v/El EX BIBLIOTHECA FRANCES A. YATES II I STO B V OF THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. jflnxritottm crl $i JKottxndl BY RHODOLPII OF I1APSBURGH, TO THE DEATH OF LEOPOLD THE SECOND: 1218 to 1792. BY WILLI \ M COXE, I'.K.S. I . \.s. ARCHDEACON OF WILTS, AND RECTOR OP BEMERTON. THIRD EDITION. IN THREE VOLUMES. Vol.. 111. LONDON: HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 1847. London: Sfottiswoode and Shaw, New-street-Square. CONTENTS or THE THIRD VOLUME. Chap. LXXII. 1705, 1706. — Accession of Joseph I. Insurrection of the Bavarian Peasantry. Conduct of Charles XII. of Sweden. His rapid Success. Dethrones Augustus King of Poland. Sp rends general alarm throughout the Empire - - P {, K e ' LXXIII. 1706. — Campaign in the Netherlands. Battle of Ilamilies. Operations in Italy. Memorable Siege and Relief of Turin — Expul- sion of the French from Piedmont. Reduction of the Milanese. Transactions in Spain - - ... 9 LXXIV. 1707. — Attempts of Louis to divide the Allies. Fruitless Expedition against Toulon. Reduction of Naples. Campaigns on the Rhine. Reverses of the Austrian Arms in Spain. Fatal Battle of Almanza - -- ----24 LXXV. 1708. — Campaign of 1708. Surprise of Ghent and Bruges by the French. Battle of Oudenarde. Siege of Lille. Recovery of Ghent and Bruges. Joseph confiscates the Duchies of Mantua and Mirandola. Humbles the Pope - S3 LXXVI. 1709. — Negotiations for Peace. Capture of Tournay. Battle of Malplaquet. Surrender of Mons - - - 51 LXXVII. 1710,1711. — Congress of Gertruydenberg. Military Ope- rations in the Netherlands. Capture of Douay, Bethune, and St. Venant. War in Savoy - - - - 62 LXXVIII. 1709, 1711. — War in Spain. Successes of the Allied Arms. Victories of Almanara and Saragossa. Capture of the British Forces at Brihuega. Battle of Villa Viciosa - - 67 LXXIX. 1705-1711. — Affairs of Hungary. Success of the Imperial Arms. Peace of Zatmar. Exile of Ragotsky. Death of Joseph 73 LXXX. 1685-1712. — Charles proclaimed King of Spain. Besieged by the French. Relieved by the English Fleet. Elected Emperor 82 LXXXI. 171 1-1714. — Military Preparations of Charles. Desperate Situation of France. State of England. Disgrace of the Duke of Marlborough. Inactive Campaign of 1 7 1 2 - - - 89 LXXXII. 1706-1719. — Formation of a Barrier in the Netherlands against France. Its Consequences - - - - 96 LXXXIII. 1715-1718. — Hostilities with the Turks. Victories of Peterwaradin and Belgrade. Peace of Passarovitz - 100 LXXXIV. 1715-1720. — Negotiations with England Treaty of a 2 i v CONTENTS. Westminster. Death of Louis XIV. Marriage of Philip with Eliza- beth Farnese. Elevation of Alberoni. Quadruple Alliance. Peace with Spain - Page 104 LXXXV. 1718. —Power of Charles VI. His Acquisitions, Views, and Projects. Intrigues and Death of Count Altheim. Character of Eugene - - -110 LXXXVI. 1718-1722. — Situation of the European Powers after the Quadruple Alliance. Religious Disputes. Troubles of Mecklen- burgh. Rise of the House of Brandenburgh. Character of Frederic William - - - - - - - 119 LXXXVII. 1718-1727.— Unexpected Union of Austria and Spain. Mission of Ripperda. Treaties of Vienna and Hanover. Disgrace of Ripperda. Embarrassments of Charles. Disgrace of the Duke of Bourbon, and Elevation of Fleury - - - - 131 LXXXVIII. 1727-1731. — Death of George I. Efforts of the Allies of Hanover. Disagreement between Spain and the Emperor. Hostile Preparations. Charles succeeds in detaching England from France. Second Treaty of Vienna. Disputes relative to Parma and Tuscany. 144 LXXXIX. 1731-1733 Religious Disputes. Ratification of the Pragmatic Sanction. Abdication of Victor Amadeus. United Pro- vinces. England - - - - - -152 XC. 1733, 1734. — Competitors for the Throne of Poland. Election of Stanislaus, Letzinski, and Counter-Election of Augustus. The Em peror deserted by all his Allies except Russia. Campaign in Italy. Conquest of Naples by Don Carlos Campaign in Germany. Spirited Letter of Prince Eugene to the King of England - - 162 XCI. 1733-1739. — Conduct of the Emperor in regard to the Polish Election. Ineffectual Attempts to obtain Succours from England. Campaigns in Germany and Italy. Distress and Despondency of the Emperor - 177 XCII. J 736, 1737. — Marriage of the Archduchess Maria Theresa with Francis of Loraine. Death of Prince Eugene. Rise of Bartenstein. Turkish War. Disgrace of Seckendorf - - - 192 XCIII. 1738. — Second Campaign against the Turks. Reverses of the Imperial Arms. Recall of the Duke of Loraine. Disgrace of Konig- segg. Consternation at Vienna 205 XCIV. 1739. — Belgrade besieged by the Turks. Retreat of Marshal Wallis. Agitation in the Imperial Court. Negotiations for Peace. Cession of Belgrade. Artifices of the French Plenipotentiary. Arrest of Wallis and Neuperg . _ - 210 XCV. 1739, 1740. — Degradation of the Imperial Court. Ascendency of France. Ineffectual Attempts to renew the Connection with Eng- land. Disputes on the Barrier Treaty - 225 XCVI. 1740. — Death of the King of Prussia. Anxiety of the Em- peror to renew his Connection with England. His Illness and Death. 231 XCVI I. 1740. — Accession of Maria Theresa. Claims of the Elector of Bavaria on the Austrian Succession. Conduct of the Foreign Powers - - - - - - -241 CONTENTS. V XCVI1I. 1740,1741 —Irruption of the King of Prussia into Silesia. Defeat of the Austrians at the Battle of Malwitz. Singular Flight and Return of the King of Prussia - - - Page 244 XCIX. 1741. — Effect of the Defeat of Molwitz. Dissatisfaction with the Maritime Powers. Intrigues of France. New Claimants on the Austrian Succession. Attempts of England to negotiate an Accom- modation between the Queen and Prussia. Indignation of Maria Theresa. Mission of Mr. Robinson to the Prussian Camp - 251 C. 1741. — Hostilities by the Elector of Bavaria. Active Preparations of France. — Successes of the King of Prussia, Second Journey of Mr. Robinson to the Prussian Camp. Perseverance of Maria Theresa in rejecting the Demands of the King of Prussia. Enthusiasm of the British Nation in her Cause ----- 260 CI. 1741. — Progress of the King of Prussia. Firmness and Spirit erf Maria Theresa. Appeals to her Hungarian Subjects. Her Corona- tion. Rouses the Zeal of the States. Armistice with the King of Prussia - - 26*o' CII. 1741, 1742. — Capture of Prague. Conquest of Bavaria. The King of Prussia seizes Olmutz, and invests Glatz. March of Prince Charles of Loraine. Battle of Chotusitz. Successful Operations of the Austrians against the French. Marshal Broglio blockaded in Prague. Changes, favourable to the House of Austria, in Eng- land, Holland, and Russia. Campaign in Italy. Conquest of Mo- dena - 273 CHI. 1742. — Distressed Situation of France. Overtures of Cardinal Fleury, indignantly rejected by Maria Theresa. Masterly Retreat of Belleisle. Maria Theresa crowned Queen of Bohemia - 2S2 CIV. 1743. — Death of Cardinal Fleury. Favourable Aspect of the Austrian Affairs. Battle of Dettingen. Battle of Campo Santo. Treaty of Worms - - - - - 289 CV. 1744. — France declares War against England and Austria. Attempts to invade England. Seckendorf recovers Bavaria. Maria Theresa again appeals to the llungarians. Army of Insurrection. Prince Charles compels the King of Prussia to evacuate Bohemia. Capture of Friburgh. Expedition against Naples. Surprise of Velctri. Irruption of the French and Spaniards into Savoy and Piedmont. Siege of Coni ------ U97 CVI. 1745. — Death of Charles VII. Pretended Conspiracy in RlMiil. Views of the King of Prussia. Situation of the People and Ministry of England. Invasion and Conquest of Saxony. Peace of Dresden. 305 CVII. 1746, 1747. — - Rebellion in Scotland. Capture of Brussels. Battle of Raucoux. The French and Spaniards evacuate Italy. Genoa taken by the Austrians, but recovered by an Insurrection of the Natives. Blockade and Relief of Genoa. Operations of Marshal Belleisle. Attack of the Post of Assietta. Battle of Lauf- feld. Retreat of the Allies. Siege and Capture of Bergen-op-Zoom. Naval Victory of Admiral Hawke ... - 933 CVIH. 1748. — Dissensions between the Courts of Vienna and London. Convention of the Hague. Feeble State of the Dutch Alarming vi CONTENTS. Progress of the French. Negotiations for Peace at Breda and Aix-la- Chapelle. The Definitive Treaty ... Page 335 CIX. 1 749-1 755 State of the Cabinet. Disgrace of Bartenstein. Elevation of Kaunitz. Disagreements between the Courts of Vienna and London ------- 343 CX. 1 756. — Separation of Austria from the Maritime Powers. Intrigues of Kaunitz at Paris. Contests in America. Convention between England and Prussia. Union between Austria and France - 352 CXI. 1756. — The King of Prussia invades Saxony. Surrender of the Saxons and Retreat of Augustus from his Capital. Irruption of Marshal Schwerin into Bohemia. Commencement of the Seven Years' War -------- 367 CXII. 1757. — Grand Confederacy against Prussia. Frederic bursts into Bohemia, and Defeats the Austrians at Prague. Operations of the French against the Duke of Cumberland. Convention of Clostcr- Severn. Junction of the French under Soubise with the Army of the Empire. Critical Situation of the King of Prussia. Battle of Rosbach. Capture of Schweidnitz. Battle of Breslau. England annuls the Convention of Closter- Severn. The French driven from Lunenburgh and Brunswick. Retreat of the Austrians from Silesia. Loss of Schweidnitz ------ 373 CXI 1 1. 1758. — Success of the Russians. Capture of Schweidnitz, and Irruption of the King of Prussia into Moravia. Siege of Olmutz. Project of Daun for the Recovery of Saxony. Battle of Zorndorf. Sie^e of Neiss. Surprise of Hockirchen - 389 CXIV. 1759 Maria Theresa warmly supported by her Allies. Success of the French against Prince Ferdinand. Defeat of the King of Prussia. Recovers from his Defeat, and Protects Lower Silesia against the Russians. Surrender of Dresden. Manoeuvres of Marshal Daun. Defeat and Capture of the Prussians at Maxen - - 396 CXV. 1760. — Distressed Situation of the King of Prussia. Brilliant Operations of Loudon in Silesia. Defeat of Fouquet at Landshut, and Surrender of Glatz. Battle of Lignitz. Retreat of the Russians. Cap- ture of Berlin. Defeat of the Austrians at Torgau. Death of George II., and Accession of George III. * - - - 408 CXVI. 1761. — Plans of the Campaign. Cabals of the Court of St. Petersburgh. Capture of Schweidnitz. Surrender of Colberg. Despon- dency of the King of Prussia. Resignation of Mr. Pitt, and Change in the British Cabinet ----- 420 CX VII. 1 762. — Favourable Aspect of Austrian Affairs. Despondency of the King of Prussia. Death of the Empress Elizabeth, and Accession of Peter III. Withdraws from the Austrian Alliance and joins Prussia. Revolution in Russia. Accession of Catherine II. The Russian Troops recalled. Siege and Surrender of Schweidnitz. Operations in Saxony - - - - - - -426 CXVIII. 1762-1769.— Joseph elected King of the Romans. Death of the Emperor Francis. Grief of Maria Theresa. Joseph succeeds to the Throne of the Empire ----- 435 CXIX. 1769-1777. — Partition of Poland. Death of Augustus 1 1 1. Poniatowski supported by the Empress of Russia. His Election. Civil CONTENTS. vii War in Poland. Confederacy of Bar. The Turks declare War against Russia. Success of the Russian Arms. Alliance of the House of Austria with the Porte. Artful Policy of the King of Prussia. Wretched State of Poland. Ratification and Terms of the Partition. Peace between the Russians and Turks. Austria and Prussia compelled to relinquish their Encroachments Page 440 CXX. 1777. — Marriage of the Archduchess Maria Antoinetta with the Dauphin. Rise of the Anti- Austrian Party in France. Dismission of Choiseul. Accession of Louis XVI. Appointment of Vergennes. Visit of the Emperor to Paris .... 453 CXXI. 1777-1779. — Death of the Elector of Bavaria. Disputes re- lative to his Succession. Claims of the House of Austria. Opposed by the King of Prussia. Hostilities. Congress of Teschen - 4.58 CXX II. 1779, 1780. — Dissatisfaction of the Court of Vienna at the Conduct of France. Endeavour to Conciliate England and RtmUL The American Contest. State of the Russian Court and Cabinet Visit of the Emperor to Petershurgh. He succeeds in overthrowing the Prussian Influence - - - - -471 CXXIII. 1780. — Death of Maria Theresa. Her Offspring. Terri- torial Acquisitions 4^0 CXX1V. 1780-1784. — Character of Joseph II. on his Accession. Innovations. Visit of the Pope to Vienna. Abolition of Feudal Vassalage - - - - - - -484 CXXV. 1781-1785. — Second Visit of Joseph to France. Abolition of the Barrier Treaty. Origin and Termination of the Dispute with Holland. Convention of Fontaincblenii ... 495 CXXV I. 1784-1786. — Joseph assists Catherine in her Acquisition of the Crimea. His Views of Aggrandisement on the side of Turkey thwarted by France. Ineffectual Attempts to exchange the Nether- lands for Bavaria. The Germanic League ... 501 CXXVII. 1786-1788. — Death of the King of Prussia. Decline of France, and Ascendency of England. Peace between England and France. Ministry of Pitt. Alliance between England and Russia. Revolution in Holland - 507 CXXVII I. 1787-1790. — Views of Joseph and Catherine for the Dis- memberment of the Turkish Empire. Progress of Catherine through her new Dominions. Visit of the Emperor. Declaration of War against Russia by the Porte. Attempt of the Austrians to surprise Belgrade. Incursion of the Turks into the Bannat. Retreat of the Emperor from Caransebes. Brilliant Success of Lcudon, and the Prince of Cohurgh. Desperate Situation of the Turks. Interference of England and Prussia. Deplorable State of France. Origin of the Revolution 513 CXXIX. 1787-1790. — State of the Austrian Netherlands. General Discontents. Deputation to Vienna. Duplicity of the Emperor. Rise and Progress of the Revolution. Belgic Confederation. Fruit- less Attempts of Joseph to recover the Netherlands - - 5t>4 CXXX. 1789,1790. — Commotions in Hungary. Joseph threatened by the King of Prussia. Revives the Constitution, and restores the Regalia of Hungary. His Death - - - - 537 CXX XI. 17S0. — Accession of Leopold II. His prudent Conduct. viii CONTENTS. Convention of Reichenbach. Armistice with the Turks. Peace of S/istova. Elected and crowned Emperor of Germany Page 54 3 CXXXII. 1790,1791 Affairs of Hungary. Violent Proceedings of the Hungarian Diet. Firmness of Leopold. His Coronation 551 CXXXIII. 1790, 1791 State of the Netherlands. Mediation of the Maritime Powers and Prussia. Events of the Counter- Revolution. Subjugation of the Netherlands - 556 CXXXIV. 1790-1792. — Progress of the French Revolution. Distresses of the King. Ascendency of the Jacobin Faction. Encroachme nts on the Rights of the German Princes. Plans of Leopold for the Relief of the King. His fruitless Application to England. Connections with Prussia. Meeting at Pilnitz. Vast Designs of the Jacobin Faction. Their Attempts to force the Nation into a War with Austria. Reply of Leopold to the peremptory Requisitions of France. His Death. 563 HISTORY OF THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. Chap. LXXII.— JosErn I.— 1705, 1706. Joseph, eldest son of Leopold, was born at Vienna in 1678, and owed his christian name, which none of his ancestors had ever borne, to a vow made by his father, that if by the intercession of St. Joseph, God would bless him with au- other son, he should be called Joseph. The young princo gave early signs of an active and aspiring mind, and perhaps no heir of an extensive empire was educated with greater care, or provided with more excellent governors and pre- ceptors. Leopold conferred tjie charge of governor on Charles Dietrich, prince of Salm, who proved himself worthy of his high office by his zeal in promoting the im- provement of his pupil, and by inculcating rational and liberal principles both of religion and policy. Knowing that the Jesuits sacrificed all other considerations to the interests of their society, and sensible that they had abetted the intolerance and persecution which, since the death of Maximilian II. had equally disgraced and disturbed the administration of the Austrian sovereigns, he prevailed on Leopold to exclude their order from all share in the edu- cation of his successor. This liberal education, so different from that which had been usually bestowed on the Austrian princes, excited the envy of the Jesuits, and though unable to shake the authority of the governor, they obtained the dismission of the preceptor Rummel, a secular priest, whom VOL. m, b 2 JOSEPH L [cir. lxxii. the prince of Salm had selected on account of his profound learning and pure morals. But their intrigues were coun- teracted by the young prince himself, who defended his preceptor with a spirit above his years, and boldly declared to his father, that if Runimel was dismissed he would de- cline all further application. Crowned sovereign of Hungary in 1687, and king of the Romans in 1690, Joseph was not induced by these splendid titles to arrogate a share in the administration ; but con- tinued to exhibit a laudable example of filial respect and obedience, till his father himself, during the latter months of his reign, was induced by sickness and infirmity to con- sign to him the reins of government. As he advanced in years his great qualities expanded themselves. During the first campaign of the war, Joseph, then twenty-two, extorted from his reluctant father the permission to serve in the German army, and repaired to the siege of Landau. On his arrival he hastened to the trenches ; and when his attendants entreated him to with- draw from a place so much exposed, he replied, " Let those who are afraid retire." To Melac the governor, who sent a herald to know the situation of his quarters, that he might respect his person, he answered, " My quarters are wherever I am called by necessity or danger. Attend to your own honour, and omit nothing which your master's service and your duty prescribe." Nor was this an empty vaunt. The lung of the Romans shared the fatigues and risks of the common soldiers, and was always observed in the most dangerous posts. He was no less humane and generous than brave and intrepid : he exhorted and animated the soldiers, visited the sick and wounded, and distributed pre- sents among the widows and orphans of the slain. The valour which he displayed, the address by which he inspired the troops with courage and good will, and the generals with activity and vigilance, infused such energy into the be- siegers, that Landau capitulated after an obstinate siege, and he returned in triumph to Vienna. The year ensuing, he again repaired to the siege of Landau, which had been retaken by the French, and exhibited new proofs of heroism, courtesy, generosity, and beneficence. He displayed the highest marks of esteem towards Labadie, the intrepid governor, whose brave defence protracted the siege sixty- 1705, 1706.] CAMPAIGN OF THE ALLIES. 3 nine days, granted him an honourable capitulation, and assured the gallant chief that he deemed it his highest glory to subdue such an enemy. Joseph was twenty-five when the death of Leopold called into action all his talents, activity, and resources. The first object of his reign was to reduce the number of courtiers and officers of the household, who, without adding to the lustre, had contributed to exhaust the revenues of the crown ; and on the same principle of economy he introduced various regulations into the civil and military departments. He at the same time gave a proof of the liberal principles by which he intended to govern, by removing the ministers who were devoted to the Jesuits, and discountenancing an order which, for so long a period, had reigned paramount at the court of Vienna. He displayed equally his gratitude and judgment, in consigning the conduct of the state to his governor the prince of Salm, and in raising his precep- tor Rurnmel to the bishopric of Vienna, with the principal direction of ecclesiastical affairs. The embarrassments of a new reign produced no change nor essential delay in the exertions against the common enemy. The great object of the allies was to push the war on the Moselle, to recover Loraine, and from thence to attack the defenceless provinces of France. The project was settled by Eugene, Marlborough, the margrave of Baden, and Joseph himself, during the last siege of Landau, and the arrangements for opening the campaign were made before the departure of Marlborough from the scene of action. Magazines were formed at Coblentz and Treves, and the operations were to commence with the siege of Saar Louis. The Dutch consented to maintain the de- fensive on their own frontier, to strengthen the army of Marlborough ; and the margrave of Baden promised to take the field early in the spring, and detach a part of his force to concur in the attack. It was confidently hoped that the general consternation in France, joined to the civil war which persecution had excited among the Protestants of the Cevennes, would cripple all the efforts of the enemy, and contribute to render the success of the present as brilliant as the close of the last campaign. But Louis, however we may condemn his arrogance and presumption in prosperity, possessed, in an eminent degree, B 2 4 JOSEPH I. [CII. LXXIT. that fortitude which rises superior to adversity. lie re- doubled his exertions to repair his losses ; and called forth all the spirit of his subjects, and all the resources of his powerful monarchy. The elector of Bavaria, assisted by Villeroy, was to act on°ensively on the side of the Lower Countries with 7o,000 men ; Villars, with 55,000, to protect the country watered by the Moselle ; Marsiu, with 30,000, to maintain the defensive on the Upper Rhine troops, under the duke of Berwick, were detached to awe the in- surgents in the Cevennes ; and great reinforcements were poured into Italy, to complete the subjugation of the duke of Savoy. Yet all these exertions would have been made in vain, had not the divisions of a vast and heterogeneous confede- racy, and the discordant interests which arise from success, palsied the efforts of the allies. The Maritime Powers them* selves spent the winter in discussions relative to their respective contingents, and in contests for the supreme command ; but the most fatal obstacle to the intended invasion was derived from the tardiness and jealousy of the German princes, who, in the humiliation of France, again dreaded the revival of the imperial authority, and the as- cendency of Austria. When, therefore, Marlborough led the reinforcements to the army on the Moselle, he found neither provisions, artillery, horses, nor carriages. None of the German contingents were arrived, and the mar- grave himself, after attempting to evade an interview, left the few troops which had been assembled, and retired under a real or affected indisposition to the baths of Schwalbach. Thus mortifiedand abandoned, Marlborough was unable to push the intended attack in opposition to Villars, who had taken a strong position at Sirk on the frontiers of Loraine, where he equally covered Luxemburgh, Thionville, and Saar Louis. After earnest and repeated, though vain appeals to the German States, he left 7000 Palatine auxiliaries to cover Treves, and hastened towards the Meuse, where the French had taken liny, reduced the town of Liege, and threatened to carry the war into Holland, or cut oil the communication between the United Provinces and the Upper Rhine. lie joined the Dutch troops on the 5th of July, recovered Huy and Liege, overruled the oppo- 1705, 1706.] CAMPAIGN CONCLUDED. 5 sition of Slangenberg and other generals, broke through the lines whieli the French had formed to cover their fron- tier from Antwerp to the Mehaigne, at Iieilesheim, and defeated a part of the troops, which had been hastily as- sembled to oppose him. lie drove back the enemy from the Deule on the 29th of July, and followed them to a position which they took behind the Ysch ; but, when lie had reduced them to a situation in which they could not avoid an engagement, he was again opposed by the cabal of Slangenberg and the Dutch deputies, and saw all his measures frustrated at the very moment of execution. Thus curbed in his operations, he employed the remainder of the campaign in demolishing the French lines, and after reducing Leewe, and drawing his troops into quarters, he quitted the army to make preparations for more strenuous and effectual exertions in the ensuing year. After the departure of Marlborough towards the Meuse, Villars sent strong succours to the army in the Low Coun- tries, left 10,000 men on the Moselle, and with the remain- der of his force joined Tallard to overwhelm the small corps of Germans collected for the defence of their lines. But this design was frustrated by general Thungen, who re- tiring to an entrenched camp under the walls of Lauter- burgh, maintained his position ti^l he was joined by the margrave of Baden, with the rest of the contingents, on the iJOth of June. Yet though the German army was now superior in number to the enemy, the margrave, dis- heartened by his languishing disorder, or still under the influence of that jealousy which had frustrated the grand system of attack, continued unmoved by all the remon- strances of the allies and the imperial court, and the cam- paign was principally wasted in marches and countermarches on both sides of the Rhine. The French secured Loraine and the three bishoprics, by the re-occupation of Treves, Saarburgh, and Hornberg ; and the Germans forced the lines formed by Marsin on the Motter, and recovered Ilagucnau and Druscnhcim. After these movements, the two armies, who had suffered chiefly from fatigue and the severity of the weather, gradually retired into winter- quarters. The campaign was scarcely closed before a sudden and general insurrection of the Bavarian peasantry gave new B 3 6 JOSEPH I. |_CII. LXXIT. alarms to the court of Vienna. From a desire to appro- priate Bavaria, no less than from resentment against the elector, the Austrian court had treated the country with great rigour, dismembered several districts, and compelled the natives to take an oath of allegiance. These measures, joined to the loyalty of the people, gave rise to a conspiracy for throwing off the Austrian yoke, in which the electress herself was implicated. The plot being accidentally discovered, the emperor deprived her of the regency, removed her children into the Austrian territories, disarmed the natives, made forced levies, and imposed heavy contributions. The peasantry thus driven to de- spair, rose almost at the same instant, when the troops were principally drawn to Italy and the Rhine, seized the important posts of Brauna, Burghausen, Scharding, and Kelheim, and even surprised the suburbs of Munich. Their numbers rapidly augmented to 30,000 men, and their enterprise would have produced the most alarming consequences, had they not consented to an armistice of ten days. This fortunate delay enabling the Austrian s to concentrate their forces and recall part of their troops, they soon gained the superiority over a disorganised and ill-armed multitude, defeated them with great slaughter, reduced them to submission, and punished this attempt to recover their independence with redoubled severities. In the midst of these operations the attention of Europe was arrested by the appearance of a new champion on the theatre of action, who threatened to suspend the triumphs of the allies. This champion was Charles XIL, king of Sweden. The glory, influence, and acquisitions, which Sweden had acquired by her arms, had long excited the envy of the northern powers. The enmity of Denmark was fomented by the support which Sweden gave to the dukes of Holstein Gottorp ; Peter, czar of Russia, was anxious to acquire the Swedish provinces of Ingria and Carelia, in order to establish himself on the shore of the Baltic ; Augustus, king of Poland and elector of Saxony, was desirous to re-annex Livonia to his newly-acquired kingdom. These potentates, who had been kept in awe by Charles XL, availed themselves of the accession of a minor king to humble a nation whose superior 1705, 1706.] CHARLES XII. splendour obscured their glory. They entered into a secret league for the abasement of their common rival, and at the commencement of 1700, broke out into open hostilities. The king of Denmark directed his attacks against the duke of Holstein, the ally and brother-in-law of Charles ; and Augustus burst into Livonia. This sudden and unprovoked hostility, without a declaration of war, struck terror into the Swedish court. The ministers, who dreaded a contest under a young and inexperienced monarch, proposed to avert the storm by negotiation ; but Charles, who had listened with silent contempt to their discussions, astounded the whole council by exclaiming, with an air of decision and gravity above his age, " I have resolved never to undertake an unjust war; yet I will never finish a just war, except with the ruin of my enemies." He followed this declaration by an instantaneous change in his habits and manners, from which he never afterwards swerved. Full of enthusiasm for his ancient models, he devoted himself to war, by renouncing all the pleasures and luxuries of civilised life; and voluntarily undergoing the hardships and privations of a Spartan. lie abstained from wine, shunned the company* of woman, slept on the bare ground, with no other covering but his cloak, ac- customed his body to incessant exercise, and habituated himself to the extreme of abstinence in sleep and food. The whole machine of government, and every district of his country, instantly felt the impulse of his powerful hand. Troops were despatched to assist the duke of Holstein, whose territories had been nearly subjugated by the Danes; and urgent appeals made to the houses of Hanover and Brandenburgh, and to the Maritime Powers, for the assistance stipulated by ancient treaties. With a spirit of enterprise equal to his great models, he carried the war into the territories of his enemies. He detached a light squadron to intercept the communications of the king of Denmark, who was employed in Holstein, and sailed with a powerful force to attack Copenhagen itself. While his fleet, assisted by an English and Dutch squadron, blockaded that of the Danes, and bombarded the capital, he headed the descent of his troops. Impatient to reach the shore, he leaped into the sea, sword in hand, led R 4 8 josEm i. [cn. lxxii. forward his soldiers in the face of the Danish batteries, and invested the town by land. The promptitude and vigour of this enterprise reduced the king of Denmark to immediate submission. Within eleven days after the descent of the youthful hero, he deserted his alliance against Sweden, by a separate treaty at Travendahl, on the 18th of August, 1700, gave a compensation to the duke of Ilolstein, and confirmed all former engagements. Having thus humbled one enemy, Charles turned with the same promptitude and decision against Peter, czar of Muscovy, who had invested Narva with 40,000 men. On the 30th of November, in less than two months after he had reached the shores of Denmark, he landed at Pirna, marched rapidly to Narva, amidst the severities of winter, attacked the Russians, though covered with formidable entrenchments, gained a complete victory, and dissipated the whole army. The moment the approach of spring allowed him to act, he entered Livonia, forced the passage of the Duna, obtained another decisive but bloody victory, in the neighbourhood of Riga, on the 9th of July, 1701, and subjugated Courland and Livonia. Pursuing the same principle of ruining those enemies who had planned his des- truction, he entered Poland, roused the factions which always distracted that unhappy country, routed in numerous conflicts the partisans of Augustus, and on the 12th of July, 1704, procured the election of Stanislaus Letzinski, a Polish noble, whom accident brought to his notice. He had no sooner witnessed the coronation of the sovereign to whom he had given a throne, than he hastened to complete his work, by annihilating all the resources and hopes of Augustus ; bursting through Silesia into Saxony with 20,000 men, in contempt of all the remonstrances of the emperor, he, on the 4th of September, 1706, forced Augustus, in the centre of his own dominions, to resign the throne from which he had been driven, and acknowledge the title of his rival. Charles took up his residence at Alt Ramstadt, in a state of momentary inactivity ; and while he held in his hands the balance of Europe, courted or feared by all parties, he kept the various candidates for his favour in suspense, though he displayed a partiality to the French 1705, 1706.] CHARLES XII. and Bavarian ministers, and treated the remonstrances and menaces of the empire with pride and contempt.* He laid a list of grievances before the emperor, demanded redress for a real or fancied insult to his envoy by an imperial chamberlain, required the surrender of 1500 Russian fugitives who had taken refuge in the Austrian territories, and the recall of the German officers who had entered into the service of the czar, and insisted on the restoration of the Protestant churches in Silesia. It was highly dangerous to provoke a monarch who held in his hand the balance of the war, who was courted by France to imitate the example and emulate the exploits of Gustavus Adolphus, whose resentment was implacable, whose decisions instantaneous, whose spirit was rendered inflexible by the slightest opposition. Joseph therefore acted with consummate address. He soothed the diet, which had imprudently threatened to avenge the aggres- sions of Sweden by a declaration of war ; he stifled his own ardent feelings, opened a friendly negotiation, and laboured, by every mark of attention, and every proof of acquiescence, to concilitate the haughty Swede. But the mysterious conduct of Charles, *md the presence of so enterprising a prince, with a veteran and victorious army in the heart of the empire, made a deep impression on Joseph, whose hereditary dominions were principally threatened, awed the neighbouring states, and detained a considerable force from the scene of action. Ciiaf. LXXIH.— 1706. Towards the beginning of May the two armies assembled in the Netherlands : the French under the elector of Bavaria and Villeroy, behind their lines near Louvaiu, * England was so conscious of the danger to be apprehended from the king of Sweden's junction with France, that the duke of Marlbo- rough recommended the emperor to deliver up the Russian fugitives to Sweden ; but the emperor rejected with scorn so degrading a pro- posal, as contrary to the law of nations and the honour of his crown. Letter from count Wratislaw to the duke of Marlborough, May 14. 1707. 10 JOSEPH T. [CH. LXXIIT. amounting to 70,000 men ; the allies, nearly equal in numbers, at Borchloe, on the borders of the bishopric of Liege. Marlborough, anxious to open the campaign with an engagement, employed a spy to alarm the French generate with rumours of a design to surprise Namur, or pillage the town and rich abbey of St. Amand. Having by this stratagem, induced them to quit their lines, and advance to Tirlemont, he suddenly pushed towards the sources of the Gheet, either to force them to a battle, or cut them off from Namur. But on approaching Ramilies, he found that they had at the same time marched to anticipate his design, and on the dispersion of a thick fog, which had concealed their movements, he discovered their army occupying a position beyond the Little Gheet. Their line stretched from near Tavieres, on the Mehaigne, to the village of Anderkirk. In their front before the right of their infantry was Ramilies, which was defended by several battalions, a little beyond was OfFuz, situated at the sources of the Little Gheet. On their right were Tavieres and Franquenies, which at the commencement of the battle were occupied only by a regiment of dragoons ; their left, with a considerable part of their centre, was posted between the two branches of the Little Gheet ; and the only point of their line not defended by nature, was an open space of 1200 paces, between Ramilies and Tavieres, stretching from the source of the Gheet to the Mehaigne. Marlborough hastened to bring on an engagement before they could recover from the confusion of their sudden march, or secure themselves in their advantageous post. As their right and part of their centre were the only vulnerable points, he added to his left wing twenty squadrons of Danish horse from his right, drew twelve battalions from his infantry, to form an attack against Ramilies, and four to assault Franquenies and Tavieres. Soon after mid-day, on the 23rd of May, the engagement began. The four battalions having carried Tavieres, the cavalry of the left instantly advanced beyond the village, cut to pieces a body of dismounted dragoons, in their way to recover it, and, forming in two solid lines, attacked the right of the French, which was composed of the household troops, and the best soldiers of France. The confederate 1706.] DEFEAT OF THE FRENCFI AT RAMILIES. 11 cavalry, twice driven back, was again rallied by Marl- borough himself, who was exposed to the same danger from which he had so narrowly escaped at Blenheim ; and being supported by fresli squadrons from the right, broke the enemy with great slaughter. During these charges, the attack was made against Ramilies ; the twelve bat- talions, sustained by the whole line of infantry, assailing the village in front and flank, carried it with far less dif- ficulty than had been expected from the strength of the post. The infantry, advancing beyond the village, broke the French, and drove them in disorder towards Judoigne. The left of the enemy, which, from its position between the two branches of the Gheet, could neither attack or be attacked, began to retire with the artillery, favouring the retreat of the fugitives; but being bravely charged by some regiments of English horse, at a moment when their march was accidentally interrupted, they were struck with a panic, took to flight, and were pursued as far as Meldert, five leagues from the scene of action. The French lost in killed and prisoners 13,000 men, 50 pieces of cannon, and almost all their baggage, while the allies had scarcely 2000 killed or wounded.* The elector of Bavaria and Villeroy, after narrowly escaping in the rout, fled to Louvain, where they held a tumultuary council of war by torch-light, abandoned the unfortified towns and open country, and retreated with their dis- comfited army behind the canal of Brussels. The allies did not allow the enemy time to recover from their panic. They occupied Louvain the day after the battle, and received the submission of the sovereign council, and the states of Brussels. They "pressed the enemy while confusion continued among themf ;" followed them in their retreat to Ghent ; by throwing bridges over the Scheldt and threatening their rear, forced them to fall back to Courtray, and compelled them to distribute a con- siderable part of their army for the defence of the frontier places, particularly Mons, Tournay, Lille, Ypres, and * From more accurate accounts, it appears, that the loss of the allies was 1066 killed, and 2667 wounded. Memoirs of the duke of Marlborough, chap, xlv., to which we refer the reader for a description and plan of the battle. "f Letter from the duke of Marlborough. 12 JOSEPH L [CH. Lxxiu. Mcnin. Meanwhile the principal towns in the Nether- lands followed the example of the capital, or were reduced by detachments from the victorious army; Mecklio sur- rendered, Alost declared for Charles, Dendermond was blockaded, Lierre was occupied by a detachment, Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, and Oudenard submitted without delay. Marlborough was desirous to invade the French frontier by the Lys and the Scheld, while their army was in con- fusion, and the towns ill provided for resistance ; but was again thwarted by his Dutch colleagues. He therefore hastened to the Hague as well to overrule this opposition as to concert measures for the government of the reduced territories ; yet notwithstanding all his remonstrances, he was necessitated to undertake the siege of Ostend, before that of Menin, which he proposed as the first step of his intended invasion. The most active exertions were made by both parties. Reinforcements poured in to the French army ; detach- ments were drawn from the Rhine, and Vendome, recalled at the most critical juncture from Italy, was appointed to the command, as a general "who could gain the confidence of the soldiers, and restore the troops to that spirit of fortitude and enterprise so natural to the French nation." On the other hand, the confederate army was strengthened with 12,000 men from the neighbouring garrisons, and the troops of Hanover and Prussia advanced by rapid marches towards Brabant. Plassendael was taken by storm, Ostend invested by Overkirk, while an English squadron blockaded the harbour, and the main army at Rousselaer covered the siege. After some delays, the attacks were begun, and this important fortress, which had formerly withstood a siege of three years, surrendered in July, only eight days after the opening of the trenches. Although the delay occasioned by this siege, and the requisite preparations, had given the enemy time to recover from their consternation, yet Marlborough resumed his plan of attacking the French frontier. He embarked a regiment at Ostend, to join an expedition, which was fitting out in England, to alarm the opposite coast, sent a detachment to occupy Courtray, crossed the Lys to unite with the Prussian, Hanoverian, and Palatine auxiliaries, destroyed the sluices with which the enemy had dammed up the Deule and the 170(3.] RESULTS OF TIIE BATTLE OF RAMILIES. 13 Lys, to prevent the navigation from Ghent, and invested Menin, the key of Flanders, a masterpiece of the art of Vauban. With the main army at Helchin, he protected the siege, and Vendome, notwithstanding he had assembled and re-organised the French troops, was reduced to remain on the defensive behind the Deule, and witness its capture. The subsequent surrender of Dendermond, on the 23rd of August, having opened the whole course of the Scheld, Marlborough crossed that river, and closed this splendid campaign with the reduction of Ath. After some move- ments for the sake of forage, he repaired to the Hague, and the troops, in the beginning of November, took quarters in the principal posts of their new conquests from the sea to the Meuse. On the Rhine, Villars, as before, was opposed to tho margrave of Baden. The campaign was opened by tho French, who forced the lines formed by the Germans on the Hotter, drove them back to the Lauter, and reduced Druscnheim and Haguenau, which contained their prin- cipal magazines. But the fatal battle of Ramilies debi- litated their efforts in every quarter; the reinforcements drawn to the Netherlands reduced the French commander to the defensive ; while the tardiness of the German princes, and the march of the imperial cavalry against the rebels in Hungary, prevented the margrave from profiting by the weakness of his antagonist. In consequence of the civil war in Hungary, and the exertions of the imperialists in other quarters, the affairs of the emperor, and his ally the duke of Savoy, had rapidly declined in Italy. On the other hand, Louis made vast pre- parations to achieve the conquests of Piedmont, or detach the duke of Savoy. Reinforcements were sent by sea from Provence; and a corps of 10,000 men, under la Feuillade, bursting from Dauphind, opened a passage through the Alps along the Doria, by the capture of Exilles and Susa, with their dependent forts. By these accessions of force the French army was increased to 40,000 men ; and Ven- dome leaving his brother, the grand prior, to clear the country south of the Po, and close the passages into Italy, crossed the Po at Trino, in the face of the combined army, and subjugated all the principal fortresses of Piedmont, 14 JOSEPH I. [CH. LXXIII. gradually circumscribing the duke of Savoy to the vicinity of his capital. Fortunately this career of success was checked before the small but strong fortress of Verrua, which commands the navigation of the Po, and by its position forms an out- work of Turin. The garrison, succoured by continual re- inforcements from Victor Amadeus, who took post at Cres- centino, on the opposite side of the river, held out with incredible bravery and perseverance, till the opening of the ensuing spring ; they did not surrender till March 11. 1705, when the French had dearly purchased the place, by the loss of 18,000 men, and the exertions of a whole campaign, and rendered the capture of little value, by blowing up the fortifications. The losses of the French, and the fatigues of a winter siege, prevented Vendome from pursuing his operations; and after allowing his troops to repose till the middle of June, he advanced to the attack of Civasso, (behind which the combined army had retired), as a pre- lude to the siege of Turin. He was, however, suddenly called from this enterprise to succour his brother, who was unequally opposed to the superior talents of Eugene. While Vendome was occupied in Piedmont, the grand prior, favoured by the connivance of the papal officers in the Ferrarese, had driven the remnant of the imperialists into the Trentin, with the loss of all their baggage, shut up the principal passes into Italy, and blockaded Mirandola, the last place held by an imperial garrison. In this state of affairs, Eugene reached the Tren- tin, followed by 8000 Prussian auxiliaries, who had been subsidised by England. Failing in his attempts to drive the French from the Mincio, he suddenly crossed the Lago di Garda, joined the imperial corps, who during the winter had maintained themselves on its western shore, anticipated, by a rapid march, the French commander, who took post before him, gained the passage of the Oglio at Urago, ad- vanced to Iiomanengo in his way to the Adda, and would probably have carried to the duke of Savoy that succour which his multiplied distresses rendered so necessary, had not his progress been checked by the arrival of Vendome with considerable reinforcements. Eugene spent the rest of the campaign of 1705 in marches and counter-marches, in which he exhausted all 1706.] THE CAMPAIGN IN ITALY. l& his resources to gain a passage over the Adda or the Po ; but was baflied by the vigilance of his antagonist, and the difficulties of a country abounding in defiles, and inter- sected by innumerable canals and torrents. The only striking event of the campaign was the short but desperate battle of Cassano, which took place during one of these marches. On the 16th of August, Eugene attacked a part of the French infantry, while separated from the cavalry, which had been pushed across the Adda, to oppose his passage ; but the strength of the enemy's position, and the sudden arrival of Vendome, with the rest of the troops from the opposite side of the river, robbed him of the victory. Yet, though foiled in his principal design of joining the duke of Savoy, he succeeded in maintaining his footing in Italy, by establishing Ids quarters on the skirt of the mountains, between the Lago di Garda and Brescia; while by drawing off so considerable a portion of the French force, he relieved, though he could not assist, the duke of Savoy, and suspended the siege of Turin. The exertions of Eugene could not, however, prevent the success of different enterprises at a distance from the scene of action Mirandola was ^captured after a long blockade ; on the side of the Alps, Viilafranca and the citadel of Nice were reduced, and the fortress of Mont- melian, the only remaining post in Savoy, surrendered after an investment of eighteen months. The only compensation obtained by the confederates for those losses, was the recovery of Asti, which being evacuated by an erroneous order, was instantly occupied by Staremberg, and main- tained against all the efforts of la Feuillade. Although the campaign of 1706 in Italy opened with a sinister event, the arms of the allies were ultimately crowned with success still more brilliant than even in the Netherlands. Early in the year Vendome silently and gradually assembling his choicest troops, surprised the im- perialists in their quarters, attacked and broke the forces who were hastily assembled near Calcinato, drove them back into the Trent in, and afterwards dislodged them from the quarters which they occupied between the Adige and the Po. He profited by this bold and successful enterprise to shut up all the avenues by which they could descend into Italy. Count Medavi, with 8000 men guarded the 16 josepii i. [CH. LXXIII. passes to the west of the Lago di Garda ; an intrenchment, defended by 15,000 men, extended from Garda to the Adige ; 12,000 were distributed along the river, as far as St. Pietro di Legnago ; and St. Fremont, with 6000, was intrusted with the defence of the Lower Adige. While Yendome was thus employed in closing the passes, the most active preparations were made for reducing Turin. Immense magazines were formed at Susa, Casale, Crescentino, and Civasso, and an army collected for the siege, under the command of La Feuillade, exceeding 50,000 men. The city was invested in May, and trenches opened in the commencement of June against the citadel and a work stretching towards the Doria. The duke of Savoy remained in Turin till after the investment, to mature the necessary arrangements ; but before the cir- cumvallation was completed he left the command of the town to the marquis di Carail, and of the citadel to count Daun, with a garrison of 10,000 men, took the field with his cavalry, baffled or eluded the French commander by successively retreating to Villestellone, Coni, Civasso, and Saluzza, along the borders of the mountains, and at length threw himself into the valley of Lucerna, where he dis- mounted his troops, and sent his horses to the pastures in the Alps. His retreat having left the open country in the power of the enemy, Asti was besieged by the militia of the Milanese, Mondovi and Ceva surprised, and the duchess, with her infant family, sought refuge in the Genoese terri- tories. Early in the spring Eugene hastened to the frontiers of Italy, with the intention of resuming the plan on which he had acted the preceding campaign. But, on arriving at Salo, he had the mortification to find his designs discon- certed by the unexpected defeat of the imperialists in their quarters, and with difficulty secured the retreat of the fugitive army, which was reduced to 11,000 men. His future operations were attended with embarrassments which would have discouraged an inferior general. To attain the object of his expedition, it was necessary to traverse a country above two hundred miles in extent, full of strongholds, watered by four navigable rivers, abounding in defiles, and intersected by innumerable rivulets, canals, and torrents, in the nice of a superior enemy who guarded 1706.] PKOGRESS OF HOSTILITIES. 17 every avenue. Deeming it, therefore, impossible in this situation to force his way through the district north of the Po, Eugene drew his troops by Riva round the northern point of the Lago di Gardi, and suddenly descended, as before, by the sources of the Brenta into the Veronese. Being joined by 10,000 of the auxiliaries from Germany, he left 6000 men under Wetzel at San Marti no, to secure the junction of 6000 Hessians, yet on their march, and to divide the attention of the enemy. He amused the French, as on the former occasion, with feint attacks along the course of the Adige, while a strong detachment secured a passage and constructed a bridge at Ruotanova. The whole army promptly passed without opposition, pushed the corps of St. Fremont beyond the numerous canals and streams between the Adige and the Po, passed the Po near Biaggio, secured Finale and Biondena, dislodged the enemy from the Panaro and the Canale di Modena, and followed them to the river Parmegiana. In this situation of affairs Vendome was recalled from Italy to head the army in Flanders, dispirited by the defeat of Ramilies, and the command was intrusted to the duke of Orleans, under the direction of Marsin. The new general having obtained a reinforcement of 15,000 men from la Feuillade, left a corps of 10,000, under Medavi, to observe the imperialists at San Martino, and, with the rest of the army, crossing the Po, joined the retreating body on the Parmegiana to arrest the progress of Eugene. The imperial general, too weak to force the position of the enemy, employed himself in securing Carpi, Reggio, and Corregio, till the junction of the Hessians enabled the corps beyond the Po to approach the Mincio, and open a passage by the capture of Goito. This diversion, reducing the French to abandon their design of making a stand on the Parmegiana, and again fall back beyond the Po, he pushed forward with unexpected celerity. Not- withstanding his troops were exposed to the burning rays of an Italian sun, and suffered equally from drought and want of provisions, he anticipated the movements of the French, though their march was facilitated by carriages from the Milanese. While he allowed his army to repose and wait for supplies, he pushed forward detachments by night to secure the passes, and throw bridges over the vol. in. c IS joSErn i. [CH. LXXIII. numerous rivers which swell the waters of the Po, anticipated the enemy at Placcntia and the pass of Stradella, crossed the Tanaro above Isola ; and after a march of thirty-four days, one of the most memorable in the military annals of modern Europe, united at Villastellone with the duke of Savoy, who. on his approach had quitted the mountains, roused his faithful peasantry, and collected a respectable force. They crossed the Po near Moncaliere, and advanced to the neighbourhood of Chieri, in the vicinity of the capital, on the very day in which the duke of Orleans with Marsin reached the lines before Turin. Never was an event more opportune than this junction ; for the city was reduced to the utmost extremity. Every means of attack and defence had been exhausted by both parties during a contest of near twelve weeks, till the resources possessed by the assailants, and the advantage of numbers gained the superiority. The outworks, in spite of a brave defence, were successively carried ; the body of the place was assailed ; the provisions reduced, the ammunition exhausted ; that part of the town which was exposed to the enemy's batteries presented only a heap of ruins ; and the brave garrison, worn out by incessant exertions, were threatened with an assault without the means of resistance. The duke of Savoy and Eugene ascended the heights of Superga*, above Chieri, which commands a view of Turin and the circumjacent territory. They looked down upon the vast circumference of intrenchments which in- vested the capital, and formed a circuit of thirty miles ; and saw or heard the repeated signals of distress made by the besieged. They watched, with a mixture of hope and anxiety, the movements of the enemy, whom they * Superga is a striking feature, as well in the history as the geo- graphy of Savoy. On this spot, from whence Victor Amadeus and Eugene surveyed the lines of the enemy, the former erected one of the most splendid churches in Italy, in consequence of a vow which he made on the occasion ; and, in memory of the relief of Turin, the royal family were accustomed to go annually in procession, and return thanks in this church for the almost miraculous deliverance of the capital. Few strangers visit this part of Italy without repairing to this church, as well on account of its historical importance, as the magnificent prospect which it commands. 1706.] S1EQE OF TURIN. 19 expected to quit their posts, concentrate their, forces, and prepare for a contest in the open field, in which they could employ all the advantages derived from superior numbers. But the spirit of the French army seems to have subsided, and the effects of the victory at Ramilies were felt in Italy. The allies had the satisfaction to see them continue in their posts, and hailed their caution as the signal of victory. With that decision, promptitude, and energy which characterised the operations of Eugene, he selected as the point of attack that part of the lines which crossed the peninsula formed between the Doria and the Stura, where the two rivers at once secured his own flanks, and presented considerable obstacles to the movements of the enemy. On descending from the height, orders were instantly given for the march ; the allies crossed the Po near Moncagliere, intercepted a considerable convoy which the enemy were anxiously expecting from Susa, passed the Doria, reduced the castle of Pianessa, and extended themselves between the Doria and the Stura. Having collected a force of 10,000 militia to throw succours into the place, should the enemy quit or weaken any part of their lines, tUey made preparations for an immediate assault. At sunrise, on the morning of »Septembcr 7., the confederates advanced towards the intrenchments in se- veral columns preceded by all the grenadiers in a body. When arrived within cannon-shot the infantry formed in two lines, with the artillery in the intervals between the battalions, and the cavalry in the same order behind, though exposed to a heavy cannonade. They then moved to the attack. The first line of the Prussian infantry on the right, commanded by the prince of Anhalt, made the assault against the left of the French, which was flanked by the Doria and the castle of Lucento. Being thrown into disorder by a sudden sally of the French cavalry, Eugene rushed forward to rally and lead them again to the charge. In the midst of the confusion he was thrown from his horse, and two domestics killed by his side ; but he instantly revived the courage of his soldiers, by rising and waving his hat as a sign that he had received no injury. He remounted, led on the troops, who derived new spirit from his escape, and forced the intrenchment. The c 2 20 joskpii i. [OIL LXX1II. prince of Wirtemberg, at the same time, carried the works on the side of the Stura, and opened a way for the cavalry ; but his troops, impelled by their ardour, pursued the French far beyond the intrenchment, and would have been cut off, had not the regiment of Staremberg opportunely advanced from the second line, seized the abandoned artillery, and turned it on the enemy, who began to rally. The centre, led by the duke of Savoy, succeeded also in gaining the works, after a dreadful carnage, and opened a passage for the cavalry. The enemy, however, still disputed their ground with great bravery ; their cavalry broke through the ranks of the allies, and attacked them in flank and rear, and, though repulsed, again rallied and renewed the fight. But nothing could withstand the impetuosity of the troops led by Eugene and the duke, who lavishly exposed their persons. The second line with the artillery being brought up, a more desperate engagement took place, and the French finally gave way ; one body fled over the Doria, and there made a stand ; a second attempted to gain the Po, but was intercepted by a sally from the city; and a third, which took refuge in the inclosures of the Old Park, between the mouths of the Doria and Stura, was driven into the Po. Beyond the Doria, the troops in the trenches continued their fire against the city during the whole action, greatly annoying the garrison with their bombs ; but, perceiving the day lost, they blew up their magazines, and retired with precipitation by Moncagliere. Marsin, being mortally wounded, and taken prisoner, died at Turin the day after the battle ; the duke of Orleans was likewise wounded ; 6000 men, among whom were several distinguished officers, were made prisoners, and 2000 killed. The allies lost only L500. The duke of Savoy and Eugene, having given the neces- sary orders for securing the magazines and encamping the troops, entered the capital amidst a vast concourse of people, and returned thanks to God in the cathedral. The last powder left in the place was spent in the rejoicing on this occasion. Although only part of the French army was engaged, and their utmost loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners scarcely exceeded 9000 men, the death of Marsin, and 1706.] THE ALLIES TRIUMPH IN ITALY. 21 the want of an experienced chief, produced all the fruits of a total defeat, and occasioned the overthrow of that power which seemed so firmly established in Italy. The French troops having retreated in confusion toward Pig- nerol, and abandoned those in the Milanese, the allies hastened to profit by their victory. The militia, supported by a regular force, followed the retreating army to the frontiers of Dauphine, secured the passes of the Alps, and frustrated all their attempts to re-enter Piedmont ; while the towns, which were dismantled or weakly garrisoned, again raised the standard of their beloved sovereign. At the same time the duke and Eugene turned against the French corps under Medavi, who, on the 9th of September, two days after the battle of Turin, had defeated the prince of Hesse at Castiglione with the loss of 4000 men. They opened a passage into the Milanese by reducing Novarra, passed the Tesino, received the submission of Milan, and blockaded the French troops in the citadel. Being joined by the prince of Hesse, who, after his defeat crossed the Lower Adige and the Po, and penetrated through the Cremonese, they drove the corps of Jledavi into the Man- tuan, and before the close of the campaign, recovered many of the posts occupied by the French hi Lombardy, con- fining the remnant of their forces to the citadels of Milan and Mantua, Finale, Valencia, Mirandola, Sal>ioii< tta, and Cremona. Eugene, who was nominated governor of the Milanese, received the allegiance of the natives in the name of their new sovereign ; Joseph invested his brother with the duchy as a fief of the empire, and yielded to the duke of Savoy the provinces of Valenza and Alessandria, the Lumellina, and the Val di Sesia, which had been pro- mised as the price of his alliance. During these transactions the affairs of the house of Austria had likewise prospered in Spain. After landing in Portugal, Charles published a manifesto or declaration of his rights, the king of Portugal a justification of his conduct ; and both monarchs, at the head of their army, advanced to the frontier. But, as it happens in all cases of civil contest, the emigrants deceived themselves as well as their protectors, and the conquest of Spain proved a far more arduous task than it had been represented by the admiral and his adherents. The army of Portugal was ill— c 3 22 josepii i. [cu. lxxhl disciplined, inefficient, and ill-provided ; the succours furnished by the allies too scanty to make a permanent impression. Above all, none of the parties had appreciated the effects of national and religious prejudice; the proud and spirited Castilians, however dissatisfied with the admi- nistration of the French, were indignant at having a sovereign forced on them by the Portuguese, whom they detested, and by the English and Dutch whom they stig- matised as heretics. At this moment they were encouraged by a succour of 12,000 men under the duke of Berwick, and conciliated by the recall of the princess Orsini, and the French agents, who had rendered themselves unpopular. Won also by the bravery and exertions of Philip himself, they rallied round their acknowledged sovereign, and, instead of waiting for an attack, became themselves the assailants. After a campaign, in which both parties re- spectively invaded each other's territories, though the advantage remained on the side of the Spaniards, the two armies retired into winter-quarters within their respective frontiers. While the united troops attacked the western provinces of Spain, the English fleet, which had landed Charles at Lisbon, after a fruitless attempt to surprise Barcelona, joined a squadron under Sir Cloudesley Shovel, sailed in search of the French fleet from Brest, and in their way took Gibraltar by escalade. They next attacked the French fleet off Malaga ; and though the honours of victory were claimed by both parties, the allies gained the advantage, for the French retired into their ports, and did not venture another engagement during the whole war. The campaign of 1705 was far more favourable to the allies. A Spanish army, after wasting several months in the siege of Gibraltar, was compelled to abandon the enter- prise ; and a French squadron, which blocked up the harbour, was defeated. Spain was attacked on both sides ; the combined forces of the English and Portuguese, under the earl of Galway and the marquis das Minas, bursting from Beyra and Alentejo, opened the frontier by the cap- ture of Valencia, Alcantara, Salvatierre, and Albuquerque : while, on the opposite side, Barcelona was taken by Charles, witli the assistance of the British fleet and forces under the earl of Peterborough ; Catalonia declared for the 1706.] SUCCESS OF THE ALLIES IN SPAIN". 23 house of Austria, and, with the exception of Alicante and Penisola, Arragon and Valencia followed the example. These advantages enabled the allies to make a rapid progress in the ensuing campaign. Philip, after pressing Barcelona to the utmost extremities, was compelled by the arrival of an English fleet tc raise the siege, and, with great difficulty, making a circuit through the mountains of lloussillon and Navarre, again reached his capital on the 9th of December, 170o. The death of Peter II., who had been affected with an hereditary melancholy, gave new vigour to the government of Portugal ; and his son, John V., a prince of great spirit and abilities, supported the cause of Charles with redoubled vigour. England and Holland poured in reinforcements, and a grand project was formed to push the war at once from Catalonia and Portugal, secure the capital, and terminate the contest by a single effort. On one side the Portuguese forces, after reducing Alcantara, penetrated through the province of Salamanca to Madrid, driving before them the small army of Spain under marshal Berwick ; on the other, the army of Charles, having relieved Barcelona, took the route of Arragon, which had revolted, and pushed a corps to the vicinity of the capital ; and the qtieen-mother at Toledo endeavoured to excite the people of New Castile, by raising the standard of Austria. Nothing could have have pre- vented the establishment of Charles II. on the Spanish * throne but the want of promptitude and decision among the allies, and his own uncertain and dilatory spirit. Whilst he wasted much time in forms and ceremonies at Saragossa, Galvvay, remaining inactive at Madrid, suffered Berwick to draw reinforcements from France, and Philip with his spirited queen, to rouse the zeal of the Castilian nobles. In consequence of this impolicy and these delays, the forces of Philip, who seemed on the point of being overwhelmed, again made head, recovered the capital, drove the Portu - guese to their own frontier, and confined Charles with his English auxiliaries to Catalonia, Valencia, and Arragon. Notwithstanding, however, the failure of this grand enter- prise, the allies maintained a footing on both sides of Spain, and possessed the means of renewing their invasion with a still greater prospect of success the ensuing campaign, when they expected reinforcements from Italy ; c 4 24 JOSEPH L [CII. LXXIV. they also obtained some compensation for their losses on the continent by the acquisition of Yvica, Majorca, and part of Minorca, which had been reduced by the British squadrons under the domination of Charles. Chap. LXXIV. — 1707. The pride of Louis being humbled by the disasters of the preceding campaigns, he attempted to divide the allies by offering separate terms of peace. To the Maritime Powers he made a private application soon after the battle of Ramilies, by means of the elector of Bavaria. He gave Charles the option of Spain, and the Indies, or the Italian territories ; proposed to yield a barrier in the Netherlands to the Dutch, to disavow the pretender, and grant great commercial privileges to both nations. These conditions, vague in themselves, and far from affording that security and compensation for which the allies had commenced the war, were scarcely deemed worthy of a discussion. Louis afterwards made a similar application to the emperor, by means of the pope, offering the cession of the Italian terri- tories, with the islands in the Mediterranean ; but this proposal was rejected also with disdain. These attempts, evidently intended to divide or amuse the allies, in some measure produced the desired effect. The emperor was apprehensive lest he, like his father, should be deserted by the Maritime Powers ; and his alarms were increased by the clamours for peace at this time made by the Tory party in England.* The general * It is not without extreme surprise, that we still find historians and writers affecting impartiality, and boasting of information, who revive the Tory clamour, that England in 1706, might have made a safe and honourable peace, and severely censure the conduct of Marl- borough, and the Whig members of administration, for rejecting the terms offered by France. The slightest knowledge of parliamentary transactions will prove, that even if the offers of Louis had been sin- cere, England could not have deserted the house of Austria without a breach of the most solemn engagements. Without enlarging on this hacknicd question, we trust that the narrative in the text, of the events during and since the thirty years' war, will convince the impartial reader, that it would have been no less contrary to sound policy than to good faith, as well as the principles of the Grand Alliance, if England 1707.] THE FRENCH EVACUATE ITALY. 25 unanimity was likewise disturbed by disputes relative to the provisional government of the conquered 'Netherlands : the emperor being desirous to obtain the administration, while the Maritime Powers appropriated the revenues and supreme authority, under the appointment of a council composed of their partisans, who directed the affairs of state in the name of Charles. Besides these causes of disunion, which weakened the force of the Grand Alliance, and the presence of Charles XII., the embarrassments of the emperor were increased by the successful progress of Kagotsky and his partisans, who, rising with new vigour from their recent defeats, had acquired the preponderance in Transylvania, and again began to make a progress in Hungary. Influenced by these motives, and dreading lest the allies should sacrifice Italy as the price of an accommodation, Joseph hastily, on the 13th of February, concluded with France a treaty of neutrality for Italy, by which the French and Spanish troops, amounting to 22,000 men, evacuated all the posts from which they had not been expelled at the close of the preceding campaign. This transaction created great dissatisfaction among the allies, particularly the Mari- time Powers, who objected to the liberation of a force which must have been ultimately reduced to surrender at discretion ; and nothing but the prudence of Marlborough and the caution of Heinsius prevented, at least a division, if not the dissolution of the confederacy. After some dis- cussions, the agreement was ratified on the 16th of March by the duke of Savoy, and the allies, though reluctantly, acquiesced in the transaction. The same motives, however, induced Joseph to turn his views to the reduction of Naples, which from the depressed situation of France, and the un- popularity of the new government, was likely to become an easy conquest. Such were the views and dispositions of all parties at the opening of the campaign. As the French were driven from Italy, a grand project was now formed to penetrate into France from the Netherlands, and from Piedmont. On the side of the Netherlands the arrangement of the plan of operations was easily settled between the two Maritime and Holland bad deserted the common cause for the sake of the illusory advantages offered by Louis. 26 JOSEPH I. [cn. lxxiv. Powers : but in Italy the greatest difficulties arose from the discordant views and interests of the different parties. The emperor and the duke of Savoy proposed to invade Dauphine or the Lyonnais ; the Maritime Powers urged the advantage of penetrating through Provence, and termina- ting the war at a single stroke, by the reduction of Toulon, the seat of the French naval strength in the Mediterranean, the depository of immense magazines, stores, and artillery, and from its local situation, no less than from the dilapi- dated state of its works, incapable of making a long resist- ance. At length the perseverance of the Maritime Powers prevailed. The duke of Savoy was gained by considerable subsidies, by promises of territorial acquisition, and by the offer of commanding the expedition; while Joseph could not in prudence openly oppose the importunities of England and Holland, on whom he depended for support, though he yielded with a reluctance which marked his full disappro- bation of the enterprise. The magazines were to be formed by the duke of Savoy ; the Maritime Powers placed the 25,000 German auxiliaries in their pay at his disposal ; a combined fleet of forty sail was to co-operate with the land forces ; and Eugene, with a corps of imperialists, was to join in the expedition. The most vigorous preparations and earnest representations were made, both by England and Holland, that the forces might be ready to act at an early period, as the success of the enterprise principally depended on anticipating the enemy. But continual obstacles to the expedition arose from the conduct of the emperor. Nothing could prevail on him to suspend his intended invasion of Naples, and two months were wasted in preparations for an enterprise which diminished the forces of the allies, -without weaken- ing those of the enemy. Still further obstacles were derived from the necessity of maintaining 10,000 men in Germany, to watch the king of Sweden, and of sending reinforcements against the rebels in Hungary ; these diver- sions, besides retarding the junction of the troops, reduced the army of Eugene to 12,000 men. This ill-fated enter- prise was still further delayed by a temporary illness of the duke of Savoy, by the difficulty of embarking the artillery and provisions, and finally by the disputes of the duke with the English admiral, relative to the payment of the 1707.] SIEGE OF TOULON. 27 stipulated subsidy. An enterprise, begun under all these disadvantages, must have been directed against an enemy far less vigilant and active than France to prove successful. Troops being left for the security of Piedmont, the army, amounting to 3o,000 men, was put in motion, towards the latter end of June, and, after a feint on the side of Susa, scaled the Col di Tende, and advanced to Nice, while the combined fleet of forty-three sail and lifty-seven transports anchored before Finale. Four ships of war, with a detach- ment of seamen and marines, having dislodged a body of the enemy from the intrenchments which they had formed on the bank of the Var, the allies crossed without loss, left a corps to secure the forts and their bridges, and pushed through the rugged country which borders the Mediter- ranean, without any other delay than waiting for their baggage and provisions. They passed by Antibes, beyond the range of its artillery, and, after a march of eleven days, encamped near Toulon ; while the fleet anchored before the isles of llieres. They had the mortification to find the enemy in a state far different from their expectations. The French court being secretly apprised of their object, had taken measures to frustrate the enterprise. The fortress, which had been greatly neglected, was suddenly put in a state of defence ; the forage destroyed, or carried into the towns ; the passes of the Alps secured ; and marshal Tesse, to whom the com- mand of the army was intrusted, distributed the troops in situations to cover the frontier and accelerate their junction at the point of attack. On the first movement of the allies towards Provence, he hastened to anticipate their arrival before Toulon. Besides a detachment under general Dillon, which had been sent too late to defend the passage of the Var, and had retreated before the allies, his troops marched day and night in scattered parties, or were conveyed in carriages. The first who arrived intrenched themselves under the walls, on the western side, which the allies had not occupied, and the rest pouring in every hour, the whole army assembled within the space of ten days, and formed three intrenched camps, stretching north and west from the walls to the adjacent heights. The nobles of the neigh- bouring provinces marched at the head of their servants and retainers into the city, coined their plate, and pawned 28 JOSEPH li [CII. LXXIV. their jewels to pay the workmen employed on the fortifica- tions. Besides the force thus assembled under the walls, which was already superior to that of the allies, an army was collecting under the duke of Burgundy, from the troops destined for Catalonia, and the reinforcements drawn from Flanders and the Rhine. On the other hand, the allies were embarrassed by the disunion among the commanders, arising from the jealousies which actuated the courts of Vienna and Turin ; for Eugene, instead of the alacrity which he had displayed on other occasions, increased the indecision of the duke of Savoy, by continually expatiating on the difficulties and dangers of the enterprise.* After losing some days in bringing up the artillery from the ships, batteries were opened, the heights of St. Catherine carried, and the fleet began to bombard the city. It was, however, too late. The garrison or rather the army, defended the place with vigour, sunk ships at the entrance of the harbour, kept up an incessant fire from the ramparts, and made several desperate sallies, in one of which they drove the allies from the important post of St. Catherine, on the 29th of July. The army under the duke of Burgundy began to draw near ; the besiegers suffered severely from the scar- city, which was the effect of Tesse's precautions, and a corps under Medavi at Touris, which was rapidly increas- ing, threatened to cut off their communications with Pied- mont. In this situation they relinquished their ill-fated expedition. They completed the reduction of Fort Louis, re-embarked their artillery and ammunition ; and while the fleet divided the attention of the enemy by a bombard- ment, commenced their retreat on the night of the 21st of August. After a march of ten days they repassed the Var, and on the 14th of September again traversed the Col di Tende.t The French commander, who had closely * This expedition is circumstantially described in the Memoirs of the Duke of Marlborough •f Besides the causes above mentioned, Lamberty asserts, on the authority of the duke of Savoy himself, that the siege was raided in consequence of opposition from the emperor, who was alarmed by the declaration of Charles XII., that he would invade the hereditary countries, if Toulon was taken. A remark of Sir Cloudesley Shovel, recorded by the late lord Walpole, proves that the British commander was not sanguine in his hopes of success, from the disinclination of 1707. J FAILURE OF THE ALLIES BEFORE TOULON. 29 followed their rear, without risking an action, threw gar- risons into Nice and Villafranca, and resumed the same defensive dispositions which he had adopted at the opening of the campaign. Thus terminated an expedition in which the allies lost 13,000 men, by sickness or desertion, the failure of which occasioned great discontents in England and Holland, where the most sanguine hopes had been entertained of success. It was attributed to various causes, each nation endeavouring to throw the blame on the other ; but it ap- pears to have been principally derived from the jealousy of the different parties, the lukewarmness of the emperor, and the division of his troops for the conquest of Naples. The allies closed their unfortunate campaign on the 4th of October, by recovering Susa, which excluded the French from Piedmont, and opened a passage into Dauphine. After this exploit the imperial troops retired into winter-quarters in the Ferrarese and Mantuan; the palatine forces marched to the sea to embark for Catalonia, and the Hessians took the route towards Germany. The conquest of Naples, purchased with so dear a sacri- fice, was effected without difficulty. Early in the spring Count Daun, the brave defender of Turin, marching at the head of 10,000 men, through* the ecclesiastical state, awed the pope into compliance, notwithstanding his attachment to the house of Bourbon. Having received a train of artillery at Ancona, he burst into the kingdom of Naples, which he found defenceless, and, seconded by the affection of the people, to whom the viceroy had imprudently dis- tributed arms, he entered the capital without a single skirmish. The prince of Castiglione, who had retired into Apuglia with a body of cavalry, the only force capa- ble of resistance, surrendered ; on the 30th of September, the cities and strongholds followed the example of the capital, except Gaeta, which was taken by storm ; and, before the end of three months, the whole kingdom sub- mitted to Charles. On the side of the Rhine great precautions were taken Eugene, at the commencement of the enterprise. " The duke of Savoy," he said, " is heartily and sincerely for the success of the under- taking, but the disposition of the prince is the reverse, and Toulon will not be taken.'" — Mom. of lord Walpole, p. 6\ 30 JOSEPH I. [cir. lxxiv. to secure the empire by strengthening the lines of Stol- horYen. They were well furnished with artillery, and defended by 20,000 men, a part of the German troops under the margrave of Bareith, who had recently succeeded to the command on the death of the margrave of Baden. But no precautions could compensate for the deficiencies of the contingents, which, from the threatening posture of Charles X1L, were retained by the elector of Saxony and the neighbouring princes for the protection of their own territories, instead of being sent to the Rhine. Villars, the French commander, forced the lines with little diffi- culty, on the 23rd of May seized the magazines, and de- molished the dikes and sluices which strengthened the works. Advancing into the empire, he levied contribu- tions, which the Germans tamely suffered to pass even through their army, for fear of exposing their country to devastation. Having left a corps of cavalry to secure the lines on the Lauter, he followed the margrave, who suc- cessively retreated to Sforzheim, Heilbron, and Gem unci, after throwing garrisons intoFriburgh, Landau, and Philips- burgh. He reduced the petty towns in his route, levied heavy contributions, spread terror on every side, and pushed his party beyond the Danube, even to the plain of Hoch- stadt. He pressed Charles XII., who was then in Saxony, to join him at Nuremberg, and renew the attacks which had been so successfully made against the hereditary terri- tories in the thirty years' war. But fortunately the Swedish monarch, soothed by the conciliating conduct of Joseph, declined his overtures, and the detachments which were drawn from the army of Villars, for the relief of Toulon, checked his career till the affairs of the empire were placed in a more favourable situation. As these reverses were attributed to the indolence and advanced age of the margrave of Bareith, who was still more inactive than his predecessor, Joseph sent his general Ileister to infuse spirit into the troops. He also took mea- sures for securing the strong places of Bavaria, awing the partisans of the elector. To draw the French forces from Suabia and Franconia, the margrave, by his order, made a rapid movement behind the mountains of Wirtemberg to- wards Mentz, joined the troops of Westphalia and other circles, and by this march forced Villars to return to the 1701] SUCCESSES OF THE FRENCH. 31 Rhine. As the junction of the contingents did not yet encourage the margrave to resume offensive operations, the emperor offered the command to George Augustus, duke of Hanover, with the hope of securing the assistance of his pow- erful family. With some difficulty, the resignation of the margrave was procured on the 15th September, and the duke joined the army; but from the lateness of the season, this change produced no important effect ; for after a few skirmishes on both sides of the Rhine, the two armies re- tired into quarters ; the French into Alsace, the Germans along the Rhine, the Maine, and the Neckar. While the progress of the allies was suspended in the Netherlands, Germany, and Piedmont, the Austrian arms experienced a sad reverse in Spain. Louis was enabled, by the neutrality of Italy, to strengthen the army of Ber- wick with 16,000 men, and the duke of Orleans was ap- pointed to the command. On the other hand, although auxiliary troops had been sent from England, the army of Charles was still inferior to that of the enemy. This heterogenous mass, composed of Germans, English, Dutch, Portuguese, and native Spaniards, all animated by national jealousy and religious antipathy, was commanded by officers who were influenced by a similar spirit. The two chiefs, Galway and Das Minas, were continually at variance, each aspiring to the superiority ; the eccentric earl of Peter- borough was disgusted with both ; and general Stanhope, the British envoy, aggravated the disunion by his imperious temper. The court was still more the scene of intrigue than the army. The prince of Lichtenstein, formerly governor of Charles, and now the chief of his household, the duke of Moles, charged with the conduct of political affairs, and the count of Stella, the minister of his pleasures, shared the coniidence of the young monarch. Though jealous of each other, they joined in excluding the native Spaniards from a share in the government ; and Oropesa, the only person whose extensive connections and former services raised him above their power, voluntarily abandoned all share in the administration, under pretence of age and infirmity ; but in reality to avoid giving countenance to the measures of foreigners, which he considered as hostile to the interests of his country. Charles himself was ill calculated to restore strength and 32 JOSEPH I. [cir. lxxiv. union to his party. Though possessing personal courage and literary acquirements, he was distant, formal, reserved, and without energy of mind; a mere puppet in the hands of those who had obtained his confidence ; unable to adopt a decisive line of conduct amidst a variety of jarring opinions, and trifling away his time in frivolous pleasures, and scientific pursuits. With a singular degree of infatu- ation, he commenced the construction of a palace on the very ground which he was still contesting with a powerful rival ; and offended his brave and faithful Catalans by the contributions which he levied for completing this monu- ment of thoughtless extravagance. By these divisions in the court and army, all the designs of the allies were counteracted. The earl of Peterborough, disgusted w r ith being superseded in the command, quitted the army under the pretence of a dispute relative to the system of operations, and indignantly retired to Italy, from whence he again sent his advice to remain on the defensive, backed by the opinion of Eugene. Charles, with some of his vSpanish and German counsellors, was inclined to adopt this advice; but was overruled by the representations of the two commanders, Galway and Das Minas, who threat- ened the suspension of the British subsidy, if the system suggested by Peterborough was pursued. Charles accord- ingly returned in disgust to Catalonia with two regiments, under pretence of securing that province, and left the com- manders with an army of 26,000 men to execute their own plans of operation. The confederate generals, thus freed from control, col- lected their troops, and pushed on to the frontiers of Mercia, with the hope of crushing in detail the forces of Berwick, who were quartered along the frontiers of Arragon and Valencia. The duke retreating, they pressed forward to Almanza ; but as he contrived to detain them till he could concentrate his troops, by throwing garrisons into Chin- chilla and Villena, they soon found themselves threatened by a superior force. Confiding, however, in the courage and ardour of their soldiers, they risked an engagement, and gained considerable advantage, till the Portuguese cavalry, which formed their right wing, gave way, leaving the infantry exposed, and by this disgraceful flight involved the allies in a defeat almost as fatal as that of Blenheim to 1708.] TIIE ALLIES CONCILIATE CIIAJILES XII. 33 the French. Five thousand were slain, eight thousand English and Dutch surrendered after the battle, and the two commanders were desperately wounded. Gal way taking refuge under the walls of Tortosa, was only able to collect 5000 men. The duke of Orleans joined the victo- rious army the following day, and completed the success which had been begun by the skill of Berwick. The loyalty of the Castilians was roused to enthusiasm by the birth of a son to Philip, and they redoubled their efforts to support a native prince. Valencia and Arragon were recovered, deprived of their privileges, and rendered dependencies on Castile ; Lerida, with the contiguous district of Catalonia, was subdued ; and Charles was excluded from all his con- quests in Spain, except a part of Catalonia, with the towns of Alicante and Denia. To complete this series of disasters, Cuidad Ilodrigo was retaken, and Alcantara reduced by the Spanish forces. The dread of an invasion of Portugal induced Galway and Das Minas to embark for Lisbon with the forces under their command ; and the defence of Cata- lonia was left to the discouraged remnant of British and Dutch auxiliaries.* Chap. LXXV.— 1708. The disasters of the Austrian arms in Spain, the failure of the enterprise against Toulon, and the inactivity of the allies in the Netherlands, were the fatal effects derived no less from a want of concert and union, than from the sus- pense and anxiety which the presence of Charles XII. created in every member of the Grand Alliance. Fortu- nately the mutual confidence of the allies was restored by the firmness with which the Maritime Powers rejected the offers of peace ; and the possession of Naples quieted the apprehensions and allayed the jealousy of the emperor. They all cordially united in conciliating Charles XII. ; before the opening of the last campaign, Marlborough him- self repairing toRanstadt in April, 1707, used the influence * For an account of the battle of Almanza, and its fatal conse- quences, see the Memoirs of the Bourbon Kings of Spain, chapter xv. VOL. III. D 34 JOSEPH I. [CH. LXXV. which a general of his talents and fame naturally possessed over a monarch whose whole soul was absorbed in military glory ; and Joseph himself omitted no sacrifice to soothe so terrible an enemy. He delivered up the chamberlain who had insulted the Swedish envoy, confirmed the family com- pact which nominated six successive princes of Holstein Gottorp to the bishopric of Lubec, exempted Bremen and Pomerania from furnishing their contingents during the Spanish war, agreed to re-establish the Lutheran worship in Silesia, and even permitted six new churches to be built for the inhabitants of that persuasion. By these conces- sions he delivered his hereditary territories from invasion, and the empire from a civil war ; and Charles quitted Ger- many to indulge his vindictive spirit against Russia, with the hope of dethroning Peter, as he had dethroned Au- gustus. A change equally favourable to the house of Austria took place in England, where the Tories, who had been secretly favoured by the queen, and had thwarted the ope- rations of the war, were excluded from power, by the dis- mission of Harley their leader, and the re-establishment of the Whigs in the principal departments of state. Marlbo- rough and Godolphin, whose disgrace had been triumphantly announced, rose from their temporary depression, and em- ployed the resources of the country with redoubled vigour. An additional impulse was given to the national spirit by an attempt of the French court to land the Pretender in Scotland, where the number of his partisans was aug- mented by the discontents arising from the recent union with England. This expedition, though frustrated by the vigilance of the English fleet, stimulated the public resent- ment against France, and by contributing to render the Tories still more unpopular, strengthened the power of the Whigs, and increased the influence of the Austrian party. Joseph availed himself of these favourable circumstances to make amends for his remissness during the preceding campaign ; and, although the war still raged in Hungary, prepared to furnish all the assistance which his exhausted resources and numerous embarrassments would permit, to co-operate with the Maritime Powers against the common enemy. By his orders Eugene visited the different courts of the empire, to call forth the exertions of the German 1708.] PLAN OF THE CAMPAIGN. 35 princes. He prevailed on Augustus of Saxony to lead his own contingent to the army ; and by offering to the elector Palatine the restoration of his paternal honours and domi- nions, which had been transferred to the Bavarian house, obtained his promise to employ his whole force in the com- mon cause. Eugene then repaired to the Hague, to settle with Marlborough and the States the arrangements for the campaign. He opened a conference held on this subject with a pathetic detail of the injuries sustained by the im- perial house ; apologised for the recent failures, by describ- ing the difficulties of his sovereign, and announced his resolution, by new exertions, to make ample amends for former deficiencies. He concluded with presenting a plan of operations. He was himself to act on the Moselle, with a separate army of 10,000 imperialists, and 14,000 Pala- tine, Hessian, and Saxon auxiliaries ; while Marlborough pursued his system of attack in the Netherlands, and powerful reinforcements were to be sent to Spain and the Rhine. He announced his hope that the formidable power of the Gallic monarchy would be speedily reduced, and the kingdom of Spain, with its dependencies, restored to the house of Austria, in the person of Charles the lawful sove- reign. He was seconded by Marlborough, who declared the approbation of the queen, and readily obtained the acquiescence of the States. This plan, however, like that of Marlborough before his memorable march to the Danube, was only an ostensible project to deceive the enemy ; for by a secret agreement between the two great generals, Eugene, after collecting his troops on the Moselle, was suddenly to join the allied army in the Netherlands, and assist in striking a decisive blow before the enemy could draw a proportionate reinforcement from the Rhine. The arrangements for this march being settled, Eugene and Marlborough repaired to Hanover, and obtained from the elector, who was to command the German army, his consent to remain on the defensive. Marlbo- rough then returned to the Hague; and Eugene, after visiting Vienna to receive the last instructions of the em- peror, took the route to the Rhine. Early in June he began to assemble the auxiliaries ; and would have fulfilled the concerted plan, had not the elector Palatine delayed the march of the troops, by refusing his co-operation, till he D 2 36 joseph i. [CIT. LXXV. was formally invested with the fifth electorate and the Upper Palatinate. During this unfortunate delay the campaign opened in the Low Countries with a sinister aspect. To oppose the meditated attacks of the allies, exertions no less strenuous had been made by France. The elector of Bavaria with Berwick was sent to the Upper Rhine, to watch the mo- tions of the German army ; Villars was despatched to Lan- guedoc andDauphine, to oppose the duke of Savoy, and quell the disturbances which still reigned among the Protestants in the Cevennes ; and in the Netherlands, whither the court purposed to turn the principal force of the war, every effort was made to collect a powerful army, which was to be commanded by the duke of Burgundy, the fa- vourite grandson of Louis, who was assisted by the coun- sels of the enterprising Vendome. In May the troops on both sides assembled, the allies to the number of 70.000 men, under Marlborough and the Dutch general Overkirk, near Brussels ; the French, to the amount of 80,000, near Mons ; and both parties drained the neighbouring garrisons to augment their strength. The duke of Burgundy had no sooner reached the scene of action than the two armies advanced towards Soignies, as if inclined to open the campaign with an engagement. But the French commanders, who had secured agents to facili- tate the surprise of the principal towns of Flanders, made a sudden march through Neville to Braine TAllieu, and thus drew Marlborough to the neighbourhood of Louvain. Having thus diverted the attention of the British general from the quarter of their intended enterprise, the enemy suddenly decamped on the evening of the 4th of July, de- tached several corps towards the places where they had established a secret correspondence, and rapidly moved to Tubise and Halle, where they purposed to cross the Senne. One of these parties appeared before Ghent at the dawn of the 5th of July, and having by stratagem secured one of the gates, readily obtained the submission of the place, and blockaded a garrison of 300 men in the citadel ; a second was equally successful at Bruges; and after a fruit- less attempt to surprise Damme, took the small but im- portant post of Plassendael, on the canal of Bruges, by storm. 1708.] TEMPORARY SUCCESSES OF TIIE FRENCH. 37 Receiving intelligence of the sudden movement of the enemy towards the Dender, Marlborough broke up from the neighbourhood of Louvaine on the morning of the oth, and crossing the Senne and the canal of Brussels, en- camped between Anderlecht and the mill of Tombeck. From hence he sent a body of cavalry under general Both- mar, with orders to cross the Scheldt near Termond, and if possible to counteract the designs of the enemy on the towns in Flanders. As the French were then traversing the Senne within a short distance of his camp, he hoped to bring them to an engagement before they could reach the Dender. He therefore sent out a detachment to harass them in their march, and prepared to move at the dawn. The prompti- tude of the enemy, however, baffled his design. They ef- fected the passage of the Dender with the loss of part of their baggage and 300 prisoners, and descending the stream, took post between Alost and Oerdegem, with a view of threatening Brussels, and covering the attack against the citadel of Ghent. Marlborough accordingly advanced to Asch on the evening of the 6th, to dispel the alarm which reigned among the inhabitants of that large and opulent capital. Here he was cheered by the arrival of Eugene, who, finding it impossible to effect a junction with his own troops, hastened from Maestricht to take a personal share in the expected conflict. At this crisis the citadel of Ghent surrendered, and the enemy prepared to accomplish their ultimate designs, by the reduction of Oudenard, the key of Flanders, the chief avenue to the other fortresses of the allies in that province, and the only channel of communication with the coast. The place was invested on the morning of the 9th, a train of heavy artillery ordered from Tourney, and to cover the siege, they prepared to occupy the strong camp of Lessines on the Dender. But they were exposed to a general whose resources were inexhaustible, and whose promptitude and activity were seldom paralleled. Though suffering under bodily indisposition, the vigorous mind of Marlborough was un- impaired, and he hastened to anticipate their design. The roads being previously cleared, the allied army again broke D 3 38 JOSEPH I. [CH. LXXV. up at two in the morning of the 9th, and while they halted a few hours at Herfelingen, general Cadogan, with eight battalions and as many squadrons, was sent forward to throw bridges over the Dender, and take post at Lessines. He effected his object at midnight, and in the morning the whole army, which had resumed its march at the evening tattoo, was posted beyond the Dender. The enemy, little expecting that their able antagonist would traverse twice the distance in the same space of time, were rapidly ap- proaching the spot ; but perceiving the allies in position, they turned to the right, and hastened towards Gavre, with the hope of covering themselves behind the line of the Scheld. This disappointment aggravated the disputes which already reigned betwen the duke of Burgundy and Vendome, and destroyed that unity of action and counsel, which were indispensable in so delicate and critical a situation. During the night of the 10th Marlborough and Eugene prepared for an immediate engagement ; although they had yet a space of fifteen miles to traverse, and a rapid stream to cross, before they could come in contact with the enemy. As before, a strong detachment, with thirty-two pieces of artillery, were sent forward under the command of Cadogan and Kantzue, with orders to clear the roads and throw bridges over the Scheld, in the vicinity of Oudenard. Departing at the dawn of the 11th, the de- tachment was followed at eight by the whole army, in four columns, the cavalry leading the march, and the artillery in the rear. About ten in the morning the allied detachment reached the Scheld, between the town and abbey of Eename, and commenced the construction of the bridges. The enemy at the same moment had begun the passage of the river at Gavre, two leagues below, and so little suspected the ap- proach of the allies, that their advanced guard, under the marquis de Biron, drew towards Eyne and Ruybrock, and began to disperse for forage. In the interim the allied detachment had completed their bridges ; and as the leading columns of the main body were approaching, they passed the river, left four battalions to guard the pontoons, and took post with the remainder on the high ground between Eyne and Bevere. Discovering the 1708.] PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE. 39 foraging parties of the enemy, Cadogan pushed forward the cavalry, who attacked and drove them towards Lynnghem, making several prisoners. The assailants were, however, repulsed in their turn by Biron ; but perceiving the allied detachment in position, and the columns of cavalry crossing the river, he withdrew from a fear of being overwhelmed by superior force. Indeed his apprehensions were not without foundation, for the two confederate generals hear- ing that the enemy were passing at Gavre, were alarmed for the safety of their detachment, and hastening forward at full gallop, with the second column of cavalry, reached the bridges at the moment of the skirmish. The appearance of the allies created a general sensation throughout the French ranks ; but Vendome conceiving that the main body was still too far distant to form, before he could mature his preparations for an attack, directed seven battalions to occupy the village of Ileurne, and part of the cavalry of the right to draw up near the windmill. Under cover of this disposition, he intended to place his left in the plain of Ileurne, and extend his right across the Boxer Couter towards Mooreghem. This arrangement was, however, countermanded by the duke of Burgundy, who conceived that the high ground of Huyse, with the Norken in front, would afford a more eligible position. In the midst of the indecision created by this evolution, the seven battalions, instead of occuping Heurne, advanced and took post at Eyne, where they were placed beyond the reach of protection by the change in the direction of the main body. Meanwhile the allied commanders hastened the march of their columns, superintended the passage of the Scheld, and posted the troops as they arrived. About two the second column of cavalry was placed in front of Bevere, and a battery of six pieces planted on the hill above Schaerken ; at three, the first column of cavalry filed through Oudenard, and the infantry of the right reached the bridges. The four battalions hitherto posted to guard them joined the advance, and the first blow was struck by an attack on the insulated brigade in the village of Eyne, who were speedily broken, and three entire battalions made prisoners. A small body of cavalry left for their support were next charged, routed, and driven across the Norken, 40 JOSEPH £ [CH. LXXV- among the columns of their own army, who were forming cn the other side. The French commanders now perceived that it was im- possible to retire without an engagement, and active pre- parations were made to repel the impending attack, by placing the army on the high ground of Lede, Huyse, and Maldeghem in two lines, with a reserve. The greater part of the cavalry was posted on the right, opposite Oyke ; the left extended to behind Mullem ; and the front was covered by the Norken and the defiles along its banks. The same perplexity and want of concert which had marked all the preceding operations of the French com- manders, prevailed also at this important crisis. By the direction of the duke of Burgundy, sixteen squadrons under general Grimaldi crossed the Norken, for the pur- pose of ascertaining whether the right wing could advance, and occupy the space between the two rivulets at Diepen- back and Chobou ; but observing the Prussian cavalry already formed, and the British advancing, they fell back to the small plain near the mill of Koyeghem. Vendome directed his left to advance at the same moment, with the view of bringing both wings into action together ; but the duke of Burgundy again countermanded the order, under pretence that an impassable morass separated the two armies on that side; and another invaluable hour was thus lost in useless manoeuvres. These movements did not escape the attention of Marl- borough. To repel the attack which appeared to be menaced on his right, he pushed forward the infantry of Cadogan's detachment into the hedges of Groenvelde, and advancing himself by Ileurne with the Prussian horse, drew them up in front of the enemy. At the same time the first line of the right wing was rapidly formed on the heights of Bevere. At this moment thirty battalions of the enemy's right debouched from the defiles in their front, and after some hesitation attacked the troops posted in the hedges of Groenvelde. A vigorous conflict ensued, and the duke of Argyle, who led the British infantry, hastened with twenty battalions and a few pieces of cannon to the assistance of the forces engaged. Still, however, the remainder of the enemy's right, following the direction of their companions 1708.] THE BATTLE OF DIEPENBECK. 41 gradually prolonged the line till they outflanked some Prussian cavalry on the left of the British ; and driving them back, occupied Barwaen and the farm of Banlancy. They were, however, attacked in their turn by count Lottum, with the second column of infantry, who recovered the lost ground, and drove them across the rivulet. Marlborough and Eugene, who had hitherto remained together, now separated, and Eugene repaired to the right to assume the command of that wing, comprising the British troops. Foreseeing that the stress of the action would lie on this quarter, Marlborough ordered count Lottum with twenty battalions to prolong his own right, and strengthen the wing under Eugene. The opening which this movement occasioned between the castle of Bevere and Schaerken was filled up by eighteen battalions from the right of the left wing, who had formed across the Boxer Couter, with the left in front of Mooreghem. In the interval the corps of Cadogan had been driven from the coverts and avenues near llerlehem into the plain; but Eugene advancing with this new accession of strength, broke the first line of the enemy, and general Natzmer, with the Prussian gens d'armes and cuirassiers, charged through the second, into the small plain near the chapel of Royeghem. But his career being checked by the house- hold troops, and his ranks thinned by the fire of musketry which flashed from every hedge, he lost half his men, and escaped himself with the utmost difficulty. While the action thus raged on the right, Marlborough, with the Hanoverian and Dutch battalions, had pressed forward, driving the enemy from inclosure to inclosure, till he reached the hamlet of Diepenbeck. From hence he discovered that the enemy had neglected to occupy the commanding ground above the mill at Oyke, which seemed to afford an opportunity of turning their right and cutting it from the main body. He therefore requested marshal Overkirk, who had brought up the rear, with nearly all the cavalry of the left, and twenty battalions of Dutch and Danes, to execute this bold and decisive manoeuvre ; and the veteran hero performed this his last effort in the field with a spirit worthy of his early days. His troops having deployed, two brigades forced the ravines near the castle of Beverc ; and the prince Oxenstiern immediately ascended 42 JOSEPH I. [CII. LXXV. the hill of Oyke with the remainder of the twenty bat- talions sustained by the cavalry. The whole mass changing front to the right, extended their left towards the Keele ; and the prince of Orange, sustained by thirteen squadrons, rushed with the infantry down the height overlooking Ma- rollen, penetrated through the defiles, dislodged a corps of French grenadiers from the hedges which skirted the ex- tremity of the plain, and cut to pieces the greater part of the cavalry posted to sustain them. Amidst these multiplied attacks, the enemy slackened in their resistance, and Marlborough still gaining ground, established his line between Chobon and Diepenbeck. Ven- dome indeed made an effort to avert the fate of his troops by leading his infantry near Mullein, to the rescue of their companions ; but this body, inferior in numbers, subdued in spirit, and entangled by the intricacy of the ground, could make no impression. Darkness now enveloped the contending hosts, and the peals of musketry continued to roll round the narrowing circle of the devoted army, till the right of Eugene and the left of the prince of Orange approached the same point. They mistook each other for enemies, and a mutual carnage would have ensued, had not the commanders made prompt and effectual endeavours to stop the firing and halt the troops as they stood. To this measure many of the enemy owed their safety. Favoured by the obscurity, numbers slipped through an opening near the castle of Bevere, and fled towards the French frontier ; some endeavoured to join their left wing in the direction of Mullem, and others wandering to the allied posts, were made prisoners. Vendome perceiving the destruction of his right wing inevitable, retired with the infantry, which was still posted on the bank of the Norken, and joined the left at Huyse and St. Denast. He urged the duke of Burgundy and a crowd of panic-struck generals to take advantage of the night, and restore order ; but finding his arguments nuga- tory, he gave the word for a retreat, and generals and privates, horse and foot, instantly hurried in the utmost disorder towards Ghent. With difficulty he persuaded twenty-five squadrons and some battalions to remain united, and with this body he covered the flight of the crowd, and repulsed the attack of an allied detachment, who were sent 1708.] SIEGE OF LILLE. 43 in pursuit the ensuing morning. At Ghent he overruled the timid counsels of the prince, who proposed to retire into France, and took post on the canal leading from Ghent to Bruges, at once to secure his recent conquests, and prevent the allies from attacking the fortresses of the Scheld or the Lys. This victory was purchased with the loss of 3000 men on the part of the confederates, while that of the French amounted to above 15,000 in killed, wounded, and pri- soners. Distraction, mistrust, and consternation pervaded every rank of the French army; the jealousies of the command- ers were increased by ill success, the fortresses, drained of troops, seemed likely to fall an easy conquest, and an ill- defended barrier presented a feeble obstacle to the progress of the victorious army. But in this critical emergency the danger was suspended by marshal Berwick, who, following the imperialists from the Moselle, had reached the Sambre the day after the defeat of the main army. He exerted himself with uncommon activity to secure the frontier, collected the fugitives who had fled to Courtray, threw garrisons into Lille, Tournay, and the fortresses more im- mediately exposed to an attack, and took post with the remainder of his troops in the vicinity of Douay. Such was the situation of the contending parties before the siege of Lille, the first and fairest of all the French conquests on the side of the Netherlands, a place on which Vauban had exhausted his skill, garrisoned by above 13,000 men, and commanded by marshal Boufflers, an offi- cer distinguished for experience, courage, and perseverance. As the allies had now a strong though discomfited army in their rear, and a force gradually increasing in front, the de- sign was considered as desperate both by friends and enemies ; and Vendome derided their attempts to form a siege while he was master of a post which enabled him to intorrupt their supplies. But the fertile genius of Eugene and Marlborough overcame obstacles apparently insuperable. Only two days after the battle, the lines which the French had thrown up between Warneton and Ypres were razed, the army crossed the Lys, and detachments occupied the posts of Lens and La Basce. Troops were likewise sent to Oudenard and Uousselaer to cut otf the supplies which the 44 josErn i. [CH. LXXV. enemy drew from Tournay and Ypres, and an inundation was formed by the governor of Ostend, to deprive them of their communication along the coast. As the French, by the possession of Ghent, were masters of the principal canals and rivers, a more circuitous communication was opened through Brussels. The train of battering artillery, with all the requisites for a long siege, which had been conveyed by sea to Saas van Ghent and Antwerp, was transported to Brussels, and another drawn from Maastricht. This im- portant convoy was protected in its march by the army of Eugene, passed the Scheld between Oudenard and Tournay, and reached the confederate camp in safety, notwithstanding the difficulties of the transport and the vicinity of the enemy. Lille was instantly invested ; Eugene, with 30,000 men, carried on the siege, while Marlborough, with the main army, covered his operations. The Duke of Burgundy and Vendome, leaving La Motte with 8000 men to maintain the post at Ghent, united with the troops of Berwick at Ninove, crossed the Scheld at Tournay, and moved towards the source of the Marque, with a view to break through the lines of circumvallation. As Marlborough followed their movements, and took a strong position between the Deule and the Marque, they opened roads through the defiles which separated the two armies, drew a train of heavy artillery from Douay, and made preparations to risk an engagement for the relief of the place. But the allies having no less actively em- ployed the interval in strengthening their position, all the attempts of the enemy terminated in the attack of an out- post and a fruitless cannonade. Foiled in this design, they re-crossed the Scheld, extended themselves along its bank from Berken to Saulsoy, and threw up intrenchments before Oudenard, while La Motte advanced from Ghent to surprise Brussels, which was thus insulated from the main army. These projects did not escape the vigilance of Marl- borough. He ordered troops from the Dutch garrisons in Flanders to succour Brussels, sent a strong corps to Oude- nard, and took post between Seers and Foret, on the Marque. To open a new channel of communication for the supplies, he caused a corps, which had been assembled in England for alarming the coast of France to land at Ostend, and oc- 1708.] SIEGE OF LILLE. 45 cup}- Leffingen, a post commanding the passage of the canal from Bruges to Nieuport. Daring these movements the siege was pushed by Eugene with great vigour and perseverance. The besiegers effected a lodgment on the outworks, though with considerable loss, and Eugene, who exposed himself like a common soldier in rallying and leading the troops to the assault, received a contusion in the head from a musket ball. Happily it was not dangerous, though it prevented him from directing the attacks a few days, during which the conduct of the siege, with the command of the army, devolved on Marlborough. Meanwhile the vigilance and vicinity of the enemy re- duced the allies to great distress for want of ammunition and supplies ; and all the attention of both armies was called forth, one to prevent, the other to secure, the passage of a considerable convoy from Ostend. Detachments to the number of 8000 men were drawn from the main army to cover the road between Ostend and the camp, and Marlbo- rough himself advanced with a corps to Rousselacr ; the troops at Leffingen drained the inundations, occupied Ouden- burg, formed a bridge over the canal, and the convoy began its march. On the other hand, La Motte, with a force aug- mented to 24,000 men, after attempting in vain to secure Oudenburg, pushed towards Tourout to intercept the convoy, on the 28th of September. He was opposed by general Webb, who, though at the head of scarcely 6000 men, posted his small corps with such skill in a defile between the wood of Wynendale and the castle of Tourout, and de- fended himself with such intrepidity, that the French com- mander abandoned the contest with equal loss and disgrace. During the action the convoy passed in safety behind the wood, and reached the place of destination. The failure of this enterprise, with the increasing dis- tresses of the besieged, induced the F rench commanders to redouble their efforts for cutting off the communication of the allies with Ostend, as they had already closed the way to Brussels. Vendome himself repaired to Bruges, assembled 30,000 men, took post on the canal between Plassendael and Nieuport, and broke the dikes to inundate the country. But Marlborough, leaving 12,000 men in his camp at Roncques, advanced with 50,000 as far as Wynendale, and compelled him to fall back behind the canal of Bruges. 46 JOSEPH I. |_CH. LXXV. From this time Marlborough kept the prineipal part of his force between Rousselaer and the Lys, occasionally pushing corps towards Ostend to cover the passage of the stores, which were conveyed in boats over the inundation ; and, notwithstanding all the difficulties of the transport, forwarded a constant supply of provisions and ammunition to the be- sieging army. As a last resource, Vendome commenced a regular attack against Leffingen, which had so greatly fa- voured the passage of the convoys, and gained possession of the place after a siege of eight days. But before he could complete its reduction the town of Lille surrendered. The besiegers, having pushed their works to the covered way, opened breaches in the body of the place, and made pre- parations for an assault, the governor agreed, on the 22d of October, to a capitulation, which Eugene generously al- lowed him to dictate, and retired with 5500 men into the citadel. A garrison of 7000 was sent into the town by Eugene ; after a short cessation of arms, hostilities were recommenced, and the trenches opened against the citadel on the 29th. The French exerted themselves with unabated perse- verance to maintain the advantage which they had gained by the capture of Leffingen. Having thus cut off the only communication with Ostend, and established themselves on the canal of Bruges, they strengthened their position on the Scheld, by augmenting their works, and forming inun- dations above and below Oudenard. Their ministers and agents confidently asserted, that the allies would ultimately be forced to abandon an object for which they had made such long and arduous exertions, and their officers even boasted that the want of necessaries would force the army to surrender. To hasten a triumph so fondly anticipated, a plan was arranged for reducing Brussels. The elector of Bavaria, marching from the .Rhine with 15,000 nu n, commenced a formal attack against the place, hoping that his presence would encourage his partisans to declare in his favour, as his influence had delivered Ghent and Bruges into the hands of the French at the opening of the campaign. The vigilance, activity, and resources of the allied generals increased with the difficulties of their situation. The enemy had no sooner begun to collect troops for the 1708.] SURRENDER OF LILLE. 47 expedition of the elector, than reinforcements from Ostend secured Antwerp, and the governor of Brussels was en- couraged with the promise of immediate support. Pre- parations being previously made for forcing the passage of the Scheld, the object of the elector's attack was no sooner known, than the army w^as put in motion ; the baggage was sent to Oudenard. the troops of Marlborough crossed the Lys, and Eugene advanced from the trenches before Lille with 15,000 men. Favoured by a thick fog they, on the 27th of November, unexpectedly attacked the enemy in three points, at Elseghem, Escanatfe, and Gaveren, drove them from their position, and harassed them in their re- treat towards Ghent and Tournay. After this brilliant action, Eugene returned to press the siege of Lille, and Marlborough continuing to advance, forced the elector, who had opened trenches against Brussels, to retire, with the loss of his artillery and ammunition. Marlborough returned towards the Scheld, to protect the march of the convoys from Brussels, and Eugene resuming the siege, was reinforced by the corps which had been sent to La Bassee. But although he effected a lodgement on the second counterscarp, and although the defeat of the French army on the Scheld annihilated all hopes of relief, the brave governor held out till the 7th of December, when a total want of ammunition compelled him to yield ; and his garrison quitted the ramparts, which they had so intrepidly defended, with the honours of war. On the surrender of the citadel, the French commanders deeming the season too far advanced for any further operation, distributed their troops into quarters. But Eugene and Marlborough closed this glorious campaign on the 30th of December, with the reduction of Ghent, after an investment of only three days ; Bruges and Plassendael were instantly abandoned by the enemy. Having thus recovered posts which were necessary, as well to maintain their conquests as to support their future operations, they distributed their troops in quarters along the Scheld and the Meuse. The diet of the empire commenced the year with the most vigorous resolutions for bringing a powerful army into the field at an early period ; but these resolutions, though supported by threats of military execution and the 43 JOSEPH I. [CII. LXXV. admonitions of the emperor, did not stimulate the indolence or quiet the jealousies of the German princes, and their exertions were made with the usual tardiness and reluct- ance. In consequence of the detachments respectively drawn by the French and allies to the Low Countries, the whole campaign was spent in almost total inaction. On the side of Italy, the duke of Savoy, at the head of his own troops and the auxiliaries, was baffled in all his attempts to penetrate into Dauphine by the vigilance and promptitude of Vi liars ; but he compensated for this dis- appointment, by capturing, in face of the French army, the posts of Exilles, Fenestrelles, and Perouse, which secured the avenues into Piedmont. Hitherto the war in Spain had been principally main- tained by the Maritime Powers, the Portuguese, and the Spanish adherents of Charles ; but in this campaign, Joseph, in conformity with his promise, took a more efficient part, by sending a corps of Germans, under Staremberg. Yet notwithstanding this accession of force, and the arrival of the auxiliary Hessians from Italy, the allies were unable to make head against the enemy, abandoned Denia Tortosa and the town of Alicante, and with difficulty preserved their footing in Catalonia, lint the reduction of Sardinia and Minorca, by the English forces, maintained the honour of their arms in this quarter of Europe, and completed the conquest of all the Spanish islands in the Mediterranean, except Sicily and the isle of Elba. The French being driven from Germany and Italy, Joseph had the means as well as the opportunity of re- storing the imperial authority to a portion of its former splendour, by rewarding his adherents, and punishing the princes who had leagued with his enemies. By a decree of the Aulic Council, published at Vienna with the accus- tomed formalities, Joseph had deprived the electors of Cologne and Bavaria of all their dignities and possessions, and set a price on the head of the elector of Bavaria ; but he had been prevented from carrying this sentence into execution by the remonstrances of the king of Sweden and the German princes, who opposed this act of authority, as contrary to his capitulation. The departure, however, of Charles from Germany, and the successful events of the 1708.] niS INFLUENCE AND ASCENDENCY. 49 campaign enabled the emperor to overrule all opposition. A law of proscription was published in the diet, and Joseph formally invested, on the 21st of July, 1708, the elector palatine with the fifth electorate, and the office of cup-bearer. lie also obtained the unanimous consent of the states to restore Bohemia to all its electoral rights and franchises. He at the same time reconciled the Catholics to the erection of the new electorate, in favour of a Pro- testant family, by agreeing that if the palatine electorate should devolve on a Protestant, the Catholics should still retain the same number of voices in the college, and he thus procured the assent of the diet to the grant made by his father to the house of Hanover. Joseph extended his dominions and influence in Italy, by executing the ban against the dukes of Mantua and Mirandola. He appropriated Mantua, granted the Mont- ferrat to the duke of Savoy, and conferred on the house of Guastalla, who had claimed the succession on the death of the proscribed duke, the petty districts of Sabionetta and Bozzolo. He likewise confiscated Mirandola, and trans- ferred it by sale to the duke of Modena. The humiliation of the pope was another consequence of his ascendency in Italy. Clement XL, of the illustrious house of Albani, who had been raised to the papacy by the influence of France, had, under an affected neutrality, displayed an evident partiality towards the house of Bourbon, during the whole contest for the Spanish succession. By this partiality, as well as by his refusal to acknowledge Charles, he had offended the emperor, and he accelerated a breach by a continued series of petty provocations. The arrest of a Roman gentleman, attached to the imperial embassy, for striking the officers of justice, occasioned an acrimonious discussion, which ended in the abrupt departure of the ambassador from Rome, and the dismission of the nuntio from Vienna. While reparation was demanded for this insult, Clement again exposed his own weakness, by con- testing the right of first petition * in the empire, and by prohibiting the chapter of Hildesheim from admitting a * The right of first petition is similar to the option of archbishops of Canterbury and York, on the consecration of each bishop in their respective jurisdictions. VOL. III. E 50 JOSEPH L [CII. LXXV. canon recommended by Joseph. Neither the failure of these attempts, nor the preponderance of the imperial arms in Italy, deterred Clement from continuing his impotent opposition against the head of the empire. As the German troops had spread themselves over the ecclesiastical state, committing great irregularities, had levied contributions on the clergy in the duchy of Parma, and extorted a con- siderable sum from the duke as a compensation for ex- emption from quarters, the pope annulled this agreement, and issued a bull of excommunication against those who collected these contributions. The imperial agents at Rome, having published circular letters against the ecclesiastical censures, and asserted the feudal superiority of the emperor over all the cities of Italy, the anger of Clement was roused almost to frenzy by this contempt of his authority. Incited by the representations of marshal Tesse, the French minister, and encouraged by the promises of support from the house of Bourbon, he endeavoured to revive the reli- gious leagues. He accordingly obtained contributions from the cardinals, opened the treasures deposited in the castle of St. Angelo, made preparations for war, and imitated the example of his martial predecessor Julius II., by reviewing the troops in person. Flattering himself that his menaces and threatening posture would awe the emperor, he announced his purposes in an admonitory letter written with the usual arrogance of the papal court, in the time of its uncontested supremacy. But the time of anathemas was past. Joseph equally despising the spiritual and temporal arms of the church, annulled the bull, confiscated the papal revenues in the Milanese and Naples, and cardinal Grimaldi, the imperial viceroy, not only declared that kingdom independent, but even claimed Benevento and Avignon. At the same time count Daun dissipated the tumultuary bands of the church, captured Commacchio, besieged Ferrara, and advanced to Bologna, while a corps from Naples threatened the frontier, and a squadron of the Maritime Powers blockaded the ports of the ecclesiastical state. Although no succour arrived from France or Spain, and not a single state of Italy ventured to arm in his favour, Clement still maintained his impolitic firmness, assembled a conclave, and proposed once more to transfer the see to 1709.] PROGRESS OF THE WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 51 Avignon. But the cardinals were unwilling to sacrifice the luxuries of Italy, and become dependents on France ; and the dread of another sack of Rome compelled the de- graded pontiff to accept the terms dictated by the court of Vienna. He agreed to continue an imperial garrison in Commacchio, till all arrangements were completed, referred the dispute relative to Parma and Placentia to arbitration, acknowledged Charles as a king ; and promised to reduce his army to 5000 men, and to allow the imperialists quar- ters, and a free passage through his territories. Chap. LXXYI. — 1709. In the midst of the former campaign, Marlborough himself made private overtures for peace, through the medium of his nephew, marshal Berwick, and offered to exert his in- fluence in procuring the consent of the belligerent powers. But this offer being tendered during the siege of Lille, when the allied army was supposed to be reduced to the greatest straits, was contemptuously rejected by the French court. The final triumph of the confederates, the distresses of a dreadful famine in France, and the increasing burdens of the war, again induced Louis himself to make new pro- posals during the winter, as well to gain time as to detach some of his enemies, or at least to excite the enthusiasm of his own subjects, by an affected display of moderation. Instead, however, of a public and general offer, Louis followed the system which he had before so successfully employed, and secretly tempted the States with commercial advantages, and the formation of a strong barrier in the Netherlands. After various communications by means of his agents in Holland, he despatched Rouille, president of the parliament of Paris, to open a formal though clandestine negotiation with the States ; repeated and even enlarged his former offers ; affected a readiness to agree to a partition of the Spanish monarchy, by which Philip was to retain only Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia ; proposed to renew the stipulations of the peace of Ryswick, professed a disposition to meet the claims of England, made vague promises of satisfaction to Savoy and Portugal, and omitted no lure s 2 52 josErn i. [CII. LXXVI. which was likely to detach the States, or furnish them with a pretext for deserting the common cause. The secret conferences heing interrupted by the refusal of the States to continue the negotiation without the con- currence of the allies, Eugene and Marlborough were admitted on the part of England and the emperor, the former accompanied by count Sinzendorf, and the latter by lord Townshend, a staunch Whig, and a supporter of the Austrian interest. Their interference soon damped the hopes which Louis had entertained of breaking the confederacy. Eugene announced the resolution of the emperor, not to be satisfied with less than the cession of the whole Spanish monarchy, and the revival of those stipulations in the treaty of Westphalia which related to Austria and the empire ; Marlborough corroborated this declaration by asserting that England would conclude no peace in which the interests of all her allies were not comprised. They insisted also on the discontinuance of all secret conferences, and on the im- mediate dismission of Rouille, except France would un- equivocally agree to comply with these demands. Still, however, the French monarch continued to keep alive the negotiation by new promises and new offers, held out the prospect of a partition of Spain, and redoubled his efforts to gain the Dutch. But unable to break the unani- mity of the confederates, pressed by the increasing dis- tresses of his country, and embarrassed by the cabals of his court and family, he affected a compliance with all their demands, and sent his confidental minister, Torcy, in disguise to Holland. Torcy, more plausible and more deeply versed in the arts of negotiation, pursued the same line of conduct as Rouille, though with greater finesse and duplicity. Under a seeming readiness to assent to every reasonable claim, he evaded by equivocations and captious explanations the demands of the emperor and the duke of Savoy, and endeavoured to shake the resolution of the Maritime Powers, by offering a ready compliance with the conditions in which their interests were peculiarly con- cerned. While Louis was thus publicly amusing the allies, he omitted no private intrigue to sow suspicions among them. His agents in England and Holland endeavoured to revive the public jealousy of the house of Austria, and laboured 1709.] PRELIMINARIES FOR PEACE. 53 to excite animosity against the partisans of the war. He tampered with the duke of Savoy, who was disgusted with the court of Vienna, endeavoured to tempt the fidelity of the Dutch deputy Vanderdussen, and offered an enormous bribe even to Marlborough himself.* But these and other artifices were defeated by the mutual confidence and good faith of the allies, and still more by the penetration and firmness of Eugene and Marlborough, who "treated the peace as they had managed the war, and baffled the stratagems of the French ministers as well as the schemes of the French generals." At length Torcy, foiled in all his arts, requested their ultimatum ; and the ministers of the belligerent powers, to prevent jealousies or separation of interests, as well as to avoid fruitless discussions, drew up a series of prelimi- naries as the basis of the peace, from which they solemnly agreed not to deviate. The whole monarchy of Spain was to be yielded to the house of Austria, and Charles acknowledged by Louis. To secure the fulfilment of this condition, if Philip refused his compliance beyond the term of two months, the French troops and succours were to be withdrawn, and Louis to act in conjunction with the allies for effecting its complete execution. The monarchy was to remain entire in the house of Austria, and the throne was never to be filled by a prince of the house of Bourbon. Finally F ranee was not even to trade to the Spanish Indies ; and was to restore all the places occupied in the Nether- lands, except the towns which were to be given up as a barrier to the Dutch. France was to cede Strasburgh with the fort of Kehl, to the empire, to possess Alsace, according to the literal terms of the treaty of Munster, or the right of prefecture over the ten towns, restoring the fortifications to the same state as before that treaty ; to relinquish Landau to the empire, Brisach to the house of Austria; and to demolish the fortifications on the Rhine from Basle to * Torcy offered to Marlborough 2,000,000 livres, if he would secure Naples and Sicily, or even Naples, to Philip ; the same gratification for Dunkirk or Strasburgh ; 3,000,000 for Naples, with Dunkirk or Strasburgh, and Landau, or Dunkirk and Strasburgh alone ; and 4,000,000 for Naples and Sicily, with Dunkirk, Strasburgh, and Lan- dau. It is perhaps scarcely necessary to add, that Marlborough did not even deign to return an answer to this proposal. — Torcy, t. ii. p. 238. K 3 54 JOSEPH L [CH. LXXVI. Philipsburgh. The clause relative to religion in the treaty of Ryswick, which had created such discontents, was to be referred to future discussion. In regard to England, Louis was to acknowledge the Protestant succession ; cede the French possessions in Newfoundland ; restore all his con- quests during the war ; raze the fortifications, and fill up the port of Dunkirk, and send away the pretender. He was to approve the concessions made to the Portuguese monarch ; to acknowledge the king of Prussia, and acqui- esce in his possession of Neufchatel and Vallengin ; to refer the affairs of Bologne and Bavaria to the empire ; to approve the cessions granted to the Elector Palatine, and acknowledge the ninth electorate in the House of Hanover. To the States he was to yield Furnes, Ambach, Knoque, Me n in, Ypres, Warneton, Comines, Warwick, Popernigen, Lille, Tournay, Conde, and Maubeuge, as a barrier ; to revive the commercial privileges granted by the treaty of Ryswick, and allow them to retain garrisons in Huy, the citadel of Liege, and Bonn. On the ratification of these preliminaries, Louis was to evacuate Namur, Charleroy, Luxemburgh. Conde, Tournay, Maubeuge, Neuport, Furnes, Knoque, and Ypres, and raze Dunkirk. A cessation of arms was to be concluded for two months, and the congress for the negotiation of a general peace to commence at the Hague on the 25th of June. All the confederates were empowered to produce new preten- sions, but no future demands of either party were to inter- rupt the armistice ; and the cessation of arms was to con- tinue till the conclusion of a general peace, if the monarchy of Spain was restored, and the articles of the preliminaries duly executed. It was not to be expected that a sovereign so ambitious, and so long accustomed to domineer, should sacrifice his grandson and relinquish the principal fruits of his arms and policy till driven to still greater extremities. Louis, therefore, rejected the preliminaries without delay, declar- ing, that if compelled to continue the war, he would wage it against his natural enemies, and not against his grand- son. He once more appealed to his people, displayed the cruelty and dishonour of being reduced to dethrone his own grandson, expatiated on the arrogance and exorbitant demands of the allies, roused the languid spirit of the 1709.] RENEWAL OF HOSTILITIES. 55 nation, and again brought a force into the field sufficiently powerful to keep the balance of the war suspended. In the midst of these transactions, the allies imprudently omitted to embrace an opportunity of detaching from France her only remaining ally, on terms which would have produced the greatest advantage, and accelerated the termination of the war. The elector of Bavaria, hopeless of repairing his ruined fortunes by the support of Louis, offered to join the confederacy, and surrender Luxemburgh, with the other towns which he still held in the Netherlands, either on the restoration of his own territories, or the grant of an equivalent, for which Mantua or the Nether- lands were proposed. Joseph readily listened to an overture which would have secured Bavaria ; and Marl- borough, who was sensible that this acquisition was almost the only means of balancing the preponderance of France, promised the concurrence of England. But the Dutch, either from jealousy of Austria, or from the dread of seeing a weak prince sovereign of the Netherlands, oppos- ing this accommodation, Joseph reluctantly rejected the overture ; and Louis quieted the fears and regained the confidence of the elector by the prospect of future acquisi- tions, and by the most solemn promises never to desert him. All hopes of peace being thus annihilated, the allies, to use the language of Eugene, " prepared to dictate their terms by means of 150,000 armed plenipotentiaries at the gates of Paris." Joseph was enabled by recent success in Hungary to detach a considerable portion of his force to the scene of action ; and the whole confederacy purposed to make a general attack against the French frontier from Italy, the Rhine, and the Netherlands, leaving the troops in Spain to remain on the defensive* In the Netherlands, both parties took the field towards the beginning of June. The allies, amounting to 110,000 men, full of spirits, and provided with every requisite, assembled under Eugene and Marlborough near Courtray: the French under Villars, the most fortunate and enter- prising of their generals, not inferior in numbers, but in a deplorable state for want of clothing, ammunition, and provisions, took post behind the marshes, stretching from Lens to La Bassee, to cover Douay and Arras. The con- K 4 56 JOSEPH I. [C1I. LXXVI. federates approached their lines, and finding the posi- tion too strong to risk an attack, threatened Ypres, and affected to make preparations for an engagement. Having by these feints induced the French commander to weaken the garrisons, they silently decamped in the night of June 9, at the moment when both armies were hourly expecting the signal for battle, and on the ensuing morning invested Tournay, while their detachments surprised the posts of St. Amand on the Scarpe and Mortagne at the confluence of the Scarpe and Scheld. So rapid and unexpected was the movement, and so prevalent the expectation of a battle, that Villars had reduced the garrison to 8000 ; and a foraging party, sent out by the governor, was cut off by the corps which led the march. Thirty thousand men were appointed for the attacks, and the two armies of Eugene and Marlborough took post between the Scarpe and the Scheld to cover the siege. A flying corps of 10,000 men, which had been left in Brabant, straitened the place on the west, and the battering artillery, which bad been sent as far as Courtray, to increase the uncertainty of the enemy, was remanded and brought up the Scheld.* The attempt of Villars to replace the troops which he had drawn from the garrison, being frustrated by the vigilance of Eugene and Marlborough, he, on the 4th of July, endeavoured to divert their attention by detaching 10,000 men against Warneton, a post which covered the passage from Menin to Lille ; but a strong corps arriving at the moment when the place had been carried by storm, again wrested it from the French. A similar enterprise against Commines was repulsed by the garrison, and the march of a detachment toward St. Guislain, for the purpose of threatening Brabant, was rendered fruitless by inunda- tions and other measures of defence. The channel of the Scheld was cleared to facilitate the transport of supplies, and fortified posts at Marchiennes and Pont a Tressin completed the chain of communications necessary to secure the passage of convoys from Menin through Lille. Villars, baffled by the skill of his antagonists, disap- pointed in his efforts to reinforce the garrison or interrupt the siege, unable to make any important movement for * For an account of the masterly manoeuvres which led to the battle of Malplaquetj see Memoirs of the Duke of Marlborough, chap, lxxxii. 1709.] TO URN AY SURRENDERS TO THE ALLIES. 