Part 19

On the other side of the globe, the legislative union of Upper and Lower Canada was at last effected, after a separation of forty-nine years. Each had equal representation in the common legislature, with practical concession on the part of the mother country of responsible government. Kingston was selected as the new seat of government, to be shifted presently to Montreal. To settle the long pending boundary dispute between Canada and the United States, a commission was appointed, consisting of Lord Ashburton for England and Daniel Webster for America. Between the line claimed by Great Britain and that demanded by the United States lay 12,000 square miles of territory. The commission sat all the year.

The American Senate early in the year passed the Sub-Treasury bill. By this measure it was required that the national funds should be kept at Washington, and in federal sub-treasuries in some of the large cities, subject to the orders of the Washington office. The first National Convention against anti-slavery met at Albany. James G. Birney, a Kentuckian, was nominated for President. The Whigs were incensed at the nomination and Birney withdrew. The Democratic National Convention at Baltimore unanimously renominated Van Buren. The political campaign that followed began a new era in American elections. The facilities of transit effected by the railroads now first rendered possible immense gatherings at central points. In May, 20,000 political followers gathered at Baltimore in Harrison's interest. The contest had just opened, when a leading Democratic paper stated "if some one would present Harrison with a barrel of cider he would sit down on a log content and happy the rest of his days." The log cabin and hard cider jug forthwith became the emblems of the Whigs. Log cabin songs were heard, with shouts for "Tippecanoe, and Tyler too." All the Middle States gave their majorities to Harrison. Harrison and Tyler were elected by a vote of 1,275,017 to 1,128,702 for Van Buren. It was a political revolution, breaking the Democratic success of forty years. It was during this year that Samuel F.B. Morse obtained his first American patent on the telegraph. William Draper of New York turned out the most successful daguerreotype portraits yet obtained. Florence, the actor, made his first appearance at the National Theatre in Philadelphia, while Fanny Ellsler appeared at the Park Theatre in New York City. Ralph Waldo Emerson published the "Dial." Other notable publications in American letters were Poe's "Tales of the Arabesque and Grotesque," Willis's "Loiterings of Travel," Cooper's "Pathfinder," and Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast."

In Central and South America, it was likewise a year of political upheavals. The Yankee settlers of Texas maintained their independence against Mexico. Their movement was joined by the Northern States along the Rio Grande. The independent State of New Mexico was formed. Yucatan likewise became an independent government. On July 25, a revolution broke out in the City of Mexico. General Urrea captured in person President Bustamente. After two days Bustamente was released on a pledge of general amnesty and administrative reforms. Santander, the first President of Colombia, died in May. The election of Marquez to the Presidency was followed by civil war. The province of Cartagena seceded from Colombia. The union of Central American States was dissolved, and Costa Rica became an independent republic. In Brazil, another political overturn resulted in material changes in the Constitution. In July, the Brazilian Legislature declared Dom Pedro II., then still under age, Emperor of Brazil. In the Argentine Republic, General Lavalle, who had taken the field against his opponents, was utterly defeated and shot. A new treaty was concluded between Argentina and Montevideo.

In the distant South Seas, the Hawaiian Islands were recognized as an independent kingdom by the Powers on the condition that free access be given to white missionaries and the teachings of Christianity.

In regard to the affairs of the Orient, the Powers found agreement more difficult. France gave continued support to the pretensions of Mehemet Ali of Egypt against Turkey. The French scheme to anticipate Russia's designs on Constantinople by a dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of Mehemet Ali at Constantinople found little favor with the Powers. The Russian statesmen understood the true weakness of Turkey, and were willing to bide their time. Metternich and Lord Palmerston clung to the belief that the Ottoman Empire could still be reconstructed. Thus Lord Palmerston said at this time: "All that we hear about the decay of the Turkish Empire, and its being a dead body, or a sapless trunk, and so forth, is pure and unadulterated nonsense." Metternich affected to look upon Mehemet Ali as a mere rebel. At last, on July 15, the negotiators of Great Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia, without waiting for France, concluded a treaty at London. Egypt was offered to Mehemet Ali in perpetuity with southern Syria for his lifetime. If this offer was not accepted within ten days, Egypt alone was to be ceded; if, after twenty days, this alternative were not accepted, joint action was to be taken against Mehemet Ali.

