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 PREFACE. /^ 
 
 Si.ouLD a want of order in the narration of events 
 "I'pear in tliis volume, the autlioress would solicit the 
 indulgence of the reader, since to relate the history of 
 Germany in one continuous narrative, would be a task 
 of some perplexity, on account of the numerous States 
 into which it is divided; and the more especially, as the 
 limits of these Stxtes, and their mode of government, 
 have so often been changed by the variety of their 
 mterests, or by the chances of war. 
 
 n.e extent of the Germany of the present day 
 t« veryr different from tl>at of the Germany of ancient 
 times, when all the centre of Europe was comprehended 
 •".der that name, and, Uke the wild« of Canada, was 
 overgrown with forests, and only so far subdivided as it 
 
 ^ tones, occupied by different barbarian tribes. 
 
 ^ From the Alps to the Baltic, and from the frontiers 
 ^ of Gaul to tlie confines of Russia, all was called Germany 
 
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 T 
 
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 O 
 
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 O 
 
 I'UEFACK. ^3 
 
 «"u"Li. a „a>.t of order in the narration of events 
 "I'l'oar in t!,i.s volmne. tlio nutliorcss would solicit the 
 i.uluI^a.ncc of the readier, .ince to relate the hi.tory of 
 G.rmany in one continuous narrative, would be a task 
 of some perplexity, on account of the numerous States 
 into which it i.s divided; and the more especially, as the 
 limits of these States, and their mode of government, 
 have so often been changed by the variety of their 
 interests, or by the chances of war. 
 
 The extent of the Germany of the present day 
 •s very dilFerent from that of the CJermany of ancient 
 t..nes, whe.. ,dl the centre of Europe was comprehended 
 -"ler that name, an.l, like the wilds of Canada, was 
 overgrown with forests, and only so far subdivided as it 
 was found necessary to mark the bou.ids of the terri- 
 tories, occupied by dilFerent barbariun tribes. 
 
 From the Al,,s to the Ualtic, and from the frontiers 
 "t Gaul to the confines of Russia, aJl was caUed Germany, 
 
 PRPFArr 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 till, by tlic course of time and civilisation, kingdoms and 
 states arose from the bosom of this vast desert. These, 
 for a long period, were all comprehended under the 
 name of the German empire; and although each had 
 its own sovereign, still all were under the dominion of 
 one imperial chief. 
 
 This is no longer the case. Tlie German empire is 
 dissolved, and several of the States, of which it was 
 composed, are now separate and indejK^ndent kingdoms 
 most of them of recent date. 
 
 The rise and fall of tliis great and powerful empire 
 will form the subject of the following pages, which, 
 independent of their other claims upon the attention of 
 the reader, will possess one additional point of interest ; 
 since it is to Germany we owe the illustrious race of 
 sovereigns wlio have now, for more than a century 
 and a quarter, occupied the Hritish throne. 
 
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•■^"F1^""-f^"' ""TI^' i fttr MBiSaMaMi^ 
 
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 Mi'tiMm fiiM*hf*i hyPean t-Munday, T%mu1nrr.il,- St. 
 
 ■v/ 
 
THE ANCIENT GERMANS. 
 
 In ancient times, Germany was a dreary, uncultivated 
 country, covered with vast forests, and inhabited by 
 numerous tribes of barbarians, whose origin is uncertain 
 but who are supposed to have migrated, at various 
 IKjnods. from different parts of Asia, bringing witli them 
 their flocks and herds, and settHng on any spot that 
 seemed to afford them the best prospect of pasturage 
 for their cattle, and game to supply themselves with 
 flesh for food, and skins for clothing. 
 
 Tliese tril)es seem to have been of the same race as 
 those who peopled the wilds of Scandinavia. Their 
 language was nearly the same, they were alike ignorant 
 of letters and useful arts; and their religion and super- 
 stitions were aU of a similar character. The ancient 
 Germans had no cities, but they built their huts 
 wherever they found conveniencies; and as it was not 
 customary for them to dwell long in the same place, the 
 liabitations they formed were very slight, and were 
 eonstructed usually in a circular form, of rough timber 
 thatched with straw, with a hole left at the top to let 
 out the smoke. 
 
 u 3 
 
 ^ 
 
6 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 They had neither meadows nor orchards. A small 
 quantity of grain was the only produce that emanated 
 from their own industry; and they knew so httle of the 
 value or use of metals, that they prized their own rough 
 vessels of coarse red earthenware, as much as the silver 
 vases that were presented by the Romans to some of 
 their princes. 
 
 The Germans, like most nations, in this first and 
 rudest state of society, were divided into many tribes. 
 There were the Saxons, the Goths, the Vandals, the 
 Suevi, the Alamanni, the Franks, and a variety of other 
 nations ; all of whom are supposed to have si)rung from a 
 race called the Teutones, a band of eastern warriors that 
 appeared in the south of Eurojx;, about a hundred 
 years before the Christian era; and this is the reason 
 why every thing relating to ancient Germany is called 
 Teutonic. 
 
 The government of the Germans had nothing to 
 distinguish it from that of the Gauls, or of any other 
 barbarous nation; for the first objects of government 
 among an untutored race must naturally be to choose a 
 chief who is able to lead them to war, and to submit the 
 guidance of their moral conduct to their reh«nou8 
 instructors, who thus become their lawgivers as well as 
 priests. 
 
 The rehgion of the Germans was like that of the 
 Scandinavians. They worshipped Odin as the god of 
 war, and a great many other deities under various 
 names and forms; while, like the Gauls, they performed 
 their religious rites in the depths of the forests, where 
 the sun was never seen, and scarcely a ray of hght 
 could find an entrance at noon day. The priests of the 
 Germans were not called Druids, but they exercised as 
 
 f. 
 
 much authority over the people as the Druids of Gaul 
 and Britain, to whose religious ceremonies their own 
 bore a close resemblance, as they consisted chiefly in the 
 performance of sacrifices, and the celebration of festivals. 
 The national assemblies were meetings at stated sea- 
 sons of all the freemen of the tribe, who repaired in 
 arms to the place of rendezvous, always some large 
 open space; and there the young men, who had only just 
 arrived at an age to be permitted to bear arms, were 
 solemnly invested with shield and spear, which they 
 received with as much pride as the knights of chivalry 
 in later times. In these assemblies, all questions relative 
 to the general afl^airs of the tribe, were discussed, and 
 the lands were parcelled out afresh, for the Germans had 
 a singular custom of changing their abodes once a year, 
 when every man gave up his farm and received a new 
 one. The reason of this was, that nations perpetually 
 at war with each otlier, were constantly liable to lose 
 their possessions, and also to acquire new ones; and in 
 either case it was necessary to make a new division of 
 the land, which was always done by the chiefs, at the 
 annual assembly, who allotted to each individual his 
 portion of ground for the ensuing year. 
 
 Their fields were not enclosed, but the boundaries of 
 them were defined ])y certain stones or other landmarks, 
 and the disputes which arose respecting the extent of 
 their fields, were always settled by the priests. 
 
 The Germans were remarkably tall and strong. They 
 were much larger than any other people of Europe, and 
 it was considered so honourable to have a great many 
 relations, that every man was esteemed according to the 
 numbers of which his family consisted. It was, there- 
 fore, the i)ride of a German warrior to be surrounded bv 
 
s 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY'. 
 
 9 
 
 a numerous tribe of children {ind kin^^folk, ])ocuu6e he 
 knew that he shuuUl thus be the more respected !)y his 
 fellow countrymen. 
 
 The territory of the Suevi, a single German nation, 
 was divided into one hundred districts, and could bring 
 two hundred thousand warriors into the field. It was 
 the custom of this tribe to send half their men to the 
 wars for one year, and keep the remainder at home to 
 attend to agricultural i)ursuits; but when the warriors 
 returned, they took charge of the fields for the next 
 twelvemonth, and the farmers became soldiers, and took 
 their turn in the wars. The labour of the fields was 
 usually performed by slaves. They kei)t bees, and 
 made mead of the honey; and besides corn, they raised 
 oats und barley, from which they made ale, their 
 favourite beverage. 
 
 llie Germans were noted for their love of feasting, 
 which was carried to such excess, that they would some- 
 times remain whole days and nights at table, drinking 
 and gaming, in consequence of which they very often 
 quarrelled and fought, so that a convivial meeting fre- 
 quently terminated in bloodshed. The Germans did not 
 all sit down at the same table, but each man had his 
 own seat and board, which were of a very rough 
 description, being merely a wooden stool and table, 
 furnished with drinking horns, wooden bowls, spoons, and 
 platters. Every person of rank had his ser\'ant behind 
 him to hold his shield and spear. He kept his sword by 
 his side, for on no occasion would a German part with 
 his arms, which was a proof that he expected to have 
 frequent need of them. 
 
 We are told that the wives and daughters of the Ger- 
 mans shared in all the public entertainments, for however 
 
 rude and fierce these people might be in other respects, 
 they were distinguished, even in the most barbarous ages, 
 for their attention and respect to the female sex, whom 
 they consulted on the most important affairs, and by 
 whose opinions they were very often guided. The feasts 
 of the Germans, like those of the Gauls and Scandinavians, 
 were always attended by a number of bards, several of 
 whom were attached to the family of every chief, and 
 were treated with the highest degree of respect. They 
 played on the harp and fiute, and when they sang of 
 war, the company took part in the concert by clashing 
 their swords against their shields. 
 
 When the day had thus been spent in feasting and • 
 music, and, w^e may suppose, the females had all retired, 
 the men would sit up all night, drinking and playing at 
 dice, backgammon, and other games of chance, which 
 they pursued with such eagerness, that they would stake 
 all they possessed, clothes, arms, horses, and even their 
 personal freedom on a single throw, and if that were 
 lost, the loser became a slave to the winner. Such is 
 the folly and madness of gaming. 
 
 There were various circumstances under which a 
 German might forfeit his liberty, such as marrying a 
 bond- woman, or not being able to pay his debts; but 
 the generahty of the slaves were captives taken in the 
 wars. The Germans, in very remote ages, were dressed 
 in skins of wild animals, and afterwards, in a coarse 
 kind of linen, made by the women for their own use; 
 but as they intermixed more with the Gauls, they learnt 
 from them to make a finer sort of linen, and woollen 
 also, and as soon as they were acquainted with these 
 useful arts, spinning and weaving became the princijial 
 occupations of German women, and a more civihsed 
 
10 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 11 
 
 costume was adopted than that which was made from 
 the skins of the elk and rein deer. These animals, in the 
 time of Julius C»sar, were very numerous in the forests 
 of Germany, from which, however, tliey have long since 
 disappeared. 
 
 The earliest woollen garment worn by the Germans 
 was a square blanket, called a sagu, thrown over the 
 shoulders; but this, on account of its value, was worn 
 only by the chiefs. Their vests and tunics were of 
 linen, reaching not quite to the knee, usually ornamented 
 with a coloured border, and fastened with a belt. Some 
 of these garments were without sleeves; but the chiefs 
 sometimes had sleeves, which hung as low as the knee, 
 and extended to the wrists. The fashion of the dresses 
 differed among different tribes. I'he Franks, for in- 
 stance, wore long woollen mantles of the natural 
 colour, either white or black; till having seen the striped 
 and checquered saga of the Gauls, they were so pleased 
 with their gaudy colours, that they discarded their own 
 sober tints, for the red and puri)le that adorned their 
 neighbours. 
 
 'i'he Stixons had no coverings on their legs, except 
 the lacings of their sandals; but some of the German 
 nations, in the time of the Romans, wore tight trowsers 
 fastened round the ankle, and short boots of untanned 
 skins. They used neither saddles nor stirrups, and 
 wore neither caps nor helmets; but every nation had some 
 l)eculiar mode of arranging the hair, which was generally 
 adopted with a ,view to add to their height and martial 
 appearance, so as to look more formidable in the field of 
 battle. The Saxons, of both sexes, arranged their hair 
 in long ringlets, and men of mature age had long beards, 
 terminating in two forked points, llie common people 
 
 / 
 
 wore neither shoes nor stockings, their dress being 
 merely a woollen tunic with tight sleeves. The soldiers, 
 before the Roman invasion, used no armour, except a 
 shield of an oval shape, sometimes of wood, and some- 
 times of osiers, plaited like a beehive, on which they 
 painted figures of animals, and other devices; and as the 
 presentation of a shield was the first mark of distinction 
 bestowed on the German youth, so the loss of this 
 piece of armour was accounted a great disgrace; and in 
 such a case, no man could appear in any public assembly, 
 not even at a religious festival. The most usual 
 costume among females of rank, consisted of a long 
 linen robe with loose sleeves, and a head dress of very 
 fine texture, the ends of which were folded over the neck 
 and bosom. Females of a lower grade would no doubt 
 have coarse woollen garments of their own manufacture. 
 
 It has been said, that the spinners and weavers of 
 Germany, in ancient times, used to work in caves 
 underground ; their motives for so doing have not been 
 assigned, but probably they found that the caves were 
 warmer than their huts; for the country, in those days, 
 was much colder than it is now, owdng to the large 
 forests that prevented the sun from warming the earth. 
 This is the reason why the elk, and perhaps, the rein- 
 deer, which only inhabit cold countries, were found at 
 that period in parts of Europe where they no longer 
 exist ; for the woods have been gradually cleared away to 
 make room for cities, and the sun's rays being no 
 longer intercepted, give mildness to the^atmosphere, and 
 warmth to the earth. 
 
 The great Hercynian forest, parts of wliich are still 
 remaining, under the name of the Black forest, was so 
 extensive, at tho period of the Roman invasion, that it 
 
12 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 overspread a great portion of CTermany and Poland, and 
 there were many Germans who are said to have travelled 
 in it for the s{)ace of sixty days, yet none of them 
 could tell its limits. There were many parts of this 
 immense forest where no human foot had ever trod; 
 therefore, it is not surprising that the imaginations of 
 the unenlightened and superstitious Germans should have 
 peopled these unexplored regions with unearthly beings; 
 and thus we are enabled to account for their popular tales 
 of fairies, sprites, black huntsmen, and a variety of other 
 mysterious personages, who are said to have held their 
 revels in the Black forest during the middle ages. 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 INVASION OF THE ROMANS, 
 
 TO 
 
 CHARLEMAGNE. 
 
 In the time of Julius Cicsar, and his immediate succes- 
 sors, the Romans invaded and conquered a considerable 
 part of Germany, which then comprehended all that 
 portion of the middle of Europe which was not included 
 in Gaul. Of these long wars I shall say nothing, 
 except that some of the nations were wholly subdued, 
 while others made peace, and entered into alliance with 
 the Romans, who introduced into Germany those arts of 
 civilisation for which most European countries were 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 13 
 
 r 
 
 indebted to them. The Roman soldiers, when not 
 engaged in fighting, cleared away many of the woods to 
 make com fields, and meadows for pasture. They 
 formed new roads, built good towns, erected fortifications, 
 and taught the Germans how to improve their mode of 
 agriculture, to plant orchards and vineyards, and to 
 avail themselves of many useful arts, the knowledge of 
 which enabled them to furnish their houses in better 
 style, and to dress with more taste and elegance. 
 
 It was from the Romans, no doubt, that the Germans 
 learnt the art of embroidery, for which the Saxon ladies 
 became so celebrated, for we are told that after the 
 arrival of the Romans, the Germans adorned their 
 tunics and manUes with flowered borders, and the ladies 
 embroidered their robes with purple. 
 
 Among the cities buUt by the Romans, were Cologne 
 and Cleves, the former of which was their metropolis, 
 as long jis they remained masters of the country. 
 Mentz. Worms, and Spire, also arose from Roman 
 stations, and not less than fift>^ castles were built on the 
 banks of the Rhine. 
 
 From the time of Julius Caesar to the fall of the 
 Roman empire, a period of more than four hundred 
 years, the greater part of the Germans were governed by 
 Roman laws, and were kept in subjection by a military 
 force; but the wars never entirely ceased, and as the 
 power of the Roman empire declined, the Germans 
 gradually recovered their Hberty, and became conquerers 
 in their turn. 
 
 Of all the German nations at this period, the Franks 
 and Saxons claim our principal attention, the former 
 as having been the founders of the French monarchy, 
 and the latter, of the race from which many of ourselves 
 
 c 
 
u 
 
 GERMANY 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 15 
 
 are descended. 'Hie Franks were divided Into two 
 great confederations, the Salians and the Ripiiariun?. 
 Clevis was king of the Salian Franks, and instituted 
 the Salic laws so famed in history, and comi)osed by four 
 of the wisest men among the Franks, previous to their 
 havine: left their home on the banks of the Rhine. 
 
 The Saxons inhabited that part of Germany which is 
 now the duchy of Holstein; but after the Franks had 
 depiu-ted into Gaul, they gradually extended their pos- 
 sessions as far as what is now the kingdom of Hanover; 
 and they were powerful enough, in the fifth century, to 
 conquer England, and fill it with people from their own 
 country, which was still sufficiently populous to keep 
 po ssession of immense territories; so that in the eighth 
 century, it cost Charlemagne, and his vast armies, several 
 years of hard fighting, before he could subdue them. 
 
 The Alamanni formed another great tribe, and were 
 the same people, w^ho, in the middle ages, were called the 
 Swabians. At this time, when Clovis conquered Gaul, 
 most of the Germans were Pagans ; but before the time 
 of Charlemagne, there came missionaries from Ireland 
 and England to preach the Christian rehgion, and among 
 them, St. Boniface, who is called the apostle of Germany, 
 on account of the number of persons he converted from 
 their idolatrous worship. 
 
 St. Boniface was a great benefactor to the countr}', aa 
 he founded several monasteries, and taught the monks 
 to plant vineyards and gardens, and to drain their 
 land, so that it might produce a plentiful supply of com 
 for their own maintenance, as well as enable them to 
 exercise the duties of hospitahty towards strangers. 
 
 Society in Germany, at this period, consisted of four 
 classes; nobles, freemen, freedmen, and slaves. The 
 
 great nobles were the dukes of the provinces, who usually 
 lived in spacious dwellings, often in forests, surrounded 
 by numerous trains of warUke dependents, who were 
 ready to take the field at their command. These great 
 dukes or barons lived in a manner far superior to that of 
 the ancient Germans, for they had regular officers of the 
 household, and even cooks, who understood the art of 
 makmg various dishes, that were unknown in the more 
 remote times. 
 
 The ancient bards were now extinct, and their i)laces 
 were supphed by jesters, jugglers, and gleemen, as 
 at the courts of the Saxon kings of England. The 
 German nobles were constantly at war with each other 
 and many of them lived by plunder, sallying forth from 
 their forests at the head of their retainers, to pillage the 
 surroundmg country, and carry off all that fell in their 
 way, which often furnished them with materials for a 
 feast; and as they inherited the passion of their ancestors 
 for good eating and drinking, they were not very scru- 
 pulous m appropriating to themselves the ale and wine of 
 their neighbours. 
 
 The second class of society among the Germans 
 consisted of the freemen, who were aU soldiers, in the 
 service of the nobles, and many of them held land for 
 their services, according to the feudal laws, which had 
 their origin in Germany. The freemen scorned trade 
 and agnculture, looking upon these as ignoble pursuits 
 iit only for slaves, or freedmen. 
 
 The freedmen were those who had once been slaves 
 but had obtained their freedom either by purchase, or by 
 the favour of their masters, who sometimes, from 
 rehgious motives, or as a reward for some particular 
 ser^'lce, gave them their Ubcrty. I'he freedmen were 
 
 nCRIUAW 
 
16 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 permitted to carry arms, and had other rights that the 
 serfs had not; but still they were not ujx)n an equality 
 with those who were bom free, therefore, they were 
 often mechanics, and exercised trades which the free- 
 men disdained, and as early as the time of Clovis, there 
 were smiths, cari)enters, shoemakers, gold and silver- 
 smiths, and other artisans, dwelling in most of the 
 towns of Germany. The towns at this period were 
 only inhabited by the meaner classes of people, the free 
 Germans preferring to dwell in their forests. 
 
 The condition of the slaves varied much, some of them 
 being household servants, others cultivators of the hmd. 
 The former were in a happier position than the latter, for 
 they were treated with greater kindness, and as they 
 formed a part of the family, and not of the estate, they 
 were not bought and sold with the land, like a herd of 
 cattle, which was the case with the agricultural serfs. 
 
 The laws of Germany were very similar to those 
 in use among all uncivilised nations. Fines were the 
 usual punishment for all crimes, the amount being re- 
 gulated according to the rank of the otfender, or the 
 injured party. Theft seems to have been a very common 
 crime, for there was scarcely a single article of property 
 that could possibly be stolen, which was not mentioned 
 in the laws, with the fine for stciding it specified. Cows, 
 sheep, l^igs, poultr3% and every thing belonging to a 
 farm yard, had a fixed price ; and if any one should steal 
 such property, he was obliged, if discovered, to pay 
 this sum to the loser. 
 
 In the same manner we may judge of the ferocity of 
 the dispositions among the ancient Germans, by the 
 fines attached to j)ersonal injuries, for if they had not 
 been frequently guilty of cutting oiY one another's noses. 
 
 GEHMANV. 
 
 17 
 
 tar., and fingers, the legislators would never have 
 thought of settling how much money should be paid as 
 a comi>ensation to the person thus mutilated. 
 
 Slaves, who had no property, and consequently could 
 pay no fines, were always punished by stripes. All 
 causes were tried in the open air, by the dukes, or others 
 appomted for that puq)ose, whose judgment-seat was 
 under a tree, or on the summit of a hill ; and the accused 
 had vfu-ious means allowed them of proving their inno- 
 cence, the most usual being the trial by ordeal, and the 
 trial ])y smgle combat; and in some cases, a man was 
 acquitted, if twelve others were wiUing to swear that 
 they beheved him to be innocent, a custom that is 
 supposed to be the origin of the English trial by jurv^ 
 It IS worthy of remark that some of our best laws and 
 legal regulations, even at the present day, may be traced 
 to the customs of barbarous nations. 
 
 CHARLEMAGNE. 
 
 When Chariemagne ascended the throne of France the 
 baxons occupied the whole of the north of Germany, 
 which they had divided into several small kingdoms, 
 each governed by its own prince, like the seven king- 
 doms of hngland which composed the Saxon heptarchy. 
 It was the ambition of Charlemagne to extend his power 
 and dominion, and to spread the Christian religion 
 
 c 3 
 
18 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 19 
 
 throughout Europe; and, in pursuance of these designs, 
 he entered the country of the Saxons with his vast 
 armies, and, for many years, carried on a cruel warfare 
 with those brave people. 
 
 During this war, he fixed his al)ode at the castle of 
 Schelstadt, on the banks of the Rhine, and wherever 
 he gained a victory, he pulled down all the Pagan 
 temples, destroyed the idols, and compelled the peojile 
 to be baptized, ])utting to death all who refused. The 
 great conqueror seemed to think, that in forcing men to 
 receive the rite of baptism, he converted them into 
 Christians, forgetting that a ceremony forced upon them 
 by the fear of death, did not change their hearts. 
 
 For a long time, the Saxons defended themselves with 
 determined bravery, led on by their chief VVitikind, a 
 hero renowned in the annals of the Saxon nation, and as 
 long as there remained the least chance of preserving 
 their liberty, the barbarian patriot animated his country- 
 men to persevere in their resistance; but when tdl hope 
 had fled, and the Franks had conquered one province 
 after another, till they had become masters of so much 
 of the countr}% that it was useless to hold out any 
 longer, then Witikind laid down his arms, and submitted 
 to receive the rite of baptism. Still there were many 
 among the Saxons who would neither profess the 
 Christian faith, nor consent to be governed by a foreign 
 prince, and these fled to Denmark and Norway, where 
 they joined the pirates of those countries; and probably 
 Witikind did so too, for he is not again mentioned; but 
 from one of his descendants. Count Walburg, comes 
 the present family of Oldenburg, now reigning in 
 Denmark; therefore. Witikind was an ancestor of the 
 present Daui-h king. 
 
 i 
 
 After the final overthrow of the Saxons, Clmrlema<nie 
 was guJty of an act of cruelt)-, that has staked his 
 otherwise briUiant name with everlasting reproach. 
 \Vhcu the wars were ended, and he found that the 
 Saxons did not universally adopt the Christian faith, he 
 caused four thousand prisoners to be brought to the side 
 of a nver, where, being forced to kneel on the bank 
 their heads were aU struck off into the water. It would 
 be d.fhcult to bcheve that a prince famed for so many 
 great and good qualities, could be guilty of such bar- 
 barity, were not the fact too well attested to admit of a 
 doubt, and we are forced to admit that the great 
 Charlemagne was not free from the barbarism of the 
 age in winch he lived, although he possessed virtues that 
 raised h.m above most of his contemporaries. 
 
 By his victories over the Saxons, Charlemagne, who 
 was already master of the greater portion of Italy, 
 extended his dominion over nearly the whole of Germany 
 also; but there were some states that still retained their 
 own king and form of government, as Bohemia, 
 Moravia. Hungary, and Sclavonia, which, however, 
 owned his supremacy, and paid him tribute. To keep 
 he Sclavonians in check, he built two strong castles on 
 the banks of the Elbe, one of which was called Hamburg. 
 •«d gave birth to the famous city of that name. 
 
 auttir" '^.^' '°"''""°'' ''"'' ^""y established his 
 
 lean? °T r' '"'"" ^' ^"'' S-'""^''' '- '~k the 
 ecau lon of weakening the Germans, so as to prevent 
 
 them from forming confederacies, by transplanting many 
 thou a ,^^^ ^^^^.^ ^^^.^^ ^_J ^^ 
 
 pa o Gaul and It.ly; and then he went to Rome, 
 where he vvas crowned . emperor by Pj^Lco the Third 
 :t^: bestowed upon him tulltn^ri. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
20 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 21 
 
 Charlemagne built a great many churches and monas- 
 teries in Germany, which, from that time, may be con- 
 sidered a Christian country. These monasteries had 
 gardens and fields attached to them, where the monies 
 cultivated vegetibles, fruit, and com, for their own 
 consumi)tion. Many of them ^had broad lands with a 
 numerous tenantry, out of which they were obliged to 
 furnish to the state a certain number of warriors, well 
 armed and mounted, whenever the emperor required their 
 services. Such abbeys as were not rich enough to 
 do this, were only expected to contribute money'towards 
 the wars; and tliose monks who were so poor that they 
 could neither furnish the sovereign with men nor money, 
 were enjoined to put up prayers daily for his success. 
 
 Charlemagne was in the habit of moving his court 
 from one i)lace to another, hoping, by his occasional 
 presence, to keep the nobles in check; but this was a 
 heavy tax on the peasantr}', because, in accordimce with 
 the cruel and unjust policy of the times, wherever he 
 came, they were compelled to furnish provisions for the 
 whole court, as well as forage for the horses. 
 
 As long as the emperor remained in a province, he 
 was treated by the princes and nobles with the utmost 
 respect, and they refrained from their usual depredations; 
 but as soon as he was gone, the laws were again broken, 
 private warfare was resumed, and the most daring 
 robberies were committed, even on the royal domains, 
 although they were constantly kept guarded. 
 
 We have seen, in the History of France, that Charle- 
 magne was a great patron of learning and commerce. 
 The intercourse that subsisted between him and the 
 renowned Cidiph Huroun Alraschid, was the means of in- 
 troducing into Germimy many luxuries that had, till then, 
 
 been entirely unknown; such as spices, perfumes, and 
 silks, that were brought first to France, and then carried 
 up the Rhine into Germany. It is interesting and curious 
 to trace the progress of refinement, which is entirely 
 owing to the intercourse of diflferent nations with each 
 other, without which they must all have remained in a 
 state of barbarism, as every country requires the produce 
 of others to sui)i)ly its own deficiencies, or arts and 
 manufactures could not be improved and gradually 
 brought to perfection. 
 
 In the days of Charlemagne, there were vast multitudes 
 of serfs in France and Germany employed in agriculture, 
 si)uuung. weaving, and various handicraft arts. The 
 celebrated Alcuin, a learned Englishman, who went to 
 the court of the emperor as ambassador from Offa, king 
 of Alercia, had no less than twenty thousand serf's on 
 his lands, therefore, it is evident the emperor was very 
 hberal to him. On all the royal domains in Germany, a 
 governor, or steward, was appointed in each district to 
 overiook the employment of the slaves, and assign them 
 their tasks. It was his duty to distribute to tlie women 
 the wool and flax which they were to spin, to take 
 account of aU the cloth that was made, and of all the 
 com that was ground at the mill; for the emperor had 
 a mill on each of his estates, as well as the barons, and 
 this was one source of the royal revenue. 
 
 The Germans were indebted for many imi)rovements 
 HI their domestic comforts, to their adoption of the 
 Chnstian religion, which brought them into familiar in- 
 tercourse with Home, where everything that was scarce 
 and elegant might be seen and obtained. The Pope 
 and chief clergy of Rome used to send embroidered 
 robes, choice perfumes, and costly furniture to their 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 nFR VI AW 
 
22 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 friends in Germany; and filthough presents of this kind 
 were made only to princes and nobles, yet their intro- 
 duction into the country hel])ed to refine the taste of 
 the people in general, by making them sensible of the 
 difference between their own rough usages and the 
 polished customs of the Italians. 
 
 Among the i)rescnts made to some of the German 
 princes, were silken hangings for rooms, beautifully 
 embroidered with gold. The apartments of the great 
 were usually hung with tapestry, for in those early times, 
 the carjientcrs were not very skilful, so that the walls 
 were full of crevices, and recjuired hangings to keep out 
 the wind, llie furniture was rude and clumsy, con- 
 sisting of large oaken tables, stools, and benches; whilst 
 the floors were strewed with rushes. It is probable they 
 had feather beds, for in the time of the Romans, 
 German geese used to be driven in large flocks to Rome, 
 because their feathers were preferred to those of any 
 other bird. The Germans, in the time of Charlemagne, 
 used table cloths; and the rich had silver cup.*, and 
 horns curiously ornamented with gold; and, sometimes, 
 silver dishes; but those who were not wealthy, confined 
 themselves to the old wooden table furniture. 
 
 Hunting and hawking were the favourite sports of all 
 the nobihty ; and even of the clergy ; for as the bisho|)8 
 and abbots joined in the wars, they were equally fitted for 
 enjoying the chase. Ladies, too, rode on horseback in 
 the train of the hunters ; and after witnessing the sport, 
 were generally regaled with a banquet, si)read in tents 
 under the trees. 
 
 Men of rank still dressed in linen tunics and vests, 
 with tight sleeves, and a border round the neck, a short 
 mantle was fastened to their shoulders, their trowsers 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 23 
 
 descended below the knee, and they wore stockings and 
 lioes. The common people wore loose coats of woollen, 
 { ut over the head like a shirt, and fastened with a belt; 
 -orne of them wore shoes or sandids, but none wore 
 [Stockings. The nobles adorned themselves with brace- 
 lets and chains of costly workmanship, so that their 
 'ornaments are described as more valuable than those of 
 the other sex, which it is very likely they were, as they 
 would, of course, be more massive. 
 
 The Saxon women dyed their linen garments with light 
 gaudy colours, either red, blue, or green. Very few wore 
 white; and very often, the under dress, the upper robe, 
 and the head dress, or veil, were all of different hues; a 
 very genend taste among people in an uncivilised state 
 of society, who are always pleased with that which is 
 most varied and striking to the eye. 
 
 FROM 
 
 THE DEATH OF CHARLEMAGNE, 
 
 TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF 
 
 THE GERMAN EMPIRE. 
 
 CM "IT® m% 
 
 The greatness of Chariemagne's empire expired with 
 its founder, whose grandsons, by dividing his vast 
 dominions among them, formed three sovereignties out 
 
\ 
 
 24 
 
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 GERMANY. 
 
 25 
 
 of one, and weakened them all by their wars with each 
 other. Tlie history of Germany, for the next hundred 
 years, presents one uninterrupted scene of confusion, 
 owing to the unsettled state of the government, and the 
 incapacity of Charlemagne's successors, not one of 
 whom had sufficient talent to keep in subjection the 
 fierce barons, who had scarcely submitted to the control 
 of the great conqueror himself, and were not, therefore, 
 likely to acknowledge the authority of the weak princes 
 who succeeded him. 
 
 The countr}% at this time, consisted of six separate 
 states or provinces, each governed by a duke, who was, 
 in reality, the absolute sovereign of his own domain. 
 Next in rank to the dukes, were the counts, some of 
 whom were called margraves, whose duty it was to guard 
 the frontiers of the different states; whilst others, who 
 were called landgraves, were bound to defend the interior 
 of the province, whenever it was invaded. All these 
 counts were vassals of the duke, but generally Uved in 
 their own castles, where they maintained a numerous 
 train of dependents, who were as regardless of the laws 
 as they were themselves. 
 
 lliere was another class of nobles called burgraves, 
 but they were not more orderly than the rest, frequently 
 converting the abodes set apart for the residence of the 
 emperor whenever he chose to visit them, into strongholds 
 for troops of banditti; for the train of a German noble- 
 man, at that period, was neither more nor less than a 
 band of robbers, of wliich the nobleman himself was 
 
 the chief. 
 
 The six states of Germany were Saxony, Bavaria, 
 Swabia, Franconia, Thuringia, and Lorraine, which were 
 like so many rival kingdoms, perpetually at war with 
 
 each other; and besides the six dukes of these provinces, 
 who were the great feudatories, there were the kings of 
 Burgundy, Provence, and Moravia, and the duke of 
 Bohemia, i\\\ vassals of the crown. 
 
 I'he emperors, however, did not reap much advantage 
 from vassids who set their authority at open defiance, and 
 rode about the country with bands of armed ruffians, 
 who not only robbed people of their property, but seized 
 on priests and ladies of rank, whom they carried away to 
 their castles, and detained in prison, till their friends 
 jjaid hu-ge sums for their ransom. It was not un- 
 common for these lawless barons to take off, by force, the 
 daughters of rich noblemen, and marry them, in order 
 to obtain the property to which they were entitled. 
 No one ventm-ed to travel, even in the day time, without 
 a strong escort; and even thus guarded, it was seldom 
 that travellers were not attacked in the forests, or among 
 the passes of the mountains. 
 
 Such was the state of Germany, from the death of 
 Charlemagne till the time of Charles the Fat, who was 
 deposed, as related in the History of France; and then 
 the crown of Germany was given by some of the 
 princes of that country to Arnulf, duke of Bohemia, 
 from which time, the nobles of Germany assumed the 
 right of electing their own emperors. 
 
 Bohemia, which formed a part of the German empire, 
 jwas, at this period, in a state of barbarism, and inhabited 
 )y tribes of Sclavonians, who were equally wariike and 
 mcivilised. Arnulf, however, was chosen emperor, in 
 jreference to any other prince, because he was of the 
 family of Charlemagne; and as soon as he was raised to 
 this high dignity, he bestowed his duchy of Bohemia on 
 a i)rince named Zwentibold, who was not very grateful 
 
 D 
 
 I 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
26 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 27 
 
 for the favour, as he aspired to be an independent sove- 
 reign, instead of a vassal prince. He, therefore, rebelled 
 against the successor of Arnulf, who made an alliance 
 with the Huns, a tribe of savages from the east, who had 
 long been hovering about the country, watching for an 
 oj)portunity of making a successful attack upon some 
 part of it. 
 
 They, therefore, very readily assisted the emperor 
 against Bohemia; but having once gained access to that 
 duchy, they seized on a large portion of it for them- 
 selves, together with a part of Moravia, where they 
 settled, and founded the kingdom of Hungary. 
 
 This war was all that occurred of much importance 
 after the death of Arnulf. He was succeeded by his 
 son, Louis the Third; l)ut as that prince died un- 
 married, the Carlovingian race became extinct in 
 Gennany, in the year 1)12. 
 
 EMPERORS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE HOUSE OF SAXONY. 
 
 ©as "ffi® E(5)S-4V, 
 
 From the period when the last prince of the house of 
 Charlemagne died, is generally dated the beginning of 
 the German empire, as it was only then that it was 
 
 finally separated from France, and that the government 
 pasticd into the hands of German sovereigns, who were, 
 in future, to be chosen from among the native dukes. 
 
 When a new emperor was to be elected, a diet, or 
 assembly of nobles, clergy, and freemen, met for that 
 purpose ; and if more than one prince was proposed, the 
 choice fell upon him who had most voices in his favour. 
 The actual electors were only seven in number, but as it 
 would not have been very easy for them to elect a 
 sovereign against the wishes of the armed multitudes 
 that were present on the occasion, it may be said that 
 the emi)erors were chosen with the consent of the peoi)le. 
 
 The German empire, at this time, comprised, besides 
 tlic states before-mentioned, Holland, Flanders, Swit- 
 zerland, and the duchy of Holstein, the latter held in 
 fief by the king of Denmark. It was a very arduous 
 task to undertake the government of territories that 
 w ere so extensive, and where there were so many unruly 
 princes to be kept in subjection; therefore, Otho, the 
 duke of Saxony, to whom the crown was first oflfered, 
 dechned it, on the plea that he was a very old man, and 
 did not feel equal to the cares of state; but with singular 
 generosit}% he accompanied his refusal with a recom- 
 mendation to the electors to choose Conrad, the duke of 
 Franconia, idthough he was his enemy. 
 
 In consequence of this advice, Conrad was elected, 
 much to the dissatisfaction of Henr)% the son of the 
 aged Otho, who thought, perhaps, that though his father 
 wail too old, tlie same ol)jection did not apply to him, 
 therefore, he oi)posed the election of Conrad; and when 
 his father died, and he became duke of Saxony, he went 
 o])enly to war with the emperor; and it was not 
 
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28 
 
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 GERMANY. 
 
 29 
 
 till some of the utlicr princes interfered as mediators, 
 that peace was restored between them. 
 
 Conrad did not reign long, having been mortally 
 wounded in a battle with the Huns; and when he was 
 dying, he imitated the generous conduct of his former 
 rival Otho, by recommending as his successor, Henry of 
 Saxony, who, being the most powerful prince of the 
 empire, was the fittest, said the dying emperor, to be at 
 its head. 
 
 Henry the First, who was elected emperor in the year 
 919, was called the Fowler, because he took much 
 delight in falconry, or the hunting of birds, and was 
 seldom seen without a hawk or falcon on his wrist. The 
 robberies and disorders that had disgraced the times of 
 the CarloWngian princes, still continued; for the late 
 emperor did not Uve long enough to take any means of 
 suppressing them, and the few years during which he 
 occupied the throne, were spent in warfare ; but Henry 
 the Fowler was not engaged in any wars, and all his 
 attention was directed towards bringing the country into 
 a more orderly state. 
 
 He did not attempt to accomplish this desirable object 
 by severity, for that he knew would only increase the 
 evil he was anxious to reraedy|; but his j)Lui was to 
 induce those who now lived by plunder, to alter their 
 mode of life; and to enable them to do so, he found 
 them an employment that was suited to their taste, 
 and detached them from their habits of marauding. He 
 combined them into armies for the purpose of protecting 
 the frontiers from the Huns and other barbarous tribes, 
 from the shores of the Baltic sea; and as an inducement 
 for them to join in this service, he promised pardon to 
 all offenders who chose to engage in it; by this wise 
 
 measure, he converted many bands of lawless marauders 
 into useful subjects of the empire. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that all the lesser nobles 
 availed themselves of this decree, but a great number of 
 them did; so that the evil, though not wholly remedied, 
 was materially decreased. 
 
 It was of great importance, in these unsettled times, 
 that the emperor should have a powerful military force 
 at his command; therefore, a law was made, that all 
 youths should be trained to martial exercises; and to 
 render them the more expert with their weapons, games 
 were instituted, of the same nature as tournaments, the 
 chief difference consisting in their not being held with 
 the pomp and ceremony of later times. 
 
 By another regulation, it was enacted, that the eldest 
 son of every family should be furnished, at the expense 
 of his family, with a horse and arms, and be always 
 ready to obey the summons of the emperor, who thus 
 had, in fact, an army of young active men always in 
 readiness, without the cost of maintaining them; and 
 in case of war, it was ordained that every person holding 
 land, should furnish a certain quantity of com for the 
 soldiers. By all these regulations, the emi)eror increased 
 his authority, but he still found it impossible to prevent 
 the nobles from carrying on private warfare, because 
 they rcg;u-ded the right of doing so, as one of their 
 greatest privileges, and would not give it up. 
 
 I have told you how Henry the Fowler suppressed the 
 banditti, and provided for the defence of his empire 
 against foreign invasion, or internal rebellion; but I have 
 now to speak of the manner in which he laid the foun- 
 dation of its future wealth and importance, by giving 
 rise to the order of citizens, which, at this period, did 
 
 D 3 
 
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30 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 i 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 not exist in Germany. The Germans, as I before 
 observed, had a great di^hke to living in towns, whieh 
 they considered much the same as degniding themselves 
 to a level with mechanics ; (for we must remember that 
 in those days, everj^ employment, except that of a 
 soldier, was tliought degrachng,) but the emi)eror was 
 so fully convinced of the advantages of fortihtd cities, 
 that he had walls built round them, and promised great 
 privileges to all persons who would fix their abode 
 within the walls. 
 
 Among these privileges, it was ordained, that no 
 citizen should be subject to a feudal lord; that the nobles 
 and clerg}^ residing in towns should have the right of 
 estabhshing f^iirs and markets; of holdintr diets or 
 councils for the government of tlieir respective cities, 
 and of coining money; yet with all this encouragement, 
 it was a long time before the prejudice against dwelling 
 in cities wore away, and they continued to be occupied 
 chiefly by mechanics, and the soldiers of the garrison. 
 The inhabitants were not allowed to have arms for their 
 own defence, therefore, where there was no garrison, 
 the townspeople were usually placed under the protection 
 of the bishop, who was bound to protect them from 
 injur)'. We shall presently see how the citizens gm- 
 duidly rose into the most resi)ectable and most influ- 
 ential part of the communitv. 
 
 Henry the Fowler has been reckoned the greatest 
 prince of his age, idthough he was contemporary with 
 Athelstan of England, and Abderrahman the Third of 
 Cordova. He died in the year 936, when the diet of 
 election was immediately assembled at Aix-la-Chai)elle. 
 In this town, there was a magniflcent cathedral built by 
 
 31 
 
 C;harleraagne, in which the emperors of Germany were 
 always crowned. 
 
 The choice now fell upon Otho, duke of Saxony, the 
 eldest son of Henrj^ the Fowler, and his coronation was 
 I)erformed with extraordinary splendour. His reign was 
 very eventful, and by some, he was regarded as a more 
 glorious i)rince than his father, insomuch that he was 
 surnamed the Great; but his renown was gained chiefly by 
 warlike acts, which are always more brilliant than useful. 
 In the early part of his reign, there were rebellions 
 among the great nobles, which he had a great deal of 
 trouble to suppress, and scarcely had tranquilhty been 
 restored in Germany, when the king of Bohemia, who 
 was his vassal, declared himself an independent sove- 
 reign, and abohshed the Christian religion in his king- 
 dom, he being himself a pagan. The Bohemian war 
 lasted nearly fourteen years; but Otho was, in the end, 
 victorious, and comi)elled this still barbarous people to 
 acknowledge his authority, as also to admit again the 
 Christain worship into the country; but the greater pert 
 of the peoi)le remained in their idolatrous faith. 
 
 While this war was going on, the Hungarians made 
 frequent mcursions into the German states, but they at 
 last sustained so severe a defeat on the plain of Dort- 
 mund in W^estphalia, that they were compelled to keej) 
 quiet for a long time afterwards. But the princij)al 
 events of the reign of Otho the Great regarded the 
 affairs of Italy, as I am now^ about to relate. 
 
 In the time of Charlemagne, Italy had formed a part 
 of^ the great empire, which owned him for its sovereign 
 prince; and it remained in the possession of his 
 hiinily, till Charles the Fat was deposed, after which it 
 was governed by native prince-; but as there were fre- 
 
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32 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 quent contentions among them for the possession of tlic 
 crown, the country was never in a vcrj^ peaceable 
 state. 
 
 About the time that Otho was made emperor of Ger- 
 many, it happened that Lothaire, tlie Khvj; of Italy, died, 
 leaving a young and beautiful queen, named Adelaide. 
 Now there were many princes who wished to marry this 
 lady, because such an alliance would be the almost cer- 
 tain means of raising to the throne him who should be 
 fortunate enough to obtain her hand; but she refused all 
 who tried to win her favour, and among otliers the son 
 of a proud nobleman, named Berenger; who, partly 
 from ambition, and partly to revenge the slight received 
 by his son, seized on the throne, and confined Adelaide 
 in a castle. 
 
 The young queen, who had heard of the valour of 
 Otlio, contrived to convey to him a message, offering him 
 her hand and the crown of Italy, if he would come to 
 her aid; on which the emperor set out with all speed at 
 tlie head of a powerful army, rescued the queen, and 
 dethroned Berenger; to whom however he generously 
 restored his dominions, on condition that he should 
 hold them in vassalage of the empire. 
 
 Berenger promised to do so; and Otho, now the 
 husband of Adelaide, recrossed the Alps with his beauti- 
 ful bride; but no sooner had he departed, than Berenger 
 disowned his authority, and acted in so tyrannical a 
 manner, that the Pope wrote to the emperor, requesting 
 he would return to release the people from the i)ower of 
 their oppressor. This request was granted, Berenger 
 was once more dethroned; and Otho himself was 
 crowned king of the Romans. 
 
 It was thus that Itah once mure became attached to 
 
 n 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 33 
 
 < 
 
 
 I 
 
 the German empire, but it was an acquisition that 
 proved a misfortune in after times, as we shidl find. It 
 was Otho the Great who formed the Palatinate of the 
 Uhine, the princes of which were so powerful in later 
 times. The counts palatine were originally officers 
 belonging to the palace, but in course of time the duties 
 belonging to the title ceased; so that, at this period, 
 the j)alatinate was merely an empty dignity, without 
 any real advantages attached to it; and there was only 
 one nobleman who bore the title of palatine. 
 
 As the palatinate, however, was considered a high 
 dignity, it was vjdued accordingly; and its existing 
 possessor having joined in some rebellion, the emperor 
 took away from him this mark of distinction, and 
 bestowed it on a son of the Duke of Bavaria, together 
 with some lands and castles on the banks of the Uhine, 
 whence he assumed the title of Count Palatine of the 
 Rhine; and his successors making large acquisitions by 
 marriage, purchase, and conquest, a large province was 
 formed, called the Palatinate. 
 
 Otho also created other counts palatine, who were 
 inferior to him of the Rhine, but they had great autho- 
 rity, each being the chief magistrate and judge in his 
 own district, and presiding over the provinciid diet in 
 the absence of the duke. The palatine also collected 
 the royal revenues, and superintended the royal domains, 
 which were very extensive. On every royal manor was 
 a castle for the accommodation of the emperor and his 
 court; and all these castles were still under the warden- 
 ship of the burgraves, who were always noblemen, and 
 sometimes became princes of the empire. 
 
 Germany was greatly enriched, during this reign, by 
 the opening of the silver mines in the Hartz mountains. 
 
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 34 
 
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 GERMANY. 
 
 35 
 
 which were accidentally discovered by a peasant, in 
 consequence of having tied his horse to a tree which 
 caused the animal to strike the ground violently with 
 his hoof, and in so doing, he raised up some of the 
 metal. The emperor was not long in ])rotiting by so 
 valuable a discover)', and he built, near the mines, the 
 town of Goshir; probably for the residence of the 
 miners, and those who were entrusted to superintend 
 their labours. 
 
 Otho the Great died in 973, and was succeeded by 
 his own son, Otho the Second; who, during his father's 
 life, had been crowned king of the Romans, a ceremony 
 implying that he was elected to succeed to the impe- 
 rial throne; still as the electors chose to retain their 
 right of choosing their own sovereigns, they did not 
 suffer a prince to be crowned emperor without assem- 
 bhng, imd electing him in due form. 
 
 In the meantime the Romans, anxious to free them- 
 selves from the government of the German emj)crors, 
 had formed a consi)iracy for the purpose of establishinji 
 a repubhc. lliis conspiracy was discovered by Otho, 
 who took such a cruel revenge, that he obtjilned the 
 surname of the Sanguinary, a shocking title for a i)rince 
 to bear. Pretending that he knew nothing of the plot, 
 he invited all the chief Roman nobles to a banquet, to 
 which they came without the least suspicion of trea- 
 chery; but while they were at table, he suddenly rose 
 from his seat and made a signal, on which the room 
 was instantly tilled with armed men, to the infinite 
 terror of the guests; which was not diminished, as you 
 may suppose, when the emperor unfolded a pai^r, and 
 began to read aloud the names of those who were con- 
 cerned in the plot, and as the name of each was 
 
 \ 
 
 ir 
 
 pronounced, the unfortunate victim was dra"-"-ed from 
 the table, and strangled before his eyes. It is said, that 
 the cruel monarch then sat down to eat and drink with 
 the rest of his visitors, who dared not express their 
 honor of what had taken i)lace; but we may conclude, 
 they had not much appetite for the feast. 
 
 Not long afterwards, Otho conducted his troops into 
 • the south of Italy, to recover Calabria from the Sara- 
 cens and Greeks, who had taken possession of that i)art 
 of the countr}\ His army was composed partly of 
 f^ Germans, and partly of Italians, the latter of whom, 
 in revenge for the treatment of the noblemen at Rome! 
 went over to the enemy on the eve of an engagement, 
 and fought with the Saracens against the Germans.* 
 'ilie latter were cut off dmost to a man, the emperor 
 himself escaping alone, and with great difficulty, to 
 the sea shore, where he got on board a vessel which 
 I)ut out to sea immediately. 
 
 The vessel, however, having been captured by pirates, 
 Otho would certainly have been carried away into 
 slavery, had he not managed to throw himself into the 
 sea, and save his life and liberty by swimming. The 
 rest of his reign was spent in wars with the Bohemians, 
 and other nations bordering on the German states. 
 
 He died in 983, when his son Otho the Third, a boy 
 of twelve years of age, was elected Emi^eror. At the 
 time when Otho the Second ascended the throne, his 
 election was opposed by his cousin Henry, Duke of 
 Bavaria, who was in consequence, deprived of his fief, 
 which was bestowed on the Duke of Swabia; and thus 
 two powerful duchies were united. Henry, with the 
 assistimce of Harold, King of Denmark, had made an 
 attempt to recover his dominicms. in whicli he did not 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
36 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 •^1 
 
 GERiMANV. 
 
 succeed; but when Otho died, and the young prince 
 was elected, he usurped the regency, and repossessed 
 himself of his Duchy of Bavaria. 
 
 Otho the Third was a prince of great ability, but he 
 took more interest in the affairs of Italy, than in those of 
 Germany; and the only event of his reign that need be 
 here noticed, was the erection of Poland into a kincrdom. 
 Poland had hitherto been governed by dukes, subject to 
 the Emperors of Germany, and its inhabitants were 
 quite an uncivilised race of people, differing little from 
 the Bohemians. The present duke, however, though a 
 barbarian prince, had the reputation of being gifted 
 with extraordinary' talents ; and so great was his fame, 
 that the emperor made a journey into Poland on pur- 
 pose to pay him a visit; and was so much pleased with 
 his reception, and the noble deportment of the duke, 
 that he raised the duchy to the rank of a kingdom, 
 though under vassalage to him, and bestowed on 
 Boleslas, the regal title. 
 
 Otho the Third reigned nineteen years, and was suc- 
 ceeded by Henr}', duke of Bavaria, the son of the late 
 regent, and the last emperor of the House of Saxony. 
 Henry was a good i)rince, but his reign was not hai)j)y; 
 for, in the first i)lace, the new king of Poland would 
 not pay his tribute, nor perform his duties as a vassal 
 prince, because he wanted to make Poland an indepen- 
 dent kingdom. 
 
 This rebellious conduct led to several years of warfare; 
 during which Boleslas deposed the duke of Bohemia, 
 and made himself master of that country, and also 
 invaded Prussia. The Prussians were at this time a 
 barbarous nation, dwelling in deserts between Poland 
 and the Baltic. In the time of the Romans they were 
 
 37 
 
 \ 
 
 cidled the Acstii, and were fiimous for their trade in 
 amber, which they obtained by diving in the sea, and 
 sold in large quantities to the Romans, who used it 
 chiefly for drinking cups. 
 
 These i)eoi)le were very little more civilized at this 
 period than they were in those earlier times, but they 
 were of a warhke character, and defended their country 
 with great resolution against its invaders, lliere was 
 so much warfare in the countr>% that the emperor, being 
 a man of a peaceable and pious turn of mind, grew 
 heartily tired of a station in which it was impossible for 
 him to enjoy a moment's repose; therefore he would 
 have given up his crown, and entered a monasterj% had 
 not some of the bishops persuaded him that it was his 
 dut>' to remain at the head of the State, to which he 
 reluctimtly consented; and continued emperor till his 
 death, which happened in the year 1024. 
 
