 Chapter 23 of Famous Men of Modern Times Recording by Philippa Jevons Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Haran and A. B. Poland Chapter 23 Frederick the Great 1712 to 1786 In the year 1730 all Europe was startled with strange news. Tidings went from kingdom to kingdom that the crown prince of Prussia had been condemned to death by a court-martial on a charge brought by his father the king. When the news reached Vienna the Emperor of Austria sent word to the Prussian king begging him not to allow his son to be executed and the kings of Poland and Sweden made the same request. The young man was charged with being a deserter from the Prussian army. He belonged to a famous regiment called the Potsdam Guard of which his father was very proud. His father was a hard, harsh man. The one thing that he loved to do was to save money. The one thing that he disliked to do was to spend it. Frederick had been made to study hard when he was only seven years old. His father's rule was that he should get up at six in the morning, not staying in bed one minute after he was called. On Saturday morning he was examined on the lessons learned during the week, and if he passed a good examination the afternoon was given him as a half holiday. If the examination was not good he had to stay in and study. Then besides studying he was obliged before he was twelve years old to drill as a soldier. But young Frederick was not so fond of playing soldier as most boys are. You will not be surprised to hear that the crown prince was not very fond of his father, and the king seems to have really hated the prince. Once it is said that he tried to strangle him to death with the cord of a curtain. The prince at length made up his mind that he would run away from his father's palace and go to stay with his uncle, George II, who was king of England, but his father discovered his plan and thwarted it. Then came the court-martial. The prince was found guilty of deserting his regiment and was sentenced to death. He would have been executed had not the emperor of Austria and the kings of Poland and Sweden said so much against it. A few days later the prince signed a promise to submit to his father. He was then released from prison and watched very carefully. As he now behaved himself to suit the crusty old king he was made colonel of the Potsdam Guard. Not long after this his father had a serious sickness and was never quite strong again as long as he lived. He became softened and affectionate towards his son and before his death he saw what a mistake he had made in thinking so little of him. Frederick II began his reign on May the 31st, 1740. The next day he made this promise to the people. Our great care shall be to make every one of our subjects contented and happy. He began well. Some time before his father's death the crops in Prussia had failed and a famine prevailed, but the miserly old king was afraid of being cheated and would not sell to the people the wheat which belonged to the crown. Frederick II at once sold the grain to all who needed it and ordered that a thousand poor women should be comfortably fed and clothed at his own expense. He altered his manner of living. He made a great change in the army enlarged it to the number of one hundred thousand and very early in his reign he went to war. His reason for fighting was this. About a hundred years before he was born one of his ancestors made an agreement with the Duke of a province called Silesia that if either of them should die without an heir his territory should go to the other. This agreement was duly written on parchment and signed and sealed. The Duke of Silesia died, leaving no heir, so by the agreement Silesia ought to have become part of Prussia. However, the archduke of Austria took possession of it. It had been a part of Austria so long that most people seemed to have forgotten that Prussia had a claim to it. Frederick II did not forget, and soon after he came to the throne he wrote to Maria Theresa, the arch-duchess of Austria, and made the claim that Silesia was part of his dominions. He offered to pay a large sum of money for the province though he said it was his, but Maria refused to give it or sell it. Frederick, without loss of time, marched with the large army into the country. Breslau, the capital of Silesia, opened its gates to him without resistance, and most of the other towns followed its example. Maria Theresa sent a large army into the field and Frederick's first battle was fought. It took place near a town called Mölvitz. This battle is famous not because of the number of men who were killed and wounded, but because King Frederick himself fled from the field. After his flight the tide turned and his troops gained the victory. Maria Theresa was greatly alarmed, but she did a very wise thing. She was queen of Hungary as well as arch-duchess of Austria. She knew that the Hungarians were great fighters, so she invited the nobles of Hungary to meet her and said to them, You are my only allies and I throw myself on your generosity. These words went to their hearts, and they voted that all Hungary should arm and fight for her. But her troops were again badly defeated, and she was forced to surrender nearly all of Silesia to Frederick. In twenty months Frederick thus won for Prussia a territory larger than Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island put together. And really it was a fortunate thing for the Silesians that they became Prussians. The province was soon far more productive and prosperous than it had ever been, and the people were a great deal happier. When peace came Frederick was as busy at home as on the field of battle. To do what he thought a king ought to do he found that his day must contain a great many hours, so he gave orders that a servant should awaken him at four o'clock. On several mornings he dropped asleep again after being called, so he ordered the servant to mop his face at four o'clock with a cold wet towel. This made him wide awake, and through his life four was his hour for rising. He went to bed about nine or ten, so he hardly ever had more than six hours sleep. Maria Theresa kept him busy, for she did not rest content with the loss of Silesia. Frederick had reason to suppose that she was going to try to regain the lost province, so he immediately invaded her territories. He gained four victories, and thus secured Silesia a second time. After Frederick had conquered her in the Second Silesian War she found Russia, France, Sweden and Saxony ready to fight against him. Maria Theresa and her new friends agreed that they would destroy Frederick's army, get possession of Prussia, and divide it amongst themselves. But Frederick took his enemies by surprise. On August the 24th, 1756, he invaded Saxony, and thus began what is known as the Seven Years War. At the very beginning he was successful, and forced the whole Saxon army to surrender. After this, however, his good fortune left him. The Austrians gained a great victory over him at a place called Kolen, and in about three years from the beginning of the war the Allies had really almost ruined him. Another great battle was fought with the Austrians and Prussians at a place called Kunersdorf. When Frederick saw that this battle also was likely to be lost, he led the attack three times himself. Three horses were killed under him. A bullet struck a small metal box in his vest pocket and was flattened. Had it not been for the box he must have been killed. All his efforts, however, were in vain. The defeat was terrible and Frederick was in despair. He wrote to a friend, All is lost, I will not survive the ruin of the Fatherland. Adieu for ever. It is said at this time he kept in his pocket some little pills of poison ready to take, if all seemed hopeless. Then a piece of good luck happened. The Russians expected the Austrians to feed their army because it was fighting for them, but instead of sending flour the Austrians sent money. The Russian general said that his men could not eat silver, and as winter was approaching he marched home to Russia. The campaign of the year now closing, 1759, the year so famous in America for the conquest of Canada by the English, had been most unfortunate for Frederick. He had lost six thousand men, and Prussia was nearly exhausted both of men and of money. But the king was wonderfully brave and he inspired all Prussia with courage and hope. Besides, he gained some victories. One night, when he was sitting half asleep by one of his watchfires, a horseman galloped into camp, exclaiming, Where is the king? Here, answered Frederick. The rider hurriedly said, The enemy has driven in our outpost and is not five hundred yards from our left wing. Instantly Frederick gave his orders, and in a few minutes ten cannons were pouring shot into the ranks of the enemy. The attack of the Austrians was terrible, but the Prussians stood their ground heroically and the Austrians were driven back. They lost ten thousand men, the Prussians only eighteen hundred. The tide had turned, and another great battle gained at Turgau left Frederick a third time, master of Silesia. When a treaty was made, Maria Theresa was obliged to give up the province forever. Prussia at the beginning of Frederick's reign had been small and insignificant. At the end of the Seven Years' War she was one of the great powers of Europe. Frederick was as great in peace as in war. He lent money to those in need. He furnished seed to the farmers. He called himself the chief servant of the state and really worked like a slave for the good of his people. It is said that in seven years the country was as prosperous as ever. One of the most remarkable and one of the saddest things ever done in Europe was what is called the partition of Poland. Russia, Austria and Prussia decided to cuss up the little kingdom and divide it among themselves. Yet Prussia's share of Poland was much benefited by being brought under the government of Frederick. When he took charge of it the people were in a wretched condition. Frederick soon changed all this and the country became prosperous and its inhabitants comfortable. To the last he was a rigid disciplinarian. He was as severe upon himself as upon others. In August 1786 he ordered the army to go through a number of sham fights. While witnessing one of these he caught a chill which brought on an illness from which he never recovered. At about twelve o'clock on the night of his death one of his dogs which was sitting near him was shivering with cold and Frederick said, throw a quilt over him. These were the last words which he spoke and at half-past two he was dead. End of Chapter 23 Chapter 24 of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Your reader is Alec Datesman. Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Hiran and A. B. Poland Chapter 24 William Pitt, 1708 to 1778 While Frederick the Great was making Prussia a prominent European power, the elder William Pitt, First Earl of Chatham, was making England great. He held the office of Prime Minister only once and that for not more than two years, but his wisdom and a brightness gave him such influence that he was the real ruler of the country for many years. He was born in 1708 in the southwestern part of England, his father being a country gentleman of prominent family and considerable wealth. The childhood of the future statesman was passed amid rural scenes and pleasures. As a boy he was remarkably fond of books and by his careful attention to study he gratified both his parents and his teachers. He was also a lover of sports and games, this however did not prevent his suffering even during his school days from attack of gout, a disease which he inherited. When he entered Trinity College, Oxford, few students of his age were so well-read, but owing to his lack of robust health he was obliged to leave the university without taking his degree. Going to the continent he spent two years in travel and study in France and Italy. He then returned to England and secured an officer's commission in a regiment of dragoons. He soon discovered that he had made a mistake in choosing the army as a profession. He saw that his best work could be done in public life. The young officer immediately began to take steps to secure a public position. Fortunately, the right of representing the borough of old Sarum belonged to his family and thus he was enabled to become a member of Parliament. His speeches in the House of Commons were forcible and at times very eloquent. One day he spoke against a measure proposed by Horace Walpole, then Prime Minister of England. Walpole was so offended at the strong language of Pitt that he had the latter dismissed from the army with which he had not as yet severed his connection. Now I shall turn my energies wholly to politics, Pitt said to his friends. I am really glad Walpole has prevented my remaining in the army. I am not in any way fitted to be a soldier. From the time that Pitt entered Parliament to the last day of his life he was devoted to public affairs. He quickly showed that he had great genius for political management. There was no orator in the House of Commons whose speeches commanded so much attention but the source of his power was no mystery. It was the simple fact that he invariably advocated measures which he believed to be for the benefit of the people. After some experience in political life he was chosen a member of the cabinet and though he was not nominally Prime Minister he was really at the head of the government. Nearly all its important measures were suggested by him. He ventured on one occasion to oppose the wishes of King George II and consequently was obliged to resign his position but the King found it impossible to carry on the government without him. The people demanded that he should return to office and within a few months he was recalled. The condition of England at this time was one of feebleness. Pitt put the army and navy into such a condition that during the famous Seven Years War in which England as the ally of Frederick the Great was at war with France the latter country was forced to cede to England most valuable possessions both in America and India. Pitt inspired England with national enthusiasm. It was during the years 1756 to 1761 that he had the fullest opportunity to show his surpassing qualities. His wise choice of men like Wolf in Canada and Clive in India and his vigorous measures in the management of foreign affairs made England respected in every part of the world. The people called him the Great Commoner because up to this time he was without a title of nobility. Never before had so great a leader of public affairs appeared in England. The young king was obstinate. He was determined to be a real king as he said. So one day when Pitt advised that war should be declared against Spain which had made an alliance with France the Great Enemy of England the king and his council refused to agree to such a war. Pitt then decided to give up his office and have nothing further to do with the management of the government. The king received his resignation calmly and made no request to Pitt to remain in office. Nevertheless, he granted him a pension of $15,000 a year. After his retirement from office, Pitt remained in the House of Commons and was, as he had so long been, its foremost member. His eloquent voice was constantly heard in the debates and his word had influenced not only with parliament but with the whole nation. Twice he was urged to take part in the government but refused. At last, in 1766, King George invited him to choose a ministry to suit himself and Pitt accepted the invitation. In the new ministry, he selected for himself the office of Privy Seal with a seat in the House of Lords as Viscount Pitt and Earl of Chatham. His acceptance of the title lost him at first considerable popularity but his continued devotion to the people's interests even as a member of the nobility eventually restored public confidence. He ceased to be Prime Minister in 1768 and was succeeded in that office by Lord North. Like Burke, he denounced in the most fearless manner the arbitrary and unjust measures of the government of Lord North toward the American colonies. He insisted that the colonists were entitled to all the rights of British subjects and urged in the warmest way that the difficulties between them and the government should be amicably settled. The name of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania was given by his American admirers to commemorate his efforts on behalf of the rights of his colonial fellow citizens. When he died in May 1778, the entire English nation in the colonies as well as at home mourned with genuine grief. He had been a patriot and a statesman, not a mere politician. End of Chapter 24 Read by Alec Datesman, Brooklyn, New York Chapter 25 of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Your reader is Alec Datesman, Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Horan and A.B. Poland Chapter 25 George Washington, 1732 to 1799 George Washington, familiarly known as the father of his country, was born on a plantation in Virginia called Bridges Creek on February 22, 1732. When he was three years old, the house in which he was born was burned down and the family moved to another plantation on the Rappahannock opposite Fredericksburg. He was the eldest of five children, although he had a half-brother named Lawrence, who was 15 years older than himself. His father died when he was but 11 years of age, but his mother, who was a strong and healthy woman, took up her burden bravely and bought up her family with great care. It is generally admitted that Washington got his manly qualities from his mother. In features and in mental characteristics, he resembled her very closely. After the death of George's father, one of his estates on the Potomac River was inherited by Lawrence. Lawrence Washington was fond of George and often invited him to spend his holidays at Mount Vernon. An English nobleman named Lord Fairfax lived near Mount Vernon and often visited Lawrence Washington. In this way he became acquainted with George. Lord Fairfax owned an immense tract of wild forest land in Virginia. He had never seen in himself and few white men had ever been on it. Lord Fairfax was an old gentleman, but he took a great liking to George Washington. When he found that the young man understood surveying, he engaged him to survey these lands. When only 16, George entered upon his task. This was quite an undertaking for one so young, but in three years the survey was finished and it was so well done that it stands to this day. Lawrence Washington died in 1752 and in his will he made George guardian to his daughter and heir to Mount Vernon in case of her death. George had now grown to manhood. He was wonderfully strong and athletic and could outrun, outleap and outride all the young men of his acquaintance. So fully did he command the confidence of those who knew him that he was appointed to positions of great trust and responsibility. At the age of 23 he was made colonel and commander in chief of all the forces raised in Virginia for the defense of the western territory against the French. In this French war, as it was called, he received a splendid training, not only in success but in failure and confidence in him was greatly increased when men saw how these failures and defeats raised his unconquerable spirit. In a second expedition, Washington was again placed in command of the American troops. The French had built a fort at the point where the Allegheny and Monongahila rivers join and form the Ohio which they called Fort Duquesne. Washington decided to capture this fort but the French garrison were afraid to risk a battle so they burned the fort and marched away into Canada. When Washington and his men arrived they found nothing but smoking ruins but they took possession of the place in the name of King George. Sometime afterward, the English won a great victory over the French at Quebec. This gave them all French America from the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes as far west as the Mississippi and south to the Gulf of Mexico. At the end of the war, Washington returned to Mount Vernon. In May 1758, Washington was called to Williamsburg to confer with the governor in regard to the condition of the Virginia troops. He traveled there on horseback accompanied by his servant and one day he stopped for dinner at the mansion of a hospitable planter. There he was introduced to a lovely young widow, Mrs. Martha Custis. Her manners and conversation were so pleasing to him that he spent the afternoon and evening in her company and the next morning he rode away a captive to her charms. George Washington and Martha Custis were married on January 6th, 1759. The union proved to be a very happy one. She adorned every station to which his greatness called her and he was tenderly devoted to her till the end of his life. For several years, Washington lived the life of a country gentleman. He was very fond of horses and hounds and often went fox hunting but like other people in the American colonies he was greatly troubled by the unjust way in which the English king and his government were acting. The English parliament ordered that a tax should be paid upon all the tea brought into New York, Boston and the other ports of the colonies. As the colonists had no representative in parliament they felt that they ought not to be taxed and when a shipload of tea arrived in Boston a number of citizens went on board the vessel and threw the chests of tea into the harbor. This was called the Boston Tea Party. Washington hated the tea tax and he and his friends refused to buy any goods that came from England. A number of men from all the colonies met together in a congress to consider what should be done. They sent a letter to the king of England begging that they might have the same rights as those of his subjects who were born in England. Quite a number of men in the English parliament said that the colonists were right. Among these was William Pitt after whom the city of Pittsburgh was named. But the parliament was stubborn and the Americans found that if they were to gain their rights they could only do so by fighting for them so they took up arms and entered upon a great struggle for their liberties. The Congress of the Colonies raised an army and Washington was made commander in chief. British troops had already been sent over to fight against the colonists. As Washington was running from Mount Vernon to Cambridge, Massachusetts people told him that a battle had taken place between the English