The exclusion of France from the concert of Europe aroused a storm of anger at Paris. Guizot, the French Ambassador at London, expostulated with Lord Palmerston. Thiers, then at the head of affairs in France, issued orders for an increase of the strength of army and navy. The long-delayed fortifications at Paris were begun. Military spirit was so awakened in France that the familiar cry was raised to avenge Waterloo and recover the Rhine. The Germans fiercely resented this threat of invasion, prompted largely by French exasperation over the turn which Egyptian affairs had taken. Even the Rhenish provinces, which owed so much to France, shared in this national feeling. It was at this time that Becker, himself a man from the Rhine, wrote the lines which in later years became one of Germany's most famous war songs:

"Sie sollen ihn nicht haben Den freien deutschen Rhein."

Alfred de Musset answered this with his defiant verses:

"Nous avons eu votre Rhin Allemand,"

Under the stress of this new military ardor in France, agitation was revived for the return of Napoleon Bonaparte's remains from St. Helena to France. The consent of the British Government having been obtained, a decree to this effect was passed by the French Chambers. Other events helped to fan to fresh life the smouldering flames of Napoleonic imperialism. Thus the death of Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's eldest brother, and of Marshal MacDonald, hero of Wagram, recalled a host of Napoleonic memories. On August 6, Prince Louis Napoleon deemed the time ripe for another Napoleonic rising. Crossing over from England with General Moltenon and fifty followers he attempted to incite an insurrection at Vimereux near Boulogne. He hoped to re-enact the events after Elba. Once more his plans ended in a fiasco. "Bonaparte or not, I see in you only a conspirator," exclaimed Colonel Puygelier. The conspirators fled back to their boat and capsized. Louis Napoleon was taken and sentenced to life imprisonment within the fortress of Ham. As a sop to popular feeling, King Louis Philippe permitted the bronze statue of the Great Napoleon to be replaced on the column of the Grande Armée in Paris.

1 Henry T Tackerman 2 Oliver Wendell Holmes 3 William Gilmore Simms 4 Fitz Greene Halleck 5 Nathaniel Hawthorne 6 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 7 Nathaniel Parker Willis 8 William H Prescott 9 Washington Irving 10 James K Paulding 11 Ralph Waldo Emerson 12 William Cullen Bryant 13 John P Kennedy 14 J Fenimore Cooper 15 George Bancroft]

In England, great popular rejoicings had been occasioned by the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. A bill was passed appointing the Prince Consort regent of England in case of the Queen's death. The royal couple were well matched. The credit of having brought about this marriage was chiefly due to Lord Melbourne. The tactful conduct of Prince Albert after the marriage fully justified his choice. Yet Prince Albert was never popular in England. Parliament cut down his proposed income from the Crown by nearly one half. The lower classes were prejudiced against him as a foreigner, while the nobility and army turned against him when they found that he preferred the society of men eminent for their intellectual attainments to that of dukes and marquises. On June 10, an insane pot-boy named Oxford attempted to assassinate the Queen and the Prince Consort with a pistol. The would-be assassin was confined in an asylum. On November 21, Queen Victoria gave birth to her eldest child, Augusta, who subsequently became Empress of Germany.

Other English events of domestic importance were the passage of the vaccination act, the introduction of screw propellers in the British navy, and the State trial of the three leaders of the Chartist movement of the previous year. A monster petition subscribed by 1,280,000 signatures on a great cylinder was rolled into Parliament. In it were embodied new demands for a bill of rights, or the "People's Charter," comprising universal suffrage, including that of woman, secret ballots, payment of Parliamentary representatives, and the like. The denial of this petition provoked a popular uprising under the leadership of Jack Frost at Newport, which had to be suppressed by the military. After a sensational trial, the leaders were condemned to deportation.

