The great war of 1870 between France and Germany

Front matter

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Contents

CHAPTEE I.

The remote and proximate causes of the "War. — Ei"icroac]im.ents of Franco iipon Germany in the

past three hiindred years Alsace and Lorraine. — Westphalia and the Rhine Provinces

Chapter II

Biographical sketches. — Wilhelm I, King of Prussia. — His birth, education, absolutist principles. — His Accession to the Throne. — His personal appearance, manners and character.

S'apoi.eon IIL — His parentage, birth, education.— Joins the Carbonari. — Involved in Italian Conspiracies. — Attempts authorship. — Becomes the legal heir of Napoleon I. —The Strasbourg affair in 1836. — His banishment to America. — Is coldly received there.— His return to Switzerland.— Death of his mother.— His escape to England.— Publication of his Xdees KapoUonienncs and liiveries Politiques.~The Boulogne fiasco.— His arrest, trial, and sentence to imprisonment at Ham.— His studies and writings at Ham.— Escape to England in 1S4G.— His life in England.— The Revolution of 1848.- Election of Louis Napoleon to the National Assembly — His return to Franco.— His election as President.— His policy.— His aspirations for permanent and supreme power. — Efforts to change the Constiiution.— Uneasiness of the French people. —The coup d'etat ot Dec. 2, 1851.— The first ^Ze&Maile.-Fui-ther steps toward despotism.— Proclaims himself Emperor.— " The Empire is Peace."— His Marriage.— Alliance with England.— The Crimean War.— His policy as Emperor.— Birth of the Prince Imperial.— Overestimation of Napoleon III.— The Italian War.— His mismanagement.- 'J'ho compact with Cavour.— The threatening attitude of Prussia.- Treaty of Villafranca.— Napoleon's disappointment.— Acquisition of Savoy and Nice.— His failing health.— Troubles.— The attempt to intervene in behalf of the Southern Confederacy .—The War with Mexico.— He makes a dupe of Maximilian.— Sad end of this War.--The Cochin China and Chinese Wars.— The promise of reforms.- The Austro-Prussian War.— Prussian superiority demonstrated.— His oflTers to and demands upon each of the belligerents.— Their rejection.— His Life of Cossar.— His determination to bring on a War.— His character in brief. pp. 20-38.

CONTENTS.

Chapter III

Biograpliical stetobes coutinued.— Count von Bismarck-Schonhatisen. — His Ijirtli and education. — ^Entrance upon public life.— A Conservative. — His pamphlet, " Prussia and the Italian Question."— Minister at St. Petersburg and Paris.— Premier, and Cabinet Minister.— His bold measures, — The opposition evoked. — The Danish War.— The War with Austria,— The wisdom of his measures demonstrated. — His extraordinary abilities and foresight.— His personal appearance. — His scholarship. — His impaired health.

General von Moltke.— His birth and education. — Military studies at Copenhagen.— Straitened circumstances. — His eminent attainments. — His rapid promotion. — His mission to Turkey and Asia Minor.— Authorship. — His advancement to the position of Chief of Staff. — His herculean labors. — His remarkable topographical and geological knowledge. — His extraordinary prescience and knowledge of the character of his antagonists. — His personal exploration of military routes.— His interview with General de "Wimpffen.— Personal appearance and manners.

The French Premiers and War Ministers.— Ollivier and Rouher.— General Leboeuf. — Birth and education. — Promotion. — Commandant of Polytechnic School. — Chief of Artillery.- General of Division, 1S57.— Distinguished in the Italian War.— Minister of War in 1S07. — His corrupt management relative to the Chassepot rifle. — His recklessness and dishonesty.

Count de Palikao. — His birth, education and military career. — His experiences in Algeriai Prance and China. — His stern and cruel disposition.

Other French, generals. — The old soldiers. — The three Marshals. — Marshal MacMahon. — His birth and education.— Early career in Africa. — ^His courage and daring. — Ability as a tactician. — Capture of the Malakoff. — His skilful strategy at Magenta. — Duke of Magenta. — Eeprescntative of France at King Wilhelm's coronation.— Subsequent command in Prance and Algeria.