soldiers and the colonial militia. His question was did the militia fight? Yes was the answer. Then said Washington, the liberties of the country are safe. On arriving at Cambridge, Washington at once assumed command. The British held the city of Boston but Washington made up his mind to take it. One cold night in March he fortified a hill which commended the city. From its heights he discharged such a shower of shot and shell that the British commander found that Boston was not a safe place for him to stay in. So he took his ships and left the city in Washington's hands. This was a great victory for the colonists and they were much encouraged. On the 4th of July, 1776 Congress declared that the colonies no longer belonged to Great Britain but were free and independent. A British fleet and army now arrived from England to capture New York. They landed on Long Island and a battle was fought in which the Americans were badly defeated. The British rested for a couple of days in a battle and during that time Washington led the American army across the East River, marched through New York and on through Harlem to White Plains. There they dug trenches, threw up breast works and awaited the British attack. The English commander hesitated to attack them in this strong position and Washington soon afterward crossed the Hudson into New Jersey. These were dark days for all who were fighting for liberty and independence. On several occasions, they were retreating from place to place. At Christmas 1777 the main body of the British army were in winter quarters at New York and the towns of Princeton and Trenton in New Jersey were also held by them. Washington determined to make an advance movement against them. He crossed the Delaware amidst floating ice, marched to Trenton in a driving storm of sleet and captured the town. He was also successful at Princeton and Frederick the Great, and shared that Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton were the most splendid gained in the 18th century. He next won a great battle at Monmouth in New Jersey and after that the outlook began to improve. Benjamin Franklin was then in Paris and he persuaded the French government to help his countrymen. So a French fleet and an army came over and rendered good service to the American cause. The Marquis de Lafayette, a young French nobleman had already come to this country as a colonial army. Washington admired him very greatly and made him a major general. He was a brave man and a brilliant soldier and will ever be kindly remembered by the American people. In 1781 the main division of the British army was at Yorktown in Virginia under the command of Lord Cornwallis. As soon as the French allies arrived Washington went to see the commander of the fleet and it was agreed that the French and Americans should unite the French fleet sailed to Yorktown and the French and Americans closing in upon the town by land. It was soon besieged on all sides. The British army was so closely cooped up in Yorktown that Cornwallis was finally obliged to surrender and this victory brought the war to an end. Peace was made with England and Washington returned to his beautiful home at Mount Vernon where he would have liked to spend the rest of his life in quiet but the country still needed his help. When the country was called the United States of America the states were not really united. They had joined in the war against England because all were in the same danger but as soon as the danger was over they began to disagree among themselves. There were 13 independent states. Each of these states had its own governor but there was no president over all. There really was no nation and of course there was no constitution. Washington said there must be a union that would keep the states together in peace in the war. Most of the people felt as he did and so in 1789 a constitution was drawn up and adopted by the states. This constitution provided that there should be a president elected by the people to be the ruler of the nation. That laws should be made which the people in all the states must obey and that these laws should be made by Congress and the president. After the constitution had been adopted an election was held and the countrymen became the first president of the United States of America. New York was then capital city of the country and after his election Washington went to live there. His journey from Mount Vernon to New York was one long triumphal march. Congress then held its meetings in a hall in Wall Street and in front of that hall he took the oath to serve the country faithfully and to maintain the constitution. An immense crowd had gathered to witness this ceremony and blessed George Washington, president of the United States. Bells peeled and cannons roared and there was great rejoicing all over the land. So well did George Washington rule that when his term of office expired he was again the choice of the people and they would have had him elected a third time and not he himself declined the great honor. He wrote a farewell address to the people of the United States and went back to Virginia to live amid the quiet scenes of Mount Vernon and enjoy a well and rest. Not quite three years passed when in December 1799 he took a severe cold as he was riding over his farm in a storm of sleet. He failed very rapidly from the first and two days later George Washington, the father of his country was dead. He was buried at Mount Vernon. The entire nation sincerely mourned the loss of its founder and friend and the world grieved for the death of one of its grandest heroes. Chapter 26 Of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Herron and A. B. Poland. Chapter 26 From 1758 to 1794. A few years after the American Revolution had freed the thirteen colonies from the tyranny of George III the great French Revolution began. This was also a struggle against tyranny and Americans can scarcely help sympathizing with the French who, for many generations, had been deprived of their just rights. One of the great leaders of the French Revolution was Robespierre. He was born at Eris in France on May 6, 1758. He was left an orphan at the age of nine and obtained his early education in the schools of his native town through the kindness of a warm-hearted bishop who had known his father. He afterwards entered the college of Louis Legrand in Paris. He was a clever student and when Louis XVI entered Paris at the beginning of his reign Robespierre was chosen by vote of his fellow students to present him with an address of welcome. After his graduation in 1781 he was called to the bar but resigned on account of his reluctance to pronounce sentence of death. Nevertheless it is said that he was cruel even as a child and that he took great pleasure in mean little acts that would give pain to others. He appears to have felt, very early in life a great hatred for people who were wealthy and of high rank. As a youth he talked a great deal about the rights of the lower classes and the wrongdoings of the upper classes and declared that the power of doing so much wrong should be taken away from the king and his nobles. The poor people of France liked to hear such talk for they had just reason to complain. Many of them came to look upon Robespierre as the champion of their rights and to place much confidence in his ability to help them. The revolutionists had come to think that the only remedy for their wrongs was the death of King Louis XVI just as in England Cromwell and his friends a hundred and fifty years earlier had believed that the English people could gain their rights only by the death of Charles I. Robespierre was determined that the king should be executed. He made a speech in which he said that France would be far better off without any king. He then went on to say that happiness and prosperity would return to the country if only Louis could be removed and that the only way to remove him was to put him to death. He said that the person of a king was sacred and that if his life was taken the curse of God would rest upon those who took it. Robespierre boldly denied this and the people were delighted with his words. They named him the incorruptible and they almost worshipped him. One day when he was leaving the hall where the meetings of the assembly were held they placed a crown of oak leaves upon his head, unharnessed the horses from his carriage and drew him to his home themselves. Fast along the streets they cried Behold the friend of the people Behold the defender of liberty. The revolutionists raised an army of their own placed a guard around the palace and made a king a prisoner. Then they brought him to trial and charged him with being the cause of all the troubles that the people of France had suffered during his reign. Three excellent lawyers were employed to defend him and they spoke very strongly in his behalf. But on January 16th, 1793 this mock court sentenced him to death. After the death of Louis XVI Robespierre became the absolute master of France and he was so cruel that the period of his rule has been called the reign of terror. People were afraid when they rose in the morning that they might be beheaded during the day and when they went to bed they feared lest assassins might enter their rooms and kill them while they slept. It is stated on good authority that the executions during Robespierre's average about thirty a day. After a while people began to see that their condition had not improved. Everybody in Paris was extremely unhappy and some did not hesitate to say that they were worse off under Robespierre than they had been under Louis XVI. As Robespierre himself had taught the peoples that the death of the ruler was the great remedy for their troubles many persons began to think that it would be the best thing for France if Robespierre himself should be put to death. A conspiracy was formed to bring Robespierre to trial and one day a bold speaker arose in the convention and openly blamed him for his cruelty. Robespierre rose from his seat and was about to make a speech in his own defense, but the hall was filled with the cries of down with the tyrant, down with the tyrant and he fled from the building in great alarm. In a few moments he was surrounded by the officers of the convention. As they were about to seize him he tried to kill himself by firing a pistol at his head, but the ball only fractured his lower jaw. Together with twenty of his friends he was executed on the same day on which he was arrested. End of Chapter 26 Chapter 27 of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Napoleon Bonaparte 1929-1821 The home of Napoleon Bonaparte for the first ten years of his life was at Ayacho on the island of Corsica. When ten years of age he was sent to a military school. At sixteen he entered the army. When France was declared a republic he sided with the revolutionists. Some of the people of Paris did not like the idea of a republic and about forty thousand of them marched through the streets to attack the Tuileries where the Republican convention was waiting. The convention had learned that an attack was to be made on them and they had prepared to resist it. They had troops but they needed a commander. One of the members who knew Napoleon said, I know just the man you want. He is a little Corsican officer and will