, . . ■ . 0^ ^b V ^ CT "V cV «V AUSTRIA K. Koller,] THE EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH. [Budapest. THE STORY OF THE NATIONS AUSTRIA A SIDNEY WHITMAN AUTHOR OF IMPERIAL GERMANY,' 'THE REALM OF THE HABSBURGS," ETC. WITH THE COLLABORATION OF J. R. McILRAITH NEW YORK G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS LONDON : T. FISHER UNWIN 1901 "5> x v Entered at Stationers' Hall, London By T. FISHER UNWIN *r .«r- Ube IKnicfcerbocfcer press, mew ltforft PREFACE ACCORDING to the plan followed by the publishers of this eminently instructive series, the " Story of Austria " is restricted to the record of that particular portion of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire which from time immemorial has, to a great extent, been German in race and character ; and thus forms a product and part of German history and civilisation. Austria is to-day joined to the German Empire only by bonds of friendly alliance, but its " Story," bound up as it is with the history of the great ruling dynasty of Habsburg from which have sprung sovereigns for so long a series, overlaps a wide and heterogeneous his- torical area. In view of the shifting political configura- tion of the subject, the writer has regarded the " Story of Austria " as in the main the story of the dominant House, with its centre of interest based upon the events of those particular provinces of the Austrian Empire which (with Bohemia) now compose the Cisleithanic Empire, and which at all times have formed the home provinces of Habsburg Austria. It is these provinces which in the present day form Vlll PREFACE the south-eastward wedge of Teuton blood and civili- sation against the extension of which the Slavonic Bohemian and the Magyar Hungarian are waging a passive but determined opposition. Thus, from the point of view of the politician, Austria Proper presents in our time one of the most interesting fields for studying those endless problems of race and nationality which confront modern men more or less all over the world : the struggle of the survival of the fittest or strongest. 1 This by way of reflection on the present. The past speaks for itself in the following pages. In dealing with my theme I had two alternatives before me — either to treat of the principal historical events in proportion to their relative importance, or to give a succinct but unbroken record of the history of Austria as connected with the Imperial House. The former would have been a far more grateful task. On the other hand, the partly didactic character of this series and the almost incredible fact that no consecutive history of Austria such as this is exists in any language led me to forego the idea. Those who may desire to inform themselves more fully on such epoch-making phases of Austrian history as the struggle between Catholicism and Protestantism or the Seven Years' War, I would refer to existing works of a more special character, of which the number is legion. 1 For more detailed treatment of these features of political Austria I venture to refer the reader to my earlier work, "The Realm of the Habsburgs." London : W. Heinemann. Leipzig : Tauchnitz Edition of British Authors. PREFACE IX It will be observed that in the spelling of place names in general the local custom has been followed, but the better known localities have been indicated by the English equivalents. I am indebted to the authorities of the Imperial Hofbibliothek of Vienna, who have kindly granted me an unprecedented privilege by allowing me to select a number of beautiful illustrations from the late Archduke Rudolfs monumental work, " Die Ocstcrrcicliisch-Ungarischc Monarchic in Wort und Bild" for reproduction in the present volume. SIDNEY WHITMAN. CONTENTS T. The Empire at the Present Day PAGE 1-15 Diverse Races — Austrian Scenery— Lakes and Rivers — Roads and Railways — Parliamentary Institutions — Law Courts. II. Early Inhabitants 16-24 The Cimbri and Teutones — The Martomanni — The Romans in Austria. Ill From the Appearance of the Goths to the Reign of Charlemagne . 2 5~44 Incursions by Attila — Alboin — Attacks by the Avars — Bavaria and the Tyrol — Virgilius — Siege of Pavia — Sub- mission of the Avars. IV. From the Reign of Charlemagne to the Death of Henry II. of Saxony .... 45-55 Death of Charlemagne — Trouble with Moravia — Louis the Child— Otto the Great— The Eastern March. Xil CONTENTS V. PAGE The Franconian and Hohenstaufen Dynasties 56-68 Invasion of Bohemia— End of the Franconian Dynasty- Vienna rising into Importance — Battle of Lodenitz — Death of Frederick the Warlike— The Great Interregnum. VI. Rudolph of Habsburg 69-82 Ruldoph made King of the Romans — Rudolph at Vienna — Extension of Rudolph's Power — Trouble with Bohemia — Rudolph's Character. VII. From the Accession of Albrecht I. to the Death of Albrecht II 8 3~97 Acquisition of Bohemia— Death of Albrecht I.— Trouble with Bavaria — Battle of Morgarten — Margaret Maultasch— Death of Albrecht II. VIII. From Rudolph IV. to Ladislaus Posthumus 98-1 ti Re-acquisition of the Tyrol — Invasion of Italy — Defeat at Sempach — John Huss — War with the Hussites — John Hunyadi — Death of Ladislaus Posthumus. IX. The Tyrolese and Styrian Lines . 11 2-1 23 Frederick and Pope John — Death of Sigismund — Victories of the Swiss — Matthias Corvinus — Invasions of the Turks — Frederick's Ambition. X. Maximilian I. — The Reformation . . 124-136 Affairs in Flanders — Peace of Trent — League of Cambray — Martin Luther — Maximilian's Character. CONTENTS Xlli XI. PACK Charles V. — The Reformation . . . 137-148 Progress of the Reformation — Peasant Revolts — Convention of Nurnberg — Battle of Luchau — Transfer of the Netherlands. XII. Ferdinand I. and Maximilian II. — Union with Hungary ...... 149-160 The Bloody Diet — Ecclesiastical Reforms — Maximilian's Policy — Attacks by the Turks — Death of Maximilian. XIII. Rudolph II. and Matthias — Attack upon Protestantism ..... 1 61-174 Invasion by Mahomet — Affairs in Bohemia— Confirmation of Protestant Privileges — Deposition of Rudolph — Rebellion in Bohemia. XIV. Ferdinand II. and Ferdinand III. — The Thirty Years' War 1 75 _I 93 Successes by Tilly — Gustavus Adolphus — Battle of Liitzen — Peace of Heilbronn — Death of the Archduke Ferdinand. XV. Leopold I. (the Great) and Joseph I.— The War of the Spanish Succession . . . 194-2 11 League of the Rhine — Peace of Nijmegen — War with France —John Sobieski -Peace of Carlovitz— Marlborough's Cam- paigns—Pacification of Hungary — Accession of Charles VI. XIV CONTENTS XVI. PAGE Charles VI. — Attacks by the Turks . 212-226 Peace of Utrecht — Prince Eugene and the Turks — The Pragmatic Sanction — Peace with European Powers — The Polish Succession — Maria Theresia's Marriage — Siege of Belgrade. XVII. Maria Theresia. — Rise of Prussian Power 227-240 War with Prussia — Cession of Lower Silesia — Withdrawal of the French— Battle of Dettingen. XVIII. Maria Theresia {continued). — The Seven Years' War ....... 241- 260 Battle of Lobositz — Prussian Successes — Battle of Torgau — Conclusion of Peace — The Bavarian Succession. XIX. Joseph II. and Leopold II. — Loss of the Netherlands ...... 261-278 Difficulties with the Netherlands — Successes over the Turks — Death of Joseph — Internal Reforms — Invasion of Belgium. XX. 'rancis II. (I. of Austria). — The French Revolution ...... 279-292 The French Revolution — Partition of Poland — War with the French— Napoleon Buonaparte — Peace of Campio Formio — Marengo and Hohenlinden. CONTEXTS XV XXI. PAGE Francis II. (/. of Austria — continued). —Austria made an Empire ..... 293-307 Combination against P'rance — Battle of Austerlitz — Peace of Tilsit — Andreas Hofer — Birth of Napoleon's Heir. XXII. Francis I., Emperor of Austria {continued). — Rivalry with Prussia .... 308-324 War Renewed with France — Abdication of Murat — Austrian Emperor and Germany — Affairs in Italy — Neapolitan Revolt — Hungarian Grievances — Troubles in Italy — Death of Francis. XXIII. Ferdinand I. (of Austria) — Internal Troubles and Insurrections ..... 325-340 Occupation of Cracow — Outbreak in Hungary — Insurrection in Italy — Successes of the Italians — Agitation in Hungary Kossuth. XXIV. Francis Joseph. — The Liberation of Italy 341-353 Hungary declared Independent — Aggression of Prussia — The Danube made Free — Battle of Magenta — Political Reforms — Concessions to Hungary. XXV. Francis Joseph {continued). — War with Prus- sia 354-3 62 Schleswig-Holstein Question — Prussian Alliance with Italy — Battle of Koniggratz— Attitude of France. XVI CONTENTS XXVI. PAGE Francis Joseph (continued). — Recent Events 363-381 War between Prussia and France— Agitation in Bohemia — Change of Ministry — Parliamentary Measures — Congress of Berlin— Menace on part of Russia — Growth of Anarchism — Assassination of the Empress. XXVII. Austrian Literature, Science, and Art . 382-402 Lyric Poetry — Germanic Literary Influence — Later Austrian Poetry — Science in Austria — Physics and History — Mines and Minerals — Architecture. Index 4°3 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS THE EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH . . Frontispiece PAGE SALZBURG 9 AUSTRIANS OF THE BRONZE AGE . . . -17 GERMAN RACE IN AUSTRIA 27 AUSTRIANS AT BEGINNING OF CHRISTIAN ERA . . 39 SEAT OF THE HABSBURGS ON THE AAR . . -7* SEAL OF ALBRECHT 1 85 LANCEMEN OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY . . 131 MEDAL WITH PORTRAITS OF CHARLES V. AND FERDINAND 1 140 MAXIMILIAN II. 156 VIENNA IN FIRST HALF OF SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 1 63 FERDINAND II. 1 77 ALBRECHT VON WALLENSTEIN l8l TILLY 185 xvii XV111 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS HOROSCOPE OF WALLENSTEIN . FERDINAND III. ..... MEDAL OF THE HOLY LEAGUE OF 1 684 . AUSTRIAN INFANTRY (1704-1710) . MARIA THERESIA ..... FRANCIS I. ..... COUNT WENZEL ANTON VON KAUNITZ AUSTRIAN GENERAL AND OFFICER FIELD-MARSHAL LACY .... HANDWRITING OF MARIA THERESIA . JOSEPH II. ..... THE EMPEROR JOSEPH MONUMENT AT VIENNA AUSTRIAN HUSSAR AND INFANTRYMAN COUNT JOHANN PHILIP STADION THE LION OF ASPERN .... CASTLE OF SCHONBRUNN JEWELS BELONGING TO HOUSE OF AUSTRIA INNSBRUCK ...... FREIHERR GERARD VON SWIETEN SCHUBERT MOZART AUSTRIA THE EMPIRE AT THE PRESENT DAY OUR term " Austria " is a somewhat corrupt Italian- ised form of the native Oesterreich, which, literally translated, means " The Eastern Kingdom." The country came to be so called, because the archduchy of Austria, the nucleus around which the now exist- ing Empire subsequently developed, had that position with respect to the rest of Germany. The present official designation, however, of what is known to us as the Austrian-Hungarian Empire is the Oesterrei- chisch- Ungarische Monarchic Taking the Empire as a whole, it must be described as of the most extensive character. Next to Russia, it is the largest state in respect of superficial area in Europe. Its frontier line has a grand total length of 5,396 miles, and including the occupied lands of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which "may fairly be con- sidered as part of the Empire, it has a complete area of about 264,204 square miles. The Austrian-Hungarian territories may be classi- fied in three divisions : first, the lands of the Austrian 2 * 2 THE EMPIRE AT THE PRESENT DAY Crown, or Cisleithan T lands (115,903 square miles) ; second, the lands of the Hungarian crown, or Trans- leithan lands (125,039 square miles); and, third, the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina occupied and administered under the Treaty of Berlin of 1878 (23,262 square miles). The Cisleithan lands include : Bohemia (in the north-west) ; Austrian Silesia, and Moravia (east of Bohemia) ; Upper and Lower Austria (south of Bohemia and Moravia) ; Salzburg, Styria and Carinthia (south of the Austrias) ; the Tyrol and Vorarlberg (west of Salzburg and Carinthia) ; Carniola and the Coast Land (south of Carinthia); Dalmatia (along the Adriatic); and Galicia and Bukowina (to the north-east of Hungary and bordering on the Russian Empire). The Transleithan lands include Hungary (east of the Austrias and Styria), Transylvania, Croatia, Slavonia, and Fiume (south of Hungary and Carniola). Lastly, Bosnia and Herzegovina are situated south of Slavonia and Croatia and to the east of Dalmatia. The Empire thus comprised is bounded, on the north, by the kingdom of Saxony and Prussian Silesia, Russian Poland, and Volhynia ; on the east, by the Russian provinces of Podolia and Bessarabia, and Rumania ; on the south, by Rumania, Servia, Turkey, the Adriatic, and Italy ; and on the west, by Switzerland and Bavaria. With the exception of the north-east frontier, the boundaries are of a strong 1 The Leitha is a tributary of the Danube, flowing northwards, but it only marks the boundary between the Austrian and the Hungarian lands for quite a short distance. DIVERSE RACES 3 natural character, and, as a whole, the Empire forms a fairly compact mass. The population, though inferior in density to those of Great Britain and France, reached in 1895 a grand total of 44,448,474 souls. The inhabitants of the Cisleithan lands number nearly twenty-five millions, those of the Transleithan lands over eighteen millions, and those of Bosnia and Herzegovina about one and a half millions. This population is of the most diverse description ; in fact, next to the Russian Empire, the Austrian- Hungarian dominions contain a greater variety of peoples than any other country in Europe. Fully one half of the entire population is of Slavonian extraction ; then there are nearly eleven millions of Germans, seven and a half millions of Magyars, and three millions of Rumanians ; to whom must be added about two millions of Jews and two hundred thousand foreign residents, chiefly Germans and Italians, but including also nearly four thousand British and American subjects. The distribution of these various elements over the Empire is very important from a political point of view. They are very different, one from the other, in respect of manners, language, religion, and customs, have opposing interests and independent systems of government, and are practically foreign to one another except for the community of the Imperial control. The resulting phenomenon is physical weakness as a whole, together with a difficulty to combine as one nation when threatened by foreign Powers. Slavs are found all over the Empire, and include Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Ruthenes, Slovenes, Croatians, 4 THE EMPIRE AT THE PRESENT DAY Servians, and Bulgarians. The Czechs and Slovaks occupy the greater part of Hungary, Bohemia, and Moravia, and parts of Galicia and Bukowina ; the Poles and Ruthenes form the bulk of the population in Galicia ; and Slovenes, Croatians, Servians, and Bulgarians are found in considerable numbers in Croatia, Dalmatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Tran- sylvania. The German element again prevails in parts of Bohemia and Moravia, Silesia, Upper and Lower Austria, part of Styria, Carinthia, Salzburg, part of the Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and parts of Hungary, Transylvania, Bukowina, and Galicia. The Magyars form the bulk of the population of Hungary and, its southern portion, Transylvania. And lastly, with reference to the Rumanian element, we find Italians in the Tyrol and Coast Land, Rhaeto-Romanes, Friules and Ladmes in Carniola, the Coast Land, the Tyrol, and Carinthia ; and Rumanians (or Wallachians) in Transylvania. In truth, a multitude of tribes ! Besides being notable from an ethnographic point of view, the Austrian -Hungarian Empire is exceed- ingly interesting in its physical features. About one- fourth of its territories might be described as High- land or Alpine, but even in the most mountainous districts there are so many fruitful valleys that only about a tenth part remains uncultivated. Every kind of soil is to be found, and the Austrian provinces are on the average as fertile as those of England or France. They are well watered, too, by the Danube and its tributaries, and, though they occupy so central a position in Europe, there is ready access by water to the outside world both over the former river and AUSTRIAN SCENERY 5 the Elbe, and also from the ports on the Adriatic. The general result is that, for variety of scenery, this Empire is unsurpassed, some parts, such as Salzburg and its neighbourhood, being simply enchanting. A well-known writer has remarked : " The variety of the scenery, the verdure of the meadows and trees, the depth of the valleys and the altitudes of the moun- tains, the clearness and grandeur of the rivers and lakes give it (Austria), I think, a decided superiority over Switzerland." Austria is undoubtedly a beautiful country. Fore- most among its beauties stand its mountains and rocks ; indeed, the motto which is to be read on the bust of Sigismund von Schrattenbach at the Monchs- berg of Salzburg, " Te saxa loquuntur" might well be applied to Austria as a whole. We have sublimely the grand in the snow-clad chain of the Salzburg and Styrian Alps, the picturesque in the weird dolomite columns of the Tyrol, and the beautiful in the valleys and dales with which the heights are interspersed. All degrees of temperature, too, can be experienced, from the icy cold of Greenland to the mild balmy air of Italy, and it must be his own fault if the inhabitant does not find the locality there to suit his con- stitutional predilections. The man who is fond of life can indulge in the gayest of experiences in Austria's beautiful capital Vienna, with its archi- tectural splendour, its " Prater," its islands, and its charming environs ; whilst one of a more romantic turn can enjoy himself amid glaciers like those of the Grossglockner, passes like that of Lueg, lakes like the Hallstattersee, valleys like those of the Tyrol and 6 THE EMPIRE AT THE PRESENT DAY the Danube, subterranean wonders like the cave of Adelsberg, or ancient remains like those of the Romans at Pola and Spalato, or of the feudal period at Riegersburg. On leaving scenes like these, one cannot help recalling to mind those lines of our poet Campbell — " Adieu, the woods and water's side, Imperial Danube's rich domain ! Adieu the grotto, wild and wide, The rocks abrupt, and grassy plain ! " The Austrian Alps are so extensive that to specify- all their ramifications would be a fruitless task. Proceeding northwards, however, the chief summits are : the Orteler Spitze (the loftiest of all, being 12,814 feet), Konigspitze, Stilfser and Wormser Joch in the Rhaetian Alps, Monte Antelao, Oetzthaler Waldspitz, Weisskugel, Sollstein, Grossglockner, Venediger, Wiesbachhorn, Schneeberg, Dachstein, Thorstein, and Burkenkogel. Of a lesser height are the several mountain ranges of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, chief among which are the Bohmerwald (Kubani), the Fichtelgebirge, the Erzgebirge (Keilberg), the Riesengebirge and the Sudetes, none of which reach the snow line. Lastly, we have the Carpathians, starting about Pressburg on the Danube, making a gigantic curve round Hungary and Transylvania, and terminating near Orsova on the Lower Danube. The chief summits of this last range are Babia Gora, the Lomnitzer Spitze, Tatra, Pietrozza, Kuhhorn, and Negri. The population of these mountain heights is naturally sparse, but they abound in chamois, eagles, blackgame, &c. LAKES AND RIVERS J The plains of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire are very extensive, covering nearly one-fifth of the whole superficies. The principal are the Great Hungarian Plain (1,700 square miles) ; the Little Hungarian Plain (160 square miles) ; the Plain of Lower Austria, on either side of the Danube; the Welser Heath, in Upper Austria ; the Klagenfurter Plain, in Carinthia ; and the Galician Plain. The chief river is the Danube, flowing from the west towards the south-east. It has many tributaries, several of them navigable. Then there is the Dniester, which rises in the Carpathians and runs for a considerable part of its course through Austrian territory, the Weichsel, the Wisloka, the Sau, the Bug, the Oder, the Elbe (with several tributaries), the Po, and the Etsch. There are also numerous lakes, though mostly of small size. We may mention the Platten, Neu- siedler, Zirknitzer, Mond, Traun, Atter, Hallstatter, Zeller, Waller, W T 6rthwaters, and also the Bodensee, the Weissensee, and the Ossiakh See. The Konigsee, with its water of deepest blue, almost black in the shadows of the forest-clad hills around, though just across the border, is a favourite excursion from Salzburg, and the other lakes mentioned partake largely of the same characteristics. Noteworthy are the mineral springs and mineral products of Austria, and the student of geology can find no happier hunting-ground. The tertiary forma- tion prevails, crystalline and unstratified rocks being chiefly met with in the west, and alluvial and igneous rocks in the east. A large part of Hungary must, 8 THE EMPIRE AT THE PRESENT DAY undoubtedly, have been formed under water, as the quantities of fossil sea shells testify. The chalk of the Carpathians and the limestone of the western portion of the Empire must also have a subaqueous history ascribed to them. As for minerals, with the exception, perhaps, of platinum, all the useful metals are found. Thus we hear of gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, tin, antimony, arsenic, quicksilver, nickel, bismuth, manganese, &c. Coal occurs in almost every province, and of precious stones there are the Bohemian carbuncle, the Hungarian opal, chalcedony, emerald, ruby, jasper, topaz, amethyst, &c. Marble is very common, also salt, vitriol, alum, saltpetre, soda, &c. Salt is found, not as with us in masses, but in veins intermingled with material of a limestone nature. Mines for working such deposits are found in Styria, Salzburg, the Tyrol, and Tran- sylvania. But the mineral springs form the great distinguishing feature of the Empire. Of these there are at least fifteen hundred. Most occur in Bohemia and Hungary, but they are found all over. The most celebrated, perhaps, are those of Gastein, in Salzburg (frequented by the reigning Emperor) ; Karlsbad (with its seven powerful springs), Marienbad, Franzenbrunn, Sedlitz, and Teplitz, in Bohemia ; and Bartfeld and Ofen, in Hungary. With respect to natural products, the forests ought first to be mentioned, these occupying as much as one-third of the whole producing area. One half of the forest land is in Hungary. In the more remote forests trees have been known to attain huge dimen- sions, especially larches, firs, and Siberian pines. The 10 THE EMPIRE AT THE PRESENT DAY oak, ash, beech, and elm also flourish, and, besides the fig, olive, almond, orange, lemon, and pomegranate, all our more usual fruit trees are grown. There are many vineyards, especially in the south, and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ranks for its wines im- mediately after France, Italy, and Spain, though, ?wing to its inland position, they are not so well Known as they deserve to be. All our agricultural crops are sown, also rice and maize, and among other productions are potatoes, turnips, beet, beans, peas, tobacco, hemp, flax, and hops. Among the animals of the country are wild deer, chamois, wild swine, lynxes, foxes, and a species of bear. Chamois hunting in the treibjagd style is a favourite amusement, and the peasants will often collect in number and drive forty or fifty of these animals towards a ring of sportsmen, who shoot them as they come up. There is a native type of horse of small size, and most of our domestic animals are to be seen, ducks and geese being plentiful. Wild birds are more plentiful here than in any other European country, among them being bustards, wild geese and ducks, blackcock, grouse, widgeon, &c. Blackcock are specially abundant in the Alpine districts, and the Styrian Jager's hat with the feathers of this bird is almost national. In the matter of industries the Austrian-Hungarian Empire has made great progress in recent times. All the metals above mentioned are manufactured into goods ; so also are linen, cotton, wool, and silk. In Bohemia, too, the manufacture of glass and porcelain is carried out with special skill, f here are a great ROADS AND RAILWAYS II many brandy distilleries in the Empire, and there are also some tobacco manufactories, the latter being practically monopolised by the Government. Ship- building is carried on extensively on the Coast Land and Dalmatia, and the forestry and salt industries also employ large numbers of the population. The last mentioned are carried on in ways peculiar to the country. As there are not always streams convenient to float the timber along, the inhabitants construct, as it were, railways (riesen) of smooth fir-tree trunks down which they slide the logs as they are hewn to some suitable stream, these railways being sometimes of extraordinary length. So, too, the native system of salt mining is often peculiar ; pits being sunk into the limestone beds containing the salt, a mountain stream being introduced thereto, the water of which dissolves the materials, and after a time becomes saturated with the salt, and the brine being finally run off and treated by boiling. Roads are fairly good, and the construction of railways proceeds apace. The years 1816-25 are notable for the laying down of the most elevated roads in Europe, those of the pass of Stelvio and the Stilserjoch, these being intended both to serve for military purposes and to improve the commercial communication with Italy. Of railways there were, in 1893, 3 2 > 221 kilometres open, and more under construction. Inland communication by means of canals has also largely advanced. Lastly, the postal and telegraph systems are equal to those of any other European country. The present constitution of the Austrian-Hungarian \2 THE EMPIRE AT THE PRESENT DAY Empire may be said to date from June 8, 1867, when the Emperor Francis Joseph I. of Austria (succeeded December 2, 1848) was crowned Apos- tolic King of Hungary at Ofen. Since that time there have been to all intents and purposes two monarchies, a Germanic one and a Hungarian one, each division having its own parliament, ministers, and administration, and being mutually related only through the Imperial head and the common army, navy, and financial, diplomatic, postal, and telegraphic services. The Germanic or Austrian Parliament is called the Reichsrath, or Council of the Realm, and consists of two houses, an upper, or Herrenhaus i of 245 members, composed of 21 princes of the Imperial family, 68 hereditary nobles, 17 archbishops and bishops, and 1 39 other members selected by the Emperor on the ground of distinction ; and a lower, or Abgeordneten-limis, of 425 members elected, for the most part, by the popular vote of the seventeen pro- vinces of Austria. Lower Austria is represented by 46 members, Upper Austria by 20, Salzburg by 6, Styria by 27, Carinthia by 10, Carniola by 1 1, Trieste by 5, Gorz and Gradisca by 5, I stria by 5, the Tyrol by 21, Vorarlberg by 4, Bohemia by no, Moravia by 43, Silesia by 12, Galicia by 78, Bukowina by 11, and Dalmatia by n. Politically speaking, the con- stitution of the latter house of representatives is very important, and, as showing the number and diversity of the elements composing it, we may mention that at the General Election of 1891 there were returned 110 German Liberals, 16 National Germans, 15 Anti- Semites, 57 Poles, 8 Ruthenians, 36 Young Czechs, PARLIAMENTARY INSTITUTIONS I 3 10 Old Czechs, 3 Independent Czechs, 8 Left Centres, 31 Clericals, 23 Slavonians and Serbo Croats, 18 Bohemian Feudal Conservatives, 5 of the Moravian Central party, 9 Italians, 2 Rumanians, and 2 German Conservatives ; while at the General Election of 1896 still more diverse elements were returned. The Abgeordneten-haus endures for six years and members are paid ten florins for each day's attendance, besides an allowance for travelling expenses. The elective franchise is now a fairly popular one. Before 1896 the Lower House consisted of 353 members, but, by the Parliamentary Reform Bill passed in that year, 72 additional members were added to be elected by all male adults in the Realm, other than domestic servants, resident for six months in the same house. Five and a-half million new electors received the franchise by that Act. In Hungary there are also two houses, the Upper, or J\Iagnatentafel, and the Lower, or Repraesentantentafel. The Crown in the case of both divisions is hereditary in the Habsburg- Lothringen dynasty, passing by right of primogeniture to males first, whom failing to females. The monarch must, however, be a member of the Roman Catholic Church. In the matters above mentioned, which are common to the two monarchies, the Emperor is assisted by ministers representing the different depart- ments and two annually elected bodies called Delegationcn, which meet at Vienna and Buda-Pesth alternately, and are comprised of 60 members each, one-third being sent by the upper houses and two- thirds by the lower houses. There are also provincial diets for the administration of local affairs composed 14 THE EMPIRE AT THE PRESENT DAY of representatives of the ecclesiastical, university, landowning, citizen, commercial, and rural classes who hold orifice for six years, and communal councils to regulate parish matters, which, speaking generally, sit for three years. In the matter of religion there is full liberty of con- science, but Roman Catholicism is the State system of worship. Next in importance comes the Greek Church, and Calvinists and Lutherans are also a pretty numerous body. Then there are Jews, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina Mohammedans. Education is very widespread, and the Government of Austria has paid earnest attention to its promotion. There are in Austria eight Universities — at Vienna, Prague (2), Graz, Cracow, Lemberg, Innsbruck, and Czernowitz ; and in Hungary three — at Buda-Pesth, Klausenburg, and Agram. Then there are gymnasia or preparatory schools for the Universities (176 in Austria), 1'ealschulen or preparatory schools for tech- nical education (76 in Austria), over 2000 technical schools and special institutes for such subjects as mining, agriculture, art, &c, and lastly, the ele- mentary or national schools, attendance at which is compulsory on every child of the age of six years. Justice is administered by (1) the Supreme Court of Justice and Court of Cassation in Vienna (Oberste Gerichte and Kassations hof) ; (2) the Higher Provincial Courts, or Oberlandesgerichte (Courts of Appeal) ; (3) the Provincial and District Courts (Landes una Kreisgerichte), to which may be added the Jury Courts (Geschzvorenengerichte)\ and (4) the County Courts LAW COURTS *5 ( Bezirksgerichte). The last two classes are courts of first instance. Such then are the leading features at the present day of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire as a whole. Let it be our task now to lay before our readers the story of how this advanced and notable position has been won, so far as the Austrian portion of that Empire is concerned. II EARLY INHABITANTS LITTLE that is definite is known about the inhabi- tants of the territories which comprise the present Austrian Empire prior to the Christian era. There are traces of Keltic antiquity in the names of many districts, rivers, mountains, towns, &c, of these ter- ritories which seem to prove that the latter were in pre-historical times in the possession of tribes of that great and numerous people, the Kelts, who afterwards spread westward over Gaul and the British Isles. There is even reason for believing that the mining industry in Austria dates back to their time; certain it is that under the Romans iron, steel, and salt were all worked there. The Romans called the natives, with whom they first came in contact there, Gauls; and, through Roman sources as well as by discoveries made in more recent times in France and Switzer- land, we know a good deal about their personal characteristics. They were rude in their ways but brave in the extreme, and must have possessed some amount of civilisation. Their religion was in the hands of Druids, and seems to have been largely of a AUSTRIANS OF THE BRONZE AGE. 1 8 EARLY INHABITANTS sacrificial nature. Unlike the Teutons, however, they are said to have shown little chivalry to women, a characteristic that to some extent exists among the Slavs of the present day. There were several branches of these Kelts or Gauls of Central Europe. One powerful branch was that of the Boii. The Romans speak of a people of this name inhabiting in Gallia Lugduensis what is now the Bourbonnais, Departement de l'Allier, but the same, or at all events a similarly named, people seem also to have dwelt in the district now com- prised by Bavaria, Bohemia, Moravia, and North- west Hungary. Bohemia indeed is Bojohaemum, the country of the Boii. Part of this people also migrated to Upper Italy, occupying the district now known as Parma and Modena. Their ramifications, therefore, were very extensive. We are also told of a people called the Taurisci or dwellers of the heights (Keltic taur i a mountain), who seem to be identical with the later Norici, and who inhabited the valleys of the Salza, Traun, Enns, Mur and Drau in Carinthia. The immanes Rhaeti, as Horace * calls them, and the Vindelici, who inhabited the Tyrol and part of present-day Bavaria respectively, were according to some authorities also of Keltic origin, though this cannot be regarded as established. More certainly Keltic were the Ambidravii or Scordisci, who dwelt between the Danube and the Save in what then was Pannonia, and corresponds fairly well with modern Hungary south of the Danube ; the Brenni, 1 Odes 4, 14, 15. The best translation of immanes here would appear to be "horrible." THE CIMBR1 AND 7 EU TONES 1 9 whose name survives in the Brenner Pass and the town of Brunecken ; the Genauni, whose name is thought to be traced in the Val di Non, half way between Trent and Botzen, and the Ombroni in the Carpathian part of Silesia. Passing beyond Pannonia, however, we find in what now is Galicia a people called Sarmatians, who came from the country between the Weichsel and the Don, and from whom the Black Sea received the name of Mare Sarmaticum, and in modern Buko- wina and Transylvania a fierce race called Dacians, who in Julius Caesar's time were exceedingly powerful under their ruler Byrebistes or Boerebistes. Lastly, descending towards the Adriatic, we find the great Illyrian people in modern Croatia, Dalmatia, and Albania, those in Croatia being termed Liburnians. As for the Coast Land, that too was probably Illy- rian, but it early became an integral part of the Roman Empire under the name of Istria, and nume- rous are the Roman remains there ; Spalato (then Salona) being made a great Roman naval station after the struggle of a century and a half with the fierce Illyrian sea pirates. But besides these peoples who were more or less connected with the soil, we find mention made of others who came from a greater distance. Particu- larly important in this connection are the Cimbri and Teutones who disappear from Roman history as suddenly as they made their appearance. These, as the name of the second indicates, were of German extraction, and their place of origin is generally placed as far north as Jutland. About 102 B.C., 20 EARLY INHABITANTS however, they made an incursion southwards, over- coming all obstacles until they reached the Eastern Alps. Here the Romans under Marius met them, and a bloody battle was fought 101 B.C. at the Campi Raudii, which ended in the complete defeat of these northern invaders. To their bravery the Roman writers bear sufficient witness, for we are told that after the defeat their women rushed with axes and even bare hands upon the victors, and allowed them- selves to be slaughtered rather than to fall into the hands of their opponents. This incursion seems specially important as showing that even in these early times there must have been a considerable intermingling of races going on. As the Romans extended their conquests, we find other tribes mentioned as coming into prominence, only again to fall like those just mentioned into oblivion the most profound. It is undoubtedly a remarkable historical feature, this sudden apparent bloom and decline of these peoples. The explana- tion of it is to be found partly no doubt in the Romanising of their territories and in the more enlarged knowledge of them possessed by their con- querors, but chiefly in all probability in the constant incursions of other outside tribes who weakened and absorbed the former ones. Be this as it may, by the beginning of the Christian era we find the Romans in possession of all the territory south of the Danube, and the countries of the Taurisci, Scordisci, and other peoples before mentioned replaced by the rich and important provinces of Noricum and Pannonia. The most important campaigns undertaken by the THE MARC0MANN1 21 Romans in those parts, subsequently to that of Marius against the Cimbri and Teutones, were those of Julius Caesar against Ariovistus, of Octavianus in Pan- nonia and Dalmatia, and of Drusus and Tiberius in the Eastern Alps. Julius Caesar's campaign is im- portant, because among the Germanic tribes led by Ariovistus and driven back with him across the Rhine was that of the Marcomanni, marchmen or borderers (marca=a march, border) who subsequently broke the power of the Boii in Bohemia, and esta- blished a powerful kingdom there. These Marco- manni were closely related to or according to some a tribe of the Suevi, also mentioned by Caesar, who seem to have been a mixed German and Slavonic people settled in what now is Baden. To the Suevi we shall have to revert again. It may be mentioned here, however, that according to Pliny they and the Hermanduri, Chatti, and Cherusci were all tribes of a great Germanic people, the Hermiones, who occupied the central parts of Europe. The result of the campaigns of Drusus and Tiberius (12-9 B.C.) was the complete subjection to the Romans of the Tyrol and whole district of the Eastern Alps. Drusus operated from the south, Tiberius from Gaul and the Lake of Constance, and both penetrated the valleys of the Rhine and Inn in every direction so completely that, as Merivale puts it, " at the conclu- sion of a brilliant and rapid campaign the two brothers had effected the complete subjugation of the country of the Grisons and the Tyrol." This author also adds : " The free tribes of the Eastern Alps appear then for the first time in history only to 22 EARLY INHABITANTS disappear again for a thousand years." The " Apo- theosis of Augustus " in the Museum of Antiquities at Vienna represents the triumph celebrated in honour of Tiberius' success. The same leader sub- sequently added Pannonia to the Roman Empire. Among the prisoners captured by Drusus and taken to Rome was Hermann, or Arminius, afterwards chief of the Cherusci. In Rome he learned the arts of his conquerors as well as their weak points, and having after a time returned to his native people, he was able to train them so well that when next he came into conflict with the Romans under Varus in the Teutoburger forest in A.D. 9 he completely defeated them. When Augustus heard of this terrible disaster, he is said to have exclaimed : " O Varus, Varus, give me back my legions ! " Five years afterwards the Romans under Germanicus had again to suffer defeat at the hands of the Cherusci, but treachery did what the might of the south failed to accomplish, and Ar- minius fell by the hands of relatives at the early age of thirty-seven. Then this people who had over- come both the Marcomanni and the Romans them- selves suffered defeat at the hands of the Chatti or Hessians. Lastly, in the early years of the Christian era Dalmatia, Liburnia, and the western part of what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina were subdued, and the district converted into a Roman province. The subjection of the Dacians of Transylvania was not accomplished till about a hundred years later by Trajan, whose pillar in Rome still stands in comme- moration of the event. We thus see that at the end of the first century of THE ROMANS IN AUSTRIA 2$ our era, practically the whole of the present Austrian- Hungarian Empire was an integral portion of the Roman dominions. Soon the whole district became completely Romanised. Even in those times the country was famous for its forests and mines, and its grain production was very large. With the Romans, too, came a higher state of culture and a more settled life, towns such as Noricum Juvavum (Salzburg), Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg), Lentia (Linz), Celeia (Cilli), Vindobona (Vienna), &c, were founded, and commerce generally flourished. The natives gave up their ancient nomadic habits, the only re- maining traces of which seem to be discoverable in the scarcity of hedges and definite boundaries among the South Germans as compared with those in the north, and even the language of Rome became to a great extent that of the country. The establishment of new municipia and colonics gave the subject race the benefit of fine roads, amphitheatres, fora, baths, &c, and the liberal system of law (Jus gentium) administered by the praetors put the weak on an equal footing with the strong. Some of the Roman Emperors — for example, Claudius II., Probus and Valentinian I. — were actually Pannonian by birth. For a time all seems to have gone well. About the end of the second century, however, the Mar- comanni again became very troublesome ; in fact, they appear to have devasted almost the whole of the province of Pannonia. From this time forward the Roman power in these regions gradually waned. Allied with the Marcomanni in these incursions were the Quadi (Celtic, col, cold or coad, a wood) and Suevi 24 EARLY INHABITANTS (Swabians), the former of whom came from Bohemia and Northern Hungary between Mons Gabretta {B'dhmer Wald) and the Danube, while the latter seem to have been located in Moravia and Silesia. For two centuries we read of constant incursions by these tribes, as well as by the Alemanni and Bur- gundians, but by the end of the fourth century they have completely disappeared. At the time we speak of they must have been very powerful, for the Romans had repeatedly to purchase peace and make concessions. Thus Aurelianus and Probus withdrew the Roman legions from Dacia and Pannonia Inferior, leaving them a prey to the Goths, and Commodus had to purchase peace of the Germanic confederation led by the Marcomanni. The Allemanni, too, actually succeeded in penetrating into Italy as far as Milan, but were defeated there by Gallienus — a kind of Cadmean victory, apparently, for it was followed by the Emperor marrying Pipa, daughter of the chief of the Suevi, and giving Pannonia to his father-in-law as the price of peace. Ill FROM THE APPEARANCE OF THE GOTHS TO THE REIGN OF CHARLEMAGNE Who the Goths exactly were and whence they came has never been decisively established. Historically they make their appearance contemporaneously with the Franks, both these peoples being from the middle of the third century a constant terror and menace to the Roman Empire. In the year 250 the Emperor Decius found himself face to face with the Goths on the Danube, and twenty years later Dacia was entirely abandoned before their inroads. Once established there, their attacks became more and more frequent, and decisive defeats of the Romans in the field were henceforth by no means of rare occurrence. Meanwhile to the west similar attacks were made by the Franks, Alemanni, and Saxons on the Roman province of Noricum and in the regions of the Eastern Alps. The Ouadi and Sarmatians also are mentioned as combining in making incur- sions into Roman territory, and another people, the Heruli, seem to have joined the Goths as allies in their devastations. Certain it is that this latter people 26 FROM THE GOTHS TO CHARLEMAGNE were in 451 with Attila, and in 476 with the other Germanic tribes who captured Rome and established a kingdom in Italy under the rule of Odoacer. The Heruli also had a kingdom in Central Hungary, so that they must have been a very powerful people. Lastly, we must not at this point omit to mention the Vandals, who, like the Alemanni, seem to have been of Germanic extraction, and who first entered Dacia and Pannonia, but subsequently moved west- wards through Bavaria into Western France and Spain. It must not be supposed that with the settlement of the barbarian tribes in the Roman provinces, all culture and civilisation died out. On the contrary, though physically superior to the subject races, these savage victors seem to have succumbed very readily to Roman ways. Take, for instance, the matter of religion. Early in the fourth century (325 A.D.) Constantine the Great had at the celebrated council of Nicaea proclaimed Christianity to be the state religion of the whole Roman Empire. Now what do we find soon afterwards in the provinces captured by these Germanic tribes ? Why, that the very first book ever written in any Teutonic language was a translation of the Bible. No doubt among the Roman soldiery on the borders of the Empire there must have been many Christians, and perhaps even in those days militant missionaries had taken it upon them- selves to go among these Eastern barbarians, but the fact above mentioned undoubtedly seems to indicate that the invaders were not so utterly uncultured as to be unable to appreciate the blessings of a civilised GERMAN RACE IN AUSTRIA. (Third and fourth centuries.) 28 FROM THE GOTHS TO CHARLEMAGNE life. The translation in question is that of Ulfilas, the son of a Christian mother belonging to Cappadocia by a Gothic father, who was learned in Latin and Greek, represented his people as ambassador to the Court of Constantine, there became acquainted with Eusebius, the Bishop of the Eastern Church, and got himself finally consecrated as Bishop of the Goths. His version of the Gospels, in silver letters on purple ground, is still preserved in the library of Upsala in Sweden. The next event with which we have to deal is the appearance of the Huns or Calmucks. These were undoubtedly Asiatic in origin and seem to have inhabited originally the great Siberian plains between Russia and China. They did not live in houses but were nomadic in their habits and lived with their horses, which were practically their sole possession, in tents. They are described as being short, stout-set individuals, with well-developed muscles and able to endure any amount of exposure and fatigue. They ate roots and raw meat, and so savage looking and uncouth were they, that even the rude Goths believed them to have originated in the realms of hell. In the year 375 they crossed the Volga and spread westwards along the Black Sea and up the valley of the Danube, driving all before them. The Goths at this time were composed of two divisions, the Ostrogoths, whose settlements were between the Danube and the Carpathian range, and the Visigoths, who inhabited Southern Russia between the Don and the Dniester. Both these divisions, unable to resist their Asiatic foes, sought safety in the Roman INCURSIONS BY ATT I LA 2Q dominions, settling in Thrace and Moesia, as well as other parts to the west of their former domains, but the inroads of the Huns still continuing, the Ostro- goths entered Italy in 408 under Alaric, retiring temporarily on receiving a heavy ransom, but return- ing again two years later and sacking Rome, while the Visigoths pushed farther westwards and settled in Spain and the South of France. The Huns now spread over Dacia and Pannonia, occupying the fertile plains of these countries, which perhaps reminded them of their native Asiatic steppes. The district they named after themselves. There for a time they appear to have remained content, but about the middle of the fifth century arose Attila, the Scourge of God, the hero of the Xiebelungen Lied (Etzel), who murdered his own brother that he might combine the Huns under his undivided leadership. In 451 Attila started from his camp of Buda, marched westwards, " scourged " the districts through which he passed, crossed the Rhine at Strassburg and actually penetrated as far as Orleans. Here he found Aetius, " the last of the Romans," with a large army, and recognising the superior might of the latter, retired. Aetius came up with him, however, at Chalons on the Marne and completely defeated him. Finding his advance to the west was stayed, in 452 Attila proceeded southwards into Italy, driving the Veneti out of Padua and Verona towards the islands of the Adriatic, but was again constrained to retreat. In the following year he died suddenly of apoplexy while taking part in a huge feast. Two other powerful races have now to be 30 FROM THE GOTHS TO CHARLEMAGNE mentioned — the Gepidae and the Longobardi. The Gepidae probably came from the borders of the Baltic, but like other Germanic tribes they migrated southwards. First they joined the Vandals, then the Goths ; when, being subdued by the Huns, they formed part of the forces led by Attila, regaining their independence, however, after the latter's death. They then became masters of the district east of the Danube, but were compelled by the Roman Emperor Justinian to receive among themselves the Longo- bardi, who do not appear to have lived long at peace with them, for we are told of a great conflict in the year 566 between these rival races on the Danube, in which the Gepidae were utterly defeated, and after which they became merged in the dominant popula- tion. The Longobardi (longbeards) were also a Germanic race, perhaps a branch of the Suevi. They are mentioned as early as the time of Augustus as having assisted the Cherusci in annihilating Varus' legions. They seem after that to have lived for a con- siderable period at peace with their neighbours, but in the beginning of the fifth century they took a fresh stock of vitality and suddenly appeared in Hungary and the neighbouring regions north of the Danube. Subsequently, as we have seen, they absorbed the Gepidae and still later they advanced south to the Valley of the Po, and founded there the kingdom of Lombardy. This was in 567. The story of Alboin, the leader of the Longobardi on this last expedition, is an interesting one. He had in early life suffered much at the hands of the Byzantine Emperor Justin II., and consequently bore ALBOIN 3 1 towards the Roman Empire no good will. It is said that the Empress Sophia insulted him by sending him spinning materials with the message that he might as well undertake the work of women since he was unfit to wage war like a man, whereupon he told the messenger : " Go and tell your mistress that I will spin a thread, the end of which her fingers shall be unable to find." As a matter of fact he was far from womanlike in spirit. From the King of the Gepidae he sought the hand of his daughter Rosa- mond in marriage, and it was to gain this end that the ferocious war was undertaken which ended in the practical annihilation of that people. Having after the manner of those times converted the skull of his wished-for father-in-law into a drinking cup, he duly took the daughter as his wife. This same drinking cup, however, was also the c.iuse of his ruin. In 573 he chanced to indulge in a wild orgie near Verona, and losing command of himself, actually compelled his queen to drink out of this same cup — her father's skull. No wonder, then, that, resolved upon revenge, she became traitor to her lord and compassed his death by the hands of assassins. In 568, active movement on the part of the native Germanic races may be said to have ceased. Trouble, however, was still destined to fall on the districts wherein they had settled from outside peoples, in particular from the Avars and Slavs. The Slavs undoubtedly originated in Russia, but they are not mentioned by any writer before the sixth century. At that time they apparently occupied the plains between the Black Sea and the Danube ; but they soon J 32 FROM THE GOTHS TO CHARLEMAGNE left these, and, crossing the Carpathians, caused the Rumanians especially to suffer much at their hands. The Avars, like the Huns, were nomads from the Central Asian steppes who followed closely after the Slavs, pressed them westwards from the Caspian Sea, overran the whole of Slav land north of the Carpathians as far as Bohemia, held Gepidye, Slavs, and Bulgarians in subjection, and established themselves as dominant possessors of the country. In 563, under Chakan Bajan, they actually invaded the kingdom of the Franks. Henceforth the names of Noricum and Pannonia disappear from history. Christianity and civilisation, too, suffered a severe reverse, being for a time almost rooted out, and in place of the district of Noricum we find a new one established called Caran- tania, comprising modern Styria, Carinthia, and the Tyrol. The Avars held their ground in these regions for two centuries and a half, but at the end of the eighth century they were subdued by the Franks under Charlemagne, and a hundred years later the Magyars entered the eastern portion of their terri- tories and founded the present Hungarian kingdom. Meanwhile the Western Roman Empire was ex- tinguished in the Germanic kingdom of Odoacer, a German chief, under the control of which Italy was for some three hundred years, while in the city of Rome the Popes gradually added to their great spiritual influence a very extensive temporal power. Let us now turn to the kingdom of the Franks, which by this time had assumed a settled form under the Merovingian dynasty. The policy of the Frankish rulers was the same that had proved so successful in ATTACKS BY THE AVARS 33 the case of the Romans, namely, that of allowing each subject tribe to enjoy its own laws and customs so far as was compatible with the unity of the king- dom as a whole. When, accordingly, first the Alemanni and then the Bavarians fell under the power of the Franks, these Germanic tribes enjoyed the utmost liberty, in fact were to all intents and purposes autonomous under the rule of the Mero- vingian sovereigns. Bavaria in those days extended farther to the east than it does now, and included a considerable portion of the present Austrian territories. At the period of which we are speaking, it was governed by Garibald L, as vassal to the Frankish kingdom. This monarch from motives either of patriotism or of ambition tried to shake off the Merovingian yoke. He was accordingly deposed by Childebert II. and replaced as Duke of Bavaria by Tassilo I. It was under the latter's rule that the encroachments of the Avars and Slavs on the western provinces became serious. Tassilo was kept constantly engaged by them, though with but indifferent success, victory at one time inclining to one side, at another to the other. Garibald II., son of Tassilo, however, was completely defeated by these eastern tribes in 609 at Aguntum (Lienz), but, having formed a league with the Alemanni, succeeded with their assistance in driving the Avars back in 631. That was during the reign of Dagobert I. Then the Slavs under Samo turned against both Germans and Avars, and com- pletely overran their territories. Samo was King of the Slavs from 627 to 662. First he freed the Bohemian and Carantanian Slavs from the yoke of 4 34 FROM THE GOTHS TO CHARLEMAGNE the Avars, then in 630 he waged war with the Franks, who accused his people of having murdered certain Frankish merchants in Bohemia, on which occasion after a three days' battle at Wogastisburg (probably Weissenburg or Wossburg) nearly the entire Frankish army was cut in pieces, and finally in 639 the Servians and Croats left their settlement north of the Car- pathians, and passing through Hungary, wrested Dal- matia and the surrounding districts from the Avars. After Samo, however, we hear no more of the Bohemian Slavs until the reign of Charlemagne. In the reign of Childebert III. (695-711), the great spread of Christianity in Bavaria was a feature of importance. At this period Theodo was Duke. The moving spirit was Rupert, Bishop of Worms, who visited Bavaria, and in Regensburg baptized not only the Duke but also many nobles and commoners of the people. Soon churches were built and priests ordained to them, that at Wallersee in honour of Saint Peter being richly endowed by Theodo himself. Next, Bishop Rupert proceeded to Juvavus (Salzach), then little more than a paltry remnant of the old Roman town Juvavia, and here was built and con- secrated another church, also in honour of St. Peter, as well as a monastery — the oldest in Austria. " Faviana, antiquum et omnibus majus monasterium juxta muros oppidi Faviani" is the description of it given by the chronicler Eugipius. The result was that a most flourishing Christian colony arose here which ulti- mately developed into the town of Salzburg, the seat of culture and learning, and the ecclesiastical centre of Bavaria, Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Hungary. BAVARIA AND THE TYROL 35 Other smaller monastic institutions were also soon afterwards founded in other parts. Rupert's successor in this field was Emmeran, Bishop of Poitiers, who came to the Court of Theodo at Regensburg with the intention of going on to Hungary to convert the Avars. Theodo, however, kept him in Bavaria, saying that charity should begin at home, and that there was still a large number of unconverted heathen in his realm. Theodo was succeeded as Duke of Bavaria by his son Theodobert, who died in the year 724, and was in turn succeeded by his son Hugbert. Little is known, unfortunately, about the political events which occurredduringthistime in Bavaria; indeed, historically speaking, there is not much further information about events in that country until the time of Charles Martel or the " Hammer," the last of the so-called " Mayors of the Palace." It was probably about this period, however, that the Tyrol was wrested from Bavarian control. It might have been thought that Tyrol, the hardy, patriotic, honest, religious and romantic, the country of myths and folk-lore, the happy hunting ground of the wilder Jdger and the Norgs, 1 would have been safe from the troubles attending worldly ambitions. It was not so. Tyrol, too, like the rest of Austria, had to undergo its trials at the hands of Teutons, Romans, 1 Norgs, South Tyrol spirits. The word is probably identical with Norici, the old inhabitants of the district. Now they are beings to be shunned : — " Schliess die Kammer fein, Sonst kommt der Norg herein." 36 FROM THE GOTHS TO CHARLEMAGNE and Bavarians. Now it was to become subject to the Longobardi. The story goes that Theodobert gave his only daughter Guntruda in marriage to Luitbrand, son of the Longobard king, whereafter the latter, devoid of all sense of duty, established himself by force in his father-in-law's estates, so that the latter was well entitled to exclaim with Tacitus : " Caveat sibi princcps a- vicinis" After Hugbert came, in 735, Odilo, whose origin is uncertain. It was while Odilo was Duke that the Anglo-Saxon Benedictine monk Winfried or Boniface, as he was subsequently termed, went over from Southampton in England to Germany, and thence paid three visits to Rome, with the result that in 723 Pope Gregory II. made him a bishop, and deputed him as Papal legate to Charles Martel. His was not so much a missionary enterprise, however, as a political one, the Pope's object being to seek to bring the Prankish bishop more completely into subjection to the Roman see, and so to raise the Pope of Rome to the position of sole and supreme head of the Church. The Pope accordingly did all he could to enlist Charles Martel in his favour, at the same time giving his legate the utmost authority that it was in his power to confer. Thus his epistle was addressed not to Charles Martel as head of the Merovingians, but " glorioso jilio Caro/o" and a portion of it is in these terms : " Fecimus ei manum nostram roboratam dare, ut ubicunque ubiet ubi ambulare videtur, cum nostro amore el sub nostro mundebundio et defensione quietus et con- servatus esse debeat." Thus armed, Boniface returned to the district of Hesse, baptizing there the heathen VIRGILIUS $7 by thousands, and afterwards to Bavaria, doing good work wherever he went. Among his great deeds was the division of Bavaria into four bishoprics, namely, those of Salzburg, Freisingen, Regensburg, and Passau. Another important act was the founding of the monastery of Fulda in the lonely waste of Buchonia, whence, as a writer has remarked, the rays of moral and religious culture streamed equally to all sides embracing Hessians, Franks, Bavarians and Thurin- gians. In recognition of his services, Gregory III., who meanwhile had become Pope, made him Arch- bishop of Germany. We are also told of a certain Irishman, Virgilius by name, who became in 745 head of the Salzburg Church. 1 Before going to Odilo he had been among the Christian community at Iona in the west of Scotland. He seems to have been learned in advance of his time, for he taught that the earth was round, and he was so liberal-minded as even to acknowledge that among heretics there were men as intellectual as the true believers. Virgilius, however, had been at the Frankish Court of Pepin, son of Charles Martel, and had become tainted with Frankish ideas ; ac- cordingly he aroused the enmity of Boniface, whose hostility became ultimately so pronounced that he induced Pope Zacharias to deprive his opponent of his post. Odilo, like his predecessors, was Bavarian to the backbone, and desired alike political and spiritual separation of his country from the Frankish rule. 1 "Virgilius vir quidem sapiens et bene doctus de Hibernia insula venit." 