has had — may be said to have originated in France, under the
Marquis d'Argenson, the lieutenant of police from 1697 to
1718, during the reign of Louis the Fourteenth. The pre
vailing licentiousness of those times had occasioned innumer
able outrages, and D'Argenson, called, by his contemporaries,
Rhadamanthus, hunted out crime in its deepest recesses, and
brought it to light, whatever was the rank of the offender.
The Austrian government, doubtless, copied a good deal from
the French in this respect, as Lenoire, the chief of the police
of Paris from 1774 to 1784, at the request of the Empress Ma
ria Theresa, wrote a work for her on the subject of police reg
ulations.* The secret police consists of a body of people of
all classes, needy men and women of rank, mistresses, &c,
down to the waiters in coffee-houses, and the lowest visitors
of taverns and brothels, who report whatever they hear against
the government.t The deplorable consequences of an institu-

* Detail stir quelques etablissmens de la ville de Paris, demande par &'¦ M. I. Ic
reine de Hongrie. + Americana Encyclopedia.

Chap. 1 1.] Espionage. 87
tion so destructive to all confidence and sense of security are ob
vious, especially when we consider that these spies are the most
worthless part of the community, and who may often invent
stories to make themselves important, or serve some diabolical
end. On the reports of such miscreants men's lives, liberty,
and property depend; and the charges being kept secret, no
means are afforded of refuting them. The more absolute a
government is, and the more it strives to be the sole moving
and regulating principle of society, to the destruction of indi
vidual freedom, the more will the police be developed ; while,
on the other hand, the freer a country is, and the more it fol
lows the principle that every thing which can possibly be left
to take care of itself should be so left, the more strictly is the
police confined to mere matters of municipal regulation. In
free countries, like the United States, the place of a secret po
lice is, in a great measure, supplied by public opinion and the
liberty of the press ; and it is curious to observe how the most
secret transactions or correspondence will, by degrees, come to
light. In fact, a politician needs to be quite as much on his
guard in the statements which he makes as in absolute gov
ernments, since the danger of their reaching the press is as
great as that of their detection by the secret police.* In no
country of Europe — without, perhaps, it be Russia — is the se
cret police more thoroughly organized, and its inquisition more
vexatious and oppressive, than in the Austrian empire. Be
sides the regular corps of spies, who have no other occupation
or means of subsistence, almost every other man you meet
with is under the pay of the police — the man with whom you
transact business in the city, the servants who attend upon
your wants at home, and often even the companion who en
joys your hospitality, and to whom you confide your inmost
thoughts, leaves you, and repairs to the police office to report
your unguarded expressions.
The great object, however, of the system of espionage is
not so much the information the spies are enabled to collect,
which is generally not worth the cost of collection, but it is
to keep down public opinion — to exercise a terrorism over the

* Americana Encyclopedia.

88 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
people, and thus effectually stifle the utterance of any liberal,
and consequently deemed injurious sentiments.
It is well known that in no city of Europe, perhaps, is so
ciety so divided into little cliques as in Vienna ; and this had
its origin in the persecutions of the police, which forced a great
portion of the community to withdraw altogether from general
social intercourse, and to restrict its communications exclu
sively to its own set and connections ; and even there, as well
as elsewhere, the interchange of ideas was limited to such top
ics as the theatre, the fashions, and the light literature of the
day. But these restrictions upon intercourse and conversation
were among the least of the evils of this system.
To avoid the dungeons of Spielburg for life, there existed
no other safeguard than either the maintenance of the most
profound silence on all political and social questions, or the ex
ercise of subserviency to the hypocritical extent of acquiescing
in or extolling whatever was permitted to be seen, said, and
believed by the community, or ordered to be received with
demonstrations of satisfaction. In establishing the funda
mental principle that the people should exercise no opinion,
the natural consequence that they would be reduced to the
point of possessing no temperament at all was lost sight of.
The worldly direction given to the desires of the whole com
munity, its estrangement from all intellectual pursuits, and
its narrow-mindedness, founded on the most selfish struggles
after money and possessions, produced by degrees so powerful
an influence on the moral feelings, as well as on the social hab
its of the nation, that the grossest materialism and the most
unblushing sensuality predominated universally.* The nat
ural consequence of this state of things is easily foreseen ; for
man, consisting both of body and soul, feels as much the ne
cessities of one as the other. As the existing systems render
ed nugatory all attempts to satisfy the higher aspirations of
his nature, his whole being became absorbed in the acquisition
of wealth and substance, and the enjoyment of sensual indul
gences ; and, being blunted to all feelings of intellectual refine
ment, he sunk into a state of demoralization and effeminacy.t
" Thompson's Austria. t Ibid.

Chap. IL] Examination of Letters. 89
An institution ever open to receive impeachments, but
closed to all vindication, which encourages information against
the simplest expressions of opinion and the slightest objections
of a political tendency, which even intrudes into the most in
significant domestic and social concerns, affords unbounded
scope for the indulgence of hatred, revenge, and defamation ;
and, letting loose the evil passions of bad and depraved spirits,
places in their hands weapons more dangerous to the well-
disposed than the sword itself. By offering facilities to the
evil to blast with a lie the most valuable rights of man — his
liberty, honor, and good name — and thus to ruin the prosper
ity of one family, and destroy the happiness of others, the
whole foundation of public morality is undermined, and the
very institutions which should be its support and protection,
become the vehicles of terror and dismay.
Nor did this institution confine itself to the capital, or even
the cities, but in its ramifications it extended throughout the
empire, and, Briareus-like, held it all in its vast embrace.
Examination of Letters.
4. Another check of the government upon the acts and con
duct of the people consists in the examination of all the let
ters which pass through the Austrian post-offices.
The people of Austria have long been obliged to submit in
silence to this heartless invasion of the sanctity of private
correspondence. Even as early as the Smalkaldian war, this
" devilish art," as the historian* terms it, was introduced into
Germany by Spaniards and Jesuits.
The first regular post established in Central Europe, that
of the " Thurn and Taxis," was distinguished by such a sys
tem of espionage. The knowledge of the affairs of other gov
ernments, which the examination of the correspondence be
tween princes and generals afforded, most naturally suggested
the importance of such an engine in matters of internal police ;
and in the Flemish intrigues and the Milan conspiracies, in
the time of Joseph the Second, it already appeared in full and
successful operation. * Hormayer, Franz und Metternich.

90 Historical Introduction. [Book 1.
The " Thurn and Taxis" post, which had its central bureau
at Vienna, was presided over, at first, by a "plenipotentiary
secret counselor ;" and under the reign of Joseph the Second,
was connected with the police of the city, and with the most
secret cabinet of the emperor, and its operations brought to
great perfection by his prime minister, Kaunitz.
Later, it was called the u Chiffre Cabinet," and had its bu
reau in the Imperial Palace, in that portion of the building
fronting the Joseph's Place, known as the " Stallburg." The
principal post in Vienna closed in the evening, most punctual
ly, at seven o'clock, and the letter-bags, apparently, started off;
but they were with great rapidity conveyed to the Chiffre Cab
inet, in the Stallburg.
Here, by the assistance of a large number of clerks (who,
composed of two sets, worked both night and day), the cor
respondence of embassadors, bankers, foreign agents, and any
letters calculated to excite suspicion, were quickly selected
from the mass, and, with great circumspection, opened, exam
ined, and copied — a proceeding which lasted usually until mid
night, but frequently until daylight, when the mail at length
started, in truth, upon its destination.
The lives of the officers and clerks in this department must
have been truly deplorable. Although well remunerated, they
were, indeed, but little better than state prisoners. They
were so strictly watched by the police, that the minutest mat
ters of private conduct and character were familiarly known.
How they lived, what they expended, where they went, who
visited them and their families ; in short, all that they said or
did, were matters with which the police was at all times per
fectly cognizant.
By the intense application necessary to the unraveling of
diplomatic ciphers, and which was carried on with great suc
cess, many of their principal adepts lost their minds. But the
most serious ills under which they labored, says the historian,
were the injuries to conscience in the commission of perjury
and forgery, which, in the course of their duties, they were
not unfrequently compelled to undergo. Hormayer, the able
historian of Austria, and for a long time keeper of the Impe
rial Archives at Vienna, after a quarrel with the Austrian offi-

Chap. IL] Examination of Letters. 91
cials, entered, in the same capacity, the service of Bavaria ; and
there, in his last works, written but a few years since, he ex
poses all the details of this iniquitous procedure ; which, but
for that circumstance, might have remained to this day undi-
vulged. A correspondence, he relates, was carried on for the space
of fourteen years, by the Chiffre Cabinet, with a person in Bo
hemia, whose letters had afforded grounds for suspecting his
loyalty. Assuming the name and imitating the handwriting
of his correspondent in Vienna, they pretended to approve his
designs, encouraged him to a full disclosure of his plans, as
well as accomplices, and when these were sufficiently divulged,
which it seems it took fourteen years to accomplish, the whole
party were immediately seized and committed for trial.
The letters were opened, and the seals instantly imitated
with a skill which defied detection.* The copies of all such
correspondence, whose importance warranted the labor neces
sary in transcribing them, were, by order of the Emperor Fran
cis, laid upon his table each day at seven o'clock, by which
hour he returned from the morning mass, and the perusal of
these documents, together with the reports of the secret police
upon the subject of the foreign embassadors and ministers,
their indulgences, expenses, connections, and transactions in
the city, and which were also presented at the same hour, con
stituted, it is said, by far the most agreeable portion of his
matinal exercises.!
What at first gave great importance to this proceeding — the
examination of the mails— was the extent of the system, that
it embraced the entire bounds of the German empire, and ex
tended even to the Baltic Sea and Ostend, limits within which
no state or family secrets could possibly remain sacred. By
it all the intrigues carried on in relation to the Spanish, Polish,
and Swedish crowns were fully disclosed ; but, owing to the
very importance and extent of these discoveries, they oould not
* The impression of the seal was first taken with wax, and then, by some
chemical process, this wax was immediately hardened, and constituted, in a mo
ment, another similar seal.
t A curious document appeared in the London papers in the fall of 1851. It
was the order of General Gergowski, imperial officer now in command of Venice,
in which he invites information respecting every officer under his command.

92 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
long remain concealed, and the correspondence between Rus
sia and Prussia, in regard to Poland, in 1772, coming to light
in this manner, led to the establishment of separate govern
ment mails and private couriers. To this day, no foreign em
bassador or minister in Vienna thinks for a moment of com
mitting his dispatches to an Austrian post, but private cou
riers take charge of and convey their entire correspondence.
But even these, as Hormayer discloses, can not be implicitly
relied on. The Prussian couriers, he relates, as early as the
reign of Joseph the Second, were bribed for life. At the first
post station near Pirna, upon the frontiers of Saxony and Aus
tria, from its retired position being a suitable location, a small
house was erected, and there a branch of the Vienna Chiffre
Cabinet was located. Upon the expected arrival of the Berlin
couriers, they, with their dispatches, were taken charge of by
these Austrian agents, conveyed in their own post-chaises, and
during the most rapid driving they always managed to take
full copies of all the important communications. In this way
they continued their journey together to the last post station
before Vienna (Langenzers Dorf), where the dispatch-bag was
returned to the courier, and he and the Austrian agents sep
arated, the one directing his way to the Prussian embassy, the
other to the Foreign Office in the Ballhaus Platz ; and, at the
same moment that Count Keller, the Prussian embassador, was
examining the original dispatches, Prince Kaunitz, imperial
prime minister, would be occupied in reading the copies.
Habitual Confession.
5. Still another check of the government upon the acts and
conduct of the people is supposed to arise through the confes
sion which the Catholic religion enjoins, and which, by the
Jesuitical portion of the priests (who have ever been the in
struments of state), especially in secrets of a political charac
ter, is not regarded as a sacred service. The introduction of
the Jesuits into Austria by the government is not only coeval
with the accession of the house of Habsburg to the throne,
but the most efficient support at all times afforded that class
by the state evinces the importance which has ever been at
tached to their services.
The mutual support of Church and Court has ever been re

Chap. IL] Standing Army. 93
garded as equally indispensable to both parties ; and while
the monarohs have never failed to put them forward on all oc
casions, the clergy, on their part, have not been remiss in faith
fully preaching and teaching the enjoined doctrines of non-
resistance and passive obedience. It is not, however, by
means of preaching and teaching alone that they have been
regarded so powerful an arm toward resisting the innovations
of the age, but it is especially by the powerful hold they have
over the community, through the practice of habitual confes
sion. Every true Catholic at stated periods, either weekly or
monthly, discloses most fully to his priest every crime or in
discretion of which he may have been guilty ; and although
in other countries, where the clergy are more independent of
the government than in Austria, such confidence may not be
betrayed ; yet, under the relations between Church and state
which exist in the imperial dominions, it would be taxing cre
dulity rather too heavily to suppose that any important dis
closure of a political character is not, by the Jesuits at least,
immediately conveyed to the ear of power.
Standing Army.
6. Another and most powerful check upon the acts and con
duct of the people, and by which all attempts against the au
thority of the government are immediately suppressed, is the
Standing Army.
All the disclosures, however important, obtained through
means of the system of espionage, the violation of the secrecy
of private correspondence, or that of habitual confession to
priests, would be of no avail, without an armed and govern
ment-supported soldiery to crush insurrection in the bud, and
suppress revolt wherever it may venture to raise its head. Aus
tria possesses an army which, under the peace establishment,
numbers five hundred and fifty thousand, and which was in
creased in 1848 to seven hundred and fifty thousand.*
A body of troops, in ordinary times, is quartered in every
capital and in every town in the empire, the number in each
* For rates of pay in the army, see Appendix, Note 4.

94 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
being regulated by the size and character of the population.
Infinite care, too, is taken in the disposition of these troops,
which is always made with reference to the different nation
alities. Agreeably to the "divide and conquer" principles of
Metternich, no troops were permitted to remain at home, or
in those provinces where they were enlisted and belonged,
but invariably transferred to another and more distant nation,
where they could not speak the language, had no sympathy
with the people, and where they were ready, at any moment,
to shoot them down with as little compunction as they would
a foreign enemy whom they had never before seen. Bohemi
ans, for instance, were quartered upon the Hungarians ; Hun
garians upon the Austrians ; Austrians upon the Poles ; Poles
upon the Italians ; and Italians upon the Croatians, &c.
Another most admirable arrangement for carrying out the
same principle, and strengthening the empire at the expense
of the provinces, consisted in the arrangement of the army,
and by which each nation of the empire was instructed only
in a single arm. The Bohemians, for example, were mostly
infantry ; the Hungarians, cavalry ; the Austrians, artillery ;
the Tyrolese, riflemen ; the Poles, lancers. The whole, there
fore, when united under imperial command, constituted a pow
erful and efficient force ; but divided, no province, in case of
revolt, was possessed of a complete and formidable army.
Since 1830, the attention of the sovereigns and cabinets of
Europe has been chiefly directed to military organizations, to
defenses, to fortifications. Millions of money, and the highest
orders of intellect in each country, have been devoted to ar
mies, their discipline, implements, and organization, and this
avowedly for the purpose of making the army serve as intern
al police as well as for external force.
Actuated by such principles, and aided by such measures,
the enormous mass of machinery which pervaded the empire,
and held in subjection the heterogeneous and discordant na
tions of which it was composed, was kept in continued and
successful operation.
Though the form of government was despotic, yet in admin
istration it was mild, and not personally oppressive. If there
was the hand of lead, there was, at least, the glove of silk to

Chap. IL] The Result. 95
cover it. The government took care that the mass of the peo
ple were possessed of all animal comforts and enjoyments ;
that they were provided with work when well, and taken care
of when sick ; that the price of amusements was by law made
so low that none need be deprived of their enjoyment ; while
the easy and happy temper of the people, and a long habit of
obedience and submission to constituted authority, rendered
them kindly disposed and easily governed.
But yet the people were far from being satisfied. Man
has intellectual as well as material wants, and the former
had always been totally disregarded. In fact, the principal
cause of complaint with the people was that the government
did too much for them, took too good care of them, provided
too solicitously for their visible and material welfare ; so that
when that government was overthrown, they were in the con
dition of helpless infants, totally unable to take care of them
selves. Prince- Metternich had forgotten, in his old age, that all
Europe had been, during the last quarter of a century, in a
state of progression, and that even in Austria, so still and stag
nant, it was necessary to keep some pace, if only in a German
jog-trot, with the rapid progress of other countries. Twenty
years ago, Vienna was ten or twelve days' journey from Paris,
and fifteen or sixteen days' journey from London. Now the
Austrian capital may be reached in three or four days from
either, and for every single traveler in 1830, from France or
England, there are now fifty and a hundred pouring into the
Leopold Stadt and the Stephen's Platz.
Travelers propagate ideas and notions as quickly, and pos
sibly more successfully than newspapers. Although the news
papers in Vienna, before the Revolution, did not exceed the
three which existed twenty years previous, still the great lines
of German rail-roads had been completed, and these had done
more to open the minds and awaken the intelligence of this
Bceotia of Germany. During the latter part of Prince Metter
nich's administration, too, the various provinces of the empire,
which had neither been drawn together by closer ties to the
hereditary states, after the policy of Joseph, nor gratified by
local administrations and reforms in accordance with their

96 Historical Introduction. [Book I.
usages, tneir language, and their laws, began to exhibit all the
national tendencies which he labored so strenuously to extir
pate or control ; and the Magyar, the Czeck, the Pole, and the
Lombard spoke in their several tongues the same language of
independence. To the prince, whose long experience, vigilant sagacity, and
native instinct enabled him to pierce below the surface of so
ciety, and discern all that was feeble in its seeming strength ;
all that was unreal in its superficial prosperity ; all that was
boiling beneath its smooth tranquillity, a suspicion of the truth
did not fail to present itself. Still, he struggled on. For a
while he trusted that the deluge of democracy, which he had
long foreseen, could be stayed during the term of his natural
life ; but latterly even this hope deserted him.
In the winter of 1848, his daughter remarked to a member
of the diplomatic corps, at the court of Vienna, that her father
had " never seen, during the long period of his public career,
so dark a future, such sombre clouds," as then lowered over
the political horizon. And, still later, the prince himself said,
to a Prussian diplomatist,* "I am no prophet, and I know not
what will happen ; but I am an old practitioner, and I know
how to discriminate between curable and fatal diseases. This
one is fatal ; here we hold as long as we can ; but I despair
of the issue."
Such was the condition of Europe in general, and of the
Austrian empire in particular, when the French Revolution of
1848 fell like a bomb amid the states and kingdoms of the
Continent ; and, like reluctant debtors threatened with legal
terrors, the various monarchs hastened to pay their subjects
the constitutions which they owed them.
* M. von Usedom.

mra-

BOOK II.
CHAPTER I.
THE REVOLUTION IN VIENNA ON THE THIRTEENTH OF MARCH, 1848.— THE TRI
UMPH OF THE PEOPLE, AND FALL OF METTERNICH.— SUBSEQUENT ESCAPE
OF THE EMPEROR FROM VIENNA, AND REIGN OF TERROR WHICH FOLLOWED.
The commencement of the year 1848 was tranquil through
out Europe ; and the European statesmen, particularly those
of England, thought less of revolution than of projects of uni
versal peace ; and it was even contemplated that the several
powers of the Continent should disband the vast armies gath
ered around their respective thrones, and convert their swords
into plowshares. Yet, scarcely six weeks afterward, the dis
satisfaction which had long pervaded France began to assume
a threatening aspect.
Throughout the realm of Louis Philippe there was a suspi
cion abroad, which, though of slow growth, had ripened to a
conviction that the king was false to the people ; that a sys
tem of enormous corruption and extravagance was undermin
ing the integrity of the country and absorbing its finances ;
that the interests of France, at home and abroad, were sacri
ficed to those of the Orleans dynasty ; that a disguised, but
not less real despotism, occupied the throne ; indeed, that ev
ery advantage which had been gained by two revolutions was
in danger of being repudiated ; and that all this was not an
accidental or an evanescent state of things, but the result of a
policy deeply planned and relentlessly pursued — the develop
ment of an elaborate system, which had been matured even
before its author was raised to the position whence it was to
be put in practice.* The distrust of the king was almost uni
versal. Not a session of the Chambers had taken place for fifteen
years without a demand for electoral reform ; yet reform was
* North British Review, 1848.
G

98 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
far from being a popular desire until after the elections of 1846.
At that election the Guizot ministry obtained an immense
majority, as it was believed, by means of every kind of cor
ruption and undue influence. Among its supporters were
more than half a million of functionaries, most of whom were
liable to removal by the will of a body of little more than four
hundred and fifty deputies (three hundred of whom were them
selves functionaries), and which did not represent the opinions
and feelings of the people. This gave to the reform movement
a vitality and energy which it had never before possessed.
In the stormy session of 1847, distinct and specific charges
of corruption were made against the ministry. The trial of
M. Teste and General Cubieres showed, at least, that there
was good reason for inquiry ; and the subsequent affair of M.
Pettit, when the scandal was carried on within the cabinet of
the incorruptible Guizot himself, has since indicated that the
suspicions then existing were not wholly without foundation.
The ministry refused any inquiry whatever. Trusting to its
numerical strength, it took what may be called a vote of con
fidence ; and, a great majority having declared themselves sat
isfied with their conduct, the ministry considered their triumph
complete. This ill-advised step produced a disastrous effect
upon the country. If the ministry, it was said, succeeded in
packing the Chamber by corruption, who could expect that the
corrupted would be otherwise than satisfied with the corrupt
ers ? The result was, that, instead of regaining the confidence
of the nation in themselves, they impaired the confidence of
the nation in the Constitution ; for if, under it, such things
could exist, men would reason that the instrument itself must
be defective, as "the tree is known by its fruits."
The Constitution, however, they were still unwilling to at
tack. In electoral reform they continued to place great hope.
To promote it, the Opposition resolved to appeal from the Cham
ber to the country.* Agitation was to be their weapon; and
this was to be carried on through a series of banquets. Several
banquets were held, in various parts of the kingdom ; but at
length they were forbidden by the government. The Opposi-
* North British Review, 1848.

Chap. I.] Revolutionary Movements. 99
tion disregarded the interdiction ; and, in the attempt to sup
press the one proposed to be given by the electors of the twelfth
arrondissement of Paris, on the 20th of February, the Revolu
tion commenced.*
Then followed the struggles between the populace and the
troops ; the attack by the mob on the Chamber of Deputies ;
the fatal fire in front of the hotel of Foreign Affairs ; the con
struction of barricades ; the defection of the National Guard
and the line ; the abdication of Louis Philippe ; the establish
ment of a provisional government ; and the declaration of a
republic. The Provisional Government was proclaimed at Paris on the
24th of February. Scarcely had the French provinces accept
ed the revolution, when revolutionary movements were com
menced throughout the southwestern states of Germany. On
the 28th of February, a public meeting at Stuttgardt resolved
to petition the King of Wurtemberg to aid in promoting the
representation of all his German people in the Frankfort Diet,
and for the emancipation of the press throughout Germany.
A meeting of the members of the Chamber of Deputies, held
simultaneously, expressed sympathy with this petition. A few
days later, a liberal ministry was appointed, and a liberal en
voy to the Frankfort Diet named to replace the conservative
who had filled that office. On the same day, a similar motion
was made in the Darmstadt Chamber of Deputies by Henry
von Gagern ; and on the following day, a large public meeting,
held in Mayence, under the eyes of the Austrian and Prussian
garrison, addressed a petition to the Darmstadt government
embodying the sense of Von Gagern's motion.!
On the same day — the 29th — a deputation waited on the
Grand Duke of Baden at Carlsruhe, and demanded liberty of
the press, a burgher guard, and trial by jury. The grand
duke acceded to their demands, and summoned M. Welcher,
the leader of the constitutional opposition, to his council.^ On
the 1st of March similar scenes were witnessed at Hanau,
where the Elector of Hesse-Cassel followed the example of the
grand duke. On the 3d, Cologne, in the Rhenish provinces ;
* M. Odillon Barrot's speech, and reply of Duchatel.
t North British Review, 1848. ; Quarterly Review, 1848.

100 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
on the 4th, Wiesbaden, in Nassau, and Frankfort ; on the 5th,
Dusseldorf, made similar demonstrations. On the 6th, a rev
olution took place at Munich ; and Saxony and Saxe-Weimar
followed in the train. The same demands were every where
made for the abolition of the laws of 1819 and 1832 against
the press. In the mean time, the Diet at Frankfort attempted
to keep in advance of the movement. On the 3d, it resolved
to abandon the idea of a uniform censorship of the press for
all Germany, and to allow the several states to exercise a dis
cretionary power, subject to certain guarantees. The torrent,
however, moved on with an impetus that the Diet could neither
check nor overtake. The citizens of Frankfort assembled on
the 4th, and demanded the repeal of all exceptional laws since
1819 ; unconditional liberty of the press ; trial by jury ; a
burgher guard ; a general German Parliament, etc. At Leip
sic, a public meeting of citizens, held on the 1st of March, pe
titioned the King of Saxony to lend his aid in promoting the
representation of the German people in the Diet, and the es
tablishment of the liberty of the press throughout Germany.*
The next day the same measure was adopted by the univers
ity. The king attempted to evade the delegates who present
ed the petition by fair words, but yielded at last to renewed
representations, sustained by petitions from various Saxon
towns and villages.
Bavaria did not remain inactive ; simultaneous meetings,
held in Munich and Nuremberg on the 3d of March, adopted
the usual petitions for representation in the Diet of the Con
federation, and for liberty of the press. On the 7th, a royal
proclamation was issued, pledging the king to use his utmost
efforts for the accomplishment of these objects. On the 21st,
the king abdicated in favor of his son. At Brunswick the
movement began on the 5th of March, and in Hanover a few
days later.
By the middle of March all the secondary German powers,
Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Baden, the Hesses, ducal and electoral,
Saxony, Brunswick, and Hanover, had yielded to the popular
will. The movement was equally triumphant in the smaller
* North British Review, 1848.

Chap. I.] Condition of Austria. 101
states. The Dukes of Weimar and Gotha surrendered uncon
ditionally on the 8th of March, and Henry, the seventy-second
of Reuss, on the 16th.
Meanwhile, the Austrian empire was not tranquil ;* in the
north, Galicia, since the Polish revolt of 1846, and the political
extinction of Cracow, had been kept in subjection only by the
strong arm of military power. In the east, Hungary was mak
ing violent efforts to regain the many rights assured to her by
her Constitution, but of which the Austrian rule had gradually
deprived her ; and in the south, the Italian provinces at that
moment presented by far the most threatening aspect in their
desperate struggles for independence. The German provinces
of the empire were at this period calm ; and little apprehen
sion was entertained that their peace would be disturbed,
owing to the fact that the people, as it was thought, were the
most tame, material, and anti-revolutionary in Europe. Their
immobility had been proved on so many occasions during the
last half century, that if an intelligent observer were asked to
point out a European capital where there was the least prospect
of disturbance or revolution, he would confidently have desig
nated Vienna. The inhabitants, appreciating the value and
uses of money not less than their continental neighbors, were
passive and immovable under the great monetary revolution
of 1811, when, by an imperial decree, in a moment the Schuld-
scheine, or government notes, were reduced two fifths in value. t
Yet a measure inflicting ruin on thousands was neither resist
ed nor complained of by the burghers of Vienna, but was sub
mitted to almost as cheerfully as if it brought " healing on its
wings." Revolutions in other countries seemed, eighteen years pre
vious, to produce as little effect on the inhabitants of the Kai-
serstadt as this disastrous interference with their domestic cur
rency. The French Revolution of 1830, although it profound
ly agitated sections of Northern and Southern Germany, fell
altogether without effect on Vienna. Not a citizen was taint
ed with French revolutionary principles, not a student looked
otherwise than with disrelish on the tricolor. Nor was this
* Metternich had just arrived at the conviction of Louis the Sixteenth, that he
must have his States-General. t Galignani's Messenger.

102 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
very wonderful. The tradesmen and inhabitants of Austria
were, in comparison with other European countries, neither
highly taxed nor grievously oppressed, and no change was
deemed practicable as long as the present incumbents held the
reins of government.
The first intelhgence of the new revolutionary movement in
France came upon Vienna like a thunder-bolt from a clear sky,
and caused a shock wliich vibrated through every nerve of her
pohtical system. The public funds, the unfailing barometer
of the pubhc weal, immediately fell thirty per cent. The im
perial family, panic-stricken by the tempest which threatened,
were closeted in deep consultation ; while the people, collected
in groups throughout the streets, in the cafes, and reading-
rooms, expressed themselves with a freedom and an earnest
ness altogether foreign to the habits of the calm and phleg
matic Germans. In the most public manner the people of
Vienna sympathized with the revolutionists of Paris, loudly
complaining of their own oppressions, and even, against their
own interests, sustaining these opinions by acts, as in the case
of the unanimous refusal of the medical students of the uni
versity to accept the situations of surgeons in the Austrian
army, wliich, under other circumstances, they would have been
so anxious to obtain. The authors and publishers had previ
ously addressed a petition to the government for a modifica
tion of the censorship. This petition was unanswered and dis
regarded, and the petitioners felt themselves aggrieved by such
an exhibition of ministerial haughtiness, as it was known that
the emperor, from his kindness of heart, always felt inclined
to gratify the wishes of his people. At the same time, among
the trading and working classes, the demand for a more lib
eral government had become daily more vehement. At the
meeting of the royal family and imperial cabinet alluded to, it
was reported that all its members, with the exception of the
Archduke Louis and Prince Metternich, were in favor of mak
ing immediate concessions to the people, as the only means of
retaining the provinces, if not of preserving the throne. The
Archduke Louis, uncle of the emperor, advanced in years, and
still more antiquated in his opinions and policy, is said to have
declared that, so long as he retained his situation in the cabi-

Chap. I.] Consternation of the Cabinet. 103
net, he would administer the government agreeably to the prin
ciples of his brother, the late Emperor Francis, by whom he
was originally invested with the charge, and who, on his death
bed, had exacted of him a promise to this effect ; but he add
ed that, as his views were not in accordance with those of the
other members of the imperial family, he would willingly re
sign his situation in the cabinet, and thus present no obstacle
to the adoption of an opposite course. Prince Metternich, it is
also said, declared his willingness to withdraw, but, not being
able to dispense with his services, the imperial family and cab
inet would not listen to his proposal. He, therefore, consented
to retain his post, on condition of being, as hitherto, unob
structed in his administration of the government. Notwith
standing the number and skill of his spies, Prince Metternich
was not at this time aware of the precise tone of public feel
ing in Vienna, but formed an erroneous opinion of it from the
partial and sycophantic reports of his flatterers ; or, if he was
aware of what was actually transpiring in the city, he felt so
confident in his own power, as to treat the development with
contemptuous indifference.* That he foresaw the storm which
threatened is evident, not only from the expression attributed
to him, but from the frequent meetings of the cabinet and the
anxious concern therein manifested. But how a man possessed
of the superior intelligence, unexampled experience, and re
markable foresight for which the prince is so justly celebrated,
should have taken no measures whatever to avoid or to meet
the threatened catastrophe, is almost incomprehensible, and
can only be accounted for, like the fall of Louis Philippe, on
the ground of an overweening self-confidence. Had he, but a
few months, or even a few weeks earlier, made some conces
sions to the people, they would have been content with much
less than they now demanded, and he would have held in his
own hands the control over them. The empire would then
have been saved from danger, and he would have lived and
died in honor in his own land, instead of being driven from it
in disgrace in his declining years, and after half a century's
unremitting labor in its service.
* If he foresaw, why did he not guard against the catastrophe ? See book i.,
chapter ii.

104 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
The meeting of the Landstande, or Diet of Lower Austria,
was fixed for the 13th of March. Among different classes of
the people, petitions had been prepared asking for reforms,
which it was designed to present, through the Stande, to the
throne. The liberal character of the Land-marshal, or Pres
ident of the Stande, Count Monticuculli, encouraged the hope
that these movements would not be fruitless.
Especial activity in these preparatory measures was man
ifested by the Politische Juridishe Lese Verein, a reading-
club, composed of lawyers and others friendly to liberal prin
ciples ; and among them were the students of the university,
who, like their brethren in other parts of Germany, were
thoroughly inspired by the spirit of progress. On the 12th,
at a meeting in the university, it was resolved to present, on
the next day, to the Stande, a petition prepared by one of the
professors,* humbly soliciting an extension of political free
dom, and in which the students exhibited a degree of bold
ness and energy which struck great terror to the hearts of
their more prudent and timid instructors. Accordingly, on
the following day, the 13th of March, between ten and eleven
o'clock in the morning, the procession of students, headed by
two professors, left the university and proceeded toward the
Landhaus, in the Herr eng asse, where were held the meet
ings of the Stande, the body to whom they designed to present
their petition. Vienna had been engrossed with the subject for
some days previous, and all were anxious to witness the re
sult of so extraordinary and bold a proceeding : many laughed
at it, and all considered its failure certain. A large number
of the students, fearing that their names would be inscribed
in the " black book," refused to join the procession, which
was mainly composed of the more reckless portions, and pre
sented a novel sight for Vienna as it moved along the streets,
shouting for liberty, and terrifying the assembled crowds
through which it passed. Having assembled in the court ot
the Landhaus, and in front of the building, many of the stu
dents, raised upon the shoulders of their brethren, or mount
ing the winter covering of the fountain in the centre of the
* Professor Hye.

Chap. L] Movement of the Students. 105
court, which they used as a rostrum, and, pale with terror at
their own daring, addressed short but significant speeches to
the crowd, while the members of the Stande collected to re
ceive them.* At an early hour the whole of the Herrengasse
and the neighboring streets were filled with the populace.
The crowd continued to increase ; the shops were closed ; and
the affair began to assume a serious aspect, when the Arch
duke Albert! thought proper to ride through the Herrengasse,
where he was received with acclamations. He urged the
people to disperse, assuring them that their wishes should be
taken into consideration ; but they insisted on remaining un
til the result of their application to the emperor had been as
certained. His attempts at persuasion proved fruitless with
the people, who by this time began to relish an excitement
hitherto unknown in Vienna. The city gates were ordered to
be closed, and the military called out. By this time, the Land-
marshal having made his appearance, a deputation of the stu
dents advanced into the great saloon to present their petition.
Not meeting with the favorable reception which they had an
ticipated, and thinking their personal liberty endangered, they
raised the windows and cried out to their comrades in the
yard below that they had been " entrapped in a snare." With
a furious cry the young men rushed forward to the relief of their
friends, demolishing the doors and windows which obstructed
their progress ; the excitement communicated itself to the
crowd in the street, and the confusion and disorder became so
great as to justify, in the eyes of the Archduke Albert, the
intervention of the military. A company of grenadiers was
then marched to the scene, when the archduke peremptorily
ordered the people to disperse ; but, being disobeyed, he di
rected the soldiers to fire. The troops, although of unshaken
loyalty, could not at first conceive the necessity of an order to
fire on an unarmed crowd, which could easily have been dis
persed with the bayonet, and they hesitated. The hesitation
was but for a moment ; the order was soon repeated ; the sol
diers fired, and many victims fell. That moment — although
* Kossuth's able speech on the 4th of March, in the Diet of Pressburg, was
read, and the effect upon the crowd was very impressive.
t Son of the late Archduke Charles, and general of the Austrian army.

106 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
without action — was the most important one that Austria has
ever witnessed. In that moment the Revolution was assured,
the fall of Metternich accomplished, and the unlimited power
of the house of Habsburg, which they had enjoyed for centu
ries, struck to the earth. That hesitation on the part of the
troops, though but for the briefest space of time, was long
enough to shake the imphcit confidence reposed in the impe
rial army.
The people now became enraged, and attempted to drag the
archduke from his horse, which was only prevented by the
courage of his troops.* The excitement was fearful, and
grew more portentous as the news of this Ul-judged meas
ure spread like wild-fire through the city. The cavalry were
then ordered to disperse the people ; and in the great square,
Am Hof, where they had assembled in large numbers, near
the civic arsenal, another man was killed and several wound
ed. In the Ball Platz, where the palacet occupied by Prince
Metternich stands, many inflammatory speeches were deliver
ed, particularly against the prince, interrupted a thousand
times by the cry of " Down with Metternich !" The military
here again interposed ; an orator, mounted on the shoulders of
his comrades, was shot ; and several others shared a similar
fate. Military interference occurred about the same time in
other parts of the city, and the people were thereby aroused
to an indescribable pitch of excitement. To increase the agi
tation, a wounded student was mounted on horseback, and pa
raded through the streets, to exhibit to the outraged people his
gaping wounds.
Intelligence of these disasters having been communicated
to the emperor, by his orders the firing ceased, the city gates
were closed, and the military were withdrawn to the most
commanding positions of the city. The cries of the people for
arms became more and more vehement ; for, until that mo
ment, axes, iron bars, and sticks, were the only weapons with
which they could provide themselves. The utmost anxiety
was felt to ascertain the conduct of the Burgher Guard, or
armed militia, a kind of intermediate power between the
* German Almanac. t The Bureau of Foreign Affairs.

Chap. I.] Defection of the Burgher Guard. 107
troops and the people. Would they side with the throne
which had armed them, and become, at its bidding, the exe
cutioners of their fellow-oitizens ? or, would they defend the
people against the hirelings of a monarch who had ordered
them shot, because they asked for salutary reforms ? Scarcely
a moiety of this corps, harassed by conflicting duty, could be
observed in the streets, in obedience to the summons which
had been issued to secure the order of the city ; but an acci
dent, which shortly after occurred, soon decided that question,
and with it the fate of the Revolution.
After nightfall, the mob made an attack upon the police of
fice, the source of many of their sufferings. The policemen
defended themselves and the building by firing upon the crowd
that gathered in front of it. In one of these discharges, a ball,
aimed at another individual, killed a Burgher Guard ; the
whole corps then immediately united with the students and
populace ; and opening to them the Civic Arsenal, over which
they had control, all soon furnished themselves with arms.
In the afternoon, about five o'clock, the students again met
in the university, and, after consultation, dispatched a depu
tation to the emperor, headed by the rector, to represent to his
majesty the alarming condition of the city, and the necessity
for preventing the further effusion of blood. Deputations from
other corporations appeared, at the same time, before the as
sembled princes of the imperial house ; and the emperor and
his ministers were then besought and requested to accede to
the wishes of the people for the salutary reforms which they
had asked, and particularly for the removal of Prince Metter
nich and Count Sedlnitzky.*
The prince, who was present at that interview, with all the
grace of the courtier, for which he has long been so highly dis
tinguished, instantly tendered his resignation, stating that he
"desired not to hold office one moment after he had survived the
confidence of the people." The emperor immediately accept
ed his resignation, and expressed himself with energy against
the employment of military force for the suppression of the in
surrection. The several deputations returned in triumph to
* The chief of the police, and who was exceedingly unpopular.

108 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
their fellow-citizens, and an illumination was immediately
commenced in honor of the partial victory.
During the night, numerous bands of ruffians, armed with
clubs, perambulated the streets, breaking windows, and com
mitting other acts of violence ; but in the city proper they
were prevented from the perpetration of any serious injury by
the newly-armed citizens, who formed themselves into corps
of patrols ; yet in the more distant faubourgs, and particular
ly at their extremities, where the guard could not reach, the
ravages were excessive in the plunder of stores, burning of
dwellings, and total destruction of factories.
The next morning, the 14th, the triumph of the people
seemed almost complete ; and ah order was issued, at eight
o'clock, for the withdrawal of all the regular troops from the
city, and for arming the citizens as a civic guard, in their
place. The enlistment of men and formation of companies
then commenced ; and the students, and citizens generally,
thus armed, and commanded by the officers of the Burgher
Guard, now paraded the streets in an orderly manner, and
preserved the tranquillity of the city. The proclamation of
the emperor, permitting the arming of students and citizens,
appeared in the Wiener Zeitung of the same morning ; but,
although gratified at the concession, the people did not relish
the concluding sentence, which threatened a resort to force, in
case tranquillity was not restored. This portion of the proc
lamation was openly and energetically denounced. The peo
ple expressed a determination not to suffer themselves to be
intimidated, but to represent to his majesty the absolute ne
cessity of granting the concessions demanded by the advanced
spirit of the age.
The principal concessions demanded of the government by
the people, in their petitions, were the following : 1st. The
arming of the citizens as a National Guard ; 2d. The aboli
tion of the censorship, or freedom of the press ; 3d. A budget
or publicity as to the disbursements of the public revenue ;
4th. Responsibility of the ministry ; 5th. The assurance of a
Constitution. The following is a chronological statement of the leading
events which followed the successful efforts of the people :

Chap. I.] Triumph of the People. 109
On the second day, the emperor granted the National Guard,
and forty thousand citizens immediately enrolled their names,
and were furnished with arms. On the afternoon of the same
day, two proclamations were issued by the government ; one
announcing that the censorship would be discontinued, and
laws prepared, as soon as possible, for the regulation of the
press ; and the other declaring that the emperor would con
vene a deputation, or " Central Congregation of the German,
Slavonian, and Lombardo- Venetian provinoes, on the third
day of July next, to give their counsel upon such questions
of legislation and administration as might be submitted to
them." These two proclamations, although pleasing to many,
were not satisfactory to the leading and determined spirits of
the Revolution, and were immediately met by counter-peti
tions — one from the booksellers and printers, and others from
the citizens generally — complaining that the concessions in
regard to the press were not sufficiently explicit, and that the
delay in the convention of the Assembly for the formation of
the Constitution was unnecessarily long. No fighting occurred
on this day ; but the citizens, provided with arms, and in full
possession of power, awaited, with equal patience and determ
ination, the compliance, on the part of the government, with
the additional demands they had made. The National Guard.
to preserve the public tranquillity, and to protect private prop
erty from the ravages of the mob, continued to parade the city,
with great order and decorum, during the entire day and night,
marching through aU the streets, except those immediately
around the imperial palace, where strong guards of the regu
lar troops were still posted, to defend every avenue to its ap
proach. It was strongly in contemplation, about this time, to
force through the powerful guard that surrounded the imperial
residence, and when access had thus been obtained to the pres
ence of the emperor, to demand, and perhaps insist on receiv
ing, the Constitution. Fearing such an event, the guard at ev
ery point was that night doubled ; but no attempt of the kind,
on the part of the citizens, was at any time made. Through
out the whole struggle, the citizens every where exhibited
that remarkable patience and coolness for which the Ger
mans are so distinguished. An illumination, however, again

110 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
took place on the evening of the second day, in honor of its
results. The third day (the 15th of March) appeared, and with it
was to conclude the glorious struggle. In the morning, the
population were stfll in a state of feverish excitement. Doubts
were yet entertained whether they could fully depend on a
peaceful settlement of the great questions of the day. The
minds of many wavered between hope and fear. It was under
stood that the emperor had no objections to granting the two
next reforms demanded, viz., a budget, and the responsibility
of the ministry ; but, as yet, the Constitution, the principal ob
ject of their wishes and efforts, remained unmentioned. About
the same time appeared notices of resignations of several high
officers, both civil and military, whose acts had rendered them
obnoxious to the people. Among these were the Archduke
Albert, commander of the Austrian army ; Count Appony, the
high chancellor of Hungary ; Count Sedlnitzky, the detested
minister of the Secret Police. Their stations were immedi
ately filled by persons of acknowledged popularity.
After these repeated manifestations of obedience to the pub-
Uc wiU, the emperor, with a view to allay the public excite
ment, or to ascertain the effect of his concessions on the pub
lic mind, appeared, in an open carriage, in the streets, in his
usual unostentatious manner. This mark of confidence on the
part of the monarch was duly appreciated, and did not fail to
call forth that love and devotion to a kind sovereign which they
had ever entertained, and which the events of the last two days
had not impaired. His appearance was the signal for joyful
acclamations, which rent the air wherever he passed, and his
carriage was at length beset by the enthusiastic crowd, who de
tached the horses from it and drew it themselves to the palace.
These exhibitions of loyalty and devotion excited the nerv
ous temperament of the feeble monarch, and agitated him even
to tears, as he exclaimed, "Why did you not communicate
your wishes to me sooner?" It needed but this remark to
prove that he had been a passive instrument in the hands of a
Camarilla,* who, however successful in curbing the free prog-
* A Spanish word, meaning a little chamber, but applied in Europe to a secret
and not recognized cabinet, and generally composed of the relations of the prince,

Chap. I.]' Constitution Granted. Ill
ress of the people, had not succeeded in impairing their loyal
ty. On his return to the palace (whether his majesty was so
deeply penetrated with the manifestations of fidelity and at
tachment on the part of his subjects, or alarmed by the pla
cards of the morning oalling for a rally at three o'clock of all
those who were not satisfied with his concessions, is a mooted
point), appeared the proclamation granting to the people all
that they had asked, in the most full and ample manner — not
only a National Guard, and freedom of the press in more ex
plicit terms than had as yet been given, but a convocation of
deputies from each of the provinces, in which all classes were
to be represented, with the least possible delay, for the pur
pose of framing a Constitution for the empire.
The publication of this proclamation, expressive of the em
peror's entire compliance with the demands of the people,
awakened among his subjects joy amounting almost to frenzy.
Every doubt was now removed, every care dissipated. Depu
tation after deputation, from every class of the population,
wound its way to the imperial residence, to express to his maj
esty the heartfelt gratitude which his concessions had awak
ened. On the appearance of the emperor on the balcony of
the palace, acclamation followed acclamation, until it seemed
there would be no end to the plaudits of the people, when an
agreeable turn was suddenly given to the enthusiasm of the
occasion by striking up, with ten thousand voices, the national
air of Austria. Tears of emotion and delight fiUed every eye
of that vast and motley group, and every heart seemed pene
trated with the importance of that sacred hour which witnessed
the dawn of their liberty. On the same evening, amid the
jubilees and illuminations in honor of the promised Constitu
tion, a deputation arrived from the Hungarian Diet, then sit
ting at Pressburg, consisting of one hundred and fifty mem
bers, headed by Kossuth. The object of their visit to Vienna
was to ask a Constitution for the whole empire, as well as a
separate and independent ministry for the kingdom of Hun
gary. In the first request, they were anticipated by the pre
vious movements in Vienna ; and the second, after much urg-
priests, intriguing women, etc. " A power behind the throne, greater than the
throne itself."

112 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
ent solicitation, and even, it is said, violent altercation, in
which the Hungarians were aided by their palatine (the Arch
duke Stephen, the emperor at length yielded to their demands,
and appointed Count Louis Batthyanyi as prime minister,
with authority to form such a ministry.
On the fourth morning, the first period of the Revolution hav
ing passed, and the task of the people for the present termin
ated, the occasion was devoted to rejoicings and celebrations
over the victory which had been achieved. Triumphal proces
sions, in every direction, promenaded the streets. The emper
or and empress appearing in public, the horses were detached
from their carriage, and the sovereigns were drawn through the
streets by their grateful subjects, while brilliant illuminations
and torch-light processions closed the ceremonies of this mem
orable occasion.
In Vienna the whole aspect of things seemed changed, as it
were, by a magician's wand. The people appeared to have
passed at a bound from Egyptian darkness to " marvelous
light." The secret police had entirely disappeared from the
streets ; the windows of book-stores were now crowded with
forbidden works, which, like condemned criminals, had long
been withdrawn from the light of day ; boys hawked throughout
the city addresses, poems, and engravings, illustrative of the
Revolution — the first issues of an unshackled press ; while the
newly-armed citizens formed into a National Guard, marched
shoulder to shoulder with the regular military, and maintained
in unison with them, at every point, the public tranquillity.
Thus Austria, from being the farthest in the rear, had, by
a single step, taken the advance of all Germany in the path
of freedom ; and nothing could have prevented her from real
izing the splendid future which then dawned upon her polit
ical horizon, had her people only possessed the wisdom to im
prove the occasion, and profit by the victories which had been
gained in the cause of enlightened government.
It is a prevalent doctrine that the desire for a constitutional
government on the part of a people is evidence of their fitness
to enjoy it ; but whether this doctrine is universally true, or
whether there should not be an exception to it, when that de
sire is not spontaneous, and where the people are incited by

Chap. L] Reception of the Constitution. 113
the example of a neighboring state, by the feebleness of their
own sovereign, or some other accident in the political atmos
phere, the following history of events in Austria may possibly
demonstrate. No revolution — in examples of which the continent of Eu
rope has, within the past few years, abounded — was more pure
in its origin, honorable in its proceedings, stained with less
blood, or disgraced by fewer outrages, than the March Revolu
tion in Vienna, and which will ever remain a bright page in
the annals of Austria.
The proclamation of the emperor, granting a Constitution
to the empire, was reoeived, exoept in her Italian possessions,
with the utmost favor and joy, throughout all the provinces
of Austria. With the exception of the highest aristocracy, to
whom the late movements were a severe blow, universal ex
ultation seemed to pervade all ranks and professions of the peo
ple. The educated, who were aware of the nature and benefits
of a Constitution, duly appreciated the concession, while the ig
norant were even more enthusiastic, regarding it as a panacea
for all ills, or of the same nature with the measure which the
English parliamentary candidate promised the people at the
hustings ; it was " to bring every thing to every body." They
probably had as faint a conception of the meaning of the word
Constitution as the Russians, who, during the rebellion which
took place about the time the present monarch came to the
throne, actually understood by the cry for a Constitution then
made, to refer to the wife of Constantine, the elder brother
who had been supplanted by the elevation of Nicolas.*
The government, by immediately commencing the necessary
preparations for meeting the great change in the administra
tion which had been decreed, manifested a sincere desire to
pursue the course marked out for the ship of state upon its
constitutional tack. The state of siege declared over the city
by the military and civil governor, Prince Windischgratz, dur
ing the first days of the Revolution, was soon raised, and the
emperor granted a general amnesty to all persons throughout
* An Austrian peasant being asked what a Constitution was, replied, " Not to
pay the Robbot." Cry of workmen in Vienna was, " A republic with an em
peror." H

114 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
the realm convicted or charged with political offenses. The
prison doors were thrown open to all political offenders, not
only to those engaged in the late struggle, but to those com
mitted on all former occasions.
On the 17th of March, a new and responsible ministry was
appointed by the emperor, of which Count Kolowrath became
the President, Count Fiquelmont Minister of Foreign Affairs,
and Baron Pillersdorf Minister of the Interior. It also em
braced a Minister of Public Instruction, an office previously
unknown in Austria. All the members of the ministry were
regarded as men possessed of liberal and enlightened views.
On the 29th, the imperial police-office was entirely reorgan
ized, the whole system of espionage abolished, and such por
tions of the department as it became necessary to retain were
placed under the superintendence and control of the minister
of the interior.
On the 4th of April, the Staatsrath, or Council of State — a
bureau or department whose duty it was to regulate, at the
capital, the affairs of all the provinces of the empire — was dis
continued; as under the reform, the affairs of the provinces
were to be regulated by their own officers at home, instead of
by a bureau of strangers in Vienna. On the following day oc
curred the dissolution of the emperor's private cabinet. This
imperial council being irresponsible to the people, and differ
ing in its views and policy from the ministry beneath them,
which it controlled, impeded most seriously all its movements
and operations. But the most essential point gained by this
measure was the consequent repudiation of the controlling in
fluence of the Archduke Louis, who was at the head of the
board, and the most obstinate and uncompromising advocate
of the Metternich policy.
On the 7th of April, official intelligence was communicated
to the public, that the Archduke Francis Charles, brother of the
emperor, and heir-apparent to the throne, a man of moderate
capacity, but amiable and liberal, and consequently a favorite
with the people, was called upon to share with his brother the
imperial labors, and in that capacity to preside over the coun
cil of ministers. On the same day occurred the resignations
from the ministry of Count Kolowrath and Baron Kiibeck, the

Chap. I.] Commencement of Reforms. 115
only members of the former oabinet that were retained in the
first ministry, but who had been notoriously distinguished for
the liberaUty of their views, and consequent opposition to Prince
Metternich. Their places were filled by the substitution of
Barons Wessenberg and Krauss, the former a statesman of note,
who had been for many years an exile from Austria, on account
of his opposition to the policy of the late administration of the
empire. On the 11th of April, the Emperor of Austria, by a mani
festo,* released all tenants upon soccage lands from the pay
ment and performance of such tithes and labor as they had
been previously subject to, the decree to take effect after the
expiration of the year 1848, and, in the mean time, they were
allowed to become immediately free, upon satisfactory com
pensation to the proprietor for the intervening time.
By another decree, bearing date the 25th of March, the em
peror ordered that the sanctity of private letters should no
longer be violated, and that no communications passing through
the post-offices of the government should be subject to inspec
tion as formerly.
All these, it will be perceived, were liberal measures, and
manifested a sincere desire, as well as effort, on the part of the
government, to fulfill its promises and carry out the reforms
projected. Notwithstanding these favorable movements of the govern
ment, however, the situation of the empire was at this time
imminently critical. Like the case of a patient who had just
passed the crisis of a severe and dangerous disease, the utmost
skill and judgment were requisite to avoid a relapse, which,
in such an exhausted state of the system, was more to be
dreaded than the original attack.
The following were some of the difficulties and dangers to
which the empire was at that period exposed.
1st. It was composed of such a heterogeneous mass of races,
differing from each other as much in character and civilization,
as the countries in which they dwelt did in climate and pro
duction ; and among several of whom no more similarity was
* Wiener Zeitung.

116 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
to be found than existed between the barren and snow-clad
hills of Galicia and the fertile and sunny plains of Lombardy,
and where, consequently, the nature of their wants and require
ments must be totally dissimilar, and each probably would be
dissatisfied with the boon granted to another.
2d. The sudden transition from an unlimited to a constitu
tional government ; the want of sufficient preparation on the
part of the people for such a change ; and the danger that they
would be inclined to demand too much, while the government
might be disposed to grant too little.
3d. The fact that the concessions recently made were ex
torted by the people from the government, and not freely
granted by it; and, consequently, the limit to those conces
sions being determined by the people, and not by the govern
ment, the danger to be apprehended was, that they would not
agree in relation to their extent.
4th. The want on the part of the government of an able,
independent, and popular ministry, which the crisis imperious
ly demanded. That body was composed, not only of few men
adapted to the crisis, but none who were prepared even to un
dertake the duties of the station. The high aristocracy were
the only persons in Austria educated for ministerial stations,
and they were so obnoxious to the people as to render their
appointment impossible.
It might have been expected that the people, duly acknowl
edging the important concessions granted them by the crown,
would have rendered all the aid in their power toward carry
ing out the reforms which it had promised, and which it ex
hibited every disposition faithfully to fulfill. Such, however,
was far from being the case. The gratitude which they felt,
though almost unbounded at first, was but of short duration ;
and, in a very few days, every effort on the part of the people
was made to increase those embarrassments, already nearly in
surmountable. Even the students of the university, whose important and
laudable efforts had contributed so much to the success of the
Revolution, became perfectly intoxicated by the glory which
they had acquired, and the praise and homage bestowed upon
them from every quarter, and soon conducted themselves in a

Chap. I.] Arrival or Emissaries. 117
manner, not only to tarnish the fair fame which they had ac
quired, but to cover themselves with disgrace.
As soon as it became known throughout Europe that Aus
tria had joined the progressive movement of the times, emis
saries from different parts of the Continent, particularly from
France and Northern Germany, flocked to Vienna, and, by their
acuteness and activity, soon discovered the elements upon
which to base their operations. The students of the universi
ty, ardent, inexperienced, and untiring, became admirable in
struments in the hands of the unprincipled propagandists, whose
great effort seemed every where to break down all government,
destroy all the bonds of society, and to produce, as rapidly as
possible, a Pandemonium on earth. So artfully did they flat
ter the vanity, and minister to the pride of the inexperienced
youths, that they found it but an easy task to convince them
of their fitness to perform the first parts in the drama before
them, and to utter the leading voice in the reorganization of the
state ; and there was, consequently, from that period, no meas
ure of the government which they did not feel themselves called
upon to consider, and universally to condemn.
Another element for the action of these emissaries consisted
in the numerous proletaria, or rabble, in and around the city,
consisting of a large number of ouvriers, or workmen, in the
different factories with which the faubourgs and neighbor
hood of Vienna abound, together with the thousands of idle
and criminal beings that exist in every large capital, who, be
coming easy converts to the Communist principles, diligently
circulated among them, proved sources of great embarrassment
to the government.
Still another obstacle to its efficacy was the abuse by the
press of the concessions which had been made to that interest,
under favor of which it filled the rabble with Socialism and
other fatal doctrines.
In a few weeks Vienna was flooded with a most shameful
literature. At every corner of the streets, and in all the pub
lic places, placards were stuck up for the perusal of those pass
ing by, while boys and old men hawked about the streets the
most licentious prints and pamphlets. These outrageous pro
ductions soon exercised the most baneful influence over the

118 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
ignorant and already corrupt mob, instilling into them a pois
on, which they swallowed with the greater avidity, because it
had so long been forbidden. The most unwarranted attacks
were made upon the imperial family ; the most high and hon
orable statesmen were, in placards, exposed to the vilest abuse,
and the nobility and clergy to the utmost insult. The sancti
ty of private life and character was most shamelessly invaded.
Private differences became matters of public discussion, and
the most solemn secrets of domestic life were published to the
world. Every villain embraced the opportunity to inflict a
stab in the dark, as it were, upon the man of irreproachable
character, because he happened to be his enemy. In short,
this liberty was soon changed into licentiousness, and this bless
ing into a curse.
Many new newspapers appeared, which soon increased the
number from three to one hundred : these were the weapons
with which the designing operated. By these means the stu
dents were excited to a still greater degree of intolerance and
madness ; the proletaria were corrupted, and the citizens eu
logized as the van-guard of liberty throughout the Continent,
became, for the most part, bewildered and extravagant both
in their opinions and designs. The people, by these means,
being thoroughly demoralized, violations of law and order soon
commenced. On the 1st of April appeared the provisional law for the
regulation of the press. Although defective in many of its
provisions, it was calculated to restrain, in some measure, the
abuses of the press, which had become so rank and glaring.
But, for this very reason, it did not accord with the views
and plans of the agitators ; and therefore, in the open con
tempt for its provisions, occurred the first palpable resistance
to the law and authority. The university led the movement
with its usual arrogance, and the provisional law of the press
was publicly burned in front of that institution. Every one,
excited by these agitators, was opposed to this enactment ;
and the government, instead of enforcing its observance, yield
ed obedience to the clamor, and withdrew the law.
A new and wider field was now afforded for the activity of
the press. On the 2d of April, a decisive step was taken to-

Chap. I.] Union with Germany. 119
ward a closer union with revolutionary Germany. The Ger
man tricolored banner, black, red, and gold, was hoisted by
the students upon the tower of the cathedral of St. Stephen.*
The people, ignorant of the object of these demonstrations,
and believing, as they were told, that it was merely an ex
pression of sympathy for a closer union with the German Con
federation, hailed the manifestation with great joy.
Even the emperor, not dreaming that the adoption of that
flag betokened an incorporation with the Republicst of Ger
many, and, consequently, the overthrow and destruction of his
monarchy, accepted a banner, when insidiously presented to him
by a procession of students, who had proceeded with that ob
ject to the palace; with his own hands he waved the standard
before them, and then ordered it to be hung from the windows
of his palace. A united G ermany now became the watch- word
of the day, and as laws at this time issued from the univers
ity instead of the palace, every house in Vienna, in obedience
to directions from that institution, was surmounted by a Ger
man national flag. The students not only marched under Ger
man banners, but paraded the streets decorated with German
cockades and ribbons. It was remarkable how all, with one
consent, gave up at once their own national standard. To be
an Austrian had already become a reproach, and the venera
ble " Schwartz-Gelb,"t black and yellow, the only acknowl
edged colors of the imperial monarchy, the standard which had
led the armies of the empire to victory under Maria Theresa,
Wurmser, and the Archduke Charles, was by these new lights
totally proscribed. In fact, so odious had the name of Schwartz-
Gelb become, that no one had the courage to assume it ; it was
applied by the mob to the aristocracy, and was intended to
signify every thing that was inimical to human rights, and de
served the universal execration of mankind.
The agitators now found a new means to gratify their li
centiousness, and, at the same time, maintain the excitement
so necessary to the prosecution of their plans, and that was the
creation of tumults in the streets. The first exhibition of the
* German Almanac, " Austria," 1849.
t It was contemplated by the Radicals to convert Germany into six republics.
X Black and yellow, the Austrian natioual colors.

120 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
kind occurred on the 5th of April, in giving to the venerable
archbishop of the city a mock serenade, and, at the same time,
destroying his windows, under the pretext that he, and the cler
gy generally, were opposed to the new order of things ; or, as
was also alleged, because he declined to pronounce a blessing
on the crown and regalia of the German empire, which, since
the abdication of the Emperor Francis, the last monarch of that
expired empire, had been kept in the imperial treasury at Vi
enna, but which the Emperor of Austria now proposed to send
back to Frankfort by the newly-elected deputies.*
On the same day, a similar insulting serenade was given to
the monasteries, the Liguorian or Redemptorists, and the Ar
menian Mechitarist's congregation.
On the following day, the Liguorians were lawlessly expelled
from the city by a tumultuous mob, headed by the students
and National Guard. These monks had been brought to Vi
enna by the state, to assist in the management and control of
the people. The government of Austria, at that time, pos
sessed neither force enough to save its friends or prevent this
outrage. It is true that the members of this order, from their con
nection with the Jesuits, were exceedingly unpopular among
the people, and especially on account of their interference in
the domestic affairs of different families. They had been pro
nounced guilty by the tribunal of history. A constitutional
state afforded no place for their concealment, or field for the
prosecution of their dark designs ; but they should have been
expelled by law, or the act of government, and not by the ar
bitrary violence of the mob. Later, by an imperial edict, this
order of monks was dissolved ; thus virtually giving the sanc
tion and approval of government to the palpable violation of
law and order which had occurred.! As might have been ex
pected, after this public countenance by the government of
such conduct, these tumults continued ; and on the Sth of
April, the mansions of the Pope's nuncio, of Prince Lichten-
stein, the convent of Scottish monks, and the residence of the
Minister of Justice (Count Taafe), were similarly assailed.
* German Almanac, "Austria," 1849. t Wiener Zeitung.

Chap. I.] Inefficiency of the Ministry. 121
On the 20th of April, the magistrates of the city, on account
of the repeated disturbances which were occurring, published
a proclamation enjoining order, which was received, like every
other legal communication at the time, with scorn. No one
thought for a moment of regarding it.* All legal authority
had ceased, and the Reign of Terror commenced.
The ministry were incapable of any energetic interference,
and stood by silent and idle spectators of such scenes, without
one effort to suppress them, and without endeavoring, by oth
er means, to attract the attention and allay the excitement of
the people. No effort was made either to enforce order or to
preserve the integrity of the empire. At this very time a for
eign enemy had invaded her soil ; but, with the exception of
a few additional regiments ordered into Lombardy, no meas
ures were taken, and no patriotic appeals made to urge the
people to the defense of the nation and the honor of the gov
ernment. A gross violation of European treaties, and a total
destruction of the balance of power adjusted by them, was in
the act of consummation ; and yet, so far as could be known,
the ministry did not seek to ascertain whether these acts, on
the part of the invading powers, met the approbation or disap
proval of the other contracting rulers. When, in short, the
empire was obliged to encounter both invasion from without
and insurrection from within ; when the emergency required
vast concessions to the tributary kingdoms, and an energetio
concentration of all the resources of the empire ; when, indeed,
it appeared that nothing could save the ship of state but heroic
resolution and dictatorial power, the government of Austria
was as inactive as if not a cloud had obscured the political
horizon. The ministry were, at this time, as far removed from the
people as they ever were in the palmiest days of the ancient
monarchy — too far to witness their sufferings or hear their
complaints ; while, unlike their predecessors, they were de
prived of the aid of the secret police, and therefore had no
knowledge of either the conspiracies or movements of the mob.
They labored, also, under other embarrassments ; they had no
* German Almanac.

122 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
public press to sustain their views and acts, while the columns
of all the journals were open to attacks upon them. By the
late changes, also, the aristocracy were rendered powerless,
and could afford no support to the throne, while the people
had no enlightened leader, to direct their movements or re
strain the licentiousness of the mob ; and it was, even at this
time, greatly feared that, unless the ministry should awaken
to their duties, and to the interests of the empire, these' insur
rectionary movements would become, at length, so insupport
able, that the government would be obliged to quell the disor
ders by military force ; and that this would give rise to a strug
gle which might result in the dethronement of the emperor and
the proclamation of a republic — a form of government that the
people, unfitted, as they were, even for a constitutional mon
archy, would have found one of the greatest evils to which they
could possibly have been subjected.
The students began now to cultivate a most cordial intima
cy with the lowest classes of the population.* Declaring war
against the nobility, clergy, military, and court ; criticising
and censuring whatever of character and respectability exist
ed among these classes of society, they became the flatterers
of the mob ; talked to the proletaria of their sacred rights,
and of the Uberty, equality, and fraternity of all classes of so
ciety ; and, with the breath of adulation, instilled into their
minds the poison of corruption. For the advancement of their
purposes, and to give more extensive circulation to their bane
ful influence, numerous clubs were now formed. Like that
of the Jacobins at Paris, these clubs were the rendezvous of
all the agitators. Here the masses received the first beams
of enlightenment, and heard for the first time such words as
liberty and sovereignty of the people ; or, rather, were first
taught practical definitions of those terms ; that of the first,
licentiousness ; and of the second, anarchy. By a republic,
they understood a total absence of all government. Each one,
under such an administration, being a sovereign — the equal,
in all respects, to the emperor ; and their commands, whatev
er they might be, entitled equaUy to implicit obedience. Re-
* German Almanac.

Chap. I.] Popular Assemblies. 123
spect for the authority of the laws was a lesson which they
were never taught.
It was impossible that such seed could produce other than
corresponding fruit, which soon began to manifest itself. Upon
the principle that the government must support the people in
stead of the people the government, the employment of work
men at the expense of the state now commenced. Having
nothing for them to do, but feeling obliged to afford them em
ployment, the Minister of Public Works was forced (through
the exertions of their friends of the university) to engage the
proletaria at some unnecessary occupation, such as turning
the course of a little dirty stream which runs through the
glacis or common surrounding the interior city. The govern
ment had no one to overlook them ; for the very idea of masters
or overseers for sovereigns was an absurdity in terms, and they
labored or not, as best suited their inclinations.
To continue to increase and to disseminate more widely the
pubhc excitement, Popular Assemblies were now resorted to.
On the 14th of April, the first meeting of the kind took place
in the Odeon, the largest room in the world, about five hund
red feet in length and two hundred in width. Students, Na
tional Guards, and citizens, amounting to the number of six
thousand, were in attendance. Discussions commenced, and
the principal speaker was a Dr. Schiitte, a foreign adventurer,
well known throughout Germany from his active co-operation
in all the revolutions of the time. He had the assurance to
attempt to teach the citizens what their duties were in the
present emergency ; he told them that they should forthwith
present to the emperor a Sturm Petition (a storm petition, or
memorial to be accompanied by preparations for the use of
force), which document, already printed, he drew from his
pocket, and in which the desires of the people were expressed,
viz., the opening of the Diet on the 25th of April, and the
adoption of the same basis for the coming elections as had
been followed when the committee of fifty for Frankfort had
been elected. But at this time the people were not sufficient
ly ripe for such movements, and the proposal was declined.
But a resolution that the present ministry of Austria (Baron
Pillersdorf excepted) was unpopular, that particularly Counts

124 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
Fiquelmont and Taafe should be replaced by more acceptable
men, and that Count Hoyos should be dismissed from the com
mand of the National Guard — as a civic man should alone com
mand civic guards ; and, finally, that a proper electoral ticket
should be issued, was passed amid tremendous enthusiasm*
Such meetings were now of frequent occurrence, and every
where Schiitte was conspicuous for the violence of his speeches.
On the 18th of April, he was arrested by the poUce, and ex-
peUed from the city. Upon this occurrence great stress was
laid, and the excitement increased. The expulsion of this
dangerous agitator, for which the government, in the main
tenance of internal peace, would have been perfectly justified,
took place in an improper and iUegal manner. It seemed to
be the fate of the executive authorities of that period either to
do nothing at aU or to do what they attempted in an improper
manner. The arrest of Schiitte made him a martyr, and ag
gravated- the people by causing them to suppose that through
him all their most sacred rights had been violated.
The agitation of the city became dady more visible, and
only increased as the period for the publication of the Consti
tution approached. Its provisions began to be discussed even
before the document appeared ; the election law was openly
condemned, and the propriety of one chamber instead of two
in the legislative branch, warmly advocated.
Finally, on the 25th of AprU, his majesty's birth-day, when
a great military display took place, forty thousand troops pa
rading in honor of the occasion, the emperor embraced the op
portunity to present to the empire his promised Constitution,t
which in every essential particular corresponded with the de
sires and reasonable demands of his subjects, conferring on
them as much freedom as was enjoyed under any Constitution
in Europe, excepting that of Great Britain, and in one im
portant particular excelling that, in its granting to all the prov
inces of his empire separate Legislatures for the management
and government of their internal interests.
With the exception of the radicals previously described, who
* German Almanac.
t It was an alteration of the Belgian Constitution, to suit the state of affairs in
Austria. The only objection urged against it was that it was too aristocratical.

Chap. I.] Movements of the Agitators. 125
had no precise idea what they wanted, and would not have
been satisfied under any circumstances ; the new Constitution
seemed to have given general satisfaction ; and in the evening,
in token of the common joy, the city was brilliantly illumina
ted, and an immense torch-light procession paraded the streets
and serenaded with patriotic songs the emperor and the min
istry. Despite the excitement kept up durmg several days, the ef
forts of the agitators were inadequate to suppress the preva
lent indications of satisfaction produced by the final realization
of the monarch's promise, in which fact the people recognized
his determination to advance in the progressive course.
But the charter granted by the emperor did not accord with
the views of the agitators. It was now criticised, and ren
dered odious in all the clubs and public meetings, and by means
of placards and pamphlets. In this way the public mind was
gradually prepared for the demonstration which was to take
place on the 15th of May. Complaints of the reactionary strat
agems of the Camarilla became more and more numerous and
impudent. The press opened all its batteries upon the court,
the nobility, and the clergy ; and no step whatever was taken
by the ministry to restrain its licentiousness.
Count Hoyos, being unable to endure longer the insults and
annoyances to which his position as commander of the Nation
al Guard exposed him, the emperor with reluctance accepted
his resignation, and appointed in his place F. M. L.* Chevalier
von Hesse. The National Guard (who, during the whole pe
riod of its existence, had never attained a just conception either
of their duties, their rights, or even the purposes of their ex
istence) now demanded of Count Hoyos to resume the com
mand which they had, by repeated insults, provoked him to
resign. This noble and truly patriotic man responded to the
call ; and this sacrifice on his part was received, for the mo
ment, with great joy ; but scarcely had a fortnight elapsed,
before their base ingratitude forced him a second time to re
linquish the command.
On the 30th of April, the minister of war, Zanini, resigned
* F. M. L., Field-marshal-lieutenant, corresponding to the rank of General.