 The House of Saxony, which began with Henrj^ the 
 Fowler, ended with Henry the Second, who left no 
 chddrcn; and the sovereignty of the empire passed to 
 the House of Franconia, commencing with Conrad the 
 Second. But here we will pause to take a survey of the 
 ^tate of Germany in the tenth and eleventh centuries 
 
 GERMANY, 
 
 IN THE TENTH AND ELEVENTH CENTURIES. 
 
 «J The feudal system in Germany had now attained to 
 j <ts greatest height, whereas in England it was only ia 
 
 GER^rA^y. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
38 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 39 
 
 its infancy, for this was about the time when Canute the 
 Dane was reigning in England; and we hardly consider 
 the feudal system to have commenced before the time 
 of William the Conqueror; so that the Germims were 
 considerably in advance. 
 
 Great improvements had taken place in the general 
 condition of society in Germany, for the cities had 
 made considerable progress towards wealth and import- 
 ance; trade was beginning to flourish; and, more than 
 all, the chains which had held in bondage so large a por- 
 tion of the community, were gradually loosening, and the 
 blessing of freedom was extending itself far and wide. 
 
 The cities of Germany were of three classes. The 
 first class comprehended the free, or imperial cities, 
 which were those built on the royal domains, founded 
 by Henry the Fowler, and endowed with i)articular pri- 
 vileges, granted by him and succeeding emperors. 
 
 The next class consisted of the ducal towns, built by 
 the dukes on their domains, and subject to feudal laws, 
 from which the imperial towns were exempted. The 
 ducal cities were inhabited by the vassals of the duke, 
 who exercised the rights of a feudal superior over them. 
 The vassals could not remove at pleasure ; they were 
 subject to whatever taxes the duke imposed ; they could 
 not give their children in marriage, nor dispose of their 
 property, without his sanction; and he was entitled to a 
 share of all profits made by trade of every kind; there- 
 fore, you may judge that the inhabitants of the ducal 
 towns were not so well off as those of the imperial cities. 
 
 In the latter, however, the people were not free to do 
 exactly as they pleased with regard to marriage, as the 
 emperor had the right of disposing of all the sons and 
 daughters of the chief citizens at his pleasure ; and, of 
 
 
 course, he must have had an interest in so doin"-; for it 
 is not to be supposed he would have troubled himself 
 about it, if it liad not been to his advantage in some 
 ' way. For instance, a man might bind himself to per- 
 form certain services, or to give a certain sum of money 
 to the royal treasury, provided the emperor would, con- 
 sent to his union with the heiress of some rich citizen; 
 and then the emi)eror would signify to the father of the 
 lady, that it was his will that his daughter should take 
 such a person for her husband. 
 
 This right, however, was not exercised by the emperor 
 in so arbitrary a manner, as it was by the dukes in their 
 towns; for they almost always made it a matter of 
 profit; while the emperor, in most cases, gave his con- 
 sent when it was applied for; and as soon as the 
 marriage was fixed, a herald paraded the streets, pro- 
 claiming that the daughter of a certain citizen was 
 betrothed to the son of another citizen, and having thus 
 made the matter public, the ceremony was pertbrmed 
 on that day twelvemonth. 
 
 It was customary for a great number of guests to be 
 present at the wedding, when each was expected to 
 present the young cou[)le with some gift; either gold, 
 silver, horses, or oxen. The bride always received J 
 dowry from her husband on the day after they were 
 married. This was an invariable custom, the value of 
 the gift being regulated according to his means and 
 station in life, and this gift was generally i>laced in the 
 hands of her friends, as a provision in case of his death. 
 The third class of cities was composed of those on 
 the church lands, over which the bishops had the sole 
 authority; who being, in general, more indulgent than 
 tlie nobles, their citizens had little to complain of. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 n I? U M AV \' 
 
40 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 41 
 
 thou«^h they were not in tlie enjoyment of as many 
 j)rivilegcs as the burghers of the free cities. 
 
 The German merchants carried on a considerable 
 trade with the Enghsh, and sent a great many ships to 
 London, which were obhged to pay a toll at Billings- 
 gate before they were allowed to land their goods. 
 The toll for ever)' ship was two grey cloths, and one 
 of brown, most likely cloaks; ten pounds of pepper, 
 which was then a rarity; five pairs of gloves, and two 
 vessels of vinegar. Gloves seem to have been made in 
 Germany at that time, but not England. There were 
 fairs and markets held in all the principal German towns; 
 but no person was allowed to keep a shop, or to carry 
 on trade, unless qualified by certiiin conditions, as is the 
 case in London at the present time. Those who were 
 not qualified, that is, persons not free of the city, were 
 obliged to have their shops outside the walls, and they 
 were only permitted to carrj' on the inferior trades. 
 
 The citizens had begun to associate themselves into 
 guilds or companies, but they had not yet obtained the 
 privilege of arming in their own defence, or of choosing 
 their owti magistrates. As to the serfs, their condition 
 was very much improved all over the countr}\ 'i'he 
 influence of religion had done much towards bettering 
 their lot, for the clergy taught that it was an act of piety 
 to emancipate slaves, and, in many instances, gave freedom 
 to their own serfs, as an example to others ; so that, on 
 church lands, there were very few men in bondage. 
 
 Another cause which contributed towards the diminu- 
 tion of slavery, was, an enactment by which every serf 
 was allowed a small portion of the profits of his labour, 
 with the right of buying his freedom, when he had 
 saved up money enough to do so: a law that produced 
 
 a wonderful change in the habits and feeHngs of this 
 opj)resscd and degraded class of the community, as it 
 not only stimulated their industr}% but gave them a 
 degree of importance in their own eyes, as well as in the 
 eyes of others. They had an object to live for. — They 
 were not excluded, as formerly, from the right which all 
 men ought to have, of employing their industry for their 
 own advantage, and that of their families. 
 
 When a bondman obtained his freedom he usually 
 went to live in one of the towns subject to his lord, for 
 he was still a vassal, though not a slave ; and there he 
 either opened a shop, or aj)plied himself to some mecha- 
 nical art, or domestic manufacture. 
 
 But I am sorry to say, that while the Germans were 
 thus restoring, by degrees, to their own countrj^men, that 
 liberty to which ever>' human being has an equal right, 
 they were sui)j)lying their places on the lands by captives 
 taken in the wars with the Sclavonians, Danes, and 
 other nations; who were openly sold in the slave market 
 at Mecklenburg. 
 
 EMPERORS 
 OF THE HOUSE OF FRANCONIA. 
 
 31©24i IP© 2.I12S, 
 
 As Henry the Second died without heirs, there were 
 many noblemen in Germany who had hopes of being 
 
 e3 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 

 GERMANV. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 43 
 
 elected to fill the vacant throne; therefore, when the 
 Diet for the election was summoned to meet in a large 
 I)lain on the banks of the Rhine, idl the dukes, counts, 
 and margraves of the empire, repaired to the spot; each 
 at the head of a train of armed vassals, who encamped 
 on the plains, presenting the appearance of an army in 
 battle array, rather than an assemblage of peaceable 
 people met together to choose a sovereign. 
 
 There were so many claimants on this occasion, that it 
 was six weeks before the question was decided; when the 
 archbishop of Mentz made known to the people that 
 the choice of the electors had fallen on Conrad, Duke of 
 Franconia, an announcement that was received with 
 loud acclamations, and all the nobles came forward 
 immediately to do homage, and take the oath of allegi- 
 ance to their new sovereign. 
 
 Of the reign of Conrad the Second, and that of his 
 son Henry the Third, there is little to tell, unless I 
 were to give you an account of a constant succession of 
 wars with the Poles, Hungarians, and Bohemians; who 
 were always in a state of insurrection. These emperors, 
 too, although they were very much respected, had a 
 great deal of trouble to preserve any degree of order 
 among the princes of the empire, over whom they had, 
 now, but very little authority. 
 
 Most of the great vassals had again become almost 
 independent of the crown, and maintained such num- 
 bers of followers, that any of them coidd raise an 
 army, either to defend or oppose his sovereign, as he 
 thought proper. Ever}^ count and baron had a castle 
 standing on some eminence, where he could defend him- 
 self in case of need; and it was seldom indeed that 
 some of these nobles were not at war with each other. 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 Few of them were rich, therefore it was very usual 
 for those who had several sons to choose one as the 
 future lord of the castle and estate, and providing the 
 rest with a suit of armour each, and perhaps a few fol- 
 lowers, to send them abroad to seek their fortunes, and 
 win estates for themselves where they might. 
 
 This was not a plan likely to promote peace, and it 
 was one advantage of the crusades, which began about 
 this time, that they furnished employment for those 
 who had nothing better to do. 
 
 When Henry the Third died in 1056, his son Henry 
 the Fourth was only six years old; but he had been 
 cro^^^led kmg of the Romans, and was elected emperor; 
 his education, as well as the care of the government' 
 was entrusted to his motlier, the empress Agnes, who 
 was a very excellent princess, though not equal to the 
 task of rulmg such a country as Germany. She had 
 not been long in power before the dukes of Bavaria and 
 Saxony, brothers of the late emperor, conspired toge- 
 ther to deprive her of the regency, and in order to 
 accomplish this object, they carried off her son; on 
 which she fled to Rome, and entered a convent, where 
 she took the veil. 
 
 The young emperor was not very well brought up 
 being suft'ered to give way to every propensity, whether 
 good or evil; so that when he was of an age to take the 
 government into his own hands, he indulged in habits of 
 gambhng and drinking, thus setting a very bad example 
 to his subjects, besides losing their respect. The 
 barons who, during his minority, had been under no 
 Bort of control, held his authority in contempt, and 
 jontmued their robberies and extortions in defiance of 
 iu« prohibitions; when he found, therefore, that they 
 
 GRUMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
44 
 
 GKKMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 45 
 
 would not obey him, he had several strong castles built, 
 and garrisoned in Saxony, banished the duke of Saxony, 
 and deprived the Saxons of some of their ancient rights. 
 But the Saxons, unwilling to submit to this treatment, 
 sent him a message, declaring that if he did not imme- 
 diately recal the duke of Saxony, confirm their ancient 
 laws, pull down all his castles, and restore the lands 
 on which they were erected to their lawful owners, they 
 should declare war against him. 
 
 To this message the unwise emperor returned an 
 evasive answer, on which the Saxons assembled in arms, 
 and laid siege to the town of Goslar, in which Henry 
 had taken up his abode. Finding he was unable to 
 defend the town, he fled secretly in the night, and 
 reached the city of Worms, where the people opened 
 their gates to him, and armed themselves in his cause; 
 this being the first time that merchants and tradesmen 
 had ever been permitted to use arms in Germany ; and it 
 was an important occurrence, as it removed the great 
 distinction between them and the freemen, who had 
 hitherto regarded this as their exclusive right, and 
 treated the citizens with contempt, because they were 
 prohibited from wearing swords. 
 
 This valued privilege was now granted to all the 
 imperial cities, and was of material advantage to the 
 em|)eror, who had thus a great body of men always at 
 his command; and from this time the merchants of the 
 towns were looked upon as a highly respectable class 
 of the community, and in time we shall find that the 
 nobles did not disdain to form matrimonial aUiances with 
 the citizens ; a pleasing instance of the improved state of 
 society, since these very citizens were the descendants 
 of the once despised and degraded serfs. We surely 
 
 t 
 
 iic'cci not anotlicr proof of the advantages of freedom 
 and commerce. 
 
 'I'he emperor, with the aid of some of the princes, 
 had obliged tlie Saxons to make peace; but his castles 
 were still standing, and filled with soldiers, who had 
 l)crmission, or were in fact ordered, to provide for them- 
 selves as they best could; a mandate they were but too 
 ready to obey, so that the whole duchy was subject to 
 their depredations. The emperor's troops being thus 
 encouraged to lay waste and plunder the country, others 
 thought they might do so likewise; and bands of robbers 
 under the command of chiefs, who called themselves 
 knights, committed tlie most daring outrages. The 
 following anecdote will ser^•e to Ulustratc their pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 One of these bandit chieftains, named Adalbert, had 
 iJundcrcd the domains of the bishop of Treves, and car- 
 ried off die spoil to his own castle. The bishop was 
 desirous of taking some revenge, but the knight was so 
 safe m his fortified tower, that the injured priest found 
 It was no easy matter for him to accomplish this object 
 and he knew that it was useless to apply for redress 
 to the cmiKjror, who was more apt to encourage such 
 exploits, than to punish them. At last one of the bishop's 
 own domestics, a man named Tycho, undertook to avenge 
 the cause of his master; and going in disguise to 
 Adidbert 3 castle, he knocked at the gate, and asked 
 for a cup of wine, which was immediately given to him, 
 for the rites of hospitality were always observed even by 
 bad characters, and were therefore not denied by the 
 lord of this castle; Tycho drank the wine, and returned 
 the cup, saying:-.. Thank thy master, and teU him 
 1 wUl not fail to do him some service for his good 
 
 r.rn\iANV. 
 
 riF.RMAW 
 
46 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 47 
 
 will,"— and with these words he turned from the gate, 
 and pursued his way homewards. 
 
 On returning to tiie bishop's abode, he called together 
 
 his companions to consult with them upon a plan he had 
 
 formed to gain an entrance into the castle, in which 
 
 they were all ver>' wiUing to assist. In pursuance of 
 
 this scheme they procured thirty wine casks, each large 
 
 enough to contain one armed soldier, and weapons for 
 
 two more, and, like the robbers in the tide of the Forty 
 
 Thieves, they set out on their enterprise, ever>^ cask with 
 
 its inmate, being carried by two men dressed like peasants, 
 
 making in all. ninety men, with Tycho at their head. 
 
 When this strange procession reached the castle, the 
 porter opened the gate in much astonishment, when 
 Tycho said to him:—" I am come to recompense your 
 master for the cup of wine he gave me; go, and tell him 
 that I have taken care he shall not want wine for a long 
 
 time to come." 
 
 The porter went to deliver the message to his master, 
 and. during his absence, the men carried the casks into 
 the hall. Count Adalbert instantly appeared, followed 
 by all his people, who were curious to see the present 
 brought to their lord, congratulating themselves, no 
 doubt, on the good cheer they should have; when sud- 
 denly, on a signal given by Tycho, the tops of the 
 casks flew off, the armed men jumped out. the pretended 
 carriers seized the weapons that were provided for them, 
 and, after a violent struggle, Adalbert and his banditti 
 were all killed, and the castle was burnt to the ground. 
 It is possible that this story may not be quite true, 
 but it is a re<d picture of the state of the times during 
 the reign of Henry the Fourth. This imprudent and 
 unfortunate emperor was excommunicated by the pope, 
 
 owing to a quarrel concerning the right of investiture, 
 that is, of appointing bishops and abbots to all vacant 
 benefices, which was an important privilege, because he 
 who possessed it. was entitled not only to a portion of 
 the revenues, but also to supreme authorit>^ over the 
 clergy. 
 
 The emperors had always exercised this right, but 
 the reigning pope, Gregory the Seventh, a haughty and 
 ambitious man, demanded that it should be given up; 
 and as Henrj^ refused compliance, he passed upon him a 
 sentence of excommunication, which was not removed 
 until the emperor had done penance, by standing for 
 three days in the courtyard of the pontiff's pdace, 
 clothed in sackcloth, and barefooted; although it was 
 in the winter season. 
 
 After this degradation, most of the German states 
 revolted. The emi)eror was then deposed, and the duke 
 of Swabia elected in his stead; but Henry contrived to 
 raise a sufficient force to recover his crown; and then, to 
 revenge himself on the pope, he marched into Italy, and 
 laid siege to Rome; which was taken by storm, after a 
 brave defence of neariy two years; when the inhabi- 
 tants. to save their noble city from destruction, offered 
 to pay a considerable sum of money to the emperor. 
 Mho consented to spare it on that condition. 
 
 It was about this time that Peter the Hermit returned 
 from Jerusalem, and began to preach the crusades in 
 Europe. Then the people throughout France and Ger- 
 many, from tlie prince to the peasant, attracted by the 
 novelty of a holy war, and the opportunity of visiting 
 the luxuriant clime of the east, eageriy entered the lists 
 agamst the infidels. 
 
 The first band of crusaders that set forth on this wild 
 
48 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 49 
 
 enterprise, consisted of alxiut sixty thousand persons, 
 both men and women, chietiy of tlic lower orders, with 
 Peter the Hermit at their head. They set forward on 
 foot, like a vast assemblage of lunatics, taking their way 
 through Germany in the most riotous manner possible, 
 increasing in numbers as they went along, and doing a 
 vast deal of mischief wherever they came. This was a 
 very different kind of army from that which was after- 
 wards raised by the greatest princes of Euroix*. 
 
 There were, at this time, a great number of Jews 
 dwelling in the cities that bordered on the Rhine and 
 Moselle, where they had amassed abundance of wealth by 
 trade; and being allowed the free exercise of their 
 religion, were hving in ease and rcsjjectability. It wai* 
 against these peaceable and useful citizen^, that the 
 ignorant multitude directed their first hostilities, on 
 pretence that they had taken up arms against nil who 
 were not Christians; but it is to be feared that the 
 temptation of plundering the wealthy Jew», wa« >itn>nger 
 than their love of Christianity. A great number of 
 Jewish families were murdered in the most barbarous 
 manner, and those who were fortunate enotigh to nave 
 their lives by flight, were robbed of their property, and 
 their houses were burnt down. 
 
 The route of the crusaders lay through the wild and 
 desolate forests of Hungary, where the warlike Hun- 
 garians still dwelt in all the barbarism of ancient time*. 
 They were all pagans, consequently the crunadcrs 
 believed they ought to be exterminated; but the Hun- 
 garians were a fierce and powerful race of people, and aa 
 soon as they found that the Christians were ikstroybig^ 
 their temples, and committing other act* of hoatilily, 
 they took such ample vengeance, that the foolwh pfi iplc 
 
 who had provoked their \\Tath» were elain by thousands, 
 and those who escaped and reached the plains of Asia, 
 were soon cut to pieces by the Turks. 
 
 Such was the fate of this misguided multitude, sup- 
 posed to have consisted of no less than three hundred 
 thousand French and German peasants. This fruitless 
 attempt, however, proved to be a prelude to the holy 
 wars. A brilliant expedition followed soon after^vards. 
 composed of knights and nobles, and conducted by some 
 of the greatest princes of France and Germany. The 
 enterprise undertaken by this vast assemblage was called 
 the first crusade. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the Emperor, who was now grow- 
 ing old, had been constantly engaged in wars with his 
 own «ibjcct!<, and, us an afrgnivation of thi« rejMalsiTC 
 warfare, he had been oViligcd to take tlie ield i^;aiiist 
 his own son Conmd, wlio hud joined the di5iiircctocl 
 party, and usurped the title of kin^ of Italy. For tlite 
 net of rebellion Conrad was declared an outlaw, and hk 
 younger brother, Henry, wua elected kiii^ <jf the ItomMIt 
 in hib btcad. 
 
 Hut the empiTor soon found that he had nothing to 
 hope from tlie aflTection of cither of his urns, for the 
 King of the Uomnnr, being impatient to wear tlic imperial 
 crown, caused his father to be seized and confiDod in a 
 prison, where the unhappy monarch tsuiTcred the moat 
 harsh treatment, until he consented to ahdicate the 
 throne, 'i'lic mode in which he wa« deprived of hk 
 dignity waa cruel in the extreme; but it is mo«t likely 
 that the violence he met with wan occanoncd by his 
 attempting to make an appeal to those who were aatcm* 
 hied towitneiv the act of abdication; for be wn« dn^ggied 
 from hU throne, and the crrmn u«^ rudelv ^nttCchiMi 
 
 OKKMANV. 
 
 (iEHMANV. 
 
50 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 51 
 
 from his head, and placed on that of his unnatural son. 
 who immediately took his father's seat without the least 
 sign of remorse. 
 
 The tears streamed down the cheeks of the deposed 
 sovereign, as he bitterly exclaimed, " I own I have been 
 very sinful, and have merited this i)unishment for the 
 follies of my youth; but thou, O God, wilt not fail to 
 punish these traitors for their ingratitude." The faults 
 of Henry the Fourth were more the effect of his bad 
 education, than of a vicious disposition; therefore, his 
 misfortunes cannot fail to excite pity, for he was so 
 utterly deserted by every one, that he was reduced to 
 actual want, and in this distressed condition, he applied 
 for the situation of a singer in a cathedral, but even this 
 humble request was refused by the bishop. 
 
 At last, the citizens of Cologne rose in his favour, and 
 he was received among them as their lawful emperor; 
 but their loyalty was rendered unavailing, by his death, 
 which happened in the Netherlands, whither he had pro- 
 ceeded in the hope of raising more friends, in the year 
 1106. 
 
 I need not say much about the cliaracter of Henry 
 the Fifth, whose conduct towards his father is a suffi- 
 cient proof of a bad heart ; yet some historians assert that 
 he was not a bad sovereign ; by which we will suppose 
 they mean that he conducted the government of the 
 country with ability, although he was not an amiable 
 man. Tliis prince was the son-in-law of our Henry 
 the First, having married his daughter Matilda. 
 
 From this time, to the accession of Rodolph of Haps- 
 burg, the emperors and popes were continually at variance 
 on the old subject of investiture, the nature of which I 
 have before explained. There was also another cause of 
 
 dispute, and that was, whether the pope should have the 
 chief voice in the election of the emperor, or the emperor 
 in the election of the pope; therefore, with such causes 
 of quarrel, it is not surprising that they were never 
 at peace. 
 
 Henry the Fifth, soon after his accession, crossed the 
 Alps at the head of the most formidable army that had 
 ever entered Italy, since the days of the Romans, in the 
 hope of obhging the pope to give up the right of invest- 
 . ing the bishops; but as he found that the pope was 
 I determined not to yield, he ordered his soldiers to seize 
 j him in St. Peter's church, as he was celebrating mass; 
 t and the venerable old man was made prisoner, and 
 dragged away to the German camj), where he was 
 treated in the most disrespectful manner, notwithstanding 
 his sacred character, which at least ought to have pro- 
 tected him from personal insult. 
 
 We cannot, however, be suqirised that a man who 
 could forget his duty towards his aged parent, should 
 also be capable of insulting a minister of religion. The 
 Romans took up arms in defence of their pontiff, 
 and a desperate battle was fought in the streets of 
 Rome, in which the citizens were defeated, and great 
 numbers of them killed; but the emperor did not gain 
 much by his violence, for all Germany was soon in a 
 state of rebellion, and it was with very great difficulty 
 he was able to maintain himself on the throne. 
 
 About this time the pope, who had been set at hberty, 
 died, and a successor was chosen without the emperor's 
 consent, which so incensed him, that he declared the 
 4 election void, choosing at the same time another pontiff. 
 M As the question had not been decided whether his consent 
 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
II 
 
 il 
 
 52 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 53 
 
 determine which was the true pope, a difficulty which 
 occurred continually during the whole of the wars 
 between the church and the crown. 
 
 The war with the revolted states of Germany and 
 Italy, still continued, till at length both countries became 
 so desirous of peace, that, in order to procure it, a 
 council was summoned at Rome, consisting of about three 
 hundred bishops, and seven hundred abbots, when the 
 right of investiture was formally surrendered to tlie 
 emperor, lliese were the principal events in the reign 
 of Henry the Fifth, who died in 1125, and with him 
 ended the dominion of the house of Franconia. 
 
 GERMANY, 
 
 IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. 
 
 As Henry the Fifth was the last prince of his race, a 
 Diet for a new election assembled as before, when 
 Lothaire, duke of Saxony, was selected as the most 
 proper person to wear the imperial crown. The dukes, 
 at this time, were more powerful than ever, assuming 
 exactly the style of sovereign princes, and scarcely 
 deigning to acknowledge the authority of the emperor, 
 whose imperial dignity indeed, as far as the nobles were 
 concerned, was little more than a name. The duke of 
 Bavaria had a sword carried before him on all public 
 occasions, which was an assumption of royalty. 
 
 Ilie emperors, at this period, had much difficulty in 
 maintaining themselves in their possessions, for the 
 kings of Poland were constantly in a state of revolt; 
 Lombardy had to be conquered over again every reign; 
 and the southern provinces of Italy had fallen into the 
 hands of the Normans, owing to the conquests made in 
 Calabria by some brave Norman knights, named Guis- 
 card. It was hardly possible for the emperor to keep his 
 Italian subjects in subjection, for the German nobles 
 were now very unwilling to undertake any military 
 service beyond the bounds of the empire, particularly in 
 Italy, where the marshes were very injurious to their 
 health. 
 
 The term of feudal service being only forty days, no 
 vassal of superior rank would go to the Italian wars, 
 unless the emperor i)rovided him with money, provisions, 
 and wine, for the whole campaign; nor would the 
 inferior vassals follow their masters without similar 
 supphes, on a smaller scale. Hence, there was so 
 little reliance to be placed on a feudal army, that the 
 emj)erors began to raise mercenary troops, that is, to 
 hire soldiers for pay. 
 
 A force composed of such troops, was different from a 
 standing army, because, when the war w^as over, these 
 men were disbanded, and then they became a terrible 
 pest to the country, since they invariably turned robbers, 
 when they w^re no longer wanted as soldiers. It was 
 this evil that first gave rise to standing armies, which 
 was an improvement upon the former system; for 
 although the soldiers had to be paid in peace as well as 
 in war, they were in both cases a great protection to the 
 country. 
 
 As soon as war became a trade by which men of low 
 
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54 
 
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 55 
 
 rank could earn a livelihood, it ceased to be that distin-* 
 guishing mark of free and noble birth, which formerly 
 had rendered it so attractive. The absurd notion that 
 used to exist, of trade being only fit for serfs and freed- 
 men, was fast wearing away, and all men began to 
 think that commerce was an honourable employment, 
 even for the nobles ; and the citizens were consequently 
 held in so much higher respect than they used to be, 
 that they were allowed to send representatives to the 
 Diets. 
 
 With regard to the manners of the times, there was 
 little difference between the people of Germany and 
 those of other European nations, at the same period. The 
 people of the towns lived in houses built of wood, with 
 few conveniences, and no elegancies of domestic furni- 
 ture. Some of the most weiUthy, covered the walls 
 of their best apartments with tapestry, others had them 
 painted in imitation of it. The great dwelt in gloomy 
 castles, where the ladies passed their time in spiiming, 
 working erabroiderj^ and playing on the harp or lute, 
 often mourning the absence of their lords, who were 
 away in the Holy Land. 
 
 When a baron had gone crusading, his castle halls 
 were silent and drear}^; but when he was at home, they 
 resounded with mirth, for the Germans had not lost their 
 taste for feasting and drinking; and you may form some 
 idea of the extent to which these indulgences were 
 carried from the fact that one of the articles of the 
 coronation oath, taken by the emperors, made it a 
 condition that they would try to live soberly. The Ger- 
 man nobles, however, made no such promise, and being 
 generally fierce in temper, they were often guilty of 
 terrible acts of violence, when heated with wine. 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 n 
 
 The dresses of those days, were such as were gene- 
 ral during the middle ages, consisting of a coat, 
 reaching below the knees, open in front; a mantle, and a 
 cap, the materials of which they were made being 
 suitable to the rank of the wearer; cloth, silk, velvet, 
 and fur, were all in use; and the dresses of people of 
 rank were often richly embroidered with gold and 
 silver. 
 
 There were no carriages of any kind, everybody tra- 
 velling on horses, or mules. The first conveyance of a 
 more luxurious kind, was the horse litter, introduced 
 into Europe by the crusaders from the east. This 
 was a sort of palanquin, or covered cot, slung between 
 two poles, attached to the harness of the horses, one 
 horse being stationed before, the other behind it. llie 
 litter was only used by females or invaHds; but it was a 
 very convenient and easy mode of travelling, where the 
 badness of the roads would have rendered carriages 
 useless; and it was adopted in all the countries of 
 Europe. 
 
 There were no inns on the roads at this period, the 
 monasteries serving as houses of entertainment for tra- 
 vellers; and the castles of the nobiUty too were seldom 
 ^hut against those who required rest and refreshment. 
 We must remember that there was little travelling in 
 those days compared to that in after times, the principal 
 wayfarers being pilgrims, knights errant, and warriors 
 going to, or returning from, the Holy Land. 
 
 Durmg the reign of Lothaire the Second, there was 
 so hot a summer, that the rivers became dry, the grass 
 was burnt up, and the cattle perished on the plains for 
 want of water. This drought occasioned a terrible 
 scarcity all over the country. 
 
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56 
 
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 57 
 
 One of the chief liistorical events in this reign, was 
 the foundation of the noble house of Brandenburg, 
 which took its rise from the circumstance of the emperor 
 having bestowed a small domain called the Margraviate 
 of Brandenburg, on a descendant of the ancient dukes 
 of Saxony, called Albert the Boar, a name he doubtless 
 obtained on account of his fierceness. He was a great 
 warrior, and made many conquests over the Sclavonian 
 tribes, on the coast of the Baltic, by which he greatly 
 enlarged his territories, and became a powerful prince. 
 
 The emperor Lothaire died suddenly at a cottage on 
 the Alps, as he was returning from Germany, in the 
 year 1138, an event that involved the countrj- in a long 
 civil war. 
 
 EMPERORS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE HOUSE OF SWABIA. 
 
 The unexpected death of Lothaire, who left no sons, 
 gave rise to a violent contest for the crown, and among 
 the claimants were two who seemed to have an equal 
 right to it; the one being Conrad, duke of Swabia and 
 Franconia, a nephew of Henry the Fourth; the other, 
 Henry, duke of Bavaria and Saxony, who was married 
 to the late emperors only daughter. 
 
 Now it had lately been a custom, in case of fiefs, 
 there being no male heir, to renew the grant to 
 the husband of the daughter; and many were of opinion 
 that the same rule ought to be observed with regard to 
 the throne; but others thought differently; and after 
 much disj)uting among the electors, the votes were given 
 in favour of Conrad of Swabia, who was crowned 
 accordingly. 
 
 The duke of Bavaria, considering himself an injured 
 man, prepared to enforce his claim by the sword; on 
 which, the emperor commanded him to surrender one of 
 his duchies, and on his refusal, summoned a Diet, and 
 declared him dispossessed of both; at the same time, 
 giving Bavaria to the margrave of Austria, who was a 
 grandson of Henry the Fourth, and Saxony to Albert 
 the Boar. This proceeding so incensed the deposed 
 duke, that he immediately commenced a war against the 
 emperor; but he died in a short time, and the contest 
 was carried on by his brother, with the aid of Roger, 
 king of Sicily, who had his own reasons for enmity 
 towards the emperor. 
 
 Conrad, as I mentioned before, had given away the 
 duchy of Saxony to Albert the Boar, but Albert had not 
 been able to obtain possession of it; for when the 
 deposed duke died, his son, Henry the Lion, a brave 
 and warlike prince, resolutely defended his inheritance, 
 and maintained it, in spite of all opposition. This war 
 was the origin of two parties, that long afterwards were 
 as famous in Italy and Germany, as those of the Red and 
 White Roses in England. These two parties were the 
 Guelphs and the Ghibelins. Guelph was the family 
 name of the duke of Saxony; those who sided with 
 Henry the Lion, were called Guelphs; whilst those 
 
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 59 
 
 who supported the cause of the emperor took the 
 title of Ghibelin, from a castle belonging to Frederick, 
 duke of Swabiu, a cousin of the emperor, and the com- 
 mander of his forces. In after times, the terms, Guelph 
 and Ghibelin, were used in Italy to distinguish the 
 pope's party from that of the emj^eror. 
 
 'i'he war continued for some time, and was. at length, 
 brought to a close, by the following singular and in- 
 teresting circumstance. The emperor laid siege to the 
 castle of Weinsburg, in Saxony, which was gallantly 
 defended by Duke Guelph, Henry the Lion's uncle; but 
 this nobleman having lost a great number of men in an 
 unsuccessful sally, was obliged to surrender at discretion, 
 that is, on any terms the emperor thought proper to 
 demand. Conrad was not a cruel prince; instead, 
 therefore, of taking advantage of the duke's misfortunes, 
 he sent him word, that he and his chief officers might 
 retire from the castle. 
 
 The duchess, however, was rather mistrustful of his 
 sincerit)', and feared that, if the duke and his friends 
 should venture beyond the widls, they might be made 
 prisoners, (and there were others also, not included in the 
 l)ermission, for whose safety she was anxious;) she, 
 therefore, sent a messenger to the emperor, begging that 
 she and all the women in the castle might be permitted 
 to leave it, with as much as they could carrj-, and that 
 they might be conducted to a place of safety. 
 
 The emperor granted the request, and stationed him- 
 self, with all his chief officers, and a great number of 
 soldiers, to witness their departure, expecting to see 
 them laden with apparel and caskets of jewels; but 
 what was their astonishment, when the castle gates 
 were thrown open, to behold a procession of females 
 
 coming forth, each carrying her husband on her back, and 
 moving forwards with great difficulty under such a heavy 
 burthen. The emperor was so pleased at such an 
 instance of conjugal affection, that he immediately pro- 
 posed terms of peace, and acknowledged Henry the Lion 
 as the rightful duke of Saxony. 
 
 It was soon after the termination of this war, that 
 a monk named St. Bernard, travelled through France 
 and Germany, preaching a new Crusade. Conrad the 
 emperor, and Louis-le-Jeune, king of France, were both 
 jHjrsuaded by his exhortations to engage in this enter- 
 prise; and as soon as their intentions were made known, 
 crowds of adventurers flocked to their standards, and 
 two vast armies were speedily formed. It is said that 
 the emperor left Germany at the head of three hundred 
 thousand men, a number which would not appear in- 
 credible when we consider that the Germans were not 
 manufacturers, that very few, in proportion to the whole 
 lx>pulation, were engaged in trade, and that the greater 
 part of the people had no other employment than 
 that of fighting; it is not surprising therefore that 
 the crusading sovereigns were able to raise immense 
 
 armies. 
 
 The expedition of Conrad was unfortunate; for very 
 few of those who followed him, lived to return. Many 
 thousands perished in Greece of an epidemic disor- 
 der, others were cut off by the Turks, and, at last, 
 the emperor returned home with the remnant of his 
 troops, and died of grief at the failure of an enterprise 
 from which he had expected to gain great renown. He 
 died in 1152, and was succeeded by his nephew, 
 Frederick Barbarossa, one of the most celebrated of all 
 the German emperors, and a prince whose energetic 
 
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 character was well fitted to overcome difficulties, and to 
 rule over the hauglity nobles of Germany. 
 
 Henry the Lion was still in possession of his duchy of 
 Saxony, and he now demanded tiie restoration of Bavaria, 
 which had been taken from his father by Conrad, and 
 bestowed on Leopold, the margrave of Austria. Fre- 
 derick Barbarossa acknowledged tiie justice of his claim, 
 and restored the duchy to him as the lawful heir. At the 
 same time, he compensated the margrave for his loss, 
 by erecting his fief of Austria into a duchy, and making 
 It mdependent of Bavaria, to which it ha<l before been 
 subject; so that Leopold, grandson of the unfortunate 
 emiK;ror, Henry the Fourtli, was the first duke of 
 Austria. 
 
 The prosperity of Henrj- the Lion was not of long 
 duration, for his possessions were so extensive, that he 
 had far too much power, and was, on that account, a 
 very dangerous subject. He refused to perform any of 
 his duties as a vassal, and gave reason for suspicion 
 that he had some idea of attempting to dethrone the 
 emperor, and place the crown on his own head; but, 
 however that might be. he gave ample cause for a 
 charge of treason to be brought against him, and being 
 summoned to appear before the Diet, he was banished, 
 and all his vast dominions were declared forfeited to the 
 crown. 
 
 The proud duke did not tamely submit to this hard 
 sentence, but collecting all the vassals who remained 
 taithful to h.m, he maintained a war against the emperor 
 for three years, when he was j.ardoned, on condition 
 that he should go to England, and remain there in exile 
 for a few years, during which time, his t^vo fiefs of 
 Brunswick and Lunenburg .hould be preserved for his 
 
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 61 
 
 children. England was chosen as his place of exile, 
 because his wife was the daughter of Henr}' the Second, 
 thou king of this country ; and it may here be remarked, 
 by the way, that one of his sons being the founder of the 
 House of Brunswick, the present royal family of Eng- 
 land are descendants of Henry the Lion. 
 
 The Danes being now freed from a powerful enemy, 
 began to make frequent irruptions into Saxony; and 
 the very year after Duke's Henry's banishment, the king 
 of Denmark not only threw off his allegiance to the 
 emperor, who was his lord paramount, but he seized on 
 the duchy of Holstein, and some other states belonging 
 to the empire, which caused a great deal of future war- 
 fare. The fall of Henry the Lion also made considerable 
 alterations in the divisions of the empire, and the 
 dependencies of different princes, for his territories had 
 been so large, that many new states arose from them, 
 while several cities that had been dependant on the 
 dukes of Saxony and Bavaria, were now made imperial 
 cities; and among these, were the two towns of Lubec 
 and Rdtisbon, which afterwards rose to so much im- 
 portance. As Lubec was one of the first and most 
 considerable of the Hanse towns, a short account of its 
 foundation may not be uninteresting. 
 
 About two years after the accession of Conrad the 
 Second, Adolphus, earl of Nordalbing, conquered a 
 tribe of Sclavonians, who inhabited a small peninsula on 
 the Baltic, and possessed himself of their country', which, 
 it occurred to him, might be made into a fine place for 
 trade; he, therefore, built a town on a spot which was 
 excellently situated for a harbour, and gave it the name 
 of Lubec. 
 
 Having built this town, an undertaking of no long 
 
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 63 
 
 duration, since its size was at first inconsiderable, and 
 its houses were of wood, he offered grants of hmd to any 
 Dutch an(J Flemish farmers who would bring their 
 families to settle in the surrounding country, which, in 
 consequence, was soon occupied and cultivated, and 
 Lubec became a nourishing trading town, having many 
 ships belonging to the inhabitants. So great was its 
 prosperity, that the commerce of the neighbouring 
 towns began to be eclipsed; and Henry the Lion, who 
 was then the lord over all the country, demanded that 
 Adolphus should give to him one half of his new city, as 
 a compensation for the loss he had sustained, by the 
 decrease of the trade at Lunenburg, from which he, as 
 feudal superior, used to derive great profits. Adolphus 
 refused to give away half his town, on which, the duke 
 issued a mandate, prohibiting the sale of any merchan- 
 dise at Lubec, except iir tides of food. 
 
 Soon after this, the city suffered extensively from fire, 
 and then Adolphus resigned it to the duke, who, in 
 order to induce the citizens to rebuild their houses, took 
 off the prohibition of trade, established a custom-house 
 and a mint there, and sent messengers into ever>' country 
 of the north, to invite merchants to bring thither their 
 goods. Lubec soon became one of the most prosperous 
 cities of the German empire ; and at the fall of Henry 
 the Lion, it was, as I said before, freed from its feudal 
 dei)endence on the diU^es of Saxony, and raised to the 
 rank of a free and imperial cit)'. 
 
 Frederick Barbarossa reigned thirty-eight years, during 
 which the country was in a more peaceable and pros- 
 perous state than it had been in for a very long time. 
 At the advanced age of seventy, this great prince under- 
 took a crusade to the Holy Land, where the renowned 
 
 Saladin, sultan of Egypt, was extending his conquests 
 over the Christians. 
 
 The cit>' of Jenisalem had fallen into the sultan's 
 hands, and the kingdom of Antioch was almost entirely 
 subdued, so that the Christians were in danger of being 
 driven out of Palestine, when Pope Clement the Third 
 ordered a crusade to be preached throughout Europe, 
 and Frederick was one of the first to take the cross. 
 He was joined by all the chief nobles and ecclesiastics of 
 Germany, and followed by a countless host of freemen; 
 for the misfortunes of the last band of crusaders that 
 went from Germany, did not deter others from the same 
 adventure. Many a count and baron, in order to pro- 
 cure money, and a splendid suit of armour for this 
 expedition, sold his superiority over his vassal towns, 
 which were thus converted into free cities. This had 
 been done, to a great extent, ever since the commence- 
 ment of the crusades ; so that many cities were now free 
 and wealthy, which, before these wars, had been under 
 feudal subjection. 
 
 Before his departure for the Holy Land, the emperor 
 made a progress through his dominions, accompanied by 
 his son, to whom he committed the care of the govern- 
 ment; and then he set forth on the famous crusade, in 
 which our king Richard the First took so active a 
 part. But Frederick Barbarossa died before the king of 
 England had reached Palestine; for after having gained 
 several victories over the infidels, he was drowned by 
 accident in a small stream. 
 
 This happened in the year 1190, and his son, Henry 
 the Sixth, who had been crowned king of the Romans, 
 was immediately elected to the imperial throne. He 
 was married to Constance, heiress to the crown of Sicily 
 
 
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 and Naples, or, as that kingdom was usually called, the 
 two Sicilies; but on the death of her father, a prince 
 named Tancred usuqjed her inheritance, which caused 
 the emperor to go to war with him, and the cruelties 
 committed by the German soldiers, and even by Henry 
 himself, in the course of this war, caused the Italians to 
 look upon him as a tyrant. 
 
 About this time, Henry the Lion came back from 
 England, and made several attempts to recover his domi- 
 nions ; but he was unsuccessful ; and it was with some 
 difficulty he preserved his patrimonial estates of Bruns- 
 wick and Lunenburg, with which he was, in the end, 
 obliged to content himself. 
 
 It was while Henry the Sixth was emperor of Ger- 
 many, that Richard the First, in returning from the 
 Holy Land, was made prisoner by Leopold, duke of 
 Austria; but as the story of his adventures has already 
 been related in the Histor)^ of England, I need not here 
 
 repeat it. 
 
 There is, however, one circumstance connected with 
 the crusade in which he had been engaged, which merits 
 your attention, and that is. the rise of a powerful order 
 of men. Cidled the Teutonic knights, who were afterwards 
 as famous as the Templars. These knights owed their 
 origin to the establishment of a charitable societ}% com- 
 posed of some of the citizens of Bremen and Lubec, 
 who, during the siege of Acre, one of the cities of 
 PiUestine. associated themselves together for the care of 
 the sick and wounded, and joined the Christian armies 
 
 for that purpose. 
 
 When Henry the SLxth returned from his Italian 
 wars, he formed this society into a regular order of 
 military and religious knights, in imitation of the 
 
 
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 65 
 
 I. 
 
 Templars, and built a house for them at Coblentz. 
 They were governed by a grand master, and gained 
 great renown by frequent crusades against the infidels, 
 and made themselves famous by expeditions against the 
 pagans of Prussia, Courland, and Livonia, in which 
 countries they acquired large possessions, and, in 
 time, became masters of the richest provinces of the 
 north. 
 
 When Henry the Sixth died in 1198, for he only 
 reigned seven years, his infant son Frederick became 
 emperor without any election; for his father had per- 
 suaded the Diet to pass a law w^hich made the crown here- 
 ditary^; but it was necessary to have a regent until the 
 young emperor should be of age, and the question was, 
 who had the best claim to the regency. One party 
 chose Philip, duke of Swabia, the uncle of the infant 
 sovereign; while another proposed Otho, duke of Bruns- 
 wick, the son of Henry the Lion, who was now dead. 
 Otho was nephew to Richard, king of England, who. 
 therefore, naturally gave him his support, as did also the 
 ix)pe; and he was actually elected emperor, and crowned, 
 notwithstanding the law of inheritance. 
 
 The opposite party, on finding this, crowned the 
 prince they had chosen, and then each of the emperors 
 elected a pope ; so that there were now three emperors 
 and three popes, all reigning at the same time. This 
 confusion, however, did not last long, for Philip was 
 assassinated, and Otho of Brunswick was acknowledged 
 sole master of the empire; for no one thought much 
 about the young Frederick, w^ho was still a child, and 
 living in Italy with his mother, the Empress Constance, 
 in whose right he inherited the kingdom of Sicily, where 
 he had been crowned. 
 
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 67 
 
 Now Otho the Fourth was rather a tyrannical prince, 
 and not content with usurping the dominions of Frede- 
 rick, he demanded that he should do homage for Sicily 
 as a lief of the imperial crown, which, being refused, he 
 invaded that country; and it was during his absence, 
 that Valdemar the Great, king of Denmark, made 
 himself master of the whole coast of the Baltic, from 
 Holstein to Livonia. 
 
 The Germans now beccan to be dissatisfied with Otho's 
 government, because he neglected the affairs of his own 
 empire, to interfere in those of Italy; so they deposed 
 him, and invited Frederick, who had now arrived at 
 manhood, to come and take possession of a throne that 
 was lawfully his own. Frederick, therefore, set out 
 for Germany; but Otho had still a strong party in his 
 favour, who guarded the passes of the Alps to intercept 
 his rival, who, after many narrow escapes, at length 
 reached his new dominions in safety; and as he was 
 immediately proclaimed in all the towns, Otho gave up 
 the contest, and retired to Brunswick, where he spent 
 the remainder of his life in rehinous exercises. 
 
 Frederick the Second was crowned with much mag- 
 nificence, at Aix-la-Chapelle, in the year 1215, when he 
 made a promise to the pope, that, to prevent further 
 disputes, the crowns of Sicily and Germany should never 
 be united; and, in pursuance of this engagement, he 
 gave up the former to his son. Frederick the Second 
 was one of the most enlightened men of the age; he 
 was acquainted with six languages, was a poet, and a 
 patron of literature. 
 
 The trade of Germany was, at this time, so con- 
 siderable, that, in tlie early part of the reign of Fre- 
 derick, the merchants of Cologne established a hall or 
 
 factor}' in London, called the guildhall of the Germans; 
 a privilege, for wliich they paid thirty marks to the king. 
 This ludl became, in time, the residence of the German 
 merchants in London, after the formation of that cele- 
 brated confederacy, called the Hanseatic league, entered 
 into by the commercial towns of Germany, during this 
 reign, for the protection of their goods from pirates and 
 robbers, a more full account of which, you will find in 
 the History of the Northern nations. 
 
 When Frederick was crowned, he made a vow that he 
 would lead a crusade to the Holy Land; but he found so 
 much to do at home, that he constantly put oflf the 
 fulfilment of his engagement, till the pope grew so 
 angr}', that he pronounced a sentence of excommunication 
 against him ; on which, he began to make preparations 
 for his departure. His pride, however, prevented him 
 from asking for absolution, before he set sail, so that 
 when he arrived at Ptolemais, none of the crusaders 
 would join him, because he was an excommunicated 
 man. The Templars, the Teutonic knights, the Knights 
 of St. John, all refused to admit him to their society, 
 or to lend him the smallest aid, upon which he must 
 have relied, previous to his departure, since he had only 
 a small band of one hundred knights, who had accom- 
 panied him from Germany, for he did not raise a large 
 army, as other emperors had done. 
 
 'I'he result of this crusade seems rather mysterious, 
 for Frederick met with more success than any others 
 who had gone on the same adventure, at the head of a 
 countless host. He made peace with the Sultan of 
 Egypt, who surrendered to him Bethlehem, Nazareth, 
 and part of Jerusalem; so that in spite of all dis- 
 advantages, he returned in triumph to Germany. Some 
 
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 69 
 
 say, thi.< extraordinary success was owing to his great 
 valour; others think, with more probabihty, that there 
 was some secret understanding between the emperor and 
 the sultan, by which the latter was induced to make an 
 agreement, not intended to be binding; but that would 
 save the credit of the emperor, and give him a sort of 
 triumph over the poi)e. Whatever might have been 
 the occasion of his good fortune, he certainly came back 
 to Europe with all the glory of a conqueror; and having 
 effected a reconcihation with the pope, he returned to 
 Germany. 
 
 Frederick being now on friendly terms with the 
 j)rinces of the east, the merchants and factors of Ger- 
 many travelled by land and water as far as India, and 
 gained so much wealth by their traffic, that, after it had 
 been carried on for some years, twelve camels were sent 
 to the emperor laden with gold and silver, being the 
 profits of his share in the eastern trade; and out of the 
 wealth thus acquired, he was able to send rich silks, and 
 other valuable presents, to Henry the Third of England, 
 and his brother, Richard, duke of Cornwall, and to 
 bequeath one hundred thousand ounces of gold for the 
 service of the Holy Ltmd. 
 
 The rest of the reign of Frederick the Second was 
 chiefly spent in civil wars, both in Italy and Germany; 
 for the peace with the pope did not last long, and he 
 was again excommunicated and dej)osed; but he would 
 not submit to the sentence, declaring, that as long as 
 he could wield a sword, he would never part with 
 his crown. 
 
 This brave prince died in the year 1250, at Naples, 
 where he had founded an university, and many schools; 
 for you must remember, that a great part of Italy still 
 
 belonged to the empire, and Frederick was as anxious 
 for the encouragement of learning in that countr)% as in 
 Germany. The University of Vienna was also founded 
 by him; and he conferred many new privileges on the 
 imperial towns, among which was one of very great 
 importance, bestowed on the citizens of Frankfort, 
 securing to tliem, in future, the right of disposing of 
 their sons and daughters in marriage, without the con- 
 sent of the emj^eror. 
 
 During the reign of Frederick the Second, the 
 Tatars, a race of people, hitherto unheard of in Euuope, 
 conquered llus.^ia, and spread desolation throughout 
 Hungary and Poland. The German emperor wrote to 
 all the Christian princes, to beg they would unite their 
 forces for the expulsion of these barbarians, who threat- 
 ened destruction to all the west of Europe; but as 
 the poj)e was at war with the emperor, other sovereigns 
 were prevented from rendering their assistance; and the 
 Tat£u-s were driven back to Russia by the Germans 
 alone. 
 
 I have had, and shall have, frequent occasion to speak 
 of the pope, but you must understand, that whenever 
 1 do so, I seldom speak of the same person ; for the 
 popes being usually old men when they were raised to 
 the papal chair, seldom reigned long', so that they 
 succeeded each other more quickly than the kings. 
 During the reign of Frederick the Second, there were 
 no less than six different popes, therefore, to avoid con- 
 fusion, I shall not mention them by name, unless there 
 is any thing remarkable to relate of either; for it is of 
 very little consequence whether the name of the pontiff 
 by whom the emperor was excommunicated, happened 
 to be Honorius or Gregory; but when you read the 
 
70 
 
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 History of Italy, you will know something more about 
 these great potentates. 
 
 Frederick may be considered as the last of the 
 Swabian emperors; for although his son Conrad took 
 the title of emjieror, and was acknowledged by all those 
 who called themselves Ghibelins, which meant the party 
 opposed to the pope; still, he had to contend for the 
 throne with William, count of Holland, who had been 
 elected before the death of Frederick by the pope's 
 adherents, who were cedled Guelphs; therefore, he never 
 really reigned in Germany. Conrad died four years 
 after his accession, leaving an only son, then an infant, 
 whose misfortunes and untimely fate will be related in 
 the next chapter. 
 
 THE LONG A.NARCHY. 
 
 HSff* ^© mWo 
 
 The long anarchy was a period of about twenty years, 
 that elapsed between the death of Conrad the Fourth 
 and the election of Rodolf of Hai)sburg, the first 
 emperor of the house of Austria. Conrad being dead, 
 and his young son having no friends to interest them- 
 selves for him, the pope gave away the kingdom of 
 Sicily to the French prince, Charles of Anjou; and a 
 great number of competitors appeared for the imperial 
 crowD, the principal of whom were WiUiam of Holland, 
 
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 71 
 
 Richard, duke of Cornwall; and Alfonso, the king of 
 Castile. Neither of these princes could properly be 
 called the emperor, although each was elected and crowned 
 by a different party. The duke of Cornwall was unwise 
 enough to exi)end upon his coronation, the immense sum 
 of seven hundred thousand pounds of silver; a piece of 
 folly that was a great injury to the English i)eople, by 
 taking so much wealth out of the country. 
 
 There was now no supreme government in Germany. 
 The laws were utterly disregarded ; every castle was again 
 filled with banditti, and every petty prince was a captain 
 of robbers. The highways were so insecure, that no one 
 thought of travelling without an escort, and the escorts 
 were often bands of robbers, who undertook the service 
 for a stipulated reward. A great many romantic tales 
 have been founded on the lawless state of society in 
 Germany, during these twenty years. 
 