38 FROM THE GOTHS TO CHARLEMAGNE Even the fact that he had married Pepin's sister, Hildetrud, did not deter him from attacking the Frankish monarch in 743. Pepin, nevertheless, was equal to the occasion, and effectually defeated his brother-in-law at a battle on the Lech, taking him prisoner and carrying him off to France. In 744, Odilo recovered again both his liberty and his duke- dom, though no longer as vassal but simply as administrator, for Pepin took the opportunity of making Bavaria an integral portion of his dominions, saying God had pronounced judgment to this effect upon the country at the battle of the Lech. It also appears that Odilo, on the supplication of the Caran- tanians who were hard pressed by the Avars, entered into a campaign against the latter people, and not only beat them back but added Carantania to the Bavarian territories. He died 748, and was succeeded by Tassilo II. Tassilo was only twenty years of age when he took the reins of power. Young as he was he was fired with the desire to liberate Bavaria from the Frankish yoke. Pepin, on the other hand, sought to bring about a closer ecclesiastical and political connection, and with that in view limited the Duke's authority in various ways, besides imposing some of the Frankish laws upon the Bavarians. Tassilo, mean- while, devoted himself in earnest to the promotion of the welfare of his people and restored them to their former glory by marrying Luitberga, daughter of the Longobard king, Desiderius, and regaining with her the provinces that had been lost in 724, including Botzen, Seben, Tyrol, and Mais. This was in 766 AUSTRIAN S BEGINNING. OF CHRISTIAN ERA. 40 FROM THE GOTHS TO CHARLEMAGNE or 768, in the latter of which years Pepin's death occurred. Twenty years afterwards Tassilo entered into friendly negotiations with the Avars. All his efforts to enhance the dignity of his realm were, however, destined to be of no avail. In 768 Charle- magne ascended the Frankish throne, and at once initiated that enterprising military career of his, at the conclusion of which we find him established as monarch of Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Northern Italy, and Spain. In the space of forty-five years he conducted fifty-three expeditions against Saxons, Frisians, Longobardi, Bavarians, Avars, Slavs, and Danes. By the year 772 he had already taken from the Saxons their fortress of Eresburg, as well as defeated them on many battlefields. In 774 he subverted the kingdom of the Longobardi, notwith- standing that Desiderius' daughter, Desiderata (Irmin- garde), was his wife, the Longobard king being quite unable to resist him. One writer remarks : " For every priest that Desiderius had, Charles had a bishop ; for every monk that the former had, the latter had an abbot ; for every foot-soldier that the former had, the latter had a duke and counts ; and for every single man that Desiderius could put in the field, Charles could put thirty." Still the Longo- bardi acquitted themselves in fight so well that several times Charlemagne thought the battle was lost ; in the end, however, his superiority gained the day. From its bloody nature the scene of this struggle was called Mortaria (Mortara), that is, the Field of the Dead. Verona fell into the hands of the Franks without much resistance, but Pavia, into which Desi- SIEGE OE PA VI A 4 1 derius had retired, held out long and bravely, only falling at last by treachery, when it had suffered terribly from hunger and disease. One story narrates how Desiderius' daughter had taken a fancy to the iron warrior, and having written a letter in which she expressed her willingness, if Charles would marry her, to deliver up the town, shot it into the Frankish lines. The answer being of an encouraging nature, this lovesick maiden stole the key of the city when her father was asleep, opened the gates to the Franks and sprang forward to embrace Charlemagne. In the melee which ensued, however, she is said to have fallen under the horses' feet and been trodden to death. Through admiration probably, of his brave defence, Charlemagne spared Desiderius' life, 1 contenting him- self with sending him to a monastery, where he received the tonsure. Not quietly, however, did the Longobardi submit to the conqueror, and several attempts to re- gain their freedom were made. One led by Hrodgand of Friaul in 776 caused Charlemagne to cross the Alps with the rapidity of lightning, and ended in disaster for the Longobardi, their leader being slain and Friaul being converted into a margravate. Soon afterwards, in 781, Charlemagne placed the govern- ment of Lombardy in the hands of his son Pepin, who went to Rome, and was there anointed King of Italy. Now it was Bavaria's turn. In an evil moment Tassilo refused to acknowledge Charlemagne's autho- rity and set about stirring up the Avars to invade the Frankish dominions. Accordingly, in ySy, a cam- 1 " Misericordia motus supra eum, noluit eum occidere (rex)," says the Chronicle. 42 FROM THE GOTHS TO CHARLEMAGNE paign was undertaken against Bavaria, Charlemagne attacking it from the west, Pepin from the south. The Bavarians themselves, angry with Tassilo for being the cause of this trouble, and also for nego- tiating with the Avars, whom they hated as deadly foes, brought an accusation of treason against him, and unanimously sentenced him to death (788). Charle- magne generously commuted this sentence to confine- ment in the monastery of St. Goar, his wife Luitberga, son Theodo, and two daughters suffering the same fate. After Tassilo's deposition Bavaria became an integral part of the Frankish realms, Count Geroldt being appointed over it as military ruler. Further, contemporaneously with Bavaria's downfall, Croatia, Istria, and Dalmatia also became part of Charle- magne's dominions, but details are lacking. Next, attention was directed to the Avars or Huns. The first army entered the country of this people in 788, but seems to have soon retired. A second expedition followed, however, in 789, in the course of which a great battle was fought near the river Ibosa (Ips), in which the Frankish-Bavarian army, under Grahaman and Audaker, was victorious. A third army defeated the Avars on the Danube. In 790 ensued the greatest Avar war, Charlemagne himself leading one force from Regensburg, while Pepin advanced from the south, and a third force, under Count Theodoric, started from Thuringia and Saxony and passed through Bohemia. When Charlemagne reached the Enns he ordered a halt for three days, during which his men spent the time praying and chanting litanies, at the expiration of which interval SUBMISSION OF THE AVARS 43 he crossed the river and pressed on, getting as far as the Raab. x Pepin apparently on this occasion advanced to the river Drave. Finally all halted for a time, then retired, Charlemagne going back to Regensburg. In 792 Charlemagne was unable to prosecute the war with the Avars, being too busy elsewhere, for the Bohemian Slavs had broken loose and devastated Bavarian Noricum and East Frank- land. The result was disastrous for the Bohemians, not only grown-up men were slain without mercy, but even boys were put to the sword. At the same time the Avars began to submit voluntarily, one of their chiefs, Tudun, despatching ambassadors, who expressed his willingness to become a vassal to Charlemagne and to embrace Christianity. The Frankish king did not, however, wait for the other chiefs to come in, but in 795 crossed the Danube in conjunction with Zvonimir, ruler of the Pannonian Chorvates, and penetrated to the seat of the Avar monarchs. In the result, as we are told, " all the money and treasure accumulated during long years fell into the hands of the Franks, and in no cam- paign did they ever obtain so much booty as in this one, so that whereas hitherto they had been poor, now they found in the royal castle of the Avars such a mass of gold and silver, and acquired such valuable booty, that the Franks could well lay claim that they had taken from the Avars what in earlier times these had plundered and taken from other peoples." A large gift out of this booty was given to Pope Adrian I. and the Romish Church, but so great was 1 " Rex — usque ad Arrabonis fluenta venisset." 44 FROM THE GOTHS TO CHARLEMAGNE the glut of money that ensued after its distribution in the Frankish dominions that prices are said to have gone up there a full third for the next ten years. Tudun himself visited Aix la Chapelle and in that town not only swore fidelity to Charlemagne, but was baptized into the Christian Church. Once again, in pursuance of his efforts to bring about the subjection of the Avars, Pepin at the king's command invaded their country during the summer of 796 at the head of Italian, Bavarian, and Alemannian troops, overcame all opposition and drove his opponents beyond the Theiss. 1 What was left of the Avar treasures he took back with him. In 803 the Avar power was finally shattered, this people then becoming merged in and identified with the Slavs, Bulgarians, and Franks. So complete was their annihilation that the Slavs said of them : " God has rooted them out because of their pride ; all have died and not an Avar is left surviving." Whence, too, the Russian proverb, " They have gone to destruction like the Avars ! " Charlemagne's dominions were now extended from the Enns to the junction of the Drave with the Danube, and, therefore, included the whole of present-day Austria just as previously when it was a part of the Roman Empire it had been compact. With this extension also his ambition became ful- filled to have his domains immediately adjacent to those of Byzantium. What the inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire thought of the honour may be judged from the Greek proverb, " Have the Franks as friends, but not as neighbours." 1 " Hunis trans Tizam fugatis." IV FROM THE REIGN OF CHARLEMAGNE TO THE DEATH OF HENRY II. OF SAXONY WITH the formation of his huge empire, Charle- magne became what he had aimed at — first Roman Emperor of German nationality, the successor of the Caesars, the anointed of God and supreme monarch of the Christian world. The remainder of his life was devoted to securing his dominions against foreign foes. With this object in view he constituted the different portions into kingdoms, duchies and counties. Most important was his institution of frontier districts, or marches, as they were called, over which he set march graves or margraves {grenz grafeti). Among others, the country between the Enns and the Raab, that is, modern Austria proper, became the East March, the nucleus of the subsequent East Realm (OesterreicJi). The whole of this district was given to Geroldt, the military ruler of Bavaria, while the district comprising South Carantania, Carinthia, Istria, &c, was entrusted to Erich of Friaul. These faithful servants of Charlemagne did not exercise their authority long, for both met 45 46 FROM CHARLEMAGNE TO DEATH OF HENRY II. an early death in the fulfilment of their duties. Geroldt died on September 1, 799, when leading on his troops in battle with the Avars who had risen in revolt — his body being conveyed to the monastery of Reichenau, while Erich fell in the course of his siege of the Liburnian rocky fortress Tersatica (Tarsat, near Fiume), the news that "the conqueror of the Avars, the donor of churches, the father of the poor, is no more ! " throwing x-\quileja into the utmost consternation. To these succeeded in Bavaria, Count Audulf, and on the Adriatic, Count Kadolach, or Kadolaus, or Kocilin, for the name is thus variously spelt. The remaining events of importance in the Austrian district during Charlemagne's long reign were in 805, the war with the Bohemian Slavs, in 806 that with the Servians, and in 809 that with the Doges of Venice. With regard to the first of these, Bohemia was attacked from three sides, but the inhabitants took refuge in the mountains, and from the heights harassed the invaders, who only remained some forty days, and had to depart without accom- plishing their purpose. At last, on the 28th of January, 814, Charlemagne died in the seventy-first year of his life and forty-seventh of his reign. " No words," says the Chronicle, " can express the lamen- tation and sorrow that arose over his death ; even by the heathen he was mourned as the father of the world." He was buried at Aix-la-Chapelle in the Church of the Virgin Mary, where his body was embalmed and placed in a tomb in a sitting posture on a golden chair, with a sword of gold girt to his DEATH OF CHARLEMAGNE 47 body and a golden volume of the Gospels on his knees, a gold chain round his neck, and on his head a crown containing a piece of the wood of the cross of Christ. Charlemagne's successor was his son Louis, sur- named the Pious. He was in more respects than one the contrary of his father ; the latter had been firm and steadfast of purpose, the former was far too mild. As his surname indicates he was exceedingly re- ligious, spent many an hour on his knees in prayer and tears, and used to dispense alms personally to the poor. The result was that advantage was taken of his weakness, and his reign of twenty-six years was full of disaster. The very first generous act that he did, namely, the division of his realm among his three sons, Lothair, Louis, and Pepin, was destined to bear bad fruit. Lothair the eldest was made Emperor elect, while Louis and Pepin were put over Bavaria and Aquitania respectively as vassal mon- archs, all three being subject to Louis the Pious as supreme head. We shall shortly see how this act, intended to promote peace among the brothers, completely failed in accomplishing its purpose. About this time too, Liudevit, King of the Pannonian Chorvates, headed a revolt of the Southern Slavs, Carantanians, Carinthians, and Dalmatians, who had suffered much from Kadolach, Margrave of Friaul. This movement was, however, soon suppressed, and Liudevit himself had to take refuge in Dalmatia, wherein 823 he met with a violent death. The whole district was thus brought more closely under Frankish rule. Trouble also came from the east on the part 48 FROM CHARLEMAGNE TO DEATH OF HENRY II of the Bulgarians, who, under Omortag for some years harassed and devastated much of the neigh- bouring portions of the Frankish realms. These Louis was unable to combat owing to internal dissensions. He had by a second marriage, entered into in 819, a son named Charles, and accordingly now wished to redivide his realm so as to include the latter. This the elder sons resented, and so father and sons found themselves for the next eight years ranged against one another in enmity. Pepin, however, died in 838, whereupon a new division was made, whereby Louis the German was to retain Bavaria, and Lothair Italy, the remainder of the realm going to Charles, the youngest son. Upon this Louis at once took up arms against his father, but the latter drove him across the Thuringian frontier. Louis had to buy his way back to Bavaria through Bohemia. The jealousy and enmity of his sons, however, had broken the pious Louis's heart and he died at Mainz, June 20, 840. No sooner was Louis dead than war broke out between the brothers, and in 841 a great battle was fought atFontenay(Fontenum) in Burgundy between Louis and Charles on the one side, and Lothair, who desired the whole kingdom, on the other. Lothair vas completely defeated, and in the year 843 a treaty was made at Verdun by which Lothair received the Imperial crown and the Netherlands, the lands on the Rhine, Burgundy and Italy, the whole district being called Lotharingia (now diminished to Lothringen), Louis the German obtained the whole of Germany, and Charles the Bald got all France to the west of TROUBLE WITH MORAVIA 49 Lothair's dominions. From this time Germany, including the southern marcnes, and Bohemia and Moravia became separate from the Frankish realm. In Bohemia and Moravia, however, frequent dis- satisfaction found expression among the Slav population at their German rulers, and many a German army had to repair to these countries to keep them in subjection. When Louis ascended the throne, Moimir was prince of Moravia, but he died and was succeeded in 846 by Rastislaw. The latter formed the idea of a complete separation from Germany and broke into open revolt in 855. Louis sent an army against him, but failed to take the hostile fortresses, and had to content himself with laying the country waste. On his retiral Rastislaw openly defied the German power, and in 856 Louis entrusted the control of his south-eastern territories to the most capable of his sons, Carlmann, but he for some reason or other seems to have supported Rastis- law against his father. The latter, however, took no steps against him and even received him at Regens- burg in 862, but the following year fresh evidence of his unfaithfulness having been forthcoming, Carlmann afraid of the consequences took up arms, but was betrayed by his allies and had to flee. Soon after, he was again received at his father's court, and in 869 was sent with his brother Charles against the Mora- vian princes, who in conjunction with the Bohemians had then attained complete ecclesiastical and political separation from Germany. With arms they gained nothing, but what force was powerless to do, treachery accomplished. Rastislaw's nephew, Svatopluk, for 5 50 FROM CHARLEMAGNE TO DEATH OF HENRY II. some reason turned against his uncle, and the latter, having fallen into his hands, was handed over in chains to Carlmann. Moravia was now without protection, and fell again into the hands of the Germans. Soon afterwards it became independent once more through the assistance of Svatopluk, who, become traitor in turn to his German friends, completely annihilated the Bavarian army. In 874 peace was finally concluded at Forcheim, Louis recognising Svatopluk as a vassal king so long as he kept peace. Two years later, on 28th of August, 876, Louis the German died. On Louis's death his sons divided the kingdom among themselves, Carlmann, the eldest, getting Bavaria, Pannonia and Carantania together with the suzerainty of Bohemia and Moravia, Louis III. getting East Frankland, Thuringia, Saxony and a portion of Lotharingia, and Charles the Fat (Carletto) getting Alamannia and some Lotharingian towns. Carlmann, unfortunately, died in 880, and his natural son Arnulf, to whom he had entrusted Carinthia and Pannonia, succeeded him. Arnulf was soon com- pelled to cede Bavaria to his uncle Louis, but the latter died in 882, and was succeeded by Charles the Fat. The latter also received the Frankish crown, so that with the exception of Burgundy he once more united together Charlemagne's great empire. Charles the Fat did not, however enjoy the honour long, for in 887 he was deposed and succeeded by Arnulf. This monarch assigned the East march to the care of Aribo, Upper Pannonia to Engelschalk, and Carinthia to Rudpert. He himself in 892 made a campaign in LOUIS THE CHILD 5 1 Moravia where Svatopluk had refused to acknowledge him and laid the country waste during four whole weeks. The Magyars also were at this time very troublesome, and made annual invasions, plundering churches, burning towns and villages, and devasta- ting the country in general. Svatopluk died in 894, when a contest took place between his two sons, Moimir II. and Svatopluk II., in which Arnulf sided with the latter, and Aribo and Count Luitpold were sent with an army against Moimir. Again the country was laid waste, but on Aribo's return he was deposed and the East March and Carantania were handed over to Luitpold. Soon after, Arnulf died, survived by a son of seven years of age, Louis IV. (the child) who was crowned at Forchheim, on the 2 1st of January, 900. Louis's reign was of short duration, for he died in 911, bringing the race of Charlemagne in Germany to an end. The only event of importance to us was the invasion of Moravia by the Magyars or Hun- garians. The inhabitants of that country and the Germans, finding themselves face to face with a common foe, made a treaty in 901, and their forces succeeded in beating the Hungarians in that year in Carantania, and in 903 in Pannonia. But by 905 we find the Moravian kingdom overthrown and thousands of the inhabitants carried off into slavery, and in 906 the Hungarians actually got as far as the Middle Elbe. This was soon followed by the Bohemian Slavs being rendered subject to the Czechs, and Moravia and Bohemia being joined together under Hungarian influence. Next year the German troops 52 FROM CHARLEMAGNE TO DEATH OF HEXRY II. under Luitpold were almost annihilated by the Hun- garians at Pressburg, when an obstinate fight of three days' duration took place, and both Luitpold and the archbishop of Salzburg lost their lives. Now the Hungarians penetrated into Italy as far as Vesuvius, and into Germany to the west as far as the French border, and to the north as far as Bremen and Hamburg. Whether they also obtained possession of the East March has not been definitely established. On the extinction of the Carlovingian dynasty, Germany fell into the hands of the house Of Saxony. On Duke Otto's proposal, however, the crown was offered to Conrad I. of France, vir per omnia mansuetus et prudens^ we are told. He was opposed by Duke Arnulf of Bavaria, son of Luitpold, and the Empire was thus thrown into disorder, but he managed to hold his own until his death in 918. Duke Henry of Saxony was now called to the throne under the title of Henry I. (the Fowler). He began by winning over the Duke of Bavaria and so making peace in Germany. Then he turned his attention to the Slavs of the Elbe, and the Hungarians who were still always troublesome. The former he compelled to pay tribute, and from the latter he obtained a nine years' armistice by promising to pay them yearly a sum of money. The Bohemians also came under his sway, and paid tribute to him. Accordingly, by the time the a; mistice had expired he felt so strong, that when the Hungarians sent as usual for the accustomed money, their messengers returned empty-handed. Without delay the Hungarians broke into North Germany, but at Riade, near the modern Merseburg, OTTO THE GREAT 53 they suffered a crushing defeat. Thirty-six thousand Hungarians were slain, and all their baggage fell into the hands of the Saxons. Soon afterwards, however, Henry was struck down with paralysis and died, a monarch of whom it has been said, "that Germany has rarely seen the like and never any one greater." Henrys successor on the throne was Otto I., the Great (936-973). During the early part of his reign he was forced to engage in a lengthy war with Duke Boleslaw I., of Bohemia, who had seceded from the Empire. In this war he was ultimately successful, and the latter submitted. Then in 937 on the death of Arnulf of Bavaria, his four sons declared their inde- pendence, and refused to take the oath of fealty, but in due course they also were reduced to subjection. Again a combination was entered into between the king's brothers, Thankmar, Eberhard, and Henry, but at a battle at Andernach in 939 Eberhard fell, and the others submitted. Otto next reduced the Slavs between the Elbe and the Oder, and finally, in 951, he crossed the Alps into Italy, where he assumed the title of King of the Lombards. But fresh disturb- ances excited in Germany against him by Liudolf of Swabia, Conrad of Lothringen, Frederick, Archbishop of Mainz, Arnulf of Bavaria, and other princes, necessitated his speedy return. His opponents fled to Mainz and there defied him, and as he found all the provinces in insurrection against him, he was compelled to retire into Saxony. Here he made careful preparations for another campaign, and his forces being further increased by defections from his enemies, he succeeded in reducing them in 954. Next 54 FROM CHARLEMAGNE TO DEATH OF HENRY II. year, however, he was again engaged in struggles, this time with the Hungarians, but at the battle of Lechfeld near Augsburg the invaders were almost entirely annihilated and their generals, Bulcsee and Lehel, taken prisoners and hanged at Regensburg. This finally put an end to the Hungarian incursions into German territory. According to some writers the birth of the Austrian kingdom was due to this battle on the Lech, and cer- tainly if before this time the district was subject to the Hungarians, it now again became German. After this event, we find the district called the " Ottonische mark," and it is undoubted that more German colonists settled there when the Hungarians were no longer to be dreaded. Otto the Great died May 7, 973, at Memleben, and was succeeded by his son Otto II. During the latter's short reign there were several outbreaks to be put down, particularly in Bavaria, where Duke Henry was contumacious. There was also a cam- paign against Boleslaw II. of Bohemia, which ended in this prince's submission. In 983, Otto II. died, leaving a son of three years of age, who was crowned at Aix la Chapelle under the title of Otto III. His reign also was short and full of trouble. Almost at the outset he fell into the hands of Henry of Bavaria, who aimed at nothing less than the throne itself, and indeed, got himself nominated king at Quedlinburg in 984. Otto's friends, however, drove him into Bavaria, and thence he fled to Bohemia, where he was com- pelled to hand over the little king. At this time the Eastern March was in the hands of Leopold I., but THE EASTERN MARCH $$ after his death in 994 his son Henry I. was appointed margrave of that district by Otto III. It is in Henry's time that we first find the designative name of Ostarrichi applied to the Eastern March. Henceforth it forms a distinct portion of the Empire, and no longer a dependency of the dukedom of Bavaria. In the year 1000 at Otto's instigation, Stephen I. (the Saint) was made king of the Hungarians by Pope Sylvester II., and to him is largely due the conversion of Hungary into a Christian European state. Otto him- self did not see this consummation, for he was attacked by fever in Italy and died 1002. With Otto III. expired the male line of Otto the Great, and he was succeeded by a son of his former opponent, Henry II. of Bavaria, who took the title of Henry II. (the Saint). The chief event of Henry's reign was the recovery of Bohemia as a portion of the Empire. With regard to Austria it would appear that the German colonists there showed bitter jealousy of all strangers entering their district, and it is even related that an Irish pilgrim called Coloman, though bound for Jerusalem, was murdered by the inhabi- tants of Stockerau. The Margrave of the district, Henry I., died in 1018, and was succeeded by his Brother Adalbert. Finally, with the death of the Emperor Henry II., in 1024, the Saxon line came to an end. THE FRANCONIAN AND HOHENSTAUFEN DYNASTIES The monarch who was chosen on the death of Henry II. was Conrad II., the first king of the Salic Franks. He had at an early period to contend with his own stepson, Ernest II. of Babenberg, who, how- ever, being deserted by his allies had to submit and was sent to the castle of Giebich in Saxony. It is inte- resting to note that Bishop Werner of Strassburg, the founder of the Austrian house of Habsburg, seems in this case to have sided with the Babenbergs. Conrad's great aim was to bring the duchies more immediately under his supreme control, and in order to accomplish this end he advocated the hereditary principle for the monarchy. Accordingly, only a few years after his own succession, he got his son, subsequently named Henry III., crowned as his successor. The Duke of Bavaria rose against the crown, but his duchy was declared forfeited and given to young Henry, who also obtained Swabia, where the ducal family had become extinct. The East March as far as the Vienna forest was in the hands of the Babenbergs, Leopold I. having been succeeded by his son Henry I., who in turn died 50 INVASION OF BOHEMIA 57 childless in 1018 and was succeeded by Adalbert I. Carinthia about the same time -became rulerless, and was given to Conrad's nephew. In Hungary at this period Stephen I., the Saint, was carrying out his civilising projects, and with such good results, that Conrad when he waged war with him failed to gain any success. In Bohemia Conrad was more fortunate, for Bretislav, " the Bohemian Achilles," an illegitimate son of the Duke of Bohemia, not only aided him against the Poles, but drove them out of Lusatia, and compelled their king to do homage to the German monarch. Both Lusatia and Bohemia then again became portions of the German Empire. But pro- bably the greatest event of this reign was the acquisi- tion of Burgundy, which was bequeathed to the monarchy by Rudolph III., whose niece was Conrad's queen. On the death of Conrad II., in 1039, his son at once assumed the reins of power, under the style of Henry III. Early in his reign Bretislav showed signs of breaking away from Germany, and this led to an in- vasion of Bohemia which was completely successful, the Duke having to appear before Henry at Regens- burg barefooted and in sackcloth. Being treated with generosity, however, he was restored to power, and continued down to his death to be a loyal vassal. In this campaign of Henry against Bretislav he received great assistance from Luitpold or Leopold, a son of the Margrave Adalbert of Austria, and at its conclu- sion this warrior was rewarded with costly gifts, inclu- ding the fine horse of the Bohemian duke. Equally successful was Henry in other parts. The Kings of 58 FRAN CON IAN AND HOHENSTA'JFEN DYNASTIES Poland and Denmark both acknowledged him as their feudal lord, and when war broke out with Hungary where Samuel, son-in-law of Stephen the Saint, was now king, he succeeded in reducing this country for the time being to the position of a fief of the German crown. But in 1052 he was compelled to appear once more at the head of an army in Hungary, this time being detained for months before the walls of Pressburg. Pope Leo IX. crossed the Alps specially to act as mediator, but in vain, and Henry had, owing to failure of provisions, finally to retire, only to find that there was a widespread conspiracy against him in Germany, and that his influence was shaken. As has been said, this unfortunate siege of Pressburg was the " most noteworthy turning-point in the history of Henry III., as well as of the Imperial German throne." Henry III.'s successor was Henry IV. (1056-1106) who, as a mere child, thus found himself face to face with a strong rampart of feudalism. The infant monarch was left at first under the guardianship of his mother, the Empress Agnes, but Archbishop Anno of Cologne succeeded by stratagem in getting him into his hands, whereupon the Empress retired from the Regency. Henry was next transferred to Adalbert, Archbishop of Bremen, who again was far too indulgent. Neverthe- less, when he came of age, the young monarch threw overboard all his oppressors, and in so doing roused the Saxons against him who called in Pope Gregory VII. To him Henry thought it prudent to repair, but the Pope imperiously refused to see him until he should do penance. The result of this humiliation of their monarch, however, reunited his people with him, and END OF THE FRANCONIAN DYNASTY $g having marched into Italy he took Rome and deposed the Pope. Not much is known of events in the East March at this time, but we are told that in Henry's great battle with the Saxons in 107 5, he lost a brave ally in the Margrave Ernest, who fell mortally wounded and was buried at Melk, the Austrian seat of the Babenbergs. In Henry V.'s reign (1106-25) the East March must have been closely allied to the German throne, for its margrave, Leopold IV., married Agnes, sister of the Emperor. Bohemia also was quiet in these reigns, Bretislav I. dying in 105 5, and being succeeded in the duchy by his son Spitignev II. (died 1 061), Bratislav II. (died 1092), Conrad (died 1092), Bretislav II. (died 1100), Borivoj II. (deposed 1 107), and Bladislav I. (died 1 125). With Hungary Henry V. had to go to war in 1 108, but without result, the Poles being restive and distracting his forces. With the Poles, too, he had indifferent success. Borivoj II. had meanwhile been deposed from his duchy and taken refuge in Poland. Now (1109) he reappeared at Prague, and compelled Henry to turn his attention thither, with the result that Borivoj was captured and thrown into chains, though he was after- wards (in 1 1 16) released and allowed to live in the East March, where he died 11 24. Henry V. himself died the 22nd of May, 1125, and with him the Franconian dynasty came to an end. To Henry V. succeeded Lothair, Duke of Saxony, who excited the enmity of the Hohenstaufen princes, and then found himself for the next ten years engaged in a bitter internal struggle. Meanwhile in Bohemia Bladislav had been succeeded as Duke by Sobeslav I., 60 FRANCONIAN AND HO HEN ST AU FEN DYNASTIES whom Vincent of Prague terms the " Father of his Fatherland"; but Otto II. of Olmiitz, feeling aggrieved, contested his succession with him, and a battle was fought, February 18, 1 126, near Kulm, in which the Germans were completely defeated. Otto was himself left dead on the battlefield, and Lothair had to come to terms with his opponent, recognising him as his chosen duke. But the great event of this period from our point of view was the elevation in 11 36 of the Fast March with Styria and Carniola to the position of a duchy. Leopold IV., the margrave, died November 15th of that year, and his son, Leopold V., was at once recognised by Lothair as successor. Leopold V.'s stepbrother was no other than Conrad III., who, on Lothair's death in 1 136, was chosen German Emperor, the first of the Swabian Hohenstaufcn dynasty. Early in the latter's reign, Duke Henry of Bavaria and Saxony rebelled and was deposed, when Saxony was given to Albrecht the Bear, and Bavaria to Leopold of the East March. On Leopold's death, in 1141, Bavaria and the Aus- trian territories were granted to his younger brother, Henry II., who is better known as Jasomirgott, a name given him from his habit of saying, " Ja, so mir Gott helfe ! " — a rough character and intractable. Conrad, however, died 1152, and the Empire fell into the hands of his nephew, Frederick Barbarossa (Rothbart). In a hasty moment the new Emperor promised to reinstate Henry the Lion, son of Henry the Proud, in Bavaria. Difficulties were presented by the dogged Jasomirgott, and ultimately he was only prevailed upon to part with Bavaria on terms VIENNA RISING INTO IMPORTANCE 6 1 that the Eastern March should be detached from the duchy and converted into an independent duchy with special privileges. It was particularly declared that the new duchy should be conferred on Henry Jasomirgott as an indivisible and inalienable fief, on failure of male issue to go to the eldest daughter, and on failure of females to be disposable by will. Henry of Austria was, in his struggle for what he conceived to be his rights, assisted by Bladislav II., the then Duke of Bohemia, who even refused to send three hundred knights to take part in the Emperor's Italian campaign; but in 1158 we find both these princes bravely assisting at the siege of Milan. Subsequently Bladislav led a force against Hungary, laying the country waste in every direction, and taking back with him a rich booty ; but he died 1 174, and Henry Jasomirgott followed him three years later, 1177, his death being due to a com- pound fracture of the leg, the result of a fall from his horse. It was in this Henry's time that Vienna seems first to have sprung into importance as a city. The old Roman fortress of Vindobona had now become greatly extended. The " castle " and the old Roman wall were in the twelfth century still in existence ; the present royal residence was then the Markgrafenburg ; and there were numerous streets in the neighbourhood, including the Bognergasse, Goldschmiedgasse, Kiifergasse, &c, where were many shops and manufactories. The market-place was already at that period surrounded by houses, and there were at least two churches, the Pfarr Church (now the Church of St. Rupert) and that of St. 62 FRANC0N1AN AND HOHENSTAUFEN DYNASTIES Stephen. Henry himself resided in the Markgrafen- burg, making Vienna the seat of his government Jasomirgott was succeeded as Duke of Austria by his son, Leopold VI. The latter, in 1 182, undertook a pilgrimage to Palestine, whence he brought back a piece of the Cross about the size of a man's hand, which he placed in the monastery of the Holy Cross. Soon after, news came that Jerusalem was in the hands of Saladin, and in 11 89 Frederick Barbarossa, accompanied by many of his princes, undertook what is known as the Third Crusade. He had safely crossed • the Dardanelles, and was traversing Asia Minor, when, in crossing the river Saleph, he was accidentally drowned. His body was conveyed to Antioch, where it was buried. When the news reached Germany the inhabitants would hardly believe it. To this day the country people say that Frederick Barbarossa is not dead, but sleeps on the Kyffhauser mountain in front of a stone table, through which his beard has grown, and many firmly believe that in the hour of Germany's peril he will come again and deliver the Fatherland ! Frederick Barbarossa was succeeded by his son, Henry VI., a cruel, hard man, who lacked his father's greatness of soul. He it was who took Richard of England prisoner, and, with the ransom obtained, levied the army which deluged a great part of Italy with blood. He too became so powerful in Germany that he was able to secure the election of his son Frederick, then an infant, as King of the Romans ; that is, German Emperor el set, and when he died, in 1 197, he had almost succeeded in making the title to BATTLE OF LODENITZ 63 the Crown a hereditary one. Three years before this, Leopold VI. of Austria had already died in conse- quence of a fall from his horse and been buried at the monastery of the Holy Cross, since which time Frederick I., his elder son, had ruled Austria, and Leopold the younger Styria. Frederick, in 1195, joined another Crusade " to secure the safety of his father's soul," but died soon after his return on April 16, 1 198, being also buried at the monastery of the Holy Cross. In Bohemia meanwhile there had been great activity. Already in 1179 Sobeslav II. had lost his dukedom at the hands of Leopold VI. of Austria, Conrad Otto of Znaim and Bladislav's son Frederick. He was driven out of the land, and died the following year. Thereupon Conrad Otto was made duke, but as Frederick had also been promised the duchy by the Emperor, the latter separated Moravia Irom Bohemia, giving the first to Conrad Otto and the second to Frederick. Nevertheless the matter was not to be so easily settled, and on December 10, 1 1 84, there occurred a hot fight at Lodenitz, in which a dearly won victory fell to Frederick. Conrad Otto then renounced all claim to the duchy. Frederick, however, himself died a few years later, on March 25, 1189, when Conrad Otto became duke. The claim upon Bohemia was still kept up by Premysl Otakar, who had been joined with Frederick at the battle of Lodenitz. When Henry VI. died and his brother Philip was set upon the throne by the supporters of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, their opponents straightway and on the same day ap- 64 FRANCONIAN AND HOHENSTAUFEN DYNASTIES pointed Otto IV. of Brunswick. Pope Innocent III. decided for the latter, and so gained for him a con- siderable following, and for some years there ensued a disastrous civil war, which would have gone hard with Otto but for the murder of Philip in 1208, when he ascended the Imperial throne. Otakar had origi- nally gone to the assistance of Philip and been acknowledged by him as King of Bohemia, but in 1 201 he transferred his help to Otto, and so when the latter became established on the throne he continued to be recognised. Bohemia thus under him became raised to the rank of a kingdom. Otto IV. did not enjoy his power long. The Pope, resolved to punish him for casting aside his influence, and set up Frederick, the son of the late Emperor Henry VI., as Emperor. In 12 14 the latter crossed the Alps and was soon acknowledged, Otto, after the great battle of Bouvines, retiring into private life. At this time Leopold VII., brother of Frederick I., was Duke of Austria. He is chiefly known for the part which he took in the Fifth Crusade. He was a faithful follower of the new Emperor Frederick II., and upon his death in 1230 Frederick mourned his loss with all sincerity. The next Duke of Austria was the only surviving son of the last, Frederick II. ("the Warlike "). In Bohemia, too, King Premysl Otakar I. was dead. His son Wenzel, or Wenceslaus I., a boy of eleven years of age, was now ruler, and under him, in 1222, Moravia once more became part of the Bohemian kingdom. Between him and Andreas, King of Hungary, on the one side, and Frederick the Warlike of Austria on the other, war now broke out, DEATH OF FREDERICK THE WARLIKE. 65 for which the pretext was Frederick's divorce of his second wife, Sophia, sister of Mary, the wife of Bela, of Hungary. This struggle lasted for many years, and in the course of it Austria was frequently invaded, the most noteworthy attack being that of 1236, when Vienna opened its gates to the combined Bavarian and Bohemian armies, and when Duke Frederick found himself deprived of most of his landed pos- sessions except Stahrenberg and Wiener Neustadt. Now, however, the Emperor himself appeared in Vienna with a brilliant throng, annexed that city as an immediate dependency of the Empire, and practically deprived Frederick the Warlike of nearly all his dominions. The latter, not disheartened, continued the struggle, and being now joined by some who had formerly opposed him, retook various strongholds, until by 1240 he had again acquired the whole district, including even Vienna. Peace was concluded with the Emperor on the latter quarrel- ling with King Wenzel : and when Frederick's niece Gertrude married Bladislav, Wenzel's son, enmity on that side also ceased. On the death of Frederick the Warlike in 1246, without issue and without a will, a dispute arose as to the succession. There were three claimants to the duchy — Margaret, widow of Henry VII., King of the Romans ; Constantia, wife of Henry the Illustrious, Margrave of Misnia ; and Frederick's niece Gertrude, the daughter-in-law of King Wenzel of Bohemia. Giving as his reason that none of the claimants was a daughter of the last duke, the Emperor Frederick II. sequestrated the estates and transferred the adminis- 6 66 FRANCONIAN AND HOHENSTAUFEN DYNASTIES tration of them to Otto, Count of Werdenberg, who straightway took over possession of them and made Vienna his head-quarters. Pope Innocent IV. was displeased at this, and instigated Wenzel to invade the country again in conjunction with Duke Otto of Bavaria, whose nephew Herman married Gertrude after the death of Bladislav (1247). The Emperor Frederick II. had in the meantime (1250) died, and his successor, Conrad IV., the last of the Hohen- staufens, was too busy with factions at home to attend much to affairs in the south-eastern part of his dominions. Accordingly, deprived of the assis- tance of the Imperial troops, the duchy of Austria readily fell a prey to Otto of Bavaria, who himself administered the country, Herman having died in 1250. Now, however, Wenzel felt aggrieved, and, wishing to make his surviving son Otakar, or Ottocar, duke, he prevailed upon the states to accept him on condition that he would marry Margaret, widow of Henry VII. He, therefore, in due course invaded the district and expelled the Bavarians, thereupon taking possession of the entire duchy. Gertrude fled to Hungary, where Bela IV. was now king, and obtained the latter's active support. War then ensued between Hungary and Bohemia, in which Otakar, since 1253 become King (Otakar II.), was defeated and compelled to cede part of Styria to Bela's son Stephen ; but a rebellion soon broke out there, and Otakar succeeded in defeating Bela at Cressenbrun, and so made himself once more secure in the duchy. Next, in 1268, he purchased the right of succession to Carinthia and Carniola from Duke Ulrich, who THE GREAT INTERREGNUM. 67 was without issue, and soon after took possession of these districts. At this time, accordingly, he was a very powerful monarch, his domains extending from Bavaria to the Raab in Hungary, and from the shores of the Baltic to those of the Adriatic. After the death of Conrad IV., in 1254, and the extinction of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, there ensued what is usually called the Great Interregnum, during which the princes of Germany seem to have done pretty much what'they pleased, and things got into such a state that at last Pope Gregory X. threatened that if the Electors did not choose a new Emperor, he himself would do so. Thus brought to the point, these dignitaries met, and duly elected Rudolph of Habsburg, who, although chosen because it was thought he would not assert himself unduly, soon showed that he was a man of determined character. GENEALOGICAL TABLE Showinc the Relationship of the various Habsburg Monarchs Rudolph I. (d 1291). Albrecht 1 id 1308) Rudolph id 1307). King of Bohemia Frederick (d 1330) Leopold II. id. 1326) I Rudolph IV. \d. 1365). Albrecht III id. 1395!. I Albrecht IV. (d 1404". I Albrecht V [\l\[d. 1439) {Bohemia and Hungary). I Ladislaus id 14571 Tyrol Line. Frederick IV. [d. 1439) I Sigismund id. 1496) Spanish Branch. Charles V [d 1558), King of Spain Philip II id 1598). Philip III id. 1621) I Philip IV \d. 1665). I Charles II [d 1700) Rudolph [d. 1290) ! John id 1313) I Albrecht II id 1358) I Henry Otho id '339) Leopold III. (d 1386) I Syrian Line. Krnest [d 1424) Frederick V. (III.) [d. 1493) Albert VI (d 1463) I. id. 151c Philip id. 1 506). German Ferdinand Branch. id- 1564)- Maximilian II. id. 1576). Ferdinand id- 1595) Second Stynan Line. Charles id 1590). 1 Ferdinand II id 1637I. I Ferdinand III [d 1657) -id \d Second Tyrol Line Leopold {d 1632) I r 1 Ferdinand Charles Sigismund Francis id 1662I id 1665). 1654] Leopold I (s, but he could not accomplish much, and -ned disgusted and indignant at the apathy 01 his people. Indifferent also was his successs in the Netherlands and in Switzer- land. When Maximilian offered to lead his troops in person against the latter country, he was met with the reply that they were not assembled to fight with the peasants of the Alps, but to defend the frontiers of Germany, and in September, 1499, he saw himself forced to declare the Helvetic States free from the jurisdiction of the Imperial Chamber, and exempt from all Imperial taxes and contributions. On the death of Charles VIII. the situation in Italy completely changed. Louis XII. taking ad- vantage of Maximilian's troubles with the Swiss, marched, in 1499, with 22,000 men against Milan, and within three weeks had not only entered the capital but got himself appointed Duke of Milan. Next year, Ludovico Sforza, the late duke, returned at the head of some 10,000 men, chiefly Swiss mercenaries, and retook all his dominions from the French, only the citadel of Novarra under the celebrated Bayard holding out to the last. While this siege was in progress Louis sent another army of 20,000 men, also chiefly Swiss, into Italy, where- upon Ludovico's men refused to fight against their PEACE OF TRENT. \2J countrymen and actually betrayed their leader into the hands of the French, he dying in captivity in 1 510. These events naturally disturbed Maximilian very much, and he even summoned a diet at Augsburg with a view to organising an armed interference, but he was again met with the declaration that all foreign wars must cease until internal affairs we ■•" 'need upon a proper footing. At last, on the 1 31 December, 1 501, he came to terms with Louis at Trent, Louis obtaining Milan, and in return paying a sum of money and engaging to help the Emperor against the Turks, and to make good his claim to the reversion of Bohemia and Hungary. Maximilian had now lost nearly all the prestige which his early successes had brought him. The doings of the Bavarians, however, in 1 504, enabled him to recover that to some extent. Duke George of Bavaria had died in December of the previous year, leaving no male issue, and Maximilian, being appealed to by the States, adjudged the lands by the feudal law of succession to Albrecht and Wolfgang of Munich, in preference to the late Duke's daughter Elisabeth. The latter and her husband having taken forcible possession, Maximilian assembled his troops and marched upon his opponents who were encamped near Regensburg, and gained a complete victory. In the course of the battle Maximilian himself incurred great personal danger, being both dragged from his horse and on the point of being slain when he was rescued by Duke Eric of Brunswick, to whom out of gratitude he granted the honour of knighthood and the revenues of the county of Goritz. On the con- 128 • MAXIMILIAN I elusion of peace, Maximilian himself retained as remuneration for the trouble and expense inflicted upon him, KufTstein, Geroldseck, Kitzbeuhl, Ratten - burg, Nyburg on the Inn, Kirchburg in Swabia, and the lordship of Weissenhorn with the landgravate of Alsace. Meanwhile there were other troubles abroad, not only in Italy and the Netherlands but also in Spain. On the death of Isabella, Queen of Castile, her elder sister Joanna and Philip were proclaimed joint sovereigns, but Philip dying and Joanna be- coming insane, a contest arose between the houses of Austria and France for the regency. Her hus- band Ferdinand, however, assumed the administra- tion, and after a time Maximilian ceased to trouble himself about the matter. Then in the Netherlands Maximilian found his guardianship of his grandsons disavowed, but these countries being threatened by the Duke of Gelderland were soon glad to submit. As for Italy, Julius II., who became Pope in 1503, had in 1 506 invited Maximilian to enter the country, in order to vindicate its liberties and wrest the territories of the Church from the French. A burst of patriotism broke out in Germany, and an army of over 100,000 men was proposed to be formed, but Louis, alarmed at these preparations, relinquished his designs on Italy, and when, in 1508, Maximilian set out, it was at the head of only 25,000 men. Ultimately, as he was afraid to fight both Venetians and French with so small an army, he agreed on the 6th of June, 1508, to an armistice with the Venetians for three years, leaving Gorz and Gradisca in their hands. LEAGUE OF CAMBRAY \2Q Smarting at nis non-success against the Venetians Maximilian settled all pending disputes between the house of Austria, the King of France and the Duke of Gelderland, and joined what is known as the league of Cambray for the conquest and partition of the Venetian territories. In April of 1509 Maximilian assembled the diet at Worms, but the objections with which they met him were so strong that they extracted from him the celebrated " Apology " for his conduct. " I have exposed my treasure, my countries, my subjects and my life, while the generality of the German States have remained in dishonourable tranquillity at home. ... I have more reason to com- plain of you than you of me, for you have constantly refused me your approbation and assistance ; and even when you have granted aids, you have rendered them fruitless by the scantiness and tardiness of your supplies, and compelled me to dissipate my own revenues and injure my own subjects." The diet failed him, but Maximilian assembled on his own account an army of 18,000 men, and with the assist- ance of other 18,000 French, Spanish, and Italian troops, laid siege to Padua, but the garrison made a stout resistance and he had to retire. The Pope, too, now secretly helped the Venetians and, in fact, tried to alienate the diet from the Emperor. At Augsburg, however, the diet granted him some aid, and in 151 1 hostilities recommenced. Maximilian now joined Louis with more enthusiasm than before, the two monarchs trying to revive in France and Germany the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VII., which was calculated to diminish the revenues and patronage of 10 130 MAXIMILIAN I. the Church, and joining theii forces with a view to deposing the Pope. Julius, nevertheless, was equal to the occasion, and with the aid of 17,000 Swiss, who assumed the title of " Defenders of the Church and Subduers of Princes," compelled the French to quit Milan. But Gaston de Foix, a youth of only twenty, being appointed Governor of Milan, used such tact in negotiating with the Swiss, that these returned to the Alps. After this, collecting a small force he recovered Brescia and Bergamo, and, joining the Duke of Fer- rara, laid siege to Ravenna. At the last-mentioned place, on the 1 1 th of April, 1 5 1 2, a memorable battle was fought, in which young Gaston was killed, but which ended in a complete victory for the French. Mean- while efforts had been made to draw Maximilian from the league of Cambray, and these now began to bear fruit. The Germans who had contributed largely to the victory at Ravenna left the field, and a truce was arranged between Maximilian and the Venetians. In the following year, 15 13, he actually joined the English in the campaign which is notable for the Battle of Spurs, in which the Chevalier Bayard and other distinguished officers were captured. Although he avoided assuming the leadership in that campaign, the operations were chiefly directed by him. The next event of importance had reference to Hungary and Bohemia, over which countries, as we have seen, Ladislaus was king. Maximilian, anxious to make his hopes of succession secure, now (in 1 5 1 5) arranged a double marriage between Louis and Anne, son and daughter of Ladislaus, and two of his own grandchildren. In due course the two marriages LANCEMEN. (Sixteenth Century.) 