57 want of provisions and forage, abandoned Tournay to its fate. But to check the progress of the allies after its re- duction, he took post between the Lys and the Scheld, placed a corps on the Haine near St. Guislain to cover his right, and another on the Lys to secure his left. He formed lines and inundations, employed every resource of the military art to strengthen his position, called out the militia of Picardy and the Boulonnois, and drew a rein- forcement of 10,000 men from the Rhine. During these preparations the town of Tournay surren- dered on the 30th of July, and the governor retiring into the citadel, which was remarkable for the strength of its fortifications and numerous counter-mines, protracted his defence till the 4th of September. Though masters of Tournay, the allied generals were unable to pursue their original system of attack by the strong position which Villars had so judiciously taken. Unwilling to risk the rash experiment of assailing a camp which he had employed several weeks to fortify, they en- deavoured to draw him from his post as the only means of engaging him with advantage. Accordingly, on the very day in which the citadel surrendered, they suddenly decamped, detached a corps to drive the French from the Haine, and invested Mons, the capital of Hainault, which was defended by a weak and sickly garrison, ill provided, and, to use the expressions of the French commander, " the hospital of the army." Their plan had the desired effect. Villars assembled his troops on the Honneau, passed the Scheld at Valenciennes, collected reinforcements from the garrisons, and occupied the post of Malplaquet, situated between the source of the Haine and the Sambre. In this situation, which was ren- dered strong by woods and morasses, he hoped again to check the movements of the allies, to confine their opera- tions to the siege of places, which would contribute little to their further progress, and to protect the grand line of fortresses stretching from the Lys to the Meuse. The allies, elated With this advantage, ha-tened to bring on a decisive engagement. They left a corps to blockade Mons, crossed the French lines on the Trouille, on the 9th of September, and reached Blarcgnies at the moment when Villars had taken up his position. As it was then night- 58 JOSEPH I. [CH. LXXYI. fall, they remained under arms till the morning. A council of war was held, and Eugene contended for the necessity of an engagement, before the enemy could render their camp as impregnable as their former position. Being warmly seconded by Marlborough, he overruled the timid opposition of the Dutch deputies ; but unfortunately it was agreed to wait the junction of 10,000 men who had been left at Tournay. These not arriving till the following night, gave time to the enemy to prepare for defence. Their right extended into the w r ood of Lagniere, their left was flanked by the woods of Taniere and Sart ; their centre stretched between the two woods across a plain of 3000 paces in breadth, in which were situated the villages of Aulnoit and Malplaquet. They had constructed in- trenchments and formed barricadoes of trees on both flanks, thrown up one line across the plain behind Aulnoit, and commenced a second before Malplaquet, with a view to take up a new position, where they could present a more extensive front, if driven from their first line. Their in- fantry was partly distributed in the woods, and partly behind their intrcnehments in the plain, their cavalry drawn up in two lines on the open ground beyond, their artillery commanded all the approaches, and the whole presented the appearance of a fortress rather than a camp. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the attack, the allies did not shrink from their original determination. A detachment reduced St. Guillain, on the Haine, which was necessary to favour their retreat in case of a reverse, and preparations w r ere made for the engagement. At break of day of the 11th of September, the generals drew up their troops, and rode between the two armies to examine the ground, under a heavy cannonade, which swept away num- bers in their presence. As they passed they were received with repeated acclamations ; and the soldiers, loudly de- manding the signal for battle, expressed the firmest con- fidence in the skill of their leaders and their own intrepi- dity. Their forces, drawn up before Aulnoit and Blareg- nies, stretched from the wood of Lagniere to the village of Sart ; the infantry in two lines in front, the cavalry in the same order in the rear. As Eugene had been the first to propose an engagement, he took on himself the duty of dislodging the enemy from the woods of Sart and Taniere, 1709.] BATTLE OF MALPLAQUET. 59 which was the most arduous part of the contest ; his troops, therefore, consisting of Austrians and Germans, were placed on the right, and those of England and Holland, under Marlborough, on the left. With loud huzzas, and the discharge of all the artillery, the signal was given for battle. Eugene at the head of his infantry, assisted by a corps of the British, penetrated by three attacks through the wood of Sart ; but in addition to the obstacles of the ground, he experienced the most desperate opposition from the enemy. Animated by the ardour of the contest, he repeatedly rallied his troops, exposing himself like the meanest soldier, and in the foremost ranks was struck by a musket ball in the head. As the blood streamed from the wound, he was entreated to retire and suffer it to be dressed ; but, determined to conquer or die, he replied, " If we fall, what will it profit ; if victorious, we shall have time sufficient to attend to our wounds." After a bloody contest, continually renewed, his troops, animated by his example, dislodged the enemy from the woods, drove them from their works, and Hanked the intrenchments on the plain. But as the French again rallied in the open ground, and presented a new and formidable front, he was unable to emerge from the thickets, and suspended his pro- gress to wait the event of success on other points. During this conflict, the attack was begun at the ex- tremity of the left. The young prince of Orange, impa- tient to emulate the glory of his ancestors, led forty Dutch battalions against eighty of the French, posted on the skirt of the wood of Lagniere, and dislodged them from two of their intrenchments. Repulsed at a third, he rallied his troops, and planted with his own hand the standard on their works ; yet though no exertions of personal valour could avail against so superior a force, he disdained to re- treat, and occupied the attention of the enemy by main- taining himself behind the neighbouring inclosun <. In the centre the vigilant eye of Marlborough watched the progress of the conflict to regulate his own movements. Perceiving that the enemy, to oppose Eugene, had thinned the troops which defended their works on the plain, he seized the critical moment to commence his attack, pushed forward his infantry, and burst through the formidable in- trenchment. While Eugene, on the skirt of the wood, with 60 JOSEPH I. [CH. LXXVI. his artillery poured down destruction on the hostile ranks, the cavalry advanced, and formed under the protection of the infantry ; though frequently repulsed, they as often rallied, and at length broke the squadrons of the enemy, and the whole mass pushing forward separated the right of the French from the left. Victory, which had hovered in sus- pense, now declared for the allies. Villars, being danger- ously wounded at the commencement of the action, Boufflers, on whom the command devolved, gave orders to quit the field. Part of the infantry on the right, skirting the wood, fell back through Bavay towards Maubeuge ; and on the left, Boufflers himself heading the cavalry, covered the fugitives, and retired with the artillery to Valenciennes, unmolested by the victors, who were too much exhausted to interrupt his retreat. Thus terminated, after a desperate struggle of seven hours, one of the most furious battles during the memorable war of the Succession; of the French 14,000 were killed and wounded, and of the allies no less than 20,000 were swept away in this dreadful carnage.* Although their loss was far greater than that of the enemy, yet so imposing is the name of victory, so dis- couraging even a voluntary retreat, that the French suffered the remainder of the campaign to pass without a single effort, dividing their army into two flying camps to cover Maubeuge, Valenciennes, and Quesnoy. The victorious generals returned to their former camp the day after the engagement, prosecuted the siege of Mons without inter- ruption, and forced the town to surrender on the 30th of October. As the season w r as far advanced, the roads broken up by the continual rains, and the forage become scarce, they did not commence the siege of Maubeuge, which had been designated as the next object of attack, but took up winter-quarters, to recruit their forces, and * The Dutch, who suffered most severely in this engagement, and lost nearly two thirds of their infantry, accused both Eugene and Marl- borough of having sacrificed their troops ; and this accusation occa- sioned great discontent on the part of the States during the remainder of the war. But in reality their loss was derived from the imprudent impetuosity of their youthful commander, who, contrary to the general system of the battle, lavished the lives of his soldiers in an unnecessary attack. — See Memoirs of the Duke of Marlborough, ch. lxxxii. 1709.] PROGRESS OF THE WAR IN ITALY. 61 make the necessary preparations for opening the campaign at an early period in the ensuing year. On the side of the Rhine, and in Italy, the operations were planned with unusual boldness, and if successful would have given the last blow to the declining greatness of France. The army of the empire was to invade Alsace, while the troops of the emperor and the duke of Savoy were to penetrate into Dauphine. The two bodies were then to unite in Franche Comte, where the natives were ready to receive them, and commence the ensuing campaign with invading that quarter of France, which was not covered with a formidable line of fortresses, like the frontier on the side of the Netherlands. But this plan, however well con- certed, failed in the execution. The same delays as before took place in all the movements of the Germanic body ; and the military operations were still farther retarded by the disinclination of the elector of Hanover to resume the command. In Italy, likewise, the duke of Savoy, disgusted with the emperor for withholding the territory of the Langhes, which he claimed as a part of the Montferrat, not only relinquished the command, but refused the co- operation of his troops. Though at length soothed by the urgent representations of the Maritime Powers, he did not take the field ; and the army was intrusted to the imperial general count Daun. These delays gave time to the French to complete their measures of defence. When, at length, the armies were put in motion, the superior skill and vigilance of the dukes of Harcourt and Berwick arrested the progress of the allies, and deprived them of the advantages which they possessed from superior numbers. On the side of Alsace the elector was prevented from establishing a passage over the Rhine; on that of Italy Daun was entangled among the Alps, and, after a fruitless struggle of two months, measured back his steps into Piedmont, lest the winter should close the passage, deprive him of subsistence, and preclude his return. 62 Chap. LXXVIL — 1710, 1711. The success of the allied armies in the Netherlands, the loss of the great barrier fortresses Lille and Tournay, the cabals of the court, the exhausted state of the finances, and the universal cry of the country for peace, induced Louis to renew his overtures. After various secret endeavours to obtain some modification of the former preliminaries, he affected to receive them as the basis of the negotiation, with the single exception of a change in those articles which related to the evacuation of the Spanish dominions. Having by this seeming compliance obtained the consent of the Dutch to renew the negotiation, he sent the marshal d'Huxelles, with the Abbe de Polignac, as his plenipoten- tiaries, to confer with the two Dutch deputies employed on the former occasion ; and the village of Gertruydenburg was rendered memorable as the place where the conferences were held. This acquiescence afforded the French monarch an opportunity to amuse the allies with a repetition of the same expedients and cavils as in the preceding year, and again to rouse the zeal of his people by a new display of his numerous concessions, and a new appeal to the national feeling. At the same time this separate negotiation con- tributed to weaken the mutual confidence of the allies. As the importunities of the French plenipotentiaries extorted from the Dutch deputies a kind of tacit acqui- escence, in the proposal of ceding Naples and Sicily, or at least Sicily to Philip, and as this condition found sup- porters among the members of the States, the jealousy of Joseph was again awakened. To prevent a departure from the grand principle laid down in the preliminaries, count Sinzendorf presented to the pensionary and to Marlborough two memorials, discussing the different expedients offered by the French for securing a compensation to Philip ; namely, the cession of Naples and Sicily, Sardinia, with the places on the coast of Tuscany, and the kingdom of Aragon, either jointly or separately. His arguments, supported by the influence of England, overruled the inclination of the Dutch. They declared that Louis, 1710,1711.] FAILURE OF NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE. 63 either by persuasion or force, should procure the com- plete evacuation of Spain and its dependencies, and they even announced the intention of the allies to produce further demands as a compensation for the prosecution of the war, since the rejection of the preliminaries. These demands seem to have been an addition to their barrier, the cession of Alsace to the duke of Loraine, and the reintegration of Loraine, and the three bishoprics with the empire. Louis, thus pressed, made additional offers ; lie tendered four towns in the Netherlands as pledges ; he proposed to cede Alsace, to yield Valenciennes to the Dutch, and even to furnish a monthly subsidy, as far as 1,000,000 livres, to be employed in the expulsion of Philip ; but he clogged these offers with requiring the complete restoration of the electors of Cologne and Bavaria, the renunciation of all further demands, and the mutual re- duction of troops ; he likewise declared his inability to persuade and his resolution not to force his grandson to abandon the Spanish dominions, and accept the compens- ations which he had himself proposed.* As therefore, none of these offers were conformable either to the letter or spirit of the preliminaries, and as the invariable dupli- city of Louis destroyed all confidence in his professions, they rejected his offers, and closed the conferences on the 2oth of July. The States-general justified the conduct of their pleni- potentiaries by a resolution, declaring that the king of France had departed from the basis of the negotiation, by evading the execution of the capital point, the complete restitution of the Spanish territories ; and had no other view than to sow jealousies among the allies. The queen of England approving this resolution, gave new assurances that she would prosecute the war with vigour ; and the emperor expressed his satisfaction in a letter of thanks, giving the States the title of " High and Mighty," which * The same remarks may be applied to the account of this negotia- tion as to that of the former. The Tory writers re-echo the pathetic declamations and invectives with which the French authors abound, give implicit credit to the professions of Louis, adduce his offers as not clogged with any condition, and without adverting to the steps by which France had attained her .aggrandisement, accuse the allies, and Marlborough and Eugene in particular, of prolonging the war from motives of private interest. 64 JOSEPH I. [ch. lxxvti. they had long demanded in vain from the court of Vienna. These negotiations did not retard the operations of the campaign. As the French in the preceding years had dis- concerted the plans of the allies, by taking strong positions behind the numerous streams and rivers which intersect the frontiers of Artois and Hainault, Eugene and Marl- borough conceived the design of breaking this system of defence, by occupying, before the enemy could assemble, the lines which they had formed behind the Deule and the Scarpe, to cover the fortresses on the course of the Lys and the Scheld. At the close of the preceding campaign, they had accordingly concerted the necessary arrangements for taking the field at an earlier season than in any former period of the war. The troops quartered in Brabant and Flanders, being suddenly assembled in the neighbourhood of Tournay, the two generals joined the army in the middle of April, distributed the requisite supplies for a forced march, and, during the night of the 20th, headed the troops, who were divided into two columns, crossed the Deule at Pont a Vendin, and Oby, before the French were apprised of their approach, and drove two corps which had been hastily collected at St. Amand, beyond the Scarpe, and behind the marshes of Lens. They took post on both sides of Douay, a fortress connected by navigable commu- nications with the Lys and the Scheld, and from its strength and position admirably calculated to form a place of arms for supporting their intended inroad into the heart of France. The ensuing days were employed in forming lines of circumvallation, in preparations for the siege, and in se- curing the requisite posts. The castle of Mortagne having been previously captured by a detachment, and St. Amand, Marchiennes, with the abbey of Henon abandoned by the enemy, the communication by the Scheld was opened with Tournay, the sluices on the Deule were repaired, and the same facility given to the communication with Lille. The junction of 20,000 auxiliary Prussians, Palatines, and Hessians, raised the number of the allied forces to 90,000 men, and the two armies were posted in situations best adapted for favouring the passage of convoys, and forming on the right or left of the Scarpe to cover the siege. F orty 1710,1711.] REDUCTION OF DOUAY AND BETHUNE. 65 battalions under the princes of Anlinlt and Nassau were appointed for the attacks ; and the batteries opened on the 11th of May. The approaches were pushed with that vigour which had already distinguished all their opera- tions ; and as the want of necessaries prevented Villars from assembling his army before the beginning of May, they anticipated all his movements for the relief of the place, and reduced the garrison of 8000 men to surrender on the 26th of June. After remaining several days, as well to give repose to their troops as to level the trenches, and put the place in a posture of defence, they recalled their detachments, and advanced to the ground between Lens and the source of the Lave. Deeming it impracticable to dislodge the French commander from the lines which he had formed on the Crinchon for the protection of Arras, they abandoned their design of besieging that fortress, and directed their march to Bethune. The place was invested by 18,000 men on the 16th of July, a strong detachment stationed be- tween Lens and La Basse to secure the passage of convoys from Lille and Tournay, and the trenches opened on the 27th, while the main army took post at Berle, to cover the siege. The French general having thrown a garrison of 9,000 men into the place, under the command of Monsieur de Puy Vauban, a nephew of the celebrated engineer, and having reinforced the neighbouring places, St. Venant, Aire, and Ypres, left Bethune also to its fate. He drew reinforcements from Conde, Valenciennes, and Cambray, followed the movements of the allies, and intrenched him- self between the sources of the Canche and Scarpe. By this position he covered Arras and Ilesdin, and was ready to occupy any point of a barrier formed equally by nature and art, from the sea to the Meuse, by the Canche, the Scarpe, the Senset, the Scheld, the Honnean, and Sambre, strengthened or connected with intrenchments, and sup- ported by the fortresses of Hesdin, St. Pol, Arms. Bou- chain, Valenciennes, Conde, Maubeuge, and Charleroy. In this formidable situation he remained without risking any enterprise, except desultory Bkirmishea or the attack of convoys, till the reduction of Bethune, which yielded on the 29th of August, after a siege of thirty-seven days. VOL. III. f 66 JOSEPH I. [CII. LXXVIT. As the allies were still unable to draw the French to an engagement, and unwilling to risk the desperate enter- prise of again forcing their lines, they employed the re- mainder of the campaign in reducing Aire and St. Venant, the sieges of which they covered by the same position. Success, as before, crowned their arms ; for Villars quitting the army to repair to the waters of Bourbonne, the com- mand was intrusted to Harcourt, who remained inactive during the rest of the campaign. St. Venant surrendered on the 29th of September, thirteen days after the opening of the trenches, and Aire, which from its marshy situation, as well as the strength of its works, was capable of a longer defence, resisted till the 8th of November. After the completion of this enterprise, the confederates re- turned to the plains of Lille, and followed the example of the French, in distributing their troops into quarters. Eugene and Marlborough repaired to the Hague ; and having made the necessary arrangements for the sub- sistence of their forces during the winter, returned, one to Vienna, the other to London, with the hope of com- pleting the humiliation of France in the ensuing campaign. The duke of Savoy being still dissatisfied with the emperor, the command in Italy was again intrusted to count Daun, who was at the head of 45,000 men. While lie penetrated through the valley of Barcellonette, Seissan, a Protestant refugee of Languedoe, was to land with a body of troops at Cette, and rouse his persecuted brethren in Provence and Dauphine, who were no longer awed by a military force. These insurgents were to form a point of union at Die, open a communication with the allies by the Drome and the Yivarais, and thus excluded the French army from Provence. But Berwick, by adopting the same system of operation as in the preceding campaign, pre- vented Daun from establishing himself beyond the Alps ; Seissan had no sooner landed than he was defeated and compelled to re-embark ; the Protestants were overawed ; and the allies, after an arduous campaign, again forced to retire into Piedmont. On the side of the Rhine the two armies continued, as before, wholly on the defensive. 67 Chap. LXXVIII. — 1709-171 1. While the possession of Spain was contested in negotia- tions at Gertruydenberg, and by arms on the frontiers of France, the sceptre itself was wrested from the Austrian grasp. In consequence of the strenuous efforts made by the allies against France, the war in Spain had been Buffered to languish. Since the fatal battle of Almanza, Charles had maintained himself in Catalonia ; and on the opposite side of Spain the united army of Portuguese and English, after being defeated in their attempts to capture liadajoz, remained on the defensive. On the other hand, the dimi- nution of the French forces, which were withdrawn for the defence of their own country, and the discontents excited among the Castilians, by the negotiations for peace, prevented Philip from profiting by the weakness of his antagonist. His embarrassments were also aggravated by divisions in his court. The princess of Orsini with her adherents, who had been dismissed to conciliate the natives, had been reinstated in favour, resumed her former autho- rity, and, assisted by the councils of the financier Amelot, directed the civil and military administration of Spain. By her influence ministers and generals were appointed or displaced ; even the duke of Orleans was deprived of the command, and two of his confidential agents arrested, under the pretext of a real or pretended attempt to supplant Philip. With her influence, and the predominance of her counsels, the antipathy of the nation revived in its full force, and fears were entertained of a general insurrection ; some of the grandees even advised Philip to declare war against France, and the French and Spanish troops even treated each other as enemies. To regain the confidence of his subjects, Philip assembled the cortes of Castile and Arragon at Madrid, and pre- sented to them his infant son Louis, as prince of Asturias, and heir to the crown. He also placed the administration in the hands of the duke of Medina Cell, an ardent Span- iard, vested the command in native izenerals, and in con- F 2 68 JosErn i. [en. Lxxvin. formity with tlie dying advice of Portocarrero* dismissed as before, all his French adherents, except the princess of Orsini, who regained her lost popularity by appearing as the promoter of this change. He likewise profited by the publication of the preliminaries to appeal to the feelings of his subjects, to excite their pity for the hardships of his situation, alarm them with the fear cf dismemberment, and announce his resolution never to abandon a throne endeared to him by the affections of his people, but rather to perish at the head of the last Spanish troop, and tinge with his blood the beloved soil of Castile. By this pathetic appeal, he flattered the pride, and re- vived the hopes of the Castilians. The nobles sent their plate to replenish his treasury, and led their vassals to re- cruit his armies ; and the wealthy ecclesiastics poured out their treasures in support of a monarch, distinguished for his piety, and against a prince whose title was defended by heretics. BlS resolution was strengthened by the promise of Louis never to abandon his cause, and his necessities were relieved by the fortunate arrival of a con- siderable treasure from America. But, at this moment, the renewal of negotiations for peace, and the proposals of Louis to abandon Spain, revived the national ferment, and forced him to dismiss the few French troops who remained in his service, at the time when their bravery and disci- pline were necessary for the maintenance of his crown. Meanwhile the Austrian party had been gaining strength to renew the contest. Being joined by reinforcements, Charles himself, accompanied by count Staremberg, advanced against Philip, and raised the siege of Balaguer, which had been reduced at the close of the preceding year. Strengthened by the arrival of general Stanhope, with * This extraordinary prelate experienced a series of vicissitudes not unusual in the lives of intriguing statesmen. After commencing his career as a partisan of the house of Austria, lie suddenly turned to the house of Bourbon. Having been the principal agent in procuring the crown for Philip of Anjou, he had the mortification to find that he bore the name, without enjoying the substance of power, and he retired in disgust. On the ascendency of Charles, he endeavoured to make amends for his former defection, by again embracing his cause, thun- dered out a Te Deum, and consecrated his standards ; but on the re- verse of circumstances, he closed his versatile life by again enlisting under the banners of the house of Bourbon. He died Sept. 4. 1709. 1709-1711.] SUCCESS OF THE ALLIES IX SPAIN". 69 succours from Italy, he pressed on the retreat of the enemy, and drew near them, soon after they had passed the Noguera, in the neighbourhood of Almenara, on the 27th of July, 1710. Here, from natural indecision, or deference to the advice of Staremberg, Charles would have suffered his rival to escape ; but his reluctance was over- ruled by Stanhope, who at the head of an advanced corps, gained the passage of the Noguera, and threatened, if he declined a battle, to withdraw the troops in British pay. The consent of Charles being extorted, Stanhope attacked a body sent by the enemy to secure the passage over the river, killed one of the Spanish generals with his own hand in the first charge, and totally routed the enemy. The approach of evening alone saved the main army ; for the defeat spread dismay through the Spanish ranks, and Philip himself, with his guards and attendants, sought re- fuge in Lerida. Charles passed the night on the field, and the ardour of Stanhope still continuing to animate his movements, the neighbouring posts were secured, the allies followed the enemy in their retreat, and notwith- standing the extreme heat of the season, the badness of the roads, and want of water and provisions, again overtook them soon after they had passed the Ebro at Saragossa. Without delay they crossed the river, approached the troops of Philip, who were posted on a rising ground near the walls, continued all night under arms, and at break of day commenced the engagement. Stanhope, as before, leading his men to the attack, was seconded by Staremberg, and, after a short, but severe conflict, the allies gained a complete victory over troops who, though superior in number, were confounded by the rapidity of their pursuers, and considered themselves as sacrificed to the insidious policy of the French court. The amount of slain and prisoners Wafi considerable ; the army was dispersed : part fled to Lerida, with the marquis de Buy the commander ; and Philip himself, with a disheartened remnant, hastened to Madrid. Charles entered Saragossa in triumph, amidst the acclamations of the citizens, and gained their affections by restoring their ancient constitution and privileges, which had been abolished by Philip, Had Charles been capable of improving his victory, this successful day might have again restored the crown to r 3 70 josepii i. [CII. LXXVIII. the house of Austria. But those sad jealousies between the commanders, which had before occasioned his reverses, and had broken out even during the march, again revived. Stanhope and Staremberg were continually contesting for pre-eminence. The one frank, impetuous, enterprising, and overbearing ; the other cool, formal, and cautious, in- dignant at the superiority assumed by his rival, and priding himself on his military experience, and the favour of his sovereign. In the discussions for arranging the plan of future operations, Staremberg proposed to reduce the neighbouring provinces before they advanced, and, by the capture of Pampeluna, to shut up the principal passage by which French succours could enter Spain. Stanhope was anxious to crown his brilliant enterprise, by conducting Charles a second time to Madrid ; and both relied on the junction of the Portuguese army. The importunities and threats of Stanhope at last prevailed, and Charles reluc- tantly directed his march to Madrid, on the 28th of Sep- tember. But instead of the Welcome, which a victorious prince might have expected to receive in his capital, a sullen silence reigned in the deserted streets; those, who by bribes or compulsion were induced to mingle their shouts with the acclamations of the soldiery, were shunned as traitors to their lawful king, and enemies to their country, and although a few necessitous or disaffected nobles offered their homage, the body of the people gave signal proofs of dislike to his person, and aversion to his cause. The same disappointment attended his hope of support. Stanhope in vain advanced to Toledo, to facilitate a communication with the Portuguese ; no instances could induce them to quit their own frontier, and the king even refused to weaken his forces by sending the troops in the pay of the Maritime Powers. While Charles remained in a state of indecision, Philip octively employed the interval in repairing his losses. He removed the tribunals and court to Valladolid, sent the queen and the young prince of Asturias to Victoria, col- lected his scattered troops, and raised new levies ; while the fugitives, w T ho had taken refuge in Lerida, assisted by the natives, cut off all the communications of the victorious army between Barcelona and Madrid. That jealousy of France which the nation had cherished in prosperity sub- 1709-1711.] REVERSES OF TIIK ALLIES EN SPAIN. 71 sided in adversity ; the grandees themselves joined Philip in soliciting Louis to furnish succours, and send Vendome, whose services they recollected with gratitude and admira- tion, to assume the direction of the war. Demands which had been anxiously expected were fulfilled without delay. The duke of Noailles, with the forces in Roussillon, pre- pared to penetrate into Catalonia ; Vendome, at the head of 3000 horse, joined Philip at Valladolid, roused the en- thusiasm of the troops, rapidly assembled 30,000 men, and advancing to Almarez on the Tagus, became master of the only communication by which the Portuguese could unite with the allies. During this interval Charles saw his army mouldering away for want of provisions, from excesses, and from assassinations by the natives. Hopeless of support from the Portuguese, and exposed to the enterprises of the Spanish partisans, who pushed their incursions to the capital, he was again distracted by the diversity of opinions among his generals. Some proposed to continue in the heart of Castile ; some to transport the court to Saragossa ; others to regain Catalonia ; and all exhorted him no longer to trust his own person among a hostile people, but to retire to Barcelona. AVliile lie was yet hesitating, a de- serter brought him a letter from his queen, announcing that the advance of Noailles with lo,000 men threatened to cut oft' his retreat. This intelligence, with the approach of Philip and Vendome, extorted the consent of Charles. Madrid was evacuated amidst the execrations and outrages of a people, whose prejudices had been wounded, and whose religion violated; and on quitting the capital, November the 11th, the ears of the fugitive monarch were assailed with the sound of bells, and acclamations of the inhabitants proclaiming the triumph of his rival. After waiting ;i few days between Madrid and Toledo to assemble the troops and secure his passage, Charles, with an escort of 2000 horse, took the route to Barcelona, and was followed by his army, who hoped to pass the chain of mountains which separate Castile and Arragon, before they were overtaken by the enemy. Intluenced by mutual jealousy, OF compelled to divide, for want of quarters, they marched in different columns, all dissatisfied and dispirited, spreading into the villages, and retarded by the badness of the roads, and the F 72 JOSEPH I. [CH. LXXVI1I. extreme severity of the weather. Staremberg led the van with the main body, and Stanhope, at the head of 4000 English, closed the rear with no other means of communi- cation than a few scattered corps, ignorant of the country, and deprived of all intelligence by the hostility of the natives. In this state Staremberg reached Cifuentes, while Stan- hope cantoned his troops in Brihuega, another town on tli3 Tagus, north-east of Guadalaxara. But, as lie was pre- paring to resume his march on the ensuing morning, he Avas surprised with the appearance of the enemy, who had crossed the Tagus at Guadalaxara, and posted themselves between Brihuega and Cifuentes. Though shut up in a small place, with no other defence than a slight wall, without artillery, without provisions, and with little am- munition, he disdained to surrender, and made preparations to defend his post till he could be relieved by Staremberg, to whom he sent repeated messengers, lie maintained himself three days against the continued assaults of the Spanish army, and did not yield till he had exhausted his scanty means of defence, till the enemy had burst into the town, and till even the inhabitants had risen against his troops. It was late in the evening before the account of Stan- hope's danger reached Cifuentes. Staremberg, after pass- ing a night in preparations for his march, waited several hours to collect his scattered forces ; and did not take his departure till mid-day. In consequence of these delays, and the difficulty of clearing a rugged country in so ad- vanced a season, the troops were overtaken by darkness. After lying under arms all night, they pushed forwards to within a league of Briehuga, with the hopes of yet pre- serving the flower of their infantry. But the silence with which their signals were received announced the reduction of the place, and Staremberg observed the Spanish army in battle array, crowning the gentle eminences above the plain of Villa Viciosa. Though his troops were inferior in numbers, and fatigued with a long march, he was too far advanced to retreat in the face of an active enemy. He had scarcely formed his order of battle before the attack began. Conducted by Vendome, and animated by the presence of Philip, the Spaniards rushed to the charge 1705-171L] AFFAIRS OF HUNGARY. 73 with irresistible fury, cut to pieces or dispersed his left wing, and took his baggage. The centre and right, how- ever, repulsed all their assaults, and, after an obstinate and bloody contest, which was only interrupted by darkness, maintained their ground, and captured part of the enemy's artillery. Stareinbcrg passed the following day on the field ; but his baggage lost, his army reduced to 9000 men, harassed by the victorious cavalry, and dreading a new attack, he rendered useless the artillery which he could not convey for want of horses, and took the route of Saragossa. The victory was claimed by both parties and Te Deum was sung both at Barcelona and Madrid; yet whatever honour or advantage Stareinbcrg might have gained in this well -fought conflict, he suffered all the consequences of a defeat. He made a slow and orderly retreat; but he with difficulty forced his way through a rugged and hostile country, in the face of an active and vigilant enemy, and after an arduous march reached Catalonia with no more than 7000 men, the dispirited remnant of that army which, a few months before, seemed master of Spain. Chap. LXXIX 1706-171 L While the principal force of the Grand Alliance had been turned against France, tranquillity was restored in Hun- gary, so long the scene of commotion. Joseph had seen and lamented the fatal effects of the intolerance, cruelty, and impolicy exercised in Hungary by his father, and had in vain used his influence to promote an accommodation. He had no sooner ascended the throne than he turned his attention to terminate a rebellion which distracted his counsels, divided his forces, and exposed the most vulnerable part of his dominions to the open attacks or secret machinations of his enemies. By the constitu- tional intervention of the Palatine, he declared to the states that, as in conformity with his oath, he had never interfered in the government during the life-time of his father, he disclaimed all participation in the persecutions of which they complained. But having now assumed the 74 Joseph i. [CII. LXXIX. supreme authority, lie promised, on the word of a sovereign, to fulfil the articles which he had sworn to observe at his coronation, and summoned a diet for the confirmation of their privileges and the redress of their grievances. He gave likewise a proof of his sincerity by dismissing those ministers who had advised the measures pursued by Leo- pold, and appointing others more inclined to lenity and toleration ; he even removed general Heuster, notwith- standing his eminent services, and conferred the command in Hungary on dTIerbeville, a native of Loraine, and an officer of a more mild and conciliating character. These offers, however, made little impression on the malecontents, who suspected the sincerity of the court, and deemed themselves in a situation to enforce the acceptance of the preliminaries proposed to Leopold. They did not yet venture to throw off their allegiance ; but for the pur- pose of cementing their union and regulating their pro- ceedings, Uagotsky summoned a diet at Setzim. The magnates, prelates, and deputies from the insurgent pro- vinces and royal cities, not in the posses-ion of the impe- rialists, assembled in a tent erected between the two lines of the army; and after the usual celebration of mass by the bishop of Gran, instituted a regular confederacy similar to those of Poland. The administration was assigned to a senate or council of twenty-four members, and the direc- tion of the league, in conjunction with the senate, intrusted to Kagotsky with the title of Dux, or leader. Kagotsky, being elevated on a buckler by the principal magnates, all the members took an oath of fidelity to the government thus provisionally established, and engaged not to conclude peace except on the restoration of their ancient rights. In reply to the offers of the emperor they demanded the cession of Transylvania to their chief, the total abolition of the hereditary sovereignty, the revival of the oath of St. Andrew, with their other religious and civil immuni- ties ; and they affected as a favour to permit Joseph to re- tain his crown, as an elective king, on giving security for the restoration of the elective monarchy after his decease. Joseph, however anxious to turn his whole force against France, could not accept such degrading conditions ; and both parties renewed the war with redoubled vigour. The insurgents were encouraged to provoke a continua- 1709-1711.] AFFAIRS OF TRANSYLVANIA. 75 tion of the contest by the favourable situation of their affairs. They had recovered from their defeat at Tirnau, had driven the Austrian army of 12,000 men to take re- fuge in the isle of Schut, blockaded Leopoldstadt, Pest, Buda, Peterwaradin, and Great Waradin, and spread them- selves along the frontiers of Austria, Styria, and Moravia ; in Transylvania they had also confined general Rabutin to Hermanstadt, and a few neighbouring posts. Their forces were still the same desultory hordes, averse to discipline, and headed by the feudal lords, with little skill or experi- ence ; but they possessed essential advantages in their habits of life and knowledge of the country, and were rendered formidable by their numbers, amounting to 75,000 men. In this desperate crisis the ministers advised Joseph to abandon so distant a country as Transylvania ; but, sen- sible that it was the focus of rebellion, and afforded the principal means of communication with the Turks, he re- jected a proposal equally weak and impolitic, and ordered Herbeville to use his utmost exertions for its recovery. The general executed these orders with admirable skill and promptitude. lie marched behind the Danube, as far as Buda, crossed to Pest, gained the passage of the Teiss at Segedin, though harassed by parties of the insurgents, raised the blockade of Great Waradin, deceived by feints the vigilance of Ragotsky, who had hastened to defend the chain of mountains between Transylvania and Hun- gary, forced the intrenched pass of Sibo, and, on the 22nd of November, 1705, invaded Transylvania with an army augmented by desultory bands of llascians, and other hordes still attached to the house of Austria. After re- lieving Hermanstadt, and uniting with Rabutin, he reduced the whole country, and re-e8tablished the Austrian govern- ment. While the imperial army was engaged in this expedi- tion, Austria, Moravia, and Styria were exposed to tie 4 devastations of the insurgent hordes, who pushed their incursions to the very walls of Vienna, and spreading terror through the neighbouring provinces, were joined by erowds of peasants, lured by the hopes of plunder. Joseph collected troops from all quarters, and drew lines along tl.e most exposed parts of the frontier, to restrain these 76 JOSEPH I. [en. lxxix. predatory inroads. He also redoubled his efforts to pacify the insurgents. He opened a neAV negotiation through the intervention of the English and Dutch ministers, at Tirnau, endeavoured to conciliate Ragotsky by offering him the margraviate of Burgau, as an equivalent for Transylvania, and the restoration of his patrimony in Hungary, with the dignity of a prince of the empire ; and even employed the agency of his wife and sister, whom he liberated from their confinement. He also acknowledged the Hungarian confederacy, and renewed his promises of confirming all the privileges which he had engaged to maintain at his coronation. By means of these concessions, as well as at the instances of the mediating powers, he, in May, 1 706, obtained a temporary cessation of arms, which enabled him to furnish supplies for the blockaded fortresses ; but no lures could tempt Ragotsky to make a separate accom- modation ; and the confederate; states still refused to accept peace on any other terms than those which they had already proposed. Ragotsky, in June, 1707, held a diet in the open air at Onod, in imitation of ancient custom, and with the unani- mous suffrages of the whole confederacy, declared Joseph a tyrant and usurper, who was animated by the innate despotism of the Austrian family. Perceiving that all attempts to accommodate the disputes by the intervention of the diet, would be fruitless, Joseph again had recourse to arms. He drew reinforcements from the Netherlands and the Rhine, made forced levies in the hereditary coun- tries, and sent his most experienced generals to command in Hungary. His efforts were now crowned with repeated successes, because the malecontents, unaccustomed to re- gular warfare, were divided by jealousies, disappointed of those succours which France had so lavishly promised, and discouraged by a bull of excommunication, issued against them by the pope. In this situation of affairs, general Heuster, who was re- appointed to the command, commenced a brilliant career, by suddenly marching from the isle of Schut, crossing the Wag, on the 17th of August, 1708, and surprising the main body of the malecontents, under Ragotsky, who had invested Trentschen, to open a way into Silesia and Mora- via, where he expected to be joined by numerous partisans. 1705-1711.] DEFEAT OF RAGOTSKY. 77 The irresistible shock of disciplined troops broke, at the first onset, the tumultury bands of insurgents, who were unskilfully posted, without confidence in their officers, and commanded by chiefs at variance with each other, or se- cretly inclined to Austria. The combat was short, but the victory was bloody and decisive : 6000 men were left on the field, as many captured ; Ragotsky, stunned by a fall from his horse, escaped with difficulty, and the whole army was dispersed. From this period the fortune of Austria triumphed. Ragotsky could scarcely collect a force suf- ficient to engage in desultory skirmishes ; the misintelli- gence increased among the chiefs ; many of the officers de- serted with whole regiments to the Austrians ; suspicion and despondency reigned among those who from fear, in- terest, or desperation, remained under his standards. The towns and district of the mines in the mountains were the first fruits of this victory ; all Lower Hungary, except Neuhasel, was next reduced; other enterprises, of less im- portance, brought daily new advantages ; and a body of imperialists restored the Austrian government in Transyl- vania, where the natives were jealous of their new prince, and hailed the victorious cause. A desultory army, the forlorn hope of the insurgent party, which had been col- lected with extreme difficulty by Bertzeny, was defeated by general Seckingen at Zadock, on the frontiers of Po- land, on the 22nd of January, 1710; Neuhasel surrendered before the close of the year ; Ragotsky and Bertzeny sought an asylum in Poland ; and Karoly, on whom the command devolved, was left with only 7000 dispirited troops. During this career of victory Joseph acted with equal prudence, lenity, and vigour. To hasten the dissolution of the confederacy, he denounced the penalty of high treason against Ragotsky and all his adherents, who did not return to their allegiance within a limited time ; though, instead of retracting his concessions and imitating the impolitic se- verity of Leopold, he still continued to allure those with forgiveness whom rigour might have driven to desperation, and he omitted no effort to bring his rebellious subjects to a sense of their duty. At the last moment he employed Palfy to enter into a negotiation with Ragotsky ; to the discomfited remnant of his party he condescended to pro- 78 JOSEPH L [CII. LXXIX. pose the same terms which he had held forth to the insur- gents in the height of prosperity. During the absence of Ragotsky in Poland, Karoly listened to the lenient offers of the emperor; and the convention which gave peace to Hungary was arranged at Zatmar, in January, 1711, be- tween Palfy, the imperial general and plenipotentiary, and Karoly, as head of the confederate party. The principal conditions of this celebrated treaty were, a general am- nesty ; the restitution of confiscated property ; the libera- tion of prisoners ; and the exercise of the Protestant reli- gion, as stipulated by the constitutions of the kingdom ; with the confirmation of all rights and immunities approved by Joseph at his coronation, and liberty to propose other grievances for redress at the ensuing diet.* * The confederacy being now entirely dissolved, and all hopes of exciting a new insurrection frustrated, llagotsky dismissed his most faithful retainers, sailed from Dantzic to Hull with a few attendants and from thence embarked for France. He was gratified with a pension of 100,000 livres, under the honourable name of a subsidy, and 40,000 for the support of his adherents ; but he was probably disgusted with this splendid servitude in Fiance, and repaired in 1718 to Spain, whither he was lured by the turbulent Alberoni, with the prospect of assistance to effect a new revolution in Hungary. From hence he went to Constantinople, to encourage the Turks to continue the war against Charles VI. ; but lie found the Ottoman court astounded by the recent defeat of their army under the walls of Belgrade, and on the eve of concluding the peace of Passarovitz. By an article of that peace, llagotsky, with Bertzeny, and some of the other chiefs, who remained faithful to his cause *, were allowed to take up their resi- dence in Turkey, at a distance from the Hungarian frontiers; and from this period he remained tranquil, at the castle of Rodosto, on the sea of Marmora, although his name was made use of by some turbu- lent Hungarians to foment a conspiracy against the government in ]723. Ragotsky left some curious memoirs of his life and actions, from his birth to the termination of the rebellion in Hungary, which are written with candour, and dedicated to Eternal Truth ; and contain a curious narrative of the memorable struggle in Hungary. He gave the strongest marks of attachment to his religion, though accompanied with great liberality of sentiment, and exhibits the uncommon cha- racter of the chief of a party acting from principles of honour, and what he deemed motives of patriotism. His wife emulated his constancy and firmness. "When released from her confinement, and sent by Joseph to gain her husband, she used her influence in persuading him not to desert his cause. On her return * Windisch, p. 195. 1705-1711.] HIS DEATH. 79 Joseph, who esteemed the talents and respected the in- trepidity of Ragotsky, offered to receive him as a generous enemy to whom peace is given, not as a rebel to whom pardon is offered. But the inflexible chief, influenced by an imperious sense of honour, or inspired by republican pride, refused to approve a treaty which had been con- cluded without the participation of the senate, and passed the remainder of his days in exile, rather than owe his honours and estates to a sovereign against whom he had rebelled, but who was worthy of his attachment and emu- lous of his friendship. This negotiation was scarcely brought to a conclusion, and Joseph was beginning to feel the proud satisfaction of giving tranquillity to a country so long distracted by civil commotions, and of being able to turn his whole force against France, when death arrested him in the midst of his short but brilliant career. He expired in the thirty-third year of his age, on the 17th of April, 1711, of the small- pox, a victim to the ignorance of his physicians.* This great and amiable monarch was of the middle sta- ture ; his countenance beautiful and animated; his address and deportment uncommonly pleasing and dignified. Blue eyes, yellow hair, and a complexion remarkably fair, gave him, in early youth, a delicacy of appearance which did she was again confined, but escaping, repaired to the quarters of Charles XII., then in Saxony. She afterwards passed into Poland, and from thence into France, and died in Paris in 1 122. ltagotsky being of a religious disposition, passed great part of his retirement in penitence and devotion, and wrote meditations, hymns, soliloquies, and a commentary on the Pentateuch, the original of which is preserved in the library of St. Germain des Pres, as we are informed by the authors of the Art de Verifier les Dates. lie was father of two sons, Francis and George, who were both edu- cated in the Austrian court, and not permitted to assume the family name, though they were gratified with other titles. Francis was appointed marquis of St. Carlo in the kingdom of Naples, and George marquis of St. Elizabeth in Sicily. 'Hie former died unmarried in 1728, and the latter at Paris, in 1726, leaving no issue by his wife Susanne, of Boil Lippe, and lady of Clere in the Vexin. * The late prince of Auersperg, who was a page to the emperor at the time of his decease, informed Mr. Wraxall, that his physicians, according to the practice of the times, not only excluded the air from his apartment, but swathed him in twenty yards of English scarlet broad cloth, when the disorder was at its height. 80 JOSEPH L j^CII. LXXIX. not announce his native activity or vigour of sentiment ; but as he advanced to manhood, the labours of two trying campaigns, and the incessant fatigues of the chace, wore away this semblance of effeminacy, and brought out a look and deportment more analogous to his real character. Generous, complacent, and benevolent, he found no pleasure greater than that of hearing and relieving the distressed. He had such an aversion to flattery, that he suppressed even the compliments generally introduced into birth-day odes. " I come," he said on these occasions, " not to listen to praises, but to hear music." Though educated in the midst of a bigoted court, and under the auspices of a superstitious father, Joseph was tolerant both in principle and practice. He experienced the most heart- felt satisfaction in alleviating the restraints which his pre- decessors had imposed on his Protestant subjects. He banished from his presence those who had excited the for- mer persecutions, and forbade the Catholic priests to em- ploy in their sermons their customary invectives against other religious sects. Yet this liberality of sentiment was not accompanied with lukewarmness towards the faith in which he was educated, or even with the slightest neglect of religious rites. He gave a proof of judgment and moderation seldom exhibited by a young monarch, of an ardent temper, and impassioned for military glory. Although he had already distinguished his talents in two campaigns, and often ex- pressed his envy at the military career in which his bro- ther was engaged, yet, from the time of his accession, he never put himself at the head of his armies, nor interfered in the conduct of the war ; but left the command of his troops and the arrangement of military operations to his great generals, Heuster, Staremberg, and Eugene, while he more beneficially employed himself in promoting the wel- fare of his country, by superintending the civil administra- tion, and infusing order and justice in every department of government. As a lover and patron of the arts and sciences, Joseph may be classed among the most distinguished of his pre- decessors. Without the pedantry of his father, he pos- sessed that general knowledge and liberal taste which best becomes a sovereign. He spoke, besides his native tongue, 1705-1711.] HIS FAMILY. 81 Spanish, French, Bohemian, and Hungarian, with consi- derable fluency, was master of the Italian dialects, and wrote Latin with facility and elegance. He was versed in different branches of art and science, remarkable for know- ledge of music, and for skill in civil and military archi- tecture ; he excelled in personal accomplishments and manly exercises; and was intimately acquainted with the history and constitutions of the states which he was born to govern. Wilhelmina Amelia, wife of Joseph, was daughter of John Frederic, duke of Hanover, by Benedicta Henrietta, 2>rincess Palatine of the line of Simmeren. She was born at Hanover, in 1673, and bred up in the Catholic religion, which her father had embraced during his travels in Italy. She became, in 1700, the mother of a son, Leopold Joseph ; but the joy which the birth of an heir gave to the father and to the aged Leopold, was soon converted into grief by his death, before he had completed his first year. She bore besides two daughters, Maria Josepha and Maria Amelia. Maria Josepha, who was born in 1699, married Augus- tus, third elector of Saxony and king of Poland ; and Maria Amelia, born in 1701, espoused Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria and emperor of Germany. By the fa- mily compact, concluded in the reign <>t' Leopold, and con- firmed botli by Joseph and his brother Charles, the suc- cession to the Austrian dominions, in failure of issue male, was entailed on these princesses ; but the death of their father frustrated their hopes ; for Charles VI. obliged them, on their respective marriages, to renounce all their claims to the Austrian succession in favour of his own daughters. These princesses were destined to experience singular vicissitudes of fortune. Maria Josepha was left to lament the flight of her husband into Poland, and the occupation of Dresden by the Prussians, at the commencement of the seven years' war, and died in November, 1757, of grief and agitation, the consequences of the harsh treatment which she experienced from the king of Prussia. Maria Amelia, after reluctantly sharing with her husband the transitory honours of queen of Bohemia and archduchess of Austria, saw him driven from his capital, and living in nominal sovereignty, but real dependence on France. On his death vol. in. G 82 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXX. she persuaded her son to make his peace with her cousin Maria Theresa ; and during the remainder of her life en- joyed uninterrupted tranquillity. She died in December, *17o6. Chap. LXXX. — CHARLES VI.— 1685-1712. On the death of Joseph the hopes of the house of Austria and the future destiny of Germany rested on Ciiaklks, who was the only surviving male of his illustrious family. By that event the house of Austria, Germany, and Europe were placed in a new and critical situation. From a prin- ciple of mistaken policy the succession to the hereditary dominions had never been established according to an invariable rule ; for it was not clearly ascertained whether males of the collateral branches should be pieferred to females in lineal descent, an uncertainty which had fre- quently occasioned many vehement disputes. To obviate this evil, as well as to prevent future dis- putes, Leopold had arranged the order of succession : to Joseph he assigned Hungary and Bohemia, and the other hereditary dominions ; and to Charles the crown of Spain, and all the territories which belonged to the Spanish inhe- ritance. Should Joseph die without issue male, the whole succession was to descend to Charles, and in case of his death, under similar circumstances, the Austrian dominions were to devolve on the daughters of Joseph in preference to those of Charles. This family compact was signed by the two brothers in the presence of Leopold. Joseph died without male issue ; but left two daughters, to whom the natural affection of a father might have prompted him to transmit the succession ; yet his prudence and justice prevailed over the sentiments of paternal affec- tion : appreciating the danger of conferring the sceptre on his eldest daughter, who had not yet completed her twelfth year, he confirmed the family compact, and consigned to his mother the temporary administration of affairs. Charles, who now succeeded to the Austrian dominions, was son of the emperor Leopold, by his third wife Eleonora Magdalen, a princess of Palatine Newburgh : he was born 1685-1712.] VISITS QUEEN ANNE AT WINDSOR. 83 in 1685, and educated in the court of his father, under the direction of Anthony prince of Lichtenstein, his governor, and Lavigni, an ecclesiastic of exemplary morals, and of profound and elegant learning He was at this juncture in Spain, defending the crown against his competitor the duke of Anjou, who had assumed the title of Philip V. On the 12th of September, 1703, he had been proclaimed king of Spain, at Vienna, by the title of Charles III. ; being acknowledged by the allied powers, he took his departure on the 19th, and passed through Holland landed at Portsmouth, where he was received by the dukes of Marlborough and Somerset, and conducted by prince George of Denmark to an interview with queen Anne at Windsor. He was then in the eighteenth year of his age, and is thus described by the continuator of Rapin : H The court was very splendid, and much thronged ; the queen's behaviour towards him was very noble and obliging. The young king charmed all who were pre- sent ; he had a gravity beyond his age, tempered with much modesty. His behaviour was in all points so exact, that there was not a circumstance in his whole deport- ment that was liable to censure. He paid an extraordinary respect to the queen, and yet maintained a due greatness in it. He had the art of seeming well pleased with every thing, without so much as smiling once all the while he was at court, which was only three days. He spoke but little, and all he said was judicious and obliging." In the ensuing year the young monarch sailed from Portsmouth with a large fleet, commanded by Sir George Rooke, and a considerable body of land forces under the duke of Schomberg ; but being driven back by a violent tempest, did not reach Lisbon till after the death of the Infanta of Portugal, to whom he wa> betrothed. Having made several ineffectual attempts on the Spanish coasts, Charles at length landed in Catalonia, where he had numerous partisans, at the head of 12,000 men, under the command of the brave and eccentric earl of Peter- borough, and prepared to commence the siege of Barcelona. Although a revolt had taken place among the Catalans, and sanguine hopes were entertained of immediate success, yet the English commander found the scene of affairs far dif- ferent from his expectations. " Instead of 10,000 men in G 2 81 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXX. arms," to use his own words, "to cover his landing, and strengthen his camp, he found only so many higglers and sutlers flocking into it ; instead of a city in a weak con- dition, and ready to surrender upon the appearance of his troops, he found an orderly garrison, and a force almost equal to his own army." In this hopeless situation of affairs, it was unanimously resolved in several councils of war to re-embark the troops ; but this determination was overruled by the spirited reso- lution of Charles to "stay and die with his brave Catalans." The siege was accordingly commenced, the fort of Montjoy was taken by storm, and Charles entering Barcelona in triumph was proclaimed king. Catalonia joyfully received her new master ; and the kingdoms of Arragon and Valentia -were overrun by his arms. But the party of his rival Philip 1 laving regained the ascendency, a combined army of French and Spaniards, led by Philip in person, and commanded by the due de Noailles, drove back his troops, and laid siege to Barcelona. Charles resolved to stand by his capital, and showed more concern for the security of the place than for the safety of his own person. On the advance of the French army, lord Peterborough, alarmed at the danger of the archduke, threw seven or eight hundred men into the town ; the garrison of Guione, with a number of miquelets, also forced their way into the place ; while the English general, with 2.500 troops and miquelets, occupied the heights surrounding the enemy's camp, cut oh 1 their supplies of provisions, and even pre- vented all correspondence by land between Philip and Madrid ; so that the only mode of communication was by sea through Alicant. With all these reinforcements, how- ever, the garrison of Barcelona did not exceed 2500 regular troops, including 800 or 900 English, 600 of whom de- fended the fort of Montjoy. In April, 1706, the French and Spanish army, amount- ing to 20,000 men, commenced the siege by attempting to storm the fort of Montjoy ; but being repulsed with great slaughter, proceeded by regular approaches, and did not compel the garrison to surrender till after a siege of twenty- two days. In consequence of this protracted defence, the troops in 1685-1712.] SIEGE OF BARCELONA. 85 Barcelona were enabled to repair the works of the town, to remount the artillery, and prepare for the approaches of the French, which were carried on with little skill and great caution. By means, however, of their formidable artillery, the enemy in thirty-five days made two breaches in the rampart, one of which was practicable, and advanced even to the covered way. The garrison, reduced to 2000 men, were wholly employed behind the breaches, while the inhabitants guarded the remainder of the works. In this situation the enemy might have carried the town by assault, had they not been intimidated by the desperate resistance of the garrison of Montjoy, and by the loss of their best engineer, Lapara, who had been killed in the attack of that fort. The resolution of Charles rather to be buried under the ruins of his capital than to yield, preserved Barcelona, as the inhabitants were animated by his presence and example to make a desperate resistance. His prudent and spirited conduct on this memorable occasion is described by Mr. Walpole, who witnessed the relief of Barcelona: ''The king's presence and example, who frequently Bhowed him- self in places of most danger, and made all his family work at a great intrenchment behind the breaches, gave life and vigour to them ; and from the confession of all his people, had the king withdrawn himself, which many advised him to do, they would have surrendered immediately." Notwithstanding his unshaken firmness and extraor- dinary exertions, (diaries was reduced to the most despe- rate situation, and to use the words of Mr. Walpole, " not a speck of blue appeared to give any hopes of the preser- vation of the town, nor even of the king's person, and con- sequently of the whole monarchy* " On one side the be- siegers hourly threatened an assault, on the other a French squadron of twenty-eight ships of the line blocked up the harbour; while the English ileet, on which his deliverance depended, was detained by contrary winds. At length the wind became favourable ; the long-expected succours drew near ; the French squadron quitted the harbour, and on the 8th of May the English fleet, amounting to fifty sail of the line, with a considerable body of land forces, anchored before the town. G 3 86 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXX. On the 11th of May, the troops were landed with the ut- most expedition, and passed great part of the night under arms behind the breaches. On the ensuing morning the French army broke up the siege, and retreated with preci- pitation, leaving their sick and wounded, great part of their artillery, with immense magazines and stores. Their retreat was harassed by the small but enterprising body under lord Peterborough, and their march being overcast by a total eclipse, the superstitious favourers of the house of Austria portended the eternal setting of the Bourbon sun. The wonderful spirit and activity of Charles, which formed a striking contrast to his natural phlegm, subsided on the relief of the place ; he wasted much time in religious ceremonies, and in making a procession to the shrine of the Holy Virgin at Montserrat. In answer to the urgent re- monstrances of general Stanhope, he excused his delay by alleging that his equipage was not ready ; and was not roused by the animated reply of the English ambassador : " Sir, king William entered London in a coach with a cloak bag behind it, and was made king not many weeks after/'* The deliverance of Barcelona was followed by a series of alternate successes and defeats, in which Charles twice en- tered Madrid in triumph, and was twice compelled to re- treat; he was at one period master of all the eastern parts of Spain ; and at another reduced to the single province of Catalonia. In the midst of this struggle, he espoused Eli- zabeth Christina, princess of Brunswick Wolfembuttelf, and resided at Barcelona, hoping to realise his expectations on the crown of Spain, rather from the astonishing successes of the allies in Germany, Italy, and Flanders, than from the efforts of his own heterogeneous army, divided among themselves, and led by generals of different nations and principles, equally at variance with each other. Charles was awakened from his dreams of visionary grandeur by the intelligence of his brother's death, which happened April 17. 1711, and which secured to him the * Mr. AValpole to Mr. Robert Walpole, Barcelona, June 23., N. S. 1706. f He bad offered bis band to Wilhelmina Carolina, princess of Brunswick Blankenburgh ; but from attachment to the Protestant religion, she rejected bis offer, and afterwards espoused George II. 1686-17 12. J CROWNED AT FRANKFORT. 87 whole inheritance of the house of Austria, and opened the prospect of the imperial dignity. In consequence of the arrangements made by Joseph, the empress mother, as regent, assumed the reins of govern- ment, proclaimed Charles king of Hungary and Bohemia, and archduke of Austria, without opposition, notified his accession to the courts of Europe, and took every pre- caution, in concert with Eugene, to secure for him the im- perial crown. From the sudden death of Joseph, the throne was vacant, and the struggles for that dignity might have occasioned new and dangerous convulsions, had not the most prudent and vigorous measures been instantly adopted. Prince Eugene had reached Nuremberg in his way to as- sume the command of the imperial army in Flanders, before he received information of the emperor's death. He lis- tened to the Upper Rhine, and gained the electors ofMentz, Treves, and Palatine ; he then repaired to the Hague, and after concerting the plan of future operations with the English and Dutch ministers, returned to Germany, gave an impulse to the circles of the empire, and collected a con- siderable force in the vicinity of the Rhine, both from the detachments of the Austrian troops, and from the contin- gents of the German princes and states. Having assumed the command in quality of generalissimo, he placed himself in a position to prevent the interference of France, and to awe the diet of election, and despatched a messenger to his royal master, urging his instant presence in Germany. Charles sanctioned the proceedings of his mother, and enlarged the term of her regency ; he intrusted Eugene with full powers to manage his interests at the approaching election ; established a council, under the direction of his consort, for the conduct of his affairs in Spain, and gave the strongest hopes of support to his faithful subjects in Catalonia. Embarking at l>areelona on the 27th of Sep- tember, he landed in the vicinity of Genoa, had a public interview with the duke of Savoy in the neighbourhood of Pa via, and received on his arrival at Milan, the 16th of October, the joyful tidings of his unanimous election to the imperial throne ; after a short stay at Milan, where he was congratulated by the Italian powers, the new emperor pro- ceeded through Inspruck to Frank tort, and was crowned on the 22nd of December. In addition to the usual titles of G 4 S8 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXX. emperor and king of the Romans, and to those of Hungary and Bohemia, he styled himself king of Spain, and in proof of his determined resolution to assert his right to that crown, he conferred the order of the Golden Fleece on several of his adherents. The election of Charles VI. formed a new epoch in the political annals of Germany. Hitherto the capitulation ratified by each emperor was considered as a temporary act, only binding the sovereign who swore to its observance ; but the despotic proceedings of Leopold and Joseph, in put- ting the princes and electors to the ban of the empire, con- fiscating their territories, and granting new fiefs, without the consent of the diet, gave rise to a Perpetual Capitu- lation, which had been originally proposed at the peace of Westphalia, and was now to be ratified by each succeeding emperor, confirming the privileges of the Germanic body, limiting the authority of their chief', and unchangeable ex- cept by consent of the dirt. By this capitulation the emperor was not to assemble any diet or council relating to the affairs of the empire, without summoning all the princes and states : he was not to wage war, conclude peace, or enter into alliances without their consent. lie was not to put any prince under the ban of the empire by his own authority ; not to appropriate to himself, or confer on his own family, any confiscated territory, and he was bound to restore the possessions of which the members of the empire had been forcibly de- prived. It was also stipulated that no election of the king of the Romans should take place during the life of the reigning emperor, unless he was long absent from Germany, or the infirmities of age rendered him unable to conduct the helm of affairs. This instrument likewise ratified the privilege of election secured to the electors by the Golden Bull, precluded the head of the empire from conferring a vacant electorate without the consent of the college, and confirmed to each prince and state the right of concluding separate alliances, either among themselves or with foreign powers, which were not contrary to the interests of the empire. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the new emperor hastened to Vienna, to take possession of his hereditary dominions. After a residence of only two months in the 1711-1714.] DEPLORABLE CONDITION OF FRANCE. 89 capital, which was employed in the necessary regulations at the commencement of a new reign, he directed his attention to Hungary, and repairing to Presburgh, in May, 1712, he ratified the pacification of Zatmar, and was crowned with the usual solemnities. Chap. LXXXL — 171 1-1714. Having pacified Hungary, Charles returned t<> Vienna to resume, with increasing vigour, his military preparations for prosecuting the war ; and the state of the enemy gave hope that the house of Austria would once more regain her ancient ascendency. France itself exhibited the most striking scene of misery and desolation. Even the very seasons seemed to war against the monarch and his people. The sudden vicissi- tudes of weather destroyed the vines and corn in the germ ; every city and every province was threatened with im- pending famine ; commerce and manufactures, the nerves of a nation, were also annihilated ; the population swept away by the ravages of war. The finances, rapidly de- creasing, were yearly becoming more and more unequal to support the enormous burdens of protracted hostilities : the forcible circulation of fictitious money, and the antici- pation of the revenues by every species of fraud and artifice, blasted the honour of the government at home, and sunk its credit abroad ; the public sale of military rank, and the prostitution of honours, hitherto the venerated badge of merit, and other expedients the most disgraceful to a high- spirited people, proclaimed at once the distresses of the nation and the reduced situation of the court. In the midst of these calamities, the court was the scene of in- trigues and feuds: the very house of Louis was divided into parties ; and the monarch who, in his prime, had awed, astonished, and terrified his contemporaries, in his decline sunk in the opinion of his subjects, his family, and Europe by the indecision of his counsels, the failure of his measures, the ill choice of his ministers, and the effects of his de- grading connection with Madame de Maintenon, his sup- posed mistress and real wife. 90 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXI. By the disastrous events of five campaigns, and the three desperate defeats of Ramilies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet, the barrier which had hitherto defied all the efforts of Europe was broken through ; and the fortresses, the result of such art, expense, and labour, diverted, but could not resist, the tide of war. The army, which had risen like the hydra from its repeated discomfitures, and the generals who had exhausted in vain all the resources of the military science, were driven to the last line of the formidable frontier. That stupendous colossus, which had over- shadowed and overawed the world, was smitten to its foundations ; the loss of a single battle, or the capture of a single fortress, would have opened a passage into the de- fenceless provinces of France, and scarcely left the monarch, who, for half a century, had given law without control, a place of security even within his own capital. The continuance of the same vigour, skill, and unanimity for a single campaign would have secured to the allies all the objects of the Grand Alliance ; and all the advantages for which they had made such numerous sacrifices and such astonishing exertions. But unfortunately their hopes were frustrated by that principle of dissolution which is inherent in all great confederacies ; and it is with the deepest concern we reflect, that England was the primary cause of this change, so fatal to Europe and so disastrous to the civilised world. Although Anne had obtained a crown by the Revolution she was invariably inimical to its principles, and adverse to the succession in the Hanover line ; and she was affected with scruples of conscience, in accepting a throne, from which she had seen her father excluded. Overborne by the spirit of the nation, and dazzled by the splendid victories obtained over its natural enemy, she had hitherto supported in public the Whig administration, but was secretly disgusted by the political thraldom in which she was held by her great and powerful ministers, and was still more alienated by the caprice and insolence of her former favourite, the duchess of Marlborough. Thus cir- cumstanced, she transferred her confidence to Mrs. Masham, a relation and dependent of the duchess, who gradually supplanted her benefactress. Her scruples revived, and she gave way to the sentiments of affection towards her 1711-1714.] PRELIMINARIES FOR PEACE. 91 brother, whom she had been compelled to stigmatise as il- legitimate. She was desirous to restore a Tory adminis- tration, by whose means she hoped to set aside the Hanover line, and to introduce her brother as her suc- cessor, provided he would embrace the Protestant religion, to which, notwithstanding the bigotry of her family, she was invariably and ardently attached. With these feelings she entered into a secret negotiation with Harley, which ended in the gradual dismission of the Whig ministry, and the appointment of a Tory administration, of which Harley was the chief. Anne, as well as the nation, looked with a more favour- able eye towards France ; the new ministry intrigued with the court of St. Germain ; caballed with the Jacobites, and privately renewed the negotiations for peace. The party of Austria rapidly declined ; and the death of Joseph un- fortunately furnished a plausible pretext for breaking t he- Grand Alliance. The dangers arising from the union of the empire, Bohemia, Hungary, Austria, and Spain, in the same person, were exaggerated ; and the nation was alarmed with the apprehension of seeing the exorbitant power of Charles V. revived in the person of the new emperor. A relaxation accordingly took place in the prosecution of hostilities ; and .Marlborough, weakened by the departure of Eugene to cover Frankfort, and checked in his grand design by the sinister manoeuvres of the English ministry, confined his operations to the capture of Bouchain, which was effected on the 13th September, 1711.* On the side of Italy the attempts of the duke of Savoy to penetrate into France, were defeated by marshal Berwick ; in Spain the imperial arms were unsuccessful; and Philip circum- scribed the Austrian adherents and the empress almost within the walls of Barcelona. In this situation of affairs the British ministry pressed the negotiations for peace. Preliminaries were signed at London on the 8th of October, 1711, by which Louis agreed, in general terms, to take measures for preventing the union of the crowns of France and Spain on the same head, to secure a barrier in the Low Countries for the * For this masterly campaign of 171 1, see the Memoirs of the Duke of Marlborough, ch. ci. cii. 92 CHAItLES VI. [CII. LXXXI. States-general, and on the side of the empire for the house of Austria, and to give a reasonable satisfaction to the other members of the Grand Alliance. Charles, aware of these negotiations, exerted all his efforts to prevent the conclusion of the preliminaries, and made warm representations in the different courts of Europe against so dishonourable a desertion of the Grand Alliance. He despatched circular letters to the electors, exhorting them to persist in their engagements, and urged the States-general to join in his exhortations to the queen, not to trust the immortal glory which she had gained in the war, and the welfare of her people, to the insincerity of French promises. At the same time count Gallas, his minister in London, made the strongest remonstrances against this breach of faith, and even printed in the public papers the preliminary articles, which had been communicated to him in confidence, with a severe and violent comment. The queen, irritated at this appeal to the people, and his cabals with the Whigs, ordered him to withdraw from England, though she softened this mark of resentment, by informing the emperor that she would receive any other minister. Encouraged by the representations of the Dutch, and the clamours of the Whig party in England, the emperor, in the commencement of 1712, despatched Eugene to London, hoping either to induce the queen to continue the war, or to rouse the spirit of the nation against the peace. But the presence of Eugene produced a contrary effect. His friendly visits to the duke of Marlborough and the leaders of the Whigs offended the queen ; aud he was charged by the Tories with forming the most diabolical as well as ridiculous plots against the government. Among other projects, he is said to have proposed the assassination of the earl of Oxford, also to set fire to London in the night, par - ticularly to the palace, while in the midst of the confusion, the duke of Marlborough was to head an armed force, take possession of the Tower, the Bank, and the Exchequer, and seize the person of the queen. Thus was prince Eugene, whose known character for integrity and honour ought to have shielded him from such imputations, degraded into a leader of banditti ; and so great was the alarm and ferment that he was publicly insulted by the populace. After a 1711-1714.] WAR BETWEEN AUSTRIA AND FRANCE. 93 continuance of three months, he returned with the mor- tification of having witnessed the disgrace of the duke of Marlborough, the defeat of the Austrian party, and of having failed in his efforts to prevent the meeting of the congress of Utrecht, which assembled early in 1712. The emperor was resolved to prosecute the war although deserted by Pmgland ; and therefore despatched his chan- cellor, count Sinzendorf, to Utrecht, with a view to break off, or at least to retard the negotiations. Sinzendorf claimed the full execution of the Grand Alliance; demanded, in the name of his master, not only the entire possession of the Spanish monarchy, but the restitution of all the ces- sions which had been made to France by the treaties of Munster, Nimeguen, and Ryswick, and encouraged the ministers of the other allies to advance similar claims. This conduct, indeed, suspended the proceedings at Utrecht, but enabled the French to accelerate their private negotiations with the court of England. Meanwhile Charles made the most active preparations for the prosecution of hostilities, and hoped to break up the conferences at Utrecht by some splendid enterprise against the French in the Netherlands. His views were warmly seconded by the States, and the other allies, who were equally averse to the terms of peace. Early in the spring, prince Eugene took the command of the allied army, which amounted to 120,000 men, and was soon afterwards joined by the British forces under the duke of Ormond* Although the duke of Ormond declared that he had orders to co-operate with the allies, the effects of the private negotiation between England and France were soon manifest. Eugene having proposed to attack the French army under Villars, was thwarted by Ormond, who had private orders neither to risk a battle nor undertake a siege. Eugene next turned his attention to the siege of Quesnoy, which he invested, and by urgent remonstrances at length prevailed ou Ormond to furnish a corps of the auxiliaries in British pay to cover his operations But when the town was nearly compelled to surrender, the British commander concluded an armistice with Villars, and communicated to prince Eugene his orders to separate from the confederates. He then prepared to march towards Dunkirk, which had been yielded to England as a caution- ary deposit. 94 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXI. The emperor and the States made the most urgent re- monstrances to the queen against this desertion of their cause ; and the discontents in the army rose to the most dangerous height. The duke of Ormond was refused by the States a passage through Douay and Tournay ; was de- serted by all the auxiliary troops, except two regiments ; and the princes by whom those troops were furnished declared their resolution to support their contingents one month, and after that period to share the expense with the States and the emperor. Ormond increased the general indignation by seizing the towns of Ghent and Bruges in the name of the queen of England, and by these measures gave the deathblow to the Grand Alliance. Notwithstanding, however, this base desertion, the emperor and all the other allies disdainfully rejected a suspension of arms, which was proposed by the British plenipotentiaries, and unanimously determined to prosecute hostilities. Eugene, having taken Quesnoy, invested Landrecy, on the 4th of July, 1712, but the loss of the British forces was severely felt. Villars advancing to its relief, attacked a body of troops posted near Denain, under the earl of Albe- marle to cover the convoys, stormed their intrenchments, and after a bloody conflict, forced seventeen battalions, with the commander-in-chief, and all the officers, to sur- render prisoners of war. Eugene, who was on the other side of the Scheld, marched to support Albemarle, but by the breaking of the bridge was unable to furnish any suc- cour, and was only a melancholy witness of this fatal catas- trophe, which compelled him to raise the siege. This misfortune was the prelude to greater disasters, and was followed by the captures of Denain, Marchiennes, St. Amand, Douay, Quesnoy, and Bouchain. In the course of these events, the armistice between France and England was prolonged, and the duke of Savoy and the king of Portugal were induced to desert the cause of the emperor. The Dutch, terrified by the progress of the French arms, alarmed by the threats of England to conclude a separate peace, and lured by the favourable conditions of the barrier treaty, soon followed their ex- ample ; and the negotiations were carried on with such earnestness and zeal, that treaties of peace between France and all the belligerent powers, except the emperor, w T ere 1711-1714.] PEACE BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENGLAND. 95 signed at Utrecht on the 11th of April, 1713. Spain ac- ceded to these treaties on the 1 3th of J uly. Louis acknowledged the title of the queen to the crown of England, and the Protestant succession, agreed not to allow the pretender to reside in France, to raze the forti- fications of Dunkirk, and to cede Nova Scotia or Acadia, with the exception of the isle of Cape Breton, also Hudson's Bay, Newfoundland, and St. Christopher's. Spain like- wise yielded to England Gibraltar and Minorca, and by an engagement called the Assiento, granted the right of sup- plying the Spanish colonies with negroes for thirty years, Which had been before enjoyed by France. Charles was highly dissatisfied with the terms imposed upon him by France and England ; and, without consulting his own strength, disdainfully persisted in rejecting all overtures. Having obtained the co-operation of the empire, he determined to prosecute the war alone against the French, who had sustained during twelve years the efforts of the greater part of Europe. Conscious, however, that he could not equally maintain the contest in all parts without allies, he concluded with France and England a treaty of neutrality for Spain, Italy, and the Low Countries, in consequenceof which the Austrian troops evacuated Cata- lonia and the islands of Majorca and Ivica, and he concen- trated his force on the banks of the Rhine. He flattered himself that his brave troops, led by Eugene, would still perform wonders ; that one important victory would obtain more advantageous terms ; and that at all events it would be far more honourable not to owe a peace to the allies who had deserted him, under the humiliating conditions of acknowledging his rival Philip V., but to conclude a sepa- rate treaty with France, without renouncing his preten- sions to the crown of Spain. The whole campaign passed without a general action, and was principally confined on the side of the imperial troops to defensive operations. The great military talents of Eugene being unable to cope with the superior numbers of the French, led by marshal Yillars, the capture of Landau and Friburgh, the exhausted condition of the Austrian finances, and the unwillingness of the German states to continue the war, compelled Charles to enter into a negotiation with France. On the 26th of November, 96 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXII. 1713, prince Eugene and marshal Villars opened con- ferences at Rastadt ; on the 6th of March, 1714, the pre- liminaries were signed, and a congress assembled at Baden in Switzerland. Charles, indignant at the conduct of England, rejected her mediation, and refused to admit the British plenipotentiaries at the congress ; the ministers of the Pope, the duke of Loraine, the electors of Cologne and Bavaria, were likewise excluded ; and as Charles was in- trusted with full powers by the German diet, the terms of peace were adjusted between himself and the empire on one side, and France on the other, and signed on the 7th of September. The treaty of Ryswick was made the basis of the peace. Charles was also guarantied in the possession of Naples, Milan, Mantua, Sardinia, and the Low Countries, under the condition of ratifying the barrier treaty; he obtained the restoration of old Brisac, Friburgh, and Kehl ; in re- turn he reinstated the electors of Bavaria and Cologne in their dominions and dignities ; he agreed to leave the princes of Italy in the peaceable enjoyment of the terri- tories which they actually possessed, and permitted the im- portant fortress of Landau to be retained by France. " Thus," justly exclaims marshal Villars, " after a war of fourteen years, during which the emperor and the king of France had nearly quitted their respective capitals ; Spain had seen two rival kings in Madrid, and almost all the petty States of Italy had changed their sovereigns ; a war which had desolated the greater part of Europe, was con- cluded almost on the very terms which might have been procured at the commencement of hostilities." Chap. LXXXII. — 1706-1719. Among the most difficult points which remained for future adjustment, was the transfer of the Netherlands in the pos- session of the Dutch, to the emperor, and the final ratifica- tion of a barrier treaty. The pretensions of the two parties were so opposite and contradictory, and the mediation of England so lukewarm, that all compromise seemed impracticable ; even the death 1706-1719.] MAKES OBJECTIONS TO THE PEACE. 97 of Anne during these negotiations, though it changed the conduct of England, did not overcome the reluctance of the emperor, and George I. in vain despatched generals Stan- hope* and Cadogan to Vienna, the first from his personal credit with the emperor, and the other from his friendship with prince Eugene, who had the greatest preponderance in the Austrian cabinet. Many motives influenced the conduct of the emperor in declining to ratify this treaty. Towards the close of the reign of Anne he had entertained an opinion that the party of the pretender was paramount in England, and had affected to listen to overtures for a match between the exiled prince and one of his nieces. Even the accession of George L did not wholly dissipate this illusion ; Charles imagined that his establishment on the British throne would be but of temporary duration, and was unwilling to involve himself in an engagement to guaranty the Protest- ant succession. He therefore dismissed Mr. Stanhope with great marks of personal regard, but without gratifying him in the object of his mission. Both the emperor and his ministers treated lord Cobham, who succeeded general Stanhope, with studied neglect ; and prince Eugene testified the utmost reserve and indiffe- rence to his friend and fellow-soldier, general Cadogan, who repaired to Vienna in the character of ambassador. In various conferences he bitterly inveighed against the harsh and degrading conditions which the Maritime Powers at- tempted to impose on his imperial master, and declared that the revenues of the Netherlands would be inadequate to the support of the civil establishment, after the payment of the subsidies to the Dutch. Charles, aware of the weakness of the Dutch government, and of the embarrassments of England by the rebellion of 1715, which was magnified almost into a new revolution, and encouraged by the secret overtures of France, deli- * General, afterwards earl Stanhope, had served under Charles in Spain with great credit. On the accession of George I. he was appointed secretary of state, and some letters are still preserved among the Walpole Papers, which passed between Mr. Stanhope and the emperor. Among these is one written by Charles in his own hand, highly expressive of his esteem, and of his regret for the fate of the Catalans, which docs honour to his head and heart. VOL. III. H 98 CHARLES Yf. [CH. LXXXI1. vered an ultimatum, by his minister, count Konigsegg, to the congress at Antwerp, and threatened to march his troops into the Netherlands, unless in six weeks his de- mands were complied with. These disputes delayed the conclusion of the treaty until the total defeat of the rebels in England, the death of Louis XIV., and the dread of a Turkish war, changed the politics of the emperor ; while prince Eugene suddenly promoted the ratification, from a jealousy of the Spanish council, who obstructed the treaty, and from resentment against the deputies of the Low Countries, who desired an archduchess for their governess. The treaty was accordingly concluded on the loth of No- vember, 1715. Prince Eugene w r as appointed governor, and the Dutch, on the 4th of February, 1716, delivered the Netherlands to count Konigsegg, as plenipotentiary of the emperor. By the barrier treaty the states agreed to yield to the emperor the provinces possessed by Charles II., as well as those ceded by France at the peace of Utrecht. A corps of from 30,000 to 3o,000 men was to be maintained in those countries, of which the emperor agreed to furnish three fifths, the States the remainder ; and in case of war, a further augmentation was to be arranged by the two parties. The emperor allowed the States the sole right of garrison in Namur, Tournay, Menin, F urnes, Warneton, Ypres, and the fort of Knocque ; but the garrison of Dendermond was to be furnished jointly, the governor to be nominated by the emperor, and to take an oath that he would do nothing to the prejudice of the States. In like manner, in the garrisons belonging to the States, their officers were to preserve to the house of Austria the sovereignty of the places committed to their care, and not to intermeddle in civil affairs. The Dutch troops were also allowed the free exorcise of their religion in the different garrisons ; but were to establish no churches, nor annex any exterior dis- tinctions to their places of worship. The States were permitted to repair the fortifications of the different towns, but not to erect new works without previous notice to the governor-general, nor to charge the emperor with the expenses without his consent. Different cessions also were made to the States for the security of their frontiers ; and the emperor engaged to pay the annual 1706-1719.] PROTRACTS SIGNING THE TREATY. 99 sum of 500,000 crowns for the maintenance of the Dutch troops, and charged himself with the debts of Charles II. to the United Provinces. Their rights and privileges of commerce were to remain on the same footing as established by the treaty of Munster, in 1648, and the ships, commodi- ties, and merchandises from Great Britain to the Nether- lands, or from the Netherlands to Great Britain, were to pay the same duties of export and import as were esta- blished at the conclusion of the treaty, till new. regulations should be made by the three powers in a treaty of com^ merce which was to be arranged as early as possible. The emperor also engaged that these provinces should never be transferred to a prince of the house of Bourbon by mar- riage, sale, or otherwise. England guaranteed this treaty, and engaged, should the Netherlands be attacked, to furnish 10,000 men, with twenty ships of war, if necessary, or to act with her whole force. But notwithstanding the signature of the treaty, the mutual jealousy of the emperor and the Dutch did not sub- side ; the emperor deemed the conditions on his part too severe, and exhibited evident signs of a resolution not to fulfil the articles ; while the Dutch, on theirs, retained pos- session of the districts which were restored by France. A general consternation also prevailed among the natives of the Low Countries, who complained that the Dutch, jealous of their prosperity, wished to exclude them from all commerce. The states of Brabant and Flanders made strong remonstrances by deputies sent to Vienna ; they represented the treaty as derogatory to the emperor's dig- nity, and fatal to the dearest interests of his subjects. They stated the impossibility of executing the treaty without annihilating their immunities, because subsidies were granted to the Dutch as a fixed revenue, whereas, according to their constitution, no subsidies could be granted without the consent of the States. Hence the scruples of the emperor returned, and he opened new conferences with the States-general, in the hopes of obtaining a modification of the conditions ; but the negotiation was protracted by the discussions relating to the appointment of the magistracy in several of the towns garrisoned by the Dutch troops, the toleration of religion, the extension of the limits, the arrears of the sub- u 2 100 CHARLES VI. [CII. LXXXIII. sidies ; and the convention which finally settled these and a few other contested points was not concluded till the 22nd of December, 1718, by the Imperial and Dutch plenipoten- tiaries at the Hague. Chap. LXXXIII. — 1715-1718. During the negotiations for the barrier treaty, several events occurred of great importance to the house of Austria. Among those the most remarkable was the peace of Passaro- vitz, which terminated the war with the Porte, and, by the acquisition of Belgrade, secured the frontiers of Hungary from Turkish invasion. The good effects of the fortunate change which had taken place in the minds of the Hungarians, from the pa- cification of Zatmar, were displayed in this war; when the native troops had no inconsiderable share in driving the Turks beyond the Danube, and in conquering the Bannat of Temeswar, and the territory of Belgrade In ITlo the Turks broke the peace of Carlovitz, declared war against the Venetians, conquered the Morea, and laid siege to Corfu. These rapid successes, which recalled to recollection the former preponderance of the Ottoman power, spread general alarm among the princes of Europe; and the king of Sardinia projected a confederacy of the Italian states under the protection and guidance of France. But Charles, jealous lest this confederacy should give pre- eminence to the houses of Bourbon and Savoy, counter- acted the league; and when the Venetians appealed to him as a guarantee of the treaty of Carlovitz, made pre- parations for immediate hostilities. After an offer of mediation, which the Porte rejected with disdain, he de- spatched prince Eugene into Hungary at the head of a small, but well-disciplined army, flushed with victories in the Netherlands and on the banks of the Rhine. Eugene passed the Danube in sight of the Ottoman army of 150,000 men, and encamped near Peterwaradin behind the very intrenchments which he had occupied in his former campaign, and which, by an unaccountable negligence, the 1715-1718.] DEFEAT OF THE TURKS. 101 Turks had not destroyed. Without delay he led his troops against the enemy, routed their numerous and undisciplined forces, who could only oppose to the military skill of Eugene, and the deliberate courage of the imperial army, a blind and impotent valour, killed the grand vizir and 30,000 Turks, took oO standards, 2o0 pieces of heavy artillery, and an immense booty. This action was fought on the 5th August, 1716, near Carlovitz, in the very camp wherein, seventeen years before, the Turks had signed the truce of twenty years, which, by attacking the Venetians, they now broke. The capture of Temeswar, the last of the ancient dependencies of Hungary retained by the Turks, secured the possession of the Bannat and the con- quest of Wallachia. These conquests, which distinguished the campaign of 1716, were followed by still greater successes in the ensu- ing year. In the month of June, Eugene invested Bel- grade, the key of the Ottoman dominions on the side of Hungary. The place, which contained a garrison of 30,000 men, was vigorously defended, and supported a blockade of two months, till the arrival of an immense army under the command of a new grand vizir, gave hopes to the be- sieged, and alarmed the besiegers. The Turkish troops advancing, intrenched themselves in the form of a semi- circle, stretching from the Danube to the Save, and thus confined the imperial army in the marshy grounds between those two rivers. In this exposed and unwholesome situation, numbers o£ the imperialists daily perished from the lire of the enemy, and more fell victims to the ravages of a contagious dis- order. Yet the troops supported these accumulated evils with the most exemplary patience, anxiously expecting that the Turks would be compelled, for want of provisions and forage, to break up their camp ; but these hopes were frustrated by the perseverance of the enemy, who pushed their lines and batteries to an eminence commanding the bridge over the Save. Eugene now found himself in a critical situation ; the enemy by destroying the bridge might prevent his retreat, or might send a corps across the Save to surprise the detachments Intrenched at Semlin, 'and cut off the parties employed in bombarding the lower town of Belgrade. The imperial troops also, daily di- n 3 102 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXIII. minishing in number, would be soon unable to guard the lines ; and the emperor and empire exhausted by the war which they had just concluded with France, could not sup- port the enormous expense of another campaign. The danger was still further increased as the enemy had ad- vanced their trenches and raised batteries within musket- shot, and were even preparing to storm the lines. Eugene was therefore aware that a decisive victory alone could relieve the army from their dangerous situation, and pre- serve Hungary and Transylvania. Under these circumstances Eugene summoned a council of war, and being unanimously supported in his opinion, issued orders for a general engagement. During the anxious night preceding this action he visited the posts, instructed the officers, exhorted the soldiers, and distributed with his own hands refreshments to fortify them against the fatigues of the ensuing fight, and as he passed from post to post, cries of exultation resounded from every quar- ter. "Lead us," they exclaimed, u against the enemy! Eugene commands ! the safety of our country, and the interests of our religion are at stake ; we will conquer or die!" The imperial army consisted of 60,000 men ; but as 20,000 were stationed to keep in check the garrison of Belgrade ; and as several detachments were posted on the opposite bank of the Save, not 40,000 could be brought into action, to storm intrenchments mounted with a numer- ous artillery, and defended by not less than 200,000 men, the most complete army which the Porte had ever sent into the field since the siege of Vienna. Before midnight Eugene was on horseback ; three bombs were discharged as a signal, and the whole army was in- stantly in motion. About two, the right wing, advancing in order and silence under cover of the darkness, burst upon the enemy's works, and surprised the guard, who were reposing in negligent security. But the same dark- ness which had at first favoured their attack, was so much increased by a thick fog, that part of the right wing fell by mistake upon some intrenchments which the enemy had raised that night, and meeting with a desperate resistance were thrown into confusion. As long as the fog lasted this confusion was irreparable, and the imperialists, ignorant 1715-1718.] SURRENDER OF BELGRADE. 103 of the ground, and harassed by the impetuous assaults of the enemy, suffered extremely. At length the sun rose and dispelled the mist; Eugene discovered part of the right wing separated from the centre, taken in flank and rear, and exposed to imminent danger. To see and remove the danger was the effort of a moment. Placing himself at the head of the second line, and followed by a corps of volunteers, he charged the enemy sword in hand, and though wounded, forced his way through their ranks, mowing down all before him. The troops alarmed for the safety of their intrepid leader, pressed forward, redoubled their efforts, and drove the Turks back to their intrench - ments. At this moment, Eugene surveyed the lines with awful apprehension. Aware that the spirit of the army had led them to be too precipitate in the attack, he endeavoured to curb their impetuosity, and to give a more certain and solid direction to their force. But his own example over- bore a deference even to his orders. The impulse was given, and nothing could restrain the ardour of the troops. The infantry made the attack with irresistible violence, forced the intrenchments, carried the batteries, and turned the Turkish cannon against the banners of the crescent. From that moment all was rout and dismay ; before mid- day the imperialists were in possession of the intrench- ments, artillery, and camp ; and the enemy fled with such disorder and precipitation, that those who were in the rear killed those who were before, not to be impeded in their flight. The immediate consequence of this defeat was the sur- render of Belgrade, which was followed the next year by the peace of Passarovitz, so called from a small town in Servia, where Eugene and the grand vizir opened the conferences, and signed the preliminaries, on the 21st of July, 1718, under the mediation of Great Britain and the United Provinces. This treaty established a truce of twenty-five years, and secured to the house of Austria the Bannat of Temeswar, and the Bannat or western part cf Wallachia and Servia, together with the town and territory of Belgrade and part of Bosnia. 104 Chap. LXXX1V.— 1715-1720. While Charles was embarrassed with the war against Turkey, he was occupied in a series of complicated negotia- tions with France, England, and Holland, and involved in hostilities with Spain. Although the principal powers of Europe were compre- hended in the treaties of Utrecht and Kastadt, yet the two sovereigns, principally interested in the event of those negotiations, were not reconciled. The emperor did not acknowledge Philip, king of Spain, and Philip did not renounce his pretensions to the kingdom of Naples, the Mi- lanese, and the Low Countries, which the peace of Utrecht had transferred to the house of Austria. Hence those treaties contained the seeds of immediate rupture, and could be considered as little more than establishing a temporary suspension of arms ; Europe accordingly was kept in a state of perpetual agitation during a period of sixteen years, before the disputes concerning the Spanish succession could be finally terminated. Charles, though too much exhausted to meditate the renewal of hostilities, was compelled by the threatening aspect and ambitious views of Spain to take measures for his own security. On the death of Maria Louisa of Savoy in 1714, Philip espoused in the same year Elizabeth Farnese, princess of Parma. This turbulent and ambitious woman gained a prodigious ascendency over the mind of her hypochondriac and doting husband, and not only fomented the enmity which Philip entertained against the emperor; but by adding her own pretensions to the duchies of Tuscany and Parma, contributed to w r iden the breach, and remove still further the prospect of an accommodation. The views of Elizabeth were seconded by the daring genius of Alberoni, whom she had raised to the office of prime minister, and who. infusing a new spirit and activity into the counsels of Spain, made active preparations both by sea and land. The emperor, alarmed at these preparations, dreading lest the French monarch should assist his grandson, and aware that Naples would fall an instant sacrifice to the attacks of the 1715-1720.] DEATH OF LOUIS XIV. 105 two powers, was induced to listen to the overtures of George L, which he had before rejected, as the alliance of England was the only counterpoise he could secure to the vast weight and power of the house of Bourbon. He accordingly lent a willing ear to the claims of George, as elector of Hanover, on the duchies of Lauenburgh, Bremen, and Verden, and hastened the conclusion of a defensive alliance, which was signed at Westminster on the 5th of May, 1715. But the death of Louis XIV. in the following September, greatly changed the situation of affairs, lie was succeeded by a minor of an infirm constitution ; and the duke of Orleans, who governed France first as regent, and after- wards as prime minister, was anxious to recover his country from the exhausted state to which it had been reduced by the numerous wars of Louis XIV., to repress the national spirit of conquest, which had given umbrage to the powers of Europe, and to secure his own succession to the crown, which had been guaranteed by the treaty of Utrecht, should Louis XV. die without issue. The court and kingdom were divided into two parties; one favoured the rights of the duke of Orleans, the other the claims of Philip, who, notwithstanding his renunciation, aspired to the reversion of the French crown. With a view, therefore, to support his rights, the duke of Orleans was desirous to form a connection with England, who was equally interested to prevent the accession of Philip, and whose assistance was necessary to repress the efforts of his numerous partisans in France. The British cabinet no less appreciated the great advan- tages of an alliance with France, which would counteract the intrigues of the pretender abroad, deprive him of the only power whose interposition they had just reason to apprehend, and awe his adherents into submission at home. The interests of the two parties equally concurring in the same object, the negotiation was speedily brought to a suc- cessful issue; and on the 4th of January, 1717. a triple alliance was concluded at the Hague between England, France, and Holland, for maintaining and guaranteeing the order of succession to the crowns of France and England, as settled by the peace of Utrecht. The emperor was highly averse to the spirit and tenor 106 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXIV. of this alliance, which, by ratifying the treaties of Utrecht, secured Spain to Philip, and confirmed the galling condi- tions of the Barrier. His pride was likewise mortified, as he foresaw that the connection with the house of Austria would now become a secondary consideration with England. During the negotiations his minister at London endea- voured to prevent the conclusion, by declaring that the signature of such an engagement should instantly annul the treaty of Westminster. Some trifling modifications were accordingly made, but as they were not sufficient to appease the emperor, he declined acceding to the alliance. Conscious, however, that he could not break the connection between France and England, and alarmed by the vast pre- parations of Spain, while he was involved in a war with the Turks, he was compelled to yield to the necessity of his affairs. But he temporised and protracted his accession till he had extorted a secret promise, from France and England, to effect the exchange of Sardinia for Sicily; as he was well aware that while Victor Amadeus retained that island, the possession of Naples would be rendered extremely precarious. These engagements, however secret, were not concealed from Philip and Victor Amadeus, and they both united to frustrate the plan. Although Spain was scarcely recovered from the devas- tations of a long and bloody war, Philip was roused into action by the importunities of his ambitious consort, who was anxious to assert her claims to the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia. These claims were encouraged and supported by her favourite Alberoni, whose vast and enter- prising genius aspired to realise greater projects than the acquisition of two petty territories in Italy. He had gained Victor Amadeus by the offer of the Milanese in exchange for Sicily; he had, through the means of baron Gortz, negotiated a peace between Charles XII. and Peter the Great, who were both irritated against George I. ; and at his instigation the Swedish monarch agreed to make a descent into England at the head of a formidable body of Swedes and Russians, to collect the Jacobites to his standard, and march to the capital. He prevailed on the Turks to continue the war against the emperor, and carried on secret negotiations with prince Itagotski and the male- 1715-1720.] WARLIKE PROJECTS OF ALBERONI. 107 contents of Hungary. He tried to amuse the court of London with the proposal of a marriage between the prince of Asturias and the princess Anne, while he was secretly endeavouring to excite an insurrection among the Jacobites, and had actually promised to support the pretender with the whole force of Spain. In regard to France, he intrigued with the malecontents in Brittany, and attempted to foment troubles in the Ce- vennes by exciting the Protestants to rebellion. He insisted that the exclusion of Philip from the crown of France was invalid, because contrary to the Salic law, which no act could annul ; and that if Louis XV. should die without issue male, Philip was the undoubted heir, and not the duke of Orleans, who had usurped the regency. To sup- port his master's right he formed, by intrigues and money, a powerful party in France, composed of the Jesuits, and a considerable number of the nobility devoted to the old system of Louis XIV., who were disgusted with the regent, and headed by the duke and duchess of Maine. He even despatched emissaries into France to secure the person of the duke of Orleans, and to convey him to Spain ; and, covering his ambitious projects with the appearance of public good, he proposed to convoke the states-general, for the appointment of a new regent, reforming the state, and paying the national debt. The magnitude of his prepara- tions being not inadequate to the execution of this gigantic project, Europe waited in anxious suspense the bursting of the storm, Alberoni commenced the execution of his plan by the invasion of Sardinia. On the 22nd <»i" August, 1717, the marquis de Leda at the head of the Spanish army disem- barked at Cagliari, and soon effected the conquest of the whole island. In the following year he invaded Sicily with a still more numerous armament, and in a short time made himself master of the principal fortresses except Syracuse, which he closely blockaded. These acts of hostility and the impending danger united the emperor, France, and England for their common safety. Charles being delivered from the dread of the Turks by the victory of Belgrade, despatched a body of troops to the defence of Naples, and hastened the conclusion of the peace of Passarovitz. He also reluctantly renounced his preten- 108 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXIV. sions to Spain ; and on the 2nd of August, 1718, concluded a treaty with Great Britain and France, which, from the expected accession of the United Provinces, was termed the Quadruple Alliance. By this arrangement the emperor agreed to acknowledge Philip king of Spain, and to give to Don Carlos Tuscany, with the eventual investiture of Parma and Placentia, and in the mean time to secure the reversion hy garrisoning the fortresses of those duchies with neutral troops. In return for these renunciations, Sicily was to be yielded by Victor Amadeus to the emperor, in exchange for Sardinia, and Philip was to renounce his pretensions on the Netherlands, the duchy of Milan, and the two Sicilies. By a separate article, the three allies bound themselves to enforce the acceptance of this treaty, and the kings of Spain and Sardinia were allowed three months only to notify their acquiescence to these condi- tions. Victor Amadeus, exposed to the attacks of France, ac- ceded to the treaty on the 2nd of November ; but Philip disdainfully rejected all overtures of accommodation, al- though his fleet had been defeated and almost totally de- stroyed by admiral Byng off the coast of Sicily, on the 11th of August. Towards the commencement of the ensuing year, a French army, under marshal Berwick, crossed the Pyre- nees, and penetrated into Spain ; the coasts of Gallicia were ravaged by the English squadrons, and a remnant of the Spanish navy destroyed in Vigo. The fleet which carried the pretender to Scotland was dispersed by a storm ; the regent, duke of Orleans, quelled the conspiracy fomented by the Spanish faction in France ; Peter the Great was awed by the appearance of an English fleet in the Baltic ; and Charles XII., on whose co-operation Alberoni had founded the most sanguine hopes, was killed at the siege of Fredericshall, on the 13th of November. The English fleet having prevented the Spaniards from reinforcing their army in Sicily, the imperial general, count Mercy, landed at the head of 13,000 troops, and being re- inforced with 10,000 men, took Massena after an obstinate resistance of three months, recovered the greater part of the island, and confined the enemy almost under the walls of Palermo. 1715-1720.] THE QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE. 109 This rapid success gave weight to the demands of the allied powers ; the fall of Alberoni was the prelude to the pacification of Europe, and on the 25th of January, 1720, Philip acceded to the terms of the Quadruple Alliance, which was moulded into a treaty of peace, and signed at the Hague on the 17th of February. By this treaty it was stipulated that the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia should never be united with the crown of Spain ; and the emperor promised to expedite the letters expecta- tive of the reversion, called, in the diplomatic language of the times,, the Eventual Investiture, within two months after the ratification. On the 2nd of August, 1718, soon after the signature of the Quadruple Alliance, Charles promulgated a new law of succession, for the inheritance of the house of Austria, under the name of the Pragmatic Sanction. According to the family compact formed by Leopold, and confirmed by Joseph and Charles, the succession was entailed on the daughters of Joseph in preference to the daughters of Charles, should they both die without issue male. Charles, however, had scarcely ascended the throne, though at that time without children, than he reversed this compact, and settled the right of succession, in default of his male issue, first on his own daughters, then on the daughters of Joseph, and after- wards on the queen of Portugal and the other daughters of Leopold. Since the promulgation of that decree, the em- press had borne a son who died in his infancy, and three daughters, Maria Theresa, Maria Anne, and Maria Amelia. With a view to insure the succession of these daughters, and to obviate the dangers which might arise from the claims of the Josephine archduchesses, he published the Pragmatic Sanction, and compelled his nieces to renounce their pretensions on their marriages with the electors of Saxony and Bavaria. Aware, however, that the strongest renunciations are disregarded, he obtained from the differ- ent states of his extensive dominions the acknowledgment of the Pragmatic Sanction, and made it the great object of his reign, to which he sacrificed every other consideration, to procure the guaranty of the European powers. 110 Chap. LXXXY. — 1718. Before we proceed in the history of Charles VI., it is ne- cessary to pause and review his political situation, in regard to the internal state of his dominions, and his relations with foreign powers. At the conclusion of the Quadruple Alliance, Charles seems to have attained the summit of his power and splen- dour ; and if we estimate his power from his possessions he would appear the greatest monarch in Christendom. He was by election emperor of Germany, by hereditary right sovereign of Hungary, Transylvania, Bohemia, Aus- tria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, the Tyrol, and the Brisgau, and he had recently obtained Naples and Sicily, the Milanese and the Netherlands. The population of these extensive dominions did not amount to less than 24,000,000 of souls. But if we consider the effective strength of these territories and their disjointed state, we shall find that Charles was rather weakened than strengthened by his new acquisitions. The Netherlands, though the richest and most populous district of Europe, were distant from his other dominions ; part of the revenues was appropriated to the repairs of the fortifications, and the maintenance of Dutch garrisons ; and the remainder, which, by the constitution of the country, he could not augment or alienate, was inadequate to their defence in time of war. His authority also was extremely limited and precarious, as the country was divided into provinces forming separate and independent states, which possessed different privileges, and could not be reduced to a uniform system of government. Having recently ex- perienced a tumultuary opposition to some innovations which he was desirous of introducing into the forms of go- vernment and the collection of the revenue, he was obliged to quell the refractory spirit of the natives by exemplary punishment, and could only keep them in awe by a mili- tary force. In addition to the ancient causes of enmity which sub sisted between the houses of Austria and Bourbon, the pos- session of the Netherlands furnished a new source of future 1718.] STATE OF TIIE AUSTRIAN EMPIRE. Ill contention by inflaming the natural jealousy arising from the proximity and jarring interests of rival nations. The Barrier Treaty contained the seeds of inevitable dissension, and the tenure on which those countries were held gave rise to continual bickerings with the Maritime Powers, who, jealous of their commercial interests, had bound him by the strongest engagements not to permit any foreign trade from the Netherlands which might interfere with theirs. Hence the acquisition of these territories was the source of continual dissensions, and weakened instead of cementing the union of the house of Austria with Eng- land and Holland. The kingdom of Naples and its appendage Sicily, which Charles acquired in exchange for Sardinia, did not furnish a military force sufficient for their own defence. Hence they were likely to become the point of attack from France and Spain ; and the emperor could not furnish adequate succours from his German territories without the assistance of the Maritime Powers. The duchies of Milan and Mantua were likewise isolated from his other dominions by the interposition of the Gri- sons and the territory of Venice; and Mantua, the only place capable of resisting a long siege, required a numerous garrison and immense magazines. The revenue of the country, though more adequate to the maintenance of the civil establishment, was yet too scanty to furnish resources for war ; and that duchy, separated from his other posses- sions, was exposed to invasion from the arms of France or Spain, unless it was protected by the king of Sardinia, who held in his hands the key of Italy. In these circumstances, Charles derived his only certain and permanent sources of strength from his hereditary do- minions ; but these were greatly inadequate to the grandeur of his ideas and the extent of his projects. In point of numbers, and when headed by such generals as Eugene and Staremberg, the imperial army might have been extremely formidable, had the finances been sufficient for their maintenance. The amount of the peace establish- ment exceeded 100,000 men ; but all these troops were ne- cessary to occupy his numerous fortresses, to secure the tranquillity of his distant territories, to supply his contin- gent of 18,000 men for the Low Countries, and to repress 112 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXV. the discontents in Hungary. Their pay was extremely small, because, when stationary, they were supplied with provisions and forage from the hereditary countries. During the whole reign of Charles VI. the war esta- blishment never exceeded 160,000 men ; of these not more than 70,000 could be brought into the field, who, being de- prived of their customary supplies of provisions from the hereditary countries, and unable to maintain themselves by their scanty pay, could scarcely be kept on foot without subsidies from foreign powers, except in a war with the Turks, when they drew their subsistence from Hungary. His revenues, which amounted to 30.000,000 of florins*', were scanty in comparison with the extent of his dominions, and in a state of almost irreparable disorder. The original cause of this dilapidation was principally derived from the burdensome wars in which Leopold and Joseph had been engaged for the Spanish succession. Although the finances had been improved by the establishment of the bank of Vienna, and the wise measures adopted under the administration of count Gundaker Staremberg for the liquidation of the arrears ; yet the good effects of that plan had been thwarted by the expenses of the campaigns against the Turks, the warlike preparations occasioned by the per- petual contests with Spain, and the defective management of the revenue under the auspices of count Altheim. Another great cause of the disorder in the finances arose from the practice of the emperor himself, who drew annually from the governors, both of his hereditary and foreign provinces, sums to a considerable amount for his private purse. These sums being taken from the revenues appropriated to the maintenance of the civil and military establishments, injured the public service, and occasioned the neglect of the most urgent affairs. The governors were anxious to gain the favour of the emperor by making large remittances, which supplied him with the means of bribing foreign courts, gratifying his Spanish and Italian adherents, and purchasing jewels, of which he was more fond than any of his predecessors. The imperial dignity gave splendour to the house of Austria, as well as the influence which was derived from the power of conferring ecclesiastical dignities and honorary * Not more than 3,000,000/. sterling. 1718.] HIS CHARACTER. 113 distinctions ; but, as emperor of Germany, Charles pos- sessed rather a nominal than a real sovereignty. He had no permanent revenue, nor any settled military force ; and his principal influence arose rather from his weight as head of the house of Austria, than as chief of the empire and president of the diet. In case of war in which the empire took part, he was indeed assisted with men and money by the contingents of the prince3 and states, ac- cording to the resolutions of the diet ; but even when the whole body was unanimous the contingents fell far short of their nominal amount ; the supplies of money voted under the name of Roman months*, were scanty and ill paid ; and the army, which on paper was stated at 120,000 effective men, seldom exceeded 20,000 in the field, con- sisting chiefly of raw and undisciplined troops, actuated by the petty interests and discordant views of the states to which they belonged, and rarely in a condition to act before the middle of the campaign.]" But whenever the states were divided in opinion, and particularly in a war with France, the emperor was feebly supported ; and part of tlie Germanic body either adopted a neutrality, or joined in hostilities against their chief. Charles was not gifted with the talents of his brother Joseph, had not enjoyed the same advantages of education, and was by nature so cold and phlegmatic, that it was said he was serious even when he smiled ; but he was by no means deficient in abilities. His conception though slow was clear ; his political knowledge was extensive, and he expressed himself in various languages with great elegance and facility. His intentions were Honest and upright ; and he was anxious to govern his subjects with wisdom and justice. His religion was less tinctured with bigotry * These subsidies were called Roman months, because formerly the states of the empire were obliged to furnish an army of 20,000 foot, and 4000 horse, to accompany the emperor in his expedition to Rome; and those who did not choose to provide soldiers paid a monthly equi- valent in money. This mode of contribution was afterwards extended to all other cases where men and money were required for the service of the empire, and hence the term Roman months was applied to subsidies in general. f As these troops seldom made their appearance before the month of August, by a pun on the imperial title of Augustus they were termed the August troops. VOL. III. I 114 CHARLES VI. [CII. LXXXV. than that of his father Leopold, or even of his brother Joseph. Though sincere in his belief of the Roman Ca- tholic faith, and attached from principle to the see of Rome, he yet preserved himself in great points uninfluenced, always retained the clergy in due subjection, and never suffered them to intermeddle in matters of state. Strict in his morals, he was ever remarkable for great propriety of character and decorum of manners ; and even in the ardour of youth never deviated into any glaring excess. But these solid qualities and upright intentions were coun- teracted by a narrow jealousy, a love of adulation, and a punctilious obstinacy, which induced him to maintain an inflexible perseverance in measures once adopted ; these natural detects were aggravated by the ascendency which an artful favourite, count Altheim, had acquired over his mind. It was a great misfortune to Charles, that of all the ministers and attendants whom Leopold had placed about his person on his departure for Spain, and at an age when the deepest impressions are made, not one was worthy either of his esteem or imitation. Ilis governor, prince Lichtcn- stein, who accompanied him in the character of grand master of his household, and to whose guidance he was peculiarly intrusted, was a nobleman of mean intellects, pedantic knowledge, and wholly devoted to the wild pur- suits of alchemy ; hence, at a time of life when friendships are easily formed, Charles contracted a partiality for count Altheim, from whom he imbibed principles which unfor- tunately regulated his future conduct, and influenced the events of his reign. Count Altheim, the nephew of prince Lichtenstein, first attracted the notice of Charles by an open variance with his uncle, and soon improved the favourable opinion of the young monarch by the elegance of his address and the insinuation of his manners. Under the semblance of a frank and open behaviour, he concealed great cunning and intrigue. To perpetuate his influence he prejudiced Charles against the court and ministers of Vienna ; he in- sinuated that the sole aim of Joseph and his cabinet was, to exclude him from the throne of Spain, to annex the Milanese to the Austrian dominions, to secure to him only the kingdom of the two Sicilies with the Low Countries, and to render him entirely dependent. 1718.] HIS MINISTERS ALTIIEIM. 115 When Charles became head of the house of Austria, the artful favourite availed himself of his master's vanity to suggest that his glory was interested in being his own minister ; that he was superior to his servants in abilities as in dignity; that he ought to prove himself greater than either his father or brother, by supporting alone the weight of empire, and should principally consult those who were indebted to him for their elevation, and had his honour only at heart. By instilling such doctrines, and by ap- pearing totally subservient to the will of the emperor, Altheim acquired an undue influence over the counsels of his phlegmatic and suspicious master. But though he might have aspired to the situation of prime minister, he was so conscious of his own incapacity to direct the helm of government, that he never accepted an olliee of respon- sibility, lie refused to be a member of the secret con- ference or cabinet council, and in the post of master of the horse, became the real though not the ostensible minis- ter, and contented himself with the substance, while he left to others the shadow of authority. He gradually appro- priated to himself the disposal of all places except in the military line, new modelled the board of finances, and filled the several departments of government with his creatures. He availed himself of the predilection which Charles always professed for Spain, and his sanguine hopes of re- covering that crown, and prevailed on him to institute a council composed entirely of Spaniards or Italians, for the purpose of governing the Low Countries, Naples, and the Milanese ; and this council became the private cabinet which, during his life, swayed the helm of state. He also availed himself of the discontents which had taken place between counts Sinzendorf and Staremberg, two ministers of the conference, and by sometimes supporting the one and sometimes the other, he held the balance in his own hands, and prevented them from uniting against his own authority. Having diminished the influence and credit of tin 30 ministers, Eugene alone remained a barrier to his ambition, and an object of his jealousy. The rank and dignity, the high consideration in which the prince was held by persons of all stations, his power as president of the council of war, and member of the secret conference, led the favourite to I 2 116 CHARLES VI. [CII. LXXXV. spare no cabals, and to employ intrigue upon intrigue, to undermine his credit and obtain his dismission. Under the pretence of general reformation in the de- partments of government, Altheim insinuated to the em- peror, that the power of Eugene was too great for a subject, and even shackled the authority of the sovereign. He therefore proposed as a remedy against what he called a government within a government, to establish an inde- pendent committee of war, and he hoped, that as the high spirit of the prince would not brook this affront, his remon- strances would offend the emperor, and he Would either resign or be dismissed. The conduct of Eugene justified this supposition ; for when informed of the intended alter- ation in the council of war, he declared that if a single servant w r as dismissed, he would instantly retire. The efforts of Altheim were seconded by his brother-in- law, count Nemsch, who submitted to the emperor daily reports highly unfavourable to the prince. Before the scheme was matured, a valet of count Nemsch having stolen the minutes of these informations, carried them to Eugene, who instantly appealed to his sovereign. This unexpected discovery disconcerted the whole project. Charles could not refuse attending to the just remon- strances of his general on the eve of a war with Spain ; and the favourite himself had not courage to carry his plan into execution. Nemsch was arrested, tried, deprived of all his employments, and imprisoned for two years in the citadel of Gratz ; and one of his principal agents, the Abbe Todesqui, was whipped by the common executioner and banished. But though Eugene thus triumphed over the cabals of his enemies, he never acquired the full confidence and friendship of Charles. The recollection of past services, the disgrace which would be incurred by dismissing him, and the dread of driving him into the service of France, preserved him in his posts, but with more ostensible than real pow r er. During a war indeed, or when hostilities seemed unavoidable, Eugene possessed considerable autho- rity, and was permitted to regulate the military operations with almost absolute sway ; but in peaceable periods his counsels had little weight, and the emperor consulted his own prejudices and suspicions, and followed the importunate 1718.] HIS MINISTERS — REAL P. 117 representations of his other ministers, who envied the high distinction enjoyed by the great supporter of the house of Austria. Hence his audiences of his sovereign were always cold and short, each mistrusting the other ; the emperor from jealousy, Eugene from a recollection of the many attempts which had been made to remove him. He gave his advice plainly and frankly in the cabinet whenever it was demanded ; but never enforced his opinion, or conde- scended to court the approbation of his sovereign, or the concurrence of the ministers. In his own department alone he preserved his authority without the smallest control even from the emperor himself. Not long after the failure of this intrigue, Eugene was relieved from further attempts by the decease of count Altheim, who died in 1722, to the great regret of the emperor. Charles testified his friendship for the favourite, by declaring himself guardian of his children, and, to use the words of a contemporary writer, " gave orders in what manner they should be educated, and treated them more like his own children than his subjects." On the death of count Altheim, the principal ministers of the cabinet were prince Eugene, count Gundaker Staremberg, and count Sinzendorf, emphatically called ministers of the secret conference, and the marquis de Realp, who was at the head of the council of Spain. The marquis de Realp, a native of Catalonia, who had attached himself to the interests of Charles, while strug- gling for the crown of Spain, owed his promotion to the influence of count Altheim, to whom he always continued devoted. Though not a member of the conference, he had at this period great personal credit with his master, as well because he had been recommended by Altheim, as because he was intrusted with the principal management of the Spanish and Italian affairs, lie was visionary and indiscreet, wholly ignorant of the political system of Europe, and, ill qualified for negotiation ; but was con- sulted by the emperor in commercial regulations, parti- cularly those relating to his foreign dominions. Since the death of Altheim the emperor had lived with Realp in greater familiarity than with any of his other ministers ; Charles admitted him in his hours of retirement, which were passed in the society of Spaniards and Italians, I 3 118 CHARLES VI. [CIT. LXXXV. who had attached themselves to his fortunes in Spain, and with whom he shook off that solemnity of deportment which he uniformly maintained in public. Count Sinzendorf, chancellor, and secretary for the di- rection of foreign affairs, had been principally recommended by the marquis de Realp, as a counterpoise to the interests of prince Eugene. Realp, well acquainted with the sus- picious character of the emperor, described him as a man not remarkable for eminent talents, and of an interested and supple disposition, but of great experience in foreign affairs. Yet Sinzendorf, though at first he acted a subor- dinate part, afterwards gradually supplanted his patron, and rose to the highest confidence by flattering the chimerical schemes of the emperor, and by affecting an entire deference to his will. His character formed a singular contrast of opposite qualities. lie united the extremes of flattery and blunt- ness, suppleness and obstinacy, phlegm and impetuosity, humility and arrogance. He was highly elated with the most trifling incident in his favour, and sunk into the deepest despondency on the smallest reverse. From his devotion to the luxuries of the table, he is justly termed by the royal historian the Apicius of the imperial court ; from his fondness of the pleasures and enjoyments of society, and his attachment to play, he was unable to attend to the multiplicity of business ; and by his dilatory and procrastinating spirit increased the natural tardiness of the cabinet of Vienna. The magnificence of his establish- ment, and love of parade, involved him in expenses which far exceeded his income ; and he was not backward in ac- cepting presents from foreign courts as the price of his good offices. lie did not, however, conceal from the em- peror the amount of these gratifications, or the offers which were made to him, and in some instances was authorised by his master to accept the presents, and to employ part of the money in gaining foreign ministers, or in promoting his favourite schemes. Count Gundaker Staremberg possessed high integrity and an elevated mind, and w r as well acquainted with the financial department, of which he had the direction. He despised the arts of flattery, by which Sinzendorf and Realp conciliated their master ; and, like Eugene, always delivered his opinion with frankness and sincerity. He 1718-1722.] HIS ATTENTION TO BUSINESS. 119 was, however, cold, formal, reserved, and contemptuous, jealous of Eugene, but despising his other colleagues. lie therefore extorted the esteem, but did not possess the con- fidence of the emperor ; was disliked by the other ministers, and had little credit out of his department. These were the ministers who were intrusted with the os- tensible direction of foreign affairs ; and their discordant views and characters increased the difficulty of transacting business with a court which had been long remarkable for its dilatory and overbearing conduct. The change which had taken place in the habits and disposition of the em- peror contributed still further to augment this embarrass- ment. At the commencement of his reign Charles was sedulous in the transaction of business, constantly attended the con- ferences of state, toiled through the mass of diplomatic papers, and even wrote numerous despatches to his am- bassadors with his own hand. But this assiduity gradually subsided, he devoted great part of his time to music and to the pleasures of the chace, and wasted the remainder in ceremonies and parade, or in the company of his Spanish and Italian favourites. He still, however, affected great attention to business, and would suffer no measure to be executed which he had not previously examined and sanctioned. He also received the result of each conference, which was drawn up by count Sinzendorf, secretary for foreign affairs, and counter memorials were often presented by the other ministers* From this mode of conducting business, papers and do- cuments continually accumulated, which the emperor had neither leisure nor inclination to examine; and the most important negotiations were continually neglected. Even the copy of the Quadruple Alliance remained three months on his table before he could be induced to sign it. Chap. LXXXYL — 1718-1722. The external relations of the house of Austria towards foreign powers were essentially changed on the conclusion of the Quadruple Alliance. i 4 120 CHARLES VI. [CII. LXXXVI. A bloody Avar, which had continued for the space of eighteen years, had totally changed the political situation of the North. It originated in the contest for the possession of Livonia, which had been alternately oc- cupied by the Poles and Russians, and had been assigned to the Swedes at the peace* of Oliva. Augustus II., king of Poland, with the hopes of recovering Livonia, formed a confederacy with Russia and Denmark, against Charles XII., who had recently succeeded to the crown of Sweden in the fifteenth year of his -age. But the views of the confederates were baffled by the vigour and intrepidity of the young monarch : Charles compelled the king of Denmark to desert the confederacy, and conclude the peace of Travendahl ; he forced Augustus to abdicate the throne of Poland, which he conferred on Stanislaus Let- zinski ; defeated the czar in several encounters, and threatened him with the same fate as Augustus. But after having raised his military glory to the greatest height, he lost by the single battle of Pultawa all the fruits of his former successes, sacrificed his veteran troops amidst the wilds of Russia, and wasted several years as a fugitive and suppliant at the mercy of the Porte. During his absence, Augustus regained the throne of Poland ; and the confederacy was renewed and strength- ened by the accession of the electors of Brandenburgh and Hanover. The emperor, anxious to prevent the war from spreading into the empire, joined with the other members of the Grand Alliance to secure a neutrality for the Swedish provinces in Germany. This proposal, however, being scornfully rejected by the king of Sweden, the confederates burst upon his dominions, overran Pomerania, Bremen, and Verden, involved his nephew, the duke of Holstein, in his misfortunes, and Charles XII. only returned to experience new defeats, and to witness the loss of his fairest provinces. Though at length reconciled to his rival, Peter the Great, he still breathed war and vengeance, led his army into the heart of Norway, and fell a sacrifice to his daring spirit, on the 11th of December, 1718, at the instant when he was preparing to second the wild schemes of Alberoni, and in concurrence with Russia, to turn his arms against the emperor, and the powers confederated by the Quadruple Alliance. His death was a fortunate event to Europe ; 1718-1722.] STATE OF EUROPE. 