ant day for going to
Osborne," he quietly remarked to a friend as they went down Westminster
Hall together and looked out into the dreary street. That day, at Osborne,
the resignation of the Ministry was accepted by the Queen.

[Sidenote: New English Ministry]

The Earl of Aberdeen formed a new Ministry including Lord John Russell as
Foreign Secretary; Lord Palmerston, Home Secretary; Earl Granville,
President of the Council; Gladstone, Chancellor of the Exchequer, while Sir
W. Molesworth, the historian, was Commissioner of Public Works. The Marquis
of Lansdowne occupied a seat in the Cabinet without holding any office. It
was another Ministry of all the talents. Recent events in France demanded
instant attention, the more so since the municipal council of London had
taken upon itself to send an address of congratulation to Louis Napoleon
upon his assumption of the empire. In the end the British Government took
the same course.

[Sidenote: End of French Republic]

[Sidenote: Second Empire]

In Paris, the Senate had been reconvened to consider the reinstitution of
the empire. Within three days a _senatus consultum_ was ready recommending
the desired change to another plebiscite. Every one of the Senators, so the
Parisians suggested, had 30,000 francs' worth of reasons for advocating the
change. The formality of a plebiscite was accomplished by November 21. The
government functionaries reported 7,854,189 yeas against 253,145 nays. On
the anniversary of his _coup d'etat_ of the previous year, Louis Napoleon
took the title of Napoleon III., by the grace of God and the will of the
nation, Emperor of the French. The title was made hereditary. In vain did
the Count of Chambord voice the protest of the Royalists, and Victor Hugo,
in his exile on the Island of Jersey, that of the Republicans. France was
once more under imperial rule, and seemed content to remain so. About this
time the great Credit Mobilier was established as a joint-stock company by
Isaac and Emile Pereire.

[Sidenote: Holy Sepulchre controversy]

Outside of France, Louis Napoleon's second _coup d'etat_ created little
stir. Only Emperor Nicholas of Russia refused to recognize Louis Napoleon
as a full-fledged monarch. An ecclesiastical dispute concerning the
guardianship of the holy places in Palestine threatened to make trouble
between France and Russia. In the end the Sultan was prevailed upon to sign
a treaty confirming the sole custody of the Holy Sep