126 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
his office, and Count Latour, who succeeded him, entered upon
his duties with great vigor, and issued an order to the army
characterized by energy and point. He soon filled up the thin
ranks of the army in Lombardy, which Count Radetzky short
ly after led, with so much honor, to victory.
At this time another means of keeping up the excitement
and agitation among the citizens was discovered. This was
the celebration of what were called "fraternal festivities ."
They were base imitations of the French banquets, not, like
them, intended to ascertain public feeling, but only to array
the refractory spirit of the people against any and every meas
ure of the government.
The city of Vienna, from being one of the most quiet and
orderly in Europe, became now daily a scene of the utmost
anarchy. On the 4th of May, a party of students entered the
office of the Minister of the Interior, and demanded the docu
ments on file there relative to the Liguorians (Jesuitical monks),
who had a few weeks before been expelled from the city, and
for whose return it was understood that a number of citizens
had petitioned the government. This petition, which was the
principal object of their search, as well as the communication
of the archbishop praying the government to make some pro
vision for the support of the Liguorians out of the property of
which they had been divested, together with the reply of the
minister that the government would endeavor to take some
measures for their relief, were thus forcibly extracted from the
department, and immediately published. On the night suc
ceeding that day, the students and National Guards, leading
a mob of workmen from the faubourgs, numbering in all about
ten thousand, appeared before the hotel of the Minister of For
eign Affairs, and saluted him with the usual mock serenade.
After caUing in vain for the minister to appear, against the
remonstrances of the servants, who assured them the minister
was not at home, they invaded the sanctity of his dwelling,
and, penetrating his apartment, demanded of his terrified fam
ily where the count was. The countess replied, " At the For
eign Office." A deputation was immediately despatched to
that bureau, while the great mass remained about the minis
ter's hotel. The deputation sent to the Foreign Office, after

Chap. L] Forced Resignation of Fiquelmont. 127
some resistance on the part of the domestics, gained access to
the minister, and told him that the object of their visit was to
communicate the wiU of the people, which was, that he should
immediately resign his office. Count Fiquelmont, instead of
ordering the insolent intruders from his presence — an act not
only justifiable, but one which might reasonably have been ex
pected from a veteran general of the army — proceeded to in
quire of the committee what unpopular measures he had been
guilty of that could have provoked the displeasure of the peo
ple. The deputation replied, that they had not come to de
bate any questions with him, or to pronounce any judgment
upon his official conduct, but simply to advise him that his
own personal safety, as well as the tranquillity of the city, de
pended upon his immediate compliance with the demands of
the people. After a few moments, the count replied, that he
would not only resign his office, but leave the city, if the pub
lic tranquiUity demanded it. As this declaration was not suf
ficiently definite to suit the mob, they demanded further to be
informed of the exact time when he proposed to carry his de
termination into effect. At this moment another deputation
from the crowd entered the apartment, and assured the minis
ter of the very great danger which would probably attend any
delay on his part in offering his resignation, as the masses
were increasing and pressing on his hotel. Count Fiquelmont
then pledged himself to resign within twenty-four hours, and,
in the interim, not to affix his signature to another official doc
ument. Satisfied with this assurance, the deputation escort
ed the minister to his hotel, where one of them, from a veran
da, harangued the multitude, informing them of the accom
plishment of their object ; and, after compelling the count to
make his appearance, and to reassure them of the fact, they
withdrew. On the followmg day, agreeably to the pledge
which he had given (although under duress), Count Fiquel
mont tendered his resignation of the bureau of Foreign Af
fairs. The details of this disgraceful affair are given, not only to
afford a more correct idea of the state of anarchy which then
prevailed in the city, but also to illustrate the remarkable fact
that a government, which a few weeks before had been, phys-

128 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book TL
ically speaking, one of the most powerful in Europe, from the
gross mismanagement with -which its affairs had been con
ducted, had become so weak as to be unable to protect the
highest officer of state from the insults and indignities of the
rabble. On the day following this outrage, the emperor issued an
earnest and touching exhortation to his people, to keep within
the bounds of law, as the only means of insuring the progress
of the ameliorations they desired. The agitation, however, so
far from subsiding, continued daily to increase.
For some time there had been in Vienna a self-constituted
committee, called " the Central Political Committee of the Na
tional Guards." This association, aided by the students of
the university, had been, from time to time, discussing in the
public prints the propriety of the different measures of the
government, and directing all the political movements which
had recently taken place ; while, on the other hand, the min
istry, instead of suppressing, on its very first appearance, this
unconstitutional body, or controlling its movements ; instead,
even, of defending, by the aid of reason, its own measures, or
combating the arguments advanced against them, at length
arrived at the determination to issue an order for abolishing
instantly this central political committee ; and, upon the in
judicious and absurd ground, that, having become now a part
of the military power of the country, the members were, con
sequently, excluded from all participation in civil affairs, or
from engaging in political movements, and the discussion of
political subjects.
The next day (the 14th) a petition was forwarded to the
ministry, remonstrating against the order of the previous day,
and stating that, although they had taken up arms for the
maintenance of order and tranquillity in the city, they were
not, by that act, to be disfranchised, and that they would nev
er blindly lend their aid to sustain measures of the government
which did not meet their own approval ; and they consequent
ly demanded the immediate revocation of the order against the
committee. They also took occasion, at this time, to ask that
the Legislative Assembly, as proposed by the emperor, in his
programme of a Constitution, should consist of one instead of

Chap. I.] Events of the 15th of May. 129
two Chambers ; that certain alterations should be made in the
law provided for the elections to this Chamber ; that the city
gates and imperial palace should be guarded equally by regu
lar mihtary, National Guards, and the Academical Legion; and
that the military should not interfere in preserving order in the
city, except under the most pressing circumstances, and then
at the request of the National Guard. The National Guard
and students combined having sent in this petition, and threat
ening violence in the event of its rejection, the community be
came more agitated than ever. The National Guard paraded
the streets during the night, while the regular military re
mained under arms on the glacis. On the following day the
excitement increased ; and in the afternoon, when no answer
appeared to their petition, the students resolved upon what
they termed their Sturm Petition, or carrying the petition by
storm. Having loaded their fire-arms, they marched against
the palace, where they expected to be joined by the National
Guard, and a large number of workmen, whom. they had sum
moned from the faubourgs. In the mean time, by order of
government, the gates of the city were closed, and a strong
guard of regular military stationed in every direction around
the palace, with cannons loaded with grape-shot, and torches
ready lighted. Night came on; the students and National
Guard were pressing, on all sides, upon the palace, while
workmen by thousands, armed with scythes and axes, thun
dered for admission at the city gates. No answer had yet
been given to the petition. The government, from all appear
ances, had determined on resistance, and a dreadful collision
was momentarily expected. Nothing occurred, however, un
til just before eleven o'clock, the time fixed on by the stu
dents for the termination of their forbearance, when the gov
ernment, intimidated by the formidable display made against
it — though a single discharge of grape or charge of cavalry
into the densely -thronged masses would have mowed down all
opposition — yielded, and issued a proclamation revoking the
order for the suppression of the committee, and directing that
the Legislative Assembly should consist of one instead of two
houses ; granting, in short, all the points mentioned in the
Storm Petition in the most ample and satisfactory manner.
I

130 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
Appeased by this proclamation, the students, National Guard,
workmen, and citizens all retired quietly to their homes.
The next morning the entire ministry tendered their resig
nations to the emperor, as the events of the previous night fully
demonstrated that the means under their control were so crip
pled as to enable them to furnish no support to the throne.
At the request of his majesty, they consented, however, to re
tain their places until others could be selected.
Scarcely forty, hours of quiet passed by, when the city was,
on the morning of the 17th, again thrown into the utmost con
sternation by a proclamation of the ministry, advising the peo
ple that the emperor (with the imperial family) had left the
capital the evening before, without affording them the slight
est intimation of his intention.
On the 16th, his majesty and family had left the summer
palace of Schonbrunn, about five o'clock in the afternoon, as if
to take their usual drive, and, proceeding on the road to Inn-
spruck, had not returned. The secrecy which attended the
movement, and the stratagem resorted to, made the escape
amount almost to a flight.* The cause of the emperor's de
parture at this time was generaUy believed to be intimidation,
resulting from the late disorderly conduct of the students and
rabble, together with his dislike at being surrounded by the
Academical Legion and National Guard as his body-troops.
He also cherished the hope that a short absence from the cap
ital would tend to restore the citizens to order and subordina
tion. But the experiment, at that time, in the excited and
disordered state of the city, as well as during the rapid ad
vance of republicanism throughout the Continent, was a most
dangerous — indeed, a desperate one. The official journal, of
the morning of the 17th of May, contained an article written
on the evening previous, and before the departure of the em
peror was generally known, in which, after commenting on the
late demonstration in the city, and answering some rumors in
* The late concessions of the emperor having inflicted, as was supposed, a
death-blow on the aristocracy (as it was to dispose of this class that the single
Legislative Chamber and the change in the electoral law were required), as well
as the example set by the court, produced a general flight among the nobility, no
less than eighty families having left in one day, among them the Princes Litch-
tenstein and Schwartzenburg.

Chap. I.] Escape of the Emperor. 131
relation to his majesty's proposed departure from his capital,
states : " The emperor has no more safe asylum than Vienna;
nowhere will he be better guarded than by the faithful citi
zens of the capital ; therefore we conjure him, and all those
to whom the throne is precious, not to listen to the syren voice
which would allure them from the home of their ancestors.
Let us speak freely, for the time is past for tame words or
half-way measures. The emperor's departure would be looked
upon in the same light as the flight of Louis the Sixteenth ;
and the last day of his residence here would be the first day
of the republic."
If the past affords any index of the future, if conduct fur
nishes any clew to motive, an observer of the events occurring
about this time, in the Austrian capital, would unhesitatingly
have declared that a republic would soon be proclaimed. Un
willing to rest longer under the despotism by which they were
oppressed, the people had broken the proud crest of the mon
arch, and wrested from his hands the unlimited power which
in one unbroken chain had descended to him from his fathers.
Not satisfied with the provisions of the Constitution which he
proposed to them, they had forced him to make alteration after
alteration, until he had destroyed the aristocracy, the support
ers of the throne, and completely crippled his own power. Not
content with these, they had continued to persecute him until,
for his own personal security, he was compelled to seek safety
in flight. Self-government, and nothing less, it would seem,
could gratify their wishes ; and now, when all power in the
ministry was annihilated, when the military were removed,
when the emperor had fled, when, in short, all power was cen
tred in their own hands, what did they do ? Establish a pro
visional government ? declare a republic ? No. They were
terrified and confounded at the vast accumulation of responsi
bility with which they had suddenly become burdened, and
but one idea occupied their minds, and that was, how they
could relieve themselves from the weight of this power, how
they could procure the emperor's return. In bewddering ex
citement, they had wandered upon an unexplored path, and
suddenly found themselves, as it were, on the very brink of a
precipice, that yawned before them, the depths of which they

132 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
were unable to fathom, and whence they retreated in horror.
All things in a moment took a retrograde movement. Every
one who had the rashness to breathe the name of a republic
was instantly seized and cast into prison. Under this charge
about twenty persons were arrested, among them two females
and eight editors of newspapers.*
The " Political Central Committee of the National Guard,"
the attempt to destroy which had induced the crisis, now dis
solved of their own accord. The National Guard and Academ
ical Legion, who ha3 required that the regular military should
be under them, now placed themselves under the military. The
law regulating the press, and which the ministry were afraid
to publish before, now appeared in the morning's print. The
editor, who had written the spirited article of yesterday, makes
an humble apology in the journal of to-day. The proclama
tions of the ministry against disorder, formerly not noticed at
all, or, if noticed, simply to be destroyed, are now attentively
read, and receive the universal and hearty approbation of the
reader. In fact, the departure of the emperor, so sudden and
unexpected, seemed to have roused all classes of the agitators
from the dreams in which they indulged, and to have restored
them again to the possession of their senses. The more pru
dent and sensible citizens now saw and felt that the masses
were not sufficiently enlightened for self-government ; the cap
italists and landlords discovered that the removal of the court
from Vienna would be the destruction of the city ; while the
students acknowledged that they lacked the power which they
supposed they possessed over the more respectable and unoffi-
cious inhabitants ; and all were consequently engaged and unit
ed in restoring order and maintaining the peace of the city.
But one idea seemed now to occupy the minds of the peo
ple, and that was. the emperor's return. Deputation after dep
utation, from every class of the population and from both
sexes, t were now dispatched upon this object to Innspruck.
* The author saw the crowd in Vienna dragging a man through the street, and
crying, " To the lamp-post with him !" And, on inquiring what great offense he
had committed, was told that " he had been conversing with a friend about a re
public." t One deputation of ladies, among them two princesses, who, it is said, went
down on their knees to the empress.

Chap. I.] Revival of Anarchy. 133
Petitions, signed in one instance by more than eighty thou
sand of the inhabitants, expressive of the deep regret at the de
parture of the imperial family, earnestly invoking their imme
diate return, and avowing the most sincere attachment to his
majesty and loyalty to his government, were dispatched from
Vienna. The better class of citizens were, doubtless, honest
in their demonstrations. They were peaceably disposed, lov
ers of order, and, as the best means of securing it, fervently
desired the return of the emperor. They naturally hoped, also,
that the ignorant masses and fanatical youth had learned wis
dom by experience ; and that, if the old order of things was
restored, and the most requisite privileges retained, tranquil
lity would succeed. But this hope, rational as it was, proved
a delusion. The baffled agitators gained fresh boldness from
this interval of repose, and soon renewed their reckless schemes.
The vulgarity and impudence of their attacks upon the Cam
arilla, the nobility, and the clergy, exceeded all former vitu
peration. It was the Camarilla, they alleged, that had car
ried off the emperor from his faithful subjects — it was the
Camarilla, now at Innspruck, that would influence the court
to reactionary measures; and they finally declared, that the
Camarilla and nobility must first be destroyed before any en
during liberty could be expected.
So palpable a misrepresentation of the reasons which drove
the emperor from his capital could impose on no intelligent
and well-disposed citizen. It was evident that no intrigues or
seductions were necessary to induce the emperor to leave Vi
enna. The cause of his departure was ascribable alone to the
disgraceful events of the 15th of May, the folly and errors of
which could not be denied. The emperor was deeply and
justly grieved at the unkind and insolent manner in which
these concessions had been obtained. He had become a slave
in his opinions, and a prisoner in his palace. Where were
these outrages to end ? Who would say that the Storm Peti
tion was to terminate the designs of the agitators, or whether
a second would not soon be presented (and which is said to
have been actually prepared, to demand the surrender of Italy
and Poland) ? And that a third would not soon have followed,
if, by that time, such an one had been necessary, to require

134 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
the emperor to abandon his throne and country. It is evident,
under such circumstances, that no efforts of a Camarilla were
necessary to induce a feeble and timid monarch to relieve him
self from such embarrassment by exchanging, temporarily, his
residence to another of his capitals, and to one amid the ro
mantic scenery of the Tyrol, and among a people for centuries
distinguished, above all others of the empire, for unwavering
loyalty and attachment to the house of Habsburg.
The tranquillity of the city was but brief. One week only
of quiet was suffered to elapse, when a most hasty and in
judicious proceeding on the part of the ministry produced a
scene of far greater excitement than had been as yet witness
ed in Vienna. Whether they were influenced by the favora
ble disposition of the people toward order recently manifested,
or by the present indications of anarchy ; whether, at length
persuaded that it would be impossible to maintain the tran
quillity of the city without it ; or that, if not the most favor
able, the present was the only time to effect it, is indeed ques
tionable. On the 25th, however, the ill-advised order that the
Academical Legion should be dissolved, and the university
closed within twenty-four hours, and that, if resisted by the
students, it should be enforced by the military, was promul
gated. The students were on the same day addressed by their
commander, Count Colloredo Mansfeld, who conjured them
to lay down their arms, which they declined ; and issued a
placard, in which it was declared that the Academical Legion
would under no circumstances dissolve ; that, on the contrary,
they considered it a holy duty to contribute as hitherto to the
preservation of the constitutional acquisitions, and to co-oper
ate in the maintenance of order and tranquiUity. Although a
great portion of the citizens perceived the destructive ends to
which the course of the students tended, and, in consequence,
warmly expressed their disapprobation ; yet their influence was
contravened by other manifestations of a different character,
and that emboldened the students to adhere to their resolu
tion. To add to their encouragement, the faubourg Wieden
addressed the university a vote of thanks on account of its
conduct on the 15th of May ; and nearly aU the companies of
the National Guards of the suburbs of Schottenfeld, Gumpen

Chap. I.] Affair of the 26th of May. 135
dorf, and Neudorf, dispatched deputies to the Aula* assuring
it of their sympathies. The Guards of the ninth section, sec
ond company, issued summons to all National Guards not to
abandon the students in that trying hour ; and the temper of
the people, a few days before apparently so tranquilly inclined
and well disposed, had become already altogether changed.
On the morning of the 26th, by order of the ministry, the reg
ular military were caUed out at an early hour, and stationed
at different points throughout the city, with a view, doubtless,
of carrying the recent order into effect. At seven o'clock,
Count Colloredo Mansfeld, at the head of a body of National
Guards, appeared before the university, and summoned its in
mates to surrender their arms, and to leave the institution.
The students refused to obey. Subsequently, Count Montecu-
culli, the governor president, and General Sardagna, command
er of the city, visited the university for the same purpose, and
were attended with no better success ; the students protesting
against the order, and threatening to hold Montecuculli and
Sardagna responsible for any blood that might be shed on the
occasion. A battalion of the regular infantry were then ad
vanced to the spot, and surrounded the building. The stu
dents, not intimidated by these demonstrations, saluted the
troops with fraternal shouts as they appeared ; and the mass of
people, attracted to the spot by the noise, as well as by curi
osity to witness the closing of the university, increasing from
moment to moment, and impeding any operation of the troops,
it was deemed advisable by the commanders that they should
be withdrawn. The excitement increases, the rappel is beat
en, the tocsin sounded, and thirty thousand workmen from the
faubourgs, at the summons of the students, armed with axes,
spades, and iron bars, rush to the spot ; the city gates are oc
cupied by the regular military, and partly closed ; the laborers
forcing their way through the Rothenthurm door, the mUitary
fire, and one man is killed, and several wounded. The report
spreads like lightning through the city, the excitement be
comes intense, and the construction of barricades, hitherto un
seen in Vienna, commences. The alarm is beaten through the
* University.

136 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
streets, and every one summoned to arms to defend the threat
ened liberty ; the mounted National Guard announces that the
Academic Legion must be sustained ; the workmen receive the
news with enthusiasm, and prosecute their labor at the barri
cades* The pavement of Vienna, beyond all comparison the
most cleanly and beautiful of any city in Europe, composed
of blocks, of granite a foot square, is torn up ; and with these
stones, together with articles of furniture of every description,
carts, and carriages, barricades are soon constructed through
the whole interior city at all the intersections of the streets,
and rising as high, in many places, as the second stories of the
houses. In the course of a couple of hours, the inhabitants
are completely blockaded in their own houses. The immense
paving stones, carried to the upper stories, together with quan
tities of boiling water, are prepared, in case of an attack, to be
thrown on the troops below. Where the paving stones were
not employed in making barricades, every other stone was torn
up and placed on the one which remained stationary, making
a succession of pitfalls, or such an uneven surface as totally to
obstruct the movement of cavalry.
It was terrible to behold a city in the process of transforma
tion from the abode of peace, the mart of trade, or the seat of
pleasure, into a fortress and battle-field. It was impressive
to watch the excited faces and brawny arms of the workmen,
as, with pick-axes, they ripped up the substantial pavement,
and tore down the railings and wood-work, while the women
conveyed these materials to the rising barricade. In some
places, where these barricades were completed, covered with
mattresses, behind which the combatants were to crouch as
they fired upon the charging troops, students in their gro
tesque uniforms addressed the populace, and inveighed against
the Camarilla and their reactionary measures; while over
them waved either the red or black flag, those certain em
blems of blood and death.t While these events were trans-

* In the houses behind the barricades well-dressed females engaged in arrang
ing the paving stones ; others engaged in addressing the people, and encouraging
them to action ; while others carry baskets of bread and wine to those who de-
feud the barricades.
t On a sign-board at the university is written, " What we demand. The garri-

Chap. I.] Triumph of the Students. 137
piring, the soldiers were withdrawn to the public squares,
and there awaited, with loaded arms and burning impatience,
the order to charge the barricades. During the whole morn
ing a desperate conflict was momentarily expected ; for it was
not supposed that the ministry, however weak and wavering
their previous conduct had proved them, could have been guUty
of so gross an absurdity as to have issued an order without
knowing whether they possessed either the moral or physical
courage necessary to carry it into effect ; but such, however
irreconcilable with our ideas of good sense, and particularly
with the caution and prudence peculiar to the German char
acter, was nevertheless the case. If order and tranquillity
were to be restored to the city, the measure determined on, to
disarm. the Academical Legion, had become absolutely neces
sary (in fact, it was the grossest error, in the first instance,
ever to have furnished with arms a large body of undisciplined
and agitated students, who needed no other supply than prop
er books). The slight preparation made by the ministry, how
ever, for effecting their object, together with their base timid
ity, will ever be a matter of severe and unqualified reproach.
The manifestations on the part of the students, National
Guard, and mob, toward noon, became so threatening that
the intimidated ministry issued a proclamation revoking the
order of the previous day for disarming the students and clos
ing the university, and directing the immediate withdrawal
of all the regular troops from the city. The proud Roman le
gions, stripped of their arms, and almost of their clothing, and
forced by the Samnites to pass under the yoke at the Caudine
Forks, could not have felt more chagrin than did those brave
troops, compelled now, for a third time, to march out and
leave the city to a party of insolent youths and unarmed work
men. It was enough to have broken the spirit of any soldiers ;
and they did, unanimously and immediately, petition the min
istry to be removed to some other field of action.
As soon as the news that the ministry had yielded was con
veyed by guards to the barricades, the students in command
received the intelligence with scorn ; and, seizing the procla-
son shall leave the town within twenty-four hours, and the ministry shall guaran
tee the acquisitions of the 16th of May.

138 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
mation of the government, they tore it to pieces before the as
sembled crowds, contemptuously trampling its fragments under
foot. About two o'clock the House of Judicature, on the Ho
hen Markt, was stormed by the students, because one of their
speakers had been arrested, and was confined in the building.
All the windows were demolished, the iron railings torn down,
and the statue of Justice, ornamenting the front, mutilated
The building was finally entered, the guard of security dis
armed, and compelled to leave under the most violent threats.
Those who, on the 18th of May, had been incarcerated for
breathing the word " republic," and some of whom had, in the
interim, undergone trial, and been sentenced for years to im
prisonment in fortresses, were now relieved, and, like martyrs
in a great cause, paraded in triumph through the city.
But at this point the difficulty was far from being at an end.
The students, as was quite natural, availing themselves of the
advantage they had acquired, thought it had now come to their
turn to demand, and required that the concessions granted
them on the 15th of March and 15th of May, and which they
chose to think the government, by the late movements, were
disposed to take away, should be reassured to them ; that the
regular troops should all be confined to their respective bar
racks ; that the entire control of the city and of its gates should
be surrendered into their hands ; and that the ouvriers should
be furnished with work ; all of which the ministry, by several
proclamations, which appeared during the afternoon, fully con
ceded. Although it was evident that nothing was to be feared from
the military, the alarming report was repeatedly raised during
the afternoon that regiments were advancing to storm the bar
ricades, and bodies of workmen and National Guards were dis
patched to the Northern Rail-road and to the bridges over the
Danube, to repel Prince Windischgratz, who, it was said, ad
vanced with four companies against the city.
During the whole night, the students, National Guard, and
workmen remained upon the barricades. Fires were made in
the middle of the streets ; students with their Calabrian hat
and feathers, National Guards with their helmeted caps, ou
vriers without coats, and peasant women without bonnets,

Chap. L] Vienna Surrendered to Students. 139
seated on paving stones around the bright blaze, indulged in
coarse jokes and laughter, or in songs.
It was a strange and painful sight to see these camps in the
heart of a city ; yet the motley groups by the dusky light of the
watch-fires, with the houses high and dark for a background,
were picturesque in the extreme.
About midnight, a rumor being circulated that Prince Win
dischgratz was actually approaching with a large military force
to retake the city, the alarm became excessive. The tocsin
was again sounded, guns were fired, the inhabitants aroused
from their beds, and forced, even before they were dressed, to
commence work and engage in taking up into the third and
fourth stories quantities of the immense paving stones, to be
thrown upon the heads of the invaders. A great destruction
of property ensued, by tearing down columns and wrenching
out iron railings to. strengthen the barricades and furnish arms
to the mob. These acts of violence caused great damage to
the city, and terror among the inhabitants ; and, after all the
mischief had been accomplished, the alarm, as was discov
ered, proceeded from a band of students arriving by steamer
from Pressburg, who had come simply to join their comrades
of the barricades, and to participate in the exciting scenes
which they had learned were transpiring in Vienna. The next
day a document appeared, signed by the ministry, and confid
ing to the charge of the students and National Guard, all the
property of the government, the public institutions, the safety
of the inhabitants, and the tranquillity of the city. They, of
course, readily undertook the charge ; but immediately de
manded cannon for the better execution of the important trust
with whioh they had been invested. The ministry did not
hesitate, but complied at once with the demand, and even
made the delivery of the twelve cannons which they consigned
to the students an occasion of pomp and ceremony. The guns
were covered with garlands of roses, and were received by the
students, paraded as important trophies through the streets,
and then deposited very carefully, subject to their control, in
the Civic Arsenal. This was an inexplicable act certainly, on
the part of men who had not notoriously lost either their wits or
their virtue — to commit the government property with which

140 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
they were intrusted into the hands of those whose sole objects
had been to wrest it from them — to intrust the safety of the
inhabitants and the tranquillity of the city to those by whom
alone the former had been endangered or the latter disturbed !
History nowhere affords so striking an example of reckless
confidence ; or was it a piece of unheard-of magnanimity, a
master-stroke. of policy, to surrender every thing into the hands
of the enemy, make a virtue of necessity, yield with grace
what could not be retained, and look to implacable foes for
mercy ?*
The empire of Austria, shaken to its foundation by the Rev
olution of March, had now reached the second act in the event
ful drama of its poUtical regeneration. The time had arrived
when the promises, vouchsafed by the sovereign in the hour
of alarm and danger, were t6 be fulfilled, and the concessions
so obtained to be finally accepted by the people. The time
had arrived when the temporary connection between the
friends of free government and the enemies of all government
had to be dissolved, if the results of the Revolution were ever
to assume the shape of regular institutions and established
laws. The time, in short, had arrived when a reaction must
take place, not in favor of the old and extinct order of things,
but in favor of real freedom, and against anarchy. Upon the
issue of this struggle the fate of Austria now depended. The
imperial government, at the outset, had been surprised and
overcome, and now lay prostrate, paralyzed, and incapable, for
the moment, of any action whatever. That authority was now
as entirely removed from the scene of action as though it had
never been in existence ; and the struggle was to take place
between the friends of rational liberty on the one hand, and
* The proclamation' of the ministry, dated the 27th of May, is the most extra
ordinary document that was ever signed. The ministry surrender Count Hoyos
to the students, as a guarantee for the concessions of the emperor, on the 1 5th and
16th of May. What, we may inquire, in the name of common sense, had Count
Hoyos to do with the emperor or his concessions? If any one should have guar
anteed the concessions of the emperor, it was surely the ministry, who alone had
the power of regulating affairs. In the next place, the ministry say that those
who caused the disturbances of the 26th of May should be brought to trial. Who
caused those disturbances but the ministry themselves, by their order for closing
the university 1 1 Wiener Zeitung.

Chap. I.] Students commence Arrests. 141
the anarchists on the other. Should the former prevail, there
was reason to hope that the first united and legitimate effort
would not be in vain ; and that the concessions in the cause
of freedom and governmental reform, which they had obtain
ed, would be carried out in good faith, and result in the liber
ation and prosperity of their country ; but, on the other hand,
were the supporters of anarchy to succeed, there was no altern
ative for the people but to submit, for a time, to that most
unreasonable, exacting, and cruel of tyrants, a tyrant mob ;
until the former government, aroused to its self-possession by
the atrocities of the rabble, should interfere, and, in so doing,
crush the liberty which had been gained, and restore the for
mer institutions.
As soon as they were instaUed in power, the students re
solved that the emperor should either return himself to Vien
na, or send in his place one of the royal princes ; and a dep
utation was forthwith dispatched to Innspruck for the delivery
of the message. Orders were then issued for the arrest of all
those who had been instrumental in introducing the troops into
the city on the 26th of May.
Count Hoyos, the former commander of the National Guard,
who had just returned from Innspruck, whither he had been
sent by the ministry in quest of the emperor, was taken ; and
Count Maurice Ditchrichstein, the imperial chamberlain, one
of the most inoffensive and worthy gentlemen of the city, was
seized in his palace, at night, and dragged to the university,
where they were both imprisoned for. several days ; but when
it was discovered that they had no knowledge of the introduc
tion of the troops into the city, they were discharged.
Count Colloredo Mansfeld, the former popular commander
of the Academic Legion ; Count Montecuculli, the liberal Land-
marshal, or presiding officer of the Diet, on whom their hopes
so strongly rested on the 13th of March; and Count Breiiner,
the great supporter of the petition in the Diet, and who was
subsequently the bearer of it to his majesty, and its bold advo
cate in the imperial presence, fled from Vienna to esoape the
arrests, as well as summary vengeance with which they were
now threatened.
Even their own two favorite and most liberal professors,

142 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
they who had acted on all their deputations to the court, and
who with them were the first to seize arms in defense of lib
erty, one escaped arrest by flight ; the other, after enduring im
prisonment for some time, was, by strong intercessions in his
behalf, released. These individuals, who, six weeks previous,
were regarded, even by the students themselves, as the most
liberal men of their class, as men attached to real progress,
were now denounced as traitors.
The students, proceeding with youthful rapidity, had found
themselves far in advance of their cautious professors. The
latter, it was declared, did not keep up with the age ; they had
become too conservative, and they were seized and tried for no
offense in the world, except that they had not kept pace in ex
travagance and crime with the warm blood and light heads of
their pupils. Time moved rapidly, and a few days was quite
sufficient to convert Liberals into either Radicals or Conserva
tives. It seemed impossible to stand still, and it was there
fore necessary either to advance or retrograde. The most for
midable enemies of the new liberal Constitution were those
who, but a few weeks before, were its most strenuous parti
sans ; for they were the first to denounce the very concessions
which they had been the first to demand.
To the Liberals, or friends of free government, there was now
a double conflict opened : first, that of the people against the
old form of government ; secondly, that of the new form of
government against the Radicals, or enemies of all government.
It was greatly to be feared that they would not justly ap
preciate the delicate situation in which they were then placed ;
that they would see only the single conflict between the old
form of government and the Radicals, and between the choice
of evils, select the former as the least ; on the principle that a
bad government was preferable to no government at all.
After these extraordinary proceedings, it was not to be won
dered at. that the disorders and disturbances increased in the
city. The ministry having become tools of the mob, the Lib
erals or friends of good government offering no resistance, and
every one who could, escaping as rapidly as possible, for fear
of becoming a victim, Vienna was given up to perfect anar
chy. Meetings were held to consider the propriety of making

Chap. I.] Disorder among the Tradesmen. 143
landlords diminish the rents of houses, and to determine that
the proper time of payment was subsequent, and not, as for
merly, previous to occupation. Processions of workmen prom
enaded the streets, strdting for wages, and determined not to
work until assuranoes were received that their pay would be
increased and hours of labor diminished ; requisitions fatal to
contractors, and a serious inconvenience to builders.
The tailors held a great assembly ; the grievance to be rem
edied with them was that the women had appropriated certain
work, such as making ladies' habits and mantillas, which they
asserted belonged more properly to them.* Breaking into the
establishment of the most fashionable French milliner in the
city, they destroyed the greater part of her goods and carried
off the remainder.
Two offices or booths, erected on the glacis for the purpose
of receiving enrollments for the army of Italy, openly and at
mid-day were attacked by the mob, and torn to pieces in the
presence of the National Guard, who made no attempt at inter
ference ; the object being to prevent the departure of any able-
bodied men from the city at that time.
The students established among themselves a legion known
as the Death's-head Legion, and bearing on their caps, as em
blematic ornaments, a skull and cross-bones ; and boys of four
teen and sixteen years, with such devices to their Calabrian
hats, exhibited their enthusiasm for liberty, and expressed
their determination neither to yield or accept pardon in the
struggle for it. No one could now walk the streets of Vienna
without the fear of injury. Every where appeared placards
of menace and violence. It was quite usual for creditors to
penetrate the houses of their debtors, insulting them when un
willing or unable to respond to their unreasonable demands.
Any one who disapproved of such disorders was visited with
summary vengeance ; and if one desired to gratify his long-
indulged hate, it was only necessary to hint to the mob that
the unhappy victim had expressed a sentiment or performed an
act favorable to order or good government. There was no per
sonal security, for any well-attired individual was liable to in-
* In Vienna ladies' dresses are always made by men — Damen Schneidern, as
they are called.

144 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
suit while quietly promenading the streets. Every one dread
ed what the next day might develop, and despondency inoreased
from hour to hour throughout the city. In this exigency, the
police acknowledged its inefficiency ; the National Guard shrug
ged their shoulders ; and the ministry, terror-stricken, sought
refuge either in flight or obscurity, upon the first symptoms
of danger.
In such a condition of affairs national bankruptcy and in
dividual ruin seemed inevitable. The government was obliged
to borrow large sums of money, mortgaging the valuable salt
mines of Gmunden as security, and this was chiefly expended
in useless works of internal improvements, to give employment
to the people. The aristocracy were ruined by the repudiation
of the labor and tithes formerly yielded by the peasantry ;
merchants could effect no sales, for there was no money where
with to make purchases.
Even freedom of the press, to obtain which was a principal
object of the previous agitation, now existed no longer ; for no
one dared to publish any thing reflecting, in the slightest de
gree, upon the patriotism, wisdom, or moderation of the stu
dents. Although it was the unanimous wish of the middle
classes to free the community of the students, who were the
primary cause of the existent difficulties, a petition to that ef
fect, extensively circulated, was not signed by six individuals,
such was the alarm which the young fanatics inspired. The
programme adopted by the extreme left at the Diet at Frank
fort now became known, and this was to form in Germany a
great confederation of republican states ; and the partisans of
this object in Vienna now urged upon Austria to join the league.
For this purpose, German ribbons were only worn, and Ger
man patriotic songs alone sung ; Radical papers even dated
their news, not from Vienna, but from " the United States of
Germany." The question of an Austrian monarchy no longer
existed. It was universally said that the Constituent Assembly
would determine a form of government for Austria ; and it was
openly suggested that certain rights should b ? permitted, and
others taken from, the emperor.* It was no longer allowed to
speak of the privileges of the crown and of the monarch. It
* The Radical.

Chap. L] The Archduke John. 145
was only the sovereign people to whom remained any rights
whatever. To hint at the compatibility of the public desires with the
rights of the crown was an insult to the sovereign people. By
the clubs, the Democratic meetings, and the Radical press, the
population were constantly imbued with these views.
Schiitte, the agitator, admits, in his journal since published,
that the object of the Democratic leaders at Vienna was the
establishment of a republic. •
" What Paris," he says, "had employed some tens of years
to accomplish, the people of Vienna thought to obtain in a few
months, and then to be able proudly to proclaim, ' Behold, the
Viennese are the leading free people of the world ; in one year
they have overthrown absolute monarchy, obtained a constitu
tional monarchy, and gloriously won a republic' " The Rad
ical party, although at this time possessed of full power, so far
as the city of Vienna was concerned, to carry their desires and
intentions into effect, did not entertain this purpose, or con
sider it advisable to urge things to extremities ; their policy
seemed rather to await the action of the Central Diet at Frank
fort, to keep affairs at Vienna in the same unsettled and dis
ordered state, and to be ready to adopt any plan that might be
proposed by the central power.
Alarmed by the critical situation of his capital, the emper
or, by a manifesto, bearing date the 16th of June, appointed
the Archduke John as his representative in opening the Diet,
and in the other affairs of government. On the 24th, the arch
duke, a favorite with the people of the empire (not only on ac
count of the gentleness and suavity of his demeanor, but from
his unostentatious manner of hfe, and particularly on account
of his having married, not among the courts, but among the
people),* arrived in Vienna.
He was most cordially received, and all parties expressed
their high respect for him. At two o'clock at night, a grand
torch-light procession took place in honor of him, and thou
sands of citizens, National Guards, and students, exhibited the
utmost enthusiasm in his favor. On the next morning, he re
ceived, in the name of the emperor, the ministry, the National
* He married the daughter of a country postmaster.
K

146 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
Guard, the garrison, the magistrates, committees of security,
and the municipality.
This was by far the most judicious move that the emperor
could have made, as, owing to his universal popularity, the
Archduke John was more likely to exact obedience than any
other member of the imperial family. The Committee of Stu
dents and National Guard, who had assumed all authority in
the city, proposed to the archduke, it was said, to relinquish all
their powers ; but he committed the great error of saying to
them, that, as they had been enabled to preserve order in the
city for some weeks past, they might stUl retain their stations,
until other arrangements could be made by the Assembly which
was shortly to convene in Vienna.
The assembly or convention for the formation of the Consti
tution, the convocation of which had been fixed for the 26th
of June, had not as yet taken place, owing to a delay in the
elections, which were still proceeding in some of the provinces.
Many deputies, however, from those portions of the empire
where the elections had aheady occurred, had reached Vienna,
viz., from Galicia, Croatia, and other Slavonian provinces ; and,
of about sixty who had made their appearance, not one spoke
or understood a word of German. Notwithstanding all the
assurances of loyalty, attachment, and devotedness to the
crown, which exhibited itself on the appearance of the Arch
duke John, the efforts of the agitators were continued with
daily increasing zeal.
On the 24th, the very day of the archduke's arrival, discus
sions were opened in the Radical papers upon the question,
whether, after the events of the months of March and May,
the emperor should bear the title, " By the grace of God."*
On the 29th the archduke was elected, by the National As
sembly of Frankfort, as Regent of the German empire, and a
deputation immediately dispatched by that body to Vienna to
inform his imperial highness of his election, and to request his
acceptance of the station. The deputation arrived in Vienna
on the 4th of July, and was received on the 5th by the arch
duke in solemn audience. Upon the proposal of the deputa
tion, the archduke declared himself ready to accept the offered
* Demokral.

Chap. I.] Archduke John made Regent. 147
dignity. The Regent of the Empire appeared on the balcony
of the palace, hand-in-hand with the deputation, and there ad
dressed the assembled crowd in a brief but animated speech,
which was received with great enthusiasm ; the firing of can
non, playing the German national hymn, and shouts of an ex
cited populace continued ; while the diplomatic corps, the min
istry, and the National Guard, tendered their felicitations. Al
though it must have been gratifying to the hearts of the Vien
nese to witness the honor conferred on a member of the impe
rial house, yet the appointment of the Archduke John at that
time, when he had just undertaken a similar task in Austria,
and when he was the only man who inspired confidence, was
particularly unfortunate for the empire. Serenades and torch
light processions concluded, on that night, the ceremonies in
honor of the deputies, the archduke, and the occasion.
As indicative of the public feeling abroad at this time in
Germany, it may not be unimportant to notice the proceed
ings of a visit, paid the next day, by two of the deputies to
the university. After an address made them by one of the
most self-important of the youths, and which was strongly
tinctured with Republicanism, Hecksher replied, that he was
from Hamburg, and a Republican himself, but that he was
fully persuaded that the German people were not yet prepared
for a republic, and that it could not be introduced without an
archy and bloodshed ; that he, consequently, had taken his
seat on the right side at Frankfort. After this rebuff to the
young Republicans of the Aula, Hecksher adroitly returned to
the German question, declaring his willingness to make any
sacrifice for the liberty of Germany ; and finally concluded his
remarks by reminding the audience, that he, too, had shoul
dered his musket, and battled against the tyranny of Napo
leon ; but that, the conflict over, he had returned again to his
studies. " Therefore," said he, " I take the liberty to remind
you, my dear young friends, that you may now more properly
continue your exploits upon the field of science." Such whole
some advice was not relished by the students, in fact, would
have been altogether unendurable, had it not been foUowed by
a speech from the Radical deputy, Raveaux, who was attached
to the extreme left of the Frankfort Assembly. He directed

148 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
the attention of the students to the fact, that the commission
of the Archduke John contained neither the words " inviola
ble," nor "by the grace of God;" that the latter expression
in connection with sovereigns was obsolete, and that the peo
ple alone were " by the grace of God ;" and that Archduke
John (or, as he would rather say, citizen John) had also adopt
ed these principles.
It was a great gratification, indeed, a triumph to the Rad
icals, to use or listen to such language with impunity then,
which indulgence in less than six months previously would
have cost them their heads.
About this time the excitement against Baron PiUersdorf,
Minister of the Interior, became very great. He was the ob
ject of attack in all the papers, and his withdrawal from the
ministry vehemently demanded. Reports of revolutionary out
breaks in contemplation were diligently disseminated. The
" Democratic Union," which now began to exhibit itself more
confidently than ever, dispatched a deputation to the arch
duke, demanding the immediate dismissal of PiUersdorf. The
Committee of Security did the same. Pillersdorf, notwith
standing he had been a pliant tool through whom they had
effected much mischief, was not, in all respects, satisfactory
to the Radicals, or fitted, perhaps for the ends which they then
had in contemplation. The Committee of Students, headed
by M. Fraulich, addressed the archduke, after which he re
plied : "I am an old Austrian — an old German. I wish to
dedicate the last days of my life to the good of my country.
My intentions are good. He who directs the destinies of the
universe will judge me. You, my young friends of the uni
versity, have done much ; act for the general interest ; I have
the utmost confidence in you." These remarks alone, if oth
er and abundant proof were not at hand, show that the Arch
duke John was not the man for the crisis.*
On the 8th of July, Baron Pillersdorf surrendered his port
folio into the hands of his imperial highness, the representa-
* On the same evening, the archduke (in company with the deputation) took
his departure for Frankfort, after having issued a proclamation announcing his
intention to return by the 19th instant, to represent the emperor at the opening
of the Diet.

Chap. I.] Change of Ministry. 149
tive of the emperor. His resignation was accepted, and Bar
on Dobblhof was charged with the formation of a new minis
try.* By this step the Radical party made an important ad
vance. Owing to the inexperience of the people in the conduct of
elections, together with the indolence manifested on the occa
sion, the Radical party, by their stratagems and zeal, succeed
ed in electing to the Assembly some of the most violent Revo
lutionists ; who, with their adherents, formed the left side of
the Austrian Diet, and who sanctioned, if they did not insti
gate, the dreadful occurrences of the 6th of October.
On the 17th of July, the Archduke John, in conformity with
his promise, returned to Vienna, in order to officiate, in place
of the emperor, at the opening of the Diet. On the 19th was
published, in the official gazette, a list of the new ministry,
which did not, however, meet the general approbation. Par
ticular objections were made to the Minister of Public Works.
His character, together with the manner in which he had pro
cured his nomination, were by no means satisfactory. And
even the appointment of Dobblhof, demanded as it was by the
"Democratic Union" and the " Committee of Security," rest
ed under a cloud of suspicion ; but, the most incomprehensible
part of the transaction was, that the archduke, in the disso
lution of the old ministry, should have thought proper to yield
obedience to such a demand, and from such a source. Such
a ministry could not be otherwise than suspicious. A ministry
under a constitutional, as well as a republican government,
should be formed in accordance with the public will ; but the
mistake committed here, throughout the entire struggle, was
that of considering a mere faction the people. And that this
faction was flattered, instead of being opposed ; courted, instead
of being suppressed, was the error committed both by Pil
lersdorf and Dobblhof — the rock upon which both their admin
istrations were wrecked.
To continue the excitement, a deputation now arrived from
Paris, bringing a flag and an address of thanks to the stu
dents of Vienna. Warm debates took place in the sessions of
^ For a list of the Austrian ministry during the years 1848 and 1849, and which,
in point of numbers, exceeded any thing before known, see Appendix, Note 5.

150 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
the Committee of Security, upon the question whether, now
that the Diet was about to commence its sittings, the com
mittee should or should not be dissolved. That such a self-
constituted and revolutionary body should exist in opposition
to the legally-elected and regularly-constituted Diet would not
admit of a moment's doubt, even had it not been so expressly
determined at its installation. It was evident, therefore, that
all the debates were instituted with no other object than to
impose on the people, produce an excitement in their favor,
and thus prolong their authority ; and this object was attained.
The Baroness Brandhof, the wife of the Archduke John, and
born neither of imperial, royal, or even noble parents, but be
longing originally to the ranks of the people, arrived, on the 18th,
in Vienna. The occasion was improved by the Radicals to in
dulge in great ceremonies and festivals in her honor ; to make
to her addresses, welcoming her as a sister who, " amid a pois
oned atmosphere, had preserved a simple, honest mind," etc.
To such a degree had their impudence on the one hand, and
stupidity on the other, increased, that such insults, in the very
face of the archduke, to whom so much devotedness and at
tachment had been feigned, were received with acclamations
by the crowd. No occasion, indeed, was ever lost to under
mine the court in the minds of the people.
About this time the first meeting took place of the Union
of Journeymen and Workmen, established by the Democratic
Union, to promote the corruption of that class, and to instill
into them the principles of communism.
On the 22d of July, the opening of the Constituent Assem
bly took place, under the auspices of the Archduke John, em
powered by the emperor to represent him on that occasion.
The powerful element which formed the left side of the
house, excited already from the commencement dread in the
minds of the more prudent citizens, as to the influence which
that party would one day exercise. These forebodings were
but too soon justified.
The address delivered by his highness on the occasion was
appropriate and interesting, so far as it touohed cursorily upon
the affairs of the government ; the desire of the emperor for
the fuU equality of rights to all the nations of the empire, and

Chap. I.] Opening of the Diet. 151
their voluntary annexation with Germany, as well as the in
tention of the government to conduot with vigor the war in
Italy, and to look only to the force of arms for an honorable
peace. The first days of the session were appropriately enough de
voted to an examination of the election returns of the members,
and deliberations upon the subject of rules for the government
of the Assembly ; but their entire ignorance of all parliament
ary proceedings was extremely ridiculous.
Not a week had expired after they met before operations
were commenced to entrap the right side. By a concert of ac
tion between the left side and those revolutionary bodies of the
city, the Democratic Union and the Committee of Security —
in fact, the most violent members of the left side were also
members of those associations — an invitation was addressed to
the Diet to join in a funeral ceremony, to take place in honor
of those who had fallen in the March Revolution ; and, with
out suspicion of the design, the invitation was accepted by the
Diet with applause. The municipality, the dignities of the
university, all the various committees, and 40,000 National
Guards, in all upward of 100,000 persons, took part in the
ceremonies which were conducted with great pomp. They
purported to be merely the religious service of mass for the
souls of the fallen ; but, in truth, were a political maneuver
of great depth, to obtain not only a confirmation of the legal
existence of the "Revolutionary Committee of Security," but
to compromise the Diet, and to force its members to recognize
the principles contended for on that occasion, and* in this way
to sanction all the acts of lawless violence since committed as
legitimate parts of one and the same transaction.
The ministers Dobblhof, Bach, Hornbostel, and Kraus, were
present in the uniform of the National Guard ; whether they
were honest dupes, or participes criminis, it would be a waste
of labor to ascertain.
As the Archduke John was now obliged to leave Vienna for
a length of time, the return of the emperor became not only a
matter of importance, but of loud and animated discussion.
All classes seemed to unite in one desire for his return, al
though the motives which actuated them were, doubtless,

152 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
widely different. The well-disposed, influenced by sincere loy
alty to the throne and dynasty, desired it from the hopes which
they entertained that the imperial presence would tend to tran-
quilize the public mind, and restore life, prosperity, and hap
piness to the city. But those who drove him off, desired him
back that they might obtain more concessions, or subject him
to further humiliations ; while they felt confident that such a
" petrified effigy of extinct authority" could not, in the slight
est degree, defeat their plans or embarrass their operations.
As the deputations previously sent to the emperor had been
unsuccessful in procuring his return, a new deputation, of one
member from each of the provinces, was appointed by the
Diet to bear him an address.
An address was prepared, in which it was stated that not
only the interests of the empire required his presence at the
capital, but that the fate of the dynasty depended on it. This
address was considered too tame to suit the views of the Rad
ical party, and they sought to introduce into it the word " de
mand," in connection with the emperor's return. Count Sta-
dion, of the right side, proposed as a substitute the word " en
treat," when he was hissed by a great portion of the House.
The former, after a stormy debate, was accordingly introduced,
and, as one deputy remarked in his speech, it was the only
word in the address that came up to his ideas, and met his ap
probation. The Democratic monarchy (Democratische Monarchic),
however absurd and contradictory the expression, became now
the watch- word. A throne, with democratic institutions upon
the widest basis ; clearly defined, in other words, a republic
with a hereditary presidents — with an imperial title, but with
out imperial rights. The word republic was studiously avoid
ed, while the institution itself was most clearly recognized.
The session of the Diet of the 29th of July was remarkable
for developing the boldness of the Radicals. One deputy ex
pressed himself favorable to the return of the emperor, but
stated that he was to be warned of the danger of irresponsible
counselors. The Revolution has been acknowledged ; there
fore, the National Guard must constitute the guards of the
throne, and the Committee of Public Security must be sustain-

Chap. I.] Condition of Vienna. 153
ed. Another member, with the insolent arrogance peculiar
to him, arose and said, " I rise in the name of the aggrieved
Austrian people — the people who have exhibited an attach
ment unparalleled in history ; who have shown a patience,
during those intrigues by which the emperor has been oarried
off, never before manifested ; who have sent deputation after
deputation to Innspruck, begging him to return. I declare
there will be a time when people will cease to beg. Had
they but spoken more energetically at first, we would not be
obliged to-day to use such language. The people are deeply
afflicted by the mortification they have suffered. Had such
an occurrence happened to another nation, what would have
become of the dynasty ? Look to the history of Charles the
First, James the Second, Louis the Sixteenth !"
To continue the excitement, and keep up the tumults, con
stant spectacles, processions, consecrations of flags, festivities
of fraternity, reception and dispatch of deputies between the
provincial towns and the capital, to present reciprocal sympa
thies, daily took place. The increasing frantic tendencies of
the Democratic and other unions, the noise of the placard and
newspaper sellers during the day, and charivaris* at night,
not unfrequently accompanied with destruction of property —
excesses against which the most earnest representations were
made by the ministry, but to no effect — increased the agitation.
Such events had produced a sad change in Vienna. The
ancient splendor of the imperial city passed away. All the
style and magnificence of the court and of the nobility disap
peared. From twenty to thirty millions of florins withdrawn
from circulation, injuriously affected all trades and professions.
Commerce and manufactures were crippled, and poverty pre
vailed to a most threatening degree. The old serenity and
joyfulness of Vienna were supplanted by the riotous festivities
of the students and National Guard. At all the public places
they took the lead, with revolting arrogance, and banished all
true enjoyment. A demon of discord separated families, inter
rupted the friendships of years, and spread distrust among all
classes of the population. Instead of the wealthy and respect
able stranger, once attracted to the city by its gayety and
* Mock serenades.

154 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
splendor ; adventurers, agitators, demagogues, in short, the rab
ble from all parts of the monarchy and the Continent, rushed
to Vienna to re-enforce the ranks of their comrades. Instead
of the weU-dressed persons that usually thronged the streets,
beggars of every description, suspicious-looking figures, never
before seen, met the eye at every turn. Among the male pop
ulation, scarcely a civil costume was to be seen. Every one
wore a military uniform or Calabrian hat. During the whole
day an uninterrupted sound of the clanking of long swords
upon the stone pavement was audible, while a great many of
the creatures to whom they were attached seemed themselves
rather appendages to the unmanageable sabre.
Every one felt that the tide of revolution was on the rise.
Every one saw that the ministry, so far from raising a dam to
stop the angry current, themselves joyfully plunged in and
were swept away by a torrent that they could not stem. In
the minds of all prudent and reflecting persons, the conviction
was irresistible that such a state of things could only be of
short duration, and that there was no other end than in some
dread catastrophe.
Not a day, in these excited times, passed without being
marked by a ceremony for which all the daily pursuits of life
were abandoned, and the people only craved excitement, which
had now become as necessary to their moral, as food to their
corporeal existence. The 6th of August was distinguished by
the ceremony of the adoption of the German colors, by the
German regiments at Vienna, in obedience to the decree of the
Frankfort Diet. By an order of the 16th of July, the Minister
of War of the German empire notified the ministers of war of
the various German nations, that the Archduke John, elected
Regent of the Empire, had taken command of all the armed
power of Germany, and that accordingly they were required
to parade all troops of the German Confederation attached to
their respective garrisons on Sunday, the 6th of August, to
announce to them, by the reading of the proclamation, that
fact, and to order, as an expression of homage, three cheers for
the Regent of the Empire ; and, when circumstances would
permit, to be accompanied by three salutes ; and from that
day, all troops, where it had not already been done, should

Chap. I.] Emperor's Return. 155
adopt the German colors, by wearing the German cockade in
their caps, and the German ribbons on their flags.
The deputation dispatched by the Diet to the emperor had
an interview with his majesty at Innspruck, on the 5th of Au
gust ; and, upon their presentation of the address, the emperor
said, " I am glad to receive the deputies of the Constituent
Diet. Anxious only for the welfare of my states, I will, under
the circumstances mentioned, comply with the request con
tained in the address you bear me, and return among you.
As my health is not yet fully re-established, I shall not be able
to commence my journey before the 8th of the present month,
when I shall return to my faithful Austrians. I am happy to
receive the assurances of your loyal dispositions."
On the day last mentioned, agreeably to advices received, a
proclamation was issued by the ministry of Vienna, informing
the inhabitants of the capital that their " most beloved emper
or" would arrive in Vienna on the 12th of August, by the
steamer from Linz, accompanied by her majesty the empress,
and his imperial highness the Archduke Francis Charles, and
his son the Archduke Francis Joseph. That the other mem
bers of the high court at Innspruck, viz., her imperial high
ness the Archduchess Sophia and family, would arrive one day
later ; and that the Minister of the Interior hastened to bring
to the public knowledge this highly agreeable intelligence.*
The joyful news of the emperor's intended return having
rapidly spread through the city, all minds became immediate
ly occupied in preparations for his reception. At 5 o'clock on
the morning of the 12th, the commission of the commune, dep
utations of magistrates from the university, the garrison, and
several public bodies, started by steamer for Stein, about forty
miles up the Danube, in order to meet their majesties, who ar
rived there at noon, and were received with great respect. The
deputations, with M. Dobblhof, Minister of the Interior, at their
head, were presented to the emperor, and congratulatory speech
es delivered, expressing sentiments of profound devotedness to
the emperor and to the constitutional monarchy. The emperor
replied in suitable terms, and frequently declared that he was
* Wiener Zeitung.

156 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
delighted to return to Vienna. Having reached Nussdorf (the
landing-place of the steamers from the Upper Danube), their
majesties were greeted by the acclamations of the assembled
people, and passed to their carriages through rows of young
girls tastefully dressed, who strewed their path with flowers.
At several points triumphal arches were erected, through which
the imperial family drove, where a number of children were
stationed with branches of olive and bouquets of flowers. The
National Guard were assembled with their muskets decorated
with flowers. Houses were dressed out with flags and gar
lands. On the Place of St. Stephen, the emperor was re
ceived by the ministry, the staff, and detachments of the Hun
garian and Italian Noble Guards. A TeDeum was performed
in the cathedral, in the presence of the court and the National
Assembly. The emperor and empress subsequently proceeded
to the palace amid an immense assemblage, while the balconies
of every house were occupied by ladies, who waved their hand
kerchiefs and scattered flowers. At the palace, the public au
thorities, and many members of the National Assembly, were
in waiting ; and there an address was made the emperor, by
Dr. Smidt, President of the Diet, who, in the name of the Na
tional Assembly, and in the name of all the free people repre
sented by it, greeted with loyalty his majesty's return to the
palace of his ancestors. In short, all the preparations and ar
rangements made, to give a joyous welcome to the imperial
family, were carried out with that exquisite taste peculiar to
the people of Vienna ; while the joy and enthusiasm on the
occasion were unbounded.
Although the disappearance of the emperor from his capital,
in the secrecy with which it was effected, bore a strong re
semblance to the departure of Louis the Sixteenth from Paris,
yet his return presented the most striking contrast to that of
the unfortunate French monarch, detected by the likeness on
his own coin, and, brought back a prisoner under a guard of
the Assembly, treated with the utmost contumely, the crowds
who flocked to see him as he passed,heaping upon himself and
family every sort of indignity and insult. Whereas, / with the
Austrian monarch, from Nussdorf to Vienna, and through the
city to Schbnbrunn, the summer palace, a distance of not les*

Chap. I.] Agitation Renewed. 157
than six miles, by the road he passed, there was but one un
interrupted and solid wall of happy beings. On either side
stands had been ereoted, and rented at enormous rates, and
there the people patiently waited, under a scorching August
sun, from early morning until evening, for the momentary grat
ification of a single glance at the dear monarch whom, only six
weeks before, their conduct had driven from his capital and his
throne. The day succeeding that of the emperor's return to
Vienna, he issued a proclamation to the citizens, characterized
by judgment and taste, expressing gratification at their recep
tion, and the hope that peace and unanimity would now pre
vail, and trusting that, in conjunction with his ministers, the
Diet might be enabled to carry on to completion the Constitu
tion of the empire.
Notwithstanding these joyous manifestations, the satisfac
tion, which appeared every where on the surface, was of little
depth. The students, to counteract the pacific and salutary
effects whioh the emperor's return to the city, or that of the
news of the victorious entry of the imperial troops into Milan,
which had just arrived, were calculated to produce, seemed to
redouble their energies in the exercise of that injurious influ
ence which they held over the capital. To the aid of their
cause, the notorious Schiitte, who, on account of his baneful
activity, as has been seen, was expelled from the city in the
spring, again appeared, and was most joyfully welcomed by his
partisans of the university. Having, in the interim, traversed
Germany in the service of the Propaganda, and met with many
adventures, he returned now to communicate the result of his
labors, and to stir up the Radicals of Vienna to increased activ
ity ; while the ministry, as inefficient as their predecessors,
dared not, in opposition to the university, take any steps for
his removal or the prevention of disturbance. Every day he
delivered one of his inflammatory addresses, some of which are
too characteristic of the times — too expressive of the history
of the period, to be omitted.
On the 17th of August, in the Aula, before a crowded audi
ence, Dr. Schiitte arose and said : " Carried off three months
ago, I return once more among you. Having traveled over the
whole of Europe, I am familiar with the general political con-

158 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
dition of all countries ; and I return now with the strong con
viction that Vienna is the greatest city of liberty. Vienna has
accomplished things never before done in France, in Belgium,
or any where else. In Paris, the press is far more restrained.
In Frankfort, the number of those who keep to the side of free
dom is small, and therefore overwhelmed. In Berlin, they are
under military rule, which most brutally suppresses every free
movement. There they refused, on the 6th of August, to ex
ecute the decree of the National Assembly, and to pay homage
to the Regent of the German Empire. In Vienna, I find a
more numerous National Guard than exists in any other city.
I find the old spirit of the March days still in existence. Yes
terday the Aula ventured to rise* up for its acquisitions ; and,
if liberty is threatened in Paris, Berlin, or Frankfort, Vienna
will offer her a strong-hold. But your merits are every where
acknowledged ; every German heart palpitates at the sight of
a Viennese ; and I myself traveled as a Viennese, as I am
dearly attached to Vienna. In Mayence, I was carried off
with some Viennese students from the hotel, as the citizens
there considered it an honor to offer hospitality to a Viennese.
The same occurred at Cologne, in Paris, and in the Depart
ment of the Sorbonne, when I loudly expressed the sympathy
of the Viennese for France ; and for their admiration and love
of the population of Vienna, the flag over my head is a guaran
tee ! The especial object of my visit at this time to Vienna is
important. In Frankfort, a struggle is now going on between
the men of stability and the men of progress ; the latter are in
a minority, and not only have protests been entered agamst
them, but the right side have joined in oppressing them. It
is, therefore, necessary for Vienna to give a sign of life, a cry
of terror to the right side, and of sympathy for the left, to
which also the Viennese deputies belong. I will read over
again the address, and desire that it may become, by a reso
lution of this Assembly, an Address of the Aula." The address
was tnto read and unanimously adopted.
* A shameful affair which occurred on the night of the 16th, in trying to relieve
by force the editors of the " Students' Courier," arrested for a violation of the
laws of the press. The caution-money was afterward paid, and the difficulty
ended.

Chap. I.] Schemes of the Anarchists. 159
Some idea may be formed of the excitement that existed at
that period among the masses, as well as of the grade of their
political intelligence, by the fact that such a speech was con
sidered as " electrifying eloquence." But this circumstance
affords but a partial insight into the history of the times, as
thus illustrated. This brief harangue of Schiitte's, as the at
tentive observer wiU not fail to discover, exposes the whole
plan of operations, and demonstrates how, in the remarkable
year of 1848, public opinion was first produced, afterward ex
ported, then manufactured into maxims and principles, and
finally restored to its original source. How excitement of the
population by the agitators commenced ; how by sympathy it
was communicated, from point to point, and by reaction con
tinued from month to month, until almost all Europe became
involved. How few the instigators, and how untiring their in
dustry, may be inferred from the orator's performances, when
he completed the tour of Europe, and ascertained the political
condition of the people, as he says, in three months. How they
operated upon the feelings of the masses, may be judged of by
the fulsome flattery in which he indulges toward the Vien
nese, calling them the champions of liberty, telling them that
they had accomplished things never before done in France, Bel
gium, or any where else, and that their merits were every where
acknowledged. But by far the most important disclosure which this effort
presents, is the fact of how small a part the people took in the
origin of all the measures by which the excitement was pro
longed, and how completely they rendered themselves servile
instruments to further the ends of designing agitators. The
very acts by which Vienna acquired the appellation of the1'
greatest city of liberty on the Continent, were the destruction
of the ministry and storming of the emperor's palace, on the
15th of May ; and these, it will be recollected, were the results
of Schiitte's own recommendation, when, after his speech in
the Odeon, on the 14th of April, he drew from his pocket the
Sturm Petition, which inevitably produced those events. And
" the especial object of his visit" to Vienna at this time, as he
has the candor to acknowledge in the conclusion of his address,
was to manufacture for the inhabitants of that capital some

160 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
further opinions, to serve as a "terror to the right, and sym
pathy for the left" of the Frankfort Assembly.
About this time, a new element was introduced into the po
litical arena, to swell, if possible, the already overflowing ex
citement. It was the agitation of the new religion, termed
the German Catholic, a kind of compromise between the Ro
man Catholic and the Protestant, and of which Ronge, if not
the author, was at least the chief disciple. Several very crowd
ed meetings took place. The religion, however, found but
few converts ; but the object in view, and which was openly
avowed, was advanced, viz., to continue the excitement, to un
dermine the established religion of the country, and increase
the demoralization of the people.
The 21st of August was marked by a tumult with the work
men. The students, by fraternizing with this class, and call
ing upon them for co-operation in their efforts against the
government, brought the proletaria to a knowledge of their
physical strength, and thus shook the foundations of social
order. They had let loose a power which they found them
selves unable to control. A single hand, they forgot, might
unbar the cage and let the grim lion out ; but, when out, how
many and what force would it not require again to confine
him? The Minister of Public Works, perceiving that no labor was
performed, resorted to the expedient of giving out the work by
contract, or, rather, of remunerating their services, not by the
day, but by the quantity of work which had been accomplished.
The terms offered were liberal, and the measure could not have
affected injuriously the industrious, but only the indolent ; yet
this measure was deemed such an interference with the rights
of the sovereign people as could not be submitted to with pa
tience. Accordingly, on the 21st of August, the day on which
this new arrangement was to go into operation, crowds of work
men assembled with flags before the convent of the Liguorians
(which, since the expulsion of that body, had been converted
into an office for the Committee on Public Works), and before
the bureau of the magistracy, to demand the revocation of the
obnoxious order. As the authorities would not yield to the
demand, and the fermentation became more serious, the Guard

Chap. I.] Conflict with the Workmen. 161
of Security,* and some divisions of the National Guard, were
called out to disperse the crowd with the utmost forbearance.
No obedience was yielded to the mild measures taken to dis
perse them ; but, on the contrary, they grossly insulted the
guards, and the street was finally cleared by a division of the
National Guard. The same took place on the Hohen Markt
and the Tuchlaben. The repeatedly uttered threats of the
workmen that they would go back for their tools, and thus en
force their rights, induced the city council, for the mainte
nance of the public tranquillity, to cause the rappel for the Na
tional Guard to be beaten, the gates of the city to be closed,
and the bastions surmounted with cannon. Toward evening,
however, the crowds of ouvriers had been dispersed, and com
pletely expelled from the city, and no further disturbance oc
curred on that day.
On the 22d of August all was apparently quiet ; but soon
it was discovered that the workmen had come to a resolution
among themselves, that, on the following day, they would be
prepared to sustain their demand more energetically. Accord
ingly, on the next afternoon, between two and three o'clock,
several thousand workmen, collected in one of the faubourgs
known as the Leopoldstadt, were engaged in representing a
mock funeral of the Minister of Public Works (who, it was
represented, had been choked to death by the kreutzers ab
stracted from the workmen), and a body of Municipal and
National Guards, endeavoring to disperse them, met with re
sistance. In the excited state in which both parties Were, a
conflict ensued, several of the Guards were killed and many
wounded ; and among the workmen, as nearly as could be as
certained, about one hundred were either killed or wounded. t
The Municipal Guard acting with intrepidity, and the Nation
al Guard with more proper energy than they had ever previ
ously evinced, a few hours were quite sufficient to subdue all
opposition, and with the shades of night tranquillity was again
restored. The next morning the city was quiet, and all immediate
* A new municipal guard which had been established.
t The authorities published ten killed and seventy wounded. Many of the
wounded subsequently died in the hospital. L

162 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
danger to the public peace removed. The vigor with which
the workmen had been attacked by the National Guard ; their
failure in receiving that support which they had expected from
the students, for whom, when similarly situated, they had
rushed to the rescue ; and then the fact of their having no
arms themselves to continue the conflict, and no , enlightened
heads to direct their movements, brought them reluctantly to
the conclusion that peace was their wisest policy.
The energy which the National Guard had displayed on
this occasion having given the hope that, when necessity re
quired, they were ready to fire upon the rioters, and might,
consequently, be depended on in future emergencies, so en
couraged the ministry, that they summoned, for the moment,
energy sufficient to issue an order, having for effect the dis
solution of the revolutionary Committee of Security, which
had of late usurped all the powers of the ministry.
On the 24th, the ministry issued two proclamations, to the
effect that they would again assume all power to themselves
in the preservation of order, and that the National Guard, as
well as all other organs, should in future be subservient to
their orders alone.
This unlooked-for boldness and resolution on the part of the
ministry confounded the revolutionary party, and staggered
for a moment their proud dreams of usefulness and inviolabil
ity. The fury of the demagogues, of which that committee
consisted, was boundless. For the moment, however, feeling
too weak for open resistance, they contented themselves with
abusing, through the prints and in placards, the National
Guard, who had acted with energy on the previous day, de
nouncing them as "murderers, fratricides, traitors to the maj
esty of the people, and instruments of reaction." At a meet
ing of the committee called that evening, the only measure
resolved on by way of opposition was to send rather a threat
ening communication to the ministry, " challenging them to
perform openly and by publication that which they had done
only by implication, and, not only to do so, but to do it at
once — if possible, that very day."* When they had sent this
" German Almanac.

Chap. I.] Committee of Security Dissolved. 163
communication to the ministry, and were still in session, they
received from them a note, bearing date the day previous,
inclosing them a copy of their proclamation, and stating that
they had considered the measure necessary. The deputation
dispatched to the ministry soon returned with the written in
timation of the dissolution of the committee. The ministry
preserved firmness sufficient to adhere to its resolution, but
lacked the boldness to assert the true causes which had im
pelled them to such a course, and, in fact, dishonored them
selves by an apology, as degrading to their self-respect as it
was inconsistent with truth — stating that "the mission of
that committee, accomplished with so much resignation and
courage, and crowned with so much success, was at an end."
" The ministry consider it a sacred duty to express to the
honorable members of that committee its warmest thanks and
fuU esteem for their successful activity for the city and state
during the most threatening moments." That, " in retiring
into private life, the committee would carry with them the
consoUng reflection of a conscientious and honorable discharge
of their duty as citizens," etc.
If these fulsome compliments to a revolutionary committee,
who had usurped all the powers of the government, and had
contributed chiefly to the disturbance of the capital, had been
characterized by truth, they should never have been dissolved.
Efforts for the tranquillity of the city, discharged with so much
courage, and attended with so much success, during the se
verest trials to which the city and state were exposed, certain
ly merited a better fate than a dissolution of such a body.
Certainly a singular way to express thanks, and manifest es
teem for an association, to order its immediate annihilation.
But prevarication and inconsistency were among the slight
est charges to which the conduct of the ministry in this affair
was amenable.
By the dissolution of that committee, the ministry had per
formed, if not the only, certainly the most important and praise
worthy act of their whole administration. They had reas
sumed the reins of government, which had been snatched from
them by a self-constituted and unauthorized body ; but by
the very document in which they communicate that meas-

164 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
Ure, they basely surrender all the advantages which they had
gained. They had not only manifested the fear they enter-
tained of the committee itself, as well as of its friends through
out the city, but, as it were, put into their hands the very weap
ons by which that act could be reversed, and the ministry
themselves destroyed, since it would require no further evi
dence than their own statements to convince the public that
a committee whose laudable efforts had been attended with so
much success ought, at least, . to be sustained ; while it was
equally clear, that a ministry who could have been guilty of
the rashness to decree their dissolution were worthy themselves
of instant dismissal.
During that sitting of the committee, a beautiful and most
enthusiastic lady rushed into the apartment, and implored the
committee not to dissolve. " To whom shall the people now
address itself in its hour of need," said she, " if you retire ?"
" Do not give way to reaction! It only desires your dissolu
tion! Vienna is in a troubled state; all minds are excited;
parties oppose each other with hostility ; how will all these
difficulties end?"
Despite this extraordinary solicitation, the president pro
nounces a valedictory address to the committee, and declares
them dissolved ; but immediately the members of that commit
tee form another association, to be composed of the same mem
bers, for the prosecution of the same objects, only to be distin
guished by a different name. Instead of a committee, it was
to be called a club ; instead of being composed of National
Guards, students, and citizens, it was to consist of citizens,
National Guards, and students ; instead of having for its ob
ject the public security, it was to confine itself to the pres
ervation of the public order.
The first meeting of that club, on the 28th of August, was
distinguished as the last meeting of its predecessor, by an ad
dress from females ; and, what was another remarkable feature
in the matter, the address, signed by fifteen females, was not
a congratulation to the new, but a vote of thanks merely to
the old committee — another evidence, if it were needed, of the
identity of the two bodies.
Meanwhfle, the unfortunate occurrences of the 23d of Au-

Chap. I.] Meeting of "German Women." 165
gust had been profitably embraced by the Propagandists to
oreate dissatisfaction in all directions. The Aula became furi
ous ; and notwithstanding the audacity manifested in attack
ing its militia (the proletaria), as it dared not undertake open
ly its defense, became more aotive in secret intrigues. The
example set was by no means flattering or consolatory ; for
who could undertake to say that the National Guard, brought
to a sense of their duty, and convinced of their own strength,
would not next be brought to operate against those other
disturbers of the publio peace — the Academical Legion. No
means were spared which could be effectual in creating prej
udice against the National Guard, who had been in service on
the 23d, the Municipal Guard, and the ministry.
From that day the destruction of the ministry was resolved
on. The animosity of the public was particularly concentrated
on Latour, Dobblhof, Bach, and Schwarzer. The first had in
curred their displeasure on acoount of the ability and fidelity
with which he devoted himself to his duties, the restoration
and strengthening of the army, which he regarded as the sheet-
anchor of the monarchy. Dobblhof and Bach had offended by
their suddenly-changed positions ; and Schwarzer by his meas
ures against the workmen.
On the 28th of August, the first measures were taken to
ward the formation of a society of Democratic women. An
anonymous female writer called, through the newspapers, a
meeting of all " German women," to take place on a certain
day, in the Volksgarten, where all favorable to the cause
were to appear with German-colored ribbons. The assembly
was numerous, but they were much annoyed by the men, who
also appeared in great numbers as spectators. That they were
the miserable dupes of designing agitators, was evident from
the very first motion made by one of these female politicians ;
which was, that a collection should be taken up for the poor
wounded workmen and their families, and to request the min
istry to increase their wages. This was the first entrance
of the female sex into the political arena. Their subsequent
advance, incorporation into a regiment, fighting upon the bar
ricades, and disgraceful exit, will appear in the October Rev
olution.

