Tracks Of A Rolling Stone by Henry J. Coke (free e reader txt) 📖

On Kennington Common; How The Upper And

Middle Classes Of London Were Enrolled As Special Constables, 

With The Future Emperor Of The French Amongst Them; How The

Promptitude Of The Iron Duke Saved London,  At Least,  From The

Fate Of The French And Austrian Capitals.

 

This,  However,  Was Not Till The Following Spring.  Up To

October,  No Overt Defiance Of The Austrian Government Had Yet

Asserted Itself; But The Imminence Of An Outbreak Was The

Anxious Thought Of The Hour.  The Hot Heads Of Germany, 

France,  And England Were More Than Meditating - They Were

Threatening,  And Preparing For,  A European Revolution. 

Bloody Battles Were To Be Fought; Kings And Emperors Were To

Be Dethroned And Decapitated; Mobs Were To Take The Place Of

Parliaments; The Leaders Of The 'People' - I.E. The Stump

Orators - Were To Rule The World; Property Was To Be Divided

And Subdivided Down To The Shirt On A Man's - A Rich Man's -

Back; And Every 'Po'r' Man Was To Have His Own,  And -

Somebody Else's.  This Was The Divine Law Of Nature, 

According To The Gospels Of Saint Jean Jacques And Mr.

Feargus O'connor.  We Were All Naked Under Our Clothes,  Which

Clearly Proved Our Equality.  This Was The Simple,  The

Beautiful Programme; Once Carried Out,  Peace,  Fraternal And

Eternal Peace,  Would Reign - Till It Ended,  And The Earthly

Paradise Would Be An Accomplished Fact.

 

I Was An Ultra-Radical - A Younger-Son Radical - In Those

Days.  I Was Quite Ready To Share With My Elder Brother; I

Had No Prejudice In Favour Of My Superiors; I Had Often

Dreamed Of Becoming A Leader Of The 'People' - A Stump

Orator,  I.E. - With The Handsome Emoluments Of Ministerial

Office.

 

William Grey Came To Say Good-Bye.  He Was Suddenly Recalled

In Consequence Of The Insurrection.  'It Is A Most Critical

State Of Affairs,' He Said.  'A Revolution May Break Out All

Over The Continent At Any Moment.  There's No Saying Where It

May End.  We Are On The Eve Of A New Epoch In The History Of

Europe.  I Wouldn't Miss It On Any Account.'

 

'Most Interesting! Most Interesting!' I Exclaimed.  'How I

Wish I Were Going With You!'

 

'Come,' Said He,  With Engaging Brevity.

 

Chapter 12 Pg 69

'How Can I?  I'm Just Going Back To Cambridge.'

 

'You Are Of Age,  Aren't You?'

 

I Nodded.

 

'And Your Own Master?  Come; You'll Never Have Such A Chance

Again.'

 

'When Do You Start?'

 

'To-Morrow Morning Early.'

 

'But It Is Too Late To Get A Passport.'

 

'Not A Bit Of It.  I Have To Go To The Foreign Office For My

Despatches.  Dine With Me To-Night At My Mother's - Nobody

Else - And I'll Bring Your Passport In My Pocket.'

 

'So Be It,  Then.  Billy Whistle [The Irreverend Nickname We

Undergraduates Gave The Master Of Trinity] Will Rusticate Me

To A Certainty.  It Can't Be Helped.  The Cause Is Sacred. 

I'll Meet You At Lady Grey's To-Night.'

 

We Reached Our Destination At Daylight On October 9.  We Had

Already Heard,  While Changing Carriages At Breslau Station, 

That The Revolution Had Broken Out At Vienna,  That The Rails

Were Torn Up,  The Bahn-Hof Burnt,  The Military Defeated And

Driven From The Town.  William Grey's Official Papers,  Aided

By His Fluent German,  Enabled Us To Pass The Barriers,  And

Find Our Way Into The City.  He Went Straight To The Embassy, 

And Sent Me On To The 'Erzherzog Carl' In The Karnthner Thor

Strasse,  At That Time The Best Hotel In Vienna.  It Being

Still Nearly Dark,  Candles Were Burning In Every Window By

Order Of The Insurgents.