121 for although he had exhausted his country, and occasioned its dismemberment, yet being still adored by a people emulous of military glory, and animated with a recollection of their former deeds, his eccentric valour might have again turned the tide of success. Peter the Great had made considerable progress in civi- lising his vast empire, and by creating a navy, disciplining his army, and concentrating his force on the side of the Baltic, had converted Russia from an Asiatic into an European power. lie had consolidated his conquests from Sweden, and began to take an active part in the political transactions of Germany and the North. Although from a dread of the Turks he had courted the alliance of Austria, yet he was greatly displeased with the emperor for supporting the nobles of Mecklenburgh against their sovereign Charles Leopold, who had espoused Catherine, his niece ; and he was still further irritated by his inter- ference in the affairs of Sweden to the exclusion of the duke of Ilolstein, who was betrothed to his daughter, the princess Anne. From these causes of disgust, Peter was readily induced to concur in the schemes of Alberoni, and to co-operate with his rival, Charles XII., in taking ven- geance on the emperor. Alarmed at the threatening aspect of Russia, the em- peror, on the 5th of January, 1719, concluded a defensive alliance with the king of England as elector of Hanover, and the king of Poland as elector of Saxony. Fortunately, however, the hostile designs of Russia were frustrated by the events which occasioned the disgrace of Alberoni, and by the death of Charles XII. ; but Peter still retained his dislike, and even after the peace of Nystadt prepared vast armaments by sea and land, to interfere in the affairs of Mecklenburgh, and to place his intended son-in-law on the throne of Sweden. The Turks, fallen from their former grandeur, and hum- bled by the peace of Passarovitz, were kept in continual alarm by their dread of the Russians and the troubles of Persia ; and Sultan Achinet III., who had exchanged the restless and baneful activity of his ancestors for the indo- lence of the seraglio, was neither able nor willing to in- fringe the treaty of Passarovitz, which he had recently concluded. 122 CHARLES VI. [CII. LXXXVI. At this period the influence of the emperor seemed to preponderate in Italy, and its heterogeneous states were split and divided by different interests, and not likely to unite in one compact league against the house of Austria. Those parts of Italy which did not acknowledge the sovereignty of the house of Austria, were the republics of Venice and Genoa, the dominions of the pope, the territo- ries of the king of Sardinia, and the duchies of Modena, Parma, and Tuscany. During the contests between France and Spain, after the death of Charles V., as well as during the war for the Spa- nish succession, Genoa maintained for the most part a wise neutrality, and purchased from the emperor the marquisate of Finale, which was guarantied by the Quadruple Al- liance. But in 1715, the Genoese having offending Charles by arresting an imperial officer who wore his sword, con- trary to the ordinances of the state, a corps of Austrian troops marched to the gates of Genoa, and compelled the republic to liberate the prisoner, to pay 300,000 dollars, and to depute a senator to Vienna, for the purpose of ex- pressing their regret and requesting forgiveness. From their local situation the Genoese were attached to France, and jealous of the king of Sardinia, who had pretensions to the marquisate of Finale ; but, deriving experience from their recent humiliation, were afraid and unwilling to offend the emperor. Although the peace of Passarovitz deprived Venice of the Morea, which had long been an object of contention with the Turks, yet it secured her trade, and ensured to her the possession of the Dalmatian territory and the valua- ble islands of Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante, and Cerigo. Since that pacification the republic relinquished its ambitious de- signs of making conquests in Greece, and preserved a state of uninterrupted neutrality in regard to the affairs of Europe. From her position on the Adriatic and the fron- tiers of the Milanese, as -well as from dread of the Turks, Venice was closely united with the house of Austria, and was treated with the respect due to an ancient ally by the emperor, who looked forward to the assistance of her fleet, in case of a rupture with the Turks. The thunders of the Vatican, which had long awed the princes of Europe, had lost their terrors; and the pope, 1718-1722.] STATE OF EUROPE. 123 hemmed in between the Milanese and the kingdom cf Naples, was of still L*ss weight as a temporal power. Next to the emperor, the king of Sardinia was the most powerful prince in Italy, less from the extent than from the situation of his dominions, which formed a barrier on the side of France. Victor Amadeus possessed the ambition, courage, and talents which had raised his predecessors from petty princes of Savoy to a secondary sovereignty in Europe, and had increased his dominions by a similar policy, in alter- nately swaying the balance between the houses of Austria and Bourbon in Italj', and selling his service to the highest bidder. By the treaty of Utrecht he had obtained from France the forts of Exiles and Fenestrelles, the valleys of Oulx, Sezane, Bardonache* and Chateau Dauphin, and the confirmation of the territories in the Milanese, promised by Leopold as the price of his accession to the Quadruple Al- liance, the greater part of which Charles had been reluct- antly compelled to yield. These territories consisted of part of the duchy of Montferrat, the provinces of Alexan- dria and Valencia, with the district between the \ y o and the Tanaro, of the Lumellina and the valley of Sessia. But these acquisitions did not gratify his ambition ; he aspired to the possession of the whole Milanese with the title of king of Lombardy, and was disgusted with the emperor, who refused to fulfil the promises made by Joseph in seconding his views, and withheld the Langhes and the Vigenvenasco, which had been promised by Leopold. He was still more irritated at the compulsory exchange of Sicily for the barren island of Sardinia. Victor Amadeus at this period had recovered his country from the calamities of war, had improved his finances, and possessed a well-disciplined army, by whom he was adored. Hence the house of Austria became deeply interested to secure his assistance, or at least his neutrality ; but Charles had conceived a peculiar jealousy of the king of Sardinia. He was indignant that the reversion of the crown of Spain was entailed, by the peace of Utrecht, on the descendants of Victor Amadeus, in preference to his own line ; and he beheld with the strongest aversion the attempts of the British cabinet to negotiate a marriage between the prince of Piedmont and one of the daughters of Joseph, which 124 CHARLES VI, [CH. LXXXYI. might render the house of Savoy a claimant of the Austrian succession. He knew also that the assistance of Victor Amadeus could not be gained without sacrificing a part of Lombardy, and was not ignorant of his customary remark, " I must acquire the Milanese piece by piece, as I eat the leaves of an artichoke." From its insignificance and weakness, Parma would not deserve notice among the powers of Europe, had it not given a queen to Spain, and been distinguished by the dis- putes for the Succession. The ducal throne was occupied by Francis, the seventh prince of the house of Farnese, who was without issue, and the presumptive heir was his brother Anthony, who was likewise childless. They were both of an inferior capacity, and wholly subservient to the counsels of Spain. Tuscany, which under the first princes of the house of Medici hud risen to such distinction and splendour, was sunk into a state of decline under Cosmo III., whose ad- vanced age and extreme bigotry weakened every nerve of government. His only surviving son, John Gaston, was without any prospect of issue, and in character both«indo- lent and licentious. Princes of such talents were incapable of supporting the claims of the princess Anna Maria Louisa, daughter of Cosmo III., and wife of the elector Palatine, or of making any effectual resistance to the eventual disposal of Tuscany. The small territory comprising the duchies of Modena, Eeggio, and Mirandola was principally remarkable for its position between Tuscany, Parma, Mantua, and the eccle- siastical states, which rendered its acquisition of importance during an Italian war. The sovereign, Rinaldo d'Este, was a prince of an enterprising spirit, and during the war of the Succession had continued inflexible in his attachment to the house of Austria, although his dominions were over- run by the French. The battle of Turin having restored the preponderance of the imperial arms in Italy, he reco- vered his possessions, and received, in reward for his fide- lity, the investiture of Mirandola from the emperor Joseph. Gratitude and inclination bound him to the interests of the house of Austria, and he was a firm adherent to Charles VI. The relative situation of England and the house of Aus- tria always depended on the connection of England with 1718-1722.] STATE OF EUROPE. 125 France. During the ambitious projects of Louis XIV., England courted the house of Austria as the great counter- poise to the house of Bourbon, and their interests were still more closely united in the war of the Spanish Succes- sion. Anne first tore asunder the bands of amity by de- serting the principles of the Grand Alliance and concluding a separate peace with France, which wrested the crown of Spain from Charles VI., and guarantied it to a prince of the house of Bourbon. Although the breach occasioned by this desertion w r as in some measure healed by the accession of George I., and the mutual interests of the two powers, to withstand the ambitious designs of Elizabeth Farnese, had renewed their connection, yet the coolness which had arisen was never wholly removed. Charles was offended with the recent alliance of England and France, because it rendered his co- operation of less value ; he was displeased with the onerous terms of the Barrier Treaty, and his resentment was still further excited by the petty discussions relative to the German interests of the king of England as elector of Hanover. Long accustomed to blind complaisance from England, he expected that an elector of Hanover upon that throne would be still more subservient to his views and de- sires, and was both disappointed and chagrined when the conduct of George I. dissipated the illusion. England, though willing to conciliate the head of the house of Aus- tria, was more anxious not to lose the lucrative commerce with Spain, and was too attentive to her own interests not to enforce the strict execution of that part of the Quadruple Alliance which related to the eventual investiture of the duchies of Parma and Placentia in favour of Don Carlos, and which the emperor was desirous to elude. The republic of the United Provinces was in a state of weakness and disunion ; the government was a confederacy of discordant states without a stadtholder, loaded with debts, and incapable of active exertion. After the death of pensionary Heinsius, whose influence had long been predominant, it was still more distracted by different parties, equally jealous of France and of the house of Austria. The States had been recently alienated by the prevarications of the emperor in concluding their favourite object, the Barrier Treaty, and were chiefly swayed by the united influence of England and France. 126 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXVI. The duke of Orleans, who held the reins of government in France, had already made one step towards a reconcilia- tion with Spain, by affiancing Louis XV. with the infanta Mary Anne, eldest daughter of Philip and Elizabeth Far- nese, and by the marriage of Elizabeth, his fourth daughter, with the prince of Asturias. This marriage, however, did not affect the union between France and England, or occa- sion any essential change in the situation of France with regard to the house of Austria ; for the infanta Mary Anne being only four years of age, the consummation of her marriage with Louis XV. was distant, and the eventual succession to the crown of France still open. Spain, though humbled by the loss of her fleet and the defeat of her projects, retained a spirit of pride and bound- less ambition. Philip V. seemed to have relinquished his personal enmity to the duke of Orleans by the conclusion of the double marriages ; but being reduced to a state of morbid melancholy, he was wholly governed by Elizabeth Farnese, who directed her ambitious views to secure the eventual succession to the crow r n of France for her descend- ants by Philip. This, however, being a distant contin- gency, she was still more anxious to procure the reversion of Tuscany, Placentia, and Parma, the hopes of which had alone induced her to accede to the Quadruple Alliance ; well aware of the emperor's repugnance to confirm the reversion, she employed her utmost efforts to extort his acquiescence by obtaining the concurrence of England and France. Portugal w r as governed by John V., a prince of a violent and haughty disposition, but who possessed more talents than any of his predecessors of the line of Braganza. lie was attached to the house of Austria as well from his enmity to France, and his rivalry to Spain, as from h's marriage with Mary Anne, sister of Charles VI. Germany was at this period agitated by religious dis- sensions, which divided the empire into two parties, the Catholics and the evangelical body, or Protestants. Fruit- less attempts had been made to terminate these dissensions by the treaties of Westphalia and Nimeguen ; and the peace of Ryswick, which concluded the war between the empire and France, furnished new motives of dissension, as by the influence and threats of France a clause was 1718-1722.] STATE OF GERMANY. 127 introduced in the fourth article, stipulating, that the Roman Catholic religion should be continued in the places restored by France as it was then exercised. This clause, which was contradictory to the treaty of Westphalia, was agreed to by the emperor and the Catholic states, but rejected by the Protestants ; and the treaty was ratified by the emperor Leopold without any reference to their remonstrances and claims. Violent disputes accordingly arose in the diet ; and, after much altercation, the Protestants seem to have acquiesced, with the hopes that the treaty itself would be invalidated by the war which was on the point of breaking out for the Spanish succession. These disputes, though suspended by the war, were renewed after the peace of Baden, in which the obnoxious clause was not formally repealed. The Protestants were persecuted by the elector Palatine, and deprived of many of their churches ; and reprisals were made on the Catholics by the king of Prussia and the elector of Hanover. In addition to these religious disputes, the diet was agi- tated by the rival claims of the electors of Bavaria, Pala- tine, and Hanover. The troubles of Mccklcnburgh contributed also to divide the states of the empire, and embarrass the emperor. Vio- lent disputes arising between Charles Leopold the reigning sovereign, and the states of the duchy, respecting the im- position of provincial taxes, the excise, and the right of garrison in the town of Rostock, they appealed to the emperor, and were warmly supported by the elector of Hanover. Letters of protection were accordingly granted to Rostock, and an imperial decree of sequestration was issued against the duke, the execution of which was in- trusted to the elector of Hanover and the duke of Bruns- wick. The duke, however, assisted by Peter the Great, whose niece he had espoused, collected a considerable force, and prepared to resist the execution. At the same time the king of Prussia, who had claims on the eventual suc- cession, complained that the decree had not been intrusted to him as director of the circle of Saxony, and the czar declared that he would never suffer a prince who had mar- ried into his family to be oppressed. These different claims and declamations greatly embar- rassed the emperor, and induced him to lay the affair before 128 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXVI. the diet. The duke, however, derived less advantage from the czar than he expected from so powerful an ally, as the Russian troops only served to increase his enemies without enabling him to resist them. He therefore disbanded his forces, and retired to Dantzic ; the army of execution over- ran the duchy, established an imperial administration, sequestered the ducal revenues, and restored the privileges and possessions of the nobles. But this settlement was of temporary duration, the troubles were soon renewed ; and the affairs of Mecklenburgh continued to embarrass the diet and the emperor during a considerable part of his reign. The authority of the emperor, which was thus thwarted by the contests of opposite parties, was still further con- trolled by the ascendency which the elector of Hanover had acquired on his accession to the throne of Great Britain, and by the increasing strength of the house of Branden- burgh. The house of Brandenburgh is descended from the petty counts of Hohenzollern in Suabia, one of whom obtained, in 1200, the burgraviate or presidency of Nuremberg. Frederic II., or, according to some, the third burgrave, is distinguished in the history of Germany, during the thir- teenth century, as having greatly contributed to the election of his relation Rhodolph, of Hapsburgh, to the imperial throne ; having, partly by marriage, partly by purchase, and partly by investiture, obtained an independent sove- reignty in Franconia, he laid the foundation of the rising greatness of his family. His lineal descendant, Frederic IV., possessed the principalities of Culmbach and Bareith, with the margraviate of Anspach, and contributed to the aggran- disement of his house, by purchasing from the emperor Sigismond the mark or marquisate of Brandenburgh, with the electoral dignity. He received the investiture of his new dominions and dignity from the emperor in 1417, at the city of Constance ; and, from that period, his family was called the electoral house of Brandenburgh. Under the successors of Frederic, the margraviates of Anspach and Bareith were transferred to the younger branches ; and the power of the reigning house did not rise into consequence till the beginning of the seventeenth cen- tury. The principal events which contributed to its aggran- disement were, the introduction of the reformation, by which 1718-1722.] STATE OF GERMANY. 129 the bishoprics of Brandenburgh and Havelburgh were se- cularised and annexed to the electoral dominions ; the acquisition of Prussia, which was originally a Polish fief; and the succession to the counties of Cleves, La Marc, and Ravenstein, as part of the inheritance of the house of Juliers, in virtue of the marriage of Sigismond, elector of Brandenburgh, with Anne, eldest sister of John William, the last duke. The power of the house of Brandenburgh was still farther augmented and consolidated by Frederic William, who for his distinguished civil and military talents was Burnamed the Great Elector. His son and successor Frederic assumed the regal title; and though it did not add to his power, it contributed to the aggrandisement of his family, by rescu- ing it from that state of servitude in which the house of Austria had hitherto kept the princes of Germany. Frederic dying in 1713, was succeeded by his son Frederic William, who, instead of continuing the splendour of his father's establishment, made economy the great basis of his administration. The first object of the new king was to suppress the numerous charges of his father's court, to sell his jewels, horses, and furniture ; and by reducing the establishment almost to that of a private individual, he laid the foundation of that treasure which he bequeathed to his successor. Frederic William next directed his attention to the im- provement of his finances: he equalised the land tax, raised the excise, augmented the tolls, improved agricul- ture by suppressing the feudal tenures ; and, by simplify- ing and improving the mode of collection, nearly doubled his annual revenues. He also established a more simple, though despotic form of government, suppressed the council of state, reduced the ministers to mere clerks, and directed every department with the same ease and order as a colonel governs his regiment, or a steward regulates his accounts. But the great political end of all his interior arrange- ments was, to render himself formidable by the maintenance of a large army. He had learned, from the example of his ancestor George William, that a prince without troops was liable to be oppressed both by his allies and enemies ; from that of the great elector, that an effective and well-disci- plined army had raised the house of Brandenburgh to a high VOL. III. K 130 CHARLES VL [CH. LXXXVL degree of eminence among tlie powers of Europe. He had beheld with indignation his father receiving foreign subsi- dies, and the Prussian troops acting under the direction of the sovereigns by whom they were paid ; and, in the cam- paign which he served in Flanders, had been heard to declare that, by a proper administration of the finances, a king of Prussia could maintain 40,000 men from his own resources alone. He proved the truth of his assertion ; for, in the very first year of his reign, he increased his army from 28,000 to 50,000 men, notwithstanding he aug- mented the pay of his soldiers. He published military regulations for every officer, enforced subordination and regularity by the severest penalties, annually inspected every regiment, directed their evolutions in great reviews, acted the part of a non-commissioned officer at the ordinary parades, and, from his attention to the most trifling ma- noeuvres, was sarcastically called the Serjeant king. But his love of detail did not fetter his genius, or draw him from weightier matters ; for he formed a military system till then unknown in Europe. lie first established that discipline which every other power has been striving to imitate, and that mechanism in the infantry by which the parts are firmly connected, and become one uniform and simple whole. He established warehouses and maga- zines of corn in all his provinces, which might supply his troops with immediate subsistence in time of war, or serve to ease his subjects in time of scarcity, and he furnished the magazines with large trains of artillery, and all sorts of military stores. In the prosecution of his military arrangements, Frederic William united all the companies or schools of cadets, which the great elector had founded for the children of the poor nobility, in different cities and towns, and formed them into a corps of cadets in the capital. In this academy, the cadets were instructed in all the arts and sciences with which an officer ought to be acquainted ; and, being trained to military discipline, furnished never-failing supplies for the officers of the army. He also founded at Potsdam an hospital for 3000 orphans of soldiers. By means of his effective and well-disciplined army, Frederic William became the arbiter of Germany ; and his alliance was warmly courted by the European powers. 1718-1727.] EVADES THE QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE. 131 Hitherto, either from inclination or policy, he had generally concurred with George I., whose daughter Sophia Dorothea he had espoused. With him he had zealously joined in supporting the Protestant interest in the empire, and, naturally jealous of the house of Austria, had evaded every connection which seemed likely to promote its aggrandise- ment in Germany. But his capricious and unstable temper, agitated by every gust of passion, and his aversion to the reality, notwithstanding his love of the image of war, ren- dered him incapable of adopting any coherent system of policy. Chap. LXXXVII. — 1718-1727. The eagerness of Charles to obtain possession of Sicily had induced him to sign the Quadruple Alliance, and to agree to terminate his disputes with Spain at the congress of Cambray, under the mediation of England and France. But he had no sooner acquired Sicily, than he testified his repugnance to fulfil his engagements. The principal mo- tive of his conduct was, an aversion to bestow the succes- sion to Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia on a prince of the house of Bourbon, which he foresaw would endanger the security of his dominions in Italy. In fact, he had only signed this article with a resolution to evade it, and with the hope that England would be equally interested to pre- vent the execution. But when he found that George I. was unshaken in fidelity to his engagements, he gave way to his indignation against England, and not only procras- tinated the meeting and conclusion of the congress, but entered into desperate projects to injure the commerce of the Maritime Pow r ers ; and in direct contradiction to the spirit, as well as the letter of the barrier treaty, established the East India Company at Ostend, in 1722. Philip was equally averse to fulfil the articles of the Quadruple Alliance, and from his accession to that treaty on the 25th of January, 1720, nearly three rears were passed in frivolous delays and ridiculous discus^-ions on the titles assumed by the two monarchs, before any progress was made in the business to be deliberated at the congress K 2 132 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXVII. of Cambray. Count Sinzendorf, the imperial plenipoten- tiary, successfully employed those arts of chicanery of which he was so consummate a master ; but the preten- sions of Philip being warmly supported by Great Britain and France, the emperor could not withhold the act of in- vestiture longer than the beginning of 1724, and the con- gress was at length formally opened in the beginning of April. In addition to the embarrassments arising from these contrary pretensions, and the captious dispositions of the two sovereigns, the proceedings of the congress were now delayed by the sudden abdication of Philip V., who, on the 10th of February, 1724, resigned his crown to his son Don Louis, made a solemn vow never to resume it, and retired to St. Ildefonso. It is needless to inquire into the motives of this extraor- dinary resolution, whether from constitutional melancholy, from religious scruples, or from the hope of succeeding to the crown of France on the death of Louis XV., who had been recently attacked with a dangerous disorder. This sudden change gave birth to new difficulties, and divided the administration of Spain into two parties ; for Philip, in his retirement, swayed the reins of government, and the orders, which were to convulse or pacify Europe, still is- sued from Elizabeth Farnese. The new king, though he at first bowed before paternal authority, was not equally submissive to the dictates of his step-mother ; he was, therefore, gradually wrought upon by his adherents, who urged him to emancipate himself from the shackles in which he was held by the court of St. Ildefonso, and to assume the real, as he possessed the nominal power. This motley species of divided government could not long subsist ; derangements and delays took place in every part of the administration, and foreign affairs were ne- glected, even beyond the usual procrastination of the dila- tory court of Madrid. The abdicated sovereign, instigated by his ambitious consort, was unwilling to relinquish his long-established authority ; Louis was disgusted with acting the part of a puppet on the throne ; and these royal jea- lousies and discordant views seemed likely to excite a con- vulsion, which must have ended in the deposition of the son, or the imprisonment of the father. 1718-1727.] BARON DE RIPPERDA. 133 Fortunately for Spain, this dreadful alternative was avoided by the sudden death of Louis. He was seized with the small-pox, and, being unskilfully treated by his physi- cians, was, on the 31st of August, hurried to the grave, in the eighteenth year of his age, and only the eighth month of a nominal reign. The queen was eager again to seize the reins of government, which seemed likely to be wrested from her grasp ; and Philip himself, after a few affected scruples, was easily induced to resume the crown. This event seemed to remove one of the principal ob- stacles which had embarrassed the proceedings of the con- gress, and the conferences were resumed with new spirit, under the mediation of Great Britain and France. Philip required the emperor to renounce the title of king of Spain and the great mastership of the Golden Fleece, to settle the disputes which still continued concerning the succession to Parma and Tuscany, and to restore to their rightful owners the states of Mantua, Mirandola, Montferrat, and Sabionetta, which Joseph had of his own authority appro- priated or conferred. The emperor, on the contrary, expressed his resolution to retain the title of king of Spain, though he demanded that Philip should renounce that of archduke of Austria ; he claimed the sole right to the grand mastership of the Golden Fleece, as being founded by the ancient dukes of Burgundy, of whom he himself was the lineal heir and de- scendant ; he also insisted that the pretensions of the duke of Parma, and of the other princes, had no relation to the objects treated of in the articles of the Quadruple Alliance, and should be referred to the Aulic council, or the diet of Ratisbon. In attempting to adjust these complicated objects of dispute, the mediating powers dipleased both parties ; the two monarchs privately made overtures to each other, and the baron de Ripperda was secretly despatched from Ma- drid to negotiate with the court of Vienna. This extraordinary man was a native of Groningen ; and, having served as colonel in the Dutch army, during the war of the Succession, was personally known to prince Eugene. At the peace of Utrecht, he was deputed as envoy from the States- general to Spain; and having, by his talents and address, acquired the favour of Alberoni, em- k 3 134 CHARLES VI. [CII. LXXXVII. braced the Catholic religion, and settled at Madrid, where he was employed in affairs of a secret and delicate nature. Venal and rapacious, he, at the same time, received bribes from England and a pension from the court of Vienna, and seems at an early period to have formed the project of uniting Philip with the emperor, and to have lured the queen of Spain with the hopes of an archduchess for one of her sons. During the latter part of Alberoni's administra- tion, Iiipperda excited his jealousy, and was disgraced ; but again rose into favour on his fall. Being strongly recom- mended by the duchess of Parma, at the suggestion of the imperial court he became the channel of communication between the queen and her mother, and, in the private audiences to which he was admitted, found means to dazzle the visionary imagination of Philip with splendid schemes for the improvement of the finances, the augmentation of the army, and the amelioration of commerce ; he likewise gained the implicit confidence of the queen, by his affected solicitude for the establishment of her sons in Italy. At length he availed himself of the disgust and resent- ment entertained by Philip and his queen at the dilatory proceeding of the congress of Soissons, and offered to pro- ceed to Vienna, and open a negotiation with the emperor, which, from his intimacy with the ministers, and his know- ledge of the court, he promised to bring to a speedy and successful termination. His offer was eagerly accepted ; and, in 1724, he departed with great secrecy to Vienna, and took up his residence in the suburbs, under the ficti- tious name of the baron Pfaffenberg. For a considerable time his arrival was known only to the emperor, the mar- quis de Pealp, and to count Sinzendorf, who was intrusted with the negotiation. Their conferences were held by night, and the mystery was not even suspected by the foreign ministers till the middle of February. In these private meetings the claims of the respective sovereigns were agitated with scarcely less obstinacy and perseverance than at the congress of Soissons ; and the negotiation was protracted for several months. Charles, anxious to separate the two branches of the house of Bour- bon, and to secure the largesses of Spain, lured the queen with the hopes of bestowing the eldest archduchess on Don Carlos, and securing to the young prince a splendid esta- 1718-1727.] EMBARRASSMENTS OF HIS GOVERNMENT. 135 blishment in Italy, and the reversion of the Austrian suc- cession. He does not, however, seem to have been sincere in this proffer, and much time was passed in urgent de- mands on one side, and quibbling evasions on the other. At length the conclusion of this tedious negotiation was accelerated by the dissolution of the temporary union which had been effected between Spain and France, under the administration of the duke of Orleans. During his life the infanta was treated as the future queen; but his suc- cessor, the duke of Bourbon, actuated by different inter- ests, and anxious to secure an heir to the crown of France, sent back the young princess to Spain, and married Louis XV. to Maria Letzinsky, daughter of Stanislaus, titular king of Poland. This insult roused the proud and irritable court of Madrid almost to frenzy. In the first paroxysm of resentment the queen tore off* a bracelet, ornamented with the portrait of the king of France, and trampled it under foot ; and Philip exclaimed that Spain could never shed sufficient blood to avenge the indignity offered to his family. He declared his resolution to se- parate France and Spain for ever, and offered to submit the final settlement of his disputes with the emperor to the sole mediation of England. This offer being declined by George L, the Spanish monarch turned his resentment against England, broke up the congress of Cambray, and ordered Ripperda to conclude, on any terms, an immediate accommodation witli the court of Vienna. But although the negotiation seemed now brought to a successful issue, the emperor experienced the greatest dif- ficulties from the repugnance of his family and ministers. Eugene and Staremberg were violent in their opposition ; the former contemptuously stigmatised the petty intrigues of the emperor witli some of his ministers unknown to the others, and the latter petulantly observed that the marquis de Realp would ruin his master with his visionary schemes, and expressed astonishment that Sinzendorf, who was by birth an Austrian, should wish to render Austria a pro- vince of Spain. Count Windisgratz, president of the Aulic council, inveighed against the partisans of the treaty as traitors ; and the empress herself, disappointed in her fa- vourite object of bestowing the hand of her daughter, Maria Theresa, on the duke of Loraine, gave way to her k 4 136 CHARLES VI. [CII. LXXXV1I. indignation, and reproached count Sinzendorf with sacrific- ing her dearest hopes to an alliance with a foreign family. Charles, on this occasion, laid aside his ungracious de- portment and characteristic phlegm, and even condescended to employ artifice in order to extort the approbation of his own family and ministers. He paid unusual deference to the cold and formal Staremberg, solicited Eugene in per- son, and even bribed the countess of Bathiani to obtain his acquiescence ; he lured the ostentation of count Windis- gratz by representing that the subsidies of Spain would enable him to give law to the empire, and render the decrees of the Aulic council irresistible. He reconciled the em- press by the prospect of a brilliant establishment for their daughters, whose posterity he urged, in addition to the empire and the Austrian dominions, might wear the crowns of France and Spain. Proud of the success of his petty intrigues, Charles could not refrain from expressing a childish exultation, and boasted that he had now over- come the repugnance of all his ministers, and matured a plan which was to revive in his person the ancient splen- dour and power of the house of Austria; and to give effect to his negotiations, he increased his army by taking 30,000 foreigners into pay. The alliance, concluded at Vienna between the emperor and Spain, consisted of three separate treaties. The first, signed on the 30th of April, 1725, confirmed the articles of the Quadruple Alliance : the emperor renounced his pretensions to the crown of Spain, and Philip acknowledged his right to the Netherlands, the duchy of Milan, and the kingdom of Naples and Sicily ; Charles also obtained his favourite object, the guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction. Both sovereigns agreed to retain the titles which they had assumed ; and stipulated that the honours conferred on their respective subjects, during the war, should be con- firmed ; an article which highly gratified the Spanish and Italian favourites of the emperor, many of whom had been created grandees of Spain and knights of the Golden Fleece. The second and third treaties were signed on the first of May. The second was a treaty of commerce, which opened the ports of Spain to the subjects of the emperor, sanc- tioned the establishment of the Ostend Company, and gave to the Hanseatic towns the same privileges of trade as 1718-1727.] PEACE BETWEEN SPAIN AND AUSTRIA. 137 were enjoyed by the English and Dutch. The third was a treaty of mutual defence, by which the emperor pro- mised his good offices for the recovery of Gibraltar, and the two sovereigns specified their respective contingents, and agreed to support each other with their whole force if necessary. In addition to these treaties, secret articles were also supposed to be arranged, though not formally executed, relative to the marriage of the two archduchesses with Don Carlos and Don Philip, the support of the Ostend Company, the recovery of Gibraltar by force, and the re- storation of the pretender to the throne of Great Britain, should George L refuse to accede to the treaties of Vienna. The first treaty alone was soon communicated to the public, the others were gradually made known ; but the secret articles were never formally divulged, and were solemnly denied by the emperor and his minsters; although the conduct of the two courts, and the subsequent avowal of the king of Spain, fully established the proofs of their existence.* The emperor, deluded with visionary hopes of governing the counsels of Spain, and commanding the wealth of the Indies, trusted that the other powers of Europe would be awed by this alliance. His allusion was increased by the ready accession of the empress Catherine, who, anxious to place her son-in-law, the duke of Ilolstein, on the throne of Sweden, received large remittances from Spain, and made vast preparations by sea and land to co-operate with the allies of Vienna against England. Charles also ex- pected that France, torn by factions, loaded with debt, and under the weak administration of the duke of Bourbon, could not engage in hostilities, when awed on one side by Spain, and on the other by the whole German empire, which he hoped to unite in his cause. He flattered himself that England, for the sake of her commerce, would deprecate a war with Spain, relinquish Gibraltar and Minorca, and acquiesce in the establishment of the Ostend Company ; and he entertained no dread from the opposition of the United Provinces, who were in too feeble and disordered a state to act without the impulse of France and England. * For a proof of these facts, the reader is referred to the Memoirs ot Sir Robert Walpole, ch.xxvii., and of Lord Walpole, p. 139. 138 CHARLES YL [en. LXXXVII. The demand of Gibraltar, made by the king of Spain, was the signal of hostile preparations ; and England, against whom the force of the confederacy was principally directed, made exertions equal to the magnitude of the danger. George, having obtained the aid of his parliament, and the co-operation of France, hastened to Hanover, where he baffled the schemes of the emperor in Germany and the north ; he detached Sweden and Denmark, gained the king of Prussia, and other princes of the German empire, and on the 30th of September, 172o, concluded a defensive alliance between England, France, and Prussia, which was called the treaty of Hanover, and to which the United Provinces, Sweden, and Denmark, afterwards acceded. But Charles was not daunted by this powerful con- federacy; his hopes were excited by the liberal remittances at first made by Philip, while his pride was inflamed by the reception of his minister, count Konigsegg, whose arri- val at Madrid was hailed with acclamations of unbounded joy, and who swayed without control the counsels of Spain. He therefore treated the preparations of the allies with the utmost contempt ; he boasted that lie would crush the Protestant interest in Germany, and raise a new house of Burgundy from the younger branch of the house of Bour- bon, which should again humble the pride of the elder line. He styled the government of the United Provinces a company of pedlars and merchants, and declared that unless George would restore Gibraltar and Minorca to Spain, he would sow such dissensions between him and his parliament as should end in his expulsion from the throne. The conduct of the emperor was conformable to these declarations ; he treated the British agent at Vienna with scorn and neglect, gave continual audiences to the duke of Wharton, who was deputed by the pretender ; he caballed with the opposition in England, and ordered his minister count Palm to present a memorial to the king, reflecting on the speech from the throne, and denying the existence of the secret articles with which he was charged, and to pub- lish it as an appeal to the nation at large, against the con- duct of the king. While the emperor thus insulted the king and the nation he made the most active exertions to form a confederacy against the allies of Hanover. He had concluded with the 1718-1727.] PRUSSIA. AN ALLY OF AUSTRIA. 139 king of Portugal a commercial treaty, by which he obtained the freedom of trade to the Brazils in preference to all other nations. He entered into a defensive alliance with Ca- therine empress of Russia, in virtue of which, both the contracting parties agreed to furnish 30,000 men in case of an attack, and he secured her accession to the treaty of Vienna, and her guaranty of the pragmatic sanction. He gained the electors of Mentz, Treves, Cologne, and Pala- tine, extorted the neutrality of Saxony, and prevailed on the duke of Wolfembuttel to consent to the introduction of an Austrian garrison into Brunswick, which would open to his arms the electorate of Hanover. But the circumstance which most distressed the allies of Hanover and strengthened the party of the emperor, was the defection of the king of Prussia. The petty dis- putes relative to recruiting parties, and the claims to some inconsiderable districts on the frontiers of Hanover, had long agitated the irritable mind of Frederic William ; and the superiority which George assumed over him aggra- vated his disgust. To these motives were added his appre- hensions of being exposed to an attack from the Russians for his adherence to the Hanover alliance. Charles availed himself of this change in his disposition, and lured him with the promise of supporting his pretensions to the remainder of the succession of the house of Juliers on the death of the elector Palatine, or of investing him with an equivalent, should that inheritance fall to the collateral branch of Sultzbach. Count Seckendorf, who had served in Flan- ders with Frederic William, was privately despatched to Berlin, and by humouring the temper, and flattering the prejudices of the capricious sovereign, secured his con- currence, and concluded, on the 12th of October, 1726, the treaty of Wosterhausen. The king of Prussia guarantied the Pragmatic Sanction ; the emperor agreed to secure the succession of Juliers, Berg, and Ravenstein, or an equiva- lent, to the house of Brandenburgh ; and both parties promised a reciprocal succour of 10,000 or 12,000 men in case of an attack. Encouraged by this success, the allies of Vienna pre- pared to execute their projects. In February, 1727, Spain commenced hostilities by the siege of Gibraltar; the czarina assembled her forces by sea and land, and Charles collected 140 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXVII. a formidable army in the Netherlands, for the invasion of Holland. A combination of unfavourable circumstances, however, prevented the emperor from fulfilling his designs. In vain he attempted to reconcile the discordant interests of the German states, and to draw the empire into the quarrel ; he was only able to obtain the renewal of the defensive association from the circles of Austria, Fran- eonia, Suabia, and the Rhine, but they refused to take part in the great disputes which were then pending between the allies of Hanover and Vienna. In England all parties were indignant at the insults of the emperor : the parliament supported the king in all his engagements ; a British squadron in the Baltic awed the empress of Russia ; another in the Mediterranean threatened the coasts of Spain, and a third blocked up the galleons in the ports of the Indies. A subsidiary army of Danes, Swedes, and Hessians, to the number of 42,000 men, was taken into British pay, and France collected a numerous force on the frontiers of Spain and Germany. The death of the czarina frustrated the expectations of the emperor in the North ; the irresolute spirit of the king of Prussia at the same time began to waver ; and many of the German states, awed by the formidable aspect of the Hanover allies, deserted the cause of the house of Austria. The detention of the galleons in America prevented the court of Madrid from remitting such vast supplies as the unbounded pro- mises of Ripperda had led him to expect ; his own revenues were in too scanty and in too disordered a state to maintain a force sufficient to resist his enemies, and his hereditary dominions were threatened with an immediate attack. Even in his own court, and among his own ministers, he found the strongest opposition to his favourite measures. Notwithstanding all his endeavours, he could not succeed in reconciling his consort and ministers to the union with Spain ; count Windisgratz was the only ardent supporter of it ; w T hile Eugene and Staremberg did not affect to conceal their disapprobation, declared that they only signed it in obedience to the emperor, and, from a jealousy of count Sinzendorf, endeavoured to retard its execution. The empress also, when the first illusion was dissipated, turned again with affection to the prince of Loraine, and saw with displeasure the estrangement between the houses 1718-1727.] RIPPERDA DISGRACED. 141 of Austria and Brunswick. Even Sinzendorf, though he durst not openly disavow the work of his own hands, was alarmed at the difficulties in which his master was involved, and was anxious to relieve him from his embarrassments, by secretly thwarting that alliance which he had been so anxious to conclude. At this juncture an important change took place in the court of Spain. Ripperda, after concluding his negotia- tions at Vienna, and prodigally distributing the Spanish largesses to the emperor and his ministers, departed on the 9th of November, 172o, and passing through Italy, embarked at Genoa and landed at Barcelona. At this place, with that presumption and violence which marked his character, he boasted of his transactions at Vienna ; and declared that Spain and the emperor united would give law to Europe. "The emperor/' he said, "had 150,000 troops under arms, and in six months could bring as many more into the field ; France shall be pillaged, the king of Prussia crushed in one campaign, and George I. driven from his German and British territories."* On his arrival at Madrid, he was instantly appointed minister and secretary of state, and vested with uncon- trolled authority. But his talents and character soon appeared unequal to his elevated situation. His caprice and vanity disgusted all parties, and being unable to fulfil his promise of supplying the court of Vienna with the expected subsidies, he alienated the imperial ambassador, count Konigsegg, by his indiscretion and arrogance, and even paid assiduous court to the English and Dutch mi- nisters. Having thus lost the favour of the queen, who was governed by Konigsegg, he was disgracefully dismissed within four months after the elevation, and his departments were filled by Grinaldo, the marquis de Paz, and Don Joseph Patinho, who engaged to fulfil the treaty of Vienna, and to supply the promised subsidies. Aware of the general indignation, and apprehensive of being imprisoned, Ripperda took refuge in the house of the British ambassador, Mr. Stanhope, to whom he disclosed the secret engagements between the king of Spain and the emperor; and to ingratiate himself with the king of England, developed their plans and magnified the danger to * Memoirs of Sir Robert Walpole, chap. xxxv. .142 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXVII. which Europe was exposed by the union of Spain and Austria. He was, however, forcibly taken from the house of the British ambassador, and transferred to the castle of Segovia.* Although the dismission of Ripperda was principally owing to the intrigues of the imperial cabinet, yet the protection which he received from the British ambassador filled the court of Vienna with alarm and consternation ; and the disclosure of the secret articles compelled the emperor to have recourse to the meanest subterfuges. The character and abilities of Ripperda were now as much decried as they had been before exalted, and the emperor and his ministers affected surprise at being accused of placing their confidence in so indiscreet and contemptible a man. The disclosure of the engagement for the proposed marriages involved the imperial court in the greatest embarrassment. Hitherto the report was only founded on conjecture; but from this time it seemed to be confirmed: a general dissatisfaction prevailed, and the danger of uniting the Spanish and Austrian dominions in one family was re-echoed from one quarter of Europe to the other. Charles was therefore obliged to tranquillise the king of Prussia, the elector of Bavaria, and the other princes of the empire, who were alarmed at the prospect of a Spanish successor on the imperial throne, by a public denial of his supposed engagements, and yet he was to continue to lure the queen of Spain with the prospect of the marriages, by which alone he could secure her support, j* The scandalous venality of the imperial court was also publicly exposed. In the account of the money which he had distributed at Vienna, Ripperda had stated 400,000 florins as given to the imperial ministers. Philip, justly * For the rise, fall, and subsequent adventures of Ripperda, see the Memoirs of Sir Robert Walpole, ch. xxw, and Kings of Spain, ch. xxxvii. f From a candid review of the numerous documents relative to these engagements, it appears probable that Charles had no other intention than to lure the queen of Spain, and render her the dupe of his schemes ; he therefore never gave a written promise, though he did not scruple, through the medium of his ministers, counts Sinzendorf and Konigsegg, to make the most solemn assurances of his intention to gratify her wishes Mr. Robinson's Despatches. 1718-1727.] TEMPORARY PEACE RESTORED. 143 surprised at the magnitude of the sum, appealed, for the truth of the statement, to the court of Vienna, who acknowledged the receipt, but avoided an explanation of the particulars, because the emperor had shared in the gra- tification. These transactions greatly affected the credit of the court of Vienna ; and no event in the reign of Charles involved him in more embarrassment and disgrace. In the subsequent negotiations he was compelled to have recourse to prevarication and duplicity, and to affirm on one side what he as positively denied on the other. Thus humbled and disappointed, Charles sacrificed Spain to his own safety; and his plenipotentiary signed at Paris, on the 31st of May, 1727, the preliminaries of peace with England, France, and the United Provinces. A general armistice was concluded for seven years ; the charter of the Ostend Company was suspended for the same term ; and the disputes subsisting between the allies of Vienna and Hanover were to be settled by a general congress. The king of Spain, thus deserted by Austria, acceded to the preliminaries on the 30th of June, and peace again appeared on the eve of being restored to Europe. In the midst of these events, a material change had taken place in the administration of France. The duke of Bourbon had flattered himself with the hopes of governing the young king by the influence of the queen ; but he was disappointed. Fleury, the king's preceptor, had silently and gradually gained the full confidence of the sovereign ; and a struggle for power ensued, which terminated in the dismission of the duke, and the elevation of Fleury to the helm of state. * Although this event occasioned no imme- diate change in favour of the emperor, yet it ultimately led to the re-establishment of the connection between France and Spain, and the re-union of the house of Austria with England. * For the account of this change of administration, sec Memoirs of Lord Walpole, ch. xii. 144 Chap. LXXXVIIL — 1727-1731. As the emperor and the king of Spain had finally arranged their disputes by the treaties of Vienna, and signed the preliminaries with England, France, and the United Pro- vinces, on the basis of the Quadruple Alliance, it was expected that Spain would instantly raise the siege of Gibraltar, that the emperor would grant the investiture of Parma and Tuscany to Don Carlos, and suppress the Ostend Company. But these hopes were disappointed, by the death of the king of England, who suddenly expired on his journey to Hanover on the 22nd of June, 1727. This event revived the visionary hopes of the emperor : lie expected that George II. would be embarrassed with the attempts of the Jacobites, who would be supported by cardinal Fleury ; or at all events that Townshend and sir Robert Walpole, to whom he attributed the alienation of England, would be driven from the helm, and succeeded by a new administration more favourable to the house of Austria. The counsels of Spain were actuated by the same motives ; Philip delayed, under various pretences, to raise the siege of Gibraltar, and both sovereigns resumed their warlike preparations with increasing vigour. But the accession of the new sovereign was undisturbed ; cardinal Fleury refused to support the Jacobites, and, by means of his friend Mr. Walpole*, the British ambassador at Paris strongly recommended to the king of England the continuance of the ministry, and expressed the resolution of his master to cultivate the union between the two crowns. This disappointment did not produce any material change in the disposition of Spain and the emperor ; and the allies of Hanover were reduced to the same state of uncertainty, with respect to peace or war, as before the signature of the preliminaries. Irritated by this equivocal and hostile conduct, France and England determined to anticipate the intended aggres- sions of the emperor, on the side of Hanover and Holland, by attacking him in Germany. As a prelude to this aggression, George II. by a subsidiary treaty, signed * Memoirs of Lord Walpole, ch. xv. 1727-1731.] PEACE DELAYED. 145 on the 25th of November, 1727, detached the duke of Brunswick Wolfembuttel, and secured the possession of Brunswick, which frustrated the plan of the emperor to invade the Hanoverian dominions.* Charles was thus reduced to a state of inaction, and Spain, unable to cope with France and England, ratified the preliminaries by an act signed at the Pardo, a royal palace near Madrid, on the 5th of March, 1728, and a congress was opened at Soissons on the 14th of June. At this place the ministers of the empire, Spain, and the Hanover allies assembled, and the negotiations were conducted under the management of cardinal Fleury, who occasionally repaired thither from Paris. During the continuance of the congress the emperor threw fresh difficulties on the suppression of the Ostend Company, and on the investiture of the duchies, that he might attain his favourite object, the formal guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction, from the European powers. Cardinal Fleury opposed this guaranty, and succeeded in preventing the other plenipotentiaries from accepting it as the basis of the definitive treaty ; and this opposition in- creased the obstinacy of the emperor. In these circumstances the conduct of the Austrian cabinet was involved in contradictions and inconsistencies. When the emperor flattered himself with hopes of the arrival of the galleons, and the receipt of Spanish subsidies, he was anxious not to offend the queen of Spain, and affected to abide by his engagements. But when France and Great Britain threatened hostilities, and particularly when his hopes of Spanish gold were less sanguine, his demeanour became as meek as it was before haughty and imperious. During the delays which were derived from this fluctuating state of mind, the mistrust and diffidence, which had been gradually increasing between the courts of Madrid and Vienna, were revived ; and the queen of Spain, as a proof of the emperor's sincerity to secure the succession of Parma and Tuscany for Don Carlos, insisted that the article of the Quadruple Alliance, relative to the neutral garrisons, should be changed, and Spanish troops substi- tuted in their stead. This proposition, to which the court of Madrid obstinately adhered, became the principal object * Memoirs of Sir Robert Walpole, ch. xxxiii. VOL. III. L 146 CHARLES VT. [CII. LXXXV11I. of the negotiation, which the emperor, by every species of artifice and chicanery, endeavoured to evade, or to make the guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction the price of his assent. Fnding the queen of Spain obstinate in her resolution, the emperor redoubled his efforts to divide the allies of Hanover, by secret and insidious propositions made to each ; and count Sinzendorf even suggested the plan of a provisional treaty, on the basis of tbe preliminaries, to settle the objects in dispute without the intervention of Spain. This plan being digested, was signed by Sinzendorf and transmitted to Madrid by the allies of Hanover for the accession of Spain, but rejected by the queen, who was de- termined not to recede from the demand of Spanish garrisons. In this interval the provisional treaty being despatched to the emperor, who was making a progress through his dominions, Eugene, Staremberg, and even Ileal p, joined in opposing it. Charles, on his return, lured by new over- tures from Spain, disavowed it, recalled Sinzendorf from the congress, and a general opinion prevailed at Vienna that the plenipotentiary would be disgraced. The emperor, however, received him with marks of the greatest cordiality, apologised for his apparent disapprobation, and Sinzendorf even joined in decrying the treaty which he had himself concluded.' But the emperor still avoided any positive engagement, either with Spain or the allies, although he did not desist from his private overtures. The suspicions of the queen of Spain being artfully fomented by France and England, she at length demanded a specific declaration of his intention in regard to the marriage of an archduchess with Don Carlos. Irritated by his equivocal answer, she prevailed on the king to conclude a separate treaty with England and France, which was signed at Seville on the 9th of November, 1729, and acceded to on the 21st by the United Provinces. Thus terminated the frail connection between the house of Austria and Spain, from which the emperor had reaped nothing but chimerical hopes and continual disappoint- ments, and in consequence of which, notwithstanding the largesses of Ripperda and the subsidies of Spain, he in- 1727-1731.] TREATY OF SEVILLE. 147 curred an additional debt of not less than sixteen millions of florins. By the alliance of Seville, the contracting powers con- firmed the treaty of Utrecht ; guarantied each other's posses- sions in all quarters of the globe ; settled their respective contingents for mutual defence in case of an attack, for securing the succession of Parma and Tuscany to Don Carlos, and defending him in his possession against any power who might attempt to disturb him ; they also agreed to support the introduction of 6000 Spanish instead of neutral troops, into the fortresses of Leghorn, Porto Ferraio, Parma, and Placentia, within six months from the signature of the treaty. This compulsory clause, which in the public treaty only alluded to the emperor, without mentioning his name, formed the subject of a secret article, wherein the con- tracting parties bound themselves to make war in case of opposition, and not to lay down their arms till the whole was executed. The king of Spain also revoked the privi- leges of trade granted to the subjects of the emperor by the treaties of Vienna, restored the exclusive rights enjoyed by the English and Dutch, in consequence of the fifth article of the treaty of Munster, and relinquished his claims on Gibraltar and Minorca. Charles was highly indignant at the conclusion of this treaty ; not only because he was made the duke of Spain, and disappointed in the guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction ; but because he considered the engagements of the allies of Seville, for the abolition of the Ostend Com- pany, and the compulsory admission of Spanish troops into Italy, as violating his rights of sovereignty in the Low Countries, and infringing his imperial authority. His pride was still more wounded by the contemptuous silence with which his person and rights were passed over, and the peremptory manner in which he was required to give a prompt and speedy accession without negotiation. lie upbraided the allies with omitting even his very name ; and his ministers, with their usual captiousness ; asked how their imperial master could give an answer when no pro- posal was made, or how his concurrence could be required, without specifying with what he was to concur ? Count Sinzendorf stigmatised the manner in which the treaty was L 2 148 CHARLES VI. [CH. LXXXVIII. concluded as an unlieard-of affront, of which no instance could be adduced even among barbarians.* The emperor accordingly gave no other answer than that lie would abide by his engagements, and would send instructions to his plenipotentiaries at the congress at Soissons ; he at the same time issued instant orders for his troops to hold them- selves in readiness to march. In a paroxysm of despair Charles declared his resolution rather to risk a general war, and stand singly against the united powers of Europe, than agree to such humiliating conditions. If driven to extremities he could, he said, effect a reconciliation with Spain, by giving his daughter in marriage to Don Carlos ; and the queen would purchase that object on any condition. It would be far more honourable to make concessions by an act of his own, than to have them extorted by compulsion. He would break off all connection with England and Holland, and leave them to regret their own folly, in having contributed to the preponderance of the house of Bourbon in Europe. He threatened to evacuate the Low Countries, to inundate Italy with troops, and to bring into the field an army of 16o,000 men; he demanded the contingent of Russia, drew from the king of Prussia a promise of 10,000 men, and appealed to the diet of the empire against the infrac- tion of his prerogative, and the infringement of their pri- vileges, by alienating the feodality of Tuscany and Parma without the concurrence of the empire and its head. He employed his usual artifices to divide the allies, and, not- withstanding his recent disappointment, still flattered him- self with the hopes that the British nation would not sup- port the king in a German quarrel. But he found both his threats and allurements ineffectual; the British nation, pleased with the renewal of their lucra- tive commerce with Spain, warmly supported the treaty of Seville ; the allies were active in forming a plan of hostile operations, and meditated a descent on Sicily, which was ill provided for defence. Charles was coldly supported by the states of the empire, and deserted by the king of Sardinia, who entered into engagements with the allies of Seville ; * From an interesting despatch of lord Waldegrave to lord Towns- hend, dated January 1. 1730, in which he relates the effects produced by the communication of the treaty on the imperial court and ministers. 1727-1731.] NEW ASPECT OF AFFAIRS. 149 the king of Prussia shrunk from the contest, and Russia, in the beginning of a new reign, was unwilling to engage in a war. Thus abandoned by his allies, his finances ex- hausted, his countries impoverished, and his army in- efficient and dispirited, Charles was unable to support the contest alone. He therefore yielded to the necessity of his affairs ; but availing himself of the rising misintelligence among the allies of Seville, succeeded in detaching the Ma- ritime Powers from France. Fortunately for the house of Austria. England had al- ready testified a disposition to renew the ancient confidence by the mission of earl Waldegrave to Vienna. From the accession of George I., except during the temporary missions of lords Stanhope, Cadogan, and Cobham, no regular minister had resided at Vienna ; and the British affairs were principally conducted by St. Saphorin, a native of Switzerland, who, though a man of abilities and integrity, was of a caustic and presumptuous temper, and had contri- buted, by his exaggerated discourses, to aggravate the dis- contents subsisting between the courts of London and Vienna. The mild and insinuating manners of lord Waldegrave were well calculated to heal the breach ; he found the emperor and his ministry highly prejudiced against the British administration, and jealous of the king's ascen- dency in the German empire ; and although he was treated by Charles with extreme coldness, yet he conciliated the reserve of prince Eugene, the blunt and honest frankness of Staremberg, and the caprice of Sinzendorf. lie was no less successful with the Spanish favourites, particularly the marquis de Realp, and thus laid the foundation of the new union with England, which was completed by Mr. Robinson.* The allies of Seville were at this period divided in their views and interests, and the bonds of amity which had con- nected England and France were relaxed. The house of Brunswick, firmly established on the throne of Great Britain, no longer felt the necessity of cultivating a strict union with France to check the hopes of the dis- affected and prevent internal commotions. In France the * For an account of lord Waldegrave, see Memoirs of Sir Robert Walpole, ch. zxxviiL L 3 150 CHARLES VI. [CII. LXXXVIII. birtli of a dauphin, in 1729, having annihilated the hopes of Philip V., cardinal Fleury had effected a reconcili- ation with Spain ; and, though from his pacific prin- ciples, he was inclined to maintain the system of Europe according to the Quadruple Alliance, he now directed his views to alienate Spain from England, and to reunite the two branches of the house of Bourbon. Hence a spirit of delay and irresolution was infused into the counsels of the allies ; Spain, from disappointment and revenge, urged the necessity of an immediate breach with the emperor, and was eager to dismember Parma and Tuscany from the em- pire, and France was desirous of carrying the war into Flanders, to which England and Holland were averse. Fleury availed himself of these discordant views, thwarted every scheme of hostility, and insinuated to the queen of Spain, that the difficulties and delays in carrying the treaty of Seville into execution by force arose from the English and Dutch. The emperor was not unacquainted with this growing disunion among the allies ; and his ministers, with the con- nivance, though without the avowal of their master, made secret overtures to England. In a tone of unusual humility, they adverted to the former friendship between the two powers, and trusted that England would not concur in the ruin of an ancient ally, to raise the house of Bourbon to a pre-eminence in Europe. They insinuated that the em- peror would sacrifice the Ostend Company, and permit the introduction of Spanish garrisons, provided England would guaranty the Pragmatic Sanction, which was necessary for the preservation of the balance of Europe. At this crisis Spain, impatient of delay, declared herself free from all engagements contracted by the treaty of Seville ; and England, apprehensive of losing the commer- cial advantages recently obtained, accepted the overtures of the emperor, and opened a negotiation to renew her ancient connection with the house of Austria. Although the im- perial ministers were unanimous* for this reconciliation, * Lord Waldegrave has recorded an anecdote of prince Eugene's extreme aversion to this war, in a letter to lord Townshend, Vienna, March 18. 1730. " The prince, after having won a game of piquet of me, and was saying that what I had lost would help to pay for the foils that were brought home to him the same morning, and that in 1727-1731.] TREATY OF VIENNA. 151 the conclusion was delayed by the pride and obstinacy of the emperor, who from his jealousy of the house of Han- over, was averse to allow the claims of George II. in Germany. But his reluctant consent was at length ob- tained by postponing the German affairs to a future discus- sion ; and a treaty was concluded on the 16th of March, 1731, between the king of England and the emperor, which is denominated the treaty of Vienna. By this treaty the emperor engaged not to oppose the introduction of 6000 Spaniards into the fortresses of Tuscany and Parma, and to abolish the Ostend Company. In return, England guarantied the Pragmatic Sanction, on the condition that the archduchess, who succeeded to the Austrian dominions, should not be married to a prince of the house of Bourbon, or to prince so powerful as to endanger the balance of Eu- rope. Anthony Farncse dying on the 20th of January, 1731, in the midst of the negotiation, the emperor had taken instant possession of Parma, under the pretence of securing that duchy to his heir, should the duchess, who declared herself pregnant, be delivered of a posthumous son. But on the conclusion of the treaty, he declared, that he had only adopted this measure to secure the peace of Italy, and would give immediate possession to Don Carlos, should the duchess be delivered of a daughter, or prove not pregnant. Spain having revoked her declaration against the peace of Seville, acceded to the new treaty on the 6th of June, and on the 22nd of July, the emperor concluded another treaty at Vienna with Great Britain, Spain, and the United Provinces, which terminated the disputes concerning the Spanish succession. And thus, at the close of these nego- tiations, Charles derived no other advantage from his com- plicated intrigues and mighty preparations, than the single guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction, and a reconciliation the summer I should have my share of the diversion he proposed by them, * Si cette fichiie guerre nc nous empeche pas :' he added, * Je n'ai jamais eu si peu de plaisir de ma vie dans los apparences d'une guerre, e'est l'unique dans les arrangemens de laquelle je He puis prendre plaisir. II n'y a point d'object, il n'y a pas assez de sujet pour (aire tuer une poulet.' This he spoke aloud, and repeated his words. There were ten or a dozen men and women standing round the table, and our game was going on; so that there was no laving hold of any thing he had said to carry the discourse farther.*' l 4 152 CHARLES VI. [cil. LXXXIX. with the Maritime Powers ; both of which he might have acquired at an easier rate, and with greater advantages, had he yielded to the urgent instances of Great Britain to ac- cede to the treaty of Seville. Chap. LXXXIX. — 1731-1733. Having obtained the guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction from Spain, Prussia, Russia, England, and Holland, the emperor directed all his efforts to procure the accession of the other European powers, particularly the states of the German empire. In pursuing this object he experienced extreme difficulty, from the religious disputes between the Catholic and Protestant bodies, and from the discordant views of the German princes. The religious disputes, which arose from the obnoxious clause in the treaty of Ryswick, still continued undiminished. At length the emperor, though inclined to favour the Ca- tholics, was induced to yield to the just remonstrances of the Protestants, and in consequence of a convention between the Catholics and Protestants, issued an edict, dated No- vember 14. 1720, enjoining the Elector Palatine, who had persecuted the Calvinists, to redress their grievances, and to restore them to the same situation in which they stood on the conclusion of the peace of Baden. By this conven- tion it was also proposed to reinstate the Protestants in the privileges secured to them by the peace of Westphalia. The Catholics, however, not only evaded the performance of the convention, but insisted that it established the clause in the treaty of Ryswick ; because the edict only enjoined the restoration of the privileges possessed by the Protes- tants at the peace of Baden ; and had no retrospect to the rights of which they had been deprived between the treaties of Ryswick and Baden. This disunion was augmented by disputes concerning an article in the treaty of Westphalia, stipulating, that in case of a division between the two religions, the point should be amicably decided, and not carried by a majority of voices. The emperor having always favoured the cause of the Catholics, was secure of the majority of that body in sup- 1731-1733.] AFFAIRS OF MECKLENBURGH. 153 port of the Pragmatic Sanction ; but he experienced great difficulty in his attempts to gain the concurrence of the Protestants ; because he had offended them by not obtaining the repeal of the obnoxious clause in the treaty of Ryswick ; and because he had been opposed by the elector of Hanover, who possessed the chief influence in the Protestant body. By his recent alliance with the king of England, Charles had gained the support of Hanover ; and he had found means to conciliate the king of Prussia, by yielding to his representations in the affairs of Mecklenburgh, and by af- fecting to promote his views on the inheritance of Juliers and Berg. Since the establishment of an imperial commission in Mecklenburgh, the troubles of that country had again broke out with increasing violence. The duke braved the mul- tiplied decrees of the Aulic Council, regained possession of part of the duchy, and renewed his exactions on his subjects. He was accordingly deposed by a provisional rescript ; the administration was given to his brother Christian Louis, and the king of Prussia, as conservator of the circle of Lower Saxony, was joined in the commission. The oppo- sition of the princes of the empire, supported by France, Sweden, and England, compelled the emperor to revoke his provisional rescript ; but he still continued the govern- ment in Christian Louis, by investing him with the office of imperial commissary. The duke was soon afterwards driven from his dominions by the Hanoverian forces; and the king of Prussia availed himself of these contests to in- troduce his troops into the duchy. The emperor also re- newed his promises of favouring the claims of Frederic William on the succession of Juliers, which, in consequence of the advanced age of Philip William, Elector Palatine, seemed likely to become vacant. Having thus succeeded in conciliating the elector of Hanover and the king of Prussia, he, on the 11th of January, 1732, obtained the guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction by the suffrages of the whole Germanic body, except the electors of Bavaria, Pa- latine, and Saxony. In consequence of their claims to the Austrian inheritance, the electors of Saxony and Bavaria were induced to protest against this act, and the Elector Palatine, from a suspicion that the emperor had guarantied the succession of Berosnia, and advance through Servia to join the main army on the Danube. Before his departure from Vienna, Seckendorf, aware that a party in the cabinet wished to commence hostilities by the siege of Nissa, a fortress at the extremity of Servia, obtained from the emperor the most positive promise that o 4 200 CHARLES VI. [CH. XCII. no change should be made in the plan of operations. He was nominated field marshal, and at the same time received assurances from the council of war and the treasury, that the army amounted to 126,000 men, provided with every requisite, and that a monthly remittance of 600,000 florins should be made for the pay of the troops. But on his arrival on the frontiers he found the troops greatly deficient in numbers, composed of recruits, many of whom from infirmities were incapable of service, and destitute of pro- visions, horses, carriages, arms, and the necessary im- plements of war. He was also disappointed in the promised remittances, and for the month of May received only 100,000 florins. These deficiencies were owing partly to the intrigues of his enemies, partly to the exigencies of the state, and principally to the false notion prevailing in the cabinet, that the Turks were too much occupied with the Russians to bring a formidable army into the field on the side of Belgrade. By the most arduous exertions, Seckendorf could only collect a force of 26,000 infantry, 15,000 cavalry, and 4000 irregulars, which assembled in the vicinity of Belgrade at the latter end of July. Two other bodies were destined to co-operate with the main army, one in Bosnia, under prince Hilburghausen, and the other in Wallachia, under marshal Wallis, but the whole force did not exceed 70,000 men ; and the greater part of these were raw troops in a state of sickness, misery, and dejection, as the veterans had mostly fallen a sacrifice to unhealthy quarters and bad provisions, more fatal than the sword of the enemy. With this small and inefficient force, Seckendorf had to encounter a much more numerous and formidable army than he had reason to expect. It abounded with veterans inured to service in the Persian wars, and had been brought into a state of discipline and subordination by the celebrated renegado count Bonneval, who principally directed the operations of the campaign. * In consequence of various obstacles, the campaign was * To remedy the weakness of the infantry, and to strike terror into the Turks, who dread the effects of artillery, general Schmettau pro- posed to provide each battalion with two field-pieces ; but this judi- cious advice was arrogantly rejected, on the absurd principle that the infidels would be beaten, as hitherto, without artillery. 1736, 1737.] CAPTURE OF NISSA. 201 not opened till the latter end of June, when Seckendorf prepared to march, and invest Widdin. In the midst of his preparations he was thunderstruck with an order from the emperor, delivered by the duke of Loraine himself, com- manding him to quit the banks of the Danube, and to march against Nissa. This injudicious change frustrated the whole plan of operations ; the troops, instead of continuing on the banks of the Danube, on which their magazines had been formed, were compelled to inarch to the distance of fifty leagues from that river, across a morassy and mountainous country, without carriages to convey their provisions, and without the means of supplying their wants in so inhos- pitable a district. After a march of twenty-eight days, in an intemperate season, during which numbers perished from fatigue and hunger, the army arrived, in an exhausted and dispirited state, before the walls of Nissa ; but fortunately meeting with no resistance, obtained possession of the place on the 28th of July. Kevenhuller was instantly despatched with a strong corps to invest Widdin on the south, while marshal Wallis occupied the opposite bank of the Danube ; but Seckendorf himself remained in the neighbourhood of Nissa, waiting for orders from Vienna ; sending different detachments to reduce the petty fortresses, and seize the passes of the surrounding mountains. During this period the disunion among the generals, and the discontents of the army, rose to the highest pitch ; Seckendorf being of a rough, overbearing, and parsimo- nious temper, was illcalculated to conciliate his army, and baffle the cabals to which he was exposed as a Protestant and a stranger. lie also placed his principal confidence in two generals, who were both foreigners, the prince of Saxe Hilburghausen, and general Schmettau. The prince was a brave, but young and inexperienced officer, who aspired to become another Eugene. From his talents and agreeable manners, he was in high favour with the emperor, had conciliated the good will of Bartenstein, and had exerted his influence with both in favour of Seckendorf. Although lie had recently abjured the Protestant religion, yet his former tenets, his youth, and the favour of the commander-in-chief, rendered him an object of jealousy to the other officers ; and count Esterhasy, bannat of Croatia, 202 CHARLES VI. [oh. xcir. would neither act under him nor with him, and refused to render him the smallest assistance. General Schmettau was distinguished for his steadiness and kill in the de- partment of the artillery ; yet, being a foreigner and a Protestant, he was likewise involved in the odium which was excited against the commander-in-chief. From the unpopularity of this triumvirate, an opposition was formed, which was headed by Philippi and Keven- huller, the two next in command, and supported by the duke of Lorainc, who, though only a volunteer, interfered in all military operations. The irksome situation of the commander-in-chief was aggravated by the clamours of the troops, who, being shut up in an unwholesome situation, and deprived of their customary supplies, attributed their misery to his incapacity and avarice, and accused him of carrying on an infamous commerce, by monopolising the provisions of the country. While Seckendorf was thus perplexed with the cabals of his officers and the clamours of his army, unable to pursue his success for want of provisions, and waiting for specific orders from Vienna, the prince of Ililburghausen was compelled to raise the siege of Banjaluka, and was driven back towards the Save. The emperor, therefore, alarmed for his hereditary countries, ordered Seckendorf to suspend his operations against Widdin, and inarch through Servia, to effect a junction with prince Ililburghausen atZwornick on the confines of Bosnia. In pursuance of these orders Seckendorf wholly relinquished his plan for the campaign, and after despatching a strong reinforcement to Keven- huller, with an army reduced to 20,000 men, directed his march through the heart of Servia. He made himself master of Uzitza, after a short though vigorous siege ; but on approaching Zwornick, was prevented by the inundation of the Drina from besieging the place. Being thus frus- trated in his attempts to penetrate into Bosnia, he retreated rapidly towards the Save, and, on the 16th of October, encamped at Szabatch, on the southern bank of that river. During these operations marshal Wallis had advanced to Wadovil, on the bank of the Danube, opposite Widdin, to prevent the Turks from throwing succours into the town on that side. Kevenhuller, at the same time, directed his march along the Timoc, and passed the defiles without op- position. But his progress was considerably delayed by 1736, 1737.] FAILURE OF THE CAMPAIGN. 203 want of provisions and other obstacles ; and, when he drew near Widdin, he found the town in a better state of defence, and occupied by a more considerable force than he ex- pected. He therefore remained inactive on the banks of the Timoc, till the retreat of Seckendorf compelled him to abandon his views on Widdin, and direct his efforts to cover Transylvania ; as the Turks, who had hitherto ap- peared only in detachments, had assembled a considerable force in the neighbourhood of Widdin. After a severe action near the conflux of the Timoc and Danube, Keven- huller, though harassed by the Turks, made good his retreat towards Orsova ; his troops effected the passage of the Danube near Cladova ; and, being joined by the corps of marshal Wallis, retired to take up their winter quarters in the bannat of Temeswar. Thus terminated this unfortunate campaign on the side of the imperialists; while the efforts of the Russians, though more successful, were insufficient to balance the discom- fiture of their allies. The campaign was principally dis- tinguished by the capture of Otchakof, which was pur- chased with the loss of 11,000 regulars and 5000 Cossacs. The change of the plan of operations prevented Munich from advancing on the Danube ; the campaign was closed in the beginning of September without any material advan- tage, and the Turks were left, unmolested, to continue their successful operations in Servia and Wallachia. The failure of the plan being wholly attributed to marshal Seckendorf, he received orders of recall on the 14th of October, at Szabatch, and the command of the army was given to general Philippi. After having rejected the advice of several of his friends to seek his safety by flight, Seckendorf pursued his journey to the capital, and was se- lected as a victim to quiet the c lamours of t lie people, and to gratify the vengeance of his numerous enemies. Among the most powerful of these were the Jesuits, who had pub- licly arraigned his appointment, and in their sermons de- clared that a heretic general, at the head of a Catholic army, would draw down the indignation of heaven, and avert the benediction of Providence from the imperial arms. Repeated complaints were likewise transmitted from the army, and he w r as stigmatised with incapacity, negligence, and treachery. In consequence of these 204 CHARLES VI. [CH. XCH. clamours and prejudices, he was arrested on his arrival at Vienna, confined to his house under a guard of fourteen men, and articles of impeachment exhibited against him. Those persons in whom he had principally confided were involved in his disgrace, particularly generals Schmettau and Diemar ; and Doxat, the commandant of Nissa, was beheaded for surrendering that town to the Turks, though unprovided with proper means of defence. The articles exhibited against Seckcndorf formed a series of malicious imputations, in which every part of his con- duct was arraigned; and even the scarcity of provisions, the deficiency of the troops, the changes in the plan of the campaign, and the consequences of contradictory orders, were imputed to him. l>ut he defended himself with great spirit and ability, and refuted the principal charges, though, from delicacy to the emperor, he was not permitted to reveal the secret orders which he had received, in his own justification. Although the emperor was favourably in- clined towards Seckcndorf, yet the clamours of the people, the exhortations of the Jesuits, and the cabals of his enemies, prevented his release. In consequence of a tumult which took place in the ensuing summer, on a gleam of success to the imperial arms, the populace threatened his life, and he was transferred to the castle of Glatz, and lingered in confinement during the reign of Charles VI. On reviewing the incidents of this unfortunate cam- paign, little blame seems to attach to Seckendorf ; but the discomfiture of the imperialists was owing to the deficiency and unprovided state of the army, to divisions among the generals, and, above all, to the contradictory orders which emanated from the council of war and the private cabinet of the emperor. Charles, from his natural presumption, entertained a high opinion of his own abilities, and imagined that his campaigns in Spain, and his desultory conversations with prince Eugene, had qualified him to direct the operations of the field. lie was flattered in this opinion by Barten- stein and Webber; and he even consulted one of his inferior servants, who had been formerly a common halberdier and door-keeper. With these agents the emperor digested military plans, which were issued by Webber as resolutions of the council of war. Hence arose those endless orders 1738.] RELIGIOUS AND POPULAR CLAMOURS. 205 and counter- orders, which perplexed the commander-in- chief, and contributed, more than any other cause, to the disgrace of the imperial arms.* Chap. XCIIL — J 738. In consequence of the clamours against Seckendorf and the Protestant generals, and the popular outcry, as if the assist- ance of heaven had been averted by the employment of heretics, not only the favourites of the emperor, but even the empress was accused of concurring in a design to render the court of Vienna dependent on the Protestant powers of Europe. Bartenstein diverted the storm from himself by sacrificing Seckendorf, whose appointment he had pro- moted, and by advising his son-in-law Knore, a favourite servant of the empress, who was implicated in this accusa- tion, to abjure his religion. The emperor yielded to the general clamour, and endeavoured to pacify the people, by changing his former plan, entering into Catholic alliances and appointing Catholic generals. He accordingly nominated the duke of Loraine general- issimo of the forces, and under him marshal Konigsegg ; but with that narrow jealousy which characterised all the pro- * " The most secret orders," observes Mr. llobinson, " for military dispositions, had for some years past been issued out of the imperial cabinet through the hands of Bartenstein, Webber, and, as is said, of one Carl Dier, formerly a common halberdier and door-keeper, and now a kind of private purse-keeper to the emperor. And even what could not, for form's sake, escape passing through the channel of the president, used, after having been intimated verbally by him to Webber, to be executed and despatched by the latter, without ever bringing the minutes to the former ; the custom being for the referendary to write at the bottom of every dispatch * Commission,' or 1 Instruction, par ordre du president et du vice-president? instead of their signing actually, either of them, their names. Count Konigsegg, who, though president at war, could not hinder, or was indolent enough not to oppose in that quality these underhand practices, would, however, as minister of the conference, be often blaming most of the measures so taken, in a manner to exculpate himself of consequences, which has given room to believe that the very command of the army was given him only to ruin him. His friends told him as much when he accepted it." — Mr. Robinson to lord Harrington, Vienna, Dec. 31. N. S. 1738. 206 CHARLES VI. [CH. XCIII. ceedings of the imperial cabinet, neither was intrusted with full powers ; the duke was to do nothing without the advice of a majority in a council of war, and, if the voices were equal, he was to incline to the opinion of count Konigsegg. The character and talents of count Konigsegg were ill calculated to supply the want of experience, steadiness, and military skill in the duke of Loraine. He was a nobleman of the most amiable manners, winning address, and of an excellent capacity, both for the cabinet and the field, but greatly deficient in activity ; and though he affected a stoical indifference, was apt, on the least reverse, to sink into despondency. One of his admirers justly observed, " that he wanted only an additional grain of salt in his composition to be one of the greatest men of his age." The Turks opened the campaign long before the impe- rialists. In the beginning of March, the bashaw of Widdin took the field at the head of 20,000 men, and directed his operations to the siege of Orsova, a fortress of great im- portance, on an island of the Danube. By the surrender of Uzitza the Turks had secured the possession of great part of Servia, and by the capture of Old Orsova were able to approach the southern bank of the Danube, from whence they opened their batteries against the fortress. But finding their efforts ineffectual, a body of 2000 men took Meadia in the bannat of Temeswar, which commanded the passes on the north of the Danube, and thus formed attacks on both banks against Orsova. From the strength and nature of the works, however, and the spirit of the garrison, the besiegers made little progress, and the place continued to hold out, though the imperialists did not commence hostilities before the middle of June. The plan of the campaign was formed by the emperor and his junto, and as they attributed the ill success of the preceding year to the dispersion of the forces, the army was ordered to act in one body, and the generals were for- bidden to undertake any separate operation. The prin- cipal objects were, to relieve Orsova and besiege Widdin, and sanguine hopes were entertained that the son-in-law of the emperor, and so distinguished a general as count Konigsegg at the head of an army, said to be more efficient than any hitherto sent against the Turks, would drive the infidels from the provinces on the Danube. 1738.] PROGRESS OF HOSTILITIES. 207 The first incidents of the campaign seemed to give a foundation to these hopes ; the two bodies of the army which were assembled at Temeswar, under count Neuperg, and at Belgrade under marshal Wallis, united at Lagus, and being there headed by the duke of Loraine, directed their march towards Meadia. They easily passed the de- files of Slatina and Terrasowa, and on the 3rd of July en- camped between Donaschy and Cornia. The following morning the imperialists were attacked with great fury by the Turks, who, having seized a height which commanded the left wing, penetrated almost to the centre of the camp, and even to the tent of the duke. They were, however, repulsed, and being seized with a panic, not only abandoned their camp at Meadia, but even relinquished their attacks against Orsova, and recrossed the Danube. This gleam of success was hailed at Vienna as the har- binger of certain victory ; the duke of Loraine was ex- tolled as another Eugene* ; the populace, irritated by the recollection of former defeats, tumultuously rose, and threatened the life of Seckendorf ; while the Catholic priests triumphantly announced that the favour of heaven had returned to the imperial arms, which were no longer di- rected by a heretic commander. This transient advantage, however, was soon overba- lanced ; the imperial troops, after recovering Meadia, had scarcely reached the neighbourhood of Orsova, before they were surprised by the grand vizier, and driven back with as much rapidity as they had advanced. While passing the defile of Meadia they were attacked by a considerable body of Turks ; but the enemy being repulsed by the bravery and skill of prince Charles of Loraine, with the loss of 3000 men, the imperial army secured their retreat, and reached Lagus on the 24th of July. The grand vizier resumed the siege of Orsova, into which Konigsegg had thrown some reinforcements and provisions, and the * " The important and singular success of our great duke," writes Mr. Robinson to lord Harrington, July 16. 1738, " gives a high opinion of him in the minds of the people ; and a letter dated from the field of battle, says, 1 his royal highness, perceiving that the enemy had pierced the line, exposed himself greatly, and gave his orders with a coolness and wisdom which would have done honour to an old soldier.' " 203 CHARLES VL [_cn. xcm. misfortunes of the imperial army were aggravated by sick- ness, and even by the plague, which spread through the whole bannat of Temeswar, and threatened farther ravages. In this moment of distress the duke returned to Vienna, either from chagrin or ill health, and the supreme command of the army devolved on marshal Konigsegg. He con- tinued the retreat, passed the Danube at Viplanka on the 18th of August, and hearing of the capture of Orsova, which had surrendered to the grand vizier, retired within the lines at Belgrade. This precipitate retreat disheart- ened the troops ; a general panic pervaded the army ; and even the distant appearance of a Turk spread dismay through the ranks. Equal consternation prevailed at Vienna, and the duke of Loraine, having recovered from his illness, was sent to Belgrade to treat with the grand vizier, who had made overtures for peace. He reached that place on the 11th of September; but as the Turks pursued their advantage, took Semendria and Viplanka, and seized the heights which commanded the lines, the im- perial infantry retired within the walls of Belgrade, the cavalry passed the Save, and the duke himself proceeded as far as Essec, at which place he received orders of recall from the court of Vienna, alarmed for his personal safety. The troops, confined within the lines and walls of Bel- grade, were swept away by a pestilential distemper. These accumulated disasters being principally imputed to count Konigsegg, he was recalled in disgrace, and Kevenhuller appointed to the command, with the hopes of retrieving the misfortunes of the campaign. The Turks having retired from the heights round Belgrade, the new general put his army in motion on the northern side of the Danube, but could only drive the enemy from Viplanka, and on the 8th of November retired into winter quarters. On their side the Russians made no effectual progress. General Lacy stormed Perekop, overran the Crimea, and defeated a corps of 20,000 Tartars ; but being unable to take Caffa, was compelled by the approach of winter to re- tire into the Ukraine. Munich passed the Dnieper and the Bog, and defeated the enemy in three encounters ; but being stopped by an army of 60,000 Turks, strongly in- trenched on the banks of the Dniester, and disappointed in all his attempts to besiege Bender, he also marched back to the Ukraine. 1733.] THE DUKE OF LORAINE UNPOPULAR. 209 The disastrous events of this campaign excited no less intrigue and clamour at Vienna, than the misfortunes of the preceding year. Count Konigsegg was deprived of his command, removed from the presidency of the council of war, and appointed grand master to the empress. The duke of Loraine was involved in his disgrace ; he had irri- tated the emperor by intercepting an order for the recall of Konigsegg on his first return to Vienna, by the spirit with which he had defended his conduct, and by imputing the disasters of the campaign to the weakness of the army, and to the want of carriages and the necessary implements of war. He had irretrievably offended Bartenstein by his continual reproaches on the cession of Loraine, and being a foreigner, was exposed to the ill-will and jealousy of the nobles, and to the prejudices of the people. His most trifling defects were exaggerated into vices ; he was charged with sacrificing the duties of his station to hunting and tri- fling diversions, and accused of returning to Vienna to avoid the dangers of the field. In consequence of this unpopu- larity, and the displeasure of the emperor, he was sent, with his consort, into a kind of exile, under the pretence of taking possession of his new dominions in Tuscany. During his absence the discontents of the people arose to the most alarming height, and reports were publicly circulated that the emperor would give his second daughter to the elector of Bavaria, and change the order of succession in his favour. At this period there was not a single minister whose weight was equal to the very shadow of prince Eugene, except, perhaps, count Stareinberg, and he was suspected of being inclined to the elector of Bavaria, because his es- tates were contiguous to the Bavarian dominions. The precipitate measures, adopted by the emperor without the communication of his principal counsellors, and the unpo- pularity of his subordinate agents, rendered him equally odious to the nobility and the people. Even the supple and submissive count Sinzendorf, though no friend to count Konigsegg, complained of the manner and circumstances of his disgrace, and observed, that in so important a trans- action the emperor ought to have consulted his principal ministers. In the midst of the general dissatisfaction, and the con- vol. in. r 210 CHARLES VI. [CII. XCIV. test between the Loraine and Bavarian interests, the emperor was violently agitated, and in the agony of his mind he exclaimed, " Is the fortune of my empire departed with Eugene !" The retreat to Belgrade haunted him day and night ; and he manifested his discontent to every officer who had returned from the army, by his execrations of "that unfortunate, that fatal retreat !" lie was deeply affected with the absence of his eldest daughter ; he dreaded lest, in case of his own sudden death, her return from Tuscany might be prevented by the elector of Bavaria, and that France might be enabled to realise her favourite scheme of breaking the indivisiblity of his succession. Chap. XCIV 1739. With a view to remedy the negligence and inactivity of the last campaign, the emperor gave the command of the army to marshal Wallis, whom he considered as a general of more spirit and decision than those whom he had formerly employed. Wallis had conciliated the good-will of the emperor by his invectives against the pusillanimity and want of enterprise, which had marked the former campaign ; by the boldness of his remonstrances to the duke of Loraine, and by his contumelious expressions against count Konig- segg, no less than by the proofs he had displayed of his military skill and enterprise. But the choice of Wallis was ill-calculated to retrieve the desperate state of the Austrian affairs. Though vigilant and exact, even to minuteness, in maintaining discipline, he was of a morose, jealous and overbearing temper, equally presumptuous and desponding, and is well designated by the royal historian as " a man hating all, and detested by all."* The main army having assembled in the neighbourhood of Peterwaradin in May, 1739, marshal Wallis assumed the command ; but found the magazines extremely deficient, and the troops, from the losses of the former campaigns, reduced to about 30,000 effective men, even when joined by the Bavarians and other auxiliaries. A corps of 10,000 men was also formed at Temeswar, under count * (Euvres Posthumes du Roi de Prusse, torn. L p. 35. 1739.] PROGRESS OF THE WAR WITH THE TURKS. 211 Neuperg, who was second in command, with a view to co- operate with the main army on the north of the Danube. It was proposed to commence hostilities by the siege of Orsova ; and Wallis received positive orders from the emperor to en- gage the enemy with his whole force on the first opportunity. On the 11th of June the army encamped near Semlin, and being joined by the auxiliaries, and the flotilla of the Danube being ready to act, they crossed the Save on the 27th, notwithstanding a violent inundation, and encamped at Mirowa, near the lines of Belgrade. On the 20th of July they reached Vinza, a small village on the bank of the Danube, and were informed that part of the Turkish army was arrived at Crotzka. With a view to surprise this body, and to prevent the Turks from obstructing his attempts on Orsova, Wallis put his whole army in motion ; and, at the close of the evening, marched along the high road towards Crotzka. lie himself accompanied the ad- vanced guard which consisted of two regiments of hussars, one regiment of cuirassiers, and another of dragoons, and eighteen companies of grenadiers ; the main body followed under prince Hilburghausen, and count Neuperg was to cross the Danube, and be ready to co-operate in case of necessity. On approaching Crotzka the road gently ascends to a defile half a league in length, bounded by steep and woody acclivities ; and beyond, scarcely broad enough to admit more than a single carriage, leads to a height planted with vines, where the ground becomes more open. From hence it descends to Crotzka, between two hills, and across a deep torrent which falls into the Danube. At the break of day, the cavalry of the vanguard had scarcely reached the end of the defile before they were attacked by the Turkish infantry, who were posted in the vineyards and wood. The hussars immediately took to flight ; but Wallis putting himself at the head of the cuirassiers, hastened through the narrow road, formed them on the open ground, and bravely withstood the attacks of the enemy, till the other regiment had cleared the defile, and the grenadiers had driven the Turks from the vineyards. Meanwhile the grand vizier, who with his whole force had marched from Semendria, and occupied the heights above Crotzka, during the night, crossed the rivulet, and P 2 212 CHARLES VL [CH. XCIV took post on the two hills between the defile and that village. The regiment of Savoy, struck with a panic at the appearance of such a numerous host, fled back into the detile ; and being followed by a party of Turks, threw the cavalry of the main body, which had nearly reached the place of action, into disorder. Notwithstanding this confusion, the troops continued to advance ; the prince of Hilburghausen formed the first battalions, which had cleared the defile, into a square, and charged the enemy ; the left wing, passing along a narrow path, extended itself on the heights towards the Danube, and the cavalry was posted on the right, where the ground was favourable for action. In this position the imperial troops withstood the repeated as- saults of the Turks, who attacked them with incredible fury, and with far superior numbers, from five in the morning till after sunset, when Wallis ordered a retreat, under cover of the approaching darkness. Had the Turks pursued their advantage, the imperial army might have been cut off, particularly as AVallis, from a spirit of jealousy, would not admit count Neuperg to take any part in the action, or to send more than two regiments, which, however, checked the enemy at the entrance of the defile. In this desperate conflict both parties sustained consider- able loss ; and, on the side of the imperialists, four generals were killed, five wounded, and four hundred officers with seven thousand men fell on the field of battle. In this action the Turks seem to have displayed new skill in the art of w r ar ; instead of tumultuary and uncon- nected attacks, they fought in the greatest order, and in regular bodies, and, when broken, rallied with speed and alacrity. During the engagement the imperial flotilla, under admiral Pallavicini, had fallen down the Danube, and co-operated with the army ; but, on the retreat of the troops, was compelled to warp up the stream, under the fire of the Turkish batteries, and arrived at Belgrade on the 24th in a dilapidated condition. The imperial army regained their camp at Vinza; where they took so strong a position, and placed their artillery with such skill, that they repulsed, on the ensuing day, a considerable body of Turks headed by the grand vizier. Wallis, however, concentrated all his force, and, with a despondency equal to his former presumption, retreated in 1739.] THE TURKS BESIEGE BELGRADE. 213 silence during the night, and occupied the lines of Bel- grade. On the following day he was alarmed by the ap- pearance of the Turkish irregulars, and, deeming himself unequal to the defence of this strong position, recrossed the Danube during the night. The Turks instantly opened their batteries against Belgrade; the soldiers exclaim- ing, " Let us take advantage of the panic and blindness with which God has inflicted the infidels for violating the peace of Passarovitz ;" the grand vizier was impelled, by the ardour of his troops, to commence the siege in form, and on the 29th of July, summoned the garrison to sur- render. But the infatuation of marshal Wallis seems to have increased in proportion to the valour and promptitude of the enemy. Although he repulsed a considerable body of Turks which had assembled at Panczewa, he did not con- tinue in the vicinity of Belgrade, to harass the besieging army, or succour the garrison, but exhausted his troops by useless and circuitous marches, repassed the Danube, and stationed his army at Salankemcn, on the frontiers of Hun- gary. The Turks availed themselves of his retreat, occu- pied the northern bank of the Danube, and carried on their approaches against the redoubt of Borzia, which com- manded the fortress on that side. The irresolution of Wallis, being aggravated by the effects of an ague, he remained in total inaction ; and made no attempt to prevent the operations of the enemy on the Save, who prepared to cross the river, that they might attack Belgrade on the third side. In this situation of affairs, he sent repeated accounts to Vienna, that the army was daily diminishing by desertion and sickness, that the southern provinces were ravaged by the plague, that the force of the enemy was rapidly increasing, and that his own troops w r ere discouraged, and could no longer be de- pended on. In the midst of this despondency, he was still farther alarmed by a report from general Suckof, com- mandant of Belgrade, that a breach was made in one of the bastions, and an assault hourly expected, which the garrison, diminished and enervated by sickness, would be unable to resist. Without waiting for the return of an officer whom he despatched to examine the state of the fortifications, Wallis sent colonel Gross to the camp of the grand vizier to purchase a peace by the cession of Bel- r 3 214 CHARLES VI. [CH. XCIV. grade, dismantled, and renewed his representations to the emperor. The danger, he urged, was becoming more and more imminent ; Belgrade was untenable, and, should that fortress fall, he could not, with a diminished and dispirited army, withstand a superior force of the enemy, nor prevent them from carrying their excursions even to the capital. At the same time he sent a resolution, subscribed by the other generals, stating the necessity of retreating to Peter- waradin. He also requested that the defence of Belgrade, or at least of Peter waradin, might be committed to general Schmettau, who had been unemployed since the disgrace of Seckendorf. The defeat of Crotzka, the flight of the imperial army, and the progress of the Turks spread consternation among the people and at the court of Vienna, which was aggra- vated by the desponding accounts, transmitted by Wallis, concerning the state of the army and the danger of Bel- grade. The general terror was increased by the intrigues of Sweden, whose agents were employed in negotiating an offensive alliance with the Porte, by the tumultuous attempts of the malecontents in Poland to recall Stanislaus, and by the movements of prince llagotski's partisans in Hungary. In the height of their consternation, the people saw, in their affrighted imaginations, the Turks almost at the gates of Vienna, and looked with anxious expectation to marshal Munich, as Leopold had done to Sobieski, to deliver the house of Austria from impending de- struction. Instead of acting with spirit and unanimity, the ministers gave way to mutual reproaches, and each was more anxious to exculpate himself from the blame of having advised the war, than to provide a remedy for the distress of the moment. Bartenstein, to whose all-powerful influence the origin and direction of the war were imputed, and who had recommended and removed generals at his pleasure, shrunk from responsibility, declared that he had even given a written opinion against the war; and endeavoured to procure, from the elector of Mentz, the reversion of the post of referendary to the empire, as a security against the resentment of the successor to the Austrian dominions. Many of the nobles were disaffected to the house of L' raine, and turned to the elector of Bavaria, a native 1739.] SIEGE OF BELGRADE. 215 of Germany, connected by blood with the house of Austria, whose principles and manners were more congenial to their own. The people, loaded with taxes, and dissatisfied with the ill-success of the war, deprecated the continuance of hostilities, and an universal clamour was raised for a speedy peace. In the midst of the general consternation, the em- peror alone seemed to maintain any degree of firmness. He had been induced by the representations of Wallis, and the urgent remonstrances of his court, to intrust him with full powers to offer the cession of Belgrade in case of extreme necessity. But, convinced that the despondency of the general had aggravated the distress of his affairs, and irritated at his want of resolution, he transferred the full powers for concluding peace to count Neuperg, and ordered Wallis to direct his attention only to military transactions. At the same time he sent general Schmettau to inspect the situation of the army, and to prevent the intended retreat to Peterwaradin, and the cession of Bel- grade. On delivering his last orders, Charles, graciously pres- sing the general's hand, said, " Use the utmost diligence to arrive before the retreat of the army, projected by marshal Wallis ; assume the defence of Belgrade, and save it, if not too late, from falling into the hands of the enemy." Schmettau fulfilled the wishes of his sovereign, and reached the imperial camp at the moment the troops were preparing to retreat. He undeceived Wallis with regard to the situation of Belgrade, the fortifications of which were without a breach, and defended by a garrison of 13,000 effective men ; and by the most urgent remonstrances pre- vailed on him to advance with the whole army, and employ his utmost exertions for the relief of the place. Schmettau then hastened to Belgrade, and in the latter end of August, being assisted by a detachment, drove the Turks from the redoubt of Borzia ; by his exertions he animated the garrison, and soon compelled the besieger- to abandon above a hundred paces of their works. En- couraged by his example, marshal Wallis resumed his spirit; he visited Belgrade, bitterly reproached Suckof for his falsehood and pusillanimity, prepared to bring his whole force into the fortress, and hoped to recover the r 4 216 CnARLES VI. [CH. XC1V. lustre of the imperial arms by a victory similar to that gained by prince Eugene on the same ground. The whole army were actuated by one spirit, and eager to repair the disgrace of their flight by new exertions, when the news arrived of the signature of the preliminaries between count Neuperg and the grand vizier, which stipulated the cession of Belgrade, and the immediate delivery of one of the gates to the Turks. Count Neuperg had no sooner received full powers from the emperor than he hastened to fulfil his commission. He went through Belgrade, without even examining the state of the fortifications ; left orders that no letters should be forwarded to him, and even desired the Turkish officers to prevent the passage of any courier. He also impru- dently ventured into the Turkish camp, without requiring hostages, with the expectation of meeting the marquis de Villeneuve, the French ambassador at the Porte, by whose mediation the terms were to be adjusted. But he had soon reason to repent his imprudence, for the indignities to which he was exposed were, almost un- exampled. Villeneuve, either not being arrived, or having purposely concealed himself, Neuperg was instantly ar- rested, and put under a guard of twenty-four janissaries. When the grand vizier, in company with the bashaws of Romelia and Bosnia, demanded the conditions he was ordered to propose, he exhibited his full powers, and offered the cession of Wallachia, provided Orsova was dis- mantled. On this proposal the bashaw of Bosnia spit in his face, and exclaimed, " Infidel dog ! thou provest thy- self a spy, with all thy full powers. Since thou hast brought no letter from the vizier Wallis, and hast con- cealed his offer to cede Belgrade, thou shalt be sent to Constantinople to receive the punishment thou deservest." After enduring these indignities, Neuperg was closely confined, and was not allowed to hold any communication with colonel Gross, until the 26th of August, when Vil- leneuve made his appearance, and obtained permission to lodge him in his tent. Neuperg was reproached by the French ambassador for his precipitancy in entering the camp without obtaining hostages, and was now first informed that Wallis had already offered the cession of Belgrade, without which the 1739.] CONDITIONS OF PEACE. 217 grand vizier would not even commence a negotiation for peace. Neuperg, however, persisted in refusing to make this disgraceful cession, until he was overcome by the persuasion of Villeneuve, who affected to be alarmed with apprehensions of a mutiny in the Turkish camp. The troops, lie urged, were in the act of rising, and threatened to massacre the grand vizier and the bashaws, for holding a traitorous correspondence with infidels, to deprive the Porte of so important a conquest. The imperial plenipo- tentiary reluctantly yielded to these representations, and signed the preliminaries on the 1st of September, under the mediation and guaranty of France. The principal conditions were, the restoration of Bel- grade and Szabatch, after the demolition of the new forti- fications, with the cession of Servia, and all the districts yielded by the Turks at the peace of Passarovitz. The Porte was also to retain the fortress of Orsova, which had been erected by the imperialists, and the emperor agreed to demolish the fortifications of Meadia. As a security for the execution of these preliminaries, one of the gates of Belgrade was to be immediately delivered to a corps of janissaries. Neuperg instantly despatched colonel Gross, and an- nounced the signature of the preliminaries by a laconic note, addressed to the commandant of Belgrade. " Peace was signed this morning between the emperor our master and the Porte ; let hostilities cease, therefore, on the re- ceipt of this. In half an hour I shall follow, and announce the particulars myself." On his arrival, however, Gross only expressed his surprise and indignation to general Schmet- tau that hostilities had not ceased ; and, as if ashamed of the conditions which he had subscribed, did not make them public until the following morning. General Schmet- tau acted with becoming spirit ; he urged Neuperg to suspend the cession of Belgrade, under pretence that he had exceeded his full powers ; and used all his influence with Wallis not to deliver the gate to the Turks, until the preliminaries had been ratified by the emperor. Wallis, however, could not venture to evade his positive orders to obey the plenipotentiary in what regarded the conclusion of peace ; and, when he suggested to the count the pro- posal of Schmettau, Neuperg indignantly replied, " If you 218 CHARLES VI. [cn. XCIV. choose rather to yield to the advice of the general than to obey the orders of the emperor, and retard only twenty- four hours the execution of the article relative to Bel- grade, I will instantly despatch a courier to Vienna, and charge you with all the misfortunes which may result ; I had great difficulty in diverting the grand vizier from the demand of Sirmia, Sclavonia, and the bannat of Temes- war ; and when I have expedited a courier, I will return into the Turkish camp, and protest against the inexecution of the treaty." The gate was accordingly delivered on the 4th of Sep- tember to the bashaw of llomelia, at the head of 800 janis- saries ; and the imperialists had the mortification to see the Turkish officers ride into the town with the standards taken at the battle of Crotzka. All the arrangements being made for the demolition of the new fortifications, the main body of the imperial army retired towards Peter- waradin, and the Turks towards Nissa. Count Neuperg had now the mortification to find that the Turks had been more anxious to conclude the peace than the emperor: and that nothing but the precipitate retreat and panic of the imperialists had encouraged the grand vizier to prosecute hostilities without tendering offers of accommodation, which he had been enjoined to do by the Porte. His chagrin was increased by the re- ception of two letters from the emperor, dated the 21st and 122nd of August, which arrived at Belgrade on the 27th, and were not forwarded by marshal Wallis, who literally obeyed the orders, that no messenger should be suffered to pass to the Turkish army. These letters stated that the emperor had only yielded to the surrender of Belgrade on the supposition that the fortress was in imminent danger ; but learning the falsity of the report, he had no doubt that his troops would still be able to drive the enemy from their conquests, as they would be seconded by the Russians, who had already defeated the Turks in several encounters, and had advanced into Moldavia. He therefore enjoined Neuperg to declare that Wallis had exceeded his powers, in offering the cession of Belgrade, to represent to Ville- neuve the real state of the fortress, and entreat him not to disclose the offers with which he had been intrusted. The account of this dishonourable peace was received 1739.] GENERAL DISCONTENT. 219 by all ranks with grief and indignation ; a general mur- mur arose among the troops, who exclaimed, "Belgrade must not be yielded ; we are ready to sacrifice our lives, if the generals will lead us against the enemy." The populace of Vienna rose tumultuously ,• assaulted the houses of several officers, and would have demolished those of Bartenstein and Webber, had they not been prevented by the military. The Jesuits were enraged by the loss of their estates in the ceded provinces, and the dissolution of their splendid establishments in the town of Belgrade ; and by their clamours and exhortations increased the agitation of the public mind. But no one was more affected with the conclusion of the peace than the emperor himself, and he appeared under more agitation of mind than he had ever displayed in the midst of his greatest disasters. His chief embarrassment consisted in the difficulty of extenuating his conduct to the czarina. In an audience which he gave to her ambassador, he appeared under the pressure of the deepest affliction, and in a letter to the czarina seems to hare wanted words to express the agony of his mind. " While I am writing this letter to your imperial ma- jesty," he observed, " my heart is filled with the most excessive grief; I \vas much less touched with the advan- tages gained by the enemy, and the news of the siege of Belgrade, than with the advice 1 have received concerning the shameful preliminary articles, concluded by count Neuperg." After reprobating the conduct of marshal Wallis and count Neuperg, he adds, " The history of past ages ex- hibits no vestiges of such an event. I was on the point of preventing the fatal and too hasty execution of these pre- liminaries when I heard that they were already partly executed, even before the design had been communicated to me ; thus I see my hands tied by those who ought to glory in obeying me. All who have approached me since that fatal day, are so many witnesses of the excess of my grief ; and, although I have many times experienced ad- versity, yet I never was so much afflicted with any tiling as with this event. Your majesty has a right to complain of some people who ought to have obeyed my orders ; but I had no part in what they have done. Though all the 220 CHARLES VI. [CH. XCIV. forces of the Ottoman empire were turned against me, I was not disheartened ; but still did all that lay in my power for the good of the common cause. I shall not, however, fail to perform in due time what avenging justice requires. In this dismal series of misfortunes I have still one com- fort left, which is, that the fault cannot be thrown upon me. It lies entirely on such of my officers as ratified the disgraceful preliminaries, without my knowledge, against my consent, and even contrary to my express orders. But, nevertheless, I ought to conform to what has once been ratified, though unjustly; we must keep faith inviolably even with infidels, while they observe it on their part. However, the happy success of your majesty's arms before Chotzim ought to procure you more advantageous con- ditions than you could have obtained before ; and I do not doubt but the peace between your majesty and the sublime Porte will be concluded at the same time with mine. It is what I have most at heart at present, as also to perpetuate the ties which so fortunately attach me to your majesty, notwithstanding all the machinations of those who wish to see them dissolved. I am the first to own that Wallis and Neuperg are highly guilty ; but your majesty will discover more and more the sincerity of my sentiments for you, in which I have not failed, nor ever will fail in the least." This letter was soon followed by a circular rescript, ad- dressed to the imperial ambassadors in the different courts of Europe, which was drawn up by Bartenstein, and filled with acrimonious reproaches against the conduct of marshal Wallis and count Neuperg. It bitterly and indiscrimi- nately censured all the operations of Wallis, particularly dwelt on his false statements concerning the situation of Belgrade, and condemned him for the precipitate execution of the article relating to the delivery of the prate. The censures against Neuperg were solely confined to his con- duct in regard to the peace, and consisted of vague accu- sations on the progress of the negotiations, and the con- clusion of the preliminaries. It exculpated the emperor from any part in the transaction, and not only charged count Neuperg with exceeding his powers, but accused him of acting in direct contradiction to the most positive 1739.] BAD MANAGEMENT OF TIIE AVAR. 221 instructions, and particularly of not including Russia in the treaty. This rescript drew from marshal Wallis and count Neuperg a justification of their conduct. After attempting to vindicate his military operations, Wallis declared that he had strictly conformed to his instructions, and that his ill success in negotiating a peace was derived from the want of instructions, which he had in vain demanded. In regard to the conclusion and premature execution of the preliminaries, he threw the whole responsibility on count Neuperg, to whom he had transferred his full powers by order of the emperor. Neuperg, on his part, justified the concessions he had made on the plea of urgent necessity ; and asserted that no other measures could have prevented the immediate invasion of Hungary, and the total loss of the imperial army. The imperial rescript contained such a jumble of jarring facts, and such an apparent confusion in the dates, that even the populace discovered its fallacy, and exclaimed that it could impose on none but children. It was deemed impossible that any negotiator, in so jealous and severe a court as that of Vienna, would venture to exceed his full powers, still less to act in direct contradiction to positive instructions ; hence suspicions were even formed that the emperor, or his ministers, had given orders which they now denied, and sacrificed the negotiator to exculpate themselves from the disgrace of submitting to such dis- honourable terms. If any thing could aggravate the folly and inconsistency of the imperial court, it was their conduct at the con- clusion of this unfortunate negotiation. While they were thus criminating their plenipotentiary in the eyes of all Europe, and even while Bartenstein was publicly declaring that the man who exceeded his powers ought to be hanged, but that he who acted contrary to them ought to be im- paled, Neuperg was sent back to the Turk i si i camp to settle the definitive peace, and to supply his omission in not including Russia in the treaty. In terminating the negotiation, Neuperg proved that he had before acted from imperious necessity, and that he did not deserve the aspersions cast on his character ; for he refused with great dignity and firmness to sign any treaty 222 CHARLES VI. [CII. XCIV. between the emperor and the Porte, unless an accommo- dation was at the same time concluded with Russia. This spirit baffled the intrigues of Villeneuve, and overcame the obstinacy of the Turks, who began to be alarmed at the victory of Chotzim, gained by marshal Munich, and the rapid progress of the Russian arms. The two treaties were accordingly signed on the 18th of September, before the departure of the grand vizier, and the stipulations for Russia were referred to the future approbation of the court of St. Petersburg. The honour of the emperor was also in some measure retrieved, by a declaration annexed to the treaty, stating, that he did not derogate from the alliance with Russia ; and reserved to himself the right of assisting Russia with 30,000 troops, should the war be continued between her and the Porte. The articles of the peace at Belgrade were nearly similar to the tenor of the preliminaries. The emperor ceded Servia, with the fortresses of Belgrade and Szabatch ; he also yielded Austrian AVallachia, with the fortress of New Orsova, with a small district on the north bank of the Danube, and retained the bannat of Temeswar, on con- dition of demolishing the fortifications of Meadia. By the stipulations arranged for Russia, Azof was to be demolished, and its territory to remain a desert, and to serve as a barrier between the two empires ; the city of Taganroc was not to be re-established, and the czarina w T as to relinquish her pretensions to the navigation of the Black Sea, and restore her recent acquisitions to the Porte. Anne, however, disapproved these conditions, and thought that the success of her arms entitled her to more advantageous terms ;. but as she was left without an ally, as the Swedes were making preparations to co- operate with the Porte, as insurrections were brooding in Poland, and as she was alarmed with a dangerous con- spiracy among her own nobles, she prudently ratified the treaty with some modifications, which increased the limits of her empire on the side of the Ukraine. The peace of Belgrade was scarcely signed before Wallis was arrested and confined at Zigieth, and Neuperg sent to the castle of Halitz, where they remained during the life of Charles VI. It is difficult at this distance of time to develop the 1739.] INTERFERENCE OF FRANCE. 223 whole mystery of this extraordinary transaction ; but suf- ficient evidence is not wanting to trace the principal causes which occasioned the conclusion of this precipitate peace. At the close of 1736, attempts were made to negotiate an accommodation between Russia and the Porte, under the mediation of the emperor, and a congress was opened at Memerow in Poland ; but the emperor having taken part against the Turks, the congress was dissolved, and the Porte requested the mediation of France, which, after some difficulties and delays, was also accepted by the allied powers. Conferences were accordingly opened at Con- stantinople, between the Turkish ministers, and Villeneuve the French ambassador, a man of cultivated talents and consummate address, versed in all the arts of negotiation, and well calculated to carry into execution the refined views of the French cabinet. He was instructed, while he acted the ostensible part of an impartial mediator, to divide the emperor from the czarina, to prevent any dis- memberment of the Turkish dominions, and above all to counteract the aggrandisement of the house of Austria. Villeneuve secretly encouraged the Turks to reject the exorbitant demands at first made by the allied powers, which were no less on the side of the emperor, than the entire cession of Bosnia, Moldavia, and Wallachia ; and, on the side of Russia, to retain possession of Azof, Otcha- kof, and the Kuban, with the free navigation of the Black Sea. The negotiations were renewed at the close of each campaign ; but though the allies lessened their pretensions, the Turks rose in their demands, in proportion to their successes ; and Villeneuve being trusted by the emperor, to the exclusion even of his own ministers, was enabled to obstruct the negotiation, until he had sown jealousy be- tween the two powers, and effectually fulfilled the views of France. His efforts were unfortunately promoted by the distracted state of the imperial court, and the divisions between Wallis and Neuperg, who were more anxious to ruin each other, than to promote the interests of their master. After the defeat of Krotzka, and the retreat of the imperial army, the emperor disclosed to Villeneuve, in confidence, the disastrous situation of his affairs, and his 224 CHARLES VI. [CH. XCIV readiness to conclude a separate peace, even with the ces- sion of Belgrade, in a state of demolition. The duke of Loraine and Maria Theresa, also alarmed at the declining state of the emperors health, and dreading lest, on his de- cease, the house of Bourbon should excite a contest for the Austrian succession, urgently exhorted Neuperg to yield to any terms which might terminate the embarrass- ments of a Turkish war. These circumstances favoured the efforts of Villeneuve ; he availed himself of the con- fidence of the emperor ; and when Neuperg was confined in the Turkish camp, he alarmed his fears, concealed the rapid successes of the Russians, magnified the strength of the Turks, and did not cease his artifices and intrigues until he had extorted the cession of Belgrade. This being the only point in dispute, the other articles were arranged without much difficulty ; and Villeneuve boasted that, in making the peace of Belgrade, he had rendered a more effectual service to France than if he had gained a complete victory. The efforts of this refined negotiator were equally pro- moted by the secret manoeuvres of Bartenstein, who while he affected to admire and animate the spirit of the emperor, exaggerated the bad state of his affairs, and incessantly urged the necessity of an immediate peace. General Suckof, who was intrusted with the command of Belgrade, was his creature, and under his direction ; and, though he could not ostensibly oppose the mission of Schmettau, to defend that fortress to the last extremity, yet he endea- voured to prevent his appointment. With this view, not- withstanding the positive orders of the emperor, Schmettau was not furnished with written instructions, but was re- ferred to marshal Wallis, to whom he carried despatches. On arriving at the camp, Schmettau was apprised by Wallis that these despatches contained no instructions ; but a private letter from Bartenstein, in which he said, " As his imperial majesty had given a promise, under his own hand, to general Suckof, to promote him to the rank of general of artillery, and the government of Servia, if he preserved Belgrade, the defence of that place could not be intrusted to any other general ; and, therefore, the in- tention of the emperor was. that Schmettau should be employed in the army, or at Peterwaradin, to defend that 1739, 1740.] THE PEACE OF BELGRADE. 225 fortress should it be besieged." But although Wallis could not venture to supersede Suckof, yet he found means to elude the orders of " this scribe," as he called him, " who abused the name of the emperor to favour his creatures," by appointing Schmettau commander-in-chief of Belgrade, in virtue of his power as governor of the province. It is not easy to trace the motives which influenced the conduct of this upstart favourite ; whether to secure the favour of the successor to the Austrian monarchy, whether from dislike to the Maritime Powers, who had abandoned his master in the hour of danger, or, whether from the disas- trous state of the emperor's affairs, he dreaded the con- tinuance of so unfortunate and ruinous a contest. But although the signature and execution of the pre- liminaries were shamefully precipitated, and a short delay might even have procured honourable and advantageous terms, yet a peace at all events was absolutely neces.-ary for the salvation of the house of Austria. Nor can it be deemed a matter of surprise, that even a sovereign of so proud and unbending a spirit as Charles VI. should ratify so dishonourable a peace, when his situation is thus de- scribed by an eye-witness and competent judge. " Everything in this court is running into the last con- fusion and ruin; where there arc as visible Bigna of folly and madness as ever were inflicted upon a people whom heaven is determined to destroy, no less by domestic di- visions, than by the more public calamities of repeated defeats, defencelessness, poverty, and plague." In a word, the deplorable state in which Charles left, on his death, his army and finances, is the best apology for the peace of Belgrade. Chap. XCY.— 1739, 1740. Although the emperor had concluded a definitive peace with the Porte, yet the vague terms of the treaty gave rise to new cavils and long discussions concerning the de- marcation of the limits, which were artfully protracted by the intrigues of France, who thus maintained her ascend- ency over the contracting powers. VOL. HI. Q 226 CHARLES VI. [cn. xcv. France, at this period, had attained an enormous pre- ponderancy among the powers of Europe, not only from a dread of her strength and resources, but from the character and system of the prime minister. Cardinal Fleury was in the 84th year of his age ; he was of a circumspect and cautious temper, and possessed the art of winning mankind by an unaffected air of candour and simplicity. His great prudence and sagacity enabled him to distinguish the precise bounds to which he could push his intrigues, and to conceal his designs under the semblance of moderation ; his progress was, therefore, more dangerous, as it was silent and unobserved. From temper and principle he was anxious to maintain his country in peace ; but, as his great aim was to remove every obstruction to the ascendency of France, he directed all his efforts to divide, though he avoided provoking, the other powers of Europe. In pursuit of his plan, he had imperceptibly brought the emperor to an entire dependence on France, and had more reduced the house of Austria by his intrigues, than his predecessors by the sword. Although France had guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction, yet he looked forward to the prospect of dividing the Austrian dominions between the two archduchesses, and thus hoped to diminish the weight of a power which had hitherto been the rival, and might again become the enemy, of the house of Bourbon. With this view he filled all the courts of Europe with his intrigues, and endeavoured to isolate the house of Austria, by uniting her enemies, and paralysing the efforts of her friends. France wholly governed the councils of the Porte ; and, by means of reciprocal treaties and guaranties, secured a pretext for interference in the future disputes of the Turks with the Christian powers. She had effected an essential change in the adminis- tration of Sweden, by removing the ministers who were favourable to England, and maintained the king in total subjection, by swaying the parties which agitated that distracted government. By her influence, also, the Swedes were induced to arm on the side of Finland, and to make an offensive alliance with the Porte. Notwithstanding the subsidiary treaty, which Denmark 1739, 1740.] STATE OF EUROPE. 227 had concluded witli England, France endeavoured to alienate the court of Copenhagen from the house of Austria ; and the fluctuating conduct of the Danish cabinet seemed to favour her views. With their consent, she despatched a squadron into the Baltic, under a frivolous pretence ; which, parading through the Sound, intimidated the ene- mies and encouraged the friends of France. Russia, alarmed on one side with the preparations of the Swedes, and on the other kept in suspense by the pro- tracted negotiation with the Turks, was inclined to tem- porise ; and, unwilling to provoke the resentment of France, unless a grand combination of the European states could be formed capable of resisting the alarming power of the house of Bourbon. Although Augustus III. owed his crown to the united efforts of the emperor and Russia, yet, as king of Poland, he was unable to suppress the domestic cabals excited by the intrigues of France, or to turn the united forces of Ins kingdom in favour of the house of Austria. Germany was divided in interests, and distracted by parties. France had gained many of the Catholic princes, and in particular the elector of Bavaria, with the hopes of sharing in the Austrian succession. She also artfully availed herself of the resentment entertained by the king of Prussia against the emperor for his prevarication in regard to the succession of Berg and Juliers. By these intrigues she detached Frederic William from the house of Austria ; and, by fomenting his prejudices against the house of Hanover, succeeded in weakening and dividing the efforts of the Protestant body. The king of Sardinia was in entire subjection to the dictates of the French cabinet. John V. king of Portugal, began to lose that spirit and vigour of intellect which had distinguished the former part of his reign ; his faculties were impaired by a stroke of apoplexy, and in his character and conduct he blended the extremes of devotion and licentiousness. Scrupulously adhering to the ceremonies of the church, the bigoted monarch paid as much attention to the arrangement of a procession, and to the election of an abbot, as to the most important concerns of government. Hence the whole power fell into the hands of confessors and friars ; immense Q 2 228 CHARLES VI. [CH. XCV. sums were expended in religious establishments instead of being employed in the maintenance of an army and navy, and Portugal daily declined in power and consider- ation. The king of Spain was involved in a war with England, on account of the depreciations in America ; and, alarmed for the safety of his colonial possessions, importunately required the interference of France, and looked forward for the active assistance which he was openly encouraged to expect. The United Provinces still exhibited the same weak and divided government ; alarmed at the increasing preponder- ance of France, yet without vigour to resist her encroach- ments ; dreading the interference of England in favour of the prince of Orange, who had espoused the daughter of George II. ; and though without any other ally, to whom they could look for support, considering the war with Spain as wholly foreign to their interests. They were irritated against the emperor for the haughty conduct of his minis- ters, and involved in interminable disputes concerning the commercial regulations of the Barrier Treaty. England, the only power capable of consolidating a grand combination against France, was engaged in the prosecution of the Spanish war, which had been excited by the clamours of the merchants, and the madness of the people, wild with dreams of conquest and plunder. But the illusion had been dissipated by the ill success of their armaments, and by the hostile preparations of France. The nation was distracted by contending parties ; the cabi- net divided ; and the minister, becoming more and more unpopular, was compelled to pursue a temporising policy, ill adapted to the circumstances of the times. Numerous schemes of alliance and co-operation against France were formed ; but they were counteracted by the discordant views of the cabinet, and the inveterate antipathy of George II. to the house of Brandenburgh, whose concur- rence was indispensably necessary for the establishnent of a permanent confederacy against the house of Bourbon. In this situation of Europe, the emperor, debilitated by his recent disasters, was bound by France with the most galling fetters. Her numerous partisans were continually representing to him the weakness of his exhausted country, and the danger of provoking the resentment of so for- 1739, 1740.] WARLIKE P RE P ATI AT ION S OF FRANCE. 