166 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
On the 3d of September, the Democratic Union, indefatiga
ble in its efforts to maintain and increase the public excite
ment, had prepared a solemn funeral procession in honor of the
workmen kiUed on the 23d of August.
These misguided proletaria, who, at that time, in attempt
ing to enforce their insolent demand for higher wages by a
most culpable demonstration, and who finally, by a most will
ful provocation of the National Guard, met their deaths, were
now eulogized and honored as martyrs of liberty and victims
of arbitrary power. This willful demonstration against the
ministry and the National Guard was participated in by thou
sands of the latter, to the great astonishment and grief of the
well-disposed. All Democratic and Radical clubs, as well as
the new society of women, took part in the proceedings. The
whole Academical Legion, and the Union of Workmen were
present. The endless procession, with vailed banners, marched
from the glacis in front of the Schottenthor to the W'dhringer
church-yard. With peculiar gravity, the Democratic Union
headed the column, not one of the Radical leaders being ab
sent. The procession having reached the church-yard, the
graves of the fallen workmen were, with much ceremony, dec
orated with flowers ; after which, they proceeded to a large
meadow adjoining, where hymns were sung and revolutionary
speeches made. One of the speakers then called on the audi
ence to take the solemn oath that they would " struggle and
die for liberty ;" when they all, with one voice, exclaimed,
" We swear it !" A preparatory step toward the awful 6th of
October was thus taken ; but, as the ministry now prudently
determined not to notice any insurrectionary conduct which
they had not the courage to put down, no further disturbance
resulted from this demonstration.*

* On the 5th of September, a meeting was held at the Hotel of the Roman
Emperor, at the instance of Dr. Vivenot, at which it was proposed that all those
who were in favor of the maintenance of the constitutional monarchical system
should form a powerful union, to counteract the ruinous tendencies of the Radical
and Republican party. The suggestion met with unbounded applause. The ne
cessity of such a union could no longer be denied ; it should have been formed
long previously. In less than eight days, more than twenty-five thousand mem
bers had signed. The best effect was expected from the efficacy of that union,
which was to have been extended to the provincial cities. But, tardy as the Ger-

Chap. I.] Attack an Office of "Geisel." 167
From the want of energy displayed by the ministry on this
occasion, the disorders of the city now daily increased. On
one day, torch-light processions took place, and exciting speech
es were delivered in honor of a deputy who had very suddenly
turned from the right to the left side. On the next, an attack
was made by the mob on the office of a paper called the Gei
sel (Scourge), the editor of which had been so imprudent as
to raise the Austrian flag from his windows. It might have
been supposed that, in a city where so many harangues were
heard in favor of liberty, a person might have enjoyed the
privilege of raising on his house the national standard of his
country — that which had been for centuries the banner of the
empire. But no ; the appearance of that flag was the signal
for his immolation. The office of the Geisel was attacked,
the black and yellow flag was torn down and carried by the
students, as a trophy, to the university. The windows were all
broken, and the papers found in the office torn to pieces and
scattered through the streets. Such was their idea of the in
violability of private property, the sacredness of private dwell
ings. What a contrast to the household freedom of England,
which Chatham so eloquently and poetically describes, when
he says, " An Englishman's house is his castle. Its roof may
be of straw, the winds may whistle around, the snow and the
rain may enter it, but the king can not, he dare not !"
On the 11th, the city was again thrown into a state of great
agitation, in consequence of a demonstration made by the mob,
and which was produced in the following manner. It appears
that a financial measure was proposed by some designing indi
viduals, ostensibly for the relief of the tradesmen of Vienna
during these distracted times, but in reality for the advance
ment of their own pecuniary interest ; and the emperor, in the
benevolence of his heart, having contributed ten thousand flor
ins toward the relief of the public necessities, this circum
stance was seized upon by the intriguing speculators as a pre
text for insisting that the government should guarantee the
validity of the paper or stock issued by them ; and to obtain

mans generally are, the society had scarcely become organized, when the 6th of
October arrived, and the society was dissolved.

168 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
the connivance of all the tradesmen, who had become involved
in the project, was an easy task.
On the afternoon of the 11th, the shareholders, students, and
mob marched upon the bureau of the Minister of the Interior,
and demanded that the minister should guarantee the stock,
and, in case of refusal, threatened to find means to reimburse
themselves by force. The minister, alarmed at the increase
of the tumult, finally gave the assurance, to a deputation which
had forced its way into his apartments, that an answer should
be given to their demands the next morning. The mob, sat
isfied with this reply, for the moment retired from the spot ;
but other outrages were committed before the bureau of the
municipality, which was broken into during the night.
On the morning of the 12th, the place or square before the
bureau of the Minister of the Interior was crowded with peo
ple. The ministry issued a proclamation declaring that the
stock company established by Swoboda* was but a private en
terprise, and of which the ministry could, under no circum
stances, undertake the guarantee ; but, in order that the poor
tradesmen might not endure a serious loss by these shares, the
ministry would appoint a commission whose business it should
be strictly to examine into the matter, and prevent any further
frauds on the part of that company ; and they further urged
that all this could only be effected by the practice of modera
tion on the part of the people, and a respect for the public
tranquillity ; and they declared against any tumultuous de
mand or illegal usurpation, the most severe measures would
be employed. Such language at this time was singularly of
fensive to the ears of the sovereign people. To obtain any thing
in a legal manner had become unfashionable since the Storm
Petition of the 15th of May ; while popular tumults had become
not only more agreeable and exciting, but vastly more effica
cious. Insults and threats were immediately made use of; the
word " severity" was cut out of the proclamation, and loud
voices cried, "A decision must be given instantly, or we will
interfere with '¦severity! Our money we demand; the min
istry must guarantee the shares."
* The author of the project, and a man of very ambiguous character.

Chap. I.] Attack on the Minister. 169
The disorder increased, and the crowd at length broke into
the bureau in search of the minister, to force him to yield.
His Ufe was threatened. The bureau was occupied by only
a few National Guards. The advanoing mob, destroying all
windows and doors on their way, reached, finally, the apart
ment of the minister ; but, fortunately, he had escaped. The
tumult became alarming. Toward noon the city was aroused,
and the National Guard called out. Later, the faubourgs be
came agitated. The watch-posts at the gates were re-enforced
by guards. At one o'clock the regular military entered the
city, and took positions on the Hof and Juden Platz. The
Academical Legion was also under arms, at the university.
No conflict took place, although every thing betokened a
dreadful struggle ; when (on the 13th) the Diet undertook
a discussion of the matter, and concluded to appropriate a
million of florins* toward the immediate relief of those who
had suffered by that fraudulent speculation, and two mUlions,
besides, for the sustenance of all unemployed tradesmen of the
city. The pubhcation of that measure, the compliance with
their unjust demand, should have been sufficient, it might
have been supposed, to satisfy the desires of the most un
reasonable ; but such was not the case ; the excitement thus
produced was taken advantage of by the students and Radi
cals generally, and a plot commenced, having for its object to
crush the ministry, dissolve the Diet, and re-establish the late
ly-suppressed " Committee of Security." Inflammatory ad
dresses were made to the people. Every one favorable to the
movement wore upon his hat a plaoard bearing the inscription,
" Citizens of Vienna, the reinstallation of the Committee of
Security alone will save you !" From what the citizens were
to be saved, or by what they were threatened, no one stopped
to inquire ; while a deputation of students, National Guards,
and citizens were dispatched to the ministry, to demand the im
mediate reinstallation of the committee. The ministry, on
this occasion, remained firm, and refused to receive the depu
tation. The Minister of War had that morning announced to
the Diet that he had been furnished with proof of the conspir-
* An Austrian florin is about forty-eight centB.

170 First Revolution in Vienna. [Bcok II.
acy which was on foot in the city ; that he had been advised,
by some of the captains of the National Guard, that their men
had refused obedience to the rappel, and would not appear un
less sustained by the regular military ; and he requested, there
fore, permission of the Diet to call in the military to the sup
port of the Guard, and the mutual defense of the city. The
permission sought was accorded. The Diet forthwith pro
nounced itself in permanent session. The military were intro-
luced, and took up threatening positions. The support of the
workmen, owing to the lesson they had received on the 23d of
August, was wanting. The summons to erect barricades met
with no response ; and the Legion and the agitators could not
avoid the conviction that their plans had, this time at least,
failed. The quiet of the city was restored without the loss of
blood, except on the part of a grenadier, who was shot at and
wounded as the troops were marching out of the gates, and
returning to their barracks. The assassin escaped under cov
er of the night.
The shameful tumult of the 13th of September passed un
investigated and unnoticed. The demagogues, who could not
deny their defeat, were not at all discouraged. On the con
trary, they proceeded with their task, but with increased bold
ness and activity, perceiving that their audacity had met with
no more serious check. Insurrection now appeared without
disguise. Hitherto it had been like the " pestilence which
walketh in darkness ;" but now it stalked abroad under the
light of a meridian sun.
Manifestations which, under any well-organized govern
ment, would never have occurred, or, if attempted, have been
instantly suppressed, now took place daily, under the eyes of
imperial authority, without exciting the slightest attention.
The disaffected National Guard from the various faubourgs,
and the workmen of the neighborhood, now dispatched depu
tation after deputation to the students, assuring them that they
were " ready at any hour to sacrifice their lives for the Aca
demical Legion."
Those Austrians, who, with more spirit than their fellows,
provoked by the insults offered to the imperial flag, purposely
adopted cockades of those colors, were pursued, attacked, and

Chap. I.] Co-operation of the Peasantry. 171
beaten by the Radicals eaoh day in the streets, without being
able to obtain from the authorities either redress for the past
or security for the future.
A deputation arriving from Hungary is received at the land
ing-place of the steamer with tumultuous shouts, and con
ducted through the city with uninterrupted eljens* Honored
by the Democratic Union, the students, and National Guard,
with a torch-light procession, the most inflammatory speeches
were delivered on the occasion, in which it was declared that
"the Austrians would share with the Hungarians liberty or
death;" that "the Pragmatic Sanction had ceased to exist;"
and that " the Hungarian and Austrian people alone were sov
ereign." But a single step remained to be taken before the final blow,
viz., to secure the co-operation of the peasantry ; and this was
accomplished, on the 24th of September, in the following man
ner. On that day occurred a meeting of all the various unions
of the city, to be followed by a toroh-light procession, in honor
of a deputy named Kiidlich, who had been successful in car
rying through the Diet a bill for the relief of the peasantry,
ih having them emancipated from the serf-labor to which they
had been subject. Although the emperor had recommended
such a project as early as the month of April, the deputy Kiid
lich was, in the eyes of the Radicals, entitled to all the credit,
and a thousand peasants joined the procession to do homage
to their great benefactor. The mass addressed by Kiidlich, and
several other deputies of the left side, were openly summoned
to resistance, and to a violation of all order and authority. The
orators expressly avowed that a time might come when the lib
eral representatives of the country would need the assistance
and support of the Landsturm,\ and the peasantry were direct
ly interrogated to know whether, in such an emergency, they
could be relied on.
The news of the outbreak in Frankfort, which occurred on
the 17th and 18th of September, now reached Vienna, to add
fuel to the flame. The attempt to storm the Assembly, and
to proclaim a republic, failed through the intervention of Aus-
trian and Prussian troops from Mayence ; but two distinguish-
* Hungarian vivals. t Peasant soldiers.

172 First Resolution in Vienna. [Book II.
ed deputies and members of the government were brutally as
sassinated. The affair was extolled in the " Radical," edited
by the ill-fated Dr. Becher,* as a noble act of the public will,
barbarously suppressed by military despotism ; and the hope
was expressed that, Antaeus-like, the German people would
rise with renewed energies to the struggle, and that the inhab
itants of Vienna would not be slow in imitating so laudable an
example. This open summons to rebellion passed, however,
unnoticed by the government.
Affairs were rapidly approaching a olimax. On the 22d and
25th of September, the emperor issued, in Schonbrunn, proc
lamations in relation to Hungarian affairs, and in which he
expresses his determination to oppose the movements in prog
ress in that kingdom with all possible energy. But, strange
to say, despite these manifestoes, in which he characterized the
conduct of the Hungarians as insurrectionary, volunteer corps
were formed in Vienna, in the actual presence of all his au
thorities, for the purpose of rendering aid to the Hungarian
cause. The Aula entered most enthusiastically into the move
ment, and formed a corps which was dispatched to the relief
of their Hungarian brethren. Amid the acclamations of the
people, several divisions of volunteer corps, with that from the
Academical Legion, left Vienna, toward the end of the month,
for Pesth ; and it was by one of these volunteers that the High
Commissioner of his majesty, Count L amburg, was recognized
after his arrival at Pesth, and there inhumanly murdered.
A dark cloud overhung the city. It daily grew more omin
ous. All saw and felt that it must soon burst upon their
devoted heads, and yet, spell-bound, no one attempted to avert
or prevent the catastrophe. AU authority was paralyzed ; the
peaceable and well-disposed were disheartened ; the agitators
alone, joyful and active, like storm-birds of the ocean, seemed
to welcome the approaching tempest, and to be inspired by a
war of the elements, which strews death and desolation on its
path. All was now prepared for carrying their projects into effeot ;
for striking a blow at the head of imperial authority in the cap.
ital which would extinguish the remaining symptoms of vitali-
* Shot upon the taking of Vienna, after the October Revolution.

Chap. I.] Reflections on the Revolution. 173
ty that still lingered in the paralyzed body, and emancipate, as
they thought, not only the capital, but the provinces from all
submission to the imperial sceptre. That event occurred on
the 6th of October ; and with it those awful scenes so mem
orable in the annals of Austria, and to which will be devoted
the pages of a succeeding chapter.
The origin, development, and conclusion of the March Rev
olution in Vienna are full of instruction. Nothing could have
been more laudable than the first efforts of the people, if not
to rid themselves of the oppression under which they labored,
at least to acquire those essential ingredients of freedom en
joyed by other enlightened nations, and loudly demanded by
the advanced spirit of the age. Their first demands, viz., for
freedom of the press, liberty to bear arms, and a Constitution,
were just and reasonable ; the entire body of the people united
in the application ; the appeal could not be resisted, and the
monarch yielded to the popular will. The wisdom, however,
which enables its possessor to use political power, and not
abuse it, is one of the rarest acquisitions of mankind, and can
be gained only by many ages of well-regulated industry and
experienced freedom. Such privileges, therefore, can not with
safety be extended to the population where the nation is just
emerging from the fetters of servitude, where they have never
before enjoyed any political advantages, and have always lived
under a despotism in ignorance of their rights. It would
seem to be the intention of Nature, that the power of the peo
ple should increase as society advances ; but it is not her will
that this increase should take place in such manner as to con
vulse the state, and ultimately extinguish the freedom of
the people. All improvements that are really beneficial, all
changes which are destined to be lasting, are gradual in their
progress.* * " It is by suddenly increasing the powers of the lower orders that the frame
of society is frequently endangered, because the immediate effect of such a change
is to unsettle men's minds, and bring into full play the most visionary and extrav
agant ideas of the most desperate and ambitious men. If there be any one con
viction which has united the suffrage of all the greatest statesmen and most pro
found political reasoners — of Aristotle, Bacon, Montesquieu, and Burke — it is that
all great political changes should be gradual and continuous, wrought out so as
not to supersede, but to harmonize with preceding institutions, and so that there

174 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
The privileges conceded by the sovereign, although contain
ing many defects in their terms, as was most natural to inex
perienced legislators, were found, nevertheless, to include more
freedom than the people were prepared for, and, like deadly
weapons in the hands of the unskillful, facilitated their destruc
tion instead of contributing to their defense* The law relative
to the press, though objectionable in the unreasonable amount
of "caution-money" demanded, and the superior guards it
threw around the members of the imperial family, nevertheless
allowed too much freedom for those who had always written and
read under a censorship that supervised even the most trivial
advertisement ; the columns of their numerous prints, therefore,
instead of being devoted to the cause of legal order, were prosti
tuted to the most incendiary and abusive attacks both of the
government and the people, and excited constant rebellion and
outrage.t • The important right to bear arms, not only for their
own personal defense, but the high privilege of being them
selves the defenders of the state in the hour of peril, which
would have enabled the government to dispense with a hire
ling soldiery, whose arms might at any moment have been
turned against their own defenseless bosoms ; and the immense
amount of taxes of which they would thus have been relieved
by constituting themselves the bulwark of the country, were
considerations entirely lost sight of ; and those very arms con
fided to them by the government for its own defense, were, oh
the very first occasion they were used, turned against consti
tuted authority.
The idea once prevailed that anarchy was little to be ap
prehended when the armed body reckoned soldiers in every
house, and on every floor in the peasant's hut, as well as the
rich man's chateau ; but experience has dispelled the delusion,
and proved that an immense mass of armed men often be
come a prey to disturbing passions, and, instead of suppress-
shall not only be no solution of continuity in the series of political developments,
but even no visible danger of it." — Alison.
* Solon, when asked if he had given the beBt laws to Athens, remarked, the
best it could bear.
+ Many of the new prints, instead of touching political subjects, did nothing but
attack private character, and that often of the moat unobtrusive and estimable
citizens.

Chap. I.] Causes of the Failure. 175
ing disorder and violence, are themselves its frequent promo
ters. There is no instance on record where a National Guard, es
tablished upon the close of a Revolution, has remained en
tirely true and loyal to the government by which it was armed.
The only situation in which a citizen soldier becomes of any effi
ciency to the country is where (as is the case of the, militia in
the United States) he is a part of the government, and so iden
tified with the institutions of the country that their destruc
tion would inevitably involve his own ruin. These Guards,
moreover, have seldom proved efficacious in opposing the vio
lence of the rabble. In the last century, in Paris, they were
the passive spectators of the cruelties daily enacted before their
eyes ; and in February, 1848, they stood aloof, neither making,
resisting, nor even directing the Revolution, but only paralyz
ing the regular army, to which they owed their escape from
instant annihilation.
The Constitution granted to the Austrian people contained
many of the elements of freedom. The ministers were to be
responsible ; the emperor could dissolve the Diet ; but, in such
case, must convoke a new one in ninety days ; the private cit
izens were guaranteed individual liberty, freedom of worship
and of the press, the right of association, of petition, and of em
igration ; liberty of trade, open courts of justice, and trial by
jury. The document was indisputably loose and defective ;
but, it should be recollected, it was merely an outline* Ob
jections might fairly be made to the composition of the Upper
Chamber, which was to consist of princes of the blood and an
indefinite number of counselors, some elected by the people,
others nominated by the crown. But it was expressly under
stood that the whole scheme was to be subject to revision by
the assembled representatives of the nation, and for their judg
ment it should have been reserved. Once promulgated, it
should have been adhered to, until the sentiments of the people
could be ascertained in a fair and legitimate way. Instead of
that, it was virtually abandoned by the excision of its princi-
* The instrument possessed all the advantages of a charic octroyle and an ordi
nary and popular Constitution ; since, though given by the sovereign, it was to be
revised and corrected by the people.

176 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
pal features at the command of a mob of fanatical youths.
An attempt at intimidation, which it was the bounden duty
of the government to treat as a riot, and to put down at any
cost, was submitted to as an expression of the paramount will
of the people.
This was a fatal error on the part of the government ; it
was not the impulse of enlightened patriotism. " The love
of real freedom," says Alison, "may always be distinguished
from the passion for popular power. The one is directed to
objects of practical importance and the redress of experienced
wrongs, and the other aims at visionary improvements and the
increase of popular influence. The one complains of what has
been felt, the other anticipates what may be gained ; disturb
ances arising from the first subside, when the evils from which
they spring are removed ; troubles, originating in the second,
magnify with every victory which is achieved. The experi
ence of evil is the cause of agitation from the first ; the love
of power the source of convulsions from the last."
It was a profound remark of Sir James Macintosh, that
" political constitutions are not made, but grow."
Had the people been content to try the Constitution offered
them by the emperor, they might, after witnessing it in prac
tical operation, judge better of its defects ; while their in
creasing experience in legislation would have enabled them
to make sound and wholesome amendments.
The people, in short, were not prepared for so great and
sudden a change. " It is necessary," says Montesquieu, " that
people's minds should be prepared for the reception even of the
best laws." The evils latent in the most promising contriv
ances can only be discerned upon trial, and are best provided
for as they arise. Rapid and extensive innovations, suddenly
effected, even though, abstractly, for the better, change too
rapidly the habits and associations of the national mind in re
lation to its institutions. The sudden introduction of even a
better Constitution is not sure to carry with it that great ele
ment of political excellence, stability ; and the reason is, that
such stability is founded less upon ideas of theoretical per
fection than upon association and habit.*
* Edinburgh Review.

Chap. I.] Unfitted for Self-government. 177
Not only was the change too sudden a one, but the people
themselves were not adapted for it, either in education or habit.
A population thus place-ridden and police-governed, where the
people were looked upon as an animal mass, created for the
will and pleasure of the state, it may readily be conceived,
was totally unfitted for self-government. In our ardent enthu
siasm in the cause of liberty, we are apt, in the United States,
to assimilate the late revolutions in Europe with our own
struggle for independence, and to think that there, as with us,
it is only necessary to throw off thed yoke of the tyrant, and
the people would be found perfectly prepared for the enjoy
ment of all the rights of freedom ; but a greater error never
was committed. Such opinions are held by persons who for
get that our ancestors sprang from the most free country in
the world — a country that had existed for near two centuries
under a Constitution guaranteeing to them the Habeas Cor
pus, trial by jury, and all the other essential elements of free
dom. Our ancestors, also, could not bear even the restraints
of this government ; which was considered, on that side of the
water, as a perfect prodigy of freedom; and hence they fled
to this Western wilderness, to avoid the restraints which they
found insupportable there. It is a fact, too, the truth of which
subsequent events fully corroborate, that our ancestors left
their homes beyond the water with the settled plan and fixed
determination to establish, on the soil of America, a separate
government — a government which, while it should embrace
all the liberal portions of the British Constitution, should still
be free from the unjust restraints and oppressive features of
that instrument.
Civil independence was as truly the object of our ancestors
in emigrating to America as religious liberty. At any rate,
that the one was considered the essential means of securing
the other, was evident from the fact that, in the early charters
which they brought with them, for the original government
of the colonies, independence was most dextrously grafted.*
It can, then, be easily conceived that, with a people thus ac
customed to the enjoyment of liberty — thus familiar with all
* Charter of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay.
M

178 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
the rights of man — it was only necessary to throw off the
yoke of Great Britain, and they were quite prepared for the
enjoyment of rational liberty, quite able to undertake the dif
ficult task of self-government. But how widely different is
the situation of the unfortunate people in Europe who have
always existed under the iron sceptre of despotism ; where
the only law is the tyrant's will ; where the education of the
people, so far as they enjoyed any instruction at all, was so
carefully guarded by the government, that not one ray of lib
erty ever penetrated their benighted minds ; where they could
not even define the word ; and where their only conception of
it was licentiousness, or the freedom to do any thing and ev
ery thing which inclination or interest might dictate.
One of the most talented of the Radical leaders in Vienna —
one who afterward paid the forfeit of his life for the extrava
gance of his opinions — was heard to say to an American,*
" We wish no such republic as you have in the United States ;
we wish something original ; we wish a government where
there shall not only be an equality of rights and of rank, but
an equality of property, and an equality of every thing." An
other influential Radical, one of the celebrated Council of Fif
ty-two, to whom, for a season, was committed all the affairs
of the German Confederation, remarked to the same 'gentle
man, " Sir, the only course left to us is, to raise the guillotine,
and to keep it in constant and active operation ; our only watch
word should be, Blood! blood! blood! and the more blood
that flows, the sooner shall we attain our liberties !" Such
sentiments were not only freely promulgated, but even pub
lished. The Reich Zeitung, edited by two members of the
Diet at Frankfort, in the number which appeared on the 24th
of November, 1848, contains the following awful idea : " The
destroying angel of the Revolution will pass over the world,
and the word of mercy will become paralyzed upon the lips
of the triumphant people !"
And that such ideas were not confined to words, the bru
tal murders of Prince Lichnowsky and Count Auerswald, at
Frankfort; Count Latour, at Vienna; Count Lamburg, at
* The author.

Chap. I.] A Mob considered the People. 179
Pesth ; and Count Rossi, at Rome, will attest. Such atroci
ties were uncalled for, unsuited to the cause, and destructive
of the very ends they were intended to accomplish. How dif
ferent was the conduct of the people of the United States, when
plaoed under similar circumstances ! When the English col
onies hi America declared their independence of the mother-
country, and dissolved " all connection between them and the
crown of Great Britain," there were royal governors presid
ing, " in the name and by the authority" of the King of En
gland, over each of the colonies. Were these mercenaries of a
sovereign — these instruments of royalty — brutally murdered ?
their bodies hung up to lamp-posts, or dragged, perhaps, through
the streets of a capital ? Was even a hair of their heads touched ?
No ! they were suffered to depart in peace ; they were consid
ered but the minions of power ; and had the Americans de
scended so far as to soil their hands in their blood, it might not
only have defeated the ends at which they aimed, but would
have proved them unworthy of the blessing to which they as
pired. It is a fact which can not be contradicted, that there exists
in every country in Europe a certain party more remarkable
for its daring and its violence than for its numbers, which is
the avowed enemy of all government, and of society itself.
The free institutions of England, or the Republican novelties
of France, are just as obnoxious to their animosity as the des
potism of Austria or the autocracy of Russia. Alike under all
forms of government, they deny the stringency of rights and
the authority of law. To buy off their hostility by conces
sions, is but a sign of weakness. Instead of appearing before
them at the window of the Tuileries, with the red cap of lib
erty on his head, as Louis the Sixteenth did, such fiends are
rather to be treated in the manner suggested by the youth who
witnessed the humiliating spectacle — "they should cut down
the first five hundred with grape-shot, and the remainder would
soon take to flight" — and who lived to put his principles in
praotice on the very spot. It was Napoleon Bonaparte. Wheth
er living under a monarchy or a republic, society must defend
itself against such men, either by the penal code or the can
non. The great bane of all European governments is that

180 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
class of population inseparable from most European capitals ;
who feel not a particle of interest either in the government or
its institutions ; to whom any political change, as it could not
be for the worse, must be for the better, and who consequently
are ever ready, at the call of a foreign emissary or a domestic
agitator, to take up arms against the government. Destitute
alike of property, education, and morals, they become the most
willing and efficient instruments of destruction.* Had the
students of Vienna not held at their beck and call a troop of
fifty thousand, at least, of such proletaria, they could never
have created those disturbances, wrested from the government
all its authority, and kept the city in a state of continued and
alarming excitement. The government is, in a great measure,
to blame for this evil, in the ignorance in which the masses are
kept, and in their deprivation of the means of a more honor
able and independent existence, where they are not allowed to
pursue any trade, however humble, without leave of the gov
ernment ; and until there is a change of policy on the part of
the rulers, one can hardly be expected on the part of the sub
jects. One of the principal causes of the failure of the Revolution
was the destruction of that over-ruling power so necessary for
the preservation of order in all governments — the failure to en
force upon the people the adoption of those salutary measures
indispensable to their existence. This sentiment was express
ed by General Washington just before the meeiing of the
Convention, at Philadelphia, that formed the Constitution :
" We have probably had too good an opinion of human nature
* Had there been no such population in London or Paris, the Chartist demon
stration in the former, however feeble, or the insurrection of June in the latter,
however terrible, would not have occurred. Fortunately for the United States,
they are free from such a danger ; for, according to the principles of our political
system, every man is a part of the government, and its destruction would involve
his own ruin. All that he possesses, be it more or less, he holds by no other ten
ure than that of the permanency of the institutions under which he lives. We
have not, and never can have, as long as our present form of government endures,
one class of inhabitants who will have less interest in its institutions than another.
And we have not, and never can have, for centuries, the class of population who
are the bane of Europe, with such an ocean-bound continent as we possess. The
Mississippi Valley alone, it is computed, will contain a population of seventy-five
millions, when it becomes as thickly settled as England.

Chap. I.] Inefficiency of Assemblies. 181
in forming our Confederation. Experience has taught us
that men will not adopt and carry into execution measures
the best calculated for their own good without the interven
tion of a coercive power." But the great body of the Repub
licans of Europe are as remote from the principles of the great
founder of the American commonwealth as they are from the
purity of his personal character. This coercive power, in the
shape either of monarchy or of executive government, is pre
cisely what the Revolution overthrew ; and, until it is re
stored, by a resuscitation of imperial authority as in Vienna,
or a substitution of another power as in France, no advances
could be made toward order and government.
Another cause which impeded the success of the movement
party was the total inefficiency of the National Assemblies.
Nowhere did they seem to understand, with any precision, the
nature of their duties or the limits of their powers. Where
they were constituent assemblies, they encroached on the prov
ince of permanent legislation ; where they were legislative
bodies, they endeavored to assume the functions of the execu
tive. Their whole history was one pertinacious effort to con
centrate, in their own hands, all the powers of the state ; and,
in the course of their attacks on the executive, they contrived
often, by demands which no rulers with the least compre
hension of, or respect for their own position, could dream of
conceding, to put themselves so completely in the wrong, that
public sympathy had deserted them long before their fall. An
other mistake, committed by the friends of freedom in 1848,
was the mixing up of two objects, wholly distinct in them
selves, and of which the desirableness was by no means equally
clear — constitutional rights and national unity. Both in Italy
and Germany, instead of concentrating their efforts on the at
tainment of free institutions for each separate state, they com
plicated their cause, and distracted and weakened their party.
by raising the standard of freedom and that of unity at the
same time.* The two objects united were hopeless, for each
of itself was gigantic. Representative assemblies, a free press,
an open administration of justice, were boons which every one
could appreciate, and which every one was willing to fight for.
" North British Review.

182 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
The creation of a great state out of the various nationalities
of Italy and Germany respectively was a dream of enthusiastic
theorists ; and, however important or beneficial it might ulti
mately have proved, was not universally desired, and it was
surrounded by difficulties which, if not insuperable, demanded
at least a peaceful era and patient toil for their solution.
In every country the friends of movement committed pre
cisely the same series of blunders. They had not yet learned
the lesson, now taught them, alike by the successes and the
failures of that memorable year, that concessions wrung from
sovereigns form the surest basis of a nation's freedom ; that it
is only by making the most of these, by consolidating and us
ing them, not by pushing them to excess, that constitutional
liberty is secured ; and that to press victory so far as to drive
away the sovereign, is, in nine cases out of ten, to resign them
selves, bound hand and foot, to the dictation of -the mob. They
became excited, instead of contented by the vast concessions
they had won; they grasped at more, instead of employing
and securing that which they had gained.
They showed by their attitude, their proposals, and their
language, that they were neither intellectually nor morally
masters of their position ; they were not educated up to the
requirements of their new station ; their minds could not rise
to a full comprehension of its duties, nor their consciences to
a clear comprehension of its responsibilities; they alarmed
where they should have soothed ; disgusted where they should
have conciliated ; dared where they should have shrunk ; and,
like " fools, rushed in where angels fear to tread."*
They did not understand the business, nature, and limits
of constitutional freedom. They committed the fatal error.
in their position so difficult to avoid, of tolerating, and encour
aging even, rather than suppressing popular turbulence and
mob dictation ; of relaxing the arm of the law at the very mo
ment when its strength and its sternness required to be most
plainly felt. By these errors and deficiencies, they signed the
death-warrant of their own ascendency, by convincing the wise
and patriotic that liberty was not safe with them ; the propri
etary body that property was not secure in their hands ; and
* North British Review.

Chap. I.] Benefits of Experience. 183
the commercial classes that credit was insecure under their
guardianship. It is impossible, however, that so many experiments should
have been tried, so many mistakes made, so many failures in
curred, so many catastrophes brought about, without leaving
behind many sad but salutary convictions. The great lesson
which, it may be hoped, the friends of liberty and progress
will have learned from the events of 1848 is this — that consti
tutional freedom must be gained by degrees, not by one des
perate and sudden effort. The people must be content to con
quer their political and civil rights step by step, as not only
the easiest and surest, but, in the end, the speediest way.
Their true and safe policy is to accept and make the most of
all concessions which either a sense of danger or a sense of
justice may dictate to their rulers ; to remember that these,
small though they may seem to one party, doubtless appear
great to the other, and may have cost much self-sacrifice ; and
that, at all events, they are bound to use them diligently but
soberly, to grow familiar with them, become masters of them ;
to acquire by practice dexterity in their use, and thus consol
idate and secure their possession. Let them gradually, as op
portunity shall serve, use these concessions as the stepping-
stone to more ; but never, save in the last extremity, supersede
the executive authority, or call in the mob. Any attempt on
the part of the people to snatch, in the hour of victory, more
than they know how to wield, more than they can use well, is
a retrograde and fatally false step ; it is, in fact, playing the
game of their opponents. If they employ their newly-acquired
rights and institutions in such a manner as to show that they
do not understand them and can not manage them, and that,
therefore, public tranquillity and social security are likely to be
endangered by mistakes growing out of their excitement and
inexperience — the great body of sober and peaceful citizens
are quick to take alarm, and to carry back the material and
moral weight of their sympathies to the side of the old system,
however despotic may have been its character. The just and
true views, when expressed in the language of a principle, are
simply these : all wise and educated people will prefer a free
to a despotic government, ceteris paribus, i. e., order and secu-

184 First Revolution in Vienna. [Book II.
rity being the bases in both cases ; but the worst theoretical
government which assures these essential predicates will be,
and ought to be, preferred to the best theoretical government
which endangers them. The majority of the sober and influ
ential classes will always be found on the side of that party
which best understands the practical act of administration,
however defective or erroneous may be its fundamental princi
ples, however medieval may be its name. If the year 1848
has taught this truth to the movement party, the cause of ra
tional freedom will have gained incalculably by its first disas
ters.

CHAPTER II.
INSURRECTION IN MILAN.— RADETZKY AND HIS ARMY DRIVEN FROM THE CITY.
—INVASION OF LOMBARDY BY PIEDMONTESE, TUSCANS, ROMANS, AND NEA
POLITANS.— THEIR OVERTHROW AND EXPULSION BY RADETZKY, AND HIS
COMPLETE SUBJUGATION OF THE REVOLTING KINGDOM.
Since the fall of Napoleon, the power of Austria over Italy
has been predominant.
In 1816, the King of Naples was prohibited, by an engage
ment with Austria, from granting a Constitution to his sub
jects. Austria, shortly after, exacted a treaty to the same
effect from the King of Sardinia, and from every prince in
Italy. The Neapolitans having, notwithstanding, established
a Constitution in 1820, Austria immediately suppressed it by
force of arms. She interfered, in 1821, in Piedmont. In 1831,
and again- in 1832, for the same object, and to realize a similar
purpose, she bore down upon the Papal States. The native
governments, every where enslaved and trammeled by Aus
trian agents, Italy became little less than a Cis-Alpine Austria.
On the 14th of June, 1846, Cardinal Mastai was elected to fill
the pontifical chair, and assumed the appellation of Pius the
Ninth. The Pope, a plain, upright man, who could not fore
see the consequences of his bounty, immediately commenced
the work of reform and regeneration, with a view to relieve Italy
from the foreign domination and bad government under which
she labored. The sovereigns of two of the best administered
of the Italian states determined on following the example of,
the pontiff. They wisely resolved that there should be no room
for invidious comparisons between the condition of their own
subjects and that of their Italian neighbors.
Austria put herself, as of old, at the head of the stationary
faction, in which she was joined by the King of Naples, and
the Dukes of Modena and Parma.
No part of the Italian people were more keenly alive to the
difference between a national and improving government, and

186

Insurrection in Lombardy-. [Book II.

a foreign despotic oppression, than the inhabitants of Lom
bardy and Venice, who were immediately subject to Austria.
While they themselves were left under the galling yoke of the
Viennese bureaucracy, they had now only to look over their
border and behold the Swiss on one side free ; the subjects of
the Pope, of the King of Sardinia, and of the Grand Duke of
Tuscany on the other, governed by native Italians, and rapidly
advancing in their political condition. The grievances of which
the Lombards particularly complained, and which it is neces
sary to understand before contemplating the struggle, appeared
in a manifesto issued to the European nations after the expul
sion of the Austrians from Milan. It is as follows :
" The Austrian government levied immoderate taxes on our
property, on our persons, and on necessary articles ; it extort
ed from us the means by which alone it was saved from that
bankruptcy, to the brink of which it was brought by its bad
and dishonestly administered financial system ; it forced on us
shoals of foreigners, avowed functionaries and secret spies, eat
ing our substance, administering our affairs, judging our rights,
without knowing either our language or our customs ; it im
posed on us foreign laws, inextricable from their multiplicity,
and an intricate, endless system of proceeding in criminal cases,
in which there was nothing either true or solemn except the
prison and the pillory, the executioner and the gallows ; it
spread round us ensnaring nets of civil and ecclesiastical, mU
itary and judicial regulations, all converging to Vienna, which
alone engrossed the monopoly of thought, of will, and of judg
ment ; it forbade the development of our commerce and our
industry, to favor the interests of other provinces, and of gov
ernment manufactures, the speculations of Viennese oligarchs ;
it submitted our municipal institutions, the boast of our coun
try and the proof of national good sense, to a petty, harassing
control, conceived for fiscal purposes, and tending only to fet
ter us ; it enslaved religion, and even public benevolence of
its free course, making it subject to administrative interfer
ence, and turning it to an engine of government. It was after
endless difficulties, and only after having recourse to the low
est precautions, that private individuals were permitted to help
the public wants, and preserve from contagion and corruption

Chap. IL] Complaints of Lombardians. 187
the poor abandoned to themselves in the streets, in their hovels,
or in prison. It seized the property of minors, by forcing
guardians to invest it in public securities, which were to be
dealt with arbitrarily and mysteriously by secret agents of the
government ; it subjected the liberal arts to the most vexa
tious restraints ; it persecuted native knowledge ; it raised the
most ridiculous objections and the most odious difficulties
against printing or importing printed foreign books ; it perse
cuted and entrapped our most distinguished men, and raised
to honor slavish understandings ; it systematized the sale of
conscience, and organized an army of spies ; it encouraged se
cret informations, and made suspicions the rule of its proceed
ings ; it gave the police full power over liberty, life, and prop
erty, and threw the patriot into the same prison with the as
sassin." The first public indication* of unanimity on the part of
the Lombards, subsequent to the declared division of the rulers
of Italy into those who were in favor of, and those who were
opposed to reform, openly appeared when the new Archbishop
of Milan took possession of his see, early in September, 1847.
On this occasion the armed police were let loose on the people,
who had given no other provocation than by singing hymns
in praise of Pius the Ninth. The course pursued by the new
Pope had revived the ancient spirit of nationality throughout
the entire peninsula ; and the imprudent step of the entry of
the imperial troops into one of the Italian cities called that
feeling into active operation, and the occupation of Ferrara was
the signal for a general rising, not only in Rome, but also in
Florence, Bologna, Leghorn, Lucca, and Genoa, without re
gard to their distinct governments, against the Emperor of
Austria, and in favor of the sovereign pontiff.
The population of the Lombard and Venetian provinces were
not behind hand in this national movement. Some time pre
vious, the students at the University of Pavia and Padua had
become particular objects of dislike to the Austrian officers,
who attacked and murdered them in a cowardly manner.
Meanwhile, the authorities of every description addressed pe-
* That of Ferrara had occurred a short time previous.

188 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
titions to the government, from which it should have taken
seasonable warning. On the contrary, it continued to irritate
as well as to oppress the people ; and even wearing a hat of a
singular shape, or a waistcoat of a peculiar cut, or dressing
the hair or the beard in a certain manner, reduced the polioe
to despair. The moment an edict was published against any
remarkable fashion, another was universally adopted, equally
remarkable and absurd. These, it is true, were trifles ; yet
the tacit agreement on both sides, by the nation and the gov
ernment, not to consider them as trifles, but as symbols of
grave import, ought to have opened the eyes of the Austrians,
and shown them their true position* The unanimous feeling
of the Milanese was soon exhibited in a more alarming form.
Next to Rome, Milan, perhaps, is the most important city
of Italy ; more abundant in beautiful public buildings than
Munich, and, on occasions, as animated as Paris. The circuit
of its line of ramparts is nearly ten miles. Its situation is
admirable for the interior commerce of Italy, communicating
by canals with the Lakes Como and Maggiore, and with the
River Po. One of the most striking architectural entrances to
any European city is the Arco della Pace, on the Sirnplon
road. One of the most superb cathedrals in the world is the
well-known Duomot with its hundred spires and three thou
sand statues, covering its exterior of florid Gothic with a mar
ble army of saints. The La Scala, with one exception only,
the largest theatre in Europe ; the Circo, the most complete
and stately arena ; the Corso di Porta Orientale, the noblest
promenade in Italy, or rivaled alone by the Corso of Naples,
and then only from the view it commands of the bay. Milan
abounds in charitable institutions, lyceums, and other places
of education ; and last, though by no means least, it possesses
the celebrated Ambrosian Library. Since the peace of 1815,
the population of Milan has rapidly increased, perhaps doub
led, and it now exceeds 150,000.
In their opposition to the Austrian government, and with a
view to diminish the revenues of the imperial treasury, the cit
izens of Milan determined on abstaining from all use of tobao-
* Edinburgh Review.

Chap. IL] Affair of the 3d of January. 189
co. At first a circular was distributed, in which the people
were reminded that the Americans, as a prelude to the war of
Independence, had refused to make use of tea brought them by
the English, and, in accordance with that example, all good
citizens were enjoined to discard tobacco, that article being a
monopoly of the Austrian government. After this resolution,
not content with simply abstaining from tobacco themselves,
the populace attempted to suppress its use altogether, by treat
ing with indignity and violence all persons found smoking.
On the 3d of January, an Austrian soldier encountering such
treatment, a cigar being rudely snatched from his lips while
quietly promenading the streets, he instantly returned and
reported at the military quarters the circumstance which had
occurred. The soldiers, incensed, immediately started forth in
squads (some allege that they were sent out by their command
ers), and paraded the streets with cigars in their mouths, with
a view, doubtless, of inducing a repetition of the insult. One
of these groups had not proceeded far when they encountered
the mob, and met with the treatment which they had expect
ed ; whereupon, drawing their side-arms (which alone, fortu
nately, they had been permitted to wear) and charging the
crowd, they killed eight persons and wounded about fifty.*
Nothing serious afterward transpired, though several procla
mations, issued both by the emperor and the viceroy, proved
ineffectual in restoring the public tranquillity.
On the 6th of February, a grand fete took place in honor of
the success of the Sicilians and Neapolitans, in having exacted
of their monarch a Constitution.
Upon the frequent recurrence of these popular manifesta
tions, the police demanded of the government the jugement
statuaire,i or immediate judgment ; that is, the power to try
and to hang, without delay, all in the space of two hours.
This regulation went into effect on Shrove Tuesday, at the
commencement of the Ambrosian Carnival, which, prolonged
* Agreeably to some accounts, as many as sixty-one persons were killed; six
of whom were under eighteen years, five over sixty years, and one (a counselor
in the Court of Appeals) seventy-four years.
t The Judicium Statuarium was signed by the emperor on the 14th of Novem
ber, 1847, and not put in force until the 22d of February, 1848.

190 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
four days, constituted at Milan a brilliant fete, and made the
city a rendezvous for many of the highest families of Lom
bardy and Piedmont. Radetzky caused the chateau to be
fortified ; and, under his advice, Count Spaur, the governor,
and the viceroy, with his family, quitted Milan, on the 16th
of March, escorted by five hundred hussars (he had previously
removed all his property and effects). Terror seized the un
fortunate city. Females trembled, for the situation of things
became terrible ; still no one dreamed of flying, as the order
had been given to remain. At the same time, all the tidings
which reached them from abroad tended to excite the imagin
ation of the inhabitants. On one day it was reported that
Palermo had arisen; on another, that Naples, Florence, and
Turin had proclaimed a Constitution ; then came the news of
the Revolution in Paris. It was evident that the day of com
bat rapidly approached. The Austrian authorities taking no
steps to repress them, the disorders daily increased. The may
or, Casati, presented himself, accompanied by a large number
of respectable inhabitants, to Count Fiquelmont (the nobleman
who afterward, for a short time, filled Prince Metternich's
place), and "remonstrated against these abominations." Fi
quelmont, who had been sent to Milan from Vienna on a special
mission to soothe the Italians, told the mayor that he had only
power to propose arrangements, but not to order them, and
that the utmost that he and the governor, who was present at
the interview, could undertake to do, was to lay the matter
before Radetzky. On calling upon Radetzky, and presenting
the subject' to his consideration, he replied to Fiquelmont and
the others, " The injured troops can not be restrained. If
the municipal authorities will answer for the tranquillity of
the inhabitants, I will keep the soldiers in their barracks for
eight days." It might have been expected that the govern
ment would have taken- measures to prevent such occurrences,
and to protect its unarmed citizens from the violence of its
troops ; but such was not the case. The emperor was made
to sign a letter to the Viceroy of Lombardy, the pith of which
admitted of no mistake. " I perceive that there is in the
Lombardo-Venetian kingdom a faction inclined to overthrow
the political state of th« country. I have done all that was

Chap. IL] Outrages of the Police. 191
necessary for the happiness and satisfaction of my Italian
provinoes. I am not inclined to do more. I rely on the known
bravery and fidelity of my army."
This was, in so many words, approving what had happened,
threatening worse for the future, and taking away all hope.
It is never wise to drive a nation to extremities.
After the publication of the letter of the emperor to the vice
roy, the Austrian police, at Milan, arrested a great number of
persons, banished several, and obliged others to flee the coun
try. The course of the government was impolitic in the ex
treme. To discover who the disaffected were, they resorted
to the expedient of encouraging the citizens to petition the
government against any grievance under which they might
labor ; and such as had the independence to do it were imme
diately subjected to the severe surveillance of the police.*
Others, whose disaffection could not be proved, but whom it
was thought necessary to destroy, were disposed of in the fol
lowing manner, suggested by the director of the police : pub
lications were made in foreign prints, in which it was obscure
ly hinted that the individual was an Austrian spy, whose en
deavor it was to compromise his friends, and sell them to Aus
tria.! .At the point to which things had now advanced, the
only remaining question with the people was one of expedien
cy and time ; that of right they regarded as settled. It was
their right, they considered, to free themselves from a govern
ment which not only failed to protect the people under its rule,
but was their greatest enemy.
The proclamation of a republic in France hastened the cri
sis, which the departure of the viceroy and governor, leaving
the city to the tender mercies of the police and military, still
more accelerated ; and by the unexpected tidings of the Rev
olution in Vienna, the climax was precipitated.
On the evening of the 17th, a dispatch was received by the
vice-governor, giving intelligence of the first outbreak in Vi
enna, and the excitement in Milan became intense. By day
light the next morning, placards were printed, and pasted on
the corners of the streets, apprising the people of the occur-
* Nassani, deputy from the city of Bergamo to the government of Milan.
t M. Cesare Cautri, an author well known in Italy by his writings.

192 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
rences in the capital, and the concessions which had been made
by the emperor. On the morning of the 18th, the municipium
and the congregations (or municipal authorities), headed by
the mayor, Casati, and accompanied by the Archbishop of Mi
lan, presented to the organs of the government, assembled in
the palace, petitions praying the installation of a political mag
istracy, under the direction of the municipium, the annulling of
some severe laws, the liberation of political prisoners, the elec
tion of deputies, and the establishment of a National Guard.
The petitions were refused ; and the excited masses stormed,
upon that news, the palace of the government.
The guard on duty at the palace, alarmed at the violence
of the crowd, fired one charge, as some assert, above the heads
of, and not at the people. In fact, no one was wounded ; but
such an impression made, that, had the discharge been repeat
ed, the multitude would have been dispersed ; but, at the mo
ment of wavering, a courageous youth, not more than sixteen,
drew out a pistol and fired at the soldiery, exclaiming, at the
same time, Viva V Italia ! The shot and the cry had a magic
al effect ; the crowd rushed forward, and in one moment the
guard was overpowered, O'Donnell made prisoner, and the tri
color banner placed on the balcony of the hotel. O'Donnell,
being convinced that further opposition was useless, drew up
an order of the day establishing a National Guard, and agreed
to accompany the podesta and the people to the municipality,
for the purpose of having it countersigned and published by
that body. No sooner, however, had he and the podesta left
the hotel, than a strong patrol-guard of Croats was seen ad
vancing, who, without one word of explanation, discharged
their pieces, and killed several persons. The crowd did not
fly; but, every person rushing into the houses at each side of-
the street, flew to the upper windows and roofs, and in one in
stant a storm of tiles, pokers, tables, and every missile that
could be laid hold of, fell on the heads of the devoted Croats.
The effect, as described by an eye-witness, must have been
ludicrous. No sooner did these savage troops, who, in regular
array, would face a battery, feel the weight of the falling tUes,
than they broke, abandoned their ranks, and rapidly dispersed.
The rest of the story has been told. Radetzky hesitated ;

Chap. IL] Attack on the Palace. 193
and, instead of sending all his force to clear the streets, with
drew his men within their respective barracks ; and by the
time he had made up his mind, the affair was decided, the
city barricaded, and it was impossible to retake it without a
bombardment. In order to appease the assailing mass, some printed placards
had been issued, but no effect was produced, until a proclama
tion, hastily published, without legal form, was circulated, in
which the establishment of a provisional government and the
abolition of the police were declared. The rest of the day, and
the night between the 18th and 19th, was principally devoted
to the construction of barricades throughout the city, in which
the first and richest citizens of Milan were engaged, giving ad
vice, and distributing money and provisions among the lower
classes, and fanning the glimmering spark into a flame. The
enthusiasm was universal. Those who had no fire-arms to de
fend the barricades with, provided themselves with all sorts of
missiles to throw on the soldiers from the roofs of the houses.
Alarmed by the tocsin, which sounded from all parts, occupied,
at the same time, with the necessary task of keeping open their
communications, and especially of saving the residences of the
officers in the city, as well as the families of German employees,
the Austrian army could not accomplish all that the exigency
required. Many important objects were overlooked ; and two
millions of francs in silver, deposited in the military chests of
different bureaus, were forgotten. Even the venerable Radetz
ky, in the utmost haste, scarcely saved himself, leaving behind
his waistcoat and his sword, which had served in so many
battles. The chateau, or castle, became his refuge. This
massive square building formed the centre of an ancient for
tress, of which Napoleon had razed the exterior polygon, so that
it now remained separated from the town by a vast esplanade.
From thence, and by the bastions which commanded the city
and the neighboring country, Radetzky surrounded Milan with
the two wings of his army. At each barrier he had placed a
mass of troops and of artillery, and advanced his men by the
largest and most direct streets to the heart of the city, where
he held possession, for three days, of the Cathedral, the Royal
Palace, the Palace of Justice, of Marine, the Pohce, the Hotel
N

194

Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.

de Ville, and many of the military barracks. The Tyrolian rifle
men, posted upon the marble needles of the Cathedral, amused
themselves in shooting, at hazard, the men and women as they
passed in the streets, and even in the interior of the houses
which they thus overlooked.
The parts of the city where the insurrection had made the
greatest progress were not at all in communication with each
other — that which, by mere chance, contained the head-quar
ters of the mayor, having the form of a horse-shoe, extended
by the two streets of Monte and Durino ; from thence they de
veloped themselves in all directions, and, being wide and thin
ly-populated streets, difficult to barricade and to defend, were
consequently commanded by the fire of the troops. During
the first night the head-quarters were not protected on the side
of the Porta Nuova, except by two feeble barricades and by
about sixty young men, who formed themselves into five sec
tions, and who underwent the drill during the whole night to
prepare themselves for the combat of the ensuing day, scarcely
half of them having ever fired a gun. It was calculated that,
during the first night, there was not in line more than from
three to four hundred guns of every description, many families
having previously sent their arms into the country, to avoid de
livering them up to the police. At eight o'clock in the evening,
Radetzky summoned the municipality to disarm the National
Guard. "Unless this is done," said he, "to-morrow I will
resort to bombardment, sack, and all the other means of re
ducing a rebellious city, having at my disposition a drilled
army of one hundred thousand men and two hundred pieces
of cannon."
He also ordered General Wohlgemuth, who commanded the
troops of that circle, to take the barricades by storm, where
upon the government palace was reoccupied. Meanwhile the
engagement had begun throughout the city. From all the
windows the inhabitants commenced firing upon the troops,
and throwing upon them all sorts of projectiles from the roofs
of the houses. General Rath, who proceeded to the interior
of the city to occupy the Place and the main government offi
ces, had to fight for every barricade. The troops, however,
took them all, and arrived at their different destinations. The

Chap. IL] Capture of Hotel de Ville. 195
evening approached, the fight in the streets, or rather, as Mar
shal Radetzky said, " the firing upon our troops had already
continued for six hours," when the field-marshal concluded
to take the building of the municipality at all hazards, and to
destroy, if possible, the principal nerve of the revolt by seiz
ing the provisional government. The engagement continued
four hours, as the position was defended with great obstinacy
by the people. At length, the carpenters ordered to destroy
the gates of the building being killed or wounded as fast as
they approached,. Marshal Radetzky determined to force the
gates by means of twelve-pounders, in which he succeeded,
carrying off two hundred and fifty prisoners, among them
many persons of the highest rank, who had gone there to en
list. The prisoners and arms found in the building were for
warded to the castle. After the capture of the Hotel de Ville,
at ten o'clock, the streets were cleared of people, and tranquil
lity restored for the night. Sincerely concerned on account of
the feeble means of defense with which the city was provided,
and especiaUy the exposed situation of the mansion Vidiserti,
now become the head-quarters of the provisional government,
and whose members might, like the persons who had gone to
the Hotel de Ville to enlist, be taken prisoners, the quarters of
the government were changed to the mansion of Count Charle*
Taverna, a house sufficiently large, and not distant from that
of Vidiserti. To reach it one had only to cross the Bigli, a
street narrow and winding, and which could be easily barri
caded. The garden of this mansion communicated with many
other gardens, and the front of it being surrounded, there would
be time sufficient, in case of danger, to escape to another
point. The key of the grating which opened opposite to the house
of Manzoni was obtained, and a hole constructed in the wall
of the garden of Belgiojoso, and sentinels placed upon the
walls of the other gardens. The mansion Vidiserti became
thence a kind of advanced redoubt, behind which were traced
many successive lines of defense, with sure points of retreat.
These dispositions were taken a few moments before the first
rays of day appeared. A moment after, the sound of the toc
sin was heard, followed by the cry " To arms !"

196 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
It was apprehended by the leaders of the insurgents that
the reflections of the night might chill the ardor and dampen
the spirits of the people, but these apprehensions were soon
dispelled, as they were now seen rushing with enthusiasm to
the barricades.
Sunday, ISth March. — In conformity with the phrase,
" There are no Sabbaths in revolutions," the next morning the
firing was renewed on both sides with the greatest obstinacy.
The feebly-armed citizens had a severe task in opposing, with
any effect, the regular troops, who still occupied the castle,
the barracks, archducal palace, and other important positions,
from whence was maintained a well-directed fire against the
opposite houses ; while the artillery, placed at the head of the
several leading corsos, and keeping up a heavy discharge, en
deavored to batter down the formidable barriers constructed
across every street. Fortunately, however, for the people,
the communication was maintained by the insurgents in the
whole interior of the city, and the sharp-shooters, creeping
from house to house, got eventually within reach of the sol
diers who served the guns, and brought them down one after
another. It was quite remarkable to see the intelligence and
ingenuity evinced by those brave sportsmen in mastering the
fire of disciplined Austrian troops. The narrowest door-way
afforded cover, a few fagots concealed an advance, until the
troops were driven back, not knowing from whence they were
attacked, and on the ground they retired from, a barricade was
immediately thrown up ; the most costly furniture, bureaus,
damask sofas, and even pianos, which the enthusiastic ladies
most liberally contributed for the purpose, were employed in
their construction, and the same system of annoyance again
established. As the ardor of the people increased, the moral courage of
the troops became weakened, and at several points important
posts were carried almost without combat. The general en
thusiasm effected wonders. All houses were opened to receive
the wounded, and to afford assistance to the struggling inhab
itants. Even women and children labored in bearing to the
tops of their houses stones, tiles, and other projectiles, to be
thrown from thence on the heads of the devoted troops. The

Ciiap. IL] Conflict of 19th and 20th March. 197
defense was conducted on the principle of mere instinct, and the
people fought for the whole of that day as they had done on the
preceding — without leaders, without direction — by a common
accord in what each said, "He can not do wrong who brings
down an Austrian." In the evening, general joy seemed to
prevail on account of the successful resistance of the inhabit
ants ; but, the city being again threatened with a bombard
ment, the Consul General of France assembled the other con
suls, and, after a brief deliberation, addressed to Marshal Ra
detzky a " protest," in the names of their respective govern
ments " against an act of such unnecessary violence."
20th March. — On the 20th the fighting was continued with
unabated fury, and on both sides many victims fell. About two
thousand barricades arose in different parts of the city. Car
riages, omnibuses, and post-chaises upset ; tables, boards, boxes
filled with earth ; large flagstones ; in short, all things that
could be used to form a barrier, were amassed together, and
strong traces and heavy chains placed before them. And, as
all these bulwarks were instantly manned by the brave people,
whose blood was now thoroughly excited, the idea of the city's
being obliged to capitulate to the force possessed by Radetzky
seemed now at an end. The marshal continued to fire from
the castle, and several people were killed by the cannonade ;
in like manner, the fire was kept up from the gates of the
city, still occupied by the troops. By a glance at the plan of
the city, it will be observed that an open space exists within
the walls as well as outside. By that space the Imperial Gen
erals Wohlgemuth and Clamm (unable longer to retain their
posts in the interior of the city) kept up their communications ;
but their men were constantly picked off by the people, who
fired from under cover of houses within, and from behind hedges
and ditches without the walls. All the efforts of the people to
get possession of the gates having as yet proved abortive, they
were unable to receive any external assistance. The corre
spondence with the country was, however, kept up in an in
genious manner, by means of little balloons : letters and proc
lamations were dispatched in these serial messengers, with en
treaties to the persons among whom the balloons fell to see to
their delivery. As the letters were sure to fall into friendly

198

Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.

hands, whichever way the wind carried the balloons, the com
missions were faithfully executed. By these means, the peo
ple of the environs were invoked to take up arms, and to come
to the relief of the city. They were enjoined, also, to destroy
the roads leading to Verona and Mantua, so as to prevent the
arrival of re-enforcements, which Marshal Radetzky might call
for. Warned in this manner, the people flocked from all sides ;
if they were not strong enough to force the gates, kept up a
constant fire on the patrols and soldiers who appeared on the
bastions, and rendered the continuation of Radetzky's system
impossible. On this day, Marshal Radetzky replied to the protest of the
foreign consuls, in substance, that the troops under his com
mand had been attacked by the citizens without any notioe or
provocation whatever ; that the people, by breaking into and
sacking the Hotel de Ville and du Gouvernement, exacted of
the official chief (after killing the feeble guard placed there for
his protection) what it was not in his power to subscribe to,
and which alone were the attributes of the government. " It
depends, gentlemen," said the marshal, "on your influence
with the chiefs of the revolutionary government, to induce
them to abstain from any further acts of hostility ; for, as long
as I am attacked and my soldiers killed under my eyes, I shall
defend myself with the courage which is mainly inspired by
the manner in which we have been attacked, and by a proper
sentiment of duty to my troops. Nevertheless, out of respect
to the several governments, of which you are the organs, I am
willing to suspend the execution of the rigorous measures
which I mean to take against Milan until to-morrow, the 21st,
on condition that the same reserve will be exercised by the
opposite party. I await the result of your intervention before
I commence the renewal of my operations."
From this reply, it seemed evident that, as early as the
20th, after only two days' fighting, Radetzky would gladly have
come to any arrangement wliich would have been consistent
with his reputation ; and the consuls felt their position was
changed, and that, instead of asking favors from the marshal,
that they were called on bynim to use their influence, for his
sake, with the leaders of the revolt. The consuls accordingly

Chap. IL] Conflict of the 21st of March. 199
addressed Radetzky a dispatch, at eight o'clock in the even
ing, informing him that they had consulted the municipal au
thorities, and requested an interview with the marshal, to com
municate the results of their negotiations. To which Radetz
ky replied by a communication, dated two A.M., and affixing
an interview for seven o'clock the next morning.
21st March. — In consequence of this note, the consuls went
to the castle, but they did so at the risk of their lives, as sev
eral shots were fired at them through mistake. The Consul
General of France, as spokesman, explained, at some length,
that the troops, and not the people, at the Hotel de Ville first
commenced the firing; and then, after going into the im
mediate object of their visit, the interview was closed by a
proposition of Marshal Radetzky, of an armistice of three days,
provided the heads of the movement acceded to the arrange
ment. The consuls next visited the Provisional Government (which
had by this time been formed), and though at first the leaders
were inclined to accept the armistice, yet, on a remark being
made that a revolution once commenced should never be in
terrupted until full success was obtained, the proposal was
definitely rejected, and the consuls communicated the result
to the marshal in a note of that day. When it was known
that the armistice was refused, the inhabitants of Milan began
to fear for their houses and property, and something like de
pression was visible ; but in a few hours the gloom cleared
off, every one hurried to his post, with gun, sword, stick, or
any offensive weapon he could procure ; and, from that hour,
the favorable termination of the struggle was assured. The
people soon, by a vigorous assault, possessed themselves of the
palace of the viceroy and the Duomo, on which they hoisted
the Italian tricolor. The general Prefecture of Police fell into
the hands of the people, who pillaged it. The family of the
Director General, Torresani, and the famous Count Bolza, so
abhorred by the Milanese, were captured in that hotel, but their
persons were respected, and they were conducted as hostages
to the Boromeo Palace. At that time, the only public edifice
still held by the troops was the hotel of the commander-in-chief,

200

Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.

which, owing to the brisk cannonading, all the efforts of the
people to take possession of it had proved fruitless.
22d March. — Again, on the morning of the 22d, the fight
was renewed more vigorously than ever.. The Milanese, sec
onded by the people from the country, who had hastened to
their assistance, attacked the gates ; but a formidable artil
lery baffled all their efforts. The troops, having been always
masters of the gates, had cut off all provisions from the city.
Beef was already fifty cents per pound. The walls were, how
ever, escaladed by emissaries, who informed the Milanese that
Pavia and Bergamo were in full insurrection, and that the son
of the viceroy had been captured. At length, on the evening
. of the fifth day's fighting, the citizens, protected by the ingen
ious contrivance of a movable barricade, advanced deliberately
on one of the gates, the Porta Tosa. A set of brave young
fellows made up bundles of fascines, which they rolled before
them, firing from the shelter thus afforded, while a flanking
fire, from the houses on each side, covered their advance. In
this way, after long-protracted efforts, the artillerymen were
picked off one by one, until, at last, a dash was made, and, all
sorts of combustibles being prepared, the gate and the houses
covering it were set fire to, and in a moment all were envel
oped in flames. Several ladies, from a distant balcony, wit-
-nessed this advance ; and it was said that each time an Aus
trian was brought down they clapped their hands as at the the
atre, and gave vivas for the lucky marksman ; but when the
aim was wrong, and no mischief done, they saluted the fail
ure with a general hiss. A communication with the country
was now opened. Another gate was soon carried — that of
Como — by armed peasants from Lecco, and the main body
of the troops driven, from all points, into the castle. Intelli
gence was received, from the persons who now poured into the
city, that the Piedmontese forces on the Ticino were increas
ing, had crossed the river at several points, and that, from the
Swiss frontier, particularly from the Valteline, armed peasants,
amounting to ten thousand, invaded the country, and that the
whole Lombardian territory was in open insurrection. Ra
detzky had thought to draw all the detached garrisons to Milan,
and to attack the city on every side ; but all communications

Chap. IL] Austrians abandon Milan. 201
were interrupted ; single couriers were shot, and greater divis
ions met with overwhelming difficulties on the roads, and in the
towns through which they attempted to pass. He ordered up
the brigade Mauer, stationed in Magenta, and that of Strasaldo,
from Sarano (with which points the communications were stiU
open), to join his forces in Milan. This order was effected ; but,
while the embarrassments of his situation increased with ev
ery moment that transpired, the veteran marshal continued the
struggle with redoubled energy. The generals, Wohlgemuth
and Clamm, still protected their communications by destroy
ing with artillery all the buildings touching the ramparts.
" The troops," said Marshal Radetzky, in his official report,
" fought well ; they are really admirable ; they effect more
than possibilities, and are in fine spirits, although they have
had no rest for four days, and part of the time encountered the
most dreadful weather."
On the evening of the 22d, the marshal — in consequence of
the highly excited state of the population in the city, the vol
unteers flocking in from all quarters, the disastrous news from
Padua, Venice, and other points, evincing that the whole coun
try was in a state of revolt, especially that a considerable
force was approaching from Switzerland, and that the King of
Piedmont, with a most formidable army, had already crossed
the frontier — came to the conclusion that it would be impos
sible for him to retain any longer his position in that city. It
was to the Austrian army a dreadful resolution ; but there was
no alternative : Milan must be evacuated. Accordingly, on that
night the following order was issued, signed by the field-mar
shal. " Soldiers ! the treachery of our allies, the fury of an
enraged people, and the scarcity of provisions, oblige me to
abandon this city of Milan, for the purpose of taking position
on another line, from which, at your head, I can return to vic
tory." As soon as it grew dark, all the troops were concen
trated on the Place d! Armes, and immediate preparations for
departure made. The march through the gates and over the
ramparts of the city, amid the terrible cross-fire of the enemy,
it was anticipated would be perilous in the extreme. In fact,
the Milanese suspecting the contemplated retreat of Radetzky,
every nook and corner on both sides of the way, on the line

202 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
of his exit, were filled by sharp-shooters, who, from their safe
and unsuspected retreats, could direct their deadly aim upon
the troops. Every cellar, window, and roof of each house in
the town, was crowded with marksmen, and through the sub
urbs and outskirts every tree was occupied by armed peasants.
To protect his retreat, Radetzky ordered the constant dis
charge of his sixty cannons, by which many dwellings were
set fire to in the extremities of the city. The burning houses
spread a lurid light over the dark horizon. Suddenly, an im
mense volume of smoke issued from the midst of the castle.
The Austrians had set fire to large quantities of straw, hay,
wagons, and furniture ; not, as some of the Milanese supposed,
to consume their dead, but, more probably, for the purpose of
distracting attention from their retreat. While the noise of the
cannonade, and the light of the conflagration, were absorbing
the attention of the population, the troops, with their flanks
protected by numerous tirailleurs, abandoned the castle and
began to defile through the narrow passages of the bastions.
The march through the ramparts was accomplished in good
order, as quickly as possible, but under the greatest obstacles.
Carrying, as Radetzky was obliged to do, all his artillery and
ammunition, his wounded, more than three hundred families
of Austrian officers and employees, the unfortunate prisoners
whom he had taken as hostages, and some thousands of Ital
ian soldiers whose fidelity he mistrusted, eight hours were
necessary to disengage his troops from the double-circle fire,
which was, during every moment of the time, discharged upon
them. The Italian regiments had behaved well during the engage-
ment, but now exhibited some reluctance at quitting their
country under the lead of " foreigners." In difficult passages,
where their desertion was feared, cannons were directed against
them, and, at the smallest sign of hesitation, the officers in
command cried out the terrible words, " March on, or you are
dead men!" To excite the inhabitants and intimidate the
troops the alarm-bells were sounded from the sixty steeples of
Milan. On several occasions, when too heavily pressed, the
troops, fell into confusion, they stopped and reformed their col
umns amid the most terrific fire. At the Porta Comasina it

Chap. II.] Results of the Conflict. 203
was attempted to prevent their passage ; but the troops, by a
desperate effort, overwhelmed all resistance. As they passed
the Porta Tosa the environs were one uninterrupted sea of fire.
It was long after midnight when the rear-guard evacuated its
position on the ramparts, from which it had protected the egress
of the troops. The retreat succeeded completely ; and, in com
parison with the danger and difficulty of the task, the loss was
small. It was one of the sad master-strokes of the art of wai ,
in which the energy of the general and the unsubdued cour
age of his troops can not but be admired.
After the terrible fighting for five days, the number of killed
was incredibly small. As reported by the Milanese Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, the loss on the part of the Austrians was
seven hundred, that of the Italians, two hundred and fifty.
Some Italian writers place Radetzky's loss in killed and wound
ed as high as four thousand.* The loss of the troops was
vastly greater than that of the Milanese, owing to the exposed
position of the former, and the protected points occupied by
the latter. The loss of property was considerable. Besides the
destruction of isolated buildings at various points, and the ex
tensive conflagration at the extremities of the city, two streets,
from the windows of which the enraged citizens were pouring
down boiling oil and pitch upon the troops, were so complete
ly demolished as to present one uninterrupted mass of ruins. t

* Author of " Custoza."
t Many instances of cruelty are said to have been perpetrated by the Croats
during the struggle. Women, it was said, were violated, men cut down, and
houses set on fire. A poor child was nailed to the door of a house where the
entrance of the soldiers was at first resisted. In one place, the bodies of five
women, half burned, were found ; and even in a house near the castle, the corps
es of women, with their faces horribly disfigured, were exposed. The hand of a
lady, with several rings on it, was hid in the pocket of a Croat prisoner ; and limbs
of women, separated from the bodies, which had been burned or buried, were
discovered near the gates. Even Radetzky himself, though incapable of counte
nancing these horrors, is not quite guiltless of acts of perfidy which entailed a
great deal of personal suffering on his victims, and caused the despair of several
noble families, in having seized as prisoners at the Hdtel de Ville, on the 18th, the
hundred and fifty gentlemen who went there to enroll themselves as National
Guards under the proclamation of O'Donnell and the podesta. These prisoners
suffered every privation for four days, and at last seventeen of them were carried
off. The Milanese, on the other hand, are said to have treated their prisoners with
all imaginable lenity. O'Donnell, Balza (the detested instrument of the police).

