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EVENTS OF 1882

Egyptians Rise against European Officials-Allied Fleet Appears Off Alexandria-Arabi Pasha Becomes Dictator-Europeans Massacred at Alexandria-British Fleet Bombards Alexandria-Wolseley Routs Arabi at Tel-el-Kebir-British Neutralize Suez Canal-Korean Mob Attacks Chinese and Japanese Legations-China and Japan Send Punitive Expeditions to Korea-Death of Dr. Schwann, Founder of the Cell Theory-Dr. Koch Discovers Bacillus of TuberculosisDeaths of Auerbach, the German Novelist, Rossetti, the PoetPainter, and Darwin, the Naturalist-Execution of the Assassin Guiteau-Star Route Post-Office Frauds Implicate Prominent Americans-Deaths of Longfellow and Emerson-Servia Becomes a Kingdom-Milan I is Its King-Death of Garibaldi-Madagascans Refuse French Demands for Land-France Objects to Presence of Chinese Troops in Tonquin as Inimical to Her_Colony, _Cochin-ChinaFrench Capture Hanoi and Expel Chinese Troops-Deaths of Blanc, the Economist, and Gambetta, the Patriot.

E

ARLY in the year an outcry against European offi

cials was raised by the Egyptian press, and the Khe

dive was driven to receive deputations voicing the general discontent of the country. A plot to murder Arabi Pasha, the War Minister, was barely frustrated. In May the allied fleet appeared off Alexandria. The feeling against the Europeans grew stronger day by day. The Egyptian troops began throwing up batteries and earthworks. By this time Arabi Pasha was practically sole dictator. On June 11 the entire population of Alexandria rose against the Europeans. The British, Italian, and Greek Consuls were attacked, and some 250 Europeans, chiefly Maltese and Greeks, were murdered. The Admirals avowed their inability to quell the revolt. In the meantime the works on the fortifications of Alexandria were pushed with all possible speed. Now the British Admiral threatened to bombard Alexandria, if work were not immediately stopped. Three days later, on July 10, a formal ultimatum was despatched to Arabi Pasha, demanding the surrender of the forts into British hands. No satisfactory reply was received by nightfall, and the

1882

BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA

European inhabitants embarked on board the ships provided for their reception. The twenty-four hours' grace having expired, Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour opened fire on the forts of Alexandria with the entire fleet of ten ironclads and five gunboats under his command. The fire was returned by the forts, and the bombardment continued all day.

In general the gunnery of the British fleet was very indifferent. After the bombardment a close inspection of the forts showed them to be far from demolished. Almost all the guns might have been fought again. Out of a total of 16,233 rounds fired from the Nordenfeldts only seven found their mark. On the British side the flagship "Alexandra" was hit twenty-four times. The "Inflexible" was the most damaged and had to be docked for repairs. The British losses in men were five killed and twenty-eight wounded. The Egyptian losses were estimated upward of 300. During the night Alexandria was seen to be in flames, and in the morning the forts and towers were found almost deserted. The convicts had been set free, and with the Bedouins were pillaging the town and massacring all the Europeans they could find. Arabi had retired with his forces and thousands of refugees. Parties of marines and bluejackets landed and blew up some of the guns in the forts and cleared the streets of looters. The British Government was now hurrying up troops with which it proposed to reconquer Egypt for the Khedive from his soldiers with whom he had, up to the time of the bombardment, been openly associated. Troops were despatched from England and India. Sir Archibald Alison was the first officer to locate the insurgent forces. quently skirmishes and engagements were almost of daily occurrence, while Arabi Pasha, with his army of 20,000 Egyptian troops, was fortifying his position at Tel-el-Kebir. The British commanders awaited reenforcements. The last of these arrived during the first half of September.

Subse

Septem

BATTLE OF TEL-EL-KEBIR

1882

ber 13 Sir Garnet Wolseley, with 13,000 men and 60 guns, attacked Arabi's position and carried it by assault. The Egyptians were routed with a loss of 2,000 and 1,200 prisoners. Arabi fled. Pressing rapidly over the battlefield, the British made straight for Zagazig, which was occupied in the course of the day. On the evening of the 14th they reached Cairo and captured Arabi with Toulba Pasha. The Egyptian garrison of 1,000 men laid down their arms. On the last day of the year Lord Dufferin forwarded the first instalment of his scheme for the so-called regeneration of Egypt. He also laid down proposals for the absolute neutralization of the Suez Canal, by rendering it available for all nations at all times and for all purposes, provided peace was maintained within its limits.