Echoes of the English Regency were re-awakened by the death of "Beau" Brummel, a dandy after the manner of the French exquisites. It was a boast of this leader of fashion that he spoiled twenty-five cravats before one was tied to his liking. The Prince Regent in his dress imitated Brummel. The offended beau retaliated one day, when some of his friends saluted the Prince on Rotten Row, by asking, "Who is your fat friend?" Leigh Hunt improved upon this in his "Examiner" by describing the Prince as "a corpulent Adonis of fifty." For this Hunt was sentenced to imprisonment for two years and fined £500. After George IV. became king, Brummel fell into disfavor and had to leave London. Years later, the bankrupt beau, who had been cheated out of a snuff-box by Prince George, presented the King with another in token of submission. In the words of Thackeray, "the King took the snuff, and ordered his horses, and drove on, and had not the grace to notice his old companion--favorite, rival, enemy, superior." Poor Beau Brummel died in extreme poverty. Some of the striking episodes of the beau's career were dramatized in a play, which has kept alive the memory of this lesser light of modern English society.

The career of another striking figure of the Nineteenth Century was ended by the death of Paganini, the most remarkable of violin virtuosi. The son of a poor shopkeeper, with little musical knowledge, but of some proficiency on the mandolin, Paganini received an indifferent early schooling in music. After the boy had come under the tutelage of Costa, the orchestral leader of Genoa, his progress on the violin was rapid. At the age of eight he composed a violin sonata. Soon he surpassed his instructors. At sixteen he ran away from his father, after a concert at Lucca, and made a tour of his own through Italy. Already he was addicted to gambling and other forms of dissipation. At Leghorn he had to sell his violin to pay a gambling debt. A Frenchman, M. Levron, lent him his own Guarnero violin. When he heard him play on it he was so charmed that he made him a present of the instrument. Paganini kept the Guarnero throughout the rest of his life. It was the turning-point of his career. After two years of incessant practice, Paganini appeared in public again at Lucca, where he aroused unbounded enthusiasm by his novel performances on the G string. For the next twenty years he travelled and played throughout Italy, vanquishing all rivals. His superstitious countrymen believed him to be in league with the Evil One, an impression which Paganini loved to confirm by dark utterances and eccentricities of dress. Not until 1828 did he leave his own country to gather foreign laurels. His first appearance at Vienna was an unprecedented triumph. The Emperor appointed him court violinist and the city of Vienna presented him with a gold medal. From there he made a triumphal tour through Europe, appearing in Berlin, Paris and London. He was acknowledged the most wonderful violinist that had ever been heard. He soon amassed a colossal fortune. Withal, Paganini was almost as much a charlatan as he was an original genius. He liked to impress his audiences by fantastic eccentricities and by mere tricks of legerdemain, such as dropping and catching his instrument, or breaking one string after another to finish his concert on one alone. Other tricks of virtuosity, such as tuning up the A string by a semi-tone, left hand pizzicato, or his double thirds, were executed with such stupendous technique that they held connoisseurs and amateurs spellbound. His individuality, in fact, was so abnormal that it rendered him unfit to play with others in quartets or other chamber music. As a man he had all the worst faults of a genius. The vast sums of money which he accumulated were gambled away. His whole life was disgraced by unbridled sensuality coupled with sordid avarice. This explains in a measure Paganini's inferior rank as a composer. Famous are his variations on the tune "God Save the King," his "Studies," his twenty variations on "Il Carnevale di Venezia," and the concert allegro "Perpetual Motion." The celebrated twenty-four violin capricci, written early in Paganini's career, have been rendered familiar by their transcriptions to the pianoforte by Schumann and Liszt. Paganini died from the results of dissipation. He left his famous Guarnero fiddle to his birthplace, Genoa.

In Germany, King Frederick William III. of Prussia died in his sixty-sixth year. He was succeeded by Frederick William IV. The pending dispute between the Prussian Government and the Vatican, arising out of the refusal of the Rhenish priests to sanction marriages between Catholics and Protestants, found a temporary adjustment by the new king's concessions to the clergy.