Marshal Canrobert. — His birth and education. — His African career. — Adhesion to Louis Napoleon. — Service in the Crimean War.— In the Italian War.— Senator of Franco.

Marshal Bazaine. — His education. — Military experience in Algeria, Spain, and the Crimea. — His part in the Mexican Expedition.— His cruelty, greed, and mismanagement there. — Hia corruption and rapacity.

The French corps-commanders, Frossard, Do Failly, I'Admirault, &:c.— General de Wimpffen.-r- Gen. Troohu pp. 39-56.

Chapter IV

Biographical sketches continued. — Prince Friedrich Karl.— Birth and education. — His entrance into the Army. — His fondness for military studies. — Frederick the Great his exemplar. — A staff-officer under von Wrangel in 1S48, in the first Schleswig-Holstein War, and the Baden Campaign in 1S49. — Commander of the Prussian Contingent in the Danish War of 1864..— His gallantry in the assault on Diippel.— His command of the first Army in the Austrian War of 1866.— Sadowa. — His pamphlet on improvements in military organizations. — Tho changes which followed. — His interview with von Moltke. — Prince Friedrich Wilhelm.— Birth, education. — A pupil of von Moltke. — A corps-commander in 1S64.— Commander of the Second Prussian Army in 1866, and the hero of Sadowa.— His ability in handling large bodies of troops.

General von Steinmetz.— Birth, education.— Wounded at Dannegkow in 1813.— Entered Paris with the Allies in 1S15. — " The Lion of Skalitz." — A stern, imperious old man. — The German corps and army commanders pp. 57-63.

Chapter V

Financial condition of France and Germany. — DifBoulty in arriving at the facts relative to the

French finances The latest statistics of French revenue and expenditure. — The constant

deficits.— Seven loans from 1854 to 1S70 Cost of the Wars during the reign of Napoleon III

CONTENTS. 9

Imports and Exports — The national dett— Its enormous amount. — Valuation of property in France.

Financial condition of the North German Confederation Revenues of 1S69-70 Ordinary

and Extraordinary Expenditure.— Revenue of Prussia Her Expenditure with about the

same population — Her Espendiliuo only two sevenths of that of France No deficits- Items of Expenditure. — The national debt of Prussia, smalL

Social condition of the two countries.— Intelligence and Morals in Germany.— Condition of France in these respects.— Military and naval strength of the two countries. — Over-statement of

French military strength.— Uuder-estimate of Prussian military power Causes.— The

French reports of their Army.- Its vast numbers and presumed efficient condition The

reserves, National Guard and Garde Mobile Almost two millions of soldiers— on paper.

— The actual numbers. — One half the Army only existing on paper The German Armies.

Their actual numbers in each arm of the service. — Even these estimates largely exceeded.

The Navies of the two Nations — Great number of vessels in the French Navy— 55 Iron-clad

Steamers.— Analysis of the character of these. — ^Their efficiency more apparent than real

Their meagre success.

Prussian Navy. — Vessels few in number, but of remarkable efticiency.

The Cannon of the German Army.— Krupp's rifled breech-loaders.— Their great range and accuracy.

The French bronze Napoleons— muzzle-loaders — The Mitrailleuse, its character and destructiveness — The Needle-gun — Full description of its mechanism. — The different methods of

obturation or closing of the cylinder upon the barrel— The Chassepot rifle Its construction.

— Comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the two pp. 64-91 .