204 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
Having with great difficulty accomplished his retreat from
Milan, Marshal Radetzky determined to 'retire to Lodi ; but
in this his progress was slow, as barricades had been thrown
up, and the road dug away in a number of places, which with
difficulty the van-guard succeeded in restoring before the arri
val of the main body. On reaching Molignano in the course
of the day (23d), that insignificant town had the assurance to
order the troops to lay down their arms, and actually seized
and imprisoned the interpreting officer, Colonel Count Wra-
tislaw. The bridge over the Lambro being also destroyed,
this handful of men kept the Austrian army in check for an
entire day. As soon as the bridge was restored, Marshal Ra
detzky, approaching within shot of the town, immediately or
dered its bombardment; and, amid a general conflagration,
stormed the village, and rescued the imprisoned imperial offi
cer. No further resistance was offered the army ; the severe
chastisement inflicted on the presumptuous little town of Mo
lignano prevented the recurrence of similar attempts. The
Archduke Ernest had succeeded in keeping Lodi in submis
sion, and the field-marshal, having reached that city, there
paused to give repose to his exhausted troops.
Invasion of Charles Albert.
It was the maxim of one of the early princes of the house
of Savoy, and constantly held in view by his descendants, that
Lombardy ought to be considered as an artichoke, to be eaten
leaf by leaf; but it was the fancy of Charles Albert that he
had an appetite sufficient to devour the whole plant at onoe.
Lombardy has been under the dominion of the house of Aus
tria for three centuries (from the death of Charles the Fifth) ;
and, since the peace of Utrecht, has been positively assured to
that dynasty by all Europe, and therefore is not a dominion
which the King of Sardinia could regard as usurped by the
house of Austria. Lombardy, too, had been oonfirmed to Aus-
the wife of Torresani (the intendant of the police), Count Thun, nephew of Count
Fiquelmont, and a large body of counselors, against whom the people had many
complaiuts, were lodged in the first palaces of the city, and most strictly and
honorably attended to.1 1 Correspondent of the London Times.

Chap. IL] Invasion of Charles Albert. 205
tria, by the treaty of Vienna, in 1815 ; by which compact the
King of Sardinia holds a large portion of his own possessions ;
a treaty by which Genoa was stripped of her independence,
her republic extinguished, and her territory placed under the
rule of the house of Savoy. In a note dispatched on the 8th
of February, 1848, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs at Tu
rin, to" the imperial embassador at that court, announcing that
the King of Sardinia had determined to grant a constitution
to his subjects, appears the following passage : " The king is
desirous that his majesty, the Emperor of Austria, will ac
cept the assurance that the maintenance of treaties shall be
in the future, as it has been in the past, the basis of his poli
cy ; and that, in calling his subjects to take part in the inter
nal government of the kingdom, far from rendering his rela
tions with foreign powers more difficult, it will only bind more
closely the ties of friendship between the two states." The
official declarations of the Sardinian government, on other oc
casions, and even as late as the 22d of March, were marked
by the same sentiments. It seems astonishing, however, that
the royal censorship should have allowed journals not only to
make the most violent attacks against Austria, but even direct
appeals, and excitations to revolt, addressed to the inhabitants
of the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom. The multiplied remon
strances of the imperial government obtained only sterile ex
pressions of regret, fresh assurances of friendship, and excuses
founded on the difficulties arising from the pressure of cir
cumstances. During the time when the continual armaments
of Sardinia were the more calculated to call the attention of
the imperial government to the fact, the Sardinian authorities
replied that they were caused by the fermentation of all Italy,
and of Sardinia itself ; and that they absolutely had no offens
ive character.
Scarcely had the news of the glorious events which had oc
curred at Milan on the 18th reached Turin, when some Milan
ese, who had previously fled to that city, hastened to his maj
esty, the King of Sardinia, and invoked his assistance, which,
as they urged, they had a right to expect, " as Italians, from
their Italian brethren, and from the heroic intrepidity of their
revolt against the common enemy of all Italy." To this en-

206 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
treaty of the Milanese patriots an answer was given, " that it
was impossible for the government of his majesty to undertake
the initiative of a mihtary subsidy in Lombardy without a di
rect demand on the part of the people of Milan." This in
telligence, notwithstanding the many difficulties and dangers
which impeded entrance to the city, was immediately conveyed
to, and reached Milan on the morning of the 21st.* The sat
isfaction with which it was accepted by the provisional gov
ernment may easUy be imagined ; and a mission was imme
diately organized for the purpose of conveying to the King of
Piedmont the sense of gratitude which was felt, and the ex
pression of a fervent hope that he would not delay jn coming
to their aid. Previously, however, to the arrival of this mis
sion, a corps of volunteers for the invasion of Lombardy had
been decreed at Turin, and into which foreigners were to be
admitted. The Austrian embassador at Turin considered it
his duty to demand, without delay, whether the subjects of
his master, the emperor, were also to be permitted to enlist.
To this interrogatory the Sardinian minister, the Marquis Pa-
reto, returned an evasive and insufficient answer, but conclud
ed as follows : " The undersigned, after having answered the
note of Count Bual, hastens to add, that he will do all that
depends upon him to insure the relations of amity and good
neighborhood between the two states." Such was the tone of
the official organ of the Sardinian government on the 22d of
March. On the same, or, at furthest, on the succeeding day, King
Charles Albert convoked a cabinet council, to consider the ex
pediency of marching an armed force to the assistance of the
Milanese ; and the following proclamation, issued on the 23d
(just a day after the amicable assurances above stated), was
the result of their deliberations :
" Charles Albert, by the grace of God, King of Sardinia
Cyprus, and Jerusalem. People of Lombardy and Venice
The destinies of Italy are maturing ; a happier fate awaits the
intrepid defenders of inculcated rights. From affinity of race,
» Proclamation of the Provisional Government of Milan to the inhabitants of
Lombardy.

Chap. IL] Voluntary Contributions. 207
from intelligence of the age, from community of feeling, we,
the first, have joined in that unanimous admiration which Italy
manifests toward you. People of Lombardy and Venice ! Our
arms, which were already concentrated on your frontier when
you anticipated the liberation of glorious Milan, now come to
offer you, in your further trials, that aid which a brother ex
pects from a brother — a friend from a friend. We will second
your just desires, confiding in the aid of that God who is visi
bly with us — of that God who has given to Italy a Pius IX. —
of that God who, by such wonderful impulse, has given to It
aly the power of acting alone. And, that the sentiment of the
Italian union may be further demonstrated, we command that
our troops, on entering the territory of Lombardy and Venice,
shall bear the escutcheon of Savoy on the tricolored flag of
Italy. Charles Albert."
Upon these developments, the imperial embassador at Turin
immediately demanded and obtained his passports ; and, as
soon as the tidings of these occurrences reached Vienna, the
Sardinian minister at that court left the Austrian capital.*
The King of Sardinia, in a council of ministers, had previ
ously decided to call out immediately the two classes of recruits
necessary for filling up the ranks of the army, in active serv
ice ; to send to the frontier all the regiments of infantry, cav
alry, and artillery ; to accept the generous offers of individuals,
of horses for transport, and voluntary contributions for the vic
tualing of the army ; to order the army of reserve to hold it
self in readiness to march at the first notice ; and to open a
voluntary but temporary loan, at five per cent., for immediate
expenses. On the 26th, a portion of the Piedmontese troops, under
General Bes (five thousand in number), entered Milan. An
other division of the same army (the advance-guard, eight
thousand in number), under General Trotti, penetrating Lom
bardy at a point lower down, passed through Lodi on the 28th,
and established themselves at Crema ; while the king, Charles
* According to official information, the Austrian coat-of-arms were torn down
by the populace from the residence of the embassador at Turin, as well as of the i
consul at Genoa.

208 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
Albert, with the main body of the army (forty thousand strong),
following the course of the Po, passed through Pavia on the
29th, and reached Lodi on the 30th, where he issued a procla
mation to his army, " congratulating them on having marched
one hundred and ten miles in seventy-two hours, and express
ing his joy that Lombardy and Venice had called on him to
expel the Austrians from their territory."
On the 26th, the Provisional Government of Milan published
a proclamation, announcing a convention concluded with the
Piedmontese government, in virtue of which the Piedmontese
troops wiU act in concert with the Milanese as their faithful
allies, the expense of provisions to be at the charge of Milan,
and the pay of the troops to be at the charge of the Sardinian
government. Ten thousand Roman and seven thousand Tus
cans were at this time marching to the Po, by Bologna and
Ferrara. The Neapolitan government, about the same time,
dispatched fifteen thousand men to the scene of action, twelve
thousand to be conveyed by sea to Ancona, and three thousand
to cross the Pope's dominions, and join the others on the fron
tiers of Lombardy.
" It is not a little remarkable that these Italian powers
should so readily have committed themselves," to use the lan
guage of Lord Aberdeen, "in having violated the public law of
Europe, and entering the territory of a neighboring, a friendly,
and an allied power, without the slightest pretext of grievance,
without any provocation, without any complaint or any reason
assigned whatsoever, and in direct violation of engagements by
which they were bound ;" especially when their efforts, if suc
cessful, would end in their own downfall. But the truth was,
these monarchs were doubly forced into the positions which they
found themselves compelled to assume. In the first place, they
were driven to it by their own subjects ; ever since the strug
gle commenced between the Lombardians and the imperial
government, the people throughout all Italy had urged their
respective monarchs in vain to the assistance of the insur
gents ; and when the tidings of the success of the Milanese
and their repulse of the imperial troops arrived, their demands
became irresistible, and the immediate compliance on the part
of these monarchs became as necessary as the preservation of

Chap. IL] Insurrections in Lombardy. 209
their own thrones. In the next place, the Italian monarchs
felt themselves foroed to this step in defense of the constitu
tional governments which they had recently established, and
their own position at the head of them, by the conviction that,
unless they afforded assistance to the struggling Lombardians,
there would be no alternative left the insurgents but to pro
claim a republic and throw themselves into the arms of France,
and that government, it was thought, would not have hesitated
to consider, agreeably to the address of Lamartine, that the
time for the reconstruction of this oppressed nationality had
arrived ; and, with Lombardy a republic, it would have fol
lowed, " as surely as the day to night," that all Italy would
have become republican also, and have hurled these monarchs
from their thrones.
In the mean time, the whole Lombardo- Venitian kingdom
and its vicinity seemed to be in open rebellion : in the lan
guage of the proclamation of the Grand Duke of Tuscany,
"the period for the regeneration of aU Italy had arrived."
Venice, the proud city of the Lagoons, upon the receipt of
the news of the revolution in Vienna, immediately threw off
imperial authority, and declared a republic. In Parma and
Modena, the dukes had fled, and the governments given up or
consigned to the hands of the people. Throughout all the towns
of the Lombardo-Venitian kingdom, with the exception of Ve
rona, Mantua, and Peschiera (where were formidable Austrian
fortresses, and where the troops, by retiring into the citadels,
preserved their positions), the power fell into the hands of the
people, and the imperial troops were either suffered to depart or
were taken prisoners. At Brescia, the Austrian garrison, after
the arrest of General Shoubals, two colonels, and fifty-three
officers of different grades, were compelled to leave the place ;
but the route of their departure not having been indicated,
they marched and joined Radetzky at Crema. At Bergamo,
the eight hundred Austrians stationed there retired, on the out
break, to their barracks, and prepared to defend themselves ;
a deputation of citizens, calling on them to deliver up their
arms on being granted an unmolested retreat, were seized and
imprisoned ; and the citizens, from regard to the deputation,
were obliged to compromise for their release by suffering the
0

210 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
soldiers to depart with their arms. At Como (a provisional gov
ernment was formed, which published a proclamation, dated
23d March, ordering all functionaries to be retained in their re
spective offices, but the arms of Austria and the title of " im
perial and royal" to be every where effaced) all the barracks,
with one exception, were in the hands of the people, twelve
thousand men were disarmed, and their weapons distributed
among the people, who hurried to the assistance of the Milanese.
In Varese, the troops wished to withdraw without resistance,
when the insurrection commenced, but the people would not
permit it, and two hundred Croats and a detachment of huz-
zars were compelled to surrender. At Lodi and Cremona, san
guinary combats took place, which resulted in the triumph of '
the people. Similar occurrences took place at Pavia and De-
zensano. At Pizzighettone, the garrison surrendered, and tho
fortress and ten pieces of cannon were taken. The garrison
at Piacenza was compelled to evacuate the castle. In the
towns of Udine, Treviso, and Padua, in the Venetian kingdom,
the imperial troops were permitted to leave under capitulations.
Proceedings in Milan.
All fears of Field-marshal Radetzky's return being at an end,
a superior and disciplined force now pursuing him, all the bar
ricades in Milan were rapidly removed,* and the city began to
resume once more its former prosperous aspect. While the
Provisional Government was actively engaged in issuing proc
lamations to arouse the inhabitants, raising levies, and dis-
* " The barriers are being actively demolished, and, while nobles at one end
claim their magnificent carriages, a good housewife at the other asks for the
kitchen table, which she contributed for the same patriotic purpose. The mana
gers of the Scala, and the other theatres, are looking for their benches, and the
malle-poste and diligence owners are entreating that the heaps of straw and ma
nure stuffed in at their doors and windows shall be removed. In one place, u
crowd of honest women are disputing the right of ownership to several mattresses
and feather beds which had been exposed, in the common cause of the country,
to the last week's rain; and, in another, the green-grocer and the oil-man, altern
ately laying hold of a counter which the cloth-dealer finally carries off. The only
things unclaimed were the sentry-boxes of the Austrians, which, in these strange
days, had been employed to exclude the very men they were constructed to shel
ter."1

1 London Times.

Chap. II. ] Proceedings in Milan. 211
patching them as rapidly as possible in pursuit of the fleeing
enemy, the people were engaged in the more solemn occu
pation of paying the last sad honors to their fallen country
men. The funeral service for the "victims of the five days,"
is represented as one of the most sublime and splendid cere
monies ever witnessed ; and those who are familiar with the
magnificent interior of the Duomo, and with the magnitude of
the open space before it, will admit that a more suitable locale
for a festival of that nature can scarcely be found. The whole
interior of the cathedral was hung in black, a mourning pile
being raised in the centre, on which numerous inscriptions
appeared, commemorating the death of the victims, and insur
ing immortality to their names. A profusion of wax lights
rendered " the darkness visible," and brought into full view
the innumerable banners which were pendant from the col
umns and from every part of the roof. The floor of the tem
ple was covered with green cloth, and seats were placed for the
use of the privileged classes ; but the whole body of the build
ing was thronged with people of all ranks, who took part in the
proceedings with that order and propriety which distinguishes
the Milanese. The effect was grand, when the solemn sound
of the colossal organ was heard united with the voices of a
hundred choristers, and when the people outside took up the
hymn, and made the plaza, as well as the church, re-echo to
the strain. A procession of the archbishops and a long train
of ecclesiastics also had a fine effect ; and the ceremony was
rendered still more awful by the appearance in the deepest
mourning of the relatives of the deceased, and by the sobs which
seemed to burst against their will from the bosoms of the most
afflicted. The Provisional Government, all the newly-appoint
ed authorities, and the foreign consuls, preceded by a long
flight of banners, were introduced with similar forms, as well
as a procession of charitable ladies, who were employed in rais
ing a subscription for the families of those who had fallen in
the patriotic cause. However grand the ceremony within the
church, aided as it was by the effect of the solemn draperies,
the immense columns, the arched roof, the stained windows,
the monumental sculpture, all brought into relief by the flame
of a thousand wax-lights — it was not to be compared to the

212 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
exhibition offered in the plaza before the Duomo, where the
whole population of Milan appeared, as if by a miracle, to have
found room. A mourning pyramid, with suitable inscriptions,
had been raised in the centre, and a proper space about it was
preserved by the National Guard, who, dressed in their becom
ing costume of black velvet, with Tyrolese hats, performed
public duty for the first time. All the houses of the square,
the windows and balconies, were hung with black, and every
spot where human forms could be introduced was filled with
ladies clad in mourning, whose picturesque appearance, all in
sable vails, instead of bonnets, as is their custom in Milan,
rendered them by no means the least attractive part of the
ceremony. From every window streamed the tricolor ribbon,
and the contrast between these gay tints and the deep mourn
ing in which the houses and the people were arrayed, was most
striking and impressive. The solemn enthusiasm of the people
of Milan on this occasion can not be justly described. No lan
guage can do justice to the religious sentiment which appear
ed to dictate all they said and did. Persons of rank, and those
of the humblest life, were equally elevated in feeling, and the
fervor of the popular voice was tempered with a devotional
gravity worthy of the best days of ancient Rome.
Movements of Radetzky.
The original plan of Field-marshal Radetzky was to take
position behind the Adda, to concentrate there all disposable
troops, to open communications with the great fortresses of
Mantua, Peschiera, and Verona in his rear, and then to march
back and retake Milan ; but the general insurrections which
had occurred in all the towns of the Lombardo-Venetian prov
inces, together with extensive desertions of Italian troops* at
various posts, caused this plan to be abandoned. Accordingly,
Radetzky left Lodi, and marched to Crema, and there, on the
25th of March, issued the following proclamation :
" The events of Milan and other towns have induced me to
concentrate my forces, and to draw nearer to the focus of my

* The regiment Albert and the third Ceccopieri deserted at Cremona, aud the
regiment Haugwitz in Brescia

Chap. IL] Movements of Radetzky. 213
military operations and of my resources. The peaceful inhab
itants have nothing to dread, and will meet with protection
for their persons and property ; they are warned, however, not
to offer any opposition to the march of the imperial and royal
troops. I shall cause the severest discipline to be observed ;
whoever is taken with arms in his hands shall be judged by a
military commission, and, upon conviotion, be immediately
shot. The tried fidelity of the army I command, and the nu
merous troops that compose it, will answer for the fulfillment
of my present declarations."
From thence, retreating across the Adda, he proceeded with
his foroes to Orcinuovo and Laucino, and there, on the 30th of
March, halted on the banks of the Oglio. From want of pro
visions in the fortress, the Austrians were obliged to abandon
the intention, subsequently entertained, of throwing them
selves into Mantua, with the exception of a portion under
General Walmoden.
The Piedmontese general, Bes, captured about this time, it
is said, a detached corps of Austrians at Chiari, a small town
one day's march from Brescia, on the road to Milan.
General Ancioni arrived at Brescia on the 30th of March,
at the head of a column of Milanese, to re-enforce General
Monti, who had preceded him to that point. The Piedmont
ese column under Bes also directed its movements to the same
point. The first legion of Lombardy left Milan on the same
day for Antignate.*
On the night of the 4th, the Austrians evacuated Monte
Chiaro, Castiglione delle Steviere, and Lonato, and took the
* On entering the territory of Lombardy, the King of Piedmont declared that
he was actuated by no other ambition than a desire to aid the independence of
Italy. He found the population in a strange temper: they received the Pied
montese as brothers, and loaded them with praises, but appeared to regard their
intervention as a matter of slight utility, after the retreat of Radetzky. The dep
uties from Milan, who came to salute him at Pavia, on his entrance into Lom
bardy, represented that the Austrian troops were in full flight, and incapable of
the slightest resistance ; that they had crossed the Alps ; and vauntingly spoke of
pursuing him there, and conquering Illyria, Istria, and Dalmatia, the ancient pos
sessions of Italy. But on passing through Lodi, aud coming up with their van
guard at Crema, on the 1st of April, they discovered, on the contrary, that Ra-
detzky's army, in good order, had concentrated, and occupied the plain of Monte
Chiaro.

214 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
roads to Verona and Mantua. On the same day that the Aus
trians were crossing the Mincio, the Sardinian army crossed
the Oglio. On the 5th its head-quarters were at Pozzolo and
the first corps at Marcaria.
On the 6th, the commander of the fortress of Mantua, upon
the order of Radetzky, directed a reconnoitre against the Pied
montese van-guard at Marcaria. Colonel Benedek, charged
with that reconnoitre, intended to have surprised the enemy ;
but the execution of the plan failed, owing to a shot fired by
a peasant. Entering Marcaria, however, they took ten dra
goons and thirteen horses of the regiment of Genoa, stormed
those houses whence the troops had been fired upon, and drove
the Piedmontese back over the Oglio.
The idea of Radetzky at this time seemed to be to withdraw
his forces between the fortresses of Peschiera, Verona,* and
Mantua, and to defend the line of the Mincio ; but circumstan
ces, perhaps, induced him to change his plan of operations, for
by refusing battle, the whole line of the Mincio was abandoned ;
and his object appeared confined to the possession of Peschiera
and Verona, and to the maintenance of the line of the Adige
north of Verona, and leading to Roveredo and Trient.
Charles Albert's plant seemed clearly to be, to secure, in the
first place, the passages of the Mincio, to place large bodies of
men between Peschiera and Verona, and to cut off the line of
the Upper Adige, by gaining Pontone, where the only bridge
over that river is placed. Should he be successful in these
movements, he could not fail to reduce Peschiera, isolate Ve
rona, and thus bar Radetzky's retreat, or cut off the arrival
of re-enforcements from Vienna.
The occupation of the important fortresses of Mantua, Ve
rona, and Peschiera changed altogether the prospect of affairs,
and the fate of Lombardy now depended on the degree of power
possessed by the government of Vienna, and its willingness or
unwillingness to attempt the recovery of this kingdom. The
independence of Lombardy, which a few days before appeared
* On reaching Verona, Radetzky published an order of the day to his troops,
containing the expressive wordB, " On military grounds, and in my capacity as
commander, I say you have retired before the enemy ; you have not been con
quered." t Evening Mail.

Chap. IL] Plans of the Combatants. 215
within the grasp of the Provisional Government, seemed now to
be indefinitely postponed; and however anxious France might
be to acknowledge it, she could not get rid of the obvious con
sideration that the country, while the Austrian troops held
possession of the three great fortresses in its very centre, was
still subject to Austrian rule* This untoward state of things
was mainly owing to the over-cautious military proceedings
of the King of Sardinia, and the military inexperience of the
persons at Milan charged with the direction of affairs. Had
Charles Albert but made two or three forced marches with
the large army that he commanded, he might have prevented
the concentration of Radetzky's forces. The Provisional Gov
ernment of Milan are also censurable for having rejected a plan
laid down by experienced men, and by which the defeat of the
Austrians was assured.
The Milanese, however, elated by their success in casting
off from their city the incubus under which it labored — the im
position of imperial troops — were unable to realize the danger
of their situation, as no immediate attack on the city was
threatened, and they remained undisturbed by passing events.
They considered the result of the war as predestined; and they
left it in the hands of their too willing ally the King of Pied
mont, and the Sardinian, Tuscan, Roman, and Neapolitan
troops, who, without any casus belli, or declaration of war,
were flocking in every direction for the purpose of expelling
the stranger from Italian soil.
On the morning of the 8th, at seven o'clock, the Piedmont
ese, who to this time were on the right bank of the Mincio,
the head-quarters of the king being at Castiglione delle Ste-
viere, and the Austrians on the left (the great body of them
having retired to Verona), the former with from eight to ten
thousand men, coming down from Marcaria, appeared before
Goito. That place was occupied by a single Austrian com
pany of the fourth battalion of riflemen, under the command
of Captain Knezick ; the rest of the brigade Wohlgemuth was
on the left shore of the Mincio.
A lively fire, between the tirailleurs, on both sides was kept

* Evening Mail.

216 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
up for several hours, in which the company of Austrians sus
tained themselves with great credit; but, being unable to
stand up before three to four thousand of the enemy* who were
said to be engaged, General Wohlgemuth withdrew the com
pany, partially destroyed the bridge, and placed but two guns
to bear upon its passage. But the Sardinian light troops, from
the houses on the right bank, which had been abandoned to
them, killed off the gunners serving the pieces ; and so sharp
was the fire, with cross batteries from the shelter which they
occupied, that the Austrians were forced to retire ; and the
Piedmontese, crossing in triumph, remained masters of the pas
sage of the Mincio.t
While this success was attending the Piedmontese arms, a
similar struggle, on the same day, but at another point, occur
red, which proved favorable to the Austrians. Numerous un
disciplined crowds of insurgents had made their appearance at
Montebello. The field-marshal dispatched the brigade Lich-
tenstein to San Bonifacio, to undertake from there a reconnoitre
of Montebello. Leaving Verona on the morning of the 7th,
they slept that night in San Bonifacio, and executed on the 8th
the order. The roads had been rendered impracticable by bar
ricades, but the Austrian pioneers soon removed all obstruc
tions. A strong resistance was only met with in Sono, which
was strongly barricaded, and defended by a thousand m'en.
Sono was carried by storm, fifty of its defenders were killed
on the spot, thirty or forty taken prisoners, and two ship can
nons captured. While this was going on on the heights, Col
onel Martini, with a column, stormed the bridge of Montebello,
took two sea cannons, and caused the complete evacuation of
the place.
As soon as the passage of the Mincio was effected by his
troops, Charles Albert removed from Castiglione delle Steviere,
passing through Valeggio, invested Peschiera, and carried his
head-quarters to Sbmma Campagna, the enemy retiring at his
approach ; from thence he attacked and drove back a column
of two thousand men, sent from Verona for the purpose of for
aging, or of re-enforcing the garrison of Peschiera. The Croats
* Radetzky's Dispatch. t Evening Mail.

Chap. IL] Partial Engagements. 217
fought well ; but there was a far superior force against them,
and they were driven successively from all the positions which
they occupied ; and, their retreat being cut off by a spirited ad
vance of the right of the Piedmontese toward Verona, they were
obliged to abandon Busolongo, and to fall baok to Pontone on
the Adige. This affair was no battle, but simply the resolute
advance of a superior force against a weaker, and the aban
donment of all their positions by the latter, after some brave
but ineffectual attempts to maintain their ground.* The po
sition occupied at this time by this portion of the Piedmontese
army can be easily understood. On the right bank of the Min
cio, from Peschiera to Valeggio, there is a chain of hills, bounded
by a heath of four or five miles, and gradually sinking to the
vast plains in which Villa-Franca and Verona stand. The same
chain is (across the Mincio) continued northward to Pontone,
whence the Adige, that has flowed nearly due south from
Trient and Roveredo, takes suddenly an eastern direction, and
winds through the vale of Verona to that city, situated on the
extreme verge of the plain, with gentle hills above it, similar
to those that skirt the left bank of the Mincio. The Piedmont
ese army was encamped at the base of the chain of hills above
described, occupying all the villages between Valeggio and Bu
solongo, where the royal head-quarters were at this time loca
ted, with its right at Villa-Franca in the plain, and its left on
the banks of the Lake of Garda, where the line of the block
ade of Peschiera begins.
Upon learning the affair of the Bridge of Goito, the forcing
of the Mincio at that point, as well as at Monzanbano, Marshal
Radetzky, supposing that his enemy's object was to give bat
tle, advanced all the troops that he could dispose of at Vero
na as far as Villa-Franca, where, on the evening of the Sth,
eighteen to twenty thousand men, exclusive of the garrison of
Mantua, were united. But, contrary to all expectation, on the
morning of the 9th, the Piedmontese, as Marshal Radetzky
writes, had disappeared without making any hostile demon
stration. The first army corps of the Austrians being concen
trated around Villa-Franca, and the second occupying Verona,
* Galignani's Messenger.

218 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
and being ready at any moment to turn toward a threatened
point.
The spot occupied at this time by the hostile armies is es
pecially familiar to the reader of history, from the immortal
campaigns of Prince Eugene of Savoy, in 1701, and of Bona
parte in 1796. At this period, however, the .natural strength
of the lines of the Mincio and the Adige had not received all the
improvements which modern science has added to them. Vero
na, Mantua, and Peschiera now form almost an equilateral tri
angle of impregnable fortresses, within which no army ought
to be forced, and there Radetzky seemed to be waiting, either
for the direct attack of the enemy, or for re-enforcements which
would enable him to resume the offensive.
The position of Charles Albert and the Piedmontese army is
very nearly that occupied by Napoleon on the 1st of August,
1796,* when he extricated himself from a position of great
peril, in six wonderful days, by gaining successively the bat
tles of Lonato and Castiglione, thus overcoming the different
Austrian corps which were advancing on both sides of the Lake
of Garda.
Afterward Radetzky thought it expedient to unite the whole
first army corps before Verona, in order to effect a better concen
tration of his forces and secure a more free use of the facilities
which offered. On the side of the Piedmontese, detachments
are pushed close to the walls of Verona, while the troops scour
the whole plain between that city and the villages of Villa-
Franca, Somma Campagna, and Busolongo ; so that, in reality,
the Austrians seemed almost inclosed within the city of Vero
na and the line of the Adige to the northwest, leading to the
Tyrol. On the 10th of April the fortress of Peschiera was summon
ed by a Piedmontese Parliamentiare to surrender, but the pro
posal was rejected by the commander of the fortress. In the
afternoon, at two o'clock, appeared two hostile engineer officers
in the environs of Trassine, followed by columns of infantry,
which brought forth a battery at Laghetto, and extended up to
Ponti. A lively but useless fire was opened against the fort
* Galignani's Messenger, 1848.
t The scenery at this point, and particularly at such an hour, was full of beauty.

Chap. IL] Attack on Peschiera. 219
Salvi (one of the fore posts of Pesohiera). After six o'clock
the firing ceased.t On the 11th, a band of Piedmontese and
Milanese volunteers having crossed the Lake of Garda, and
landed at Cazine, advanced as far as the villages of Cavalca-
selle and Castel Novo, on the road from Peschiera to Verona.
Whereupon Radetzky dispatched two battalions, two squad
rons, and one battery, under the command of General Prince
Taxis, to that point. Tne roaas were barricaded and defend
ed by peasants, who were soon driven into the towns that
were found also strongly barricaded. These were soon carried
by storm one after another, and the defenders driven back in
wild confusion to Cazine.
The Piedmontese army, in the locations above described, be
tween the Mincio and the Adige, extending from Busolongo on
the north, through Villa Franca, Somma Campagna, down to
Goito on the south, and approaching within a few miles of
Verona, remained in a state of unaccountable inactivity.
Tuscan, Roman, and Neapolitan troops continued to arrive,
and swell Charles Albert's forces. His army consisted, from
all accounts, of from forty to fifty thousand disciplined troops,
and twenty-four thousand Roman, Tuscan, and Neapolitan
The far west is before you, the gentle hills burning under the expiring rays of
the summer's sun. On the one side the towers of Ponti, Manzanbano, and the
distant castle of Valeggio appear in full relief; at their feet the Mincio gliding in
silvery stream. On the other, the broad expanse of the Lake of Garda is display
ed, reflecting in its still bosom the numerous hills and mountains that bound it on
every side, and showing the white sails or some tiny bark returning to Dezensa-
no, or winding its way to the many little ports that communicate with the Tyrol.
At the extremity of the lake are seen the Alps, their summits Btill covered with
the last remains of the winter's snow, and their sides in the clear atmosphere re
vealing the clefts, and chasms, and fantastic shapes, which some great natural
convulsion has produced. Turning to the east, the landscape is quite changed.
The church spires of Cavalcassali, Castel Novo, San Giorgio, and of other villages,
protrude, dotting at intervals a vast amphitheatre, broken into pasture grounds,
vineyards, or plantations of mulberry-trees, rising and falling into a succession of
hills and dales — presenting, not only in its general features, but by the coloring
given by the dewy mist risen just after the bright light of day has closed, the
strongest possible contrast to the bold features of the western landscape: while
the sun's rays still crown the vast sheet of water in the lake, and the mountains
of the Tyrol and of Verona. It was exciting, at such an hour, to overlook the
siege, to hear the crash of exploding shells, to mark the flashes from the contend
ing batteries, the circle of smoke which rises over the spot where a bomb has
fallen, and the vast cloud in which the fortress and batteries are at all times en
veloped.

220 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
soldiers arrived and advancing to re-enforce him. The Ital
ian army was likely, therefore, soon to amount to nearly one
hundred thousand men. To oppose this force, Radetzky had
an army of forty thousand strong under the walls of Verona;
and General Welden, with ten thousand men, from the Tyrol;
and General Count Nugent, with thirty thousand men, from the
Friul, to co-operate with him. These forces were independent
of strong garrisons in Mantua, Peschiera, and other important
towns. The policy of the Austrian commander, at this time,
was delay. With his troops inclosed within the line of form-
idable fortresses, he was quietly awaiting re-enforcements, to
the approach of which there was apparently no impediment.
Verona is the most important of the four places which de
fend the double line of the Mincio and the Adige. Built on
both banks of the Adige, at the point where it issues from the
mountains to flow through the plain, it commands the course
of the river, and covers the routes through the Tyrol.
The part on the left bank, situated on the declivity of a hill
which forms the last swell of the Alps, is defended by the for
tified heights which overhang the town. That on the right
bank, lying on the skirts of an immense plain, extending from
these mountains to the Apennines, is surrounded by an in
trenched camp, and other works to guard the approaches.
Besides the strength of this position, Radetzky, if defeated,
could either fall back on the Tyrol, or seek shelter within the
fortresses ; whereas, should Charles Albert be unsuccessful, he
might find it impossible to retreat with any order across the
Mincio, in his rear.
But the most unaccountable portion of Charles Albert's con
duct at this time was his failure to strike before the different
wings of his enemy's army should have united. That he should
have been, as Radetzky, in his official dispatch at this time, rep
resents, " inactive at all points, and seeming to have neither the
courage or the power to act upon the offensive ;" thus throw
ing away the golden opportunity which circumstances afforded
him of destroying the Austrian army in detail, rather than
wait until they should have united, and become invincible.*
* Evening Mail.

Chap. IL] Proposals of the Emperor. 221
Slight engagements took place almost daily between the ad
vanced posts of either army, attended with alternate success ;
but the King of Sardinia never attempted to bring on a gen
eral battle. He was, perhaps, satisfied with the success of his
skirmishes, which his sycophantio and vain-glorious followers
magnified into important victories ; or, perplexed by the firm
front presented by the Austrians, he regarded them with a
feeling of despair. At all events, the previous chance was lost.
Time, so important under any circumstances, and on all occa
sions, but vital in military operations, he seemed to regard with
indifference. On the other hand, the Austrian marshal keeps
his troops in close quarters ; and, while he quietly awaits the
re-enforcements which are on their maroh to join him, suffers
none of his designs to transpire. Wherever the Sardinian
troops move, they receive a check. They besiege Peschiera,
and find it impregnable ; they make a reconnaissance, and see
nothing but mounted cannon or bristling bayonets ; they haz
ard a skirmish, and are cut down or captured. Charles Albert
makes flourishing bulletins of what he has not done, and mag-
nUoquently covers his troops with glory for taking possession
of deserted villages and abandoned posts.
While matters were in this situation, the opposing armies,
in hostile array, experience that stillness which precedes the
tempest and the shock of war. The Emperor of Austria, loth
to part with the richest jewel of his crown, the fertile province
of Lombardy, dispatches a commission, at the head of which
is the Count de Hartig, who had formerly held an official sta
tion in Italy, to repair to the scene of operations, and to induce,
if possible, the people to return to their allegiance to Austria.
Accompanying the army of Count Nugent, he published a proc
lamation, in which he states, in the name of the emperor, that
if the Italians would remain connected with Austria, their na
tionality should be recognized, and they should have all the
political and other advantages and privileges which they had
demanded before the Revolution, with a free press, and every
kind of liberty. In conclusion, the count asks, " Would it not
be an imprudence to attempt to gain by arms what would be
granted you without the horrors of war ?"
While the armies are thus face to face, time for considera-

222 Insurrection in Lombardy [Book II.
tion, for conference, for arrangement is afforded to the con
tending parties. Milan has been a fief of the German empire
for a thousand years,* and acknowledged allegiance to the
emperor even in the time of the Visconti. Had there been
any men of prudence and sagacity among the members of her
existing government, it behooved them to weigh well the in
conveniences of either a Piedmontese or of a French inva
sion against the objections of a treaty with Austria, though it
should involve a nominal submission to the empire. It was
scarcely possible that the cabinet of Vienna would be at that
time inaccessible to reason. Lombardy, west of the Adige, has
been a source of weakness more often than of strength to Aus
tria ; has involved her in wars, and wasted those resources
which, applied to her own dominions, would have been of the
highest value in strengthening, improving, and consolidating
them. If her sense of honor be consulted in some new adjust
ment of the Lombardo- Venetian territory, she will be little in
clined to quarrel with the terms. It was even understood that
the mediation of England and France had been invoked, and
that Austria was favorable to a division of the country by the
Mincio, retaining the fortresses of Peschiera and Mantua, pro
vided the Lombardians would assume their portion of the pub
lic debt.
But neither of these questions, however, seemed to enter
into their deliberations ; but a third and totally different one
occupied all their thoughts. It was that of the immediate ad
hesion of Lombardy to Piedmont ; and in order to determine
this question, registers were opened to receive the votes of the
inhabitants. The Provisional Government of Lombardy published a proc
lamation, dated the 12th of May, in which, after a succinct ex
pose of the critical state of the affairs of Lombardy, it recom
mends the immediate junction of that country with Piedmont,
under the constitutional sceptre of the house of Savoy, and,
at the same time, orders lists to be opened in different parts
of the state to record the votes of the citizens in favor of or
against the measure ; these lists to be definitively closed on the
29th, the anniversary of the battle of Legnano, which ended
* Britannia.

Chap. IL] Battle of St. Lucia. 223
in the defeat of Frederic Barbarossa in the twelfth century.*
The lists to contain the votes against the measure to be headed
by a declaration that the decision of the future destiny of Lom
bardy ought to be postponed until after the war. Those of the
opposite opinion to be headed by a declaration that the supreme
necessity of liberating Italy from the Austrians obliges Lom
bardy to proclaim her immediate fusion with the Sardinian
States, on the condition of convoking a Constituent Assembly
on the principle of universal -suffrage, to decide upon the form
of a constitutional monarchy under the dynasty of Savoy.
While these things were transpiring, the King of Sardinia,
the " descendant of the glorious Eugene of Savoy," meets with
a severe repulse before Verona — an affair in which he made the
attack, which was unnecessary, without an object, and tended,
doubtless, to the depression of his men by the consciousness
of defeat. The affair is thus described by Field-marshal Ra
detzky in his official report to the Minister of War. " I have
to inform you that I was attacked this morning, 6th of May, a
little before nine o'clock, in my position on the rideau before
Verona, and especially on the left wing at St. Lucia, while,
at the same time, the enemy opened the engagement with
a heavy cannonade in the direction of St. Massimo, Croce Bi
anca, and Chiemo, and made a feint of attacking them. They
directed all their force against St. Lucia, which was defended
only by the weak brigade Sfrassaldo. The conflict lasted al
together fully eight hours. The brigade fought with the cour
age of lions. Never have I heard so well-sustained a fire as
that which the enemy opened at this point. Only one short
pause intervened during the engagement, in which time the
enemy attacked St. Massimo, and made continual demonstra
tions against the centre and right wing, consisting of the bri
gades Gyulai, Lichtenstein, and Taxis, but was here forced
to retire." The Piedmontese fought well, but they failed in
all their attacks. The marshal thus states the results of the
conflict :
" The retreat of the enemy from St. Lucia had rather the
appearance of a flight, as many military accoutrements, drums,
knapsacks, etc., were found there. The engagement lasted
* Galignani's Messenger.

224 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon. The
ground being much broken, did not admit of our pursuing the
enemy effectively with our cavalry, and we were therefore not
in a position to make many prisoners ; but a great number of
wounded, whom the enemy were not able to carry off, fell into
our hands."*
The situation of the battle-field of St. Lucia is represented
by military writers as one of the most favorable which can be
offered for a defensive battle. A thick forest of mulberry-trees
conceals from the attacking party the position of the enemy.
The positions of the Austrians for that conflict were masterly.
The calmness with which the battle was accepted but with a
few troops, the perseverance with which unnecessary re-en
forcements were refused, the behavior of the troops themselves,
the heroic defense of the brigade Strassaldo, the repulse of the
attack upon Croce Bianca, all were admirable. An experienced
theoretician pronounces that the defense of the Adige by the
Austrians in the position of St. Lucia, most brilliantly mani
fested the truth of that theory, for which the science of war
will be at all times most grateful to him, because here was
exemplified the practical application of one of the most suc
cessful principles of the theory of self-defense.t
The victory of St. Lucia liberated the confined Austrian
army for. the remainder of the campaign from the advance of
the enemy. It was a daring act on the part of the Piedmont
ese to advance so near to Verona, and which they probably
never would have done but with the hope of the sympathy of
the inhabitants. On this occasion, they experienced for the
first time that it would not be quite so easy a task as they had
contemplated, to proceed in an untroubled triumphal march to
Vienna, and to prescribe (as Napoleon had done before) under
the walls of that city the terms of peace to the old empire tot
tering under the agitations from within as well as the invasions
from without. The old imperial battalions, inured to disci
pline, and distinguished for fidelity, relieved of their discordant
* The loss of the Piedmontese in this engagement is put down by an Italian
author at fifteen hundred; that of the Austrians at about nine hundred. — Author
of " Custoza."
t Williston's " Campaign of Lombardy." X Wiener Zeitung.

Ciiap. II. ] Victory of the Austrians. 225
elements (seventeen battalions of Italian troops had deserted
their flagt), were here for the first time, it might be said, op
posed to the forces of the Italian insurrection. Although it
was the desire of the veteran marshal, immediately after the
success, to assume the offensive, he was compelled by pruden
tial motives to abstain from such a course. Verona, with sixty
thousand inhabitants, had to be strictly guarded and strongly
occupied, and the army division under Count Nugent had not
yet arrived, and was not expected before the end of the month
of May. The arrival of the first re-enforcement was necessary
to proceed successfully on the offensive, and even then it ap
peared doubtful, as, owing to the revolutionary state of the
country, it was improbable that considerable re-enforcements
could within a short time be sent into Italy. These re-enforce
ments were, however, subsequently received, much to the credit
of Count Latour, the Minister of War, who conducted the mil
itary administration with great energy and success, amid all
the internal commotions of the empire. The offensive was not
then seized immediately after the victory of St. Lucia, but de
termined on as soon as the junction of Nugent's forces with
Radetzky's should be effected. The interval was occupied in
accomplishing particularly two things, still wanting to com
plete the strong system of defense around Verona, viz., the
strengthening of the positions before the city, by fortifying the
line before St. Lucia and St. Massimo, and the formation of a
small squadron on the Garda Lake. The marshal's greatest
care was devoted to provisioning his army, rendered so difficult
by its position. The only free communication which remained
to him was the great road through the Tyrol, and, as that re
gion of country itself was incapable of furnishing any supplies
for an army, every thing had to be transported from a long
distance beyond it, and with great difficulty ; and to have pro
vided the army for many weeks amid these difficulties reflect
ed much credit on the administration.
Movements of General Nugent.
After the evacuation of Venice by the Austrian troops, and
the insurrection of Udine, Osopo, Palma Nova, and Treviso,
General Victor de Pantis received orders to concentrate all the
P

226 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
troops who had been able to effect their retreat, and to prepare,
in expectation of the main force under General Nugent, a suf
ficient van-guard on the Isonzo. Although all the Italian bat
talions (Wimpfen, Ferdinand d'Este, Albert, the marine troops
at Venice) had deserted their standards, Major Geramb suc
ceeded in collecting a force of Hungarian and German battal
ions of the garrisons of Udine and Treviso, and waited, in Gortz
and the villages in the vicinity, the orders of General Victor.
This general proceeded from Trieste, bringing with him the
regiment, Kinski's, one battalion of Hungarian grenadiers, and
one battalion of Croats, belonging to the late garrison of Venice,
and one battalion of Furstenwerther, stationed in Trieste. Or
ders were transmitted to Fiume and Agram, and other parts
of Croatia, to send forward their battalions of Croats, which
were accordingly dispatched from Fiume to Trieste by steam
er, and from Agram to Gortz by land.
On the 4th of April, General Victor had fourteen frontier
battalions, four of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, and four
cannons under his orders, near the Isonzo.* The reserve corps
was in Romano, and the outposts extended very near to Palma
Nova. In this position he awaits the arrival of Nugent and
his re-enforcements. t
General Nugent has his head-quarters at Gortz, fifteen thou
sand men, with four batteries of artillery, and four rocket bat
teries under his orders. No important engagement occurred.
On the 17th of April, General Nugent took the offensive, by
attacking Visko, Talmico, and seven other villages, which,
after a severe resistance, were burned. The inhabitants fled,
leaving the country open to operations against Udine.
The head-quarters were then removed from Romano to No-
garedo. The 21st of April, Udine was bombarded during two
hours, and, as the greatest confusion prevailed in the city, the
white flag was hoisted, and parliamentiares, with propositions
of capitulation, were sent to General Nugent's camp. On the
23d, General Nugent took possession of the city of Udine, where
he found arms and munitions, but only three cannons. The
garrison, which consisted of Piedmontese artillery, and the two
* AUgemeine Zeitung. t Wiener Zeitung.

Chap. 1 1.] Movements of Nugent. 227
Italian batteries — Wimpfen's and d'Este's — retreated to Osopo,
after having been repulsed at Ponteba by the Austrian troops.
A great part of the insurgents, consisting mostly of volunteers,
were dispersed in the mountains of Carinthia. Colonel Gori-
zutti had a strong force under his command at Gemona, to ob
serve their movements, and to besiege Osopo. Prince Schwartz-
enberg had the command of the besieging forces at Palma Nova.
Being so covered in his rear, General Nugent pushed his col
umns forward to the banks of the Tagliamento. A rowing flo
tilla, which had been armed in Trieste, entered the Taglia
mento near Porto Buso and Lignano, and communicated with
the Austrian troops, which covered the right shore of the Tag
liamento as far as Portogruaro. On the 28th of April, the,
Tagliamento was crossed ; and, on the 3d of May, the head
quarters of Nugent were at Conegliano. On the same day,
General Nugent, in order to cover his left flank, ordered Major
Geramb over Ceneda to Belluno. On the 4th of May, after
very slight resistance, that place was occupied by the Austrian
troops. On the Sth of May, the Piave was passed at two points,
Belluno and Capo di Ponte. Major General Culoz, with four
thousand troops, was at this time in Feltre.
On the 8th, General Culoz forced a division of sixteen hund
red Papal troops to retreat to Onigo. The attack was resumed
on the 9th with equal success. Meantime, General Nugent
had passed the Piave at Ponte della Priula, where a bridge
had been built by the pioneers. On the 10th, Montebelluna
was evacuated as soon as the Austrian troops approached.
The van-guard of the Austrian corps had advanced to Spres-
siano and Visnadello. On the 11th, the Papal troops under
Ferrari attacked the Austrians in their position, but were soon
repulsed, and retreated to Treviso. On the 12th, Nugent's
head-quarters were in Visnadello, one post-station from Tre
viso, and his corps darmee posted en echelons on the roads
leading to Treviso.
From that day the operations against Treviso were suspend
ed, on account of the necessity of effecting the junction with
Radetzky's main forces. General Nugent delivered his com
mand at Treviso to General Sturmer, and he retired to Gb'rtz

228 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
on account of ill health. The command was, a few days aft
erward, given to Field-marshal General Welden. It is said
that Nugent retarded all movements against Treviso, being
afraid that his daughter, who was a prisoner at that place,
would be sacrificed in the event of his advance, as the Pro
visional Government had threatened.
On the 18th of May, the main forces of the corps d 'armee
of General Nugent, under the command of Prince Schwartz-
enberg, started from Visnadello, passing the Brenta, and di
recting their movements against Vicenza, where General
d'Aspre was to meet them. Another column marched over
Bassano for the same purpose. On the 23d the junction took
place, and the now united corps under D'Aspre, Thurn, and
Culoz, commanded in person by Radetzky, marched upon Vi
cenza. On the 31st, General Welden received the command
of the besieging forces at Treviso. From this day to the 14th,
when Treviso surrendered, nothing remarkable occurred.
The garrison of Treviso consisted of Piedmontese, Papal,
and Neapolitan troops, besides a number of Crociati — Cru
saders, as they called themselves — the whole amounting to
eight thousand men. In the latter part of the month of May,
the Neapolitan troops had received orders to return to their
country, in consequence of the late outbreak at Naples. A
proclamation of Baron Welden to his troops, orders that no
quarter be given to any one of the Crociati, who had commit
ted tremendous atrocities in a hospital at Villa Franca. On
the 10th, General Sturmer made a movement toward Bassa
no and the mountain passes on the frontiers of the Tyrol,
which was attended with complete success. The communi
cation with the Tyrol was re-established, and the country
cleared of the ravaging bands of insurgents. On the 14th of
June, Treviso surrendered, after a bombardment of twelve
hours. On the 18th of June, Prince Lichtenstein entered
Mestre, which offered no resistance. On the 17th of June,
Padua surrendered ; and on the 25th, the Fort Cavanella.
Thus the whole Venetian terra firma was again reduced to
subjection by Austria.
After the battle of St. Lucia, the Piedmontese army remained
motionless upon the Mincio, without even attempting to for-

Chap. IL] Advance of Radetzky. 229
tify its positions, which were liable to be attaoked at any mo
ment by an enemy concentrated at Verona, not more than two
leagues distant from the centre of his line. The besieging
batteries having at length arrived, the attack on Peschiera
was vigorously commenced. But even the capture of this
place was trifling in comparison with the advantage to the
Austrians arising from the junction of Nugent's army with
that of Radetzky, and which the Piedmontese made no effor^
to prevent. Peschiera, situated at the southern extremity of
the Lake of Garda, at the point where the Mincio issues from
the lake, is a regular pentagon, well fortified, and traversed
and surrounded by the waters of the river. On each bank, a
fort covers the body of the town, and protects it from the
heights which, on either hand, command it. The garrison
was composed of two thousand Croats, commanded by the
aged General Rath, who had been governor of the place for
twenty-two years, and was much beloved by the inhabitants.
This fortress, being closely pressed, and unable to hold ont
more than a few hours, Marshal Radetzky, re-enforoed by the
arrival of Nugent's forces, under the command of Count Thurn,
left Verona on the evening of the 27th of May, and marched
all that night and the next day, on the flanks of the enemy,
toward Mantua (as by the direct road the Piedmontese posi
tions were too strong), having, by a feint attack on the ene
my, misled them, and thus concealed his march toward that
fortress. "By this maneuvering," says the field-marshal, "I
succeeded in throwing my forces rapidly on the extreme right
wing of the enemy ; and thus I yesterday (the 29th) passed
the Mincio with my army, under cover of the guns of the for
tress of Mantua." After this, on the same day, as Radetzky
further reports, " in order to attack the flanks of our enemy,
and to advance with my army into the plain, I was forced to
take the fortified position in the neighborhood of Mantua and
Cortatone. This difficult task was successfully executed ; in
three hours all the lines were taken, and about two thousand
prisoners, among whom were one colonel, sixty-six officers,
one battalion of Neapolitan troops, five cannon, four powder-
casks, and one flag." The object of Radetzky was to follow
up the line of the Mincio, and to force the enemy, by that

230 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book 11.
movement, to leave the river, or to fight. A victory here would
have been of the greatest result. The enemy had, on the left
side of the Mincio, no other means of retreat but by the pro
longation of his right flank, while he had in his rear the Gar
da Lake, the yet uncaptured fortress of Peschiera, and the high
Alps, while the Austrian army had a completely-secured line
of retreat toward Mantua. A more favorable, strategic plan
can scarcely be conceived. So secret and rapid had been the
movements of Radetzky, that it was not until the 29th, and
after he had passed Mantua, that Charles Albert became aware
that he had quitted Verona. He was, consequently, taken al
together by surprise, and his lines completely turned.
The Mincio, from Peschiera to Mantua, forms a larger lake
as it approaches the latter town. The Austrians had the
choice of issuing forth on either side of the lake and of the
Mincio. This rendered the investment of Mantua by the Pied
montese a difficult task. Accordingly, Charles Albert had
kept at a considerable distance, at Valeggio and Volta, leaving
merely light and irregular troops to watch Mantua.
Radetzky marched out of Mantua on the 29th, at the head
of about thirty thousand men. He issued southwest of the lake
and the Mincio, routed the irregular troops, and moved up the
Mincio on its Lombardian side, in order to divide, if possible,
the Piedmontese. The road from Verona to Cremona traverses
the Mincio at the bridge of Goito, and then strikes off, straight
as an arrow, to the village of Gazzoldo.* This road was the
line taken up by Charles Albert, his two first lines being in ad
vance of Goito, and the reserve at Volta. In this position of
the parties, an attack was commenced, about one o'clock on the
30th, by Radetzky on the Piedmontese position. The result is
claimed as a great victory by tho Piedmontese, but the engage
ment was but a slight one. The Piedmontese, about fifty thou
sand strong, were commanded by General Bava, assisted by
the King and the Duke of Savoy. Each party retained its
ground ; but the Piedmontese had been turned, and Radetzky
found himself in the rear of the enemy. Had the Piedmont
ese been beaten in a pitched battle, they would have been cut
" Galignani's Messenger.

Chap. IL] Engagement at Goito. 231
off from Cremona, Brescia, and Milan, and compeUed to re
treat to what was so lately their advance, viz., the left bank
of the Mincio, where they would have been exposed to an at
tack from Verona and Mantua, provided strong reserves had
been left in these fortresses.* It was the intention of Marshal
Radetzky to have offered the decisive battle at this point, for
which reason he threw up barricades and intrenchments ; but
two circumstances, altogether unforeseen, occurred, and caused
him to change his plans. The first was the violent rain, which
fell without interruption from the 31st of May to the 3d of
June, and completely inundated the low and level country,
where his army was then located, rendering it utterly imprac
ticable for him to operate, either with his cavalry or artillery.
The second was, the occurrences of the 26th of May, in Vien
na, news of which had just reached him, that all the power
there had fallen into the hands of the students and populace ;
and Radetzky, uncertain whether he would be sustained by
the government with such re-enforcements as might be neces
sary in case of his advance, concluded rather to forego the ad
vantages of position than jeopardize his troops by risking a
battle. Accordingly, on the night of the 3d of June, he aban
doned his position, and returned, with all his forces, to Mantua.
While these operations were going on, on the right of the Pied
montese army, an Austrian column of Tyrolian chasseurs, ad
vancing over Riva, attacked the left wing, in the vicinity of
Bardolino, on the Lake of Garda, and with a view of coming to
the relief of Peschiera. The free corps of Pavia, which defend
ed this point, were, after several hours' resistance, compelled to
give way, and Bardolino was taken. Several regiments of
Savoy cavalry and infantry coming up to the assistance of the
Pavian volunteers, the Austrians were, in turn, forced to give
way before superior forces, and retreated to the neighborhood
of Caprino.
On the evening of the 30th of May, the fortress of Peschiera
surrendered to the Piedmontese under a capitulation highly
honorable to the brave garrison. The first duty of the besiegers
was to distribute seventeen hundred rations to the famished
* Evening Mail.

232 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
inhabitants. The next day the garrison, sixteen hundred in
number, under Baron Rath, marched out with flying banners
and all the honors of war. They were to lay down their arms
at a mile's distance from Peschiera, and then to march to An
cona, and there embark for Trieste. The capitulation stipu
lated that they should not take up arms against the Italians
as long as the war of independence continued.* The defense
of the fortress was the more meritorious, as the garrison had
not been regularly provisioned since the 12th of May, having
had no other nourishment since that time but mice and salt
petre, all the horses having been previously consumed. The
artiUery had been obliged to watch, for the last two months,
day and night, without ceasing. The number of sick and
wounded increased daily ; they were without medicine, and
but a single surgeon. Four thousand bombs had been dis
charged into the town, and a great portion of the buildings de
stroyed, t Though the little town suffered severely, the for
tress itself was comparatively uninjured. As the works occu-
pied a great extent, and were constructed with great solidity ;
and, as the waters of the Lake of Garda flowed around,
through a deep ditch twenty feet wide, the Piedmontese would
have found it a difficult matter to enter. In fact, it was very
evident that Peschiera capitulated alone from the want of food,
and not from any impression made by the besiegers. The op
portune surrender, however, was an advantage to the King of
Piedmont, not only from its being a good base for operations,
and a desirable place for magazines, but from the extent of the
force which he was thereby enabled to draw from before it to
support his maneuvers in front of the enemy.
On the next day, after his return to Mantua, Marshal Rad
etzky started out on his return to Verona ; and from his head
quarters at Sanguinetto on the 5th, he writes, that his march
over Mantua on the flanks of the enemy had not entirely ful
filled his expectations ; and as the direct march back to Vero
na would be accompanied with much danger, he had concluded
to cross the Adige at Legnano, and to attack Vicenza on his
route ; by which movement he would place himself in direct
* Risorgimento of Turin. t Radetzky's Dispatch.

Chap. IL] Capture of Vicenza. 233
communication with the reserve corps under Baron Welden,
Accordingly, on the 9th, an imposing force of the imperial army
approached Vicenza from Comisano, and occupied the Basano
road. At the same time, the Austrians stationed at Monte
bello advanced toward Monteberico. On the 10th, at dawn,
the attack upon that position commenced. It was valiantly
defended until noon, when all the artillery of the besiegers
being directed against it, it became impossible to defend it
longer. The rest of the town was guarded and defended by
the whole garrison. Eighty bombs were discharged by the
Austrians into the city.
The fire was kept up until evening, when, all the fortifica
tions being taken, the troops of the Pope, under General Du-
rando, by whom the city was principally defended, surrendered.
The garrison was allowed to march out with the honors of war,
and to keep their arms, on condition of not fighting against
the Austrians for three months. The town was evacuated
before noon, and Radetzky returned the same day to Vero
na, reaching there on the night of the 13th of June. On
the 12th, D'Aspre, with the second army corps, took Padua,
without striking a blow. He had remained with two brigades
at Verona during the absence of Radetzky, and had only left
when the field-marshal was on the march back, in order to
maintain the communication with Vicenza, and thus secure
Radetzky's return. After the affair of Goito, and the sudden
retreat of Radetzky from that part of the field of operations,
Charles Albert extended his army north, to occupy the heights
of Rivoli. General iSomnaz, at the head of three brigades, with
the necessary quantity of artillery, the first battalion of tirail
leurs, and the volunteers of Pavia and Piacenza, moved, on the
9th, from Sega, Colmassino, Cavajon, and Costuman, to at
tack the formidable positions of the enemy on all sides. The
fourth division, commanded by the Duke of Genoa, occupied
the heights of Pessina, Boi, and Caprino. The king, who had
transferred his head-quarters to Garda, followed these move
ments with the columns of Piedmont and Pinerolo, and estab
lished himself at Gazzoli. The Piedmontese army thus ex
tended from Goito to Rivoli ; and the object seemed to be to
cut off Radetzky's communication with the Tyrol, cross the

234 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
Adige, take all the forts above Verona, and then capture that
city. The favorable opportunities which the King of Pied
mont possessed of executing this plan during the absence of
Radetzky from Verona, were lost by unaccountable inaction.
The consequence was, not only the sacrifice of a noble prize,
almost within his grasp, but the troops, from this inaction,
spent all their time in complaining of their officers ; and the
officers, equally idle, devoted themselves to condemning the
plans of those whom accident, and not merit, had placed at
their head. As these complaints were none of them unfound
ed, the train was laid for a rapid demoralization of the whole
army. A plan, it is understood, was made for the capture of Vero
na, while Radetzky was at Vicenza, and in which the Pied
montese were to have had the assistance of the people of Ve
rona, but which failed through the indecision and inactivity
of the king. The citizens of Verona, it is said, had positively
agreed to give the Porta Nova to Charles Albert ; and that, for
the purpose of profiting by the offer, all the troops had been
marched, on the 13th, within two miles of the city.* Had the
movement taken place twelve hours sooner, complete success
was assured ; but the king delayed until Radetzky had time
to return from Vieenza with ten thousand men; and at two
o'clock on the morning of the 14th, when the attack was to
begin (and the honor of first entering the town was allotted to
the Duke of Savoy), a messenger came to head-quarters, at
Alpo, to say that it was too late, and that the people, who were
ready to act when the garrison was three thousand, declined
to run the risk when it was augmented to thirteen thousand
men. The propitious moment was lost, and the king and the
army retired, equally dispirited and defeated, to Valeggio.
A more striking example of the evil of delay than is exhib
ited at this time in the conduct of the King of Piedmont, and
its consequences, has seldom occurred. The line of the Adige,
upon which, according to the just opinion of Napoleon, tho
possession of Upper Italy depended, and the city of Verona,
the acknowledged key to the whole Venetian territory, lay
before him, both, at that time, feebly defended. By striking
* Evening Mail, June 28, 1848.

Chap. IL] Indecision of Charles Albert. 235
at that opportune moment, he would not only have secured
those important points, but have cut off Radetzky from all
communication with the heart of the empire — the receipt of
provisions, as well as the arrival of re-enforcements — to say
nothing of a safe and open retreat at any time, should defeat
await him. But, instead of turning his attention to this most
important matter, his thoughts seemed to be occupied in se
curing, at least on paper, the enlargement of his kingdom, and
the union of Lombardy and Piedmont. It was on the after
noon of the 10th, when Radetzky, after a hard-fought battle,
was signing the capitulation of Vicenza, that King Charles
Albert was affixing his signature to the Act of Union of Lom
bardy to the kingdom of Sardinia, the document, ready to be
signed, having been brought to him by M. Casati and two oth
er members of the Provisional Government of Milan. Accord
ing to this compact, the Provisional Government of Milan was
to cease its functions immediately, and to be replaced by a
Commission of Regency, composed of Piedmontese and Mi
lanese, under the presidentship of M. Casati.
The situation of Charles Albert was, however, not without
its embarrassments. About this time, the Piedmontese min
istry gave in their resignations oollectively, baffled and divid
ed by the question whether the war should be carried on to
the last extremity, or whether a temporizing policy should be
adopted. The ministry professed the latter opinion. But a
still greater source of annoyance to him was, the abrupt refu
sal of the Provisional Government of Milan to accept what
was understood to be the proposition of the Austrian govern
ment for a settlement on the basis of the Adige or the Mincio.
As long as the "holy war," for which so much idle boasting
was heard, and so little in reality done, had even the semblance
of being national, Charles Albert was willing to encounter all
the risks whioh the prosecution of it demanded ; but, after hav
ing been deserted by Naples, by Rome, and but inefficiently
supported by Tuscany ; when he perceived that the question
was no longer Italian, but Piedmontese, his enthusiasm in the
cause underwent some abatement. The army, at the same
time, became discouraged. The Piedmontese had learned wis
dom at the price of their blood, and, unable to disguise from

236 Revolution in Lombardy. [Book II.
themselves that they were left alone to fight the national quar
rel, they were beginning to calculate the extent of the sacrifices
that had been made, those which were still required, and such
as the effective prosecution of the war might yet demand.
They saw that all the coin of the realm had flowed to the seat
of war, that the strength of the people was exhausted in the
struggle, and that the fields at home absolutely remained un
filled, because the arms that should cultivate them were in
the camp. These sacrifices were willingly made so long as
success followed the operations of the king, and the other Ital
ian troops joined in the national cause and contributed to its
maintenance ; but now, when victory had become more doubt
ful, and the Piedmontese found that the whole burden had
fallen to their lot, they began to cool down in their ardor, and
to become clamorous for a settlement. Charles Albert was
willing to accept what the Austrians were desirous of giving,
and a nobleman in the confidence of the king, it was under
stood, was dispatched to Turin, with the intention of consulting
the ministry and the heads of the parties on the subject, and
that plain language had been used to the Provisional Govern
ment of Milan, for the purpose of securing its consent. But
the Milanese and the Venetians were more anxious that the
king should prosecute the war for the recovery of the Venetian
kingdom, which, with the exception of the capital, was every
foot of it in possession of the Austrians. To this proposal the
king declared, that he would only advance with the whole, and
not with a portion of his army ; and he inquired if the Milan
ese had power to defend their own territory, and protect Bres
cia, Bergamo, and the capital itself. The Lombardians were
of opinion that an army corps of thirty thousand men were
quite sufficient to reconquer Venetia, and that the rest of the
force should be left to protect the line of the Mincio ; but the
king wisely determined not to divide his army, or to compro
mise his own position by operating against an enemy who had
sixty-five thousand men in hand, without at least an equal
number. For these reasons, the whole Piedmontese army, a force of
at least sixty-five thousand men, extending from the vicinity
of Mantua to Rivoli, a distance of nearly thirty miles, re

Chap. IL] Proposals of Reconciliation. 237
mained paralyzed, and without any movement or occurrence
to disturb the inaction, except an occasional skirmish between
the outposts.
About this time, the Emperor of Austria, deeming the mo
ment when success attended the Austrian arms an appropriate
one for advancing some proposals of reconciliation with the
Lombardo- Venetian kingdom, orders Marshal Radetzky to sus
pend hostile operations for a brief period, and again dispatches
Count Hartig on the errand of peace, and with his views as to
the terms of settlement ; but the opposition of Radetzky, and
the whole Austrian army, to any suspension of hostilities at this
moment was so great, that the emperor concluded to decline
taking any such steps, and especially while the King of Pied
mont remained an invader on the imperial territories.
There is no doubt that Charles Albert, and every person of
reason and influence in the court and in the army, were at
this time inclined to accept the terms lately offered by Aus
tria, and to secure, by conceding the Tyrol and the Adige, the
magnificent conquest of Lombardy, and the conversion of a
monarchy, with only four millions of inhabitants, into a king
dom having nine millions at its disposal, and one of the rich
est and most productive soils of Italy. They both well knew
that such a result of a first campaign has seldom been attained
by the most successful conqueror, and that even his warm ex
pectations, formed at the opening of the invasion, could scarce
ly have anticipated so important an acquisition at so small a
cost. The king was fully aware that his dominions, as King
of Piedmont, Savoy, and Lombardy, would be far more secure
than if Venitia were added to them. In the one case, the
Austrians would respect a frontier, which a wise policy shows
is most beneficial to the empire ; while, in the other, they knew
that Austria would not freely relinquish the head of the Adri
atic, and that the extreme frontier must ever be maintained in
a state of war — defensive war. The union of Piedmont, Savoy,
and Lombardy would not give offense to, or inspire alarm in
the other powers of Italy ; but, on the other hand, would not
the Pope and the King of Naples be, in common prudence,
compelled to preserve an armed neutrality, when they found
the self-styled King of Italy in possession of the Alps, and the

238 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
two seas, and nine mUlions of inhabitants ? And when France
should revive from the internal agony under which her best
energies for the, moment were prostrated, would she behold on
the Italian frontier the creation of a powerful monarchy, with
out natural feelings of jealousy ? It was a question, also, these
views would suggest, whether the annexation of Savoy to
France, on the same grounds of nationality and language that
formed the pretexts for this crusade, could not be with equal
justice demanded ; and Charles Albert, well aware of the in
fluence of example, would scarcely hazard losing a province,
whence the best of his army was derived, for the doubtful ac
quisition of a territory whose fidelity could not be implicitly
relied on. In short, every motive of reason and policy induced
the king to give a favorable ear to negotiation ; but popular
clamor was so great, the vapid nonsense repeated about the
"holy war" and the national cause was so loud, that he doubt
less felt himself forced in honor to persevere, when it was no
longer prudent, in his opinion, or consonant, perhaps, with the
plans with which he entered the contest.*
The two great political aims, of equal interest to the entire
community of Europe, and which seemed to engage the atten
tion of the whole continent at this time, were involved in the
struggle then going on in the north of Italy. The first was,
without doubt, the independence of that new state which had
been called into existence by the arms of the house of Savoy,
by the eventful circumstances of the times, and by the prom
ise of a liberal Constitution under the tutelary genius of a
monarchy, to which several of the Italian states had already
spontaneously and unanimously adhered. The second was the
re-establishment of peace upon terms consistent with the se
curity of the Austrian empire, so that if the imperial court was
to be relieved from the government of a disaffected province,
and the danger of an exhausting war, Austria might have ample
security on her southern frontier against the possibility of for
eign aggression, and, although she should lose a portion of her
Italian subjects, might still find in Italy a barrier and an ally
against the more formidable power of the French Republic.
* London Times.

Chap. IL] The great Questions at Issue. 239
In the state of Europe at this time, to settle the first of these
questions was to contribute largely to the settlement of the
second. By some it was thought not for the interest of Aus
tria herself to attempt the reconquest of Lombardy, even if
such an enterprise were possible in the face of the Piedmont
ese army and the decided hostility of the entire population.
On the other hand, the establishment of a regular and mo
narchical government in the north of Italy was the best security
against the extension of the revolutionary propaganda in that
direction.* No power in Europe at this time, not even Aus
tria herself perhaps, rent as she was by insurrection in all her
provinces, and her very capital in the hands and under the con
trol of revolutionists, supposed that it would ever be possible
for her to regain the lost province ; and the question then at
issue, in its most practical form, seemed to be, which of the
rivers that fall into the Adriatic should be the boundary of the
Austrian empire — the Adige, the Piave, the Tagliamento, or
the Isonzo ? When Bonaparte had penetrated to Leoben, in
1796, after the annihilation of three Austrian armies, he ex
tended the territory of the Cis-Alpine Republic to the last-
mentioned stream, and his power touched in the Bay of Trieste,
the most important maritime position of the Austrian empire
and of Southern Germany.
But at this time, in the relative positions of both belliger
ents to each other, to Europe, and especially to France, such
a concession was more than Austria could make or Charles
Albert obtain. But the question was even more political than
military. A serious reverse might depress the Italians, but
what effect would it have upon the French ? This was the
point which most concerned the independence of Italy, the se
curity of Austria, and the peace of Europe. A turbulent party
in Paris might avail itself of this event, as it did in the Polish
question, to raise the cry of war, and hurry its troops to the
scene of action ; while, on the other hand, it was currently be
lieved that the German Confederation would actively espouse
the cause of Austria in the quarrel, by sending the Federal
troops of Bavaria and Wurtemberg to occupy the frontiers

* London Times.