132 MAXIMILIAN I. took place, the Archduke Ferdinand gaining with the hand of Anne the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary. Ladislaus even pressed Maximilian, who was a widower, to marry his daughter, though she was only thirteen and the proposed bridegroom fifty-eight, but he declined the honour, remarking, " There is no method more pleasant to kill an old man than to marry him to a young bride." In 1 5 16, with the intention of, if possible, re- establishing the Imperial authority in Italy, Maxi- milian descended upon that country from Trent with an army of 30,000 men, relieved Brescia, captured Lodi, and laid siege to Milan. Discontent, however, now broke out amongst his Swiss mercen- aries, and so fearful did he become lest the fate of Ludovico Sforza should befall him, that at night he fancied he saw the spectres of his ancestor Leopold, who lost his life at Sempach, and of Charles, who fell at Nancy, warning him against the Swiss. So alarmed did he at last become, that, hastily breaking up his camp, he retired beyond the Adda, his departure being soon followed by the loss of Brescia and the siege of Verona. Finally, seeing his intentions frus- trated, Maximilian came to terms with Francis I. of France, at Brussels in December, 15 16. He retained Roveredo, Riva, and other conquests in Friaul, ceded Verona to the Venetians for a sum of money, and received from Francis a discharge of a debt of 300,000 crowns which he had contracted with Louis. The last public act which Maximilian performed was to summon a diet at Augsburg with the object of MARTIN LUTHER 1 33 getting his grandson Charles, afterwards Charles V., elected King of the Romans, and also arranging for another campaign against the Turks. The latter had now conquered Egypt, and seemed to be intent on taking Europe, so to speak, on its flank. Disappointed hitherto in his foreign wars, Maximilian seems to have wished to repair his character as a general in another contest against the foes over whom he had originally triumphed. The diet met in July, 15 18, and the Emperor tried to convince the States with all his pristine eloquence. His arguments were ably sup- ported by the Pope's legate, who brought him a con- secrated hat and sword. Nevertheless, it was all in vain ; some of the members went so far as to declare the Pope to be a more dangerous enemy to Christen- dom than the Turks ; and ultimately the settlement of the matter was deferred to a subsequent meeting. Equally unfortunate was he in the matter of his grandson's election as King of the Romans. Despite all Maximilian's arts, the States would not commit themselves, and the Emperor had to retire from the diet discomfited. It was about this time that Martin Luther, a Roman Catholic monk, was summoned to Rome to answer for his attacks upon indulgences. The system of indul- gence involved the idea that the Church was able to forgive sin and exonerate sinners from all their trans- gressions. It had now become a matter of scandal, and pardons were sold for money to such an extent that it was largely upon those receipts that the Papal Court was maintained in its extravagance. Luther, indignant at this, had, on the 30th of September, 134 MAXIMILIAN I. 1 5 17, affixed to the door of the church at Wittenberg ninety-five propositions on the subject, which raised so much commotion that Pope Leo X. was compelled in the following year to summon him to Rome. The summons was disobeyed, and Luther fled to Augs- burg. Maximilian's aid was now invoked to get the Reformer to subordinate himself to the Pope's will. He does not, however, seem to have actively assisted in the policy of coercion. Even the Emperor, nevertheless, would probably soon have had to inter- fere, in which case nothing would have availed to save Luther from the vengeance of Rome ; but at the critical moment when the Papal Bull was issued asserting the efficiency of indulgences, Maximilian died, and proceedings against Luther were for the time suspended. Although only fifty-nine years of age, Maximilian had long been in a weak state of health, and we are actually told that for the last four years of his life he never travelled without a coffin, which with all the requisites of a funeral, he kept in a box. On his deathbed he was most minute in his directions as to how he should be buried. When recommended by his physicians to make his peace with God, he said, " I have long done so, or it would now be too late," and to the bystanders, weeping with emotion, he remarked, " Why do you weep because you see a mortal die? Such tears as these rather become women than men." His death took place on the morning of the nth of January, 15 19. Maximilian was undoubtedly an extraordinary man. In size he was not beyond the average, but he was MAXIMILIAN S CHARACTER I 35 muscular and well-proportioned, and of a majestic bearing. He had an aquiline nose, small mouth, and pointed chin. In early boyhood he suffered from some physical defect which led to his being styled " the dumb prince " ; this he afterwards got over, and even in his youth his manners were most captivating and amiable. As a scholar he was most accomplished ; he was well versed in Latin, French, German, and Italian skilled in various arts and sciences, and his works comprise treatises on such diverse subjects as religion, military matters, hunting, hawking, and cookery. If he was a failure as a warrior, it was not due to in- capacity as a general, but to the circumstances of his time. His reforms in internal affairs were certainly wise and useful. He divided the Empire into ten districts, namely, those of Austria, Burgundy, the Upper and Lower Rhine, Franconia, Bavaria, Swabia, Westphalia, and Upper and Lower Saxony, and established a government in each of these divisions. He also instituted boards and colleges for the administration of justice, management of the revenue, &c, and abolished many oppressive taxes and exac- tions. He had, however, his faults ; he was of far too sanguine a temperament and constantly over- stepped the bounds of prudence. But though often in danger, he was always fortunate in pulling through, and we read of the most marvellous escapes from fire, shipwreck, and other accidental dangers. His bravery and intrepidity, too, led him often voluntarily into perils. We are told that at Worms, in 1495, a French knight, named Claude de Batre, hung up his shield under his window as a challenge to all Germans to 136 MAXIMILIAN I. try the lance with him, whereupon as none accepted the risk, Maximilian himself, ashamed of his country- men, undertook the task. He was wounded in the fray, but ultimately compelled the Frenchman to yield. XI CHARLES V THE REFORMATION. Charles V., Maximilian's successor, was the son of that Emperor's son Philip, and was born at Ghent February 24, 1 500. At the early age of sixteen he assumed the administration of the Netherlands, and on the death of Ferdinand the Catholic he suc- ceeded in conjunction with his mother Joanna to the crowns of Castile and Aragon, and took to himself the title of King of Spain. Hardly had he succeeded in securing the homage of his Spanish subjects, who had been somewhat restive and discontented, when the death of Maximilian occurred. The prospect of obtaining the Imperial throne was now opened up to him, though there were also other strong candidates in the field, among them Henry VIII. of England and Francis I. of France. With the view of avoiding the conflicting interests of other countries, however, the electors offered the crown to Frederick of Saxony (the Wise), who nevertheless magnanimously de- clined it. At last, after a six months' interregnum, 137 I38 CHARLES V. Charles was, on the 28th of June, 15 19, duly raised to the throne. He at once accepted the honour and declared his intention to proceed to Germany. Next year he started for his new dominions, on his way meeting Henry VIII., whom he charmed with his manner. He was crowned at Aix la Chapelle, October 23, 1520. Charles V. was now the most powerful monarch in Christendom. No king since Charlemagne had united such extensive territories or exercised so widespread an authority. Not only did he hold the vast dominions of Spain, including Naples and Sicily, the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands, and the possessions of the German Empire, but he also succeeded, in con- junction with his brother Ferdinand, to all the terri- tories of the House of Austria. His power was so great that it seemed to threaten to extinguish all civil and individual liberties, and possibly this might have occurred to a greater extent than was the case had it not been for the attacks of the French and the Turks. Nevertheless, at the outset of his reign the German Kurfursten tried to limit their monarch's pre- rogative by causing him to sign a formal deed or capitulation of thirty-six articles, the chief items of which were the entrusting of the government service to Germans, the use of the German language as official, the confirmation of the Germanic body in the exercise of all its legislative and executive powers, and the consulting of the electors in matters affecting themselves and their relations to foreign States. Charles also had to promise not to attempt to render the Imperial crown hereditary in his family. PROGRESS OF THE REFORMATION 1 39 With regard to the Austrian territories, these were divided between Charles and Ferdinand, the latter getting Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, the Tyrol, and the provinces of Swabia and Alsace. The division was not of much importance, for Ferdi- nand ultimately became King of the Romans, Emperor of Germany, and head of all the Austrian dominions. Charles's first diet met at Worms January 6, 1 52 1, and over that assembly he presided in person. Part of the business was stated by him to be " to concert with the princes of the Empire effectual measures for checking the progress of those new and dangerous opinions which threaten to disturb the peace of Germany, and to overturn the religion of our ancestors," but notwithstanding that anti-Protestant declaration, an aid of 20,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry was granted to accompany the Emperor to Rome, though only as an escort and not for aggressive purposes. Charles had already shown himself hostile to the Reformers, and now the ques- tion had become more pressing owing to the burning by Luther the year before of the famous Papal Bull, condemning his writings. The diet, however, showed itself perfectly indifferent to the assertions of Papal infallibility, and Charles thought it wise to offer Luther a safe conduct to Worms. It was there before the diet that the Reformer uttered those famous words : " I neither can nor dare retract anything. My conscience is a captive to God's word, and it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand ; I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen." Charles was indignant at what he deemed 140 CHARLES V. to be opposition to him personally, but he could do nothing without the co-operation of the German Princes ; and it was only after the electors of Saxony and Bavaria had left the diet that he dared to issue his famous Edict of Worms denouncing Luther with the ban of the Empire. In March of 1522, neverthe- MEDAL WITH PORTRAITS OF CHARLES V. AND FERDINAND I. {From " The Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy" by the Archduke Rudolph mid others.) less, we find Luther braving the proscription and preaching at Wittenberg against innovations upon his doctrines, the fact of the matter being that Charles was too busy with his troubles in Spain, France, and the Low Countries to enforce his Edict against him. PEASANT REVOLTS I 4 I In Charles's absence, two more diets were sum- moned to Niirnberg by the Archduke Ferdinand, who seems to have been appointed Regent or presi- dent of a council of regency. At the first of these an epistle of Pope Adrian's was read, severely cen- suring the princes of the Empire for their lukewarm- ness, but the latter retaliated by publishing a list of grievances against the Church of which they claimed redress. So bold did the Lutherans now become, and so popular were their doctrines, that when Faber, Canon of Strassburg, was enjoined to make a tour of the country to preach against the Reformation, he dared not do so, and when the second Diet of Niirnberg met, January 10, 1524, the Pope's legate was listened to in vain. Even in Austria the new doctrines made rapid progress not only among the masses of the people but among the professors of the University of Vienna, and even among the aristocracy and nobility The next years are remarkable for risings of the peasants all over the country. These were attributed to the Lutherans, and served to foster the ill-feeling between them and the Catholics. In 1524, and again in 1529, diets were held at Speier, but all business was subordinated to the religious question, and with reference to that the Catholics got no satisfaction. Meanwhile Charles had successfully expelled the French from Italy, and even captured Francis I. at Pavia. Having concluded the treaties of Barcelona with the Pope, and of Cambray with Francis, he saw himself, in 1530, able to turn his attention to the Reformers. Accordingly he summoned a diet to 142 CHARLES V. meet at Augsburg in April. " I have convened this assembly," his circular stated, " to consider the differences of opinion on the subject of religion ; and it is my intention to hear both parties with candour and charity, to examine their respective arguments, to correct and reform what requires to be corrected and reformed, that the truth being known and harmony re-established, there may, in future, be only one pure and simple faith, and as all are disciples of the same Jesus, all may form one and the same church." His sincerity, however, was doubted by the Protestant princes, for he remained on the most intimate terms with the Pope, and these magnates actually deliberated whether they should not assemble in arms and attack him before he was in a situation to put them down. When the diet met the Protestant princes would not attend the holy sacrament or high mass, the Margrave of Branden- burg exclaiming : " I will rather instantly offer my head to the executioner than renounce the gospel and approve idolatry," and presented Charles with what has been called the Confession of Augsburg. This the Emperor desired to be read in Latin, whereupon the Chancellor of Saxony replied : " Sire, we are now on German ground ; and I trust that your majesty will not order the apology of our faith, which ought to be made as public as possible, to be read in a language not understood by the Germans." Charles felt inclined to have recourse to rigorous measures, but as even the Catholics were divided among them- selves, he for the present kept up the mask of moderation. But on the 1 6th of November, 1530, he CONVENTION OF N URN BERG 1 43 published the intolerant decree, re-establishing all the doctrines, ceremonies, and usages of the Romish Church, and to get this enforced he induced the diet, the majority of which consisted of Catholics, to appoint his brother Ferdinand, who lately had also become King of Bohemia and Hungary, as King of the Romans, to administer affairs in the Emperor's absence. The Protestants became alarmed, and even thought of calling in foreign aid, but fortunately a determined invasion of the Turks into Hungary distracted Charles's attention. A temporary religious truce was accordingly arranged at Nlirnberg in August of 1532, granting to the Protestants the free exercise jf their religion until the diet of the Empire should settle a rule of faith. Protestants and Catholics then combined to drive out the Turks. No sooner was the danger past than Charles again showed his perfidy, whereupon the Protestants renewed their foreign friendships, and the Landgrave of Hesse, entering Wurttemberg at the head of a considerable force, defeated the Austrians at Lauffen, and restored the duchy to the Protestant Duke Ulrich. Through the mediation of the Duke of Saxony and Elector of Mainz, however, a convention was in July, 1534, concluded at Cadan in Bohemia by which the con- vention of Nlirnberg was renewed, whereupon the Protestant princes straightway recognised Ferdinand as King of the Romans. During the next ten years religious quiet of a kind prevailed, the Protestants meanwhile consolidating their power, and the Catholics declining to concede 144 CHARLES V. anything. Charles, recognised the difficulties, and held aloof, though manifestly favouring the Catholics, but he never relinquished his purpose to bring the Lutherans again within the Church. Accordingly, when in 1545 he had concluded peace with Francis at Crespy, he summoned a general council to meet at Trent, and declared that he would pronounce the ban of the Empire against all who disobeyed its decrees. The Protestants were, notwithstanding, firm in their resistance, and the Council of Trent, instead of introducing reforms into the Church, con- tented themselves with declaring certain propositions from Luther's works to be heretical. In 1546 matters assumed a more serious aspect. The attempts to divide and weaken the Protestant position had some result, and Charles had concluded a league with the Pope, whereby he got 30,000 troops and a liberal subsidy. War seemed imminent, and indeed Charles did not deny that he intended to put down the Protestants by force. The latter, therefore, con- sidering delay to be dangerous, at once resolved upon aggression, and in July, 1546, the Emperor was astonished with the news that the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse were advancing in conjunction upon the Danube. At the same time, other Protestant troops under Schartlin proceeded towards Regensburg, where the Emperor was with his diet. When these forces were united, they com- prised an army of 80,000 men, all well equipped and enthusiastic, and Charles who had only some 8,000 men about him at once retired to Landshut to await the arrival of reinforcements. BATTLE OF LUCHAU 1 45 These having come up, and the Protestant troops not pressing on, he was soon enabled to advance again upon Regensburg and Ingolstadt, and take up a defensive position which his opponents did not venture to assail. Dissensions in the Protestant army further assisted Charles, and before the end of the year he had reduced the Duke of Wlirttemberg to submission, regained Ulm, Augsburg, Strassburg, Frankfurt, and other important cities, and forced the Elector Palatine to acknowledge his authority. In the following year he was equally fortunate in coping with the Elector of Saxony, and at the battle of Luchau near Wittenberg, notwithstanding the per- sonal bravery of the Elector, the Protestant forces were completely routed. The Elector himself was wounded in the face and taken prisoner. When brought before Charles he addressed the latter as his most powerful and gracious Emperor, whereupon the Emperor in a passion exclaimed : " So, I am now your gracious Emperor ; lately you only vouchsafed me the title of Charles of Ghent ! " Being tried by court-martial he was sentenced to death, but finally his life was spared on his securing the surrender of Wittenberg. Amid all his troubles, however, he would not renounce his fidelity to the new faith. In due course Charles entered Wittenberg in triumph, after which event he seemed to display more tolerance towards the Lutherans. He even visited the grave where the great Reformer had recently been buried ; and when his supporters urged him to displace the ashes of this enemy of their Church, he replied : " I war not with the dead, but 11 I46 CHARLES V. with the living ; suffer him to repose in peace ; he is already before his judge ! " Soon afterwards the Landgrave of Hesse, the sole remaining leader of the Protestant party, came in and surrendered upon terms, but though he had deemed his freedom secure Charles detained him in custody, saying that he would only abide by his written engagements. Charles now regarded his purpose of more firmly establishing the Catholic religion as practically accom- plished, and in 1 548 summoned a diet to Augsburg to settle religious disputes. All that was done, neverthe- less, was to arrange a formulary of twenty-six articles, known as the Interim, couched in ambiguous terms, and revocable at a future time by a general council. During his absence in the Netherlands, the Interim became, to all intents and purposes, a dead letter, but on his return in 1550, he at once set about reinforcing it. He also obtained a Bull from the Pope for the con- vocation of a council at Trent, and summoned another diet at Augsburg to acknowledge that council, and pro- mise submission to its decrees. The diet acquiesced in everything, though now even the Catholic princes began to dread Charles's designs. Next year Magde- burg surrendered after a siege of ten months, and Charles was then once more in complete possession of all his territories. In his struggle with the Protestants, Charles had derived much help from Maurice of Saxony, himself a Protestant, but the latter, whether from a feeling that he had not been duly rewarded for his services, or from jealousy of the Emperor's power to which he had so much contributed, now began to intrigue with TRANSFER OF THE NETHERLANDS 1 47 the defeated Protestant leaders. In 1552 Maurice boldly disclosed his plans, and suddenly appeared at the head of 25,000 men before the gates of Augsburg, declaiming that he came not as a foe, but simply to prevent the destruction of the Protestant religion, and to rescue the Landgrave of Hesse. At the same time the King of France, styling himself the protector of the liberties of Germany, began hostilities. Charles, in dismay and utterly unable to cope with this twofold attack, hastened to conclude an armistice. Maurice, however, without waiting for its termination, advanced to the Alps, defeated Charles's troops at Reute, and took Ehrenburg. He was thus within only two days' march of Innsbruck where the Emperor was, and the latter on hearing the news at once left the place, arriving on a dark night in sorry plight at Villach in Carinthia. Though his brother's media- tion was now invoked, Charles nevertheless proudly stuck to his position. At last, external perils from the Turks, who had invaded Hungary, compelled him to agree to the so-called Pacification of Passau, which assured to the Protestants liberty of conscience and restored the Landgrave of Hesse. In 1555, the memorable diet met, which was to confirm this truce, and general articles of mutual toleration were agreed to, so that henceforth Charles lost all hope. Soon after, on October 25, 1555, accompanied by his son Philip, who the previous year had married Mary Tudor, Queen of England, he repaired to the States of the Netherlands assembled at Brussels. There, tottering beneath his infirmities, and leaning on the Prince of Orange, he resigned the crown of the I48 CHARLES V. Netherlands to Philip. Next year he also handed over the throne of Spain in the same way to Philip, and retired to the convent of St. Just, near Placentia in Spain, where he passed the remainder of his days. Two-and-a-half years later, on the 21st of September, 1558, he died in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and forty-fifth of his reign. Philip was known as Philip II. of Spain, but did not succeed in getting elected to the dignity of German Emperor. XII FERDINAND I. AND MAXIMILIAN II UNION WITH HUNGARY. We have already seen now, on the death of Maximilian L, Charles and his brother Ferdinand partitioned their territories so as to give the latter what amounted to sole control of Austria and its dependencies. At the time in question, the regency appointed by the late Emperor had been forcibly replaced by a council of disaffected individuals, but Ferdinand, having dissipated this council, reinstated the regents, and himself assumed supreme control. The first great increase of his authority was in 1526, when he became King of Bohemia, Louis having perished in the flight from Mohacs, after the total defeat there of the Hungarians by Solyman and his Turks. Bohemia and Hungary now again became separate monarchies, for in the latter country Ferdinand found too strong a competitor in John of Zapoli, the waivode of Transylvania. This man having put himself under Solyman's protection, received from him the crown of St. Stephen, and promised, as a 149 150 FERDINAND I. AND MAXIMILIAN II. feudatory vassal, to obey the Sultan. On Solyman's retreat, Ferdinand thought to drive his rival out, but the Turks coming back almost immediately in even larger numbers, he had to concert measures of defence. The Turks, were, however, on this occasion delayed by the memorable siege of Guntz, which under Nicholas Jurissitz and some 800 men, held out against their vast hordes so long, that Charles and Ferdinand were enabled to collect a force of 90,000 infantry and 30,000 cavalry to oppose them. There- upon Solyman abandoned his enterprise, September, 1532. Although danger from the side of the Turks was now past for the present, Ferdinand was not in a much better position with regard to Hungary. The Germans, though united against the Turks, would not assist the House of Austria in its policy of aggression, and after some years of desultory war- fare, Ferdinand agreed in 1538 to leave to John those parts of Hungary of which he had gained possession, on condition that he would renounce all hostile alliances and join him in keeping out the Turks. Two years later John died, leaving an infant son, whereupon a strong party in Hungary, passing Ferdinand over, proclaimed this child king and placed their country under the protection of the Sultan. It was this event which for the next hundred years made the greater part of Hungary subservient to the Ottoman power. All Ferdinand's efforts to recover the country proved ineffectual, and in August, 1545, he was even compelled to buy of Solyman a truce of five years for an annual tribute of 30,000 ducats. THE BLOODY DIET I5I Meanwhile, the religious movement had been assuming greater proportions, and in Bohemia especially the Lutheran doctrines had made vast progress. Ferdinand seems to have been at first as hostile to these as was his brother, and his attitude soon excited grave discontent among his Bohemian subjects. Accordingly, when in 1546 he published the ban of the Empire against the Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse, and ordered the Bohemian troops to advance into the Voigtland of Saxony, many of these mutinied. In course of time, matters reached such a pass that, fearing lest Ferdi- nand should suppress their liberties by force, the States of Bohemia assembled at Prague, gave directions for collecting an army of defence, and nominated a committee to act as delegates for them. Ferdinand sent orders to them to disband their troops, but his directions were disregarded, and the States excused themselves on the ground that their forefathers had always raised troops whenever a foreign army approached the frontiers, and that their present movement was not a menace to either their king or their emperor. Ferdinand did not stop to remonstrate with them, but advanced into the country with a large army, entered Prague in triumph, and soon compelled the States to see that their opposition to him would be fruitless. The punishment of the ringleaders, too, seems to have struck terror into the people, and at the Bloody Diet at Prague in 1 547, so called because it was opened with the execution of four prisoners, they humbly 152 FERDINAND I. AND MAXIMILIAN II. submitted to all the king's decrees. Henceforth he set about consolidating his power, changed the constitution by making it an hereditary instead of an elective monarchy, established the order of Jesuits with control over the public education, and finally, in 1 562, got his son Maximilian proclaimed his successor. Such was the state of matters in Hungary and Bohemia when on the 7th of August, 1556, Charles V. formally abdicated in favour of his brother, the King of the Romans. Owing, however, to constitutional difficulties, arising from the unprecedented nature of the act, Ferdinand was not formally acknow- ledged as Emperor until February, 1558. Now an important change took place in the relations of the German Emperor to the Pope. The occupant of the Roman See at this time was Paul IV., a vain and overbearing man. He declared that Charles's act was that of a madman, and that he ought to have resigned his imperial dignity to the head of the Church from whom he had received it. On these grounds he refused to receive Ferdinand's application to be crowned at Rome, which had hitherto been regarded as necessary to confer the title of Emperor, and to enable the Emperor in turn to nominate a new King of the Romans. After an examination of precedents, however, the personal coronation by the Pope was declared to be unnecessary, and henceforth the Roman Pontiff ceased to be regarded as superior to the Emperor. As a ruler, Ferdinand was much more prudent than his brother. Finding a union between Catholics ECCLESIASTICAL REFORMS I 53 and Protestants impossible of accomplishment, and dreading a renewal of the religious warfare of the previous reign, he no longer sought to coerce the Reformers. At the same time he never abandoned the hope of persuading them peacefully to heal the schism in the Church, and by way of promoting a compromise he even went so far as to solicit the Pope, Pius IV., a much more reasonable man than his predecessor, to please the Protestants by per- mitting the marriage of the clergy. At first the Protestants seem to have had their suspicions lulled But, the former Council of Trent being about to resume its sittings, and the Pope having sent epistles in which Catholics and Protestants alike were styled "sons," the Protestants at Naumburg in 1560 formally resolved to continue their adherence to the Confession of Augsburg. When the Council met accordingly in January, 1562, Ferdinand, recognising that radical changes must be made, himself required the number of cardinals to be reduced to twenty-six, dispensations and exemptions from the civil law to be discontinued, simony and pluralities to be abolished, and the farming of ecclesiastical offices to cease. He also proposed that the bishops should be compelled to live in their dioceses, that fees for the administration of the sacrament should no longer be levied, that excommunication should be limited to mortal sins, that religious services should be held in the vulgar tongue, that a new church ritual should be made, that the rigour of fasts should be abated, and that marriage should be lawful for the clergy. No wonder that the Court of Rome became indignant 154 FERDINAND I. AND MAXIMILIAN II. and that dissension sprang up in this assembly to such an extent that the Emperor himself felt bound to dissolve it with the remark that " Nothing good could be expected of it, even if it were to continue its sittings for a hundred years ! " All this time the quarrel with Hungary was going on, but about the year 1562 Ferdinand, being desirous of the peaceful succession of his eldest" son Maximilian to the Imperial dignity, concluded a truce of eight years with the Sultan Solyman, agreeing to pay the latter tribute and leave John Sigismund in undisturbed possession of Transylvania. Notwithstanding this bargain, however, John Sigis- mund continued to make incursions into the Austrian part of Hungary, and even captured Zatmar, but on the 25th of July, 1564, Ferdinand died, and his son fell heir to his religious and political troubles. He was a learned man and an able ruler, and despite the religious factions in his territories was much beloved by all his subjects. Many were the abuses that were remedied in his reign, and, among other reforms, he passed an edict regulating the alloy, value, form, &c. of the coinage, which henceforth bore the profile, or at all events the designation, of the reigning sovereign. In religious matters, Maximilian II. was in many respects the counterpart of his father, being strongly attached to the Lutheran doctrines. For a time, indeed, there seems to have existed a danger of an open rupture between father and son on this account, for in a letter to the Elector Palatine, the latter says : " I have so deeply offended my father by maintaining a Lutheran preacher in my serv ice that I fear I shall MAXIMILIAN S POLICY I 55 be expelled as a fugitive." He remained steadfast in the faith, however, and declared that he was ready to " sacrifice all worldly interests for the sake of salvation." Such being his opinions, his accession was naturally dreaded by the Catholics, but from motives of prudence he remained in the Church, retained his father's confessor, and otherwise openly showed favour to the Romish Church. In this way the utmost toleration was secured to both parties, and throughout his reign religious peace prevailed. Maximilian's first diet met at Augsburg in 1566, and both Protestants and Catholics, renouncing - for the time being discussion of their religious differences, combined to vote aids to defend the Empire against the Turks. Only after that did the Emperor allow the States to approach matters ecclesiastical, and even then he so managed the deliberations that while all surrounding nations were involved at this time in religious feuds and civil wars, Germany enjoyed perfect civil and religious peace and tranquillity. When the massacre of St. Bartholomew took place on the 24th of August, 1572, notwithstanding that he was father-in-law to Charles IX., who promoted it, Maximilian expressed the greatest abhorrence of the act, and when, after Charles's death, Henry of Valois was passing through Vienna to take possession of the throne, the German Emperor took occasion to dissuade him from similar sanguinary proceedings, telling him that " no crime was greater in princes than to tyrannise over the consciences of their subjects ; that, far from honouring the common Father of all, by shedding the blood of heretics, they 156 FERDINAND I. AND MAXIMILIAN II. incurred the divine vengeance ; and, while they aspired by such means to crowns in heaven, they justly exposed themselves to the loss of their earthly kingdoms." Maximilian also boldly espoused the cause of the Netherlands, which at this time were groaning under the iron tyranny of the Duke of Alba. MAXIMILIAN' II. (From " The Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy Rudolph and others.) by Ihe Archduke He even sent his brother Charles to Spain to induce Philip to recall the Spanish troops and adopt more lenient measures, an interference which only called forth this question : " Why the Emperor, instead of making these useless representations, did not prevent the Prince of Orange and his brothers from levying ATTACKS BY THE TURKS 1 57 troops in the Empire?" He had, nevertheless, the satisfaction before the close -of his reign of seeing, in 1576, the confederacy of Ghent formed by the Prince of Orange, whereby matters in the Nether- lands resumed much of their appearance prior to the administration of the Duke of Alba. The only external troubles that affected Maxi- milian's quiet reign arose from the side of Hungary, and the dismembered fiefs of the Empire, particularly Prussia and Livonia. To the state of affairs in Hungary at his accession allusion has already been made. Since even after that event, John Sigismund continued to make inroads into the Austrian terri- tories, Maximilian despatched a force under a distin- guished general, Swendy, which not only recovered the places seized by the Prince of Transylvania but captured Tokay, Kovar, Erdad, and Bathor. There- upon Solyman made preparations for an invasion, but Maximilian divided the forces which he had col- lected into three parts, and while one of these under Swendy opposed the Transylvanians on the Theiss, and another under the Archduke Charles held Illyria, the Emperor himself with the main body, amounting to 80,000 men, awaited the Turks on the Raab. These invaders were again detained on their march, this time by the little garrison of Szigeth, which held out until it was reduced to 600 men, when, sallying out for a final fray, they were cut down almost to a man. The Turks, however, had meanwhile lost about 20,000 men, and the Sultan Solyman, dying suddenly, they retired. Maximilian seized the opportunity to send, in 1567, an embassy to Constantinople which succeeded I58 FERDINAND /. AND MAXIMILIAN II. in securing an armistice on condition that the Prince of Transylvania should retain the territories then held by him. These terms were not disadvantageous to the German Emperor, for his Hungarian territory was now extended beyond the Theiss. A year or two later, John Sigismund himself came to terms with the Emperor, engaging to renounce the title of King of Hungary, to acknowledge Maximilian as his superior sovereign, and to allow Transylvania to become a dependency of the crown of Hungary should he die without male issue. Soon afterwards, on the 16th of March, 1 571, John Sigismund died, and all his pos- sessions, except Transylvania, reverted to Maximilian. The principality elected as its new waivode Stephen Bathori, in which appointment the Emperor had no hesitation in concurring, especially as that prince took the oath of fealty to the crown of Hungary. As for the dismembered fiefs, these threatened to disturb the peace of the Empire, owing to the pro- mise that had been wrested from Maximilian at his accession to restore the Imperial authority over them. Eastern Prussia was at this time in the hands of Albert of Brandenburg, who had abandoned the Teutonic knights on joining the Protestant cause. Against him this equestrian order now sought to organise opposition, and, coming to Maximilian, claimed of him the execution of his promise to recover Prussia thus wrested from them. The Emperor, on the other hand, aware that all the Protestant princes would support the House of Brandenburg, and that any interference on his part might involve a disastrous foreign war, managed skil- DEATH OF MAXIMILIAN 1 59 fully to induce the Teutonic knights to desist from their purpose. Livonia, which had been captured from the Order by Ivan Vasilievitch II., Czar of Russia, would also have led to serious complications, but here again Maximilian's tact and diplomacy proved likewise successful. The last years of Maximilian's reign were employed in securing his various dominions and dignities for his family. With that object in view, in 1572, he got the States of Hungary to crown his son Rudolph as their king, and at a diet at Prague, in 1575, the States of Bohemia also conferred their sovereignty on Rudolph, who thus became king both of Hungary and Bohemia. Next he procured for the same son the title of King of the Romans, the latter being duly crowned at Regensburg on the 1st of November, 1575. Maximilian had further endeavoured to procure the crown of Poland, and with it the Duchy of Lithuania; but in this he had proved unsuccessful, Henry of Anjou, brother of Charles IX. of France, having pre- viously been elected to these dignities in May, 1 573. On Henry's elevation to the throne of. France, his efforts were again renewed, and he was, in fact, chosen king of Poland ; but, a strong party opposing him, and setting up Stephen Bathori of Transylvania, and he himself dying soon afterwards, that country as well as Lithuania, became lost to his house. Maximilian died at Regensburg, on the 12th of October, 1576, in the fiftieth year of his age, and the twelfth of his reign. Many are the eulogiums that have been passed upon this monarch. Even the Poles represented him l6o FERDINAND I. AND MAXIMILIAN II. as having consolidated the Christian world, and as having won more glory by peaceful means than other princes had gained by their military deeds. And the Bohemian ambassadors sent to Poland to promote his interests in that quarter said : " We Bohemians are as happy under his government as if he were our father; our privileges, our laws, our rights, liberties, and usages are protected, maintained, defended, and con- firmed. No less just than wise, he confers the offices and dignities of the kingdom only on natives of rank; and is not influenced by favour or artifice. . . . But what may be almost considered as a miracle is the prudence and impartiality of his conduct towards persons of a different faith, always recommending union, concord, peace, toleration, and mutual regard. He listens even to the meanest of his subjects, readily receives their petitions, and renders impartial justice to all." XIII RUDOLPH II. AND MATTHIAS ATTACK UPON PROTESTANTISM On the death of Maximilian II., Rudolph, his eldest son, then twenty-five years of age, succeeded, in due course, to the Empire. He also got sole posses- sion of the Archduchy of Austria. Like his father he was mild and peacefully disposed, and his literary acquirements were great, but he seems to have been very superstitious, and much addicted to the so-called arts of alchemy and astrology. He had been brought up among the Jesuits, and though at first he tried to appear tolerant to the different religious parties, we shall see that he was far from being so in the long run. All the same, even towards the close of his reign, we find him allowing the Viennese to worship according to the Lutheran ritual, as well as in private houses. The Protestants had, however, increased their power so much, and ousted the Catholics from so many public offices, that it was not long till Rudolph's Catholic spirit urged him to impose restrictions upon them which, nevertheless, proved a dead letter, as the 12 l61 1 62 RUDOLPH II. AND MATTHIAS German States refused to execute them, saying that '' they were bound to obey God rather than man." This attitude of his led, in 1595, to revolts on the part of the peasants, but these being easily suppressed only tended to make matters worse. Meanwhile, Calvinists and Lutherans were drawing more and more apart, even indulging in mutual persecution, and the Jesuits taking advantage of these dissensions weakened both parties in the popular eye by turning their arguments against themselves. In some districts civil war actually prevailed for years. Thus in Strassburg, for instance, in conse- quence of Rudolph's depriving the Protestants there in 1585, of the houses and revenues which they had appropriated, the Emperor's decrees were boldly defied, and when, in 1 592, the latter proposed to put the bishopric in sequestration under the care of his uncle, Ferdinand of the Tyrol, the Protestants of the place set up the Margrave of Brandenburg, who straightway levied troops, took possession of Kochen- burg and Dichtstein, and prepared to conquer the see. It was not till 1604 that this dispute was termin- ated by the mediation of the Duke of Wiirttemberg, who procured the resignation of the Margrave and the reinstatement of the Catholics. So again, in 1 594, the Elector Palatine formed a Protestant con- federacy at Heilbronn, whose aims were not to grant aids to the Emperor against the Turks until their grievances were redressed. For a long time this con- federacy was powerless owing to the disunion among the chiefs, but its numbers and strength steadily increased, until at last, in 1603, they felt able to form 164 RUDOLPH II. AND MATTHIAS an offensive and defensive alliance at Heidelberg to maintain their civil and religious liberties. Soon, in Austria, the Protestant religion became practically suppressed, and in Bohemia and Hungary the same policy was in force. Rudolph made Prague his chief place of residence, but his mandates against all meetings of Lutherans and Calvinists, and his de- priving them of the power of holding appointments or having schools of their own, aroused a tremendous amount of hatred and jealousy among all classes and orders. In fact, Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary were all driven to the verge of insurrection. In the Empire a like rigour prevailed, and the Imperial ban was executed against Aix la Chapelle. By this time, too, the Aulic Council, instituted by Maximilian I., in 1 50 1, had acquired great power and had become an instrument of religious persecution. Its jurisdiction, accordingly, the Protestants were anxious to have curtailed, and this was, in fact, one of their points at the diet of Regensburg in 1608, when they would not proceed to vote supplies until their grievances were redressed. " Fifty years' experience has taught us that the Imperial Court always presses the decision of matters interesting to itself, and having obtained its purposes no longer cares for the redress of grievances." This diet was so stormy and turbulent that it actually separated without the matters for which it had been summoned being so much as discussed. With regard to external matters, the Turks still threatened Hungary, and, in order if possible to keep that country secure from their inroads, Rudolph INVASION BY MAHOMET 1 65 placed Croatia under the government of his uncle, Charles of Styria, as an Imperial fief. The latter con- structed there the fortress of Karlstadt on the Kulpa, afterwards the capital of Croatia, and formed other military colonies as well. For years, nevertheless, predatory warfare continued to prevail along this frontier. In 1 591, for instance, the Pasha of Bosnia burst into Croatia, captured Wihitz and Petrinia and laid siege to Sissek, but the Austrians attacked the Turks at the last-mentioned place, and totally defeated them with a loss of 12,000 men. Immedi- ately afterwards Sultan Amurath, having terminated his wars with Persia, poured immense hordes into Hungary and Croatia, and secured among other places Sissek and Raab. The defection of Transyl- vania, however, which, in 1595, formed an offensive and defensive alliance with Austria, seems to have materially turned the scale against the Turks, for in that year we find them once again driven back. But in 1596 Mahomet, who had succeeded Amurath, resolved to retrieve his defeats and, invading Hungary, succeeded in capturing Erlau and defeating the Austrians under the Arch- duke Maximilian. At that point the Turks relaxed their efforts, so that their success was not pursued. Still, armies had annually to be maintained and provided for the defence of the frontier, and the rapacity of the German troops, combined with the religious intolerance practised against the inhabitants, served greatly to alienate Rudolph's Hungarian subjects. As a matter of fact, a rebellion broke out in 1 66 RUDOLPH II. AXD MATTHIAS Hungary in 1603 under Stephen Botskai, the principal noble in Upper Hungary. Crowds flocked to his standard, and in an incredibly short space of time he expelled the Austrian troops out of Kaschau and other parts of Hungary. In this revolt Transylvania also joined, and, the Turks backing up the movement, the Austrians were driven out of that principality. Botskai was now proclaimed King of Hungary and Prince of Transylvania, but he refused the hono-ir for the time being and, prosecuting his campaign, subdued all Upper Hungary, right to the walls of Pressburg. In very truth, Austrian affairs were in a deplorable state. Rudolph's apathy, too, amid all these troubles, only tended to aggravate the situation and increase the all-prevailing discontent. So weak was the monarch at this time and so bad the state of matters throughout the Empire, that in 1606 his brother Matthias, who, since the death of Ernest the year before, had become heir-presumptive to Rudolph, formed a secret compact with his brother Maximilian and his cousins Ferdinand and Maxi- milian Ernest of Styria, whereby he was declared head of the house of Austria and was, if possible, to be made King of the Romans. Next Matthias gained over Botskai and got the reversion to the Hungarian territories held by him. Then, with Botskai's assistance, Matthias succeeded in a short time in pacifying Hungary and in also concluding a truce with the Sultan on condition that both parties should retain possession of the lands then held by them. Ostensibly all this had been accomplished by Matthias as an official of Rudolph's, but now the AFFAIRS IN BOHEMIA l6/ latter, suspicious of his brother's intentions or through knowledge of the secret compact, sosght to pass Matthias over and get his cousin Ferdinand of Styria made King of the Romans. To begin with, he ap- oointed Ferdinand president of the diet of Regensburg n i5o8, and at the same time he bitterly inveighed igainst Matthias's conduct in making peace with the Turks. The latter, however, averse to the employ- ment of force, seemed for the time to tamely submit, but having on his side a large following of Protestants, whom he had conciliated both in Austria and Hungary by numerous concessions, he easily obtained from the diet a ratification of his acts. As the Emperor, nevertheless, still refused to assent to the treaty of Vienna with the Turks, Matthias set about organising an armed force to compel him to do so. Even these preparations hardly roused Rudolph from his state of apathy, and it was not until Matthias had left Vienna and crossed the frontiers of Bohemia with 25,000 men that he set about protecting himself in earnest. On coming among the Moravians, Matthias had been hailed with acclamations by them, and now boldly declaring that his purpose was to demand the Government of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia together with security for his undisturbed possession after his brother's death, he sent a formal appeal to the Bohemian States. " I could not," he said, " see with indifference the ruin of my illustrious house. To obviate the troubles arising from the delay in ratifying the peace of Vienna I formed a union at Pressburg between the States of Hungary and Austria, to which the accession of Bohemia and its depend- 1 68 RUDOLPH II. AND MATTHIAS encies is required ; and as the Moravians have already joined the confederacy, I trust that the States of Bohemia, with its other dependencies, will assemble at Czaslau where I shall appear on the 4th of May to concert measures for completing this necessary arrangement." With Bohemia, however, he was not so successful as elsewhere and the States did not obey his summons. On the other hand, as he was now approaching Prague, Rudolph summoned the states to that town and held a diet which was throughout a scene of violence and turbulence. The Protestant majority actually assembled at his palace and forced him there and then to yield to their demands for concessions. Their demands being granted, both Protestants and Catholics rallied round him, an army of 36,000 men was collected and Prague put in a state of defence. All ideas of compromise were then abandoned, skirmishes took place between the opposed forces and a decisive battle was imminent when overtures were again made by Matthias and accepted by Rudolph. It was thereupon agreed that Rudolph should cede Hungary, Austria, and Moravia to Matthias, confirm the peace of Vienna and declare his brother to be his successor in Bohemia. Soon afterwards the latter made a triumphal entry into Vienna. Now, however, when he had seemed to have gained his point, difficulties beset Matthias at the hands of his supporters. The Protestants of Austria, conscious of their power, leagued together to secure their ancient privileges and, on Matthias's hesitation to grant their demands, broke out into revolt. Anxious to detach CONFIRMATION OF PROTESTANT PRIVILEGES 1 69 Hungary from this league, Matthias hastened to Pressburg, but there, too, the States presented to him a capitulation of their grievances, including a demand for the removal of foreigners from offices of state and for the full toleration of both Lutherans and Cal- vinists. As the condition of affairs in Austria was pressing and Rudolph was tampering with the in- surgents, Matthias was forced to concede all their demands, whereupon he was crowned as king, Novem- ber 19, 1608. Returning to Vienna he bethought him- self of putting down his rebellious Austrian subjects by force, but through the mediation of the Moravians, it was at last agreed that the Protestants should receive anew all the religious privileges and im- munities which they had enjoyed under the first Maximilian. Thereupon the states of Austria united in paying to Matthias a general homage, March 16, 1609. Having thus re-established his authority in Austria, Matthias returned to Hungary partly to keep the turbulent spirits there quiet, and partly with a view to recovering the principality of Transylvania. Not for long, however, did Bohemia remain at rest. So soon as the troops had been disbanded, the Protestants of that country, seeing what their brethren in Austria, Hungary, and Moravia had gained, set about getting the same privileges for themselves. Accordingly, at the very first diet in 1609 they refused to discuss civil questions until freedom of religious worship had been granted them. To this demand the Emperor only made the evasive reply that he would uphold the ancient laws, and the diet broke up without attaining I/O RUDOLPH II. AND MATTHIAS any result. Then the Protestants implored the aid of Matthias and of the Protestant princes of Germany, and met in a di^t of their own. Having there formed " a plan for the defence of their king and country and the preservation of their civil and religious rights " they decreed a levy of troops and appointed a per- manent council of thirty. At last the Emperor was with difficulty forced to agree to their demands, and by a Royal letter, of date the 5th of July, 1609, he granted to all members of the States full toleration of religious worship to the extent that had been enjoyed under Maximilian, with liberty to the Protestants to have their own churches and schools and system of church government. A clause was even added declaring null and void all future ordinances contrary to this act issued either by the sovereign or by his suc- cessors. This famous edict seems, nevertheless, to have met with evasion, for, by 16 10, the discontent among the Protestants had so increased that preparations were made on a huge scale by Henry IV. of France, with the assistance of the United Provinces, to invade Germany and overthrow the Catholic cause, if not also the House of Austria. Henry IV. died, however, by the hands of an assassin, May 14, 1610, just as he was about to start, and this gigantic scheme then fell through. The Protestants only secured Alsace, and that they had soon to evacuate. Still anxious to avenge himself upon his brother, Rudolph now tried to transfer the crown of Bohemia to the Archduke Leopold, Bishop of Passau and Strassburg, and the latter's troops, apparently at the DEPOSITION OF RUDOLPH 171 Emperor's inotigation, overran Austria and Bohemia, producing the greatest consternation in these countries. Leopold had already reached Prague, when the States, having called in Matthias, a Hungarian army entered Bohemia, expelled the troops of Passau, and soon re-establisheJ peace. These events were soon followed by the formal deposition of Rudolph and the crowning of M .tthias as his successor. On the transfer of authority, the States seized the opportunity to recover their lost rights, in particular their right to elect their king, and they also demanded of Matthias to have the sole management of matters, military and financial, including the right to enter into foreign alliances. These last demands, however, the new king succeeded in skilfully evading for the time. Rudolph made one last effort to re-establish his authority and sent ambassadors to the Bohemian States to rouse them in his favour, but these returned discomfited and it was then that Rudolph used those famous words : " Prague, ungrateful Prague, who hast been so highly elevated by me ; now thou spurnest thy benefactor ! May the curse and vengeance of God fall on thee and on all Bohemia ! " Deprived of hope, he at last signed his remission of his subjects' allegiance, and then in his despair blotted the docu- ment and tore the pen to pieces trampling it under foot. He received permission still to reside in the palace of Prague on the most favourable terms, but amid his mis- fortunes and distress he was abandoned by nearly all his friends, and he died soon afterwards in the sixtieth year of his age and thirty-seventh of his reign. Nearly his last words were : " How joyful ought I to 172 RUDOLPH II. AXD MATTHIAS be when I am about to be delivered from the calami- ties of human nature and transferred to a heavenly country where there are no vicissitudes and where no sorrow can enter." On Rudolph's death several candidates were put forward besides Matthias for the Imperial dignity, including the Archduke Albrecht of the Netherlands and his brother Maximilian, but the latter magnani- mously resigning their claims, Matthias was after an interval of about six months duly elected. Various limitations were at the time imposed upon the Emperor, one being that the electors might choose a King of the Romans on their own account if the Emperor, on being duly requested, refused to consent to an election. Restrictions were also imposed upon the expenditure of the grants of money made by the diets and on the jurisdiction of the Aulic Council. Matthias's reign was of short duration, and, com- paratively speaking, uneventful. Internal troubles prevailed, and kept him constantly employed. About the year 1616 he sought to invoke the German States against the Turks, with a view to the recovery of Tran- sylvania, which, despite the agreement with Botskai, had on the latter's death, instead of reverting to the House of Austria, been transmitted first to Gabriel Bathori, and then to Bethlem Gabor. In these efforts, nevertheless, he was quite unsuccessful, the States refusing to consider any questions unless their grievances were redressed. In the same year he endeavoured, at the instigation of Maximilian, to entail the succession of his dominions on Ferdinand, REBELLION IN BOHEMIA 1 73 Duke of Styria, and in this, so far as Bohemia and Hungary were concerned, he was completely success- ful, Ferdinand being crowned at Prague, June 19, 16 16, with the proviso that he was not to interfere in the government during the lifetime of Matthias. No sooner was Ferdinand crowned, however, than his anti- Protestant spirit became manifest, and within three years his new subjects broke out into rebellion under the leadership of Count Thurn. It was none other than this rebellion which now led .to the Thirty Years' War. The immediate pretext was the persecu- tion of the Protestants and the closing of their churches. A meeting of delegates had been summoned to Prague in 16 1 8, at which it was openly declared that freedom of worship would be impossible in Bohemia so long as the royal ministers, Slavata and Martinetz, were in power. One delegate boldly proposed to throw these men out of the window, according to the ancient custom of Bohemia, and straightway, without more ado, the deed was done. It was now too late to draw back — the die had been cast. Count Thurn rode through the streets inciting the citizens to arms, and by the month of July he was already at the head of 10,000 men. Then, after taking Krumau by assault, he proceeded to Budweis, but had to leave the siege of that place in order to oppose the Imperial troops who were now advancing against him. These, how- ever, he defeated, first at Czaslau and then at Lomnitz. As Matthias experienced difficulty in procuring further reinforcements, owing to the indis- position of the States to do anything until their grievances were redressed, he was forced to propose 174 RUDOLPH II. AND MATTHIAS a congress of all parties, and after various delays this was agreed to, Eger being fixed upon as the place of meeting. Before this congress could assemble, how- ever, Matthias died, March 20, 16 19, so that these well-meant efforts to promote peace were frustrated. XIV FERDINAND II. AND FERDINAND III THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR IMMEDIATELY upon his accession Ferdinand sought to allay the storm that then prevailed by adopting a conciliatory attitude, and in order to gain time he sent orders to his generals to endeavour to arrange a truce. The Protestants, on the other hand, knowing his purpose, did not delay an instant, and in a very short time their army, now joined by the Moravians, were at the gates of Vienna. Here Ferdinand courageously resolved to remain and face the worst, but reinforcements having descended the Danube and entered the city, and Count Thurn being recalled to Prague, which was now threatened by the Austrian troops under Bucquoy, he suddenly found himself relieved from immediate danger, and was able to go to Germany to secure the Imperial crown. No sooner, however, had he left Vienna than a general diet was held of the States of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia at Prague, at which a confede- racy was formed to maintain their civil and religious X75 I76 FERDINAND II. AND FERDINAND III. privileges, and a declaration was issued to the effect that Ferdinand had by his acts forfeited his Imperial dignity. Without delay, and with only six dissentient voices, they, on the 27th of August, 161 9, two days before Ferdinand received the Imperial crown, chose as their sovereign Frederick V., Elector Palatine of Bavaria. At the same time the Protestants of Hun- gary threw off their allegiance, and called to their aid Bethlem Gabor, the Prince of Transylvania. Kaschau, Tyrnau, Neutra, and other fortresses were seized, the Imperial army under Homonai routed, Pressburg occupied, and all power of resistance in Hungary overcome. Bethlem Gabor and Count Thurn then joined their forces, and at the head of 60,000 men entered Austria, driving Bucquoy before them, and were soon at the gates of Vienna. These events soon recalled Ferdinand to Austria, but, hopeless as his cause at first appeared to be, for- tune favoured him. Distress and want of provisions prevailed in the camp of his enemies, and before long they were compelled by the rigour of the season to withdraw. Ferdinand utilised this opportunity by fostering disunion among his opponents, and in the beginning of 1620 we find him in negotiation with Bethlem Gabor for a truce. At the same time he approached Philip III. of Spain, the Pope, the King of Poland, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and even Louis XIII., and having received material assistance from these he now hoped to crush the Elector Palatine. Foremost among his allies, however, was the League, founded in 1609 to guard against the attacks of the German Union, which sent an army &A£.ZlSlKflfQLACEnt FEKLINAlsD II. I78 FERDINAND II. AND FERDINAND I//. into Upper Austria, and produced such havoc and devastation that the inhabitants felt they must either defend themselves with force or fall prostrate at the Emperor's feet. The latter course was adopted, and the army of the League, having effected a junction with the Imperial troops under Bucquoy, the united troops were enabled to cross the Bohemian frontier and advance upon Budweis. A decisive battle was fought at the White Mountain, near Prague, on the 8th of November, 1620, in which Frederick's Hungarian cavalry was instantly defeated and dispersed, this dis- aster being followed within an hour by the complete overthrow of the combined Bohemian and Moravian forces. Four thousand of these were left dead upon the field, and another thousand were driven into the Moldau, and that with a loss of only three hundred on the Imperial side. Frederick himself had to renounce all pretensions to the crown of Bohemia, and, fearing the vengeance of the Emperor, fled secretly and took refuge in Berlin. The battle of the White Mountain was of course followed by the re-establishment of Austrian authority in Bohemia, and the terrors of the 21st of January, 1 62 1, when twenty-three leaders in the late war were executed, and the estates of Count Thurn and other chiefs confiscated for the time being, effectually stifled all opposition in that country. Further, Frederick and his adherents, the Prince of Anhalt, the Count of Hohenlohe, and the Duke of Jagerndorf, were denounced with the ban of the Empire, which led soon after to the members of the Protestant Union concluding at Mainz, April 12, 162 1, a treaty SUCCESSES BY TILLY 1 79 of neutrality, whereby they promised not to interfere in the affairs of the Palatinate, to disband their troops, and not to enter into any new confederacy against the Emperor. In the following month the Union was dissolved, never again to be renewed. The Elector Palatine, being thus deserted by the Union, retired to Holland. Before long, however, his hopes were revived by the successes of his general, Mansfeld, who still held Tabor and Pilsen. This resourceful strategist had retreated before Tilly to Rosskopf, near Niirnberg, and here a decisive battle seemed imminent, but Mansfeld, feigning a desire to surrender, suddenly, on the 4th of October, 1621, left that position, and pushed into Lower Bavaria and Alsace. Frederick now rejoined Mansfeld, whose forces had increased to over 20,000 men, and these leaders, crossing the Rhine, captured Sinzheim, Eppingen, and Ladenburg. Then, being joined by the Duke of Wiirttemberg, the Landgrave of Hesse, and other Protestant princes, preparations were made for entering upon hostilities on a larger scale. Tilly, on the other hand, was equal to the occasion, and having separated the Margrave of Baden from Mans- feld. he defeated the former at Wimpfen, May 6, 1622, and then routed Christian of Brunswick at Hochst. Ultimately Mansfeld and Christian entered the service of the Prince of Orange and retired to the Netherlands. In the following year Christian returned to Saxony to make another effort, but he was defeated by Tilly at Loen, near Munster, losing 6,000 killed and 4,000 prisoners. Meanwhile in Bohemia Bethlem Gabor had broken l8o FERDINAND II. AND FERDINAND III. his truce with the Emperor and assumed the title of king. Several battles ensued with Bucquoy, but the latter being killed on the loth of July, 162 1, at Neuhasel, and his troops disheartened, Gabor was able to lay siege to Pressburg, and even to approach Vienna. Soon afterwards, however, he entered into negotiations with Ferdinand, and on the 26th of January, 1622, a treaty was concluded at Niclasburg, in Moravia, by which Gabor renounced his pretensions to the crown of Hungary, receiving in return seven provinces of Upper Hungary contiguous to Tran- sylvania, and the principalities of Regensburg and Oppelen in Silesia, and being made a prince of the German Empire. As for the Elector Palatine, his dominions were formally transferred to Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria. The English Government now instigated Sweden and Denmark to assist Mansfeld to reconquer Bavaria. In Sweden at this time Gustavus Adolphus was ruler, while in Denmark the helm of State was in the hands of Christian IV. Accordingly, in 1623, negotiations for this purpose were carried on, and in 1625 Christian was at Segeburg formally chosen head of the Saxon league. The banks of the Weser were soon the theatre of war, but the advantage lay with Tilly, who pushed into Hildesheim and Brunswick. Ferdinand's position at this time was further strengthened by the able Wallenstein, 1 who had agreed to maintain an army of 50,000 men for the 1 Albert Wallenstein or Waldstein, of K "nigingratz, created by Ferdinand Duke of Friedland, and known as the "adventurous son of fortune." ALBRECHT VOX WALLENSTEIN. 1 82 FERDINAND II. AND FERDINAND III. Emperor if he got the supreme command, and who had already, with 30,000 men, crossed the Elbe at Dessau, and plundered Grubenhagen, Halberstadt, and Magdeburg. At the last-mentioned town he was checked by Mansfeld, who, with the King of Denmark and Christian of Brunswick, had about 60,000 men under their command. On August 27, 1626, however, the Danish king was completely defeated by Tilly at Wolfenbuttel, driven into Holstein, and there kept on the defensive. As for Mansfeld, he succeeded in forcing his way into Moravia and Hungary, and was joined there by Bethlem Gabor of Transylvania, but disease and deser- tions having much reduced the number of his troops, and he himself dying shortly afterwards at Zara, the remnant of his forces was easily dispersed by Wallen- stein, who had simply followed after him. Austria being thus delivered from invasion, and the King of Denmark being reduced to straits, negotiations for peace were instituted through the mediation of the Duke of Mecklenburg. These, in 1629, resulted in a treaty whereby Christian of Denmark was handed back his conquered dominions and undertook not to interfere again in the affairs of the Empire. It is remarkable that on this occasion the ambassadors who came from Sweden were not acknowledged or received. Ferdinand was now predominant in his dominions, and at once set about extirpating the Protestant religion there. In Austria it was practically abolished, and in Bohemia civil and religious liberty was so severely suppressed that, as a German writer has GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS 1 83 remarked, the people of Bohemja lost in consequence all their ancient spirit, and never afterwards held a place as an independent nation. Of those who were persecuted multitudes were massacred, and any who escaped had to wander about the woods like wild beasts. On the 6th of March, 1629, the famous Edict of Restitution was issued, reinstating the Catholics in all ecclesiastical offices and benefices, but so fearful did the persecution of the Protestants now become that at the Diet of Regensburg held in that year even the Catholics recoiled from their Emperor's enormities and joined in demanding the suspension of the Edict, the dismissal of Wallenstein, and the disbandment of the army. To all these demands Ferdinand had to assent, and, being further disappointed in not getting his son elected King of the Romans, he broke up this diet in disgust. A new enemy now engaged Ferdinand's attention. Gustavus Adolphus, bent upon rescuing his Protes- tant brethren in Germany, assembled a large fleet at Elfsnaben, and on the 24th of June, 1630, landed a force of 15,000 men at Ruden. Before long he was in possession of Stettin, capital of Pomerania. He also materially strengthened his position by an alliance with France (January 13, 1631). The Ger- man Emperor did not at first actively oppose his pro- gress, but contented himself with sending a threaten- ing message. This only called forth the contemptuous reply that Gustavus would despatch an answer as soon as he had recovered from a wound inflicted by an eagle, probably referring to the insult offered to his ambassadors in 1629. Then at length Tilly took 184 FERDIXAXD II. AND FERDINAND III. command of the Imperial forces and laid siege to Magdeburg. This place, owing to the small forces at his command, Gustavus was unable to succour. It fell on the 10th of May, 163 1, and its capture was followed by the most dreadful scenes of mas- sacre and incendiarism. Only the cathedral, a con- vent, and some wretched huts remained of what was before the most flourishing city in Germany. Tilly himself in his barbarous exultation compared his achievement to the sack of Troy and Jerusalem. All the efforts, however, of the Imperial troops to recover Pomerania were in vain. The Elector of Brandenburg had contributed greatly to the fall of Magdeburg by refusing to Gustavus a passage through his territories. Treating him as an enemy, accordingly, the Swedish king appeared on the 11th of June, 1631, before the walls of Berlin and obtained the surrender of Spandau, Brandenburg, and Rathenau. Then, pushing along the Elbe, he threatened Magdeburg. Tilly was repulsed and turned against the Elector of Saxony, who at once assembled his troops at Torgau and concluded an alliance with Gustavus. The latter had also been joined by reinforcements of 8,000 Swedes and 6,000 English under the Marquis of Hamilton. The allied forces at once marched upon Leipzig, and here, on the 7th of September, 1631, a battle was fought in which the Imperial army was totally routed, 7,000 Austrians being left upon the field and 5,000 being captured along with all the baggage and artillery. On the S^wedish side 700 were killed, and of the Saxons, 2,000. Tilly himself was surrounded TILLY. 