CEAPTER VI,

The circumstances attending the declaration of War, in detail. — Gen. Prim's visit to Napoleon

III.— His correspondence with Prince Leopold His acceptance of the candidacy. The

King of Prussia's disapproval The Prince's persistence. — The French demand on Prussia,

July 6. — Count Benedetti's instructions. — Mr. Ripley's account of the interviews of Benedctti

with the King — The demand of the French Government The offensive way in which they

were presented Napoleon's preparations for immediate "War. — The declaration of War

The activity which followed, all over Christendom. — Return of King Wilhelm from Ems to

Berlin. — His address to the Prussian Legislature War-loan voted. — Address of Napoleon

III Its melodramatic character. — His address to the Army at Metz, July 28th. — The circular of von Bismarck to the Prussian representatives at the courts of Foreign Powers Efforts

of the French Government to counteract the damaging effect of this exposure Attempts of

other European Powers to effect a settlement — Their futility Letter of Pope Pius IX to

Napoleon III and King Wilhelm.— King Wilhelm's reply. — Forward movements of the

French advance-guard Skirmishing. — Circulation of addresses by the Emperor among

the South Germans, and the people of Schleswig-Holstein and Hanover. — Failure of these addresses to win any adherents to his cause pp. 92-100.

CHAPTER YII.

The War begun King Wilhelm takes command of the German forces, August 2d. — His address to the troops, at Mayence Strength and position of the French forces on the 2d of

August.— The German forces and their positions. — The affair at Saarbruck. — The Emperor's

letter to the Empress The Tranquil Infant's baptism of Are. — Movements of the two armies.

— The French fortify the Spicheren Hills back of Saarbruck. — MacMahon advances to Weis- Benburg. — Battle of Weissenburg, Aug. 4 The Crown-Prince's report of the action — Ad-

10 CONTENTS.

dress of Prince 'Friedricli Karl.— Gen. von Steinmetz's address to the First German Amy.— The battle of Spicheren heights or Forbach, Aug. 6 — Report of von Steinmetz — Account of the New York Tribune correspondent— Casualties of the battle — The advance of the Crown-Prince toward Woerth.— The Battle of Woerth — Attempts of theFrenoh commander

to rally his troops— His retreat to Saverne Marshal MacMahon's report to the Emperor —

King Wilhelm's despatch to the Queen.— " Our Fritz."— Napoleon Ill's despatches.— " He

goes to the Centre."— Gen. Leboeuf's report Attempts to keep the news from the French

people.— The proclamation of the Empress.— The statement of the Minister.— Changes in the French government and military commands PP- 107-129.

CHAPTER yill.

Indications of a coming revolution. — Addresses and orders of Prince Friedrich Karl, the King, and von Steinmetz. — Their humane tenor. — Strasbourg summoned to surrender. — Proclamation of Gen. Uhrich in reply Proclamation of King Wilhelm to the French people. — Particulars of MacMahon's defeat at Woerth. — His order to his soldiers The reiinforcements he

received from De Failly, Canrohert, and De Caen. — His march towards Paris. — Pursuit by the Crown-Prince of Prussia. — Bazaine falls back upon Metz, and decides to retreat upon Yerdun and Paris, leaving a large garrison at Metz. — The rapid advance and severe pressure of the German armies upon his rear. — Crossing of part of the Second Army at Pont a Mous-

son Napoleon III quits Metz, leaving an address to the inhabitants. — The battle of Cour-

celles, east of the Moselle Conflicting accounts. — The German report Correspondents'

reports.— King Wilhelm's despatches. — French official report — The Emperor's despatch to Eugenie. — Bazaine's necessity for retreat.— Critical position — The two routes to Verdun — His determination to seize and control one or both. — The battle of Yionville, or Mars-la- Tour, on the IGthof Angust.—Terriblefighting.— The Mars-la-Toui- road completely blocked by the Second German Army Bazaine falls back to the line of Gravelotte. — The battle indecisive. — Heavy losses The German report. — Bazaine's reports — Statement published in

Paris. — Possibility of Bazaine's retreat by the Conflans road. — Napoleon III leaves Yerdun with the little prince for Eheims.— The battle of Gravelotte.— The official account in the Artny and Navy Joxirnal. — King Wilhelm's despatches from Eezonville. — The New York Tribune correspondent's account. — Frightful slaughter. — The battle continues into the night. — Account of another correspondent The execution done by the Mitrailleuse at close quarters. — French and German artillery practice pp. 130-107.