240 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II,
of Tyrol as part of the territories of the German Confedera
tion, in consequence of the blockade of Trieste by an Italian
squadron. Thus would all Europe be once again involved in
war.* While these speculations were indulged in throughout Eu
rope, Marshal Radetzky, whose policy, it had long been evi
dent, was to fight a decisive battle when and where he thought
fit, was slowly but gradualy collecting all his resources for the
great blow, which was certain sooner or later to come. In the
mean time, as the period for final operations against the Pied
montese army had not yet arrived, Radetzky, having left suffi
cient forces in Verona and Mantua, proceeded with the balance
of his troops to reconquer the Venetian kingdom to the Austri
an sceptre, as well as, by this diversion, to draw Charles Albert,
if possible, from his fortified position between the Adige and
the Mincio. The King of Piedmont employed himself in exe
cuting the hydraulic operations against Mantua proposed by
Napoleon in his memoirs. The waters of the lake were devi
ated and lowered, so that the miasmatic effluvia produced fa
tal consequences to the garrison, and the water at Porta Moli
na being drawn off, the mill stopped, and the inconvenience
and mortality in consequence were very great.
During these operations on the wings of the army, the two
main bodies, the one about Verona and the other along the
Mincio, with head-quarters at Villa-Franca, remained in a state
of inactivity, except in the preparations making for a more
vigorous prosecution of the war.
Slight engagements took place between the advanced posts,
and which were, by their respective parties, magnified by
high-sounding bulletins into great affairs, but which were
without the slightest result upon the general current of events.
One of these occurred on the 30th of June, on the plateau of
Rivoli, which resulted favorably to the Austrians, and in which
a large number of Piedmontese laid down their arms.
On the other hand, a " small affair," as termed by the dis
interested, but characterized by the Italian bulletins as a brill
iant victory, took place on the 18th of July, at Governolo, a
* Loudon Times.

Chap. IL] Preparations for the Conflict. 241
village on the Mincio, near the confluence of that river with
the Po. General Bava, with a few regiments of Piedmontese
troops, attacked three thousand Austrians, who were intrenched
in that position, carried the bridge by a brilliant charge of
cavalry and flying artillery, and took four hundred and fifty
prisoners, four pieces of artillery, two standards, and put the
Austrians to flight.
Meantime, heavy and vast preparations were making on
both sides for the decisive blow, which every one saw must
soon occur. For some time great movements had been per
ceptible at Peschiera, in the arrival of Lombardian troops and
arms of all kinds. The Piedmontese force at this time was
divided between Rivoli and the heights between the Lake of
Garda and the Upper Adige, and the ground occupied by Goi
to, Roverbella, and Villa-Franca, and these advantageous posi
tions were strongly protected by several lines of fortifications.
Twenty thousand men were stationed on the left of the lines,
while at least forty thousand occupied the right, and protected
the Mincio. About five thousand Tuscan troops had lately
arrived on the Mincio, and fifteen thousand Lombard levies on
the Oglio ; but upon these not much reliance was placed.
Works of circumvallation were being executed around Man
tua, on the right side, while a large portion of the army were
so placed as to complete the blockade on the left bank, and
to oppose any aggression, either from Verona or Legnano.
Trenches were opened on the principal roads by which the
enemy might issue forth. Strong works were at the same
time proceeding against Verona : many covert ways were ex
cavated around the town, and movable barricades construct
ed to approach the walls, with loop-holes for heavy cannon, as
well as capable of being manned by sharp-shooters. Heavy
intrenchments were also thrown up, from which they intend
ed to bombard the road along the Adige, and to secure there
by the communication with the left side of the river.
On the other hand, Marshal Radetzky was gradually and ef
fectually concentrating his forces around Verona ; nine regi
ments had reached there by the way of Vicenza, and the roads
for some days from Codroipo were crowded with men wend-
in°- their way to head-quarters. On the 21st, twelve thousand

242 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II
men entered Verona from Vicenza. Radetzky was busily en
gaged reconnoitering and feeling the lines of the enemy at va
rious points, and resorting to every stratagem to draw him be
yond his intrenchments, or entice him into the commission of
some false step.
This opportunity soon occurred ; for the King of Piedmont,
interested in the blockade of Mantua, which he superintended
in person, was guilty of the imprudence of stripping the valu
able positions of Rivoli and the heights covering Peschiera,
overlooking the plain of Verona ; and, in violation of all the
rules of war, by the occupation of a long straggling line, strong
only in the point most distant from the centre of operations ;
and this in the face of a formidable enemy, who only awaited
the first false move of his adversary to commence an over
whelming attack. The military eye of Radetzky in a moment
detected this false step of his adversary, and every preparation
was instantly made to take advantage of the imprudence of
the enemy. On the 20th and 21st, all communication between
Verona and Mantua were interrupted.
In anticipation of this movement on the part of the Pied
montese, the marshal, on the 21st, directed the third army
corps, under Count Thurn, to march against the left wing of
the enemy at Rivoli ; and, on the afternoon of the 22d, inform
ed by a report from MaJor-g?neral Baron Simbschen, in San-
guinetto, that the enemy stood nine thousand strong at Gov-
ernolo, four thousand at Castellano, and four thousand at Cas-
telbelforte, his resolution for attack was immediately taken.
The third army corps, which had been dispatched the day be
fore, quietly passed the Upper Adige at the foot of the Monte-
baldo, or great mountain, which overlooks Rivoli, and is, as it
were, the guardian giant of the river, and attacked the hostile
position on La Corona, and carried it by storm. A re-enforcer
ment of thirteen hundred infantry and half a battery of artil
lery retrieved for a time the disastrous state of affairs ; but
the Piedmontese stationed there were at length obliged to re
treat before them to their position at Rivoli. On the next
day the Austrians advanced from La Corona, and, after a vig
orous resistance, carried the plateau and all the lines of Rivo
li; the Piedmontese, in number about twenty-five thousand,

Chap. IL] Battle at Somma Campagna. 243
who defended them, falling back in tolerable order to Sandra,
a few miles beyond, abandoning two pieces of artillery, but se
curing their baggage. On the 24th, Count Thurn advanced to
Pastrengo and Sandra to blockade Peschiera. While these op
erations were proceeding on the right, under the orders of Mar
shal Radetzky, the first and second reserve corps, on the night
between the 22d and 23d, about one o'clock, started out from
Verona during a frightful storm, and, to avoid any notice of
their approach, having their horses' hoofs and the wheels of
their carriages covered with cloth, and, two hours before day,
appeared before Villa-Franca, Somma Campagna, and Sona.
They were directed by their veteran chief to storm those
heights, and to advance, in case of success, to the Mincio at
two different points. For that purpose, the first reserve corps
marched over Gerastala and Oliosi, and the second reserve
over San Giorgio. An infantry and cavalry brigade were or
dered to occupy the enemy, between the road of Sonaand Bu
solongo, by a sham fight, in order to deceive him as to the real
point of attack.*
General Simbschen was directed to leave only a detachment
at Legnano, and to march with his brigade over Villa Fontana
and Isolalta to the heights of Custoza. All these orders, says
the marshal, were executed promptly and bravely. At eight
o'clock they reached the hostile intrenchments ; and while the
force that had been so successful at Rivoli attacked the right
flank of General Somnaz, these made a tremendous assault in
front, and carried by storm, at ten o'clock, the heights of Sona,
Somma Campagna, and Bosco, and all the elevations running
from Busolongo on the Upper Adige to Valeggio, on the Mincio,
and overlooking the vast plain in which the great fortress of
Villa-Franca stands. The Italians occupying these points, con
sisting of the regiments of Pignorol, of a part of that of Sa
voy, of some Tuscan regular troops, Modenese volunteers, and
Milanese levies (in all not exceeding five thousand), made a
noble defense, and, it is said, put hors de combat no less than
three thousand of the enemy ; but, before so formidable a force,
and attacked in front and in flank, they were compelled to give

* Radetzky's Dispatch.

244 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
way, and, after a resistance of several hours, sought shelter in
Peschiera and on the other side of the Mincio.
On the evening of that day the victorious Austrians had their
head-quarters at San Giorgio ; the first corps stood on fhe Min
cio, the second in Castel Novo, and the van-guard against Pes
chiera. They had thus covered the whole line of the left bank
of the Mincio, and regained the entire territory from the foot
of Monte Baldo, between the Upper Adige and the Lake of Gar
da, and all the heights between the Upper Adige and the Min
cio, from Busolongo to Valeggio. All this they accomplished
in one day, although it took the King of Piedmont two months
to establish himself in the same position. " By this opera
tion," says Marshal Radetzky, " I govern now all the hostile
passages over the Mincio at Peschiera, Salionze, and Monzan-
bano, and threaten that of Valeggio. I have a strong position
against Villa-Franca and Roverbella, the communications with
the Tyrol are open, and that land free from further hostilities."
On Monday morning, the. 24th, the Austrians attempted the
passage of the Mincio at two different points. Under the fire
of the enemy, who had fallen back from Sondra, at Salionze,
three miles below Peschiera, the Austrians laid double pontoon
bridges across the river, and accomplished its passage with two
brigades of the reserve corps, and one of the first army corps ;
and at Ponti, three miles on the right bank, captured three can
nons and twenty-six wagons. At the same time, another bri
gade of the latter corps advanced over Brentina to Monzanba-
no, took the bridge after a short engagement, and occupied the
latter town. The brigade Strassaldo, of the division of Prince
Schwartzenberg of the first army corps, occupied it the same
day, and the brigade Wohlgemuth advancing the next morning
to Borghetto, opposite Valeggio, the bridge was immediately re
stored ; three passages over the Mincio were thus secured to the
imperialists, and they were safe from an attack on either side
of the river.
On learning the disasters of Rivoli, the King of Piedmont
advanced at once with six thousand from Marmirol, in the
neighborhood of Mantua — the ill-chosen head-quarters whence
all his misfortunes date — giving orders to the Duke of Savoy
to follow with all his troops that could be collected. In this

Chap. IL] Battle of Custoza. 245
way, a body of about thirty thousand men were concentrated at
Villa-Franca, and on that night (Tuesday) and the next morn
ing the whole advanced in good order, and burning to avenge
the defeat on the Mincio. On the evening previous, Marshal
Radetzky was informed that the enemy had forced the bri
gade of Major-general Simbschen at Custoza, advanced to
Monte Godio, and taken the heights of Custoza. Learning
that they intended to attaok his positions from Custoza to Va
leggio, and to give a general battle, the marshal ordered the
third army corps to march from Castel Novo against Peschiera,
and to blockade that fortress from the right and from the left
side of the Mincio ; the second army corps, stationed at the
same place, to occupy the position between Custoza and Som
ma Campagna ; and the four brigades, stationed on the right
side of the Mincio, to repair back that night across the river,
over Salionze, Monzambano, and Borghetto, and to take place
in the centre of the right wing of the army, as re-enforcement.*
In that position, the Austrians, having every confidence in their
superior skill and discipline over the enemy, calmly awaited
the onset.
The principal attack was directed against Custoza, Somma
Campagna, and Sona. The attack was impetuous, and the re
sistance obstinate ; but the numbers and valor of the Piedmont
ese prevailed, and all the positions were, for a moment, in their
possession ; but the Austrians, re-enforced by the troops which
Marshal Radetzky had prudently recrossed over the Mincio, the
Piedmontese were driven back. Undaunted by this reverse,
the gallant troops of Charles Albert re-formed at the foot of the
heights, and again advanced, carrying every thing before them;
but, as they ascended the heights, they were again met by in
creased forces, and the battle hung for some time in suspense.
The Sardinian troops had now fought from five in the morning
until five in the evening. As usual, they were left without
refreshment, and no care had been taken to provide for a re
verse. At this moment, by the orders of Radetzky, who seemed
to have calculated every thing with the greatest precision, a
large body of fresh troops issued from Verona, and fell upon
* Radetzky's Dispatch.

246 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
the flank of the exhausted Sardinians, while the other force re
newed its attack in front. Charles Albert was obliged to yield
victory and withdraw to Villa-Franca. The troops on both
sides behaved with great gallantry. The heat of the day was
so excessive, that several of the Austrian soldiers fell dead in
the ranks while marching. During the thickest of the fight,
at Custoza, the king and his two sons, and the regiment of
carabineers, were completely surrounded, and must have fallen
into the hands of the Austrians, had not the brigade of Savoy
made a dash for them, and gallantly liberated their monarch
and the princes.
The conquered Piedmontese retired on Villa-Franca, a place
quite open to the plain, which the enemy might have carried,
had they not been prevented by exhaustion or other plans in
view ; and the night closed, in that village, on the broken for
tunes of the King of Piedmont, who was destined never again
to witness another prosperous day. The imprudence and folly
of the king, which led to this, and consequently to all his dis
asters is by many, ascribed to the faot of his being the victim
of a stratagem practiced upon him. It appears that, a few
days before, one of the most influential personages of the Aus
trian army (Prince Lichtenstein) was taken prisoner, and con
ducted to his majesty; and but little doubt was entertained
that he had put himself in the way of being captured, that he
might more fully concert the plot to which Charles Albert fell
a victim. It was with great astonishment that the army saw
this personage liberated and allowed to re-enter Mantua ; but
he was released, it was said, after having agreed with the king,
for the price of one million of francs, to deliver up the fortress.
The object of this stratagem was to get the King of Piedmont
to withdraw from the left of his lines a considerable proportion
of his forces, in which event Radetzky saw that he might strike
a severe blow. To effect this, it was made one of the condi
tions of the transaction, that a great body of troops should be
drawn round Mantua, and an effective blockade established, in
order that it might be believed that the garrison surrendered
from necessity only, and from the fact that the gate nearest
the Piedmontese had been forced.
At the earliest dawn of day, the king abandoned Villa- Fran-

Chap. IL] Battle of Goito. 247
ca, and crossed the Mincio to Goito, which had been for some
time his head-quarters, which was well fortified, and where he
expected to have made an effectual stand. On the same day,
Radetzky marched, with his army in two columns, on Pozza-
lenga — not desiring to attack the strong position of Goito in
front, or follow up the king in his retreat from Villa-Franca
by Roverbella, across the Mincio to it — crossed a large body of
troops over the Mincio at Salionze, a station higher up the
river, and carried an overwhelming mass from Monzambano
on Volta, and from that height attacked Goito in the rear, and
quickly dislodged the Piedmontese. Prodigies of valor were
performed by the gallant Savoyards. A regiment of Savoy
troops actually retook and held Volta for several hours, by a
charge of bayonets, agamst a strong battery of Croats, support
ed by double their number. But the greatest courage, unaided
by able and experienced officers, to direct the movements of
the troops, could not prevail in opposition to highly disciplined
soldiers, under the command of skillful and distinguished gen
erals ; ahd the Piedmontese were forced to abandon, not only
Volta, but their intrenched camp at Goito, beyond it, with
all their cannon. The defeat was so total, that the private
coffers of the King of Piedmont, containing two millions of
francs, as well as all the table service of silver, and his equi
page, fell into the hands of the Austrians. In consequence of
this defeat, the king demanded a truce, which was granted by
Marshal Radetzky, on the condition of his immediate retreat
over the Oglio. A longer truce, to extend until the 28th, pre
scribed the surrender of Venice, Peschiera, and Osopo to the
Austrian troops, and an immediate retreat behind the Adda.
These terms, considered by Charles Albert too humiliating,
were declined ; and the field-marshal, in consequence of the
refusal, continued his pursuit of the enemy. The king, in his
retreat from Goito, passed the night of the 27th at Asola ; and
the next day crossed the Oglio and proceeded to Bozzalo, a
small town between the Oglio and the Po ; and the remains of
" the grand army" were encamped in the same direction. At
three o'clock, on the morning of the 29th, the king, after leav
ing that place and making a short circuit to the different
posts, proceeded to Cremona.

248 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
On the same day, the first army corps of the imperialists
arrived at Casal Romana, the second corps at Cunetto. The
vans of both corps stood on the Oglio. The reserves were at
Aqua Negra. The fourth corps advanced from Mantua to Mar
caria. The king, on reaching Cremona, renewed his demand for
a truce. But now Radetzky demands full reparation for all
the expenses of the war. Of the grand Italian army, which
lately numbered eighty thousand men, there were not twenty
thousand in all available for service. The others were disposed
of, on a rough calculation, in the following manner : in hospi
tals previous to the late affair, fifteen thousand ; killed, wound
ed, and prisoners within the past week, ten thousand; dis
persed in regiments and half regiments, some at Brescia, some
at Lonato, and others at Cremona, twenty thousand ; deserters,
principally Lombardians and Modanese, five thousand; strag
glers that crossed the Po and returned toward Piedmont, ten
thousand. The army was completely broken up, and could no
longer be united ; though it was attempted to collect all those
who retired on Brescia or Cremona, and again unite them with
the divisions still under the orders of the king, consisting of
the remains of the brigades of Aosta, of Guardo, of Savoy, and
of Corny, and the major part of the artillery, and about twen
ty-two hundred lancers.
It was perfectly vain for the king to attempt with such a
force to oppose a victorious army, high in spirits, supplied with
every thing, and directed with consummate skill. What a
striking instance of the uncertainty of all human affairs do not
the events of these few days present ! One week before, and
the proud Piedmontese army, numbering from fifty to sixty
thousand men, extended from the Upper Adige along the whole
line of the Mincio to Mantua — every hill-top fortified and brist
ling, with an army exulting ih the consciousness of strength,
superior in numbers to the enemy, and now scattered to the
winds, so that no rappel or trump of war can call together one
third of their number.
For these disasters the king himself is, in a great measure,
censurable. His own inexperience in battle, and his undue
preference for generals who knew nothing of the art of war,

Chap. IL] Causes of the Defeat. 249
and who neither possessed or deserved the confidence of the
troops, were strong obstacles to his success. One great error
of Charles Albert was his removal of the Duke of Genoa and
Colonel La Marmora from Rivoli, and intrusting that import
ant point at the extreme of the left wing to a force not exceed
ing eight hundred men. He was also wrong in depriving the
position commencing on the Adige and extending to Valeggio,
on the Mincio, of all but five thousand men ; and he was still
more unwise in collecting forty thousand men on the extreme
right, around Mantua, in such a manner that they were unable
to assist each other or re-enforce in time any part of the line.
Of all these blunders his veteran adversary knew how to take
full advantage. He contrived, at the expense of a few men,
to occupy the king's attention at Governolo and at Ostiglia,
until his plans were ripe, his re-enforcements had arrived, and
he had prepared the torrent with which he overwhelmed his
adversary. Marshal Radetzky, in like manner, evinced great
skill in not following the king to Villa-Franca and Goito, but
in crossing the Mincio in the centre of the line, winning the
race to the heights of Volta, and thus turning the position of
Goito, which had been strengthened with so much care against
* an attack in front from Mantua ; by which the Piedmontese
were driven into the low grounds and kept there, while the
Austrian general commanded all the heights, and could extend
his lines without risk between the Mincio and the Oglio, so as
to force the enemy to the Po, while he could cross the Oglio
when and where he pleased.
But the King of Piedmont's disasters were ascribable not
only to his want of proficiency in the science of war, but to his
utter ignorance or neglect of the very details of service, espe
cially in the organization of a good commissariat. At a mod
erate calculation, one tenth of the Piedmontese, it was thought,
fell not from the fire of the enemy, but from want of food and
excessive fatigue. For three days, and during the hardest
fighting, the troops were without proper supplies of food — men
dropping from hunger on the road, because fresh troops were
not detailed at the right moment, or necessary provisions sea
sonably furnished. Bread and wine, it is believed, were sent
at intervals to the men, but that the wagoners took to flight,

250 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book IT.
and, cutting their traces, escaped with their horses, leaving
their loaded wagons in the road. The ammunition carts were
said to have been deserted in like manner. These things were
not accidents, but criminal oversights, because sufficient es
corts were not sent to control the drivers or take their place in
case of need.
Another great error was also committed, and which accounts
for the rapidity of the defeat. All the new levies had been
drafted into Sardinian second battalions, in the proportion of
two and three to one, in the expectation that the good exam
ple of one third old soldiers would fortify the courage of the
two thirds of younger. But the consequence was that the two
thirds ran, and the one third who remained were slaughtered
on the spot. A position thought to be defended by fifteen
hundred was, in reality, defended only by five hundred ; and
thus points were given up which it was of the utmost import
ance to preserve.
At Cremona, the King of Piedmont published two orders
of the day, to the effect that he, anxious (;o give the troops
some repose after their late fatigues, had applied for an armis
tice ; but the terms were not honorable to the army, and he
had refused them. He therefore called on officers and men to
remember that the enemy was still before them, and to join
him in making due exertion to save the common cause and
interest of all.
The deep thunder of the cannon heard at Cremona on the
30th of July gave notice that the Austrians were crossing the
Oglio ; and the king, quitting Cremona, began to make dispo
sitions to receive the enemy ; and, as the artillery was still in
tolerable condition, and the cavalry not much cut up, sanguine
hopes were entertained of being able to make an effective
stand. The line of the Adda* was taken : the river immortal
ized by the affair of the bridge of Lodi, in Napoleon's cam
paign. The first line on the left bank, extending from Crema
to Pizzighetone (a small fortress on that stream), and the sec
ond on the right bank, from Lodi to Codogno, a considerable

* On this stream occurred the victory of Aignadel, gained by the French on
the 14th of May, 1509, which laid Lombardy prostrate.

Chap. IL] Retreat of Charles Albert. 251
town between Cremona and Lodi, and where the head-quar
ters of the king were established after abandoning Cremona.
To turn to the movements of the Austrians after the victory
of Goito. By orders of Radetzky, Strassaldo advanced to
Brescia. Every where the troops met with a most cordial re
ception from the peasantry.
The two cannons taken from the brigade Simbschen, on the
heights of Custoza, were recaptured at Goito. Field-marshal
Lichtenstein distributed among the army the two millions of
francs belonging to Charles Albert, and taken in the battle of
Goito. Three army corps cross the Oglio, after a small engagement
between the vans, on the 30th ; the fourth advanced from Mar
caria over Bozzolo. The first and second army corps, with
the reserves, take position at Godesco and St. Ambrogio, two
miles from Cremona. The field-marshal took up his head
quarters that night in Cremona, which the same morning, in
haste, Charles Albert had abandoned.
In that city Charles Albert could not procure provisions ;
where, as soon as they heard of the king's approach, the Pro
visional Government dissolved, and the National Guard de
camped. No preparations whatever were made for the troops :
they were left without wine or provisions, and, to all appear
ance, were in an enemy's country. At the approach of the
Austrians, how changed their conduct ! A deputation was
sent out to announce the submission of the place, a flattering
address delivered, bands playing, one hundred oxen present
ed, and provisions of all kinds, as well as a large sum in ready
cash. The town was illuminated for three successive nights
in honor of the emperor, and the Austrians every where hailed
as their deliverers, with the cry, " I nostri liberatori /" The
King of Piedmont, still at Codogno, had proposed to change
his head-quarters to a small place called Casele, in the direc
tion of Piacenza, but the unexpected arrival of Mr. Abercrom
bie, British minister at Turin (whose object was to tender his
services toward procuring a truce between the parties), in
duced him to countermand that order.
Mr. Abercrombie, accompanied by the French minister to
Turin, after two hours' interview with the king, started for

252 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
Cremona, in search of Marshal Radetzky. At the interview
between the marshal and the ministers, Radetzky, so far from
granting a six days' truce, refused to give a single hour ; and
he stated firmly, but most courteously, to the ministers his in
tention of following up the Piedmontese army to the gates of
Milan, and of entering it in triumph on the next or the suc
ceeding day.*
The king, on hearing from Mr. Abercrombie, who returned
immediately to Lodi (to which place his majesty's head-quar
ters had been changed), the result of the interview with Ra
detzky, instantly abandoned all idea of defending the line of
the Adda, and resolved to concentrate all his troops before
Milan, and there decline or accept a final battle with his ene
my. The order of march was given, and the road to Milan
was soon covered by the long train of artillery, cavalry, infan
try, and luggage. The brigade of Savoy was left to cover the
retreat, and to watch the ever-memorable, but now blazing
bridge of Lodi, set fire to by orders of a captain of a Lombard
company, much to the regret of all the high officers of the army.
The king and the royal dukes abandoned Lodi at ten o'clock
at night for Milan, and, whether in accordance with a decla
ration, made at the opening of the campaign, that he would
not enter that city but as a conqueror, or for the purpose of
encouraging the troops by sharing their quarters, the king did
not, upon his arrival at the Lombardian capital, enter the gates,
but took up his quarters in a small house a little removed from
the Porta Romana.
The Piedmontese army occupied a line about two miles dis
tant from Milan, the left resting on the villages in front of the
Porta Romana, and the right on those in advance of the Porta
Ticinese ; in fact, making face to the country through which
the Austrians must advance from Lodi and the other points at
which they crossed the Adda. To all appearance, it seemed
at that time the intention of Charles Albert to decide the mat
ter there, if the troops were resolved to do their duty.
• The old marshal, it would seem, was determined on restoring the status quo
ante bellum, and of occupying Lombardy to the Po and the Ticino before the
French troops, said to be on their way, could possibly arrive, and thus of con
verting them from an auxiliary into an invading force.

Chap. 1 1.] Advance of Radetzky. 253
In the mean time, Radetzky, having left a brigade to gar
rison Cremona, continued his operations against the Adda with
four army corps. On the 2d of August, he passed the Adda,
with the first and second army corps, at Crotta d'Adda, and
with the fourth army corps at Formigara. The enemy occu
pying the left of the river were driven back, and the marshal,
surrounding the fortress of Pizzighettone, forced the enemy,
by that operation, to abandon Formigara. The Austrians ad
vanced incessantly toward Milan ; the wing passing tlirough
Crema encountered no opposition. After a short engagement
. between the Austrian van and Piedmontese rear, Lodi is taken.
Radetzky then dispatches two cavalry divisions in the direction
of Boffalara, to take Milan in the rear, while he would operate
with the main forces in front.
The marshal, leaving Lodi on the morning of the 4th, ad
vanced with the first and second army corps as far as San
Donati, when they became engaged with the enemy in their
positions before Milan. The first army corps occupied the
enemy in front, while General Clamm succeeded in passing
around, to take him on the right flank. The Piedmontese
were soon overpowered, and driven back under the very walls
of the city. A whole battery, four officers, and one hundred
and twenty men, were captured. In consequence of this re
verse, an order for all the troops to retire into the city was
given. The king took up his head-quarters in the remains of
the ruined citadel, and the enemy lined the bastions, which
overlook and command the country.
At the same moment, it having been understood that the
king meant to defend the city, a placard was posted up, order
ing the tocsin to be sounded, and barricades to be erected in
all the streets. The order was at once obeyed. While all the
church bells were set in motion, the men, women, and children
commenced the erection of barricades, and in the course of two
hours the face of the city was quite changed ; barricades were
constructed every twenty yards, and heaps of small paving
stones carried up by the servants to the several floors, to be
showered on the heads of the Croats, as was done during the
five days. All this was great madness and folly; for if the
Austrians forced the city, every house would be sacked and

254 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
plundered ; and, with an army burning to revenge the treat
ment they received during the first outbreak, it might become
a heap of ruins. The Provisional Government had been abol
ished, in order that the defense without the lines might not
have the appearance of originating with the citizens, but un
dertaken simply by order of the king's governor, General Oli-
vieri. But what excuse could now be rendered, when Ra
detzky would have the evidence of the barricades before his
eyes, hear the tocsin sounded from every tower, and learn
from his spies that the inhabitants were all compromised.
About five o'clock, the French charge d'affaires and the En- .
glish consul proposed to visit the head-quarters of Radetzky,
to claim a suspension of arms for a few hours, to enable them
to provide for the safe exit of French and British subjects. The
party set out ; but by the time an escort was provided, it was
ascertained that the Austrians had for the moment retired,
and the mission did not then take place. With that facility
of invention peculiar to the Italians, reports were immediately
circulated that the enemy had been beaten off; that several
pieces of cannon and several hundreds of prisoners had been
taken ; and the people, inspired by such favorable tidings,
worked at the barricades more earnestly than ever, while ev
ery body capable of carrying a musket rushed to the bastions.
Popular enthusiasm was now at its height ; and if the people
and army were really united, and the morale of the latter had
not been lost, they might have offered a most formidable, if
not effectual resistance. At eleven o'clock at night, two of
the king's generals,* charged with a special message from his
majesty, accompanied by the diplomatic authorities mentioned
above, set out for the head-quarters of the Austrian command
er. Owing to a mistake in the night-signals made by the Aus
trian outposts, the party were fired at several times, but at
length reached the quarters of Radetzky. The missions being
totally distinct, the diplomatic authorities declined being pres
ent at the interview of the Piedmontese officers with the Aus
trian commander. The generals were first admitted, and after
a conference, which lasted two hours, withdrew. The consuls

* Generals Rossi and Lazzari.

Chap. IL] Excitement of the People. 255
were then admitted ; and when they intimated their desire to
obtain a forty hours' truce, Radetzky exclaimed " For what
purpose, when they have capitulated ?" This was the first no
tice given of so important a fact ; and on the diplomatists re
tiring, and questioning the generals on the subject, they ad
mitted that the basis of a capitulation was drawn, with which
they were about returning to the king to obtain his sanction.
At seven o'clock in the morning the party returned to Milan.
The generals waited on the king ; and they were followed, in
a short time, by the charge and consul, for the purpose of as
certaining what his majesty's answer might be, as their ulte
rior proceedings depended on the capitulation being accepted
or declined. During their stay at the citadel, a message was
dispatched to Radetzky, bearing the king's answer, acceding
to the terms of capitulation. What were the terms was not
then known ; but, whatever they might be, it was most shame
ful to have authorized and commanded the erection of barri
cades and the sounding of the tocsin, when, up to that time,
not a circumstance had occurred which could have given um
brage to the Austrians. Why did not Charles Albert at once
retire beyond the Ticino, and allow Milan to follow the exam
ple of the other cities of Lombardy, and, after the persons most
compromised had fled, open its gates to its old masters. With
in a few minutes after the dispatch of the king's answer, ac
cepting the terms laid down by Radetzky, the whole city was
in possession of the fact. The excitement became intense ;
and, as soon as the reports were confirmed by the departure
of some of the household troops, and many of the royal equi
pages, in the direction of Turin, it amounted almost to despe
ration. Groups flew through all the streets exclaiming, " We
are sold!" "We are betrayed!" The drums of the National
Guard beat to arms ! and men, with muskets on their shoul
ders, ran Uke maniacs from place to place, willing to do mis
chief, but not knowing where to commence.
The populace were fortunately without leaders. The most
violent of them collected in the square of the Scala theatre,
and in the Corsia del Giardino, before the Casa Greppi, in
which the king was now lodged, and there, finding several car
riages prepared for the journey, they at once cut the harness,

256 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
withdrew the horses, and overturned the equipages. This was
accompanied by the most insulting expressions against tho
king, but not against the Piedmontese ; and so great was the
distinction made that the officers and dragoons who formed the
escort of the carriages were compelled to dismount, and were
embraced by the people with loud cries of " Long live the
Piedmontese army, but death to the traitor Charles Albert !"
A body of National Guards at once took possession of the
Casa Greppi, in effect constituting the king a prisoner, and
several filled the rooms leading to the royal apartments, loudly
declaring that, come what might, Charles Albert should not
depart. At the same time, emissaries were dispatched to the
several gates, and large bodies of National Guards, assisted by
an unarmed mob, resolutely barred ingress or egress. The
gates leading toward Turin were blocked up and barricaded,
and, with the most violent denunciations, the people declared
that the traitor should not be permitted to escape.
About this time, the only two persons belonging to the late
Provisional Government, General Pompro Letta and the Abbe
Annelli, who had not abandoned the people, drew up a paper
to the following effect, which they first read to the crowd, and
then sent into the king: "We, the only two members of the
government who remain at our post, learning by public rumor
that a capitulation, injurious to the honor of all Italy and of
the city of Milan, has been made with the Austrian general,
in the most urgent manner entreat your majesty to give us
some explanation on this important matter." In a short time
afterward, both these gentlemen appeared upon the square,
and read a declaration of this nature : " The king has assured
us on his word of honor, and he offers his life as a guarantee
that he will fight with the force of the whole army to the last
moment." This declaration calmed, in some degree, the vio
lence of the crowd ; but it was no less generally believed that
a capitulation had been made. Still, some color was given
to the king's words by the march of the Piedmontese troops
having been suspended, and the preparations for his majesty's
departure abandoned. The same disorder prevailed during
the day in every part of the city, and so far did it proceed that
it is believed that the king was compelled to inform the field-

Chap. IL] King's Departure from Milan. 257
marshal that it was not in his power to fulfill the terms of the
capitulation. Although in point of form the capitulation was
broken off, in consequence of the violence of the people, Ra
detzky was not disposed to regard it in that light, and remained
perfectly quiet, without a single shot being fired from his ad
vanced posts. The people did not partake of that opinion, and
they were seen on every side strengthening their barricades,
and apparently preparing for a resolute defense. The day and
afternoon passed in this manner ; but at nightfaU the tumult
became so violent near the king's residence, that the Duke of
Genoa came to the balcony and requested the people to ab
stain from such angry and violent demonstrations, as his maj
esty was much indisposed, and earnestly desired repose. The
amiable and gallant prince was received with a volley of hiss
es ; the king was again called a traitor, and he a deceiver.
The duke declared that he and his father were determined to
fight to the last ; but even this did not satisfy, and he with
drew amid cries of " Death to the traitor !" " Death to the
impostor !" Several houses in the suburbs were set on fire,
and the horrors of the situation increased by the city being
overhung for several hours of the night by a canopy of flame.
After this demonstration on the part of the people, the King
of Piedmont, alarmed for his personal safety, resolved to leave
Milan. Taking advantage of the obscurity of the night, as
well as of the great confusion which prevailed, surrounded by
his household troops, who suddenly dispersed the crowd that
blocked up the contra da by a charge of cavalry and blank dis
charges of artillery, the king escaped about three o'clock in the
morning, amid the shots and curses of the populace. Although
some of his suite were wounded, the king and the Duke of
Genoa fortunately escaped with their lives from the violent
hands of the very population which, a few months before,
hailed them as their deliverers.
During the night the Archbishop of Milan and the tempora
ry podesta went out to the head-quarters of Field-marshal Ra
detzky, for the purpose of informing him of the true state of af
fairs within the city, and of deprecating his wrath. This was
a most judicious step ; and it was quite evident, from the for
bearance shown by the Austrian troops during the night and
R

258 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
next morning, that Radetzky felt aware that the king broke
off the agreement of capitulation merely to satisfy the clamor
of the moment, and that, after a few hours, when the tempo
rary madness was over, its conditions would be fulfilled. At
five next morning the tumult had ceased, the tricolor flags
were withdrawn from many of the balconies, and the barri
cades were in a state of active demolition. It was evident
that the fever had passed away, and that the people were now
as much depressed as they were on the previous day excited.
Indeed, the best proof which can be given of their having re
turned to their senses is, that they allowed the free circulation
of the following printed notice :
" Agreeably to the basis of a convention, concluded by his
majesty Charles Albert and his excellency Field-marshal Ra
detzky, the latter will occupy militarily, at eight to-morrow
(this) morning, the Porta Romana, and at twelve will enter
the city. There is every reason to believe that the population
of Milan will not suffer. It is strongly recommended that the
barricades, tricolored flags, and cockades be removed as quick
ly as possible. " Basse, Podesta."
" Taverne, Assessor."

j)

In fact, this advice was implicitly followed ; all the barri
cades were removed with the same expedition with which they
were raised (save in the vicinity of the Porta Romana, where
the low mob still domineered) ; and even the pavement, ripped
up the day before in such haste, was rapidly re-laid.
The Austrian civil and military authorities took quiet pos
session of the city. The change was effected with the most
perfect order ; not a rude expression was heard from the peo
ple during the passage of the troops ; and as the Austrian army
ever maintains the strictest discipline, no offense was given on
their part. It being the Sabbath, nearly all the shops were
closed ; and so many of the inhabitants being absent on ac
count of the. season, or had fled from fear, or accompanied the
retreat of the Piedmontese troops, that the city presented a dis
mal appearance indeed. The windows of the Corso were not,

Chap. IL] Radetzky's Entrance into Milan. 259
as usual, crowded, and the long array of artillery, dragoons,
hussars, lancers, and infantry defiled through it in the most
solemn silence. At an early hour, according to the capitula
tion, the principal gates were occupied ; but it was not till late
in the afternoon that the whole army made its triumphant en
try. The troops were in fine condition ; the uniforms varied '
and splendid, and their appearance, almost fit for parade, pre
sented a striking contrast to the soiled dress and fatigued looks
of the brave but defeated Piedmontese, who, during the night,
and at an early hour, had taken their departure. The peace
of the city was preserved, and the palaces of the nobility pro
tected from further pillage by detachments of the National
Guard, who, by order of the podesta, appeared in uniform for
that purpose. The damage done by the mob was inconsider
able, save in the palaces of the Dukes of Litta and Visconti.
In both, many of the finest pieces of furniture and glasses were
broken ; but most of the objects abstracted by the thieves were
afterward recovered by the police. Before nightfall, all the
measures of the Austrian civil and military authorities were
taken, the few persons then in the city reposed in the most per
fect security ; and those who had taken refuge with their re
spective consuls returned to their own homes. No military
precautions, however, were neglected by the commander-in-
chief. The Austrian artillery were placed on the bastions as
a hint to the ill disposed, and an order of the day issued, de
claring the city in a state of siege, and stating that all offenses
against good order would be punished according to martial law.
By this hour the Piedmontese army had crossed the Ticino, and
rested within its own frontiers.
The news now reached Marshal Radetzky that Pavia had
surrendered to the fourth army corps ; Brescia had opened its
gates before the troops under D'Aspre on the 6th ; on the fol
lowing day, Prince Schwartzenberg had entered Bergamo un
der the acclamations of the people ; the second army corps
occupied the cities of Como, Lecco, and Sandria ; the fortress
es of Peschiera, Rocca d'Anfo, and Osopo were delivered up,
agreeably to the terms of the truce* entered into with the
* For Armistice, see Appendix, note 6.

260 Insurrection in Lombardy. [Book II.
King of Piedmont, and the whole of Lombardy was evacuated
by the enemy. Thus, in the short space of a fortnight from
the time that Radetzky took the offensive, had the Piedmont
ese army — which, in the pride of their conquests, possessed
themselves of the whole of Lombardy (with the exception alone
of the little spot on which stands the fortress of Mantua), and
a considerable portion of the Venetian kingdom — been defeated
at Rivoli, Somma Campagna, Custoza, Volta, Cremona, Pizzi
ghettone, and Milan, and driven completely beyond the front
iers of the imperial territories ; in the language of Radetzky,
in his address to his troops after entering Milan; "You have
marched from victory to victory ; and, in the short space of a
fortnight, advanced victoriously from the Adige to the Ticino.
The imperial flag waves again from the walls of Milan, and
no enemy any longer treads the Lombardian territory."*
* Radetzky's Address.

CHAPTER III.
the political HISTORY OF VENICE, from its origin to the late revo
lution.— the expulsion of the austrians, and proclamation OF THK
REPUBLIC OF ST. MARK.— ITS EXISTENCE FOR UPWARD OF A YEAR, AND
FINAL OVERTHROW.— BESIEGED BY LAND AND BLOCKADED BY SEA.
Venice, the proud city of the lagoons, whether we contem
plate her peculiar geographical position, her once boundless
power and commercial prosperity, or heT political longevity,
without a parallel in the annals of human society, must be
regarded as one of the most interesting as well as remarkable
states that ever existed.
In the early part of the fifth century, a small band of fugi
tives, from Padua, Aquileia, and other adjacent Roman colo
nies, escaping from the all-wasting sword of Attila and the
devastations of the Goths, sought refuge amid the marshes
and shallows of the Adriatic, formed by the deposits of sand
carried down by the rivers which, descending from the Alps,
fall into that gulf ; and there, amid the waters, founded a city
destined to preserve its independence for nearly fourteen hund
red years, to resist successfully the combined arms of Europe,
become the conqueror of Constantinople and Athens, and " to
reign over the Archipelago, the Morea, Candia, Cyprus, and the
finest quarter of the Roman empire."
This remarkable state, emerging from the bosom of the
waves in the darkest ages of Italian misery, before the empire
of Rome was swept away, endured through the northern irrup
tions ; and, having been finally extinguished within our own
times, its history forms a connecting chain — perhaps the only
one that can now be traced — between the Europe of the Ro
mans, of the Middle Ages, and of modern times ; or, as her
eloquent historian* has described her, enthroned upon the
gulf whence her palaces emerge, contemplating the successive
* Sismondi.

262 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
changes of dynasties and continual invasions, with the whole
shifting scene of human revolutions, until, in her own time, as
the last surviving witness of antiquity, and as the link between
the two periods of civilization, she has herself bowed under
the humbling hand of the destroyer.
Detestation of monarchy and love of independence, as her
history discloses, were the leading principles by which Venice
was guided from her birth as a nation — distinguished through
all the changes of a long and eventful history — and which act
uated, in a measure at least, the last movement, when, on the
17th of March, 1848, the double-headed eagle of Austria was
torn from the standard before the cathedral, and its place sup
plied by the winged lion of St. Mark.
In submitting to the common necessity of obeying one leader
in war, and having a supreme magistrate to guard their laws,
maintain their religion, and preside over the ordinary tribu
nals, the Venetians never, for a moment, relinquished their
right of conferring these powers by election, but continually
asserted their power to degrade the possessor from the throne
to which they had raised him (nor did they deem any means
for the attainment of this end unlawful) ; and they gradually
limited his authority, until at length they subjected him to the
control of an aristocracy, which derived its constitutional claim
to represent the people from the natural influence of wealth,
and the respect derived from a long line of renowned ancestors.
To vest the substantial power in an oligarchy like this, aris
ing from the very nature of civil society, it is only necessary
that its members should act with some degree of concert ; but
the Venetian few matured this concert into an artful and or
ganized conspiracy ; and, by carefully preserving the republican
forms, and cherishing the hatred of monarchy and love of inde
pendence, continued to augment their power without awaken
ing suspicion ; while, as a means of accommodating the prim
itive laws of the land to their exclusive interest, they seized
on every opportunity of bringing into operation such arbitrary
expedients as, in former ages, had only been resorted to in cases
of extraordinary emergency. The authority and number of
these unconstitutional precedents thus gradually increased, un
til they came to be regarded as practical parts of the Constitu-

Chap. IIL] Early History of Venice. 263
tion, and, in fact, furnished the elements out of which the
state inquisition was formed, and to which Venice must ascribe
her gradual decay and ultimate downfall.
A brief reference to the history of Venice will not only illus
trate these events, but exhibit a view of the stages by which
democracy gradually dwindled into hereditary aristocracy, and
that, in its turn, into a mysterious and unrelenting oligarchy.
The fugitives who first peopled the lagoons of the Adriatic
were governed by magistrates sent from Padua, and the Con
stitution was consequently a consular one ; but when the me
tropolis was, a short time after, devastated by the incursions of
the barbarians (A.D. 450—60), the little colonies were emanci
pated from her guardianship, and left to maintain, as they
could, their feeble independence. They established tribunes
or judges, of which the number was twelve, and the election
annual ; and these officers were bound to govern the republic,
with the concurrence of a popular Assembly.
This Constitution — which might be called a rude federative
democracy — lasted for more than two centuries and a half.
Little inequality, and less ambition, could subsist so long as
their manners remained simple and uncorrupted ; but frugal
ity and industry brought competence ; this rapidly augmented
into wealth ; and then came the trial. Dissensions arose among
those who aspired to govern, intrigues in the annual elections,
licentiousness among the people, and all the symptoms of civil
war existed, at the very time when their struggles with ex
ternal enemies imperiously demanded union and co-operation.
In this emergency, they elected, for the first time, a chief mag
istrate, called a doge, who was to hold his office for life (A.D.
697). This title, which is a corruption of Dux,* while it ex
cluded the idea of sovereignty, more peculiarly indicated the
office of leader of the national armies.
Having thus provided a conductor of their wars abroad, and
combined vigor in the government with security to popular
rights at home, their determination never to yield even the
shadow of their political independence acquired new strength.
Their jealousy of the power of one man is also evidenced by
* Dux-leader.

264 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
the fates of their successive doges. Of the forty-three who
reigned in the course of three hundred years, scarcely one half
concluded their career in peace. Five were compeUed to abdi
cate ; three were assassinated by conspirators ; one was con
demned to death according to legal form ;• and nine sentenced to
be deposed and deprived of sight, or sent into exile ; and some
times many of these punishments were united. Some only es
caped them by dying on the field of battle. Yet few, if any,
of these victims had brought any great calamity on the repub
lic, while many had extended her dominion and her fame, by
the acquisition of extensive provinces on the Adriatic, and by
planting some of those colonies in the Archipelago, which aft
erward facUitated her conquests in the East, and aided the
growth of her adventurous commerce.
Considering that these magistrates were restrained by no
specific forms, and punishable by no process but the blind fury
of the mob, it is wonderful how the state was preserved from
hereditary obedience to a ducal family.
The audacious attempt of a member of the family of Ur-
seolo to seat himself, without even the form of popular suffrage,
on the throne which several of his illustrious house had occu
pied with honor, awakened the jealousy of the Venetians, and
produced, in 1032, a fundamental law of state, that the reign
ing doge should never associate a son in the administration.
One hundred and forty years were suffered to elapse before
any further alteration was attempted in the Venetian Consti
tution ; and it was at length, during the anarchy which fol
lowed the murder of a doge, that the Council of Justice, the
only permanent deliberative body of the state, persuaded the
people to adopt a political system, which at once offered secu
rity against the exercise of arbitrary power by the doge, and
obviated, at the same time, the inconvenience of the general
and tumultuous assemblies of the people. It is not known by
what skillful address the Council of Justice prevailed upon the
people to consent to an innovation which, in a great measure,
deprived the democracy of its influence ; but from this period
(1112) may certainly be dated the foundation of the oligarch
ical government of Venice.
The persecutions and punishments which thus followed ev-

Chap. IIL] Aristocratical Domination. 265
ery attempt on the part of the doges to render the throne he
reditary, and the judicial trials and executions by which the
state repressed all schemes of personal ambition, afford the
strongest proofs that the abhorrence of the Venetians for the
government of one man continued unabated during the first
seven centuries of their political existence.
Thus slowly and imperceptibly arose that aristocratical dom
ination which prepared the way for the silent usurpations of
the oligarchy, and was at length matured into the tremendous
despotism of the State Inquisition. The doge was, in fact, no
more than one of an oligarchy ; their nominal chief was re
duced to an expensive pageant ; in authority he was scarcely
a counselor ; in the city he was a prisoner of state, and out of
it only a private individual. The fit time for beginning to re
duce an occasional example into a constant practice appeared
to have arrived when the last of the forty -three doges above-
mentioned was assassinated, and his death succeeded by popu
lar commotions. Eleven individuals, deputed by the council,
then elected a doge, upon condition that he should ratify a new
Constitution, the conditions of which were, that the people
should have the right of confirming or annulling the elections
of the doges, but not the power of electing them ; that the
doge should henceforth have no power to choose his own coun
selors, but that six individuals, to be called the Signiors, should
be associated with him, subject, however, to his control, who
should form an integral part of the supreme magistracy, and
without whose concurrence none of his decrees should be valid ;
that whenever he might stand in need of a larger number of
counselors, he should not, as formerly, request the assistance
of those citizens whom he thought most capable of advising
him, known as the Pregadi, but should consult the council.
The first doge elected in virtue of this Constitution (1172)
refused the office ; but it was not difficult to find another who
accepted it. The second was carried in procession through the
city, seated on a throne, and introduced the custom, ever after
observed, of throwing gold and silver to the populace. So ready
are men to sell their rights, and to admire as munificent lib
erality that despicable bribe, which they are always willing to
receive as the price of their freedom. Meanwhile, the prosper-

266 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
ity of the republic, the glory of her victories, and the extent
of her conquests constantly increased.
At this time, too, Pope Alexander the Third, fleeing from
the ravages of Frederick Barbarossa, sought a refuge in the
threshold of St. Mark. Barbarossa pursued him, but received
a severe defeat (A.D. 1177) by the Venetians ; whereupon the
Pope, as a mark of his gratitude, solemnly presented the vic
torious Doge Ziani with a ring in the cathedral, and accom
panied his gift with these words : " Receive this as an earnest
of the empire of the sea, and marry her to thee every year, in
order that posterity may know that she is under thy jurisdic
tion by right of conquest, and that I consecrate the same to
thee, placing her under thy dominion as I would subject a
wife to that of her husband."* From that time the doges an
nually wedded the Adriatic, and a custom which appears lu
dicrous to us was looked upon as sacred, and was productive
of important consequences in that and many succeeding ages.
The winged lion of St. Mark had now attained its maturity.
The most important commercial power of the age, she monop
olized the trade with India ; the great route from Western Eu
rope and Augsburg (at that time the commercial metropolis)
lay through Venice. The spices, precious stones, and Oriental
luxuries, brought by caravans from the East through Canda-
bar and Persia, or by the northern routes, and along the Cas
pian and Euxine Seas, or up the Euphrates and overland to
some of the Syrian sea-ports, or by the way of the Red Sea
and Egypt, were transported chiefly by Venetian vessels, and
exchanged for European manufactures, rendered both conti
nents tributary to the state, which held the power to supply
their wants or relieve their necessities.
Their success in the India trade inspired them with the proj
ect of obtaining possession of Egypt, and opening the com
munication between the Red Sea and the Nile, or the Mediter
ranean — a project which, although duly appreciated by the
great powers of Western Europe, is, perhaps, not nearer its
* The validity of this donation, though made by a Pope, was disputed at the
time, and the controversy was continued through many centuries — a controversy
not unlike that which is still agitated with regard to the same subject among
more powerful nations, and which nothing but the right of the strongest is com
petent to decide.

Chap. IIL] Capture of Constantinople. 267
accomplishment than it was six hundred years ago by the Ve
netians, although the route is now being surveyed by French
and Austrian officers, and found altogether practicable.
The romantic age of the crusades was now at its height.
A series of succeeding Popes through a century and a half,
operating upon the superstitious weakness of the most power
ful sovereigns of Europe, induced them to lead out expeditions
from all the nations of the West to carry on religious wars
against the East. This enthusiasm, so disastrous to the other
nations, operated alone to the advancement and prosperity of
Venice, as the transports for their immense armies could only
be supplied by Venice, and were furnished by her at most ex
orbitant rates.
Still further to increase the power of the " Queen of the
Adriatic," the kingdoms of Christendom regarded her as the
power best able to resist Saladin, whose capture of Jerusalem,
and triumphant march over Palestine and the coast of the Le
vant, had alarmed all Europe, and called forth to the scene of
action such renowned warriors as Frederick Barbarossa, Rich
ard Coeur de Lion, and Philip Augustus. Frederick Barba
rossa met his death after bathing in the Salef (or, as some say,
the Cydnus), and before he had reached the scene of action.
Richard Coeur de Lion and Philip Augustus quarreled after
the capture of Acre ; the latter returned home, and the former
was alone left to combat the victorious sultan.
About this time, the assistance of the republic was asked,
and consent to co-operate obtained ; but, through the influence
of their most artful and far-sighted Doge Dandolo, quite a dif
ferent direction was given to the expedition, as they were con
vinced by him that no surer means of regaining the Holy
Sepulchre existed than by the establishment of legitimacy at
Constantinople, and thus securing for themselves the necessa
ry supplies and assistance for future proceedings. The capital
of the Byzantine empire was captured, and all recollection of
Jerusalem was obliterated in their division of " the quantity
of gold, silver, precious stones, and other costly things found
there" (which, as they wrote to his holiness the pope), " far
exceeds all that could be collected in the city of Rome, and
in all our Christendom."

268 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
Venice obtained the lion's share of all movable spoil, as well
as of all substantial authority and influence in the capital.
The former was valued at upward of a million of marks, equal
to ten milhons of dollars. Her doge was invested with the
purple, as " Despot of Romania, and Lord of one fourth and a
half of the Roman Empire."
She purchased Candia for ten thousand, or, according to an
other account, for eighty thousand marks of silver ; and re
tained feudal supremacy over Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante, Nax-
os, Paros, Melos, Andros, Mycone, Scyro, Cea, and Lemnos ; to
which Negropont and some of the most important fortresses in
the Morea were afterward added.
Victory seemed to wait upon her nod. The people, intoxi
cated with military glory, forgot their domestic interests, and
allowed their great men to effect one encroachment after an
other, until every vestige of liberty disappeared. Amid the
successes of an aggressive foreign policy, the fabric of aristo
cratic usurpation was strengthened, which afterward became
absolute sovereign of the nation, grasping the whole power of
the state, and perpetuating it in their privileged descendants,
This revolution, however, unlike most others, neither rushed
to its conclusion with precipitate speed, nor was brought about
by any sudden catastrophe ; but, proceeding by gradual and
silent encroachment, so ingrafted itself on the trunk of the .
Constitution that, though its fruits were somewhat different
to the eye, the plant itself, in its nature, seemed to remain
unchanged. One of the first steps in the progress of this revolution, and
which forms an era that gives a new aspect to the history of
the republic down to the hour of her dissolution, was a new
mode devised for electing the head of the government — a mode
which remained unchanged to the extinction of the republic.
It required that a number of electors, amounting sometimes
to forty, should be five times indicated by chance, after which
they were to be individually subjected, an equal number of
times, to a scrutiny by which most of them were excluded, in
order that their names might be replaced by others also drawn
by lot. The whole were then subjected to the most rigid ex
amination, in order that those who were eventually retained

Chap. IIL] Usurpation of Doges. 269
as electors might be such as were thoroughly acquainted with
that precise combination of qualities which the circumstances
of the times and the views of the ruling party required in a .
doge.* These complicated forms were admirably calculated
at once to bewilder the people, and to lead them to imagine
that individual interest and design were baffled by the impar
tial decrees of fate, while in their turn they exercised just that
degree of control over fortune necessary to secure the republio
against her blind and wayward caprices. With this step, the
obvious tendency of which was to reduce the sovereignty of
the people to a shadow, and at the same time to enlarge and
consolidate the powers of the aristocracy, was mingled, for
the sake of blinding the populace, a recurrence to early prin
ciples in certain enactments calculated to protect their cher
ished notion of political independence. First, that the doge
should not marry any woman not a native of Venice. This
remained ever after inviolate and unchanged. Secondly, that
no Venetian should serve any foreign prince, either in war or
peace. This, so far as patricians were concerned, was also
rigorously observed, and the violation of it inexorably pun
ished. The third, of the new laws, decreed that no Venetian
should possess landed property on the continent of Italy. For
a time this was enforced, since, with the exception of a few
sterile stripes on the shore of the Adriatic, the government it
self possessed none. The princely domains of the ancient fam
ilies were accordingly all situated in the colonies ; but in pro
cess of time, as they lost their colonies and extended their con
quests in Italy, they admitted the most powerful families of
the conquered cities into the body of the Venetian aristocracy,
and this law was, in consequence, tacitly abolished.
These enactments, which were devised by the reigning party
as a means of avoiding the opposite dangers of the revival of
popular rights on the one hand, and the introduction of mon
archy on the other, were no sooner introduced than they ac
quired stability and authority, and excited no suspicions in the
nation, because they arose directly out of the two original and
vital principles of every modification of Venetian government,
and fell in with sentiments which appeared to be the indigen-
* Daru's History of Venice.

270 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
ous growth of every Venetian bosom, viz., complete national
independence, and hatred of a domestic dictatorship.
A circumstance arising out of their foreign relations now
tended to increase the power and influence of the oligarchy.
The Church having taken upon itself to give the kingdom of
Naples to Charles of Anjou, Martin the Fourth,* then occupant
of the pontifical chair, proclaimed a crusade against the lawful
heir ; and, because the Venetian government would not suffer
its subjects to take arms in the enterprise, and thus open Italy
to French invasion, he launched an excommunication against
them, and interdicted the celebration of religious rites within
their territory. For three years, during which the republic
submitted in silence, no priests officiated at her altars, nor
were prayers or offerings presented in her churches. Martin's
successor removed the interdict, but on condition that the
Holy Inquisition, whose introduction the Venetians had hith
erto resisted, should be admitted, and established in perpetui
ty (A.D. 1286).
Another advance of the oligarchy arose from the circum
stance that the aristocratical faction, having the power, suc
ceeded in placing at their head Pietro Grandenigo, who united
the advantages of very ancient family and high military repu
tation, with an inflexible temper and the full vigor and fervor
of youth. The right which the people still retained of confirm
ing the election of the head of the republic was not formally
abrogated, but was thenceforward, in substance, abolished.
One of the electors advanced to a window of the palace, and
proclaimed to the people, " The doge is elected, if you approve
him," and then, without waiting for an answer, retired.
Grandenigo ascended the throne with the resolute determ
ination to found an hereditary aristocracy, or to perish in the
effort. He obtained a succession of decrees from the Great
Council, which may be esteemed the corner-stone upon which
the future pure oligarchy was consolidated. t His encroach
ments began by effecting the object of a law which had been
hitherto successfully resisted, excluding all from the Great
Council, excepting such as had already held a seat there, or
whose fathers, grandfathers, or great-grandfathers had been
* By some authors, Nicholas the Fourth. t Venetian History, Family Library.

Chap. IIL] Closing of the Council. 271
members of that assembly. . Assuming that, as the annual
elections had almost invariably fallen upon the same individu
als, those individuals had therefore established a right; and
he did not so much support the claim of re-election to a body
of which he already held them to be constituent members, as
of determining whether they were still worthy of continuing
in it. The annual nomination was abolished as a useless cer
emony. By this crowning statute of hereditary rights, every
Venetian noble whose paternal ancestors had been of the Great
Council became himself entitled to the same dignity on com
pleting his twenty-fifth year. On proof of these qualifications
of descent and age, his name was inscribed in the Golden
Book* of nobility, and he assumed his seat in the Great Coun
cil, whose numbers were no longer limited. This sovereign
body of nobility numbered in the sequel about twelve hundred
individuals. This law was afterward modified so as to restrict
the privdege to those who had already had a seat in the coun
cil for four years. It claimed the privilege of naming the
twelve electors by whom it was to be renewed, and conse
quently, in point of fact, re-elected itself; and, although they
appeared to be chosen from year to year, were in reality seated
for life. Shortly after, a law was introduced excluding from a
a seat in the Great Council all men who had recently risen
to opulence, and who were therein first described as uomini
nuovi, new men (A.D. 1300). Subsequently, a law was pro
posed and adopted, which Grandenigo, after placing the Great
Council exclusively in the hands of the ancient families, caused
to be received as a fundamental statute of the republic.
That no one should henceforward be elected nor eligible to
sit in the Great Council except those who were then members
of it, or their descendants. That this privilege should be he
reditary in their families in perpetuity. That the Great
Council should be the sovereign power of the state, and that it
should elect all the magistrates from among its own body.
This decree, which bears in history the name of " The closing
of the Council,"^ marks the point from which may be dated
the second period in the history of the republic, which ended
only with the fall of its power.
* 11 Libro d'Oro. t La Serrata del Mazor Conseio.

272 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
The period which followed was totally unlike the former,
rather, however, in its substantial effects than in its external
appearances. Contemplating, within the space of a few pages,
the steps of this mighty change, the contrast between the ear
lier character of the government and that which it bore to its
dissolution appears immense. But it must be recollected that
this revolution was,the result of changes so slow as to be al
most imperceptible, changes tending to one conclusion, through
a long course of ages, by the very nature of human society ; it
will be perceived that the nation was scarcely aware of them
until it was too late to repair the evil, and that familiarity
with slavery, and forgetfulness of absolute rights, gradually
prepared it for deeper degradation.
This revolution, unexampled for the skillful combination of
its causes and the permanence of its effects, was conducted in
the arbitrary spirit of oligarchy, under the mask of republican
equality, with premeditated iniquity, under the forms of jus
tice, with a discretion which presented no front to its adver
saries, but rather appeared to shrink from danger, and thus
lulled suspicion, while it secretly extended and increased its
powers. One conspiracy now followed another, in the vain
attempts made by the people to regain their lost power ; but
these outbreaks of popular indignation were quenched in the
blood of the citizens, while they served but to increase the
strength, and to arm with new terrors this relentless oligarchy.
These conspiracies gave rise to the institution of the Coun
cil of Ten (I Dieci), one of the measures which assured the
downfall of the republic. This body was at first nothing more
than a committee of the Council of Forty, specially appointed
to investigate and punish all persons implicated in the late in
surrections. They were invested with a plenary, inquisitorial
authority, with an entire sovereignty over every individual in
the state, and with freedom from all responsibility and appeal.*
The duration of their office was at first limited to ten days ;
but this was six times prolonged for a like period, then for a
year, soon after for five, next for ten, and in the end the tri
bunal, with a great extension of power, with ample authori-
* Venetian History.

Chap. IIL] Council of Ten. 273
ty to make, alter, and repeal the regulations which were to
govern its proceedings, was declared permanent (A.D. 1325)
In their judicial administration, the members of this council
examined, sentenced, and punished according to what they
called " reasons of state." The public eye never penetrated
the mystery of their proceedings ; the accused was sometimes
not heard, never confronted with witnesses ; the condemnation
was as secret as the inquiry, the punishment undivulged, like
both.* Nor was this all : instituted solely for the cognizance
of state crimes, this tribunal attributed to itself the control of
every branch of government, and exercised despotic influence
over the questions of peace and war, over fiscal enactments,
military arrangements, and negotiations with foreign powers.
It annulled at pleasure the decrees of the Grand Council, de
graded its members, and deposed, and even put to death, the
chief magistrate himself.
Henceforward, the body of nobles acted in strict unison,
without perceiving that their power was gradually arrogated
by a narrow oligarchy. Our wonder at the political problem
of its long-continued existence is not a little heightened when
it is remembered that the Great Council, upon which of all
classes it weighed with peculiar hardship, might, by refusing
its votes at any one of the four elections in each year, have
abolished its hateful yoke forever. That it did not do so, may
be attributed, in the outset, to a false view of the nature of the
magistracy, and to a belief that it was necessary for the pres
ervation of the state. As its tyranny became more distinctly
manifest, it may have been protected by an ambitious but un
worthy hope, which each noble cherished, of one day wielding
its immeasurable powers with his own hands. And, lastly,
after a lapse of years had so far interwoven it with the general
polity as to make it seem an almost inseparable part of the
whole, it might be saved by a mistaken but censurable rever
ence for antiquity, by that fond clinging to established insti
tutions, which (perhaps not unwisely) is backward to remove
even an abuse, under the fear that its extirpation may endan
ger the entire fabric upon which it is ingrafted.

Hallam's Middle Ages.
s

274 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
It is not difficult to conceive that such a tribunal would not
be slow in swallowing up all power, and extinguishing all rights,
whether high or low. True to their early principles, a hatred
of monarchy, their first attack was upon the doge, abridging
his authority, and holding him up to the people as a fit object
of jealousy, and responsible for every error of government;
while, at the same time, they were not regardless of the other
concomitant principle of their ancestors, love of independence.
The law which forbade doges to take wives not natives of Venice
was extended to their sons, who were also excluded from every
place in the magistracy. Every one employed about his per
son, of whatever rank he might be, was excluded from the low
est office connected directly or indirectly with the government.
A fine was imposed on any one who should address him, ei
ther orally or in writing, in any other style than that of Mes-
ser il Doge. While the naval and military force of the repub
lic was no longer at the disposition of the doge, every war in
wliich she engaged was ascribed to him as its author, and by
this subtle policy the popular indignation was drawn down
upon him whenever there occurred a doubtful or unsuccessful
issue. Another change went hand in hand with the degrada
tion of the ducal authority. The people were deprived, even
in appearance, of that power of confirming the choice of a
doge, of which they had been despoiled in substance a century
before, at the election of Pietro Grandenigo. On that occasion
the nobility ventured, for the first time, to announce to the peo
ple, without waiting for the appropriate reply, " The doge is
elected, if you approve him." But, at this time, the nomina
tion of Francesco Foscari was proclaimed to the people in the
more concise and less respectful formula, " The doge is elect
ed" (A.D. 1423). But the encroachments of the oligarchy did
not stop here. The tribunal of Ten had now been in baneful
operation a little more than a century ; when, during the reign
of the last-named doge — as one usurpation unchecked is sure
to be followed by another — it gave place to the still more por
tentous Tribunal of the State Inquisition. On the 16th of
June, 1454, a decree of the Grand Council was passed, by which
the Ten, in consequence of the difficulty found in assembling
their members with sufficient promptitude on every occasion

Chap. IIL] State Inquisition. 275
on which their services might be requisite, were authorized to
choose three persons under the above title : two (I Neri), the
black, from their own council ; and one (II Rosso), the red, from
that of the doge.
The powers granted by the Ten are briefly stated in a sec
ond decree of their own, passed three days afterward. By that
ordinance the inquisitors'* were invested with all plenary au
thority possessed by their electors ; over every person, of what
degree soever in the republic, whether citizen, noble, magis
trate, ecclesiastic, or even one of the Ten themselves ; over all
individuals, in short, who should in any way expose themselves
to merited punishment. The penalties which they might in
flict were left solely to their own discretion, and extended to
death either by public or secret execution. The terrific dun
geons, whether under the leaden roofs (I Piombi),* or beneath
the water of the canals in the hollowed walls of the ducal pal
ace (I Pozzi),t were placed at their disposal ; they held the
keys of the treasury of the Ten, without being accountable for
the sums they might draw from it. All governors, command
ers, and embassadors on foreign stations were enjoined impli
cit obedience to their mandates, and they were permitted to
frame their own statutes, with the power of altering, rescind
ing, or adding to them from time to time. As the advantage
with which the state could be served was considered to be
strictly proportionate to the mystery in which this tribunal
was enveloped, every process was forever kept secret. No in
quisitor was known, and its citations, arrests, and other instru
ments, were issued iri the name of the Ten ; and its examina
tions conducted and its judgments pronounced by the mouths
of secretaries, who were never present during their delibera
tions. Of a tribunal, whose chief elements were secrecy and
terror, nothing like perfect authenticity as to all its proceed
ings can be expected ; but, from the statutes of this most atro
cious court which have recently come to light,! the declaration
is warranted, that its decrees are the only ordinances reduced
to writing in which a legislative body has ever dared to erect
a code upon the avowed basis of perfidy and assassination.
* The leads. t The wells. X Darn's History of Venice.

276 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
These regulations, contained originally in forty-eight arti
cles, were extended, at difterent periods, to reach in the end
one hundred and three ; were always written in the hand of
one of the three, and deposited in a chest, of which each mem
ber kept the key in rotation. Erected for the pretended secu
rity of republican freedom, history has no parallel to its silent,
mysterious, and inexorable tyranny. The inquisitors were em
powered to use torture for the purpose of extracting evidence
and confessions of guilt. No spot in Venice afforded protec
tion to the individual who fell under the displeasure of the In
quisition. As surely as he existed, he was certain to meet his
fate, either by poison, secret assassination, or being sunk at
midnight beneath the waters of the Orfano.* At the corner
of every street, and even on the steps of the Ducal Palace,
where the stone image is still visible, lions' mouths yawned
to receive anonymous information which even private malice
might dictate, for the use of the inquisitors of state. But so
jealous a tribunal was not contented with these voluntary and
detestable accusations. Its universal and fiendish vigilance
was maintained by a multitude of spies in all the public places
of the city — under the piazzas of St. Mark, the favorite prom
enade of the nobles — on the Exchange, the quays, the markets,
and in every resort of the people. There was not a church or
a religious meeting, a ball or a convivial party, even a den of
prostitution or an abode of infamy, into which some of its
emissaries did not penetrate. Their informers infested all
ranks of society, from the highest to the lowest. Nobles,
monks, prostitutes, gondoliers, and domestic servants enabled
them to watch the secret springs of action in fashion, religion,
passion, pleasure, and privacy. Every thing was observed
with the eyes of an Argus and the ears of a cruel despotism,
more dreadful and sensitive than that of Dionysius, and which
found a channel of communication with the most confidential
intercourse. Yet, under this dark and relentless administration, Venice
was the seat of pleasure — the chosen spot not only of Italian
but of European festivity. Throned on her hundred isles, the
* One of the canals in Venice.

Chap. IIL] Character of the Inquisition. 277
magnificence of her palladian elevations ; her churches and pal
aces of every style and decoration, slumbering on their shad
ows in the " long-drawn aisles" of her canals ; her docks and
her arsenals, stored with all the furniture of war ; her quays,
so strangely crowded with the mingled costumes of the East
ern and Western World, glittering with the pageant or heaped
with costly merchandise ; this proud city of the sea was but a
painted sepulchre, striking in its monumental grandeur, but
covering a political charnel-house. All this splendor, festivity,
and lively activity were consistent with scenes of secret but
excessive horror. Her palaces and her prisons were covered
by the same roof; and while the masque and the revel encir
cled the edifice of government, that ancient pile concealed
abodes of misery from which mercy and hope were alike ex
cluded. During the gayest hours of Venetian pleasure, in the
throng of the Casino, or in the mazes of the Carnival, individ
uals disappeared from society and were heard of no more : to
breathe an inquiry after their fate, was a dangerous impru
dence, to mourn their loss an actual guilt.
Under the influence of so searching a police, there was no
sweet privacy in domestic life — no confidence in familiar inter
course which was not chilled or violated by fears and suspi
cions, or a detestible treachery against which there was no as
surance, which no caution could guard against and no sharp-
sightedness foresee.
" Mever«yet," says the historian, " did the principles of ill
establish so free a traffic for the interchange of crime, so un
restricted a mart in which mankind might barter their iniqui
ty ; never was the committal of certain and irremediable evil so
fully authorized for the chance of questionable and ambiguous
good. Never was every generous emotion of moral instinct,
every accredited maxim of social duty so debased and subju
gated to the baneful yoke of an assumed political expediency."*
The statutes of the Venetian Inquisition of State, now exposed
to the general eye, exceed every other product of human wick
edness in premeditated, deliberate, systematic, unmixed, arid
undissembled fiagitiousness. * Venetian History.