In England, too, church questions temporarily rose uppermost during debates in Parliament over the proposed government assistance to schools in which the Douay Bible, or Roman Catholic version of the Scriptures, was used. On account of these Parliamentary debates, and the attempted reform of Irish registration by which more Roman Catholic voters were to be admitted, a loud anti-Popery cry was raised by the English Tories. Once more the House of Peers rejected a bill for removing the political disabilities of the Jews, after its passage through the Commons by a handsome majority of 113 yeas. The attention of Englishmen at this time was diverted to questions of foreign policy. The British expedition against China had arrived at the mouth of the Canton River in June. A naval blockade was established in Chinese waters. The Chinese retaliated by offering a reward for every Englishman taken, and a prize of $20,000 for the destruction of a British man-of-war. Sir Gordon Bremer sent an expedition against the Island of Chusan. The Chinese officials refused to surrender until after the city of Tinghai had been all but demolished by the English guns. Tinghai was made a British base of supplies, but proved a very unhealthy place. The Chinese capture of an English subject, Vincent Stanton, was followed by a British expedition into the Canton River. The barrier forts, after a heavy bombardment, were taken by storm. Stanton was released. The British fleet made demonstrations at Amay, Ningpo, and in the Gulf of Pechili. Emperor Taouk-Wang sent for troops from the interior. Mandarin Lin, who had entered into negotiations with the British, was degraded and was succeeded by Viceroy Keshen of Peiho. Keshen received Lord Palmerston's formal demands upon China and forwarded them to Pekin. By dilatory tactics he succeeded in gaining a breathing space.

In India, the British occupation of Kabul continued. New trouble broke out in Burma where the British Resident was expelled from Ava. An expedition had to be sent against Burma. The death of Runjit Singh led to a series of revolutions which shook the Sikh dominion to its foundations. The successive deaths of Runjit Singh's son and grandson, who had succeeded him as Maharajas, led to a general belief that they had been murdered by the Prime Minister, Dhian Singh. All the chief Sirdars rose against Dhian. The Sikh army of Khalsak, numbering 7,000 soldiers, became a menace for Hindustan. In July, the British garrison of Kelat in Beluchistan was overpowered by the natives. Lord Auckland had to prepare another expedition to restore English prestige in that quarter. Kelat was retaken by the British in November. New complications arose at Herat. This had long been the bone of contention between Great Britain and Russia in Central Asia. British ascendency over Herat had been gained by large financial subsidies, which had been spent in frustrating the designs of the Persians and Russians in that quarter. Major d'Arcy Todd, the English envoy at Herat, incensed by King Kamram's continued dealings with Russia, withheld the further payment of the British subsidies, unless British troops were admitted to Herat. The situation became so acute that Major Todd on his own authority threw up his post and left Herat. It was a severe setback for British influence in Central Asia. Lord Auckland in exasperation dismissed his erstwhile ambassador from political employ. Todd found a soldier's death on the field of Ferozeshahar. The continued rebellion of the Sarawacks in Borneo gave the British an opportunity for interference there. Sir James Brooke, at the head of a British expedition, helped the Sultan of Borneo in quelling the rising.

The operations of the international coalition against Mehemet Ali of Egypt had now begun. Though the Viceroy's soldiers lay on Turkish soil without a foe before them, and France stood at his back, Mehemet Ali found himself checkmated. While Russia undertook to keep Ibrahim's army out of Constantinople, all French support was neutralized by Germany's mobilization on the Rhine. A naval squadron, composed of British and Austrian warships, was free to land the Turkish forces in Syria. On October 10, Commodore Napier bombarded Beyrout. The Syrians were armed against their Egyptian oppressors. On November 3, the British and Austrian fleets captured Acre. Ibrahim, with the remains of his army, fell back toward the Egyptian frontier. When the British fleet arrived before Alexandria, Mehemet Ali made haste to come to terms. In contravention of the ultimatum of the Powers, he was allowed to retain his hereditary dominion over Egypt upon relinquishment of Syria, and of the Turkish fleet, which had been betrayed into his hands. Sir Charles Napier in later years, while speaking of his part in this expedition in Parliament, said: "I was ashamed for my country and for myself."

The humiliating position forced upon France caused the downfall of the Ministry of Thiers. Marshal Soult was placed at the head of affairs. Guizot was recalled from his embassy at London to take the portfolio of Foreign Affairs. He succeeded in restoring France to her former place in the concert of Europe. The French Government joined with the other powers in the restoration of the ancient rule of the Ottoman Empire by which all foreign warships were excluded from the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. Russia thereby virtually conceded the abrogation of her treaty of Unkiar Skelessi. On the other hand, Sebastopol and the Russian arsenals of the Euxine were thus safeguarded against any maritime attack except by Turkey.

