16. REVERIES: The Thaw and the January Rising (1855-1864)
The last years of the reign of Nicholas I brought no relief either to the Congress
Kingdom or to the Poles of Lithuania. The political life of Warsaw and Vilna
was frozen solid. The repressions which followed the November Rising were
more than sufficient to keep the Tsar's Polish subjects quiet throughout the
alarms of the 1830s and 1840s. The reconstruction of absolutism in Austria after
1848, and the dominance of the conservative party in Prussia, suited his pur-
poses well. When Britain and France joined the Crimean war in 1854 hopes
revived that the Polish Question might once again be adopted by the Western
Powers. But the Tsar was perfectly well aware of this contingency, and redou-
bled his precautions against any Polish adventure that might have ensued. The
Polish Emigration was roused to yet another effort on behalf of the homeland.
Prince Czartoryski engaged in the last great diplomatic campaign of his life. At
first, it seemed that Palmerston might moderate the scepticism which had
marked his reactions to Czartoryski's earlier representations in 1832, 1838, and
1848; and there were signs that he might share the enthusiasm of Napoleon Ill's
Foreign Minister, Count Walewski for a military diversion against Russia in the
Baltic. But the moment soon passed. In order to ensure the neutrality of Austria
and Prussia in the war, the British and French were obliged to drop all thoughts
of playing the Polish card. At the Conference of Vienna in April 1854, they aban-
doned their original intention of adding the independence of Poland to their list
of war aims. At the Peace Conference in Paris in March 1856, the Russian min-
ister was pleased to report that he had never heard the word 'Poland' so much
as mentioned. Meanwhile, three Polish military formations were raised to fight
in the Balkans against Russia. The Cossack Legion of Sadyk Pasha (Michai
Czajkowski) participated in the recovery of Bucharest in 1854 by the Turks. A
Polish Eastern Division under General Wladystaw Zamoyski was supported by
the Hotel Lambert. Finally at the start of 1855, Adam Mickiewicz left Paris on
his last journey to Constantinople, to explore the possibility of forming yet
another Polish Legion to fight alongside the Turks. Tired and sick, he died on z6
November 1855 before anything could be arranged, and was buried in the
Christian cemetery beside the Sea of Marmara. His one last satisfaction came
with the news that Nicholas I was already dead.^1
The accession of Alexander II (1818—81), the Tsar-Liberator, had an import-
ant effect on the whole Empire. This was the occasion when 'the Thaw' was