 

The Preceding Day Had Been An Eventful One.  The

Proletariats,  Headed By The Students,  Had Sacked The Arsenal, 

The Troops Having Made But Slight Resistance.  They Then

Marched To The War Office And Demanded The Person Of The War

Minister,  Count Latour,  Who Was Most Unpopular On Account Of

His Known Appeal To Jellachich,  The Ban Of Croatia,  To

Assist,  If Required,  In Putting Down The Disturbances.  Some

Sharp Fighting Here Took Place.  The Rioters Defeated The

Small Body Of Soldiers On The Spot,  Captured Two Guns,  And

Took Possession Of The Building.  The Unfortunate Minister

Was Found In One Of The Upper Garrets Of The Palace.  The

Ruffians Dragged Him From His Place Of Concealment,  And

Barbarously Murdered Him.  They Then Flung His Body From The

Window,  And In A Few Minutes It Was Hanging From A Lamp-Post

Above The Heads Of The Infuriated And Yelling Mob.

 

In 1848 The Inner City Of Vienna Was Enclosed Within A Broad

And Lofty Bastion,  Fosse,  And Glacis.  These Were Levelled In 

Chapter 12 Pg 70

1857.  As Soon As The Troops Were Expelled,  Cannon Were

Placed On The Bastei So As To Command The Approaches From

Without.  The Tunnelled Gateways Were Built Up,  And

Barricades Erected Across Every Principal Thoroughfare. 

Immediately After These Events Ferdinand I. Abdicated In

Favour Of The Present Emperor Francis Joseph,  Who Retired

With The Court To Schobrunn.  Foreigners At Once Took Flight, 

And The Hotels Were Emptied.  The Only Person Left In The

'Archduke Charles' Beside Myself Was Mr. Bowen,  Afterwards

Sir George,  Governor Of New Zealand,  With Whom I Was Glad To

Fraternise.

 

These Humble Pages Do Not Aspire To The Dignity Of History;

But A Few Words As To What Took Place Are Needful For The

Writer's Purposes.  The Garrison In Vienna Had Been

Comparatively Small; And As The National Guard Had Joined The

Students And Proletariats,  It Was Deemed Advisable By The

Government To Await The Arrival Of Reinforcements Under

Prince Windischgratz,  Who,  Together With A Strong Body Of

Servians And Croats Under Jellachich,  Might Overawe The

Insurgents; Or,  If Not,  Recapture The City Without

Unnecessary Bloodshed.  The Rebels Were Buoyed Up By Hopes Of

Support From The Hungarians Under Kossuth.  But In This They

Were Disappointed.  In Less Than Three Weeks From The Day Of

The Outbreak The City Was Beleaguered.  Fighting Began

Outside The Town On The 24th.  On The 25th The Soldiers

Occupied The Wieden And Nussdorf Suburbs.  Next Day The

Gemeinderath (Municipal Council) Sent A Parlementar To Treat

With Windischgratz.  The Terms Were Rejected,  And The City

Was Taken By Storm On October 30.

 

A Few Days Before The Bombardment,  The Austrian Commander

Gave The Usual Notice To The Ambassadors To Quit The Town. 

