PASSAGE OF TEH BEREZINA
Suddenly the explosion came. An admirable plan of attack was drawn up. One band of conspirators was to assemble in Lazienski Park and capture the Grand Duke. The eight thousand Russian soldiers scattered through Warsaw were to be surrounded and disarmed, the arsenal and bridges seized, the provinces raised. Owing to haste and misunderstanding none of the details were carried out. Had not Constantine been entirely confused by the outbreak he might have nipped it in the bud. On the contrary he escaped from the city and trusted to the faithfulness of his beloved Polish army. His trust was deceived. Without exception all the officers and men joined the insurgents. No efforts were made by the Poles to prevent the Grand Duke leaving the country. That was their first great error. Their second was lack of unity in plan. The younger men thought that their only hope of restoring the independence of Poland and recovering the lost provinces was in united action in a national war. As long as Constantine was alive the aristocratic party had no desire to follow the hot-headed young radicals into a war with Russia. They would have been satisfied with such reforms as the Grand Duke was ready to give them. They saw no safety for Poland except in a prompt reconciliation with Nicholas. A deputation was sent to confer with the Emperor, but he refused to have any dealings with rebellious subjects before they had laid down their arms unconditionally. He declared that if the nation arose against his authority it would be Polish cannon which would put an end to Poland.
In spite of all the efforts of the aristocratic party, in spite of Klopitski, who made himself dictator and used the weight of his popularity with the army to prevent an outbreak, the war party got the upper hand. At the January Diet the independence of Poland was proclaimed; the motion was carried to depose the house of Romanof and free the provinces from the Russian allegiance. The patriots were filled with enthusiasm by French promises and English sympathy. At last the conflict came. Count Dibitch, the hero of the Balkans, crossed the borders with one hundred and twenty thousand Russians and four hundred cannon. The Poles had at the most only ninety thousand men and about one hundred cannon, and were under command of the weak and inefficient General Radzivil. The whole country was open to the approach of the Russians.
At first, however, the advantage was with the Poles, but the tide turned. General Dibitch and the Grand Duke Constantine died of the cholera which was raging in both armies. Paskievitch succeeded Dibitch and began the siege of Warsaw. Again discord broke out among the insurgents; the Western Powers which had expressed the most sympathy kept aloof; Prussia lent its friendly aid to the Russians. Paskievitch was able to write to Nicholas: "Sire, Warsaw is at your feet. The submission is general and complete." Nicholas made a terrible example of the rebels; besides the punishment inflicted on the leaders of the revolt, five thousand Polish families were sent to the Caucasus. More than sixty-seven million dollars worth of property was confiscated; the constitution granted by Alexander was taken away; the public offices were all filled with Russians; the Polish army was absorbed into the Russian army; the Russian system of taxes, coinage, and law was introduced; the metric system of weights and measures was replaced by the Russian; finally the Polish language was forbidden to be taught in schools, and the University of Warsaw was suppressed.
Similar punishments were visited upon Lithuania. The following year, when Constantinople was threatened by the victorious Khedive of Egypt, Nicholas, whose policy was "to combat the enemies of public order wherever they were found," came to the aid of Turkey.: The Russian fleet entered the Bosphorus; twenty-four thousand men crossed the Pruth. England and France, however, brought about a reconciliation, and the Russian forces were withdrawn. Russia had its reward; a treaty was signed by which the Sultan and the Emperor were to give each other all needful aid to preserve peace and security. By a secret article the Sultan agreed to close the straits to ships hostile to Russia. Six years later Sultan Mahmud died, and again the Khedive revolted. For a second time Nicholas acted as protector of Turkey.
LAZIENSKI PARK
The revolution of 1848 gave Nicholas his last great chance to fulfil his "holy mission "and play his part of St. George slaying the dragon. He had already united with Prussia and Austria to suppress the free republic of Krakof, which was giving refuge to Polish fugitives. Now Europe was shaken to its very foundations. France was proclaimed a republic; the Austrian provinces of Italy threw off their allegiance; the Emperor Ferdinand fled from Vienna and abdicated in favor of his nephew, Francis Joseph. The spirit of liberty moved over the face of the continent; the Germans declared that "Germany exists wherever German is spoken;" the Slavs met at Prague and proposed to form a Slav republic. The Danubian principalities dethroned their rulers and prepared for the formation of Rumanian unity. Hungary arose at the call of Louis Kossuth, defeated the Austrians, took Buda, and declared itself free and independent. Poland and Russia felt the impulse from afar, and "quivered with excitement." Now arose St. George in his might! He kept King Frederick William IV. from accepting the imperial throne of Germany; his armies crossed over into Valakhia and Moldavia, and thus for the third time he protected Turkish integrity. With the most generous zeal and in the most liberal manner "he assisted Francis Joseph in Hungary, "where," as he said, "the Polish traitors of 1831, together with refugees and exiles from other nations, were usurping the power." Paskievitch, the conqueror of Poland, with one hundred and ninety thousand Russians, crushed the armies of the patriot Kossuth.
Thanks to the interference of Nicholas, the flag of Austria waved above the tricolor of liberty. Francis Joseph punished Hungary more cruelly than Nicholas had punished Poland. During all these years Russia was stealthily and steadily encroaching on Asia. The whole southern slope of the Caucasus was now Russian soil; forts and outposts defended the valleys on the northern side. On the far-off Amur Russia and China stood face to face. This silent advance was not wholly peaceful, however, nor free from disagreeable consequences. The brave mountaineers in their lofty citadels offered constant resistance. Shamyl, the soldier-priest of Circassia, for twenty-five years held the best Russian generals in check. The Kan of Khiva in his desert realm dared all the strength of the Empire, and still each year two hundred Russians were sold in the markets of his capital.
How "Don Quixote" Fought, but not with Windmills
(The Krim War)
For many centuries the eyes of pious pilgrims have turned lovingly toward Palestine. Ten years after the battle of Hastings the Turks took Jerusalem, and emperors, kings, and popes led their crusades in vain against the sacred walls. The infidel at last allowed the Christian to have a convent and chapel at Bethlehem and worship in the grotto where tradition says that Christ was born. After the second separation of the churches a great quarrel arose between the Greek and Latin monks for the right to possess and guard these holy places. The Porte favored now the Eastern, now the Western Church, but in the reign of Nicholas it was solemnly decreed that though the Greek monks should keep control of the holy places, yet the Roman monks might have a key to the great door of the church at Bethlehem, and place a silver star in the grotto. The Porte, however, failed to carry out the decree, and the petty quarrel still went on. From this trivial cause grew the Crimean War.