第 69 节
作者:点绛唇      更新:2021-02-21 16:26      字数:9321
  complete victory for the Russians who ‘‘established order along
  the banks of the Vistula'' in the well…known Russian fashion
  Nicholas the first; who had succeeded his brother Alexander in
  1825; firmly believed in the Divine Right of his own family;
  and the thousands of Polish refugees who had found shelter
  in western Europe bore witness to the fact that the principles
  of the Holy Alliance were still more than a hollow phrase in
  Holy Russia。
  In Italy too there was a moment of unrest。 Marie Louise
  Duchess of Parma and wife of the former Emperor Napoleon;
  whom she had deserted after the defeat of Waterloo; was
  driven away from her country; and in the Papal state the
  exasperated people tried to establish an independent Republic。
  But the armies of Austria marched to Rome and soon every
  thing was as of old。 Metternich continued to reside at the Ball
  Platz; the home of the foreign minister of the Habsburg
  dynasty; the police spies returned to their job; and peace
  reigned supreme。 Eighteen more years were to pass before a
  second and more successful attempt could be made to deliver
  Europe from the terrible inheritance of the Vienna Congress。
  Again it was France; the revolutionary weather…cock of
  Europe; which gave the signal of revolt。 Charles X had been
  succeeded by Louis Philippe; the son of that famous Duke of
  Orleans who had turned Jacobin; had voted for the death of his
  cousin the king; and had played a role during the early days
  of the revolution under the name of ‘‘Philippe Egalite'' or
  ‘‘Equality Philip。'' Eventually he had been killed when
  Robespierre tried to purge the nation of all ‘‘traitors;'' (by
  which name he indicated those people who did not share his own
  views) and his son had been forced to run away from the
  revolutionary army。 Young Louis Philippe thereupon had
  wandered far and wide。 He had taught school in Switzerland
  and had spent a couple of years exploring the unknown ‘‘far
  west'' of America。 After the fall of Napoleon he had returned
  to Paris。 He was much more intelligent than his Bourbon
  cousins。 He was a simple man who went about in the public
  parks with a red cotton umbrella under his arm; followed by a
  brood of children like any good housefather。 But France had
  outgrown the king business and Louis did not know this until
  the morning of the 24th of February; of the year 1848; when
  a crowd stormed the Tuilleries and drove his Majesty away and
  proclaimed the Republic。
  When the news of this event reached Vienna; Metternich
  expressed the casual opinion that this was only a repetition
  of the year 1793 and that the Allies would once more be obliged
  to march upon Paris and make an end to this very unseemly
  democratic row。 But two weeks later his own Austrian capital
  was in open revolt。 Metternich escaped from the mob through
  the back door of his palace; and the Emperor Ferdinand was
  forced to give his subjects a constitution which embodied most
  of the revolutionary principles which his Prime Minister had
  tried to suppress for the last thirty…three years。
  This time all Europe felt the shock。 Hungary declared itself
  independent; and commenced a war against the Habsburgs
  under the leadership of Louis Kossuth。 The unequal
  struggle lasted more than a year。 It was finally suppressed by
  the armies of Tsar Nicholas who marched across the Carpathian
  mountains and made Hungary once more safe for autocracy。
  The Habsburgs thereupon established extraordinary
  court…martials and hanged the greater part of the Hungarian
  patriots whom they had not been able to defeat in open battle。
  As for Italy; the island of Sicily declared itself independent
  from Naples and drove its Bourbon king away。 In the Papal
  states the prime minister; Rossi; was murdered and the Pope
  was forced to flee。 He returned the next year at the head of a
  French army which remained in Rome to protect His Holiness
  against his subjects until the year 1870。 Then it was
  called back to defend France against the Prussians; and
  Rome became the capital of Italy。 In the north; Milan and
  Venice rose against their Austrian masters。 They were supported
  by king Albert of Sardinia; but a strong Austrian army
  under old Radetzky marched into the valley of the Po; defeated
  the Sardinians near Custozza and Novara and forced
  Albert to abdicate in favour of his son; Victor Emanuel; who
  a few years later was to be the first king of a united Italy。