In summer the smoldering ill-feeling between Korea and Japan, which dated from Korea's refusal to pay further tribute to Japan in 1872, had burst into flame. A Korean mob attacked the Japansese and Chinese Legations at Seoul. Several of the inmates were murdered and the rest forced to flee. Japan despatched an expedition to Korea to exact reparation. China at once sent an expedition of her own to offset that of Japan. A temporary accommodation was effected, but the troops of both countries remained in the disputed territory.

This year is memorable for the death of Dr. Theodor Schwann, the founder of the cell theory in physiology. His famous study of cellular structures was published in 1839, under the title of "Microscopical Investigations," in which he endeavored to unify vegetable and animal tissues. Schwann is otherwise known as the discoverer of pepsin. Another event of interest to physicians was Dr. Robert Koch's discovery of the bacillus of tuberculosis, and his means of treating consumption by inoculation. His method, while unsuccessful in direct treatment, proved of great service to science by detecting tuberculosis in cattle.

1882

DEATH OF DARWIN

Berthold Auerbach, one of Germany's prominent novelists, died in his seventieth year. His reputation as a writer chiefly rests on the "Black Forest Stories," in which he described the homely simplicity of German peasant life.

England meanwhile had suffered the loss of two great leaders-one in the field of art and the other in science.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti died in April. In 1848 he joined Holman Hunt, Thomas Woolner, Millais, and others in founding the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Next to his masterpiece, "Dante's Dream," are the "Salutation of Beatrice," "The Dying Beatrice," "La Pia," and "Proserpine.' Rossetti was no less successful as a poet. His chief works were "The House of Life," "The King's Tragedy" and other ballads, "Dante at Verona," and "The Blessed Damozel," written at the age of eighteen.

On April 19 occurred the death of Charles Robert Darwin, the greatest naturalist of the century. He was educated at the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge, and early devoted himself to natural history. In 1831 he was appointed naturalist to the surveying voyage of the "Beagle." In 1859 he published his epoch-making work, "The Origin of Species." Darwin's subsequent works are largely based on the material he had accumulated for the elaboration of his great theory of natural selection.

In the United States Charles Guiteau was convicted of assassinating President Garfield. Sentence of death was pronounced January 25; five months later Guiteau was hanged. In March some of the conspirators in the notorious Star Route frauds were brought to trial. Indictments were found against Brady, Peck, Miner, and the Dorsey brothers, who had made fraudulent mail bids. The jury disagreed and a new trial had to be held. It was found that 296 contracts had been obtained with worthless bonds for $8,000,000. A defalcation of $5,000,000 was alleged in "expediting" priv

FRENCH CONQUEST OF TONQUIN

1882

ileges. James G. Blaine, the American Secretary of State, was believed to be implicated.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poet, died on March 24, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Soon after his friend and colleague, Ralph Waldo Emerson, died at Concord, Massachusetts.

Servia, supported by Austria-Hungary, was proclaimed a kingdom, with the consent of the Powers, in the beginning of March. Prince Milan, a member of the family of Urilosch Obrenovich, which had obtained the semi-independence of Servia, in 1816, assumed the title of Milan I.

One of the most romantic figures of the century passed away with the death of Giuseppe Garibaldi at Caprera in June.

The aggressive actions of the French in Madagascar continued. Their contention was that the Government had promulgated a law prohibiting natives from selling land to foreigners, and that the Hova flag had been planted at Passandada Bay, over which the French claimed rights. A conference between the ambassadors who were sent to Paris by the Queen of the Hovas and the French negotiators was held on October 18. The ambassadors refused to grant the French demands and left Paris in November. A naval division was soon placed under the orders of Rear-Admiral St. Pierre, who was entrusted with the enforcement of the French claims in Madagascar.

In China the French displayed the same spirit. The treaty of 1874 gave France the protectorate of Annam. The failure of the Emperor of that country fully to perform his share of the contract, and the presence of Chinese troops in Tonquin, were considered to threaten the security of the French colony of Cochin-China. On April 25 the French forces under Colonel Rivère captured Hanoi, the capital of Tonquin. The expedition had left Saigon at the end of

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