It was but a sorry asylum he found in England, for he had lost the good opinion of the queen and the nation, and he was tolerated merely as an object of compassion. In course of time his position and that of his sons was much improved, because they bore their adversity with so much dignity, manliness, and amiability. Great sympathy was excited in their behalf when Louis Napoleon, the man whose life the king had spared, hastened to France, seized the throne by conspiracy, and confiscated all the property of his benefactor and the entire Orleans family.
The French revolution had begun so suddenly that all the world looked on in astonishment. No sooner were the particulars of it known than it found an echo in Italy, Germany, and Austria; and all three of those countries rose in revolt, eager for improvements in their respective governments.
Prince Metternich, the Austrian minister, was another person of note who sought refuge in England at this period. This great diplomatist fell, after long years of service to his emperor, who abdicated his throne rather than fight for his rights; and with his wife, made his way through Germany under a feigned name, and with a price set upon his head. Then Louis Kossuth came forward with the determination to free Hungary from Austrian rule.
Tumults broke out in every state and principality of Germany, and a demand was made for freedom of the press, trial by jury, and representation of the people in government affairs. In small towns the peasants attacked the castles of their feudal lords, set fire -to them, and put their owners to flight. The work of destruction was going on everywhere.
Meanwhile in Paris business was at a standstill, the people were without employment or food, a reign of terror set in, and an armed mob held the provisional government at bay.
On the thirteenth of March a grand reform meeting was held at Berlin, which ended in a conflict between the military and the populace. The promises held out by the king would no longer be listened to, and disorder reigned in the streets for many days. He issued a proclamation favoring the union of the German Confederation into one Federal State, with one flag, one army, one fleet, one ruler. Overjoyed at this proclamation, the crowd gathered to the square in front of the palace to cheer the king, when, by some terrible misunderstanding or preconcerted plan on the part of some violent politicians, shots were fired at the cavalry drawn up beneath the windows of the palace. They moved forward to clear the square. At that instant two muskets of the infantry were fired; a cry of "Treachery! to arms!" arose on all sides; and, as if by magic, barricades were erected in the principal streets, and then began a struggle that was carried on throughout the night. The heavens were illuminated by the burning houses set on fire by the mob, and the streets ran with blood. Two hundred and sixteen people and sixteen soldiers were killed in the fight. The king ordered the military to cease firing in the morning, and thus his leniency gave the revolutionary party the upper hand. But it was his aim to become Emperor of Germany, so he took the position of popular leader, and paraded the streets on horseback, wearing the German colors,—black, red, and yellow,—streaming from his left arm, followed by carriages containing the Polish prisoners that had just been released.
The Prince of Prussia, the king's brother and the present emperor, who did not appear to favor the progress of the nation, had to leave the city, and his palace was only saved from the fury of the mob by having "National Property" placarded on it. He too sought refuge in England.
In Belgium peace remained unshaken, and the nation