229 midable a power. His court was beset by her spies ; every motion was watched, and Fleury made urgent complaints whenever the duke of Loraine, who indignantly bore this state of dependence, had an interview with the British minister. This humiliating subjection chagrined the most upright and independent ministers of the conference ; and counts Staremberg and Harrach, in particular, lamented the influence of France in the counsels of their sovereign. The emperor himself felt and appreciated his danger ; he regretted the precipitation witli which he had concluded the preliminaries at Vienna with La Beaume, and still more his acceptance of the mediation and guaranty of France in the treaty of Belgrade. lie saw that his mi- nisters had been deceived by the artifices of Yilleneuve, and that the peace had been dictated at Paris. He was sensible that the French, by their manoeuvres witli the Porte, were delaying the execution of the treaty, and was aware of their schemes for the division or dismemberment of his succession. He considered a war between France and England as inevitable, and foresaw the destruction of the house of Austria, should England be crushed by the united efforts of the house of Bourbon. In this dangerous crisis, overtures were made by England, who was alarmed at the hostile preparations of the French by land and sea ; and at the march of their troops towards the coast of the British channel. The English ministry endeavoured to rouse the imperial cabinet, with the pros- pect of an approaching war on the Continent, which might be opened by the invasion of Germany, or an attack on the Netherlands, and requested the emperor to assume a posture of defence, and provide for the security of the Barrier Towns. The emperor, who was not unwilling to act according to the extent of his power and resources, and was anxious to consolidate the whole force of the German empire against the aggressions of France, de- spatched count Ostein to Hanover to adjust the terms of a reconciliation with England and Holland ; but the good effects of this mission were counteracted by the secret manoeuvres of Bartenstein, whose aversion to the Maritime Powers induced hi in to throw obstacles in the way of an accommodation. At the suggestion of the referendary, who drew up the instructions, count Ostein was ordered to q 3 230 CHARLES VI. [en. xcv. inveigh against the former desertion of the Maritime Powers, and to express the diffidence of the emperor to enter into new engagements, for the fulfilment of which he had, from past experience, no sufficient security. Imprac- ticable proposals, relative to German disputes, were also introduced, and Bartenstein artfully availed himself of the former contentions relative to the conditions of the Barrier Treaty, which were again revived. To the continuance of the commercial restrictions imposed by the 26th article, the imperial cabinet attributed the most fatal consequences, and Bartenstein drew up a memorial, exhibiting the griev- ances which the people of the Netherlands suffered from the state of their trade in Great Britain and Holland. <; The Netherlands," he said, " are at present reduced to a most deplorable situation ; the commerce to the Indies interdicted ; debts enormously increased during the course of a long war; the revenues absorbed by the maintenance of the military establishment ; the deficiency in the revenue, already amounting to an enormous sum, is annually increas- ing ; and the only source to obviate these evils almost wholly exhausted." " The manufacturers," he added, " are daily declining, and, without a speedy remedy, will be annihilated. The best workmen emigrate for want of em- ployment, and the richest merchants threaten to quit the country. Hence arises an alarming decrease in the duties on consumption, as well as those of export and import, and even in the ordinary contributions ; and the balance of trade having been long unequal, the inference is natural, that it will be totally overthrown if the same principle is pursued, of lowering the duties on the side of the Low Countries, and raising those on the side of England." Hence the imperial ministers contended, that the Mari- time Powers had eluded their engagements contracted by the Barrier Treaty and the treaty of Vienna, by which the alteration of the tariff was to be settled before the expira- tion of a new treaty of commerce within two years, and they urged the justice and necessity of a reciprocity of duties. These statements were combated on the part of England, by insisting that the duties settled by the tariff being ap- propriated for the liquidation of the debt incurred for the .conquest of the Low Countries from France, could not be 1740.] DEATH OF KING OF PRUSSIA. 231 changed till the debt was discharged ; and that the emperor, having accepted the Netherlands on the terms settled by the Barrier Treaty, had no right to expect an alteration of the system established by that treaty. These discordant principles became a never-failing source of disagreement, and furnished Bartenstein with endless pretexts to inveigh against the narrow policy of the Mari- time Powers. In consequence of this dissatisfaction on the side of Austria, and the perseverance of the Maritime Powers to retain the privileges to which they were entitled by the treaty of Barrier, no compromise could be made ; and the conferences which had been opened at Antwerp in 1737, for adjusting the new treaty of commerce, produced no effect. CiiAr. XCVL— 1740. The alarming designs of France, the danger to which the Maritime Powers were exposed, the representations of the duke of Loraine, and the instances of the ministers, at length outweighed the influence of Bartenstein ; and the emperor became more zealous than ever to renew his con- nection with England, and to unite the German empire against the incroachment of the house of Bourbon. The obstacles which hitherto prevented the union of the Pro- testant body, arising from the disputes between the houses of Hanover and Brandenburgh, seemed now to be removed by the death of Frederic William, king of Prussia, in April, 1740 ; and hopes were entertained that his successor would be induced to pursue a different line of conduct. Charles Frederic, who, under the name of Frederic II., was destined to give a new lustre to the crown of Prussia, and to become the formidable rival of the house of Austria, was son of Frederic William, by Sophia Dorothea, daughter of George I., king of England, and was born at Berlin, on the 24th of January, 1712. Although Frederic William disliked magnificence, literature, and foreign manners, and was desirous of giving his son an education more calculated for a sergeant than a prince ; yet Berlin abounded with re- fugees and other natives of France, drawn to the capital by q 4 232 CHARLES VI. [CH. XCVI. Frederic L, who emulated the court of Louis XIV. To some of these foreigners, distinguished for elegance of man- ners and acquaintance with polite literature, the early education of the young prince was entrusted; and from them he imbibed that fondness for the French language and French manners which influenced his future life. His governor, lieutenant-general count Finkenstein, was a man of high probity and distinguished courage, but stiff in his address, and cold in his manners ; and his sub- governor, Kalkstein, was principally distinguished for his rigid economy, and perfect knowledge of military details ; qualifications, which, in the opinion of Frederic William, superseded every other accomplishment. As neither of these persons w r as calculated to gain the confidence of a young prince, endowed with quick intellects, and a lively genius, he conceived an attachment to his preceptor du Han, a French refugee, who had served under Frederic William at the siege of Stralsund. Du Han was of a captious and sarcastic temper, and a free-thinker in matters of religion ; but possessed a general knowledge of polite literature, and encouraged his royal pupil in that preposses- sion for French authors which he had already imbibed, and which was strengthened by the prevailing taste of the times, by the low state of German literature, and by the prohibition of his father, that his son should not be instructed in the learned languages. Frederic William, who had employed his whole reign in the formation of that great military establishment which afterwards rendered Prussia the arbitress of Germany, was most anxious to give to his son the education of a soldier : at an early age the young prince was appointed chief of a corps of cadets, and daily practised with his pigmy troops, the military evolutions which his father performed with his tall regiment ; and he made so considerable a progress in these manoeuvres, that in his twelfth year he surprised the king of Great Britain, during a visit to Berlin, by exer- cising three hundred cadets with a dexterity above his age. Notwithstanding his progress, the king was dissatisfied with his attachment to music, and to what he called out- landish literature, dismissed his preceptors when he had attained the age of fifteen, and assumed the principal direc- tion of his employment. He made him his companion in 1740.] PRUSSIA PRIXCE FREDERIC. 233 most of his journeys, and gave him incessant lectures on finance, agriculture, and military discipline. But, as the young prince did not listen to such dry details with sufficient attention, the king bitterly reproached him with his passion for music and letters, and treated him with excessive rigour. For petty breaches of military order, Frederic William fre- quently put his son under arrest, and confined him to bread and water ; he also threw his music into the fire, and broke his flute. This opposition to his favourite pursuits only increased the inclination of the young prince for the arts and polite literature ; he passed whole nights in reading by stealth, and held concerts in forests and caverns, during his hunting excursions, with musicians privately supplied by his mother. At length, exasperated by this tyrannical treatment, Frederic formed the design of escaping into England, to seek the protection of his uncle George II. He made this attempt at a village near Frankfort ; but, being discovered, was arrested and confined at WeseL Interrogated by his father, who demanded his reasons for deserting, he replied, "Because, sire, you have not hitherto treated me as your son, but as your slave." — " You are a cowardly deserter," exclaimed the king, " without courage, and without honour !" — "I have no less courage," answered the prince, "and honour than yourself; and I have only done what you have frequently said you would do, if you were in my place." The king, inflamed with this reproach, drew his sword, but general Mosel holding his arm, and throwing himself between them, exclaimed, "Kill me, sire ; but spare your son ! " This seasonable exclamation recalled the king to reason; and Mosel conveyed the prince into another apartment, and from thence to the prison which was des- tined for his reception. Frederic was afterwards transferred to Berlin, and from thence to the palace of Mittelwalde, where he was interro- gated by a committee of four persons, presided by general Grumbkow, minister of state. Having presented to the prince the interrogatories and answers of Katt, his favourite page, who was tried for assisting his escape, they ques- tioned him on some points of which the king required in- formation. Frederic replied with firmness, and showed that his spirit was greater than his misfortunes. On being 234 CHARLES VI* [CH. XCVI. told that it was the king's pleasure he should be transferred to Custrin, " Be it so," he said, " I consent ; but if I am to recover my liberty by entreaties, I fear that I shall re- main there a considerable time." At Custrin he was con- fined six months in a cell, without furniture, without a bed, and without a single attendant ; received an allowance of only sixpence a day, and was deprived of all books, except a bible and a psalter. He was here repeatedly interrogated ; and as the crime alleged against him was high treason, he had every reason to expect that his obdurate father would imitate the example of Peter the Great towards his son, the unfortunate Alexey. In this state of suspense he one morning observed the window of his cell enlarging, and a communication formed with a scaffold, covered with black cloth, erected in the court of the citadel, on a level with the cell in which he was confined. Being convinced that these preparations were making for his own execution, he prepared for his fate ; and was only undeceived when the commandant of the citadel announced the condemnation of Katt. Four grenadiers entered the cell, and forcibly con- veyed the prince to the window, holding his head towards the scaffold, on which the unfortunate victim now made his appearance. The sentence being read, Frederic earnestly exhorted the executioner to defer the stroke, that he might write to his father, and obtain the pardon of his friend, by renouncing his right of succession to the crown. But his tears, his entreaties, and his cries being ineffectual, he ex- claimed in an agony of grief, " Would to God that I were in your place !" — "Oh! sir," replied the unfortunate vic- tim, "had I a thousand lives I would sacrifice them all for you." He then knelt down; one of his attendants advanc- ing to cover his face, " It is needless," he said ; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, " My God," he added, "to thy hands I commit my soul !" Before the executioner could perform his office, the prince fainted ; and when he re- covered saw the headless trunk of his affectionate servant, which was exposed the whole day. But this victim did not appease the fury of Frederic William, and he still persisted in the resolution of immo- lating his son to military justice. He bitterly reproached the court martial because only one of the twenty-four judges appointed to try the prince had condemned him to 1740.] PRUSSIA — FRINCE FREDERIC. 235 death. To his ministers, who had the courage to repre- sent that the heir-apparent could not be capitally convicted, he exclaimed, " I consider my son as a soldier who dis- obeys orders, or as a deserter who quits his post !" To the emperor, who wrote to him with his own hand, that lie had no authority to try his son, and still less to put him to death, because the prince, as a member of the empire, could only be heard and judged at a full diet, he replied, " I am a king, and in that capacity will bring my son to judgment, by sending him into Prussia, where I acknowledge no power except God alone." The delays, however, which these remonstrances occa- sioned gave time to his paternal sentiments to regain their influence. Great Britain, Sweden, and the States-gen oral joined their intercession to that of the emperor. The queen, continually repulsed, never intermitted her solicit- ations, and at length prevailed. The king relented, and released his son from prison, after obliging him to take a solemn oath, not to entertain any resentment against the ministers ; never to undertake any journey without per- mission ; to live in fear of God ; to fuliil the duties of his religion ; and not to marry any princess whom he did not approve. But though he released the prince from con- finement, he would not permil him to return to court. He compelled him to continue at Custrin, not to wear his uni- form, and not to speak French ; he was obliged to attend the boards of police and finance, to audit the accounts, and to copy memorials. So minute were these orders, and so exactly fulfilled, that when the president of the board transmitted to Frederic William three memorials, two of which were copied by the prince, and the third only signed, the king wrote on the margin, "the signature of Fritz is not sufficient, he ought to have transcribed the whole himself."* The king's resentment at length subsided ; he recalled the prince to court, but did not relax his rigorous treat- ment, and compelled him to marry Elizabeth C hristina, daughter of the duke of Brunswick. Although Frederic entertained an invincible aversion to his consort, with whom he never cohabited, yet this event procured him a separate establishment, and enabled him to fix his residence at the * Poelnitz, torn. ii. p. 225-254. 236 CHAKLES VI. [CII. XCVI. castle of Rheimsberg. He here devoted himself to his favourite studies, and passed his time in convivial inter- course with a chosen society* of men of letters, either natives of France, or devoted to French literature. He was indefatigable in the perusal of works on ancient and modern history, particularly translations of the classics ; and blended his literary occupations with concerts and theatrical representations. He also maintained an inter- course with the philosopher Wolff, who had been driven from Halle for his metaphysical tenets, and held constant correspondence with the French literati, particularly Rol- lin, Henault, Maupertuis, and Voltaire. His active mind was animated by the most ardent love of fame; but being excluded from affairs of state, he endeavoured to distin- guish himself in the republic of letters, and composed a commentary on the prince of Machiavel, with a view to refute the political principles of that work. This piece, called the Anti-Machiavel, he submitted to the correction of Voltaire, and was preparing it for the press, when the death of his father opened a new field to his exertions. On the accession of Frederic II., the dominions of the house of Brandenburgh consisted of provinces detached from each other ; and many parts, particularly the Marck of Brandenburgh, so barren and sandy, that Frederic Wil- liam had been called in derision, " the arch sablonnier of the German empire." The whole population did not exceed 2,400,000 souls, and the revenues, though improved by the financial system of Frederic William, amounted to no more than 8,700,000 crowns. The country maintained but little commerce, and was almost without resource, but the late king had left a treasure of 9,000,000 crowns, and an army of 76,000 men, the best disciplined troops in Europe, with artillery, magazines, and all the appointments of war in the highest state of order. Frederic was now in the twenty-eighth year of his age ; and his real character was little appreciated by his contemporaries, and scarcely known even by those who had constant access to his person. He had displayed no predilection for military affairs ; had seen no service, ex- * Of this select coterie, the principal were Kaiserlin, a native of Cotirland, Suhm, Jandum, Bielrield, Maupertuis, Algarotti, and Chasot. 1740.] FREDERIC II., KING OF PRUSSIA. 237 cept part of the inactive campaign of 1737; and the only trait of his intrepidity, which was recollected even by his warmest panegyrists, was, that in reconnoitring the lines of Philipsburgh, he exhibited no concern in the midst of a continual discharge of cannon, the shot of which frac- tured some branches of trees over his head. His father was so little acquainted with his personal character, as to express apprehension lest the military establishment should be dissolved after his death ; and the literary society at Rheimsberg deemed him as volatile and dissipated as them- selves. They anticipated a delicious life, passed in indo- lence and ease, hailed the halcyon days of peace and luxury, and hoped that he would rival his grandfather Frederic I., in the magnificence of his court and the ele- gance of his refinements.* But the real character of the new monarch soon de- veloped itself in a petty transaction with the bishop and chapter of Liege, in which lie displayed that prompt and decisive spirit of enterprise which afterwards marked his conduct. During an excursion to Strasburgh and Cleves (whither he repaired to have an interview with Voltaire), the inhabitants of Herstal, a small barony in the vicinity of Liege, which descended to the house of Brandenburgli as part of the inheritance of the house of Orange, refused to take the oath of allegiance. Frederic sent a corps of troops against the bishop and chapter of Liege, whom he suspected of instigating the inhabitants, and exacted from them indemnification of 60,000 rix-dollars. Berlin now became the centre of intrigue and negotia- * The voluptuous retirement of Frederic in the palace of Rheims- berg seemed rather to resemble that of llinaldo in the palace of Alcina, than the retreat of the future hero. Baron Bielfield thus describes his mode of life: "The days glide away in tranquillity, seasoned with all the pleasures which can flatter a reasonable mind. Fare for a king, wine for the gods, music for angels, delightful walks in the gardens and woods, parties on the water, the cultivation of letters and the fine arts, spirited and pleasant conversation." — Letter 8. ** The inscription over the gate, 4 Frederico tranquillitatem petenti,' seemed to indicate his sentiments," observes baron Poelnitz; u his be- haviour and his actions render it probable that his reign will be one of those mild and peaceable reigns which procure kings the love of their people, wherein consists their true glory." — Lettres de Poelnitz, torn. i. p. 27. 238 CHARLES VI. [CH. XCVI. tion, and the alliance of the new king was courted by the different powers of Europe. Frederic listened to the over- tures of the different powers without giving any decisive answers ; but infusing new vigour into every department of government, improved the economical system of his father, maintained the discipline of the army, raised fifteen new battalions, and waited in silence till a scene of action should present itself worthy of employing those talents for the cabinet and the field, with which nature had endowed him, and which education and reflection had matured. Meanwhile the emperor was employed in supplying the losses of his army, and repairing the disorders in his finances ; and seemed to be animated with equal zeal and sincerity in his approaches towards the Maritime Powers, and in adopting a plan of reconciliation and mutual defence. Charles, though subject to occasional attacks of the gout, had always enjoyed a sound and vigorous constitu- tion, but at this period his health had been greatly injured by the violent agitation of his mind under his recent dis- tresses.* In the beginning of October he complained of some symptoms of a flying gout ; but notwithstanding the remonstrances of his physicians, he refused to relinquish the pleasures of the chase, and repaired with a hunting party to Halpthurn. The weather was extremely cold and changeable during the whole time, with a succession of frost, snow, and rain ; and although he was seized with a cholic soon after his arrival, he eagerly pursued his fa- vourite diversion, until his disorder became serious in con- sequence of unremitted fatigue and the inclemency of the * It appears, from many parts of Mr. Robinson's Despatches at this period, that the decline of the emperor's health was occasioned by the agitation of his mind ; and this fact is confirmed in a letter from Mr. Porter, who was then employed at Vienna in settling the disputes relative to the tariff of the Low Countries, and became afterwards ambassador at Constantinople : " The haughty behaviour of Fi ance, joined with the natural hatred the emperor bore that nation, and the internal combats he underwent, by a servile compliance he had reduced himself to, preyed on his mind, and was the proximate cause of that ill habit of body, which at last put a period to his life. And if Mr. Leibsetter, his most confidential physician, may be depended upon, it was not so much the loss of Belgrade, as the manner in which it was given up, and the usage of the French, that bore heavily on the em- peror, and threw him into a profound melancholy." — Mr. Porter to Mr. Walpole, Vienna, March 29. 1741. 1740.] HIS ILLNESS AND DEATH. 239 season. On the 10th at night his complaint was increased by an indigestion, occasioned by a dish of mushrooms stewed in oil, of which he ate voraciously. After passing the whole night in repeated vomitings and the most ex- cruciating pain, he returned to Vienna in a state of such extreme sickness and debility, that he fainted several times during the journey, and was conveyed on the 11th to the palace of La Favourite, in the suburbs of Vienna, scarcely alive. By proper remedies and rest he was greatly relieved, and supposed to be out of danger ; but on the 12th, his disorder returned with redoubled violence, accompanied with a high fever and symptoms of the gout, and his life was again despaired of. Charles bore his painful complaints with extreme patience, and seemed unconscious of his approach- ing dissolution. When his disorder was declared mortal he would not believe his danger, and sportively rallied his physicians on the falsity of their prognostics ; but when they persevered in their declarations, his fortitude did not forsake him, and as they were disputing in his presence concerning the nature of his illness, he exclaimed, " Cease your disputes at present, but open my body after my death, and you will then be able to ascertain the cause." He then prepared for his dissolution, submitted to all the ceremonies of the church, and arranged the proceedings relative to his succession, with the greatest composure. He summoned his ministers into his presence, gave them proper instructions, and thanked count Staremberi:. in j (ar- ticular, for his long and faithful services. He passed the last hours of his life in bidding adieu to his family, and ex- horting each of them, according to their respective stations; he sent his blessing and advice to his eldest daughter, who, on account of her pregnancy, was not permitted to ap- proach her dying father. He took a tender leave of his consort, with whom he had always lived in uninterrupted harmony, and who had passed six successive nights without rest ; he addressed a word of comfort even to his favourite dwarf, and said to prince Charles of Loraine, who was weeping at his bedside, " Do not lament, though you arc about to lose a faithful friend." A short time before his dissolution he had an interview of two hours alone with the duke of Loraine, and expired 240 CHARLES VI. [cn. XCVI. on the 20th of October, at two o'clock in the morning, in the fifty- sixth year of his age, and the thirtieth of his reign ; and in him was extinct the male line of the house of Austria, which had continued in an uninterrupted suc- cession for above four hundred years. Charles was fond of active exercises and sports of ad- dress ; he excelled in shooting at the mark and riding in the manege ; he w r as devoted to music, was a performer, and even composed an opera, which was represented with great splendour in the theatre of the palace. The parts were performed by the principal nobility, Charles himself took his place in the orchestra, and his two daughters danced in the ballet. He was a considerable patron of the arts and sciences ; his band was distinguished for the ex- cellence of the musicians ; he revived the academy of painting, sculpture, and architecture ; improved the schools, built the public library, and endowed it with a large collec- tion of books, particularly with that of prince Eugene, which he purchased. He also laid the foundation of the noble cabinet of medals, and drew men of letters to his court from different parts of Europe ; among these we dis- tinguish Metastasio, whom he appointed imperial laureate, and domesticated at Vienna. He spared no pains to facilitate the internal communica- tions of his vast dominions, by the construction of numerous high roads, and repaired, at a considerable expense, the military way formed by Trajan through Wallachia. He was anxious to promote the commerce and manufactures of his country ; and though he failed in his great schemes, from the impracticability of his plans and the jealousy of the Maritime Powers, yet the energy of his efforts deserves eulogium. He meliorated the courts of justice, and re- duced the government of Hungary to a better form. His natural disposition was compassionate, and from his cle- mency he was called the Titus of the age. He married Elizabeth Christina, a daughter of Louis Rhodolph, duke of Brunswick, by whom he had a son, Leo- pold, who died in his infancy, and three daughters, two of whom survived him, Maria Theresa, his successor, and Maria Amelia, who afterwards married prince Charles of Loraine. As there was no prospect of any more issue, the em- peror had been repeatedly solicited, as well by the empress 1740.] MARIA THERESA ASCENDS THE THRONE. 241 herself, and his most faithful counsellors, as by the British cabinet, to obtain the title of king of the Romans for his son-in-law, Francis, duke of Loraine. And although he fully appreciated the fatal consequences which would attend his death without issue male, or without providing a suc- cessor in the empire ; yet he rejected this salutary advice, and considering the death pf the empress as a more pro- bable event, entertained hopes of male issue by a future marriage. In consequence of this ill-judged policy, lie endangered the loss of the imperial crown, and exposed his successor to the greatest difficulties. Cn. XC VII. — REIGN OF MARIA THERESA. — 1 740. Maria Theresa had not completed her twenty-fourth year, when, in virtue of the Pragmatic Sanction, she suc- ceeded to all the dominions of the house of Austria. Her person was formed to wear a crown, and her mind to give lustre to her exalted dignity ; she possessed a commanding figure, great beauty, animation, and sweetness of counten- ance, a pleasing tone of voice, fascinating manners ; and united feminine grace with a strength of understanding and an intrepidity above her sex. During her father's ill- ness, the young princess was exposed to great danger, in consequence of her advanced pregnancy ; but sufficiently recovered her spirits the day after his death, to give audience to the ministers of state, and to assume the government. No princess ever ascended a throne under circumstances of greater peril, or in a situation which demanded more energy, fortitude, and judgment. The treasury contained only 100,000 florins, which were claimed by the empress dowager ; the army, exclusive of the troops in Italy and the Low Countries, did not amount to 30,000 effective men ; a great scarcity of provisions excited alarming symp- toms of discontent in the capital; the vintage was cut off by the frost, and the peasants in the neighbourhood of Vienna, inflamed by agents from the town, assembled in large bodies to destroy the game ; while rumours were VOL. ill. R 242 MARIA THERESA. [cn. XCV1I. industriously circulated that the government was dissolved, and the elector of Bavaria was hourly expected to take possession of the Austrian territories. Great apprehen- sions were also entertained lest the distant provinces should break out into commotion ; lest the restless spirits of Hun- gary, supported by the Turks, should attempt to revive their elective monarchy. Notwithstanding the solemn guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction, different claimants on the Austrian succession were expected to arise, besides the elector of Bavaria, whose ministers publicly protested against the accession of Maria Theresa. His brother, the elector of Cologne, only acknowledged her by the title of archduchess ; the elector Palatine had even sent a letter by the common post, super- scribed, " To the archduchess Maria Theresa ; " and the king of Spain gave her no other title than great duchess of Tuscany. In this arduous crisis the young queen was wholly with- out experience or knowledge of business ; and the minis- ters, either timorous, desponding, and irresolute, or worn out with age, sunk under the magnitude of the impending danger. To use the words of an eye-witness, " The Turks seemed to them already in Hungary; the Hungarians themselves in arms ; the Saxons in Bohemia ; the Bava- rians at the gates of Vienna, and France the soul of the whole. I not only saw them in despair ; but that very despair was not capable of rendering them truly desperate.'"* The first claimant on the Austrian succession was Max- imilian Emanuel, elector of Bavaria ; he asserted that the w T ill of Ferdinand I. devised the kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian dominions to his daughters and their de- scendants, in failure of the male line. The late emperor, as his pretensions had been foreseen, had endeavoured to obtain his guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction ; and with a view to refute his claims, had transmitted a memo- rial, proving that the clause in the w T ill of Ferdinand devised the inheritance to his daughters, only in failure of legitimate heirs, and consequently did not set aside the female descendants of the male line. In corroboration of this proof, on the accession of Maria Theresa, the will of Ferdinand was submitted to the inspection of the principal * Mr. Robinson to lord Harrington, Oct. 22. 1740. 1740.] NOT ACKNOWLEDGED QUEEN BY FRANCE. 243 officers of state, as well as to the foreign ambassadors ; and troops despatched to the frontiers of Bohemia to prevent any hostile aggression on the side of Bavaria. But neither these warlike preparations, nor the exposure of the will, induced the elector to desist from his claims ; and Maria Theresa waited with anxiety for the replies of those foreign powers to whom she had notified hei accession. The most favourable assurances were immediately trans- mitted from many of the foreign powers. The king of Prussia, in a letter to the duke of Loraine, manifested his perfect friendship, and testified his readiness to serve the house of Austria on this occasion. Augustus, king of Poland and elector of Saxony also expressed the warmest affection, and tendered his assistance in favour of the Pragmatic Sanction. The death of Anne made no change in the sentiments of the court of Russia ; the strongest assurances of support were given by Bircn, who was ap- pointed regent during the minority of Ivan, and after his disgrace, were confirmed by the regent Anne, mother of the young monarch. The States-general passed a resolu- tion to fulfil their engagements, both in regard to the Barrier and the Pragmatic Sanction ; and the king of England declared his intention to cultivate the friendship of the queen of Hungary, to perform his engagements, and to co-operate with her for the general good of Europe. France, to whose acknowledgment the court of Vienna looked with anxious expectation, sent no public answer to the notification of the queen's accession. Amelot, secretary of state for foreign affairs, gave only verbal assurances of his master's readiness to fulfil his engagements ; and both he and cardinal Fleury, in private letters to the prince of Lichtenstein, ambassador to the court of France, expressed concern for the death of the emperor. They excused the delays of the French court by stating that they were search- ing the archives for the style of address to the queen of Hungary, and when the prince of Lichtenstein transmitted a memorial in reply to the Bavarian claims, polite answers were returned, but without the smallest allusion to that document. This equivocal conduct evinced the intentions of the French court to withhold their acknowledgment of the queen's title till a pretext should offer for supporting the claims of the elector of Bavaria, and proved their reso- R 2 244 MARIA THERESA. [CH. XCVIII. lution to oppose the elevation of the duke of Loraine to the imperial throne. But the queen, deluded by the promises of the cardinal, coldly received the exhortations of the British cabinet to beware of the designs of her ancient rival, and declined the proposal of the Maritime Powers to form a grand con- federacy against the house of Bourbon. Hence the mea- sures of the Austrian cabinet were fluctuating and con- tradictory, and no decisive line of conduct was adopted at this critical juncture. Chat. XCVIII. — 1740, 1741. In the midst of this suspense and alarm, a new and un- expected claimant started up, and, instead of stating pre- tensions on paper, or answering memorials, made a direct appeal to the sword. This claimant was Frederic, king of Prussia, who acted with such consummate secrecy that his design was not divulged, and scarcely even suspected, when liis troops entered the Austrian dominions. Many circumstances induced this young and aspiring monarch to adopt so decisive a measure. He was anxious to distinguish the commencement of his reign ; and to re- move the obloquy which had been cast on the Prussian name in consequence of the pacific conduct of his father, who, with so powerful a force, remained in what was deemed a state of pusillanimous inaction. He was also dis- gusted with the court of Vienna, for their constant prevari- cation in regard to Berg and Juliers ; and his disgust was still farther increased by the conduct of the young queen, who, on liberating Seckendorf, extorted from him the orders of Charles VI. relating to his proffered guaranty of that succession. He was sensible of his own force, and the weakness of the house of Austria, and was eager to avail himself of the favourable situation of the European powers. Having formed the design of invading Silesia, as the province most contiguous to his own dominions, and least prepared for defence, he revived some antiquated claims of his family on parts of that duchy, and carried it into execution with equal address and celerity. He entered 1740, 1741.] PRUSSIA INVADES AUSTRIA. 245 into no alliance with any foreign power ; amused the court of Vienna with vague professions of friendship ; assembled a large corps of troops in the neighbourhood of Berlin ; and concealed his views from the marquis of Botta, who was sent from Vienna to penetrate his designs, till December, when his army was in full march towards the frontiers of Silesia. Being no longer able to conceal his intentions, he de- spatched count Gotter, his grand master, to Vienna, to state his claims and demands ; and, after making a similar explanation to Botta, quitted Berlin at the conclusion of a masked ball, reached Crossen on the 21st of December, and on the 23d entered Silesia, at the head of twenty battalions and thirty-six squadrons. He at the same time dispersed memorials, in which he detailed his claims, and declared his intention to occupy the Silesian duchies for the house of Austria, to prevent them from being seized by any other power. The court of Vienna was no less alarmed at this aggres- sion, than indignant at the affected expressions of friend? ship with which it was accompanied, when Gotter arrived at Vienna to execute his commission. lie was a man of a boisterous and overbearing temper, and ill calculated to conciliate so high spirited and sensitive a prinoesfl as Maria Theresa. He delivered his message in a private audience to the duke of Loraine : u l am come," he said, "with safety for the house of Austria in one hand, and the impe- rial crown for your royal highness in the other. The troops and money of my master are at the service of the queen, and cannot fail of being acceptable at a time when she is in want of both, and can only depend on so con- siderable a prince as the king of Prussia, and his allies the Maritime Powers and Russia. As the king my master, from the situation of his dominions, will be exposed to great danger from this alliance, it is hoped that, as an indemnification, the queen of Hungary w T ill not offer him less than the whole duchy of Silesia." This extraordinary demand was accompanied with threatening declarations : " Nobody," he added, "is more firm in his resolutions than the king of Prussia ; he must and will enter Silesia ; once entered he must and will proceed ; and, if not secured by the immediate cession of that province, his troops and r 3 246 MARIA THERESA. [cir. XCVIII. money will be offered to the electors of Saxony and Ba- varia." The duke of Loraine replied with great calmness and temper, but with no less spirit and dignity. He declared, that the queen, however inclined, had not the power to alienate the smallest portion of that succession which was so strongly and indivisibly entailed, and was not reduced to so low a condition as to treat with an enemy in the heart of her dominions. He expatiated on the wide scene of confusion which was opening by the impatience of the king of Prussia, which might be equally destructive to himself and to others. Gotter replying, " 1 have no further business here, and will instantly return ;" the duke de- manded, " Are your troops actually in Silesia ? " Being answered in the affirmative, he continued, " Go then, return to your master, and tell him, that while he has a man in Silesia, we will rather perish than enter into any discussion. But if he is either not entered, and will abstain from entering, or, if entered, will return, we will treat with him at Berlin ; Botta has already instructions ; others shall be forwarded this day, and the king of Prussia may be gratified, without presuming to extort what is not in our power to grant ; for my part, not for the imperial crown, nor even the whole world, will I sacrifice one right or one inch of the queen's lawful possessions." This firm language, and the refusal of the queen to receive Gotter, disconcerted the Prussian ministers. They seemed alarmed and ashamed of their master's conduct, and acknowledged that he would abate his demands, and be satisfied with the mortgage of a few towns in Silesia, and their dependencies. These propositions, however, were indignantly rejected, and the queen persisted in her refusal to treat with the king of Prussia while his troops remained in her dominions. A second negotiation equally failed of success. Gotter, who returned with the refusal of the queen of Hungary to listen to any overture while the Prussian troops continued in her dominions, was again despatched to Vienna with new proposals from his master. To prevent a public breach of the Pragmatic Sanction, Frederic offered to accept part of Silesia as a mortgage, for which he would pay an equivalent in money, under the condition that the 1740, 1741.] FREDERIC BECOMES MASTER OF SILESIA. 247 mortgage should never be redeemed. But the instructions of Gotter being defective, he could not venture to accept any specific proposal, and the queen persisted in requiring the prior evacuation of Silesia. While this negotiation agitated the court of Vienna, the king of Prussia made a rapid progress in Silesia, and was joyfully received by the natives, two-thirds of whom were Protestants. On the first of January, 1741, he entered Breslau, the capital, compelled general Brown, who was at the head of only 3000 men,, to retreat into Moravia, and before the end of that month, had made himself master of the whole province except Glogau and Brieg, which he blockaded, and Neiss, the only fortress capable of main- taining a siege. lie appropriated the revenues of the country ; and, after making the necessary regulations, left the command to marshal Schwerin, and returned to Berlin to collect an army for the security of his own dominions. In this whole transaction Frederic affected to occupy Silesia as a friend to the house of Austria, for in a letter to the duke of Loraine, he said, " My heart lias no share in the mischief which my hand is doing to your court," and lie renewed his proposals for an accommodation. These pacific declarations, which were so contrary to his actions, inflamed the indignation of Maria Theresa. She deter- mined to oppose force by force, and appealed to the guaranties of the Pragmatic Sanction. Her hopes of speedy assistance against the unjust aggression of Prussia were, however, disappointed ; promises indeed poured in from every quarter, but not a single man was despatched, or a single florin remitted. Russia, under the weak govern- ment of the regent Anne, declined sending the stipulated succours ; the king of Poland began to waver ; France pursued her equivocal system of policy, and, while she gave assurances of her pacific intentions to the court of Vienna, negotiated with the king of Prussia and the elector of Bavaria. The Dutch, menaced by Prussia, and in dread of France, recurred to their usual indecision ; and England, distracted with intestine feuds, and anxious to prevent, or at least to retard, a continental war, acted with a circumspection more congenial to its own situation than to the present distress of the house of Austria. In R 4 248 MARIA TIIERESA. [CII. XCVIII. reply to the urgent demands of the queen of Hungary, for the succour of 12,000 men, the king acknowledged the casus foederis, and testified his resolution to abide by his engagements ; but urged the necessity of an immediate accommodation with the king of Prussia. He tendered, in conjunction with the States, his good offices to effect that object : and promised, should his endeavours fail of success, to send his contingent to the assistance of the queen of Hungary. Thus left to herself, Maria Theresa disdained to make the smallest concession ; she collected a considerable force in Moravia, and gave the command to marshal Neuperg, whom she had recently liberated from prison, and the most sanguine expectations were entertained that he would drive the Prussians from Silesia. But in consequence of the want of magazines, the bad state of the roads, and severity of the weather, the general could not pass the mountains of Moravia and Upper Silesia before the latter end of March. Meanwhile Frederic had rejoined his army, taken Glogau by assault, pressed the preparations for the siege of Neiss, and repaired to Jagerndorf to visit the quarters of his troops in Upper Silesia, when he was alarmed by the incursions of the Austrian hussars, and even narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. Marshal Neuperg collected his forces in Moravia, passed the mountains, and entered Silesia at Hermanstadt, near the junction of the Oder and the Ostrave, with the hopes of surprising the Prussians, who were dispersed in their cantonments, and of cutting them off in detail. With a view to seize the heavy artillery deposited at Ohlau, he left his tents at Neiss ; and continuing his march, made himself master of Grotkau, despatched general Lentulus to stop the passage of the Prussians over the Neiss at Sorge, where they had constructed a bridge ; and during the evening of the 9th of April, cantoned his troops at Molwitz and two other villages in the vicinity of Brieg. He here reposed in perfect security, encouraged by the constern- ation which seemed to prevail among the enemy, and by the numerous deserters who repaired to his camp. His natural confidence was increased by the consciousness that his troops were equal to the whole force of the Prussians, and that his cavalry, far superior in numbers and dis- 1740, 1741.] BATTLE OF MOLAVITZ. 249 cipline, would act with effect in the plains of Lower Silesia, and drive before them soldiers who had only figured on the grand parades of Potzdam and Berlin. lie trusted, likewise, to his numerous hussars, who he hoped would discover the smallest motion of the enemy, should they bo disposed to quit their cantonments, when the ground was covered with snow. In this situation, Neuperg was sur- prised by the sudden approach of the Prussian army, which advanced at ten o'clock on the following morning. The king leaving Jagerndorf when the Austrians en- tered Silesia, speedily assembled his troops, and on the 4th of April, hastened towards Steinau, intending to pass the Neiss at Sorge. Being prevented by the detachment of Lcntulus, he made a forced march, and crossed at Miche- lau, to the south of Molwitz, with a view to occupy Grot- kau. Finding that place in possession of the Austrians, and compelled to risk an engagement for the preservation of his artillery at Ohlau, he advanced on the 8th of April, and took up his quarters at Pogrel and the adjacent villages, in the vicinity of Molwitz. On the succeeding day a thick fall of snow concealing his movements from the enemy, prevented him from ad- vancing ; but on the 10th the weather clearing up, he assembled his troops, consisting of twenty-seven battalions, twenty-nine squadrons, and three of hussars, and marched in live columns towards the enemy. Arriving near Mol- witz, he formed his army in order of battle, although no enemy appeared. The right wing extended towards the village of Hellendorf, and the left to the rivulet of Lauch- witz ; but his dispositions being unskilfully made, the cavalry of the right did not reach their destined position, and the infantry being crowded he drew three battalions from the first line, with which he flanked his right wing. Neuperg, surprised by the approach of the enemy, could not avail himself of their want of skill, and was compelled to form his troops in haste, exposed to the continual dis- charge of the Prussian artillery. Meanwhile the Austrian cavalry of the left wing, under general Roemer, galled by this incessant fire, threatened to retreat unless they were led to the charge ; Roemer instantly attacked the right ring of the Prussians, dispersed their cavalry, and cutting his way through the infantry, penetrated to the baggage and 250 MARIA THERESA. [cn. XCVIII. the park of artillery, where his men began to pillage. In consequence of this successful charge, and the confusion it occasioned in the Prussian army, victory appeared to incline to the side of the Austrians ; even the king, at the entrea- ties of marshal Schweren, retired from the field, and Neuperg seized this decisive moment to put his infantry in motion. But all his efforts were ineffectual ; his troops, panic-struck by the regular and rapid fire of the Prussian infantry, refused to advance ; and Roemer, having again formed the cavalry, was repulsed by the prince of Anhalt, who, witli the three battalions drawn from the first line, had repaired the disorder on the right. Three times Roemer charged the enemy, and was three times driven back ; returning a fourth time he was killed, and his troops gave way. Animated with this advantage, Schweren advanced with the Prussian infantry, and from this moment all was rout and confusion in the Austrian army ; Neuperg, who had received several contusions, in vain attempted to revive the courage of his troops ; they precipitately fled from the field of battle, and did not again rally till they had passed the town of Neiss. The loss on the side of the Prussians did not exceed 2500 men, while on that of the Austrians more than 3000 were killed, and 2000 taken prisoners, with several pieces of cannon and four standards. This memorable combat, which decided the fate of Silesia, was rendered still more remarkable by the extraor- dinary flight and narrow escape of the king of Prussia, who was nearly taken prisoner at the moment when his army was victorious. Retiring from the field of battle, accompanied by Maupertuis, a French valet-de-chambre, and a few hussars, he rode towards Oppelen, where he thought himself secure of an asylum ; but that town had been occupied by a party of Austrian hussars. On arriving at the gate, at midnight, the valet-de-chambre demanding admittance, the hussars instantly sallied out, attacked the party, and exchanged several shots, on which the king ex- claimed, " Farewell, friends, I am better mounted than you all," and rode away. Maupertuis and the greater part of the company fell into the hands of the hussars, while the monarch, returning towards Neiss, received the news that his troops had gained a complete victory, and rejoined his 1741.] RESULTS OF THE IiATTLE. 251 army the same morning, after having rode backwards and forwards not less than twelve German miles. The consequences of this battle were as fatal to the house of Austria as they were advantageous to Frederic. The Austrians were humbled by the loss of this first engage- ment with troops whom they had despised, while it stamped a new character on the Prussian infantry for steadiness and discipline, and proved them superior even to veteran troops. The king learned also to appreciate the advantage of improving his cavalry, and to correct the errors which he had committed from want of experience, and from his acquaintance only with the mere theory of war. His camp at Molwitz soon became the centre of the most important negotiations ; his alliance was courted from all quarters, and he seemed to hold in his hand the balance of Europe. He still affected, however, great moderation in the midst of his success, and offered to the queen of Hungary his friend- ship on the same terms as before his victory. Chap. XCIX. — 1741. Tin: court of Vienna was filled with consternation at the defeat of Molwitz in proportion to their sanguine hopes of success. In consequence of the deficiency of money and men, the greatest difficulties had been overcome to bring into the field the army intrusted to count Neuperg ; that army was now so much reduced as to be no longer capable of acting offensively, and no obstacle could be opposed to the progress of the Prussians. Hitherto the firmness of Maria Theresa, in refusing the offers of Prussia, had been justified by the favourable aspect of her affairs. During the negotiation she had made urgent and repeated applications for immediate assistance to the powers who had guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction, particularly to England. But the British minister, embar- rassed with a violent opposition, and aware of the designs of France to dismember the Austrian succession, delayed taking a decisive part, with the hope of inducing the queen of Hungary to effect an accommodation with the king of 252 MARIA THERESA. [CII. XCIX. Prussia. Hence the cabinet of England pursued a dilatory and indecisive conduct ; no reply was made to the demands of the queen of Hungary, dated the 29th of December, until the end of February, and no instructions reached Mr. Robinson till the beginning of April. At that time the Austrian ministers were again inspired with full confidence ; they were delivered from all appre- hensions on the side of Turkey by an amicable adjustment of the limits ; they flattered themselves that France would not contravene the Pragmatic Sanction ; they entertained the most sanguine expectation of immediate assistance from Russia, Saxony, the circles of the empire, and the Mari- time Powers ; and justly hoped that their own efforts alone, and the force under count Neuperg, would wrest Silesia from the king of Prussia. They were therefore equally disappointed and irritated when, instead of effectual assist- ance, the British cabinet suspended all succours until the queen should deliver a specific answer whether she chose peace or war with Prussia ; if war, the king of England promised to fulfil his engagements and employ his contin- gent of 12,000 men, as soon as a plan of operations was concerted ; if peace, he tendered his good offices to procure an accommodation. At the same time Mr. Robinson was instructed to represent the dangerous situation of Europe, the uncertainty of the concurrence of Russia, the difficulties on the side of Saxony, and the divided sentiments of the Dutch. He was ordered to expatiate on the dangerous designs of France, who was luring the king of Prussia, preparing to place the elector of Bavaria on the imperial throne, consolidating a powerful combination against the house of Austria, and forming magazines and assembling troops on the side of the Rhine. From this aspect of affairs lie was to urge the necessity of gaining the king of Prussia, even by an immediate sacrifice of Lower Silesia and the town of Breslau. These proposals were received with indignation and re- jected with disdain ; the queen of Hungary would not sub- mit to the humiliation of yielding one of her richest and most valuable provinces, at a moment when she expected her troops to drive the Prussians from Silesia. The whole cabinet, deceived by the insidious assurances of cardinal Fleury, refused to credit the designs imputed to France ; 1741.] PLANS OF FRANCE AGAINST AUSTRIA. 253 and the duke of Loraine and all the ministers claimed im- mediate succour, as the only means of serving the house of Austria should France commence hostilities. The queen of Hungary, therefore, indignantly refused to make the smallest cession to Prussia, and declared that even if de- serted by her allies, she would trust the fortunes of her house to the fidelity of her subjects and the valour of her army. The defeat at Molwitz changed the sentiments of the duke of Loraine and the ministers of the conference, and gave weight to the urgent representations of England ; but the queen persisted in her refusal to make the smallest cession, although France now began to act with less re- serve, and had nearly brought her designs to maturity. From the death of the emperor France had watched the favourable moment to reduce the house of Austria, but with her usual address cajoled the cabinet of Vienna with vague assurances of friendship, and with hopes of concur- ring to place Francis on the imperial throne. After the battle of Molwitz, she declared her resolution not to con- travene the guarantee of the Pragmatic Sanction, unless compelled to take part in the war against the queen of Hungary. Even in the midst of hostile preparations, and while French agents canvassed for the elevation of the elector of Bavaria to the imperial throne, the court of Vienna did not credit the hostile designs imputed to France ; nor was the illusion wholly dissipated till marshal Belleisle, who had been appointed ambassador to the diet at Frankfort, repaired to the camp at Molwitz, to gain the king of Prussia, and to propose a plan fur the dismember- ment of the Austrian territories. Besides the elector of Bavaria and the king of Prussia, many other pretenders to the Austrian succession were en- couraged by France. Philip V., king of Spain, a\ himself the direct lineal representative of Charles V. Charles Emanuel, king of Sardinia, in virtue of his de- scent from Catherine, second daughter of Philip II., now revived an obsolete claim on the Milanese. Even Augustus, notwithstanding his treaty with the queen of Hungary, prepared to assert the right of his wife. Maria, eldest daughter of Joseph, in virtue of the family compact, by which the succession was entailed on the daughters of Joseph, in preference to those of Charles. 254 MARIA THERESA. [CH. XC1X. According to the plan matured by France, Bohemia and Upper Austria were assigned to the elector of Bavaria ; Moravia and Upper Silesia to Augustus ; Lower Silesia and the country of Glatz to the king of Prussia ; Austrian Lombardy to Spain ; and some compensation was to be allotted to the king of Sardinia. While marshal Belleisle remained in the Prussian camp, Frederic, unwilling to contribute to the preponderance of France in Germany, and to aggrandise the electors of Ba- varia and Saxony, made repeated overtures to the king of England, and urged that, however reluctant, he must join with France, should the queen persist in refusing all offers of accommodation. But the impending danger had no effect on the lofty and unbending spirit of Maria Theresa. She considered the offers of the king of Prussia as insidious, and made only with a view to delay the assistance of the Maritime Powers ; and when her consent to accept just and reasonable terms was at length extorted, she refused to specify any condition. As the king of Prussia maintained the same reserve, George II. commanded lord Hyndford to propose the cession of the three duchies of Glogau, Schwei- bus, and Grunberg ; but Frederic, after thanking the king for making at least one step towards an accommodation, by a direct offer, answered, " At the beginning of the war I might have been contented with this proposal ; but after the expense I have incurred, and the success of my arms, the offer of one duchy is too small, for I consider Schwei- bus and Grunberg as part of the duchy of Glogau. Shall I again give them battle, and drive them out of Silesia ? You will then see that I shall receive other proposals, and the queen of Hungary will tender better conditions, not less than all Lower Silesia, with the town of Breslau. At present I must have four duchies which lie contiguous to my territories." When lord Hyndford urged that his majesty then had it in his power to conclude an honourable peace, and to show his magnanimity by restoring the tran- quillity of Germany, Frederic impatiently interrupted him : " Do not, my lord, talk to me of magnanimity ; a prince ought first to consult his own interests. I am not averse to peace ; but I expect to have four duchies, and will have them." He then dismissed the British minister, without giving any answer to his repeated requests that he would name the four duchies to which he alluded. 1741.] PRUSSIA BECOMKS AN ALLY OF FRANCE. 255 When this account was transmitted to the court of Vienna, and lord Hyndford suggested that the four duchies alluded to were Glogau, Wohlau, Lignitz, and Scweidnitz, the queen of Hungary not only rejected these demands as extravagant, but even disapproved the conduct of the king of England in offering the duchy of Glogau without her consent, and expressed the highest satisfaction that the proposal had been rejected. She also persisted for a con- siderable time in refusing all cessions in Silesia, and only offered to purchase the friendship of the king of Prussia by a sum of money and some sacrifices on the side of Flanders and the Rhine. It is needless to enter minutely into every event of this negotiation, which was carried on by the mediation of England, but was frustrated by the incompatible characters of Maria Theresa and Frederic, botli equally inflexible ; one determined to yield nothing on the side of Silesia, and the other resolved to accept no other equivalent. While Mr. Robinson was endeavouring to rouse the court of Vienna to a sense of their danger, and to draw from the ministers of the conference the ultimatum of the queen, a courier from George II., who was then at Hanover, brought information that Frederic had signed, on the 5th of June, a treaty with France. The British minister was ordered to urge this transaction as a new and pressing motive to detach the king of Prussia before the exchange of the rati- fications, and repair to the Prussian camp with the pro- posals of the queen of Hungary. Maria Theresa list 1 to the communication with profound silence ; and in reply to his representations, broke out into exclamations and sudden starts of passion, which showed the despair and agony of her mind. Adverting to his mission to the king of Prussia, she said " Not only for political reasons, but from conscience and honour, I will not consent to part with much in Silesia. I am even afraid you will not be authorised to offer Glogau, though perhaps I might be in- duced to part with that province, if I could be secure of peace on all sides. But no sooner is one enemy satisfied than another starts up ; another, and then another, must be contented, and all at my expense. I am convinced of your good will, but I pity you. Your mission to Silesia will be as fruitless as that of count Gutter was here ; remember 256 MARIA THERESA. [CH. XCIX. my words." When Mr. Robinson represented that it was in her majesty's power to render his mission successful, and urged that her own fate, the fate of the duke, of her whole family, and of all Europe, depended upon her yield- ing to the hard necessity of the times, she exclaimed, " What would I not give, except in Silesia ! Let him take all we have in Guelderland ; and if he is not to be gained by that sacrifice, others may. Let the princes of the em- pire, let the king, your master, only speak to the elector of Bavaria ; he may be more flexible, and means may be found to gain him. Oh, the king, your master ; let him only march, let him march only ! " No other answer could be drawn from this high-spirited woman ; and her resolu- tion was strengthened by the arrival of another courier, announcing the signature of a treaty at Hanover, on the 24th of June, which secured to her a subsidy of 300,000/., granted by the British Parliament. The queen, as well as the duke of Loraine and the whole cabinet, received this news with marks of joy equal to their former despondency, and were lavish in their professions of friendship and grati- tude. But their long-expected answer to the earnest de- mand of the ultimatum evinced little disposition to purchase the alliance of Prussia. They indulged themselves in a bitter invective against his conduct, and only declared that the queen was not averse to purchase a peace by a sacrifice on the side of the Low Countries, and by the pay- ment of 2,000,000 florins. After many contemptuous ex- pressions against Frederic, they concluded with conjuring his Britannic majesty, both as king and elector, to assist the queen of Hungary, and to order the instant march of the stipulated succours, as the common danger w r ould be increased by delay. As if secure of the immediate co-ope- ration of England, count Ostein, the Austrian ambassador, delivered a note to the king, requiring his majesty to put the auxiliary troops in motion, to pay the subsidy at the shortest terms, to forward the association of the circles, and to ascertain the assistance stipulated by the courts of Russia and Saxony. In fact, the queen of Hungary was so far from entertain- ing the smallest inclination to gain the king of Prussia by cessions, that she even formed the chimerical scheme to divide his dominions ; to secure the elector of Saxony, by 1741.] ATTEMPTS TO PACIFY I KEDERIC. 257 the gift of Crossen and the fiefs of Lusatia, which the king had forfeited in consequence of his felony to the crown of Bohemia ; and to detach the elector of Bavaria, by yielding to him either Tuscany, the Milanese, or the Low Countries, in exchange for the district of Bavaria, between Upper Austria and the river Inn. She even attempted to obtain the acquiescence of England in this wild project, by threat- ening to throw herself in the power of France, and yield Luxemburgh and part of Flanders, rather than gratify the presumptuous demands of the king of Prussia. But as neither her remonstrances nor threats could prevail on England to declare war, without the concurrence of Holland, and as the danger from the grand confederacy became more and more imminent, her consent to offer an accommodation with Prussia was at length extorted, by the urgent representations of the duke of Loraine and of her principal ministers. After much hesitation, and many changes and delays in arranging the terms*, she committed the proposals to Mr. Robinson, who was to repair in person to the Prussian camp in Silesia, and to offer Austrian Guelderland and Limburgh ; and, at the last extremity, the duchy of Glogau. But, in arranging these proposals, she displayed the strongest aversion to an accommodation ; and occasionally exclaimed to Mr. Robin- son, who expressed his apprehensions that some of the con- ditions would be rejected by the king, " I wish he may reject them ! " When he took his leave, she recommended her interests to his care ; and said, 11 Save Limburgh, if possible, were it only for the quiet of my conscience : God knows how I shall answer for the cession, having sworn to the states of Brabant never to alienate any part of their country." In consequence of these obstacles and delays, Mr. Robinson did not depart for Silesia till the 30th of July. He reached Breslau on the 3rd of August ; and, on the 5th had an audience of the king, in his tent at the camp of * " The project of cession," writes Mr. Kobinson in a letter to lord Harrington, u was drawn up, and the instructions for the proposal of terms to the king of Prussia. The queen, after much struggle, forced to npprove them, changed them witli her own hand, added that she liked one thing too much, or another too little ; what with despair, what with reluctance, what with irresolution, spoiled the whole paper, and sent it back to the chancellor so mangled, then sent for it again." VOL. III. S 258 MARIA THERESA. [CH. XC1X. Strehlen, accompanied by lord Hyndford and count Pode- wilz, the Prussian minister. After some desultory and unconnected conversation, in which Frederic stigmatised the answer of the court of Vienna as extremely impertinent, Mr. Robinson opened his commission with the offer of Austrian Guelderland, and a florid description of its value and importance. The king, without answering, turned to count Podewilz, and asked, u What have we yet left in Guelderland ? " and when the minister replied, " almost nothing," he exclaimed " Still beggarly offers! What! nothing but a paltry town for all my just pretensions in Silesia ? " Pie here gave way to his indignation ; and Mr. Robinson, after some hesita- tion, added the offer of Limburgh as the ultimatum of the queen of Hungary, exaggerating its advantages still higher than those of Guelderland. But he was interrupted in his encomiums by the king, who ironically asked, " How can the queen of Hungary dare to think of violating so solemn an engagement as that of the barrier treaty, which renders every inch of the Low Countries inalienable ? I have no desire to aggrandise myself in parts which are useless to me, much less to expend money in new fortifications. But why more fortifications ? Am I not fortifying Glogau and Brieg, which are sufficient for one who intends to live well with his neighbours? Neither the French nor the Dutch have offended me, nor will I offend them by such unlawful acquisitions. Besides, who will guaranty them ? " Mr. Robinson answering, that the queen would obtain the guaranty of England, Russia, Saxony, and even of the States-general. " Guaranties ! " contemptuously rejoined the king, " who observes guaranties in these times ? Has not France guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction ? has not England guaranteed it ? why do you not all fly to her succour ? " The conversation continued for some time in the same tone of contempt and irony on the side of the king : he ridiculed the conduct of those powers who affected to es- pouse the cause of the house of Austria, and dwelt with great energy on the advantages of his situation. "Iam at the head," he said, " of an invincible army, already master of a country which I will have, which I must have, and which is the only object of my views. My ancestors," 1741.] DETERMINED CONDUCT OF FREDERIC. 259 he continued, " would rise out of their tombs to reproach me, should I abandon the rights they have transmitted to me. With what reputation can I live, should I lightly quit an enterprise, the first act of my reign, begun with reflection, prosecuted with firmness, and which ought to be maintained to the last extremity ? I will sooner be crushed with my whole army, than renounce my just rights in Silesia. Have I occasion for peace ? Let those who want peace give me what I want ; or let them fight me again, and be again beaten ! " This burst of real or affected indignation was accom- panied with theatrical gestures ; and turning, as if to finish the conversation, he said to Mr. Robinson, " I will accept no equivalent in the Low Countries ; and since you have nothing to offer on the side of Silesia, all proposals are in- effectual. I will not only have the four duchies ; but, as the court of Vienna has rejected that demand, I revoke it, and require all Lower Silesia, with the town of Breslau." After frequently and peremptorily repeating his last words, lie added, " If the queen docs not satisfy me in six weeks, I will have four duchies more." His indignation seemed to be still farther inflamed by the offer of Glogau, which was now made by lord Hynd- ford ; reiterating his demand of all Lower Silesia, he said to Mr. Robinson, " Return with this answer to Vienna ; they who want peace will give me what I want." Mr. Robinson, not rebuffed by his peremptory treatment, ven- tured to propose a negotiation with his minister ; but Frederic disdainfully added, M I am sick of ultimatums, I will hear no more of them ; my part is taken. I again repeat my demand of all Lower Silesia ; this is my final answer, and I will give no other." He then interrupted all farther representations ; and, taking off his hat, precipi- tately retired, with looks of high indignation, behind the interior curtain of his tent.* Thus terminated this extraordinary conference ; and Mr. Robinson returned to Presburgh without the smallest hope of bending the inflexible spirit of the king. * The account of this interesting conference, which exhibits the diameter and manners of Frederic in so striking a point of view, is taken from Mr. Robinson's Despatch to lord Harrington, dated Bres- lau, August 9. 1741 ; and CEuvres Posthumes, torn. i. p. 180. s 2 260 Chaf. C — 1741. On his return to Presburgh, Mr. Robinson found the court of Vienna alarmed with the first explosion of the long threatened storm. The elector of Bavaria had commenced hostilities, by taking possession of Passau, and had issued a manifesto, asserting his claims to the whole Austrian inheritance ; a French army, under Broglio, was preparing to cross the Rhine; while another was assembling on the Maes, under marshal Maillebois. The king of Prussia, availing himself of his success at Molwitz, had continued his operations during the progress of the negotiation ; after a short siege he had taken Brieg, removed his head quarters to Strehlen, recruited his army among the natives of Silesia, by whom he was regarded as a deliverer, and had recently seized Breslau, which the Catholic party had attempted to deliver to marshal Neuperg. Under this pressure of distress, such was the spirit or infatuation of the queen of Hungary, that she still listened to the delusive professions of France, attempted to gain the elector of Bavaria, by offering to withdraw her hus- band's pretensions to the imperial crown, and obstinately refused to comply with the demands of the king of Prussia. After many demurs and quibbling distinctions, concerning the meaning of the term Lower Silesia, the queen affected to offer a division of the country. A map was accordingly marked with a line of demarcation, and presented to Mr. Robinson, who was desired to repair again to the Prussian camp, and tender this new offer to the king. The British minister in vain represented that this cession was not only far inferior to the demands of Frederic, but even less than the four duchies originally required ; and, when he urged that the resolution of the Prussian monarch was taken, it was replied, u The resolution of the queen is likewise taken ; and, if the house of Austria must perish, it is indifferent whether it perishes by an elector of Bavaria or by an elector of Brandenburgh."* * " The queen," writes Mr. Robinson to lord Harrington, "had put, in her own hand, in the margin of the brouillon of count Sinzen- dorf's letter to me, that if the convention was not signed in the terms 1741.] FREDERIC PERSEVERES IN HOSTILITIES. 261 With this inadequate offer, and without the smallest hope of success, Mr. Robinson again repaired to Silesia ; but on his arrival at Breslau, Frederic refused to see him, and ordered his minister, count Podewilz, to declare his surprise and indignation that, after so formal and serious a demand of all Lower Silesia, he had presumed to return, with so injurious, so dishonourable, and so insidious a pro- ject, without any new credentials from his own court. " The offer," it was added, "of the court of Vienna is the highest insult, and every other article of the project cap- tious, as it tends to involve the king in a war with France, and to draw a thorn out of the side of the court of Vienna, and thrust it deeper into the side of the king of Prussia. The king, therefore, will neither see Mr. Robinson himself, nor allow count Podewilz to treat with one whom lie had so much reason to be dissatisfied with, especially as the king of England has another minister at his court in whom he places the fullest confidence. " This singular message was concluded with a declaration, " That, as Mr. Robinson valued the friendship subsisting, and to subsist, between the two sovereigns, the continuation of that friendship de- pended on the haste with which he returned ; otherwise, his Prussian majesty would not only be obliged to complain but would impute such an obstinacy to a desire in the king of England, of compelling him to treat with a person against whom he entertained such a dislike." * This contemptuous rejection of Mr. Robinson's interven- tion, was followed by a letter from Frederic to lord Hyndford, announcing that he had now completed his hostile engagements with France and Bavaria, which anni- hilated all hopes of an immediate accommodation with the queen of Hungary. as delivered to me, she would not be obliged to stand by it : and had enjoined count Sinzendorf to tell me, that she hoped to know in fifteen days, a quois jt'en tcnir." * It appears, from the Works of the king of Prussia, that he enter- tained a personal dislike to Mr. Robinson, for his unshaken zeal in favour of the house of Austria; at the same time, the court of Saxony complained of his supposed partiality to the king of Prussia ; and the court of Vienna, of his opposition to their interests and politics. In adverting to this singularity of his situation, Mr. Robinson observes, u I am the unfortunate victim of all three, if not approved by the king my master." — Mr. Robinson to lord Harrington, Ureslau, Sep- tember 2. 1741. s 3 262 MARIA THERESA. [CH. C. " I have received the new project sent by the indefati- gable Robinson. It is no less chimerical than the former. You will tell the court of Vienna that the elector of Bavaria shall be emperor, and that my engagements with the king of France and the elector are so solemn, so indis- soluble, and so inviolable, that I will never quit those faithful allies to enter into friendship with a sovereign who cannot, and who will never be reconciled to me. It is no longer time to defend the queen of Hungary, and she must learn to support all the rigour of her destiny. Are these people mad, my lord, to suppose I should be so treacherous as to turn my arms in her favour against my friends ; and can you avoid seeing the grossness of the bait they hold out to me ; I entreat you not to trouble me again with similar propositions, and to believe me so far a man of honour as not to violate my engagements." In reviewing the progress of this negotiation on the suc- cessful termination of which even the fate of the house of Austria seemed to depend, we cannot repress our astonish- ment at the singular infatuation of the court of Vienna ; but our surprise will diminish, when we advert to the personal character and principles of the queen of Hungary, the situation of her consort the duke of Loraine, and the views and interests of her ministers and court. Maria Theresa had been educated as heiress to the indi- visible succession of the house of Austria ; and had imbibed, from her earliest infancy, high notions of the pre-eminent dignity and power of her illustrious family. Hence she determined to assert her rights with inflexible spirit, and not to relinquish a tittle of her just pretensions, on the principle, that her inheritance was a solemn trust, which she could not alienate ; and she considered herself as irrevocably bound by the oath she had taken to support the Pragmatic Sanction. The birth of the archduke Joseph also, which happened on the 13th of March, in the midst of the negotiation, still farther strengthened her resolutions, and increased her scruples not to alienate any part of his future inheritance. Although the duke of Loraine had been appointed co- regent, transacted the business of state with the ministers of the conference, and gave audience to foreign ambassa- dors ; yet he had little permanent influence in the direction 1741.] THE DUKE OF LORAINE'S LITTLE INFLUENCE. 263 of affairs, as well because the spirit of the government was supposed to reside in the conference, as because the queen was not disposed to admit any participation of real autho- rity. He was, indeed, more distinguished for the comeli- ness of his person, and the suavity of his manners, than for strength of understanding, or brilliancy of talents ; he was fully sensible of his want of influence, and did not scruple to acknowledge that his sentiments had no weight when contrary to those of the queen. At this period, likewise, he was still less inclined and less able to take an active part in the counsels of the state, in consequence of his sen- timents in regard to the king of Prussia, and the peculiar delicacy of his situation. He was well aware that his ele- vation to the imperial throne depended principally on the concurrence of Prussia *, and had therefore been early inclined to conciliate the friendship of the king, and credited the sincerity of his professions ; but he was afterwards alienated by the contemptuous behaviour and opprobrious language of Frederic, who even charged the duke with suborning an assassin to murder him. In the heat of his resentment he treated with scorn the versatility of the Prussian monarch ; and exclaimed to Mr. Robinson, who was urging the weight of his alliance, "If you have him to-day, he will be at the service of France to-morrow ; and. if France has him to-day, we may have him to -morrow/ 1 Even in the most alarming crisis of the queen's affairs, though convinced that the safety of the house of Austria depended on an accommodation with the king of Prussia, he could not venture to urge his opinion, in consequence of the unpopularity which he had incurred from the ill success of his military operation in Hungary, and the charges which were circulated, that he was willing to sacrifice the territories of the house of Austria to purchase the electoral vote of Prussia. The ministers of the conference were merely the osten- sible agents of government, and count Staremberg, whom Charles VI. had recommended with his dying voice to his daughter, had fallen into dotage, acted solely from visionary * In an interview with Borcke, the Prussian minister, during the illness of Charles VI. he said, M There is nobody but his Prussian majesty and the king of England that I can rely upon. " — Mr. Robin- son's Despatches. s 4 264 MARIA THERESA. [CH. C. notions of divine inspiration, and changed his mind as often as he conceived himself differently inspired. In this situation Maria Theresa was attracted by the insinuating manners and decisive language of Bartenstein, who, full of expedients, and fertile in resources, was alone capable of initiating her in the affairs of state and the forms of business. His presumptuous confidence, volu- bility of tongue, and the facility of his pen, combined to dazzle an inexperienced princess ; while his assiduity, affected deference to her opinion, and enthusiasm for the house of Austria, won her esteem and confidence. He followed the example of count Altheim towards her father, by endeavouring to inspire her with the same jealousy of her own power, and high opinion of her own abilities ; he persuaded her that she ought to be her own minister, while he overwhelmed her with papers and memorials which she had not time to consider, and scarcely to read ; he also supplied her with arguments against her ministers, induced her to maintain a secret correspondence with her foreign ambassadors, of which he w r as the agent ; and as the duke of Loraine was a mere cipher, he directed the affairs of government with the same absolute sway as during the lifetime of her father. No person had greater influence in encouraging the queen to persevere in rejecting all offers of accommodation with Prussia than Bartenstein, w T ho was irritated against Frederic, for requiring his exclusion from the conferences with Gotter. His implacable spirit being thus roused, he did not restrain his invectives : " The friendship of the king of Prussa," he observed, " is worse than his enmity ; nothing but mischief can be expected from him, and the only means of security will be to disarm him. To attempt to rectify the king of Prussia without ruining him, would be as much lost trouble as to wash a blackamoor white."* These sentiments coincided too nearly with those of the queen, to be counteracted by the earnest representations of the Maritime Powers. The singular infatuation of the queen in giving credit to the professions of the French, even at the very moment when marshal Belleisle was carrying his hostile designs into execution, was wholly owing to the baneful influence * Mr. Robinson to lord Harrington, April 4. 1741. 174L] SIIE IS ASSISTED BY ENGLAND. 265 of Bartenstein, who boldly answered for their sincerity, and asserted that they would engage in no war during the life of cardinal Fleury. In vain the old ministers of the conference expatiated on the inveterate antipathy of the house of Bourbon ; in vain the duke of Loraine made the strongest remonstrances, and in vain the king of England repeatedly developed the dangerous designs of the court of Versailles. The queen of Hungary, influenced by her superior antipathy to the king of Prussia, hoped in the last extremity to disarm France by cessions in the Low Countries, and by inducing her husband to forego the im- perial crown ; or if those offers failed of success, that she should be supported by the Maritime Powers and Russia ; in these hopes she was encouraged by the spirit and senti- ments of the British nation. In England the unprovoked aggression of the king of Prussia had excited general indignation ; and the wrongs of a young, beautiful, and unoffending princess roused the feelings of the people, and kindled a national enthusiasm. The minister, urged by the importunities of the king, the sentiments of the cabinet, and the public voice, yielded to the torrent. On the 8th of April, the king concluded an animated speech from the throne, by requesting the con- currence of his parliament in supporting the queen of Hungary, and maintaining the liberties and balance of power in Europe, and this speech was answered by a warm address, and a grant of £300,000 to the queen of Hungary. In transmitting the account of these resolutions, count Ostein, the Austrian ambassador, declared that this subsidy was extorted by the general voice of the king, parliament, and people, and urged the queen not to agree with Prussia, because the English would spend the last penny of their treasure, and shed the last drop of their blood in her Blip* port. Hence the queen deemed herself secure of being assisted by the whole force of England ; hence she enter- tained the most sanguine expectations that the example of that nation would be followed by the United Provinces, Russia, and other powers of Europe. 266 Chap. CL — 1741. During the progress of the unfortunate negotiation with Prussia, all things concurred to strengthen the firmness of the queen, and to lull her into a fatal security with regard to the designs of France. Louis XV., naturally indolent and voluptuous, was more than ever addicted to the pur- suit of his amours, and to the pleasures of the chase. Cardinal Fleury, who still held the reins of government, was on the brink of the grave, and seemed averse to plunge his country in a war which would frustrate the great ob- ject of his long administration, the recovery of the finances, and disturb the last moments of his declining life. But his benevolent efforts were counteracted by the party of the marshal and count de Belleisle, who panted for military glory, and were equally skilful in the cabinet and the field. Supported by the French nobility, and aided by the feminine cabal who directed the pleasures of the monarch, they finally roused the spirit of the king, and overcame the feeble opposition of the cardinal ; their plans were mighty and gigantic, tending to no less than to confine the house of Austria within the boundaries of Hungary. But even in the midst of the warlike preparations, and while mar- shal Belleisle was rapidly passing from one extremity of Germany to the other to mature his schemes, the cardinal had sufficient influence to circumscribe his efforts ; and with real or affected sincerity, gave repeated assurances to the court of Vienna of his pacific inclinations. Even when the French army had actually passed the Rhine, Fleury declared that this aggression was not directed against the house of Austria, but intended only to awe those princes of the empire who were hostile to France ; and so great was the infatuation of the queen of Hungary, that she relied on the sincerity of these professions. But the illusion was dissipated in a moment. The king of Prussia had scarcely rejected her last offers, before the elector of Bavaria was joined by the French army under marshal Belleisle, and pursuing his success took possession of Lintz, where he was inaugurated arch- duke of Austria. After despatching a body of troops to 1741.] THE STORM OVEB AUSTRIA BREAKS. 267 Polten, within eight leagues of Vienna, and summoning the capital to surrender, he suddenly turned into Bohemia, and marched to invest Prague, which contained numerous magazines, and was weakly garrisoned. The other French army under Maillebois passed the Maes, and forced the king of England, who was assembling troops for the as- sistance of the queen of Hungary, to conclude the neu- trality of Hanover ; by which he engaged, as elector, not to resist the operations of the allies, nor to oppose the elevation of the Bavarian prince to the throne of the empire. Russia, involved in a war with Sweden, by the intrigues of France, was incapable of sending any succour to Maria Theresa ; the electors of Saxony, Co- logne, and Palatine joined the grand confederacy ; Spain was preparing to make a diversion in Italy, and had already secured the neutrality of Tuscany, Genoa, the duke of Modena, and the pope ; and the king of Sardinia was in- clined to assist the house of Bourbon. In Silesia, the king of Prussia, master of the capital and the greater part of the duchy, was on the point of cutting off the communication between the army of marshal JNeuperg and Neiss, with a view to lay siege to that fortress, the possession of which would secure the whole province, and enable him to co-operate with the armies of France and Bavaria. On surveying this deplorable state of affairs, the cause of Maria Theresa appeared wholly desperate : attacked by a formidable league, Vienna menaced with an instant Biege, abandoned by all her allies, without treasure, without an efficient army, without able ministers, she seemed to have no other alternative than to receive the law from her most inveterate enemies. But this great princess now displayed a courage truly heroic, and, assisted by the subsidies of Great Britain, and animated by the zeal of her Hungarian subjects, rose superior to the storm. Soon after her accession she had conciliated the Hun- garians, by reviving, with the exception of the thirty-first article, the celebrated decree of Andrew II.*, which had * Voltaire has asserted, and most modern authors have done little more than copy Voltaire, that Maria Theresa swore to observe the \\ hole decree of Andrew II., even the thirty-first article, which de- cares, " Should I, or any of my successors, at any time infringe your 268 MARIA THERESA. [CII. CI. been abolished by Leopold ; and at her coronation had re- ceived from her grateful subjects the warmest demonstra- tions of loyalty and affection. Mr. Robinson, who was an eye-witness of this ceremony, has well described the im- pression made on the surrounding multitude. " The coronation on the 2oth was leste, magnificent, and well ordered. The queen was all charm ; she rode gallantly up the royal mount*, and defied the four corners of the world with the drawn sabre, in a manner to show she had no occasion for that weapon to conquer all who saw her. The antiquated crown received new graces from her head, and the old tattered robe of St. Stephen became her as well as her own rich habit, if diamonds, pearls, and all sorts of precious stones can be called clothes." " Illam qulcquid agit quoquo vestigia vertit, " Componit furtim, subsequiturque decor." f An air of delicacy, occasioned by her recent confine- ment, increased the personal attractions of this beautiful princess ; but when she sat down to dine in public, she appeared still more engaging without her crown ; the heat of the weather, and the fatigues of the ceremony, diffused an animated glow over her countenance ; while her beauti- ful hair flowed in ringlets over her shoulders and bosom. These attractions; and the firmness of her mind, kindled the zeal and enthusiasm of that brave and high-spirited people, and to them she turned as to her principal recourse. privileges, it is permitted you and your descendants, by virtue of this promise, to defend yourselves, without being treated as rebels." But this article was expressly excepted in the oath taken by Maria Theresa. See Voltaire, Siecle de Louis XV., and Sacy, Histoire de Hungrie, torn. 11. p. 448. and 507. who has cleared up this disputed point in the most satisfactory manner. Sacy adds, on consulting the acts of the diet, it does not appear that the states made the least attempt to obtain from their new sovereign the ratification of the whole oath of Andrew I f, The Hungarians had already suffered too much for the right of de- claring war against their monarchs. Instructed by past misfortunes, they were by no means desirous to obtain the confirmation of an illu- sive privilege, which sanctioned rebellion, and placed under the safeguard of the laws those seditious citizens whom the laws ought to punish. * Near Presburgh is a barrow or tumulus, called the Royal Mount, which the new sovereign ascends on horseback, and waves a drawn sword towards the four cardinal points. f Mr. Robinson to lord Harrington, June 28. 1741. 1741.] HEP APPEAL TO THE HUNGARIANS. 269 The grey-headed politicians of the court of Vienna in vain urged, that the Hungarians, who, when Charles VL pro- posed the Pragmatic Sanction, had declared they were accustomed to be governed by men, and would not consent to a female succession, would seize this opportunity of withdrawing from the Austrian domination. But Maria Theresa formed a different judgment, and her opinion was justified by the event. She felt that a people ardent for liberty, and distinguished by elevation of soul and energy of character, indignantly reject the mandates of a powerful despot, but would shed their blood in support of a defenceless queen, who, under the pressure of misfortune, appealed to them for succour. Having summoned the states of the diet to the castle, she entered the hall, in which the members of the re- spective orders were promiscuously assembled, clad in deep mourning, and habited in the Hungarian dress, with the crown of St. Stephen on her head, and the scimitar at her side, both objects of high veneration to the natives, who are devoted to the memory of their ancient sovereigns. She traversed the apartment with a slow and majestic step, and ascended the tribune, from whence the sovereign is accustomed to harangue the states. After an awful silence of a few minutes, the chancellor detailed the distressed situation of their sovereign, and requested immediate as- sistance. Maria Theresa then came forward, and addressed the deputies in Latin *, a language in common use among the Hungarians, and in which, as if emulous of the spirit of ancient Rome, they preserved the deliberations of the diet and the records of the kingdom. " The disastrous situation of our affairs," she said, " has moved us to lay before our dear and faithful states of Hungary the recent invasion of Austria, the danger now impending over this kingdom, and a proposal for the consideration of a remedy. The very existence of the kingdom of Hungary, of our own person, of our children, and our crown, are now at stake. Forsaken by all, we place our sole resource in the fidelity, arms, and long-tried valour of the Hungarians ; * The Latin is so common in Hungary, that during my travels I frequently heard the servants and postilions converse and dispute with great fluency in that language. 270 MARIA THERESA. [CII. CI. exhorting you, the states and orders, to deliberate without delay in this extreme danger, on the most effectual mea- sures for the security of our person, of our children, and of our crown, and to carry them into immediate execution. In regard to ourself, the faithful states and orders of Hun- gary shall experience our hearty co-operation in all things, which may promote the pristine happiness of this ancient kingdom, and the honour of the people."* The youth, beauty, and extreme distress of Maria Theresa, who was then pregnant, made an instantaneous impression on the whole assembly. All the deputies drew their sabres half out of the scabbard, and then throwing them back as far as the hilt, exclaimed, " We will conse- crate our lives and arms ; we will die for our queen, Maria Theresa!" Affected with this effusion of zeal and loyalty, the queen, who had hitherto preserved a calm and dignified deportment, burst into tears of joy and gratitude ; the members of the states, roused almost to frenzy by this proof of her sensibility, testified, by their gestures and acclamations, the most heartfelt admiration, and, repairing to the diet, voted a liberal supply of men and money. A similar and not less affecting scene took place, when the deputies assembled before the throne, to receive the oath of the duke of Loraine, who had been appointed co- regent of the kingdom, by the consent of the diet. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Francis waving his hand ex- * I have principally drawn this account from the archives of Hun- gary, to which I had access by the kindness of count Roller, and from his communications. He was keeper of the archives, and present at the diet. With his permission I copied the speech, which is here subjoined. — " Allocutio Regina? Hungariae Maria? Theresia?, Anno 1741. Afflictus rerum nostrarum status nos movit, ut fidelibus per- chari regni Hungariae statibus de hostili provinciae nostra? hereditaria?, Austria? invasione, et imminente regno huic periculo, adeoque de con- siderando remedio propositionem scripto faciamus. Agitur de regno Hungaria?, de persona nostra, prolibus nostris, et corona, ab omni us derelicti, unice ad inclytorum statuum fidelitatem, arma, et Hunga- rorum priscam virtutem confugimus, impense hortantes, velint status et ordines in hoc maximo periculo de securitate persona? nostra?, pro- lium, corona?, et regni quanto ocius consulere, et ea in effectum etiam deducere. Quantum ex parte nostra est, qua?cunque pro pristina regni hujus felicitate, et gentis decore forent, in iis omnibus benig- nitatem et clementiam nostram regiam fideies status et ordines regni experturi sunt.'* 1741.] SHE ROUSES HER SUBJECTS' SPIRIT. 271 claimed, " My blood and life for the queen and kingdom!" and at the same moment the queen exhibited the infant archduke to the view of the assembly. A cry of joy and exultation instantly burst forth, and the deputies repeated their exclamations, " We will die for the queen and her family; we will die for Maria Theresa!" The vigorous resolutions of the diet, animated by the presence of their sovereign, were supported by the nation at large ; and numerous tribes, pouring from the banks of the Save, the Teiss, the Drave, and the Danube, flocked to the royal standard. These troops, under the names of Croats, Pandours, Sclavonians, Warasdinians, and Tolpaches, ex- hibited a new and astonishing spectacle to the eyes of Europe; by their dress and arms, by the ferocity of their manners, and their singular mode of combat, they struck terror into the disciplined armies of Germany and France. In addition to the Hungarian bands, troops were collected from all quarters, and every nerve was strained to make a grand and vigorous effort. Under the direction of general Kevenhuller, Vienna was put in a state of defence ; and the burghers and students vied with the garrison in their resolution to make a desperate resistance. In this favourable situation of the queen's affairs, divi- sions began to arise among her enemies. The haughty deportment of marshal Belleisle, who treated the German princes as vassals of his master, and Germany as a province of France, alienated the allies ; the electors of Bavaria and Saxony, eager to share the spoils of the house of Austria, were jealous of each other's pretensions, and the elector of Bavaria, either counteracted by France and Saxony, or desirous of obtaining immediate possession of Bohemia, had turned his forces from the siege of Vienna, and has- tened to the attack of Prague. The king of Prussia also was alarmed with the rapid progress of the elector of Ba- varia, who, if he obtained the crown of Bohemia, might claim Silesia ; he was displeased with the imperious conduct of France, and suspicious that the cabinet of Versailles was attempting to prevent his farther acquisitions. This jea- lousy hastened an accommodation with the queen of Hun- gary ; he not only listened with complacency to the propo- sals conveyed through lord Hyndford, but even made overtures himself to marshal Neuperg ; and the house of 272 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CI. Austria was saved by the very hand from which it had received the first wound. * On the return of Mr. Robinson from his second journey into Silesia, the queen of Hungary was sensible of her danger, and convinced of the necessity of gaining the king of Prussia. And as Bartenstein, who had alone encouraged her obstinacy, was irritated by the perfidy of France, and urged that there was no safety to the house of Austria but in an immediate accommodation with Prussia, full powers were despatched to lord Hyndford, to offer the cession of Lower Silesia, and the town of Breslau. After some delays and negotiations, Frederic finally delivered his ultimatum, in that brief and decisive style which marked his character. " All Lower Silesia ; the river Neiss for the boundary. The town of Neiss, as well as Glatz. Beyond the Oder the ancient limits to continue between the duchies of Brieg and Oppelen. Breslau for us. The aifairs of religion in statu quo. No dependence on Bohemia ; a cession for ever. In return, we will proceed no farther. We will besiege Neiss for form. The com- mandant shall surrender and depart. We will pass quietly into winter quarters, and the Austrian army may go where they will. Let the whole be concluded in twelve days." This negotiation was protracted by his refusal to enter into formal engagements, and the unwillingness of the court of Vienna to yield the same territory for a bare neutrality, with which they might have purchased his alliance. In the mean time, the progress of the French and Bavarian arms, the conclusion of the neutrality of Hanover, and the manoeuvres of the king of Prussia, who had compelled marshal Neuperg to retire from Neiss, hastened the decision of Maria Theresa, and full powers were sent to Neuperg to cede all Lower Silesia, with the towns of Breslau and Neiss, and to secure the best condi- tions in return. As both parties were equally desirous of * In the account which the king of Prussia gives of this trans- action, he affects to consider all the overtures as coming from the court of Vienna ; whereas he was extremely impatient to conclude an accom- modation, and even made proposals to general Lentulus, by means of colonel Goltz ; though at the same time, Goltz declared, that if the negotiation did not succeed, and was divulged, his master would dis- avow the proposal Lord Hyndford's Despatches. 1741, 1742.] PEACE PROPOSED. 273 a respite, the arrangements were soon made. Frederic, accompanied by colonel Goltz, met marshal Neuperg, ge- neral Lentulus, and lord Hyndford, at Ober-Schnellendorf, on the 9th of October, and a convention was drawn up and signed by lord Hyndford, to which the king only gave his verbal assent. It contained the cession of Lower Silesia, with the towns of Breslau and Neiss, and the limits speci- fied in the king's ultimatum. It was also settled, that this convention was to be kept an inviolable secret, and if di- vulged by the court of Vienna, should be considered as null. To preserve appearances, it was agreed, that skir- mishes should not be immediately discontinued, and that the siege and surrender of Neiss should proceed in the usual forms. Part of the Prussian army were to take up winter quarters in Upper Silesia, but were not to exact contributions, or make forced enrolments. The king pro- mised never to demand from the queen of Hungary the cession of any other territory than Lower Silesia, and the town of Neiss ; not to act offensively either against the queen, the king of England, as elector of Hanover, or any of her allies, after the surrender of Neiss ; and not to mo- lest marshal Neuperg in his march into Moravia. It was likewise agreed to endeavour to conclude a definitive treaty before the end of the year. The king of Prussia affected great anxiety to conceal this transaction from his allies, and even exacted a written declaration from lord Hyndford, that the negotiation had proved fruitless. But although the conduct of Frederic evinced his intention to amuse the court of Vienna, and to renew hostilities whenever it suited his interests, yet this convention was highly advantageous to the queen of Hun- gary, as it gave her a respite from an active and enterpris- ing enemy, and enabled her to concentrate all her efforts against the French, Bavarians, and Saxons. Chap. CIL— 1741, 1742. At this period all Silesia was occupied by the king of Prussia ;• Upper Austria, and the greater part of Bohemia, were in the possession of the French, Bavarians, and VOL. in. i 274 MARIA THERESA. [CIJ. OIL Saxons. But the armistice with Prussia was scarcely con- cluded before the queen of Hungary assembled a consider- able army to succour Prague, whicli was menaced by the allied forces. With this view the duke of Loraine drew together the new Hungarian levies at Znaim, and was joined by marshal Neuperg, with the remains of the Sile- sian army ; by count Kevenhuller, with two regiments from the garrison of Vienna ; and soon afterwards by a corps under prince Lobcowitz, who had been stationed at Pilsen, to observe the enemy. Being, by these accessions, at the head of 60,000 men, he hastened to Prague ; but on the 26th of October, arrived within three leagues of the capital only to have the mortification of hearing, that the enemy had surprised it the preceding night, and that general Ogilvy, the commandant, with a garrison of only 3000 men, had surrendered the citadel. On the same day, the elector of Bavaria made his triumphant entry into the town: was crowned king of Bohemia on the 19th of De- cember ; and, after appointing a council for the administra- tion of affairs, took his departure for Frankfort, w T here the diet of the empire was assembled. France was now enabled to secure one of her great objects, to wrest the imperial dignity from the house of Austria. Maria Theresa had flattered herself with the hopes of placing that crown on the head of her husband; and with a view to secure for him the vote of Bohemia, which, according to the constitutions of the empire, could not be vested in a female, conferred on him the co-regency of that kingdom. The legality of this transfer, however, had been contested by the majority of the electoral college ; but as the elector of Bavaria was acknowledged king of Bohemia, the vote was suspended for that election, by unanimous consent. In consequence of the neutrality of Hanover, by which George II. was precluded from the exercise of his suffrage in favour of the house of Austria, of the defection of Augustus, and of the hostility of Prussia, the choice of the college fell unanimously on the elector of Bavaria, who was crowned at Frankfort on the 12th of February, 1742, by the title of Charles VII. But while Charles thus acquired an empty dignity, he was despoiled of his hereditary dominions. The duke of 1741, 1742.] successes op the austrians. 275 Loraine, being foiled in his attempt to relieve Prague, had retired behind the marshes of Budweiss, a position occupied by the celebrated Ziska, during the Hussite wars ; where he covered the march of the Austrian detachments, which were preparing to penetrate into Bavaria. The plan of the subsequent operations was judiciously arranged, and ably executed, by Kevenhuller, the most fortunate and enter- prising of all the Austrian generals. The main army, divided into two bodies, under the duke of Loraine and prince Lobcowitz, remained in Bohemia, to keep the enemy in check ; while Kevenhuller, at the head of 30,000 men, advanced rapidly into Upper Austria, and blockaded Linz, whither a corps of 10,000 French, under general Segur, had been driven by the impetuous assaults of the irregulars under Mentzel, the celebrated partisan. Meanwhile general Berenclau seized the important post of Scharding on the Inn, the key of Bavaria, and routed a corps of Bavarians, detached to succour Linz. Segur, thus deprived of all hopes of relief, was compelled to surrender; and Keven- huller, pursuing his success, obtained possession of Passau, and became master of all the passes leading into Bavaria. These advantages were the prelude to still greater suc- cesses. Kevenhuller, pursuing his plan to cut off the resources of the enemy in Bavaria and Saxony, advanced into Bavaria, and let loose on that country the numerous irregulars which swarmed round his army. Pie was also assisted by a diversion from the Tyrol. The brave natives, in the most arduous crisis of the queen's affairs, had taken upon themselves the defence of their own country ; and now, bursting from their mountains, ravaged the southern parts of Bavaria, and penetrated to the neighbourhood of Munich : while Kevenhuller entered the capital, without opposition, on the very day in which the unfortunate elector w r as chosen emperor. In the midst of these events the king of Prussia abruptly broke the convention of Ober-Schnellendorf. He was alarmed at the progress of the Austrians in Bavaria, and apprehensive lest the queen of Hungary should again turn her arms to recover Silesia. He had previously entered into a treaty with the elector of Bavaria, and had purchased of him, as king of Bohemia, the country of Glatz for 400,000 crowns. With a view to secure this new acquisi- 276 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CIT. tion, and consolidate his conquest of Silesia, he suddenly recommenced hostilities, entered Moravia early in 1742, he despatched marshal Schwerin to seize Olmutz, and laid siege to Glatz, which surrendered after a desperate resist- ance. Frederic proved himself on this, as on all occasions, the most active and enterprising enemy of the house of Austria. Repairing to Dresden, he endeavoured to rouse the sluggish spirit of Augustus, and passed through Prague in his return to Moravia to concert a plan of operations with marshal Broglio. Having rejoined his army soon after the surrender of Glatz, he endeavoured to drive the Austrians from their advantageous position in the southern parts of Bohemia, which would have delivered the French troops in the neighbourhood, and checked the progress of Keven- huller in Bavaria : he advanced to Iglau on the frontiers of Bohemia, occupied the banks of the Taya, from Znaim to Goedingen, made irruptions into Upper Austria, and his hussars spread terror even to the gates of Vienna. Meanwhile the Austrians were not inactive ; a corps of 10,000 men was drawn from Bavaria to cover the capital, and the military force of Hungary assembling on the iron- tiers of Moravia, threatened the Prussian magazines in Upper Silesia, while prince Charles of Loraine, who was appointed commander-in-chief, prepared to advance at the head of the main army. These movements compelled Frederic to detach a considerable force for the preservation of his magazines, to evacuate Moravia, and retire to the neighbourhood of Chrudim in Bohemia. He was at this juncture quitted by the Saxons; and deriving no assist- ance from the French, although they had taken Egra and advanced to Piseck, he was left to support singly the whole burden of the war. From the rupture of the armistice to the present junc- ture, Frederic had not ceased proposing terms of accom- modation to the court of Vienna, through the intervention of lord Hyndford ; but as he increased his demands on every trifling advantage, and even required the cession of Konigsgratz and Pardubitz in Bohemia, as well as the county of Glatz, the queen of Hungary indignantly rejected all his overtures, and both parties determined to risk the event of a battle. In these circumstances prince Charles of 1741, 1742.] BATTLE OF CHOTUSITZ. 277 Loraine advanced from Moravia, whither he had marched to relieve Brunn, passed the frontiers of Bohemia, and ar- rived in the neighbourhood of the Prussian quarters on the 15th of May. The two armies encountered early on the morn- ing of the 17th. The Austrians, by a forced march, gained the village of Czaslau on the 16th, and the following morning advanced in four columns to attack the Prussians, posted near Chotusitz, who were scarcely formed before the can- nonade began. The numbers were nearly equal, and the action was warmly contested on both sides ; the Austrians displayed numerous proofs of exalted courage ; the infantry retrieved the disgrace which they had incurred at the battle of Molvvitz, and the cavalry did not belie their former ex- ertions, but lost the decisive moment by their eagerness for plunder. At length the steadiness and discipline of the Prussian infantry, the improved manoeuvres of* the cavalry, and, above all, the activity of Frederic, decided the fortune of the day. The Prussians remained masters of the field of battle, with eighteen cannons, two pair of colours, and 1200 prisoners; but the Austrians retreated in good order, and carried away fourteen standards, two pair of colours, and 1000 prisoners. The loss on both sides was consider- able : the king of Prussia computes that of the Austrians in killed, wounded, prisoners, and deserters, at 7000 men ; his own was not inferior, and was more sensibly felt, as his cavalry was almost ruined. Although the victory was on the side of the Prussians, yet the immediate consequences of this battle were highly favourable to the queen of Hungary, as it rendered both parties sincere in their desires for peace. The king was disappointed of the expected advantages ; and the queen of Hungary saw the necessity of detaching an enemy who crippled all her efforts ; particularly as a corps of 10,000 men was advancing to reinforce the French army in Bo- hemia. Frederic lowered his demands, and made over- tures of accommodation, in a manner which evinced his extreme anxiety for peace ; and lord Hyndford, in conse- quence of his full powers from the queen of Hungary, signed the preliminaries at Breslau, with Podewilz, the Prussian minister, on the 11th of June, which were after- wards ratified by both sovereigns. The queen of Hungary i 3 273 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CII. ceded to the king of Prussia in full sovereignty all Upper and Lower Silesia, with the county of Glatz, except the towns of Troppau and Jagerndorf, and the high mountains beyond the Oppau. These preliminaries were formed into a definitive treaty, which was signed at Berlin on the 28th of July, under the guaranty of the king of England. Augustus, as elector of Saxony, was also included in the treaty, and agreed to withdraw his troops from the French army, and to acknowledge the Pragmatic Sanction, which he afterwards fulfilled. The Austrian arms began now to be successful in all quarters. Just before the signature of the preliminaries, prince Lobcowitz, who was stationed at Budweiss with 10,000 men, made an attack on Frauenberg ; Broglio and Belleisle advanced from Piseck to relieve the town, and a combat took place at Sahay, in which the Austrians were repulsed with the loss of 500 men. This trifling affair was magnified into a decisive victory; and, according to the words of the royal historian, "the battle of Pharsalia did not occasion more sensation at Rome, than did this little combat at Paris." Marshal Broglio, elated with this ad- vantage, and relying on the immediate junction of the king of Prussia, remained at Frauenberg in perfect security. But his expectations were disappointed ; Frederic had already commenced his secret negotiations, and prince Charles was enabled to turn his forces against the French. Being joined by prince Lobcowitz, they attacked Broglio, and compelled him to quit Frauenberg with such precipita- tion, that his baggage fell into the hands of the light troops, and the French retreated towards Branau, harassed by the Croats and other irregulars. The garrison of Piseck, refusing to surrender to a detachment under Nadasti, a body of Croats swam across the river with their sabres in their mouths, and climbing on each other's shoulders scaled the walls, and made the garrison prisoners of war. The Austrians, pursuing their success against the French, drove Broglio from Branau, and followed him to the walls of Prague, where he found Belleisle, returned from an unsuccessful journey to prevent the peace of Bres- lau, and to animate the court of Dresden. After several consultations, the two generals called in their posts, and secured their army partly within the walls, and partly 1741, 1742.] HER PROSPECTS IMPROVE. 279 within a peninsula of the Mold a u, the front of which was fortified by a strong line of entrenchments. Prince Charles occupied the White Mountain on the side of the Little Town, and general Festetitz, with 18,000 fresh men from Silesia, was stationed opposite the New Town, and completed the blockade. Soon afterwards the duke of Loraine joined the army, Which now amounted to 70,000 men, and the arrival of the heavy artillery enabled the Austrians to commence the siege. Thus, except the Saxons, who were on the point of quitting the allies, and a small corps of Bavarians, the forces, which at the commencement of hostilities had threatened the extinction of the house of Austria, were shut up within the walls of Prague ; while a body of 10,000 French, under the duke d'Harcourt, who had attempted to advance to the relief of their countrymen, were kept in check on the banks of the Danube, by the superior skill and activity of Kevenhuller. Besides the success of the armies and the zeal of the people, the cause of Maria Theresa was favoured by an established prejudice prevailing in the empire, England* Holland, and even in Russia and Denmark, that tin Liber- ties of Europe depended on the destiny of the house of Austria, as the only power capable of counterbalancing the house of Bourbon. Maria Theresa, with great address, availed herself of this impression, and negotiated in every court of Europe which was not devoted to her ene- mies. The first and principal impulse in her favour among foreign nations was given by Great Britain, whose zeal seems to have been increased by a change in the admini- stration. Sir Robert Walpole, whom the court of Vienna had always considered either as an enemy, or at best as a lukewarm partisan, was driven from the helm, and the management of affairs principally intrusted to lord Car- teret, who had proved himself a stanch friend to the house of Austria. The new minister hastened to convey the strongest assurances of his intention to support the queen of Hungary with the whole power of the British empire ; nor where his promises belied by the event. Large sup- plies of men and money were almost unanimously voted by parliament, the subsidies to the queen of Hungary, Den- mark, and Hesse Cassel were continued, England dis- played a resolution to enter with vigour into the conti- T 4 280 MARIA THERESA. [cn. oil nental war; and 16,000 men were embarked to form an army in Flanders, in conjunction with the subsidiary troops of Hanover and Hesse, and a large corps of Austrians. The dilatory spirit of the Dutch was roused by these pre- parations ; the States resisted the repeated solicitations of the French ambassador to adopt a neutrality, augmented their army and navy, and granted a subsidy of 840,000 florins to the queen of Hungary. A change had also taken place in the government of Russia, which afterwards proved highly favourable to the interests of the house of Austria. Elizabeth, on the 6th of December 1741, had overturned the weak and capricious government of the regent Anne, imprisoned the infant emperor, and occupied the throne of her father, Peter the Great ; but although she was assisted in this revolution by the intrigues of the marquis de la Chetardie, the French minister, the event was not less disadvantageous to the enemies of Austria. The king of Prussia lost an able ad- herent by the arrest and banishment of marshal Munich ; and the Russians, roused by the accession of this popular princess, redoubled their efforts against the Swedes, who had experienced a total defeat at Williamstadt, with the capture of 10,000 men. In Italy a change equally favourable and unexpected had taken place in the affairs of the queen of Hungary. In con- sequence of the danger which threatened her hereditary dominions, Maria Theresa had been compelled to abandon the defence of Italy, where she could not oppose the great force assembling against her ; but the subsidies of England and the zeal of her Hungarian subjects, had no sooner en- abled her to stem the torrent on the side of Austria, than she turned her attention to the situation of Italy. She had contrived to retain lo,000 men, and prepared large maga- zines in Tuscany and the Milanese ; but she placed her principal reliance on the friendly disposition of the king of Sardinia, who was alienated by the grasping ambition of the queen of Spain, and perceived that he was to support the burden of the war, to secure the Milanese with the title of king of Lombardy for Don Philip, without reaping for himself any equivalent advantage. To detach so important an ally from the grand confederacy, the queen of Hungary, by the instances of England, was induced to 1741, 1742.] DEFECTION OF KING OF SARDINIA. 281 promise some cessions in the Milanese, and to transfer to the king of Sardinia her claims on the marquisate of Finale, while he engaged to prevent the introduction of foreign troops into Lombardy. But so ambiguous were the terms of this engagement, and so reluctant was the queen to comply with the demands of the king of Sardinia, that a secret article was added to the convention, by which, on the previous notice of a month, he reserved the power of receding from the alliance. In consequence of this temporary agreement, the king of Sardinia espoused the party of Maria Theresa, at the very moment when the duke de Montemar, at the head of the Spanish and Neapolitan forces, had secured the neutrality of the pope and the concurrence of the duke of Modena, and was hastening to invade the Milanese ; while a French army was preparing to march through Savoy into Italy. By this fortunate event the French were prevented from passing the Alps during the whole campaign by a part of the Sar- dinian forces, while the king himself, at the head of the remainder, and assisted by the Austrians, overran the duchy of Modena, and checked the progress of the Spa- niards. These operations were effectually supported by an English fleet in the Mediterranean ; and a squadron under the command of commodore Martin, by threats of an im- mediate bombardment, compelled the king of Naples to withdraw his troops from the Spanish army, and to engage for the maintenance of a strict neutrality. This event weakened the Spanish forces in Italy, and prevented them from pursuing their advantages. But as the king of Sardinia drew part of his troops from the com- bined army to resist the Spaniards, who had entered Savoy under Don Philip, and to defend the passes of the Alps, the remainder of the campaign on the side of Modena was not distinguished by any remarkable event, and the two armies began to take up winter-quarters as early as October ; the Spaniards occupying the Bolognese and Romagna, and the Austrians and Sardinians the duchies of Modena and Parma. 282 Chap. CIIL — 1742. Tin: joy and exultation of the court of Vienna at these successes were equalled only by the consternation and de- spair of cardinal Fleury. The aged minister, worn out with infirmities, seemed to sink even below his natural timi- dity ; he was deeply affected by the internal distresses of the nation, the great scarcity of provisions, the increasing derangement of the finances, and the clamours of the people, who were irritated at the total defeat of those wild schemes of glory with which the war had been com- menced, and trembled at the dangers gathering on their own frontiers. He saw the king devoted to his pleasures, and governed by a violent and dissolute faction ; he saw the troops under the duke d'Harcourt mouldering away on the marshy banks of the Danube ; and that army which, in the preceding year, had given law to Germany, cooped up within the walls of Prague, a prey to disease and famine, and with little hopes of escaping from destruction, except by sur- rendering themselves prisoners of war. He saw his coun- try deserted by Prussia and Saxony, and left without a single ally in Germany, except the new emperor, who was stripped of his territories, and draining the exhausted cof- fers of France for his subsistence. He saw the hostile spirit of England pervading every part of Europe, and the house of Austria rising with fresh vigour from its late de- pression, and forming the centre of a grand confederacy against the house of Bourbon. Under these impressions he endeavoured to evade the storm by submission, and to purchase the deliverance of the armies in Germany by an immediate peace. He ac- cordingly made proposals, in a letter to count Konigsegg, who commanded the army under the duke and prince Charles of Loraine, in which he exculpated himself, and threw the blame of the war on Belleisle. The only answer to this weak and humiliating offer was, the circulation of the letter, by order of the queen of Hungary ; and a se- cond, in which the cardinal remonstrated against this breach of confidence, was likewise given to the public* * These two letters are given in the Annals of Europe for 1742, p. 422-425. 1742.] SHE REJECTS THE OVERTURES OF FRANCE. 283 Notwithstanding this insult, the conferences were after- wards renewed. Marshal Belleisle, who at first despised the efforts of the Austrians, and deemed himself secure of ' an honourable retreat, was alarmed at the distress of the army, and appeared sincere and anxious for an accommo- dation. He offered to evacuate Prague, and to quit the territories of the queen of Hungary, on the condition of retaining the arms, artillery, and baggage. On the other hand, these offers were favourably received by the duke of Loraine, who was desirous to secure the title of king of the Romans by a peace with France. In these sentiments he was confirmed by prince Charles and count Konigsegg, from their apprehensions of the difficulties which would result from a protracted siege against a considerable army, resolved to hold out to the last extremity, and inspired with the hopes of speedy relief. But all overtures were disdainfully rejected by Maria Theresa. In answer to the further solicitations of car- dinal Fleury, she said, in the presence of the whole court, "I will grant no capitulation to the French army; I will receive no proposition, no project from the cardinal : let him address himself to my allies." Adverting to the offers of Belleisle, she exclaimed, k ' I am astonished that he should make any advances ; he who, by money and pro- mises, excited almost all the princes of Germany to crush me. I have acted," she added, " with too much condescen- sion to the court of France ; compelled by the necessity of the times, I debased my royal dignity, by writing to the cardinal in terms which would have softened the most ob- durate rocks ; he insolently rejected my entreaties ; and the only answer I obtained was, that his most Christian ma- jesty had contracted engagements which he could not violate. I can prove, by documents in my possession, that the French endeavoured to excite sedition even in the heart of my dominions ; that they attempted to overturn the fun- damental laws of the empire, and to set fire to the four corners of Germany ; and I will transmit these proofs to posterity, as a warning to the empire." The queen of Hungary was encouraged to reject all overtures from France, by the example of the British cabinet, as well as by the counsels of her own ministers. Lord Carteret warmly promoted the views of George II. 284 MARIA THERESA. [cn. cm. to engage in the continental war, and to dismember the territories of France. He was seconded by the zeal of lord Stair, commander-in-chief of the forces in the Low Countries, who, inspired with an equal antipathy against France, suggested schemes of aggrandisement to the court of Vienna, and proposed that the house of Austria should retain Bavaria, and indemnify the emperor by conquests from the enemy. The ministers of the conference warmly entered into these views, which were congenial to the cha- racter and temper of the sovereign ; and Bartenstein, the soul of the cabinet, from disappointment and indignation, was no less violent than count Staremberg, " whose Aus- trian inveteracy against France was petrified through the course of fourscore years." Hence Maria Theresa not only expected to recover Loraine, and the dominions which had been wrested from her father in Italy, but also to recover Alsace, and to retain Bavaria. As a prelude to these successes, she looked forward to the capture of the French armies in Bavaria and at Prague, who seemed abandoned to their fate, by the despondency and weakness of cardinal Fleury. Like her enemies, at the commencement of the war, she indulged herself in dreams of conquest and dismemberment, and parcelled out the territories of the emperor, and of the house of Bourbon, to herself and her allies, as France had divided the inherit- ance of the house of Austria. She was, however, disap- pointed in these sanguine expectations; the party in France which had supported the war gained the ascendency, and strained every nerve to retrieve their affairs, and to extri- cate the armies from their perilous situation. Secure of the neutrality of the Dutch, and aware that England, without their concurrence, would not venture to commence offen- sive operations on the Continent, the French cabinet formed the bold project of marching the army of Maillebois, which was stationed in Westphalia, towards Prague, a distance of 600 miles, through a country full of defiles, and overrun by the troops of the enemy. This plan was executed with equal promptitude and resolution. A corps being collected in Flanders, to watch the motions of the English, Maille- bois advanced by rapid marches towards Bavaria, and ar- rived, on the 14th of September, at Amberg, in the Upper Palatinate. Here he was joined by marshal Seckendorf, 1742.] SIEGE OF PRAGUE. 285 at the head of the Bavarians ; and the duke of Harcourt\s army, under the command of count Saxe, who, deceiving .Kevenhuller by his masterly manoeuvres, had extricated the troops from their dangerous position, and formed a junction with the main army at this critical moment. With this force, amounting to not less than 60,000 men, Maille- bois directed his efforts to the side of Prague ; after de- taching Seckendorf to take possession of Bavaria, he continued his march to Fgra, and received the pleasing intelligence that Broglio, with 12,000 men from Prague, had advanced to the neighbourhood of Leutmeritz, to effect a junction. During this period the trenches had been opened before Prague, and the siege pushed with great vigilance, but with little skill or effect. The French were reduced to great extremities from the scarcity of provisions; and for several weeks the soldiers subsisted almost on bread and water, and even horseflesh was considered as a delicacy for the officers and the sick. In this distress they made conti- nual sallies, and though they retarded the operations of the Austrians, and on the 12th of August, in one instance gained a decided advantage, yet they were still shut up within the precincts of the town. On the approach of Maillebois new overtures were made by the duke of Loraine ; and his proposals were even transmitted to the French cabinet. But the queen of Hungary issued orders to forbid all conferences, " that count Konigsegg might be no longer amused by the ful- some speeches and insidious confidences of Belleisle." Jealous of the authority which her husband seemed dis- posed to assume, she declared, " she would not suffer a council at the army and a council at Vienna ; she disclaimed, disallowed, and disavowed all such pernicious and unsanc- tioned proceedings, let the blame fall where it would she even ordered the duke of Loraine to reject any proposal from France, which did not comprehend cessions in Bava- ria, and to elude any condition, however conformable to his own offers, as her whole view and determined resolu- tion were, to destroy the French in Germany. In obedience to this mandate, the Austrians continued their operations ; but on the approach of Maillebois, prince Charles, leaving a corps of irregulars in the vicinity of the 286 MARIA THERESA. [ch. cm. town, advanced to check the progress of the French army. Broglio had seized this opportunity to quit Prague, and hastened to Leutmeritz with his corps of 12,000 men ; but prince Charles, being joined by Kevenhuller, occupied the passes of Satz and Caden, and thus obstructed the advance of the army of Maillebois to Prague. The troops of Maillebois, reduced and debilitated by the fatigues of their long march, were incapable of forcing the defiles ; and being deprived of provisions from Saxony, were compelled to quit an exhausted country, and fall back into the Upper Palatinate. From hence the French general endeavoured to alarm the enemy for Upper Aus- tria, and turned towards the Danube, which he passed on the 12th of December ; but prince Charles, having anti- cipated his design by occupying Passau, which covered that country, Maillebois relinquished all hopes of relieving Prague, and took up his winter quarters between the Iser, the Inn, and the Danube. Broglio, unable to effect a junc- tion with Maillebois, collected provisions and necessaries, and led his troops back to Prague ; from whence, escaping in disguise, he reached the French army, and on the 18th of December assumed the command, in place of Maillebois, who was recalled. The Austrians being left masters of Bohemia, prince Lob- cowitz, with 18,000 men, resumed the blockade of Prague. The situation of the French was soon rendered desperate by the severity of the season, and the want of provisions and fuel. The blockade continued several weeks, and the court of Vienna hourly expected the unconditional sur- render of this remnant of the French forces, when they were surprised with the intelligence that Belleisle had effected a retreat. From the severity of the weather, and the exhausted state of the adjacent country, which had been wasted by order of prince Charles, to the extent of two leagues round the city, prince Lobcowitz had taken up his quarters be- yond the Moldau, at the distance of twenty miles. He left only a detachment of hussars to observe the French, whom he considered as incapable of forcing a march of a hundred miles through a country covered with snow, broken by almost impassable mountains, abounding in de- files, and infested by his irregulars ; and he was encou- 1742.] the garrison evacuate prague. 287 raged in this opinion by the state of the enemy, who were debilitated by sickness, and totally unprovided with cloth 5 ipg. Belleisle availed himself of these circumstances, de- ceived the inhabitants of the town, and forming 11,000 foot and 3000 horse into a single column, with 30 pieces of cannon, and provisions for twelve days, departed on the night of the 16th of December, leaving the sick and wounded with a guard in the citadel. He passed through an open country, thirty miles in ex- tent, without receiving any check, except from the desul- tory attacks of the hussars and light troops, avoided the defiles which were occupied by the enemy, crossed frozen morasses, penetrated through almost impassable woods, and reached Egra on the twelfth day, without losing more than an hundred men from the assaults of the enemy. But no European army ever experienced more dreadful sufferings; the soldiers, without any other subsistence than frozen bread, compelled to sleep on snow and ice, without a cover- ing, and perpetually harassed by flying parties, perished in great numbers. " The roads," says the historian of Bo- hemia, " were dreadful to behold : they were overspread with corpses ; heaps of one and two hundred men each, with their officers, were found stiffened with the frost, or dead with fatigue." Twelve hundred men sunk under these distresses ; many whose members were frozen were obliged to undergo amputation at Egra, and the remainder were thinned by the ravages of a dreadful fever. During the whole retreat Belleisle himself, although severely afflicted with the rheumatism, and unable either to walk or ride, was carried in his coach or sedan to all parts where his presence was necessary ; he reconnoitred and pointed out the roads, and superintended all the detail of the march. But notwithstanding the losses of his army, he had the satisfaction of preserving the flower of the French forces, of saving every cannon which bore the arms of his master, and of not leaving the smallest trophy to grace the triumph of the enemy. The remainder of the French troops, amounting to only 6000 men, and those mostly invalids, seemed an easy prey ; and prince Lobcowitz, who was irritated at the escape of Belleisle, insisted on their unconditional surrender. But their gallant commander, Chevert, rejected such an humili- 288 MARIA THERESA. [ch. cm. ating condition, and replied to the officer wlio bore the summons, " Tell the prince, that if he will not grant me the honours of war, I will set fire to the four corners of Prague, and bury myself under its ruins." From a desire to preserve the capital of Bohemia, this condition was ac- cepted, and Chevert marched out with the honours of war, and joined the army at Egra.* This extraordinary and unexpected retreat was unjustly attributed to collusion ; but the empress queen was unable to conceal from her confidants the emotions of her anger and disappointment, and was less gratified by the recovery of the town than chagrined at the escape of her enemies, j She did not, however, display her disappointment in public, but celebrated the surrender of Prague by a magnificent and gallant entertainment. Among other festivities, it was distinguished by a chariot race in imitation of the Greeks, in which, to exhibit the triumph of her sex, ladies alone were permitted to contend ; and Maria Theresa herself, with her sister, entered the lists. Thus, at the termination of the campaign, all Bohemia was regained, except Egra ; and on the 12th of May, 1743, Maria Theresa was soon afterwards crowned at Prague, to the recovery of which, says her great rival, her firmness had more contributed than the force of her arms. The only reverse which the Austrians experienced in the midst of their successes was the temporary loss of Bavaria, which on the retreat of Kevenhuller, was occu- pied by marshal Seckendorf ; and the emperor made his entry into Munich on the 2d of October. On the 2d of January Belleisle, leaving a garrison at Egra, quitted that town, and reconducted his army to Spire, where it was to cross the Rhine. He thus closed this singular expedition, in which he entered Germany as a legislator and a conqueror, at the head of 40,000 men, and returned to France, humiliated and a fugitive, with only 8000. * Memoires de Richelieu, torn. 6. p. 251. ; Pelzel, p. 885. t Mr. Robinson's Despatches, 1742. In all his letters at this period, he mentions the inveterate animosity of the queen against the French, and the extreme agony of her mind on their escape from Prague. 289 Chap. CIV. — 1743. The commencement of 1743 was distinguished by the death of cardinal Fleury, who died at Issy on the 30th of January, in the ninetieth year of his age. lie had go- verned France during a period of seventeen years, witli the most upright disinterestedness and unblemished in- tegrity; but he was better calculated to superintend the regulations of peace than to direct the operations of war ; and by his attention to the recovery of the finances, had exposed himself to the censure of suffering the marine to fall into decay, and of repressing the military ardour of the nation. Louis XV. seemed like an heir emancipated from a l<'nt" Augustus; Prussian Pomerania to be given to Sweden ; and such arrangements to be made with Russia, Spain, and the Italian Powers, as would ensure the success of the alliance. The committee were unwilling to charge themselves with the sanction of this new and gigantic plan, so adverse to the ancient system, and so likely to alienate the Porte and the German princes. Accordingly, Bernis proposed a treaty of union between the courts of Vienna and Versailles ; a guaranty of their respec- tive possessions in Europe, and of the Prussian dominions, * Duclos, Memoires Secrets, tom.it p. 41 6, 417.i to whom these anecdotes were communicated by the cardinal De Bernis himself. 362 MARIA THERESA. [C1I. ex. and, to avoid the ungrateful appearance of acting against England, the empress was permitted to observe a neutrality. Maria Theresa at first objected to the guaranty of the Prus- sian dominions, but at length consented ; and the treaty was on the point of being concluded, when the signature of the convention of London completed the separation of France from Prussia. The Austrian minister availed himself of this event, made new overtures with a view to avoid the guaranty of the Prussian dominions, and finally succeeded in his object. Hitherto the negotiations with France had been conducted by Kaunitz, under the auspices of Maria Theresa, with count d'Aubeterre the French ambassador at Vienna, and biy vStaremberg with the creatures of the marchioness de Pompadour at Paris, without the knowledge of the emperor Francis, or the participation of the ministers. But when the treaty was matured, it became necessary to lay the plan before the council of state. The empress being unwilling to shock the prejudices of her consort, or to stem the opposition of her own ministers, affected ignorance of the whole transaction. With her connivance in a meeting of the council of state, Kaunitz proposed the plan of an alliance with France. He had scarcely announced the memorial, when the other ministers murmured disappro- bation ; and Francis rising up, with great emotion, vehe- mently struck the table with his hand, exclaiming, " such an unnatural alliance is impracticable, and shall never take place," and instantly quitted the apartment. Kaunitz ap- peared to hesitate, till, encouraged by his mistress, he detailed all the advantages which the house of Austria would derive from an alliance with France. The empress listened with affected attention, and gave her approbation in so decisive a tone as to silence the other counsellors. She concluded by undertaking to persuade the emperor, and affected to express her doubts of the concurrence of France. Kaunitz answered for that power ; the acquiescence of the emperor was soon extorted, and the management of the whole negotiation assigned to the minister, who had pro- posed, and so ably supported, the policy of the measure. This whole transaction had been conducted with so much secrecy, that only vague suspicions were entertained of those 1756.] FRANCE AND AUSTRIA LEAGUE TOGETHER. 