1 86 FERDINAND II. AND FERDINAND III. by the enemy and only escaped with difficulty. Gus- tavus now made rapid progress along the Maine and the Rhine, and the Elector of Saxony achieved the conquest of Bohemia. Meanwhile Tilly busied himself with rallying his forces, and in March, 1632, we find him marching upon Schweinfurth on the Maine. Compelled by the approach of Gustavus to retire, he fell back first upon Erlangen and then to a position behind the Lech, but even from this last he was driven towards Ingolstadt. He himself was mortally wounded in the fray. Augsburg next fell into the hands of Gustavus, who re-established the Protestant religion there, but Ingolstadt successfully held out and showed the Swedish monarch that he was not yet invincible. Ferdinand's position was a critical one, and in his desperation he would have himself taken the field. Wisely advised, nevertheless, he had recourse to Wallenstein, whose dismissal he had learned to regret, and under this general's auspices a new army was rapidly formed. Aware that many of the Protestants had become jealous of Gustavus's power, Wallenstein approached the Elector of Saxony with the view of detaching him from his alliance with the Swedes. Baffled, however, in this endeavour he marched his army into Bohemia, made Prague surrender and expelled the Saxons from all their posts. Being now joined by the Bavarians, the united forces amounting to 60,000 men, Wallenstein set out to meet Gustavus, boastfully declaring that the result would show whether he or the Swedish king was to command the world. For eight weeks he faced his antagonist, BATTLE OF LUTZEN 1 87 unwilling to risk a battle, after which at last Gustavus led his own troops to the attack. Wallenstein was too strongly posted, and after a loss of 3,000 of his best troops, Gustavus had to retire. Finally, the Swedes withdrew, having lost about 20,000 men by famine, hardship, and sickness, and Wallenstein marched back with about half his force, that having been reduced through the same causes. Wallenstein then attacked the Elector of Saxony, but Gustavus, going to the assistance of his ally, came up with the Imperial forces at Liitzen, a town between Leipzig and Weis- zenfels, where on the 16th of November, 1632, a decisive battle was fought, in the course of which the Swedish king was mortally wounded, but which ended in the total defeat of the Imperialists. Not long after, Frederick of Bavaria, to a great extent the cause of the long struggle, died. The deaths of Gustavus Adolphus and Frederick of Bavaria led to a suspension of hostilities, during which Ferdinand was able to recover much of his lost authority. This very state of peace, however, soon led to the fall of Wallenstein, whose haughty manners had made him many enemies. Suspicions were aroused in the Emperor that his general meditated designs to deprive him of his throne, and thereupon he was relieved of his office. Wallen- stein, from motives of revenge, sought to enlist the services of the Swedes and Saxons, but on the 25th of February, 1634, he was assassinated at Eger by a party led by one Gordon, a native of Scotland. Gordon received the confiscated estates of Terzky, and others of the conspirators also got richly rewarded. 1 88 FERDINAND II. AND FERDINAND III. The Emperor's son Ferdinand, who in 1625 had been elected King of Hungary, now became Com- HOROSCOPE Or W'AU.KXSTKIX. 1 [From " The Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy" by Ihc Archduke Riuiolfh din/ others.) mander-in-chief of the Imperial forces. Taking the 1 Wallenstdn harboured a fatalistic belief in mysterious supernatural powers. This accounts for his li r e-long intimacy with the Italian astrologer Seni, whose imaginary predictions became fixed prin- ciples in Wallenstein's mind, and probably influenced his conduct in the direction of an inordinate personal ambition. The drawing in the text represents Wallenstein's horoscope as drawn up for him by Seni. Wallenstein was consulting the astrologer on the very night he was murdered. PEACE OF HEILBRONN 1 89 field without delay, he advanced rapidly towards the Danube, crossed that river with 30,000 men and laid siege to Regensburg. This town fell on the 26th of July, 1634. Proceeding along the Danube he took Donauwerth by storm and invested Nordlingen. There on the advance of the Swedes he repelled all their attacks and finally on the 6th of September, 1634, gained a complete victory over them, inflicting upon them a loss of 8,000 killed and 4,000 prisoners. Next day Nordlingen surrendered. The Protestant league in consternation now invoked the aid of France, and at Heilbronn on the nth of March, 1635, was concluded that treaty which put German interests into the hands of France and enabled the latter power to dictate to Europe as the Empire previously had done. Meanwhile the Emperor pursued his success, and at Prague preliminaries of peace were signed on the 30th of May, 1635, according to which a general amnesty was to be granted and all conquests since the landing of Gustavus Adolphus restored. Next year rumours that the French king had designs upon the Imperial throne so alarmed the diet that the King of Hungary was duly elected King of the Romans, almost immediately after which happy event, on the 15th of February, 1637, Ferdinand II. died in the fifty-ninth year of his age. The accession of Ferdinand III., however, was not destined to reduce Germany all of a sudden to quietude and for many years the war was continued with varying success. In the north at first the ad- vantage lay with the Imperial troops, but in other quarters disasters occurred, including the loss of I90 FERDINAND II. AND FERDINAND II L Alsace to Duke Bernharcl of Weimar in 1638. Austrian influence became further diminished by the defection of the Duke of Brunswick and the influence of the new Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg, who already at the age of eighteen began to display those characteristics which afterwards promoted the great- ness of his house. Nevertheless in 1640, the Austrian^ and Bohemia succeeded in expelling the Swedes from Silesia. In the following year, however, the latter under General Banner came down upon Aus- tria suddenly from the north and threatened Regens- burg where a diet was sitting, but Fcrdinar.d en- couraged his subjects with his firm behaviour and compelled his enemies to retire. His men even followed them into Saxony. In 1642, attacks of the Swedes again occurred under Torstenson, and on the 2nd of November of that year a battle was fought at Breitenfeld in which the Imperial troops were totally defeated with a loss of 1 0,00c killed and prisoners. Leipzig thereupon surrendered to the Swedes, who spread the termor of their namj to the gates of Vienna itself. Ferdinand was now in the utmost straits, but, undaunted by disaster, he set about enlisting the assistance of Denmark. Torstenson was too quick, however, and before Christian IV. could cross his frontier, the Swedes were back in Holstein and in possession of the peninsula, th : Imperial army that was sent there to support the King of Denmark being cut to pieces in an attempt to break through the Swedish lines. Having thus ruined Ferdinand's plans in that quarter, Torstenson returned to Bohe- FERDINAND III. 192 FERDINAND II. AND FERDINAND III. mia, and there a battle was fought at Yankovitz on the 1 6th of March, 1645, in which the Imperialists were again defeated, this time with the loss of cS,ooo men. All Moravia now submitted, and before long the Swedes were down on the Danube and attacking Vienna. Meanwhile the power of France had also been extending along the Rhine. Nothing daunted, however, by his increasing perils, Ferdinand rallied his supporters, and not only saved Vienna but drove the Swedes out of Bohemia. Seizing this opportunity, he, on the 4th of August, 1646, induced the States to give the crown of Bohemia to his son Ferdinand, and on the 16th of July of the following year he got the same prince crowned King of Hungary at Pressburg. The last event of importance in this long, desultory struggle was the attempted capture of Prague by the Swedes under Konigsmark. So far as the little town was concerned, this assault succeeded, but the burghers of the old town held out bravely, until the armistice of the 25th of October, 1648, relieved them. On November 3rd, followed the news of the peace of Westphalia, and thus the Thirty Years' War came to an end with a struggle in the very city which had initiated it with the throwing from the windows. The peace of Westphalia was concluded on the 24th of October, 1648. The general result was that the distribution of territories prevailing in 1624 was restored ; the son of the Elector Palatine re- covered the Lower Palatinate, and the Upper Pala- tinate went to Bavaria. Part of Alsace, nevertheless, was left with France and Western Pomerania, Bremen and Verden fell to Sweden. The indepen- DEATH OF THE ARCHDUKE FERDINAND. 1 93 dence of Holland and Switzerland was also recog- nised. As for the Protestants, henceforth they were to enjoy religious toleration and freedom. It was not till the close of 165 1 that all the com- plicated arrangements under the peace of Westphalia, could be completed. At last, in 1652, the Emperor summoned a diet to Regensburg to confirm the peace. At this he proposed that the Archduke Ferdinand should be elected King of the Romans, and to the astonishment of every one this proposition received unanimous consent. Ferdinand's joy, however, at securing this coveted honour for his son was of short duration for, not very long after the diet rose, the young prince died of small-pox on the 9th of July, 1654. There was no other course open, therefore, than to seek the same honours for his second son Leopold, and for him he succeeded in procuring the homage of Austria and the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary. The interference of France, on the other hand, led to Leopold's exclusion from the Imperial dignity. Towards the close of Ferdinand's reign the successes of Charles Gustavus of Sweden in his war against Poland, which threatened to disturb the balance of power in the north, led to the Emperor entering into negotiations with the king of Denmark and the Elector of Brandenburg for an offensive and de- fensive alliance. This was duly concluded, but just as his army was preparing to march to the north, Ferdinand III. died on the 3rd of March, 1657. H XV LEOPOLD I. (THE GREAT) AND JOSEPH I. THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION LEOPOLD was only seventeen at the time of his father's death, and he was for that reason placed at first under the guardianship of his uncle of the same name. Efforts were straightway made, however, to secure for him the Imperial crown. The great opponent of the House of Austria in this matter was Cardinal Mazarin, who sought to retain for France the predominant influence in Europe which she had won by bringing about the Peace of Westphalia. Mazarin tried to support first Louis XIV. and then Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria, but to each of these strong objection was made- Then, on the King of Sweden recommending the Prince Palatine of Neuburg, the French Minister as a last resource offered the crown to the Archduke Leopold, who, thereupon, at once recommended his young nephew to the electors. Leopold was accord- ingly unanimously chosen and was crowned at Frank- furt on the Maine, July 31, 1657. 194 LEAGUE OF THE RHINE. 1 95 Soon afterwards, on the 14th of August, 1658, a powerful combination was formed by the King of Sweden, the three ecclesiastical electors, the Bishop of Minister, the Count Palatine of Neuburg, and the Landgrave of Hesse, which received the name of the League of the Rhine. This league became even more powerful by the accession of France, and effectually prevented Leopold from waging war in the German territories still possessed by Sweden. Nevertheless, he incited the Danes and Dutch to combine against his northern foe, the King of Sweden, and himself sent an army of 16,000 men into Poland, which took Cracow and Posen. As for the Danes, their movement was an unfortunate one, and being driven from Bremen and Verden, which they had captured, and the Swedes penetrating into Holstein as far as Jutland, their king was soon compelled to sue for peace. The same year, however, the Austrians and Poles in conjunction with the Elector of Brandenburg entered Jutland and drove the Swedes to Fredericsodde, which place next year they took by assault. At Nyborg, moreover, a battle was fought in which the Swedes were totally defeated, and the Swedish fleet having also in the meantime been dispersed, the peace of Oliva was gladly agreed to in 1660. Spain and France had already in the previous year come to an under- standing by concluding the peace of the Pyrenees. Just at this moment, nevertheless, when peace had been arranged in the north and south, fresh troubles broke out in the east. On the 17th of May, 1660, Ragotsky, Prince of Transylvania, was killed in a battle with the Turks, and these having set up Bartzai I96 LEOPOLD I. (THE GREAT) AND JOSEPH L as his successor, a revolt took place headed by Kemeny, who got himself elected, and called in Leopold. With Leopold's assistance, Kemeny was able for a time to hold his own, but he was killed in a skirmish with the Turks on the 23rd of January, 1662. Abaffy then took over the nominal sovereignty. In 1663, however, a Turkish army of 100,000 men burst into Hungary, crossed the Danube at Buda, and even threatened Vienna. A diet having been hastily summoned to Regensburg, aids were granted, and the Austrian frontiers above the Danube made secure. Without stopping to take the Austrian fortresses, the Grand Vizier and his Janissaries, in the following year, invaded Styria ; but here, near the St. Gothard, the combined German forces under Montecuculli met them on the 1st of August, 1664, and they were defeated with a loss of 8,000 men. This was followed by an arrangement for a twenty years' truce, Transylvania being con- firmed to Abaffy and declared to be an independent state. Hungary still gave some trouble owing to the turbulent nobility there, but Leopold's power was further increased by his succession to the Tyrol and other external provinces. Let us now follow the events that led to the War of the Spanish Succession. In December, 1666, Leopold married the second Infanta of Spain, Margaret Theresia, daughter of Philip IV. Louis XIV., who had married the first Infanta, then laid claim to the Netherlands, and in 1667 poured his troops into the Low Countries, meeting with little resistance there. The Court of Spain appealed ineffectually to PEACE OF NIJMEGEN. 1 97 the German Diet, and Leopold amid his own embar- rassments, was forced to remain neutral. The peace of Breda followed, which gave Louis a firm hold in the Southern Netherlands, but as the French aimed at obtaining the whole country, a pretext was, in 1671, found for renewing the struggle. It was about this time that William, Prince of Orange, became Stadtholder ot the five provinces, and under his energetic care, the Dutch army was re-organised and an alliance concluded between the Emperor, the Elector of Brandenburg, and the States. From this combination the Elector soon seceded, but Leopold having got assistance from Spain, two armies were soon in the field, one of 18,000 men in the Netherlands, and another of 30,000 men under Montecuculli on the Maine. Turenne was driven out of Franconia, and Bonn captured. The Netherlands were then evacuated by the French, and for the next two years the war was chiefly confined to the province of Alsace and the Rhine. In 1675, however, the Swedes co-operated with France and made a diversion to the north, the French then re- covering their ascendancy on the Rhine, and finishing up their campaign by capturing Freiburg on the 14th of November, 1677. Two years later the French suc- ceeded, despite all the efforts of the Prince of Orange, and to the consternation of the other allies, in gaining over the Dutch, and on the 10th of August, 1678, the peace of Nijmegen was concluded between Leopold on the one side and France and Sweden on the other, which left matters pretty much as they were at the peace of Westphalia. The peace of Nijmegen proved to be only a tern- I98 LEOPOLD I. (THE GREAT) AND JOSEPH I. porary truce. Louis almost immediately set about inciting the towns and nobility of Alsace to sever their connection with the Empire, and Leopold's re- monstrances were left unheeded. In vain, too, did the German Emperor invoke the aid of the other powers, for Louis detached Denmark, secured the neutrality of Great Britain, and gained over the Elector of Brandenburg to his side. The French even fomented rebellions in Hungary and urged the Turks to invade Austria. Accordingly, on the 26th of August, 1684, Leopold was compelled by necessity to conclude a truce at Regensburg with Louis, by which the latter retained Luxemburg, Bouvines, and other places in the Netherlands, together with Strassburg and the pre- dominant control in Alsace. Never was French power more predominant than now, never were the French army and finances in a better condition. Still, there were circumstances which tended to weaken Louis' position. In Great Britain, James II. was at enmity with his subjects ; in Holland, William of Orange had become the recognised champion of the Protestant cause in Europe, and Louis XIV. had by his haughty demeanour alienated in Germany the Elector of Brandenburg and other friendly princes. Matters were in this position in 1685, when the question of the succession to the Palatinate and the respective rights of the lines of Neuburg and Weldentz became of burning importance. On Philip William of Neuburg being chosen, Louis supported the pre- tensions of the Duchess of Orleans, sister of the last Elector. This led, on the 21st of June, 1686, to the celebrated League of Augsburg between Leopold, the WAR WITH FRANCE. 1 99 King of Sweden and the chiefs of the Empire, to resist the aggressions of France. To nip this com- bination in the bud, if possible, Louis sent in 1687 an army of 80,000 men into the Palatinate, and before the end of the year he was in possession of Philips- burg, Speier, Worms, Trier, and other fortresses on the Rhine. Leopold was at the time powerless to interfere, as he was engaged with the Turks, and he merely dismissed the French ambassadors from Vienna and Regensburg. William of Orange had, however, effected the revolution in England, and now joined the League of Augsburg. War was accord- ingly declared against France, and Louis's forces were recalled from the Palatinate for home defence. Before long, Cologne was captured and Trier recovered from the French. The whole of Europe seemed to combine to overwhelm Louis. First, Frederick of Brandenburg ioined the Austrian party, and then nearly every other country in Europe, the chief exceptions being Russia, Portugal, and a few Italian States. Notwithstanding the heavy odds, however, and though he failed to rein- state James II. on the throne of Great Britain, and lost, in 1692, his naval supremacy at La Hogue, Louis continued to maintain himself against his foes, whose internal dissensions prevented any decided success. Finally, on the 9th of May, 1697, the Peace of Rijswijk was signed between France and Great Britain and Holland, and to this, too, Germany had soon to assent. It will be necessary here, to revert shortly to the events in the eastern portion of his Empire, which so effectually prevented active interference on Leopold's 200 LEOPOLD I. {THE GREAT) AND JOSEPH I. part with France. For many years Hungary was in a troubled state, and numerous were the conspiracies to throw off the Austrian yoke. To keep the people in subjection Leopold had established military govern- ment in the country, besides abrogating the privileges' MEDAL OF THE HOLY LEAGUE OF 1684. (From " The Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy " by the Archduke Rudolph and others.) of its people, and making the monarchy hereditary like that of Bohemia. The insurgent party in despair called in the Prince of Transylvania, and at his insti- gation Tekeli led, in 1678, an army of 20,000 men into Hungary, which ravaged- the country as far as JOHN SOBIESKI. 201 Moravia and Austria and Styria. In 1681, Leopold came to terms with Tekeli and published a general amnesty, but next year the insurgent leader resumed the offensive and got himself procla : med Prince of Upper Hungary. At this time, the Turks also were threatening, and 200,000 of them, in fact, attacked and besieged Vienna in 1683. Failing to get sufficient help from the German Diet, Leopold invoked the assis- tance of John Sobieski, King of Poland, who, with the Duke of Lothringen, soon compelled the invaders to raise the siege. The latter, suddenly withdrawing by night, left their camp replete with all the luxuries of the east behind, including a standard that was sup- posed to be the sacred banner of Mahomet and 180 pieces oi artillery. So rich was the booty that fell to the Polish and Austrian forces, that Sobieski wrote to his wife : " When I return I shall not be met with the reproach of the Tartar wives : ' You are not a man because you are come back without booty.' " On his entry into Vienna, the inhabitants hailed the King of Poland as their Father and Deliverer, struggled to kiss his hands and feet and otherwise testified their gratitude. Without delay, however, Sobieski pursued the Turks, completely defeated them on the Danube, and drove them into Belgrade. The Austrians, too, redeemed the glory of their arms at the battle of Mohacz, on the 12th of August, 1687, when the Duke of Lothringen at a sacrifice of only 600 men, destroyed over 20,000 of the enemy. The Hungarians were now compelled to entreat the Emperor's clemency, and the latter at once declared the monarchy to be hereditary, and induced 202 LEOPOLD I. {THE GREAT) AND JOSEPH /. the States to crown his son Joseph, then a mere boy, as their king, which was done on the 9th of December, 1687, with great pomp and magnificence. Two years subsequently, on the 4th of January, 1690, Joseph was also unanimously elected King of the Romans. Just when peace in Hungary seemed secured, however, Louis again diverted the attention of the Austrians, and Semendria, Widdin, and Belgrade, which had been taken from the Turks, again fell into their hands, along with the provinces beyond the Danube. Tekeli, too, appeared once more in Transylvania, which had renounced alle- giance to the Turks, and declaring himself prince, extorted the homage of the States. But in Tran- sylvania Abaffy soon re-established his authority, and though the Turks sent in 1 691 an army of 100,000 men into Hungary, the Imperialists gained the splendid victory of Szalankamen, when 20,000 Turks were left on the field. For the next few years the war continued in a desultory fashion, but in 1697 Leopold was enabled to make larger preparations. Accordingly, when in that year the Sultan himself led the Turks across the Danube and up the Theiss, the Austrians under Prince Eugene of Savoy met them so impetuously that they fled in confusion leaving 10,000 dead on the field and multitudes drowned in the river. Of 30,000 who crossed the Theiss not 1,000 are said to have sur- vived. This victory was gained in less than two hours, just before the close of day, which led to the brave Austrian commander remarking: " The sun seemed to linger on the horizon to gild with its last PEACE OF CARLOVITZ. 203 fays the victorious standards of Austria." As a result of it, Eugene entered Bosnia, afterwards returning to Vienna laden with booty, only to receive reproof there for having, contrary to orders, engaged in a pitched battle. About the same time the Venetians conquered Morea and Dalmatia ; and Russia, too, pressed hard upon the Turks from the north. The latter, therefore, were glad to open up negotiations, and the Emperor received Transylvania, all Hungary north of the Marosch and west of the Theiss, together with all Slavonia except a small district near Belgrade. This was by the peace of Carlovitz, November 14, 1697, memorable in the history of the House of Austria for the gain from the Turks of nearly half their late possessions in Europe. The peace of Rijswijk was, as we have seen, practically extorted from Leopold, and by no means settled the question of the succession to the crown of Spain, which the Emperor had been brought up from infancy to regard as his inheritance. Louis deemed himself to have the prior right owing to his marriage with the eldest Infanta, and claimed the succession for the Dauphin of France ; and besides Leopold there was a third claimant in Joseph Ferdinand, son of Maximilian of Bavaria and Maria Antonia, only daughter of Leopold by his wife, the second Infanta of Spain. Charles II., the last male of the Spanish branch, was a weak and vacillating monarch, and did not know what course to take with regard to the intrigues with which he was beset. He hated the Bourbons and yet held aloof from Leopold, so that when in 1698 the first partition treaty was entered 204 LEOPOLD L {THE GREAT) AND JOSEPH 1. into between Louis XIV., William of Great Britain, and the United Provinces, by which Spain, the Nether- lands and their colonies were to go to the Prince of Bavaria, Milan to the Archduke Charles, and Naples and the Two Sicilies to the Dauphin, he immediately made a will appointing the Bavarian prince as his successor. Upon this the French redoubled their exertions, military preparations were commenced on a large scale, and when Charles appealed to Pope Innocent XIL, he was told to make the Dauphin his heir. Finally, the electoral prince having died in 1699, Charles made another will, this time in favour of the Duke of Anjou. Charles died soon afterwards on the 1st of November, 1700. The Duke of Anjou, under the title of Philip V. was at once acknowledged at Paris, and setting out for Spain without delay was duly proclaimed at Madrid on the 24th of November, 1700. Soon the Austrian party was completely silenced and Philip acknowledged as lawful monarch by all the powers except Austria Not daunted by his isolation Leopold prepared to assert his rights by force of arms, and in 1701 Eugene of Savoy invaded Italy, and after a brilliant cam- paign, drove the French behind the Mincio. This event was followed by the repulse of the reinforce- ments which Louis sent under Villeroy, and the capture of Mantua. These successes seem to have tended to enlist the other European Powers in Leopold's favour, and shortly before his death even William had veered round to the Austrian side. Accordingly when Anne ascended the British throne, MARLBOROUGH'S CAMPAIGNS. 205 the Duke of Marlborough at once proceeded to Holland and revived the drooping spirits of the States. Leopold also won over the Elector of Brandenburg and other German princes, and on the 15th of May, 1702, hostilities were declared against France simultaneously from London, Vienna, and the Hague. Campaigns followed in the Netherlands, Italy, and Germany. Marlborough in the north assumed the supreme command, and took the fortresses on the Meuse, while the Landgrave of Baden drove the French under Villars back across the Rhine. Next year Leopold and Joseph both renounced their pre- tensions in favour of Charles, Leopold's second son, thus gaining the King of Portugal to their side, and Charles was in fact solemnly proclaimed King of Spain at Vienna in September, 1703, under the title of Charles III., passing soon after through Holland to England, and proceeding thence on board one of Sir George Rooke's vessels to Lisbon. While these events were proceeding Villars in conjunction with the Elector of Bavaria penetrated as far as the Tyrol, and having captured Passau and Vendome in Italy managed to keep the Imperialists there in check. But in 1704, Marlborough and Eugene, having effected a junction, marched rapidly south and in- flicted a crushing defeat upon the French at Blenheim, driving them back into their own country. Two years later, the victory at Ramilies caused the French to abandon the Netherlands, and about the same time Eugene of Savoy expelled them from Northern Italy. Meanwhile Gibraltar had been captured by 2q6 Leopold i. [the great) and Joseph l the British in 1704, and in December of the same year the Austrians completely defeated the Hun- garian insurgents under Ragotsky, who had been incited by the French to attack Vienna. Just, how- ever, as a better day seemed to be dawning for Austria, and when the allies were preparing to follow up their successes with vigour, Leopold died (1705) in the sixty-fifth year of his age and thirty-eighth of his reign, the longest in Austrian annals after that of Frederick III. Leopold's son and successor, Joseph, was a much stronger man physically than his father, and early gave signs of being a capable administrator and a brave soldier. Though only twenty-five when he ascended the throne, he without delay set about reducing the expenses of his court and relieving his people by practising economy in the civil and military departments. So engaged, indeed, does he appear to have been with internal affairs at the beginning of his reign, that we do not find much interference on his part in the campaigns of the allies. After the battle of Ramilies, he seems to have inclined more and more towards peace, and certain it is that when Charles XII. of Sweden in- vaded Poland and Saxony, and despite the remon- strances of the Emperor, settled affairs in these countries in his own way, Joseph prevented his diet from declaring war. Accordingly when — the French in Italy having been routed before Turin by Eugene of Savoy, and Spain having been successfully hemmed in by Charles and the British in conjunction with the King of Portugal — Louis felt constrained to listen to AUSTRIAN INFANTRY. (I7Q4-I7IO.) 208 LEOPOLD I. {THE GREAT) AND JOSEPH I. terms, Joseph at once agreed to a treaty of neutrality for Italy, under which the French and Spanish quitted that country. This occurred in the beginning of 1707. The allies considered this agreement to be injudicious, for it released a large force which must ultimately have surrendered, but as they desired to humble Louis still more, they reluctantly gave it their consent rather than break up the confederacy. The war, therefore, was continued, but the allies, chiefly British, Dutch, and Portuguese, were badly beaten by the French under the Duke of Berwick at Almanza in 1707. In the following year, however, this event was counterbalanced by the battle of Oudenarde, the result of which was to frustrate an attempt on the part of the Dukes of Vendome and Burgundy to reconquer the Spanish Netherlands, and in 1709 Marlborough and Eugene also defeated the hitherto invincible Villars at Malplaquet. The French having been thus successfully expelled, from Germany and Italy, Joseph was in a position to put matters in his own dominions on a more certain basis as well as to reward his adherents. By a decree of the Aulic Council at Vienna, the electors of Cologne and Bavaria had been deprived of their dignities and possessions, and a fifth electorate was now formed under the Elector Palatine. At the same time Bohemia had restored to it all its electoral rights and franchises. Further, in Italy Joseph appropriated Mantua and Mirandola, conferring these territories on the Dukes of Savoy and Modena ; and, notwithstanding the threats of Pope Clement XL, he even confiscated some of the papal revenues. PACIFICATION OF HUNGARY. 200, Joseph's great work, nevertheless, was the pacifica- tion of Hungary. Immediately on his accession he had tried to gain the affections of the people by promising to redress their grievances and by con- firming their privileges. The Hungarian insurgents, however, refused him their allegiance, and continued to hold by Ragotsky, whom they styled their dux or leader. For this general they now asked of Joseph the cession of Transylvania, insisting also upon the abolition of the hereditary sovereignty and the con- firmation of various civil and religious immunities. Anxious though he was to be able to turn his un- divided attention to France, and notwithstanding the advice of a considerable number of those around him, Joseph felt he must refuse terms so degrading. Accordingly in 1705 collecting a force, he crossed the Danube, raised the blockade of Great Waradin and entered Transylvania. He reduced the whole country and completely re-established the authority of the Austrian Government. On his withdrawal, however, Ragotsky once more returned to Hungary, held an open air diet at Onod, at which Joseph was declared a tyrant and usurper, and denounced as enemies of the Hungarians all who would not join their con- federacy. Thereupon Joseph declared these pro- ceedings null, and in 1708 convened an opposition diet at Pressburg, following that up with another expedition against the insurgents. These, on the 17th of August of the last-mentioned year, he suc- ceeded in totally defeating, Ragotsky himself escaping with difficulty. The Emperor now offered very lenient terms to the leaders of the rebellion if they IS 2IO LEOPOLD I. {THE GREAT) AND- JOSEPH I. would come in without delay, and a convention was finally concluded in January, 171 1, which declared inter alia a general amnesty, a restitution of con- fiscated property, and freedom to exercise the Protestant religion. Previous to the battle of Malplaquet, Louis XIV. had constantly flattered himself with the hope that he might yet succeed in sowing dissensions among the allies, and so be able to subdue them one by one. Now, however, that recent defeat and the general desire for peace which prevailed in France prompted him once more to endeavour to come to terms with his enemies. Accordingly he made various offers, including even the retrocession of Alsace, but as he could not undertake that Spain would be evacuated, negotiations were broken off, and the war continued, though in a much more leisurely fashion than before. The only events of importance at this time were the capture by the allies of the towns of Douay, Bethune, and St. Venant. Meanwhile, in Spain, Charles was still in Catalonia while the allied British and Portu- guese forces were on the other side before Badajoz. Taking the offensive Charles, in 17 10, defeated Philip, first at Almanza and a month later at Saragossa, after which for a time he actually took up his resi- dence in Madrid. Philip, nevertheless, soon re- acquired his ascendancy, and, being joined by Ven- dome, forced Charles to retire once more to Catalonia. Such was the state of matters abroad when on the 17th of April, 171 1, Joseph died suddenly of small- pox in the thirty-third year of his age and sixth ACCESSION OF CHARLES VI. 211 of his reign. His death completely altered the political situation. Charles succeeded to the Aus- trian dominions, and though Joseph left two daughters, Maria Josepha and Maria Amelia, these were after- wards, on their respective marriages, obliged to re- nounce all claims to the Austrian succession in favour of their uncle's daughters. But for this circumstance they would, in conformity with a compact made in the reign of Leopold, on failure of Charles's male issue, have ultimately succeeded by preference to the Austrian dominions. XVI CHARLES VI ATTACKS BY THE TURKS Charles was still in Spain when his brother's death thus opened up to him not only the Austrian succession but also the Imperial crown. He was at once proclaimed King of Hungary and Bohemia and Archduke of Austria, and at the same time every effort was made to secure him the Imperial crown. Without awaiting his master's arrival Eugene set the States in motion, and Charles, who had embarked at Barcelona for Genoa, had got no farther than Milan when he heard of his election. Proceeding to Frank- furt he was crowned there on the 22nd of December, 171 1. Then he set out for Vienna. Wherever he went he was hailed with acclamation, and people seemed to regard his advent as foreboding an early return of peace. His manners, too, were pleasing, and he conciliated all. Even with regard to the religious question he said to the Catholics : " Although I approve your zeal, and am ready to defend the Church of Rome at the peril of my life, yet justice, PEACE OF UTRECHT. 21 3 policy, and my own interest require that I should not leave my Protestant subjects without a ray of consolation." The war with France Charles wished still to prose- cute with vigour, and it was long before he saw that his accession to power in Germany had produced a change in the sentiments of his allies with regard to the Spanish succession. As he had risen France had fallen, and some degree of pity for the humbled monarch intensified the general desire for peace. Great Britain, however, it was that definitely turned the tide of events. Anne had gradually veered round somewhat to the side of the Pretender, her brother, and the Whigs had been supplanted by Harley and the Tories. The new ministry, with the support of the Queen, at once began to intrigue with France. The result was that hostilities began to be carried on with less vigour, and on the 8th of October, 171 1, preliminaries of peace were signed at London, by which Louis agreed that France and Spain should never be united under one head. Charles tried to prevent these being ratified, and sent Prince Eugene to London, but the latter, after being publicly insulted by the populace and witnessing the disgrace of Marlborough, retired discomfited. There was no other course open to him except to prosecute the war single-handed, but, after Philip had formally renounced all claim to the throne of France, first the Duke of Savoy and the King of Portugal, and then the Dutch, deserted the Grand Alliance, so that on the nth of April, 171 3, peace with France was signed at Utre:ht by all the Powers except Germany, Spain 214 CHARLES VI. acceding last on the 13th of July. By this treaty Louis XIV. acknowledged Anne as Queen of Great Britain, expelled the Pretender from France, and ceded to the British Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and St. Christopher's, while Spain ceded to the British Gibraltar and Minorca. Philip renounced the crown of France, which was entailed on the Duke of Berry and afterwards on the Duke of Orleans, and ceded to Austria the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples. Germany, as we have said, held aloof from these terms, but, as the campaign of 171 3 failed to obtain for her any advantage over the French, Prince Eugene and Marshal Villars began negotiations at Rastadt on the 26th of November of that year, and on the 6th of March, 17 14, preliminaries of peace were signed, which were followed on the 7th of September by a definite treaty. Charles acquired Naples, Milan, Mantua, Sardinia, and the Netherlands together with old Breisach, Kehl, and Freiburg, in return rein- stating the Electors of Bavaria and Cologne, and yielding to France the fortress of Landau. In the following year, on the 15th of November, 171 5, the " Treaty of the Barrier " was signed, which further limited the northern frontier of France. " Thus," says Villars, " a war of fourteen years, during which the Emperor and the King of France had almost left their respective capitals for good, Spain had seen two rival kings in Madrid, and nearly all the petty States of Italy had changed their sovereigns, a war which had desolated the greater part of Europe, was concluded on the very terms which might have been procured at the commencement of hostilities." PRINCE EUGENE AND THE TURKS. 21 5 During the negotiations for the Treaty of the Barrier the Turks had declared war against Venice and laid siege to Corfu. In this struggle Charles now became involved. The Porte having rejected his offers of mediation, Prince Eugene was despatched to Hungary at the head of a small but well dis- ciplined force. Having crossed the Danube he fell in with the Turks to the number of 150,000 near Peterwardein, and there he defeated them with a loss of 30,000 men (including the Grand Vizier) and 250 guns. This victory was soon followed by the capture of Temeswar, the Bannat, and Wallachia. Next year Prince Eugene returned to win still greater successes. He parted with the Emperor Charles on the 14th of May, 17 17, two days after the birth of the Crown Princess Maria Theresia, and on the occasion his grateful monarch presented the famous general with a crucifix all richly set with diamonds, saying, " I am sure, Prince, that under this sign you will gain the victory." Eugene set out at the head of 60,000 men for Belgrade, the key of the Turkish dominions on the side of Hungary. To this town he at once laid siege, though it was vigorously defended by its garrison of 30,000 men. While thus engaged he was himself surrounded by a splendid Turkish army of 200,000 men, which now threatened to cut off his retreat. There was nothing for it but to fight a decisive battle. Starting about midnight, accordingly, his men fell upon the Turks in the grey of the morn- ing, drove them within their entrenchments, carried these by assault, and turned the guns against their late possessors. The rout of the enemy was com- 2l6 CHARLES VI. plete, and Belgrade fell almost immediately after- wards. Next year, on the 2ist of July, 171 8, the peace of Passarovitz was concluded, which secured to Austria the conquered territories, including Servia and part of Bosnia. Meanwhile a state of war prevailed with Spain, whose monarch, Philip V., refused to renounce Naples, Milan, and the Netherlands. On the 5th of May, 1715, how- ever, Charles concluded a defensive alliance with King George I. of Great Britain. The following September Louis died, and the Duke of Orleans being also at enmity with Philip, on the 4th of January, 171 7, the Triple Alliance between Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands was concluded at the Hague for the maintenance of the peace of Utrecht. Nothing daunted Philip invaded and conquered Sardinia in 1717, and in the following year appeared in Sicily and blockaded Syracuse. Soon afterwards Charles, having disposed of the Turks, joined France and Great Britain in what has been called the Quadruple Alliance. The Emperor himself offered to renounce Spain and take Sicily instead of Sardinia on condition of Philip's giving up the Netherlands, Milan, and the Two Sicilies. At first Philip rejected these terms, but, when a French army had crossed the Pyrenees and entered Spain, and the Spanish fleet had been dispersed by the British, a treaty of peace was finally signed at the Hague on the 17th of February, 1720. It was soon after this last event that Charles promulgated the famous Pragmatic Sanction. The question of the succession was a serious one, and impressed its importance on the minds of the poli- THE PRAGMATIC SANCTION. 2\J ticians of the day. Prince Eugene relates that Count Wratislav often said, " God grant us a prince, other- wise we have nothing to expect but that the Austrian hereditary dominions will become spolia gentium!' 1 As a matter of fact Charles was many years married before he had any children at all, and though ultimately his empress gave birth to a son, who died in infancy, and three daughters, Maria Theresia, Maria Anne, and Maria Amelia, the gravest fears prevailed at Vienna, and on the advice of Prince Eugene and Count Zinzendorf a new law of suc- cession was framed. By this sanction, on failure of issue male of the Emperor the Austrian territories were to go to his daughters in preference to the daughters of Joseph, after whom they were to fall to the Queen of Portugal and the other daughters of Leopold. To this the States soon -assented, and Charles also devoted much trouble to obtain the guaranty of the European Powers for it. After the Quadruple Alliance Charles's relations with foreign Powers became essentially changed. Louis XV. in France was anxious for peace that his country's resources might recover, and for the time being he kept quiet. The Netherlands also were weak and powerless. As for Sweden, Charles XII. who had been in alliance with Peter the Great of Russia, in 1718 was preparing to attack the Emperor, when he suddenly died. Henceforth Sweden gradually lost its former power, especially after 1721, when, by 1 " Gott gebe uns einen Prinzen, sonst ist an nichts anderes zu denken, als dass die csterreichischen Erbliinder spolia gentium werden." 218 CHARLES VI. the peace of Nystadt, Livonia, Esthonia, and parts of Ingria and Finland were ceded to Russia, Bremen and Verden to Hanover, and Stettin to Prussia. From the side of Russia, however, matters looked so threatening that in 17 19 Charles entered into a defen- sive alliance with George I. of Great Britain and the King of Poland, but after the death of Charles XII. Peter the Great hesitated to take the offensive. Poland at this time had fallen greatly from the glorious position attained under J^hn Sobieski, and as for the Turks, these had been too much awed by their defeats to continue to be troublesome. In Italy, Austria was all-powerful, only Venice, Genoa, the Papal States and Modena, Parma and Tuscany not acknowledging the Emperor. The greatest increase in power and influ- ence, nevertheless, at this time probably took place in Great Britain and Prussia. The fleet of the former now ruled the sea and the well-equipped standing army in the latter, which had been established by Frederick William, grandson of the great Elector, tended to make the country a powerful factor in the affairs of Germany. With Philip V. of Spain hostilities never ceased. This monarch unexpectedly abdicated, however, in 1724, in favour of his son, Don Louis, and on the latter's death almost immediately afterwards, con- ferences were resumed under the mediation of France and Great Britain. These negotiations were prolonged for months, but in 1725, a treaty was finally agreed upon between the Emperor and Spain, which fully confirmed the arrangements of the Quadruple Alliance. This treaty was soon followed by others PEACE WITH EUROPEAN POWERS. 2\Q of commerce and mutual defence. Meanwhile the Emperor had shown more and more disposition to break with the British, and the efforts that were now made to recover Gibraltar for Spain caused Great Britain to enter into a defensive league with France and Prussia in opposition to the Austrian-Spanish alliance. This league was also subsequently joined by the United Provinces, Sweden and Denmark, but its effect was much weakened by the early defection of Prussia, whose king Charles succeeded in gaining to his side. The Spanish in 1727 besieged Gibraltar without effect, and Charles's preparations to invade Holland from his territories in the Netherlands could not be completed, owing to internal dissensions. Many of his allies had in the meantime deserted him, and at last, humbled by circumstances, he resolved to sacrifice Spain to his own interests, and on May 31, 1727, agreed to preliminaries of peace with Great Britain, France, and the United Provinces. The King of Spain being left thus isolated also concluded peace, June 30, 1727. Some delay occurred in the execution of a formal treaty, owing to the death of George I. of England and Philip's declining to instantly raise the siege of Gibraltar, but on France and Great Britain showing a disposition to renew the war with redoubled vigour, Charles became quite humble. Mutual distrust also arose between the courts of Madrid and Vienna, and so strained became the relations between the King of Spain and Charles, that the former concluded a separate treaty with Great Britain and France at Seville, November 9, 1729, to which the United 220 CHARLES VL Provinces acceded, November 21, 1729. This treaty confirmed the peace of Utrecht, and revoked the privileges granted by Spain to the Emperor, thus terminating the connection between Spain and Austria. Charles was indignant at being thus duped, and Count Zinzendorf declared that the manner of executing this treaty was an unheard-of affront, a similar instance to which could not be adduced even from among barbarians. All Charles's threats of war and intrigues were, however, of no avail, and, coldly supported by his States and left isolated by Prussia and Russia, he yielded to necessity, made overtures to the British, and concluded in 1731 the second treaty of Vienna. Practically the only advantage Charles gained by all his delays and machinations was the guaranty of the Pragmatic Sanction by Spain, Prussia, Russia, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. He now set himself to get the assent of the States of Germany ; and in this he was successful, all giving their sanction on January 11,1732, except the Electors of Bavaria, the Palatinate, and Saxony. About this time he estab- lished the naval port of Re, Porto Re, near Fiume, and also spent much money in making roads and other works along the shores of the Adriatic. In 1733, Charles became involved in a fresh war with France, owing to the death of Augustus II. of Poland. Several competitors for the succession appeared ; but the number soon became reduced to two, Stanislaus Leszczynski, son of the great treasurer of Poland, and Augustus, Elector of Saxony, son of the late monarch. Augustus agreed to confirm the Pragmatic Sanction, and received the Emperor's THE POLISH SUCCESSION. 221 support, but the majority of the diet and France were in favour of Leszczynski. To settle the matter by force, the Emperor arranged with Russia and Prussia to march into Poland, whereupon the Poles in a state of irritation formally elected Stanislaus, September 12, 1733. Three months later, the Russian army had conquered most of the country, and was besieg- ing Stanislaus in Danzig. On the 25th of December Augustus was crowned at Cracow. France now matured her grand scheme for the humiliation of the Austrian house, and attacked both Germany and Italy. Spain and Sardinia also took the field, and in February, 1734, after losing Milan, Charles was called upon to defend Mantua against the French and Sardinians. The Austrian troops under Merci met with varying success, and at a fierce battle near Crocetta, in the course of which 10,000 men fell without a prisoner being taken, though the Imperialists held their own, their general fell mortally wounded. The command being then taken over by Konigsegg, the Austrians crossed the Secchia and drove the allied forces back to Guastalla, where, however, the former sustained a repulse. Meanwhile the Spanish under Don Carlos attacked Naples, defeated the Austrian party and took Gaeta and Capua, after which Don Carlos was crowned king under the title of Charles III. The same year the French crossed the Rhine, whereupon the Imperialists there found themselves compelled to remain on the defensive. At last, the Emperor, having failed to get that assistance which he had expected to receive from England, was forced to submit to the mediation of the maritime Powers. 222 CHARLES VI. On the 1st of April, 1735, terms of peace were duly arranged. Stanislaus was to renounce his claims to Poland, Don Carlos was to be acknowledged King of the Two Sicilies, and France and Sardinia were to guarantee the Pragmatic Sanction. Owing to the disunion among the allies fulfilment of this peace was somewhat delayed, and in Italy the Emperor sustained a series of disasters, including the loss of Sicily. The Emperor now threw rrmself into the arms of France, and by a secret treaty at Vienna of October 5, T 7 3 5 , the Duchy of Bar and the reversion of Lothringen were ceded to France. A definite treaty to the same effect was signed November 8, 1738. With Spain, Sardinia, and Naples peace was not arranged until 1739. Stanislaus, instead of Poland, got Lothringen and Bar, and all parties agreed to guarantee the Pragmatic Sanction. No wonder that the Prussian soldiers of the period sang to the sound of their trumpets : " Die Franzosen haben das Geld gestohlen, Die Preussen wollen es vvieder holen, Geduld, Geduld, Geduld ! " l It had long been Charles's dearest wish to marry his eldest daughter, Maria Theresia, to Francis Stephen, Duke of Lothringen and Bar. Hitherto France had stood in the way of this arrangement, but now no further difficulties in that quarter barred this alliance. Maria Theresia herself, too, was very anxious for the match. Mr. Robinson wrote to Lord Harrington, 1 " The French have stolen our money, but the Prussians will get it back ; patience, patience, patience ! " MARIA THERESIA'S MARRIAGE. 223 July 5, 1735 : " She is a princess of the highest spirit ; her father's losses are her own. She reasons already ; she enters into affairs ; she admires his virtues but condemns his mismanagement ; and is of a temper so formed for rule and ambition as to look upon him as little more than her administrator. Notwithstand- ing this lofty humour by day, she sighs and pines all night for her Duke of Lorraine. If she sleeps it is only to dream of him, if she wakes it is but to talk of him to the lady-in-waiting ; so that there is no more probability of her forgetting the very individual government, and the very individual husband which she thinks herself born to, than of her forgiving the authors of her losing either." And here is one of her love letters : " Dem durchlauchtigsten Fiirsten Frantz Hertzogen zu Lothringen, meinem villgeliebten Brautigamb, Caro viso, je vous suis infinement obliges pour votre attentation de m ecrire de vos nouvelles, car j'etois en peine comme une pauvre chienne ; aimez moi un peu et me pardonnez si je ne vous repons pas assez, mais cet 10 heure et Herbeville attende pom- ma lettre ; adieu maeusl, je vous embrasse de tout mon coeur, menagez vous bien ; adieu caro viso, je suis la votre sponsia dilectissima." * Accordingly, on February 12, 1736, the wedding was duly solemnised, and thus became united, so to speak, the ancient 1 To his most serene highness, Francis, Duke of Lothringen, my dear fiance, — Dear face, I cannot express my obligation to you for your attention in sending me news of you, for I was troubled like a littl 2 dog ; love me a little and forgive me if my answer seems too short, but it is ten o'clock and (Count) Herbeville (the chamberlain) is waiting for my letter ; goodbye, my little mouse, I embrace you with all my heart, take care of yourself ; goodbye, dear face, I am your dearest bride." 224 CHARLES VI. houses of Alsace and Lothringen, both descended from Duke Etico, the ancestral forefather of the Habsburg dynasty. In April of 1736, Prince Eugene of Savoy died. This, in view of the approaching war with Turkey, proved a most unfortunate event, and, in fact, down to Charles's death, there prevailed the greatest confusion at the seat of government. Barten stein was now the Emperor's chief adviser, but this statesman appears to have been quite incapable of acting either with prudence or with vigour. The army at this time, moreover, seems to have got into a most deplorable state. Sickendorf, who had been sent to inspect it, wrote to Bartenstein : " Some companies of my regiment in Belgrade are thrust into holes where a man would not put even his favourite hounds, and I cannot see the situation of these miserable and half- starved wretches without tears." It was in this critical state of affairs that the Emperor became involved in a fresh war with the Turks. The Russians had invaded the latter's dominions, whereupon they appealed to the Emperor, who, however, had secretly promised the Czarina to send troops to her aid, and who now, instead of acting as mediator himself, commenced operations. Sickendorf was appointed field marshal and ordered to attack Nissa ; but his forces were tew in number and disorganised, and soon he found himself obliged to leave Nissa and entrench himself on the Save. The authorities at home, disgusted at the want of result, recalled their field marshal, put him on his trial, and, though he was not actually found guilty of SIEGE OE BELGRADE. 225 any offence, kept him a long time in confinement. The Duke of Lothringen was now made Commander- in-chief with Konigsegg immediately under him and in 1738 a second campaign was undertaken against the Turks. This proved even less fortunate than that of the previous year. The Pasha of Widdin at the head of 20,000 men laid siege to Orsova, and in a short time the Turks were masters of nearly all Servia. The only ray of sunshine on the side of the Imperialist troops shone when the Turks attacked them between Donaschy and Kornia and suffered a severe repulse. Almost immediately afterwards, when near Orsova, the Austrians were surprised by the Grand Vizier and driven back with considerable loss. The Duke of Lothringen now returned to Vienna. Orsova was in due course captured, and Konigsegg retired within the walls of Belgrade. Konigsegg was, however, soon recalled in disgrace, and Khevenhuller took the com- mand. The Emperor, on hearing the news of these repeated disasters, is said to have exclaimed : " Is the fortune of my Empire departed with Eugene?" In 1739, Marshal Wallis took the command, but by that time the troops were in an even worse state than before, and their stores were almost exhausted. Nevertheless, he at once assumed the offensive, but at Krotzka a hotly contested battle was fought in which neither side gained much advantage, but after which the Imperialists retreated with a loss of 7,000 men. Wallis now remained inactive, and the Turks renewed their' assaults upon Belgrade. Meanwhile in Vienna, people were clamouring at the want of success, and the Emperor, in the hope of retrieving 16 226 CHARLES VI. the honour of his arms, sent General Schmettau to the seat of war, who for the time being relieved Belgrade. Negotiations were then opened with the Turks, and soon afterwards the peace of Belgrade was signed, by which the Turks kept not only all Servia, including the fortress of Belgrade, but also the stronghold of Orsova. Much of the recent confusion at the seat of govern- ment had, undoubtedly, as its cause the failing health of the Emperor. Nor was the disgraceful peace of Belgrade likely to improve his state. As a matter of fact, he did not survive it long. In the beginning of October, 1740, he showed symptoms of a severe attack of gout, on the 10th of the month he was taken seriously ill, and on the morning of the 20th he passed away in the fifty-sixth year of his age and thirtieth of his reign. We are told that almost his last word was the exclamation " Barcelona ! " XVII MARIA THERESIA RISE OF PRUSSIAN POWER CHARLES VI. left no other children surviving besides Maria Theresia and Maria Amelia, and of these the eldest, now in her twenty-fourth year, succeeded to the dominions of the House of Austria in virtue of the Pragmatic Sanction. The period was a critical one. Several claimants for the Austrian succession were expected to come forward, and affairs in the Empire were in a by no means organised condition. Years before, Prince Eugene had exclaimed with reference to Charles VI.'s favourite project, the Pragmatic Sanction : " Bah ! Two hundred thousand soldiers are much more valuable than all the sanctions of the world ! " The truth of this utterance was now to become manifest. When Maria Theresia ascended the throne, there were many in Vienna who shook their heads and said, " A woman can never rule over this immense Empire, the Elector of Bavaria will soon have it all." 228 MARIA THE RES I A And yet, though a woman, she was a great ruler. We have already referred to the spirit with which she courted her cavalier lover, and may now quote the words of the Venetian Ambassador, Foscarini, who remarked that " if the heiress to the House of Austria were to be chosen from all the women in the world, yet would the choice fall on Maria Theresia ; her chief characteristics are high-minded- ness and a certain manliness , f spirit." She was majestic in her bearing, and certainly also beautiful. Accomplished in all the graceful arts, she danced and sang and played, and she spoke Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, and German with almost equal fluency. Of her nobility of character we have an example in the tale that is told of her, to the effect that, upon her seeing a sick woman with two half- starved children, she remarked : " What have I left undone that such a sight as this disfigures my rule?" And one day, soon after the birth of her firstborn son, Joseph, meeting a poor woman with a child which tried in vain to derive nourishment from its mother's breast, she threw to them a coin, and on the mother remarking : " But of what use is gold to me when I can't give my child milk ? " the queen herself took the infant, and setting herself down on a seat gave it the nourish- ment it required from her own breast. It is also told of her that when she assumed her father's sceptre, she still clung to his old advisers, and summoning around her Field Marshal Palffy (then seventy-six years of age), Bartenstein (then over seventy), Harrach, Field Marshal Konigsegg and others, she said to them : " Go on ; do as much good MARIA THERESIA. 