Page:Edward Aveling - Wilhelm Liebknecht and the Social-Democratic Movement in Germany (1896).djvu/10

 Just after his arrival, the Sonderbund War broke out, and then the February Revolution of 1848 in Paris. The young enthusiast hurried over to Paris, and was just in time to be too late. The Revolution was over. The German poet Herwegh had got into his poetic head a scheme to form a regiment out of the German workers living in Paris, who were to march into Germany and found a Republic. As showing the political foresight of Marx and Engels, as a single instance out of the innumerable instances of that singular political foresight, it should be noted that both Marx and Engels had strongly disapproved of this plan as playing with revolution. However, Liebknecht was young then, and he went in for it. Fortunately for him, illness prevented him from going with the poetic regiment, which was completely routed by the Würtemburg troops at Nieder Offenbach on the Rhine. Herwegh fled to Zürich, and Liebknecht followed him there.

The next playing with revolution was Struve's attempt to get together troops in Switzerland, who were also to, cross the frontier and found Republics. Struve started bravely enough with a flag and a dozen or so of men at Lauffen, on the Swiss Rhine. In three days he had a considerable force. Liebknecht, who had joined him, was sent south across the Oberland to bring up another detachment. On his way, he heard that Struve had been decoyed into the plains by the orthodox soldiers, beaten, and taken prisoner. Liebknecht could easily have made his escape, but he pressed across the Rhine into Germany, and was caught for his pains at Freiburg. For nine months he lay in prison without a trial, whilst the authorities were concocting charges by virtue or by vice of which criminal and not merely political offences were to be laid against him. But a day or two before his trial the orthodox soldiessoldiers [sic] were found fraternising with the people, and the Grand Duke of Baden had run away. Under these trying circumstances, an acquittal at the trial was certain.

Then, instead of wisely getting away, our enthusiast made a hopeless attempt to win over a Würtemburg regiment bodily to the side of the people, was as nearly as possible re-arrested, and had to get off to Baden. There the precious Committee, with the equally precious Brentano at its head, was sitting. For the nature and actions of this Committee the reader is referred to Karl Marx'Marx's [sic] work just published, on "Germany in 1848." Liebknecht, after a passionate