Moscow, and the Polish language was
prohibited to be taught in the schools. Indemnity and pardon were
offered to those who abjured the Roman Catholic faith, and many were
received into the bosom of the National Orthodox Church; those refusing
this offer of clemency being subjected to great cruelties. Poland was
no more. Polish exiles were scattered all over Europe. In France,
Hungary, Italy, wherever there were lovers of freedom, there were
thousands of these emigrants without a country, living illustrations of
what an unrestrained despotism might do, and everywhere intensifying
the desires of patriots to achieve political freedom in their own lands.

Nicholas, as the chief representative of conservatism in Europe, looked
upon France with especial aversion. Paris was the center of these
pernicious movements which periodically shook Europe to its
foundations. It had overthrown his ally Charles X., and had been the
direct cause of the insurrection in Poland which had cost him thousands
of rubles and lives; and now nowhere else was such sympathetic welcome
given to the Polish refugees, thousands of whom were in the French
army. His relations with Louis Philippe became strained, and he was
looking about for an opportunity to manifest his ill will. In the
meantime he addressed himself to what he considered the _reforms_ in
his own empire. He was going to establish a sort of political
quarantine to keep out European influences. It was forbidden to send
young men to Western universities--the term of absence in foreign
countries was limited to five years for nobles, three for Russian
subjects. The Russian language, literature, and history were to be
given prominence over all studies in the schools. German free-thought
was especially disliked by him. His instincts were not mistaken, for
what the Encyclopedists had been to the Revolution of 1789, the new
school of thought in Germany would be to that of 1848. So from his
point of view he was wise in excluding philosophy from the universities
and permitting it to be taught only by ecclesiastics.

The Khedive of Egypt, who ruled under a Turkish protectorate, in 1832
was at war with his master the Sultan. It suited the Emperor of Russia
at this time to do the Sultan a kindness, so he joined him in bringing
the Khedive to terms, and as his reward received a secret promise from
the Porte to close the Dardanelles in case of war against Russia--to
permit no foreign warsh