This They Accordingly Did.  Before Leaving,  Lord Ponsonby

Kindly Sent His Private Secretary,  Mr. George Samuel,  To Warn

Me And Invite Me To Join Him At Schonbrunn.  I Politely

Elected To Stay And Take My Chance.  After The Attack On The

Suburbs Began I Had Reason To Regret The Decision.  The

Hotels Were Entered By Patrols,  And All Efficient Waiters

Kommandiere'd To Work At The Barricades,  Or Carry Arms.  On

The Fourth Day I Settled To Change Sides.  The Constant

Banging Of Big Guns,  And Rattle Of Musketry,  With The

Impossibility Of Getting Either Air Or Exercise Without The

Risk Of Being Indefinitely Deprived Of Both,  Was Becoming

Less Amusing Than I Had Counted On.  I Was Already Provided

With A Passierschein,  Which Franked Me Inside The Town,  And

Up To The Insurgents' Outposts.  The Difficulty Was How To

Cross The Neutral Ground And The Two Opposing Lines.  Broad

Daylight Was The Safest Time For The Purpose; The Officious

Sentry Is Not Then So Apt To Shoot His Friend.  With Much

Stalking And Dodging I Made A Bolt; And,  Notwithstanding

Violent Gesticulations And Threats,  Got Myself Safely Seized

And Hurried Before The Nearest Commanding Officer.

 

Chapter 12 Pg 71

He Happened To Be A General Or A Colonel.  He Was A Fierce

Looking,  Stout Old Gentleman With A Very Red Face,  All The

Redder For His Huge White Moustache And Well-Filled White

Uniform.  He Began By Fuming And Blustering As If About To

Order Me To Summary Execution.  He Spoke So Fast,  It Was Not

Easy To Follow Him.  Probably My Amateur German Was As

Puzzling To Him.  The Passierschein,  Which I Produced,  Was

Not In My Favour; Unfortunately I Had Forgotten My Foreign

Office Passport.  What Further Added To His Suspicion Was His

Inability To Comprehend Why I Had Not Availed Myself Of The

Notice,  Duly Given To All Foreigners,  To Leave The City

Before Active Hostilities Began.  How Anyone,  Who Had The

Choice,  Could Be Fool Enough To Stay And Be Shelled Or

Bayoneted,  Was (From His Point Of View) No Proof Of

Respectability.  I Assured Him He Was Mistaken If He Thought

I Had A Predilection For Either Of These Alternatives.

 

'It Was Just Because I Desired To Avoid Both That I Had

Sought,  Not Without Risk,  The Protection I Was So Sure Of

Finding At The Hands Of A Great And Gallant Soldier.'

 

'Dummes Zeug! Dummes Zeug!' (Stuff O' Nonsense),  He Puffed. 

But A Peppery Man's Good Humour Is Often As Near The Surface

As His Bad.  I Detected A Pleasant Sparkle In His Eye.

 

'Pardon Me,  Excellenz,' Said I,  'My Presence Here Is The Best

Proof Of My Sincerity.'

 

'That,' Said He Sharply,  'Is What Every Rascal Might Plead

When Caught With A Rebel's Pass In His Pocket.  Geleitsbriefe

Fur Schurken Sind Steckbriefe Fur Die Gerechtigkeit.'  (Safe-

Conduct Passes For Knaves Are Writs Of Capias To Honest Men.)

 

I Answered:  'But An English Gentleman Is Not A Knave; And No

One Knows The Difference Better Than Your Excellenz.'  The

Term 'Schurken' (Knaves) Had Stirred My Fire; And Though I

Made A Deferential Bow,  I Looked As Indignant As I Felt.

 

'Well,  Well,' He Said Pacifically,  'You May Go About Your

Business.  But Sehen Sie,  Young Man,  Take My Advice,  Don't

Satisfy Your Curiosity At The Cost Of A Broken Head.  Dazu

Gehoren Kerle Die Eigens Geschaffen Sind.'  As Much As To

Say:  'Leave Halters To Those Who Are Born To Be Hanged.' 

Indeed,  The Old Fellow Looked As If He Had Enjoyed Life Too

Well To Appreciate Parting With It Gratuitously.

 

I Had Nothing With Me Save The Clothes On My Back.  When I

Should Again Have Access To The 'Erzherzcg Carl' Was

Impossible To Surmise.  The Only Decent Inn I Knew Of Outside

The Walls Was The 'Golden Lamm,' On The Suburb Side Of The

Donau Canal,  Close To The Ferdinand Bridge Which Faces The

Rothen Thurm Thor.  Here I Entered,  And Found It Occupied By

A Company Of Nassau Jagers.  A Barricade Was Thrown Up Across

The Street Leading To The Bridge.  Behind It Were Two Guns.