CHAP. 1830. the Viceroy to be on his guard, and be prepared for an outbreak. But he uniformly declared that there was no danger, and that he was too popular with the troops to render any insurrection possible. Encouraged by this supineness, the conspirators proceeded rapidly with their preparations, and several new clubs were formed which came at length to embrace nearly all the officers in the army, and the whole youth at the university and public schools. In this conduct of Constantine there is nothing extraordinary, considering his character. To look danger calmly in the face, and make preparations to meet it when still afar off, is the mark, not of a timid, but of a resolute mind. The greater part of the want of previous arrangements, which so often doubles the weight of misfortune to nations as to individuals, is the result of cow- Rom. Solt. ardice. Men are afraid of being afraid, and therefore 52; Ann. they do nothing till the evil day has arrived, just as they 655. delay making their wills till it is too late.1 44, 50. Hist. xiii. 16. tion of 29th at Warsaw. After having been several times adjourned, the insurrection was finally fixed for the 10th of December, when Insurrecseveral events, without and within, made its leaders November sensible that it had become necessary to strike sooner. Numerous arrests were made by the police, which led the conspirators to apprehend they were discovered, or on the point of being so. The national troops in Gallicia were all withdrawn into Hungary, and replaced by Austrian or Hungarian regiments; while, in the grand-duchy of Posen, the whole landwehr, thirty thousand strong, was either disarmed or removed into the fortresses of Silesia, and their place was supplied by battalions of German troops. These steps at once showed that the objects of the conspiracy were known, and that the powers interested in the partition were taking precautions against it. It was resolved, accordingly, to delay no longer; and the insurrection was fixed for the 29th November, when the Polish Guards were to be on service at the palace and in the city. On that day, at seven o'clock in the evening, CHAP. XXVI. 1830. a messenger from the conspirators came to the gate of the barrack military school, where he was anxiously expected, and announced that the "hour of liberty had struck." Instantly the guard turned out, and were joined by the whole scholars, armed to the teeth, who proceeded at a rapid pace, without saying a word, by the bridge Sobieski, from whence they came to the Belvidère Palace, inhabited by the Grand-duke, without experiencing any resistance. The guards at the palace, in part in the secret of the conspiracy, in part intimidated by the sight of so many young men whom they knew to be of the first families in Warsaw, made scarcely any resistance; those who attempted it were instantly cut down. The victorious conspirators in a few minutes inundated every part of the palace; and while part of them despatched Ludowicski, the chief of the police, and General Legendre, the first aid-de-camp on service, the main body, containing the most determined, made straight for the private apartments of the Grand-duke. So rapid was their 1 Rom. Solt, approach that Constantine had the utmost difficulty in i. 56, 59; making his escape by a back way; and the Princess Lowicz, his wife, for whom he had renounced the throne of Russia, had only time to carry with her a casket of diamonds and three shifts.1 Ann. Hist. xiii. 655, 656; Cap. iv. 50, 51. Masters of the palace, the insurgents, whose numbers rapidly increased, spread themselves over the streets, calling out, "To arms! to arms!" The agitation in the barracks was soon extreme. The officers did not venture to lead out the men for fear of their joining the insurgents, and in many cases they were in the secret and favoured their cause. Soon the 4th regiment of the line, an especial favourite of the Grand-duke's, and one of the finest in the service, issued from its barracks, and joined the insurrection. The greater part of the regiment of grenadiers, the horse-artillery, and the sappers of the Guard, followed their example. Such was the enthusiasm which prevailed, that the inmates of the hospitals who were able to XXVI. 1830. walk, left their beds and joined their comrades. Mean- CHAP. while a body of the students made themselves masters of the arsenal, where there were forty thousand muskets, which were immediately distributed among the people. A part of the Polish troops, especially the chasseurs of the Polish Guard, and all the Russians, remained faithful to Constantine, and several combats took place in the dark between them and the insurgents, in which General Potocki, commander of the Polish infantry, Generals Sernontkowski and Blume, and several other officers of distinction both in the Polish and Russian armies, were slain. But when morning dawned it was evident that they were overmatched. The whole city was in a state of insurrection, and more than half the troops in it had joined the insurgents. In these circumstances, Constantine, who was far from having displayed the courage and energy with which his brother Nicholas had fronted the rebellion of the Guards in St Petersburg in 1825, despaired of the cause, and retired with the troops which still adhered to him, consisting of nine thousand 1 Rom. Solt. men, including the whole Russians, the Polish Guards, i. 60, 64; and foot-artillery, to Wirzba, a village a mile and a half xiii. 656, from Warsaw, leaving the capital in the entire possession iv. 52, 54. of the insurgents.1 Ann. Hist. 657; Cap. ment of a ment. The insurgents had gained an immense advantage 18. by obtaining command