not stand upon ceremony. Napoleon was sent for and put in command. He led out their forces and many of the royalists were killed and the convention at once gave him a higher position. A French army sent to attack the Austrians in north Italy was placed under his command. The soldiers were greatly dissatisfied because their pay was in arrears. Napoleon said to them I will lead you into the most fertile fields that the sun shines on. Rich provinces and great cities shall be your reward. The Austrians posted themselves near a town called Lodi on the bank of the river Ada. They crossed the Ada into the town and this bridge was first taken. Then Napoleon and General Lawn made a splendid charge and captured the town itself. Four days later Napoleon entered Milan and compelled that wealthy city to pay him nearly four million dollars. Mantua was also captured and the palaces of the Dukes and nobles were plundered. When peace was made Austria was obliged to surrender Belgium, Corfu and the Ionian islands to liberate General Lafayette and other Frenchmen held in Austrian prisons. With French aid republics were established in Switzerland, Naples and Rome and Napoleon then said if my voice has any influence England shall never have one hour's truce until she is destroyed. But his next campaign was in Egypt where he was again victorious. The English commander, Nelson, however destroyed the ships in which the French soldiers were expecting to return Napoleon leaving 15,000 troops to hold possession of Egypt marched the remainder of his army into Palestine. He was successful in an attack on Jaffa. Then he proceeded northward to Acre which was garrisoned by the Turks. After besieging this town for more than sixty days he was compelled to withdraw. Napoleon then returned to Egypt and found a great Turkish army just about to attack the troops he had left there but he conquered them in a single battle and once more hastened back to France where he was warmly welcomed by the people and was the idol of the army. At that time France was governed by five men who were called the Directory or ruling body of France. There was also a council of five hundred something like our House of Representatives. The Directory resigned and since many of the council of five hundred disliked him Napoleon had them turned out of office. Napoleon and two associates then made rulers of France under the title of consuls and although he was known as the first consul he was the real governor of the French nation. One of the first things Napoleon did after being made first consul was to write a letter to George III King of England proposing that England and France should make peace. The English government replied that the easiest thing for France to do if she desired peace with the other powers of Europe would be to restore the royal family of the throne. Napoleon then made his famous attack on Italy which had been lost to France while he was in Egypt. Sixty thousand men were ordered to cross the Alps. They were to go by four different passes and then to meet in Italy. Canon had to be dragged over the snow and sometimes a hundred men were required to handle a single large gun. They passed the monastery of Saint Bernard and descended into Italy. A desperate battle was fought at Marengo and after a partial defeat the French were again victorious. The conqueror returned home in triumph but his enemies attempted to assassinate him by exploding a barrel of gunpowder under his carriage. The carriage however had got safely passed before the explosion took place. This incident led to giving him still greater power and Napoleon was from that time considered as the emperor of the French. In 1801 the very next year after the victory at Marengo British troops landed in Egypt and in one short campaign drove the French out of that country. When Napoleon heard that Egypt was lost he said, well, there remains only the descent on Britain and in a short time one hundred and sixty thousand men were ready to invade England. An immense number of flat bottomed boats were prepared to carry this force across the channel. But Lord Nelson was guarding the English coasts by day and by night. Napoleon knew that Nelson's guns soon sink the boats and so a treaty of peace was made in 1802 and the struggle with England was again postponed. Napoleon was as great a tyrant as Louis XVI and he tried to be as tyrannical in foreign countries as he was at home. The people of northern Italy were so alarmed by his victories at Lodi, Mantua and Marengo that they allowed him to take from them all independence and make their states a province of France. He treated Switzerland in the same way. The peace between France and England lasted but one year and then Napoleon again prepared for an invasion. A large army was assembled in camps along the coasts of France and Holland but the French were again hindered from sailing by the vigilance of Nelson. The coronation of the Emperor and Empress on May 18, 1804 was a very grand affair and the French people seemed to be well satisfied with their new rulers. A few months later Napoleon went to Milan and there crowned himself King of Italy with the famous Iron Crown of Charlemagne. This angered the Austrians and Russians and Russia and England became the allies of Austria. Napoleon continued to wage war until his very name became a terror and after his great victory at Austerlitz men feared him more and more. At the Battle of Vienna where he fought against the Prussians he was again triumphant and he carried himself as though of the world. He divorced his wife Josephine and married Marie-Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of Austria. Troubles again arose with Russia and Napoleon's advisors tried to persuade him not to go to war but he said the states of Europe must be melted into one nation and Paris must be its capital. The Russian army was only about half as large as that of the French. By a system of carefully arranged retreats it lured Napoleon and his men to the very heart of Russia. Near Moscow a battle was fought which lasted all day and neither party could claim the victory. Next morning the Russians had disappeared and the French army entered the city and pillaged it. But so many fires occurred that Napoleon was obliged to leave the city just as the terrible Russian winter began. When the French entered Moscow over 100,000 soldiers answered the roll call but when they returned to France it was still alive. It has been well said that the fortunes of Napoleon were buried in the Russian snows. England, Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Austria now declared war against him. He was defeated at Leipzig and again driven back into France. The allied armies pursued him, captured Paris, forced him to abdicate and placed Louis XVIII on the throne. Napoleon was banished to a little island in the Mediterranean called Elba. Louis XVIII tried to govern as his brother had done before the Revolution and the French again became discontented. When, therefore, the news was heard that Napoleon had escaped from Elba and was again in France the whole nation broke into the wildest rejoicing and Napoleon was once more emperor. He marched into Belgium and there fought his last battle. He had a fine army and the English and Prussian generals, Wellington and Blutcher were equally well equipped. Napoleon managed to get between the English and Prussian armies. He defeated the Prussians on June 16th but in turn was beaten by the English. Then on the heights about Waterloo the decisive battle was fought June 18th, 1815. Both sides fought with great bravery. In front of the English was a sunken road cut into the hill like a ditch and this was concealed from the French by a hedge. In the spirit of the French cavalry plunged into this ditch as they rode up rank after rank and the survivors were compelled to ride over the struggling bodies of their comrades. Then the English, drawn up in solid masses received the French charge on the points of their bayonets and at the same time poured a heavy fire into their broken ranks. At about five in the afternoon Blutcher appeared and united his troops with those of Wellington. He then made a charge which Wellington himself said was splendid but the French army was thrown into confusion and Wellington won the day. A month later Napoleon went on board the Bellarafon an English man of war and surrendered himself to the captain. He was afterwards taken by the British to an island in the Atlantic Ocean called St. Helena and was kept a prisoner there until his death in 1821. In 1840 the French government requested the English allow them to bring his body to France. In Paris the body was received by Louis Philippe who was then king of France more than a million people gathered in the streets through which the funeral procession passed and 30,000 were present at the funeral service which closed with a requiem sung by 300 voices. End of Chapter 27 Chapter 28 A famous man of modern times This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org This reading by Paul Curran in the hills of northern England Famous men of modern times by John H. Hiran and A. B. Poland Chapter 28 Horatio Nelson 1758-1805 Horatio Nelson was born in 1758 at 12 years of age he asked permission to go to sea with an uncle named Suckling but as his uncle did not sail that year he was sent in charge of a friend on a voyage to the West Indies It was not many days before the sailor boy knew the name of every rope on the ship and the use of each He could box the compass that is, repeat the names of all the 32 points backwards and forwards and could tell him what direction the ship was sailing When he returned to England he was fonder of the sea than ever Some time after reaching home he heard that two ships of the navy were going to the North Pole and he obtained permission to go with them The vessels after sailing far toward the North were be calmed The weather became very cold and they were surrounded by great fields of ice One night, while they were frozen up in the ice fields, Nelson and one of his comrades stole away from their ship to attack a huge polar bear Pretty soon they were missed But although they were not far away a thick fog prevented those on board from seeing them The captain became alarmed The signal for their return was fired and Nelson, much disappointed, went back to the ship Fortunately a wind soon sprang up from the east and the currents drifted them into clear water In due time they sighted Old England once more Nelson's next voyage was to the East Indies and there he cruised about for 18 months The hot climate did not agree with him and he was finally sent home But on the voyage his health improved so much that when he reached England he was ready to go to sea again The Spaniards then claimed Central and South America and England was at war with Spain so a plan was proposed to seize that part of South America where the canal is now being cut to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans There the Spaniards had two forts and Nelson was sent to capture them When he got near one of them he leapt ashore from his boat He alighted on ground so soft that he sank into it and lost his shoes but this did not stop him Barefoot he led on his men and took one fort The other was also soon taken But the climate of