  In Germany the unrest of the year 1848 took the form of a
  great national demonstration in favour of political unity and a
  representative form of government。 In Bavaria; the king who
  had wasted his time and money upon an Irish lady who posed as
  a Spanish dancer(she was called Lola Montez and lies buried
  in New York's Potter's Field)was driven away by the enraged
  students of the university。 In Prussia; the king was
  forced to stand with uncovered head before the coffins of those
  who had been killed during the street fighting and to promise a
  constitutional form of government。 And in March of the year
  1849; a German parliament; consisting of 550 delegates from
  all parts of the country came together in Frankfort and proposed
  that king Frederick William of Prussia should be the
  Emperor of a United Germany。
  Then; however; the tide began to turn。 Incompetent Ferdinand
  had abdicated in favour of his nephew Francis Joseph。
  The well…drilled Austrian army had remained faithful to their
  war…lord。 The hangman was given plenty of work and the
  Habsburgs; after the nature of that strangely cat…like family;
  once more landed upon their feet and rapidly strengthened
  their position as the masters of eastern and western Europe。
  They played the game of politics very adroitly and used the
  jealousies of the other German states to prevent the elevation
  of the Prussian king to the Imperial dignity。 Their long train…
  ing in the art of suffering defeat had taught them the value of
  patience。 They knew how to wait。 They bided their time
  and while the liberals; utterly untrained in practical politics;
  talked and talked and talked and got intoxicated by their own
  fine speeches; the Austrians quietly gathered their forces; dismissed
  the Parliament of Frankfort and re…established the old
  and impossible German confederation which the Congress of
  Vienna had wished upon an unsuspecting world。
  But among the men who had attended this strange Parliament
  of unpractical enthusiasts; there was a Prussian country
  squire by the name of Bismarck; who had made good use of his
  eyes and ears。 He had a deep contempt for oratory。 He knew
  (what every man of action has always known) that nothing
  is ever accomplished by talk。 In his own way he was a sincere
  patriot。 He had been trained in the old school of diplomacy
  and he could outlie his opponents just as he could outwalk
  them and outdrink them and outride them。
  Bismarck felt convinced that the loose confederation
  of little states must be changed into a strong united country
  if it would hold its own against the other European powers。
  Brought up amidst feudal ideas of loyalty; he decided that
  the house of Hohenzollern; of which he was the most faithful
  servant; should rule the new state; rather than the incompetent
  Habsburgs。 For this purpose he must first get rid of the
  Austrian influence; and he began to make the necessary
  preparations for this painful operation。
  Italy in the meantime had solved her own problem; and had
  rid herself of her hated Austrian master。 The unity of Italy
  was the work of three men; Cavour; Mazzini and Garibaldi。
  Of these three; Cavour; the civil…engineer with the short…sighted
  eyes and the steel…rimmed glasses; played the part of the careful
  political pilot。 Mazzini; who had spent most of his days
  in different European garrets; hiding from the Austrian police;
  was the public agitator; while Garibaldi; with his band of red…
  shirted rough…riders; appealed to the popular imagination。
  Mazzini and Garibaldi were both believers in the Republican
  form of government。 Cavour; however; was a monarch…
  ist; and the others who recognised his superior ability in such
  matters of practical statecraft; accepted his decision and sacrificed
  their own ambitions for the greater good of their beloved
  Fatherland。
  Cavour felt towards the House of Sardinia as Bismarck
  did towards the Hohenzollern family。 With infinite care and
  great shrewdness he set to work to jockey the Sardinian King
  into a position from which His Majesty would be able to assume
  the leadership of the entire Italian people。 The unsettled
  political conditions in the rest of Europe greatly helped him in
  his plans and no country contributed more to the independence
  of Italy than her old and trusted (and often distrusted)
  neighbour; France。
  In that turbulent country; in November of the year 1852;
  the Republic had come to a sudden but not unexpected end。
  Napoleon III the son of Louis Bonaparte