CHAPTER IX.

Gen. Trochu appointed Governor of Paris by the Emperor. — His proclamation to the people of

Paris. — Organization of a committee of defence Gen. Trochu's address to the people and

appe.ll to the soldiers. — Geiu MacMahon's movement on Chalons He turns northwestward

to Rheims The attempt to raise the siege of Metz. — The route taken. — The movement a

blunder. — Reasons why. — Difficulty of the country for rapidmarching MacMahon's advance

reaches Rethel and M6zi6res. — The pursuit by the German armies The lines on which they

moved The action of August 30 The advantage gained by the Germans Crossing the

Meuse The let of September. — The intention to rest the German troops that day. — Change

of plan Orders issued. — The plan of attack. — Position of the German armies The French

troops forced back to Sedan. — They enter the town with the French. — The white flag raised.— King Wilhelm's account of the battles andsurrender. — The terms of capitulation. — Telegrams from the King. — Gen. von Moltke's order for carrying out the capitulation. — Count von Bismarck's letter describing his part. — MacMahon wounded early in the fight Do 'Wimpfren's

address to his soldiers. — Controversy concerning the Emperor and de Wimpffen. — Description of the battle and surrender by a French officer. — Narrative of the Tribune' a correspondent with the German army , pp. 167-223.

CONTENTS. 11

GHAPTEE X.

The sortie of Marshal Bazaine on the 81st of August and Sept. Ist He attempts to force a passage for his troops to the northeast of Metz. — Why this direction -was taken. — Severe fighting He is beaten hack at all points and retires behind the fortifications of Metz.— General

Stiehle (chief of staff to Prince Friedrich Karl) telegraphs the repulse of the sortie General Manteuffel's despatch. — The minor fortresses still holding out Condition of affairs at

Paris. — The people deceived. — ^Their sudden awakening Great excitement. — Cries of La

Lecheanee Count de Palikao's oflcial statement. — The vote of decheance demanded. — The

Eevolutionists force tbe gates of the Tuileries. — The Empress escapes. — The three propositions before the Corps Legislatif. — Adjournment of the Chamber The reassembling of the

Chamber amid tbe turmoil of the mob. — Its dissolution The assembling of the Republicans.

— The downfall of the Empire declared. — The Republic proclaimed and the members of the

government announced. — Emmanuel Arago Mayor of Paris Rochefort released from St.

Pelagic and made a member. — Address of the new republican government to the people

The circular of M. Jules Favre to neutral powers. — Its defiant spirit. — Its folly M. Favre's

negotiations for peace, — His interview with Bismarck The preliminary question of the

power of the Provisional Government to bind the people of France. — Favre's proposals, and

Bismarck's rejoinders. — Rejection of Bismarck's proposals by the French leaders Removal

of the Government to Toul. — Their proclamation respecting the peace negotiations. — Bismarck's circular on the same subject. — His reasons for the claim made Advance of the

German armies toward Paris. — Its investment complete on the 20th of September. — Surrender of Toul, Sept. 2Sd and of Strasbourg, Sept. 27tb. — The condition of the French army and people. — Unwisdom of the leaders The suicidal policy of suffering an army of 430,000 men and

a population of two millions to be besieged. — Losses of the French. — Their whole available force. — The want of leaders. — Condition of Paris. — Exaggeration of the most trifling success and manufacture of wholesale falsehoods in regard to defeat of the Prussians. — The reaction in the feeling of sympathy at first manifested for the French Republic in consequence of these falsehoods. — The two-beaded French government. — Efibrts to raise the army of the Loire. — The irregular troops of the Republic. — Sorties from Paris and Metz. — The sortie from Paris of the 19th of Sept Ducrot defeated and routed. — Subsequent sorties unsuccessful. — The German troops overrun large districts of France. — The new levies unable to resist them.— The report of the German commission in regard to operations in the region of the Loire — The Partisans of Gers — Capture of Orleans Its vahxe as the centre of a rich district from which supplies could be drawn — Its strategical importance Other towns captured.

