re our rights with the representatives of our peoples, we
trust that with God's aid and in common with our peoples we shall succeed
in uniting all the countries and races of the monarchy in one great body
politic."

While the Reichsrath, transferred to Kremsier, was discussing "fundamental
rights" and the difficult question of how to reconcile the theoretical
unity with the actual dualism of the empire, the knot was being cut by the
sword on the plains of Hungary. The Hungarian retreat after the bloody
battle of Kapolna (February 26-27, 1849) was followed by the dissolution of
the Kremsier assembly, and a proclamation in which the emperor announced
his intention of granting a constitution to the whole monarchy "one and
indivisible." On the 4th of March the constitution was published; but it
proved all but as distasteful to Czechs and Croats as to the Magyars, and
the speedy successes of the Hungarian arms made it, for the while, a dead
letter. It needed the intervention of the emperor Nicholas, in the loftiest
spirit of the Holy Alliance, before even an experimental unity of the
Habsburg dominions could be established (see HUNGARY: _History_).

The capitulation of Vilagos, which ended the Hungarian insurrection, gave
Schwarzenberg a free hand for completing the work of restoring the _status
quo ante_ and the influence of Austria in Germany. The account of the
process by which this was accomplished belongs to the history of Germany
(_q.v._). Here it will suffice to say that the terms of the Convention of
Olmuetz (September 29, 1850) seemed at the time a complete triumph for
Austria over Prussia. As a matter of fact, however, the convention was, in
the words of Count Beust, "not a Prussian humiliation, but an Austrian
weakness." It was in the power of Austria to crush Prussia and to put an
end to the dual influence in the Confederation which experience had proved
to be unworkable; she preferred to re-establish a discredited system, and
to leave to Prussia time and opportunity to gather strength for the
inevitable conflict.

[Sidenote: Triumph of Austria.]

In 1851 Austria had apparently triumphed over all its [v.03 p.0017]
difficulties. The revolutionary movements had been suppressed, the attempt
of Prussia to assume the leadership in Germany defeated, the old Federal
Diet of 1815 had been restored. Vienna again became the centre of a
despotic government the objects of which were to Germanize the Magyars and
Slavs, to