278 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
Ten centuries of Venetian history had past, but aU her early
virtue had departed, corruption and crime polluting every
branch of her government, and every class of her people : from
this hour her doom was sealed.
Extrinsic and remarkable events occurred at this time, viz.,
the Portuguese doubled the Cape of Good Hope, thus opening
another route to India than that by Alexandria or the Persian
Gulf; the Spaniards had discovered America, and thus givey
another direction to enterprise and commerce ; and these woulct
have produced her immediate downfall, had not that most
execrable part of her government, the Inquisition, while it
checked and stifled the internal prosperity of the republic, yet
saved her for nearly four centuries from the causes of dissolu
tion by which she was externally beset, skUlfully concealed
the progress of her decay, and covered her intrinsic weakness,
down to the hour of her agony, with a specious and imposing
appearance of strength.
For ages before the subversion of the republic her glories
had utterly withered, her commerce and maritime enterprise
had perished. Even the energies which had marked the for
eign policy of her rulers were extinct, and there remained, only
to excite universal abhorrence, the iniquity of their domestic
administration, and that corruption of private morals which
they had encouraged in their subjects, to divert their attention
from the affairs of state. During the last seventy years of her
career, the republic was reduced to a passive resistance* Her
name ceased to be heard in the discussions, the alliances, and
the wars of other states of Europe. Her commerce was anni
hilated ; her manufactures had dwindled, in one branch alone,
in the annual manufacture of cloths, from 120,000 to 5,000
pieces ; and her revenue, during a long peace, fell far short of
the expenses of her corrupt government. Her claim to the
sovereignty of the Adriatic was now contemptuously violated ;
her naval force, which furnished three hundred sail to the cause
of the Crusades, was reduced to eight or ten vessels of war ;
and when the French entered her capital, they found vessels
on the stocks which had remained unfinished, for want of ma
terials, for above half a century. In the higher classes all feel
ings of honor and patriotism had long been extinct. Debauch-

Chap. IIL] Decline and Fall of Venice. 279
ed, unprincipled, and needy, the aristocracy united only in de
siring the removal of every restraint upon their peculations and
their vices. In promoting dissoluteness of private life, the ty
rants of Venice had trusted, perhaps, to their vigor to supply
the place of morality and its attendant public spirit in the peo
ple ; but their own vigor had fled, and the depravity of all
classes continued to increase with frightful rapidity. Where
patricians, in their robes of office, presided at the public gaming
tables ; where mothers made a traffic of their daughters' hon
or, and the laws recognized their contracts ; where miserable
children of prostitution were employed as political agents in
ruining men whose wealth might render them dangerous ; and
where, by the facility of divorce, the court of the patriarch was
besieged, at the same moment, with nine hundred petitions for
the privilege of legalized adultery ! Where virtue, the found
ation, as Montesquieu contends, of all republics, had so com
pletely vanished, that not a trace was left behind, the epoch
had arrived when it must have sunk under the weight of its
own corruption ; and our detestation of the treachery of its be
trayers is mingled with the conviction that humanity has at
least nothing to regret in the catastrophe.*
Such were the real causes of the catastrophe which extin
guished the career of Venice in shame. The political earth
quake, which had overturned despotism in France, could not
fail to fill every minor despotism with alarm and dismay. The
Venetian republic resolved to maintain, what it called, a per
fect neutrality ; but the weakness and profligacy under which
she labored not only rendered her incompetent to the task, but
made her an easy prey to French conspiracy. The admission
of four thousand French troops was recommended to guard the
city ; the Great Council, at the exhortation of their president,
resigned their offices ; the ducal dignity, with its associations
jf eleven centuries, was forever abolished ; and the tree of lib
erty was planted on the Piazza amid salvos of artillery, the
shouts of thousands, and a solemn Te Deum from the cathe
dral of St. Mark.
The insignia of the ancient government were burned ; a for-
* Venetian History.

280 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
eign army had entered that capital which had remained invio
late for one thousand three hundred and fifty years ; and, with
in four months, the treaty of Campo Formio transferred it, with
aU its provinces, to Austria, as an indemnity for the Nether
lands. Thus this state, which began with Attila, ended with
Bonaparte ; and to the desolating march of two formidable con
querors it owes alike its origin and its fall.
The Venetian provinces acquired by Austria in 1798, in
exchange for the Netherlands, were again lost to the empire in
1805, after the disastrous campaign of Austerlitz and the cap
ture of Vienna, when, to purchase the peace of Pressburg,*
Napoleon compelled her to cede them to the kingdom of Italy,
to which they remained attached until the fall of the conqueror,
when they were restored to Austria by the treaty of Vienna.
After the peace of 1814, the Emperor Francis introduced a
new organization in the Venetian territories, as well as in the
province of Lombardy. The details of the general and provin
cial administration were prescribed in a proclamation of the
24th of April, 1815, which is a quasi-charter for the Lombardo-
Venetian kingdom ; the scheme for the communes was subse
quently arranged. The plan of Francis was based upon the
system of his ancestress Maria Theresa, which went into op
eration in 1755, and reduced the duchies of Milan and Mantua
(after the peace of Utrecht, transferred to the German branch
of the house of Austria) to a position closely resembling that
of the hereditary Austrian states. The proclamation of 1815
sets forth as its motive the emperor's desire to form colleges
of men from the different classes of the state, through whom
might be learned, in regular form, the wishes and desires of the
nation.! Accordingly, the kingdom is divided into two general gov
ernments, the one of nine provinces (Territorio Milanese), hav
ing its seat at Milan, the other of eight provinces (Territorio
Veneto), having its seat at Venice, and both subjeot to the
* Austria resigned all she acquired from Venice (including, therefore, Dalma
tia, formerly belonging to Venice, and bordering on the Turkish empire) to the
Italian kingdom, and recognized Napoleon as its king. — Peace qf Pressburg, Dec.
26, 1805.
t Staats Lexikon. Von Raumer's " Italy and the Italians."

Chap. IIL] Venice transferred to Austria. 281
resident viceroy. Based upon these divisions, the edict di
rects the formation of two sorts of representative assemblies.
The higher are two central congregations, one for the govern
ment of Milan, the other for that of Venice. The inferior
class comprises seventeen provincial congregations, being one
for each of the provinces. The Constitution of the assemblies
is as follows.
In each Provincial Congregation there are, in the first place,
four, six, or eight land-holders, according to the population of
the province, half being nobles and half commoners ; and,
next, one representative for every city in the province which
ranks as a royal borough. The special qualifications for eligi
bility are several : the party must be a citizen of the kingdom,
and, if noble, must have a patent confirmed by the emperor ;
he must be a resident of the city which he represents, thirty
years of age, at least, and possess a capital of two thousand
crowns, invested in land, trade, or manufactures.
The elections are conducted with great caution. For fill
ing up the periodical vacancies (after the first election, over
which, for both assemblies, the emperor reserved full right of
control) each commune proposes two names, those of a noble
man and a commoner, and the lists so formed are submitted
to the Provincial Congregation itself, which selects for each
vacant place three qualified candidates, and transmits these
purified lists to the Central Congregation ; which, again, may
either object to any individual, or lay the lists, without re
mark, before the government at Milan or Venice respectively.
The government, unless its members choose to exercise a spe
cial veto (the reasons of which they are bound to report to
Vienna), appoint to the vacant places the persons first named
in the lists. The delegate, or imperial governor of the prov
ince, is the president of the Provincial Congregation, and is
responsible for the competency of any orders they issue to in
ferior boards. Its deputies have no salary, but possess honor
and rank, and their duties are described by the proclamation,
under four heads : the business of the taxation of the province,
the superintendence of the affairs of the towns and communes
(for which purpose the communal councils must annually sub
mit their accounts to it), the superintendence of roads and of

282 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
operations regarding the canals and rivers (so far as these be
long to the province, and not to the general government), and
the inspection of public charitable institutions.
Each Central Congregation contains two deputies, a noble
man and a commoner, for every province which the govern
ment contains, and one deputy for each of the royal cities.
The qualifications of a deputy are, the possession of real tax
able property worth at least four thousand crowns ; the age of
thirty years complete, the right of citizenship with (if the dep
uty is noble) a confirmed patent and residence in the kingdom,
or in Austria.
For the elections, the initiative is exercised in the same way
as in the other class of assemblies ; but the lists from the towns
are transmitted directly to the Central Congregations, with a
recommendation of a particular name ; and these bodies are
authorized to make a similar recommendation in submitting
the reduced lists of the other class to the government, the em
peror reserving to himself the final right of nomination, and
the prerogative of expelling any members " who should show
themselves unworthy of the confidence reposed in them."
The deputies of the Central Congregations have honorary
rank, and salaries of two thousand florins. Their president is
the Governor of the Territorio Milanese, or the Territorio Ve-
neto, respectively ; and their functions are described under six
heads : the assessment and registration of any extraordinary
taxes that might be imposed by the sovereign ; the completion
of the roll for the land-tax ; the inspection of the communal
revenues, and the consideration of the apportionment of the
public burdens between the towns or communes, the provinces,
and the whole territory of the government ; the allotment of
the military services ; the superintendence of such bridges,
canals, and roads as the government does not choose to take
under its charge ; the general inspection and supreme admin
istration of charitable institutions : provided, that in all these
cases the Central Congregation shall have only the power of
superintendence, and only a consultative voice in regard to the
establishment and organization of expenditure not yet arrang
ed ; and that in the several branches of administration above
mentioned, all which relates to resolutions already sanctioned

Chap. IIL] Governmental Administration. 283
or expenditure already arranged, shall be the business of the
Provincial Congregations, under the restrictions specified in tho
part of the edict which relates to these assemblies : " We per
mit the Central Congregation," it is added, " to communicate
to us the necessities, wishes, and petitions of the nation, and
reserve to ourselves to ask them for advice when it shall seem
good to us." The Central Congregation can neither issue or
dinances nor impose contributions and taxes, nor exercise in
its own name any power, legislative, judicial, or executive ;
1 ut, in regard to all matters intrusted to it, as well as in the
explanation of ordinances already subsisting, it must lay the
result of its deliberations before the government, which will
either ratify them, or, if it is not entitled to do so, will apply
for our sovereign ratification. In cases where the government
refuses ratification, the Central Congregation is entitled to
make direct application to us.*
Such was the system of administration by which the Lom-
bardo-Venetian kingdom was governed after the peace of 1815 ;
and, although it was a mere mockery of a representative Con
stitution, their condition, quite equal to any, and far superior
to some of the provinces of Austria, and all of the Italian states
(except Tuscany perhaps),! was an improvement on their for
mer situation ; and though there was little self-government
intrusted to them, perhaps it was as much as their state of
political advancement at that time would suffer them to bear,
and as Solon, in reply to one who asked him if he had given
the Athenians the best of laws — " The best," said he, " they
are capable of receiving." And, although the members of
these congregations, instead of being legislators, were but over
seers of roads and canals, etc., yet, from the fact that their
attention was not absorbed in matters of government, they
were enabled to devote themselves more assiduously to the
sphere of their duties, and by which their social condition was
more strictly regarded and evidently improved. In its indus
try, its judicial and economical administration, but especially

* Von Raumer: Staats Lexikon.
+ This fact is admitted by an Italian writer of great zeal in the cause of the re
generation of Italy, Marchese Massimo d'Azeglio.

284 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
in its system of instruction and in internal improvements, it
has made a material advance on its former condition.
The Austrian empire is one of the countries of Europe in
which popular education is most encouraged ; and that system
of universal instruction, in imitation of the Prussian states, is
applied in full force to the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom.*
There are two classes of elementary schools in Lombardy, mi
nor and upper ones. The minor elementary schools are estab
lished in every commune or village ; and, where the commune
is too small or too poor, two are united for the purpose of sup
porting one school between them. The school is sustained at
the expense of the commune, which however, if poor, is as
sisted by the treasury. The schoolmasters have a fixed salary
of from two hundred and fifty to four hundred Austrian livres.t
They must have attended the lessons on method or pedagogy
in one of the normal schools, and have a certificate that they
are qualified for teaching. All children from the age of six to
twelve of each commune or parish are obliged to attend the
schools, unless prevented by illness. The rector, and the in
spector of the district, are answerable for the fulfillment of this
regulation. The poor children have their books supplied from
the scholastic fund. The upper elementary schools are estab
lished in the towns, and are supported by the public treasury.
There are also schools for girls, consisting of three classes, and
in which the instruction is adapted to the occupation and pur
suits of the sex. Excellent moral and sanitary regulations
are enforced in all these schools ; all corporeal punishments
strictly forbidden ; cleanliness and health especially attended
to; and habits of sincerity, cordiality, and propriety sedulously
inculcated among the children.
In relation to internal improvements, it may be remarked
that nowhere, perhaps, is the administration of roads and bridg
es so actively and usefully employed as in Lombardy. The
roads are like the walks of a highly-cultivated garden. Even
the patches of grass growing here and there are carefully picked
out. The numerous rivers and canals which intersect the road
are crossed by bridges of solid and handsome masonry. It is
* Botta's Account of Italy in 1807. t A livre is about twenty-five cents.

Chap. IIL] Internal Improvements. 285
computed that the preservation of the high-roads in Lombardy,
for a length of one thousand five hunded and eighteen Italian
miles, costs one million and a half of Austrian livres yearly.
Besides the high-roads, which are maintained at the charge
of the state, the communal roads (or roads throughout the dif
ferent districts), which have been opened or repaired since the
peace of 1814, amount to a total length of three thousand two
hundred and ninety-four miles, for which the sum of twenty-
four millions of livres has been spent by the various com
munes and municipalities. Forty years ago there were hardly
any communal roads in Lombardy deserving the name. The
communications between village and village, and between
these and the nearest high-road, were wretched tracks, which
served also as drains for the rain-water.
No one can be transported over the magnificent roads which
now intersect the plains of Lombardy, observe the high state
of cultivation, every foot of soil improved, behold the three
crops maturing at the same moment, witness . the unrivaled
system of irrigation by which the limpid waters of the Lakes
of Garda, Como, and Majora are conducted through it in canals
of various size, without being struck with the evident marks
of material prosperity.* The whole plain, as level as a floor,
is planted (with the exception of that portion occupied by the
road) with the trees of the mulberry, at a distance of about
every forty feet. These are kept closely trimmed, and not suf
fered to grow to a greater height than from fifteen to twenty
feet. By the side of each mulberry is planted the vine, which
is entwined around it, and, after reaching to its height, is ex
tended, and fastened to the vine, which has grown, in a similar
manner, around the next mulberry ; presenting, at a little dis
tance, the appearance of one continued arbor ; while in the in
tervening spaces, the ground, sufficiently open and exposed tc
the sun, is covered with a flourishing grain-crop. In the ad
joining field, separated from it only by a bank of earth planted
with willows — and which, as the only source of fuel for win
ter, are kept as closely trimmed as a friar's head — a rich and
luxuriant crop of rice may be seen, so level, and so intersect-
* They could commence what business or calling they pleased, without leave
in the other province

286 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
ed with canals and drains, that every spot of earth is equally
moistened, and the water under such perfect command as to be
introduced or excluded at any moment it may be desired. So
fai from the evidences of oppression and ruin, to the eye of the
traveler no more thriving agricultural region can be met with
throughout the length and breadth of the European Continent ;
certainly none in which every foot of land is so reduced to cul
tivation, or rendered subservient to the purposes of man. In
the neighborhood of Mantua, the birth-place of Virgil, which,
with its formidable fortress, stands like a sentinel on the plain,
the scholar may still behold the " sedgy banks of the Mincius,"
of which the poet sang ; but a " grove," a " brook," or even a
single "spreading beech" or "aerial elm," will be sought for
in vain.*
If not from the period when the barbarian hordes first inun
dated the plains of Italy, at least from the time when Barba
rossa and other German emperors razed their cities to the
ground, the prejudice and hatred which the Italians entertain
against the Tedeschi has never disappeared; and, notwith
standing the substantial and unmistakable indications of pros
perity which their situation presents, the " barbarians," as
they still call the Austrians, are regarded in the light of ruth
less oppressors.
It is true, as they complain that the Lombardo- Venetian
kingdom, while it contains in population but one seventh of
the inhabitants of the empire, furnishes one fourth of the taxes
for the support of the government, yet, as this is for the most
part an income-tax laid upon the productions of the country,
it should be no cause of complaint that, owing to its almost
boundless resources, the amount derived from that source forms
so great a proportion of the revenue of the state ; while a ref
erence to the annexed tablet shows that taxes demanded of
the people of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom amount per
head to but a little more than one half the sum paid by the
population of some other provinces of the empire. Venice may
have suffered some pecuniary loss, on account of the monop
oly of navigation given to the Austrian Lloyd steamers ; Milan,
* Personal observation.
t See Hubner's Table of Taxes, &c., Appendix, note No. 7.

Chap. IIL] Evils of Government. 287
beoause it was not allowed a bank of discount ; Pavia, because
it was deprived of its arsenal ; Brescia, that it was obliged to
stop her numerous armories ; Bergamo, that it was forced to
close its founderies. These were all matters of government
favor, which, if from motives of imperious necessity she con
sidered it her duty to withhold, such acts, instead of an in
fringement of private rights, or interference with personal lib
erty, ought rather to be considered as the legitimate effects of
the arbitrary institutions under which they existed.
While there were many things in the administration of the
government of which they had just cause of complaint, viz., that
the officers placed over them were mostly German, who had
no sympathy with the people or interest in the country ; that
the Central Congregations, composed of the minions of power,
failed to convey their complaints to the ear of majesty ; that
the restrictions thrown around the press were too rigid ; that
they were infested by crowds of secret spies, and overrun by
quantities of troops ;¦ yet these were all evils inseparable from
the nature of the government under which they unfortunately
lived, and which, perhaps, the peculiar attitude of the province
to the general government seemed imperatively to demand.
In the political condition of Venice, its annexation to the Aus
trian empire, however galling the imperial yoke, any change
must have been preferable to the awful terrors of the State
Inquisition. While we can not but condemn the base treach
ery by which her independence was destroyed, as well as dis
approve of that traffic, common among the monarchs of Eu
rope, by which whole states, with their entire population, are
transferred from one sovereign to another like chattels, with
out the shghtest knowledge or assent on the part of the peo
ple, yet the fact can not be disguised that, so far at least as con
cerned the physical condition of the population and the pros
perity of the city, the change to Venice could not but have been
a desirable one.
In 1815, when Venice was again occupied by Austrian troops,
it is said the suburbs were deserted and in ruins ; life had grad
ually ebbed from the extremities, and seemed to flutter but
faintly in its last retreat at the heart of the city, the Piazza
of St. Mark, The ports, choked up with sand, were inacces-

288 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
sible to larger vessels. The arsenal, which had furnished to
Dante that celebrated image of superhuman activity to which
he likens the never-ceasing labor of the " dark cherubim" of
his Malebolge, was now deserted and silent. The stores were
moldering in the magazines ; the half-finished vessels were rot
ting on the stocks.*
From this state of depression, a union with Austria offered
the only chance of escape. To Austria alone the possession of
Venice was valuable, as affording a military position of great
strength, and as an emporium of commerce ; while Austria
alone could give to Venice, in return, protection, wealth, and
importance. Under a stable government, commerce revived, property rose
in value, the city became again the resort of travelers, and the
wealthy proprietors of Germany seemed to delight in specula
tions which brought them to the beautiful shores of the Adri
atic. Such was the condition of Venice under Austrian rule. But,
as Italians, the Venetians were not unconscious of that move
ment for the regeneration of Italy, which, commencing at Rome
with the reforms of Pius the Ninth, and followed up by other
liberal sovereigns of Italy, had spread itself throughout every
portion of Italian soil.
On the 21st of December, 1847, in imitation of a similar
movement adopted at Milan by Nazari, a deputy of the Central
Congregation for that kingdom, Daniel Manin, addressed to the
Central Congregation of the Venetian province the following
communication :
" That during thirty-two years there had existed in the Lom
bardo- Venetian kingdom a national representation (since the
Central Congregations had been in operation for that space of
time), and whose duty it was to inform the government of the
wants and desires of the country ; but that during this long
period none of those desires had ever been communicated by
the Central Congregation ; that the government would, con
sequently, be led to believe that the people had nothing of which
to complain, and were therefore perfectly contented and happy.
* Quarterly Review, 1850.

Chap. IIL] Communication of Manin. 289
That the government was thus deceived by the silence of the
Central Congregation, since it was evident that the people
were neither contented nor happy, but were laboring under
many wants and just desires. That the silence on the part
of the Central Congregation was owing to the fear of doing
something which might be displeasing to the government. But
this fear was unjust and injurious to the government, in suppos
ing that it could have conceded to the kingdom a national rep
resentation as a mere burlesque. That it had deceived, and
was continuing to deceive, both this country and Europe, by
making laws which they did not wish should be observed, and
by prosecuting and punishing those .who attempted to observe
them. It was our duty to respect the government which rules
over us ; and every one who does respect it should believe that
the government desires to know the truth, and appreciates
those who make them feel it, while it disapproves of those who
conceal it. It was high time that the Central Congregation
should break through its long silence, and make known by
their acts that they are aware of the sacredness and importance
of their calling. The Lombardian Congregation had already
made the first step. One of its deputies, as a good citizen and
subject, had presented the annexed document, wherein he sug
gests that a commission should be nominated to investigate
the causes of discontent in the population, to search out the
remedies, and to report them. If this proposition should be ac
cepted, it might, as he believed, be attended with salutary re
sults, and prevent, perhaps, sad collisions. The example of our
sister state, Lombardy, was worthy of imitation ; and he trust
ed that the high Venetian Congregation would follow in her
footsteps, and, by so doing, promote the honor, the national pros
perity, and the public tranquillity."*
This address has been characterized as insolent in its lan
guage, and so extravagant in its demands, that the writer could
only have intended to force upon the government prosecutions
which would insure notoriety ; but, from the above most lit
eral as well as faithful translation of the document, it is diffi
cult to conceive how such a judgment in relation to it could

Biography of Manin.
T

290 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
possibly have been formed. Such an opinion is doubtless found
ed in error, and no less palpable than the statement by which
it is accompanied, viz., that the address was signed both by
Daniel Manin and Niccolo Tomaseo.
On the 30th of December, nine days after, Niccolo Tomaseo
made a speech in the Athenaeum of Venice, upon the subject
of the imperial decree of 1815, relative to the censorship of the
press, in which he introduced a petition to the emperor, pray
ing that the people should be protected in the practical enjoy
ment of the rights granted in that decree. The petition was
altogether respectful, as well as his remarks, in which he sus
tained the application by reason and argument, as well as by
a reference to the laws of Austria and the adjoining states.
Niccolo Tomaseo, a Dalmatian by birth, has been known as
an author of some distinction ; he is a poet as well as a writer
of romances, and was at one time, on account of his liberal
opinions, excluded from the Austrian dominions.
Daniel Manin, although he bears the name of the last Doge
-of Venice, is not connected with him by blood. He was the
son of Peter Manin, advocate, and Anna Bellotto, of Padua,
and was born at the eapital, on the 20th of June, 1804. Pie
was educated at the college of St. Giustina, at Padua, and dis
tinguished himself by his studious habits and rapid acquire
ments. He pursued the study of the law, and at the age of
twenty-eight years was admitted an advocate at the Venetian
bar.* On the 18th of January, 1848, Daniel Manin and Niccolo
Tomaseo were arrested and thrown into prison. As the biog
rapher of the former states, " the domicile of Manin was vio
lated by Austrian police-officers, with their commissaries and
satellites, his privacy was invaded, his papers seized, and his
person placed under criminal arrest."t
During the month of January, as evidence of the growing
spirit of excitement among the people, an affair took place at
the theatre, which liked to have proved serious, and to have
* His intense application gave him a disease of the eyes. During his study
of law he translated Justinian's Pandects. Theresa Ferrisinatti, daughter of a
Venetian advocate, read to him ; this kindness ripened into love, and she after
ward became his wife. t Signor P. A. Monterossi,

Chap. IIL] Manin and Tomaseo Imprisoned. 291
brought on, at that time, a general outbreak. Cereto, the fa
mous danseuse, appeared upon the stage, with her dress and
decorations representing the white, red, and green colors, adopt
ed every where, by universal consent, as the future symbols
of independent Italy ; and the enthusiasm which that slight
circumstance awakened was so intense, that the police were
obliged to enter the theatre, disperse the audience, and close
the doors. Violence and bloodshed would probably have oc
curred on the occasion, had not the police taken the precaution
to surround the theatre with so large a force as to render any
attempt on the part of the people useless and absurd.
The news of the outbreaks occurring in various parts of
Lombardy had not been without its effect upon the popula
tion of Venice, when, on the 16th of March, vague rumors of
the Revolution in Vienna, and the fall of Metternich, produced
an intense but deeply-smothered excitement. The joyful in
telligence could be read most legibly in the dark countenances
of the Italians ; every one knew it ; but, unable to contain
themselves, they hurried from point to point, from group to
group ; and yet no one dared to communicate, and many not
even to credit, the happy tidings.
On the following day, the 17th, the Austrian-Lloyd steamer
from Trieste brought a full confirmation of the events which
had transpired in Vienna ; and, with the rapidity of electricity,
it was immediately conveyed through the city. Soon after the
arrival of the boat, a crowd was seen moving from the Piazza
of St. Mark toward the harbor, animated by cries of mutual
encouragement ; the indolent loungers about the piazza, at
tracted by the noise, hurried in that direction ; the guards who
stood sentinels at the doge's palace seized their arms, when
another band of about two hundred men, of the better class,
both old and young, were observed coming from the sea-side,
and moving toward the square of St. Mark, with rude banners
flying, made by attaching white handkerchiefs to sticks ; and
this band reiterated every moment the cries of " Manin and
Tomaseo !"*
* The piazza opening from St. Mark's to the sea in front, and lined on one side
by the ducal, and on the other by the governor's palace, with its two superb pil
lars of granite, surmounted, one by the winged lion of St. Mark, and the other by

292 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
The united crowds now stopped in front of the governor's
palace, which lies between the quai and the piazza ; and im
mediately confused cries arose. Count Palfy, the civil gov
ernor, appeared on the open balcony ; he commenced to speak
of his attachment to Venice, but his voice was soon drowned
by the loud interruptions of the crowd. • Suddenly, a deputa
tion was dispatched to the governor, to inform him of the de
sires of the people for the liberation of Manin and Tomaseo.
The situation of Count Palfy was, perhaps, an embarrassing
one. Some days before, his wife had been insulted in the
open street, by persons of the better class, and followed home
with cries of derision and contempt. Repeatedly, of late, he
had received anonymous letters, threatening his life and that of
his children. He stood in a land of strangers, without support ;
while the Vice-president Sabregandi enjoyed among his coun
trymen but slight consideration and esteem, and still less ener
getic assistance could be looked for from his other counselors.
Unable or unwUling to resist the popular importunity, the gov
ernor accorded the boon. Appearing again upon the balcony,
the trembling count commenced an address to the crowd with
the remark, " Faccio quel che non dovrei,"* but the residue
of the speech was delivered without an audience, as, with one
simultaneous movement, they all hurried to the prisons. While
these things were transpiring in front of the governor's palace,
the people on the piazza were not idle ; in a moment, the cafes,
with which that grand square abounds, and which were re
spectively named in honor of the emperor or some other royal
dignitary, had, as if by enchantment, changed their inscrip
tions, and were converted into Cafe of the " Union," Cafe
Manin, Cafe Tomaseo, &c. Striking as was this change, it
was less so than that of the countenances of the gathering
crowd, transformed from their recent sadness, which pervaded
aU ranks, to glowing joy ; but more remarkable than either
change was the conduct of the Italians and Austrians, who had
hitherto regarded each other with the most bitter jealousy and
hatred, now embracing, and in raptures, exclaiming, " We are
all brothers!" "we are all free!" And, indeed, the occasion
St. George and the Dragon, standing insulated in the centre, forms a grand, airy,
and animated scene. * I do what I ought not to do.

Chap. IIL] Release of Manin and Tomaseo. 293
seemed to be regarded as a political millennium — the dawn of
a brighter day upon the fortunes, both of Austria and Italy.
Manin and Tomaseo were released. The latter retired im
mediately to his peaceful lodgings. The former, with his neg
lected dress and disheveled hair, was conducted in triumph
through the city. " From this time," says the biographer,
"these two heroes — these two friends of the people — com
menced their reign in Venice ; and at the same epoch the peo
ple themselves recovered all the pristine energy of the early
days of their history." Before the Cathedral of St. Mark,
which forms one side of the grand piazza of that name, are
three great standards, erected by the old republio, as symbols
of its power over the three kingdoms of the Morea, Cyprus,
and Candia ; and on which, since the dominion of Austria, the
white and red flag* was always hoisted on festive days. Sud
denly the Italian tricolor appeared on the top of one of these
standards ; and a few minutes after a man approaching with
the imperial standard, with the view of hoisting it in the place
of the other, it was immediately wrested from him, and torn
into a thousand pieces.
The officers of government, recognizing in these revolution
ary indications the commencement of an insurrection, imme
diately ordered alarm-guns to be fired from the military guard-
ship in the harbor. Although the meaning of those ominous six
shots was well understood by the people, yet the tumult con
tinued, despite the preparations. Suddenly the tramp of mili
tary was heard from all directions ; and in a moment the Piazza
of St. Mark was crowded with troops and bristling with arms.
The people, regarding each other with anxious and inquiring
looks, demanded what was intended by these warlike prepara
tions, as no enemy appeared, and the only thing observed in
connection with this hostile display was the transportation of
a long ladder to take down the Italian tricolor, which still
waved from one of the standards. The attempt was accord
ingly made, and failed ; and, slight as the circumstance was,
it spoke volumes, and was decisive of the fate of Austrian rule
in Venice. If the exhibition of the national symbol was so se-
* Flag of the Austrian Provinces.

294 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
rious an offense, why not have made use of the supple crews of
the navy, who were at hand, or felled the standard, and brought
the revolutionary flag to the ground ? The government would
thus have shown that they were determined to act with ener
gy, to be undaunted by opposition, and that they would not
surrender their power untU desperate resistance had proved
unavailing ; but by making a feeble attempt to displace the
Italian standard, they exhibited the importance they attached
to the revolutionary movement, while their hesitation to ac
complish it taught the people to despise an authority which
they could thus brave with impunity. By such weak and
vacillating conduct, the ardor of the troops was damped — the
activity of the police paralyzed ; and the obstinate forbearance
of the governor tended rather to promote the collision it was
his object to prevent. Later in the evening, the great alarm-
bell in the Cathedral of. St. Mark was sounded. The first im
pression which its startling tones produced was that a con
flagration had occurred. How could it have been otherwise,
as the garrison was posted next to the tower, and the ringing
of the alarm-bell was naturally thought to have originated with
the government ? It was, in truth, the storm-bell, and all the
mob and rabble were summoned from the piazza, to spread
disorder and tumult through the city. A few bold and reso
lute Revolutionists had entered the tower, and sounded the
tocsin with all the violence in their power, until dislodged by
a division of grenadiers sent for that purpose. But to negleot
the occupation of the tower, such a common measure of precau
tion when an insurrection was expected, and when so many
preparations were made to meet it, exhibited a want of prop
er foresight as difficult to explain as it would be impossible to
excuse. The mob collected by the sound of the tocsin, increasing in
number from minute to minute, and becoming more and more
violent, rendered the danger of collision and bloodshed immi
nent ; when the patriarch of the city, in his ecclesiastical robes,
presented himself upon the balcony of the governor's palace,
pronounced his benediction on the people, and enjoined on
them the preservation of order and tranquillity. The masses,
supposing that the "holy father" was about to communicate

Chap. IIL] Troops Fire on the Rabble. 295
some message from the governor, rushed toward the palace.
The military and its commanders, mistaking this movement
for a general attack, advanced under the order of " Charge
bayonet !" and the crowd, pressed in this manner, soon dis
persed in wild flight. With the exception of some slight
wounds, and a few broken panes in the glass doors of the cafes,
this maneuver of the military was attended with no more seri
ous result. The crowd dispersed, the military withdrew, and
the night passed off quietly, while the Italian tricolor contin
ued to wave from the standard of St. Mark. The governor that
night, in consultation with the municipal authorities and Cen
tral Congregation, requested their views as to the best mode
of calming the tumult, when Manin proposed the temporary
establishment of a Civic Guard ; but this proposition they im
mediately declined to entertain.
The next day, Saturday the 18th, every appearance indi
cated that some event of moment would ensue ; for, at an ear
ly hour, all the shops were closed, the mob began to gather in
the streets and on the piazza; the military approached. The
mob that had collected on the piazza, and till then amused
itself by ridiculing and insulting the troops, undisturbed in
its petulancy, began now to tear up the large paving stones
in the middle of the place, and to dash them down against the
pavement with violence, in order to break them into small
er pieces capable of being thrown at the troops. As these
things were transpiring under the eyes of the main guard, a
division was dispatched to drive the actors away. The crowd
immediately dispersed ; but, as the troops turned to march
back to their posts, a volley of stones was discharged at them
by the mob. The troops immediately wheeled, and, facing the
thoughtless rabble, fired in the air ; but their adversaries, dis
regarding all the warnings they had received, still persisted in
their insults and attacks, and the military next fired at their
persons, when three fell dead, and seven were more or less dan
gerously wounded. .
"The Germans have fired!" was soon heard and echoed
throughout the whole city, and the excitement, already great,
was vastly increased. " We must have our Civic Guard !"
was the next cry; "we must protect ourselves against such

296 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
massacres." Although the governor had on that day, for a
second time, refused the application of Manin for a Civic Guard,
yet, after the fire of the troops, his firmness gave way, and he
signed the order for the enrollment of that force ; and, as Sig-
nor Monterossi truly observes, with it signed the abdication of
Austrian authority in Venice. It was late in the afternoon
when placards announced this concession of the governor, but,
on the instant of their appearance, men of all classes and ages,
armed with any kind of weapon they could command, were
seen hurrying to the place of appointment. Tranquillity was
immediately restored throughout the city ; again every heart
was filled with joy, and a brilliant theatre formed the closing
scene of that eventful day. Later in the night, joyful shouts
again resounded in the Piazza of St. Mark, when the governor
communicated, as he had promised, the intelligence from Vi
enna (brought by the steamer which had just arrived) which
promised to the monarchy a new life, and, under the protec
tion of Heaven, a more brilliant future.
Sunday, l§th of March. The Sabbath came. All rose
with light hearts ; the hour of threatening outbreak from the
wild fury of the mob seemed to have passed by. A few hor
rible specimens of the rabble flitted across the piazza, like dark
clouds aoross a clear sky ; but their day of triumph had rolled
by ; their power was gone, as the armed citizens, now formed
into a regular guard, it was thought would certainly keep them
in subjection. The Piazza of St. Mark, that grand saloon of
the fashionable world, was adorned as if for a festival. Rich
carpets were hung from all the windows. During the morn
ing, white and red were the only colors visible ; but later in
the day a green was observed to have been added to the col
lection. White, by general acceptation in all the recent revo
lutions of Europe, signified constitutional ; white and red
were the provincial colors of Austria ; and white, red, and
green were the Italian tricolor. All olasses of people, like the
gondolas on their own Grand Canal, seem to glide along with
buoyancy on a sea of enjoyment. The nobility, as well as the
wealthy and intelligent people who could appreciate the con
cessions of the government, were in transports at the thought
of the freedom which was in store for them ; while the lower

Chap. IIL] Demoralization of the Troops. 297
ranks and rabble had reason to be delighted, as their portion
consisted in something more appreciable as well as substantial
than imperial promises — since every salutation of " Eviva
V Italia .'" addressed by them to the more decently attired,
was sure to call forth a handful of livres.
But the most ominous feature in the occurrences of this
day was the open fraternization which seemed to be every
where going on between civilians and the Italian regular troops.
Italian grenadiers arm in arm with persons in civil costume,
might be seen lounging about the piazza, or wandering from
one cafe or restaurant to another, with hands full of money,
and Italian ribbons dangling from their button-holes. The
same course was prosecuted, and with like success, with the
navy and infantry. It was remarkable that no step should
have been taken by the Austrian commanders, not the slight
est effort made to prevent an association from which the most
disastrous consequences could only have been looked for. A
simple proclamation, explaining to the troops the concessions
from the crown, and showing that it had created no change in
their duties and relations to a flag which they had sworn to
support, and under which they might still earn unfading lau
rels, could but have been attended with beneficial results ;
while a military festival in honor of the occasion would have
been quite appropriate, have kept the troops together, occupied
their attention, and preserved them from the seductions of idle
ness and intrigue.
The 20th and 21st of March passed over, without an out
break or the commission of any overt act; but it was evident
that something terrible was in contemplation. The people had
suddenly acquired great boldness of speech, and discoursed
without reserve of the matters of the day, instead of carefully
looking to the right and to the left, to see that no listener was
near, before they dared to whisper in the ear of a confidant.
While the people had become emboldened, the government, on
the other hand, had become intimidated. The yards and en
trances of the governor's and viceroy's palaces were crowded
with soldiers of the Grentzer regiment, the most loyal and reli
able troops in Venice, who there, with arms in hand, seemed
to await momentarily an attack. The authority of the gov-

298 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
ernmeiit, in fact, was suspended, or, rather, transferred to the
Republican leaders ; and their measures were marked with as
much shrewdness and audacity as those of Count Palfy with
weakness and vacillation. A conspiracy was on foot, a scheme
in contemplation, for the success of which it became necessary
to put in circulation the most wild and exaggerated reports ;
as, that the city was to be bombarded, or destroyed by mines
dug in various parts of it, or by rockets and other infernal de
vices designed to multiply death and destruction ; and that all
these diabolical purposes were the invention of Marinovich,
the commandant of the arsenal. It is an old proverb. in Ven
ice (dating, doubtless, from the days when the mighty thunder
bolts prepared in that work-shop struck terror in every sea),
that " whoever is in possession of the arsenal is master of Ven
ice ;" this the insurgents knew, and to it tended all their meas
ures. Their plan was simple : first a Civic Guard, as numer
ous and well-informed as possible ; then its introduction, either
by stratagem or force, into the arsenal, and all was accom
plished. The biographer of Manin states : " Already, on the
night preceding the 22d of March, Tomaseo, together with
many other generous patriots, had assembled at the house
of Manin, all anxious to co-operate in the liberation of their
country. Various means were discussed, and it was at last
resolved to gain possession of the arsenal, and to cry out
' Viva San Marco.' Our people would have paid no attention
to the promise of a constitutional government — few of their i
number would have understood it. It was necessary to arouse
that sleeping lion, which had remained on the belfry tower
during the universal monarchy of Napoleon, as well as under
the tyranny of Austria — in proof that neither should last for
ever. This was the opinion of Manin, and his advice pre
vailed."* For this purpose, Marinovich must die. An assas
sination seemed the necessary precursor of all reforms, the in
dispensable prelude of all political changes of the year 1848.
At Rome, Vienna, Prague, Pesth, Frankfort, and Baden, this
method had been pursued under various circumstances of
treachery and cruelty. * Monterossi.

Chap. IIL] Murder of Marinovich. 299
Colonel Marinovich was a naval officer of much ability and
talent ; ¦ but with the marines and workmen under his com
mand he was exceedingly unpopular, on account of the strict
discipline which he exacted. He had been appointed express
ly to reform the numerous abuses in that department, and by
his indomitable energy this object was accomplished. The pil-
ferings of wood from the arsenal by upward of one thousand
workmen — and by means of which, in times past, whole houses
had been built in Venice — were prevented by the insertion of
iron gratings at all the outer windows, and a search of the
men as they left the arsenal, and every offense committed was
punished either by a deduction from their wages or immedi
ate dismissal. These things had strongly embittered all the
workmen against him, and that feeling was still increased by
the circumstance, that he was rewarded by the government
with honors and increased salary, while, upon his recommend
ation, their wages had been diminished.
As he was the source from whence every order issued in
the arsenal, the odium of all the unpopular measures or severe
restrictions necessarily fell on him ; but of his fidelity to the
Austrian government there can be no doubt ; while, to his fore
sight and judgment, that power is indebted for the greatest
part of the fleet which, in anticipation of such difficulties, he
had dispatched to the more secure harbor of Pola.
Colonel Marinovich, on the afternoon of the 21st, with diffi
culty escaped a plot that had been laid for his destruction.
The workmen of the arsenal had assembled in the squares and
on the bridges leading to that building, after they were dis
missed from labor, with the intention of waylaying and mur
dering the commandant, or, in the language of the official state
ment of the matter, " to watch the wild beast, as it issued from
its lair, to assail it with stones and brickbats, and to knock
it down and drown it." This plot was defeated by the pres
ence of mind of Marinovich himself in the first instance ; but
some officers of the establishment having afterward obtained
the help of a detachment of the Civic Guard, the leaders of that
force, after much entreaty, procured the consent of the con
spirators to the escape of their victim by the promise (for which
he gave them no authority) that on the very same day he

300 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
would send in his resignation. He was conducted on board the
corvette that guarded the harbor, and there he passed the night.
March 22d. "Who would have thought," pursues the offi
cial document,* " that the following day (the 22d) he would
have again returned to the arsenal ? It was by the special per
mission of Heaven that he should be blinded by his obstinacy,
and should run upon his miserable fate ; for upon that life de
pended the destruction of Venice ; and on his death, its libera
tion from the yoke of the barbarians immediately ensued, with
safety and regeneration — a real miracle of Providence."
On the morning of that day the friends of Marinovich at
tempted to dissuade him from the rashness of appearing at the
arsenal among the enraged workmen. General De Martini en
deavored even to detain the unfortunate man. But all their
efforts proved unavailing. In accordance, however, with their
suggestion, he resolved, instead of entering the great gate, and
thus exciting observation, to obtain admission to the arsenal
by a small side door. But this door being locked, he was
obliged to send for the key. The messenger, being one of the
plot, immediately notified all his companions of the approach
of the commandant, whom they earnestly awaited, by the cry
of " The key of the door for Colonel Marinovich." The com
mandant, immediately surrounded by a threatening crowd, di
rected his steps toward a round tower near the Porta Nuova,
with the intention of securing himself there until the arrival
of assistance. He found the door leading to the garret closed,
and the entry door, which he had immediately locked behind
him, was soon forced by the infuriated mob. The unfortunate
man stood at the top of the stairs with two pistols and a drawn
sword. Seeing that resistance was useless, he asked his, pur
suers if they "desired to take him alive or dead." "Alive,"
was the immediate reply ; and one seized his sword, a second
struck him on his face, and a third, with a pointed weapon,
ran him through the body. He fell to the floor, and was drag
ged down stairs, his head striking each step in his descent.
Forming a circle around him in the yard, they seemed to en
joy the last agonies of this slowly-dying man. His body was
pierced through with innumerable wounds, inflicted with in-
* " Authentic notices of the death of Colonel Marinovich.' ' — Raccolta.

Chap. IIL] Capture of the Arsenal. 301
struments purposely selected, it was said, to mangle the flesh
more hideously* " Thus died," continues the document, " the
bad man, visibly punished by the hand of God for having con
ceived the horrible design of ruining the country of which he
was the unworthy and degenerate son."
As soon as the murder was committed, and the report of it
had passed out of the arsenal, a division of the Civic Guard
who were in the neighborhood, headed by Manin and Toma
seo, marched to the spot, where the slight resistance offered
by the admiral, De Martini, was quickly overcome. Manin
demanded the keys of the arsenal, and, on being refused, the
doors were soon forced, and the arms seized and distributed
among the crowd.
One division after another of the Civic Guard entered, until
they amounted to about five or six hundred, when, with a fuU
knowledge and consciousness that the hour for a decisive blow
had arrived, they declared themselves in possession of the ar
senal. Admiral Martini, treacherously caUed and caught, is
pronounced a prisoner. The major of the battaUon of naval
troops, Budai, attempted to opppose with his force the Civic
Guard, and commanded his men to fire ; but they not only re
fused obedience to the order, but feU upon their commander,
and wounded him most dangerously. The battalion of Grentz-
ers stood by with loaded cannon, and, opposed by the civic
artillery (whose cannons, it was afterward discovered, were
not even charged), enter into a capitulation to lay down their
arms. All opposition subdued, Manin, exercising the author
ity of a chief, bestowed the command of the arsenal on Colonel
Graziani, promoted for the occasion. He and Tomaseo, from
the steps of the building, then harangued the people. They an
nounced the restoration of the old republic, and departed amid
cries of " Viva San Marco." While these things were trans
piring at the arsenal, the governor and mUitary commandant,
who had taken no pains either to avert the disaster, or to in
terrupt its progress, were closeted in the royal palace with the
counselors. * If this be true, their course was more brutal than that of the Spartans, after the
battle of Plateea, when they proposed to inflict on the body of the fallen Mardonius
the same indignities which the Persians had exhibited toward their own Leonidas,

302 .Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
The governor, Count Palfy, a Hungarian by birth, had re
sided long in Venice, and been employed there even before its
government had been committed to his charge. Frank and
open in his manners, easy of approach, and generally obliging,
he was personally liked and respected, and was' never believed
capable of so much weakness and pusillanimity as he exhibited
in the last hours of his command. General Count Zichy, the
military commandant, also a native of Hungary, had exhibited
in his youth all the courage and resolution that belong to his
country and profession ; but habits of indolence and self-indul
gence had completely unmanned him, and shaken the firmness
of his nerves. He possessed now none of that moral courage
and strength of purpose which the exigency of the times de
manded. The news of the capture of the arsenal and the murder of
Marinovich had carried the consternation of these officials to
its climax. Shortly after appeared a deputation* from the
Municipal Assembly, with proposals for a general surrender.
Hereupon Count Palfy resigned his command to Count Zichy,
who entered into a capitulation with this self-constituted coun
cil, who found, to their infinite astonishment, that they had
actually succeeded in persuading an Austrian general, with
a garrison of five thousand men, to surrender without a de
feat, nay, without even an effort to defend his trust. Their
spokesman was a lawyer, Signor Avesani, and the argument
he adopted was the propriety of saving the city from the risk
of an attack, and the cruelty of exposing human life in a hope
less conflict. Such, indeed, were the motives assigned by the
general himself, on trial before a court-martial at Olmiitz;
but the court failed to recognize their validity. That the peo
ple possessed arms at all was owing to the folly and negligence
of the government ; but both Palfy and Zichy were well ac
quainted with the theatre of operations, and they should have
known that, even provided with arms, there was nothing to
fear from the people, who possessed neither the skill nor the
courage to use them. The plea of humanity ostentatiously
advanced on this occasion, and so frequently pleaded in other
* Advocate Avesani, Leoni Pincherle, Fabbris (central deputy), and Mengaldo
were the deputation.

Chap. UL] Capitulation of the Austrians. 303
countries, is merely a paltry and hypocritical excuse for cow-
ardice. The heavy expense of maintaining armies and garri
soning fortresses might indeed be retrenched, if, on the pretext
of humanity, their assistance is to be discarded when it is
most needed. The first duty of every soldier is to maintain
the post committed to his charge ; nor should it be considered
that the fine buildings of a town can be dearer to him than
his duty and his honor*
On the present occasion, the plea of humanity admitted by
General Zichy could only hold good if he knew that no effort
would be made by his master to reconquer the rebellious city.
Had the contest begun at that moment, there can be little
question how it would have terminated ; and, had the loss of
life and property risen to a higher amount than the largest
computation can carry it, it must have fallen very far short
of that which actually occurred during the prolonged siege and
final capture of Venice. After a little undignified disputing,
which served only to enhance the triumph of the Venetians,
the capitulation was signed. t
It is reported of Zichy, and it is feared with too much truth,
that, as soon as he was apprised of the murder of Marinovich,
and the capture of the arsenal, he became so completely un
nerved that he retired to bed, and there remained until the
arrival of the deputation with the capitulation. On being in
formed that the document was all prepared, and that nothing
more would be necessary for him to do than simply to sign it ;
quite relieved, he sprang up, without a moment's hesitation
affixed his signature to the instrument, and then, rubbing his
hands, with the most ineffable complacency exclaimed, " Now,
thank God, I shall eat my dinner in peace."
At the earnest entreaty of the governor, the last article of
the treaty, allowing the soldiers pay and subsistence for three
months, was agreed to, but all other requests were refused.
When any pretension was advanced that displeased the dele
gates, Signor Avesani overcame all opposition by threatening
war ; and to the abject entreaties of Count Palfy not to be
detained as a hostage, appealing to his general good character
* London Quarterly, January, 1850.
t For the capitulation of the Austrians, see Appendix, note No. 8.

304 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
as a title of indulgence, he replied by giving a qualified appro
bation of his conduct till within the last three months, after
which period, " from pursuing the commands of Prince Met
ternich, he had committed the heaviest faults, faults shared
by the Nestor of diplomacy, which brought the Austrian mon
archy to ruin."
The treaty was on the point of being interrupted a few
moments after its execution. In consequence of a miscon
struction of the third article, an attempt was made to deprive
the Kinsky regiment of their arms. Officers and men alike
refused to submit to the indignity. Colonel Culoz closed the
doors of the barracks, and threatened an armed resistance.
The terrified victors began to doubt whether the refractory
regiment would retreat at all, and it was without much hesi
tation that the Venetians accorded them any terms to get rid
of them, the honors of war and whatever else if pleased them
to demand. Having witnessed with equal astonishment and
delight the departure of the Austrians, the whole crowd re
paired to the Piazza St. Mark, where Manin, in a short and
animated speech, proclaimed victory, enjoined upon the people
order and moderation, and, under vivas for the Republic of St.
Mark, the crowd dispersed.*
With the capitulation of Venice, the Italian revolution in
Lombardy had arrived at its culminating point. As we have
seen in the preceding chapter Peschiera, had fallen into the
hands of the Piedmontese, and the Austrian forces were restrict
ed to Verona and Mantua, and those intermediate posts by
which their communication was preserved with the Tyrol. A
period had now arrived when Italy had an opportunity of re
covering her long-sought independence, and, could her counsels
but have been directed by prudence and moderation, success
would assuredly have crowned her efforts. At this time two
plans were presented by the imperial government, through its
agent, Count Hartig,t to the Lombards and Venetians, on ei-
* In half an hour after the republic was proclaimed, little boys were running,
tearing down the little tin signs marking the insured houses, because they contain
ed the double-headed eagle, and throwing them into the water. The wonderful
Madonna of St. Mark, brought out for the worship of the crowd, and the death of
Marinovich proclaimed the first miracle.
t Count Hartig left Vienna on his errand of peace, Sth April, 1848.

Chap. IIL] Failure of Negotiations. 305
ther of which, as a basis, Austria was willing to treat for
peace, and upon which the mediation of England was asked,
and by Lord Palmerston refused, on the ground that they
were not sufficiently liberal to suit the views of one of the
contending parties.
1st. The complete independence of the Lombardo- Venetian
kingdom (with the reservation of a supremacy, little more than
nominal, of the emperor), and possessing a viceroy, an admin
istration, and an army of its own. Or, 2d. The absolute ces
sion of Lombardy, with the concentration of the Austrian forces
in Verona, and the continued occupation of the Venetian terri
tory* But the course of the Austro-Italians furnished but an
other to the many examples with which history abounds, of
"vaulting ambition o'erleaping itself," or a refusal of just and
liberal terms in a vain struggle to obtain that whioh, in rea
son, they had no right to expeot.
But their prosperity, produced by the temporary success
which attended their efforts ; that the Milanese, without arms,
had driven off the well-disciplined and fully-equipped army of
Radetzky ; that the King of Piedmont had, without opposition,
overrun the plains of Lombardy, inspired them with a blind
and fatal confidence.
The political state of Europe, too, tended still further to
delude them. The Democratic cause was every where tri
umphant. Austria, rent by civil war, was powerless, both in
the capital and in the provinces ; foreign aid was not within
her call, for, in the state of anarchy to which Germany was
then reduced, she looked to that quarter in vain for support.
Nor could Russia venture to contract an alliance with the fee
ble ministry which the students of the Aula controlled, while
France, so far from operating against the rebellious provinces,
stood pledged, by the proclamation of Lamartine, to aid all
" oppressed nationalities."
What terms more liberal or advantageous than those actu
ally offered could reasonably be expected from Austria, it is
difficult to conceive ; but Italy, all Italy, all the sub-Alpine
regions, that never before were called Italy, all that was

Blue Book of English Parliament.
U

306 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
necessary to give Italy security ; Trient, the Italian Tyrol, the
valley of the Isonzo, Istria, and Dalmatia, all were insufficient
to gratify the expansive nationality of the patriotic leaders.
The town and territory of Trieste even were claimed, without
which the trade of Venice, it was said, would be injured, a de
mand not even made by the grasping ambition of Napoleon,
after the victory of Austerlitz, the capture of the capital, and
the subjugation of the entire surrounding country. But at
this very moment, when the delirium of Italian self-confidence
was at its highest, and they would have no arbiter but the
sword, the tide of success was already turning, and the Aus
trian monarchy was thus saved from dismemberment, no less
by the perverseness of Lord Palmerston in refusing his me
diation, and the overweening self-confidence of the Italians in
declining the proffered terms, than by the irresistible sword of
Radetzky, which drove the invaders from the soil, and subdued
all opposition within the territory.
In justification of his course, the governor, Count Palfy, now
made the following explanation : "I must acknowledge the
afflicting feeling of sorrow on the occasion of the loss of Ven
ice, (feelings honorable to every faithful subject of Austria) ;
the fact is, several too hasty reports are put in circulation,
which tend to cast censure on my conduct in that city, and
which are altogether without foundation. I am, therefore,
compelled to publish the following facts. Immediately after
the commencement of the revolution on the part of the people
and the municipality, I perceived the necessity of placing the
unlimited authority into the hands of the imperial and royal
commander of the military forces, which, according to the ex
isting laws, was done on the 22d of March at two o'clock P.M.
Shortly after this act, I was imprisoned, and confined under a
strong guard at my apartment. In the same manner, I was
conducted to the steamer, without coming in contact with
any one. Therefore it is evident that I have not had any
influence upon the capitulation, of which I was quite igno
rant, and which is not signed by me. I protest, therefore,
that I have taken no part in the aforesaid capitulation. On
the 26th of March I made a full and detailed report (accom
panied by all the documents) to the highest authority ; and as

Chap. IIL] Superstition of the People. 307
I have requested the ministry to publish a statement of the
last occurrences, as far as it concerns my sphere of action and
my conduct, I await quietly the result of my request. Every
one will then be convinced that I never neglected my duty,
either before or after the unfortunate catastrophe, as a servant
of the state and as a man of honor."
A Provisional Government was instantly proclaimed, of
which Manin was the chief, with Tomaseo as his principal
adviser.* The various offices of state were divided among the
different actors of the drama, or the most enthusiastic friends
of the revolutionary movement.
Pincherle, a Jew, to whom was assigned the Bureau of Com
merce, was a man of ability, and had been Secretary of the
Insurance Company of Venice, a post of note and responsi
bility ; but Toffoli, the tailor, who also had a place in the min
istry, was distinguished for nothing but the violence of his en
thusiasm, and his activity in exciting the ardor of the popula
tion. Religion was invoked to act upon a population, devout after
their own fashion, and much addicted to superstition. The
wonder-working picture of the Madonna, kept in the Cathedral
of St. Mark, having been exposed on the piazza that day, the
people immediately exclaimed that the revolution was a mira
cle of the Madonna. t The cardinal patriarch was caUed forth
to pronounce a benediction, and to call down the blessings of
Heaven on the new-born republic, while, at the same time, a
placard was addressed to the people containing the following
propositions: "Jesus Christ was crucified for sustaining the
cause for which we are fighting. The patience with which
we support our martyrdom proves that we are his chosen serv
ants. If one among us should be found endeavoring to shake
our firmness, let us slay him."
Owing to the insular position of Venice, as soon as the Aus-
* The Provisional Government was composed as follows : Messrs. Daniel Ma
nin, President ; Nicholas Tomaseo, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; Antonio Paduluc-
ci, Minister of Marine ; Jacopo Castelli, of Justice; General Solera, of War; Pietro
Palcocopa, of Public Works ; Francesco Camerata, of Finance ; Leon Pincherle, of
Interior ; Toffoli, without port-folio.
t " E un miraculo della madonna."

308 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
trians had sailed, the city was free from immediate attack and
alarm, as if she had been independent for centuries.
Nothing occurred to disturb the peace except the storming
of the Imperial Pawning Establishment by the mob. The
Provisional Government devoted itself to the promulgation of
decrees. Among the first of these was one establishing a flag
for the new republic, as follows : The flag of the Venetian re
public was composed of three colors — green, white and red;
the green next the staff, the white in the middle, and the red
at the end. At the top, the yellow lion, on a white ground,
bordered with the three colors. The three colors, common to
aU the Italian flags, signify the Italian Confederation. The
lion the particular symbol of one of the Italian states.
Instructions were issued to the commanders of fortresses,
and to the captains of the ports, relative to the admission of
foreign vessels to the city. Correspondence between Bishops
and Popes to be free ; importation of arms allowed ; duties on
Sardinian wines, and stamp duties on newspapers, abolished.
Public officers not to accept bank-notes. The engineer depart
ment, being a branch of the Vienna institution, abolished. Ev
ery accused person to be furnished with an advocate. Instead
of a Senate, or supreme tribunal, a commission of revision ap
pointed. People to make known their wishes through the
press and petitions, and not to indulge in mobs and riots.
But the most important decree, perhaps, was, that each of the
provinces which had given in its adhesion to the new repub
lic should elect and send to Venice three counselors, and that
the Provisional Government should also elect three. The
council so formed to meet on the 10th of April, to appoint its
own president, and to regulate the order of its discussions.
All other provinces which might send in their adhesions to ac
quire an equal right to elect three counselors. The council
to assemble in the Ducal Palace, and maintain a direct corre
spondence with the Provisional Government.
The next task which occupied the attention of the Provi
sional Government of Venice was the preparation of addresses,
which were immediately dispatched to all the foreign powers,
the contents of which were as follows : In the note to the
Pope, they promise never to disturb the cause of order in the

Chap. IIL] Addresses of the Republic 309
neighboring states, and notify his holiness of their intention
to become a party to the Italian Zoll- Verein. The addresses
to France* and England contained nothing but assurances of
friendship. In the address to the United States of America,
they bring to the recollection of the government the historical
fact that a citizen of one Italian republic had been the dis
coverer of their country, while a citizen of another Italian re
public had given name to the new continent ; that the new
republic confesses that it has still much to learn from the re
public beyond the ocean ; and further states that it is her in
tention to maintain free and peacefully the inheritance of their
ancestors, and to contribute, to the extent of their power, to
the development and progress of mankind. The address to
Greece refers to the former relations of friendship which ex
isted between the Ionian Isles and Venice. They trust that
common remembrances and hopes, for the future, as well as
common interests, may still connect these two states more
closely. In the collective note to Sardinia, Naples, and Tus
cany, the desire is expressed to remain on intimate relations
without claiming any separate advantage. At last, the joint
note to Russia, Prussia, Turkey, Holland, Belgium, Switzer
land, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Bavaria, Han
over, &c, is as follows : " A part of the old Venetian states has
constituted itself a republic. In communicating to you this
fact we do not feel ourselves called upon to justify or explain
it. Upon history will devolve this task. We shall enhance
the glory of our triumph by moderation in our language and
in our actions. God has made our victory easy, and that fa
cility must inspire us with a still deeper feeling of duty. We
hope to find our strength in that sentiment of duty ; we shall
meet all apprehensions of danger by respect for existing rights,
and stamp with sacredness our revolution. We expect that
our new Constitution, which sooner or later will unite all the
peoples of the earth, will strengthen our ties, enlarge our in
creasing commercial relations, and make the peace of the world
more and more necessary and honorable."
* France, as most was expected from her, was honored with a special depu
tation to bear the address — Messrs. Angelo Zanardini, Giacomo Nani, and Alvise
Caotorta.

310 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
To this coUection was added a special one to Milan :
"We hailed with infinite joy the account of the emancipa
tion of our generous sister of Lombardy. On the very day
when you shook off the Austrian yoke, a Provisional Govern
ment of the Venetian republic was proclaimed here under the
glorious banner of St. Mark. We are influenced by no local
prejudice ; we are, above all, Italians, and the insignia of St.
Mark figures on the tricolored banner. We are united to you,
Lombards, not only by the tie of affection, but also by a com
munity of misfortunes and hopes. When the hallowed soil of
the country shall have ceased to be sullied by the feet of the
foreign oppressor, we shall join you in discussing the form of
government most conducive to our common glory. We intend
ed at first to send you a special deputation ; but the import
ant and multifarious labors with which we are overwhelmed
do not admit of our dispensing with the services of any of our
distinguished citizens. We impatiently await your direct com
munications. "Viva l'ltalia, Viva Milano, Viva liberta, fratellanza !
"Venice, 26th March, 1848."
Having fully secured themselves in the possession of Venice
and its surrounding ports ; having published the various ini
tiatory decrees, the next object of the Provisional Government
was to send re-enforcements to the relief of such portions of the
Venetian kingdom on the main land as had given in their ad
hesion to the new republic, and which were now threatened by
the imperial forces.
The following were the towns which had already declared
themselves for the republic, viz. : Donate, Piave, Padua, Trev
iso, Sacile, Monfelice, Bassano, Belluno, Agordo, Asola, Noale,
Fontanna, Tribano, Conegliano, Serivalle, Ceneda, Adria, Este
Rovigo, Poidmone, Feltre, Udine, Salvore, Vicenza, and Chi-
oggia. A corps of " youthful volunteers"* were at first dispatched
in the direction of Palma Nova, at that time besieged by the
* Colonel David Amigo, appointed by the Provisional Government, commander.

Chap. IIL] Departure of Troops. 311
Austrians. Considerable ceremony preceded the departure of
this band of patriots. They were first blessed by the patriarch
in the Basilica, and afterward harangued by Manin, who prom
ised them that the republic would provide for the families of
those who might fall in battle.
Martial enthusiasm was at its height. A Barnabite monk,
Pater Gavazzi, a second Peter the Hermit, had, like his great
prototype, been preaching the crusades throughout many of the
towns of Italy, not for the expulsion of the Saracen and re
covery of the holy sepulchre, but for driving out those whom
they regarded as equally " barbarians," and for regaining their
own sacred soil.
The next issue from Venice was a battalion of Crociati, or
Crusaders, distinguished from other volunteers by wearing on
the breast a tricolored cross ; composed of facchini (porters),
gondoliers, and all vagabonds who could find no employment
in the city. The officers were composed of musicians, paint
ers, and such other artists as the times had deprived of the
means of subsistence, or who, with the Moor of Venice, could
exclaim, " Othello's occupation's gone !" Another portion of
this holy band, still more remarkable, was a regiment of wom
en, consisting of opera-dancers, and females of the most disso
lute character in Venice. This band, dismissed with priestly
benedictions, proceeded toward Treviso and Udine, under no
control, and indulging in every kind of license. They might, it
was thought, more appropriately have been called Corsairs than
Crusaders. So far from affording protection, they soon became
a greater terror to the inhabitants than the Austrians whom
they had enlisted to oppose.
For a considerable time after the reconquest of the Venetian
provinces, the attention of the Austrians was so much occupied
with the advancing army of the King of Sardinia, that they had
no leisure to enforce the blockade of Venice ; but this was final
ly accomplished on the 25th of June, when Baron Welden took
the Fort CavaneUa, and by which operation Venice was, by
land, entirely inclosed.
But before that had been effected, Venice was filled with
defenders. Each town, as it fell into the possession of the
Austrians, added to the numerical force of the garrison around

312 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
Venice, as all who could effect their escape retired to the cap
ital. Besides these, volunteers had flocked in from every part
of Italy ; and the portion of the Neapolitan army that had de
serted under General Pepe secured to it a garrison of regular
soldiers, and the assistance of experienced officers. About this
time, Baron Welden makes the following official report of the
military forces in and around Venice : "At one of the last pa
rades held by the Neapolitan General Pepe, seventeen thou
sand men were reviewed by him in the Campo Marzo ; form
ing, with the garrison of the forts, a total of twenty-one thou
sand men. Malghera has a garrison of one thousand eight
hundred men — Neapolitan, Piedmontese, and volunteers — with
sixty cannons. Malghera defends the entrance into the la
goons, and can only be taken by a regular siege, as the build
ings are bomb-proof. From that point to Brondolo there are
fortifications. Brondolo is garrisoned by one thousand Neapol
itans, with sixty cannons. From thence, along the sea-shore,
comprising Alberoni, Palestrina, and the Lido, there are three
thousand men. Treporti, Burano, Mazorbo, are but feebly
garrisoned, and an attack upon Venice could only be possible
on that side."
The vast concourse of strangers driven into the city by the
conquest of their territories had the worst effect upon the Ve
netians. The volunteers from the provinces, the demoralized
soldiery from Naples and Rome, and the adventurers from ev
ery part of the world, all living in the luxury of a large city,
amply provided, by the fear or affection of the natives, with
all that could minister to their desires, spread abroad an at
mosphere of licentiousness not to be described. Vices, prac
ticed at first with some attempt at concealment, arrived, at
length, at such a pitch of barefaced extravagance that observ
ation was rather courted than shunned. The scenes which
polluted the hospitals of Rome were repeated at Venice. Fe
ver and disease of all sorts were the result, and much of the
subsequent mortality attributed to the cholera was the natu
ral effect of intemperance and debauchery.
Other difficulties soon arose. Money was the chief desid
eratum. The usual revenues of the town were, of course, sus
pended. New imposts were not to be thought of ; and a re-

Chap. IIL] Pecuniary Embarrassments. 313
course to great capitalists in any quarter was hopeless, as no
security could be given. Voluntary loans produced but a few
dollars. Sundry silver spoons and old watch-cases, believed
to be the contributions of the poor, the silver snuff-box of Ma
nin, and several mites guaranteed to have come from the pock
ets of the widow, figured in the list of the patriotic gifts.
Forced loans were much more successful. All men known
to be wealthy, and especially those believed to be disaffected
to the Republican cause, were compelled to contribute most
freely. Such resources, ruinous to many respectable citizens,
were, however, quite insufficient for the expenses of a govern
ment which had to pay twenty-one thousand mercenary sol
diers, and to maintain the dissolute population of a large town
in plenty and in idleness. The volunteers, moreover, were a
vast drain on the exchequer ; and the rabble of St. Mark's
Square, who were employed to demand what the government
had previously determined to grant, or to cheer and propagate
the false news which it became necessary to circulate, exact
ed a florin (fifty cents) for every hour of service ; and so res
olute were they in keeping up the price of enthusiasm, that
they were repeatedly known to interrupt a political song or a
popular oration, observing to each other that they had cried out
enough for their livres, and that they should now go to the
wine-shop and drink.
To meet all these expenses, a large issue was made of pa
per money, to which a forced currency was given, and which
maintained a certain credit, in the belief that the Austrian
government would pursue the same humane system of which
Prince Windischgratz afterward gave the example in Hunga
ry, to the injury of the imperial exchequer, and to the benefit
of the struggling province. This method of extorting the costs
from the winning party, and of making the legitimate govern
ment defray the expenses of the insurrection, is an invention
of modern times, which, combined with the new code of inter
national law, adopted by Sardinia and the other Italian pow
ers, offers great encouragement to rebellion, and secures per
fect impunity to aggression.
In concert with the movements going on in Venice, as early
as the 25th of May, a combined fleet, composed of Neapolitan,

314 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
Sardinian, and Venetian vessels, appeared off the harbor of
Trieste, and threatened to place that city in a state of block
ade ; but, by the interposition of the foreign consuls and the
commanders of one or two English vessels then in port, they
were induced to desist. No obstruction was at any time of
fered to the commerce of neutral nations. Soon after, the Nea
politan vessels, owing to the troubles in Naples, were recalled
home, the Sardinian vessels sailed away, and the Venetian
ships returned to their city.
On the 6th of June, the Sardinian fleet again made its ap
pearance in the harbor of Trieste, and, approaching rather too
near the city, was fired upon by the batteries on shore ; and,
after two of the vessels were disabled, they all withdrew. On
the morning of the 10th they again returned, and on the 12th
placed the city under formal blockade. A communication from
the commander of the fleet, Admiral Albini, was made to the
authorities of the city, in which he declared that he was com
pelled now to " regard Trieste, not as a place of commerce only,
but also as one of war." The military governor of the fort
fearing, from the large number of men on board the enemy's
ships, that their intention might be to land and storm the city,
sent to Vienna for troops, and two battalions, consisting of one
thousand men, were immediately dispatched to their relief.
The Austrian government had resolved on commencing the
blockade of the city of Venice on the 23d of May, but the ar
rival of the combined fleet at Trieste prevented their vessels,
which were much inferior, from going out and carrying that
determination into effect.
The Sardinian fleet continued in the Adriatic, cruising be
tween Venice and Trieste, without making any attack, until
after the defeat of Charles Albert, at Milan, when, in accord
ance with the terms of the armistice then entered into, the
blockade was raised, and, shortly after, they disappeared alto
gether from the waters of the Adriatic.
During the month of June, several sorties were made by the
Italians at Fort Malghera, upon the Austrian force that was
besieging Venice, but without any important success. Gen
eral Pepe issues a proclamation, on the 18th of that month, in
which he declares that the Venetian government, with the con-

Chap. IIL] Military Operations. 315
sent of Lombardy and the Pope, had placed him at the head
of all the troops there assembled from all parts of Italy, to wage
war against the Austrians. By his orders, the rail-road bridge,
connecting Venice with the main land, a length of six miles,
was blown up. On the 26th, he visited all the forts along the
coast, up to the mouth of the Adige, and ordered General Ul-
loa, the chief of his staff, to form an intrenched camp from
the fort of Brondolo to the sea-coast. The Austrians await
ing re-enforcements, and contenting themselves with cutting
off the supplies destined for Venice, no batteries or fortifica
tions, up to that date, had been raised near Malghera.
While these military operations, both by sea and land, were
occurring, a civil movement, of much greater importance, was
progressing, occasioned, doubtless, by the conquest of all the
Venetian provinces by the imperial army, which had by this
time taken place. The towns of Padua, Vicenza, Rovigo, and
Treviso, just before they fell into the hands of the Austrians,
and in contemplation of the dangers which imminently threat
ened them, having sent an address to Venice desiring her to
give an immediate decision as to her union with Lombardy and
Piedmont, the Provisional Government of Venice published a
decree, bearing date the 3d of June, convoking a General As
sembly to decide that question.
The decree determines that the representation is to be based
on the population, the electoral districts to be regulated by the
parishes. In every parish where the population does not ex
ceed two thousand souls, one deputy is to be returned ; where
the population fluctuates between two thousand and four thou--
sand, two are to be elected ; and where the population varies
from four thousand to six thousand, three will be chosen ; and
so on, in the same ratio. The only restriction on the exercise
of the suffrage, and the eligibility of the individuals to act as
deputies, being age ; the electors to be twenty-one at least,
and the elected twenty-seven years of age.
On the 20th and 29th of June, demonstrations took place in
favor of Charles Albert. The people assembled on the Piazza
of St. Mark, and vooiferated, " Long live Charles Albert !"
" Down with the republic !" "Away with Manin !" In a short
time the minds of the people had undergone a great change.