230 MARIA THERESIA as you can ; it will be time enough for me to interfere with you when you do wrong." On the very day of her father's death, Maria Theresia was proclaimed Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and the next day, notwithstanding the freshness of her sorrow, she took part in a sitting of her ministry. A month later she nominated her husband as co-regent with her. The first sign of the gathering storm came from Munich in the form of a protest from the Elector of Bavaria against her accession. The Elector of Bavaria claimed the throne through Ferdinand I., to whose race he asserted the crown reverted on the failure of male issue of Charles VI. Opposition was also manifested by the Elector Palatine, who in writing to her addressed her simply as the Arch- duchess Maria Theresia. In this matter much naturally depended on the attitude of the other Powers, and for the signification of their assent Maria Theresia and her ministers waited with the greatest anxiety. The real onslaught, however, came from quite a different quarter. Frederick II. of Prussia, bent upon aggrandisement, had prepared his plans in secrecy, and now, to the astonishment of every one, invaded Silesia on the strength ot old claims to the duchies there. Sensible of his strength and Austria's weakness, he assumed a patronising air, and offered to secure the Imperial crown for the young queen if she would grant him his demands. He was met with the dignified reply: "We cannot alienate Austrian territory; we will rather perish than enter into any discussion with WAR WITH PRUSSIA. 23 I you." Frederick felt he could not draw back. " I have crossed the Rubicon," he said, and on the 1st of January, 1741, the Prussians entered Breslau in triumph, and by the end of the month were in possession of the whole province. The only way to repel force is to use force, and now the Austrians, under Count Neipperg, entered Silesia and met the Prussians near Mollwitz. Each side numbered about 20,000 men, the Prussians being superior in infantry and the Austrians in cavalry. The Austrian cavalry charged, but the Prussian infantry withstood the brunt. Meanwhile the Prussian cavalry was put to flight, and the King himself almost captured. In the end the steadiness of the infantry prevailed, and the Prussians gained a complete victory. Frederick, who early in the day had fled in dismay from the scene, on hearing next day the news of his own victory, drily remarked : " Young warriors should learn by this not to lose all hope so soon." The Court of Vienna was thrown into consternation at the news of the defeat of the veteran troops of Austria. Maria Theresia at once applied to the Powers who had guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction, but she met with but little response. France was only too glad to see Austria humbled, and Great Britain was too nearly connected with Prussia through Hanover to care to actively interfere. The British minister did, indeed, suggest . to the Queen that she should surrender the four duchies of Glogau, Wohlau, Lieg- nitz, and Schweidnitz, but this proposal she instantly rejected. Nor would the King of Prussia listen to reason, and both opponents continuing inflexible, the 232 ' MARIA T HER ESI A struggle went on. So far as the Queen of Hungary was concerned, matters now became much worse, for the Elector of Bavaria had actually invaded her dominions and taken Passau, while the French were preparing to cross the Rhine. Again efforts were made to treat, but the Queen was obstinate, and only offered a partial cession of Silesia. In this conduct she was supported by Bartenstein, who argued : " The friendship of the King of Prussia 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." Accordingly, she would not so much as even dis- cuss the matter with Frederick. Meanwhile Great Britain was growing indignant at the treatment to which the young Queen was being subjected, and sent assistance in money, but the neutrality of that country was effectually secured by the threats of the allies against Hanover. Desperate as was her situation and isolated as she now felt herself to be, Maria Theresia's spirit never gave way. Wherever she went among her people she kindled their zeal and caused them to hail her with enthusiasm. Vivat domina et rex noster ! Y was the shout. Her manly character combined with her womanly form inspired them with sympathy. When she was crowned at Pressburg, she rode on horseback up to the royal mount with her crown upon her head, and waved a sword to the four cardinal points as 1 " Long live our mistress and king ! " CESSION OF LOWER SILESIA. 233 much as to say : " So long as I have this, I fear no foes ! " And to the Hungarian States she said : " Forsaken by all, we place our sole resource in the fidelity, arms, and long-tried valour of the Hun- garians ; " whereupon the deputies with one accord half drew their swords from their scabbards, then threw them back to the hilts exclaiming : " We will consecrate our lives and arms ; we will die for our king Maria Theresia ! " Equally touching, too, was the subsequent meeting when she caused the infant Archduke Joseph to be shown to the assembly, a cry of exultation rising up : " We will die for the Queen and her family ; we will die for our King Maria Theresia ! " The Bavarians pursued their advantage, and in due course joined the French, under Belleisle, and took Linz. Here the Elector was inaugurated as Duke of Austria. Instead of proceeding to Vienna, how- ever, he turned into Bohemia, and laid siege to Prague. Divisions then began to appear among the allies. The King of Prussia, jealous of the Elector's success, became more willing to treat. The Queen of Hungary, too, realising the desperate state of matters, began to incline towards Prussia in order to have the power of dealing with other foes nearer home. Negotiations accordingly were reopened, and full powers given to Austrian ministers to cede the whole of Lower Silesia together with Breslau and Neisse to Prussia. Thus satisfied, Frederick pro- mised her peace, and left her to turn her whole force against the French, the Bavarians, and the Saxons. Of this opportunity Maria Theresia soon availed herself. The first efforts were devoted to the relief 234 MARIA THERESfA of Prague. Thither accordingly the Duke of Lothrin- gen marched at the head of 60,000 men, but when he arrived on the spot he received the mortifying news that the town had surrendered the previous night. The same day the Elector of Bavaria was crowned at Prague King of Bohemia. Soon afterwards France succeeded in her desire to wrest the Imperial crown from the House of Austria, and on February 12, 1742, the Elector was crowned at Frankfurt under the title of Charles VII. Meanwhile the Austrians, under Khevenhuller carried everything before them, retook Linz and Passau, and entered the capital of Bavaria on the very day of the crowning at Frankfurt. A medal of the period has on the one side a representa- tion of the Duke of Lothringen with the inscription : " Aut Ccesar aut nihil" ("Either Emperor or nothing"), and on the other side a representation of Charles VII. with the inscription " Et Ccesar et nihil" (both Caesar and nothing). The King of Prussia, alarmed at the Austrian successes, now broke his neutrality, seized Olmiitz and Glatz, and advanced to the frontiers of Bohemia and even into the territories of Upper Austria. Prince Charles of Lothringen at once set out from Moravia, and coming up with the Prussians near Chotusitz attacked them, but the steadiness of the Prussian infantry was such that they remained masters of the field. As, however, neither side gained much advantage, negotiations were soon recommenced and concluded, the Queen of Hungary agreeing to cede all Upper and Lower Silesia together with the county of Glatz. WITHDRAWAL OF THE FRENCH. 235 From this point uninterrupted success seemed to follow the Austrian arms. Money and men poured in upon Maria Theresia from abroad, especially from England, which believed in maintaining the House of Austria as a bulwark against the ascendancy of France. Soon the French general Broglie was driven from Branau and forced to retreat upon Prague Marshal Belleisle then tried to arrange for a withdrawal of the French forces. But this last proposal was indignantly rejected, the haughty queen exclaiming : " I will grant no capitulation to the French army ! " Reinforcements, however, succeeded in getting to Prague, and Belleisle made a masterly retreat. Nevertheless seldom has a European army suffered as he and his men did. " The roads," says Pelzel, " were dreadful to behold ; they were over- spread with corpses ; heaps of one and two hundred men each with their officers were found stiffened with the frost or dead with fatigue." Though the French themselves thus escaped, great was the rejoicing at Vienna over the re-occupation of Prague. Among other entertainments, a chariot race in the Greek style took place, in which, to prove the triumph of the sex, ladies alone were allowed to contend, the Queen herself and her sister entering the lists. Let us turn for a moment to Italy. The Queen of Spain had seized the opportunity of Austria's troubles to endeavour to place her second son, Don Philip, over the kingdom of Lombardy. With this in view, she had previously entered into negotiations with France and Sardinia, without whose help there was little hope of success. The Sardinians held the key of the Alps, 236 MARIA T HER ESI A and England ruled the sea. The King of Sardinia, however, was jealous of the aggrandisement of Spain, and readily agreed with the Queen of Hungary, on condition of her ceding Milan to him, to maintain a strict neutrality and even to help her. This led to his being involved in a severe struggle for his own dominions. Spain held Bologna and Romagna, and the Austrians and Sardinians held Modena and Parma. For a long time the contest was obstinately maintained on both sides, but at last on the 8th of February, 1743, a decisive battle took place at Campo Santo, in the course of which the Spanish lost about 4,000 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners, the Austrian and Sardinian loss being stated at about 1,700. Some difficulty then occurred as to what additional cessions should be made to Sardinia, but ultimately, in September of 1743, an offensive and defensive treaty was signed at Worms between the Austrians on the one side and the British and Sar- dinians on the other. While these events were proceeding in Italy, Car- dinal Fleury, who had hitherto directed French policy, died, and Louis XV. himself took a more active management of affairs. Far too much indulgence and luxury had about this period prevailed at Court, and French counsels had become much distracted. Even a French historian says : " France at that time was too much like a vessel sailing without a com- pass on a boisterous sea, following no certain course but driven about at the mercy of the winds and waves." At the same time, in proportion as France grew weaker, Maria Theresia became more and more BATTLE OF DETT1NGEN. 237 triumphant. In 1743 Prince Charles of Lothringen drove the French back on the Iser and the Rhine and routed the Bavarians at Erblach. Charles VII., having lost nearly all his dominions, now renounced his claims to the Austrian succession, and retired to Frankfurt Even there, however, he was not to be left in peace. The British and Austrian troops in the Netherlands, under the Earl of Stair, marched upon the Main, and, having passed the Rhine, approached the royal city. At Aschaffenburg the allies were caught in a defile and found themselves surrounded by superior numbers. Then the arrival of George II. and the Duke of Cumberland revived the spirits of their troops, and at Dettingen they bravely attacked the French and cut their way through. The losses were severe, the Duke of Cumberland himself being wounded, but, though the allies had to with- draw to Hanau, leaving their sick and wounded in the hands of the French, this battle was regarded by them as a victory and celebrated as such. At Vienna a " Te Deum " was solemnly sung, and on Prince Charles's return he received in marriage the Queen's sister, Maria Amelia, and the administration of the Netherlands. His union was not of a very long duration, for a year later his wife died. On the 22nd of April of the same year Maria Theresia was duly crowned at Prague, the shout being three times re- peated : " Vivet et triumphet ! " — " Long may our noble Queen live and conquer ! " Hitherto the mutual hostility of France and Great Britain had been more as allies of other parties at war than as principals. In 1744, however, France 238 MARIA 7 'HER ESI A formally declared war against Great Britain and Austria at the same time. A threatened invasion of England paralysed the efforts of the allies in the north, but on the west Prince Charles got posses- sion of Alsace and prepared to enter Lothringen. Once more Frederick of Prussia, fearing the results of Austrian success, and that having humbled France Maria Theresia would seek to recover Silesia, took the field. Entering Bohemia, he compelled Prague to surrender and soon became master of the whole country to the east of the Moldau. Vienna became alarmed, but the Queen, with her usual energy, animated the Hungarians and soon had an army sufficiently large to threaten the Prussian communi- cations. About the same time the King of Naples became active and joined the Spaniards. But at Veletri the latter lost nearly 3,000 men, though the Austrians failed to follow up their advantage. The Sardinians, however, were forced back by the French and Spanish, who nevertheless, after losing about 10,000 men, closed their campaign and recrossed the Alps. Early in 1745 Charles VII. died at Munich, and regarding the succession to the Imperial were indulged in. The British, anxious to spite France, supported the claims of the Duke of Lothringen, and notwithstanding the tampering with the German princes, he was duly elected and crowned on the 4th of October, 1745, Maria Theresia herself leading off the shouts of acclamation with, " Long live the Emperor Francis I. ! " This was the only bright spot in Austrian affairs that year. In Flanders, Italy, FRANCIS 240 MARIA THE RES I A and Bohemia matters did not proceed very favourably. At Fontenoy the allied British, Dutch, and Austrian troops failed to dislodge the French under Marshal Saxe. In Italy Don Philip was now in Milan, and Tortona, Placentia, Parma, &c, had been wrested from the Austrians and Sardinians. The Prussians, too, had succeeded in escaping out of their critical situation in Schweidnitz, and in again driving the Austrians to the Adler and the Elbe, where ultimately a battle was fought in which the Austrians were driven from height to height, the Prussians gaining the victory chiefly through the steadiness of their infantry. While the latter only lost about 2,000 men, the Austrians left behind them 4,000 killed, 7,000 prisoners, including four generals and 200 officers, 66 guns, and many standards. Great Britain now tried to force peace upon Austria, and, on the British threatening to withdraw from their alliance, and being dispirited by her misfortunes, Maria Theresia at last signed the peace of Dresden on the 25th of December, 1745, by which Frederick evacuated Saxony and acknowledged Francis I., but was con- firmed in his possession of Silesia and Glatz. XVIII MARIA THERESIA {continued THE SEVEN YEARS* WAR. THOUGH the peace of Dresden caused a respite for the time being on the side of Prussia, the war with France still proceeded. Early in 1746 Marshal Saxe captured Brussels and Mechlin ; Louvain, Antwerp, Mons, Charleroy, and Namur were also all success- fully besieged and taken. Finally, at the battle of Rancoux, the allies were attacked and repulsed near Maastricht and compelled to retire across the river. In Italy, on the other hand, the Austrians and Sar- dinians had now become superior in numbers to the enemy and succeeded in recapturing Milan, Guastalla, and Parma. Meanwhile Philip V. of Spain had died, and Ferdinand VI., who succeeded him, proved so weak and vacillating that the Imperialists, following up their successes, were soon in possession of Genoa. Now, however, the King of Sardinia began to fear the resuscitation of Austrian influence and relaxed his efforts. Then an insurrection occurred in Genoa 17 241 242 MARIA T HER ESI A which caused the Austrians to retire from that town. Through weariness of strife and fear of further losses every one, therefore, began to long for peace. To this Maria Theresia herself was the chief obstacle, for she had lately formed an alliance with Russia and wanted revenge. At last, when Marshal Belleisle had raised her siege of Genoa, and Bergen-op-Zoom had been captured, she reluctantly consented to the terms that were proposed, and on the 1 8th of May, 1 748, pre- liminaries of oeace were duly signed. Still, the ill-humour of Vienna was such that it was not till October of the following year that the definite treaty was signed at Aix la Chapelle. By this the Emperor was acknowledged as such and the Pragmatic Sanction guaranteed, Maria Theresia recovered her provinces in the Netherlands but restored her conquests in Italy. Don Philip received Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla. The Empress now set about healing her country's wounds. She set the finances in order, introduced a greater degree of economy into all branches of the State service, formed permanent camps and promoted military manoeuvres, and introduced many useful internal changes. Meanwhile her older advisers had nearly all died, and at the head of matters political was now Count YVenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg, a scion of an old Bohemian family, whose wife was the Countess of Starhemberg. This man had been early marked out as the future Prime Minister and had already distinguished himself, first at the Congress of Aix la Chapelle in 1748, and afterwards, from 175 1 to 1752, as Ambassador at Paris. His efforts were chiefly directed to the isolation of Prussia, and with COUNT WENZEL ANTON VON KAUNITZ. 244 MARIA T HER ESI A that object in view he sought to conciliate France and England to the House of Austria. To France he offered to cede a portion of the Netherlands if Louis XV. would assist him to recover Silesia, and Maria Theresia herself even stooped to write a personal affectionate letter to Louis's mistress, the notorious Madame de Pompadour, in the hope of gaining her point. With Great Britain matters were on a some- what different footing, and the breach rather tended to widen owing to the failure of Austria to properly protect the Netherlands whose security Great Britain wished upheld. Maria Theresia's Ministers also refused or delayed to guarantee George II. in his possession of Hanover. Under these circumstances Great Britain turned to Prussia, and between these countries a convention of neutrality was concluded on the 16th of January, 1756. This unexpected turn of events naturally made the Empress more and more anxious to come to terms with France. The Emperor himself, it is true, did not like the idea Indeed, when Kaunitz suggested the matter of an alliance with France to him, it is said that he rose from his seat and struck the table with his hand, saying, " Such an unnatural alliance is impracticable and must never take place." Kaunitz, however, gained over the Empress to his side, and ultimately convinced the Emperor that it was the best course. They, having made up their minds, soon found justification for their conduct. To the remonstrances of the British Minister, who said to the Empress, "Will you, the Empress and Archduchess, so far humble yourself as to throw yourself into the arms of BATTLE OF LOBOSITZ 245 France ? " she replied, " Not into the arms but on the side of France." About this time Maria Theresia secured the co- operation of Augustus III. of Poland and Elector of Saxony, as well as that of the Czarina of Russia. With these she planned a course of action. While the Russians assembled on the frontiers of Livonia, Maria Theresia gathered her forces at Koniggratz and Prague. These preparations, however, did not escape the notice of the King of Prussia, and he, having asked for explanations and failed to receive a satisfactory reply, at once, and without waiting to declare war, invaded Saxony with 70,000 men, took Dresden and surrounded the Saxon troops under Rutowski in their fortress of Pirna. In this wise began the Seven Years' War. To help the Saxons the Imperial army, under Count Maximilian Ulysses Browne or Broune, a man of Irish extraction, advanced from the side of Bohemia. Frederick was not behindhand, and detached two columns, of which the one of 40,000 men, under Field- marshal Keith and the Duke of Bevern, marched against Prague, and the other of 35,000 men, under the Count of Schwerin, against Koniggratz. General Browne there- upon posted his troops on the plains of Lobositz, on the left bank of the Elbe, and here, on the 1st of October, a battle was fought in which neither side gained any decided advantage, after which, neverthe- less, the Austrians retired behind the Eger. The effects of Maria Theresia's reforms in the army now became visible, and after this battle even the Prus- sians said, " These men are different from the Austrians 246 MARIA THE RES I A we formerly faced ! " One more attempt to help the Saxons was made, but on the 15th of October Rutowski and 12,000 Saxon troops were forced to surrender at Lilienstein, the officers being liberated on parole and the rank and file enlisted into the Prussian service. The winter months were spent in preparing for a vigorous campaign in the spring. France and Sweden actively intervened as parties to the peace of West- phalia, and between the former and Austria a secret treaty seems to have been made. Before long 80,000 French troops took the field under Marshal d'Estrees, while at the same time the Swedes threatened Pomerania, and 60,000 Russians assem- bled on the frontiers of Livonia. Frederick saw that a rapid blow must be struck, and this at the heart of the confederacy against him. Accordingly bursting into Bohemia he attacked the Austrians near Prague. At first it seemed as if he must retire, but, despite the carnage, charge after charge was made, and at last the Austrians broke and fled. It is said that Count Schwcrin, who commanded the Prussian cavalry, on hearing the King upbraid his men, wrapped the colours round him, and crying out, " Let the brave follow me," headed another charge, falling almost at once pierced with balls. The Austrians lost 8,000 killed and 9,000 prisoners, while the Prussian loss is stated at not less than 18,000 killed. Prince Charles retired within Prague with 28,000 men, and that town was then besieged. Frequent sallies were made without effect, and the direst famine prevailed, yet the besieged, encouraged AUSTRIAN' GENERAL AND OFFICER. Seven Years War) 248 MARIA THERESIA by promises of rescue, bravely held out. A new Austrian general now appears or. th : field — Marshal Daun. He, with the relieving force, encountered the Prussians on June 18, 1757, at Kolin, and a fierce battle ensued. Seven times the Prussians were led to the attack, and seven times they were repulsed. The carnage was dreadful and the men would go forward no more. Frederick in disgust had to acknowledge himself beaten, and, raising the siege of Prague, retired to Saxony. Daun lost 9,000 men, while the Prussians suffered a loss of over 14,000 in killed, wounded, and prisoners. Maria Theresia, on hearing the joyful news, wrote to Daun characterising the event as having worked " the regeneration of the monarchy." To this hero also she presented her own order, a cross with the motto " Fortitudini" (" For bravery "). Meanwhile the French had overrun the Prussian territories to the left of the Rhine, and penetrated into Hanover, compelling the British to come to terms. The Swedes, too, had invaded Pomerania, whilst the Russians had taken Memel and were working great havoc and devastation. Prussian affairs looked critical, but the King was equal to the occasion. Marching westwards he took up a position on the height of Rossbach, and there lured the French into a battle in which they were totally defeated with a loss of 4,000 killed, 7,000 prisoners, and 63 guns captured, while the Prussians only lost 300 men. Near Breslau, on the other hand, his general Bevern was taken prisoner and his army defeated by Prince Charles, the Austrians only losing 8,000 men, the PRUSSIAN SUCCESSES 249 Prussians 5,000 killed and wounded, 3,600 prisoners, and 80 guns. The effect of this battle was to place Silesia again practically in the hands of the Austrians. Soon afterwards, however, the rival forces encountered one another at Lissa, and here the Austrians suffered a disastrous defeat, whole battalions being killed or made prisoners. While the Prussian loss was not more than 5,000, the Austrians lost 7,000 killed and wounded, 20,000 prisoners, and 134 guns. Breslau then fell to the Prussians, and along with it 18,000 prisoners of war. Thus after losing about 50,000 men, the Austrians had again to retire from Silesia. In the north, too, the Prussians proved equally successful. The French, who had threatened Magde- burg, were compelled to leave and the Russians having also retired, the Prussians soon drove the Swedes out of Pomerania. Thus, at the very moment when his downfall seemed imminent, Frederick succeeded in completely restoring his fortunes. Next year's campaign opened in Westphalia, where the French were further discomfited and driven across the Rhine. The Russians, however, took Konigsberg and overran Prussia. Frederick meanwhile took Schvveidnitz and invaded Moravia, where he laid siege to Olmiitz. From this town he soon had to retire, Daun having marched with 50,000 men to its relief, and captured a convoy of 3,000 waggons sent for Frederick's relief. Marching rapidly across country, Frederick then attacked and at Zorndorf defeated the Russians, who lost about 19,000 men. After that he as rapidly returned to Saxony, 2 50 MARIA THERE SI A whither Daun had proceeded, but at Hochkirch he allowed himself to be surprised by the Austrians. The latter at daybreak entered his lines, nearly taking the King himself prisoner and forced the Prussians to retreat after a loss of 9,000 men and 101 guns. Great was the joy in Vienna over this victory ; Daun was publicly thanked, and had a statue erected in his honour ; and Lacy and Loudon — the former an Irishman, the latter a Scotchman — who had ably seconded their commander-in-chief, also received notable rewards. It was Loudon really who planned the affair at Hochkirch, and to some extent there- fore Frederick's discomfiture was due to his own folly, for before taking service with the Austrians this soldier had offered himself to the King of Prussia, who had turned from him with the remark, " That man's face doesn't please me ! " The Pope also took occasion now to renew to Maria Theresia and her successors the title of " apostolic King of Hungary." This happy event seemed to augur well for the success of Austria in 1759. Her allies grew more energetic on her behalf, and with France a new treaty, that of Versailles, was concluded. So self-con- fident did the Austrians become that they actually threatened various of Frederick's supporters with the ban of the empire. At first the campaign rather flagged, Daun simply watching the enemy. In June, however, the Russians having defeated the Prussians at Zullichau, advanced to join their Austrian allies. Frederick saw that not a moment was to be lost. Starting from the Oder he drove the Russians from their posts at Kunnersdorf, after which, thinking him- FIELD-MARSHAL LACY. (From " The Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy " by the Archduke Rudolph and others.) 252 MARIA THERE SI A self secure of the victory, he attacked the Austrians. Fortune was adverse to him, and he narrowly escaped with his life, having two horses killed under him. In the course of the action he had written to his consort : "In two hours expect to hear of a glorious victory ! " now he said, " Qu'on voie a quoi tiennent les victoires ! " Both sides suffered heavily, each losing about 20,000 men. On the side of the allies nearly all the loss was sustained by the Russians. Meanwhile in Saxony the Austrians had obtained possession of Dresden, and though the French were defeated at Minden, the main body of the Prussians were totally defeated by Daun at Maxen, I 5,000 men being taken prisoners though few fell on either side. The King of Prussia was now undoubtedly in great distress, and if the allies had followed up their advan- tage with alacrity they might have brought him to their own terms. Misunderstandings, however, arose between the Russians and the Austrians, so that the Prussian king was able not only to recover himself, but to compel the Russians to leave Lower Silesia and retire into Poland. Nevertheless, Frederick had lost his best troops, and could only rely upon raw recruits. He had, too, only 75,000 men as against his opponents 250,000. In 1760 Loudon entered Silesia, blockaded Glatz, and after defeating General Fouquet invested Breslau. However, the approach of Frederick's brother, Prince Henry, compelled Loudon to raise the siege of the last-mentioned place. He then formed a junction with Daun. These two generals resolved to engage- the Prussians without waiting for Soltikof and the BATTLE OF TORGAU 253 Russians. Frederick, on the other hand, perceived their purpose and began to retreat. Loudon, who had been sent to cut off the retreat of the Prussians, thus found himself compelled to engage their whole force, and at Liegnitz he was beaten back with a loss of 10,000 men. The King of Prussia accordingly made good his escape, but in October the Russians invaded Brandenburg and took Berlin, so causing the King to leave Silesia and proceed to the defence of his capital. Thereupon Daun marched into Saxony and took up a strong position at Torgau, but here Frederick engaged him, in person leading his grenadiers to the attack. The Prussians were driven back, but Daun was severely wounded, and when, next day the Prussians, instead of retiring, occupied some neighbouring heights and posted guns there against the Austrians, the latter fell back in confusion. In the course of the battle at Torgau the soldiers engaged got so mixed up that when night came parties of Prussians and Austrians were to be seen amicably bivouacking together through inability to find their respective lines. The Austrians lost 20,000 killed, wounded, and prisoners, and the Prussians about 1 3,000 of their best troops. All Saxony was, how- ever, now re-occupied by the latter. On October 25, 1760, George II. of Britain died. George III. had been brought up in England and did not care to interfere much with German politics. Negotiations were even started to promote peace, but these did not advance very far, and in 1761 the war went on as before. The point of attack in this campaign was Silesia, but Frederick acted with caution and 2 54 MARIA T HER ESI A kept on the defensive. Loudon assumed the offensive and took Schweidnitz, but Daun in Saxony did little more than keep Prince Henry in check. The French, who during the previous year had gained considerable successes, this year succeeded barely in holding their own, Prince Ferdinand baffling all their efforts in Westphalia. Pitt meanwhile had resigned, and the British war with Spain had commenced, and representations were now made to Frederick to conclude peace. This the King of Prussia would gladly have done, but Maria Theresia in her elation declined all his proposals for accommodation. In the following year, however, circumstances occurred in Russia which gave Frederick's affairs a still more favourable turn. The Czarina had died and Peter III. ascended the Imperial Russian throne. Peter felt an immense admiration for Frederick, and at once for- sook the Austrian alliance and joined the Prussians. The Russians and Prussians now took the offensive in conjunction and prepared to retake Schweidnitz, whereupon Daun retired to Bogendorf and Ditmans- dorf. At this stage an insurrection broke out in Russia which cost Peter his crown and his life. The new ruler of Russia was Catherine II., and she with- out delay declared the King of Prussia to be her enemy and ordered the withdrawal of her troops. Before going, however, they managed to attack and dislodge the Austrians, and so enabled the Prussians to proceed with the siege of Schweidnitz, which surren- dered on the 9th of October, after the explosion of a powder magazine had made a breach in the walls and rendered further defence impracticable. With CONCLUSION OF PEACE 2$ $ the fall of Schweidnitz Silesia became lost to the Austrians. Meanwhile in Saxony Prince Henry had been making progress, and compelled Daun to sue for an armistice. The Turks also were again threatening Hungary. It was only natural, therefore, that in this position of affairs Maria Theresia became very anxious for peace, and this was, on February 5, 1763, duly concluded at Hubertsburg. Silesia and Glatz were finally ceded to Prussia, and other places captured, while the prisoners of war were restored by either side. Thus, after a struggle which lasted for the better part of seven years, and after the waste of much blood and treasure, both Frederick and Maria Theresia found themselves in pretty much the same positions as when the war began. Soon after peace was concluded, on the 27th of May, 1764, Maria Theresia's son, the Archduke Joseph, was elected King of the Romans, he being thus assured of the Imperial crown. Next year, on the Emperor Francis's sudden death of apoplexy at Innsbruck in the Tyrol, Joseph duly succeeded to the throne. As for Maria Theresia, henceforth she did not interfere much in public affairs. Her grief over the loss of her husband was great, and down to the time of her death she wore mourning and had her apartments draped in black. Often, too, would she descend into the vault where her husband's remains were interred and spend several hours there at a time in prayer and in preparation for her own end. Her contentious nature seemed to be completely broken and for the remainder of her life she strove to maintain peace, fostering art and science in her dominions, founding 256 MARIA T HER ESI A academies, establishing hospitals, reforming the Church, and suppressing the inquisition and the order of the Jesuits. At the same time she looked after the state of her army, and in imitation of the Prussian system introduced conscription over all the Austrian dominions except the Netherlands, Milan, the Tyrol, and Hungary. We come now to what historians consider to have been a political crime — the partition of Poland. That country had sadly fallen from the high position it had attained under John Sobieski, and its inhabi- tants were in a very degraded state. On the death of their ruler, Augustus, on the 5th of October, 1763, Maria Theresia endeavoured to secure the crown for the son of the late king, but the dislike of the people for a foreign ruler led to the formation of factions and scenes of disorder. Several native claimants appeared on the scene, chief among whom was Count Ponia- towski, who had the support of Russia. The latter's claims being pressed forward, Maria Theresria prepared for war on behalf of the house of Saxony. Upon this the Russians and Prussians combined, invaded Poland, and in 1764 secured the nomination of Poniatovvski by their exhibition of force. Under these circumstances Maria Theresia refrained from taking final steps, and left Poland to become a scene of bloodshed and devastation. Four years later, however, the Turks declared war against Russia, but were soon beaten, and Maria Theresia, fearing the rapid growth oi Russian power and despite her former resolve never to unite with the King of Prussia in any undertaking, now joined with Prussia to bring HANDWRITING OF MARIA THERESIA. (From " The Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy " by the Archduke Rudolf h and others.) 18 258 MARIA THEPESIA about a pacification of Poland. Her son, the Emperor Joseph, himself visited Frederick in August of 1769, following that up next year with a second visit, and on both these occasions the Prussian monarch did all he could to allay the Austrian prejudices. The Turks having begged the mediation of Austria and Prussia, the forces of these countries entered Poland and declared they would protect the country from further Russian encroachments. The Russians had made exorbitant demands upon the Turks, including the cession of Wallachia and Moldavia, and now Frederick offered Russia a por- tion of Poland in lieu of those provinces. In due course the Czarina's consent was extorted, and on the 5th of August, 1772, the convention for partition was duly signed at St. Petersburg. The Poles, thus betrayed by those who had professed to be friends, had to yield to their fate, the king himself even sign- ing his own abdication. Russia obtained north-eastern Poland, Frederick the district known as Western Prussia, while Austria got as her share of the spoil Southern Poland including the extensive and fertile districts known as Galicia and Lodomeria. Peace between Turkey and Russia soon followed. Diffi- culties as to the delimitation of their respective portions continued for some time to engage the attention of the countries concerned, Prussia and Austria manifesting a desire to make further encroach ments, but at last in 1777 limits were finally settled. In reward for her services in saving Wallachia and Moldavia, the Turks ceded to Austria the Bukowina, which henceforth has formed an integral portion of her dominions. THE BAVARIAN SUCCESSION 2$$ With these large accessions of territory, Austria seemed to be triumphant. She soon, however, pre- pared for further aggrandisement. The death of the elector of Bavaria without male issue gave the requisite opportunity. Bavaria had long been coveted by the House of Austria ; now a formal claim was made upon practically the whole province. The Austrians at once seized possession and proceeded to establish their rights, whereupon Frederick prepared for war. Meanwhile the Emperor Joseph had paid an un- satisfactory visit to Paris, and seeing it hopeless to expect aid from that quarter, he proposed to Prussia another partition like that of Poland. The Prussian king would not, however, endure any further increase of Austrian power, and a long correspondence between him and the Emperor produced no effect. Troops were assembled and the Prussians invaded Bohemia, but these after a time retired again into Silesia. Maria Theresia desired peace and secured the mediation of France and Russia, with the result that a congress met at Teschen and arranged a treaty there on the 13th of May, 1779, by the terms of which the House of Austria renounced all their pretensions to the Bavarian suc- cession, but secured nevertheless the district of Burg- hausen between the Tyrol and Austria proper. The Emperor Joseph about the same time paid a visit to the Czarina at St. Petersburg, and so captivated her that the old friendly connection between Russia and Austria was once more renewed. In the follow- ing year, on the 29th of November, 1780, Maria Theresia died, after great suffering endured with heroic fortitude, in the sixty-fourth year of her age and 260 MARIA THERESIA the forty-first of her reign. Her death was sincerely regretted by many millions, and the capital and whole empire were c^st down with heartfelt affliction. She had a large family, six sons and ten daughters, but only nine of her children survived her, the two eldest sons being Joseph, the then Emperor, and Leopold who succeeded him. XIX JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD II. LOSS OF THE NETHERLANDS. JOSEPH II. was in his fortieth year when he was called upon to take sole control of the government. He had, it is true, assumed the title of Emperor immediately after his father's death, but, so long as his mother was alive, he merely occupied the position of a co-regent with her. He exercised all the active prerogatives of a sovereign of the realm ; she never- theless continued to be the supreme ruling power. He was undoubtedly a personality, and his reign is chiefly famous for the many changes and reforms introduced into every branch of Church and State. Even in his clothing he was peculiar and from his early years he was distinguished for the strange costumes he wore. His manners were winning and he had considerable skill in diplomacy, but an over- weening self-confidence and conceit frequently led him into difficulties and absurdities. He thought he could emulate his rival, Frederick of Prussia, but he had neither the latter's strong, overmastering 261 262 JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD II. character, nor his military genius, nor his mental acuteness. His fault was that he tried too much. The story is told that on one occasion, when in the country, he came across a ploughman engaged at work, whereupon he at once conceived the idea of trying to plough. On the man remonstrating he said, " No work is disgraceful, least of all that of the ploughman who produces one's daily bread," and to his companions he remarked, " You see, gentlemen, a ruler has to be able to do everything ! " Such being the spirit with which he set to work, no wonder that his reign saw a revolution in the internal arrangements of the State. Frederick of Prussia was right when, on hearing of Maria Theresia's death, he said to his Cabinet Minister: "Maria Theresia is no more — now a new order of things will be initiated." The new monarch set the army on a new footing and introduced into the Austrian military system that order and economy for which it is still notable. With the idea of unifying his empire he tried to abolish all distinctions of religion, language, and manners, and actually removed from Pressburg to Vienna the crown, sceptre, and other emblems of Hungarian sovereignty. The Latin and Hungarian tongues he abolished as official languages, replacing them with German. His ambition was to have one central administration to control all the many diverse nationalities and districts of his realm. He divided accordingly, the Austrian monarchy into thirteen governments, subdividing these again into lesser districts, over each of which he set a special authority. In each government, again, he established two courts JOSEPH II. 264 JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD II. of justice, one for the upper classes and another for the peasants, and over these he set various courts of appeal, which in turn were made subject to the supreme tribunal in Vienna. He gave, too, the final deathblow to the feudal system and relieved the lower classes of many grievances under which they had long groaned. In religion, however, perhaps the greatest reforms were made. Roman Catholicism was declared to be the dominant religion. Excessive tolerance he believed to be the main road to decay ; from the political quite apart from a dogmatic point of view, he held a strong religion to be a necessity. At the same time he lessened the Pope's authority and forbade the bishops to carry any Bull into execution unless it had been confirmed by his government. He also diminished the revenues of the larger bishoprics and increased those of the smaller ones, and he established four hundred new parishes. Many convents were suppressed and converted into hospitals, universities, and military depositories. Pilgrimages were for- bidden and the Church service much simplified. The churches themselves were largely deprived of their images and ornaments and converted again to a state more like that which had originally prevailed. Marriage was made a mere civil contract, and divorce was facilitated. With the dissenting Churches he did not actively interfere ; indeed, on the 13th of October, 1 78 1, he actually published an Edict of Tolerance, by which Protestants and orthodox Greeks were guaran- teed the free exercise of their religion, and to the Jews even he granted many notable privileges. These various doings somewhat alarmed the authorities at 266 JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD //. Rome, and Pope Pius VI., old as he then was, felt constrained to repair to Vienna early in 1782 to try to stop the Emperor in his course. He found the latter inflexible, and though he was treated with all respect he had soon to return almost disconsolate to Rome. In the following year, on the 23rd of December, 1783, Joseph appeared " unexpected like a bomb-shell " in Rome and forced the Pope to sign a convention by which the nomination of bishops was made one of his prerogatives as sovereign. In his relations with foreign Powers and in foreign affairs Joseph was by no means fortunate after his accession. His inherent dislike for France seems to have become cured on the second visit which he paid to Paris in the first year of his reign. Partly, no doubt, he forced this change upon himself in order to secure the abrogation of the Treaty of the Barrier, which he had long regarded as an insult to the House of Austria, in that it made the latter, so to speak, dependent upon the maritime Powers. The fact that the treaty in question excluded France from the Netherlands did not seem to impress him. Accord- ingly, despite the warnings of Great Britain and the Dutch, he set about dismantling the fortifications of the Netherlands except Luxemburg, Ostende, Namur, and Antwerp, and got the Dutch garrisons in them recalled. This was in 1781. Then he made various encroachments with a view to increasing the bounds of Austrian Flanders and aroused disputes and ill- feeling among his northern neighbours. In 1784 matters were so serious that Austrian and Dutch plenipotentiaries met at Brussels to settle them, but DIFFICULTIES WITH THE NETHERLANDS 26j Joseph insisted upon the opening up of the Scheldt as a necessary preliminary and, some Imperial ships which attempted to enter the river being straightway captured by the Dutch, negotiations were suddenly broken off and both parties prepared for war. The Emperor was, however, prevailed upon by France to concede the Dutch demands, and accept instead of his exorbitant claims a sum o( 10,000,000 guilders besides renouncing all right to the free navigation of the Scheldt beyond his own territories and his pretensions to Maastricht and its dependencies. Joseph's difficulties with the Netherlands seem to have led him to conceive the idea of exchanging these provinces for Bavaria. If this were accom- plished, the German dominions and Hungarian provinces would be united into one compact and solid mass, and his realms would be rounded off, so to speak. Prussia, of course, was the great obstacle. Joseph thought, nevertheless, that through France and Russia he might gain his object. France he deemed he had already on his side, and with a view to gain over Russia he now zealously promoted Catherine's schemes of aggrandisement against Turkey. Accordingly, when the Russians seized the Crimea and the Turks threatened to go to war over the matter, Joseph's Ministers at Constantinople de- clared that they would support Catherine to the utmost of their power, and so averted the threatened danger. France and Great Britain, however, inter- fered to prevent further dismemberment of the Turkish Empire, and Joseph himself was conse- quently foiled in his hopes of acquiring anything 268 JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD II. on the side of Turkey. The same unfortunate result fell to his lot in his efforts to acquire Bavaria, and the only outcome of them was to discredit him greatly in the eyes of the King of Prussia and the other German princes and States. What was called the Germanic Union was formed on the 23rd of July, 1785, to maintain the indivisibility of the various German States, and this effectually barred all possi- bility of further encroachment on the part of the House of Austria. Soon after the signing of the Germanic convention Frederick II. died, on the 17th of August, 1786. He was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William, but the change did not relieve Joseph Irom his embar- rassing situation. Great Britain had entered into a league with Prussia. The Netherlands were evincing more and more of a spirit of independence. Russia was more inclined to subvert the Turkish Empire for her own aggrandisement than to help Austria. France also had shown herself hostile to Austrian projects on Bavaria and Turkey. Fear of Great Britain and a desire to overrun the Netherlands alone induced the French to draw closer to the House of Austria. Joseph, therefore, distrustful of France and foiled in his efforts in the West, now turned to Russia. In May of 1787 he visited Catherine, and the two monarchs travelled together through the Russian dominions, and, though it has never been shown that any definite plan of attack upon the Turks was then concerted, the latter seem to have become alarmed at the ostentatious friendship, and at once declared war against Russia. At first Joseph affected to remain neutral, but an AUSTRIAN HUSSAR AND INFANTRYMAN. (Seven Years War.) 2^0 JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD II. unsuccessful attempt by the Austrians to surprise Belgrade forced his hand, and on the ioth of February, 1788, he published a formal declaration of war against Turkey, pleading his engagements with the Empress of Russia. He immediately assembled a force of 200,000 men and 2,000 guns on the Turkish frontier, and made preparations to besiege Belgrade. Russia, however, was in danger on the side of Sweden, and could not second her ally's efforts in the South, and Great Britain and the Netherlands effectually crippled Joseph's efforts to prepare a fleet in the Adriatic. Venice also refused to join him in his enterprise. These facts combined to embarrass him seriously, and he del&yed making any decided movement, and for a time maintained an inglorious inactivity. But in August, Loudon having assumed the general command, a forward movement was made, and after defeating the Turks at Dubitza, the Austrians were soon in the heart of Bosnia. Meanwhile the Emperor himself had been watching a body of Turks who had burst into the Banat, but on the latter attacking him at Carausebes he fell back upon Temeswar, leaving his artillery and baggage in the hands of the enemy. With these unsatisfactory operations the campaign ended, and in November an armistice was concluded. Next year the Austrians were more successful. In July a combined force of Austrians and Russians under the Prince of Coburg defeated a body of Turks at Fotzani, capturing their camp, baggage, magazines, and artillery, and two months later it engaged and totally dispersed the main army of the enemy near SUCCESSES OVER THE TURKS 2J\ Rimnik. The Prince of Coburg was made a field- marshal and the Russian commander Suwarof a count of the Empire. Loudon, in the meantime, had also not been inactive. Early in July he captured Berbir, after which he proceeded with the siege of Belgrade, and compelled the surrender of the garrison on the 9th of October. Joseph was at this time on the bed from which he never again rose, but was much revived in spirits by the news of these various suc- cesses. Even greater success was, however, still to follow. At Tobac, in Bessarabia, Princa Potemkin de- feated the Turks under Hassan Pasha, which victory was followed by the surrender of Bender, Akerman, Kilia Nova, and Isatza, and about the same time Bucharest was captured by the Prince of Coburg. In the hour of success, nevertheless, there was much room for disquiet elsewhere, for the Netherlands had broken into revolt, and in Hungary too there was much discontent. In January, 1790, accordingly, Joseph entered into negotiations for peace with the Ottoman Empire, but these had not proceeded far when he died. The severest blow to Austrian prestige in this reign was the loss of the Netherlands. These had been transferred to the control of Austria by the Peace of Utrecht on condition that their ancient laws and customs should be maintained. The whole course of Austrian government, on the other hand, was one of misrule. Under Joseph matters came to a crisis. In pursuance of his system of reform he completely subverted the ancient constitution of the Low Provinces, and even declared them to be an integral 2*]2 JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD It. portion of the Austrian dominions. Upon this, clergy and laity combined to resist further encroachments, and Brabant became the centre of discontent. This was in 1787. Joseph, on hearing of the rising spirit of insurrection, at once bethought himself of force, saying, "The flame of rebellion can only be ex- tinguished by blood." In this feeling he was sup- ported by his general, d' Alton, who boasted that he would subjugate the whole of the Netherlands in six weeks. Matters, however, went on as before, except for occasional disturbances, until 1789, when Joseph precipitated a crisis by summoning an extraordinary meeting of the States and attempting to force their con- currence to an extension of the right of representation to towns and districts hitherto excluded with the object of keeping down the turbulent party and securing a per- manent subsidy. To this the deputies boldly declined to accede, unanimously declaring that " though the Emperor may dissolve us, we will not violate a con- stitution which we have solemnly pledged ourselves to preserve." Only the presence of the military pre- vented a tumult there and then, but immediately a plan of insurrection was formed and a declaration of independence issued. Chief among the leaders were two advocates, Van dcr Noot and Vonck, who adopted as their motto : " Pro aris et focisP In October hostilities commenced with the capture by the insurgents of the forts of Lillo and Liefgenshoek. At the same time their main body under Van der Mersch engaged the Imperial troops near Turnhut and completely defeated them. Soon afterwards Ghent was captured and St. Pierre stormed, while DEATH OF JOSEPH 2*] % Bruges and Courtray declared for the rebels. At Ghent a formal declaration of independence was then published, and almost immediately afterwards Brussels broke out into insurrection. To cope with their troubles the Austrian authorities were powerless. Outside aid was implored but not granted. Great Britain refused to interfere ; Holland looked on with satisfaction ; Frederick William of Prussia was him- self one of the chief instigators of the trouble. On the 20th of January, 1790, accordingly, the Belgic confederation was formally constituted, and from that date Austrian control of the Netherlands may be said to have ceased. Exactly a month later, on the 20th of February, 1790, the Emperor himself died at the early age of forty-nine, and after a short reign of ten years. His last words are said to have been these : " Lord ! Thou who alone canst read my heart, .knowest right well that every act of mine has been done with a view to my subjects' welfare ! " and as an inscription for his tomb he suggested these words : " Here lies a monarch whose intentions were of the purest kind, but who had the misfortune to see all his undertakings ruined." To Joseph II., who died without issue, succeeded his next brother, Leopold, under the title of Leopold II. The latter was already in his forty-third year when he thus assumed the charge of the Austrian dominions. The time was one of trouble and dis- order. The Netherlands seemed to be irrevocably lost, hostilities were pending with the Turks, and in his own domains of Bohemia, Austria, and Hungary the people were almost goaded to rebellion. In 19 274 JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD II. Hungary it was even argued that Joseph had forfeited the succession, and the disaffected exclaimed, " Hun- gary has no need of an Austrian king." Leopold, nevertheless, proved equal to the occasion. Recog- nising that his predecessor had been advancing too quickly in his reforms, and that some reaction must follow, he adopted a conciliatory attitude. Arrived at Vienna accordingly, he revived again various func- tions and institutions abolished by Joseph, entered into correspondence with the King of Prussia, and even asked the latter to negotiate a peace with the Turks. Frederick William II., however, had conceived the idea of acquiring Danzig and Thorn, and had assembled a large force in Silesia. War with Prussia seemed imminent, but fortunately England interfered at this juncture, and forced the King of Prussia to be con- tent with the status quo. Accordingly, on the 5th of August, 1790, a convention was signed at Reichen- bach by which Leopold agreed to an armistice with the Turks and to give to Frederick William an equivalent for any gain he might derive from the Porte. Soon afterwards a congress of plenipotentiaries from Austria, Turkey, and the maritime Powers met at Sistova. Difficulties arose and the King of Prussia sent troops to occupy Danzig and Thorn, but being left isolated by the other Powers he soon found it convenient to resume friendly relations with Austria. Accordingly, the congress at Sistova renewed its sittings, and on the 4th of August, 1791, the memor- able treaty of Sistova was signed, by which Leopold renounced his various conquests from the Turks, retaining only Chotzim and Old Orsova. The im- INTERNAL REFORMS 2*]$ portant point about this treaty of course was the union thereby created between the rival houses of Austria and Prussia. This in turn led to Leopold's being unanimously elected King of the Romans and crowned German Emperor, October 9, 1790. As we have mentioned, great discontent prevailed in Bohemia, Austria Proper, and Hungary at the time of Joseph's death. The chief grievance was a new land tax which had been imposed. This Leopold at once remitted, and he also abolished a general seminary for education which had been instituted. At the same time, however, he introduced many useful reforms and improvements on the old system. He further restored to each kingdom, province, and dis- trict its form of government under Maria Theresia, and extended the edict of toleration. These various proceedings soon produced a change of feeling on the part of his subjects towards him, and before long a better spirit of tranquillity prevailed. The Hun- garians, nevertheless, proved rather difficult to deal with, especially owing to their endeavour to revive many utterly useless and antiquated privileges. For instance, they claimed to have their country's defence entrusted once more to national troops, and wished the King to reside a part of every year at Buda. To all such demands Leopold gave a firm and dignified answer. He conciliated the Illyrians by granting them a diet of their own at Temeswar, but while he granted the Hungarian,. deputies the right of joining his pleni- potentiaries in negotiations with the Turks, he declined to allow the introduction of military repre- sentatives, or the least infraction of the privileges 276 JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD II. granted to the non - Catholics. On the 10th of November, 1790, he made his solemn entry into Press- burg, and such was his influence and behaviour there that the diet hailed him with every appearance of loyalty, and elected the Archduke Leopold as their Palatine. From the latter as Palatine, Leopold re- ceived five days later the crown of Hungary, and on the occasion further won the hearts of his subjects by promulgating a law that every sovereign should take the coronation oath within six months of his acces- sion. " The Hungarian nation," said the Primate, " is now united with the King ; the King with the nation." To which Leopold replied : " Let my people know that their sovereign is desirous to rule by the laws, yet still more anxious to rule by love." Having thus pacified his dominions and gained the Imperial crown, Leopold bethought himself of recover- ing the Netherlands provinces. With this in view, he published on the 3rd of March, 1790, a manifesto expressing disapproval of his predecessor's measures, and offering on their submission to restore their civil, ecclesiastical, and military constitution to its old foot- ing. The inhabitants, however, were too jealous of any foreign Power to be moved by this appeal, and there seemed accordingly to Leopold no other course open than to avail himself of force of arms. Before taking this extreme step he made one more attempt at a peaceful solution of the matter, and invoked the mediation of the allied Powers of Great Britain, Prussia, and the Netherlands. Plenipotentiaries from these countries accordingly met at the Hague, and deputies from the States were sent there to join in the INVASION OF BELGIUM 277 negotiations. Nothing was settled, nevertheless, before the armistice expired, and the Austrians, entering COUNT JOHANN PHILIP STADION. {From "The Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy" by the Archduke Rudolph and others). Belgium, soon appeared before the walls of Brussels. On the 3rd of December this capital was entered, and 2?8 JOSEPH II. AND LEOPOLD II. before the close of the year all the provinces were once again under Austrian government. The important post of ambassador to Great Britain was at this time filled by Count Johann Philip Stadion, whose portrait is annexed. Meanwhile the Revolution broke out in France, and the Royal family there was in extreme danger. Marie Antoinette, the Queen, was a daughter of Maria Theresia, and therefore a sister of Leopold. The latter consequently could not look on with unconcern at her misfortunes. As a matter of fact, on the 6th of July, 1 79 1, Leopold made at Padua a solemn appeal to the other Powers of Europe on behalf of the Royal family of France. He called upon them to join in demanding the instant liberation of the King and his family, and to put a stop to the usurpation of power in France which seemed to threaten the safety of the other European Governments. Great Britain, how- ever, would not depart from her position of neutrality, and this made Leopold cautious, notwithstanding that the King of Prussia had declared his readiness to join him. This indecision on his part only tended to in- crease the fanaticism of the Republican party in France. Louis XVI. was swept away by the torrent, and com- pelled on the 25th of January, 1792, to send to Leopold what was practically a declaration of war. Then, at last, seeing his efforts for peace fruitless, Leopold signed an alliance with Frederick William, King of Prussia, February 7, 1792. He was spared the sight of the succeeding fateful events in France, for on the 1st of March