The revival of the Napoleonic legend by such writers as Béranger, Lamartine, and Victor Hugo, together with other influences which served to keep bright the glories of the Empire, bore their fruit in the return of Napoleon's remains to France. On October 15, his body had been removed from the simple tomb at St. Helena. On November 30, the ship bearing Napoleon's remains arrived at Cherbourg. A million francs were voted by the Chambers for the new sepulchre under the dome of the chapel of the Hôtel des Invalides. On this occasion great publicity was given to Lord Palmerston's letter to Ambassador Granville: "The government of her British Majesty hope that the promptness of their response to this French request will be considered in France as a proof of their desire to efface all traces of those national animosities which, during the life of the Emperor armed against each other the French and English nations. The government of her Majesty are confident that if such sentiments still exist anywhere, they will be buried in the tomb in which the remains of Napoleon are to be laid." Napoleon's reburial was witnessed by a million of persons including a hundred and fifty thousand soldiers drawn up in line to do him honor. The ceremonies were attended by the royal family and all the dignitaries of France, excepting only the immediate relatives of the great Napoleon. As it happened, those of the Napoleonides that were not dead were either in exile or in prison.

Shortly before this, great havoc had been wrought in France by disastrous inundations of the Saone and Rhone. The water, which covered 60,000 acres, and flooded Lyons, rose higher than it had within 250 years. In Greece, a tremendous earthquake laid the city of Zante in ruins. These catastrophes were made the object of special study in Germany and Switzerland, where Agassiz was in the midst of his epoch-making discourses on the glacial period.

Toward the end of the year wretched Spain suffered another political upheaval. After the last abandonment of the cause of Don Carlos by General Cabrera, in July, the Queen-Regent found herself confronted by a strong democratic party both in the Cortes and the country. The scandals of her private life undermined her political authority. By an insurrection at Barcelona she was forced to call in General Espartero, the chief of the Progressist party, as her Prime Minister. Rather than submit to his demands she abdicated the Regency in October and left Spain. Espartero, toward the close of the year, was acknowledged by the Cortes as Regent of Spain. His first measures turned a large part of the people against him. On December 29, as a result of the growing discussions between the government and the clergy, the Papal Nuncio was expelled from Madrid. Thereafter Espartero and the clerical party of Spain were at daggers' points.

This year Friedrich Overbeck finished his masterpiece, the "Triumph of Religion and the Arts." This German artist, at the time when the classicism of David was at its height, had become his most strenuous opponent, and had brought about the regeneration of the German religious school of painting. He and several of his followers formed the Nazarites, whose fundamental principle was that art existed only for the service of religion. Overbeck's frescoes of the "History of Joseph" and "Jerusalem Delivered" are best known. Among his paintings of this period, "The Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem" at Luebeck, "Christ on the Mount of Olives" at Hamburg, and "The Coronation of Mary" in the Cathedral of Cologne, are the most celebrated.

1841

The dilatory tactics of Viceroy Keshen in China had prolonged the negotiations there for several weeks. In the meanwhile a large Chinese army was gathering in the interior. Early in the year, after the arrival of the British plenipotentiaries, orders were issued for an attack on the Bogue forts. On January 7, 1,500 British troops were landed on the flank and rear of the forts at Chuenpee. After a sharp cannonade by the fleets, the forts were carried by a storming party under Captain Herbert. Simultaneously the forts at Taikok were destroyed by the fleet, and their Chinese garrison was routed by landing parties. Several Chinese junks were sunk during the engagement. In all the Chinese lost some 1,500 men in casualties; the British losses were small. After the capture of the Bogue forts, Viceroy Keshen came to terms. He agreed to pay a large money indemnity and to cede Hong Kong absolutely. On January 29, Hong Kong was declared a British possession, and was heavily garrisoned with the troops transferred from Chusan. The importance of the new acquisition was scarcely realized by Englishmen at the time.