— Predominance of Red Republicanism in Marseilles and Lyons Fear of the German

troops in the smaller towns of France The desolated tract between the Rhine and Paris

Surrender of Metz. — Magnitude of the surrender Statistics of ofiicers surrendered The indignation of the Provisional Government at this surrender Their proclamation Bazaine

denounced as a traitor. — Understatement of their condition in these proclamations. — Want

of any practical common sense in the leaders Conclusion of the history jSTote Attempt

to procure an armistice of 25 days Unreasonable demands of the French leadei's. — Failure

of the armistice — More proclamations A slight success of the French arms at last

Orleans recaptured — French loss 2,000, von der Tann's 667 killed and wounded, and 1,500

or 1,600 prisoners — Inspiriting eflect of this slight victory on the French.— Their plans

Its real importance very slight Tbe army of the Loire pp. 224-254.

CHArTEE XI.

Review of the whole campaign The maimer and bearing of the French Emperor and the

Prussian King contrasted The affair at Saarbruck A great boast over a small matter. —

The "Tranquil Infant."— Terror of the Emperor at the defeats of Forbach, Wiessenburg,

and Woerth — His despatches Bazaine's retreat upon Metz. — His attempt to fall back

toward Paris — Too late The sanguinary battles of Courcelles, Vionville, and Gravelotte. —

The great blunder of MacMahon.— The pursuit MacMahon caoght as'ride tho Mouse. —

12 CONTENTS.

Terrible slaugMer of the battle of Aug. 80 The fighting of August 31st and Sept. 1st

MacMahon's army forced into Sedan, and then compelled to surrender Gon. de Wimpffen

in command — ^Napoleon's Burrender. — The French revolution Folly of the authorities. —

The rapid succession of disasters The cry of the Provisional Government God's hand

Appendix

Philanthropy of the War Organization of an International Sanitary Commission in 1866. — Its

banner and badge Foi-mation of Ambulance Corps early in the present "War. — Activity oi

the Empress in France The zeal of Queen Augusta, the Crown-Princess Yictoria, Princess

Alice, the Grand-Duchess Louise of Baden, and the Oro-wn-Princess Caroline of Saxony

Liberal assistance of others. — Labors of Dr. Evans. — Munificence of Count Henri de Chambord. —Contributions for both Countries from America,

THE GEEAT WAR OP 1870.

Chapter I

THE war of 18Y0, between France and Germany, is often denonnced as " wanton," " canseless," and " unprovoked ; " and in one aspect of the case this is true ; for tlie immediate canses of the war were trivial, and could only have led to a conflict where one or botli parties were eager for a pretext for fighting. Had these been the only grounds on which the contest was based, it could not have occurred ; for, if the rulers had been such fools as to knock their heads together on the question of a possible Spanish succession, their people would have protested against it.

The true origin of the war, though perhaps unjustifiable on the part of the French Emperor, lies farther back, and appeals to higher motives and jealousies than a petty question of succession to a foreign throne. Tliere have been, for two hundred and twenty years past, almost constant encroachments by France upon the provinces of the old German empire. Some of these, like the old provinces of Alsace and Lorraine (the old Elsass and Lothringen of the Germans), gained by treaty, by seizure, by the intrigues of French Bishop-princes, or by the real or supposed exigencies of mercantile policy, France has been allowed to keep ; and though 1,007,4-77 out of the 1,097,000 inhabitants of Alsace, and 351,681 out of the 1,291,000 inhabitants of Lorraine, were Germans, yet the severest measures of oppression have

14: THE GREAT WAR OF IS'ZO

been resorted to by the Freneli Government to compel the people to abandon all nse of the German language, customs, and manners. The natural boundary between France and Germany is the Yosges range of mountains, not the Ehine ; and though ISTapoleon I, among his other conquests of territory belonging to other nations, seized and held, for six or eight years, the German provinces lying west of the Rhine (Dusseldorf, Cologne, Aachen or Ais-la-Chapelle, Coblentz, Hesse, Treves, Birkenfeld, and the Palatinate), and carved out from them the kingdom of Westphalia, over which he placed his brother Jerome, yet the injustice of their being torn from their natural affinities wa,s so great, that, by the treaty of 1815, they were restored to Germany. In the 3,108,000 inhabitants of these provinces, there are not more than 10,000 people to whom French is their mothertongue.

Napoleon I had also absorbed Belgium, with its 2,667,000 inhabitants of Flemish origin, in his conquests, and, uniting it with Holland, had placed his brother Louis over it. These kingdoms were taken from France by the treaty of 1815, and have since, under different designations, maintained a separate existence.

Under the Bourbons of the Restoration, and under Louis Philippe, France made no effort to recover these territories — Belgium, Holland, and the Rhenish provinces — which were so alien from her in race and language, and which she had possessed but so short a time. Contenting herself with increasing wealth and prosperity, and the possession of Alsace and Lorraine, which she had held from one to two centuries, her policy was rather that of a cordial understanding with the nations adjacent than one of territorial aggression.

But after the Revolution of 1848 and the accession of Louis ISTapoleon to the Presidency, and especially after the couj^ d^etai and the establishment of the Empire, the hearts of the French

BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. I5

people were fired by the usurper with the hope of regaining all the territory they had ever possessed under the first JSiapoleon.

No sooner was the new Emperor firmly seated on his throne, than, while carefully promulgating his declaration that " the Empire was peace," he began to plot for the accomplishment of his long-cherished purposes of avenging Waterloo, and extending the bounds of France to the Rhine on the east, and to the Adriatic on the southeast. Crafty and reticent, yet wboHy unscrupulous, he made every move on the political chess-board with a view to these ends. He duped England into an alliance which should enure to his benefit ; made war with Russia, ostensibly on behalf of Turkey, but really to cripple her resources and prevent her interference with his schemes ; joined Italy in a war with Austria, in the hope of obtaming a large slice of Italy for his reward ; and when Prussia, cognizant of his plans, declared tliat the Rhine must be defended on the Adige, withdrew and accepted, somewhat ungraciously, Savoy and Nice as the compensation for his services. To amuse his people and keep them m training for the great war he purposed to begin as soon as he felt strong enough for it, he made war upon the Cochin-Chinese, and sent liis armies to Mexico to establish a throne there for Maximilian, and to be on hand to interfere, if he could drag any other European power into the plot, in behalf of the Southern Confederacy. The blunder he made was a serious one, and he felt it keenly. Meantime, his old foes, the Prussians and Austrians, were fighting each other, and he ofiered his aid to each in turn, demanding, as his price, the Rhine provinces and Belgium. Austria could not, and Prussia, strong in her military organiza,- tion and her skilled troops, would not, entertain his proposals. When, after seven weeks of hard fighting, he found Prussia triumphant, Austria humbled, and the North-German Confederation an accomplished fact, with a certainty that a united Germany would follow in time, he was greatly enraged, and his demaiids for a share of the territory wliicli lie had done nothing to earn, being treated with contempt, he began to comprehend that Prussia was becoming too strong for him.

Thenceforward he commenced preparations for a desperate Btrup-gle with his enemy, the time and place of commencement to be determined by circumstances. But even in this preparation he blundered sadly, blinded by the demoralizing effects of the corruption which he had encouraged in the nation. The wonderful success of Prussia was not, as he supposed, due to her needle-guns or her improved artillery, excellent as they were, so much as to her admirable military organization, which made every able-bodied man in the realm an experienced soldier, and which required of every officer that thorough topographical knowledge and military skill which enabled them to handle their troops efficiently.

For the needle-gun the French Emperor substituted the chassepot rifle, in some respects a superior weapon ; his bronze cannon were not greatly inferior to Krupp's steel artillery ; and he had ia the mitrailleuse a weapon very efficient at short range ; but he lacked what w^as far more important — skilful and efficient officers, men of thorough honesty, integrity, and military ability ; and a large part of his army were untrained and undisciplined.

Official peculation and falsehood had permeated every portion of his army and sapped its very life-blood. That he had converted to his own use a part of the appropriations for the army, was but a small part of the trouble ; almost every officer, from the highest to the lowest, had followed his example. "Where he supposed he had a hundred soldiers fully armed and equipped, there were found but fifty, and these imperfectly supplied with arms and ammunition. His officers knew nothing of the topography of France or Germany ; their military education had been acquired either in Africa, Cochin-China, or Mexico, and they had no experience in fighting an intelligent and educated foe. These w

ILHELM, KING OF PRUSSIA.

y

BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY. ^Y

things the Emperor neglected to take into account ; and, infatuated with his hatred of Prussia, he sought diligently for an occasion to declare war, meantime endeavoring to imbue the French people with the sentiment that the Khine was the onlj true boundary of France on the northeast.

There were not wanting other motives to lead to this war. France was restive under his system of repression and espionage. The great cities, Paris, Marseilles, Lyons, Bordeaux, were bitterly hostile to him. The Corps Legislatif, or popular branch of the Legislature, was at each election increasing the number of opposition members, and on every side were the hoarse growlings of a coming storm. The artfully-phrased ballot, submitted to tho popular vote or plebiscite in May, 1870, was, by adroit management and no little direct exertion of authority, carried in his favor by a majority of nearly six millions ; but the opposition was nevertheless strong and intelligent, and a considerable fraction of his army voted with it. Ilis own health was evidently failing, and the only prospect for his dynast^^ lay in a war which should rouse the old enthusiasm of the French, and drown their dislike of him in their love of military glor}^.

JSTor were religious motives lacking. Eugenie, whose religious zeal increased as her beauty faded, had for her confessor an artful Jesuit, high in rank in that powerful order. The condition of the Pope was becoming desperate. Italy was in revolt against his temporal power and his new dogma of Infallibility ; Austria -was no longer his faithful defender ; Spain was in revolution, and there remained only the eldest son of the Church, the Emperor of the French, on whom the Pope could call for aid. Prussia, the leading Protestant nation, was gaining strength every day. Its pride must be humbled, and this could only be accomplished by a great war ; and, even if the Erai^eror should fall in the fray, she, the devout daughter of the Church, and tlic young Prince Imperial, could, under Catholic influence, have a 2

18 THE GREAT WAR OF ISTO

better and stronger hold npon the nation than in any other way. Such were the arguments addressed to the Empress, and through her to the Emperor, hy this skilful Jesuit. «

Apart from his passion for the perpetuation of his dynasty, which seemed to make war his only alternative, the Emperor may reasonably be supposed to have had some feeling for the position of France as one of the great powers of Europe. Prussia had humbled Austria, and now ranked, or would soon rank, first among the European powers, where she had, till lately, been fourth. Her position menaced France. Should she relinquish her prestige to a State so lately her inferior ? If she would not, she must subdue this proud, haughty nation before it became too strong to be subdued.

And so, after years of waiting, during which all Europe had been kept in constant alarm by the defiant attitude of the French ruler, now threatening one and now another, NajDoleon III believed he had found or made his 0]3portunity for a war with Prussia.

Spain, which, in the autumn of 1868, had overthrown its Bourbon dynasty and had been drifting along since that time under a Pegency and a Provisional Government, had sought widely, but, from one cause or another, inefi'ectually, for a suitable candidate for her vacant throne. To all who were named there seemed to be some objection, either on the part of adjacent nations and rulers, or of the Spanish people themselves. General Prim, the real though not the nominal ruler of Spain, was a personal friend of Louis ISTapoleon, and had a long conference with him respecting the succession to the throne in the Spring of 18T0. Soon after his return to Madrid it was given out, at first semi-ofiicially, and afterward by the Spanish Government itself, that Prince Leopold Hohenzollern, of Sigmaringen, would be the candidate for the vacant Spanish throne, and on a canvass of the Constituent Assembly, it was ascertained that there was