of the last-mentioned year his death occurred from dysentery, after an illness of only two days. XX FRANCIS II (I. OF AUSTRIA) THE FRENCH REVOLUTION FRANCIS, Leopold's eldest son, who succeeded him, was only in his twenty-fifth year when his father's sudden death put the hereditary dominions of Austria into his possession. Of him as a child his aunt, Maria Christina, said : " II est un des plus beaux enfans que fad jamais vu, fait a peindre, grand, fort, sans etre gros, un visage rond, beaux yeux, un sourire channant, belle couleur, enfin un air vif bien portant qui fait plaisir, cct enfant eleve un pen molement par les femmes qui ont ete chez lui, en a conserve des traces, il est vif mais un peu craintif il a de f esprit, viais est un peu tardif il me parait avoir rhumeur et le caractere de son pere, il est naturellement timide et extrcmement sensible:' In later life, however, he manifested a coldness and utter want of sensibility and feeling. Even after the battle of Wagram in 1809, when he was assured that "all was lost," he was able to maintain an attitude of stoic indifference. On the 8th of June he was duly crowned at Buda, and two days 279 28o FRANCIS 11. later his wife, Maria Theresia, a daughter of King Ferdinand of Naples, also went through the same cere- mony. On the 14th of July he received the Imperial crown at Frankfurt, and on the 9th of August the newly-made Emperor was invested with the Bohemian Royal insignia at Prague. One of Francis's first acts was to assure the King of Prussia of his adherence to the principles of the recent alliance. His minister, Prince Kaunitz, then informed the French Minister of the continuance of the policy of the last months towards France, and on this being communicated to that country the Girondists com- pelled Louis to formally declare war against his nephew, which he did on the 29th of April, 1792, with evident reluctance and with a trembling voice. A few days later a French force, which had advanced as far as Lille and Valenciennes, fled at the first sight of the enemy. In July the allied army of Prussia and Austria, under the Duke of Brunswick, appeared near Coblentz, and a manifesto was issued to the effect that the object of the allies was to put an end to the state of anarchy in France, and to restore Louis XVI. to his legal authority. The tone of this manifesto was most injudicious under the circumstances, and the Duke of Brunswick himself disapproved of it. On the very day that it was communicated to the French Assembly Louis's abdication was demanded, and immediately afterwards the Tuileries were taken and plundered by the mob. A fortnight later Longwy surrendered to the Prussians, and on the 2nd of Sep- tember Verdun surrendered to the Austrians. Then ensued in Paris what have been called the Massacres THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 2%\ of September, in which some fifteen hundred persons were murdered in cold blood, among them the beautiful Princess de Lamballe, one of Queen Marie Antoinette's favourites. Both Longwy and Verdun were, however, soon again lost, for after an ineffectual attack upon the French at Valmy, the Duke of Brunswick withdrew his columns and opened negotiations with Dumouriez, the French Commander. In reply to the Duke's pro- posals Dumouriez handed to the Prussian envoy the decree establishing a Republic, whereupon, as peace was now impossible and as his men were suffering severely from the weather and want of proper pro- visions, the Duke ordered a retreat, recrossing the Rhine at Coblentz towards the end of October. A month later Dumouriez defeated the Austrians near Mons, where, under Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen, they had taken up a strongly fortified position, and by the end of December the whole of the Austrian Netherlands was in the hands of the French. All these events served to bring it home to the allies that a war with France meant something more, than a mere military march to Paris, as the Duke of Brunswick had predicted. This scheme was now totally abandoned, especially after January 17th, when Louis was sentenced to death, and all hope of saving him and his family expired, and henceforth the first object of the Austrian leaders was to recover the provinces which they had lost. The first battle of 1793 was fought on March 1st at Aldenhoven, in which the French, under Dampierre, were defeated by the Austrians, under the Prince of Coburg, soon after which the Austrians entered Aix-la-Chapelle and 282 FRANCIS II. captured Liege. Then, on March 16th, Dumouriez defeated the Austrians at Tirlemont, but was himself defeated by the Prince of Coburg two days later at Neerwinden, after which, on March 25th, the Arch- duke Charles and the Prince of Coburg entered Brussels. Meanwhile Great Britain had also declared war against France, and altogether the situation of the French was far from being a hopeful one. Dumouriez having shown signs of a wish to abandon the Jacobin Republicans, was now superseded by the Convention ; but Dampierre, who next took the com- mand of the French troops, was no more successful. On the 8th of May he was attacked at Famars by the combined armies of Austrians, Prussians, British, and Dutch, under the joint command of Clairfait, the Prince of Coburg, and the Duke of York, and defeated with terrible slaughter. Dampierre him- self was mortally wounded, and 4,000 of his men were placed liors de combat. Dampierre was in turn succeeded by Lamarque, but he, too, sustained a defeat ; and having retired from Famars, took up a position between Valenciennes and Bouchain. Meanwhile Francis had been engaged with the King of Prussia and the Empress of Russia in another division of what remained of Poland. The Prussians had long coveted the ports of Thorn and Danzig, and now boldly summoned the inhabitants of these places to swear allegiance to their King. The remonstrances of the Polish Diet were simply met by a manifesto of the Emperor Francis, who declared his approval of the King- G f Prussia's action. Without more ado the three aggressive Powers called upon the Polish Diet PARTITION OF POLAND 283 to draw up and sign an instrument for the alienation of the territories that were demanded, and, with the exception of a small portion, all that remained of Poland was thereupon transferred to Russia and Prussia. Austria got next to no advantage, but she yielded to Prussia in the matter in the hope of further- ing her schemes of aggrandisement elsewhere ; in particular, she wished an exchange of territory with Bavaria, and the occupation of Alsace and the French frontier fortresses. In France the next events of importance were the surrender of Conde to the Austrians, July 12th; the capitulation of Mainz to the Prussians, July 22nd ; and that of Valenciennes to the Austrians, August 1st. As for the administration of the country, terror was now the order of the day. " The Royalists desire blood," it was said ; " they shall have it ! They want to destroy the mountain ; the mountain will crush them ! " Marie Antoinette became the object of attack, and on October 16th this scion of a long line of Emperors, the aunt of the Emperor Francis, met her fate on the scaffold at the hands of the blood- thirsty Commune. On the same day the Austrians sustained a severe defeat at Wattignies, near Mau- beuge, by the French under Jourdan, but were allowed to retreat unmolested. About this time, too, the Prussians suddenly withdrew from their alliance with Austria and by so doing struck a severe blow at the policy of the coalition against France. Prussian troops, however, remained in occupa- tion of Alsace and the Palatinate, so preventing the Austrians from realising the object so dear to them. 284 FRANCIS II. The scene now changes again to Poland. Early in 1794 Kosciusko and other Polish patriots matured a scheme for the liberation of their country and soon collected about them a considerable, if somewhat irregular, body of men. These succeeded in cap- turing or defeating many of the Russian garrisons, and in May they actually set up a National Council for the government of the recovered lands. In June, however, the Prussians invaded the country and defeated Kosciusko at Szczekociny, and soon afterwards occupied Cracow, which event at length caused Francis II. to declare himself. The Emperor, finding himself foiled in the West, had now con- ceived the idea of abandoning his provinces in the Netherlands and of seeking compensation in Bavaria and Poland. So far as the last-mentioned country was concerned, he had the support of Russia, which began to manifest a jealousy of the ascendancy of Prussia, and accordingly, under the pretext of preventing disorder in Galicia, an army of 17,000 Austrians straightway marched upon Brzesc and Dubnow. About the same time a Russian army marched from Lithuania and met the Poles under Kosciusko at Maciejowice, completely defeating them and taking their general prisoner, who is said on that occasion to have exclaimed, "Finis Polonia!" In fact the end was not far off. By a convention signed at St. Petersburg, January 3, 1795, the country was duly divided "between Prussia, Austria, and -Russia, Prussia taking the Palatinates of Rawa and Plotzk, part of Masovia, including Warsaw and portions of Podlachia, Troki and Cracovia ; Austria getting the WAR WITH THE FRENCH 285 greater part of Cracow with the town of that name, the Palatinates of Sandomeirz and Lublin, and part of those of Chelm, Podlachia and Masovia; and Russia obtaining the Duchy of Semigallia, Pilten, Samogitia, part of the Palatinates of Troki and Chelm, the remainder of Vilna, Novogrodek, Brzesc, and Volhynia. This arrangement was then con- firmed by treaty, October 24, 1795. Difficulties still arose as to the division of Cracovia, where the Prussians were in possession, but these were finally settled under the mediation of Russia in the follow- ing year. While these events were progressing in Poland, the allied army of British, Dutch and Austrians, to the number of 160,000 men, had been fully occupied in the west. At the opening of the campaign of 1794 they were posted near Trier, the Emperor himself being in command, accompanied by his brothers, Charles and Joseph, and his Ministers, Thugut and Trautmannsdorf. Various desultory conflicts took place, success sometimes favouring one side, sometimes the other, but no decisive movement was made. So inactive were the allies that it was even suggested that Thugut had come to an under- standing with the French leaders. Certain it is that with the departure of the Emperor from Belgium in June, the Netherlands became as good as lost to Austria. Ypres and Charleroi surrendered to the French, and after his defeat at Fleurus on the 26th of June, the Prince of Coburg retired behind the Meusc. One after another of the Belgian towns fell into the hands of the army of the Convention, and by the end of the 286 FRANCIS II. year the French found an open road to Holland. Early next year Amsterdam was entered, the Dutch fleet, frozen up in the Texel, captured by a body of hussars, and a Provincial Government established at the Hague. Negotiations for peace between Austria and France were now attempted, but the French Government would not entertain them. The French army then crossed the Rhine, and took Mannheim, but was in turn driven back by the Austrians under General Clairfait, and its baggage, ammuni- tion and artillery fell into the latter's hands. Soon afterwards, however, for some unaccountable reason, the Austrian commander concluded an armistice, thus bringing the campaign of 1795 to a close. Into Italy the war had also been carried, but during four campaigns little was done until November 23, 1795, when General Schjrcr defeated the Austrian- Sardinian army under De Vins, with a loss of 7,000 killed, wounded, and prisoners. The Austrians were now to feel the effect of the generalship of Napoleon Buonaparte. This leader, though only twenty-six years of age, had already shown his capacity at the siege of Toulon. When he took the command at Nice, on the 27th of March, 1796, he found the French much dis- organised and in a destitute state, but by playing up *. XXI FRANCIS II. (I. OF AUSTRIA— continued) AUSTRIA MADE AN EMPIRE Not for long was Europe allowed to remain in peace. France was isolated, in an attitude of defiance, and Napoleon by his arbitrary conduct soon roused into action the dormant spirit of hostility towards him. At first it was Great Britain only which renewed the struggle, that country going to war with France in May of 1802, but by degrees other Powers also be- came involved. Austria for the time being preserved a peaceful attitude, occasionally even acting in harmony with France. The Austrians required a period of quiet in order to recover from the evil effects of those last years of warfare, and they did their utmost to maintain a policy of peace. In 1804, however, a great change was introduced with regard to the position of the Austrian ruler. Recent events had produced a decided weakening of the bonds between the Emperor and the Germanic princes, and gradually thrown the former back upon his hereditary dominions. The desire for a greater 293 294 FRANCIS II. unity among these and closer connection with their head became more and more felt, and only wanted the necessary impulse in order to have it realised. When, accordingly, on the 18th of May, 1804, Napoleon assumed the title of Emperor, Francis II. also, fore- seeing that it was a possible future occurrence that a Prince of the House of Austria might fail to acquire the Imperial dignity, and in order to guard against his family occupying an inferior position to that of the royal family of France, assumed the title of hereditary Emperor of Austria, and as such he was duly proclaimed on the 1 ith of August following. Both sovereigns then recognised each other's titles, and from that date the House of Austria held a dignity coextensive with those of the royal families of France and Russia. Haydn's hymn, " Gott crhalte tinsern Kaiser" composed in 1797, now became truly national and Austrian, and henceforth the monarch was spoken of not as King of Hungary and Bohemia, but as Emperor of Austria. As has been mentioned, great though Austria's desire for peace was, she soon saw that another war with France was inevitable. Great Britain felt that single-handed she could only defend her own shores and rule the seas. Any decisive pressure, so far as the Continent was concerned, she was unable to bring to bear upon France. Pitt, accordingly, who was at the head of affairs, strove his utmost to form another coalition between the Cabinets of London, Vienna, and St. Petersburg, and, if possible, also of that of Berlin. The last was somewhat doubtfully disposed, because Napoleon had endeavoured to form an alliance with COMBINATION AGAINST FRANCE 2Q$ the King of Prussia, promising him additions to his dominions and the title of Emperor. Pitt's scheme, shortly, was to wrest from France the countries which she had subjugated since the commencement of the Revolution, to render these countries proof against further aggrandisement, and to establish settled principles of international law. This straightforward and definite scheme enlisted the sympathy of the Czar Alexander, and on the nth of April, 1805, an alliance between Great Britain and Russia was con- cluded at St. Petersburg. To this the Austrian Emperor acceded on the 9th of August of the same year, though for some time yet he manifested to Napoleon a desire for peace. Frederick William III., on the other hand, would not relinquish his position of neutrality, and adopted a policy of doing nothing. Meanwhile the French Emperor himself had assumed the crown of Lombardy and was carrying out his ambitious designs in Italy. By the month of September, 1805, British, Dutch, Swedes, Russians and Austrians were all in motion. Their plans were arranged on a grand scale and were directed both against France and Italy. Austria sent an army of 120,000 men under the Archduke Charles to Italy, a second of 35,000 under the Arch- duke John to the Tyrol, and a third of 80,000 under the Archduke Ferdinand and General Mack to Ger- many. At the same time an army of 45,000 British, Russians, and Swedes operated in Northern Germany, other two Russian armies of 60,000 men each pro- ceeded towards the Danube, and still another of British and Russians landed near Naples. The ob- 2g6 FRANCIS II. jective ,of the first and last mentioned shows that the Austrian authorities conceived that Italy would in all probability be the chief scene of operations. In this, however, they were mistaken, for Napoleon him- self took charge of the 190,000 French forces employed in the German campaign. These last soon crossed the Rhine, and by the beginning of October were on the Danube, marching in three divisions upon Munich, Neuburg, and Donauworth. Mack, meanwhile, had entered Bavaria, and suddenly found himself cut off in his rear, being completely blockaded by Napo- leon at Ulm. Repulsed in all his efforts to break through the French lines, and finding his position to be inextricable, Mack surrendered to Napoleon on October 20th with some 24,000 men, and on the same day Prince Ferdinand, with the remainder of the Austrian forces, was surrounded near Nordlingen and also compelled to surrender. While these events were in progress, the Russians under Kutusoff had likewise sustained reverses and been forced back from the Danube. The road to Vienna was now open, and on November 13th Murat and Lannes entered the Austrian capital without resistance. From Vienna, without loss of time, the French pro- ceeded after the Austrian-Russian army under the two Emperors, which had taken up a strong position between Olmiitz and Olschun. There negotiations took place between the King of Prussia and the allies, and the former at one moment actually con- sented to join the coalition. When the time came for action, however, Frederick William neglected to send the requisite assistance, and the Russians and BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ 297 Austrians were left to contend with Napoleon alone. The decisive battle was fought at Austerlitz on the 2nd of December where the allies were totally defeated with a loss of 12,000 killed or wounded, 15,000 prisoners, and 80 guns. This disaster, following upon the capitulation of Ulm, seems to have caused the two Emperors to completely lose their heads, and, despite the fact that an army of 80,000 men under the Archdukes Charles and John was approaching from Hungary, while another of 20,000 was advancing from Bohemia, Francis pro- ceeded in person on the 4th of December to the French camp. Here by a watchfire he found Napoleon, who said, " I must receive your Majesty in the only palace I have inhabited these two months," to which the Emperor graciously replied, " You make so good use of it that you must find it very pleasant." An armis- tice was then concluded on terms that the French should occupy Austria, Venice, and portions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Hungary, that the Russians were to evacuate Moravia, Hungary, and Galicia, and that peace negotiations were to be opened at Nikols- burg. Soon afterwards, on December 26th, the peace of Pressburg was signed, by which the Austrian Em- peror gave up Venice and its territories to the kingdom of Italy, of which Napoleon was recognised as king, and among various cessions yielded to Bavaria the Vorarlberg, Tyrol, with Brixen and Trent, and other districts. But the most important consequences of this peace, so far as the present volume is concerned, was the completion of the overthrow of the German Empire. This had been materially led up to by the 298 FRANCIS II. disunion of the different States under the influence of the Reformation. The growth of the Prussian kingdom, and the temporary diminution of the influence of the House of Austria, especially after the treaties of Campo Formio and Luneville, also tended to weaken the mutual bond of union. Then, too, the cession to France of the left bank of the Rhine was a fact of large importance. On the 12th of July, 1806, a treaty was signed at Paris by which the heads of the twelve sovereign houses of the Empire declared themselves perpetually severed from the German Empire and united together under the protection of the French Emperor as the notorious Rheinbund, or Confederation of the Rhine, with a diet of its own to meet at Frankfurt. This was followed almost immediately afterwards by a declaration from the Emperor Francis at Vienna that henceforth he considered himself released from all connection with the Germanic body. He thereupon resigned the Imperial Crown and government, which had long been little more than outward ornament. Such was the end of the Holy Roman Empire. In future we must speak not of Francis II., German Emperor, but of Francis I., Emperor of Austria. The peace of Pressburg could not endure. To the House of Austria it was deeply humiliating, and the loss of the Tyrol especially weighed heavily upon the minds of the Austrian rulers. Then the Con- federation of the Rhine was viewed as an insult by Prussia, who had not even been consulted in the matter. Russia, too, could not look on with un- concern while Napoleon pursued his scheme of general conquest and a universal empire under the PEACE OF TILSIT 299 leadership of France. What precipitated matters, however, was Napoleon's restoration of Hanover to Great Britain. So soon as Frederick William heard of this he sent an ultimatum to Napoleon requiring the evacuation of Germany by the French, a request which of course meant war. Within ten days, how- ever, the campaign was decided by the battles of Jena and Auerstadt, October 14, 1806, in which the Prussians lost 30,000 men killed, wounded, and pri- soners, and nearly all their guns and stores. On October 27th Napoleon entered Berlin, and a month later his army had reached the Weichsel. Meanwhile a Russian army of 90,000 men had entered Prussian Poland, and at Eylau a fierce battle was fought on February 8, 1807, m which enormous losses were sustained by both the French and the Russians, the former, nevertheless, claiming the victory. Napoleon then sought an armistice, but the Russian general Bertrand replied " that his master had not sent him to negotiate, but to fight," and on the. 26th of April a convention was signed between Russia and Prussia at Bartenstein. On the 14th of May the decisive battle of Friedland was fought, which compelled the Russians to sue for an armistice. Soon afterwards conferences took place between the Czar and Napoleon, and on the 9th of July the peace of Tilsit was concluded between them. Napoleon was now absolute lord on the continent of Europe, and on the 2 1 st of November, 1 806, issued his famous Berlin Decree, declaring the British Isles in a state of blockade, that being followed on the 300 FRANCIS II. 17th of December, 1807, by his Milan Decree to the same effect. This continental system of Napoleon's, which aimed at the complete commercial isolation of Great Britain, led, of course, to the latter country being in a state of war with all the European Powers. Even the Austrian Minister quitted London in January of 1808, and British commerce was for the time excluded from the ports of Russia, Prussia, Denmark, Germany, Holland, France, Italy, and Dalmatia. As is well known, however, the con- tinental system completely failed to work the effect desired, as Great Britain readily found outlets for her energy elsewhere. Austria meanwhile had been silently preparing to renew the struggle at the first opportune moment. This seemed, at length, to come in 1808 when the British were engaging all Napoleon's energies in the Spanish peninsula. Austria had meanwhile completely reorganised her regular army, bringing it up to a strength of 400,000 men, and in the summer of the last-mentioned year the Archduke Charles had suc- ceeded in establishing the Landwehr militia in number nearly equal to that of the troops of the line. These preparations had not escaped Napoleon's notice, and on the 15th of August, 1808, he had even sent angrily to Metternich and asked, " What does your Emperor want ? " to which the other coolly replied, " He wants you to respect his ambassadors." A war with Austria was not at all agreeable to Napoleon under then existing circumstances and he attempted to avert it. Austrian spirits, on the other hand, had risen and the patriotism of the people was ANDREAS HOFER 301 not to be restrained. Numerous were the national and landwehr songs of those days. It was at this time that Henry Collin composed his " Wehrmannslieder," and that Count Chorinsky, George Fellinger, and Castelli wrote their war songs. What spirit is there in — " Habsburg's Thron soil dauernd steh'n, Oestreich soil nicht untergeh'n ! Auf ihr Volker, bildet lleere ! An die Grenze, fort zur Wehre ! " and in — " Oesterreich, wohl bist du mein, Oesterreicb, wohl bin ich dein, Trennt mich von dir nicht Noth, Nichts als der Tod ! " By March, 1809, all was in readiness. On the 27th of that month the Austrian Minister presented to the French Government a formal declaration of the grievances which Austria had suffered at the hands of France since the peace of Pressburg, and soon after manifestoes and addresses were published by the Emperor and the Archduke Charles to the nation and the army. With the outbreak of the war an insurrection occurred among the Tyrolese headed by Andreas Hofer, and near Innsbruck the French were surprised by the natives, and lost over 8,000 men. Accordingly, when the Austrian forces entered the Tyrol, they found the country already free from its foreign yoke. About the same time the main body of the Austrians invaded Bavaria, entering Munich on the 1 6th of April, and came face to face with the French and Bavarians. After various combats the Austrians were compelled to retire to the Palatinate, and 302 FRANCIS II. Napoleon once more marched upon Vienna, which city he duly reached and entered on the ioth of May. For a second time Napoleon took up his quarters at Schonbrunn, and one of his first acts from this place was to issue an order dissolving the Austrian Landwehr. He also issued a proclamation to the Hungarians, promising them their independence if they revolted against the House of Austria, but this proclamation had no effect. After the capture of Vienna the whole of the right bank of the Danube from Linz to the Hungarian frontier was in the hands of the French. The Austrians, however, still held control of the lands to the left. Here on the famous Marchfeld, to the north of Vienna, the Archduke Charles had taken up his position, and here, where formerly Rudolph of Habs- burg had triumphed over Otakar, the fate of Austria was once more to be decided. The Danube at this point has many islands, the largest of which is that of Lob Aue. This island the French occupied, and by the 20th of May they had thrown a bridge across to the mainland between the villages of Aspern and Esslingen, themselves crossing thereby on the 21st. Near the villages mentioned fierce battles ensued, but neither side gained any decided advantage. Napoleon failed to move the Austrians and was forced to retire to the island of Lob Aue. The losses on both sides were tremendous ; each losing over 24,000 men in killed and wounded. Matters remained stationary until the beginning of July, when the French, having again established themselves on the mainland, fought on the 5th and 6th the battle of 53 ^ fa — a £ CO fa £ ° z 53 2 2 3 fa S 3O4 FRANCIS If. Wagram, in which the Austrians were completely de- feated. A week later another engagement was fought near Znaym, in which the Austrians were again defeated, after which an armistice was concluded to allow of peace negotiations being made. Meanwhile the French had been equally success- ful elsewhere, quelling the Tyrolese revolt, and in Italy defeating the Austrians on the Piave on the 8th of May. At the same time the Russian-Polish army had driven the Austrians from Leopol and Sando- mierz and taken possession of Galicia. The armistice at Znaym, however, also put an end to the war in these quarters. As to the negotiations, these were protracted over three months, but at length, on the 14th of October, 1809, the peace of Schonbrunn was signed, by which Austria made various fresh cessions of territory to France, Russia, the Con- federation of the Rhine, and Saxony. To France were ceded Gortz and Montefalcone, Trieste, Car- niola, portions of Carinthia, Croatia, and Dalmatia, and the lordship of Rhaziins ; to Russia, part of Eastern Galicia ; to the Confederation, Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, and a portion of Upper Austria ; and to Saxony part of Bohemia and the whole of Western Galicia together with a part of Easter 1 Galicia, and the town of Cracow. The feeling in Austria over this peace was one of anguish. At the same time the inhabitants had learned thj extent of their resources, and in the brave Landwehr troops who had fought like the picked men of the army, though disbanded on the 23rd of December, 1809, they saw hope for the future. 306 FRANCIS II. The bitterest drop in the cup of misfortune was the resignation of the Tyrol and Vorarlberg to a foreign foe. In these districts a second revolution had broken out, and renewed victories over the French and Bavarians had been won, and, though on the conclusion of the armistice of Znaym the Austrians evacuated the region, Hofer and his men still continued the struggle. By November, how- ever, they had been driven from all their positions and were forced to announce their submission. Then a series of executions ensued, Hofer himself being tried by court-martial at Mantua and shot, the 20th of February, 1810. Though unsuccessful, this struggle had its good result, and the sufferings and trials of the faithful Tyrolese undoubtedly caused an outburst of patriotic feeling which ex- tended in course of time far beyond the bounds of the Austrian dominions. An event now occurred which tended to check the hostile feeling towards France and promote peace and friendship between the Austrians and the French. That event was the marriage, on the 17th of March, 18 10, of Napoleon with the Archduchess Maria Louisa, daughter of the Austrian Emperor. Josephine, whom Napoleon had married in 1796, had no children, and in order to perpetuate his dynasty he had formally announced the dissolution of his marriage with her. Soon afterwards he sought the hand of a Russian Grand Duchess, but his proposal being coldly re- ceived he then bethought himself of marrying a daughter of either the King of Saxony or the BIRTH OF NAPOLEON S HEIR 307 Emperor of Austria. The latter course he finally adopted, the young Empress on her marriage being only eighteen years of age. A year later, on the 20th of March, 181 1, a son was born of this union, the event being equally honoured in Paris and Vienna. To this son was given the name of Napoleon, and also the title of King of Rome, XXII FRANCIS I., EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA {continued) RIVALRY WITH PRUSSIA WITH the disastrous retreat of the French from Russia in 1 812, the turning-point in Napoleon's career of success was passed. Austrian troops had indeed taken part in that campaign, but only in accordance with the stipulations of the engagements between France and Austria and not out of any feel- ing of hostility to Russia. At the same time there is little doubt that those who directed Austrian affairs were only waiting for a favourable opportunity to break the French alliance. Be this as it may, January of 181 3 saw the Russians at Wilna, in pursuit of the French, and the latter's Austrian allies under Prince Schwartzenberg in full retreat along the Narew to Pultusk. Warsaw was entered by the Russians on the 8th of February. Almost imme- diately afterwards the Austrians concluded an unlimited armistice and retired into Galicia. About the same time the Russians concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with the Prussians, and the 308 WAR RENEWED 11777/ ERA MCE 309 beginning of March saw the evacuation of Berlin by the French and its peaceful occupation by the Russians. Meanwhile the eyes of all were turned upon Austria, the great augmentation of whose forces and other warlike preparations betokened something more than a defensive neutrality. The world was not kept long in suspense. On the iith of August Count Metternich formally handed to the Count de Narbonne at Prague a declaration of war against France. A treaty of alliance between Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain was the con- comitant of this declaration. The Prince Royal of Sweden now took the com- mand in Northern Germany, and the French under Napoleon retreated before the Russians to Dresden. Upon this town the allied troops at once made an attack, but it proved to be too strongly defended. At Kulm, however, the French under Vandamme were completely defeated, with a loss of 10,000 prisoners and 60 guns ; and near Jauer Blticher defeated Marshal Macdonald, with a loss of 18,000 prisoners and 103 guns. The result of these victories was to free Silesia and enable the allies to make a more decided advance. In September, at Jiiterbock, the French were again defeated, with a loss of 16,000 men, and after various other actions Napoleon finally quitted Dresden. An important accession now fell to the allies in Bavaria, which sank its old hostility to Austria and entered into an alliance with her, and Holland also broke into revolt, supplanting the French flag in their towns by the Dutch amid shouts of "Oranje boven!" ("Orange uppermost!") The 310 FRANCIS /., EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA Tyrolese also rose, and the Austrians regained the whole of Istria and the Dalmatian coast, including Trieste. Weil might Napoleon now exclaim, " All the world is against me ! " These various successes enabled the Allies next year to carry the war right into the heart of France, and after defeating the French armies sent to oppose them they in due course reached Paris. This capital was entered by the Allies on the 31st of March, 1814, and immediately afterwards a declaration was issued by the Russian Emperor to the effect that they would no longer treat with Napoleon or his family, though they would respect the ancient integrity of France and its legitimate kings. A provisional government was then established, and on April 4th Napoleon formally abdicated his Imperial dignity. He retired to Elba on the 20th of the same month. The Peace of Paris followed on the 30th of May, by which France was restricted to its boundaries as at the 1st of January, 1792, Belgium was given to Holland, and the German States were recognised as an independent federal union, while Austria regained her northern Italian possessions together with Venice as a maritime dependency, and the kingdom of Sardinia was restored under Victor Emanuel. The weak point in the arrangement, so far as relates to Austria, was the anomalous position of Joachim Murat, King of Naples, who, notwithstanding his close relationship to Napoleon, was allowed to retain his crown. The reason given for this allowance was of course the assistance he had accorded Austria against the French. Even after the Peace of Paris, ABDICATION OF MURAT 311 on the other hand, Great Britain had refused to recognise him, and he undoubtedly was in a precarious position. Whether he was a party to Napoleon's escape from Elba matters not, but at all events he was early in 181 5 up in arms and threatening Rome. On Napoleon's landing in France, too ; and reinstate- ment in the affections of his French subjects, Murat made no further concealment of his feelings and declared that his and Napoleon's causes were one. On the 19th of March he was at the head of his troops at Ancona and within the Pope's dominions. The latter at once appealed to Austria for aid, which country then declared war. Murat now tried to raise a universal revolt for independence in Italy, but in this respect his efforts only proved partially successful. However, early in April he was in Florence with the Austrians in retreat before him, but at Ferrara the latter made a stand, and the Neapoli- tans were repulsed with heavy loss and driven from all their works. The Austrians then entered Bologna, and, advancing in their victorious career, by the middle of May they had dispersed the entire Neapoli- tan army. Murat was now compelled to abdicate, and his dominions were handed over to Ferdinand IV. of Sicily, who entered Naples on the 17th of June after an absence of nine years. In the latter half of the same year, nevertheless, Murat conceived the insane idea of recovering Naples in the same manner in which Napoleon had temporarily recovered his dominions. He accordingly landed on the Calabrian coast with some twenty-eight men, but instead of obtaining accessions to his standard the people rose 312 FRANCIS I., EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA against him and took him prisoner. About a week later he was tried by court-martial and shot, his death being apparently little regretted. Meanwhile the French had been overthrown at Waterloo, and though the Austrians were too far removed from that scene of action to lend much material help, they assisted the cause of the Allies by overrunning Alsace and inflicting severe chastisement on the inhabitants who showed a hostile disposition towards them. In April of 1816 the court of Vienna was thrown into mourning by the death at Verona of the Emperor Francis's second wife after a lengthy illness. She had borne a high character for the performance of her various duties and was much regretted. Not long, however, did the Austrian Emperor remain a widower, for before the end of the year he married a Princess of Bavaria, who, it is said, on her marriage refused, out of consideration for the distressed state of her subjects, to have any expensive fetes or celebrations. This marriage undoubtedly tended greatly to further consolidate the recently formed friendship between two houses which had long harboured animosity to each other. At the same time the finances of Austria were placed on a new and improved footing, paper money being abolished and a national bank created. Much hard- ship, nevertheless, had to be endured still for many a day before the country could recover from the financial strain put upon it by the late disastrous wars. Meawhile Vienna had been selected as the place of meeting for the congress which was to settle the affairs of France and the other nations of Europe, AUSTRIAN EMPEROR AND GERMANY 3 1 3 and in 1818 the French were finally relieved of the occupation of their country by the allied Powers. From the point of view of the house of Habsburg, the most notable change made was undoubtedly the ceasing of the Austrian Emperor to be head of Germany as already mentioned. It was noticed at the time as a curious coincidence that in the Kaiser Saal at Frankfurt, where were hung the portraits of the different German Emperors, Francis II. occupied the last free space, and that in the Church of St. Stephen at Vienna, where the statues of the Em- perors are placed in niches, the same monarch also occupied the last available one. It was also recalled that when Francis was crowned German Emperor the crown had sat so painfully on his head during the ceremony that he had been obliged to relieve himself by taking it off. As indicative of the changed rela- tions, we may quote the words of the Austrian Minister who presided at the Diet of Frankfurt. He there said : " Germany is not destined to form one dominant power, but as little is it wished that its union should be a mere political league of defence. Germany is summoned to form a league of States, to secure the nationality of the whole. It will be our duty to hold sacred this twofold object ; respect for the various races of people and various governments of Ger- many, and equal respect for the great uniting league which upholds and supports our nationality." He further solemnly declared on behalf of the Emperor of Austria that the latter merely regarded himself as in all respects an equal member of the league, and did not wish to enjoy any political privilege as president 3 H FRANCIS /., EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA of the diet. This attitude may be said to have been fairly well preserved on the part of Austria, though as events have proved it did not preserve the German States from the eventual aggrandisement of another and more energetic member of the same confederacy. As for the German diet, it was long before it settled down to regular business, and a French ambassador of the day on being asked what the diet did, replied : " lis parlent — lis font de superbes oraisons voild tout." The completion and consolidation of the organisa- tion of the Germanic league was by no means a simple matter. Politicians were trying to do an impossibility, namely, to reconcile the independence and inviolability of the different States forming the league with subjection to a central authority. Another point of difficulty was of course the preponderating influence of Austria and Prussia in the councils of the realm. Almost a crisis arose in 1819 over the institu- tion, of a central commission at Mainz, with power to prosecute inquiries in all parts of Germany concern- ing the " demagogical intrigues " supposed to be in action, to examine any persons whatsoever as witnesses and to punish offenders no matter to what State they belonged. Though this measure was actually insti- tuted, it was not without much heartburning on the part of the lesser States. Next year the " final Act " regulating the basis of the German confederation was signed by the representatives of the different States concerned, after no less than thirty-one sittings under the presidency of Prince Metternich. This final Act contained sixty-five articles, and among the chief of its provisions were that no member AFFAIRS IN ITALY 315 was to have the power of withdrawing from the league which was to be an indissoluble one, and that no new member was to be admitted without the unanimous concurrence of the members. A per- manent council or diet of seventeen ministers was also established, with special control over the internal and external relations of Germany, and provision was also made for the keeping up of an armed federal force. At a somewhat earlier period, in May of 1 8 17, a form of representative government had been granted by Austria to the provinces of Galicia and Lodomeria, formed after the style of that which had been set up by Joseph II. This constitution comprised four estates or orders of prelates, barons, knights, and deputies from the cities. The last, and one each of the three higher estates, were to be elected for six years ; the three others for only three years. The deputies were to be elected by the States, and were to be paid salaries. We have now once more to turn to Italy. After the expulsion of King Murat the Congress of Vienna had formally dismembered Italy, assigning Sardinia to her former king ; Lombardy and Venice to Austria ; Modena, Reggio, and other principalities to one member of the house of Austria and Tuscany to another ; Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla to the Ex-Empress of the French, Maria Louisa ; the Papal States to the Pope ; and the Two Sicilies to their former king. A national party had, however, been growing up and gaining in strength, and it was soon seen that the Italians would not remain quiet under 3 16 FRANCIS /., EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA their foreign rulers. Towards the end of 1820 the bombshell did, as a matter of fact, burst — in Naples. Austria, Russia, and Prussia immediately issued a joint note condemnatory of the revolutionary move- ment, and offered to meet the king -of the Two Sicilies at Laybach with a view to mediation. This meeting took place in due course, and it was then resolved that Austrian troops should occupy the Neapolitan territory unless the old order of things was restored. This restoration, nevertheless, served only to inflame the Neapolitans the more. It seemed to them that in the present wretched state of the Austrian finances, and having regard to their distance from the Austrian headquarters, no more opportune moment for rebellion could be found. Fetes and other demonstrations took place in the chief provincial towns, and in the Parliament of Naples there was not a deputy who did not declare himself ready to throw himself into the very front of the combat. " I will serve," said Morici, one of them, " as a simple volunteer by the side of my fellow- citizens who have honoured me by choosing me as one of the national representatives. I will pray the general under whom I may serve to permit me to fire the first shot against the enemy. I swear here never to return to my home, to perish rather on the field of battle, if the country is not saved." Much of this was idle talk, but the Austrian authorities saw that if the movement was to be confined within small limits a rapid march must be undertaken. Accordingly when the opposing forces met at Rieti early in March, the Neapolitans were found in a state of utter unpre- Neapolitan revolt 317 paredness, and after a skirmish of about seven hours they began to retreat. It was then seen that the heart of the people was not in the movement, and that though they could talk and indulge in fetes and illuminations, they were not so ready to shed their •blood for the clique that led them. When the retreat began the untrained militia in a panic broke from all control, and got scattered among the heights. Accord- ingly as the Austrians advanced they only found handfuls of troops opposed to them, and by the 12th of March the Neapolitan Parliament was glad to sue for an accommodation. On the 20th a convention was concluded, and Naples having been occupied, a new provisional Government was instituted. Finally, on the 15th of May, King Ferdinand returned to his capital, a general amnesty was granted, and everything became again settled. In Piedmont a revolution had also broken out contemporaneously with that at Naples, but the latter having been crushed, and the Austrians being free to direct their whole attention to the former, it too was soon settled. Victor Emanuel, however, who had been compelled to abdicate, did not resume his rule, and his brother Charles Felix con- tinued to be king. In 1 82 1 some riots occurred in Moravia, which, fortunately, were soon crushed by the help of the military. The finances of the country were now begin- ning to get more in order, though they were still far from satisfactory. As for the German Diet, the chief matter under consideration was the organisation of the federal army. About this time, too, Austria showed a strong disposition to interfere with the liberty of 3l8 FRANCIS /., EMPEROR OF AC/STRIA the press, not in her own dominions alone, but also in the States of the diet, and even in Switzerland. A writer of the time mentions that though the territories of Austria contained 23,000,000 inhabitants there were only thirty newspapers, and that in these lands the censorship of the press was so severe that some of the finest productions of German music were pro- hibited and so lost to the public and to posterity, in order to exclude dangerous ideas about liberty and the House of Habsburg. In 1 823 proposals were made to the courts«of Munich and Stuttgart to put an end to the publication of debates in the chambers of Bavaria and WUrttemburg, and in the same year suggestions, which were of course intended to have the force of commands, were actually addressed to the Swiss cantons to establish a censorship of the press and forbid the publication of remarks on foreign politics. Though the Swiss naturally felt humiliated at receiving such dictates from a foreign Power, they nevertheless felt constrained to comply, and later on they even acceded to a joint note from Austria, Russia, Prussia, France, and Sardinia, requesting the expulsion of some two hundred foreign refugees. Next year Prince Metternich issued a ludicrous edict against certain English Radicals, who had just been expelled on account of their Radical principles from France, in particular, Lord Holland, Lady Oxford, Mrs. Hutch- inson, the Comtesse Bourke, and Lady Morgan. The reason alleged against the last was that she had published a book of travels containing most shameful calumnies against the Austrian Government and people. HUNGARIAN GRIEVANCES 319 In 1825, after a long interval, the Emperor once more summoned the Hungarian Diet to meet at Pressburg. Parliament was opened by a Royal Commissioner with a speech in Hungarian, but a few days afterwards the Emperor went down in person in full state and delivered a speech in Latin, in which he recounted the wars and events since he last met them, and thanked the Hungarians for their help in settling them, promising them his favour and affection. Notwithstanding these soft words the diet presented a strong remonstrance with a list of grievances, in particular complaining that contributions had been exacted and recruits levied without their sanction or authority, and contrary to the statutes of the kingdom, that the diet had not been regularly or periodically convened, and that the whole edifice of their ancient privileges had been shaken to its foundation. This was on the 22nd of October. The Emperor replied calmly and tem- perately, stating reasons for the omissions in sum- moning the diet, and promising in future to call it together at least once in three years or oftener, and requested the members to proceed to business. Though harmony was to some extent restored, the diet still manifested a strong desire that matters of recruiting and taxation should be regulated by them- selves. The Archduke Palatine acted as a sort of mediator between the diet and his brother, and after another appeal to it by the Emperor to accept his proposals the business was concluded and the diet dissolved on the 18th of August, 1827, after a session of nearly two years. In closing the meeting the 320 FRANCIS /., EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA Emperor appointed the 1st of November, 1829, for the next session, and in another Latin speech declared that he had asked of the nation nothing that was inconsistent with its prosperity, so that he could not but feel pain at much of the proceedings of the house. Still he was pleased that some important proposals had become law, including those relative to the contributions and conscriptions. He then formally gave Imperial sanction to the Acts passed by the diet, and concluded with a wish for the prosperity of the Hungarian nation, to which he flattered him- self his memory would be ever dear. In the British dominions the slave trade had been already abolished in 1807. Austria, though not much interested in the traffic, now also took up the matter. In August of 1826 an Imperial decree was issued formally declaring that " every slave becomes free from the moment he touches Austrian soil or even the deck of an Austrian ship, and the slave of a foreigner recovers his liberty the instant he is given up to an Austrian subject." In 1 83 1 the Italian question was re-opened. The revolutionary party in France had always looked with longing eyes towards Italy, and from France constant excitement to rebellion came. In that country it had become an object of national ambition to expel the Austrians from Lombardy, and France was expected to prevent too stringent Austrian interference. The insurrection first broke out at Modena on the 3rd of February. A small body of about thirty men barri- caded themselves in a house and fired upon the police from the windows, but were soon compelled TROUBLES JN ITALY 32 1 to surrender. Though the movement seemed for the moment to be crushed others took up the leadership, and the Regency took to flight. The palace was plundered, the Custom Houses on the frontier towards Parma and the Papal States were sup- pressed and a Provisional Government was estab- lished with a dictator and three consuls at the head. About the same time an insurrection broke out at Bologna, the leaders being chiefly students of the University, who assailed the palace and compelled the signature of a document which placed the troops of the Legation under the provisional government. The authority of the Pope was now declared to be at an end, and the populace was called upon to arm as a national guard. As a matter of fact, after the surrender of Ancona to the insurgents, the Pope ceased to have any authority north of the Apennines. In Reggio and Parma similar scenes were enacted. In the latter place the inhabitants requested the duchess to withdraw, as they intended to join the Italian federation, and, on her withdrawal, established a civic congress of ninety persons and a provisional government. During the whole of this time Tuscany and Piedmont, and in fact all Austrian Lombardy, remained quiet, notwithstanding the efforts of the insurgents to spread their movement to these pro- vinces. But now a fatal mistake was committed. The Bolognese leaders issued a proclamation to the " brave patriots of Lombardy," summoning them to throw off the Austrian rule. " Follow the example of France," it said, " imitate the patriots of Central Italy, burst asunder the degrading chains which the 22 322 FRANCIS /., EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA Holy Alliance has riveted upon you. We were slaves and wretched under the despotism of priests, but our oppressors were still Italians. You are the slaves of foreigners, who enrich themselves by despoil- ing you and render you daily more miserable." To Naples, too, similar exhortations were addressed. " To arms, Neapolitan patriots ! Shake off the yoke ; become free, for you have it in your power!" Austria had, however, at this time some hundred thousand men in Lombardy, and was therefore quite able to cope with any revolutionary movement there. The only obstacle to her interference in the Papal States was France. So thoroughly was this realised that, when appeals for aid came from the Pope, from the Duchess of Parma, who was the Emperor's own daughter, and from the exiled Duke of Modena, negotiations took place between the French and Austrian courts, with the result that ultimately Austrian troops crossed the Po about March of 1831. There was no attempt at serious resistance. At Bologna alone was there any serious struggle, but the Papal power was soon re- established, and in due course the Governments of Parma and Modena were also restored. Only a few of the ringleaders of the conspiracy were tried and punished. It was the want of French support that rendered the attempt fruitless ; yet France showed in the following years more and more her desire to prevent interference on the part of Austria between the Italian States and their princes. Accordingly, in 1832, when troubles were still rife in the Papal States and the Austrians, at the Pope's request, occupied Bologna, the French also sent an expedition to DEATH OF FRANCIS 323 Ancona, and notwithstanding the Pope's protest against the violation of his territory, planted their flag side by side with that of the Papal States. The insurgents, however, openly regarded the French as allies, and in the French Chamber the Minister of Marine explained that it was "a countercheck to Austria, and to assert an equal right of interference." The next important event in Austria was the con- clusion in 1834 of a treaty between that country, Russia, and Prussia, by which, in consequence of the disturbances in Germany during the last years and the spreading of treason and anarchy, each of these Powers agreed to deliver up to either of the others on demand all persons accused of rebellion or treason, or of being engaged in any plot against the throne or Government. In the same year a congress met at Vienna, composed of the ministers of several of the German States, with a view to the reconciliation of the interests of the independent States with the federal welfare as a whole. In Frankfurt about this time some serious disturbances took place, but a strong demonstration by the federal troops under the Austrian general proved sufficient to quell the riot. On the 2nd of March, 1835, the Emperor Francis died, after a few weeks' illness, in the forty-fourth year of his reign. He had experienced great vicissi- tudes of fortune in his long reign, but though he had witnessed the loss of many of his Austrian dominions and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, he also lived to see his power in great part restored, and he left his empire nearly as powerful as he found 324 FRANCIS /., EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA it. He was the last of the elective German Em- perors and the first hereditary Emperor of Austria. For his own country his reign marks a new epoch, and certainly there was during his time none of the internal discontent and disturbance which marred the harmony of the neighbouring German States. His reign, too, marks the birth of a truly national Austrian spirit. As a man he was pure and upright and a pattern for all — not brilliant, but endowed with much common sense, extremely mild and simple in his ways, attached to his people, and in turn beloved by them. XXIII FERDINAND I. (OF AUSTRIA) INTERNAL TROUBLES AND INSURRECTIONS The Emperor Francis I. was succeeded on the throne by his eldest son by his second marriage with Maria Theresia, of the House of Naples. The new Emperor was born at Vienna on the 19th of April, 1793, but had been rather indifferently edu- cated and was of a weak constitution. He had, nevertheless, many good qualities, and though he exhibited a certain lack of decision he was be- nevolent and kind, and gave away much in charity. He also took a great interest in the national indus- tries, and these flourished under his rule. He retained in office his father's veteran minister, Metternich, whose absolutist principles accorded well with the somewhat despotic tendencies of the House of Austria. To his uncle, the Archduke Charles, he was specially attached, and by him he was also much guided in life. The chief events which occurred during the first ten years of Ferdinand's reign were connected with 325 326 FERDINAND I. {OF AUSTRIA) the insignificant little free republic of Cracow. This city and the territory adjoining had been formed by the Congress of Vienna into a free State, under the protection of the three great Powers of Austria, Russia, and Prussia, who bound themselves to main- tain its independence and respect its neutrality, sub- ject always to this condition, that no asylum was to be given there to runaways, deserters, or persons pursued by the law belonging to any of these three Powers. About the time of Ferdinand's accession Cracow, like Switzerland, had become a convenient place of refuge for disaffected individuals belonging to the three countries mentioned, and many revolu- tionary propaganda had emanated from there. It had also become the home of many Poles who had been implicated in a recent insurrection against Russia, as well as of other political fugitives from elsewhere. Hitherto no attempt had been made to interfere with persons who had settled in Cracow, but now the protecting countries took it upon them to declare the town to be the scene of revolutionary intrigues, acts of violence, and secret societies by which assassi- nations were committed. Accordingly, some mani- festation of popular feeling having been made on the 1 8th of January, 1836, the saint's day of the Emperor Nicholas, the residents of the three Courts addressed, on the 9th of February, a formal note to the Senate of Cracow to the effect that it was essential for the peace of the republic itself and the security of neigh- bouring States that the Polish refugees should be expelled within eight days, and that if such expulsion was not carried out within the time stated the govern- OCCUPATION OF CRACOW 327 ment of the protecting powers would take the matter into their own hands. As a matter of fact, even before the note was presented a body of Austrian troops had already taken up its quarters in the neighbourhood of the city. Despite this show of force, and probably in the hope of getting an extension of time, the Senate of Cracow answered complaining of the injustice of the request, and stating that many of the persons coming within the class mentioned were innocent of any revolutionary intentions, and would be ruined in their possessions and permanent interests in the country. So soon as the aforesaid period of eight days elapsed, however, the troops of the three Powers, consisting of some Prussian hussars, Russian Cossacks, and Austrian infantry, under General Kaufmann, entered the protected territory, took possession of the city, and declared that they would stay until the place was cleared of all dangerous individuals. At the same time the militia was disarmed, the president compelled to resign, and a successor to the latter nominated by the three Courts. Forthwith the sus- pected persons were removed, and the inhabitants who concealed them were punished by fines of 500 florins or two months' imprisonment. In this way upwards of 500 Poles were marched off to Podgorze, with a view to being ultimately transported to America or else- where. Those who were allowed to remain had to find security for their good behaviour. By the end of April this expulsion of so-called revolutionists was completed, but Cracow continued in the occupation of some 2000 Austrian troops. Meanwhile the local 328 FERDINAND I. (OF AUSTRIA) militia and police were reorganised, and no foreigner was allowed to enter the town without a passport, certificates of good conduct and a permit counter- signed by the three Powers. The Russian and German languages were made obligatory, the meet- ing of the diet indefinitely postponed, and a strict censorship of the press enforced. In this manner did the protection of Cracow proceed until 1846. In February of that year an insurrection broke out among the peasantry in Austrian Silesia, and the Austrian troops, under General Collin, were driven out of Cracow by the insurgents. A provisional government was then formed and manifestoes issued setting forth the injustice and oppression from which the Poles had suffered, and calling