the region was far more deadly than the guns of the Spaniards and Nelson was obliged to return to England on sick leave It was three months before he was well enough to go to sea again He was then appointed to the Albemarle, a vessel with 28 guns This was at the time that George III was trying to conquer the American colonies and Nelson was sent to cruise in the waters of Canada and New England After the surrender of the British at Yorktown Nelson wrote home I have closed the war without a fortune but there is not a speck on my character After the execution of Louis XVI England, as we have said was at war with France and Nelson was put in command of the Agamemnon a ship of 64 guns The French at about this time took possession of the little island of Corsica on which Napoleon was born They placed a garrison in a fortified town called Calvi and the English laid siege to it The Agamemnon was ordered to aid the land forces and so Nelson took his men and guns assure and fought on the land Calvi was taken and Corsica was annexed to Great Britain But for Nelson this battle proved a serious matter A shot struck the ground near him and drove some sand and gravel into his eye He thought at first that no great harm had been done but the sight of the eye was lost A short time after this the English admiral whom Nelson was serving learned that a French fleet of 22 vessels with over 16,000 men was not far off The English fleet consisted of only 15 ships with half as many men as the French However when they came in sight of the French they gave chase The Agamemnon with her 64 guns followed a French frigate of 84 called the Saïra Nelson was all alone for the other ships of the English fleet were several miles distant near the Saïra other French vessels of 130 guns Nelson sailed close up to the big ship and when about 100 yards a stern of her suddenly ordered the helm to be put to the right and fired his whole broadside that is all the guns on one side of his vessel Then he ordered the helm hard to the left and started after the Frenchmen again and when he came near he turned and fired another broadside This he did again and again for two hours and a quarter always keeping out of range of the enemy's guns but so many other French ships came upon the seeing that fearing that they would prove too much for him he sailed away and joined the English fleet Next morning the French fleet was again discovered about five miles away but the Saïra had been so much injured that she had to be told I was only about three and a half miles distant Nelson attacked both the Saïra and the vessel which was towing her The French fought gallantly but the guns of the Agamemnon were so well aimed that the two French ships lost about 300 men Then both of them lowered their colours and surrendered Spain was now in alliance with France and fighting against England Nelson attacked a Spanish frigate and after conquering her he brought on board his ship Then four more Spanish vessels hove in sight and Nelson prudently sailed away As soon as he reached a port he gave the Spanish captain his liberty and sent him to his friends under a flag of truce Not long after this the English fleet of 19 vessels was signalled to keep in line of battle all night A daybreak a Spanish fleet of 38 vessels was in sight After the service finding that they were much scattered ordered the English ships to sail in among them and attack them Nelson was so much afraid that the Spanish ships would escape that he was soon engaged with seven Spanish vessels which had in all about 600 guns Fortunately two British vessels came up to the assistance of Nelson's ship Both these ships were damaged by shots from the guns of the Spaniards But at length the Spaniards appeared alongside one of the Spanish vessels called the St Nicholas and he and his men boarded her The Spanish officers took refuge in the cabin and fired at the boarding party through the windows but the English forced the door and the Spaniards surrendered their swords to Nelson Another Spanish vessel called the San Joseph lay close to the St Nicholas and the English, led by Nelson himself forced her to surrender For his great bravery Nelson was made a Knight of the Bath and so became Sir Horatio Nelson His next adventure was an attack upon Tenerife and there he was so severely injured in the right arm that he was obliged to have it amputated After recovering from his wound he was again placed in command his vessel was the Vanguard Napoleon was preparing his great expedition for the conquest of Egypt Nelson sailed in search of the French and defeated them in the Great Battle of the Nile In this engagement he was also wounded but not so seriously as was at first supposed After the battle he again returned to England When he entered the Harbour of Yarmouth every shipping port hoisted her colours and in London he was drawn in triumph through the streets and presented by the City Council with a gold-hilted sword studded with diamonds Napoleon was now at the height of his power Denmark, Sweden, and Russia had formed an alliance with France to try and take from England her sovereignty of the seas The hostile fleets met off Copenhagen Part of the English fleet was under Nelson's command The Admiral who was chief in command was at some distance when the battle began and the engagement was going against them he gave the signal to cease firing and the officer on Nelson's ship whose duty it was to watch for signals reported this to Nelson Nelson put his spy-glass to his blind eye and looking toward the Admiral's ship said I really do not see the signal Keep mind flying for closer battle Soon white flags were flying from the masts heads of many of the Danish vessels Nelson had disobeyed orders but he had gained the victory and the enemy's fleet was disabled In 1804 France induced Spain to join her in war against England and the French and Spanish fleets sailed to the West Indies to attack the English and take possession there but they returned to Europe and Nelson learning that they were at Cadiz went there to meet them Soon after his arrival on the lookout gave the signal that the French and Spanish fleet were coming out of port Just before they went into battle Nelson wrote a remarkable prayer and his last wishes Then he ordered the famous signal to be made to the fleet England expects every man to do his duty The French had some Tyrolese riflemen on one of their ships and a bow from one of their rifles struck Nelson on the shoulder He fell When taken up he said to his captain they have done for me at last, Hardy My backbone is shot through He knew that his wound was fatal and when carried to the cockpit told the surgeon to attend to the others For, said he you can do nothing for me About an hour after he was wounded Captain Hardy came to see him Well Hardy, said he How goes the day with us Very well, said Hardy Ten ships have struck In less than an hour the captain returned and taking Nelson's hand congratulated him on having gained a complete victory Presently the dying man said Kiss me Hardy Hardy knelt down and kissed his cheek and Nelson said Now I am satisfied Thank God I have done my duty These words he repeated several times and they were his last Thus Admiral Nelson perhaps the greatest of England's naval commanders died on his good ship Victory in Trafalgar Bay on October 21st, 1805 His body was carried back to England and was buried with great pomp in St Paul's Cathedral in London Chapter 29 Chapter 29 of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by MCY Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Aaron in A. B. Poland Chapter 29 Tadeusz Kociuszko Tadeusz Kociuszko 1746-1817 Americans will never cease to honor the memory of the Polish Patriot Tadeusz Kociuszko In his early manhood he was one of the noble band of liberty-loving foreigners who came to the United States and aided American patriots in their struggle for independence Kociuszko was born in Poland in 1746 In the course of study in the best military schools of Europe he was appointed a captain in the Polish Army When the American Revolution began he determined to take part in it He came to the United States and sought General Washington who was Commander-in-Chief of the American Army General he said and he stood before Washington I have come to offer myself as a volunteer to fight Captain Washington who I am shaking the hand of Kociuszko The Patriot cause has need of the services of everyone who is willing to wait it What can you do? Try me said Kociuszko modestly Washington smiled I will try you captain and I do not doubt that you will perform valuable service Kociuszko was appointed Colonel of Engineers and soon showed by his skill he indeed rendered valuable service to the American Army He was subsequently made one of Washington's staff officers and served with the great commander for some time Never have I known better or more faithful service from anyone said Washington once when speaking of Kociuszko's work as a staff officer He was prompt, diligent full of enthusiasm while at the same time he was a man of large education I regarded him almost as a younger brother and trusted him with my most important plans Toward the close of the war Kociuszko was honored with the public thanks of the Continental Congress for his gallant deeds He was appointed Brigadier General and for some months commanded a large force of the American Army When the revolution ended Kociuszko went back to Poland proud to have taken part in the patriotic struggle Kociuszko came to him home with enthusiasm and later he was made Major General in the Polish Army In 1791 the Poles were forced to resist an invasion of their country by the Russians and Prussians Kociuszko took part in the war and on two occasions by skillful management saved the Polish force from entire destruction At the Battle of Dubienka with only about 4000 men he kept at bay 20,000 and finally made his retreat without great loss The Poles were generally outnumbered by the Russians and they fought gallantly but they were completely overpowered Russia and Prussia both annexed large parts of Poland These annexations is known as the second partition of Poland The first partition had taken place twenty years before when Austria, Russia and Prussia each took parts of the little kingdom In 1794 the Poles were so angry at the loss of their country that they took up arms once more A revolt was secretly planned and on a certain day in the spring of 1794 Kociuszko suddenly appeared in the city of Karkow The Russians must be driven from Poland They must not rule our fair land said Kociuszko to those of his countrymen who assembled at his call We can free ourselves from Russian slavery if we will fight The Poles hastily armed themselves many with nothing but sights and advanced to meet the Russian army After a sharp contest the enemy was driven out of Karkow A week later Eratslavice a Polish army of 5,000 led by Kociuszko routed a great force of Russians and returned triumphantly to Karkow The rebellion went on for several months with some success On October 10th 1794 an immense force of Russians advanced against the Poles The little army of patriots numbered only 4,000 The Poles were defeated with heavy loss and Kociuszko fighting desperately fell from his horse severely wounded He was made prisoner by the Russians