363 negotiations which had passed in September and October ; and the Prussian treaty was alleged by the court of Vienna, as the sole and operating cause which had compelled the house of Austria to quit her ancient allies, and to renounce that system which she had invariably followed for the last century. The empress-queen and her minister therefore received the communication of the treaty of London with as much affected surprise and indignation, as if no previous overture had been made to the court of Versailles. In delivering on the 7th of April, a copy of the treaty with Prussia to the Austrian minister, Mr. Keith justified it as perfectly inoffensive, calculated to maintain the peace of the empire, and to relieve the empress- queen from her appre- hensions of the king of Prussia ; and he concluded with demanding an explanation on the subject of the supposed negotiation with the court of Versailles. A month elapsed before any answer was returned ; when Kaunitz delivered a paper criminating the conduct of England, and justifying the empress ; he also peremptorily refused to give any ex- planation relative to the negotiation with France. In an audience of the empress, the British minister expe- rienced greater affability and condescension ; but she ex- pressed the utmost abhorrence of a connection with the king of Prussia ; and notwithstanding her previous negotiation with France, threw the blame of first deserting the ancient alliance on the king of England. In reply to the observation of Mr. Keith, that the answer delivered by count Kaunitz contained an absolute renunciation of the ancient and true system of Europe, she said, " I have not abandoned the old system, but Great Britain has abandoned me and that system, by concluding the Prussian treaty, the first intelligence of which struck me like a fit of apoplexy. I and the king of Prussia are incompatible ; and no consideration on earth shall ever induce me to enter into any engagement of which he is a party." Mr. Keith, after apologising for the treaty, and employing many arguments to reconcile the empress- queen, adverted to the supposed negotiation with the French court. She refused to explain her conduct ; but asked, "Why should you be surprised, if, following your example in concluding a treaty with Prussia, I should enter into an engagement with France ? " 364 MARIA THERESA. [oh. ex. Affecting to disbelieve that the empress would connect herself with the inveterate enemy of her person and family, the British minister declared that nothing could convince him of the existence of such an alliance, till he saw with his own eyes the signature of Maria Theresa at the bottom of a treaty with that crown. " I am," she replied, " far from being French in my disposition, and do not deny that the court of Versailles has been my bitterest enemy ; but I can- not conceal, that the cessions which Great Britain extorted from me at the peace of Dresden, and of Aix-la-Chapelle, have totally disabled me. I have little to fear from France ; I am unable to act vith vigour, and have no other resource than to form such arrangements as will secure what remains." The British minister exclaiming, " will you, the empress and archduchess, so far humble yourself as to throw your- self into the arms of F ranee ? " 6i Not into the arms," she hastily rejoined, " but on the side of France. I have," she continued, " hitherto signed nothing with France, though I know not what may happen; but whatever happens, I pro- mise, on my word of honour, not to sign any thing contrary to the interest of your royal master, for whom I have a most sincere friendship and regard." The empress listened with great affability to all the re- monstrances and arguments of the British minister, but con- tinued unshaken in her resolution : and concluded : "I no longer have it in my power to take an active share in distant transactions ; I am therefore little concerned for the remote parts of my dominions, and my principal object is to secure my hereditary possessions. I have truly but two enemies whom I really dread, the king of Prussia and the Turks ; and while I and the empress of Russia continue on the same good terms as now subsist between us, we shall, I trust, be able to convince Europe, that we are in a condition to defend ourselves against those adversaries, however formid- able." The empress gave this audience on the 13th of May, and the treaty with France had been already signed on the 1st. In imitation of the convention of London, the two sovereigns agreed, by an act of neutrality, to prevent the contest in America from disturbing their mutual harmony ; and a treaty of alliance, purely defensive, renewed all former en- 1756.] MUTUAL DISSATISFACTIONS. 365 gagements since the treaty of Westphalia. The empress- queen promised to defend the French dominions in Europe, if attacked, except during the present war with England ; while the king of France was to aid the house of Austria without any exception. The two powers also stipulated to assist each other with a mutual succour of 24,000 men in case of invasion, the present war excepted. The origin and progress of this negotiation have been thus traced from authentic documents with considerable minuteness ; because it is an event which effectually changed the system of Europe, and materially affected the interests of the house of Austria. These documents also prove, that the treaty of Versailles was not the necessary consequence of the alliance between Great Britain and Prussia, signed January 16. 1756, and that the plan of an union witli France had been gradually and circumspectly matured during a long course of intrigue and negotiation. The courts of Vienna and London accused each other of haughtiness, obstinacy, ingratitude, a renunciation of the ancient system, and a desertion of that alliance which had subsisted for more than a hundred years ; yet each demanded from the other what perhaps was equally impracticable and impolitic. The court of Vienna, if sincere, expected England to co-operate in dismembering the Prussian dominions, and required the Maritime Powers to charge themselves with almost the whole defence of the Netherlands. On the other hand, the court of London expected the empress to protect the electorate of Hanover, and to detach a considerable force for the defence of the Netherlands, which England was most interested to preserve. With such discordant expec- tations, and the jealousies which had so long subsisted, it was no wonder that a separation ensued. The British ministry did not consider, that the relative situation of the house of Austria had been totally changed by the treaties of Dresden and Aix-la-Chapelle ; that the empress would, during the first campaign, be compelled to concentrate her forces for the defence of her hereditary countries ; and that till the Russian troops had actually taken the field, she must become totally useless to her allies. On her part, Maria Theresa saw France preparing to invade the Netherlands ; Frederic capable of penetrating into 366 MATH A THERESA. [CH. CX. Bohemia at the head of 100,000 men, the German empire divided into parties, and principally governed by the Protes- tants, excited and supported by the court of Berlin ; the Pro- testant states powerfully armed, and the Catholics without troops or money. She saw Spain disposed to neutrality ; the king of Sardinia jealous and disgusted ; Sweden and Denmark devoted to France ; the Turks at variance with Russia, and secretly excited by French and Prussian emis- saries ; Holland irritated and desponding ; England incapable of protecting the Netherlands, ami alarmed for the electorate of Hanover. In these circumstances many evident ad- vantages concurred to recommend the alliance with the court of Versailles. By this new connection the house of Austria would be delivered from the distant wars in Italy, Flanders, and on the Rhine, which had always been carried on at an enormous waste of blood and treasure. The in- fluence of France in the Divan removed all apprehensions of an attack on the side of Turkey ; the Catholic princes and states of the empire, no longer excited by the intrigues and money of France, would join the standard of their liege lord the emperor ; Sweden and Denmark would be swayed by the influence of the court of Versailles. The empress-queen hoped also to detach Russia from England, and to obtain the concurrence of Spain. Thus secure on the side of France, Flanders, Italy, and Hungary, she would be enabled to employ her whole force against her most formidable enemy the king of Prussia, the great and primary object of all her apprehensions. But notwithstanding all these advantages, the breach with the Maritime Powers made a deep impression on the court and capital. She was accused of ingratitude to England, without whose assistance she must have been overwhelmed ; some of her ministers displayed their discontent in a sullen acquiescence ; prince Colloredo, and even the confessor of the emperor, openly disapproved an union with the inveterate enemy of the Austrian name. She had not without extreme difficulty extorted the reluctant consent of her husband ; but her favourite daughter, the eldest archduchess, assailed her with repeated remonstrances. The archduke Joseph also, encouraged by his governor Bathiani, asked her, if she deemed herself safe in trusting to France, who had so often 1756.] STATE OF ENGLAND. 367 deceived her? Though frequently repulsed, he returned with spirit to the charge ; and importunately urged her not to separate from England, from whom she and her family had derived such effectual assistance.* Chap. CXI. — 1756. Maria Theresa, proud of her new connection, looked forward with confidence to the speedy accomplishment of her views against the king of Prussia ; and the favourable state of the French affairs gave foundation to her hopes. In America the expeditions of the English, undertaken the preceding year against the French settlements, had been attended with an unfortunate issue. The flames of war had spread into Europe, and vast preparations were made on the coasts of Normandy and Brittany for the invasion of England. The British ministry applied to the States-general for the contingent of 6000 men, according to treaty ; but the Dutch, overawed by France, refused to comply with this demand, and acceded to a neutrality. At the same time an expedition sailed from Toulon against Minorca, and the duke of Richelieu, with a considerable force, laid siege to Fort St. Philip ; admiral Byng, who was despatched with a squadron to the Mediterranean, failed in relieving the fortress, and the garrison capitulated on the 29th of July. At this period England was in a state of unusual weakness and alarm. Since the death of Mr. Pelham the cabinet had been agitated by cabals, embarrassed by continual changes, and was without a single minister capable of directing a con- tinental war with Vigour and effect. The publie mind was depressed by the inefficiency of the administration, and the failure of the military enterprises in America. The con- tinuance of Hanoverian and Hessian troops, wfio had been called into the country on the appearance of an invasion, excited great discontents ; the nation groaned under the pressure of an alarming scarcity ; and, in the midst of these calamities, the loss of Minorca roused the people almost to frenzy. * Keith to Holdernesse, May 15. and Sept. 20. 1756. 368 MARIA THERESA. [cn. CXI. Buoyed up with hopes from the depressed situation of England, and the successes of her new ally, Maria Theresa exerted all her efforts to consolidate a general combination against the king of Prussia, equal to that which had threat- ened the existence of the house of Austria on the death of the late emperor. She secured the co-operation of Augustus, king of Poland, and elector of Saxony, as well by the inter- vention of his consort Maria Josepha, whom the ties of blood and religion attached to the house of Austria, as by the agency of his prime minister count Bruhl, who was offended by the sarcasms of Frederic. But she turned her principal attention to gain the assistance of the empress of Russia, and fully succeeded in this important object, although she had to combat the long-established influence of England. On the first prospect of a continental war, George, alarmed for the safety of his electorate, had formed the plan of a triple alliance between England, Austria, and Russia. With this view he despatched sir Charles Hanbury Williams to Peters- burgh, with the proposal of a subsidiary treaty with Elizabeth for an auxiliary force of 55,000 men, should his German dominions be invaded. To this overture the empress readily acceded, in consequence of her inveterate aversion to the king of Prussia, against whom the Russian troops were specifically destined to act, and the convention was signed on the 30th of September. But even before the signature, the politics of England had changed ; the empress-queen having entered into negotiations with France, George made over- tures to the king of Prussia, and concluded the treaty of London. He once again endeavoured to prevail on Elizabeth to unite with his new ally, in defence of Hanover ; but Maria Theresa, conscious that without the assistance of Russia she could not fulfil her views against Prussia, used her utmost endeavours to thwart his plans. She fomented the antipathy of Elizabeth against Frederic ; contrary to her usual parsi- mony, she bribed the venal ministers, and induced Elizabeth to break the subsidiary treaty which she had recently signed with England, and to promise a succour of 60,000 troops. Having succeeded in forming this alliance, the empress- queen made vast preparations, and formed two considerable armies in the neighbourhood of Konigsgratz and Prague, 1756.] DEFEAT OF THE AUSTRIANS. 369 while the Russians began to assemble on the frontiers of Li- vonia. The king of Prussia, alarmed at these hostile ap- pearances, and suspecting the secret combination between the courts of Vienna, Petersburgh, and Dresden, demanded from the empress-queen an explicit declaration of her sentiments. In answer to this demand, she briefly replied, " In the present crisis I deem it necessary to take measures for the security of myself and my allies, which tend to the prejudice of no one." The king, not satisfied with so vague an answer, reiterated his demand, declaring his knowledge of the offensive projects formed by the courts of Petersburgh and Dresden, and requiring an immediate and categorical answer, " not delivered in an oracular style, ambiguous and inconclusive," concerning the armaments in Bohemia, and a positive assu- rance that she would not attack him either during that or the following year. Maria Theresa no less haughtily replied, " The arrange- ment with Russia was purely defensive ; she had concluded no offensive alliance; and although the critical situation of Europe compelled her to arm, she had no intention to violate the treaty of Dresden, but would not bind herself by any promise from acting as circumstances required." This reply was scarcely delivered before she was roused with the intelligence that the king of Prussia had penetrated with a formidable force into Saxony, taken possession of Dresden, and blockaded the Saxon troops, who had occupied the impregnable post of Pirna. On the first intelligence of the Prussian irruption, marshal Brown, with the army at Prague, hastened to the relief of the Saxons ; but his views were anticipated by Frederic, who, leaving 40,000 to continue the blockade of Pirna, penetrated into Bohemia with 24,000 nu n. On the first of October, the two armies met at Lowositz, near the banks of the Elbe, not far from the frontiers of Saxony, and a battle ensued, in which the Austrian s, though superior in number, were compelled to retire behind the Eger, leaving the Prussians masters of the field. The loss amounted to only 3000 on each side, and four pieces of artillery wen taken from the Austrians ; but marshal Brown was disap- pointed in the object of his march, the relief of the Saxons. During these transactions the Saxon troops supported the VOL. III. B B 370 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXI. severities of the season, and the extremes of famine and wretchedness, with exemplary courage ; but were foiled in all their endeavours to extricate themselves by the superior vigilance and skill of the enemy. A final attempt made by marshal Brown at the head of 8000 men, to force the Prussian posts, was equally ineffectual ; and Augustus had the mortification to witness the surrender, and ratify the capitulation, of his troops : 17,000 men were made prisoners of war, and eighty pieces of cannon delivered to the king of Prussia. The officers were liberated on their parole, and the standards restored ; but Frederic compelled the troops to enter into his service, appropriated the revenues of Saxony, and treated it as a conquered province. Augustus retired witli his family to Warsaw ; and thus this unfortunate ally of Maria Theresa a second time experienced the fatal effects of his devotion to the house of Austria. On the other side of Bohemia, the army of Piccolomini was kept in check by marshal Schwerin, who advancing by Glatz into Bohemia, destroyed all the subsistence, and foraged under the very cannon of the Austrian camp. After the surrender of the Saxons, the Prussian army took up winter quarters on the frontiers of Saxony and Bohemia ; and marshal Schwerin retired into Silesia. During the winter the king of Prussia published a justi- fication of his conduct; in which he introduced, as proofs of the combination forming against him, the copy of a treaty of partition signed the 18th of May, 1745, between the courts of Vienna and Dresden ; the secret articles of the treaty of Petersburgh, 22nd May, 1746, and various des- patches written by count Bruhl and the Saxon envoys. These papers* were said to have been found in the archives of Dresden, which he had forcibly seized, but doubts were entertained of their authenticity, and the court of Vienna published a refutation of the charge. Deeply affected by the humiliation of her ally, and irritated by the conduct of Frederic, the empress-queen passed the winter in making the most vigorous preparations for the ensuing campaign, in consolidating a grand combination against Prussia, and in separating England, his only ally, * These papers are given by Hertzbcrg in his curious Receuil de Deductions Manifestes, &c. 1756.] HER SUCCESSFUL DIPLOMACY. 371 from the other European powers. In all the catholic courts she artfully represented the alliance of Great Britain and Prussia as the league of heretics against the true faith, and held up the cause of the house of Austria as the cause of religion and justice. At the court of Versailles, supported by the marchioness of Pompadour, and assisted by the tears of the dauphiness, daughter of Augustus, she gained a complete ascendency in the cabinet, and converted France from a mere auxiliary into a principal in the war. Her views were greatly pro- moted by the attempt of Damiens to assassinate the king of France on the 5th of January, 1757. This atrocious act, though only the deed of a bigoted fanatic, was attributed to the machinations of the king of Prussia and the intrigues of the Jesuits ; and even the partisans of the dauphin, who were anti- Austrian in principle, were implicated in the accusation. The mistress, by her intrigues and influence, overbore all opposition ; and France entered into new engagements to support all the views of the empress-queen. By a secret agreement, concluded towards the commence- ment of 1757, the king engaged to pay an annual subsidy of 12,000,000 imperial florins to the empress-queen, to maintain at her disposal 10,000 troops of Bavaria and Wirtemberg, and to send into the field an army of 105,000 men ; he likewise promised never to desist from hostilities until the empress should be put in possession of Silesia, Glatz, and Crossen.* Maria Theresa was no less successful among the principal states of the empire ; the invasion of Saxony and Bohemia was represented as a breach of the public peace, and the aggressor as punishable with the forfeiture of all fiefs, dignities, and titles. Soon after the invasion, the emperor issued a decree, demanding the aid of an army of execution ; the proposal of several states, and particularly of the elec- toral house of Brunswick, to proffer the mediation of the * This convention was never acknowledged by the two courts, nor referred to in the new treaty of Versailles, signed Dec. 30. 1758. The terms are mentioned in Koch, torn. ii. p. 90. ; and the conduct of France sufficiently proves the existence of such an engagement It is also con- firmed in a despatch from lord Bristol, ambassador at Madrid, to Mr. Pitt, dated July 27. 1758. 372 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXI. empire, was rejected by a large majority, and an army voted with the accustomed formalities. The zeal of the Austrian party was still further excited by the declarations of France and Sweden, who announced to the diet, that in consequence of an application from several distinguished states of the empire, they had resolved to exercise their right, as guaran- tees of the treaty of Westphalia, to resist infractions of the public peace. Russia had now heartily acceded to the treaty of Versailles ; and Sweden entered warmly into the views of the house of Austria. Maria Theresa was also successful in neutralising those powers which she could not win over to espouse her cause. Though she failed in obtaining the co-operation of the king of Spain, she counteracted the efforts of England, and induced him to persevere in maintaining a neutrality ; by threatening instant invasion, she deterred the States from joining with their ancient ally. Of all the northern powers. Frederic V., king of Denmark, was alone inclined to co-operate with England. He had espoused Louisa, daughter of George II., and the ties of blood had been strengthened by a similarity of commercial interests. But Frederic, like his father, had embarrassed his finances by the splendour of his establishment and his devotion to the fine arts ; he had therefore accepted a subsidy from France, and his connection with England was still further weakened by the death of his first wife and his marriage with Julia Maria, princess of Brunswick, a relation of the empress-queen. George embarrassed with the feuds in the cabinet and the discontents of the people, trembled for the safety of England, and was incapable of forming any plan of active operations to counteract the attempts of the French in Germany. The king of Prussia proposed to establish Wesel, the strongest fortress in the duchy of Cleves, as a place of arms, to concentrate the forces behind the Lippe, in the vicinity of that town, in order to cover Westphalia, and protect the electorate of Hanover. But the king, unable to induce the administration to take a principal share in a continental war, rejected this plan as too extensive, adopted a defensive system on the Weser, and formed an army of observation, consisting only of the Hanoverian and auxiliary troops, under the command of the duke of Cumberland. In 1757.] ADVANCE OF THE PRUSSIANS. 373 consequence of this refusal the king of Prussia razed the fortifications of Wesel, despatched only 6000 men to join the duke of Cumberland, and abandoned the defence of his Westphalian territories. Chap. CXII. — 1757. At the commencement of 1757, the grand confederacy against the king of Prussia was consolidated by the efforts and intrigues of the court of Vienna. The French had drawn together 80,000 men on the Rhine, under the command of marshal d'Etrees ; the army of execution was assembling in the empire ; the Swedes were preparing to penetrate into Pomerania, and 60,000 Russians were stationed on the frontiers of Livonia, waiting the season of action to burst into the kingdom of Prussia. With this favourable aspect of affairs, the empress prepared for the campaign by augment- ing her forces in Hungary and Bohemia to 150,000 men ; the main army, stationed in the vicinity of Prague, was commanded by prince Charles, who was agisted by the skill of marshal Brown, and the other corps Intrusted to count Daun. Frederic possessed too much foresight and vigilance to remain inactive while his enemies were collecting their forces ; he therefore resolved to carry the war into the heart of the Austrian territories, and by a decisive stroke to shake the basis of the confederacy. He covered this plan with consummate address ; lie affected groat trepidation and uncertainty, and to deceive the Austrians into a belief that he only intended to maintain himself in Saxony, put Dresden in a state of defence, broke down the bridges, and marked out various camps in the vicinity. In the midst of this apparent alarm three Prussian columns burst into Bohemia, in April, and rapidly advanced towards Prague. The prince of Bevern from Lusatia, at the head of the first, drove Konigsegix with 20,000 men from a strong post at Reichen- berg, while marshal Schwerin, leading the second from Silesia, on the side of Landshut, harassed his retreat, and cut off his rear guard of loOO men. The king himself, joined E B 3 374 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXII. by prince Maurice of Anlialt Dessau, from Brix, advanced with the third by Aussig, compelled marshal Brown to retreat from Budin, and seized considerable magazines, which facilitated the subsistence of his troops. The Austrians, pressed on all sides, retreated with precipitation under the walls of Prague, on the southern side of the Moldau, while the Prussians advancing towards the capital formed two bodies ; one under Schwerin remaining at Jung Bunzlau, and the other, headed by the king, occupying the heights between the Moldau and the Weisseberg. Expecting to be joined by marshal Daun, who w r as hasten- ing from Moravia, the Austrians remained on the defensive ; but prince Charles took so strong a position as seemed to defy all apprehensions of an attack. His left was covered by the Ziskaberg, a steep hill overhanging the Moldau, a deep and craggy ravine ran along his front, and the ground on his left was a morass intersected with hedges, drains, and dikes ; his force exceeded 70,000 men, and his position was strengthened by works which ran along the brow of the precipice, defended by a powerful train of artillery. These obstacles, however, were insufficient to arrest the daring spirit of Frederic, who resolved to attack the Austrians before the arrival of Daun. Leaving a corps under prince Maurice above Prague, he crossed the Moldau near Rostock and Podabe on the 5th of May, with 16,000 men, and on the following morning at break of day was joined by the corps under marshal Schwerin. The troops had no sooner formed than they moved in silence and order along the ravine towards the right of the Austrians, while prince Charles, drawing the cavalry from his left and part of the second line, prepared to charge the enemy as they emerged from the marshes and defiles. The king, however, continued to advance his cavalry, notwithstanding the embarrassments of the ground, pushed through the village of Bichowitz, and forming on a plain beyond, repulsed that of the Austrians after several successive charges ; and the infantry, emulous of this example, hastened to join the enemy, but were broken and mowed down by the continual fire of the Austrian artillery. At this moment the king, almost frantic with the prospect of a defeat, rode up to Sclnverin, whose regiment had given way, and upbraided him for the dastardly behaviour of his soldiers. Stung with these reproaches, the veteran seized 1757.] Frederic's successes. 375 the standard, and wrapping the colours round his body, exclaimed, "Let the brave follow me!" He led his troops to the charge under a tremendous fire of grape shot, and in- stantly fell pierced with several balls.* But his death opened the way to victory ; the Austrian line disordered by these repeated charges, penetrated in different points, and taken in flank by the victorious cavalry, was broken and compelled to give way. In the heat of the action marshal Brown, having received a severe wound, was conveyed to Prague, and his absence increased the confusion of the troops. Meanwhile a part of the Prussian right wing, impelled by their ardour, passed the ravine, climbed up the precipices, and piercing the Austrian centre, joined their victorious companions on the left. Prince Charles, with those who had not engaged, thus attacked on all sides, retreated with equal skill and bravery, and disputed every height ; but at length took refuge within the walls of Prague. Thus victory declared on the side of the Prussians, but was purchased by the loss of their best troops, not less than 18,000, even by the avowal of the king, being killed, with many of his bravest officers, and Schwerin, the father of the Prussian discipline, and the guide of Frederic in the career of victory. Of the Austrians 8000 were killed and wounded, 9000 made prisoners, and 28,000 shut up within the walls of Prague. The defeat would have been still more complete had prince Maurice been able to pass the Moldau, and intercept the fugitives ; but the river having risen, he had not a sufficient number of pontoons to form a bridge, and a column of 16,000 Austrians made good their retreat along the Moldau to join the army of marshal Daun. Prague was instantly blockaded by the victorious army, and not less than 100,000 souls were confined within the walls, almost without the means of subsistence. They were soon reduced to the greatest extremities ; but the spirit of the troops and of the inhabitants was animated by an address * " Schwerin was deeply lamented by his master, and Frederic has immortalised the circumstances of his death, by erecting a statue to his memory in one of the principal squares of Berlin. Schwerin is there re- presented as he fell, the colours clasped in his hand, and in the act of expiring. The monument commemorates at once the frailty of the sove- reign and the merits of the general." — WraxalCs Memoirs, vol. i. p. 162. 376 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CX1I. from Maria Theresa, brought by a captain of grenadiers, who escaped the vigilance of the besieging army. " I am concerned," said the empress, " that so many generals, with so considerable a force, must remain be- sieged in Prague ; but I augur favourably for the event. I cannot too strongly impress on your minds, that the troops will incur everlasting disgrace should they not effect what the French, in the last war, performed with far inferior numbers. The honour of the whole nation, as well as of the imperial arms, is interested in their present behaviour ; the security of Bohemia, of my other hereditary dominions, and of the German empire itself, depends on a gallant defence, and the preservation of Prague. The army under the command of marshal Daun is daily strengthening, and will soon be in a condition to raise the siege; the French are approaching with all diligence; the Swedes are marching to my assistance; and in a short space of time, affairs will, under the divine Providence, wear a better aspect.'' This address, from a sovereign whom they adored, excited general ardour ; the garrison, though reduced to feed on horse- flesh, held out with uncommon perseverance ; and the inha- bitants supported without a murmur all the horrors of a bombardment, which destroyed one quarter of the town. Several desperate sallies were made ; but the garrison was threatened with famine ; and the loss of Prague would have been followed by the most fatal consequences. The recent defeat had spread consternation throughout Germany ; the elector of Bavaria and the other Catholic princes had already sent agents to treat with the king of Prussia; and almost every member of the empire was preparing to desert the cause of Maria Theresa. The flower of her armies were shut up in Prague ; the remainder defeated, dispirited, and dispersed ; the capital of Bohemia reduced to the last extremity ; the whole kingdom ready to submit to the law of the conqueror ; her hereditary dominions exposed ; Vienna itself threatened with a siege, and the imperial family about to take refuge in Hungary. In this disastrous moment the house of Austria was pre- served from impending destruction by the skill and caution of a general, who now, for the first time, appeared at the head of an army. This general was Leopold count Daun, a native 1757.] RISING MERITS OF COUNT DAUN. 377 of Bohemia, son of Wyrich Fhilip Lorenzo count Daun, and prince of Tiano, who had distinguished himself in the campaigns of Italy during the reigns of Joseph and Charles, and had held the high offices of viceroy of Naples, governor of Milan, and stadtholder ad interim of the Netherlands. Leopold was born in 1705, embraced the military profession at an early period, and learned the art of war under Secken- dorf and Kevenhuller. He distinguished himself at th * battles of Crotzka, Dettingen, and Hohenfriedberg ; and from his knowledge of tactics, was chosen to introduce the new system of discipline into the army. Although favoured by Eugene and Kevenhuller, he had risen slowly and silently by merit, and without intrigue, from a subaltern rank to that of field marshal ; and after the death of prince Piccolomini, WIS intrusted with the army, which, under his auspices, was to restore the honour and credit of the Austrian arms. Sagacity and penetration, personal bravery tempered with phlegm, • animation in the hour of battle, with extreme caution both before and after the engagement, recommended him at this critical juncture, like another Fabius, to check the fire and enterprise of the modern Hannibal. On the first intelligence of the entrance of the Prussians into Bohemia, Daun had marched through Moravia towards Prague, to effect a junction with prince Charles. On arriving at Bochmischgrod, w T ithin a few miles of Prague, he was apprised of the recent defeat, and halted a few days to collect the fugitives, till his corps swelled so considerably, that Frederic detached against him the prince of Bevern witli 20,000 men. Daun, though superior to the enemy, was too prudent to hazard the fate of the house of Austria on the issue of a single battle, with dispirited and almost desponding troops, against an army flushed with recent victory. On the ap- proach of the prince of Bevern, he therefore retreated to Kolin, Kuttemberg, and llaber, in order to afford a refuge to the shattered remains of the defeated army, and to receive the recruits which were pouring in from Moravia and Aus- tria. While he was thus baffling the enemy, he, like the great general who saved Rome by delay, had to support the mur- murs of his officers, and the reproaches of those impatient spirits who are always eager to engage, and cannot dis- 378 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXII. tinguish prudence from pusillanimity. Among others the duke of Wirtemberg exclaimed, "If you continue this conduct, I would advise you to march to Vienna ; but I will retire to my own dominions, and countermand the troops I have ordered to join you." Yet neither invectives nor murmurs could induce Daun to change his wise measures, until his army was increased, and the soldiers began to recover from their despondency. Finding himself at length at the head of 60,000 men, he made a rapid movement in front, forced the prince of Bevern to retire, and was advancing to attack the king in his posts before Prague, while prince Charles was to make a sortie with his whole force. Frederic, conscious of his danger, had already anticipated the design of Daun ; leaving the greater part of his army to continue the blockade, he marched with 12,000 men on the 13th of June in the morning, and joined the prince of Bevern on the 14th, at the moment of his retreat before the Austrians. On the approach of the Prussians, Daun oc- * cupied the heights stretching from the village of Chotzemitz towards Kolin ; he placed his infantry on the flanks, which were supported by steep eminences, filled the villages in his front with detachments of infantry and irregulars, stationed the cavalry in the centre w r here they could act with effect, and made a skilful disposition of his formidable train of ar- tillery. In this situation Daun was attacked by the king of Prussia, who, directing all his efforts against the Austrian right, had almost succeeded in turning their flank, notwithstanding their superiority of number, the tremendous fire of the artillery, the skill of the general, and the bravery of the troops. Victory seemed to incline to the enemy, and Daun had even ordered a retreat ; but the fortune of the day was changed by the impatience of two Prussian generals, who, disobeying positive orders, broke their line on the right to dislodge a party of Croats, and were repulsed with considerable loss. The Saxon cavalry instantly rushed into the interval, crying out at every stroke, " Remember Strigau !" and cut to pieces or dispersed all whom they encountered. Daun availed him- self of this fortunate manoeuvre with equal skill and promp- titude ; he was seen flying from rank to rank, animating the soldiers by his voice and gestures ; he had two horses killed 1757.] COUNT DAUN DEFEATS FREDERIC. 379 under him, was twice slightly wounded, and showed himself the worthy antagonist of the great Frederic. In vain the king of Prussia exerted all his skill and courage in this des- perate conflict ; his cavalry charged six times, and were six times repulsed ; Frederic again rallied them, and finding them dispirited, exclaimed, u Would you live for ever ! " They were a seventh time led to the charge, and were again driven back. Perceiving the battle lost, the king ordered two regiments of cuirassiers to disengage the infantry ; but dis- couraged by the dreadful carnage of their companions, they refused to advance. He then sullenly withdrew from the field with a squadron of gardes du corps, and thirty hussars ; and was repeatedly heard to cry out, "My hussars, my brave hussars, will all be lost !" The troops also, for the first time defeated, gave way to despondency, and in their retreat ex- claimed, " This is our Pultawa !" Daun purchased the victory with the loss of 9000 men ; but on the side of the Prussians not less than 14,000 were killed, wounded, and taken pri- soners ; and 43 pieces of artillery, with 22 standards, fell into the hands of the Austrians. Maria Theresa, who was anxiously waiting the event of an engagement, which, if unfortunate, would have rendered her situation more deplorable than that to which she had been re- duced at the commencement of the former war, received the account with a joy proportionate to her apprehensions. vSumptuous feasts were given, medals struck, and presents distributed ; the officers were rewarded a month's pay, and the subalterns and common soldiers were gratified witli dona- tions. Anxious to display her gratitude to the general who had first defeated her formidable antagonist, she conveyed, in person, the news of this important victory to the countess Daun, and instituted the military order of merit, or the order of Maria Theresa, with which she decorated the com- mander and officers who had most signalised themselves, and dated its commencement from the aera of that glorious victory. To give repose to the troops, and to replace the magazines which had been destroyed by the Prussians, Daun remained several days on the field of battle; and as he advanced to Prague, found that the Prussians had raised the siege on the 20th of June, and were retreating with precipitation 380 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXII. towards Saxony and Lusatia* lie joined prince Charles, who assumed the sole command, but continued to direct the operations, in consequence of the death of marshal Brown. Leaving a corps under Nadasti to watch the king, who had fallen back on Leutmeritz, the Austrian commanders directed their whole force against the body retreating into Lusatia, under prince Augustus William, brother of the king of Prussia. They turned his left flank, seized, after a desperate conflict, the post of Gabel, cut him off from his magazines at Zittau, and compelled him to take a circuitous route over the mountains to Bautzen, with the loss of his provisions and baggage. At this juncture the king himself hastened from Leutmeritz, and pushed forward to Zittau to give battle to pripce Charles ; but finding him too strongly posted, and being alarmed by his numerous enemies, who were preparing to attack him on all sides, he left the command of the army to the prince of Bevern, for the protection of Silesia, and marched with a body of troops against the French and impe- rial army in Saxony. The total defeat of the Prussians at the battle of Kolin, and the retreat of Frederic from Bohemia, inspired the empress-queen with presumptuous hopes equal to her former apprehensions. The language of the court of Vienna was, to crush the king of Prussia and divide his territories ; the house of Austria was to recover Silesia and Glatz ; Magde- burgh and Halberstadt were to be assigned to the king of Poland ; Cleves, la Marc, and Eavensberg to the elector Palatine, and Prussian Pomerania to the Swedes. Nor did these seem empty vaunts, as the arms of the confederates were equally successful on all sides. Early in the spring the French had assembled two armies on the Rhine ; one under Marshal d'Etrees, destined to act against the duke of Cumberland, and the other under the prince de Soubise to join the army of execution, and penetrate into Saxony. They rapidly overran the Prussian territories on the left bank of the Rhine; d'Etrees then crossed the Weser, spread his detachments over the southern part of the electorate of Hanover and the whole land- graviate of Hesse Cassel, defeated the duke of Cumberland at Hastenbech, and drove him to Stade in the vicinity of the Elbe. In this situation the English commander signed the 1757.] FREDERIC ENCOMPASSED BY FOES. 381 humiliating convention of Closter- Severn, under the media- tion of the king of Denmark, on the 26th of July. The auxiliary troops were to retire to their respective countries, while a part of the Hanoverian force was to be quartered in Stade and the neighbourhood, and the remainder to cross the Elbe. In consequence of this reverse of circumstances, the princes of the empire, who had joined with England and Prussia, began to waver. The duke of Brunswick seceded from the alliance, and concluded a convention with France, by which he yielded the possession of Brunswick and Wol- fenbuttel during the war ; he also recalled his troops, and ordered his son the hereditary prince to quit the army of the duke of Cumberland. The landgrave of Hesse Cassel was preparing to follow his example, and even made pro- posals to join the confederacy with his whole force. The French were thus enabled to direct their principal force against the king of Prussia, and marshal Richelieu turned towards Magdeburgh, and threatened that capital witli a siege, while his troops plundered the adjacent country. Meanwhile the prince of Soubise penetrated to Erfurt h, and receiving considerable reinforcements from Richelieu, had, on the 20th of September, joined the army of the empire under the prince of Saxe Hilburghausen at Eisenach, and was at the head of 80,000 men. During these transactions in Germany the Swedes burst into Prussian Pomerania ; the Russians, under marshal Apraxin, amounting to 100,000 men, in July commenced offensive operations, and a corps of 30,000 men under general Fermor, having bombarded and taken Memel, rejoined tlie grand army, which spread into Prussia, and committed the most dreadful devastations. To this force marshal Lehwald opposed only 22,000 men. In obedience to the orders of the king he risked a battle at Jagersdorf on the 30th of August ; but after a conflict, in which he obtained some advantage, retired to Vehlau. While the French, Russians, and Swedes, with the army of the empire, were thus threatening the Prussian dominions, prince Charles was equally successful. The prince of Bevern had occupied Gorlitz, in order to cover Silesia, and the Austrians encamped at Aussig. In this situation a Prussian post on the Holtzberg was carried by Nadasti, on 382 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CX1I. the 7th of September, and Winterfield fell in the conflict. His loss was severely felt by the Prussians : Frederic had relied on his activity and skill for the defence of Silesia ; and from the moment of his death the prince of Bevern was unable to make any effectual opposition to the superior forces of prince Charles. To complete this series of suc- cesses, general Haddick burst from Silesia, with 6000 horse, penetrated through the Marc of Brandenburgh, and laid Berlin itself under contribution ; and while the king has- tened to the defence of his capital, the allied army burst into Saxony, and the prince of Saxe Hilburghausen, at the head of a considerable force, passing the Saale at Weissen- fels, drove marshal Keith, who had been left to cover Saxony, into Leipsig. But in this momentous crisis the extraordinary talents of Frederic unfolded themselves with peculiar energy ; and he discovered resources which surprised his enemies. On the retreat of Haddick from Berlin, he rapidly returned into Saxony, delivered marshal Keith, drove the enemy across the Saale, and hastened to meet the army of Soubise, which, besides the troops under the Prince of Saxe Hilburghausen, had been strengthened with considerable reinforcements from Richelieu. The confederates having advanced to Micheln, the king occupied Schortau with the resolution of bringing on a battle, as the enemy had taken a defective position ; but Soubise moving in the night to more advanta- geous ground, Frederic relinquished his intended attack, and retired to the height above Ilosbach, where his front stretched along a declivity overhanging the Schortau, and his flanks were covered by the villages of Bedra and Rosbach. Despising the diminutive force of the Prussians, which scarcely exceeded a third of their numbers, the confederates deemed themselves secure of victory, gave signs of the most extravagant exultation, and were only anxious to prevent the escape of so easy a prey. They quitted their camp on the 5th of November, and at eleven in the morning moved in battle array, against the left flank of the Prussians. Frederic availed himself of the nature of the ground to effect one of the most singular manoeuvres which occurs in military history. The height on which he encamped was 1757.] FREDERIC DEFEATS TUE CONFEDERATES. 383 narrow, steep, and long ; it terminated abruptly above the castle of Rosbach, and on that side rose in a ridge more elevated than the other ; the infantry formed two lines at the extremity of this height, and the cavalry a single line in the rear. The king had taken up his quarters in the castle of Rosbach, and at ten in the morning ascended through an aperture made in the roof to examine the motions of the enemy. After an hour's observation, he ordered his repast, and dined quietly, and with a good appetite ; at one he again ascended, and in half an hour perceived the heads of the enemy's columns opposite to his left flank, and directing their march slowly towards his rear. He descended, ordered the tents to be struck, commanded Seidlitz to advance with the cavalry under cover of the ridge towards Reichenswerben, and the infantry to follow in divisions. The generals of the combined army mistook the tranquillity of the Prussians for the effect of despair ; seeing the tents struck with an appearance of precipitation, they concluded that they were retiring, and hastened forward with the cavalry to intercept the retreat. On approaching Reichen- swerben a tremendous cannonade was opened, and Seidlitz, descending from the heights with the cavalry, burst with irresistible fury upon the heads of their columns. The heavy cavalry and the celebrated gens d'armes were totally dispersed by rapid and successive charges, and driven in disorder on their infantry. At this moment the PrusflSan infantry advanced in order of battle and completed the overthrow by a tremendous fire of cannon and musketry. The discomfiture of the combined army was the consequence of these manoeuvres, and in less than half an hour, the confederates were driven from the held. The loss on the side of the king, who had scarcely brought half his troops into action, was not more than 300 men ; while on the side of the allies, 4000 were killed and wounded, 7000, with eleven generals, taken prisoners, and 63 cannons, and 22 standards, fell into the hands of the conquerors. The ap- proach of night prevented the king from pursuing his advantage, and the allied troops fled rather than retreated towards Erfurth, harassed by the Prussian detachments, who made numerous prisoners. The king was prevented from pursuing his success by the rapid progress of the Austrians in Silesia, where the 384 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXII. prince of Bevern, with only 25,000 men was opposed to a force of 90,000. He had been compelled by want of provisions to draw towards the centre of Silesia, and being followed by prince Charles, took shelter under the walls of Breslau on the south side of the Oder. The Austrian commander encamped behind the Lohe, opposite to the Prussians, and detached Nadasti to besiege Schweidnitz ; that fortress was invested on the 27th of October ; on the 10th of November the third parallel was completed ; and two of the redoubts being carried by assault, the governor, with the garrison of 6000 men, surrendered prisoners of war on the following day. Nadasti having rejoined the army, prince Charles, who was aware of the advance of the king, hastened to attack the prince of Bevern ; and, after a desperate engagement, in which the loss was equally severe to both parties, the Prussians retreated through Breslau during the night, leaving 6000 men in the town. On the ensuing evening the prince of Bevern was taken prisoner, while reconnoi- tring*, and general Kyauo, to whom the command devolved, led the remains of this gallant, but discomfited army, towards Glogau. This conflict cost the Austrians not less than 8000 men, and the Prussians lost 5000 killed and wounded, and 3600 prisoners, with 80 cannon and five standards. Two days after Breslau surrendered without resistance, and the Austrians thus recovered the greater part of Silesia. New regulations were issued for the government of the province ; many of the principal inhabitants took the oath of allegiance, and preparations were made to distribute the troops into winter quarters. During these events the king of Prussia made a rapid progress through Lusatia, collected the remains of the prince of Bevern's army, and advanced towards Breslau, with * To the prince of Bevern Maria Theresa displayed great humanity, which was the more commendable, as Frederic sullied his great qualities by a disdainful and rigid behaviour to those officers, who, by the fortune of war, were thrown into his power. The prince of Bevern was gratified with permission to write to the king of Prussia ; but as he received no answer, he required leave to pay his own ransom, that he might wait on his sovereign in person. Maria Theresa, with a magnanimity peculiar to herself, declined accepting a ransom, and restored him to his liberty with- out exacting any condition." 1757.] PROGRESS OF HOSTILITIES. 385 a resolution to try the fortune of another battle, notwith- standing the diminution of his force, and the severity of the weather. In this situation Daun urged prince Charles to remain on the defensive, till the king was obliged to quit Silesia by the want of provisions, and the lateness of the season. But as the Prussian army did not now exceed 30,000 men, so inconsiderable a force was despised by the Austrians, who tauntingly called them the grand guard of Potsdam. The advice of Daun was therefore rejecti *«L aa timid and disgraceful ; and prince Charles, confident of his superiority, wantonly exposed himself to an attack. On the approach of the Prussians, he quitted his camp at Breslau, and advancing to meet them, took up a position near Lissa ; his left, stretching behind the villages of Striegwitz and Sagschutz, occupied the space between the rivulet of Schweidnitz, which ran at the rear of his camp, and a commanding height above Leuthen ; while his centre and right extended down a gradual descent to the wood of Nipern. On the 4th of December the king made himself master of Newmarkt, which was occupied by a corps of Austrian irregulars for the guard of their bakery ; and early on the morning of the 5th made arrangements for a battle. The advanced guard having routed a corps of Saxons posted at Borne, Frederic put his troops in motion, and at the head of his hussars rode to a chain of woody heights, running paral- lel to the front of the Austrians, from whence he reconnoitred their position. Being well acquainted with the ground, on which he had frequently manoeuvred his troops, he resolved to direct his principal attack against the left of the Austrians, which commanded the rest of their lines. In an instant the Prussian order w r as reversed, and their columns, which hitherto had seemed to direct their march against the right of the Austrians, suddenly verged towards the, left.* Prince Charles imagining that the attack was directed against his right wing, had reinforced that part with addi- tional troops, and even with the corps de reserve. Daun himself, though more cautious, mistook this evolution for a * The king seems to have derived the idea of this fine manoeuvre from that of Epaminondas, at the hattle of Leuctra, and he had rendered it familiar to his troops by frequent practice. VOL. III. C C 386 MARIA THERESA. [ch; CXII. retreat, and said to prince Charles, " The Prussians are retiring, let them go." But the king occupying with the hussars, the heights stretching before the camp of prince Charles, was enabled to observe the movements of the enemy, while he concealed his own, and his army had already gained the left flank of the Austrians before they were undeceived. Prince Charles now in vain attempted to reinforce his left ; and Nadisti, who commanded that wing, after charging the Prussian cavalry with great spirit, gave way, and left the infantry exposed, and the Prussians carried the villages of Sagschutz and Striegwitz. The Austrian generals endea- voured to form a line parallel to the Prussians, but were prevented by the artillery, which was placed on the heights commanding their position. They repeatedly rallied the troops, and disputed the ground with great obstinacy ; although the new regiments, led up to replace those who were repulsed, were broken by the impetuous and uninter- rupted attack of the Prussians. They then made a desperate stand in the village of Leuthen, where they concentrated their efforts ; and as the place was strengthened with en- trenchments, and the houses occupied by the fugitives, the post was contested with great obstinacy. The Austrians at length gave way, but rallied behind the ditches, with which the ground was intersected, when a part of the Prussian cavalry bursting on their right, threw them into irrecoverable confusion ; whole battalions were killed or made prisoners, and the remainder fled with precipitation over the bridges of the Schweidnitz. Seven thousand were killed and wounded, 20,000, with three generals, made prisoners; 134 pieces of cannon, and 59 colours, with the whole baggage and military chest, fell into the hands of the enemy. On the side of the Prus- sians the whole loss did not exceed 5000 men in killed and wounded. Breslau capitulated on the 10th, and 17.635 soldiers, 686 officers, and 13 generals, surrendered themselves prison- ers of war. Lignitz soon afterwards fell into the hands of the enemy, and Schweidnitz, the only fortress which was held by the Austrians, was blockaded by the victorious troops. Thus by one imprudent action Maria Theresa lost 50.000 men, and what was of still greater consequence, the troops lost their confidence in their own bravery and num- 1757.] Frederic's success. 387 bers, which had been the cause of their late successes, and which it required all the prudence of Daun to restore. The campaign was also finally unsuccessful on the part of the allies. The Russian forces, soon after their victory at Jagersdorf, suddenly quitted all their conquests, except • Memel, and retired beyond the frontiers. The Prussians, delivered from this enemy, directed their efforts against the Swedes, and not only drove them from Prussian Pomerania, but forced them to take refuge under the cannon of Stral- sund. In the north of Germany also, the confederates suffered a sad reverse. On the victory of Rosbach, Richelieu hastily quitted Magdeburgh, and fell back into the electorate of Hanover. Soon after the convention of Closter Severn, the duke of Cumberland having retired to England, the command of the British auxiliaries was consigned to prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, who had been educated in the school of Frederic ; and the troops, animated by the victory of Rosbach, and the spirit and talents of the new general, panted for an opportunity to retrieve the honour which they had lost by the late reverses. The enormous exactions, and cruel devas- tations of Richelieu in the electorate of Hanover, and his attempt to disarm the Hanoverians and Hessians, furnished a pretext to break the convention, which had never been ratified by the kings of England and France. Prince Fer- dinand disregarded the commands of his brother the duke of Brunswick to dismiss his troops, and by an affected com- pulsion afforded his nephew, the hereditary prince, an oppor- tunity of indulging his military ardour, and re-entering the British service. The landgrave of Hesse Cassel also broke off his negotiations with France, and returned to his engage- ments with England and Prussia. The troops were accord- ingly again collected at Stade, and being reinforced by a body of Prussians, took the field with redoubled ardour, and drove the French from the duchy of Lauenburgh and part of the dominions of Brunswick ; but the lateness of the season prevented them from prosecuting their success, and both armies retired into winter quarters, the French into the electorate, and the auxiliaries into the duchy of Lunenburgh. Thus terminated this bloody and singular campaign, memorable perhaps beyond any preceding period in the c c 2 388 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXII. records of time, for the number of great and important actions, the stupendous exertions of military skill, the variety of events, and wonderful revolutions of fortune. The Austrians, at first baffled and overborne by the skill and energy of Frederic, seemed sunk beyond all hopes of re- covery, and at the moment of their lowest depression, rose to a height of success surpassing their most sanguine ex- pectations. Forty thousand Hanoverians and auxiliaries were reduced to a state of inaction, and only not prisoners of war ; the French masters of all the country between the Weser and the Elbe ; the king of Prussia totally defeated, his army hemmed in by a force six times their number; Silesia, the purchase of so much blood and treasure, wrested from him ; his country invaded on every side, and his capital laid under contribution. But at the very moment of his seemingly inevitable downfall, the transcendant genius of Frederic effected a stupendous change in his fortune ; the power of the French was humbled by a single effort ; the Hanoverians, inspired by his success, resumed their arms ; the Russians, though victorious, retreated as if vanquished ; the Swedes were driven from all their conquests, and their country invaded ; the Austrian army almost annihilated, and 17,000 men, the scanty and discomfited remains of 100,000, pursued by the victorious enemy into the heart of the hereditary dominions. The army of Maria Theresa was to be new modelled, disciplined, and exercised, and again supplied with baggage, arms, and military stores. The enormous expense was severely felt by the empress-queen, who had drained her treasures for the preceding campaign, and had recently remitted considerable sums to St. Peter sburgh, to obtain the co-operation of the empress Elizabeth. She was no longer assisted by the zeal and riches of England ; the cause of the king of Prussia was more popular than that of the house of Austria at the commencement of the former war, and the British subsidies had been lavished with still greater profusion on her rival. An offensive and defensive treaty was concluded between the courts of London and Berlin, and to the king of Prussia was assigned an annual subsidy of 650,000/. almost double the sum which Maria Theresa had received at the time of her greatest distress. 389 Chap. CXIIL— 1758. In consequence of the ill success of the French at the commencement of the campaign, Maria Theresa did not derive the expected assistance from her new ally, and turned her views to the Russians, who had opened the year with considerable advantages. In January general Fermor took possession of Konigsberg, and before the end of the month overran all Prussia and was preparing to penetrate through the electorate of Brandenburgh, and join the Austrians in Silesia or Saxony. But although the court of Vienna had made the most vigorous preparations to repair the losses of the preceding campaign, their funds were insufficient to replace the necessary stores and equipments ; their troops were thinned by a dreadful sickness, derived from their fatigues and sufferings ; and an efficient force was not brought into the field before the beginning of April. On the other hand, the king of Prussia, assisted by the money of England, and his own wonderful resources, had already commenced the campaign. After taking Schweid* nitz, which had been blockaded the whole winter, on the 16th of April, he suddenly directed his march into Moravia, and invested Olmutz. The siege of this place, which was defended by a garrison of 8000 men, was a fortunate event for the house of Austria. From its marshy situation and extent it could not be easily invested ; and its distance from the Prussian magazines rendered the passage of convoys through a mountainous country extremely precarious and difficult. The operations of the siege were also unskilfully conducted ; for by opening the first parallel at too great B distance, the Prussian batteries consumed their ammunition with little effect ; and notwithstanding a continual iiiv l*<>r several days, the artillery of the place remained in lull activity. Prince Charles having resigned in consequence of the ill success of the preceding campaign, Daun, to whom the sole management of the war was intrusted, skilfully availed him- self of the errors of his great antagonist: he had time to assemble 50,000 men; but as thej were principally recruits, he judiciously avoided an action, by encamping at Leu* c c 3 390 MARIA THERESA. [CII. CXIII. tomischel, fifty miles from Olmutz, from whence he encou- raged the garrison by frequent succours, while his numerous light troops kept the Prussians in continual alarm. Having inured his soldiers to the sight of the enemy, he covered his operations by a cloud of irregulars, and breaking up his camp, advanced to Ivanovitz. Alarming the king with various movements, as if inclined to risk a battle for the deliverance of Olmutz, he sent generals Loudon and Ziskowitz to intercept a convoy of 3000 waggons by Troppau, from Silesia, without which the operations of the siege could not be continued. The two generals ably seconding the judicious plan of the commander, attacked, dispersed and destroyed the convoy, though pro- tected by 12,000 men, and only 250 waggons reached their place of destination. In consequence of this loss the king raised the siege, and rapidly marching through Bohemia, succeeded in conveying his heavy artillery, with the sick and wounded to Glatz, and proceeded himself to Landshut. Daun pursued the Prussians ; but instead of following the king into Silesia, where he expected to encounter great obstacles from the numerous fortresses and the disposition of the people, he turned his views towards Saxony, which was covered by prince Henry with only 20,000 men ; the re-conquest of which country would deprive Frederic of his principal resources, and open the defenceless part of his hereditary dominions. His hopes of success were justified by the posture of affairs ; the army of the empire, under the prince of Deux-Ponts, had already forced prince Henry to retire towards Dresden ; and the Russians had penetrated into the Marc of Brandenburgh, and laid siege to Custrin. Daun therefore, leaving general Harsch with 20,000 men as a corps of observation on the frontiers of Silesia, moved through Lusatia ; and despatching Loudon toward Francfort on the Oder wrote to general Fermor, urging him to avoid a battle with so artful an enemy, till the grand blow was struck in Saxony.* He then made preparations to cross the Elbe at Pilnitz, and fall on the rear of prince Henry, who was en- camped at Gamig, near Dresden. The recovery of Saxony seemed now certain : but at this critical moment, the rapid * This letter was intercepted ; and, after the battle of Zorndorf, sent back by the King of Prussia. 1758.] DEFEAT OE THE RUSSIANS. 391 advance of the king frustrated the judicious measures of the Austrian commander. After his masterly retreat from Olmutz, Frederic, leaving the margrave Charles to cover Silesia, marched with 20,000 men against the Russians who were besieging Custrin, and were only opposed by count Dohna with an inconsiderable force. Having in twenty days traversed two hundred and seventy miles, he joined Dohna on the 12th of August, in the vicinity of Custrin, at the time when the town was almost reduced to ashes. Crossing the Older eight miles below, he advanced towards the Russians, compelled Fermor to raise the siege, attacked him on the 25th near the village of Zorndorf, and, after a desperate engagement, gained a decisive victory, which obliged the Russians to retreat towards the frontiers of Poland, with the loss of 19,000 men. Leaving Dohna with a small corps to watch the motions of the enemy, Frederic returned with the same rapidity, was joined at Grossenhayn by a corps from Silesia under marshal Keith, and, on the 12th, encamped near Reichenberg, where he opened a communication with prince Henry. Having extricated his brother, his great object was to relieve Neiss, which was besieged by general Harsch, either by forcing marshal Daun to an engagement, or by advancing before him into Silesia. With this view he broke up his camp, and took the position of Schoenfield, opposite to that of Daun, who occupied the strong post of Stolpen. The Austrian com- mander, however, carefully avoided an engagement ; and when Frederic turned his flank, removed to the neighbour- hood of Liebau, and again blocked up the road to Silesia ; his right rested on the Stromberg, his centre stretched along a chain of commanding heights, and his left reached the wood which commences near Jauernig ; at the same time his re- serve, under the prince of Durlach, occupied Reichenbach, which lay at a distance behind his right wing; In consequence of this movement, Frederic despatched a corps to occupy Weissenberg, and encamped on the heights within three miles of the Austrians. His centre stretched from Ilochkirchen as far as Radewitz, from whence the left, forming an angle, extended to Kitlitz near Weissenberg ; the right, forming a similar angle on the opposite side, occupied a ridge of commanding heights, surmounted by the c c 4 392 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXIII. village of Hochkirchen, and separated by a narrow valley from the woods which covered the left of the Austrian camp. This valley was watered by a rivulet, and the passage obstructed by numerous fish-ponds, the dams of which were commanded by the Prussian batteries. Hochkirchen, the most elevated ground, was defended by six battalions, and a battery of fifteen pieces of cannon ; and at the foot of the height a battalion was posted in a mill and some cottages to guard the passage of the rivulet, which ran along the front, and separated the two armies. But, as the Austrian irre- gulars under Loudon occupied the woody heights which Hanked the right of the camp, and as the troops posted on the Stromberg threatened the Prussian detachment at Weis- penberg, the position appeared so untenable with an inferior force, that marshal Keith remarked to the king, " The Austrian^ deserve to be hanged if they suffer us to remain quiet in this post." — "True," replied Frederic, presumptuous from his late successes, " but I hope they fear us more than the halter." This overweening confidence seems to have rendered him negligent even of common precautions ; and lie was further deceived by the artifices of Daun, who, by forming barricades, and strengthening his front with numerous redoubts, seemed as if anxiously employed to maintain himself on the defensive. But the Austrian commander meditated a surprise ; and on the night of the 13th of October, carried his project into execution. Leaving his fires lighted, and employing troops of labourers to fell trees as if forming abbatis, he ranged his army in three divisions, which were conducted by himself, by Loudon, and by the duke of Aremberg. Loudon, with the irregulars reinforced by four battalions, and the whole cavalry of the left wing, was to emerge from the woods, and fall on the rear and flank of the Prussians at Hochkirchen ; Daun himself led the infantry of the left, on the side of the mills ; the duke of Aremberg was to augment the confusion by an attack on the Prussian left, while the prince of Baden Durlach was to force the detachment at Weissenberg. Every thing seemed to concur in favouring the enterprise. Even at the moment when the columns were forming, the king had been induced by the representations of Seidlitz and Ziethen, and the reports of deserters, to order some brigades 1758.] SURPRISE AT HOCHKIRCHEN. 393 and squadrons under arms, but towards break of day suffered them to return to their tents. In tiie midst of this security, the village clock of Hochkirchen struck five, the signal for the attack. The bodies led by Daun and Loudon instantly pushed forward ; favoured by darkness and the negligence of the outposts, they burst upon the enemy's camp, seized their batteries, and the first alarm which the Prussians received, was from the flames of the village, and the fire from their own artillery : in the midst of the confusion the Austrians rushed into the tents, put to the sword all who were asleep or unable to escape, and, before break of day, were formed in the midst of the Prussian lines. An army less inured to discipline than that of Frederic, would have been totally discomfited ; but on the cry of alarm the soldiers ran to arms, and were speedily formed in the best order that the circumstances of the surprise and the ob- scurity of the morning would permit. The king put himself at the head of three brigades, and wheeling round I Ioeh- kirchen, attempted to take his adversaries in flank ; but was compelled to yield to superior numbers, and surrounded by the Austrians, was only rescued by the bravery of his hussars. His usual firmness, however, did not forsake him ; he was every where present, and inspired bis troops with an ardour similar to his own. He was ably seconded by marshal Keith and prince Maurice, who placing themselves at the head of some battalions, attempted to force their way through Hoch- kirchen, and regain their battery ; but all their efforts failed of success ; the marshal fell, pierced with a musket ball, and prince Maurice was dangerously wounded. Hochkirchen, however, became the scene of a desperate conflict; the Prussians, after obtaining possession of the place, were again driven out, and that important post was reoccupied by the Austrians. The king prepared to make a final effort by moans of his left wing, but was prevented by the duke of Aremberg, who, with the Austrian right, had fallen on that part of his line, and made himself master of the redoubts. The important post of Hochkirchen being irretrievably lost, Frederic reealled the detachment at Weissenberg. which had already repulsed the prince of Durlach, and descended into the plain with the infantry and the remains of his baggage, covered by his cavalry. He was repeatedly charged by the 394 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXIII. Austrian cavalry, but made good his retreat, and occupied the heights of Bautzen, scarcely two miles from the field of battle. This battle lasted five hours ; the loss on the side of the Austrians was not less than 8000 ; that of the Prussians 9000, with the greater part of their tents and baggage, 101 cannon, and thirty standards. Most of the Prussian generals were wounded ; even the king himself received a slight con- tusion ; his horse was killed under him, and two pages fell at his side. His brother-in-law, prince Francis of Brunswick, was killed in the action ; but what most affected the monarch was the loss of his friend, marshal Keith, whose body being accidentally discovered by Daun in the church of Hochkirhen was buried with military honours. Notwithstanding this brilliant victory, Daun did not abate his characteristic caution; aware of the steadiness of the Prussian infantry, the inex- haustible resources of the king, and the rapidity of his movements, he did not attempt to pursue his advantage, and the same evening resumed his former position. This victory filled the court of Vienna with the most lively joy, and honours and emoluments were lavished on the commander-in-chief. The empress-queen expressed her grateful acknowledgments by a letter written with her own hand ; a statue was erected to his honour ; and the Austrian states made him a donation of 300,000 florins, to repurchase the lordship of Ladendorf, a family domain which had been sold by his father : the empress of Russia also testified her regard, by the present of a gold-hilted sword. The defeat of the Prussians at Hochkirchen was not, however, followed by any considerable advantage. Frederic, though foiled, was still formidable ; he drew prince Henry from Saxony with 7000 men, and gaining a march on Daun, hastened by Gorlitz and Lauban towards Silesia. Daun unable to intercept his progress, sent a detachment to harass his march, and turned towards Saxony, which was evacuated by the Prussian troops, except the garrisons ; Leipsig was besieged by the army of the empire ; Torgau by Haddick ; and Daun himself invested Dresden. But his views were baffled by the promptitude and address of the Prussians. General Wedel having driven the Swedes from the Marc of Brandenburgh, hastened into Saxony, and relieved Torgau ; 1758.] END OF CAMPAIGN. 395 at the same time count Dohna, who was equally successful against the Russians, uniting with Wedel, between Torgau and Dresden, relieved Leipsig ; and the king himself, having forced general Harsch to raise the siege of Neiss, left Fouquet to observe the Austrians, and returning through Lusatia, on the 13th of November, had again reached Bautzen. Daun therefore evacuated Saxony, and took up his winter quarters in Bohemia, while the army of the empire fell back into Franconia ; the Russians retired into Poland and Prussia ; and the Swedes to Stralsund.* * During this campaign Daun had been ably seconded by Lacy and Loudon, two foreigners of different characters and talents, who, as well at this as at subsequent periods, highly distinguished themselves in the service of the house of Austria. Count Lacy was of Irish extraction, and son of marshal Lacy, who, in conjunction with Munich, commanded with such distinguished success the Russian armies against the Turks in the reign of the empress Anne. He was born in 1718 ; and, after a polished education, learned the art of war in the great school of marshal INIunich. At the accession of Maria Theresa he entered the Austrian service, and by his behaviour, talents, and courage, acquired the esteem of his commanders, and rose rapidly to the rank of colonel. His acquaintance with the theory of war and skill in tactics, together with his activity and vigilance, recommended him to the notice of Daun ; and he improved the good opinion of his general, by his courtier-like behaviour and fascinating manners. From the rank of colonel, which he held at the commencement of the septennial war, he soon rose to that of major-general, and owed his elevation to the protec- tion and friendship of Daun, who consulted him on every occasion, and employed him in the execution of the most important and delicate mea- sures. Though he was animated with a spirit of enterprise, and fre- quently urged the commander-in-chief to acts of vigour and decision, yet he possessed equal coolness and presence of mind ; his ardour never exceeded the bounds of prudence, nor hurried him into attempts which might incur the censures of his cautious patron. He was singularly useful in disciplining the troops, and superintending the manoeuvres of which Daun was the inventor ; he was a strict friend to order, and intro- duced an extraordinary degree of economy in every branch of the mili- tary department. Gideon Ernest Loudon, supposed to be descended from a noble family of the county of Ayr, in Scotland, which in the fourteenth century settled in Livonia, was born at Tootzen, in 1716; and, as soon as he was capable of bearing arms, entered into the Russian service. He was present at the siege of Dantzic ; and, in 1734, served in the army sent by the empress Anne towards the Low Countries. But on the signature of the prelimi- naries, the troops, who had advanced as far as the Rhine, were marched to the banks of the Dnieper, against the Turks and Tartars, who had 396 Chap. CXIV. — 1759. Mama Theresa saw the new year open with the most sanguine hopes of success. Her armies, no longer incomplete, sickly, and dejected, were in high health and spirits ; Daun made an irruption into the southern provinces of Russia. During the campaigns from 1736 to 1739, Loudon served under marshal Munich, and raised himself from the rank of cadet to that of first lieutenant. After the peace he quitted Russia, with an intention of entering into the Austrian army ; but in his way through Berlin, was persuaded by some officers, with whom he had served in the Turkish campaigns, to request an audience of the king, and to solicit the rank of captain. On being presented, Frederic contemptuously turned away, and said to his suite, "That man's physiognomy does not please me;" but the king had reason to repent this refusal, and the candour to avow his regret. Repulsed at Berlin, Loudon obtained letters of recommendation from the imperial ambassador, and went, in 1742, to Vienna. While he was in the ante-chamber, a person accosting him, inquired his name and busi- ness : Loudon having mentioned his name, and explained his business, the stranger complacently offered his assistance, and passed directly into the cabinet. In a few moments he was summoned, and observed in his unknown protector the husband of Maria Theresa. Under such favour- able auspices his request was granted ; and he obtained a company in the Sclavonian free corps of Pandours, raised by Trenck, who had known Loudon in Russia, and was well pleased to retain under him so gallant an officer. In 1744, when prince Charles of Loraine forced his celebra- ted passage over the Rhine, Loudon led his company in the foremost boat, and first landed on French ground. In a subsequent skirmish, a musket-ball penetrated his right breast, the only wound which he ever received ; he fell, was taken prisoner, and conveyed to a neighbouring village. A few days afterwards the Austrian army advanced, the Pan- dours drove out the enemy, Loudon was restored to liberty, and had the satisfaction of saving from pillage the house of the peasant where he had been placed, and by whom he had been benevolently treated. At the peace, Trenck's regiment being disbanded, Loudon with difficulty ob- tained the rank of major in a frontier corps, and was quartered in Croatia till the septennial war, when his enterprising spirit induced him to repair to Vienna, and solicit employment : but not having obtained leave of absence, he was on the point of being reprimanded, and sent back to Croatia, when he fortunately obtained the patronage of prince Kaunitz, through whose recommendation he was despatched into Bohemia, at the head of 800 Croats. He joined the army under marshal Brown, soon after the battle of Lowositz, and in the retreat escaped alone, out of 100 grenadiers, who were cut to pieces by the Prussian hussars. During the remainder of the campaign, he acquired, by his unwearied activity 1759.] THE ALLIES SUPPORT AUSTRIA. 397 had gradually inured the troops to discipline, and by his judicious operations had taught them that the enemy was not invincible ; the troops placed the most implicit confidence in their commander, and panted for the opening of the campaign to add new laurels to those gained at Hochkirchen. The cause of the house of Austria was supported by her allies with increasing zeal and vigour. The empress Elizabeth redoubled her preparations ; Sweden made as great exertions as the weakness of the government would permit ; the Catholic states of Germany vied in pouring forth their men and treasures, and even the army of the empire was reinforced and completed at an early period of the year beyond its usual numbers. France above all devoted herself to the support of her ancient rival, now become her closest ally. The influence and prudence, the love of the troops, and the confidence of the commander- in-chief. In February 1757, a design being planned to seize the small fortress of Hirschfeldt, Loudon, who was despatched with 300 Croats to make a false attack, forced his way into the place : but the main body being repulsed, he retreated in order, with two pieces of cannon, the first which bad for some time been taken from the Prussians. This action was the forerunner of his great reputation, and raised him to the rank of colonel. During the blockade of Prague, Loudon was foremost in various sallies, and continuing to distinguish himself at the head of the Croats, was intrusted with the command of 4000 light horse, and appointed major- general ; the patent which conferred this rank, falling into the hands of some Prussian hussars, Frederic despatched a trumpet with it, and ex- pressed his satisfaction in being instrumental in the promotion of so gal- lant an officer. In April 1758, Loudon received the military order of Maria Theresa, and was the most active officer in the army. He greatly assisted in cutting off the Prussian convoy, which occasioned the delivery of Olmutz ; he planned the surprise of Hochkirchen ; and Daun, in his letter, announcing this victory to the empress queen, candidly attributed the success to the steadiness of the infantry and the manoeuvres of the Croats under Loudon ; for this service he was promoted to a still higher rank, and, in 1759, he was intrusted with the command of a separate army, to act in conjunction with the Russians. Unlike Lacy, Loudon was of a shy, reserved, and unassuming charac- ter. Plain and unpolished in his appearance, cold and awkward in his address, he was seldom animated, except in the field of battle. Long accustomed to lead irregular troops, he was often enterprising, even to rashness, and was more calculated for measures which required a rapid and vigorous execution, than for directing the complicated operations of a campaign. 398 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXIV. of Austria was paramount in the court and cabinet ; cardinal Bernis, who had presumed to express his desire to terminate the war, was dismissed in disgrace ; Stainville, on his return from Vienna, was created duke of Choiseul, and appointed secretary of state for foreign affairs, and had effected, in concert with the mistress, a new treaty of alliance, which was signed with the empress-queen on the 30th of December. In this second treaty of Versailles, the king of France engaged to use all his efforts in procuring the restitution of Silesia and Glatz to the house of Austria ; agreed to furnish the succours, either in men or money, according to the option of the empress-queen, to pay the subsidy to Sweden, which had hitherto been discharged conjointly with Austria, and to maintain during the whole war 100,000 troops in Ger- many against the king of Prussia. He also guarantied to the house of Austria all the conquests from the Prussian territories on the Lower Rhine, and promised to concur in raising the archduke Joseph to the dignity of king of the Romans, and to assist in concluding a marriage between one of the archdukes and the princess of Modena. In return Maria Theresa confirmed the cession of Ostend and Nieuport during the war, and renounced her right to the eventual succession of the duchies of Parma and Placentia, as stipulated by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. Confident in the assistance of their allies, and elated by their recent success, the court of Vienna even ventured to issue a conclusum of the Aulic Council, threatening the elector of Hanover, the landgrave of Hesse Cassel, prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and the other adherents of the king of Prussia, with the ban of the empire, if they did not abandon his alliance, dismiss their armies, and supply their contingents of men and money according to the decree of the diet. Early in the year, Frederic and his allies were successful in various expeditions against the Austrian, French, and Russian magazines ; and prince Ferdinand being reinforced by a body of English troops, attacked the French at Bergen, near Frankfort, but was repulsed with considerable loss. These enterprises, however, only retarded the operations of the Austrians and French. The latter, under Contades, passed the Rhine at Cologne in the beginning of May, 1759.] RUSSIANS DEFEAT DOHXA. 399 united with a corps under Broglio at Giessen, overran Hesse, occupied Cassel and Minden, where they seized con- siderable magazines ; while another corps, formed on the side of the Wesel, burst into the bishopric of Munster, and on the 25th of July took the capital with a garrison of 4000 men. In consequence of his resolution not to act on the offensive until the approach of the Russians, Daun did not take the field till the beginning of May. Encamping between Schatz and Jaromitz in Bohemia, he continued seven weeks watching the motions of the king of Prussia, whose principal force was concentrated near Landshut ; but on the advance of the Russians towards the Oder, he moved into Lusatia, and encamped at Mark Lissa, and the king retired to Schmues- seifen in the vicinity of Lauenburgh. No obstacle now seemed capable of retarding the long-expected junction of the Austrians and Russians. The Prussian forces were scattered in Saxony, Silesia, and on the Oder, and on every point overawed by superior armies : De Ville with 20,000 Austrians, threatened to penetrate into Silesia by the defiles of Landshut, which were guarded by only 10,000 Prussians under Fouquet ; Daun, at the head of 70,000 men, hovering / on the frontiers of Lusatia and Lower Silesia, was opposed by the king with only 40,000; on the side of Saxony, prince Henry was reduced to the defensive against the army of the empire, while Dohna, with less than 20,000, covered the Marc of Brandenburgh against 70.000 Russians under Solti- kof. In June, the Russians drove back the corps of Dohna, totally defeated them at Zullichau under Wedel, who had assumed the command, and directed their march to Frank- fort on the Oder. This success was the signal for the co-operation of the Austrians: Loudon was detached from the main army with 30,000 men, and leaving Haddick with 12,000 at Guben to cover his march and maintain a com- munication with Daun, hastened with the remainder, who were principally cavalry, and joined the Russians at Frank- fort. To oppose this formidable force, Frederic collected his forces in the vicinity of the Oder. Leaving garrisons in Dresden, Leipsig, Torgau, and Wittemberg, to employ the 400 MARIA THERESA. [on. cxiv. army of the empire, he drew the remainder of the troops to Sagan, and reinforced them with a detachment from Silesia. Having transferred the command in Lusatia to prince Henry, he defeated the corps of Haddick at Guben, with the loss of 2000 men, and 500 provision waggons ; on the 4th of August, he was joined by Wedel, at Mulrose, crossed the Oder on the 11th, between Lebus and Custrin, and, at the head of 40,000 men, advanced to give battle to the combined Austrians and Russians, amounting to 80,000. This ex- traordinary march, and his unparalleled exertions to bring on an engagement, on the issue of which his fate seemed to depend, arrested the attention of all Europe, and the com- bined army prepared for the conflict with a degree of pre- caution which their great superiority in numbers seemed to render unnecessary. They occupied the heights on the left bank of the Oder ; their front was covered by a marshy plain, intersected by rivulets and drains, and their rear and flanks by a line of formidable intrenchments, strengthened with redoubts, and stretching from a height near the village of Cunersdorf, beyond the Judenberg, or Jew's burying- ground. The Russians were posted in the intrenchments; and the Austrian cavalry under Loudon, with the Cossacs, occupied the low ground between the front and the Oder, but on the approach of the Prussians, marched to the left, and formed in a small hollow crossing the camp at the foot of the Judenberg. Early on the 12th the king attacked this formidable position. Masking his movements by means of the wood-, he suddenly enveloped the right flank, and from the surround- ing eminences concentrated the fire of his artillery on the redoubts and intrenchments. This fire soon rendered the intrenchments untenable, and the Prussians advancing, stormed the redoubts without much difficulty, took the Russians in flank, drove them with a dreadful slaughter beyond the village of Cunersdorf, and made themselves masters of 180 pieces of artillery. Still, however, the Austrian and Russian troops on the left continued firm, and forming in several lines, were protected by their artillery placed on the Juden- berg. In these circumstances, Seidlitz, and most of the other Prussian generals, exhorted the king to be satisfied with his 1759.] CARNAGE OF THE COMBATANTS. 401 advantage, which must compel the combined forces to retire during the night ; they urged him to spare his troops, ex- hausted with the fatigues of an action which had already lasted seven hours, and burning with thirst from their march over a sandy soil, in an intense heat. Frederic paused for a moment, but was soon impelled by his natural ardour to pursue his success against an enemy almost defeated, and once more put his fortune to the stake. Animated by the example of their sovereign, the troops again advanced ; the cavalry, in particular, attempted to break through the intrenchments near the Judenberg, but were repulsed with considerable loss, and Seidlitz himself wounded. The Russians, how- ever, panic-struck with the impetuosity of the charge, abandoned their battery on the Judenberg, and the Prussian infantry instantly moved forward to seize the height, which would have decided the fortune of the day. At this critical moment Loudon, with hi3 Austrians, rushed to the battery, and turned the cannon, loaded with grape shot, on the Prus- sians, who were advanced within a hundred and fifty paces. This unexpected discharge mowed down whole ranks ; the Prussians repeated their desperate attack, but in vain ; ex- hausted by the incessant fatigue of the action, and thrown into confusion by the destructive fire of the artillery, they began to give way. Loudon instantly burst upon them at the head of his cavalry, threw them into irreparable disorder, and in a few minutes these troops, already victorious, were dispersed and defeated* Frederic, with a few pieces of cannon and a single regi- ment, exposed his person to protect the retreat of his troops ; two horses were killed under him ; his clothes were pierced with musket -balls ; he received a slight contusion, and was only rescued by the exertions of the hussars. Favoured by the approach of night, he succeeded in saving the remnant of his army, and again took post on the same ground * which * A Prussian officer, who was present in the action, thus describes the situation of the king early the ensuing morning: — "I saw the king the next morning stretched upon a little straw, reposing among the ruins of a farm-house, in the village of Oetcher, which had been destroyed by the Cossacs. He slept with as much soundness and tranquillity as if he had been secure from all dangers; his hat partly covered his face; his drawn sword lay by his side ; and two adjutants were snoring at his feet — a single sentinel mounted guard." VOL. IIT. D D 402 MARIA THERESA. [en. CXIV. he had occupied before the engagement, with scarcely more than 1000 men. During the action general Wunsch, with a detachment of Prussians, had crossed the Oder, and made himself master of Frankfort, with a view to intercept the retreat of the combined forces ; but on the defeat of the king, he abandoned his conquest. In describing this battle, Frederic feelingly observes, " Qu'on voie a quoi tiennent les victoires ! " He himself was so confident of success, that in the middle of the action he wrote a billet to the queen : " We have driven the Russians from their intrenchments ; in two hours expect to hear of a glorious victory ! " But at the conclusion of the engagement he sent another despatch: — " Remove from Berlin with the royal family; let the archives be carried to Potsdam, and the capital make conditions with the enemy." He lost in this desperate conflict 20,000 of his bravest troops with all his artillery, and most of his generals were wounded ; but the allied army had little reason to exult in their success, for not less than 24,000 men were killed and wounded, and Soltikof declared, that on such another victory, he must go alone with his truncheon in his hand, to carry the news to St. Petersburgh. As this loss fell almost entirely on the Russians, and as the Austrians gained the chief honour of the victory, without suffering from the heat of the action, the Russians were inflamed almost to madness, threatened to put Loudon to death, and he escaped the effects of this sudden frenzy, by not making his appearance till their fury had subsided. This misunderstanding saved the hero of the house of Brandenburgh, who, after his prodigious exertions to raise the army which had just experienced so terrible a defeat, was now almost a fugitive. In vain Loudon pressed Soltikof to pursue the enemy, and offered to bring the king prisoner within three days ; the Russian general could not be roused to exertion, and suffered the decisive moment to escape. The representations of Daun were attended with no better success : and Soltikof replied, " I have gained two battles, with the loss of 27,000 men ; I now expect two victories from you, as it is not just that the troops of my sovereign should act alone." While the king had turned his efforts against the Russians 1759.] FREDERIC AGAIN IN THE FIELD. 403 the army of the empire overran Saxony, took possession of Torgau, Wittemberg, and Leipsig, and invested Dresden. A temporary reconciliation also was effected between the Austrians and Russians ; and Daun, in a conference with Soltikof at Guben, settled a plan for future operations ; the Russians were to remain in the Marc of Brandenburgh, on the left bank of the Oder, and to be supplied with forage and provisions ; and on the capture of Dresden, which was on the point of surrendering, the two armies were to co-operate in the recovery of Silesia. But it was now too late ; the inactivity of the Russians after the battle of Cunersdorf had given the king time to recover from his dreadful discomfiture ; and he rose like the hydra with new strength from his defeat. He collected his scattered forces ; recalled general Kleist, with 5000 men, from Pomerania ; and supplied the less of his artillery from his fortresses. In a few days he was again at the head of 28,000 men, covered his capital and Branden- burgh, and even sent a detachment under general Wunsch to restore his affairs in Saxony. Daun had scarcely opened a communication with Soltikof, when prince Henry marched to Goerlitz in his rear, ( ( im- pelled the detachment under De Ville to retire, and sending parties into Bohemia, destroyed the Austrian magazines at Boehmisch-friedland and Gabel. In consequence of this masterly manoeuvre, Daun retired to Bautzen, to draw his supplies from Dresden, which had recently surrendered. The Russians being thus disappointed in their intended junction with the Austrians, attempted to penetrate into Lower Silesia ; but were anticipated by the king, who rapidly marching through Sagan, took post at Neustadtel, and covered that country. Meanwhile Daun approached Goerlitz, with a view to attack prince Henry ; but was baf- fled by that able general, who during the night made a retrograde march to Rothemberg, as if returning to Silesia, then changing his route, cut off an Austrian detachment at Hoyerswerda, and directing his march by Esterwalda crossed the Elbe, at Torgau, on the 25th of September. These movements deranged the plan of operations con- certed between Daun and Soltikof; the Russians had already begun to experience great want of provisions, and the court of Vienna, unable, from the destruction of their magazines, D D 2 404 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXIV. to provide for the wants of their own army, offered an equi- valent in money ; but Soltikof laconically replied, " My soldiers cannot eat gold." After some ineffectual attempts to penetrate in Silesia, they continued their march towards Poland, and Loudon retired with his corps to Olmutz. From these disappointments Daun relinquished his designs on Silesia and Brandenburgh, and turned all his views to the affairs of Saxony. The army of the empire, assisted by an Austrian force under general Guasco, had invested Dresden on the 9th of August ; they had, however, neither made approaches nor erected batteries, and notwithstanding a close blockade, general Schmettau the Prussian commandant, held out with great perseverance. General Wunsch was rapidly advanc- ing to the relief of the place, and had arrived within two German miles, when Schmettau capitulated, after a blockade of twenty-seven days. The garrison were allowed to depart with the honours of war, and to retain the military chest, containing 5,000,000 crowns, with the baggage, artillery, ammunition, pontoons and waggons ; but the Austrians secured considerable magazines of provisions, which enabled them to maintain themselves in Saxony. Wunsch, disap- pointed in his endeavour to relieve Dresden, retired towards Torgua, where he defeated the army of the empire, though four times superior in number, and made himself master of Wittemberg and Leipzig. In consequence of this success, general Fink was despatched by the king with a more con- siderable corps, and their united forces again advanced to- wards Dresden. This reverse of circumstances drew Haddick from Lusatia: he passed the Elbe at Dresden, and, joining the army of the empire, attacked the Prussians, but was repulsed with con- siderable loss ; and prince Henry arriving with his whole army at Torgau, the Prussian forces joined at Stroehlen, on the 4th of October, and threatened Dresden. In consequence of these movements, Daun marched into Saxony, passed the Elbe at Dresden, compelled prince Henry to fall back, and took post at Belgern. With a view to turn the position of the Prussians, he detached the duke of Aremberg with a considerable force to Domitsch, but this corps being defeated with the loss of 1500 men, and general Hulsen arriving with 1759.] BOLD MOVEMENTS OF DA UN. 405 the army of the king, he fell back to Dresden, and encamped at Plauen. Frederic, who had been detained by illness at Glogau, having joined his army, with the hopes of forcing the Austrians to abandon Dresden, intercepted their convoys, made irruptions into Bohemia, and even detached general Fink, with a considerable corps, to occupy Maxen in their rear, and general Dielke with 3000 men to take post on the Elbe. By these bold movements the imperial army was pre- vented from entering into cantonment, straitened for forage, and Bohemia opened to the incursions of the enemy. In this situation Daun formed the bold plan of surprising the Prus- sian corps at Maxen, and conducted this delicate enterprise with equal judgment, celerity, and secrecy. Fink had no sooner taken post in the rear of the Austrians, than general Sincere was sent with a few regiments to watch his motions; and during the following days, detachments to the number of 40,000 men were drawn out to attack him in front, flank, and rear. Daun himself proceeded to Dippoldiswalda, from whence the main body of the Prussians had retired to the heights of Maxen ; he reconnoitred their position, and arranged the different points of attack. After ordering the corps at Dippoldiswalda to march towards Reinhardsgrimma, he returned to Plauen to observe the motions of the king, and make the necessary dispositions, should Frederic discover the enterprise, and attack his camp, weakened by half its number. Observing, however, no sympton of alarm or pre- paration, he departed in the middle of the night, and rejoined the troops at break of day, as they were preparing for their march. His presence was highly necessary, as many of his officers were alarmed by the difficulties of the ground, and by a frost, accompanied with sleet, which rendered the steep ascents almost impracticable for the conveyance of cannon, or the march of cavalry. Having ordered the roads to be re- connoitred, Daun persisted in his enterprise, drove in the advanced post of the enemy at Reinhardsgrimma with little opposition, penetrated through a thick wood, and occupied the heights, commanding the Prussian camp, with formidable batteries ; at the same time a body of light troops, passing by Rohrsdorf, came in their rear, and the corps of Dohna was attacked by the troops of the empire. The success of these manoeuvres being facilitated by the D D 3 406 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXIV. unskilful dispositions of the Prussian commander, the well- directed fire of the artillery, and the impetuous attack of the Austrian grenadiers, overbore all resistance. The Prus- sians quitted the heights, and retired towards Bloschwitz, with the resolution to cut their way through the enemy; the approach of night suspended the engagement ; but the Aus- trian general deprived them of all hopes of escape by occu- pying the surrounding deliles ; and in the morning they sur- rendered themselves prisoners of war, on the condition of preserving their baggage. Thus the Austrians took 549 officers, including 17 generals, 14,900 men, and 17 pieces of cannon ; and what rendered this action more remarkable, few of either side fell on the field of battle, notwithstanding the impetuosity of the attack, and the resistance of the Prus- sians. So masterly were the dispositions, so secret was the enter- prise, and so completely was the communication intercepted, that the king was unapprised of the danger till it was too late ; and Hulsen, who was detached to favour the retreat of Fink, arrived only to be informed of his capitulation. The corps also under general Dielke being greatly exposed on the surrender of Fink, attempted to recross the Elbe ; but as they had removed their bridge in consequence of the frost, they endeavoured to elfect the passage in boats ; in this situation they were attacked, and 1500 men with the commander made prisoners. Daun, however, was not too much elated by these advantages to neglect his usual precaution ; he pre- sented himself before the Prussian camp thus weakened and discouraged with the loss of 20,000 men ; but perceiving the king still formidable, he declined an engagement, and returned to Plauen, where he was able to succour Dresden if attacked and to maintain his communication witd Bohemia. On the other hand, the French, after a series of successes, experienced a fatal reverse at Minden, and prince Ferdinand was enabled to send a reinforcement of 12,000 men to the king, which joined him at Freyberg in the beginning of December, and supplied the loss experienced at Maxen. Leaving this body behind the Mulda to protect his rear, the king made a final attempt to draw the Austrians from Dresden, by turning their flank, and gaining Dippoldiswalda. But Daun having reinforced that post, he dismissed the sue- 1759.] HARDSHIPS OF THE CAMPAIGN. 407 cour furnished by prince Ferdinand, left his tents standing in the camp at Wilsdruf, and cantoned his troops in the neigh- bouring villages, watching the moment when Daun should retire into winter quarters, to seize Dresden. The Austrian commander, however, maintaining his post with equal per- severance, followed the example of the king, and both parties vied in braving the rigour of the severest winter which had been long felt in Germany. The loss experienced by both armies during this dreadful close of an arduous campaign may be easily conceived from the description of a Prussian officer, who was an eye-witnesfl : " The winter was uncommonly severe, and the snow for several weeks covered the ground to the height of the knee. The army was distributed in the small towns and villages, and the troops were so straitened that only a part could shelter themselves under a roof: the houses were occupied by the officers, and the men dwelt in temporary cabins, lying about their fires day and night like a horde of Tartars. They employed the whole day in cutting and conveying fuel from a considerable distance ; and from the extreme scarcity of provisions the soldiers were reduced to bread alone, of which they made a kind of soup with water. "In addition to these hardships they were still further harassed in guarding the camp at Wilsdruf, which was per- formed by the whole army in turn, and which, from the number of sick, allowed them but a short interval for repose. Here the centinels had no fires, and officers sheltered them- selves in huts formed of planks ; the common soldiers, to give motion to their frozen blood, ran up and down like madmen, or, forgetting to dress their provisions, crowded together in the tents, and lay one on the other to warm at least a part of their bodies by the heat of their comrades. In this situation either attack or defence was impossible ; and no regiment returned from this camp to their melancholy winter quarters, without seeing the number of their sick increase. They died in their cabins 'like flies,' and this winter campaign cost the king more than two battles ; nor did the Austrians experience a better fate; for contagious disorders broke out in their army, and in the space of only sixteen days they lost 4000 men." D D 4. 408 Chap. CXV.— 1760. After much difficulty in settling the plan of the campaign, it was agreed, that while the French were opposed to the British and Hanoverians, Soltikof and Loudon, with a com- bined army of Austrians and Russians, should invade Sile- sia ; that the Swedes, under Ehrenswald, the troops of Wirtemberg under their sovereign, and another corps of Russians under Tottleben, should burst into Brandenburgh ; that the united fleets of Russia and Sweden should besiege Colberg ; while Daun and the army of the empire should achieve the conquest of Saxony. The troops of Maria Theresa had proved victorious during the whole of the last campaign ; they had recovered from the fatigues and sufferings of the winter ; the regiments were complete, and the men animated by their recent success. On the contrary, the king of Prussia laboured under the greatest difficulties ; he had experienced the most fatal defeats, and his losses were not to be estimated by the number of killed and wounded, but by the destruction and capture of whole armies. He had indeed recruited his troops ; yet, to use his own words, " they were no longer veterans, or soldiers fit for service, but only for show. What could be done with an assemblage of men, half Saxon peasants, half deserters from the enemy, and led by officers who were engaged from necessity, and employed for want of others ? Even of these, the regiments of infantry had only twelve instead of fifty-two, the regulated number." Yet with all his efforts he could only muster in the field 75,000 men, to act against a force of 250,000. Notwithstanding the English subsidy, he was distressed for funds to supply the enormous expense of the war, and was under the necessity of having recourse to the coinage of base money, and to other dishonourable expedients. In April, Daun occupied the camp of Pirna, and observed the motions of the king, who, taking a strong position at Kat- senhauser,near Meissen, cantoned the greater part of his forces in the neighbouring villages, to recover from the fatigues of the winter. In this state the two armies remained till they were called into action by the operations in Silesia. 1760.] DRESDEN BESIEGED. 409 Loudon, having quitted Olmutz in April, entered Lower Silesia, near Reichenbach, blockaded Glatz, and, after a series of masterly manoeuvres, succeeded in forcing an in- trenched camp, occupied by Fouquet, with 9000 men, to guard the defiles of Landshut, and made the commander and the greater part of the corps prisoners. After remaining a few days in the mountains to secure the passes, Loudon returned to Glatz ; on the 26th, the upper fortresses being taken by storm, the governor capitulated ; and, on the 30th, Breslau itself was invested. On the first news of the blockade of Glatz, Frederic, with the greater part of his forces, crossed the Elbe at Zehren, and took the route to Iiadeberg, in order to penetrate into Silesia, and join the corps of Fouquet. Lacy retired on his approach ; but the king had no sooner reached Radeberg, than he was confounded with the intelligence of Fouquet's defeat and capture ; he received the account with extreme agitation, and his usual magnanimity seemed for a moment to forsake him. Striking his forehead, he exclaimed, " Such disasters happen to me alone ! " He soon however recovered his presence of mind, and redoubled his efforts to reach Silesia. Leaving a corps at Meissen, he marched to Baut- zen : but Daun having crossed the Elbe at the same time as the Prussians, hastened to Goerlitz, and thus anticipated the enemy, whose progress was harassed by the corps under Lacy. Frederic, perceiving that he could not reach Silesia, made a retrograde movement, turned against Lacy, drove him across the Elbe, forced the army of the empire to quit the camp at Flatten, and invested Dresden, with the hopes of obtaining an immediate surrender by the fear of a bombard- ment. But all his efforts were ineffectual ; though he set fire to different parts of the town, and actually made a breach in the wall. Daun remained a few days to arrange with Loudon the plan of future operations in Silesia, and then turned towards Lower Saxony. He approached Dresden on the seventh day of the investment, threw a succour of 12,000 men into the town, and took post on the neighbouring heights. As at the siege of Olmutz, his views were directed to deliver the town by intercepting the convoys, and cutting off the com- munications of the enemy : with 70.000 men he himself 410 MAKIA THERESA. [CH. CXV. occupied the right bank of the Elbe ; Lacy, and the army of the empire, at Gross Seidlitz and Dohna, threatened the Prussians on that side, and the garrison of the town was increased to 25,000 men. The views of the Austrian com- mander were promoted by the capture of Glatz. On re- ceiving intelligence of that event, Frederic broke up his camp in the night, resumed his former resolution of pene- trating into Silesia, and passing the Elbe at Zehren, on the 1st of August, took the route of Upper Lusatia. Daun, aware of his design, advanced with equal activity ; and, to prevent the king from again deceiving him by a retrograde movement, marched in a parallel direction, while Lacy hung upon the rear of the Prussians. Such was the situation and vicinity of the two armies, that, to use the expressions of the king, " A stranger might have mistaken them for one, that of marshal Daun like the advanced guard, the Prussians, the main body, and the corps of Lacy, the rear guard." * In the course of this march Daun learned that Loudon had raised the siege of Breslau on the approach of prince Henry, and that Soltikof with the Russians had advanced to the right bank of the Oder. He therefore avoided an en- gagement until he had effected a junction with Loudon and Soltikof ; and on the 7th of August, after a march of eighty- four miles in five days, encamped at Lowenburgh at the same time that the Prussians reached Buntzlau. He then suc- ceeded in gaining a position behind the Katzbach, by which he cut off the king from his magazines at Breslau and Schweidnitz, and prevented his junction with prince Henry; here he united with Loudon and the corps under Lacy, and their troops occupied the left bank of the Katzbach from the Oder to Cossendau. Soltikof displaying an unwillingness to cross the Oder, Daun resolved to attack the king with his own troops, which did not amount to less than 90,000 men, while the Prussians were scarcely 30,000. Unable to withstand this superior force, Frederic, like a skilful partisan, embarrassed the Austrian commander by a continual change of position, till, straitened for provisions, he was reduced to the neces- sity of attempting to force the passage of the Katzbach, in order to open a way to his magazines at Schweidnitz. The * (Euvrcs Posthumes, torn iv. p. 104. 1760.] BATTLE OF LIGNITZ. 411 vigilance and number of the Austrians, however, defeated all his efforts ; and at length a corps of 20,000 Russians under Chernichef, having passed the Oder at Auras, his last re- source was, to attempt a junction with prince Henry. He therefore took post near Lignitz, with the intention to cross the Katzback, and push on to Parchwitz. In this situation Daun hoped to repeat the surprise of Hochkirchen, and overwhelm the Prussian monarch by the great superiority of his force. His dispositions were skil- fully arranged : Lacy was to turn the right flank of the Prussians, and fall on their rear ; Daun himself was to attack their front ; and Loudon to cross the Katzbach, occupy the heights of Pfaffendorf above Lignitz, and cut off their retreat. Frederic penetrated their designs, and unwilling to hazard a battle with so superior a force, hastened to effect his in- tended retreat. He moved from his camp in the evening, leaving some hussars to keep up the fires, and imitate the cries of the patroles and sentinels, and during the night re- passed the Katzbach at Lignitz. At the moment of his departure his conjectures were confirmed by an adjutant of O'Donnel's regiment, who had deserted, and informed him that the Austrians were in motion for the attack* Saying reached the heights of Pfaffendorf, Frederic made prepara- tions to receive the enemy ; he posted his right on that part of the eminence which overhangs Lignitz and the Schwartz- wasser, and placed batteries to enfilade the only two roads through which Daun could pass ; he then formed his left across the other part of the eminence on the side of Bautzen, on the very ground which Loudon was to occupy, and esta- blished a formidable battery on a commanding height. On the loth of August, before break of day, Loudon passed the Katzbach, and as he ascended the heights fell in with parties of Prussian hussars which had been sent to discover and harass his movements. Although aware that a change had taken place in the position of the enemy, he did not expect to encounter the whole Prussian army, and heading himself one of the columns, continued to advance. At this moment the hussars retired, and while he was preparing to form and occupy the heights, he received a discharge from the Prussian battery, which being only 800 paces distant, 412 MARIA THERESA. [CII. CXV. occasioned great havoc among his troops, who were pressed together in close columns. The darkness augmented the confusion ; but though taken unawares, Loudon formed his men as they came up, and did not give way until he had withstood five successive charges : during the carnage he rode from rank to rank, and repeatedly exclaimed, " Is there no ball for me!" At length his troops being mowed down by a destructive fire, cut to pieces by the Prussian cavalry, and unable to discern the position and evolutions of the enemy, he was compelled to relinquish his enterprise. In this action Loudon lost not less than 10,000 men, and 80 officers killed, wounded, and prisoners, with 23 standards, and 82 pieces of artillery ; but he made a masterly retreat, and under cover of a battery on a height beyond the Katz- bach, deliberately removed the pontoons, and ranged his troops on the opposite bank. Daun and Lacy having passed the night at the head of their troops, advanced towards break of day, and were sur- prised to find the Prussian camp totally deserted. The wind being contrary, Daun did not hear the cannonade on the side of Bautzen, but a thick smoke seemed to announce that Loudon was engaged; and he perceived the right of the Prussians under Ziethen drawn up on the height above Lig- nitz. Surprised with these unexpected movements, he con- tinued some time in suspense : at length determining to attack Ziethen, he despatched Lacy to cross the Schwartz- wasser, and turn the flank of the enemy, while he himself advanced through Lignitz ; but the instant the heads of the Austrian columns appeared, they received the fire of the Prussian artillery, and a feu de joye announced the total defeat of Loudon. His plans being thus deranged, Daun re-crossed the Katzbach, recalled Lacy, and the Prussians pursued their march to Parchwitz, which they reached the same evening, though incumbered with 6000 prisoners and 1100 sick and wounded.* * Scarcely any battle has been more erroneously described than this of Lignitz. Most authors have supposed that the movements of the king, which led to the engagement, were the effect of design, whereas his intention was to secure his retreat to Parchwitz, and his junction with prince Henry, that his forces might not be cut off in detail ; and he only determined on an engagement when he perceived that it could not be 1760.] FREDERIC STILL UNCONQUERED. 413 Still, however, the situation of the king was extremely critical ; he had only one day's bread in his camp, and Chernichef, with the corps of 20,000 men posted at Lissa, intercepted the communication with his magazines at Breslau, while general Beck was in full march to join the Russians, and was followed by Daun with the main army. But Cher- nichef, who had remained five days without intelligence from the Austrians, was alarmed by a letter sent from the king to prince Henry, for the purpose of being intercepted, announc- ing a glorious victory over the Austrians, and describing his preparations for an immediate attack on the Russians. He accordingly broke up his camp in great haste, and repassed the Oder ; and the Prussians advancing to the neighbourhood of Breslau, supplied their wants from their own magazines. While the king was allowing his army to repose at Neumark after the extreme fatigue of the preceding operations, the Russians retired towards Poland, and were followed to Vinzig by prince Henry, who then returned and joined the king near Breslau. Daun thus disappointed in his principal object, attempted to besiege Schweidnitz, and afterwards Glogau, but was again baffled by the king, and obliged to retreat to the moun- tains in order to preserve his communication with Bohemia. The campaign was drawing to a close, and was likely to conclude in a manner far different from the sanguine hopes which had been conceived at the commencement. The avoided. On this subject I shall suhjoin a letter from Sir Andrew Michael to the duke of Newcastle the day after the battle : — " As I have been extremely indisposed for several days, and unable to ride on horseback, 1 was not in the action ; but the king of Prussia, when he marched his army from the field of battle, sent for me to ride along with him ; when I came up to him, and gave him joy of the vic- tory, he was pleased to say very graciously, « You have shared the fatigues with me, I want you should likewise rejoice with me.' " He then entered into a detail of the battle, commended highly the behaviour of his troops ; and after making some excellent reflections on the imperfection of human foresight, he said, * You see how I have laboured to no purpose to bring about the event that has now happened ; the victory I have gained is entirely owing to the bravery of my troops. Had I remained in the camp of Lignitz, I should have been surrounded on all sides ; had I but arrived one quarter of an hour sooner on the field of battle, the event would not have happened, and a few days would have put an end to the whole affair/ " 414 MARIA THERESA. [cn. cxv. forage of the mountains being wholly consumed, Daun could only detach small parties into the plain ; and the bad state of the roads retarded the passage of his convoys from Bohemia. In this dilemma he succeeded in alluring the Russians with the hopes of plundering Berlin, and concerted with them an irruption into Brandenburgh, to draw the king from Silesia. Twenty thousand Russians, with fifteen thousand Austrians under Chernichef and Lacy, covered by the army of Soltikof, penetrated into Brandenburgh, and, after a march of six days, the vanguard of 3000 men appeared before the gates of Berlin. They were vigorously repulsed by the Prussian troops under general Hulsen and the prince of Wirtemberg, who had hastened from Saxony and Pomerania ; but unable to defend an extensive town without fortifications, the Prus- sians, on the approach of Lacy, retired to Potsdam and Spandau, and the capital surrendered on the 9th of October. The project of the Austrian commander had the desired effect ; the king precipitately quitted Silesia to relieve his capital, and as the combined troops retired on his approach, he marched rapidly towards Saxony. Daun likewise leaving Loudon in Silesia, turned towards Saxony, crossed the Elbe at Tristowitz, and endeavoured to obstruct the passage of the enemy. The duke of Wirtemberg was posted at Dessau ; the prince of Deux Ponts, with a considerable part of the army of the empire, at Wittemberg ; and Daun himself was approaching Torgau. Frederic, however, with part of his forces, crossed the Elbe near Dessau, and compelled the im- perial troops to retire to Leipzig ; on reaching Kemberg he was joined by Ziethen, who with the remainder had passed at AVittemberg, and marched to prevent the junction of the troops of the empire with the main army. During these movements the Austrian commander ad- vanced to Torgau, and concentrated the greater part of his forces in the vicinity. As the winter was approaching, and the campaign drawing to a close, by maintaining his position, he might take up winter quarters in the Prussian territories ; while the Russians, who were at Landsberg on the Wartha, might again penetrate into the heart of Brandenburgh, and the king would be pent up in the confined district between the Pleis, the Saal, the Elster, and the Unstruth, without magazines, and cut off from his resources. In this situation 1760.] THE AUSTRIANS DEFEATED. 415 Daun judiciously avoided a battle, and chose a position, which, defended by his powerful artillery, seemed almost im- pregnable. His left was supported by Torgau, and covered by fish-ponds and a small lake ; the centre occupied the hill of Siptitz, and the right extended to an eminence which rises beyond the marshes of Grosswig ; the Rohr, a marshy and almost impracticable rivulet, ran along the front ; and the extensive wood of Domnitz enveloped the right. Lacy, with the reserve of 20,000 men, covered the high road to Dresden, and the fish-ponds before the right wing ; and the camp was defended by four hundred pieces of artillery. Frederic having in vain attempted to draw the Austrians from their advantageous position, by marching to Sehilda, as if he meditated an enterprise against Dresden, again re- solved to commit his desperate fortune to the hazard of a battle. He divided his army into two bodies ; one of these commanded by Ziethen, took the road from Eilenberg to Torgau, with a view to establish a battery on the height of Grosswig, and attack the village of Siptitz ; while the king himself, leading the other through the wood, was to fall upon the Austrians at the same time in the rear, and sepa- rate their army in the centre. Daun, whose advantageous position was defended by a powerful train of artillery, and whose army was one-third superior to that of the enemy, did not expect an attack ; but undeceived by the approach of the king, he ordered his second line to face about, and the artillery to be conveyed to the rear, which then became the front. He had scarcely ranged his troops before the body headed by the king ad- vanced. Without waiting for his cavalry, or without being seconded by Ziethen, Frederic led on his grenadiers, and was received with such a tremendous fire, as induced him to exclaim to one of his adjutants, u Did you ever hear so dreadful a cannonade!" These troops being repulsed, he rushed forward with a second line, and, after a still more desperate resistance, was compelled to give way ; he then ordered a third line to advance, which being seconded by the arrival of the cavalry, gained ground, and took several regiments prisoners. At this juncture Daun, though severely wounded in the thigh, rallied his troops, and exposing himself like a common 416 MARIA THERESA. [cir. cxv. soldier, drove the Prussians, with a dreadful carnage, back into the wood. All the efforts of the king, who on this occasion seemed determined either to conquer or to die, were ineffectual ; most of his generals were wounded ; he himself received a violent contusion, and reluctantly retiring from the field, considered the day as lost. At the same time Daun, compelled to quit the field by the anguish of his wound, was conveyed to Torgau, leaving the command to general Buccow, and ordering Lacy to watch the motions of Ziethen. He despatched a courier to Vienna, to announce the total defeat of the enemy, and retired to repose in the arms of victory. But the night announced a fatal change. As the enemy had retreated, the Austrians lulled into security, neglected the usual precautions. Ziethen, harassed by the irregulars, checked by the cavalry of Lacy, and embarrassed by the difficulties of the ground, did not arrive in time to second the first assault ; at length, however, forcing his way through all obstacles, he reached the point of attack, but finding the battle lost, marched towards Grosswig to favour the retreat of the king. At this time darkness had sus- pended hostilities. Passing near the village of Siptitz, which was in flames, he was informed that the heights were weakly guarded. On this intelligence two of his bravest battalions advanced through the village, and after a short but desperate conflict, gained the heights and seized the batteries ; they were followed by the rest of the infantry, with the cavalry and artillery, and the whole body formed on the slope of the eminence. This surprise changed the defeat into a victory. At the moment when the Austrians imagined the enemy were re- tiring, a tremendous cannonade from the heights of Siptitz, spread consternation through their ranks. In the darkness and confusion the troops knew not whom to resist, or how to form ; in vain Lacy attempted to dislodge the Prussians ; they were joined by the body under the king, and, after being twice repulsed, he retreated to Torgau. Both armies being mixed together in the field, prisoners were taken on both sides, and the royal historian relates a singular instance of the confusion which reigned after this memorable day. During the night numerous fires were kindled in the forest, to which the scattered soldiers of both 1760.] EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS OF FRANCE. 417 armies repaired as to an asylum ; they passed the night together in perfect tranquillity, and agreed to deliver them- selves to the victor on the ensuing morning. Even Frederic himself, in traversing the field, fell in with a party of Austrian carbiniers, who were dispersed by his escort ; and almost at the same moment, a battalion of Pandours was made prisoners, with two pieces of cannon. Lacy reached Torgau about ten in the evening, and Daun instantly gave orders to retire. Though weakened by his wound, he crossed the Elbe with part of the troop- on three bridges which had been thrown over the river the day before the battle, and proceeded to Dresden; while Lacy covered his retreat, and ascending the left bank, joined his commander at the break of day. In this engagement the Austrians lost 20,000 men killed, wounded, and prisoners ; and the Prussians 13,000 of their bravest infantry. All Saxony, except Dresden and tin; vicinity, again fell into the hands of the Prussians ; Frederic was enabled to relievo Brandenburgh, Silesia, and Pomerania, and to send a succour of 8000 men to prince Ferdinand. Loudon, who had invested Cosel, raised the siege, and retired to Glatz ; the Swedes were driven back to Stralsund, and the Russians again took up their winter quarters in Poland* The loss, however, of this battle reflected no disgrace on the Austrian commander, but rather increased his reputation ; it was attributed to his absence from the field, and Frederic himself acknowledged that he owed his victory to the wound of his antagonist. Maria Theresa also, with her natural magnanimity, received Daun with greater honours than in the midst of his most brilliant successes ; and on his return met him at the distance of two German miles from the capital. This unfortunate termination of the campaign in Sa\«»ny was not compensated by any material advantage on the side, of Westphalia. Notwithstanding the exhausted .-tale of her finances, and the loss of her most important colonial posses- sions, France made prodigious exertions, and sent into the field a force of 120,000 men. The main army, commanded by Broglio, advanced on the side of the rpper Rhine; and a body of 30,000 men was intrusted to St Germain on the Lower Rhine. The commencement of their operations was however retarded by disputes between the generals ; and VOL. III. E E 418 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXV. prince Ferdinand gained time to obtain reinforcements from England, which augmented his army to 70,000 men. But he was still so much inferior to the French that he was re- duced to the defensive. In June, Broglio advanced into the landgraviate of Hesse ; at the same time the corps on the Lower Rhine penetrated through Westphalia, joined the main army at Corbach, and Broglio assumed the sole com- mand. On the approach of the French, prince Ferdinand removed to Calle, in order to cover Cassel ; and when Broglio detached the Chevalier de Muy with 35,000 men to cut off his communication with the bishopric of Paderborn and Westphalia, he quitted Calle, and, after a desperate engage- ment, defeated the Chevalier de Muy at Warburgh, with the loss of 5000 men. But on the very day of the battle, Broglio entered Cassel, and prepared to overrun the electorate of Hanover; he took Gottingen, pushed his detachments towards Saxony to open a communication with the army of the empire, and prevented the march of a reinforcement sent by the king of Prussia. He was however baffled by the skill and vigilance of prince Ferdinand, who maintained himself on the frontiers of Hanover, and even made a diversion on the side of the Lower Rhine. The hereditary prince, at the head of 15,000 men, passed through Westphalia, drew forth part of the garrisons of Munster and Lippstadt, crossed the Rhine, took possession of Cleves and Ruremonde, and on the 10th of October laid siege to Wesel. In consequence of this irruption, Broglio detached the marquis de Castries, with 20,000 men, who crossed the Rhine, drew 10,000 men from Cologne and the garrisons of the Low Countries, advanced to Rheinberg, and occupied the strong post of Closter Camp. He was here attacked by the hereditary prince, but, after a desperate action, repulsed him with the loss of 1600 men, and forced him to repass the Rhine, and raise the siege of Wesel. Meanwhile Broglio had occupied a strong post at Einbech, and sedulously avoided an engagement. At the close of the season he wintered in Hesse ; and prince Ferdinand, after an ineffectual attempt to retake Gottingen, took up his head quarters at Paderborn ; the hereditary prince distributed his troops in the bishopric of Munster. During these transactions George II. closed his long and auspicious reign on the 25th of October, by a sudden death, 1760.] ACCESSION OF GEORGE HE. 419 and was succeeded by his grandson, George III., a prince in the flower of youth, who, in habits, disposition, and political principles, totally differed from the late monarch. Born and educated in England, he gloried in the name of Britain, and had not imbibed those foreign prejudices, which had often involved his two predecessors in the chaos of German politics, and had occasionally interfered with the interests of Great Britain. Untrained in the military school, he was by habit and principle devoted to peace; and his resolutions were strengthened by the state of the public mind at the period of his accession. The severe sufferings of the British troops during the preceding winter, and the enormous expense of the German campaigns, began to abate the national enthusiasm, and revived the aversion of the people to a continental war. The nation regretted the separation from the house of Austria, and inveighed against the continuance of hostilities, as solely calculated for the aggrandisement of the house of Brandenburgh, and for a prince, who, though nominally the head of the Protestant interest in Germany, was the great supporter of infidelity, both by his writings and conduct. The transcendent eloquence of Mr. Pitt, and the dangerous situation of affairs, had confounded all opposition in parlia- ment, which rather assembled to obey his dictates than to debate on the propriety of his measures ; the Leicester House party, whom he had alienated, availed themselves of the growing discontents, and in numerous pamphlets and periodical publications retorted with effect on the minister the arguments which he himself had used against German measures and German influence. One of the first objects of the young monarch was to anni- hilate the distinctions of Whig and Tory, and to emancipate himself from that aristocratic influence, which had gradually increased during the reigns of his two predecessors, and held the crown in bondage. He retained, however, the former administration, and in his first speech declared his intention to prosecute the war with vigour, and support his allies as the sole means of obtaining a safe and honourable peace. But the pacific sentiments of the new sovereign, and the confidence which he reposed in the earl of Bute, whose aversion to continental connections was well known, gave new spirit and hopes to the party who were desirous of peace. £ E 2 420 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXVI. That nobleman, being appointed groom of the stole, was, in virtue of his office, introduced into the privy council, and though he held no responsible post, was considered as the source of royal favour ; while Mr. Pitt, who had disdained to court a party, stood alone, with no other support than what resulted from his successful career and transcendent eloquence. Maria Theresa beheld with pleasure this change in the British cabinet, and this revolution in the public sentiment ; she anticipated the dismission or retreat of Mr. Pitt, as the period when England would again relapse into a lukewarm support of her inveterate enemy. Her hopes were also raised by the situation of the Spanish court. Charles III., less pacific than his brother, and recollecting the degrading neutrality which he had been compelled to sign when king of Naples, was inclined to preserve the family connection with France. He was also drawn towards the house of Austria, by the conciliating conduct of Maria Theresa, in not urging her pretensions to Parma, and acquiescing in the order of succession, which he had established for Naples and Sicily. * These amicable dispositions were strengthened by the marriage of his niece, the infanta Isabella, princess of Parma, with the archduke Joseph on the 7th of September, 1760; and the cabinets of Vienna, Madrid, and Versailles, thus firmly united by the ties of blood and political interests, were now concerting those arrangements, which terminated in a family compact between Spain and France, and gave to the house of Austria a new and powerful ally. Chap. CXVL— 1761. During the winter, Maria Theresa was employed in recruit- ing her armies, and in repairing the great loss she had sus- tained at the battle of Torgau. In the midst of these pre- parations overtures for peace, originating from France, were made at the court of London, through the medium of prince Gallitzin the Russian ambassador ; and Maria Theresa, af- fecting the same inclinations, proposed a congress at Augs- burgh. She was not unacquainted with the negotiations * Memoirs of the King of Spain, ch. lix. 1761.] PERILOUS SITUATION OF FREDERIC. 421 between France and Spain, and she was aware that the offers of the court of Versailles were merely intended to gain time, till Spain could be drawn into the quarrel. In proposing a congress, she therefore displayed an apparent readiness for peace, although she avoided engaging herself in any specific negotiation. France soon proved the insincerity of her pro- posals, by endeavouring to entangle the negotiation with the long-pending contests between England and Spain, relative to the restoration of ships captured during the war, the cutting of logwood, and the privilege of fishing on the banks of Newfoundland; while the German disputes, in which the house of Austria was solely concerned, were not even brought into discussion. In the midst of these negotiations the campaign was opened; and Maria Theresa was again flattered with the hopes of crushing the Prussian monarch. Her principal efforts were directed against Silesia, where the sole command was intrusted to Loudon, who was to be joined by the Rus- sians under marshal Butterlin, the successor of Soltikof. On the north of Prussia, a Russian and Swedisli fleet, with a body of land forces under count Romanzof, was to besiege Colberg, and penetrate into Pomerania ; and marshal Daun, with the main army, was to act on the side of Saxony, and support, by detachments, the operations of Loudon and Romanzof. At this juncture the French, after having baflled an attempt made by prince Ferdinand in the depth of winter, to break their chains of quarters, and drive them from Hesse Cassel, were preparing to co-operate with the forces of the house of Austria on the side of Saxony. The king of Prussia, hemmed in on all sides by this powerful combina- tion, marched in person to defend Silesia ; prince Henry was opposed to marshal Daun, and prince Eugene of Wirtem- berg, with a small force, took post in an intrenched camp to cover Colberg against the attacks of the Russians. This campaign exhibited a singular change in the opera- tions of the field. The active and enterprising Frederic, overpowered by the multitude of his enemies, and exhausted even by his victories, seemed to have adopted the phlegm as well as the caution of Daun, and acted wholly on the defen- sive. Even Loudon, who had distinguished himself by a degree of intrepidity approaching to rashness, did not give scope to his natural spirit of enterprise. He was shackled £ E 3 422 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXVI. by instructions from the council of war ; he was thwarted by the cabals of his numerous enemies, who were jealous of his rapid and unexampled rise; and he was unwilling to risk an action which would wither the laurels he had ac- quired in the preceding campaigns ; but above all he was embarrassed by the capricious and dilatory conduct of the Russians, derived from the uncertain state of the court and cabinet of St. Petersburgh. The empress of Russia, though gradually sinking into the grave under a mortal disease, yet displayed a motley mixture of that weakness, devotion, and voluptuousness, which had been the grand characteristics of her life. Her favourite was devoted to France, and some of her leading ministers were devoted to England, or awed by the influence of her successor the great duke Peter, who was smitten with an enthusiastic admiration of the king of Prussia. The greater part of the cabinet, swayed by their private interests, biassed by national prejudices, or desirous of conciliating the heir apparent, communicated the plans of the two powers to the king of Prussia, and thwarted the operations of the field. Marshal Butterlin was attached to this party, and was only anxious neither to commit the honour of the Russian arms, nor to assist in crushing the king of Prussia ; hence, although he durst not resist the specific orders of the empress, he found continual excuses for delay, and either thwarted or coldly supported every plan proposed by Loudon. It was even a subject of public conversation among the Russian officers, that they were not to attack the king of Prussia, but only to defend themselves if attacked. Loudon passed the early part of the campaign in different manoeuvres to seize Neiss, or some fortress on the frontiers of Silesia, as a support to his line of operations ; but he was constantly baffled by the skill and activity of the king. At length he overcame the indolence of the Russian general ; Butterlin crossing the Oder, on the 17th of August, near Closter-Leubus, effected a junction with the Austrians between Jauer and Strigau, and the combined troops formed a body amounting to not less than 130,000 men. As the whole army of the king did not exceed 50,000, he was unable to make head against so superior a force ; he took a strong position at Bunzelwitz, in the neighbourhood of Schweidnitz, which contained his magazines, and fortified it with all the 1761.] SCHWEIDNITZ ATTACKED. 423 resources of art. From the nature of the ground, the situa- tion of the hills, the course of the rivers, and the intervention of marshes, it was almost impregnable, and was defended with numerous intrenchments, a strong and intricate palli- sade, 466 pieces of artillery, and even 182 mines. In vain Loudon exerted his efforts to dislodge the Prussians ; he proposed to storm these intrenchments, but was thwarted by the unconquerable repugnance of the Russian general. In this inactive situation both armies remained till the 10th of September, when the Austrians being unable to furnish the Russians with subsistence, Butterlin left Chernichef with 20,000 men, and withdrew towards Poland. His retreat was hastened by the destruction of his magazines at Kublin, which was effected by a considerable detachment under general Platen. Loudon thus deserted, retired in chagrin towards the mountains, and resumed his position at Kunzendorf. Deeply affected with the conduct of the campaign, his anxiety and disappointment brought on a severe cholic, to which he was occasionally subject ; he did not, however, remit his activity and vigilance, and when want of provisions compelled the king to withdraw towards Neiss, he seized that opportunity of attacking Schweidnitz. Schweidnitz, which from the extent of the works required a garrison of 7000 men, was only defended by 3000, many of whom were deserters, or peasants compelled to enter into the service. It likewise contained 500 Austrian prisoners, among whom was major Rocca, an Italian partisan, who being imprudently indulged with great liberty by the governor Zastrow, examined the fortifications, and remarked the negli- gence in the service of the garrison, which he found means to communicate to Loudon. In consequence of this intel- ligence, the Austrian general with twenty battalions moved in the night of the 1st of October, at two in the morning approached the fortress, and dividing his troops into four bodies, prepared to attack the gates of Strigau and Breslau, the Water-fort, and the fort of Benkendorf. At this junc- ture, the commandant, as if suspicious of some intended en- terprise, ordered the garrison under arms, but omitted to send out patroles, or throw light balls in the vicinity. The Austrians, therefore, advanced unpcrceived to the palisades, and after a few discharges of cannon gained the outworks. E E 4 424 MARIA. THERESA. [CH. CXVI, In one place alone they experienced a desperate resistance ; the regiment of Loudon being twice repulsed, count Wallis, who led them to the assault, exclaimed, " Comrades, we must scale the fortress, or I will here perish ! such was my pro- mise to our commander ; our regiment bears his name, and we must conquer or die ! " The soldiers, animated by this address, again leaped into the ditch, and by a desperate effort mounted the rampart. The other attacks were attended with more speedy success ; the confusion of the garrison was increased by the Austrian prisoners, who burst open the doors of the casemates, and possessed themselves of the bridges, and by break of day Schweidnitz, with all its garrison and magazines, was in the hands of Loudon. This important acquisition did not cost more than 600 men, many of whom were killed by the accidental explosion of a powder magazine. The capture of Schweidnitz deranged all the pro- jects of the king; to cover Neiss, Brieg, and Breslau, he fell hack to Strehlen ; Loudon was enabled to take up winter quarters in Silesia, and the Russians, under Chernichef, in. the county of Glatz. On the side of Pomerania the prince of Wirtemberg main- tained himself with m eat resolution in his intrenched camp ; but unable to resist superior numbers, he left Colberg to its fate, which, after a most obstinate and gallant defence, fell into the hands of Romanzof, on the 16th of December. In Saxony marshal Daun contented himself with keeping prince Henry in check, and favouring the operations in Silesia ; but on the capture of Schweidnitz he drew 24,000 men from the army of Loudon, and endeavoured to dislodge prince Henry, without the risk of a battle. That able com- mander, however, maintained his ground ; and Daun, hoping that in the disastrous state of the Prussian affairs, the king would be unable to make head another campaign, confined his views to the possession of Dresden and the neighbouring part of Saxony, and at the close of the year drew his troops into winter quarters, and returned to Vienna. Thus, without a single battle, the affairs of the empress- queen were more prosperous than during any preceding period of the war. The Austrians retained their position in Saxony, and by the capture of Schweidnitz were enabled to take up winter quarters in a part of Silesia ; by the posses- sion of Colberg, the Russians obtained a port on the Baltic, 1761.] SPAIN OPENLY JOINS FRANCE AND AUSTRIA. 