upon all who were capable of bearing arms to rise and place them- selves under the local authorities. The insurgents at once followed up these decrees by crossing the Weichsel and marching upon Wieliczka, the Austrian general, Collin, still retreating before them. At Gdow, however, their advance at last received a check, and General Collin, taking immediate advantage of this circumstance, marched upon Podgorze, opposite Cracow, and there engaged the insurgents. The fight was an obstinate and bloody one, but ultimately the Austrians succeeded in taking the place and driving their opponents into Cracow. Meanwhile a Russian corps had also marched upon Cracow, and while the insurgents were engaged in opening up negotiations with General Collin the Russians actually entered the place without opposition. On the 5th of March the three insurgent leaders, Colonels Gorz- OUTBREAK IN HUNGARY 329 kowski, Wodzicki, and Brinski, laid down their arms, handing over also some 200 horses and 600 scythes, but not a single gun. Cracow's independence was now doomed, and in November the Emperor of Austria issued a formal decree that as the town had since 1830 been the constant focus of intrigues against the three protecting Powers it must forfeit its indepen- dence and return under Austrian rule, as it had been prior to the Peace of Vienna of the 14th of October, 1 809. Cracow was accordingly declared to be hence- forth an inseparable portion of the Austrian Empire. Count Maurice Deym became first Aulic Commis- sioner, and the inhabitants were promised the free exercise of their religion, impartial justice, equal taxes, and public security. The Austrian Empire was also the scene in these years of disturbances in other quarters. In 1837 Hungary witnessed an outbreak of a spirit of inde- pendence, and district diets assembled in the autumn of that year at Pressburg, Pesth, and other places, the nobility attending in large numbers and national questions of importance being freely agitated. The chief concessions demanded by the agitators were the use of Hungarian as an official language instead of Latin, the removal of the Jesuits from the direction of public instruction and the discontinuance of the system of quartering Hungarian troops beyond the bounds of their country. For the time, neverthe- less, little was done in the way of acquiescing in these demands. In the following year also some trouble arose in the Tyrol, where the Protestant inhabitants of the Ziller valley, worn out with religious persecution 330 FERDINAND I. (OF AUSTRIA) applied to emigrate to Prussia. This they were allowed by the Austrian Government to do. These persons to the number of four or five hundred had in 1825 separated from the Roman Catholic Church and become an independent sect, acknowledging no authority except the Bible, but had subsequently been converted to Protestantism by Prussian mis- sionaries. Since then the Austrian Government had called upon them to rejoin the Roman Catholic body or quit that portion of the Empire, and on their mani- festing a reluctance to do one thing or the other had refused them civil rights. Now, on receiving permis- sion to go to Prussia they settled near Schmiedeberg in Silesia. Again, in Transylvania, the diet succeeded this year in gaining the right to appoint their own public functionaries and to constitutionally control their own affairs, and in the same district the Monte- negrins between the Danube and the Adriatic also gave annoyance to both Austrians and Turks, prob- ably owing to the instigation of Russian agents. Two other events of importance in 1838 were the signing of a treaty of commerce with Great Britain on the 3rd of July, and the crowning of the Emperor in his Italians dominions on the 6th of September. As to the former, each of the contracting powers was allowed to import on mutual terms, Malta, Gibraltar, and other ports were freely opened to Austrian trade, and, by a special clause, the effect of which to some extent depended upon the will of Russia, the principle of the free navigation of the Danube was approved. As to the coronation of the Emperor in Italy, that event took place at Milan after a State entry into the INSURRECTION IN ITALY 33 1 town. Among other concessions, a general amnesty- was awarded to all persons in prison for political offences. In the next years nothing of very great importance occurred, except that in 1844 after an attempt on the 26th of July on the life of the King of Prussia, at the time on his way to Vienna, a conference of represen- tatives from the different German States met at that capital to consider means for keeping down the revo- lutionary parties which were constantly disturbing all social relations. At this conference resolutions were adopted to limit the inferior chambers to their then existing privileges and not to extend their preroga- tives or to allow them to discuss decisions of the diet under penalty of being dissolved. This popular longing for free institutions was not, however, to be thus easily suppressed, and for a long time it caused much heartburning. In Italy the same feeling had long been smoulder- ing, and here, as in fact all over Continental Europe, revolutionary doctrines became about this time ram- pant. In 1847 matters almost reached the point of open insurrection, but Austrian power was too impos- ing to admit of recourse to arms. Nevertheless on the 8th of September of that year, when a new archbishop named Romilli arrived in Milan, the populace poured into the streets with shouts of " Down with the Austrians ! " and had not the troops been called out, serious mischief might have resulted. Tobacco, how- ever, which was a rich source of revenue to the Austrian Government, was boycotted in Milan and Lombardy, and for a considerable space of time 332 FERDINAND I. (OF AUSTRIA) smokers of the weed ran the risk of being considered unpatriotic and friends of the oppressors. The moment for action was not yet ripe, but it was bound to come, and already the King of Sardinia was gain- ing the hearts of his subjects by fostering liberal measures, and rejecting Austrian interference and control. Next year the crisis came. The soldiers of the garrison at Milan had on the 3rd of January, 1848, received a supply of cigars in order that they might smoke them in the streets, whereupon the mob bothered them, swords were drawn and a great number of persons severely wounded. At Pavia similar scenes were also enacted, the students of the town and the military coming into conflict. Then came the news of the French Revolution, and next, information of an insurrection at Vienna, and upon this the actual struggle commenced. A crowd assembled before the Government House in Milan on the 17th of March, whereupon the soldiers fired a blank volley to disperse them. A mere boy shouted 4< Viva r Italia ! " and discharged his pistol at the soldiers, and his example was at once followed by the mob behind him. The guard was overpowered, the tricolour hoisted on the Government buildings, and the governor himself was made a prisoner. A fierce struggle then took place in the streets, the mob gaining point after point, notwithstand- ing volleys of Austrian musketry, and by the 22nd only the gates of the town were held by the troops. Little balloons were also sent up containing messages to the peasants around to rise and come to the aid of Milan, which was now threatened with SUCCESSES OF THE ITALIANS 333 bombardment, and when on the 23rd some peasants from Lecco captured the Tosa and Como gates, the citadel was evacuated and the Austrian troops retired in two columns on Verona and Mantua. The Austrians under Marshal Radetzky now took up their position at Crema, but meanwhile the King of Sardinia and authorities of Venice combined to help the insurgents. On the 8th of April Charles Albert's army forced the Austrians back from the Mincio and cut them off from the valley of the Trent. He was, nevertheless, unable to avail himself of this advantage, owing to the lukewarmness of his allies, and General Radetzky meanwhile got reinforcements of about 15,000 men. On the 6th of May a battle took place between the opposing forces near Verona, but neither side gained any definite advantage, though the Piedmontese afterwards fell back upon the Mincio. On the 30th of the month, however, Peschiera fell to the King of Sardinia, and on the same day after a severe engagement the Austrians were driven from Goito along the right bank of the Mincio to the gates of Mantua. Then Rivoli fell to the King of Sardinia, but on the other hand Vicenza, with 15,000 Papal troops, capitulated to Radetzky. On the 22nd of July the Austrians suddenly attacked the Sardinians at Rivoli, and forced them back on Peschiera and Villafranca, but the latter continued to struggle bravely until the Austrians, after being reinforced by 20,000 men, compelled them to retreat, which they did in an orderly manner. The Austrians now retook place after place, and on Sunday, the 6th of August, their army entered Milan almost at the moment 334 FERDINAND I. (OF AUSTRIA) when the Sardinians left it for Turin. Great Britain and France thereupon offered to mediate and an armistice was concluded, which, as we shall see, proved to be only a temporary cessation of hostilities. We must now leave Italy in order to trace out the events in Hungary and Austria that led to the Emperor's abdication. We have already referred to the desire on the part of the Hungarian Diet to sub- stitute the Hungarian language for Latin. This desire was by no means unanimous, and a large proportion of the Croats and Slavs among the population ex- pressed great dissatisfaction at the effort, using the famous words " Nolumus Magyarisari /" This want of unanimity seemed to justify the Austrian central government in withholding its consent, and Prince Metternich especially seems to have fallen foul of the Hungarian deputies over this matter. In March of 1 848 accordingly the Hungarian Chamber at Pressburg passed a resolution condemnatory of Metternich's policy, and advising the Emperor " to surround his throne with constitutional institutions in accor- dance with the ideas of the age." In Vienna this intimation caused considerable excitement, but Prince Metternich at once proposed in the Supreme Council of State that the Hungarian Parliament should be dissolved. It was not recognised, unfortunately, that in Austria a similar feeling for more liberal institutions was rife, and on the 13th of March the Diet of Lower Austria also resolved upon an address to the throne asking for an immediate reform in the constitution of the Chamber and an increased representation together with the liberty* of the press and a reorganisation of AGITATION IN HUNGARY 335 finances. On this petition being rejected a mob of students and others broke into the Chamber and sacked the place, afterwards rushing towards the palace and coming into contact with the military. It was then stated that Prince Metternich had resigned and that the popular demands would be granted, whereupon the tumult ceased. On the 15th the Emperor issued a declaration abolishing the censorship of the press and convoking a diet to arrange a new constitution. As for Metternich, Vienna was too hot for him and he fled to England. Meanwhile in Hungary, the Bathyany- Kossuth ministry had started upon a policy of nothing less than dismemberment from the Empire, claiming separate administrations for war, finance, and foreign affairs. This the Slavs and Croats, who were stronger than the Hungarian part of the population, strenuously opposed. Nothing special occurred, nevertheless, until the beginning of April, when the outline of a new constitution was announced in deference to the compulsion of those around the Emperor. This con- stitution provided for annual parliaments, freedom of speech, the press and public meeting, liberty of con- science and religion, and the establishment of two houses of Parliament, the sanction of both of which should be necessary for all laws. In the following month a law appeared regulating the mode of elections for the first Austrian parliament, and giving a vote to every citizen without distinction of religion, except labourers and workmen, domestic servants and persons maintained by charity. These great and revolutionary changes made the Emperor afraid of 336 FERDINAND /. (fiF AUSTRIA) his own position and on the 1 7th of May he quitted the capital with his family and went to Innsbruck in the Tyrol. Petitions were signed for his return, and on the 8th of August he again repaired to Vienna. Meanwhile the Slavs and Germans in Bohemia had come into a state of open hostility over the constitution which had been granted them on the 8th of April, and which placed Germans and Czechs on an equal footing. Hitherto, the Germans though inferior in number had dominated over the Czechs, and whereas previously they were ignorant of the Czech language, they were now called upon to acquire the latter in addition to their own for purposes of State employment. This they were not inclined to endure. The Czechs, on the other hand, were equally determined not to submit any longer to Teuton supremacy, and as a matter of fact in May they established a provisional government at Prague independent of the government at Vienna. In the same month, Dalmatia, Croatia, and Slavonia established a diet of their own. The movement in Prague did not find favour in the eyes of the central government at Vienna, and Prince Windischgratz, the Imperial governor, prepared to put down the provisional government by force. Riots ensued from the 12th to the 17th of June, in the course of which Princess Windischgratz was killed by a rifle bullet. It was only after the greater part of the town had been destroyed that the insurrection was put down. In Croatia, too, the movement for the meeting of an independent diet was declared illegal and suppressed by force, Carlovitz being taken after a severe bombardment which reduced the place to KOSSUTH 337 ruins. Meanwhile the Transylvanian Diet had met and declared their province united to Hungary, surrendering to the latter all their independent rights. On the 8th of August, as we have seen, the Emperor was induced to return to Vienna. He made his formal entry on the 1 2th, and was received with great enthusiasm, bands of girls strewing his path with flowers as he walked from the pier on the Danube to his carriage. This profusion of loyalty was, however, of short duration. The Croats had invaded Hungary in force, and the Hungarian Ministry appealed to the Emperor to go to Pesth at once and put down the movement. This the Emperor did not see his way to do, and the members of the deputation, on going on board their steamer to return to Pesth, tore the united colours of Austria and Hungary from their caps and replaced them with red feathers. About the same time the National Assembly at Vienna decided by a majority not to receive a Hungarian deputation that had been sent to it. These acts were deemed so insulting that the Hungarian Diet resolved to break with Austria, and invested Kossuth accordingly with dictatorial powers. The Emperor now sent Count Lamberg to Pesth as Commander-in-chief of the forces, but on his arrival he was attacked by the mob and barbarously murdered. This atrocious act caused the central authorities to look upon the invading Croats as friends, and the governor of Croatia was appointed commissary plenipotentiary of the Emperor in Hungary. The disaffection spread to the army, and on the 6th of October a portion of the 23 338 FERDINAND I. {OF AUSTRIA) national guards tore up the railway line, in order to prevent the departure of the grenadiers against the Hungarians. On the grenadiers being ordered to charge the national guard they mutinied and frater- nised with them. They soon gained possession of the town, and a party of loyal guards, who had taken refuge in the Cathedral of St. Stephen, were dislodged from that holy edifice by force, their leader being killed on the steps of the altar. Count Latour, the Minister of War, was murdered in the street, and his body hung up naked on a gibbet, when the national guards fired their weapons into it. The arsenal also was stormed, and the weapons it contained distri- buted among the populace. The following morning the Imperial family finally quitted Vienna. Meanwhile the governor of Croatia was marching on Vienna to assist the Imperial troops under Count Auersperg, but in turn the Hungarians advanced against them, and to the relief of the insurgents in Vienna. But on the approach of Prince Windisch- gratz, from Bohemia, the Hungarian troops with- drew within their own frontiers, and the capital thus became closely invested. On the 28th of October an assault was delivered, and by the 31st the city was at the mercy of the Emperor's troops. Meanwhile the Hungarians also had suffered a severe defeat, 3,000 of them being driven into the Danube. Prince Windischgratz was now able to direct all his attention to the subjugation of Hungary. While this campaign was in progress, however, the Emperor Ferdinand, on December 2nd, formally resigned the Imperial crown in favour of his nephew, Francis »/!.'"'• , <.'.'* , ff . 34-0 FERDINAND I. (OF AUSTRIA) Joseph, whose father, Francis Charles, renounced his right to the succession, and under this young ruler Austria entered on a new career, and initiated a constitutional policy in place of the old Metternich system of despotism and exclusion. Thus once more had the Austrian monarchy been apparently sunk in ruin only to emerge again in an enhanced state of glory, exhibiting the applicability to her history of Horace's words, " Merses prof undo, pulchrior evenit? x As for the ex- Emperor, he lived for many years at Prague and died there June 29, 1875. 1 " Though you plunge it in the deep, it comes out the more glorious " ; — spoken of Rome. XXIV FRANCIS JOSEPH THE LIBERATION OF ITALY THE first act of Ferdinand's successor was to pro- mulgate a new constitution, and to dissolve the diet. The main principle aimed at was the unity of the whole Empire, combined with the independence and free development of its parts. Political and religious liberty was secured, scientific instruction made free, and the general education of the people provided for by public institutions. Freedom of speech and of the press were confirmed, and the right of petitioning declared inherent in every citizen. Individual liberty was guaranteed, and prisoners were to be brought before a judge within forty-eight hours or else libe- rated. Two houses were to compose the Imperial diet, an upper and a lower, and the franchise was in- troduced to qualify voters, a supreme court of justice was instituted at Vienna, and all people in the Empire were to enjoy Austrian citizenship. It is interest- ing to give in full the various titles adopted by the Emperor in making this proclamation. It begins : 341 342 FRANCIS JOSEPH " We, Francis Joseph, by the Grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, King of Lombardy and Venice, cf Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria ; King of Jerusalem, Archduke of Austria, Grand Duke of Tus- cany and Cracow, Duke of Lothringen, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Krain, and the Bukowina ; Grand Prince of Transylvania, Margrave of Moravia, Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, of Auschwitz and Zator, of Teschen, Frioul, Ragusa and Zara : Princely Count of Habsburg, Tyrol, Kyburg, Gorz, and Gra- diska ; Prince of Trent and Briden ; Margrave of the Upper and Lower Lausitz ; Count of Hohe- nembs, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, &c, Lord of Trieste, Cattaro, and of the Windisch Mark." The Emperor, with all these titles, had also inherited the campaigns which were in progress in Hungary and Italy when the late occupant of the throne abdicated. The subjugation of Hungary was of course essential to the integrity of the Empire, for if once Hungary gained its independence Austria would be severed geographically from its provinces of Galicia, Bukowina, Transylvania, and the Banat. The campaign in that quarter was therefore prose- cuted with all the forces available. One army of 75,000 men, under Windischgratz and the Governor of Croatia, marched upon the Hungarian capital ; while a second of 24,000, under Count Nugent, acted as a reserve force in Croatia ; and a third of 1 8,000, under Generals Schlock, Gotz, and Colloredo, operated on the north-east of Hungary. Other troops were also HUNGARY DECLARED INDEPENDENT 343 posted in the Banat and Transylvania. As for the Hungarians, their forces amounted in all to about 1 20,000 men in two main forces, and smaller bodies in the various fortresses. The first event of import- ance was the capture of Raab by the Imperial troops, from which point they proceeded to Bia, about twelve miles from Pesth. Kossuth, the head of the revolu- tionary government, now deserted the capital, carry- ing with him the Hungarian regalia, and Pesth was at once taken possession of by Prince Windisch- gratz. Here, however, the Austrians tarried for a time inactive, and the main Hungarian army was thus allowed to retire across the Theiss. The Hungarian forces towards Transylvania also held their own and forced the Austrians in that district back to the Banat. Towards the end of February, however, the main Austrian and Hungarian armies came into conflict near Gran without any definite result, ex- cept that the Austrians gradually retired upon Pesth and the Danube, where they were attacked and totally defeated early in March. Again, on the 9th of April, the Austrian force under General Gotz was defeated and that leader killed. Pesth was then abandoned to the Hungarians, and soon after Raab also. On April 14th the Hungarian chamber formally deposed the Emperor and declared Hungary to be an inde- pendent state. Austria in these extremities appealed to Russia, and the Czar Nicholas at once agreed to intervene. Soon an army of 150,000 Russians invaded the Austrian dominions, and compelled the Hungarians to give up their advance upon Vienna. On the 12th 344 FRANCIS JOSEPH of July the Russian forces formed a junction with the Austrian troops, and thus united they took Kronstadt and Hermanstadt. The Magyar army now became completely disorganised, and at Schassburg it was on the 31st of July defeated with heavy loss. The final overthrow of the Hungarians was easily accom- plished. The Emperor himself, at the head of 80,000 men, advanced and retook Raab and Pesth, and on the 4th of August, after defeating the Hungarians before Szegedin, the Austrians also entered that town. After another defeat on the 5th the Hungarians retreated to Temesvar, the capital of the Banat there, to make a final stand. Here the Austrians came up with them on the 8th, and a bloody battle ensued, in which the Magyars were completely and irreparably defeated. The remnant of their troops then sur- rendered to the Russians, Kossuth and the other leaders escaping to Turkey. Count Bathyany was shot, as also some of the other chiefs, but the other officers and all the private soldiers were pardoned. As for the Turkish refugees, the Porte would not hand these over, and though diplomatic negotiations were for a time broken off, no open rupture followed. In Italy the chief event of 1849 was the bombard- ment of Venice, which had been closely besieged ever since it joined the revolutionary party. On the 28th of August of that year the Austrians at last succeeded in regaining possession of that city. The length of the siege was chiefly due to the fact that the sea was open, the inhabitants being thus enabled to get in ample supplies. Meanwhile the armistice which had been concluded towards the end of 1848 with Sardinia AGGRESSION OF PRUSSIA 345 had terminated, and the Austrians under Radetzky pre- pared to force their own terms upon King Charles Albert. On the 20th of March the rival forces met on the Ticino, and four days later a decisive battle was fought near Novara, ending with the complete defeat of the Piedmontese army. Charles Albert then abdicated and took refuge in France, where he soon afterwards died. A fresh armistice was concluded between Marshal Radetzky and the Duke of Savoy, Victor Emmanuel, who had now become King, and soon after terms of definite peace were arranged. The year 1850 is notable because of the quarrel that took place between Prussia and Austria as to the hegemony of the German Diet. The fifth article of the old law of confederation had declared that Austria should have the presidency of the diet, and from her position of superiority she had in this year, on the 6th of May, summoned a meeting of plenipotentiaries at Frankfurt. Prussia refused to recognise any political superiority on the part of Austria, and about the same time summoned a rival meeting to Berlin. Thus at the same moment two conferences took place, one at Berlin and one at Frankfurt. The words of the Prussian circular to the foreign Powers at the time are notable : " Prussia has a right to reiterate what, in the course of last year she confessed by words and proved by actions, that she will remain faithful to the sacred duty which she owes her allies and the good cause of the national regeneration. If events should force her to stop, though but for a moment, on that path, the guilt of such a pause does not lie with Prussia. Neither 34-6 FRANCIS JOSEPH decoying phrases nor words of threat can in such a case influence her resolution. Her conduct in such a crisis will be determined only by the welfare of Germany." At that time a united Germany under the leadership of Prussia was openly talked about by those at the head of Prussian affairs. On this occa- sion, however, no serious results followed from the conflict, and in the next years, as it were by common consent, matters political resumed their old steady- going course. The spirit of revolution had in the meantime become subdued. But an event occurred in 1853 which tended to remind the Austrian Emperor of the circumstances of his accession. That was an attempt to assassinate him committed by a journeyman tailor, who succeeded in inflicting a stab wound on the Emperor's neck but was prevented from doing further harm. This miscreant was soon afterwards tried and hanged. Kossuth's emissaries, too, still traversed the country and tried to rouse dis- affection, but their plans did not meet with much encouragement. When the Russian-Turkish war broke out in 1853, and France and Great Britain were led to declare war against Russia, the latter Power sent a special mission to Vienna to gain an assurance of Austrian neutrality. Despite the important aid which Russia had rendered against the Hungarians, and the fact that the British nation had all along sympathised with Kossuth, the young Emperor refused to give any engagement unless the Russians would also undertake not to pass the Danube, and to evacuate the Danubian princi- palities of Wallachia and Moldavia, the occupation of THE DANUBE MADE FREE 347 which, as disturbing the balance of power in Europe, had caused the interference of the Western Powers. When at last France and Great Britain jointly declared war against Russia, Austria also sent to that Power a formal summons to quit the princi- palities, and on the 14th of June concluded a con- vention with the Porte for their occupation by her. Accordingly, after the allied armies had compelled the Russians to recross the Danube and retreat upon Bucharest, the Austrian army marched from Kron- stadt and Hermanstadt under Baron Hess and occu- pied the provinces, ultimately making Bucharest its headquarters, and so separating the Russians from the Turks. Austria, however, nevertheless maintained a position of strict neutrality, and though often inclined to join the allied Powers she refrained from action. Finally, it was through her mediation that peace was concluded, and on the 30th of March a formal treaty was signed which confirmed the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, neutralised the Black Sea, and declared the Danube a free river. Of special importance to Austria was this last con- dition as well as the provisions relating to the removing of impediments to navigation and the regulating of the traffic. During the next five years nothing of special historical importance occurred, except that in 1855 a concordat was signed at Vienna between Rome and Austria declaring Roman Catholicism to be the State religion of the Empire, and granting to the Pope direct control over the bishops, clergy, and people instead of through the sovereign. Public 348 FRANCIS JOSEPH instruction was also to be conducted on Roman Catholic principles under superintendence of the bishops, and only Catholic professors and teachers were to be allowed in the gymnasia. Austria in this retrogaded most materially towards its former spirit of antiquated conservatism. The real motive of this closer union with Rome seems to have lain in Austria's Italian policy, which was of an aggrandising nature, and ultimately gave King Victor Emmanuel and Louis Napoleon the excuse for interference on behalf of Italian unity and liberty. The fire had long been smouldering ; in 1859 it burst into a blaze. Ever since the battle of Novara the relations between Piedmont and Austria had been of an unfriendly nature and Victor Emmanuel's Government always showed undisguised favour towards the Italian movement in the north. Matters became so strained finally that the Austrian minister quitted Turin and diplomatic relations ceased. Sardinia's great hope lay of course in France, while the only difficulty in the way of the latter Power was the finding of a reasonable pretext for war. The first sign of the storm that was brewing appeared in the French minister's words to the Austrian representa- tive on the 1st of January, 1859, to the effect that relations between their respective countries were not so good as they had been, and fresh confirmation soon afterwards followed in the words of the King of Sardinia, who confessed to an understanding between France and Sardinia. The great danger was lest all Germany should take up the Austrian cause, but Germany was racked with disunion, and BATTLE OF MAGENTA 349 Prussian policy had long been to weaken Austria so that she herself might take the lead in German affairs. Efforts were made by Great Britain and other Powers to avert the war, but in April Austria precipitated matters by issuing an order to Sardinia to disarm in three days, which Count Cavour at once declined to do. There was, under the circumstances, no other course open to Austria except to proceed, and she straightway invaded Piedmont, this step inducing France to take up arms for the liberation of Italy " from the Alps to the Adriatic." The first battle took place on the 20th of May at Genestrello, where Garibaldi and his force of volunteers, in conjunction with the French, drove the Austrians from their positions, following this advan- tage up by completely routing them at Montebello, where they had taken up a fresh position. At Vin- zaglio, Casalino, and Palestro the Austrians met with a like fate, and at Magenta, on the 4th of June, 5,000 Austrians were taken prisoners, and 15,000 killed or wounded. Four days later the Emperor of the French and King Victor Emmanuel entered Milan. On the Mincio the Austrians made another stand. The Emperor himself was present, but here at Solferino, on the 25th of June, the Austrians were again driven from all their positions. At this stage, for some reason or other, the French Emperor sent General Fleury to the Austrian lines with proposals for an armistice. These were duly accepted, to the great disgust of the Italians, who were thus left in the lurch with their task only half accomplished, and without even having been consulted. A treaty of 350 FRANCIS JOSEPH peace followed at Villafranca on the nth of July, by which -an Italian confederation under the Holy Father was created, Lombardy, except Mantua and Peschiera, ceded to the French to be handed over to the Kins: of Sardinia, and Venice allowed to be part of the Italian Confederation, though still under the Austrian crown. These terms, so fruitful of future discord, were duly confirmed afterwards on the nth of November at Zurich. The next events in these quarters belong rather to the history of Italy, and we can only here state the general result. Garibaldi was the hero, and he it was who realised Mazzini's great idea as a fact. First he dethroned the Bourbon dynasty of Naples almost without striking a blow. Next the Sardinian troops invaded the Papal States and took Ancona after a short campaign. By the end of i860 the conquest of Southern Italy was complete, and in the following year Victor Emmanuel was duly proclaimed King of Italy. As for Austria at this period, she was busy reorgan- ising her whole political constitution. On the 5th of March, i860, the Emperor established by Imperial patent an enlarged Reichsrath of 80 members, consist- ing of — (1) archdukes, members of the Imperial house; (2) some of the higher ecclesiastical dignitaries ; (3) persons distinguished in the civil and military services ; (4) 38 members of the representations of the different provinces. This body was to consider besides other matters — (1) the amount of the budget, the State balance-sheets, and the National Debt ; (2) the proposals for new general laws ; and (3) the pro- POLITICAL REFORMS 35 I posals of the provincial constitutions. It was not, however, to be capable of initiating any original measures, and the provincial diets were still to exercise their old privileges. The Hungarians, nevertheless, were not satisfied with this, and on the 27th of February of next year a further decree was issued restoring their former constitutions to the kingdoms of Hungary, Croatia, and Slavonia, and to the Grand Principality of Transylvania. Then a new Reichsrath was formed of two houses, the House of Peers (Herrenkaus), consisting of one hundred mem- bers, and constituted like the reichsrath of the year before, and a house of 343 deputies, representing Hungary, 85 ; Bohemia, 54 ; the Lombardian- Venetian Kingdom, 20 ; Dalmatia, 5 ; Croatia and Slavonia, 9 ; Galicia and Lodomeria, 38 ; Lower Austria, 18 ; Upper Austria, 10; Salzburg, 3 ; Styria, 13 ; Carinthia, 5 ; Carniola, 6 ; the Bukowina, 5 ; Transylvania, 26 ; Moravia, 22 ; Upper and Lower Silesia, 6 ; Tyrol and Vorarlberg, 12 ; and Istria, Gortz, and Cradisca, 6. These houses were to meet annually for the discussion of matters within their respective spheres. A Privy Council or Staatsrath was also established whose function should consist in advising the Emperor and Council of Ministers. On the 1st of May, 1861, the new Reichsrath met at Vienna, and was formally opened by the Emperor in person, surrounded by the Imperial family and chief officers of State. No representatives, however, appeared from Hungary and the Slavonic districts, the leaders there maintaining that the policy of the Austrian Government was contradictory to the terms 352 FRANCIS JOSEPH of the Pragmatic Sanction, according to which the King of Hungary should govern according to the existing laws of the country. Nothing short of con- stitutional independence and self-government would satisfy them. As Count Andrassy said : " Centrali- sation and absolutism must necessarily go hand in hand. The former policy requires the maintenance of a large army, and must inevitably lead to bank- ruptcy. The position of Austria as a great Power is better secured by the principle of duality than by the principle of unity. The system of centralisation has raised the National Debt of Austria to more than 300,000,000 florins and has so weakened her that a semi-official French pamphleteer can make her quake." As Hungary proved obstinate the Emperor took it upon him to dissolve its diet. Still, however, the Hun- garians resisted — passively, by non-payment of taxes. In consequence of this a military dictatorship was con- stituted, soldiers were billeted upon the inhabitants, and a system of oppression was resorted to which at last made their resolution give way. The taxes were then sullenly paid, but though no outbreak occurred, the feeling in the country was such that the slightest spark would have caused the flame of insurrection to break out. Thus matters continued until 1865. In that year the Emperor summoned the Transylvanian Diet to meet at Vilausenburg to revise the law of 1848, relative to the union of Hungary and Tran- sylvania. In a manifesto he declared that a great part of the Empire, loyal and patriotic though it was, had refused to participate in the work of general CONCESSIONS TO HUNGARY 353 legislation, but that he was now determined to let nothing stand in the way of the development of a Liberal Constitutional form of government. He also stated that he would again ask the Hungarian and Croatian diets to accept the constitution of i860. Accordingly, when the Hungarian Diet was opened at Pesth on the 14th of December, the Emperor deli- vered a speech in which he professed to approve of Hungarian self-government, so far as it did not affect the unity of the Empire, and the position of Austria as a great European Power, and hoped that confidence would be restored between the King and the nation. At the same time summonses were issued to Tran- sylvania and Croatia to send members to the Hun- garian Diet, the autonomous independence and integrity of the Hungarian crown being thus in a manner recognised. XXV FRANCIS JOSEPH {continued) WAR WITH PRUSSIA We must now go back a year or two to trace the events which led to the short but disastrous war of 1866. Prussian policy, as we have already stated, had long been adverse to Austria in the matter of the leadership of the German Diet, and, though affecting a friendly spirit of co-operation, Prussia frequently gave signs of a tendency to break away on a course of her own. The crisis came with the Schleswig- Holstein question, which had been all through the present Austrian Emperor's reign a burning one. In 1863 the German Diet met at Frankfurt, among the members being the Danish envoy as representing Holstein and Lauenburg, but no definite settlement of the German demand for the separate government of Schleswig-Holstein was arranged. On the death of the King of Denmark shortly afterwards, however, the Duke of Augustenburg laid claim to the suc- cession to the duchies and the troops of the Bund occupied Holstein and Lauenburg. Though to all 354 SCHLESIVIG-HOLSTEIN QUESTION 355 appearance Austria and Prussia were at one in these proceedings, signs were not wanting even then of a want of harmony between the two countries. For instance, when, in that same year 1863, the Emperor of Austria issued a circular to the different German sovereigns and princes asking them to meet in con- gress to deliberate upon a scheme for the reformation of the Bund, the King of Prussia declined to attend, and yet the latter acknowledged that in principle he was in favour of such an assembly of princes, his only objection being that it ought to be preceded by a conference of Ministers. The absence of the King of Prussia was of course a heavy drawback, and another effort was made to induce him to attend. Again, nevertheless, he refused, and Prince Bismarck's words at the time clearly showed that the point of difficulty was the leadership of Austria. " Prussia would, if she acceded to the demand, renounce the position which her power and her history have made for her among the whole of the European nations, and would risk making the forces of the country serve for purposes alien to the interests of the country, and for the determination of which we could not exercise the degree of influence and control to which we can with justice pretend." In 1864, however, the Schleswig-Holstein matter became so pressing that Austria and Prussia took it into their own hands, despite an adverse vote of the diet. They saw that both would lose the supremacy among the German States unless energetic action was taken. On the last day of January a strong allied force accordingly crossed the Eider, and after various 356 FRANCIS JOSEPH skirmishes captured the famous Dannewerke, and then proceeded to the siege of Diippel, opposite Alsen. Diippel was in clue course carried by assault, and the whole of Schleswig fell into the hands of the allies. But in May a naval action occurred off Helgoland between two Danish frigates and a corvette and an Austrian squadron of two frigates and three gunboats, in the course of which the Austrian flagship took fire, and the Danes were left masters of the situation. An armistice was then concluded, followed by negotiations for peace. Meanwhile, however, the acts of the federal diet, especially of the representatives of the minor States, had become very displeasing to Prussia, and even among the troops the feeling of bitterness became such that the Saxons were compelled by the Prussians to leave the duchies. Austria and Prussia managed matters henceforth between themselves. On peace being concluded Austria and Prussia assumed a joint control of the duchies, but on the 14th of August, 1865, a convention was signed between the two countries at Gastein by Herr von Bismarck and Count Blome, which began by stating that " their Majesties the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria having become convinced that the co- dominion hitherto existing in the countries ceded by Denmark leads to inconveniences which endangers at the same time the good understanding between their Governments, and also the interests of the duchies " ; and proceeded to divide the latter geo- graphically, Schleswig being controlled by Prussia and Holstein by Austria. Of course it was evident that PRUSSIAN ALLIANCE WITH ITALY 357 this state of matters could not last, and the smaller States now realised to their disgust that the sole result of their interference with Denmark would be the aggrandisement of Prussia. Austria, too, per- ceived that she had been hoodwinked by her northern neighbour, and the inevitable consequence was a feel- ing of irritation between the two Governments, each of which was ambitious to possess the lead in Germany, and found herself hampered and checked by the other. The coming struggle, moreover, seemed likely to be an extensive one, for France showed open dislike to the growth of Prussian power, and Italy also did not conceal her intentions of making another effort to extend her dominions. But Bis- marck met Napoleon at Biarritz, and arranged matters so completely to his satisfaction that on his return through Paris the Prussian Minister told the Italian Minister, Chevalier Nigra, that war between Prussia and Austria was now inevitable. In other words, he had secured the neutrality of France. At the same time he playfully told the Italian minister that "if Italy did not exist, it would be necessary to invent her," namely, to distract Austria in the south. On the 8th of April a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, between Italy and Prussia was signed at Berlin, but even before that date both these Powers had their troops mobilised and ready for war. About the same time the Prussian Foreign Office addressed a note to Vienna complaining about the Austrian military preparations, which did not seem consistent with peace. But Austria was in a position to retaliate 35$ FRANCIS JOSEPH with a similar complaint. Then France, Great Britain, and Russia made final endeavours to prevent war, and suggested the convocation of a congress, but, on Austria interposing the condition that no combination should be discussed which would result in an exten- sion of territory for any one of the States invited, the project fell through, for the cession of Venice to Italy was one of the points upon which the mediating powers reckoned. Soon afterwards, on June 12th, diplomatic relations were broken off between the countries. Then, on the 15th, Bismarck requested Hanover, Saxony, and Hesse Cassel to disarm, and on their refusing to obey war at once began. The Prussian forces were divided into three separate armies. Of these the first, commanded by Prince Frederick Charles, nephew of the Prussian king, and composed of about 120,000 men, was stationed on the frontiers of Saxony ; the second, under the Crown Prince, and comprising 125,000 men, was stationed at Neisse in Silesia ; and the third, under General Her- warth von Bittenfeld, and comprising 50,000 men, operated from Halle on the Elbe. Other smaller forces were also set apart to invade Hanover and Hesse Cassel. As to these last, though the campaign opened with a Prussian defeat by the Hanoverians near Langen- salza, the arrival of the main body of the Prussian forces soon changed the situation and compelled a capitulation. The King of Hanover took refuge in Austria and the Elector of Hesse Cassel was made a prisoner of war. Prince Frederick Charles, on the other hand, crossed the Saxon frontier on June 16th and advanced upon BATTLE OF KONIGGRATZ 359 Dresden, being joined by the way by Herwarth and his force. In four days the whole of Saxony was in the hands of the Prussians, the Saxon army retreating into Bohemia and there joining the main body of the Austrians under General Benedek. Now the three main Prussian armies were able to act in con- cert against the Austrians, and by the end of June communications were established between the army from Saxony and that of the Crown Prince at Gitschin. Now the King of Prussia, with Count Bismarck and General von Moltke, appeared on the scene, and preparations were made for the final blow. Moltke's idea was, if possible, to bring the two divisions of his forces together on the battlefield, like the manceuvre which won the French the battle of Bautzen. Some reconnoitring was made which showed that there was no serious obstacle to the march of the Crown Prince, and without delay orders were sent to him to advance, while the army of Prince Frederick Charles proceeded to attack the Austrian lines on the Bistritz. Everything went as the Prussian strategist had planned, and though at one stage matters seemed to be going so badly with the army of Prince Frederick Charles that the King exclaimed, " Moltke, Moltke, we are losing the battle," that hero was perfectly confident of the result, and calmly answered, " Your Majesty will win to-day, not only the battle, but the campaign." It was even so. As early as eleven o'clock in the morning a battery in the direction of Horenhowes was seen to be in action, and the whisper then went round that the Crown Prince was at hand The approach of the latter 360 FRANCIS JOSEPH decided the battle, and General von Benedek had to retreat across the Elbe leaving 18,000 men on the field and 24,000 more prisoners in the hands of the enemy. Such in short was the decisive battle of Koniggratz. 1 The Prussians were now free to march upon Vienna, and that capital being threatened the Emperor of Austria was compelled to hastily come to terms with Italy by ceding Venice to the Emperor of the French for transference to the King of Italy so as to have the army of the south free to act against the invaders. Italy was glad to fall in with the proposal, for she had sustained some serious reverses, particularly at Custozza on 24th June, when the Archduke Albrecht completely defeated her forces though numerically superior. At sea also off Lissa the Austrian fleet under Admiral Tegethoff had proved victorious. Meanwhile the Bavarian troops co-operating with Austria had suffered severely at the hands of the Prussian forces under Generals von Falkenstein and von Manteuffel, and by July 16th the latter were in Frankfurt. Heavy war contributions were then levied, and the whole district treated with the utmost rigours of conquest, the Prussians were only too glad to avail themselves of the opportunity of paying off old scores against the Philo- Austrian Frankfurters, whose town was the seat of the hated Diet. 1 The most reliable personal account of this battle from the Prussian side is naturally that of Von Moltke. It will be found in English in vol. ii. of " Moltke's Letters to his Wife and other Relations," translated by J. R. Mcllraith, with introduction by Sidney Whitman (Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner, and Co., Ltd., 1896). ATTITUDE OF FRANCE 36 1 Freed from the necessity of operating further against Italy, the Archduke Albrecht now took com- mand of the Austrian army of the north and pre- pared to defend Vienna. A junction with Benedek was duly effected, but the troops were still much dis- organised, and the Prussian advance was so rapid that on July 20th Herwarth's outposts were within fifteen miles of the Austrian capital. The position was a very critical one, for another defeat would probably have caused the total overthrow of the Government and the dismemberment of the Austrian Empire. On the other hand, for Prussia, there was the danger present of French interference. Had Prussia gone on she might possibly have had two wars to wage at once. This, under the circumstances, she was un- willing to do, and on July 22nd an armistice was agreed to at Nikolsburg preparatory to negotiations for peace. Thus was Austria saved and complete German unity under Prussia postponed partly through the attitude of a Power which was shortly afterwards to suffer for her energetic interference. On the 26th of July peace was duly concluded upon terms that Austria should cease to be a member of the Germanic confederation, that she should pay a war indemnity of 40,000,000 thalers to Prussia, and that she should leave Prussia to act as she pleased with regard to Northern Germany. The result was the annexation to Prussia of Hanover, Hesse Cassel, Nassau, and part of Hesse Darmstadt, the acquisition of the reversion to Brunswick and the grant of the supreme military and diplomatic leadership of a new North German confederation which was now formed 362 FRANCIS JOSEPH and which included Saxony as one of its members. Austrian Silesia was made the pledge for the pay- ment of the war indemnity. On the 23rd of August the final treaty of peace was signed at Prague. With regard to Venice it was agreed that " the Lombardian- Venetian kingdom should be united to the kingdom of Italy without any other condition except the liquidation of those debts which have been acknow- ledged charges on the territories now resigned in con- formity with the treaty of Zurich.'' As for France, whose neutrality the German agents had secured by holding out prospects of additions of territority on the Rhine, she gained nothing, and woke up to find that she had been checkmated by the astute statesman of the North, who guided Prussia's destiny. And next year, when the King of Holland expressed him- self as willing to cede Luxemburg to her for a money consideration, she was prevented availing herself of the offer through the violent outburst of German feeling that ensued upon the disclosure of the negotiations. XXVI FRANCIS JOSEPH {continued) RECENT EVENTS AFTER the peace of Prague, Austria had to look with all seriousness to her own material regeneration. Her armies had been shattered, her prestige was gone, and she was burdened with debt. Further, Hungary still held aloof from the rest of the Empire, and refused to be represented in the Imperial councils though sullenly obeying the administrative and executive dispositions of the central power. In a message sent to the diets of the Empire on the 18th of February, 1867, by the Austrian Government, these words were used: " During a long course of years the constitutional organisation of the monarchy has suffered from hitherto in- separable contradictions between the older rights of the Hungarian constitution and the liberal institu- tions which the Emperor has made it, the aim of his life to establish throughout the monarchy. During the continuance of this conflict the restoration of the greatness of the Empire and of the historical posi- tion it ha:> so long occupied among the other States 363 364 FRANCIS JOSEPH of Europe is not to be hoped for, and, owing to the relations which have arisen out of the recent calamities, every new delay that occurs in the settlement of pending questions is fraught with the most decided disadvantages." The message then proceeded to suggest the immediate restoration of its constitution to Hungary. In June the necessary diploma granting the constitution was signed, the Emperor and Empress being at the same time crowned at Budapest as King and Queen of Hungary amid great public rejoicings. A coronation gift from the Hungarian nation was also presented in two silver caskets, each containing 50,000 ducats, but these their Majesties generously made over as a fund for the support of the widows and orphans of the Honveds, or Home Defenders, many of whom had fought against Austria in 1848-49. Henceforth Hungarian self-government became a reality, and the designation of the Empire became that of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy, or the Austrian-Hungarian State. Other useful measures cutting down the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in the matter of public education and ex- tending the public rights of citizens also became law about this time. In February of 1868 an important memorandum was issued defining Austria's future foreign policy. " Austria, having by great sacrifices extricated herself from the events of 1866, is firmly resolved to follow both at home and abroad the policy of peace and conciliation as the only salutary one for the present as well as the future. His Majesty the Emperor King as well as the people of the Empire are con- WAR BETWEEN PRUSSIA AND FRANCE 365 scious that the war which Austria was forced to fight against two powerful enemies was neither unjust nor inglorious. But this thought is free from all idea of retaliation, and since the peace of Prague, Austria, with respect both to Prussia and Italy, has the same pacific and friendly sentiments which she manifests with respect to the other Powers." This intimation was important at the time, for it was felt that war between France and Prussia was inevitable sooner or later and Austria's neutrality was therefore a matter of moment. France could not complain that she had not been warned to expect no assistance in that quarter. At the same time in view of the imminent danger Austria kept her army at this time on a war footing of 800,000 men " as much to cause her own neutrality to be respected as to keep back other Powers who might be inclined to attack." She did her utmost, moreover, to dissuade Napoleon from the ext'-eme course, but the latter's reply to her ambas- sador was : " Je ne crains rien plus qu'une reculade de la Prusse. Voyez cet enthousiasme de toute la France pour la guerre ; je ne le retrouverai jamais!' When war actually broke out in 1870 the Austrian Govern- ment did what it could to limit its scope, and when after all was over and Count Bismarck proceeded to sail through the treaty of Prague and further increase the power of the North German confederation then created, Austria had, through her inability to interfere, to look complacently on the scene. Meanwhile, in January of 1870, the ministry of Count Taafe had resigned on the question whether the separate nationalities of the Cisleithan Empire 366 FRANCIS JOSEPH were to be previously consulted before a new law introducing direct elections should be brought before the Reichsrath or whether that law should first be introduced and opposition to it afterwards be silenced. Dr. Giskra then assumed the leadership of affairs, but the opposition spirit of the different nationalities had become roused. Czechs, Galicians, Poles, Slo- venes, and Tyrolese all combined to avert anything like a policy of centralisation, and within a few weeks Dr. Giskra too had to resign. These events were followed almost immediately afterwards by a large secession of Poles, Slovenes, Bukowinians, and Istrians from the united Cisleithan Parliament, whereupon the majority there requested the Emperor to dissolve the provincial diets of which the seces- sionists were members. On the Emperor's refusing to do this the Ministry then sitting resigned, and Count Potocki was requested to take the leadership. This he did in conjunction with Count Taafe, and these ministers then set about trying to organise a parliament which should properly represent all por- tions of the Empire and prevent political catastrophes in the future. It was accordingly proposed that a Reichsrath should be re-established independent of the local parliaments and chosen by direct elections. The Reichsrath then sitting was therefore dissolved, as also all the provincial diets of Western Austria, except that of Bohemia. Bohemia absolutely refused to send representatives to the new Reichs- rath. Neverthless, on September 17th the latter duly met, and in his speech the Emperor contented himself merely with expressing regret at the absence AGITATION IN BOHEMIA 367 of the Bohemian representatives, and proposed for the consideration of the Reichsrath various matters in- cluding measures for the settlement of the relations between the Catholic Church and the State, which had become necessary in consequence of the con- cordat with the Papal See hitherto existent having been abrogated. With regard to Bohemia, at this time the Czech element had a decided majority in number over the German element, and now increased its influence more and more. Even in Prague the Czech lan- guage was largely prevalent. These facts had so emboldened the Czech leaders that they now aimed at nothing less than the restoration of an indepen- dent Bohemian kingdom to comprise Bohemia, Moravia, and Austrian Silesia, after which they would aim at annexing Prussian Silesia, Lusatia, and the Slovak districts of Hungary. In other parts of the Austrian- Hungarian Empire the diverse populations were also troublesome. Thus in the south of the Tyrol the Italian element was preponderating so much that even insurrection was feared, and in the German provinces the Germanic element at times seemed inclined to cast in their lot with the strong German Empire of the north. In January of 187 1 Count Potocki resigned after an adverse demonstration in the Reichsrath and on the persistent refractoriness of the Czechs of Bohe- mia. Count Hohenwart was then entrusted with the task of forming a new cabinet. He was an ultramon- tane and a reactionist in politics, and represented that section of the German population of Austria 368 FRANCIS JOSEPH which had thrown in its lot with the Slavonic sepa- ratists. This minister at once declared himself in favour of a policy of decentralisation without, how- ever, violating the constitution. This roused the sternest opposition on the part of the German cen- tralists and so much was the Government hampered that it practically accomplished nothing. It duly introduced, nevertheless, on the 25th of April, its scheme of reform which provided that the provincial diets should be entitled to pass laws relating to matters not already determined by special laws passed by the Reichsrath, which laws so passed should, if approved by the Reichsrath and the Em- peror, have a legal sanction in the province by whose diet they were passed. As for the Reichsrath, its duty should be simply to examine these proposed measures and adopt or reject them. On this scheme being rejected Count Hohenwart did not resign but calmly proceeded to introduce a Home Rule measure for Galicia as a preliminary to similar measures for other divisions of the Empire. Upon this the Oppo- sition addressed the Emperor to dismiss the Ministry, but the reply given was to the effect that the Chamber should co-operate with them in producing harmony among the peoples of the Empire. Despite a threatened deadlock, the budget was duly passed, after which the Ministry appealed to the country on their Home Rule schemes. It was now seen, however, that the Bohemian demands, if satisfied, would mean nothing less than dismemberment and would infallibly lead to further difficulties in other provinces of the Empire, particu- CHANGE OF MINISTRY 369 larly Hungary and Tyrol, and on the German and Hungarian parties under Counts Beust and Andrassy taking up a strong position the Emperor was com- pelled to resign his support of Count Hohenwart. A provisional ministry was then appointed with Baron Holzgethan at its head to carry on necessary business, and after a time Baron Kellersperg, for- merly Governor of Bohemia, assumed the duty ol forming a new Ministry. Now, however, Count Beust resigned his post of Chancellor of the Empire, being succeeded by Count Andrassy, the Hungarian Prime Minister, not as Chancellor but as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Baron Kellersperg and Count Andrassy could not agree as to the best course to take in the constitutional questions of the day, the latter being particularly displeased at the other's refusal to concede anything to Galicia. The result was that before the end of the year (1871) Keller- sperg also retired. The post of Prime Minister was then occupied by Prince Adolph Auersperg. With regard to the period of which we are speak- ing, it is interesting to notice that since 1871 a separate series of postage stamps has existed for Hungary, though a postal card had already in 1869 been issued for that kingdom. Its territories, too, already enlarged by the addition of Croatia and Transylvania, were in 1872 further increased by the Military Frontier, which was in that year converted into a distinct province. A new session of the Reichsrath opened in Decem- ber of 1 87 1. First was proposed a Bill for the introduction of compulsory elections, that is to say, 370 FRANCl " JOSEPH in those districts and towns of which the representa- tives already chcse n should abstain from taking their seats in the Reichsrath. This duly became law. Then the budget was passed, and that the more readily as the returns for the year showed a surplus instead of the customary deficit. About the same time the Government dissolved the hostile Bohemian diet, and on the results of the new election being declared it was seen that the constitutional party had a good working majority. New elections for the Hungarian Diet also took place, and on its assembling in September the Emperor journeyed down to open it in person. Altogether his conduct at this time tended much to produce a beneficial effect on the excited political elements at work. It was