316 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
A few days before, no one dared to advocate the claims of the
King of Piedmont ; so great was their antipathy to him, that a
merchant, whose sign was the " City of Hizza" (a Sardinian
watering-place), was compelled to take it down ; and now no
one thinks of a republic. On the morning of the 3d of July,
at nine o'clock, the National Assembly met, in the Cathedral
of St. Mark, where his excellency, the cardinal patriarch, offi
ciated at the mass, after which he made a short address. The
religious ceremonies being concluded, the deputies all convened
in the ducal palace, where they proceeded to the election of the
officers of the Assembly.
Pianton, mitred Abbot of St. Maria della Misericordia, was
elected president ; Dataico, Medin, and Vicenzo Scarpa, secre
taries, ad interim. At one o'clock, the deputies assembled in
the Hall of the Grand Council. They numbered one hund-
dred and twenty-eight members. Two committees were ap
pointed to examine the executive power of the Assembly. The
attorney, Avesani, proposed to hurry the discussions, upon
which Ferari Bravo remarked that, fifty years before, the re
public of Venice was lost by too hasty resolutions. Tomaseo
recommended the " festina lente" as the proper mode of pro
cedure. At two o'clock, the Senate adjourned, and the com
mittee proceeded to the scrutiny. At four o'clock, the session
reopened, and the elections, as declared, resulted as follows :
Rubbi, Peter Canal, Vari Dataico, Medin, Dolfin, Boldu, secre
taries. The Minister of Justice, Castelli, read the articles to
be taken into consideration.
The first and second regarded the projected annexation with
Piedmont. The third respected the confirmation or new elec
tion of the ministers and government ; the fourth, the power
of the president for preserving order in the Assembly ; the fifth,
the substitution of the president ; and the sixth, the adjourn
ment and closing of the session.
The next morning, the 4th of July, a discussion took place
in the Assembly upon the subject of annexation with Pied
mont. Manin favors the measure, and says it will be time
enough to determine the form of government after the war
shall have been concluded. That they should not dispute
whether they would be Republicans or Royalists ; that that

Chap. IIL] Annexation to Piedmont. 317
question would afterward be decided at Rome. The annexa
tion was determined by a vote of one hundred and twenty-
seven in favor, and six against the project.
A change of policy ordinarily involves a change of adminis
tration ; but as this measure was one of necessity, rather than
of choice, and as neither the delegates who voted the decree,
nor the citizens who accepted it, made any concealment of their
aversion to the measure, or of their intention to reassert their
independence when the fortune of war should turn in their fa
vor, a change in the persons of the administration was not
necessarily demanded.
Manin was urged to resume the executive power ; but, as
he had little faith in the durability of Sardinian power over
Venice, especially after the loss of Vicenza, Padua, and Udine,
in fact, all the Venetian terra firma, he shrewdly avowed his
attachment to the republican cause, his determination not to
hold office under royalty, and resigned his trust into the hands
of a ministry (ad interim) named by the Assembly.*
On the 7th of July, the Provisional Government, presided
over by Castelli, surrendered the administration to the Sardin
ian commissaries, Messrs. Calli and Cibrario.t This ceremony
took place with the greatest pomp in the hall of the former li
brary, in presence of the cardinal patriarch and General Pepe,
commander-in-chief of the Venetian forces. The Cross of Sa
voy and the Lion of St. Mark figured on the national banners.
For the first time in the history of Italy the cross of Savoy su
perseded the winged lion of St. Mark. By this ceremony, the
republic was buried, and Venice became for a short time a
part of " the united Italian kingdom."
A month elapsed, and on the 9th of August reports of the
fall of Milan and the capitulation entered into by the King of
Piedmont reached Venice, and produced a great excitement
throughout the city. The people assembled in the Piazza of
St. Mark, and demanded of the government to be informed of

* The ministry thus named consisted of Jacopo Castelli, Pietro Paleocapa, Fran
cisco Cancirata, Antonio Paolucci, Leopoldo Martinengo, Giovanni Battista Cave-
dalis, and Giuseppe Reali.
t On the very day that Radetzky entered Milan, Venice passed under the au
thority of commissioners representing the monarchy of Charles Albert.

318 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
the real state of affairs. The government, afraid that a se
rious riot would be the consequence, endeavored to conceal the
disastrous news. They had been apprised by Baron Welden
of the armistice entered into by Charles Albert and the Milan
ese, who at the same time inquired if Venice was disposed to
be included in the armistice, which was declined, as an accept
ance of the armistice would have been an acknowledgment of
the capitulation. As the excitement continued hourly to in
crease, the royal Sardinian commissaries thought it advisable
to communicate with Manin, and who, upon their application,
promised to appear before the people on the evening of t{ie
11th of August, at eight o'clock. He appeared accordingly ;
and, after the announcement by M. Calli, the royal commissa
ry, from the windows of the Procurata Nuove, of the defeat
and capitulation of Charles Albert, Manin told the people that
the rule of the commissioners had ceased, that an Assembly
should be summoned within forty-eight hours, and " in the in
terval," he added, " I govern."
The citizens, absolved, as they thought, by these events
from all allegiance to the King of Piedmont, the Sardinian flag
was struck in the Place of St. Mark, at the end of one month
from the time it had been raised ; and the city of the doges
once more returned to its self-government.
On the morning of the 13th of August, at ten o'clock, the
Assembly opens, one hundred and eleven deputies present.
Among the absent is Castelli, late royal Sardinian commissa
ry. Manin rises, and states that he is authorized by Castelli
to inquire of the Assembly whether his late employment as
royal commissary would deprive him of his rights as deputy.
The Assembly being of the opinion that the employment was
not an obstacle to the enjoyment of his rights as a member of
their body, Castelli is sent for. Deputy Tralli, premising that
the prospects of Charles Albert were not altogether hopeless,
proposes a continuance of the royal commissaries until further
notice. Violent interruptions ensue, and he is not allowed to
proceed. Manin suggests the immediate formation of a gov
ernment, to secure order and domestic tranquillity. Deputy
Bellinato proposes Manin as sole dictator. Manin declines the
proposal on the ground that he is not possessed of military

Chap. IIL] Republic Restored. 319
science, so necessary for the crisis. Bellinato then proposes
to give him two assistants for the war and navy departments.
The proposition is carried, and Manin is elected to the civil
department, Giovanni Battista Cavedalis for the war depart
ment, and Leone Graziani for the navy. On a further motion,
it was determined that dictatorial power should be vested in
these three individuals, so long as the country should continue
in danger, and the Assembly, for the same reason, to remain
en permanence.
Tomaseo and Toffoli having been dispatched on the 11th, by
the dictator, to Paris, to ask for their armed intervention, Mal-
fati, the deputy, proposes to send a member of the Assembly to
Paris, for the purpose of confirming that the will of the dicta
tor is also that of the Assembly and the people. Mengaldo is
sent, and Bragadin is promoted to his place, as commander of
the National Guard.
The new government entered upon its duties with great en
ergy. On the 16th of August, they published two decrees :
the first naming a Council of War for the defense of the city
and fortress of Venice ; the second ordering, on pain of confis
cation and arrest, all the gold and silver in Venice to be brought
to the Mint within forty -eight hours. The Mint was directed
to give receipts, to be afterward exchanged for loan certificates
bearing interest.
On the 24th of August, Marshal Radetzky dispatches, by a
special courier, an open letter from the Sardinian Minister of
War and Marine, to Admiral Albini, ordering him to raise the
blockade, to quit the Gulf of Venice with his fleet, and to send
home the Sardinian troops to their country. Several weeks
still elapsed before this order was carried into effect.
Tomaseo arrived in Paris, and, on the 2d of August, had an
interview with M. Bastide ; and, in reply to an application for
assistance, was informed that negotiations were going on hav
ing for their principal base the evacuation of all Italy by the
Austrians. Mengaldo, the deputy of the Assembly, who arrived the fol
lowing day, had an interview with General Cavaignac, and
was informed, in like manner, that France had offered her
mediation to Austria, on the invariable basis of the enfran-

320 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
chisement of all the Italian states — that he hoped this media
tion would not be rejected ; but, in that case, there would be
war. He said, " It would not be myself alone who would be
for war. It would be declared by a decree of the National
Assembly. Write to your countrymen to hold out as long as
possible, and give to my words the greatest publicity."*
The great powers, England and France, who had refused
their mediation in the affairs of Italy when Austria sought it,
so long as there seemed the slightest hope that the Italians
could conquer their independence — now, when the imperial
government, by its own unaided strength, had reconquered,
with the exception of a single city, the entire territory of both
revolting provinces, they were more than anxious to force their
mediation upon her.
Austria, at this time, very properly hesitated to accept the
tendered mediation ; in fact, the subject was by no means free
from difficulty. If the mediation was solely interposed be
tween Austria and Sardinia, the belligerent states, it was of
necessity superfluous and ineffective, inasmuch as the contest
had already ceased, and the two countries had concluded an
armistice, on the status quo ante bellum. And, if the media
tion aspired to regulate and determine the rights and territo
rial authority of the court of Austria within its own Italian
dominions, it was easy to anticipate that such an effort, at that
time, would be held wholly inadmissible. The mediation was,
however, afterward accepted by Austria, at least in principle,
she reserving to herself the faculty of submitting the proposi
tions which might be made the subject of consideration, as
well as the privilege of giving to France and England, and to
the other powers who signed the final treaty of the Congress
of Vienna, a written answer, with the motives upon which it
might be founded. This answer, as delivered to Lord Palmer
ston and M. Bastide, establishes the following three principal
points : First, that the war by King Charles Albert against
Austria, not being justifiable upon any principle of interna
tional law, could not afford the crown of Sardinia the least
pretension to any portion whatever of the Lombardo-Venetian
* Patrie, September 1st, 1848.

Chap. IIL] Negotiations. 321
kingdom. Secondly, that Austria, by maintaining intact her
possession of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, far from at
tempting to gain any territorial aggrandizement, only demand
ed the fulfillment of the guarantees established in her favor
by the seven powers who signed the final treaty — guarantees
which find an additional strength in the right of conquest, since
Marshal Radetzky, by driving back the Sardinian army beyond
the Ticino, re-established de facto the strict status quo as it
was before the war, and taken as the basis of the armistice
agreed upon at Milan between the two belligerent parties, on
the 9th of August. Thirdly, that the mediation offered by
France and England could in no case have for its object an
alteration in the political balance of power in Europe, without
the co-operation of all the powers who established and guaran
teed it. All these being laid down, Austria, renewing in the
most formal manner her reservations as to the possession of
the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, proposes that a general Con
gress shall be convoked, at which, with a common accord, be
tween the principal powers of Europe, there might be concert
ed the most opportune measures for insuring, on the one hand,
a national and independent government for the Lombardo-Ve
netian kingdom, and, on the other hand, for consolidating, in
the most durable manner, the tranquillity of the Apennine pen
insula.* While this negotiation was pending, a serious difference of
opinion arose between the mediating powers and the govern
ment of Austria, on the subject of the city of Venice. The
British and French representatives at Vienna are said to have
declared to Baron Wessenberg, the Minister for Foreign Affairs,
that, in consequence of the mediation accepted by the Imperial
Cabinet, the latter was bound to abstain from any act of hos
tility against Venice, until the future fate of that city should
be fixed by the mediating powers. The Cabinet of Vienna is
said to have replied to this declaration that, in signing the
armistice with King Charles Albert, the Austrian government
reserved its full right to adopt such measures against Venice
as might be necessary to recover possession of it, the more so
* La Presse.
X

322 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
as the armistice in question declared expressly that Venice
should be surrendered to the imperial troops within three days
after the ratification of the armistice by King Charles Albert.
The Baron de Wessenberg added that, at the period the arm
istice was concluded at Milan, the city of Venice was depend
ant, in fact, on the Sardinian government, and that, conse
quently, the engagement contracted by King Charles Albert
to surrender Venice to Austria could not be weakened by the
refusal of the present Venetian government, a revolutionary
government, not recognized by any foreign power, and much
less by Austria. Neither did Baron Wessenberg conceal from
Lord Ponsonby and M. de Lacour that, as soon as the Sardin
ian fleet should have quitted Venice, the Austrian government
would attack it by land and by sea.
The course which Austria had now resolved to pursue, and
which her late conquests enabled her publicly to declare, was
that she would go great lengths, exceeding even the most san
guine expectations, in the concession of constitutional rights
and the establishment of self-responsible government ; but that
she would not condescend to debate, for the tithe of a second,
the question of the territorial surrender of those provinces which
she had possessed for centuries, and which the prowess of her
arms had enabled her again to reconquer. She could not do
so, it was obvious, without a total disregard of her peninsular
interests. She could not consent to attach such a slur to the
fame of the gallant armies that had asserted her supremacy.
She could not thus damp and discourage the loyalty of her
faithful legions. She could not thus reward the services of her
marshals ; nor could she hope (were she on such a point to
cede) to escape reaction at home, and discontent among tho
united and loyal legions who had rallied round the empire to
restore it to undiminished, if not augmented authority.
While these diplomatic negotiations were proceeding, thf
government of Venice was sorely pressed for the pecuniary
means necessary to support the extraordinary exigencies of the
state. Manin, in a private letter of the 2d of September, writes
that " money is the most urgent want of Venice ; if she can
raise it, Venice will hold out, but not otherwise."
Voluntary contributions had produced but little ; forced loan

Chap. IIL] Forced Loans Decreed. 323
after forced loan was decreed. Defended as she was by twen
ty-one thousand, men, one thousand cannon, and a squadron of
seven ships, the expense of this force was estimated to exceed
three millions of livres a month, while the revenue of the town
did not exceed two hundred thousand livres. To meet the de
ficiency, a new and special forced loan was decreed, in the
month of October, of two millions of livres, to be divided be
tween the hundred and fifty houses who contributed the first
voluntary loan. In the early part of November, another forced
loan of one million of livres, to operate generally, was decreed.
In the latter part of the same month a new contribution of
twelve millions of francs was demanded ; to meet which a
quantity of paper, called " Money of the Commune of Venice,"
was to be issued. From the 22d of March to the 31st of De
cember, 1848, the expenditure amounted to 35,601,110 francs,
and there remained in hand 1,428,682 francs, and all the means
within the state were exhausted, and the government had to
look abroad for assistance. Had they followed the example of
the Romans when placed under similar circumstances, and the
first men of the state — particularly those who could afford to
contribute — had come forward and placed all their possessions
at the command of the govern^, ^nt, the result, as in that in
stance, might have been widely differed. When the Cartha
ginians were invading Italy, and Hannibal, with his uncon-
quered army, was laying waste the Italian plains, the consuls
decreed a contribution ; but the people, seeing that no efforts
were being made on the part of the higher classes proportion
ed to their abilities and the exigencies of the occasion, com
plained aloud, and gathering in crowds in the forum, declared
that no power on earth could force from them that which they
did not possess. The Consul Lsevinius, convinced of the ne
cessity of the tax, as well as of the impossibility of carrying
it through, summoned the Senate, and told them that, before
they could call on the people to make sacrifices, they must set
the example. " Let each senator keep his ring, and that of his
wife and his children ; but all the rest of the gold which we
possess, let us offer to the public service. Next, let all of us
who have borne curule offices reserve the silver used in the
harness of our war-horses ; let us all, besides, keep one pound

324 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
of sUver for the plate needful in sacrifices, and let us each keep
five thousand asses of copper money. With these exceptions,
let us devote all our silver and copper to our country's use, as
we have devoted all our gold. And let us do this without any
vote of the Senate, but of our own free gift as individual sen
ators, and carry our contributions at once to the three commis
sioners for the currency. Be sure that first the equestrian
order, and then the mass of the people, will follow our exam
ple."* He spoke to hearers who so thoroughly shared his spir
it, that they voted their thanks to the consul for his sugges
tion. The Senate instantly broke up, the senators hastened
home ; and thence came crowding to the forum their slaves,
bearing all their stores of copper, and silver, and gold, each
man being anxious to have his contribution recorded first ; so
that, Livy says, neither were there commissioners enough to
receive all the gifts that were brought, nor clerks enough to
record them. The example, as the consul knew, was irresist
ible, the equestrian order and the commons poured in their
contributions with equal zeal, and no tax could have supplied
the treasury so plentifully as this free-will offering of the whole
people. The internal resources exhausted, or not available, the Ve
netians were compelled to look for assistance beyond the con
fines of the republic, especially since the Venetian paper cur
rency would not be received by the ship-masters, who had
brought in their ships ladened with provisions for the suffering
city. A large loan was contracted at Rome ; and the King of
Sardinia, not having yet relinquished the hope of one day pos
sessing himself of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, decreed
the advance of six hundred thousand livres monthly to the aid
of the struggling republic.
The first installment of six hundred thousand livres reached
Venice on the 29th of January. With this advance, however,
whether from the aggravated embarrassments at home or a
decline of enthusiasm in the cause of Italian independence, aU
pecuniary relief ended.
In the month of January, the Provisional Government issued
* Polybius. Livy. Arnold's Rome.

Chap. IIL] Manin elected Dictator. 325
a decree establishing a permanent Assembly of the representa
tives of the State of Venice, with the power of deciding upon
every thing relating to the interior or exterior condition of the
state ; the deputies to be elected by direct universal suffrage,
in the proportion of the population, of one to fifteen thousand ;
the elections to commence on the 20th of January ; the repre
sentatives to meet immediately after, and their mandate to
last six months. This Assembly was in existence but a couple
of weeks, when, by a decree of the Provisional Government,
of the 9th of February, this Assembly was dissolved, and a
new Assembly convoked for the 15th of February.
The Assembly meets, and elects Tomaseo presiding officer
of that body. He declines ; but, at his suggestion, Calucci is
chosen. The Assembly resolves that the election of dictator
rests with the Assembly ; but the executive power was again
confided to Manin, Cavedalis, and Graziani, so far as concerned
the defense of the country. The Assembly shortly. after, in
March, elects Manin unlimited dictator, but bound to submit
to the sanction of the Assembly all important legislative dis
positions. Should he adjourn the Assembly, he must call it
together again in fifteen days.
The Austrian government had now determined to prosecute
with the utmost energy the siege of Venice. The bombard
ment was directed to be opened against all the fortifications
around the city without delay, while the Austrian fleet was
dispatched from Pola, to commence the blockade by sea. Aft
er the desertion of Naples, the Austrian occupation of Tusca
ny, the French intervention at Rome, and especially after the
total defeat of the Piedmontese at Novara, and by which they
were deprived of the efficient aid of the Sardinian navy, the
Venetian Assembly resolved, on the 2d of April (in answer to
the demand of General Haynau to surrender), to resist " at
any cost, and to tho last." While this answer would denote
an act of heroism worthy of Venice in her palmiest days, yet
the determination is not free from the charge of rashness, when
it is considered that, with all this resolution to resist at all
hazards, and to the last extremity, no stores of provisions, so
indispensable, were made for the siege, while the communi
cation by sea was kept open by the Sardinian fleet, and the

326 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
Venetian trading-boats communicated, with so little inter
ruption, with the terra firma ; leaving the inevitable result,
that, even should they survive the formidable batteries of the
enemy, they must assuredly, and at no, distant day, perish by
starvation. To save the effusion of blood, as well as preserve a city
which the Austrians were loth to injure, Marshal Radetzky,
leaving his head-quarters at Milan, arrived at the quarters of
the besieging army on the evening of the 4th of May, and im
mediately sent into the city the following proclamation :
" Venetians ! it is not my intention to address you to-day as
a soldier, or as a fortunate general, but I speak to you as a fa
ther. One year of confusion — of anarchical and revolutiona
ry movements — has passed away, and what are the results ?
Your public treasury is exhausted — your property destroyed
— your city in misery and want. By the victories which my
gallant army has gained over your allies, you can not fail to
be convinced that, in a short time, attacked from all sides, your
fortifications must be taken — all your communications cut off.
No opportunity of departure left you, you will be placed only
at the mercy of the conqueror. I come from my head-quar
ters at Milan for no other purpose than to give you my last
admonition, with an olive-branch in one hand, if you are not
yet deaf to the voice of reason — with the sword in the other,
ready to prosecute a war of extermination if you persist in re
bellion, and thus deprive yourselves of all claims on the clem
ency of your rightful sovereign.
" I shall remain in your neighborhood, at the head-quarters
of the corps d'arme, and will await your answer during the
space of forty-eight hours ; that is, until the 6th of May, at
eight o'clock A.M. In the name of my sovereign, I require
of you the fulfillment of the following conditions : -
" 1st. Unlimited, full, and entire submission.
" 2d. Immediate surrender of the city, the fortifications, and
the arsenals, which will be occupied by my troops. All tho
vessels of war, in whatever epoch they may have been built;
all public edifices ; materiel of war, and all objects which are
the property of the state, must be consigned to the troops.

Chap. IIL] Proclamation of Radetzky. 327
"3d. Delivery of all arms belonging to the state or. to pri
vate persons.
" I concede you the following points :
" 1st. It is permitted to every person who may choose to do
so, to leave the city, either by land or by water, during the
space of forty-eight hours after the capitulation.
" 2d. A general amnesty will be granted to all common sol
diers and subordinate officers of the army and navy. On my
part, hostilities will be suspended during the whole day of to
morrow, until the above-mentioned hour. " Radetzky.
" Head-quarters, Casa Papadopili, 4th May, 1849."*
In answer to Radetzky's proclamation, in which are most
kindly expressed terms more liberal than, under the circum
stances, they had reason to expect, Manin communicates the
¦resolution of the Assembly to resist at all hazards, and adds,
at the same time, that he is directed by the Assembly to in
form his excellency that, in consideration of the present con
dition of Italy, Venice had requested the interposition of the
governments of France and England, since the receipt of a sim
ilar proclamation by Baron Haynau ; that, as a favorable an
swer to this request might be expected in a few days, he would
ask of the marshal a suspension of hostilities until the result
of the application made to the cabinets of France and England,
for their joint mediation, should be known. Field - marshal
Radetzky replied to the dictator, that, " As his majesty had
determined never to accept any intermediation of foreign pow
ers between himself and his rebellious subjects, all hope of
relief from such an application was vain, and tended only to
deceive the already-deluded inhabitants of Venice ; and that,
as all negotiations by writing had proved unavailing, he re
gretted most deeply to be obliged to resort to the horrors of
war." The applicationt to which Manin alluded was made in a
communication dated April 4th, and by both governments was
refused, with civil regrets on the part of M. Drouyn de Lhuys
• Wiener Zeitung. t Gazetta de Venezia.

328 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
and on Lord Palmerston's, with the advice to make terms with
Austria while it was yet possible. A request had also been
made to M. de Lacour, the French diplomatic agent at Vienna,
for his mediation ; but his application was refused by Prince
Schwartzenberg, and the Venetian deputies were referred to
Marshal Radetzky, who was now invested with the full powers
of his sovereign.
All attempts at accommodation between the parties having
failed, the siege was now prosecuted with vigor, and the attack
of Malghera commenced on that day (the 6th of May). This
fortress, situated to the west of Venice, on the canal of Mestre,
commands the access to the city, and was at that time the
only spot of the terra firma still in the possession of the Vene
tians. For some time previously, the Austrians had been en
gaged on their works of approach to this fortress, through the
marsh which intervenes between it and Mestre. During a few
days, they advanced successfully with the first parallel, and-
even reached the second ; but the murderous fire from the fort,
and especially the sea of water which the Venetian engineers
threw over the enemy's works, by closing up the canal of Mes
tre, forced them to suspend their operations. The Austrians
were obliged to carry on their works waist-deep in water ; and
at some important posts, they stood for twelve hours up to their
breasts in this manner. The rain, which fell in torrents, added
to the annoyance of the Austrians, keeping their fosses brim
ful of water, until the night of the 15th, when they succeeded
in boring an outlet into the rail-road dike. On the morning
of the 24th, at five o'clock, the Austrians opened a fire from
ninety-six pieces of artillery, and continued it for seventy suc
cessive hours, without a moment's interruption. It was a per
fect rain of bombs, and all other warlike projectiles. But the
Venetians were not intimidated ; never did fellows stand better
to their guns than the young artillerymen ef Malghera ; for
sixty-five hours they replied with impetuosity, which, for an
ordinary fort of the third order, and feebly manned, was an
achievement of no slight importance. " We alone," says an
Austrian officer, describing the attack, " made fifty thousand
shots, exclusive of thirty-one bombs from mortars, fifteen how
itzer grenades, and nine Paixhans. We have received at least

Chap. IIL] Fall of Fort Malghera. 329
as many." On the third day of the attack, the fort was in ru
ins, and the bomb-proof buildings afforded no protection. Some
of the troops were even killed while sleeping, as they thought,
in security. Apprised of their situation, the Venetian govern
ment dispatched an order to the commandant to evacuate the
fort. At nine o'clock, on the evening of the 26th, the evac
uation of Malghera commenced, and by twelve o'clock not a
soul was left within its walls. The cannons of the fort (those
old ones which were not spiked) were loaded, and, with slow
matches applied to them, they kept up a continued fire for
three hours after the fortress had been entirely abandoned.
The Austrians, completely deceived, continued their awful fire
until five the next morning, against nothing but bewitched or
spectral cannons, which were firing of themselves, without
gunners. Amid this rain of bombs, the garrison all arrived safely in
Venice, and the second line of defense began its fire upon the
enemy at five o'clock the next morning, from a battery con
structed on the rail-road bridge. It was a most fortunate cir
cumstance for the Venetians that the enemy were so slow in
discovering that the fort had been abandoned, otherwise their
retreat would have been cut off, and all have been lost. The
next morning, at eight o'clock, when all was as silent as the
grave within the fortress of Malghera, the Austrians entered,
and found it a heap of ruins. Not a step could be taken with
out encountering traces of the endless destruction which had
been caused. Funnels of burst shells, damaged guns without
number, palisades and mounds demolished, and the few build
ings it contained a mass of cinders. When the Austrian offi
cers beheld the total wreck before them, and the guns almost
all disfigured with blood, they could not but express their ad
miration of an enemy who had braved the death and destruc
tion of those awful days, without seeking safety in retreat,
which had been at all times open to them.
From the intrenchments of Malghera, the little fort San
Giulano, but a short distance off, and, like Malghera, deserted
by the Venetians, presented a fearful spectacle, lying prostrate
in the waves of the lagoons. As no boat could be procured, a
small party of men and a few officers, who could swim, imme-

330 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
diately dashed into the waves and swam across. The fort was
quite empty, though the guns were yet warm, from the rapid
and recent firing ; the cannons were all spiked, with the excep
tion of a miserable one which lay there loaded, with the light
ed match alongside, and, strange to tell, pointed at the flying
enemy. The temptation to the Austrians was too great to be
resisted, and one of them, seizing the lighted torch, applied it
to the gun. The shot went off well, but, a few moments lat
er, an awful mine exploded, which was connected by a train
with that cannon. The concussion was tremendous ; it shook
sensibly the shores of the terra firma. Twenty men and three
gallant officers were whirled into the air, and some few frag
ments of their bodies were all the traces that could ever be dis
covered of those brave men who, but a moment before, were
exulting in victory. When the smoke and dust had cleared
away, as no movement or signs of life appeared among those
who had so recently taken possession of San Giuliano, a second
party, with some surgeons, were dispatched to investigate the
sad affair. It was found that one of the magazines had been
exploded by a well-conducted train; a further examination
led to the discovery of another lighted train, which connected
with the second magazine, and which, had it not been instant
ly extinguished, would in a few moments have launched the
second party into eternity.
During the siege of Malghera, Baron Haynau, commander
of the besieging force, was, by the government, transferred to
the field of operations in Hungary, and his place supplied by
the general, Count Thurn. On the 1st of June, M. De Bruck,
Minister of Commerce in the imperial cabinet, reached Mestre,
and addressed Manin a note, to inquire what he desired, and
what he intended to do. The day after, two commissioners,
Messrs. Calucci and Foscolo, were dispatched by the Venetian
government, to have a personal interview with him. On the
same day, the Venetian Assembly, with unanimity, confirmed
the decree of the 2d of April, of resistance at all hazards.
De Bruck, after reading to the Venetian commissioners a
general project, concluded by proposing three plans for the fu
ture government of Venice, of which he left the choice with
them. To these proposals the delegates declined giving any

Chap. IIL] Defense of Venice continued. 331
reply without consulting their constituents. The offers of the
Austrian commissioners were declined, and the correspondence,
on their part, terminated with a tender of terms (in case of
capitulation) nearly the same as those previously proposed by
Marshal Radetzky. The negotiation concluded with the reply
of Manin, viz. : that the Chamber, after "having deliberated on
these proposals, had negatived them, by passing to the order of
the day." Their heroism and union form a noble contrast to
the base extinction of the republic in 1797, when it fell, with
out a struggle, from decrepitude and corruption. Malghera and
San Guiliano were captured ; but with these successes the fall
of Venice was by no means assured. Six miles of water yet
intervened between them and the devoted city of the doges,
and which their guns, as yet, were equally unable to reach.
But the enemy had now got an opening on the lagoons, and
beheld before them the placid bay, studded with little fortified
islands, besides San Secundo, two batteries on the remains of
the rail-road dam, the tete du pont at Venice, and eight or ten
well-armed ships, from all of which a perpetual and well-direct
ed fire was constantly poured out upon the enemy.
No time was lost by the Austrians in clearing away the rub
bish at Malghera, raising again its fallen battlements, and pre
paring it for action, under the double-headed eagle that now
floated from its standard. Four thirty-pound mortSr pieces
were placed at San Giuliano, and a battery constructed at the
head of the rail-road bridge, supplied with two howitzers and
four thirty-pound mortar pieces.
The Provisional Government, apprehending that the rail-road
bridge might be used as a point d'appui for the Austrian guns,
ordered that, besides the five arches nearest to the city, which
had been already destroyed, eight more should be blown up.
For the defense of the bridge, one hundred gun-boats, each with
four guns, were posted at different points on the lagoons.
The Austrians attempted, on the 7th of June, to cross the
Brenta, near Busola, for the purpose of attacking Brondolo.
Meanwhile the brig Montecuculli and the steamer Vulcano bom
barded the batteries of Calino, and the steamer Custoza threw
a great number of shells into Sottomarina, near Chioggia ; but
all these were unavailing, as the troops found it impossible to

332 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
resist the destructive fire of the ninety guns on the fort of
Brondolo. In consequence of this faUure, the Austrians re
solved to make no further attempt on Brondolo, but to await
its faU until Venice should be taken, as it would then be im
possible for it to survive the parent city.
On the morning of the 15th of June, Radetzky being pres
ent, the Austrians opened a terrible fire from their batteries
on the bridge and the island of San Giuliano, at the Venetian
batteries, and also sent a few bombs against the city, three of
which struck an old shed and an old church, situated at the ex
treme limit of the town. The main fire was, however, directed
against the Venetian battery on the bridge and the small for
tified island of San Secundo near it. They kept up an awful
fire for three days and nights, but with no great success, as
the balls, for the most part, fell short. Of upward of two
thousand bombs, which the Austrians threw, only an average
of two per day feU into the fort, all the rest falling into the
water or bursting in the air. One dead, and six or seven
wounded, was all the loss which the Venetians sustained in the
three days and nights of terrific firing.
The spectacle presented by this bombardment was indeed a
magnificent one. From the house-tops, in the extremity of
the city, totally out of danger, one might behold the scene with
the utmost tranquillity. With an ordinary telescope he could
observe all that was transpiring at Malghera, the tops of the
casernes crowded with Austrian officers gazing at the extra
ordinary spectacle — the enemy load and fire their guns and
mortars — the progress of the balls and bombs as they course
through the air, and at length faU into the water, casting huge
volumes of spray into the air. While, nearer, the Venetian
batteries on the bridge ; the tzte du pont in the city, and the
Httle fort of San Secundo in the lagoons, were vying with each
other in the rapidity with which they returned the enemy's
fire. At night the scene was incomparably more grand ; men,
women, and children line the shores ; the water is covered with
barks and gondolas by the delighted spectators to witness the
gorgeous scene ; the lagoon, all along the bridge, filled with
armed boats of every description ; while the perfect shower of
baUs and bombs from the batteries, in every direction lighting

Chap. IIL] Bombarding by Balloons. 333
up the whole heavens, and, at the same time, being reflected
in the water, presented a scene of awful grandeur rarely, if
ever, before witnessed.
The Venetians seemed now more than ever bent upon " re
sistance at all hazards." Amid the shower of balls and bombs,
on the 17th of June, the Assembly met and confirmed again
the resolution to resist, and broke up with enthusiasm, after
appointing a Committee of Defense, of three persons, with un
limited powers ; also another committee of five, to govern the
town ad latus with Manin. The people were not all pleased
at the idea of Manin's treating with De Bruck upon any con
dition, and it was for the purpose of having some supervision
of his movements, it is said, that this last committee was
formed. All that portion of the city (the outward limits) oc
cupied by the fishermen, which might be damaged by bombs,
was abandoned enthusiastically by the people, who were trans
ferred to the marble palaces on the Grand Canal. Instead of
repining at being obliged to abandon their humble dwellings,
it was a perfect fete to them ; and in the utmost glee as they
moved along with their scanty effects, " Let the old houses
go," they said ; " we would rather have bombs than Croats."
On the 20th of June, propositions of capitulation were made
by the Venetians. Field-marshal Thurn suspended the bon>
bardment, and dispatched a courier to Milan. Field-marshal
Radetzky rejects the proposals known as the ultimatum of
Manin, and soon the great guns begin to labor again. As the
lagoons prevented the approach of artillery, the troops not be
ing advanced a yard beyond the position which they took on
the fall of Malghera, an attempt was made, on the 24th of June,
to bombard Venice by balloons. Five balloons, each twenty-
five feet in diameter, were constructed at Treviso. In a fa
vorable wind these balloons were to be launched, and directed
as near as possible to Venice, and, on their being brought in a
vertical position over the town, the fire was to begin by means
of electro-magnetism. Each of the five bombs fixed to the boat
was in communication with a large galvanic battery placed on
the shore by means of a long isolated copper wire. The fusee
was to be ignited by cutting the wire. The bomb then falls
perpendicularly, and explodes on reaching the ground.

334 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
By this means twenty-five bombs a day, it was thought,
might be thrown, supposing the wind to be favorable. Ex
periments, previously made at Treviso, had succeeded com
pletely ; but on the 24th, when tried over the lagoons, owing
to a change in the wind after the balloons were discharged,
the three attempts which were made failed, and the balls, in
stead of reaching the city, fell into the sea.
On the 1st of July, the bombardment was again suspended,
on account of parliamentiares sent from Venice ; the same
terms are proposed ; and the Venetian Assembly decides that
" the conditions offered by Austria are so humiliating, that
they can not be accepted ;" and again it is resolved to resist.
They could not rely, it was urged, upon the promises of the
Austrians ; as much had been promised in 1815, and but little
carried into effect. Resistance now, however, without object
and without hope, seemed to be the result of a spirit bordering
on desperation.
Protected by their insular position and the extent of the la
goons, they might resist for a time ; but assuredly the day
would come, and that before long, when, for want of the means
of subsistence, all resistance must cease. Already had food of
all kinds become exceedingly scarce, and particularly those ar
ticles upon which the poorer classes subsisted. For many days
past the entire population had begun to eat black bread, and
it was fully evident that, in a few weeks, they would be de
prived even of that humble diet.
As long as they remained supplied with any means of sub
sistence, they might defy the Austrian artillery ; but that they
must fall by hunger, in a short time, was now apparent to aU.
In this respect the whole city had been woefully deceived. The
government had assured the people that Venice was furnished
with provisions for a year ; but the truth was now for the first
time disclosed, that the provisions then in the city could last
but six weeks, while the blockade, both by sea and land, was
so close as to exclude all hope of obtaining the slightest addi
tion to the stock. Despite this heart-rending development, the
town continued perfectly tranquil, nor was the determination
to resist the enemy in the slightest degree impaired. In the
mean time, the roar of the enemy's cannon was heard unceas-

Chap. IIL] A bold Adventure. 335
ingly night and day. They continued to send a few bombs
toward Venice ; but, as they fell short of the city, they occa
sioned no concern among the population.
On the night of the 7th of July, as a matter of further pre
caution, the Venetians blew up six more arches of the rail
road bridge. So tremendous was the concussion, that the in
habitants of Padua, a town at the distance of fifteen miles, felt
the ground sensibly shake beneath them ; while at Treviso,
no less than twenty miles off, the population were aroused from
sleep. On the night of the 9th, the Austrians made a bold attempt,
which succeeded beyond all expectation, and, had it been prop
erly followed up, might have caused the immediate downfall
of the city. Some twenty" or thirty men, well armed, ap
proached in boats a Venetian battery of seven guns, on the
rail-road bridge, and, without being discovered, took possession
of it, and held it for the space of forty minutes ; they spiked
the guns, but, before they could get away, re-enforcements ar
rived, four of them were left on the spot, and the others, who
escaped in the boats, must have suffered greatly, as the tide
next morning brought down convincing proofs. It was a des
perately bold undertaking, and executed most gallantly. The
Venetians, however, soon unspiked their guns, and, in three
or four hours after, continued their usual fire.
Toward the end of July, the incessant roar of cannon, which
for thirty-two days and nights, without intermission, had con
tinued to sound and resound upon the ear of the Venetians,
began now, from some cause unknown to them, gradually to
subside. By some, this cessation of hostilities on the part of
the Austrians was ascribed to the preparation necessary for a
new and more terrible mode of attack. And, what added force
to this conjecture, was the intelligence which had reached
them that Marshal Radetzky was then at Mestre, busily en
gaged in inspecting all the works, and superintending the* con
struction of strong howitzer batteries at St. Giuliano and oth
er important positions, which had hitherto remained unoccu
pied. Others very naturally supposed that the enemy, finding it a
useless expenditure of powder and shot, had abandoned the

336 Revolution in Venice. [Book II
idea of taking the city by storm, and were resolved to await
until starvation should accomplish what their army could not
effect. And, as the city began now to experience the first ef
fects of famine, this seemed for the moment the more probable
conclusion. The crowds around the bakers' shops were already so dense
that several persons had been pressed to death. Meat and wine
were almost completely exhausted, and bread of the worst
quality exceedingly scarce. Notwithstanding these severe de
mands upon their patriotism and courage, public opinion in
Venice on the subject of resistance was still unchanged — the
people seemed still resolved " to hold out to the last ;" while
the activity at the arsenals, and at all the posts, appeared to
indicate that some great enterprise was to be undertaken be
fore the final catastrophe arrived. For some time previously,
a rumor had been circulated in Venice that, on the 1st of Au
gust, the Austrians intended to commence another and more
awful assault upon the city than any that had hitherto been
witnessed ; but there were few of its pleasure-loving inhabit
ants who listened with credulity to this whisper of fancy, and
even they dreamed not of any thing more disastrous than that
which they had already encountered. But, when the silence
which reigned over the waters of the lagoons had been for
many days unbroken by a single hostile gun, on Sunday, the
31st of July, at midnight, when the lower classes were quietly
reposing in their beds, and the higher and gayer circles, as was
their custom, promenading the illuminated Piazza of St. Mark,
or seated under its extended balconies, carelessly sipping their
coffee or puffing their cigars — no sooner had the bell in the
tower of St. Mark tolled the hour of twelve, and announced
the fact that the 1st of August had appeared, than they found
themselves in the midst of a shower of red-hot shot, more ter
rible than the irruption of Vesuvius on Pompeii, and covering
at once nearly three fourths of the city. In a moment, all
Venice was alive. The streets were crowded with the resi
dents of the invaded section — men, women, and children, all
hurrying toward the Castillo and the public gardens, where
the projectiles did not reach, and running, as it were, the gaunt
let through those narrow ways, amid the shot and rubbish,

H^MeZ-tij-lt

Chap. IIL] Important Capture. 337
broken chimneys, and severed cornices that were at every step
rattling down about their heads. Yet not a complaint was ut
tered, not a tear shed. The people of the exposed districts
quartered themselves upon the occupants of the other sections
with as much composure as if they had been members of one
family ; and nothing was heard but imprecations upon an en
emy who, avoiding the breasts of soldiers ready and willing to
receive them, attempted to force a capitulation upon the town,
by routing the women and children from their beds, in hopes,
through their screams and tears, to accomplish that which their
personal valor had been unable to effect.
The torrent of balls, which continued to fall incessantly,
night and day, had no other result than to destroy property
and demolish the most beautiful works of architecture and
sculpture. On the Grand Canal, nearly every palace was per
forated, and some, particularly those of Mocenigo (which Lord
Byron occupied), had thirty-six balls ; Balbi, Persioo, etc.,
boast of having received as many as thirty or forty balls each.
A number of the churches, viz., the Frari, the Scalzi, San Gio
vanni e Paolo, etc., with their splendid marble and statuary,
suffered severely.*
The means by which the Austrians succeeded at length in
throwing their projectiles into the city, a point which they had
endeavored in vain for months to accomplish, was by mount
ing at San Giuliano pieces of eighty pounds and Paixhan guns
of the heaviest calibre, and firing with muzzles raised to a
considerable elevation ; the balls then, in describing the para
bolic curve, would descend and fall within the city ; whereas,
discharged on a level, or aimed directly at the object, as had
previously been done, at a distance of five or six miles, the
balls invariably fell short of their destination, and sank with
out effect beneath the waters.
On the 1st of August, the day upon which this awful bom
bardment commenced, two thousand Venetians made a sally
from Brondolo, and, after capturing a few hundred oxen, re
tired. During the evening the tidings of that expedition reach
ed Venice ; and while the population of that gay capital were
* One shot struck the Rialto.
Y

338 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
quietly seated in the magnificent Fenice under the shower of
red-hot shot (for the theatre was in the invaded district), en
joying, as composedly as though nothing had happened, the
performance of "William Tell," the enthusiasm which the nar
ration of this slight success created was so great, that the con
tinuation of the drama was dispensed with, and the occasion
converted into a national festival.
Day after day, unceasingly, the cannonading continues ; at
many points the bombs set fire to the buildings, but these are
soon extinguished without much injury ; and as the balls sel
dom, if ever, penetrated further than the roof and one story, the
population are unconcerned. Provisions become hourly more
scarce ; the supply can last but two weeks longer, and yet the
people very quietly say, "We will hold out until we have noth
ing more to eat, and then the Croats may come and do what
they please."
To add to the horrors of their situation, the cholera broke
out among the inhabitants in its most dreadful and malignant
form, its ravages, doubtless, increased by the scanty and un
wholesome food upon which they had been for some time com
peUed to subsist ; and yet, amid all these disasters, the city
remained tranquil, the Place of St. Mark was as much frequent
ed as ever, and the countenances of the Venetians as bright
as though enjoying the sunshine of the palmiest days of the
republic. On the 14th of August, Marshal Radetzky, aware of the state
to which the city was reduced, renewed his efforts to induce
it to capitulate, by offering nearly the same terms that had
been previously rejected. Strange that now, when ammuni
tion, food, medicine, drink, even water was failing — when to
the general misery and squalor the cholera is added, carrying
off from eighty to one hundred a day, in Venice and Chioggia,
families without bread, without a roof, in search of shelter and
victuals, old men, women, and children crammed into the pub
lic store-houses, or under the naked sky exposed fo all the in
clemencies of the weather and all the bombs and balls of the
Austrians, these terms, quite as moderate as could possibly
have been expected, were again rejected.
On the 17th, the. president of-the republic, warned by the

Chap. IIL] The Fall of Venice. 339
rapid progress of public dangei that longer resistance was im
possible, in consultation with the commandant of the French
squadron and the French consul, it was decided, as the only
and last means of safety, to send a Venetian deputation to the
Austrian camp with an offer of capitulation. General Ger-
gowski, commander of the Austrian troops before Venice, re
ceived the deputation on the 19th; and, in reply to their appli
cation, stated that he had no power to treat, but that he would
immediately forward their note to Milan, and that during the
time necessary to receive a reply from Marshal Radetzky he
would consent to slacken his fire on the city ; and further, that
Venice might confide in the paternal intentions of the emper
or, and in the enlightened and liberal spirit of his government.
The deputation, comprehending the exact value to be attached
to such phrases, returned dejected and disconsolate to Venice.
Time roUs on, the reply from Milan is hourly expected, the
destiny of a nation hangs on the balance, and a day becomes
an age. The fire of the enemy, somewhat slackened on the
20th and 21st, is renewed on the night of the latter with as
great severity as ever. What will be the nature of the reply
from Milan ? What terms will an aU-powerful and long-pro
voked enemy inflict upon an utterly weak and prostrate foe ?
No one knows, but all fear they wUl be rigorous in the ex
treme. The republic approaches its end. Venice has but two
days' provisions left, and those of the worst kind. The prog
ress of the cholera is frightful. The absolute and uncondi
tional surrender of the city within two days, inevitable. The
22d of August arrives, and with it the answer of the field-
marshal. That octogenarian commander, as magnanimous as
renowned, has affixed no additional stipulations on his fallen
foe ; the terms are accepted by the municipality of Venice, in
whose favor the Provisional Government and the National As
sembly have abdicated their powers ; the firing has ceased on
both sides, and the republic of Venice is no more.
Her defense stands alone — Uke her marble palaces and her
renown — in the midst of seas and of the ages of the world.
She faUs as she has lived, free from excesses, free from vio
lence ; and, whUe enduring incredible privations, has never
yielded to anarchy. Overpowered by superior forces, and

340 Revolution in Venice. [Book II.
yielding to the weight of events which it was impossible to
withstand, ruined in every thing but spirit, Venice falls bat
tling heroically for her ancient and long-cherished independ
ence.* General Gorzgowsky entered Venice on the 28th, and Mar
shal Radetzky, in great state, on fhe 30th. At nine o'clock
on that morning, the thunder of the cannons of Malghera an
nounced that the steamer on which he had embarked had
commenced her passage through the lagoons. The batteries
of San Secundo and Piazzale del Ponti saluted the hero as he
passed. At the entrance of the Canasegio, where the marshal
and his staff' descended into the gondolas prepared for the oc
casion, his reception was solemn and imposing. As they sailed
up the Grand Canal, the windows were decorated as in the
happiest and most glorious days of Venice. From all the
towers the bells sounded joyously ; and, on reaching the Pia-
zetta, the large bells of St. Mark were heard amid the salvos
of artillery from all the war-ships in port. After reviewing
the troops in the Place of St. Mark, Radetzky attended mass
in the cathedral, and later in the day sat down to a sumptuous
banquet which had been prepared, surrounded by all the civil
and military authorities. In the evening, the Piazza was
brilliantly illuminated in his honor, while the air resounded
* The treaty was signed by General Gorzgowsky1 on the part of the imperial
government, and by the Podesta Correr on that of the Venetians. The Aus
trian troops, in a formal manner, occupied the city ; aud, one after the other, all
the forts surrounding it; disarmed the Venetian soldiers, and took possession of
the navy. Manin took his departure on the 27th, in the French steamer Pluto,
for Corfu; and the rest of the proscribed were conveyed away in eight merchant
vessels to Corfu, Patras, Alexandria, and Constantinople. Not less than sixty thou
sand shot and shells were expended on Venice, besides the fifty-seven thousand
thrown into Malghera. The costs of the siege to the Austrians, as estimated by
General Hess, are ten thousand deaths; number of invalids and sick, fifteen thou
sand ; and the cost of war material one million of florins. More than another
million will be required for the repair of the fortifications and to make good the
losses to the treasury. For the repair of the rail-road bridge (according to Ne-
grelli), two hundred thousand florins, a moderate calculation, considering thirty-
four arches are destroyed, and three ready to tumble in. The amount of Vene
tian paper out is forty-five millions of livres, or one million four hundred thousand
pouuds sterling, an enormous burden to be incurred by a city of one hundred and
fifty thousand inhabitants. 1 For the capitulation of the Venetians, see Appendix, note 9.

Chap. IIL] Entrance of the Austrians. 341
with vivas to his name. The imperial eagle supplanted upon
the standards the lion of St. Mark ; and joy, and plenty, and
gladness now reigned where, a few days before, there was
naught but misery, starvation, and suffering, a striking exam
ple of the vicissitudes of human existence.

CHAPTER IV.
historical account of the early political institutions of Bohemia
—its conversion by the habsburg dynasty from a constitutional
and elective monarchy into an unlimited and hereditary kingdom.
—the outbreak at prague in 1848, and establishment of a provision
al government.— conflict between the troops and people.— bom
bardment and subjugation of the city.
In the middle of the sixth century, Bohemia, then settled
by Germans, was overrun by a branch of the great Slavic na
tion known as the Czechi.* As her history from that day to
this consists chiefly of a struggle between the two races, a
short account of the former seems almost indispensable.
As to the origin of the Slavi, historical writers furnish us
with two prominent opinions. The first is, that the Slavi
were a foreign race,*which, at the period of the great national
immigration, in the fourth and fifth centuries, appeared for
the first time on the historical stage, in connection with the
Huns and other Asiatic tribes.
The second theory is, that they were primitively a European
people who had long lived on that continent, among foreign
races which became subsequently extinct. The present num
ber of the Slavi, the resemblance of many of their words to
those of the Greek and Roman, the absence of all proof as to
their immigration, the mixture with Gothic, old Scandinavian,
Scythian, Celtic, etc., words of now obsolete languages ; the
similarity of manners, customs, and legislation to those of the
most ancient nations in Europe ; and the identity of the names
of cities and rivers with Slavian terminations adopted by the
Greeks and Romans, are all facts that favor the conclusion
that the Slavi were not of Asiatic origin, but an aboriginal
European branch of the great Scythian race. Although con-
* In Bohemian, Czechowe, so called from Czech, their leader. The English
orthography, "Czecks," does not answer the Bohemian pronunciation, which
contains at the end the sound of the aspirate \ of the Greek, and which, pho
netically, can not be devised in English.

Chap. IV.] Origin of the Slavi. 343
founded by the ancients with the Scythians and Sarmatians,
their specific name among the Greeks was Eve-rot, of which
the Latin translation was Venetse. The Germans called them
Wenden, the Scandinavians Vanar, and the name by which
they called themselves was Serba or Sirbi. The name Slavi,
or Slavonians, which has superseded them all, is derived by
Slavian philologists from the abstract word Slava, meaning
"glory;" or Slovo, meaning "speech."*
The chief seat of the Slavi was the north of the Black Sea
and the Carpathian Mountains, and between the Baltic and
the Volga. They are the most numerous of the European
races, and are estimated at this time at eighty millions. This
race was at first agricultural, but chiefly pastoral and nomadic,
great horse-breeders and cattle-rearers, moving about along
the banks of the rivers that flow into the Black Sea, the Cas
pian, and the Baltic ; but subsequently, toward the close of
the Roman period, when they exchanged the nomadic for the
settled and industrial mode of life, they embraced many thou
sand villages, scattered over the present limits of Russia and
Poland. Toward the close of the fourth century, the Slavi,
overwhelmed by hordes of barbarians, much confusion arose
in the traditions concerning them ; but soon they began to
emerge from the chaos around them. They reappeared in his
tory ; and Christianity, which they received at one and the
same time from Byzantium and Rome, brought them once
more within the pale of civilization. Their governments were
purely democratic, and conducted by popular assemblies, held,
like those of the early Greeks, in the open air, in which all
full-grown men, without distinction, had a right to participate.
Slavery was unknown among them, and even foreign captives
were, after a certain time, admitted to civil rights.
To no people was individual, despotic power more repugnant
to the national spirit than among the Slavi ; a somewhat sin
gular circumstance when contrasted with their present condi
tion, subjected as those nations now are to the yoke of Russia,
Austria, and Turkey. Spreading over so vast an extent of
country, and presenting such varieties of climate, soil, and
* North British Review.

344 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
neighborhood, it was but natural that the great Slavian mass
should gradually fall asunder into fragments, and be in time
distinguished from each other by peculiarities of feature, lan
guage, and customs. Indeed, three such spontaneous frag
ments appear very early to have exhibited themselves, in the
Northern Slavi, ancestors of the present Russians ; the Central
Slavi, or the ancestors of the Poles ; and the Southern Slavi,
or ancestors of the present Bohemians, Moravians, and Slavo
nians of Hungary. Had no foreign causes interfered, had the
three Slavian nationalities that were thus gradually forming
themselves been allowed to arrive at maturity, uninfluenced
by any thing from without, we should then have witnessed in
their history and their condition, at the present hour, the spec
tacle of a free development of the Slavic genius in all its force
and all its peculiarity. We .should have seen in what form
of government, applicable to civilized states of large extent,
the peculiar democratic spirit of the original Slavi would in
course of time have resulted. But the Slavic people were not
suffered uninterruptedly to work out their own destiny, or of
themselves to evolve a pure and peculiar civilization of their
own unaided energy ; but at the period of the great migrations
of nations, when Goths and Huns, Avars and Magyars, Franks
and Monguls, were rolling and dashing over the surface of Eu
rope like the waves of a troubled ocean, they were assailed,
broken in upori, and disrupted into the four following frag
ments. The Muscovites, or great Russians, extending from
the Baltic inland as far as the Dwina and the Volga, and ruled
over by a Scandinavian dynasty ; the Lechs, or Poles, form
ing two independent nations of Lithuania and Poland Proper,
extending from the Oder to the Dnieper, and from the Baltic
to the Carpathian Mountains ; the Czechi, or Slavi, of the three
independent states of Bohemia, Moravia, and Hungary ; and
the medley of Greece Slavic nations, Croats, Servians, Bulga
rians, Slavonians, and Dalmatians, attached to the Greek em
pire. Such, in the ninth century, were the four leading divi
sions of the Slavic family ; and these divisions, owing to the
stationary character of the Slavi, remained permanent for nine
centuries, creating isolated states, and producing, in course of
time, the difference of accent and terminations which at this

Chap. IV.] Development of the Slavi. 345
day characteristically mark the various Slavic languages. At
the commencement of the eighteenth century, the same four
divisions remained, though not quite identical with those of
the ninth century, since, at this time, they had become divided
and shared out between the powerful nations which they ad
joined, and which had in the interim extended their respect
ive sceptres over them. The Muscovite or Russian fragment
of them, which was then but assuming shape under the sway
of the Scandinavian chiefs, has since, by various additions,
been swelled into the Slavic nucleus of an immense and com
plicated empire, and governed in the most absolute manner
by the will of the Czar. Out of the principal mass of the Lechs,
or Central Slavi, again originally divided into Poles and Lithu
anians, there 'had arisen a united Polish nation, consisting of
a caste of free nobles and serfs. Again, out of the north
western fringe of the Lechs, added to the whole body of the
ancient Czechi, and to the northern portion of the GrEeco-Sla-
vi, there had been formed an immense Slavian population, at
tached to the confederated German empire, part adhering to
Prussia, and governed by the Prussian kings, and the remain
der (including the Bohemians, Moravians, Slovacks of Hunga
ry, Croats, and Slavonians) adhering to Austria, and governed
by the Austrian sovereigns. Finally, the former Greeco-Slavic
states of Servia, Bulgaria, and Bosnia had, after many vicis
situdes, been detached altogether from the Christian world,
and annexed to the motley empire of the Turks, to be gov
erned or misgoverned by Turkish pashas, depending on the
sultan and the Ottoman Porte. Since the last-mentioned pe
riod no political change has' taken place in regard to the Slavic
race, except that the great Polish nation, occupying the lands
to the south of Russia, from the Oder to the Dnieper, and
stretching at one time from the Baltic to the Black Sea, has
been conquered and divided between the three more powerful
states of Russia, Austria, and Prussia, and her name effaced
from the map of Europe. From the general view of the Slavic
race, we pass for a moment to the consideration of those of
the Slavi who are subject to and reside within the limits of
Austria, and whose number far exceeds those of all the other
races of the empire, as the following table demonstrates :

346 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
Of the 2,317,864 inhabitants of the Archduchy of Austria.. 17,864 are Slavi.
" 997,200 " Styria  380,452 "
1,269,477 " Illyria  825,604
" 848.177 " Tyrol 
' 4,318,732 " Bohemia  r. 3,065,232 "
2,242,167 " Moravia and Silesia  1,556,500 "
" 10,500,000 " Hungary, with Slavonia and
cir. Croatia  4,030,000 "
" 2,118,000 " Transylvania  400 "
" 1,235,466 " Military Frontier  895,966 "
" 405,854 " Dalmatia  251,340 "
" 4,876,549 " Lombardo-Venet. kingdom
" 4,980,480 " Galicia  4,446,640 "
36,110,272 15,769,998
Of the 36,110,272 inhabitants of Austria, 7,817,711 are of the Roman race.
7,071,825 " German "
5,634,738 " Asiatic "
15,469,998 " Slavic "
From the above estimate, it might naturally be supposed
that the Austrian was essentially a Slavic empire ; but the
intellectual condition of the people, as well as the geograph
ical location of the Slavi, render their political preponderance
impossible. The religion of this race in Austria is chiefly that
of the Roman Catholic ; for its greater part belongs to the
Western Slavi, who received their religious forms from the
West (A.D. 700-1000) ; while, on the other hand, the Greeco-
Slavi were converted by Greek missionaries (A.D. 640-1100),
and consequently adopted the rites and doctrines of the Greek
Church. From this fact it occurs that the Poles and the
Czechi became members of the great confederacy of the West
ern nations, while the other fell back, as it were, into the arms
of the East. This distinction was perpetuated by certain cor
responding differences in the written characters used by the
two groups of people. First, the Cyrilic alphabet (devised by
the Greek monk Cyril 873) was used with the vernacular
form of service, even in Bohemia and Moravia ; where, indeed,
Cyril preceded the Latin missionaries ; ultimately, however,
by the strenuous exertions of the Romish Church, the Latin
character and the Latin form of service triumphed among all
the Slavic Romanists, with the exception of some Romanist
communities among the Grasco-Slavi of the Adriatic, for whom
an expressly new character was invented, called the Glagolitic,
and who were allowed, besides, to retain their vernacular serv-

Chap. IV.] The Austrian Slavi. 347
ice. The use of the Cyrilio character, therefore, became a
characteristic of the Slavi of the Greek Chv. rch. As was the
case formerly among the Germans, so among the Slavians,
the secession from the Catholic Church produced two parties
among the people, which operated injuriously upon the unity
of the nation. The Austrian Slavi may be said to be all Ro
man Catholics, with the exception of from one million nine
hundred thousand to two millions, in Croatia, Slavonia, and the
military frontier, who profess the Greek religion ; and from sev
en to eight hundred thousand in Hungary; who are Protest
ants. Among the Slavi of Austria there are eight distinct lan
guages of the Graeco-Slavic tongue, viz. : Bohemian, Slovack-
ian, Polish, Ruthenian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, and II-
lyrian.* The Latin character is employed in them all, except
with the Serbians, where the Cyril character has been adopt
ed. Though all these dialects differ from one another, the
root being the same, men of education in either may make
themselves intelligible, while the illiterate of different provin
ces would find it difficult to be understood. Among them the
Polish, like the French in the Romanic race, is regarded as the
language of conversation ; the Bohemian, like the English, the
language of science ; and those of the Southern Slavi like the
Italian and Spanish, the languages best adapted to poetry.
Civilization is further advanced among the Slavi than is in
general supposed. They have all passed already the first sta
dium of literature, and their poetic effusions are marked by
all the glow of a more Eastern imagination ; but, subdued
and oppressed as they have always been, the Slavic Muse still
preserves a gloomy, but martial character. The branches of
Slavian literature are six, viz. : Bohemian, Polish, Servian,
Croatian, Dalmatian, and Slovenian. Productions of no mean
merit have appeared in each ; while excellent translations of
foreign works which they embrace exhibit the perfection to
which these languages have attained. To the two Western
races of Europe, the Slavic genius, no less than the Oriental,
is remarkable for its essential and striking originality. The
fact -of this great difference may lead to important consequen-
* The inhabitants of Dalmatia and Istria.

348 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
ces, and at some future day transform the numerous, now iso
lated states, into three grand national confederations. That
antagonistic spirit of the Slavic race to the Germanic and Ro
manic people produced in our time the first step toward its
concentration. When, in 1814, the Russians triumphed over the French;
and when, at a later period, in 1829, victory bore the Russian
eagles to the plains of Adrianople, the Slavi every where awoke
from their lethargy, and but a single thought occupied their
minds, and that was, that of their own approaching regener
ation. Two prominent theories on this subject have been enter
tained ; the one the so-called theory of Panslavism, the other
the theory of spontaneous separation into distinct nationalities.
Panslavism, in imitation of the Panhellenism among the Greeks,
implies the amalgamation of all Slavi, of every denomination,
either into one nation or confederation, or into a moral and in
tellectual community, based upon common origin and upon
similarity of language, though diversified by various idioms,
the general ground-work would form a literary language, to be
adopted by all, and thus create a firm bond of union between
them. This theory, in its origin purely literary, was first
promulgated by John Kollar, a Slovack of Hungary. He de
monstrated that, various as are the languages spoken by the
wide-spread Slavic race, these languages do not differ from
each other more than did the different dialects of the ancient
Greek, and, consequently, that, as the ancient Greek nations
had a common language and a common literature, so might
the modern Slavic nations, if they chose to decree it. To effect
this end, he proposed that there should be a literary reciprocity
among all the Slavic nations ; that is, that all the Slavic literati,
Russian, Polish, Bohemian, and Servian, should make them
selves acquainted with the different languages of their race, so
that the past as well as the future literary accumulation of
each Slavic people or tribe might be rendered accessible to all
Slavi, and a Panslavic literature be thereby instituted. The
other theory — that of the spontaneous separation of the Slavic
mass into distinct nationalities — may be said to have originated
in the labors of an Illyrian, Dr. Ludovic Gay, who, in the year
1835, established at Agram the Croat Gazette (Lovine Hor-

Chap. IV.] Early Institutions of Bohemia. 349
vatzki), with a supplement, entitled the " Morning Star of Croa
tia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia." The leading idea of this journal
was the consolidation of the several Slavic nations of the ex
treme South, both Austrian and Turkish, viz. : th,e Illyrians,
Croats, Slavonians, Servians, Slovenians, Bosniaks, Montene
grins, and Bulgarians, into one body or state, to be called Great
Illyria. These nations, Gay argued, properly constituted but one
mass ; they all belonged to what historians had called the Grse-
co-Slavic branch of the great nation, and, though dissevered by
circumstances, should be united.*
The institutions of the old state and people of Bohemia, like
those of the Slavi in general, were democratic in their nature,
although not long after the acquisition of the country the
seeds of aristocracy began to be developed, and later the mo
narchical principles. According to an old tradition, handed
down by Cosmas (1125), the ducal authority had its origin in
the assumption and exercise of judicial power.
A senate of twelve members, called Kmety, were assigned
the duke, who, in the nature of a cabinet or council of min
isters, aided him in the administration of the affairs of state ;
and, even as late as the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, they
continued to constitute the supreme tribunal of state. They
were elected for life, and were not removable.
The higher population, or those possessed of property, com-
* That these tendencies were at first decidedly Panslavistic, can not be denied,
as the following, one of the earliest articles in this newly-founded journal, will am
ply suffice to prove : " Europe," writes he in this article, " I would fain paint as a
virgin, holding in her hand a triangular lyre. In past ages, the tones of this lyre
yielded melody to every passing breeze ; but suddenly, from north and east, and
west and south, there came unchained storms and tempests, and the lyre was vio
lently unstrung, and its music ceased. This lyre is Illyria, and the torn chords are
the lands where once its tones were familiar — Corinthia, Carniola, Istria, Styria,
Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Ragusa, Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria, and Pannonia.
" What should we more ardently wish now, when unity seems to be the univers
al dream of nations, than that all these rent strings of Europe's lyre should once
more unite in harmony? How can we attain this end, while each separate chord
gives forth a different tone? Let us cpen the book of our country, and in it see
how, in the antique Slavian, are noted down all the sweet sounds of our lyre  the
treasured, priceless lyre of Illyria! Who that can understand this symbol," says
Gay, at the end of his article, " can for one instant doubt the absolute necessity of
unity in language and literature for all Illyria?"

350 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
prised three classes or ranks, viz., Kmety, Lechowe, and Vla-
diky, similar to the divisions .which distinguished the judicial
tribunal of Libussa, the first princess of Bohemia.
The Kmfity embraced the council of ministers alluded to
above. The Lechowe comprised the large territorial proprie
tors, to which also belonged the priests (the word Knez signify
ing both priest and prince) ; and these together constituted the
high nobility, and from which subsequently sprang the lords.*
The next class, or Vladiky, were the smaller proprietors,
deriving their name from Vladika, the chief of a family, as
when an inheritance was undivided, the most able of the fam
ily was always elected to manage the common interests, and
this personage was called Vladika. They represented the peo
ple in the Diet, and their descendants formed, in course of time,
the lower nobility. Persons without property were divided
into two classes : 1st. Those entitled to personal freedom ; and,
2d. Those enjoying no freedom. The latter cultivated the fields
of the Lechowe, and performed court service to them ; the
former were personally free, but liable to the payment of cer
tain taxes, or to be caUed into service.
As early as the ninth century, the country was divided into
districts or circles called Zupa, each governed by a high func
tionary called Zupan (comes, prefectus), with several inferior
officers under them.
Every zupa or circle was provided with a fortified town or
fortress, demanded by the troubled state of the times, and used
as a place of refuge in cases of hostile invasion. As all such
castles or fortresses were considered the property of the duke,
it is probable that the zupans or officers were appointed by the
duke and his counselors, and were the peculiar privileges of the
Lechowe. Private castles were also constructed and inhabited by the
Lechowe. These castles were usually built on the highest ele
vations which could be found ; and hence to this day every im
portant summit in the kingdom is crowned with ruins, attract
ing the eye of the traveler, and speaking to him of the early
troubles and trials of Bohemia.
* Palacky's History of Bohemia.

Chap. IV.] Independence op Bohemia. 351
The Diet of Bohemia was composed of the Kmety, Lechowe,
and Vladiky. By that body were all important regulations
made, all laws framed, and controversies affecting the internal
peace of the state decided in the last resort. Questions were
determined by a majority, and not by unanimity, as was the
case among the Luticians, and afterward among the Poles,
where a single vote was sufficient to defeat a measure. The
Diet was the supreme tribunal for the whole country ; but be
side this, each capital of a circle had their own courts, presided
over by their own judges.
As her history shows, Bohemia always maintained her state
sovereignty ; and although the emperors of Germany, sinco
the year 1002, claimed her as a fief of the empire, and her
princes as feudal vassals, they never attempted to interfere
with her internal administration. But the first blow affecting
her independence was given when Boleslaus the Third was
driven out of the kingdom, and Ladislaus of Poland elected in
his stead. He visited Regensburg (the seat of the empire) for
the purpose of seeking the protection of the emperor, Henry
the Second, and won his favor by promises of submission, and
by declaring himself a vassal of the German empire — an ex
ample afterward invariably pursued by those princes who did
not feel themselves quite secure upon their seats on the Bo
hemian throne.
And when, a little more than half a century later, the Em
perors of Germany raised Bohemia into a kingdom, the real ob
ject of the measure was to connect to the empire, by the bond
of vassalage, the large and influential principality of Bohemia.
Notwithstanding these proceedings, however, the German em
perors never exercised any right of jurisdiction, collected any
revenue, or exercised any fiscal prerogatives in Bohemia. Cer
tain reciprocal obligations, it is true, were entered into between
the monarchs ; as, for example : First, the Bohemian princes
were obliged to obey the imperial summons, whenever the em
perors thought proper to call them before them ; they reserv
ing the right to announce their arrival with fire and flame (in
flamma et igne veniant) ; and, in return, on their accession
to the throne, upon the emperors devolved the duty of con
firming them in their new dignity. Second, the Bohemian

352 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
princes engaged to furnish a contingent of three hundred armed
men, to attend the emperor to Rome on the occasion of his
coronation ; and, for this service, the princes obtained the right
to vote at the election of the Roman emperors. The Bohe
mian princes, with their Diet, made all the laws, declared war,
concluded treaties, and allotted lands and fiefs, without sub
mitting their decrees for the sanction of the emperors.
Every circle possessed a superior and inferior court, which
sat four times a year, and were open to the public. The com
petency of the tribunal had no reference, as is the case at pres
ent in Bohemia, to the condition of the parties, but was regu
lated, as is now done in all free countries, alone by the nature
and importance of the cause. The judges, who presided, were
assisted by the ministers of state, and, although the courts
were regarded as prerogatives of the crown, the presiding offi
cers never relinquished their independence.
In difficult cases, a trial by jury was arranged. The jury
men were selected by the parties, were sworn before the altar,
gave their opinion only on the facts, and a bare majority of
their number was sufficient to decide. This important attri
bute of freedom existed in Bohemia long before it was enjoyed
in England, and disappeared only under Charles the Fourth,
when, with the election of a German king, German customs
gained ascendency.
In short, Bohemia, at this time, presented every where evi
dences of a Constitution more theoretically free than that of
any other of the states of Europe. The peasant might appeal
from the magistrate of his own town even to the King's Court,
at Prague ; while the humblest citizen could, in this court,
institute an action against the king himself.
Under the old Slavic institutions, which prevailed until the
end of the thirteenth century, there was as little absolutism
in Bohemia as in Poland or Hungary. Nay more, rights which
in those countries were claimed and exercised alone by a pow
erful aristocracy, descended in Bohemia to the humblest citi
zen. It was the glory of this land that, when feudalism pre
vailed every where else in Europe, her peasants were not serfs,
nor her citizens slaves. From Przemysl, the Bohemian peas
ant, whom Libussa taking from the plow, espoused and made

Chap. IV.] Early Freedom of Bohemia. 353
the first Duke of Bohemia, in 805, to Wenzel the Third, there
reigned twenty- three dukes and seven kings ; but when Wen
zel was killed, at Olmtitz, in 1306, the line of Slavic kings
became extinct. In very early times, the Dukes of Bohemia
were controlled in the exercise of their prerogatives only by
the chiefs or representatives of certain powerful clans, which
assisted their forefathers in winning the land, and were still
ready and prompt to defend it.
But as time advanced this system changed. The ancient
distinctions of Kmety, Lechowe, and Vladiky disappeared, and
three other divisions representing the same ranks, and in char
acter closely resembling the former, were formed under the
appellation of nobles, knights, and citizens.* The high nobil
ity consisted of barons, who went to war with their own men
and fought under their own standards ; the knights comprised
the lower nobility and the burghers, on whom Ottocar con
ferred political rights, and called their deputies to the Diet,
constituted the three classes of the people and the three orders
of the Estates (Stande).
Whenever enactments were required which, in their opera
tion, were calculated to affect the well-being of the entire com
munity, the delegates from each of these three orders met to
deliberate on them ; and these, when passed, if sanctioned by
the duke or king, became part of the law of the land.t In the
Constitution of Bohemia, consisting originally of oral and tradi
tionary rights and customs, as it came to be settled as early as
the close of the 10th century, and as it continued to work with
more or less purity until after the 17th century, we accord
ingly find an executive, with three separate, and, as it were,
independent but subordinate estates under it, each enjoying
its own privileges and asserting its own rights, without giving
the least umbrage or offering the slightest injury to the rest.
The executive was, of course, wielded by the crown, and
the order of succession in two ways ; that is to say, the he
reditary line was generally adopted, and the custom of primo
geniture prevailed ; but, in the event of a failure, or in the
case of abuse, or for other causes deemed sufficient, the people
* Gleig's Bohemia and Hungary. f Ibid.
z

354 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II
claimed, and frequently exercised, the right of electing whom
they pleased for their sovereign. The right of the people to
elect was never questioned by others or surrendered by them
selves.; and the accession even of a son, or the demise of his
father, was always accompanied by the forms of an election ;
and to mark that such was not a mere empty ceremony, the
utmost degree of religious solemnity characterized the perform
ance.* The throne having been declared vacant by the estates
or orders assembled, the regalia were brought with great pomp
from the neighboring fortress of Stein, which was set apart
for their safe-keeping. They were conveyed to the citadel of
Prague, where they were arranged in the great hall within
which the states assembled to act upon the emergency which
had arisen, and, the burgrave or chief magistrate taking the
chair, lots were cast to determine who should be king. The
ballot over, the burgrave arose, and thus announced the vote :
"In the name of the Most High, whose favor and protection
we invoke for this realm, I, supreme burgrave of Prague, by
virtue of my office, declare that the choice of the Estates has
fallen upon the high and mighty prince (naming him), and I
require that he be accepted as King of Bohemia." Immedi
ately an officer proclaimed it from the window that a new
king had been elected. The crowds which waited below raised
a shout in testimony of satisfaction, and, the process of election
concluded, it remained only to go forward with the more sol
emn parts of the ceremony. Accordingly, the regalia were
borne back in procession to the strong depositary ; the king
elect proceeded in great state to the cathedral, where he re
ceived the holy sacrament, and was crowned and anointed by
tho archbishop, having first of all sworn upon the holy Evan
gelists that he would govern according to the law of the land,
preserve the property of the nation, and defend the rights and
privileges of all classes of his subjects from every aggressor.
After the extinction of the line of native Bohemian kings.
the Diet elected John of Luxemburg, son of Henry the Sev
enth, in 1311, to the vacant throne.
Under the German kings of this dynasty, Bohemia reached

Gleig's Bohemia aud Hunj

ary.

flSSJ;

Chap. IV.] German Kings in Bohemia. 355
her greatest splendor, particularly under the reign of the Em
peror Charles the Fourth, who encouraged commerce, mining,
and agriculture ; promoted science ; founding at Prague the
first German university, Bohemia became the central point of
German education, and the foundation was laid of that high
intellectual elevation which, breaking forth about a century
after in religious frenzy, was to involve all Europe in the flames
of war.*
Upon ascending the throne, John of Luxemburg gave to the
orders " a letter of assurance," which is the First Document of
the Bohemian Constitution. In that letter (1310) he gave the
assurance that the property, the rights, and the privileges of
the clergy and the nobility should undergo no alteration in their
institutions. He declared that the nobility and people of Bo
hemia and Moravia should not be compelled to march in any
war beyond the frontier, and that, in case they should go, they
would be entitled to payment for their services ; that univers
al taxes could only be levied on two occasions, at the corona
tion of the king, and at the nuptials of his daughters. He
reaffirmed the old right that, in case of a failure of male and
female heirs, relatives to the fourth degree might inherit, and
that only in want of all these would the estate revert to the
crown ; that confiscation should only take place in the case of
property belonging to criminals sentenced to death ; that for
eigners could not be admitted to court offices ; and that all
strangers who might acquire property in Bohemia, by inherit
ance, marriage, or gift, should be compelled, in the course of
one year, to dispose of the same to some citizen of Bohemia.t
The next document, in chronological order, which appeared
upon the subject of Bohemian, rights, and forming, consequent
ly, a portion of the Constitution, was that known as the " Golden
Bull" (Aurea Bulla) of the Emperor Charles the Fourth, 1356.
This document, in the rude Latin of the day, embraces twenty-
one chapters, relating all to the affairs of the German empire,
with the exception of the eighth, which treats of certain immu
nities of the princes and people of Bohemia. In this article it
is declared, that "no prince, baron, noble, soldier, client, citizen,
" Menzel's Germany. t Palacky's History of Bohemia.

