to speak but
could not make himself heard. The troops set out to clear the palace
grounds. Angry shouts arose for the withdrawal of the soldiery. In the
confusion two shots were fired. A panic ensued: "We are betrayed," cried
the leaders, and called the people to arms. The troops of the garrison
charged into the rioters. Barricades were thrown up, and here and there
church bells rang the tocsin. From three in the afternoon until early the
next morning, fighting continued in the streets. The entire garrison of
Berlin was called out and with the help of the bright moonlight succeeded
in clearing one street after another. Prince William, the future German
Emperor, gained unenviable notoriety by his zeal. At two in the morning
the King gave orders to stop firing. He issued a proclamation: "To my dear
people of Berlin," the mild tone of which only betrayed his weakness. On
the following day all the troops were withdrawn and ordered out of the
city. Prince William likewise left Berlin in deep chagrin and departed for
England. His palace had to be protected from the fury of the people by
placards pronouncing it the property of the nation. Once more the rioters
appeared before the royal palace with the bodies of some of their slain.
The King convoked a new Ministry and consented to substitute armed citizens
and students for his royal guards. A general amnesty was proclaimed. On
March 21, the King agreed to adopt "the sacred colors of the German Empire"
for those of Prussia. After the manner of the weak Emperor of Austria, he
rode through the streets of Berlin wearing a tricolor sash. Not satisfied
with this, the revolutionists, on March 22, paraded before the palace with
the open biers of 187 men that had been killed during the riots. Standing
on his balcony with bared head, King Frederick William reviewed the ghastly
procession. In a manifesto published at the close of the day he declared:
"Germany is in ferment within and exposed from without to danger from more
than one side. Deliverance from this danger can come only from the most
intimate union of the German princes and people under a single leadership.
I take this leadership upon me for the hour of peril. I have to-day assumed
the old German colors, and placed myself and my people under the venerable
banner of the German Empire. Prussia is henceforth merged into Germany."
Thus Frederick William, by word and acts, which he afterward described as a
comedy, directly encouraged