of the capital, and of the banks, Appointarsenal, and seat of government; but they were without provisional rulers, and the worst dangers might be apprehended if gover the people, now wrought up to the highest pitch, were not speedily subjected to some sort of government. Already conflagrations had broken out in several quarters, which were with difficulty arrested, and pillage had begun, and many murders been committed. There existed at Warsaw, at this time, a council of government, which, in the absence of the Viceroy, was intrusted with the executive power, and to it the leaders of the insurrection turned to establish order in the mean time, and form the XXVI. 1830. CHAP. skeleton of a future government. This council, which consisted of seven members, including Prince Lubecki, who afterwards became distinguished, met during the frightful tumult of the night of the 29th, and resolved to continue its functions, in the hope of obtaining the direction of the movement; but in order to appease the people, and induce them to submit to their authority, they associated several of the most respected and popular of the nobles with them in the government. These were Prince Adam Czartoryski, Prince Michael Radziwil, the Senator Kochanowski, General Lewis Pac, M. Julian Niemcewicz, a celebrated writer, and companion of Kosciusko, and GENERAL CHLOPICKI. The known patriotic Spirit and high character of these distinguished men gave a consideration to the government which it could never otherwise have obtained, and enabled it to acquire a degree of authority even over the stormy elements of a revolution.1 1 Rom. Solt. i. 65, 68; Ann. Hist. xiii. 657; Cap. iv. 53, 57. 19. vernment, It could hardly be said, though Constantine had been First act of driven from the capital, that the country was in a state teeme of insurrection. The enlarged government still adminisand nego tered in the name of the Czar. A proclamation, issued Constan- by it on the day of its installation, earnestly counselled order, and abstinence from blood; and its first care was to despatch a deputation to Constantine with proposals tiation with tine. Nov. 30. "Polonais! Les événemens aussi attristans qu'inopinés, qui ont eu lieu hier au soir, et pendant la dernière nuit, ont déterminé le Gouvernement supérieur à se compléter par des personnes de mérite, et à vous adresser la proclamation suivante. Son Altesse Impériale le Grand Duc et Czarowitz vient de défendre aux soldats Russes toute opération ultérieure ; car il ne faut charger que les Polonais de la réconciliation entre les esprits divisés de leur compatriotes. Le Polonais ne doit pas teindre sa main du sang de son frère; et ce ne peut être votre intention de donner au monde le spectacle d'une guerre civile. C'est la modération seule qui peut détourner de vos têtes les malheurs qui sont prêts à fondre sur vous. Revenez donc à l'ordre et à la tranquillité; que la nuit qui vient de se passer couvre de son voile toute l'effervescence qu'elle a vue naître. Réfléchissez à l'avenir et à votre patrie menacée de tous les côtés : Eloignez tout ce qui peut mettre son existence en question. Quant à nous, notre devoir nous prescrit de maintenir la tranquillité publique, les lois, et les libertés assurées au pays par la constitution."-Warsaw, 30th Nov., 1830; Capefigue, vol. iv. pp. 54, 55. XXVI. 1830. for an accommodation. The declared objects of the in- CHAP. surgents, as stated by the deputation, which had Prince Czartoryski at its head, was to obtain the faithful establishment of the constitution as it had been established in 1815, and, in particular, the fulfilment of the promises of Alexander, that Lithuania, Volhynia, and Podolia should be incorporated with the kingdom of Poland, and detached from the empire of Russia. The deputation was instructed also to sound Constantine on his designs, and, in particular, to inquire whether the army of Lithuania, stationed on the Polish frontier, had received orders to advance towards Warsaw. He assured them, on his honour, that none such had been given, and evinced the utmost courtesy and respect towards the deputation. HeRom. Solt. even went so far as to assure them of his favour to the Ann. Hist. "culpable." "There are none such," proudly replied 659. Ostrowski, one of the deputation.1 It rested with the Emperor Nicholas, not Constantine, i. 73, 74; xiii. 658, 20. tine sends Polish retreats to say what terms were to be granted to the insurgents; Constanbut the latter, seeing the temper of the Polish troops back the which remained with him daily declaring itself more troops, and strongly in favour of the Revolution, had the generosity into Russia. to issue a proclamation, granting permission to such of Dec. 3. them as still adhered to his standard to withdraw and join their comrades in Warsaw.* They set out one and all immediately for the capital, which they entered the same day amidst transports of joy such as had never before been witnessed within its walls. The nation seemed invincible, now that the whole of its gallant defenders were engaged in its cause. Meanwhile Constantine, with the Russian troops, now not more than six thousand * "Je permets aux troupes Polonaises qui sont restées fidèles jusqu'au dernier moment auprès de moi, de rejoindre les leurs. Je me mets en marche avec les troupes Impériales pour m'éloigner de la capitale, et j'espère de la loyauté Polonaise, qu'elles ne seront pas inquiétées dans leurs mouvemens pour rejoindre l'empire. Je recommande de même tous les établissemens, les propriétés, et les individus à la protection de la nation Polonaise, et les mets sous la sauve-garde de la foi la plus sacrée.-Constantine. Warsaw, Dec. 3, 1830." |