425 where they could form magazines without conveying them through Poland ; and Prussian Pomerania and Brandenburgh were open to their future incursions. The sanguine hopes of Maria Theresa were equalled by the despondency of her rival. Frederic repaired to Breslau to hasten the completion of an intrenched camp which had been begun during the campaign, secluded himself from society to give vent to his grief, and seemed, in this last ex- tremity, as if resolved to terminate his career of glory under the walls of the capital of Silesia. The despondency of the monarch pervaded his army ; and even the remnant of his veteran troops, whom he had so often led to victory, declared that if attacked, they would lay down their arms. On the side of Westphalia alone, affairs wore a less favour- able aspect. Prince Ferdinand, by skill and resources equal to those of the great Frederic, baffled all the efforts of the French, with a far inferior force, prevented their intended co-operation with the imperialists, and at the close of the campaign confined them to the same ground which they occupied at the commencement of the year. The cause of the house of Austria, however, seemed pros- perous in every court of Europe. France had matured her plans of policy; and Spain, having temporised till her galleons from America were safely arrived in port, threw oil* the mask, avowed the signature of the family compact, which united all the branches of the house of Bourbon, and pre- pared to co-operate with Austria and France. The changes which took place in the British administration furthered the views of France and Spain. On the resigna- tion of the earl of Iloldernesse, lord Bute had received the seals as secretary for the northern department, and his influ- ence soon became predominant in the cabinet. Anxious to prevent the adoption of measures which might render the war more extensive, he listened to the delusive professions of the house of Bourbon, and endeavoured to avoid or protract the declaration of the hostilities against Spain. In vain Mr. Pitt represented the progress of the projected union ; in vain he urged the necessity of intercepting the Spanish galleons ; his counsels were rejected, and this great but imperious minister, disdaining to support measures which he could not guide, indignantly retired from the helm. The duke of New- castle, instead of retiring with Mr. Pitt, was induced by a 426 MARIA THERESA. [ch. cxvn. hope of regaining his influence, to continue in office ; but he was unable to acquire either the confidence or favour of the sovereign. The British cabinet thus forced into a war with Spain, and irritated by the prevarication of France, did not intermit their efforts either by sea or land ; the impulse given by Mr. Pitt to the wheels of government had not subsided ; war was declared against Spain, and hostile preparations urged with increasing vigour. But the new part of the ministry, as well as the young monarch, were not disposed to continue the enormous expense of a continental war. The term of the subsidiary treaty with the king of Prussia having expired, they delayed entering into new engagements, and urged him to make overtures to the court of Vienna. A coldness had accordingly arisen between the two powers ; and the English ministry, embarrassed with hostilities against Spain, were anxious either to hasten an accommodation, or to turn their whole efforts towards the prosecution of a naval war. Chap. CXVIL — 1762. Such was the favourable aspect of the Austrian affairs at the termination of the year : and all the sanguine hopes con- ceived by the warm imagination of Maria Theresa seemed on the point of being realised. A more striking picture of the distress of the great anta- gonist of the house of Austria cannot be drawn, than in his own words : " Prince Ferdinand alone, of all the allies, had terminated the campaign without loss ; and the Prussians were unfortunate in every quarter. Prince Henry had re- tired from the mountains of Saxony, but the district in which he was confined scarcely furnished the daily subsistence of his troops ; the superiority of the enemy enabled them to occupy the most advantageous posts ; and every thing was to be apprehended for the winter and the ensuing campaign. The situation of the king was still more deplorable : the capture of Schweidnitz occasioned the loss of the mountains and half of Silesia ; he possessed only the fortresses of Glogau, Breslau, Brieg, Neiss, and Cosel ; he was master 1762.] RUSSIA ASSISTS PRUSSIA. 427 indeed of the course of the Oder, and of the districts be- yond ; but that territory, ravaged by the Russians at the commencement of the campaign, could furnish no subsist- ence ; nor could he derive any supply from Poland, as 15,000 Russians, forming a cordon on the frontiers, intercepted all communication. The army was compelled to defend its front against the Austrians, and its rear against the Russians. The communication between Berlin and Breslau was precari- ous, but, above all, the loss of Colberg rendered the situation of affairs desperate ; there was no obstacle to prevent the Russians from besieging Stettin, at the commencement of the spring, or even from seizing Berlin and the whole electorate of Brandenburgh. In Silesia the king had only 30,000 men ; prince Henry had scarcely more, and the troops who had served in Pomerania against the Russians were totally ruined. The greater part of the provinces were overrun by the enemy, or laid waste ; and the king knew not whence to draw recruits, where to find horses, accoutre- ments and subsistence, or how to secure the passage of the military stores to the army." In the midst of these auspicious appearances in favour of the house of Austria, an event happened, which rescued the Prussian monarchy from impending destruction. Elizabeth, empress of Russia, died on the 5th of January, and was succeeded on the throne by her nephew, Peter III. With the empress expired the national antipathy which had been fostered against the king of Prussia : the new sovereign in his early youth had visited the court of Berlin, and, struck with the admirable discipline of the Prussian army, con- ceived an enthusiastic admiration of Frederic, which was raised almost to admiration by the splendid successes, the unshaken fortitude, and the heroism of that extraordinary man. During the reign of his predecessor, Peter had not con- cealed his partiality, and had even communicated the secrets of the cabinet and the plans of operations to his favourite hero. But he now avowed his attachment without reserve ; he bitterly censured the ingratitude of Maria Theresa to- wards England, inveighed against her ambition, and stigma- tised Elizabeth for having exhausted the blood and treasure of her empire to exalt a rival, and depress a friend. He bad scarcely received the oath of allegiance from his sub- 428 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXVII. jects, before he ordered his troops to abstain from hostilities against the king of Prussia, and to quit the Austrian army ; he imparted this intelligence with a childish transport to the British minister, and soon afterwards secretly despatched his favourite Godovitz to conclude an alliance with the hero of his idolatry. With a servility unbecoming the sovereign of a great empire, he even sought an honorary rank in the Prussian army, and seemed to pride himself more as a lieutenant-general of Frederic, than as autocrat of all the Russias. The change of politics at St. Petersburgh occa- sioned a similar revolution in the court of Stockholm ; an armistice was concluded between Prussia and Sweden, and Maria Theresa was deprived of another ally. The exulta- tion of the king of Prussia at this fortunate and long-ex- pected event was equal to his former despondency; he broke from his sullen retirement, showed himself again to his troops, appeared in public with every mark of joy, and again resumed his favourite amusements and ordinary course of life. Maria Theresa, on the contrary, suddenly fell from her towering hopes of recovering Silesia, and subverting the Prussian power. In consequence of the successes of the last campaign, she had haughtily rejected the overtures of England to mediate an accommodation ; from a principle of mistaken economy, she had disbanded 20,000 men, and this unseasonable diminution of her forces, in conjunction with the defection of Russia, was still farther augmented by a leprous disorder, which spread contagion among her troops, and rendered a considerable part of her army unfit for service. The Austrians seem to have been confounded at this sudden reverse of fortune ; and although marshal Daun took the command of the Silesian army in May, he could not prevent the king from drawing his troops from Pomerania and Mecklenburgh to the neighbourhood of Breslau, and making preparations for the recovery of Schweidnitz. They were still farther disheartened by the conclusion of an offensive alliance between Russia and Prussia, and by the march of the corps under Chernichef, who, having separated from the Austrians, and taken the route to Poland, returned and joined the Prussians. By this accession of strength, the king became equal, if not superior, to Daun, and was en- abled to pursue offensive operations. 1762.] DEATII OF PETER OF RUSSIA. 429 Meanwhile Daun had exerted his principal efforts to preserve Schweidnitz, and to render it capable of sustaining a long siege. During the whole winter, peasants and soldiers were employed in repairing and strengthening the works, and a chain of intrenched posts was formed in the mountains, which would enable the army to maintain a communication with the town. The garrison of 12,000 chosen troops was commanded by Guasco, a distinguished general in the Austrian service, who was assisted by Gri- beauval, an able engineer, and the place was provided with every requisite for maintaining a siege. In May, Daun, with 60,000 men, had descended into the plain, and encamped at the distance of six miles beyond the Schweidnitz, with his right wing extending to the fool of Zobtenberg, and his left towards the Schweidnitz Wa&ser; while the king, who waited for the junction of the Russians, retained his troops in cantonments on the banks of the Lolie. Before their arrival, however, he sent a considerable body towards the frontiers of Upper Silesia ; and Daun was com- pelled to weaken his army by a detachment to cover Mo- ravia. On the 1st of July, Chernichef passed the Oder, and the king put his army in motion. Daun, threatened by the Prussian detachments which hovered on his flanks, and alarmed for the safety of his magazines in Bohemia, retired successively to Boegendorf and Ditmansdorf ; but although a corps of Cossacs penetrated into Bohemia, and pushed their incursions even to the gates of Prague, he still maintained a communication with Schweidnitz, by means of his in- trenched posts, and rendered the siege impracticable. At this critical juncture, another revolution took place in Russia, which seemed likely to restore the ascendency of the Austrian arms. Peter III., having disgusted his subjects by his attach- ment to the Prussian monarch, and displeased the army, nobility, and clergy, by his well-meant, but ill-timed inno- vations, a secret conspiracy was formed against him, and 3 leaded by his consort, whom he had alienated by his brutal and capricious behaviour. He was frequently apprised of these machinations ; but refused to listen even to the sugges- tions of the king of Prussia, and remained insensible of his danger until the insurrection broke forth, which deprived him of his crown and life. 430 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXVII. Catherine II., whom this singular revolution placed on the throne of Russia, was a daughter of Christian Augustus of Anhalt Zerbst, a petty prince of Germany, in the service of Prussia, and was born in 1739, at Stettin, where her father was governor. At the age of sixteen, she was called into Russia, and espoused the great duke Peter, who, from person, character, and manners, was calculated rather to disgust than to please a princess of great beauty, cultivated talents, and extreme sensibility. His neglect and ill-usage alienated her affections ; the dread of perpetual imprisonment induced her to head the dis- contented party ; and by one of those sudden revolutions which are natural to arbitrary governments, she succeeded in wresting the crown from her husband, and placing her- self on the Russian throne. On her accession she issued a manifesto, declaring the king of Prussia the enemy of the Russian name, ordered Chernichef to return to Poland, and the troops in Pomerania to re-occupy Prussia, and resume hostilities. Chernichef related the account of this revolution to the king, and privately communicated his orders to withdraw from the army. Frederic, though confounded by an event, which, to use his own words, "overturned the projects of man," made no opposition to his departure, but prevailed on him to defer his march three days. The time was precious : the Austrian commander was ignorant of the revolution, and Frederic availing himself of this interval, attacked the two intrenched posts of Burkensdorf and Oehmsdorf, and, after a slight contest, dislodged the Austrians, who amounted to 8000 men, although covered by lines equally strong from nature and art. In consequence of this reverse, Daun re- moved his camp to Wursten Waltersdorf, and Tannhausen ; while the Russians, who by their presence had contributed to his defeat, began their march towards Poland. Schweid- nitz was instantly invested, the trenches opened on the 7th of August, and the operations of the siege were covered by the king on the side of Peterswalde, and by a corps under the prince of Bevern, which had been drawn from Upper Silesia, on the side of Reichenbach. After the departure of the Russians, Daun, foiled in the attempt to cut off the corps under the prince of Bevern, withdrew to Scharfenek, and left Schweidnitz to its fate. The town held out till the 9th 1762.] FREDERIC STILL SUCCESSFUL. 431 of October, when the explosion of the powder magazine, which opened a breach in the rampart, compelled the go- vernor to surrender, and the garrison were made prisoners of war, after a resistance of sixty-four days. The king himself paid a due eulogium to the gallant defender of the place ; when Guasco, at the head of his officers, was pre- sented, Frederic said, " Sir, you have given a noble example to those who are intrusted with the defence of fortresses ; your resistance has cost me 8000 men." Thus terminated the campaign in Silesia, by which the Austrians irrecoverably lost that valuable province. The king, leaving a body of troops under the prince of Bevern, hastened into Saxony, to co-operate with prince Henry ; and Daun, having consigned to Loudon a corps op- posed to the prince of Bevern, directed his march towards the same point; but before their arrival the fortune of the war was already decided. At the opening of the campaign, Serbelloni, the Austrian commander, covered the frontiers of Bohemia and Saxony with a chain of posts, which extended from Plauen and Dippoldiswalda, along the heights from Freyberg to Waldheim. Prince Henry, how- ever, though inferior in force, passed the Mulda, penetrated this chain, and separated the Austrian troops from the army of the empire ; he maintained his advantages in different skirmishes, and harassed Bohemia by continual incursions. Serbelloni being recalled, and the command intrusted to Haddick, the new general formed a junction with the army of the empire, and drove prince Henry beyond the Mulda ; but the prince having received considerable succours from Silesia, again attacked the army of the empire, who were posted at Freyberg, forced their intrenchments, and defeated them with the loss of 3000 killed and wounded, 4000 pri- soners, twenty-eight pieces of artillery, and several standards. Prince Albert, of Saxony, who was detached from the army of Daun, arrived too late ; Haddiok was unable to resume offensive operations, and the discomfited remains of the im- perial troops retired to Altenberg, on the frontiers of Bo- hemia. Prince Henry, pursuing his success, sent a corps by Einscdel into Bohemia, which reduced Egra to ashes, destroyed the Austrian magazines at Saatz, and penetrated to the walls of Prague. Another corps spread over Saxony, burst into the heart of the empire, levied contributions on 432 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXVIT. every side, alarmed the diet of Ratisbon, and forced Nurem- berg, with many of the towns and states, to sign a neutrality. Unable to check this torrent, Daun concluded an armistice for the winter, which comprehended Saxony and Silesia, and the two armies retired into quarters. The allies of the house of Austria were not more for- tunate. At the commencement of the year the French forces in the landgraviate of Hesse and the southern part of Hanover, assembled in June, and occupied the strong post of Stolpen ; they were here attacked by prince Ferdinand, and, after a desperate engagement, defeated with considera- ble loss. The remainder of the campaign was almost a con- tinued series of disasters ; tho French were harassed and baffled on all sides by prince Ferdinand, and at the close of the year possessed no other place in Hesse, except Ziegen- hayn, which the allies were preparing to invest, when the signature of the preliminaries terminated hostilities. The co-operation of Spain produced no essential advantage to the house of Austria ; and the invasion of Portugal was attended with the ill success which so unjust a measure deserved. Animated by the genius of the count de Oeyras, afterwards distinguished by the title of Pombal, inspirited by the vigorous succours of the English, and directed by the military skill of count de la Lippe, the Portuguese made an unexpected resistance, and compelled the combined forces of the French and Spaniards again to evacuate the country. In fact, Spain was drawn into hostilities, only to become the victim of her weakness and duplicity ; the isle of Cuba and the Manillas were taken ; her marine weakened by the cap- ture of twelve ships of the line, and, besides the enormous expense of the equipments for the war, she lost near four millions sterling, in treasure and valuable merchandise, which fell into the hands of the English cruisers. France, unsuccessful both by sea and land, exhausted of her blood and treasure, and, in addition to her former losses, deprived of the valuable colonies of Martinico, with its de- pendencies, St. Lucia, Tobago, and Grenada, saw her com- merce annihilated, and her ships pent up in her harbours, and was disappointed in her hopes from the co-operation of Spain. She therefore made overtures to England, with a sincerity natural to her desperate situation, and found a ready compliance from the British cabinet. England had 1762.] PEACE DESIRED. 433 nothing more to hope from a prolongation of the war ; the people were satiated with victories, which added neither to their internal security nor external aggrandisement ; the duke of Newcastle, under whose direction the war had com- menced, had retired from the helm, and his place at the head of the treasury was filled by lord Bute, whose pacific senti- ments were in unison with those of the sovereign and nation. As the two parties equally desired a peace, the conditions were adjusted without much difficulty ; and a treaty was signed at Fontainebleau on the 5th of November, 1762, be- tween England, France, Spain, and Portugal. The German disputes, which in the reigns of the two former monarchs, might have prolonged the war, became only a secondary consi- deration, to the unbiassed wisdom of the sovereign who filled the throne. The king of Prussia hastened the separation of England by his ambitious projects, which returned with re- turning success, and by his unqualified invectives against the ill faith of the British cabinet. Finding that his sole voice opposed the conclusion of peace, and aware, from past experience, that when he was delivered from the Russians and Swedes, his forces were equal, if not superior, to those of Austria, England had withdrawn the subsidy ; and having bound France, by the 13th article of the preliminaries, not to furnish succours to the empress-queen, abandoned the discussion of the affairs of Germany to the courts of Berlin and Vienna. Many motives contributed to bend the lofty spirit of Maria Theresa, and incline her to peace. She had been deserted by the Swedes, on the accession of Peter III. ; and the ex- pectations which she had formed from the recent revolution in Russia were equally disappointed. The first steps taken by the new empress indicated a hostile disposition towards the king of Prussia ; but these measures were occasioned by her apprehensions rather than by her inclinations. At the commencement of a new reign, with so defective a title to the crown, she was unwilling to engage in foreign hosti- lities ; and she had found among the papers of the late emperor unequivocal proofs that Frederic had disapproved the capricious conduct of Peter, and repeatedly urged him to treat her with mildness and humanity. In this disposi- tion the behaviour of Frederic towards the troops under Chernichef conciliated her favour ; she ordered the kingdom vol. m. F F 434 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXTII. of Prussia to be restored, discontinued all acts of hostility and, during the remainder of the campaign, preserved ant exact neutrality. In addition to these disappointments Maria Theresa saw her hereditary countries exposed to the irruptions of the Prussians, and Hungary threatened by the Turks, who had been excited by the intrigues of the king of Prussia to me- ditate hostilities. Motives no less cogent were suggested by the dreadful devastations of the Prussians in Saxony, the panic of the German states, the defection of all her allies, the difficulty of finding resources and raising money, dis- gusts among her ministers, the declining health of the em- peror, and dissensions in her family. Urged by these motives Maria Theresa herself made overtures to Frederic, which being favourably received, con- ferences were opened at Hubertsburgh, a palace of the elector of Saxony, and after a short discussion relative to the restitution of the county of Glatz, and the succession to the margraviatea of Bareuth and Anspach, the peace was signed on the 5th of February, 1763. The treaties of Breslau and Berlin formed the basis of that of Hubertsburgh. Maria Theresa renewed her renunciation of Silesia and Glatz, and both parties guaranteed each other's possessions. All places and prisoners taken during the war were to be restored ; and Frederic by a secret article, promised to give his suffrage for electing the archduke Joseph king of the Romans. In this arrangement the empire was also comprised, and the peace of Westphalia, with the other constitutions of the Germanic body, renewed. A treaty was signed the same day between Augustus III. and the king of Prussia, for the evacuation of Saxony, and the restitution of the archives, and part of the Saxon artillery. The pacification of Hubertsburgh, which terminated the seven-years' war, placed the affairs of Germany in the same situation as before the commencement of hostilities ; and' both parties, after an immense waste of blood and treasure y derived from it no other benefit than that of experiencing each other's strength, and a dread of renewing the calamities of so destructive a contest. Maria Theresa, however, had the mortification of seeing her friends suffer for their attach- ment to her cause. Saxony was exhausted almost beyond recovery ; her allies in the empire were drained by excessive 1762-1769.] DEATH OF THE EMPEROR FRANCIS. 435 contributions ; and France lost Louisiana, the province of Canada, Cape Breton, with all the islands in the gulph and river of St. Lawrence, Grenada, the Grenadines, St. Vin- cent's, Dominica, and Tobago. Spain yielded Florida, and all her other possessions on the continent of America, to the east or south-east of the Mississippi, and the British em- pire was thus consolidated in that quarter of the globe. Chap. CXYIII. — 1762-1769. The elevation of the archduke Joseph to the dignity of king of the Romans, was the immediate consequence of the peace. On the 27th of May, 1764, the election took place without opposition, at Franckfort, and this successful event secured to the family of Maria Theresa the imperial crown, and pre- vented the evils of an interregnum, in which the sudden death of the emperor Francis might otherwise have in- volved the empire. Francis was at Inspruck in the Tyrol, where lie had assisted at the marriage between his second son, the archduke Leo- pold, and Maria Louisa, infanta of Spain. He had been for some time indisposed, and threatened with an apoplexy, and he imagined that his disorder was increased by the heavy atmosphere in the valleys of Tyrol : like the emperor Albert I., he repeatedly expressed an earnest desire to return to Vienna; and on viewing the mountains with which Inspruck is surrounded, exclaimed, " Oh ! if I could once quit these mountains of the Tyrol!" In the morning of the 18th of August, being pressed by his sister Charlotte Marianne, abbess of Kemircmont, to be blooded, he answered, "I am engaged this evening to sup with Joseph, and will not disappoint him ; but I promise you 1 will be blooded to-morrow." At the opera in the after- noon, he felt himself disordered ; went out, accompanied by his son, and in retiring through his valet de chambre's room to his own apartment, was struck with a fit of apoplexy. As he tottered for a few moments, Joseph caught him in his arms, but could not support him, and r'rancis falling on the floor, expired without a groan, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. F F 2 436 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXVIII. In his private deportment Francis was lively, polite, and affable; but he seemed rather formed for the situation in which he was born, than for that high rank to which he was elevated by his marriage with Maria Theresa. His honours sat awkwardly upon him, and he was uneasy under his dignities. Though appointed co-regent of the Austrian dominions, and seated upon the first throne of Europe, he possessed only the shadow of authority, and his opinion was without weight in things of consequence. Naturally indo- lent and unambitious, he never attempted to make the smallest struggle ; but submitted without a murmur to be a cipher, contented only to be consulted by foreign ambas- sadors for the sake of form. He even affected to display his own insignificance, and to consider himself as subordinate to his consort. Being once at the levee, when the empress- queen was giving audience to her subjects, he retired from the circle, and seated himself in a distant corner of the apartment, near two ladies of the court. On their attempt- ing to rise, he said, " Do not regard me, for I shall stay here till the court is gone, and then amuse myself with contem- plating the crowd;" the ladies replying, "As long as your imperial majesty is present, the court will be here;" " You mistake," he added with a smile, "the empress and my children are the court ; I am here only a simple individual." Had Francis possessed more influence, the system of Eu- rope would probably not have been overturned ; for France was as odious to him as Prussia was to the empress-queen, and he seemed to have appreciated the necessity of pre- serving the strictest friendship with Great Britain. He did not, without great reluctance, consent to the alliance with the house of Bourbon ; and among his papers was found a remark which confirms this observation : " The less con- nection with France the better ; the god of the French is convenience; they have been often tried, and have been always found unfaithful." The royal historian has recorded, that Francis, not daring to interfere in affairs of government, employed the sums which he drew from Tuscany in commerce. He es- tablished manufactories, or lent money on pledges, and undertook to furnish the imperial troops with uniforms, arms, and horses. Associated with count Botta, and a merchant named Schimmelman, he farmed the revenues of 1762-1769.] CHARACTER OF FRANCIS. 437 Saxony; and in 1756, even supplied with forage the Prus- sian army, which was then engaged in hostilities with the empress his consort; during the seven-years' war, he fur- nished the empress with large sums, but always took care that they should be vested on good security ; he was, in a word, the court banker. Francis left two chests of money ; one belonging to himself and the other which he adminis- tered for the empress. His own was supposed to contain about 1,000,000 florins in money r and 19,000,000 in paper, which his son Joseph inherited; but his love of amassing treasure did not render him hard-hearted; on the contrary, he was "open as day to melting charily/ 1 and distributed 100,000/. in annual donations to distressed persons. He was extremely fond of natural philosophy, and endea- voured to make his skill subservient to his love of money. With this view* he attempted, by means of burning glasses, to form several small diamonds into one large stone ? and continually employed chemists in searching for the philoso- pher's stone. He patronised men of letters, and made col- lections of medals, natural history, and natural philosophy ; and to his care the capital owes a cabinet as rich in those articles as any European cabinet can display. Though his abilities and acquirements were inferior, and his deportment less dignified, in one respect he was far greater than Maria Theresa ; he was more inclined to toleration, and always recommended, in matters of religion, persuasion and argu- ment rather than violence and persecution. Among numerous instances of benevolence, which reflect honour on his memory, two have been thought most worthy of being handed down to posterity. A fire having burst forth in a magazine of saltpetre at Vienna, Francis hastened to the spot, and as he advanced to give his orders, one of his suite represented to him that he too much exposed his person: "Do not," the emperor replied, "be alarmed foi me, but for those poor creatures whom it will be difficult to save." During the depth of winter a violent inundation overflowed the suburbs, and the waters rising to an < wt inor- dinary height, many could only save themselves by taking refuge on the tops of the houses. For three days they re- mained in that dreadful situation without nourishment ; the rapidity of the stream, and the floating masses of ice, rend- ering the passage so dangerous, that the most intrepid boat- F F 3 438 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXVIII. men could not be persuaded by any recompence to expose themselves. In this imminent peril Francis threw himself into a boat, and exclaiming, " I trust my example will not be lost," rowed over to the opposite shore ; his example had its due effect ; the boatmen no longer hesitated to encounter the same danger as the emperor, and the people were saved. If the study of history is useful, it is particularly so when it records examples of courage springing from humanity, and where the foremost in rank is the first to distinguish himself in braving danger or in acts of benevolence. Maria Theresa bore the afflicting stroke of her husband's sudden decease with the utmost resignation. Though doat- ingly fond of him, and herself a pattern of conjugal attach- ment, she had supported his numerous infidelities without the smallest murmur, and even without appearing to be ap- prised of them.* In a letter to her daughter, she calls him by the endearing names of consort, friend, her heart's joy, for two-and-forty years ; she added, " brought up together, our sentiments haw ever been the same, and all my misfor- tunes have been softened by his support." She derived a melancholy pleasure from the recollection of his amiable qualities, and even soothed her grief by preparing with her own hands the shroud which was to cover his body, but charged the confidential women of her court, who saw her employed in that dismal office, not to divulge it ; and the secret was not known till her death. To the time of her decease she constantly wore mourning ; her apartments were hung with black; she frequently descended into the vault which contained his remains, and continued several hours praying by his sepulchre, and preparing for her own dis- solution. In consequence of his pre-election, Joseph succeeded to the title of emperor ; and Leopold, her second son, became great duke of Tuscany, in virtue of the act of succession promulgated by Francis in 1763. The empress-queen was no sooner recovered from the first agonies of her grief, than she turned her attention with redoubled energy to the concerns of government and the establishment of beneficial regulations for promoting the * Mr. Wraxall has recorded a striking proof of her magnanimity in her conduct to the princess of Auersberg, the mistress of Francis. — Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 353. 1762-1769.] HER ENLIGHTENED POLICY. 439 welfare of her subjects. She founded or enlarged, in diffe- rent parts of her extensive dominions, several academies for the improvement of the arts and sciences ; instituted nu- merous seminaries for the education of all ranks, and re- formed the public schools. She particularly turned her attention to the promotion of agriculture, which, in a medal struck by her order, was intituled the " art which nourishes all other arts*," and founded a society of agriculture at Milan, with bounties for the peasants who obtained the best crops. She confined the rights of the chase, often so perni- cious to the husbandman, within narrow limits ; and issued a decree enjoining all the nobles who kept wild game to main- tain their fences in good repair, permitting the peasants to destroy the wild boars which ravaged the fields. She also abolished the scandalous power usurped by the landholders of limiting the season for mowing the grass within the forests and their precincts, and mitigated the feudal servi- tude of the peasants in Bohemia. Among her beneficial regulations must not be omitted the introduction of inoculation, and the establishment of a small- pox hospital. On the recovery of her children from a dis- order so fatal to her own family, Maria Theresa gave an •entertainment, which displays the benevolence of her cha- racter. Sixty-five children, who had been previously in- oculated at the hospital, were regaled with a dinner in the gallery of the palace at Schoenbrun, in the midst of a nu- merous court ; and Maria Theresa herself, assisted by her offspring, waited on this delightful group, and gave to each of them a piece of money. The parents of the children were treated in another apartment ; the whole party was admitted to the performance of a German play ; and this charming entertainment was concluded with a dance, which was protracted till midnight. Perhaps the greatest effort made by the empress-queen, and which reflects the highest honour on her memory, was the reformation of various abuses in the church, and the re* gulations which she introduced into the monasteries* She corrected the evils attendant on mortmain, or pious legacies bequeathed to the church, as an expiation for sin, by for* bidding all ecclesiastics from being present at the. making of a will; she diminished the number of monks and nuns, * Arti artium nutrici. f F 4 440 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXIX. by ordering that no persons should be admitted to take the vows who had not attained the age of twenty-five ; and she abolished a burdensome impost of ten per cent., which every new abbot had extorted from his vassals, under the pretence of furnishing an equivalent tax on collateral succession, to which abbey lands had been declared subject. She took away the pernicious right which the convents and churches enjoyed, of affording an asylum to all criminals without dis- tinction ; she suppressed the inquisition, which, though curbed by the civil power, still subsisted at Milan, and abolished throughout all her dominions the no less odious than inhuman custom of forcing confession by torture. She suppressed the society of Jesuits, although her own confes- sor was a member of that order ; but did not imitate the unjust and cruel measures adopted in Spain and Portugal, and softened the rigour of their lot by every alleviation which circumstances would permit. Chap. CXIX. — 1769-1777. It is a melancholy task to turn from these salutary and benevolent acts to a series of ambiguous negotiations and unjust encroachments, which again changed the whole system of Austrian policy, occasioned a temporary union with the king of Prussia, and ended in the partition of Poland, a transaction which disgraced the reign of Maria Theresa. Notwithstanding her memorable declaration in 1756, that no consideration on earth should induce her to enter into an alliance of which the king of Prussia was a party, the em- press-queen forgot that apprehension of his ambition which had hitherto been her ruling principle, and not only relin- quished all hopes of recovering Silesia, but contributed to consolidate and extend the power and influence of her natu- ral enemy. This change in the conduct of the court of Vienna was principally owing to the predominance which Russia began to assume in the scale of Europe, and particu- larly to the despotic ascendency which Catherine had ac- quired in Poland. Poland, which formed a barrier between Austria, Prussia, Turkey, and Russia, had sunk from the first to the most in- 1769-1777.] POLAND. 441 considerable power of the north, in consequence of intestine commotions and the diminution of the regal authority. The neighbouring sovereigns fomented these internal discords, in order to preserve their influence in the government, and prevent the nation from recovering its former ascendency ; and the constitution was calculated to promote their views. It was a republican form, presided by an elective monarch, who was chosen by the nobles or gentry, and extremely limited in his authority. The great body of the people were in a state of feudal vassalage, and the nobles * were the sole proprietors of land in fee, or descendants of those proprietors, consequently numerous, and in general needy. Among these, the most powerful and opulent, like the feudal barons, maintained large bodies of retainers, and were supported by those of their own order, who hoped either for protection or advantage. Hence factions were formed, and the higher nobles, perpetually at variance either among themselves or with the crown, were assisted and encouraged by foreign states.f From the death of John Sobieski the house of Austria had maintained a considerable influence in Poland, and, in con- * A noble, as designated by the laws of Poland, was a person not engaged in trade or commerce, either possessing land, or the descendant of a family which formerly possessed land. Every noble was capable of being a candidate for the throne. f The supreme legislative authority resided in the three estates of the realm, the king, senate, and equestrian order assembled in a national diet. The senate consisted of the bishops, palatines, or governors of pro- vinces, castellans or lieutenants of the palatines, and the sixteen ministers of state ; all these were appointed by the king, but when nominated could not be deprived of their charges, except by the consent of the diet. The equestrian order, or lower house, was composed of nuntios chosen by the nobles or gentry in the respective dietines, and no qualification was required either in the electors or elected. This assembly exhibited a disgraceful scene of faction, tumult, and bloodshed, and was incapable of concluding any business of state ; because the most important ques- tions could not be dec kled without unanimity of suffrages, as each nuntio, by his liberum veto, or negative, had the power of suspending, or even of dissolving the diet. To obviate the evils arising from this dreadful privilege, the Poles had recourse to diets of confederacy, which, though composed of the same members, and conducted with the same forms, were capable of deciding by plurality of voices. Still, however, the evil was only remedied in part, as the diets of confederacy could not decide on many afl'airs of state, nor make regulations which might lead to a radical change in the constitution. 442 MARIA TIIERESA. [CH. CXIX. currence with Russia, had raised Augustus, elector of Saxony, to the throne. The late emperor had sacrificed some of his fairest provinces to support the son of Augustus, and Maria Theresa was equally desirous to promote the inte- rest of the house of Saxony, which had displayed so warm an attachment, and undergone such sufferings in her cause. On the death, therefore, of the king of Poland, which hap- pened on the oth of October, 1763, she prepared to exert all her influence in favour of his son Christian Frederic; but that prince dying soon after his father, leaving a minor son, who was ineligible to the vacant dignity, she encouraged his brother, prince Xavier, to become a candidate. On this vacancy Poland became a scene of faction and disorder ; several natives offered themselves as candidates, among whom the most conspicuous were prince Czartorisky, his nephew count Stanislaus Poniatowski, high standard- bearer of Lithuania, count Branisky, and prince Lubomirsky. Of these count Branisky was supported by prince Radzivil, and by those independent magnates who deprecated the inter- ference of foreign powers ; but all the other competitors yielded to count Poniatowski, who was assisted by the in- fluence of Russia. This amiable and accomplished nobleman was son of count Poniatowski, castellan of Cracow, by the princess Czartoriska, and had captivated the affections of Catherine when grand duchess. The vanity of the empress w r as flattered by the prospect of conferring a crown upon her favourite ; and her ambition was no less gratified in securing the election of a king who seemed likely to become wholly dependent on his benefactress. She lavished her treasure to bribe the venal nobles, assembled an army on the frontiers, and, in order to exclude all foreign candidates, restricted the Poles to the choice of a piast or native. The empress-queen saw with concern the attempts of Russia to exclude the house of Saxony, and gain the prepon- derance in Poland; she published a spirited manifesto, de- claring her resolution to maintain all the rights, prerogatives, and possessions of the Poles, particularly their privilege of appointing a sovereign by a free and voluntary election, and being seconded by a declaration equally strong on the part of France, prepared to assert the pretensions of the house of Saxony by arms. 1769-1777.] POLAND. 443 To counteract the opposition of Maria Theresa, Catherine gained the king of Prussia : the two sovereigns entered into a treaty to secure the election of Stanislaus ; and being joined by the Porte, the three powers issued similar declara- tions, exhorting, or rather commanding the Poles to elect none but a piast for their king. Soon afterwards a corps of Russian troops entered Poland, defeated prince Radzivil and his party, and, in conjunction with a Prussian force on the frontiers, awed the diet of election, and secured the nomina- tion of count Poniatowski, who was chosen on the 7th of September, and crowned by the title of Stanislaus Augustus, Maria Theresa, ill seconded by France, and opposed by Turkey, Prussia, and Russia, was too prudent to follow the example of her father, at a time when her subjects were yet bleeding with the wounds of the septennial war. She did not, therefore, openly oppose the election of Stanislaus : but, recalling her minister from Warsaw, strove, in concert with France, to diminish the preponderance of Russia, by foment- ing the intestine troubles and assisting the malecontents with money. She thus prepared to avail herself of the first oppor- tunity to interfere w T ith elfect in the affairs of Poland, and this opportunity soon presented itself. Stanislaus, though solely indebted to Catherine for his elevation, beheld with regret the total dependence of his country on the court of Petersburgh. He was anxious to emancipate himself from the Russian yoke, to abolish the liberum veto, and reform other glaring defects in the con- stitution, which furnished a perpetual pretext for foreign interference. But his character and abilities were not equal to this great design ; without military talents he could not direct or awe his turbulent subjects ; and he was too deeply immersed in gallantry and pleasures, to undertake an enter- prise which required the greatest exertions of body and mind. Some salutary regulations introduced into the finances, the army, the courts of justice, and the further reforms which he meditated, gave umbrage to Russia, and roused those turbulent spirits who were desirous to retain their country in a state of anarchy. Catherine and Frederic fomented these discontents, and revived the religious disputes, by declaring themselves protectors of the dissidents, under which denomination were comprised all Christian sects who dissented from the Roman Catholic religion. The dissidents 444 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CX1X. had been originally indulged with the free exercise of their worship, admitted to seats in the diet, and had participated in all the privileges of the Catholics ; and these rights were confirmed by the celebrated treaty of Oliva. In process of time the Catholics, acquiring the ascendency, gradually deprived the dissidents of their privileges, and, in 1733, excluded them from the diet. Soon after the election of Stanislaus, the dissidents appealed to England, Russia, Prussia, and Denmark, as mediating powers in the treaty of Oliva, and obtained their recommendation to the diet ; but these applications were unfavourably received, the exclusion was confirmed, and with great difficulty they even obtained the free exercise of their worship. The king himself, though inclined to toleration, concurred with the Catholics, and thus excited still farther the resentment of the empress of Russia. Catherine remonstrated against the proceedings of the diet, encouraged the dissidents to form confederacies, and even strengthened them with a body of troops. Religious dis- putes were soon blended with political cabals ; the dissidents were joined by bodies of discontented Catholics, and a con- federacy of Catholics was formed under the appellation of malecontents, and headed by prince Radzivil. A national diet, assembled to consider the claims of the dissidents, was awed into compliance by a Russian force ; the most violent of the Catholics were arrested and impri- soned, and the diet dissolved, after appointing a committee to adjust the contested points. This committee was induced by bribes and threats to arrange a body of articles, which not only restored the privileges of the dissidents, but per- petuated the elective monarchy, the liberum veto, and the other abuses in the constitution ; and these articles were sanctioned by an extraordinary diet held at the commence- ment of 1768. Such arbitrary proceedings roused the majority of the nation ; bodies of Catholics assembled on the frontiers of Turkey and Hungary, seized the fortress of Bar in Podolia, and formed an union which was called the Confederacy of Bar. The royal troops were either defeated, or joined the insurgents ; additional forces from Russia poured into Poland, and the country became a scene of bloodshed and devasta- tion ; while the king, without a shadow of authority, was a mere puppet in the hands of the Russian party. 1769-1777.] PARTITION OF POLAND PROPOSED. 445 In one of these conflicts a party of Russians pursued the Poles into the Turkish territory, and burnt the small town of Balta. This accidental incursion was construed as a vio- lation of territory; the Porte was instigated by France to publish in October, 1768, a declaration of war against Russia, and by this diversion enabled the confederates to protract hostilities. The rapid success of the Russians against the Turks, and particularly the conquest of Moldavia, alarmed the court of Vienna, and disposed the empress-queen to listen to the overtures of the king of Prussia, who was himself jealous of his new ally. That wily monarch had long coveted Polish or Western Prussia, which formed a communication between the disjointed parts of his dominions, but could not expect to realise his views without the concurrence of Austria and Russia. He therefore projected the partition of Poland ; and the distracted state of that country, and the relative situation of the neighbouring powers, seemed to offer a favourable moment for the fulfilment of his plan. Aware that Russia was interested to oppose a dismemberment, he endeavoured first to secure the concurrence of Austria, and, by their joint influence, to extort the acquiescence of Catherine while she was involved in a Turkish war. As early as 1765 he had proposed an interview, which had been eagerly accepted by Joseph, at that time an enthu- siastic admirer of his great rival ; but he was disappointed by the jealousy of the empress and her minister. The Aus- trian cabinet, however, being now alarmed by the success of the Russians, the emperor himself, with the consent of Maria Theresa, offered to visit Frederic in vSilesia. The interview took place at Neiss, on the 2oth of August, 1769, and seemed likely to remove that enmity which had long divided the two houses. Frederic addressed the emperor by declaring he considered that day the happiest of his life, as it became the epoch of an union between two families too long hostile, but whose real interests consisted rather in seconding than destroying each other. Joseph replied, " Silesia no longer exists for the house of Austria." He then proposed to main- tain a neutrality in Germany, in case of a war between England and France ; and the king acceded to this proposal, a convention was signed by the two monarchs themselves, and by an additional article they engaged to observe a neu- 446 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXIX. trality, in their respective dominions, should any unforeseen troubles arise ; they likewise agreed to maintain a private correspondence, and settle their respective disputes without the intervention of ministers. In the ensuing year the Turkish fleet being destroyed at Tchesme, Bender taken by count Panin, and Wallachia added to the Russian conquests, the court of Vienna was still more alarmed with the progress of these new and dangerous neighbours ; magazines were formed in Hungary, reinforce- ments of troops despatched towards the frontiers, and the empress-queen did not affect to conceal her resolution of taking part in the war. In these circumstances a second interview took place ; the emperor, accompanied by prince Kaunitz, repaired to a camp formed at Neustadt in Moravia, where he received the visit of the Prussian monarch. Frederic and his generals were habited in the uniform worn by the Austrian recruits, and, on meeting the emperor, the king addressed him with the delicate compliment, k> 1 have brought your imperial majesty many recruits." The two sovereigns treated each other with the utmost cordiality ; and the business for which the meet- ing had been arranged was transacted between Frederic and the Austrian minister. Kaunitz pressed the king to join the house of Austria, in opposing, by force of arms, the ambitious projects of Kussia; and urged that such an union was the only barrier to resist that torrent from the north which threatened to overwhelm all Europe. Frederic artfully evaded this overture, but tendered his intervention to con- ciliate the courts of Vienna and Petersburgh, and offered to procure from the Porte the acceptance of the Austrian medi- ation : at the same time he reiterated his former assurances of amity, and. at the request of the emperor, promised to communicate any overtures which might be made to him by France. These professions were confirmed by the arrival of a messenger from Constantinople, with letters requesting the mediation of Austria and Prussia, and declaring the resolu- tion of the Porte to accept no proposals which were not made by their intervention. This mediation was gladly accepted by the emperor and his minister, and the rival houses of Austria and Brandenburgh seemed cordially united in their views and interests. 1769-1777.] PARTITION OF POLAND. 447 At this interview Frederic held forth the partition of Poland as a bait to the Austrian court, and represented the policy of persuading or compelling Russia to concur in the dismemberment, instead of retaining Moldavia and Wallachia. The map of Poland was laid before the two sovereigns, the limits of the respective portions were adjusted, and the plan of operations arranged.* The consequences of these inter- views were soon manifest ; the Austrian and Prussian troops had already entered Poland, under the pretence of preventing the progress of the plague ; and Maria Theresa brought for- ward vague claims on some Polish districts, of which she affected to postpone the discussion till the return of peace, and declared that she would protect the territories in ques- tion from all insults, cither on the part of the Russians or the confederates. Notwithstanding this union with the king of Prussia, and the arrangements for the partition, a singular change sud- denly took place in the conduct of the court of Vienna. Maria Theresa, in a letter to Stanislaus, written with her own hand, gave the strongest assurances that her friendship for him and the republic was firm and unalterable; thai she, had never entertained a thought of seizing any part of his- dominions, and would, suffer no dismemberment. At the same time she concluded a treaty with the Porte, by which she agreed to declare war against the Russians, if they did not relinquish all their conquests, and desist from their en- terprises in Poland. In return she was to receive an annual subsidy of 10,000 purses, or 720,000 pounds, by four instal- ments, the first of which was to be paid as soon as the Aus- trian troops were put in motion ; and she flattered herself with the hopes of regaining, from the gratitude of the Turks* those provinces which had been ceded at the peace of Bel- grade* The troops were accordingly put in motion; the first instalment was paid ; promises of assistance were * I have little hesitation in asserting that the plan of this partition, originated with the king of Prussia; but so infamous was this transaction, that each of the three powers endeavoured to fix the blame on the others. We need however only read the king of Prussia 1 ! own account, in 44 LsJ Politique depuifl 116.] a 1775," (Euvres Potthumes, torn. 5.% to be con- vinced that he was the prime mover of this partition, and that he ob- tained his end by fomenting and availing himself of the jealousy between the courts of Vienna and Petersburgh. 448 MARIA TIIERESA. [CH. CXIX lavished on the confederates; immense preparations made in Hungary ; and the imperial minister at Berlin pressed the king to remain neuter, should the Austrians attack the Russians in any other country except Poland. Frederic had now matured the plan at which he had laboured with unceasing assiduity. He therefore rejected the proposal of a neutrality, endeavoured to prevent the jealousy of the two powers from breaking out into open hos- tilities, and despatched his brother prince Henry to St. Petersburgh, to negotiate a peace with the Turks, and to effect an accommodation between Austria and Prussia, which was to be cemented by the partition. Catherine, intoxicated with her success, demanded as the price of a peace with the Turks, the cession of the two Cabardias, Azof and its terri- tory, the independence of the Crimea, the free navigation of the Black Sea, an island in the Archipelago, and the seques- tration of Moldavia and Wallachia, for twenty-five years. In imparting these extravagant proposals to the court of Vienna, Frederic artfully softened their resentment, and endeavoured to protract the negotiation ; but finding prince Kaunitz dazzled with the expected advantages of the Turkish alliance, he exerted all his endeavours to secure the concur- rence of Russia. He succeeded in alarming Catherine with the dread of an Austrian war, and at length persuaded her to accept a portion of Poland, as an indemnification for res- toring Moldavia and Wallachia. In the midst of these negotiations, a corps of Austrian troops entered Poland, and occupied the lordship of Zips, as an ancient dependency of the kingdom of Hungary. This usurpation furnished an additional argument to the king of Prussia, and facilitated his views. Catherine declared to prince Henry, that if the court of Vienna presumed to dis- member Poland, the neighbouring powers must follow the example. Frederic took advantage of this hint, excited her apprehensions, and at length extorted her consent to the par- tition ; the respective portions were specified in a convention signed at St. Petersburgh, in February, 1772, between the empress and the king of Prussia. Having thus succeeded at the court of Russia, Frederic again applied to the cabinet of Vienna ; he expressed the approbation of Catherine at the seizure of Zips, urged them to occupy the districts which they wished to appropriate, 1769-1777.] PARTITION OF POLAND. 449 and insinuated that himself and Russia would follow the example. Unwilling, however, to relinquish the advantages which they expected to derive from their connection with the Porte, they hesitated in adopting the proposal, and Kau- nitz in particular dreaded lest the dismemberment of Poland should occasion a breach of the alliance with France. But by the same artifices which Frederic had employed in Russia, he alternately alarmed and lured the court of Vienna, and even made warlike preparations as if he designed to enforce the partition. His schemes were attended with success. Maria Theresa listened to the overtures of the Prussian monarch, and preferred a share in the plunder of Poland to an uncertain and burdensome war. She felt or affected to feel, indeed, great scruples of conscience, in participating the disgrace of this infamous transaction ; but she was not the less exorbitant in her demands, and extended her claims almost to the half of Poland. After a long discussion, the dread lest the secret should be divulged, and the instances of Prussia, induced her to lower her pretensions, and the final treaty of partition was signed at St. Petersburgh on the 5th of August. During the negotiations for the partition treaty, Poland had been torn by intestine feuds, and sunk into a dreadful state of anarchy ; the confederates had made a considerable progress, and with the animosity natural to such contests, both parties had committed the most daring acts of licentious- ness and cruelty. The unfortunate monarch was solely main- tained on his throne by a Russian army, and resided at Warsaw as a kind of state prisoner, in the midst of a Russian garrison ; in this situation he was seized in his capital by a daring band of confederates, and was only rescued from assas- sination by an escape almost miraculous. * At length the time approached for the execution of the treaty, which had been arranged with such consummate art and profound secresy. The three powers throw of the mask, by publishing a manifesto asserting their respective claims, and with an insulting mockery, urged those very disorders and miseries in which they had contrived to plunge the unfortunate Poles, as motives for their glaring violation of the rights of nations. On the publication of this manifesto, they made a specification of their intended acquisitions, and • For an account of his escape, B66 Wraxall's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 56. vol. m. g a 450 MARIA THERESA. [CII. CXIX. the respective districts were instantly occupied by their troops. Both parties were equally confounded by these proceed- ings. The king and the royalists found themselves betrayed by the empress of Russia, whom they had considered as their protectress ; and the confederates had even flattered them- selves that the Austrian troops were advancing to their assistance. The nation now felt the fatal effects of faction and discord; but the two parties were unable to form a coalition ; the king was a state pageant in the hands of the Russians ; and the confederates, threatened on all sides, were soon routed and dispersed. The king and nation published refutations of the pretended claims ; issued counter declarations and memorials ; and appealed to all the other states who had guaranteed the in- tegrity of Poland. But neither this appeal, nor the senti- ments of justice and humanity made the smallest impression on the three courts, and they hastened to complete the parti- tion, lest the rising spirit of the nation should be supported by the other states of Europe. The empress-queen, who had hitherto acted a secondary part, now came forward, and her minister at the court of Warsaw peremptorily required the king to assemble a diet, in order to hasten a definitive arrangement between the republic and the three powers, " who would not expose their pretensions to the hazard of future contingencies, and of those troubles with which Poland had been always agitated." The same declaration was deli- vered by the ministers of Russia and Prussia, and Stanislaus issued circular letters for the convocation of the general diet. The diet assembled on the 19th of April, 1773 ; but such was the disposition of the nation, that in the lower house the majority of the nuntios long opposed the dismemberment; and they were encouraged by the king, who exhibited the firmest resolution to preserve the integrity and independence of his country. The ambassadors of the three courts now had recourse to terror : the king was menaced with deposi- tion, his family with imprisonment and ruin, and the capital itself was threatened with pillage ; bribes and promises were lavished among the members of the diet, and every engine employed to obtain the fulfilment of their views. At length the Poles, without hope from abroad, and without strength 1769-1777.] THE PARTITION EFFECTED. 451 at home, indignantly yielded to their fate. Still, however, the king continued firm, and threatened to abdicate rather than dishonour himself by sanctioning the dismemberment of his kingdom ; he demanded an asylum in England, and stretching forth his right hand to the British plenipotentiary, exclaimed, " I will sutfer this hand to be cut off' rather than sign the act of Partition." But Stanislaus, though buoyed up by the enthusiasm of the moment, did not possess suffi- cient energy to endure the extremity of his fortune : his feeling mind was alarmed for the fate of his family ; and he had not spirit to disdain a crown held only by the sufferance of his oppressors. He yielded to the menaces of the Russian ambassador, and gave his assent to that fatal instrument, which finally blotted the name of his devoted country from the nations of Europe. The partitioning powers were too prudent to trust their unjust acquisitions to the forbearance of an indignant nation ; they extorted an act for the immediate dissolution of the diet, and the appointment of a committee of delegates to adjust their respective claims, and to accede to a new constitution which they had prepared for that unhappy country. The delegates entered on their humiliating office ; and, before the month of September, concluded the treaty of partition in conformity to the dictates of the three courts. The Russian district formed the north-eastern part of Poland, and consisted of Polish Livonia, parts of the palati- nates of Witepsk, Polotsk, and Minsk, and the whole palatinate of Micislaw, containing a population of 1,500, (XX) souls; and Frederic obtained the district called Royal or Western Prussia, with a population of 860,000 souls. The declaration published by Maria Theresa founded her right to a large portion of Poland on obsolete claims of the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia ; but she advanced as a favour, that although she could prove her incontestible right to Severia, Podolia, Volhynia, Pokutia, Red Russia, and Little Russia, and other considerable districts, yet she would content herself with a moderate equivalent. This equivalent was, a large territory in the south of Poland, com- prising Red Russia, Gallicia, and parts of the palatinates of Cracow, Kandomir, Lublin, Bezk, Volhynia, and Podolia, containing a fertile and extensive country, with a population of 2,500,000 souls, and the valuable salt works of Vielitzka, G G - 452 MARIA TITERESA. [CH. CXIX. which brought to the republic an annual revenue of 90,000/. This district was consolidated and annexed to the Austrian territories, under the ancient appellation of the kingdoms of Gallicia and Lodomeria. The partitioning powers did, however, less injury to the republic by dismembering its fairest provinces, than by es- tablishing a form of government, which gave still further scope to the exorbitant liberty of the nobles. They excluded all prospect of reform, by perpetuating the elective monarchy, the liberum veto, and the other inherent defects of the con- stitution ; and still further circumscribed the authority of the crown, by taking from the king the appointment of bishops, castellans, palatines, and ministers of state, and the patronage of the starosties, or royal fiefs, and by vesting the executive power in a permanent council chosen by the diet and pre- sided by the king. The avidity of Austria and Prussia was not gratified by these acquisitions, and the treaty of partition was scarcely signed before the courts of Vienna and Berlin began to make new encroachments. The two courts connived at each other's encroachments, and, from the situation of affairs, seemed likely to succeed in extending their acquisitions. The good fortune which had hitherto attended the arms of Catherine had deserted her in the campaign of 1773, and her generals were defeated in their attempts to carry the war beyond the Danube. At the same time the rebellion of Pugatchef, who assumed the character of Peter III., shook her throne ; and the Turks, encouraged by this diversion, obstinately refused to listen to overtures for peace. But in the ensuing year the Russian arms again became successful ; Romanzof passed the Danube, and hemmed in the Turkish army in the mountains of Bulgaria, and the Grand Vizier was compelled, by a mutiny of his troops, to accede to the terms dictated by the Russian general. By this treaty, signed at Kagniardji, the Russian head-quarters, Catherine secured the independence of the Crimea, the free navigation of the Turkish seas, and obtained the forts of Kertsch, Yenikale, Kinburn, and the surrounding district, Azof, and the cession of the Great and Little Cabardias. She restored all her other conquests to the Turks ; but in the restitution of Moldavia and Wallachia, exacted such stipulations relative to their privileges and religion, as afforded her a pretext to 1777.] HER INFLUENCE IN EUROPE. 4o& interfere in the affairs of those provinces. In consequence of this glorious peace, she was enabled to crush the rebellion of Pugatchef, and to turn her attention to the affairs of Poland. The court of Vienna was extremely mortified at this sudden pacification. Even during the whole negotiation for the partition of Poland, the empress-queen had not intermitted her intrigues with the Porte. She had beheld with jealousy the recent success of the Russians, and saw with great regret and apprehension the conclusion of a peace, which rendered the empress of Russia the protectress of Moldavia and Wallachia, and which so greatly increased her territories and ascendency in the east of Europe, and enabled her to turn her attention to the affairs of Poland. The fears of the empress-queen were not ill-founded. Catherine authoritatively required both Austria and Prussia to desist from their encroachments, and abide by the treaty of partition ; she even reproached the court of Vienna for the exactions of their troops in Poland, and extorted from the emperor an humiliating disavowal of their conduct. These spirited remonstrances were attended wijh effect. Maria Theresa first declared her readiness to oblige the empress of Russia by restoring the territories of which she had taken possession ; and the king of Prussia, was compelled to follow her example. Still, however, the final conclusion of this nefarious transaction was retarded by various ne- gotiations ; representations, remonstrances, and threats suc- ceeded each other, and it was not till 1777, that the three powers, influenced by mutual jealousy and fear, desisted from their projects of aggrandisement, and nearly adopted the limits which had been assigned by the first treaty of partition. Chap. CXX.— 1777. At the conclusion of the partition of Poland, the situation of Maria Theresa was highly flourishing, and her great accessions of strength and influence excited jealousy among the European powers. She possessed a well disciplined army, exceeding 200,000 men, which could be considerably aug- mented ; the finances were restored to order, and notwith- G o 3 454 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXX. standing the numerous expenses of the military establishment, the treasury was enriched by an annual saving of 2,000,000 crowns. From inclination and principle she was averse to the horrors of war, and desirous of closing her days in peace ; but her son the emperor, a prince of an aspiring and ambitious temper, was eager to augment his dominions, and panted for an occasion to signalise his name. Some time after the death of Francis, the council of the conference which had for so long a period directed the administration, was abolished, and prince Kaunitz, as prime minister, acquired unbounded influence in the conduct of foreign affairs. He adapted himself with consummate address to the discordant characters and views of the mother and son ; but he exerted his principal attention to preserve the alliance with France, which during the events of the preceding years had been repeatedly threatened with dissolution. On the death of Louis XV., sanguine hopes were enter- tained by the court of Vienna, that their ascendency at Versailles would be secured by the influence of the young queen*, and that Choiseul would be placed at the head of a new administration formed under their auspices. But in these expectations they were grievously disappointed ; the young king, though warmly attached to his queen, restrained her interference in political concerns, and placed his whole confidence in the count de Maurepas, who had been strongly recommended by the dauphin his father, and whose prin- ciples were adverse to Austrian politics. The resolution of the king was also strengthened by a memorial presented to him, by the order of his deceased father, on the day of his accession. This paper designated the house of Austria as the natural enemy of France ; displayed in strong colours the evils which had been derived from the treaty of Ver- sailles : and inculcated the necessity of establishing a new system of policy. By the advice of Maurepas, the duke d'Aiguillon was dismissed, and the conduct of foreign affairs intrusted to the count de Vergennes, a man of a cool head, penetrating judgment, and refined address, who had highly distinguished himself in his embassies at Constantinople and Stockholm, and who, from gratitude and principle, was zealous in pro- moting the views of Maurepas. Vergennes pursued the * The archduchess Maria Antoinetta, daughter of Maria Theresa. 1777.] FRENCH POLITICS. 455 same system of policy with consummate skill ; he maintained a private and constant correspondence with Louis XVL, un- known to the queen ; he secretly renewed the friendly inter- course with the king of Prussia ; and at the very moment when by lures and promises he governed in essential points the court of Vienna, he inculcated in the mind of the king the necessity of supporting the Prussian power, and of counteracting the further aggrandisement of the house of Austria, as the means of perpetuating the influence of France in Germany, and isolating England from the states of the continent. In a memoir privately submitted to the king, he earnestly inculcated this grand "principle of his political system : " What would have become," he says, " of France, if the enormous efforts made during the septennial w r ar had been attended with the expected success? The king of Prussia crushed, and his power annihilated, France would have been reduced to the degrading alternative of having no ally in the empire, or of submitting to the law imposed by so precarious a friend as the house of Austria. It is to the dread inspired by the king of Prussia, that France owes the alliance of the court of Vienna. By pre- serving, therefore, the power which is the object of that dread, we can alone hope to perpetuate that alliance." He adds, " I dare to assert, that we ought not to hesitate in pre- ferring the preservation of the Prussian power in Germany, to that of the branches of the house of Bourbon in Italy. Although the kingdom of Naples, in the hands of the em- peror, would give him many advantages, those advantages have no positive weight in the balance of Europe : but it is far different with regard to Prussia ; her consolidated power, particularly since the acquisition of Polish Prussia, renders her of considerable importance in the balance of the empire, and, by a necessary consequence, in that of Europe." Louis adopted this principle, and in most instances made it the grand rule of his conduct. He maintained the alliance with the house of Austria, from a regard to treaties, from affection to the queen, and from a sense of the advantages derived from that connection ; but he no less secretly and sedulously cultivated a friendly intercourse with Prussia and the secondary powers. He justly appreciated the pa- cific sentiments of Maria Theresa, for whom he entertained an almost filial affection, and he was equally convinced that G G 4 456 MARIA THERESA, [CH. CXX. prince Kaunitz was sincerely disposed to maintain the al- liance on terms of reciprocal advantage to both nations. He entertained, however, an unfavourable opinion of his brother- in-law, the emperor, and attributed to his sole interference the alliance with Russia and Prussia, the partition of Poland, and the seizure of the Bucovina, the possession of which had been lately confirmed to ber by Russia. His prejudice against Joseph strikingly appears by a secret letter written to Vergennes, on the invasion of Venetian Dalmatia by the imperial troops, under the pretence of a dispute relative to the limits : "The measures," he Bays, "which the Austrian cabinet have for some time pursued are equivocal and fal- lacious. The invasion of the Venetian territories by the troops of the emperor, denotes his ambitious and despotic temper, which he has not concealed from the baron de Breteuil ; he has doubtless fascinated his mother, as she was by no means pleased with his usurpations, and did not at first conceal her dissatisfaction. It appears, also, by the despatch of Thugut, that Kaunitz disapproved all that had passed, but his opinion was overruled. AVe have nothing at present to do, but to watch carefully, and be on our guard relative to evervthinj* that comes from the court of Vienna ; civility and reserve must be the rule of our conduct." These motives, and this refined policy, explain the whole conduct of the French cabinet, and display their apparent inconsistency in supporting the petty interests of the house of Austria, while they opposed all her attempts for further aggrandisement. The court of Vienna exhibited strong marks of disap- pointment and uneasiness, on the nomination of the French ministry, without their knowledge or intervention ; the emperor displayed* the strongest aversion to the French court and nation ; even prince Kaunitz did not refrain from sarcastic reflections on the characters and measures of the new administration, and the whole cabinet testified a return- ing partiality to England. During the transactions for the partition of Poland, the court of Vienna had maintained a * I passed the winter of 1777 and 1778 at Vienna, and had frequently the honour of meeting the emperor, in private societies, where he visited without ceremony. On these occasions he did not affect to conceal his Anti- Bourbon sentiments, and seldom failed of uttering some severe sarcasms against the French. 1777.] ILL-FEELING BETWEEN AUSTRIA AND FRANCE. 457 stately reserve towards that of Versailles ; but the partition was no sooner completed, than their jealousy of Russia re- vived in consequence of her increasing preponderance, and perpetual encroachments on the side of Turkey. To resist so formidable a power, they endeavoured to regain the confi- dence of France, and in 1777, baron Thugut was despatched to Paris to propose a defensive league against Russia, in favour of the Turks. The French ministry, however, anxious not to offend the empress of Russia, declined the proposal, under the pretence that such an alliance would alarm Europe, and that it would be sufficient to conclude the league when the Ottoman empire was actually threatened with an invasion. In consequence of the ill-success of the minister, the emperor himself, who was desirous to ascertain the real sentiments of the French cabinet, and to exert his influence over his sister, paid a visit to Versailles. He had long meditated this journey, but had been prevented by the secret opposition of the French ministry, and by the repugnance of the king, whose prejudices against his brother-in-law had rather increased than diminished. Vergennes encouraged these prejudices ; he artfully expatiated on the ambitious projects of the emperor, insinuated that the purpose of the journey was to gain the support of France to his views of aggrandisement, and endeavoured to fortify the mind of his master against the influence of the queen. The anti-Aus- trian party also were loud in their clamours; they accused the emperor, not only of an intention to wrest Servia and Bosnia from the Turks, Friuli from the Venetians, and to seize Bavaria, on the death of the elector, but to covet Loraine and Alsace, the patrimony of his ancestors. The prejudices of the king, therefore, were not effaced by all the blandishments of the queen, and were still fur- ther augmented by the incompatible characters of the two sovereigns. In these circumstances, the visit of the emperor did not tend to revive the harmony between the two houses. He was indeed received with the most flattering marks of respect and attention ; but the king and ministers viewed their il- lustrious guest with jealousy and alarm, and in all political matters he experienced the utmost coolness and reserve. The vanity of Joseph was mortified by his disappointment; 458 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXXI. he returned to Vienna still more disgusted with the French, whom he affected to consider as a trifling and frivolous people ; and he accused the cabinet of Versailles of being jealous of his talents, fearful of his future ascendency in Europe, and hostile to the interests of the house of Austria. Chap. CXXI.— 1777-1779. Joseph had scarcely returned from France, when the death of the elector of Bavaria, without issue male, on the 30th of December, 1777, opened a new prospect of aggrandisement to the house of Austria, and again kindled the flames of war in Germany. On this event, Charles Theodore, elector Palatine, was generally considered as rightful heir to all the Bavarian territories which were not female fiefs or allodials. The elector of Saxony, in right of his mother, who was sister of the deceased elector, claimed the allodial property, which he valued at 47,000,000 florins. The duke of Mecklenburgh Schwerin contended for the possession of the landgraviate of Leuchtenberg, in virtue of an investiture granted to his ancestor Henry by the emperor Maximilian, in 1602. But these petty pretensions were lost in those of a more powerful claimant. The house of Austria had long coveted the possession of Bavaria, and Joseph had even espoused Cunegunda, sister of the deceased elector, a princess who possessed no personal attractions, with a view to secure the allodial property ; her death without issue having frustrated these expectations, the court of Vienna brought forward other pretensions to almost one half of the succession. Maria Theresa, as queen of Bohemia, claimed those fiefs in the Upper Palatinate which had been conferred by the kings of Bohemia on the Bavarian line since the convention of Pavia ; and as archduchess of Austria, and representative of Albert, she founded her pretensions to Lower Bavaria in virtue of the investiture granted by Sigismond. She claimed also the lordship of Mindelheim in Suabia, in consequence of a reversion granted to the house of Austria by Matthias, in 1777-1779.] BAVARIA CLAIMED BY AUSTRIA. 459 1614, and confirmed by succeeding emperors ; and she even asserted a prior title to the allodials, by what was called a right of regredience, or in virtue of her descent from Anne, great grand-daughter of Albert and wife of Ferdinand I., and also from Mary Anne, daughter of William, fifth elector of Bavaria, and wife of Ferdinand II. Joseph, as emperor, claimed the landgraviate of Leuchten- berg, the counties of Wolfstein, Haag, Schwaabeck, Halss, and a few inconsiderable districts, as male fiefs reverting to the empire. In consequence of these pretensions, and the views which they had long entertained of appropriating Bavaria, the court of Vienna had anxiously watched the health of the elector ; and he was no sooner seized with the small-pox than they put their troops in motion towards the frontiers. Having secured the Bavarian ministers, the gates of Munich were shut on the death of the elector, and for five days the Austrian envoy alone was permitted to forward an express ; the imperial troops instantly entered the electorate, and occu- pied those parts which were claimed by the house of Austria. The elector Palatine, however, issued letters patent, remon- strating against the encroachment, prepared to take posses- sion of the inheritance, and repaired to Munich to receive the homage of his subjects. But it soon appeared that he had consented to previous arrangements ; for, on the 3rd of January, his minister signed a convention, acknowledging the legitimacy of the Austrian pretensions, which was ratified on the 15th by the elector himself. In fact, the court of Vienna had purchased his acquiescence by promising to pro- vide for his natural son ; and as he had no legitimate issue, he sacrificed, without scruple, the interests of his presumptive heir, the duke of Deux Ponts, who was descended from a collateral branch of tin 1 Bhodolphine lin<>. On the 20th of January lvaunitz delivered a circular note to the foreign ministers, briefly specifying the pretensions of the emperor and Maria Theresa ; and, from the situation of affairs, the court of Vienna deemed themselves secure of their object. Their troops were in possession of the country, and they expected the co-operation of France ; Russia, embar- rassed by the disputes relative to the Crimea, did not seem willing or capable of opposing their claims ; Fiiigland, in- volved in the war with the American colonies, could not turn 460 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXXI. her attention to the affairs of the continent ; and the imperial cabinet hoped that the king of Prussia, who was alone capa- ble of interposing with effect, was too much broken with age and infirmities to encounter the dangers and fatigues of the field, or to engage the whole power of the house of Austria, assisted by France. They were strengthened in this opinion by the apparent inactivity of Frederic ; but that wily mo- narch had secretly incited the duke of Deux Fonts to oppose the dismemberment of his future inheritance*, and made private overtures to France and Russia. France, true to her system of policy, would not openly oppose, but was anxious to obstruct, the aggrandisement of the house of Austria ; and Frederic succeeded in convincing the empress of Russia that she was interested to prevent any change in the German empire. Thus encouraged, he per- suaded the duke of Deux Fonts to appeal to Prussia and France, and to protest before the diet against the dismember- ment of the Bavarian territories. The elector of Saxony followed this example, and being thus furnished with a pre- text for his interference, Frederic opened a negotiation with the court of Vienna. A paper war ensued; and on both sides notes and memorials were issued, refuting and enforc- ing the validity of the Austrian pretensions. The king of Prussia urged that the whole of the Bavarian succession was an inalienable and indivisible patrimony, as well from the principles of the feudal system as from the convention of Pavia, renewed by subsequent family com- pacts, in two of which the elector Palatine himself was a party, and confirmed by the Golden Bull and the peace of Westphalia. He reprobated with peculiar energy the private arrangement with the elector Palatine, without the consent of his presumptive heir, the duke of Deux Ponts, as contrary to the laws and constitutions of the empire, and as a prece- dent that would expose the smaller states to be swallowed up by the larger. He also charged the emperor with a breach of his capitulation, in authorising so illegal a transaction, and in occupying with the Austrian troops some integral * The duke of Deux Ponts had even been induced by the elector Palatine to accede to the convention with the house of Austria, from the apprehension of losing Juliers and Berg ; but was dissuaded by count Goertz, the Prussian ambassador, at the very moment when he was about to sign. I received this information from count Goertz himself. 1777-1779.] PREPARATIONS FOR AVAR. 461 parts of the duchy of Bavaria, without the consent of the empire. The court of Vienna replied with all the ingenuity which the discussion of these intricate questions prompted. Arguments on both side3 were continually repeated in different forms in the course of the controversy, and were urged with all the subtlety and acuteness which marked the fertile imaginations of Kaunitz and Hertzberg, and sup- ported with all the chicane and cavil which German jurists could invent, and with all the authorities which could be drawn from the doubtful records of antiquity.* During this discussion, which gradually increased in acri- mony, and was at lengtli carried before the diet of the em- pire, active preparations were made for hostilities ; troops were assembled in Saxony, Silesia, Bohemia, and Moravia ; and the emperor and Frederic repaired to take the command of their respective armies. At this juncture the emperor, disappointed in his hopes of assistance from France, opened a correspondence with the king of Prussia, and the two sovereigns wrote to each other as private individuals. In the first letter he proposed a pro- ject of a convention, by which the king was to acknowledge the validity of the agreement between the empress-queen and the elector palatine, and to make no opposition to any future arrangement relative to the exchange either of a part or the whole of the Bavarian territories, provided the acqui- sitions of the house of Austria did not border on the Prussian dominions. In return, he promised not to oppose the in- corporation of the margraviates of Anspach and Bareith, with the territories of the reigning house of Brandenburgh, or any exchange which might suit the convenience of the king of Prussia, provided likewise that his acquisitions did not border on the Austrian territories. These propositions were founded on the same principle of spoliation which had characterised the partition of Poland ; but circumstances were changed. The king of Prussia was more interested to prevent the aggrandisement of the house of Austria in the empire than to make any new acquisition. He therefore rejected these propositions, affecting great ab- * The reader who is desirous to examine this controversy may con- sult the papers on both sides in Hertzberg's llecueil des Deductions, Traites, &c. 462 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXIX. horrence of thus parcelling out the states of the empire for political convenience and mutual aggrandisement ; and the discussion which had already exercised the ingenuity of the ministers, was again renewed by the two sovereigns. But Joseph seemed more desirous to display his own talents and power, than to offer reasonable terms of accommodation. Proud of the army, which was far more numerous, better dis- ciplined, and more abundantly supplied with artillery than at the beginning of the war, and anxious to cope with the great Frederic, his thirst for military glory burst forth in terms of defiance, notwithstanding his affectation of humility and love of peace. After stating the claims of Austria, and reasserting the validity of the agreement with the elector Palatine, he con- cluded : " I expect with tranquillity whatever your majesty is pleased to answer or to do. I have already learned so many useful things from your majesty, that were I not a citizen, and were not the welfare of several millions of hu- man beings concerned, I would almost add that I should not be averse to learn also from you the part of a general. Nevertheless your majesty may be convinced that the main- tenance of peace, particularly with a person like you, whom I truly reverence and love, is my sincere desire, and that 400,000 brave soldiers ought not to be employed in destroy- ing each other, for no good reason and to no purpose." The answer of Frederic was no less distinguished by his charac- teristic irony. " Your imperial majesty has the goodness to banter ; no, sire ! you need no master, so great are the ta- lents which Heaven has conferred on your imperial majesty, that you are capable of acting any part. You will recollect that Lucullus had never commanded an army when the Roman senate sent him into Pontus ; he had scarcely arrived before he defeated Mithridates. I shall be the first to ap- plaud your imperial majesty's victories, provided they are not obtained at my expense." This correspondence was continued with little effect from day to day, until the king, suspecting that the emperor was only desirous of gaining time, transferred the discussion to his ministers ; and count Cobenzl was despatched to Berlin, in April, on the part of the empress-queen, with full powers to continue the negotiation. But as the proposals of the Austrian plenipotentiary were exactly similar to those of the 1777-1779.] OPEN HOSTILITIES. 463 emperor, the negotiation was attended with no better suc- cess, arid Cobenzl returned to Vienna. At length the im- perial court brought the controversy to a conclusion, by declaring, that if the king of Prussia refused to adopt the propositions which had been offered, as the basis of a preli- minary treaty, all amicable arrangement was impossible, and all farther explanations superfluous. In March the respective armies had assembled ; Joseph, accompanied by marshal Lacy with 100,000 men, occupied the celebrated position of Konigsgratz, above the confluence of the Adler and the Elbe, which was rendered almost im- pregnable by works and inundations ; and marshal Loudon, with an army of 50,000 men, defended the frontiers of Saxony and Lusatia. The king of Prussia commenced hos- tilities by invading Bohemia on the 5th of July ; he took possession of Nachod, penetrated to the banks of the Elbe, between Konigsgratz and Jaromitz, and encamped opposite to the emperor. Another army of Prussians and Saxons under prince Henry entered Bohemia, near the town of Zittau, forced the post of Gabel, and took 1500 men pri- soners. By this manoeuvre Loudon was compelled to retreat ; but taking a strong position at Munchengratz, behind the Iser, he secured his communications, and covered the flank of the emperor. To draw him from this important post, a Prussian detachment under general Platen penetrated into his rear, and spread such consternation to the gates of Prague, that the archives were removed, and the garrison evacuated the town ; Loudon, however, maintaining his post, the Prussian detachment retreated, and the king was baffled in his attempts to dislodge the Austrians. After ravaging the country and destroying the forage, Frederic, in Septem- ber, fell back towards Silesia, and prince Henry, evacuating Bohemia, retired into. Saxony and Lusatia. Thus this sin- gular campaign, in which so numerous an army was brought into the field, headed by a young sovereign panting for mili- tary glory, and eager to signalise himself against his great and formidable rival, passed without a siege or a single action of importance. The principal cause of this inactivity was derived from the repugnance of Maria Theresa to continue hostilities, and her determined resolution to conclude peace on reasonable terms. When the account of the elector of Bavaria's death 464 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXXI. was first brought to Vienna, she received it with the deepest emotion, and passed several days in deep anxiety ; she en- treated the emperor and prince Kaunitz to weigh her pre- tensions with calmness and deliberation, and to be convinced of her right to any part of the Bavarian territories before they took possession. But though her pacific sentiments were overborne by the impetuosity of Joseph, yet when she was persuaded to send an army into the field, she persisted in her determination to conclude peace on the first opportu- nity. During the discussion with Prussia, she was frequently in tears at the prospect of a war ; and when the correspon- dence between the emperor and Frederic had closed, and the Prussian army had actually entered Bohemia, she made an extraordinary effort by opening a correspondence without the knowledge of her son. She despatched baron Thugut, under a feigned character, and enjoined him, among other expressions, to testify her regret that Frederic and herself were going to tear the grey hairs from each other's head. Her letter to the king on this occasion announced the pa- cific sentiments by which she was actuated : " From the recall of baron Riedesel, and the entrance of your troops into Bohemia, I perceive, with extreme sensibility, the breaking out of a new war. My age, and my earnest desire for maintaining peace, are well known, and I cannot give a more convincing proof than by the present proposal. My maternal heart is justly alarmed for the safety of two sons and my son-in-law, who are in the army. I have taken this step without the knowledge of my son the emperor, and I entreat, whatever may be the event, that you will not di- vulge it. I am anxious to recommence and terminate the negotiation, hitherto conducted by the emperor, and broken off to my extreme regret. This letter will be delivered to you by baron Thugut, who is intrusted with full powers. Ardently hoping that it may fulfil my wishes, conformably to my dignity, I entreat you to join your efforts with mine to re-establish between us harmony and good intelligence for the benefit of mankind, and the interests of our respective families." In a postcript, she added, "Having just received the intelligence of the approach of your army towards that of the emperor, I am the more anxious to despatch this letter, lest some accident should change the present situation of affairs. I purpose also to send a courier to the emperor, 1777-1779.] HER CORRESPONDENCE WITH FREDERIC. 465 to prevent, if possible, any hasty measure on his part, and sincerely hope I shall succeed." This letter inclosed a proposal for a suspension of arms, and for restoring all the possessions occupied by her troops, except an extent of territory which would yield an annual revenue of 1,000,000 florins, and which should not be con- tiguous to Ratisbon, nor divide Bavaria into two parts as the district she then held. She offered to unite her endea- vours with those of the king of Prussia to negotiate a just and equitable accommodation between the electors Palatine and Saxony relative to the allodial possessions. The king was conciliated by these moderate proposals; his answer bore an honourable testimony to the motives of the empress-queen, and equally evinced the sincerity of his pacific professions. " Baron Thugut has delivered to me your imperial ma- jesty's letter, and no one is or shall be acquainted with his arrival. It was worthy of your majesty's character to give these proofs of magnanimity and moderation in a litigious cause, after having so heroically maintained the inheritance of your ancestors. The tender attachment which you display for your son the emperor and the princes of your blood, de- serves the applause of every feeling mind, and augments, if possible, the high consideration which I entertain for your sacred person. I have added some articles to the propositions of baron Thugut, most of which have been allowed, and others will, I hope, meet with little difficulty. He will im- mediately depart for Vienna, and will be able to return in five or six days, during which time I will act with such caution, that your imperial majesty may have no cause of apprehension for the safety of any part of your family, and particularly of the emperor, whom I love and esteem, although our opinions differ in regard to the affairs of Germany." The additional propositions were, that the house of Austria should restore the whole of Bavaria to the elector Palatine, exoept part of the district of Burghausen, and in return should gratify the elector of Saxony with 1,000,000 crowns, and the investiture of the principality of Mindelheim and the district of Kotenburgh, and guaranty the reversion of the remainder of the Bavarian inheritance to the house of Deux Ponts ; that the emperor should cede to the elector of vol. ul 11 n 466 MARIA THERESA. [CII. CXXI. Saxony the rights which he pretended to exercise over cer- tain fiefs in Saxony ; should confer on the duke of Mecklen- burgh a vacant fief of the empire, as an indemnification for his claims; and should not oppose the future incorporation of the margraviates of Anspach and Bareith with the pos- sessions of the crown of Prussia, nor prevent the exchange of those districts for Lusatia, with the consent of the elector of Saxony. The empress-queen expressed extreme regret at her in- ability to accede to all these demands ; but, as a final attempt to prevent a cruel and destructive war, proposed to restore all her acquisitions in Bavaria, if the king would relinquish his intention of incorporating the margraviates of Anspach and Bareith as long as there existed a younger branch of his family, in conformity with the ancient compact established by the house of Brandenburgh, and confirmed by the em- perors and empire. The king, however, rejected all proposals relative to the renunciation of these claims, and resumed with new vigour the operations of the field, which he had hitherto suspended. The empress-queen appeared in the deepest affliction at this second rupture of the negotiation, and still more at the inflexible spirit of her son, who thwarted all her endeavours to terminate hostilities. To conquer his obstinacy she sent his confidential servant, count Rosenburgh, with a new plan of pacification ; but Joseph peremptorily refused to concur in the renewal of the negotiation, while the armies were in the field. He did not conceal his dis- approbation of the concessions made by his mother, which he stigmatised as disgraceful ; and even declared, that should the Prussian propositions be accepted, he would retire to Aix-la-Chapelle, and re-establish in that city the ancient seat of the emperors. Nor was the mission of the arch- duke Leopold to the army attended with better success ; and his interference only contributed to disunite the two brothers, who had hitherto lived in harmony. The empress-queen was no less thwarted by prince Kaunitz. He deemed her repeated attempts to renew the negotiation neither well timed nor consistent with the dignity of the house of Austria. Aware of the king of Prussia's desire of peace, he censured the extreme anxiety of his mistress for the termination of hostilities with unusual freedom, and con- tended, that a firm and vigorous conduct would procure more 1777-1779.] her efforts to ensure peace. 467 advantageous terms. Hence, in drawing up the counter propositions to the Prussian offers, he introduced new con- ditions, and threw in captious and obscure expressions, which tended to embarrass the negotiation. The empress, impelled by the opposition of her son, and seduced by the persuasive eloquence of her minister, acted against her own judgment in suffering the continuance of the war ; yet she never inter- mitted her efforts, and when the campaign was closed renewed her attempts with perseverance and address, and applied for the mediation of France and Russia. Her efforts were favoured by the disposition of the courts of Versailles and Petersburgh. France was bound by the treaty of 1756 to assist the house of Austria, if attacked, with a considerable body of forces, and had been repeatedly summoned to comply with this engagement. The French ministry were greatly embarrassed with this demand : in furnishing the stipulated succours, they would have contri- buted to the aggrandisement of the house of Austria, and involved themselves in a continental war ; in continuing to delay the fulfilment of the treaty, they were apprehensive of disgusting the court of Vienna, and of occasioning the re- newal of the alliance with the maritime powers. They therefore eluded the demand under various pretences, ex- horting the empress to effect an accommodation, and ten- dered their mediation between the belligerent powers. While Maria Theresa had entertained hopes of assistance, or of effecting a separate accommodation, she had declined the intervention of France ; but foiled in those expectations, she again turned to the court of Versailles, and France eagerly accepted the office of pacifying Germany, and agreed to sup- port the conditions which had been already offered. The empress of Russia was equally willing and interested to terminate the troubles of Germany. She had continued to receive a subsidy of 500,000 crowns from Prussia, and was bound in return to assist the king as soon as her contest with the Porte was terminated. She had therefore no sooner entered into negotiation with the Turks than she came for- ward as an armed mediatrix, declaring, that unless the empress-queen gave satisfaction to the princes of the empire, by removing their just causes of complaint, for the occupation of any part of the Bavarian territories, she would assist the king of Prussia with the corps stipulated by treaty. She ii ii 9 468 MARIA THERESA. [CII. CXXI. followed this declaration by despatching 20,000 men under prince Repnin through Poland, towards the frontiers of Gallicia. This unexpected declaration astonished Maria Theresa, and disconcerted Kaunitz ; but Joseph received the challenge with no less satisfaction than spirit. As the disputes with the Turks were not finally settled, he hoped that the empress of Russia would be unable to take an active part in the affairs of Germany ; he therefore extorted from his reluctant mother an order for recruiting the army with 80,000 men, and en- tertained the most sanguine hopes that he should again take the field. Maria Theresa, however, acted with more pru- dence and humanity : she sighed after the termination of the public troubles ; and conscious that her people, loaded with taxes, were incapable of supporting additional burdens, deemed no concessions beneath her dignity, which could secure the continuance of peace. Before the Russian declaration had been delivered at Vienna, she had implored the good offices of Catherine, and requested her to join her mediation with that of France, which she had already accepted. She exerted all her efforts, therefore, to conciliate France and Russia, and strengthened her interest at the court of Petersburgh by a strain of flattery which almost equalled eastern adulation. Having paid her acknowledgments for the readiness with which Catherine had accepted the proffered mediation, she said, she " em- braced with zeal this opportunity of testifying her esteem, her friendship, her confidence, and her deference." She attempted to explain and apologise for her conduct in taking possession of the Bavarian territory, and expatiated on her moderation in offering to restore her acquisitions, provided Frederic would recede from his illegal pretensions on the margraviates of Anspach and Bareith. After detailing her endeavours to induce the king of Prussia to accept reason- able terms of accommodation, she added, " I confide in your known equity, and leave to your imperial majesty the choice of adopting those means of reconciliation, which, in conjunc- tion with France, shall be proved to be the most equitable and proper for the speedy re-establishment of peace, fully persuaded that I cannot place in better hands my interests and my dignity."* * MS. Letter from the empress-queen to the empress of Russia, which I procured at St. Petersburgh. 1777-1779.] PRELIMINARIES FOR PEACE. 469 These adulatory, and even humble expressions from the first sovereign in Europe, and from a court distinguished for their arrogated pre-eminence, flattered the vanity, and con- ciliated the favour of Catherine. She did not support her imperious and peremptory declaration, and gradually receded from the resolution which she had at first adopted, of enter- ing into all the views of the Prussian monarch. Meanwhile, Frederic, who had been buoyed up with the hopes of being assisted by the whole force of Russia, and by the secret encouragement of France, increased his demands, and even required the unequivocal cession of the whole of Bavaria, and the payment of 40,000,000 crowns to the elector of Saxony. But he was disappointed in his expectations; France, though desirous to prevent the aggrandisement, was anxious to save the honour of the house of Austria ; and the empress of Russia, softened by the address of Maria Theresa, refused to support his new proposition. Encouraged by these favourable appearances, the court of Vienna indignantly re- jected his proposal, and declared that they would rather sacrifice their whole army than submit to conditions more humiliating than those which had been already offered. This • difference of opinion seemed likely to occasion the continu- ance of the war, and partial hostilities were renewed on the frontiers of Bohemia and Silesia. But the king perceiving that he was not countenanced by France and Russia, receded from his demand, and submitted to the French ministry a plan of pacification nearly similar to the last conditions offered by the empress-queen. This plan being approved by Maria Theresa, was digested by the mediating powers, and preparations were made to open a congress at Teschen. During this negotiation, Joseph had opposed every obstacle in his power to the arrangement of the preliminaries ; and when an armistice was nearly concluded, and the ministers nominated for the congress, he in February sent a detach- ment of 10,000 men to bombard Neustadt, with the hope of provoking the Prussians to continue hostilities. But his views were frustrated by the pacific inclinations both of Frederic and the empress-queen. Notwithstanding this in- sult, the king consented to an armistice ; the congress was opened on the 10th of March at Teschen, a small town in Austrian Silesia, by the plenipotentiaries of the belligerent and mediating powers, and those of Saxony, the elector II H 3 470 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXXI. Palatine, and the duke of Deux Ponts. Baron Breteuil, who was protected by the queen of France, and attached to the house of Austria, dictated, in conjunction with the Rus- sian minister, the terms of peace. Still, however, Maria Theresa was thwarted by the intrigues of Joseph ; nor did he desist till the accommodation between the court of St. Pe- tersburgh and the Turks alarmed him with the prospect of an immediate attack from Russia. From that moment his attempts to embarrass the conferences ceased ; the solicita- tions of Maria Theresa hastened the negotiation, and a peace was concluded on the 13th of May, the birth-day of the benevolent princess who thus restored tranquillity to Ger- many. Maria Theresa was often heard to declare, that no event in her whole reign ever inspired her with such heartfelt and permanent satisfaction as the treaty of Teschen. Her joy was adequate to the recollection of the difficulties she had encountered, and the consciousness of the blessings which she had conferred on her people, by delivering them from the horrors of war. When the news w r as conveyed to Vienna, that the king of Prussia had acceded to the conditions, she exclaimed, " I am confounded with joy. I am not partial to Frederic, but I must do him the justice to confess that he has acted nobly and honourably ; he promised me to make peace upon reasonable terms, and he has kept his word. I am inexpressibly happy to spare the effusion of so much blood." She repaired immediately to the cathedral, and rendered public thanks to God for the termination of hos- tilities. The principal management of the whole transaction rela- tive to Bavaria had been intrusted to prince Kaunitz, and both the emperor and empress had expressed the highest satisfaction with his zeal and ability. But although gratified with the approbation of his sovereigns, he had been much embarrassed by the discordance of opinion between the mo- ther and son, which occasioned frequent and violent alterca- tions. The peace was therefore no sooner concluded than he requested permission to resign ; but he was prevailed upon by the importunities of his sovereigns to continue in office, on condition that a vice-chancellor should be appointed to assist him in the business of his department. His request being gratified, he recommended count Philip Cobenzl, who 1779, 1780.] FRANCE IRRITATES AUSTRIA* 471 had acted as plenipotentiary at the congress of Teschen, and who possessed the favour and confidence of the emperor. Chap. CXXIL— 1779, 1780. Altiiougii France had mediated the peace of Teschen, and assisted in procuring honourable terms for the house of Austria ; yet her refusal of the succours stipulated by the treaty of Versailles, and her secret opposition to the dismem- berment of Bavaria, had greatly irritated the court of Vienna. The imperious spirit of Joseph was roused to the highest pitch of indignation ; he inveighed against the perfidy of the French cabinet, and asserted that from an alliance of almost thirty years, his family had reaped neither honour nor ad- vantage. He drew a striking comparison between the political principles of England and those of France, and seemed desirous to renew the connection with the maritime powers. Maria Theresa was more calm and temperate in her resentment, though scarcely less dissatisfied; her fondness for her daughter induced her to overlook the duplicity of her ally, and she dreaded to detach herself from the Bourbon family, with five of whose branches her children had inter- married. Kaunitz likewise could not avoid lamenting the artifices of France, and at particular times detailed the evils of the French alliance ; yet he was not willing to overturn a work which he had long considered as the pride of his life, and as the criterion of that esteem which he was to expect from posterity. Influenced by these discordant and opposite sentiments, the court of Vienna acted with uncertainty and inconsistency ; but though they were not inclined to break with France, their resentment against her conduct during the Bavarian war, and the renewal of her connection with Prussia, induced them to court England and Russia. From the peace of Paris, England had been incessantly distracted by feuds and party contests, which rose to an unusual degree of acrimony, and occasioned continual changes of administration. Lord Bute, though a nobleman of sound sense, elegant learning, and high integrity, was ill calculated to direct the helm of government in a country like England, ill 472 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXXII. subject to the storms of faction. The plan which he carried into execution of delivering the crown from the shackles of the aristocracy, had alienated that powerful party, and de- serted by those whom he had brought into office, he resigned in disgust in 1763. During the short period of six years which followed his resignation, the helm of state had been directed by five successive administrations, each of which did little more than annul the measures pursued by their predecessors. But in nothing was this fluctuation of counsels, and continual change of measures, more fatal, than in the conduct of government towards the American colonies. From the first symptoms of the American troubles, France had been guilty of extreme duplicity, as well as impolicy. During an affected neutrality, she had secretly fomented the commotions in the colonies, encouraged the malcontents by promises of support, and finally entered into a formal treaty to acknowledge their independence. Having gradually ma- tured their plans for depriving Great Britain of this source of commercial wealth and naval power, the French ministry threw off the mask, and sent an auxiliary force to support the insurgents. On this occasion they had acted with such extreme caution, as to deceive the court of Vienna ; and Kaunitz had frequently pledged himself for the sincerity and good faith of France. But when the conduct of the French ministry belied their professions, and war had actually com- menced, the Austrian cabinet affected to declare their abhorrence of the cause of rebellion ; they refused to receive the agents of America in a diplomatic capacity, and even prohibited all commerce between their subjects in the Low Countries and the rebel colonies. Joseph said to Sir Robert Keith, who expressed the king's satisfaction at this proof of friendship — " In issuing this proclamation, and rendering it as effectual as possible, her imperial majesty has followed the impulse of that regard which she and all her family always felt for his majesty ; as to myself, I am extremely concerned for the difficulties which embarrass the king's government. The cause in which England is engaged, is the cause of all sovereigns, who have a joint interest in the maintenance of due subordination and obedience to law, in all the surrounding monarchies. I observe with pleasure the vigorous exertions of the national strength, which the king 1779, 1780.] AUSTRIA FRIENDLY TO ENGLAND. 473 is employing to bring his rebellious subjects to submission, and I sincerely wish success to the measures." Maria Theresa also expressed herself with equal warmth.* During the Bavarian war, the conduct of France had in- creased this real or affected inclination towards England ; the peace of Teschen was no sooner concluded, than prince Kaunitz, in the most amicable terms, proffered the interven- tion of his sovereign to effect an accommodation between France and Great Britain ; and though this offer was de- clined, he continued to court the British cabinet with the hope of obtaining their assistance in conciliating the friend- ship of Russia. In thus endeavouring to conciliate Catherine, Maria Theresa had two objects in view ; the first to gain her concurrence in securing for the archduke Maximilian the coadjutorship of Munster and Cologne, and the other to annihilate the influence of the king of Prussia.f * " I am sensible," she said, in an audience which she gave to the British minister, "of every fresh proof of the king's kind attention to my welfare and prosperity ; I am happy to find that my amicable inten- tions in issuing the prohibition against any intercourse between my sub- jects and the rebel colonies, have made a due impression on the king's mind. I have a high esteem for his majesty's principles of government, a sincere veneration for his personal character, and a hearty desire to see the restoration of obedience and tranquillity in every quarter of his dominions. My friendship for the king, and my hereditary affection for the royal family have never abated ; though a difference in political opinions (the source of which I cannot avoid attributing to the king of Prussia) has diminished the opportunities of an interchange of good offices between the two crowns. I have endeavoured to settle the Ostend affair in the manner most agreeable to the king. The business indeed is of a trifling nature; but his majesty will do me the justice to believe that he would have found me equally well disposed in matters of much higher importance.** f The empress-queen had succeeded in procuring establishments for all her younger children, except the archduke Maximilian. Leopold was great duke of Tuscany ; Ferdinand governor of Milan, and by his marriage with Maria Beatrix, daughter of the duke of Modena, had secured the reversion of his father-in-law's dominions. Maximilian had entered into holy orders, and was candidate for the coadjutorship of the archbishopric of Cologne and the bishopric of Munster, which would entitle him to succeed to those valuable sees with the electoral dignity. But in the attainment of this object, Maria Theresa experienced great opposition. The electorate of Cologne having hitherto been held by a member of the house of Bavaria ; France, to whom the electors of Co- logne had generally been attached, was interested to oppose the views of the house of Austria, and vest that reversion in a prince of a less power- 474 MARIA THERESA. [en. CXXII. As Russia possessed great weight in the Germanic body, and considerable influence in the chapter, her concurrence was of the utmost importance ; but the empress-queen was still more interested to deprive the king of Prussia of that influence at St. Petersburgh which he had exerted with such effect during the Bavarian contest. Such, however, were the situation and principles of the Russian court, that this task was attended with extreme difficulty. Catherine II. was distinguished for a masculine force of mind, and an intrepidity above her sex, added to great per- sonal attractions, affable manners, and graceful deportment. She possessed in a no less degree the failings derived from an ardent and sensitive imagination ; she wanted forbearance in prosperity, and accuracy of judgment; she was impetuous in her resolutions, and tenacious of her opinions. But vanity was her predominant foible; puffed up by uninterrupted prosperity, and by the applause lavished on her character and actions from every quarter of Europe, her love of flattery was almost insatiable ; she considered herself equally pre- eminent in talents and in power, expected to be addressed in a strain of Oriental adulation, and to be approached with all the deference due to a divinity. From her recent successes against the Turks, the ardent imagination of Catherine conceived the romantic project of reviving the ancient name and power of the Greeks, and establishing a new empire at Athens or Constantinople. In- spired with this splendid vision, she gave to her second grandson the name of Constantine, clothed him in a Greek dress, procured Greek nurses to instruct him in the language of the people over whom he was to reign, and struck a medal representing on one side the head of the young prince, and on the other a cross in the clouds, from which a flash of lightning demolished the mosque of St. Sophia. The person who had the greatest influence at St. Peters- burgh, and who possessed the most extensive power over the empress, was prince Potcmkin. He first introduced him- self to the notice of Catherine at the revolution, became ful family. Maria Theresa, however, had succeeded by means of her daughter, in gaining the acquiescence of Louis, notwithstanding the op- position of Vergennes ; but the advancement of the young archduke was no less opposed by the king of Prussia, who exerted his powerful in- fluence in the chapter to prevent the election. 1779, 1780.] CATHERINE OF RUSSIA. 475 afterwards her favourite, and though supplanted, contrived to retain his ascendency over her mind. Intimately ac- quainted with the temper and disposition of his sovereign, he made her weaknesses, her desires, and her passions sub- servient to the accomplishment of his views. With an imagination as romantic as that of his mistress, Potemkin promoted and even suggested her most visionary projects, and was the soul of all her schemes. He flattered her ruling passions, fostered the jealousy she entertained of her son the great duke, and found means to represent himself as the only person who, by extensive connections and interest, was capa- ble of discovering and thwarting any project to place that prince on the throne wrested from his father. He counter- acted the influence of count Panin, by representing him as the adherent of the great duke, and, by his sarcasms and ridicule, diminished the credit of prince Orlof, who, during the early period of her reign, had principally swayed the counsels of Russia.* Count Panin, who had been governor of the great duke, was raised to the post of prime minister, from the opinion which the empress entertained of his integrity, and from his services in the revolution which placed her on the throne. He possessed, however, no personal influence over his sove- reign, but was enabled to thwart or change the measures of government, by his acquaintance with the routine of oiHce, and by the method he adopted of retarding or altering the public and private communications with foreign courts. He was cold and formal in his manners, indolent in business, and * He was equally rapacious and extravagant, and though he held the chief command of the army, and was loaded with more honours, titles, and emoluments than ever before fell to the lot of a subject, he at one time aspired to become duke of Courland, at another hospodar of Mol- davia and Wallachia, and even turned his views to the throne of Poland. He possessed great acuteness of understanding, versatile talents, desul- tory rather than extensive knowledge, and almost irresistible powers of ridicule. He was the slave of caprice, levity, interest, and vanity, and though naturally indolent and voluptuous, was roused by the impulse of the moment to uncommon deeds of activity and exertion. He followed no regular system of policy, but was wrought, upon by the suggestions of fancy or interest, to adopt those of every country : he was by turns a partisan of England and of France, and during the Bavarian war, had been gained by the king of Prussia, who lured his ambition by offering to assist him in acquiring the duchy of Courland, and to negotiate a marriage between him and a German princess. 476 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXXII. dissipated in society ; but he was capable of almost impene- trable dissimulation, indefatigable in intrigue, and swayed most of the inferior agents of the court and cabinet. He was inveterate in his enmity to England and the house of Austria, and devoted to the king of Prussia, and by his means to the cabinet of Versailles. Since the peace of Hubertsburgh, Frederic had paid assiduous court to the empress of Russia, and by the most unbounded flattery and affected deference, had conciliated her esteem and friendship. To consolidate his influence, his brother prince Henry had twice visited St. Petersburgh, and had effected a marriage between the great duke and the princess of Wirtemberg. He likewise confirmed the great ascendency which the king had gained over the prime minis- ter Panin, who became so subservient to his views, as to consider the continuance of the Prussian influence necessary to the maintenance of his own. For a considerable period of her reign, Catherine had adhered to the long-established friendship between England and Russia. She possessed too acute an understanding not to perceive that the interests of the two countries were in- separably connected ; but she had been alienated and morti- fied by the frank and unbending spirit of the British cabinet, who would not condescend to gratify her insatiable desire of flattery, or concur in promoting her schemes of Oriental grandeur. The court of Versailles, with their usual address, had taken advantage of this alienation, had flattered her ruling passions, and affected to enter into all her schemes. She knew and despised the spirit of intrigue and duplicity which distinguished the French cabinet ; but their adulation was so grateful to her feelings, and the partisans of France were so numerous in her court, that she was often led into measures which were contrary to her judgment and her in- terests. The king of Prussia, the bitter enemy of England, warmly promoted the designs of the French cabinet, and he was ably seconded by his creature count Panin. Their great object was, to draw the empress into a close connection with the house of Bourbon ; with that view they concerted, directly or indirectly with Vergennes, the measures to be pursued by France, and Panin even sketched out the papers which were sent from the cabinet of Versailles, in a manner calculated to please and allure his imperial mistress. By these artifices 1779, 1780.] Joseph visits Catherine. 477 Catherine bad not only been prevented from coming forward to the assistance of England during the American war, but had even been induced to publish the declaration which occasioned the armed neutrality : a measure calculated to introduce a new code of maritime law, hostile to our dearest interests, and tending to deprive us of the advantages derived from our naval superiority. Such being the character of the Russian court, the views of Maria Theresa could not be effected by a common emis- sary, and Joseph himself undertook this important task. Availing himself of the intention of Catherine to visit her new acquisitions in Poland, he testified to prince Gallitzin, the Russian minister at Vienna, his earnest desire to be personally acquainted with so renowned a princess, and requested permission to pay his court to her during her journey. This mark of attention from the first sovereign in Europe flattered the vanity of Catherine. Sensible that without the assistance of Austria she could not realise her views on the side of Turkey, she blushed with joy when she received the intelligence, sent a cordial and friendly answer, fixing on Mohilef as the place of meeting, and at the par- ticular request of Joseph, consented to wave all parade, etiquette, and superfluous ceremoily. The emperor reached Mohilef on the 23d of May, and on the 25th, the day of the empress's arrival, was presented to her by the imperial minister, count Cobenzl, under the title of count Falkenstein. The meeting of the two sovereigns was most cordial and friendly: Catherine, already prepos- sessed in his favour, was struck with his animated counte- nance, easy manners, agreeable behaviour, and lively con- versation ; Joseph on his part took uncommon pains to strengthen this favourable impression ; he conformed himself entirely to her character and disposition, treated her with freedom mingled with respect, displayed that apparent can- dour which he knew how to assume, and, by the most delicate and artful flattery, wrought up her admiration of his charac- ter almost to enthusiasm. He likewise artfully affected to applaud her romantic schemes, and without giving a positive promise, succeeded in persuading her that he was inclined to promote her plans of Oriental aggrandisement. He at the same time gained prince Potemkin, by humouring his caprice, flattering his ambition, and luring him with a promise to 478 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXXII. promote his views of becoming hospodar of Moldavia, and even to assist his advancement to the throne of Poland. Potemkin, who was jealous of Panin, eagerly received these overtures, and promoted the designs of the emperor with all his influence. Catherine warmly pressed the emperor to prolong his stay, and Joseph followed her to St. Petersburgh, where he conti- nued till the latter end of July. This favourable reception confounded count Panin and the Prussian party. In vain they had attempted to prevent his visit, and they now as vainly endeavoured to alarm their mistress, by representing him as a prince wholly actuated by ambition, and who, under the mask of candour and simplicity, concealed the most dan- gerous designs. Besides flattering and conciliating the em- press and her powerful favourite, Joseph omitted no oppor- tunity and neglected no means of securing the preponderance he wished to gain in the cabinet of Russia. Aware that France was attempting to counteract his efforts, he artfully courted the friendship of the British cabinet, by promising to exert his ascendency in favour of England, when he had overthrown the Prussian party. The emperor found them warmly inclined to concur in his views : fully sensible of the inveterate enmity of Frederic, and of the disadvantages which they had experienced from his intrigues, they eagerly seized an opportunity which seemed likely to lower the influence of so dangerous a rival, and to renew the connection with the house of Austria. Fortunately the British minister at the court of St. Petersburgh, Sir James Harris, afterwards earl of Malmesbury, was well calculated to co-operate in so deli- cate an undertaking. Aided by these means, and by his own consummate ad- dress, Joseph succeeded in annihilating the Prussian interest, and in establishing his own on a permanent footing ; and thus, by a singular combination in politics, the house of Austria, the intimate ally of France, was supported by the British ministry ; while the Prussian party was espoused with equal warmth by the French minister, M. de Verac. From the first interview at Mohilef the admiration which Catherine had formerly expressed for Frederic II. rapidly subsided. She talked of him as superannuated, rapacious, wholly devoted to his own interests, and actuated by a perfi- dious and crooked policy ; while she launched forth into new 1779, 1780.] CATHERINE'S ADMIRATION OF JOSEPH. 479 praises of the unaffected ease, openness, and amenity of Joseph, and extolled him as one of the first characters of the age. Having fully succeeded in the grand object of his journey, the emperor quitted St. Petersburgh in the latter end of J uly, and the manner in which he took leave of his imperial hostess will evince the affected candour, address, and flattery by which he captivated her esteem. " I have shown myself as I really am, and have used neither art nor fallacy to your imperial majesty; you are, therefore, in a situation to judge of my character and merits, and as I am well aware that from the moment of my departure attempts will be made to calumniate and blacken me, I entreat you, before you give implicit credit to such representations, to consult your own judgment, and establish your opinion in consequence. I am no flatterer," he added, "but I will sincerely avow that your imperial majesty has exceeded the high reputation you enjoy, and shall always consider the few weeks 1 have passed in your company as the most agreeable and profitable of my life." The empress, strongly affected with these expressions of his esteem, which were heightened by his candid, yet dig- nified manner of delivery, shed tears, and, when he stooped to kiss her hand, embraced him with great emotion.* The absence of Joseph did not obliterate the favourable impression which he had made on the mind of the empress, and which was strengthened by a regular and intimate corre- spondence. To regain his lost ascendency, Frederic sent his nephew, the prince of Prussia, to St. Petersburgh ; but in this critical attempt the foresight of the wily monarch seems to have failed. The habits, character, person, and talents of Frederic William were ill calculated to eclipse those of his imperial rival ; he was unwieldy in person, awkward in de- portment, embarrassed in conversation; he did not, like Joseph, come incognito, but as prince of Prussia ; and his establishment was formed by his unele, with a singular mix- ture of rigid parsimony and affected pomp, which rendered his mission ridiculous. The empress received this visit with extreme reluctance, and was as much prejudiced against the prince as she had before been prepossessed in favour of the emperor. She detained him several days Bi Riga and on the road, and, under various pretexts, delayed the interview till * From private information. 480 MARIA THERESA. [CH. CXXIII. the 27th of August. The manners and person of the prince did not remove her prejudices ; and she listened with pleasure to the railleries of prince Potemkin and the prince de Ligne on Prussian economy, as well as on the whimsical and motley appearance of the prince's attendant -. The interview was conducted with great pomp and eti- quette, but was little satisfactory to either party ; the prince appeared to Catherine heavy and reserved, and her reception struck him as cold, formal, and unpromising. She could not conceal her disgust whenever her princely visitor was pre- sent, and though unusually affable to others, treated him even in public with scarcely common civility or attention. The nobility imitated the example of their sovereign ; the prince, unlike the emperor, was neither followed nor courted ; he was every where coldly received ; and these repeated mortifi- cations rendered him still more embarrassed, awkward, and reserved. Notwithstanding his numerous and powerful friends, he did not succeed in any object of his mission ; the empress even hastened his departure by intimating to count Panim that his stay was irksome and disagreeable ; and he quitted St. Petersburgh displeased and disgusted, after having confirmed instead of diminishing the high opinion which Catherine entertained of the emperor, and sunk still lower the interest of his uncle. All the attempts of Frederic to induce her to oppose the elevation of the archduke Maximilian to the coadjutorship of Munster were ineffectual. She not only gave a peremptory refusal to his instances, but expressed her resolution to assist the empress-queen with all her influence, and wrote to all her ministers in the empire to promote the election, which was accordingly carried into effect. This refusal publicly proclaimed the final overthrow of the Prussian ascendency ; and thus, in the last year of her reign, Maria Theresa had the satisfaction of re-establishing the ancient and important connection of the house of Austria with Russia. Chap. CXXIII. —1780. The peace of Teschen and the renewal of the connection with Russia were the last great acts of the reign of Maria Theresa. She had for some time suffered from an induration 1780.] HER MORTAL ILLNESS. 481 of the lungs, which at length became mortal ; and after a gradual decline, she was seized on the 19th of November with the illness which soon terminated her life. During her grievous sufferings, which affected all who beheld her, she never uttered a single complaint, and scarcely gave signs of impatience ; and although inclined from educa- tion and habit to a minute observance of the ceremonies of the church, she did not discover the most trifling weakness in her devotions. Fully submissive to the decrees of Provi- dence, and only apprehensive lest her frame should be unequal to support the pains of a mortal disease, and that the motives of resignation which she had drawn from reason and religion might lose their effect, should her understanding be impaired, " God grant," she exclaimed, " that these sufferings may soon terminate, for otherwise I know not if I can much longer endure them." With the same spirit she said to her son Maximilian — " My firmness and constancy have not yet abandoned me ; address your prayers to heaven, that I may preserve my tranquillity to the last moment." On recover- ing from a violent attack, which took away her senses, she was affected with the sight of the emperor, who had burst into tears. 11 1 entreat you," she said, " to spare me ; my own sufferings do not appal me ; but the consciousness of your affliction will take away all my firmness." Having received the sacraments, she summoned her family into her presence, and thus addressed them : — " My dear children, I have just received the sacraments, and am satisfied that I have no hope of recovery ; you cannot forget the anxious solicitude with which the late emperor your father and myself have superintended your education ;" then turn- ing to the emperor, u my son," she added, " as after my death all my possessions in this world belong to you, I cannot dis- pose of them ; my children alone still are, and will always be mine ; I deliver them to you, be to them a father. 1 shall die contented if you promise to take that office upon you ;" then, turning to the others, she said — "consider the emperor as your sovereign ; obey him, respect him, follow his advice, confide in him, love him sincerely, and you will be secure of his friendship and affection." She gave to each of them her blessing ; and, observing that they were all deeply affected, she calmly added — "retire into another apartment, and recover your spirits." vol. in. I I 482 MARIA THERESA. [ch. cxxni. Each time that she was relieved from fits of suffocation and fainting, and even on the evening which preceded the day of her dissolution, she employed herself in explaining to the emperor the state of affairs, and in dictating and signing despatches. She wrote a letter to prince Kaunitz, expressing, in the most obliging terms, her gratitude for his faithful services ; she commissioned count Esterhazy, chancellor of Hungary, to thank his countrymen for their fidelity and zeal, which had secured her throne; and to entreat them to con- tinue the same to her successor. During the night she held a long conversation with the emperor, who perceiving her exhausted state, entreated her to take some repose ; but she replied — "In a few hours I shall appear before the judg- ment seat of God, and would you have me sleep ? " In her last moments she regretted life, not for the loss of worldly honours and regal power, but from an anxious solicitude lest those numerous persons whom her secret bounty had relieved, should be deprived of subsistence, when the hand that supported them was no more ; and almost her last words were — "I would wish for immortality on earth, for no other reason than for the power of relieving the distressed." She preserved a calm tranquillity, and even serenity of mind, which seemed almost above the powers of human nature, and could only be derived from an awful sense of religion, and the recollection of a well-spent life ; she expired on the 29th of November, 1780, in the sixty-fourth year of her age, and the forty-first of her reign. To the character of Maria Theresa, as exhibited in the preceding pages, it is only necessary to add, that she was easy of access to all her subjects, affectionate to her family, kind to her domestics, and unboundedly charitable, but with- out ostentation. She combined private economy with public liberality, dignity with condescension, elevation of soul with humility of spirit, and the virtues of domestic life with the splendid qualities which grace a throne. But it must not be concealed that she was subject to the failings of human nature, from which the best characters are not exempt. She readily gave ear to spies and informers, encouraged tales of private scandal, and indulged an unwarrantable curiosity in prying into the secrets of families. From a spirit of un- limited devotion to the Roman Catholic faith, she was superstitiously minute in her religious exercises, and her 1780.] HER CHARACTER AND FAMILY. 483 zeal often degenerated into a culpable excess, and hurried her into acts of intolerance, which cast a shade on her memory. Her death, however, was a general loss to the people, who adored her ; her reign is considered as the best and most glorious aera of their history; and the halcyon days of Maria Theresa are still proverbial throughout the whole extent of the Austrian dominions. Maria Theresa had by Francis six sons and ten daughters; of whom nine survived her. Her sons were : 1. Joseph, who succeeded her. 2. Leopold, great duke of Tuscany, and afterwards emperor. 3. Ferdinand, who was appointed governor of Austrian Lombardy ; and, in virtue of his marriage with Maria Beatrix, daughter and heiress of Hercules Rinaldo, duke of Modena, obtained the reversion of the duchies of Modena, Mirandola, and Reggio. Before the departure of Ferdinand from Vienna to take possession of his government, several entertainments were given on that occasion. Among others it was pro- posed to have a grand illumination at the palace of Schonbrunn ; but, when the plan was presented to the young prince, he seemed thoughtful, sighed, and at length burst into tears. The empress, observing his emotion, anxiously inquired the cause ; " My dearest mother," he an- swered, " after so many feasts given for me, surely this illumination is unnecessary; it is expensive, and the pleasure will be only transitory. The dearness of bread, and the pressure of the times, have reduced many respectable families to extreme distress, and the money will be better em- ployed in relieving the most indigent." Maria Theresa tenderly embraced her son, joined her tears with his, and gave him a considerable sum to distribute in charity. The young prince passed the whole day in secretly relieving distressed objects, and the next morning he entered the em- press's apartment with a countenance sparkling with delight, embraced her with transport, and enthusiastically exclaimed, " Oh, my mother, what a feast !" 4. Maximilian, grand master of the Teutonic order, coadjutor of Cologne and Munster, and elector of Cologne, April 15. 1784. He died 1801. Her surviving daughters were : 1. Mary Anne, abbess of Prague and Clagenfurth. 2. Mary Christina, married to Albert of Saxony, son of Augustus III., king of Poland. He received on his marriage the principality of Teschen as an appanage ; they were appointed joint viceroys of Hungary, and, on the death of prince Charles of Loraine, governors general of the Netherlands. She was the favourite daughter of Maria Theresa, and in- herited her personal attractions. 3. Maria Elizabeth, abbess of Inspruck. 4. Maria Amelia, who espoused Don Ferdinand, duke of Parma. 5. Caroline, queen of Ferdinand, king of Naples. She owed her ele- 484 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXIV. vation to the premature deaths of her two elder sisters, Joanna and Josepha. Joanna was betrothed, at the age of twelve, to the king of Naples, but died of the small-pox. Josepha was destined to supply her place, and in the bloom of youth and beauty, was affianced to Ferdinand, on the 8th of August, 1767. She was to have been married by proxy on the 14th, and preparations were even made for her departure. But she testified the deepest regret at quitting her family, and descended into the vault of the Capuchins, to enjoy for the last time the melan- choly pleasure of weeping over the ashes of her father. In this agita- tion of mind she was seized with the small-pox, which in less than a week hurried her to the grave, on the very day appointed for the com- mencement of her journey. 6. Maria Antoinetta, married to Louis, dauphin, and afterwards king of France. Ohap. CXXIV REIGN OF JOSEPH II. — 1780-1784. The eyes of Europe were fixed upon the successor of Maria Theresa, as upon a sovereign in the prime of manhood, whose personal qualifications, as well as civil and military talents, seemed capable of raising the house of Austria to a greater height of splendour and power than had yet been attained. Joseph II. born in 1741, was in the fortieth year of his age when he ascended the throne of his ancestors. He was endowed by nature with a lively disposition, quick parts, and an ardent temper ; but his education had been greatly neglected, and those who were placed about his person were wholly unfit for the purpose of forming a young prince to fulfil the important duties of his exalted station. His youth- ful mind, trained by dull pedagogues, who rendered learning distasteful, or instructed by bigoted monks, contracted an aversion for science ; and he did not discover the smallest inclination for any branch of literature. From this narrow mode of education he gave no early indication of that active and penetrating mind which he really possessed. Towards the sixteenth year of his age he was roused from this state of apathy, by the great events of the seven years' war ; the exploits, resources, and victories of Frederic seemed to engross his mind, and inspired him with a desire of emu- lating the great rival of the house of Austria. Animated by this spirit, he desired to serve against the Prussians; but 1780-1784.] HIS EAJRLY CHARACTER. 