and taken to St. Petersburg where he suffered a rigorous imprisonment The Russian general Suvorov captured Warsaw and the kingdom of Poland came to an end For now Russia, Prussia and Austria took to themselves all that remained of the Polish territory When Kociuszko had been in confinement for two years the Tsar gave him his liberty You are an enemy of Russia said the Tsar to him but you have shown great heroism and I cannot help admiring a brave man The Tsar seen that Kociuszko had no sword offered him one I have no need of a sword Kociuszko I have no country now to defend Immediately after his release from the Russian prison Kociuszko went to England and then came to the United States The Americans received him with great honor and Congress gave him a liberal pension for his services in the Revolutionary War For some years afterwards he lived in France Toward the close of his life he made his home in Switzerland where he engaged into agriculture pursuits He died in 1817 in consequence of a fall from a horse His body was taken to Krakow and buried in the cathedral near the graves of other Polish patriots After the burial the Polish people brought earth from all the battlefields on which Kociuszko had fought for Poland and erected near Krakow a great mound 150 feet high in honor of their hero End of Chapter 29 Chapter 30 of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Rhonda Federman Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Haran and A. B. Poland Chapter 30 Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865 Abraham Lincoln The 16th president of the United States was the son of poor parents and his childhood and youth were full of trial and hardship His father Thomas Lincoln was a pioneer farmer in Kentucky and there in a one-room log cabin of the poorer sort Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12th, 1809 His mother was Nancy the daughter of Joseph Hanks a neighbor who was also trying to get out of the soil Abraham had also one sister of whom not much has been recorded As there was little to encourage his stay in Kentucky Abraham's father moved into Indiana and built a log cabin in the midst of the forest at Pigeon Creek Here most of Lincoln's boyhood was passed In 1818 Mrs. Lincoln died and Abraham Lincoln was left motherless 18 months later his father married Mrs. Sarah Bush Johnston a widow who had been a neighbor in Kentucky She was a good woman and treated Abraham with the same care and tenderness which she showed to her own children Abraham Lincoln formed a strong attachment for his stepmother which lasted all through his life She was really able to do more for him than his own mother had been He was not only better clothed but he had considerable help in his struggle for an education By the time he was 10 he was working hard to help his father to clear some land and turn a little piece of the forest into a farm He had little or no schooling He once said later on in life that he did not think that all his schooling as a lad amounted to more than six months He learned to write by using a charred stick that he had ordered for a slate There were no books in his home accepting a Bible, a catechism and a spelling book But he would walk miles to borrow a book and he read with great care everything that he could find He thus gathered a store of information that was of service to him throughout his wonderful career At 16 years of age he had almost reached the height of 6 feet 4 inches for which he was noted in after years His bodily strength was very great and his services were very much in demand He did everything he could to help his parents In 1830 the Lincoln family moved to Illinois and from that time their fortunes began to improve Lincoln was now 21 One who knew him well at that time thus describes his personal appearance He was tall, angular and ungainly and wore trousers made of flax and toe cut tightly at the ankles and loosely at the knees He was very poor but was welcome in every house in the neighborhood He built a flat boat with his father's consent and carried a load of farm produce down the river to market It was on this trip that he earned his first dollar by carrying two gentlemen and their trunks out to a steamer on the Ohio and of which he often spoke in after years He afterwards made other trips as a boatman and was very successful in them It was on one of these trips that he witnessed in New Orleans the brutality of the slave trade This led him to say If ever I get a chance to hit that institution I'll hit it hard He next entered the employ of a Mr. Ofit who put him in charge of a general store in New Salem While tending this store Lincoln once sold to a woman goods for which she paid the amount of two dollars, six and a quarter cents He discovered later that a mistake had been made and that the store owed the customer the six and a quarter cents After he had closed the store that night he walked several miles in the darkness to return the amount At another time a woman bought tea Lincoln discovered the next morning that a smaller weight was on the scales He had once weighed out the remainder and walked some distance before breakfast to deliver it It was by such deeds as these that he earned the name of Honest Abe He gained the goodwill of his neighbors who called upon him to settle their disputes and always found him to be fair and upright in his decisions Miss Fortune overtook Mr. Ofit and Lincoln entered the service of the state of Illinois in what is known as the Black Hawk War He was elected captain of the company but neither he nor his men were called upon to do any actual fighting At the close of the war he returned to New Salem and was urged to become a member of the legislature of Illinois but he failed to be elected Like Washington he took up the business of a surveyor In 1833 he was made postmaster of New Salem In the following year, 1834 another election of the members of the state legislature took place and this time he was successful and became a member for Sangamon County The two political parties were then known as the Democrats and the Whigs and Lincoln belonged to the Whigs He was still so poor that he was obliged to borrow money with which to purchase suitable clothing before he could take his seat in the house His entering the legislature was an important event in his life The capital of the state was soon afterwards changed from Vandalia to Springfield and Lincoln who was rapidly rising into fame took up the study of law As a lawyer he was decidedly successful He formed several partnerships with lawyers of eminence and his days of biting poverty were over He still continued his general studies and became one of the best informed men in the state He gave his first legal fee to his step-mother in the shape of 160 acres of land in memory of her great kindness to him as a boy In November 1842 Abraham Lincoln married Miss Mary Todd of Lexington, Kentucky and the next ten years with the happiest of his whole life In 1846 he was elected a member of the United States Congress He took his seat in the House of Representatives at Washington on December 6th of that year His first important speech in Congress was one in which he denounced the war then being carried on between the United States and Mexico a speech in which he dealt the pro-slavery party a severe blow At the end of his first term in Congress Mr. Lincoln determined not to seek re-election He therefore returned to Springfield and resumed the practice of law When in 1854 a bill was passed which put aside the Missouri Compromise and gave greater powers to the friends of slavery Lincoln again entered politics He became a candidate for the Illinois legislature and was elected Mr. Stephen A. Douglas was then at the height of his power and was bitterly opposed to Lincoln In 1860 with Douglas as his most formidable competitor Mr. Lincoln was elected president In February 1861 he left Springfield for Washington and was duly inaugurated in March of that year In the election of Abraham Lincoln as president the South feared the institution of slavery was in the gravest danger and they put forth every possible effort for its defense Some of the southern states voted to secede from the Union Fort Sumter was fired upon and the terrible civil war began Lincoln called for men and readily obtained them It is to the honor of Mr. Douglas that when he saw the real danger in which the country stood he acknowledged himself in the wrong and became one of Lincoln's friends and supporters This war sometimes called the War of the Union lasted from 1861 to 1865 It was the saddest event in the history of our land and every American boy and girl should make a careful study of its details from the fall of Fort Sumter to the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox These were trying days for President Lincoln and at times his sufferings were intense but he never flinched from what he felt to be his duty and he was warmly supported by the generals the army and the people of the North During the progress of the war after due warning he issued his famous emancipation proclamation and on January 1st 1863 most of the slaves in the south were declared free In 1864 after the close of the war Abraham Lincoln was again elected president and on March 4th 1865 he entered upon his second term of office His majority at his second election was the largest ever given to any president up to that time When the war closed there was great rejoicing and on April 11th two days after Lee's surrender Lincoln made a speech in Congress states which had seceded should be treated with leniency and restored to their proper relations to the central government as quickly and as quietly as possible On April 14th 1865 the 4th anniversary of the fall of Fort Sumter a general holiday was observed and in the evening the president attended a special performance at Ford's theater During the progress of the performance the hired actor gained access to the president's box and placing a pistol over Lincoln's chair shot him through the head The assassin escaped amid the general confusion but was discovered a few days later in lower Maryland while hiding in a barn He refused to surrender and was shot dead by one of the soldiers who had been sent to capture him End of Chapter 30 Recording by Rhonda Fetterman Chapter 31 A famous man of modern times This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by MCY Famous man of modern times by John H. Aaron and A. B. Poland Chapter 31 Gary Bowdy Chapter 31 to 1882 Giuseppe Garibaldi a descendant of an old family of lumbards of North Italy was born in Nice on July 4th 1807 At an early age he became an expert swimmer and it is recorded that while still alive he saved several persons from drowning He had an excellent mother and his love for her was both tender and true and she seems to have been instrumental in developing in him a strong patriotic feeling which formed the leading feature in his character It was under the direction of his mother with the assistance of the village priest as a schoolmaster that he received his education His father was a seamen and young Garibaldi accompanied him on several of his voyages particularly to Rome and Constantinople By the time Gary Bowdy reached the age of 24 he had become warmly interested in the revolutionary movements of young Italy His