356 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
inhabitant, or other person in Bohemia, of whatever rank, dig
nity, or condition, shall be called to answer to any charge before
any other tribunal than that of the King of Bohemia himself,
or before some of the courts of his kingdom, and that any such
call shall be utterly void and of non-effect."
Charles the Fourth (or as he was also known as Charles the
Fhst, a prince of learning and character) was of Bohemian
descent — his mother, having been a native of that country,
exhibited a strong partiality toward a land with which he was
so strongly identified. " In 1348, he bestowed a new code of
laws upon Bohemia ; in 1355, declared Moravia, Silesia, and.
the Lusatia inseparable from that country. He also granted
the greatest privileges to the aristocracy and to the cities ; en
couraged mining and agriculture ; rendered the Moldau navi
gable as far as the Elbe ; brought German artificers into the
country ; and converted the whole of Bohemia into a garden."*
In the midst of the smiling country stood the noble city of
Prague, whose fine public edifices, the regal Hradshin, as well
as the celebrated bridges, are his works ; while the university
which he had established, called together, according to the most
moderate accounts, no less than twenty thousand students from
all parts of Germany.
But this state of unparalleled prosperity was but of short du
ration. In a few years the great Bohemian reformer, the pioneer
of Protestantism, preceding Luther by a hundred years, arose.
This bold reformer, with a view to restore to the corrupt Church
the simplicity and purity of scriptural Christianity, ventured to
censure publicly the immorality of the priests, to preach against
the sale of indulgences in Bohemia ; declared masses for the
dead, image worship, monastic life, auricular confessions, fasts,
etc., to be inventions of spiritual despotism and superstition,
and the withholding the cup at the Lord's Supper unscriptural.
The promulgation of such heresies, as they were considered,
amid the universal ascendency of Catholicism, could not fail
to provoke against him all the thunders of the Vatican. Huss
was burned at the stake (and his ashes thrown into the Rhine) ;
but the flame which he had raised, and in which he was con-
* Coxe's House of Austria.

Chap. IV.] The Hussite Wars. 357
sumed, was not extinguished when his ashes were committed to
the rapid waters of the Rhine, but led to the most bloody and
terrible wars, in which whole villages were burned and the in
habitants put to the sword, convents and churches plundered
and destroyed, and monks and priests murdered, even the em
peror himself suffocated, 'and this most flourishing kingdom al
most transformed into a desert. The wild Hussite wars, under
their famous blind warrior, Ziska, continued for sixteen years ;
but at length, weakened by divisions among themselves, and
the multitudes of sects into which they were separated, the
Catholics succeeded at length in treading out every spark of
that mighty conflagration which the Reformers had raised.*
As these wars were not merely religious contests, but also
national struggles, the emperor and his priests being as hate
ful as foreign rulers, as on account of their theological errors,
the defeat of the Bohemians was of course the triumph of the
Germans ; and, after the death of Louis the First, king of Bo
hemia and Hungary, in the battle of Mohacs, 1526, his broth
er-in-law, Ferdinand the First of Austria, brother of Charles
the Fifth, was, by the Stande, elected king of Bohemia. The
crowns of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary were thus united.
Louis being the last male of his family, Ferdinand claimed
both crowns under a double title, the one derived from family
compacts, which secured the reversion to the house of Austria
on failure of male issue to the reigning family, and the other
in right of his wife Anne, the only sister of the deceased mon
arch. But the natives of Hungary and Bohemia were too much
attached to their rights of election to respect these compacts,
or even to acknowledge his claims as husband of the princess ;
and Ferdinand, prudently, therefore, waving his pretensions,
offered himself as a candidate according to the usual mode of
election, and being only opposed in Bohemia by Albert, duke
of Bavaria, he was, on the 26th of October, 1526, elected by a
committee of twenty persons, who were appointed by the
Stande to choose a king.
On her connection with Austria, Bohemia was in the full
enjoyment of all her liberty as a limited and elective monarchy.
* MenznI's Germany.

358 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
" On his accession to the throne, the king was always con
strained to acknowledge the right of election, and all the priv
ileges of his subjects, and promised to govern according to the
ancient constitution and statutes, particularly those of the em
peror, Charles the Fourth. The power of the crown was ex
tremely limited, as well by the privileges of the different or
ders as by the authority of the Diet, without which he could
not impose taxes, raise troops, make war or peace, coin money,
or institute and abrogate laws ; and thus, in public affairs, he
was reduced to a mere cipher."*
When the emperor, Charles the Fifth, determined on subdu
ing the Smalkaldio league of Protestant powers, his brother
Ferdinand endeavored to march an army to his assistance ;
but the Bohemians, being mostly Lutherans, claiming the ben
efit of that provision of their Constitution which did not allow
of their being forced beyond the frontiers of the kingdom, re-
ifcised to furnish the proffered assistance. They persisted for
some time in the course of manly opposition ; they entered into
confederation among the different states of the kingdom, and
raised an army to defend themselves against the foreign troops
that were now entering the kingdom, on their way to the Elec
tor of Saxony ; and they disregarded the orders of the royal
commissaries, who, in the king's name, required them to dis
miss their troops and dissolve the confederacy.
In the mean time, Ferdinand labored, by all the means in
his power, to check the progress of the Reformation, and exer
cised the utmost rigor against those who disseminated religious
opinions not tolerated by law. As means of diminishing the
influence of the capital, he removed several magistrates, and
again separated the magistracy of the old and new towns ; he
re-established the Archiepiscopal See of Prague, and empow
ered the archbishop to consecrate the Calixtine as well as Cath
olic priests. But, above all, in total disregard of that docu
ment signed and executed by him on his accession to the
throne, and by which he acknowledged and declared that " the
barons, nobles, citizens, and the whole community of Bohemia
had elected him king, not from any duty or obligation, but of
* Coxe's House of Austria.

Chap. IV.] Kingdom made Hereditary. 359
their own free and good will, and according to the liberty of
the kingdom"* — he formally revoked the document, and de
clared himself hereditary sovereign, in virtue of his marriage
with Anne (sister of Louis the First), and the exploded com
pacts between the Austrian and Bohemian princes. This un
popular and glaring breach of faith could not fail to excite the
highest indignation among a people so jealous of their privi
leges, and might have resulted in the total overthrow of the
monarch and a restoration of their ancient liberty, had not the
tidings of the disastrous battle of Miihlberg, and the total de
feat and capture of their ally, the Elector of Saxony, inoppor
tunely arrived at this moment to destroy their projects and
crush their hopes.
Those very men who, with the hope of foreign assistance,
had displayed such resolution to assert their liberties — the de
scendants of those who, under Ziska, had singly resisted or de
posed their sovereigns, and spread terror throughout Germany,
no sooner saw themselves deprived of foreign support, than they
sunk into a servility and despondency as degrading as their
former decision and boldness had been honorable and praise
worthy. The Stande congratulated the king on the victory,
disbanded their forces, and, hurrying to the feet of the mon
arch, vied with each other in their eager and disgusting dem
onstrations of loyalty. Ferdinand made no other reply to these
tardy offers of submission than threats and reproaches, and,
without a moment's delay, prepared to avail himself of all the
advantages which this timely victory had given him over his
humiliated subjects.
After a memorial, presented to the king by the Stande, de
claring that their only object in joining the confederacy was
to promote the advantage of the country and protect the pre
rogatives of the crown, and promising that they would the
next day erase their signatures and tear off their , seals, and
defend the sovereign against all his enemies with their lives
and fortunes, Ferdinand condescended to forgive them, but re
served his severest vengeance for the contumacious citizens of
Prague. Entering the capital at the head of a numerous army,
the king summoned to the palace the mayor, burgomasters,
* For the original, see the Appendix, note No. 10.

360 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
magistrates, counselors, jurors, elders, and two hundred and
forty of the most distinguished citizens of the three towns. On
the day appointed, these persons, amounting to more than six
hundred, repaired to the palace, and had no sooner entered than
the gates were closed and guarded. The king being thus mas
ter of the principal members of the three towns, and those who
by their talents or influence might have roused the people to
a desperate resistance, was enabled to impose his own terms.
After subjecting them to the utmost humiliation, at the in
tercession of the archdukes, princes, and lords, and of his own
natural clemency, he graciously pardoned their offenses on the
following conditions. They were to renounce their confederacy
with the other states, and, at the next Diet, to break their seals
and erase their signatures, and to deliver up all their letters
and writings relating to their confederacy ; to surrender, with
out exception, all the acts relating to their privileges and im
munities, and to be satisfied with whatever the king should or
dain or graciously restore ; to bring all their artillery and am
munition to the palace, and the burghers their muskets, and
all other arms except swords, to the town-house ; to resign all
their vassals and property to the king, and to his heirs the sov
ereigns of Bohemia ; to cede all the tolls of the three towns ;
and to bind themselves to pay his majesty, and his successors
forever, a certain tax on beer and malt.*
Having extorted from them an immediate ratification of these
hard terms, they were dismissed, except forty of the most dan
gerous, whom he had reserved to chastise, for the sake of jus
tice and the welfare of the kingdom.
In the mean time, Ferdinand had sent a similar summons
to all the towns of the realm, except the loyal cities of Pilsen,
Budweis, and Aussig. The chief burgomasters, counselors,
and elders of all the other cities were oompelled, in like man
ner, to repair to the palace, and, like those of Prague, were
imprisoned until they had surrendered all their estates, tolls,
revenues, and privileges, and paid considerable penalties.
As an appropriate conclusion to these proceedings, a Diet
was summoned by the king, to meet at the palace of Prague
on the 22d of August, 1547, and, with a view to strike addi-
* Coxe's House of Austria.

Chap. IV.] Cruelties of Ferdinand I. 361
tional terror, was opened with the execution of four of his prin
cipal prisoners, and from which circumstance that assembly
has always been distinguished by the appellation of the Bloody
Diet. After this eight were publicly whipped in each of the
three towns ; and before eaoh flagellation, the executioner pro
claimed, " These men are punished because they were traitors,
and because they excited the people against their hereditary
master."* Having, by these rigorous measures, restored tranquillity
and suppressed almost all seeds of future insurrections, Fer
dinand introduced various measures calculated to secure and
strengthen his authority. He appointed in eaoh town a judi
cial officer, whose duty it should be to be present at all public
meetings, and to take care that the public authority received
no detriment. For the suppression of Lutheranism, to which
he ascribed the principal opposition to his designs, he estabhsh
ed in Bohemia, in 1556, the order of Jesuits, and intrusted to
them the care of public education ; he fettered the press, by
the establishment of a board for the revision and censure of
all publications, in less than a century from the time that the
first work was published in Bohemia. Finally, he changed
Bohemia from an elective to a hereditary monarchy,! crushed
the spirif of a brave people, depressed that energy of mind and
military ardor which are inseparable from a free government,
and checked that active commercial spirit which flourishes in
the consciousness of independence. From these causes, the
towns, which had hitherto been remarkable for their comme? ce,
wealth, and population, exhibited, under his reign, the first
symptoms of decline, and the Bohemians began to lose that
military fame which had rendered them at once the example
and the terror of Europe.
Ferdinand was succeeded by his son Maximilian, who, riot-
withstanding his transformation of Bohemia from an elective
to a hereditary monarchy, he took care should be elected by the
Stande, and crowned during his life. Maximilian was an ami
able prince ; and being at heart a Lutheran, and granting to
* Coxe's House of Austria.
t And from that period, as was the case after the same change in Poland, com
menced the decline of the kingdom.

362 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
his subjects great toleration, both in religion and literature, no
difficulties occurred during his reign.
He was succeeded by his son, Rhodolph the Second. The
Reformation rapidly approaching, and the power of the Prot
estants greatly augmenting, the latter were enabled to extort
from Rhodolph (through fear of the rivalry of his brother Ma-
thias) a document known as the Majestic Letter, considered as
the paladium of Bohemia, and by which the ancient religious
liberties were restored.
The following is the substance of the Third Document of the
Bohemian Constitution :
" In answer to the petition of the Stande, in favor of the
Utraquists, " 1st. It grants that they may take the holy sacrament under
both forms (the wine as well as the bread). That both sects,
the Sub Una and Sub Utraque, shall exercise their religion ac
cording to the respective creeds which they had presented, to
the full extent, as it had been confirmed by Maximilian ; that
these parties should have full and free exercise of religion, and
that no one should put any impediments in their way.* A per
fect equality should be introduced in the erection of churches
and founding of schools ; that no party should interfere with
another in the exercise of any religious ceremony ; that no one
from the higher classes, or the inhabitants of cities or country,
could be forced by any authority, civil or spiritual, to change
his religion ; that he and his successors to the throne should
respect these privileges, and that any obstacle or change at
tempted, either by him or his successors, should be void and
of non-effect ; that no efforts should be undertaken in opposi
tion to the disposition expressed in the Majestic Letter, he or
ders his superior and inferior officers of the land-table to keep
a copy of the document in their records, and that the original
be deposited for safe-keeping in the Castle of Stein. "t
Two years after the execution of this document, Rhodolph,
# And, as a security for their religious privileges, were to choose certain per
sons from their body, under the title of Defenders of the Faith, who were to be
confirmed by the sovereign, and whose duty it was to watch over the affairs of re
ligion, and prevent any infringement of this edict.
t Pelzel's Bohemia ; GoldastVs Commentarius de Bohemice Regno.

Chap. IV.] Decline of Bohemia. 363
whose converse was more with the stars of heaven than the
affairs of earth, was deposed by his brother Mathias. Mathias
was chosen king, with all the forms of an elective monarchy,
in 1611, and, after confirming the rights and privileges of the
nation, civil and religious, was crowned with great splendor and
magnificence. He reigned but a few years, and having no
heirs, prevailed upon the Diet to accept his cousin, Ferdinand
the Seoond, son of the Archduke Charles, of the Styrian line.
He was duly crowned in 1616, after confirming the privileges
of the kingdom in the usual forms, and promising not to inter
fere in the government during the life of Mathias. Ferdinand
the Second was the most intolerant of princes ; and the Bohe
mians refused to receive a prince whose acts were in dreadful
accordance with his words, that " Bohemia had better be a
desert than a country full of heretics." On the 23d of May,
1618, a day from which dates the commencement of the " Thir
ty Years' War," they threw from the window of the Council-
house, on the Hradshin, in Prague, a height of about eighty
feet, the two regents of Ferdinand and their secretary ; and in
the following year the Diet of Stande elected to the throne
Frederick the Fifth, elector of the Pfalz. Frederick's reign
terminated in a season ; and hence he has been distinguished
by the soubriquet of the "Winter King." The fatal battle on
the White Mountain, near Prague, in October, 1620, not only
sealed his doom, but orushed forever the hopes and strength
of the Protestants, and decided the fate of Bohemia for the two
hundred and thirty years that have since elapsed.
The pictures presented to us by the Bohemian historians of
the condition of the country, under the mild emperors and kings
who reigned toward the close of the sixteenth century, are most
gratifying to every friend of freedom and intelligence. The
arts and soiences flourished. Prague, the modern Athens, was
the seat of learning and refinement. There Tycho Brahe, Kep
ler, and other eminent minds of the age, studied, wrote, and
taught ; while, according to their exaggerated accounts, sixty
thousand students were congregated from all parts of Europe
to gather knowledge at this fount. Poets and orators sung
and declaimed ; and the works then written still serve as clas:
sical models of language.

364 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
Of the standard of intellectual advancement which the Bo
hemians had at this time reached, their language, that unfail
ing test of the enlightenment of a people, furnishes abundant
and striking testimony. While, in some of the provinces of
Austria, the language was too imperfect and meagre to bear
a translation of the new code adopted on the imperial de
crees issued in 1848, the rich and musical Czeckish language
was not only amply full and refined for that purpose, but
also admitted of admirable translations both of the Greek
and Roman classics, as well as the standard works of Ger
man literature.*
In religion, too, great toleration prevailed, and the several
denominations of Catholics, Protestants, Utraquists, Hussites,
and Calixtines lived and worshiped together in peace and
friendship. The Czeckish power had, under these benign influences, at
tained its maximum. In a Diet held in Prague, in 1615, the
question was gravely discussed whether it would not be better
to erect Bohemia' into a republic like Switzerland or Holland
than to elect Frederick of the Palatinate to the throne ; no one
venturing the question whether the crown was elective or he
reditary. In the same sitting, it was decided that all sermons
should be delivered in the Czeckish language ; that no one
should acquire the right of citizenship without a knowledge
of that tongue ; and that all the enemies of the Bohemian race
should be exiled.
But after their defeat on the White Mountain, where the
Duke of Bavaria, Ferdinand's general, prevailed over the Win
ter King, that power was cloven to the earth. The imperial
troops overrunning the land, held it like a victim bound to the
stake ; while Ferdinand, in obedience to the suggestions of his
Jesuits, subjected it to a series of tortures of the most elabo-
* No more highly-organized language, we are teld, was ever spoken on earth,
than the Slavic ; vying, in grammatical devices, with the ancient Greek ; possess
ing, for example, numerous declensions, an ablative case, a dual number, a pat
ronymic termination, diminutive and augmentative nouns, frequentative and in
ceptive verbs, various preterit and future tenses, inflexions of verbs rendering
pronouns unnecessary, unlimited powers of compounding words, and a host of
serviceable particles ; besides all which, it includes every articulate human sound
known, except the English th. — North Brit. Review.

Chap. IV.] Persecution of Protestants. 366
rate and refined cruelty. It was therein minutely determined
who should be executed with the ax, and who with the sword ;
who should have his arm cut off, and who his tongue torn out;
who was to be cut into four, and who into eight pieces ; and
on what gates these several pieces were to be exposed to the
public gaze.* By execution, exfle, and confiscation, Protest
antism, to which three fourths of the population adhered, was
completely abolished. Whoever refused to embrace the Cath
ohc religion was declared incompetent to exercise any corpo
rate trade, and was generally deprived of his property and ex
iled from the country. So far was the system of persecution
carried, that the Protestant poor and sick were turned out of
the hospitals, and orders given that none but Cathohcs should
be admitted. Not even the dead were, suffered to escape.
Rokysana's remains were disinterred and burned ; and Zis-
ka's monument, and every visible memorial of the heroism of
Bohemia, totally demolished. The Letter of Grace of Rho
dolph the Second was annulled, and all traces of religious hb
erty annihilated. The emperor, disregarding his promise to
the Elector of Saxony in regard to the Lutherans, declared
himself bound in conscience to exterminate all heretics. Fer
dinand abolished all the privileges of the Stande, and excluded
the Bohemian language from the churches and the law tribu
nals. All the Bohemian works were collected and burned ; and
their national language, which they had proudly spoken at the
court of the German emperors, now banished from all refined
society, and confined alone to the peasantry of the land, dis
appeared for a long time from the list of written languages.
Perhaps there is not a paraUel instance of such a complete
change as Bohemia underwent during the reign of Ferdinand
the Second. In fact, as the nativet historian remarks, at the
close of his reflections upon the consequences of the battle of
the White Mountain, " Here the history of Bohemia closes, and
the history of other nations in Bohemia commences."

* Menzel's Germany.
t Until the battle of the White Mountain, as Menzel states, the Stande enjoyed
more exclusive privileges than the Parliament of England. They enacted laws
imposed taxes, contracted alliances, declared war and peace, and chose and con'
nrmed their kings ; but all these they have now lost.

366 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
After this persecution had been carried on for the space of
seven years, the emperor came to Prague, with his family ; and,
having summoned a Diet, had his son Ferdinand crowned as
king. On the 10th of May, 1627, he decreed a new set of statutes
upon the subject of police regulations and affairs of internal ad
ministration, reserving to himself the right to increase, amend,
and alter such regulations. He stated, at the same time, that
another decree, upon the subject of political rights, would be
issued in a short time.
On the 27th of the same month, the second decree made its
appearance, and in which, in affecting to display his clemency,
as well as with a view of preventing the immigration which
was daily taking place (nearly forty thousand families, either
through banishment or voluntary exile, having left the king
dom), he confirmed all the ancient rights and privileges, with
the exception of that of religious freedom, as guaranteed in
Rhodolph the Second's Majestic Letter, and the right of the
Stande to elect the king.
This diploma of Ferdinand the Second, as it is called, and
which constitutes the Fourth article in the Bohemian Constitu
tion, is in substance as follows :
He renews and confirms all the Bohemian privileges, ex
cepting those contained in the Majestic Letter of Rhodolph the
Second .* That there had been a great rebellion, which, by force
of arms and the help of God, he had put down ; that for this
reason he had the right to abolish all privileges peculiar to this
kingdom, so far as they concerned the power and extent of the
authority of the Stande ; but that, in consideration that there
were so many faithful subjects in his kingdom, who preferred
rather to emigrate than to oppose his will — in consideration
that so many faithful counselors and servants had moved into
the kingdom, he had resolved, of his own inborn mildness, to
preserve all privileges, liberties, and Majestic Letters, as far as
they were not contrary to the renewed statutes or regulations
of the country ; but he declared as null and void the two Ma-

* Ferdinand the Second, in the presence of the Stande, with a pair of scissors,
cut to pieces and entirely destroyed the Majestic Letter of Rhodolph the Second.

Chap. IV.] Atrocities of Ferdinand II. 367
jestic Letters of Rhodolph the Second, of which one concerned
religion, and the other punishments and confiscation. He de
clared, also, that he would preserve all the rights of the Stande
in the hereditary kingdom of Bohemia, not to impose constitu
tional taxes, except with the consent of the Stande, and that no
other contribution whatever should be enforced ; that against
no member of the Stande would he proceed summarily (de fac
to), but that every one should be examined and tried by the tri
bunals of justice ; and that, since differences of religious faith
had been the cause of the late rebellion, he must and would
preserve all the people of Bohemia in the unity of the holy
Roman Church, and not permit other faith, religion, and exer
cise in the said kingdom ; and that all those who Jiad not yet
adopted the Catholic religion must be brought by convenient
means to it, in order to form the unity of. faith and feeling,
to serve us better, and to advance the common welfare. That
he would establish a new order of coin, to favor the purposes
of commerce."*
The historians of this period graphically describe the excess
of misery which the reign of this tyrant had produced. " Fer
dinand the Second, on his accession to the throne, found Aus
tria Lutheran, thickly populated, and prosperous ; he left her
Catholic, depopulated, and impoverished. He found in Bohe
mia three millions of Hussites, dwelling in flourishing cities
and villages ; he left merely seven hundred and eighty thou
sand Catholic beggars."
From this blow Bohemia has never recovered.
Ferdinand the Second was succeeded by his son Ferdinand
the Third, 1637, who, though a more tolerant prince, for the
honor, as he conceived, of his father, felt himself obliged to con
tinue, in a measure, the contest which he had left him. In
1640, however, he accorded an instrument known as the No
vella Declaratoria, in confirmation of the rights of his subjects
and of the Stande ; and the ninth article, regarded as the Fifth
Document in the Bohemian Constitution, grants to the Stande

* " His imperial majesty reserves to himself, to his heirs and successors, the
complete control of religion, according to the principle, ' cujus regio ejus religio.'
He felt himself bound in conscience to exterminate all heretics." — Menzel's Get*
many.

368 '-. Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
the right to legislate on all matters which do not affect the sov
ereign rights of the king, and to adopt resolutions which must
receive the sanction of the king.
With Ferdinand the Third ended the long series of wars
growing out of the religious revolution accomplished by Luther
and Calvin, followed by the peace of Westphalia, 1648. This
great transaction marks an important era in the progress of
European civilization. It established the equality of the three
religious communities — of Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvin
ists — in Germany, and sought to oppose a perpetual barrier to
further religious innovations and secularization of ecclesiastical
property. The peace of Westphalia continued to form the basis of the
conventional law of Europe, and was constantly renewed and
confirmed in every successive treaty of peace between its cen
tral states, until the French Revolution.
The reign of Leopold the First (1657 to 1705) was darkened
by the insurrection of the peasants in many of the districts, who
refused to pay the enormous socage demanded. Under him and
his son Joseph the First (1705 to 1711), who reigned over his
empire with intelligence and energy, Bohemia began slowly to
recover, principally through the introduction of German colo
nies, and by a greater religious forbearance and a diminution of
the labor of the peasantry. Charles the Sixth (1711 to 1740),
who succeeded, involved in uninterrupted wars, was not able
to effect much for the welfare of the country. And the same
causes operated against Bohemia during the first years of the
reign of his daughter, Maria Theresa, as this land became again
the scene of the War of the Succession, as well as of the Seven
Years' War with Frederick the Great. It was only in later
years that she was enabled to effect any thing for the welfare
of the country. She ameliorated the condition of the peasant
ry, removed several obstructions to agriculture, opposed the in
crease of convents, and abolished many old abuses.
During the reigns of Charles the Sixth and Maria Theresa,
renewed attempts were made in Bohemia for the revival and
emancipation of the Czeckic nationality ; but these efforts sud
denly ceased when Joseph the Second ascended the throne.
This imperial reformer was beset with the plan of destroying

Chap. IV.] Constitution of Bohemia. 369
all the various nationalities, and blending the whole Austrian
monarchy into one consolidated German empire. But this idea,
which he labored so assiduously to accomplish, was unrealized
when he died. In Bohemia, as elsewhere in the empire, his
zeal in the cause of reform so completely outstripped his judg
ment and experience, that the Stande, after his death, handed
to his successor, Leopold the Second, a bill of complaints against
many of his decrees, some of which had been characterized by
the very best intentions. Leopold the Second, who succeeded
his brother Joseph, granted, at the request of the Stande, a Bo
hemian pulpit, and on the 12th of August, of the same year,
1791, published a decree which constitutes another article of
the Bohemian Constitution, and by which it was determined
that "no alteration could be made in the existing constitution
al regulations without bringing the matter before the delibera
tion of the Stande."
In the reign of Francis, which followed, still further contri
butions to the Bohemian Constitution took place.
1st. In the guarantees contained in the 13th article Of the
Chart of the German Confederacy, which grants to all German
provinces a Constitution.
2d. Articles 54 to 56 of the Treaty of Vienna.
These enactments already cited, together with the corona
tion oath, taken by all the sovereigns, even to Ferdinand, the
last emperor of Austria — wherein he swears " to preserve and
maintain to the lords, nobles, and knights of Prague and other
places, as well as to the whole people of the kingdom of Bo
hemia, their regulations, rights, privileges, institutions, liber
ties, and justice to all ancient and laudable customs, and to
alienate and change nothing of this Bohemian kingdom, but
especially augment and increase it, and do every thing which
should advance the honor and the welfare of this kingdom" —
constitute and form the Constitution of Bohemia.
Since the commencement of the present century no change
has taken place in the political condition of Bohemia. Her
people, much attached to their own institutions, and jealous of
all innovation, have never been cordially reconciled to the house
of Austria* While, on the other hand, Austria, which at first
* To revive and strengthen their nationality, a few years since a Bohemian
Aa

370 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
claimed only to govern by election and according to law, now
acts as if Bohemia were her own by right of conquest.
The form of the Constitution has survived, but its spirit has
departed, and all that was real in its privileges been gradually
abolished, The Stande is still called together annually, some
nominal vote of supply is passed, and they adjourn. Mean
while, all the rights of the humbler orders are set aside, the
nobles become feudal lords, holding their estates of the crown
by tenure of service, and dealing with their vassals as feudal
lords were wont to do. New laws were enacted, new usages
established, and, worst of all, a new language introduced into
the courts.
For years past Bohemia has been treated as an integral por
tion of Germany. German customs and language, instead of
Bohemian, prevail, and every effort made to extinguish the
very memory of former independence, and to induce the per
suasion, both at home and abroad, that as Bohemia had always
owed obedience to the Germanic Confederation, so, in subject
ing its inhabitants to the common usages of Germany, no vio
lence whatever had been offered to the principles of right and
justice. Although the Stande for a length of time never placed much
value upon their privileges as a body, yet they never entirely
lost sight of them ; and a few years ago, when an opportunity
was imprudently presented by the conduct of the Hot' kanzley,
or Bureau of Administration at Vienna, they ventured once
more upon an assertion of their long-dormant powers. At first
tin -.y protested only against any interference with their own pe
culiar rights and privileges ; afterward, as they acquired more
confidence, against those which concerned the rights of the
whole kingdom.
The appointment of Count Salm to the office of High Bur
grave, who had not filled the office of Landes-Officier, and
who was not possessed of any real property in the kingdom,
both of which, agreeably to the statutes, were requisite, in
duced the Stande to complain to the government of the con-
W.llialla was attempted to be established, to be filled with the statues and busts
of l.uhemian princes and heroes. Many of the unfinished pieces may yet be seen
in the studio of the late sculptor Schwauthaller, at Munich.

Chap. IV.] Stande assert their Rights. 371
tempt shown for their rights. The protest of tho Stande
proved effectual, and the disqualifications of Count Salm were
removed. Subsequent differences occurred between the impe
rial government and the Stande upon the subject of funds over
which that body claimed control ; but it was not until the
year 1845 that these bodies came to an open rupture. The
cities of Bohemia finding the expenses of the criminal courts
too heavy, the matter was represented to the government, and
the government subsequently directed the Stande to pay an
nually the sum of fifty thousand florins (twenty-five thousand
dollars) out of their funds for that object. The Stande de
clined on the ground that it was an expense which should be
met by the government. The government paid the amount,
but increased the taxes of Bohemia to that extent, in order to
cover the sum so appropriated, and which taxes were really
paid in the years 1845 and 1846. Although in the Diet of
the year 1847 only the same amount of taxes was demanded
as in the two previous years, yet the Stande thought it their
right and duty to demand of the government the reason of the
increase since 1845. No reason was assigned by the govern
ment for the increase of taxes, as such a step was not usual,
and would, at the same time, have been a dangerous admis
sion to the Stande of a right to control the employment of the
public funds ; but, in answer, the government referred to the
course usual on such occasions, summoned the Stande to an
immediate partition or assessment of the taxes, and at the
same time reminded that body of the right of the king " to
increase, amend, or alter" the statutes at pleasure.
Upon the receipt of this communication, the Stande ap
pointed a committee to examine into and to report upon the
subject. A very voluminous report was drawn up, under the
direction of Palacky (the historian of Bohemia), in which their
rights were historically reviewed, but which proved so consid
erable that it was concluded not to present the document in
its totality, but to preserve it in their archives for future use,
and to communicate the results only to the emperor. This
report proceeded to establish, from historical facts, documents,
and treaties, that the rights of the Stande were not founded
on the statutes of the 10th of May, 1627, as alleged by the

372 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II
administration, but upon the old Constitution of the country,
and the confirmation of King Ferdinand the Second, of the
27th of May, 1627 ;* that this confirmation had afterward been
always renewed by all the kings of Bohemia in their oaths of
coronation ; that this conclusion was drawn from documents
belonging to the archives, and from which it would be mani
fest that the political institutions were originally of a demo
cratic nature ; that the people of Bohemia possessed great po
litical liberties when the monarchical principle was only in its
infancy ; that from this principle was derived the right of free
election of their sovereign by the people ; that this people,
represented by a corporation of the free landed proprietors, had
always preserved their most important rights ; that the Stande
were, according to undoubted historical proofs, the descend
ants of the free landed proprietors, and their rights were es
sentially the same ; that if, in the course of time, some of
these rights, such as the election of the bishop, or the right of
electing the sovereign after the death of every king, had been
lost, the right of co-operation by acts of legislation, and espe
cially upon the subject of taxes, had always been maintained ;
that these statutes were issued and became fundamental laws
as early as the middle of the fourteenth century, under Charles
the First ; that the right of the lords and knighthood to make
their own laws and that of the citizens, and which could not
be altered without their consent, and that the same were con
firmed in the year 1500, and again in 1564 ; that the statutes
of 1564 were to be considered as a treaty between the king
and the Stande of Bohemia, which, even after the suppression
of the Bohemian revolution, could not be altered, but gave
full power to the respective parties to enforce the reciprocal
fulfillment of the treaty ; that the Stande would not enter into
a particular discussion of these facts, as they had documents
of a much later date in their possession to prove sufficiently
these assertions ; that after the battle on the White Mount-'
ain, King Ferdinand decreed, on the 10th of May, 1627, a new
set of statutes, reserving to himself the right to increase,
amend, or alter those statutes ; but that those statutes em-
* Staats Lexikon.

Chap. IV.] Stande crushed by Government. 373
braced only regulations of police administration, stating at
the same time, most expressly, that upon the subject of polit
ical rights a new decree would be issued. This decree ap
peared on the 27th of May, 1627, confirming all the rights and
liberties of the Stande, in so far as they were in accordance
with the new regulations. (It excepts the two decrees of
Rhodolph the Second, respecting religion, punishments, and
confiscations.) That besides, King Ferdinand, in the same
decree, gives the assurance that no taxes or contribution of
taxes would be exacted without having been first debated in
the Assembly of the Stande, and that only such sums as they
voluntarily agreed to pay could be demanded ; that the Em
peror Leopold the Second, in one of his decrees, had decided
that no alteration could be made in the existing constitutional
regulations without its being first subjected to the deliberation
of the Stande ; that these rights were annually acknowledged
in the demands from the throne upon which the taxes were
granted, and were expressly acknowledged and confirmed by
the coronation oath taken by each of the sovereigns, even in
cluding Ferdinand, the present king of Bohemia.
After recapitulating the various statutes which form the Bo
hemian Constitution, the report concludes that, in considera
tion of the very clear elucidation of their rights afforded by
these documents, the committee invites the Stande to inform
the king : First, that the Stande are fully conscious of the ex
tent of their rights and liberties. Second, that they protest
most solemnly against all alterations of their Constitution, or
infringements of their rights and privileges. Third, that they
are resolved to sustain their own and their country's rights by
all the constitutional means in their power.*
The Stande declined to pay the fifty thousand florins, and
requested to be informed of the necessity of such an expendi
ture. The government, in the usual bureaucratic language,
declared "the conduct of the Stande most strange and repre
hensible ;" it stated further, that " explanation upon the sub
ject of the employment of the funds would be given, but that
an immediate compliance with the present request was.expect-

* Staats Lexikon.

374 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II,
ed, as well as a closing of the sessions without delay." The
debates upon the question shortly afterward followed. On this
occasion, the bureaucratic president (the burgrave) of the Diet
said the Stande would have to bear the consequences, " if the
warning of the father should be changed into the punishment
of the master."* It was answered that, " even were an armed
force thundering at the doors, their resolution would be un
changed." On the 31st of August, the request was declined,
the vote being twenty-six against and ten in favor of the
measure. After that decision, the government ordered the taxes to be
collected, and directed the Burgrave Count Salm, if necessary,
" to charge the imperial authorities with the execution of the
measure ; and, in case of a refusal, to employ all the force at
his command."
Backed by a military power too gigantic to resist, the gov
ernment prevailed ; the taxes were paid in utter disregard of
the voice of the Stande, the only remaining feature of the
Constitution annihilated, and, by the hand of a Habsburg, by
which it had been first assailed, perished the last vestige of
Bohemian liberty.
When the first Habsburg ascended the throne of Bohemia,
as the partial eulogist of the " House of Austria" relates, the
people were all-powerful, and the monarch a cipher ; but,
when the last of the same dynasty quitted the throne, the
monarch was all-powerful, and the people a cipher. When
Ferdinand the First was elected King of Bohemia, he could
not impose taxes, raise troops, make war or peace, coin money,
or institute or abrogate laws ; he possessed none of these es
sential elements of sovereignty. And yet the apologists of the
imperial house will prate of the inherited sovereign power.
From whom was this sovereign power derived ? The answer
is, from Ferdinand the First ; for it had no existence before
his time. And where did he obtain it, when, in the language
of the historian, " he acknowledged, by public act, his election
to the monarchy, as the free choice of the barons, nobles, and
states of Bohemia, and disowned all other rights and preten-
* An imitation of the language of the Emperor of Russia to the Poles.

Chap. IV] Bohemia in 1848. 375
sions ?" The question is left to the decision of those fawning
sycophants around the imperial throne who speak of it as a
matter of unparalleled insolence on the part of the Stande of
Bohemia to dare to remind the emperor of his oath of corona
tion, by which he had sworn to maintain their rights. His
tory records no more clear and palpable example of usurpation
than that afforded by the reign of the house of Habsburg over
the kingdom of Bohemia, where they found a people in the full
enjoyment of all the essential elements of freedom, especially
those of electing their own sovereign, and making their own
laws, etc. ; and this dynasty have left it so completely sunk in
slavery that the will of their Legislature is immediately an
nulled by military force, and when, as the only act of resist
ance to arbitrary power, that body presumes respectfully to
remind the emperor of those rights, such a step is regarded as
a matter of " unparalleled insolence."
Such was the political situation of Bohemia in 1847 ; and
it may readily be conceived that when, in the following year,
it was announced that the period had arrived for the resusci
tation of all oppressed nationalities, that people was fully ripe
for the movement, and for the assertion of their long-lost
rights. The state of disorder and confusion into which Europe was
thrown by the French Revolution of 1848, afforded to the
Czechi of Bohemia a favorable opportunity for the indulgence
of their national sentiments, as well as dreams of freedom and
independence, which two centuries of Austrian bondage had
failed to destroy.
Imitating the conduct of the rest of the empire, and jealous,
in particular, of the Frankfort Assembly, in whose schemes for
the Germanization of Eastern Europe it was feared that the
interests of the Slavi would be too much overlooked, the Czechi
of Bohemia protested against every measure tending to identify
them with the Germanic Confederation, and demanded a na
tional existence equivalent in its relations with the empire to
that enjoyed by the Hungarians.
Refused their demands by the emperor, on the 1st of May
an address was published summoning all the Slavic provinces
of the empire to meet in a Slavic Congress, to be held at Prague

376 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
on the 31st of the same month, to take counsel for the inter
est of their race, and especially to counteract the absorbing
influence of the Germanic body about to assemble at Frank
fort. " The populations of Europe," says Count Joseph Mathias
Thun, in his proclamation convoking the Assembly, " are be
ginning to comprehend each other, and to unite. The Ger
mans have, for their work of unity, called together a Parliament
in Frankfort, whereof one principal object is that Austria shall
give up to German sway so much of its possessions as are nec
essary to constitute German unity. This would not only de
stroy the unity of Austria, but would annihilate also the union
of the Slavic races, whose national independence would be
threatened. The time is come when we Slavians must under
stand one another and unite in our resolves."
This Congress, consisting, besides the Bohemian members,
of sixteen deputies, sent respectively from each of the southern
Slavic groups of nations (Russia, for obvious reasons, not be
ing included), had met agreeably to appointment, and were
discussing the various theories of Slavic regeneration, when the
inhabitants of Prague, tired of inaction, rose in open revolt.
For some years previously, a secret association had existed
at Prague among the lower classes of citizens of Bohemian de
scent, and by whom only Bohemian was spoken. On the oc
currence of the revolution at Paris, this body at once avowed
its political character, and, on the 9th of March, a meeting was
called at the St. Wenzelsbad, where a petition to the emperor
was adopted. The authorities had warned the citizens not to
attend this meeting, but no measures had been taken to pre
vent them. A gathering of about thirteen hundred persons of
the lowest rank took place, who elected by acclamation a com
mittee as the nucleus of the movement party, and this com
mittee assumed a permanent authority. As each succeeding
day increased the force of the revolution, a second petition was
shortly afterward prepared, chiefly by a party of students, de
manding popular representation on the broadest basis, and a
responsible Bohemian ministry residing in Prague. The com
mittee, accompanied by two hundred armed students, forced
the governor general of the kingdom, Count Rhodolph Stadion,

Chap. IV.] Petition to the Emperor. 377
not only to receive, but to sign the document, and a deputa
tion was immediately dispatched with it to the emperor ; Count
Stadion, at the same time, advising Baron Pillersdorf, president
of the ministry at Vienna, that "he could answer for nothing
if all was not granted."
The previous petition had also been sent to Vienna, asking
a number of concessions, some of which were granted and oth
ers refused. On their return to Prague, the deputation illu
minated their windows in honor of the privileges granted ; but
the people, on hearing the result of their efforts, were so in
censed because all their demands were not granted that they
broke the windows of all the deputies ; they then appointed
a second deputation to repair to Vienna and renew the appli
cation to his majesty, making loud threats in case their sec
ond effort should be attended with no better success. The
second application was successful. All was granted. A Na
tional Guard, with the Bohemian cockade, was formed. Com
mittees were appointed to suggest the most extensive reforms
for the approaching Diet ; and these committees were by an
other popular demonstration converted into a species of na
tional Ausschuss, or committee of administration, which was
likewise recognized by the governor. After these acts of weak
ness, Count Stadion resigned, and Count Leo Thun, a young
nobleman of great firmness and judgment, was raised to the
post, which his predecessor had only quitted after he had aban
doned every defensible point, and thus given an uncontrollable
impulse to the Revolution.
A Slavic detachment of the National Guard, which was, in
truth, an armed club (composed mostly of students), assumed
the name of Swornost ; another club, called the " Slovanska
Lipa" (Slavic Linden), was formed on the 24th of May, and
whose numbers amounted to six hundred. The objects of
which were,
1st. To observe the further development of the constitu
tional principle.
2d. To watch over the confirmation and equal rights of the
two nationalities in schools and offices.
3d. Strict union of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, for the
preservation of their independence, especially against the Ger
man Confederacy.

378 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
4th. To establish a reciprocity among all Slavic nations.
5th. Commercial intercourse with all Slavic countries, es
pecially in the South.
This club, as its name imports — " the Oak of Bohemia" —
was composed of the most radical spirits of the day, who con
sidered any attempt to sustain order as reactionary. At their
first meeting, a motion to abide by the concessions of the em
peror made on the 15th of May, and to proceed to the election
of members of the Diet, met with great opposition. They in
sisted upon the resignation of the mayor, and that the Nation
al Guard should join the students in a petition to the Minister
of War for the removal of Prince Windischgratz from his post
as military commander of the city.
Ernst Alfred, Prince of Windischgratz, one of the highest
nobles of Austria, is, on his father's side, a descendant of the
old counts, later Princes of Windischgratz, whose ancestor,
Weriand von Gratz, was a branch of the family of Weimar,
that existed in the eleventh century. On his mother's side, he
claims descent from the famous Waldstein ( WaUenstein), Duke
of Friedland' — a title which the emperor, after the prince's suc
cesses at Prague and Vienna, in 1848, conferred on him,* to
gether with that of marshal of the empire. There is, perhaps,
in all Germany, no name more hateful to a portion of the pop
ulation than that of Prince Windischgratz ; nor is it surpris
ing that such should be the case, since, although a well-bred
and highly-polished gentleman, he is cold, distant, and haugh
ty. They ascribe to him the expression, " In my opinion, no
man exists who is not at least a baron ;" or, in other words,
that all below barons were mere animals ; and, whether guilty
or not of the charge, this circumstance has doubtless tended
to aggravate the animosity toward him during the Revolution,
under the supposition that, with his utter indifference to all
untitled human life, he would not hesitate to order wholesale
slaughters, so long as no scions of nobility were included among
the victims. But the falsity of such a supposition, the whole
conduct of the prince at Prague, subsequently at Vienna, and
* He has been for many years endeavoring to obtain from the government of
Austria some portion, if not the whole, of the immense estates of Waldstein, which
had been subjected to confiscation.

Chap. IV.] Prince Windischgratz. 379
still later in Hungary, most clearly establishes. On these oc
casions, as his bitterest enemies are constrained to admit, he
exhibited a forbearance rarely if ever surpassed. The moment
after his wife had been inhumanly murdered before his eyes,
instead of threatening vengeance — instead of executing it —
which the force at his command would have enabled hiin to
effect, "Now," said he, in tones of heart-broken anguish, "the
greatest moderation will be necessary, or I shall be supposed
to act. from feelings of revenge."
This seemed to be his ruling apprehension, to be thought
capable of revenging himself. With the most perfect control
over himself, or a total absence of all feeling, which can alone
account for the remarkable self-possession he displayed on the
occasion just cited, during the siege of Vienna, this man of
iron nerves was found to weep ; and on being asked the cause,
replied, " I feel that severity is absolutely required of me, and
I am tortured by the thought that what I do may be imputed
to vengeance."
As soon as the lawless proceedings of the 26th of May in
Vienna, by which the whole power of the government became
vested in the students, was known at Prague, whether from
the force of example or* from the desire of being independent
of the control of an administration of boys, on the 27th of May,
the president of the government in Prague, in concert with the
other officers of all its branches, decided upon the establish
ment of a Provisional Government ; the ministry to be com
posed of eight members, and no longer to be under the control
of the government at Vienna. Two of the ministers immedi
ately started for Innspruck, to obtain, if possible, the sanction
of the emperor to their proceedings. The ministry at Vienna,
as soon as they had received official intelligence of the pro
ceedings at Prague, hastened to inform the emperor of the ille
gal character of the measure, in order to anticipate all inter
vention on the part of the deputation applying for its confirma
tion. * Count Thun gives as reasons for the movement, that the actual condition of
matters required vapid and energetic mensiires, which exceed the limits of the
existing authorities, and that olficial communication with the ministry at Vienna
had been interrupted by the Lite events in that city.

380 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
At the same time, the Minister of the Interior addressed a
letter to the Governor of Bohemia, in which he declares the
measure illegal, and calls on him, on his responsibility, not to
permit it to progress, and, by proclamation, directed all the un
der officers not to obey the instructions of the Provisional Gov
ernment of Prague until it shall first have received the sanction
of the emperor. To this protest of the Austrian ministry against
the formation of a Provisional Government for Bohemia, Count
Leo Thun boldly replied, and, after quoting the leading points
of the ministerial protest, states that he has sent a report of
his proceedings to his majesty the emperor, and that he was un
willing to retrace his steps or suspend his resolution, until the
emperor's decision should arrive. As to the responsibility with
which the Austrian ministry had threatened him, he protested
that he readily took it upon himself, and that he, and he alone,
was responsible for all the measures of the Provisional Govern
ment of Bohemia. The period for the meeting of the Slavic
Congress approached, and the picturesque streets of Prague
were thronged with the rich and varied costumes, and resound
ed with the many tongues of Poles, Moravians, Slovacks, Servi
ans, Illyrians — all the Slavic nations of the empire. On the 2d
of June, the Congress opened its proceedings, thus giving fresh
stimulants to the prevailing excitement. " The old hymn of
St. Wenceslas was sung around the relics of the Bohemian mar
tyrs, and in churches which had rung with the controversies
of John Huss and the Utraquists ; a Serbian Pope said mass
before the statue of King Wenceslas, in the Rossmarkt ; and
passions as fierce as the flames of Constance, or as fatal as the
rout of the White Mountain, started into life from that bridge,
from which St. John Nepomuck had been plunged into the Mol-
dau." Palacky, the historian of Bohemia, was named president pro
tempore of the Congress ; and a president was also appointed
for each of the three sections formed according to the principal
Slavic tribes of Austria, the Czechi, the Eastern and the South
ern Slavi.* The members present amounted to three hundred,
* The ministry consisted of eight members: Palacky, Rieger, Brauner, Barroslk,
Count Nastiz, and Strohback. Rieger aud Nastiz proceeded to Innspruck, to re
ceive, if possible, the sanction of the emperor to their proceedings.

Chap. IV.] Disorders Increase. 381
and at the first sitting it was resolved that Austria should be
a Slavic empire, as the Slavi, throughout its limits, greatly
preponderated. The subject which principally occupied their
attention was the Diet at Frankfort, and they resolved to have
no connection with it.
In the mean time, the disorder of the city continued from
day to day to increase, and Prince Windischgratz, the military
commander, and who had witnessed in Vienna, on the 14th of
March, the consequences of a want of preparation against a
popular insurrection, began to take the necessary military pre
cautions. These, of course, were regarded as reactionary tend
encies. On the 7th of June, a large meeting of the people re
solved to petition the emperor for the removal of Windisch
gratz, and the appointment of one of the archdukes.
On the 10th, a vast assemblage of citizens and students took
place in the Carolinum, the building of the university founded
by the Emperor Charles the Fourth, at which a Storm Petition
was resolved upon, to demand of Prince Windischgratz, mili
tary commander of the city, the withdrawal of the troops from
certain strategical points which they had occupied on the Visse-
hrad, and a distribution of two thousand muskets and eighty
thousand cartridges, and a battery of cannon for the use of the
town, under the pretext of being obliged to defend themselves
against reactionary movements. The comrrion council pro
ceeded to the Aula, and endeavored, but in vain, to quell the
agitation. A deputation of students, headed by the mayor,
and accompanied by several deputies, waited on Prince Win
dischgratz. The latter personages were only interested in the
third article of the petition, viz., the removal of the battery in
the Joseph's Barracks, on the Vissehrad. The prince refused
to grant the petition ; but, in compliance with the wish of the
citizens, as well as that of the Civil Governor, Count Thun
he caused the battery in the Joseph's Barracks to be removed
to the Hradshin.
On the morning of the 11th, a public meeting was called for
the evening of the same day, in the Wenzelsbad. At this meet
ing the greater part of the persons present were students, and
members of the Swornost ; several exciting speeches were de
livered, and the people informed that Prince Windisch°ratz

382 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
had refused the delivery of arms ; it was thereupon resolved to
drive the garrison out of the city, as the moment had arrived
when it devolved upon the people to make their own laws. The
next day had been fixed upon for the celebration of a great mass
in the Rossmarkt. Eight days previously, Prince Lobkowitz,
commander of the National Guard, had been notified that a
mass would be celebrated on the following Monday, and that
the corps of the Swornost would be present to preserve the or
der and quiet of the city, pledging themselves that no riotous
conduct should be allowed.
On the next day, between ten and eleven o'clock, the time
fixed on for the mass, about two thousand workmen, a great
number of the Swornost, students, and other people in Slavic
costume, assembled on the Rossmarkt. During the mass, the
soldiers at the guard-house and the officers on duty were insult
ed, although they had not been wanting in all the military cer
emonies and honors appropriate to the occasion.
After the mass was concluded, it was resolved to proceed to
the quarters of Prince Windischgratz, and to inflict upon him
a mock-serenade. The masses then put in motion, proceeded
toward the quarters of the military commander, singing Slavic
songs, in which they contemptuously mingled his name, scream
ing out " Okolo,* Windischgratz !" endeavoring in every possi
ble manner to provoke and insult him.
A company of the regular troops stationed before the com
mander's quarters ordered the crowd to preserve silence, and
not being obeyed, they placed themselves before the singers,
and prevented their further passage. Forced by this measure to
withdraw, the populace retired in all directions to their houses
in search of arms ; and re-assembling again on the Graben, im
mediately commenced the construction of barricades. About
this time, a deputation of citizens waited on Prince Windisch
gratz, assured him of their loyalty, and requested his interfer
ence for the preservation of order and tranquillity. On their
return, they met the noisy and riotous crowd, making warlike
demonstrations, and crying out " Down with Windischgratz !"
" The rascal must hang from his own balcony !" A lieutenant
* Okolo, same as the Italian eccolo ; nearest approach in English is halloo.

Chap. IV] Conflict Commences.

3S3

of the regular troops, Tablouski, who came to the G mben to
release the soldiers on duty there, ordered his half company to
drive back the crowd, which was effected without injury to any
one. He was beaten on the head with a stick by one student,
while another attacked him with a sabre. The students were
arrested, and confined in the quarters of the general command
ant. The people made another rush on the soldiers, stormed a
house in which they were stationed, and began to throw stones
and brick-bats. They were again driven back, and, only after
a second attempt, the above-named officer ordered his men to
load. The cry of treason and barricades now resounded from
all parts. Major Schiitte sent his aid-de-camp to the barracks
to bring out the troops. He was attacked with stones thrown
from the houses. A student encountering him with a sabre, a
contest ensued, when a party of grenadiers came up to his re
lief. When the soldiers approached, the mob retired toward
the Museum, which served as a corps de garde to the Swornost,
and there commenced tearing up the pavement, for the purpose
of erecting barricades. About this time the throng increased
to such an extent, that the soldiers on duty, on the Alt Sladter-
ring, were forced to retire with their cannons. Barricades were
now commenced in every street, a Swornost superintending and
giving instructions for their erection ; this, together with the
fact that the barricades were built upon the most approved
plan, induced the belief that the tumult was not sudden and
unexpected, but premeditated and well arranged.
Two companies of grenadiers were ordered to charge the
barricades at the Museum ; they were received with two dis
charges, but without effect ; upon which the second company
fired a volley against the Museum. That barricade was de
stroyed, and the soldiers retired. The troops now began with
energetic measures, and the conflict in several streets was
quite severe, particularly in the Alt Stadt, or Old Town, where
the narrow streets and high barricades obstructed the passage
of the troops, and exposed them to the fire from the windows,
as well as to injury from the heavy stones, tiles, &c, which
were thrown from the roofs of the houses on to them. Captain
Muller marched with two companies on to the fruit-market,
where he was ordered to take the Clementinum. One com-

384 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
pany was posted at the great entry in front ; and the other,
penetrating the building from behind, was received with shots
and stones. The attack was vigorously repelled; several per
sons were killed or wounded, and fifty-six, principally Sworn-
osts, students, and workmen, were taken prisoners, a great
quantity of arms, and several thousand cartridges found in
the building (another proof of premeditation), captured. A
deputation of the people called on Prince Windischgratz, and
demanded the release of the prisoners ; to whom the prince re
plied, that the prisoners would be liberated as soon as the bar
ricades should be removed. This was promised ; and, to fa
cilitate its fulfillment, some of the students in confinement
were released ; these endeavored to effect the removal of the
barricades, but the more violent defenders refused, and the
students, unable to effect a reconciliation, returned to their
prison. A party of National Guards* preceded the troops, to show
that only in case of extreme necessity would the soldiers be
employed. This proved of no avail ; the defenders of the bar
ricades declared to the troops that, if they were attacked, Count
Thun (who, with several of the ministers, they had taken pris
oner) should die.t After all this negotiation had failed, Col
onel Mainan stated that he had orders to destroy the barricades
with bomb-shells, but that he would give them still a respite
of half an hour to remove the barricades and to disperse. Dur
ing this interval, the barricades, so far from being removed,
were more strongly fortified.
At this time the Archduke Ferdinand appeared in the streets,
accompanied by the mayor and several members of the city
council. All his endeavors to effect a pacification failed;
Prince Lubkowitz, the mayor, who accompanied him, was shot
at, and Lieutenant Gustaker, another of his attendants, had a
horse killed under him. In the evening, Marie Eleonore, the
Princess of Schwartzenberg, consort of the Prince Windisch
gratz (sister of the present prime minister, and niece of the un
fortunate Princess Schwartzenberg, who, in 1812, perished in
* TheBe were the German citizens who sided with the troops against the
Swornost, or Bohemian National Guard.
t Quarterly Review, 1850.

Chap. IV.] Fighting Continues. 385
so tragic a manner at Paris, on the occasion of the f< Ir.s in
honor of the Archduchess Maria Louisa, just married to Napo
leon), was killed in her own house by a shot discharged from
one of the upper windows of the hotel, " Tho Golden Angel,"
which was immediately opposite to the quarters of the general
commandant. A few moments after this event the prince
descended into the street and addressed the crowd, who were
making a demonstration before his quarters, with the most re
markable calmness and good temper. " Gentlemen," said he,
" if the object of this vile serenade be to insult me as an indi
vidual, because I belong to the aristocracy, then you should
go before my own hotel, where, unmolested, you may gratify
your desire ; but if, in making the demonstration before this
building, you design to cast contempt upon the military com
mander of the city, I warn you that I shall punish such an
attempt by every means in my power. Notwithstanding my
wife lies now behind me in her blood, I conjure you in all kind
ness to depart, and not compel me to use against you all the
force and power at my command." As soon as Prince Win
dischgratz had finished these words, several of the crowd rush
ing up, seized him, and were hurrying him to the nearest lamp
post, where, with a cord which they had prepared, they intend
ed to hang him, when he was rescued by the timely interfer
ence of some of his troops. These insults and injuries to the
high officers of the government were the signal of battle, and
the conflict was renewed at all points with increased vigor.
General Schiitte attacked the barricades with cannon and de
molished them with bombs ; and, after a hard fight of several
hours, succeeded in re-establishing the communication between
the old city and the Klein Seite. The River Moldau, or, as it
is afterward known as the Elbe, flowing through the city of
Prague, divides it into two parts ; the greater portion, lying
on the right bank, is called the Alt Stadt, or Old Town, with its
narrow streets and antique buildings, one of the oldest, and,
at one time, the most splendid city in Europe. The other
connected by a fine stone bridge adorned with time-worn stat
ues, is called the Klein Seite, or small side, and contains the
royal palace, the citadel, and other government buildings. On
that side the land rises into a high bluff of several hundred
Bb

386 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
feet, commanding completely the level positions of the old
town opposite ; and it was there, on the Vissehrad, that the
first battery was erected which gave the citizens so much
alarm, and which the military commander, at the request of
Count Thun, consented to withdraw.
On the next morning, Tuesday, the 13th, the military com
mander, who had, the evening previous, withdrawn his forces
to the Klein Seite, dispatched a messenger with a white flag
into the old town, and summoned the Slavi to surrender,
threatening, in the event of their refusal, to bombard the city.
The Slavi disregarding the summons, the prince ordered twen
ty bombs to be discharged iiito the city. This was done, and,
producing no effect, he directed that the firing should be con
tinued until ten o'clock. In the afternoon, the insurgents sent
a flag of truce to the military commander. Prince Windisch
gratz insisted on the barricades being removed, but did not re
quire the people to surrender their arms. This was refused.
Thereupon the conflict was renewed. The fighting in detached
parties continued during the day and throughout the night.
The main streets and the principal squares of the city were in
the hands of the troops. The insurgents were established in
the Karolmenthal.
The number of killed on Tuesday night was computed at
six hundred. One Austrian general was killed, and twenty
officers either killed or wounded ; among the latter, the son of
Prince Windischgratz. The bombardment of the city had con
tinued, at intervals, during the 14th and 15th, and, so far from
producing submission, the Slavic students had left the city
in great numbers, to gather and bring to their relief all the
Bohemian peasants from the surrounding country. Count
Thun, who had been arrested by the people, was set at liberty
on the 14th.
On the evening of the 15th, Prince Windischgratz having
been assured by the National Guard that his retirement from
the command of the city would alone effect a pacification of
the citizens, resigned his office into the hands of Count Mens-
dorf, sent from Vienna to supersede him. The cannonading
ceased, and the re-establishment of tranquillity was confident-
y expected. But the Slavi were false to their engagement :

C ii a p. IV.] Bombard m v. n t o f t ii v, C i t y. 387
so fur from removing the barricades, and returning to order,
as was promised upon the resignation of Prince Windischgratz,
the interim was employed in gathering fresh forces, and mak
ing further preparations for action.
But a few hours elapsed before the treachery wau discov
ered. Count Mensdorf himself comprehended the necessity of
resistance, Prince Windischgratz again resumed the command,
and operations were once more successfully renewed. A heavy
fire was opened from the heights on the left bank of the Mol-
dau ; the city was set fire to in many places ; the loss of life
and damage to property was considerable. The barricades
were attacked with great vigor by the troops, and one after
another carried by storm ; and, after three days of severe fight
ing, the city surrendered.
On Saturday night, at eleven o'clock, after almost an entire
week of fighting, the bombardment ceased. The fire in the
city extinguished, the capitulation commenced ; the streets
were cleared of barricades and occupied by the military. The
disarming of the students and people, with the exception of the
National Guard, began, and fourteen of the leaders of the insur
rection were retained as hostages for the tranquillity of the city.
With the entire submission of Prague, the Slavic Congress
was broken up, and its members obliged to leave the city.
The National Committee, many of whose members were im
plicated in the insurrection, was dissolved ; and the projected
Diet of Bohemia indefinitely postponed.
The city placed under martial law, or in a state of siege,
the public order was not again disturbed ; and this conflict
proved not only the first, but the most successful effort of the
restored military power of the empire.
The tranquillity of the Bohemian capital was not again dis
turbed, notwithstanding the subsequent outbreaks in Vienna,
and in other portions of the empire, although the army was
afterward, from necessity, withdrawn ; and subsequently, the
Bohemian party in the Diet at Vienna, and at Kremsier, con
stituted the chief supporters of the throne and government.*

* This was but the result of the strong Slavic feeling, and consequent hatred
of the Germans. They would not follow the German Radicals, though they prom-
ised liberty, but awaited the general union and emancipation of the Slavi.

388 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
Without any direct agency in the liberal movements of the
eyentful year of 1848, but serving rather as the instruments
of conservative, if not of reactionary principles, the Slavic na
tions of Austria seem to be the only portion of the population
to whom the late irruptions have afforded any positively bene
ficial results.
Previous to that period, possessed of no proper individuality,
their political nationality was unacknowledged, and for centu
ries, consequently, they exercised no influence in the political
councils of Europe. The storms of 1848 and 1849 raised them
to consideration, and even to power.
The course pursued by the Austrian Slavi was widely differ
ent from that adopted by the other races of the empire ; and
this doubtless, more than any other cause, contributed to the
results we have stated. Confident of their eventual emancipa
tion from a foreign yoke, the Slavi of Austria seemed carefully
to avoid the premature and hasty examples of the revolution
ary states of France, Germany, and Italy, but continued to
labor silently and in patience for their own liberation ; and,
inste'ad of desiring to accelerate that event, sought rather to
render themselves prepared for its appreciation and enjoyment.
This tendency of the Austrian Slavi, as well as of the whole
Slavic race, was nowhere more evidently displayed than in
Vienna. The geographical position of this capital, sufficiently central
as regards all the Slavic nations, and, at the same time, the
nearest point for the more free and enlightened governments
of Western Europe, had made Vienna, for many years previ
ously, the seat of the Slavic Amphictyons. The first step
taken -by the Slavi, after being rendered conscious of their ex
istence as a great race, was to enlighten the people on the
subject of their national unity. To this end all the powers
of philology (for which the Slavi have a peculiar and native
talent) were invoked, to show that the branches of their race
possess a greater approximation and stronger affinity than ex
ists in those of Romanic or Teutonic origin. The striking
points of affinity developed by this critical comparison of lan
guages, excited the vivid imaginations of the Panslavists, and
very naturally suggested the ideas of a political union. Indi-

Chap. IV] Slavic Unions. 389
viduals of the various nations meeting together, became sud
denly friends, through no other talisman than the mere affinity
of their idioms. Small meetings began next to be held by tho
different Slavi of the empire, in the metropolis, and under the
very eyes of imperial authority. The mass of visitors regarded
these pleasant assemblies as insignificant ; but a few of the
most sanguine did not fail to consider them in the light of an
overture to a long and serious drama.
The police of the city, apprised of these regular festivals, be
came watchful ; and prudence on the part of the Slavi being
requisite, was strictly exercised. The time and place of hold
ing these so-called " Slavic Unions" were frequently changed,
and announced with great secrecy only a few hours before
they commenced. The order and quiet with which they were
conducted causing no uneasiness in the minds of either the
police or of the government, permission was soon granted the
Slavi to hold public concerts and balls (the latter en costume),
even during the last years of the administration of Prince Met
ternich. At a later period, these conclaves became more open, and
took place in a coffee-house called, par excellence, " The Sla
vic." Every stranger, if a Slave, whether civilian or soldier,
was there introduced to the most prominent and erudite men
of the race. There Slavic languages were exclusively spoken,
and Slavic newspapers read by Bohemians, Poles, Croatians,
and Carniolians, who clustered in groups around their several
tables, and discoursed in their various dialects. Articles of
general interest, from the periodicals, were read aloud ; and
letters of importance from the different countries secretly cir
culated ; ethnographical maps disclosed the practicability of
Panslavism, and the interchange of views among the learned
rendered its objects more clear and defined.
Nationality in every respect, but particularly in intellectual
pursuits, was encouraged, in the hope that a common litera
ture would, in time, produce political union ; and the Xivio
Slava, with which all their meetings in Vienna terminated,
became now the watch-word, resounding through the empire,
and deeply exciting every mind.
Such was the prudent course pursued by the Austrian Slavi

390 Outbreak in Prague. [Book II.
for the realization of this historic idea ; when the revolution of
1848, occurring too soon for their still undeveloped plans, em
barrassed rather than facilitated their designs. Influenced by
no sympathy with the Democratic movements of Germany,
they remained passive and immovable throughout the shook
which appeared to convulse all Europe ; and it was not until
the whole list of liberal requisitions had received the sanction
of the imperial government, that the Panslavist Congress com
menced its sittings at Prague.
To that Congress came delegates from every branch of the
Slavic race — Czechs, Lekhs, Slovacks, Rhuthenes, Serbs, and
Slovenes ; and during its session, abruptly terminated by the
outbreak of the populace, the great scheme for making the
Austrian empire instrumental for the aggrandizement of the
Slavic race, first took shape and form — a scheme unthought of
at the date of the Polish insurrection of 1830, and having no
existence when the republic of Cracow breathed its last, in
1846. According to this plan, the Austrian empire was to form a
centre around which all the members of the Slavic family were
gradually to cluster, and under the shadow of which they were
to acquire strength and consistency, such as would secure their
existence, and entitle them to a place as an integral part of
the European system. To render this project completely suc
cessful required the annihilation of the Magyars ; and this, no
doubt, was one of the principal motives which induced the late
intervention of Russia in Hungary.
The Czar, holding imperial sway over sixty out of eighty
millions of Slavi in Europe, very naturally considers him
self at the head of that race ; and his defeat of the Magyars,
the great enemy of the Slavi, furnishes him, as he doubt
less thinks, with additional claims to the title of protector
Both the protector and the protected seem, however, to be act
uated by very different objects in the attainment of the same
great end — the union of the Slavic race. That of the former
would seem to be to accomplish, through the lethargy of the
Austrian and Turkish governments, the subjugation of the en
tire Slavic race to his sceptre, and to create thus an enslaved
Panslavism ; while that of the latter, by the diffusion of liter-

Chap. IV.] Aspirations of Panslavists. 391
ary and political knowledge, is to promote a distinct national
existence, with the hope that, upon tho downfall of Austria
and Turkey, they may be enabled to erect upon this ruins of
these empires one united, free, and great Slavic nation.
If Austria were truly wise, half-Slavic as she is (having more
than sixteen millions of Slavic subjects*), she would leave Ger
many to its plans of federalization, and place herself at the
head of a grand Slavic movement ; and, if the Turkish empire
is destined to orumble to pieces, its scattered fragments should
be gathered together in a Slavic empire, rather than add to
tho colossal power of Russia, and enlarge the dominion of its
semi-barbario institutions. The incapable Greeks of the pres
ent day have sometimes dreamed of having Constantinople for
their capital ; but how much better could the Slavi estab
lish and maintain themselves there, should the predictions of
the fall of the Turkish empire be verified. A Christian suc
cessor to the Moslem would thus be secured, without the Turk
ish empire becoming a possession of the Czar. The attainment
of such a result might reasonably be hoped for, if a common
feeling in favor of liberty united the German and Slavic pop
ulations.

* The three united kingdoms (Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia), though repre
senting but the thirty-fifth portion of the empire of Austria, furnish the third por
tion of the Austrian infantry, and are capable of furnishing double the number,
if required.

END OF VOL. I.

YALE UNIVERSITY

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