THIERS BECOMES PRESIDENT 1871 buildings and houses of the rich. The conflagration lasted several days, but by the efforts of the soldiers and a change of the wind it was at length subdued. The greater part of the Tuileries, the Library of the Louvre, and a portion of the Palais Royal had been consumed; also the Hotel de Ville, the Ministry of Finance, the Theatre Lyrique and Du Chatelet, a great part of the Rue Royale, and many other buildings. The Luxembourg was partially blown up, and the Column of Vendôme was upset. The ravages were far worse than those suffered from the prolonged German bombardment. The Commune has been immortalized in French letters by Victor Hugo's great poem "L'Année Terrible." The thrilling scenes of the Franco-Prussian war have been further perpetuated by the graphic tales of Guy de Maupassant, and by the historic canvases of such battle painters as Camphausen, Menzel, and Werner on the German side, and of Protais, Detaille, and De Neuville, in France. After the fall of the Commune, the National Assembly and its chosen chief, Louis Adolph Thiers, were left the only constituted power in France. Unauthorized they continued to rule the land on the basis of a parliamentary republic. Toward the end of June Thiers negotiated a loan of two and a half milliards of francs, which enabled France to pay the first part of her war indemnity to Germany, and thus free a great part of her territory from foreign occupation. On the last day of August Thiers was elected President of the Republic for three years, the National Assembly reserving the right to give the country a new constitution. During these troublous times, on May 13, occurred the death of Daniel François Esprit Auber, the French operatic composer. Auber's charming melodies, instinct with the national airs of France, together with his uniform grace and piquancy of orchestration, give him high place in the realm of light opera. XIXth Century—Vol. III-7 1871 THE CHICAGO FIRE In Japan a conference of the daimios in September arranged for their retirement to private life on one-tenth of their former incomes. The samurai, or fighting retainers of the daimios, were to be enrolled in the imperial army, or recompensed with money. On September 28 the Brazilian Chambers decreed that slavery should be abolished throughout the dominion of Brazil. For some time many of the slaves were still held in bondage, but facilities for emancipation were given. On October 8 a fire broke out in Chicago, started, it was said, by the overturn of a kerosene lamp in a cow-shed. The conflagration, which began on a Sunday night, raged until noontime of the following Tuesday. Five hundred persons lost their lives, and one hundred thousand were rendered homeless. About one-third of the city was destroyed, and the burnt area covered a space of 2,600 acres, involving a loss of more than $70,000,000 in real property. In New York great excitement resulted from the disclosures of political and financial corruption on the part of Bill Tweed and his associates as published by the New York "Times." Sums amounting to $3,000,000 had been squandered for county printing alone during the last three years. The new county court-house, instead of costing $2,500,000, as estimated, had actually cost over $12,000,000, the bulk of which was stolen. A vigilance Committee of Seventy citizens was formed to crush the Tammany Ring. Tweed, when confronted with the facts, insolently asked: "Well, what are you going to do about it?" About the same time news was received of the success of another famous newspaper enterprise. Henry M. Stanley had been sent to Africa by the New York "Herald" to obtain tidings of the long-lost missionary David Livingstone. Stanley reached Ungamyambe in West Central Africa, November 10, thence marched into Niji and found Livingstone. EVENTS OF 1872 Thiers Pays Another Instalment of War Indemnity-Death of Mazzini Italian Patriot-Don Carlos, Spanish Pretender, is Beaten at Oroquita-Death of Morse, Inventor of Telegraph-German Emperor as Arbiter Assigns San Juan Island, Vancouver, to United StatesGrant is Elected President Over Greeley-Death of Greeley-Reforms in Japan-Diaz's Rebellion Suppressed in Mexico-Death of President Juarez-Tejado Succeeds Him-Revolutionists in Honduras Rout Ex-President Medina-Revolution of Guiterrez, War Minister of Peru, Suppressed-Guiterrez is Killed-Death of Gautier, French Author. N France Thiers carried out his negotiation for the 3,000,000 francs liabilities still to be met to make the I German troops evacuate French territory. In the spring the occupation was limited to six eastern departments. Giuseppe Mazzini, the Italian patriot and republican radical, died at Pisa, on the 10th of March, at the age of sixtyseven. To Mazzini's burning enthusiasm and indomitable perseverance, as much as to Cavour or Garibaldi, Italian unity owed its successful accomplishment. Spain offered the only exception to this year's tranquil course. In April the Carlist insurrection broke out. The son of Carlos VI was championed by the Carlists as King of Spain. There was but one other claimant, Alfonso, son of Queen Isabella, in whose favor the Duc de Montpensier resigned his pretensions. The Government suppressed the Carlist Juntas in Madrid, Valladolid, Burgos, and other cities. Carlist risings were fomented in the Basque provinces, in Aragon, Navarre, and in Castile and Leon. The principal leader of the rebel forces was General Diaz de Rada. King Amadeus despatched Serrano to the scene of action. On May 4 the two forces met. General Moriones, with an advanced division, came up with Don Carlos and his 6,000 followers at Oroquita, in the valley of Basaburua. Moriones had 2,000 men and a mountain battery. The Carl |