Part 14 (2/2)

The war ended in 1855 with the fall of Sebastopol, and it was notable afterwards that the Napoleonic splendour increased vastly, that the sham royalty seemed resolved to entertain the royal visitors who had once looked askance at hian to believe that no further Revolution could disturb the Second Empire, which was secure in pride at least Yet Austria was crushed by Prussia at the great battle of Sadowa in 1866, and the Prussian state was advancing rapidly under the govern There were few French Wilhelm's act when he summoned Herr Otto von Bismarck from his Pomeranian estates to be his chief political adviser

The fast increasing strength of the Prussian forces did not sufficiently impress Napoleon, who had embarked on a foolish expedition to Mexico to place an Austrian archduke on the throne, once held by the ancient Montezuony” from his court of the Tuileries, where everyone had confidently expected the victory of Austria Napoleon ht have arbitrated between the two countries, but he let the golden opportunity slip by in one of those half-sullen passive moods which came upon him when he felt the depression of his bodily weakness Prussia began to lay the foundation of Ger Austria from her territory

Napoleon handed over Venice to Italy when it was ceded to him at the close of the Austrian war, and Garibaldi followed up this cession by an attempt on Rome, which he resolved should be the capital of Italy He defeated the Papal troops at Monte Rotondo, which commanded Rome on the north, but he was defeated by French troops at the battle of Mentana

The repulse of the Italian hero increased the national dislike of French interference, but Napoleon only consented to evacuate Rome in 1870 when he had need of all his soldiers to carry out his boast that he would ”chastise the insolence of the King of Prussia”

The Franco-Prussian War arose nominally from the quarrel about the throne of Spain, to which a prince of the Hohenzollern house had put in a clainity This prince, Leopold, was not a member of the Prussian {211} royal family, but he was a Prussian subject and a distant kinsman of the Kaiser It was quite natural, therefore, that he should ask the royal sanction for his act and quite natural that Wilhelive it his approval if Spain ht some cause of difference with Prussia, because Bis in 1869 He was jealous of this new military power, for his own fame was far outstripped by the feats of arms accoeneral He thought that war against his rival ain the admiration of the French They were hun and saw fresh danger for their country in Italian unity and the new confederation of North Gerht have checked his own aer for a war He wasthat his own arn He allowed his Cabinet to demand from Wilhelm I that Prince Leopold's claim to the Spanish crohich had been withdrawn, should never be renewed by the sanction of Prussia at least The unreasonable dehteen years after the new empire had risen on the ruins of the Republic of the French

The other European poould not enter this war, though England offered to mediate between the rival powers France and Prussia had to test the strength of their arht how terrible the cost would be of that long national jealousy

Napoleon took the field hient of the French, and the King of Prussia led his own army with General Von Moltke and General Von Roon in command

The French army invaded South Germany, but had to retreat in disorder after the battle of Worth The battle of Sedan on Septeht the war to a conclusion, the French being routed and forced to lay down their ared to surrender his sword to Wilhelave up his person only, but France herself was forced to yield after the capitulation of Metz, which had resisted Prussia stoutly

The Eland and the Emperor had been deposed

France was once un

The citizens showed strange insensibility to the danger that they ran, for they asserted that the Germans dared not invest the town

Nevertheless, Parisians drilled and arour as Prussian shells burst outside the walls and the clang of bells replaced the sounds of mirth that were habitual to Paris Theatres were closed, to the dismay of the frivolous, whom no alarm of ould turn from their ordinary pursuits The Opera House became a barracks, for the camps could not hold the crowds that flocked there from the provinces

Still many ridiculed the idea of investment by the Prussian troops, and householders did not prepare for the faaily-lighted cafes and took their substantial ht of the morrow There were feomen in the streets and the workmen carried rifles, but the shops were still attractive in their wares The fear of spies occupied n accent was suspicious enough to cause arrest! There were few English mistaken for Prussians, since the lower classes did not distinguish between foreigners

Paris was invested on September 19th, 1870, and the citizens had experienced terrible want In October Wilhelm established his headquarters at Versailles, part of the French Govern to Tours Gambetta, the new minister, made every effort to secure help for France He departed froeons were sent in the sa back offers of assistance Strange expedients for food had been proposed already, and all supplies were very dear Horseflesh was declared to be nutritious, and scientists deelatine Housewives pored over cookery-books to seek for ways of using what material they had when beef and butter failed A learned professor taught theus on the balconies in front of s The seed-shops were stormed by enthusiasts who took kindly to this new idea

Gambetta's ascent in the balloon relieved anxiety for a time, because every Parisian expected that help would coas could not be spared to inflate balloons and sturdy ers were in request who dared brave the Prussian lines Sheep-dogs were sent out as carriers after several attempts had been frustrated, but the Prussian sentries seized the anieons were soon the only means of communication with the provinces

The Parisians clah they felt the pangs of hunger now They {214} retorted readily when there was so while Rome burned Their city was not yet on fire, they said, and Napoleon, the Nero of the catastrophe, could not fiddle because he had no ear for h fuel was running short and the cold weather would soon come

In winter prices rose for food that the fastidious had rejected earlier in the siege A rat cost a franc, and eggs were sold at 80 francs the dozen Beef and mutton had disappeared entirely from the stalls, and butter reached the price of fifty francs the deramme The poor suffered horrible privations, and many children died from the effect of bread soaked in wine, for milk was a ridiculous price Nevertheless, four hundred es were celebrated, and Paris did not talk of surrender to their Prussian foes

Through October and Noveeon, but the sight of a turkey caused a crowd to collect, and everyone envied those who could afford to purchase rabbits even though they paid no less than 50 francs Soon dogs and cats were rarely seen in Paris, and bear's flesh was sold and eaten with avidity

At Christifts, for German toys were not popular at the festive season and the children of the siege talked ifts”

Shells crashed into houses in January of 1871, an eventto Parisians, who had expected a formal summons to surrender before such acts took place After the first shock of surprise there was no shriek of fear Capitulation was negotiated on January 26th, not on account of this new danger, but {215} because there was no longer bread for the citizens to buy

Gambetta resisted to the last, but his dictatorshi+p was ended, and a National assembly at Bordeaux elected M Thiers their president By the treaty of Frankfort, signed in May 1871, France ceded Alsace and Lorraine to Prussia, together with the forts of Metz, Longwy and Thionville She had also to pay a war inde By the exertions of Bismarck, the imperial croas placed upon the head of Wilhelm I, and the conqueror of France was hailed as Emperor of United Germany in the Great Hall of Mirrors at Versailles by representatives of the leading European states The Gered for so burned to the ground

Europe was satisfied that united Germany should take the place of Imperial France, whose policy had been purely personal and selfish since its first foundation in 1852 The fall of Napoleon III caused little regret at any court, for he had all the unscrupulous aenius of the First Napoleon

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Chapter XIX