interest was greatly quickened through his becoming acquainted with Mazzini who was just then preparing to invade Italy by sea The effort wasn't successful and Garibaldi hastily left the country and thus found himself an exile at the very beginning of his career He took refuge in Marseille and afterwards joined the French navy As soon as he could get himself free from his entanglements he had to leave and in 1836 we find him in Rio de Janeiro where he remained for about 12 years These years were filled with romantic adventures from some of which he barely escaped with his life Hugh Grande do Sul one of the states of Brazil possessing a vast territory was at war with the Brazilian emperor and Garibaldi threw in his lot with the revolutionists He first took command of a privateer Ismael Bote with only 12 men as crew But a little later he was successful in seething as a prize a much larger and better equipped vessel and although not always successful in his encounters with the Brazilians he began to make himself felt as one of the factors to be dealt with in the war He passed over into the Argentine territory and there fell into the hands of a British Spanish-American who struck him across the face with a horse rip and who also caused him to suffer several hours of torture on the wreck after which he was cast into a dungeon Through the kindness of Madame Aleman whom Garibaldi afterwards spoke of as an angel of charity his sufferings were not so intense as they otherwise might have been Shortly afterwards through the intervention of the governor he escaped from his cementer On leaving the Argentine territory he crossed over again into Rio Grande and devoted himself anew to the cause of the revolutionists This time he met with better success fighting many battles sometimes with only a handful of men the difficulties he met with with tremendous but he never lost his courage and showed so much skill and such strong personality as gave great authority to his councils He also softened this turned discipline that the soldiers had fretted for years and this made him popular with the army In a hurricane of the cause of Santa Catarina he was wrecked and while detained there he met Anita, the talented woman who became his wife She was a woman of heroic mode and proved herself both true and helpful in all the hardships which befell him After the defeat of the revolutionists at the Battle of Las Austras Garibaldi seemed to have grown discredited just to the outcome of the war He therefore obeyed farewell to his friends at Rio Grande and settled for a while in Montevideo At Montevideo he became a teacher of mathematics in one of the city's schools But the life of a teacher was too tame for a man of his adventurous spirit and he soon gave up his position and again entered upon the life of a soldier Some men who had become jealous of the successes in Rio Grande now plotted to have him assassinated but in this they failed He was then put in charge of a small squadron and sent out to meet a much superior force in the hope that he might be destroyed But he won such glory in the Battle of San Antonio as to learn from himself the proud title of the hero of Montevideo Through all his wanderings and adventures his heart remained true to the cause of his native country and after an absence of over 12 years he decided to return to Italy With great difficulty he procured the money for his voyage and he landed at Nice with his wife and a few faithful comrades in 1848 On his arrival Garibaldi offered his services to the Italian government but they were refused Finally the government of Lombardy gave him command of a small body of volunteers When Rome was attacked by the French Garibaldi gathered the forces about Garibaldi and drove the French back But the Italians suffered a terrible defeat in a three month siege of Rome a little later on and many valuable lives were lost The French took possession of the city and Garibaldi with a few devoted volunteers set out to join the attack then being made on Austria He and his followers were met on all sides by the overwhelming forces of Austria and were compelled to disband and flee to the woods Garibaldi sought shelter for his brave wife Anita but she was unable to endure the hardships which followed and died in the arms of her husband Our heartbroken hero again became a wonderer A friend supplied him with means to reach Tunis and obtained from him a pension which he gladly accepted Garibaldi again crossed the ocean this time to the United States He became a successful businessman in New York where he remained until his return to Europe in 1855 When he reached home he purchased the part of the Islet of Caprera on the coast of Sardinia and built a little home which he called the hermitage Four years later he was again called to defend the cause of Italy He was given command of a regiment and again went forth to meet the Austrians whom he defeated Davarese He continued in the service until the piece of La Franca to which Napoleon was a party and this treaty brought the long struggle for Italian independence to successful close Victor Emmanuel was now the throne of Italy in Garibaldi who was popularly known as the hero of the red shirt was warmly welcomed by him It was in Victor Emmanuel that the hopes of the patriots now centered for the freedom of Italy and they were not disappointed for by the wise policy of Count Cavour the prime minister and the mini victories of Garibaldi it was established on a firm basis After meeting Victor Emmanuel and inhaling him as king Garibaldi retired to his hermitage but a great part of Italy still long to possess Rome as its capital The French of power of the Pope with the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 caused France to withdraw troops from Rome When the French republic was established Victor Emmanuel was officially told that France would no longer uphold the papal power and the Italian government informed the Pope that Rome would thereafter be considered a part of the kingdom of Italy On July 2nd, 1872 Victor Emmanuel took up his residence in Rome and the palace of the Vatican became the Pope's place of residence In 1875 Garibaldi became a member of the Italian parliament Titles and honors were offered to him but he declined to accept them His health was rapidly failing so he retired again to his hermitage where he died on June 2nd 1882 at the age of 75 End of chapter 31 1809 to 1898 William Ewert Gladstone was born of Scotch parents and he was one of the very few Scotchmen who have taken a prominent part in British statecraft He was sent to the great public school at Eaton when twelve years of age There he was always noted for his good behavior and for his regular attendance at the chapel services It is also recorded of him that he could recite more verses of scripture than any other boy in the school The character of Mr. Gladstone is very hard to analyze because of its many sidedness and for that reason he was often misunderstood and lost many friends He graduated from Christchurch College, Oxford when twenty-two years of age having won the highest honors the college could bestow An account of his appearance published at the time of his graduation says In features he is handsome his face is bold and masculine his eyes are of piercing luster and his hair, which he tosses back in debate is like a lion's mane He speaks five languages is an excellent tenor singer is on more than speaking terms with many of the greatest men in England and besides all this he is rich in English gold His influence at college was so abiding that cardinal Manning has said that there was less wine drunk at Oxford during the forties than would have been the case if Gladstone had not been there in the thirties it appears to have been his intention to become a clergyman of the English church and he studied with this object in view His father had other plans for him and half forced him into politics so that immediately on leaving college he ran for parliament was elected and at once made his influence felt in the House of Commons For more than sixty years thereafter he was one of the powers to be reckoned with on all questions connected with the English government At thirty-three years of age he was a member of the British cabinet but three years later his absolute honesty compelled him to resign from the ministry His opponents said Gladstone is an extinct volcano but they were continually discovering that a volcano is a difficult thing to subdue In his home life he was gentle amiable and hospitable His social instincts were large and his disposition was kindly He was always true to his friends and they revered him to a point a little short of idolatry He delivered his maiden speech in parliament on a subject connected with the great movement for the emancipation of the West Indian slaves but he seemed to have confided himself mainly to a defense of the manner in which his father's estates were managed The course of the debate having brought out some charges against the management of the elder Gladstone's possessions in one of the West Indian islands In January 1835 Sir Robert Peale appointed Gladstone to the office of a junior lord of the treasury In the next year Peale who was quick to appreciate the great abilities and the sound commercial knowledge of his new recruit gave him the important post of Undersecretary for the Colonies Peale went out of office very soon after he had made Mr. Gladstone Undersecretary for the Colonies Lord John Russell brought forward a series of motions on the subject of the Irish church and Peale being defeated resigned It is almost needless to say that Gladstone went with him In 1841 Sir Robert Peale again came into power and Gladstone was given a seat in his cabinet as President of the Board of Trade At the general election in 1847 Mr. Gladstone still accepted as a Tory was chosen one of the representatives of the University of Oxford Up to the time of the movement which led to the abolition of the Corn Laws Mr. Gladstone had been a Tory of a rather old fashioned school The Corn Law agitation probably first set him thinking over the possible defects of the social and legislative system and showed him the necessity for reform at least in one direction By the death of Sir Robert Peale in 1850 Mr. Gladstone lost a trusted leader and a dear friend but the loss of his leader brought Gladstone himself more directly to the front It was not until after Peale's death that he compelled the House of Commons and the country to recognize in him a Supreme Master of Parliamentary Debate The first really great speech made by Mr. Gladstone in Parliament was made in the debate on Mr. Disraeli's budget in the winter of 1852 the first session of the new Parliament Mr. Disraeli sat down at two o'clock in the morning and then Mr. Gladstone rose to reply to him Most men in the House, even on the opposition side were filled with the belief that it would be impossible to make any real impression on the House after such a speech as that of Mr. Disraeli Long before Mr. Gladstone had concluded everyone admitted that the effect of Mr. Disraeli's speech had been outdone and Gladstone became fully recognized as the man of the hour a man to rank with Bollingbroke, Pitt, and Fox With that speech began the long Parliamentary Duel between these two great Masters of