 In the mean time, the young Conrad grew up, and, 
 although he was neither emperor nor king of Sicily, 
 he was duke of Swabia, that duchy being his patri- 
 monial inheritance. He was a brave prince, and at the 
 age of sixteen, he, in conjunction with his cousin, 
 Frederick, duke of Austria, a noble youth about his own 
 age, raised an army, and entered Italy, for the purpose 
 of attempting to recover some part of his dominions. 
 Several of the Italian towns declared in his favour; but 
 a battle w^as fought, in which the youthful heroes were 
 defeated, and both being taken prisoners, they were 
 beheaded by order of Charles of Anjou, in the market 
 place of Naples. 
 
 I must now tell you how it happened that there was 
 such a multiplicity of princes in Germany, each in poss- 
 session of a very small territory. At the fall of Henry 
 
72 
 
 GERMANV 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 73 
 
 the Lion, the duchies of Saxony and Bavaria were 
 dismembered, and divided into a great number of small 
 fiefs, which were bestowed on vassals, who st}'led them- 
 selves Princes of the empire, and each of thcra was a 
 petty sovereign, being subject only to the emperor. 
 
 After the melancholy death of Conrad, the duchy of 
 Swabia was divided in like manner, and a great many 
 more princes then appeared in German histor\\ As 
 these died, they left their dominions among their sons, 
 who were all princes of the empire of equal rank, but 
 with smaller possessions than those held by their fathers ; 
 and these being again and again subdivided, the princes 
 of Germany were as numerous as bees in a hive, and the 
 estates of some of them were not larger than a good-sized 
 farm. However, they had the same authority in these 
 petty states, that was formerly possessed by the dukes in 
 their vast domains ; and the emperor could neither build 
 fortresses, nor coin money, nor levy taxes, nor enforce 
 the laws by means of his judges, in any of these small 
 states, where the princes were the absolute lords. All 
 these princes had a right to a seat in the provincial Diet, 
 but in consequence of the repeated subdivision of the 
 lands, they all became, in time, very poor, and very 
 powerless. 
 
 While the ncblcs were thus growing poor, the citizens 
 were becoming rich, and as many of them now elected 
 their own magistrates, the wealthy citizens had an oppor- 
 tunity of rising to municipal dignities, which placed them 
 on a level, even with princes, so that matrimonial 
 alliances were sometimes formed between the families of 
 nobles and those of citizens, which put an end to that 
 marked distinction which formerly existed. 
 
 The condition of the serfs and peasantry was con- 
 
 siderably ameUorated, for absolute slavery had ceased 
 throughout the greater part of the empire, although in a 
 few states, it existed in its worst form. However, on 
 the whole, great improvements had taken place in'the 
 state of the middle and lower classes, who were rapidly 
 nsnig to their proper place in society. 
 
 The dreadful state of die country, however, during the 
 long anarchy, had proved a great injury to trade and 
 agriculture. Warfare was going on in every state be- 
 tween the partisans of the several claimants for the 
 crown; the lands were laid waste, castles were besie-ed 
 and females obliged to fly for refuge to the convents' 
 Merchants could not send their goods to any distance 
 without a strong guard; and, at length, as this even was 
 not a sufficient protection against the nobles of Swabia 
 and Franconia, who were aU bandit chiefs, and whose 
 attacks were directed principally against the merchants' 
 caravans, all the cities on both sides of the Rhine 
 about seventy in number, joined together for mutual 
 defence against the robbers, whose gangs were numerous 
 enough to be called armies; and whose depredations, 
 when successful, were looked upon as victories, and 
 applauded as meritorious actions. 
 
 The confederation of the cities was strengthened by 
 the support of the archbishops of Mentz and Cologne, 
 and was called the League of the Rhine. The citizens,' 
 thus associated, formed armies as numerous and as pow' 
 erful as those with which they had to contend; and the 
 warfare which ensued, continued, tiU the great princes 
 began to see that, unless they placed a sovereign at the 
 head of the empire, it must soon be utterly ruined; they 
 therefore, assembled a Diet of election at Frankfort, ajid 
 
' t-ws*»sr=(-E 
 
 74 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 being resolved to be governed by none but a native 
 prince, the election was determined in favour of Kodulf 
 of Hapsburg. 
 
 75 
 
 HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. 
 RODOLF OF HAPSBURG. 
 
 IloDOLF, the founder of the present house of Austria, 
 was an obscure prince of the ancient family of Austria, 
 who had inherited his father's title of Count of Haps- 
 burg, with a small territor}-, and castle of that name, in 
 Switzerland. Kodolf was a warrior, and had served in 
 the armies of Ottocar, king of Bohemia, where he had 
 distinguished himself by his braver}-; but he never 
 thought of aspiring to the crown, and when he heard 
 that he was elected emperor, he was as much surj)riscd 
 as ever}' body else. 
 
 It happened thus. The archbishop of Mentz, who was 
 one of the electors, and, perhaps, the most influential of 
 them all, had occasion, during tlie long anarchy, to pay 
 a visit to Rome, and fearing that his own retinue would 
 be insufficient for his protection, he begged of Rodolf 
 to furnish him with a band of horsemen, to conduct him 
 to the Itahan frontiers. The count not only complied 
 with his request, but he put himself at the head of his 
 vassals, and escorted the reverend prelate across the 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 Alps m safety. During this jouniey, the archbi.hop 
 liad an oj)portunity of becoming intimately acquainted 
 with the character of Rodolf, and the high estimate lie 
 had formed of it, induced him, . at the Diet of election, 
 to propose this idmo.-t- unknown individual as a proper 
 person to be placed at the head of the empire; and he 
 was elected accordingly, to the great mortification of the 
 several candidates, but more particularly of Ottocar of 
 Bohemia, who was himself one of the electors. 
 
 The arclibishop had, probably, some httle trouble in 
 ciu-rying his point, for it ai)pears he persuaded three of 
 the electors to give their votes, by i)romising they should 
 marr>- Rodolf 's daughters; and as the next advantage to 
 being elected themselves, was a close alliance to'' the 
 emperor, wlio was sure to have valuable fiefs at his dis- 
 posed, they voted accordingly. llie seven electors ^^•ere 
 the archbishops of Mcntz, Treves, and Cologne; the 
 dukes of Bavaria and Saxony; the margrave of Branden- 
 burg, and the king of Bohemia. 
 
 When the news of his election was brought to Rodolf, 
 he was engaged in besieging the city of Basle, and so 
 httle did he exi)ect such an honour, that he, at first, 
 treated the intelhgence as a jest; but he soon found it 
 was true, and the citizens of Basle were the first to open 
 their gates and acknowledge him as their emperor; after 
 which, he proceeded immediately to Aix-la-Chapelle, 
 where he was crowned by his good friend, the archbishop 
 of Mentz. Such was the beginning of the since-pow- 
 erful and illustrious house of Austria, the members of 
 which have just reason to be proud of the founder of 
 their greatness. 
 
 Rodolf was fifty-five years of age, when he ascended 
 the throne, he was nearly seven feet in height; his 
 
76 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 
 I ; 
 
 figure was slender, his head almost bald, his complexion 
 pale, aiid his countenance grave and thoughtful; but his 
 temper was cheerful, and his manners extremely affable, 
 so that he soon became popular. 
 
 The first and greatest object of this prince was to put 
 an end to the troubles that had so long distracted the 
 countr}% and to bring the neglected laws again into force. 
 But his plans were, for some time, delayed by a war 
 with the king of Bohemia and the duke of Bavaria, who 
 w^ould not take the oath of allegiance, or do homage for 
 their fiefs. It is related that the king, when summoned 
 to appear before the emperor for this purpose, said 
 insultingly, ** What does Rodolf want with me ? I have 
 paid him his wages;'* alluding to the time when the 
 emperor was in his service. 
 
 The war went on for three years, when Ottocar was 
 obliged so submit; but Rodolf was a generous enemy, 
 and allowed him to retain his kingdom of Bohemia, only 
 obliging him to give up the provinces of Austria, Styria, 
 and Carinthia, which he had usurped. When peace 
 was made between these two sovereigns, it was agreed 
 that a son of Ottocar should marry a daughter of 
 Rodolf, and a son of Rodolf a daughter of Ottocar; 
 but the Bohemian monarch soon rebelled again, and 
 placed his daughter in a convent, till, at length, he 
 being killed in battle, the young lady, after a time, was 
 released, and became the bride of the emperor's son. 
 
 When Ottocar was dead, Rodolf secured to his own 
 family the whole of the Austrian dominions, made his 
 son Albert duke of Austria, and fixed his residence at 
 Vienna, to which he granted all the privileges of an 
 imperial city; and then he turned all his attention 
 towards restoring peace and good order to the country. 
 
 GERMANY. y>^ 
 
 He had tcdven care, immediately on his accession, to 
 strengthen his authority by obtaining the friendship and 
 support of the pope, Gregor>^ the Tenth, who was a 
 wise and good man, and very .desirous of promoting the 
 good of the em])ire, which he could not do better, "than 
 by aiding the views of so patriotic a prince as Rodolf. 
 
 The war being over, the emperor began to take very 
 decided measures for putting a stop to highway robbery 
 by destroying the strongholds of the banditti that in-' 
 fested the roads in all directions. In one year, he 
 demolislied not less than seventy castles, and put to 
 death twenty-nine noblemen of the province of Thu- 
 ringia, who, in defiance of his command, had continued 
 their depredations. The friends of some of these noble 
 culprits i)etitioned the emperor to spare their lives; but 
 he remained firm to his purpose, saying, - Do not, I beg 
 you, interfere in behalf of these robbers, nor call them 
 nobles, wliich they are not; for true nobility is faithful 
 and just, neither breaking the pubHc peace, nor doing 
 injury to any one." 
 
 The emperor was thus severe in punishing these law- 
 less barons, because he knew it was the only way to 
 remedy the evils caused by so many years of misrule; 
 and he was equally strict in prohibiting the building of 
 any fortresses and towers that were not necessary for the 
 defence of the country. The beneficial effects of his 
 measures were soon felt, and displayed in the improved 
 appearance of the empire: the land was again cultivated, 
 and commerce revived, because the roads were rendered 
 safe for the conveyance of merchandise. The emperor 
 was so desirous that the laws should be enforced, and 
 justice strictly administered, that he often presided in the 
 courts himself, and never refused to hear a complaint, 
 
 11 3 
 
78 
 
 GERMANY 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 however humble the rank of the comi)lainant. An 
 instance of this one day occurred, when his guards were 
 tr}^ing to prevent the approach of some poor ix?oplc, who 
 wished to present a petition to the sovereign. " Let 
 them come," said he, *' I was not made emperor to be 
 excluded from my fellow creatures." 
 
 The conduct of Uodolf made him beloved and re- 
 spected by all who were friends to good order, but gave 
 great dissatisfaction to the greater portion of the nobles, 
 who had been so long unaccustomed to any restraint, 
 that they were ver>' unwilling to submit to it; and, every 
 now and then, some rebellious vassal had to be subdued 
 and punished. There were many too, who, during the 
 troubles of the empire, had seized on fiefs to which they 
 had no right, and some of which belonged to the crown. 
 All these Rodolf demanded should be given up; and as, 
 in many cases, the demand was refused, he often had to 
 take them by force. 
 
 Among others, the count of Savoy had taken pos- 
 session of some estates and towTis in S\vitzerland ; and 
 as he refused to restore them, the emperor led his army 
 into the count's territories, and a desperate conflict took 
 place, which ended in his being obhged to give up the 
 fiefs in question. 
 
 An anecdote is told of Rodolf in this brief war, 
 which proves that, although he was an old man, being 
 now sixty-five years of age, he was still brave, strong, 
 and active. Being surrounded by several of the foe, 
 and thrown from his horse, he jumped into a lake, and 
 held by the branch of a tree, to avoid sinking from the 
 weight of his armour; and while in this position, he 
 defended himself with one hand, till some of his soldier* 
 came to his relief. 
 
 79 
 
 This emperor was a great friend to the freedom of the 
 cities, granting charters to many of them, by which their 
 rights were increased, and their trade was advanced. 
 Most of them had now the liberty of electing their 
 own magistrates, and very few remained under feudal 
 subjection. 
 
 Rodolf, though a strict, was not a stem, prince; but, 
 on the contrarjs was extremely good-natured. Once, 
 while he was staying at Mentz, he happened to walk out 
 one morning alone, and very plainly dressed; and as the 
 weather was very cold, he went into a baker*s*^shop to 
 warm himself. The baker's wife being, I suppose, rather 
 a cross dame, said sharply. " Soldiers have no business 
 to come into poor people's houses." ** Don't be angry," 
 said the emj)eror, '* I am an old soldier, who have spent 
 all my fortune in the ser\uce of that rascal Rodolf, and 
 now he suffers me to be in want." '* If you serve that 
 feUow," replied the woman, ** you deserve all your mis- 
 fortunes;—" and she burst forth into the most violent 
 invectives against the emperor, httle thinking to whom 
 she was addressing herself, and, at last, she threw a pail 
 of water on the fire, to raise a smoke, and force her 
 guest to leave the shop, which he did, laughing to him- 
 self at what had passed. 
 
 When he sat down to dinner, he desired his hostess to 
 send a boar's head and a bottle of wine to the baker's 
 wife, with some message from himself, by which she 
 discovered the mistake she had committed, and being 
 greatly terrified, came in haste, to solicit his pardon. 
 Rodolf gravely rephed, that he would forgive her, but 
 on one condition, which was, that she should repeat 
 before all the gentlemen present, every thing she had 
 
 I 
 
^iLw 
 
 80 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 said of him in the morning; which she did, to the 
 infinite amusement of the company. 
 
 This great and good prince died in the year 1291, 
 after a reign of eighteen years, aged seventy three, 
 leaving behind him a name scarcely equalled, certainly 
 not surpassed, in modern history, lie had never visited 
 Italy, for he wisely considered that it was better to spend 
 his time in doing good for his own country, than in 
 lighting to preserve the mere name of king in a foreign 
 state, which was growing too powerful to allow the 
 emperors more than a nominal authority, llodolf was 
 contemporaiy with our Edward the First. 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF RODOLF, 
 
 TO THE ACCESSION OF 
 
 CHARLES THE FOURTH. 
 
 mm 'JT® HM^. 
 
 Much as llodolph had been beloved and respected, his 
 son was not chosen to succeed him, because tlie electors 
 thought the empire would be better governed by Adol- 
 phus, count of Nassau, who was therefore elected, to the 
 great mortification of Albert, duke of Austria, the son 
 of the late emperor, who went to war with him. The 
 government of Adolphus did not give general satisfac- 
 tion. During the seven years that he occupied the 
 
 I 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 81 
 
 i 
 
 throne of Germany, the Jews were so cruelly treated in 
 all the towns, that many in despair, destroyed tl^in- 
 selves and their families, to avoid the dreadful persecution, 
 to which they were subjected. 
 
 Adolphus of Nassau was deposed, after having 
 reigned seven years, when Albert was elected, and very 
 soon afterwards slew the deposed emperor in battle, with 
 his own hand. 
 
 The most remarkable event that took place in the 
 time of Albert the First, was the foundation of the 
 HepubHc of Switzerland, which had hitherto been 
 dependent on the empire, and would probably have 
 remained so, but for the tyTanny of the governors placed 
 over the towns by the emperor. 
 
 The Swiss had long dwelt happily, in their wild 
 mountainous country, living frugally by the labour of 
 their hands, and enjoying so large a share of freedom, 
 that they had scarcely felt their subjection. Many of 
 their to^Tis were free and imperial cities, and their rights 
 and privUeges had been firmly defended by the emperor 
 Rodolf, against some of the nobles, who had attempted 
 to infringe on them. The Swiss were an industrious, 
 simple-hearted, but uninstructed race of people, tcna^ 
 cious of their liberty, and brave to excess. 
 
 The Emperor Albert, however, wanted to be absolute 
 lord over the country, but finding the Swiss determined 
 to resist so great an encroachment on their freedom, he 
 appointed governors in all the towns, who, by means of 
 a military force, were able to conduct themselves in the 
 most tyrannical manner. Some brave patriots, amongst 
 whom was the celebrated William Tell, then leagued 
 together to free their country from the Austrian govern- 
 ment, and havmg formed their plan, the inhabitants of 
 
82 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 the three cantons of Uri, Scliwitz, and Undcrwalden, 
 all rose in revolt at the same time, and expelled the 
 Austrians from the countr}\ 
 
 These three provinces having obtained their liberty, 
 the others soon followed their exam])lc, and from this 
 befj^inning, Switzerland in time arose to the rank of an 
 independent republic. The emperor Albert endeavoured 
 to re-establish his authority, but while heading his army 
 against the Swiss, he was assassinated by his nc])hevv 
 the duke of Swabia, whom he had unjustly deprived of 
 his inheritance. 
 
 The duke, it seems, had so well dissembled his re- 
 sentment, that Albert had not the least suspicion of 
 his treacherous design, and being encamped with his 
 army on the bank of a small river, near the ancient 
 domain of Hapsburg, he incautiously crossed the stream, 
 attended only by the duke and two other noblemen, 
 who were in the plot. 
 
 As they rode slowly through the fields at the foot of 
 the castle, engaged in conversation, the duke suddenly 
 seized his uncle's bridle, exclaiming, " Will you now 
 give me back my inheritance.^" and without waiting 
 for a reply, plunged a dagger into the neck of the 
 unfortunate emperor, who fell from his horse, in the 
 sight of his son and the whole army, who were on the 
 opposite side of the river. The conspirators instantly 
 fled, and their victim expired in the arms of a poor 
 woman, who happened to be passing by and stopped to 
 render him assistance. 
 
 Such was the tragical fate of Albert the First, whose 
 death was not lamented, for he had never been a popular 
 sovereign; therefore, the people did not make choice of 
 his son for their next emperor, but elected Henry, 
 
? > 
 
 ? -• 
 
 O. I 
 
 [p. X 
 
GERMANY. 
 
 83 
 
 Count of Luxcml)urg, under the title of Henry the 
 Seventh, who reigned only six years, the chief part of 
 M he spent in Italy, toing to revive the authority 
 of the trerman emperors over that countrj'. 
 
 The premature death of Henry the Seventh, which 
 was attributed to poison, threw the empire again into 
 confusion, and caused a civil war. which lasted several 
 years. The reason of the war was this:-As soon as 
 Henry the Seventh was dead, Frederick, duke of 
 Austna, the son of Albert, and Louis of Bavaria 
 another grandson of Rodolf, came forward as compe- 
 titers for the crown. ^ 
 
 The dispute between them was not decided, as on 
 former occasions, by the Diet; but those princes who 
 were fr.cndly to Louis, assembled at Aix la Chanelle 
 and crowned him there, while the partisans of Frederick 
 held an assembly at Cologne, in which they declared him 
 emperor and his coronation was performed in that city 
 Ihen a furious civU war commenced, both in Germany 
 and Italy, the adherents of tlie two princes reviving the 
 names of Guelphs and Ghibelins. 
 
 It was in the year 1314 that this war commenced, 
 and It went on for eight years before either party gained 
 any deeded advantage, when the battle of Muldorf won 
 by Louis, decided the contest in his favour, and Frederick 
 being made prisoner, died in confinement. Tliis unfor' 
 tunate prmce is represented as having been so handsome, 
 so brave, so accomplished, and well beloved, that his 
 first wife died in consequence of grieving for his absence; 
 and his second, after he was made captive, wept so 
 incessantly, that she became blind. 
 
 It was during the wars between Louis and Frederick, 
 that the Swiss, who had fought above fifty battles with 
 
84 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 85 
 
 the Austrians, fully established their independence, 
 which they have preserved ever since. The emperor 
 Louis had some quarrels with the pope, in consequence 
 of which a law was passed in this reign, by which the 
 empire of Germany was made entirely independent of 
 papal authority. 
 
 For some years after this, the Germans enjoyed a 
 
 degree of tranquiUity, to which they had long been 
 
 strangers. Tournaments, which had been discontinued 
 
 in Germany for nearly four hundred years, were now 
 
 revived with great splendour. The citizens were 
 
 opulent; above two hundred free cities were governed 
 
 by their own laws; the mechanical arts had made more 
 
 progress than in any other country, for the Germans 
 
 were then, as they still are, extremely ingenious, and to 
 
 tlicm is attributed the discovery of gunpowder, about this 
 
 time; for although its composition was certainly known 
 
 to Roger Bacon a century before, it was a German monk, 
 
 or an apothecary, named Barthold Schwartz, who first 
 
 made known its destructive properties. Cannons, then 
 
 called bombards, were soon afterwards invented. 
 
 At tliis period, the law was beginning to be studied as 
 a profession, which opened a new and honourable em- 
 ployment for the younger sons of the nobility, who had 
 hitherto been driven, for want of fitting occupation, to 
 seek in the wars a refuge from the monotony of an idle 
 life. Instead of being rough soldiers, many men now 
 became learned lawyers. Colleges were instituted 
 in many places; young men imbibed a taste for science 
 and literature; and the manners of society, generally, 
 began to be softened and improved. 
 
 The Germans, however, still had many customs that 
 were very nearly alhed to those of barbarism, among 
 
 which, was the installation of dukes and barons, on their 
 coming into possession of a fief. When a great fief 
 became vacant, by the death of its possessor, and there 
 was no direct heir, the emperor had the right of invest- 
 ing a new vassal, which was always done with particular 
 ceremonies, as thus : a platform being erected on some 
 oi)en space of ground, the emperor took his seat upon it, 
 arrayed in his robes of state, surrounded by the electors, 
 and many princes of the empire. 
 
 The nobleman on whom the fief was to be bestowed, 
 appeared before the platform on horseback, attended 
 by his friends, and a train of vassals ; and on a given 
 signal, the whole party gallopped round the platform 
 to the sound of drums and trumpets, but bearing no 
 banners. Again they performed the same evolution, 
 displaying the banner of the chief; and a third time they 
 gallopped round, carrying a new banner, decorated with 
 the arms of the state of which he was about to become 
 the lord. 
 
 When these three courses had been made, he dis- 
 mounted, and ascended the platform, conducted by two 
 princes, where, kneeling before the throne, he performed 
 the act of homage, which was done by placing his hands 
 between those of the sovereign, and swearing to obey 
 him as his vassal. Then the emperor invested him with 
 the fief, by delivering to him all the old banners belong- 
 ing to it, which were thrown among the crowd, who tore 
 them to pieces. 
 
 This mode of investing with fiefs, by the delivery of 
 banners, was a very ancient custom in Germany; and as 
 every large fief contained several smaller ones, and each 
 inferior vassal had his banner; all these banners were 
 collected and destroyed, on the investiture of a fresh 
 
86 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 lord, who bestowed new ones in their stead, on his 
 future dependants, who, in receiving them, acknowledged 
 his superiority. 
 
 There was a very peculiar custom belonging to the 
 duchy of Carinthia, the dukes of which were not installed 
 by the emperor, but were obliged to make a pretence of 
 purchasing their lands from the people. How this 
 custom originated, I cannot tell you, but the description 
 of the manner in which it was obser\'ed is ver}' amusing. 
 When a duke of Carinthia died, and the heir was to be 
 put in possession of the duchy, the people chose some 
 free peasant to be their representative, of w^hom the new 
 duke was to buy his territories. 
 
 The right of representation belonged to one particular 
 family, who had possessed it for many generations, and 
 it was considered a great honour, besides having some 
 emoluments attached to it. On the day appointed, the 
 peasant was conducted to the ])lace of inauguration, 
 where he took his seat on a large block of marble, that 
 stood under a tree, and was used only on these occasions. 
 Crowds of country- folks assembled to await the coming 
 of the new duke, who approached on foot, dressed in the 
 garb of a countryman, carrying a crook, a spade, and a 
 wallet, filled with bread and cheese. He was conducted 
 by two noblemen on foot, and followed by all the knights 
 and nobles of the province on horseback, in splendid 
 array, beaiing the flags and banners of the duchy. 
 
 The peasant who was seated on the marble seat, in 
 affected astonishment, then said to those around him, 
 "Who comes hither in such state?" to which they 
 replied, "The prince of the countr}'." "Is he a good 
 man, and just, and a Christian prince?'' demanded the 
 peasant. The answer, of course, was, " Yes, he is.'* 
 
 87 
 
 "Then," said the peasant, "by whaf rrVV^f -n v 
 remove me from this seat?" X L^ ''"" ^' 
 for sixty pence " wl. r , "^ ^^'^^ ^^7 it of thee 
 £ravo nn I '^ ""^P^J'' «" ^^'J"ch the peasant 
 
 P^e up his seat to the duke, bein- entitled fn i 
 in this curious scene to thp nl T^ ' ' ^"' ^^"^ 
 
 the sixty pence nZ'/ I '" ''""' ^^ ^^^^ P""^e, 
 
 free and n ^ '^' '"^^ '^' ^^^erty of living ren 
 
 iree, and paying no taxes. ^ ^ 
 
 of Ilr tti""^ ''^'^° ''^ '"'''■ '-^--^ '^- '-mage 
 
 ceed;d Tot: Z77'1 ^"''^^ '° ^"^ j^-p'- 1-- 
 
 one of the ^rroof • ^ Carinthia was 
 
 FROM TUfi ACCESSION 
 
 OF 
 
 CHARLES THE FOURTH, 
 
 TO THAT OP 
 
 FREDERICK THE THIRD. 
 
 You may remember that Ottocar, the king of Bohemia 
 had a son, who married a dau-hter nf\u 
 Rodnlf TT,- ■ "augnter ot the emperor 
 
 Kodolf. Th.s son, whose name was John, became kino- 
 o Bohem,a, at h.s father's death, and was killed at th: 
 battle of Cressy, by the Bluek Prince, who, it is sid 
 
88 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY, 
 
 took three ostrich feathers from the helmet of the 
 faUen monarch, and placed them in his o%vn, as a trophy 
 of his vlctorj-; since which, the crest that surmounts the 
 arms of the princes of Wales, has heen a plume of 
 
 three feathers. 
 
 The son and heir of John, was Charles, margrave of 
 Moravia, who, as being grandson of Hodolf, was now 
 elected emperor of Germany, and thus the crown of 
 Bohemia was united to that of the empire. Charles the 
 Fourth was not a very distinguished character, stdl he 
 rendered his name famous, by making a law called the 
 Golden Bull, by which rules were established for the 
 election of all future emperors, and the number of 
 electors, which had often been a subject of dispute, was 
 
 limited to seven. 
 
 This celebrated law was called the Golden BuU 
 because every copy, distributed by the emperor, had a 
 seal of gold attached to it. The best thing that can be 
 said of Charles the Fourth is, that he was an encourager 
 of learning, and founded the university of Prague, 
 which contributed greatly towards the advancement of the 
 youth of Bohemia, in knowledge and refinement. Charles 
 died in 1378, having reigned thirt>'-one years, and was 
 succeeded in Bohemia and Germ^my by his eldest son 
 Wenceslaus; the rest of his dominions being divided 
 between his two younger sons, Sigismund and John. 
 
 The reign of Wenceslaus was most remarkable, 
 owing, in great measure, to his personal character, which 
 was marked by eccentricities of the most extraordinary 
 kind. He was fond of low company, was violent in 
 temper, cruel and indolent; and, added to his other bad 
 qualities, his love of drinking was so great,".that he was 
 scarcely ever sober. Among many instances of his 
 
 89 
 
 fantastic caprice and horrible cruelty, it was asserted that 
 he ordered his cook to be roasted alive, because he had 
 sent uj) a bad ragout to his table. 
 
 Wenceslaus was attached to his native country of 
 Bohemia, but was utterly indifferent to the affairs of 
 Germany, to which nothing could induce him to pay the 
 slightest attention. In consequence of this neglect 
 every thing fell into sad confusion, for although the 
 government of a bad man is not very desirable, still 
 there was a great deal of public business that could not 
 be transacted without the presence, or sanction at least 
 of the emperor; therefore, it was necessarily left undone' 
 to the great detriment of the people at large. Deputies' 
 were sent repeatedly by the Diet into Bohemia to 
 request that he would return to Germany, if it were 
 only for a short time, to settle some very pressing 
 business; but all the answer they could obtain was, that 
 he did not see what business there could be for him to 
 settle, and that if the princes wanted any thing done 
 they must come to him, for he thought he had done 
 qmte enough for them in accepting the crown. 
 
 The Germans, at last, were so incensed at his con- 
 duct, that they declared he was no longer emperor, and 
 elected m his stead, Rupert, count Palatine of the 
 Rhine; but Rupert was not a prince of sufficient energy 
 to remedy the disorders consequent on the bad govern- 
 ment, or rather on the want of government, which had 
 afforded an opportunity to such as were inclined, of 
 renewmg those depredadons which had brought 'the 
 country to a miserable state, during the long anarchy. 
 
 I^he citizens were frequently armed against the 
 nobles; the nobles against each other. Castles were 
 plundered and razed to the ground; and robberies were 
 
 I 3 
 
90 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 91 
 
 committed on the highways, in open day. It required a 
 prince like Rodolf to restore good order; one who knew 
 how to govern well, and to make himself obeyed; and 
 as the emperor now chosen, was not tlius qufdified, there 
 was no improvement in the state of the country during 
 the ten years of his rule. 
 
 In the meantime Wenceslaus had retained his 
 kingdom of Bohemia, and was so little grieved at the 
 loss of the empire, that when told he was deposed, he 
 said he was glad of it, as it would save him a great deal 
 of trouble; and when some of the imperial cities made 
 professions of their fidehty, he said very coolly that the 
 only proof he desired of their attachment was, that they 
 would send him some butts of their very best wine, 
 
 The bad conduct of this sovereign at last exhausted 
 the patience of his ow^n subjects of Bohemia to such a 
 degree, that he was put into one of the public prisons 
 at Prague, where he was actually kept on bread and 
 water, like any other prisoner, until he managed to effect 
 his escape, and reach a fortress, the governor of which 
 he knew was in his interest, and he was very soon at 
 the head of his kingdom again. 
 
 It was while Wenceslaus was reigning in Bohemia, 
 Sigismund his brother, in Hungary, and Rupert in Ger- 
 mimy, that a change in religion w^as attempted by two 
 churchmen, named John Huss, and Jerome of Prague. 
 They were learned men, and had adopted the same 
 opinions as those of the celebrated Wycliffe, who, about 
 the same time, began to preach in England, against 
 some of the rules of the Cathohc church, and the 
 power assumed by the pope in affairs unconnected with 
 the church. 
 
 This was the true beginning of the Reformation, and 
 
 the Hussites were as much persecuted in Hungarj^ and 
 Bohemia, as the LoUards were in England during the 
 reigns of Henry the Fourth and Henry the Fifth. 
 While John Huss was endeavouring to make converts to 
 his new doctrines, Rupert the emperor died, and 
 Sigismund, king of Hungary, was elected to the imperial 
 throne, Wenceslaus still retaining the crown of Bohemia. 
 The reign of Sigismund has gained a melancholy 
 notonety, by the religious wars begun in consequence 
 of the preaching of John Huss, who was tried by a 
 councU of the cardinals and bishops held at Constance, 
 where he was condemned to suffer death by the cruel 
 mode then so common, of being burnt alive; and Jerome 
 of Prague soon aften^ards shared the same fate. 
 
 The Hussites, enraged at the death of their apostle, 
 formed themselves into an army, headed by a brave 
 Bohemian, named Ziska, who, after the death of Wen- 
 ceslaus, made himself master of Bohemia, and carried on 
 war with the Emperor Sigismund, for several years. At 
 length this warlike chief died, and it is said that, by his 
 own desire, a drum was made of his skin, which was to 
 be sounded whenever a victory was gained. 
 
 The war continued seventeen years, when Sigismund 
 restored peace, by granting a general pardon, and 
 making some concessions to the Hussites; which reheved 
 them from the mortification.'of feelings to which they had 
 been forced to submit; and thus Bohemia was re-united 
 to the German empire. It was during this war that, in 
 consequence of the repeated victories gained by the 
 fierce and warlike Bohemians, a proposition was made 
 in the Diet, for the establishment of a standing army, 
 which, after some opposition, was consented to, and a 
 tax was levied on the inhabitants of every state, from 
 
92 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 the prince to the peasant, for the support of the soldiers. 
 A curious anecdote is told during this reign of one 
 Stibor, a Polish knight, who, in rewai'd for his ser\^ice9 
 in Hungary', received from the Emperor Sigisraund a 
 large grant of lands, and castles belonging thereto. In 
 one of the intervals of peace, when the warriors of 
 those days scarcely knew how to while away the time, 
 Stibor's jester one day amused him so well, that the 
 knight told him he might desire what he would, and it 
 should be granted. *• Then build me, in one year, a cas- 
 tle at the top of yon rock," said the jester, pointing to 
 the rock of Betzko, a rugged and perpendicular height, 
 the summit of which appeared inaccessible. 
 
 Every one said it was impossible to do so, except Stibor, 
 who declared it should be done, so he set men to work, 
 and building materials were dragged up the sides of the 
 rock ; but as the men did not proceed fast enough for 
 the accompUshment of the work within the given time, 
 all travellers were stopped and forced to lend their aid, 
 by sparing their horses for a week, by which means the 
 castle was completed within the year, when Stibor 
 persuaded his jester to take some land instead of it, that 
 he himself might occupy the castle of Betzko. The 
 ruins of this castle are still standing near the frontiers of 
 Poland and Bohemia. 
 
 The Turks, at this time, were beginning to be very 
 troublesome enemies to the German emperors, fre- 
 quently invading Hungary, and the neighbouring states; 
 and in order to repel these formidable invaders, Sigismund 
 enlisted into his armies, numbers of the Hussites, with 
 whom, as we have before observed, he had made peace. 
 
 The seat of the Turkish empire had been estabUshed, 
 at the close of tlie thirteenth century, in Asia Minor, by 
 
 GERMANY. g^ 
 
 the Sultan Othman, from whom it took the name of the 
 Ottoman emp.e, which it still retains. The sucee sot 
 
 passed mto Europe, where they extended their dominions 
 
 ^Z7mT r ''^ ^"^'^' ^""^ -^'^ endeavour;:;:: 
 
 Z^LZZ^^^'^ "^' ^^ ^P^^^^ their relijon 
 
 2 . ./r ' according to the command of their nro 
 Phet Mohammed. In the timp n^ ^; • V \ ^ 
 
 Amurath led h; 7 Sigismund, the Sultan 
 
 murath led his musselman armies into the Hungarian 
 ^mtones, but was several times defeated by the eTpe 
 
 duk. ,f 1 ' *°°->n-law and successor, Albert 
 
 TurLbB;i ' ""k'"'^' ^ ^^P^-"''- «^^^«' S 
 two ye^;, ^"'' "'"'^ ^^ "''"' ^'- - brief reign of 
 
 wifwJt nTT-'^'' r '"^^^ ^"-^ "^-^-^ I'-dislas. 
 
 it;?r:;o :; if r '°""™ ^'^-^ ''-'"-y 
 
 I A- , °^ ^^^ '^'^P"^ was elective But 
 
 Lad:sla3 was only a few months old. and the Hungarils 
 ejected to having an infant for their sovereign; 'there 
 fore hey sent an embassy to the king of PolL to off r 
 hun the crown, which he readily accepted. A a vZ 
 of the people, however, did not approve of this Lasu^ 
 it occasioned a civil war; which was carried on tij the' 
 
 boA Z"'1 *" ""'' ''^ '''''^^^°^^' "y lading 
 bo^h part.es to agree that the king of Poland should 
 
 was placed under the guardianship of Frederick his 
 cousm, the newly-elected emperor. 
 
 In Bohemia affairs were not quite so amicably ar- 
 ranged, for although it was settled that a regent should 
 be chosen to govern for the infant prince, the choice of 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
94 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 
 the regent was a matter of dispute, one party electing a 
 Hussite, the other a Cathohc; wherefore the two re- 
 gents went to war, and the Hussite regent, a warhke 
 nobleman named Podiebrad, obtained the sovereign 
 power in Bohemia. 
 
 FREDERICK THE THIRD. 
 
 It is now time to speak of the emperor Frederick the 
 Third, whose reign was the longest of any in the 
 annals of the German empire, yet he was not a man 
 who was either beloved or respected; for he was 
 mean, selfish, and narrow minded; and, as some writer 
 humorously obsen'es, was more anxious about his cab- 
 bages, than his subjects. However he was not a bad 
 man, and if he did but httle good, at least he did no 
 harm; and as the crown was forced upon him against 
 his inchnation, he perhaps thought he was not called 
 upon to give up his favourite pursuits to attend to 
 duties that were neither to his taste, nor of his own 
 
 seeking. 
 
 One reason given for the unwillingness of Frederick 
 to accept the imperial throne, was his parsimonious 
 temper, wliich made Ixim fearful of having to spend any 
 part of his private fortune in supporting the dignity* of 
 his high station, for the revenues of the crown were at 
 this time ver)' small. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 - first .ade ^r^C^^T t ^'^"^ 
 -date of this valuable ■J:nZ, Tlt^l^' 
 onginal mventor, and the place where th. T V 
 
 certain TnoXS ler^^^ T'^ ''' '^'^ ^^ 
 burg, and the ^. 1.^:^2^ ::ZX '"'" 
 one named Faust, the other'Guttenb2 ""'"' 
 
 ihis may be called the true era nf „• i- • 
 Euroue- fnr oc 1 , ^ "' civilization n 
 
 ' iirope, lor as long as the greater inrf nf n 
 
 nity M-as without the meanrS ' »!'« commu- 
 
 Much had been done to\virH« fi,„ • 
 the wealthv cla«e. hv tt„ ! • ""P^^'ement of 
 vonH, ,. • ^ " institution of colleges, where 
 
 jouth were instructed by lectures r,n ,Kff f^'.^^"'^^ 
 
 but there is no method of a "i nt k" f?""^' 
 effective as reading as was „ffi T^ l^nowledge so 
 rapid pro-^ress of ed, . ^"^^^n^ testified by the 
 
 Frederick th^S ' """"^"^ '" *''^ '^^ °f 
 
 exi^st Gr;rj'« r^r "^"''^*^"- ^^^ 
 
 counts, and br„?;rm ^t , , """"'" °' ''"^'^^' 
 their numbers incrl.er Zltu ""'""'^^■= '^"'^ ^^ 
 there was a rood of 1 Id' to d , ^°"'''^'' '°' "'^^ 
 
 --•-aiitrrst'o?rtt-5 
 
96 
 
 GERMAJ^Y. 
 
 considered themselves equal in rank to him, although 
 many of them had but a small patch of ground, and no 
 better habitation than a mean and perhaps dilapidated 
 fort on the summit of some hill. 
 
 All these poor princes depended for subsistence on 
 their swords, and were ready to enter the ser^'ice of any 
 greater prince who would pay them well; so that the 
 chief part of the German nobles were soldiers fighting 
 for pay, in the armies of the different sovereigns. 'Hiis 
 was all' the better for the rural population, for a great 
 number of the princes, on finding their inheritance so 
 small that they could not Uve upon it, would seU it to 
 one or more of their peasants, who thus became small 
 landed proprietors, with Uttle farms of their own. 
 
 In the meantime the young prince Ladislas was grow- 
 ing up under the guardianship of the emperor; and as 
 the king of Poland and Hungary was killed in a battk 
 a-ainst the Turks, the Hungarians sent for Ladislas to 
 t^e possession of the throne, to which he was entitled; 
 but Frederick would not give him up. because while he 
 retained the wardenship of his person, he took the chief 
 part of the profits of his estates, for Ladislas, you may 
 remember, was heir to the Austrian dominions. The 
 Hungarians, being irritated at the emperor's refusal, went 
 to war with him, and forced him to deliver up his ward, 
 who was conducted in triumph to Prague, and crowned 
 king of Hungary and Bohemia. 
 
 The youthful sovereign, however, soon made himself 
 very unpopular, for, with a vanity and presumption not 
 uncommon at his age, he fancied he must be a very 
 important person, because two nations had gone to war 
 upon his account, forgetting that they were not actuated 
 by his merits, with which, if he had any, they were 
 
 GERMANr. 
 
 97 
 
 TnSlrrf ^'^ '^^ ^'^^ ^^ -^^ ^^eir favour 
 
 to^'tr"^'' """f «"^y «^--n years after his elevation 
 to the throne, and at his death the emperor ou ^ttn 
 liave succep(Ip<l fr. ^ii i,- . ^'"i'cror ougnt to 
 
 !.ucceeaeci to aU his possessions. Howev-r as h^ 
 was no favourite either In R„i • '""'«^r. as he 
 R^»,» • , ° Bohemia, or Hunjrarv the 
 
 Bohemians chose Podiebrad. their former rei7' t 
 -as a great mihtaiy commander, to rule X ;hrm 
 
 h" ilXs^a^Zte^r "^'^"' ''' — -- 
 
 peror-rbrotl "^"^n" '*'*" "^" "^"''P^'' ^y *e em- 
 
 eTt e to^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^t' "^''^ '>° ^"-P* 
 
 u preserve, or to recover them; for he was no 
 
 hero, and would rather have lost aU his domidonHhan 
 
 have fought a single battle in their defencT So 1 tH 
 
 Eun^dT '^^^-'^- -ch avaljcTthatt t 
 he found the people of Hungary and Bohemia were not 
 «ell mchned towards him; he sold the crownsTthl 
 
 ~es to Podiebrad. and Mathias. bei^rqu^e coT 
 
 tente to accept a sum of money in their sfeaT 
 Before the death of Frederick, both these kingdoms 
 
 were annexed to Poland, inconsequence of the JeZ 
 lecting. on the death of their respective sovereS 
 
 Lad-las. the prince of Poland, for their king T; 
 
 sTn M. , '.^^ '^^ "'"'^^^ °f ^^ emperor's 
 
 son MaximiLan. with the rich heiress. Mary of Bur 
 gundy, daughter of Charles the Bold 
 
 Her father was the celebrated duke of Burgundy the 
 nval a.d foe. of Louis the eleventh of Fiance^ He ^ 
 Med in an attempt to subjugate the Swiss, who Z 
 
 K 
 
98 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 now entirely established their independence, and his 
 daughter Mary, who was his only child, became heiress 
 to all his dominions, which were nearly as extensive as 
 those of the king of France, who was therefore very 
 desirous that she should consent to be affianced to his 
 son, a child of eight years of age ; but the young duchess 
 had already made her own choice, and married Maximilian 
 of Germany. Maximilian it is said, was so improvident, 
 that he was always without money, and wore such 
 shabby clothes when he was going to be married, that his 
 bride was ashamed of his appearance, and actually gave 
 him money to furnish himself with better ai)parel. 
 
 Louis the eleventh being very angry that Mar>^ had 
 chosen to form an alliance with Germany, instead of 
 France; seized on the duchy of Burgimdy, and other 
 French territories which had belonged to Charles the 
 Bold, pretending that they were fiefs, that could not be 
 inherited by a female, and consequently became the 
 property of the French crown ; but he could not deprive 
 the young heiress of the Netherlands and Flanders; 
 and after her marriage with MaximiUan, that prince 
 went to war with Louis, and recovered nearly the whole 
 of his \^^fe's inheritance. 
 
 It was at this time that Ferdinand and Isabella, the 
 sovereigns of Spain, were in treaty with Christopher 
 Columbus, respecting his projected voyage of discover}'; 
 and it was in the year preceding the death of Frederick 
 the Third, that this enterprising navigator embarked on 
 the Atlantic ocean, hitherto unexplored, and believed to 
 lead to seas without end; and about the time when 
 Maximihan became emperor of Germany, the existence 
 of America was first made known to the inhabitants of 
 Europe. 
 
 GERMANy. 
 
 99 
 
 At this period, the favourite studies of the learned in 
 Germany were chemistry, or alchemy, astrology, and 
 as ro ,^, ,,,, ,,,^ ^^^^^^^ ^.^ great tidUy! 
 
 for there were many who believed that it was possibfe 
 to make a compound which would prevent people from 
 growmg old, and enable them to live for ever, and ther^ 
 were men who actually spent their lives in trying to 
 
 elixu-, which they termed the elixir of life 
 
 There were others also, who were equally anxious to 
 find out what they called the philoso^r's stone "p! 
 posed to be some chemical preparation, that should i;s;e^s 
 t^ extraordinary quality of turning inferior metis nto 
 gold ; but neither the phUosopher's stone, nor the ehS 
 of he, were ever discovered; notwithstanding the pro 
 found studies of some of the greatest scholars of the aTe 
 You wdl perhaps doubt the possibility of talented 
 men puttmg faith in such absurdities; whieh nevertheless 
 were productive of unlooked for, but most imp^n n^^^ 
 results; for the alchemists, by their experiments' on ^ 
 
 ...» » ... «„. ,.ir;r,:, - rir^ 
 
 now enjoy so many useful and elegant advantages, which 
 m^ be traced from the simple process of printing ellt^ 
 to that of illummatmg our streets with gas. WhHst the 
 ^o logers by their patient investigation%f the ^^ 
 and their cunous cdculations and deductions, on the 
 unerring movements of the celestial bodies, by de^ees 
 converted an uncertain, into a certain, science,^and 
 astrology was converted into astronomy 
 
 Tins search after the pholosopher's stone, and the 
 other mysteries of alchemy, was not always unconnected 
 
100 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 with a belief in supernatural powers. Indeed, in those 
 days, the faith in magic was almost universal. Frederick 
 the Tliird was very much attached to the mystical studies, 
 probably because he thought they might lead to the 
 power of converting base metal into gold; and Maximi- 
 lian had a secretary named Cornelius Agrippa, who was 
 a great philosopher, and a very celebrated alchemist, and 
 was generally beUeved to be skilled in magic. 
 
 Francis the First, of France, who, in common with 
 the rest of the world, beUeved in astrology, invited 
 Agrippa to his court, hoping the philosopher would give 
 him a ghmpse into future events; but Agrippa, who 
 pretended to no such arts, soon lost the favour of tlie 
 French monarch, who thought he had the power, but not 
 the will, to foretell his destiny; so after having employed 
 threats and promises to no purpose, he dismissed him 
 with anger from his court. 
 
 I have dwelt thus on this subject, to show you 
 that although science and learning were beginning to 
 make great progress, they were mingled with former 
 superstitions, and consequently often directed towards 
 vain and idle pursuits. It was only by degrees that 
 people learned to judge of all things by the light of 
 reason, and to know that the events of this world all 
 arise from natural causes. I think we may very rea- 
 sonably account for the influence of superstition up to 
 this period, from the uncertainty that existed with 
 regard to the Hmits of the earth, for we must remember 
 we have but just reached the time when the adventurous 
 spirit of Columbus led him to attempt what no man had 
 ever attempted before, and it was first made known to 
 the astonished inhabitants of Europe, that there was a 
 large country beyond the Atlantic Ocean, peopled with 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 101 
 
 human beings like themselves, though in a less civiUsed 
 state. 
 
 Before this discovery, „o one knew whither the^e 
 seas led. or what was beyond them; therefore, it is not 
 to be wondered at, that they who beUeved in ma^c 
 should al.o fancy there might be a world beyond the 
 great ocean, inhabited by beings of a different nature 
 from themselves. The discoveries of Columbus, how! 
 ever, and the subsequent progress of nangation, dis- 
 pelled, m a few year., the superstitions of ages, by 
 showmgthateverj. part of the world may be visited by 
 the aid of ships, and that it contains no Fairy Land. 
 
 MAXIMILIAN THE FIRST. 
 
 31«®S 'S-® BSflS). 
 
 Amono the events that had contributed to produce a 
 change m the state of society, was the discovery of 
 gunpowder, and in no country was this change more felt 
 than m Germany, where the nobles had always possessed 
 the nght of pnvatc warf,u-e. This had always been 
 regarded as one of their greatest privileges from time 
 immcmonal. and was not only carried on among them- 
 selves, but e.ther of them might declare war against even 
 the emperor, which was not considered in the light of 
 treason, as in other countries. 
 The mode was, to send a defiance, thus.—' Most gra- 
 
 K O 
 
102 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 cious prince, I, such an one. make known to your royal 
 grace that I wiU no longer obey you, but will be your 
 enemy, and so do your subjects all the mischief in my 
 
 power.*' 
 
 Then the emperor had to take the field against this 
 refractory noble, as though he had been a foreign enemy. 
 These defiances were frequently sent to the cities, and as 
 soon as war was so declared, each party had a right to 
 attack the other, on the highways, or wherever they 
 might be met with, and rob and kiU them without sub- 
 jecting themselves to any punishment, as it was lawful 
 warfare. Every nobleman could lay siege to a town, or 
 to the castle of another nobleman, and very often these 
 wars were begun on the most frivolous pretences. For 
 mstance, a young count sent a defiance to the city of 
 Frankfort, because a young lady residing in that tov^Ti 
 refused, at a ball, to dance with his uncle; which he 
 looked upon as an insult to the dignity of his family. 
 
 This pernicious custom, by keeping up a spirit of 
 ferocity among the Germans, had been a great obstacle 
 to the progress of politeness and refinement among 
 them. The evil had for some time been gradually in- 
 creasing, but in proportion as the use of cannon became 
 more common, for neither castles nor cities had walls 
 strong enough to resist these terrible engines, agamst 
 which, swords, that used to be every man's defence 
 and protection, were of no avail, the princes of the 
 empire began to see the necessity of putting an end to 
 the system of private warfare, which was aboUslicd in 
 the Diet, two years after the accession of Maximilian the 
 First; a law being passed, by which any nobleman 
 sending a -challenge, was to be banished from the 
 empire. 
 
 I 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 103 
 
 In this Kign was also abolished, the secret tribunal 
 of W estphaUa, of which I wiU presently give you an 
 account: and two new Courts of Justice, were instituted, 
 the one called the Imperial Chamber, and the other the 
 Auhc Council, both of which were intended to enforce the 
 laws, an<l preserve the public peace. But the most im- 
 portant event that took place in the time of Maximilian 
 the First, was the commencement of the Reformation in 
 baxony, by Martin Luther, who began to preach against 
 the forms of the Catholic church, and very soon made a 
 great number of converts. 
 
 This was the origin of far more dreadful civU wars 
 than any that had been carried on by the Germaii 
 pnnces ; wars that occasioned many long years of misery 
 •n almost every country of Europe. The pope, Le. 
 the Tenth, who was a great patron of learning and the 
 fine arts, was at this time engaged in building the 
 magnificent church of St. Peter's at Rome, and to 
 raise money for its completion, he sent a number of 
 Dominican friars, into Germany, and other countries to 
 preach indulgences, which many people thought was a 
 pernicious privilege. Among others who were of this 
 opinion, was Luther, a monk of the Augustine order 
 who expressed his sentiments on the subject; who when 
 he found tliere were persons ready to support him 
 preached publicly against the right of the pope to grant 
 indulgences, or to assume any more power than that 
 possessed by the ordinary bishops. 
 
 These opinions spread very rapidly, not only in 
 
 Germany, but in the Netherlands, and other Northern 
 
 Nations and with some variations, in France, Swit- 
 
 zeriand. England, and Scotland. In some of these 
 
 countries the Catholic religion was almost totally 
 
lot 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 abolis^hed; in others, some of the people adopted the 
 new fuith, while others adhered to the old. This was 
 the case in Germany; and the violent enmity that 
 arose between the two parties, was the cause of the 
 long and melancholy wiurs in that country, which I shall 
 presently have occasion to narrate. 
 
 In the meantime, the Emperor MaximiUan died, and 
 was succeeded by his grandson, Charles the Fifth, who 
 was already king of Spain, by the death of his other 
 grandfather, Ferdinand, of Castile. 
 
 I ought to inform you how Charles the Fifth, who was 
 also king of the Netherlands, came into possession of 
 such extensive territories. Maximilian and Mary of 
 Burgundy, had one son, Philip, archduke of Austria, 
 who married Joanna, the daughter of Ferdinand and 
 Isabella, of Spain ; and this princess, on the death of her 
 husband, became governess of the Netherlands, which 
 PhiHp had inherited in right of his mother, Mary of 
 Burgandy, who was dead. 
 
 Joanna was a very amiable woman, but had all her 
 life been subject to fits of mcntiil derangement, which 
 rendered her incapable of conducting the government, 
 which in consequence, devolved on her son Charles, 
 who was heir to both his grandfathers, and succeeded to 
 the throne of Spain, and the kingdom of Naples, about 
 three years before the death of Maximihan. 
 
 The crown of Germany, however, being elective, 
 was always open to competition ; and when the emperor 
 died, Francis the First, the young and high spirited king 
 of France, offered himself as a candidate, but Charles 
 was elected, as appeared most natural, not only from his 
 near relationship to the deceased emperor, but because 
 he was already sovereign of a part of Germany, since 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 105 
 
 tiie Austrian dominions were his lawful inheritance 
 Francs was highly displeased at the decision oftle 
 
 J hole of Europe m a state of confusion, were enemie, 
 ^d nvaLs as long as they both lived. ' 
 
 SECRET TRIBUNALS OF WESTPHALIA. 
 
 ll w'T ""T '' ''''' '' ^" ^°^^^^^"^^-' -W^^> from 
 ctduSd • . "' ''' """>^ ^'''' -^^^^ it was 
 
 r m h!?^ "'^"' ^ ""^' ''^'^ '- ^-nnany, during 
 
 magne, but there seems more reason to believe thev did 
 
 eiroVf '•: '^ ^' "^"^^ ''' ^^^- -^- ^ 4it 
 
 smaU states. Many of these states were comprehended 
 2 the country ,f Westphalia, then caUed the Red Tand 
 though for what reason, is not exactly known; an" n 
 
 Ztw.T^r"''''^ ^^'' ^*"'^^'' ^'^ -^^ ^-trict 1 
 Fehn. councd or secret tribunal, which assembled at 
 any time and m any place, which the judges thouo-ht 
 proper to appoint. All ^e members of the Fehm court 
 
106 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 were initiated with certain ceremonies, and had a secret 
 sign, by which they knew each other, like the free- 
 masons*, and other secret societies. 
 
 The count of the district was usually the chief judge, 
 and under him, were inferior judges and clerks, and a 
 numerous body of assistants called Schoppen, whose 
 duty it was to search out offenders, and bring them 
 before the tribunal. Every individual, when made a 
 member of this court, was bound by a solemn oath 
 not to reveal any of its secrets ; and so terrible was the 
 punishment denounced against any one who should break 
 this oath, that it is said, no instance of its violation was 
 
 ever known. 
 
 The initiated, that is, the members of the Fehm 
 courts, never told even their nearest relatives that they 
 had been admitted into the society; so that a man's own 
 brother, or next door neighbour, might be one of the 
 schoppen, without his being aware of the fact, and 
 might be watching his words and actions, even while 
 feasting at his board; for it was immaterial how near 
 the relationship, or how strong the friendship between 
 them, might be, he who belonged to the council was 
 obUged to give an account to his superiors of every 
 crime he discovered, and the offender was then sum- 
 moned to appear at a certain time and place named, to 
 be ccirried before the judges of the Fehm court, to answer 
 
 the charge. 
 
 This notice was either fixed on his door in the night, 
 or laid in his way, by some means that made it impos- 
 sible for him to tell how it had reached him, or who was 
 his accuser. If he neglected the summons, his death 
 was certain, for then the whole body of the schoppen 
 were directed to be on the watch, and to hang him on 
 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 107 
 
 Irs:" ST ^"^' ''-''''' '~ ^'^ - 
 
 were durinT: ' "'!' ^™^ ^^Po^^i^k; for there 
 
 other as F sai.l l.,f T ' '''''° ^^<=°gn«ed each 
 
 a particular L^L S tZ::^Z'Ct " T' '' 
 
 initiated could M} l I ■ '^''' '° "'"* ^^^ 
 
 couw tell, by looking round tlip tnl,i„ l 
 
 When a man Mas <• forfehmed," that is when 1,. 
 sumn,„ned to aj,,,ear befon. the secret tribuna 
 dared to endeavour to conceal hi^ ! , °"' 
 
 ::i''^:^::7VT'^' ^^-'-'^■ 
 death. Some It' '/'"' '"^'^"«y P"' to 
 
 ""der..ounra„ V :LeTi: t ^1 '''"''' '''' 
 I'ouses in Wctph^ia tl , ' "'^' *"''^ «"« 
 
 -re .ometimefu edVuLr '^T' ""^™' "'^' 
 the Fehm courts Jere 1 c „ T"' ' ""^ °""' 
 some church-vird 7 ''™ '"'■' "'^"''"^' ^ 
 
 which '" e . id : " T\ ''"'"''"S at a table on 
 
 standin^on eth : d ht ^ •'' .'T""' """ ^'^ ^'-"^^ 
 
 '"caded; u r a'ctr r ", :i '^'"t r '- 
 
 instantly han.-ed- if n f \ ^"'''y' ''^ ""» 
 
 making a Zfl ' " ""' ^^' '' ^^^^^' on 
 
 had seen a^d ; d " """ *° '*^"'°-" ^'•''«* '"^ 
 
 and heard; a prom.se that was always faith- 
 
 I 
 
108 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 fully kept, for certain death was the consequence of 
 
 breaking it. r wt ^ 
 
 Such was the nature of the secret tribunals of West- 
 phaha, and. perhaps, in a country like Germany, where 
 so many crimes were committed, and the laws, at times, 
 80 Utae regarded, these courts were useful, because the 
 people were deeply in fear of them. You may imagme 
 the dread in which they were held, when no one ven- 
 tured to speak of them, or even to hint at a knowledge of 
 their existence, by the most distant allusion. 
 
 In time, these councils were held in other parts of 
 Germany; for instance, there was one at ZeU, in Hano- 
 ver, as late as the year 1608, and although its proceedings 
 were ratlier different from those of the Fehm courts, 
 stiU it was of the same nature; for the accusations were 
 made secretiy; and when it was considered that the hst 
 of offences in any district was long enough to require 
 the holding of a court, a notice was posted up in some 
 pubUc place to that effect, and the time being named, 
 all the inhabitants were bound to appear. 
 
 At this unwelcome summons, every body repaired 
 mournfuUy to the appointed spot, which was some large 
 open space, where long tables were placed in the midst, 
 at wliich sat the prince and his councillors, while the 
 trembling i)eople sat on the ground in anxious suspense, 
 no one knowing who were to be accused, or of what. 
 The secret judges then delivered a paper, with the names 
 of the offenders, and the nature of their offences, to the 
 prince; and going round with white wands in their 
 hands, touched the suspected parties, who were then at 
 liberty to get up, and without further explanation, to 
 leave the country within twenty-four hours. 
 
 If a man were conscious that he had been guilty of 
 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 109 
 
 some great crime, this was his best way; for if the 
 
 Sr.Tv '"'' '"'"" °' '•'^ ^""'' ^"<^ he sat still 
 without takmg any notice of the hint to be gone. hS was 
 
 hanged mstantly. Of course, any person, whose con- 
 
 science was clear, on receiving a touch with the wand 
 
 was aUowed to make his defence; or. if his offence were' 
 
 ithtT .*° -tT"' '° ^''"'' '* P^-'i^h^ent as exile, a 
 hgh touch wuh the wand was a warning to him that he 
 must mend his ways. 
 
 In Brunswick, where there was also a Fehm court 
 
 the conduct of the rest, and give information to the 
 
 v^.th this unpleasant office; but as soon as it was deter- 
 mmed to hold a council, the gates of the town were 
 closed and every avenue was guarded, and then the 
 inhabitants of the city knew that, when the beU toUed 
 they must aU go to the market place to be judged by the 
 Fehm council Sometimes, if the secret judges knew 
 that any friend was in the habit of doing wrong, thev 
 would merely put a mark on his door, as a warning, that 
 If he continued so to act. he would subject himself to be 
 cited before the court; but no such friendly hint was 
 allowed in Westphalia. 
 
 The power of the secret tribunals became so great 
 that in the reign of Frederick the Third, the emperor' 
 himself, was summoned to appear before it; and al- 
 though he took no notice of so bold an act, it was a 
 proof of what their judges dared to do. 
 
 In consequence of the good laws made by Maximilian 
 these courts lost much of their authority, and, conse- 
 quently of their terrors; and after the reign of Charles 
 tne JMftli, they were no longer heard of. 
 
no 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMAN V 
 
 111 
 
 CHARLES THE IIFTH. 
 
 The ^eno^vn of Charles the Fifth depended so much on 
 his warUke exploits, and he was so little in Germany, 
 that although he is in himself a very celehrated character 
 in histor>% his reign, as far as regards the German empire, 
 is not remarkably interesting, and during the greater 
 part of it, all the stJites were engaged in religious disputes. 
 Among the vast possessions inherited by Charles, 
 must not'^be forgotten the newly-discovered countries in 
 America, consisting, at the time of his accession, prin- 
 cipally of the West Indies, to which were afterwards 
 added the great empires of Peru and Mexico, conquered 
 by Pizarro and Cortez. 
 
 Charles the Fifth, before his coronation, was obliged 
 to sign a sort of compact between himself and the 
 princes, settling the mode in which he was to govern 
 the empire; so that although he was an absolute mo- 
 narch in Spain, his power in Germany was very much 
 
 restricted. 
 
 By this time, the new religion was almost established 
 in Saxony, and some other states, and many monks and 
 nuns had voluntarily quitted their convents to mingle 
 again with the world; for they were not forcibly expelled, 
 as they were in some countries. The emperor, who 
 was no friend to the Reformation, would gladly have 
 
 adopted his oj.i„io„s, he was Jffl \f ''""""' ^^^ 
 
 I" the meantime rVT "^ l"'"''^'^'^''- 
 
 •'eg=mtoqua elab 'ut? !, '"' *^ ''"^ °^ France 
 
 reason for doinirso- and T ' m ^""^'^ '^'^ *° '^"d « 
 
 minister. CardinrWoC 1^1 °"' '™ '''' ^'« 
 the English court; and ^a'ncb bv ' ""''"' ' "^'^ "^ 
 tainments to king Henry "wl"^ ^"'"^ '''""''' ^"*- 
 ;ith all his chief nohlT a:dThe : Ss^T '^f • 
 
 rL:rr^,;L\tt-;.-"astS 
 
 ^y^enameo.th;St;trS7or^^--" 
 
 made prisoner aid deL a ' ''^''' ^'^'^'^ ^a« 
 
 MadriJ. ''''^"'' •" confinement two years at 
 
 WhiJe these wars were P-nmo- «r, o i 
 of the Turks, surnamcf.r MaS"; ^'^ "''''' 
 Hungary, and made himself maste' ^8!' :, '"f '^^ 
 -as a very^ in,portant plaee. became i ul^f"' ""* 
 
 «t. .ohn o. w;s :;.rr r ^^^ 
 
 formidable foe to the Euroneans • fh;. • . ^ """"^ 
 
112 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 bulwark against the Turks. The emperor very much 
 re^n-etted this loss, and to compensate the Knights of 
 St. John, he gave them the litUe island of Malta; after 
 which, they were called Knights of Malta. 
 
 Soon after this, the sultan led his Turkish armies into 
 Austria, where they made terrible havoc in the country, 
 laying it waste with fire and sword, wherever they came. 
 So great was the terror they inspired, that although the 
 CathoUc and Protestant princes of Germany were at war 
 with each other, they all united to oppose the Musselman 
 foe, and an immense force was raised, the emperor 
 himself taking the command; but neither he nor the 
 sultan were very desirous of risking a battle; therefore, 
 Solyman withdrew his troops, and Germany was reUeved, 
 for a time, from these terrible invaders. 
 
 In the intervals of peace. Charles turned his attention 
 towards the reUgious affairs of the country, for he began 
 to be alarmed at finding that a great number of the free 
 cities had aboUshed the Catholic form of worship, to 
 adopt that recommended by Luther; therefore, in the 
 hope of restoring the old religion, he issued a decree 
 against the preaching of the new doctrines. 
 
 As soon as this decree was made known, the elector 
 of Saxony, the duke of Lunenburg, and some other 
 princes, with deputies from fourteen imperial cities, 
 presented a protest against it. at the Diet of Augsburg, 
 where the emperor presided in person; and on tlus 
 account they received the name of Protestants; and the 
 public declaration of their opinions, which was read in 
 the Diet, is called the Confession of Augsburg, 
 
 Charles was about to have recourse to arms to enforce 
 their obedience, and the Protestant T)rinces had entered 
 into a league for their mutual defence, when a fresh 
 
 
 GERMANV. 
 ^' -ir Jttlr s^^"'^ f ^ -pe... attention 
 
 «as sovereign of Al-^icrs ' ,M T , ''°'''*' "'''° 
 throne of Tuni. ,„d T" "''" "^'"T^'' "le 
 
 Hassan, into e" Ue Tl 7" 'f '"^^-^"^ ^i"?' Muley 
 name .a. a ter" rto Jl';; ^ f "''''' ^"•^ -T 
 
 on the Meditern.„ean l;f^;7" T^ ^°^''-"»- 
 sultan, who made him J f f " ^'*^°'"" °^ «'« 
 
 Complaints were m Je '"'J''^"''"'^ augmented, 
 of the violent deeds of Rk"'"^ *° '^' ^""P-or, 
 merehant vessels tl!?T'' f ° ''''"' °" ^" «- 
 and earned off anrhri;to:,:t;^"'^"«-^-' 
 
 desir?deHLf„:ct'T""^^ "' ^^"'^^ «-- -'^ 
 
 armamea, defeated Barbarossa L a ^ 1%^^^' 
 restored Muley Hassan tn h; .7 '^^'"^ ''''"''^' 
 
 considered a vcrv hrill.-ar.*. i • '''^l^"^^^- -t^his was 
 Carles the Sh'trSr^j'T T ''''' °^ 
 deser^-edly, sinee he had lit t ^'""'T ""• '"' 
 "^stored to their home and f M ^ '"''''' ^"<* 
 Europeans, who, burforJim t" > T, "'"^ *^^ 
 in slavery all their 1 ve! ' ^^'" '"^^'^ 'anguished 
 
 his wars Lh ;rt is ' S" Vh" T' ^"^"^- «"'' 
 his return, had no meritin H I ""'"' ''"^^^^ "^ 
 
 only served to ru^nm Vfine ^^ S " ''' '=°"''^' 
 cause a melancholy wa«te of T Jv '''°™'''' ^"'^ 
 
 reason than to gL^ L ^^'' ^°' "° ''^"^'• 
 
 Jealous prinees. ^^ ZXVZ'Z'' X 
 liad nothing to do with. ''"" '*'°''''' 
 
 L 3 
 
114 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 At last, the poi)e persuaded the rival monarchs to be 
 friends; and as soon as peace was restored abroad, the 
 emperor exerted himself to give tranquiUity to Germany, 
 by settling the differences between the Catholics and 
 Protestants. With this view, he granted to every prince 
 the liberty of establishing in his own states whichever 
 religion he chose; and if any of his subjects differed, 
 they might go to settle in any other state, where the 
 people were of their way of thinking. Both parties 
 were to be equally tolerated, and neither to interfere 
 with the other, the Catholic being at the same time 
 considered the estabhshed religion of the country. 
 
 Just before this, a revolution had happened in Hungary, 
 where a prince, named John de Zapoli, had usurped the 
 throne from the emperor's brother, Ferdinand, who had 
 been made king of Bohemia and Hungary ; and a war 
 had been going on between the two countries in conse- 
 quence. John was supported by Solyman, sultan of the 
 Turks, whose vassal he had promised to be, which was 
 a great advantage to the Turks, because it secured them 
 a free passage through Hungary. John, however, died, 
 leaving an infant son named John Sigismund, for whom 
 the war was still carried on by the Turks, who took 
 possession of the greatest part of Hungary, which was, 
 in fact, united to the Ottoman empire, as Solyman was 
 more truly its master than the young prince, whose 
 cause he had espoused. 
 
 The Germans, during the Turkish invasions, suffered 
 the most dreadful calamities, for the Turks were exceed- 
 ingly fierce and cruel in their wars, and carried away 
 numbers of women and children as slaves; nor did they 
 confine their inroads to the kingdom of Hungary, but 
 frequently marched into Austria, to the very gates of 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 115 
 
 Vienna ; and as that town was not very well fortified, the 
 walls being in a dilapidated state, and the suburbs very 
 open and extensive, it was not easy to defend it from 
 their attacks. 
 
 The good understanding between the Catholic and 
 Protestant princes of Germany, was not of long dura- 
 tion; and the emperor himself, who took so much pains 
 to effect the peace, was the first to break it, by again 
 putting restrictions on the exercise of the Protestant 
 religion. 
 
 In the course of the fresh wars that followed, the 
 elector of Saxony, Frederick, an excellent prince, and 
 one of the firmest supporters of the Protestant faith, 
 was defeated and made prisoner by the emperor; who 
 declared his dominions forfeited, and bestowed them on 
 Prince Maurice of Saxony, a very celebrated character 
 in the history of these times. 
 
 Immediately after the defeat of the elector, Charies 
 marched to the gates of Wittenburg, then the capital 
 of the Saxon states, and commanded the citizens to 
 surrender; but the elector's wife, a woman of great 
 epirit, encouraged them to resist, and declared she would 
 defend the city to the last extremity. 
 
 The emi)eror being informed of this heroic resolution, 
 ungenerously sent word to the lady, that if the gates 
 were not immediately opened, her husband's head should 
 be cut off; and by this unjust means he gained possession 
 of the town. Maurice, the new elector, was no sooner 
 invested with the power and dignity of his unfortunate 
 cousin Frederick, than he turned against the emperor 
 who had elevated him, gained several victories, and 
 obliged him at last to sign a new treaty called the 
 Interim, which again secured to the Protestants the 
 rights granted to them on a former occasion. 
 
116 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 I have said nothing here of Charles's government in 
 Spain, or in the Netherlands, of which you must not 
 forget he was the sovereign; and as I have related the 
 l)rincipal events in Germany durhig the reign of this 
 active prince, it now only remains to he said of him that, 
 having grown tired of greatness, he resolved to spend 
 the hfst yetu-s of his Ufe in the peaceful retirement of a 
 cloister; therefore, he sent for his son Philip, who was 
 in England, having married our Queen Mary, and 
 resigned to that prince all his dominions, except Ger- 
 many, which he could not give to him, because his own 
 brother Ferdinand had been elected king of the Romans 
 long before, and would of course be chosen to fill the 
 imperial throne. The self-deposed emperor then re- 
 tired to a monastery in Spain, where he ended his days 
 in the year 1558, two years after his abdication. 
 
 GERMANY, 
 
 IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Notwithstanding the disturbed state of the times, the 
 polite arts had begun to make some progress in Germany, 
 where several eminent painters and engravers had 
 ai)peared ; but it was chiefly in the mechanical arts that 
 the Germans excelled, the towns being full of ingenious 
 artisans of every kind. At Nuremburg, the people 
 were famous for making wooden toys of every descrip- 
 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 117 
 
 tion, which were sold at all the fairs in Europe, and 
 were even carried to India. 
 
 The demand for them was so great, that almost all the 
 
 inhabitants of the villages dependent on Nuremburg, 
 
 were toy- makers, and earned a very good Hving by their 
 
 trade. This city was also celebrated for manufacturing 
 
 and dyeing stuffs, as was the city of Augsburg for 
 
 its gold and sUver smiths, and jeweUers, whose works 
 
 were exported to every part of the world. The cities, 
 
 particularly those of the Hanse league, were all rich and 
 
 populous, governed by mayors or burgomasters, sheriffs, 
 
 senators, and other magistrates, most of whom were 
 
 elected annually. 
 
 There needs no greater proof of the wealth of the 
 principal citizens, than an anecdote that is related re- 
 specting a merchant named Fugger, who resided at Augs- 
 burg, and lent the emperor Charles large sums of money 
 for his expedition against Tunis. When the emperor 
 returned to Germany, Fugger invited him to an enter- 
 tainment at his house, and to testify his respect, made a 
 large fire in his hall with cinnamon, which at that time 
 was a very rare and costly commodity; and having done 
 80, he threw all the bonds which the emperor had given 
 him as a security for the payment of the debt, into the 
 flame he had kindled at such a vast expense. 
 
 Germany had not many manufactures, being suppHed 
 from Antwerp with cloths, both linen and woollen, 
 mercur5^ drugs, sugar, spices, tapestr>% precious stones,' 
 &c.. the produce of the Indies being obtained from 
 Lisbon by the merchants of Antwerp. The goods 
 exported from Germany consisted chiefly of metals, 
 glass, dyeing drugs, saltpetre, toys, household goods* 
 probably such as we call kitchen utensils, and great 
 
118 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 119 
 
 quantities of Rhenish wine. There were shops in all 
 the towns, such as those of butchers, bakers, wine 
 venders, and other tradesmen, where the necessaries for 
 every day's consumption might be bought; but the 
 principal marts for all foreign merchandise were the 
 fairs, held once or twice a year, in most of the great 
 towns, and frequented by merchants from Italy and 
 other countries, who brought to them rich and costly 
 manufactures, which enabled the Germans to make a 
 very splendid personal appearance. 
 
 With regard to the luxuries of dress and furniture, 
 the progress was much the same as in other parts of 
 Europe, for the improvements of one country soon found 
 their way into others. It was about this time that 
 coaches began to be used in the principal towns, and 
 even for travelling, where the roads were good enough ; 
 but the litter, which I have before described, was still a 
 usual and very convenient mode of convcyimce; and wc 
 hear of the emperor Charles, when afflicted with the 
 gout, being carried in a litter, and not of his riding in 
 a carriage; therefore, it is very probable that carriages 
 were very rare, lUthough they certainly were knowTi 
 in Austria during his reign, and were probably copied 
 from the two coaches made in Paris in the time of 
 Francis the First, and which were the only two then 
 existing in that countr)\ 
 
 llie German nobility, as well as the Italians of this 
 period, were very costly in their attire, all their drc.<ses 
 being composed of velvet, satin, and silk, richly em- 
 broidered with gold, and adorned with jewels; velvet 
 hats, with ostrich plumes, were gencndly worn by per- 
 sons of rank; and about the time that silk stockings 
 were introduced into Spain and England, which was 
 
 about twenty years after the death of Charles the Fifth, 
 we also hear of their being worn in Germany. 
 
 The dress of a German nobleman in 1577, is thus 
 described : he wore a doublet of' blue satin, the sleeves 
 and body slashed with crimson velvet, the slashes fast- 
 ened with gold buttons; his cloak was of crimson 
 velvet, lined with satin, and bordered with gold; his 
 cap, of velvet also, ornamented with a white feather, 
 fastened with a splendid jewel; he wore silk stockings, 
 and Spanish leather shoes; and the hilt of his sword 
 was curiously wrought in gold. 
 
 The ladies of the same period, wore velvet hats, with 
 occasionally a veil of golden gauze. In some states, 
 Bavaria for instance, ruffs, something in the style of 
 those worn by Queen Ehzabeth, were fashionable. The 
 dresses were made open before, but hung loose from 
 the neck, without being fastened in at the waist, in the 
 fashion of the ancient Saxon costume. This dress 
 was generally of sUk, and over it was worn a loose 
 jacket of black velvet, with a stiff upright collar, and 
 tight half sleeves, below which descended the full long 
 sleeves of the under dress, reaching down to the wrist. 
 
 The citizens of Cologne, (and most hkely the costume 
 was nearly alike in most of the cities,) wore usually an 
 under coat, fastened round the waist with a leather belt, 
 and over it a loose coat with tight sleeves, puffed at the 
 to]), a large lawn ruff round the neck, and a black 
 velvet hat with a broad brim. The pantaloons and 
 stockmgs formed one continuous garment, and half 
 boots, wide at the top, were usually worn with this 
 kind of dress. 
 
 The senators of Leipsic are described as dressing 
 entirely in black cloth or velvet, with long black silk 
 
 I 
 
120 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 121 
 
 robes trimmed with fur, black velvet hats, and large 
 gold chains. They also wore long beards, but the 
 custom of wearing beards, or of having them shorn, 
 varied in different states, and at different times. Citi- 
 zens' wives and daughters generaUy imitated the style of 
 the nobility, the rich wearing short velvet jackets over 
 their silk dresses, and others contenting themselves with 
 cloth and musUn, made in the same fashion. 
 
 Among the peasantry then, as now, different cos- 
 tume were adopted in different parts of the empire, most 
 of them very simple and pretty, but I shall si)eak more 
 of these hereafter. But before I dismiss this subject, I 
 ought to tell you that the Bohemians were ruder in 
 their costume than the other inhabitants of Germany, all 
 their garments being of coarse woollen cloth, lined with 
 fur; they wore high fur caps, wide rough boots, large 
 moustaches, and altogetlier made a very formidable 
 
 api)earance. 
 
 Bohemia seems to have been, in all respects, far 
 behind the rest of the German states in civihsation. 
 It was a warlike nation, and although its towns are 
 described as being in genend populous and wealthy, 
 the greater portion of the people might still be termed 
 
 barbarians. 
 
 About three years before the accession of Charles tlie 
 Fifth, a new race of people appeared in Bohemia, and 
 spread themselves over Hungary and Moravia. These 
 were the g>'psies, who are supposed to have been the vaga- 
 bonds or wandering beggars of Egy^t, driven from their 
 own country by Selim, the father of Solyman the Magni- 
 ficent. Sehm conquered the whole of Eg>^pt in 1516, 
 and thus not only greatly increased the power of the 
 Ottoman empire, but also its commerce, as the merchants 
 
 of Turkey could then trade direct with India by the 
 Red sea. 
 
 '1 he gypsies afterwards wandered into most of the 
 countries of Europe, leading lives not remarkable for 
 honesty, and often obtaining money from foolish people 
 by pretending to a fore-knowledge of events. In Hun- 
 gary and Transylvania, many of these people followed 
 the trade of blacksmiths and tinkers; in Spain, they 
 kept inns on the roads that were not much frequented, 
 n league with the banditti that infested the country. 
 Such is said to have been the origin of gypsies in 
 Europe, and there are still in Bohemia, Hungary, and 
 Transylvania, many of their descendants remaining, and 
 a sad roguish tribe they are. 
 
 When Charles the Fifth retired from pubhc life, his 
 brotlier Ferdinand became emperor of Germany. He 
 was a very good man, but he lived only eight years 
 after his accession, during which time he was very much 
 harassed by the 1 urks, who still supported John Sigis- 
 mund on the throne of Hungary. 
 
 From the earhest times, Bohemia had always been 
 considered an elective monarchy, and was governed chiefly 
 by a Diet, which assembled at Prague, composed of 
 barons, knights, and deputies, from all the principal 
 towns.. The Bohemians were very fierce, and were 
 often incUned to rebellion; therefore, the emperor was 
 desirous of bringing them more under subjection to his 
 authorit)', and taking away their right of electing their 
 own king. He, therefore, took advantage of an insur- 
 rection among the citizens of Prague, that broke out on 
 his election, to make prisoners of all the principal persons, 
 whom he did not Hberate until they had consented to all 
 
 1l 
 
 ^ 
 
122 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 the conditions he proi)osed. among which were that they 
 should surrender idl their privUcges of every description, 
 and content themselves with such as he should think 
 proper to restore to them; that they should give up all 
 their arms and ammunition. .01 the tolls of the fairs and 
 markets, which had belonged to the public funds of the 
 cities; and above all, that they should surrender all 
 their lands, and the vassals dwelling on them, to him, and 
 acknowledge his heirs as tlie future hereditary kings of 
 
 Bohemia. 
 
 The Bohemians were ako to pay a tax on beer and 
 malt, which was a i^rcat grievance to them, because they 
 grew a considerable quantity of barley for malt, and 
 brewed a great deal of beer, in every part of the countrj-. 
 nevertheless, those who had the direction of the govern- 
 ment were obliged to consent to these hard terms to 
 obtain their liberation; and even then, some of them 
 were very cruelly puni.hed for the rebellion, which is 
 a sad stain on the character of an otherwise good sove- 
 
 reign. 
 
 It ^vas thus that the Bohemians, till then a free people, 
 became subjected to the House of Austria; and that 
 they might have no opportunity of regaining their 
 lost liberty, the emperor appointed a certain officer m 
 each to\vTi called a court judge, whose duty it was to be 
 present at all pubhc meetings, in order to see that the 
 royal authority was maintained, and to prevent any 
 rebeUious proceedings. A committee was also esta- 
 blished to superintend the press, so that nothing could be 
 printed, nor any foreign pubUcations sold in the country, 
 until they had been approved of by the committee. 
 
 It was about this time that the order of Jesuits, which 
 in some measure suppUed the place of the old monastic 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 123 
 
 orders, most of which had been broken uj), was es- 
 tablished in Austria and Bohemia. 
 
 The Jesuits took charge of the pubhc education, and 
 as their chief object was to support the Cathohc religion, 
 all their pupils were brought up in that fiiith ; Ferdinand, 
 however, did not interfere with either part}^; therefore, 
 his reign was not disturbed by those sad disputes re- 
 specting religion, that occasioned so much miser)% not 
 only in Germany, but in every country throughout 
 Europe. Ferdinand died in 1564, and was succeeded 
 by his son, Maximihan the Second, 
 
 FROM TIIK ACCESSIOX OF 
 
 MAXIMILIAN THE Si:C0NI), 
 
 TO THB 
 
 THIRTY YEARS WAR. 
 
 31f®4 '2r® E(Sa5« 
 
 There is a great pleasure in reading of n good go v orejgn 
 whose actions prove that he considers luuisietf placed at 
 the head of a numerous body of his fcUovr men. to uut li 
 over their interests, and to use the ^ rtutod lo 
 
 him for their benefit and protection. 
 
 Such a sovereign was Maximilian Uic Second, ivhove 
 chief attention seemed to be directed tiyuvrd* Uic liappa- 
 ness and welfare of his subjects. Mild aod bcncvoknt in 
 
124 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 disposition, he ruled like a father over his children, and 
 was so beloved by all, that even the Bohemians declared 
 themselves quite happy under his government. He 
 never infringed on the laws and customs of the different 
 states, and he gave equal protection to both religions; 
 so that peace was preser\'ed in each division of the Ger- 
 man empire, except in Hungary, which was again invaded 
 by the Turks. 
 
 Solyman, the great Sultan, was making vast prepara- 
 tions for subjugating the whole country; but he had now 
 grown old, and the fatigue, added to the anxiety of such 
 an undertaking, brought him to the grave. He was 
 succeeded by his son Selim, who very wisely preferred 
 peace to war; therefore, he concluded a truce with the 
 emperor, and John Sigismund was in consequence 
 obliged to resign the title of king of Hungary, retaining 
 only that of prince of Transylvania. 
 
 It was in the reign of Maximilian that the dreadful 
 massacre of the Protestants in Paris was perpetrated on 
 St. Bartholomew's eve; therefore, you will know at once, 
 that at this time Charles the Ninth was reigning in 
 France, Queen Elizabeth in England, and Phihp the 
 Second in Spain; and you may conclude that Germany, 
 at that period, differed little from those countries in its 
 style of Hving, its progress in the arts, its comforts 
 and conveniencies of domestic life, and in its general 
 state of society. 
 
 In 1571 died John Sigismund, who had been the 
 occasion of so much warfare; and soon afterwards arose 
 a dispute about the crown of Poland, which having 
 become vacant, one party elected Maximilian, while 
 another chose Stephen Battori, who had been chief 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 125 
 
 minister to John Sigismund, and, after the death of his 
 master, had been made prince of Transylvania. 
 
 Stephen was elected, and not long after that event, 
 Maximihan died, much regretted by all his subjects, 
 every one of whom lost in him a good friend. It was 
 the custom of this excellent emperor to receive every 
 day, after dinner, petitions from the people, never 
 heeding their condition in Ufe; so that the poorest 
 mechanic obtained an audience as easily as the richest 
 citizen. 
 
 Two good and peaceable emperors had now reigned 
 in succession, and the country was consequently in a 
 more tranquil and ha])py state than it had been for 
 a long time, when Rodolf the Second succeeded his 
 father as emperor of Germany, and king of Bohemia 
 and Hungary. Rodolf was mild in temper, and pos- 
 sessed great literary attainments; but, unfortunately, he 
 was not so tolerant with regard to rehgion, and mis- 
 appHed the talents with which he was naturally gifted, 
 by devoting himself to the unprofitable studies of 
 alchemy and astrology, which made him gloomy, and 
 abstracted his mind from the duties of his station. 
 
 The first troubles of this reign arose from the advan- 
 tage taken by the Protestants of the indulgences 
 granted to them by the late emperors. They had begun 
 to treat the CathoUcs in a very insulting manner; in 
 every place their numbers were considerable, but more 
 particularly in Vienna, where all the professors of the 
 university, the masters of the smaller schools, and the 
 greater part of the citizens, were of the Protestant 
 religion. 
 
 Serious disturbances took place, and the emperor, 
 therefore, soon issued a command that the Protestants 
 
 M 3 
 
126 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 should not have public places of worship, but should 
 perform their devotions in private ; but as this order was 
 not attended to, he forbade the exercise of the Protestant 
 religion altogether, which created a terrible confusion in 
 the towns, because many of the magistrates were Pro- 
 testants, and they would neither resign their offices nor 
 change their faith. The former troubles were now 
 renewed with as much %dolence as ever, all over the 
 empire; again tlie princes went to war with each other, 
 and every state presented a scene of misery and 
 bloodshed. 
 
 It was about this time, that Pope Gregory the Thir- 
 teenth made an alteration in the calendar, by which the 
 date of the month was advanced ten days, so that at the 
 time the change was to take place, the day after the 
 second of the month, was called the thirteenth instead of 
 the third, and so it went on, each day coming ten days 
 earher than it used to do, and by that means the seasons 
 were more correctly indicated, for there had been a great 
 mistake imtil this period, in reckoning the duration of 
 the year, which was Ccdculated by JuUus Cajsar to con- 
 tain tliree hundred and sixty-five days and six hours, 
 being eleven minutes more than it really does contain; 
 so that all these minutes added together from the time 
 of Julius Caesar amounted to eleven days; consequently, 
 the sun was not in his right place according to the day 
 of the month; and this was the error reformed by Pope 
 Gregory, who brought back the commencement of the 
 year to its proper time. 
 
 The Catholics immediately adopted the new style of 
 reckoning, but the Protestants refused to do so, because 
 it was ordered by the pope ; therefore, you may imagine 
 what a confusion there must have been in Germany, 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 127 
 
 when some of the states were keeping their Christmas, 
 £aster» and New Year's day, ten days before others; and 
 not only in different states, but in some of the towns, 
 one portion of the people were celebrating these holidays 
 at one time, and the other at another. Everybody was 
 at a loss to know when the Diets ought to assemble, 
 and when the fairs were to be held; and, in short, with 
 regard to idl meetings that it was customary to hold 
 on any fixed day, it now became a matter of dispute 
 which was that day. 
 
 In the midst of these disorders, the distresses of the 
 people were augmented by the Turks, who broke into 
 every part of the country where they could find an 
 entrance, destroying all before them. In order to defend 
 his dominions from these terrible invaders, the emperor 
 transferred the country of Croatia, as a fief of the 
 empire, to his uncle Charles, duke of Styria, who erected 
 there the strong fortress of Carlstadt, and divided the 
 lands into feudal estates, which he gave to a number of 
 desperate men of various nations, whose trade was 
 plunder, and who for a long period were the terror of 
 all the neighbouring nations. 
 
 They formed a sort of military colony, or rather a 
 colony of feudal banditti, and were known by the several 
 names of Pandours, Croats, and Red Mantles, the latter 
 name being given to them from the large red cloaks tliey 
 wore. They were armed with a gun, a sabre, and 
 pistols; and wore a short brown coat, girded with a 
 leathern belt, blue pantaloons, half boots, and over their 
 heads the hood of the red mantle. 
 
 The settlement of these men in Croatia did not keep 
 away the Turks, who made great conquests both m 
 Hungary and Transylvania, which they eflfected the more 
 
128 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 129 
 
 easily as the inhabitants of those countries did not 
 themselves otfer much resistance; for they were so 
 oppressed, both on account of their rehgion, and also of 
 the taxes levied on them, that they thouglit they could 
 not be in a worse condition under the dominion of the 
 Turks, than they were under the Austrian government; 
 therefore, the Turks became masters of a great part of 
 the country. 
 
 In the meantime, the emperor took very little interest 
 in public affairs, suffering his mind to be entirely en- 
 grossed by the speculative studies he was so fond of. 
 His constant companion was the celebrated Danish 
 philosopher and astronomer, Tycho Brahe, who was 
 also supposed to be skilled in astrology, and was one 
 of those who wasted a great part of his life in tr}'ing 
 to discover the philosopher's stone, an occupation exactly 
 suited to the taste of llodolf, who was constantly shut 
 up in his laboratory with this learned visionary, assisting 
 in all his vain experiments. 
 
 Rodolf lived in his palace at Prague, and for many 
 years was never seen by his subjects, who held him in 
 the greatest contempt. Tliis was not surprising, since, 
 instead of acting like the sovereign of a great empire, 
 he not unfrequently performed the office of groom in his 
 own stables, and spent a great deal of his time at his 
 turning lathe, making little boxes and other trifles, an 
 innocent occupation for leisure hours had he been a 
 mechanic, but as fate had made him an emperor, the 
 time he thus sacrificed should have been devoted to the 
 duties of his station. 
 
 Yet Rodolf was not a bad man, and his reply to one 
 who reproached him with his familiarity with persons 
 of a low station, deserves to be recorded. " Although 
 
 
 elevated above others by our birth," said he. - we ought 
 not to forget that we are allied to them by the defects of 
 human nature, from which none are exempt." 
 
 This prince was a great patron of the arts. His 
 court was crowded with engravers, painters, historians, 
 botanists, and scientific men of all descriptions. He 
 introduced some improvements in the art of mining, 
 formed a garden of rare plants at Prague, and in his 
 time, education began to make some progress in Bohemia, 
 in consequence of the establishment of a number of 
 schools in most of the towns. 
 
 But all this while, his people were suffering from the 
 cruel ravages of the Turks, and the civil wars that 
 desolated many of the Austrian states, of which he took 
 no heed. He was at length persuaded to resign his 
 crown of Bohemia to his brother Matthias, who was 
 also chosen king of Hungary, and exercised the im- 
 perial power in Germany, until the death of Rodolf in 
 1612, when he was elected emperor. 
 
 The reign of Rodolf the Second is remarkable, among 
 other events of importance, for a dispute respecting the 
 succession to the great duchy of Juliers and Cleves, 
 which became vacant by the death of the duke, who left 
 no children. Several of his kinsmen claimed a right to 
 this rich inheritance, and among others, the electors of 
 Branden])urg and Saxony, and the count Palatine of 
 Neuburg, all three Protestant princes. 
 
 Rodolf gave his opinion in favour of the duke of 
 Saxony, but as it did not seem hkely that the quarrel 
 would be decided very quickly, he took the estates into 
 his own hands untU it should be settled who was to 
 become their lord. To revenge this proceeding, the 
 count Palatine of Neuburg, and the elector of Branden- 
 
X 
 
 130 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 131 
 
 burg, although rivals themselves, agreed to seize on the 
 
 duchy between them, and to defend it jointly again.t the 
 
 emperor and the duke of Saxony. 
 
 In consequence of this usurpation, Uodolf sent h.s 
 
 brother Leopold, the archduke of Austria, to expel the 
 two princes, and hold the government of the duchy until 
 the question of right should be decided; on which the 
 usurpers applied for aid and protection to Henry tlie 
 Fourth of France, who was making preparations to 
 assist them, when he was assassinated in his carnage 
 
 at Paris. 1 J 4.U f 
 
 This event happened two years before the death ot 
 
 llodolf, yet the two princes did not give up possession 
 
 of the duchy, but carried on a war with the elector of 
 
 Saxony and the archduke of Austria; and to strengthen 
 
 their own aUiance, it was agreed between them that the 
 
 count Palatine should marry the elector of Brandenburg s 
 
 dauKhter. A curious circumstance, however, broke oft 
 
 the match, and dissolved the friendship of the two 
 
 princes, by which means the duchy was released from 
 
 their usurpation. j -^ 
 
 One day, after dinner, when both were heated with 
 wine some dispute arising between them, the elector 
 gave his intended son-in-law a box on the ear, which so 
 enraged him, that he joined the Cathohc league that had 
 been formed among the princes of that persuasionagamst 
 the Protestants; changed his religion, and married ano- 
 
 ther lady. 
 
 The war for the succession of Juliers and Cleves went 
 on during the whole time of the religious wars, of which 
 1 am about to give an account, and was eventually ter- 
 minated by a division of the duchy among the claimants. 
 
 The emperor Matthias was advancing in years and 
 
 declining in health, and having no children, he persuaded 
 the states to elect liis cousip Ferdinand, duke of Styria, 
 king of Bohemia and Hungary. 
 
 Ferdinand was crowned in both these countries, and 
 after the death of Matthias, which took place soon 
 after^va^ds, he was elected emperor also, although a strong 
 opposition was raised by the Princes, whose enmity he 
 had already provoked, by his conduct in Hungary and 
 Bohemia. The reign of Ferdinand the Second, and great 
 part of that of Ferdinand the Third, suppHes a narrative 
 of that terrible and memorable warfare between the 
 Cathohcs and Protestants, that desolated Germany for 
 so long a period, and is spoken of as the thirty years* 
 war. 
 
 I cannot pass over this remarkable contest, which pro- 
 duced such important results, and in which so many 
 celebrated persons were engaged, without giving you a 
 brief relation of its commencement and progress, with a 
 slight sketch of some of the most noted characters that 
 appeared on the scene of action. 
 
 THE THIRTY YEARS WAR. 
 
 The troubles of this unhappy period had begun before 
 the death of Matthias, for as soon as Ferdinand was 
 crowned king of Bohemia and Hungary, he began to 
 take measures for restoring the Catholic religion in those 
 
132 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 133 
 
 countries, by banishmg aU Protestant preachers and 
 schoolmasters, founding convents, and estabhshmg col- 
 leges of Jesuits, instead of the Protestant schools, 
 ■wliich he had abolished. 
 
 In the midst of these proceedings, he became emperor. 
 by the death of Matthias, and then the Bohemians 
 began to think of resisting his encroachments on their 
 reU-ious liberty. There was a nobleman named Count 
 Th^. who. like another Zisca. roused his countrymen to 
 rebellion; and encouraged by him. the people bu.lt up 
 new Protestant churches, and persisted in the exercise of 
 their religion, in defiance of the royal mandate. The 
 emperor, however, authorised his emissaries to interfere 
 ^ith them; on which Count Thum. and some other 
 Protestant noblemen, repaired to the council of state at 
 Pra-ue, to lay before it their grievances, or perhaps, 
 with the intent of quarrelUng with the members, for a 
 violent altercation arose among them, and three of the 
 CathoUc nobles were precipitated from the windows into 
 the moat below; an outrage which the count and h.s 
 associates attempted to justify, by saying that it was an 
 old custom throughout Bohemia to throw from the 
 windows such as were deemed enemies to the country. 
 in imitation of the ancient Romans, who used to hurl 
 traitors from the Tarpeian rock. 
 
 It may be a satisfaction to know that the three 
 Eentlemen who were so roughly treated, all contrived to 
 save their lives, although the assaUants fired at them 
 from the windows. ThU was the commencement of the 
 war for those who had been guilty of this violence, 
 knew they must either submit to the punishment due to 
 such a crime, or defend it by force of arm?; so they 
 
 \ 
 
 chose the latter alternatiyc, and spared no efforts to 
 8tir up a general insurrection. 
 
 A large army of Protestants was soon raised, and the 
 command taken by Count Thurn and Count Mansfield, 
 the latter being one of the most distinguished generals 
 during this melancholy struggle. The emperor was 
 deposed in Bohemia, and the crown bestowed on 
 Frederick, the Elector Palatine, who w^as a Protestant 
 prince, and had made himself popular by the affabihty of 
 his manners; but he had not much talent either as a 
 king, or a military commander, and rather disappointed 
 the expectations of those who had placed him on the 
 throne. Nevertheless, they were resolved to support 
 him against the emperor, who was naturally desirous of 
 regaining his kingdom of Bohemia; but Frederick was 
 assisted by all the Protestant princes of Germany, and 
 by a great many English volunteers; for James the 
 First of England was his father-in-law, and, although, 
 that cautious monarch had endeavoured to persuade him 
 that he had better avoid a war with the emperor, and 
 refuse the crown of Bohemia, which he thought it was 
 not prudent to accept, still he did not prevent English 
 adventurers from going to his aid. 
 
 The Hungarians had elected the prince, or vaivode of 
 Transylvania, for their king, so that Frederick waa 
 dispossessed of both countries. His armies were com- 
 manded by the Catholic princes, and in chief by a count 
 named Tilly, a native of Brussels, and one of the most 
 extraordinary persons of his time. He was a little hard- 
 featured man, with grey hair, large moustaches, and a 
 thin grey beard. He usually rode a very small horse, 
 and appeared at the head of the army in a green 
 satin doublet, with slashed sleeves in the Spanish 
 
 N 
 
134 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 \ 
 
 fashion; a hat turned up in front, with a long red 
 feather hanging down hehind. and a broad belt round 
 his waist, in which he always carried a single pistol. 
 
 The manners of this great commander were as sm- 
 gular as his appearance, an amusing instance of which 
 is thus related. On/day, a celebrated French general 
 havino- a desire to see Tilly, contrived to meet him when 
 he was riding at the head of his troops, and on bemg 
 introduced to him. could not repress a look of surprise, 
 which being obser^-ed by the count, he said; " You 
 probably expected to find something extraordinary in my 
 fashion or dress. It is not. I grant, exactly according to 
 the French mode, but it suits my taste, and that is enough 
 for me. However, that you may not go away with a 
 bad opinion of Count Tilly, whom you have honoured 
 with this visit of curiosity. I will inform you that I have 
 won seven battles, and that my little horse here did his 
 
 duty in them all." 
 
 Such was the general who conducted the first few 
 years of the war on the part of the emperor, and few 
 men could have carried it on with more barbarity, for he 
 put no restridnt on the cruelty of the soldiers, suffering 
 them to commit tlie most dreadful atrocities in every 
 town and village they captured. 
 
 Frederick did not long retain the crown of Bohemia, 
 for he had not been king two years, before his army was 
 defeated, close to the gates of Priigue. This disastrous 
 battie was fought on a Sunday, and while the kmg 
 was entertaining the EngUsh ambassadors in his palace ; 
 yet, though the enemy were at his very gates, and his 
 brave soldiers were fighting for him, almost within hear- 
 ing, he could not be prevailed on to leave the table, and 
 go^'to the scene of action, although messenger after 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 135 
 
 \ 
 
 messenger w^as sent, to beg he would come to animate 
 the troops by his presence. 
 
 At length, however, he mounted his horse, and rode 
 off to the spot; but the battle was then over, so he 
 returned to his palace, and began to prepare for his 
 departure; for he had not spirit to defend the throne he 
 had usurped, and. in spite of all the entreaties of the 
 citizens, he left Prague in the middle of the night, with 
 his wife and children, and retired to Berhn. The unfor- 
 tunate people had now no alternative but to open their 
 gates to Count Tilly and his victorious troops, who took 
 possession of the town on the following day. 
 
 A melancholy revolution now took place in Bohemia, 
 many of the chief nobles being executed for their 
 adherence to the palatine, their estates confiscated, and 
 their relatives banished. All the most ancient and honor- 
 able families of the country were utterly ruined, and 
 the Bohemians, who had till then been distinguished as 
 a brave and warlike nation, lost all their fame, and, in a 
 few years, ceased to be a distinct people, their very 
 language being forgotten, or only used by the peasants 
 in the country villages. 
 
 The elector Palatine, no longer king of Bohemia, paid 
 dearly for his short-lived sovereignty, for he was banished 
 from the empire, and his palatinate given to the duke of 
 Bavaria, who was a CathoHc prince. Frederick, how- 
 ever, passed through the country in disguise, and joined 
 the army of Count Mansfield, in the hope of recovering 
 his palatinate; but he never succeeded, and, for many 
 years, was an exile and a wanderer. 
 
 In the meantime, the war was proceeding with un- 
 abated fury, and the miseries of the whole country were 
 daily increasing. Both armies subsisted chiefly by plun- 
 
136 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 137 
 
 der, therefore, it is easy to imagine what must have 
 been the distressed state of the agricultural population, 
 whose corn and cattle were taken away to supply the 
 wants of the soldiers. Then the clcrg>% and superiors 
 of monasteries, whose rents were paid in kind, and who 
 generally had magazines, where they stored up the corn 
 and wine brought by their tenants, were not able to 
 defend these storehouses from the fierce soldiery. Ashes 
 and ruins were seen everywhere, the fields remained 
 uncultivated, and the whole empire was desolated from 
 one end to the other. 
 
 Among the officers who distinguished themselves in 
 the imperial army, at the battle of Prague, was Albert, 
 count Wallenstein, a native of that city, and the son of 
 the lord of Wallenstein, a Bohemian nobleman of high 
 rank, but small fortune. He was sent to college to 
 study the law, but having no inchnation for so quiet 
 a profession, his father placed him as a page in the 
 family of a German prince, after which, he travelled 
 through several countries, and being addicted to the 
 study of astrolog}% then so eageriy pursued, he per- 
 suaded himself that he was destined to be a ver>^ great 
 man; an infatuation that gave rise to his vast ambition, 
 and in the end led to his ruin. 
 
 On his return to his own country, he married a very 
 rich widow, and entered the army in the service of the 
 emperor, whose notice he attracted by his valour at the 
 battle of Prague, and in subsequent engagements. As 
 soon as Wallenstein found he was distinguished by his 
 sovereign, he determined, by some extraordinary act, to 
 attain that greatness to which he believed himself pre- 
 destined. He oftered, therefore, to raise an army of 
 fifty thousand men, and to equip and pay them at his 
 
 / 
 
 o>\Ti expense, provided he might have the absolute 
 command of them. His oifer being readily accepted, he 
 went into Bohemia, Saxony, and other states, where he 
 collected this great army; thousands being glad, in the 
 present wretched state of the country, to enlist in his 
 service, for the sake of pay and plunder. This was a 
 great step to future grandeur, and Wallenstein was now 
 one of the leading generals in this celebrated war. 
 
 Ferdinand was, all this while, adopting every method 
 of suppressing the Protestant faith in Austria and Bo- 
 hemia. Encouraged by the success of his troops, he 
 passed an act, expelling all Protestants from those 
 countries; by which, many thousands of famihes, of the 
 most respectable classes, were driven into exile. 
 
 At last, the Protestant princes applied to Gustavus 
 Adolphus, the reno^vned king of Sweden, to come to 
 their assistance, and that great hero soon appeared in 
 Germany, and turned the tide in favour of the Protestant 
 party. At first, the imperialists treated his arrival with 
 infinite contempt, calling him the snow king, and saying, 
 he would soon melt away; but they soon found he was 
 a more formidable foe than they had anticipated, and 
 not to be very easily melted, even by the fire of their 
 cannons, 
 
 I shall not recount the many battles and sieges that 
 followed the arrival of Gustavus, but shall merely 
 obsen-e, that one of the most dreadful and memorable 
 events of the war, was the capture of the rich and 
 populous city of Magdeburg by Count Tilly, who cruelly 
 suffered all the inhabitants, to the amount of thirty 
 thousand, to be put to the sword; after which, the town 
 was plundered, and then set on fire. I am not fond of 
 dwelling on such scenes as this, nor of describing their 
 
 N 3 
 
138 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 139 
 
 horrors very minutely; but it is well, now and then, to 
 read of, and reflect on the miseries of war, that we 
 may be thankful for the blessings of peace. 
 
 Soon after this, Count Tilly was himself defeated in 
 a great battle fought at Leipsic by Gustavus, whose 
 victories after that were very rapid. 
 
 Meanwhile, the emperor had been persuaded to dismiss 
 his great general Wallenstein, whose power and wealth 
 had caused him to have many enemies. Widlenstein, 
 had, therefore, retired from the war, and was residing 
 at Prague, where he had built for himself a magnificent 
 palace, and lived in the style of a sovereign. 
 
 The description given of the riches and splendour of 
 this celebrated soldier, equals the accounts of Wolsey 
 and Richelieu. His gardens rividled those of the im- 
 perial palace ; his retinue, when he travelled, occupied 
 twelve coaches of state, and fifty carriages, and fifty 
 waggons followed with plate and furniture; he had sixty 
 pages in attendance, sons of the first nobles in the 
 empire; and he seldom sat down to table with less than 
 a hundred guests. Yet with all this parade. Count 
 Wallenstein was far from being a happy man, for am- 
 bition is never satisfied; and in the midst of gaiety, he 
 was silent, gloomy, and suspicious, subject to violent 
 paroxisms of rage, and constantly brooding over his 
 dismissal from the command. 
 
 At length, his services were again requested by Fer- 
 dinand, who was alarmed at the astonishing progress of 
 the king of Sweden; and knowing that Wallenstein was 
 the best general in the empire, he was glad to engage 
 him once more in his interest on any terms. The 
 ambitious soldier did not fail to take advantage of this, 
 by refusing to undertidic the command, unless he should 
 
 
 be invested with unhmited authority to Ie\7 what 
 contributions he pleased, both of money and provisions 
 for the army; and be allowed to have the disposal of all 
 confiscated property, as well as the Hberty of conducting 
 the war in whatever pro\inces he chose, without being 
 subject to any control. All these demands were com- 
 plied with; and thus Wallenstein became the most pow- 
 erful man in the empire, not even excepting the emperor 
 himself. 
 
 This was in the year 1632, a short time before the 
 battle of Lutzen, in which the great Gustavus lost his 
 life. On the eve of this battle, Wallenstein was heard 
 to say, that a few hours would determine whether he or 
 Gustavus should command the world; but this was a 
 vain boast, for the Swedes were victorious, although 
 their brave monarch fell in the action; and the boaster 
 returned, mortified and disappointed, into Bohemia, 
 where he had a great many of his oflacers put to death, 
 saying, that his defeat was in consequence of their 
 cowardice. 
 
 Ferdinand now began to repent that he had placed so 
 much power in the hands of this man, and being 
 anxious, therefore, to get rid of him, he very readily 
 listened to some of the courtiers, who accused him of a 
 design to usurp the crown of Bohemia. The attempt to 
 arrest so powerful a commander, surrounded as he 
 was by his soldiers and dependents, would have been too 
 hazardous; a plan was, therefore, laid to assassinate 
 him. Some of the oflicers in his own palace having 
 been gained over, they, under a pretence of giving an 
 entertainment, admitted a number of the conspirators, 
 within the gates, who, having partaken of a feast, broke 
 into Wallenstein*s apartment, after he had retired to 
 
140 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 rest, and in a few moments, terminated his career for 
 ever. 
 
 The emperor*s eldest son, who had been made king 
 of Hungary, succeeded Wallenstein in the command of 
 the imperial armies; and the Chancellor Oxensticm, who 
 governed in Sweden for the infant queen, Christina, 
 took the place of GustaAiis. 
 
 France, at this period, was ruled entirely by the great 
 Cardinal Richelieu, who, notwithstanding his enmity 
 towards the French Protestants, gave all the assistance 
 in his power to those of Germany; which proved, that he 
 was more influenced by political, than religious, motives, 
 since, in order to lessen the power of the House of 
 Austria, he was ready to support the enemies of the 
 CathoUc church. 
 
 In 1G37, while the war was still at its height, Fer- 
 dinand the Second died, and was succeeded by his son, 
 Ferdinand the Third, already king of Hungary'. I need 
 not follow up the events of the war, which lasted above 
 ten years longer, with all its frightful consequences of 
 ruin and misery. Many new generals had sprung up, 
 equal in renown to those I have already mentioned, and 
 a great number of battles were fought, the names of 
 which it is not of much importance to know. 
 
 At last, all parties became anxious for repose, and a 
 treaty of peace was concluded and signed at Munster, 
 called, the Peace of Westphalia, by which, the emj)eror 
 agreed to restore to the Protestants, all the rights of 
 which they had been deprived by his father, and to add 
 more to them. 
 
 In consequence of this treaty, some of the states, 
 cities, and bishoprics, that had, till then, belonged to 
 Germany, were given uj) to France and Sweden; for 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 141 
 
 instance, Upper and Lower Alsace, which, hitherto, had 
 been German states, were made French provinces, so 
 that the Rhine became the boundary of the empire. 
 Other alterations were ako made in the geographical 
 boundaries of the several countries that had been con- 
 cerned in the war. But the best and most material 
 consequences resulting from this treat}% were those 
 which placed the Catholics and Protestants on an 
 equaHt}% enabling both parties to have seats in the Diets 
 and councils of state, with the free exercise of their 
 religion, and equal privileges in all respects. All estates 
 that had been declared forfeited during the war, were 
 restored to their former possessors, and Switzerland was 
 acknowledged by all the rest of Euroi)e as a free and 
 independent republic. 
 
 I'he late war had been the entire ruin of the Han- 
 seatic league, which had formerly rendered the towns 
 belonging to it, so wealthy and powerful. Some of 
 them had been destroyed, others plundered, and the 
 inhabitants dispersed, whilst some had been dissevered 
 by part}' spirit; so that at the end of the war, not 
 more than three or four of the Hanse towns remained 
 united. 
 
 The effects of the war were, of course, for some 
 time, very severely felt throughout Germany; but it is 
 astonishing how soon this fine country recovered its 
 prosperity, for in less than twenty years from this time, 
 we read of the riches, the magnificence, and the vast 
 population of the German states, of which I shall 
 presently give an account. 
 
142 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 143 
 
 FROM TIIR 
 
 PEACE OF WESTPHALIA, 
 
 TO THB 
 
 SIEGE OF VIENNA BY THE TURKS. 
 
 Thk tranquillity that had been restored to Germany by 
 the treaty of We.-ti)halia, continued undisturbed till 
 after the death of Ferdinand the Third, who lived about 
 nine years from the time the peace was concluded; the 
 Germans, as we may imagine, being fuUy occupied 
 during that period, in rebuilding their towns and for- 
 tifications. 
 
 In 1657, the emperor died, and Ix)uis the Fourteenth^ 
 of France, who had already obtained a great share of 
 power over the empire, came for^vard as a candidate for 
 the crown, in opposition to Leopold, the son of the late 
 emperor, who was king of Hungary and Bohemia. 
 Some of the electors were willing to bestow the crown 
 on Louis; but others did not wish to see French sove- 
 reigns ruling again in Germany, as in the time of 
 Charlemagne and his successors; tlierefore, after a dis- 
 pute of several months, they determined in favour of 
 Leopold the First. 
 
 The reign of Leopold was a very long one, and 
 
 / 
 
 distinguished by many memorable events. It was in 
 liis time, that Vienna was saved from the Turks, by the 
 great hero, John Sobieski; that the revolution took 
 place in England, when tlie Stuarts were exiled, and the 
 prince of Orange was placed on the throne; that the 
 war for the Spanish succession was begun; that Prussia 
 was erected into a kingdom; that Louis the Fourteenth, 
 by revoking the edict of Nantes, was undesignedly the 
 cause of improving the arts and manufactures of all the 
 nations witli which he was at enmity; and that Charles 
 the Twelfth of Sweden, and Peter the Great of Russia, 
 by their ambition and hostilities, created so much dis- 
 turbance throughout all Europe. 
 
 In all the transactions to which I have alluded, Louis 
 tlie Fourteenth was one of the principal actor». for he 
 was ambitious enough to aim at gaining the sovereignty 
 over all other princes and states, and, therefore, he 
 interfered in whatever was going forward in every 
 country of Europe. It was he who in»tigatcd the Turks 
 to invade Germany; it was he who 5U])ported James tlie 
 Second after he was dethroned in England, and who 
 assisted him in his attempt to recover hij« kingdom; it 
 was he who brought about the war for the BUccc»8iou of 
 Spain, and who fomented the differences between the 
 tA^'o rivals, Charles and Peter. 
 
 It was not long after Leopold had htvn elected emperor 
 of Germany, that the French invad^Nl i]i<r juilatinftte^ 
 under the celebrated Marshal Tureiuie, wlvowj object 
 was, at that time, to subject the NctUCTlaads to the 
 kmg of France; therefore, he wa* %'eiy dcciroUB of 
 making himself master of some of the flTODg cities of 
 the Rhine. The whole palatinate v«a kid vra^tc, attd 
 the inhabitants were treated with shcickinjr iMnimrity by 
 
144 
 
 GF.RMANY. 
 
 the French troops, who gained possession of Strasburc, 
 and some other towns. But we will leave the French for 
 awhile, to speak of the Turks, and the grand victory 
 gained over them by John Sobicski, king of Poland. 
 
 The emperor had offended the Hungarians, by inter- 
 fering with some of their privileges, and the consequence 
 was, that a violent insurrection broke out, headed by a 
 chief named Tekeli, who invited the Turks to the aid of 
 his countrymen. The Turks had been in possession of 
 Buda, the capital of Hungar)% for a very long period, 
 but they had, for some time, ceased to molest Germany. 
 When, however, they found the Hungarians ready to 
 join them against the emperor, they did not neglect so 
 favourable an opportunity, and, with the help of the 
 insurgents, soon became masters of some of the principal 
 places in Hungary. 
 
 In the meantime, the sultan, Mohammed the Fourth, 
 was preparing a formidable army to send into Germany, 
 and Leopold was then very glad to make an alliance with 
 the king of Poland, John Sobieski, the greatest military 
 commander of his time. 
 
 The sultan gave the command of his vast army to his 
 grand vizier, Mustapha, who passed through Hungary 
 into Germany, and marched direct towards Vienna. 
 As he approached the capital, the terror of the citizens 
 was beyond all description. Leopold himself, with his 
 family, and the whole court, retired to Passau, and the 
 greater part of the inhabitants, finding the emperor had 
 departed, left the city as fast as possible, carrying with 
 them as much of their property as they could con- 
 veniently move; so that the roads were thronged with 
 fugitives and carriages of all descriptions, laden with 
 goods. The town was strongly garrisoned, and about 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 145 
 
 / 
 
 •^1 
 
 
 fifty thousand of the citizens, capable of bearing arms, 
 had staid behind to defend it. 
 
 The Turkish army, having destroyed the suburbs, 
 pitched their tents close to the walls, and began the 
 siege, which lasted several weeks; the people within 
 expecting, every hour, that the city would be taken by 
 storm, and that they should be put to the sword, for 
 they had given up all hopes of receiving any assistance. 
 At last, when they had almost yielded themselves up 
 to despair, their spirits were suddenly revived by a signal 
 from a neighbouring height, which indicated that friends 
 were at hand. 
 
 Mustapha, who had not calculated on the town being 
 relieved, had delayed his intended assault, because he 
 thought it could be made at any moment, and that he 
 was quite sure of success, when, one day, as he was 
 sitting in his tent, taking coffee with his two sons, a 
 messenger came in haste to say, that the Poles were 
 fighting their way to the camp; and a moment after- 
 wards, he heard a cry of Sobieski! at which name, 
 he rushed out of the tent in alarm, and mounting his 
 horse, gave orders for an instant attack on the town. 
 But it was too late ; for the very name of Sobieski had 
 caused such a panic among the Turks, that they fled in 
 aU directions, leaving behind them their tents, baggage, 
 cannons, and even the grand standard of the Turkish 
 empire, with this inscription—- There is but one God, 
 and Mohammed is his prophet.'* 
 
 Tlie tent of the grand vizier was long preserved in 
 the palace at Munich, and shown to all travellers as an 
 interesting trophy. It was of painted cahco, with silken 
 cords, tassels, and ornaments; and with it were pre- 
 sen-ed scvcnil splendid dresses taken from the prisoners. 
 
 o 
 
146 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 Gi:RMAXV. 
 
 and the harness of their horses, adorned with crold, 
 silver, and precious stones. 
 
 After the defeat of the Turks, the hrave kiner of 
 Pohmd entered Vienna in triumph, where he was re- 
 ceived with every demonstration of gnititude ])y the 
 citizens, who crowded round to touch his hand, his 
 cloak, or even his horse. Those who, a few weeks ago, 
 had quitted the town in fear and sorrow, now returned 
 joyfully to their homes, breathing prayers for their 
 galhuit deliverer. 
 
 The reception of the emperor, on his return to his 
 capital, was very different from that which gieeted 
 Sobieski; for the peoi)le felt that he had deserted them 
 in their distress, therefore, they expressed no satis- 
 faction when he came back to them; and it was, 
 probably, the mortification he felt on this account, that 
 occasioned his cold and haughty behaviour towards the 
 king of Poland, whose services he scarcely deigned to 
 acknowledge. 
 
 The two illustrious princes had but one short and formal 
 interview, in which Leopold said just as much to the 
 saviour of his empire as ceremony required; and tiie 
 hero of Poland returned to his own countr}^ not im- 
 pressed, as we may suppose, with a very high idea of 
 the generosity of the German emperor. 
 
 147 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE 
 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 Let us here pause to make a few observations about Ger 
 ^a^y and t e Germans, at the Cose of the sevelSt 
 centuiy The wars with the French and M-ith the Turks 
 mu^ un oubtedly have been a great injury to the county 
 nevertheless, Us prosperity was quickly restored, andT^ 
 
 „ II ./ ''"^ b^^^ iiMng. i he houses were handsomp 
 and budt of stone; the citizens rich, and their dwe Z'; 
 and U.bles well furnished. The rooms were heatld S 
 
 Sried r r°r"'"' *''' ""^ lady had her sto e 
 earned to church m cold weather, for the winters L 
 
 «.cmsel es m furs dunng that ungenial season. 
 
 llie ladies of Vienna had a very ele^nf r.o.<.- • 
 the unnf^r ...1 • u ^ elegant pastime m 
 
 the «Tnter, which was. racing in sledges on the smaU 
 frozen streams branching from the Danube. generauT J 
 n:ght. by torch hght. The sledges wer;TrrL 
 ^^l>apcs, some Idee scallop shells, others like tigerHu 
 handsomely decorated, and each drawn by o2 h^rl 
 adorned with plumes, ribbons, and little bel tl J 
 
 -tbaTLirtr: tL:\rr r- " 
 
 ^^l^caciidy. j-T-rr;;:; 
 
 'ledge. If the lad.es were fond of sledge racing, 
 
 I 
 
148 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 the gentlemen were no less so of boar hunting, which 
 was a favourite jmrsuit all over Germany, and no dish 
 was held in more estimation than the flesh of the 
 wild boar, particularly the head, which was also the 
 grand dish of the olden time in Englimd, where it was 
 sometimes carried to table at Christmas, with a band of 
 music playing before it. 
 
 The Emperor Leopold often went out to hunt the 
 wild boar, and the boar's head, no doubt, formed one of 
 the dishes at his table on Christmas day, when it was 
 customary for him to dine in public. Christmas was as 
 much a season of festivity in Germany, as in other 
 countries, and the merry customs of twelfth night were 
 obser^^ed among all ranks of people, even to the very 
 highest; for the emj)eror and empress themselves joined 
 in the sports, and gave up their dignit}^ for the time to 
 the king and queen of the evening, the emperor laying 
 their cloth, and the empress sen'ing them with wine; 
 so you see, some of the good old customs of the Germans 
 differed very Httle from those of our own country. 
 
 The estabhshed rehgion of Vienna was the Catholic, 
 and as no Protestant churches were allowed there, the 
 Protestants were obliged to go to Presburg, which was 
 forty miles distant; therefore, a coach went every day from 
 Vienna to Presburg, for the convenience of those who had 
 no place of worshij) nearer. There were pubhc con- 
 veyances now estabhshed between most of the principal 
 towns, under the superintendance of the government, 
 which derived a considerable revenue from the profits. 
 
 The Jews of Vienna did not Hve in the town, but had 
 a district assigned to them on the opposite side of the 
 Danube, being permitted to go into the city only in the 
 day time, and to trade in one particular street. This was 
 
 149 
 
 ) 
 
 ! 
 
 the case in most of the large towns of Germany. At 
 Nuremlniig. for instance, they had a viUage to them- 
 selves, outside the walls of that place, and were obliged 
 to pay a toU every time they entered the city, which 
 they were compelled also to leave before night. 
 
 At Augsburg, they had to pay a florin, equal to about 
 three shdlings of our money, every time they went into 
 the tov^Ti. l^he students of the university of Vienna 
 who were not a very orderl.> set of young men, used to' 
 have frequent quarrels with the Jews, and now and then 
 a fight was the consequence. In one of these affrays 
 some lives were lost, which caused the Jews to be for- 
 bidden from coming into the city at all, and shortly 
 afterwards they were banished from Austria altogether 
 Ihe country round Vienna was extremely fertile and 
 generally held in very small farms, yielding 'such 
 abundance, that the labouring people were able to 
 hve in plenty. No peasantry in the world were better 
 off than the peasantry of Austria, a fact that could not be 
 doubted by those who had an opportunity of seeing their 
 contented looks, and the attention they paid to their 
 personal appearance. Dancing was their chief hohday 
 amusement, in which they displayed much grace and 
 animation; and the young men were also in the habit of 
 fencing for prizes. There was no theatre in Vienna 
 at that time, but there were a great many mountebanks, 
 jugglers, and such people, who exliibited their feats\)r 
 money. 
 
 The Germans, in most parts of the country, stih 
 retained some of the habits of their barbarian ancestors, 
 for in their best apartments the most esteemed orna- 
 ments were drinking cups of all sorts and sizes, ranged 
 m the nicest order; and as soon as a visitor appeared,' 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 nFR\f A\Y 
 
KO 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 no time was lost in setting before him such ^'iands as the 
 house afforded, with large jacks of wine, for wine was so 
 plentiful, that if a traveller asked at an inn for a cup of 
 wine, they brought him a great can full, for which he 
 had not to pay more than a penny. All the country, on 
 both sides of the Rhine, was covered with vineyards, 
 interspersed with small cities and villages, whose inhabi- 
 tants made very free use of the juice of the grape. 
 
 All this country belonged to the Elector Palatine, who 
 was an absolute prince, and was obeyed as a sovereign 
 by all his ou-n people, who did not consider themselves 
 the subjects of the emperor, but of the prince Palatine. 
 ITie care of the vineyards, and wine making, was the 
 principal occupation of the peasantry in the Palatinate, 
 and, when they were not disturbed by the wars, they were 
 a very happy people. But Louis the Fourteenth was a 
 sad enemy to this part of Germany, which was twice 
 laid waste with fire and sword by his soldiers, who turned 
 out all the inhabitants of the towns and villages into 
 the wasted fields, where they could find neither food no 
 shelter. However, at the time I am now speaking of, th 
 emperor had, for three or four years, been at peace with 
 the French king, and the inhabitants of the Palatinate 
 were again Hving very happily. 
 
 In some of the small towns, which were scarcely more 
 than villages, the wealthiest of the peasants acted as 
 magistrates, and not being free from the general propen- 
 sity of their countrymen, they were in the habit of 
 meeting at inns to talk over their official duties, all with 
 their cans of wine before them, and dressed in gay 
 coloured vests, with large ruffs of black taflcta, and high 
 crowned hats, covered with green and yellow ribbons. 
 The female costume of the Palatinate was no less extra- 
 
 f 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 151 
 
 ordinar>- the little caps of the women were made of 
 coloured stuff, bordered with a different colour, and their 
 petticoats, which were very short, were fastened round 
 the waist with a leather girdle, and set out to an im- 
 mense width, by means of a large roU put under the 
 girdle. 
 
 As I have been speaking of the fondness of the Ger- 
 mans for wine, I cannot do less than illustrate the 
 subject by the description of an enormous wine tun, in 
 the cellar of the elector's palace at Heidelberg. This 
 tun, which was twent>-one feet high, and large round in 
 proportion, was ornamented on the outside with the arms 
 of the elector, and many appropriate de^ices, and those 
 who wished to see the top of this extraordinary vessel 
 had to mount fifty steps, to a gidlery built along the 
 front of it. The tun of Heidelber-j^s celebrated aU 
 over Europe, anTHrnihT^-justly be^stjled a great 
 curiosity. 
 
 The Germans had left off the satin doublets and 
 cnmson velvet mantles, which they used to wear in 
 former times. The most usual dress for gentlemen, at 
 this period, was a black suit, with a short cloak, a large 
 ruff, and a peruke. When the French customs began \ ' 
 to be adopted in the towns of Germany, the marked \ 
 differences that used to distinguish the higher classes of \ 
 the different states, graduaUy disappeared, and all national | 
 Pecuhanties^^ojifi^^ to country people, who / 
 
 s«dom adopt the custSiflirtjrotEir m"tions, which are / 
 therefore, found but little changed among them from ^ 
 one generation to another. 
 
 In the country of the Tyrol, the men were all famous for 
 their skUl in hunting, being trained up from childhood to 
 that pursuit. In every village was a square, where the 
 
152 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 153 
 
 boys were accustomed to practise shooting and wrestling. 
 So fond were they of wrestling, that they would travel 
 many miles to the different fairs, to exhibit their skill in 
 this art. But the Tyrolean was chiefly distinguished as 
 a hunter, and would roam about for days together among 
 his native mountains in secu"ch of the chamois and other 
 wild animals. On such occasi9ns he wore a large green 
 hat to keep oflf the sun, and carried with him his gim, 
 which was slung at his back, a stick pointed with iron, 
 to assist him in climbing the dangerous heights, and a 
 bag of provisions over his shoulder. 
 
 llie mountains of the Tyrol produced a yellowish kind 
 of marble, which was used at Augsburg to floor the 
 rooms, before carpets were in use. 
 
 / The people of Hungary, at this period, were in general 
 /farmers and graziers. They reared great numbers of 
 cattle and sheep, and com was grown in such abund- 
 ance, that as much bread might be bought there for two- 
 pence, as could be had in England for a shilling. The 
 Hungarians did not lay up their com in bams, but in caves 
 under ground, in which they and their families used to 
 conceal themselves on any sudden invasion of the Turks. 
 riliey were not entirely free from feudid subjection, the 
 I lord of the manor being entitled to a share of the produce 
 jof the land; but there were no serfs in Hungary, as there 
 Were in Bohemia, where slavery still existed to a great 
 extent. 
 
 The dress of the Hungarians was extremely convenient 
 for horse exercises, in which they were skilled, being a 
 close coat, very short in the skirt, fastened round the 
 waist with a belt of leather, a short mantle, tight panta- 
 loons, with boots, and a fur cap. The coat was generally 
 made of yellow, green, or light blue cloth, for the people 
 
 I 
 
 of this country were so fond of fine colours, that even 
 their j)riests wore pur])lc robes. 
 
 The common she])lierds . and herdsmen were usually 
 habited in a long sheei)skin cloak, with the wool inside, 
 beneath which they wore a shirt and trowsers of hempen 
 cloth. The young women, in some parts of Hungary, 
 wore a dark boddice with a blue petticoat, and red boots, 
 and their chief employments were spinning and basket 
 making. Inhere were no schools in Hungary, therefore, 
 the gentry were obliged to send their sons to Vienna or 
 Prague, to be educated, and the greater part of them 
 went into the army. 
 
 /The least civilised part of the Austrian dominions was 
 Transylvania, where the people were mere barbarians, 
 dwelling in huts, and subsisting cliiefly by feeding their 
 flocks and herds. They were ver}^ revengeful, and ex- 
 tremely indolent, spending a great part of their time 
 in ciiting, drinking, and sleej)ing. 
 / ITie prince or governor of 'iVansylvania was called the 
 yaivode, and resided at Hermanstadt, the capital of the 
 tountry, which was inhabited by Saxons, and was a very 
 Vood to^^'n; but aU the other towns were little better than 
 koor villages, and were inhabited chiefly by the Heyduks, 
 ^fierce and revengeful race of people, who were soldiers' 
 ^ar and cattle-feeders in j)eace. 
 
 le useful arts were altogether unknown among the 
 people of Transylvania, except those of spinning and 
 weaving, which were the common occupations of the 
 women of barbarous nations, in the earliest times, and 
 were, therefore, no proofs of civilisation; and although 
 Transylvania was one of tlie most fertile countries in 
 Europe, yielding abundance of corn and fruits, wherever 
 it was cultivated, yet the natives were too indolent to 
 
 i 
 
154 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 improve the soil, and tliis fine tract of country was wild 
 and neglected. 
 
 The towns of Germany were in general handsome, 
 well built, populous, and wealthy, and were governed by 
 their own laws and magistrates; most of them were 
 surrounded by fortifications, a very necessary protection, 
 in those days, as they were constantly liable to be besieged. 
 The Germans, as I have before noticed, were skilful in 
 all mechanical arts, and their toys, clocks, and watches, 
 continued to be celebrated all over the world. 
 
 FROM THE SIEGE OF VIENNA, 
 
 TO THE END OF THE 
 
 WAR OF SUCCESSION. 
 
 MSB w® a^aa. 
 
 It was very soon after the defeat of the Turks, at Vienna, 
 that Louis the Fourteenth, hy liis i)ersecution of the 
 Protestants of France, and above all by his revocation of 
 the edict of Nantes, drove great numbers of French 
 artisans into other countries, many of whom settled in 
 Prussia and various parts of Germany. 
 
 I shall here take occasion to speak of Prussia, which 
 about this period was first erected into a kingdom, before 
 which, it had only been a duchy, and had made but little 
 figure among the German states. In the early days of 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 155 
 
 the German empire, the present kingdom of Prussia was 
 inhabited by the Pagan tribes of the north, until it was 
 conquered from them by the Teutonic knights, who kept 
 possession of it for more than three hundred vears, when 
 in tlie beginning of the sixteenth century-, 'Albert the 
 Margrave of Brandenburg, who was a grand master of 
 he leutonic order, changed his religion, as many of 
 the knights had already done, and thus their numbers 
 had much decreased. 
 
 Albert ha.'ing become a protestant, agreed with his 
 
 uncle, Sigismund the First, of Poland, to try to dis 
 
 l.ossess the knights of all that part of the country which 
 
 they still held, for some part of it had already been taken 
 
 from them by the Poles; and if he succeeded in gainin- 
 
 the rest, he was to hold it as a fief of the king of Poland" 
 
 with the title of duke. The scheme was successful. ard~ 
 
 A bort of Brandenburg took possession of his share 
 
 which was called Ducal Prussia, and the king of Poland 
 
 retained the other part, which was called Royal Pru«ia 
 
 From this time, the electors of Brandenburg were dukes 
 
 also of Prussia, till the year 1701, when the reigning 
 
 duke, Frederick, having rendered great services to the 
 
 emperor Leopold, in the war of succession, was in 
 
 return made king of Prussia, which then first became a 
 
 Kingdom. 
 
 Frederick, the first king of Prussia, was the son of 
 Frederick William, called the great elector, from his 
 goodness and unwearied exertions to improve his country 
 and the condition of his people. He was the first prince 
 Jho held Prussia as an independent state, and not as a 
 fief of the kings of Poland; and when Louis the Four- 
 teenth took away from the Protestants the act by which 
 their nghts had been protected, and forced them, by his 
 
156 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 157 
 
 cruelties, to seek refuge in other co\in tries, the great 
 elector encouraged numbers of them to settle in his 
 dominions, and was so kind to them, that in a very short 
 time they were established comfortably in various parts 
 of Brandenburg and Prussia, where they were enabled 
 to maintain themselves and their families by their various 
 trades. 
 
 When this good prince died, his son Frederick was 
 also a kind friend to the French refugees, and after he 
 was made king, he gave them lands in Prussia free of 
 rent and taxes, built churches for their use, and settled 
 incomes on their clergy. By these munificent acts, he 
 not only benefited them, but himself also, by introducing 
 new arts and manufactures into his electoral dominions 
 of Brandenburg, and his kingdom of Prussia. Several 
 of the German princes, imitating his example, encouraged 
 the French Protestants to settle in their states; and by 
 the aid of these industrious people, linen manufactories 
 were estabUshed in Hamburg in 1692, for midcing fine 
 table linen and dowlas, which the English were glad to 
 purchase of the Hamburg merchants, instead of getting 
 supplies of these goods, as they had formerly done, from 
 France. Thus the French monarch, by his folly and 
 cruelty, injured the trade and resources of his own 
 country, and increased that of other nations. 
 
 In time, the French manufacturers and artistms in 
 Prussia, grew so rich, that they were able to build several 
 new streets at Berlin, and became persons of considera- 
 tion in the city. It happened, a few years before the 
 death of the emperor Leopold, that the king of Spain, 
 Charles the Second, died, leaving a will, by which prince 
 Phihp, the grandson of Louis the Fourteenth, was named 
 his successor; but the authcnticitv of this will was dis- 
 
 puted by the archduke of Austria, Charles, the second son 
 of the emperor; and their dispute occasioned a long war, 
 in which all Europe was engaged, and which was'called 
 the war of the Spanish succession. 
 
 The rival princes had an equal claim, by their relation- 
 fehip to the deceased monarch; but the Spaniards 
 preferred Phihp, who was crowned, and took possession 
 of the throne. AU the enemies of Louis then took up 
 the cause of the archduke, and amongst them William, 
 king of England; and when he died. Queen Anne con- 
 tinued the war. 
 
 As soon as Philip was crowned in Spain, the emperor 
 Leopold laid claim to the duchy of Milan and other 
 possessions in Italy, which belonged to the crown of 
 Spain, and sent an army into that country, under the 
 command of a celebrated General, called prince Eugene, 
 who was a grandson of the duke of Savoy, and strongly 
 attached to the House of Austria; so that the war of 
 succession began in Itdy, and was afterwards carried on 
 in Germany and Spain also. 
 
 It was about this time that Peter the Great, of Russia, 
 
 was engaged in building his new town of St. Petersburg, 
 
 and among his other schemes for aggrandizing his 
 
 empire, was that of obtaining possession of some ports 
 
 on the Baltic sea, for the purpose of forwarding his 
 
 commercial enterprises. These ports belonged to 
 
 Sweden, and could not be obtained without a war with 
 
 that country; therefore, the Czar Peter persuaded the 
 
 king of Poland, Frederick Augustus, who had succeeded 
 
 the great Sobieski, to join him in going to war with 
 
 Charles the Twelfth of Sweden, then quite a youth, but 
 
 endowed with the talent and energy of an experienced 
 
 soldier. 
 
158 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 159 
 
 The wars of Charles the Twelfth and Peter the 
 Great, were more connected with the history of Poland, 
 than with that of any other country, because Charles de- 
 posed Frederick Augustus, and placed another prince on 
 the tlirone, which gave Peter a new ground of quarrel, as 
 he was bound to protect the rights of his friend and ally. 
 Peter and Charles were too much occupied with their 
 own disputes to trouble themselves about the Spanish 
 succession ; but you may imagine that no part of Europe 
 could have been in a very tranquil state, while both these 
 wars were going on. 
 
 One of the most distinguished generals in the war of 
 succession, was the English duke of Marlborough, who 
 fought and won the celebrated battle of Blenheim, often 
 mentioned in English histor)\ This battle took j)lace in 
 the early part of the reign of our Queen Anne, and a 
 very short time before the death of the emperor Leopold 
 the First, who died in the year 1705. 
 
 You must understand that the EngHsh sovereigns 
 were chiefly incited to take a prominent part in this war, 
 because Louis the Fourteenth had done his utmost to 
 restore James the Second to the throne of England, in 
 opposition to the wishes of the people, who had them- 
 selves chosen William, prince of Orange, to be their 
 king; and I will take this opportunity of explaining how 
 the crown of England, after the death of Queen Anne, 
 came to be placed on the head of a German prince. 
 
 I have elsewhere remarked, that our present queen 
 is a descendant of the famous duke of Saxony, Henr)-^ 
 the Lion. The son of Henry the Lion was duke of 
 Brunswick, whose dominions descended in a direct line 
 to his heirs, until 1546, when Duke Ernest, at his 
 death, divided them into two parts, one called Brunswick 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 Lunenburg Wolfenbuttle ; the other, Brunswick Lunen- 
 burg Zell, and these two duchies were governed by 
 sej)arate dukes. 
 
 Now it happened, during the war of succession, that 
 Ernest Augustus, duke of Bruns\\ick Lunenburg ZeU 
 rendered great assistance to the emperor, who, in return' 
 raised him to the dignity of an elector. He was called 
 the elector of Hanover, because the city of Hanover was 
 the capital of his dominions. This prince married the 
 Pnncess Sophia, daughter of the unfortunate Elector 
 Palatme, who was made king of Bohemia at the time 
 of the thirty years' war, and was afterwards banished 
 from the empire. 
 
 You will, perhaps, remember, that the wife of the 
 Elector Palatine was a daughter of King James the 
 First of Engkmd : therefore, the Princess Sophia, who 
 married Ernest Augustus, the first elector of Hanover 
 was granddaughter of James the First, and her son' 
 George, after the death of Queen Anne, became king of 
 Great Britain, because he was the next Protestant heir 
 to the throne; and a law had been made in the time of 
 William the Third, to exclude aU CathoHc princes from 
 the succession. 
 
 The Emi)eror Leopold being dead, the imperial crown 
 was given to his eldest son, Joseph, during whose short 
 reign of six years, the wars continued without inter- 
 mission. Prince Eugene, the duke of Marlborough, and 
 other great generals, were fighting in Italy, Germany, 
 and Flanders; while the Archduke Charles chose Spain 
 for his scene of action; and the emperor of Russia and 
 the king of Sweden, whose quarrels had nothing to do 
 with the question respecting the crown of Spain, carried 
 on their wars chiefly in Poland and Russia. 
 
160 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 161 
 
 While Europe was in this miserable state, no people 
 suifered more than the inhabitants of the Palatinate, 
 who were robbed of all they pos^sesscd, and then bar- 
 barously driven forth from their villages by the French 
 soldiers, into the open fields, where many perished from 
 want. Some thousands of these destitute people went 
 to England, and tents were erected for their accom- 
 modation on Blackheath, till something could be done 
 to put them in a way of maintaining themselves. 
 
 A number of charitable persons subscribed to furnish 
 them with food and clothing, and the English govern- 
 ment granted a large sum of money towards the expense 
 of sending away a great many to the EngHsh colonies in 
 America, where they had land given to them, and 
 became settlers, mostly in the state of Pennsylvania. 
 Others were sent to Ireland, where they were settled in 
 small farms, and a great many were hired as servants in 
 private families in England. No doubt these poor exiles 
 were very grateful for the kindness they received, but 
 they could never be so haj)py as tliey had been in their 
 own native homes. 
 
 At length, the war, after having lasted ten years, was 
 terminated by the sudden death of the Emixiror Joseph, 
 by which, the Archduke Charles, his brother, became 
 emperor of Germany; and then the English government 
 and other powers, that had sui)ported his cause in Spain, 
 were rather inclined to permit Phihp to reign there in 
 peace, because they did not desire to see one prince in 
 possession both of Germany and Spain, as so large an 
 extent of dominion would render his power dispro- 
 portionate to that of the other sovereigns of Europe; 
 and it is generally the wish of all governments to 
 prescn'e, what they call, the balance of power; which 
 
 mean?, that no one state should become so powerful as 
 to endanger the safety of the rest. In order to preser\'e 
 this balance of power, sovereigns often support each 
 other against any state which shews a disposition towards 
 the acquirement of an undue extent of territory and 
 influence. 
 
 In the year 1711, the archduke was crowned emperor, 
 by the title of Charles the Sixth, and, a short time 
 afterwards, a general peace was concluded, on condition 
 that the king of Spain should give up the Netherlands, 
 and his Itcdian states, to the emperor; that he should 
 give up Gibraltar to the EngHsh, and make several other 
 concessions, which it is not necessary to enumerate 
 here. 
 
 CHARLES THE SIXTH. 
 
 Tl^M IP© 31^4l©o 
 
 DuRixG the late war, the Hungarians had been in a state 
 of insurrection, and had fought with the French against 
 the emperor, being anxious to free themselves from his 
 government, and to elect a king for themselves; but as 
 soon as the archduke, Charles, became emperor of Ger- 
 many, he granted them such ample privileges, particularly 
 with regard to rehgion, that he not only restored tran- 
 quillity to the country, but converted the people from 
 dangerous enemies, into staunch friends and obedient 
 subjects. 
 
 T 3 
 
 r:i7U vf A vv 
 
V 
 
 1G2 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 163 
 
 About three years after the accession of Charles tht 
 Sixth, died Queen Anne, who was succeeded by the 
 German prince, George the First, duke of Brunswick, 
 and elector of Hanover, whose title to the English crown 
 
 ^ I have already sufficiently explained. This event 
 naturally united the interests of England and Germany 
 more closely; and Louis the Fourteenth dying in the 
 following year, the emperor was relieved from his 
 grejitest enemy. 
 
 V« Charles had two daughters, but no sons; and as he 
 knew by experience the miseries that are caused by 
 a disputed succession, he was very anxious to settle 
 that point during his life, by making a law, called 
 the Pragmatic Simction, which was in fact a will, be- 
 
 ^^queathing the imperial crown, with all lui extensive 
 dominions, to his eldest daughter, the'archduclicjja Maria 
 Theresa. 
 
 t\ You are aware, no doubt, that all the 8ont} of the 
 EmiKjrors of Germany were styled archdukes, and all 
 the daughters archduchesses, llie empire at this time 
 consisted of Germany. Hungarj-, Bohemia, Trunsylvaniu, 
 Austria, Silesia, the Nethcriands, Sicily and Na])lcj«, 
 Milan, and several others duchies and dependent Mtatcfl; 
 ^ therefore, it was a verj^ large inheritance; and as mo8t of 
 ^ the European princes had claims to various parts of it, 
 provided the emperor should die without u male lieir. it 
 was not easy to induce them to agree to tlic Pragmatic 
 Sanction; and unless they did go, Chailca knew very 
 well that, as soon as he was dead, they would go to war 
 with each other for his dominions, of which hi» dau' 'liter 
 would then be deprived. 
 
 At length he succeeded in gaining the oonanit o^ the 
 sovereigns of Spain, Russia, Prussia, Englandj and of 
 
 Holland also; but the new king of France, Louis the 
 Fifteenth, protested against the succession of Maria 
 Theresa, and many of the German states opposed the 
 Pragmatic Sanction, on various political and rehgious 
 grounds. 
 
 In the meantime, the war was going on between Peter 
 the Great and Charles the Twelfth; and the celebrated 
 battle of Pultiiwa was fought in Russia, when the king 
 of Sweden was defeated and took refuge in Turkey, 
 where he remained some time. During his absence,' 
 the king Stanislaus Leczinski, whom he had placed on 
 the throne of Poland, was compeUed to restore the 
 crouTi to the deposed momu-ch, Frederick Augustus, who 
 was supported by the emperor of Russia ; wliile Stanis. 
 laus lied into Alsace with lii» daughter, wlio 9000 after- 
 wards married Louis the Fifteenth, and beoine queen 
 of France. 
 
 Louis* was still at variance with the emperor of Ger. 
 many, and on the death of the king of Poland, in 1733. 
 he reinstated hia father-in-law. Stani^huw, on the throne. 
 Peter the Great and Charles the TwdfUi both died 
 before this event took place; but the clectwn of 8tuit». 
 lau» was opposed by the cm|)eror of Gennony, and 
 several buttles were fought in con>.cquencc. between the 
 French and the Auj.tri«ns. hi which the latter cx|)ericnc«d 
 several defeats and great UmcH, and the emjHiror at last 
 made peace with France on rather diMdvantagooua 
 terms, being obliged to give uj) much of liis Italian 
 territory. 
 
 This war had been carried on in luily, and altfaoqgh 
 the French had been succcssafuJ. Staniskua had been 
 compelled to renounce tlie cfovrn of Poknd, and to 
 retire once more into Fhuice, as the Ruaaians Imd taken 
 
16A 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 I 
 
 CERMANY. 
 
 165 
 
 part against him, and had been victorious in Poland, 
 while his Austrian foes were defeated in Italy. 
 
 The archduchess Maria Theresa was now about eigh- 
 teen years of age, and being a princess of great spirit 
 and extraordinary talent, interested herself very actively 
 in the affairs of the government, which she expected, 
 some day, to be called upon to direct. This princess, who 
 was both amiable and beautiful, had formed an attach- 
 ment to Francis, the young duke of Lorraine, who was 
 no less attached to her, and as the union was approved 
 of by the emperor, it had every prospect of happiness. 
 
 The happiness of the duke, however, was somewhat 
 clouded by the terms of peace proposed to the emperor 
 by the king of France, who demanded that the whole 
 territory of Lorraine should be ceded to him, in return 
 for which he would give his consent to the Pragmatic 
 Sanction, and interfere no more with the affairs of 
 Poland. When the duke of Lorraine understood that it 
 would be necessary for him to part with his patrimonial 
 inheritance, he was greatly distressed, and at first refused 
 to com])ly, although he was to be compensated for the 
 loss, by being put in possession of the grand duchy of 
 Tuscany, on the death of its duke, who was very old. 
 But Tuscany was not his native home, nor the home of 
 his forefathers, and he persisted in his refusal, till the 
 emj)eror*s chief minister, count Bartenstein, who had 
 great influence in all state affairs, said to him, — " My 
 lord, you must either give up the duchy or the arch- 
 duchess, so take your choice.'* 
 
 The youthful lover hesitated no longer, and the fine 
 country of Lorraine was united to France, and bestowed 
 on the exiled monarch of Pokmd, Stanislaus Leczinski, 
 who was duke of Lorraine till his death. The marriage 
 
 of Francis and Maria Theresa took place in 1736-- and 
 the former, by the death of the grand duke of Tuscany 
 M'hose race was extinct, became lord of that duchy 
 
 This marriage united the two branches of the ancient 
 house of Austria, which had been separated ever since 
 the seventh century, at which period it is recorded that 
 a certam duke, Ethico, divided his dominions between 
 two sons, one of whom was the founder of the House of 
 Hapsburg. the other of that of Lorraine, which had 
 been continued in t^^'o distinct lines till now, when the 
 sole heir of the one, married the sole heiress of the 
 other, and thus again they merged into one line, after 
 liavmg been disunited for more then ten centuries 
 
 Soon after the marriage of the illustrious pair, a war 
 broke out between the Austrians and their old enemies 
 tiie 1 urks, which proved very unfortunate for Germany 
 as no advantage whatever was gained by it, and the 
 people were very heavily taxed to defray the expenses. 
 1 he emperor was thought extremely imprudent for per- 
 sistmg in carrj'ing it on; and so it turned out, for the 
 1 urks gained possession of the strongly-fortified town 
 ot Belgrade, which the Austrians considered their best 
 protection against these formidable enemies. 
 
 The emperor was very much grieved and displeased 
 when he heard that his generals had been induced to 
 make peace with the Turks, by the surrender of this 
 important place, for he thought they might stiU have 
 defended it; and as this was the prevalent opinion, the 
 unfortunate generals were arrested, and sent as prisoners 
 to different castles, where they were kept in confinement 
 till the death of diaries, which happened in the course 
 of tlie following year. 
 
 Bc8idoe the town of Belgrade, the two fine provinces 
 
166 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 of Wallachia and Servia had also been ceded to the 
 1 urks, which occasioned great discontent among the 
 Jesuits, who formed a numerous body in Austria, and 
 had possessed many fine estates in those two provinces. 
 They had several colleges, too, within the walls of Bel- 
 grade, which were immediately dissolved by the Turks, 
 who were the professed enemies of all Christian esta- 
 blishments. 
 
 This was the last event of importance in the reign of 
 Charles the Sixth, who died in 1 740, leaving the country 
 in a weak and impoverished state, in consequence of the 
 late useless and expensive war. Yet he was a prince of 
 an excellent disposition, and anxious to promote the 
 welfare of his people, by giving encouragement to arts 
 and manufactures of every kind. The manufacture of 
 porcelain was brought to great perfection in Saxony, in 
 the time of Charles the sixth, the Dresden cliina being 
 celebrated all over the world. 
 
 Charles formed a great many new roads in various 
 parts of his dominions, and repaired the old Roman road 
 through Wallachia, w^hich, perhaps, he would not have 
 done if he had been aware that the Turks were about to 
 dispossess him of that province. He was a patron of 
 literature, arts, and sciences; revived the academy of 
 painting, and sculpture; built the public library; and 
 was so fond of music, that he composed an opera, and 
 when it was performed in the theatre of the palace, he 
 took a part himself in the orchestra. His band of 
 musicians was said to ])e the best in Europe, which is 
 very probable, for the Germans were then, as they are 
 still, tlie finest musicians in the world. 
 
 Having mentioned the celebrated manufacture of 
 Dresden china, it may not be uninteresting to give some 
 
 167 
 
 I 
 
 account of its establishment, and the singular mode in 
 which it was carried on. A few years before the acces- 
 sion of Charles the Sixth, baron Botgar, a gentleman 
 possessing a considerable property in mines, and who 
 had devoted some attention to the study of mineral 
 productions, happened to discover, in the course of his 
 experiments, a peculiar method of forming a very fine 
 kind of porcelain. 
 
 llie first specimens of this beautiful ware, were of a 
 red colour, and capable of receiving a high pohsh; but 
 after a time, the baron found out the art of making a 
 white composition, and of painting and gilding it in a 
 very elegant manner. This porcelain, the most beautiful 
 that had yet been made in Europe, was soon so famed, 
 that it was sent to every part of the world; and parti- 
 culariy to England, where it became such a fashion to 
 possess Dresden china, that persons of distinction vied 
 with each other in decorating their rooms with vases, 
 cups, images, and dl kinds of ornaments made of this 
 costly ware, which was to be seen exhibited in all the 
 best shops in London. 
 
 In the time of Maria Theresa, the manufactory was 
 carried on in the castle of Meissen, and belonged to the 
 king of Poland, who was also elector of Saxony, and he 
 derived a large revenue from it. The art of making the 
 china was kept a profound secret and to prevent its 
 discovery, the workmen were never suflTered to go outside 
 the walls of the castle, nor were any strangers admitted 
 to view the works. 
 
 The king of Poland had a palace on the banks of the 
 Elbe, in which he possessed a vast collection of Dresden 
 china, most of it exceedingly curious, consisting of qua- 
 drupeds and birds, as large as life, flowers, immense 
 
168 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 169 
 
 vases, and a variety of other things, remarkable as 
 curiosities, but of no utility. 'ITiis passion for collectinj^ 
 porcelain, was carried to so great an extent by the king 
 of Poland, that Frederick the Great, of Prussia, used to 
 
 call liim the king of Cliina. 
 
 MARLY THERESA. 
 
 Maria Theresa was only twent}'-four years of age, 
 when, by the death of her father, she succeeded to the 
 vast dominions of the House of Austria. All the 
 princes of Europe had been brought by the unwearied 
 efforts of the late em|)eror, to guarantee the Pragmatic 
 Sanction, that is, they had promised not to interfere 
 with the rights of his daughter; but no sooner was he 
 placed in the tomb, thim several of them laid claim to 
 various parts of her inheritance. 
 
 Charles Albert, the elector of Bavaria, asserted that 
 the kingdom of Bohemia belonged of right to him, 
 because he was next male heir to Ferdinand the First; 
 Augustus, the elector of Saxony and king of Poland, 
 demanded the whole of Austria, because his wife was 
 the eldest daughter of the emperor Joseph; Philip the 
 Fifth of Spain, Louis the Fifteenth of France, and 
 Frederick, king of Prussia, all came forward with their 
 several pretensions; and if the young archduchess had 
 
 not found some very good friends, she would soon have 
 been deprived of all her possessions. 
 
 One of the most powerful of these friends, was 
 George the Second, king of England, who, during the 
 war that existed, warmly defended her cause, and"even 
 fought himself at the head of his Hanoverian troops. 
 
 The countr>', at this iH,>riod, was in a ver>' distressed 
 state, on account of the scarcity and deamess of pro- 
 visions, a calamity that was owing to the late war with 
 the Turks. Hence, serious disturbances arose araon^r 
 the lower orders of people at Vienna. In addition to 
 this cause of discontent, a severe frost had cut off 
 the vintage, and thrown great numbers of the pcasantrjr 
 m the wme districts, out of cmplovment; and these poor 
 people, being unable to procure food for themselves and 
 their famUies, assembled in large bands, and went about 
 destroying the game on the noblemen's estates. 
 
 In the midst of these distresses, and when tlie Pruu 
 sians were on the point of invading her dominions, 
 Maria Theresa repaired to Presburg, wli^ she wa^ 
 joyfully received, and crowned queen of Hungan-; by 
 which title, she was afterwards usually called. ' The 
 Hungarians were enthusiastic in her cause, for ihc 
 pleased them by taking the oath that used to be tnkcu 
 by their ancient kings. By tliis oath, .be pledged 
 herself, that if any of the privileges of her iubjccta 
 were invaded, she would not dispute their right of taking 
 up arms in their own defence. Then, accofdinjc to 
 another ancient custom, at her coronation. «be rode aa 
 horseback up the royal mount, a hill near PW»b«irg» and 
 waved a drawn sword towards the four coidinal piwnti, 
 as a defiance to all the world. 
 
 These ceremonies being performed, she sumnMiied 
 
170 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 the Diet to the castle, and entering the hall with the 
 crown on her head, and a sword by her side, she 
 ascended the throne with a majestic air, and addressed 
 the deputies from the different towns in Latin, which 
 was commonly spoken all over Hungary; and at the 
 conclusion of her animated speech, all present drew their 
 swords half out of the scabbard, exclaiming, ** We will 
 die for our queen! long hve Maria Theresa I" 
 
 I'he first care of the new queen of Hungary was to 
 secure for her husband a share in the government, under 
 the title of co-regent; and so much was she beloved by 
 the Hungarians, that the states readily assembled to con- 
 firm his authority'. On that occasion, presenting herself 
 before them, with her infant in her arms, she addressed 
 them in the following memorable words: "Abandoned 
 by ray friends, persecuted by my enemies, attacked by my 
 nearest relation, I have no other resource thtm in your 
 fidelity, in your courage, and my own constancy. I com- 
 mit to your care the son of your king, who has no other 
 safety than your protection.'* At the spectacle of the 
 beauty and distress of the young queen, the Hungarians, 
 a warlike peoi)lc, drew their swords, and exclaimed, as 
 before, ** We will die for our Queen Maria Theresa." 
 
 In the wars that followed, the troops of Maria Theresa 
 were chiefly composed of Hungarians. They did not 
 form a reguhu- army, but consisted of detached bands of 
 fierce warriors, some called Croats, others Pandours, and 
 others Sclavonians, according to the several parts of the 
 country from which they came; and they struck terror 
 into the hearts of the French and German soldiers by 
 their ferocious appearance, and their mode of fighting, 
 which resembled the furious onsets of wild Indians, 
 rather than the regular movements of disciplined troops. 
 
 a. 
 
 9 
 
 s 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 ■1 
 
 > 
 
 
170 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 ii 
 
 the Diet to the castle, and entering the hall with the 
 crown on her head, and a sword by her side, she 
 ascended the throne with a majestic air, and addressed 
 the deputies from the different towns in Latin, which 
 was commonly spoken all over Hungary; and at the 
 conclusion of her animated speech, all present drew their 
 swords half out of the scabbard, exclaiming, " We will 
 die for our queen! long hve Maria Theresa!" 
 
 The first care of the new queen of Hungary was to 
 secure for her hus])and a share in the government, under 
 the title of co-regent; and so mucli was she beloved by 
 the Hungarians, that the states readily assembled to con- 
 firm his authority. On that occasion, presenting herself 
 before them, with her infant in her arms, she addressed 
 them in the following memorable words: " A])andoned 
 by my friends, persecuted by my enemies, attacked by my 
 nearest relation, I have no other resource than in your 
 fidelity, in your courage, and my own constancy. I com- 
 mit to your care the son of your king, who has no other 
 safety than your j-rotcetion." At the spectacle of the 
 beauty and di>trcss of the young queen, the Hungarians, 
 a warlike i)eoi)le, drew their swords, and exclaimed, as 
 before, " We will die fur our Queen Maria Tlieresa." 
 
 In the wars that followed, the troops of Maria Theresa 
 were chiefly composed of Hungarians. They did not 
 form a regular army, ])ut consisted of detached bands of 
 fierce warriors, some called Croats, others Pandonrs, and 
 others Sclavonians, according to the several parts of the 
 country from which they came; and they struck terror 
 into the hearts of the French and German soldiers by 
 their ferocious apjicarance, and rholr mode of fi^'-htin''^. 
 which rc::einbled the furiou.^ v^.Lii of wild Indians, 
 rather than the regidar movements of disciplined trov>ps. 
 
 i 
 
 riteja^agii 
 
 ' iiffrTirnPliiiiifrmifiWiiriifiiMiii 
 
GERMANY. 
 
 171 
 
 While the queen was in Hungary, Frederick of 
 Prussia had made himself master of all Silesia, and 
 the French, Bavarians, and Saxons, had taken possession 
 of Upper Austria, and a great part of Bohemia. The 
 elector of Bavaria, who had besieged and taken the city 
 of Prague, was declared king of Bohemia in December 
 1741; and two months afterwards, he was elected 
 emjieror of Germany at Frankfort, and crowned by the 
 title of Charles the Seventh. But this prince, although 
 he was invested with the title, never enjoyed the power 
 of an emperor, and, in consequence of his ambition, he 
 lost his Bavarian dominions; for, on the very day that 
 he received the imperial crown, the Hungarians, joined 
 by the natives of the Tyrol, forced their way into 
 Bavaria, and took possession of Munich, the principal 
 city; and thus the newly-made emperor had really 
 parted with a substance for a shadow. He lived only 
 four years from this time, and, in dying, expressed his 
 regret that he had ever been tempted to aspire to a 
 crown, which had brought with it nothing but troubles 
 and losses. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Austrians, commanded by Francis of 
 Lorraine, the queen's husband, had retaken Prague, and 
 Maria Theresa was crowned queen of Bohemia. This 
 event was celebrated with splendid festivities, among 
 which were chariot races, in imitation of those among 
 the ancient Greeks, with this difference, that at Prague 
 they were performed by ladies only, whereas, at Greece, 
 the charioteers were warriors. 
 
 While the Austrians were fighting against the queen's 
 enemies in Bohemia, the Hanoverians were supporting 
 her cause in Germany, where a great victory was gained 
 over the French at the battle of Dettingen, by King 
 
172 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 George the Second; this being the last battle in which 
 a king of England has been personally engaged. 
 
 The death of the emperor Charles the Seventh, in 
 1745, changed the aspect of affairs in Germany. 
 Francis of Lorraine became a candidate for the imperial 
 crown, and the young elector of Bavaria, son of Charles 
 the Seventh, agreed to give him his vote, on condition of 
 being put in possession of his electorate of Bavaria, to 
 which he was accordingly restored ; and soon afterwards, 
 Francis of Lorraine, who, you should remember, was 
 grand duke of I'uscany, was elected emperor of Ger- 
 many; on which occasion, the em2)ress dined in public 
 with the army, at Htidelburg, and gave a piece of 
 money to each soldier. 
 
 It was just at this time, that the great rebellion broke 
 out in Scotland, in favour of prince Chailes Stuart, who 
 had availed himself of the absence of the king, in Ger- 
 many, to make an attempt to recover the cro^^-n of Great 
 Britain. 'I'he duke of Cumberland, who had been fight- 
 ing the battles of the queen of Huni^ry, was immediately 
 sent home, to take the command of the troops preparing 
 to march against the rebels; and the king soon followed 
 him . The war in Germany continued four years longer, 
 when a treaty of peace was signed at Aix-la-Chapellc, 
 in 1749, by which the empress-queen was secured in 
 all her dominions, except Sile.<ia, which was given up to 
 the king of Prussia. 
 
 There was now an inter\al of j)eace, during which, 
 Maria Theresa employed herself in remedying the dis- 
 tresses occasioned by the war; a task for which her 
 amiable and benevolent disposition was well calculated. 
 To the high spirit which had maintained her on the 
 throne, she united all the talents for government that 
 
 173 
 
 dlstmgulshed our Queen Elizabeth, but was far sunerior 
 to lier in feminine graces, being affectionate in her 
 famd>^ kind to her domestics, pious, charitable, and 
 attable m her manners to everj' one. 
 
 Francis tlie First, although he bore the title of em- 
 l-eror, took very little share in the government, which 
 was entirely conducted by the empress-queen. So little 
 ambition had he, that when Maria Theresa held a levee 
 he would generally mix among the tlirong who attended 
 It, instead of taking his place as head of the empire 
 On one of these occasions. whUe the queen was thus' 
 engaged Francis, who. as usual, was quietly looking on 
 .appened to sit down in an obscure corner, near two 
 lad.es. who recognising him as the emperor, instantly 
 arose -. Pray sit down," said he, "for I shall stay 
 here till the court is gone, to amuse myself in watchino- 
 the crowd .. The court cannot be gone." replied on^ 
 o the ladies. <■ so long as your imperial majesty is 
 pleased to remain." - Oh, you mistake," said he '• I 
 am here oiily as a simple individual, my wife and chU- 
 drcn are the court." 
 
 inst^mces of his humanity are recorded. Once in the 
 J^-inter season, the suburbs of Vienna were overflowed 
 by an inundation of the river, and the water rose to 
 such a height, that a considerable number of persons 
 had no means of saving themselves, but by climbing 
 to the tops of the houses, where they were in danger S 
 perishing with cold and hunger; for the rapidity of the 
 stream, and the masses of ice floating on it. made it 
 almost impossible for any boats to go to their assistance. 
 In tins i,er.lous situation, they remained for three day, 
 when the emperor, unable to bear the sight of their 
 
 Q 3 
 
 « » se . 
 
174 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 sufTerings, declared he would himself make an attempt 
 to rescue them, and leaping into a boat, he, with some 
 difficult^', rowed it towards the poor creatures, whose 
 transports at this prospect of relief, were beyond de- 
 scription. The example of their jirince induced several 
 others to exert themselves in so good a cause, and many 
 boats were seen approaching the sufferers, who were all 
 brought away in safety. 
 
 Francis was fond of study, and devoted much of his 
 time to chemical pursuits ; for the delusion with regard 
 to the philosopher's stone had not been wholly aban- 
 doned; and he, among others, entertained hopes of find- 
 ing out this wonderful secret. 
 
 Germany had been at peace about seven years, when 
 the French, who were at war with the English in 
 America, invaded the German dominions of the king of 
 England, which gave rise to what is usually termed the 
 Seven Years' war. 
 
 At the same time, Maria Theresa entered into a 
 league with the empress of Russia, for the puqiose of 
 trying to recover Silesia, which had been ceded at the 
 last peace to Frederick the Great. Thus a new wiu: 
 commenced, in which the king of Prussia gained great 
 renown; but after it had been carried on for seven years, 
 the French and English made up their differences; and 
 at the same time, the empress and king of Prussia idso 
 concluded a treaty of peace, by which all conquests were 
 restored on both sides, leaving the two sovereigns in the 
 same position which they had occupied at the beginning 
 of the war. 
 
 About this period, the emj>eror Francis died suddenly, 
 and his eldest son, the archduke Joseph, was made 
 emperor; but during his mother's lile he was merely a 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 175 
 
 
 nominiJ sovereign, without eitl.er power or territory. 
 His next l)rotlicr Leoi)olcl became grand duke of Tuscany; 
 and tlie tliird, Ferdinand, was appointed governor of the 
 Austrian dominions in Lombardy; and soon afterwards, 
 by lus marriage, became duke of Modena. 
 
 I mention these circumstances to show you how the 
 Austnans came to jiossess so much influence in Italy. 
 Having spoken of prince Ferdinand, I cannot refrain from 
 relatmg a little aiieaiote illustrative of his amiable dis- 
 position. Before his de,,arture for Italy, several grand 
 entertainments were given in honour of his new dignity, 
 and among other rejoicings, it was proposed there should 
 be an illumination at the palace of Schoenbrun; but 
 when the prince heard of this intention, he said to the 
 empress, "My dear mother, there has already been 
 quite enough money expended on my account. Surely 
 the cost of this illumination would be better employed in 
 relieving those who are suffering from the high price of 
 bread. 
 
 'I'he cm,,ress immediately gave up the project, and 
 presented her son, instead, with a sum of money to 
 dispose of as he pleased, on which he went himself to 
 the abodes of many respectable families, who were 
 reduced by the j.ressurc of the times to great distress. 
 
 1 need not tell you what use he made of this money 
 but when he returned to the palace, after a day spent in 
 acts of charity, he tenderly embraced the empress 
 saying-'. This, dear mother, had been a treat indeed." 
 Ihe general scarcity that prevaUed at this time, was 
 owing to the seven years' war, which had ruined the 
 agriculture of several fine provinces, and, in many parts 
 of the country, had been a serious injury to trade. 
 At the time of which 1 am now sj)caking, Hamburo- 
 
 I 
 
176 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 was the greatest of all the commercial cities of Germany. 
 Many English merchants resided there, and as it wiis of 
 great importance to other countries that its trading inter- 
 course should not be stopi)ed, this town was allowed, 
 during the war, to be considered as neutral, that is, 
 it was permitted to keep at peace with all i)arties. 
 Hamburg had as many as three hundred ships con- 
 stantly employed in carr}'ing merchandise to and from 
 England, Holland, and all the German states to which 
 access could be gained by means of the Elbe river. 
 Before the hnen trade was so much extended, and im- 
 proved in Great Britain, large quantities of linen goods 
 were sent to this country by the Hamburg merchants; 
 and in time of war, Hamburg was the chief magazine 
 for the inland consumption of Germany, as continual 
 supplies were received there from other nations. 
 
 The houses in this city were generally high, and the 
 streets so narrow that two carriages could scarcely pass 
 each other; but tlie streets were formed before carriages 
 were in use, or else they would no doubt have been 
 made wider. 
 
 The inhabitants were principally merchants, and 
 amongst them were a number of Englishmen> who had 
 a liu*ge factory there. The citj' was divided into five 
 parishes, each of which had a handsome protestant 
 church, and was governed by four burgomasters, 
 twenty-four senators, and some other magistrates. — 
 There were but few mechanics, and the manufac- 
 tures were inconsiderable, the only articles made 
 there being gold and silver h\ce, stockings, and silk. 
 Most of the citizens had small gardens on the banks 
 of the Ell)e, to which they were accustomed to re- 
 tire when the business of the day was over; but thev 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 177 
 
 d cl not lay out their g-ardens according to our ideas 
 ot taste, rather preferring neatness to natural beauty; 
 and cutting off every httle twig that presumed to shoot 
 out beyond the rest. 
 
 Tl>ese f,^ardens were small and formal, and nothinR 
 was suffered to grow i„ them to any height; neverthe 
 less they pleased the good people of Hamburg, who 
 were weU contented to walk in them in the evening 
 the gentlenK.n smoking their pipes at their ease. 
 
 ilie c.ty was surrounded by a wall, and the gates 
 were a ways dosed at an early hour, after whieh no one 
 was allowed to pass either in or out. The ladies of 
 Hamburg w-ere very reserved in their manners, and sel- 
 dom walked abroad without a black silk veil, which 
 concealed their faces. The senators of Hamburg wore a 
 dress resembling the ancient S,,anish costume, being 
 enfrely black, with a cloak, a velvet hat, and a sword 
 They were chosen for life, ten of them being lawyers, 
 he rest merchants, but the latter were always expected 
 to give up business and to keep a coach, as soon as 
 they were raised to the dignity of senators; and as those 
 
 ft'" .'T/ '" ''"■' ^'"'^"^'>' "^'' '»™- they could 
 aftord to do so, particularly as there were emoluments 
 attached to the senatorial office. 
 
 During the seven years war which began, as I before 
 stated, between the English and French in America 
 both parties were in the habit of making prizes of each 
 other s trading vessels, and sending the goods with 
 winch they were laden, to be sold at Hamburg; and that 
 town was, in consequence, stocked with all sorts of mer- 
 chandize from America and the West Indies, as well as 
 from England and France, wliich caused the citizens cf 
 
178 
 
 GERM AW. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 Hamburg to prosper, while those of otlier towns, harassed 
 by warfare, could not carr)^ on their trade to any ad- 
 vantage. 
 
 At length the war was happily terminated, and the 
 peaceful years that succeeded were employed by the 
 empress- queen in promoting the welfare of her subjects, 
 by the encouragement of arts and sciences, and the 
 estabHshment of schools in all the villages. She gave 
 prizes for all useful inventions and imi)rovements in 
 manufactures; and bestowed rewards on those peasants 
 who produced the finest crops. 
 
 It was this wise and good princess who altered the 
 game laws, which had always been very injurious to the 
 farmers, who were forbidden by them to kill any of 
 tliose destructive animals that the nobles were in the 
 habit of hunting, such as the wild boars, and wolves, 
 which did a great deal of damage among the corn, 
 sometimes destroying whole crops. Yet the princes of 
 the country were so selfish, that, for the sake of their 
 own amusement, they would suffer many an honest and 
 industrious family to be totally ruined, rather than let 
 them shoot the ferocious creatures that made such havoc 
 in their fields. The empress, however, gave them the 
 right of killing any wild animal they found doing any 
 mischief to their property^, and in consequence of this 
 permission, many a fine crop of wheat was saved. 
 
 The Austrians were at this time a verj^ happy people. 
 They had recovered from the calamities of the war, and 
 being now in the full enjoyment of the blessings of peace, 
 and a good government, they lived in ease and j)rosperity. 
 Poverty was rare, even among the lower classes; and 
 want was almost unknown. 
 
 Some of the i^easantry were still in feudal subjection, 
 
 179 
 
 living on the estates of their lords; but the artisans were 
 mostly free, and formed a numerous class of peoiile 
 who were very contented and industrious. 
 
 I'he female peasantry of Austria are always prettily 
 dressed, generally in stuff petticoats of their own manu- 
 facture. with tight boddices, laced with ribbon, and red or 
 yellow neck-kerchiefs. The stockings and apron are usu- 
 aUy blue, and m some parts of the country, the girls 
 wear a large grey hat. ornamented with ribbon The 
 countrymen also wear their ])road hats adorned with 
 ribbons; but there is a great varietj^ of costume amon.^ 
 the lower orders, in different parts of the Austrian 
 dommions. 
 
 Until the reign of Maria Theresa, the churches and 
 convents m Germany had j)ossessed the riglit of afFordins 
 sanctuarj. to criminals; but this wise princess sa,y the 
 bad effect of such a custom; therefore, she ordained that 
 m future those who had broken the laws of the country 
 should find no protection within the walls of any sacred 
 edifice She abolished the use of torture, and sun- 
 pressed tlie inquisition in her Italian dominions. It was 
 .n her reign too, that the Jesuits, who were much dis- 
 liked by the Protestant ,,rinces, were suppressed in 
 Germany; but the good fathers were not treated there 
 with the same cruelty they experienced in Spain, when 
 the order was abolished in that country; on the contranr 
 the empress did every thing in her power to soften 
 their lot, by providing them with the means of livin- 
 m comfort, while the Jesuits of Spain were not only 
 harsldy treated, but many of them were suffered to 
 perish for want of the absolute necessaries of life. 
 
 The Germans now, for many years, enjoyed all the 
 blessings of peace and plenty, but the government 
 
180 
 
 GERMANY 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 181 
 
 thought it necessary to provide means of security against 
 8o powerful and dangerous a neighhour as the king of 
 Prussia; therefore, the mihtar)' conscription was insti- 
 tuted; every man of a fitting age being liable to be 
 pressed into the sendee, in case of war. This arbitrary 
 measure was a considerable drawback to the happiness 
 of the lower orders of people, who must have been in 
 constant dread of being summoned to serve as soldiers; 
 and so great was this fear among the inhabitants of the 
 Tyrol, who were not subjected to the conscription laws, 
 that they would not go to the fairs at Inspruck and 
 other towns, to contend for the prizes in wrestling 
 matches, as they used to do, for fear of being taken for 
 soldiers. Tlie military laws were in force throughout all 
 the Austrian dominions, except the Netherlands, Hun- 
 gary, the Tyrol, and Milan, in Italy. 
 
 I am now going to speak of an act of shameful 
 injustice towards the Poles, who have been for a long 
 time, and still are, a most injured people. Poland was 
 not, at this time, so powerful a state as it formerly had 
 been. The empress Catherine of Russia had acquired a 
 great share of authority over that unfortunate country, 
 which was governed by an elective king, whose powers 
 were very limited, he being scarcely more than the pre- 
 sident of a republic. The great body of the jKJople were 
 in a state of feudal vassalage; but the nobles were very 
 numerous, since all who possessed land, or were descen- 
 dants of persons who had held lands formerly, and were 
 not engaged in trade, were accounted noblemen, how- 
 ever poor they might be. The most opulent among 
 them, like the feudal barons of old, maintained a number 
 of followers, consisting chiefly of the poor nobles, who, 
 disdaining trade, had no means of support, but by 
 
 attaching themselves to the richer ones, attending upon 
 them, feeding at their tables, and being ready to fi-ht 
 for them on all occasions. ^ 
 
 Tlie king, Augustus the Third, was just dead; and a. 
 every nobleman had an equal right to become a candidate 
 for the crown, a great confusion was caused by the 
 number of competitors on this occasion. Among them 
 was Count Stanislaus Poniatowski, whose pretensions 
 were supjiorted by the empress of Russia; while Maria 
 Theresa favoured those of the son of the deceased 
 monarch. The king of Prussia, however, declared in 
 favour of Stanislaus, who was elected and crowned in 
 spite of all opposition. But Stanislaus was of 'too 
 independent a temper to please those who had placed 
 him on the throne; and as he would not tamely submit 
 to be deposed, Poland became a scene of tumult and 
 bloodshed. 
 
 It was then, when the country was weakened by its 
 ow-n troubles, that the sovereigns of Russia, Prussia 
 and Austria, formed a conspiracy to take possession of 
 It by force, and divide it among themselves; and as 
 the kmg was unable to resist their united armies, he was 
 compeUed to give up the throne, and sign the act of 
 partition; by which. Austria unjustly gained a fertUe and 
 extensive territory in the south of Poland. 
 
 Maria Theresa died at the age of sixty-four, deeply 
 regretted by her subjects, amongst whom she had been 
 universally beloved and respected. 
 
182 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 DEATH OF MARIA THERESA, 
 
 TO THE ACCESSION OF 
 
 FRANCIS THE SECOND, 
 
 The emperor Joseph was one of those vvho act from 
 the best of motives, but who defeat their own good 
 intentions, by want of judgment in carrying them into 
 effect. Many were the schemes formed by this good 
 monarch for the benefit of the people, but he ruined 
 them sdl by his impatience to see them accompUshed, 
 which prevented him from allowing sufficient time for 
 
 the purj^ose. 
 
 One of his plans, and certainly it was a meritorious 
 one, was to free the peasantry from the vassalage in 
 which they were still held in many parts of the Austrian 
 dominions. Maria Theresa had done much to ameliorate 
 the condition of the lower orders, particulariy in Hun- 
 gary and Bohemia, where the feudal system yet existed 
 in all the tyranny of ancient times. Most of the estates 
 in the Austrian territories were held by feudal tenure, 
 except in the Netherlands, the Tyrol, and the lands 
 belonffint? to the free cities. The peasants, in those 
 parts, were quite free ; but those who held their farms of 
 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 183 
 
 a feudal lord, had to give him a tenth part of the 
 produce, to furnish him with a man and two horses for 
 ninety days in the year, and were subjected to many 
 other heavy exactions. In Bohemia, the vassal tenants 
 paid no tithes, but they were obliged to give one hundred 
 and sixty days' labour, which was a grevious burthen, 
 and ke})t them very poor, as nearly half the year was 
 consumed in working for a master who paid them no 
 wages. 
 
 The emperor's plan was to abolish all these taxes at 
 once, by which the feudal peasantry would be made as 
 free as those who rented farms of the citizens; but it 
 was not just to deprive the landed proprietors suddenly 
 of a large source of income, without making them some 
 compensation, which he neglected to do; therefore, 
 although he enforced the reform in his owti hereditary 
 territories, it was not admitted either in Hungary or 
 Bohemia; nor did the freed peasants reap all the benefit 
 they had hoped for from their emancipation in Austria; for 
 this reason, the lord of the soil used to pay a certain 
 land tax to the crown, which he collected from his 
 tenants; and if they were not able to pay it, he was 
 responsible for the deficiency. But under the new 
 regulation, this tax was to be paid by the peasants them- 
 selves, direct to the emperor's collectors; and when he 
 happened to be in great want of money, it wag so much 
 increased, and collected with so much rigour, that it was 
 as burthensome as the feudal dues. 
 
 The next reform, and that which was more successfully 
 executed, was, the equalization of the rights of those 
 who professed different religious principles. He was 
 himself a Cathohc, but was liberal enough to think 
 that all men were entitled to liberty of conscience; 
 
184 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 therefore, he gave permission to all sects of Christians 
 to build churches, and follow that form of worship 
 which they considered best; and he also granted to the 
 Jews the privilege of carrj^ing on trade and manu- 
 factures in all the free towns, of taking farms, and of 
 sending their sons to be educated at the schools and 
 universities; so that he did much towards eradicating 
 the ilhberal prejudices so generally felt with regard to 
 persons of the Jewish persuasion. 
 
 The conduct of the emperor, in matters of religion, 
 might, perhaps, create a doubt, as to whether he was, in 
 reality, a Catholic himself; for he took great pains to 
 aboUsh many of the ceremonies of the Romish church, 
 and suppressed a great number of monasteries, and all 
 the nunneries, except those of one order, that of the 
 Ursuhnes, which were reser\^ed for the purposes of 
 female education; and even among those, the number was 
 considerably reduced. The suppressed convents were 
 converted into hospitals, barracks, or universities; but 
 all this was done in so hasty a manner, that no arrange- 
 ments were made for the maintainence of the monks 
 and nuns, many of whom, were, in consequence, reduced 
 to the utmost distress. Of two thousand convents that 
 existed in the Austrian dominions at the death of Maria 
 Theresa, there remained but seven hundred, the inmates 
 of which did not exceed three thousand persons; whereas, 
 in the time of that empress, they amounted to thirty-six 
 thousand. 
 
 The emperor devoted the revenues of the convent 
 lands to very good purposes, such as making new roads 
 and canals in various parts of the country, founding 
 academies for the study of medicine, surgery, botany, 
 and natural philosophy, and granting sums for the 
 
 185 
 
 improvement of manufactures by machinery; but it was 
 to be regretted that he did not devote some share of the 
 spoil to save from want the unhappy brethren and sister- 
 hood, whom he had so inconsiderately left to their fate; 
 forgetting that persons who had spent the greater part of 
 their lives in seclusion, were unfitted for active life, and 
 unacquainted with any art by which they might provide 
 for themselves. 
 
 Among his numerous endeavours for the advancement 
 of commerce, Joseph the Second made an arrangement 
 with the Turkish sultan, by which it was agreed, that 
 the com and wine of Hungary should be conveyed 
 by the Danube through the Turkish dominions, to the 
 Black Sea, and thence into the Mediterranean, by the 
 straits of the Dardanelles. This was a very great ad- 
 vantage to the Hungarians, whose country was pro- 
 ductive, but who had hitherto made but Uttle profit by 
 its produce, because they had no means of carrying it to 
 any great distance, as their ships had not been previously 
 at liberty to sail down the Danube farther than the 
 confines of the Austrian territories. The removal of 
 this prohibition opened to them a vast trade, and they 
 sent vessels to Genoa and Marseilles, laden with com " 
 and wine; but scarcely had they begun to feel the 
 benefits arising from an extended commerce, when 
 Joseph was persuaded by the empress of Russia to join 
 in a war against the Turks; and thus all the good he had 
 effected, was undone by his own imprudence. The war 
 did not last long, but occasioned much discontent among 
 the Hungarians, which was increased by the attempts of 
 the emj)eror to infringe on many of their privileges, 
 which, at his coronation, he had promised to protect. 
 Not long after the termination of the Turkish war, 
 
 R 3 
 
186 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 187 
 
 the emperor endeavoured to introduce into the Nether- 
 lands, the reforms he had made in his German dominions ; 
 but the attempt caused a general insurrection, which 
 ended in the separation of those countries from the 
 empire; for the people of the Netherlands being deter- 
 mined not to submit to any innovations, rose up in arms 
 to defend their liberties. 
 
 The Austrian Netherlands consisted of nine provinces, 
 each forming a separate sovereignty, and having its own 
 pecuhar constitution. These provinces were governed by 
 their own princes, but all owned the chief of the House 
 of Austria as their head. No country, for its size, had a 
 richer or more numerous population, and as the emperor 
 derived a very considerable revenue from this valuable 
 possession, he acted very unwisely in running the risk of 
 losing it, by interfering wnth any of its established laws 
 and customs. This, however, he did to a great extent, 
 by making alterations in the mode of taxation, by 
 effecting changes in the system of public education, and 
 by abridging the privileges of the clergy, several of 
 whom were arrested for not acting in conformity with 
 the imperial mandate. 
 
 These, and other arbitrar}' acts, occasioned the revolt 
 of which I have just spoken, the states entering into a 
 confederacy for mutual support; and although the 
 emperor, when he found he was in danger of losing 
 these provinces, offered to withdraw all the measures that 
 had given dissatisfaction, he did not make these con- 
 cessions till it was too late; and the Netherlands, 
 supported by France and Prussia, formed themselves 
 into an independent repubUc. 
 
 This revolution took place in 1789, and the emperor, 
 who was in very ill health, was so much affected by it. 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 that he died soon after^^^ards. It was in his reign, that 
 manufactories of cotton, woollen cloth, and glass,' were 
 estabhshed in Germany. 
 
 This emperor reigned only ten years, and is said to 
 have written this epitaph for himself, - Here lies Joseph 
 who was unfortunate in all his undertakings." 
 
 He was succeeded by his brother, Leopold the Second. 
 Leopold was grand duke of Tuscany, where he had ruled 
 twenty.five years, and was better known by the title 
 of duke of Tuscany, than by that of emperor of Ger- 
 many, where his reign was of very short continuance. 
 Leopold succeeded his brother Joseph at a time when 
 the House of Austria was surrounded by difficulties 
 and dangers. The Bohemians and Austrians were di.- 
 contented at the taxes imposed on them by the lat^ 
 emperor; the Hungarians were ready to break out into 
 oixtn rebellion; and the most powerful of the noble« 
 began to assert their ancient privilege of electing their 
 o^^'n kings, instead of aUo^dng themselves to be governed 
 by the Austrian emperors. The French revolution had 
 just commenced, which was another cause of trouble • 
 for Leopold was brother to the unfortunate queen of 
 France, Marie Antoinette, who was the youn^^e^t 
 daughter of Maria Theresa; and the French revolutionists 
 hated the Austrians, because they thought the queen had 
 mfluenced her husband, Louis the Sixteenth, in that 
 arbitrarj^ system of government, which caused so much 
 misery to the French nation. 
 
 Leopold was a wiser man than his brother, and, by 
 his judicious conduct towards the Hungarians, he re- 
 stored tranquillity, and was crowned king of the country 
 If his reign had been longer, he might, perhaps, have 
 succeeded in freeing the peasants from vassalage, and 
 
188 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 I 
 
 189 
 
 giving them the right of holding landed proi)erty. which 
 he was very desirous of doing; but as the magnates or 
 nobles were very naturally opposed to such a revolution, 
 he did not think it prudent to irritate them by urging the 
 point, but made up his mind that he would endeavour to 
 accompUsh the desired object by slow degrees. 
 
 As soon as the emperor had succeeded in pacifying the 
 Hungarians, he turned his attention towards the re- 
 covery of the Netheriands, in which he also succeeded, 
 partly by negociation, and partly by hostile means; but 
 the Netheriands were not destined long to remain 
 attached to the German empire, as you will soon find. 
 
 In the meantime, the French revolution was going on 
 with increasing violence, and the emperor, who was 
 anxious for the safety of his sister, as well as desirous of 
 maintaining the authority of crowned heads, which it 
 was the avowed purpose of the revolutionists to over- 
 throw, held an interview with the king of Prussia, to 
 consult on the best means of supporting the cause of 
 Louis the Sixteenth; and they agreed that if the other 
 sovereigns of Europe would join them, they would march 
 their armies against the republicans of France; but 
 neither the king of England, nor the king of Spain, 
 seemed inchned to interfere, and they had not taken any 
 decided measures, when Leopold died, having only 
 enjoyed the imperial dignity for the brief space of two 
 years. His wife, the empress, Maria Louisa, a daughter 
 of Charies the Third of Spain, never recovered from the 
 shock occasioned by his death, and in a few months 
 followed him to the grave. 
 
 ' 
 
 FROM THE ACCESSION OF 
 
 FRANCIS THE SECOND, 
 
 TO THE 
 
 PEACE OF TILSIT. 
 
 It was not long before the new emperor Francis was 
 engaged in a war with the French revolutionists, on 
 account of their hanng abolished all feudal laws and 
 customs in the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, as 
 they had done in France. 
 
 Now these countries, although they had been ceded to 
 France, were inhabited by a German population, and 
 governed by German princes; therefore, it was con- 
 tended that the French had no right to introduce their 
 new laws into them. The disputes that arose on this 
 subject caused the national assembly to declare war 
 against the emperor, and the French armies invaded the 
 Netherlands, defeated the Austrians and Prussian, and 
 gained possession of those countries. 
 
 French armies then poured into Germany, and in a 
 short time the war was raging in every part of the 
 Austnan dominions. The Palatinate, which had so often 
 suffered from French invasions, was again a scene of 
 
190 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 191 
 
 li 
 
 horror and bloodshed, and the enemy were soon in pes- 
 session of several imperial cities, as also of the electorates 
 of Treves and Cologne. The chief command of the 
 Austrian army was entrusted to the archduke Charles, 
 brother of the emperor; and among the German 
 princes engaged in the war, were the prince of Saxe 
 Coburg, the duke of Wirteraburg, and the duke of 
 
 Brunswick. 
 
 In the meantime, a large army had been sent into 
 Italy, under the command of Bonaparte, who conquered 
 all the Austrian territories in that countr)'; and then, 
 flushed with his success, led his victorious troops across 
 the Alps into the duchies of Carinthia, Styria, and 
 Camiola, and the mountainous district of the Tyrol, 
 wasting all these provinces with fire and Bword. 'I'hc 
 suflferings of the poor peasantry were beyond dc.Hcripliun. 
 for the French soldiery were cruel and rai)acioUH, sparing 
 neither age nor infancy, nor paying tho Icn^-t rcgixrd to 
 female helplessness. 
 
 The brave inhabitants of the Tyrol ro^^c in a body, 
 and in conjunction with a i)arty of the imperial trooi)», 
 succeeded in driving the enemy from their country; and 
 soon afterwards Bonaparte proposed terms of peace to 
 the emperor, who consented to sign a treaty, by which 
 he gained a temporary cessation of ho>*tilitic» at ihc 
 sacrifice of a large portion of his domiiuott*. 
 agreement was called the treaty of Campo Formb. Ibc 
 terms were dictated by Bonai)arte, and ncceded to by 
 Francis, who was to give up the Netht-rlandf . i»d all htt 
 Itahan states, to the French, and to coofidcr the Hhiac 
 as the boundary between France ami the empire, an 
 alteration that considerably diminished the extent of the 
 latter, and increased that of the former. 
 
 1% 
 
 \ 
 
 As a comj)ensation for these great losses, Francis was 
 to receive the Venetian states, a poor exchange for the 
 large and valuable territories he had been forced to part 
 with. 
 
 About this period died the king of Prussia, who, for 
 some time, had taken no part in the war, for he had 
 made peace with France, and had chosen to remain 
 neutral ever since the Netherlands had been taken by the 
 French, five years before. The peace of Campo Formio 
 was not of long duration, for during Bonaparte's absence 
 in Egjrpt, the Austrians re-possessed themselves of a 
 great part of the Milanese and other territories that the 
 emperor had reluctantly surrendered by the treaty of 
 Campo Formio. 
 
 When Bunaj)arte returned from \\h Eg^'ption oAmpakpn, 
 and found the Au>»trlan8 were again in luly, he prepaJed 
 without (Irlay to dislodge them, und ioT Uiat puqpo^t 
 made hiu fuinou* expedition auroM the AJpf, nod woo 
 the celebrated battle of Marengo, in which the Austrinn 
 troops euBtained grc«t los^ and were ohligcd to rotreat 
 into Bavaria. 
 
 A new treaty of pence wes them made with the 
 cmi>cror Fmnciai. called the treaty o£ Lunevillc, hy whkh 
 he was obliged to give up still mogr^ of hb Oerrnan 
 territories, as well ms nil tlic «t»teA that had beco 
 recorered in Italy during Booapairte's nhfctioe. The 
 people were over^ojred at the return oC peao.*, but tho 
 conduct o^ Napdoon (lK>«>ed that k wwt not likely to 
 httt. for his ohjece was not to maintaiii peace, \mt to 
 OMke himself abaohitia maatcr of Europe. 
 
 Not long after the ioiuty of L le, he qtarrtBod 
 
 with the Englinh goTetiiment, and dedarcd miar i^nst 
 Bngland, on which Dritiah uroop» vitre «ent into HoUaad, 
 
192 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY, 
 
 193 
 
 and a powerful army was collected also on the frontiers 
 of Hanover, to defend the Hanoverian dominions of the 
 king of Great Britain. It was very dishonourable of 
 the French government to invade the northern states of 
 Germany, as it had been agreed that they should be held 
 neutral; therefore, the English and the Hanoverians 
 were very indignant when, in violation of this engage- 
 ment, the French, in 1803, gained possession of the 
 whole of Hanover, and the French general took up his 
 residence in the electoral palace which George the Tliird 
 had just repaired and beautified, at a vast expense, for 
 the accommodation of his son, the duke of Cambridge. 
 
 Tlie occupation of Hanover by the French, was a sad 
 misfortune to the merchants of the Hanse towns, par- 
 ticularly of Hamburg; and was also a serious injury to 
 the trade of Great Britain; for the conquerors had the 
 entire command of the Elbe and the Weser, and could, 
 therefore, stop any vessels they pleased from sailing up 
 and down these rivers, or levy contributions on them. 
 
 Large sums of money were extorted in this way from 
 the traders of Hamburg and Bremen, who were reduced 
 to extreme distress by this and other taxes levied on them ; 
 and to add to their misfortunes, the English government, 
 exasperated at the interruption of the British commerce 
 with Hamburg, sent out a squadron of ships to blockade 
 the mouths of the two rivers, so that no vessels what- 
 ever could pass, and many of the Hamburg and Bremen 
 merchants were in consequence totally ruined. So great 
 was the distress, that in Hamburg, above thirty respect- 
 able citizens committed suicide in the short space of one 
 week, a melancholy proof of the state of despair to 
 which they were reduced. 
 
 The seizure of Hanover was not the only instance in 
 
 which the French violated their promises of n inter- 
 fering with the neutral states, and a fresh outrage on the 
 liberties of Germany soon proved how little faith was 
 to be placed in treaties. An attempt had been made in 
 Paris to assassinate Bonaparte, and it was suspected that 
 the duke D'Enghien, a young prince of the House of 
 Bourbon, was a party concerned in the plot. 
 
 This elegant and accomplished young man was residing 
 at the castle of Ettenheim, in the grand duchy of Baden, 
 when he was arrested by a troop of French cavalry sent 
 for the purpose, and conveyed to the castle of Vin- 
 cennes, about four miles distant from Paris, where he 
 was condemned to death the same night, by a mihtary 
 commission, and shot early on the ensuing morning, 
 in one of the ditches of the castle; although it has 
 generally been admitted that the charge against him was 
 unfounded. 
 
 All the sovereigns of Europe were indignant at this 
 unjustifiable act of arbitrary power on the part of the 
 first consul, that being the title Bonaparte had assumed. 
 Ilie emperor of Russia, in particular, made spirited 
 efforts to form a coahtion among the princes of the 
 empire, for the purpose of resisting any farther encroach- 
 ments on their independence ; but, unfortunately, one of 
 the most powerful of these princes, Maximilian, elector 
 of Bavaria, was in alliance with France, which rather 
 intimidated the princes of the minor states, who were 
 fearful of involving themselves in an unequal contest. 
 
 Two great events immediately followed the execution 
 of the duke D'Enghien, one of which was that Bona- 
 parte caused himself to be made emperor of France; 
 and the other, that Francis the Second renounced the 
 title of emperor of Germany, and assumed that of 
 
 ti^sgsmmmm 
 
 jgggHI 
 
194 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 hereditary emperor of Austria. By this latter change, 
 which took place in the year 1804, the German empire, 
 that had existed from the time of Charlemagne, was 
 at an end. 
 
 Preparations were now making on both sides for a 
 renewal of the war. Francis had recruited his armies in 
 Austria, and by the latter part of 1805 he had collected 
 an immense force, which he divided into three parts, 
 sending one division to besiege Munich, the capital of 
 Bavaria; another to try to expel the French from Italy; 
 and the third to occupy the country of the Tyrol. 
 Bonaparte, whose plans were always quickly formed, and 
 as quickly executed, soon appeared in Germany at the 
 head of a fine army, and accompanied by all his best 
 generals, amongst whom was Bemadotte, the present 
 king of Sweden, and the famous Marshal Soult. 
 
 The arms of Napoleon were attended with the usual 
 success, and he marched onward, conquering as he went, 
 till he reached Vienna, which he entered in a triumphant 
 manner, without meeting with the least opposition; for 
 the emperor, with his family^ had retired to Brunn, in 
 Moravia, and most of the nobles and chief citizens had 
 fled into Hungary. 
 
 In the meantime, another body of French troops had 
 entered the Tyrol, which was given up to them without 
 a battle, as the archduke John, who had command of the 
 Austrians in that district, thought it more prudent to 
 retreat than to expose his men to an almost certain defeat. 
 At this critical period, a fresh army of Russians, led by 
 the emperor Alexander in person, came to the assistance 
 of the dispirited Austrians; Francis then raUied all his 
 forces, and gave battle to the French on the plains of 
 Austerlitz, when Bonaparte was again victorious; and 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 195 
 
 in consequence of the result of that memorable engage- 
 ment, the whole of Germany became subjected to his 
 control. It is a remarkable circumstance, that the only 
 sovereigns of Europe who bore the title of emperor, 
 fought in person at the battle of Austerhtz, namely, 
 Francis of Austria, Alexander of Russia, and Napoleon 
 of France. 
 
 Some very important alterations now took place in 
 Germany, for Francis was obliged to make peace on such 
 terms as the conqueror thought fit to projwse, and you 
 may readily imagine they were not very easy ones. 
 Some provinces were to be given up to Italy, others to 
 Bavaria and Wirtemburg, both of which the French 
 emperor erected into kingdoms, so that there has been, 
 from that time, a king of Bavaria, and a king of Wirtem- 
 burg. These princes had been previously electors, but 
 as the empire of Austria was declared hereditar)^, instead 
 of elective, the title of elector, in time, became extinct. 
 
 Tlie new king of Wirtemburg was uncle, by marriage, 
 to the present queen of England, having married the 
 eldest daughter of George the Third, and he is described 
 as having been a proud, tyrannical man, both in pubHc 
 and private life. Among the states that were now given 
 up by the emperor of Austria to the two new kingdoms, 
 were the Tyrol, the rich and populous town of Augsburg, 
 and all the Austrian possessions in Suabia, which left 
 the emperor very httle more of his once extensive empire 
 than his hereditary dominions of Austria, with the 
 kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary. 
 
 It was about the time that Francis adopted the title of 
 emperor of Austria, that a number of the German princes, 
 whose territories lay on each side of the Rhine, began to 
 unite together to form a body separate from the other 
 
196 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 197 
 
 princes of the empire, and acknowledged the emperor of 
 France as their head aud protector. This association 
 was called the Confederation of the Rhine ; all those who 
 entered into it were, in fact, so many vassal princes, of 
 whom Bonaparte was the sovereign lord. They were 
 obliged to furnish him with soldiers, to pay him sub- 
 sidies, and were in e\ery respect dependent on him, so 
 that their situation was by no means enviable; but most 
 of them, no doubt, were induced to join this league, for 
 the sake of saving their dominions from the ravages of 
 the French troops. 
 
 A proof of the despotism of Napoleon occurred after 
 the battle of Austerhtz, when, in order to secure the 
 fidelit}' of the new king of Bavaria, he demanded the 
 hand of his daughter for Eugene Beauharnois, the son of 
 the empress Josephine, by a former husband; and 
 although the young lady was on the point of marriage 
 with the elegant and accomplished prince of Baden, to 
 whom she was very much attached, she was compelled to 
 give up the lover of her choice, and bestow her hand on 
 one who to her was a stranger. 
 
 Fortunately, Eugene was a very amiable prince, and 
 I believe, proved an excellent husband; but Bonaparte 
 did not take that into consideration when he forced the 
 princess to become the prince's bride. 
 
 All this while, the king of Prussia had carefully avoided 
 taking any part in the war; but now, seeing how much 
 power Bonaparte had assumed in Germany, he began to 
 have fears for the safety of his own kingdom, and 
 entered into an alliance with the emperor of Russia, for 
 the purpose of attempting to expel the French from the 
 German territories. The enterprise was unsuccessful. 
 Tlie Prussians and their allies were defeated with great 
 
 loss, at the battle of Jena, and Bonaparte immediately 
 took possession of Berlin and Potsdam, and sent the 
 sword of Frederick the Great, which was among the 
 spoils taken on the occasion, to Paris, as a trophy of 
 victory. In the battle of Jena, was mortally wounded 
 Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick, the father of the princess 
 of Wcdes, wife of George the Fourth. 
 
 Soon after this engagement, the great commercial 
 city of Lubec was tiiken by storm, and the Prussian 
 general Blucher was forced to capitulate, after having 
 lost nearly the whole of his army. The electorate of 
 Saxony was now formed into a kingdom, by Bonaparte, 
 who bestowed the title of king on the elector, although 
 he had been his enemy in this short war with Prussia. 
 But Bonaparte wanted to separate the interests of 
 Saxony and Prussia; and he thought he could not do so 
 better than by erecting the former into a distinct king- 
 dom, which he did, on condition that the new king 
 should join the Confederation of the Rhine. 
 
 About the same time, another kingdom arose in Ger- 
 many, namely, that of Westphalia, of which Jerome 
 Bonaparte, was made king; and soon afterwards a peace 
 was concluded, called the peace of Tilsit, between the 
 emperor of Russia and the emperor of France, when a 
 large portion of the Prussian dominions were taken from 
 the king of Prussia, and annexed to the new kingdoms 
 of Saxony and Westphalia. 
 
 s 3 
 
198 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 199 
 
 INSURRECTION IN THE TYROL, 
 
 AND OTHER EVENTS, FROM THE 
 
 PEACE OF TJLSIT TO THE FALL OF 
 
 BONAPARTE. 
 
 It is now time to speak of the sad occurrences that 
 happened in the Tyrol, from the time when that unfor- 
 tunate country was made a part of the kingdom of 
 Bavaria. The new king, Maximilian Joseph, was a 
 great t>Tant; he was as cruel to the Tyrolese as the 
 emperor Albert had been, in former times, to the people 
 of Switzerland. 
 
 The Tyrolese had, until this period, been a free, and on 
 the whole, a happy, people, living in a simple manner, 
 chiefly by hunting, and feeding their flocks and herds 
 among their native mountains. They were formerly 
 governed by counts, but had long been subject to the 
 emperors of Germany, who allowed them to retain all 
 their ancient laws and privileges, which were maintained 
 by a Diet, held at Inspruck. But the rights which had 
 been respected by the emperors, were violently broken 
 in upon by the new sovereign, who abolished the Diet, 
 suppressed all the monasteries, and imposed such heavy 
 
 I 
 
 taxes on the people, that they had not the means of sub- 
 sistence left. 
 
 Those manifold oppressions occasioned a revolt, and 
 the Tyrolese attempted to expel the Bavarians, as the 
 Swiss expelled the Austrians in the days of William 
 Tell; nor did they want a leader of equal bravery and 
 patriotism, although his eflforts were not crowTied with 
 similar success. 
 
 The champion of the Tyrol, was a peasant named 
 Hofer, who, with the assistance of a priest, and another 
 rustic hero, called Speckbacker, roused the inhabitants 
 to arms, and the French and Bavarians were defeated in 
 several actions. The cruelties perpetrated, during this 
 insurrection, on the unhaj)py people of the towns, and 
 villages, mostly women, children, and men too old to 
 fight, are beyond all description; till at length the 
 French and their allies being driven from the country, 
 Hofer assumed the government, and took up his abode 
 at the castle of the ancient counts, at Inspruck, which 
 was supposed to confer the right of sovereignty on him 
 who had possession of it; therefore the people considered 
 Hofer as the prince of the country, as soon as he 
 became master of this abode. 
 
 While these events were passing in the Tyrol, the 
 emperor of Austria made new, but unavailing eff'orts 
 to recover his independence and his territories ; and he 
 was compelled to sign another treaty with Napoleon, by 
 which, among other conditions, he agreed to leave the 
 unhappy TjTolese to their fate; and then the French 
 and Bavarians re-entered the Tyrol, where the wretched 
 inhabitants were again subjected to their cruelties. 
 Hofer retired from the capital, and defended himself as 
 long as he could, in the mountains; but :it length he was 
 
200 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 taken prisoner, condemned to death, and shot as a 
 traitor; for by that name a conqueror is apt to designate 
 those who have spirit to defend the liberties of their 
 country. 
 
 One of the most extraordinary events that took place 
 about this time, was the marriage of Bonai)artc witli 
 the emperor of Austria's daughter, the Archduchess 
 Maria Louij^a. Bonaparte had divorced his first wife, 
 Josephine, for the purpose of forming this iUliance, which 
 was readily assented to both by Francis and his daugh- 
 ter, neither of whom evinced the least disinclination to 
 enter into the closest ties of fricnd.^hip emd kindred with 
 the greatest enemy of their country. 
 
 Germany and Prussia were now entirely under the 
 French despotic government. 'I'he king of Prussia was 
 obliged to join the Confederation of the Rhine, and, hke 
 all the other states belonging to it, to furnish Bonaparte 
 with a certain number of troops, raised by conscription, 
 and to shut all his sea jx)rts against British trading 
 vessels, a restriction which was also laid upon all the 
 northern ports; so that the merchants of Great Britain 
 could not send their ships to the towns on the Baltic 
 sea, which not only hurt their trade, but was also a 
 serious injury to the commerce of other countries. It 
 was on this account that the emi)eror of Russia, in 1812, 
 declared war against France, and every part of Germany 
 was again disturbed by the march of the French armies, 
 which passed through all the states of the Rhenish con- 
 federation, in order to increase their numbers with the 
 soldiers that the princes of those states were bound to 
 furnish. Then the peasants were compelled to leave the 
 comforts of their own little cottages, for the hardships of 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 201 
 
 a camp; and their peaceful meadows and vineyards, for 
 the horrors of the battle field. 
 
 This expedition was the rain of Bonaparte, yet he had 
 never been at the head of so numerous an army as was 
 raised for this Russian campaign. French, German, and 
 Prussian troops were assembled, and marched in vast 
 bodies towards the same point, to await the arrival of 
 their imperiiU commander, who set out from Paris, in May, 
 1813, with the empress; and after visiting the princes of 
 several of the German states, and the sovereigns of 
 Wirtemburg and Saxony, by whom they were entertained 
 with great splendour, they went to Dresden, where the 
 emperor and empress of Austria were waiting to receive 
 them. Several days having been spent at Dresden in 
 festivities, Bonaparte proceeded towards the Vistula, to 
 take the command of his army, Maria Louisa returned 
 to Paris, and her illustrious parents to Vienna. 
 
 The whole of Europe was interested in the event of 
 the war between France and Russia, but none could 
 foresee the complete overthrow of that power to which 
 so many nations had been forced to submit. Bonaparte 
 and his host reached Moscow, and took possession of the 
 city, which had been deserted by its inhabitants at his 
 a])proach. 
 
 Here the emperor purposed to remain during the 
 winter, which had just set in; but his intentions were 
 frustrated by the Russians, some of whom concealed 
 themselves in various parts of the town, set fire to it in 
 the middle of the night, and drove out the enemy into a 
 cold, barren count r}% where they could find neither food 
 nor shelter. The greater part of the many thousands of 
 human beings led by Bonaparte into Russia, being very 
 insufficiently clothed for so rigorous a season, thus 
 
202 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 perished miserably In the snow, with which the face of 
 the country was covered. 
 
 Bonaparte quitted this scene of wretchedness, and 
 returned to Paris, alone, hoping to raise a new army by a 
 fresh conscription; but the loss of all his best troops 
 was irreparable, and the terror of his name was in con- 
 sequence greatly diminished. Those who had submitted 
 to him through fear, were now eager to hasten his 
 downfall; and of these, the king of Prussia was one of the 
 foremost on the list. The emperor of Austria, too, 
 notwithstanding his near relationship, did not scruple to 
 join the enemies of Bonaparte; and the princes of the 
 Confederation of the Rhine, not excepting even the 
 kings of his own creation, one by one deserted his falling 
 cause. 
 
 The Russians, the Swedes, and the English, united 
 their forces to the rest, and althougli the French emperor 
 made desperate efforts to recover his power, his enemies 
 were too numerous to give liim the least chance of 
 success. Severed battles took place, but the principal one, 
 and that which decided the contest, was fought near 
 Leipsic, on the 18th of October, 1813. 
 
 The inhabitants of the town ascended the church 
 steeple and j)osted themselves on the walls, to watch the 
 progress of the action ; and great was their joy when they 
 beheld the French fleeing from the field, and saw the 
 three \dctorious allies, Francis of Austria, Frederick 
 William of Prussia, and Bernadottc, the crown prince of 
 Sweden, meet in the great squtU-e of the cit}% for ^dl these 
 illustrious persons had been engaged in the battle. 
 
 Soon after this defeat, Bonaparte was obliged to resign 
 the crown of France, and to accept from his conquerors 
 the sovereignty of the island of Elba, in the Mediter- 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 203 
 
 ranean sea, to which he retired, leaving the throne to the 
 occupation of its lawful sovereign, Louis the Eighteenth. 
 Maria Louisa was conveyed, with her infant son, to her 
 father's court at Vienna; but I beheve she would have 
 preferred sharing the fallen fortunes of her husband, 
 if she had been permitted to act according to her own 
 inclinations. 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF EUROPE. 
 
 iiffiii4i 'H'© ass®. 
 
 It now remained for the powers that had overthrown the 
 empire of Napoleon to regulate the affairs of Europe, 
 which had been so completely deranged by him; and for 
 that purpose, it was settled that a congress of the chief 
 sovereigns and princes, or their deputies, should meet at 
 Vienna, to consult together upon the subject, and make 
 such arrangements as would be most likely to secure a 
 general and lasting peace. 
 
 It was just before this meeting took place, that the 
 electorate of Hanover, which had been annexed to 
 Westphalia at the time when Jerome Bonaparte was 
 made king of that country, was erected into a kingdom, 
 by desire of the prince regent of England, who wished 
 to be placed on an equality, in Germany, with the kings 
 of Wirtemburg and Bavaria. These sovereigns retained 
 
 til 
 I 
 
204 
 
 GERMANl 
 
 y\' 
 
 the regal title given them by Bonaparte, because that of 
 elector had now no dignit)^ attached to it, in consequence 
 of the law which had made the crown of the emperor 
 hereditar)'. 
 
 George the Tliird was, therefore, the first king of 
 Hanover; but as that kingdom cannot be inherited by a 
 female, on account of the Salic law; the duke of Cum- 
 berland, as next male heir, became king of Hanover on 
 the death of William the Fourtli, and is still reigning 
 there. 
 
 In November, 1814, the congress met at Vienna, and 
 there were present at it the emperors of Russia and 
 Austria, the kings of Denmaik, Bavaria, and Wirtem- 
 berg, besides many German dukes and princes. Foreign 
 ministers also attended on the part of the king of Eng- 
 land, and of other potentates who were not present. 
 This assembly continued in deliberation for several 
 months, when a new division of Germany was made, 
 and the smaller states were attached to the larger, by 
 wliich the number of sovereignties was reduced from 
 three hundred to tliirty-eight. Before the time of 
 Bonaparte, there were not less, I beheve, than three 
 hundred governments, or states, in Germany, all subject 
 to the empire. Hence arises a great confusion both in 
 the history and geography of that country. 
 
 There are now thirty-eight sovereignties, the chief of 
 which is the empire of Austria; the next, the kingdom of 
 Pnissia; then the four kingdoms of Hanover, Saxony, 
 Wirtemburg, and Bavaria. The rest consist of grand 
 duchies, and the four free towns of Hamburg, Frankfort, 
 Bremen, and Lubeck, which are small republics, governed 
 by their owti laws. Every other state is dependent on 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 205 
 
 one of these, and ruled by the laws of that government 
 to which it is attached. 
 
 The emperor of Austria was restored to all his former 
 power and territory; the emperor of Russia received the 
 greater part of Poland, and assumed the title of king of 
 that country; and the dominions of the king of Prussia 
 were very much enlarged, at the expense of the aged 
 king of Saxony, who was obhged to resign above one 
 half of his kingdom, he having offended the aUied 
 sovereigns by his fidelity to Bonaparte, whose cause he 
 had supported as long as he was able. 
 
 The city of Vienna was very gay at the time of the 
 congress, being full of foreigners, and enhvened by a 
 variety of pubhc entertainments given by the emperor, 
 in honor of liis illustrious visitors. Vienna is a hand-' 
 some city, surrounded by a w^all and a dry moat, beyond 
 which are the suburbs, where there are many gardens and 
 pubUc walks; factories, workshops of all kinds, noble- 
 men's houses, palaces, and pubhc institutions. These 
 suburbs are very extensive, and used to be surrounded, 
 as weU as the city, with a line of fortifications, built, in 
 1704, to protect Vienna from the invasions of the 
 Turks; but the walls had been partly destroyed by the 
 French, therefore, the inhabitants thought they might 
 as well pull down the rest, and were engaged in this 
 work at the time of the congress. 
 
 While Vienna was a scene of bustle and gaiety, Maria 
 Louisa, the unfortunate consort of Bonaparte, secluded 
 herself, with her httle son, in the palace of Schcenbrun, at 
 a short distance from the city. She could not feel much 
 desire to participate in festivities that were to celebrate 
 the downfall of her husband, and was not once seen at 
 
206 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 207 
 
 any of the splendid balls and fetes that were graced by 
 the presence of so many crowned heads. 
 
 The business of the congress was not yet concluded, 
 when the news arrived at Vienna, that Bonaparte had 
 escaped from Elba, and was at Paris, where he had 
 resumed the title and authority of emperor of France. 
 This unexpected intelligence was received with a loud 
 and general burst of laughter; but, as some one very 
 truly observed, it was no laughing matter, since it would 
 be sure to lead to more waste of human life, as the 
 French soldiery had hailed his return with delight, and 
 he was again at the head of an army sufficiently strong 
 to take the field. 
 
 There was nothing, then, to be done, but to prepare 
 for another battle. The congress was, therefore, hastily 
 terminated; the allied armies were assembled, and being 
 joined by the English, under the command of the duke 
 of Wellington, who was at Brussels, they gained a 
 signal and decisive victory over the French, on the plains 
 of Waterloo; after which, Bonaparte, having surrendered 
 himself a prisoner to the English, the war was at length 
 brought to a termination. 
 
 The allied sovereigns then resumed the consultations 
 with regard to the settlement of the German stiites, 
 professing a desire to estabhsh in all of them such a form 
 of government as would secure more liberty to the people. 
 Bonaparte had himself abolished several old feudal cus- 
 toms which he had found still existing in many parts of 
 Germany; and, among others, the right of barons to have 
 mills and ovens on their estates, to which the peasants 
 were obliged to take their com to be ground, and their 
 bread to be baked, out of which a certain portion was 
 taken, as the baron's dues. 
 
 
 The abolition of baronial mills and ovens was a great 
 relief to the peasantry; but they had only exchanged one 
 kind of slavery for another, as, while Bonaparte ruled, 
 they were always liable to be called out as soldiers. 
 
 I was, however, about to observe, that the great sove- 
 reigns who now undertook to give a new form of govern- 
 ment to the states of Germany, exacted a promise from 
 all the kings and princes, that they would establish in 
 their several dominions the representative system; that 
 is. that the prince should not govern entirely according 
 to his own wiU, but in conjunction with that of a parlia- 
 ment, the members of which should be chosen by the 
 people ; and to this arrangement every sovereign prince 
 was obliged to give his assent, before he was confirmed 
 in the possession of his dominions. 
 
 But it is one thing to make promises, and another to 
 keep them, and it was a very long time before some of 
 them began to make any reforms in their states; nor was 
 this to be wondered at, when the emperor and the king 
 of Prussia were themselves very backward in giving 
 political freedom to their subjects, and continued to act as 
 despotic princes. Although each kingdom and prin- 
 cipality of Germany has its own separate Government, 
 there is a general Diet held at Frankfort, to which mem- 
 bers are sent from every state, the president being a 
 delegate from Austria. The laws made in this Diet are 
 for the whole of Germany; whereas, those made in 
 the legislative assembly of any particular state, have no 
 reference to any other. 
 
 ShorUy after the faU of Bonaparte, a league was 
 formed between the emperors of Austria and Russia, 
 and the king of Prussia, termed the holy alUance, pro- 
 fessedly for the purpose of aiding each other to govern 
 
208 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 according to true Christian principles ; but it is said that 
 the secret purpose of this association, the proceedings of 
 which were never made pubHc, was to uphold despotism, 
 and to check, as much as possible, the growing spirit of 
 liberty among the people. 
 
 I have now brought ray history down to the year 1820, 
 the date of the opening of the first general Diet at 
 Frankfort. Since that time all the principal sovereigns 
 then reigning in Germany have died, and their i)laces 
 have been supplied mostly by princes of a less despotic 
 character. It now only remains to mention the most 
 striking events that have taken place within the last 
 twenty years, and then we will take our leave of Germany, 
 so far as its political history is concerned, and devote the 
 remaining pages to a review of the present state of 
 society in various parts of the country. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 uss® IP® asj-fin. 
 
 In 1821, George the Fourth paid a visit to his kingdom 
 of Hanover, and entered its capital in state, amid 
 the acclamations of the populace, who testified their 
 delight by illuminating their houses, and devoting ten 
 days to festivities of all kinds. 
 
 Since the year 1816, the duke of Cambridge had acted 
 as governor in Hanover, and many reforms had been 
 made; among which were, the abolition of torture, 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 209 
 
 which had beeh in use up to that late period; and an 
 iteration in the system of taxation, by which the 
 nobility were obliged to pay their share, as well as the 
 inferior classes. 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding these beneficial changes, the 
 people became dissatisfied, and when a revolution took 
 place in France in 1830, the Hanoverians, in imitation 
 of the French, rose in a tumultuous manner against the 
 government. The students of the university of Got- 
 tingen made themselves very conspicuous in these po- 
 pular disturbances, which were, at length, suppressed by 
 the intervention of the military. 
 
 Then our King William the Fourth gave a new 
 constitution to his Hanoverian subjects, who were to 
 have a parliament like that of Great Britain, consisting 
 of two houses; the upper house to be composed of the 
 princes of the royal family, the nobles, and a few 
 persons who held particular offices, and were chosen for 
 life by the king; and the lower house to consist of 
 deputies from the towns, landholders, farmers, and the 
 representatives of the religious establishments belonging 
 to the Roman Catholics, of whom there were a great 
 number within the Hanoverian dominions, although the 
 established religion was the Protestant. The deputies 
 were to be elected for six years, and were to meet 
 annually. 
 
 When William the Fourth died in 1837, the crown of 
 Hanover being restricted to the male branch, could not 
 be inherited by our queen; therefore, it went to the 
 deceased monarch's eldest suniving brother, the duke of 
 Cumberiand, who immediately went to take possession 
 of his new dominions, where he is still reigning, by the 
 title of Ernest Augustus the First. This monarch has 
 
 t3 
 
210 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 
 again changed the form of government to what it was 
 before William the Fourth granted the new constitution ; 
 an alteration which, I believe, does not give very general 
 satisfaction to his subjects. 
 
 The next state which claims our attention is the duchy 
 of Brunswick, which is very intimately connected with 
 the kingdom of Hanover, the sovereigns of both having 
 derived their origin from the same source, as I have 
 before explained. Tlie possessions of the two branches 
 of this family, were distinguished as Brunswick Wolfen- 
 buttel, and Brunswick Lunenburg; and as the present 
 kingdom of Hanover formed a part of the territories of 
 the latter, the princes of that house were electors of 
 Hanover, and became sovereigns of England; while the 
 princes of the ducal line of Wolfenbuttel retained, and 
 still retain, the title of dukes of Brunswick. 
 
 Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick, lost his life at the 
 battle of Jena, when his duchy was seized by Napoleon, 
 and annexed to the new kingdom of Westi)halia; while 
 his son, William Frederick, remained an exile from his 
 native home, until the peace restored to him his inhe- 
 tance. Unfortunately, however, he did not live long to 
 enjoy it; for on the return of Bonaparte from Elba, he 
 joined the alhed forces, and bravely fell in the action that 
 took place the day before the battle of Waterloo. His 
 son Charles being a minor, was placed under the guar- 
 dianship of his uncle, the prince regent of England, 
 who managed the affairs of the duchy till the young 
 duke came of age, when he took the administration into 
 his own hands; but he governed so badly, that an 
 insurrection took place, the ducal palace was burnt down 
 by the mob, and the duke was obliged to make his escape 
 te England. His younger brother, William, a prince 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 211 
 
 
 of more moderation, with some difficulty restored tran- 
 quillity; and in the following year, the sovereignty of 
 the duchy was bestowed on him, with the consent of the 
 king of England and the German Diet. 
 
 Duke Charles made an attempt, in 1832, to get up a 
 conspiracy at Paris, for the purpose of deposing his 
 brother; but he was banished in consequence, and has 
 ever since resided in England ; while Duke William is 
 reigning in peace in the duchy of Brunswick. 
 
 The capital of this state was, in the time of Henry 
 the Lion, a mere farm, bearing the name of Brunswick. 
 That great prince improved and enlarged it, and, in the 
 tliirteenth centur}% it became one of the Hanse towTis. 
 It is now a very fine city, containing, besides the ducal 
 palace, many handsome public buildings; and, near the 
 town, is the duke's country- house, which is called Rich- 
 mond, and has a park, which is laid out in imitation of 
 Richmond park in England. The manufactures of 
 Brunswick are woollens, linens, hardware, china, coloured 
 papers, and various other commodities, all of which are 
 made in great perfection. There are two great fairs 
 held ever}^ year, and the city contains many excellent 
 charitable institutions. 
 
 Saxony, once the greatest of the German nations, is 
 now a very limited state. In the days of Charlemairne. 
 and long afterwards, more than half of Germany was 
 known by this name; till towards the close of the fifteenth 
 century, the country had been divided into ten large 
 provinces, called circles; but after that period, the vast 
 extent of territory that had been known by the general 
 name of Saxony, was formed into the three circles of 
 Ui)per and Lower Saxony, and Westphalia. When 
 Bonaparte dissolved the German empire, and established 
 
212 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 the Confederation of the Rhine, he aboHshed the circles; 
 and fixed the limits himself of the new kingdoms that 
 he formed. Of these. Saxony was one, and the title of 
 king was bestowed on the elector, Frederick Augustus, 
 in 1806, when, after the battle of Jena, he joined the 
 Confederation of the Rhine. 
 
 After Bonaparte's unfortunate campaign in Russia, the 
 king of Saxony assisted him in continuing the war 
 against the allied sovereigns, and was made prisoner, 
 and detained in captivity twenty months ; his dominions 
 being governed, in the meantime, by Russian and Prus- 
 sian authorities. It was on account of his adherence to 
 the cause of Bonaparte, that the congress of Vienna 
 deprived him of half his kingdom, as before stated, and 
 added it to Prussia; by which partition, the king of 
 Saxony lost some valuable salt-works, forests, and com 
 districts; but the chief manufacturing parts of the coun- 
 try were left to him, and, during the remainder of his 
 life, he devoted his attention to the establishment of 
 useful institutions. 
 
 In 1818, he aboHshed an old custom, by which the 
 Jews had been restricted to a particular part of Leipsic 
 during the fairs; but the native i)ea8antry were still 
 burthened with taxes, and not allowed to work at any 
 of the trades carried on in the towns; so that they were 
 very poor. 
 
 Frederick Augustus died in 1827, at an adviuiced age, 
 and was succeeded by his brother, Anthony Theodore, 
 also a very old man, who entrusted the affairs of the 
 government to his nephew, who is now king of Saxony; 
 the aged monarch Anthony having died in 1836. 
 
 The present reigriing king of Bavaria, is Louis, the 
 8on of him who was so cruel to the Tyrolese. I^uis 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 213 
 
 succeeded to the throne of Bavaria in 1824, and in 
 1832, his son Otho was made king of Greece. 
 
 The kingdom of Wirtemburg is an agricultural, and 
 not a manufacturing country; orchards abound in its 
 valleys, and vineyards on its moimtains, while com is 
 grown in abundance, and cattle, sheep, and poultry, are 
 reared all over the country. The first king of Wirtem- 
 burg, who was of a very arbitrarj^ disposition, died very 
 soon after the downfall of Bonaparte; a circumstance 
 that occasioned but Httle regret, as he was much inchned 
 to despotism, and refused to grant to his people the 
 rei)resentativc form of government, which he had pro- 
 mised, at the congress, to establish in his dominions. 
 His son William, the present king, who is first cousin 
 to the queen of England, being an enlightened and 
 liberal-minded prince, altered the form of government 
 according to the wishes of the people, and instituted a 
 regular parliament in Wirtemburg. 
 
 Westphalia is no longer an independent kingdom, but 
 belongs to the king of Prussia. Hungary, Bohemia, 
 and Transylvtmia, form part of the Austrian dominions; 
 and are now under the government of the Emperor 
 Ferdinand, who succeeded to the imperial throne of 
 Austria, on the death of his father, Francis the Second, 
 in the year 1835. 
 
 The j)rincii)al German states are about twenty- six in 
 number; but there are many smaller duchies and princi- 
 paUties, amounting, in the whole, to thirty-eight, each 
 of which is governed by a sovereign prince. The 
 emperor is considered the head of all these princes, but 
 has no absolute authority over them; for each of them 
 enjoys tlie rights of a free and independent sovereign. 
 The tie which unites all these princes together, is the 
 
214 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 general Diet at Frankfort, at which all their deputies 
 assemble, to consult and make laws for the benefit of 
 the whole. This is called the Germanic Confederation, 
 and keeps up a union among the states, which is ver}^ 
 desirable ; for the countr}^ would naturally fall into a sad 
 state of confusion, if the many different governments 
 existing in it, had no interests in common to bind them 
 to each other. The dominions of the emperor are very 
 extensive, including tdl the country from Russia to 
 Italy, with part of Poland, Hungar)^ Bohemia, and 
 several Italian states, the chief of which are Venice and 
 Milan. 
 
 PRUSSIA. 
 
 The origin of the kingdom of Prussia has already been 
 related, and its history told up to the time when tlie 
 emperor Leopold bestowed the title of king on Frederick, 
 the son of the great elector. The Prussian states, for a 
 long time, consisted of unconnected portions of territory, 
 separated from each other by the dominions of other 
 princes, till Frederick the Great united them together by 
 his conquests o\f r those whose territories were inter- 
 vening. 
 
 I have told you how the great elector of Brandenburg 
 founded the prosperity of Prussia, by setthng colonies of 
 French emigrants in lands that liad been depopulated 
 by the wars. He sjx^nt immense sums of money in 
 improving the towns both in Prussia and Brandenburg, 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 215 
 
 
 some of which in his time were paved, and lighted with 
 lanthorns, and the comfort of the inhabitants was 
 thereby very much increased, for the streets had pre- 
 viously been in such a miserable state from the want of 
 paving, that gentlemen who had no carriages were 
 obliged to go to court on stilts. 
 
 The first king of Prussia was proud and fond of 
 display. It was his ambition to maintain as splendid a 
 court as that of Louis the Fourteenth, to see every 
 body about him dressed in the French style, and atten- 
 tive to all the forms of etiquette. However, he con- 
 tinued to encourage the emigrants from France, giving 
 them houses with lands to cultivate, and the means of 
 carrying on their different trades ; so that all kinds of 
 useful arts were brought into Prussia, such as the ma- 
 nufacture of stuffs, hats, stockings, and a variety of other 
 articles of general utihty. 
 
 Frederick the First died in the year 1713, when his 
 son, Frederick WiUiam, became king of Prussia, and 
 elector of Brandenburg. This prince was a direct 
 contrast to his father in every respect, being a decided 
 enemy to all that was grand or expensive. His delight 
 was in mUitary glory; his only companions were his 
 soldiers, and his greatest ambition was to have the finest 
 army in the world. 
 
 For the purpose of accomphshing this object, his 
 oflicers were authorised to press into his service as 
 soldiers, all the tallest men they could fiind, without 
 regard to their employment. If a peasant happened to 
 be six feet high, there was no escape for him; he was 
 sure to be marched off among the recruits that were 
 constantly augmenting the Prussian army. The king 
 exercised his troops daily, and smoked and drank beer 
 
216 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 217 
 
 with the officers, for he possessed so little refinement 
 himself, that he had the greatest contempt for all know- 
 ledge except of mihtary tactics, and even treated the 
 common acquirements of reading and writing with 
 ridicule, as if they were superfluous and unbecoming in 
 a soldier. 
 
 His dress and st}le of living were as rough as his 
 manners; the former being very like that of a drill 
 Serjeant, and the latter more suited to a camp than a 
 court. Yet he was one of the most arbitrary princes 
 of his time, and would not suffer the shghtest contradic- 
 tion to his will. This soldierlike monarch was the father 
 of Frederick the Great, who is sometimes called 
 Frederick the Second, and sometimes Frederick the 
 Third, because his father was named Frederick WiUiam, 
 and was usually called by both those appellations, whereas 
 his grandfather had only the one name of Frederick. 
 
 The mind of Frederick the Great was formed in a 
 very different mould from that of his father, and received 
 its earliest impressions from the precepts of a French 
 lady who was entrusted with the care of his infant 
 years; but ere he had reached the age of ten, the king 
 was so anxious to make him a good soldier, that he 
 formed a regiment of boys, of which the young prince 
 was appointed commander, and these little troops assem- 
 bled every day on parade, when the king was exercising 
 his tall soldiers, and were taught to imitate all their 
 movements. 
 
 Every command given by the king was mimicked by 
 the prince, and every mancEuvre of the soldiers watched 
 and imitated by his tiny regiment. He thus received an 
 early bias towards a mihtary life; but in after years 
 he was as much an advocate of peace as of war. I may 
 
 here observe that he was grandson of our king George 
 the First, his mother being the daughter of that monarch. 
 As long as his father lived, he si)ent a great deal of 
 time in the acquirement of elegant accomplishments, 
 pcirticularly music, poetry, and French literature; which 
 made the king so angr)% that he would sometimes 
 break his flute, and throw his music books into the 
 fire. The harshness of this rough sovereign was at 
 times carried so far that, on one occasion, he actually 
 condemned his son to death for some breach of military 
 duty, an offence he never pardoned; and although the 
 life of the prince was spared at tlie intercession of the 
 emperor of Austria, he was kept for a long time in 
 prison. 
 
 At last, Frederick WiUiam died, leaving to his son a 
 fine army and a rich treasurj-, for he had always been 
 ver)' frugal in his expenses; and these advantages enabled 
 his successor to raise his country to an equality with the 
 most powerful states of Europe. In the same year that 
 Frederick the Great ascended the throne of Prussia the 
 emperor Charles the Sixth, died, and those disputes 
 arose respectmg the inheritance of his daughter, which 
 led to so much warfare. Frederick was one of those 
 who laid claim to a part of the Austrian dominions, his 
 view being to secure possession of such portions of the 
 country as separated the different parts of his own 
 scattered territories. 
 
 In the war that followed, the Prussian monarch con- 
 quered the whole of Silesia, a large province, which has 
 ever smce formed a part of the Prussian states. Silesia 
 had once been a fine fertile country, untU it was desolated 
 by the thirty years' war, the effects of which were still 
 visible m every district. Lands were lying uncultivated, 
 
 u 
 
218 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 219 
 
 towns and villiages were still partly in ruins, and the 
 greater part of the people were scarcely able to obtain 
 the means of subsistence. It was only in the principal 
 towns that any signs of wealth or gaiety appeared; the 
 rest was a desert, scarcely half peopled, and exhibiting 
 on every side traces of fire and sword. 
 
 Such was the country in which Frederick the Great 
 made his first campaign, and which he subdued with 
 very httle trouble; for the Silesians offered but little 
 opposition, and the principal part of the Austrian troops 
 were engaged in lighting against the French and 
 Bavarians in Bohemia. The king of Prussia soon 
 taught his new subjects to regard him as a friend, rather 
 than as a conqueror, winning the hearts of the higher 
 classes by his courteous manners, and of the lower 
 orders by the substantial benefits he conferred on them. 
 
 As long as the war lasted, Frederick had enough to do 
 to maintain his conquest, but when it was concluded by 
 the treaty of Aix la Chaj^elle, and Silesia was given 
 up to him, as related in the reign of Maria Theresa, he 
 spared neither trouble nor expense to restore the country 
 to its former prosperity. The first step towards this 
 desirable object was to people the lands that were unin- 
 habited, therefore, he offered to give to any industrious 
 man who was wiUing to settle in these deserted places, 
 a house, a bam, and a stable, with twenty acres of land, 
 seed to sow it, and cattle enough to stock his farm. 
 
 Such inducements as these could not fail to attract many 
 farmers from various parts of Germany, whose proj)erty 
 had been destroyed during the late war, and who were 
 glad to avail themselves of the king's munificence, in 
 in order to obtain a home for their wives and children. 
 Some of the land granted to the new settlers was 
 
 covered with forest trees, which had to be cut down 
 before the earth could be cultivated ; but in such cases, 
 Frederick took care to supply his colonists with the' 
 means of subsistence, until there had been time to clear 
 the woods, and convert them into corn fields and pasture, 
 and even then, all the colonists were exempted from 
 taxes of every kind, and also from military service for a 
 certain number of years, that they might have fuU 
 leisure to attend to the improvement of their land. 
 
 By these judicious arrangements, many a large tract 
 of country, that had for years been an uninhabited 
 wilderness, was soon covered with farms, and enhvened 
 by an industrious population. 
 
 Besides peophng the waste lands, the king granted 
 money to rebuild the towns and villages which had been 
 suffered to remain partly in ruins, ever since the thirty 
 years' war; and in all new buildings he ordered that the 
 chimneys and ovens should be made of stone instead of 
 wood, as a safeguard against fire. The houses in SQesia 
 had hitherto been constructed, as they were in Poland, of 
 the trunks of trees, placed horizontally on each other, 
 and covered with straw and shingles; even the 
 dwellings of many of the barons were of the same rude 
 description before the time of Frederick the Great, and 
 the furniture was chiefly formed of the wood in its 
 rough state, the branches being entwined together, as we 
 sometimes see in garden chairs. 
 
 Such houses as these were very Uable to be set on 
 fire, yet the common people were in general so careless 
 that it was with the greatest difficulty they could be 
 prevented from carrying lighted chips, instead of lanthoms, 
 mto their stables and bams, or drying hemp and flax in 
 their houses; so that it was absolutely necessary to 
 
220 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 institute punishments for such offences. The king con- 
 sidered it of so much importance to guard against fire, 
 that he made a law, by which every man was obhgcd to 
 keep leathern buckets in his house, and the inhabiUmts 
 of every village to fix a pump in such a situation as 
 would afford the most ready means of obtaining water. 
 
 All new houses in the towns were built of stone, as 
 they were at Berlin, and other cities of Prussia; and 
 thus, in the course of a few years, no part of Germany 
 was more populous, better cultivated, or possessed 
 handsomer towns than the formerly- desolated province 
 of Silesia. All these improvements were going on well, 
 when their progress wai? suddenly arrested by the break- 
 ing out of the seven* years war, during which Frederick 
 was constantly in the field. 
 
 It was rather singular that a war, which had its origin 
 in America, should be carried on with so much violence 
 in Germany; but the reason is simple enough, as the 
 quarrel arose between the French and English respecting 
 the boundaries of Canada and the United States, the 
 former belonging to the French, the latter to the Enghsh. 
 The French, therefore, being hostile to the English, were 
 eager to deprive the king of England of his electorate of 
 Hanover, and accordingly invaded that country. 
 
 Then Maria Theresa, being in alliance with the English 
 monarch, and moreover being desirous of preventing the 
 French from estabhshing a dominion in any part of Ger- 
 many, raised troops in Bohemia and Hungary to oppose 
 them. She had also another motive for this war, which 
 was to check the growing power of the king of Prussia, 
 and in this object she was seconded by the Russians, who 
 were beginning to view him with some apprehension. 
 Frederick was, therefore, obliged to take measures for 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 221 
 
 the defence of his kingdom; and thus, the French, 
 English, Russians, Prussians, and Austrians, were all at 
 
 war. 
 
 The whole force of the Russians was directed against 
 the Prussian states, which they ravaged in the most 
 frightful manner; whHe Frederick led his armies into 
 Bohemia, where several terrible battles took place, and 
 the city of Prague sometimes was in possession of one 
 l)arty, sometimes of the other. 
 
 Ilie miseries occasioned by this war were lamentable, 
 the peasants neglected to plough and sow their fields, 
 because they knew that before the corn was ripe it 
 would be trodden down by the armies that were con- 
 stantly marching through the provinces in all directions. 
 The scarcity was so great in Saxony, that a bushel of 
 wheat was sold for twenty crowns; and many parts of 
 that country were entirely deserted. Frederick the 
 Second, by the talents he displayed in tliis war of seven 
 years, estabhshed his fame as the greatest military hero 
 of his time, on account of the wonderful abihty with 
 which he maintained all his possessions against so many 
 united powers. 
 
 One of the most remarkable events that took place 
 during the seven years' war, was the siege of Dresden, 
 when the Prussians battered down the walls of that 
 city, destroyed its cathedral and palace, with several of 
 the principal streets and squares, and burned down the 
 suburbs, where most of the valuable manufactures of 
 Saxony were carried on; and among the buildings that 
 were destroyed on this occasion, was the celebrated china 
 raanufactor>\ The destruction of i)roperty is not tJie 
 only result of warfare which we have to lament; and on 
 considering its other consequences, (among which, is the 
 
 u 3 
 
222 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 effect it always has of throwing numbers of people out of 
 employment, and reducing them to beggary and starva- 
 tion,) we must shudder to see the pages of history filled 
 with accounts of battles and sieges; and when we are 
 told that, at the close of this memorable war, the con- 
 quests that had been made by all parties were restored, 
 and that each country was placed in the same position it 
 occupied before the commencement of hostilities, we 
 cannot help wondering to what purpose so much blood 
 was shed, and so many thousands of famihes were in- 
 volved in ruin. 
 
 Let us turn once more from these revolting details, to 
 scenes of a more pleasing nature. No sooner did 
 Frederick the Great find himself again at liberty to 
 attend to the internal affairs of the kingdom, than he 
 pursued with ardour the system he had so successfully 
 begun. His first care was to remedy the evils of the 
 late war, by distributing corn to the peasants to sow 
 their fields, and money to the townsj)eople to rebuild 
 their houses. He also buUt, at his own expense, many 
 handsome towns, of stone, both in Prussia and Silesia, 
 thus giving employment to a great number of labourers. 
 
 Then, with a view to encourfige home manufactures, 
 be prohibited the importation of foreign goods, such 
 as silks, cottons, chintzes, and other articles of dress, 
 that people might be obliged to wear those made in 
 Prussia; but he had much difficulty to enforce this 
 prohibition, and was obliged to employ a great many 
 custom-house officers to prevent contraband trading, 
 which, notwithstanding, was carried on to a great 
 extent. 
 
 The trade of Prussia was at this time very considerable 
 both at home and abroad. Ships came from every part 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 223 
 
 of Europe to the port of Koningsburg, laden with all 
 kinds of merchandise; and took away, in return, com, 
 hemp, hides, boards, and timber for masts of ships, as 
 well as for building. In the course of time, manufactures 
 flourished in e^-ery part of the Prussian dominions, and 
 the linens, woollen stuffs, and cottons, of Prussia, were 
 sent into all the German states, Italy, Switzeriand, 
 France, Russia, and even to China. 
 
 'I'here was a large i)orcelain manufactory at Beriin, 
 estabhshed by Frederick the Second, who also built a 
 magnificent opera house in that city. It was to this 
 monarch that the peasantry of the Prussian states owed 
 tlieir emancipation from feudd slaveiy, and were enabled 
 to become i)roprietors of land. 
 
 You have seen in what manner he established a race 
 of free peasants in Silesia, by granting them lands which 
 he made hereditiiry; and finding this system answered 
 his expectations, he offered gratuities to aU noblemen 
 who should form settlements on their estates on the same 
 plan, by giving land to farming men, in full possession, 
 without any feudal services whatever attached to it. 
 This land was to be inherited by their children; and thus 
 a numerous race of free peasantry were soon found in 
 Sdesia. engaged in the cultivation of their own flourishing 
 farms. There were about two hundred and fifty villages 
 built hi various parts of the country, and in each of them 
 the king established a school for the children of the 
 peasants. 
 
 I say the king estabhshed these schools, because he 
 not only gave orders that there should be a school in 
 ever}' village, but settled the plan of instruction to be 
 pursued, and took a great dcjU of pains to see that 
 fitting schoolmasters were j^rovided, whose salaries were 
 

 224 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 to be paid by a tax on the richer part of the population. 
 This was a real blessing to the Silesians, who were so 
 utterly ignorant, that it was a difficult matter to find 
 a sufficient number of men who were capable of under- 
 taking the office of parish schoolmasters, although they 
 were only required to teach reading and writing. 
 
 The king, therefore, having consulted with some of 
 the most learned abbes, arranged that one of them 
 should turn his monastery' into a seminary, for the 
 instruction of young men who desired to be fitted for the 
 duties of schoolmasters ; and thus, in a very few years, 
 there were plenty of good teachers, and all the young 
 villagers knew how to read and write. 
 
 Before the time of Frederick the Great, there were no 
 regular markets in Silesia. Many towns had neither 
 butcher, baker, brewer, nor shopkeeper of any kind; but 
 in rebuilding these towns, the king took care there should 
 be a good market-i)lace in each, and fixed the market 
 days. Most of his towns, both in Prussia and Silesia, 
 were garrisoned ; but this was rather an advantage than 
 otherwise to the inhabitants, because the soldiers were 
 regularly paid by the king, and were obliged to pay for 
 every thing they were supplied with by the tradespeople, 
 who were glad to have so many regular customers. 
 
 Still the king was a very arbitrary monarch, and would 
 only do good in his own way, and in some instances he 
 was very oppressive. He laid taxes on all articles of 
 food, which made provisions dear; and then he had bad 
 money coined, which he paid to the soldiers, and workmen 
 employed in public works, who did not object to re- 
 ceiving it, because the tradespeople and farmers were 
 obliged to take it of them. But it was a serious injury 
 to the traders and j)easantry to be thus obliged to jwirt 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 225 
 
 with their goods for bad money, particularly as the 
 government officers were ordered not to receive it back 
 in payment for taxes, for the king was cunning enough 
 not to allow any of his false coin to find its way into his 
 own treasury; therefore, in course of time, he had all 
 the good money, and his people all the bad, which gave 
 rise to much discontent. 
 
 One day, in passing a baker's shop, he heard the 
 baker quarrelling with a man at his shop-door; and as 
 the king was always curious to know what was going 
 forward, he stopped to enquire what was the matter. 
 Tlie baker, who did not know him, said that the man 
 refused to take the money for his corn, at the same time 
 exhibiting some of the base coin that was in general 
 circulation. ** And why will you not take the money, 
 friend.?'* said the king. The peasant, who knew him 
 very well, replied significantly, "Would you take it 
 yourself.?'" on which the king walked away, without 
 saying another word. He was, however, a good friend 
 to the lower orders generally, never refusing to hear 
 their complaints against their superiors, and to see 
 justice done them. 
 
 The labouring classes were, by this means, made much 
 more independent of the nobles; for if a poor man 
 considered himself wronged by a rich one, he did not 
 fear to put on his hat, and say, *' I will go and tell the 
 king." The Prussian soldiers were obhged to conduct 
 themselves in an orderly manner, as they marched 
 through the country; and although the peasants were 
 obhged to lodge them, and supply them with food, as 
 well as to furnish waggons and horses, if required, they 
 were paid for all these services, which had never been 
 the case before. 
 
 HFRMAMV 
 
226 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 The importance attached by the king of Prussia to 
 the profession of arms, caused the burghers, and all who 
 were engaged in trade, to be treated with some degree 
 of contempt, as a class inferior to the soldiers; and this 
 was carried so far, notwithstanding the encouragement 
 given to commerce and manufactures, that all tradesmen 
 were forbidden to converse on political subjects, and the 
 magistrates were held responsible for the observance of 
 this order; who in consequence employed spies in every 
 direction, and people were afraid to speak of the king or 
 the wars, even before their own servants. 
 
 I have already spoken of the unjust means by which 
 the king of Prussia, and the two empresses of Austria 
 and Russia, obtained possession of Poland, and divided 
 it among themselves; but I have not told you of the 
 cruelty of the Prussians towards the unfortunate Poles, 
 nor of the oppressive conduct of Frederick, with regard 
 to the city of Dantzic, one of the most flourishing towns 
 of the Baltic. The melancholy details of the ruins of 
 this once great cit>% and the flight of thousands of its 
 inhabitants, belong to the history of Poland; therefore, 
 I have only alluded to the facts here ; and I have done 
 so, because the dismemberment of Poland was one of 
 the most remarkable circumstances that transpired in 
 the reign of Frederick the Great, and the fact that he 
 behaved most cruelly and unjustly towards the Poles, 
 ought not to be suppressed. 
 
 When Frederick the Second died in 1786, he left to 
 his nephew, Frederick William the Second, by some 
 called Frederick the Third, an extensive and prosi)eroua 
 kingdom, a large and well-disciplined army, and a well- 
 filled treasury; but he could not leave him his own great 
 talents, by which Prussia had been raised to power and 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 227 
 
 fame; nor could he foresee the coming of the French 
 revolution, which was destined to undo so much that he 
 had done. The new king reigned only eleven years, 
 during which period, the country was far from being 
 so well governed as in the time of Frederick the 
 Great. 
 
 He was succeeded, in 1797, by his son, Frederick 
 William, the late king of Prussia, who, after being 
 deprived of the greater part of his dominions by the 
 French emperor, saw himself restored to them all, by 
 the general peace that followed the battle of Waterloo. 
 This prince shewed in childhood a daring and determined 
 character, an instance of which is recorded in the follow- 
 ing anecdote. He was one day playing with a shuttle- 
 cock near a table where his uncle, Frederick the Great, 
 was writing, and as the toy fell several times close to 
 the ink-stand, and, at last, on the paper, the king took 
 it up, and put it into his pocket. The little prince 
 begged he would give it back to him; but the king 
 continued to write without taking any notice of his 
 entreaties, till the child grew angry, and putting his 
 hands to his sides, he approached with a look of defiance, 
 saying, *• I ask your majesty whether you wiU give me 
 back my shuttlecock, or not? so, answer me, yes or no.'* 
 The king took the bauble from his pocket, and giving it 
 to the boy, said, " You are a brave little fellow, they will 
 never take Silesia from you;" but the prophecy was not 
 fulfiled, for the French took Silesia, and a great deal 
 more of the Prussian territories. 
 
 The events that took place, from the breaking out of 
 the French revolution, until the fall of Bonaparte, and 
 the settlement of Europe by the congress of Vienna, 
 have been already related. The king of Prussia not 
 
228 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 only regained all the territories he had lost, but his 
 kingdom was enlarged by the addition of a great part of 
 Saxony, therefore, it has again become a large and 
 powerful kingdom. 
 
 During the last ten years, the Prussians have suffered 
 very much from tlie intolerant spirit of the late king, 
 with regard to religion. He desired that every body 
 should conform to the rules of the established church, 
 and those who dissented from it, were subjected to such 
 heavy penalties, that a great number of families have 
 been obhged to emigrate to America. 
 
 The king of Prussia died in June 1840, and was 
 succeeded by his son, Frederick WilHam the Fourth, 
 who is forty-five years of age, and said to be a prince of 
 very superior attainments. The kings of Prussia are 
 not crowned; but on their accession, they receive oaths 
 of allegiance from the people, and, in return, promise to 
 govern according to the laws of the countr}\ 
 
 HOUSE OF SAXE COBURG. 
 
 Although it does not suit the limits of this work 
 to make particular mention of all the German states, 
 still there is one which possesses an interest beyond 
 the rest, and of which a brief account, it is presumed, 
 will be acceptable,— I mean the principality of Saxe- 
 
 Coburg. 
 
 The founder of this illustrious house, was Duke 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 229 
 
 Tlie founder of this illustrious hou.'H?, was Duke 
 Ernest the First, of the family of the electors of Saxony, 
 who obtained the sovereignty of Saxe Coburg at tlie 
 close of the thirty years' war, and left his dominions 
 among his seven sons, who founded the seven branches 
 of that house, of which Gotha is the chief. Saxe 
 Coburg Gotha is one of the thirty-eight independent 
 sovereignties of Germany; and the reigning Duke Ernest 
 is the father of Prince Albert, who is now the consort of 
 the queen of Great Britain. 
 
 During the reign of Bonaparte, Duke Ernest, who 
 was then the duke of Saxe Coburg Saalfield, served in 
 the Prussian army, and his estates were seized by the 
 French, who kept possession of them until the peace of 
 Tilsit, when the king of Prussia entered into an alliance 
 with France, and the duke of Saxe Cobourg Saalfield 
 was reinstated in his dominions. They had suffered 
 great damage by the occupation of the French troops, 
 who had despoiled all the public buildings of every 
 thing curious or valuable, and reduced the whole country 
 to a miserable state of poverty. 
 
 By the death of the duke of Gotha, in 1 806, Duke 
 Ernest came into possession of his estates; and in 1826, 
 changed his title to that of duke of Saxe Coburg and 
 Gotha. Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg, now king of 
 the Belgians, is his younger brother, and the duchess of 
 Kent is his sister; therefore. Prince Albert is first-cousin 
 to the queen, the duchess of Kent being his aunt. The 
 son of another brother of Duke Ernest is married to the 
 queen of Portugal. 
 
 Saxe Coburg Gotha is the most southern state in 
 Lower Saxony. Its whole extent, including some terri- 
 tories that were annexed to it after the general peace, 
 
230 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 does not exceed that of the county of Devon. The 
 southern part of the duchy is mountainous and woody, 
 a large tract being covered by a part of the remains 
 of the ancient forest of Thuringia, usually called the 
 Black Forest, which is a valuable possession, on account 
 of the large revenue derived from the sale of its timber. 
 The northern district is an open country, yielding abun- 
 dance of corn ; and in the mountains, there are mines of 
 iron, coal, and slate. 
 
 The peasantry of Saxe Gotha are employed in agri- 
 culture and manufactures of various kinds. It has five 
 paper-mills, three china and three hardware manufac- 
 tories, be^^ides iron foundries, and factories of stuffs, 
 cottons, stockings, tobacco, and glass, therefore, the 
 people have sufficient scope for their industry; and I 
 have been told, that this duchy is the most populous, the 
 best cultivated, and, for its size, one of the most pros- 
 perous states of the German emi)ire. 
 
 lliere are schools in all the villages for the instruction 
 of the peasantr}% and large seminaries in the towns, for 
 the education of the children of the gentry and citizens. 
 Coburg is the largest and gayest town; but Gotha is 
 more frequented by persons of taste and learning, on 
 account of its pubUc libraries, museum, and some fine 
 collections of pictures. The government of Saxe Coburg 
 and Gotha is representative; the citizens electing their 
 own deputies to send to the Diet. 
 
 Prince Albert was bom in 1819, at the castle of 
 Ehrenburg, the general residence of the duke, his father. 
 On the death of his mother, he was sent to England, 
 being then about eleven years of age, and remained in 
 this country about fifteen months, during which time, his 
 father, the duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha. married a very 
 amiable lady, a princess of Wirtemburg. 
 
 GERMANV. 
 
 231 
 
 Tlie young prince, while in England, received lessons 
 in the English language and music, with his cousin, the 
 Princess Victoria; and it was at that time the friendship 
 was formed betweea the illustrious students, that led to 
 the happy union, which has lately taken place between 
 them. When the prince returned to his own country, 
 he completed his studies at the university of Bonn, 
 where he was distinguished not only by his superior 
 talents, but by his amiable manners, and gentlemanly 
 behaviour; the latter being rather a remarkable trait in 
 a student of that university, as the young gentlemen 
 there are not celebrated for regularity of conduct. 
 
 In the year 1838, Prince Albert returned to England, 
 accompanied by his father, to be present at the coro- 
 nation of his former companion; after which, he returned 
 to Gotha, and then went to Italy, where he spent the 
 winter. 
 
 Soon after his retuni, it began to be whispered among 
 the people of the duchy, that their young prince was 
 about to form a splendid alliance; and on the eighth of 
 December, 1839, the approaching marriage of Prince 
 Albert with the queen of England, was publicly an- 
 nounced, and congratulations were received by his 
 parents, the duke and duchess, at the castle of Ehrenburg. 
 Before the depiirture of the prince from his native 
 country, a magnificent entertainment was given at the 
 castle, to above a hundred and sixty distinguished 
 guests, when the neighbouring peasantry were admitted 
 into the great hall, to see the company, and to offer their 
 good wishes for the happiness of the prince, who was 
 much beloved among them. 
 
 Prince Albert has an elder brother. Prince Ernest, 
 who will, in all probability, succeed his father, as duke 
 of Saxe Coburg Gotha. 
 
232 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 233 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 Tub oriental denomination of the Hungarians is 
 Magyar, so called from one of their principal tribes, 
 which probably derived its name from some great chief; 
 but the Greeks called them Turks or Tartars, because 
 they were of the same race as that mighty people who 
 extended their empire from the confines of China to the 
 banks of the Volga; and in the Roman histories, they are 
 
 called Huns. 
 
 The Hungarians, therefore, had their origin from the 
 same source as the Turks, and came from the northern 
 parts of Asia, which were inhabited by many roving 
 tribes, who were both shepherds and warriors, and set 
 up theh- leather tents wherever they found the best 
 pasture for the thousands of sheep and oxen that accom- 
 panied them in their marches. 
 
 I have already mentioned the first appearance of the 
 Huns in Europe, and the rapid conquests that enabled 
 them to establish a kingdom in the heart of Germany. 
 They first settled in that part of ancient Dacia, which is 
 now called Transylvania, and by degrees conquered all 
 the provinces that form the kingdom of Hungary, the 
 most considerable of which was Punnonia. 
 
 In the tenth century, Hungary was divided among 
 
 several petty princes, who all acknowledged the su- 
 periority of a chief styled the Great Prince, although 
 it does not appear that he had much authority over the 
 rest, as any one of tUem hud a right to raise an army, 
 and go to w^ar without his sanction. 
 
 The Magy^ar were Pagans, and worshipped the sun, 
 the moon, and many idols of their own creation; but 
 towards the end of the tenth century, missionaries were 
 sent among them to teach Christianity, and the famous 
 St. Adalbert, bishop of Prague, baptised the son of the 
 grand prince, Geysa, by the name of Stephen. On the 
 death of Geysa, Stephen succeeded as grand prince, 
 and soon became celebrated for the zeal he displayed in 
 converting his heathen subjects to the Christian faith, 
 in which he was so successful, that the pope, as a 
 reward for his pious endeavours, bestowed on him the 
 title of king, and sent him the crown, w^hich has ever 
 since been held in high veneration by the Hungarians, 
 and is still used at the coronation of a king of Hungary, 
 a dignity that at present belongs to the emperor of 
 Austria. 
 
 Tlie memory of Stephen the First, who is better 
 known as St. Stephen, is greatly respected by the 
 people even at this day; and deservedly so, as he was at 
 once the rehgious instructor as well as the lawgiver of 
 his subjects, and in some degree softened their manners, 
 and sowed the seeds of civilisation among them. The 
 laws made by St. Stephen, were similar to those of all 
 barbarous nations, every crime being punished by the 
 loss of some member of the body, as the nose, the ears, 
 the hands, &c., or the payment of a fine, proportioned 
 to the enormity of the offence committed; and this code 
 was in force in Hungary, with very little alteration, for 
 
 X 3 
 
234 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 several centuries. St. Stephen founded several bishop- 
 rice, and erected monasteries and churches in various 
 parts of the countr>\ 
 
 It was at this period that Hungar>^ was first divided 
 
 into separate governments called counties, over each of 
 
 which was appointed a governor, with the title of count 
 
 Pidatine, in the same manner as in Germany, and these 
 
 Palatines were the chief magnates or nobles of the 
 
 kingdom. The province of Transylvania was finally 
 
 subdued by St. Stephen, who formed it into a distinct 
 
 government, and placed over it a prince whose title was 
 
 Vaivode, and who held his principality as a fief of tlic 
 
 crown. 
 
 The Hungarians lived much in the same manner as 
 the ancient Germans, and elected their kings in the 
 national assemblies, where every freeman had a voice. 
 The slaves who tilled the land, were captives taken in 
 the wars, and were in the most wretched state of servi- 
 tude. The freemen were all tndned to arms, but they 
 were so backward in civilisation, that as late as the 
 twelfth century, they lived in tents in the summer, 
 according to the custom of their eiistem ancestors; and 
 when the nobles went to court, they took their seats 
 with them, as did also those who went to visit their 
 friends in the winter, when they roUed up their tents and 
 took up their abode in huts, made of mud or reeds, and 
 not very well provided with furniture, as we may sup- 
 pose; since, as I have just observed, the people were 
 obliged to carry their own wooden stools with them 
 when they paid their visits. In Buda and Pest, the 
 two best towns, the houses were mostly of wood, but 
 these were two ancient cities, built by the Romans. 
 It is not worth while to make mention of all the early 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 235 
 
 kings of Hungary, as there is little to tell of these barba- 
 rian warriors, except of the conquests they maile, by which 
 the boundaries of the kingdom were gradually extended. 
 The government was entirely despotic until the reign of 
 Andrew the Second, the eighth king in succession from 
 St. Stephen, who was elected to the throne at a time 
 when the fashion of crusading was at its greatest height, 
 and, like other princes of the age. undertook an expedi- 
 tion to the Holy Land, and almost ruined his country 
 by the enormous expenses he incurred. 
 
 During his absence, the nobles, many of whom 
 remained at home, took the opportunity of seizing the 
 estates belonging to the crown, and augmenting their 
 own power, so that when the kin^ returned, he found 
 his authority very much diminished, and as the nobles 
 were able to raise a larger army than he could, it was 
 useless for him to go to war with them; in order, there- 
 fore, to preserve his crown, he was obliged to grant a 
 new constitution, which forms the basis of the Hun- 
 garian government at this very day. 
 
 By the new laws, the property belonging to the 
 magnates and clergy was exempted from taxation; fiefs 
 that had been granted for mihtary service were made 
 hereditar}', while their possessors were freed from the 
 obligation of finding troops, at their own expense, to go 
 on foreign service; and above all, they were to be at 
 hberty to arm their vassals against the sovereign, if he 
 should attempt to infringe on any of these privileges. 
 This revolution made a great alteration in the state and 
 condition of the people of Hungary, as the taxes fell 
 now entirely on the peasantry, who were thus burthened 
 beyond their means, and scarcely able to maintain them- 
 selves by their labour; while the rich paid nothing, and 
 
236 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 possessed the power of oppressing their tenants as 
 much as they pleased. 
 
 It was soon after this change, that the Mogul Tartars, 
 a formidable nation, who had established a vast empire 
 in the east, and conquered a great part of Russia, 
 entered Hungar}% desolating the country with fire and 
 sword wherever they came. The people fled to the 
 woods and mountains, and happy were they who thus 
 escaped being 'carried away into slavery, which was 
 the fate of thousands. 
 
 The king, Bela the fourth, who had succeeded his 
 father Andrew, concealed himself in a cave, until the 
 Tartars, having plundered all the towns, left the country, 
 carrying with them an immense booty, and great num- 
 bers of captives. Then Bela quitted his retreat, col- 
 lected his scattered subjects, and set to work to rebuild 
 the towns that had been laid in ashes by the enemy; but 
 the population of the country was so much decreased, 
 that there were not sufficient people, either to perform this 
 labour, or to cultivate the devastated lands; therefore, 
 he endeavoured to re-people the countr>^ with colonies 
 from Bohemia and Croatia, and succeeded so well, that in 
 a few years it began to show signs of returning prosperity. 
 
 However, another Tartar invasion in the reign of 
 Ladislaus the Third, again reduced it to so deplorable 
 a state, that the nobles were obliged to till their own 
 fields for want of men and cattle. 
 
 On the death of Ladislaus, in the year 1290, there 
 were several competitors for the throne, which occasioned 
 a civil war, as two princes were elected by different 
 parties. This contest had lasted eleven years, when the 
 rivals both died in the same year, and Andrew, the 
 young king of Naples, was made king of Hungar}\ 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 237 
 
 I'his unfortunate prince was married to Joan, queen of 
 Naples, in her own right. She was his cousin, but 
 had never regarded him with the sHghtest degree of af- 
 fection; and as he was murdered soon after his election to 
 the throne of Hungary, under very suspicious circum- 
 stances, it was generally beheved that the queen was the 
 instigator of the wicked deed; but though her guilt was 
 never proved, yet her innocence was never fully estab- 
 lished, and her memory is clouded with doubt, like that 
 of Mary, queen of Scots, in reference to the fate of 
 Damley. 
 
 The crowTi was then bestowed on Louis, the brother 
 of the murdered king, who afterwards became king of 
 Poland; and at his death, his daughter was chosen to 
 reign in Hungary. The marriage of this princess with 
 Sigismund, emperor of Germany, subjected Hungary to 
 the imperial crown. 
 
 For a long period, the country was very much dis- 
 tressed by the religious wars between the imperialists 
 and the insurgents, and by the invasions of the Turks, 
 as I have akeady related in a former part of this history. 
 The Turks, you must understand, had not yet firmly 
 established their empire in Europe, for the Greek em- 
 perors still reigned at Constantinople, while the Otto- 
 man Sultans held their court at Adrianople, -which had 
 been the second city of the Greek empire. 
 
 They had sevenU times entered the Hungarian terri- 
 tories, where they did not meet with any very powerful 
 opposition, until the great general Huniades, in the time 
 of Frederick the Third, emperor of Germany, took the 
 field against them. Huniades was the prince or Vaivode 
 of Transylvania, and gained several great victories over 
 the sultan, Amurath the First, and successfully defended 
 
238 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 the city of Belgrade, to which the Turks had laid siege 
 in the year 1435. In return for the good service he 
 had performed, he was made governor of Hungary, 
 during the minority of the young king Ladislaus, who 
 was detained at the court of the emperor Frederick; 
 but having incurred a suspicion of disloyalty he was 
 obliged to give his son as a hostage, and this youth, at 
 the death of his father, was a prisoner at Prague, in the 
 custody of George Podiebrad, the king of Bohemia. 
 
 Ladislaus, the young king of Hungary, did not live 
 long after he came into possession of the throne, and 
 the Diet of election then fixed on the son of their late 
 brave general Huniades, Matthias Corvinus, who was 
 still in captivity. Podiebrad heard the news of this 
 election as he was sitting at supper, and sent imme- 
 diately for his youthful prisoner, who was then only 
 eighteen years of age, and who came into his presence 
 pale and trembUng, expecting to be put to death, for 
 he had not yet been informed of his own good fortune. 
 Great, therefore, was his surprise, when the king 
 desired him to sit down at the upi)er end of the table, 
 and when he hesitated to do so, arose, and with much 
 courtesy, otfered him the most honourable place, teUing 
 him at the same time, that he had some good news to 
 communicate. *' It would be good news, indeed," 
 answered the young man, " if your majest)' would be 
 pleased to grant me my libert>'." " Aye, and so it shall 
 be," said the king; *' and not only thy liberty shalt thou 
 have, but the noble kingdom of Hungary to boot; and 
 a fair maiden for thy wife, even our own daughter." 
 
 ITie joy of the newly elected monarch, who was about 
 to exchange a prison for a pjUace, may be readily ima- 
 gined; and having paid a huge sum for liis ransom. 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 239 
 
 (for Podiebrad, although he had spoken to him so 
 courteously, would not let him go, without,) he married 
 the young lady, and took his departure for Buda, where 
 he was crowned. 
 
 About five years before this event, the Sultan, 
 Maliomct the Second, had besieged and taken the city 
 of Constantinople, which has ever since been the seat of 
 the Ottoman government; and thus were terminated the 
 last remains of the Greek empire, in the year 1453. 
 The reign of Matthias Corvinus is considered a very 
 brilliant period in the history' of Hungarj-. This prince, 
 like his father, was the terror of the Turks during his 
 whole reign ; and he took from them| the province of 
 Bosnia, besides obtaining several victories over them in 
 other parts of the country. He also conquered Moravia 
 and Silesia, and added to the glory of his name by giving 
 encouragement to learning throughout his dominions. 
 Matthias reigned thirty two years, and with him ended 
 the prosperity of the country. 
 
 This great monarch was succeeded by Ladislaus the 
 Sixth, who was also king of Bohemia; and in his reign 
 the country was torn by faction, and ravaged by the 
 Turks. He died in 1516; and the crown of Hungary 
 descended to his son, Louis the Second. Louis was in- 
 volved in wars with the Turks; and having led a great 
 army against the Sultan, SoHman the Second, in 1526, 
 he lost his life in the battle of Mohatz, in which a great 
 part of the Hungarian nobihty also perished. 
 
 Ferdinand the First, Emperor of Germany and 
 Archduke of Austria, having married the sister of 
 Louis, claimed the kingdom as his heir; but the Hun- 
 garians asserted their right to elect the sovereign, and 
 John Zapolya, Vaivodc of Transylvania, was chosen 
 
240 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 king by the greater part of the ixx)ple. or rather the 
 
 nobility. 
 
 John, unable to cope with the emperor, called in the 
 Turks to his assistance. These dangerous allies made 
 themselves masters of a considerable portion of the 
 countr)% and of the capitid, Buda, of which they long 
 retained possession. At length the contest was termi- 
 nated by a treaty, which decided that John Zapolya 
 should retain the crown for life, and that Ferdinand 
 should be his successor, ^fhe people however still 
 insisted on their right to elect their kings; and repeatedly 
 opposed the claims of their imperial masters. 
 
 The dominion gained by the Turks in Hungary occa- 
 sioned the continual wars between them and the Ger- 
 man emperors, which have been already related. The 
 Hungarians, not without reason, were much dissatisfied 
 with'' the German government, and complained that all 
 their rights, both civil and rehgious. were infringed on, 
 that troops were stationed in the countr}^ in opposition 
 to the laws, and that they were burthened with all 
 kinds of taxes. These complaints not being attended to. 
 occasioned a general revolt, and the leader of it. Count 
 Tekeli, made an alliance with the Turks; and even 
 joined them in an invasion of the German states. 
 
 You have been told how they were defeated at Vienna 
 by Sobieski, the king of Poland, after which the Germans 
 quelled the insurrection, regained possession of Buda, 
 and finally expelled the Turks from Hungary. Encou- 
 raged by these briUiant successes; the Emperor Leopold 
 assembled the states of Hungary, at Presburg. and 
 there demanded, that in consequence of the extraordi- 
 nary efforts that had been made to get rid of the 
 Turkish enemy, the kingdom of Hungary should be 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 241 
 
 declared hereditary in his family, which was agreed to, 
 on condition that the ancient constitution of the country 
 should not be altered, and that the Protestants should 
 enjoy equal rights with the Catholics. 
 
 The Archduke Joseph, son of Leopold the First, was 
 crowned at this diet in 1687, as first hereditary king of 
 Hungary. In 1099, peace was concluded with the 
 Turks, the Umits between the two empires were fixed, 
 and Count Tekeh, who during the war had constantly 
 sided with the Ottoman Sultan, was allowed to remain 
 in the Turkish territory. 
 
 New troubles however soon arose, for the Emperor 
 Joseph did not keep the promises he had made respect- 
 ing the liberties of the Hungarians, and a fresh insur- 
 rection broke out, headed by a celebrated patriot, Prince 
 Ragotski, whose disinterested efforts to preserve the 
 rights of his countrj^men have been often and deserv^edly 
 admired. This patriotic hero was Prince of Transylvania, 
 and son in law of Count Tekeli, who had married his 
 mother after she became a widow, and taken her with 
 him into exile. 
 
 Ragotski belonged to an illustrious family, and inhe- 
 rited large possessions in Hungary, but he was suspected 
 of disaffection to the government, and having been 
 arrested by order of the court of Vienna, he was placed 
 in confinement, but he contrived to escape, and reached, 
 in disguise, the frontiers of Poland. 
 
 Having received promises of assistance from Louis 
 the Fourteenth of France, he put himself at the head of 
 a band of armed peasants, and commenced a war against 
 the Imperialists ; and although the crown of Poland was 
 offered to his acceptance by Peter the Great, he was so 
 anxious to free his country from the government of the 
 
242 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 house of Austria, that he would not abandon the cause 
 even to gain a throne. 
 
 In the meantime his vast estates were declared confis- 
 cated, and a price was set on his head, but he pursued 
 his career, for some time, with success, gained several 
 victories, and was declared Protector of Hungar}-. But 
 the tide of fortune at length turned; the people began to 
 desert him, and after a time, on the accession of Charles 
 the Sixth to the imperial throne, a treaty was concluded 
 between the Hungarians and the emperor, by which the 
 former were confirmed in all their ancient privileges, a 
 general amnesty was granted to all who had been con- 
 cerned in the rebellion, and Kagotski received an offer 
 of a free pardon, and the restitution of his confiscated 
 estates, provided he would make submission to the 
 Austrian government; but the proud patriot, disap- 
 pointed at the failure of his enterprise, chose rather to 
 retire into Turkey, where he passed the rest of his life 
 in peaceful obscurity. From this time Hungary has 
 formed a jmrt of the Austrian dominions, and the pre- 
 sent emperor of Austria, is tdso king of Hungary. 
 
 CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF THE 
 
 HUNGARIANS. 
 
 Before the time of Maria Theresa, society in every 
 part of Hungary- was in a very rude state, but that wise 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 243 
 
 princess introduced many reforms, and induced the 
 higher classes to adopt the language and habits of the 
 Germans; but this improvement did not extend beyond 
 the capital, and even now, in many parts of the coun- 
 try, the people are scarcely half civiHsed; they retain 
 strong traces of their eastern origin, and are quite a 
 distinct race from all other Europeans. 
 
 The feudal system still exists in Hungary to a consi- 
 derable extent, all the peasantry being vassals or serfs of 
 the nobles, and incapable of possessing land. No man 
 can be a landlioldcr who is not a noble of the country, 
 but Hungarian nobles are very numerous, because all 
 who are bom of that class, are entitled to the rank of 
 nobility, and as this privilege descends from generation 
 to generation, the number of nobles is frequently in- 
 creasing, and many of them are, in consequence, so poor, 
 that they cannot afford to live much better than peasants; 
 while others are extremely wealthy, and possess exten- 
 sive lands and territories, in various parts of the country. 
 The property of a rich magnate, often consists of thirty 
 or forty different estates in various parts of the king- 
 dom, which are entrusted to the management of stewards, 
 and cultivated by peasants, who are serfs attached to the 
 soil as they were in the feudal times, and who are trans- 
 ferred to a new owner, with the land, like the cattle and 
 sheep that feed upon it. Several attempts have been 
 made to ameUorate the condition of these poor creatures, 
 with a view of emancipating them gradually from the 
 degrading state of bondage in which they are held; but 
 as the magnates would be great losers by freeing their 
 peasants, they oppose every plan for that purpose. 
 
 The power of lords over their vassals was, in some 
 degree, limited by Maria Theresa, who made laws to 
 
244 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 determine what rents and services should be required of 
 them. She fixed the number of days in a year on which 
 they were to labour for their master, to 104, or to 52, 
 if they furnished their own horses and oxen. The 
 tribute to be paid consisted of four fowls, twelve eggs, 
 and a certain quantity of butter, from each tenant; and 
 there were other services, besides agricultural labour, 
 which they were bound to perform, such as spinning 
 wool, carrj'ing loads of timber, mending the roads, keeping 
 the fortifications in repair, and receiving into their houses 
 such soldiers as might be quartered on them; besides 
 all which, they were obliged to pay certain taxes to the 
 government. Such, or nearly such, is the present con- 
 dition of the Hungarian peasantry. 
 
 A law was made in 1835, by which masters were 
 prohibited from inflicting punishment on their vassals at 
 their own discretion, but allowing them to make their 
 complaints to the magistrates, if any misdemeanours 
 were committed ; but this regulation is not very strictly 
 attended to; and as the peasants do not exactly under- 
 stand the nature of the law that was made in their favour, 
 they believe, generally, that it was to emancipate them 
 from slavery, and that they are now unlawfully held in 
 bondage, so that they are very discontented, and it is 
 sometimes necessary to station soldiers among them to 
 prevent a revolt. The greatest landed proprietor in 
 Hungary is Prince Estcrhazy, who possesses immense 
 estates, with a great number of villages upon them, 
 and many thousands of vassals. 
 
 The villages in this country are, generally speaking, 
 collections of mud cottages thatched with straw, de- 
 tached from each other, and standing in two rows, with 
 a wide muddy road between them, and each hovel has 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 245 
 
 usually a small farm yard attached to it, with a certain 
 number of acres of land allotted to each one. 
 
 The appearance of the people is as wild as can well 
 be imagined. They wear short brown coarse cloaks, 
 with hose of the same colour and texture, broad hats, 
 high and pointed, and their long shaggy hair hangs 
 loosely over their shoulders. Their complexions are 
 dark, and they have mostly a moustache on the upper 
 lip; and they carry long poles pointed with iron. The 
 women in the Sclavonian villages wear loose jackets of 
 brown cloth, short woollen petticoats, coloured stockings, 
 and each a handkerchief tied over the head. But there 
 is a great variet>^ of costume, as well as of dialect, among 
 the peasants of Hungary, who appear to consist of several 
 distinct races or tribes of people, all of whom preserve 
 some of their ancient nationalities. In a general de- 
 .cription, however, it is impossible to enter into aU these 
 peculiarities, which is a task belonging to the historian 
 of a larger work than the present, therefore, aU that can 
 be further said with regard to the condition of the poor 
 l^ople in general, is, that they live in feudal servitude, 
 are very poor, and inhabit villages on the lands of their 
 
 masters. . 
 
 The country gentry live something m the manner of 
 the Highland lairds of Scotland, a hundred years since. 
 Their hospitality to strangers is unbounded; and the 
 dues paid by their tenantry supply them with ample 
 means of furnishing a plentiful table. The peasants al- 
 most daily bring their tribute of fowls, milk, eggs, butter, 
 &c • for although each poor famUy has to supply these 
 thii^s once a year, they do not bring them all at once, 
 but at intervds, as they are needed by the proprietor, 
 each of whom, perhaps, has forty or fifty famiUes on his 
 estate. ^ ^ 
 
24^> 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 The sale of wine and meat is a monopoly of the 
 nobles, who set up innkeepers and butchers in the 
 villages on their estates. These dare not sell any wine 
 or meat but that belonging to the lord of the manor, 
 who fixes the price himself, and allows the seller a 
 tenth part of the profit. In some places, an arrangement 
 is made between the lord and the publican, that the 
 latter shall pay the former so much a year for the 
 exclusive privilege of selling wine in some particular 
 village; and as no other wine is then to be had, it 
 is always very bad and very dear; because the 
 vender knows that people must either drink it, and 
 pay the price he chooses to demand, or go without it. 
 Prince Esterhazy furnishes all his inns with his own 
 
 wine. 
 
 The inns in Hungary have so Uttle accommodation 
 for travellers, that when a nobleman has occasion to 
 perform a journey from one part of the country to 
 another, he takes with him beds and bedding, a tram of 
 ser\'ants, and cooking utensils, so that if he stops to 
 dine at an inn, his own cook prepares his dinner. 
 Most of the innkeepers are Jews, who are preferred as 
 men of business to any other people. Almost all the 
 inland trade is in their hands, and is conducted in this 
 manner. A Jew merchant goes round to those gentle- 
 men whose business he is in the habit of transacting at 
 certain seasons of the year, and makes a bargain to take 
 all the wool, com, wine, and other produce he may 
 have to dispose of, at a price that is agreed upon between 
 them. As soon as all these things are ready, they are 
 sent to the merchant at the price stipulated, who haa 
 then to find his own market for them. The wool is 
 generally of a very fine (juidity, most of that which is 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 247 
 
 called Saxony wool, and which is held in such high 
 estimation, being brought from Hungary. 
 
 The timber trade constitutes a great portion of the 
 commerce of Hungar}', and is a monopoly of the 
 Austrian government. In some parts of the country, 
 all the common people are wood cutters, who labour 
 under the superintendence of officers appointed to over- 
 look them. The occupations of the peasantry, of 
 course, differ with the various localities; in some parts, 
 the country is covered with corn fields, or pastures; 
 in others, with vineyards; while in many parts, flax and 
 hemp grow in abundance; so that the people are em- 
 ployed either in ploughing, sowing, and reaping, tending 
 sheep and cattle, dressing the vines, or raising flax, 
 which the women make into linen, both for home 
 consumption, and for sale in the Turkish provinces. 
 
 Tliough Hungary is an agricultural country, it has 
 some few manufactures, as those of woollen and linen, 
 and there are also a few paper-mills. 
 
 Within the last ten years, great improvements have 
 been made in various parts of Hungary, by the patriotic 
 exertions of a highly talented nobleman. Count Szechenyi, 
 who came to England in tlie year 1830, to view some of 
 the public works that were in progress, and to procure 
 artists and mechanics capable of carrying into execution 
 several designs he had formed for the benefit of his 
 countrj'. This gentlemen took back with him some 
 English engineers, and introduced steam navigation on 
 the Danube, over wliich he has also constructed a bridge, 
 to join the town of Pest to that of Buda, the first 
 stationary bridge built across that part of the river; 
 there having been, previously, only a bridge of boats. 
 The count has iJso instituted reading rooms, clubs, and 
 
248 
 
 HUNGARV. 
 
 coffee houses, in all the principal towns, in the manner 
 of those in England; and has had several ball rooms 
 built, all of which are steps towards refining the 
 manners of a people who are not so far advanced in 
 civilisation as their neighbours. 
 
 The habits and manners of the higher classes in 
 Hungary, are very similar to those of the Germans, 
 particularly in Presburg. which may be considered in 
 the light of a German town. The gentlemen all smoke, 
 and this is so general a custom, that pipes are brought 
 in with the coffee after dinner, and are used without 
 scruple, even in the drawing-room. About three o'clock 
 is the fashionable hour for dinner, which is not served in 
 the Enghsh manner, but the wine and fruits are placed 
 on the table, and the meats are handed round by 
 servants, in the splendid uniform of hussars. Tlie 
 fashion of being waited on by domestics in military 
 costume, is so general in the houses of all persons of 
 rank, that even a bishop has a smart moustached hussar 
 
 behind his chair. 
 
 The Catholic priests in Hungary are so famous for 
 their hospitalit>% that no traveller need be distressed for 
 want of a supper or a bed, if he happen to be within 
 reach of one of their habitations. 
 
 A breakfast in Hungary, is not as with us, a social 
 meal, but consists merely of a cup of coffee, and a few 
 sweet cakes, or a piece of dry bread, which every one 
 takes without the ceremony of sitting down to table. 
 
 The dress of the Hungarian nobles is extremely 
 eleo^ant. Their vests are embroidered with gold; their 
 mantles of velvet are lined with fur, and they wear 
 military caps and swords. The ladies dress much in 
 the style which hapixms to be fashionable at Paris or 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 249 
 
 Vienna; for among the great, the fashions of other 
 countries are sure to find their way, and it is only 
 among the peasants, that any thing like a national 
 costume is to be met with. In Croatia, for instance, 
 tlie young women wear a number of short petticoats one 
 over another, with a stiff boddice; and the richer a 
 damsel is, the more petticoats she wears. The peasants 
 in the neighbourhood of Presburg, like those of Austria, 
 are very smart with their blue pantaloons, embroidered 
 jackets, and broad hats ornamented with, flowers and 
 ribbons. 
 
 The country, for some distance around Presburg, 
 abounds in market gardens, supplying the town with fruit 
 and vegetables, which are carried to market by troops of 
 country people, whose singular features and wild cos- 
 tume, tell that they are a different race of the human 
 species from the citizens. The houses at Presburg, 
 except those which have been recently built, are very 
 inconvenient, having no passages; bo that the rooms 
 either open into one another, or are separated by a sort 
 of yard or open court. They are without carpets, and 
 very few are furnished with fire places, as the usual mode 
 of warming apartments is by stoves. All new buildings 
 are of stone, but in the old parts of the town, they are 
 of wood. Tliere are plenty of good shops in the city, 
 and among others, those of the booksellers, where trans- 
 lations of the most popular English works may be obtained. 
 Pest is also a handsome town, with good paved 
 streets, and houses built of white stone. It is a far 
 better and more modern town than Buda, and contains a 
 theatre and an university, where a thousand students 
 are lodged and instructed gratuitously. When a fire 
 happens in Pest, every one is obliged to give assistance ; 
 
250 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 and tlie service to be performed, is regulated in such a 
 manner, tliat every man knows at once what he is to do; 
 thus: the brewers and coachmen are to convey the 
 engines to the spot; the butchers, hatters, and farriers, 
 are to work them; the glaziers are to see that hghts are 
 placed in the windows of all the houses, to hght the 
 streets; some are required to take care of the property 
 removed from such houses as may be in danger; others 
 to fetch water; and, in short, all persons are obliged to 
 exert themselves to put a stop to the calamity. 
 
 Pest and Buda are now considered as one city, forming 
 the present capital of Hungary, and the residence of the 
 Palatine, who represents the king, and presides in the 
 Diet. The shopkeepers of Pest are constantly seen 
 sitting at their doors, smoking, and the streets are filled 
 with carriages, hackney-coaches, and pedestrians of 
 various nations, as Jews, Armenians, Turks, Hunga- 
 rians, and Germans, all walking about in the different 
 costumes of their countries. 
 
 The carnival is held with much gaiety both in Pest 
 and Buda, when there are masqued balls, and all kinds 
 of festivities; and on Easter Monday, there is held on 
 a height called the mountain of Blocksberg, a religious 
 festival, which is something hke a fair, the hill being 
 covered with tables set out with cakes and aJe; peasants 
 being engaged in dancing to the sound of violins and bag- 
 pipes; and all the merriment going forward that is usual 
 on snch an occasion. 
 
 The country around Pest is a sandy plain, with little 
 vegetation, and the sand is sometimes raised by the wind 
 in such large quantities, that it rushes along the streets 
 in a dense cloud, so that the inhabitants arc obhged to 
 keep their windows closed; and even then, it penetrates 
 
 Winliilffnlritffttiimwiirlff' 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 251 
 
 every little crevice, and does great injury to the furniture. 
 Beyond the plain, is an extensive wine district, and one 
 of the prettiest sights witnessed in Hungary, is the 
 gathering in of the vintage, when the peasants decked 
 in their hoUday attire, their heads crowned with vine 
 leaves, flowers, and ribbons, walk round the town in 
 procession, accompanied by a band of music, and carry- 
 ing garlands, from which bunches of grapes are sus- 
 pended. Having made the circuit of the town, they 
 return to the house of the lord of the vineyard, who 
 provides a feast for them, and they finish the day with 
 a dance. 
 
 Hungary has been always infested with banditti, which 
 is scarcely to be wondered at, in a country where the 
 forests and mountains afford them security, and the 
 means of subsistence among the poor are so scarce, that 
 men who feed pigs on the commons in the summer, have 
 no way of living in the winter but by robbery. There was a 
 famous bandit chief, a few years ago, named Sobri, who 
 was known all over the country by his daring exploits, and 
 bore much the same sort of character as our Enghsh 
 Ilobin Hood; but he is now dead, and his bold band is 
 disi)ersed; but it is quite as well for travellers in this 
 country to be provided against a rencontre wuth gentlemen 
 of this profession. Travelling is very disagreeable in Hun- 
 gary, as in most parts, there is no conveyance to be had 
 but a cart or light waggon, drawn by miserable horses, 
 which are harnessed with thin cord. The horses are 
 furnished by the peasantry, under the regulation of the 
 government, as in Sweden; but as these men have very 
 little interest in obliging the traveller, they are often 
 very slow in getting their horses ready for service. 
 
 The scenery in many parts of Hungary is extremely 
 
252 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 picturesque, as the remains of old fortified towns, still 
 bearing traces of the ravages of the Turks, are met with 
 in every direction; and most of the eminences are 
 crowned with the ruins of ancient baroniiU castles, to 
 each of which some romantic legend is attached, that is 
 sure to be told to every stranger; and most of these 
 tales relate to the Holy wars. 
 
 There is a territory on the frontiers of Turkey, 
 extending about five hundred miles, but in no part more 
 than thirty miles in breadth, which forms a barrier 
 between Turkey and Hungar}^ and where the j^eople are 
 governed entirely by military laws. In this border land, 
 oil the men are soldiers, and every ofl[icer is a magistrate. 
 The whole district is divided into fourteen counties, and 
 over each of these is a governor, who is a mihtary 
 officer, and has authority to hold courts of justice, and 
 administer the laws, within his own district. 
 
 All this land belongs to the crown, and the families 
 living on it, are consequently vassals of the emperor; 
 but every man has a farm of his own, which sui)plies 
 him and his family with all the necessaries of life, and 
 instead of paying rent for it, he must help to cul- 
 tivate the lands of the officers, and to keep the roads 
 and fortifications in repair. The women manufacture 
 their cloth and linen from the wool of their sheep, and 
 the flax which they grow, and as they make all the 
 wearing apparel, and have plenty of meat, poultry, milk, 
 and butter, and grow their own com, they have little 
 need of money, which is scarcely ever used among them. 
 All the boys are taught mihtary exercises, and grow up 
 good soldiers, as well as agriculturists. As soon as 
 they reach the age of eighteen, they are Uable to be 
 called on to serve in the Austrian armies, whenever their 
 
 HUNGARY. 
 
 253 
 
 ser\'ice8 may be required, until they are thirty-six; after 
 which time, they remain at home to defend the frontiers; 
 and the officers, whose duty it is to see that they are 
 always in readiness, in case of any sudden emergency, 
 frequently visit each house, and acquaint themselves 
 with the proceedings of all the inmates; so that every 
 individual in this community is obUged to be orderly and 
 well conducted, as any irregularity is sure to be dis- 
 covered and punished. This system was invented by 
 Prince Eugene, at a time when the Turks and Austrians 
 were perpetually at war. 
 
 All along the line, at regular distances, there are 
 fortified posts, where guards are always stationed, the 
 men taking it by turns to perform this service, which is 
 called the outpost duty; w^hile those who are not so 
 engaged, pursue their ordinary labours like other pea- 
 sants. The emperor of Austria has thus a large army 
 at his command, without the expense of maintaining it; 
 and besides these frontier regiments, every landed pro- 
 prietor is obliged to fumish a certain number of soldiers 
 for the Austrian service, who remain in the army fourteen 
 years; when they are at liberty to return to their villages 
 if they choose to do so. Then the free cities are obliged 
 to fumish recruits, and the citizens, although they are 
 not in vassalage, are Hable to have soldiers quartered 
 in their houses; and they also pay taxes which the 
 nobles do not. 
 
 Tliere is a race of people in Hungary, called Tor- 
 pindas, whose origin is supposed to be very ancient, 
 although unknown, and who live in settlements like the 
 gypsies. Here and there, in some sequestered glen, 
 among the hills., may be found a colony of these 
 strange beings, as wild in their habits and appearance. 
 
254 
 
 BOHEMIA. 
 
 I: 
 
 as their rude dwelling places. The men of these trll)e9 
 employ the winter in making nails, or email articles in 
 brass, and when the summer approaches, they sow their 
 seed, and set forth on their wanderings into far countries, 
 to find a market for their wares, leaving the women and 
 children in the settlements, to which they return in time 
 to gather in their little har^'est. lliese people usuaUy 
 pay tribute to some lord, for permission to reside within 
 the precincts of his domain, where they live indei)endent 
 of any government, the affairs of each village or settle- 
 ment being managed by the elders of the tribe. Tor- 
 pindas, as well as gypsies, are found both in Hungary 
 and Bohemia. 
 
 BOHEMIA. 
 
 255 
 
 PRESENT STATE OF BOHEMIA. 
 
 In Bohemia, the people enjoy more freedom than in 
 Hungary, because the nobles have not so many feudal 
 rights, and are more in subjection to the crown. Slowly, 
 therefore, but surely, the condition of the peasantry has. 
 for some years, been improving, and although a large 
 portion of the population are still in vassalage, the 
 government has done much towards their emancipation, 
 by increasing their privileges, and making them less 
 dependent on their feudal lords. 
 
 Bohemia is a fine fertile countr)^ producing abundance 
 of grain of all sorts, as well as tlax, and the finest hops 
 in Europe. It possesses some extensive forests and 
 
 considerable lakes, and is surrounded on all sides by ranges 
 of mountains, which contain silver, copper, iron, tin, 
 coid, and other minerals. The country is divided into 
 sixteen circles, governed by officers appointed annually, 
 and has many good towns beside Prague, which is, 
 however, the only great commercial city in the kingdom. 
 
 With regard to manufactures, Bohemia is far superior 
 to Hungar}'-, for besides its glass, which has long been 
 esteemed the best in the world, it manufactures woollen 
 cloth, linen, cotton, lace, cambric, hats, paper, china, 
 earthenware, and numerous other articles. Most of its 
 manufactories are in a very flourishing condition, and it 
 also possesses large iron foundries in the mining dis- 
 tricts. In the mountainous parts of the country, the 
 people are very generally spinners and weavers, working 
 on their own account; and some years ago, they used to 
 make cottons much superior in quality to those of 
 Manchester and Glasgow; but since the manufactures 
 of those towns have so materially improved, the Bohe- 
 mians have not been able to obtain so good a price for 
 their cottons as they formerly did. 
 
 A great portion of the land in Bohemia consists of 
 manors or lordships, a part of each domain being occu- 
 pied by the proprietor himself, and the rest let out in 
 farms of various sizes to the peasants, who, in place of 
 rent, give a tenth peirt of the produce, and are bound to 
 perform certain services for the lord of the manor, who 
 is usually entitled to three days labour in the week 
 from each tenant, or one day with cattle or horses. 
 
 The dwelling of a Bohemian gentleman is termed a 
 schloss or fortress; and is sometimes a castle, sometimes 
 a large ill -formed house, generally standing in the middle 
 of a field or a village, unadorned with either park or 
 
256 
 
 BOHEMIA. 
 
 gardens, but often having a crop of wheat or rye growing 
 up to its very walls; however, the residences of some of 
 the chief nobles have parks attached to them. Tlie 
 peasants do not, in general, reside on the country lands, 
 but live together in villages, under the jurisdiction of 
 magistrates, elected by themselves, but whose election 
 must be confirmed bv the lord of the manor before they 
 can enter upon their office. 
 
 Some of the villages and small towns, both in Bohe- 
 mia, and the feudal estates in other parts of the Austrian 
 dominions, have charters from the crown, by which they 
 are privileged to hold markets, and have other rights, 
 that make them less dependent on their lords; but as 
 these charters are only granted to towns of a certain 
 size, some of the nobles take care to keep their towns 
 and villages under that size, by refusing to let their 
 peasants build more houses. One great reason of the 
 improving state of the peasantry of Bohemia is, that the 
 nobles of that country pay taxes, which in Hungary 
 they do not; in the latter country, therefore, the whole 
 burthen of taxation falls upon the lower classes, and 
 necessarily keeps them extremely poor. 
 
 Education is provided for in Bohemia, by the estab- 
 lishment of parish schools, to which the peasantry are 
 obliged by law to send their children, between the ages 
 of six and twelve, each paying a small sum weekly to 
 the schoolmaster or mistress, who is allowed a house 
 and garden by the government, free of rent or taxes, 
 with a trilling salary. 
 
 The rehgion of Bohemia is the Catholic, to the 
 exclusion of all other sects, and there are several con- 
 vents at Prague, and in various parts of the country, 
 lieligious processions are very frequent among the pea- 
 
 BOHEMIA. 
 
 257 
 
 santry, who on saints' days, proceed in companies to pay 
 their devotions at some particular shrine; and on these 
 occasions, a priest always walks before them with a 
 crucifix uplifted. 
 
 The houses in the villages are low, dark, and built of 
 wood; but they are generally spacious, in good repair, 
 and most of them have glazed windows. It is very 
 usual for the whole family, or for ten or twelve labouring 
 men at a small inn, to eat their dinner out of a large 
 brown pan, round which they stand or sit, each with a 
 wooden spoon, which is plunged in turn into the dish. 
 Tlie Bohemian peasantry drink a great deal of beer, 
 which is the favourite beverage in all the German states, 
 and eat coarse rye bread, rye being more plentiful than 
 wheat in Bohemia. 
 
 All the people are excessively fond of dancing, from 
 the noble to the meanest peasant; the very cowherds 
 may be seen waltzing to the music of their own voices; 
 and among the middle classes in the towns, it is cus- 
 tomary to have balls in the day-time, and all over the 
 country there are bands of itinerant musicians, to aid 
 the villagers in their holiday festivities. These musicians 
 dress themselves in a kind of military costume, generally 
 somewhat faded and dirty, but make a very gay appear- 
 ance with their swords and feathers, and are always good 
 performers ; for the Bohemians are a musical people, the 
 very lowest classes exhibit great sensibility to the powers 
 of harmony, and often sing the finest airs of Mozart 
 and other celebrated composers, with much taste. The 
 nobility have concerts at their own houses, and the opera 
 at Prague is generally well attended. 
 
 Mozart was a great favourite with the emperor, Joseph 
 the S^econd, who allowed him a salary, tliough not a very 
 
 z 3 
 
258 
 
 BOHEMIA. 
 
 handsome one, for presiding at his concerts. Frederick 
 the Great of Prussia, who was also an enthusiast in 
 music, invited this talented musician to the court of 
 Berlin, offering him a much more liberal remuneration 
 than he received from his imperial patron; but while 
 Mozart was hesitating whether he should accept the 
 flattering in\itation of his Prussian majesty, the emperor 
 sent for him, and said in a kind but rather reproachful 
 tone, •' Mozart, I hear you are going to leave me/' The 
 amiable musician thought no more of liis own pecuniary 
 advantages, but replied, with tears in his eyes, " No, 
 your majesty, I wiU never leave you." His celebrated 
 opera of Don Giovanni was first performed at Prague. 
 
 There are no i)eople in the world who are fonder of 
 marvellous tales than the Bohemians. The common 
 j)eople listen with rapture to old legends relating to the 
 warlike deeds of their ancestors, and know by heart the 
 histories of all their first dukes; and many of them 
 Ijelieve that some of these ancient warriors will, at a 
 future day, awake from their long sleep, to deUver their 
 countr}^ from foreign dominion. 
 
 The gypsey settlements in Bohemia are very similar 
 to those' of the Torpindiia in Hungary, and the two 
 tribes resemble each other so closely in their general 
 h'abits, their vagrant kind of life, and their swarthy 
 complexions, that all the difference seems to consist in 
 their supposed origin. 
 
 On the whole, Bohemia enjoys many greater advan- 
 tages than Hungary, as the country is more ix)pulou9, 
 and has a greater niimber of villages, and a larger 
 portion of manufacturers among its people, while its 
 labouring classes enjoy altogether a greater bliarc of 
 freedom and prosperity. 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 259 
 
 PRESENT STATE OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 The social habits of the Germans vary materially in 
 different parts of the countr}% but the best and happiest 
 state of society is to be found in Austria, where every 
 thing seems to prosper, notwithstanding its despotic 
 government. Commerce, agriculture, arts and manu- 
 factures, all flourish in the Austrian dominions, where 
 there apjHiars to be more of content, and less of real 
 poverty, than in any other part of Europe. 
 
 The constant aim of the Austrian government is to 
 place as much happiness as possible within the reach of 
 the whole population, and for this end, ample means are 
 provided for the enjoyment of all classes, while none 
 need be distressed for want of employment. Every one 
 who visits Austria, speaks of the happy condition of the 
 peasantr}% their comfortable dwellings, their neat 
 ajipearance, and their plentiful boards; and in no other 
 countr}^ are the labouring people more industrious, or 
 more orderly in their general conduct. 
 
 With regard to society among the higher and middle 
 ranks, Vienna differs but very little from London or 
 Paris. The Viennese are well-bred, accomplished, and 
 dehght in music, which forms an essential part of the 
 education of all young people, not only in the capital, 
 but in every part of Germany, and may be called the 
 passion of the Germans. 
 
 Tiie streets uf Vienna arc narrow, and crowded both 
 
 \ TTCTDI A 
 
260 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 with carriages and pedestrians. Tlie shops are as 
 attractive as those of London, and there are many 
 magnificent houses belonging to the nobiht>^ who reside 
 generally within the city, the suburbs being chiefly 
 occupied by manufacturers. In most of the houses there 
 are, however, three things wanting, which in England 
 are essential to comfort, and these are. fire places, 
 carpets, and good beds. The rooms are heated by 
 stoves, the floors parquettcd and pohshed with wax, and 
 lUl the Germans sleep in wooden cribs, cither between 
 two feather beds, or on a mattress with a feather bed 
 upon them, by way of coverlet, which, to those who are 
 not used to it, must be a most uneasy mode of sleeping. 
 The Germans do not commence the day with a sub- 
 stantial breakfast, but are satisfied with a cup of coffee 
 and a small piece of dry bread, which are carried into 
 each person's apartment. The first actual meal is a 
 luncheon, which is taken about eleven o'clock in the 
 forenoon, and the most usual dinner hour is three; for as 
 all public amusements begin cariicr in Germany than 
 they do with us, those who wish to partake of them must 
 dine at an early hour. 
 
 The carnival is a season of festivity at Vienna; and 
 the anniversary of the defeat of the Turks by Sobieski, 
 is commemorated with great rejoicings, and is a grand 
 hoUday among the common i^eople. On this occasion 
 the imperial family and all the chief nobility of both 
 sexes Wcdk in procession to hear mass in the cathedral 
 of St. Stephen, attended by bands of music, and fol- 
 lowed by a train of bishops, priests, and monks; when 
 the streets are lined with guards, and the windows 
 thronged with people in full dress. 
 
 The great public promenade at Vienna, is the Prater, 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 261 
 
 which is crowded every evening, during the summer, with 
 people of all ranks, from the emperor to the humblest 
 of the citizens. Tlie Prater is a park, or rather part 
 of a forest, formed into several broad avenues, which are 
 planted on each side with oaks, chesnut trees, and 
 acacias. Bands of music are stationed there every 
 evening, and on each side of the avenues are refreshment 
 rooms, and shows of various kinds, for the amusement 
 of children. The Prater is the general resort in the 
 evening, and is then thronged with carriages and pedes- 
 trians, and presents a very gay scene. 
 
 On Sundays, according to the custom of Catholic 
 countries, all public places of amusement are open, and 
 there are ball-rooms, and concert- rooms, in the suburbs of 
 Vienna, which are much frequented by the small trades- 
 people and mechanics, who are all lovers of waltzing 
 and music. The higher classes among the citizens, have 
 balls and concerts at their own houses, or go to the 
 opera on Sunday evenings; but all persons, high or low, 
 after they have performed their rehgious duties, devote 
 the remainder of the day to amusement of some kind. 
 
 llie universal contentment that prevails among the 
 mass of the people of Austria may be in some measure 
 owing to the system of pubhc instruction, which is so 
 conducted, that every one is taught to respect the 
 government under which he is to live, and receives an 
 education suitable to the station he is to occupy in 
 society. 
 
 The Austrian farmers are extremely kindhearted and 
 hospitable. Their houses, which are neat, comfortable, 
 and well furnished, are usually two stories high, roofed 
 with tiles, and coloured white, and are ornamented with 
 ^mall gardens in front. Their tables are plentifully 
 
262 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 suppUed, and they drink aUght Uheni.h wine, of which 
 a vast quantity is made in Austria, ahnost all the farmers 
 
 being vine growers. i, , ,u^ 
 
 There is an annual fete held in Austria, called the 
 church wake, which is looked forward to with great 
 deh-ht. by all the young men and maidens of the 
 different villages. On this joyous occasion, the tallest 
 tree in some neighbouring forest is cut down to be made 
 into a pole, and being stripped of its bark, and planed 
 it is crowned with the top of a fir-tree, and decorated 
 with ribbons, gariands, fruits, and flagons of wme. 
 This gay emblem of country life is set up m a meadow, 
 and a bower of branches, hung with coloured festoons, is 
 
 formed around it. 
 
 The festival is held on a Sunday, when all the viU 
 lasers in their best attire, go to church, after which 
 every farm-house is tilled with visitors, who partake of a 
 plentiful dinner, and reimir a second time to mass, 
 Uich is over about three o^clock. Then the young 
 men in the very picturesque costume worn by the 
 Aus^an peasantr)% call at every house in the village 
 to conduct the gaily dressed maidens to the bower they 
 have constructed, where a band is stationed, consisting 
 of ten or twelve excellent musicians. If the lord of the 
 manor, or any distinguished persons hapi)en to be 
 present, they are requested to open the bidl, which they 
 never refuse to do. The waltzing then begms. and 
 lasts till about eleven o'clock at night, by the aid of 
 lamp- suspended from the trees and lighted at sunset. 
 Tlie^e' rural fetes are rendered more attractive by the 
 pretty dresses of the viUage maidens, whose broad 
 hats are gaily ornamented with ribbons and flowers, 
 and whose bright blue stockings. cUid short petticoats. 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 263 
 
 are trimmed with showy ribbons; the dresses of the 
 young men are not less picturesque, as their jackets 
 are handsomely embroidered, and they also wear the 
 large hat, which is so becoming. 
 
 Education in Austria is entirely under the direction of 
 the government. From the prince to the peasant, every 
 one is instructed according to a system regulated by the 
 state, and only such books are used, either in the pubhc 
 schools, or by private tutors, as are authorised by the 
 emperor; and no one who has not been educated within 
 the realm, is privileged to hold any official situation, to 
 carry on any trade, or even to work as a mechanic. 
 Every parish has a school for the instruction of the 
 children of the lower orders in reading, writing, and 
 arithmetic; and there are also upper schools for the 
 sons of tradesmen, who receive such an education as is 
 l)est calculated to fit them for the occupations for which 
 they are intended. 
 
 In all the large towns, there are commercial academies 
 for those who are to be merchants or agriculturists; and 
 there are also universities for the study of the learned 
 professions. All the instruction given is gratuitous, the 
 professors being paid by government, chiefly out of a 
 fund that was raised by the suppression of monasteries, 
 in the time of Joseph the Second, called the educational 
 fund. The same care is taken to provide for the educa- 
 tion of females of all classes, and the higher seminaries 
 are generally conducted by nuns. 
 
 There are a few private schools in the Austrian states, 
 but they are subjected to very strict rules ; nor are the 
 teachers at hberty to use any books but those authorised 
 by the government; and this regulation is also enforced 
 with regard to private tuition. 
 
264 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 265 
 
 The universities of Austria are generally better con- 
 ducted than those of the rest of Germany, and the 
 students are remarkable for their orderly behaviour; a 
 circumstance that may perhaps, in some measure, l)e 
 owing to the half-yearly examinations that take place, 
 when a committee appointed by the emperor to super- 
 intend all affairs connected with the schools, receive a 
 report of the general behaviour and improvement of the 
 students; and as this report may be laid before the 
 emperor, it cannot fail to act as a check upon their con- 
 duct, and a stimulus to their industry. 
 
 The system of public education does not extend to 
 Hungary, nor to the feudd domains in Bohemia and 
 Moravia, although it is pursued in the free towns of the 
 latter countries, and some of the villages. The reason 
 of this is, that the feudal proprietors are of opinion that 
 education would only tend to make the peasants dis- 
 contented with their lot, and therefore is not desirable; 
 but this is a question that admits of much argument on 
 the other side, as many persons think that ignorance 
 cannot be good, under any circumstances. 
 
 Austria abounds in charitable institutions, which have 
 for the most part been established since the suppression 
 of so many of the monasteries by Joseph the Second, 
 when it became necessary to make some provision for 
 the destitute, who used to receive aid at the gates of the 
 numerous cloisters. Poor-houses have therefore been 
 instituted, one in each district, which is supported by 
 voluntary contributions, by fines for trifling offences, by 
 a small tax on all goods sold by auction, and by a 
 collection of money, provisions, and clothing, which is 
 made every month from house to house. There also 
 are great numbers of alms-houses and hospitals for the 
 
 sick; and in almost every town there is a benevolent 
 80ciet>% formed of the wealthiest inhabitants, for the 
 purpose of affording private aid to distressed persons, 
 who have filled a station in life that makes them shrink 
 from soliciting charity. 
 
 The labouring classes among the Austrians are sober, 
 honest, and industrious. A traveller who lately visited 
 Hungary, enquired at an inn yard, whether his luggage 
 was safe there. " O, yes, sir," was the reply, '' they 
 are all Germans here." 
 
 In every part of the Austrian dominions, persons may 
 hold landed property, without any distinction with regard 
 to religion, or station in life. Jews and Christians, 
 noblemen and peasants, all are equally eUgible to become 
 landed proprietors; and females also may hold land 
 independent of their husbands; for when a woman 
 marries, in Austria, her property does not become the 
 property of her husband, but is as much her o^vn as it 
 was before her marriage. 
 
 The nobiUty of Austria consists of several classes, as 
 princes, counts, barons, and the untitled nobles, who are 
 similar to our English gentlemen or esquires; but the 
 emperor can bestow titles at his pleasure; and thus 
 many wealthy bankers, merchants, and manufacturers, 
 some of them of the Jewish religion, have obtained 
 titles of nobihty. 
 
 The royal family of Austria are distinguished by their 
 unostentatious manners, their domestic habits, and the 
 j)ersonal exertions they make to promote the welfare of 
 all classes of their subjects. They are the founders and 
 liberal patrons of literary institutions, agricultural so- 
 cieties, and arts and sciences of every kind. On certain 
 days, the emperor gives audience to any of his subjects 
 
 A a 
 
 I 
 
266 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 AUSTRIA, 
 
 267 
 
 i 
 
 who may have complamts to address to him; a custom 
 that made the late emperor extremely popular; and on 
 these days, it is not at all uncommon for a farmer who 
 lives at a great distance, to jump into his cart, and drive 
 away to the capital, to make known to the emperor some 
 injustice which he has experienced ; and if the case be 
 really one in which the complainant has suffered wrong, 
 the grievance is sure to be redressed. Instances have 
 even been known of simple-hearted countrymen pre- 
 senting themselves before the sovereign to ask advice 
 concerning their own affairs, as in the purchase of land, 
 the marriage of a daughter, or any other matter of great 
 importance to themselves; nor has the good sovereign 
 ever refused to listen to such applications, or to give his 
 counsel in the kindest manner. 
 
 Yet, with all this, the Austrian government is very 
 arbitrary; for instance, no subject, let his rank be what 
 it may, has the liberty of leaving the kingdom without a 
 passport, which, in some cases, is refused; so that an 
 Austrian gentleman cannot take a trip to England or 
 France, whenever he pleases, but must first have the 
 emperor's permission; which, as I said before, is not 
 always granted. 
 
 The emperor also monopoUzes some of the most lucra- 
 tive branches of trade, particularly the sale of tobacco 
 and salt, which can only be sold, at a fixed price, by per- 
 sons appointed by government. The monopoly of tobacco 
 does not extend to Hungary, where that plant is exten- 
 sively cultivated; but in the Austrian part of Germany, 
 it may only be manufactured at the royal factories, and 
 sold by the government agents, who are estabUshed in 
 every town and village. Smoking is a universal habit, the 
 sale of tobacco, therefore, yields an immense revenue; but 
 
 
 as its growth and manufacture are free in Hungary, large 
 quantities are smuggled into Austria from that country. 
 The monopoly of salt extends to every part of the 
 Austrian dominions, and is a tax which is more seriously 
 felt by the poorer classes, than that of tobacco, because 
 salt is an absolute necessary of life, whereas tobacco is a 
 mere luxury. Salt is obtained mostly from the mines in 
 GalHcia, Transylvania, northern Hungary, and the 
 Tyrol, which all belong to the crown; and indeed, 
 whenever a mine of rock salt is discovered, it immediately 
 becomes royal property. 
 
 Within the last twenty years, agriculture has greatly 
 improved in all the Austrian states, and the rearing of 
 sheep is very carefully attended to ; which is the reason 
 that the wool of Saxony, Hungary, and other parts of 
 Germany, is so fine, and makes such beautiful cloth. 
 
 The formation of railroads in Germany has been of 
 considerable advantage to the different states, by faci- 
 litating the intercourse between them. The first railway 
 opened, was from Lintz, the capital of Upper Austria, to 
 Budweiss, a city of Bohemia, on the river Moldau, and 
 its object was to form a communication between the 
 Danube and the Elbe. A second extends from Vienna 
 to Raab, the great corn market of Hungary; and others 
 are finished, or are in progress towards completion, 
 'llie Austrians have some very clever engineers, and 
 there is an academy at Vienna, expressly for the educa- 
 tion of young men intended for the engineering pro- 
 fession. 
 
 Hamburg is still, as it always has been, the principal 
 trading town in Germany, and is the same old-fashioned 
 city, which I described as existing in the reign of Maria 
 Theresa, and the inhabitants are still as fond of their 
 
268 
 
 SAXONY. 
 
 SAXONY. 
 
 269 
 
 little formal gardens, as they were in the last century. 
 Hamburg ranks among the first commercial cities in 
 Europe; its whole population are actively engaged in 
 trade, and connected with shipping. A great many 
 English merchants, with their families, reside there; and 
 owing to that circumstance, and the constant intercourse 
 with this country, the English language is veiy generally 
 spoken in Hamburg. 
 
 PRESENT STATE OF SAXONY. 
 
 The state of society in Saxony has been greatly 
 altered since the revolution in 1830. when the present 
 free constitution was granted to the people. All the 
 Saxon towns are now municipiUities, that is, they 
 elect magistrates, and make their own laws for their 
 internal government. Municipal laws are distinct from 
 the general laws of a kingdom or empire. They are 
 made by the inhabitants, or by the magistrates, of a town 
 or village, for the regulation of that particular place, 
 without reference to any other, and should be beneficial 
 to the people, inasmuch as they are adapted to the local 
 circumstances of the to>^Ti or village for which they are 
 made, and for which the general laws of the empire 
 cannot always provide. 
 
 The middle classes in Saxony are not fond of display, 
 either in their houses, equipages, or their tables. Many 
 families, as in Paris and Edinburgh, instead of occupymg 
 
 a whole house, live in flats, that is, on floors, each of 
 which usually contains a number of apartments. The 
 rooms are plainly furnished, and never carpeted; wliich, 
 to English travellers, who have been accustomed to the 
 luxury of good warm carpets, has a very comfortless 
 appearance. 
 
 The Saxons keep ver>' few sen^ants, and never give 
 great entertainments although they are as fond of 
 society as any other people in the world; but they meet 
 together, not so much for the purpose of eating and 
 drinking, as for that of enjoying the more refined 
 pleasures of music and dancing, in which they all 
 
 excel. 
 
 Music is cultivated in Germany with a degree of 
 enthusiasm unknown elsewhere; almost every indivi- 
 dual plays on some instrument, and nearly every family 
 belongs to some musical society, the members of which 
 meet at each other's houses in the evening, to play in 
 concert; and as these soirees involve no expense, they 
 may be enjoyed by every one without inconvenience. 
 Even at a ball, the only refreshments expected, are a 
 cup of coflfee, or a glass of lemonade. 
 
 Dresden is the principal towTi of Saxony, and there 
 the distinctions between the diflferent grades of society 
 are very punctiliously observ^ed, none associating with 
 persons inferior to themselves in point of rank. Dresden 
 is the residence of the king, and as a matter of course, 
 of all the fashionables of Saxony. It is full of good 
 shops of every description, which are well frequented 
 during the fashionable season; but from May to 
 October the town is very dull, as all who can aflford to 
 do so, leave it, that they may repair to the watering 
 places, or their country residences. 
 
 A a3 
 
270 
 
 SAXONY. 
 
 SAXONY. 
 
 271 
 
 The high roads in Saxony are all very good, and 
 rail- road travelling is becoming general there as well aj* 
 in Austria. All the land in Saxony is cultivated, so 
 that there are no commons or waste grounds, and the 
 fine fruit trees that often border both sides of the high- 
 way are private property, and are watched all day when 
 the fruit is ripe, that it may not be touched by the 
 
 passers by. 
 
 The Saxons are not so livek a people as the Austrian? , 
 compared with whom they would aj)i)ear rather slower 
 and more deliberate in their movements. The practice 
 of smoking is universal among them; and in society, 
 the men generally separate themselves from the women, 
 who may be seen chatting together in little groups at 
 one end of the room, while the mule part of the com- 
 pany are enjoying their cigars and convcrsution at the 
 other; and the same fashion prevails in the public 
 gardens, the favourite resort of all the people of Dresden , 
 on a Sunday evening, where the ladic*^ walk about, 
 enjoying the music, unattended by tlieir cigar-loving 
 knights, who, however, in thus conforming to the 
 custom of their country> are not, a» wc may suppose, 
 deficient in gallantry, upon other occosionu. 
 
 The Sabbath is not very strictly observed in Saxony. 
 as the people not only amuse themsclvc)* on that day, 
 but the lower orders frequently pursue their U8uul 
 avocations. Some of the games of the countrj- people 
 resemble those of England in the olden time, particularly 
 the shooting matches, which are held at stated eeasons, 
 when the \illagers and to^\'nspeoplc aMcmble to try 
 their skill at shooting at a wooden jKipiujay^ ^ . d 
 
 in the air. The shooters are generally dressed in bome 
 fantastic manner, and walk in procc«ioo, preceded hy a 
 
 
 m 
 
 band of music, to the place appointed for the trial; and 
 he who exhibits the greatest dexterity is called captain 
 for the day, which always concludes with a dance, either 
 in a temporary booth, erected for the occasion, or in the 
 ball-room of the nearest inn. 
 
 The peasant women of Saxony, like those of Bohemia, 
 are accustomed to hard labour, such as digging in the 
 fields, and carrying very heavy loads; and being exposed 
 to all kinds of weather, they are seldom good-looking; 
 but the females of the higher classes are generally 
 remarkable for the beauty of their complexions, and 
 their fair hair. 
 
 In Saxony, the chief institution for education is the 
 university of Leipsic, but there are common free schools 
 for the poor, in every purijtl), and d«5\>end large 8ch«xilt 
 for the higher bninchcs of cduculioo, fcnioded out of the 
 funds of supprcj^scd inouualerieN. The DoMeeof Sozooy 
 still enjoy bome feudal j)rivilcgc», aud tlieie nrc tiall 
 «crt8 on the feudal domains, in 8ome parts of the countrr. 
 The manufacture)? are very coni^idcmUo; linen u^e^vii^, 
 and cotton if])inning, iu-e curried <m iu nearly all tbe 
 villages, and woollen Mtiiffn are miamifiMtuied in olnoet 
 every town. 
 
 A universal euBtom j)rovailb in Saxony, wliicb in iihu 
 very general in Austria mid many other ]Xijrt5 of Cm 
 many, for young inen. sifter thoy have saved their 
 »Pl)ienticeBhi])» to thdr several trades, to go on their 
 travels, for the piirpo^ of leunun^ aoiaeUiiii^ of ibe 
 commerce and maaufacUires of other countries, imd of 
 gaining improvement in their onu partioalar bffAnchea of 
 iu-t. A young (icrman mechanic, before he ^'^k f of 
 bediming businew for hiisfdC Mta forth on foot from 
 hU nati\^ village, with a pack at hi* bach, filed with 
 
272 
 
 SAXONY. 
 
 articles of merchandise, the produce of his own industry, 
 on the sale of which he depends, as a provision for his 
 journey. Now and then he obtains employment for a 
 few days in the towns and villages through which he 
 passes, and is thus supphed with small sums of money 
 which enable him to proceed. 
 
 'lliese travelling mechanics are constantly met with 
 in Bohemia, the different German states, Denmark, 
 France, and even in Italy; and after hanng spent two 
 or three years thus in the pursuit of knowledge, they 
 return to their native villages with the store of informa- 
 tion they have acquired, and are thus better fitted for 
 commencing business on their own account. This prac- 
 tice is common in every part of Germany, and German 
 tradesmen and mechanics have consequently a more 
 practical knowledge of trade generally, than most people 
 of the same class in other countries. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 DKAV AND MONOAY, PRIVTERS, 
 THRKAPXKSDLl-XTRBBT. 
 
 THE 
 
 HISTORICAL LIBRARY, 
 
 FOR 
 
 YOUNG PERSONS, SCHOOLS, 
 AND FAMILIES, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "QUESTIONS ON THE HISTORY OF" EUROPE, A SEQUEL 
 TO MANGNALL'S HISTORICAL QUESTIONS," ETC. 
 
 ON THE FIRST OF JUNE, 1941, WILL BE PUBLISHED, THE FIRST 
 
 PART OF THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE TURKISH EMPIRE. 
 
 INCLUDING SYRIA,— AND PALESTINE, OR THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 With superior Engravings on Steel. 
 
 THE VOLUMES ALREADY PUBLISHED ARE: 
 
 I. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF FRANCE. 
 
 Embellished with three beautiful Engravings on Steel, 
 and a Map of the Country. 2s. 6d. bound. 
 
 II. 
 
 HISTORIES OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 
 
 With three fine Engravings on Steel, and a Map, 
 
 2s. 6d. bound. 
 
III. 
 
 HISTORY OF ENGLAND AND WALES. 
 
 With five beautiful Engravings on Steel, and a Map. 
 
 3s. 6d. bend. 
 
 IV. 
 
 HISTORY OF IRELAND. 
 
 With three fine Engravings on Steel, and a Map. 
 
 2s. 6d. bound. 
 
 V. 
 
 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Embellished with three fine Engravings on Steel, and 
 
 a Map. 2s. 6d. bound. 
 
 VI. 
 
 HISTORY OF DENMARK, SWEDEN, AND NORWAY. 
 
 With two beautiful Engravings on Steel, and a Map. 
 
 2s. 6d. bound. 
 
 VII. 
 
 HISTORY OF GERMANY. 
 
 With three beautiful Engravings on Steel, and a Map. 
 
 3s. 6d. bound. 
 
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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 
 
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