485 this first display of energy being imprudently repressed, and his request rejected, he relapsed into his former apathy, and seemed only anxious to avoid exciting the jealousy of his parents. In the twenty-fourth year of his age, being called by the sudden death of his father to the possession of the imperial dignity, appointed co-regent of the Austrian dominions, and intrusted with the command of the army, the activity of his character began to develop itself. The long reign of his mother, the death of a beloved wife, the little share which he was allowed to enjoy in the ad- ministration of public affairs, and the leisure of a loni: and almost uninterrupted peace, left him at liberty to gratify his passion for useful knowledge. Europe saw and admired an emperor of Germany travelling without pomp, ostentation, or etiquette, affecting the frankness and simplicity of a pri- vate individual, examining with the minutest attention the naval and military establishments, the arts, manufactures, courts of justice, and charitable institutions, and exhibiting an example of indefatigable perseverance and rational ob- servation, which no sovereign had displayed since Peter the Great. To these valuable qualities he joined an intense application to business, easiness of access, cheerfulness in society, vivacity in conversation, politeness in demeanour, sobriety and temperance, a contempt of fatigue, and disre- gard of danger. During his frequent journies in the Austrian territories he examined the situation of his subjects, particu- larly that of the lower classes ; he visited the cabin of the shepherd, and the hut of the peasant, inquired into their wants, relieved their distresses, appeared anxious to abolish their servitude, and publicly declared that his greatest honour would be to rule over freemen.* • Many instances of his attention to the distress of his subjects were recorded before his accession ; two of which give striking proofs of bene- volence and humanity. Hearing of an old officer, who had a large family without the means of providing for them, he unexpected]]! called at his house, and rinding eleven children, said, u I know you have ten children, but whose is the eleventh ?" "It is an orphan, '* replied the veteran, 44 whom I found exposed at my door, and I could not suffer it to perish for want of assistance." Joseph, struck with this act of humanity, said, " Let the children be in future my pensioners, and do you continue to give them examples of virtue and honour ; I settle upon each of them 200 florins a year, of which you shall receive the first quar- I I 3 486 JOSEPH n. [CH. CXXIV. To a benevolent temper Joseph united an aspiring mind, and was not deficient in that ardour for military glory which had distinguished the most illustrious of his ancestors. During the Bavarian war he displayed more eagerness to engage than Frederic himself; he shared the hardships, ter to-morrow : I myself will take care of your eldest son, and, as an earnest of my future intentions, give him the commission of a lieutenant." Another time, as he was passing through the streets of Vienna, lie saw a young woman with a bundle in her apron, seemingly plunged in the deepest affliction. Struck with her youth and distress, he delicately in- quired into the cause of her grief, and learned that the contents of her bundle were some clothes of her mother, which she was going to sell as their last resource. " I never expected," she added, sobbing, " that we should be reduced to such extreme penury, as my mother is the widow, and I the daughter, of an officer, who served with distinction in the army of the emperor, but without meeting the recorapence he had a right to expect." *' You ought," replied Joseph, "to have presented a memorial to the emperor; have you no friend or acquaintance, who could recommend your case to him ? " She then named a courtier who had repeatedly promised to do it, but whose recommendation had failed of success ; and she did not conceal her opinion of the emperor's want of generosity. " You have been deceived," he replied, suppressing his emotion ; u had the emperor known your situation, he would not have withheld his assist- ance ; he has been misrepresented to you ; I know him well, and his love for justice; prepare a memorial, and bring it yourself to-morrow to the palace ; if your circumstances are such as you describe, I will pre- sent you and your memorial, and second your request : nor will my in- terference, I trust, be ineffectual." The young person, overcome by this unexpected kindness from a stranger, broke forth into expressions of gratitude, which Joseph interrupted by saying, U In the mean while you must not sell your clothes ; how much do you expect to get for them ? " She answered, " Six ducats ; " " Allow me to lend you twelve," replied the emperor, "until we know the success of our application." He then took his leave ; and, having informed himself of the truth of her story, expected her at the appointed time and place, but, on her not appearing, despatched a messenger for her and her mother. When the young woman returned home, her description of the person and manners of the stranger convinced her friends that he was the em- peror, and she was so much shocked at her freedom in censuring the conduct of her sovereign, that she had not courage to appear before him. Being at last prevailed upon to repair to the palace, she fainted in his presence. On her recovery, the emperor sent for her and her friends into the closet, and delivering to her a pension for her mother, equal to the appointments of her father, he said, * I entreat you and your mother to excuse the delay which has been the cause of your embarrassment. You are convinced, I trust, it was on my part involuntary ; and should any one in future speak ill of me, I only require you to be my advocate." 1780-1784.] his auspicious accession. 487 fatigues, and dangers of the soldiers*; slept on the bare ground, skirmished with the advanced posts, led reconnoitring parties, and the whole army joined in the exclamation of a grenadier, — " Why should I complain of dangers, when I see the crown of my sovereign as much exposed as my cap !" With the advice and assistance of marshal Lacy, he new- modelled the army, and introduced that wonderful system of order and economy which so highly distinguishes the military constitution of Austria. His accession was hailed as the commencement of a golden age, which was to surpass the glory of ancient periods, and shame the boasted exertions of modern times. With such omens of greatness and splendour did the new sovereign begin his auspicious reign ; but these flattering predictions were not realised ; nor does any instance occur in history of a prince who more disappointed the ex- pectations of mankind, and who died less esteemed, and less regretted, than Joseph II. In tracing the reign of Joseph, which, though a period of only ten years, contains a multiplicity of events that mate- rially affected the interests of the house of Austria, we shall first direct our attention to his plans of reform. Before we attempt to sketch a detail of these numerous and complicated plans, it will not be improper to review the situation of his vast empire at the time of his accession. The Austrian monarchy, comprising an extent of 180,000 square miles, and peopled with 24,000,000 of inhabitants, was composed of as many nations as provinces, differing from each other in language, religion, government, laws, customs, and civilisation. The greater part formed one large and compact body ; others, as the Netherlands, Lom- bardy, and the possessions in Suabia, were separated from each other, and without communication either among them- selves or with the great mass of the hereditary countries. The feudal system generally prevailed ; in some parts modi- fied by written laws, or local customs ; in others, as in Hun- gary, existing in all its primeval absurdity and oppression. The clergy and nobles were all-powerful, the citizens in little estimation, and the peasants, except in the Netherlands Tyrol, and Austria Proper, in a state of vassalage. The * " His toilette," observes his biographer, u is that of a common soldier, his wardrobe that of a sergeant, business his recreation, and his life per- petual motion." II 4 488 uOSEPH II. [CH. CXXIV. Koman Catholic was the dominant religion, and the clergy possessed enormous riches, power, and influence. Each pro- vince was represented by an assembly of states, composed of the nobility and clergy, and a few deputies from the free and royal cities, who divided with the sovereign the right of ad- ministering j ustice and imposing taxes, which principally fell upon the lower class of people. A monarchy so constituted could not acquire that vigour which ought to result from its extent and population. Every province was divided from the others ; all the bonds which connect the subjects of a large empire were broken ; and the only tie which preserved their union was the sovereign. Poverty, wretchedness, and oppression were the lot of the greater number ; ignorance, pride, and corruption formed the character of the smaller body. Maria Theresa, at an early period of her reign, had turned her attention to the deplorable situation of her subjects. She had abridged the enormous privileges of the nobility and clergy, and lightened in many instances the yoke which oppressed the peasants. Her innovations were moderate and gradual ; but the progressive mode was ill-suited to the sanguine temper and impatient spirit of Joseph, who, not content with following his mother's example, in sowing the seeds of improvement and suffering them to grow up to ma- turity, was anxious to reap the harvest before it was ripe. He formed the grand but impracticable plan of abolishing all distinctions of religion, language*, and manners, by de- claring that in future there should be no more provinces, but one nation, one family, and one empire. He purposed to unite all these different kingdoms and nations into one great body, governed by one simple system of administration, and actuated by one common interest, both moral and politi- cal ; he purposed to deliver the peasants from feudal oppres- sions, to annihilate superstition, and encourage industry, agriculture, arts, commerce, and manufactures ; to infuse into the great political mass a force proportionate to its size, and adapted to its situation in the midst of Europe, sur- rounded by powerful enemies and jealous neighbours. In the Austrian dominions ten principal languages are spoken ; German, Hungarian, Sclavonian (including the Polish, Bohemian, and Illyrian dialects), Latin, Wallachian, Turkish, modern Greek, Italian, Flemish, and French. 1780-1784.] HIS INTERNAL POLICY. 489 In conformity with these views, Joseph first abolished the numerous and separate jurisdictions, and divided the Austrian monarchy into thirteen governments*, each of which was subdivided into a certain number of circles or districts, pro- portionate to its extent. Over each circle presided a magis- trate called captain of the circle, who superintended the execution of the laws, and protected the peasants from the oppression of the feudal system. In the capital of each government was established a court of justice, divided into two tribunals, one for the nobles, and the other for the lower classes, from the decision of which an appeal lay to a second, then to a third court, and finally to the supreme tribunal at Vienna. To a subordinate magistrate was intrusted the care of the police ; over him were placed a military commander and a governor general, who presided in the tribunals. Thus the whole administration was composed of four departments, political, economical, judicial, and military. All these re- spective officers were subordinate to the councils or chan- ceries of state at Vienna, whose resolutions were delivered to the sovereign for his final ratification or rejection. Although Joseph simplified the form of government, and abolished many useless tribunals, and feudal offices, which were dilatory and oppressive, he yet introduced a still pn-ater evil, by making the basis of the administration the absolute will of the sovereign, from which there could be no appeal. In the prosecution of this scheme he committed many violent and arbitrary acts of authority. The provincial states, which limited the power of the crown, were either entirely suppressed, or rendered inefficient by various modifications. Although he had acknowledged the rights and privileges of the Hungarian states by his circular letter on the death of his mother, yet he declined the ceremony of coronation, from an unwillingness to confirm those rights and privileges by a solemn oath. He wantonly ordered the crown, sceptre, and other emblems of royalty, which the nation cherished with superstitious reverence, to be forcibly carried from Pres- * 1. Gallicia. 2. Bohemia. 3. Moravia, with Austrian Silesia. 4. Lower Austria. 5. Interior Austria, or Styria, Carinthia, and Car- niola. 6. Tyrol. 7. Exterior Austria, or the possessions in Suabia. 8. Transylvania. 9. Hungary, with the liannat of Temeswar. 10. Croatia. 11. Lombardy. 12. The Low Countries. 19. Goritz and Gradisea, with the city of Triest. 490 JOSEPH n. [ch. cxxrv. burgh, and deposited at Vienna. By abolishing the nse of the Latin and Hungarian tongues in all the public offices, and substituting the German (for the acquisition of which only two years were allowed), he not only introduced great confusion into the departments of state, but justly alarmed the natives, lest the abolition of those languages, in which their statutes, charters, and capitulations were composed, should lead to the suppression of their privileges. In new- modelling the courts of justice in Hungary, he totally changed the forms, usages, and times of assembling, and introduced so much disorder, that it was thought necessary by his suc- cessor to re-establish the ancient tribunals with all their im- perfections. Joseph declared the Roman Catholic the dominant religion; but, at the same time, diminished the exorbitant authority of the pope ; he forbad the bishops to carry any bull into exe- cution, unless confirmed by government, subjected monastic establishments to the jurisdiction of their respective diocesans, and exempted them from all obedience to their chiefs resident at Rome. He lessened the revenues of the largest bishoprics, suppressed some, and created others ; and, for the purpose of facilitating access to public worship, established four hundred new parishes. He suppressed many monasteries, and all the nunneries except the Ursulines and the Salesians, which were preserved for the purpose of education ; but the number of the members permitted to remain was considerably reduced.* The suppressed convents were converted into hospitals, universities, barracks, or military magazines. In abolishing the monasteries he was guilty of great injustice, by not allow- ing sufficient pensions for the maintenance of those who were ejected ; and many nuns, who from education and long habit were incapable of providing for themselves in the world, were reduced to the lowest state of indigence and distress. With the laudable view of purifying religion from the dregs of superstition, pilgrimages were forbidden, many of the churches were stripped of their images and ornaments, and reduced to their primitive simplicity. A politico-moral catechismf was composed for the use of schools, and intro- * In 1780, were 2024 convents in the Austrian dominions, which were diminished to 700 ; and 36,000 monks and nuns to 2700. f As a specimen of many of the childish and ridiculous regula- tions of Joseph, we submit to the reader a few extracts from this noli- 1780-1784.] HIS INTERNAL POLICY. 491 duced in the instruction of youth. In making these altera- tions, Joseph did not duly reflect that, in abolishing the forms, he injured the substance of religion, among a people long accustomed to consider the essence of adoration as con- sisting in external ceremonies, and not sufficiently enlightened to appreciate a more simple form of worship. Primogeniture was abolished, and marriage degraded almost to a state of concubinage, by declaring it a civil contract, facilitating divorces, and rendering bastards capable of inheriting. Funeral honours were forbidden ; and because all are reduced to a level in the grave, all were to be interred with the same ceremonies, without distinction of birth or situation ; thus imprudently checking one of the first affections of the human mind, the display of virtuous respect to the memory of de- ceased relations, which, though often carried to excess by useless pageantry, has never been productive of the smallest inconvenience to the state. But the wisest and best digested part of his plan, and which continued longer than his other innovations, was the edict of toleration, issued on the 13th of October, 1781, and tico-moral catechism, which was intended for the common people, and in which the references are profanely made to his acts in the same manner as to the Bible in the ordinary catechism : " Thou shalt not send any money into foreign countries for masses." " Thou shalt not appear at processions with costly flags, nor dressed with sashes, or high feathers in thy hat, nor with music." " Thou mayest purchase and read the Catholic Bible, which is ap- proved by the imperial censors." " Thou mayest obtain from thy bishop a dispensation for marriage, where there is no natural or religious order to the contrary." M Thou shalt not seek for any dignity of the court of Rome, without the permission of thy sovereign. " " Thou shalt not bring into the land any foreign breviary, missal, or psalter, or other similar work or paper." " Thou shalt forbear all occasions of dispute relative to matters of faith ; and thou shalt, according to the true principle of Christianity, affectionately and kindly treat those who are not of thy communion." " Thou shalt not hold in thy house any private assembly for devotion." t* Thou shalt not in anywise use the crown of St. Christopher, or other superstitious supplications." '* Thou mayest marry the woman whom thou has ravished, if she is willing to marry thee when she is out of thy power." " Thou shalt not transport out of the land, hares' skins, or hares' fur." " Thou shalt not keep any useless dogs." " Thou shalt not plant tobacco without the permission of thy lord." 492 JOSEPH II. [en. CXXIV. afterwards enlarged at different intervals. By this edict he granted to all members of the Protestant and Greek churches, under the denomination of Acatholici or Non-catholics, the free exercise of their religion. He declared all Christians of every denomination, equally citizens, and capable of hold- ing all charges and offices in every department of state ; he permitted every community consisting of 3000 souls, resident in any town, to build a church, provided they could establish a permanent fund for the support of a preacher and the relief of the poor ; and he ordered a new translation of the Bible to be made in the German tongue. On the Jews he also con- ferred many liberal privileges, and granted to them the right of exercising all arts, and trades, following agriculture, and freely pursuing their studies at the schools and in the universities. These innovations introduced with such precipitancy by the first sovereign of Europe, whose ancestors had evinced so warm an attachment to the Catholic faith, alarmed the see of Rome, and occasioned the memorable journey of Pius VI. to Vienna. After an intimate but ineffectual correspondence, the pope, who was vain of his eloquence, hoped by his per- sonal interference, to arrest the progress of these dangerous reforms. The unbending spirit of Joseph did not brook this interference, and he declared that the presence of the pope would not change his resolutions. Pius, however, persisted, and notwithstanding his advanced age, weak state of health, and the severity of the season, commenced his journey on the 27th of February, 1782. The head of the church was received with every mark of exterior homage and veneration : the emperor met him at some distance from the capital, alighted on his approach, and, after the most respectful salutations, conveyed him in his own carriage to Vienna. Attended by prince Kaunitz, Joseph accompanied the pope to the private chapel, where a Te Deum was sung in honour of his arrival ; and the venerable guest was lodged in the apartments which had been occupied by Maria Theresa. The pontiff, however, obtained only these and similar marks of distinction ; his exhortations and remonstrances were received with coldness and reserve, and he was so narrowly watched, that the back door of his apartments was blocked up to prevent him from receiving private visitors without the knowledge of the em- 1780-1784.] HIS INTERNAL TOLICY. 493 peror. Even his presence at Vienna did not for a moment suspend the progress of the ecclesiastical reform ; the arch- bishop of Goritz, who had distinguished himself by his opposition to the imperial edicts, was sent in disgrace to his diocese, and several convents in Lombardy were suppressed. Pius, chagrined with the inflexibility of the emperor, and mortified by an unmeaning ceremonial, and an affected dis- play of veneration for the holy church, while it was robbed of its richest possessions, and deprived of its most valuable privileges, quitted Vienna at the expiration of a month, equally disgusted and humiliated, after having exhibited himself as a disappointed suppliant at the foot of that throne which had been so often shaken by the thunders of the Vatican. The abolition of feudal vassalage formed another part of the general reformation. Joseph issued in 1780 the cele- brated edict for the regulation of taxes, which, by altering the impost on land, was intended to give full liberty to the peasants, and effect the abolition of slavery. Having ordered a measurement of all the estates in his hereditary countries, he abolished in his German dominions all feudal distinctions and manorial rights, such as tithes, heriots, and corvees, or task works, due from the peasants to the lord. And as one of the pretences that attached the peasants to the soil was the responsibility of the landlords for the payment of the land- tax to the crown, he exempted the lord from that responsibility, empowered the peasants of every village to choose among themselves a representative for the purpose of collecting the land-tax, and paying it into the exchequer ; and rendered the whole village accountable for the regular discharge of the amount. Although reason and humanity may vindicate this attempt to diminish the evils of feudal vassalage, yet justice must condemn the mode of proceeding ; because sufficient precautions were not taken to indemnify the landholders for the loss they sustained, and because the new land-tax was raised in some instances to the enormous amount of sixty per cent. Hence this decree failed of producing the effects which the monarch designed, and prevented the introduction of the same regulations into Hungary and the annexed provinces. In one particular Joseph surpassed his rival Frederic II.; though illiterate himself and not affecting to honour or 494 JOSEPH II. [ch. cxxrv. patronise men of letters, he encouraged the arts and sciences, and contributed more to the advancement of learning, during his short reign, than any other sovereign in Europe. In every province he instituted or improved an university, academy, or seminaries, founded or augmented public libraries, created establishments for the study of medicine, surgery, and botany, natural philosophy, and natural history, and built numerous observatories and laboratories. He took away from the priests the power of censuring books, a power which they had hitherto exercised with such rigour, that on subjects of religion, morality, and government, a valuable and a prohibited publication were almost synonymous terms ; this office he vested in a committee of men of letters at Vienna, whose liberal views were directed to encourage the freedom of the press. Yet the same sovereign who affected to give full scope to the liberty of the press, and declared that he wished to reign over free men, checked the improve- ment of the human mind ; he set bounds to inclination and curiosity, by decreeing that no one should travel into foreign countries before the age of twenty-seven. He did not con- sider that talents are developed in some sooner than in others; and that unless every person is allowed to follow the mode of instruction congenial to his peculiar disposition and habits, the delightful enthusiasm of letters will be ill supplied by the most perfect theoretical rules which despotism or pedagogues can invent. Joseph was highly attentive to the encouragement of manu- factures and the improvement of commerce. Large sums were lent to merchants ; poor artists were supplied with money, either without, or at a low interest, or were assisted in erecting buildings and machinery. From a well-meant but erroneous system of policy, the importation of foreign manu- factures was forbidden, except on the payment of an enor- mous duty, which amounted to a prohibition ; domestic fabrics were supported, and others of cotton, wool, and glass established. He removed all obstacles to a free circulation of trade, by suppressing the provincial custom-houses, and by permitting the import and export of the native productions which had been hitherto prohibited. New roads were made at an enormous expense * ; canals dug or improved ; Triest * The new road from Carlstadt to Carlobago did not cost less than 2,000,000 florins, or 200,000/. 1781-1785.] HIS EFFORTS TO IMPROVE TRADE. 495 and Fiume declared free ports ; and a harbour formed at Carlobago, in Austrian Dalmatia. But among his numerous attempts to extend the commerce of his subjects, Joseph was peculiarly attentive to encourage the trade of Hungary, whose productions, consisting chiefly of wines, grain, forage, and heavy commodities, could not be transported by land to any considerable distance. The ports of Fiume, Segnia, and Carlobago being too distant, and the canal of Morlachia too tempestuous, the Danube, which, dividing Hungary and receiving all the navigable streams, forms an outlet tp the Black Sea, afforded the only means of opening so valuable a trade. And as that river, from the confines of the Bannat, flows through the Turkish territories, he obtained from the Porte, in 1784, the free navigation of the Danube, the Black Sea, and the Dardanelles ; and granted to a company of Italian merchants an exemption from all duties, and a bounty on grain exported from Hun- gary and the annexed provinces. In 1786 the first effort was made ; twenty vessels, freighted with corn, descended the Danube to its mouth, the grain was then embarked in ships which had sailed from Triest and Fiume, and landed at Genoa and Marseilles. But in 1787, this valuable trade was annihilated by the impolitic war with the Turks, which terminated at once the aspiring views of Joseph and the hopes of the Hungarian nation. Chap. CXXV. — 1781-1785. The connection with France which Joseph inherited as a legacy from Maria Theresa, and which, under her prudent management, had been of considerable advantage to the house of Austria, proved the source of the principal embar- rassments in his reign. The dislike which he had formerly manifested, seems to have increased on his accession ; and during the first months of his reign he openly declared his aversion to the French court and French principles ; but before the close of the year, a second journey to Paris effected a total change in his sentiments. This change was occasioned by his eagerness to execute a project he had long meditated for abrogating the Barrier Treaty, which his family regarded 496 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXV. as an humiliating tie of dependence on the maritime powers. The court of Versailles availed themselves of the ardour of Joseph in prosecuting his favourite schemes to effect the abolition of a treaty which formed the only bond of the ancient union between the house of Austria and England, and to secure the influence which the emperor had acquired in the councils of Russia. Instead, therefore, of the reserve which they had maintained during his former journey, they received him with marks of the highest confidence and cor- diality, gave him hopes that they would encourage and pro- mote all his projects, and succeeded in persuading him that the power of England was hastening to its decline. The queen likewise furthered the views of the ministry, by all the arts of insinuation which she possessed in so eminent a degree ; and by exerting her powerful influence over the mind of her brother, she succeeded in eradicating the preju- dices he had fostered against her husband. Flattered by these attentions, and buoyed up by the assurances of the French court, Joseph peremptorily declined an invitation of George III. to extend his journey to England, a country which he had been long anxious to visit ; and returned to Vienna full of confidence in the alliance with France, and with new resolutions to hasten the abrogation of the Barrier Treaty. From the conclusion of the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle to the commencement of the seven years' war, the empress- queen had been engaged in continual disputes with the Mari- time Powers, relative to the repairs of the fortifications and the payment of the annual subsidy ; and her refusal to fulfil all the conditions was the principal cause which occasioned the rupture of the long-established friendship between Aus- tria and Great Britain, and the connection with France. The alliance between Austria and France rendered the Barrier Treaty an empty name, and virtually, though not formally, annulled its influence. But Maria Theresa, too pru- dent to throw herself wholly into the arms of France, firmly resisted all the solicitations of her son to drive the Dutch garrisons from the Netherlands, and to abolish the Barrier Treaty by a formal act. Joseph was too sanguine and impetuous to forego present advantages from the apprehension of uncertain and distant inconveniences. Aware that the fortifications of the barrier 1781-1785.] THE BAJRRIEU TREATY. 497 towns were nearly dismantled, and that great expense would be requisite to place and keep them in repair, he saw no medium between their total demolition and total restoration. He had not sufficient sagacity to appreciate that in the grand scale of comprehensive politics, the Barrier Treaty was in- trinsically advantageous to the house of Austria ; for as long as it remained in force, the French could not overrun the Netherlands without involving themselves in a war with the Maritime Powers. In fact, he considered his alliance with France as permanent, beyond the possibility of change ; and his sentiments were expressed by Kaunitz, in a conversation with count Wassenaar, plenipotentiary from the United Pro- vinces : — " The emperor will hear no more of barriers, for they no longer exist ; every treaty of which the basis is over- turned, loses its effect : the Barrier Treaty was concluded against France, but now our connections with France render it null, and afford a more secure barrier than the other, which was chimerical. ? To the observation of "Wassenaar, that in this world systems are apt to change, Kaunitz replied, " The connections which the house of Austria has formed are the consequences of a fixed and premeditated system ; they are not calculated to last only for a short time, but will at least continue in force a hundred years. Even should a minister start up in the cabinets of Versailles or Vienna, sufficiently insane to attempt breaking these connections, he will be sent to the madhouse, instead of succeeding in abolishing so firm and well cemented a system. The emperor acts for your ad- vantage, nor have you any cause of apprehension either from him or from France." Such was the haughty and peremptory answer which Joseph, by the mouth of Kaunitz, gave to the remonstrance of the United Provinces ; and such was the weak and mis- guided policy of a sovereign, who in less than seven years beheld his connection with France dissolved, and the Nether- lands separated from the Austrian dominions. It did not escape the penetration of Joseph that the war between Great Britain and Holland presented an opportunity which might never again occur, to facilitate the execution of his designs, lie had therefore scarcely returned from France, in Nbvem- ber, 1781, before he issued orders to demolish all the fortifi- cations of the -Netherlands except Luxemburgh, Ostend, and the citadels of Namur and Antwerp ; and this decree was VOL. III. K K 498 JOSEPH n. [CH. CXXV. followed by a requisition delivered to the States General, re- quiring them to recal their garrisons from the barrier towns. After an ineffectual remonstrance the states submitted, and the Dutch troops evacuated all the places in the Austrian Netherlands. The facility with which Joseph carried this point induced him to enlarge his views, and to demand that the limits of Austrian Flanders should be re-established, as they had been fixed by the convention of 1664, between the king of Spain and the United Provinces. He began by asserting his new pretensions in an extraordinary manner ; in November, 1783, a Dutch soldier of the garrison of Leif kenstock, a small fort on the Scheldt, being, as it was customary, buried in the village of Doele, the sovereignty of which was claimed by the house of Austria, a detachment from the garrison of Ghent dug up the body and threw it into the ditch of the fort. Another corps marched from Bruges, and occupied the Dutch forts of St. Donat, St. Paul, and St. Hiel, and some other districts. In the beginning of the following year also, a detachment from Antwerp surprised Old Lillo, a fort near New Lillo, where the Dutch ship which guarded the entrance of the Scheldt was stationed. "With a view to terminate these disputes, conferences were held at Brussels, between the imperial and Dutch plenipo- tentiaries, in April, 1784; and Joseph increasing his demands, brought forward numerous claims besides that of re-establish- ing the ancient limits of Flanders. While the plenipotentiaries were discussing these claims, the negotiation suddenly took a new aspect. In August, 1784, Joseph had declared that he would desist from all his pretensions, under the sole condition that the navigation of the Scheldt should be opened, and that his subjects of the Netherlands should be permitted to carry on a direct com- merce with the East Indies; he peremptorily added, that from that moment he would consider the navigation of the Scheldt as open, and regard any opposition on the part of the States General as an immediate declaration of hostilities. During these transactions, an imperial brigantine from Ostend, attempting to enter the Scheldt, was on the 5th of October taken by the Dutch at the mouth of that river, and conducted to Flushing; and another vessel from Antwerp was stopped at Saffinguen by a Dutch brig, and after refus- 1781-1785.] HIS RUPTURE WITH THE DUTCH. 499 ing to return, was fired at and forced to strike. The emperor little expected such acts of firmness and vigour ; for at this moment the Netherlands were unprovided with troops and magazines. • He was in fact convinced that the Dutch would not venture to stop the imperial vessels, and in reply to the remonstrances of prince Kaunitz to take the necessary pre- cautions should they fire, he repeatedly answered, " they will not lire !" When the account of their resistance reached Vienna, Joseph was in Hungary; and Kaunitz accompanied the despatches from Brussels with the brief remark " but they have fired!" Instantly the conferences at Brussels were broken up ; the imperial ambassador recalled from the Hague, and orders issued for a large body of troops to march to the Netherlands, and attack the United Provinces. The Dutch on their part made the most vigorous preparations ; and the two powers appealed to the other nations of Europe. The United Provinces were secretly instigated by offers of succour from the king of Prussia ; the emperor confided in the hopes of assistance from Russia and France, and these petty disputes seemed on the eve of exciting a general war. Suddenly, however, Joseph listened to the remonstrances of Holland ; he receded from his demand of opening the navigation of the Scheldt, and all other claims excepting the cession of Maestricht ; but he required exemplary satisfaction for the insult offered to his flag, as an indispensable pre- liminary to the renewal of any negotiation. This sudden change in the sentiments of so impetuous and inflexible a sovereign as Joseph, was owing to the opposition of France, on whose effectual assistance he had fondly established his expectations of success. Hitherto the cabinet of Versailles had appeared to act in conformity with the wishes of the emperor ; they had en- couraged him to abrogate the Barrier Treaty, and even affected to concur in his attempts to extend the limits of Austrian Flanders. But they were unwilling to alienate the Dutch, with whom they were on the point of concluding an alliance, the object of which was to weaken the British power in the East Indies. They therefore opposed the opening of the Scheldt, and the king, in a note to the court of Vienna, de- clared his resolution to support the Dutch by force of arms ; while he offered his mediation to compose the dispute. At the same time orders were given to form two armies of ob- K k 2 500 JOSEPH n. [CH. CXXV. servation in the neighbourhood of Luxemburgh and on the Rhine, and the French court even complied with the request of the Dutch in sending the count de Maillebois as general- issimo of their forces in the place of prince Louis of Baden, who had been compelled to resign. This intervention was equivalent to a command. Joseph saw too late the folly of throwing himself into the hands of France, and had no other alternative than to retract in the manner least injurious to his dignity and honour. He now endeavoured to compensate in solemnity and show for what he lost in substance, and to impose upon Europe by imperious language, while in fact he relinquished the principal points from which he had publicly declared his resolution never to recede. His honour was apparently saved, and his pride gratified by the arrival of the count de Wassenaar and the baron de Leyden, two deputies from the United Provinces, who apologised for the insults offered to the imperial flag. At the conclusion of this mock ceremony, the negotiation was renewed at Versailles under the auspices of France. The emperor, after changing his ground from the free navi- gation of the Scheldt to that of the Maes, and from the cession of Maastricht to the demand of an indemnity, finally limited his claims to a sum of money as a compensation for his pretensions, and an indemnification for the damages suffered by his subjects, from the inundations made by the Dutch in the environs of their fortified places. This sum, after long debates, was fixed by the emperor at 10,000,000 guilders, and the 21st of September as the term which should decide on peace or war. But as the Dutch plenipotentiaries were not authorised to agree to the payment of more than 8,000,000, and as the imperial ministers were bound by express orders, the negotiation was on the point of being broken off, when France agreed to disburse the additional two millions. The preliminary articles were concluded at Paris, September 20. 1785, and the definitive peace signed at Fontainbleau, on the 8th of November, under the guaranty of France. By this treaty the emperor renounced all right to the free navigation of the Scheldt, beyond the limits of his own territories, which ended in the county of Saffinguen, and his pretensions on Maestricht and its dependencies. In return he received 9,500,000 guilders as an indemnity for Maestricht, and its adjacent territories, and 500,000 as a 1784-1786.] Russia favourable to Austria. 501 compensation for the damages caused by the inundations ; he also acquired the forts of Lillo and Lief kenstock, and the limits of Dutch Flanders were reduced, according to the convention of 1664. During the course of the negotiation, the Dutch required the renovation of the treaty of 1731, which excluded the Flemings from the commerce of the East Indies ; but Joseph resisted this demand, and exacted that no mention should be made of the navigation of his subjects to the East, and that each power should be at liberty to form its own regulations of commerce. Thus ended a dispute which at first seemed to threaten the peace of Europe ; but which after the most violent threats and pompous discussions terminated in a pecuniary accom- modation, and in a manner predicted by Frederic II., who during the negotiation, said to general Bouille, " Vergennes will compel the most serene republic to purchase an accom- modation with our brother Joseph, by giving him drink money." * Chap. CXXVI. — 1784-1786. While the attention of Joseph appeared to be solely en- grossed by his contest with Holland, he was involved in two projects no less difficult ; to extend his dominions on the side of Turkey, and to obtain Bavaria in exchange for the Netherlands. With a view to secure the assistance of Ca- therine in his meditated plan of aggrandisement, he zealously promoted her projects for the extension of her power in the East, and directed his principal attention to increase the ascendency which he had gained at St. Petersburgh. The overthrow of the Prussian influence was completed by the disgrace of count Panin, and a closer and more inti- mate union was formed between the two imperial courts. No formal treaty was indeed concluded, because Catherine insisted on an alternate signature of the respective copies, as sovereigns of equal rank. Joseph could not make a conces- sion so derogatory to the imperial dignity ; he urged that lie held his right from the electors, to whom he was responsible for its preservation, and that no sovereign in Europe * Alluding to the custom of giving postilions money to drink. K K 3 502 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXVI. had hitherto refused to give precedence to the imperial crown. Catherine asserted her claim with equal obstinacy, and declined purchasing even his desired alliance at so hu- miliating a price. At length the difficulty was adjusted ; a compromise, proposed by Catherine, was accepted by the emperor, and instead of a specific treaty, the stipulations were comprised in a secret convention, drawn up in the form of letters, which were respectively addressed and signed by the two sovereigns. The conditions were, a defensive alli- ance and general guaranty of their respective dominions ; and the stipulated succours, as well as the period of its dura- tion, were limited. Encouraged by this prospect of assistance, the empress hastened to execute her plans for the acquisition of the Crimea. The independence of that peninsula was in fact only another name for its dependence ; and its separation from the Ottoman empire a prelude to its subjugation. Catherine, availing herself of the article in the peace of Kagnardji, which stipulated that the khan should be con- firmed by Russia as well as by the Porte, obtained the elec- tion of her creature Sahim Gheray, and supported him in his dignity in opposition to the Porte, and to a party of his own subjects, who chose another sovereign. He was scarcely seated on the throne before he was prevailed upon or com- pelled to abdicate and cede the Crimea to his protectress. Repenting of this act, he made his escape, and attempted to put himself at the head of the Turkish party, but was ar- rested and sent a prisoner to Voronetz, and the Russian generals took possession of the Crimea in the name of their mistress. The Porte preparing to avenge this infringement of the neutrality, and to recover so important a territory, the renewal of hostilities seemed inevitable. Catherine made the most vigorous exertions, and claimed the promised assistance of the emperor. Nor did Joseph belie his engagements ; his internuncio at Constantinople declared to the Porte that the two imperial courts would act in perfect concert ; and at the same time an Austrian army advanced towards the Turkish frontiers. In his private cor- respondence, likewise, with Catherine, he evinced extreme ardour to promote her views, and declared that he was not only ready to fulfil his duty as an ally, but she might employ him to the whole extent of his faculties ; she might consider 1784-1786.] INTERFERENCE OF FRANCE. 503 him as her general, and his array as her own. To his zealous co-operation the empress owed her success ; for the Porte, awed by the formidable preparations of the two imperial allies, shrunk from the contest, and concluded, on the 9th of January, 1784, the convention which transferred to Russia the sovereignty of the Crimea and of the Kuban. The conduct of Joseph in this transaction appears ex- tremely impolitic, and even almost without a motive ; for he affected great disinterestedness, and expressed his resolution to accept no compensation for himself, while he assisted in securing so great an acquisition to Russia. In reality he was eager to share in the spoils of the Ottoman empire ; and he had coveted Moldavia and Wallachia ; but finding the empress averse to his acquisition of those countries, he grasped at the recovery of the Ultra-Danubian provinces; and was secure of the support of Catherine, who expressed her readiness to repay the essential service he had rendered in the conquest of the Crimea. In these views he was again thwarted by the secret inter- position of the French cabinet, who had acted with their usual address and duplicity : they had encouraged the Turks to resist the encroachments of the two imperial courts; sent engineers to fortify the strong places on the side of the Danube, and endeavoured to form a coalition with England for the protection of the Ottoman dominions* Their pro- posals being rejected, they consented to the acquisition of the Crimea by Russia ; but turned their efforts to obstruct the aggrandisement of the house of Austria on the side of Turkey. They expostulated with the emperor, threatened him with the formation of a confederacy with the kings of Prussia and Sardinia, and seemed resolved to throw all Europe into combustion rather than permit any further dismember- ment of the Turkish empire. Joseph, apprehensive for the safety of his Italian dominions, as well as for that of the Netherlands, which he had rendered totally defenceless, and failing in his attempts to engage the support of England, relinquished his schemes of conquest, and again sullenly yielded to the peremptory mandates of the court of Ver- sailles. Notwithstanding his disappointment and disgust at being thus doubly foiled after his extensive preparations, he did not break off his connection with France, but fondly hoped k k 4 504 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXVI. for her concurrence in another object of greater importance, which he had long meditated, and which was the secret mo- tive of all his recent transactions in the Netherlands. This project was to obtain Bavaria in exchange for the Austrian Netherlands. Bavaria contained a population of 1,200,000 souls, whose number might, under an able administration, be soon doubled, and yielded a revenue of 60,000,000 florins, capable of con- siderable increase by the augmentation of the taxes, and by the suppression of several convents, whose annual income exceeded 2,000,000 florins. The possession of Bavaria would unite the German dominions and Hungarian provinces into a compact and solid mass, and extend the Austrian territories and influence, in a continued line from the confines of Poland and Turkey to the frontiers of Alsace and the shores of the Mediterranean. Foiled in his attempts to acquire Bavaria by force of arms, he now endeavoured to obtain his object by different means. He maintained that influence over the cabinet of Munich which he had acquired during the negotiations for the peace of Teschen, and finally persuaded the elector to exchange Bavaria for the Netherlands (Namur and Luxemburgh ex- cepted), to be erected into a kingdom, with the revived title of Austrasia or Burgundy. He was well aware that as the acquisition of Bavaria would render him the virtual sovereign of all the south of Germany, the exchange would meet with a decided opposition from the king of Prussia ; from the princes and states of the empire ; from Great Britain and Holland, without whose concurrence as joint guarantees of the Barrier Treaty, the Netherlands could not be alienated ; from the king of Sardinia, who could not without a jealous eye behold the house of Austria connecting Bavaria with the Tyrol, and thus obtaining a free access into Italy ; and from his subjects in the Netherlands, who would object to the transfer of their country, as an infringement of their liberties. Joseph foresaw these obstacles, and did not neglect the necessary precautions to render them ineffectual. By co- operating against the Turks he had already secured the assistance of Russia ; he had gained France by the offer of Namur and Luxemburgh, and looked forward with confidence to her zealous concurrence. He considered Great Britain 1784-1786.] THWARTED BY FREDERIC. 505 as not yet recovered from the distresses occasioned by the American contest, and as both unable and unwilling to enter into a continental war in support of the Barrier Treaty. He hoped to gain the United Provinces by offering to relinquish his demands for the free navigation of the Scheldt, and for the cession of Maestricht, and by lowering his claims ; or if mild and conciliating measures failed of success, he resolved to extort their consent by an army of 80,000 men, who were marching towards the Low Countries. But he principally founded his hopes of success on the active assistance of Russia, and Catherine prepared, with unabated zeal, to promote the meditated exchange. In January, 1785, count Ilomanzoff, her minister at Frankfort, made a verbal proposal to the duke of Deux Ponts, request- ing his concurrence, as presumptive heir of Charles Theo- dore, to the cession of Upper and Lower Bavaria, the Upper Palatinate, the duchy of Neuburgh, the principality of Sultz- bach, and the landgraviate of Leuchtenberg ; in return, the elector was to receive the Austrian Netherlands, except Namur and Luxemburg!), with the title of king of Burgundy. The consent of the elector, he added, had been already ob- tained, and France and Russia would guaranty the exchange On the score of population, revenue, and local situation, he magnified the advantages on the side of the elector, requested the duke to give an answer within eight days, and perempt- orily declared that his opposition would not prevent the exchange. But this deep-laid scheme of policy was again thwarted by the great rival of the house of Austria, who, at the advanced age of seventy-four, still retained the spirit and vigilance which had distinguished his early years. He again privately offered his protection, and encouraged the duke of Deux Ponts to reject the proposal. By his advice the duke pub- licly appealed to France, Prussia, and Russia as guarantees of the peace of Teschen ; by his suggestion, also, the states of Bavaria presented a strong remonstrance against the pro- jected exchange; by his representations the princes and states of Germany were roused by an exaggerated list of grievances, and the precipitate and arbitrary conduct of Joseph was delineated in the most glowing colours. Frederic expatiated on the unjust claims of the emperor to the Bava- rian succession, exposed his total disregard to treaties by the 506 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXVI. resumption of the Barrier towns, and the proposal for open- ing the navigation of the Scheldt, and excited a serious apprehension lest the same principles should be extended to the affairs of Germany. He at the same time made a spirited remonstrance to the court of Versailles, accused them of being bribed by the offer of Luxemburgh and Namur to ac- quiesce in so flagrant a violation of public law and the con- stitutions of the empire, and testified his resolution to spend his last moments in asserting the liberties of Germany against the tyranny of its chief. A general alarm was thus spread from one part of the empire to the other, and the elector of Bavaria, in conse- quence of a demand made by the states of the duchy, deli- vered a notification, assertingthat the reports of a convention between him and the emperor were unfounded ; and that the only treaty which he had concluded, related to an adjust- ment of limits, which he communicated to them. Joseph had now reduced himself to a critical dilemma. He appeared as much astonished at this sudden and decided opposition as if he had not foreseen the smallest obstacle, and had expected an unlimited obedience to his dictates. He first preserved a sullen silence ; but, at length, disavowed any intention of extorting the acquiescence of the duke of Deux Ponts, while he asserted the legality of the exchange, if made with the consent of all parties. He insinuated that he had not authorised the proposals of the Russian minister ; and Catherine endeavoured to save the honour of the emperor, by declaring that she had ordered count RomanzofF to suggest the exchange, from a conviction that the advantages to both parties would be reciprocal ; but as the duke of Deux Ponts had declined acceding, she had no intention to enforce its execution. France also made the same declaration. This disavowal did not satisfy either the king of Prussia or the princes and states of Germany ; for, as it appeared, as well from the manifestos of France and Russia, as from the declarations of the emperor, that the plan had been relin- quished, not from any conviction of its injustice or impro- priety, but because the duke of Deux Ponts had withheld his consent, it followed, that should, on any future occasion, the house of Austria be enabled to obtain the concurrence of that branch of the Palatine family, the exchange might yet be effected, notwithstanding the stipulations of the peace of 1786-1788.] the Germanic league. 507 Teschen. The king of Prussia therefore proposed to revive the league of Smalkalde, and formed the Germanic Union, or confederacy of the princes and states, for maintaining the indivisibility of the Germanic body in general, and of the respective states in particular. This union, signed at Berlin on the 23rd of July, 1785, between the king of Prussia, the king of Great Britain, as elector of Hanover, and the elector of Saxony, was afterwards joined by the elector of Mentx, the margrave of Anspach, the duke of Deux Ponts, and other princes; and under the ostensible pretext of preserving the constitution of the empire, became a formidable bar to the encroachments of the house of Austria. Filled with resentment and alarmed with apprehensions of this league, Joseph in vain represented it as founded on the ambitious and interested views of the king of Prussia, whom he contemptuously styled Anti-Ca?sar, as tending rather to disturb than promote the peace of the empire, and as imposing shackles on the princes and states ; he also attempted to form a counter-confederation, and prepared for immediate hostili- ties. But the general disapprobation of the German states, the vigorous preparations of Prussia, the firm countenance of the confederate princes, the indecision of the elector of Bavaria, the conviction that France would not engage in a war to support his pretensions, that Holland was neither to be inti- midated by menaces nor lured by promises, and that Great Britain was resolved to oppose the transfer of the Austrian Netherlands, the rising discontents in Hungary, and an in- surrection in Transylvania, scarcely quelled, compelled him to adopt pacific views, and finally to relinquish the projected exchange. Chap. CXXVIL— 1786-1788. The Germanic League, the last hostile act of Frederic II. against the house of Austria, was effected under the pressure of those infirmities which soon afterwards hurried him to the grave. He had been some time afflicted with the dropsy and a complication of disorders ; but preserved the vigour of his administration and exerted the powers of his mind almost to 508 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXVII. the last moment. He died on the 17th of Angust, 1786, in the 75th year of his age and in the 47th of his glorious reign. It is needless to dwell on the character or exploits of a prince so well known in history ; it will be sufficient to ob- serve that his acquisitions added a population of 2,000,000 souls to his paternal inheritance, that he almost doubled his revenues, that he left a treasure of 8,000,000 sterling, and an army of 200,000 men, the best disciplined troops in Europe. He thus raised and consolidated a power which had long been a thorn in the side of the house of Austria, and which under his reign began to divide the German empire, and to be a counterbalance to the influence arising from the vast extent and numerous population of the Austrian territories. The death of the king of Prussia was followed by an essential change in the system of European policy. Before that event the ascendency of France had for some time been paramount in Europe. During the American contest she had consolidated a confederacy which almost isolated Eng- land from the powers of the Continent, and had finally suc- ceeded in severing the colonies from the mother country. But she derived no cause of exultation from her success ; her navy was almost annihilated, her commerce nearly ruined ; above all, her finances were reduced to an alarming state of dilapidation, and an annual deficit of nearly three millions sterling threatened a national bankruptcy. This deficiency had been long felt ; but the secret had been con- fined to the principal members of government, and its effects concealed ; while the evil itself was aggravated by the delusive system adopted by Necker of anticipating the revenue. To these embarrassments were added the rising spirit of republicanism, which was naturally derived from the inter- ference of France in the American contest, and a just punishment for her impolicy and ill faith in fomenting and supporting rebellion. Although the French cabinet, by their confident boasts, and by the activity and address of their agents, endeavoured to maintain their ascendency, they could not wholly conceal their real situation, and sunk in influence and credit, while England, on the contrary, began to rise in the scale of Europe. After a period of twelve years, the administration of lord North was dissolved by its own weakness and the ill success 1786-1788.] AFFAIRS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 509 of the contest in America, and a new ministry formed of which lord Rockingham was the head, but of which Mr. Fox, who principally directed the department of foreign affairs, was the efficient leader. At this juncture the brilliant victory of Rodney in the West Indies, revived the spirit of the nation, while it disabled the marine and baffled the hopes and plans of the house of Bourbon. But as it was now too late to recover America, the British cabinet testified an in- clination for peace ; relinquished those lofty demands of unconditional submission which the late administration had so weakly supported ; and agreed to acknowledge the inde- pendence of the colonies as the basis of a negotiation. They again accepted the proffered mediation of Austria and Russia ; but instead of implicitly trusting to the interference of luke- warm friends or treacherous allies, they despatched Mr. Grenville to Paris to open a direct negotiation with the French minister. In the midst of these transactions the death of lord Rock- ingham occasioned a partial change in the ministry. Mr. Fitzherbert (afterwards lord St. Helens), who was in conse- quence deputed to Paris in the room of Mr. Grenville, fulfilled his delicate office with great ability and address : while he treated with Vergennes, he succeeded in alarming Franklin, Adams, and Jay, the three American commissioners, and prevailed on them to sign separate and provisional articles, which severed America from France.* Vergennes, thus baffled * Akhough this negotiation was carried on at Paris, even Vergennes, with all his penetration, was ignorant of the transaction until the articles were signed. The following incident induced the American commis- sioners thus to contravene the treaty with France, by which it was stipu- lated that neither of the contracting parties should conclude a peace, or even a truce, except by mutual consent. The French cabinet, however, exulting in the separation of the colonies from England, were appre- hensive lest the formation of an independent republic in America might ultimately prove prejudicial to France, and occasion the loss of their West India Islands. Vergennes therefore sent to Marbois, French minister at Philadelphia, a long list of questions relative to the most effectual means of preventing the internal growth, and checking the ex- ternal power of the new republic. The answer to these questions formed a voluminous report, containing a regular and systematic plan for ex- citing such a spirit of discord, not only in the several states, but even among different classes of individuals, as would have almost reduced the country to its state of original wildness and barbarism. This despatch being intercepted by I British cruiser, was shown to the American com- 510 josepii ii. [CH. CXXVII. and unable to prosecute hostilities, acceded to the terms of peace, and a treaty was concluded at Versailles on the 3rd of September, 1783. Great Britain acknowledged the inde- pendence of the American colonies, and ceded East Florida and Minorca to Spain. To France she restored the river Senegal, with several forts on the African coast, a small accession of territory in the East Indies, and the island of Tobago in the West Indies ; to which were added the full sovereignty of the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon on the coast of .Newfoundland (before possessed by France), under certain restrictions, together with a more advantageous arrangement of the respective fisheries. England also con- sented to abrogate the article of the peace of Utrecht, which related to the demolition of the fortifications of Dunkirk. The trifling advantages which France had procured for herself and Spain were greatly inadequate to the enormous expenses of the war ; but she exulted in having wrested the colonies from the mother country*, and anticipated the ad- vantages expected to be derived from the diminution of the British commerce and power. The same opinion prevailed throughout the Continent ; and the court of Vienna in par- ticular prophesied that England would ultimately sink in the unequal contest with the house of Bourbon. Nor were there wanting even in England persons of enlightened minds, who regarded this peace as the ruin of their country, and who predicted that " the sun of Great Britain was set for ever." But such persons did not appreciate the energy of the British constitution, the resources of the country, the character of the people, and their spirit of commercial enterprise. By the equivocal conduct of the emperor, England had been alienated from the house of Austria. Af ter assiduously courting the British cabinet, he had betrayed their con- missioners. The indignation of Adams and Jay was roused at this in- stance of perfidy ; they thought themselves justified in acceding to sepa- rate articles with England; overruled the opposition of Franklin, who was inveterate in his animosity to the mother country, and by threats deterred him from disclosing the secret to the French minister. * It was a singular coincidence of events that this treaty, the source of so much triumph and exultation to Louis XVI. and his court, was signed on the 20th of January, and that on that very day ten years, the unfortunate monarch was sentenced to the scaffold, the fatal consequence of the republican spirit which had been introduced and fostered by his impolitic interference in the American contest. 1786-1788.] STATE OF EUROPE. 511 fidential communications to the court of Versailles, had exerted his influence at St. Petersburgh in favour of France, and to gratify the empress, had even acceded to the armed neutrality. The breach was widened by the abrogation of the Barrier Treaty. Notwithstanding his professions at the commencement of the war, Joseph had countenanced the American agents, and connived at the clandestine trade which his subjects of the Netherlands carried on with the rebellious colonies. When the British cabinet accepted his mediation in conjunction with that of Russia, he proposed such terms as could only have been dictated from Versailles; and affected to prophesy that the issue of the contest would be fatal to England. The indignation naturally excited by such unfriendly conduct, had been still further heightened by the recent attempt of Joseph to exchange the Netherlands for Bavaria. The British cabinet therefore at length relinquished those hopes, which had been too fondly cherished, of renewing the ancient connection ; they turned their whole attention to gain the king of Prussia, who, except in his inveterate enmity to the house of Austria, was guided by principles totally contrary to those of his predecessor ; and by his assistance succeeded in overthrowing the French influence in Holland. Since the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, France had gained a considerable ascendency in the councils of the United Provinces, and was supported by the party adverse to the house of Orange. During the seven years* war the states had maintained a neutrality, and in the American contest had displayed such an evident partiality towards France and the rebellious colonies, as involved them in hostilities with England* This war promoted the ascendency of France ; the conclusion of the disputes with the emperor led to a formal alliance, which was signed at Fontainbleau, November 10. 178o, and soon afterwards the anti-Orange party, or patriots, succeeded in overthrowing the authority of the stadtholder. The prince of Orange being supported by numerous adherents, endeavoured to recover his authority by force of arms, and the country was threatened with the horrors of a civil war. Attempts were made by the mediation of France and Prussia to appease these troubles; but as France was anxious to maintain the patriot party, and as Frederic was lukewarm in his support of the prince of Orange, who had 512 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXVII. espoused bis niece, their intervention failed of success. The new sovereign, Frederic William, who was warmly attached to his sister, was anxious to adopt a more efficient line of conduct, and was easily instigated by England to take a part in the affairs of Holland. The arrest of the princess by the patriots, in her journey towards the Hague, furnished a pretext for hostilities, and the Prussian troops, led by the duke of Brunswick, made the conquest of Holland with a rapidity and success which astonished Europe. The states were compelled to rescind their resolutions, and the prince of Orange was restored to his former authority. During these events France had evinced a resolution to support the patriot party by arms ; but awed by the hostile preparations of England, and checked by the increasing embarrassments in her finances, she shrunk from the contest, and yielded the preponderance in Holland to her rival. This revolution was followed by an alliance between the Maritime Powers and Prussia, and their united influence baffled the ambitious projects of Joseph for aggrandisement on the side of Turkey. France, thus deserted by Prussia, threatened by England, and deprived of her influence in Holland, began to turn with warmth and sincerity towards the court of Vienna. The death of Vergennes, which happened at the commence- ment of 1787, had diminished that systematic jealousy which had been fostered against the house of Austria. The new minister, Montmorin, and afterwards de Brienne, archbishop of Thoulouse, courted the emperor as their only stable and powerful ally ; and he seemed equally desirous to avail him- self of their favourable disposition. In consequence of these hopes, Joseph received the news of the death of his great rival Frederic with perfect indif- ference; and instead of attempting to execute his usual threat, that he would seize that opportunity to recover Silesia, he sent assurances of his pacific inclinations to Berlin, received the Prussian minister with great complacency, and testified an earnest desire to live on terms of amity with the new monarch. 513 Chap. CXXVIIL— 1787-1790. Although Joseph had privately encouraged the patriots of Holland, and gave to the adherents of France an asylum in the Netherlands, he took no public part in their favour ; but considered the contest simply as the means of employing the arms of Prussia, while he pursued his plans for sharing with Russia the spoils of the Turkish empire. The acquisition of the Crimea having rather increased than satisfied the ambition of Catherine, she displayed on every occasion a resolution to subvert the Ottoman empire. She had secured the support of Joseph ; she had gained the friendship of France by concluding, in January, 1787, a league of amity and commerce, and by refusing to renew the former treaty with England. She revived the ancient Greek names in her new territories on the Black Sea ; her consuls and agents were employed in exciting discontents among the Greeks and other Christian subjects of the Porte ; and with a view to awe or conciliate the Tartar hordes bordering on the Turkish empire, she made a progress into the southern provinces of European Russia, with a pomp and magnificence suitable to the grandeur of her projects. Ac- companied by the principal persons of her court, as well as by the Austrian, English, and French ministers, she took her departure at the commencement of the year, travelled by land to Kiof, and on the approach of spring 1787, embarking on the Dnieper, descended to Cherson. In the first part of this journey, pioneers preceded to level the way ; the road "was illuminated by bonfires, and lined with crowds of spec- tators ; a flotilla of magnificent barges was prepared for her voyage* ; the inhabitants of whole villages, with numerous flocks and herds, were removed to the banks of the river ; and a desolate and inhospitable region assumed the appear- ance of felicity, population, and industry. Large bodies of troops were also collected at different places : at Krements- chuck 14,000 men, dressed in new uniforms, exhibited the manoeuvres of a battle ; and at Pultawa the empress was gratified with an exact representation of the celebrated * One of these vessels is said to have contained seven apartments, and a saloon where forty persons might dine. VOL. HI. L L 514 Joseph 11. [CII. CXXVIIT. victory gained by her predecessor Peter the Great over Charles XII. Joseph availed himself of this journey as a pretext for paying another visit to his ally, that they might in person complete arrangements for partitioning their intended con- quests. He reached Lemberg in the middle of April, and after waiting twenty days, proceeded towards Cherson, the place appointed for the interview. He arrived there on the 14th of May, and, eager to display his respect towards his ally, hastened to meet her on the journey. His impatience occasioned some embarrassment. The courier who con- veyed the news of his departure, found the barge aground ; and Catherine, unwilling to be surprised in that situation by her imperial visitor, instantly disembarked, and with the greater part of her suite proceeded by land. On the approach of Joseph she alighted, and after the accustomed salutations, the two sovereigns pursued their journey in the carriage of the empress. At Kaidak a singular scene took place. In consequence of Joseph's precipitancy, no preparations could be made for his reception. Prince Potemkin, who was wait- ing the arrival of the imperial flotilla, had already finished his repast, and the autocrat of all the Russias, with the emperor of Germany, could not without difficulty procure even a scanty meal. But this disappointment afforded matter of mirth, and gave to Catherine an opportunity of displaying her ease and hilarity. Joseph, who from his usual mode of travelling, was not unaccustomed to similar privations, bore his part with equal spirit and good humour; the wit and raillery of Potemkin contributed to enliven the scene, and the two sovereigns condescended to assist in preparing their scanty meal, of which they partook with more enjoyment than they had before derived from the greatest luxuries of the table. From Kaidak they proceeded to Cherson, where Catherine made a magnificent entry, passing under a triumphal arch, on which was inscribed in the Greek tongue, " The way to Byzantium.* After a stay of four days, distinguished by exhibitions of uncommon magnificence, she continued her progress through the Crimea, which she had recently dis- tinguished by the Greek appellation of Taurida. In this journey every species of splendour, which the fertile and romantic genius of Potemkin could invent, was 1787-1790.] ACCOMPANIES CATHERINE. 515 exhibited to grace the presence of his sovereign. At Batcheserai, the capital of the peninsula, she was lodged in the ancient palace of the Khans, and entertained with the spectacle of a burning mountain, artificially illuminated ; at Sebastapol she viewed with pride and exultation a powerful navy, her own creation, riding in the finest harbour of the Black Sea. Joseph accompanied the empress during this progress, although he had previously received notice of the rising dis- contents in the Netherlands, and his presence was required at Vienna. But it was observed that he had lost much of that native vivacity which marked his first visit to Russia, and was absorbed in continual reflection, brooding over his various projects of reform and the increasing embarrassments of his reign. On his return to Perislaf, on the bank of the Dnieper, he took leave of his imperial hostess and hastened to Vienna. The specific arrangements made during this journey have never been divulged. But the encroachments and intrigues of Russia, the petty warfare on the Turkish frontier, the hostile preparations of the two imperial courts, and the cir- cumstances of this ostentatious journey, drew from the Porte a sudden declaration of war against Russia on the loth of August ; and a Turkish squadron appearing at the mouth of the Dnieper, commenced hostilities by bombarding Kinburn. Confounded at this unexpected and vigorous measure, Catherine affected to temporise ; and offered terms of ac- commodation through the mediation of France. At the same time she accelerated her preparations, published a vindica- tion of her conduct, and called for the stipulated assistance of the emperor. By this summons Joseph was reduced to a critical situation. Mortified at witnessing the importance of those acquisitions which he had contributed to secure to Catherine without ob- taining an equivalent, he was eager to make amends for his former disappointment. But his alarms were awakened by the close union between the courts of London and Berlin ; he was embarrassed by the efforts of the French court to prevent the dismemberment of the Ottoman empire; and above all he was unwilling to engage in a Turkish war, while so considerable a part of his military force was required to quell the insurrection in the Netherlands, lie therefore en- 516 JOSEPH II. [en. cxxvm. deavoured to temper the ardour of his ally, and protract the commencement of hostilities. By his internuncio at Con- stantinople he declared that he would succour Russia, if attacked ; yet proffered his mediation to prevent the effusion of blood. Like Catherine, however, he did not intermit his military preparations ; and bodies of troops, with large magazines, and a numerous train of artillery, covered the Danube, or filled the roads from the capital to the Turkish frontier. He pursued this dubious line of conduct till he had effected a temporary suspension of the troubles in the Nether- lands ; and while his internuncio was acting the part of a mediator at Constantinople, he attempted to surprise the fortress of Belgrade. A considerable force, collected in the neighbourhood of Semlin, prepared in the night of the 2nd of December to cross the Danube and the Save in two columns ; one led by Alvinzy, the other by Gemmingen. Their march being obstructed by the badness of the roads and darkness of the night, and the passage of the rivers impeded by a thick fog, the vanguard alone of the first column reached the place of rendezvous, which was a neck of land on the Turkish territory, under the walls of Belgrade. In this situation they were discovered at the approach of dawn, and exposed to inevitable destruction had they been attacked by the garrison. But the governor affecting to be satisfied with the apologies of Alvinzy, permitted them to withdraw, and they repassed the Save with great precipitation. This flagrant violation of public faith did not, however, provoke the Turks to commence hostilities. They made a dignified appeal to the gratitude of the emperor ; they re- minded him of the inviolable faith with which they had observed the treaty of Belgrade by rejecting all the allure- ments of France and Prussia on the death of Charles VI., when the very existence of the house of Austria w r as en- dangered. Such motives had little influence on the mind of so ambitious a monarch as Joseph, eager to signalise his arms, and to share in the spoils of a feeble enemy. He accordingly published on the 10th of February, 1788, a de- claration of war, in which he did not even attempt to varnish pis aggression with the slightest colour of equity ; he did not charge the Turks with a single infraction of the peace ; he only justified his attack by pleading his engagements with 1787-1790.] PREPARATIONS AGAINST THE TURKS. 517 the empress of Russia, and inveighing against the obstinacy of the Porte in rejecting her demands. When Joseph made this declaration, he not only meditated the recovery of Bosnia and Servia, but grasped at the pos- session of Moldavia and Wallachia, and flattered himself with the hopes of extending the boundaries of his empire to the Dniester. Instead, therefore, of acting as a mere auxiliary, he came forward as a principal in the war. He had already assembled an army of 200,000 men, with a train of 2000 pieces of artillery, on the Turkish frontier, and im- patiently waited the approach of spring to take the field. The two imperial allies prepared to direct their force against the whole extent of the Turkish frontier from the Adriatic to the Black Sea. The main body of the Austrians was assembled on the borders of Sclavonia, to open the cam- paign with the siege of Belgrade, and to direct its progress on the side of the Danube ; the principal force of the Rus- sians, under prince Potemkin, was collected on the Bog, to pursue the advantages gained the preceding year; and a considerable corps uniting with an Austrian force under the prince of Coburgh in the Bucovina, was to reduce Chotzirn, and co-operate with the main armies on the Sereth, the Pruth, or the Dniester. Besides these three armies, other bodies were stationed in Transylvania, the Bannat, Scla- vonia, and Croatia, to connect or support the principal at- tacks. An armament was to be despatched to the Archi- pelago, to favour the progress of Potemkin ; and Joseph not only persuaded the bashaw of Scutari to raise the standard of revolt, but even hoped to draw the Venetians into the war. The most sanguine expectations prevailed that the war would be conducted with spirit and success equal to the magnitude of the preparations, and the vast designs of the sovereign. But the plans of the allies were frustrated by unexpected obstacles. The equipment of the naval arma- ment was prevented by the opposition of England and Hol- land, who forbade their seamen to enter into the service of Russia ; and an attack from the king of Sweden, equally sudden and daring, called the whole attention of Catherine to the preservation of her capital. The greater part of her troops who were marching to the scene of action were coun- termanded, and instead of a formidable force the prince of Coburgh was joined by Soltikof with only 10,000 men. 518 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXVI1I. Joseph experienced a new disappointment from the resolu- tion of the Venetians to maintain a neutrality, notwithstand- ing all the promises and threats of the two imperial courts. The bashaw of Scutari also, discouraged by the embarrass- ments of the allies, massacred the Austrian officers whom he had received at his court, and made his peace with the sultan ; and his example was followed by the neighbouring bashaws, who were wavering between their duty and dread of his power. Instead of compensating for the weakness of his ally by his own strenuous exertions ; instead of pressing the siege of Belgrade before the enemy were capable of interrupting his operations, Joseph wasted the early part of the campaign in inaction, vainly waiting for the advance of the Russians, and dreading lest he should draw on himself the whole force of the grand vizier. At length the consciousness that his in- decision had dishonoured his character in the eyes of his army, his people, and Europe, impelled him to undertake the siege ; bridges were thrown over the Save, and a train of battering artillery drawn from Semlin and the neighbouring garrisons. But his tardiness exposed him to the very danger which he had so anxiously endeavoured to avoid. At the commencement of the campaign the grand vizier Yusuph assembled his army in Bulgaria, as a central point from which he could equally make head against the Austrians or Russians. By a judicious system of defence, he baffled and harrassed the Austrians, by desultory attacks he inured his troops to the sight of the enemy, and by a series of trifling successes inspired them with unusual confidence. Being relieved from all apprehensions of the Russians, he turned his whole force against the Austrians. He advanced towards Belgrade, and as the emperor precipitately retired behind the Save, he threw bridges over the Danube at Cladova, broke the Austrian cordon by defeating a corps under War- tensleben posted on the heights of Meadia, spread alarm and devastation through the neighbouring districts of the Bannat, and threatened to pour his victorious troops into Hungary. The affairs of the emperor were now in the most alarming situation. He had fallen from his towering hopes of sub- verting the Ottoman empire, and in the middle of a cam- paign commenced w r ith the most powerful army which the house of Austria had ever brought into the field, and with 1787-1790.] SIEGE OF NOVI. 519 preparations which almost exceeded belief, saw the war car- ried into his own dominions. His troops were disheartened by ill success, and confounded at the desperate courage of the enemy. The army was thinned by an epidemic malady, and the population of the hereditary countries drained for recruits to supply the vast deficiency derived from disease and the sword ; the treasury was exhausted, and the popu- lace of the capital, irritated by the clearness of provisions, broke out into tumults. In this perilous situation Joseph left 30,000 men at Sem- lin, and hastened with 40,000 to support Wartenslebcn and cover Hungary. To divert the tide of misfortune he also transferred to Loudon, whom he had hitherto neither em- ployed nor consulted, the command of the army in Croatia, with distinguished marks of honour. The people and the army were equally gratified by this appointment. The journey of the veteran general from the capital to the frontier was a triumphal procession, and the soldiers received their commander near Berbir with as much enthusiasm as if they had gained a decisive victory.* Loudon did not suffer this ardour to cool, and commenced offensive operations, so congenial to his character and talents, on the 26th of August. The very day after he joined the army, he defeated the Turks under the walls of Dubitza, and soon reduced the fortress to capitulate. He threw bridges over the Save, dispersed a corps of observation en- camped near Berbir under the bashaw of Travnic, and pushing into the heart of Bosnia, invested Novi. The trenches were opened on the 11th of September, the second parallel completed the third day, and the siege prosecuted with the greatest activity ; a body of 7000 Turks who at- tacked the Austrian lines were repulsed ; two .assaults were made against the place, and on the 3rd of October, the garrison surrendered prisoners of war. The approach of winter alone retarded the successful progress of this active commander. During these operations the prince of Coburgh, in con- junction with Soltikof, had laid Biege to Chotzim, which from the exposed situation of the works was expected to • Loudon had always disapproved of a defensive war, and his constant axiom was, that more. men are lost by sickness or desertion in inaction, than fall by the hand of the enemy in the most bloody campaign. L L 4 520 JOSEPH n. [CII. CXXVIII. prove an easy conquest. The batteries were opened on the 20th of July ; but notwithstanding an incessant fire, which laid the town in ashes, and ruined the principal magazine, the heroic governor, with his half-famished and intrepid garrison, did not surrender till the 20th of September, when he was allowed to depart with the honours of Avar. This obstinate and almost unparalleled defence wasted the season of action, and prevented the allies from undertaking any other important enterprise during the remainder of the campaign. While Loudon and the prince of Coburgh were thus re- trieving the honour of the Austrian arms, the emperor was exposed to new disgrace. After his junction with Warten- sleben he took post near Slatina in the valley of Caransebes. The clamours of the troops and the representations of his officers having induced him to summon a council of war, all the generals, except Lacy, declared for an immediate en- gagement : but the emperor, affecting to adopt the opinion of his confidential adviser, remained on the defensive. His caution, however, was of little avail against his enterprising antagonist : for the Turks, encouraged by his indecision, with incredible labour formed batteries on the neighbouring hills, and made a continual attack on his camp for two days and nights. Joseph succeeded indeed in repulsing the enemy ; but surrounded with difficulties, and apprehensive of another assault, he broke up his camp during the night of the 20th of September, and fell back to Temeswar. This retreat completed the disgrace of his arms. Indignation, confusion, and dismay, pervaded the ranks. The night was dark, and a false alarm having put the troops in motion, all who were attached to the baggage took to flight, and the soldiers fired on each other. The emperor, who was in an open chaise at the head of one of the columns, mounted a horse, and attempted to rally the fugitives at a bridge, but was hur- ried away by the crowd, and separated from his suite. In this situation he rode alone the distance of a German mile before he was able to rejoin his troops.* In this confusion part of the baggage and artillery fell into the hands of the enemy, and 4000 men were lost in a march of only four days. * Joseph reproached his aid-de-camps for having deserted him. One of them sarcastically replied, " We used our utmost endeavours to keep up with your imperial majesty, but our horses were not so fleet as yours." 1787-1790.] HIS UNFORTUNATE CAMPAIGN. 521 Fortunately for the emperor, general Fabris kept the Turks in check by defending the passes of Transylvania, and the commencement of the rainy season compelled the vizier to withdraw from the Bannat. He placed a strong garrison in Viplanka, and marching towards Belgrade, was followed by the emperor, who resumed his former position at Semlin. No important operation, however, took place, except the capture of Viplanka by a detachment under general Harrach, and in November the campaign was closed by an armistice of three months for Sirmia and the bannat of Temeswar. Thus terminated a campaign in which 30,000 men fell in desultory skirmishes, and 40,000 were swept away by pesti- lence ; losses but poorly compensated by the capture of Sza- batch, Chotzim, Dubitza, and Novi. Joseph himself, afflicted with a disorder derived from fatigue and chagrin, returned to Vienna, brooding over the loss of his military reputation, and the distress and disgrace which he had brought upon his people and his army. In 1789 the Turks anticipated the Austrians, by re-com- mencing hostilities at an early season. The grand vizier, leaving troops on the lower course of the Danube to observe the Russians and Austrians, crossed the river in March, 1789, at Ruschuk, with 90,000 men, and rapidly advanced towards Hermanstadt, with the intent to penetrate into Transylvania, break the Austrian line, and carry the war into the hereditary countries. His progress was suddenly arrested by the death of the sultan Abdelhamen and the accession of Selim, for he was recalled and disgraced by the new sovereign, assassinated in his way to a place of exile, and his post given to the bashaw of Widdin, a man of a rash and presumptuous temper, and deficient in military skill. By this fortunate revolution, the allies were enabled to recover their ascendency. Early in the year the prince of Coburgh, proceeding with 18,000 men from Chotzim to Adjud, was joined by 7000 Russians under the celebrated Suwarof. On the 31st of July they defeated, at Fotzani, a body of Turks who had advanced from Brachilow to prevent their junction, with the loss of their camp, baggage, maga- zines, and artillery. They then suddenly directed their march against the main army, under the grand vizier, who had ascended the Alt to Rimnik, and gained, on the 22nd of 522 josepii ii. [CH. CXXVHI. September, a stupendous victory over a vast and ill organised multitude. The whole army was dispersed or put to the sword, and the camp, baggage, and artillery, with no less than one hundred standards, fell into the hands of the con- querors. This great victory opened a similar career of success to the main army, and Loudon, on the 3rd of September, in- vested Belgrade. He pressed the siege with his usual acti- vity, carried the suburbs by assault, and completed the third parallel. On the 6th of October, the governor proposing an armistice for fifteen days, Loudon briefly replied, " Not for fifteen hours." He ordered the cannonade to be resumed with redoubled vigour, and within three days the garrison of 7000 men surrendered prisoners of war. Joseph, sinking under the disorder which carried him to the grave, was revived by this series of successes. The sick and exhausted monarch rose from his bed to receive the joyful tidings, and attend a Te Deum at the church of St. Stephen. A festival was proclaimed for three days; the capital was illuminated, the theatres opened gratis to the people, and, in allusion to the christian name of Loudon, the streets resounded with the triumphal song of Gideon. The successful commander was also nominated generalissimo with the panic uncontrolled authority which had been for- merly intrusted to prince Eugene. The victory of Rimnik and the capture of Belgrade were the harbingers of greater success. Hassan Pasha, the Turk- ish high admiral and celebrated conqueror of Egypt, whose confidence in his good fortune had encouraged him to assume the command of an army, was totally defeated at Tobac, in Bessarabia, by prince Potemkin, and his discomfiture was followed by the surrender of Bender, Akerman, Kilia Nova, and Isatza, and with the investment of Ismael. At the same time the prince of Coburgh took Bucharest and Hohenlohe, forcing the passes which lead into Wallachia, made himself master of Rimnik and Crajova. Loudon also reduced Semendria and Cladova, and blockaded Orsova, which, being situated in an island of the Danube, was inaccessible to regu- lar attacks. By these conquests the allies became masters of the whole line of fortresses which covered the Turkish fron- tier ; the three grand armies, originally separated by a vast extent of country, were rapidly converging to the same point, 1787-1790.] COMBINATION AGAINST HDL 523 and threatened, by their united force, to overbear all opposi- tion, and in another campaign to complete the subversion of the Ottoman empire in Europe. But in the midst of this successful career, the increasing ferment in the hereditary countries, the rebellion in the Netherlands, and, still more, the interposition of the Mari- time Powers and Prussia, checked the hopes of Joseph at the very moment when his projects of aggrandisement seemed hastening to their completion. Justly alarmed at the suc- cesses of the two imperial courts, the three combined powers emancipated Poland from the domination of Russia ; they delivered the king of Sweden from the Danish invasion, and laid the foundation of a general alliance for reducing the overgrown power of Austria and Russia. The king of Prussia even encouraged the rising discontents in Hungary, fomented the troubles which the impolitic innovations of Joseph had excited in the Netherlands, and, in the com- mencement of 1790, opened a negotiation with the Porte for the conclusion of an offensive alliance, intended not only to effect the restoration of the dominions conquered during the existing war, but even of the Crimea, and the territories dis- membered by the two imperial courts from Poland. The only power to which Joseph might have turned as a counterpoise to this combination was France, from whose recent change of system he had flattered himself with hopes of a cordial support, and from whom he had even received private largesses to a considerable amount. But in the short interval of the two preceding years a fatal alteration had taken place both in the court and kingdom. The spirit of republicanism, excited by the American contest, had increased to an alarming height, and, with the growing embarrassments of the revenue, contributed to weaken the energy of govern- ment. The indecisive character of Louis, and even his virtues, furthered the projects of the republican. Without a discriminating judgment or force of mind, his great passion was to introduce beneficial reforms into the different depart- ments of administration. Hence, he became the dupe of artful or misguided men, and adopted every plausible innova- tion, however injurious to his prerogative. At this period France was in a state of great ferment. The concessions of the king encouraged new demands, and not only the magistracy, but even the greater part of the 524 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXIX. nobility and clergy, joined the prevailing clamour for whgt was called a new order of tilings. The populace, instigated by their demagogues, and encouraged by the duke of Orleans, rose tumultuously, seized the magazines of arms, and stormed the Bastille. Concessions were only the prelude to still greater degrada- tions ; the princes of the blood and many of the nobles, who ought to have formed the bulwark of the throne, emigrated from France, and the National Assembly triumphantly de- creed the abolition of all privileges, published a theoretical rhapsody, which they called a declaration of the Rights of Man, and voted themselves permanent. An alarming scarcity of provision inflaming the general discontent, a sanguinary mob from Paris forced the palace of Versailles, massacred the guards, and dragged the degraded king and queen as prisoners to the capital. At the same time the National Assembly removed to Paris, and continued by their resolu- tions and debates to inflame the public mind, and heap new insults on the head of the unfortunate monarch and his amiable queen, Marie Antoinette. This being the unfortunate situation of the country, Joseph saw the impending dissolution of the alliance on which he had so confidently relied, and the revival of that hostile spirit which had formerly menaced the downfall of Austria. He had reason to apprehend the loss of those very Netherlands for the security of which he had made great and incessant sacrifices. Chap. CXXIX. — 1787-1790. That rich and fertile territory, usually known by the synony- mous appellations of the Netherlands and the Low Countries, formed past of the vast dominions which had been attached to the Spanish monarchy. Conquered by the joint forces of the Maritime Powers, it was transferred, at the peace of Utrecht, under their guaranty, to the house of Austria, on condition that the ancient laws, customs, and constitutions should be inviolably preserved. The late emperor, Charles VI., was inaugurated on these terms. His daughter, Maria The- resa, entered into similar engagements on her accession ; but 1787-1790.] THE NETHERLANDS. 525 during her reign some changes, with the consent, if not at the request, of the states, were introduced in the mode of representation in Brabant, and in the system of taxation. Joseph gave the same solemn sanction to the existing con- stitution. Perhaps there was no country on the surface of the globe so small in extent, under the government of one prince, of which the component parts differed so widely in manners, government, and laws. Each of the provinces not only formed a separate sovereignty, enjoying a peculiar constitu- tion, but the same variation extended to the cities and dis- tricts. In most of the provinces the rights and privileges were founded on tradition or prescription ; but in Brabant and Limburgh they were detailed in a charter called La Joyeuse Entree*, which contained fifty-nine articles, a col- lection of ancient usages and immunities granted by the former dukes of Brabant. The sovereign was restrained from conferring charges on any except natives, no inhabitant was to be tried out of the country, and full liberty of speech was to be allowed in the assembly of the states, with many other privileges; the charter was also concluded with a de- claration similar to the celebrated clause in the coronation oath of Andrew II., king of Hungary, that if the sovereign should cease to observe the articles, his subjects should also cease to obey him, until the breaches in the constitution were repaired, and the immunities restored. The power of the clergy was almost unbounded ; the hierarchy consisted of one archbishop and seven bishops ; there were also a hundred and eight abbeys, each endowed with annual revenues from 60,000 to 300,000 florins, nu- merous convents, and the number of religious persons, regu- lar and secular of both sexes, amounted to above 30,000. The clergy possessed a considerable part of the landed pro- perty, and being the first order of the states, were enabled to relieve themselves from a considerable part of the public burdens, by fixing the land-tax at a low rate, and throwing the imposts on articles of consumption. Their predominant influence was extended by the system of public education, which was subjected to the immediate control of the hierarchy. The university of Louvain had * It was so called because the charter on which it was founded was promulgated on the entry of Philip the Good into Brussels. 526 josepii 11. [CH. CXXIX. long been celebrated for its numerous and richly-endowed colleges, and was formerly distinguished for learning and discipline. It possessed extraordinary privileges, with the patronage of numerous benefices, both in the Netherlands and in the bishopric of Liege ; and above all, its academical honours were indispensable qualifications for the possession of every civil and ecclesiastical office. The members devoted to the papal see, maintained a blind adherence to the system of the ancient schoolmen, and proscribed all innovations adopted in other seminaries. In this country, and among a people so tenacious of their Customs, liberties, and religion, Joseph did not merely attempt to reform abuses and lop superfluous branches, but even laid the axe to the very root of the constitution itself. He pur- posed to force on the natives what he termed a simple and efficient form of government, and to establish nearly the same system of ecclesiastical polity, finance, and jurisprudence, as he had introduced into his hereditary countries. He com- menced his innovations at an early period of his reign by abolishing several convents, prohibiting processions, jubilees, and confraternities, and removing statues, images, and offer- ings from the churches. But in 1786 his plans were fully developed. He reformed the system of public education, by abrogating the privileges of the university of Louvain, and instituting a new seminary for the study of theology, over which he placed foreigners as directors, independent of the control of the bishops, and at which he ordered all youths destined for the church to pursue their studies. The innovation was vehemently op- posed, and in December, 1786, gave rise to a tumult among the students, which w r as not suppressed without a military force. The archbishop of Mechlin, who took an active part, was summoned to Vienna, and the papal nuncio, who had countenanced the opposition to the imperial decrees, was abruptly ordered to quit the Netherlands. This attempt was followed by similar changes in the civil government. The abolition of their venerated constitution excited uni- versal indignation and alarm among the people of the Nether- lands. The clergy and laity formed a common cause for mutual security. Brabant became the focus of opposition ; the states, in the terms of their constitution, refused to grant the customary subsidies, until their grievances were re- 1787-1790.] THE NETHERLANDS. 527 dressed ; they forbade the collectors of the revenue to acknowledge the authority of the new intendants, and pre- sented a spirited remonstrance to the governors-general They suppressed also the new seminary at Louvain, dis- missed the foreign professors, invited the other states to form a general confederacy, and claimed the guaranty of foreign powers, particularly of France. Their example was followed by the other provinces. Tumults burst forth in different places, the populace assumed the national cockade in imitation of the French, and the aspect of the whole coun- try portended an insurrection. On the 28th of May, 1787, Joseph received the first account of the tumults at Pereslaf, as he was preparing to cross the Dnieper. But infatuated with his plans, despising the danger, and employed in paying court to Catherine, he slighted the intelligence, and gave orders that no letters should be forwarded to him during the journey. He deter- mined, however, to pursue rigorous measures, and in answer to strong representations in favour of lenity and caution, replied, M the flame of rebellion can only be extinguished by blood." On his return to Pereslaf, he learnt with astonish- ment and agitation the progress of the insurrection ; and after taking a hasty leave of Catherine, returned to Vienna in the beginning of July. New mortifications awaited his arrival. He was thunderstruck with the intelligence that the Flemings, instead of awaiting the repeal of the obnoxious edicts, had risen in arms, and obtained concessions from the governors-general ; and that prince Kaunitz had not only approved these lenient measures, but pledged himself for the acquiescence of his sovereign.* Joseph highly reprobated the conduct of the governors- general, and of his minister, as feeble and pusillanimous, and expressed his inflexible resolution to enforce the execution of his plans, lie ordered troops to march to the Netherlands, summoned the governors-general and count Belgioioso to Vienna ; and at the same time despatched an angry mandate to the contumacious states, commanding them, as a mark of * Sir Robert Keith to Lord Caermarthen, Vienna, Aug. 3. 1787. Prince Kaunitz was so much displeased with the violent proceedings of Joseph, and his refusal to ratify the concessions made to the people of the Netherlands, that he offered to resign, and for a time discontinued to Countersign the mandates of the emperor. 528 josEPn n. [cn. cxxix. obedience, to submit their complaints, and apologise for their misconduct at the foot of the throne. The states did not refuse to give the required proof of obedience, but charged their deputies to express the loyalty of the nation and represent its grievances. On the 1 5th of August they were admitted to an audience, and their chief addressed the emperor in a speech replete with professions of loyalty, accompanied with firmness and spirit ; and, at the conclusion, were permitted to read the list of their grievances. The emperor, who had scarcely restrained his indignation during the recital, replied sternly : " The great dissatisfac- tion which I feel from all the late proceedings in my Belgic provinces cannot be effaced by a vain parade of words : nothing but a series of actions can prove the sincerity of your professions. I have charged prince Kaunitz to communicate to you in writing, for the information of the states, certain articles, the execution of which must precede any delibera- tion. Your instant and entire obedience is not only neces- sary to restore all things to their proper order, but to put a stop to the present interruption of commerce. I give you daily proofs that the good of my subjects is the sole object of all my actions, and you must be convinced that I have no thought of overturning your constitution, as in the moment of your greatest outrages, and when you have deserved my utmost indignation, with all the power which I possess, I only reiterate to you my assurances that I will preserve your liberties." The conditions announced with this parade of liberality, comprised the restoration of all innovations, the payment of the subsidies, and the revocation of all orders issued by the states contrary to the views of the sovereign. In case of an immediate compliance, the emperor promised that the ancient tribunals and administration of justice should be restored, that the intendances should not be established, nor the abbeys deprived of their privileges. He promised also that the territorial impost of forty per cent., and the military con- scription should not be introduced into the Netherlands. Promises so vague, accompanied by demands so contra- dictory, did not satisfy the Belgic states, and they announced their resolution not to comply with the preliminary articles without full security for the redress of their grievances. But 1787-1790.] DUPLICITY OF THE EMPEROR. 529 while the people were expecting the march of the imperial troops, and were making preparations for resistance, a sudden change took place in the conduct of Joseph. As he could not venture to drive his subjects of the Netherlands to desperation while embarrassed with the Turkish war, lie endeavoured to attain by artifice what he could not effect by force. He therefore treated the deputies with the greatest condescension, and affected a willingness to accede to most of their demands. These concessions produced the desired effect, and the objects in dispute were amicably arranged. The states announced their compliance with the wishes of their sovereign, the volunteers laid down their arms, and, in return, the march of the imperial troops was countermanded. Count Murray issued the edict which suppressed the new ordinances, and promised that conferences should be held with the states, to adjust the subjects remaining in dispute. These measures occasioned a temporary restoration of tran- quillity. But it was soon evident that Joseph only sus- pended his projects to deceive his subjects. He dismissed count Murray, who had tranquillised the minds of the people. The army in the Netherlands was silently augmented, and the command intrusted to general d'Alton, a man of an un- daunted and inflexible temper, united to the spirit of a rigid disciplinarian. Count Trautmansdorf was appointed minister plenipotentiary ad interim, with instructions which prove the views and insincerity of the emperor. He was ordered to consider the declaration of count Murray as extorted by fear, and consequently invalid ; to hold no conference with the states on the subjects in dispute ; to remove gradually all disaffected persons from their employments ; but above all, to effect a complete reform in the supreme council of Brabant, " without which," to use the words of the emperor, "nothing could be done." He was no less positively enjoined to com- mence his administration with the re-establishment of the general seminary at Louvain. On the arrival of Trautmansdorf at Brussels, in October, 1787, he found the people in a state of general agitation, and with suspicions naturally inspired by the prevarications of the sovereign, watching all his proceedings with a jealous eye. He therefore suspended the execution of the decree for the suppression of the university during three month-, and gained great popularity by this act of indulgence. The VOL. m. M II 530 Joseph ir. [cn. cxxix. other demands were obtained without difficulty, and the sub- sidies which had been refused unanimously voted, with a declaration that this compliance was a testimony of gratitude for the appointment of a minister so agreeable to the nation. Joseph, too ardent and arbitrary to listen to the dictates of prudence or justice, disapproved the suspension, and issued peremptory orders to establish the general seminary, what- ever might be the consequence. His views were warmly supported by general d' Alton, who was eager to bring the military force into action, and boasted that he could subju- gate the whole Netherlands in six weeks. Trautmansdorf reluctantly fulfilling an order of which he deplored the fatal consequences, commanded the rector and other members of the university to submit to the plan of reform. The whole body appealing to the council of Brabant, he required the latter to enforce the imperial decree, allowed only two hours for deliberation, and threatened, in case of refusal, to employ force, and revoke the recent concessions. At the same time d' Alton drew out a body of troops, with artillery, near the house in which the council was assembled, and sent a de- tachment through the streets to awe the populace. The states, however, still undaunted, disdained to return an answer, and only ordered the message to be entered on their journals. The detachment which patroled the streets being insulted, fired on the populace : a tumult ensued, in which six persons were killed and several wounded, and d'Alton poured a body of troops into the Town-house. But at this awful crisis Trautmansdorf again suspended the rising com- motion by ceasing to press his demands, and by declaring that the general had drawn out the troops without his con- currence. Intelligence of these proceedings being transmitted to Vienna, the emperor rewarded the officer who had ordered the troops to fire, and encouraged d' Alton to persist in co- ercive measures ; yet, with the same duplicity as before, he held forth to the natives the offer of a general amnesty and complete restitution of his favour. The governors-general, who returned at this juncture, found the country in a state of apparent tranquillity, and the people impressed with hopes that Joseph had at length relinquished his impolitic designs. But within a few days after this public declaration, the uni- versity was again closed, the rector banished for three years, 1787-1790.] REVIVAL OF THE DISCONTENTS. 531 and the refractory members expelled ; while a body of troops stationed in Louvain slaughtered many of the inhabitants, who assembled to deplore the overthrow of that university which had been their pride and support. The general semi- nary was re-established; the colleges of Mechlin and Antwerp, celebrated for the education of youth destined to the eccle- siastical profession, were likewise closed, and the same measures of coercion employed against the inhabitants. Soon after these violent proceedings, the states of the different provinces assembled to grant the ordinary subsidies, and notwithstanding the causes of dissatisfaction, nil complied with the usual custom except those of Hainault and Brabant. Their refusal drew from the emperor a severe address, in which he threatened to revoke the amnesty, to prosecute all who had taken part in the late troubles, to annul their privileges, and to abrogate the Joyous Entry. The states of Brabant, alarmed by these threats, sent on the 26th of January, 1789, a petition to deprecate the anger of the sovereign, and procured the suspension of the impending punishment. Those of Hainault, persisting in their resolution, their as- sembly was dissolved on the 31st by the military force, their chiefs arrested, and their constitution abolished. Confident that this severe example would intimidate the refractory states of Brabant, Joseph announced his intention to make a change in their government, which should prevent a repe- tition of their contumacy, and secure the regular grant of a permanent subsidy, by extending the right of representation to other towns and districts* In the present temper of the country such an arbitrary pro- ject excited general indignation ; and the whole province became a scene of civil commotion. While Brabant was thus divided by internal feuds, Joseph seized the opportunity to overthrow the constitution. By his command, Trautmansdorf summoned an extraordinary meet- ing of the states, and required their concurrence in the pro- position for increasing the third order, and establishing a permanent subsidy. The deputies, however, boldly refused their consent, exclaiming with one accord, " though the em- peror may dissolve us, we will not violate a constitution which we have solemnly pledged ourselves to preserve." In consequence of this refusal, the edict was enforced, the assembly dissolved, and the Joyous Entry annulled. The MM 2 532 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXIX deputies repaired to the hall of the council of Brabant, and protested against these proceedings ; but their protests were disregarded, and on the ensuing morning three imperial edicts proclaimed the dissolution of the ancient constitution, the new arrangement for the administration of justice, and various alterations in the imposition and collection of the taxes. Joseph fondly considered this event as the termination of the struggle ; and d' Alton re-echoed his sentiments when he said, "the 18th of June is a happy epoch for the house of Austria ; for on that day, the victory of Kolin saved the monarchy, and the emperor became master of the Nether- lands." But neither the infatuated monarch nor his sanguine general were acquainted with the resolution and sentiments of a free nation. Although the presence of the military pre- vented an immediate tumult, this apparent tranquillity was the calm which precedes the storm. The licentious spirit, which at this time agitated France, spread like an electric shock among a people who were provoked by repeated insults and oppressions ; the patriots daily augmenting in numbers exulted in the hope of being assisted by their neighbours, and of forming a similar constitution on the ruins of the Austrian government. Vengeance and retaliation were denounced against the royalists ; the walls, churches, and houses were covered with placards, calling on the people to imitate the example set by the citizens of Paris. Trautmansdorf, who had before averted the danger by prudence and lenity, was now anxious to meet it with firm- ness. Conscious that the imperial troops, who scarcely amounted to 20,000, were too few to awe a whole nation, he earnestly requested an accession of force. His apprehen- sions were ridiculed by d' Alton,' who boasted that after send- ing a battalion of each regiment to the army in Hungary, he should still be able to maintain internal tranquillity ; and Joseph reluctantly despatched only a single regiment, " not because he deemed it necessary, but to encourage a timid government." The forebodings of the minister were too soon realised. Scarcely a month elapsed after the dissolution of the ancient constitution, before the people tumultuously rose, in various districts, released the arrested persons, attacked the military, and plundered the houses of the magis- trates. In these commotions many lives were lost at Tirle- 1787-1790.] PROGRESS OF the revolution. 533 mont, Louvain, Antwerp, and Hons, before tranquillity could be restored ; and at Diest, the patriots led on by the monks, expelled the imperial troops and the magistrates. Brussels being likewise the scene of a momentary effervescence, the minister proposed to disarm the citizens ; but this measure was rejected by d' Alton, who presuming on the force of military discipline, contemptuously exclaimed, " If they want arms, I will supply them." At this period many young men of Brussels, who had uttered seditious speeches, were sent without trial to serve in the army of Hungary ; and in the agitated state of the public mind, this arbitrary act spread through the nation indignant and sullen despondency. Emigrations took place from all quarters; the fugitives repairing to the frontiers of Holland and Liege, joined those who had quitted their country in the preceding troubles, and formed a numerous body, ready to act offensively against the government. They found an able chief in Van-der-Noot, a factious advocate of Brussels, who had taken an active part during the troubles, and at whose instigation the third estate had refused to grant the annual subsidy. Being arrested and condemned for treason, he had in 1787 escaped into England. After ineffectually endea- vouring to obtain for his countrymen the protection and assistance of the British cabinet, he repaired to Berlin. Receiving from the king of Prussia only dubious promises, lie went to Holland, where he was permitted to reside under a feigned name, by the connivance of the Dutch government, which on this occasion imitated the conduct of Joseph towards the exiles in the late revolution. He returned in 1789 to Breda, whither he drew the archbishop of Mechlin, the abbot of Tongaloo, Crumpiper, the chancellor of Brabant, many of the nobility of Brussels, almost all the members from the states, and Van Eupen, canon of Antwerp. By their efforts, the emigrants were disciplined, distributed in different parts of the neigbouring country, arms and ammunition secured, and a force amounting to 10,000 men organised and appointed. A committee was established at Breda for the regulation of their proceedings, and their views seconded by another secret committee at Brussels. In the midst of this ferment, the emperor strangely blend- ing conciliation and severity, published a decree re-establish- ing the university of Louvain, in all its rights and privileges. M m 3 534 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXIX. This ridiculous versatility excited contempt instead of giving satisfaction, and produced no effect in allaying internal dis- affection, or checking the efforts of the party in Holland. A regular plan of hostilities was digested by the chiefs of the insurgents, and Van-der-Mersch, an officer who had sig- nalised himself in the imperial service during the seven years' war, was appointed commander. Yan-der-Noot assumed the title of plenipotentiary agent of the people of Brabant* and a manifesto, under his signature, was published " in the name of the clergy and third estate of Brabant, in union with many of the nobility, renouncing their allegiance, and declar- ing that they no longer considered Joseph as their sovereign." This manifesto, as a declaration of war, was sent to the government, and followed by the march of the patriot army into Brabant. With a view to counteract its effects, the government of Brussels ordered it to be burnt by the common executioner, and published a long vindication of the emperor ; urging that although he had abrogated the Joyous Entry, yet he had confirmed the essential principles of the constitution, the security of persons and property. To awe the disaffected within the walls, many persons of the first rank were arrested on a charge of conspiracy, the gates were shut, palisadoes planted on the fortifications, the citizens disarmed, and active preparations made Tor defence. Meanwhile hostilities commenced. A party of patriots marching from the neighbourhood of Breda, surprised, on the 25th of October, the forts of Lillo and Liefgenshoek, on the Scheld, made the scanty garrison prisoners, and conveyed the guardship to Bergen-op-Zoom. Another body of 3000 men, under the command of Van-der-Mersch, penetrated to Turnhout, and though many were armed only with bludgeons, pitchforks, and staves, and without cannon, they repulsed the imperial general Schroeder, who attacked them with 1500 men. This unexpected victory, proclaimed a miracle by the monks, increased the spirit and numbers of the insurgents, while it disheartened the royalists. But on the approach of general d'Arberg with 7000 men, the patriots retired within the Dutch territories, and concealing their arms, as usual, dispersed themselves in Dutch Brabant and the neighbour- ing districts of Liege, waiting for a more favourable oppor- tunity to renew their incursions. 1787-1790.] PROGRESS OP THE REVOLUTION. 535 While the imperial general remained at Hogstraten, the insurgents made a new and more effectual attempt on the side of Flanders. A body despatched by Van-der-Mersch approached Ghent, seized two of the gates, and forcing their way into the town, were joined by the burghers with cannon and ammunition ; the garrison of 1200 men was overpowered by numbers, driven across the Scheld, and blockaded in the barracks of the fort of St. Pierre. D'Arberg with 3000 men hastened to the scene of action, and occupied the citadel ; but he was unable to stem the torrent of revolt. Bruges and Courtray declared for the rebels ; new succours poured into Ghent ; the fort of St. Pierre was stormed, the troops in the barracks made prisoners, and d'Arberg himself forced to retire in the night to Brussels. All Flanders was instantly emancipated ; the states assembling at Ghent, in November 1789, published a declaration of independence, and invited the other provinces to form a general alliance. Terror and despondency spread to the seat of government, the governors- general quitted Brussels ; d' Alton and Trautmansdorf, whose disputes were increased by the impending dangers, acted without concert ; d' Alton concentrated his troops to make a last effort for the preservation of the capital, Trautmansdorf liberated the arrested persons, restored arms to the citizens, and issued no less than twenty-two declarations in the name of the emperor, hoping to conciliate the people by suppressing the seminary at Antwerp, re-establishing the Joyous Entry, and declaring an amnesty. Of this confusion and alarm the patriot chiefs availed themselves with equal vigour, skill, and promptitude. Van- der-Mersch assembling a body of insurgents, made a new irruption into Brabant, seized Diest, and advancing to Tirlemont, threatened Louvain. DAlton instantly marched against the rebels, but pressed by the insurgents of Flanders, and unwilling to risk a battle which, if unfortunate, would have left him no hope of retreat, he suddenly concluded, with the acquiescence of Trautmansdorf, an armistice for ten days, which was to be provisionally extended, with the consent of the states of Brabant. In this interval he hoped to turn his forces against Flanders, but every moment of delay was fatal to the imperial cause ; the patriots anticipated his designs, seduced whole troops of his soldiers, augmented their party by new accessions of force, and organised an insurrection at M 31 4 536 josepii ii. [en. CXXIX. Brussels, which terminated the struggle. On the 8th of December the women and children endeavoured to demolish the intrenchments, and tore up the palisadoes. The people assumed the national cockade ; the streets resounded with the cries of " Long live the patriots ! Long live Van-der- Noot ! " The soldiers began to desert, and two companies of the regiment of Murray at once joined the patriots. On the 11th, an officer imprudently attempting to snatch a cockade from the hat of a burgher, a tumult ensued, and the inhabitants flew to arms. The imperial troops, separated and discouraged, were attacked by different bands of the populace, assisted by the deserters, and, after a conflict which continued the greater part of the night, were driven into the upper town. D' Alton, fallen from his former presumption, dreading the approach of Yan-der-Mersch on one side, and the Flemish army on the other, doubtful of his troops, who were reduced to 5000 men, surrounded by secret and declared enemies, was happy to secure his retreat by a capitulation. He quitted Brussels on the evening of the 12th, leaving the cannon, military chests, and stores in the hands of the insur- gents, and took the route to Luxemburgh, pillaging, plunder- ing, and wasting the country as he passed. The example of the capital was followed by the other towns ; the imperial troops successively retired from Antwerp, Louvain, and Mechlin into Luxemburgh, and the governor, general Bender, assuming the command, prepared to defend that duchy which alone continued faithful to the house of Austria. The news of the revolution affected Joseph to an alarming degree, and made a deep impression on his mind, already weakened by bodily and mental infirmities. He burst into tears, complaining bitterly that he had been deceived by the intelligence from Brussels ; he acknowledged his total inabi- lity to devise measures for the recovery of those valuable dominions, and demanded the advice of Kaunitz, whom he had yet scarcely deigned to consult on these momentous events. By his suggestions he consented to adopt concilia- tory measures, and count Philip Cobenzl, who was supposed to possess great influence in the Netherlands, was despatched to Brussels to tranquillize the people, by revoking the late edicts, and restoring their privileges. These measures were, however, adopted too late. When Cobenzl reached the fron- tier, all the provinces, except Luxemburgh, were in the pos- 1789, 1790.] EBB OF IIIS POWER IN EUROPE. 537 session of the insurgents, the congress was convoked to form a new constitution, and his overtures were rejected with disdain. In this moment of distress Joseph found no resource. He in vain appealed to the empire ; he in vain obtained a circu- lar letter from the pope to the prelates of the Netherlands recommending them to return to obedience. Embarrassed by the Turkish war, deriving no assistance from the courts of Versailles and Petersburgh, his sole allies on the Continent, he was reduced to the alternative of courting the interposition of Prussia, his inveterate enemy, England, whom he had be- trayed and insulted, and Holland, whom he had despised and humbled. His haughty spirit was broken by calamity and disease ; he grasped even at the shadow of a hope, and was eager to embrace any measure, however degrading, for the recovery of the Netherlands, even though he should reduce them again to that dependence on the Maritime Powers from which it had been his boast to emancipate them. He hoped to conciliate Prussia by cessions on the side of Poland ; he trusted that England would gladly tender her assistance to obtain the renewal of the Barrier Treaty; he relied on the jealousy which the independence of the Netherlands would excite in Holland ; he flattered himself that the chiefs of the different provinces would return to their allegiance, and ac- cept a free constitution under the guaranty of the triple alliance. But he was again deceived. England refused to in- terfere in a cause which was opposed by her great continental ally ; Holland beheld his distress with indifference, if not with satisfaction ; Frederic William, who was maturing a grand system for the reduction of Austria, fomented the dis- contents in the Netherlands, and exerted all his efforts to inflame that hostile spirit which pervaded every part of the hereditary dominions, and was rising against Joseph in the different courts of Europe. Chap. CXXX.— 1789, 1790. Throughout the hereditary countries the same ferment prevailed as that which had preceded the explosion in the Netherlands. Addresses poured from all quarters against 538 JOSEPH II. [CH. CXXX. the innovations of Joseph ; and the principal members of the civil government represented in terms equally strong the difficulties which occurred in collecting the new land-tax. In Hungary the discontents rose to an alarming height, and were inflamed by the severities used in enforcing the military levies. These unprecedented acts of authority were universally stigmatised as oppressive and unconstitutional ; and many of the counties refused to comply with requisitions which they declared illegal and beyond their ability to fulfil. The Hun- garian nobles also, in the same haughty tone in which they had formerly dictated to their kings, demanded the confirma- tion of their rights, the permission to resume their national dress, and the revival of their native language in the acts and records of the kingdom. In the midst of these public distresses, the declining spirit of Joseph was troubled with domestic feuds. He had offended his brother Leopold, by an imprudent partiality to his nephew the archduke Francis, who had been brought up under his auspices, and by an unjustifiable attempt to secure for him the reversion of the imperial crown. This impolitic attempt to raise the son above the father created an incurable jealousy between the two brothers ; and Leopold not only censured every part of his conduct, both in internal and external policy, but sedulously avoided even an interview or any species of communication which might implicate him in the transactions or embarrassments of his brother. Joseph sunk under the struggle of contending passions, the weight of accumulated calamities, and the effects of dis- ease. The same languor which prevailed in the chamber of the sick monarch, was, for a time, diffused through every department of state : although a w r ar with Prussia seemed inevitable, he neither formed magazines nor made the neces- sary augmentations of the army ; equally unable to avert, and unwilling to encounter the danger, he displayed the ex- tremes of anxiety, alarm, and irresolution. But as the storm approached, his mind regained a portion of its pristine ac- tivity, and, in the commencement of February, 1790, he ordered the requisite preparations for impending hostilities. He felt also the necessity of conciliating his subjects to frus- trate the designs of Prussia, which were founded on their growing disaffection, and accordingly revoked many of his unpopular edicts, and prepared to rescind many others. He 1789, 1790.] HIS SICKNESS. 539 received the haughty demands of the Hungarians with con- descension and complacency, restored their constitution as it existed at his accession, promised speedily to solemnise the ceremony of his coronation, and as an earnest of his inten- tions, sent back the crown of St. Stephen. The rapture with which the crown was received proved the precipitation and folly of wantonly choking the feelings of a people so susceptible of national prejudice, and so awake to national honour. Triumphal arches were erected in its passage ; every town was a scene of festivity ; numbers flocking from all quarters swelled the cavalcade, and at Buda exulting multitudes crowding to the cathedral welcomed the precious palladium of their national splendour and freedom. At night the crown was removed into the chapel of the palace, and guarded by two magistrates with drawn sabres. The whole city was illuminated, the streets resounded with songs of joy and exultation, and on every side was heard the exclamation, " Long live the liberties of the Hungarian people!" But Joseph did not live to experience the good effects of this change of conduct; for at this awful crisis his reign and life were hastening to a close. Though naturally robust and hardy, his incessant exertions of body and mind had worn down his frame ; and his last campaign accelerated his decay. He exposed himself to the sultry heats of the sum- mer, and to the noxious air which exhaled from the marshes in the vicinity of the Danube, where he often slept on the bare ground. He was his own minister and general ; by day he encountered the fatigues of a common soldier, and regulated the complicated affairs of the army; at night he scarcely allowed himself more than five hours for repose, conducting with his own hand the extensive correspondence relative to all the affairs of his vast empire. In December, 1788, a fever, derived from anxiety, hard- ship, and fatigue, compelled him to retire to Vienna. During several months he was in considerable danger, and was after- wards long confined by an asthmatic complaint. With ex- treme care and attention he seemed to recover gradually; but his incessant restlessness, and the fatal revolution in the Netherlands, occasioned a relapse, and lie finally sunk under accumulated disorders of body and mind. Joseph closed his life with great marks of piety and con- 540 JOSEFII II. [CH. CXXX. trition. Finding himself rapidly declining, he assembled his physicians, and exhorted them to inform him whether there were any hopes of amendment. He received their prognostic of his impending dissolution with the greatest firmness, and despatched a letter, requesting the immediate presence of his brother Leopold. He then prepared himself for his approach- ing end, by performing all the ceremonies of the church, and received the holy sacrament, and extreme unction. But the activity of his mind did not forsake him, and he never discontinued the use of his pen. After a violent attack of his disorder, one of the physicians inculcating the neces- sity of repose, he replied, I have been so much accustomed to business that it will be irksome to be unemployed, especi- ally at a time when the welfare of my subjects requires all my attention. He therefore continued, almost without inter- mission, to direct the affairs of government, though in the midst of the most excruciating torments. He made his last declaration to the army, through count Haddick, president of the council of war. " Feeling," he said, " the approach of death, I should deem myself highly ungrateful did I not express my entire satisfaction at the fidelity, bravery, and promptitude which my army has dis- played on all occasions. To be a soldier, was ever my warmest desire ; to promote the honour and welfare of my troops my principal care. As a sovereign, I have directed my chief endeavours to that end ; and as a companion in war, I vied with them in sharing their hardships and dangers. Whatever could assist in the recovery of the sick and wounded, or contribute to their comfort and preservation, was never omitted, and every soldier was to me an object of regard. " The last campaign has fully answered my most sanguine wishes for the honour of my arms ; and my troops have ac- quired that fame throughout Europe which they highly deserved. I shall carry with me to the grave the consoling conviction that they will continue by their actions to merit so just a reputation." Enfeebled by incessant sufferings, his dissolution was ac- celerated by the unexpected death of his beloved niece, the archduchess Elizabeth, a princess of the house of AVirtem- berg, and sister to the great duchess of Russia. He had himself chosen this amiable princess to be the consort of his 1789, 1790.] HIS LAST MOMENTS. 541 favourite nephew Francis, and loved her with paternal fond- ness, while she looked up to him with filial reverence and affection. On receiving the melancholy intelligence, the emperor smote his forehead with his hands, remained for some time absorbed in grief, and at length exclaimed, " Oh God, thy will be done !" In the midst of his agony he had the courage to support an interview of three hours with his nephew ; but although his firmness of mind did not give way, his bodily strength could not resist so awful a shock. Feeling the approach of death, he summoned his confessor at three in the morning, and devoutly heard the prayers ordered by the church for persons in the last agonies. Though his sight failed, his senses remained unimpaired till the last moment, and he ex- pired on the 20th of February, 1790, with perfect composure, and almost without a groan, in the forty-ninth year of his age, and the tenth of his reign. His testament contained only a few lines, by which he declared Leopold his universal heir ; but a codicil annexed proved a grateful and affectionate disposition, for he ordered that all employed about his person should receive their whole salary during their lives. On the table in his cabinet were found several letters written the preceding day, which equally displayed the calm- ness of his mind, and the warmth of his feelings. One of them, in a trembling hand, was addressed to some ladies of high distinction, whose society he had long frequented. " To the five ladies* who bore with my society. " The moment draws near in which it is time to take a last farewell, and to thank you for the patience and kindness you have shown me for so many years, during which I have never regretted one day passed in your company. The idea of quitting it is the only act of resignation that gives me pain. In regard to myself, I cannot be sufficiently grateful for the decrees of Providence, relying on whom, I wait my dissolution with perfect resignation. Remember mo, and think of me also in your prayers. You will see by my writ- ing the state I am in. Once more adieu !" Joseph undoubtedly possessed many great and amiable qualities, but they were counteracted by a restlessness of tem- * Princesses Frances and Charles Lichtenstein, countesses Clary, Kinski, ai d Kaunitz. 542 Joseph ii. [CH. CXXX. per, and a rage for innovation, which were with difficulty con- trolled even in his youth, by the calm judgment and wary circumspection of his mother; defects aggravated by a spirit of despotism derived from his high birth, and fostered by his confined education.* To these may be added, an habitual duplicity, and a disregard of the most solemn en- gagements, which sunk him in the opinion of Europe, and deprived him at once of the love of his subjects, and the confidence of his allies. A wise statesman will always consult the genius and temper of his people, and make even prejudice and super- stition subservient to the general good. Joseph, unfor- tunately for himself and for Europe, acted in direct contra- diction to this plain rule, he attempted to abolish deep- rooted institutions, and to extirpate prejudices and opinions which had been consecrated by ages. He expected that to be the work of a moment which could only be the gradual operation of successive years ; he never distinguished what was just or specious in theory, from what was reducible to practice. To use the words of his rival Frederic, " his head was a confused magazine of despatches, decrees, and projects." With the most thoughtless precipitation, he made laws before he had removed the obstacles to their execution, or could discover and remedy their defects, and changed them with the same precipitation as they were made. Hence he issued an amazing number of ordinances and rescripts, many of which being ill-digested or ambi- guous, were seldom carried into execution. Couriers were despatched upon couriers counteracting preceding orders, and every new edict was modified or limited by additional decrees. * His mother bore testimony to his inflexible character when she said to a celebrated artist, " I teach my son to love the arts, which may tend to soften his mind, for he has a hard heart." She no less regretted his restlessness of temper, and rage for innovation. " My son," she said to a lady of her court, " desires me to dismantle the fortifications of Vienna. I am an old woman ; I almost remember when Vienna was besieged by the Turks, and that unless the capital had been capable of withstanding a blockade until it was relieved by John Sobieski, the Ottoman hordes would have ravaged the hereditary dominions, and even overrun the empire. I have myself twice seen Vienna almost the frontier of my dominions. Let Joseph act as he pleases when 1 am dead, but while I live, Vienna shall not be dismantled." 1790.] HIS CHARACTER. 543 With these principles, it is no wonder that his reign was a continued scene of agitation and disappointment. He himself bore witness to the folly, the inconsistency, and the impracticability of his schemes, when at the close of his life, he said, I would have engraven on my tomb, " Here lies a sovereign, who with the best intentions never carried a single project into execution." Joseph was twice married. His first wife was Elizabeth Maria, daughter of Philip duke of Parma, a princess of great beauty and accomplishments. She died in November 1763, in the prime of youth, of the small pox, and left a daughter who survived her only seven years. Joseph was long inconsolable for her loss, and always cherished the warmest affection for her memory. His second wife was Maria Josepha, princess of Bavaria, daughter of the emperor Charles VII., whom he espoused in 1765. Joseph was reluctantly induced to conclude this marriage by the importunities of his parents, and the pros- pect of obtaining the allodial inheritance of her brother. But as the princess was deficient in personal charms and mental accomplishments, she never acquired his affection, and he treated her with coldness and neglect. Death dis- solved this ill-assorted union before the close of the second year, and in May, 1767, the young empress fell a sacrifice to the same disorder, which had proved fatal to her predecessor. Joseph did not again enter into the bands of wedlock, and dying without issue, was succeeded by his brother Leopold. Vuxv. OXXXI. — REIGN OF LEOPOLD II.— 1790. Leopold II. ascended the tottering throne vacated by the death of his brother in the forty-third year of his age. Wherever he turned his eyes, he saw himself surrounded by dangers ; his monarchy was shaken to the very founda- tions ; all parts of his vast dominions were either agitated by intestine commotions, or the scene of open rebellion. The Netherlands erected into an independent republic, seemed irrecoverably torn from his empire. In Bohemia and Lower Austria the states presented a remonstrance 544 LEOPOLD II. [CH. CXXXI. against the new land tax, and purposed to follow this appeal with a general representation of their numerous grievances, and an earnest demand of redress. In Hungary the ferment had risen almost to rebellion, notwithstanding the restitution of the privileges, extorted from the late sovereign. It was urged by the disaffected that as Joseph was never crowned and had violated the fundamental laws of the realm, his des- potic conduct had abrogated the rule of succession ; that Leopold had therefore no hereditary claim to the throne, and that the ancient right of electing the monarch reverted to the nation. In the full confidence of their strength, they anticipated the exercise of this darling privilege : " Hun- gary," they exclaimed, " has no need of an Austrian king." Nor was the aspect of Europe in general more favourable to the house of Austria. The English had been driven by repeated acts of insult and duplicity, and by the intimate connection of the court of Vienna with France, to abandon the hope too long cherished, of renewing the ancient league which had rescued the house of Austria from the brink of destruction, and maintained the safety of Europe. As a counterpoise to the union of Austria and France, they had formed a strict alli- ance with Frederic William, king of Prussia, which placed at their disposal the first military power of Germany. They had also rescued Holland from the trammels of France, and were preparing measures to render their political and com- mercial regulations independent of Austria and Russia, and to resume their former ascendency on the Continent. They had rescued the king of Sweden from the dangers of a Danish invasion, and purposed to force the two imperial courts to relinquish their conquests from the Porte ; they had assisted in liberating Poland from the domination of Russia, and promoted the re- establishment of the hereditary monarchy as the means of restoring that degraded country to its pristine splendour. They were opening new channels for the transport of naval stores, and other necessary com- modities hitherto exclusively drawn from Russia ; and by assisting Prussia to obtain Dantzig and Thorn from the Poles for equivalent advantages, they hoped at once to unite the two powers in promoting the interests of their trade, and to gratify a prince whose agency had contributed to their ascendency. 1790.] ENDEAVOURS TO PACIFY FREDERIC. 