to act in an emergency.

Latour, who had been the previous commandant of the Castle in Vienna,
showed signs of hesitation at this crisis; and this gave Metternich the
excuse for dismissing Latour and appointing Windischgraetz in his place.
To this arrangement all the ruling council consented; but, when Archduke
Louis and Metternich proposed to make Windischgraetz military dictator
of the city, and to allow him to bring out cannon for firing on the
people, great opposition arose. The Archduke John was perhaps one of the
few councillors who really sympathized with Liberal ideas; but several
of the Archdukes, and particularly Francis Charles, heartily desired the
fall of Metternich; and Kolowrat shared their wish. This combined
opposition of sincere reformers and jealous courtiers hindered
Metternich's policy; and it was decided that the City Guard should first
be called out, and that the dictatorship of Windischgraetz should be
kept in reserve as a last resource.

In the mean time the struggle on the streets was raging fiercely.
Archduke Albert had found to his cost that the insurrection was not, as
he had supposed, the work of a few discontented men. The students fought
gallantly; but a still fiercer element was contributed to the
insurrection by the workmen who had come in from the suburbs. One
workman was wounded in his head, his arm, and his foot; but he continued
to encourage his friends, and cried out that he cared nothing for life;
either he would die that day, or else "the high gentlemen should be
overthrown." Another who had had no food since the morning entreated for
a little refreshment that he might be able to fight the better; and he
quickly returned to the struggle. In those suburbs from which the
workmen had not been able to break into the inner town, the insurrection
threatened to assume the form of an attack on the employers. Machines
were destroyed, and the houses of those employers who had lowered wages
were set on fire.

It was this aspect of the insurrection which encouraged the nobles to
believe that, by calling out the guard, they would induce the richer
citizens to take arms against the workmen; and this policy was carried
still further when, on the application of the rector of the University,
the students also were allowed the privilege of bearing arms. But the
ruse entirely failed; the people recognized the City Guard as their
friends, and refused to attack them; and the rumor soon spread that