The suspension of hostilities proved but temporary. Keshen was degraded and banished. Emperor Taouk-Wang issued an edict that he was resolved "to destroy and wash the foreigners away, without remorse." Keshen's successor, Elang, repudiated the convention signed by his predecessor. On February 25, the British proceeded to attack the inner line of forts guarding the approaches to Canton. The formidable lines of Anunghoy, with batteries of two hundred guns, were carried in the first rush. In quick succession the other positions of the Chinese were taken, until, on March 1, the English squadron drew up in Whampoa Reach, under the very walls of Canton. On the arrival of Sir Hugh Gough, to take command of the British forces, a brief armistice was granted. After a few days, hostilities were renewed by the capture of the outer line of defences. Under the threat of immediate military occupation, the Viceroy of Canton came to terms. On March 18, the British reoccupied their opium factories in Canton. Emperor Taouk-Wang's anti-foreign policy remained unshaken. He appointed a new commission of three mandarins to govern Canton, and collected an army of 50,000 men in that province. In May, Captain Elliot was insulted in the streets of Canton. He sent for reinforcements from Sir Hugh Gough at Hong Kong. A notice was issued advising all Englishmen to leave Canton that day. On the following night the Chinese sacked the opium warehouses and fired upon the British ships lying at anchor. Fire rafts were let loose against the squadron, but drifted astray. The British promptly took the offensive. They sunk forty war junks, and dismantled the Chinese batteries. On May 24, Sir Hugh Gough arrived at Canton with all his forces. The fleet advanced up the Macao passage, and troops were landed under unusually difficult circumstances. The Chinese failed to take advantage of this, preferring to await the British attack in a strong line of intrenchments north of the city. On May 25, two British columns of 2,000 men each, with sixteen pieces of artillery and fifty-two rockets, advanced to the attack across the sacred burial grounds. Three of the hill forts were carried with slight loss. At the fourth fort desperate resistance was encountered. After this fort had succumbed to a bayonet attack the Chinese rallied in an open camp one mile to the rear. Intrenchments were thrown up with remarkable rapidity. The British troops, led by the Royal Irish Fusiliers, streamed over the open ground and scattered the remaining forces of the Chinese. The brilliancy of this exploit was dimmed by the slaughter of Chinamen while asking quarter. The British losses were 70 killed and wounded. A general attack on the city was ordered for the next day. A fierce hurricane and deluge of rain frustrated this plan. During the day the Canton mandarins came to terms. They agreed to pay an indemnity of $6,000,000, and to withdraw their troops sixty miles from the city. A few days after this, when $5,000,000 of the indemnity had already been paid, the Chinese broke the armistice by an attempt to surprise the British camp. Instead of driving the attack home, the Chinese soldiers, some 10,000 in number, contented themselves with waving their banners and uttering yells of defiance. The British artillery opened on them, and a running fight ensued. In the midst of it a violent thunderstorm burst over Canton. A detachment of Madras Sepoys lost its way, and was all but overwhelmed by the Chinese. They had to be extricated by a rescue party of marines, armed with the new percussion gun, which was proof against wet weather. Under threat of immediate bombardment, the payment of more ransom was exacted from Canton. In the end the city was spared, to remain, according to the English formula, "a record of British magnanimity and forbearance."

After this the opium trade reverted to its former footing. To bring the Chinese Emperor, himself, to terms, Sir Henry Pottinger, the new British plenipotentiary, sailed northward, and appeared before the seaport of Amoy, nominally at peace with England. The Viceroy of Amoy sent a flag of truce to demand what was wanted. He was called upon to surrender the town. This he refused to do. The British ships at once engaged the land batteries, and landing parties were sent around the rear. The Chinese gunners were driven from their pieces, but several of their officers committed suicide. The commandant of the chief fort drowned himself in the face of both armies. The capture of Amoy remained barren of useful results. The British fleet proceeded northward until scattered by a hurricane in the Channel of Formosa. Coming together off Ningpo, the fleet attacked Chusan for the second time. Spirited resistance was offered by the Chinese. In the defence of the capital city Tinghai, Keo, the Chinese general-in-chief, was killed. All his officers fell with him. Leaving a garrison at Chusan, the British attacked Chinhai on the mainland. Here the Chinese suffered their heaviest losses. After this victory the city of Ningpo was occupied without opposition. The inhabitants shut themselves up and wrote on their doors: "Submissive people." Nevertheless, Ningpo was put to ransom, under threats of immediate pillage. More British troops and warships were arriving to carry the war to the bitter end, when news arrived of disastrous events in Afghanistan. Troops had to be diverted in that direction, and a more definite settlement of the Chinese question was accordingly postponed.