not, however, until the end of 1872 that the promised scheme of electoral reform was introduced. When this took place its provisions were seen to include the election for the future of members of the Lower House by all persons entitled to the suffrage, the increase in the number of such members to 120, each electoral district electing one deputy, and the granting of a vote for a member of the diet to every- one entitled to a vote for a member of the Reichsrath. On the 6th of March, 1873, this Bill was duly passed, the deputies from Trent being the only dissentients. Henceforth not the provincial diets, but the general body of the electors in the provinces elected the members of the legislative body. While these important reforms were in progress two notable events happened in the Emperor's household. These were (1) the death of the Dowager PARLIAMENTARY MEASURES 37 1 Empress which occurred in February, 1873 5 an d (2) the marriage of the Emperor's daughter, the Arch- duchess Gisela, with Prince Leopold of Bavaria on the 20th of April, 1873. Also in this year a great " Universal Exhibition " was held at Vienna, opened by the Emperor on the 1st of May, and held under the patronage of the Archduke Charles Louis. But a financial panic which occurred about the time tended greatly to mar its success, and public credit continued much disturbed for the remainder of the year. Before the close of this period, however, a joyful event was the sinking of the memories of the disaster of Koniggratz and the loss of Venice and Lombardy by the renewal of intimate relations between the sovereigns of Germany, Austria, and Italy. The first measures of importance passed by the recently reformed Austrian legislative body dealt with the relations of Church and State. The spiritual authority exercised by the priests was limited, they themselves were to be liable to be dismissed by the Government, and religious endowments were made subject to State control. Further, the institution of convents and monasteries was made one of the Government prerogatives, and clerical endowments were taxed in order to provide a sum for the relief of the inferior clergy. Naturally the Pope and the clergy were strong against these Bills, but the Ministry was completely successful and they were passed by 224 votes against 71. An interesting event in 1873 was a vlsl ^ P a ^ by the Emperor Francis Joseph to the old ex-Emperor 372 FRANCIS JOSEPH Ferdinand, who was living in quiet retirement at the Imperial palace at Prague called the Hradschin. Next year, on June 29th, the latter died. He was buried with stately ceremony at Vienna, but without any great manifestation of popular sympathy. With the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish war in 1877, Austria resumed much of her old importance in the European concert. Like Great Britain she observed a strict neutrality. At the same time there was a large portion of the population, especially among the Hungarians, who were strongly hostile to the Russians, and all the time the conflict lasted there was the danger of these gaining the upper hand and forcing the nation into war. In August the Austrian troops were actually mobilised, the excuse being the threatening position of Servia and Roumania. As the Times correspondent at the time stated : " Austria is determined to prevent the Danubian Principalities acquiring a title to aggrandisement, and however reluctant to run present risk, prefers interference where inaction is believed to involve the gravest peril in the future." There was, too, every reason to believe that the Russians might enter Servian territory in order to operate upon the Turkish flank from that quarter. Nothing, however, occurred to precipitate matters, and Austria preserved her " expectant policy." Count Andrassy deliberately stated that he considered neutrality with a full reservation to interfere at the final settlement to be the best course, and that he meant to keep to it. The principle was that Austria would join the other Powers in safeguarding European interests, while at CONGRESS OF BERLIN 373 the same time being careful to reserve the right to protect herself. Accordingly, when the peace of San Stefano was concluded, dissatisfaction was openly expressed at it, and not only that, but Austrian troops were massed on the frontier ready to take the initiative should the Congress of Berlin be unable to come to a proper understanding. As events turned out, peace was preserved and Austria assumed an occupation of Bosnia and the Herzegovina in conformity with Lord Salisbury's proposal at the congress. The racial feeling in these provinces had not, however, been consulted, and the occupation was only effected with some difficulty. Popular risings occurred in various parts, and in some cases considerable loss of life occurred. At last on the 19th of August, Serajevo was occupied after a severe engagement, and on the 7th of the following month the Austrians also entered Trebinje. Soon afterwards all resistance collapsed and Count Andrassy set about establishing a proper system of civil government. The provinces were virtually annexed to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, though not without considerable heartburning therein owing to the threatened increase of Slavonic influence, and the Ministry managed to hold their own and get the necessary budgets passed. In 1879 general elections took place and, chiefly owing to the want of harmony as to the Government's Eastern policy, they proved disastrous to the German Constitutional party. As soon as the results were known, accordingly, Prince Auersperg's ministry resigned, and Count Taafe formed a new coalition Cabinet representative chiefly of the aristocratic 374 FRANCIS JOSEPH liberal, clerical, Slavonic, and Czech elements. At the same time Count Andrassy resigned his post of Foreign Minister, this office being then assumed by Baron Haymerle, the Austrian Ambassador at Rome. Meanwhile the Austrians had given umbrage to Russia by the occupation of Novi-Bazar, but Prince Bismarck visited Vienna and an arrangement was come to, the knowledge of which effectually stifled the Russian desire for interference. Count Taafe's Ministry was of too heterogeneous a nature to last, the Czech element especially being a source of difficulty, and in 1880 a change took place, Count Taafe remaining Prime Minister, but the Ministers of Justice, National Defence, Commerce and Finance, being respectively superseded. This change, however, pleased neither the Hungarians nor the Austrian-Germans, and the former even initiated a movement for complete separation. As for the German party it dissociated itself from the Ministry more and more, and on the 15th of January, 1881, a further change took place in the Ministry, the two German Ministers, of Justice and of Commerce, resigning and being succeeded by Czechs. The effect of this was to produce still greater antagonism between Germans and Slavs, and the irritation among the diverse elements in the Empire was intense. The Emperor, on his side, did his best to allay the storm, and paid several visits to Bohemia, Galicia, and the Tyrol, with a view to conciliating the populace and at the same time showing his sympathy with the Ministry. In 1882 a revolt broke out in Herzegovina and MENACE ON PART OF RUSSIA 375 Dalmatia, but after a short campaign it was com- pletely quelled by the capture of Fort Dragali, the insurgent headquarters. Next year Croatia, too, was the scene of disorder, but the ringleaders of the movement confined themselves to the organising of demonstrations against the Hungarians. In 1884, however, the Croatian Radicals became so menacing that Agram, the capital, was actually placed under martial law, and the noisy members of the diet were expelled from it by force. In 1885 a new Reichsrath was elected, but Count Taafe maintained his position, the new assembly including 192 ministerialists, 132 opponents of the ministry, and 29 " savages " or independents. For a time the conflict between nationalities was abated, but the truce was of very short duration. In par- ticular, the Government regulations whereby the Czech language was allowed in the Bohemian courts of justice gave great dissatisfaction to the German element in the province, and an agitation was started to modify the new rules. For the next few years the chief disturbing element was Russia, which persisted in massing troops upon the Galician frontier as if with the view of attacking the Austrian-Hungarian Empire on the first available opportunity. The unfriendly attitude of France to Germany also seemed to threaten complications. As in both cases the motive was pretty much the same, the best plan to avert the threatening danger seemed for Germany, Austria, and Italy to combine. " With Austria on our side we have no other want," were the words used by Prussia's great strategist, Moltke, long 376 FRANCIS JOSEPH before even the Austrian-Prussian war of 1866, and this view now commended itself to Germany's states- men. Accordingly, the Triple Alliance was entered into in 1888, the chief terms of which were, that if France should attack either Germany or Italy, the two latter Powers should combine to resist her, and that if Russia were to attack either Germany or Austria, both these should make war upon Russia, while if France and Russia combined to attack one of the three allied Powers, these should all join together in resisting them. To this strong combina- tion is due, in a great measure, the preservation of the peace of Europe since, especially as Great Britain, though not a party to the league, was known to have entered into friendly relations with Italy with regard to the Mediterranean. So far as internal affairs were concerned, the threatening nature of the political out- look caused the Austrians to make special efforts to place their army on the best possible footing. Nearly 100,000 men were added to its fighting strength, the whole was furnished with the new Manlicher repeating rifles, and the cavalry, artillery, and trans- port departments were all completely reorganised. It was also provided by special army bills passed in 1888 that a yearly average of 125,600 recruits should be levied during the next ten years for the regular army and the two landwehrs instead of 119,345 as previously, the object being to enable the military authorities to bring up the total fighting force to 800,000 men. In August of 1889 the Emperor of Austria paid a visit to Berlin, and there mutual assurances were 378 FRANCIS JOSEPH exchanged between the two Emperors, that it' need should arise their armies would fight side by side. Later on in the same year the German Emperor paid a visit to the Emperor Francis Joseph at Innsbruck, and these repeated signs of harmonious cordiality have tended greatly to the preservation of peace. In the following year meetings again took place both between the Emperors and between their respective Chancellors, and much satisfaction was also felt over Europe at the Italian Premier, Crispi's, words uttered at Florence on October 9, 1890, that " If Austria did not exist she would have to be created." Russia now began to desist from her warlike attitude, and in 1892 the situation had become so much improved that Count Kalnoky was able to say in that year : " Our relations with all Powers are satisfactory. The constellation of Europe is growing more and more peaceful. There is now no especial cause for mis- givings, since the Powers meet each other with the assurance that they wish decidedly for peace and have no thoughts of aggression." The air was further cleared when in 1894 an Austrian-Russian commercial treaty was concluded, which event seemed to complete the rapprochement with Russia. Difficulties with the latter country were also rendered more remote by the declared policy of the Austrian Government not to interfere with the domestic policy of the Balkan States, and of these, in particular, Bulgaria and Servia. Two notable internal movements in Austria ought also to be mentioned — namely, the growth of an- archism and the anti-Semitic agitation. Important GROWTH OF ANARCHISM 379 with reference to the first of these was the secret society of the Omladina, which in 1894 included among its members not only university students and young men of the middle classes, but professors and leaders of thought, and had at its command fourteen newspapers in Bohemia alone. On February 21st of the last-mentioned year occurred a great trial of certain members of this body who were implicated in some dynamite outrages, and severe sentences were inflicted, and about the same time were tried and convicted at Vienna fourteen members of the Independent Socialist body. On the very day of the trial of the Omladinists no less than twenty-one workmen's meetings were held in the capital, nine in Briinn, and many others besides as demonstrations in favour of social demo- cratic doctrines, and on March 25th an important Socialist congress met. One of the chief demands of the agitators was for an extension of the franchise. Of the anti-Semitic agitation the two leaders were Prince Alois Liechtenstein and Dr. Lueger. The latter was in 1895 elected Burgomaster of Vienna, but Count Badeni, the then Premier, would not confirm the election, and when a second election had the same result the Government straightway dissolved the municipal council and appointed an Imperial com- missioner. Connected with these two movements was the change of Ministry in 1895. In consequence of the persistent agitation the previous Ministry of Prince Windischgratz resigned, their place being taken for a time by a provisional cabinet under Count Kiel- mansegg, who, by the way, was the first Austrian 380 FRANCIS JOSEPH Premier of the Protestant faith. This provisional Cabinet sat from June 19th to October 4th, when its place was taken by a new Cabinet in which Polish influence predominated, Count Badeni being Prime Minister with the control of home affairs and Count Goluchowski being Minister of Foreign Affairs. This Ministry proved a fairly strong one, and in an early speech Count Badeni used these words : " Our aim is a powerful, patriotically thinking united Austria. . . . It is the duty of the Government to take care to maintain social order and to prevent its dis- ruption or annihilation ; but the Ministry is ready to consider justified political aspirations, always keeping in view the interests of existing society." In fulfilment of these ideas a Parliamentary Reform Bill was laid before the Reichsrath on February 19, 1896, and passed without alteration after a fortnight's debate. Prior to this date the Lower House had been returned by four estates — namely, the great land- owners, the cities, the Chambers of Commerce, and the rural communes. Now a fifth estate was created consisting of all males over 24 years of age not in domestic service, an estate which is about five times as numerous as the older sections. A General Election then followed and the anti-Semites were found at the close thereof in larger numbers than before. Dr. Lueger was again, for the fourth time, elected Chief Burgomaster, but on the Emperor's representations he soon retired, not, however, before making some violent speeches in which he declared he would make Austria independent of the Jews. As for Count Badeni's Ministry it only held together for ASSASSINATION OF THE EMPRESS 38 1 a comparatively short period ; and on March 7, 1898, a new Ministry was constituted with Count Thun-Hohenstein as President and Minister of the Interior, and since then Parliamentary proceedings in Austria have been much more peaceful in their char- acter, though for how long remains to be seen. The last event to which we have to refer is of a very painful nature. On the 10th of September, 1898, the Empress Elizabeth of Austria was, during a visit to Geneva in Switzerland, cruelly assassinated by an Italian anarchist, Lucchini or Luccheni. There was apparently no definite motive for the act except thirst for royal blood. The Empress was sixty-one years of age. Her people called her " Goldelse," or the fairy with the golden hair, and by them she was much beloved. She was active by nature, and in her younger days rode horses like an amazon and walked until her court ladies could walk no more. Manifold, too, are the good and noble works set down to her credit. Alas, that such a one should meet with such a fate ! that the hand of the assassin should add another misfortune to those already endured by the reigning Emperor.' Only a few years before, the heir to the throne, the Archduke Rudolph, whose intellectual qualities were of a specially brilliant cha- racter, had taken his own life while in an abnormal state of mind, induced, if continental rumour is to be believed, by the artifice of enemies of the Royal House. XXVII AUSTRIAN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART OUR " Story of Austria " would be incomplete without some account of the intellectual life of her people. To describe this in detail and with satis- factory completeness would demand much more space than is permissible in the present volume. The following short sketch, however, will be sufficient to direct the reader to further inquiry. And first as to Austrian literary efforts. The history of Austrian literature falls to be divided into two great epochs — that of the Middle Ages, and that of recent times since the middle of the seven- teenth century. In the intervening period Austria might well be termed the " German Bceotia," not that genius was altogether lacking, but that it was not exemplified in either prose literature or poetry. The two periods mentioned are strongly distinguished for this reason, that wnile in the Middie Ages Austria was the source of a rich national literature which influenced all Germany, in the latter period it was Germany which gave the impulse to Austrian endeavours. As is only natural, much of the literature of Austria 382 LYRIC POETRY 383 is shared in common with Germany, and this holds good even of the earliest times. Thus among the earliest literary works of Austria are the Niebelun- genlied and the Kudrunlied, both of which are held in equal esteem in Germany. The former was re- produced in Upper Austria in the twelfth century, it is said by Kiirnberger, while the latter became fixed in a literary shape in Styria towards the end of the twelfth or beginning of the thirteenth century. At that time the monasteries, too, were the home of a special form of religious poetry, including such pieces as the " Marienleben " of the Carthusian Philip of Seitz, and the " Auferstehung Christi " of Gundacker, of Judenburg. Lyric poetry also flourished under the guidance of Kiirnberger and Dietmar, of Aist, both of Upper Austria. But the great period of bloom was under the Babenbergs. This dynasty was highly cultured and of artistic tastes, and did its utmost to foster the intellectual life of its people. Even Henry of Modling, Leopold the Illustrious, and Frederick the Valiant themselves indulged in verse composition, and in their time Vienna became a real centre to which masters in verse flocked in numbers. Resident in the capital were Reimar the Elder (the nightingale of Hagenau), Reimar von Zweter, Conrad Marner, Steinmar, &c, and Tyrolese Walther von der Vogel- weide ' wrote some of his finest songs there. Of the 1 Born between 1165 and 11 70. He wrote both religious and lyrical pieces, and dealt also with the political questions of his time, in parti- cular, the mutual relationship of monarch and people, and the relation- ship of both these to the Papacy. (See Wilmann's " Leben und Dichten Walther von der Vogelweide." Bonn, 1882). 384 AUSTRIAN LITERATURE^ SCIENCE, AND ART famous Lower Austrians of that period perhaps the best known are Geltar, Dietmar der Sezzer (from Baden), and Kol von Neunzen (from Zwetl) ; and of the Upper Austrians, Hartwig von Rauten, Herrand von Wildonie (from Styria), Konrad von Sonneck, Rudolf von Stadecke, and Ulrich von Liechtenstein. Carinthia and Salzburg, too, sent many writers to Vienna ; thus from Salzburg came the famous Tan- hauser, and from Carinthia, Heinrich von Lienz and Zachaeus von Himmelbern. Of those just mentioned many wrote not only lyric but epic poetry. Lastly, in the department of historical literature we have famous chroniclers ; indeed, Vienna and Styria pro- duced the two most distinguished chroniclers of the thirteenth century — namely, Hans Enenkel, who wrote the Chronicles of the world, and "das Fiirsten- buch," of Styria, and Steier, who narrates the history of the Austrian provinces down to the death of Frederick the Valiant. If these writers lacked imagination and warmth of sentiment, they at all events manifested a critical observation of men and things and showed that they possessed sound judg- ment. In the fourteenth century a humbler style of poetical composition prevailed. Then it was that wandering minstrels strolled through the country reciting their lays which, if not well finished, generally spoke from the heart. Among the best known in Austria are Michel Beheim, from Niirnberg, who lived at the court of Frederick IV., and Hans Sachs, also from Niirnberg, who sang in Vienna. Dramatic poetry also began at this time to be cultivated, chiefly in GERMANIC LITERARY INFLUENCE 385 the form of Easter and Christmas plays. But the cultivation of poetry by the minstrel class did not degenerate the taste for composition, and even royalty and nobility indulged in such work. The Emperor Maximilian I. himself was the author of a piece called "Theuerdank," which was read all over Germany. The period of the Middle Ages was brought to a close by the Reformation. The great religious con- troversy which followed diverted men's energies and there was little literature of note produced. What did see the light was of a more or less religious and controversial nature, and it is not till the middle of the eighteenth century that we again meet with anything like a real national literature. Then, how- ever, a new epoch of Austrian-German literature was entered upon. Science had in Maria Theresia's time already attained great results, and literature did not tarry far behind. So when Joseph II. ascended the throne quite a high point had been reached and literary circles included such names as Alxinger, Michael Denis (a Jesuit born at Scharding in Upper Austria), Carl Mastalier (born at Vienna), von Kalchberg (born in Upper Styria), Ratschky, Retzer, Blumauer and Haschka. At the end of last century, too, we have the great name of Franz Grafifer who depicted Austrian life as he observed it. Meanwhile the works of the great Northern and Central German writers, such as Biisching, Wieland, Klopstock, Mendelssohn, Buffon, &c, were also reproduced in Vienna and widely read. For a considerable part of this period Austrian poetical composition was concentrated in a little 26 386 AUSTRIAN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART book, called the " Wienerischer Musen Almanach," which first appeared in the year 1777 and was published annually, containing for the time being nearly all the attempts at poetry made at Vienna. Josef Franz Ratschky (1757-18 10) himself wrote for this almanack and indeed called it to light. His writings consisted of lyric poetry, epic verse, mono- graphs and translations. Other early writers in the almanack were Schlosser and Gottlieb or Amadeus Leon, the latter of whom was only twenty years of age when his first poems were published. The names of Lodl and C. Mayr also appear in the almanacks of the early period. In subsequent years occur the names of Alxinger, Michael Denis, Leopold Friedrich Giinther-Geekingk, Haschka, Prandsteller, Retzer, and Karoline von Greiner. In 1782 we actually find included an English poem by James Kemper called " The Fate of Chloe " in six verses, of which the first runs thus : — " Unhappy Damon long had tried, To soften Chloe's stubborn mind. In vain he begged, in vain he sighed, In nuptial ties their hearts to bind. The cruel maid triumphing in his pains Was pleased to lead her slave in iron chains." But Kemper's name does not appear again. A more important name in the next years was that of Josef von Sonnenfels, who was already fifty years of age when he began to contribute to the Almanack of the Muses. This writer published many epigrams, in- cluding among others imitations of Prior, Butler, &c. The following two examples of his style will suffice. And LATER AUSTRIAN POETRY. 387 After Prior. (Draw your wit as seldom as your sword, And never on the weak, for you'll appear, There as no hero, nor a genius here.) " Zieh deinen Witz so selten als dein Schwert ; Und auf den Schwiichern nie ; Denn jenes macht dich nicht als Held bewiihrt, Und diesz nicht als Genie." From the " HiidibrasT (Brevity is very good When we are or are not understood.) Kiirze schliigt ste f s trefflich an, Damit man euch versteh'n— auch nicht verstehen kann Sir Butler's grosze, weise Lehre, Autoren, o vergeszt sie nie ! Sein Hudibras lebt noch, und eure Schwere In Folio were kennet die ? " Later on we find new names, such as those of Mastailer, Gabrielle von Baumberg, von Josch, Scheiger, Anton Grolzhammer, and Sophie von La Roche. Another famous work in the early part of the modern period was the " Taschenbuch fur Deutsch- land's Sonne und Tochter," which appeared in 1 797 at Vienna, and even more important was the " Neue Wiener Musen Almanach," which was first published in 1798. In this last work the authors of the poems are not mentioned by name, but among them were Gaheis, J linger, von Kalchberg, Christopher Kuffner, Johann Philip Neumann, Schilling, Schwaldopler, and Wideman. In 1 802 appeared another "Musen Almanach," but it was not of much importance. 388 AUSTRIAN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART Passing away from these so-called Zeitschriften, however, we find the theatre in Austria in a very- degenerate state at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Later on, Schiller's works were introduced into Austria soon after their original publication, and there even in the provincial towns. Goethe and Shakespeare, too, have at all times been favourites, and Macbeth used to be performed at Graz, while " Werther" was danced as a ballet at Linz. Especially influential in furthering the drama were Inland and Kotzebue, the former of whom played at Graz and the latter of whom managed the Court Theatre at Vienna. Other famous names of the time are Hermann von Ayrenhoff and Heinrich Collin. There was also a writer of dramas in Laibach named Anton Linhard. Collin is also well known for his anti-French and Landwehr songs {Landwehr Lieder). When Napoleon I. occupied Prussia, many writers migrated from the north to Vienna ; and thus in 1808 were in residence there the two brothers Schlegel ; followed soon afterwards by young Theodore Korner, who worked at the Court Theatre ; Zacharias Werner, who took refuge in a Viennese monastery ; and Heinrich v. Kleist, a great hater of the French, who also found a place of refuge in the Austrian capital. Wilhelm von Humboldt also tarried there for a time as Prussian Ambassador. The result of this influx was the infusing of fresh spirit into Austria, and the change was marked by the appearance of Grillparzer in 181 7 with his " Ahn frau." The classical romantic school now prevailed, the best known names being Grillparzer (lyric poet), SCIENCE IN AUSTRIA 389 Halm, Feuchtersleben, and Lenau. More purely romantic is Anastasius Griin, the author of " Spazier- gange ernes Wiener Poeten " and " Schutt." Also worthy of mention are Maurus Lindemayr (born in 1723, at Neukirchen, in Upper Austria), who wrote a peculiar dialect, and in the same connection Franz Stelzhammer, Karl Kaltenbrunner, Ferdinand Raimund, Friedrich Kaiser, and more recently Anzengruber and Peter Rosegger. Rosegger is specially pre-eminent in his descriptions of life and scenery among the Styrian Alps. Good prose writers have always existed in Austria, but space will not admit of a detailed statement of them or their works. At the same time, in what follows, reference will be found to some of them. Science found a home in Austria in the very earliest times. A country so rich in minerals was bound to attract investigators into their mysteries, and even in Roman times the mines and saltworks of Noricum were famous. It was left to the Germans, however, to infuse real life into these industries. At the same time the monks in their cells entered into deeper investigations into the nature and qualities of the minerals of the country. Salzburg was in this respect the great centre, and in that district Arch- bishop Arno instilled a love of science into his subordinate clerics. That famous man it was who founded the library at Salzburg. The Scottish priest Virgilius, to whom we have referred in an earlier chapter, also laboured there. When the Hungarians began their incursions, however, scientific progress 390 AUSTRIAN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART was in most parts stayed, but in Salzburg it never entirely died out. About the twelfth century the schools again became flourishing, and in the following century we find each great monastery again in posses- sion of its own school. Classical studies were especially cultivated and Aristotle's philosophy became widely prevalent under the teaching of Otto, Bishop of Freising (u 11-58). The benefit, never- theless, was all on the side of the upper classes in these early times. But in the thirteenth century the citizen classes also became partakers and " Biirger- schulen " were instituted, the first being the Viennese " Biirgerschule bei St. Stefan." Besides classics and philosophy, theology and history were also taught, and natural science, mathematics, and astronomy were not neglected. A decided step in advance was taken when the university at Vienna was founded in 1365 by Rudolf den Stifter, and foreign professors brought to the Austrian capital the best results of the learning of other countries. The string of names connected with this university is a long and famous one, among them being that of John of Gmunden (died 1442), styled the father of mathematical and astronomical science in Germany, who gave a special impulse to the study of astronomy. After the Reformation had become an accomplished fact, two parties prevailed as leaders in learning — the Jesuits and the Protestants. The former long retained their ascendency, and it was not till the middle of the eighteenth century that the reformed party came decidedly to the front. The consequence was that the antiquated notions and PHYSICS AND HISTORY 39 1 doctrines held sway for all that period, and the history of science in Austria is marked by a state of quiescence. Of course, the classics were still studied in the gymnasia, as well as dialectics, metaphysics, moral philosophy, mathematics and physics, but there was little in the nature of original research or discovery. When the eighteenth century was reached, however, we find a fresh impulse given to all departments of science among Jesuits and Benedictines and Protestants alike, and with the formation of the true science of chemistry a real era of bloom commenced. Maria Theresia's reign marks the turning point, and from that time forward, with the University of Vienna as a centre, science has progressed steadily and is constantly making fresh advances. In the departments of astronomy and mathematics may be mentioned such names as Baron Adam von Burg (born at Vienna 1797), who was specially distinguished for higher mathematics ; and Tobias Burg (born at Vienna, 1766), who was notable for his astronomical studies. So in physics well known are Christopher Rieger, Gottlieb Biwald (botanist), Franz Guessman, Josef von Herbert, Stelzhammer, Christian Doppler (optician, died 1854), Karl Kreil (1798-1862), and still later Josef Stefan, Ludwig Boltzmann, and Julius Hann. A large number of scientific and learned societies also have been instituted in this later period ; for example, the " Historischer Verein fiir Innere Oesterreich," founded in 1842, and the " Vereine fiir nieder oesterreichische Landerkunde," founded in 1864. Historical studies have been prosecuted with special zest, and many 392 AUSTRIA A LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART famous names might be mentioned since Maria Theresia's time. Geography and statistics, too, have made great progress, and the Austrian philologists, especially the Orientalists and Germanists, have earned great renown. A special Oriental academy was in- stituted at Vienna as early as the time of Maria Theresia, and Baron Bernhard von Jenisch's (born 1734) Oriental lexicon is well known. The depart- ment of law long had languished, the old Roman and ecclesiastical laws prevailing, but this became in- vigorated after Franz Schrotter had founded the Austrian State law. More recently Anton Hye and others have further reformed the juristic system, especially in the domain of criminal law. In medicine again well-known anatomists are Josef Leber and Alexander Mayer, and the works of the great Austrian ophthalmologist, George Beer, are found in both English and French. Botany, chemistry, and mineralogy all have had their votaries, and in zoology we have the great name of Ludwig Redtenbacker (born 18 14). A portrait of the famous physician of Maria Theresia, Gerard von Swieten, a Dutchman by birth, who settled in Vienna in 1745, i s nere reproduced. As to agriculture, the Austrian provinces have always been most fertile, and from the earliest times they have been under cultivation. The immigration of the Germanic people, however, here too led to a great development. So perfect was their system that by the thirteenth century agriculture had practically reached its highest point, and since then until quite recent times it remained in pretty much the same FREIHERR GERARD VON SWIETEN. (From " The Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy" by the Archduke Rudolph and others.) 394 AUSTRIAN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART state. Vine culture, on the other hand, has somewhat gone down, and whereas in the Middle Ages in Carinthia, Styria, and the two Austrias, the produc- tion of wines was very large, this industry has in more recent times been greatly supplanted by other openings. With regard to the agricultural classes, their condition has of course varied much at different times. It could not be otherwise in a country overrun so often as Austria has been by hostile bands. In the beginning of the fourteenth century many labourers were carried off prisoners by Bohemians, Magyars, and Turks, and when the " Black Death " ravaged the country it produced great havoc among the country people. Then again the Thirty Years' War was severely felt. Since the beginning of the seventeenth century, however, things have been much more settled, and from that time forward we see signs of betterment. Potatoes were introduced to Vienna as early as 1682, that is, earlier than in Germany, and by the beginning of the eighteenth century were to be found in every garden and farm. Under Maria Theresia, and Joseph II. especially there was very great improvement. These monarchs made the interests of the agricultural labourers their particular care, and the work begun by them was continued by their successors. In 1806 the Archduke Ferdinand even made over a large tract of unculti- vated land in Salzburg to a number of colonists. The mines of Austria were, as we have already mentioned, well known even in the time of the Romans, the iron and gold of Noricum being sought after in every part of the Roman Empire in the MINES AND MINERALS 395 early years of the Christian era. The chief localities were Salzburg, Upper Styria, and Carinthia. There again the Germanic inhabitants obtained the best results. Already in the second half of the fourteenth century there were in the hills of Gastein as many as fifty different works. So rich too did some of the families engaged in these industries become that they could vie in splendour with the archbishops. All classes combined to further these trades. In 1500, the Archbishop of Salzburg even held a conclave of all the labourers in his district with a view to the discovery of any defects in the then existing system of mining. To the salt works of Austria we have also already referred. These were known as far back as the time of the Celts and Romans, and were taken over by the Germans on their settling in the country. Lastly the weaving industry has long been an ex- tensive one. The systems adopted have not been very different from those in other countries. In older times hand looms were used, to be replaced by machines in the present century. As early as 1802 English machines were in use at Pottendorf and Schwadorf. Art, like science, also found its early home in the monasteries, and it was from these sources that it spread among the people. These monasteries being German, it follows that the early advances in art are likewise due to the German element in Austria. In the days of the Carlo vingian dynasty, however, the art that prevailed was of a very rude order. At the same time its objects were uniformly confined to the service of the Church, and it was beneath the 396 AUSTRIAN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART protection and patronage of the Church that both painting and architecture flourished. Nevertheless a considerable period elapsed before any very solid work was done. The earliest churches in Austria were built of wood, without towers, small and unadorned. It was Bishop Altmann of Passau (107 1 -91) who first began the building of stone churches ornamented with paintings. After the thirteenth century, when the Gothic style was intro- duced, a further degree of improvement was marked. Then was built the cathedral at Wiener Neustadt, the Church at Lilienfeld, and the Cathedral at Gurk. The Roman porches of most of the churches of that time show the strong influence exercised by the Italian school. And not only fine churches were erected, but the hills and mountains throughout the land were crowned with gorgeous castles, homes for the nobility, the remains of which still testify to the artistic sense then prevailing. When the Magyars overran the district, however, most of the old rude buildings of the Carlovingian time got destroyed, and from the eleventh century downwards, new castles, churches, and ordinary buildings were erected. Ex- amples of those early specimens of architecture may be found in the little square of the castle of Ranna in Lower Austria, the ruins of Starhemberg, the mansion at Hainburg, and, above all, Liechtenstein. After the end of the thirteenth century, the style of architecture employed is pure Gothic. Take, for example, the nunnery at Imbach, founded in 1269, and the choir of the church at Pettau. In the four- teenth century a large number of new churches were ''JJff^wLy .!■'■'->" ■-**- ■ ■ -"-' M t-^5HJ jf --^Jf jtmr- B^^. % 1 JP r ? 1 ■ ■ ' 'I t w |L if ■ff . . : M SCHUBERT. (See page 402.) 39^ AUSTRIAN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART built. In the reign of Frederick III. especially, fine Gothic churches arose on every side. In Styria at that time, no less than forty-nine such were built. Magnificent monasteries' and convents also sprang up about the same period. Painting also in the early times was almost wholly confined to the monasteries. Towards the end of the eleventh century, Archbishop Thiemo, of Salzburg, was specially distinguished for his artistic skill. Sculpture, too, was practised by the clergy, and even by the laity, receiving a decided impetus with the introduction of the Gothic style. Both painting and sculpture were in these days much influenced by the schools of Germany and Italy. As examples of the work of the Middle Ages, may be cited the frescoes of the fourteenth century in the cathedral at Gurk, representing scenes from the Old and New Testa- ments, the pictures of events in the life of Christ in the church at Gerlamos, and the apostles and other pictures in the church of St. Michael at Berg, painted by Johannes Hauptheller (1428). The altar paintings of the early period are specially notable, and miniature painting was also practised, chiefly in the monasteries. Of painting on glass we find numerous early speci- mens, but few of the thirteenth-century painters are known by name. There is hardly a cathedral or monastery of that period without paintings on glass, and as we approach the sixteenth century we find that art becoming better and better. Specially in- teresting are the paintings in the choir of Heiligen- kreuz, and at Klosterneuburg, in the royal chapel at Wiener Neustadt, the cathedral at Gurk, the convent church at Zwetl, and the church at Hall. ARCHITECTURE 399 In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries many churches were built, but so numerous were they that they were all erected in pretty much the same style, and little care or originality was exercised in their design. The Renaissance had great difficulties to overcome, and a hard struggle to fight in Austria. To this middle period belongs the palace of the Princes Porzia, at Sp'tal in Carinthia. About the same time a great alteration began to be manifested in the mansions of the nobility — who left their mountain residences, and built summer seats on the plains with huge parks, and all that luxury and comfort could suggest. As examples may be cited Schonbrunn, the splendid Rosenburg, Schalaburg, Riegersburg, Eggenberg, Hellbrunn, and Mirabell. The great monasteries of Melk, Herzogenburg, Gott- weih, Klosterneuburg, and Admont also belong to the same period. Throughout, the influence of the Italian schools is conspicuous. The dwellings of the middle and lower classes at that time do not appear to have been in any way remarkable. As was the case with architecture, so was it with painting and sculpture, and during the Renaissance both these imitated the Italian schools. Most of the sculpture that survives consists of monuments hewn out of rough marble, and these are known to have been executed by both German and Italian masters. In the eighteenth century the art of painting received a decisive impulse through its being patronised by the Imperial house, the nobles, and the clerics, and in the nineteenth century especially it has attained a high state of bloom. Of recent artists we need 400 AUSTRIAN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART only mention the names of Wurzinger, Kupelwieser, Karl Rahl, Moritz von Schwind, Eduard Steinle, and Hans Makart. As to landscape and animal painting, these branches have only been developed first in the present century. Still they have made great progress, and good examples are in existence, in the works of Johann Christian Brand, Franz Steinfeld, Thomas Ender, Josef Feid, Ignaz Rafifalt, Johann Fischbach, Marcus Pernhard, Josef Hoger, Ferdinand Wald- muller, Johann Rauch, and Friedrich Gauermann. One word in conclusion upon music, of which at all times Austria has been the home. Austria is the place for feasts and celebrations, and no feast or celebration can be held without music or dancing. The " stampenie," the " radewanzen," and other Austrian dances are world famous. As to music, that, too, like the rest of Austrian culture, originated in the monasteries and among the clergy. Originally it seems to have been limited to organ music and chanting, but later on other instruments such as trumpets, violins, and flutes were introduced. Already in 1234 there was an organ in St. Stephen's Church ; and in the fourteenth century the best organ builders of the world were resident at Vienna. By the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century a high degree of perfection had been attained, especially during the reign of Maximilian I. At the University of Vienna music was taught both in theory and practice, but the Italian taste was allowed chiefly to prevail. Since the seventeenth century operatic music has been much favoured, but in a more truly national form, Italian influences giving MOZART. 27 402 AUSTRIAN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART way. In 1771 was founded by Gassmann the Viennese musical society, which numbered among its members princes and other high nobles, and this was soon followed by the institution of the German opera. Chief among the musicians who brought about this revolution was Johann Georg Albrechts- berger, the organist and composer, and the Austrian music of "Father" Haydn, to whom is due the creation of sonatas, went far into Germany and Great Britain. Haydn was born at Rohrau, in Lower Austria. Mozart, according to many the greatest musical genius the world has ever seen and the founder of the Romantic Opera, was a native of Salzburg, and won his first triumphs when a boy of twelve at Vienna. Beethoven, though a born German, was also of the school of Albrechtsberger and Haydn, and lived and died in Vienna ; and Franz Schubert, the schoolmaster's son, whose cen- tenary was celebrated but the other day, was born at Vienna. Lanner and Strauss, the most renowned of valse composers, too, are in every way truly Austrian. In 1877 there were in Lower Austria alone 165 singing clubs, in Upper Austria 32, in Salzburg 5, in Styria 45, and in Carinthia 14. That of itself is indicative of the fact that Austria is still, as it always has been, as notable for its music as, say, Holland and Italy have been for their schools of painting. INDEX Abaffy, 196, 202 Adolphus of Nassau, 83, 84 Alboin, 30, 31 Albrecht I., 80, 82-QO Albrecht II., 94-98 Albrecht III., 100, 103 Albrecht IV., 104 Albrecht V., 104-109 Aldenhoven, Battle of, 281 Almanza, Battles of, 208, 210 Amiens, Peace of, 292 Anarchism in Austria, 379, 381 Andernach, Battle of, 53 Andrassv, Count, 352, 369, 372, 373, 374 Arminius (Hermann), 22 Arras, Treaty of, 125 Aschaffenburg, Battle of, 237 Aspern, Battle of, 302, 303 Auersperg, Prince, 369, 373 Aulic Council, 164, 172, 208 Aussig, Battle of, 106 Austerlitz, Battle of, 297 Austria, General features and divisions, 1-15 ; agriculture, 392, 394 ; architecture, 396, 398, 399 ; mining, 7, 8, 10, 394, 395 ; music, 400, 402 ; painting, 398,399,400; science, 389-392 ; sculpture, 399 ; litera- ture, 382-392 ; political con- stitution, 11, 12, 13, 350, 351, 369, 370, 380 Avars, the, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 4°> 41,42, 43,44,46 B Badeni, Count, 379, 380 Barbarossa, see Frederick B. Bartenstein, Count, 224 Bathvany, Count, 335, 344 Bela IV., 65,66 Belgrade, 110, 201, 215 (siege) 216, 225 (siege), 226, 270, 271 (siege) Bethlem Gabor, 172, 176, 179, 180 Beust, Count, 369 Bladislav II,, 61, 63 Blenheim, Battle of, 205 Bloody Diet of Prague, 151 Bologna, 287, 321 Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1, 22, 373, 374, 375 Bouvines, Battle of, 64 Breda. Peace of, 197 Breitenfeld, Battle of, 190 Breslau, 107 (peace), 248 (battle) Brussels, 132 (peace), 147, 273, 277 Cadan, Peace of, 143 Calixtins, the, 106 Cambray, League of, 129 Campo Formio, Peace of, 289 Campo Santo, Battle of, 236 403 404 INDEX Carlovit -, 203 (peace), t,}6 (siege) Casalino, Battle oi, ^40 Castiglione, Battle o\, 287 Catherine II. of Russia, 2^4, 267, 268 Charlemagne, 32, 40-47, 50, 51, 52 Charles V., 133, 137-149 Charles VI., 210-227, 230 Childebert II., 33 Childebert III., 34 Chotusitz, Battle of, 234 Christian IV. of Denmark, 180, [82, [90 Compact. ita of Prague, 106 Conr.nl 1., 52 Conrad II., 56, ^7 Conrad 111., 60 Conrad IV., 66, 67 Conrad, Otto, 63 Cracow, 284, 285, 304, 326-329 Crocetta, Battle of, 221 Dagobert I., 33 Danzig, 221 (siege), 274, 282 Daun, Marshal, 24^-255 Desiderius, 38, 40, 41 Dettingen, Battle of, 237 Deutschbrod, Battle of, to6 Dresden, 240 (peace), 245, 300 Eberhard, 53 Erblach, Battle of, 237 Erich of Friaul, 45, 40 Ernest II., 56 Ernest, Duke of Stvria, 103, u> lib Etico, Duke, 69, 224 Eugene, Prince of Savoy, 202- 225, 227 Eylau, Battle of, 299 Ferdinand I., 140, 141, 140-154 Ferdinand II., 175-189 Ferdinand III., 189-194 Ferdinand Maria, 194 Ferdinand I. (Austrian Emperor), 325-340 Forcheim, Peace of, 50 Fot/ani, Battle o\, 270 Francis I. (oi Lothringen), 22 2, 223, 225, 234, 238, 239, 244, 25S Francis II. (I. of Austria), 270- 325 Francis Joseph, 338-381 Francis of Carrara, 101. Frederick Barbarossa, 60, 62, 63 Frederick I. of Germany, 62, 63 Frederick II. of Germany, 04, 65, 66 Frederick III. of Germain, 99 Frederick I. of Austria, 63 Frederick II. of Austria (the Warlike) 64, 65 Frederick III. of Austria, 84, 88- 94 Frederick of Tyrol, 103, 104, 112-114 Frederick of Stvria, 115-123 Frederick William, Elector ^i Brandenburg, 190, 103, 195, 107, 10S, 100, 20^, 218 Frederick II. of Prussia, 2^0- 268 Frederick William II. of Prussia, 268, 273, 274, 278 Friedland, Battle of, 200 Garibald I., 33 Garibald II., 33 Garibaldi, ^40, 35° Celheim, Battle of, 84 Gepidae, the, 30 Goths, the, 24, 25, 28 Guastalla, Battle of, 221 Ginnegatte, Battle of, 125 Gustavus Adolphus, 183, 184, 186, 187, 189 II Habsburg, House of, 68, 69 etseq. Henry I. of Germany, 52, 53 Henry II. of Germany, 55 INDEX 405 Henry III. of Germany, 56, 57, 58 Henry IV. of Germany, 58, 59 Henry V. of Germany, 59 Henry VI. of Germany, 62, 63, 64 Henry VII. of Germany, 90 Henry I., Margrave of Austria, 55 Henry II. (Jasomirgott), 60, 61 Hermann, see Arminius Herzegovina, see Bosnia and Herzegovina Hochkireh, Battle of, 250 Hofer, Andreas, 301, 306 Hohenstaufens, the, 59, 03-67 Hohenlinden, Battle of, 291 Holstein, see Schleswig-Holstein Hrodgand of Friaul, 41 Hubertsburg, Peace of, 255 Hugbert, 35 Hunyadi, John, 109, 110 Huss, John, 105 Interim, the, 146 Isabella, Queen of Castille, 128 J Jauer, Battle of, 309 Jena, Battle of, 299 Joachim Murat, 310-312 John of Habsburg, 88, 89 John of Bohemia, 90-95 Joseph I., 202-212, 217 Joseph II., 233, 258-273, 315 Juterbock, Battle of, 309 K Kadolach, Count, 46, 47 Kaunitz-Rietberg, Count von, 242-244, 280 Kemeny of Transylvania, 196 Khevenhiiller, General, 225, 234 Kolin, Battle of, 248 Koniggratz, 88, 245, 359, 360 (battle) Konigsegg, General, 221, 225, 228 Kosciusko, 284 Kossuth, 335, 337, 343, 344, 346 Krotzka, Battle of, 225 Kulm, Battles of, 60, 309 Lacy, General, 250, 251 Ladislaus, Posthumus, 109-111 Latour, Count, 338 Lechfeld, Battle of, 54 Leipzig, Battles of, 1S7, 190 Leopold I. of Austria, 54, 56 Leopold II. of Austria, 57 Leopold IV. of Austria, 59, 60 Leopold V. of Austria, 60 Leopold VI. of Austria, 62, 63 Leopold VII. of Austria, 64 Leopold II., son of Albrecht I., 84, 89-94 Leopold III., son of Albrecht II., 90, 98-103, 112 Leopold I., Emperor, 193, 194- 206 Leopold II., Emperor, 273-279 Liegnitz, Battle of, 253 Lilienstein, Battle of, 246 Lissa, Battle of, 249 Liudevit, 47 Lodenitz, Battle of, 63 Longobardi, the, 30-41 Lothair, 47, 48, 49 Loudon, General, 250, 252-254, 270, 271 Louis the Pious, 47, 48 Louis the German, 47-50 Louis III., 50 Louis IV., 51 Louis XII., 126, 127, 129 Louis XIII., 176 Louis XIV., 194, 197-199, 204, 208, 213-216 Louis XV., 217, 236,244 Louis XVI., 278, 280, 281 Luitpold, Count, 51, 52 Luneville, Peace of, 291 Liitzen, Battle of, 187 M Maciejowice, Battle of, 284 Mack, General, 295, 296 406 INDEX Magenta, Battle of, 349 Malplaquet, Battle of, 208 Mansfeld, General, 179, 180, 182 Marchfeld, Battle of, 76, 81, 302 Marcomanni, the, 21, 22, 23 Marengo, Battle of, 291 Maria Theresia, 222-260 Marie Antoinette, 283 Martel, Charles, 35-37 Matthias Corvinus, 1 19-122 Matthias, 166-174 Maultasch, Margaret, 95, 99 Maxen, Battle of, 252 Maximilian I., 115, 122, 124-137 Maximilian II., 154-161 Mazzini, 350 Merci, General, 221 Metternich, Count, 309, 318, 335 Milan, 125-127, 130, 132, 287, 291, 300 (Decree), 33i~333> 349 Mohacz, Battle of, 201 Moimir I., 49 Moimir II., 51 Mollwitz, Battle of, 231 Montebello, Battle of, 349 Morgarten, Battle of, 90, 92 Miihldorf, Battle of, 92 N Nafels, Battle of, 103 Napoleon Buonaparte, 80, 286- 312 Napoleon III., 348, 357, 365 Nijmegen, Peace of, 197 Nordlingen, Battle of, 296 Noricum, 18, 20, 32, 394 Novara, Battle of, 345 Novi, Battle of, 290 Odilo, 36, 37, 38 Odoacer, 26, 32 Oliva, Peace of, 195 Omladina, the, 379 Omortag, 48 Orsova, Siege of, 225, 226 Otakar of Bohemia, 66, 70, 74- 76, 302 Otto I., of Germany, 53, 54 Otto II., of Germany, 54 Otto III., of Germany, 54, 55 Otto IV., of Germany, 64 Otto Conrad, see Conrad Otto Oudenarde, Battle of, 208 Palestro, Battle of, 349 Pannonia, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23 Paris, Peace of, 310 Passarovitz, Peace of, 216 Passau, Pacification of, 147 Pepin, 37-43 Petervvardein, Battle of, 215 Podgorze, Battle of, 328 Podiebrad, King of Bohemia, 121 Poland, Partition of, 256, 258, 284 Potocki, Count, 367 Pragmatic Sanctions, 129, 216, 220, 222, 227 Prague, Peace of, 362, 363 Premysl, Otakar, of Bohemia, 63. 04 R Ramilies, Battle of, 205 Reformation, the, 139-170 Revolution, the French, 278- 283 , Rijswijk, Peace of, 199, 203 Rivoli, Battle of, 288 Rossbach, Battle of, 248 Rudolph I., 67-83, 302 Rudolph II., 82, 159, 161-166 Rudolph IV., 98-100 Rijswijk, Peace of, 199, 203 Samo, 33, 34 San Stefano, Peace of, 373 Saragossa, Battle of, 210 Scharding, Treaty of, 100 Schassburg, Battle of, 344 Schleswig Holstein,354,355, 356 Schweidnitz, Siege of, 254, 255 Sempach, Battle of, 90, 102 Seven Years' War, 245-255 Seville, Treaty of, 219 Sigismund, 105-108, 113, 114 INDEX 407 Sistova, Treaty of, 274 Slave Trade, Abolition of the, 320 Sobieski, John, of Poland, 201, 218, 256 Solferino, Battle of, 349 Spanish Succession, War of the, 1 96-2 1 1 Spurs, Rattle of, 130 Stokach, Battle of, 290 Stanislaus Leszcynski, 220-222 Stephen I., of Hungary, 55, 57, 58 Svatopluk I., 49-51 Svatopluk II., 51 Szalankamen, Battle of, 202 Taafe, Count, 366, 373 Taborites, the, 106 Tassilo I., 33 Tassilo II., 38, 40-42 Taus, Battle of, 106 Teschen, Peace of, 259 Teutoburger Forest, Battle of the, 22 Teutonic Knights, the, 158 Theodo, 34, 35 Theodobert, 35 Thirty Years' War, 175-192 Tilly, 179-186 Tilsit, Peace of, 299 Torgau, Battle of, 253 Trausnitz, Peace of, 93 Triple Alliance, the, 376 U Uladislaus (of Poland), 109, no Ulfilas, 28 Universities, Austrian, 14, 99, 391 Utrecht, Peace of, 213, 216, 220 Veletri, Battle of, 238 Versailles, Treaty of, 250 Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy, 345, 348-350 Villafranca, Peace of, 350 Vinzaglio, Battle of, 349 Virgilius, 37 W Wagram, Battle of, 279, 302, 304 Wallenstein, Albrecht von, 180- 188 Warna, Battle of, 1 10 Waterloo, Battle of, 312 Wattignies, Battle of, 283 Wenzel I., of Bohemia, 64, 65, 66 Wenzel II., of Bohemia, 76, 87 Wenzel III., of Bohemia, 87 Wenzel IV., of Bohemia, 103, 105 Westphalia, Peace of, 90, 192, 193, 194, 197 White Mountain, Battle of the, 178 William of Orange, 197, 198, 199 Windischgratz, Prince, 336, 338, 342, 343, 379 Wolfenbuttel, Battle of, 182 Wiirzburg, Battle of, 287, 288 Yankovitz, Battle of, 192 Ziskaberg, Battle of, 106 Znaym, Battle of, 304 Zorndorf, Battle of, 249 Zullichau, Battle of, 250 Zurich, 72, 73, 96, 102, 117, 350 The Story of the Nations. Messrs. G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS take pleasure in announcing that they have in course of publication, in co-operation with Mr. T. Fisher Unwin, of London, a series of historical studies, intended to present in a graphic manner the stories of the different nations that have attained prominence in history. In the story form the current of each national life is distinctly indicated, and its picturesque and noteworthy periods and episodes are presented for the reader in their philosophical relation to each other as well as to universal history. It is the plan of the writers of the different volumes to enter into the real life of the peoples, and to bring them before the reader as they actually lived, labored, and struggled— as they studied and wrote, and as they amused themselves. In carrying out this plan, the myths, with which the history of all lands begins, will not be over- looked, though these will be carefully distinguished from the actual history, so far as the labors of the accepted historical authorities have resulted in definite conclusions. The subjects of the different volumes have been planned to cover connecting and, as far as possible, consecutive epochs or periods, so that the set when completed will present in a comprehensive narrative the chief events in the great STORY OF THE NATIONS; but it is, of course, not always practicable to issue the several volumes in their chronological order. THE STORY OF THE NATIONS. The "Stories" are printed in good readable type, and u> handsome i2mo form. They are adequately illustrated and furnished with maps and indexes. Price per vol., cloth, $1.50 : half morocco, gilt top, $1.75. The following are now ready : GREECE. Prof. Jas. A. Harrison. ROME, Arthur Gilman. THE JEWS. Prof. James K. Hosmer. CHALDEA. Z. A. Ragozin. GERMANY. S. Baring-Gould. NORWAY. Hjalmar H. Boyesen. SPAIN. Rev. E. E. and Susan Hale. HUNGARY. Prof. A. Vambery. CARTHAGE. Prof. Alfred J. Church. THE SARACENS. Arthur Gilman. THE MOORS IN SPAIN. Stanley Lane-Poole. THE NORMANS. Sarah Orne Jewett. PERSIA. S. G. W, Benjamin. ANCIENT EGYPT. Prof. Geo. Raw- linson. ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE. Prof. J. P. Mahaffy. ASSYRIA. Z. A. Ragozin. THE GOTHS. Henry Br&Jley, IRELAND. Hon. Emily Lawless. TURKEY. Stanley Lane-Poole. MEDIA, BABYLON. AND PERSIA. Z. A. Ragozin. MEDIAEVAL FRANCE. Prof. Gus- tave Masson. HOLLAND. Prof. J. Thorold Rogers. MEXICO. Susan Hale. PHOENICIA. Geo. Rawlinson. THE HANSA TOWNS. Helen Zim- mern. EARLY BRITAIN. Prof. Alfred J. Church. THE 8ARBARY CORSAIRS. Stan- ley Lane-Pool. RUSSIA. W. R. Morfill. THE JEWS UNDER ROME. W. D. Morrison. SCOTLAND. John Mackintosh. SWITZERLAND. R. Stead and Mrs. A. Hug. PORTUGAL. H. Morse-Stephens. THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE. C. W. C. Oman. SICILY. E. A. Freeman. THE TUSCAN REPUBLICS. B^la Duffy. POLAND. W. R. Morfill. ©ARTHIA. Qeo. Rawlinson JAPAN. David Murray. THE CHRISTIAN RECOVERY OF SPAIN. H. E. Watts. AUSTRALASIA. Greville Tregar- then. SOUTHERN AFRICA. Geo. M. Theal. VENICE. AletheaWiel. THE CRUSADES. T. S. Archer and C. L. Kingsford. VEDIC INDIA. Z. A. Ragozin. BOHEMIA. C. E. Maurice. CANADA. J. G. Bourinot. THE BALKAN STATES. William Miller. BRITISH RULE IN INDIA. R.W. Frazer. MODERN FRANCE. Andre LeBon THE BUILDINGOFTHE BRITISH EMPIRE. Alfred T. Story. Two vols. THE FRANKS. Lewis Sergeant. THE WEST INDIES. Amos K. Fiske. THE PEOPLE OF ENGLAND IN THE 19TH CENTURY. Justin McCarthy, M.P. Two vols. AUSTRIA, THE HOME OF THh HAPSBURG DYNASTY, FROM 1282 TO THE PRESENT DAY Sidney Whitman. CHINA. Robt. K. Douglass. MODERN SPAIN. Major Martin A S. Hume. MODERN ITALY. Pietro Owi, THE THIRTEEN COLONIES Helen A. Smith. Two vols. Other volumes in preparation are : THE UNITED STATES, 1775 -18Q7. Prof. A. C. McLaughlin. Twe vols. BUDDHIST INDIA. P-of. T. W, Rhys-Davids. MOHAMMEDAN INDIA. Stanley Lane-Poole. WALES AND CORNWALL, Owe* M Edwards, Heroes of the Nations, EDITED BY EVELYN ABBOTT, M.A., Fellow oe Balliol College, Oxford. A SERIES of biographical studies of the lives and work of a number of representative historical characters about whom have gathered the great traditions of the Nations to which they belonged, and who have been accepted, in many instances, as types of the several National ideals. With the life of each typical character will be presented a picture of the National conditions surrounding him during his career. The narratives are the work of writers who are recog- nized authorities on their several subjects, and, while thoroughly trustworthy as history, will present picturesque and dramatic "stories" of the Men and of the events con- nected with them. To the Life of each " Hero " will be given one dou- decimo volume, handsomely printed in large type, pro- vided with maps and adequately illustrated according to the special requirements of the several subjects. The volumes will be sold separately as follows: Large 12°, cloth extra . .... $1 50 Half morocco, uncut edges, gilt top . . . 1 75 HEROES OF THE NATIONS. A series of biographical studies of the lives and work of certain representative historical characters, about whom have gathered the great traditions of the Nations to which they belonged, and who have been accepted, in many instances, as types of the several National ideals. The volumes will be sold separately as follows : cloth extra, $1.50 ; half leather, uncut edges, gilt top, $1.75. The following are now ready : NELSON. By W. Clark Russell. GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. By C. R. L. Fletcher. PERICLES. By Evelyn Abbott. THEODORIC THE GOTH. By Thomas Hodgkin. SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. By H. R. Fox-Bourne. JULIUS C«SAR. By W. Warde Fowler. WYCLIF. By Lewis Sergeant. NAPOLEON. By W. O'Connor Mor- ris. HENRY OF NAVARRE. By P. F. Willert. CICERO. By J. L. Strachan-David- son. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By Noah Brooks. PRINCE HENRY (OF PORTUGAL) THE NAVIGATOR. By C. R. Beazley. JULIAN THE PHILOSOPHER. By Alice Gardner. LOUIS XIV. By Arthur Hassall. CHARLES XII. By R. Nisbet Bain. LORENZO DE' MEDICI. By Ed- ward Armstrong. JEANNE D'ARC. By Mrs. Oliphant. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. By Washington Irving. ROBERT THE BRUCE. By Sir Herbert Maxwell. HANNIBAL. By W. O'Connor Mor- ris. ULYSSES S. GRANT. By William Conant Church. ROBERT E. LEE. By Henry Alex- ander White. THE CID CAMPEADOR. By H. Butler Clarke. SALADIN. By Stanley Lane-Poole. BISMARCK. By J. W. Headlam. ALEXANDER THE GREAT. By Benjamin I. Wheeler. /CHARLEMAGNE. By H. W. C. Davis. OLIVER CROMWELL. By Charles Firth. RICHELIEU. By James B. Perkins. DANIEL O'CONNELL. By Robert Dunlop. SAINT LOUIS (Louis IX. of France). By Frederick Perry. LORD CHATHAM. By Walford Davis Green. OWEN GLYNDWR. By Arthur G. Bradley. HENRY V. By Charles L. Kings- ford. EDWARD I. By Edward Jenks. Other volumes in preparation are: MOLTKE. By Spencer Wilkinson. JUDAS MACCABEUS. By Israel Abrahams. SOBIESKI. By F. A. Pollard. ALFRED THE TRUTHTELLER. By Frederick Perry. FREDERICK II. By A. L. Smith. By C. W. C. MARLBOROUGH. Oman. RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED. By T. A. Archer. WILLIAM THE SILENT. By Ruth Putnam. JUSTINIAN. By Edward Jenks. G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, Publishers. New York and London. a ** C,-' vP^ \ <* C, vP ^ ^ o v *- l J4.% * ^ x C, vP 1>^ ^