e waters of this sea were thrown open to
international navigation; and the straits of Constantinople and the
Dardanelles were declared open to the merchant ships of all powers at
peace with the Porte. The payment of a money indemnity of 2,000,000 roubles
to Russia was deferred, thus leaving to Russia the means for exerting
pressure on the Yildiz Kiosk.

[Sidenote: French ambitions]

[Sidenote: Polignac Prime Minister]

[Sidenote: Liberal opposition]

Russia's acceptance of foreign mediation at Adrianople brought
disappointment to France. Reverting to Napoleonic ambitions, King Charles's
Ministers had proposed a partition of the Ottoman Empire on the basis of a
general rearrangement of Europe. Russia was to have the Danubian provinces
near the Austrian empire, Bosnia and Servia; Prussia was to have Saxony and
Holland; Belgium and the Rhine provinces were to fall to France, and the
King of Holland was to be installed in the Sultan's divan at
Constantinople. It was a chimerical project which it was hoped might avert
the impending troubles at home by dazzling acquisitions abroad. A
formidable majority had been raised up against the government by its
persistent encroachments upon the freedom of speech and of the press.
Martignac's Ministry resigned and Prince Polignac, a crony of the King, was
put in his place. In August, the "Journal des Debats" thundered against
him: "Now again is broken that bond of love and confidence which joined the
people to the monarch. The people pay a million of taxes to the law; they
will not pay two millions on the orders of the Minister. What will he do
then? Will he bring to his assistance the force of the bayonet? Bayonets in
these days have become intelligent. They know how to defend the law.
Unhappy France, unhappy King!" The Bertins were prosecuted for that
article and condemned. It only made matters worse. Societies were formed
throughout France to refuse the payment of taxes should the government
attempt to raise them without the consent of the Chambers. In the face of
this growing popular opposition, the King and his Minister resolved to
prepare an expedition against Algiers. As Guizot put it, "They hope to get
rid of their difficulties through conquest abroad and a resulting majority
at home." The death of Paul Barras about this time served to revive
revolutionary memories in France.

[Sidenote: The Schlegels]

The memory of Madame de Stael and her struggle for freedom of speech a