Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/602

 564 Readings in European History I concede, nevertheless, that, like the Emperor, I have many conquests to make. I would, like him, conquer, for the sake of harmony, the warring parties and bring into the great popular current the wasteful and conflicting eddies. I would conquer, for the sake of religion, morality, and mate- rial ease, that portion of the population, still very numerous, which, in the midst of a country of faith and belief, hardly knows the precepts of Christ ; which, in the midst of the most fertile country of the world, is hardly able to enjoy the primary necessities of life. We have immense uncultivated districts to bring under cultivation, roads to open, harbors to con- struct, rivers to render navigable, canals to finish, and our network of railroads to bring to completion. . . . This is what I understand by the empire, if the empire is to be reestablished. These are the conquests which I con- template, and all of you who surround me, who, like myself, wish the good of our common country, you are my soldiers. 471. Metter- nich informs the tsar of the March revolution in Vienna. II. The Revolution of 1848 in Germany and Italy The February revolution in France was speedily fol- lowed by an uprising of the liberal party in Vienna, which, on March 13, forced Metternich to resign the influential position which he had held for so many years. The next day he wrote an account of the affair to Tsar Nicholas, who, he well knew r, would heartily sympathize with him. Sire, the most invincible of forces, that of circumstances, has put an end to my long political life. Your Imperial Majesty has always deigned to honor me with that form of esteem which has the highest value in my eyes, namely, con- fidence in my principles and such encouragement as the upright man should seek in his own conscience. To-day once more my conscience impels me as a duty to lay before your Imperial Majesty the expression of my profound grati- tude for the sympathy which I believe that I have merited