Debate Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Disraeli which was carried on for four and twenty years On the fall of the short-lived Tory Administration Lord Aberdeen came into office He formed the famous Coalition Ministry Lord Palmerston took what most people would have thought the Uncongenial Office of Home Secretary Mr. Gladstone, who with other of the Peelites as they were called had joined the new Administration and was made Chancellor of the Exchequer His speech on the introduction of his first budget was waited for with great interest but none of those who listened to it wished it to be shortened by a sentence A budget speech by Mr. Gladstone was a triumph in the realm of fine arts The Crimean War broke up the Coalition Ministry but the year 1859 saw Lord Palmerston back in office and Mr. Gladstone in his old place as Chancellor of the Exchequer The death of Lord Palmerston in 1865 called Lord Russell to the position of Prime Minister and made Mr. Gladstone leader of the House of Commons Mr. Gladstone's mind had long been turning in the direction of an extension or rather expansion of the suffrage It was assumed by everyone that Lord Russell and Mr. Gladstone being now at the head of affairs a reform bill would be sure to come It did come in 1866 a very moderate and cautious bill enlarging the area of the franchise in boroughs and counties The Conservative Party opposed it The bill was defeated and the Liberal statesmen went out of office Somewhere about this time the attention of Mr. Gladstone began to be attracted to the condition of Ireland The distress and distracted state of Ireland the unceasing popular agitation and discontent and the Fanean insurrection with its contemplated attack on Chester Castle led Mr. Gladstone to the conviction that the time had come when statesmanship must seek through Parliament for some process of remedy In 1868 the Liberals returned to power and Mr. Gladstone became Prime Minister In his first session of government he disestablished and disendowed the State Church in Ireland In the next session he passed a measure which for the first time recognized the right of the Irish tenant to the value of the improvements he had himself made at his own cost and labour Never probably was there such a period of energetic reform in almost every direction as that which set in Mr. Gladstone became Prime Minister It was also at this time and quite largely through Mr. Gladstone's efforts that the first system of national education was established in England The Ballot Act was passed for the protection of the voters so that they might vote as they wished without having to suffer painful consequences after the election was over These two measures have been a very great value to the English people and they prize him very highly For a while Mr. Gladstone occupied himself in literary and historical studies and published quite a number of essays and pamphlets But even in his literary career Mr. Gladstone would appear to have always kept glancing at the House of Commons as Charles V in his monastery kept his eyes on the world of politics outside The atrocious conduct of the Turkish officials in Bulgaria aroused his generous anger and he flung down his books and rushed out from his study to preach a crusade against the Ottoman power in Europe It was an unpropitious hour at which to return to office There were troubles in Egypt There was an impending war in the Sudan and in South Africa There was something like an agrarian revolution going on in Ireland and the Home Rule Party in the House of Commons was under new, resolute and uncompromising leadership He was out of office in a few months and then the general elections came on The elections were to give the first opportunity to the newly made voters under Mr. Gladstone's latest reform act and these voters sent him back into office and he once again took the helm and strove to guide the ship of state through the troubled seas which beat upon it from every point of the compass Under his leadership a Home Rule Bill for Ireland was passed by the Commons in spite of most bitter opposition It was rejected almost unanimously by the House of Lords The time was beginning to tell upon the grand old man for he was now 84 years old and felt himself unequal to the gigantic struggle of the hour He therefore resigned his offices and retired into private life in March 1894 Mr. Gladstone sat in Parliament for 63 years and for 26 years he was the leader of his party The three most notable acts of his political career were the disestablishment of the Irish Church in 1866 his opposition to England's support of Turkey in 1876 and his work in favour of Home Rule for Ireland in 1886 while he had also much to do with the two great reform bills of 1855 and 1884 Mr. Gladstone affords a splendid example of a man who devoted his life to the political service of his country and still preserved his moral and religious character He died at his home in 1898 End of Chapter 32 Count von Bismarck 1815 to 1898 Otto-Edouard Leopold Bismarck was born on the state of Schoenhausen near Stendhal in Prussian Saxony on April 1st, 1815 His ancestors had been famous both in war and in diplomatic circles for several generations They were descended from depression and nobility and his grandfather had held the office of Privy Counselor to Frederick the Great At the age of 6 he entered a boarding school in Berlin where he tells us they served elastic meat always accompanied with parsnips When he was 12 he came under the influence of Dr. Prevost who did much for the broadening of his mind and the strengthening of his character During his vacations he developed his powers of endurance by participating in many sports and then at the age of 17 he entered the University of Göttingen for the purpose of studying law As a student he was not a brilliant success he did not hold himself strictly to the prescribed studies of his course During the first year of his university life he fought 28 duels In one of these he was wounded on the left cheek and he carried this car left by the wound all through his later life On leaving Göttingen in 1833 he went to Berlin After a couple of years studied there he received the diploma necessary to enable him to enter upon a professional career but decided to devote his time to the care of his state When 32 years of age he was elected a member of the general diet yet once began to impress the people with his great tact and forethought and each year their confidence in him was deepened He exercised a large amount of outward patience toward those who opposed him but he was simply awaiting the time when he could strike such decisive blows as would assure his ultimate success This was one of the marked characteristics of his whole career It would seem that from the very beginning of his political life the people decided to take him just as he was and they grew to be very fond of him His aim was to preserve the peace of Europe With great skill he avoided trouble both for himself and for his countrymen and he quickly made for himself a name both at home and abroad His early life was lived among the Prussians but he became objectionable to them because of his desire for power At the first Prussian parliament in which he sat in 1847 he sat in one of his speeches Away with the cities I hoped to see them all leveled to the ground and these words had in them the ring of that social hatred which he always showed toward the liberal class He followed very closely in the footprints of Garibaldi in the struggle for the unity and independence of Italy and it would seem to be equally certain that Bismarck's methods were also followed by Garibaldi on several occasions There were many non-Prussians who greatly admired Bismarck on account of his endeavors for German unity but the people in the southern part of Germany were equally strong in their dislike for him Through many discouragements he continued to press calmly onward in what he felt to be the path of duty and for other 20 years his career was unusually prosperous At different periods Bismarck was appointed ambassador to Austria Russia and France In 1862 at the age of 47 he became minister of the king's household and also minister of foreign affairs in Prussia The brother of the king was much opposed to Bismarck's plan of excluding Austria from a place in the remodeled German confederation Even the queen looked upon this measure with fear for she had been brought up under the principles of constitutional government The Princess Royal of England also showed a bitter spirit toward him for she was anxious for the future of her children but King William was a true friend to him and Bismarck never regretted that he had placed confidence in the king's faithfulness In May 1866 a fanatic by the name of Korn attempted to kill Bismarck and there were some who openly expressed the regret that the attempt was not successful Bismarck devoted his efforts to two main purposes to transfer Austria to position in the east and to give the Germany political unity under Prussia He seems to have felt that if Austria were removed from her position within the federal body she would become a permanent ally of the new Germany and that in time it would be better for her own interests than for those of Europe Bismarck had two powerful antagonists in the Persons of Napoleon III of France and Earl Russell of England and some thought he was working to bring about the union of France and Russia He was only measuring the men with whom he had to do and studying out the plans he had in mind for the strengthening and consolidation of the German Empire and he has well been said it was Bismarck's constant misfortune to be misunderstood In the Frank Prussian war of 1870 and 1771 France was severely humbled but what was of the most interest to Bismarck was that he caught such national enthusiasm among the Germans that at Versailles in January 1871 the new German Empire was established with the king of Prussia as its leader It was also at this time that Bismarck was raised to the rank of Prince On May 10th 1871 at the Treaty of Frankfurt France was obliged to give to Germany the province of Alsace the greater part of Lorraine and to pay an indemnity of 5 billion francs Bismarck now paid close attention to the interests of the Fatherland Germany was a federation not greatly admired by some of the German people themselves but accepted because it avoided making any radical changes in political affairs under Bismarck's skillful management he had been made so strong a power that war with France was no longer dreaded Germany is also indebted to Bismarck for its colonial policy and although there are but few German colonial ports they command a very large trade but it required all his tact and perseverance to make the people see the advantages which this policy would bring them after the death of Willem I Prince Frederick ascended the throne but he lived only a short time when Willem II came into power it was soon apparent that the country it was soon apparent that the Emperor and the Chancellor were not in accord and Bismarck resigned his office on March 20th, 1890 and retired to private life the Emperor presented him with the Duke Dom of Lauenburg and he took great interest in all the affairs of the German nation until his death in 1898 End of chapter