545 Frederic William, king of Prussia, from habit, interests, and personal feelings hostile to the house of Austria, was concentrating all his efforts to secure that preponderance in Germany which had been so long and so ably contested by his predecessor. Besides the engagements which he had formed in common with the Maritime Powers, he had con- cluded, on the 29th of January, 1790, an alliance with the Porte for obtaining the restitution of the Crimea, and the provinces lost during the existing war, as well as for wresting Gallicia from Austria. He fomented the internal troubles in every part of the Austrian dominions, suffered his officers to assist the insurgents in the Netherlands, per- mitted a committee of disaffected Hungarians to hold their meetings at Berlin, and was ready to engage in a war against the house of Austria, if he could not otherwise realise his views. To resist this great combination, Leopold had no other ally except Russia, who was too much employed in the war with Turkey, to afford him effectual assistance. The French Revolution had burst asunder the bands of amity formed by the treaty of Versailles, and the most powerful party in the nation not only inflamed the commotions in the Netherlands, and grasped in imagination so valuable a territory, but endeavoured to animate the people with that political anti- pathy which in preceding times had given rise to the bloody contests between the houses of Austria and Bourbon. The important points which demanded the immediate attention of Leopold were, to compose the discontents in the hereditary countries, to recover the Netherlands, to secure a speedy and honourable peace with the Turks, to effect a reconciliation with Prussia, and to obtain the imperial crown. Well aware that the success of all his endeavours would ultimately depend on an accommodation with Prussia and the Maritime Powers, he had scarcely reached Vienna before he opened a direct correspondence with Frederic William, in which he justified the continuance of the war against the Turks, expressed his alarm at the recent alliance with the Porte, and offered to conclude peace, on the condi- tion of retaining the territories secured to Austria by the treaty of Passarovitz. Yet while thus earnestly courting peace, he did not act with indecision or weakness, lie hastened to repair tljie losses of his army, and assembled a vol. in. > n 546 LEOPOLD II. [CH. CXXXI. considerable force in Bohemia and Moravia, to resist any sudden attack on the part of Prussia. He intrusted to Loudon the command of this force, but to avoid the slightest pretext for aggression, he ordered him to form a cordon from Leutmeritz to Jablunka, at a considerable distance from the Prussian frontier. In his letters to the king of Prussia, he apologised for these precautions. " In the present crisis," he said, " pru- dence will not allow me to omit proper measures for the defence of my states in case of attack. Your majesty, I am convinced, would have taken the same precautions on a similar occasion ; it is in your power to stop these arma- ments, and confer a great obligation on me, by explaining your intentions and removing all my doubts." After announcing his resolution to solicit the imperial dignity, and requesting the concurrence of Prussia, he added, " In future I solemnly protest no views of aggrandise- ment will ever enter into my political system. I will doubt less employ all the means in my possession to defend my country, should I unfortunately be driven to such measures ; but I will endeavour to give no umbrage. To your majesty, in particular, I will act as you act towards me, and will spare no efforts to preserve perfect harmony. I will use my utmost endeavours to acquire the confidence of my co-estates of the empire, and in regard to the Germanic association, I protest, that should I be invited I would not hesitate to accede, provided its stipulations were rendered common and reciprocal." Overtures so candid met with a suitable return. In reply, Frederic William proposed to adopt as the basis of a general pacification either the status quo before the war, which was suggested by Great Britain, or a general arrangement adapted to the interests of the respective powers, by propor- tionate exchanges, equivalents, and compensations, which he himself preferred. In proposing this alternative, his object was to acquire Dantzic and Thorn, by extorting from the house of Austria a considerable part of Gallicia, as an indemnifica- tion for Poland, and repaying this cession by procuring from the Turks the provinces ceded to Charles VI. at the peace of Passarovitz. To secure the acquiescence of Leopold, he promised not to oppose the recovery of the Netherlands, and offered to support his pretensions to the imperial crown. 1790.] PROPOSED ARMISTICE. 547 Some modifications were respectively brought forward by both parties, and an armistice with the Turks suggested by England. But Leopold, anxious to push his success before the king of Prussia could take part in the contest, rejected an armistice, and redoubled his efforts for the prosecution of the war. The grand vizier having been strangled for his defeat at Rymnik, was succeeded by Hassan Pasha ; and the prince of Coburgh was intrusted with the direction of the Austrian army on the Danube, in consequence of the re- moval of Loudon to command the troops on the Prussian frontier. After a long blockade, the garrison of Orsova being alarmed by an earthquake, abandoned the place, and the Austrians hastened to besiege Widdin and Giurgevo. But the threats of the king of Prussia prevented the prose- cution of the siege of Widdin ; while at Giurgevo they were attacked by the Turks, and after a desperate engagement driven from their lines. This was the last action of the war ; because the transactions on the Prussian frontiers soon occasioned the conclusion of an armi-tiee. Reinforcements had continued to pour into Bohemia and Moravia ; while Frederic William, after detaching a force on the side of Poland, led a considerable army into Silesia, and took up his head quarters between Frankenstein and Reichenbach. During the pause which the approach of the two armies occasioned, the negotiations were renewed, and a congress formed at Reichenbach by the Austrian, Prussian, English, and Dutch plenipotentiaries. The king of Prussia seemed determined not to recede from his purpose of acquir- ing Dantzic and Thorn, and Leopold was equally resolved not to yield the fertile and populous district of Galiicia, with the valuable salt mines of Vielitza, for what he termed the barren districts possessed by the house of Austria at the peace of Passarovitz. During this fruitless discussion Leo pold artfully opened a separate communication with Great Britain, on whom the decision of this important contest ultimately depended ; and fortunately England still fostered a predilection for Austria, which all past provocations had not obliterated. Unwilling to lessen her territories, they did not approve the proposed restoration of Galiicia as a com- pensation to Poland for Dantzic and Thorn, and were QO 1668 anxious to prevent any dismemberment of the Turkish do- minions. They endeavoured therefore to promote a separate N N 2 548 LEOPOLD II. [CH. CXXXI. peace between Leopold and the Porte, on the condition of restoring all conquests made during the war, and hoped afterwards to extort the acquiescence of Russia in similar terms. They were equally anxious to effect the restoration of the Netherlands to the house of Austria, with the revival of the Barrier Treaty, and the re-establishment of the ancient constitution under the joint guaranty of Great Britain, Prussia, and Holland. Leopold, acquainted with the sentiments of the cabinet, gained their confidence, and turned their assistance to the promotion of his own views with consummate address. He expressed to the British minister at Vienna his conviction, that from the character of the sovereign, the wisdom of the administration, and the national influence, England was the only power which could restore general tranquillity ; he de- clared his readiness to accept the terms proposed by the king, requiring a trifling extension of frontier, necessary for the maintenance of peace and security. This extension was, the town and territory of Old Orsova, and a similar district in Croatia, which gave the Turks a footing beyond the Danube and the Una. He expressed also his readiness to receive the Netherlands with their ancient constitution, and to revive the Barrier Treaty ; but he artfully hinted, that an unsuccessful war would drive him to the necessity of relinquishing a part of those countries to France, to purchase her assistance in recovering the remainder. By this con- duct, and these lures, he drew from the Maritime Pow r ers a public declaration that they would not co-operate in the re- establishment of peace with the Porte, except on the basis of the status quo t or actual possession before the war, and that they should not deem themselves bound to take part in a contest which might ensue from the perseverance of the king of Prussia in his demand of Dantzic and Thorn, and the cession of Gallicia. Frederic William, thus unsupported by the Maritime Powers, alarmed lest the Turks should be alienated by his proposal to dismember their territories, and aware that the Poles could not be induced to cede Dantzic and Thorn, the two ban in s of their country, without a proper equivalent, adopted more pacific sentiments. His decision was hastened by the artful threat of Leopold, that he would not hesitate to purchase a peace from the Turks by the restitution of all 1790.] CONVENTION SIGNED. 549 his conquests, in order to turn his whole force against Prussia. The discussion was therefore soon brought to a conclusion, and a convention signed on the 5th of August, 1790, at Heichenbach, by which Leopold agreed to enter into an armistice with the Turks, to open a negotiation for peace under the mediation of the Maritime Powers, on the basis of the status qtto, and to give an equivalent to Prussia, should he obtain any advantage or acquisition from the Porte. He also engaged not to assist Russia, should the attempts to conclude a peace between her and the Porte fail of success ; and he consented to restore to the Netherlands their ancient constitution and privileges, under the guaranty of the three allied powers. On the signature of this convention, the two armies with- drew from the frontiers ; and by the intervention of Prussia an armistice was concluded between Austria and the Porte, at Giurgevo, on the 19th of September, for nine months. A congress of plenipotentiaries from Austria, Turkey, and the mediating powers was soon afterwards assembled at Szistova, and all the subjects of contention seemed on the point of being arranged by an amicable compromise. The negotiation was, however, suspended by a dispute relative to the cession of Old Orsova and the district on the Una, which Frederic William considered as a breach of the con- vention, and required an equivalent. Leopold persisting in his demand, asserted that those cessions were trifling in themselves, and necessary for the security of his frontier ; he argued that they had been usurped by the Turks in con- travention to the peace of Belgrade, and, in June, 1791, his plenipotentiaries, suspending the conferences, even re- tired to Bucharest. But at this crisis the divisions of the allied powers favoured the views of Leopold. During the proceedings of the congress, the allies were preparing to fulfil their original design, by prescribing to Russia the same conditions which they had already pre* scribed to Austria. With this view the king of Prussia hastened his military preparations, sent a force into Poland, and took possession of Dantzic and Thorn, while England fitted out naval armaments for the Baltic and the Black Sea. Catherine, sensible of the straits to which the emperor was reduced, no sooner received intelligence of the con* vention concluded at Heichenbach, than she accelerated a N N 3 550 LEOPOLD II. [cn. CXXXI. peace with Sweden, that she might be prepared to resist the threatened attack. She redoubled her efforts against the Turks, and gained considerable advantages ; but must have been ultimately reduced to relinquish her acquisitions, had the allies continued to act with vigour and unanimity. The genius of Mr. Pitt, who had conceived and matured the new plan of continental policy, was shackled by the disinclination of parliament to enter into a war with Russia, for interests in which England was not immediately con- cerned. He reluctantly suspended his armaments, aban- doned the engagements which had been contracted with Prussia, and was forced to recur to the feeble offices of negotiation. This failure was a fatal blow to the ascen- dency which had been gained by England in the Prussian cabinet. Frederic William, indignant at being thus de- serted, inveighed against the wavering policy of the British government, and endeavoured to extricate himself from his dangerous situation by relinquishing the grand objects of the alliance and conciliating those powers to whom he had vainly purposed to dictate terms of peace. Leopold skilfully profited by a schism which had saved his ally from humiliation. He exerted the same address to amuse and gain Prussia, which he had before employed to conciliate England, and he found little difficulty in securing a prince who was deeply mortified at the failure of all his projects, and who had no resource but to hasten the con- clusion of peace. A secret and intimate correspondence was opened between the courts of Vienna and Berlin ; the con- ferences at Szistova were resumed ; the principal conduct of the negotiation was thrown into the hands of the Prussian minister Lucchesini, who even negotiated the cession of those districts which had before nearly caused a rupture ; and the memorable treaty of Szistova, which restored peace, and suspended the rivalry between Austria and Prussia, was signed on the 4th of August, 1791. Leopold relinquished all his conquests, retaining only Chotzim and its territory as a deposit, until the conclusion of a peace between Russia and the Porte ; and he promised not to afford any assistance to the empress against the Turks. By a convention which was signed separately to save the honour of Prussia, the Porte ceded to Austria Old Orsova with its territory, on the condition that it should not be forti- 1790,1791.] HIS INTERNAL POLICY. 551 fied, with a small district in the mountains of Croatia, stretch- ing along the left bank of the Una. This negotiation and the consequent union between Aus- tria and Prussia, produced an important change in the in- terior of the two courts, and was followed by the attainment of the other objects to which the views of Leopold were directed. On the 30th of September, 1790, he was unani- mously chosen king of the Romans, made a solemn entry into Frankfort on the 4th of October, and on the 9th was crowned emperor by the elector of Mentz. The articles of the capitulation were not different from those of his prede- cessors ; but a clause which had been omitted in the pre- ceding capitulation was revived, to secure his interference with the new French government, for the preservation of the rights reserved by preceding treaties to the German princes in Alsace, Loraine, and Franche Comte. This clause was a declaration that he would execute the resolutions con- tained in the memorials of the electoral college, and a memorial to this effect was accordingly presented immediately after his coronation. Chap. CXXXIL— 1790, L791. Having traced the conduct of Leopold in restoring ex- ternal peace and obtaining the imperial crown, we call the attention of the reader to the prudent measures which he adopted for tranquillising the internal commotions of the hereditary countries. The new land tax was the principal cause of the discon- tents. Leopold had scarcely reached Vienna before he gra- tified the ardent wishes of his subjects by suppressing the board for carrying this impost into execution, suspending two of the principal projectors vjriho had rendered themselves obnoxious to the landholders, and finally by re-establishing the ancient mode of taxation. He abolished also the general seminary for education, which had been instituted by Joseph, and restored the revenues appropriated to the maintenance of the episcopal schools ; but he accompanied this restora- tion with salutary reforms, and made great improvements in the German schools; restored to each kingdom, province, N N 4 552 LEOPOLD II. [CII. CXXXIf. and district the form of government which existed under Maria Theresa, amended by salutary modifications. lie re- moved the shackles with which the injudicious policy of Joseph had fettered the commerce of his subjects with a view to prevent the importation of foreign commodities* ; he retained and even extended the edict of toleration, and improved the regulations which had been introduced for the relief of the Jews. By these wise and lenient measures he gained the af- fections of his subjects, and soon restored tranquillity in most parts of his extensive dominions except Hungary. The Hungarians considered the restoration of their privi- leges by the late emperor as an act of compulsion ; and they were therefore not pacified by the lenient measures which distinguished the commencement of the new reign, nor by the promises of Leopold to restore all their privileges. En- couraged by the intrigues of Prussia, and the prospect of assistance from the Turks, they hoped to revive many obsolete rights, and extort additional concessions. In the provincial assemblies the most violent language was held, and the turbulent spirit displayed in an address from the people of Pest, proved that a considerable part of the nation, with the style, had adopted the sentiments and principles, of the French demagogues.! * Joseph bad even prohibited the importation of salt fish, a regulation, which in a Catholic country was attended with extreme inconvenience. f " The fame, august sovereign, which has preceded you, has declared you a just and gracious prince. It says that you forget not you are a man ; that you are sensible the king was made for the people, not the people for the king. The violent commotions which have agitated our country after so many acts of injustice are thereby somewhat allayed. Scarcely therefore could we trust our eyes, when in your first rescript to> us of the 14th instant, we found not those securities for the safety of our constitution, which our hereditary rights, and the inflexible patience of the people under the lawless reign of the late emperor demanded ; securities which your majesty has fully granted to the Belgians, an act which will remain as a proof of your sentiments throughout all ages. " From the rights of nations and of man, and from that social compact whence states arose, it is incontestible that the sovereignty originates from the people. This axiom our parent Nature has impressed on the hearts of all ; it is one of those which a just prince (and such we trust your majesty ever will be) cannot dispute; it is one of those inalienable im- prescriptible rights which the people cannot forfeit by neglect or disuse. Our constitution places the sovereignty jointly in the king and people, in 1790, 1791.] composes discontents. 553 Without attending to these lawless declamations, Leopold calmly proceeded to summon a general diet, for the ceremony of his coronation, which was the more remarkable, as no similar assembly had been convened since the inauguration of Maria Theresa, a period of almost fifty years. The ma- jority of the nobles, proud of having compelled Joseph to revoke his reforms, and flattered with the hope that their concurrence was necessary for the prosecution of hostilities against the Turks and Prussia, flocked to the meeting full of confidence, and prepared a new inaugural act, which would have reduced the sovereigns of Hungary to the same state of weakness and degradation as the kings of Poland The judicious and undaunted conduct of Leopold triumphed over licentiousness and faction. Though involved in dangers which appeared almost insurmountable, he refused to make the slightest change in the coronation oatli taken by Maria Theresa. At this critical juncture, when the spirit of oppo- sition was spreading rapidly through the country, by the active efforts of the disaffected, he had the address to con- ciliate the whole body of lllyrians. These people, amounting to no less than 3,000,000, were principally attached to the Greek religion, and settled in the Bannat and the adjacent regions ; but were considered as aliens by the proud Hun- garians. Their repeated solicitations to be represented in the diet having been rejected with scorn, they laid their request at the foot of the throne, and Leopold permitted them to form a national diet at Temeswar. By this concession he won their gratitude and support, and thus encouraged and strengthened the loyal party, which his firm and temperate conduct had gained in Hungary. Still, however, the spirit of the malcontents was unshaken, and the opposition rose to so high a pitch that the Btate Benl envoys to the congress of Reichenbach, claiming the privilege such a manner that the remedies necessary to he applied according to the ends of social life for the security of persons and property, are in the power of the people. We are sure, therefore, that at the meeting of tfafl ensuing diet, your majesty will not confine yourself to the object! men- tioned in your rescript; hut will also restore our freedom to US, in like manner as to the Belgians, who have conquered theirs with the sword. It would he an example big with danger to teaeli the world that a people can only protect or regain their liberties by the sword, and not by obe- dience. " 554 LEOPOLD II. [CH. CXXXII. of attending the conferences for conclusion of peace, and in- sisting that their deputies should in every future negotiation be admitted with the same authority and powers as the royal plenipotentiaries. They no less peremptorily demanded the revocation of various immunities which had been granted to those who did not profess the Catholic religion. The dis- affection spread among the military. Several Hungarian regiments proposed to swear allegiance to the nation, and even the officers in addresses to the states announced their resolution of sending deputies to the diet. All these and still farther demands were comprised in the new inaugural act, which was formally presented to Leopold at Vienna. He gave a firm and dignified refusal to these imperious requisitions*, and his language was supported by measures equally firm and decisive. The convention of Reichenbach being concluded, the hopes entertained by the disaffected of receiving assistance from Prussia and Turkey were annihi- lated, and Leopold awed his rebellious subjects with the force collected in Moravia and Bohemia. Sixty thousand men were drawn to the vicinity of Buda ; and the officers who had signed the addresses were transferred to other regiments and replaced by Germans. The states in vain attempted by various modifications of their demands to overcome or elude the firmness of Leopold; he persisted in his resolution of receiving the crown on no other terms than were contained in the inaugural acts of Charles and Maria Theresa, and fixed the place of his coronation at Presburgh instead of Buda. The crown and regalia being accordingly sent to Pres- burgh, the states assembled on the 3d of November, and on * In a rescript sent through the chancellor, count Palfy, he declared, " I will maintain inviolate the constitution of the kingdom as it descended to me from my grandfather and mother, in the hope that a constitution guaranteed by the Pragmatic Sanction will also be received by the states. According to that constitution the legislative authority is jointly vested in me and the diet ; but I alone am charged with the executive and judicial powers, and with the distribution of honours and favours, in con- formity to the laws and customs of the country. I will abide by the Pragmatic Sanction. I will never suffer the right of succession, belong- ing to me and my heirs, to be taken into consideration. I will never acquiesce in any innovation in the military or executive power, nor will I ever consent to the smallest infraction of the privileges granted to the non-catholics." 1790, 1791.] HIS CORONATION. 555 the 10th the king, accompanied by his five sons, made his solemn entry. His presence awed his enemies, and animated his friends ; the whole diet seemed to be actuated by prin- ciples of loyalty, and selected the archduke Leopold from among the candidates for the office of palatine, which was vacant by the death of prince Esterhasy. On this occasion, when the primate at the head of the states returned thanks to the king for having yielded to the wishes of the nation by giving them the archduke as their palatine, Leopold replied, " I expected to find myself in the midst of a faithful nation ; but you have even exceeded my warmest wishes. I am now in the bosom of my family.'* Turning to his son, he added, u The duties and obligations of the palatine are specified in the laws of the country. We therefore order you as a father and as a king to fulfil those obligations, and never to suffer your filial affection to divert you from your duty. We declare in the presence of these faithful states and orders, that we shall estimate your affection to us as a son by the exemplary discharge of your office." Then presenting the palatine to the states, he concluded, " I offer you my son, as a pledge of my sincere regard, to become a distinguished mediator between us, and to promote our mutual affection." A people highly susceptible of strong emotions, were touched with these noble sentiments; every heart beat with rapture ; some burst into tears of loyalty and affection ; and the speech was ordered to be inserted in the public records as a counterpart to the memorable exhortation of the national darling, St. Stephen, to his son Emeric. Having ratified an inaugural act in the same terms as those of Charles and Maria Theresa, Leopold received, on the 15th of November, 1790, the crown from the hands of his son the new palatine. After the public dinner he gave a new proof of his earnest desire to conciliate the nation. Rising from his seat he made a short address to the assembly, and announced his consent to the establishment of a law obliging every future king to be crowned within six months after his accession. This unexpected declaration, which re- moved the fears of the Hungarians lest any sovereign, in imitation of Joseph II., should evade the coronation oath, in order to infringe their liberties, raised a general transport of enthusiasm, and all vied in displaying the warmest proofs of loyalty, gratitude, and affection. The diet increased the 556 LEOPOLD II. [CH« CXXXIII. usual honorary of 100,000 florins to 225,000. And to ex- culpate themselves likewise from the imputation of having reduced their sovereign to the necessity of signing the hu- miliating convention of Reichenbach, they offered the whole strength and treasure of the country to secure an honourable peace with the Turks. " Let these wicked rumours," said the primate in an address to the king, " be dissipated ; may the hopes of your august house revive ; may your friends exult a n< I your enemies tremble. The Hungarian nation is united with the king; the king with the nation." The enthusiasm which animated the assembly was still further heightened by his answer; and the affection of the lower orders captivated by 1 i is liberal attention to their wel- fare. " We accept," he said, " this honorary from our faith- ful states with a grateful mind; and it acquires additional value in our estimation, because it is not extorted from the people. We shall also hereafter appreciate the efforts of the states in proportion as they endeavour to extend their care to every class of citizens. We are not desirous to increase the royal authority, but to confine it within the bounds of law and beneficence ; we are convinced that the states will be actuated by the same spirit of patriotism, and far from limiting their affection to one order or class of citizens, will extend it equally to all. Convey, I entreat you, into all your districts, this our earnest wish ; and announce this message, that your sovereign is desirous to rule by the laws, yet still more anxious to rule by love." Leopold, after taking an affectionate leave of the states, returned to Vienna, and the diet continued their sittings under the presidency of the palatine, to arrange the im- portant business submitted to deliberation. Their decisions in general coincided with the wishes of the sovereign; and such beneficial changes were made in the existing laws and customs as redounded to the welfare and happiness of the nation. Chap. CXXXIII. — 1790,1791. The recovery of the Netherlands was the next object to which Leopold directed his attention; and his views were furthered by the party contests natural to all popular govern- 1790, 1791.] THE NETHERLANDS. 557 ments, as well as by a change which had taken place in the sentiments of the people. Without any systematic plan, united only by indignation against the arbitrary measures of their late sovereign, roused by the exhortations of the priests, and, above all, encouraged by unexpected success, all ranks and orders had cordially co-operated in overthrowing the Austrian government. But fortune had no sooner crowned their efforts than cabals and factions agitated the new government, the army, and the people. The chief power was appropriated by Van-der-Noot and Van Eupen, whose efforts had principally contributed to the revolution. Their influence soon became obnoxious to the nobles and clergy, who were excluded from authority, and the opposition arising from this schism rendered their administration more jealous, oppressive, and arbitrary. The country was therefore overwhelmed with all the horrors of a revolutionary government, and loaded with greater evils than had been experienced under the despotic rule of Joseph. Tumults took place, and the two parties of aristocrats and democrats struggled for superiority ; the one under Van-der- Noot and Van Eupen supported the existing congress as the engine of their own power, the other, headed by Walchiers, a rich banker, joined with the duke of Aremberg and Ursel, and the count de la Mark, clamoured for the establishment of a national assembly similar to that of France. In these contests the heads of both parties endeavoured to gain the countenance and support of foreign powers; Van- der-Noot applied to England, Prussia, and Holland, and offered to purchase their recognition of the new republic, by renewing all the treaties of commerce and alliance. The king of Prussia, whose principal view was to prevent the re-establishment of the Austrian sovereignty, was not dis- inclined to the proposal; but the Maritime Powers, \\\\\\ equal justice and policy, rejected the overture, pressed the congress to return to their allegiance, and offered to concur in the re-establishment of the ancient constitution. On the Other hand, the democrats made application to the popular party in France, from the chiefs of which they received the Strongest assurances of support, and swarms of agents from the Jacobin dubs excited the people against the congress* These dissensions spread into the army. The troops who had nominated by acclamation Van-der-Mersch generalissimo 558 LEOPOLD II. [CH. CXXXI1I. of the Belgic forces, were dissatisfied with the refusal of the congress to confirm their appointment, and espoused the popular cause. A representation was also made by the officers, supporting the nomination of the troops, and pe- remptorily requiring the reformation of abuses, and the establishment of a new form of government. Six deputies who were sent by the congress to displace the general, being arrested under the charge of attempting to disorganise the army, the congress despatched Schonfield, a Prussian officer, with 6000 men, to enforce their authority. Van-der-Mersch, on his part, made preparations for defence ; but he had no sooner drawn his troops out of Namur than the inhabitants detained his artillery and ammunition ; and the army refusing to act against their fellow-citizens, he was compelled to sur- render, and confined in the citadel of Antwerp. This arrest and imprisonment of a general, whose military services had greatly contributed to the revolution, occasioned general dis- content, and alienated the people of Flanders, of which coun- try he was a native. These disputes not only enabled the troops at Luxemburgh, whose number did not exceed 12,000, to maintain themselves against the insurgents, but even to recover Limburgh, by the assistance of the peasants, who still preserved their loyalty to the Austrian government. Such was the situation of the Netherlands when the signa- ture of the convention of Reichenbach enabled Leopold to avail himself of the divisions in the government, and of the revolution which had taken place in the sentiments of the people. Conciliation being hopeless, Leopold made preparations to reduce the Netherlands by arms, sent gradual reinforcements to the troops at Luxemburgh, and had no sooner concluded the convention than he despatched a succour from the here- ditary dominions, which augmented the army to 30,000 men. During the march of the troops he renewed his offers of recon- ciliation, and requested the mediation of the allied powers. A congress was accordingly formed at the Hague, in Sep- tember, by count Mercy, the Austrian plenipotentiary ; lord Auckland, the British ambassador ; count Keller, the Prus- sian envoy ; and Van-der- Spiegel, the grand pensionary of Holland. Soon after their meeting the emperor published a second manifesto, promising to govern each of the provinces according to the constitutions, charters, and privileges in 1790, 1791.] CONGRESS OF THE HAGUE. 559 force during the reign of Maria Theresa under the guaranty of the allied powers, and to revoke all the unconstitutional regulations introduced by Joseph. He offered a general 1 amnesty ; and, at the instances of the three plenipotentiaries, fixed the term of submission on the 21st of November. These offers made a sensible impression at Tournay, Ghent, Ostend, and other parts of Flanders ; but the people of Brussels displayed a decided aversion to the Austrian government, and some of the most violent publicly tore in pieces and burnt the imperial manifesto. Deputies from the states were, however, despatched with full powers to the Hague, to negotiate the terms of submission. They were charged with an answer from the congress to the imperial manifesto, conceived in strong terms, and urging that the constitution offered by Leopold was not the ancient and legal constitution ; claimed the confirmation of that established by the inaugural act of Charles VI. ; at the same time de- manded a prolongation of the armistice for eight days to summon the states, and elect deputies for the arrangement of a final accommodation. They claimed also the interference of the mediating powers, particularly recommending them- selves to the British Court, to whose good faith and consist- ency they bore an honourable testimony, who, they observed, " had never encouraged the insurrection in the outset, nor fed them with false promises in the progress ; but had, on every occasion, exhorted them to return to their allegiance, and expressed an earnest desire to assist them in recovering and securing their ancient and legal constitution." The demands of the Belgic deputies being both equitable and agreeable to the stipulations of the convention of Reich- enbach, were warmly supported by the ministers of the me- diating powers. But all endeavours to procure a prolongation of the armistice, or to enter into farther negotiation, were peremptorily rejected by count Mercy, who declared that the mediation of the allies terminated with the expira- tion of the term fixed by themselves; that they had no farther right to interfere in the affairs of the Netherlands ; that the very name of an armistice was disgraceful in a dis- cussion between a sovereign and his rebel subjects ; and that the army, which had been augmented to 45,000 men, would commence its march the very first hour after the expiration of the 21st of November. 560 LEOPOLD II. [cn. cxxxiii The insurgents suffered the 21st of November to elapse without the required submission, and the imperial troops, under general Bender, passed the Meuse, entered Namur amidst the acclamations of the people, seized the artillery, drove back the Belgic forces, and, on the 30th of November, appeared before Brussels. Bender summoned the congress to submit, and allowed twenty-four hours for deliberation. The people and members of the government, who were encouraged by the arrival of general Koehler with 7000 patriots, at first determined to resist ; but being left without leaders, by the flight of Van-der-Noot, Van Eupen, and other chiefs, Koehler retired again into Flanders; and, on the 3rd of December, a corps of Austrian troops entering the town, were received as the heralds of peace and security. At the same time de- tachments took possession of Tirlemont, Mechlin, Louvain, and Antwerp, and before; the close of the year all the pro- vinces were again subjected to the Austrian power. The refusal of Leopold to prolong the armistice for so short a term, and the rejection of all interference from the three mediating powers, excited the most lively indignation, particularly at Berlin and the Hague. The grand pensionary declared that he would throw np his commission and instantly return to Holland ; and the king of Prussia commanded count Keller to remonstrate against this conduct as a breach <>f the convention, to claim the revival of the ancient, not the new-fangled, constitution, and to exhort the natives not to conclude an accommodation with the house of Austria, except with the concurrence and under the guaranty of the Maritime Powers.* * lie followed these orders by a still stronger remonstrance written to the emperor himself in his own hand. M I cannot," he said, " suppose that your majesty approves the proceedings of your plenipotentiary, or that your intention is to obtain possession of the Netherlands by force of arms. My declaration accepted by your majesty at Heichenbach, and guaranteed by the Maritime Powers, authorises the allies to concur in restoring the Netherlands, to secure to them their ancient constitution, and to settle with your majesty the terms and the epoch for the re-esta- Mishment of that ancient constitution, on the true sense of which so much difference of opinion has existed during the late reigns." lie bitterly censured the conduct, the prejudices, and the arbitrary resolutions of count Mercy, "who ought not," he added, "to have preferred force to conciliation, and who, by yielding to the urgent demands of the other plenipotentiaries for a prolongation of the armistice, would have pre- vented the effusion of blood, and perhaps the ruin of those fine provinces." 1790, 1791.] THE NETHERLANDS. 561 This dispute might perhaps have involved Europe in a new war, had not the British cabinet been guided by more moderate and pacific motives. They joined, indeed, in the* remonstrances of Prussia and Holland, while they soothed the resentment of Frederic William, and despatched lord Elgin to Vienna, to persuade the emperor to adopt more con- ciliatory measures. At the congress lord Auckland seconded the views of his court with equal spirit and address. The conferences being renewed on the 8th of December, by the consent of the emperor, count Mercy, with much reluctance, was induced to retract his declaration, and to conclude the convention of the Hague. By this act, which passed on the 11th of October, the emperor was to receive the homage of the Belgic provinces in the usual form, and to confirm their respective constitutions, privileges, and customs, in the same manner as they had been confirmed by the inaugural acts both of Charles VI. and Maria Theresa. This convention being provisionally signed by Mercy, was transmitted to Vienna for the approbation of his sovereign. Leopold, however, again disappointed the expectations of the mediating powers. Instead of ratifying the agreement con- cluded by his minister, he adhered to his former declaration, and confirmed the constitution, privileges, and customs exist- ing at the close of the reign of Maria Theresa, before the innovations of Joseph. As the three mediating powers could not depart from the principle of the convention concluded at Reichenbach, nor break their solemn promises to the Bel- gians, to procure the revival of the constitution which sub- sisted when the Netherlands were transferred to Charles VI., they withheld their ratification, and Leopold recovered these provinces without subjecting himself to foreign interference. The impolicy of Leopold in refusing to gratify the people of Brabant with the renewal of their ancient constitution, excited general dissatisfaction, and gave a colour to the com- plaints of the disaffected. Unfortunately, other popular pre- texts for opposition were afforded, by the removal of five He concluded with exhorting the emperor, " in conformity with his assurances at Reichenbach, to bring back, the Belgic nation under his dominion by peaceable means, without having recourse to arms ; and secure to them a constitution which might restore tranquillity and re- unite the interests of the sovereign with those of his subjects.'* VOL. III. O O 562 LEOPOLD II. [CH. CXXXIII. obnoxious members of the council of Brabant. Against this measure the States presented a violent protest, and not only- withheld the customary subsidy, but refused their assent to a proposal for liquidating the debt contracted during the revo- lution, and remedying the damages sustained by individuals, notwithstanding the proposal had been agreed to by all the other provinces. The suspension of their sittings, the erasure of their protests from the journals, and the arrest of four of their members, increased the ferment. To prevent the inter- ference of the Dutch, Leopold concluded an alliance with the States-general, and procured the expulsion of Van-der-Noot and Van Eupen from Holland. But in spite of all his pre- cautions the discontents continued to augment ; the revolu- tionary spirit spread like contagion over the land ; the demo- crats were incited and encouraged by the Jacobins of France;, corps of emigrant insurgents were formed in French Hainault; plots were daily formed, insurrections organised, and the most vigorous measures scarcely maintained the tottering authority of government. The conduct of Leopold throughout this whole transaction seems to have been the result of a deep-laid but mistaken plan of policy. Notwithstanding repeated instances of poli- tical jealousy given by the French government, he was no less firmly attached to the fatal alliance of the house of Bour- bon than his two predecessors. In spite of the increasing ferment in France, he still fondly entertained sanguine hopes that his brother-in-law would recover his authority, and that a renewal of the treaty of Versailles would again secure the safety and tranquillity of the Low Countries. Above all, he had inherited a rooted dislike of the Barrier Treaty, and was averse to rivet the shackles which England and Holland had formerly imposed on his predecessors. From these motives he employed every art to evade their guaranty, and still more that of Prussia, which would have afforded a pretext for the perpetual interference of an inveterate rival. Although Leopold recovered the Netherlands on terms which he deemed more consistent with his honour and inte- rests than by owing their restoration to the agency of the Maritime Powers, yet, by eluding their guaranty, he relin- quished the advantages which he might have derived from their support in case of hostilities with France. To this erroneous system of policy, and this mistaken point of honour, 1790-1792.] THE FRENCn REVOLUTION. 563 may be attributed the subsequent loss of the Netherlands, and, with that loss, the stupendous ascendency of France and fatal degradation of the house of Austria. Chap. CXXXIV. — 1790-1792, The accommodation with Prussia, the armistice With the Porte, the recovery of the Netherlands, and the restoration of internal tranquillity left Leopold at liberty to turn his attention to the affairs of France, and to direct his efforts to the relief of his unfortunate relatives. A pressing and addi- tional motive for his interference was derived from the en- croachments of the National Assembly on the rights of the Germanic body. In France the delirium of liberty had continued to spread, and a people at once emancipated from all the restrictions of ages were wild for new systems, and disdained the bounds of reason and moderation, Tne National Assembly, instead of introducing prudent and gradual reforms or remedies for existing evils, razed the constitution to its very foundations, to rebuild it according to abstract theories and systems of fancied perfection. They stripped the crown of its preroga- tives, changed the very title of their monarch, abolished all titular distinctions, as well as the privileges of the nobility, suppressed the parliaments, divided the kingdom into depart- ments, and divided all religious establishments, converting the estates and revenues of the clergy into national property, allowing the ministers of religion only a scanty and tempo- rary salary, and imposing on them an oath contrary to the principles of the Catholic church. The unfortunate king, with his characteristic meekness and resignation, beheld the progress of anarchy and licen- tiousness, the alienation of the people, the gradual seduction of the army ; and though confined within the precincts of the Tuileries, and subject to the daily insults of the populace, he seemed to forget his own miseries in those of his family and subjects. At length the exhortations of the insulted queen, the danger of his family, and the increasing tide of evils which hourly swelled with accumulated force, roused even his patient and forbearing spirit, and impelled him to devise o o 2 564 LEOPOLD ir. [en. CXXXIV. some means for averting the dangers with which lie was sur- rounded, and for stemming the torrent of calamities and crimes which threatened to overwhelm his country. Several plans for escaping from the capital, for placing himself at the head of the army, dissolving the assemhly with the assist- ance of foreign powers, acquiring popularity, and rallying round the ruins of the throne the remnant of those who were yet friends to government and order were proposed ; but were all marred by the reluctance of the ill-fated monarch, who was determined not to engage in a civil war, nor to desert his country ; two errors to which he attributed the ruin of our Charles I. and James II. He at length, how- ever, acquiesced in a scheme which was proposed by Mira- beau, and who was preparing to make a last effort in support of the crown. The king was to quit Paris, to escape to Montmedi, one of the frontier towns, and place himself at the head of the few regiments which still continued faithful, and which had been drawn to that quarter by the marquis de Bouille, commandant of the district. Mirabeau was to awe the Jacobins, to increase his party by bribes and promises, to obtain from the people a petition for the convocation of a new national assembly ; and it was hoped that this plan would rally and strengthen the friends of order, and enable them to crush the faction which was rising on the ruins of every institution. The sudden and fatal death of Mirabeau prevented the execution of this design ; the king, without a single person of efficient character and influence in whom he could confide, fluctuated in still greater uncertainty than ever. From an apprehension for the safety of the nonjuring clergy, and from aversion to receive the sacrament at the hands of a con- stitutional priest, he was induced by the persuasion of La Fayette, once the popular idol and the chief of the constitu- tionalists, to pass the season of Easter at the palace of St. Cloud. But this journey, which was expected to flatter the nation by the pretext of proving to all Europe that the king was at full liberty, was opposed by the populace ; and, not- withstanding the interference of La Fayette, Louis was drawn back to the Tuileries, amidst the menaces, reproaches, and insults of the mob. Overwhelmed with confusion and despair, the degraded monarch threw himself into the power of the constitutionalists, and, by their advice, published the 1790-1792.] THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 565 celebrated letter addressed to the foreign ministers, in which he declared himself at full liberty, and notified his approba- tion of the revolution. The letter excited a momentary applause in the National Assembly, but the very next day was stigmatised as a proof of deceit and hypocrisy ; and while it humbled the king in the eyes of Europe and of his turbulent subjects, disgusted those who were warmly attached to his cause and devoted to the principles of the ancient government. Such was the state of France and the distress of the royal family when the instances of the German princes and the machinations of the factious forced Leopold into a contest with the government and nation. In the abolition of all ecclesiastical and territorial rights within the limits of France, the National Assembly had also comprehended those of the German states in Alsace, Franche Comte, and Loraine, and the other provinces ceded to Louis XIV. ; although those rights had been solemnly confirmed by the peace of Westphalia, as well as by subsequent treaties, and were respected amidst all the wars which for above a century agitated Europe. The princes and states remon- strated against this infraction at an early period of the revo- lution, and laid their grievances before the government ; yet their application, though supported by the influence of the king, drew from the assembly only a vague and inadequate offer of indemnification in national property for the rights abrogated in Alsace, while the claims relating to the other provinces were passed over with contemptuous 6ilence. The states accordingly renewed their appeal to the German diet, and obtained the introduction of a clause in the capitulation of the new emperor, which bound him to interpose for the preservation of their rights. In compliance with this engagement, Leopold himself, on the 14th of December, 1790, addressed a letter to the king, containing strong professions of amity, and requiring as a proof of reciprocal friendship the re-establishment of the rights secured to the German princes. By the impulse of the ruling party* the king in bis answer was compelled to adopt a style of presumption scarcely surpassed by that of Louis XIV. He expressed surprise that the proprietors of lids in the French territories should apply to the emperor in an affair which did not regard the empire, but solely related o o 3 566 LEOPOLD H. [CH. CXXXIV. to themselves as French feudatories ; he at the same time urged the emperor to withhold his support, and induce the claimants to accept the equitable compensation proposed by France. As a proof of a decided resolution to support this refusal, the assembly voted a large augmentation of the mili- tary force. Thus treated with contempt and injustice, the princes again laid their complaints before the diet, and called on their chief for a more effectual interference : the pacific representations of the emperor were drowned in the clamour for redress, and a decree was passed, in July, 1791, for the renewal of their demands, in their own name and in that of the empire. While this discussion was pending, the forcible occupation of Avignon, which, notwithstanding its transfer to the Roman see, had still maintained a nominal connection with the empire, inflamed the general indignation. Such being the system pursued by the assembly, and such the melancholy situation of the royal family, it raised the wonder of all Europe that Leopold still continued to maintain an apparent indifference to the sufferings of his sister and brother-in-law, as well as to his own insulted dignity. But he was influenced by prudential motives. He well knew the benevolent weakness of the king, who rejected with horror any decisive measure, from a dread of involving his country in a civil war. He was also aware that charges were levelled against his sister as the patroness of an Austrian committee in the palace for effecting a counter revolution ; and he was sensible that he should expose her, who was considered by the violent party as a public hostage for his pacific conduct, to the vengeance of an enraged nation. Yet during this momentous interval he was far from be- holding with real indifference the state of his royal relatives, and was fully awake to the danger which threatened every crowned head from the violence and diffusion of the Jacobin principles. He anxiously watched the progress of events, and at an early period seems to have approved a plan sug- gested by Montmorin for the relief of his unfortunate bro- ther-in-law. Its object was to combine the principal powers of Europe in a feigned attack against France, as a pretext for enabling the king to assume the command of an army, to recover his former authority, and to regain the love and con- fidence of the people by appearing as the restorer of peace and tranquillity. 1790-1792.] ins plans to relieve louis. 567 But this frivolous scheme being abandoned in consequence of the king's formal approbation of the constitution, another was arranged at Mantua, in concurrence with the count d'Artois and count Alphonso d'Urfort, a confidential agent sent by the king, who met -Leopold during his journey in Italy. In May, 1791, 35,000 Austrian* were to march towards the frontier of Flanders and Hainault ; 15,000 troops of the circles towards Alsace ; 15,000 Swiss were to threaten the Lyonnois and Franche Comtr ; 15,000 Sardinians to assemble on the frontier of Dauphine, and 20,000 Spaniards in Catalonia. To these were t<> be joined the regiments still remaining loyal, the volunteers whose fidelity was unquestionable, and all the royalists and consti- tutionalists of the provinces. A declaration was to be pub- lished under the signatures of the kings of Spain and Naples, the infant of Parma, and all the princes of the blood who were at liberty, as members of the house of Bourbon. It was hoped that this vast combination would awe the demo- crats, and enable the royalists to regain the ascendency. The emperor engaged to conduct the negotiation with the king of Prussia, and announced the accession of the king of England as elector of Hanover. Aware, however, of the extreme desire of the king and queen of France to relieve themselves from the indignities to which they were hourly exposed, Leopold exhorted them not to attempt their escape, but to use their endeavours in acquiring popularity, that the people, alarmed at the approach of foreign armies, might find their safety only in the king's mediation and in submission to his authority. " This," it was added, " is the emperor's opinion. He depends solely on this plan of conduct for the success of his measures, and he shudders with apprehension of the fatal consequences, should the king and queen be arrested in their flight. Their surest dependence is on the movements of the armies, preceded by threatening mani- festoes." In delivering this plan to the count d'Urfort, he added, " Tell my brother and sister that I will assist them, not by words but by deeds."* This plan, which was scarcely less chimerical than the * Some persons have questioned the authenticity of this plan as too chimerical ; but Uertrand de Moleville, from whom we give it, has fully proved its authenticity by declaring that the original is still in existence with marginal corrections in the hand of the emperor. oo 4 568 LEOrOLD II. [CH. CXXX1V. former, was rejected by the king and queen ; and notwith- standing the instances of the emperor, they attempted to escape from Paris.* Being arrested at Varennes, the whole scheme was deranged, all hopes of escape were totally cut off, the royal family were carried back in barbarous triumph, the king was threatened with a public trial and deposition, and the axe was laid to the root of the declining monarchy. The imminent danger of the royal family induced the emperor to abandon his temporising conduct, and on the 6th of July he published at Padua a solemn appeal to the other powers of Europe. He called on them to join in a common declaration, demanding of France the immediate liberation of the king and royal family, and requiring for them the inviolability and respect due by the laws of nature and of nations from subjects to their sovereigns. He urged them to declare that they would unite in avenging every future attempt committed against the liberty, honour, and safety of the king and royal family, that they would acknowledge as constitutional laws legally established in France, those alone which should have the voluntary acquiescence of the king, being at liberty, and if these commands were not complied with, that they would concur in employing all the means in their possession to put a stop to the scandalous usurpation of power, which bore the appearance of open rebellion, and of which the example threatened the safety of other govern- ments. Conscious that without the co-operation of England, the Netherlands could not be preserved, and that all hostile efforts against France would be fruitless, he sent the draught of this declaration to the king, accompanied with a private letter, which indisputably proves his views and sentiments at this important crisis.f * It has been asserted by persons of great authority, that the emperor even arranged the plan of this escape ; and some documents in my pos- session corroborate the opinion. But there is other evidence equally strong for the account given in the text. The only means of reconciling these discordant assertions is by recurring to the cautious character of Leopold, and supposing that he often acted from the impulse of the moment, and therefore frequently wavered between opposite extremes. Doubtless we cannot have better authorities for the account of this memorable flight than those of Bouille and Bertrand. f I am persuaded," he said, " that your majesty is not unacquainted with the unheard-of outrage committed by the arrest of the king of 1790-1792.] HIS CONNECTION WITH PRUSSIA. 569 New and repeated proofs of hostility displayed by the ruling faction, with the sanguine declarations and urgent instances of the emigrants, confirmed the resolutions of Leopold. His determination was still farther strengthened by the king of Prussia, who was equally interested to oppose the progress of that fanatic enthusiasm which threatened the overthrow of every throne. With a view to settle a specific plan of conduct, a confidential interview was ar- ranged between Leopold and Frederic William at Pilnitz, a palace belonging to the elector of Saxony in the neighbour- hood of Dresden. But in the short period which elapsed before the meeting, the sentiments of Leopold underwent a considerable change. Notwithstanding he received favourable answers from the different powers to whom he had appealed, his hopes were frustrated by a decisive and unequivocal refusal on the part of England to depart from a strict neutrality. His dis- inclination to engage in measures which might lead to hosti- lities was increased by the representation of his principal France, the queen my sister, and the royal family, with the same surprise and indignation as myself; and that your sentiments accord with mine on an event, which, threatening more atrocious consequences, and fixing the seal of illegality on the preceding excesses, concerns the honour and safety of all governments. Resolved to fulfil what I owe to these con- siderations, and to my duty as chief of the German empire and sovereign of the Austrian dominions, I propose to your majesty in the same manner as I have proposed to the kings of Spain, Prussia, and Naples, as well as to the empress of Russia, to unite with them in a concert of measures for ohtaining the liberty of the king and his family, and setting bounds to the dangerous excesses of the French Revolution. The most ohviou9 plan seems to be that we should unite in sending a declaration, either jointly or separately, by our ministers in France, which may restrain the chiefs of the violent party and prevent desperate resolves, still leaving open the means of an honourable amendment and pacific establishment of such a state of things as may preserve the dignity of the crown, and maintain the essential points of general tranquillity. I submit, therefore, to your majesty the draught annexed, which appears to me most likely to fulfil these views; but as the success of such a declaration is uncertain, and must depend on the support of efficient measures, my ambassador shall receive immediate instructions for entering with your ministers into such a conoert as circumstances require; and I will not fail to communi- cate to your majesty the answers which I may receive from other powers. The favourable disposition which they all manifest for the re -establish* ment of peace, tranquillity, and concord bids fair to remove .all obstacles to an union of views and sentiments, in a situation of affairs which so nearly interests the good of all Europe." 570 LEOPOLD II. [CII. CXXXIV. ministers, particularly of Lacy, who united in decrying a war, urging that it would occasion the immediate loss of the Netherlands, which were left defenceless by the demolition of the barrier fortresses, and of which the majority of the natives only waited for foreign support to throw off the Austrian government. The exhortations of the king, his brother-in-law, decided the resolution of Leopold, if he yet retained any inclination to engage in a war with France. The meeting, however, took place on the 27th of August 1791, and Bouillo was summoned by the king of Prussia to arrange a plan of attack. While the two sovereigns were employed in private discussions, they were interrupted by the suddm arrival of the count d'Artois, accompanied by Calonne, who came with the hope of persuading them to engage in immediate hostilities. The king of Prussia was easily inflamed by their representations ; but no arguments could overcome the caution of Leopold, or draw him into specific engagements ; and he was with difficulty induced, by the importunities of the French princes, to sign the cele- brated declaration.* It is no wonder that a vague declaration, intended merely to satisfy the importunities of the French princes, the fulfil- ment of which depended on a contingency never likely to happen in the common course of events, should not be fol- lowed by any important consequences. Leopold, who yet hoped by temperate measures to disarm the rage or baffle * " The emperor and king of Prussia, having heard the representations of' Monsieur the king's brother, and the count d'Artois, declare, that the present situation of the king of France concerns the interest of every sovereign in Europe. That interest they hope will be acknowledged by the powers whose assistance is required, and consequently those powers will not refuse to unite with their majesties in employing the most effica- cious means to place the king of France in a situation to establish in perfect liberty the foundations of a monarchical government, equally agreeable to the rights of sovereigns and the welfare of the French nation. Then, and in that case, the emperor and tbe king of Prussia are deter- mined to act promptly, and by mutual concert, with the forces and vigour necessary to obtain the desired end. In the mean time they will give orders for their troops to be ready for actual service." Reports were industriously circulated that a regular treaty for the partition of France was arranged at this meeting. But the whole conduct of Leopold, and particularly his subsequent measures, prove that he had formed no otFensive designs. The secret articles which have been produced bear the strongest marks of forgery. 1790-1792.] DESIGNS OF THE JACOBINS THWARTED. 571 the designs of the Jacobins, was resolved not to engage in hostilities. He therefore seized the first favourable oppor- tunity to annul his engagements, and on the acceptance of the constitution by Louis, and his temporary restoration to liberty, he received the French ambassador, who had been forbidden to appear at court, revoked his circular letter from Padua, and was the first sovereign in Europe who admitted the tri-colour flag into his ports. He rejected all plans of hostile aggression, received with coolness the expostulations of the empress Catherine ; and scarcely deigned to listen to the chivalrous projects of the king of Sweden, who even offered to lead an army of Swedes and Russians to the gates of Paris, while the Austrians and Prussians were to invade France on the side of the Netherlands. Leopold did not abandon these hopes of preserving tran- quillity until he was driven from his pacific system by the continual provocations of the Jacobins. On the return of the king from Varennes, the leaders of the Jacobins endeavoured to raise against him the popular indignation, and exerted themselves to bring him to a public trial. But their views were thwarted by the royalists, the constitutionalists, and the moderate of every description, who were encouraged by the concert of powers, and who felt that their own safety was connected with that of the monarch. After a desperate struggle, Louis was restored to the exercise of his authority, and, on the 14th of Sep- tember, accepted the constitution, an event which was fol- lowed by the voluntary dissolution of the National Assembly, whose functions had expired. The king hoped that the establishment of the constitution would remove the principal causes of discontent, and that the new representatives wonld be animated with sentiments less hostile to the regal authority. But these frail hopes were disappointed. The Constituent Assembly having, by a disinterested though absurd decree, declared themselves incapable of being re-elected in the legislative body, by this vote excluded those who were animated by moderate senti- ments, and who, as framers of the constitution, were inte- rested in its preservation, and enabled the Jacobins to obtain the preponderance. The new members, therefore, were principally drawn from the middling and lower classes of society, visionary projectors, men of ruined fortunes, the 572 LEOPOLD II. [CH. CXXX1V. most furious declaimers in the political clubs, all animated by the boldest spirit of enterprise, and breathing the fury of revolutionary principles. They were headed and directed by a few chiefs, who, for the scourge of Europe, united superior talents with a courage exalted to fanaticism. The faction which thus gained the ascendency received the ap- pellation of Girondists*, from the department for which the leaders were principally chosen ; and Brissotines from the name of their chief. The object of these demagogues was to establish a re- public on the ruins of the throne. They laboured to realise the plans of a Richelieu and a Louvois, by extending the limits of France to what they termed her natural boundaries, the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Rhine, and the Ocean. From this centre, they traced, in imagination, the limits of an empire as stupendous as that of ancient Rome ; from a ter- ritory in which the bounty of nature or the ingenuity of man had comprised every requisite for defence and every advantage for attack, they purposed to extend their power and to diffuse the contagion of their principles over the whole habitable world. Their active and sagacious spirit equally employed the most frivolous artifices, and the most specious motives, to revive the hostile spirit of their nation against Austria, a power whose territories were the first object of their cu- pidity, and who, from proximity, strength, the ties of blood and alliance, was the most able, as well as the most inte- rested, to check the diffusion of their principles, and to oppose the execution of their designs. They maligned the conduct of the queen, exaggerated her levities into crimes, found no calumnies too black, no charge too atrocious, to render her the object of popular odium. Their papers and journals were filled with declamations on the evils entailed on their country by the alliance with Austria. Not only the clubs, the streets, and the squares resounded with invec- tives against the emperor ; but the members of the National Assembly gave vent to the most virulent accusations against his conduct, character, and principles. They feigned a committee of Austrian adherents, as sitting in the very capital, under the auspices of the queen, deceiving the king, * The history of this remarkable faction is admirably given by La- martine in his recent work. 1790-1792.] ins efforts to prevent war. 573 forging fetters for the people, and arranging, in conjunction with the court of Vienna, a plan to deliver up the nation to that house, which they depicted as invariably a fatal friend or inveterate enemy. Such a series of insults and provocations, such a systematic plan of hostility, would have justified immediate aggression on the part of Leopold. But he dreaded to aggravate the misfortunes of a beloved sister, or to expose the life of his brother-in-law ; and he was apprehensive of again plunging his country into a war, from which he had recently delivered it with so much difficulty. Hence, he had no sooner reco- vered the Netherlands, than he recalled the greater part of his troops, reduced his army, and refused to march an Aus- trian corps towards the French frontier, even as a means of affording a pretext for Bouille to form a camp at Montmedy, in order to favour the escape of the king. Hence, he revoked the vigorous measures which had been dictated by necessity, as soon as they had begun to produce their effect ; yet in the midst of changes which indicated want of decision, he still held forth equivocal threats or distant insinuations, which at once discouraged the royalists and inflamed instead of awing the Jacobin faction. This conduct, therefore, only hastened the danger which Leopold was so anxious to avert. Besides the dispute rela- tive to the feudal rights of the German princes, new subjects for invective were soon discovered by the sagacity of the Brissotines ; new pretences were devised for precipitating the nation into that conflict to which they looked forward as the means of establishing their darling republic, and extend- ing the empire of their baneful principles. Leopold anxiously laboured to remove all causes of com- plaint. He repeated his instances with the elector of Treves and the other princes on the frontier to suspend the military armaments and disperse the French emigrants. But from the menacing aspect of France, the warlike preparations and hostile language of the ruling party, he began to be appre- hensive of an attack. He therefore concluded the prelimina- ries of a defensive treaty with Prussia for the maintenance and guaranty of the empire ; and to unite the princes of Ger- many in a common cause, he ratified the conclusum of the diet relative to the contested feudal rights. He announced these measures to the king of France, and in dignified lan- 574 LEOPOLD II. [cn. cxxxiv. guage declared his decided resolution to give all the aid re- quired by his imperial authority in support of these just claims. His example was followed by the king of Prussia. The machinations and violence of the Brissotines overbore all the pacific measures of Leopold. They impelled the king to order preparations for assembling an army of 150,000 men, and forced him to adopt their own language and indecorous menaces for the immediate dispersion of the emigrants, Brissot roused the assembly and nation by a violent ha- rangue, in which he proved that France had no danger to dread, and every advantage to hope, from a war. After adverting to the situation of the European powers, he turned the force of his invective against Leopold.* He was followed by the principal members of his party, who all enforced and exaggerated his declarations ; and the result of their efforts was the celebrated manifesto, published in December, 1792, which, amidst the cant of affected mode- ration, was conceived in similar language, displayed the same sentiments, and denounced vengeance against all who should support the emigrants, or presume to interfere in the internal concerns of the nation. The situation of Leopold hourly assumed a more serious aspect. It was necessary to secure so important a territory * " What have we," he said, " to fear from the emperor of Germany? Augmentation of debt, diminution of taxes, frequent insurrections in Hungary, inveterate hatred among the people of the Netherlands, all presage the most imminent danger to the house of Austria. Throughout the Austrian territories the people are harassed with that passion for aggrandisement from which nothing but misfortunes can be expected. Everywhere the soldier, whom princes endeavour to render the enemy of the people, refuses to separate his interest from that of the people, among whom are his friends and his parents. The resolutions of the emperor are feeble : he desires, he seeks what is just, but he wants energy to re- sist the machinations and perfidious counsels of those ambitious men by whom he is surrounded. The ties of blood, no less than prudence, may have induced him to afFect in his letters amicable expressions : he can gain nothing by attacking us, on the contrary, he has every thing to fear. The political variations of the cabinet of Vienna ought not to inspire you with alarm. As a prince, the emperor desires peace, though as chief of the Germanic empire he appears to desire war. But away with the politics of the court of Vienna ! What have we to do with the politics of courts, we who will to be free, we who only wish to defend our liberty, we who possess the means of doing it. France desires peace, yet fears not war; she seeks no new allies, she has twenty-five millions of souls devoted to the support of her cause." 1790-1792.] MANIFESTO OF THE ASSEMBLY. 575 as the electorate of Treves, which opened a way into Ger- many, and cut off the communication between the Upper Rhine and the Netherlands. While he therefore redoubled his instances for hastening the dispersion of the emigrants, he ordered his commander in the Netherlands to take mea- sures for succouring the elector of Treves if invaded or threatened with invasion. An official communication of these precautions was, on the 21st of December, made to tire French ambassador at Vienna, in terms which were calcu- lated to remove the impression of any hostile design. Prince Kaunitz, after stating the compliance of the elector with the request of the imperial court for the dispersion of the emi- grants, added, that he had claimed the assistance of the emperor, should his territory be threatened with attacks, which lie had reason to apprehend, and that the emperor had ordered general Bender, his commander in the Netherlands, to furnish prompt and effectual succour, should the electorate be invaded or threatened with invasion. lie professed a. firm conviction that the king's moderate sentiments justified his order by alluding to the want of subordination in the distant departments of France, and concluded with deprecat- ing a war "from the infallible consequences which it would produce, as well to himself and to the German empire, as to the other sovereigns who hod united in concert for the main* tenance of public tranquillity and the safety end honour of crowns." This communication furnished new fuel to the flame. These vague and mysterious expressions were artfully seized by the demagogues, and the concert of powers instantly be- came the war-whoop of the party. Gensonne presented the report on this paper with a speech calculated to give full effect to the spirit of hostility which had been raised against Austria. He argued that the emperor had broken the treaty of Versailles, lor which France had lavished her blood ami treasures; that his whole conduct had been hostile to tin liberties of the French nation ; that under the show of force ami a concert of powers, his real object was to procure t he- adoption of a congress, and insidiously to subvert the con- stitution. He appealed to the Assembly, and in that ardent language which was now become popular, called on the members to apprise the nation of its danger, and urged them to vindicate their liberty, by anticipating the alarming pro- 576 LEOPOLD II. [CH. CXXXIV. jects of the imperial court. The ardour of the Assembly was still more inflamed by Guadet, the vice-president, who darting to the tribune, poured forth a torrent of glowing invective ; the whole body rising at one and the same moment by the impulse of enthusiasm, amidst tumultuous shouts and cries of " the Constitution or Death," sanctified by oatli a declaration stigmatising as a traitor to the country any Frenchman who should take part in a congress to modify the constitution, who should mediate with rebel emigrants, or enter into composition with the German princes relative to the feudal rights in Alsace. Some of the ministers who were present, were borne away by the general ardour, and the unfortunate monarch himself was necessitated to sanction a decree which precluded all hopes of amicable accommoda- tion. The hostile faction did not allow this burst of enthusiasm to subside. Even at the moment when the minister apprised the assembly of the total dispersion of the emigrants, they renewed their invectives against the emperor. On the second report of the diplomatic committee relatiye to the communications with the imperial court, Brissot himself rose to address the assembly. " The mask," he exclaimed, "is fallen ; your real enemy is known ; the order given to general Bender tells you his name. It is the emperor ! The electors were but his puppets, the emigrants but his instru- ments! Despise the emigrants: the national court of jus- tice will punish the rebellion of those mendicant princes. Nor are the electors more worthy of your anger ; fear has prostrated them at your feet, and a free people will not crush its humbled enemies. The emperor! I repeat, the emperor, is your true enemy. Him you must combat ; him you must either conquer or force to renounce the confederacy he has formed against you. He intended either to alarm or attack you. If you are to be attacked, it behoves you to anticipate him ; if he means to force you to an unworthy capitulation, you must realise what you have a hundred times sworn, The Constitution or Death." We spare the reader a further detail of these insults and invectives so offensive to humanity, so degrading to the nation, so hostile to good faith and justice. In spite of fre- quent communications from the ministers, proving the pacific disposition of Leopold, the king was required to demand of 1790-1792.] I1IS REPLY TO FRANCE. 577 liim whether, as head of the house of Austria, he would live in peace with France, and renounce all treaties and con- ventions directed against the sovereignty and safety of the nation. The refusal of full satisfaction before the 1st of March was to be considered as a declaration of war ; and orders were given for putting the troops in a condition to take the field on the first signal. The king in this, as in former instances, was swept away by the torrent, and the fatal and peremptory demand was transmitted to the French ambassador at Vienna. The emperor now perceived that all his attempts to main- tain peace were vain. He therefore signed the alliance with the king of Prussia, by which the two monarchs mutually guaranteed their respective territories, and agreed to act in concert for the preservation of peace ; and reserved to them- selves the power of inviting Russia, England, Holland, and the elector of Saxony to unite in similar defensive engage- ments. Leopold also, by his minister prince Kaunitz, gave a be- coming answer to the arrogant demands of France, and assumed that language which became his dignity and feel- ings. He justified the orders given to marshal Bender, by his duty as chief of the Germanic body, to succour a co - estate when menaced with unjust attacks, and he proved on facts admitted and acknowledged by the French themselves, that the promised succour to the elector of Treves depended on a previous compliance with the demand for the dispersion of the emigrants. He entered into an enlarged view of the question relative to the concert of powers. He justly considered such a con- cert as warranted by the situation of his brother-in-law, and ally, before the acceptance of the constitution, " forced by atrocious violence to fly, protesting solemnly against an acquiescence to which he had been compelled, and with his family arrested and imprisoned by his own Bllbjects." lie declared that he had himself invited the powers to suspend their concert, which was not to resume its activity till the same dangers should revive ; but he enforced the necessity of maintaining such a provisional alliance by dwelling on the disordered state of France, developing the intrigues of the Jacobins for the propagation of their principles, and in- \<>l. in. r v 578 LEOPOLD II. [CH. CXXXIV. stancing, in particular, a recent conspiracy to foment a revolt in the Low Countries. This declaration was followed by a note from the Prussian minister at Paris, announcing the perfect agreement of the court of Berlin with the views of the court of Vienna. The dignified language of the imperial declaration, and the clearness with which it developed the plots and designs of the dominant party, inflamed their fury, and gave new scope to their machinations. The minister by whom it was read was frequently interrupted with bursts of laughter and indig- nation. The name of the emperor was treated with every mark of insult, contempt, and indignity ; the exclamation of " War ! War ! " resounded on every side. The cry of war was re-echoed from house to house, and from street to street, and a head of some recent victim to popular rage, designated as that of the emperor, was carried in barbarous procession, and held up to the windows of the queen's apartment in the palace of the Tuileries. The emotions raised by these artifices were not suffered to subside ; the demagogues ob- tained the expulsion of the ministers attached to the king, on whose moderation rested the last hope of peace, and with peace the last barrier of the monarchy. Within a few days, Brissot again harangued the Assembly. He threw a veil over the outrages and aggressions of which O Do the court of Vienna so justly complained, and artfully re- duced the dispute to the simple question of foreign inter- ference. He grossly accused the unfortunate Louis of pre- meditated falsehood, and closed an harangue replete with uncommon acrimony against Leopold, by denouncing de Lessart, the minister for foreign affairs. This denunciation was enforced with all the virulence of the Jacobin journals, and the declamations of popular clubs ; and the ill-fated minister, without the privilege of being heard in his own defence, was sent for certain condemnation to the criminal tribunal at Orleans*. Such a dreadful example terrified all the friends of peace ; the other ministers either resigned, or were dismissed ; and the Jacobins gained a fatal and uncon- trolled ascendency in the cabinet and the nation. While this tempest was gathering in France, Leopold himself was no more. He was seized, on the 27th of Fe- bruary, with a malignant dysentery, and in three days was * He was among the victims massacred on the 10th of September. 1790-1792.] HIS DEATH, CHARACTER, AND ISSUE. o79 hurried to an untimely grave, in the forty-fifth year of his age, leaving his dominions in a state of more serious danger than even when he assumed the reins of empire. From the suddenness of his decease, the critical state of affairs, the recent assassination of the king of Sweden, and the savage principles professed by the Jacobins, his death, though without any apparent foundation, was attributed to poison. Leopold is known rather as great duke of Tuscany, which country he ruled twenty-five years, than as sovereign of the Austrian dominions and emperor of Germany, because he did not move long enough in this elevated sphere to fix the public opinion. But we cannot withhold great praise from a sove- reign, who, within the short space of a single year, relieved his country from foreign war and internal commotion, who baffled a great combination which threatened the independ- ence of his house, and established a throne which at his accession was tottering to its very foundations. Maria Louisa, daughter of Charles III. of Spain, was born in 1747, and espoused Leopold in 176o. The decease of a beloved husband, who expired in her arms, made so deep an impression on her feeling mind that she did not recover from the shock, but followed him to the grave in the ensuing May. She bore him sixteen children, of whom all except two survived her. Francis, the eldest, was born in 1768, succeeded his father in all the hereditary dominions in the twenty-fifth year of his age, and obtained the imperial crown in the July subse- quent to his father's death. The checkered events and won- derful revolutions of his reign are too near the present times to be traced with accuracy or impartiality. The second son, Ferdinand Joseph, received the great duchy of Tuscany as an independent sovereignty ; but being deprived of his terri- tory by the arms of France, he obtained as a compensation the electorate of Saltzburgh, and afterwards that of Wurtzburgh, a mere nominal sovereignty. — The third son, Charles, is too highly distinguished as a warrior, and as the great supporter of his family, to need any other notice than a bare mention of his name. — The fourth, Leopold Alexander, was chosen palatine of Hungary, and being accidentally burnt to death, was succeeded in that dignity by the fifth son, Maximilian Joseph. — The other sons were Joseph Anthony, John ltegnier, Louis, and Hhodolph. — The daughters, Maria Theresa, Mary Anne, Maria Clementina, and Maria Amelia. INDEX. ABAFFY MICHAEL, ii. 364, 441, 453. AbafTy Michael II., ii. 454, 458. Adolphus, emperor, i. 75. Adrian of Utrecht, i. 402 ; succeeds Leo X., 421. JEneas Sylvius, i. 156, 223.— See Pius II. Agnes, daughter of Albert I., i. 81. Agnes, canoness of Girnsheim, ii. 72; driven from England bv Elizabeth, 74. Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, ii. 396. — — cougress of, iii. 338. Alain, lord of Albret. i. 265, 268. Albemarle, duke of, iii. 94. Alberoni, cardinal, iii. 104, 109. Albert III., first landgrave of Alsace, i. 2. Albert IV., father of Rodolph, i. 4. Albert, son of Rodolph, succeeds his father, i. 59; his election opposed by Pope Boniface, 68 ; invades the pala- tinate of Meutz, 69 ; his disputes with Wenceslaus, 70 ; invades Bohemia, 72 ; prepares to subjugate the Swiss, 76 ; assassinated by his nephew John, 79 ; his character and issue, ib. Albert, son of Albert I., succeeds to the joint administration with Otho, i. 102; person and character, ib. ; makes peace with the king of Bohemia, 106; obtains Carinthia. ib. ; war with Bavaria, 107 ; supports Louis against the king of Bo- hemia, 108; war against the Swiss, 112 ; concludes an accommodation, 116; death, ib. ; his benevolence, 117; his marriage and issue, ib. Albert III. ; his administration with Leo- pold, i. 122; secures the Tyrol, 123; expedition into Prussia, 140 ; war with Bohemia. 141 ; his death, ib. Albert IV. ; his joint administration with William, i. 442 ; his pilgrimage to Je- rusalem, ib. ; death and character, ib. Albert V. declared emperor, i. 14S ; assists Sigismond in the Hussite war, 158 ; elected king of Hungary, 161 ; opposed by the Hussites, 162; chosen king of the Romans, ib. ; opposes Amu- rath, 170 ; his death and character, 171 ; his issue, 172. Albert of Munich, 1. 274. Albert of Brandenburgh, espouses the Lu- theran doctrines, i. 427 ; detached from the Protestants, 452 ; made prisoner bv the elector of Saxony, 456 ; liberated, 460 ; expelled from his dominions, 473 ; death, ib. Albert, son of Maximilian II., receives the sovereignty of the Netherlands, ii. 60 ; truce with the United Provinces, 62 ; refuses the imperial crown, 140. Albert of Saxony, receives Teshen, iii. 483 ; joint governor of the Netherlands, ib. ; recalled, 527. Aldringer, general, ii. 280. Alphonso, institutes the kingdom of Por- tugal, i. 283. Alphonso, king of Castile, i. 18. Alphonso, the Magnificent, i. 299. Alphonso, son of Ferdinand of Naples, resigns his crown, i. 307. Alexander VI. pope, i. 298, 330, 342. Alsace, landgraviate of, i. 2. yielded by the Swedes to France, ii. 289 ; ceded 'to Bernard duke of Weimar, 295 ; its final cession to France, 412. Altheim, count, iii. 114 ; his death, 117. D'Alton, general, iii. 529, 535. Alva, duke of, ii. 33. 34, 36. Amadeus. duke of Savoy, elected pope, i. 164 ; his character, ib ; abdicates, 224. Amboise, cardinal, i. 349. America discovered, i. 305. American war, iii. 472 ; declaration of in- dependence, 510; peace with England, ib. Amurath L, sultan ; his conquests and i. 166. Amurath II., i. 170. Amurath III., ii. 50, 86. Anabaptists, origin of, i. 427. D'Ancre, marshal ; assassinated, ii. 165. Andrew, king of Hungary, ii. 365, 451. Anhalt, prince of, ii. Ill, 177. Anjou, House of — see Naples. Anne, daughter of Louis XI., i. 256, 258, 267. Anne, of Brittany, i. 265, 269. Anne, wife of Ferdinand I., ii. 17. Anne, daughter of Maximilian II., ii. 58. Anne, of Austria, regent of France, ii. 313. Anne ; succeeds to the British throne, ii. 485 ; character, iii. 90 ; deserts the house of Austria, 91 ; concludes the peace of Utrecht, 95. Anne, empress of Russia, iii. 155, 164, 196. Appenzel, people of, i. 188, 149, 192. Architecture, revival of, i. 305. Arnheim, general, ii. 237, 245. Arragon and Castile, union of, i. 280. Arras, treaty of, i. 256. Artois, count, iii. 570. Avesdes, John de, i. 67. Auckland, lord, iii. 558. Augsburgh, diet of, i. 436 ; confession, 438 ; recess of, 475. INDEX. 581 Augustus succeeds Maurice in the elect- crate of Saxony, i. 473. Augustus II. of Poland, iii. 120, 155. Augustus III., iii. 163, 267, 370. Aulic council, i. 328 ; changes in, ii. 14. Protestants admitted, 337. Austria, rendered an independent fief, i. 27 ; acquired by Ottocar, ib ; conferred on Albert son of Ithodolph, 42 ; assump- tion of the title of Archduke Palatine by Rodolph IV., 112; raised into an arch- duchy by Frederic III., 231 ; progress of the Reformation, 425 ; ceded by Charles V. to Ferdinand, 401 ; invaded by Solyman the Magnificent, 408 ; con- sequences of the Reformation, ii. 20; change in the law of succession, 62 ; unites with the Bohemians against Ferdinand, 160; abolition of the Pro- testant worship, '207 ; state after the peace of Westphalia, 382. Austria, house of; Bamberg line, i. 27; Hapsburgh line, 41 ; its contests with France, 270 ; loss of its ascendency by the peace of Westphalia, ii. 342; order of succession, iii. 82 ; acquisitions during the reign of Maria Theresa, 175. Racon, Roger, i. 302. Baden, treaty of, iii. 06. Bajazet I. sultan, his conquests, i. 167; made prisoner by Tamerlane, 168. Bajazet II. ; his character, i. 889. Banner, general, ii. 206, 302, 310. Barbara, wife of Sigismond, i. 150. Barbara, queen of Ferdinand VI., iii. 325. Barcelona, taken by the French, ii. 431 ; by the Archduke Charles, iii. 23 ; me- morable siege and relief of, 84. Barricades, pass of, iii. 304. Barrier Treaty, account of, iii. 06 ; abro- gation of, 407. Bartholomew, St. massacre of, ii. 28. Bartzai, prince of Transylvania, iii. 263. Barwalde, treaty of, ii. 225. Basle, bishop of, i. 13, 16. Basle, council of, i. 163 ; dissolved, 224. Basta, general of Ithodolph 11., ii. B9. Bathori, Sigismond, ii. s7, xs. Bathori, Stephen, ii. 60, 53. Bathori, Gabriel, ii. 133. Batre, Claude de, i. 303. Battles : of Belgrade, iii. 102 ; Blenheim, ii. 500; Brcitenfeld, ii. 237; Bresiau, iii. 385; Campo Santo, iii. 205- Cho- tusitz, iii. 211, 277 ; Crotska, iii. 207 ; Cunersdorf, iii. 400 ; Dettingen, iii. 201; Fontenoy, iii. 311; Fotzani, Iii. 521; St. Gothard, ii. 370; Guinegatte, i. 367 ; Hochkirchen, iii. 302 ; Uohen Friedberg, iii. 315; Kolin, iii. :>78 ; Kussnacht, i. 113; Placentia, iii. 324 ; Lignitz, iii. 411; Lowositz, iii. 360; Lutzen, ii. 263 ; Malplaquet, iii. 58 ; Marignano, i. 371 ; Maxen, iii. 407 ; Mohatz, i. 405 ; Molwitz, iii 240 ; Mor- garten.i. 80; Muhlberg, i. 458 : Naefcls, i. 130; Nordlingen, ii. 287; Oudenard, iii. 40; Parma, iii. 160; Prague, ii. 177, iii. 374 ; Raucoux, iii. 24; Ramillics, iii. 4; Rimnik, iii. 522; Rosbach, iii. 333 ; v Sohr, i. 112; Tatwyl, iii. 72; Torgau, iii. 415; Turin, iii. 10; Villa Viciosa, iii. 72; White Mountain, ii. 177 ; Zenta, ii. 455 ; Zorndorf, iii. 301. Bavaria, electoral, vote of, i. 186. Bavaria, Lower, conferred on Albert V., i. 158 ; restored to the collateral branch, ib. ; division of the house of, ib. ; in- surrection of the peasantry, iii. 5. Bavaria Landshut, war for the succession of, i. 331. Bayard, chevalier, i. 322, 367. Belgrade, sieges of, i. 162, 182; ceded to the Turks, 166; peace of, 170; reduced by Loudon, iii. 522. Belleisle, chevalier, killed, iii. 330. Belleisle, marshal, iii. 253, 266, 267,271, 270, 287, 320. Bender, general, iii. 536, 560. Bergen-op-Zoom, capture of, iii. 334. Berlin, taken by the Austrians and Rus- sians, iii. 414. Bern, joins the Helvetic confederacy, i. 114. Bernard, duke of Saxe Weimar, ii. 215, 272, 2H7, 304, 306. Bertold de Gott, elected pope, i. 70 ; trans- fers the see to Avignon, ib. Bemis, abbe, ii. 361. Bertzeney, joins in the Hungarian re- bellion, ii. 503 ; defeated at Zadock, iii. 77. Berwick, marshal, iii. 32. 66. 174, 175. Bethlehem Gabor, ii. 133, 160, 170, 188, 108. Ilevern, prince of, iii. 384. Bianca Maria, second wife of Maximilian I., i. 308. Blois, treaty of, i. 336. Bogeslaus, of Pomerania, ii. 223.303. Bohemia, pretenders to the crown on the death of Wenee&laus, 72 ; election of Henry of Carinthia, 74 ; Hussite wars, 148; election of the archduke Albert, 162 ; ascendency of the Calixtines, 176 ; election of (Jeorge Podiebrad, 234 ; state of the country during the reign of Max- imilian I., 372 ; progress of the Reform- ation, 42(3 ; changes in the constitution by Ferdinand, 526 ; election of Ferdinand of Styria, 142; persecution of the Pro- testants. 144; civil war, 150; defeat of the elector Palatine, 177; abolition of the protestant religion, 208; invasion of the elector of Saxony, 235 ; expulsion of the Saxons, 2">8. Boniface, pope, i. 68. Borgia, Cwsar, i. 342, 344 — See Alex- ander VI. Bosnia, subjugated by Solyman, i. 404. Botskai, Stephen, ii. "92, 03. Botta, marquis, iii. 306, 326. Boufflcrs, marshal, iii. 43, 60. Bourbon, duke of, iii. 135 ; disgraced, 143. Braganza, John, raised to the throne of Portugal, ii. 308 ; his death, 374. Brandenburgh, division of the electoral vote of, i. 87 ; house of, 128. Bremen, city of, ceded to Sweden, ii. 333. Bresiau, peace of, iii. 277 ; taken by Charles of Loraine, 384 ; retaken, 386. 582 INDEX. Brihuega, capture of the British at, iii. 72. Brisac, taken bv Bernard of Weimar, ii. 305 ; reduction of, 494. Brittany annexed to France, i. 265. Brown, count, iii. 326, 329, 369. Brunau, disputes there give rise to the civil war of Bohemia, ii. 147. Brunn, Rhodolph, i. 111. Brunswick, dukes of, ii. 308, 314, 333. Buequoy, general, ii. 169, 175, 187. Burgundy, house of, i. 251 ; transfer of its possessions to the Austrian family, ib. Burgundy, duke of. ii. 494, iii. 36, 42. Bute, earl of, iii. 425, 47". Cadiz, descent of the English there, ii. 489. Calmar, union of, i. 284. Calixtines — see Hussites. Calvinists, rise of, in Germany, ii. 8; progress, 66 ; persecute the Lutherans, 67 ; excluded from the peace of Prague, 292 ; included in the peace of Westpha- lia, 334. Cambray, league of, i. 349 ; congress of, iii. 134. Campegio, papal legato, i. 425. Capistran, John, i. 183. Cara Mustapha, Grand Vizier, besieges Vienna, ii. 444 ; defeated, 446. Carinthia, its acquisition, i. 27 ; contests for the possession of, 106; occupied by the Austrian princes, 107. Carlos, Don, son of Philip II., i. 486. Carlos, Don, afterwards Charles III., iii. 174, 420. Carlovitz, peace of, ii. 458. Carlstadt, a partisan of Luther, i. 411. Carniola, its acquisition, i. 27 ; transferred to the House of Austria, 41. Carobert, invested with the kingdom of Hungary, i. 71 ; elected king, 74. Caroline, queen of George II.. iii. 160. Carrara, Francis of, i. 128, 129. Carteret, Lord, iii. 279, 283. Casimir elected king of Bohemia, i. 162. Castaldo, Austrian general, i. 508. Castile and Arragon, union of, i. 281 ; contests for the regency, 337. Catalonia revolts against Philip IV., ii. 312 ; declare in favour of the Archduke Charles, iii. 23. Catechism of Heidelberg, ii. 26. Catherine de' Medici, ii. 27. Catherine I. of Russia, iii. 137. Catherine II. of Russia, deposes Peter III., iii. 429; agrees to the partition of Poland, 448 ; obtains the Crimea, 502 ; success against the Turks, 522. Catholics, their first union against the Lutherans, i. 426; disputes at the diet of Spire, 429 ; conclude a convention with the Protestants, 444 ; state of their party, 447 ; origin of their league, ii. 1 13 ; support him against Gustavus Adolphus, 228 Catinat, marshal, ii. 424, 481. Chamber, imperial, i. 310, 447 ; changes in, 489 ; admission of Protestants, li. 337. Chambers of Re-union, ii. 409. Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, i. 205, 206.; Charles Martel, affianced to the daughter of Rhodolph, i. 44. Charles, succeeds to the crown of Bohe- mia, i. 108 ; chosen emperor, ib. ; joins Albert against the Swiss, 114. Charles of Durazzo, i. 147. Charles VII. of France,i. 218, 219. Charles VIII. of France, i.256; concludes a peace with Maximilian, 262, 267; con- cludes the treaty of Senlis, 270; invades Naples, 307 ; death, 315. Charles, son of Adolphus, duke of Guel- der land, i. 306, 3! 6, 349. Charles V., acknowledged joint sovereign of Castile, i. 340 ; becomes heir to the whole Spanish monarchy, 373 ; assumes the government in Spain and the Netherlands, ib. ; opposed by Francis I., 404 ; quits Spain, 406 ; lands in Eng- land, ib. ; cedes the Austrian territories to Ferdinand, 410 ; his conduct towards Luther, 415 ; his attachment to the catholic religion, 416 ; signs a peace with Francis L, 428 ; summons a diet at Spire, 432 ; opens the diet of Augsburgh, 436 ; attempts to re-unite the Protestants to the church, 439 ; leads an army against the Turks, 444 ; gains Maurice of Sax- ony, 450 ; concludes a league with the Pope, 451 ; compels the elector of Co- logne to abdicate, 456 ; defeats and captures the elector of Saxony, 458; grants the Saxon electorate to Maurice, 460 ; disputes with the Pope, 462 ; at- tempts to introduce the Inquisition into the Low Countries, 465 ; compelled to agree to the peace of Passau, 472 ; fails in his invasion of France, 473 ; causes of his abdication, 478 ; resigns the crown, 481. ; his conduct in retire- ment, 482 ; death and character, 483 ; his issue, 486. Charles, third son of Ferdinand I., ii. 18, 35. Charles II., duke of Loraine, ii. 243, 244, 251, 252. Charles III., duke of Loraine, ii. 291, 361, 397. Charles IV., duke of Loraine, ii. 401, 409, 432, 446. ; Charles Emanuel, of Savoy, ii. 157. i Charles Louis, son of Frederic, elector Palatine, ii. 271, 303, 333. Charles I., king of England, executed, ii. 378. Charles II. of England, ii. 379. 397, 398. Charles II., king of Spain, ii. 460, 461, 475. Charles III., king of Spain. — See Carlos, Don. Charles, archduke of Austria, afterwards Charles VI., declared king of Spain, ii. 499; takes Barcelona, iii. 23; defeat at Almanza, 32; defeats Philip at Sara- gossa, 69; reverses of his arms, 72 ; suc- ceeds to the Austrian dominions, 82; receives the crown of Hungary, «8 ; war with the Turks, 100; peace of Passaro- vitz, 103; contest with Spain, 107 ; con- clusion of peace, 109; establishes an East India Company, 131; treaty with INDEX. 583 England, 143 ; congress of Soissons, 145, 163; war with the Turks, 196; his disastrous situation, 225 ; death and character, 239. Charles Gustavus of Sweden, 346, 350, 354, 355, 356, 358. Charles XI. of Sweden, ii. 358, 395, 408, 417. Charles XII. of Sweden, iii. 6, 7, 8. Charles, elector of Bavaria, iii. 267, 274, 306. Charles Emanuel, of Sardinia, iii. 159, Charles Theodore, elector Palatine, Hi. 504. Charles, prince of Loraine, iii. 277, 315, 374, 385, 386. Chemnitz, his celebrated work, ii. 309. Chetardie, marquis de la, iii. 280, 307. Chernichef, general, iii. 414. Chevcrt, his defence of Prague, iii. 287. Choiseul, duke of. — See Stainville. Chotzim, siege of, iii. 519. Christian of Oldenburgh, elected king of Denmark, i. 285. Christian IV., king of Denmark, ii. 193, 204. Christian VI., king of Denmark, iii. 155. Christian, elector of Saxony, ii. 67, 113. Christian, administrator of Brunswick, ii. 185, 186, 199. Christian William, administrator of Mag- deburgh, ii. 228. Christina, queen of Sweden, ii. 343, 346. Church, patrimony of, i. 22 ; election of three popes, 164*; schism of the Greek and Latin churches, ib. CU1I, count of, i. 173, 178, 186. Circles of the empire, i. 377, 490. Claudia Felicitas, second wife of Leopold I., ii. 519. Clement XL, pope, iii. 49. Cleves and Juliers, contest for the suc- cession of, ii. 113, 138. Clostergraben, dispute there, ii. 147. Closter Severn, convention of, iii. 381. Cobetlll, count Philip, iii. 470, 536. Coburgh, prince of, iii. 521. Colbert, minister of Louis XIV, ii. 412. Cologne, Herman, elector of, i. 446, 456. — joins against Maria Theresa, iii. 267. Commcndon, cardinal, ii. 7, 25. 45, 50. Compactata, i. 155, 245 ; annulled, ii. 45. Concord, book of, ii. 68. Concordates of the German nation, i. 165, 224. Conde, prince of, ii. 313, 320. Conference, council, iii. 263 ; dissolved, 454. Constance, council of, i. 194. — — annexed to the House of Austria, i. 465. Constantine, emperor, i. 182. Constar.tine, great duke of Russia, iii. 475. Constantinople besieged by the Turks, i. 167 ; captured by Mahomet II., 182. Conti, general, ii. 223. Conti, prince of, iii. 303. Corvinus, John, surnamcd Hunniadcs, i. 173, 177, 182, 184. I Corvinus Ladislaus, i. 185. Corvinus Matthias, i. 235, 249, 263. Cosmo de' Medici, ii. 42. Costar, Laurence, i. 303. Coucv, Enguerrand de, i. 102. 124. Courland conquered by the Teutonic knights, ii. 41. Crimea, independence of, iii. 452. Croatia ceded to Charles of Styria, ii. 85. Cromwell, Oliver, ii. 378. Croy, William de, i.402. Cumberland, duke of, iii. 291, 311, 324, 333. Cunegunda, daughter of Frederic III., i. 274. Cuno, abbot of St. Gallen, i. 188. Cymburga, wife of Ernest of Styria, i. 21 1 . Cyprus, kingdom of, i. 295. Dampierre, general, il. 156, 164, 187. Daun, count, iii. 16. 29, 61. Daun, general, iii. 378, 405, 411, 415. Deltino, cardinal, ii. 7. Denmark, ii.5; change in the govern- ment by Frederic 1 1 1., ii. 379. Deux Punts, duke of, iii. 460. Diets uf Hungary, ii. 364. uf deputatiun, ii. 13. Difhdation, right uf, i. 271, 310. Dissidents, the, ii. 52, iii. 444. Dunawerth, city uf, ii. 81,337. Duria, admiral, i. 503. Durt, meeting uf, ii. 36. Duuav, reduced by the allies, iii. 65. Dresden, peace of, iii. 328. Dunkirk, ceded to England, ii. 361 ; sold to France, 372. Ecclesiastical reservation, i. 472, ii. 51. Eckius, i. 411. Edict, royal, ii. 102, 145. Edict of Restitution, ii. 210.^ Egmont, count, ii 32. Egypt, conquered by the Turks, i.493. Eleanor, wile of Frederic 111., i. 27$. Electoral Union, i. 222. Electoral College, ii. 132. Elizabeth, widow uf Albert V., 1. 172, 171. Elizabeth, wife uf Charles IX., ii. 58. Elizabeth, queen uf England, ii. 5. Elizabeth, widuw uf the landgrave of Hesse, ii. 303. 307. Elizabeth Charlette, duchess of Orleans, 11.416, 433. Elizabeth Christina, wife of Charles VI., iii. 240. Elizabeth Farnese, second wife of Philip V., iii. 104. Elizabeth, empress of Russia, iii. 368, 422. Elizabeth Maria, wife of Joseph II., iii. 543. Elizabeth, wife of the archduke Francis, iii. 540. Emperor Elect, title assumed by Max- imilian, i. 275. Enghein.— See Conde. England alarmed at the encroachments of Louis XIV., ii. 415 ; Revolution or, 418 ; 513; conduct towards Maria Theresa, iii. 251 ; separation from the House of Austria, 349 ; disputes with France, 355 , 4 584 INDEX. union with Prussia, 388; war with Spain, 426 ; thwarts the designs of Austria and Russia against Turkey, iii. 517; forms an alliance with Prussia and Holland in opposition to that of Austria with Russia and France, 544. Eperies, theatre of, ii. 451. Ernest, son of Leopold, i. 145. Ernest, brother of Frederic of Tyrol, i. 209. Ernest, son of Maximilian II., ii. 59. Ernest, prince of Brandenburgh, ii. 113. Ernest, duke of Hanover, ii. 424. Etrees, marshal, iii. 380. Eugene, prince, ii. 455, 482, 508, 509, iii. 19, 21, 56, 59, 64, 93, 101, 174, 193. Eugenius IV., pope, i. 163, 164, 224. Europe, changes occasioned by the inven- tion of gunpowder and printing, i. 303. Eytzinger, Ulric, i. 179. Falkenburg, Swedish general, ii. 228. Family Compact, iii. 82. Farnese family obtain Parma andPl.acen- tia, i. 462. Farnese, Octavio, i. 463, 468, 488. Farnese, Alexander, of Parma, ii. 60. Faust, one of the inrentors of metal types, i. 303. Felix, pope. — Sfe Amadeus of Savoy. Ferdinand I., i. 490 ; obtains ihe Austrian territories from Charles V., 492 ; elected king of Bohemia, 496 ; assailed by the Turks, 501; loses Transylvania, and part of Hungary, 510 ; becomes emperor, ii. 1 ; partition of his dominions, 14 ; death ana character, ib. Ferdinand, second son of Ferdinand I., ii. 17. Ferdinand II., duke of Styria, elected king of Bohemia and Hungary, ii. 144 ; blockaded by the insurgents in Vienna, 163; obtains the imperial crown, 164; | deposed by the Bohemians, 166; relief of his capital, 169, 174 ; reduces the states of Lower Austria, 175; defeats the insurgent Bohemians, and the elec- tor Palatine, 180 ; recovery of Hungary, 188 ; design to subjugate Germany, 205 ; attacked by Gustavus Adolphus, 223 ; defeated at Breitenfeld, 238 ; victory of Nordlingen, 287 ; contests with the Swedes, 296 ; death and character, 298 ; family, 299. Ferdinand, king of Hungary, afterwards III., emperor, ii. 285 ; reduces Ratisbon, 286 ; defeats the Swedes at Nordlingen, 287 ; elected king of the Romans, 297 ; defeated at Breitenfeld, 31 1 ; truce with the Turks, 317 ; peace of Westphalia, 331 ; death and issue, 348. Ferdinand, son of Ferdinand III. ; chosen king of Hungary and Bohemia, ii. 329; elected king of the Romans, 343 ; death, ib. Ferdinand Joseph, son of Ferdinand III., ii. 349. Ferdinand, son of Maria Theresa, anec- dote of, iii. 483. Ferdinand Maria, elector of Bavaria, ii. 350. Ferdinand of Arracon, i. 282,336, 339,311, 348, 355, 360, 36S, 373. Ferdinand, king of Naples, i. 209. Ferdinand, king of Naples, expelled by Charles VIII., i. 308 ; recovers hiscrown, 313; death, ib. Ferdinand VI., king of Spain, iii. 325. Ferdinand, duke of Guastalla, ii. 213. Ferdinand, prince of Brunswick, iii. 406, 412. Ferrara, council of, i. 164. account of, i. 296. Finck, general, iii. 405. Fiume declared a free port, iii. 495. Fleury, cardinal, iii. 143, 150, 252, 289. Florence, state of under Lorenzo de' Me- dici, i. 295 ; liberated from the rule of the Medici, 3:)7 ; the Medici restored, 369 ; raised to the rank of Great Duchy, ii. 42. Fontainebleau, peace of, iii. 500. Fouquet, general, iii. 409. France, its rivalry with the house of Aus- tria, i. 279 ; progress of the Protestant religion, 467 ; massacre of St. Bartholo- mew, il. 28 ; state of, under Louis XIV., 372 ; — see Louis XIII., and XIV.; pre- ponderance of in Europe at the conclu- sion of the peace of Belgrade, 226 ; forms a combination .against Maria Theresa, 253 ; alliance with Austria, 361 ; losses by the seven years' war, 432 ; decline of her influence in Europe, 508; com- mencement of the revolution, 523; change of the constitution, 563. Francis II., duke of Brittany, i. 258. Francis, duke of Anjou, ii. 61. Francis I., of France, i. 369 ; invades the Milanese, ib. ; defeats the Swiss at Ma- rignano, 371 ; treaty with Charles and Maximilian, 376; made prisoner by Charles, 428 ; death, 457. Francis, duke of .Loraine, espouses Maria Theresa, iii. 192 ; elected emperor, 322 j death, 435 ; character, 436. Frederic the Warlike, i. 27. Frederic, titular duke of Austria, i. 28. Frederic III., of Nuremburg, iii. 128. Frederic IV., of Nuremburg, iii. 129. Frederic I., emperor, i. 121. Frederic, duke of Austria, son of Albert I., i. 72, 83, 88, 91,93, 97, 101. Frederic III., emperor, and duke of Sty- ria, i. 174 ; pilgrimage to the Holy Land, 212; claims Milan, 225; raises Austria to the rank of an archduchy, 231 ; dis- appointed of the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia, 233 ; division of the Au- strian territories, ib. ; besieged in the citadel of Vienna, 237 ; irruptions of the Turks, 242 ; attacked by Corvinus, 249; expelled from his dominions, 250; resigns the administration to Maximi- lian, 274 ; death and character, 275. Frederic, founder of the line of Tyrol, i. 188 ; succeeds to the Suabian and" Alsa- tian territories, 192; excommunicated, 196; invasion of his territories, ib. ; escapes from Constance, 200; rescued by Ernest, 201 . Frederic, king of Sicily, I. 95. / INDEX. 585 Frederic the Victorious, i. 238. Frederic III., elector palatine, ii. 25. Frederic IV., elector palatine, ii. 76. Frederic V., elector palatine, ii. 167, 185, 185, 267. Frederic the Wise, elector of Saxony, i. 380, 382, 406. Frederic, John, elector of Saxony, i. 450, 459, 473, 474. Frederic ; succeeds to the throne of Na- ples, i. 313, 326. Frederic III. king of Denmark, ii. 347, 354, 379. Frederic V. of Denmark, iii. 372. Frederic William the Great, his accession, ii. 309; acquisitions by the peace of Westphalia, 333; joins with the empe- ror against Sweden, 347 ; obtains the liberation of Prussia from, 355 ; drives the Swedes from Jutland, 356 ; accom- modation with France, 401 ; enter* into the war, ib. ; accepts a peace, 408. Frederic I. succeeds his father, ii. 420 ; acknowledged king of Prussia, 4^6. Frederic William, king of Prussia, iii. 129, 139, 231. Frederic II. king of Prussia, iii. 231 ; state of the Prussian dominions at his accession, 236 ; invades Silesia, 244 ; defeats Neuperg at Molwitz, 249 ; battle of Hohenfriedberg, 315 ; battle of Sohr. 321 ; peace with the queen of Hungary, 323 ; alliance with England, 360; in- vades Bohemia, 369 ; battle of Lowositz, 370; defeats Charles of Loraiue at Prague, 374 ; defeated at Colin, 379 ; de- feats the French and Imperialists at Ros- bach, 382; the Austrians at Lignitz, 384 ; and besieges Olmutz, 389 ; defeats the Russians at Zorndorf, 391 ; sur- prised at Hochkirchen, 392 ; defeated at Cunersdorf, 400 ; defeats Loudon at Lignitz, 410; peace of Ilubertsburg, 434 ; obtains Western Prussia, 451 ; forms the Germanic union, 507 ; death, 508. Frederic William IL, iii. 479, 545, 550. Gaeta, cardinal of, i. 388. Gallas, imperial general, ii. 302, 318. Galway, lord, iii. 33. Gaston de Foix, i. 363. George of Saxony, i. 443. George William, elector of Brandenburgh, ii. 221, 231, 302. George I. of England, iii. 49 ; death, 144. George II., favours Maria Theresa, 290; gains the battle of Dettingen, 292; causes of his separation from Austria, 348 ; alliance with Prussia, 360 ; death, 418. George III., his accession, iii. 419 ; aban- dons Prussia, 433 ; unites with Frederic William, 523. Germany, state of, on the accession of Rhodolph, i. 16; influence of the Aus- trian, Bavarian, and Luxemburgh fa- milies, 104 : institution of the imperial chamber, 310 ; division into circles, 377 ; origin and progress of the Reform- ation, 410; changes in the constitu- tution during the reign of Charles V., 489 ; contest for the succession of Cleves and Juliers, ii. 113 ; the Thirty Years' War, 182; peace of Westphalia, 328 ; decline of its wealth, population, &c. 391 ; revival of the internal dis- putes, 422. Germanic Union, iii. 507. Gertrude Anne, wife of Rhodolph, i. 58. Gertruydenberg, congress of, iii. 62. Gibelines. See Guelfs. Gibraltar, captured by the English, iii. 22. Glarus, people of, i. 112, 139. Glatz, taken by Loudon, iii. 409. Godolphin, lord, ii. 485, 514. Gonsalvo de Cordova, i. 313, 335. Gotter, count, iii. 245. Grand Alliance, ii. 420; dissolution, 428. Greek empire, decline and fall of. i. 181.' Greek language, diffused over Europe, i. 304. Gregory X., pope, i. 18, 22. Grisons, state of their government, i. 292. Grumbach, lord of, ii. 37, 39. Guebriaut, general, ii. 800, 311, 316. Guelfs and Gioelines, their contests, i. 95. Gunpowder, invention of, i. 302. Guntram the Rich, i. 1. Guntz, siege of, i. 501. Gustavus Adolphus, state of Sweden on his accession, ii. 219 ; wrests Ingria and Carelia from the Russians, 220 ; forces Sigismond to relinquish his pretensions to Sweden, ib.; lands in Germany, 223 ; extends his conquests, 229; endeavours to relieve Magdeburyh, 231 ; unites with the elector of Saxony, 2:16 ; defeats Tilly at Breitenfeld, 238; advances to the Rhine, 242 ; offers a neutrality to the Catholics, 248; invades Bavaria, 249: enters Munich, 250; killed at Lutzen, 265 ; his character, 266. Gultenberg, invents movable types, i. 303 Hanover, house of, raised to the electora dignity, tt. 424. Hanseatic League, its trade, ii. 391 ; de- cline, ib. Harrach, I mils, count, ii. 463. Hartman of Kyburgh, i. 7. Hartman, second son of Rhodolph, i. 42. Hasfeldt, imperial, it 304, 317. ! Hawke, admiral, iii. 335. Hedwige, daughter of Sieismond, i. 130. j Heidelberg, union of, ii. 79. Heinsius, pensionary, ii. 486. Helena, widow of Ragotsky, ii. 443. j Helvetic confederacy. See Switzerland. Henry of Luxemburgh, i. 83, 86. Henry of Carynthia, i. 74, 83, 87. Henry, son of Albert I., i. 93, 101. Henry VII. of England, i. 330. Henry VIII. of England, i. 367, 368, 431. Henry II. of France, i. 468, ii. 6. Henry of Navarre, escapes from the mas- sacre of St. Batholomew, ii. 28 ; designs against the House of Austria, 115; as- sassinated, 119. Henry, elector of Saxony, i. 447. Henry, duke of Anjou, ii. 53. 586 INDEX. Henry, prince of Prussia, iii. 403, 431. D'Herbeville, general, iii. 74. Heister, general, ii. US — iii. 76. Hiltmrghausen, prince of, iii. 202. Holland. See United Provinces. Holstein Gottorp, house of, ii. 354. Holy League, the, i. 301 . Hotnonai, general, ii. 169. Horn, general, ii. 287. Hubertsburgh, peace of, iii. 434. Hulzer, burgomaster of Vienna, I. 238. Hungary, contests for the crown of, i. 52, 72, 146; Albert V. elected king, 161; threatened by the Turks, 170; election of Ladislaus Posthumus, 174; election of Corvinus, 236 ; of Ladislaus king of Bohemia, 264 ; invaded by Solyman, 403; insurrection of Botskai, ii. 291; constitution of the country, 364; re- bellion of Tekeli, 441 ; abolition of the elective monarchy, 452 ; rebellion of Hagotsky, 501 ; conclusion of the peace ofZatmar, iii. 78 ; loyalty to Maria The- resa, 270 ; innovations of Joseph, 538. Hunniades — see Corvinus. Huss, John, I. 149, 150. Hussites, i. 149, 154, 157. Hutten. Ulric, his writings, i. 379. Hyndford, lord, iii. 255, 277. Imperial towns, decline of, ii. 391. Innocent XII., ii. 342, 472. Indigencies, origin of, i. 384. Interim, the, i. 463. Isabella, of Spain, i. 281, 338. Isabella, princess of Poland, i. 504, 507. Isabella, daughter of Philip II., i. 242. Italy, extent of the feudal superiority of the emperors in that country, i. 293. Ivan Vassilievitch I., i. 285. Ivan Vassilievitch II., ii. 41. Jacobel of Mies, i. 150. Jagerndorf, duke of, ii. 182. * Jaghellon, duke of Lithuania, i. 131. Jamaica, ceded to England, ii. 378. James I. of England, ii. 173, 186. James II. of England, ii. 418, 429. Janissaries, establishment of, i. 166. Jesuits, their plans for the suppression of protestantism, ii. 69 ; decline of their ascendency, iii. 3. Joachim II., of Brandenburgh, i. 446, 463. Joan, queen of Naples, i. 127. Joanna, daughter of Henry of Castile, i. 338i Joanna, wife of the archduke Philip, i. 336, 4C0. John, son of Frederic of Austria, i. 78, 84. John, son of Henry of Luxemburgh, i. 83, 108. John XXII, pope, i. 94, 199. John, prince of Bohemia, i. 141. John Palaeologus. Greek emperor, i. 164. John I., king of Portugal, i. 283. John II., king of Portugal, i. 284. John V., king of Portugal, iii. 23, 126. John, king of Denmark : unites the three northern kingdoms, i. 285. John Casimir, king of Poland, ii. 347 ; his abdication, 380. John the Constant, of Saxony, i. 426. John George, elector of Saxony, ii. 172, 221, 245, 292. John George II., his character, ii. 386. John Sigismond, king of Hungary, i. 505 —509, ii. 49. John Frederic, of Saxe Gotha, ii. 38. John Casimir, administrator of the palati- nate, ii. 67. John Frederic, elector of Brandenburgh, ii. 78. John, Don. of Austria, natural son of Charles V., i. 488, ii. 60. John, Don, of Austria, natural son of Philip HI., ii. 393, 405. Joseph Ferdinand, of Bavaria, ii. 461, 467. Joseph, father, ii. 215. Joseph I ; chosen king of the Romans, ii. 422 ; crowned king of Hungary, 452 ; his death and character, iii. 79. Joseph II., elected king of the Romans, iii. 435; succeeds te the imperial crown, 438 ; takes the field against the king of Prussia, 461 ; concludes the peace of Fontainbleau, 500; designs against the Turks, 501 ; assists Catherine II., 502; ill success of his arms, lb. ; checked by Prussia and the maritime powers, 523 ; attempts to change the constitution of the Netherlands, 526 ; defeat of his troops, 535 ; discontents in Hungary, 538 ; restores the sacred crown and regalia, ib. ; illness and death, 542. Josepha, daughter of Maria Theresa, iii. 484. Joyous entry, the, iii. 525. Juliers and Berg, succession of, iii. 139. Julius II., pope, i. 343. 349, 356, 365. Julius d 1 1., pope, i. 463 Jurissitz Nicholas, ii. 325. Kagnardji, treaty of, iii. 452. Karoly, an Hungarian magnate, iii. 77. Kaunitz, count, iii. 338, 346, 352, 527. Keith, marshal, iii. 393. Keith, sir Robert, iii. 195, 363. Keller, count, iii. 558. Kepler, patronised by Rhodolph II., ii. 130. Kettler Gothard, grand master of the Teutonic order, ii. 41. King of the Romans, title, i. 24. Kiupruli Achmet, grand vizier, ii. 362, 370. Klesel, bishop of Vienna, ii. 140, 155. Konigseg, marshal, iii. 205, 208. Konigsmark, ii. 318, 325. Ky burgh, dominions of, i. 6, 9. La Hogue, defeat of the French fleet, ii. 423. Lacy, marshal, iii. 395, 412. Ladislaus Loketec, i. 71. Ladislaus Posthumus, crowned king of Hungary, i. 173 ; acknowledged king of Bohemia, 174; disputes with Frederic III., 232; death and character, 187. Ladislaus, king of Poland, ii. 269. Ladislaus, king of Bohemia, i. 264. 288. Landau, reduced by the Germans, ii. 187 ; recovered by the French, 494 ; reduced by the allies, 511. IND Landgrave, antiquity of the title, i. 2. Leda, marquis of, iii. 107. Leipzic, treaty of, iii. 309. Leo X., situation of the papacy on his election, i. 3CG ; sale of indigencies, 384 ; bull of condemnation against Lu- ther, 389 ; opposes the elevation of Charles V., 404. Leopold, son of Albert I., i. 81, 83, 89, 90, 94, 99. Leopold I., son of Albert II., i. 122, 124, 129, 130, 13G. Leopold, son of the former, i. 138, 139, 144, 145. Leopold, archduke, ii. 115, 120, 122. Leopold William, son of Ferdinand II ; ii. 202, 307, 311, 320. Leopold I., emperor, ii. 344; war against Sweden, 357; peace of Oliva, 359; attacked by the Turks, 367 ; victory of St. Gothard, 370 ; war for the palatine succession, 416; agrees to the peace of Kyswick, 432. ; disputes with his Hun- garian subjects, 438; attempts to extir- pate the proti-stant religion, 440; re- bellion of Tekeli, 441 ; attacked by the Turks, 442; assisted by Sobieski, and the (ierman princes, 445 ; successes of his arms, 449; peace of Carlovitz, 457 ; commences war against France, 4N0 ; rebellion of Hagotsky, 501 ; rescued by the victory of Blenheim, 512; re- duces Bavaria, ib. ; death and character, 515. Leopold II., accession of, iii. 538 ; character and conduct, 545 ; chosen emperor,551 ; conciliates the lllyrians, 553 ; disputes with France, 505; death, 579. Leopold, archduke, son of Leopold II. ; iii. 555. Leopold, margrave of Baden, ii. 368. Liehtenstein, prince, iii. 325. Lille, siege of, iii. 43. Lithuania, duchy of, united with Poland, i. 131 ; its separation, 287}; re-united to Poland, ii. 51 Livonia, conquered by the Teutonic knights, ii. 41 ; ceded to Poland, 42. Lubcowitz, prince, iii. 278, 286, 303. Locarno, ceded to the Swiss, i. 365. Longueville, duke of, ii. 307. Loraine, duchy of, ii. 242. Loudon, general, iii. 399, 409, 41 1, 519, 522. Louis the Severe, of Bavaria, i. 19,59. Louis of Bavaria elected emperor, i. 87 ; supports the Ghibelin party, 94 ; de- feated at Burgau, 97 ; shares the impe- rial authority with Frederic, 99; depo- ses the Pope, 100; defeats the king of Bohemia, 108 ; his death, ib. Louis XI. ; his contests with the Swiss, i. 218 ; occupies part of Alsace, ib. Louis, duke of Orleans, afterwards Loin's XII., his contests for the regency, i. 258 ; made prisoner at St. Aubin, ib ; succeeds to the French crown, 315 ; invades the Milanese, 320 ; captures Ludovico Sforza, 323 ; his troops driven from Naples, 335 ; treaty at Blois, 336 ; attacks the Austrian territories, M7 ; league of Cambray, 348 ; defeats the Venetians, ex. 587 3- r )2 ; loss of his power in Italy, 363 ; attacked by the emperor and Henry VIII., 366 ; repulsed by the Swiss, 368 ; death, 369. Louis XIII., ii. 165 ; concludes a treaty with Gustavus Adolphns, 225 ; attacked by the Spaniards and imperialists, 294 ; repulses them, 295; supports the Swedes, 296 ; invades Germany, 306 ; his death 313. Louis XI V. ; his accession, ii. 313 ; state of his dominions, 372 ; character and prin- ciples, 373 ; influence in Germany, 392 ; invades the Netherlands, 394; opposed by England, Holland, and Sweden, 396 ; gains the superiority over the allies, 400 ; truce of BatisLon, 412; compels Leopold 1. to agree to the peace of Kys- wick, 431 ; negotiates with'the Maritime Powers, 465 ; secures the Netherlands, 479; ill success of his arms, 486 ; sends troops into Bavaria, 492 ; reduces Sa- voy and Piedmont, 495; defeat of his army at Blenheim, 509 ; his fortitude and activity, iii. 4 ; rejects the prelimi- naries offered by the allies, 54 ; con- cludes the peace of Utrecht, 93 ; signs the peace of Bastadt, 96 ; his death, 105. Louis XV. ; hisaccession, iii. 105. ; death, 454. Louis XVI. ; accession, iii. 454. ; supports the Empress-queen, 466.; opposes the designs of Joseph, 499; courts the friendship of Joseph, 512. Louis I. of Spain, iii. 133. Louis, margrave of Baden, ii. 454. ; de- feats the Turks at Salankamen, ib. ; reduces Landau, 487. ; operations against the French arid Bavarians, 494. Louisa de Guzman, wife of John of Bra- ganza, ii. 374. Louvois, minister of Louis XI V. ; ii. 412. Lowendahl, captures Bcrgen-up-Zoom, iii. 3-1. Lubetk, treaty of, ii. 204. Lucern, joins the Swiss confederacy, i. 104. Lusatia, transferred to the elector of Saxony, ii. 292. Luther, his birth and character, i. 380, 385, 389, 413, 419, 429, 453. Lutherans, privileges secured by the peace of Westphalia, 334. Luynes, duke of, ii. 165. Luxemberge, marshal, ii. 407, 422. Magdalen Theresa, third wife of Leopold, ii. 520. Magdeburgh, city of, sacked, 231. Mahomet 11. captures Constantinople, i. 182; besieges Belgrade, 183. Mahomet IV. invades Hungary, ii. 367 ; deposed, 453. Maillebois, general, iii. 257, 285. Majesty, title of, i. 405. Majorca; conquered by the British, iii. 23. Mansfeld, count ; checks the progress of the imperialists, iii. 157 ; penetrates into Hungary, 199; death, ib. 588 INDEX. Mantua , reduced under the government of Austria, iii. 21. Margaret Maultasch, i. 105, 107, 119. Margaret, daughter of Maximilian, i. 256; governs the Netherlands, 399. Margaret, daughter of Charles V., i. 483. Margaret, daughter of Maximilian 11., ii. 58. Margaret Theresa, wife of Leopold I., ii. 519. Maria Leopoldina, ii. 348. Maria Eleonora Gonzaga, ii. 348. Maria Antonia, ii. 519. Marianne, wife of Ferdinand III., ii. 348. Marianne, second wife of Charles II. of Spain, ii. 462, 470, 475. Maria Theresa, queen of Philip IV., ii. 398. Maria Theresa, daughter of Charles II. ; her character and reign, iii. 1S9, 192, 241, 245, 266, 269, 270, 278, 305, 309, 322, 325, 328, 343, 360, 3o9, 396, 434, 435, 440, 442, 449,453,469, 473; illness and death, 481. Maria Anne, iii. 297. Maria Antoinetta, iii. 447, 566. Maria Jos<*pha, iii. 81. Maria Amelia, iii. 81. Maria Josepha, iii. 543. Marlborough, duke of ; conducts the war against France, ii. 486 ; reduces Lan- dau, Treves, and Traerbaeh, 511 ; hon- ours conferred on him, 514 ; defeats the French at Hamillies. iii. II; at Oudenarde, 39; reduces Lille, and re- covers Ghent and Bruges, 46; reduces Tuscany, 57 ; assists indefeating Villars at Malplaquet, 59; reduces Mons, Douay, Aire, and St. Venant, 61 — 65. Marlborough, duchess, iii. 90. Marsin, defeated at Blenheim, ii. 511 ; de- feated and killed at Turin, iii. 20. Martin V., pope, i. 163. Martinuzzi, bishop of Waradin, i. 505, 509. Mary, daughter of Louis of Hungary, i. 147. Mary of Burgundy, ii. 57. Mary, wife of Maximilian II., i. 254. Mary Elizabeth, ii. 522. Mary Anne, daughter of Leopold I., ii. 522. Mary Christina, iii. 483. Masham, Mrs., iii. 90. Matthew von Galen, ii. 390. Matthias, archduke and emperor, ii. 95 ; governor of the insurgent Netherlands, 96; "Resign?, ib. ; concludes a peace with Botskai, and a truce with the Turks, 98 ; obtains Austria, Ilungaria, and Moravia, 105; compels Rhodolph to abdicate the throne of Bohemia, 123 ; chosen king, 126 ; elected emperor, 132; death, 159. Maurice of Saxony ; his character, i. 450 ; receives the electoral dignity, 460; re- duces Magdeburg!), 466; killed, 473. Maurice, prince of Orange, ii 61. Maximilian I , son of Frederic 1 1 1., i. 278 ; repels an invasi n of the Turks. 305 ; attempts to secure the crowns of Hun- . gar v and Bohemia, 372; opposes Francis I., 374; concludes a peace, 376; con- duct towards Luther, 387 ; death and character, 392 ; writings, 396. Maximilian II. ; elected king of the Bo- mans, ii. 4 ; his attachment to the pro- testant doctrines, 23 ; chosen king of Poland, 52 ; death, character, and issue, 54-Ji0. Maximilian Ernest of Styria, son of Maxi- milian II., ii. 59 ; governor of Transyl- vania, 89 ; refuses imperial crown, 132. Maximilian, duke of Bavaria, ii. 82; forms the catholic league, 118; defeats the Elector Palatine at Prague, 177 ; his death, 343. Maximilian Emanuel, elector of Bavaria, assists against the Turks, ii. 446 ; his irruption into the Tyrol, 493 : defeated at Blenheim, 509 ; and at Ramillies, iii. 11. Maximilian, son of Maria Theresa, iii. 473. Mazarin, cardinal, ii. 333, 328, 360. Mecklenburgh, dukes of, ii. 204, 244, 333. Mecklenburgh, troubles of, iii. 127, 153. Medici, Lorenzo, his character, i. 295. Medici, Peter, his character, i. 296. Medici, John, pope, i. 366; — see Leo X. Medici, Julian, i. 369. Meinhard, of Tyrol, i. 42. Melancthon, i. 438. Melander, general, ii. 322, 324. Melhor, count, ii. 498. Mercy, general ii. 316, 320. Mercy, count, iii. 108, 169. Michael, waivode of Wallachia ; ii. 89. Milan, acquired by Francis Sforza, i. 226 ; reduced under Austria, iii. 21. Minorca, conquered by the British, iii. 24. Mirabeau, his death, iii. 564. Mirandola, besieged by Julius II., i. 357. Modena, incorporated with the Italian Republic, iii . 173. Mons, reduced by the allies, iii. 60. Montecuculi, defeats the Turks, ii. 369 ; drives Turenne from Germany, 400. Moravia, states of, ii. 100; ceded to Matthias, 105. Morea, ceded to the Venetians, i. 458. Mulheim, disputes relative to, ii. 136. Muncer, founds the anabaptists, i. 427. Munich, marshal, iii. 196, 2S0. Munster, congress and peace of, ii. 329. Naples and Sicily, early history of, i. 22 ; conquered by Charles VIII., 307; re- duced under the Austrian government, 364. Navarre, kingdom of, i. 280. Navigation, its improvement, i. 305. Netherlands — see United Provinces. Netherlands, Austrian or Spanish, oc- cupied by the French, 479 ; recovered by the allies, iii. 12; subjugation of, 560. Neuburgh, prince Palatine of, ii. 113, 137. Neuperg, count, iii. 215, 221, 250. Newcastle, duke of, iii. 162, 308, 433. Nicholas III., pope, i. 44. Nicholas V., pope, i. 224. Nicholas Francis, duke of Loralne, ii. 251. Nimeauen, congress and peace of, ii. 402. Nitard, Father, ii. 393. North, lord, iii. 508. INDEX. 589 Norway, state of, at the accession of Maxi- milian I., i. 284. Noyon, treaty of, i. 375. Nuremberg, diets of, i.424; congress of, ii, 342. , blockade of, 2G0 ; population and riches of, 391. Oldenburgh, house of, i. 285. Oliva, peace of, ii. 359. Olivarez, minister of Philip IV., ii. 312. Olmutz, siege of, iii. 389. Orange, prince of, i 259, 265. Orange, William, prince of, ii. 32, 3G. Orange family, ii. 377, 399. iii. 511. Orcan, Sultan, establishes the Jannis- saries, i. 106. Orleans, Philip, duke of, defeated at Tu- rin, iii. 19 ; regent of France, 105. Ormond, duke of, iii. 93. Oropesa, count, ii. 461, 467. Orsini, princess of, ii. 497. Osnaburgh ; treaty of, ii. 329. Ostend, captured, iii. 12. company, iii. 131. Othman, founds the Turkish dynasty, i. 166. Otho, margrave of Brandenburgh, i. 40, 50. Otho, son of Albert I., contests for a share in the family dominions, i. 101 ; refuses the imperial crown, 103; death, 106. Ottocar, king of Bohemia, his talents and acquisitions, 26 ; killed at Marshtield, 38. Oxenstiern, restores Sweden, 889. Painting, rival of, i. 305. Palatine House, contest for the succession of, ii. 416. Palatine Electorate, contests for, ii. 131. Palatinate, religious revolutions in, ii. 67 ; devastations of, 420. Palatine, count, i. 69. Palatine, elector, iii. 49, 153, 242, 267. Palfry, count, iii. 78. Panin, count, iii. 475, 501. Papal See, its transfer to Avignon, i. 70 j corruptions of, 382. Pappenheim, general, ii. 199, 239. Pardo, act of, iii. 145. Parma and Placentia, contests for the succession of, iii 107. Partition, treaties for the division of the Spanish succession, ii. 466. Passarowitz, peace of, iii. 103. Passau, peace of, i. 470. Paul II., pope, i. 246. Paul III., pope, i. 448, 451, 462. Paul IV., pope, i. 478— ii. 3. Peter III., of Arragon, i. 95. Peter, king of Portugal, ii. 374, 496 ; his accession, iii. 23. Peter I., of Russia, defeated by Charles XII , iii. 8. Peter III. deposed, iii, 429. Peterborough, earl of, iii. 83. Philip, count of Savoy, i. 47. Philip, archbishop of Saltzburgh, i. 32. Philip, son of Maximilian I., espouses Jo- anna, i. 400 ; death and character, 399. Philip II. of Spain, succeeds to the Ne- therlands and Spain, 480 ; grants the sovereignty of the Netherlands, to the archduke Albert and his daughter Isa- bella, 61. Philip 111., assists Ferdinand against the Bohemian insurgents, ii. 174. Philip I V., loses the kingdom of Portugal, ii. 308; negotiations with France and Sweden, 329 ; acknowledges the inde- pendence of Portugal, 374 ; death, 393. Philip of Anjou, appointed to the crown of Spain, ii. 475 ; fails in an attack of Sicily 108 ; claims on the Austrian succession, 253 ; death, 325. Philip, son of Philip V., iii. 296, 313. Philip, of Hesse, i. 426, 444, 460. Philip William, raised to the Palatine Klectorate, ii. 416. Piccolomini, arrests the progress of the French and Swedes in Bavaria, ii. 325. Pisa, council of, i. 361. Pius II., pope, i. 245. Pius IV., pope, ii. 6. Pius V., pope, ii. 45 Pius VI., pope, iii. 492. Placentia. See Parma. Podiebrad, George, raised to the throne, i. 234 ; declares war against Frederic, 247 ; death, 24*. Poland, ii. 59; union with Lithuania, lb. ; progress of the Reformation there, lb. ; account of the dismembered territorv. 451. Polignac, Abbe, iii. 62. Pomerania, duchy of, ii. 333. * Poniatowski, count. See Stanislaus Au- gustus. Portocarrero, cardinal, ii. 461, 474 ; iii. 68. Portugal, rise of the kingdom of, i. 2X3 ; revolution of, ii. 308 ; its independence acknowledged by Spain, 374. Potemkin, prince, defeats Hassan Pasha at Tobac, iii. 522. Pragmatic Sanction, iii. 109, 154. Prague, surprised by Konigsmark. ii. 325 ; taken by the elector of Bavaria, iii. 274 ; by the king of Frussia, 301. Presburgh, confederation there, ii. 100. Primogeniture, liw of, ii. 301. Princes, college of, ii. 383, 425. Printing, invention of, i. 303 ; contests for the discovery, ib. Procopius, Rasa, heads the Taborites, i. 155. Protestants, rise of, in Germany, i. 417 ; protest at the diet of Spire, 434 ; con- fession of Augsburgh, 438 ; schism into Lutherans and Calvinists, ii. 8; con- federations of Frankfort and Heidel- berg, 79; advantages secured to them by the peace of Westphalia, 334. Protestants of France, persecuted by Louis XIV., ii. 414. Prussia, Eastern, secularised by Albert of Brandenburgh, i. 427. Prussia, ducal, liberated from Poland, ii. 355. Prussian dominions, state of, at the acces- sion of Frederic II., iii. 237. Pyrenees, peace of, ii. 361. Quadruple Alliance, iii. 10P o90 INDEX. Ragotsky, George, chosen prince of Tran- sylvania, ii. 317 ; death, 363. Ragotsky, Francis, conspires against Leo- pold I., ii. 438 ; his death, 442. Francis, raises a rebellion, ii. 501 ; his subsequent life and death, 78. Ramee, general, ii. 122. Ratisbon, truce of, ii. 412. Realp, marquis, iii. 117. Reformation, origin of, i. 383 ; See Pro- testants, Lutherans, and Calvinists. Regency, council of r i. 324, 407, 442. Regensberg Luchtold, baron of, i. 11, 13. Reggio, raised to a duchy, i. 297. Reva, Peter of,i. 499. Rhine, league of the, ii. 353. Rhodolph I., count of Hapsburgh. I. 3. Rhodolph of Hapsburgh ; his birth and inheritance, i. 5; chosen king of the Romans, 16 ; confers Austria, Styria, and Carniola, on his son Albert, and Ca- rinthia on Meinhard of Tyrol, 42 ; decline, death, and character, 53; wives and oflspring, 58. Rhodolph, son of the emperor Albert I., chosen king of Bohemia, i. 73. Rhodolph, son of Albert 11., administrator of the Suabian dominions, i. 116; his character, 118; death, 122. Rhodolph, count of Bergdorf and Thun, i. 132. Rhodolph II., crowned king of Hungary and Bohemia, and elected king of the Romans, ii. 51 ; attempts to check the progress of the Protestant doctrines, 65 ; compelled to cede Hungary, Austria, and Moravia, 105 ; and to abdicate the throne of Bohemia, 123 ; attempts to conciliate the Protestants, 127; death and cha- racter, 129. Rhodolphin tables, ii. 130. Richelieu, cardinal, ii. 192, 215, 221, 270, 289. 293, 306, 313. Ripperda, baron, iii. 133, 142. Robert, elector Palatine, i. 145. Robert, son of the Elector Palatine, i. 331,333. Robinson, Mr., British minister at the court of Vienna, iii. 255; 316. Rockingham, lord, iii. 509. Rohan, duke of, ii. 293, 304. Roman months, iii. 113. Romanzof, Russian general, iii. 452. Roskild, peace of, ii. 356. Rouille, president, id. 51. Royal edict, the, ii. 110. Rupert, prince, ii. 304. Russia, rise of, i. 285; see Catherine II. Ryswick, peace of, ii. 433. Sacramentarians, the, i. 441. Saphorin, St., British envoy at Vienna, iii. 149. Savoy, house of, its origin, i. 47; claims to the kingdom of Cyprus, 295. Sardinia, invaded by the Spaniards, iii. 108. Saxe, marshal, iii. 298, 310; battle of Fontenoy, 311 ; battle of Lafteld, 333. Saxony, contests for the electoral vote of, i. 87 ; religious changes in, ii. 69. Saxony, elector of, iii. 154. Schaumburgh, counts of, ii. 192. Scheldt, disputes relative to, iii. 498. Schinner, cardinal, i. 355. Schism in the church, account of, i. 149. Schmettau, general, iii. 215. Schwartz, invents gunpowder, i. 302. Schweidnitz, sieges of, iii. 384, 389, 431. Schweirz, Uri, and Underwalden, lay the foundation of the Swiss confederacy, i. 3. — See Switzerland and Swiss. Schwerin, marshal, iii. 276, 370, 375. Scotland, state of, at the accession of Maximilian I., i. 281. Seckendorf, general, iii. 197, 203, 285, 299. Seissan, a protestant refugee, iii. 66. Selim, sultan, his conquests, i. 493 ; his accession, iii. 521. Sempach, battle of, i. 136. Senhs, treaty of, i. 270. Seville, alliance of, iii. 147. Sforza, Francis, account of, i. 226. Sforza, John Galeas, i. 294, 306. Sforza, Ludovico, regent of Milan, i. 294 ; leagues against Charles VIII., 309; expelled from his duchy, 321 ; recovers his dominions, 322 ; made prisoner, 323. Sforza, Maximilian, duke of Milan, i. 365, 371. Sicilian Vespers, massacre of, i. 95. Sicily, island of, assigned to Victor Ama- deus of Savoy, iii. 94 ; ceded to Charles VI., 108. Sigismond, elevated to the thrones of Hun- gary and Bohemia, i. 147; endeavours to gain possession of the Tyrol, 199. Sigismond of Tyrol, i. 203 ; dismember- ment of his dominions, 205; obtains a part of the Austrian territories, 233 ; death, 280. Sigismond, king of Poland, succeeds to the crown of Sweden, ii. 219; deposed, ib. ; his death, 276. Silesia, ceded to Prussia, iii. 278. Sinzendorf, count, iii. 52, 115, 146. Smalkalde, league of, 1. 443. Sobieski, John, defeats the Turks, and relieves Vienna, ii. 446. Soissons, congress of, iii. 145. Soleure, joins the Helvetic confederacy, i. 290. Soltikof, general, gains the battle of Cu- nersdorf. iii. 400. Solyman II.. invades Hungary, i. 494 ; besieges Vienna, 499 ; his death, ib. Solyman, defeated at Zenta, ii. 455 ; con- cludes the peace of Carlovitz, 457. Soubise, prince of, defeated at Rosbach, iii. 383. Souche, general, ii. 357, 363, 369. Spain, transferred to the house of Austria, i. 373 ; transferred to the house of Bour- bon, 477 ; joins France in the Seven Years' war, iii. 425 ; its losses, 432. Spinola, general, ii. 138, 183. Spire, diet of, i. 429. Stainville, ambassador at Vienna, iii. 398. Stair, lord, iii. 290, 292. Stanhope, general, iii. 69, 72, 97. Stanislaus Letzinski, raised to the crown of Poland, iii. 120 ; renounces the crown, 192. IND] Stanislaus Augustus, elected king of Po- I land, iii. 442 ; opposes the partitioning powers, 450. Staremberg, Rudiger, defends Vienna against the Turks, ii. 445. Staremberg, general, ii. 495 iii. 48, 69, 72. Staremberg, count Gundaker, iii. 118, 135, m. Stephen, St., crown of, i. 174 ; restored to the Hungarians by Joseph II., iii. 539. Stephen, of Bavaria, i. 122. Stralsund, siege of, ii. 203. Strickland, bishop of Namur, iii. 181. Sture Steno, administrator of Sweden, i. 285. Styria, its early history, i. 27 ; acquired by the house of Austria, 42. Suabia, cities of, unite against Leopold of Austria, i. 133 ; league of, 272. Superga, height of, iii. 18. Suvarof, assists in defeating the Turks at Fotzani and Himnik, iii 521. Sweden, contests before the accession of Gustavus Adolphus, ii. 218 ; state of, on the death of Gustavus Adolphus, 269 ; | regains its ascendency in Germany, 314 ; commencement of the Seven Years' war, iii. 372. Swendy, Austrian general, ii. 47. Swiss, defeat the Austrians at Morgarten, i. 90 ; accession of Lucern, Zurich, Gla- rus, and Zug to their confederacy, 110 ; increase of their union, 290 ; defeat the Austrians at Dornach, 318 ; invade France, 368 ; defeated at Marignano, 371 ; religious war, 453. Switzerland, state of, at the accession of Albert I., i. 76 ; at the accession of Maximilian I., 290; commencement of the Reformation, 431 ; after the peace of the Pyrenees, ii. 376. Szistova, eongress and peace of, iii. . r >!9. Tabor, mount, i. 153, 157. Taborites — see Hussites. Tallard, marshal, ii. 494, 508; defeated and captured at Blenheim, 510. Tamerlane, his origin and rise, i.168; defeats Bajazet, 169; his death, ib. Tekeli, Kmerio, ii. 441, 443, 449. Teschen, peace of, iii. 469. Teschen, principality of, iii. 483. Tesse, marshal, ii. 496 ; iii. 50. Tetzel, the distributor of papal indul- gences, i. 385. Teutonic knights, i. 287. Thugut, baron, iii. 456. Thurn, Henry, count of, general of the Protestant confederacy, ii. 110 ; defeats the imperialists, 156 ; prisoner at Ratis- bon, 286 ; subsequent obscurity, ib. Ticho Brahe, ii. 94, 130. Tile Kolup, an impostor, i. 49. Tillv, general of the Catholic league, ii. 175 ; defeats the Elector Palatine, 177 ; dissipates the combination of the Pro- testants, 194 ; commands against Gus- tavus Adolphus, 227 ; killed, 250. Tockenburgh. war of, i. 203. Torcy, marquis, iii. 53. Torstenson, invades Bohemia, IK 311; expelled by the archduke Leopold, 320. ;x. 591 Toulon, expedition against, iii. 27. Tournay, reduced by the allies, iii. 57. Tourville, defeated off La Hogue, ii. 423. Townshend, lord, iii. 52. Transylvania, account of, i. 504 ; ceded to Rhodolph II., ii. 89 ; contests for its possession, ib. ; resigned to Austria, 459 ; rebellion under Ragotsky, 503. Traun, marshal, iii. 295. Trautmansdorf, count, iii. 529, 532, 535. Trent, treaty of, i. 327. Trent, council of, i. 4.02 ; removed to Bo- logna, 462; dissolved, ii. 10. Trevfgiano, ceded to Leopold duke of Austria, i. 130 ; yielded to Francis of Carrara, ib. Trieste, acquired by Leopold duke of Aus- tria, i. 130 ; declared a free port, iii. 495. Triple Alliance, the, ii. 396. Trivulzio, general, i. 320, 360. Trocznow — see Ziska. Truchses Gerard, count of. ii. 72, 74. Turenne, general, ii. 320, 324. Turks, origin and progress of, i. 165 ; capture Constantinople, 182 ; invade Naples, 288; invade Hungary, ii. 367 ; invade the Austrian territories, 445 ; de- clare war against the Venetians, iii. 100 ; war with Russia and Austria, 197 ; besiege Belgrade, 213; peace of Kag- nardji, 452 ; yield the Crimea and Ku- bau to Russia, 503 ; declare war against Russia, 515 ; the peace of Szistova, 549. Tuscany, contests for the succession, iii. 106 ; mtailed on Don Carlos, 147 ; trans- ferred to Francis of Loraine, 191. Tyrol, contests for the possession of, i. 106 ; transferred to Austria, 119. Tyrol line of the Austrian family, i. 188. Tzekeli, Moses, ii. 90. Vander Noot, of Brussels, iii. 533, 557. Van Eupen, canon of Antwerp, iii. 533, 560. Vander Mersch, commands the insur- gents in the Netherlands, iii. 534, 557. Vander Spiegel, pensionary, iii. 558. Vassalage, abolished in the Austrian ter- ritories, iii. 493. Vauban, his skill as an engineer, ii. 413. Vendome, defeated at Oudenard, iii. 41 ; captures the British at Brihuega, 71. Venice, origin of, i. 125; invasion of its dominions by Louis of Hungary, 127; unites with Leopold against the Turks, ii. 101 ; acquires the Morea, 106. Vergennes, count de, iii. 454, 476, 512. Verrua, siege of, iii. 14. Versailles, treaty of, iii. 510. Victor Amadeus, duke of Savoy, ii. 421 ; death, iii. 157. Vienna, sieges of, i. 499, ii. 163, 445; peace of, iii. 99. Villars, marshal, commands the army to oppose Marlborough, iii. 4 ; de- feated at Malplaquet, 59 ; signs the preliminaries of peace at Rastadt, 96. Villeneuve, French minister at the Porte, iii. 216. Villeroy, defeated at Chiari, ii. 483 ; de- feated at Ramillies, iii. 11. 592 INDEX. Visconti, Matthew, i. 95. Visconti Galea.?, i. 95. Visconti John Galeas, i. 141. Uhlfleld, count, iii. 334.J Uladislaus, king of Poland, i. 1G2 ; crowned king of Hungary, i. 174 ; killed at Warna, 176. Ulric, duke of Carinthia and Carniola. i. 29. Ulric, duke of Wirtemberg, ii. 68. Underwalden ; see Schweitz. Underwalders ; defeat the Austrians after the battle of Morgarten, i. 91. United Provinces; independent, ii. 59; obtain possession of Juliers and Cleves, 137 ; unite with France in the Thirty Years' war, 293 ; attacked by France and England, 398 ; restoration of the House of Orange, 399 ; peace of Rys- wick, 429 ; the Barrier Treaty, iii. 96 ; conclude a neutrality with France, 177 ; peace of Fontainbleau, 500 ; restoration of the prince of Orange, 512. Urfort, count, iii. 567. Uri ; see Schweitz. Ursel, duke of, Iii. 557. Uscocks. history of, ii. 86. Uthysenitch ; see Martinuzzi. Utrecht, congress of, iii. 91 ; peace of, 95. Waldegrave, lord, British minister at Vienna, iii. 149. Waldstein ; his life and character, ii. 195; assassination, 281. Wallis, count, iii. 210, 217, 222. Walpole, Sir Robert, iii. 160, 176, 279. Walpole, Horatio, iii. 85. Walter of Plettenberg, ii. 41. War, art of ; change by gunpowder, i. 302. Waradin, treaty of, i. 504. Wasner, baron, iii. 345. Wassanacr, admiral, ii. 357. Webber, referendary of the council of war, iii. 204. Welseren, Philippa, wife of Ferdinand of Tyrol, ii. 17. Wenceslaus, succeeds to the throne, i. 40 ; t obtains the~crown of Poland, 70. Wenceslaus, "son of Wenceslaus, chosen king of Hungary, i. 71 ; succeeds to Bohemia, 72 ; assassination, lb. Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia, deprived of the imperial crown, 148. Werner, bishop of Strasburgh, i. 2. Werner of Eppenstein, i. 18. Wert, John de, ii. 295, 323. Westphalia, secret tribunals of, i. 163 ; peace of, i. 328. Wilhelmina Amelia, iii. 81. William, son of Leopold of Austria, ex- torts the dominions held by his father, i. 142 ; his death, 144. William, landgrave of Hesse, ii. 233, 235, 303 ; his acquisitions by the peace of Westphalia, 334. William, prince of Orange, ii. 399 ; his exertions to repel the invasion of Louis XIV., ib. ; obtains the throne of Eng- land, 419; opposes the French in the Low Countries, 423 : concludes the peace of Ryswick, 429 ; death, 485. Winkelried, Arnold of, j. 135. Witts, de, exclude the House of Orange, ii. 377 ; assassinated, 399. Worms, diet of, i. 415 ; treaty of, iii. 296. Wrangel, general, ii. 321, 324. Wunsch, general, iii. 404. Ximcnes, cardinal, i. 403. Yuiza ; conquered by the allies, iii. 24. Yusulph, pasha, iii. 518, 521. Zapoli, John, contests the crown of Hun- gary, i. 496 ; obtains the waivodeship of Transylvania, 504 ; his death, ib. Zatmar, peace of, iii. 78. Zigeth, siege of, ii. 47. Zips, lordship of, iii. 448. Ziska, or John of Trocsnow ; heads the Hussites, i. 150. Zuingle, introduces the Reformation in Switzerland, i. 431 ; killed at Cappel, 453. Zurich, besieged bv Albert duke of Aus- tria, 112 ; war with the other states, 202. Zrini, count, ii. 47. Zrini, count, ban of Croatia, ii. 368. Zrini, count Peter, ii. 438. THE END. London : SroTTiswooriE and Shaw, New-street-Square. GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE