LIBRARY 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY 
 OF F. VON BOSCHAN 
 
UCSB LIBRARY 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 AUSTRIA 
 
FKANCIS JOSEPH, EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA, AND THE EMPRESS. 
 THE PALACE OF LUXEMBURG. 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 A U S T E I A, 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 EARLIEST AGES TO THE PRESENT TIME. 
 
 REV. ALFRED H. NEW, 
 
 AUTHOR OP " THE COBONET AND THE CROSS," " THE VOICE OF THE 
 BIBLE TO THE AGE." &C. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JAMES BLACKWOOD, PATEENOSTEE EOW. 
 
 [THE EIGHT op TEANSLATIOS is EESEBVED.] 
 
UA-LZIKL, BBOTHEfijs, CAMDKN PEE88, LONDON. 
 
 ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN the following pages the author has endeavoured to 
 present to the English reader a connected History of the 
 Austrian dominions. Three great events mark it off into 
 as many distinct periods. In the first, he has rapidly 
 penned the events of its ancient history down to the 
 establishment of the vast empire of Charlemagne ; in the 
 second, he has briefly narrated its struggles in the middle 
 ages down to the reign of Maximilian I. ; and in the third, 
 he has delineated, with an increasing fulness of detail, the 
 modern History of Austria to the commencement of the 
 present Italian war. His aim has been to compress the 
 whole within the limits of a single volume, whose price 
 and size shall attract the general reader ; and at the same 
 time to detail the events with sufficient minuteness to 
 render its perusal interesting and instructive. 
 
 The Austrian empire occupies one of the most important 
 positions on the continent of Europe. Its situation gives 
 to it considerable political power; and its natural advan- 
 tages might secure for it great commercial importance. It 
 enjoys almost every variety of climate, and could produce 
 within its own territories most articles of commerce. Its 
 mines are rich in the precious and other metals, and 
 minerals, and with greater skill and more capital might be 
 extensively worked. Its forests contain the finest oak- 
 trees in Europe; its Lombardian plains furnish large 
 
VI PKEFACr. 
 
 quantities of silk, rice, and pasture ; its Bohemian fields 
 are fragrant with hops and flax ; and its Hungarian 
 vineyards furnish a rich aromatic wine. 
 
 It is to be regretted that this fine country has been 
 blighted and its prosperity destroyed by the disaffection of 
 its inhabitants, and the tyranny of its rulers. The animosity 
 arising from difference of race and religion is most powerful ; 
 and the empire is ever threatened with commotion arising 
 from the mutual hatred of the German, Sclavonic, Finnish, 
 and other races. This hatred, instead of being allayed by 
 a conciliatory policy, is increased by the intolerant adminis- 
 tration of the imperial ruler. The principle of government 
 is a centralised, despotic autocracy; the constitutional 
 liberty, under which each race long remained as happy and 
 as loyal as a subject race can be, has been completely 
 destroyed; promises of freedom and the restoration of 
 ancient privileges have been repeatedly made and broken ; 
 and disaffection is engendered by the oppressive and unequal 
 rule of Jesuitical dogmatism. 
 
 "With a population of thirty -eight million persons, an 
 army of five hundred thousand soldiers, a revenue of two 
 hundred and fifty million florins, a small navy to protect the 
 commerce of the Adriatic, a country whose resources are 
 not half developed, and a position which gives importance 
 in the balance of European power, Austria might be a 
 great, powerful, and splendid empire, whose friendship 
 would be courted and her enmity deprecated, and whose 
 throne, firmly planted on constitutional freedom and equity, 
 would be resplendent with the talents of an illustrious 
 house, and the genius and industry of free, enlightened, 
 and contented subjects. "Will the Hapsburg dynasty ever 
 give up its traditionary policy and realise such an empire ? 
 
 A. H. K 
 July 20th, 1859. 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 PART I. 
 
 EARLY AGES. 
 
 CHAFFER I. 
 AUSTRIA UNDER THE ROMANS. FOURTH CENTURY B.C. AD. 476. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Description of the Ancient Germans. The Senones, Boii, 
 Cimbri, and Teutones. The Roman provinces. The Ale- 
 manni. Alaric, king of the Goths. The Franks. Attila, 
 chief of the Huns. Fall of the Roman Empire . . .17 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 AUSTRIA UNDER THE GOTHS AND FRANKS. A.D. 476-814. 
 
 Theodoric the Great. Clovis, king of the Franks. The kingdom 
 of Austrasia. Brunehilda. Pepin, the Austrasian mayor. 
 Charles Martell. King Pepin. Extinction of the Merovin- 
 gian kings. Charlemagne. His Saxon's wars, coronation, 
 empire, and character. Establishment of western empire . 26 
 
 PART II. 
 
 MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 THE CARLOVINGIAN DYNASTY. A.D. 814-911. 
 
 The division of the empire. Louis the Pious. Louis the 
 German. Charles the Fat. Arnulf, duke of Bavaria. Louis. 
 The Hungarians ........ 35 
 
V1U CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 THE SAXON DYNASTY. A.D. 911-1024. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Conrad I. Henry the Fowler ; his conquests, reforms, institu- 
 tion of knights. The Hungarian war. The imperial crown 
 declared elective. Condition of Austria. Otho I. ; his 
 appearance ; family quarrels ; his contests with the Hunga- 
 rians and the popes ; his character. Otho II. ; defeated by 
 the Saracens. Otho HI. Austria given to Count Leopold. 
 Henry II. State of Germany under the Saxon dynasty . 37 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 THE FRANCONIAN DYNASTY. A.D. 1024-1137. 
 
 Conrad II. The foundation of Styria. Henry III. The Hun- 
 garian war, The contest for the papal throne. Henry IV. 
 Hildebrand. The civil contests in the empire. Henry 
 excommunicated by Gregory VIII. His journey to Rome. 
 The Crusades. The death of the emperor. Henry V. 
 The division of the empire. Lothar. Increasing power of 
 Austria 42 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 THE SWABIAN DYNASTY. A.D. 1137-1250. 
 
 Conrad III. The faction of the Guelphs and Ghibelines. The 
 Crusades of Conrad. Frederick I. Barbarossa ; his Italian 
 war ; marriage with Beatrice ; his second Italian war ; the 
 fall of Milan. Third Italian war. Henry the Lion. Fourth 
 Italian war. Grand diet at Mentz. The crusade of Frederick; 
 his death and character. Leopold of Austria. Captivity of 
 Richard Coeur de Lion in Austria. Henry VI. ; his ambitious 
 designs. Philip crowned emperor. Civil war with Otho. 
 Otho IV. ; his quarrels with the princes. Frederick II. ; his 
 crusade. His son usurps the crown, and is imprisoned. The 
 increasing power of Frederick, duke of Austria. The Tartar 
 invasion. Frederick excommunicated by the pope. Henry 
 Raspe usurps the crown. Deatli and character of Frederick 48 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE INTERREGNUM. A.U. 1250-1273. 
 Conrad IV. Manfred. Conradin. Ottocar, king of Bohemia. 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Contests in the free cities, The state of the empire. The 
 internal administration. The popes and the clergy. The 
 condition of the free cities. Commerce, fine arts, architec- 
 ture, literature, &c 61 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 THE PAPAL AUTHORITY. A.D. 1273-1411. 
 
 (1) Rudolph of Hapsburg ; his power ; contests with Ottocar ; 
 battle of Marchfield; reforms; death, and character. (2) 
 Adolphus of Nassau ; his contests with Albert for the crown. 
 Albert of Austria ; his wars in Germany and Bohemia. 
 His Swiss dominions ; death and character. (3) Hemy VII. ; 
 secures Bohemia for his son. His Italian war. (4) Louis 
 of Bavaria ; contests with Austria ; Frederick, duke of Austria, 
 taken prisoner by Louis. The power of Austria. State of 
 the empire. (5) Charles IV. of Luxemburg; contests of 
 Albert of Austria with the Swiss. The Golden bull. 
 Charles crowned at Rome. Austria gains the Tyrol ; her 
 contests in Italy ; gains Trieste. (6) Wenceslaus and Rupert. 
 The Swiss wars with Austria. The cruelty of Wenceslaus ; 
 his deposition ; his contests with Rupert. The state of the 
 empire .*....*... 67 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 DECLINE or THE PAPAL POWEB. A.D. 1411-1493. 
 
 (1) Sigismund; the Council of Constance ; the Bohemian 
 reformation ; John Huss ; the Hussite wars ; Albert of Austria 
 declared his successor. (2) Albert II. ; elected emperor ; his 
 reforms. The progress of the Turks. (3) Frederick III. ; 
 Ladislaus Posthumus, king of Bohemia, Hungary, and arch- 
 duke of Austria ; the schism of the Church. The Swiss 
 wars. Coronation of Frederick at Rome. Struggles in 
 Bohemia. Invasion of the Turks. Death of Ladislaus. 
 Frederick loses part of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. 
 Attempt to depose him. Turks ravage Austria. Matthias 
 king of Hungary invades Austria. The Burgundian wars. 
 Anne of Brittany. Maximilian king of the Romans. The 
 death and character of Frederick 86 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 ODERN HISTORY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 MAXIMILIAN I. A.D. 1493-1519. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The state of Europe at his accession. The Italian wars. The 
 freedom of the Swiss. Conquest of Milan and Naples. 
 Bavarian war. Philip, king of Castille. The league of Cam- 
 bray. Venetian wars. The administrative reforms of 
 
 i. His death and character . 105 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 CHAKLES V. A.D. 1519-1558. 
 
 The Reformation. Luther. Accession of Charles. Diet of 
 Worms. Fanatical proceedings of the Anabaptists. The 
 Italian wars. Ferdinand of Austria elected king of Bohemia. 
 His contests with John Zapoli for Hungary. The Turks. 
 The protest of the reformers. The diet at Augsburg . . 117 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 CHARLES V. (CONTINUED). A.D. 1532-1558. 
 
 The invasion of the Turks. The Hungarian war. The treaty 
 of Crespi. Religious war. Capture of the Elector of 
 Saxony, and the Landgrave of Hesse. Contests of Ferdinand 
 in Bohemia. The Interim. Defection of Maurice. The 
 peace of Passau. Abdication of Charles. Death and 
 character . . 128 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 FERDINAND I. A.D. 1558-1564. 
 Breaks off the dependency of the crown on Rome. Spread of 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Protestantism. Last council of Trent. The death, character, 
 and reforms of Ferdinand .... . 138 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 MAXIMILIAN II. A.D. 1564-1576. 
 
 His policy, and toleration. Hungarian war. Opposition of 
 Calvinists and Lutherans. William of Grumback. Demands 
 of the Teutonic knights. Massacre of Protestants in France. 
 War in the Netherlands. Death and character of Maximilian 14:2 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 RUDOLPH LT. A.D. 1576-1612. 
 
 The Reformed ; Jesuits. Intolerance of Rudolph at Vienna. 
 Book of Concord. Gerard, elector of Cologne. Contests in 
 Strasburg. Alliance of Heidelberg. Aulic council. 
 Donawerth. Croatia. Ravages of the Turks. Transylva- 
 nia. Incompetency of Rudolph. Matthias secures Austria, 
 Hungary, and Moravia, and is crowned in Bohemia. 
 Character of Rudolph 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MATTHIAS. A.D. 1612-1619. 
 
 The resistance of the diet. Contests in the Palatinate, Aix la 
 Chapelle, and Juliers and Cleves. Ferdinand of Styria 
 crowned King of Bohemia. Count Thurn. Thirty Years' 
 War. Intolerance of Ferdinand. Death and character of 
 Matthias ... .159 
 
 CHAPTER VEIL 
 FERDINAND II. 1619-1637. 
 
 Invasion of Vienna. Deposition of Ferdinand from Bohemia, 
 and election of Frederick, prince Palatine. Battle of Prague. 
 Flight of Frederick. Christian, king of Denmark, invades 
 Germany. Wallenstein. Death of Mansfeld. Edict of 
 Restitution. The dismissal of Wallenstein . . 165 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 FERDINAND II. (CONTINUED). A.D. 1630-1637. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Gustavus Adolphus. Siege and sack of Magdeburg. Battle of 
 Leipzic. Progress of Gustavus. Death of Tilly. 
 Wallenstein re-called. Battle of Liitzen Death of Gustavus 
 and Frederick ex-king of Bohemia. Duke of Weimar directs 
 the Swedish troops. Assassination of Wallenstein. Swedes 
 defeated at Nordlingen. Death and character of Ferdinand . 175 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 FERDINAND III. A.D. 1637-1657. 
 
 Progress of Hostilities. The emperor at Ratisbon. Battle of 
 Breitenfeld. Ragotsky, prince of Transylvania. Defeat of 
 Zusmarshausen. Siege of Prague. Peace of Westphalia ; 
 its terms. Character of Ferdinand. Condition of the nation 
 during the Reformation. The emperor, princes, diet, court, 
 laws, army, free cities, peasantry. The church; the pope, 
 Jesuits, Catholic worship. Protestants. The state of 
 learning, science, fine arts, &c 186 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 LEOPOLD I. A.D. 1657-1705. 
 
 The Swedish war. Invasion of the Turks in Hungary. Triple 
 Alliance. Peace of Nimcguen. Louis XIV. Grand Alliance 
 against France. Progress of hostilities. Treaty of Ryswick 199 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 LEOPOLD I. (CONTINUED). 1657-1705. 
 
 State of Hungary. Invasion of Turks. -John Sobicski delivers 
 Vienna. Hungarian freedom extinguished. Peace of 
 Carlowitz. The Spanish succession. Philip secures the. 
 croMii of Spain. The Italian campaign. Grand Alliance. 
 Progress of hostilities. Battle ol Blenheim. Death and 
 character of Leopold 270 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 JOSEPH I. A.D. 1705-1711. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 War of the Spanish succession. Battle of Ramillies. Siege of 
 Turin. Battles of Oudenarde and Malplaquet. Defeat of 
 Charles in Spain. Insurrection of Ragotsky in Hungary. 
 Character of Joseph 218 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 CHARLES VI. A.D. 1711-1740. 
 
 Peace of Utrecht. Turkish war. Grand alliance. Pragmatic 
 Sanction. Salzburg peasantry. Poknd. Treaty of Vienna. 
 Peace of Belgrade. Death of Charles. State of Austria 226 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 CHAIILES VII. (OF BAVARIA). A.D. 1741-1745. 
 
 Maria Theresa. Frederick the Great. Silesian war. Battle of 
 Molwitz. The Queen in Hungary. Bavaria ravaged. War 
 of the Austrian succession. Death of Charles . . . 239 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 FRANCIS I. (OF LORRAINE). A.D. 1745-1765, 
 
 Disasters of the Austrians. Peace of Dresden. Treaty of 
 Aix la Chapelle. Internal administration of MariaTheresa. 
 The Seven Years' War. Siege of Prague. Battles of 
 Rosbach, Breslau, Hochkirchen, Cunersdorf, Torgau. Treaty 
 of Hubertsberg. Death and character of Francis . .244 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 JOSEPH II. A.D. 1765-1790. 
 
 The reforms of Maria Theresa. Partition of Poland. The 
 French alliance. Austria claims Bavaria. The death and 
 character of Maria Theresa. Joseph's reforms. Death of 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Frederick the Great. Turkish war. French revolution. 
 Troubles in the Netherlands and Hungary. Death and 
 character of Joseph ........ 257 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 LEOPOLD II. A.D. 1790-1792. 
 
 The critical position of Austria. Peace of Szistova. Austria, 
 Bohemia, and Hungary pacified. The Netherlands. State 
 of France. Character of Leopold 269 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 FRANCIS II. A.D. 1792-1806. 
 
 War with France. Partition of Poland, Campaign of 1796. 
 Treaty of Campo Formio. Congress of Rastadt. Second 
 war with France. Alpine campaign. Bonaparte. Battle 
 of Marengo. Peace of Lunevflle. Bonaparte made em- 
 peror. Francis takes the imperial dignity in Austria. War 
 with the French empire. Capture of Vienna. Austerlitz. 
 Peace of Presburg. Dissolution of the Germanic empire . 274 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 FBANCIS I., EMPEROR or AUSTRIA. A.D. 1806-1835. 
 
 Second war with the French empire. Capitulation of Vienna. 
 Battles of Aspern and Wagram. Treaty of Vienna. 
 Archduchess Maria Louisa. State bankruptcy of Austria. 
 Northern coalition against France. Battles of Dresden and 
 Leipzic. Invasion of France Abdication of Napoleon. 
 His return and defeat at Waterloo. Vienna congress. 
 Internal condition of Austria. Death and character of 
 Francis . 289 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 FERDINAND I. or AUSTRIA. A.D. 1835-1848. 
 Crowned King of Hungary and Lombardy. Turkish war. 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 Insurrection in Gallicia. Affairs of Italy. Revolution in 
 Vienna. Bombardment of Prague. New constitution of 
 Hungary. Lombardo- Venetian war. Might of the royal 
 family. Bombardment of Vienna. Abdication of Ferdinand 303 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 FRANCIS JOSEPH I. OF AUSTRIA. A.D. 1848-1859, 
 
 His proclamation, Invasion of Hungary. Defeat of the 
 Austrians. Hungarian independence. Fall of Venice. 
 General Haynau subdues Hungary. His atrocious ven- 
 geance. Condition of Austria. Prussia seeks the Pre- 
 sidency of Germanic Diet. Attempt to assassinate the 
 emperor. The Russian war, Concordat with Rome. State 
 of Italy. Origin of the Italian war, Conclusion. . . 318 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 THE EARLY AGES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 AUSTRIA UNDER THE ROMANS. IV. CENT. B.C. A.D. 476. 
 
 WHILE Rome was struggling with her various foes, and gaining 
 great power and importance by the numerous and rich domains she 
 added to her empire, there was a territory beyond the Alps, 
 slumbering in peaceful oblivion, which was to exert no slight 
 influence on the destiny of the imperial city. Long before Germany 
 was known to the Romans, different tribes of barbarians had spread 
 themselves over the wild regions which were separated from the 
 peaceful plains of Italy by the Alps. Vast forests of oak stretched 
 from one part of the land to the other, where trees of a gigantic size 
 entwined their branches, and formed such a dense barrier, that 
 scarcely a summer's ray penetrated the mass, and dispelled the gloom 
 beneath. Lofty ranges of mountains created great diversity in the 
 scenery ; sometimes rising in sublime majesty, with rocky peaks or 
 snow-clad tops ; sometimes waving with the forests which covered 
 their sides, and afforded shelter to the buffalo, elk, bear, wolf, and 
 wild boar ; and occasionally forming delightful valleys, clothed with 
 verdure, where a few rude huts and flocks of cattle indicated the 
 residence of a tribe. No town or city then relieved the monotony ; 
 no bridge crossed the streams which rolled their waters through 
 fertile plains ; no road pointed out the constant intercourse of tribe 
 with tribe. Nursed in the solitude of nature, and hardened by the 
 toil of the forest, the ancient German roved from place to place, as 
 often as the necessaries 01 life were required. 
 
 We enter not into the maze of antiquities to consider the question, 
 Who were the first inhabitants that occupied these regions? 
 Whether they were descended from ^Eneas, who wandered from 
 Troy, or whether they belonged to the eastern tribes, which were 
 constantly migrating westward ? Any one who is curious about 
 
 B 
 
18 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 these particulars, and also about the early changes of these tribes in 
 name and locality, can see the whole profusely and elaborately 
 treated by the German historians ; who, Avith a patience and research 
 one cannot but praise, havo tried to rescue from the dreams of fables 
 the first inhabitants of their native land. We may, however, remark, 
 that Tacitus mentions Thuisko, who is reported to have sprung out of 
 the earth, as the common ancestor of the German tribes ; and that 
 Gaupp has sought to refer all the tribes to two distinct sources, the 
 Suevi and the Non-Suevi ; that under the first he includes the Suevi, 
 Alemanni, Bavarians, Burgundians, Goths, Alani, Vandals, and 
 Gepidae, while' under the second he places the Franks, Saxons, 
 Lombards, Thuringians, and Friedlanders ; and that the chief dis- 
 tinction between them appears to be, that the Suevi were shepherds, 
 and roved about in great masses, while the Non-Suevi had settled 
 dwellings, and practised husbandry. 
 
 The ancient inhabitants were remarkable for their strength, their 
 bravery, and their unquenchable love of freedom. Clothed in the 
 rough skins of beasts, they braved the storms which swept over 
 frozen tracts, and were nerved for predatory excursions, or inter- 
 necine war. Their manners were rude, yet simple ; their laws few, 
 but rigorous ; their hospitality generous and free ; and their social 
 virtues dignified by a sense of honour, chastity, and love. They 
 cherished a manly independence in all their tribes the despot never 
 flourished for a moment, nor were the chains of tyranny ever forged 
 among them. They were strangers to fear, except that of dying by 
 disease ; and would rush with the rapidity of a torrent upon their 
 enemies, resolved either to drive them before them, like chaff before 
 the wind, or to die as heroes on the battle-field. They selected 
 their judge in the time of peace, who rigorously dealt out justice 
 to all ; and when war threatened them, they met in a free assembly, 
 and chose the most renowned warrior as their chief. They bound 
 themselves by a solemn oath to his person ; if he died, they were 
 too happy to share his fate ; but if victorious, they gloried in his 
 achievement, and participated in his triumph. Their courage in war 
 was sustained by their religious faith ; for their fancy pictured the 
 Walkyren, or heavenly maidens, hovering over the field of battle, 
 and selecting the expiring heroes as the companions of their joys in 
 Paradise. They worshipped many gods, among whom Wodan, Odin, 
 Thor, and Freya, were conspicuous ; while they peopled the springs 
 and lakes, the forests and caves, with innumerable nymphs and 
 fairies. The groves were their temples ; horses, and on rare perilous 
 occasions human victims, their sacrifices ; and small cakes and 
 treasures their votive offerings. Occasionally the top of a mountain 
 was selected as their place of worship, where they might behold 
 the rising sun, and hail the approach of the great parent of light 
 and heat. Their faith was strengthened and their courage aroused 
 by the varied strains of their bards, who, when seated around their 
 hearths, chanted the glories of Odin's heavenly palace, where the 
 heroes revelled in celestial pleasures ; and who pronounced, with 
 holy frenzy on the field of battle, the exploits of past ages, and 
 
TJXDER THE ROMANS. 19 
 
 thrilled the assembled hosts with enthusiasm to follow the example 
 of their ancestors. The captives of war became slaves to the con- 
 querors, were treated with kindness, and not unfrequently pre- 
 sented with their freedom, when one tribe overran another, and 
 took possession of the fresh territory. They generally performed 
 all the acts of tillage, as the women attended to domestic conr-erns ; 
 while the German, in time of peace, indulged his slothful pro- 
 pensities, which contrasted strangely with his lierceness in time of 
 Avar. Gambling was a prevailing vice ; and Tacitus relates, that, in 
 the height of excitement, they would stake all their property, and 
 even their persons, and quietly submit to be sold into slavery if the 
 throw of the dice were against them. They were also noted 
 drunkards ; and drank beer and mead with such avidity, tha'fc they 
 soon rolled in a beastly intoxication. Such were the denizens of 
 these wild regions, before the light of civilisation broke in upon 
 them, and before the elevating principles of Christianity raised them 
 in their social and religious condition. 
 
 It was not long before some of these fierce tribes were brought 
 into contact with the Roman legions. The Senones and the Boii, 
 occupying respectively the districts of modern Swabia and Bavaria, 
 were induced to leave their rough districts for the sunny south. In 
 the fourth century B.C., a carpenter brought to them some grapes 
 and fruit from the plains of Italy. Their desire for the possession 
 of such a territory was aroused ; and selecting Brenuus for their 
 leader, they poured their vast hordes into the plains, and swept 
 everything before them. The Romans, despising the barbarians, 
 requested them to withdraw, were defeated within eleven miles of 
 their city, and soon beheld with terror the enemy before the gates of 
 their capital. The tribes burst into the city, which they found deso- 
 late and solitary, and repaired to the senate-house, where the priests 
 and aged patricians had retired. Superstitious awe pervaded each 
 party, until one of the Germans stroked the beard of an aged priest, 
 and was struck in return by his ivory sceptre. This was the signal 
 for the massacre of the senators. Tne capitolwas saved by Manilas, 
 Avho was at the point of purchasing peace, when Camillus advanced 
 with a Roman army, defeated the barbarians, and almost annihilated 
 them. Some of these tribes settled in the north of Italy, where 
 they struggled for a long time with the Romans, until, after uniting 
 with Hannibal, and participating in his successes, they were obliged 
 to retire into the mountainous districts of the Alps, where they were 
 exterminated by the Romans, B.C. 191. In the third century B.C., a 
 part of the Senones and the Boii united with other tribes and 
 migrated eastward, where some perished in attempting to carry off 
 the treasures of the temple at Delphi; while others crossed the 
 Hellespont, spread themselves over the plains of Asia Minor, and 
 founded the Galatian empire. The greater part of these were Boii ; 
 and when the crusaders passed through Galatia, they were surprised 
 at recognising traces of the Bavarian manners and accent among the 
 people. 
 
 As time rolled on, fresh hordes arrived from the north, and 
 
21 HISTORY OF AVSTBIA. 
 
 inundated the southern districts. Tribe constantly waged war with 
 tribe ; and the custom of sending forth the young when any district 
 liecame too scanty to supply their wants, occasioned the "frequent 
 appearance of large bodies of warriors and settlers, migrating to 
 some spot which would repay their conquest and furnish them with 
 supplies. In the second century B.C., the Cimbri and the Teutones 
 appeared in the south of the Danube, and, swelling their ranks as 
 they advanced by additions from other tribes, they passed the Alps, 
 and roved over the south of Gaul and Spain, defeating the Roman 
 armies which were sent out to oppose them. They at length sepa- 
 rated ; the Cimbri, passing through the Tyrol, inarched into the 
 plains of Italy, while the Teutones were opposed by Marius, the 
 lloman consul. A bloody and decisive battle, which lasted two days, 
 was fought near Aix, in which the Romans were victorious. The 
 slaughter of the Teutones was terrific ; their king was taken captive ; 
 and their women, when they saw all was lost, heroically killed their 
 children and themselves, rather than fall into the hands of the 
 victors. The Cimbri, ignorant of the fate of their companions, 
 inarched through the Alpine passes, frightened the lloman army, 
 under Catulus, sent to oppose them, and spread themselves over the 
 rich and fertile plains about Verona, where they awaited the arrival 
 of the Teutones, before they ventured to appear at the imperial 
 city. Instead of their brethren, they were surprised by the arrival 
 of Marius with his victorious troops. The two armies encountered 
 each other on the 30th of July, B.C. 101. A thick fog concealed 
 the movements of the enemy, and the llomans were for some time 
 in a most perilous situation, when suddenly the sun burst forth and 
 dispersed the mist ; the invincible legions threw the barbarian ranks 
 into confusion; Bojorix, with 90,000 of his followers, fell on the 
 battle-field, while 00,000 remained as captives of war, and were 
 scattered over the country as slaves. These slaves afterwards nearly 
 overthrew the lloman constitution, when, rising under Spartacitt, 
 they carried on for three years a most determined and desolating 
 warfare. 
 
 In the Gallic war, Ciosar frequently came into contact with the. 
 German tribes, which had at first been invited to the assistance of 
 the Gauls, and afterwards settled in vast numbers in their country. 
 The arms of Home were very speedily turned against the barbarians 
 themselves, and before the Christian sera dawned upon the world, 
 the tribes to the south of the Danube were subdued, and the districts 
 incorporated into the lloman Empire. Some, more heroic than 
 others, especially those occupying the Alpine mountains, preferred 
 death to the sway of the conquerors, while riot a few tribes were 
 : ; racted by the splendour, or subdued by the terror, of the lloman 
 name. A vast change gradually crept over these provinces. German 
 minces resorted to Rome, and became initiated into the luxury and 
 effeminacy which reigned there, while their warriors were induced, 
 by presents and promises, to enroll themselves in the imperial army. 
 From this time, German mercenaries became an important portion of 
 the troops, and contributed, by their courage and daring, to procure 
 
tINDER THE ROMANS. 21 
 
 those splendid victories which distinguished the arms of the mistress 
 of the world. Roman colonies were also planted in these tributary 
 provinces, and civilisation and order introduced. Cities sprang up 
 amid the desolate plains ; roads facilitated the transport of commerce ; 
 fortresses reared their frowning heights in important passes, and bid 
 defiance to the wild attacks of the half-savage tribes which still 
 migrated from the north. It was not, however, without severe 
 struggles that their liberty was torn from them. Frequently, when 
 the oppression of Rome was severe, they rose en masse, and gave vent 
 to their infuriated feelings by exterminating the foreigners. Varus, 
 the Roman governor, with a picked army of 30,000 men, was unsus- 
 pectingly leu into wild forests and mountain passes, and thrown into 
 consternation by the rapid descent of Armin, chief of the Cherusci, 
 who swept over the army with such overwhelming power, that few 
 escaped to convey the mournful tidings. 
 
 Six years after this, A.D. 14, Germanicus was sent out with a 
 powerful force to avenge the death of Varus, subdue Germany, and 
 annex it to Rome. He sailed up the Ems, and assisted by two 
 auxiliary armies, marched to the scene of the defeat of Varus. 
 Scarcely had he buried the bones of the Roman legions, and entered 
 into a narrow valley, than Armin, with his troops, rushed upon him, 
 threw his army into utter confusion, and forced him to retire to his 
 ships with great slaughter. Again he attempted the conquest, and 
 gained a few slight victories, but the Germans, aroused by their 
 defeats, once more collected their forces, and gave battle to tho 
 Roman army. The conflict was of a most deadly nature ; night 
 alone separated the combatants ; the forces of each were so shattered 
 that neither could renew the fight in the morning, and Germanicus 
 was olliged to return to Rome without accomplishing his object. 
 
 In the south, a successful attempt was made to unite several tribes 
 under one leader. Marbod united the Sueyi, the Roii, and other 
 tribes, and conducted them to the fertile regions of Bohemia, where 
 they were joined by the Getee, and were known by the name of the 
 Marcomanni. He ruled over them with despotic sway ; but when he 
 attempted to extend his dominions, other tribes united against him 
 under Armin, and forced him to retreat to his territory, where his 
 despotism so enraged his subjects that they chose a Goth for their 
 king, and obliged Marbod to flee to Rome. The fame of Armiu had 
 spread through the land. He had saved his country in the time of 
 war, but now that peace was diffusing her blessings, his enemies 
 aroused among his people the suspicion that he was treading in the 
 steps of Marbod, and aiming at the sovereignty. Soon after he was 
 cruelly murdered. 
 
 Discord quickly sprang up among the various German tribes, which 
 warred against each other with such fierceness, that several were 
 exterminated. The Tlomans beheld these feuds with complacency. 
 Tacitus records their deeds with pleasure, but cannot restrain the 
 patriotic exclamation, " May dissension ever reign among the 
 Germans, and thus prevent the danger with which they threaten 
 Rome." The Marcomanni, in particular, were disunited ; part 
 
22 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 elected a new king ; and part united themselves to the Quadi, who 
 occupied Moravia, and settled in the district of Pannonia, which was 
 then unoccupied. During the contest at Rome for the Imperial 
 dignity, Germany was left to itself: but under the warlike Trajan, 
 and his successor, Hadrian, the frontiers were fonned into provinces, 
 defended by fortresses, adorned with cities, and civilised by the com- 
 merce and intercourse of foreigners. The principal provinces formed 
 were four Rhcetia, extending from the sources of the Rhine and 
 Danube to Salzburg, of which Augusta Vindelicorum (Augsburg) 
 was the capital; Noricum, to the east of Rhoetia, where Salzburg 
 and Lintz were situated; Pannonia, extending towards Hungary, of 
 which the chief town was Vindobona (Vienna) ; and Moesia, which 
 stretched to the mouths of the Danube. 
 
 The mighty empire of Rome soon began to give indications of 
 decay. Her citizens, enervated by luxury, no longer marched into 
 the field with resolute valour ; and their place was supplied by mer- 
 cenaries and allies, who did not possess the patriotism which had 
 rendered the legions invincible. The petty tribes of Germany 
 gradually disappeared ; and henceforth we meet with the Alemanni, 
 Goths, Franks, and Saxons. The devastations of war were rapidly 
 remedied by peace; and soon the population increased in such 
 numbers, that fresh inundations rolled, like some mountain wave, 
 from the north and interior of Germany, towards the Roman 
 provinces. The Marcomanni, the Quadi, Goths, and Vandals, 
 appeared on the shores of the Adriatic, and laid siege to Aquileia ; 
 but the arrival of Marcus Aurelius, the emperor, with a large army, 
 caused them to retreat beyond the Danube, whither they were 
 followed by the emperor, and forced to sue for ^eace. The 
 Alemanni, a powerful body, composed, as their name indicates, of 
 "all men," spread desolation over the Roman provinces, and engaged 
 the imperial armies for more than a century. They fought chiefly 
 on horseback ; and were accompanied by a body of infantry, so swift 
 that they could follow the charges of their cavalry, and retire with 
 them in retreat. They roved over the Alpine regions ; carried on 
 their ravages in Gaul, as well as in the Italian cities, and, after 
 suffering many defeats, settled down in Helvetia. They were 
 defeated by Clovis, king of the Franks, were banished from the parts 
 of Gaul they had invaded, and acknowledged the sovereignty 01 the 
 Merovingian kings. 
 
 We now come into contact with a race of men who were more 
 susceptible of the influence of civilisation than those already noticed, 
 and who gave a severe shock to the Roman empire. When the 
 Goths resided in the rear of the Marcommauni, they cast their 
 longing eyes on the salubrious plains of Italy, and even proposed an 
 at lack on Rome ; but a violent storm, bursting over their assembly, 
 killed three of their chiefs, and prevented the accomplishment of 
 their scheme. In the third century, they invaded Moesia with a 
 powerful host, defeated the Emperor Decius, who endeavoured to 
 oppose them, and ravaged the country round. Three tinier these 
 hordes crossed the Black Sea, destroyed the cities of Asia Minor, 
 
UNDER THE ROMANS. 23 
 
 'burnt to the ground the famous Nicsea and Nicomedia, and 
 returned laden with the rich spoils of their plundering excursions. 
 In A.D. 267, they visited Greece, and left the desolating marks of 
 their visit in the magnificent cities which were overthrown. The 
 splendour of Athens stayed not their rude assaults ; the wonders 
 of its art, and the beauty of its architecture, arrested not their pro- 
 gress ; and the superb collection of books would have disappeared in 
 a vast conflagration, had not an aged man appealed to them witli 
 the plea, "that, as long as they used their pens with so much 
 diligence, they would never understand the use of their swords." 
 They were, however, checked in their ravages by the Emperor 
 Aurelian, and were subsequently taken into the service of the 
 empire, when the HCAV capital reared its towers on the banks of the 
 Bosphorus. Their contact with Rome was of great utility to them 
 in affecting their religious belief. Several of the captives they had 
 taken were Christians, who spread their religion wherever they 
 went ; while those Goths who were received as mercenaries, adopted 
 the Christian religion, which Constantino had embraced as the 
 religion of the Roman empire. The most formidable of their 
 chieftains was Alaric, a descendant of the noble race of Balti, who 
 had been brought up in the military school of Theodosrus, where he 
 acquired that knowledge of arms and tactics which enabled him to 
 withstand and overcome the Roman legions. The empire of Theo- 
 dosius had been divided ; Arcadius fixing his seat at Constantinople, 
 Honorius at Ravenna. A bitter jealousy sprung up between the 
 rival empires, and Alaric took advantage of it to promote his own 
 interests. Honorius sent his general, Stilicho, to oppose him, by 
 whom, however, he was permitted to retire into Illyria; and soon 
 after an edict was published at Constantinople which conferred 
 upon him the dignity of master-general of that province. He 
 employed his new power in providing arms and shields for his 
 troops, who testified their gratitude, according to their custom, by 
 raising him upon a shield, and proclaiming him king of the Goths. 
 He resolved to invade the western empire ; collected his allies, the 
 Alemanni ; shook the walls of Aquileia, and appeared before the 
 royal palace at Milan. Fear seized the heart of Honorius and his 
 courtiers, and the plan of flight was even arranged ; when Stilicho 
 begged them to delay it for a short time, and he would free them 
 from their enemies. All the auxiliary troops were gathered, and 
 the garrisons from the frontiers withdrawn; but before he could 
 oppose the progress of Alaric, the weak emperor had fled, and 
 been nearly captured by the Goths. Alaric, however, was forced to 
 retreat to the Alps, after suffering many defeats. By a treaty with 
 Houorius, he was subsequently made master-general of the Roman 
 army in Illyricum ; but, after the death of Stilicho, he again invaded 
 Italy for the purpose of seizing Rome, the possession of which, he 
 thought, would secure to him the whole of Italy. The city was 
 besieged by his troops ; fear soon succeeded to the indignation the 
 citizens felt when first they saw the Goths ; famine and plague 
 ravaged the streets, and decimated the people; and, at length, a 
 
24 HISTORY OF AUSTIU.V. 
 
 / 
 
 large ransom purchased the safety of the city. Alaric marched 
 to Ravenna, where the emperor and his court were, but, failing to 
 reduce it, he returned to Rome, and wreaked his vengeance by 
 procuring the entire surrender of the city. He placed on the throne 
 Attains, the prefect of the city; but, exasperated by his wretched 
 administration, he degraded him from his rank, and sent the ensigns 
 of royalty to the emperor. The indignities of the court of Ravenna 
 brought Alaric before the gates of Rome for the third time. At 
 midnight, the Salarian gate was silently opened, and the city given 
 up to the fury of the barbarian hosts. The streets were soon filled 
 with dead, and the houses plundered of everything valuable ; while 
 the flames, which rose from the burning piles, cast their lurid glare. 
 on the scene of carnage, and revealed the terrible massacre and 
 pillage Avhich had taken place. The conqueror rapidly passed to the 
 south of Italy, and his design of invading Sicily was frustrated 
 only by his death, which took place, after a short illness, A.D. 410. 
 
 The Franks had gradually been extending their dominions and 
 increasing their power. Composed of the different tribes which 
 dwelt near the Lower Rhine and the Weser, they were united by 
 their love of freedom, and by mutual advantage, and displayed their 
 bravery in many successful exploits. They had swept over vast 
 tracts of Gaul, plundered the most flourishing parts of Spain, and 
 created great astonishment by their appearance in Africa. Though 
 often defeated, and treacherously dealt with, by Roman generals, 
 they rendered great assistance to the Emperor Constautine in 
 vanquishing his opponent, Licinius, and by their subsequent alliances. 
 They were kept in check by the presence of the Roman legions in 
 the provinces ; but when these were withdrawn by Stilicho, for the 
 defence of the western empire, they rapidly pressed forward in their 
 conquests. A portion of them, named the Salii, rose to great power, 
 and emulated the Goths by selecting a chief who should rival the 
 splendour and fame of Alaric. They drew up the charter of their 
 rights and liberties, which formed the basis of the great Salic law, 
 and raised Faramund to the throne, after he had sworn to govern 
 them according to its provisions. He was sxicceeded by Chlodis, 
 from whose successor, Merowig, sprang the Merovingian kings, a 
 race remarkable for their long flaxen hair, which hung in flowing 
 ringlets over their shoulders ; their lofty stature, beautiful blue eyes, 
 strength, and courage. 
 
 The whole of the" provinces were now swept by that " scourge of 
 God," Attila, the chief of the Huns. These fierce savages passed 
 from the immense steppes of Asia, westward, in search of pasturage. 
 Their appearance was of a most frightful description ; short in stature, 
 and sallow in countenance, their pigmy features were set off by long 
 black hair which streamed behind them as they swiftly whirled along 
 on horseback, and sent terror into the heart of their opponents, who 
 regarded them more as a race of demons than a race of men. Their 
 progress was like that of an army of locusts ; scarcely anything 
 could resist their terrible fierceness. They at length fixed their 
 kingdom in Hungary ; and, when Attila ascended the tlirone in his 
 
TXDER THE ROMANS. 25 
 
 wooden palace, it embraced not only the Huns, but also the Ostro- 
 Germaii tribes. The eastern empire first suffered from his ravages ; 
 Constantinople was saved by a large ransom, but Greece was laid waste 
 by his merciless hordes. He then txirned to the west, swept over 
 the different districts of Germany, and united them under his sway. 
 " He alone," says Gibbon, " among the conquerors of ancient and 
 modem times, united the two mighty kingdoms of Germany and 
 Scythia. Thuringia, which stretched beyond its actual limits as far 
 as the Danube, was in the number of his provinces ; he interposed, 
 with the weight of a poxverful neighbour, in the domestic affairs of 
 the Franks ; and one of his lieutenants chastised, and almost exter- 
 minated, the Burgundians of the Rhine. The renowned Ardaric, 
 King of the Gepidse, was the faithful and sagacious counsellor of the 
 monarch, who esteemed his intrepid genius, whilst he loved the mild 
 and discreet virtues of the noble Walamir, King of the Ostrogoths." 
 His progress was for a time arrested by the combined efforts of the 
 Romans, Pranks, and Visigoths, whose union was broken up by 
 jealousy as soon as the common foe had retired. Being invited 
 to Rome by Honoria, the sister of the emperor, whom he had de- 
 manded in marriage, he invaded Italy, and appeared in sight of the 
 city, whence he was induced to retire by the presence of the Roman 
 pontiff, Leo, who went forth in sacerdotal state to meet the rude 
 foe. He soon after met with his death, either by bursting a blood 
 vessel, or by the hand of a beautiful maid, Ildico, whom he had 
 added to his numerous wives, and was buried with great pomp and 
 curious ceremonies by his valiant warriors, A.D. 453. 
 
 He was no sooner dead than his vast kingdom was torn into 
 factions; Ardaric, king of the Gepidse, seized the seat of govern- 
 ment ; Pannonia was occupied by the Ostrogoths ; and the Huns 
 were forced to retire beyond the Black Sea. 
 
 The last shadows of Roman power and glory were now fast 
 receding. The empire had been so severely shaken by external foes 
 and internal commotions, that she tottered on the verge of ruin. 
 Her fields had been swept by the Goths, and scarcely had fertility 
 and prosperity reappeared, ere her plains and cities were plundered 
 by the fierce Huns. Carthage, her finest African province, had 
 fallen to the Vandals, under Genseric ; the seas were ploughed by 
 his ships, and Rome for fourteen days beheld her remaining treasure 
 carried off by these barbarians. A succession of weak emperors 
 occupied the throne ; an army of confederates, composed of German 
 youth, kept them in awe ; and, by the influence of Orestes, a power- 
 ful Pannonian, who had been secretary to Attila, Augustulus, the 
 last emperor of the west, was adorned with the purple ; but, after 
 an inglorious reign of nine years, he signed his abdication; and 
 Odoacer, who had raised himself from a wandering life in ISforicum 
 to the dignity of general of the army of confederates, was proclaimed 
 the king of Italy, A.D. 476. Thus was tiie mistress of the world 
 humbled before the power, which, eight centuries before, she had 
 despised. When the proud legions first encountered the savage 
 tribes of Germany, they little thought that the spark of freedom, 
 
26 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 which they attempted to extinguish, would blaze even in their city, 
 or that the patriotism which then nerved their arm would vanish 
 through the intoxication of conquest and glory. They trusted too 
 much in their own prowess, and underrated the power of their foes ; 
 they placed themselves in opposition to the law of progress which 
 silently was working its way ; and, after vainly endeavouring to 
 retain their position, long ai'ter their strength was gone, they fell 
 before the youthful energy of a power, which was just emerging out 
 of the ranks of barbarism into those of order and civilisation. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 AUSTRIA TTNDER THE GOTHS AND FRANKS. A.D. 47C-S14. 
 
 THE title of emperor of the west was abolished by Odoacer, who 
 sent an ambassage to Constantinople, and delivered up to the 
 Emperor Zeno the imperial ensigns, the sacred ornaments of the 
 throne and palace. His prudence, his valour, and the success of his 
 .arms, however, did little to remedy the distress of the Roman 
 people, among whom famine and pestilence had made such havoc, 
 that flourishing districts were depopulated, and stirring cities almost 
 reduced to silence. After a reign of fourteen years, he was forced to 
 yield to the superior power of Theodoric the Great, king of the 
 Ostrogoths, by whom he was thrice defeated in the open iield, and 
 at length obliged to surrender himself with the city of Ravenna, 
 where he had sustained a siege for three years. He was invited to a 
 splendid banquet, and was stabbed by the hand, or at least by the 
 order of Theodoric, who was proclaimed by his victorious army the 
 King of Italy A.D. 493. This great prince united the bravery of 
 the hero with the wisdom of the statesman, and by his efforts re- 
 stored tranquillity to the Roman kingdom. He assigned lands to 
 his brave troops, who were distinguished from the Romans by 
 religion, customs, and employments. While he allowed his Gothic 
 subjects a measure of their ancient liberty, he wisely blended the 
 authority of the Roman constitution with his own, and sought to 
 conceal the sterner qualities of the barbarian in the more polished 
 refinements of the Roman. His court at Ravenna was adorned with 
 the eloquence of Cassiodorus, his minister and historian, and the 
 virtue of the philosophic Boetius. Although brought up in the 
 Arian faith, to which most of the Goths adhered, he tolerated the 
 Catholics, and assisted in settling their disputes respecting the 
 occupancy of the chair of St. Peter ; though when they abused their 
 liberty, by venting their rage on the defenceless Jews, he inflicted 
 severe punishment upon them. Towards the close of his reign he 
 -experienced the stings of ingratitude, and the disastrous effects of 
 
TJNDER THE GOTUS JLKD FRANKS. 27 
 
 suspicion and jealousy. He murdered the eloquent Boetius, whose 
 learning and talents had been consecrated to the welfare of his 
 citizens ; and the next year caused the blood of the aged senator, 
 Symmachus, to be shed, who was grieving over the loss of his son- 
 in-law. His own last days were full of trouble ; and it is related 
 that one evening, when the head of a large fish was served on the 
 table, he declared he beheld in it the angry countenance of Sym- 
 machus. He left the festive scene and retired to his chamber, where, 
 after suffering the most intense anguish, he expired. His reign was 
 remarkable for the attempt to unite the various states of Germany 
 in one common union. The fame of his prowess accomplished much, 
 and the marriage of his daughters to German kings was sanctioned 
 to cement the union ; but his efforts were rendered unavailing by 
 the jealousy of Clovis, the king of the Franks; and the German 
 tribes were again a prey to discord. 
 
 Childeric, the son of Merowig, and the father of Clovis, had been 
 driven from his throne by his subjects, and had sought refuge with 
 the King of the Thuringians, where he earned on intrigues with the 
 wife of his host. When he was restored to his crown, she preferred 
 the beauty of her lover to the sterner virtues of her husband, fled to 
 his arms, and became his wife. Clovis was the issue of this mar- 
 riage, who ascended the throne at the age of fifteen, when he indulged 
 his ambition and bravery by securing the conquest of Gaul. He 
 atttacked Siagrius, who still maintained an independent Roman 
 government there, and obtained a decisive victory over him. The 
 .Alemanni viewed with jealousy and alarm the progress of Clovis, and 
 the introduction of the feudal system among the provinces, and 
 united to attack the Franks. A fierce battle ensued, the ranks of 
 Clovis were broken, and the Alemanni rushed impetuously upon their 
 foes witli shouts of victory. The bravery, and it is added, tne piety, 
 of Clovis restored order and secured victory to his troops. He 
 appealed at the moment of danger to the God of the Christians, and 
 vowed to serve Him if he were victorious. Remigius, bishop of 
 Rheims, prepared him for the sacred rite of baptism, and the cere- 
 mony was performed with all the pomp and splendour which could 
 be secured. Three thousand of his subjects shared in the rite on 
 that solemn occasion; the enthusiasm spread rapidly through his 
 dominions ; the people rushed down in vast numbers to the baptis- 
 mal font, while tne eloquence of the bishop so excited the mind of 
 Clovis, that when he heard the story of the crucifixion of Christ, he 
 exclaimed with vehemence, " Had I been present at the head of my 
 valiant Franks, I would have revenged His injuries." His wife, 
 Clotilda, had long professed the Christian religion. She was a niece 
 of Gundebald, king of Burgundy, and in her maidenhood had retired 
 to a nunnery. The fame of her beauty reached the ears of Clovis, 
 who despatched a trusty servant to make known to her his affection. 
 Aureliau approached the nunnery disguised as a beggar, and when 
 the royal maid came to wash his feet, he dropped the king's ring into 
 the water, and declared his message. She joyfully accepted the 
 proposal, and soon after set out to the king ; and as she passed along, 
 
28 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 revenged the murder of her father, by burning the dwellings of the 
 Burgundians. She stirred up Clevis against them, but they occupied 
 so strong a position, that he was contented with receiving the oath 
 of their allegiance. He turned his arms against the Visigoths, but 
 was unable to subdue them, and proceeded into Brittany, which he 
 subdued. The name of Gaul now disappears from history, and that 
 of Trance appears. Rich lands were given to his faithful followers, 
 liis Antrustiones, who formed an order of nobles, by whom the feudal 
 system was brought into extensive operation. The spoils of the 
 field were collected after battle, and equally divided among the 
 soldiers, on which occasions the strictest justice was exercised. 
 Prudent in peace, valorous in war, inexorable in justice, and affable 
 in spirit, Clovis, after a reign of thirty years, was cut off in the 
 prime of his life, and in the midst of his victories, A.D. 511. 
 
 Five-and-twenty years later, Ihe monarchy of France was recog- 
 nised by the Emperor Justinian ; the royal diadem adorned the head, 
 and the purple robes the person of the monarch; and the Merovin- 
 gian kings swayed the most powerful sceptre in the west of Europe. 
 Instead, however, of forming one firm monarchy, Clovis divided 
 France into four kingdoms ; the largest, named Austrasia,* of which 
 Mentz was the capital, was bestowed on Theodoric, his eldest son ; 
 Neustria, with Orleans as its capital, was given to Chlodomir, while 
 Childebert reigned as king of Paris, and Chlotar at Soissons. There 
 was still a tie which rendered them dependent upon each other, 
 though Austrasia and Neustria were afterwards distinguished by 
 their manners, the former adhering to the ancient German customs, 
 while the latter adopted those of Rome. 
 
 Theodoric embraced every opportunity of extending his sway. 
 The Thuringians had been divided into three provinces, ruled by the 
 three sons of Bisinus, one of whom, Hermanfried, seized the posses- 
 sions of his brother, and, to strengthen himself against the other, 
 sought the alliance of Theodoric. Refusing, however, to share the 
 gain with him, he was defeated in a battle with the king of Austrasia, 
 and shortly after met with his death. Theodoric invited him to 
 Zulpich, where, whilst engaged in conversation with him on the 
 castle walls on which they were walking, he suddenly pushed him, 
 as if by accident, down the precipice. Thuringia then became 
 tributary to the Australian monarch. Theodoric was succeeded by 
 his son Theodebert, a powerful and warlike prince, who extended the 
 renown of his arms through Italy, and even to Constantinople. 
 
 The Goths and the Romans were at deadly feud, the Arian and 
 the Catholic clergy viewed each other with bitter hatred; and 
 Justinian sent his renowned general, Belisarius, in answer to the 
 supplication of the Romans, to establish his imperial sway in the 
 west. Vitigis, who had been placed on the throne by the Goths, 
 beheld with alarm the progress of Belisarius, sought alliance with 
 the Alemanni and the Burgundians, and attacked Rome, where the 
 
 Austria (Oiterreich) means Eastern Kingdom, and was applied to ths east 
 of the Merovingian Kingdom. 
 
TJNDEK, THE GOTHS AKD 1'RANKS. 29 
 
 general had been received with joy, but was forced to retire before 
 the superior skill of Belisarius. Theodebert had been simultaneously 
 solicited by the Greeks and Romans to render them assistance, but 
 declined ; when, however, the Goths resolved to chastise Milan for 
 revolting to the Romans, 10,000 Burgundians united with them. 
 The city was taken after an obstinate siege, 300,000 of its inhabitants 
 slain, the walls levelled to the ground, and the women and spoils 
 given to the Burgundians. Encouraged by this success, Theodebert 
 marched with 100,000 warriors into the plains of Italy. Seated on 
 liorseback, and surrounded by a few chosen followers, he conducted 
 this vast body of infantry, armed with a shield, a sword, and a 
 double-edged battle-axe, across the Po, and attacked at the same 
 time the camps of the Goths and the Romans. Fear induced both 
 to flee and leave the fertile plains and defenceless cities to the bar- 
 barians. Pestilence soon broke out among the troops, famine 
 prostrated many, and the rest were clamorous for their homes. 
 Their ravages did not excite among the Romans such horror as when 
 they offered a sacrifice of women and children to the river god, and 
 threw the bodies into the Po. Theodebert retired to his kingdom, 
 and, while hunting in the German forests, was overthrown and slain 
 by a wild bull, lie was succeeded by Theobald, a weak and inactive 
 prince. 
 
 The history of the Merovingian kings is distinguished by their 
 intestine feuds, and their notorious crimes. Brother conspired 
 against brother, and for fear of treachery, murdered their relations ; 
 while they allowed avarice to rule their actions, and to snatch each 
 other's possessions. Sigebert, son of Chlotar, succeeded to the 
 kingdom of Austrasia, and Chilperic reigned at Soissons. The latter 
 attempted to surprise the former ; but was resisted by the faithful 
 Austrasian subjects. Sigebert became king of Paris; but, soon 
 after his accession, was murdered by assassins in the pay of 
 Chilperic, who seized his queen, and drove out the Austrasians. 
 Her son Childebert was saved by a trusty servant, who concealed 
 him in a game-bag, and fled with him to Austrasia ; where he was 
 proclaimed king by the nobles. The queen, Brunehilda, was 
 rescued from prison and death by Morowic, the son of Chilperic, 
 who married her, and fled to Austrasia. The great vassals of the 
 crown refused to receive him, and he was obliged to return t:P 
 Neiistria, where he was slain. The queen was at length enabled to 
 form a party among the vassals, by which she was placed at the 
 head of affairs. 
 
 The Longobards, a Danish tribe, had migrated from the north, 
 and settled in the northern part of Italy, where they afterwards 
 founded the kingdom of Lombardy. Many and fierce were the 
 struggles in which they engaged before they were permitted to 
 occupy the fair plains ; and, with others, Brunehilda marched against 
 them, and gained great success. This proud woman had enemies 
 on all sides. Eredegunda, once the mistress and then the queen of 
 Chilperic, a cruel and bloody woman, envied her successes, and 
 attempted to assassinate her ; and when Childebert died, stirred up 
 
30 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Ihc Avars against his son, Theodebert, who had succeeded to the 
 throne. This wild race, the Avars, had rapidly advanced from the 
 steppes of Tartary, through Hungary, along the. banks of the 
 Danube ; where they encamped in close proximity to the kingdom 
 of Aiistrasia. They were constantly at war with their neighbours, 
 who gained many victories over them ; but it was not until 
 Charlemagne made Croatia the boundery of his empire, and planted 
 colonies in modern Austria, that they were confined to Hungary as 
 their abode ; and even then they proved themselves, as we shall 
 see, most troublesome neighbours. Brunehilda now sowed the seed 
 of discord between her grandsons. She declared the illegitimacy of 
 Theodebert, persuaded his brother to dethrone and murder him. and 
 afterwards administered poison to the fratricide. The crimes she 
 had committed were soon to be avenged on her own head. The 
 nobles were discontented at the administration, and appealed to 
 Chlotar IT. ; who convened a general assembly of the nobles. 
 Brunehilda appeared with a numerous army ; but when she en- 
 countered Chlotar, the soldiers deserted her. She was seized, and 
 cruelly tortured for three days; then placed on a camel's back, and 
 paraded through the camp ; and at last tied by the hair of her head 
 to the tail of a wild horse. Thus perished, A.D. (513, the last of the 
 ' Iff/it i/iiatc. line of the Merovingians ; a race distinguished by bravery, 
 courage, and wisdom, but stained by crimes of the deepest dye. 
 
 Chlotar II., the only son of Fredegunda, who had succeeded his 
 father, now ascended the throne of Australia, and healed the 
 divisions of the nobles. During the late disturbances, the office of 
 mayor of the palace had been established, which was a post of great 
 power and importance, and one eagerly coveted by the nobles. 
 Gradually the mayors encroached on the authority of the king, 
 whom they surrounded with pomp and luxury, that his attention 
 might be diverted from the affairs of the state; and as the 
 remaining sovereigns belonging to the Merovingian race, were 
 generally weak and effeminate, no small degrco of ability was 
 requisite to enable the mayor to conserve the nonour and giory of 
 the kingdom. Chlotar II., in 62.3, made liis son, Dagobert, king of 
 Austrasia, and Pepin von Landeii his mayor. After his death, 
 Dagobert became king of the whole empire, and gave himself up to 
 luxury and voluptuousness ; and Pepin wisely guided the affairs of 
 Austrasia. When Dagobert died, the empire was divided among his 
 three sons ; and Sigebert III. succeeded to the throne of Austrasia. 
 Pepin placed his son Grimoald in the mayoralty, and, though he was 
 dismissed by the king, the authority of the nobles was sufficiently 
 powerful to recall him to his office. The union of the kingdoms 
 under one king, and the subsequent division of them among his 
 sons, were the cause of great disasters. Theodoric III. inherited 
 the kingdoms ; but the Austrasians placed Dagobert II., who had 
 been confined in an Irish monastery by Grimoald, on the throne. 
 He was soon put to death, by the mayor of Neu^tria ; and Pepin 
 von Heristal, the deseendent of Pepin I., marched at the head of 
 the Austrasians against Berchar, mayor of Neustria, who was 
 
TINDER THE GOTHS AND FRANKS. 31 
 
 supporting the claims of Theodoric, whom Pepin was opposing. A 
 great battle ensued ; Pepin was victorious, compelled Theodoric to 
 acknowledge him mayor of the empire, and allowed him to retain 
 the pomp and splendour of a king, while he really exercised the 
 regal power. Under his mayoralty, peace and prosperity flourished, 
 the people were united, the clergy were propitious, and the 
 ncighbou ing tribes made to feel the power of the union. He died 
 in 714, and that same year witnessed the murder of Ids son, by some 
 jealous nobles. Again the kingdom became a scene of contest. 
 The Neustrians resolved to throw off the control which Pepin had 
 exercised ; and electing Reganfried as their mayor, boldly attacked 
 the Austrasians. The widow of Pepin had kept Charles, her 
 natural son, in prison, that her grandson Theudoald might be mayor. 
 He was defeated in battle with the Neustrians, and shortly after 
 died ; and the Austrasians directed their eyes to Charles. He came 
 forth from prison, collected his troops, fired them with enthusiasm, 
 and gained a splendid victory over his enemies at Cambray, by 
 means of a simple stratagem. A single warrior rushed from his 
 ranks through the enemy's camp, calling them to arms ; and while 
 they were wondering at his boldness, and pursuing him, Charles 
 attacked their rear, and routed them. Though victorious, he did 
 not assume the regal dignity; but placed Theodoric IV. on the 
 throne, while he really swayed the sceptre. A vast horde of Moors 
 poured across the Pyrenees ; which was welcomed by Eudo, duke of 
 Aquitaine, who had long wished to be independent. He was 
 obliged to flee to the standard of Charles for protection against 
 these invaders; who rushed on to victory or to death with the 
 impetuosity of a torrent. With the Koran in one hand, and the 
 sword in the other, they presented but one alternative ; and thus 
 aimed at the extinction of nations, or the supremacy of Islamism. 
 A great union was formed among the neighbouring nations ; and the 
 confederate army gave battle to the Moors between Tours and 
 Poitiers. Charles, at the head of the Austrasiaus, rushed into the 
 midst of the contest, striking his foes on the head with such fury, 
 that he was afterwards surnamed Martell, or hammer, in honour of 
 his prowess. The prince of the Moors was slain, and 375,000 of 
 his followers were stretched upon the field of battle. After dis- 
 playing great courage in the field, and profound wisdom in his 
 administration, Charles Martell died at Crecy, A.D. 741. 
 
 On the death of Charles, the kingdom was divided between his 
 two sons; Carloman occupying the mayoralty of Austrasia, and 
 Pepin, surnamed the "Little," that of Neustria. Carloman fled 
 into a monastery, filled with remorse for having executed some 
 prisoners ; and Pepin exercised the sole authority, and gained great 
 successes over the Bavarians, Alemanni, and Saxons. For a long 
 period the Merovingian kings had been but a cipher in the kingdom. 
 The real executive power was in the hands of the mayor; and to the 
 ability displayed by them, the kingdom was indebted for much of its 
 prosperity. Pepin saw that the time had arrived for placing his race 
 firmly upon the throne, and sweeping the degenerate house of Merowig 
 
22 HISTORY OF AUST1UA. 
 
 from power. Ho sought the assistance of Pope Zacharias, and des- 
 patched an ambussage to Home to propound the question, " Whether 
 he was king, who sat carelessly at home, or he who bore the 
 burden of government?" The Pope replied that the latter alone 
 merited the crown. Pepin convened the general assembly at Soissons, 
 which confirmed the Pope's answer; Childeric III., the last of tho 
 Merovingian kings, was shorn of his long hair, and consigned to the 
 cloister, and Pepin was unanimously proclaimed king. He rendered 
 great service to the See of Home, by attacking the Lombards ; de- 
 feated the Duke of Aquitaine, and united his duchy to the crown, 
 and favoured the clergy. He died of the dropsy, at St. Denis, A.D. 
 70S, after a reign of seventeen years. 
 
 Pepin left two sons, by whom his kingdom was divided; Charle- 
 magne occupying Austrasia, and Carloman Neustria. The latter was 
 accidentally killed, and Charlemagne was proclaimed sole king. He 
 was born at the Castle of Salzburg, in Bavaria, and while a mere 
 youth was noted for his strength of body and of mind, which he had 
 ample opportunities of displaying when accompanying his father in 
 his wars. He early married the daughter of Desiderius, the King of 
 Lombardy, but soon after divorced her. Ambition swayed his 
 actions, and led him to conceive the bold plan, which was success- 
 fully carried out in his lifetime, of forming one vast empire beneath 
 his rule ; where civilisation and Christianity should display their 
 triumphs, and reflect their lustre on the nations around. To effect 
 this object, his troops were constantly engaged in war for thirty 
 years, until he had suodued the various tribes which opposed him. 
 In 772, the assembly, convened at Worms, decreed a war with 
 Saxony, which, with i'ew interruptions, continued till 803. At first 
 he employed his successes with mildness, and thus endeavoured to 
 gain the Saxons to his rule; but no sooner was he called to other 
 parts and other wars, than they rose against his generals ; and ou 
 one occasion, when his troops were passing through mountain fast- 
 nesses, the foe rushed upon them and nearly destroyed the entire 
 army. Witikind, the chief of the Saxons, was the principal 
 opponent, who, by his bravery and cunning, caused great losses to the 
 king. Charlemagne, roused by their opposition, vowed destruction 
 to the whole people. Slaughter everywhere marked his footsteps ; 
 until at length, weary with bloodshed, he offered to the sorrowing 
 survivors the alternative of the profession of Christianity or death. 
 Witikiud was publicly baptised in Prance, because, as the legend 
 goes, when he went disguised as a beggar into a church at AY'ol- 
 mirstadt, a shining white child appeared to him, and convinced him 
 of the truth of Christianity. To increase his power, and establish 
 his authority here, Charlemagne created additional emoluments for 
 ilie Saxon nobles, and bound them to him by his rich favours. After 
 Ids coronation at Rome he revisited Saxony, and settled its affairs 
 by a definite treaty. 
 
 In 774, he appeared in Lombardy against Desiderius, the king, 
 who had endeavoured to force the Pope to anoint the two sons of 
 Carloman. His fame and martial appearance brought many to his 
 
t'XDER. THE GOTHS z\.XD FRANKS. 33 
 
 standard. Desidcrius shut liiinself up in Pavia, whore he was forced 
 by famine to capitulate, after a siege of seven months. The king 
 was deeply moved at the magnificent appearance of Charlemagne, 
 as he rode near the walls, armed cap a pie, on his charger, and ex- 
 claimed to those around him, with a feeling of awe, " Let us descend 
 and hide ourselves beneath the earth, from the angry glance of such 
 a powerful enemy." He was banished to a convent, and Charle- 
 magne placed the crown on his own head. In 778, he marched against 
 the Moors in Spain, where the renown of his arms was sustained by 
 his successes ; but on his return, he was attacked by the Basques in 
 the passes of the Pyrenees, where his brave general, Roland, tho 
 theme of so many poets and romancers, was slain. Ten years after 
 he invaded Bavaria, whose duke, Thassilo, had refused to perform 
 feudal service. The duke was forced to take the oath of allegiance ; 
 but being afterwards found plotting with the Avars to surprise; 
 Charlemagne, lie was condemned to death, whicli was afterwards 
 commuted to banishment to a convent. His son shared his fate ; 
 and Bavaria henceforth remained an integral part of the empire. 
 
 Charlemagne had thus realised the dreams of conquest and glory, 
 which his early ambition had inspired. In the year A.D. 800, he 
 appeared before the Pontiff, Leo III., at Rome, attended the 
 festival of the nativity in St. Peter's Church, and received the 
 imperial crown from the hands of the Pope, amid Ilic acclamations of 
 the multitude, who shouted, "Long life and victory to Charles, the 
 most pious Augustus, crowned by God, the great and pacific Emperor 
 of the Romans ! " This great ruler thus united under one vast 
 monarchy the various German tribes, and swayed, at the same time, 
 a sceptre in the kingdoms of France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and 
 Hungary. His rale was facilitated by the perfection to which he 
 brought the feudal system; and by the temporal power whicli he 
 granted to his nobles, and to the dignitaries of the church, whose 
 diets were convened by his will, and presided over by his person. 
 He united in himself the stern warrior with the wise legislator ; the 
 patron of literature and art, and the promoter of agriculture and 
 commerce. His laws have been the theme of admiration and panegyric 
 for ages. " They compose not a system, but a series of occasional and 
 minute edicts, for the correction of abuses, the reformation of manners, 
 the economy of his farms, the care of his poultry, and even the sale of 
 his eggs." He cultivated the German language fostered its litera- 
 ture collected its songs caused translations from the Latin to be 
 made and ordered the clergy to preach in their native tongue, 1 hat the 
 people might be instructed. Schools sprang up under his patronage ; 
 the learned from all parts adorned his court ; the chivalrous crowded 
 to his standard ; the people bowed before the reverence and awe 
 which his renown inspired. He was lofty in stature, noble and 
 dignified in his manner ; sometimes mild and easy of access ; at 
 other times harsh and severe ; crushing his foes by his irresistible 
 might. Even his wives and concubines were not secure against his 
 rash violence, whom he repudiated when the charms of beauty 
 attracted his attention elsewhere. After a prosperoiis rHj?n of 
 
 c 
 
34 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 forty-seven years, Charlemagne died at Aix-la-Chapelle, A.D. 814, 
 \vhere he was buried with great pomp and splendour. " The dignity 
 of his person," says Gibbon, "the length of his reign, ihe prosperity 
 of his arms, the vigour of his government, and the reverence of 
 distant nations, distinguish him from the royal crowd; and Europe 
 dates a new era from the restoration of the western power." 
 
PART II. 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE CARLOVINGIAN DYNASTI. A.D. 814.-011. 
 
 AFTER the death of Charlemagne, the throne was occupied by his 
 only surviving son, Louis, a weak and impotent prince. The sceptre 
 which had been swayed with such vigour by his father, now became 
 the cause of great distress and bloodshed. The grandson of Charle- 
 magne, Bernard, conspired against his uncle, who caused him to be 
 seized, and his eyes torn from their sockets, iu consequence of which 
 he died in a few days. The king felt the pangs of remorse for his 
 cruelty, and would have retired to a monastery to end his days iu 
 seclusion, had he not been prevented by his courtiers and bishops, 
 who made use of his weakness to increase their power. During his 
 lifetime, he divided the empire between his sons; Lothar was to 
 share in the administration, and to be king of Italy ; Pepin to reign 
 over France ; and Louis to possess Germany. These sons soon 
 commenced war with their father ; the people sighed for the wise and 
 masterly hand of Charlemagne to uphold the glory he had purchased 
 with his victories, and forsook the emperor, who was sent a prisoner 
 to Soissons, deposed from his throne, obliged to do penance m sack- 
 cloth, and then confined in a monastery. The jealousy of the sons 
 restored their father, who made a fresh division of "his kingdom, 
 granting to Charles, his son by Judith, a beautiful Bavarian woman 
 whom he had married, the kingdom of Xeustria, to which was added 
 the portion of Pepin, who died shortly after. The emperor, worn 
 out with the intrigues of his son, died on an island in the Rhine, 
 " shouting with his latest breath, like the huntsmen, ' Hutz, hutz,' in 
 order to scare the devil from his bedside." During his reign the 
 power of the papal hierarchy increased ; the pontiffs no longer waited 
 for the confirmation of the emperor that tlieir election might be 
 valid ; the bishops procured the erection of monasteries, and grants 
 of land, and gradually secured to the church that power which she 
 afterwards wielded with such dread results. Under the rule of 
 Louis the Pious, the great dukes and margraves also consolidated 
 their power ; and, although they took the oath of obedience to their 
 emperor, in not a few cases, they maintained an independency 
 
3G HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 commensurate with their importance and resources. These mar- 
 graves were employed by Louis the German to protect the frontiers 
 of his kingdom from the attacks of the rude tiibes which still 
 hovered near. 
 
 At his death, A.D., 876, Louis, the German, divided his dominions 
 among his sons ; Carloman inherited Bavaria and Carinthia ; Louis, 
 the younger, Saxony and Thuringia ; and Charles le Gros, Swabia. 
 At this time, Bohemia was under the rule of Borzivoi, and Moravia 
 under Suatopluk. They were frequently brought into deadly contact 
 with Carloman, and afterwards with Aruulf, and increased their 
 dominions by fresh conquests. The scattered dominions of Charle- 
 magne were again collected into an empire by Charles le Gros, who 
 endeavoured by bribes and treaties to effect what could only be 
 accomplished by the wise and warlike spirit of his ancestor. He 
 excited the anger of the nobles, who convened a diet, and deprived 
 him of his throne, the loss of which he survived but one year. 
 
 A severe contest ensued among the dukes as to the successor. 
 Two of them, Guido of Spoleto, and Berengar of Friaul, made 
 themselves independent, and the Germans placed Arnulf, the brave 
 duke of Bavaria, on the throne. He defended his frontiers from the 
 attacks of the Normans, who had ravaged parts of Prance, and had 
 obtained large sums of money from Charles. In one of the battles, 
 he perceived that the German cavalry could not cope witli tin; 
 Norman infantry, and springing from the saddle, he rushed into the 
 contest. His followers imitated his example, grappled with their 
 assailants, drove the Normans into streams, and gamed a splendid 
 victory. To maintain his authority, he gave Bohemia to Suatopluk, 
 to hold in fee, that those districts might be defended from the sudden 
 attacks of the Hungarians. The Moravian prince soon after broke 
 his treaty with the emperor, but when a band of Magyars headed by 
 their chief, Arpad, menaced his territory, he willingly sued for peace. 
 Arnulf's ambition was to have the imperial crown placed on his head 
 by the pope. For this purpose he set out in 89-1, but had advanced 
 no farther than Lombardy, when he was obliged to return, because 
 of the intrigues of Odo, the French king, and Rudolph, duke of 
 Burgundy. Two years after, he again crossed the Alps, cut his way 
 to Rome, carried the imperial city by storm, and forced the trembling 
 pope to place the crown on his head. He did not long enjoy it. 
 Slow poison was administered to him ; he expired before he reached 
 Germany, and his remains w r ere interred at Ratisbon. 
 
 The great vassals and bishops now directed the affairs of the 
 empire. By the influence of Otho, duke of Saxony, and Hatto, 
 archbishop of Mayence, Louis, son of Arnulf, was placed on the 
 throne, though only seven years old. The Hungarians still afflicted 
 the hind, following the course of the Danube, and though defeated 
 in two great battles on the Ens, and near to Vienna, they returned 
 in great numbers under warlike chiefs. Several margraves boldly 
 advanced against them and perished in the field of battle ; Louis 
 barely escaped being taken prisoner ; and at length a treaty was 
 concluded between him and ihc Magyar chief, Louis consenting to 
 
S.VXON DYNASTY. 37 
 
 pay ten years' tribute, and to fix the Ens as the boundary of Hun- 
 gary. The youthful monarch died A.D. 911, and -with him ended the 
 Carlovingian dynasty in Germany. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE SAXON DYNASTY. A.D. 911-1024. 
 
 THE powerful dukes met in a diet to choose a successor to the 
 imperial throne. Otho, duke of Saxony, was nominated, but he saw 
 that his interests would be better promoted by placing the crown on 
 the head of a weak prince whom he could manage, while he raised 
 himself to independency and power in his own duchy. Conrad, 
 duke of Franconia, was selected, and for eight years wisely held the 
 reins of government. The peace of his reign was disturbed by the 
 turbulency of the dukes, among whom Henry, the son of Otho, was 
 distinguished. The Bavarians under Arnulf were at war with the 
 Bohemians ; the Hungarians continued their ravages in the south of 
 Germany ; and Arnulf, to strengthen his own position, appointed 
 margraves in Austria, Carinthia, and the Tyrol. Conrad received a 
 mortal wound in a battle with the Hungarians, and died A.D. 919. 
 He foresaw that if his brother Eberhard ascended the throne, the 
 empire would be torn by factions, and with his latest breath he 
 counselled him to deliver the crown into the hands of Henry, duke 
 of Saxony. 
 
 It is said that he was out shooting in the mountains when the 
 ambassadors conveyed to him the request of the princes. Henry, 
 surnamed the Eowler, instantly obeyed the nation's call, and accord- 
 ing to the ancient custom still prevailing, was raised upon the shield, 
 as the sign of his accession to the crown. His first endeavour was 
 to gain the submission of those who had not recognised his sove- 
 reignty. The duke of Swabia still retained his independency, but 
 oppressing the Italians, he was assassinated by them ; and Henry 
 married his widow to a relative, upon whom he bestowed the duke- 
 dom. The Hungarians again invaded Germany ; but Henry, wishing 
 to gain time to carry out liis great plans, caused them to retire by 
 promising to pay a yearly tribute, provided they were peaceful for 
 nine years. This time was employed by him in subduing his other 
 enemies, and introducing great reforms in the administration of the 
 empire. He marched against the Hevelli, took their capital Brand- 
 enburg, not far from modern Berlin, made their territory the frontier 
 of the empire, and placed a margrave over it. He next turned to 
 Bohemia, secured the city of Prague, and obtained the allegiance of 
 Wenzel, the duke. 
 
 During these conquests, he made great preparations for resisting 
 the Hungarians when the treaty had expired. He erected a line of 
 
38 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 forts on the frontiers, and built several fortified cities. These were 
 garrisoned by a new order of troops, composed of free men, who 
 were formed into a body of infantry capable of resisting the fierce 
 onsets of the Hungarian horse, were trained to fight in the field as 
 well as to defend the walls, and were placed under officers appointed 
 by the crown. He also introduced great improvements in the 
 vassalage which was rendered to the empire in time of war. .Each 
 duke, or bishop, brought his own complement, mounted on horse, 
 ;md distinguished by his own banner ; and these would rush with 
 wild confusion into the battle field, and vie with each other in dis- 
 plays of valour. They were now formed into regular order ; and, io 
 facilitate the necessary discipline, Henry countenanced chivalrous 
 institutions. The knights met at the tournaments, and contended 
 with each other in the presence of fair ladies, whose admiration they 
 courted. By these means the king prepared for the invasion of the 
 Hungarians. At the expiration of the nine years the ambassadors 
 demanded the annual tribute, and were refused. The Hungarians 
 crossed in two bands ; one was routed by the army in Saxony and 
 Thuringia, the other advanced toward the emperor along the Saal. 
 A desperate battle ensued. Henry addressed his troops, and aroused 
 their martial spirit ; they swore to conquer or to die ; and when the 
 picture of St. Michael advanced, as the banner of the empire, the 
 deadly struggle commenced. Victory declared herself on the side 
 of the Germans ; 30,000 Hungarians were left on the field of battle, 
 and the remainder lied with terror to their homes. Henry lived but 
 one year after this victory, and was buried at his favourite residence,. 
 Queolinborg, A.D. 936. His reign is remarkable for the union which 
 pervaded the Germanic states, the internal and civil progress of the 
 people, the erection of cities and fortresses, and the splendour which 
 adorned his administration. From this period the crown of Ger- 
 many remained elective, until the (>th of August, 1806, on which day 
 the Emperor Francis II. abdicated the imperial throne, and declared 
 the dissolution of the German empire. Austria was at this time but 
 a dependency of the duchy of Bavaria. 
 
 Otho, the son of Henry, was unanimously called to the throne. 
 The majesty of his appearance commanded the admiration of his 
 subjects. His white hair waved over his shoulders; his eyes were 
 bright and sparkling; his beard of an extraordinary length; his 
 breast like that of a lion. His coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle was a 
 scene of the most gorgeous splendour. The Archbishop of Mayenco 
 anointed him ; the grand dukes crowded to do him homage ; 
 Giselbert, of Lothringia, was his chamberlain ; Eberhard, of Fran- 
 conia, his carver ; Hermann, of Swabia, his cup-bearer ; and Arnulf, 
 of Bavaria, his master of the horse. The throne, however, was by 
 no means a seat of quietude and ease. The Hungarians again 
 ventured to invade his territories, and the remaining sons of Henry 
 were constantly intriguing and uniting with the great dukes. These 
 were successfully quelled by Otho, who marched his armies against 
 the insurgents, while he exercised his clemency towards the royal 
 offenders. He also vigorously opposed the inroads of the Slavi in. 
 
SAXON DYNASTY. 39 
 
 the north ; appeared with his forces iu France to settle the disputes 
 between Louist he king, and Count Hugo, of Paris ; and then pushed 
 his victorious troops into Denmark. By means of the disturbances 
 among his dukes he was enabled to place those on the ducal thrones 
 who would be favourable to him. He was himself the Duke of 
 Saxony ; his eldest son, Ludolf, who married the only child of the 
 Duke of Swabia, was now duke of that province ; his own brother, 
 Henry, had obtained the hand of Arnulf's beautiful widow, and was 
 Duke of Bavaria; while the marriage of Conrad the lied to his 
 daughter secured to him the Duke of Franconia as his son-in-law ; 
 and the youthful King of Burgundy was a hostage at his court. The 
 influence of the emperor was therefore powerful in his empire. 
 
 Otho had long wished to have the adherence of Italy, and an 
 opportunity soon presented itself for securing it. Berengar II. had 
 usurped the government and x taken possession of the widow of 
 Lothar. His proposal to marry her to his son was met by her with 
 a haughty refusal, and she contrived to escape from the fortress iu 
 which she was confined to the castle of Canossa. Here she was 
 besieged by the king, and sought the assistance of Otho. He rescued 
 her from the danger, and, as he was now a widower, solicited and 
 obtained her fair hand. His marriage, however, created jealousy in 
 his family. His son Ludolf conspired with the Archbishop of 
 Mayence, and gained Conrad to his side, through the influence of his 
 wife, all of whom demanded the exclusion of Henry, Duke of Bavaria, 
 who had rendered himself obnoxious to them. An adverse party 
 was also formed among the Bavarians by Arnulf, son of the late 
 duke, who allied himself to Ludolf. The emperor took up arms 
 against the rebels, and after several times defeating them, succeeded 
 in quelling the insurrection. Arnulf was killed when defending 
 Ratisbon ; Ludolf died in Italy, where he had been sent by Otho to 
 command an army ; Conrad was deprived of his dukedom, and died 
 of a mortal wound in a battle witli the Hungarians, who had been 
 invited to the country by the adverse party in Bavaria. It was the 
 last time they appeared as invaders in these provinces. The two 
 armies met near Augsburg, on the 10th of August, 955. The rear 
 of the Germans was routed, the ranks were wavering, when Conrad 
 and Otho rushed, sword in hand, into the midst of the barbarians. 
 Feats of valour and prodigies of strength were exhibited, and 
 100,000 Hungarians fell on that occasion, part slain on the battle 
 field, part drowned in the streams, and part hunted down by the 
 Bavarians in the wild forests. 
 
 Freed from intestine commotion, and the invasion of enemies, 
 Otho was able to direct his attention to Italy. He caused his son 
 Otho II. to be crowned King of Germany, crossed the Alps, expelled 
 Berengar, entered Rome, and compelled Pope John XII. to crown 
 him emperor. He exacted from the Romans an oath, not to elect 
 any pope without the consent of the emperor; but as this was 
 declared null and void soon after he left the city, he returned and 
 deposed the pope. The Romans chose without his consent a new 
 pope, Benedict V. ; but Otho cited him to appear before him, broke 
 
40 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 his crosier before his face, banished him to Hamburg, and appointed 
 in his stead Leo VIII. After his death, the emperor placed John 
 XI11. on the papal throne; and, by chastising some of the rebellious 
 Romans, at length secured the submission of Italy. He obtained 
 the beautiful Thcophano, the eldest daughter of the Grecian emperor, 
 Romanus, for his sou ; her charms attracted universal admiration, 
 and she added still greater magnificence to the splendour of the 
 German court. This v ise emperor closed his eyes in peace, and 
 with great satisfaction at the results of his reign, A.D. 973, and was 
 buried with more than regal pomp at Magdeburg. The empire had 
 been considerably extended during his reign. His power over the 
 dukes was firmly established ; Bohemia was included among the 
 dukedoms ; Poland and Denmark acknowledged his supremacy ; Italy 
 was subject to his authority. The frontier fortresses on the north 
 and east kept the Scandinavians and the Slavi in check, Christianity 
 was rapidly circulated among the people by the bishops and cleriry, 
 fairs were established in the cities, agriculture fostered, and the first 
 silver mine opened in the interior of Germany. 
 
 Otho II. succeeded his father; but the luxury of his court, and 
 the predilection of his wife for the sunny south, did not win the 
 affection of his rough subjects. Henry of Bavaria quarrelled with 
 the Duke of Swabia, and revolted ; and Otho deposed him, and added 
 his dominions to Swabia ; but on this duke's death he bestowed 
 Swabia on Conrad, Bavaria on Henry .Minor, and Carinthia on Otho 
 of Pranconia. He repaired to Rome to quell the disturbances which 
 had arisen respecting the papal throne ; settled the quarrels of the 
 petty princes of Capua, Benevento, and Salvino; and advanced 
 ;;gainst the Saracens, who had been invited to Italy by the Greeks, 
 and defeated them at Tarentum. He was afterwards, however, 
 completely routed by them with a very great slaughter, and only 
 saved his own life by the neetnr^s of his horse. He resolved to 
 avenge his defeat, but before he could collect his forces he died at 
 Rome, in December, 983. 
 
 Otho III. was but three years old when his father died ; and his 
 grandmother, Adelaide, his mother, Theophano, and the Archbishop 
 of Mayenee, were joint guardians, and administered the empire. 
 Henry was restored to Bavaria; but Austria was now separated 
 from it and given to Count Leopold, grandson of Adelbert of Baben- 
 berg. This brave prince drove tlie Hungarians beyond the Ens, and 
 planted colonies of Germans in the territory lately occupied by 
 them, where Christianity, civilisation, and prosperity soon flourished. 
 In 996, Otho was crowned at Rome, by Pope Gregory V., his 
 relative, whom he had raised to the papal see. He defeated the 
 Slavi ; raised Bolesla\v to the title of King of Poland ; visited 
 Venice, and exempted that rising republic from its annual tribute 
 to the Italian kings ; and marched to Rome to avenge the expulsion of 
 Gregory V. by Crescentius, styled Consul of Rome, who had placed 
 John AV1. on the throne. On his arrival, John fled, but was cap- 
 lured, conducted through the city on an ass, and deprived of his 
 bight; while Crescentius was beheaded, with twelve of his followers. 
 
SAXON DYNASTY. 41 
 
 The emperor was deeply affected by the death of Gregory, who, it is 
 supposed, died of poison in 999 ; and Otho met with his death, 
 probably from the same cause, three years after, A.D. 1002. 
 
 Olho dying childless, the crown was again an object of ambition 
 and strife. It was finally placed on the head of Henry II., 
 duke of Bavaria, the nearest of kin to the deceased emperor ; who, 
 for his piety, and his munificent donations to the church, was 
 surnamed the Holy. At one time he even wished to become 
 a monk at Strasburg ; but he had no sooner taken the vow of 
 obedience, than he was imperatively commanded to resume his crown. 
 His wife, Cuuiguncla, was of a similar disposition, and both had 
 taken the vow of eternal chastity, and remained childless. In his 
 contests with the Duke of Bohemia and the King of Poland, he did 
 not display any great martial spirit ; but in Italy he was able to 
 overcome Harduiu, who had usurped the throne, and had twice 
 risen against his authority. He was crowned with his pious wife 
 at Rome, A.D. 1013 by the Pope, who gave to him the golden ball, 
 as the emblem of the globe over which he was to rule. He also 
 quieted disturbances in the Netherlands ; calmed the angry passions 
 of the dukes, each of whom jealously marked the least accession of 
 power granted to his neighbour ; and he pleased the Pope and the 
 clergy by the churches he built, and the monasteries he endowed. 
 He died A.D. 1024, was buried at Bamberg, and with him the Saxon 
 dynasty ceased. With his dying A r oice he pointed out Conrad, the 
 powerful duke of Franconia, as his successor. 
 
 During the reign of the Saxon emperors, important changes had 
 taken place in the constitution of the empire. The power of the 
 great dukes was weakened by the elevation of distinguished families 
 as counts, who, though nominally subject to the dukes, rapidly in- 
 creased in wealth and influence, until they were able to check the 
 domineering authority of their superiors. The free cities also rose 
 to great importance. Charters were granted to them, securing free- 
 dom from the power of the dukes, the right of coinage, and the 
 collection of dues. They were placed under the direction of a 
 governor appointed by the crown, who was generally a neighbouring 
 count ; and who administered justice in time of peace, and marched 
 at the head of the city troops in the time of war. Next in rank was 
 the city council, composed of twelve aldermen with their president or 
 mayor ; who took cognisance of the petty civil affairs, and filled the 
 office of the governor when he was absent. The inhabitants of 
 the cities were divided into two classes : the citizens, who were 
 the proprietors either of houses or land in the city, or of land in the 
 vicinity ; and the bondmen, consisting of the scivants of the citizens, 
 and the artificers, journeymen &c., who sought employment within 
 the walls. At first the citizens alone enjoyed the privileges of 
 guilds ; but as the artisans increased in wealth and importance, 
 and the honour of knighthood raised them in rank, they gradually 
 obtained great privileges, formed themselves into guilds, and 
 acquired a powerful influence in the corporate cities. Commerce 
 also now began to flourish. In 99G, Otho III. gave permission to 
 
42 
 
 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 the Jews, French, and Lombards to traverse the country with wares, 
 and for a long period the Italian pedlars were celebrated throughout 
 Germany. The age was by no means favourable to the growth of 
 literature. The labours of Alcuin disappeared amid the din of war 
 and bloodshed; the bishops were more anxious for their ease, or 
 their temporal power, than the advancement of learning ; and the 
 clergy were notoriously ignorant. Occasionally a gleam of light 
 came forth from an old monastery ; which, however, feeble, seemed 
 to shine resplendeutly amid the surrounding gloom. In 870, there 
 appeared a metrical version of the gospels by Ottfried, a Benedictine 
 monk ; and the tenth century gave birth to three great chroniclers. 
 Luitprand, bishop of Cremona A.D. 946, composed a chronicle and 
 biography of the popes; Wittekind of Corvey, A.D. 973, wrote a 
 history of Saxony ; and Ditmar, bishop of Merseburg also a history 
 of the Saxon emperors. Painting, music, and sculpture were also 
 cultivated ; and many splendid churches erected in the Byzantine 
 and Roman stvle of architecture. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FRASCOSIAN DYNASTY. A.D. 1024-1137. 
 
 ON the death of Henry II., the dukes, bishops, and counts, with 
 their trains, met near Worms, and elected Conrad II. as their 
 emperor. His first, act was one of great importance, that of making 
 the fiefs of the lesser nobility hereditary, by which the power of the 
 greater was restrained. He visited all parts of his dominions, and 
 regulated the affairs of the provinces. Burgundy was annexed to the 
 empire ; the duchy of Schleswig given to Canute, king of Denmark, 
 as a fief ; and the King of Poland forced to do homage. The Italians 
 raised the standard of revolt ; but the presence of Conrad soon 
 quelled the disturbance. In 1027 he was solemnly crowned at 
 Rome, when two kings, Canute and Rudolph of Burgundy honoured 
 him with their presence. On his return, he was again disturbed 
 by the insubordination of his great vassals in Swabia. The duke 
 claimed Burgundy as his inheritance, and united with two powerful 
 counts, Welf and Werner. They invaded the country; but were 
 obliged to yield to the power of Conrad. To defend" his country 
 from the Hungarians, he intrusted the fortress of Ens to Count Ottocar, 
 who erected the Tort of Steyer in the county that afterwards took 
 thence the name Steyermark or Styria, A.D. 1031. Five years later, 
 Conrad marched into Italy, to suppress the rising of the Italians ; 
 and during his lengthened stay there, he visited Rome, Capua, and 
 Parma ; and was most sumptuously entertained by Count Bonifacias 
 at Marengo. The plague, however, broke out. with dreadful violence, 
 
FKANCONIAX DYNASTY. 45 
 
 and carried off nearly the whole of his army. Hermann, duke of 
 Swabia, Conrad of Carinthia, and the lovely bride of Henry, the 
 heir to the crown, were among its victims. The contests in Bur- 
 gundy again called him home, and it was not till the Abbot of 
 Clugny declared himself commissioned by Heaven to announce a 
 universal and holy peace, that these broils were terminated. The 
 emperor availed himself of this pretended mission, and the credulity 
 of his subjects, to promote the tranquillity of the empire, and promul- 
 gated it as a law called the "Peace of God." Conrad died at 
 Utrecht, A.D. 1039, and was buried at Spires ; the foundation stone 
 of whose cathedral he had laid nine years before. 
 
 Henry III. ascended the throne at a time when the wisdom of the 
 statesman required to be blended with the courage of the warrior, 
 He saw the necessity of still farther reducing the power of the 
 dukes, and also of curbing the ambition of the papal hierarchy. 
 Swabia he gave to Otho, a weak and peaceful count ; Bavaria to his- 
 empress, Agnes of Poitou, who, being connected with the most 
 powerful of the Burgundian families, would have secured that duchy 
 to his authority, but for the claims which Henry king of Trance, 
 put forth to the province. To settle these claims the emperor met 
 the king in person, threw down the gauntlet before him, but was 
 refused, and Burgundy remained in her steady adherence. Hungary 
 also was now a scene of conflict. The throne was fiercely disputed 
 by Peter and Aba ; Henry advanced with an army to support the 
 former, and, after a terrible loss, succeeded in placing him on the 
 throne ; but no sooner had he retired than the Hungarians again 
 revolted, deprived Peter of his sight, and raised Andreas to the 
 throne. Henry again marched against them ; his army was cut to 
 pieces, and himself obliged to flee across the border ; but returning- 
 in 1051 with a powerful force, he recognised Andreas as king, and 
 compelled him to do homage. The country between the Calenberg, 
 on the Danube, in the vicinity of Vienna, and the Leitha, was then 
 permanently severed from Hungary, and united to the increasing 
 dominions of the count of Austria. 
 
 Henry interposed with a powerful hand in the disputes of the 
 popes. Benedict IX. was opposed by Sylvester VII. ; but, becoming 
 enamoured of a beautiful girl, he sold his right to the tiara to Pope 
 Gregory VI. Disappointed in obtaining the object of his affection, 
 Benedict returned to Rome, and assumed the pontifical dignity ; so 
 that Rome witnessed the spectacle of three popes reigning in the 
 papal city. Henry resolved to wipe away such a scandal to the 
 church. In 1046 he visited Rome, called a convocation, deposed the 
 three popes, and placed the German bishop of Bamberg on St. 
 Peter's seat as Clement II. ; and when he returned to Germany he 
 carried the three ex-pontiffs to his court. Clement died in 1049, 
 and Henry sent Damasus II., who enjoyed the papal chair for the 
 short space of three weeks. The emperor then sent one of his own 
 relations, Bruno, Bishop of Tull, who as Pope Leo IX. highly 
 distinguished himself by the reforms he carried out, with the assist- 
 ance of Hildebrand, a young man whose talents had recommended 
 
4-1 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 him to the pope. When Leo died, Hildebraiid solicited from the 
 emperor the papal crown ; but his time had not yet arrived ; and 
 Victor II. was raised to the dignity. What would have been the 
 condition of the papal power, had the brave Henry lived, it is not 
 for us to say. He was cut off in the prime of life, A.D. 1056, before 
 he had carried out half of his intentions ; and left behind him his 
 sorrowing empress and his son Henry to guide the affairs of the 
 empire at this crisis, when a mighty hand was required to resist the 
 encroachments of the dukes, and to silence the insolence of the 
 Roman hierarchy. 
 
 Henry was but five years old when his father died. His mother 
 Agnes, a gentle, pious, and highly-cultivated woman, administered 
 the empire as regent, assisted by the Bishop of Augsburg and the 
 Archbishop of llavenna, as her counsellors. Y\'heu Pope A^ictor 
 died, Hildebrand was again disappointed by the election of Stephen 
 IX. by the Italians ; but when Nicholas II. ascended the throne, 
 Hildebrand began to carry out his long-cherished scheme of securing 
 an universal ecclesiastical rule. One of his first acts was to declare 
 that the election of the pope should be independent of the emperor, 
 and be decided by the votes of the cardinals. He also declared that 
 the pope was paramount over the feudatories in his dominions. The 
 queen saw that thus her dignity was slighted, and her influence 
 curtailed ; and when Alexander II. was chosen by the cardinals, 011 
 the death of Nicholas, she declared the election illegal, and caused 
 Honorius II. to be elected pope by the German bishops. Anno, the 
 Archbishop of Cologne, who had risen to great eminence under the 
 late king, now resolved to snatch the reins of power from the 
 empress. A plot was formed to get possession of the young king, 
 and the mother and son were invited to the Easter festival at 
 Kaiserwerth A.D. 1062. After the banquet the child was taken to 
 the llhine, to see a fine boat, but was then seized and carried on 
 board a vessel which instantly set sail. The young prince no sooner 
 became aware of his situation than he sprang into the water, but was 
 rescued and again earned on board the vessel, which soon readied 
 Cologne with him as a prisoner. The mother was broken-hearted at 
 her loss, resigned the regency, and retired to a convent. Anno now 
 caused a decree to be passed, appointing the bishop in whose diocese 
 the young emperor resided, regent ; and then assuming that title, 
 lie went into Italy to settle the papal contests, and fixed Alexander 
 on his throne. Meanwhile the youthful Henry had passed into the 
 hands of Adalbert, archbishop of Bremen ; who, instead of keeping 
 him to the severe studies appointed by Anno, allowed him unbounded 
 freedom, surrounded him with the follies of a licentious court, and 
 inspired him with contempt for the nobles and the German people. 
 
 When he was declared capable of bearing arms, Henry fixed his 
 imperial court at the Harzburg. He openly scorned the Saxons, 
 decked his mistresses publicly with gold, and roused the spirit of 
 the people. Anno cited him to appear before the assembly ; but, 
 as lie refused to obey, the conspirators surrounded his palace, seized 
 his person, and caused liis counsellor Adalbert to flee. The empire 
 
FKAKCONIAN DYNASTY. 45 
 
 was ii\ a state of anarchy ; the Slavi invaded the north, and destroyed 
 Hamburg and Mecklenburg; the Saxons were burdened with heavy 
 taxes, as well as treated with contempt; and after patiently enduring 
 it for some time, a vast conspiracy was formed, into which most of 
 the northern princes and bishops entered. A petition stating their 
 grievances was presented to Henry at Goslen ; Which being scornfully 
 rejected by him, excited the Saxons to revenge their insults. They 
 besieged the emperor ; but he fled with fear, and after vainly appeal- 
 ing to his nobles, took refuge in Worms. The people there rose to 
 welcome their king, and would have assisted him in his struggle ; 
 but the weak monarch threw himself on the protection of his princes, 
 and was at length obliged to sign a treaty of peace, and to abolish the 
 the taxes under which the Saxons groaned. Their inhuman atrocities, 
 however, in dragging the remains of the emperor's brother and son 
 from the grave that they might vent upon them their indignity, 
 aroused the nation against them. Henry attacked the;m with a large 
 force ; and after a bloody battle, caused the Saxon nobles to flee, 
 while he cut down the infantry by thousands. They were at length 
 brought to submission, A.D. 1076'. 
 
 On the death of Alexander, HildeVand placed the tiara on his 
 own head, under the name of Gregory VII. ; and immediately began 
 to execute his reforms. He decreed the celibacy of the clergy, and 
 condemned the practice of simony, which had been increased to an 
 enormous extent in the German empire, especially by Henry, who 
 had frequently raised money by the sale of benefices. These acts of 
 Gregory raised a violent storm throughout the empire. The bishops 
 were divided; part advocating them as reforms, and the remainder 
 resisting them as encroachments. Henry paid no attention to the 
 edicts of Rome ; and in reply to the haughty summons to appear 
 before her tribunal and answer some charges laid by his subjects, 
 convened a convocation at Worms, and deposed Gregory. A solemn 
 council was held at the Lateran in 1076 ; when the pope excommu- 
 nicated Henry, deposed him from his throne, and released his subjects 
 from their oath of obedience. The effect on his rebellious subjects 
 was instantaneous. The Saxons flew to arms; the people, except 
 the free cities, forsook the emperor ; Rudolph, duke of Swabia, was 
 called to the throne, and the empire was the scene of rapine and 
 distress. Henry now beheld the pitiable position in which he was 
 placed, and resolved at any sacrifice to procure the revocation of the 
 pope's interdict. He determined to throw himself at the feet of 
 Gregory, and entreat his forgiveness. Accompanied by his queen, 
 her infant son, and a solitary knight, he crossed the Alps in the depth 
 of winter, and descended into the plains of Italy ; where, on being 
 known, a few Italian bishops and dukes joined themselves to him. 
 Gregory was on his way to Augsburg, whither he had been invited 
 by the Germans to settle the ait'airs of the empire ; and was alarmed 
 at the news that Henry was in Italy. He threw himself into the 
 castle of Canossa ; where he was welcomed by liis friend and ally, the 
 Countess Matilda. Gregory soon discovered the penitency of the 
 emperor, and assumed a haughty bearing towards him. Ho 
 
46 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 commanded him to enter the castle alone, when the gates closed upon 
 him ; and for three days and three nights the royal penitent stood 
 with uncovered head and bare feet, in the cold between, the walls of 
 the fort, until the ambitious pope pleased to grant him absolution. 
 Henry soon after broke his oath with the pope, assumed his regal 
 authority, and marched into Germany, where his presence was hailed 
 by those who were indignant at the audacity of the pontiff. Several 
 fierce battles were fought between the friends of the emperor, and 
 the papal partisans ; Rudolph was mortally wounded ; and his party, 
 after vainly struggling with the increasing forces of Henry, at length 
 yielded; and the elements of strife were hushed. Henry then 
 marched to Rome, which for three years resisted his attacks ; but at 
 length he entered it, deposed Gregory, and installed in lus place the 
 bishop of Ravenna as Clement III. Here he was crowned emperor 
 by Clement ; but had no sooner retired to Germany than Gregory 
 returned to Rome at the head of a band of Normans, who sacked 
 the place, and committed such atrocities, that the pope deemed it 
 safer to retire to Salerno, where he died A.D. 1085, exclaiming 
 with his last breath, " Because I have loved justice and punishea 
 iniquity, I die an exile." 
 
 Europe was at this time moved by the enthusiasm, awakened 
 among the crusaders. For a considerable period, pilgrimages had 
 been made to the Holy Land by devout persons ; who, after perform- 
 ing their vows, returned to their own land, with their long staff, 
 black garments, and precious relics. The Arabs had long permitted 
 these harmless pilgrims to gratify their cmiosity ; but the Jews were 
 fearful lest the trade of the East should pass out of their hands ; and 
 induced the Caliph of Egypt to expel all the Christians from Jeru- 
 salem. This led to a general persecution of the Jews throughout 
 Exirope. Numbers of them committed suicide, or murdered their 
 wives and families, rather than fall into the hands of the Christians ; 
 others embraced Christianity ; and the rest either fled into distant 
 countries, or were crushed by the fury of the people. Peter the 
 Hermit rode from city to city on an ass with a crucifix in one hand, 
 and his commission from Christ to rescue the Holy Sepulchre, in 
 the other, and by his eloquence, aroused the people to undertake a 
 crusade. The serfs collected in vast masses, and impatiently roved 
 over the plains of Hungary towards Constantinople, the place of 
 rendezvous ; knights grasped their lances ; bishops raised their 
 crosiers ; dukes collected their followers ; and even women and 
 children pressed forward to glory or to death. The sufferings they 
 endured baffle description ; thousands perished of cold, famine, and 
 disease ; the air was rendered pestilential by their carcases ; and 
 vast plains were whitened with their bones. Ida the margravine of 
 Austria, with a long suite of German maidens, reached the Holy Land 
 in safety, but was captured by the Turks ; and it is said that she 
 afterwards married a Turkish prince, and became the mother of the 
 celebrated Zengis, the terrible scourge of the East- 
 While these crusaders were flocking to the East, Henry continued 
 his quarrels with the papal party ; but without success. His youthful 
 
FBANCOXIAK DYNASTY. 47 
 
 son Henry took up arms against his own father ; and was counte- 
 nanced by the pope, and supported by the nobles. The emperor 
 appealed in vain to his rebellious son, and then placed himself at the 
 head of what troops he could muster ; but when the two armies met 
 near Ratisbon, the aged man fled from fear. He was summoned to 
 Coblentz ; where he prostrated himself before his ungrateful child, 
 exclaiming, " My son, my son, if I am to be punished by God for my 
 crimes, at least stain not thine honour ; for it is unseemly in a son to 
 sit in judgment over his father's sins." He was required to deliver 
 up the crown jewels ; but instead of doing this, he adorned himself 
 with them, and defied them to touch the sacred insignia. He was 
 soon after stripped of them, and forced to sign his abdication ; was 
 reduced to the lowest state of poverty ; and at length expired at 
 Liege A.D. 1106, after he had sent his sword and his ring to his son 
 as the tokens of his forgiveness. 
 
 The reign of Henry V. was disturbed by the same disasters which 
 had clouded the days of his father. All his efforts to secure peace 
 were unavailing ; the popes excommunicated him because he would 
 not cede to them the right of electing the bishops, and of controlling 
 the property of the church; while the dukes contended for their 
 independency, and strove to increase and consolidate their power. 
 Saxony rose against his authority, and defeated his army in many 
 severe battles. Pope Calixtus II. wrung out from liim the right of 
 investiture, and the impropriation of church property, with the 
 exception of the royal dues ; which exception secured the adherence 
 of the free cities to Henry. His marriage with Matilda, daughter 
 of Henry I. of England, united him with that country ; but when 
 war broke out between England and France, his attempt to assist his 
 father-in-law was frustrated by the resistance of his subjects. This 
 weak emperor, whose bad conduct deserved the opposition he met 
 with, expired in the prime of life A.D. 1125, leaving the empire 
 divided into several independent states ; and with him the dynasty 
 of the great Salic race terminated. 
 
 The mighty vassals of the crown again met in the plains between 
 Mayence and Worms, for the purpose of electing a successor to the 
 throne. They were arranged in their proper order ; the Saxons 
 occupied the north-east ; the Franks the north-west ; the Bavarians 
 the south-east ; and the Swabians the south-west. Each nation 
 elected ten princes ; who selected one from each. The Saxons chose 
 Lothar, duke of Supplinburg ; the Franks, Charles, Count of Flan- 
 ders; the Bavarians, Leopold of Austria; and the Swabians, Frederick, 
 duke of Hohenstaufen. Lothar secured the interest of the Welf, 
 by marrying his daughter to Henry the Proud of Bavaria ; and laid 
 claim to the possessions of the Sane family against Frederick. Both 
 took up arms ; the Swabians for many years defended their rights, 
 and Conrad, the brother of Frederick, who had returned from his 
 crusade, assisted his brother ; but the influence of pope Honorius II. 
 whom Lothar had flattered and pleased, caused the duke of Supplin- 
 burg to be victorious, and to humble the power of Frederick. The 
 emperor was crowned at Rome, and received the inheritance of the 
 
48 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 counless Matilda to hold as a papal fief, which he bestowed on his 
 son-in-law, Henry of Bavaria. He caused a law to be passed, that 
 when one fief became vacant by the extinction of the family, instead 
 of passing to the crown, the next of kin should inherit it. This 
 promoted the influence of the house of Austria ; for Henry besides 
 Bavaria, possessed the lands of Matilda, and on the death, of the, 
 emperor, inherited Saxony. Lothar died during a campaign in 
 Italy and was buried at Konigslutter, a town in Brunswick A.D. 
 1137. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SWABIAX DYNASTY. A.D. 1137-1250. 
 
 DURING the preceding reigns, indications had been given of the 
 rising of a violent storni, which now began to burst over the empire. 
 Germany was now, and for centuries continued to be, tne scene of a 
 great struggle between two powerful parties, each of which strove 
 for the mastery. We have already noticed the struggles of the 
 Saxon party; but since the accession of the Bavarian Welf to that 
 duchy, it was denominated the faction of the Welf or Guelph. 
 This party was allied to the popes, and formed the antagonist of the 
 emperor, whose faction received the appellation of the Waiblinger, 
 or the Ghibeline. Though applied first to these two parties, the 
 name Guelph was adopted by the Italians to denote all opponents 
 to, and that of Ghibeline, the supporters of, the imperial authority 
 in Italy. The Ghibeline party raised Conrad of Hohenstaufen to 
 the throne ; a brave and warlike prince, handsome in his person, and 
 enthusiastic in his disposition. His opponent was surprised by his 
 boldness, and delivered up to him the crown jewels ; but when 
 Conrad demanded Saxony, under the pretence that it was illegal to 
 hold two duchies, Henry rebelled, and was deposed ; while Saxony 
 was given to Albert, and Bavaria to Leopold of Austria. These 
 two provinces became instantly the scene of a fierce contest. 
 Conrad dispatched his nephew Frederick, sumamed Barbarossa, or 
 Red Beard; who took Zurich, and invaded the lands of the Wclf; 
 while he himself besieged his enemies at Weinsberg. After enduring a 
 long siege, they were compelled to surrender ; and Conrad granted a 
 free passage to the women, and whatever they could carry. The 
 duchess instantly took her husband on her shoulders, and all the 
 women of the city followed her example, and marched out of the 
 city gates, to the great astonishment of the emperor ; who. struck 
 wiih admiration at their heroism, permitted the garrison to with- 
 draw. The death of Henry and Leopold put an end to the strife 
 for a time ; Saxony was given to Henry the Lion, and Bavaria to 
 
SWABIAN DYNASTY. 49 
 
 Leopold's brother, Hemy, who married the widow of Henry, the 
 Proud; while Albert was recompensed with Braiideiiburg, which 
 was raised to the dignity of a margraviate. 
 
 A fresh crusade was preached throughout Germany and France by 
 St. Bernard. Zengis had taken Edcssa, and massacred 30,000 of 
 the C'lriitians ; and the cry of the oppressed resounded throughout 
 Europe, In the spring of 1147, Conrad gathered an immense 
 host at Ratisbon, and marched them towards Constantinople on 
 their way to the East. Many were the disasters they met with on 
 their passage. In the imperial city, their wild freaks aroused the 
 jealous Greek, and procured his vengeance ; and when they reached 
 Asia Minor their sufferings were intense. The pilgrims were 
 starving ; food could only be procured at the most extravagant 
 prices ; the very flour was poisoned ; and it was nothing strange for 
 the Greek to receive the money, and then run away without giving 
 anything in return. Still they pressed forward; the army was 
 incautiously led among the mountains of Iconium ; when it was 
 suddenlv attacked by the Turks, and completely routed. Conrad 
 received two severe arrow wounds; and the wretched remnant of 
 his brave troops found their way to Attalia, where the greater part 
 was starved to death. In conjunction with Louis VII. of France, 
 he attempted the siege of Damascus ; but the treachery of the 
 inhabitants, and the loss of his troops, induced him to return home ; 
 which he found again the scene of commotion. "Welf had revolted 
 against him, and Henry the Lion had claimed Bavaria. He lived to 
 subdue them, and died A.D. 1152, it was suspected, of poison. The 
 double eagle was introduced by him into the arms of the empire, 
 imitated from those of the Greek emperor. 
 
 The crown now passed to Frederick, the nephew of the late 
 emperor, who was surnamed by the Italians Barbarossa on account of 
 his red beard. He was eminently qualified by nature and cultivation 
 to wield the sreptre in this eventful age. Seventeen days after the 
 death of Conrad, he was prockimed emperor at Frankfort ; and iu 
 five days was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle. In the second year of his 
 reign, he settled the disputes of Canute and Sueno respecting the 
 crown of Denmark, by giving it to the latter to hold m fee ; and 
 when he had secured tranquillity at home by his wise administration, 
 he directed his attention to the affairs of Italy. Complaints had 
 reached him against Roger, king of Sicily ; and ambassadors from 
 the city of Looi appeared before him to complain of the oppression 
 of the Milanese. Frederick commanded the oppressors to refrain 
 from such proceedings ; but they tore his letter to pieces, and 
 scarcely permitted the envoy to escape. He resolved to revenge the 
 insult, crossed the Alps with his brave troops, and commanded his 
 vassals to appear and do service. The Ghibelines obeyed, the 
 Guelphs refused ; and Frederick passing by Milan for the present, 
 destroyed the towns with which she was in league. Tortona fell 
 after two months siege, the walls were levelled to the ground, the 
 city given up to plunder, and then burnt to ashes. At Pavia he 
 seized, the iron crown for himself, and marched towards the imperial 
 
50 HISTORY OF At' STRIA. 
 
 city, where Adrian TV. occupied the papal chair. Rome was at this 
 time torn by faction. A mighty reformer had sprung up, named 
 Arnold of Brescia, who excited the people against the pope, and 
 wished to bring back the palmy days and resplendent virtues of the 
 ancient republic. Adrian interposed his stem rule, and caused 
 Arnold to be arrested, condemned, and burnt alive before the gate 
 of the city. He, therefore, welcomed the emperor to his presence, 
 while the inhabitants trembled with fear. The ceremony of corona- 
 tion was performed in. the church of St. Peter, and the emperor in 
 return held the stirrup of the pope while he mounted : but scarcely 
 had the scene closed, when the fury of Arnold's faction manifested 
 itself. A tumult broke out among the people ; Frederick's horse 
 fell down, and placed his master's life in jeopardy; blood flowed in 
 the streets ; and it was with difficulty the emperor cut his way to 
 liis own country. 
 
 He found his empire in a state of anarchy. To intimidate others, 
 he vigorously punished the Count Palatine of the Rhine, who was at 
 deadly feud with the Archbishop of Mentz. He also rewarded the 
 valour of Henry the Lion by giving to him the duchy of Saxony ; 
 and compensated Henry, the present duke, by creating Austria a 
 duchy, and making it independent of Bavaria. William, count of 
 Burgundy, had imprisoned the fair Beatrice, the heiress of that 
 province, in a tower ; and Frederick hastened to release her, and to 
 raise her to his throne as empress ; by wliich act Burgundy was 
 added to his dominions. He also forced Boleslaw, king of Poland, 
 to acknowledge the sovereignty of the German empire, and bare- 
 footed, and with his naked sword hung round his neck, to take the 
 oath of fealty. 
 
 Having thus settled the affairs of Germany, Frederick turned 
 towards Italy. In 1158 he crossed the Alps with an army of 100,000 
 infantry, and 15,000 cavalry, to oppose the Milanese ; who had laid 
 the cities of Lodi and Crema in ruins. He invested their city ; but 
 at length contented himself with receiving its surrender and the 
 submission of the nobles, who came to him in a penitential garb to 
 present him with the keys of the city. He regulated the affairs of 
 Italy in a diet, and gave a new code to the cities ; which decreed that 
 all royal dues usurped by the dukes, margraves, and townships 
 should relapse to the crown ; that the nominal ion of princes, counts, 
 &c., was invalid except when confirmed by the emperor ; and that 
 the great fiefs should be uiialienable, and indivisible. A new tax 
 was also imposed ; but when the collection was attempted in Milan, 
 the people rose, and drove Otho, the friend of the emperor, out of 
 the city. Frederick resolved to punish severely this rebellious 
 people. Milan was closely invested by his troops ; four times did 
 the people attempt to assassinate him ; and he swore that he would 
 not wear his crown till he had razed Milan to the ground. On the 
 Gth of March, 1162, the proud city was humbled; the citizens, 
 emaciated by famine, and clothed in sackcloth, marched out of the 
 city with a rope round their necks, and were allowed to remain for 
 some time shivering in the cold till the emperor chose to see them. 
 
SWABIAN DYNASTY. 51 
 
 A part of the city \valls were thrown down ; Lut the city, and the 
 lives of the inhabitants were spared. The power of Milan, however, 
 was broken ; and the other cities, which had shared in her guilt, 
 feared lest they would have to share in her fate also. 
 
 After returning to settle some disturbances between the dukes at 
 home, the attention of Frederick was again called to Italy, by the 
 contests between the popes. Victor IV., who had been supported 
 by him in opposition to Alexander III., died; and the emperor 
 recognised Guido, bishop of Crema, as Pope Paschal III. The 
 Germans had rendered themselves odious to the Italians by their 
 rapacity, and insolence ; and were unable to oppose the triumphal 
 entry of Alexander into Home, where he laid an interdict upon the 
 emperor. Frederick then undertook his third expedition against the 
 eternal city. The towns in Lombardy had formed themselves into a 
 league, and had restored their cities and churches ; and were aroused 
 by the extension of the imperial power. Before, however, he could 
 attack these cities a fierce pestilence swept away nearly all his fine 
 troops ; he himself escaped with difficulty to the. Alps ; and having 
 pronounced the whole of the Lombard league out of the empire, he 
 arrived in his dominions a fugitive, after passing through many hair- 
 breadth escapes, A.D. 1168. 
 
 He found the empire in a very unsettled condition. The various* 
 princes were animated by ambition to extend their dominions ; and 
 engaged in constant feuds with their neighbours. Henry the Lion 
 was the most powerful of the dukes, and increased his influence over 
 the Slavi, and the Danes. The aged Welf had given himself up to 
 luxury, and was surrounded by nobles who feasted and danced for 
 weeks together at his expense. To meet all the demands, he had 
 recourse to the emperor's treasury ; and when he died, having no 
 issue, he left the whole of his Swabian possessions, and the lands of 
 Matilda in Italy, to the emperor. This aroused the spirit of Henry 
 the Lion, who sought an opportunity for revenge. Italy was again, 
 the scene of revolt. Paschal died ; and the Ghibelines elected 
 Calixtus III. in his stead; a man very inferior to Alexander; who 
 still claimed the papal chair. The Italians had erected the fortress 
 of Alessandria in honour of their pope ; who encouraged them to 
 revolt against the emperor. To prevent a disruption, Frederick sent 
 Christian, archbishop of Mentz, with a small army into Italy. This 
 brave man was as distinguished as a statesman, as he was celebrated 
 for his feats of valour. He rode a splendid war-charger, upon which 
 he proudly sat armed cap-a-pie, with a golden helmet on his head, his 
 episcopal mantle on his shoulders, and a heavy club clenched in his 
 hand, with which he dashed out the brains of thirty-eight of his 
 enemies. His efforts to curb the fury of the Italians were unavail- 
 ing ; and he solicited the emperor to appear in person with his army. 
 Frederick persuaded the fierce Henry to accompany him ; and crossed 
 the Alps with the flower of his troops. Susa was burnt to the 
 ground; and Alessandria was besieged with skill and energy, but was 
 relieved by the advance of the united army of the Lombards. Henry 
 grew discontented; and, while the emperor was prostrated by 
 
 :n 2 
 
52 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 sickness near Lake Como, he sent to declare his intention of returning: 
 Frederick threw himself on his knees, and entreated him, for the 
 honour of the empire, not to abandon him in the hour of his need : 
 but the proud duke refused to listen; and the beautiful empress 
 raised her husband from his knees, and said to him, " God will help 
 you, when at some future time you remember this day, and the 
 Welf's insolence." Henry withdrew ; and Frederick calmly 
 awaited the approach of the Lombards. They attacked him at 
 Legnano on the 29th of May 1176. The Germans fought with 
 the energy of despair, but were overpowered by the number of 
 the enemy ; the emperor's horse fell in the thickest of the fight ; 
 and his shattered forces, imagining that he was killed, fled. A 
 few days afterwards, however, he rejoined his troops at Pavia ; 
 where his presence soon dispelled the gloom the report of his death 
 had occasioned. 
 
 Frederick now sued for peace with Pope Alexander ; who met him 
 at Venice, and removed from him the sentence of excommunication. 
 Calixtus was induced to retire to a rich abbey ; and the bishops, who 
 had been raised to their sees by the emperor's authority, were con- 
 firmed in their respective dioceses. He then returned to Germany 
 and summoned the proud Henry to appear before him ; and on his 
 refusal, pronounced upon him the ban of the empire. Henry 
 strengthened himself in Saxony ; but his pride and suspicion, 
 separated his vassals one by one from him ; and after being several 
 times defeated, he threw himself at the emperor's feet at Erfurt. 
 Frederick generously forgot his past treason, and remembered only 
 his former friendship ; raised him from his lowly position, embraced 
 him, and shed tears of joy at the reconciliation. His dominions, 
 however, were divided; Brunswick alone remained to him ; and for 
 the preservation of order and peace, he was exiled for three years. 
 He set out with a small retinue for England to his father-in-law 
 Henry II., whose daughter Matilda he had married. 
 
 On the death of Alexander, Frederick secured the interest of 
 Pope Urban ; the treaty with the Lombards was renewed at Con- 
 stance ; and tranquillity reigned throughout the empire. A grand 
 diet was convened at Mentz, which was a scene of unrivalled 
 splendour and festivity. Forty thousand knights appeared on their 
 prancing steeds ; the most lovely women surrounded the empress 
 Beatrice; the emperor and his sons were received with the most 
 enthusiastic applause ; while the groups of nobles, bishops, and 
 common people diversified the scene, and increased its magnificence. 
 Historians have exhausted the power of language in describing the 
 events of those palmy days ; while songs, still remembered and sung, 
 perpetuate the pleasures of that joyful occasion. 
 
 Amid these peaceful scenes, there soon burst forth the discordant 
 note of war from the Holy Land. Saladin had been rapidly extend- 
 ing his conquests ; the chief cities of Palestine, except Tyre, Tripolis, 
 and Antioch, had fallen into his hands ; and the churches, with the 
 exception of that of the holy sepulchre, had been converted into 
 mosques. William bishop of Tyre hastened to the west, to implore 
 
SAVABIAN DYNASTY. 53 
 
 assistance against the foe; a new crusade was enthusiastically 
 preached throughout Europe ; and Frederick, though now in his 
 seventieth year, joyfully took up the cross, assembled around him his 
 son Frederick, and his great vassals, and set out at the head of 
 150,000 warriors, besides volunteers. He resolved to pass through 
 Hungary, from whose king he met with a friendly reception ; held a 
 magnificent tournament at Belgrade ; and hanged up some Servian 
 robbers, as a warning to their companions who had harassed his 
 march. The Greek emperor Isaac was lavish of promises which 
 were never fulfilled; and afterwards even refused him provisions, 
 and cast the imperial ambassador into a dungeon. The ire of the 
 Germans was aroused; the soldiers plundered and desolated the 
 country for miles ; the cities which had injured the pilgrims were 
 destroyed ; and the boasted capital itself was saved solely by Isaac 
 placing his fleet at the disposal of the emperor to convey the 
 crusaders to Asia. When landed on the destined shores, they cut 
 their way through unheard-of difficulties and dangers ; the Sultan of 
 Iconium proudly attempted to stay their progress ; but his troops 
 were defeated, and his ofi'er of peace on payment of a large sum, 
 rejected with scorn. The devoted host still pressed onward in their 
 journey, though disease and famine followed their steps ; and water 
 was sometimes so scarce that they drank the blood of their horses. 
 The emperor's son, Frederick, gained a splendid victory over the 
 Turks, took possession of Iconium, and captured immense booty. 
 After refreshing the troops, the crusaders pressed towards Syria ; 
 but on reaching the small stream Calycadnus in Cilicia, the impatient 
 emperor plunged into it, that he might swim over on horseback, 
 where the strength of the current carried both horse and rider away ; 
 and Frederick Barbarossa was lost. His son Frederick, duke of 
 Swabia, succeeded him in the command of the army ; but one year 
 after, he died of a pestilential disorder at the siege of Acre ; while 
 of the mighty host which followed the standard of the cross to the 
 east, comparatively few returned to their homes. 
 
 Frederick was remarkable for his noble and majestic appearance. 
 His short fair hair curled over a broad and massive brow ; his fine 
 blue eyes beamed with intelligence ; and his open countenance 
 displayed the benevolence of his heart, and commanded the admira- 
 tion and esteem of his subjects. His mind had been carefully 
 cultivated ; his thoughts were clear, and his feelings strong ; his 
 views comprehensive and manly; and his decision firm and un- 
 bending ; courage was associated with tenderness ; and admiration 
 of the beautiful, with a full recognition of the useful. His memory 
 was stored with varied knowledge, such as was by no means common 
 in his age ; he patronised learning, and gathered around him the 
 literati of the day ; and though always resisting the encroachments 
 of the papal hierarchy, was a true friend to the best interests of 
 religion. He lived respected and beloved by his subjects, and died 
 lamented by them ; the dreams of a golden age were so completely 
 associated with his existence, that his return from the gloomy 
 shades was long expected by his loving followers, as the various 
 
54> HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 legends respecting him will testify. His remains were solemnly 
 entombed in St. Peter's Church at Antioch A.D. 1190. 
 
 After the death of Frederick, duke of Swabia, the command of 
 the army devolved on Leopold of Austria, by whom the siege of 
 Acre was carried on with vigour. It is reported that once when 
 storming a town, his white coat was so completely snaked in blood 
 that the middle beneath the girdle alone remained white. This 
 bloody coat-of-arms, represented by a white bar on a red ground, was 
 adopted by him instead of the escutcheon he had hitherto borne, that 
 of Babenberg, an eagle ; and has been retained by Austria to the 
 present time. Richard Cceur-de-Lion, king of England, and Philip 
 king of Trance, arrived with large reinforcements, the siege was 
 carried on with the greatest energy, and a' length the town sur- 
 rendered. Richard oilcnded the Germans, and the king of France ; 
 Philip returned home, and Leopold was obliged to borrow money to 
 feed his troops. On one occasion Richard opposed the Duke of 
 Austria, and tore his banner from his camp ; which was over- 
 looked now in the time of his distress, but was remembered and 
 avenged when he was in Germany. Richard sailed from Ascalon 
 for the shores of England, but sud'ered shipwreck in the Adriatic. 
 He was proceeding through Germany in disguise, when he was 
 discovered in the kitchen of an inn, cooking a fowl, at Erdberg near 
 Vienna. Leopold instantly arrested him, and communicated the 
 news of his capture to the emperor Henry VI. ; who ordered t he- 
 king to be brought to Worms ; where he was accused of the 
 murder of Conrad of Montserrat, and of depriving the German 
 leaders of their share of the spoils in the Holy Land. The news 
 of his imprisonment soon spread through the empire ; his queen 
 Eleanor filled Europe with her complaints; the price of 150,000 
 silver marks was fixed as his ransom ; and two abbots were dis- 
 patched from England to ascertain his situation. When the king 
 was brought before the diet, he ably defended himself from all the 
 charges brought against him : his eloquence even drew tears from 
 many who were present ; and the emperor promised him his friend- 
 ship, and assigned him a magnificent abode at Mentz. After a 
 year's captivity, his ransom was brought to the emperor by Queen, 
 Eleanor and the Bishop of Rouen ; and Richard soon after landed at 
 Sandwich, and at length reached London; where the citizens 
 displayed their wealth with such profusencss, that a German who 
 was present could not help saying, " If our emperor had known the 
 riches of England, thy ransom, king, would have been far 
 greater." 
 
 While these events were taking place in the Holy Land, Henry 
 the Lion had returned to Germany, and attempted to reconquer the 
 duchy of Saxony. He destroyed the city of Bardewiek, and put 
 all its inhabitants to the swora ; and Henry VI., then regent of the 
 empire, in revenge marched to Hanover, and burnt that city. The 
 news of his father's death, induced Henry to conclude a truce with 
 the Welf, and to hasten into Italy to receive the imperial crown 
 from the hands of the pontiff ; and on his return, he was completely 
 
SW ASIAN DYNASTY. 5 a 
 
 reconciled with Henry the Lion. This brave prince died at Bruns- 
 wick A.D. 1195, where he had lately amused himself with collecting 1 
 and perusing old chronicles. Henry VI. endeavoured to work out the 
 principles his father had adopted. He feared the power of the pope, 
 and resolved to shake his authority in Italy. He had married Con- 
 stant ia, aunt of William king of Apulia and Sicily; and on his 
 death, claimed the inheritance, and was crowned king by the 
 trembling pope A.D. 1191. The increasing power of Henry, however, 
 was soon a source of great alarm to the pope, and to check it, the 
 pontiff placed him under an interdict ; but the emperor treated it 
 with contempt, and cruelly murdered all those who refused to obey 
 his will. He formed the plan of extending his dominions beyond 
 Constantinople into the east, and commenced a crusade for the 
 purpose of carrying it out. Alexius who had deposed Isaac the 
 Greek emperor, and deprived him of his sight, was called to account 
 for his crimes by Henry; who threatened to invade him in his 
 capital. A vast force set out headed by Conrad the chancellor, and 
 the Dukes of Austria, Cariuthia, Brandenburg, and others. Cyprus 
 took the oath of fealty, and the king of Armenia swore allegiance ; 
 the cities of Sidon, Berytos, and others soon fell into their hands ; 
 and the whole of Palestine would have been systematically reduced, 
 but for the news of the death of the emperor, who died at Messina 
 in the prime of life, either by an iced beverage which he incautiously 
 took, or by poison, A.D. 1197. The crusaders' camp was thrown into 
 commotion by the event ; part immediately returned home, and the 
 remainder followed their example before long. 
 
 While the late emperor was in Italy, innumerable feuds had arisen 
 in Germany. The bishops attempted to increase their power, but 
 were resisted by the nobility and the people ; and the princes were 
 constantly disputing with each other respecting their territories. 
 Philip, the last of Barbarossa's sons, succeeded to the duchy of 
 Swabia, and also to the imperial crown. Constantia fled with her 
 son Frederick to the feet of pope Innocent III., and entreated his 
 assistance ; by whom the youthful prince was crowned King of 
 Apulia and Sicily. He was, however, only permitted to hold it in 
 fee of the pope, who was anxious to secure the whole of Italy to his 
 authority. Spoleto, Ravenna, and Ancona were given to him by the 
 
 Eateful Constantia; the Lombard cities, rejoicing at the thought of 
 ing free from German rule, made terms with the pontiff; Rome 
 was secured to his authority ; and soon the whole of Italy became 
 a papal province. Philip, however, was by no means securely fixed 
 in his own dominions. Otho, the son of Henry the Lion, laid claim 
 to the crown ; sought the alliance of England and Denmark, and the 
 favour of the pope ; and was crowned by his faction at Cologne, 
 which he had taken by force. Both parties flew to arms; Philip 
 besieged Strasburg, and defeated Otho who was marching to its 
 relief, and some of his powerful partisans. The pope was induced 
 by this turn in the affairs to recognise Philip ; and an interview took 
 place between the two rivals at Cologne, where it was settled that 
 Philip should enjoy the crown during his lifetime, and that Otho 
 
56 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 should succr-ed him. Philip did nut long retain the sceptre. Otho, 
 cousin of Louis of Bavaria, had been promised the hand of one 
 of the emperor's daughters ; but was afterwards refused, on account of 
 his licentiousness and guilt. He then sought the daughter of Henry 
 of Silesia, and was the bearer of a letter from Philip to him, in 
 which that prince was warned of Otho. He broke open the seal, 
 and read its contents; and filled with rage, rapidly returned to 
 Bamberg, where the emperor was holding his court, rushed into his 
 apartment, and ran him through with his sword while he was playing 
 at chess, A.D. 1208. 
 
 Philip's widow, Irene, retired to the ancestral castle of the 
 Hohenstaufen, where she died of grief; but her youthful daughter 
 Beatrice threw herself, weeping, at the feet of Otho, and demanded 
 vengeance on her father's murderer; which was speedily granted; 
 for he was slain at Ebrach, and his castle reduced to ruins. Otlio 
 now feared the youthful Frederick, king of Sicily, and that he might 
 not gain followers in Germany by marrying the daughter of Philip, 
 sought and obtained her hand for himself. He hurried to Rome to 
 gain the pope's favour, humbled himself before him, conceded the 
 right of investiture, took the oath of obedience, and then received 
 the crown as the reward of his submission. The Italians, however, 
 rose against the Germans ; and as the pope did not attempt to 
 protect the emperor, Otho broke his oath, and withheld Tuscany and 
 Ancona from the church. Innocent retaliated by excommunicating 
 him, and commanding the German princes to elect Frederick in his 
 stead, A.D. 1212. Otho endeavoured to obtain possession of the 
 King of Sicily, but the tidings that the princes had chosen Frederick 
 as their emperor, called him to Germany. He laid waste the arch- 
 bishopric of Magdeburg, put the king of Bohemia under the ban of 
 the empire, and made vigorous efforts to reinstate himself ; but the 
 appearance of Frederick attracted the attention and gained the 
 support of the nobles. Beatrice, Otho's queen died ; the Swabians 
 and Bavarians left his camp ; and he retired, though still resolved to 
 contest the throne. Constance shut their gates against him; and 
 as he passed along the Rhine, he was driven from place to place like 
 a fugitive. He was wounded in a conflict with France in Flanders, 
 and defended himself for some time in Brunswick; until having 
 slain his inveterate foe Albert of Magdeburg in 1215, he remained 
 quiet till his death A.p. 1218. 
 
 Frederick meanwhile had gamed the affections of the people. All 
 foresaw the glory his reign would bring to them, and hastened to 
 render homage to the illustrious descendant of Frederick Barba- 
 rossa. The German bishops were propitiated, and the emperor's son 
 elected king of Apulia and Sicily; while to appease- the pope, 
 Frederick promised to raise a fresh crusade to the Holy Land. Before, 
 however, he could undertake the expedition, the affairs of Italy 
 claimed his notice. In 1220 he was crowned at Rome by Hoao- 
 rius III., and ihen proceeded to regulate the administration of liis 
 hereditary possessions. The enthusiasm, however, which once had 
 gathered together the vast forces for the crusades, had very 
 
SWABIAN DYNASTY. 57 
 
 considerably abated ; and it was not till 1127 that the emperor col- 
 lected his troops for that purpose. Through the influence of Hermann 
 von Salza, grand master of the Teutonic order, he married lolante, 
 daughter of John king of Jerusalem, and claimed in her right the 
 eastern kingdom. The crusaders assembled in great numbers to 
 enroll themselves under his banner ; but a fierce pestilence swept 
 over his camp, and carried off the the flower of his army. The 
 remainder embarked for their crusade ; but advanced no farther than 
 the Morea, when they abandoned their enterprise. Gregory IX., 
 who had succeeded Honorius, was enraged at the miserable failure of 
 the expedition, and anathematised the emperor for the non-fulfilment 
 of his oath. Frederick resolved to wipe out the stain upon his 
 honour ; and collected a fresh band of holy adventurers, with which 
 he set sail A.D. 1228. The aged pope was not prepared for such 
 energy and decision as Frederick manifested ; and had designed to 
 alienate his subjects from him, and consolidate the hierarchical power. 
 He reminded him that it was improper for one under the interdict of 
 the church to engage in so pious an undertaking ; and commanded 
 the patriarch of Jerusalem, and the noble order of knights to oppose 
 him in his efforts. Frederick was not the man to be defeated by the 
 threats of the pope ; and, therefore, sought and obtained an alliance 
 with Kamel, the sultan of Egypt, and immediately set out for Pales- 
 tine. The patriarch, the templars, and the hospitallers, avoided him 
 as an excommunicate, and refused to render him any assistance ; but 
 the Sultan agreed to give him Jerusalem, and the neighbouring 
 territory, on condition that he would allow the Mohammedans to 
 make pilgrimages to a mosque within the walls; and Frederick, 
 notwithstanding all the efforts of the pope and his emissaries, took 
 possession of the Holy City, and placed the crown on his own head. 
 On his return, he hastened into Italy to counteract the plottings of 
 the crafty pontiff; who had raised a body of troops, bearing the 
 insignia of St. Peter's keys, and placed John of Jerusalem at their 
 head ; with whom and the aid of the Milanese and Lombards, he 
 ravaged the estates of Frederick. The hasty approach of the 
 emperor and his troops caused the trembling pope to accede to terms 
 of peace, and to release Frederick from the interdict ; but the 
 Lombards still held out, unmoved by Gregory's pious exhortations, 
 and the emperor's severe threats. 
 
 The affairs of Germany soon called for the presence of Frederick 
 there. Henry, who had been appointed regent, was unable to 
 restrain the insolence of the counts and petty princes ; who seized 
 every pretext to foment quarrels with their neighbours, and to devas- 
 tate their lands. To conciliate them, he summoned a diet at Worms ; 
 where Ii3 published an imperial edict, which rendered the bishops 
 and great vassals more independent of the emperor, and more power- 
 ful over the people than they had hitherto been ; and which aimed a 
 severe blow at the liberties of the free cities. He also entered into 
 a secret treaty with the pope and the Lombards, and then publicly 
 announced his assumption of the crown. The princes, however, did 
 not flock to his standard, as he had expected ; the Lombards did not 
 
58 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 divert the emperor's attention ; and when Frederick arrived in Ger- 
 many, his ungrateful son, Henry, threw himself on his knees before 
 him, and sued for pardon. This was granted to him ; but on his 
 attempting to poison his father, he was imprisoned first at San Felice 
 in Apulia, then in Calabria, and at length at Martorano in Apulia, 
 where he died A.D. 1240. 
 
 On the death of lolante, Frederick sought the hand of Isabella, 
 the sister of Henry III. of England. He esteemed beauty as the 
 chief glory of woman; and to be assured of her claims to that 
 quality, he dispatched his faithful chancellor Peter de Yincis to 
 England to report on her charms. The princess was received with a 
 magnificence which could scarcely be surpassed. The citizens of 
 Cologne went out to meet her in their finest attires, and decked with 
 garlands ; while the most fantastic devices were erected to welcome 
 the queen to the city. Worms, where the nuptials were celebrated, 
 blazed with splendid pageantries, each of which displayed oriental 
 taste, and eastern splendour. In the same year, 1235, Frederick 
 convened a diet at Mentz, and attempted to introduce the reforms he 
 had drawn out for Apulia ; but subsequent events proved that his 
 German subjects could not be so easily placed under an organised 
 government as the Italians. 
 
 While Frederick remained in Germany, none of his subjects 
 resisted his will, except the duke of Austria; though the calm 
 which pervaded all classes, was but too evidently significant of the 
 storm which was rising and which would burst out in its fury when 
 he had retired to Italy. Frederick the Warlike, duke of Austria, 
 was a man of lawless character ; he had assisted the usurper Henry 
 against his father, opposed Henry of Bavaria, and attacked the king 
 of Hungary in his own dominions. His dissoluteness rendered him 
 a terror to his subjects ; and when, on one occasion, he carried oif 
 the beautiful Brunehilda from Vienna, which had been raised to the 
 dignity of a free city, the citizens advised him if he valued his life, 
 to quit their city immediately. A powerful count, however, was now 
 rising in importance before whom the duke of Austria was ultimately 
 to fall. The house of Hapsburg had been increasing and establish- 
 in" 1 its power by the bravery and ambition of its sons, lludolph 
 hall recommended himself to the notice of the emperors by his 
 courage ; his son Albert IV. had followed the imperial banner in 
 Italy ,and afterwards flocked to the standard of the cross in Pales- 
 tine, and died at Ascalon; while Albert's youthful son Rudolph 
 was brought up in the camp of Frederick, where he was early 
 trained to avms ; and on the death of his father, succeeded to the 
 title and possessions in Alsace. After carrying on several struggles 
 with his relatives, and increasing his power, he served under Ottocar, 
 king of Bohemia, against the Prussians. A crusade had been 
 undertaken against these barbarians, who for a long time resitted the 
 attacks of the fierce knights ; but at length they were subdued, and 
 several important cities erected. 
 
 A vast horde of Tartars now swept over the neighbouring countries 
 on their way to Germany. Fire and devastation marked their 
 
SWABIAN DYNASTY. 
 
 progress with fearful distinctness ; tlie Russian tribes and the Poles 
 vainly attempted to stay their advance; Silesia was ravaged, its 
 towns and villages reduced to ashes, and its inhabitants slain ; and 
 after defeating the army sent to oppose them, they roved along till 
 they came to Olmiitz to which they laid siege. Here, however, they 
 met with a severe resistance ; and after vainly attempting to storm 
 the place, they retired _ to Hungary, where they were defeated, and 
 the greater portion slain by the inhabitants. 
 
 In 1236 Frederick again passed into Italy, where he carried on 
 war against the cities devoted to the Guelphs. He took a band of 
 Moors into his service, by whose aid he gained a splendid victory at 
 Corte Nuovo, broke the power of the Lombards, and procured the 
 submission of all the cities, except Milan, k Bologna, Piacenza, and. 
 Brescia. He gave his daughter to his friend and ally Ezelino, and 
 raised his son Enzio to the throne of Sardinia. The pope was 
 enraged at the success of the emperor, and the elevation ot his son ; 
 he encouraged the resistance of the Lombard league ; and on Palm 
 Sunday 1239, again excommunicated Frederick; who nevertheless 
 continued the war with great vigour, and advanced towards the 
 imperial city. Gregory resolved to assemble the clergy, and arm 
 himself with the authority of the whole church. A convocation. 
 was appointed to be held at Easter in Rome, to which all the clergy 
 were summoned. Frederick determined to prevent their meeting ; 
 and persuaded Enzio to equip a fleet, and waylay the French cardinals 
 and bishops who came by sea from Genoa to Rome. About one 
 hundred prelates, and a large sum of money fell into his hands ; the 
 designs of Gregory were frustrated; the imperial banners waved 
 high in Italy ; the church plate filled the treasury of the emperor ; 
 and even Rome itself was closely besieged ; when suddenly Gregory 
 expired within the walls in the ninetieth year of his age. 
 
 The death of the pope deprived Frederick of a certain victory. 
 After a short respite, the cardinals elected Sinibald Fiesco, the friend 
 of the emperor, as Innocent IV. ; but the monarch was well aware of 
 the change the tiara would make in him, and exclaimed, "Instead of 
 remaining my friend, he will become my enemy ! for no pope can be a 
 Ghibeline." He was not deceived. Innocent soon abandoned Italy, 
 and fixed his seat at Lyons ; and continued the excommunication of 
 the emperor. He convoked a great council to consider the charge 
 of heresy against the emperor. Thaddeus of Suessa appeared to 
 defend his royal master : but it was soon evident that the council 
 had met to condemn, and not to investigate the charges brought against 
 the emperor. The dreadful anathema was repeated ; Frederick was 
 declared a perjurer, a peace-breaker, a robber of churches, profaner 
 of sanctuaries, a heretic; his subjects were released from their oath 
 of obedience ; and all who adhered to him were threatened with 
 excommunication ; and as the whole assembly lowered their torches 
 to the ground, Innocent declared with a loud voice, "May the 
 emperor's glory and prosperity thus vanish for ever !" Frederick 
 received the tidings of their proceedings with calmness and dignity. 
 He protested against the charges made by the pope ; and wrote to 
 
00 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 justify himself before the crowned kings of Europe. Ho subdued 
 the factious spirit of the Lombards, and made his power respected 
 in Italy. Innocent meanwhile stirred up rebellion in Germany, and 
 caused Henry Raspe of Thuriugia to be proclaimed emperor in 
 opposition to Conrad, the son of Frederick. By bribes and fair 
 promises, some of the supporters of the regent were with- 
 drawn, and Raspe was enaoled to defeat Conrad; but the free 
 cities, and Otho of Bavaria quickly came to the help of the son of 
 Frederick, and overcame Henry at Ulm; and the usurper, being 
 wounded, retired to Wartburg, where he expired A.D. I2i7. The 
 pope then persuaded William of Holland to accept the imperial 
 crown, who weakened considerably the power of Conrad ; and the 
 princes were too eager to promote their own interests by these 
 troublesome events, to consider the danger they were placing the 
 empire in by their deseftion of the cause of Frederick. Misfortunes 
 even befell the illustrious emperor in Italy. Enzio was taken prisoner 
 when besieging Bologna, and Ezelino was suspected of wavering in 
 his attachment to the emperor : but these disasters did not atl'ect 
 him so much as did the conduct of his old friend, Peter de Viucis. 
 He strongly recommended to Frederick a certain physician ; but the 
 report having reached him that Peter had embraced the papal cause, 
 and intended to poison him the emperor resolved to satisfy himself 
 oy giving the medicine which had been prepared for him, to a 
 malefactor. The result was instantaneous; the malefactor died: 
 and Frederick gave utterance to the sorrow of his heart when he 
 beheld the proof of his friend's treachery. Peter was deprived of 
 his sight, and thrown into prison : where the wretched man put an 
 end to his existence by dashing his head against the wall. The em- 
 peror continued his wars ; but growing jealous of his friends, he 
 made overtures of peace, which were rejected by the haughty 
 pontiff. The war was then renewed ; but the brave Frederick was 
 suddenly overtaken by illness, and died in the arms of his sou 
 Manfred in the fifty-sixth year of his age and was interred at 
 Palermo, A.D. 1250. 
 
 Thus closed the eventful reign of this distinguished emperor, 
 whose talents and learning have justly thrown a halo of glory around 
 his administration. Though not tall, Frederick possessed a hand- 
 some form, a fine open forehead, and a countenance replete with 
 nobility, intelligence and benevolence. He had been carefully 
 educated by his mother Constantia, and early acquired a degree of 
 learning remarkable for that age. His mind had been disciplined by 
 the science of the east, and refined by an exuberance of classic lore : 
 his imagination enriched by eastern splendour, and chastened by the 
 lovely scenery of Sicily where his youthful days were passed. His 
 body acquired strength and agility, by the various chivalrous exer- 
 cises in which he delighted ; while his courage nerved him in battle, 
 and supported him in adversity. The peculiar circumstances in 
 which he was placed, drew out the nobler qualities of his soul. He 
 combatted the popes with resolution ; unawed by the ban of excom- 
 munication, or their fierce denunciation. He bore with magnanimity 
 
THE INTERREGNUM. 01 
 
 the ingratitude of his friends ; rebuked with holy energy the impious 
 dogmas of the Roman hierarchy ; and, though not free from some of 
 the superstitions of the age, Frederick rose above his contemporaries 
 like some mountain peak upon which the first rays of light play, 
 while all beneath is wrapped in gloom. He was sometimes as austere 
 and passionate, as at other times he was mild and generous ; a lover 
 of pleasure, as well as of chivalry and literature. He surrounded 
 himself with the noblest bards, and the most beautiful women ; 
 sung with his rich clear voice the love-sonnets he composed in his 
 amorous moments ; and shared his sympathies with his menagerie of 
 rare animals, his Oriental court and Moorish dancing girls, the 
 prosecution of war, the administration of the empire, and the pro- 
 gress of science and art. Many palaces sprang up under his fostering 
 care at Messina, Palermo, &c. ; a university was founded at Naples ; 
 and the medical school at Salerno was crowded with enthusiastic 
 students. Troubadours, artists, and statesmen, were welcomed to his 
 court ; which was rendered brilliant by wit, intellect and wealth. 
 Seven crowns adorned the head of Frederick ; and when his tomb 
 was opened in 1781, he was found wrapped in embroidered robes, 
 his feet booted and spurred, his head wearing the imperial crown, and 
 his hands grasping the golden ball and the royal sceptre. Well 
 would it have been for Germany and the world had he lived to carry 
 out his great design of reducing the dignity of the pope to that of 
 the first bishop of the Christian church. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE INTERREGNUM. A.D. 1250-1273. 
 
 The news of Frederick's death was hailed with joy by the papal 
 party. The pope declared his possessions forfeited, and hastened 
 into Naples ; Conrad IV. Frederick's eldest son, was driven out of 
 Germany, and sought to gain the estates of his father in Italy, and 
 the protection of the pope ; and the cities revolted against 
 Manfred, another son of Frederick, who had been appointed regent 
 of the two Sicilies. These two brothers united their forces, 
 captured Capua, and razed the walls of Naples. The pope offered 
 the crown first to Richard of Cornwall, then to Edward, son of 
 Henry of England, and at length to Charles count of Anjou, who 
 accepted it. Conrad died A.D. 1254, it is said of poison; leaving ari 
 only son two years old, who was named by the Italians Conradin. 
 Manfred was appointed regent, carried on the war with vigour, and 
 at length subdued his enemies. When, however, Charles landed 
 with his vassals and adventurers, he immediately marched against 
 Manfred. The two armies met under the walls of Benevento, 
 where the Saracens fought bravely ; but the Apulian troops refused 
 
62 HISTORY OF AUSTKIA. 
 
 to move, and Manfred seeing all was lost, threw himself into the 
 thickest of the fight, and nobly fell covered with wounds. Charles 
 refused him burial, because he was a heretic : but the French 
 soldiers were so touched by his beauty and gallantry, that, rather 
 than he should lie exposed, they cast a heap of stones over him. 
 Conradin was during the greater part of this time at the court of 
 Louis of Bavaria. The crown of Germany was stoutly contested by 
 two competitors, whom the electoral princes prevailed upon to 
 expend their treasures for the possession of the prize. Alfonso of 
 Castille sent, 20,000 silver marks from Spain, and was elected 
 emperor by Treves, Bohemia, Saxony, and Brandenburg. Richard 
 of Cornwall sent an immense sum and secured the votes of Mentz, 
 Cologne, and Bavaria. 
 
 Conradin, at the age of sixteen, set out for Italy, at the head of a 
 few thousand men, and was well received by the Ghibcline leaders. 
 He marched unopposed to Rome, where he was welcomed by a 
 procession of beautiful girls ; but when he appeared in Lower Italy, 
 lie encountered the troops of Charles ; who defeated him, and forced 
 him to flee for his life. He was crossing the sea to Pisa, when he 
 was taken captive with his friend and companion Frederick of 
 Austria, by John Frangipani : who delivered him up to Charles for 
 a large sum of money. He was conveyed to Naples, tried, and 
 speedily executed with his friend in the market place. The French 
 were roused to indignation at the injustice of the sentence ; Charles, 
 son-in-law to Robert Earl of Flanders, cut down the officer 
 appointed to read aloud the sentence of death, exclaiming, "Wretch! 
 how darest thou condemn such a great and excellent knight?" 
 The young prince threw down, his glove, and charged him who 
 raised it to carry it to Peter, king of Aragon, to whom he 
 bequeathed the remnant of his possessions. He fearlessly trod the 
 steps, knelt on the block; and soon the head of the last of the 
 Hohenstaufen rolled on the scaffold. His mother, who had offered 
 a large ransom for his life, devoted the money to the erection of the 
 monastery of Del Carmine in the Tyrol ; and a chapel was 
 afterwards raised on the spot where he was executed. Charles put 
 nearly every Ghibeline to death, and exterminated the Moors ; 
 Enzio was imprisoned and died in an iron cage ; one by one the last 
 scions of the great Frederick perished ; and the glory of the race of 
 Hohenstaufen faded like summer flowers before the bleak wind 
 whicli the ambitious pontiffs had raised. 
 
 From the death of Frederick to the accession of Rudolph A.D. 
 1273, a period of twenty -three years, Germany was without any 
 recognised head. There were many competitors for the crown ; but 
 the electoral princes were more anxious to secure their own power 
 and glory, than to promote the welfare of the empire. Not only 
 were the great dukes opposed to each other, but even the minor 
 nobles were contending in the pauie dukedom, and fostered the 
 factious spirit which, for more than a century had produced such 
 disastrous effects. Ottocar the king of Bohemia, took advantage of 
 these troublous times to extend the limits of the Sclavonian state 
 
THE INTERREGNUM. 63 
 
 He bribed the Austrian nobility to accept him as their head, and, 
 with their assistance, marched against the Prussians and the Lithua- 
 nians; but distrusting their allegiance, he threw the nobles into 
 prison, and confiscated their lands. Styria was given to Bela king 
 of Hungary to hold in fee ; but on the Styrians refusing to acknow- 
 ledge his authority, Ottocar again placed it under his rule. Carinthia 
 and Carniola also had been bequeathed to him by Ulric ; and thus 
 his sway was rendered more powerful than that of the dukes. Nor 
 were the free cities more peaceful than the dominions of the princes. 
 Contests were frequently arising between the bishops and their 
 opposers. In Strasburg and Mentz a spirited struggle was carried 
 on for years; the bishop of the former was expelled, and the houses 
 of the clergy pulled down. In Cologne the archbishop was intent 
 only on his own aggrandisement, and attempted to deprive the citizens 
 of their liberties ; but they rose against him, and banished him from 
 the city. He soon after collected a force, and laid siege to it ; and 
 after his death, his successor continued the struggle with the citizens. 
 In Liege, Leipzic, Wiirzburg, and other cities, there were similar 
 contentions, and not unfrequently bloody battles between the bishops 
 and the people. Leaving, however, the details of these petty quar- 
 rels to the aark pages of the old chroniclers, we will briefly glance 
 at the state of the empire at the time when the house of Hapsburg 
 rose to the imperial dignity. 
 
 The emperor was the recognised head of the empire; and the 
 different grades of authority were mystically represented by seven 
 shields ; the first of which was borne by the emperor, the second by 
 the spiritual lords, the third by the temporal princes, the fourth by 
 the counts of the empire, the fifth by the knights, the sixth by the 
 county nobility, the vassals of the princes, and the seventh by the 
 free citizens and peasantry. The emperor enjoyed the right of con- 
 ferring laws and privileges, and of being the final appeal in all difficult 
 questions. The spiritual lords, the archbishops of Mentz, Cologne, 
 and Trevcs, had the precedence in the election of the emperor, and 
 in the administration of the empire ; but in the fourteenth century 
 there were added to them four temporal princes, and seven electors, 
 which number was afterwards increased by other jealous nobles who 
 rose to power and wealth. The princes ruled as lords over their 
 territory ; but the clergy, the counts and knights of the empire, the 
 free cities and free peasantry, were not included among their vassals, 
 though residing within their dominions. The dukes retained their 
 own banners, and summoned their vassals to the field : and some of 
 them acquired the privilege of granting no appeal from their tribunal 
 to the empire. Three courts of justice were appointed ; the upper 
 provincial court, over which the count presided ; the provincial, over 
 which the sheriff sat ; and below them, the old hundred courts, 
 presided over by a bailiff or judge. The latter tried petty offences ; 
 the former capital crimes. The judicial proceedings were openly 
 conducted ; the evidence was taken verbally, and was still tested by 
 means of the ordeal, and by single combat. The punishment was 
 frequently regulated by the crime ; coiners were boiled in kettles, 
 
64 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 and heretics burnt alive ; the rack and the gallows dispatched many ; 
 and the punishment of chopping off the hands, putting out the eves, 
 &c., was commonly adopted. The ingenuity of the Inquisition 
 introduced the exquisite Koman tortures, with which she wrung out 
 the confessions of her victims. 
 
 During the reign of the Hohenstaufen, the power and influence of 
 the pope had been rapidly increased. The grand scheme of founding 
 a universal community, ruled by one spiritual head, regulated by one 
 code of laws, and influenced by one motive, had been boldly con- 
 ceived, and was gradually carried out. Contented at first with 
 claiming spiritual authority, the pontiffs encroached on the temporal 
 authority, creeping with the wiliness of the serpent ; until they were 
 enabled, chiefly by the treachery of the princes, to aim that severe 
 blow at the power of the emperor, when the great Frederick had 
 passed away, and his weak sons were contending for their rights. 
 The supremacy over the German people now really passed to the 
 pope : and those who were adorned with the purple were but his 
 creatures. His authority was supreme, not merely in spiritual 
 tilings, but in all affairs : he convoked the councils, ana presided over 
 them, so that their decrees were but the echo of his will. The 
 bishops were dependent on his nomination and patronage; 
 and to raise his importance throughout the empire, he granted 
 the right of appealing from inferior courts to Rome, as the final 
 appeal. Soon his legates were dispatched into every part of the 
 empire, who protected the interests of the pope, and administered 
 justice in his name. The right of taxing Christendom was asserted ; 
 simony, which had formerly been condemned by the pontiffs, was 
 now practised ; and the papal treasury overflowed witn the riches 
 which resulted from the confiscations of heretics. Monasteries and 
 nunneries sprung up in the most luxuriant spots : and new orders of 
 monks were instituted, who vied with each other in their austerity 
 of life, their licentiousness of conduct, the power of their preaching, 
 or the zeal of their labours. To maintain the authority of the papal 
 power, three spiritual weapons were skilfully employed ; excommuni- 
 cation or exclusion from the church ; the ban of the pope, by which 
 the heretic was outlawed, and his murder declared a duty ; and the 
 interdict, which prohibited the exercise of the church service where 
 the excommunicated dwelt. These weapons were very powerful, 
 because they were assisted by an armed force, unbounded wealth, 
 secret spies, the infernal Inquisition, and great terrestrial possessions. 
 As the church increased in riches and power, her degeneracy was 
 hastened. Her processions and pageants became more gorgeous, her 
 litany and worship more pompous. Fresh saints crowded her 
 calendar ; pilgrims and relics spread through all lands ; and festivals 
 attracted crowds of voluptuaries, by whom the magnificence of the 
 carnival was most applauded. The check which the power of the 
 emperors had placed on the hierarchy, was now removed ; the super- 
 stition of the people favoured the purposes of the pope ; their 
 reverence for the supposed sanctity of the clergy made them willing 
 to receive the yoke placed upon them ; and Germany, priest-ridden 
 
THE INTERREGNUM. 65 
 
 and oppressed, continued to groan under the insolent tyranny of the 
 church, until Luther aroused the torpor of his countrymen, shook 
 the foundations of the empire, blasted the pretensions of the 
 pontifical rule, and left the boon of religious freedom as his legacy 
 to his country. 
 
 The power possessed by the free cities was a counteracting influ- 
 ence to the authority of the nobles and the pope. At first their 
 privileges were granted to them with reluctance, and consequently 
 the number of free cities was small ; but as the ambition of the 
 dukes, and the rapacity of the bishops increased, important cities 
 were presented with their freedom. They possessed the privilege of 
 framing their own laws, which were to be ratified by the emperor, 
 and also the right of adjudicating them. The civic authority reposed 
 in a council, which first consisted of sheriifs and a mayor; but 
 gradually as the presidents of the various guilds were admitted to 
 their share of administering the affairs of the city, the mayor was 
 replaced by the burgomaster or president of the guilds. The city 
 officers were elected annually, and transacted their business in the 
 town hall, the bell of which was the sign of self-government. The 
 constitution of the guilds was simple yet exact ; and consisted of 
 three grades, the apprentice, the partner, and the master. The 
 artisan entered as an apprentice, and was obliged to travel for a cer- 
 tain period before he could be qualified as a master ; and was required 
 to complete a piece of work, called a master-piece, before he could 
 assume that dignity. The members of the guilds assisted each other 
 in distress, guarded with jealous care the honour of the association, 
 housed the travelling apprentice, and gave him a pass to another 
 city. The princes, bishops, and rich burghers feared the power of 
 the guilds, and strove to disunite them; but without effect. The 
 crusaders had opened up to the merchants, the commerce of the 
 east, led to the introduction of eastern produce, and given a sharp 
 stimulus to commercial enterprise. To protect their trade, many of 
 the cities entered into leagues ; the most celebrated of which was 
 the Hanseatic, which in the thirteenth century, embraced the com- 
 mercial towns on the Rhine, the Elbe, and the Baltic ; and in the 
 fifteenth was divided into four districts. 1, the Wendian cities 
 including Liibeck, Hamburg &c. ; 2, the western, comprising 
 Cologne and various Dutch towns ; 3, the Saxon cities, Brunswick, 
 Magdeburg, &c. ; 4, the eastern cities, such as Dantzic. Commerce 
 rapidly flourished in the powerful cities ; Cologne was the grand 
 depot for the whole of the inland trade, beyond which no merchant 
 could ascend nor descend the Rhine ; and the Colognese merchants, 
 as early as 1203, possessed the guildhall in London as their depot. 
 The lace and cloth manufactures of Flanders were noted over the 
 world, and gave increased splendour to the dresses of the nobility. 
 The Jews were everywhere treated with harshness and indignity, 
 and though permitted to reside in the city, they were compelled to 
 inhabit the narrow streets which were closed at night by iron gates. 
 They were the great pawnbrokers and usurers of that age. 
 
 The cities were adorned with magnificent churches, which were 
 
06 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 erected in a new style of architecture. The Byzantine and tho 
 Homan gave place to the Gothic ; whose pointed spires and arches 
 towered towards heaven, and rendered them conspicuous objects. 
 Nothing can exceed the grandeur of the magnificent structures, 
 which the hand of time has spared to our days. The cathedral of 
 Cologne, commenced in 1248, that of Strasburg begun in 1015, and 
 the splendid church of St. Stephens in Vienna, are specimens of the 
 architectural skill of this period ; while the richly -carved pillars and 
 decorations, and the statues which adorned them, tell us that sculp- 
 ture in Germany, though far inferior to the warm imaginative Italian, 
 might have reached a high standard if it had been fostered and 
 cultivated assiduously. The gorgeously-stained windows, which 
 softened the light as it burst in from the east ; the pictures of the 
 Saviour, and of the Virgin, and Saints, which formed the back- 
 ground of the altars ; and the swelling tones of the organ, and the 
 rich notes of the choristers, remind us that the fine arts were not 
 disregarded at this period. The chivalrous character of the times 
 gave a mighty impulse to poetry. The minesingers, or love-singers, 
 boasted of the talents of Frederick II., Manfred, and Enzio; and 
 the knight en-ants chanted the lays of their lady love, as they 
 journeyed in search of adventure, or engaged in the tournament to 
 win the admiration of the fair ones. 
 
 If the Crusaders accomplished no other object, they gave a 
 stimulus to literature in its various branches. It was no longer con- 
 fined to monasteries and monks. Noble knights and counts related what 
 they had seen and heard in their marvellous wanderings. Chronicles 
 have come down to our times, some in verse and others in prose, 
 recording the deeds of kings and emperors, the character of illus- 
 trious persons, the history of dynasties, and castles, of sieges, and 
 battles. The sciences were cultivated at the universities ; Bologna 
 was renowned for law, Salerno for medicine, Paris for theology, and 
 thousands of students from the German cities nocked to these seats 
 of learning. The celebrated traveller Marco Polo led the way of 
 discovery; andTartary and China were visited by German travellers. 
 
 Such was the state of the empire when the pope laid his powerful 
 hand on the throne, and claimed it as his submissive subject. The 
 freedom which had inspired its ancient sons was rapidly expiring ;. 
 the glory which the Hoheustaufen had procured for it had passed 
 away : the princes, concerned only for their own welfare, forgot how 
 closely it was connected with that of the empire, and welcomed 
 the hierarchical authority, by which henceforth the emperors were 
 to rule, and whose selfish interest they were required to promote. 
 
THE PAPAL POWEH. G7 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PAPAL POWER. A.D. 1273-1411. 
 
 1. RUDOLPH OF HAPSBURG. 
 
 THE distress and anxiety of the people during the interregnum 
 caused them to be clamorous for an emperor, that they might be 
 protected from the insolence of the princes, and the oppression of 
 the robber-knights who now infested the country. The electoral 
 princes, however, deferred the selection, till they saw the necessity 
 of curbing the ambitious designs of Ottocar of Bohemia ; and they 
 directed their attention to Rudolph, the brave and powerful Count 
 of Hapsburg. The fame of this mighty warrior had spread through 
 the land ; his services were eagerly sought after by the neighbouring 
 princes, and especially by the free cities, to protect them from the 
 rapacity of their neighbours ; and by his courage and skill he had 
 destroyed many of the castles of the robber-knights. A specimen of 
 the strategies he employed in these exploits, may be seen in the 
 manner in which he gained possession of the Castle of Utleberg. 
 Being informed that a number of men mounted on grey horses issued 
 daily from the castle, either for hunting or plundering, he mounted 
 the same number of his own troops on similar horses. On the 
 approach of evening, this party affected to fly towards the castle, as 
 if pursued by a corps from Zurich ; and when the deluded garrison 
 threw open the gates to receive their supposed friends, the fort was 
 speedily taken and demolished. The Archbishop of Mentz now 
 gratefully repaid the protection Rudolph had given him in escorting 
 him over the Alps on his way to Rome, by securing for him the 
 votes of the electors of Cologne, and Treves, and by influencing the 
 secular princes in his favour with the prospect of matrimonial 
 alliances with the daughters of Rudolph. Frederick of Hoheuzollern, 
 nephew of the Count of Hapsburg, also assisted his uncle ; and 
 the electors unanimously raised him to the imperial dignity. He 
 was encamped before the walls of Basle, awaiting the surrender of 
 the place ; when one night Frederick entered the camp, and com- 
 municated to him the intelligence that he was unanimously chosen 
 king by the electors of Germany. The news soon spread through 
 the besieged city ; the inhabitants opened the gates, received him 
 with acclamation, and presented him with a large sum as a donation 
 towards the expenses of his coronation. The prisoners on both sides 
 were exchanged, and the oath of fidelity taken by the citizens. He 
 wrote a letter to the pope, expressing his deep humility, and his 
 willingness to perform Avhat would be most acceptable to the church. 
 He agreed to confirm all the donations of former emperors, to accept 
 no office or dignity in the papal states without the consent of the 
 pope, not to disturb the house of Anjou in the possession of Naples 
 
68 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 and Sicily, and to undertake in person a crusade against the infidels. 
 The emperor -was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle ; and the ceremony 
 was concluded by the marriage of his two daughters, Matilda and 
 Agnes, with Louis of Bavaria, and Albert of Saxony. 
 
 Meanwhile Ottocai, who had solicited the crown for liimself, but 
 had been refused, was making vast preparations for opposing the 
 authority of Rudolph. He secured to his party the Margrave of 
 Baden, Henry duke of Lower Bavaria, and the (founts of Friburg, 
 !Neuburg, and Montfort ; and when Rudolph summoned him to do 
 homage for his fief, he refused to appear, and treated his message 
 with contempt. Two ambassadors were sent to him by the diet to 
 demand his acknowledgment of Rudolph, and to restore Austria, 
 Carinthia, and Carniola, which he had usurped ; but he replied that 
 he would not give up his possessions but with his blood, and put the 
 ambassadors to death. Both parties prepared for war. Ottocar 
 fortified Vienna, reinforced his garrison, collected a vast army ; and 
 then imagining lumself secure, resigned himself to hunting and 
 pleasure. Rudolph entered into an alliance with Meiuhard Count of 
 Tyrol, concluded a treaty with Ladislaus King of Hungary, and 
 summoned the forces of the empire. He marched against Henry of 
 Bavaria, and compelled him to desert the Bohemian alliance : and 
 to gain him to his side, promised the hand of his daughter Hedwige 
 to his son, with a part of Upper Austria for her portion. Henry 
 joined him with 1000 horse ; and Rudolph had no sooner entered 
 into the Austrian dominions than the inhabitants received him with 
 joy, and hailed him as their deliverer. He continued his march 
 along the southern bank of the Danube, and soon encamped under 
 the walls of Vienna; where he was joined by Meinhard of Tyrol, 
 who had marched through Styria, and Cariutliia, and attracted the 
 natives to his standard. Ottocar aroused by the presence of his foe, 
 drew his troops from Bohemia to save the capital; but forced 
 inarches, arid want of provisions dispirited the soldiers ; the city 
 held out for five weeks, until famine, the threats of the emperor, 
 and despair of succour induced the inhabitants to surrender. Being 
 deserted by some of his nobles, and his troops proving mutinous, 
 Ottocar was compelled to yield ; and on the 25th of November, 
 1276, he crossed the Danube, and signed the treatv, by which he 
 was to give up Austria, Carinthia, Styria, and Carniola ; and to hold 
 Bohemia and Bavaria as fiefs ; and kneeling down paid homage to 
 the illustrious Count of Hapsburg. 
 
 Rudolph fixed his seat at Vienna, which he raised to the dignity 
 of an imperial city; but Ottocar retired to Bohemia, where the 
 pride of his queen Cunegunda aroused his spirit, and led him to 
 break the treaty lie had signed. He made great preparations for 
 war, entered into a league with Henry of Bavaria, ana drew assist- 
 ance from the neighbouring tribes. He spread disaffection among 
 the Austrian and Styrian subjects, and then marched his army into 
 the Austrian territory. Rudolph was very indifferently provided 
 with troops ; his German allies forsook him ; and despondency 
 seized the hearts of those who surrounded him. At length receiving 
 
THE PAPAL POWER. 
 
 a small body of troops from Alsace, he resolved to hazard a battle. 
 He marched out of Vienna, crossed the Danube at Hamburg, and 
 was soon after joined by the forces of Styria, Carinthia, and the 
 King of Hungary. The two armies met each other at Marchfield at 
 the dawn of day Aug. 26, 1278. Rudolph led his army in the form 
 of a crescent, aroused its enthusiasm by his eloquent appeal, and 
 then rushed impetuously on the foe. He was singled out by a band 
 of knights, who had been induced by the promise of rewards from 
 Ottocar to kill or take his antagonist ; but as they came on one by 
 one they were met and slain by the emperor, till the last pierced his 
 horse's neck, threw him on the ground, and would have taken him 
 prisoner, but for the approach of the commander of the corps of 
 reserves, who cut his way through the enemy, and rescued his 
 royal master. Ottocar fought with the energy of despair, and after 
 his troops were routed, stood alone, and refused to quit the field. 
 He was overpowered, stripped of his armour, and slain by the 
 revenge of some Austrian nobles. 
 
 Wenceslaus, the youthful son of Ottocar succeeded his father as 
 King of Bohemia, and received the promise of Judith, daughter of 
 Rudolph in marriage. Austria, Styria, and Carniola were given to 
 the emperor's sons Albert and Rudolph ; and Cariuthia to Meinhard 
 of Tyrol. The victorious emperor was induced to renounce the 
 imperial possessions in Italy, which had been the cause of so much 
 contention between the emperors and the popes ; and thus secured 
 Germany from much internal commotion. He summoned several 
 diets, over which he presided in person ; and persuaded the princes 
 not to decide their own differences by the sword, but refer them to 
 arbitration. He enforced most rigorously the laws, prohibiting the 
 erection of fortresses, which had been totally disregarded ; condemned 
 to death twenty-nine nobles of the most illustrious families of 
 Thuringia, who had disturbed the public peace ; and razed in one 
 year seventy strongholds of banditti, or lawless nobles. He visited 
 all parts of his dominions, conferred charters upon cities and rising 
 towns, and by his activity acquired the surname of Lex Animata, or 
 the living law. He was extremely anxious to secure the imperial 
 crown for his son Albert ; and summoned the diet of Frankfort, at 
 which he endeavoured to persuade the electors to choose him as his 
 successor. They refused : and as the aged man was proceeding 
 into Austria to visit his son, he found his strength failing, ana 
 requested to be taken to Spires ; but he died before he reached the 
 last resting-place of his predecessors A.D. 1291 in the seventy-third 
 year of his age, and the nineteenth of his reign. 
 
 The reign of Rudolph was distinguished by the peace and pros- 
 perity which his wise administration secured to the empire. He 
 was tall and thin in Ids person, his head bald, his countenance pale, 
 his aspect grave though occasionally brightened into animation, and 
 his manners simple and engaging. He was stern and unbending in, 
 war, but affable and easy of access at other times ; and not 
 unfrequently displayed great magnanimity towards offenders. When, 
 the knight who had unhorsed him at the battle of Marchfield was 
 
70 IIISTOKY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 brought before him to be executed, Rudolph restored him to 
 liberty, saying, " I have been witness to his intrepidity, and should 
 never forgive myself if so courageous a knight were put to death." 
 He gratefully rewarded all who had rendered assistance to him in 
 bis early life ; was pious and attentive to his religious duties ; and 
 respected the humble ministers of religion, while he curbed the 
 rapacity of the bishops, who neglected their spiritual office to secure 
 their temporal power. He raised the German empire to such a 
 state of tranquillity and glory, that he has been called the second 
 restorer of the empire ; and if, says an eloquent historian,* " we 
 consider the situation of Germany when he ascended the throne, and 
 the state in which he left it ; the greatness of his actions, and the 
 smallncss of his means ; his extreme prudence and address ; his 
 ardour for military glory, and yet his propensity to peace; his 
 firmness in distress, and what is far more difficult, his moderation in 
 prosperity ; his shining talents as a sovereign, and his amiable 
 qualities as a man; we must place lludolph among the best and 
 greatest princes who ever filled a throne." 
 
 2. ADOLPIIUS OF NASSAU, AND ALBERT I. 
 
 Albert was the only surviving son of lludolph, and his stern 
 administration ur Austria and Styria aroused the opposition of the 
 nobles. They formed a league against him, and invited the Kings of 
 Hungary and' Bohemia to aid them ; but Albert marched against the 
 insurgents, and defeated their forces. Vienna then broke out into 
 revolt ; but the vigilance of Albert enabled him to resist their 
 first encroachments. He occupied a strong position on the Calem- 
 berg, invested the city, and caused the inhabitants to surrender. 
 He commanded the magistrates to appear bare-headed and bare- 
 footed with their charters, which he tore into pieces, and thus 
 abrogated their privileges. No sooner was Austria subdued, than 
 Styria revolted; and the subjects entered into a league with Conrad 
 of Sal/burg, Otho of Bavaria, Wenceslaus king of Bohemia and 
 Andreas king of Hungary. Albert conciliated the two kings, and 
 marched his troops against the rebels, who were engaged at the 
 siege of Bruck on the Mura. He caused a passage to be cut for his 
 army through the snow on the mountains ; and placing himself at 
 their head, rushed unexpectedly on the confederates when the town 
 was on the point of capitulating, captured the camp and baggage, 
 and completely routed them. 
 
 Meanwhile Albert fondly cherished the hope of being raised to 
 the imperial dignity ; but was destined to be disappointed ; for by 
 the intrigues of the archbishop of Mcntz, Adolphus of Nassau was 
 accepted" on the 10th of May, 1292. Albert resolved to oppose the 
 election; but a powerful league was formed against him in Helvetia, 
 and the state of affairs in Austria induced him to recognise Adolphus 
 as emperor, trusting that circumstances woidd afterwards transpire 
 
 * Cose. 
 
THE PAPAL POWER. 71 
 
 to favour his own interests. Adolphus was intent upon securing the 
 aggrandisement of his own family ; and by his weakness separated 
 from him his cousin, the archbishop of Mentz, and the electors, and 
 caused his subjects to deride him openly. Albert wisely took advan- 
 tage of his unpopularity to promote his own designs, and won over 
 to him the archbishop, the King of Bohemia, and the electors of 
 Cologne, Saxony, and Brandenburg. The plan for the deposition of 
 Adolphus was arranged at Prague, during the coronation of Wences- 
 laus, and afterwards matured at Vienna. A grand diet was assembled 
 at Mentz, at which the electors were present ; the charges against 
 the emperor were drawn up and read ; and on his refusal to appear 
 and meet them, Adolphus was solemnly deposed, and Albert elected 
 in his stead. Each prepared to defend the imperial dignity by arms ; 
 and after a few skirmishes, the two armies met at Gelheim, between 
 Spires and Worms. Albert had armed a chosen body of infantry 
 with a new kind of poiguard, and commanded them to strike at the 
 horses of their opponents. The cavalry rushed upon them with 
 terrible fierceness, and were cut down by the firm ranks ; Adolphus 
 was dismounted ; but seizing another horse, he cut his way to the 
 place where Albert was giving his orders. " Yield" cried he, "your 
 life and your crown." " The event is in the hand of Providence," 
 exclaimed Albert, as he pierced his antagonist with a lance, and 
 threw him to the ground, where he quickly expired. The electors 
 again met, and unanimously chose Albert ; and he was soon after 
 crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle A.D. 1298. 
 
 Albert sent his ambassadors with rich presents to the pontiff 
 Boniface VIII. ; who was exasperated at the electors deposing one 
 emperor, and electing another without his sanction. He then 
 entered into an alliance with Philip the Handsome, king of France, 
 whose sister was affianced to Albert's eldest son, Rudolph; and 
 relying on his assistance, endeavoured to obtain the nomination of 
 this son to the crown as his successor ; but the electors refused to 
 make the succession hereditary. Albert claimed possession of Hol- 
 land, Zealand, and Friesland as imperial fiefs ; but his army was 
 attacked by John de Avesdcs, count of Hainault to whom they should 
 have reverted, and Albert was at length obliged to confirm him in 
 the possession of them. The haughty pontiff meanwhile stirred up 
 the electors against him ; who were enraged by his removing some of 
 the tolls on the lihine ; he refused to acknowledge him as emperor ; 
 and released all his subjects from their oath of obedience". Albert, 
 however, quickly defended himself by raising a powerful army ; with 
 which, after he had gained the neutrality of Brandenburg, and 
 Saxony, he marched into the Palatinate A.D. 1301, and in less than 
 one year, became master of all the principal fortresses. The arch- 
 bishop of Mentz was closely besieged, arid receiving no support from 
 the pope, surrendered ; and his example was speedily followed by the 
 other electors. The pope was reconciled to Albert, removed all 
 doubts respecting his election, and styled him the faithful son of the 
 .church ; and Albert, on his part, acknowledged the supremacy of the 
 pontiff, and bound himself by an oath to oppose all the enemies of 
 
72 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 the holy see. His alliance with France was broken off; Philip was 
 excommunicated by the pope, and his crown given to Albert ; who, 
 however, had too much to attend to at home to secure the gift, even 
 if his ambition had prompted him. 
 
 The affairs of Bohemia now claimed the attention of the emperor. 
 Wenceslaus, the king, had been rapidly extending his dominions. 
 By the gift of his aunt, he had gained the duchies of Cracow and 
 Sandomir ; and soon after he obtained the crown of Poland. Hun- 
 gary was divided ; part supporting Canrobert, who had been invested 
 with the crown as a papal fief by Boniface, and part conferring the 
 dignity on Wenceslaus. Canrobert was driven out of the country ; 
 and the pope appealed to Albert to support his influence in Hungary. 
 He joyfully accepted the proposal ; and immediately commanded the 
 king to relinquish the crowns of Poland and Hungary ; the district 
 of Egra, and Misuia, and the silver mines of Kuttenberg for six 
 years. Wenceslaus refused ; and Albert collected a large army, and 
 marched into Bohemia. The stern resistance he met with, and the 
 quick approach of Wenceslaus induced him to break up his camp ; 
 and his return the next year was prevented by the death of the king -. 
 whose son and successor granted all the demands, and thus purchased 
 peace. When, however, this king died, Albert resolved to transfer 
 Bohemia to his own family. Two claimants for the crown appeared, 
 Henry of Carinthia, and Rudolph; and the State adopted the latter, 
 and crowned him king A D. 130(3. His exactions caused great dis- 
 content among the people, which was increased by a band of turbulent 
 nobles ; but the death of Rudolph, when besieging a fortress, 
 prevented the horrors of civil war. The proposal to elect Albert's 
 second son, Frederick, met with a haughty refusal ; and the emperor, 
 accompanied by his son, led a powerful army into Bohemia, and 
 proclaimed him king. He was soon, however, obliged to return to 
 his own country, where the confederacy of the Swiss cities demanded 
 his attention. 
 
 Albert had procured, by purchase and by intrigue, vast possessions 
 in Switzerland, among which were situated some free cities. The 
 inhabitants of three of these especially, Uri, Schweitz, and TJnter- 
 walden, were jealous of their liberties, and formed a confederation to 
 assert more powerfully their independence. The emperor sum- 
 moned them to submit to his authority : but they replied " We are 
 partial to the condition of our forefathers, and only desire the con- 
 firmation of our privileges." He placed strong garrisons over 
 them; but on the 13th of Jan. 1308 the people rose and expelled 
 them, ransacked the castles, defied the power of Austria, and com- 
 menced a revolution which, after many reverses, was to terminate in 
 the liberty of the whole of Switzerland. Albert set out against 
 them, confident of success ; when he met with his death in a very 
 tmexpected manner. 
 
 His nephew, John, whose possessions he had retained, demanded 
 in vain the restoration of his inheritance. Exasperated by repeated 
 refusals, he formed a plan to assassinate the emperor, and to seize 
 what had been unjustly withheld from him. On arriving at the 
 
THE PAPAL POWER. 73 
 
 river Reuss, four conspirators, each of whom had possessions in 
 John's territory, passed over the stream in a boat, and were followed 
 by Albert with a single attendant. As he rode along, the bridle 
 of his horse was seized; his nephew asked him, "Will you 
 now restore my inheritance," and then wounded him in the neck ; 
 and when the remainder of the emperor's attendants came up, they 
 found that he had just expired in the arms of an old woman who 
 had hastened to his assistance, A.D. 1308. The assassins fled ; some 
 were delivered up to justice ; others wandered as outcasts in foreign 
 lands ; and John escaped as a friar to Italy, confessed his guilt to 
 the pope, received absolution, and at length died in a convent at 
 Pisa. 
 
 The character of Albert has been variously represented by his- 
 torians ; some depicting it in the darkest colours, and others 
 eulogising it as a prodigy of excellence. His private character 
 appears to have been dignified by those virtues which render the 
 parent beloved, and the man honoured ; but as a sovereign he was 
 proud and despotic ; fired with the ambition of increasing his 
 possessions, without regarding the character of the means employed 
 to secure it. His reign, however, was beneficial to the empire ; he 
 restrained the ambition of the nobles, chastised the insolence of the 
 pope, released his subjects from some very oppressive taxes, and 
 imparted great lustre to all warlike deeds by his own daring, firmness, 
 and activity. 
 
 3. HENRY VII. OF LUXEMBURG. 
 
 On the death of Albert, there were several competitors for the 
 imperial crown. The King of France claimed it for his son, but the 
 princes dreaded his power; the Hapsburgs also were anxious to 
 secure it, but met with a refusal on the same ground ; and ultimately 
 Henry count of Luxemburg received it, whose brother Baldwin, 
 archbishop of Treves, procured for him the votes of the other electors. 
 This wise prince resolved to restore the empire to its extent under the 
 Hohenstaufen ; and without embroiling himself with the great vassals 
 at home, bent all his energies towards recovering the Italian posses- 
 sions. Before, however, he set out, he did his utmost to restore 
 peace and tranquillity to his dominions. Bohemia was in a state of 
 anarchy. Henry of Carinthia, who had seated himself on the throne, 
 had filled every office with Carinthians, drained the country of 
 money, and treated the Bohemians with great severity. They sent 
 ambassadors to the emperor to implore his assistance, and offered 
 the hand of the Princess Elizabeth with the crown to his son John, 
 then fourteen years old. He eagerly embraced the opportunity of 
 securing that kingdom to his family, dispatched an army with John 
 at its head, forced Henry to retire, and proclaimed his son King of 
 Bohemia. The state also summoned the Dukes of Austria to give up 
 to Bohemia the possessions which belonged to it under Ottocar ; but 
 Frederick the eldest son of Albert replied to the message, " Tell the 
 emperor that within the space of fifty years, Austria has been the 
 grave of five sovereign princes, and Henry of Luxemburg may be 
 
74 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 the sixth, if he dares to trouble us in our legitimate possessions." 
 Tlie summons, however, was merely a stratagem to procure the 
 acknowledgment of John as King of Bohemia by the Austrian 
 dukes ; ana a treaty was entered into, by which Henry invested 
 them with the dominions of their father, outlawed the murderer, and 
 transferred his inheritance to them ; and they recognised John, and 
 resolved to assist Henry in his meditated expedition into Italy. 
 
 The murder of Albert was fearfully avenged by his sons. 
 Leopold and Frederick demolished the fortresses of the conspirators, 
 and indiscriminately massacred their retainers and domestics ; and 
 above a thousand persons were sacrificed to appease their rage. The 
 widow built a magnificent convent on the spot where the king died, 
 and with her daughter Agnes, retired to spend her remaining days 
 in mourning and weeping. A solemn funeral service was performed 
 at Spires, over the remains of the late emperor ; after which they 
 were deposited in the old imperial vault ; and the sons of Albert 
 concluded a firm alliance with Henry. 
 
 At length the emperor set out for Italy, and Leopold accompanied 
 him at the head of 1500 men at arms, and 200 knights. The 
 Ghibelines flocked to his standard ; ililan opened her gates, and the 
 emperor received the iron crown of Lombardy ; but soon after the 
 Guelphs raised a conspiracy in that city, by which his life was 
 endangered ; when Leopold came to his assistance, and drove the 
 Torriani and other chiefs of the faction out of the city. Henry con- 
 tinued in Upper Italy for the purpose of reducing the whole country 
 to subjection. Brescia surrendered, after being closely besieged by 
 his troops, and Pavia opened her gates, and delivered to linn the 
 golden crown which had been lost there by Frederick II. He then 
 turned towards Rome, whose nobility came out to meet him ; but 
 aware of Italian perfidy, he cast them into prison, and forced his 
 way into the capital. St. Peter's church was occupied by troops 
 sent by the King of Naples to defend the city ; and Henry retired 
 to the Lateran, and was crowned amid the arrows and shouts of the 
 Guelphs. Leopold rendered great service to the emperor on this 
 occasion ; who, though he was obliged to retire from Rome, con- 
 templated the entire subjection of Italy, and made great preparations 
 for it. His empress had died at Genoa, and he affianced himself to 
 Catherine, sister of Leopold; but soon after she had crossed the 
 Alps to meet her betrothed, the news reached her of the death of 
 the emperor, who died at Buonconvento in fifty-second year of his 
 age, A.D. 1313. 
 
 4. Louis OF BAVARIA. 
 
 The death of Henry again opened to the Austrian princes the 
 prospect of gaining the crown, and no effort was spared by them to 
 secure it. The son of the late emperor was rejected on account of 
 his youtii, and Frederick obtained promises of support from the 
 princes; but John of Bohemia, aware that if the Austrian duke 
 ascended the throne his crown would be in danger, secured a majority 
 of the votes, and offered the imperial dignity to Louis of Bavaria, 
 
THE PAPAL POWER. 75 
 
 who, however, had previously pledged himself to Frederick not to 
 oppose his election. On the day appointed the two parties assembled ; 
 the electors of Mentz, Treves, John of Bohemia, John of Saxe 
 Lauenburg, and Waldemar of Brandenburg chose Louis ; while 
 Hudolph of Bavaria, the electors of Cologne, Rudolph of Saxony, 
 and Henry of Carinthia elected Frederick. Louis was received at 
 Frankfort with demonstrations of joy, and crowned at Aix la Chapelle 
 with the usual splendid ceremonies. Frederick being refused an 
 entrance into Frankfort, repaired to Bonn, where he was crowned by 
 the electors of Cologne. Both parties took up arms to defend their 
 rights. Leopold raised a considerable body of troops, defeated 
 Louis at Spires, and desolated the country around. Louis retreated 
 to Bavaria, whither he was followed by the Austrian army ; but 
 rallying his troops, he gave battle to his foe, and drove him back to 
 Basle, where Frederick had assembled a diet. 
 
 After celebrating their nuptials with Elizabeth of Aragon, and 
 Catherine of Savoy, the princes divided their forces; and while 
 Frederick engaged the attention of Louis, Leopold advanced against 
 the Swiss cities, who had asserted their independence. He assembled 
 20,000 troops; 4000 of which were to enter Unterwalden, 1000 
 from Lucerne to make a division by Stantz, while he himself 
 with 15,000 was to penetrate into Schweitz. Two passages alone 
 were open to him; one the pass of Art, inaccessible to armed 
 cavalry; the other the pass of Morgarten, about three miles in 
 length, between the lake Egeri and the heights above. He chose the 
 latter, which was defended by fifty outlaws in front, and about 1400 
 men assembled on the heights. The army of Leopold came steadily on 
 in proud confidence, but scarcely had they entered the narrow defile, 
 than the fifty rolled down upon the cavalry which led the way, huge 
 blocks of timber and stone ; and when the ranks were thrown into 
 confusion, the confederates rushed down from the heights, and 
 charged the enemy with irresistible intrepidity. The utmost disorder 
 prevailed among the Austrians ; many of the horses leaped into the 
 lake ; others retreated upon the infantry, who were either crushed 
 down by their comrades, hurled into the water, or dispatched by the 
 clubs and pikes of the enemy. The other forces of Leopold shared an 
 ignominious defeat ; and the three cantons met in a public assembly, 
 acknowledged with devout gratitude, the power of God which had 
 given them the victory, established a solemn festival, and rendered 
 perpetual {heir league. 
 
 The Austrian princes then united and directed their arms against 
 Louis, and for two years carried on a desolating warfare with various 
 success, by which Germany was ravaged from one extremity to the 
 other. Frederick gained great advantages over his enemy; and 
 Louis would have been obliged to yield had he not received timely 
 support from the King of Bohemia, by which his army was raised to 
 30,000 foot and 15,000 horse. Leopold collected a considerable 
 force in Helvetia, and was to advance on the side of Germany ; while 
 Frederick awaited his approach in Bavaria with an army of 18,000 
 foot, 4,000 archers, and 7,000 horse, composed of Austrians and 
 
76 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 Hungarians. Instead of waiting for liis brother, Frederick resolved 
 to attack the imperial troops alone. He adorned himself with a 
 splendid suit of armour, emblazoned with the Austrian eagle, and 
 wore a helmet surrounded with a crown of gold as a mark of dis- 
 tinction to his troops. Louis placed himself close to the imperial 
 standard, and gave the command to Schwepperman, a most consum- 
 mate general. At the dawn of day the two armies rushed to the 
 attack, and when the shades of evening began to surround them, the 
 struggle, wliich had hitherto been doubtful, seemed to be in favour 
 of Frederick; when the stratagem of the burgrave of Nuremberg 
 secured the victory to Louis. He detached a party of 400 horse, 
 seized an .Austrian standard, and galloped to the flank of the enemy; 
 who, mistaking them for a reinforcement, found out their mistake 
 only when too late. The Austrian ranks were broken ; Prince 
 Henry, Frederick's brother, taken prisoner; and Frederick, after 
 defending himself with bravery, at length yielded his sword to the 
 burgrave. Henry was entrusted to the care of the King of Bohemia : 
 and his confinement produced such effects on his spirits, that he 
 soon afterwards died ; but Frederick was confined in the fortress of 
 Trausnitz. 
 
 Meanwhile Leopold advanced with his troops ; but hearing of the 
 defeat and capture of his brother, he retreated towards Alsace ; 
 and, after endeavouring to obtain his release by negotiation, exerted 
 his utmost to avenge the defeat. He procured the release of his 
 brother Henry from the King of Bohemia, who was oifended at 
 Louis for conferring the margraviate of Brandenburg on his own 
 son, instead of giving it to him as he had promised ; and also gained 
 the favour of the pope, who excommunicated Louis for stirring up 
 and aiding the faction of the Ghibelines in Italy, and for refusing to 
 obey his summons to lay down the crown. The interdict of the pope 
 weakened his party, and strengthened Leopold, who collected a large 
 force, ravaged Bavaria, defeated Louis at Burgau, captured his camp 
 and baggage, and had an interview with Charles IV. of France, and 
 the electors of Mentz and Cologne in order to depose the emperor, 
 and elect Charles, whom the pope wished to see on the imperial 
 throne. Louis soon perceived that a reconciliation with the Austrian 
 princes alone could save his crown; and visited Trausnitz for the 
 purpose of arranging a treaty with his prisoner. Frederick was 
 weary of his imprisonment, and agreed to renounce all claim to the 
 throne, to give up all places wrested from the empire, to assist Louis 
 against his adversaries, and to return to captivity if he failed to 
 accomplish the conditions. Frederick was liberated ; but all his 
 efforts to persuade his brothers were unavailing. Leopold made 
 preparations for war ; the pope dissolved the treaty of Frederick 
 with the emperor, and urged him to assert his claim to the crown ; 
 but the noble-minded prince refused to break his oath, and returned 
 to captivity. Louis, struck with admiration at his fidelity, treated 
 him with generosity, and offered him easier terms of reconciliation ; 
 and agreed that he and Frederick should reign conjointly with equal 
 rights. Leopold was perfectly satisfied ; but no sooner was it made 
 
THE PAPAL POWEE. 77 
 
 known than the electoral princes refused to ratify it, and the pope 
 strenuously opposed it. The two, however, agreed to share the 
 administration, and actually entered on the duties jointly; and 
 Leopold was collecting an army to enforce the consent of the electors, 
 when the hopes of Austria were frustrated by his death. Ever since 
 the imprisonment of his brother, Leopold had been silent and melan- 
 choly, his active exertions prostrated his body and brought on fever, 
 and he died at Strasburg in a fit of frenzy, A.D. 1326. 
 
 Louis, freed from his apprehension of opposition, resumed the 
 sole authority, and purposed invading Italy and avenging himself on 
 the pope. He passed the Alps with a few followers, and was 
 triumphantly received by the Ghibelines, who crowned him king of 
 Lombardy, and supplied him with men and money. He continued his 
 progress through Tuscany, reduced Pisa, pronounced the ban of the 
 empire against Robert king of Naples, and advanced to Rome. He 
 was joyfully acknowledged by the citizens, received the crown in the 
 church of St. Peter, deposed the pope, and elected a loyal Fran- 
 ciscan in liis stead. He remained in the eternal city eight months, 
 and experienced the inconstancy of a licentious populace; which 
 \vhen he demanded contributions for his support, manifested great 
 disaffection towards him. Alarmed for his safety, Louis with 
 difficulty quitted the city amid the execrations of the same people, 
 who, but a short time before, had received him with applause ; he 
 cut his way through Tuscany, continued a year in Pavia waiting for 
 reinforcements, and at length repaired to Trent, where the news of 
 Frederick's death hastened his return to Germany, lest another 
 competitor for the crown should arise. 
 
 On the death of Leopold, Albert the next surviving brother was 
 associated with Frederick in the administration of affairs ; and on 
 Henry's death, Otho the youngest claimed part of the inheritance. 
 The brothers refused to listen to his demands; and Otho appealed 
 to the sword, and having obtained succours from Hungary and 
 Bohemia, burst into Austria, and ravaged the country as far as 
 the Danube. Frederick, whose health had been fast failing, was 
 unable to resist the attacks, and yielded to Otho the Swabian 
 possessions of Leopold ; and at length died at the castle of Gullenstein 
 A.D. 1330. 
 
 The Austrian dominions now fell to the only surviving brothers 
 Albert and Otho, who instead of following the ambitious and warlike 
 designs of their predecessors, were peacefully united in a close 
 compact. Their temperaments however were very different ; Albert 
 in his youth was tall, energetic, and of a commanding figure ; but in 
 the thirty-second year of his age, he was attacked with paralysis, 
 which greatly retarded his activity ; while Otho was fired with such 
 spirits, arid hilarity that he obtained the surname of the Jovial. 
 They listened to the overtures of Louis, and drew up a treaty at 
 Hagenau ; by which they acknowledged the supremacy of the 
 emperor, and were securely established in the possessions which they 
 had acquired either by conquest, marriage, or purchase. 
 
 Three families were now powerful in the empire ; the Austrian, 
 
73 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 the Bavarian at -whose head was the emperor, and Ihafc of 
 emburg, with John of Bavaria as chief. As long as Louis \vas 
 threatened by the Austrian princes, John steadily supported him ; 
 but his recent treaty with them separated him from the emperor. 
 He had been appointed by Louis vicar-general of Italy, and by his 
 dissimulation gained many of the cities to him, appealing to the 
 Guelphs in the name of the pope, and to the Ghibelines in the name 
 of the emperor. The suspicion, however, was aroused that he was 
 aspiring to the crown of Lombardy; and the emperor effected a 
 more intimate alliance with Austria, and appointed Otho vicar of 
 Germany in his absence. John hastened home, leaving his son 
 Charles to protect his interest ; but having reinforced his troops, he 
 speedily returned to carry on his intrigues with the Italians. He was 
 soon after brought into contact with the emperor, and the Austrian 
 princes respecting Carinthia and the Tyrol. 
 
 Henry had left an only daughter Margaret, in whose favour he 
 had procured a decree constituting Carinthia and Tyrol feminine 
 fiefs. The king of Bohemia married her to his son, on condition of 
 receiving these provinces ; and the emperor, being then friendly with 
 him, assented to it ; but now Louis declared that decree void, and 
 bestowed the territories on the dukes of Austria, who immediately 
 took possession of Carinthia, though they were prevented occupying 
 Tyrol by the turbulence of the nobles. The king prepared to gain 
 these provinces ; he formed a powerful confederacy, whose forces 
 burst into the Austrian dominions, and opposed the united army of 
 the emperor and Austria. By some misunderstanding Louis with- 
 drew his troops into Bavaria, and Otho was obliged to come to terms 
 of peace, by which the Austrian princes renounced their claim on 
 Tyrol, and were invested with Carinthia, which henceforth remained 
 a part of their dominions. Otho soon after died leaving two sons, 
 Leopold and Frederick ; and Albert was appointed guardian of his 
 nephews with the sole administration of the kingdom. 
 
 The marriage of Margaret and prince John took place ; but was 
 quickly followed with the disgust of the husband and wife. John 
 confined her in prison, from which she escaped to Louis ; who, anxious 
 to extend his family possessions, dissolved her marriage with John, 
 espoused her to his sou Louis, and received in her right the Tyrol. 
 The king of Bohemia was aroused by the loss of the province ; and 
 though now burdened with the effects of age, and afflicted with 
 blindness, he formed a confederacy among the princes and people, 
 and induced Pope Clement VI. to excommunicate the emperor. The 
 throne was declared vacant ; the electors were summoned to Rense ; 
 and Charles, eldest son of the king of Bohemia, was chosen emperor. 
 Louis, however, vigorously defended his dignity, and was warmly 
 supported by Austria ; he defeated his competitor in many engage- 
 ments, and prepared to invade Bohemia, where John had taken 
 refuge ; when he was suddenly cut off by apoplexy in the vicinity of 
 Munich A.D. 1347. 
 
 The reign of Louis is remarkable for the fearful natural convul- 
 sions and signs which filled Europe with alarm. In 1337, a vast 
 
THE PAPAL POWER. 70 
 
 comet blazed in the heavens, and for three years after, immense 
 armies of locusts traversed the country, and devoured everything 
 before them. It was looked upon by many as the punishment of 
 heaven for the desecration of the host by the Jews ; and a bitter 
 persecution arose against that despised race, which was terminated 
 only by the severe penalties inflicted by Louis on the murderers. 
 In 1318 a great earthquake shook Europe, and devastated vast 
 tracts ; villages and towns became heaps 01 ruins ; flaming meteors 
 appeared in the heavens ; and the air was thick and pestilential. The 
 terrible scourge called the black death swept over the land ; its vic- 
 tims were suddenly covered with black spots like burns ; and whole 
 districts were nearly depopulated. The day of judgment was 
 declared to be at hand by a class of enthusiasts named flagellants, 
 who marched in order through the streets, with white hats and red 
 crosses, lashing themselves furiously, while they doled out their 
 penitential strains. The Jews again were barbarously massacred, 
 and vast numbers fled to Poland, where Casimir granted to them a 
 home and protection. It has henceforth remained a great place of 
 resort for the Jews. 
 
 5. CHARLES IV. OF LUXEMBURG. 
 
 The crown now passed to Charles of Luxemburg, who, after a 
 slight opposition from a party of the electors, was unanimously 
 chosen emperor. He showed traces of his Bohemian descent in his 
 person, which was short, dark, and by no means handsome, and 
 which he constantly decorated with the regal robes and the imperial 
 crown. His French manners, however, gave an air of refinement to- 
 his actions, and his mind was well stored with the literature of the 
 day. Albert who had warmly supported Louis, now turned to the 
 new emperor, and effected a reconciliation between the houses of 
 Luxemburg and Bavaria. He also procured from him a decree 
 sanctioning the marriage of Louis of Brandenburg with Margaret, 
 and confirming the Tyrol upon him. 
 
 Albert was now at liberty to attend to his Swiss dominions, in 
 which his authority had declined. Since the battle of Morgarten, 
 the power and influence of the Swiss had greatly increased ; and the 
 surrounding people beheld with rapture their great freedom, and 
 eagerly desired a participation of their privileges. Lucerne was 
 exposed to all the hardships of the Austrian wars ; her choice sons 
 were carried off for the army ; her commerce was interrupted ; and 
 her citizens oppressed with heavy exactions. A party, jealous for 
 liberty, was created in the city; the nobles were expelled; and 
 Lucerne entered into an alliance with the Swiss cities. Zurich also- 
 followed her example, and joined the confederacy. Albert at length 
 resolved to maintain his authority among the Swiss. He assembled 
 aronnd him all his nobles and magistrates ; summoned the deputies- 
 of Zurich to his presence, and commanded them to repair all damages, 
 and indemnify the losses' incurred by their rebellion ; and on their 
 refusal to comply with his requests, he invested their town with 
 16,000 men. The Swiss rushed to the defence of their ally ; the 
 
80 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 negotiation which had commenced with the town was broken off; 
 and these hardy mountaineers, unawed by the imposing number of 
 the Austrian troops, descended with great rapidity upon their foes, 
 and defeated them in several petty engagements. Albert deter- 
 mined to crush these brave men at once by an overwhelming force. 
 He gathered from all parts a gallant army of 30,000 foot and 4,000 
 horse; and entrusted the command to Everhard of Wirtemberg. 
 The siege of Zurich was carried on with energy ; Albert was inde- 
 fatigable in his exertions ; but a scarcity of provisions induced his 
 auxiliaries to retire ; the defenders were invincible ; and Albert 
 gladly concluded an alliance with the city A.D. 1352. 
 
 A dispute soon after arose respecting the alliance of Glarus and 
 Zug with the Swiss Cantons. Before the siege they had been 
 admitted to the confederation, and had rendered important service to 
 Zurich ; but in the recent treaty they had promised to render 
 Albert due allegiance. Albert contended that this engagement to 
 him dissolved their alliance ; the Swiss, however, affirmed the con- 
 trary. The emperor was called in to decide the matter; but his 
 partiality to Austria caused the Swiss to reject his decision ; and 
 Charles was enraged at them, and declared their confederacy illegal. 
 The contingents of the empire were summoned ; and the emperor 
 led his army before the town of Zurich. The bravery ot the 
 inhabitants baffled liis purposes ; the heterogeneous character of the 
 army soon fostered disunion ; a pretext was eagerly seized for the 
 imperial troops to retire ; and Albert was left alone to carry on the 
 siege. He now ravaged the country around, and let loose a lawless 
 band of Hungarians ; who committed such barbarities, that his 
 friends forced him to accede to terms of peace. He retired to 
 Vienna in disgust and rage ; and his son Rudolph who was appointed 
 to his Swabian possessions, concluded an armistice with the Swiss 
 for eleven years. Albert did not long survive the event ; and after 
 a reign of twenty-eight years distinguished by wisdom, humanity, 
 and justice, he died A.D. 135S, and was succeeded by his son 
 Rudolph. 
 
 The events of the reign of Charles were of a peaceful character, 
 and present nothing very striking. He succeeded by his diplomatic 
 skill in dissolving the alliance between the King of France and the 
 pope; and the celebrated Golden Bull, drawn up A.D. 1356, shows 
 the influence he possessed with his holiness, and also over his own 
 people. This Bull became the fundamental law of the German 
 empire. By it the number of electors was fixed at seven; three 
 ecclesiastical, the archbishops of Mentz, Trevcs, and Cologne ; and 
 four secular, the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, 
 the Duke of Saxony, and the Margrave of Brandenburg ; to each of 
 whom was assigned an office in the imperial household. The rights 
 and privileges of the electors, and the form of election were also 
 defined in it. Charles resolved to go to Rome, and receive the 
 imperial crown. He had delivered to the pope at Avignon the 
 illustrious patriot Rienzi, the last of the tribunes ; who was sent 
 back to Rome to favour the designs of the pontiif, by creating 
 
THE PAPAL POWER. 81 
 
 dissensions in the holy city, where he fell by the dagger of an assassin. 
 " The capitol," says Gibbon, " was yet stained with the blood of 
 Rienzi, when Charles IV. descended from the Alps to obtain the 
 Italian and imperial crowns. In his passage through Milan, he 
 received the visit, and repaid the flattery of the poet-laureate 
 Petrarch, accepted a medal of Augustus, and promised without a 
 smile to imitate the founder of the Roman monarchy. A false 
 application of the names and maxims of antiquity was the source of 
 the hopes and disappointments of Petrarch, yet he could not over- 
 look the difference of times and character, the immeasurable distance 
 between the first Caesars and a Bohemian prince, who by the favour 
 of the clergy had been elected the titular head of the German 
 aristocracy. Instead of restoring to Rome her glory and her 
 provinces, he had bound himself by a secret treaty with the pope to 
 evacuate the city on the day of his coronation, and his shameful 
 retreat was followed by the reproaches of the patriot bard." 
 
 Rudolph was extremely anxious to increase the dominions of the 
 house of Austria. He fixed his royal residence at Vienna, which he 
 adorned with splendid buildings and an university, and enlivened 
 with the gaieties of a magnificent court. He espoused Catherine 
 the daughter of the emperor, and added the Tyrol to his possessions; 
 which Margaret had gratefully bequeathed to him, if her sou 
 Meinhard died without issue, because Rudolph had obtained for her 
 his legitimation, and the favour of the pope. Wishing to extend his 
 influence in Italy, he repaired thither to assist in the solemnisation 
 of the marriage of his brother Leopold with Virida daughter of 
 Barnabas Visconti ; where he was seized with fever, and died in the 
 twenty-sixth year of his age A.D. 1364. Two princes of the 
 Austrian line alone remained, Albert seventeen, and Leopold fifteen 
 years of age ; and, according to the rules established by their 
 father, Albert received the sole administration of affairs, by whom 
 the Tyrol was finally secured by a concession of 116,000 florins, 
 and Kuffstein Kitzbiihl, and Scharding. The two princes were, 
 however, very different in their character and talents. Albert was 
 mild and inactive, devoted to religion, literature and science ; 
 Leopold was impetuous, aspiring, and fired with military ambition 
 and glory. At first Leopold was intrusted with the Swabiau 
 possessions, and shared with his brother the government of the 
 Tyrol ; but he soon fonned a new compact which confined Albert to 
 Austria, and conferred the remaining possessions on himself. He 
 applied to the emperor for his sanction, which was readily given ; 
 and instantly commenced extending his possessions. 
 
 He suffered severely from the invasion of Alsace and Helvetia by 
 his cousin Enguerrand de Coucy. This brave warrior had been sent 
 to England, after the battle of Poitiers, as a hostage for the ransom 
 of king John ; where he married the daughter of Edward III. 
 After serving the popes in Italy, he collected the bauds of 
 mercenaries thrown out of employment by the peace between 
 England and France ; and at the head of 40,000 men entered 
 Alsace, and demanded certain lands, to which he conceived he had 
 
S3 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 some claim. Leopold refused his demands, shut himself up at 
 J3risack, and applied to the Swiss for succour. Some of these 
 mountaineers ventured to attack the marauders ; and after ravaging 
 the country, Coucy was obliged to disband his men, and retire to 
 the East; where he was ultimately taken prisoner in a crusade 
 against the Turks. 
 
 Leopold was scarcely free from this invasion, when he was 
 involved in a war with Venice. That enterprising republic had 
 risen to the height of her prosperity. Her fleets commanded the 
 Adriatic ; her commerce connected her with most of the ports of the 
 Mediterranean ; and her wealth, and the wisdom of her statesmen 
 had rendered her powerful among her neighbours. She joined in a 
 league with the Viscpnti and Carras against the family of Scala, lord 
 of Verona ; and received as her portion of the spoil the province of 
 Trevigiano. Louis the king of Hungary claimed Dalmatia, which 
 had placed her self under the protection of Venice; and as his 
 demands were rejected, he marched with a powerful army into that 
 province, and also invaded Trevigiauo. By the mediation of the 
 pope, he was induced to retire from the latter country, and 
 Dalmatia was ceded to him. Francis of Carrara was jealous of the 
 power of Venice, and stirred up a conspiracy in the city ; which, 
 however, was fortunately discovered, and the proud prince obliged 
 to humble himself. He then made overtures to the Hungarians to 
 assist him against the Venetians, and failing there, applied to 
 Leopold. He joyfully embraced the opportunity of increasing his 
 influence, and entered the province of Trevigiano ; but the resistance 
 he met with forced him to retire ; and a truce was concluded for 
 three years. Carrara, however, was restless in his designs against 
 the republic, and united Ancona, Genoa, Aquileia, and Hungary in a 
 league. The fleet, of Venice was destroyed by that of Genoa; her 
 lagunes were blockaded ; her territory overrun by troops ; and the 
 city itself reduced to a state of famine. In her distress, she applied 
 to Leopold; and for his services granted to him Trevigiano, into 
 which he instantly marched, and relieved the capital. He was 
 afterwards induced to sell that province to Carrara, and obtained 
 the important port of Trieste; for during the Venetian war, the 
 inhabitants, being dissatisfied with the government of Venice, 
 placed themselves under the sovereignty of Aquileia ; but finding 
 the change not more favourable, they offered their submission to 
 Leopold, who promised to respect their privileges, and preserve 
 their municipal government. 
 
 While thus the house of Austria was increasing its dominions, 
 Charles was peacefully engaged in the affairs of the empire, mcdi- 
 fiting between the turbulent princes, and also between the free 
 cities and the aristocracy, between whom many severe contests arose. 
 After a reign of thirty years which was marked by no very striking 
 events, the emperor died at Prague in November 1378. He had 
 gradually improved the internal affairs of Germany. The importance 
 of literature and science led him to found the University of Prague ; 
 and his love of art is seen in the splendid edifices he erected in the 
 
THE PAPAL POWER. 83 
 
 city. He invited to his sumptuous court all who were celebrated for 
 learning or skill ; fostered agriculture, mining, and manufactures in 
 his family domains ; and, in the language of his historian, "Converted 
 Bohemia into a smiling garden." The first mill for the manufacture 
 of gunpowder, which had been recently discovered or proclaimed by 
 the monk Berthold Schwarz, was established at Lubeck A.D. 1360 ; 
 and John of Arrau, the celebrated cannon founder, cast his firsi. 
 cannon for the city of Augsburg. 
 
 6. WEXCESLAUS AND RUPERT. 
 
 Charles had used every endeavour to promote the interest of lu's 
 family. His eldest son Wenceslaus, who succeeded him, in. his 
 second year was created King of Bohemia, at twelve he was invested 
 with Brandenburg, at sixteen he was chosen and crowned King of the 
 Romans A.D. 1376, by the electors, who were bribed by the wealth 
 of the emperor ; and two years after, he succeeded his father. His 
 brother Sigismund then received Brandenburg, and ultimately the 
 crown of Hungary ; his second brother, Lusatia ; and his cousin 
 Jobst, Moravia. Instead of following the dying counsel of his father, 
 " Do honour to everybody who deserves it, be a friend of the pope, 
 the priests, and the Germans," he shut himself up amid the luxuries 
 of his court at Prague, neglected the affairs of the state, and 
 frequently burst out into such fits of rage and frenzy that no one then 
 dared to approach him. He was derided by the Germans, and hated 
 by the Bohemians for his cruelty. He summoned the nobility to 
 meet him at Willanow ; when lie demanded of them the lands they 
 had received as gifts of the crown. Those who refused to give them 
 up were conducted to a red tent and beheaded ; while those who 
 yielded were feasted under a white tent. He also granted permission 
 TO his subjects to cancel the debts they had contracted with the 
 Jews ; and three thousand of these defenceless creatures were 
 massacred by the mob at Prague. One of his acts of cruelty is seen 
 in the way he treated a monk John Nepomuk, whom he tortured 
 on the rack, and then cast into the river Moldau. He was afterwards 
 canonised as a saint, and became the patron of all the bridges across 
 the stream. 
 
 While the emperor was thus wasting his time in rioting and 
 cruelty, Leopold of Austria was disappointed in his endeavours to 
 secure the crown of Poland for his son William. Louis the Great, 
 the late king, had left only two daughters, Maria and Hedwige, to 
 whom he bequeathed the crowns of Hungary and Poland as their 
 dowry. Maria married Sigismund who thus obtained Hungary ; and 
 Hedwige was early affianced to William, and had been carefully 
 educated at the court of Louis, and was permitted to reside at 
 Vienna till the death of her father. She was then joyfully received 
 by her subjects, crowned Queen of Poland, and awaited" the auspicious 
 moment when she should welcome her husband to the throne. 
 Meanwhile Jaghellon prince .of Lithuania sought her hand, flattered 
 the Polish nobles and clergy, and gained the consent of the queen- 
 juother. William hastened to Cracow ; but was denied access to 
 
 F 2 
 
81 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Hedwige; all efforts to procure a meeting of the lovers were 
 frustrated ; and soon after the return of the Austrian prince Jaghellon 
 was baptised by the name of Wladislaus, married the princess and 
 ascended the throne. 
 
 Wenceslaus granted to Leopold the imperial rights over the free 
 cities in Swabia ; but his war in Italy, and his disappointment in 
 Poland brought on depression of spirits, wliich caused him to neglect 
 his affairs in that province. The petty chiefs exacted large sums 
 from the peasantry, and exercised great tyranny over the people. 
 A confederacy was formed among the cities, in wliich the principal 
 towns of the Bhine joined ; and to strengthen the party, they sought 
 alliance with the Swiss. Leopold was aroused by the defection of 
 his subjects, and immediately prepared for war. He appeased the 
 Swabians by repressing the exactions of the bailiffs, ana marched 
 against the Swiss. He resolved to penetrate as far as to Sempach, 
 and make himself master of Lucerne. He advanced to the walls 
 with 4,000 horse, and 1,400 foot, in the hope of surprising the town; 
 but seeing the preparations they had made, he held a council of war 
 to decide whether to wait the arrival of the other forces, or com- 
 mence the attack. The younger nobles were clamorous for an 
 immediate attack, and overruled the more prudent counsels ; and the 
 order to prepare for it was given. The knights dismounted, as the 
 woods around rendered the cavalry useless ; and formed a solid body in 
 front. The Swiss, armed with swords and battle-axes, came on in the 
 form of a wedge ; but they made no impression on the mailed knights, 
 though sixty of the bravest men fell in the attack. They hesitated 
 for a moment ; the ranks of the enemy were fast enclosing their 
 rear ; when Arnold de Winkelried, a knight of Unterwalden, rushed 
 from his ranks, seized as many lances as he could grasp, buried them 
 in his bosom, and opened a way through the enemy. The Swiss 
 rushed in; the knights groaned under the weight of their armour, 
 and tottered; the attendants fled with the horses, and thus prevented 
 flight ; and six hundred and fifty of the nobility were slain besides a 
 great number of the infantry. Leopold was urgently advised not to 
 expose liis person in the fight ; but his chivalry and martial ardour 
 brought him into the midst of the contest ; and when the banner of 
 Austria was struck down, he rushed to the spot, and waved !he 
 blood-stained ensign on high; but seeing all was lost, he threw him- 
 self into the thickest of the battle, and nobly perished amid his brave 
 followers. The sons of Leopold continued the war, but with no 
 success ; and at length concluded a truce for eighteen months ; but 
 it had scarcely terminated before the Austrians marched against 
 Glarus, and were defeated at Naei'els with a very great slaughter by 
 the hardy Swiss. At length Austria in 1388 concluded a truce for 
 seven years, which was afterwards prolonged twenty years more. 
 
 The proceedings of Wenceslaus greatly enraged his Bohemian 
 subjects against him ; a party of nobles seized his person, and trans- 
 ferred him to Wilsberg, a castle in Austria, His younger brother 
 John marched an army to his rescue, and obtained his release ; but 
 the emperor had no sooner returned, than a civil war broke out in 
 
THE PAPAL POWER. 85 
 
 Bohemia. Albert sided with the nobles, and invaded the country; 
 he was seized with a fatal disorder, and earned back to his private 
 residence at Laxendorf, near Vienna, where he died A.D. 1395. The 
 Austrians were filled with the greatest grief, and exclaimed " We 
 have lost our friend, our true father ; " for his exemplary life, his 
 kind and affable spirit, and his retiring manners, had endeared him to 
 his subjects. 
 
 The princes were again aroused by the disgraceful conduct of the 
 emperor ; and they resolved to depose him. He was cited to appear 
 before the electors ; and on his non-appearance, his deposition was 
 solemnly pronounced by John archbishop of Mentz, A.D. 1400 ; and 
 Rupert the elector palatine was chosen the next day. Frederick of 
 the Welf family was proclaimed by the Saxons ; but on his way to 
 Fritzlar, he was murdered by order of John of Mentz to prevent a 
 schism. The citizens, however, were afraid of Rupert, who was a 
 great favourite witli the nobility ; and shut their gates agaiust him ; 
 but he was nevertheless crowned emperor at Cologne, and received 
 the homage of the state. Wenceslaus remained in Bohemia, and 
 continued to claim the regal dignities ; the country was covered with 
 desolation, and torn by faction; and Sigismund king of Hungary 
 took possession of his person, and entrusted the care of him to 
 Albert IV., duke of Austria ; by whom he was permitted to escape. 
 Rupert, sought to win the favour of the cities by abolishing the tolls 
 of the Rhine ; that of Leopold by money ; and that of the pope by 
 flattery and specious promises. He resolved on an expedition to 
 Rome, that he might be crowned by Boniface IX. Leopold accom- 
 panied him at the head of 1,000 horse ; but Rupert was attacked by 
 the Milanese, and defeated ; Leopold was taken prisoner, but was 
 released on condition of returning at once to Germany A.D. 1401. 
 Wenceslaus was unable to wrest trie crown from Rupert ; who held 
 possession of it till he died A.D. 1411, deserted by all his partisans, 
 and despised for his meanness. Bohemia was still the scene of 
 discord ; and it was not til] Sigismund was elected emperor in 1412 
 that Wenceslaus relinquished the imperial title, and retired to the 
 castle of Kunratiz, where he died in a fit of apoplexy A.D. 1419. 
 
 The state of the German empire at this period was truly deplor- 
 able. The influence of the hierarchy was great, chiefly because the 
 power of the emperors was so small. From the election of Clement 
 V. in 1305, for seventy years the popes resided at Avignon, till 
 Gregory XI. in 1376 removed his see to Rome ; then at his death, 
 there were two contemporary popes elected at Rome and Avignon ; 
 and at the beginning of the fifteenth century another schism was 
 introduced by electing popes at Bologna. The rival pontiffs regarded 
 each other with bitter hatred, and fostered the spirit of dissension 
 through the various grades of ecclesiastics. The bishops were eager 
 for rule and wealth ; the clergy were ignorant and careless ; the 
 monks lax in their morals, and indolent in their habits ; while the 
 people were neglected by their spiritual guides, and exposed to 
 the mighty influence of those who began to investigate the claims of 
 the papacy, and to dare its terrible power by breaking through the 
 
Sfi HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 trammels of the church. This lamentable state of ecclesiastical affairs- 
 produced its results under Sigismund and the succeeding emperors, 
 and ushered in one of the brightest eras in the history of Germany. 
 The several states of the empire were in a very wretched condition. 
 Flanders was agitated by a violent commotion; city waging war 
 against city, and inviting the French and the English to assist them j 
 until her power was so crushed that she was annexed to Burgundy, 
 though she still retained her ancient liberties. Hungary had been 
 ravaged by the Turks, and the provinces of Dalmatia and Bosnia 
 torn from her ; Bohemia was desolated by the caprice and madness 
 of Wenccslaus ; and the house of Austria, which had been so active 
 in extending and consolidating her possessions, now weakened her 
 power by the dissensions of her sons. The emperor Charles IV. 
 predicted the consequences which would arise when Leopold deprived 
 Albert of all but Austria, and said " We have long laboured in vain 
 to humble the house of Austria, and now the dukes of Austria have 
 humbled themselves." The princes contended with each other; the 
 nobles availed themselves of their contests to indulge the spirit of 
 misrule and licentiousness, which had been repressed by the pre- 
 ceding sovereigns ; robbers and banditti again infested the highways, 
 and insulted the towns and villages with impunity ; and the whole 
 country became a scene of pillage, devastation, and carnage. Amidst 
 this state of discord and ruin, however, there were a few cheering 
 signs which shone forth brilliantly amid the surrounding gloom. A 
 spirit of freedom had been fostered in the Swiss valleys, and had 
 manifested itself in political and religious matters ; the bravery of 
 the mountaineers had attracted the attention, and won the admiration 
 of their neighbours ; their doctrines had awakened reflection ; and 
 the enthusiasm by which they were animated soon spread among the 
 universities, cities, and villages of Germany, and produced that 
 change in public opinion, which prepared it to welcome the reforma- 
 tion began by John Huss, and extended by Martin Luther, and which 
 now exerts such a benign influence in Germany at the present day^ 
 To the narration of these events we now proceed. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. A.D. 1411-1403. 
 1. SIGISMUND. 
 
 SIGISMUXD was raised to the imperial throne by the unanimous 
 consent, of the electors. He displayed his pride and weakness during 
 his election by saying " No one surpasses me in power, or in the art 
 of governing whether in prosperity or in adversity; therefore a* 
 elector of Brandenburg, I give Sigismund king of Hungary my vote,. 
 
DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. 87 
 
 and thus elect myself emperor." After settling some minor affairs 
 of the empire, he directed his whole attention to the state of the 
 church. It was in a most deplorable condition ; three popes arro- 
 gated to themselves the title of the vicar of God on earth ; the 
 bishops and clergy unblushingly laughed at the crimes they were 
 guilty of, and sought to increase their wealth and power at the 
 expense of an ignorant and superstitious people. The scandal of the 
 pontifical party attracted the attention of the emperor ; and he 
 resolved to gather a general European Council, by whose authority 
 the church should be reformed. It was convened at Constance A.D. 
 1414, and was attended by the great spiritual and temporal powers 
 of Europe. The first act of the council was to request the three 
 popes to resign their tiaras. Gregory XII. submitted, and became a 
 cardinal ; John XXIII. a base and profligate man, also laid down his 
 dignity, but afterwards rebelled against the council, and was impri- 
 soned until he had atoned for his crimes. Benedict XII. sternly 
 bade defiance to their authority; and it was not till the emperor 
 went to Spain, and had an interview with Ferdinand of Aragon, that 
 he was deposed. 
 
 Frederick of Tyrol, who had warmly supported pope John, and 
 favoured his escape from the investigation of his crimes at Constance, 
 was pronounced by the council under the ban of the empire, stripped 
 of his territories, and declared a traitor to the church and state. 
 The Swiss seized his dominions ; and Sigismuud replenished his 
 exhausted treasury by alienating the possessions of the House of 
 Hapsburg. Frederick was taken prisoner, and carried to Constance ; 
 where the chief princes were gathered to witness the degradation of 
 Austria. Three times he prostrated himself at the emperor's feet ; 
 and when he took the oath by which he surrendered to him all his 
 territories, Sigismund turned to the Italian prelates surrounding him, 
 and said, " You well know how powerful the dukes of Austria are ; 
 see what a German king can do ! " Frederick was detained at Con- 
 stance as a prisoner, where he was so neglected that sometimes he 
 even wanted the necessaries of life. At length, these indignities 
 roused his spirit ; he fled with four attendants into the Tyrol, and 
 once more resumed the government which had been usurped by his 
 brother Ernest during his absence. Sigismund summoned the 
 princes of the empire, and united them in a league against him ; and 
 was on the point of seizing the few remaining spoils of the Austrian 
 dominions when he was prevented by Ernest ; who appeared witli an 
 army at the gates of Constance, and forced him to a reconciliation 
 with Frederick. This weak prince, after vainly striving to remove 
 the sobriquet of "the Pennyless," which his misfortunes had pro- 
 cured for him, by his economy, and the heavy taxes which he imposed 
 on his subjects, died at Innspruck A.D. 1439. 
 
 Meanwhile a very important matter was brought before the 
 council. The writings of Wycliffe in England had found their way 
 to the University of Bohemia, where their sentiments were adopted 
 by one of the professors John Huss, and rapidly spread among the 
 students. For some time the contest between the old and the new 
 
88 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 teaching was confined within the walls of the university ; but the 
 importance of the reformed doctrines to the people stirred up the 
 zeal of their advocates, and induced them to spread them as widely 
 as possible. A new constitution had just been given to the univer- 
 sity, which provided that all foreign votes should be combined into 
 one, and those of the Bohemians tripled ; which caused several 
 thousands of foreign professors and students to return to their own. 
 countries, and raise up kindred institutions. The influence of these 
 reformations was soon seen. Huss was appointed rector of Prague ; 
 the Bible was translated into the Bohemian tongue ; and the churches 
 began to ring with the denunciations of Huss against the dogmas of 
 the papal hierarchy. His opponents were roused to avenge his 
 attacks, and a general persecution ensued. Huss was cited to Rome, 
 where he refused to appear ; but he went to Constance after he had 
 procured a safe conduct from the emperor. He had not been long 
 in the city before a sermon which he preached there afforded his 
 enemies the pretext for seizing him, and casting him into a dungeon. 
 He lay there heavily ironed for a considerable time, and at length 
 appeared before the council. The petitions on his behalf sent by the 
 Bohemian estate were disregarded ; Huss undauntedly thanked the 
 emperor for his safe conduct, whose face was instantly suffused with 
 crimson ; he attempted to defend his doctrines, but his eloquent 
 tongue was silenced by 'the rude clamour of the clergy ; he was 
 degraded before the whole assembly ; and wit h a tall paper cap on 
 his head, on which were painted three devils, and the words " The 
 arch-heretic," he was led forth to the place of execution, and burnt. 
 His friend Jerome of Prague, was sentenced to undergo the same 
 punishment, which, though wavering at first, he bore with great 
 lirmness ; and when the man was lighting the pile behind him that 
 he might not see the progress of the flame, he ordered him to set 
 fire to the front, "for," said he, "had I dreaded the fire, I should 
 not have been here." 
 
 While the emperor was feasting sumptuously at Paris, with the 
 vain hope of mediating peace between England and France, for 
 which purpose he also visited Henry V. in London, the opinions of 
 Huss, like those of Wycliffe, were widely diil'uscd and strengthened 
 by his death. The council of Constance elected an Italian pope, 
 Martin V., and then broke up ; and all the fondly cherished hopes of 
 reform in the doctrines and discipline of the church by means of that 
 august assembly vanished. 
 
 Meanwhile Bohemia became the arena of a conflict which every 
 day grew more severe. The Estates were indignant at the violation 
 of the emperor's safe conduct, and ordered the reformer's doctrines 
 to be preached everywhere. Jacob of Mies, a distinguished Hussite 
 preacher demanded for the laity the cup, which, in the sacrament, 
 had been withheld from them ; a burning enthusiasm pervaded all 
 classes ; and the Hussite doctrines were embraced throughout 
 Bohemia. The pope thundered his anathemas against them, and 
 stirred up the Catholics ; who, by an act of cruelty, brought down 
 the vengeance of the reformers. At the court of Weuceslaus, Johii 
 
DECLINE OF TUB PAPAL POWER. 89 
 
 of Trocznow, surnamed Ziska, filled the office of chamberlain, and 
 was much beloved by his royal master. Ever since the death of 
 Huss, he was dejected and silent ; and when the ex-emperor per- 
 ceived it and inquired the cause, Ziska replied " What Bohemian can 
 be otherwise than deeply affected when his country is insulted by 
 the infamous execution of Huss and Jerome." The king carelessly 
 answered " What can we do to repair the injury ? If thou canst 
 devise any means, go and avenge thy countrymen; thou hast our 
 free permission." Ziska quitted the court, and ingratiated himself 
 into the confidence of the people. As he was proceeding in a 
 procession to St. Stephen's Church, a priest was struck by a stone 
 from the town-house where the magistrates were sitting. The 
 building was instantly stormed, and the chief men thrown out of 
 window, and massacred by the mob beneath. 
 
 The aged King Wenceslaus died ; and Bohemia was a scene of 
 unmingled distress. Churches were broken open, altars were over- 
 turned, property was destroyed, and crowds of fanatics assembled in 
 the open fields, and celebrated the sacrament in both kinds. The 
 widowed queen Sophia assumed the regency, collected what forces 
 she could, and secured the castle and town of Prague ; but the 
 Hussites under their brave leaders Ziska and Nicholas of Hussinetz, 
 stormed the castle, and forced the queen to grant a suspension of 
 arms, and to concede liberty of conscience. Ziska retired to Pilsen 
 which he strongly fortified, and collected all the peasantry around, 
 whom he rigorously drilled ; and was joined by many nobles and 
 knights who were infected with the enthusiasm of the Hussites. 
 
 Sigismund was invited by the Bohemian nobles to take possession 
 of the throne as the next in succession ; but he was too much 
 occupied with the affairs of Hungary, and with the Turks who had 
 invaded Styria, to give immediate attention to Bohemia. At length 
 he summoned the nobles to appear ; and when the deputies from 
 Prague were ushered into his presence, he sternly commanded them 
 to return to their city, destroy their barricades, and by no means to 
 interrupt the Catholic clergy. Ziska saw that resistance to Sigis- 
 mund must be made ; his followers took a solemn oath to recognise 
 no king who was not favourable to communion in both kinds ; and 
 when the royalist force invested Pilsen, the whole of the confederates 
 burst through it in the dead of night, and retired to a retreat they 
 had formed, called Mount Tabor. This was the top of a steep 
 mountain in the district of Bechin, where the Hussites held their 
 religious meetings ; which had been skilfully fortified by their 
 leader, who styled himself " John Ziska of the cup, captain, in the 
 hope of God, of the Taborites." From this place he constantly 
 issued, carrying desolation to the country around, and destroying 
 the fortresses which the royalists had erected. The efforts of 
 Sigismund and his party to reduce the Hussites were unavailing. 
 His troops were constantly defeated ; as soon as one place capitulated, 
 another received the enthusiasts ; and though he appeared with an 
 army of 100,000 men, and entered the castle of Prague, Ziska 
 erected fortresses in the immediate vicinity by which the city was 
 
90 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 rendered impregnable to the emperor. He purchased peace for a 
 short time that he might be crowned ; paid his mercenary troops by 
 the sale of the crown jewels, and the spoils of churches; created 
 dissensions among his own subjects ; and soon quitted the city, and 
 left the insurgents to themselves. They filled the entire country 
 with discord and distress. Prague was divided into parties who 
 regarded each other with the bitterest jealousy. Bohemia was 
 ravaged by the vain attempts of the emperor to stay the progress of 
 Ziska ; who though now blind, marched his troops day and night, 
 defeated the forces sent out to oppose him, and left the impress of 
 his presence in the desolated towns and villages. 
 
 Ziska led his troops into Austria and Moravia, and acquired such 
 power that the emperor to appease him offered him the dignity of 
 governor of Bohemia; but before the royal ambassadors reached 
 him, he died of the plague Oct. 12 A.D. 1424. After his death 
 Procopius became the leader of the Taborites ; and by his warlike 
 spirit, succeeded in filling the hearts of his enemies with terror, 
 lie ravaged Austria ; and excited such dread of the Hussite name, 
 that the mere approach of his troops was the signal for the enemy to 
 flee. An imperial army of 130,000 men was sent to crush him ; but 
 no sooner did the Hussites approach, than a panic seized the 
 royalists, their ranks were broken, and they fled with trembling 
 haste, leaving their baggage, their standards, and their cannon 
 behind them. 
 
 But what the troops of the emperor could not effect, the fanatical 
 spirit of the Hussites at length accomplished. Strife broke out 
 among them, and they separated into various parties ; the chief of 
 which were the moderate party, called the Calixtins from culix a 
 cup ; and the Taborites and Orphans. The former demanded free 
 preaching, communion in both kinds, the secularisation of eccle- 
 siastical property, and amenability of the clergy to law. The other 
 party required the destruction of the papal authority, and the 
 establishment of a new church according to the gospel simplicity. 
 
 The emperor resolved if possible to procure peace, and invited 
 the Hussites to send deputies to the council of Basle. Procopius 
 at the head of a vast procession entered that city, and was graciously 
 received by the council. For fifty days the champions eloquently 
 defended their faith ; but seeing no prospect of obtaining their 
 object, the Bohemians commenced their homeward journey. The 
 council instantly dispatched its secretary JSneas Sylvius to follow 
 them ; and after some hesitation, a compact was drawn up, and 
 signed by the Calixtins, and the nobles. The Taborites refused to 
 agree, and threatened the country with the horrors of a civil war. 
 The Calixtins and the Catholics raised a powerful army, which 
 occupied the old town of Prague ; while the other party occupied 
 the new town. Procopius was at this time besieging Pilsen ; but 
 hearing that the moderate party had driven out his supporters from 
 Prague, he raised the siege, and marched immediately for that city. 
 The two armies met in the neighbourhood of Prague ; and after an 
 obstinate battle, the Taborites were defeated, and Procopius slain;. 
 
DECLINE OF THE PAPAL TOWER. 91 
 
 the prisoners were treated with inhuman cruelty ; numbers were 
 sold into slavery ; many were driven into barns, where they were 
 burnt alive ; and scarcely three hundred escaped the horrible car- 
 nage. After a feeble struggle, the remaining Taborites were 
 reduced ; and tranquillity, for a time was restored to the country. 
 A diet was convened at Prague in 1435 ; and Sigismund was 
 acknowledged king, after he had engaged to receive Hussite priests 
 at his court, to ratify the compact entered into with the council of 
 Basle, and to free Bohemia from the papal interdict. Religious 
 freedom was granted to the people, and Tabor raised to the dignity 
 of a royal city. These fair prospects were clouded by the conduct 
 of the emperor ; for Sigismund had scarcely entered Prague, before 
 he attempted to reinstate the Catholic religion, and began to use 
 great severity towards the Hussites. The turbulence of the nobles 
 and people, which these events aroused, induced him to relinquish 
 his designs, and to confirm his previous treaty with them. 
 
 During these contests, Albert duke of Austria had continued the 
 friend of the emperor, and had assisted him in his struggles with the 
 Turks, and with the Hussites. He married Elizabeth, the daughter 
 of Sigismund, and was selected by his father-in-law as his successor 
 to the cro\fns of Hungary and Bohemia. The empress Barbara 
 endeavoured to exclude her daughter and son-in-law from them, and 
 
 fainecl a party among the nobles ; but Sigismuud arrested her, retired 
 astily from Prague, under the pretence of the necessity for a change 
 of air, to Znaim in Moravia, summoned the principal nobles of Hun- 
 gary and Bohemia around him, and presented Albert to them as his 
 successor. He drew up the testament appointing Albert, and sent 
 it to the Bohemian estates by his chancellor Schlick, and then 
 expired in the sixty-third year of his age, A.D. 1437. 
 
 His character has been sufficiently delineated by liis actions. He 
 was vain, arrogant and deceitful ; fond of display and flattery ; a 
 devoted admirer of beauty, and a jealous worshipper of Venus. The 
 disastrous results of the Hussite war might have been prevented, 
 had he united energy of character, with uprightness of conduct ; 
 his treachery towarcTs the Bohemians only added to the severity of 
 the contest. 
 
 2. ALBERT II. OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Albert preceded the funeral procession of Sigismund into Hungary, 
 where he was unanimonsly chosen king, and inaugurated with the 
 accustomed ceremonies. His chancellor Schlick had meanwhile 
 arrived at Prague, announced to the states the dying request of the 
 late emperor, and advised them to elect Albert as their king. The 
 Catholics accepted the proposal, and acknowledged him in the capital ; 
 but the Hussites refused, and held an assembly at Tabor, where they 
 published their dissent. " The election," they said, " ought to be 
 free ; we have purchased our liberty with our blood, and will main- 
 tain it with our lives. The late emperor violated the compacts, and 
 Albert may follow his example." They dispatched an embassy to- 
 "VVladislaus requesting his brother Casimir to become their king, and 
 
2 HISTORY OP AUSTKIA. 
 
 a body of troops to aid them against Albert. The king scut a troop 
 of honemen, who joined the Hussites at Mount Tabor. Albert 
 hastened to Prague, and was crowned iu the cathedral amid the 
 joyous acclamations of the Catholics ; and soon collected an army of 
 30,000 men. with which he besieged the Hussites and Poles in Tabor. 
 He was forced to raise the siege through the bravery of George 
 Podiebrad, and to retire to Prague ; but when the Poles invaded 
 Silesia, they were driven back with great slaughter by the margrave 
 of Brandenburg. A congress was held at Breslau, where a truce 
 was concluded with Wladislaus ; the Hussites were propitiated, and 
 peace restored to Bohemia. 
 
 Meanwhile the electoral princes raised Albert to the imperial 
 dignity, as a prince able to regulate the affairs of the state, and to 
 defend the empire from its foes. For a long time the dissensions 
 between the free cities and the princes had been increasing; the 
 Hanseatic towns were filled with the strife between the artisans and 
 the merchants ; and when iu 1427 their fleet was defeated by the 
 .Danes, the people in the towns threw all the blame on the nobles, 
 rose against them, and murdered them; and then attacked and 
 defeated the Danish king. Albert summoned a diet at Nuremberg 
 where he introduced many reforms in the administration of justice; 
 and for the purpose of suppressing private wars, and promoting the 
 peace of the empire, lie divided the provinces into four circles, which 
 were afterwards extended and improved by Maximilian I. His 
 prudence also preserved Germany from those religious contentions 
 which had excited such a baneful influence on her prosperity. Pope 
 Martin V., a wise, vigorous, and conciliating pontiff was succeeded 
 by Eugenius IV., who, instead of carrying out the reforms con- 
 templated by his predecessor, issued a bull dissolving the council of 
 Basle, where these reforms were being considered, and convoking 
 another in opposition to it. The council of Basle felt its dignity 
 insulted, deposed Eugenius, and elected Amadeus, duke of Savoy 
 who assumed the name of Felix V. Both parties endeavoured to 
 gain the assistance of the emperor; but he wisely refrained from 
 interfering, and simply adopted the regulations which had been 
 formed at Basle for the reformation of the church. 
 
 Germany was now alarmed by the appearance of a new class of 
 invaders, who threatened the subjugation of Hungary, and the con- 
 quest of Europe. The Turks had rapidly extended their dominions 
 in Asia, and founded a powerful empire in Asia Minor. This was 
 increased by fresh victories ; and in 1358 they crossed the Hellespont, 
 and established themselves at Gallipoli, whence they ravaged parts 
 of Europe; till in 1361 the strongest fortress of the Greek empire, 
 Adrianople, fell into their hands. The provinces of Servia, Bulgaria 
 and Bosnia were desolated by the Turks under the Sultan Amurath ; 
 whose successor Bajazet planted colonies among the vanquished, and 
 advanced to the frontiers of Hungary. Sigismund had formed a 
 powerful alliance among his princes to check the encroachments of 
 the infidels ; but his rashness and pride enabled the Turks to defeat 
 his army, and so completely to destroy it, that Sigismund with great 
 
DECLINE OP THE PAPAL POTTER. Bli 
 
 difficulty escaped the carnage by throwing himself into a boat, and 
 descending the Danube to the Black Sea, where he was picked up by 
 the Venetian fleet. After his death, the Turks under A.murath burst 
 inl o Servia, and laid siege to Semendria. Albert now king of Hun- 
 gary was appealed to for assistance ; and collecting an army, he 
 inarched to the relief of the place ; but on his arrival, he had the 
 mortification of witnessing its capture. The Turks were preparing 
 to cross the Danube ; but dysentery broke out among them, and 
 forced Amurath to retire. Albert was also seized with the malady, 
 and hastened his return to Vienna. On his arrival at Buda, he was 
 so weak that the physicians advised his remaining there till he was 
 stronger; but he wished to continue his journey, and said "I shall 
 recover if I can only once more behold the walls of Vienna." He 
 rashly partook of some melons, which so increased his disorder, that 
 he died at a small village near Gran Oct. 17, 1439, in the forty-third 
 year of his age. " This great and amiable monarch was tall in stature, 
 strong-limbed, remarkable for his majestic deportment, and the exact 
 symmetry of his person. He was plain in his apparel, affable in his 
 manners, and easy of access. From the darkness of his complexion, 
 and the serious cast of his countenance, he was denominated the 
 Grave ; and he obtained the epithet of the Magnanimous from the 
 splendour of his actions, and the grandeur of his mind." 
 
 3. FREDERICK III. 
 
 On the death of Albert four crowns became vacant. Austria could 
 only be inherited by males ; Bohemia, Hungary, and the empire 
 were at the disposal of the electors. The widow of Albert was 
 pregnant at the time of his death, and requested the states to defer 
 the acknowledgment of a successor till her delivery. Austria and 
 Bohemia consented ; but Hungary sent ambassadors to Wladislaus, 
 king of Poland, and offered him the crown. The electoral princes 
 first selected Louis, landgrave of Hesse ; but on his declining the 
 honour, they unanimously called Frederick duke of Styria to the 
 imperial throne. The birth of Ladislaus Posthumus secured a suc- 
 cessor to the throne of Austria, who was placed under the guardian- 
 ship of Frederick. Wladislaus entered Hungary, which became 
 divided into two parties ; one headed by a celebrated general John 
 Hunniades, surnamed Corvinus, who supported Wladislaus; and the 
 other headed by Ulrie, Count of Cilli in favour of Ladislaus. The 
 royal infant was carried to Alba Regia, and when only four months 
 old was crowned by the Archbishop of Gran; while the partisans of 
 Wladislaus took up arms to support his dignity, and soon after 
 crowned him at the same place. A civil war broke out, which was 
 hushed for a time by the threatened invasion of the Turks, who 
 were sweeping everything before them with fearful impetuosity. 
 Wladislaus succeeded in establishing himself on the throne, which 
 he enjoyed till his death at the battle of Varna against the Turks ; 
 when. Ladislaus was unanimously chosen King, A.D. 1444. The 
 crown of Bohemia was more easily secured to him ; for after the 
 estates had offered it t,o Albert duke of Bavaria, and the Emperor 
 
Di HISTORY OF AUSTHIA. 
 
 Frederick, both of whom nobly refused it, they chose Ladislaus, and 
 appointed two regents, Praczeck as head of the Calixtins, and 
 Meinhard, as chief of the Catholics. The two regents quarrelled ; 
 Praczeck died, and George Podiebrad was placed at the head of the 
 government, where he exercised almost regal authority. Each 
 country was anxious to possess the person of the young sovereign ; 
 deputations were sent from Bohemia to demand their king, and also 
 from Hungary ; and on the refusal of Frederick to give up his ward 
 to Hungary, the nobles appointed John Huuniades regent, who 
 regulated the affairs of the kingdom with prudence and great ability. 
 The Austrians were also dissatisfied with the conduct of Frederick, 
 because he detained the youug king at Neustadt, and would not 
 allow him even to visit his capital. 
 
 Frederick was only nine years old, when his father died, and was 
 placed under the guardianship of his uncle Frederick of Tyrol whom 
 he imitated in his indolence and weakness of character. He was 
 no sooner free from his guardian than he imdertook a pilgrimage to 
 the Holy Land, and returned with pious relics, and honours of knight- 
 hood. At Hie time of his election to the throne, Germany was in a 
 divided state; the imperial dignity was scarcely anything but a title; 
 the sovereignties, principalities, and petty states were at war with 
 each other; and the only power possessed by the emperor was what 
 the princes chose to allow him. The church was also afllicted by a 
 grievous schism ; and nothing but the wise and powerful hand of a 
 monarch could avert the dangers which constantly threatened the 
 land. 
 
 One of his first acts was to assemble a diet at Mentz, that the 
 schism of the church might be healed ; where an attempt was made 
 to reconcile the councils of Basle and Florence, and the two popes, 
 Eugenius and Felix. This gave great dissatisfaction to both parties. 
 Felix tried to gain Frederick to his side, by the offer of his beautiful 
 daughter Margaret in marriage ; but the emperor secretly favoured 
 Eugenius, as he wished to be crowned at Rome, and dispatched his 
 secretary, ./Eneas Sylvius, thither, under the pretence of gaining the 
 pope's acquiescence in the wishes of the German nation. Eugenius 
 refused to consent to the propositions of the diet ; and deposed the 
 electors of Treves and Cologne, who had distinguished themselves at 
 the council of Basle. This excited Hie indignation of the German 
 nation ; a solemn diet was called at Frankfort, Avherc it was resolved 
 not to submit to Eugenius, till the supremacy of a general council 
 was acknowledged, and the decrees of Basle approved by him. The, 
 mediation of Frederick was called in ; _<Eneas Sylvius bribed the 
 Archbishop of Mentz. the elector of Brandenburg, and the chief of the 
 clergy; the emperor persuaded them to send an ambassage to Rome; 
 and t,he crafty secretary induced the pope to accept the modified 
 decrees of the council. His successor pope Nicholas V. with the 
 connivance of Frederick, still further modified the decrees which were 
 most detrimental to the interest of the Roman see, and published 
 the celebrated concordat, which the princes signed, and by which all 
 hope of reform in the church was banished. Felix was induced to 
 
DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. 03 
 
 resign his dignity ; and Nicholas was confirmed on the pontifical 
 throne, A.D. 1448. 
 
 The troubles which sprang up in his patrimonial possessions, 
 prevented Frederick receiving the imperial crown till two years after 
 his election, when he was crowned at Aix la Chapelle on the 15th of 
 June 1442 ; and repaired to Frankfort to establish regulations for 
 the proper administration of the empire. He resolved to avail 
 himself of the dissensions among the Swiss, to recover the dominions 
 which had been wrested from the house of Austria. Zurich applied 
 to him for aid against the confederation, and oifered to restore to him 
 Kyburg; and Frederick hastened thither, passed through his 
 possessions, and received the oath of obedience from his subjects ; 
 and soon after despatched a body of Austriaus to assist Zurich in 
 her wars. 
 
 As his affairs in Hungary and Bohemia demanded his attention, 
 and the states of Germany refused to assist him in his private wars, 
 Frederick solicited from the King of France a body of mercenaries 
 to aid Zurich. An army of 30,000 men, called Armagiiacs from 
 their original leader, hastened into the territory, led by the Dauphin. 
 They met a* body of 1600 Swiss in the neighbourhood of Basle ; who 
 charged them with such impetuosity, that they drove the mercenaries 
 to Muttenz, and continued their rapid onsets till they forced them 
 across the Birs. The brave Swiss followed, but were cut down by 
 the Austrian cavalry and the French ; five hundred escaped to the 
 hospital of St. James, where they heroically perished ; and the sixteen, 
 who alone returned to the confederation, were branded by their 
 countrymen for deserting the field of battle. The French were 
 fearfully cut down ; six thousand of the finest warriors were slain ; 
 the Dauphin refused to sacrifice any more of his troops for the 
 interest of Austria ; and in order to indemnify himself for the 
 expenses of the war, he overran the Austrian dominions, and 
 committed fearful ravages. Frederick resolved to avenge these 
 indignities, and summoned a diet at Nuremberg ; Germany declared 
 war against France, and voted an army ; but the outbreak of hostili- 
 ties was prevented by the Daupliin quietly retiring from the country. 
 The broils of the Swiss, however, continued ; the Austriaus gained 
 a few slight advantages ; and at length the treaty was drawn up in 
 1449, by which both parties were placed in the same position as they 
 occupied before the war. 
 
 During these events the emperor had negotiated a marriage with 
 Eleonora, daughter of the king of Portugal ; and was extremely 
 anxious to proceed to Rome that he might be crowned by the pope. 
 Italy was at this time disturbed by a contest for the duchy of Milan. 
 On the death of Philip Maria, the last of the Visconti, several com- 
 petitors for the crown appeared, and the country became a scene of 
 dreadful commotion and bloodshed. Francis Sforza had succeeded 
 his father as the commander of a celebrated band of mercenaries, 
 and by his skill and prowess had made his name, respected, and Ins 
 arms successful. His services were eagerly purchased ; and by his 
 assistance victory was frequently brought first to one side and then 
 
96 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 to tlio oilier. He was warmly supported, and openly acknowledged 
 by the populace of Milan ; and in 1450 was raised to the dignity of 
 the throne. Frederick set out from Gratz at the close of 1451 
 accompanied by his ward Ladislaus, his brother Albert, and a 
 numerous train of followers. Sl'orza offered to receive from him 
 Milan as an imperial fief ; but Frederick refused to stay, and passed 
 on in his journey, sometimes receiving the adulation, and sometimes 
 meeting M'ith the contempt of the people. As he passed through 
 the streets of Viterbo, a tumult arose; the populace atiempted to 
 strip him of his gold and jewels; and it was not till the emperor 
 and his retinue charged the crowd, and drew their swords, that the 
 people dispersed. The college of cardinals came out to meet him 
 at Rome and to conduct him to the city with great state ; and to 
 gratify the pride of the pontiff, Frederick and all his suite submitted 
 to kiss the hand and foot of the pope, as he sat on an ivory throne, 
 surrounded by the greatest ecclesiastical splendour. On the 16th 
 of March 1452, he was crowned by the pope king of Lombardy; 
 and on the 19th, he received the imperial crown, and the hand 
 of his bride. He took an oath of submission to the pope ; knighted 
 Ladislaus, his brother, and three hundred persons on the bridge of 
 the Tiber; and repaired to the court of Alphonso, king of Naples; 
 where he passed his time in festivity, till the affairs of his dominions 
 called him home. 
 
 Frederick having secured the imperial crown, exalted his family 
 by procuring the archducal dignity, which had been assumed by 
 Rudolph IV. in consequence of a grant made by Frederick I. to the 
 Austrian dukes of the Bamberg line, but which it appears he after- 
 wards relinquished. By virtue of this title, great privileges were 
 conferred on the Austrian sons. The archdukes were declared by 
 birth privy councillors of the emperor, their territories were incapable 
 of being put under the ban of the empire, and attempts against their 
 person were considered high treason. They were freed from the 
 necessity of attending diets, from contributions and public charges ; 
 empowered to levy taxes, create counts, batons &c., and in failure of 
 heirs, to dispose of their own lands by will. 
 
 When Frederick returned from Italy, he left the young prince 
 L?dislaus under the care of the pope and ./Eneas Sylvius, from whom 
 he received a refined and learned education, which, however desirable, 
 by no means fitted him to govern the rude and turbulent subjects 
 under his sway. Deputies were sent from Austria, Bohemia, and 
 Hungary to the young king, to prevail on him to escape ; but the 
 plan was discovered and prevented by the pope. On the arrival of 
 the emperor from Italy, the principal nobles once more solicited him 
 to give up his ward ; and on his refusal, they sent Ulric Eytzinger, 
 an Austrian with 16,000 men to besiege Neustadt. Frederick, 
 unable to resist, resigned Ladislaus to the care of his uncle, the 
 count of Cilli, until the deputies could make arrangements for the 
 government of the kingdoms. Ladislaus repaired to Vienna, amid 
 the rejoicings of the people ; and in the assembly there it was agreed 
 that, during his minority, the young king should remain under the 
 
DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. 97 
 
 care of the count of Cilli, Hungary be governed by John Hunniades, 
 Bohemia by George Podiebrad, and Austria by Cilli A.D. 1452. 
 
 The court of Ladislaus soon became a scsne of discord. Cilli 
 gained great influence over the young king, and removed Eytzinger, 
 and the Austrian nobles from posts of influence, and filled them with 
 his own creatures ; while he inspired the king with suspicion and 
 jealousy towards the regents of Hungary and Bohemia. The nobles 
 were aroused ; Eytzinger remonstrated with the king on the folly of 
 his favourite, and with an armed force caused him to remove th 
 count ; and he fled from Vienna amid the insults of the populace. 
 Ladislaus then proceeded into Bohemia; where he was met by the 
 chief nobles, conducted in state to Prague, and was crowned king in 
 Oct. 1453. His religious prejudices, however, weakened his influ- 
 ence in this kingdom. He treated the Catholics with respect and 
 affection, but showed by many acts his strong aversion to the Calix- 
 tins. He would not enter their churches, turned away whenever 
 mass was performed by one of their priests, refused to make any 
 religious concession to them, and declared that he would follow alone 
 the decisions of the pope. 
 
 Meanwhile the government of Eytzinger in Vienna became 
 extremely unpopular ; and Ladislaus embraced the opportunity of 
 reinstating his favourite Cilli. Hungary was growing discontented, 
 and requested the presence of her king ; but Cilli, fearful of a fresh 
 disgrace, persuaded the king not to undertake the journey, and 
 represented Hunniades as a powerful and ambitious man, grasping at 
 the crown. The king attempted to gain possession of the regent ; 
 but his plan failed ; and at length he repaired to Buda, and was fully 
 reconciled to Hunniades. 
 
 An occasion soon presented itself when the powerful assistance of 
 the regent of Hungary was gratefully accepted. The Turks since 
 the battle of Varna, had rapidly gained the ascendancy over the 
 Greeks ; the tottering throne of the eastern empire was upheld for a 
 time by the bravery and wisdom of Constantino ; until Mohammed II. 
 directed all his efforts to the capture of Constantinople, and sur- 
 rounded the city with his troops. The efforts of the emperor to 
 arouse his degenerate people were unavailing ; a band of 9,000 meii 
 was all the force he could boast of, with which he defended the walls 
 with heroic bravery ; but the impetuous storming of the Turks was 
 irresistible, and Constantine fell nobly amid the ruins of his city 
 A.D. 1453. The Sultan fixed his throne at Constantinople ; and then 
 directed his attention to Hungary. Albania was quickly subdued; 
 but advancing into Servia, his progress was checked by Hunniades, 
 who during the absence of the Sultan defeated his troops. Moham- 
 med next year collected 200,000 men, and laid siege to Belgrade. 
 Hungary trembled at the presence of such a terrible host ; the empe- 
 ror Frederick was buried in his botanical studies, from which even 
 the sound of war could not arouse him ; and a general crusade was 
 fervent ly preached by John Capistran, a monk, who collected 40,000 
 of the peasantry, armed with sticks and flails, against the infidels. 
 All hope was centered on Hunniades. He disciplined the rabble as 
 
98 HISTOBY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 quickly as he was able ; and placing himself at the head of a corps 
 of Hungarians, marched to the relief of Belgrade. The fortress was 
 reduced to the last extremity ; the walls were battered by cannon ; 
 the garrison worn out with fatigue ; their provisions cut off by the 
 flotilla in the Danube. Hunniacles collected a few barks, destroyed 
 the enemy's flotilla, and entered the fortress. A general assault was 
 made by the Turks, and for a time the crescent waved on the 
 ramparts; but the Hungarians rushed upon the invaders, turned 
 their cannon against them, and drove them back with very great 
 slaughter. The joy which was awakened by this victory was soon 
 turned into grief at the death of Hunniades, who expired shortly 
 after of a fever A.D. 1455. 
 
 Ladislaus and Cilli were by no means sorrowful at the removal of 
 sucli a powerful rival as the late regent had been, and ungraciously 
 resolved to manifest their ill-will towards the father by persecuting 
 his sons. Cilli endeavoured to get possession of the eldest; and 
 meeting with him one day by accident, he drew his sword, and 
 would have run him through ; but he was overpowered and killed 
 by the son of Hunniades, Avlio was afterwards beheaded by the king 
 in revenge for the loss of his favourite. The second son Matthias, 
 was imprisoned; his widowed mother assembled an army, and 
 threatened to give up the frontier fortresses to the Turks, if her son 
 was not immediately restored. The death of Ladislaus threw open 
 the gates of the dungeon; he died suddenly in the midst of his 
 marriage ceremonies at Prague in the eighteenth year of his age 
 A.JX 1458. 
 
 The death of the king of Hungary opened to Frederick the 
 prospect of securing his dominions to himself; but he possessed 
 neither the energy, nor the ability necessary to obtain them. 
 Austria was claimed by him as his right ; but the opposition was so 
 violent that it was finally settled that he should receive Lower 
 Austria, his brother Albert Upper Austria, and his nephew 
 Sigismund the part of Carinthia adjoining the Tyrol; and that 
 Vienna should be the joint residence of the three princes. The 
 nobles of Bohemia unanimously rejected Frederick, and raised 
 George Podichrad to the throne ; and when the emperor claimed 
 the crown of Hungary, his claim was refused, and Matthias Corvinus 
 received the dignity. .Frederick sent an army of five thousand men 
 to obtain the crown by force ; but deserted by his allies, and 
 despised by the nobles, he relinquished his pretensions to the throne 
 on receiving a sum of money. 
 
 In Austria the emperor experienced similar misfortunes. The 
 nobles and citizens manifested their discontent at him, which 
 was festered by Albert, and at length broke out in a civil war. 
 Frederick appeared at the gates of Vienna with a body of horse, for 
 the protection of the empress and his son Maximilian, who were in 
 the citadel; and after three days' intreaty he was admitted to the 
 city. A rebellion soon broke out ; the people flew to arms ; and 
 the emperor was forced to fly to the citadel, where he was closely 
 besieged by his brother Albert. Here for once in his life he- 
 
DECLINE OP THE PAPAL POWER. 99 
 
 displayed great firmness and resolution. He declared that rather 
 than submit, the citadel should bury him; and he doubtless would 
 have held out to the last, had he not been rescued from his perilous 
 situation by the king of Hungary, who marched to his relief at the 
 head of 13,000 men. A treaty was drawn up favourable to Albert, 
 but his rapacity was not satisfied ; and the country would have been 
 plunged into a desolating war, had not Albert died suddenly while 
 preparing for hostilities A.D. 14G3. 
 
 While Frederick was contending with his brother in Austria, he 
 was involved in a severe contest with the empire, and threatened 
 with the loss of the imperial crown. Louis, the elector Palatine 
 died in 1449, and left an infant son Philip to the guardiancy of his 
 brother Frederick ; who persuaded the electoral princes, and the 
 widow to invest him with the electoral dignity, on condition that he 
 adopted Philip as his heir. The emperor refused to give his 
 consent, and thus incurred the resentment of a powerful and warlike 
 prince. At first the elector manifested his opposition to Frederick 
 by assisting his relative Louis of Bavaria to gain possession of 
 Donawerth, an imperial city ; but foiled in this, he formed a league 
 among the electors of Trcves and Mentz, Albert, Sigismund, and 
 other princes to depose the emperor, and to offer the crown to George 
 Podiebrad. Frederick was aroused to a sense of his danger, 
 concluded an alliance with the electors of Brandenburg and Saxony, 
 and gained the influence of pope Pius II., who embraced the 
 opportunity afforded by the vacancy of the see of Mentz to 
 strengthen the emperor's party. Two candidates appeared for the 
 see, Adolphus of ISlassau and Dietrich of Isemburg. The latter was 
 chosen because of the concessions made by his ambassadors ; but 
 when he entered on his dignity, he disavowed the actions of his 
 ambassadors, and was deposed by the pope ; who then elected 
 Adolphus in his stead. The elector took up arms to support 
 Dietrich ; and the emperor formed a confederacy among the princes 
 in favour of Adolphus. The royal troops burst into the Palatinate, 
 and devastated the country ; and to destroy more thoroughly the 
 corn, Ulric of Wurtemburg, and Charles of Baden tied branches of 
 trees to their horses' tails, and rode through the country. The con- 
 federates, however, were defeated in a bloody battle at Leckingen, 
 and Ulric, Charles, and Adolphus made prisoners by the Count 
 Palatine, while the duke of Bavaria defeated Albert of Brandenburg, 
 and captured the imperial standard. The elector, anxious to secure 
 the confirmation of his brother as archbishop of Cologne by the 
 pope, concluded a peace, and extorted large ransoms from his 
 illustrious captives ; and the duke of Bavaria followed the example 
 of his relative, renounced his claim to Donawerth, and likewise 
 sued for peace. 
 
 Germany was constantly threatened by the Turks, against whom 
 scarcely any precautions were taken. The German princes were at 
 enmity with each other, and fully occupied with their own quarrels ; 
 the emperor and the pope had often solicited a crusade against the 
 infidels, and supplies of men and money from the diet; yet they 
 
100 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 employed the succours more to enrich themselves than to oppose the 
 invaders. Frederick even regarded with satisfaction the approach 
 of the Turks as a check to the King of Hungary ; and when the 
 King of Bohemia proposed to the diet to head an army against 
 them, the pope urged that it would he far better for them to turn 
 their arms against the heretical king himself, than against the 
 Moslems. The Turks, thus unopposed, continued their ravages, 
 swept over Scrvia and Bosnia, entered Carniola and Carinthia, 
 destroyed the villages and towns, and either slew or carried captive 
 the inhabitants. Frederick was at his country residence at Lintz, 
 absorbed in the pursuit of horticulture, and " seemed more anxious 
 to shield his plants from the frost, than to defend his dominions 
 against these barbarous invaders." His subjects, however, rose and 
 drove them back ; but in 1473 they returned to Carinthia, and 
 carried off 20,000 prisoners; and m 1475 penetrated nearly to 
 Salzburg. " The situation of the country may easily be imagined 
 which, during the reign of Frederick, and in the short period of only 
 twenty-seven years, was twelve times visited by so dreadful a scourge, 
 and twelve times marked by similar scenes of devastation, caniage, 
 and horror." 
 
 Although Frederick had received such aid from George Podiebrad 
 in his troubles, he was base enough to join the pope in an attempt 
 to dethrone that king. The religious disputes, whicli had been 
 settled by the concordat, now burst out again in their full fury ; the 
 Calixtins and the Catholics regarded each other with the bitterest 
 hatred ; and pope Pius II. refused to ratify the compact of the 
 council of Basic, and commissioned his legate to forbid communion 
 in both kinds. George imprisoned the insolent legate, and aroused 
 the indignation of the pope, who would have excommunicated him, 
 but for the timely mediation of Frederick. The successor to the 
 papal throne, Paul II., renewed the persecution, and persuaded the 
 emperor to allow a crusade to be preached throughout Germany 
 against the heretical king. Podiebrad bitterly inveighed against 
 the ingratitude of Frederick, declared war against him, and filled 
 Austria witli desolation. Matthias was induced by the emperor to 
 attack Bohemia ; but the vigour of George enabled him to resist all 
 Ids foes, and to force a treaty of peace. Matthias broke this, and 
 again entered Moravia and Silesia ; and summoning a mock diet at 
 Olmiitz, was elected King of Bohemia. Frederick, however, 
 disappointed him in his supplies; George wisely favoured both the 
 Catholics and the Calixtins by naming as his successor Wladislaus, 
 so;i of Casimir king of Poland ; the unaided efforts of the King of 
 Hungary were unavailing ; and both parlies weary of the strife, 
 concluded a peace A.D. 1470. 
 
 On the death of Podiebrad, the crown passed to Wladislaus. 
 Matthias was occupied with the Turks then; but he embraced the 
 first oppoit unity of wreaking his vengeance on the emperor, for his 
 perfidy towaids him. He had deserted him in war, had broken his 
 promises of investing him with Bohemia, had refused to give him his 
 daughter Cunegunda, and fomented the internal dissensions of 
 
DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. 101 
 
 Hungary. Austria was instantly invaded ; the towns and fortresses 
 of the Danube fell into his hands ; and Frederick fled to Lintz, and to 
 save his capital, agreed to the most humiliating terms. These were 
 violated before the close of the year, and Austria was again involved 
 in a fierce struggle with Matthias ; the favourite residence of the 
 emperor, Neustadt, was captured ; and Frederick roved from city to 
 city, and from convent to convent like a vagrant, seeking assistance 
 but finding none. Albert duke of Saxony was induced to come to 
 his rescue ; but the promises of Frederick to render him support 
 were violated; and he concluded a treaty with the belligerents, 
 by which Matthias was permitted to retain possession of the con- 
 quered territories till Frederick could fulfil his previous engagement 
 to pay one hundred thousand ducats, and defray the expenses of the 
 war. 
 
 These losses, however, were fully recompensed by the success 
 which crowned his endeavours to secure the hand of Mary of Bur- 
 gundy to his son Maximilian. Charles the Bold was extremely 
 anxious to gain the title of King of Burgundy, and applied to 
 Frederick for his assistance, promising his daughter Mary to his 
 son, and the reversion of the duchy at his death. Frederick eagerly 
 listened to the proposal, and repaired with his son to Treves, where he 
 met Charles ; and the young prince, then in his fourteenth year, was 
 affianced to Mary. Frederick, however, suddenly disappeared from 
 the city, urging that his presence was required at Cologne ; but the 
 truth was that the two sovereigns had no confidence in each other ; 
 Charles was unwilling to dispose of his daughter, and Frederick 
 resolved not to confer the regal title till the nuptials had been 
 celebrated. Charles was exasperated by his disappointment, and 
 invaded the archbishopric of Cologne ; but the presence of a large 
 army with Frederick induced him to retire. Louis XL king of 
 France, who had also solicited the hand of Mary for his son, formed 
 a combination among the Swiss against Burgundy, into which the 
 emperor entered ; and for four years the Burgundian war raged with 
 vigour, and various success. Frederick, with his usual perfidy, left 
 the Swiss to their fate, and held a private interview with Charles ; 
 who agreed to submit their differences to the arbitration of the 
 
 E3pe. After the death of Charles, at the battle of Nancy A.D. 1477, 
 ouis took possession of Burgundy, and urged the suit of his son to 
 the hand of the princess. Frederick dispatched the electors of 
 Mentz and Treves, the Duke of Bavaria, and other princes to solicit 
 the fair princess for Maximilian ; and Mary astonished the assembled 
 court by warmly welcoming them, by receiving from them the 
 trinkets which she had formerly sent as tokens of her aTection, and 
 by declaring her resolution to give her hand to the noble prince. 
 Maximilian hastened to Ghent ; and, mounted on a brown ste3>;l, clad 
 in silver-gilt armour, and crowned with a bridal wreath, which was 
 resplendent with pearls, he rode, into the city to meet his Iriie, who 
 received him with open arms, and said, " Welcome art thou to me 
 thou noble Carman, whom 1 have so long desired, and now behold 
 with delight." Frederick then conferred on his son the dignity of 
 
102 HISTORY OF Al'STniA. 
 
 Archduke of Austria, which his successors have ever since borne. 
 Maximilian vigorously opposed the encroachments of the King of 
 France, and deprived him of the territory he had seized in the 
 Netherlands. While engaged in quelling the turbulent spirit of 
 Flanders, the young prince had the misfortune to lose his wife, \vlio 
 was thrown from her horse while hunting, and died in consequence, 
 leaving a son named Philip and a daughter Margaret. Disputes 
 soon arose respecting the guardianship of the royal children ; and 
 the treaty of Arras was drawn up on the 23rd of December, 1482, by 
 which Margaret was affianced to the Dauphin of France, and was to 
 be educated at Paris ; and Philip to be under the guardianship of the 
 Flemish states. 
 
 Though Frederick also gained another advantage for his son by 
 procuring his election as King of the Romans, and the reversion of 
 the imperial crown to him, Maxiuilian continued to experience great 
 troubles in Flanders. The people regarded him with the greatest 
 jealousy; and he severely felt the rigorous treaty which deprived him 
 of all share in the government of Flanders, and the education of his 
 children. He gathered a considerable body of troops, made himself 
 master of the principal towns, and forced the Flemings to acknow- 
 ledge his authority, and to restore his son Philip. He then turned 
 to France, formed an alliance with the Dukes of Orleans and 
 Brittany, and burst into Picardy with 12,000 men. His enterprise, 
 however, was unsuccessful. His army was defeated ; Brittany was 
 overrun by French troops ; the discontented nobles were kept in awe ; 
 and rebellion was fostered among the Flemish towns. His foreign, 
 garrisons, his German marauders, and his frequent levies created 
 great dissatisfaction ; Ghent was distracted with the turbulence 
 of the people; the citizens of Bruges demanded the presence 
 of Maximilian, and when he appeared, detained him a close prisoner, 
 beheaded some of his ministers, and tortured others. Frederick 
 beheld with alarm the situation of his son, collected troops from all 
 parts of the empire, and at the head of 15,000 men penetrated to 
 Brabant. The Flemings were terrified at the rapid advances of 
 the emperor, and hastily drew up a treaty, which required Maximilian 
 to renew the compact of Arras, to surrender all the fortresses, and 
 withdraw all the foreign troops from the country. Maximilian 
 signed this, and was liberated ; and without displaying any anger or 
 vindictive feelings, he left the city under an escort with the Duke of 
 Bavaria. Frederick dissolved the oath taken by his son, and left an 
 army under the Duke of Saxony to carry on the war ; which he did 
 with such energy, that when Maximilian returned to the Netherlands 
 in 1493, the duke led his two children to him, saying "God has 
 granted to me success ; therefore I bring you these two children, and 
 an obedient hand." 
 
 Frederick was anxious to gain possession of his Austrian dominions 
 without paying the sum stipulated in the late treaty ; and Maximilian 
 was about to open negotiations with the King of Hungary, when 
 Matthias suddenly died, and his successor Wladislaus ceded all the 
 Austrian territories taken by the late king, and in the event of having 
 
DECLINE OF THE PAPAL POWER. 103 
 
 310 male issue, conferred on him the succession to his dominions 
 A.D. 1490. 
 
 Meanwhile Maximilian indulged the hope of gaining the important 
 province of Brittany by marrying Anne the rich heiress. Several 
 suitors appeared for her hand ; but Maximilian was the most favoured ; 
 and by the influence of the prince of Orange, the arrangements were 
 concluded, and the princess accepted the offer of the archduke. His 
 hopes, however, were blasted by the intrigues of the French king. 
 Trance had long desired the duchy ; and in the time of the late duke, 
 had entered the country, and dissolved the alliance with Maximilian. 
 On the death of Louis, the youthful Charles VIII. invaded the 
 province and laid siege to Nantes. The nobles were unable to defend 
 their country, and the duchess applied to England and Maximilian 
 for aid. Henry VII. sent sixteen thousand English to her assistance ; 
 but they arrived too late ; and the son of Frederick could not obtain 
 supplies. Anne held out to the last ; but her generals betrayed her, 
 her counsellors were urgent for peace ; and at length a treaty was 
 drawn up, by which Charles agreed to evacuate Brittany, and give 
 the duchess a safe conduct to Germany, if she wished to proceed 
 thither. Instead of repairing to Maximilian, she sought the King of 
 France, was united in marriage to him, and annexed the duchy of 
 Brittany to the crown. Maximilian was justly indignant at the con- 
 duct ot France ; his own daughter Margaret was thus insulted, 
 after she had been presented to France as a queen for seven years ; 
 and he himself was robbed of the duchy, and his beautiful bride. He 
 vowed vengeance against the perfidious monarch, and sought assist- 
 ance from the diet, the Swiss, and England. The English alone aided 
 him with a considerable army, which was sent to Calais ; but it was 
 afterwards bribed by the king to retire ; and Maximilian, deserted by 
 his allies, and embarrassed at home, signed a. treaty at Senlis; his 
 daughter was restored ; and an indemnification granted to him for 
 the loss of Brittany. 
 
 The days of Frederick were fast drawing to a close. The last 
 public act of his life was to receive Albert of Saxony, who had 
 espoused his daughter without his consent, and against whom he had 
 marched with a great army ; but Maximilian stepped in between the 
 belligerents, and effected a reconciliation. The emperor resigned the 
 administration of affairs to his son, and retired to Lintz where the 
 remainder of his days was peacefully passed amid his various studies. 
 He had for a long time been afflicted with an ulcer in his leg ; caused, 
 it is said, by the practice of kicking open every door he found closed ; 
 and it was deemed necessary to amputate his limb. He bore the 
 painful operation with his accustomed sang-froid, and exclaimed " Is 
 not a sound peasant greater than a sick emperor." He was rapidly 
 progressing, when a rigid fast, and an inordinate use of melons 
 brought on dysentery, of which he died on the 19th of August 1493 
 in the seventy-eighth year of his age after a reign of hfty-three 
 years. 
 
 The character of Frederick is justly described by the epithet which 
 was applied to him, "The Pacific." He was tall in his person; 
 
10i HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 majestic in his appearance ; and handsome in his countenance. His 
 ordinary costume was extremely plain ; but on occasions of state, he 
 decorated himself with all the magnificence his royal wardrobe could 
 furnish. He was extremely temperate and abstemious in his habits, 
 and practised the most rigid economy; which indeed his slender 
 revenues demanded. Though affable and kind in his social relations, 
 he was indolent, reserved, cold, and indecisive in his public career, 
 and neglected the most important affairs of the state that he might 
 bury himself in his horticultural pursuits, or in studies of a darker 
 and more mysterious nature. He was faithless to his friends and his 
 enemies ; easily persuaded to forget the benefits conferred on him ; 
 and though anxious to promote his family interests, was too indolent 
 and weak to take the necessary steps. He was profoundly versed 
 in the occult sciences ; alchemy and astrology engaged his solitary 
 hours; and the study of heraldry and antiquities delighted his heart. 
 He formed a curious device consisting of the five vowels, a, e, i, o, u, 
 which he imprinted on his books, his buildings, and his ornaments ; 
 and which after his death was found thus explained by him : " Austria 
 Est Imperare Orbi Universe." Austria is to govern the whole world. 
 The character of Frederick would have adonied a private life ; but it 
 unfitted him for his position as emperor of Germany at that important 
 epoch of the world's historv. The most striking events of that 
 period transpired without his interference. Constantinople had 
 fallen to the Turks ; France had defeated the English, and annexed 
 Brittany to her empire ; Burgundy passed away from the dignity of 
 a state ; the literature of the East was dispersed over Europe-; uni- 
 versities flourished ; discoveries were promoted ; and enterprise was 
 fostered. A new sera was dawning on the world ; the middle ages 
 which began in ignorance, in anarchy and confusion, were receding ; a 
 clear and beautiful light was about to break over Europe ; the dis- 
 orders and errors of the past were to be rectified; and the steady 
 march of knowledge, freedom, and progress commence its onward 
 career. To the delineation of the events of modern history we now 
 pass. 
 
PART III. 
 
 MODERN HISTORY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MAXIMILIAN I. A.D. 1493-1519. 
 
 THE reign of Maximilian forms a distinct epoch in the history of 
 the German empire, and especially of the house of Austria, whose 
 power and influence were greatly extended by his wisdom and energy. 
 It will, therefore, throw an additional light upon the events of his, 
 and of succeeding reigns, if we take a brief survey of the state of 
 Europe at the time when the son of Frederick came to the throne. 
 
 France had been rapidly rising under the wise administration of 
 her sovereigns ; the English had been expelled from all their domi- 
 nions except Calais ; and the young and ambitious Charles VIII. 
 was preparing to win fresh laurels by asserting his claim to the crown 
 of Naples. The treatment Maximilian had received from the French 
 king, in the affairs of Brittany, and the proximity of their dominions 
 awakened that bitter jealousy between the two sovereigns, which has 
 ever since characterised these nations. England had been fiercely 
 torn by the war of the roses, and was now experiencing the stern, 
 and almost absolute rule of Henry VII. ; whose object seemed to be 
 rather to curb the turbulency of his people, than to extend his 
 influence by foreign alliances. 
 
 Spain had consolidated her power by the union of Castille and 
 Aragon ; the ambition of the nobles had been restrained, the interests 
 of the people protected, and trade and commerce promoted. The 
 Moors had just been conquered in Grenada ; and, at the accession of 
 Maximilian, Ferdinand possessed a powerful navy, a numerous and 
 well-disciplined army, and large resources. Under his auspices 
 Christopher Columbus made his successful voyage to the west, and 
 secured his discoveries to Spain. He was a man of great enterprise 
 and naval skill ; and having observed pieces of wood, and natural 
 productions floated by the western waves, he thought that a vessel 
 proceeding due west must at length reach a vast continent, which he 
 believed would be India. He made several proposals to attempt the 
 discovery; first to his native city Genoa, then to Portugal, and 
 through his brother, to England ; but meeting with no success, he 
 applied to the court at CastUle, where he obtained a small squadron. 
 
10G HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 He set sail on the 3rd of August 1492, and on the 12th of October 
 discerned the woods of St. Salvador ; and further on Cuba and 
 Hispaniola ; which were named the West Indies, because all were 
 then convinced they were but parts of the vast continent of India. 
 Tour separate voyages were made by this distinguished man ; and 
 though all Europe rung with his praises, and Spain was enriched by 
 his discoveries, he was suffered to die neglected, and in the deepest 
 poverty. At the same time Portugal, which was wisely governed by 
 John II., whose sole endeavours were to promote the internal peace, 
 and commercial interests of the kingdom, sent out a fleet under 
 Vasco da Gama to sail round Africa in search of India ; which arrived 
 in safety at its destination, after a prosperous voyage. 
 
 Italy was divided into several petty states ; the influence of the 
 German emperors was gone, though they still claimed to be the 
 recognised head over all, except the districts which had been ceded to 
 the church. Milan was hem by a weak and peaceful duke, Galeas 
 Sforza ; who was greatly influenced by his uncle Ludovico, a priuce 
 possessing talents of a very superior order, which commanded the 
 respect of the whole of Italy. When the young duke married, his 
 wife endeavoured to cast off the control or" the uncle, by means of 
 Florence and Naples ; but Ludovico aroused the King of France 
 against Naples, and gained Maximilian by offering to him his niece 
 Bianca Maria, with a marriage portion of 400,000 ducats. Florence 
 had reached a high state of prosperity under the magnificent rule of 
 the Medici; Ferrara continued under Hercules I. to enjoy the ducal 
 dignity conferred by Pope Pius II. ; but Venice was still the most 
 powerful of her neighbours ; whose treasury, enriched by the com- 
 merce of Europe, enabled her to support large mercenary troops, the 
 finest in Italy; though her position and her liberties naturally 
 rendered her jealous of the emperors. The Pope, as the head of the 
 papal states, enjoyed both temporal and spiritual power. The latter 
 had been declining for a considerable time ; the thunder of the 
 Vatican no longer possessed the awful roar with which it once was 
 invested, and the petty princes quailed not before the anathemas as 
 they formerly had done. The supremacy of the councilhad beenassertetl, 
 and Germany declared independent of the pope ; yet the immense re- 
 Tenues of the church enabled the pontiff to hire mercenaries, and the 
 terrible inquisition, and the order of Jesuits successfully maintained 
 his influence. Alexander VI. occupied the throne at Maximilian's 
 accession ; a pontiff endowed with commanding talents, but stained 
 with the most hideous crueltv, and the most unblushing crimes. 
 
 The Helvetic union had \>' e i steadily increasing in extent and 
 strength ; their hardy sons ti.ug'it the French and German princes 
 in many successful battles the importance of their valour ; and their 
 alliance was eagerly courted by the ambitious sovereigns. They 
 became the most celebrated mercenaries of Europe ; formed an inti- 
 mate union with the Grisons, who occupied the Rhoetian Alps ; and 
 proved themselves, on many occasions, powerful enemies, or 
 important friends. Turkey was reposing for a time after the death 
 of Mohammed II., who by his wars had spread consternation 
 
MAXIMILIAN I. 107 
 
 throughout Europe; and his son Bajazet II. found ample occupation 
 in the disturbances which arose in his capital, and in the Circassian 
 war ; though he also found time to harass the borders of Hungary 
 by predatory excursions. Russia had only just emerged from con- 
 fusion and obscurity by raising Ivan Vassilievitch to the throne ; 
 who extended his conquests as far as the frozen ocean on the north, 
 Lithuania on the west, Siberia on the east, and the Caspian on the 
 south. He was deemed of sufficient importance to attract the 
 attention of older sovereignties; and we find Maximilian courting 
 his alliance against the King of Poland. Bohemia and Hungary 
 were now ruled by one King Wladislaus, a weak and pacific prince. 
 
 The condition of Germany was by no means favourable to the 
 designs of the emperor. It consisted of a number of independent 
 sovereignties and states, united by means of a diet, and presided over 
 by the imperial head. The chief families were subdivided into 
 various branches, among whom contests were frequent, as well as 
 between rival cities ; while the emperor had solely to rely for succour 
 on his patrimonial possessions, and on what the diet might choose to 
 allow. Austria had been drained of its resources by Matthias ; 
 Burgundy was under the control of the diet ; and the valuable mines 
 of the Tyrol constituted the chief revenues of Maximilian. 
 
 The progress of literature and discovery greatly facilitated the 
 advance of civilisation. " The lamp of learning was relumed ; the 
 study of the scholastic theology and philosophy and of the Roman 
 law sharpened men's intellects ; travels into the east enlarged their 
 knowledge of the earth ; the use of the mariner's compass em- 
 boldened their navigation ; gunpowder changed the face of war ; 
 paper, and at length the art of printing gave a more rapid diffusion, 
 to knowledge ; the taking of Constantinople scattered the learning 
 of the Greeks over the west ; schools and universities were numerous ; 
 men were become eager for knowledge ; classical learning was in 
 Italy cultivated with ardour, and a strong feeling of admiration for 
 the institutions and philosophy of antiquity excited ; the discourses 
 and writings of Wickliffe, Huss, and their disciples awakened beyond 
 the Alps attention to the important topics of religion ; the discovery 
 of India and the New World filled men's minds with vague aspirations 
 after adventure, conquest, wealth, and knowledge. A universal 
 fermentation was going on." 
 
 Such was the state of Europe when Maximilian ascended the 
 throne; in which the intelligent observer can detect the germs 
 which were being silently developed, and which led to such vast 
 -changes in the religion, the government, the commerce, the social 
 and intellectual condition of the nation. 
 
 Maximilian commenced his glorious reign by earning the gratitude 
 of his subjects for delivering them from an invasion of the Turks, 
 who had advanced into Styria. After the funeral obsequies of his 
 parent were over, he repaired to Innspruck; where he espoused 
 Bianca, sister of Galeas duke of Milan ; which drew down upon him. 
 the bitter reproaches of the German nobles, whose pride was 
 wounded at their chief descending to such a low-born family. 
 
108 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Maximilian, however, was anxious to secure the handsome dowry 
 she brought to her husband, and to gain a plausible pretext for 
 interfering in the affairs of Italy. 
 
 Meanwhile the King of France was carrying out his premeditated 
 expedition against the King of Naples. He entered into alliances 
 with Savoy, and Ludovico, who had before endeavoured to depose his 
 nephew Galeas, and had ascended the throne on his death; and at 
 the head of 16,000 men and 6,000 horse, he crossed the Alps, drove 
 Peter de Medici into exile, liberated Florence from the domination 
 of the Medici, and entered Rome on the 31st of December 1494. 
 He then marched towards Naples, succeeded in reducing that king- 
 dom, and in May he pompously assumed the title of king of Naples, 
 Sicily, and Jerusalem. The rapid progress of Charles VIII. caused 
 great consternation among the Italian princes, and especially in 
 Maximilian. A league was instantly entered into by the emperor, 
 the pope, Milan, Florence, and Ferdinand of Aragon ; each of whom 
 was to furnish a contingent of men to expel the King of France 
 from the country. 
 
 Maximilian summoned the diet of the empire, that they might 
 furnish him with the necessary means ; which was held at Worms 
 May 26 1496. He presided over it in person ; and in an eloquent 
 address setting forth the dignity of the empire, and the dangers 
 which threatened it, he applied for assistance first against the Turks, 
 who had invaded Croatia, and then against France, which had 
 humbled Italy. His eloquence, however, had little effect on the 
 assembled princes ; in vain did the ambassadors from the King of 
 Naples prostrate themselves before the diet ; in vain did the duke of 
 Milan claim support as a member of the empire, and the legate 
 picture the distress of the pope, whose fair territory was ravaged, 
 and whose dignity was insulted by the barbarous soldiers ; the states 
 were resolved first to see to the internal tranquillity and prosperity 
 of the empire, before they checked the incursions of the Turks, or 
 chastised the insolence of France. Maximilian was obliged to yield 
 to the clamour for peace ; he signed the ordinances which were 
 drawn up, and established an imperial chamber to enforce the enact- 
 ments. The right of private warfare was abolished, and a penalty 
 of 2,000 marks inflicted on all challengers and their abettors. The 
 council was composed of a president and sixteen councillors, who 
 were paid, and held their office for life ; but its authority was weak- 
 ened by the prerogatives of the emperor, and the princes, and by 
 the want of adequate funds for its maintenance. A tax was also 
 levied, called the common penny, which was to be continued for four 
 years. The supplies which the diet voted to Maximilian, however, 
 were so feeble, that he was able to dispatch to Italy only 3,000 men. 
 
 Charles was alarmed when he first heard of the league formed 
 against him, and suddenly quitted Naples ; he continued his march 
 across the Apennines, when he encountered the confederate army on 
 the banks of the Tanaro. Though very inferior in number, Charles 
 cut his way through them, and inflicted a heavy loss on the enemy. 
 He had not long returned to France, before he prepared for another 
 
MAXIMILIAN I. 109 
 
 expedition into Italy. The Italian princes prevailed on Maximilian 
 to assist them in their war, and he accordingly hastened across the 
 Alj's , but his martial ardour was damped by the intelligence that the 
 expedition of Charles was postponed. To gratify his ambilion, he 
 made an attempt to reduce Leghorn, which was rendered inefl'ectual 
 bv 1 he desertion of his allies ; and in December 1496 he returned to 
 h)f- own country, mortified in his feelings, and lowered in the estjma- 
 tic n of his subjects. He was soon involved in a fresh contest with 
 France respecting the duchy of Burgundy, and the towns which by 
 the peace of Seulis Charles had agreed to restore ; and also respect- 
 ing Guelderland of which Philip, Maximilian's son, had taken pos- 
 session as a fief of the Empire, but which had revolted when the 
 late tax had been introduced, and after a severe struggle, passed into 
 the hands of the kin<* of France. 
 
 In these contests the value of the Swiss mercenaries was apparent, 
 and induced the emperor to court their friendship. Among some of 
 the cantons he was successful ; but among others French liberality 
 and influence prevailed ; and they resisted all his efforts to gain them 
 to his side. He resorted to sterner measures ; and on their still 
 refusing to yield, the pope excommunicated the Swiss. They 
 instantly united in a powerful league, and refused to render any 
 assistance to the emperor in his wars ; when a single incident speediy 
 brought the matter to an issue. A body of Tyrolese attacked the 
 Grisons; the Swiss sided with the latter, and Maximilian with 
 the former. The German forces were defeated by the brave 
 mountaineers ; the Austrian leaders deserted their master before 
 Constance; and when the royal army 16,000 strong advanced to 
 Dornach, a body of 6,000 Swiss rushed impetuously upon them, 
 slew the most distinguished nobles, and cut down more than 4,000 
 of the Austrian soldiers. Maximilian wisely listened to the over- 
 tures for peace, and in September 1499, concluded a treaty with the 
 Helvetic States, by which they were freed from the jurisdiction of 
 the imperial chamber, and exempted from all taxes ana contributions 
 imposed by the emperor. The freedom of the Swiss dates its founda- 
 tion from this period, and every year grew stronger, till at length 
 the union was recognised by the empire, took its place among 
 European powers, and exerted no slight influence on the affairs of 
 the neighbouring countries. 
 
 Maximilian had been partly induced to sign the treaty with the 
 Swiss, that he might be more at liberty to watch the designs of 
 France on the duchy of Milan. Charles VIII. had been succeeded 
 by Louis XII., who resolved first to secure Milan before he made 
 an attempt on Naples. He gained to his side the pope by promising 
 to enrich his son Caesar Borgia ; the Venetians, by the offer of 
 Cremona ; and Florence, by threats and bribes. With an army of 
 22,000 men he crossed the Alps, entered the duchy, and drove his 
 enemy before him so successfully that in twenty days after his first 
 appearance, he made his triumphal entry into the capital, and was 
 inaugurated as the duke of Milan. Ludovico Sforza escaped through 
 great perils into the Tyrol, and entreated Maximilian to render him 
 
110 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 assistance. The dissatisfaction of his subjects towards Ihe French 
 king, induced the unfortunate duke to hire a body of Burgundian 
 horse and Swiss mercenaries ; with which he entered his territories, 
 and was hailed as a welcome deliverer. He was rapidly regaining 
 his possessions, when he was baffled by the gallant resistance of the 
 garrison of Novara. While he was engaged in prosecuting the 
 siege of this place, Louis dispatched a fresh army to its rescue, 
 which entirely surrounded the besiegers. Treachery defeated the 
 plans of Ludovico ; his Swiss soldiers refused to fight against their 
 brethren ; and the only boon lie could gain from them was the per- 
 mission to march away with them in the disguise of a private soldier. 
 The French ranks were scarcely passed, when a soldier of Uri pointed 
 him out to his enemies ; who seized him, and carri >d him to France, 
 where he died in captivity A.D. 1510. 
 
 Maximilian beheld with alarm the success of Louis, and heard 
 with indignation of his premeditated conquest of Naples. He 
 entered into an alliance with Frederick king of Naples, united six of 
 the Swiss cantons with the house of Austria, and appealed to the 
 diet at Augsburg to afford him assistance against the Turks, and 
 against France. The diet still adhered to their former policy of 
 granting no succour till the internal government and peace of the 
 empire were consolidated ; they insisted on the reorganisation of the 
 imperial chamber, and the establishment of a council of regency ; 
 which was to exercise the government of the empire, during the 
 absence of the chief, and the interval of the diet ; to consist of 
 twenty councillors and a president ; to be limited in its duration to 
 six years ; and to have a fixed residence at Nuremberg. Maximilian 
 gave his tardy consent, and appointed Frederick duke of Saxony, 
 president ; and having summoned the council, he laid before it his 
 plan for the establishment of peace. This, to his great surprise, was 
 referred to a future diet ; and with equal astonishment he learnt that 
 a deputation had been sent to Louis, and concluded a truce with 
 him, which the council now requested Maximilian to ratify. He 
 however indignantly refused to sanction it. Louis saw the necessity 
 of pacifying the emperor before he attempted the conquest of Naples ; 
 and won over the archduke Philip, by the promise of his daughter 
 Claude to the infant son of Philip, with Milan as a dowry, and of 
 his influence to secure to him the succession of Aragon and Castiile. 
 Philip gradually swayed his father, and induced him to enter into a 
 treaty with Louis at Trent December 13, 1501 ; by which the mar- 
 riage of Charles was confirmed. Louis was to be invested with 
 Milan for a stipulated sum, was to assist against the Turks, and to 
 support the claims of Austria on Hungary and Bohemia, and of 
 Philip on the Spanish possessions. Louis meanwhile had entered 
 into an engagement, with Ferdinand and the pope against Naples ; 
 and the peifidious Spanish king betraved the interests of his relative 
 the king of Naples ; who resigned his crown, and placed himself 
 under the protection of Louis, by whom he was most honourably 
 treated as a captive. 
 
 Maximilian had often resolved on a grand military expedition 
 
MAXIMILIAN I. Ill 
 
 against the Turks, and had in vain solicited assistance from the 
 diet. When the treaty of Trent relieved his fears respecting Italy, 
 the holy work engaged his sole attention ; and taking advantage of 
 the appearance of some extraordinary natural signs, and a dreadful 
 pestilence, he appealed to all his warriors in the name of heaven to 
 join his standard, and exterminate the infidels. His enthusiasm was 
 shared in by a great number of the nobles and knights ; and vast 
 preparations were made for the enterprise, but the emperor was 
 diverted from his purpose by the breaking out of a war in Bavaria, 
 which brought more honour to his arms than the romantic crusade 
 most likely would have furnished. 
 
 Bavaria had been divided into two branches, the Palatine and 
 Bavaria ; and the latter again into two lines, that of Landslmt and 
 Munich. George duke of Landshut died without male issue ; and 
 his dominions were claimed by his daughter, who had married Robert 
 son of the elector Palatine, and also by his cousins of Munich. George 
 left them by will to his daughter ; but the Bavarian states appealed 
 to the emperor, who adjudged them to Munich. Robert and 
 Elizabeth, however, aided by the elector, took possession of them ; 
 and both parties flew to arms. Maximilian felt his authority slighted ; 
 and, having placed himself at the head of his army, marched against 
 Robert, who was encamped at llatisbon. The resistance he met 
 with was very great ; the imperial ranks were broken ; Maximilian 
 was thrown on the ground by a party with grappling hooks, and was 
 alone saved from death by the Duke of Brunswick ; who rushed to his 
 rescue, and received the blows aimed at the prostrate emperor. The 
 enemy, however, was defeated; and Robert and Elizabeth died, 
 leaving three infant sons, on whose behalf the elector carried on the 
 war. The Palatinate was ravaged by the royal troops; and the 
 elector at length delivered himself up to the emperor ; who sum- 
 moned a diet at Cologne, awarded the possessions to the lawful 
 owners, and to indemnify himself for the expenses of the war, took 
 possession of several towns, and granted others to his allies ; by 
 which the Palatinate was reduced to the condition of a second-rate 
 power among the Germanic states. 
 
 The affairs of Italy and Spain now absorbed the attention of 
 Maximilian. Ferdinand and Louis quarrelled about the division of 
 the spoils of Naples; and the French succeeded in reducing the 
 Spanish general to the greatest distress. Maximilian secretly 
 sent an army through Venice to assist the Spaniards ; by the aid of 
 whicli they were enabled to drive the French out of Naples. Philip at 
 this time was involved in disputes with Ferdinand, and was courting 
 a fresh alliance with Louis at Blois, where they agreed to renew the 
 treaty of Trent ; and was surprised when he heard his father had 
 sent assistance against the French. He lost no time in persuading 
 Maximilian to a reconciliation ; which was at length effected by the 
 treaty at Blois A.D. 1504. 
 
 By a series of unforeseen circumstances, the wife of Philip, Joanna, 
 became the heir presumptive to the crowns of Aragon and Castille ; 
 and they repaired thither to have their title acknowledged by the 
 
112 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Cortes. Ferdinand was influenced by a great dislike to his son-in-law ; 
 and when Isabella died, he became Regent, and assumed the govern- 
 ment ; and to secure the crowns from the house of Austria, even 
 proposed a marriage with a young Frenchman. Louis secretly 
 favoured the designs of the King of Aragon, that the power of 
 Austria might not oe increased ; and Philip was astounded by the 
 perfidy of the monarch whom he had so befriended. He collected a 
 body of troops with which he sailed from the low countries, and 
 landed at Corunna, where he was warmly received by the Castillians. 
 He then assumed the government of the kingdom ; but his cruelty to 
 his queen, and the changes he introduced aroused the disaffection of 
 the people ; which would have burst out in a revolution, had not a 
 fever cut him off after a reign of only four months A.D. 1506. His 
 amiable queen, whose mind had been weak and wandering for some 
 time past, was afflicted with occasional insanity. A settled melan- 
 choly brooded over her ; she neglected all the affairs of state, and 
 doated over the dead body of her husband ; and at last awakening to 
 the conviction of her desolate condition, she relapsed into her 
 insanity, and was obliged to be put under restraint, in which state 
 she remained for nearly fifty years. 
 
 A council of regency was established in Castille to meet the 
 present emergency ; but discord paralysed its efforts. Ferdinand 
 was in Naples securing the allegiance of his new subjects ; and 
 remained there longer than was necessary, that the Castillians might 
 feel more keenly their situation, and be more disposed at length to 
 intrust the government to him. Maximilian used every effort to 
 secure the guardianship of his grandson Charles ; but was defeated 
 by the energy of Ferdinand ; who renewed his alliance with France, 
 hastened into Castille, chastised the rebellious nobles, and established 
 peace and order throughout the kingdom. Nor was Maximilian more 
 successful in his endeavour to secure the guardianship of his grand- 
 sous in the Netherlands ; for the states appointed a council of 
 regency under the King of France as their liege lord. When, how- 
 ever, that country was disturbed by commotion and war, they 
 freely offered their submission; and the emperor appointed his 
 daughter Margaret regent. 
 
 Meanwhile Italy again became the scene of a fresh contest. The 
 death of Pope Alexander VI. stayed for a time the progress of his 
 ambitious son Caesar Borgia ; who had succeeded in acquiring most 
 of the towns of Romagna, and in creating an independent 
 sovereignty. Pope Pius III. enjoyed the pontifical throne only 
 twenty-six days ; and was succeeded by Julius II., an ambitious, 
 resolute, and unscrupulous pontiff, who bent all his energies to 
 recover the territories claimed by the holy see, and to expel all 
 foreigners from Italy. He wrested from Caesar Borgia the towns 
 which he had acquired; and procured from the Venetians the 
 territories which belonged te the church. When Philip was King of 
 Castille, the pope feared the power of Austria, and united with 
 Louis; but on his death and the union of France and Ai agon, he 
 sought to weaken the influence of Louis ; and when that sovereign 
 
. MAXIMILIAN I. 113 
 
 appeared in Genoa to suppress an insurrection, Julius appealed to 
 Maximilian, and awakened his fear by representing Louis as 
 meditating the conquest of Italy, and obtaining possession of the 
 imperial crown. Maximilian met the diet at Constance ; and by his 
 impassioned eloquence so moved the princes that to support the 
 dignity of the empire, they voted an army of 90,000 men to reduce 
 the power of France. Louis avoided a war with the empire, and 
 disbanded his troops after he had quelled the insurrection at Genoa. 
 Julius, no longer dreading the presence of Louis, now feared the 
 power of Maximilian, and sent his legate to prevent him entering 
 Italy ; and the Venetians refused to allow him to pass with troops 
 through their territories. Maximilian, however, was not so easily 
 turned aside, and resolved to proceed ; he burst into the Venetian 
 dominions, and gained a few slight successes ; but receiving no 
 succour from the empire, he was obliged to retire, his troops wertr 
 defeated, Trieste and Fiume taken from him ; and at length tht; 
 emperor gladly agreed to an armistice for three years, June 6, 1508. 
 
 The insolence and rapacity of the republic, however, procured her 
 many enemies. Maximilian had been insulted and robbed by her 
 of his maritime possessions ; Louis was oifended by her granting 
 assistance to his enemies, and was anxious to obtain the possessions 
 she had seized belonging to the duchy of Milan ; Julius coveted 
 Ravenna, Rimini, and Faenza ; the petty princes of Italy longed to 
 see their ambitious rival humbled; and Ferdinand desired the 
 maritime towns which had been mortgaged to her by former 
 Neapolitan kings. This feeling produced the celebrated league of 
 Carnbray, which united these princes against Venice. The proposal 
 came first from Maximilian, who entrusted to his daughter Margaret 
 to meet the Cardinal d'Amboise at Cambray; and, under the 
 pretence of arranging the disputes of the emperor and Louis, to 
 enter into a secret treaty to dismember the Venetian territories, and 
 divide them among the several princes. The kings of France and 
 Aragon collected their troops for the expedition; and Maximilian 
 summoned a diet at Worms, and submitted to them the plan of the 
 league. The diet expressed their disapproval of the undertaking; 
 they complained that they had been too frequently called on to bear 
 the burden of war, and that the succours already granted had never 
 brought honour to the empire, but disgrace and trouble. This drew 
 forth an indignant reply from Maximilian ; and he showed them that 
 it was their tardiness and meanness which had frustrated all his 
 plans, and crippled all his efforts. The diet, however, granted no 
 supplies ; and the emperor was obliged to rely on his own resources 
 to fulfil the conditions of the treaty. 
 
 Meanwhile Louis crossed the Alps at the head of 17,000 men, 
 defeated the Venetian troops, captured the towns assigned to him. 
 by the league, and terrified the royal city itself with a distant 
 cannonade. The pope also sent 10,000 men, and took possession of 
 his share; and the generals of Maximilian recaptured Trieste, and 
 the other towns taken by Venice. These disasters aroused the 
 Venetians to a sense of the magnitude of the calamity which 
 
Ill HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 ilu ; atened them ; they withdrew their forces to defend their capital, 
 and sent ambassadors to the pope and to Maximilian to humble 
 themselves, and to propose for peace. The dissensions which were 
 secretly fostered among the allies favoured Venice in her extremity. 
 The king of Aragon was indifferent about humbling the republic; 
 Louis and Maximilian viewed each other with jealousy ; and the 
 pope dreaded whoever was most powerful. Louis retired to Milan ; 
 the emperor was so crippled in his means as to be unable to 
 proceed; and the Venetians embraced the opportunity of recon- 
 quering many of the towns. 
 
 Julius II. was the first openly to break the league. He made 
 peace with Venice; and by the aid of the Cardinal of Sion, took 
 6000 S\viss into his pay. The pontiff though burdened with the 
 infirmities of sickness and age, forgot the sacred duties of his office 
 in the exuberance of his martial zeal : placed himself at the head of 
 his troops ; and by his bravevy and skill succeeded in carrying the 
 important fortress of Mirandola. The perfidy of the pope awakened 
 the resentment of the king of France and Maximilian ; and each 
 revived in his dominions the ancient quarrel respecting the author!; y 
 and revenues of the holy see ; and strengthened the army in Italy 
 by strong reinforcements. Julius used every means to detach the 
 emperor from France ; but without effect. Louis with his powerful 
 army forced his way to Bologna, and opened the road to the eternal 
 city. The pope summoned all his resources in this emergency. He 
 hurled his spiritual thunder against his enemies ; procured reinforce- 
 ments from Aragon and England; hired 17,000 Swiss to burst into 
 Milan, and drive the French before them ; and engaged Henry VIII. 
 to join the Holy Alliance, and invade France. Maximilian saw 
 the position of his ally, and began to waver in his attachment. 
 Ferdinand and Julius were unwearied in their efforts to gam him to 
 their side ; and when the battle of Ravenna gave to the French the 
 principal towns in Romagna, the emperor had concluded an 
 armistice with the Venetians, and ordered all the Germans to quit 
 the standard of France. The invasion of Navarre and of France by 
 Aragon and England called Louis home ; his troons were gradually 
 expelled; and before long French influence was fo; a time at an end 
 in Italy. A struggle took place respecting the duchy of Milan, 
 which was at length bestowed on Maximilian Sforza December 29, 
 1512. 
 
 Disputes soon after arose between the emperor, the pope, and the 
 Venetians ; and the latter sought the alliance of France, and offered 
 to restore the territories whence, but a short time before, they had 
 driven them. Julius died on the 21st of February 1513, and was 
 succeeded by Cardinal John de Medici ; who, under the name of 
 Leo X., carried out the intentions of his predecessor, and distin- 
 guished his pontificate by his magnificence, and the splendour of his 
 talents. Maximilian united with Henry of England against France, 
 and placed himself under him with 4,000 horse as a volunteer, with 
 the pay of 100 crowns a-day ; and by his bravery succeeded in 
 defeating the French army in "the battle of Spurs ; which received 
 
MAXIMILIAN I. 115 
 
 that appellation because the French there made more use of their 
 spurs thau of their swords. Louis exerted himself to recover his 
 lost possessions in Italy, and attempted to gain the Swiss ; but they 
 refused to serve under his standard ; and he burst into Milan with a 
 large army, and crowned his arms with success. The Swiss, how- 
 ever, rushed 1 o the assistance of the duke, conveyed him to Novara, 
 and when the French besieged him, they attacked the besiegers, and 
 drove them to their fortresses. The Swiss also descended into Bur- 
 gundy ; but were induced to retire by the magnificent proposals held 
 out to them by the French general La Tremouille. 
 
 Louis was succeeded by his son-in-law Francis I., who secretly 
 resolved not to relinquish the claims of the crown on Naples and 
 Milan. The Swiss had strongly occupied the mountain passes ; but 
 Francis surprised them by imitating the famous march of Hannibal, 
 and descended with his troops into the plain. A bloody battle was 
 fought at Marignano, in which the Swiss were defeated, and returned 
 home. Maximilian Sforza delivered himself to France ; where, like 
 his father, he died in exile. The emperor made an attempt to recover 
 the Milanese ; but the Swiss in his pay deserted him, success did not 
 follow Ms endeavours, and at length he entered into a treaty with 
 France at Brussels in December 1516. Thus was this disastrous 
 struggle terminated. Maximilian gained 110 other advantage than a 
 small addition to his family possessions ; France held firmly the 
 Milanese and Genoa; and Leo X. was master of Romagna. The 
 Austrian dominions were however increased by the eventual transfer 
 to the house of Hapsburg of the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia 
 by the marriage of Ferdinand to Anne daughter of Ladislaus. The 
 Archduke Charles assumed the government of the Netherlands ; and 
 on the death of Ferdinand of Aragon, in January 1516, he became 
 heir to the whole Spanish monarchy, including Sicily, Naples, and 
 Navarre. 
 
 While Maximilian was engaged in these devastating wars, he 
 displayed his wisdom in the reforms he introduced, and the measures 
 he devised for the welfare of the empire. In 1500 he persuaded the 
 diet to divide the empire into districts, each of which should main- 
 tain public peace within its limits ; and the six ancient circles were 
 consequently drawn out. The advantages of this system were so 
 apparent, that in 1512, the family possessions of Austria and Bur- 
 gundy were divided on the same plan ; and also the dominions of the 
 electors, who had hitherto refused their consent. The empire was 
 thus divided into the ten circles of Austria, Burgundy, the Upper 
 and Lower Rhine, Francouia, Bavaria, Swabia, Westphalia, and 
 Upper and Lower Saxony. A diet regulated the affairs of each ; a 
 director, who was generally the most powerful prince within it, 
 maintained internal tranquillity ; and a colonel took charge of mili- 
 tary affairs. Maximilian also raised his Austrian dominions to the 
 greatest efficiency and order. He established a tribunal, since called 
 the Aulic Council to assist him by counsel, and to hear appeals ; and 
 beneath this, he created several boards or colleges for the manage- 
 ment of the revenues, justice, the ordinance, public works, &c. ; by 
 
 ii 2 
 
116 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 means cf which the Hapsburg possessions were kept tranquil, and 
 rendered prosperous. 
 
 The latter part of the reign of Maximilian was disturbed by that 
 mighty religious revolution which Luther produced ; but as tho 
 emperor did not interfere in it beyond writing a letter to the pontiff 
 Leo, we shall notice the rise and progress of the reformation when 
 narrating the history of Charles "V . 
 
 The emperor made one more effort to raise a crusade against the 
 Turks. He appealed to the diet at Augsburg, and was supported 
 by the legate of the pope, who sent him a consecrated hat and 
 sword, and appointed him generalissimo of the Christian army ; bnt 
 the diet again refused to grant the supplies ; some murmured at the 
 exactions of the pope ; and others even dared to insinuate that the 
 pontiff was a far more dangerous enemy to Christianity than the 
 Turks. Maximilian felt that now his chivalrous prospects were 
 blighted for life; and he met with a still greater reverse in not 
 being able to procure the election of his grandson Charles, as King 
 of the Romans. 
 
 The davs of Maximilian were fast hastening to a close. His 
 health had been declining; and for the last four years, he had 
 anticipated death by carrying his coffin with him wherever lie went. 
 He was seized with a fever at Innsprnck; and thinking that a 
 change would be beneficial to liim, he repaired to Wels in Upper 
 Austria, where he amused himself in hawking and hunting. He 
 continued, however, rapidly to sink ; and convinced that his end was 
 fast approaching, he sent for a friar to converse with him, and to 
 administer the ordinances of the church. He then summoned his 
 ministers, signed his last testament, gave his final directions respecting 
 his bodv, and his funeral ; and stretching out his hands towards the 
 bystanders, he affectionately pronounced his blessing upon them ; 
 and on the llth of January 1519, in the sixtieth year of his age 
 the Emperor of Germany passed away. 
 
 The character of Maximilian shines forth with time lustre when 
 viewed in connection with the age in which lie lived, and the 
 advantages he enjoyed. In his youth he was painfully afflicted with 
 an indistinct articulation, which rendered mm nearly speechless ; 
 and was so disgusted with his tutor, that instead of giving any 
 promise of future greatness, he was noted solely for his dulncss. 
 It therefore reflects the greatest honour on his character to remem- 
 ber that, by his assiduous application, he became renowned for his 
 sparkling eloquence, and distinguished by his varied learning, and 
 his fertility of mind. He was majestic in his appearance, handsome 
 in his features, cheerful in his disposition, and dignified in his 
 bearmg. His broad chest and muscular limbs were developed by 
 the manly exercise of the chase and the tournament. His soul 
 kindled in danger ; the first rank in the chivalrous sports, and in 
 battle was eagerly sought after ; and many instances are recorded 
 where he challenged gallant knights on the battle-field to single 
 combat, and came off victorious. To be great and to bequeath a 
 renowned name to posterity was his chief ambition ; martial glory 
 
CliAKLES V. 
 
 117 
 
 fired his soul with vast designs, and his tongue with eloquence, and 
 often prompted him to undertake what a little forethought and 
 consideration would have demonstrated to be impracticable. In- 
 stability was his great failing; he projected and abandoned his 
 enterprises with almost total indifference ; and his prodigality and 
 carelessness procured for him the epithet of the Moneyless. His 
 mind was quick and comprehensive, and directed its energies to all 
 subjects. He wrote numerous treatises on various branches of 
 human knowledge, on religion, morality, the military art, architecture, 
 his own inventions, and even on hunting, hawking, gardening, and 
 cookery. He improved tho construction of fire-arms, cannon, and 
 armour ; raised a standing army in his dominions, which was divided 
 into companies, troops, and regiments; and established a regular 
 post. He was a great patron of learning ; surrounded himself with 
 the literati of the day ; and relished most thoroughly brilliant wit, 
 sharp disputations, and the recital of wonderful exploits. " Had 
 his means been equal to his abilities, or had his enterprising spirit, 
 and his active, acute, and versatile mind been more under the 
 guidance of judgment and discretion, his reign would have formed 
 one of the most brilliant periods in Austrian history, and he would 
 have been deservedly held up as the greatest sovereign of his 
 time." 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 CHARLES V. A.D. 1519-1558. 
 
 AT the time when Charles V. ascended the imperial throne, 
 Germany was disturbed by a religious movement, which had been 
 silently progressing for some years, and now burst forth into open 
 strife. The seeds of truth which had been scattered in England by 
 the successors of Wycliffe, and in Bohemia by the followers of Huss 
 had sprung up, and called attention to the character of the papacy, 
 and to the pretensions of the pope. The chair of St. Peter had been 
 filled by a succession of pontiffs who envied the splendours and rule 
 of the mighty potentates of earth ; and in the insolency of their 
 pride, gave free scope to their brutality, unbridled lusts, treachery, 
 and rapacity. The papal treasury was enriched by draining the 
 countries which acknowledged the supremacy of the spiritual power ; 
 and when the vast sums thus obtained were insufficient for these 
 successors of the Apostles to squander on their mistresses, and their 
 ambitious designs, recourse was had by pilgrimages to Home, and the 
 sale of indulgences to replenish the sacred exchequer. Following 
 the example of their head, the various grades of the clergy were in a 
 most degenerate condition. The cardinals were crafty diplomatists, 
 
US HISTORY OF AUSTRIA.. 
 
 splendid princes, ambitious mlers, and notorious livers ; the bishops 
 were avaricious and indolent ; the monks given to licentiousness and 
 crime ; the priests ignorant and debased ; and the people oppressed 
 by their exactions, and insulted by their arrogance. Such a state of 
 things could not long remain undetected and unrebuked. Schools and 
 universities had sprung up in all directions ; the study of the dead 
 laijguages had broken the spell of the scholastic authority ; the 
 art of printing furnished wonderful facilities for influencing the people 
 by pictorial representations, and the learned by the re-issue of 
 standard works ; and long before Luther dissipated the charm which 
 hung over his nation, the people were convinced of the shameful 
 conduct of the ecclesiastics, and were prepared to welcome the 
 reformed doctrines ; though they had not the courage to declare 
 their convictions. 
 
 Luther was eminently qualified by his birth, his education, and his 
 sympathies, for the great and important work he accomplished. He 
 was the son of a miner and a worker in metals, and was born at 
 Eisleben in Saxony in November 1483. He received a sound educa- 
 tion at Eisenach, and in 1501 repaired to the university at Erfurt, 
 and devoted himself to the study of law ; but the sudden death of 
 his friend Alexius produced such a deep impression upon him, that he 
 vowed to become a monk. He entered the Augustin convent, and 
 passed through a long painful struggle of doubt and anxiety before 
 he became settled in his faith. The journey to Rome, which he 
 undertook in 1509 on some business connected with his order, 
 deeply affected him. He had pictured to his devout heart the 
 spiritual purity and simplicity of the sacred city ; and he returned 
 home shocked by the pomp, levity, and ungodliness he had there 
 witnessed. His fame as a lecturer in the university in Wittenberg, 
 and as a powerful and popular preacher was great ; and attracted 
 crowds of eager listeners. 
 
 In 1517 Pope Leo X. issued a bull authorising the sale of indul- 
 
 fences in Germany, for the purpose of raising money to build St. 
 eter's church, and to wage war against the infidels. The sale of the 
 indulgences was entrusted to the great ecclesiastics, who employed 
 the lowest monks to vend them. One of these, Tetzel a Dominican, 
 set out 0:1 Ids mission with the greatest zeal, and puffed off his 
 spiritual wares with all the qiiackery and impiety imaginable ; and 
 sold indulgences to the credulous people, which pretended to. release 
 the fortunate possessor not only from penance, but from sin of all 
 kinds and degrees. Luther was shocked at this scandalous outrage 
 on religion ; and refused to acknowledge the validity of these indul- 
 gences, when some of his penitents confessed to him, and claimed 
 exemption from penance, and the discipline of the church. They 
 complained to the monk ; who threatened punishment to whoever 
 doubted their efficiency. Luther heeded not the boisterous thunder 
 of Tetzel; he drew up ninety-five theses or propositions against 
 indulgences, which he fixed to the gates of the castle, and church of 
 Wittenberg ; in which he affii med " that by sincere repentance 
 and penance alone, and not by the payment of a sum of money,. 
 
CHARLES V. 119 
 
 could sins be remitted, and consequently that the pope had no right 
 to dispense absolution for money ; moreover that the pope, being 
 merely the vicegerent of God upon earth, could only remit the external 
 penances ordained by the church on earth, not the eternal punishment 
 awarded to the sinner after death." 
 
 These truths spread rapidly throughout Germany ; and Luther 
 expounded them to the crowded assembly which flocked to his church. 
 Tetzsl and his order burned the theses, and attempted to answer 
 them ; the pope, who had heard of the affair, treated it merely as a 
 monkish quarrel which would soon subside ; and the antagonists of 
 the reformer increased the strife by their personal invectives, and 
 coarse abuse. Leo was again appealed to, and summoned Luther to 
 appear at Rome within sixty days to clear himself from the charge of 
 heresy ; but on the intercession of Frederick elector of Saxony, the 
 pope allowed the reformer to be examined within the empire by 
 Cajetan, whom he sent for that purpose to the diet which Maximilian 
 had assembled at Augsburg. The emperor did not interfere in the 
 quarrel more than to write a letter to the pope, in which he styled 
 Luther a heretic, and offered to use any means the church might 
 adopt to silence him. Luther repaired to Augsburg, and entered 
 the city two days after the diet was dissolved ; and seeing that his 
 friends and the emperor had departed, he obtained a safe conduct 
 from Maximilian before he encountered his enemies. Cajetan com- 
 manded him to retract his opinions, assumed a haughty bearing 
 towards him, and refused to argue the merits of the case ; and Luther, 
 unable to conciliate him, secretly withdrew from the city, leaving 
 behind him a solemn public appeal from " The pope ill-informed to 
 the pope better informed." He was received at Wittenberg with the 
 acclamation of a triumph; where, secure of the protection of the 
 elector of Saxony, he appealed from the pope to a general council. 
 Such was the state of this wonderful outburst of religious feeling, 
 when the grandson of Maximilian \vas called to the throne. 
 
 Charles V. was born at Ghent on the 24th of February 1500 ; and, 
 at the death of his father Philip, was placed under the care of his 
 aunt Margaret. He received a sound and useful education from 
 William de Croy, assisted by Adrian, who early fostered in his royal 
 pupil a taste for military exercises, instructed him in the affairs of 
 the dominions to which he was heir apparent, and fitted him wisely 
 to govern the people under his sway. At the age of sixteen he 
 assumed the government of the Netherlands ; and the next year, the 
 death of Ferdinand of Aragon called him to govern the mighty 
 kingdom of Spain. His claims, however, were not immediately 
 recognised by the Cortes ; but the influence of Cardinal Ximenes, 
 the celebrated minister of Ferdinand, induced them to elect Charles 
 king, whose immediate presence in Castille he urgently requested. 
 Charles concluded a treaty with Francis I. to enable m'm to pass 
 through France ; and landed at Villa Viciosa in Asturias, with a 
 retinue of Flemish counsellors. He ungratefully dismissed Ximenes 
 from his service, conferred the highest dignities of church and state 
 on his Flemish followers, and provoked the dissatisfaction of his uew 
 
129 HISTOEY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 subjects, by disregarding their privileges. It was with, great difficulty, 
 therefore, that he was recognised by the Cortes ; and it was iioc till 
 the commencement of 1519 that he was finally inaugurated in his 
 kin?dom. 
 
 The death of Maximilian opened to Charles the prospect of 
 gaining the imperial crown, for the possession of which there were 
 several competitors. Henry VIII. soon withdrew his claim ; 
 Francis I. energetically urged his suit ; Charles sent ambassadors 
 laden with the riches of Spain to secure the votes; and the pope, 
 who dreaded the accession of either the King of France or of Spain, 
 advised the electors to raise one of themselves to the imperial dignity. 
 It was offered to Frederick elector of Saxony ; but he was too wise 
 to accept the gift at such a critical period ; and after an interregnum 
 of six months, Charles was called to the throne on the 2Sth of June 
 1519. 
 
 The clamour of his Spanish subjects, when the news of his elec- 
 tion reached them, was excessive ; his demands for supplies of 
 money to enable him to defray the expenses of his journey and his 
 coronation, were tardily granted with bitter complaints ; and tumults 
 broke out at Toledo and Valladolid, which threatened the safety of 
 his nobles and himself. Having appointed Adrian, his fonner pre- 
 ceptor, regent of Castille, and two Spanish nobles viceroys of 
 Aragon and Valencia, Charles sailed from Corunna; touched at 
 Dover, and had an interview with Henry VIII., and Cardinal 
 Wolsey ; passed rapidly through the Netherlands ; and on the 23rd 
 of October 1520 was crowned emperor of Germany at Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, after he had ratified the thirty-six articles which had been 
 drawn up by the electors, and signed by his ambassadors before his 
 election, which confirmed all the privileges, laws, and customs of the 
 states and electors; and the signature of which was aftenvards 
 demanded of all succeeding sovereigns. 
 
 The great progress of the reformed doctrines had caused a general 
 fermentation in Germany, and demanded the interference of the 
 emperor. The pontiff had exhausted all his conciliatory efforts to 
 silence the reformer; but his endeavours were paralysed by the 
 indiscretion of his zealous partisans. Luther was drawn into con- 
 troversies with them, and in the heat of dispute neutralised the 
 effect of all his previous concessions by vehemently attacking the 
 doctrine and authority of the church. Leo then yielded to the 
 advice of his cardinals, and issued his celebrated bull; which con- 
 demned forty-one of Luther's propositions as heretical, and declared 
 that unless he retracted within sixty days, he would be treated as a 
 heretic. It prohibited the reading of his writings, and thundered 
 the ban of excommunication against all who aided and sheltered 
 him. Luther's magnanimous spirit rose to the exigencies of the 
 occasion ; in two celebrated works he combatted the claims of the 
 pontiff; and on the 10th of December 1520, accompanied by the 
 professors and students of the university of Wittenberg, and a vast 
 concourse of people, he solemnly committed the decrees of the pope, 
 the writings of his enemies, and the famous bull to the flames, with 
 
CHAHLES V. 121 
 
 these remarkable words, " Because tkou hast troubled the Holy One 
 of God, let eternal fire consume thee ! " His intrepid example was 
 followed in many cities in Germany; everywhere the flames cast 
 their lurid glare on the crowds, and gave increased impressiveness to 
 the scene ; the people had their confidence shaken in their old faith, 
 and were prepared to embrace the new truths ; learned men, such as 
 Carlstadt and Melancthon, skilfully defended the reformed doctrines ; 
 and crowds of enthusiastic students flocked around the professor, 
 eagerly treasured up the imperishable seeds of truth, and spread 
 them broadcast on their return to their native places. The whole 
 of Germany was moved by this grand religious excitement. 
 
 Before Charles was crowned king of Spain, he promised his 
 Spanish and Flemish nobles to suppress the new doctrines ; and in 
 January 1521 he summoned the grand diet at Worms, which was 
 attended by the great princes of the empire, that the heretical 
 opinions might be suppressed. The diet, however, at the instigation 
 of Frederick of Saxony refused, on the ground of justice, to condemn. 
 Luther before he had acknowledged the opinions attributed to him, 
 and refused to recant ; the empetor, therefore, summoned Luther to 
 appear, and gave him a safe conduct ; thinking that the imposing 
 appearance of the august assembly would awe the humble monk, 
 and procure his recantation. Luther's progress from Wittenberg to 
 Worms was a triumphal procession ; the crowds gathered to see him 
 in far greater numbers than when Charles himself came to receive 
 his dignity, and with tears gave him their blessing ; and when he 
 appeared "before the diet, and owned the works to which his signature 
 was attached, the assembly could not help admiring his firmness and 
 wisdom, however sternly they were opposed to his theology. The 
 papal legate urged the emperor to withdraw the protection he had 
 given him ; but Charles indignantly refused, and privately endea- 
 voured to induce Luther to yield. He waited till the elector of 
 Saxony and other powerful princes favourable to the reformer had 
 withdrawn ; and then procured from the diet the celebrated edict of 
 Worms, which confirmed the pope's bull, and declared Luther a 
 heretic. The intrepid reformer had retired from Worms two days 
 previous to its passing, under the safe conduct of the emperor ; but 
 when near Eisenach, he was seized by a troop of horsemen, under 
 the order of the elector, and conveyed to the castle of Wartburg ; 
 where he remained nine months, unknown to his friends except 
 Frederick, and to liis enemies. In his seclusion, which he styled his 
 Patmos, he commenced his translation of the Bible, which doubtless 
 did more to hasten and consolidate the reformation than any other 
 effort he had made. 
 
 Several events conspired to favour the cause of Luther. Charles 
 was hastily summoned to Spain by the outbreak of fresh troubles in 
 Castille. Before he departed, he appointed a new council of regency, 
 and ceded to his brother Ferdinand the whole of the Austrian 
 dominions ; so that the house of Hapsburg became separated into 
 two distinct branches, the Spanish branch under Charles, and the 
 German under Ferdinand. We shall here relate only the incidents 
 
122 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 connected with the history of Charles so far as Germany is concerned, 
 as the details of the Spanish wars belong more to that department of 
 history. The changes which had taken place among the popes were 
 also favourable to the reformation. Leo died in 1521, and was suc- 
 ceeded by Adrian, whom the influence of Charles advanced to the 
 papal dignity ; who aided the cause of Luther by his ingenuous 
 confession that the church needed a thorough reform. The archduke 
 Ferdinand was also too much engaged with his contests in Bohemia 
 to attend to the claims of the church. 
 
 During the retirement of Luther, the fanatical spirit of some of 
 his followers burst out. Carlstadt assembled a band of reformers, 
 who broke into the churches, demolished the images, administered 
 freely the sacrament in both kinds, and violated the monastic vows 
 of celibacy by marrying. Luther heard of these proceedings in his 
 retreat, and suddenly quitted the castle. He rebuked Carlstadt for 
 his indiscretion ; ancl by his eloquence succeeded in restraining the 
 people from such violent measures. The archduke summoned a diet 
 at Nuremberg ; when pope Adrian upbraided the princes for not 
 carrying out the edict of Worms, and yet at the same time admitted 
 that the church was corrupt, and that reforms should be promoted. 
 The princes advised the pontiff to assemble a council, and reform the 
 abuses at once ; and drew up a list of one hundred grievances, from 
 which they demanded a release. On the reassembling of the diet 
 next year, they reiterated their demands ; and had such faith in 
 the promises of the pope, that they exhorted all persons to wait 
 patiently for the promised reforms, and not to disturb the public 
 peace. The Lutherans were thus encouraged, by the peaceable, 
 disposition of the diet, to proceed in their work ; and sheltered 
 themselves under the authority of the confession of Adrian. The 
 New Testament appeared in the vernacular ; the preachers appealed 
 to the gospel as their authority ; the gates of convents and nunneries 
 were thrown open ; and marriage proclaimed as a right of the clergy. 
 Luther, at the persuasion of the Saxon clergy, directed his mind to 
 the formation of a regular system of faitli and discipline. He drew 
 up, with the aid of Melancthon, the confession of faith ; altered 
 the mass, by omitting the objectionable parts, and translated it into 
 the German tongue; fixed the appropriation of the ecclesiastical 
 revenues ; and gave solidity and standing to the Lutheran religion. 
 
 While thus the moderate party was gaining strength and influence, 
 the reformation was used as a pretext to favour the rapacity of the 
 nobles, and the fanaticism of the peasantry. In Swabia, Franconia, 
 and the Rhenish provinces, the nobles embraced the opportunity of 
 seizing the lands belonging to the church, and increasing their terri- 
 torial possessions. The peasantry had long groaned under the 
 oppression of the nobles, and had attempted to free themselves from 
 their yoke. Two of Luther's disciples, Miintzer and Store, separated 
 from their master, and formed the sect called Anabaptists, because 
 thev rejected infant baptism and adopted adult alone. These fanatics 
 laid claim to fresh revelations from heaven, surrounded themselves 
 with apostles and teachers, and succeeded in rousing the peasantry 
 
CHARLES V. 12$ 
 
 against the nobles, and against all constitutional law. In 1524 the 
 peasantry rose in every part of Germany under various leaders, and 
 vented their infuriated feelings by destroying everything with which 
 they came into contact. Luther beheld with indignation, the ravages 
 of the fanatics, and tried to calm their excited spirits ; the moderate 
 party united with the archduke to put down the outbreak ; and at 
 length the sect was scattered, Miintzer executed, and the party 
 brought to submission ; but not before more than 100,000 victim* 
 had been crushed by the imperial troops. 
 
 Luther now lost his powerful friend the elector of Saxony ; but 
 found a warm supporter in his successor John, who openly embraced 
 the reformed doctrines. His example was followed by Philip of 
 Hesse, the dukes of Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and Zell, and by 
 several imperial cities. Albert of Brandenburg, grand master of the 
 Teutonic order, renounced his vow of celibacy, openly professed the 
 Lutheran religion, converted eastern Prussia into an independent 
 duchy, and entered into a league with the elector of Saxony. Luther 
 also broke his vow of celibacy, and married Catherine Bora, a noble 
 lady who had escaped from a nunnery. 
 
 While these events were taking place in Germany, Charles was 
 quelling an insurrection which had arisen in Castillo between the 
 regent and the people, and which had advanced to such a degree, 
 that the troops of the regent had been dci'eated, and the most consi- 
 derable towns in Castille were in the hands of the insurgents. The 
 wisdom and prudence of Charles enabled him to quell the tumult ;. 
 and the great war in which he was now engaged in Italy soon 
 engrossed his attention. Francis I. attempted to recover Navarre, 
 which he effected for a short time, but was then defeated by the 
 Spanish ; and his invasion of the low countries did not secure to 
 him any great advantage. A powerful league was formed between 
 the pope, Henry VIII., and Charles against France. Milan resolved 
 to expel the French, and place themselves under Francis Sforza. 
 The French were defeated; Lautrec their commander fled to Venice; 
 but being assisted by Swiss mercenaries, he returned to Milan, and 
 was repulsed at the battle of Bicocca. The imperial armies, air"ed 
 by England, invaded France. The king determined to reduce Milan 
 with a large army ; and met with great success till lie reached Pavia, 
 a well-garrisoned town. Here a powerful army had been collected 
 by the imperial generals, and was in excellent condition ; while the 
 French were weakened by fatigue, the rigour of winter, and divisions. 
 The united forces attacked the French with great energy, and the 
 garrison sallied forth from the town ; the Swiss gave way ; the ranks 
 of the French were thrown into confusion ; and Francis, after behold- 
 ing the flower of his nobility cut down, surrendered himself us a 
 prisoner 24th of February 1525. The king was taken to Madrid; 
 and after a rigorous confinement was released on signing the treaty 
 of Madrid, by which he promised to renounce his pretensions to 
 Naples and Milan, to restore Burgundy, and give his two eldest sons 
 as hostages. 
 
 The Burgundian states protested against the surrender of their 
 
124 HISTORY 07 AUSTRIA. 
 
 province ; the pope Clement VII. absolved Francis from his oath ; 
 and the Holy Alliance was formed among the pope, England, the 
 Swiss, Venice, Florence, and Milan to force Charles to give up the 
 two sons of Francis, and to restore Milan to Sforza. Italy again 
 was devastated by contending armies ; Charles Bourbon, cousin to 
 the French king, but now generalissimo of the imperial armies, 
 ravaged Milan, and led his victorious army to Home, where he was 
 shot; but his troops- plundered the city, took captive the pope, and 
 forced him to pay a heavy ransom after six month's confinement. 
 The French army miserably perished by famine and disease before 
 Naples ; Charles, anxious to attend to his Austrian dominions, sued 
 for peace ; and two celebrated ladies, Margaret, aunt to the emperor, 
 and Louisa, mother of Francis, concluded the treaty of Cambray 
 A.D. 1529 ; by which Francis agreed to pay two million crowns as a 
 ransom for his sons, to give up all claims on Italy, and to resign the 
 sovereignty of Flanders and Artois ; while Charles on his part agreed 
 to abandon Burgundy. Charles was then reconciled to the pope; 
 was crowned emperor of Germany and king of Lombardy at Bologna 
 in 1530; united his troops with the papal army; and reduced his 
 last opponent, Florence. 
 
 During the absence of Charles from Germany, his brother 
 Ferdinand was the sole administrator of the affairs of the empire, 
 and manifested great tolerance towards the reformers. His 
 marriage with Anne sister of Louis king of Hungary and Bohemia, 
 awakened in him the expectation of receiving those dominions after 
 the death of the young king. The Turks were advancing with 
 rapid strides in the east and the west. The Sultan Selim had sub- 
 dued Armenia, and humbled the power of Persia ; had carried his 
 triumphant arms into Arabia, and annexed Syria and Egypt to his 
 dominions. His son Solyman, whose talents and bravery procured 
 for him the proud distinction of the Magnificent, carried out the 
 bold projects of his father. Belgrade, the great frontier fortress of 
 Hungary, was captured by him ; and Rhodes, the key to the 
 Mediterranean, fell into his power. He contemplated the conquest 
 of Hungary, and crossed the Danube with an army of 200,000 men 
 for that purpose. Louis could bring into the field only 30,000 men, 
 and wisely proposed to act on the defensive till the Austrian and 
 Bohemian troops could be brought up. His advice was overruled 
 by the rashness of his commanders; the two armies met on the 
 dreary plains of Moliacz ; and though the Hungarians fought with 
 the energy of despair and fanaticism, they were cut to pieces, and 
 left 22,000 dead on the field. Louis fled from the carnage ; and 
 while crossing a stream, his horse fell upon him, and he expired 
 A.I). 152G. 
 
 Ferdinand laid claim to the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia in 
 right of his wife Anne, as Louis was the last male heir ; and also 
 in right of compacts which secured their reversion to Austria. The 
 states refused to acknowledge his claim, and asserted their privilege 
 of freely choosing a successor. Ferdinand yielded to them by 
 offering himself as a candidate for the throne ; and, though opposed 
 
CHAKLES V. 125 
 
 by Albert duke of Bavaria, was elected King of Bohemia. He 
 promised to respect the rights of his subjects, to govern according 
 to their laws, and to reside at Prague ; and after having taken the 
 usual oaths was crowned in the cathedral on the 4th of February 
 1527. His claim to the crown of Hungary was contested by John 
 of Zapoli, waivode of Transylvania, who assembled the states at 
 Tokay, was chosen by a large party of nobles, crowned king, and 
 took up his residence at Buda. The widow of Louis, Mary sister to 
 Ferdinand, summoned a diet at Presburg, declared the election of 
 John illegal, and by a party of nobles raised Ferdinand to the 
 throne. He marched with a powerful army to Presburg, took the 
 customary oaths, and proceeded to Buda. John quickly retired from 
 the capital, and his troops were defeated in several encounters. 
 Ferdinand was crowned oy the Archbishop of Gran amid the 
 acclamations of his followers, pronounced the ban against his rival, 
 aiid established a council of regency to govern in his absence. 
 
 John fled to Poland ; but afterwards entered into an arrangement 
 with the Sultan to receive from him Hungary as a fief of Turkey. 
 Ferdinand had meanwhile sent ambassadors to Constantinople to 
 demand the restitution of Belgrade, and the other places which the 
 Turks had taken. The Sultan rose up indignantly and said, " Go 
 tell your master that I am collecting troops, and preparing for my 
 expedition ; I will suspend at my neck the keys of my Hungarian 
 fortresses, and will bring them to that plain of Moliacz, where Louis 
 found a defeat and a grave. Let Ferdinand meet and conquer me, 
 and take them after severing my head from my body ; but if I find 
 him not there, I will seek him at Buda, or follow him to Vienna." 
 This threat was soon executed. John burst into Hungary, defeated 
 the Austrians at Cassau, and gained many to his standard; and 
 Solyman appeared in the plains of Mohacz with 300,000 men. 
 Yery little resistance was offered to him; Pest and Buda capitu- 
 lated; Lintz was ravaged by his wild horsemen; and he rapidly 
 advanced to the walls of Vienna. The royal city was placed in the 
 greatest jeopardy; Charles was engaged in his Italian wars; the 
 states were occupied with religious quarrels ; Bohemia was in a 
 state of utter weakness; and Ferdinand alone was able to send 
 20,000 men to its relief. The Turks, however, met with great 
 reverses. The Sultan lost his artillery in the Danube by the heroic 
 efforts of Presburg ; the garrison of Vienna baffled all his plans, 
 and repelled his assaults ; and after an ineffectual siege of thirty 
 days, he was compelled to retreat to Buda. He reinstated John on 
 the throne, and left a garrison of Turks for his support ; but the 
 ravages of his troops, and the captives he carried off, so desolated 
 the country, that the sad spectacle even drew tears from the eyes of 
 the king. Ferdinand at first turned his arms against his rival ; but 
 after a lew successes, he was induced by his affairs in Germany, to 
 conclude an armistice with John by means of the King of Poland. 
 
 Meanwhile the reformation was gaining great strength and 
 prosperity. The wars in which the emperor had been engaged, 
 especially in Italy, absorbed the attention of the pope, and 
 
12G HISTORY OF AITSTBIA. 
 
 prevented Charles taking any stringent measures against the 
 Lutherans. The diet at Spires in June 1526 entered into the 
 religious discussions with great eagerness, and was divided into two 
 contending parties, each of wliich threatened the country Avith civil 
 war. The Catholics demanded the execution of the edict of 
 Worms ; the Reformed demanded a full and complete toleration. 
 The elements of strife were hushed by the prudence of Ferdinand, 
 who effected a compromise by assuring them that a general council 
 should be convoked as soon as possible. The Lutherans viewed 
 this as a triumph to their cause ; and encouraged by the contempt 
 which the fall and imprisonment of the pope procured for him in 
 Germany, they energetically preached their doctrines, and explained 
 their principles. ISor were their efforts unsuccessful. Princes who 
 had hitherto looked coldly upon them, now publicly embraced their 
 opinions, and granted protection to the oppressed subjects of 
 Catholic princes. The reformation also spread in other countries. 
 Switzerland had asserted her religious freedom by Zwiugle; Den- 
 mark and Sweden abolished the papal authority, and embraced the 
 reformed religion ; and though Henry VIII. had earned his title of 
 "Defender of the Faith" by his attacks on Luther, he afterwards 
 acknowledged the spread of the reformation in his dominions by 
 shaking off the control of the pope, and enriching his treasury with 
 the spoils of the monasteries. 
 
 The Catholics, however, made one more effort to establish their 
 superiority. In 1529 a second diet was summoned at Spires, where 
 they mustered in great numbers to obtain the repeal of the 
 enactment of the last diet ; and they were successful. It was 
 decreed that the Edict of Worms should be observed in all places 
 where it had been executed, the mass re-established, the Catholic 
 subjects of reformed princes should enjoy free toleration, the 
 reformers make no frcsn- innovations, ana explain the Scriptures 
 according to the interpretation of the church. The Lutherans were 
 alarmed at this insidious attempt to overthrow their religion and 
 freedom; and they published their thorough dissent in the remark- 
 able Protest which henceforth procured the name of Protestants for 
 those who seperated from the church of Rome. This celebrated ' 
 document was signed by Jolm elector of Saxony, George margrave 
 of Brandenburg, Ernest and Francis dukes of Lunenberg, Philip 
 landgrave of Hesse, Wolfgang prince of Anlialt, and by the deputies 
 of fourteen imperial cities. 
 
 When Charles had concluded his treaty Avith the pope, and 
 received the imperial crown at Bologna, he resolved to proceed 1 o 
 Germany, and adopt severe measures against the Protestants. He 
 had long and repeated interviews with his holiness respecting the 
 convocation of a general council to consider the religious state of the 
 empire ; but the pope preferred a schism to a council, where his 
 authority would be materially weakened. Charles, therefore, sum- 
 moned the imperial diet at Augsburg, and stated that it Avas his 
 intention thoroughly to hear both sides, to correct what was wrong, 
 and to establish peace tlirotighout his dominions. The Protes , 
 
CHARLES V. 127 
 
 were not deceived by his fair promises ; they had already discovered 
 by liis past acts the policy he was pursuing; and the princes even 
 proposed to assemble their forces, and demand the recognition of 
 their religion, but were restrained by the counsel of Luther and his 
 clergy. The entrance of Charles into Augsburg was celebrated by a 
 grand mass, which placed the Protestant princes in a very critical 
 position. The Elector of Saxony as grand marshal, had to bear the 
 sword of state before the emperor ; and at first he refused to attend, 
 but was persuaded by his ministers to do so on the ground that it 
 was merely a civil duty. He, however, with the landgrave of Hesse 
 refused to bow to the consecrated host, and remained standing 
 while the whole congregation prostrated themselves on the ground. 
 
 As the emperor had signified his intention to hear what were the 
 religious sentiments of nis people, the protestants embraced the 
 opportunity of presenting to him their confession of faith, whicli had 
 been drawn up by Melancthon. It consisted of twenty-eight articles, 
 which were divided into three parts : first, those on general and un- 
 disputed points of religion ; second, those on which protestants were 
 allowed to differ ; thirdly, those respecting the ceremonies in which 
 they totally dissented from the church of llome. Charles used every 
 endeavour to prevent this document becoming public, but was baffled 
 by the firmness of the protestants; and continuing his apparent 
 moderation he ordered the confession to be examined, and refuted by 
 the catholics. The attempt to reconcile the hostile parties failed, as 
 might have been expected ; and Charles resorted to threats and 
 intimidation ; and to prevent the escape of the protestant princes, 
 caused the gates of the city to be closed, because the Landgrave of 
 Hesse had secretly departed. The diet, however, jealous of their 
 freedom, strongly remonstrated with him on the infringement of their 
 liberties. His attempt to divide the princes, and to lure them by 
 caresses were also unavailing ; and on the 30th of November 1530, 
 he published a decree which ordered all the doctrines and ceremonies 
 of the church to be re-established, the married priests to give up 
 their benefices, and ecclesiastical property to be restored; and 
 Threatened the ban of the empire to all the disobedient. Charles 
 thus revealed his true character towards the reformation, and exposed 
 his dissimulation and affected moderation ; and that he might give 
 effect to the decree, he requested the electors to appoint his brother 
 Ferdinand King of the Romans, by whose presence and aid the church 
 might be restored. The wishes of the sovereign were met by the 
 electors, who with the exception of John of Saxony, chose Ferdinand 
 King on the 5th of January 1531. 
 
 The protestants were naturally alarmed at the proceedings of the 
 emperor, and renewed their confederacy ; they entered into a secret 
 alliance with France, and received promises of support from the 
 Kings of England, Sweden and Denmark. Both parties prepared 
 for war ; but the hostilities were prevented by the intrigues of the 
 French king, and the threatened invasion of the Turks. Charles 
 when in difficulty applied to the princes for succour ; but they refused 
 to aid him till he had repealed his late decree ; and in August 1532 
 
128 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 a truce was settled at Nuremberg, by which the protestants were 
 allowed the free exercise of their religion, till a general council 
 could be convoked. An attempt was made after the Turks had 
 retired, to set this treaty aside ; but the landgrave of Hesse instantly 
 assembled an army, burst into Wirtemberg, and defeated the Aus- 
 trians ; and by the mediation of the elector of Mentz, and the Duke 
 of Saxony, the emperor in 1534 renewed his former compact, and 
 confirmed the protestants in the possession of their liberties, on 
 their recognising Ferdinand "king of the liomans, and Wirtemberg 
 a fief of Austria. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CHARLES v. (CONTINUED.) A.D. 1532-155S. 
 
 THE disgrace which covered the retreat of Solyman from Vienna, 
 prompted the Sultan to make very vigorous efforts to vindicate the 
 honour of his arms. For two years the preparations were made 
 with the greatest energy, and at length he set out with a more 
 numerous army than he had before organised to subdue Hungary 
 and Austria. The progress of this renowned conqueror struck terror 
 into the hearts of all ; and Ferdinand, to stay his advance, sent 
 ambassadors with presents to propose a peace. These were 
 haughtily rejected by the Sultan, who continued his ravages till lie 
 reached the frontiers of Styria. His advance was for a time stayed 
 by the manful resistance of the town of Guntz, which baffled all his 
 skill and resources, and detained him a month before its walls. In 
 the meantime, the common danger drew all parties together ; Charles 
 secured the aid of the Protestants by his treaty in 1532 ; the pope 
 furnished his contingent ; volunteers from all parts poured in ; and a 
 select army of 90,000 foot and 30,000 horse, with Charles and 
 Ferdinand at its head, encamped under the walls of Vienna, and 
 awaited the arrival of the foe. The Sultan did not expect to find 
 such a force arrayed against him ; and after the resistance he had 
 met with at Guntz, deemed it prudent to withdraw ; and in Septem- 
 ber he led his vast host back, without having accomplished anything 
 worthy of his strength. 
 
 After the retreat of the Turks, Ferdinand indulged the hope of 
 being able to secure to himself the possession of the whole of Hungary. 
 He was disappointed in his expectations. The vast army which the 
 presence of the infidels had called into existence, disappeared with 
 its foes ; John Zapoli contested the possession with great vigour ; 
 and by the mediation of Charles, the treatv of Waradin was signed 
 in 1538 by which John was to retain the title of king with Transyl- 
 vania ; but after his death it was to revert to Ferdinand. John died 
 
CHAHLZS V. 129 
 
 in 1540, leaving an only son two weeks old; and Ferdinand claimed 
 the title and possessions in virtue of the treaty and former election. 
 The mother of the young prince Isabella refused, with a mother's 
 tenacity, to give up the prospects of her son ; and formed a party 
 among the nobles with Martinuzzi, a celebrated bishop, ana the 
 guardian of the young child ; who crowned the infant king, and 
 solicited the support of the Sultan. Ferdinand also applied to 
 Solyman, but without effect ; and marched an army to Buda ; and 
 the tov.-n would have fallen into his hands, with the queen and her 
 son, had not the Turkish troops speedily arrived, and defeated tho 
 Austrian forces. Solyman employed his interference to aggrandise 
 his dominions ; the principal Danubian fortresses fell into his hands ; 
 the southern provinces of Hungary were annexed to his empire ; and 
 Ferdinand, after many fruitless attempts, was obliged to seek a truce 
 of five years ; which was reluctantly granted by the Sultan at the 
 request of the King of France, on condition that he paid an annual 
 tribute to the Porte of 30,000 ducats, A.D. 1545. 
 
 During the remainder of the life of Ferdinand, Hungary was the 
 scene of great commotion. The queen and Martinuzzi quarrelled ; 
 the latter sided with Ferdinand, and gained great advantages for him, 
 for which he was rewarded with the government of Transylvania; 
 but the appointment of the Spanish general Castaldo to the com- 
 mand of the troops offended him ; and to prevent disturbances, he 
 was assassinated by the order of Ferdinand. The house of Austria 
 continued to experience great reverses. Transylvania rebelled 
 against its authority. John Sigismund the young prince placed him- 
 self under the protection of the Turks, and demanded the whole of 
 Hungary ; and after a long predatory war, Ferdinand concluded a 
 truce with Solyman in 1562 for eight years, and agreed to renew 
 his tribute to the Porte, and not to dispute the possession of Tran- 
 sylvania. The young king, however, refused to agree to the com- 
 pact ; he continued to harass the dominions of Austria, and was but 
 feebly resisted by Ferdinand. 
 
 "While Ferdinand was thus engaged in the affairs of Hungary, 
 and the Protestant champions were defending and spreading the 
 reformed doctrines, Charles was carrying his victorious arms into 
 Africa and Italy. The celebrated Moorish pirate Barbarossa had 
 filled the maritime coasts with fear by his great successes and 
 barbarities. Charles fitted out an expedition against him, defeated 
 him on the sea, stormed and carried Tunis, where he had strongly 
 fortified his camp, and liberated 20,000 Christian slaves. His con- 
 tests with the French king were renewed ; and though a treaty was 
 signed in 1538 for ten years, it was broken before its expiration. lu 
 1539 he passed over to Flanders, where an insurrection in Ghent 
 demanded his presence ; and showed great severity towards the 
 insurgents by executing the principal leaders. In 1542 war again 
 broke out between Francis and Charles, because of the seizure and 
 execution of a Spanish refugee, who was taken by the emperor when 
 passing through Italy to Constantinople to contract an alliance 
 between France and Turkey against Charles. Hostilities commenced, 
 
130 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 and were carried on with great spirit and energy. A splendid com- 
 bined fleet ravaged the coast of Italy ; the armies of Charles 
 encountered the French troops in Flanders and Piedmont; and 
 Henry VIII. listened to the supplications of the emperor, crossed 
 the sea with a gallant army of 30,000 men, and laid siege to 
 Boulogne. The King of France became alarmed at these extensive 
 operations, and made overtures for peace, which were not unwelcome 
 to Charles ; and the treaty of Crespi was signed in 1544, in which, 
 among other things, it was stipulated that the two sovereigns should 
 use their utmost endeavours to extirpate Protestantism in their 
 dominions. Francis attempted to fulfil his engagement by mas- 
 sacrein<* the Protestants in Cabrieres and Meriudol; and Charles 
 resolved to accomplish the same by means of the decrees of the 
 diet. 
 
 The Protestants of Germany were prepared to resist the efforts of 
 the emperor. Events had occurred which, while they weakened the 
 power of the Catholics, added strength to the reformed party. The 
 Catholic electors of Brandenburg and the Palatine died, and were 
 succeeded by Protestant princes ; and the archbishop and elector of 
 Cologne embraced the reformed doctrines ; so that the Protestants 
 yrere now able to secure a majority in the electoral college. Confident 
 of their strength, they demanded not only full and free toleration, 
 but also a recognition by the state ; which was warmly opposed by 
 the Catholics, who were much weakened by divisions and inability. 
 The emperor, therefore, saw the difficulty of the task he had under- 
 taken, and the necessity of uniting the divided, and dividing the 
 united ; and to the accomplishment of this, lie summoned all the 
 resources of his wisdom, and his duplicity. 
 
 Charles obtained the consent of the pope to summon a general 
 council at Trent, to which he urged the Protestants to send their 
 deputies, and to submit to its decrees. The princes had on a former 
 occasion entered into a league at Smalkalde, which Charles now 
 sought to dissolve ; and was partly successful. He secured the 
 neutrality of the electors Palatine and Brandenburg ; the Dukes of 
 Pomerania, Mecklenburg, Lunenburg, and Holstein; and formed a 
 league with Maurice of Saxon Thuringia. He also entered into a 
 treaty with the pope, and stated secretly to him his intention of 
 extirpating the Lutheran religion ; which the pontiff incautiously 
 published in a bull, and made known to the Protestants. Charles 
 energetically collected forces from all parts of his dominions, and 
 demanded succours from the pope and Ferdinand ; while he endea- 
 voured to deceive the Protestants by fair promises. The fears, 
 however, of the princes were aroused by these hostile preparations, 
 by the disclosures of the pope, and the conduct of the council of 
 Trent ; which instead of considering the promised reforms of the 
 church, selected various propositions from the works of Luther, and 
 condemned them. Unable to secure any foreign assistance, they 
 united themselves more closely ; and on the 20th of July 1546 pub- 
 lished their declaration of hostilities. The forces of the Elector of 
 Saxony, and the Landgrave of Hesse marched towards the Danube ; 
 
CHARLES V. 131 
 
 and when the cities had furnished their contingents, the allied army 
 mustered 80,000 men, well disciplined and armed. 
 
 Charles was at Ratisbon with scarcely 8,000 men, when the con- 
 federates were approaching ; his succours were far off ; and had the 
 enemy rapidly advanced, his capture would have been secure. In 
 this emergency his boldness and courage alone saved him. He 
 hurled the ban of the empire against the Elector of Saxony and the 
 Landgrave of Hesse ; spread the report that the Duke of Bavaria, 
 in whose dominions he was, would avenge the violation of his 
 territories ; fostered divisions among the Protestants ; and retired to 
 the stronghold of Laudshut, where his succours could reach him. 
 After receiving reinforcements, Charles threw himself into Ingoldstadt, 
 where the allies were unable to attack him ; and soon commenced 
 offensive operations, and made himself master of several cities. 
 Meanwhile Maurice burst into the electorate of Saxony, and suc- 
 ceeded in occupying nearly the whole of the dominions. The 
 Protestants divided ; the Elector of Saxony hastened to recover his 
 territories ; and the rest separated into small parties. This was 
 what Charles desired ; and he resolved to avail himeelf speedily of 
 the opportunity. He pushed forward his army ; subdued the chief 
 cities, and obliged them to give up their arms, and receive his 
 garrisons ; and in a few weeks was so successful that Saxony and 
 Hesse alone remained unsubdued. 
 
 The Protestant cause was reduced to the lowest ebb ; and the 
 most gloomy anticipations were indulged. A series of favourable 
 events occurred which re-animated the party. The troops of 
 Ferdinand were discontented, and withdrew from Germany ; Maurice 
 had dispersed his army into winter quarters, and was defeated by 
 the Elector of Saxony ; who was enabled to recover his possessions, 
 to defeat and take prisoner Albert of Brandenburg, when marching 
 with the succours of the emperor to Maurice ; and to force Maurice 
 to sue for peace. The courrge of the Protestants revived ; a new 
 combination was organised among them ; Francis I. gained for them 
 the support of England, Gastavus Vasa, and the Swiss cantons ; and 
 the bitter jealousy of the pope was so strong towards the emperor 
 that he recalled his troops into Italy. The two Protestant princes, 
 however, did not at once avail themselves of the turn of their 
 fortune ; and the auspicious moment was lost. Francis died ; 
 Charles promptly united his forces with those of Ferdinand, and 
 marched against the elector with 35,000 men. He was posted at 
 Meissen behind the Elbe, when the imperial army approached. 
 Indecision marked all his movements ; and he hastened towards 
 Wittenberg. The emperor perceived his advantage, and ordered his 
 men to cross the stream near Muhlberg ; and with the cavalry and 
 light troops, he forced the elector to retreat towards the woods of 
 Luchau. Both sides contested each step with the greatest bravery ; 
 and charge after charge was met and repulsed. The elector, at the 
 head of a chosen band, resolved to cut his way through the enemy ; 
 but surrounded by foes, and exhausted with i'atigue, he was forced 
 to deliver himself a prisoner to the emperor. He was conducted to 
 
 I 2 
 
132 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 his capital, which. was heroically defended by his wife; and she was 
 alone induced to surrender by the threat of Charles to decapitate 
 the elector if the gates were not immediately opened. The emperor 
 made a triumphal entry into Wittenberg, and visited the tomb of 
 Luther, whom death had snatched from the pain of these troublous 
 events ; and when urged to dishonour the ashes of the reformer, he 
 replied, " I war not with the dead, but with the living ; suffer him 
 to repose in peace ; he is already before his judge." Maurice was 
 rewarded with the electoral possessions except Gotha, and with the 
 promise of the electoral dignity. 
 
 The Landgrave of Hesse Cassel was terrified at the capture of 
 Saxony, and induced by the mediation of the Elector of Branden- 
 burg and Maurice to submit to the emperor. He agreed to the terms 
 imposed by Charles ; to retain his possessions, out demolish his 
 fortresses ; to surrender his munitions of war and his prisoners ; and 
 to pay a fine of 150,000 crowds; and accepted the suretyship of his 
 mediators that he should not be detained a prisoner. On the 19th of 
 June 1547, the landgrave entered the imperial tent at Halle ; the 
 haughty Charles deigned to receive his confession and his allegiance ; 
 and smiling contemptuously on his fallen prince, deceived both the 
 landgrave and his mediators by detaining him a close prisoner. To 
 insult his enemies more deeply, and humble the Protestants more 
 extensively, Charles passed through his German states, like a show- 
 man, with his two prisoners, publicly to illustrate the prowess of his 
 might, and the hopelessness of the reformed cause. 
 
 Wliile thus the arms of the emperor were triumphant, Ferdinand 
 was deeply involved in civil contests in Bohemia. The struggle 
 which had long existed between the Catholics and Calixtins had been 
 hushed by mutual agreement, till the doctrines of the reformation 
 were adopted by the Hussites, who manifested very great sympathy 
 towards the reformers. Ferdinand had aroused their jealousy by 
 several acts ; in his zeal to crush Lutheranism, he came into contact 
 with the Calixtins ; and he had still further weaned the affections of 
 his subjects from him by declaring the crown hereditary by his 
 marriage with Anne. "When Charles marched his forces against the 
 Elector of Saxony, Ferdinand sent a body of Austrian troops, and 
 collected a Bohemian army to aid his brother. The publication of 
 the ban of Charles against the two princes stirred up the spirit of 
 the Bohemians ; the troops refused to proceed, or to make war on 
 their brethren of the same faith ; though by the entreaty of the 
 emissaries of Ferdinand they were prevailed upon to undertake their 
 march ; and they assisted in defeating the electoral troops. 
 
 The next year 1547, the king issued a command which excited 
 the greatest indignation throughout Bohemia. It required the 
 Bohemians to send an army to the aid of Maurice, and concluded 
 wiih the startling announcement, that "all who do not obey these 
 our commands shall, according to the laws of the land, be deprived 
 of their honours, lives and property." The deputies of Prague 
 prepared vigorously to resist this unprecedented act of authority ; 
 they presented to Ferdinand their solemn remonstrance; which 
 
CHARLES V. 133 
 
 drew forth an indignant reply from him. His threats and his 
 appeals to their heroism were alike unavailing; other to\vns 
 remonstrated in the same manner ; and the king found out by 
 experience that pacific measures and entreaties alone would succeed. 
 The deputies of Leutmeritz were moved by his tender appeals ; but 
 at Prague the deputies were encouraged to resist more strenuously 
 by the news of the victories of the elector of Saxony over Maurice 
 which had just reached them. Ferdinand ordered his general to 
 demand troops and provisions that he might succour Maurice ; but 
 the state refused compliance, sent orders throughout the country to 
 assemble troops and defend Bohemia, and voted a tax to supply the 
 necessary funds. The presence of Maurice and his brother with 
 their troops at Brix increased the anger of the Bohemians towards 
 Ferdinand, and their eagerness to assemble an army. The diet 
 opened at Prague with overwhelming numbers, whose enthusiasm 
 was unbounded. The ambassadors from the emperor commanded 
 them to lay down their arms, and render obedience to their king; 
 but the diet boldly explained their conduct, and prepared to defend 
 their liberties and their country with heroic zeal. The news of the 
 capture of the Elector of Saxony, however, created a panic among 
 the assembly ; those who before had declaimed with the eloquence 
 of patriotism, now quitted the imperial city in silence and fear ; and 
 the state, with a wonderful versatility, drew up an address of 
 congratulation on the victory, and hastily disbanded their forces. 
 
 Ferdinand quitted Wittenberg with a large body of troops. He 
 ordered all deputies under penalty of excommunication to meet him. 
 at Prague ; and at the head of his army, entered the royal city. A 
 contest took place between his soldiers and some of the burghers, 
 which threatened to plunge the kingdom in a civil war, but the 
 strife was terminated by the wisdom of Ferdinand. The king 
 resolved by a bold and decisive step to crush the spirit of his 
 enemies and curb their freedom. He ordered six hundred of the 
 most distinguished men to repair to his palace; when the gates 
 were closed upon them, and they were detained prisoners. The 
 charges made against them were admitted by them ; they threw 
 themselves on the clemency of the king, who commanded them to 
 renounce their confederacy with other states, to give up all their 
 privileges, to surrender tlieir weapons of war except swords, their 
 possessions and their tolls, and to submit to a new tax. They 
 solicited a delay ; but no delay could be granted ; and trembling for 
 their lives, they ratified the compact ; when all but forty of the 
 most dangerous were set at liberty. Ferdinand adopted the same 
 plan with other towns ; their burgomasters, councillors, and elders 
 came to the palace, and were imprisoned, till they surrendered their 
 liberties and possessions. A diet was convened at Prague on the 
 22nd of August 1547, called the Bloody Diet, which confirmed all 
 the deeds of the king ; the amunition and arms were conveyed to 
 Vienna in thirty waggons; the forty prisoners were solemnly 
 brought forth, and eight publicly whipped in the city ; Ferdinand 
 declared the dominions hereditary in his family; and in 1502 
 
131 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 procured the coronation of his son Maximilian, as his heir. Thus 
 was Bohemia, which for centuries had exerted her strength in the 
 cause of freedom, and maintained an independent spirit, crushed 
 before the rising power of the House of Hapsburg. From this time 
 her prosperity oegau to decline ; her warriors were not nerved by 
 their love of freedom ; her towns became less thriving in industry 
 and wealth; and the confidence in her own strength, which gave 
 dignity to her existence, succumbed to a blind reliance on the power 
 which had reduced her, as it had many others, to submission. 
 
 "When Charles had succeeded by the capture of the Elector of 
 Saxony, and the Landgrave of Hesse in breaking up the league of 
 Smalkalde, he renewed his efforts to restore the Protestants to the 
 church. He summoned a diet at Augsburg, and induced both 
 parties to send their deputies to a general council ; but failed in 
 obtaining the sanction of the pope to renew the Council of Trent, 
 which had been removed to Bologna, that it might be more under 
 papal control. He, however, resolved not to be thwarted in his 
 designs ; and employed two Catholic divines and Agricola, the 
 Protestant chaplain of the Elector of Brandenburg, to draw up a 
 formulary of worship, consisting of twenty-six articles, which was 
 called the Interim. It was framed in a very masterly manner, and 
 apparently granted rich concessions to the Protestants ; but the 
 expressions employed were so ambiguous and artful, that ample 
 room was left for the exercise of the bitterest oppression. The 
 Interim was submissively passed by the diet, and was submitted 
 to by the majority of the Protestants. The imperial cities boldly 
 resisted its introduction ; and Charles was obliged to enforce it by 
 arms. At Augsburg and Ulm the Lutheran magistrates were 
 deposed; Strasburg quietly submitted to his authority; and Con- 
 stance was reduced and annexed by Ferdinand to the Austrian 
 dominions ; but Magdeburg, a strongly fortified city, still held out, 
 as also did Bremen, Hamburg, and Lubeck, with other towns in the 
 north of Germany. Charles was prevented taking more active 
 measures against the insurgents by his aft'airs in the Netherlands, 
 and by his contests in Italy for Parma and Piacenza, which the 
 church had rapaciously seized ; but on the death of the pope, he 
 .cained from his successor the possession of Piacenza, and the 
 order for the convocation of a general council at Trent. All things 
 now seemed propitious to his designs. He summoned the diet at 
 Augsburg on the 26th of July 1550, and procured their acquiescence 
 in the decrees of the council, and their support to enforce the 
 acceptance of the Interim. He also appointed Maurice who had 
 been invested with the electorate of Saxony, to the command of the 
 troops to reduce Magdeburg ; which, after a siege of ten months, 
 yielded to the skill and bravery, and perhaps to the secret designs, 
 of the general. 
 
 The enemies of the empire were thus reduced; and Charles 
 retired to Innspruck to carry out his long-cherished schemes. His 
 hopes, however, were suddenly blighted by the defection of Maurice ; 
 who, though apparently promoting the purposes of the emperor, 
 
CHARLES V. 135 
 
 had been long waiting for an opportunity of throwing off liis 
 authority, and rescuing his country from the tyranny of Charles. 
 Several causes urged him to take the bold step. He dreaded the 
 overwhelming influence of the emperor ; he saw clearly that the 
 liberties of his country, and the extinction of Protestantism were 
 threatened; and he could not forget how Charles had basely in- 
 sulted him by retaining his father-in-law, the Landgrave of Hesse, 
 in confinement. He secured the leading Protestants to his side; 
 entered into an alliance with Henry II. of France ; and made all 
 his preparations with such secrecy, that neither Charles nor his 
 ministers were aware of his intentions. At length all things were 
 ready ; Maurice threw off his mask, united his forces with those of 
 Hesse, and the Marquis of Brandenburg, and appeared with a large 
 army before the gates of Augsburg. He here published proclama- 
 tions stating that he took up arms to prevent the destruction of the 
 Protestant religion, to rescue the Landgrave of Hesse, and to 
 preserve the liberties of Germany. His allies followed the same 
 mode of appealing to the nation, pushed forward their armies, and 
 captured Meutz and Toul. The arms of Maurice were eminently 
 successful ; the cities hailed his appearance as the guardian of their 
 freedom ; and soon the Protestants were again triumphant. 
 
 Charles was terror-stricken at the rapid progress of Maurice; he 
 sent the few troops he could muster to secure the important passes 
 of the Tyrol ; and commissioned his brother Ferdinand to enter into 
 negotiations with him. The confederates refused to listen to, and 
 waste their time by, what they could clearly see was an expedient to 
 gain time ; their army stormed and carried the passes which the 
 Austrians defended ; and hastened towards Innspruck ; where they 
 would have surprised the emperor, but for a mutiny, which broke 
 out among the electoral troops and delayed them. Charles was 
 suffering severely from the gout when the tidings reached him of the 
 near approach of Maurice. He was seized with an inordinate fear ; 
 and, throwing open the prison gates of the deposed elector, passed 
 hastily out of the city in a litter, but a few hours before the victorious 
 army entered, and was carried across the mountains in a dark and 
 stormy night to Villach in Carinthia. The imperial residence was 
 sacked ; and the cities and towns through which Maurice passed 
 rejected the Interim, and re-established their corporative govern- 
 ments. The situation of the emperor was most critical. The Turks 
 were ravaging Hungary ; the French devastating Alsace ; his troops 
 in Italy unsuccessful ; and Germany in open rebellion. His gloomy 
 condition induced him to listen to the terms of peace dictated by 
 Maurice, and to conclude the celebrated treaty of Passau on the 
 2nd of August 1552 ; by which religious freedom was secured to the 
 Protestants, and the landgrave restored to liberty. 
 
 Maurice marched against the Turks ; and Charles collected a 
 great army to punish the French, and recover the city of Mentz ; 
 but success seems to have deserted him. The peace of Passau did 
 not establish tranquillity in Germany. Albert of Brandenburg refused 
 to accept it, and carried on a predatory war with the Catholic 
 
13(5 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 princes ; which Charles not only connived at, but was suspected of 
 encouraging, that amid the civil commotions of the empire, he might 
 procure the transfer of the crown to his son. The imperial chamber 
 issued the ban of the empire against Albert ; who was defeated by 
 Maurice, and driven from the empire by the Duke of Brunswick. 
 This victory was purchased with the loss of Maurice, who received 
 a mortal wound in battle, and shortly after died A.D. 1553. 
 
 The diet, which was to confirm the treaty of Passau, was opened 
 on the 5th of February 1555 by Ferdinand, in the absence of the 
 emperor ; and after great discussions and angry disputes on both 
 sides, an act of peace was at length agreed to, and signed by the 
 Catholics and the Protestants. The principal articles decreed that 
 the members of the confession of Augsburg were free from the juris- 
 diction of the pope, and allowed the unlimited exercise of their 
 reliirion, where it had already been established ; that all princes were 
 at liberty to tolerate, or prohibit either religion in their dominions, 
 and that the subjects were also at liberty to sell their possessions, 
 and to remove to any other state if they pleased ; that the free cities 
 should enjoy toleration for both religions ; and that the Protestants 
 should be admitted to the imperial chamber, and justice equally 
 dealt out to all. Such was the religious peace which terminated for 
 a time the long and disastrous quarrels of Germany. 
 
 The history of this painful struggle affords us a striking instance 
 of the mighty results which flow from the simplest causes, and shows 
 us how beautifully an unseen hand guides all the events, and pro- 
 duces the most beneficial effects. "We* see a controversy arising 
 from a single and inconsiderable question, and gradually expanding 
 till it embraced all the errors of the church ; we see an obscure monk 
 shaking off the prejudices of his age, profession, and nation, whose 
 very defects of character and temper become instrumental in the pro- 
 motion of truth ; and though environed with all the terrors of papal 
 and imperial authority yet combatting or averting the threatened 
 dangers by intrepidity and prudence, or escaping from them by 
 instances of good fortune almost miraculous ; we observe the cause 
 of the gospel promoted and strengthened by those who were most 
 interested and inclined to oppose and oppress it. "We observe the 
 Reformation secured and established by the same prince who had 
 brought it to the verge of destruction. By the impulse of the same 
 motive we see the kings of France, while they persecuted their own 
 Protestant subjects, consolidating the league for the protection of 
 those in Germany ; the Turks, the enemies of Christendom, contri- 
 buting to weaken and divide its opponents ; Charles himself stimu- 
 lated by personal resentment or motives of policy to become the 
 protector of that doctrine which it was the object of his whole reign 
 to depress ; and even the pope himself coming forward at the most 
 dangerous crisis to join m a league against the interests of that 
 church of which he was the head. We observe all these objects 
 accomplished in the midst of contending parties and jarring interests, 
 
 * Coxe. 
 
CHARLES V. 137 
 
 and even when the Protestants were divided and actuated with 
 scarcely less antipathy against each other than the Catholics against 
 them. In reviewing all these stupendous revolutions, we cannot 
 but acknowledge the wisdom of Providence making the most oppo- 
 site circumstances and the most hostile characters contribute to the 
 same end, and turning to the accomplishment of his great purposes 
 the perverseness and caprice of human passions, and the perplexed 
 views of human policy." 
 
 Charles, having hushed the contentions of his subjects, now carrie 
 out the resolution he had long formed of relinquishing his crowns 
 and dignities, and retiring from the active duties of life. His mother 
 died insane in 1555 ; from whom he appears to have inherited a 
 constitutional' gloom and melancholy, which was greatly increased by 
 the severe attacks of the gout to which he was subject. The check 
 which he had received to his pride in the reverses which lately fol- 
 lowed his arms, and in his not being able to procure the imperial 
 crown for his son, disgusted him with regal cares, and hastened the 
 accomplishment of his purpose. He convened the States of the 
 Netherlands at Brussels on tho 25th of October 1555 ; and leaning 
 for support on the Prince of Orange, he solemnly resigned his 
 dominions to his son Philip. He addressed the assembly, and re- 
 capitulated the acts of his administration. He told them that ever 
 since the age of seventeen he had devoted all his thoughts and 
 exertions to public objects, and seldom reserved any portion of his 
 time for the indulgence of ease or pleasure. He had visited Germany 
 nine times, Spain six, France four, Italy seven, Flanders ten times, 
 England twice and Africa twice ; had made eleven voyages by sea ; 
 and had not avoided labour, nor repined under fatigue in the arduous 
 office of governing his extensive dominions. Now, however, his 
 constitution failed him, and his infirmities warned him that it was 
 time to retire from the helm. He was not so fond of reigning as to 
 wish to retain the sceptre with a powerless hand. He gave his son 
 most excellent advice, and told him to respect the laws and liberties 
 of his subjects ; and having affectionately embraced him, Charles sat 
 down, exhausted with fatigue, and deeply affected by the tears of the 
 assembly. Two months later, he resigned the crown of Spain to 
 Philip ; and on August 7, 1556, he relinquished the imperial dignity 
 to his brother Ferdinand. 
 
 In September the ex-monarch departed for Spain ; on landing at 
 Loredo in Biscay, he fell on the ground, and kissed the earth 
 exclaiming, " Naked came I into the world, and naked return I to 
 thee, thou common mother of mankind." He then retired to the 
 convent of St. Justus situated in a most delightful vale near Pla- 
 centia in Estremadura ; where he had apartments prepared for him in 
 the coarsest manner, and where he passed the remainder of his davs 
 in cultivating a small garden, constructing curious machines by the 
 aid of Turriano, a celebrated machinist who accompanied him to his 
 retreat, and performing various acts of devotion. Towards the close 
 of his life, his gloomy melancholy settled into an intense religious 
 fanaticism. He shut himself up in his cloisters, and associated with 
 
138 HISTOllY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 the monks alone ; he chanted hymns, and repeated prayers continu- 
 ally ; and mortified his body by severely chastising it with a whip of 
 cords. He even celebrated his own funeral obsequies ; a tomb was 
 erected in the middle of the chapel ; the procession, with Charles 
 wrapped in his shroud, mournfully advanced towards it ; the monarch 
 laid himself in his tomb ; and repeated with a hollow sepulchral voice 
 the mass for the repose of his soul. The fatigue and excitement of 
 these ceremonies brought on fever ; and on the 21st of September 
 1558, the mighty Charles V. departed this life in the fifty-ninth year 
 of his age. 
 
 Charles possessed a character which was resplendent with many 
 virtues, and darkened with many vices. Nature gave him handsome 
 features and a graceful form ; wliich he displayed to advantage by his 
 simple costume, his affable and conciliatory manners, and his noble 
 demeanour. His mind was powerful and commanding, and his 
 mastery over his feelings complete. He was careful and deliberate 
 in maturing his designs ; active and bold in executing them. He 
 braved danger with the greatest intrepidity, and increased his exer- 
 tions when his will was resisted. His ambition was insatiable ; his 
 duplicity deep and well concealed ; and his pride and contempt for 
 his enemies unbounded. His treatment of the king of France, the 
 elector of Saxony, and the landgrave of Hesse remains a stain upon 
 his character, which the distinguished talents of this illustrious 
 sovereign cannot obliterate. Though not learned himself, he 
 patronised literary men, and conferred favour and riches upon them ; 
 the learned historian Guicciardini was a favourite at his court, and 
 Titian who painted his portrait three times, was loaded with honour 
 and presents. His long reign was beneficial to Germany by the wise 
 regulations he adopted. He remodelled and improved the imperial 
 chamber, imposed a tax for its maintenance, and instituted an annual 
 inspection of its proceedings to remedy abuses, and grant new trials 
 in cases of appeal. He improved also the military sendee rendered 
 by the states, and instead of personal service instituted a tax of 
 twelve florins a month for a horseman, and four for a foot soldier, 
 wliich each state was empowered to raise according to the proportion 
 which had been fixed at the first diet of Worms. In 1555 the circles 
 of the empire were united, and a law passed that iu case of any 
 disturbance, the states of each circle were to render all necessary aid, 
 and if the force of one circle was insufficient, all the circles were to 
 join in supporting the authority of the imperial chamber, and 
 maintaining public peace. * 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 FERDINAND I. A.D. 1558-1564-. 
 
 THE abdication of Charles placed the electoral princes in a strange 
 and embarassed situation. He had in vain attempted to procure the 
 
FERDINAND I. 139 
 
 imperial crown for his son Philip, and had deferred his resignation 
 of it until he saw that all his endeavours to gain it for him would be 
 frustrated by his brother. Ferdinand was surprised even at his 
 demand ; and though he did not venture to place himself in active 
 opposition to Charles, he found ample opportunities of thwarting his 
 designs. Ferdinand had been chosen King of the Romans by the 
 states, and as such would have succeeded on the death of Charles ; 
 but the acceptance of the abdication by the princes was an affair so 
 unusual and difficult, and occupied so much time, that nearly two 
 years elapsed before Ferdinand was proclaimed emperor on the 
 15th of February, 1558. 
 
 His first act was to send an embassy to Rome to announce his 
 accession to the imperial dignity, and to express his desire of receiving 
 the crown from the hands of the pope. The aged pontiff Paul IV. 
 a proud ambitious and overbearing man, who had been greatly 
 offended M r ith Ferdinand for his tolerance towards the Protestants, 
 treated the royal ambassage with contempt. He declared that 
 Charles, as he had received his dignity from him, should have placed 
 his abdication in his hands ; and that the nomination of Ferdinand 
 was void, because made by those whom the church had pronounced 
 heretics. He therefore refused to acknowledge the imperial am- 
 bassador. Ferdinand saw that this was a fitting opportunity for 
 breaking off a custom which had been commenced in the dark ages, 
 and had been continued more as a mark of respect than as an 
 acknowledgment of authority by the preceding sovereigns. He 
 ordered his ambassador to quit Rome, if within three days, an 
 audience was not granted to him; and the pope alarmed at the 
 decision of the emperor, granted a private interview, and promised to 
 explain his conduct by his nuncio. The princes, however, both 
 Catholic and Protestant, examined thoroughly into the importance of 
 the accustomed journey to Rome, and came to the conclusion that it 
 was unnecessary. When Pius IV. ascended the papal throne, he 
 made overtures to the emperor to bring about a reconciliation, and 
 agreed to acknowledge the imperial title. It was then resolved by 
 the princes, and carried out by all succeeding sovereigns, that in 
 future no emperor should receive the crown from the hands of the 
 pope ; and that instead of the customary form in which the emperor 
 elect professed his obedience to the head of the church, a mere com- 
 plimentary epistle should be substituted ; which was adopted when 
 Ferdinand's eldest son Maximilian was chosen King of the Romans, 
 and by all his successors. The expensive journey to Rome, and the 
 dependency of the emperors on the reigning pope, which had pro- 
 duced as we have seen such disastrous wars, were thus obviated, 
 chiefly by the arrogancy of the pontiff. 
 
 The character which Ferdinand had displayed when Archduke of 
 Austria eminently fitted him to restrain the bigotry of the Catholics, 
 and the stern unbending resolution of the Protestants, now that he 
 had ascended the throne. The empire was externally prosperous. 
 Bohemia enjoyed profound tranquillity ; Hungary was feebly resisting 
 the efforts of the Turks and John Sigismund ; and for a time war 
 
140 HISTOKY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 seemed to be hushed by mutual consent. The rei^n of Ferdinand as 
 an emperor is, therefore, chiefly distinguished oy the wisdom and 
 forbearance with which he sought to mediate between the Catholics 
 and Protestants ; and by which he doubtless prevented the horrors 
 and distresses of a fresh religious war. He was aware of the great 
 political importance of union among all parties ; though in fact the 
 jealousy existing between the two powerful sects enabled him, by 
 favouring both, to obtain greater support in time of need than 
 would have been furnished by the diet in the usual manner. To effect 
 this union, he exhorted the Protestants at the diet of Augsburg 
 to send deputies to the council of Trent. They however refused to 
 do this unless their divines were acknowledged equal in dignity with 
 those of Rome, and the council were held in some other town either 
 in or near Germany. 
 
 Meanwhile the Protestant doctrines spread over the empire, and 
 the neighbouring countries with amazing rapidity. In France they 
 were embraced oy parties of all ranks and degrees, and became the 
 bond which united the malcontents against the government, which 
 was supported by the ambitious Guises ; while Catherine, who dreaded 
 the power of these dukes, raised Protestants to the high offices of 
 state, to counterbalance their influence. In Spain also, and in the 
 Netherlands the Protestants were increasing, notwithstanding the 
 sanguinary efforts of the Jesuits and the inquisition. The necessity, 
 therefore, for a general council appeared evident to all ; and Ferdinand 
 joined France and Spain in demanding the convocation of a new 
 council, and not a mere renewal of that at Trent. He represented 
 to the pope the importance of a reformation in the church, that the 
 schism might be healed ; dwelt earnestly on the power and resources 
 of the Protestants ; pictured in vivid colours the dangers of a civil 
 war in Christendom ; and exhorted the pontiff to permit the marriage 
 of the clergy, and the administration of the communion in both 
 kinds. Pius IV. refused his demands, and unwisely published the 
 emperor's memorial ; which had the effect of rendering Ferdinand 
 more popular than ever in Germany, and of conciliating the Protestants 
 towards him. Baffled in his designs, the emperor acceded to the 
 resumption of the council of Trent, and urged the Protestants to 
 take part in its deliberations, and to submit to its decrees. They 
 still declined to compromise their dignity ; they sent back the two 
 cardinals with their briefs unopened, and stated that as they did not 
 acknowledge the pope as their father, they could not receive his 
 letters, nor accept the title of sons with which he addressed them. 
 
 The celebrated council of Trent, the last effort of the Catholics to 
 restore the Protestants to the bosom of the church, opened its sittings 
 on the 15th of January 1562. This august assembly of divines 
 entangled themselves in endless disputations respecting the various 
 points of doctrine and discipline, to which their attention was 
 directed; but with the exception of the abolition of the office of 
 quaestors, or distributors of indulgences, and a few points of 
 morality among the clergy, no essential reform took place. Ferdinand 
 demanded the administratiou of the communion in both kinds without 
 
FERDINAND I. 141 
 
 fees, marriage for the clergy, service to be performed iu the common 
 tongue, the reformation of the priests and the monks, and the resi- 
 dence of the ecclesiastics. The King of France supported these 
 demands of the emperor ; but the assembly refused to grant them, as 
 derogatory to the dignity of the pope ; and the council terminated 
 without healing the division of the church ; but on the contrary, by 
 j e-affirming the faith of the church, it placed an insuperable barrier 
 between the Catholics and Protestants. 
 
 Eerdinand had used every endeavour to bring the reformed party 
 into the church. In his hereditary dominions, the Lutheran religion 
 had nearly superseded the Catholic. The churches had passed into 
 their hands ; and for twenty years not a single Catholic priest had 
 taken orders at the University of Vienna. The emperor attempted 
 to check the progress of the Reformation; he forbade the circulation, 
 of Luther's translation of the Bible, and the preaching of the 
 reformed doctrines ; he invited Canisius into Austria, with a train of 
 Jesuits, by whose labours the entire country was saved from 
 becoming a Protestant state. Ferdinand saw that his energetic 
 efforts could not crush the Lutherans, but that the more they were 
 oppressed, the more powerful they became ; and hence he earnestly 
 endeavoured to obtain from the council and the pope the indulgence 
 of marriage for the priests, and the administration of the commu- 
 nion in both kinds, that he might prevent a formal separation among 
 liis subjects. He urged that in Bohemia the cup had been granted 
 with the consent of the church ; that in Hungary the priests had 
 been compelled by the people to administer the sacrament in both 
 kinds ; and that in the other states of his dominions, the cup was 
 desired by the Catholics, who would obtain it among the Lutherans, 
 if it was not granted to them by the priests. He urged the marriage 
 of the priests by the notorious fact o/ their licentiousness ; and 
 added, " it would be far more preferable to grant the concession to 
 them than to tolerate such fornication and concubinage." The pope 
 yielded the administration of the cup to the laity, but refused to 
 approve of the marriage of the priests ; and to this day this outrage 
 on nature and the laws of God is perpetuated in the Catholic com- 
 munity. Whether Ferdinand would have ultimately succeeded in 
 gaining this point from the pope had his life been longer spared, it 
 is impossible to say; it is certain that his disappointment at his 
 failure was great, and the troubles which he saw hovering over his 
 dominions depressed his mind, and at length brought on a fever, of 
 which he died at Vienna, on the 25th oi' July 1564 in the sixty- 
 second year of his age. 
 
 Ferdinand united in himself the learning of a scholar, the graceful 
 deportment of a courtier, the bravery of a warrior, and the prudence 
 of a statesman. He received his early education in Castille under 
 the care of his grandfather Ferdinand, and made great pioficiency in 
 military art and polite literature. The jealousy of Charles removed 
 him to the Netherlands, where his education was completed according 
 to a plan drawn up by the celebrated Erasmus. His handsome 
 features were lit up by his benevolence and his intelligence, and his 
 
142 HISTORY OF AVSTRIA. 
 
 mind was anviched with a knowledge of the arts, science, and classic 
 literature. He invited to his court the stars of genius, rewarded die 
 learned Erasmus, and shed a lustre on his domestic circle by his mild 
 and affectionate disposition. His habits were active ; and in the 
 accomplishment of his plans he showed great enterprise and vigilance. 
 The assassination of Martinuzzi, and his extreme severity towards 
 the Bohemians stain the reputation which he gained for mildness ; 
 though his tolerant treatment of the Protestants, and the efforts 
 which he made to prevent an outbreak of war, indicate his peaceful 
 disposition. He was sincerely attached to the Catholic religion, and 
 laboured to procure the reformation of abuses ; and in a document 
 annexed to his will, he piously exhorted his children to be firm in. 
 their attachment to the religion of their ancestors. He improved 
 the regulations for the public peace ; and instead of the general 
 diets, established diets of deputies which were composed of th;: 
 electors, and deputies from the other members of the empire. He 
 increased the power of the military governor in each circle, reformed 
 the Aulic council, regulated the coinage of the empire, and decreed 
 that no state should issue money without the bust of the reigning 
 sovereign. Ferdinand was able to secure the election of his son as 
 king of the Romans, of Bohemia, and of Hungary ; and to prevent 
 the family contests which had been so disastrous to the house of 
 Hapsburg, he settled by a testament the archduchy of Austria on his 
 eldest son alone and his posterity ; while he gave to Ferdinand his 
 second son the Tyrol, and to Charles his third son Carinthia, Slyria, 
 and Camiola. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MAXIMILIAN II. A.D. 1564-157G. 
 
 THE tranquillity which the toleration of Ferdinand had secured to 
 the empire was even increased by the wisdom and moderation of his 
 successor. Maximilian had in early life been influenced by the 
 Lutheran doctrines, which his tutor instilled into his mind ; and 
 when he reached the period of manhood, he incurred the resentment 
 of the King of Spain, and Ids own father on account of his partiality 
 for the Lutherans. To such an extent had this hostility been mani- 
 fested, that writing to the elector Palatine, he says, " I have so 
 deeply offended my father by maintaining a Lutheran preacher in my 
 service, that I am apprehensive of being expelled as a fugitive, and 
 hope to find an asylum in your court." His accession to the throne 
 was, therefore, feared by the Catholics, and hailed by the Protestants. 
 The one fancied they saw in him their staunch opponent ; the other, 
 their future champion. Both, however, were disappointed ; for Max- 
 imilian soon found that the only means of preserving peace to the 
 
14ft 
 
 country was by preventing either party gaining the ascendancy, and 
 by conciliating each with timely concessions and moderate rule. His 
 policy was to favour the Protestants by the confirmation of their 
 privileges, and to secure the powerful support of the Catholics by 
 openly professing the faith of that church. 
 
 The first diet which Maximilian summoned at Augsburg afforded 
 ample scope for his mediating policy. The religious disputes were 
 carried on with the bitterest acrimony. The Protestants cried out 
 against the oppression of their brethren in Catholic states ; the 
 Catholics charged their opponents with having violated the compacts 
 which granted to them toleration. The emperor wisely stepped in 
 between the combatants, and urged them to grant succours against 
 the Turks as their first effort, which they readily acceded to ; he 
 then hushed the rising storm by showing to each their foibles, and 
 stating his firm determination to preserve the peace of religion. Sa 
 confident were all in the good intentions of this sovereign, that they 
 were perfectly satisfied with his promises ; and even the pope 
 remitted to him the sum of 50,000 ducats as a subsidy against the 
 Turks. Maximilian carried out the same peaceful policy iu the 
 hereditary dominions of the house of Hapsburg. He used every 
 means to obtain permission for the priests to marry; and on his 
 failure, drew out a plan for uniting the two churches. The Pro- 
 testants, however, were not less opposed to it than the Catholics ; 
 and the emperor, while lamenting his want of success, consoled him- 
 self with granting to them the full enjoyment of their religion. In. 
 Bohemia he promulgated an edict which secured toleration to all 
 dissentients to worship God according to the confession of Augsburg ; 
 and in Austria, notwithstanding the remonstrance of the pope, and 
 the ambassador of Spain, he gave the same toleration to the nobles 
 and equestrian order, though he refused to extend it to the towns. 
 To prevent any irregularities, he demanded from the Protestants, a 
 statement of their worship and doctrine and extorted from them a 
 solemn declaration that they would conform to that statement, and 
 not assail the tenets or emoluments of the Catholic church. At the 
 same time he maintained the Catholic religion in all its rights, pos- 
 sessions, and privileges, acknowledged the supremacy of the pope, 
 and professed his attachment to the religion of his father. 
 
 The peace of his dominions was disturbed by the Hungarian war. 
 John Sigismund had refused to agree to the truce which Ferdinand 
 had concluded with the Sultan, and continued to harass the Austrian 
 dominions. On the accession of Maximilian, Swendy a distinguished 
 Austrian general marched with a large army against Sigismund, 
 drove him from the places he had captured, and conquered Tokay 
 and other towns. The emperor sent ambassadors to Solyman, and 
 requested the continuance of the armistice which had been concluded 
 with his father. The Sultan dictated such dishonourable terms that 
 they could not be accepted, and prepared to invade Hungary. Maxi- 
 milian solicited succours from the diet ; and such was his popularity 
 among all parties that lie was enabled to equip three powerful armies, 
 and send them into the field. Swendy watched on the banks of the 
 
144 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Teiss the proceedings of Transylvania ; the archduke Charles secured 
 Hlvria; while a gallant army of 80,000 men commanded by Maxi- 
 milian encamped near Haab. Early in the spring of 156G Solymau 
 advanced in proud confidence at the head of a numerous host. His 
 triumphant march to the walls of Vienna, as he boldly declared was 
 his intention, was stopped by the bravery of the litttle fortified town 
 of Zigeth. It was situated in the midst of a marsh, and defended 
 by merely 1,500 men. The Turks formed roads across the swamps, 
 raised enormous earthbanks for batteries, assailed the walls with 
 embittered fierceness, and twenty times were gallantly repulsed by 
 the defenders. Thirty-four days passed before they became masters 
 of the place ; the Count Zimri, and his brave garrison died rather 
 than survive even an honourable defeat ; the Turks lost 20,000 men, 
 and the Sultan himself died of a fever occasioned by fatigue and the 
 pestilential air of the place. The new sultan Selim recalled his 
 army ; and Maximilian strengthened his fortresses and left Swendy 
 to carry on operations against Sigismund, whom he defeated, and 
 gained possession of the fortress of Mongatz. The offers of peace 
 which the emperor sent to Constantinople were this time accepted ; 
 and an armistice was concluded on the stipulation that both parties 
 should retain possession of the territories they held. John Sigis- 
 mund rejected the terms of peace, and continued the war; but the 
 power of Maximilian humbled him, and he was forced to agree to 
 the conditions of the emperor. He relinquished the title of king of 
 Hungary to Maximilian, acknowledged him as his master, and was 
 allowed to retain the countries of Bihar, and Marmarosch, with 
 Crasna and Zolnok, besides the hereditary possession of Transyl- 
 vania. When Sigismund died in 1571 his possessions in Hungary 
 reverted to the emperor, and the diet of Transylvania selected 
 Stephen Bathori, the general and minister of the late prince. Maxi- 
 milian confirmed the choice, and enjoyed the friendship of the new 
 \vaivode. The Catholic party often urged the emperor to break his 
 treaty with the Turks ; but he refused to violate his oath, and taught 
 the papal hierarchy a salutary lesson by observing, " The faith of 
 treaties ought to be considered as inviolable ; and a Christian can 
 never be justified in breaking an oath." 
 
 While the emperor was firm in his resolution to uphold Catho- 
 licism, and to favour also the Lutherans, he was anxious to preserve 
 the tranquility of the states by checking the divisions which were 
 numerous among the Protestants, and which often excited the 
 bitterest rancour, and provoked hostilities. The Calvinists and the 
 Lutherans had for years been opposed ; they attacked each other 
 with a violence peculiar to theological hatred ; and when they had 
 the power they rigorously persecuted the zealous upholders of the 
 opposing dogmas. Frederick, the elector Palatine, embraced the 
 Calvinistic form of worship and doctrine. He expelled the Lutheran 
 priests, persecuted their adherents with unrelenting fury, and 
 published the celebrated catechism of Heidelberg, as the standard of 
 belief and worship. The Lutherans viewed him as their implacable 
 enemy; and the Catholics increased their hatred, and provoked 
 
MAXIMILIAN II. 115 
 
 their opposition by demanding in a public diet whether the 
 Lutherans considered the elector a member of their body. This 
 question greatly embarrassed them. They feared either horn of the 
 dilemma ; for if they renounced him, they would lose the support of 
 the reformed churches in France and Switzerland, and if they 
 acknowledged him, they would condemn -themselves by their late 
 opposition to his tenets and practices. The emperor quickly 
 perceived the difficulty in which they were placed ; and to prevent 
 the triumph of one party, came to the relief of the distressed. He 
 refused to condemn the elector ; but at the same time to satisfy the 
 Catholics and the strict Lutherans, he caused the diet to pass a 
 decree, that no toleration should be allowed except to the Catholics 
 and the members of the Confession of Augsburg. The Calvinists 
 were thus allowed, without renouncing their own creed, to shelter 
 themselves under this Confession ; the demands of all parties were 
 granted ; and a religious war was prevented by the wisdom of the 
 emperor. 
 
 In the reign of Maximilian there were few events to disturb the 
 peace of the empire. During the predatory wars of xllbert of 
 Brandenburg, William of Grumback, a Franconian noble, had 
 extorted large sums of money and a valuable territory from the 
 bishop of Wurtzburg as a reward for preserving his dominions from 
 the ravages of the plunderers. Charles V. cancelled the agreement, 
 and declared the noble an outlaw, because he invaded the possessions 
 of the bishop. The bishop was assasinated by Grumback ; and his 
 successor was forced by an armed band to agree to indemnify 
 William for the loss of his property, to screen the murderers of his 
 predecessor from justice, and to assist the outlaw in his plans. The 
 Government, however, interfered on behalf of the public peace ; and 
 the ban of the empire was issued against the refractory noble. He 
 took refuge with John Frederick of Saxe Gotha, son of the expelled 
 elector, who refused to give him up to justice. Grumback soon 
 obtained a powerful influence over this prince ; he represented to 
 him that the princes and nobles were ready to revolt against the 
 house of Austria, and that the Queen of England would warmly 
 assist them ; and urged him to assert his rights and regain his 
 electoral dignity and possessions. The credulous prince was easily 
 swayed by these representations ; his weak mind was wrought upon 
 by superstition, and cunningly devised stratagems; the plan of 
 revolt was drawn up; and at length Grumback appealed to the 
 equestrian order throughout Germany to rise against the emperor. 
 Maximilian deemed it necessary to resort to stern measures. In 
 the diet at Augsburg 1566, the ban of the empire was published 
 against Grumback and all his protectors and adherents, and the 
 execution of it entrusted to Augustus, son of Maurice elector of 
 Saxony. All peaceful eiforts to induce John Frederick to give up 
 Grumback were rendered fruitless by his infatuation ; and Augustus 
 at the head of a large army laid siege to Gotha. The garrison 
 refused to spill their blood for such a prince, and surrendered ; 
 Grumback and some of his associates were executed, and Frederick 
 
 K 
 
146 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 was condemned to perpetual inprisonment, which was shared in by 
 his devoted wife Elizabeth till he died, after a confinement of twenty- 
 eight years. 
 
 Maximilian was greatly embarrassed by the entreaties of the 
 Teutonic knights to recover Prussia and Livonia which had been 
 wrested from their order; who to give weight to their demands, 
 pleaded the engagement which the emperors made at their election 
 to recover the dismembered fiefs. Albert of Brandenburg had 
 obtained Eastern Prussia, had raised it to the dignity of a duchy, 
 and had embraced the Lutheran religion. Charles V. issued the 
 ban of the empire against him, but the religious troubles prevented 
 its execution ; the grand master of the order had often solicited the 
 states to enforce it, but without effect; and in 1570 at the diet at 
 Spires, he renewed the demands of the order. Maximilian clearly 
 perceived that to do so would only involve the empire in a religious 
 war, as the duke would be supported by the Protestant princes ; 
 still he was anxious to preserve the honour of the crown. He 
 therefore induced the knights to suspend hostilities for the present, 
 with the promise that he Avould use all endeavours to secure the 
 dismembered fiefs. Livonia was another province which had been 
 severed from the Teutonic knights. It had been purchased from 
 Albert of Brandenburg by Walter of Plettenburg, whose successors 
 were unable to retain possession of it. The Russians, Poles, Danes, 
 and Swedes successively entered it, and the order applied to 
 Maximilian to support them against the Russians. The emperor, 
 however, was anxious to secure the crown of Poland, in which 
 Russia was able to afford him great assistance ; and instead of 
 demanding from the czar the restitution of the conquests he had* 
 made in Livonia, he sent an embassy to contract an alliance with 
 him against the Turks, and to implore his support in obtaining the 
 crown of Poland. 
 
 The emperor was also threatened with a contest with the pope. 
 The Duke of Ferrara, and Cosmo di Medici duke of Florence 
 quarrelled ; Cosmo appealed to the pope, Ferrara to the emperor ; 
 and the pope agreed that Maximilian should decide not as emperor, 
 but merely as an arbitrator. This the emperor refused; and the 
 
 Eope insulted the imperial dignity by settling the dispute without 
 is consent. Austrian ambassadors were despatched to remon- 
 strate with his holiness, and were refused an audience; and the 
 quarrel would have become serious, had not the death of Cosmo 
 prevented it. His son Francis Maria purchased the favour of the 
 emperor, by marrying his sister Joanna. These events, however, 
 hardly cast a shade over the peaceful condition of the empire. 
 
 The state of Germany during the reign of Maximilian presents a 
 striking contrast to the state ot the neighbouring nations. France 
 was agitated by religious dissensions, and devastated by civil war. 
 The Protestants had wonderfully increased in number and influence, 
 and were able to withstand the domination of the Catholics. The 
 regent of the youthful king, Catherine de Medici, followed the 
 doubtful pob'cy of opposing one party to the other, and establishing 
 
MAXIMILIAN II. 
 
 her own power by means of each. The Huguenots had been very 
 successful in their exploits ; and Catherine, no longer dreading their 
 opponents, concerted with Spain a plan for the extermination of 
 heresy. The Protestants again flew to arms ; the young King of 
 Navarre, the Prince of Coude, and Admiral Coligni placed them- 
 selves at their head ; and Elizabeth of England secretly aided them. 
 The Duke of Guise was the head of the Catholics, who were sup- 
 ported by the Spanish king ; and German mercenaries appear to 
 have acted on both sides. The Catholics were unable to conquer 
 their opponents by arms, and resorted to the most despicable 
 treachery. A vast conspiracy was formed, which has scarcely a 
 parallel in history. Charles king of France proposed a marriage 
 with the king of Navarre, and invited all the leading Protestants to 
 Paris to celebrate it. Unsuspecting any danger they came, and 
 were received by the king and queen-mother with smiles and dis- 
 tinguished courtesy. The festivities were on the most splendid 
 scale, and the rejoicings were unbounded; when on the eve of St. 
 Bartholomew's day, August 24, 1572, the bloody massacre of the 
 Protestants commenced by the order of the king. No rank was 
 spared ; in Paris alone 500 of the nobility with Coligni perished ; 
 and it is computed that not less than 100,000 Protestants were 
 sacrificed throughout the kingdom. The Protestants in every country 
 of Europe were aroused, and thrilled with a burning indignation ; 
 the oppressed, instead of shrinking before their cowardly foes, rose 
 with renewed zeal, and dictated to their murderers a peace which 
 suspended for a short time the fierce contest. Maximilian was very 
 indignant at such a scandalous outrage on justice, and publicly 
 expressed his disgust at the bloody proceedings. He attempted to 
 prevent German troops taking part, and proposed to the diet an 
 act to forbid their enrolment in foreign service, but the state refused 
 to pass it, though they established regulations to prevent any 
 disorders which might arise from their passage or disbandment. 
 
 The contests which were raging in the Netherlands threatened 
 the peace of Germany, and to involve Maximilian in a war as a 
 prince of the house of Austria. The Netherlands had grown 
 extremely wealthy ; their cities were flourishing under municipal 
 governments, and had early embraced the reformed doctrines ; which 
 they adhered to with a tenacity which resisted all the efforts of 
 Charles V. to induce them to relinquish them. His son Philip 
 viewed with horror the progress of the Protestant religion, and 
 resolved to suppress it by means of the Inquisition. He was vigor- 
 ously resisted by the Prince of Orange, Count Egmont, and all ranks 
 of the people ; but the resistance he met with only quickened his 
 thirst for revenge and bloodshed. He dispatched an army under the 
 duke of Alva, a distinguished general, a bigoted Catholic, a cruel 
 blood-thirsty man. His entrance into the country was the com- 
 mencement of her sorrows. The governments were abolished 
 and an infernal tribunal established, by which the claims of life 
 and property, rank and sex were disregarded. Counts Egmon 
 and Horn were brought to the scaffold ; the land was deluged with 
 
 K 2 
 
148 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 blood; nothing was heard but lamentation, and cries of despair,, 
 nothing seen but confiscation, imprisonment, exile, torture, and death. 
 William prince of Orange, tied to Germany ; and, assisted by many 
 princes and imperial cities, sent an army against Alva, which after u 
 few trifling successes, was obliged to retire. Maximilian favoured 
 the oppressed ; he sent his son Charles to Spain to exhort Philip to 
 stay his sanguinary proceedings ; but the bigot refused to listen to 
 him, and sternly demanded the expulsion of the prince of Orange, 
 The tyranny of the Spanish at length aroused the spirit of the 
 people. A body of privateers seized the port of Brille the key of 
 Holland, and captured the Spanish vessels ; the neighbouring pro- 
 vinces rose and expelled the Spanish garrisons ; the prince of Orange 
 animated and directed the revolution by his zeal and courage ; and 
 Holland and Zealand shook off the yoke of Spain. The power of 
 Alva began to decline ; his appeals were unheeded, his armies con- 
 quered, his fleets destroyed ; and to save the renown of his name, he 
 intreated Philip to recall him. His successor llequesens was not 
 more successful ; the Dutch heroically endured famine and distress- 
 rather than yield ; and Philip turned to the mediation of Maximilian 
 to procure a peace. The atrocities of the Spanish troops, and the 
 unbending spirit of the insurgents caused the efforts of the emperor 
 to be fruitless; and the war raged with great fury. At length 
 Maximilian was again called in to mediate ; and on the 8th of 
 November 1576 the treaty of Ghent was signed, by which it was 
 agreed that all the provinces except Luxemburg should unite to 
 expel the foreign troops, that the ancient constitution should be 
 re-established, the edicts against Protestants be suspended, and 
 things be restored to the condition they were in before Alva entered 
 the country. This treaty, however, did not long continue in force. 
 Don John of Austria, a celebrated natural son of Charles V. was 
 appointed governor, and violated the peace. The natives rose, and 
 chose Matthias third son of Maximilian, whom the prince of Orange 
 joined. Don John was assisted by the duke of Parma, who, after 
 his death, carried on the war with great success. Matthias retired ; 
 and the state conferred the sovereignty on the duke of Anjou, who 
 being disappointed in his hope of succour from France and England, 
 also retirea. The Prince of Orange was massacred, and his son 
 ]\Caurice recovered the northern states which lie formed into the 
 republic of the Seven United Provinces. The youngest son of 
 Maximilian, Albert who had married Isabella daughter of Philip II., 
 was appointed by Spain to the sovereignty oi the Netherlands. 
 The princes, however, refused to acknowledge him; and the war was 
 carried on with alternate success. Albert was enabled to subdue the 
 southern provinces called the Austrian Netherlands ; but the genius 
 and resources of Maurice enabled the United Provinces to hold out ; 
 and at length Spain was obliged to enter into a treaty with, and 
 acknowledge the independence of Holland A.D. 1609. 
 
 The health of Maximilian, never very rcbust, had been rapidly 
 declining; and he employed his remaining days hi securing his dig- 
 nities to his son. In 1572 he procured the crown of Hungary for 
 
KUDOLPH II. 1-19 
 
 Ms eldest son Rudolph ; three years after he obtained the consent of 
 the diet at Prague to acknowledge him the king of Bohemia; and 
 that same year the electors at the entreaty of the emperor pro-- 
 claimed Rudolph king of the Romans. He was unsuccessful in his 
 attempt to secure the crown of Poland, which, though it was offered 
 to him by a large party of nobles, was ultimately secured by Stephen 
 Bathori waivode of Transylvania. A Polish war was alone prevented 
 by the death of the emperor which took place at Ratisbon oil the 
 L>fh of October 1576. _ 
 
 The ruling principle in the character of Maximilian was the desire 
 for the preservation of peace. Though by no means deficient in 
 courage and warlike talents, he carefully preserved the tranquillity 
 of the empire, and employed his strictest impartiality, his unbounded 
 toleration, and his practical wisdom to secure that desirable object. 
 He was a man of great ability ; regular in his habits, gentlemanly in 
 his deportment, affectionate and tender to his family. He spoke 
 fluently the languages of his subjects, and conciliated them by his 
 moderation, his justice, and his amiable qualities. The testimony of 
 the Bohemian ambassadors gives us a fair picture of his character. 
 <( We Bohemians are as happy under his government as if he were 
 our father ; our privileges, our laws, our rights, liberties, and usages 
 are protected, maintained, defended, and confirmed. No less just 
 than wise, he confers the offices and dignities of the kingdom only 
 on natives of rank, and is not influenced by favour or artifice. He 
 introduces no innovations contrary to our immunities ; and when the 
 great expenses he incurs for the good of Christendom render contri- 
 butions necessary, he levies them without violence, and with the 
 approbation of the states. He listens even to the meanest of his 
 subjects, readily receives their petitions, and renders impartial justice 
 to all." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 RUDOLPH II. A.D. 157G-1G12. 
 
 THE peaceful state which the moderation of the late emperor "had 
 preserved, was broken up by the strife of the reformed parties 
 among themselves, the influence of the Jesuits, and the intolerance 
 of the new emperor. Between the Calviuists and the Lutherans the 
 most deadly hatred existed, which even their common danger did not 
 moderate. Instead of uniting on those points in which they were 
 agreed, they dwelt only upon their differences ; and delighted to see 
 each other successively persecuted by the Catholics, when their 
 union would have enabled them to disarm oppression. The chief 
 Calvinistic supporter in the empire was the Elector Palatine, who 
 
150 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 energetically freed his dominions from the Lutheran religion ; but 
 his son professed the doctrines of Luther, and reinstated it ; though 
 Calvinism was again restored by the regent of his son, John Casimlr. 
 The Electorate of Saxony was also disturbed by similar changes. 
 Maurice and Augustus were Lutherans ; but Christian I. introduced 
 the Calvinistic system, which on his death was superseded by the 
 Lutheran, Thus the principle which had been affirmed by former 
 diets, ctijns reffio, ejus religio, produced the most disastrous results; 
 and the Jesuits clearly perceived that the emperor could act upon 
 this principle, and make his religion binding upon all his subjects. 
 
 The Jesuits had widely extended themselves over the empire. 
 The work of education was chiefly in their hands. They occupied 
 the professor's chair, the principal offices of state, and the most 
 commanding pulpits ; and by their begging monks, the Capuchins, 
 exerted a great influence upon the people. Their labours were pro- 
 digious, their zeal indefatigable, and their success equal to their 
 efforts. They possessed great power over the mind of Rudolph. 
 Prom the age of twelve he had been brought up in the court at 
 Madrid; where he was so disciplined by the Jesuits, that they 
 might afterwards control him, whether he occupied the throne of 
 Spain, or the imperial seat in Germany. His mind was filled with 
 superstitious gloom, which was deepened by his love of alchemy and 
 astrology, craftily fostered by his instructors. He imitated his 
 ancestor Frederick III., and paid great attention to his favourite 
 pursuits, while he allowed his empire to be directed by his advisers. 
 
 His first effort was directed towards the Protestants at Vienna. 
 They had rapidly increased under Maximilian. The Protestant 
 worship had been con lined to the nobles and equestrian orders; but 
 the burghers contrived to attend their celebration of divine service. 
 The preachers, encouraged by his moderation, had in their zeal so 
 vehemenently attacked the church, that even Maximilian was obliged 
 to interfere. Rudolph confirmed the privileges granted to the nobles 
 and equestrians, but forbade the burghers to attend the Lutheran 
 worship. The state at Vienna regarded this as a restriction on their 
 freedom, and refused to obey the mandate of the emperor. Influenced 
 by his Jesuitical advisers, Rudolph determined to restore the Catholic 
 worship. He expelled the preachers he had deposed, shut up many 
 churches in the neighbourhood of Vienna, placed Catholics in the 
 public offices, imposed Catholic oaths on professors, schoolmasters, 
 and town clerks, and invited the Catholic prelates to take their seats 
 in the diet. The peasants broke out in open rebellion, which the 
 activity of the emperor speedily quelled ; and the outbreak was 
 made the pretext for suppressing the Protestant religion throughout 
 his dominions. 
 
 Rudolph availed himself of the dissensions among the Protestants 
 to further the spread of the Catholic worship. The great progress of 
 Calvinism induced the Lutherans to drive them from the shelter 
 they had found in times of persecution under the Confession of 
 Augsburg. They drew up a creed from the Confession, and the 
 Lutheran Catechism, which was called the Book of Concord, and 
 
RUDOLPH II. 151 
 
 was signed by the Electors Palatine, Saxony, and Brandenburg, 
 twenty-two princes, twenty-two counts, and thirty-five imperial 
 towns. This became the standard of their religion, and was intro- 
 duced into all their dominions ; and all priests and schoolmasters 
 were ordered to assent to it under the penalty of instant dismissal. 
 John Casimir endeavoured to prevent the publication of this creed, 
 in which he was assisted by the Calvinists generally ; and the breach 
 between the sects soon became irreparable. The Jesuits advised 
 Rudolph to take advantage of these dissensions. They urged that the 
 religious peace was virtually abrogated ; that the treaty under which 
 the Protestants enjoyed it could not apply to the Calvinists, because 
 the Lutherans refused to acknowledge them as brethren ; nor could 
 it apply to the Lutherans now, because they had deserted the Con- 
 fession of Axigsburg, which was the basis of peace, and had adopted 
 a new standard. 
 
 The Protestants had appropriated several prelacies, because of tlie 
 change of opinions among the respective chapters; and the Jesuits 
 eagerly made that that another pretext for interfering. The Electo- 
 rate of Cologne furnished a remarkable example. Salentine, Count 
 of Isenberg, married and consequently resigned his preferment ; and 
 Gerard, count of Truchses was chosen in opposition to [Frederick of 
 Saxe Lauenburg. He was a young man of strong passions ; and 
 beholding one day from his balcony the Countess of Mansfeld a very 
 beautiful woman, in a procession, he became deeply enamoured of- 
 her. He sought her presence, and inspired her with a similar 
 passion towards him by his youth, beauty, and rank. The Counts 
 of Mansfeld heard of the connexion of their sister with hkn, and 
 exhorted him to save her honour by marriage. He abjured his religion 
 married his mistress, and embraced the Calvinistic tenets. The 
 Catholics, with Frederick his rival at their head, denounced him, the 
 pope excommunicated him, the Lutherans stood aloof, and the 
 citizens flew to arms. A civil war ensued. The chapter raised 
 Ernest of Bavaria to the electoral dignity, who, assisted by his 
 brother the Duke of Bavaria, drove the recreant elector out of his 
 dominions, and abolished the Protestant worship. Gerard fled to 
 William prince of Orange, and not meeting with succour there, sent 
 his wife over to Elizabeth in England ; but the jealous princess 
 banished her from the country, because of her frequent interviews 
 with her favourite Essex. He died in retirement at Strasburg 
 A.D. 1601. 
 
 These contests were not confined to Cologne ; Strasburg was also 
 ravaged by the troops of the contending parties. Three of the 
 Protestant canons of Cologne held stalls in Strasburg ; and when 
 deposed from the former, retired to the latter. The Catholics 
 refused to receive them, and they seized on their revenues. The 
 magistrates sided with the Protestants, and declined enforcing the 
 imperial injunction to deprive the Protestants of their houses and 
 revenues. When the bishop died in 1592, the Protestants elected 
 John George margrave of Brandenburg, and the Catholics elected 
 Charles sou of the Duke of Lorraine. J3oth parties levied troops ; 
 
352 HISTORY OF AUST1UA. 
 
 John George took possession of two of the strongest fortresses, 
 while Charles with a large army determined to support his election. 
 The hostilities raged with great energy on both sides, as they each 
 possessed powerful supporters; and in 1593 the emperor persuaded 
 them to refer their disputes to arbitration ; but the struggle was 
 maintained till 1604 when it was settled by the mediation of the 
 Duke of Wirtemberg. The Margrave of Brandenburg resigned his 
 dignity for a pension of 10,000 florins ; Charles was installed into 
 his office ; and the canons were allowed to retain what they possessed. 
 Thus once more the Catholics gained an advantage. 
 
 The Calvinists were united in a firm league by Frederick IV. 
 elector Palatine ; and when the emperor summoned the diet to 
 demand succours against the Turks, they resolutely refused to grant 
 them until their grievances had been redressed. They were unable 
 to gain the support of the Lutherans, yet they contrived to increase 
 and strengthen their union ; and being supported by Henry IV. the 
 .French king, they formed in 1603 the celebrated defensive and 
 offensive alliance of Heidelberg. They engaged to defend their civil 
 and religious rights, and to resist the unjust jurisdiction of the Aulic 
 council, which had been filled with Catholics. Their plans were 
 drawn out, organisations formed, and their contingents in men and 
 money specified. The Lutheran Duke of Wirtemberg, the electoral 
 Count of Saxony, and the Count Palatine of Neuburg still kept 
 aloof ; nor could all the efforts of the French king induce them to 
 join the alliance. 
 
 The imperial court was stimulated to still greater intolerance 
 towards the Protestants, by the influence of Spain and the zeal of 
 the Jesuits. Austria had been bitterly oppressed; gallows were 
 erected in all parts for the destruction of the heretics ; churches were 
 destroyed, or filled with Catholic preachers ; and even the dead were 
 torn from their graves, and left horribly exposed. Rudolph resolved 
 to accomplish the same work in Bohemia. He awakened the terrible 
 resentment of his subjects by forbidding all meetings of Calvinists 
 or Lutherans, and by declaring them incapable of holding any public 
 office. He also curtailed the liberty of the Calixtins, and attempted 
 to drive them into the Catholic church. The troubles caused by 
 these rigorous proceedings were great. The Aulic council usurped 
 the authority of the diet, and issued the ban of the empire against 
 Aix la Chapelle, where the Protestants were numerous. The execu- 
 tion of it was entrusted to the Duke of Juliers, and the Bishop of 
 Liege; who took possession of the place, expelled the Protestants, 
 and restored the Catholic worship. Donawerth also was deprived of 
 its rights as an imperial city by this council. The Catholics here 
 were very few ; they enjoyed the free exercise of their religion, but 
 were not allowed to make public processions witli their forms and 
 ceremonies. The changes which had taken place in the council and 
 the court induced the abbot of the convent of Donawerth to extort 
 from the town the permission to have public processions. Ou the 
 16th of May 1G05 a procession with torches, colours, and the host 
 appeared in the streets, and was stopped by the magistrates. The 
 
RUDOLPH II. 153 
 
 Bishop of Wurtzburg complained of this to the Aulic council, which 
 immediately called the magistrates to account for their conduct, who 
 justified their interference by referring to the privileges of the city. 
 Meanwhile the procession again issued forth from the gates of the 
 convent ; and on its return was assailed by the populace, who 
 demolished*the pageants, and drove back the frightened fnars through 
 the mud to their cloisters. The ban of the empire was issued by the 
 Aulic council, and the execution entrusted to the Duke of Bavaria, 
 a rigorous Catholic. He marched against the city, took possession 
 of it in the name of the emperor, degraded it to the position of a 
 provincial town, and abolished the Protestant religion. The Pro- 
 testants were aroused by the illegal proceedings of the council; and 
 justly complained that the execution of the decree had been illegally 
 entrusted 10 the Duke of Bavaria, as the Duke of Wirtemberg was 
 the gove:nor of the circle of Swabia, in which the town was situated. 
 They strengthened their union ; and when the emperor summoned 
 the diet at Katisbon A.D. 1608, they refused to grant him supplies, 
 and declared they would take no share in the deliberations or the 
 diet till the Aulic council was revised, and Protestants admitted to 
 it, Donawerth restored to the enjoyment of its liberties, and Pro- 
 testantism re-established. The diet was agitated by the most violent 
 storms, and separated without considering any of the affairs proposed. 
 The Protestants assumed a more warlike attitude ; they established 
 their confederacy for ten years, and appointed the Elector Palatine 
 chief, and Christian of Anhalt, and the Margrave of Baden Durlach 
 their generals. 
 
 "While thus the aspect of things at home was gradually becoming 
 more menacing, the emperor was deprived of the greater portion of 
 his dominions in Hungary by the intolerance of his generals. To 
 secure the frontiers against the Turks, he ceded Croatia to his uncle 
 Charles duke of Styria, who erected the important fortress of Carl- 
 stadt which afterwards became the capital of the country ; and 
 formed military colonies by conferring grants of land on freebooters 
 of all descriptions, who, under the name of Croats, afterwards struck 
 such terror into Europe. The Uscocks, a wild robber-tribe in 
 Dalmatia, were driven out by the Turks, and settled at Senga in 
 Croatia on the sea coast ; where, being joined by banditti and 
 privateers, they plundered the vessels of the Adriatic without dis- 
 tinction. Venice attempted to displace them; and the Turks 
 resolved to endure their predatory incursions no longer. The sultan 
 Amurath broke the treaty which he had renewed with Rudolf in 
 1591, and permitted the Bashaw of Bosnia to make an irruption into 
 Croatia, for the purpose of extirpating these robbers. The Austrians 
 summoned their forces at Carlstadt, attacked the Turks, and defeated 
 them with the loss of 12,000 men. Amurath in revenge poured his 
 hordes into Hungary and Croatia, and for two years carried on a 
 destructive war with various success, and obtained possession of 
 Sisech and Raab. In 1595 the Prince of Transylvania, nephew to 
 the King of Poland, threw off the yoke of the Turks, and entered 
 into an alliance with Austria. The successor of Amurath, 
 
154 HISTORY OF ArSTRIA. 
 
 Mohammed, placed himself at the head of his army to restore the 
 dignity of the Porte, and defeated the Austrians under the Archduke 
 Maximilian. The lateness of the season prevented him entering into 
 Austria and Upper Hungary, and his generals the next year secured 
 no great advantages. 
 
 Meanwhile Sigismund prince of Transylvania yielded ^ris province 
 to the emperor in return for the lordships of Ratibor and Opelen in 
 Silesia with an annual pension. When, however, lludolf was on the 
 point of taking possession, Sigismund reappeared, and assumed the 
 government ; but being disgusted with the conduct of the Turks, he 
 resigned it to his uncle Andrew, bishop of Wermia. He did not 
 long enjoy his dignity. Michael waivode of Wallachia united with 
 Basta the Austrian general, and defeated and killed Andrew. The 
 two generals quarrelled ; Sigismund appeared again, and received 
 the support of his subjects ; but, being defeated by Basta with a 
 great loss, he retired to Bohemia ; and Basta took possession of the 
 country. His cruel and despotic government aroused the nobles. 
 Tzekeh a powerful noble was raised to the throne, but was defeated 
 and killed by the Waivode of Wallachia, and Basta recovered the 
 principality A.D. 1603. 
 
 Hungary was annually devastated by Austrian and Turkish troops. 
 The subjects were disaffected towards Rudolph, because of his 
 intolerance, and unconcern for the prosperity of the country. He 
 issued severe edicts against the Protestants, confiscated their estates, 
 allowed the governors of the towns to oppress and insult the inha- 
 bitants, and refused to receive any statement of their grievances, or to 
 afford them any redress. The disaffection spread fiercely over Upper 
 Hungary. The state ordered their principal noble Botskai uncle of 
 the King of Poland to repair to Prague, where Rudolph resided, and 
 represent to him their sad condition; but the insults he received 
 from the court only increased the wounded feelings of the people. 
 The standard of revolt was raised, and vast numbers flocked to it ; 
 the foot soldiers deserted the imperial ranks ; and the Austrian 
 generals were defeated. Transylvania groaned under the oppression 
 of Basta. The country was full of desolation. Towns and villages 
 were depopulated; the plains and fields were uncultivated; com 
 realised the most extravagant prices ; horses were used for food ; and 
 the people were even " driven to the tombs to seek a wretched sus- 
 tenance from the putrid bodies of their fellow -creatures ! " As the 
 result, famine and pestilence destroyed more than the sword. Botskai 
 entered Transylvania ; and being assisted by a Turkish army, suc- 
 ceeded in driving out the Austrians. He continued his vigorous 
 efforts, and before long conquered Upper Hungary almost to the walls 
 of Presburg, and threatened the frontiers of Austria and Styria. 
 Such was the deplorable condition to which the incompetency and 
 the bitter intolerance of Rudolph had reduced that country, which 
 had enjoyed comparative prosperity under the mild government of 
 Ferdinand and Maximilian. 
 
 The state of the empire demanded energetic steps to be taken to 
 prevent the bursting of the storm which was gathering on all sides. 
 
RUDOLPH II. 155 
 
 Rudolph had resigned himself to the most stolid indifference. He 
 had buried himself in his favourite pursuits. Alchemy exerted its 
 magical influence over him ; and the prognostication of the celebrated 
 Tycho Brahe that lie should die by the hand of his own family, filled 
 hi's mind with gloom. He refused to marry; and the dread of 
 assassination was so powerful, that he never appeared in public, not 
 even in church. His windows were encased, and his garden pro- 
 tected to screen his person. He passed the whole of his time in his 
 dark studies, and amid his various artificers. He was so irritable 
 and impatient, that no one could approach him ; he abandoned him- 
 self to his mistresses, and resigned the government to his ministers 
 and generals ; and refused to be disturbed either by foreign 
 ambassadors, or the deputies of his people. The court of Spain 
 alone had great influence over him; and he was reduced to the 
 degraded position of her slavish tool. 
 
 Matthias, brother to the emperor, beheld with indignation the 
 situation of Rudolph, and resolved to avail himself of it to further 
 his own interests. He was very different in his character and Ms 
 habits from his brother. His mind was uncontrolled by the Jesuits, 
 and his delight in warlike enterprise rendered him active and skilful. 
 He was ambitious and restless. He shared for a time the dignity of 
 Chief of the Netherlands with the Prince of Orange ; and retired 
 with the best thanks of the state for his services. He lived for a 
 few years at Lintz in the deepest poverty, neglected by Rudolph, 
 till the Turkish war compelled the emperor to solicit his military 
 assistance. On the death of his brother Ernest, he became the heir 
 presumptive to Rudolph, and was appointed governor of Austria 
 and Hungary. He lamented the miserable rule of the emperor, and felt 
 keenly the mortification to which he was necessarily subjected. 
 With great prudence and wisdom he formed his plans to render the 
 crisis which was fast approaching favourable to himself. He softened 
 the rigour of Rudolph's oppressions, conciliated the Catholics, Avon 
 the Protestants by professing the toleration of his father, and rose 
 rapidly in the estimation of all the people. The members of 
 Rudolph's family were anxious to secure tliemselves from the disgrace 
 he had brought upon them ; and on the 26th of April 1G06, Mat- 
 thias, his brother Maximilian, and his cousins Ferdinand and 
 Maximilian Ernest entered into a compact, by which they declared 
 Matthias head of their house, and engaged to support him by their 
 counsel and assistance. So evident was the incapacity of the 
 emperor, that even the bigotted Archduke Albert of the Netherlands 
 confirmed the compact. Matthias deemed it prudent to secure the 
 peace of Hungary before he publicly declared his intentions. He 
 concluded a treaty at Vienna with Botskai, by which he was to retain 
 Transylvania with the entire district of Hungary beyond the Teiss, 
 the fortresses of Tokay and Zatmar, and the two provinces of Bereg and 
 TJgotz as an hereditary sovereignty ; though it was to revert to Austria 
 in case of a failure of heirs. He pacified Hungary by granting free 
 toleration to the Protestants, and opening to them civil offices ; and ho 
 also concluded an honourable truce with the Sultan for twenty years. 
 
15G HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Rudolph became aware of the intentions of Matthias by the arrest 
 of a person who was carrying a copy of the family compact to the 
 united Protestant princes. He refused to sign the treaty of Vienna, 
 and endeavoured to excite the bitter feelings of the states against 
 Matthias, by setting forth all his acts of disobedience, and by charging 
 him with procuring the disasters of the Protestants, and a dishonour- 
 able peace with the Turks. When the compact of the archdukes was 
 discovered, the princes tremblingly renounced their agreement ; and to 
 secure the favour of Rudolph, unfolded the designs of Matthias. 
 Disturbances in Hungary, however, furnished the ambitious prince 
 with a pretext for raising an army ; and he entered upon the 
 accomplishment of his plans with the greatest celerity compatible 
 with security. He assembled the Hungarian states at Presburg in 
 February 1G08 ; and having confirmed their civil and religious 
 privileges, easily obtained from them a ratification of the peace of 
 Vienna, and persuaded them to enter into a confederacy with the 
 Austrian deputies ; by which they bound themselves to resist all who 
 should hinder the execution of the peace, and who should injure or 
 attack any member of the league. He obtained from the states at 
 Vienna their consent to the confederacy of Presburg, and a grant of 
 money to subdue the discontented in Hungary ; and he secured by 
 means of the Protestants, whom he greatly favoured, the consent of 
 the states of Moravia to the confederacy. 
 
 Rudolph was now awakened and alarmed ; he sent an army into 
 Moravia, whose excesses greatly incensed the inhabitants ; and 
 promised to ratify the peace of Vienna, if his brother would dissolve 
 the confederacy of Presburg, and renounce the family compact. But 
 Matthias was prepared to carry out his scheme. At the head of 
 10,000 men he suddenly quitted Vienna, and repaired to Znaim, 
 where the Moravian states Avere assembled. He here reinforced his 
 army and marched on to Czaslau in Bohemia ; and having summoned 
 the states, declared to them his intention of demanding the govern- 
 ment of Hungary, Austria, and Bohemia ; and proceeded immediately 
 towards Prague. Rudolph was drawn from his concealment in his 
 palace, and hastily summoned the states. The assembly was crowded, 
 perhaps by curiosity to see the emperor ; for he had been so long 
 shut up in his palace, that some were sceptical as to whether he 
 really existed. The Protestants composed the majority, and demanded 
 from Rudolph a general toleration, and the re-establishment of their 
 civil and religious privileges. The emperor hesitated ; the ambassa- 
 dors of Matthias appeared ; the Protestants requested an immediate 
 answer ; and Rudolph tremblingly yielded to their demands. The 
 populace rose in favour of the crown ; and in a few days Rudolph 
 Avas master of an army of 36,000 men. Matthias drew nearer to the 
 town every hour ; Rudolph was unnerved by his difficulties ; and 
 proposed a negotiation with Matthias, which was accepted ; and at 
 length he agreed to surrender to him Hungary, Austria, and Moravia, 
 to confirm the treaty of Vienna, and to confer on him the title of 
 King elect of Bohemia. Matthias returned exultingly to Vienna, 
 bearing witli him the crown and regalia of Hungary A.D. 1608. 
 
RUDOLPH II. 157 
 
 He experienced more difficulty in gaining the allegiance of his sub- 
 jects than his title to the crowns. The Protestants in Austria refused 
 to acknowledge him, till he had re-established the toleration which 
 Rudolph had abolished ; and not being satisfied with the specious 
 promises lie gave them, they levied troops, and sent for succours to 
 their brethren in Hungary, Moravia, and the German states. 
 Matthias conciliated the Hungarians by yielding to their demands, 
 and was crowned king with great pomp and splendour. The Mora- 
 vians prepared to assist their brethren ; but Matthias though earnestly 
 requested to execute vengeance on the insurgents listened to the 
 mediation of the Moravians, and after several conferences agreed to 
 restore to the Austrian Protestants the religious freedom they had 
 enjoyed under his father. He then received the homage of the 
 Austrian states, March 19th, A.D. 1609. 
 
 The privileges which the Protestants had received from Matthias 
 excited among the Bohemians the desire for the possession of the 
 same. On the departure of Matthias, Rudolph summoned a diet to 
 consider the affairs of the kingdom. The Protestants declined to 
 discuss any matter till he had granted to them freedom of religious 
 worship ; and the diet separated without transacting any business. 
 A troop of horse and foot soldiers was raised to enforce the demands, 
 which rapidly swelled its number by the activity of the Protestants 
 aided by the States of Silesia. The obstinacy of the emperor was- 
 so great, that when he had no means of resistance, he refused to 
 yield, though urged to do so even by his Catholic advisers. When, 
 however, they resolved to appeal to his brother, he reluctantly 
 granted to them the free exercise of their religion to the same extent 
 as they had enjoyed under Maximilian II. They also procured a 
 like freedom for their brethren in Silesia ; and once more the churches 
 rang with Protestant truth, and the people rejoiced in their religious 
 consolations. While the emperor was occupied with these events, 
 the united Protestants of the empire deputed the Prince of Anhalt to 
 wait upon their sovereign at Prague, and renew the demands they 
 had so often made upon him. Rudolph alarmed at the statements of 
 the prince on his second interview, promised to consider their 
 requests, and then relapsed into his usual state of gloomy melancholy 
 and indifference. 
 
 Meanwhile a storm was rising, which threatened the safety of the 
 house of Austria, and the Catholic religion. A dispute arose 
 respecting the rich and extensive dominions of the Duke of Cleves- 
 and Juliers. They were claimed by several princes in right of marriage, 
 or former treaties and compacts. The Elector of Brandenburgh and 
 the Count Palatine of Neuburg took possession of the inheritance ; 
 and the Elector of Saxony appealed to the emperor with a strong- 
 family claim. Rudolph issued an order for its sequestration, and 
 sent Leopold bishop of Passau and Strasburg to carry it into 
 execution. The Princes of Brandenburg and Neuburg, fearing the 
 combination against them, agreed to a mutual treaty at Dortmund, 
 which was confirmed by the states. This quarrel assumed great 
 importance in the country, and was looked upon as a trial of strength 
 
JoS HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 between the Catholic and Protestant parties. Each formed a powerful 
 league. The Protestants secured Henry IV. of Prance, who entered 
 warmly into their plans, and placed 10,000 men at their disposal; 
 and they commenced negotiations with the principal Protestant 
 countries of Europe, and corresponded with the disaffected in Austria 
 and Bohemia. The Catholics had also entered into a union with tiie 
 chief princes, which was called the Liga ; and while they left 
 lludolph buried in his gloom and studies, they arranged their plans, 
 and collected their forces. The horrors of a bloody and extensive 
 war were apparent. The Protestants had already commenced ; the 
 French troops were only waiting the word to march; and the 
 Catholics were prepared to resist the attack. Henry IV. was abotit 
 to head his troops, when suddenly all the plans were disarranged by 
 his assassination on the llth of May, 1010. The Protestants were 
 terror-stricken; the Catholics loudly rejoiced, and pushed forward 
 their forces. The moderation of both parties alone stifled the out- 
 break, and prevented the bloody war by a treaty at Munich on the 
 24th of October 1610. 
 
 The gloomy and suspicious mind of Rudolph was daily brooding 
 over the humiliations he had received from Matthias ; and he 
 resolved to secure the crown of Bohemia to Leopold to the exclusion 
 of Ferdinand and Matthias. The troops of the Bishop of Passau 
 conducted by their leader Ramee, burst into Bohemia, and com- 
 mitted great ravages. The states appealed to the emperor ; and he 
 craftily ordered the troops to retire, though Leopold still advanced 
 to the city. The states again remonstrated, and Ramee promised ro 
 withdraw, if they would not attack him on his retreat. The 
 suspicions of the town were lulled; and while the people were 
 celebrating a festival, the troops seized one of the gates, and took 
 possession of the little town. The emperor now declared his pur- 
 pose, and assisted in the siege of the place. The states applied to 
 Mattliias, who speedily collected his troops, and marched into 
 Prague. The forces of Leopold fled, and in their retreat lost 2,000 
 men. The emperor attempted to compromise the affair ; but the 
 troops of the city surrounded his palace, and kept him a prisoner. 
 The nobles consulted with Matthias about wresting the crown from 
 the emperor ; who, perceiving their intentions, declared he would 
 rather resign it willingly than be forced to do so. The states 
 embraced the opportunity to extort from the archduke the most 
 unbounded concessions, which he resolutely opposed. He however 
 satisfied them by granting a general confirmation of their civil and 
 religious rights. Rudolph to save his crown had agreed to grant 
 still greater concessions ; but his subjects were aware how frail were 
 his promises, and refused to entertain his proposals. The emperor 
 received their refusal with a paroxysm of despair. He threw open 
 the window, and looking out on the splendid city exclaimed, " Un- 
 grateful Prague ! to me dost thou owe thy wondrous beauty, and 
 thus has thou repaid my benefits. May the vengeance of Heaven 
 strike thee, and my curse light upon thee and the whole of 
 Bohemia." He signed his abdication with intense feelings: he 
 
MATTHIAS. 1C9 
 
 blotted the writing, tore the pen to pieces, and trampled it under 
 his feet. Matthias was crowned king with the utmost splendour, 
 and treated the late king in a very handsome manner, by allowing 
 him to retain the palace, and a large pension. But Rudolph 
 miserably grieved over his distresses, and manifested still greater 
 impatience and moroseness. His sorrows did not awaken much 
 commiseration in the empire. The Protestant princes hailed the 
 accession of Matthias, renewed their union, collected a magazine, 
 increased their troops, and remonstrated with the emperor. Nor 
 did the electors sympathise with him in his humiliation. He 
 endeavoured to move the electoral college by depicting his poverty 
 and privations, and asked them to relieve him with a grant ; but 
 they reminded him that he had brought it all upon himself by his 
 blind adherence to his ministers, and his refusal of their counsel and 
 advice. They requested him to assemble a diet, and select a prince 
 to be chosen King of the Romans. The emperor assented with his 
 usual willingness, but delayed the fulfilment of his promise ; and the 
 electors convened the assembly on the 31st of May 1612. This 
 was a death-blow to Rudolph. His constitution was worn out by 
 gloom and seclusion ; he rapidly sunk into a decline, which carried 
 him to his grave in the sixtieth year of his age, and the thirty- 
 seventh of his reign. 
 
 The preceding narrative has sufficiently shown the character of 
 this sovereign. His incapacity for reigning was seen in every act ; 
 his dissimulation was worthy of the Spanish court where he imbibed 
 it; and his intolerant spirit stirred up a host of enemies in all 
 parts of his dominions. Had he occupied a private station, his 
 name vrould have been respected for his scientific attainments. He 
 was very well versed in chemistry, botany, mining, painting, and 
 various mechanical arts. The illustrious Kepler and Tycho Brahe 
 were his associates, by whom the Rudolphin tables were con- 
 structed Literature occupied a considerable share of his attention, 
 and was represented at court by the number of literary men who 
 enjoyed its honours. The city of Prague, where he resided, was 
 adorned by his classic and artistic taste. Schools were multiplied 
 through the country, and the language expanded and chastened. 
 " This," says the native historian, " was the golden era of Prague." 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MATTHIAS. A.D. 1612-1G19. 
 
 THE success which had crowned the endeavours of Matthias in 
 Austria and Bohemia led him to anticipate little difficulty in being 
 able to secure the votes of the electoral college, and obtain the 
 
ICO HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 imperial croTvn. The princes, however, viewed the success of the 
 archduke with great dissatisfaction. The Catholics feared his con- 
 nection with the Protestants ; and the Lutherans and Calvinists 
 discerned the treacherous policy he had been carrying out, and 
 dreaded the accession of power to the mighty house of Austria. 
 The imperial dignity was therefore offered first to Albert, sovereign 
 of the Netherlands, and then to Maximilian the brother of Matthias. 
 These princes wisely declined to accept a throne which would expose 
 them to the unbridled indignation and power of Matthias ; and 
 they entreated that the dignity might be conferred on the king of 
 Bohemia; who was unanimously chosen by the electors, after an 
 interregnum of six months. The state of the empire demanded the 
 utmost wisdom, toleration, prudence, and energy of the sovereign. 
 Matthias was clear in his designs, prompt in action, and bold in 
 danger ; but he was deficient in that forbearance aud moderation 
 which distinguished the reign of his father Maximilian II. The 
 entire country was shaken by domestic afflictions ; party spirit was 
 rendered more bitter by the infusion of religious hatred ; liberty was 
 to be gained and preserved only by force ; and hence the three pow- 
 erful sects, the Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists, strove to 
 augment the resources of their party, and to obtain the greatest 
 influence in the kingdom. Matthias soon found that he was no 
 longer master of that power which he fondly thought was supreme, 
 and that lie could only wield it when in harmony with the wishes of 
 the princes. At his election he was forced to sign a capitulation, 
 which bound him to use the grants of the diet for the purpose for 
 which they were voted, and to ameliorate the Aulic council and 
 imperial chamber ; and which stipulated that if he refused to consent 
 to the election of a king of the Komans when requested, the electors 
 should have the authority to select one. 
 
 The first opposition he met with was the refusal of the imperial 
 diet to grant succours for obtaining possession of Transylvania. 
 That province, instead of reverting to tne house of Austria, as it 
 should have done by the treaty of Vienna on the death of Botskai, 
 had been given by the Turks to Bethlehem Gabor, who in 1613 was 
 acknowledged by the States. The emperor applied to the diet for 
 assistance to establish by force the treaty of Vienna. He expatiated 
 on the favourable opportunity which was afforded by the wars which 
 engaged the Turks in Asia ; and to gain the support of the Protes- 
 tants, he gave his solemn promise that the reforms demanded should 
 be effected, and the privileges of Donawerth restored. His efforts, 
 however, were unsuccessful ; the diet was a scene of discord ; the 
 Catholics reproached the Protestants, and the Protestants retorted 
 with equal severity on the Catholics; and the diet was dissolved 
 without any succours being granted. Matthias then convoked at, 
 Lintz the general assembly of the countries more especially under 
 his dominion, in the hope that his influence might be sufficiently 
 powerful with them to induce them to render him assistance in 
 carrying out his designs. He was bitterly disappointed. The 
 Austrians suspected his intention of curbing the liberties they had 
 
MATTHIAS. 1C1 
 
 wrung out from him by their support, and deprecated a war with the 
 Turks. The Bohemians were exasperated by an infringement of 
 their freedom, and sullenly refused to give their votes. The Hun- 
 garians had in past years tasted the bitter fruits of war ; and with a 
 vivid recollection of the horrors they had witnessed, trembled at the 
 prospect of a contest which could not fail to involve their country in 
 commotion and distress. Thus baffled in his hope of succour, there 
 remained no other alternative but to make peace with the sultan, 
 and to pass by in silence the occupation of Transylvania. 
 
 The dark storm which for years had threatened Germany gradually 
 grew more menacing, and gave repeated indications of its rapid 
 advance. In various parts of the empire the distant murmur could 
 be distinctly recognised ; and even in those parts where the most 
 profound tranquillity reigned, the calm was oppressive and signifi- 
 cant. A dispute arose respecting the guardianship of the youthful 
 Elector Palatine Frederick, on the death of his father. The Count 
 Palatine of Neuburg, a strict Lutheran, was opposed by the Duke of 
 Deux Ponts, a rigid Calvinist ; and for some time the contest was 
 carried on with bitter animosity, till the electoral college hushed 
 it by giving to Deux. Ponts the administration of the vicariate, and 
 the electoral vote. The sound of this strife had scarcely passed 
 away before the growl of war was heard in Aix la Chapelle. The 
 Protestants though often crushed were indued with a wonderful 
 vitality ; and during the latter part of the reign of Rudolph, had 
 here driven out the Catholics, and restored their own magistracy. 
 The Duke of Deux Ponts attempted to soften the rage of both 
 parties ; but when they appealed to the emperor, Matthias revived 
 the ban against the Protestants, and intrusted the execution of it to 
 the archduke Albert, and the Elector of Saxony. The struggle was 
 also revived in the duchy of Juliers and Cleves. A town had rapidly 
 risen on the banks of the Rhine opposite Cologne, which formed a 
 place of rendezvous to the oppressed Protestants. It was strongly 
 fortified, and enjoyed its own government, and freedom of worship. 
 Cologne viewed the rising town with jealousy, and complained of the 
 existence of Mulheim to the emperor, as an infringement of the 
 compacts between the city and the ancient Dukes of Juliers and 
 Cleves. Matthias ordered the princes to demolish the fortresses, 
 and to suspend their building operations. The princes were at this 
 time disunited; the treaty of Dortmund was violated as soon as 
 they were free from external aggressions ; and an insult which the 
 elector gave to the Count Palatine brought matters to an open rup- 
 ture. The count turned Catholic, and wedded the daughter of the 
 Duke of Bavaria to secure the support of the Catholics ; and the 
 elector turned Calvinist to gain the co-operation of the Protestant 
 union, and the united States. The war burst out with great fury ; 
 each prince acting on the absurd principle, etijus regio, ejus religio, 
 introduced his new religion into his dominions ; and the Count Pala- 
 tine began to demolish the fortifications of Mulheim. The contest 
 daily assumed a more serious appearance. The elector appealed to 
 the Netherlands for help, and the Prince of Orange advanced with 
 
 L 
 
1G2 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 his troops, and gained possession of Julicrs and other towns. The 
 Prince Palatine appealed to Spain, and Spinola with 30,000 Spanish 
 troops from the Netherlands executed the ban of the empire against 
 Aix la Chapelle and Mulheim, and captured several fortresses on the 
 Rhine. The princes soon perceived the error they had committed 
 in introducing foreign troops, who AY ere dividing among themselves 
 the territories they came to protect. They in vain concluded a treaty 
 by the mediation of France and England to induce the foreigners to 
 quit the country ; for they refused to relinquish the places they had 
 taken. The princes appealed to the emperor, and their subjects 
 inveighed against the ravages of their respective opponents; but 
 Matthias, dreading a civil war, allowed the dominions to be occupied 
 by the foreign troops. 
 
 The emperor was at this time busily occupied in providing a 
 successor to his crowns and possessions. He had reached the age 
 of sixty, had no children, and felt the decay of nature fast creeping 
 over him. He was anxious to preserve his dignities in the Austrian 
 line, and the only hope of securing that was by appointing his 
 nephew Ferdinand duke of Styria as his successor. His brother 
 Maximilian resigned his claim, and procured the resignation of that 
 of Albert of the Netherlands, and the approbation of the king of 
 Spain. The electors, however, were aroused by Frederick elector 
 Palatine, who represented the appointment of Ferdinand as a breach 
 of the Golden Bull, and as an attempt to deprive the electoral 
 college of their votes, and to thrust upon the nation a despotic and 
 intolerant prince. Matthias first advised the Bohemian states to 
 elect Ferdinand as their king. The character of the archduke had 
 been sufficiently displayed in his conduct as Duke of Styria to 
 awaken the fears of the people. He had been brought up by the 
 Jesuits, who infused into him a bigotted and persecuting spirit ; and 
 his active and enterprising mind increased the power of his bitter 
 hatred. He had banished the Protestant, preachers and school- 
 masters from his dominions, planted the Jesuits and Capuchins in 
 the chief cities, and expelled all who would not conform to the 
 Catholic faith. He was, however, crowned at Prague on the 10th of 
 June 1610; and soon after was acknowledged king of Hungary, and 
 crowned at Presburg. 
 
 The fears which the Protestants had expressed were speedily 
 realised on the accession of Ferdinand. He filled Bohemia with 
 Jesuits and Capuchins, entrusted the government to the hands of 
 Slawater and Martinitz, two Catholics who were universally detested, 
 established a strict censorship of the press, and permitted Jesuitical 
 pamphlets to circulate through the kingdom, which boldly declared 
 that the extirpation of heresy was the duty of the king. The 
 Protestants trembled for their safety; the days of Huss and Ziska 
 rose vividly befere their imagination; and the alliance with the 
 perfidious court of Spain, which Ferdinand had contracted, increased 
 the fermentation, and added civil strife to religious hatred. The 
 Bohemians found a bold and skilful leader in Henry count of Tlmrn. 
 He had risen to great eminence in the state, had acquired by his 
 
MATTHIAS. 1G3 
 
 wisdom and prudence a mighty influence over the people, and was 
 appointed by the emperor Burgrave of Carlstein. He had warmly 
 opposed the election of Ferdinand, and was soon after abruptly 
 dismissed from his burgraviate. Ambition and the desire of ven- 
 geance prompted him to defend the liberties of his country against 
 the aggressions of the bigotted king ; and an event soon occurred 
 which furnished him with a pretext to commence hostilities. 
 
 The emperor had granted to the Protestant members of the 
 states liberty to build churches and schools, and enjoy their religion. 
 Those towns which were not members claimed the same privileges ; 
 and churches were erected in the town of Brunau, and the village of 
 Clostergraben. The Archbishop of Prague and the Abbot of Brunau 
 interfered, and obtained a prohibition from the government against 
 them. The Protestants remonstrated, and entered into a confederacy 
 to secure their rights and privileges, and formed compacts with the 
 Protestants of the empire. Ferdinand treated their remonstrance 
 with contempt, and ordered the demolition of the churches. A 
 meeting of delegates assembled at Prague to consider the affair; 
 when Thorn roused them by his eloquence, and induced them to 
 declare that the act of the king was a breach of the royal edict of 
 Matthias, and to draw up a petition to the emperor demanding 
 redress. The emperor returned an answer which greatly inflamed 
 the minds of the people ; and instead of sending it to the deputies, 
 he addressed it to the council of regency, where the two obnoxious 
 nobles Slawater and Martinitz were sitting. The glowing enthusiasm 
 of Thurn stirred up the anger of the deputies to the highest fury. 
 They hastended to the council chamber to demand an explanation of 
 the affair ; where one more bold than the others exclaimed, " Let us 
 follow the ancient cuslom of Bohemia, and hurl them from the 
 window." The window was thrown up, and Martinitz was hurled 
 into the ditch below. The deputies stood aghast at the deed they 
 had hastily done, and hesitated. Thurn saw them wavering, and 
 reanimated them by exclaiming " Noble lords, another object awaits 
 your vengeance." Slawater and his secretary Fabricius were pre- 
 cipitated from the height; yet wonderfully escaped with a few 
 bruises. This event led to that disastrous war which desolated 
 Europe for thirty years, and hence derives its name, the Thirty 
 Years' War. 
 
 The Protestants had now reached a point where retreat was impos- 
 sible. Their leader cheered them with his presence and address. 
 " The die is thrown ;" he exclaimed, " it is too late to recall what is 
 past ; your safety depends alone on unanimity and courage ; and if 
 you hesitate to burst asunder your chains, you have no alternative 
 but to perish by the hands of the executioner." They arranged their 
 plans ; chose thirty directors to manage their affairs ; levied troops, 
 elected Thurn as their commander, appealed to the Protestants 
 throughout the empire, and commenced their revolt. The emperor 
 was thunderstruck at the intelligence, and endeavoured to bring about 
 a reconciliation with his subjects ; but Ferdinand, stirred up by the 
 Jesuits, published a protest which breathed his bitter spirit, and 
 
 L2 
 
1G4 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 widened still further the breach between them. Hostilities com- 
 menced on both sides. Matthias assembled 10,000 men, and gave 
 the command to General Dampierre, and drew 8,000 Spanish troops 
 from the Netherlands under the command of Count de Bucquoy; 
 but before he sent them into the field, he made one more attempt to 
 bring the Protestants back to their allegiance. This so enraged 
 Ferdinand that he resolved to wreak his vengeance on Klesel, the 
 wise and prudent minister of Matthias. He arrested him, stripped 
 him of his robes, and conveyed him to a castle in the Tyrol, and then 
 communicated the intelligence to the emperor. The old man was 
 confined to his bed with the gout ; and when he heard it, his rage 
 was so great that he could scarcely restrain himself; his dread of 
 Ferdinand, however, was powerful enough to overcome his anger, 
 and to silence his rising resentment. 
 
 Ferdinand hastened with 5,000 men to Moravia, while Dampierre 
 was ordered into Bohemia. Thurn marched with an army of 10,000 
 men, secured all the towns except Pilsen and Budweis which adhered 
 to the emperor, and defeated the imperial armies. The Silesians and 
 Lusatians joined the confederation; and the Elector Palatine fur- 
 nished a body of 4,000 troops, commanded by Count Mausfeld, who 
 had entered into the service of the Duke of Savoy. This celebrated 
 general, who had served with great distinction in the Netherlands, 
 and had been disgusted Avith the conduct of Austria, laid siege to 
 Pilsen, the most important fortress in the kingdom next to Prague ; 
 which, after a stout resistance, was taken and occupied by him. 
 Dampierre was obliged to retreat to Austria, and Bucquoy to Bud- 
 weis ; where he resolved to defend to the last, the only remaining 
 town faithful to Austria. Matthias had vainly attempted to gain 
 succours from the estates of Austria, and the diet of the empire. 
 They upbraided him with undertaking the war, and advised him to 
 propose terms of peace. Ferdinand was even alarmed at the strong 
 feeling for peace among the Catholics ; the insurgents in Bohemia, 
 though successful, were weary of strife ; and a meeting was proposed 
 to take place at Egra on the 14th of April 1619. These pacific 
 measures were frustrated by the death of Matthias. The disap- 
 pointments and humiliations to which he had been subjected, added 
 to the infirmities of age and disease ; shock after shock had been 
 given to his feeble frame ; and on the 20th of March 1619 he died, 
 just when the storm which had long hovered in the distance had 
 reached the zenith, and had commenced pouring out its deadly fury, 
 which afflicted the laud for thirty years. 
 
 Matthias was one of those restless ambitious characters who are 
 never satisfied with any attainment. His mind was independent, 
 active, and free from the perm'cious influence of Jesuitical preceptors. 
 He acquired a great love for military pursuits ; and in the ardour of 
 his youth, rather courted danger than avoided it. He was well 
 practised in the art of dissimulation, when necessary to the accom- 
 plishment of his plans. He deceived the Protestants by his affected 
 toleration, and disappointed the Catholics by his arbitrary proceed- 
 ings. He was devotedly attached to his wife, and made some 
 
PEEDIXAUD II. 165 
 
 pretensions to learning ; but he possessed neither the moderation of 
 iris father, nor the ingenuity of his brother. He was a good adven- 
 turer, and secured as his prize three crowns; but his rule was not 
 distinguished by the genius of a wise and benevolent emperor. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 FERDINAND II. A.D. 1G19-1637. 
 
 THE death of the emperor presented to Ferdinand a favourable 
 opportunity for receiving the imperial dignity, and increasing the in- 
 fluence of his authority. His possessions were already very extensive. 
 He wore the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia, and held the Arch- 
 duchy of Austria ; he was in his own right the Duke of Styria, 
 Carinthia and Carniola ; and shared with his brothers Leopold and 
 Charles the rich dominions of the Tyrol. But these possessions were 
 in a very unsettled condition ; in every part discontent had either 
 broken out into open rebellion, or was silently brooding, and only 
 waiting for some event to transpire to arouse it into strife. The 
 insurgents held possession of all Bohemia except Budweis ; the 
 nobles of Hungary were secretly intriguing with the Prince of 
 Transylvania; the Protestants of Upper Austria joined the con- 
 federacy of Bohemia, and secured the passes for the insurgents; 
 while those of Lower Austria were alone kept in subjection by the 
 presence of Ferdinand and his army. The king seems to have felt 
 the critical position in which he was placed, and attempted to 
 reconcile the disafi'ected by reluctant concessions ; but his efforts 
 were defeated by his intolerance and bigotry, and stimulated his 
 opponents to greater resistance, by showing them the impossibility 
 of trusting to a prince, who would violate the sanctity of an oath, 
 and crush them by his severity as soon as he had the opportunity. 
 They resolved, therefore, to thrust him aside from the throne of 
 Bohemia, as a sovereign unworthy of their respect and allegiance. 
 
 Mansfeld watched the movements of Bucquoy at Budweis ; while 
 Thurn, at the head of 16,000 men, proceeded into Moravia. The 
 capital hailed his approach ; the natives, ripe for revolt, flocked in 
 vast numbers to his standard ; the Protestant religion was every- 
 where established ; and swelling his army as he advanced, the count 
 burst into Upper Austria, and marched to the gates of Vienna. He 
 took possession of the suburbs, invested the city, and trusted that 
 soon the disaffected within would give him possession of the capital 
 without striking a single blow. The condition of Ferdinand was 
 desperate. The garrison was weak and clamorous for pay; the 
 expectation of receiving succour from without was hopeless ; and a 
 numerous party within the walls was boldly demanding the surrender 
 of the place. Ferdinand rose to the exigencies of the occasion ; and 
 
166 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 supported by his Jesuitical advisers, resolved to defend the capital of 
 Austria to the utmost, and rather bury himself in its ruins than 
 capitulate. Every day his situation became more critical; the 
 deafening roar of the cannon shook the walls of the palace ; a cry 
 was heard in the streets threatening to shut the king up in a convent, 
 and put his ministers to the sword ; and in the height of the excite- 
 ment sixteen Protestant members of the states burst into the royal 
 apartment, and with threats and reproaches, demanded the king's 
 permission to join the insurgents. Ferdinand hesitated ; and the 
 few moments of silence which followed were at length broken by the 
 sudden blasting of trumpets. A troop of horse sent to the rescue 
 of Ferdinand by Dampierre, dashed into the city. Though but 500 
 in number, the effect of this small reinforcement was instantaneous. 
 Pear seized the hearts of his enemies, and the disaffected fled to the 
 camp of Thurn for safety. The students and burghers quickly 
 armed to quell the tumult within the city ; the news of the defeat of 
 Mansfeld by Bucquoy reached the besiegers ; and Thurn immediately 
 packed up his baggage, and hastened to secure the capital of 
 Bohemia. 
 
 The danger which threatened Ferdinand in his hereditary dominions 
 was thus avoided for the present ; and he was enabled to proceed to 
 Germany to secure the imperial crown. His character rendered him 
 an object of dread to the Catholics and Protestants; and his election 
 would not have taken place had there been another prince willing to 
 take the responsibility in the threatening aspect of the empire. The 
 dukes of Bavaria and Savoy had been warmly pressed by the electors to 
 receive the dignity, but they had refused ; and the various kingdoms 
 of Europe were too much engaged with domestic affairs to interfere 
 in the matter. Frederick, the young and ambitious Elector Palatine, 
 desired the prize, but his design of obtaining through the insurgents 
 the crown of Bohemia, imposed silence upon him, lest he should be 
 defeated. Ferdinand was, therefore, unanimously chosen and crowned 
 emperor, on the 9th of September, 1019, after signing the usual 
 capitulation. 
 
 While Ferdinand was securing the imperial crown, the insurgents 
 were taking active measures to rob him of the crown of Bohemia. 
 A grand diet was formed at Prague of the states of Bohemia, 
 Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia. The confederacy among the discon- 
 tented in all the dominions of the house of Hapsburg was renewed; 
 and a list of grievances drawn up, stating how the king had violated 
 his oath, had devastated the country with war, sold for a considerable 
 sum the transfer of the kingdom to Spain, and crushed their 
 privileges. They solemnly declared the king deposed, and proceeded 
 to a new election. The Protestants were too powerful to leave the 
 Catholics any real authority ; but unfortunately they were divided 
 into two parties. The Lutherans predominated ; and the Calvinists 
 permitted them to offer the dignity to the Duke of Bavaria; and on 
 his refusal, procured the election of Frederick the Elector Palatine. 
 He was strongly advised by many of his friends not to accept the 
 gift ; while an equal number urged him to secure the crown. His 
 
FERDINAND II. 167 
 
 indecision was overruled by the intreaty of his wife Elizabeth, 
 daughter of James I. of England, who wished to gratify her royal 
 pride by obtaining the kingly dignity for her husband. He signed 
 the deed of election with a trembling hand, entrusted the govern- 
 ment of the electorate to the Duke of of Deux Fonts, and hastened 
 into Bohemia. His coronation was celebrated with the greatest 
 profusion and splendour ; the people hailed their new sovereign with 
 transports of joy; all classes and creeds rejoiced at the termination 
 of the rigorous government of Ferdinand ; and Sweden, Denmark, 
 Holland, Venice, and many of the German princes acknowledged him 
 in his new title. 
 
 Hostilities still raged between the belligerents. Hungary was 
 ravaged by Bethlehem Gabor, who defeated the imperial general 
 Homonai, captured Presburg, and marched into Austria. Bucquoy 
 was recalled from Bohemia to resist Gabor. Thurn advanced to- 
 wards Vienna; and being reinforced by the Hungarian army, 
 attacked the forces of Bucquoy, and drove him from his position 
 before Vienna, which was alone separated from the victorious troops 
 by the Danube. The capital was again placed in great jeopardy ; 
 and famine threatened to compel the defenders to surrender. The 
 bravery of the imperial generals, and the want of provisions among 
 the besiegers, however, saved the city. Gabor returned to Hungary, 
 and proclaimed himself king ; and Thurn dismissed his troops into 
 their winter quarters. 
 
 The belligerents endeavoured to sedure the assistance of their 
 friends. Frederick succeeded by his influence as head of the union 
 in gaining its sanction of his proceedings. He called the attention 
 of the members to the warlike preparations of the Catholic league ; 
 and the union called out its troops to watch the league, and to 
 assist Frederick. The emperor was not less active than his rival. 
 He secured the co-operation of the three ecclesiastical electors, 
 gained the warlike Duke of Bavaria to his party by splendid promises, 
 and obtained a large grant of money from the pope. He induced 
 France and England, through the influence of Spain, to preserve a 
 strict neutrality, and procured by his persevering efforts from the 
 court of Madrid, the aid of 24,000 men under Spinola, who were 
 to march into the Palatinate from the Netherlands. He even 
 succeeded in alluring the Elector of Saxony to desert the standard 
 of Frederick. The King of Bohemia was wasting his time in 
 feasting and the gaieties of his court. The first enthusiasm of his 
 subjects had subsided; the French language and customs intro- 
 duced by him were distasteful to them, and the attacks of his 
 preachers on the Lutheran religion increased their feeling of dis- 
 appointment. Attempts were made to reduce the worship to the 
 Calvinistic simplicity. The ornaments of the churches were torn 
 down, the pictures and crucifixes demolished, and the time-hallowed 
 ceremonies banished. The favour bestowed on Christian prince of 
 Anlialt, and George count of Hohenlohc aroused the jealousy of the 
 nobles, especially Thurn and Mans! 'eld. 
 
 In the spring of 1620 the armies of the league and of the union 
 
1GS HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 took the field ; the Protestants at Ulm, the Catholics near Guntz- 
 burg. Spinola was advancing with rapid strides, and the eyes of 
 Europe were anxiously directed toAvards the coming struggle. 
 Prance sent the Duke d'Angoulmeme to mediate between the com- 
 batants ; and the Protestants, trembling for their safety, drew up a 
 treaty of peace, which the emperor accepted. The union agreed 
 not to assist Frederick, and the league not to attack the Palatinate. 
 Spinola, however, directly after took possession of the elector's 
 dominions, and justified the act to the union by pleading that he was 
 not a member of the league. The entire Catholic force was turned 
 against Frederick. Lower Austria submitted to the emperor; 
 Dampierre watched the movements of Gabor with a large army, and 
 was slain at Presburg ; another army kept the Silesians in awe ; the 
 Elector of Saxony ravaged Lusatia ; while the Duke of Bavaria 
 with the Count of Tilly, a distinguished general, who had served 
 under Alba, advanced with 25,000 men into Upper Austria, and 
 entered Bohemia on the side of Budweis. Bucquoy after ravaging 
 the country joined the Duke of Bavaria at Piseck. That fortress 
 was summoned to surrender ; and while the governor was hesitating 
 the ramparts were scaled, the town fired, the garrison put to the 
 sword, and the inhabitants massacred by the Cossacks. The situation 
 of Frederick was daily becoming more critical. He had so weaned 
 the affections of the burghers from him that they refused to grant 
 money or to arm on his behalf. His chief army with the Prince of 
 Anhalt was without clothes and pay ; his officers were disunited, 
 and urged him to sue for peace. The Duke of Bavaria perceived the 
 advantages which were to be gained by immediate action; he 
 forced his antagonist to several petty engagements, and drove him to 
 the walls of Prague. The prince took up a strong position on the 
 Weisse Berg, and prepared to intrench himself, and defend the 
 capital. The duke pressed forward with rapid marches, and came 
 up with the foe at the dawn of day. The attack commenced ; the 
 troops rushed upon their enemies with a shout ; the ranks wavered 
 and broke ; and in less tr .. an hour, the artillery, a hundred 
 standards, and the strong position fell into the hands of the 
 imperialists. 
 
 Frederick was feasting in the city during the eventful struggle ; 
 and messenger after messenger had been dispatched to him, but still 
 he delayed. The tidings of his misfortunes alone roused him, and 
 he came in time to witness the rout of his troops. He hastened 
 back to his palace, and made instant preparations for his flight. A 
 truce of eight hours had been granted to him, on condition of hi* 
 resigning by letter the crown. The citizens implored him to stay, 
 and pointed out the abundant means they had at their command to 
 resist an attack. Thurn reminded him of the troops under Mansfeld, 
 the powerful Hungarians, and the veteran soldiers who were now 
 awaiting the beat of the drum to recall them to their banners. But 
 all was unavailing. Frederick Avas struck with a panic, the confu- 
 sion and uproar around unnerved him ; he .'eft in his haste his. 
 croAvii in the market place ; and secretly departed from Prague in 
 
FERDINAND II. 1G9 
 
 the dead of the night, accompanied by Anhalt, Hohenlohe, Thurn, and 
 his wife and children, on the 8th of November 1620. He passed 
 first to Breslau, and ultimately took refuge in Holland, where the 
 Prince of Orange granted the castle of Rhenen as a residence for the 
 royal exile. 
 
 The next day the gates of Prague were thrown open, and the 
 conqueror took possession of the city. The states surrendered 
 unconditionally ; Charles prince of Lichtenstein was appointed 
 governor ; and a garrison under the command of Tilly left within the 
 city. Eor three months no measures were taken against the 
 insurgents ; and their suspicions were lulled. In January 1621, 
 however, the calm was broken by the arrest of the principal leaders, 
 and a bitter persecution was raised. Seven hundred nobles were 
 driven into exile, or ruined by the confiscation of their property ; 
 twenty-three were publicly executed ; and seventeen imprisoned 
 for life. Thirty-six thousand families emigrated. The churches 
 were placed in the hands of the Jesuits, the oooks of the reformed 
 burnt, and every trace of religious and civil freedom annihilated. 
 Similar proceedings were taken in Silesia which had submitted to 
 the elector of Saxony. A band of Jesuits, accompanied by a troop 
 of dragoons, scoured the country ; the houses were burst open, and 
 property seized ; the inhabitants were kept from emigrating by the 
 sword ; and the women and children were oarbarously massacred by 
 the ferocious troops. The rapacity of Ferdinand was unbounded; 
 the immense wealth of Prague was squandered on his Jesuits ; 
 while to reward the duke of Bavaria, he conferred on him the 
 electoral dignity, and to satisfy his unmitigated hatred of Protes- 
 tantism, and the demands of his allies, he dismembered the 
 Palatinate. 
 
 The Protestant union now beheld the results of their desertion of 
 Frederick ; they were impotent to resist the will of the emperor, 
 supported as it was by the troops of Spinola and Bavaria ; and on, 
 the 12th of April 1621 they drew up a treaty of neutrality at Mentz, 
 and soon after dissolved their union, and disbanded their troops. 
 Ferdinand also secured the neutrality of Bethlehem Gabor. After 
 the death of Dampierre, Bucquoy carried his victorious arms into 
 Hungary, where he was killed when besieging Neuhasel. Gabor 
 invaded Moravia, and threatened Austria ; but being disappointed in 
 his succours, he entered into a treaty with Ferdinand, renounced his 
 claim to the crown of Hungary, and was rewarded with the gift of 
 seven provinces in Upper Hungary for life, January 26, 1622. 
 Mansfeld still held Tabor and Pilsen, and ravaged the country 
 around, even to the gates of Prague ; but being "hard pressed by 
 Tilly and the elector of Saxony, he burst through their forces at 
 night, and retreated to the Palatinate; where he was joined by 
 many of the troops of the union lately disbanded, and the disaffected. 
 To secure greater booty, he marched into Alsace, and plundered the 
 sees of Spires and Strasburg. His success drew Frederick from his 
 retreat in Holland ; whose cause was also maintained by Christian of 
 Brunswick, and the margrave of Baden Durlach. Tilly, who had 
 
170 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 followed Mansfeld from Bohemia, saw the necessity of preventing a 
 junction of these troops, and of attacking them singly. He defeated 
 the margrave at Wimpfen, as he was attempting to enter Bavaria ; 
 routed the forces of Brunswick ; and forced Mansfeld to retire into 
 Alsace. The weakness of Frederick defeated the vigorous efforts of 
 his supporters ; the margrave of Baden retired from the contest ; 
 and the elector disowned the friendship and support of Mansfeld and 
 Christian, that negotiations might be commenced. They retired 
 into Holland ; but their restless spirits could not long remain quiet. 
 Mansfeld invaded the province of East Friesland, and captured 
 enormous booty ; and Christian ravaged Saxony and Westphalia. 
 Again Tilly was victorious. Christian was defeated at Loen on the 
 Main, 'with a great loss ; and Mansfeld retired to Holland, and 
 disbanded his troops in January 1624. 
 
 Meanwhile Ferdinand summoned a diet at Ratisbon in February 
 1623, to carry out his plan of dismembering the Palatinate. He 
 anticipated great opposition, and therefore proceeded with unusual 
 moderation. He conferred the electoral dignity on Maximilian duke 
 of Bavaria for his life only ; and to pacify the fears of the elector's 
 relatives deferred the division of his territories until some future 
 time. The elector of Saxony was rewarded with the concession of 
 Lusatia, as an indemnification for his expenses. The Protestants, 
 however, were greatly alarmed at the intolerant proceedings of the 
 emperor. The Protestant worship had been abolished in Bohemia, 
 and the Palatinate, and a cruel persecution commenced against its 
 adherents. Upper Austria had been plunged into difficulties by the 
 excesses of the governor. The privileges of the estates were abo- 
 lished ; a band ot lawless soldiers plundered the peasantry ; and the 
 Protestant worship was gradually exterminated. The people, how- 
 ever, did not part with, their religious freedom without severe 
 struggles. They took up arms, and defeated the royalists. Stephen 
 Fadinger formed an army among them which was dressed in bkck, 
 in sorrow for their country, and drove the Bavarians to their 
 fortresses. Another celebrated leader called the Student rose to the 
 command after the death of Stephen, and was eminently successful 
 against the imperialists. The efforts of Henry Godfrey however 
 defeated the plans of the insurgents. Thousands of the peasantry 
 were cut down ; martial law was everywhere vigorously inflicted ; the 
 living were inhumanly massacred; the high roads were lined with, 
 gallows, and infected with foul vapours from the decaying carcasses ; 
 and the few survivors were converted by the priests, and restored to 
 the church. 
 
 The Protestants spent the whole of 1624 in negotiations with 
 foreign powers to form a powerful league against the emperor. 
 England sent an army of 14,000 men under Mansfeld ; and the states 
 in Lower Saxony met and entered into a confederacy, and appointed 
 Christian king of Denmark head of the league. The banks of the 
 Weser became the theatre of a war which raged with great fury. 
 Tilly however displayed his great talents and bravery, and defeated 
 the pkns of his opponents. The magnitude of the approaching 
 
FERDINAND II. 171 
 
 contest induced Ferdinand to wish for some other means of resisting it 
 than the Catholic league under the Duke of Bavaria, and Tilly. He 
 dreaded the influence of Bavaria to whom he had been obliged to 
 grant Upper Austria ; and he was also threatened by the appearance 
 of Mansfeld in the duchies of Mecklenburg, and the approach of 
 Bethlehem Gabor on Austria. At this juncture Wallenstein the 
 hero of the Thirty Years' War came forward, and offered his services 
 to Ferdinand. 
 
 Albert count of Waldstein, generally called Wallenstein, was 
 descended from an illustrious Bohemian family, and was born at 
 Prague A.D. 1583. In his youth he manifested a bold and imperious 
 spirit, and surpassed his companions in the fervency of his imagina- 
 tion, and the activity of his mind. He was educated a Protestant ; 
 but while serving as a page to the Catholic margrave of Bureau, he 
 accidentally fell unhurt from the castle window, which led him to 
 embrace the faith of his master. He afterwards travelled very con- 
 siderably in Europe, and studied in Italy history, mathematics, and 
 the occult sciences, especially astrology. On lu's return to Bohemia, 
 his poverty induced him to marry an aged Moravian widow, who 
 brought to him great riches. His fortune now enabled him to gratify 
 his military ardour. He levied a corps of horse, and greatly dis- 
 tinguished himself in the Venetian and Hungarian wars; and his 
 veteran corps was conspicuous at the battle of Prague. On the 
 death of his aged wife, he increased his possessions by marrying the 
 Countess of Harrach ; and with her large dowry, he purchased at a 
 mere nominal price, immense confiscated estates in Bohemia. The 
 emperor as a reward for his services bestowed on him Friedland, and 
 the dignity of a count of the empire. Wallenstein now offered to 
 levy, equip, and pay an army of 50,000 men, if he were allowed the 
 sole command. The emperor accepted his proposal, and conferred 
 on him the dignity of the Duke of Friedland. 
 
 His standard was soon crowded by adventurers, and persons of all 
 countries and creeds, who were attracted by the hope of plunder ; 
 whom he rigorously drilled; and with this powerful army, he 
 hastened to join Tilly. Instead however of uniting with him, he 
 turned off at Dessau, and ravaged the districts of Grubenhagen, 
 Halberstadt, and Magdeburg. The King of Denmark placed himself 
 at the head of the confederates ; and while Mansfeld kept Walleii- 
 stein in check at Dessau, he sought to draw Tilly from his posts, 
 and to separate him from his ally. The engagements between them 
 were frequent and bloody ; the king was driven to Lutter, where he 
 was defeated with the loss of his baggage, artillery, and a great part 
 of his army, and effected a difficult retreat to Holstein. Mansfeld 
 was three times repulsed by Wallenstein at Dessau ; but having 
 reinforced his army by fresh levies, and 5,000 Danes under the 
 Duke of Saxe Weimar, he advanced into Silesia, and defeated the 
 detachments of royalists sent to oppose him. He left the Duke of 
 Weimar to secure his conquests in Moravia, and descending alon 
 the Waag, routed an imperial force, joined the army of Gabor, and 
 commenced hostilities with the united forces. Wallenstein rapidly 
 
172 BISTORT OF AUSTRIA.. 
 
 followed Mansfeld into Hungary with 30,000 men, and kept him in 
 check. The two armies were prostrated by sickness ; Gabor made 
 peace with the emperor ; the insurgents of Austria were subdued ; 
 and Mansfeld sold his artillery, disbanded his troops, and fled towards 
 Venice. A fever prostrated him on the road ; and this distinguished 
 warrior died at Zara, a village in Dalmatia. 
 
 The death of the Duke of Weimar, and of Christian of Brunswick, 
 enabled Walllenstein to unite his arms with those of Tilly against 
 the King of Denmark. The Danish fortresses were destroyed by the 
 imperial troops, and the king reduced to the necessity of proposing 
 terms of peace. Ferdinand, flushed witli success, refused to listen 
 to them; the Dukes of Mecklenburg were defeated; and the war 
 was carried into the advanced towns ot Denmark. For the purpose of 
 conquering the isles belonging to the king, and of preventing Sweden 
 interfering in the struggle, a small naval force was collected and 
 given to the command of Wallenstein. He invaded Pomerania, 
 captured the isle of Usedom, gained possession of several ports, 
 occupied the isle of Rugen, and laid seige to Stralsund a Hanseatic 
 town, garrisoned by Danish troops. The town was on the point of 
 capitulating, when Sweden, jealous of the influence of Austria in the 
 Baltic, appeared with her fleet, and landed a body of troops, which 
 took possession of the place. Wallenstein was relucantly forced to 
 relinquish his enterprise ; and Christian, though defeated on land, 
 was enabled to show his superiority at sea by crushing the feeble 
 navy, and harassing the shores of the Baltic. All parties were 
 growing weary of strife. Christian renewed his efforts of peace ; 
 and Wallenstein, anxious to secure the vast possessions he had 
 acquired, persuaded the emperor to accede to his terms. A congress 
 was opened at Lubeck in May, 1029, where the treaty was signed. 
 Christian was to receive all his conquered dominions, but was not to 
 interfere in the disputes of the empire ; and was to renounce his 
 claim to the bishoprics, which the emperor was anxious to 
 secure to his relatives. Wallenstein was invested with the rich 
 duchies of Mecklenburg ; and Ferdinand secured the sees of 
 Halberstadt and Magdeburg, and the rich Abbey of Hirtzcheld to his 
 second son Leopold William. 
 
 The success of the emperor only increased his ambition and 
 rendered him more intolerent towards the Protestants. He feared 
 little opposition from the surrounding nations to the vast designs 
 which he had been secretly maturing. England was deeply engaged 
 with the stormy disputes between Charles and his parliaments; 
 France was occupied by her contests with England and Spain, and 
 her efforts for the extermination of the Huguenots ; Holk.id was 
 devastated by civil commotion, and awed by Spanish troops ; Turkey 
 was the scene of constant revolution by the troops, and the deposition 
 and murder of the Vizirs ; and Gabor was rapidly sinking under a 
 distressing malady. Ferdinand, proud of the strength of his army, 
 and swayed by lofty ambition, designed to crush the Protestants, to 
 reduce the Catholics to subjection, and to make his name terrible, 
 and his power respected throughout Europe. He caused Austria 
 
FERDINAND II. 1/3 
 
 first to feel his despotic sway. The Protestant religion was pro- 
 scribed, their preachers expelled, their books burnt, their marriage 
 and baptism declared void, and the Catholic worship forced upon them. 
 Bohemia, however, was still more harshly dealt with. The recollec- 
 tion of her privileges, and her opposition stimulated the revenge of 
 the emperor. He summoned his uitterest resentment, and raised a 
 storm of persecution which swept over the country with such fury 
 that to this day the traces of its ravages may be seen. All the Pro- 
 testant preachers, professors, and schoolmasters were ejected; 
 marriage, baptism, trade, and even hospitals and poor-houses were 
 denied to the Protestants ; and bands of Jesuits and Capuchin monks 
 roamed over the country, ransacked every house, destroyed eve*y 
 heretical book, and exasperated the feelings of the people. Numbers 
 bid farewell to their native land for ever; thousands were driven to 
 the woods and the mountains, and preferred the society of wild 
 beasts to that of their persecutors ; while those who dared to oppose 
 the will of Ferdinand, were massacred on the spot, mutilated on the 
 rack, or immured in loathsome dungeons. The privileges of the 
 states were abrogated, the use of the Bohemian language denied to 
 the public functionary, and Prague deprived of the liberties she had 
 enjoyed since the days of Huss. The infatuation of the emperor 
 prompted him publicly to declare that he would tolerate no other 
 religion than the Catholic, and to command all to embrace it under 
 the penalty of the heaviest malediction. Liberty, however, was 
 dearer to many than their own country ; and 30,000 of the richest 
 families, with their servants, migrated to other lands. Bohemia was 
 beggared, and her nationality destroyed. 
 
 Ferdinand did not confine his fanatical proceedings to his own 
 dominions. The empire was scarcely scope enough for his ambition, 
 and he panted to be able to exult in the utter extinction of all 
 independence, and in his unlimited despotism. On the 6th of March 
 1629, he published his celebrated Edict of Restitution. He com- 
 manded all Protestants to restore the ecclesiastical property which 
 had been secularised since the peace of Passau. He enjoined the 
 Catholics to use every means to crush the Protestants, and root out 
 their hated religion ; and thundered the ban of the empire against 
 all who should presume to oppose his edict. No prince had the 
 courage to resist. The ecclesiastical property, consisting of two 
 archbishoprics, Magdeburg and Bremen, twelve bishoprics, and a 
 great number of convents and inferior benefices, were given up. 
 The Jesuits and the family of Ferdinand received the finest of the 
 
 fifts. Even the Catholics now became alarmed at his proceeding, 
 hey murmured at the depredations commited by the imperial troops ; 
 their princes, especially the Duke of Bavaria, could scarcely tolerate 
 the insolence of Walleustein ; and when Ferdinand commanded them 
 to disband the army they had retained in Swabia and Franconia, they 
 manifested their discontent by open opposition. The Duke of 
 Bavaria took the lead, and summoned the members of the league at 
 Heidelberg in March 1629. They requested the emperor to convoke 
 a diet to concert measures for the restoration of peace, and gave an 
 
374 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 indication of their intrepidity by declaring in reply to the imperial 
 demand for the dismission of their troops, that " Till we have 
 received an indemnification or a pledge for the payment of our 
 expenses, we will neither disband a single soldier, nor relinquish a 
 foot of territory ecclesiastical or secular, demand it who will ! " 
 Ferdinand had weakened his power by sending 30,000 men to assist 
 the Duke of Savoy in his claim to the Montferrat, and the Duke of 
 Guastalla to Mantua. He therefore summoned the diet at 
 Ratisbon, from which he hoped to derive succours and the election 
 of his son King of the Romans. 
 
 The Catholics intrigued with Cardinal Richelieu the celebrated 
 minister of Louis XIII. ; and both resolved to embrace the present 
 opportunity of curbing the ambition, and restraining the power of 
 the emperor. The cardinal sent an embassy with a crafty subtle 
 Capuchin friar, Father Joseph, for the ostensible purpose of accomo- 
 dating the disputes respecting Mantua; but really to secure the 
 reduction of the imperial army, the dismissal of Wallenstein, and 
 the rejection of the son of Ferdinand by the electors. The Pro- 
 testants revived their courage, and joined the Catholics in their 
 endeavours to gain their object. The diet met ; the demands of the 
 Catholics were received by the emperor with utter astonishment; 
 and his spirit was deeply wounded when he experienced their 
 opposition to the election of his son. The Dulce of Bavaria 
 reminded him that the only way of securing his election was to 
 accede to the demands of the Catholics and the Protestants. Father 
 Joseph, with the subtilty of the Jesuit, calmed his fears by privately 
 assuring him that his army might soon be renewed, and Wallenstein 
 recalled, after he had procured the nomination of his son, if he 
 would only now consent to grant the requests of his subjects. 
 Ferdinand was cajoled into acquiescence by the crafty friar. He 
 disbanded 18,000 of his best cavalry, and promised to dismiss 
 Wallenstein. He trembled greatly at the thought of incurring the 
 resentment of that powerful general; and commanded the two 
 envoys to communicate the intelligence to him with the greatest 
 tenderness and respect. Wallenstein was a devout believer in 
 astrology ; and his favourite astrologer, perhaps secretly informed 
 of the intentions of the emperor, predicted his present disgrace, and 
 his future grandeur. The general bent to his fate; and after 
 supplicating the favour of Ferdinand, retired in privacy to Bohemia. 
 The emperor, having yielded to the demands of the diet, now 
 expected the gratification of seeing his son invested with the coveted 
 dignity; but he had been most thoroughly duped. The electors 
 refused to nominate him ; the ambassadors of France retired to 
 their master, who meanwhile had been intriguing with Gustavus 
 Adolphus ; and Ferdinand, deceived and mortified, dissolved the 
 diet, and gave expression to his embittered feelings by exclaiming, 
 " A Capuchin friar has disarmed me with his rosary, and covered six 
 electoral caps with his cowl." 
 
TERDINAXD II. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 II. (CONTINUED.) A.I>. 1030-1637. 
 
 Tire attention of Ferdinand was soon directed to a new opponent . 
 The throne of Sweden was occupied by the youthful Gustavus 
 Adolphus, a prince who combined wisdom with valour, prudence 
 with activity, and moderation with firmness. His military talents 
 had been drawn out and matured by his wars with Denmark, 
 Russia, and Poland. He had gained Finland from the czar, and 
 had concluded an honourable treaty with the Kings of Denmark and 
 Poland. As a Protestant he could not be indifferent to the oppression 
 of his brethren in Germany. He listened to their cries for assist- 
 ance, and resolved to exert Ids powerful influence in preventing the 
 extinction of their freedom. As King of Sweden, he was alarmed at 
 the overwhelming power of Austria, and at the recent attempt to 
 become masters of the Baltic sea? and his ambition was perhaps 
 enlisted by the expectation of receiving the imperial crown, which 
 his great popularity in Germany might secure to him. His talents 
 had attracted the notice of the vigBant Richelieu, who saw in him 
 a proper instrument for humbling the pretensions of the house of 
 Hapsburg, and incited him to become the champion of the Pro- 
 testant cause. The overtures of Gustavus to the Protestant princes 
 were coldly received ; still this did not frustrate his designs. He 
 made his preparations with remarkable celerity, levied his forces, 
 obtained promises of support from England and France, and secured 
 the neutrality of Denmark. He convoked the states of Sweden, 
 and committed to them his only child Christina ; and the assembly, 
 swayed by his noble eloquence, voted him the necessary supplies, and 
 vowed to sacrifice themselves for their beloved king. 
 
 The fleet at Elfsnaben took on board 15,000 of his veteran 
 soldiers ; and Gustavus sailed amid the tears and acclamations of his 
 subjects. He landed at Rudeu on the 24th of June 1630, and in 
 less than a month secured the isles of Rugen, Usedom, and Wollen, 
 and advanced to occupy Stettin, the capital of Pomerania, and to 
 conclude a treaty with, the duke. Conti the imperial general in 
 Pomerania, unable to prevent the advance of Gustavus, intrenched 
 himself strongly at Gartz, and baffled the efforts of the Swede to 
 draw him from his position. The forces of the king were elsewhere 
 victorious; Conti was unable to withstand his attacks and the 
 ravages of famine, and resigned his post; and his successor fled 
 before the progress of Gustavus to Frankfort, after setting fire to Gartz. 
 All Pomerania was occupied by his troops. On the 13th of January 
 1631 Gustavus entered into a treaty with France. He engaged to 
 carry on the war with Austria with an army of 30,000 foot and 
 6,000 horse, for an annual subsidy of 1,200,000 livres. In a spirited 
 manifesto he. appealed to the Protestant princes to join him ; bat 
 they assembled at Leipzic, and by the advice of the electors of 
 
176 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Saxony and Brandenburg decreed to maintain a strict neutrality, that 
 they might take advantage of the issue of the struggle to promote 
 their own interests. Francis Charles of Saxe Lauenburg assembled 
 a few troops with the intention of establisliing himself in Mecklen- 
 burg to co-operate with Gustavus ; but he was defeated and taken 
 prisoner by Count Pappeuheim at the head of the imperialists. 
 
 Magdeburg received the Swedish general Falkenberg, and manfully 
 resisted the efforts of the imperialists. Gustavus was contesting 
 with Tilly the possession of the frontier fortresses. Frankfort and 
 Landsberg fell into his hands ; and Tilly unable to maintain his 
 position on the banks of the Oder, retired to Magdeburg, which 
 Pappenheim was attacking. The city relinquished the suburbs to 
 the besiegers, and resolved to hold out to the last. Gustavus was 
 soon aware of the distress of the place, and was anxious to relieve 
 it. He wrote and promised assistance ; yet was too prudent to 
 advance before his rear was secured by an alliance with Saxony and 
 Brandenburg. Brandenburg ceded Spandau to him to guard his 
 rear ; but Saxony declined his overtures. Meanwhile Magdeburg 
 was taken after a gallant resistance, and became the scene of a most 
 terrible slaughter. The soldiers spared none ; the old and the 
 young, the mother and the maiden alike fell before their infuriated 
 feelings. Infants were murdered, wives and daughters ravaged, 
 houses pillaged, and fired. In ten hours the richest town in 
 Germany was reduced to ashes ; and of a population of 30,000 
 persons, scarcely 1,000 remained. Two days after, when the 
 soldiers were worn out with their carnage, Tilly entered the city in 
 triumph. The streets had to be cleared to make room for his 
 horses, and 6,000 carcases were thrown into the Elbe. The 
 appearance of Tilly gave increased awfulness to the horrible scene. 
 He was tall and thin ; his features haggard and pale, and rendered 
 ghastly by his green satin jacket, and high crowned hat. He 
 paraded the streets in proud exultation, listened to a Te Deitm, 
 chanted amid the ruins, and boasted to the emperor of his celebrated 
 sack of Troy. 
 
 The feelings awakened throughout Germany by this terrible 
 carnage were very profound. The Catholics threw all the blame on 
 Gustavus and the Protestants, and declared for the emperor. The 
 Swedish king expressed the bitterest sorrow for the fate of the 
 royal city, and resolved to vindicate more strenuously the cause of 
 the oppressed. The prince of Hesse sided with the king ; and 
 Tilly advanced towards him, marking his passage by rapine ami 
 desolation. Gustavus boldly relieved himself from all fear of 
 Brandenburg, by appearing before Berlin and extorting from the 
 elector an alliance. He entered the duchies of Mecklenburg, drove 
 out the imperial garrisons except those in Wismar, and Ilostock, 
 and reinstated the dukes in their possessions. His queen arrived 
 with 8000 valiant Swedes; England furnished 6000 volunteers 
 under the Marquis of Hamilton; and Hesse concluded a i!nu 
 alliance with Gustavus. Tilly, hitherto victorious, was humbled by 
 his reverses at Wolmerstadt. His troops were dispirited; many 
 
JERDIX.OJD II. 177 
 
 deserted to the Swedes; and the Count turned fiercely to the 
 Elector of Saxony to ravage his territory, and to force his decision. 
 The elector assembled his troops, and sent Arnheim his favourite 
 general to conclude a treaty with Gustavus. 
 
 The king immediately crossed the Elbe at Wittenberg, united his 
 army with that of Saxony, and advanced towards Leipzic. Tilly 
 who had been joined by 1'urstemberg with the veteran troops from 
 Italy, hesitated whether to give immediate battle to Gustavus, or 
 wait till the arrival of 10,000 men from Silesia. He resolved to 
 advance ; and took up his position at the village of Podelwitz near 
 Leipzic on the 7th of September 1631. The imperial ranks were 
 formed into one line ; the infantry in the middle, and the cavalry on 
 the wings, with the artillery posted on an eminence behind. 'The 
 Saxon army was placed in a similar manner ; but the Swedes were 
 formed into small battalions, and the cavalry into squadrons, 
 intermixed with the infantry. Tilly gave the order to advance ; the 
 cannon flashed from wing to wing, and a terrible cannonade was 
 kept up for two hours. The imperialists charged and broke the 
 Saxon ranks ; but when the troops of Pappeuhcim advanced towards 
 the Swedes they were mown down by a vigorous fusilade ; and after 
 repeatedly re-forming, fled in confusion. Gustavus out-flanked the 
 imperialists, captured and turned their artillery against them, and 
 threw the entire army into confusion. In vain the veteran bauds of 
 Tilly returned to the charge ; they were speedily cut down, and the 
 shattered remnant obliged to retire under cover of night. Pappen- 
 heim was seven times wounded, and left for dead on the battle- 
 field ; but he recovered by the assiduous care of a peasant. Tilly 
 fled to Halle, and then to Halberstadt ; 7000 Austrians were left ou 
 the field ; 5000 were taken prisoners ; and all the baggage and the 
 artillery remained the spoil of the victors. 
 
 The success of the battle of Leipzic opened up to Gustavus the 
 whole of Germany. The high-road to Vienna was now clear ; the 
 power of the Hapsburgs Wcis under his control ; and the crown was 
 almost at his disposal. Instead, however, of at once proceeding to 
 crush the emperor, he resolved to secure first the alliance of the 
 cities and princes. He had already penetrated far from his resources 
 in the Baltic, and was dependent on minor princes, and the chances 
 of war for support ; and he naturally suspected the fidelity of the 
 great princes to place himself in their power. His progress Mas 
 more like that of a triumphant deliverer than a fierce warrior. Cities 
 opened their gates to him, and the imperialists fled at the rumour of 
 his approach. He passed down the Main, took Wurtzburg bv storm, 
 and captured the fortresses on both sides of the river. He con- 
 quered the towns on the Rhine; Oppenheim, Mentz, Worms, Spires, 
 and various fortresses submitted to him. He contracted many 
 alliances, and sent the princes with their armies into different parts 
 of the empire. The Dukes of Mecklenburg recovered the whole of 
 Iheir dominions ; Charles duke of Saxe Lauenburg secured Stade, 
 the key of the Elbe ; Bernard duke of Saxe Weimar captured Nord- 
 lieim, Gottengen, Gosleu, and Duderstadt; and the Landgrave of 
 
 M 
 
178 HISTOltY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Hesse ravaged Westphalia. The Saxon army under Anaheim entered 
 Bohemia, and rapidly advanced to Prague; which capitulated to 
 Count Tnurn, who accompanied the Saxon troops, and who entered 
 the city in triumph, whence he had fled with such precipitate haste. 
 The effect of his presence was marvellous ; the Protestants issued 
 forth from their place of concealment, and astonished their enemies 
 by their number, while the Catholics hastily retreated, and were 
 despoiled by the victorious soldiers. 
 
 "While Gustavus was reposing his troops, and receiving deputations 
 from the king of England, and Louis XIII., whom the Catholics 
 endeavoured to instigate against Sweden, Ferdinand was cherishing 
 the expectation that the princes would rise against the invader, ana 
 drive him to his own shores. The Duke of Bavaria regretted the 
 neutral steps which the priaaces had taken, and beheld with alarm the 
 triumph of the king. He secretly assisted Tilly, and prepared to 
 uaaite his forces with the recruited army of the imperial general. 
 Gustavus became aware of his plans by intercepted letters, and 
 hastened to invade Bavaria before the union of the troops could be 
 effected. Donawerth fell into his hands, but Ingoldstadt resisted his 
 attacks. He crossed the Danube near Rain, and opened a furious 
 cannonade on the enemy. Tilly was shot, and died at Ingoldstadt ; 
 the second general was desperately wounded ; and Bavaria retired to 
 Ingoldstadt. Augsburg fell into the hands of the Swedes ; but the 
 refuge of the duke was impregnable; and Gustavus ravaged and 
 subdued the country between the Inn and the Lech, and entered 
 Munich in triumph. Bohemia was in the hands of the elector of 
 Saxony ; the Palatinate was freed from the Spanish troops, except in 
 three fortresses ; the electors of Treves, Cologne, and Mentz were 
 driven from their territories ; and Gustavus, with the greater part of 
 Germany in his power, was rapidly advancing to the heart of the 
 Austrian dominions. 
 
 The emperor was reduced to the utmost extremity. His army was 
 without a leader ; and in his desperation he resolved first to head it 
 himself, and then to confer the command on his son Ferdinand. 
 His military renown, however, was insufficient to attract adventurers ; 
 and his last hope of effectually opposing Gustavus centered in the 
 distinguished general whom he had dismissed in disgrace. Wallen- 
 stein had retired to Prague, followed by the principal officers in his 
 army. He erected a magnificent palace, and lived in a style of 
 splendour, which would have done honour to the most illustrious 
 sovereign. His servants were of distinguished families, his pages 
 the sons of nobles, his gardens filled with rare plants, terraces, and 
 fountains ; and his table covered with a profusion of the richest 
 delicacies, around which one hundred guests were daily invited. On 
 the death of Tilly, Ferdinand turned to Wallenstein, and urged him 
 to take the command of the army. He haughtily refused to serve 
 under the archduke Ferdinand ; but yielded at length to the earnest 
 intreaties of the emperor, and promised to take the sole command 
 for three months, and raise a well-disciplined army. The magic 
 charm of his name attracted veterans to his standard ; and in less 
 
FERDINAND II. 179 
 
 than three months, Wallenstein reviewed his troops, expressed his 
 approval of their condition, and announced his intention of resigning 
 his command. Affairs however, had become more complicated and 
 distressing than when he assumed it ; and the emperor entreated him 
 to continue in his office, and even granted the exorbitant demands of 
 the general. He appointed him generalissimo of all the imperial 
 and Spanish forces in the empire ; gave him unlimited control over 
 the officers, the rewards, the confiscations of the enemy's property, 
 and the establishment of peace ; and promised to remunerate him, 
 either from the spoils of the enemy, or the Austrian dominions. 
 
 Wallenstein placed himself at the head of his army, and after 
 vainly endeavouring to detach the elector of Saxony from Gustavus, 
 advanced to Prague, and expelled the Saxons from Bohemia. He 
 delayed some time at Leutmeritz ; then effected a junction with the 
 Duke of Bavaria at Egra ; and at the head of an army of 60,000 
 men marched towards Nuremberg which adhered to the Swedes. 
 Gustavus hastened thither with 12,000 men, and was warmly assisted 
 by the citizens. Wallenstein dreaded the presence and iniluence of 
 the king, and took up a strong position at Zirndorf within sight of 
 his opponent. Both armies remained for weeks inactive, and suffered 
 severely from the want of provisions. Gustavus collected his troops 
 from Bavaria, Swabia, Franconia, and Lower Saxony, and attempted 
 to draw out his adversary to battle. On the 24th of August 1632, 
 he issued forth to storm the imperial camp, but his impetuous 
 assaults were frustrated ; and with the loss of 3,000 men he returned 
 to the city. After waiting a fortnight, Gustavus abandoned a posi- 
 tion which had sacrificed so many brave soldiers. Nuremberg lost 
 10,000 of its inhabitants, Wallenstein more than half of his troops, 
 and the Swedish king nearly 20,000 of the confederate army. 
 
 Gustavus marched southward towards Bavaria, with the intention of 
 ravaging Austria ; and Wallenstein, instead of following him, pushed 
 northward towards Saxony. Leipzic fell into his hands after a siege 
 of three days ; and he hastened to secure the passes of Thuringia, 
 which would prevent a junction of the Saxons and Swedes. Gustavus 
 relinquished his designs on Bavaria, and pushed rapidly through the 
 forests of Thuriugia, and ascended the Saal to unite with the Saxon 
 army. Wallenstein retired towards Leipzic, and the Swedish King 
 followed him, and came in sight of his army at Liitzen, between 
 Leipzic and Weissenfels at the close of the day. The skirmishers of 
 both parties were engaged during the night, while the main armies 
 were reposing. The dawn of the 6th ot November was extremely 
 unpropitious. A thick fog cast a gloom over the troops, and pre- 
 vented the dispositions of the enemy being ascertained. At mid-day 
 it rolled away, and the two armies were discovered drawn up in 
 battle array. Wallenstein lined his trenches in front with cannon 
 and musqueteers, and planted four squares of infantry in the centre, 
 his cavalry on the wings, and his artillery distributed among them. 
 Gustavus adopted the same plan as at the battle of Leipzic. A 
 furious cannonade commenced at the dawn of day ; and when the 
 fog cleared off, the king put his armv in motion. His infantry 
 
 M 2 
 
180 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 rushed into the trenches, and were received with a galling fire ; the 
 presence of Gustavus re-animated their wavering ranks ; and after 
 many repulses they succeeded in driving the imperialists before them. 
 Meanwhile the Swedish left had been exposed to the heavy fire of the 
 musqueteers, and had given way before the cuirassiers. The king, 
 attended by the Duke of Saxe Lauenburg, and three followers, 
 galloped towards the spot. A shot killed his horse under him ; and 
 when he had remounted, another broke his arm, a partv of cuirassiers 
 surrounded him, and a ball entered his breast. The ting's charger, 
 covered with blood and dust galloped fiercely towards his army, and 
 conveyed to them the intelligence of the fate of their general. The 
 Duke of Saxe Weimar, who succeeded to the command, spread the 
 report that he was merely taken prisoner ; and the Swedes rushed 
 to the rescue of their brave monarch. The imperial ranks yielded 
 to their rapid attacks ; the explosion of some powder waggons threw 
 the troops of Wallenstein into confusion ; and victory was in the 
 hands of the Swedes. At this moment, however, Pappenheim, who 
 had been hastily recalled from Lower Saxony, arrived with eight 
 regiments of fresh cavalry. Their onsets caused the exhausted 
 Swedes to waver ; but the cry which was raised by the horsemen, 
 " Pappenheim is killed and the battle is lost ! " created a panic among 
 his troops, and they galloped off the field. The fog again came on ; 
 and Wallenstein retired amid its thick folds, and left the Swedes 
 masters of the field, and of his artillery. 
 
 The joy of the troops at their victory was mingled with sorrow for 
 the loss of Gustavus. They found his body under a heap of slain, 
 covered with blood ; they laid him out in great state ; passed before 
 him in military parade ; and then conveyed him with pious care to 
 Stockholm. Those who best knew him felt that they had lost a warm 
 and affectionate friend ; a sagacious and commanding statesman ; and 
 a general, fertile in his resources, skilful in the execution of his 
 designs, and courageous in danger and distress. His death was a 
 blow to the hopes ot the Elector Palatine. He was waiting at Mentz 
 for the success of his protector, and anticipated a speedy restoration 
 to his dignities. The news of the king's death chilled his heart, and 
 blighted his prospects. He gave himself up to despair; a fever 
 speedily followed, and cut him off in the thirty-ninth year of his age. 
 The imperialists rejoiced greatly at the death of the king, and Madrid 
 was for a long period a scene of unbounded festivity ; but Ferdinand 
 feared too much the power of Wallensteiu to exult at the death of 
 him who alone was capable of restraining it; and even the pope 
 lamented his untimely end, and ordered mass to be said for the 
 repose of his soul. 
 
 The death of Gustavus did not produce the anticipated effects on 
 the war. The states of Sweden acted with great vigour and 
 unanimity. They proclaimed Christina, the youthful daughter of 
 the late king, queen ; appointed the chancellor Oxenstiern to the 
 command of the troops ; and voted fresh supplies of men and money 
 to carry on the war vigorously, till they could effect their purpose, 
 and obtain an honourable peace. Hostilities were for a time 
 
FERDINAND II. 181 
 
 suspended on both sides. Wallenstein had retired to Bohemia; where, 
 having punished several of his officers for their cowardice, and 
 rewarded others for their bravery, he spent the winter in reposing 
 his troops, collecting fresh levies, and storing his magazines. Oxen- 
 stiern renewed the treaties with the Protestant princes ; and instead 
 of their former separate alliances, united them in the league of the 
 circles at Heilbron, with the exception of the Elector of Saxony. 
 He restored Charles Louis, son of the unfortunate elector, to the 
 electorate, and to those parts of the Palatinate which had been 
 recovered by the Swedes. 
 
 While thus hostilities were suspended by mutual consent, Wallen- 
 stein persuaded the emperor to publish a general amnesty, and to 
 conciliate the Protestants by moderate concessions. Ferdinand, 
 influenced by his fanatical advisers, and the court of Spain, resolved 
 to carry on the war, and imagined that his conquest would now be 
 easy, as his troops were no longer opposed by the renowned Gustavus. 
 The spirit of the departed hero, however, was still breathed by the 
 generals and soldiers, and under the wise direction of Oxenstiern 
 secured victory to their arms. Hostilities were renewed. The 
 Swedes, under the command of the brave Duke of Saxe Weimar, 
 occupied the Palatinate and drove the imperialists from Westphalia, 
 Lower Saxony and the greater part of Silesia. Bohemia and Austria 
 were also threatened. In May 1633 Wallenstein took the field 
 against his foes. He despatched General Hoik on the side of Egra 
 to watch the proceedings of the Duke of Weimar, while he passed 
 into Silesia, and Gallas was sent with 10,000 men to Dresden. He 
 captured Counts Thurn and Duval with 5,000 Swedes at Steinau on 
 the banks of the Oder ; and obliged them to purchase their liberty 
 with the surrender of all the places they held in Silesia. He resolved 
 to carry his arms into Mecklenburg and Pomerania, to secure the 
 shores of the Baltic, and cut off the retreat of the Swedes ; but was 
 prevented by the intrigues of his enemies at the court of Eerdinand. 
 
 The emperor was extremely jealous of the power of his general, 
 and listened to all the suspicions which the enemies of Wallenstein 
 breathed into the royal ear. He brought into Germany an army 
 under the Infant of Spain, and the Duke of Feria, which, he de- 
 clared, should be independent of the general ; and he even requested 
 him to send a body of his own troops to co-operate with Eeria. 
 Walleustein remonstrated against this infringement of liis compact 
 with the emperor ; and this and his recent acts were magnified by 
 his enemies into evidences of his treason. He was represented as 
 intriguing with the Protestants and the Swedes ; and even aiming at 
 an independent sovereignty. The indignation of Ferdinand was 
 still further heightened by the Duke of Bavaria, who bore an 
 implacable hatred to the general, and whose territories were still 
 ravaged by Weimar. The emperor, at his instigation, ordered 
 WalTenstein to relieve Ratisbon, which was besieged by the Swedes ; 
 but instead of repairing thither, he first sent his general Gallas, and 
 then commenced his march after the fall of the place. The approach 
 of the Saxons to Frankfort, and into Silesia, called him to rilsen ; 
 
182 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 and soon after he disbanded his troops, and fixed them in their winter 
 quarters. 
 
 The intrigues of his enemies grew every hour thicker and more 
 menacing. The keen eye of Wallenstein saw the dangers gathering 
 around him, and prepared to adopt measures to defeat the plans of 
 his calumniators. He well knew the terror which the approach of 
 the Swedes would awaken, if he disbanded his army, and allowed 
 them to ravage the hereditary dominions of the emperor ; and sum- 
 moning his officers around him, he announced to them his intention 
 of resigning to prevent the triumph of his enemies by procuring his 
 dismissal. They were too much interested in their general to allow 
 him to retire ; their office and their pay depended to a great extent 
 upon his renown ; and they therefore drew up a memorial in which 
 they requested him not to resign his command, and promised to sup- 
 port him at the risk of their lives and fortunes. His coming 
 disgrace, however, separated some of his officers from him ; among 
 whom were Gallas and Aldringer. Octavius Piccolomini, an Italian 
 mercenary, carried this paper to the emperor, and gave an alarming 
 account of imaginary conspiracies, and rebellions, which threatened 
 the safety of the royal family. Ferdinand, prepared by the previous 
 intrigues, listened to these communications with mingled rage and 
 horror. He gave the command of the army to Gallas, ordered the 
 immediate arrest of Wallenstein, and instructed Piccolomini to seize 
 his person, and capture him dead or alive. Gallas at once secretly 
 secured Prague, Budweis, and Tabor. 
 
 Wallenstein was soon aware of the orders which had been given. 
 He again summoned his officers, and received their further promises 
 of attachment to him ; dispatched his brother-in-law Tersky to seize 
 Prague ; and entered into negotiations with Weimar at Cham, and 
 offered to surrender to him Pilsen and Egra, and bring over to 
 them the best of his army. He had, however, unfortunately so often 
 deceived the generals, that no reliance was placed on his representa- 
 tions. He retired to Egra, and renewed his efforts with Weimar 
 and Oxenstiern, and hoped to be able to retain that fortified place, 
 till he had completed his negotiation. Treachery, however, baffled his 
 efforts, and defeated his plans. The governor of Egra, Gordon, a 
 Scotchman, who had been raised to his dignity from a common 
 soldier by Wallenstein, basely betrayed him. Butler and Leslie, 
 whom he had likewise raised to posts of honour and confidence, 
 made known his designs, and arranged a plan with the emperor for 
 his assassination. Gordon invited Tersky, two favourite generals, 
 and the secretary of Wallenstein to a banquet in the castle. Towards 
 the close of the evening, two captains Geraldine and Dcvereux with 
 fourteen ruffians were placed in the rooms adjoining the banquetting 
 hall. On a given signal, they burst into the apartment, overturned 
 the tables and massacred the generals. Devereux seized a halbert, 
 and accompanied by thirty soldiers, followed Gordon up the stairs to 
 the chamber where Wallenstein was sleeping. The sentinels gave the 
 alarm; the chamberlain vainly attempted to prevent them entering 
 the room of his master ; the door was burst open and the assassins 
 
FERDINAND II. 183 
 
 entered. Wallenstein, hearing the tumult below, suspected the 
 cause, and rushed out of bed, and was standing in his shirt at the 
 window, calling loudly for assistance, when the door opened. Devcreux 
 advanced towards him, and fiercely exclaimed, " Are you the traitor 
 who is going to deliver the imperial troops to the enemy, and tear 
 the crown from the head of the emperor !" Wallenstein returned no 
 answer. "You must die!" exclaimed the assassin; and a few 
 moments of silence followed. Wallenstein spread out his arms with 
 calm and dignified composure ; the halbert pierced his heart ; and 
 the hero of the Thirty Years' War fell a victim to the gloomy 
 jealousy of Ferdinand. 
 
 The tidings of his death spread rapidly through the town; the 
 soldiers flew to arms to avenge the loss of their leader ; but Gordon 
 was prepared. He read in a firm tone the decree of the emperor, 
 and recapitulated with marked emphasis the various acts of treason 
 of their late general. The soldiers were awed ; the faint murmur 
 of disapprobation was hushed by the cry " Long live the emperor ;'* 
 and they returned to their obedience. The assassins were well 
 rewarded by the emperor ; Gordon received the confiscated estates of 
 Tersky, and the possessions of Wallenstein were divided among 
 Gallas, Piccolomim, Aldringer, and Leslie. Several of the warm 
 adherents of Wallenstein were taken ; some were imprisoned, some 
 secretly beheaded, and some were publicly executed. The court of 
 Vienna published a long pamphlet to justify the assassination, and 
 set forth the different acts of treason with which he was charged. 
 Thus perished by the foul hands of base men this proud ambitious 
 man. He possessed the talents of a great general, and claimed the 
 merit of withstanding the greatest warrior of these times. His name 
 has been loaded with infamy because of his supposed treachery ; but 
 the investigation of the papers lie left behind him, has cleared him 
 from the charge of treason ; and his first act which can be regarded 
 as at all approaching it, took place after he had been maligned by his 
 enemies, and after the order of the emperor for his capture had been 
 issued.* 
 
 The death of Wallenstein did not create such confusion as might 
 have been expected. The allied generals instead of embracing the 
 opportunity of striking a decisive blow upon the enemy were 
 disunited, and wasting their time in feuds. The emperor sum- 
 moned all his powers, and resources, and displayed such activity and 
 perseverance, that his generals were enabled to secure the greater 
 part of the dominions which had been occupied by the Swedish 
 troops. The confederates however still retained a strong position in 
 the country. The Duke of Weimar occupied Ratisbon, and kept 
 the Bavarians in check ; the Swedes, the greater part of Alsace ; 
 the French, Lorraine ; the Rhiugrave Otho, the towns of Philipsburg, 
 
 In 1SS4, Dr. F. Forster published his researches among the archives of the 
 Military Council at Vienna, which completely proved the innocency of Walleu- 
 stein; and the late emperor Ferdinand I. of Austria restored his estates to 
 his descendants, the Counts of Waldstein. 
 
184 HISTORY or AUSTRIA. 
 
 Neuburg, and Friburg ; and the generals Horn and Banner, some 
 important towns in Swabia. The emperor appointed his son Ferdinand 
 who had been elected King of Hungary, generalissimo of the im- 
 perial armies, and resolved to concentrate his attack first on Bavaria. 
 He ordered the Infant of Spain, who was leading a large army for the 
 defence of the Netherlands, to form a junction with the king's forces. 
 The imperial army with Gallas and Piccolomini assembled at Prague ; 
 and leaving 10,000 men under Colloredo to watch the enemy in 
 Lusatia and Silesia, marched towards Ratisbon, joined the Bavarians, 
 besieged the town, and procured its surrender before the allied 
 generals could assist it. The king marched rapidly with the intention 
 of driving his enemy from the Danube. Donawerth fell by storm, 
 and Nordlingen Avas invested. Weimar and Horn marched to the 
 relief of the town, and attacked the intrenchments of the besiegers. 
 Their rapid assaults were resisted by the bravery of the imperialists ; 
 and when they were retreating, the king pressed on their rear, broke 
 their ranks, and gained a complete victory over them ; 16,000 Swedes 
 were slain, 4,000 made prisoners, and all the baggage and artillery 
 captured. Horn was severely wounded, and taken captive, and 
 "VVieinar narrowly escaped with his life. 
 
 The defeat at Nordlingen produced important results on both 
 parties. The royalists were elated, the confederates depressed ; the 
 fame of the former rose rapidly, while the fortunes of the latter 
 proportionably declined. The Infant of Spain pressed vigorously 
 towards Cologne ; the Duke of Lorraine advanced to secure his 
 duchy ; John of Wert ravaged the Palatinate ; Piccolomini swept 
 the banks of the Main ; and the King of Hungary captured Heilbron, 
 and occupied Wirtemberg. The confederates assembled at Frank- 
 fort, and were filled with indignation at the reverses of the Swedes, 
 whom they denounced as the authors of all their calamities. The 
 officers contended fiercely with each other; the soldiers, no longer 
 animated with success, were mutinous, and demanded their pay. 
 Oxenstiern alone was firm and undismayed, and turned towards 
 France for succour. He entered into a league with Cardinal 
 Richelieu, and procured from him the necessary relief. Money was 
 furnished for the troops ; 5,000 French joined the army of Weimar ; 
 and in the treaty it was stipulated that an additional army should 
 be raised, that France should have possession of Alsace, Philipsburg 
 and Spires, and that the confederates should assist in the conquest 
 of Brisac. The compact was submitted to the confederates at 
 Heilbron in March 1G36, and was agreed to after a long and stormy 
 debate. 
 
 The emperor meanwhile was endeavouring to gain to his side the 
 Protestant princes who were wavering, especially the Elector of 
 Saxony, who after the battle of Nordlingen entered into a treaty 
 with Ferdinand called the Peace of Prague. This peace conferred 
 liberty of worship on the members of the confession of Augsburg, 
 and allowed them to retain the ecclesiastical property they had 
 secured since the peace of Passau. A general amnesty was pro- 
 claimed, and the restitution of all the conquests made since the 
 
FERDINAND II. 185 
 
 arrival of Gustavus Adolphus stipulated for. Saxony and Bran- 
 denburg, the princes of Mecklenburg and Anhalt, and a few cities 
 agreed to this treaty; but the majority of the Protestant princes 
 rejected it, and continued their opposition. 
 
 Richelieu had long cherished a plan for the humiliation of Spain, 
 and now availed liimself of the present opportunity to carry it out. 
 At liis instigation, the Dukes of Parma and Savoy rose against the 
 Milanese ; the Netherlands were invaded ; Alsace occupied by French 
 troops ; and an army under La Force sent to the Rhine. The 
 vigilance of the imperial generals defeated his purpose. In Italy 
 the Spanish were successful in dissolving his alliances. In the 
 Netherlands the Infant of Spain with Piccolomini defeated the 
 troops of his ally, the Prince of Orange. His armies on the Rhine 
 were not more successful; and though Louis XIII. headed his 
 troops, it was with great difficulty he could maintain himself in 
 Lorraine and Alsace. The Austrian arms even threatened the 
 invasion of Trance. The Spaniards ravaged Picardy, and pressed 
 towards Paris ; John of "VVert reduced Coblentz ; and Gallas cap- 
 tured Mcntz, and burst into Burgundy. The capital of France was 
 menaced ; many quitted it in haste ; and the members of the royal 
 family were preparing to remove. Richelieu summoned his great 
 talents at tins important crisis, and collected an army of 50,000 
 men ; with which Louis defeated the Spaniards, and drove them 
 loack. Gallas soon after withdrew from France. In the north of 
 Germany the Swedes under General Banner, had recovered their 
 spirits, and were anxious to retrieve their fortunes. They carried 
 on a defensive war with the Saxons, and then retired into Pomerania 
 to await the arrival of succours. Being assisted by France, Banner 
 defeated the Saxons at Witstock, cleared Pomerania and Branden- 
 burg of his enemies; repulsed the Saxons in many engagements, 
 reduced Torgau, and besieged Leipzic. The Prince ot Hesse 
 Casscl also rose, and kept the imperialists at bay in Westphalia. 
 
 On the 15th of September 1636 the emperor summoned an 
 electoral diet at Ratisbon to consider the terms of peace which the 
 pope and the King of Denmark had proposed, and to secure the 
 election of his sou Ferdinand as King of the Romans. The con- 
 ditions of peace were so hard that they were unhesitatingly rejected; 
 and the electors, with the exception of Treves, fearing the designs 
 of France, proclaimed Ferdinand king. The sovereigns of Europe, 
 except France and Sweden, acknowledged his dignity. The emperor 
 did not long survive ; and soon after his return to Vienna, on the 
 15th of February 1637, the troubled reign of Ferdinand came to a 
 close. 
 
 Ferdinand was endowed with capacities of no ordinary extent, 
 though his talents were perverted by his intolerance and bigotry. 
 His mind was comprehensive and active ; and his perseverance and 
 unbending will enabled him to carry out his plans with resolution. 
 The bigotry, the ambition, and the suspicious tendencies of his 
 nature prevented him adopting any really useful measure, if not 
 congenial to his tastes. He was swayed almost entirely by his 
 
186 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Jesuits, who encouraged his superstition, and flattered his vanity. 
 His intolerance led him to sacrifice without regret the peace of his 
 empire, and the lives of his subjects to his religious scruples ; and 
 the false principles on which he acted rendered him the bane of his 
 family, the enemy of his country, and the scourge of his age. In 
 his private life he appears to have been a faithful husband, an 
 affectionate father, and a charitable benefactor, lie freely gave 
 alms to the poor, liberated slaves in Africa, endowed convents of 
 the Jesuits, and established schools and hospitals in his Austrian 
 dominions. He left Ids country however in a most deplorable 
 condition. " He found Austria Lutheran, thickly populated, and 
 prosperous; he left her Catholic, depopulated, and impoverished. 
 He found in Bohemia three million Hussites dwelling in nourishing 
 cities and villages ; he left merely seven hundred and eighty thousand 
 Catholic beggars. Silesia, happy and blooming, was laid desolate ; 
 most of her little cities and villages had been burnt to the ground, 
 and her inhabitants put to the sword. Saxony, the Mere, and 
 Pomerania had shared the same melancholy fate. Mecklenburg, 
 and the whole of Lower Saxony had been ruined by battles, sieges, 
 and invasions. Hesse lay utterly waste. In the Palatinate the 
 living fed upon the dead, mothers on their babes, brethren on each 
 other. In the Netherlands, Liege, Luxemburg, Lorraine, similar 
 scenes of horror were of frequent occurrence. The whole of the 
 Ithenish provinces lay desert. Swabia and Bavaria were almost 
 entirely depopulated. The Tyrol and Switzerland had escaped the 
 horrors of wapj but were ravaged by pestilence." * 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 FEBDINAJTD III. A.D. 1637-1657. 
 
 THE death of the emperor did not stay the progress of hostilities. 
 Hopes were fondly cherished by a few that the cessation of the rule 
 of the intolerant Ferdinand must necessarily secure the removal of 
 the calamities which it had produced. The' war however had been, 
 of too long continuance, the feelings of all too exasperated, to 
 permit a speedy peace, except on such terms as would be very 
 distasteful to one party, and uncertain to the other. For a time the 
 new emperor seemed to be successful in his operations. The death 
 of the duke of Pomerania, with whom Sweden had forced an 
 alliance, caused the elector of Brandenburg to claim that territory, 
 and to entreat the assistance of Austria, Gallas united his forces 
 with those of the elector, and obliged Banner to retire from his 
 intrenchments at Torgau. While Banner attempted to create a 
 diversion by bursting into Silesia, Gallas invaded Pomerania, 
 
 Menzel's Germany, ccs. 
 
TERDIXAND HI. 187 
 
 defeated Wrangcl, who was left for the defence of the duchy, and 
 succeeded in reducing all the places west of the Oder, except 
 Anclam, Stettin, and Stralsund. 
 
 The Austrian arms, however, received a check in the Netherlands 
 by the splendid successes of the Prince of Orange; and on the 
 Rhine by the conquests of the intrepid Bernard, duke of Saxe 
 Weimar. The latter boldly threw off the yoke of Sweden, entered 
 into a treaty with France, and obtained large succours from 
 Richelieu, lie conquered the remaining territory of Alsace, drove 
 John of Wert before him, reduced the Duke of Lorraine, and 
 appeared on the Rhine. In the depth of winter he kid siege to 
 Rheinfelden, which made a gallcnt resistance ; but the approach of 
 Wert and Savelli with a large army to its relief, brought on a 
 desperate battle, and Bernard was forced to quit the field. While, 
 however, the imperialists were rejoicing at their victory, the duke 
 suddenly returned, took them by surprise, and completely routed 
 them. Wert was taken prisoner, and sent to Paris ; and Savelli 
 was also captured, but afterwards escaped. He then reduced after 
 a brilliant struggle Brisac, and returned to Burgundy, where he 
 ravaged the country around. Richelieu was offended at his inde- 
 pendence ; and resolved to remove him. He bribed his most 
 confidential officer Erlach, who, it is strongly suspected, procured 
 his death. The duke was seized with a fever wliile prosecuting the 
 siege of Thann in Alsace, and expired at Neuburg in the thirty-fifth 
 year of his age A.D. 1039. Turenne justly eulogised him as a great 
 master of military science ; and Grotius styled him the greatest 
 ornament, and the last hope of Germany. He bequeathed his army 
 and his conquests to his brother ; but Erlach delivered up the 
 principal fortresses to Richelieu, and France ultimately secured 
 Alsace, and Brisgau, took the Weimarian army into her pay, and 
 gave the command to the duke of Longueville. 
 
 Meanwhile Banner recovered Pomerania, and drove the imperialists 
 beyond the Elbe. Being reinforced with 14,000 men from Sweden, 
 he planned with Weimar an attack on the Austrian dominions. He 
 vigorously attacked and defeated the Saxons who opposed him, and 
 pushed Ins victorious army into Bohemia. He routed the imperialists 
 at Brandeiss, took their generals Montecuculi, and Hoffkirch prisoners, 
 and appeared within sight of the walls of Prague. He was dis- 
 appointed in his succours by the Duke of Weimar; and, on his 
 death, retired beyond the Elbe to ravage that country. Ferdinand 
 gathered a vast army, and placed it under the command of his brother 
 Leopold, who, though an ecclesiastic, and called the angel bcc ause of 
 his sanctity and prayers, occasionally exchanged the crosier for the 
 sword, and highly distinguished himself for his military ardour and 
 skill. He succeeded in driving the Swedes from Bohemia and Silesia 
 into Thuringia. The withdrawal of some of the Austrian forces from 
 the Rhine enabled the French to gain the ascendancy in those parts. 
 The Duke of Longueville drove the Bavarians into Wirtembcrg. 
 The Prince of Hesse died in September, 1637, leaving an only son 
 William to the regency of his widow. The contests which arose for 
 
188 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 the regency caused the mother to enter into negotiations with the 
 court at Vienna ; but when her government was firmly established, 
 she declared for the confederates, and furnished 5000 men to 
 augment their army. The Duke of Brunswick also brought 4000 
 troops into the field. These forces united with Banner at Erfurt, 
 and obliged the imperial army to retire behind the Weser in 
 December 1640. Marshal Guebriant succeeded to the command of 
 the Weimarian army on the death of Longueville. 
 
 The emperor summoned a diet at Ratisbon to deliberate on terms 
 of peace ; but his proclamations were unheeded by the Protestants, 
 and he was unable to unite the princes, and induce them to support 
 him against France and Sweden. Banner attempted by a bold and 
 energetic march to surprise Ferdinand while holding his diet. 
 He suddenly quitted his quarters in the depth of winter with 
 15,000 men, and united with Guebriant at Erfurt with 6000 French. 
 He almost succeeded in capturing him near Ratisbon, saluted the 
 city with a distant cannonade, and was alone prevented storming the 
 place by the breaking up of the ice on the Danube, and the approach 
 of reinforcements. Banner retired through Bohemia, and Guebriant 
 to the Rhine. Piccolomini followed Banner into Saxony, and com- 
 pelled him to retreat to Halberstadt, where the distinguished Swede 
 died in May 1041 ; and during the contests which ensued for the 
 command of the army, he succeeded in clearing Lusatia and Silesia, 
 and establishing himself in Luneburg and Hesse. Banner was 
 succeded by Torstenson, who had served under Gustavus, and had 
 displayed the talents necessary to a great commander. Though so 
 severely afflicted with the gout that he was obliged to be carried iu 
 a h'tter, he prosecuted the war with a vigour and success alone 
 equalled by his illustrious master. 
 
 While Guebriant was opposing the imperalists under Lamboy, 
 and ravaging the Electorate of Cologne, the Swedes traversed 
 Bradenburg and Silesia, defeated the royalists in Moravia, occupied 
 Neustadt, Littau, and Olmiitz, and laid seige to Brieg. The town, 
 gallantly resisted ; and Torstenson hastened into Saxony to protect 
 that country from the efforts of the archduke Leopold, and Piccolo- 
 mini. The two armies met on the 2nd of November 1642 on the 
 plain of Breiteufeld near Leipzic ; on the very spot where Gustavus 
 gained that victory which opened to him the heart of Germany. The 
 associations connected with the ground were sufficient to arouse the 
 spirit of the combatants ; and eacli army appealed to the heroes over 
 whose graves they were contending. The battle was long and 
 bloody ; but victory at length declared for the Swedes. The impe- 
 rialists lost 10,000 men ; Leipzic surrendered ; and Torstensou, after 
 vainly attempting the siege of Freyberg, ravaged Bohemia, and took 
 up his quarters in Moravia. At this important period France lost 
 the services of her celebrated minister Richelieu, who died the 4th 
 of September, 1642 ; and on the 14th of May the next year his 
 master Louis XIII. followed him. The government passed into the 
 hands of Cardinal Mazarin, who adopted the policy of his predecessor ; 
 and the regency of the vouthful Louis XIV. was conferred on the 
 
FERDINAND III. 189 
 
 queen-mother Anne of Austria. Spain, whose power had received 
 very severe blows in the Netherlands, and by Portugal, dismissed her 
 able minister Olivarez, whose talents had long upheld the declining 
 authority of the Spanish monarchy. 
 
 The defeat of the imperialists at Breitenfeld aroused the activity 
 of the emperor. He secured to his side the Dukes of Brunswick 
 by restoring to them some fortresses in their dominions held by his 
 troops ; and arranged a secret treaty with Christian IV. king of 
 Denmark, by which he was to make a diversion by attacking Sweden. 
 The Swedish states became aware of his intentions, and issued orders 
 to their general immediately to commence hostilities against him. 
 Torstenson quitted Moravia, crossed the Elbe at Torgau, and 
 threatened the Upper Palatinate. Suddenly he burst into Holstein, 
 took the astonished towns by surprise, and in six weeks secured the 
 whole peninsula, except Gluckstadt, and Krempe. Gallas was sent 
 with an army to succour the king ; but Torstenson by the rapidity 
 of his marches baffled his plans, drove him to Magdeburg, and 
 defeated him on the borders of Bohemia, November 23rd, 1644. 
 Guebriant meanwhile was successfully opposing the Bavarian troops, 
 and on his death at the siege of llothweil was succeeded by Rantzau, 
 who was conquered by the Bavarian general Mercy, near Duttlingen, 
 and his army almost annihilated. 
 
 A new enemy now appeared on the side of Hungary. On the 
 death of Bethlehem Gabor, the late emperor attempted to annex 
 Transylvania to Hungary ; but the natives supported by Turkey 
 resisted liis efforts, and chose first the widow, ana then the brother- 
 in-law of Gabor; but their talents were insufficient to govern the 
 province, and George Kagotsky, a powerful noble, was raised to the 
 throne. The late emperor after a brief contest acknowledged his 
 dignity on recovering the seven provinces of Hungary which he had 
 ceded to Gabor. Ragotsky declared against Ferdinand III. ; and 
 while Gallas was in Jutland, he invaded Hungary, where he met 
 with little opposition. Torstenson was again successful in Bohemia. 
 Gallas was dismissed; the archduke once more issued from his 
 cloisters, and collected the burghers of Prague. The imperial 
 troops under Goetz in Hungary, and those under Hatsfeld in Lower 
 Germany were recalled, and the command of the whole given to 
 Hatsfeld. The armies met near Tabor in March 1645 ; the im- 
 perialists were routed with a great slaughter ; Moravia submitted to 
 the conqueror ; and the bridge across the stream to Vienna was 
 secured. The royal family tied to Katisbon, and the capital prepared 
 to sustain a siege. Torstenson however retired to Briinn, and 
 besieged it ; in which he was assisted by 8,000 Hungarians under 
 the son of Ragotsky. In the north of Germanv, the emperor was 
 deserted by his allies. Konigsmark, a celebrated lieutenant of Tors- 
 tenson, was very successful against the imperialists. He forced the 
 Elector of Saxony to sue for peace, and subdued the Danes, who 
 had also sustained a defeat by the Swedish navy ; and the king was 
 obliged to sign a treaty with Sweden and Erance, and give up his 
 alliance with Austria. 
 
190 HISTORY OF AVST1UA. 
 
 The French after the defeat by Mercy the Bavarian general 
 despatched an army under Tureime ; who, being joined by 8,000 
 men commanded by the Duke d'Enghien, afterwards the celebrated 
 Prince of Conde, gave battle to the Bavarians at Nordlingen, which 
 had before witnessed the defeat of the Swedes. The loss on both 
 sides was great ; Mercy was shot dead ; and John of Wert retreated 
 with the shattered forces beyond the Danube. The emperor 
 received the tidings of the defeat with great magnanimity. He 
 silenced Bagotsky by yielding to him the seven provinces of 
 Hungary, and drew his troops from Hungary to oppose Torstenson. 
 This distinguished general retired from Briinn into Bohemia, and 
 soon after was obliged by ill-health to relinquish his command to 
 "Wrangel, another of Gustavus's pupils, and return to Sweden. 
 Turenne was driven out of Bavaria bv the efforts of the archduke 
 and Gallas, and to deceive the imperialists advanced towards Holland. 
 He united his forces with Wrangel at Giessen, and marched towards 
 the Main, captured Aschaflenburg, crossed the Neckar, and laid 
 siege to Augsburg. Leopold, however, forced him to raise the 
 siege, and to retreat towards the Lake of Constance. The Elector 
 of Bavaria was weary of the contest, and sighed for peace. He 
 entered into negotiations with the Swedes, and concluded a treaty 
 with France. Ferdinand, when aware of his defection, attempted to 
 seduce the Bavarian army under Wert ; but the elector discovered 
 the conspiracy, dismissed his general, and secured the allegiance of 
 his troops. He soon after repented of his French treaty, renewed 
 his alliance with the emperor, and hastened to regain his fortresses. 
 Turenne again inarched towards the Netherlands, where Piccokmiini, 
 who had just been created Duke d'Amalfl, was very successful, and 
 i hreatened the invasion of France ; and Wrangel, who had inarched 
 into Bohemia and reduced Egra, advanced towards Hesse, and united 
 once more with Turenne. The allied generals proceeded towards 
 the Danube, and came up witli the imperialists under Melander at 
 Zusmarshausen, May 17, 1617. The royalists were defeated, 
 IMclander killed, and the whole army alone saved from destruction 
 by the skill of Montecuculi, who had gained his release. Piccolomini 
 was recalled, reinforcements were speedily collected, and with an 
 army of 22,000 men he succeeded in driving the confederates beyond 
 the Danube. 
 
 Konigsmark defeated the imperialists under Lamboy in the 
 electorate of Cologne, and by a brilliant manoeuvre threatened 
 destruction to the city of Prague. When Piccolomini was advancing 
 against Wrangel, Konigsmark was requested to make a diversion on 
 the side of Bohemia. He formed the bold design of surprising the 
 capital, and in the dead of night approached the walls, killed the 
 sentinel, and captured the little town of Prague. The alarm was 
 given, and 10,000 burghers armed to defend the old town. The 
 bwede waited till the arrival of Charles Gustavus, prince of Deux 
 Ponts, who was hastening with an army of 10,000 men. The attacks 
 of the besiegers were defeated by the energy of the citizens, who 
 were directed by Conti, an experienced engineer Breaches were 
 
III. 191 
 
 frequently made by the assailants ; but when they rushed to the 
 attack, mines were sprung, and buried them in the ruins. The 
 arrival of reinforcements to the city caused the besiegers to suspend 
 their operations. Konigsmark still held the little town, and Charles 
 Guslavus retired to Brandeiss. The next day, October 25, 1648, 
 the news spread through the city that the treaty had been signed 
 which was to restore peace to Germany ; and it is rather remarkable 
 that this war, which had ravaged the country for thirty years, should 
 have commenced and terminated at the city of Prague. 
 
 While hostilities were actively carriea on, since the death of 
 Ferdinand II., negotiations had been made to conclude a lasting 
 peace. In 1G38 two congresses were held at Cologne and Hamburg, 
 with the intention of dividing France and Sweden ; but the two 
 nations concluded a treaty between them, which united them more 
 firmly. Afterwards Munster and Osnaburg in Westphalia were 
 chosen as the arena where diplomacy was to fight her battles, 
 and win her bloodless victories. After many delays the celebrated 
 congress opened hi the spring of 1644. The assembly formed a 
 splendid gathering of the most illustrious men in Europe. France 
 was represented oy the Count of Avaux; Sweden by John Adler 
 Salvius ; the empire by Trautmannsdorf, " the most honest among 
 all the ambassadors." The Dutch, Spain, Venice, the Pope, and afl 
 the German princes were likewise represented. For four years the 
 demands on each side rose and fell according to the success of war. 
 Spain concluded a separate treaty with Holland. All parties were 
 heartily tired of hostilities ; and at length after endless disputations, 
 the terms of peace were signed at Osnaburg on the 16th ol August, 
 and at Munster on the 8th of September, 1648. 
 
 By the peace of Westphalia great alterations were made in the 
 distribution of territory, and in the balance of power in Europe. 
 France acquired the bishoprics of Mentz, Toul, and Verdun ; the 
 city of Pignerol, and the right of a garrison in Phiiipsburg, Upper 
 and Lower Alsace, with the imperial rights over ten free towns in 
 Alsace. Sweden acquired Upper Pomerauia, the town of Wismar in 
 Mecklenburg, the archbishopric of Bremen, and bishopric of Verdcn 
 as hereditary duchies to be held in fee of the empire with three 
 deliberative voices in the diet, and an indemnification of 5,000,000 
 crowns to be paid by the circles which Gustavus came to protect. 
 The emperor acknowledged the independence of the United States, 
 and the. Helvetic confederacy, which legally formed parts of Germany 
 till this peace. Brandenburg acquired the bishoprics of Halberstadt, 
 Minden, and Camin as hereditary principalities, and the archbishopric 
 of Madgeburg as a secular duchy. Brunswick gained the convents 
 of Walkenried and Groningcn, and the right of appointing a prince 
 of the reigning house alternately with a Catholic bishop to the see 
 of Osnaburg. Mecklenburg received the bishoprics of Schweriu and 
 Ratzeburg as hereditary possessions, and two commanderies of the 
 knights ol St. John, with two voices in the diet. The Lower Pala- 
 tinate was bestowed on Charles Louis son of the ex-palatine ; and 
 as Bavaria retained the Upper, and the county of Cham, with the 
 
192 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 electoral dignity, an eighth electorate was created for Louis with the 
 office of great treasurer. AVilliam of Hesse Cassel obtained the 
 rich abbey of Hirschfeld as a secular domain. 
 
 The religious and political rights of the subjects occupied a con- 
 siderable share of the attention of the conference. A general 
 amnesty was proclaimed to those who had opposed the emperor. 
 The treaty of Passau and the second peace of religion in 1555 were 
 confirmed. The religious condition of any state was to be decided 
 by its condition on the 1st of January 1624, except in the Palatinate 
 which was to date from 1618. The Catholics, Lutherans, and Cal- 
 vinists or as now styled the reformed, were to enjoy equal political 
 rights. The jurisdiction of the bishop in Catholic territories was to 
 remain in the hands of the bishop, but in Protestant to be vested in 
 the prince. The princes acquired the right of concluding separate 
 offensive and defensive alliances with foreign powers, and of keeping 
 standing armies ; and enjoyed almost sovereign power. The imperial 
 chamber was to consist of twenty-six Catholics, and twenty-four 
 Protestants ; and six Protestants were to be admitted to the Aulic 
 council. The deputations to the diet were to consist of an equal 
 number of each party ; but in special commissions where either 
 religion was concerned, deputies of that religion should alone be 
 summoned. Such were the general features of the treaty which 
 gave peace to the distracted and desolated empire. 
 
 The remaining days of Ferdinand were spent in active endeavours 
 to carry out the provisions of the treaty. He summoned several 
 diets to consider the points which were left undecided, but wisely 
 referred those which tended to limit his authority to future assem- 
 blies. He experienced some opposition from the pope, and the King 
 of Spain, and also from the leaders of mercenaries who were thrown 
 out of employ, and deprived of the opportunity of plundering. By 
 his firmness and activity, he succeeded, after a slight outbreak, in 
 finally settling the long contest respecting the Duchies of Juliers and 
 Cleves by confirming the Count of Neuburg, and the Elector of 
 Brandenburg in the possession of those provinces they respectively 
 held. He was successful also in securing the dignity of the king of 
 the Romans to his son Ferdinand, who had been previously crowned 
 King of Hungarv, and raised to the throne of Bohemia ; but his 
 hopes were speed*ily blighted by the death of the young prince, who 
 fell a victim to the small-pox on the 9th of July 1654. His second 
 son Leopold was acknowledged by the Austrian, Bohemian, and 
 Hungarian states as his successor ; but the electors refused to invest 
 him with the dignity they had conferred on his brother. 
 
 Towards the close of his reign, Ferdinand was again involved in a 
 war with Sweden. Christina the romantic queen resigned her 
 crown, to enjoy at Rome the sweets of retreat, and religious 
 contemplation ; and was succeeded by her cousin Charles Gustavus, 
 Prince Palatine of Deux Ponts. A warrior by nature and practice, 
 he revived the ancient quarrel with the King of Poland respecting 
 the succession. He attacked Casimir, drove him into Silesia, and 
 received the acknowledgment of the governors of the provinces, 
 
TERDINAND III. 193 
 
 and the submission of the principal towns. The Elector of 
 Brandenburg made a diversion in favour of the Poles ; but was 
 routed by Charles, forced to acknowledge western Prussia a fief of 
 Sweden, and to enter the war against Poland. John Casimir 
 meanwhile had recovered from his first surprise ; and with a large 
 army of volunteers and Turks, captured Warsaw and other places. 
 A bloody and decisive battle was fought near Warsaw, which lasted 
 three days, and ended in the total defeat of the Polish troops. The 
 emperor resolved to check the advance of Sweden. He summoned 
 the imperial diet, and endeavoured to gain the support of the 
 princes ; stirred up the jealousy of the Dutch, and the czar of 
 Muscovy ; entered into an alliance with the Poles ; and promised 
 to assist them if they would raise one of his sons to the throne on the 
 death of their king. Amidst these vigorous preparations, a fever 
 prostrated the emperor ; and the carelessness of one of his guards, 
 who fell down witli his infant son Ferdinand Joseph, gave the parent 
 such a shock that he died an hour after on the 3rd of March 1657- 
 
 Ferdinand III. possessed neither the talents nor the vices of his 
 father. He was mild and gentle in his disposition, prudent in his 
 actions, and tolerant towards the scruples of others. His military 
 skill did not render him conspicuous in the war which agitated the 
 early part of his reign ; partly because there were so many distin- 
 guished generals, whose talents were brilliantly displayed; and 
 partly because the infirmity of the gout, though it did not restrain 
 the activity of Torstenson, kept the emperor from the arduous 
 service of the camp. His successes were more apparent in 
 literature, and the arts and sciences, of which he was considered a 
 distinguished patron. He was a fond lover of domestic enjoyments ; 
 and the solicitude with which he watched over his children 
 occasioned the shock which terminated his life. 
 
 Before we proceed to the narration of the historical events of the 
 reign of Leopold, it may not be uninstructive to take a rapid glance 
 at the state of the empire, the church, the arts, science and 
 literature during the age of the Reformation. 
 
 Since the time of Charles V. the power of the emperor had been 
 gradually declining till it received the severe blow by the peace of 
 Westphalia. The princes who had hitherto acknowledged him as 
 their lord, and were bound by stringent rules, now asserted their 
 independence, and obtained the authority to make peace or war, and 
 to conclude treaties with each other and foreign powers without his 
 consent. The imperial dignity, therefore, chiefly consisted in the 
 fact that the emperor was the acknowledged head of a grand union 
 of independent states, which combined to promote their own interests. 
 The coronation however was still celebrated with the usual splendour. 
 When Aix la Chapelle fell into disrepute, the ceremony was hence- 
 forth performed at Frankfort on the Main. The sacred regalia, the 
 crown of Charlemagne brilliant with diamonds, the golden ball, the 
 sword and sceptre, the robes and rings were borne with great pomp 
 and state. The bells rang their merry peal ; the cathedral was filled 
 with august persons and anxious spectators; the Archbishop of 
 
 N 
 
194 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Mcntz received the oath, and anointed the emperor with holy oil, 
 who after the service in the church, conducted the procession to the 
 banquetting hall, where the great princes discharged their offices as 
 cup-bearer, carver, &c. 
 
 The empire was loosely held together by the imperial diet, which 
 was divided into three colleges, the electors, the princes, and the 
 cities. The Elector of Mentz was the president in the absence of 
 the emperor ; and each elector possessed a vote which finally decided 
 all matters. The princes were separated into two kinds, the tem- 
 poral and the spiritual. The temporal were often subdivided into 
 various branches by the division of property among the sons ; 
 among whom there frequently arose severe contests for the posses- 
 sion of the vote. The spiritual princes in the diet were those who 
 had made themselves independent of the emperor. The imperial 
 diet was also collectively divided into two parties according to their 
 religion, the Protestant and the Catholic. The votes were taken on 
 each subject, and the majority carried the decree. The princes 
 gradually discontinued their attendance at the diet, and were repre- 
 sented fiy deputies or ambassadors; and the delay caused by the 
 transmission of instructions weakened the influence of the diet, and 
 caused it to decline, though the sittings became permanent. 
 
 The character of the court of the emperor, and of the princes was 
 greatly altered. Luxury and licentiousness were openly manifested ; 
 gambling and excessive drinking became fashionable vices ; and a 
 crowd of mistresses, newly-created nobility, flatterers, and jesters 
 enjoyed its festivities. The court of Versailles at the time of Louis 
 XIV. was the model which every petty prince imitated as far as his 
 resources would allow ; and the sovereigns often greedily received 
 subsidies to keep up their splendour. The courts of law were 
 remodelled ; the authority of the provincial estates declined ; and 
 the power of the prince rose supreme. The judges were appointed 
 and salaried by the- princes, and a vast number of advocates sprung 
 up to defend clients from the complication of law. The proceedings 
 were secret, earned on by writing, and absorbed such an enormous 
 sum in costs, as to place justice beyond the reach of the poor. 
 Various officers were appointed by the crown to collect the tolls and 
 taxes, which were often levied with great harshness. The modes of 
 punishment had undergone scarcely any alteration. The crest of the 
 hills was frequently crowned with the gibbet and the wheel ; and 
 every provincial court was furnished with the rack, thumbscrew, 
 boiling oil, and other instruments of torture. Men were still 
 punished by having their tongues cut out, their limbs pinched witii 
 red-hot pincers, or torn off by horses, and by being confined in iron 
 cages, and starved to death. 
 
 The mode of warfare had been completely changed since the intro- 
 duction of gunpowder. The army was well drilled in field tactics, 
 and formed into companies and regiments, with the proper gradation 
 of officers. The lancers were armed with a long pike at the end of 
 which was a halbert ; the ai'quebusiers carried heavy guns which 
 they fired resting on a forked stick ; and the infantry handled 
 
TZRDINAND III. 195 
 
 skilfully the musket. The heavy cavalry still retained the helmet and 
 armour worn by the ancient knights ; but the dragoons were free 
 from this encumbrance, and were well armed with a carbine. The 
 artillery was light, but now formed an important part of the military 
 equipment. Mercenaries were frequently employed in the service of 
 the princes to assist in the field in the time of war, and to garrison 
 the fortress, or form the bodyguard in time of peace. 
 
 Though many of the free cities still enjoyed their municipal 
 government, their number and influence were greatly on the decline. 
 They reached their highest state of splendour towards the close of 
 the fifteenth century. In the Austrian dominions their privileges 
 were taken from them ; Vienna and Prague, hitherto conspicuous 
 for their freedom, now submitted to the emperor. In other parts of 
 Germany the princes gradually absorbed the free cities; while in 
 those which still remained, wealth and luxury exerted a deteriorating 
 influence. The burghers imitated the princes and nobles in their 
 dress and style of living, and were fond of display and extraordinary 
 feats. The distresses of the Thirty Years' War caused them to fortify 
 their walls, and enclose the city within narrow Limits, that it might 
 be more easily defended. Many of the imperial towns were nearly 
 depopulated ; and by the calculations of some historians the country 
 is said to have lost half or two-thirds of her population during the 
 war. The Jews were permitted to reside in their own quarter, 
 though they were often bitterly persecuted. They were the great 
 usurers of the age ; princes condescended to borrow money of them, 
 for which they paid an enormous rate of interest. The commercial 
 prosperity of the Hanseatic towns had almost passed away ; Bremen, 
 Lubeck and Hamburg alone retained their independence. 
 
 The condition of the peasants was far worse than that of the 
 lowest of the artisans. In Austria, Bohemia, and the hereditary 
 possessions of the house of Hapsburg, the serf was attached to the 
 soil, and possessed no freedom. He had to work hard for his master, 
 and was most scantily remunerated. Two days a week either per- 
 sonal service or a heavy fine was laid upon him, and enormous rents 
 exacted for the wretched hovel he dwelt in. His life was one 
 continued toil, which in the Protestant states was softened by the 
 slight education given, and the influence of Protestant principle; 
 but in the Catholic was rendered more dreary by the despotic sway 
 of the priest. The only solace he enjoyed after the conclusion of 
 his labours was his draught of beer, and the rude songs which depicted 
 the happiness of his sturdy ancestors. The wars had so desolated 
 the country, that for a long period the labour of the peasantry could 
 not bring it to its former fertility. 
 
 The changes which had taken place in the church were very great. 
 The Reformation had shaken her to her very foundation ; the strug- 
 gles between the Protestants and Catholics were long and terrible; 
 and the people embraced first one faith and then another, according 
 to the success of each party. The pope in the midst of the general 
 fermentation would not consent to any diminution of his authority, 
 and freely thundered his anathemas against those who despised his 
 
196 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 pretensions. The Reformation, however, was of great service to 
 the Catholic church. It placed an important check on the shameful 
 excesses of pontifical rule ; pointed out and remedied many of the 
 abuses which had crept in among the clergy ; and obliged the teachers 
 to change their tactics, and enforce their dogmas with at least a show 
 of reason. Amid the distresses caused by the religious wars, many 
 of the spiritual bishops raised themselves to independence, and 
 exercised supreme authority over their subjects. In the Austrian 
 dominions, however, the bishops were completely controlled by the 
 emperor, who was in his turn influenced by the Jesuits. The Pro- 
 testants had often attempted to gain a firm footing in these dominions ; 
 but the intolerance of the emperors had driven them into exile, or 
 forced them to submission. The Catholic church was mainly in- 
 debted to the efforts of the Jesuits for its preservation and efficiency. 
 They constituted a powerful and well-organised society, were ruled 
 by one head, swayed by one motive, and yielded implicit and blind 
 obedience to the dictates of their superior. Among them were the 
 most active missionaries, the most learned professors, the greatest 
 statesmen, and the craftiest diplomatists. They were to be found at 
 the courts of Catholics and Protestants, in the universities, and in 
 all large towns. The Capuchins were their warm allies, and suc- 
 ceeded in winning the affections of the common people by their 
 jocose addresses and their spiritual buffoonery. They were called 
 the Jesuits' poodles. The great aim of the Jesuits was to raise the 
 authority of the church, and to reinstate the validity of dispensations 
 from the pope. As the court of the princes increased in licentious- 
 ness, their casuistry was eagerly accepted ; and kings and nobles who 
 were guilty of drunkenness, perjury, adultery, and even still worse 
 crimes, found a comfortable assurance in the maxims of the followers 
 of Ignatius Loyola. 
 
 The worship of the Catholic church presented a strange contrast 
 to the simplicity of the Protestant. The ceremonies were even more 
 splendid than formerly ; and the robes of the priests, and especially 
 of the bishops, were magnificent beyond description. Pictures, relics, 
 amulets, and holy water abounded everywhere; sculpture, flowers, 
 and music lent their charms ; and at Vienna even a Catholic hymn- 
 book was introduced in imitation of that of Luther. The Latin 
 language, however, was still retained in the service of the church. 
 The existence of the Protestant church was a continual protest 
 against the Catholics, and became a standing witness to her cor- 
 ruption. The Lutherans and the Calvinists or reformed were 
 distinguished as much by their practice as by their doctrine. The 
 prince was the head of the community, which consisted of a number 
 of separate churches, united into parishes under a deacon, and the 
 \vhole ruled by a consistory. The clergy were dependent on the 
 prince, who received the entire revenues, appointed the minister, 
 and paid to him his stipend. In their mode of worship the Protestants 
 banished the ceremonies of the Catholics, extolled above all compo- 
 sitions the word of God, delighted in long discourses, and sung in 
 rich choruses their hymns of praise. The Lutherans, however, 
 
TERDIN.VND III. O 
 
 paid greater attention to their form, of worship than the reformed, 
 were "less austere and gloomy, and uniformly adopted liturgical 
 services. The instruction conveyed in the Protestant schools and 
 universities was of a more liberal character than that among the 
 Catholics. 
 
 The reformation gave a great stimulus to the universities. The 
 dead languages were studied with unwearied eagerness, and learned 
 disputations were publicly carried on in theology, and medical and 
 physical science. Law and jurisprudence formed a prominent branch, 
 which was adorned with the talents of Chemnitz, who wrote on the 
 treaty of Westphalia, and Grotius in his celebrated work De Jure 
 Belli et Pads. The study of medicine was greatly promoted by the 
 labours of Paracelsus, and his successor; while astronomy was 
 advanced by Fabricius, who discovered some spots in the sun, Simon. 
 Meyer, who announced the satellites of Jupiter, and Kepler, who 
 explained the laws which regulate the distances of the planets from 
 each other, and the direction of their course. Mining operations were 
 facilitated by Agricola the famous Saxon mineralogist. The mental 
 activity at the commencement of the reformation was seen by the 
 remarkable inventions. Gunpowder and printing were discovered 
 shortly before ; clocks and watches were brought to great perfection ; 
 and the telescope and the microscope, the magic lantern and spinning- 
 wheel came into use. Science, however, was but in its infancy. The 
 belief in the supernatural, and in the influence of Satan, which 
 Goethe has beautifully worked up in his legend of Dr. Faust, was 
 very powerful. Most men were eager for charms to protect them ; 
 lovers for love potions ; soldiers for bullets which never missed, and 
 for amulets which would preserve them in battle. Philosophers 
 were absorbed in their pursuit after the philosopher's stone ; and 
 emperors and princes were deeply engaged in alchemy. Every 
 court of any note then possessed its alchemist; and Rudolph II. 
 who was styled the Prince of Alchemists, gathered around him the 
 most zealous investigators. The thirst for gold was even greater 
 than the Californian or Australian mania in modern times. A potter 
 gained reputation for asserting that gold could be extracted from the 
 Jews, and that the bodies of twenty-four Jews would produce an 
 ounce of gold. The thirst for the elixir of life was equally strong; 
 and it is stated that Trautmannsdorf, the imperial ambassador, had 
 prolonged his existence one hundred and forty-seven years. Astrology 
 also was diligently cultivated; and Paracelsus, Kepler, and Wallenstein 
 firmly believed in the influence of the stars. Chiromancy, or the in- 
 vestigation of the lines of the hand, mesmerism, and a dreamy 
 mysticism exerted a powerful influence on the philosophic systems of 
 this period which were afterwards made known to the world by the 
 illustrious names of Kant, Fichte, and Schelling. It is also remarkable 
 that the age of the reformation, when men's minds burst through the 
 darkness of centuries, should be the age of the belief in witchcraft, 
 and that both Protestants and Catholics should agree in condemning 
 supposed witches to the stake. The suspected were tortured till they 
 confessed, when they were slowly burnt alive. Old and young 
 
19 S HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 women alike suffered ; and in some districts the burnings were so 
 frequent, that scarcely any women remained in the locality. The 
 Bishop of Augsburg burnt two hundred and nineteen, and m every 
 see the ecclesiastics were indefatigable in bringing them to the stake. 
 
 The Reformation was not very favourable to the fine arts. Archi- 
 tecture was not fostered ; more churches were destroyed than erected ; 
 and in the few which were built, the Italian was preferred to the 
 Gothic style. Painting, however, flourished. The Dutch set the 
 example of painting in oil ; and Albert Durer of Nuremburg, and 
 Hans Holbein in Basle brought their art to great perfection, Rubens 
 had just given to his pictures that warmth and depth of colouring 
 for which they are celebrated. Music also was promoted among the 
 reformers. Luther was passionately fond of it ; and it was related 
 that he was once aroused to consciousness, when he had fainted in 
 his cell, by the strains of some choral boys. The German theatre 
 took its rise amid the disasters of the religious wars. At first the 
 representations were of a religious character, and then comedy was 
 introduced. Hans Sachs, a friend of Luther, composed five volumes 
 of tragedies and comedies which were extremely popular. Amid the 
 strife of politics it was natural that, as among the ancient Greeks, 
 the plays should sometimes partake of a political and national 
 character. Thus the depravity of the court was derided in the 
 " Court Devil ;" the scholastics in the " Academic Devil ;" the sale 
 of indulgences in the " Tetzclocramia ;" and the intemperance and 
 immorality of German manners at this period in the " German 
 Glutton." Great historical events were also brought upon the stage. 
 The Siege of Weinsberg, or Woman's Faith ; Luther's Life ; the 
 Muntzer Peasant War; the Clausensturm, or the victory of the 
 Elector Maurice over the Emperor ; and the tragedy of Wallenstein 
 and Gustavus were represented. The Lutherans ridiculed the 
 Calvinists in the " Calvinistic Post-boy." 
 
 The poetry of this period was different from that under the 
 Hohenstaufen, when the Minnesingers poured out their flowing 
 strains. The legends were coarse; the thirst for gold, and for 
 adventure formed the prominent feeling except when the verses 
 were directed against the papacy, religious hypocrisy, and political 
 partisanship. Opitz was the greatest poet of this age. The squibs 
 and sarcastic effusions of these times are remarkable ; and their 
 character may be discerned from the following titles of some of the 
 principal. The " Merry Tales of the Parson of the Calemberg ; " 
 the " Monk's Ass ; " the " Ship of Fools ; " the " Praise of Folly ; " 
 the "War between the Ants and the Flies." The histories are 
 very voluminous, and detail minute events with a characteristic 
 German tediousness. Gottfried adorned his Universal Chronicle 
 with elaborate engravings ; Chemnitz wrote the Swedish War ; 
 Fugger, a work on Austria ; and numerous other writers delineated 
 public events, and provincial histories. German travellers explored 
 different regions of India, China, and America, and have left their 
 exploits duly chronicled. On the whole Germany was benefited in a 
 literary point of view by the Reformation ; but nevertheless suffered 
 
LEOPOLD I. 199 
 
 as severely as she did politically from the religious wars. " Germany 
 was a wilderness ; its material strength was ruined ; its political 
 power was broken ; its intellectual development was checked ; and 
 the fierce and manly spirit of the nation was crushed by their 
 thousand arbitrary rulers, who themselves became slaves of the 
 French. Divided into factions by the private interests of the 
 princes, Germany became the theatre where the armies of all Europe 
 met to settle the differences of their kings. This state of things 
 lasted a hundred and fifty years, and ended with the destruction of 
 the German empire by Napoleon." 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 LEOPOLD I. A.D. 1657-1705. 
 
 LEOPOLD had scarcely attained his eighteenth year when his father 
 diod. He experienced no difficulty in obtaining possession of 
 Hungary, Bohemia, and Austria; but was opposed with great 
 vigour by Trance in his claim to the imperial crown. The ambition 
 of Louis XIV. was unbounded. He had gained, by the treaty of 
 ^Yestphalia, great influence in Germany ; and he desired to secure 
 the iuperial dignity for himself, and to sway even a greater sceptre 
 than did his illustrious ancestor, Charlemagne. He secured the 
 electors of Mentz, Cologne, and Palatine oy a gift of 110,000 
 dollars each ; but was defeated by the opposition of the remaining 
 electors, who preferred the diminished authority of a Hapsburg to 
 the daring power of a Bourbon. His efforts to secure the election of 
 the Duke of Bavaria, and the archduke Leopold were also fruitless; 
 and after many delays, Leopold was unanimously chosen and 
 crowned at Frankfort on the 31st of July 1658. 
 
 Baffled in his designs on the crown, Louis formed an anti-imperial 
 confederacy which was called the league of the Rhine, from the 
 proximity of the contending parties to that stream. The three 
 spiritual electors, the Bishop of Munster, the Count Palatine of 
 Iseuburg, Hesse Cassel, the King of Sweden were allied with France, 
 and agreed to maintain an army to support the validity of the peace 
 of Westphalia. Leopold was prevented by this league interfering 
 in the war then raging between France and Spain, and attacking the 
 Swedish territories in Germany. He however renewed the alliance 
 of his father with Poknd, and sent Montecuculi thither ; who took 
 Cracow, and drove out Ragotsky, the ally of Sweden. The King of 
 Denmark took Bremen and Verden, and the Dutch aud English 
 squadron blockaded Dantzic. Gustavus surprised his antagonists 
 by his energy and skill. He drove the Danes from Bremen and 
 Verden, ravaged Hoist ein and Jutland, and leaving Wrangel to 
 besiege Fredericia, returned into Pomerania. Fredericia fell; and 
 
200 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 the King of Denmark -was exposed to the full force of the enemy. 
 Leopold hastened to the assistance of his ally ; Brandenburg, bribed 
 by the gift of "Western Prussia from Poland, collected his forces ; 
 the czar invaded Livonia ; and the combined fleets shattered the 
 Swedish navy. Gustavus rescued himself from his critical situation, 
 by a feat of daring, which excited the astonishment of the foes. 
 It was a severe winter ; and he marched his forces across the ice of 
 the Little Belt, and captured the isle of Funen. He pursued his 
 perilous journey across the Great Belt, struck terror into the hearts 
 of the Danes by appearing at the gates of Copenhagen, and dictated 
 through England and France a peace at Roskild, A.D. 1658^ This 
 treaty was shortly after violated. Leopold sent 10,000 AusfflRns to 
 aid the Elector of Brandenburg, who subdued the Duke of Holsteiu, 
 and drove the Swedes to Fredericia. Gustavus returned and besieged 
 Copenhagen, while his fleet blockaded the Danish, and shut up the 
 Sound. The Dutch always jealous of the naval power of Sweden, 
 sent her distinguished admiral De Ruyter, who defeated the Swedes, 
 relieved the capital, and transported the allied troops to Funen. An 
 engagement took place near Nyborg ; the Swedes were routed ; and 
 Gustavus, who beheld the defeat from the top of a tower, entered 
 into a negotiation for peace. He did not live to see it concluded ; 
 he died of fever before the treaty of Oliva near Dantzic was signed 
 at Copenhagen A.D. 1660. The terms, however, were favourable to 
 Sweden; Livonia, Esthonia, and Pomerania remained in her pos- 
 session. Holstein Gottorp, and Schleswig were separated from 
 Denmark; and the duchy of Western Prussia confirmed in the 
 possession of the great elector. 
 
 Meanwhile the war between France and Spain had continued with 
 varied success. Conde opposed his rival Turenne ; and the assistance 
 of the English alone gave victory to the French. Jamaica and 
 Dunkirk were secured to England; Ypres, Graveline, and other 
 towns to France ; and Spain was obliged to yield and sue for peace. 
 Mazarin met the Spanish minister in the Isle of Pheasants in the 
 Pyrenees, and drew up the terms of peace, by which Philip relin- 
 quished his pretensions to Alsace, surrended Jamaica and Dunkirk 
 to England, the succession of Juliers to the Count of Neuburg, and 
 gave the infanta Maria Theresa in marriage to the youthful Louis, 
 on his renouncing all claim to the Spanish succession, and receiving- 
 a dowry of 30,000 crowns of gold. A.D. 1660. This event was the 
 source of many destructive wars. 
 
 The attention of the emperor was called to the state of Hungary 
 and Transylvania. Ragotsky had been succeeded by his son George, 
 a wise and able prince, who secured the favour and assistance of the 
 Turks. His invasion of Poland, whence he was driven by the Aus- 
 trians, offended the Sultan Mahommed ; who deposed him, and 
 compelled the states to raise Bartzai to the throne. Ragotsky was 
 killed in a battle near Clausemberg, leaving a widow and one son 
 named Francis, on whose behalf John Kennedy took up arms. The 
 Turks occupied the chief fort resses in Transylvania ; and Leopold 
 sent General Souche to defend the Hungarian towns. Kennedy 
 
LEOPOLD I. 201 
 
 deposed Bartzai, placed himself on the throne, and appealed to 
 Leopold for assistance, who sent Montecuculi to his support. The 
 Turks, however, expelled Kennedy, and appointed Michael Abaffy in 
 his stead ; and the deposed prince was shortly after killed in a 
 skirmish with the Turks. The presence of the troops of Leopold 
 awakened general discontent in Hungary, which was publicly mani- 
 fested when he summoned the diet at Presburg to demand succours 
 against the Turks. The nobles were clamorous for the removal 
 of the foreign troops from the garrisons, which they said was con- 
 trary to their laws ; and the Prince Palatine, whose office was to 
 secure the laws from violation and to mediate between the sovereign 
 and thfe people, was opposed to the emperor in his religion, and in his 
 principles of government. The disputes at the diet ran so high that 
 it Avas dissolved without effecting anything ; and Leopold made over- 
 tures of peace to the Porte. Achmet Koprili, a distinguished vizir, 
 resolved to take advantage of the distracted state of Hungary. He 
 invaded it with an army of 100,000 men ; and meeting with very little 
 opposition, captured Neuhascl, threatened Vienna, and devastated as 
 far as Olmiitz. Leopold was confined to his palace by an attack 
 of the small pox ; and after endeavouring to obtain succours from 
 the princes he convoked the imperial diet at Ratisbon. Supplies 
 were granted after much disputation ; the pope, Spain, Venice, and 
 other states furnished contingents ; and an army of 30,000 men 
 marched to resist the foe. After many slight engagements, the 
 Grand Vizir resolved to attack Styria, which was in a comparatively 
 defenceless condition. Montecuculi gathered all the forces he could 
 muster, and took up a strong position at St. Gotthard behind the 
 Raab. The Janissaries crossed the stream, and attacked the Austrian 
 troops, which wavered and retreated ; but their brave general re- 
 animated them with his presence, and succeeded in routing the Turks 
 with a great slaughter. The divided state of the army, the intrigues 
 of the French king, and the distracted condition of the empire 
 prevented Leopold following up his victory ; and nine days after he 
 concluded a truce with the Turks for twenty years A.D. 1664. 
 Transylvania was declared independent in the hands of AbafFy ; the 
 emperor received the towns he had taken from Ragotsky, and per- 
 mission to erect fortresses on the Waag ; and the Turks remained 
 masters of Waradin, Neusohl, and Novigrad. 
 
 As Philip, king of Spain, had given his eldest daughter to Louis, 
 he compensated Leopold, to whom she had been promised, with the 
 gift of Margaret Theresa, his daughter by his second wife. Philip 
 died in September 1665, leaving a weak and sickly infant Charles 
 under the regency of his mother. In the following September the 
 marriage of Leopold with the infanta was celebrated. The ceremony 
 was scarcely concluded before Louis took advantage of the weakness 
 of the Spanish government to seize the possessions which he had 
 solemnly renounced before his marriage. He had long been secretly 
 preparing for hostilities, and had intrigued among the German 
 princes and foreign courts to prevent their interference. At the 
 head of a large army, he burst into Flanders, and captured Tournay, 
 
202 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 Douay, Lisle, and other towns ; and the first campaign was 
 concluded by the peace of Breda in July 1667. The Dutch, 
 however, were alarmed at his designs ; England forced Charles II. to 
 interfere ; and Sweden was piqued at the false conduct of France. 
 The Triple Alliance was formed among the three nations to compel 
 France and Spain to agree to terms of accommodation. Both the 
 contending sovereigns ieared a war with these powerful nations ; 
 and though they disapproved of the terms, they acceded to the 
 peace of Aix la Chapelle, drawn up on the 2nd of May 1668, by 
 which Louis retained possession of the towns he had taken. 
 
 The ambitious French monarch was not satisfied with his gains ; 
 and in order to carry out his plans of aggrandisement, exerted his 
 powerful influence with Sweden, England, and the princes to unite 
 them with him ; and directed his arms to the subjection of Holland. 
 He attacked the Duke of Lorraine, and opened through liis ter- 
 ritories a communication with Alsace. The combined fleets of 
 England and France, numbering 120 sail, swept the seas ; while 
 Louis, dividing his army into three bodies under Tureune, Conde, 
 and Luxemburg, attacked the United Provinces. The towns were 
 quite unprepared, and quickly submitted to the conqueror ; Nimc- 
 guen, Utrecht, and other cities opened their gates ; and the French 
 army advanced within three leagues of Amsterdam. Holland was 
 in a most critical position. The sluices were opened, and the 
 country inundated ; the states were distracted by the clamour of the 
 Orange and Republican parties ; the troops were undisciplined and 
 badly officered; and the people were reduced to such a state of 
 despondency that they proposed to leave their country, and carry 
 their kingdom and treasures to some of their distant colonies. The 
 proud spirit of the nation resolved never to submit to France ; the 
 able De Wit and his brother were torn to pieces by the people on 
 suspicion of treason; and the Prince of Orange was declared 
 stadtholder, raised to the supreme command of the army, and nobly 
 sustained the military renown for which his ancestors were distin- 
 guished. The Elector of Brandenburg concluded a treaty with 
 Holland, and sent 20,000 men; and Leopold, dreading the power of 
 France, united 18,000 veterans to the army of the elector. They 
 advanced towards the Rhine, where they were opposed by Turenue ; 
 and after vainly endeavouring to pass the stream, the elector became 
 dissatisfied with the court of Vienna, and concluded on the 10th of 
 April 1673, a treaty with Louis, by which he agreed for a considera- 
 tion to take no part in the war. 
 
 The Dutch were successful at sea. Three times their navy under 
 Van Tromp and De Ruyter engaged the combined fleet off the coast 
 of Holland, and warmly contested the supremacy of the sea. The 
 emperor drew succours from Spain, and sent Montecuculi with 
 30,000 troops ; who drove Turenue out of Franconia, and uniting 
 with the prince of Orange, laid siege to Bonn. Louis withdrew his 
 garrisons from the conquered territory except in Grave and 
 Maestricht. Charles was forced by his parliament to make peace 
 with Holland ; and the Bishop of Munster renounced the alliance of 
 
LEOPOLD I. 203 
 
 France. The Germanic diet voted large supplies ; and the princes 
 agreed to furnish not only their regular contingents, but also extra 
 succours. The French, however, reduced Franche Comte ; Turenne 
 overran the Palatinate, where his troops committed the most horrible 
 excesses; and the Prince of Orange drove out the garrison from 
 Grave. Louis was anxiously endeavouring to secure peace before 
 any fresh disadvantage occurred; but the allies were desirous of 
 war. In the campaign of 1675 Turenne was defeated and killed, 
 and the French army obliged to recross the Rhine. Thie Swedes 
 made a diversion in the north, and occasioned the withdrawal of the 
 troops of Brandenburg, Brunswick, and Munster; but the im- 
 perialists under the Duke of Lorraine captured Philipsburg! France 
 again was successful ; her fleet swept the Mediterranean, and her 
 troops carried their victorious anns into the Netherlands. Valen- 
 ciennes, Conde, Cambray, St. Omer, Cassil, and other fortresses 
 surrendered. A congress had been assembled at Nimeguen for the 
 purpose of negotiating a peace ; when Louis attempted to divide the 
 allies ; and failing in this, to win the Dutch by large concessions. 
 The Prince of Orange repaired to England, and married Mary, 
 daughter of the Duke of York, and the heir-presumptive to the 
 throne ; and persuaded Charles to send an ambassador to Paris to 
 demand from Louis the restoration of his conquests, and to threaten 
 war in the event of a refusal. The preparations for opening another 
 campaign were vigorously carried on by the allies. Louis anticipated 
 them by menacing the empire, and capturing Ghent and Ypres in. 
 Flanders ; and then made specific propositions to the conference at 
 Kimeguen. He pacified England by bribing as well as threatening 
 Charles ; secured the Dutch by awakening their fear, and exciting 
 their suspicions respecting the designs of the Prince of Orange on 
 England ; and detached Spain, which was impoverished and agitated 
 by intestine feuds. The other allies were still clamorous for war; 
 the Prince of Orange attacked the French marshal Luxemburg, and 
 drove him from his position ; but gradually the confederates were 
 induced to sign the treaty A.D. 1670. France gained Franche 
 Comte, Cambray, Tournay, Valenciennes, and other towns in the 
 Netherlands ; the emperor merely exchanged Philipsburg for 
 Friburg ; and Brandenburg secured a small district on the oanks 
 of the Oder, and 300,000 crowns. 
 
 Louis by this treaty became the most powerful sovereign in 
 Europe. His ambition, however, was by no means satisfied. He 
 had been secretly carrying out his encroachments since the peace of 
 Westphalia, which gave him a firm footing in the German territories. 
 He commanded the nobles and towns of Alsace and the three 
 bishoprics to renounce their connection with the emperor ; and 
 revived old obsolete claims on the territories which once sustained a 
 relation to the ceded dominions, but had long since been disconnected. 
 He also claimed the county of Cliinay, Alost, and several districts 
 belonging to the Archbishop of Liege. Leopold was appealed to by 
 the King of Sweden, the Elector Palatine, and Wirtemberg, who 
 held some of these towns, to redress their wrongs ; but Louis trifled 
 
204 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 with the demands of the emperor by affected negotiations, and 
 suddenly reduced Strasburg, and annexed the county of Cliinay. 
 Leopold entered into a league with Sweden, Spain and Holland ; and 
 induced the princes, with the exception of the Great Elector, to 
 furnish their contingents, and to improve the system of war by con- 
 fining the soldiers to their respective circles, and paying them from a 
 common military chest. The active intrigues of Louis greatly 
 hindered the efforts of the emperor. He stirred up the Turks to 
 foment the troubles in Hungary and to invade Austria, bribed the 
 King of Denmark by a large subsidy, and fostered the jealousy of 
 the Elector of Brandenburg. While Leopold was thus engaged, 
 the French king in 16 84 invaded the Netherlands, and captured 
 Courtray, Dixmund, and Luxemburg. The increasing dangers which 
 threatened them, awakened the fears of Spain and Germany ; and in 
 1685 a truce was concluded at Ratisbon between France, Austria, 
 and Spain, by wlu'ch Louis retained possession of the territories he 
 had taken, and the rights of supreme sovereignty in Alsace. 
 
 The power of France had now reached its zenith. Her finances, 
 under the able administration of Colbert, were in a most flourishing 
 condition ; her navy, comprising upwards of 60,000 sailors, dared 
 the united force of England and Holland; her army was brought to 
 the highest degree of perfection in discipline and tactics by the 
 stern yet masterly control of Louvois, minister of war, and Vaubon, 
 her indefatigable engineer. Louis was inflated by his recent suc- 
 cesses, and in the insolence of his pride imagined himself irresistible. 
 He seems to have realised his favourite expression, "L'etat, c'est 
 moi." He treated other nations with the austerity of a conquerer ; 
 and it is not to be wondered at, if lie domineered over all classes of 
 his subjects, the nobles, ecclesiastics, and people. His minister 
 Colbert, who exerted g:eat influence over him, died; and shortly 
 after in 1685 he revoked the edict of Nantz, which had secured 
 toleration to the Protestants. The barbarities which had ushered in 
 St. Bartholomew's day were repeated. The churches were destroyed, 
 ministers banished, children torn from their parents to be educated 
 in the Catholic faith, and the people cruelly massacred. Notwith- 
 standing all the precautions taken by the king, vast numbers 
 emigrated to England, Holland, and Prussia ; and France lost the 
 riches, manufactures, and influence of more than 500,000 persons. 
 
 Louis continued his aggressions in spite of the truce at Ratisbon. 
 He seized fresh possessions in Alsace, extorted tribute from Treves, 
 and lined the banks of the Rhine, Moselle, and the Saar with 
 fortifications. The princes were not unobservant of these proceed- 
 ings of the king. Leopold, though still engaged with his disputes 
 in Hungary, waited for an opportunity of avenging the invasion of 
 Germany. William, prince of Orange, had his Protestant feelings 
 wounded by the revocation of the Edict of Nantz, and was desirous 
 of curbing France. He influenced the King of Sweden in his 
 favour; and the emperor gained the Elector of Brandenburg by 
 giving up to him Schweibus, and the princes of Brunswick Luneburg 
 by promising to them the electoral dignity. Louis had often cast 
 
LEOPOLD I. 205 
 
 his longing eyes on the Palatinate. On the death of Charles Louis, 
 his possessions were claimed by different persons. Philip William, 
 duke of Neuburg obtained the electorate, but the Duchess of Orleans, 
 sister to Charles Louis, and sister-in-law to Louis XIV., claimed the 
 allodial property, and increased her demands \intil she required the 
 surrender of the greater part of the territory. Louis threatened to 
 invade the Palatinate if her demands were not granted. Great 
 alarm was spread among the neighbouring princes. Leopold, the 
 Prince of Orange, Sweden, Denmark, Savoy, and the German princes 
 united in a Grand Alliance at Augsburg June 21, 16S6, to resist the 
 aggressions of France. Louis attempted to quell the opposition, 
 and proposed to convert the truce of Ratisbon into a permanent 
 peace, and to compensate the Duchess of Orleans. The imperial 
 diet refused his conditions ; and he took up arms to disband the 
 allies. He interfered in the contested election to the See of Cologne, 
 and thrust his troops into the principal towns in the electorate, 
 except the capital which the imperialists secured. He sent 80,000 
 men into the Palatinate, and Treves ; and in a short time conquered 
 the whole country. Treves, Spires, Worms, Mentz, and Philipsburg 
 fell into his hands. 
 
 While Louis was thus concentrating his efforts on the side of 
 Germany, the Prince of Orange was enabled to respond to the wishes 
 of the English nation, and to free them from the intolerant and 
 bigotted rule of James II. He sailed with fifty vessels well armed, 
 and landed at Torbay, where he was welcomed and joined by the 
 nobility and gentry of the county. James escaped ; the throne was 
 declared vacant ; and William and Mary were crowned amid the 
 rejoicings of the people. This event was of the greatest advantage 
 to the emperor and the Protestant kings. The whole of Europe, 
 alarmed at the ambitious and unscrupulous designs of Louis, united 
 to protect the interests of Holland during the absence of William, 
 and hailed with delight the flight of the French protege. 
 
 Hostilities commenced with the greatest vigour. Louis withdrew 
 his forces from Germany ; and, to protect his frontier by rendering 
 the country incapable of supporting an army, gave orders to lay 
 waste the Palatinate, and the provinces of the Rhine. The savage 
 orders of Louvois were executed with the utmost rigour. About 
 forty towns, and a vast number of villages were fired; and the 
 inhabitants were either massacred, carried into France, or driven into 
 the snow to perish. The imperial vaults at Spires were broken 
 open, and the remains of the emperors desecrated ; and some of the 
 finest cities reduced to ashes. French incendiaries arose in various 
 parts of Germany ; in Bohemia three cities were destroyed, and in 
 Prague 400 houses were burnt to the ground. These atrocities 
 aroused the spirit even of the inactive German princes, and fired the 
 allied troops with enthusiasm to avenge the burning homes of their 
 comrades. The troops of Frederick, who had succeeded his father 
 as Elector of Brandenburg, and those of Brunswick Luncburg, drove 
 the French from Cologne and Treves. Another army under the 
 Duke of Lorraine captured Mentz and Bonn, and drove back Ihe 
 
2CG HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 French. The Grand Alliance was solemnly confirmed at Vienna, 
 and included England with the powers already mentioned. France 
 unaided was enabled to resist this mighty combination by the 
 wisdom of her generals, the discipline of her army, the resources of 
 her exchequer, and the enthusiasm of her people. Catinat the 
 French marshal reduced Savoy, and inflicted great distress upon the 
 people. He was commanded by Louvois to destroy everything ; 
 and when he again applied for instructions, the savage minister 
 replied "Burn and destroy, and burn again, that we may strike 
 teiTor into the hearts of our enemies." 
 
 Luxemburg defeated the allies at the battle of Fleurus in the 
 Netherlands ; and Catalonia was ravaged. The French fleet under 
 Tourville attacked and defeated the English and Dutch off Beechy 
 Head, and Louis himself took Mons andNamur in April 1691 ; but 
 his attempts to reinstate James II. on the throne of England were 
 frustrated by the splendid battle of the Boyne, and the unfortunate 
 king was obliged to remain a pensioner on the court of France. 
 "William, who had returned to Holland, and the allies were routed at 
 Steinkirk in 1692. The French fleet, however, was defeated at La 
 Hogue ; and the Duke of Savoy drove back Catinat, and devastated 
 Dauphine. The next campaign was more favourable to France ; the 
 allies were defeated in the Netherlands and the duke of Savoy at the 
 river Cisola, when Swabia was ravaged, and Heidelberg converted to 
 ruins ; the combined fleet was attacked at Smyrna, and the Palatinate 
 was again devastated. William succeeded in recapturing Namur, in 
 sight of the gallant French army ; though on the Rhine, in Italy, 
 and in Spain the advantages were decidedly on the part of the 
 French. 
 
 All parties were growing tired of this desolating and unfruitful 
 war. The German princes were jealous of each other, and of their 
 head. Leopold had created a ninth electorate, with the office of 
 arch-banneret, on behalf of the house of Hanover, which was con- 
 ferred March 22, 1692, on Ernest Augustus as a reward for services 
 which the duke had rendered to Austria in her wars. The electoral 
 
 Einces solemnly protested against this infringement of the Golden 
 ull, which fixed the number of electors ; and when the emperor 
 proposed to reinstate Bohemia in her electoral rights, which by some 
 means she had lost, they raised such an outcry, that he was obliged 
 to defer his design to a more favourable opportunity. The dissen- 
 sions diminished the activitv, which was never very great, of the 
 German States ; and the allies were now also anxious for peace. 
 The disasters of war, and the intrigues of the Papists caused William 
 to desire a cessation of hostilities rather than a war which could 
 benefit only Austria. Holland had borne the burden of the contest, 
 and groaned under its weight. Spain was too weak to indulge any hope 
 of becoming victorious. Savoy was helpless, and had made overtures 
 to France after the terrible battle of Marsaglia. Leopold was dis- 
 tracted by his wars with the, Turks, his empty exchequer, and the 
 disaffection of his people. France had lost her military director Lou- 
 vois ; her navy and army had absorbed her revenues ; her commerce 
 
LEOPOLD I. 207 
 
 and agriculture had failed; and Louis wished for peace, as the 
 delicate health of the King of Spain indicated that before long there 
 would arise a contest for the succession. Such being the feeling of 
 the belligerents, on the proposition of Louis, a congress was opened 
 at Ryswick near the Hague. A dispute arose respecting the pre- 
 liminary basis ; Louis succeeded in gaining the signature of England, 
 Holland, and Spain ; and though Leopold held out for two months, 
 he ultimately signed the treaty on the 30th of October 1697. By 
 the peace of Ryswick, Louis acknowledged William King of England, 
 and agreed not to disturb his government. He re-established the 
 commercial treaties with Holland, and surrendered to Spain almost all 
 the places he had captured, doubtless with a view to conciliate the 
 Spanish people, and dispose them towards him, when he claimed the 
 succession to the throne. To Leopold he gave up all the territory 
 and rights out of Alsace which he had claimed, restored Friburg and 
 Brisac, Philipsburg and Kehl, and destroyed the fortifications on the 
 Rhine ; and Leopold in return ceded Strasburg to France. Louis 
 gave up Lorraine to the duke, on condition of allowing French 
 troops a free passage through his dominions. The treaty was 
 decidedly beneficial to Austria and to the empire ; though the 
 possession of Strasburg, and the right of passage through Lorraine 
 enabled France to take advantage of the anomalous condition of 
 Germany, wliich really consisted in a number of independent states, 
 always jealous of their head, at enmity with each other, guided by no 
 fixed and stringent laws, and corrupted by richer powers. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 LEOPOLD I. (CONTINUED.) A.D. 1657-170o. 
 
 WHILE Leopold was engaged in his French wars, he was constantly 
 occupied with the affairs of Hungary, which was disturbed with 
 intestine quarrels, by the incursions of the Turks, and the intrigues 
 of Louis. The peace which Leopold had concluded with Turkey, 
 after the battle of St. Gotthard, increased still more the disaffection 
 of the Hungarians. The nobles formed several conspiracies, which, 
 however, were crushed by the activity of the emperor. Peter Zrini 
 prince of Croatia raised a powerful confederacy against the emperor. 
 He secured Frangipani, Tatterback governor of Styria, Nadasti 
 president of the High Court of Justice, and the young Count 
 llagotsky. The office of Palatine was vacant by the death of 
 Wesselini, and the confederates, having intrigued with Abaffy of 
 Transylvania and the Porte, assembled a diet at Cassau to select a 
 Palatine according to their laws, and levied their troops. Leopold 
 became acquainted with the conspiracy by treachery, and took im- 
 mediate steps to defeat their plans. He despatched his troops into 
 
203 HISTORY 0? AUSTRIA. 
 
 Croatia, Styria, and Upper Hungary ; Tatterback, Zrini, Frangipani, 
 and Nadasti were secured, imprisoned, and executed ; and Ragotsky 
 was pardoned by admitting imperial garrisons into his fortresses. 
 The emperor issued a proclamation declaring that the nation had 
 forfeited its privileges ; 30,000 fresh troops were quartered on 
 the people ; the principal nobles and fortresses were captured ; the 
 people reduced to submission by the heavy taxes and the ravages of 
 the soldiers ; and at length in 1673, the constitution of Hungary was 
 changed, and the monarchy declared hereditary in the Hapsburg 
 dynasty. The Protestant religion was abolished, and the churches 
 shut up ; the preachers were accused of conspiracy and two hundred 
 and fifty of them publicly sold for fifty crowns each to work the 
 galleys of Naples, from which they were ultimately released by the 
 gallant Dutch admiral De Ruyter. The whole country was filled 
 with desolation, and with the cries of injured innocence. The people 
 were fired with the energy of 'despair. They raised the standard of 
 revolt, and were assisted by the French, and the neighbouring princes. 
 Count Tokoli, whose possessions had been confiscated, placed himself 
 at the head of an army of 20,000 men, and burst into Hungary, 
 where he was welcomed by the oppressed people. His efforts were 
 crowned with success ; towns and fortresses submitted ; and his 
 predatory parties even made incursions into Styria, Austria, and 
 Moravia. 
 
 The emperor was unable, by his wars with Louis, to bring a large 
 army to resist the progress of Tokoli. He therefore summoned a 
 diet at Odenburg in 1681, abolished the new form of government, 
 granted liberty of conscience to the Protestants, and offered to 
 restore the confiscated property to the nobles. The concessions were 
 too late. Tokoli secured, by the influence of Louis, the aid of the 
 Sultan, who rejected the proposal of Leopold to renew the peace of 
 1664 ; and being assisted by AbafFy, he again ravaged Hungary. 
 His marriage with the widow of Ragotsky secured to him the 
 treasures and possessions of the family, with the strong fortress of 
 Mongatz ; and he entered Buda in triumph, and was inaugurated 
 Prince of Upper Hungary with great splendour. The Sultan sent 
 his grand vizir Kara Mustapha with an army of 200,000 men to 
 unite with Tokoli ; and the imperial general was obliged to recall the 
 distant garrisons, and to retreat towards Presburg. The emperor made 
 vigorous efforts to check the onward march of the Turks. The Duke 
 of Lorraine was placed at the head of an army of 40,000 men, with 
 which he attempted the siege of Neuhasel ; but he was forced to 
 retreat before the Turkish hordes towards Vienna, whither he was 
 followed by the infidels. 
 
 The state of the royal city baffles description. The court fled 
 amid the groans of the people ; the roads were covered with all kinds 
 of moving vehicles, filled with fugitives and their valuables; the 
 churches were crowded by the aged and superstitious, and resounded 
 with their piteous cries to Heaven for assistance. The skilful 
 governor Staremberg aroused the energy of the citizens. The suburbs 
 were destroyed, the fortresses repaired, and the students and burghers 
 
LEOPOLD I. 209 
 
 trained for the defence of the city. The Grand Vizir came on in 
 proud confidence ; in a few days the place was completely invested, 
 and a vigorous bombardment commenced. While the Duke of 
 Lorraine was harassing the Turks and defeating Tokoli, the besieged 
 were driven to the last extremity. Famine cut down more than the 
 weapons of the enemy ; the approaches were rapidly advancing ; the 
 outposts were all taken ; and the storming of the place anxiously 
 expected. The duke sent message after message to John Sobieski, 
 king of Poland, to hasten his approach. The king left his baggage 
 behind, quickened his forced marches, and uniting his forces with the 
 duke, and the troops of Bavaria and Saxony, at the head of an army 
 of 60,000 men, he climbed the Calemberg, and announced his arrival 
 by firing three cannons. A transport of joy burst from each heart 
 in the city ; but the Grand Vizir was filled with utter consternation. 
 He in despair led his men to storm the city ; but they were daunted 
 by the terror which was caused by an attack on their rear. The vizir 
 retreated in the dead of night, and fled with haste to Raab ; and 
 when the Polish troops entered the lines, they were astonished at the 
 booty they discovered. The Turks left all their tents, baggage, 
 ammunition, and provisions; 180 pieces of artillery, the sacred banner 
 of Mohammed, and the state papers, showing tne intrigues of the 
 Trench king, fell into the hands of the conqueror, 
 
 Sobieski entered Vienna on the following morning. The inha- 
 bitants flocked around him in great crowds ; they hailed him as their 
 deliverer, pressed to kiss his feet, and shed tears of joy in the fulness 
 of their gratitude. The emperor entered the same city a few days 
 after, and met with a very different reception. There were no 
 crowds to greet him, no acclamations of joy ; but stern reproaches 
 for his timidity and weakness. He felt keenly his humiliation ; he 
 dreaded meeting his deliverer, and spent a considerable time in 
 arguing as to what manner he should receive the king. " With open 
 arms/' exclaimed Lorraine ; but the haughty monarch resolved to 
 meet him on horseback. No spectator could have failed to observe 
 the striking contrast between the two sovereigns when they met and 
 embraced. Sobieski was all grace, dignity, and ease; a king; 
 Leopold was stiff, haughty and repulsive ; a rescued monarch. The 
 people felt the ungracious treatment the hero received, and thundered 
 their applause at him more raptuously. 
 
 After a short respite, the victors set out on a rapid pursuit of their 
 foes ; and in several engagements, they drove them out of Hungary 
 to Belgrade, where Kara Mustapha was strangled by order of the 
 sultan. The imperial arms under Lorraine, Louis Margrave of Baden, 
 and Prince Eugene were very successful. Tokoli was defeated, and 
 his power effectually curbed ; Gran, Neuhasel, Erlan, and Buda fell 
 into their hands. In 1687 the Turks were defeated on the plains of 
 Mohacz, which caused such consternation at Constantinople that 
 Solyman Pacha the general was beheaded, and Mohammed IV. 
 solemnly deposed and imprisoned. Leopold took a fearful revenge 
 on the unfortunate Hungarians. Under the pretext of suppressing 
 a conspiracy, he established at Eperies a tribunal headed by Caraffa, 
 
 o 
 
210 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 a blood-thirsty man ; which has obtained the surname of the Bloody 
 Slaughter-House of Eperies. Before this infernal court all who 
 possessed wealth, popularity, or influence were dragged ; and without 
 the least show of evidence, condemned. Thirty executioners were 
 constantly at work ; an immense scaffold was publicly exposed ; and 
 the dungeons resounded with the shrieks of the tortured, and the 
 groans of the dying. The right of electing and of restraining the 
 sovereign was abolished ; and the emperor sent the crown to the diet 
 which he had convened at Presburg, and requested them to crown his 
 infant son Joseph, and he would suppress the tribunal, grant a 
 general amnesty, and restore their civil and religious privileges, 
 except those respecting the sovereign. The cruel oppression they 
 had endured, however, had not extinguished their love of freedom, 
 and they nobly refused to give up the privilege they valued more than 
 all others. They at length consented to allow the throne to be 
 hereditary in the male line of the house of Hapsburg, either German 
 or Spanish ; but claimed the right of election on the extinction of 
 the male line. With these concessions the young king was crowned 
 with due splendour in the tenth year of his age. 
 
 Meanwhile Leopold continued his successful operations against 
 the Turks. The King of Poland, Venice, and Russia attacked the 
 Ottoman dominions; the Prince of Transylvania renounced his 
 allegiance to the sultan ; the fortresses in Servia and Bosnia sub- 
 mitted ; and at the close of 1689 Great Waradin and Temesvar were 
 the only possessions the Porte held north of the Danube. The next 
 year the Grand Vizir Mustapha Koprili appeared with a numerous 
 army, recovered Belgrade and the provinces oeyond the Danube, and 
 harassed Transylvania. The Margrave of Baden defeated the Turks, 
 and Tokoli, who had united with them-; and in the following year, he 
 gained a splendid victory over them at Salankamen, in which 20,000 
 Turks and the vizir were killed. On the removal of the margrave 
 to the command of the western German army, Augustus of Saxony 
 carried on the war with the Turks, but gained no great advantage 
 over them. In 1697 the celebrated Prince Eugene headed the 
 imperial troops. He quelled an insurrection caused by Tokoli, and 
 drove the Ottoman army from Peterwaradin. The prince followed 
 the enemy, and came up with them when they were on the point of 
 crossing the Teiss at Zenta. Part had already crossed ; and though 
 the emperor had dispatched a courier to command him not to risk an 
 engagement, he could not resist the temptation which the favourable 
 opportunity presented. He disposed his army with great skill, and 
 on a given signal attacked the enemy in different parts at the same 
 time. The Turks were taken by surprise, and increased their 
 distress by their own confusion. 'They attempted to flee; they 
 turned their arms against each other, rushed into the stream, and 
 were cut down by the victorious soldiers. The carnage was most 
 terrific ; scarcely 1,000 escaped, and all the baggage, the artillery, 
 9,000 carriages, and (5,000 camels fell into the hands of the prince. 
 Eugene carried his victorious arms into Bosnia, and reduced its 
 capital ; and returned to Vienna to receive the honours of a triumph 
 
LEOPOLD I. 231 
 
 from the people, but the cold and ungracious reproof of the 
 sovereign. The Turks were quite prepared for peace by this terrible 
 defeat. Negotiations were commenced at Carlowitz, a small town 
 near Peterwaradin, and a treaty was drawn up and signed by the 
 plenipotentiaries. Russia gained the district of Azof; Poland 
 received Podolia and Ukraine ; Venice held the Morea, and several 
 places in Dalmatia ; and Austria retained possession of Transylvania 
 and Hungary, except the district of Temesvar. Abaify was still the 
 nominal sovereign of Transylvania, though he constantly resided at 
 Vienna ; and shortly after, he transferred his authority to Leopold 
 for an annual pension, and the dignity of a prince of the empire. 
 The peace of Carlowitz forms a distinct era in the history of Europe. 
 It advanced the power of the house of Austria, gave a stimulus to 
 the encroachments of Russia, and caused the Ottoman empire, which 
 once threatened the subjugation of Europe, gradually to decline. 
 
 Before the treaties of Ryswick and Carlowitz had been concluded, 
 the succession to the Spanish monarchy was engaging the attention 
 of the interested parties. The health of the weak and imbecile 
 Charles was gradually getting worse, and demanded the appointment 
 of a successor to the crown. Three claimants appeared for the 
 prize; the emperor Leopold, the Dauphin of France, and Joseph 
 Ferdinand the electoral prince of Bavaria. Leopold presented his 
 claim as the last of the male line from Philip and Joanna, and in 
 right of his mother Mary Anne daughter of Philip III. ; the dauphin 
 urged his suit in right of his mother Maria Theresa, who however 
 on her marriage with Louis had renounced her title to the 
 succession ; and the electoral prince grounded his pretensions on 
 the right of his mother the only surviving child of Leopold by the 
 infanta Margaret, who also on her marriage had renounced her 
 claim to the succession. Each party intrigued at the court of 
 Madrid, and endeavoured to influence the decision of Charles. The 
 interests of Europe would have been best preserved by the elevation 
 of the electoral prince ; but the secret designs of Louis frustrated 
 the crafty plans of Count Harrach and the queen and her party, and 
 filled the courts of Madrid and Vienna with alarm. The king 
 exerted his powerful influence over the various states of Europe, 
 flattered the vanity of the Spanish people, and to give a cloak to his 
 designs induced England and Holland to unite with France, and 
 conclude a secret treaty called the first Partition treaty, by which 
 the Spanish monarchy was to be dismembered, A.D. 1693. Spain, 
 the Netherlands, and the colonial possessions were to be given to 
 the electoral prince ; Milan to the archduke Charles, the emperor's 
 second son; Naples, Sicily, the Spanish dominions in Italy, and 
 Guipuscoa to the Dauphin. 
 
 The disclosure of this treaty filled the court of Madrid with the 
 greatest rage. The people were indignant at the audacity of the 
 three powers ; and the king, having consulted his jurists and the 
 pope, drew up his will, and appointed the Bavarian prince his 
 successor. Leopold was highly incensed at the conduct of Louis, 
 and still more confounded by the decision of Charles ; and poured 
 
 o 2 
 
212 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 out his bitter complaints. The hopes and fears of all, however, 
 were dismissed by the death of the young prince in February 169<J ; 
 and Madrid again became the scene of the deepest intrigues and 
 disputations. Louis, still profoundly concealing his intentions, 
 procured the signature of a second treaty of Partition, giving the 
 deceased prince's portion to the archduke Charles, Milan to the 
 Duke of Lorraine, and his duchy to the dauphin. This treaty 
 awakened as much bitter feeling as the former. Leopold suspected 
 the duplicity of Louis, though the king solemnly declared that the 
 crown of Spain should never be united with that of Trance ; and 
 Charles II. and the Spanish nation deprecated the idea of a dismem- 
 berment. The archduke Charles was nominated by the Spanish 
 king, and his presence with a body of troops was earnestly 
 demanded. The agents of France increased their active exertions, 
 and tilled every influential position with their partisans. Discus- 
 sions and disputes, flatteries and frowns were profusely employed ; 
 and the weak monarch was perplexed and undecided. Again he was 
 persuaded to consult the jurists and appeal to the pope, and to 
 relieve his agitated spirit, he consented. Under French influence 
 the learned doctors pointed out the son of the Dauphin, Philip, duke 
 of Anjou ; and the pope requested Charles, as he valued the salvation 
 of his soid, to nominate Philip. The king still felt an affectionate 
 desire to promote the influence of his family, and preferred a 
 Hapsburg to a Bourbon. He still hesitated; and his confessors, 
 gained by France, appealed to his religious feelings, tormented him 
 with the fear of death, and brought him to acquiesce in the -wishes 
 of the pope. He was rapidly sinking; and the will appointing 
 Philip was hastily prepared, signed, and sealed. The king rallied 
 for a short time, and wished to appoint the archduke; but his 
 exhausted nature sunk under the excitement ; and Charles II. 
 expired on the 1st of November A.D. 1700. That very day his will 
 was opened and read ; the crown was secured to Philip ; and it was 
 stipulated that should he die without issue or ascend the French 
 throne, it was to pass to the duke of Berry, and after him to the 
 posterity of the archduke Charles, but the crown of Spain was never 
 to be united either with France or the empire. Louis, after a faint 
 show of resistance, acquiesced in the will, and presented his grandson 
 to his court. Philip hastened to Spain, and was crowned with great 
 splendour as Philip V. ; the Austrian party was dismissed from the 
 court ; and the ministers were so subservient, to Louis, that he once 
 made the remark, "They have made my prime minister to my 
 grandson." 
 
 The indignation which was manifested at the court of Vienna was 
 most intense, and a bitter crv was uttered by all classes against 
 French perfidy. Leopold resolved to appeal to arms, and wipe away 
 the foul stain which he believed contaminated his honour. He was 
 placed in a very critical position. The neighbouring states were 
 unable to second his efforts ; England was endangered by the factious 
 in Parliament ; the northern powers were deeply involved in the great 
 struggle with Charles XII. of Sweden; the smaller princes were 
 
LEOPOLD I. 213 
 
 luxuriating in their splendid courts, and deprecated the calamities of 
 war; and Holland, though anxious to reduce the power of Louis, 
 was obliged to yield to his influence. The emperor was undaunted, 
 and, though alone, refused to acknowledge Philip king of Spain. 
 He threw off his usual reserve and caution, and determined to enter 
 into war, notwithstanding the unfavourable state of the surrounding 
 sovereigns. Louis made great preparations to withstand the coming 
 storm. He gained the Duke of Savoy by marrying Philip to his 
 daughter Maria Theresa, gave Mm the supreme command of the 
 French and Spanish army in Italy, and introduced garrisons into the 
 fortresses of Mantua. He secretly secured Bavaria, the Elector of 
 Cologne, the Bishops of Liege and Munster, the Dukes of Bruns- 
 wick Wolfembuttel and Saxe Gotha, and the Landgrave of Hesse ; 
 and succeeded in arousing Ragotsky in Hungary and the Porte by 
 his intrigues. Leopold raised a gallant army of 80,000 men, arrested 
 Ragotsky and conveyed him to Neustadt, and commenced a campaign 
 in Italy. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1701 Catinat the French commander united 
 with the Prince of Vaudemout, who commanded the Spaniards in 
 Milan, and took up a strong position on the banks of the Adige. 
 Eugene the imperial generalissimo assembled the veteran troops of 
 Hungary ; and while he amused the enemy with attempts on the 
 Adige, he led his army over the Alpine rock's and fastnesses, which 
 had hitherto been trodden only by the wild hunter, suddenly appeared 
 in the plains of Verona, and took the enemy by surprise. By his 
 skilful manoeuvres, the prince succeeded in dividing the forces of 
 the enemy, defeated a detachment at Castagnaro, drove Catinat from 
 his position, and secured a free communication with the Tyrol, and a 
 fortified camp at Chiari. Catinat was recalled, and succeeded by 
 Villeroy, who vainly boasted he would soon set the Austrian princes 
 dancing. He marched to Chiari, and attempted to storm the imperial 
 camp, but was repelled with great loss ; and Eugene was too prudent 
 to leave his strong position in the presence of a large army. The 
 winter compelled the French to retire ; and the prince reduced the 
 whole of Mantua except the capital, and occupied Mirandola. 
 
 These successes, which Leopold unaided was able to secure against 
 the united armies of France, Spain and Savoy, gained for him the 
 support of other kings and princes. William quelled the factions of 
 England, and obtained the support of Parliament against the French 
 king ; who on the death of James II. had proclaimed the son King 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, and created great indignation among 
 the British people. The Grand Alliance was entered into by the 
 Dutch, English, and Austrians ; whose object was to procure for the 
 emperor satisfaction for the Austrian claims on Spain, to prevent 
 the union of France and Spain in the same family, and to wrest the 
 Netherlands from France. Brandenburg was gained by conferring 
 on the elector Frederick the title of King of Prussia, and the Dukes 
 of Brunswick by the gift of the electoral hat. Leopold gradually 
 \inited the princes with him, and procured from the diet at Ratisbon 
 a declaration of war asrainst Louis XIV. 
 
214 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 The death of William king of England, gave the courts of Paris 
 and Madrid a momentary exultation, Avhich was speedily dissipated 
 by the policy of his successor Anne ; who, supported by the unani- 
 mous voice of the nation, by Marlborough the greatest general, and 
 Godolphin the ablest statesman of that age, declared war against 
 Trance May 15, 1702. Marlborough was sent to the Hague, and 
 appointed sole general of the English and Dutch forces. The 
 French, however, had taken the precaution of throwing fresh garri- 
 sons into the fortresses of the [Netherlands. The excessive caution 
 of the Dutch restrained the ardour and crippled the energies of 
 Marlborough. He advanced with an army of 60,000 men, crossed 
 the Meuse at Grave, forced the French to retreat into Brabant, and 
 in less than two months captured Yenloo and other places on the 
 Meuse, and closed the campaign with the reduction of Liege. 
 Meanwhile Louis margrave of Baden, the hero of Hungary, assembled 
 his troops on the Rhine to the number of 40,000 men. His army 
 was animated with the presence of the King of the Romans ; he 
 assaulted and captured Landau, which was deemed impregnable ; 
 and hastened to form a juncture with Marlborough. On the day of 
 the surrender of Landau, the Elector of Bavaria treacherously threw 
 off his mask of neutrality, took possession of Ulm, and created a 
 dangerous diversion in the rear of the imperialists. He sent his 
 general Count Arco to open a communication with the French general 
 v illars, who contrived to steal a perilous march through the Black 
 Forest ; the count, however, was stopped by the Swiss, and forced to 
 return to Bavaria ; and the French were defeated by the margrave. 
 
 In Italy Eugene blockaded Mantua, and surprised Cremona, where 
 he captured the French general Yilleroy. Louis sent the enterprising 
 and valiant Vendome to take the command, who being joined by 
 Philip succeeded in defeating some parties of the imperial corps. 
 The supremacy was stoutly contested on both sides ; the advantages 
 of force and supplies were with Yeudome, yet Eugene, though but 
 scantily supplied with troops, money, and ammunition, skilfully de- 
 fended' his posts, defeated his opponent at Luzara, and took up his 
 quarters in Mirandola. The English carried out a plan which had 
 been matured by their late monarch. A fleet composed of thirty 
 sail of the line, besides smaller vessels, was fitted out and given to 
 the command of Sir George Rooke, having on board 14,000 troops 
 under the Duke of Ormond. They attempted an attack on Cadiz, 
 but the enterprise failed ; and they plundered Port St. Philip, and 
 gained as Stanhope remarks "a great deal of plunder, and of 
 infamy." Their want of success was amply compensated by the 
 capture and destruction of a rich Spanish fleet at Yigo Bay, October 
 22, 1702. The total loss was estimated at more than eight millions 
 of dollars. 
 
 The campaign of 1703 did not bring any great advantage to 
 either side. In the Netherlands Marlborough was restrained by the 
 timid counsels of his allies ; he, however, succeeded in capturing 
 Bonn in the electorate of Cologne, and the towns of Huy, Limburg 
 and Guelders. Leopold concentrated his chief attack on Bavaria. 
 
LEOPOLD I. 215 
 
 The troops of Franconia under Stirum were to occupy the Upper 
 Palatinate, and a small force under Schlick to attack on the side of 
 the Inn ; while the Margrave of Baden was to guard the passes of 
 the Black Forest. Notwithstanding all these preparations, General 
 Villars succeeded in crossing the Rhine, and capturing fifty forts and 
 posts between that river and the Black Mountains. He rested his 
 troops for a short period ; and in May commenced a most arduous and 
 difficult march through a mountainous district, which could afford 
 him no sustenance, and which was well guarded. He rapidly carried 
 the passes, terrified the Germans by his vigorous onsets, and united 
 with the Elector of Bavaria near Dutlingen. While the French were 
 fighting their passage to the Danube, the elector surprised Neuburg, 
 kept Stirum and Schlick in constant alarm, defeated a body of troops 
 at Einhorf, reduced Katisbon, and joined the French army. Villars 
 
 Eroposed to march at once to Yienna ; but the elector was dissatis- 
 ed with the overbearing insolence of the French, and resolved to 
 proceed into the Tyrol, and open a communication with Vendome in 
 Italy, while Villars remained m Bavaria to watch the movements of 
 the Margrave. The elector pushed his troops through the Tyrol, 
 entered Innspruck in triumph, and marched towards Trent. The 
 brave mountaineers of the Tyrol rose to defend the passes ; large 
 masses of rocks and trees were rolled down upon the foe, when in 
 the long narrow defiles ; and after many wonderful escapes, the 
 elector forced his way to his own country with the loss of two-thirds 
 of his army. During the absence of the Bavarian army, the mar- 
 grave united with the troops in the Upper Palatinate, and captured 
 Augsburg before the French could secure it. Stirum descended the 
 Danube, and came between the allied army and the camp at Dillingen. 
 Villars rescued himself from his critical position by attacking and 
 defeating Stirum at Hochstadt ; but the indecision of the elector 
 prevented him attacking the margrave, he gave up his command in 
 disgust, and Marsin who succeeded him gained Augsburg and 
 Passau. The Duke of Burgundy captured Brisac; and Tallard 
 defeated a corps of 10,000 men at Spirebach. 
 
 In Italy the French under Vendome continued to gain great 
 success ; though the defeat of the elector by the Tyrolese discon- 
 certed his plans. Victor Amadeus duke of Savoy became dissatisfied 
 with the French ; he had gained important positions for his daughters, 
 and dreaded the establishment of French power beyond the Alps. 
 He listened to the overtures made by the allies, and joined the grand 
 alliance on the 25th of October. Vendome turned his arms against 
 him; Piedmont was ravaged by his troops, and Savoy by Tesse. 
 The approach of winter, however, caused the separation of the French 
 troops ; and the duke was reinforced by the imperial general 
 Staremberg. The King of Portugal also united with the allies, and 
 enabled the emperor to gain a strong footing in Spain where he still 
 had a considerable party. This party was strengthened by the in- 
 creasing influence of Louis at the court of Madrid. The grandees 
 were disgusted with the rule of the foreigner; the unjust and 
 exorbitant taxes pressed heavily on the people ; and a bitter cry was 
 
21 G HISTORY OF ArSTRIA. 
 
 raised against the oppression of the Bourbon. A representation was 
 made to Leopold by some Spanish nobles that Spain would prove an 
 easy conquest ; the maritime powers offered to convey Charles to 
 the kingdom ; and Peter king of Portugal agreed to furnish him with 
 an army in return for some frontier towns which were to be ceded to 
 him. Charles was solemnly proclaimed King of Spain at Vienna in 
 September 1703, passed through Holland to England, shared in the 
 Christinas festivities of the court of Anne, and was conveyed to 
 Lisbon by a fleet under the command of Rooke. 
 
 Ragotsky succeeded in escaping from his chamber at Xeustadt, 
 where liis grandfather Zriui had been confined, and tied to Warsaw, 
 where he waited for an opportunity of entering Hungary. The war- 
 like intentions of Bavaria led the emperor to draw most of his troops 
 from Hungary ; and Ragotsky embraced the opportunity to descend 
 the Carpathian mountains and call the people to shake off the yoke 
 of Austria. Moutecuculi advanced agaiust him, and again he escaped 
 to Poland ; but soon after he entered Hungary at the head of a small 
 corps, and being reinforced by volunteers, succeeded in becoming 
 master of the greater part of Hungary. The rebellion created great 
 consternation at Vienna. Generals lieuster and Schlick were sent 
 to oppose the insurgents, but were obliged to retire, one to Presburg 
 and the other to Vienna. Negotiations were frustrated by the 
 extravagant demands of the Hungarians ; and they pressed onwards 
 towards Vienna and planned with the French and Bavarians an attack 
 on the royal city. Their plans were frustrated by the genius and 
 bravery of Marlborough. He saw the necessity of preventing the 
 junction of the Bavarians with Ragotsky, and of concealing his 
 designs even from his allies. He arranged his plans with Eugene, 
 and announced to his government and the States that he was about to 
 act on the Moselle. At the head of 15,000 British troops, he reached 
 Coblentz on the 25th of May 1704, where the French, fearing an 
 attack on the Moselle, summoned Villeroy to oppose him. He 
 rapidly passed from Coblentz to Mentz, crossed the Main and pro- 
 ceeded to Lauenburg, and then crossed the Neckar. His enemies 
 were confounded by his strange and rapid movements, and drew 
 their forces together for the defence of their frontiers. He secretly 
 appointed Ulm for his junction with the troops of Eugene and the 
 Margrave of Bracleii ; and each general took his own erratic journey, 
 and gradually united at Giengen. The elector had detached Arco 
 with 12,000 men to defend the heights of Schelleuburg, while he 
 occupied the entrenched camp at Dillengen. Marlborough forced the 
 lines at Schelleuburg, defeated Arco with a great slaughter, and 
 compelled the elector to retire to Augsburg, where the duke 
 attempted to gain him to the side of the emperor, and .desert the 
 alliance of France. He affected to agree ; but was no sooner joined 
 by Tallard with 30,000 men than he threw off his mask, and com- 
 menced hostilities. Marlborough ravaged the surrounding country, 
 despatched the Margrave to Ingoldstadt, and followed the movements 
 of the enemy. 
 
 The elector crossed the Danube with the intention of attacking 
 
LEOPOLD I. 217 
 
 Eugene who had followed Tallard from the Rhine. Maryborough 
 anticipated his designs, and by a bold and rapid march united with 
 Eugene at Munster, and proceeded to occupy the strong post of 
 Hochstadt. They found the enemy already intrenched there ; and 
 the British general resolved to risk an engagement. The troops 
 majestically moved on in eight columns, and intimidated the enemy 
 by their imposing appearance. The elector drew in his outposts and 
 formed the order of battle into two lines. The right consisted of 
 the troops under Tallard; the left, the united Bavarians and French 
 commanded by the elector and Marsin. The allies numbered 52,000 
 men, and were undefended by any strong position ; the enemy about 
 56,000 men, were strongly intrenched by marshy swamps, and by the 
 villages of Blenheim and Oberclaw. At one o'clock the battle com- 
 menced, August 13, 1704?. Lord Cutts attacked Blenheim, the prince 
 of Anhalt Abcrclaw ; but both were repelled with a terrible carnage. 
 Marlborough directed all his force to charge the centre of the enemy ; 
 and while animating his men, a ball threw his horse on the ground, 
 and his troops halted and wavered. He rose covered witli gory 
 mire, and placing himself at the head of his cavalry, dashed across 
 the marsh, and supported by his infantry, broke the centre with his 
 repeated shocks. The French cavalry fled, and were driven into the 
 Danube ; Tallard was captured ; the infantry was surrounded and 
 taken at Blenheim. Eugene imitated the example of Marlborough 
 against the Bavarians, and though he performed deeds of daring and 
 brilliant exploits, the want of co-operation enabled the elector to 
 withdraw his troops with little loss. The slaughter of the day was 
 very great ; the enemy lost 40,000 men, 120 pieces of artillery, 300 
 colours and standards, and their military chest ; the allies lost but 
 4,000 killed, and 7,000 wounded. The victors crossed the Rhine at 
 Philipsburg, drove the wretched remnant of the army before them, 
 and reduced the whole of Bavaria. 
 
 The electress entered into a treaty at Munich, by which she 
 restored Passau, gave up all the fortresses of Bavaria, and the 
 revenues, and retained for herself and her children only the ruined 
 capital, Ragotsky was conquered by Heuster, and the greater part 
 of the insurgents were either taken prisoners or killed. Marl- 
 borough received the thanks of the court of Vienna, and was 
 presented with the dignity of a prince of the empire and the lordship 
 of Mindelheim in fee. the English nation hailed their victorious 
 general with transports of joy. The queen, the Parliament, and the 
 people thanked him ; his enemies sunk into obscurity ; and the 
 nation testified its gratitude by conferring on liim the rich manor of 
 Woodstock, a splendid palace, and a perpetual pension. 
 
 The campaign of 1705 opened with great preparations; but the 
 aged emperor did not live to see the results. His health had k>n<> 
 been declining: a lingering disorder shattered his frame; ana 
 Leopold died in the sixty-fifth year of his age, after an eventful reign 
 of forty-six years, May 5, 1705. 
 
 Leopold possessed a diminutive person, weak constitution, sallow 
 countenance, and awkward manners. He prided himself on his 
 
218 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Spanish dress, and repelled his subjects by his cold reserve, and his 
 forbidding appearance. He was deeply learned in the sophistries of 
 the Jesuits, by whom he had been educated ; and appears to have 
 been able to paint, sing, and compose with remarkable facility. As 
 all princes were devoted to the dark sciences, Leopold paid" great 
 attention to alchemy and astrology ; and from the scantiness of his 
 revenues doubtless often sprung the desire for the possession of the 
 secret which was to create gold at the bidding of the master. His 
 private life was distinguished by chastity, religious zeal without 
 bigotry, and unbounded charity ; which is no small praise to award 
 an emperor at a time when all the courts were celebrated chiefly for 
 their licentiousness. The glory of the reign of Leopold was derived, 
 not from any splendid talents or shining virtues in the sovereign, but 
 from the brilliant genius which the great French and Hungarian 
 wars brought into prominence. It was the good fortune of the 
 emperor to possess great generals, and it was perhaps the greatest 
 evidence of his wisdom that he allowed them unlimited control over 
 their plans and operations. They brought the glory to the Austrian 
 throne ; the power of the sovereign was greater than at the peace of 
 Westphalia ; and under the same wise policy the house of Hapsburg 
 was again to be respected and feared among the European nations. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 JOSEPH I. A.D. 1705-1710. 
 
 JOSEPH was twenty-five years of age when the death of his father 
 called him to the throne. He had been most carefully educated by 
 the prince of Salm, who excluded the Jesuits from influencing the 
 mind of his pupil, and fostered in him an enlightened and liberal 
 spirit. His bravery had been manifested by his daring exploits in 
 the camp, and his talents gave great promise for the future. No 
 important battle distinguished the campaign of 1705. The con- 
 federates were disunited, and their splendid armies paralysed by the 
 fear, the caution, and the indecision of the princes. Louis had made 
 his arrangements with great skill. Bavaria and Villeroy with 75,000 
 men were to act on the offensive on the side of the low countries ; 
 Villars with 55,000 was to protect the country adjacent the Moselle ; 
 Marsin with 30,000 was to defend the Rhine. He also sent rein- 
 forcements to quell an insurrection in the Cevennes, and to assist in 
 the subjugation of the Duke of Savoy. Marlborough planned an 
 attack on the Moselle, which was defeated by the supineness of the 
 allies ; and he hastened towards the Meuse, where he recaptured 
 Huy and Liege, and demolished the French lines. The French 
 secured Lorraine and the three bishoprics ; and after both armies had 
 
JOSEPH I. 219 
 
 wearied themselves with marches and skirmishes, they retired into 
 their winter quarters. 
 
 An insurrection of the peasantry in Bavaria threatened to create 
 a powerful diversion in favour of France. The natives had been 
 treated with the greatest severity, and they rose against their 
 oppressors. A council was formed among them for the defence of 
 the countly ; leaders aroused the people, and formed them into 
 armies; and before long an army of 30,000 men swept over the 
 country, and threatened destruction to Munich. The Austrian 
 soldiers were sent to oppose them, and quickly scattered the dis- 
 organised masses ; the ringleaders were hanged and quartered ; and 
 the peasants were ground down by additional taxes and severities. 
 In Italy the French maintained their superiority, and made great 
 efforts to conquer Piedmont, and detach Savoy from the emperor. 
 Vendome subdued all the principal fortresses, carried after a long 
 and terrible siege the fortress of Verrua, which formed an outwork 
 of Turin, and prepared to advance to the capital. Eugene was 
 vigorously opposing Vendome's brother in the Trentin ; and by his 
 success, drew off the attention of the French general from Turin, 
 though he could not prevent the capture of Mirandola, Nice, Mont- 
 nielian, and other strongholds. In Spain the imperial arms were 
 very successful. After Charles had lauded, the King of Portugal 
 placed himself at the head of his army, and advanced to the frontier. 
 Philip aroused his nobles, and rallied his subjects by his insinuating 
 address, and led his troops to attack the allies. The English fleet 
 attempted to surprise Barcelona, carried Gibraltar by storm, and 
 defeated the French fleet off Malaga. Charles succeeded in taking 
 Barcelona ; Aragou, Valencia, and Catalonia declared for the allies ; 
 and Philip was forced to retire through Navarre to his capital in 
 December 1705. 
 
 The campaign of 1706 was distinguished by the splendid successes 
 of the confederates, and the reverses of France. England and Hol- 
 land sent large reinforcements to Charles ; and a plan was formed to 
 advance simultaneously to Madrid from Catalonia and Portugal. 
 The Portuguese marched from Alcantara through Salamanca to the 
 capital ; and Charles passed through Aragon, and advanced to the 
 suburbs. Madrid fell into the hands of the confederates ; but their 
 inactivity gave time for Philip to receive reinforcements, with which 
 he recovered his capital, drove the Portuguese to their own country, 
 and confined Charles to Aragon, Valencia, and Catalonia. The allies, 
 however, subdued the islands of Ivica, Majorca and Minorca, and 
 maintained a firm footing in Spain. 
 
 Marlborough was opposed by Bavaria and Villeroy in the Nether- 
 lands, eacli with a iorce of about 70,000 men. The French 
 suspected his design of seizing Namur, and quitted their lines to 
 advance towards Tirlemont. Marlborough pushed on his army, and 
 came up with the French near Ramulics, where they occupied a 
 position strongly defended by nature. He resolved to risk an engage- 
 ment at once, before they could fortify their position, and on the 
 23rd of May commenced his attack. The battle was long undecided; 
 
220 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 the cavalry were driven back, and again led on by Marlborough in 
 person ; and at length the French ranks wavered and fled. They lost 
 7,000 killed, 6,000 prisoners, 50 pieces of cannon, and all their 
 baggage ; while the allies had scarcely 2,000 killed and wounded. 
 Marlborough pressed on the enemy with rapid inarches, and allowed 
 them no time to rally. He drove them from Lorraine, their first 
 resting-place, and received the submission of the states of Brussels ; 
 he pursued them to Ghent and Courtray, and procured the surrender 
 of the principal towns in the Netherlands. Both parties made the 
 most active preparations. Vendome was recalled from Italy, and 
 reinforcements gathered from all parts of the kingdom. Marlborough 
 also strengthened his army, and commenced hostilities. Ostend was 
 stormed by sea and land, Courtray was threatened by a large corps ; 
 while the main army captured Menin the key of Flanders, and 
 reduced Atli. 
 
 In Italy Eugene was again victorious. While an army of 50,000 
 men under La Feuillade was beseiging Turin, Eugene was successfuly 
 baffling the new general sent out to replace Vendome. He secured 
 the most important passes, bridged the numerous streams with 
 remarkable celerity, and by a series of rapid marches and skilful 
 stratagems, advanced from Verona to Villastellone ; where he joined 
 the Duke of Savoy, and hastened to relieve the capital, it \v;is 
 reduced to the last extremity. The outworks had been successfully 
 carried; the ammunition was expended, the provisions exhausted, the 
 garrison worn out, and every hour expecting an assault. The two 
 generals ascended the heights of Supcrga, and gazed with wonder on 
 the vast siege works of the enemy. On the 7th of September 
 they attacked the besiegers, whom the report of the defeat at 
 Ramillies had dispirited. The Prussians under the Prince of Anhalt 
 commenced the attack on the left, and were thrown into confusion 
 by the French cavalry. Eugene rushed into their midst, and rallied 
 them; Jus horse fell, and his two attendants were slain; but waving 
 his hat as the signal to his troops, he charged and carried all before 
 him. The Duke of Savoy opened the centre after a dreadful carnage, 
 and the Prince of Wirtemoerg attacked the right. The troops 
 issued from the city, and cut off the fugitives ; while in the advanced 
 trenches the French bombarded the place with great fury. But the 
 day was lost to France. General Marsin died at Turin of liis wounds, 
 the Duke of Orleans was wounded, 2,000 men were killed, and 0,000 
 taken prisoners. The loss of the allies amounted to only 1,500 men. 
 The French were thoroughly subdued; Eugene was appointed governor 
 of the Milanese; Savoy received the provinces of Valenza and 
 Alessandria, the Lumellina, and the Val di Sesia ; and Joseph in- 
 vested his brother with I he Duchy of Milan, as a fief of the empire. 
 
 The disasters of the French induced Louis to propose terms of 
 peace. He offered to the States, and then to Marlborough, to give 
 Charles either the Indies, Spain, or the Italian possessions, and 
 afterwards proposed the same to the emperor. His terms, however, 
 were rejected ; and preparations for war were renewed. Joseph 
 dreaded the influence of Charles XII. of Sweden, who was in Saxony, 
 
JOSEPH I. 221 
 
 threatening the northern princes, and was most assiduously courted 
 by Louis. The influence of Marlborough and the conciliatory 
 manners of Joseph, secured the warlike king ; and a treaty of 
 neutrality was signed with Prance for Italy, on condition that the 
 French troops should march out of the country. In the Netherlands 
 Yendome gave Maryborough no opportunity of coming to an 
 engagement ; and the campaign closed without any result. On the 
 Khine the troops of the Margrave of Baden were commanded by the 
 Margrave of Bareith, whose incapacity enabled the French to force 
 his lines, seize his magazines, and compel him to allow 10,000 sacks 
 of flour to pass through his camp for their use. Joseph sent George 
 Augustus, duke of Hanover, to supersede him in the command ; and 
 the two armies retired to their winter quarters. 
 
 The Austrian arms sustained a sad reverse in Spain. The courts 
 and generals were divided, and the efforts of the armies frustrated 
 by the jealousies between them. Charles separated from Galway 
 and Das Minas who commanded the Anglo-Portugese army, and 
 retired to Catalonia. The two generals, contrary to the advice of 
 Lord Peterborough, advanced into the kingdom of Mercia to attack 
 the forces of the Duke of Berwick. He was encamped on the plains 
 of Almanza with an army of 25,000 men, while their force did not 
 exceed 17,000. Confiding in their superior skill, they commenced 
 the attack. The battle was long and obstinate ; the Portuguese cavalry 
 wavered and exposed the infantry ; Galway and Miuas were wounded ; 
 and the entire army was routed. Valencia and Aragon were re- 
 covered by the royalists ; and Charles was excluded from his conquests 
 in Spain except in a part of Catalonia. 
 
 As the French were subdued in Italy, a project was formed to 
 enter France from Piedmont. The reduction of Toulon was deter- 
 mined upon, and vast preparations were made for accomplishing it. 
 The Duke of Savoy and Prince Eugene entered Provence with an 
 army of 35,000 men, with which they arrived before Toulon. The 
 place, however, had been thoroughly repaired and fortified ; an army 
 under Marshal Tesse had scoured the country, and collected the 
 forage ; and another under the Duke of Burgundy was hastening to 
 the relief of the town. Batteries were erected and opened; the 
 English fleet under Sir Cloudesley Shovel bombarded the town by 
 sea ; and the fort of St. Catherine was carried ; but the situation of 
 the besiegers was so perilous that they abandoned their enterprise and 
 returned to Piedmont with the loss of 13,000 men in a fruitless 
 expedition. The conquest of Naples, undertaken by Count Daun, 
 the brave defender of Turin, was easily effected. The pope opposed 
 him, and thundered his interdict; but the people welcomed the 
 general, and in three months the whole kingdom was in the hands of 
 the allies. 
 
 The campaign of 1708 was rendered glorious by the splendid 
 sxiccess of Marlborough. The German princes were inactive, the 
 allies in Spain, though assisted by a corps of Austrians under 
 Staremberg, were unable to resist the troops of Philip ; but the 
 English reduced Sardinia, Minorca, and other Spanish islands, except 
 
222 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Sicily and Elba. The greatest preparations were made in the Nether- 
 lands. France created a profound sensation in England by attempting 
 to land the Pretender in Scotland ; and the return of the whigs to 
 power re-established the influence of Marlborough and Godolphin. The 
 Duke of Burgundy, the grandson of Louis, was appointed to com- 
 mand the army, assisted by Vendome ; and Eugene conceived with 
 Marlborough a plan to strike a decisive blow in the Netherlands. For 
 a time the French were successful. Ghent was surprised, and the 
 citadel besieged; Bruges fell into their hands; but the fort of 
 Plassendael on the canal was carried by storm. Marlborough 
 pushed forward a detachment to defeat the plans of the French on 
 Flanders. On the capitulation of Ghent, the French advanced to 
 reduce Oudeuarde, but were anticipated by the rapid movements of 
 the allies, who brought on an engagement on the llth of July. The 
 battle was favourable to the allies ; and the approach of night alone 
 saved the French army from being annihilated. They lost 15,000 
 killed, wounded, and prisoners ; while that of the allies amounted to 
 only 3000 men. They fled in confusion to Ghent and Courtray, 
 where they were reinforced by Berwick. The allies invested Lisle, 
 a town which was deemed impregnable, and a fortress of vast im- 
 portance garrisoned by more than 13,000 men. The efforts of the 
 combatants were prodigious. The siege materials had to pass tlirough 
 Brussels, and the provisions to be conveyed by a large army, which 
 was threatened by the French forces. Eugene conducted the siege 
 operations, while Marlborough covered his works. The Duke of 
 Burgundy and Vendome attempted to raise the siege, but were 
 defeated by the assailants : their efforts to deprive the confederates 
 of their supplies were rendered ineffectual by the talents and resources 
 of the generals ; and a series of the most brilliant conflicts took 
 place, in which the allies were triumphant. Lisle capitulated, when 
 every effort to save it had been exhausted. Ghent surrendered, after 
 a siege of three days. Bruges and Plassendael fell into the hands of 
 the allies ; and the lines of the Scheldt were occupied by them. 
 
 The decline of French influence caused Joseph to issue the ban of 
 the empire against the electors of Cologne and Bavaria, and the 
 Dukes of Mantua, and Mirandola ; to confiscate their possessions ; 
 to invest the Elector Palatine with the fifth electorate and the 
 office of cup-bearer ; and to restore to Bohemia its electoral rights 
 and privileges. He was able also to inflict a humiliating blow upon 
 the pope, Clement XL, who was a warm partisan of France, and to 
 compel him to acknowledge Charles king of Spain. 
 
 The disasters which befell the amis of Louis were rendered more 
 galling by a dreadful famine in France, and the disaffection of the 
 people. Louis was anxious for peace, and attempted, first by secret 
 conferences with the States, and afterwards by open negotiations 
 with the allies, to procure a cessation of hostilities. He offered to 
 give up part of the Spanish dominions ; to erect a strong barrier, 
 and confer great commercial privileges on the Dutch ; and to renew 
 the terms of the peace of Byswick. The allies, however, insisted 
 on the cession of the whole monarchy of Spain, the establishment 
 
JOSEPH i. 223 
 
 of the peace of Westphalia, the erection of a barrier to the Dutch, 
 and the aid of Louis to drive out his grandson from Spain. Louis 
 indignantly rejected these unjust demands, appealed to the nation 
 to support him, aroused their desponding spirits, and sent a 
 powerful force into the field. 
 
 In the Netherlands both armies commenced operations in June 
 1709. Eugene and Marlborough assembled near Courtray ; and 
 the French under Villars near Douay, where they occupied such a 
 strong encampment that the allies did not venture to attack them. 
 Tournay was invested with 30,000 men, and the allied generals 
 took post between the Scarpe and the Scheldt to cover the siege. 
 The efforts of Yillars to reinforce the garrison, raise the siege, and 
 cut off convoys were baffled by the skill of his opponents ; and he 
 abandoned Tournay, and took up a strong position between the Lys 
 and the Scheldt, which he rendered impregnable by numerous 
 defences. Tournay fell into the hands of the allies ; and to draw 
 the French from their position, they invested Mons which was very 
 weakly garrisoned. Villars assembled his forces to hasten to its 
 relief, and took up his post at Malplaquet. His right was defended 
 by the wood of Lagniere, his left by the woods of Taniere and Sart, 
 and his centre stretched across a plain which was defended by 
 redoubts and intrenchments. The infantry held the woods, and 
 were posted behind the intrenchments ; the cavalry was drawn up in 
 two lines on the open ground ; and the artillery commanded all the 
 approaches. Each army numbered about 90,000 men. Eugene 
 with the Austrians and Germans attacked the left with the greatest 
 impetuosity. His troops frequently wavered under the deadly fire 
 of the French ; but he rallied them with his presence, and was shot 
 by a ball when in the foremost of the ranks. The blood streamed 
 from his face ; but he refused to retire ; and after a severe contest, 
 he succeeded in driving his enemy before him, and outflanking the 
 centre. The French reserves rushed to the point of danger, and 
 weakened the centre towards the right; when Marlborough, who 
 with the Prince of Orange had attacked the right, saw his oppor- 
 tunity, and pushed forward his infantry. The intrenchments were 
 carried ; the artillery thundered, and carried death in all directions ; 
 the French troops wavered and broke ; and victory declared for the 
 allies. Villars was dangerously wounded, and Boufflers, who 
 succeeded him, covered the flight of the army, and the removal of 
 the artillery. The allies lost 20,000 killed and wounded, and the 
 French 14,000 ; but the moral effect of the victory enabled them to 
 prosecute the siege of Mons without interruption, the capture of 
 which terminated the campaign. The operations on the Rhine and 
 in Italy were frustrated by the indecision of the princes, and the 
 vigilance of the French ; and no event of importance took place. 
 
 At the commencement of the next year, 1710, Louis renewed his 
 negotations for peace, and with his accustomed duplicity, assented, 
 with a slight modification, to the terms of the allies ; but in his 
 explanations so interpreted their meaning that the plenipotentiaries 
 rejected his propositions, closed the conference, and appealed to the 
 
224 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA . 
 
 decision of war. Eugene and Marlborough anticipated the French 
 by their early efforts before they were prepared to meet them. 
 They took up a strong position on both sides of Douay, vigorously 
 commenced the siege, and procured the surrender of the town on 
 the 26th of June. They then marched on to Bethune, secured 
 their communication with Lisle and Touruay, and invested the place 
 with 18,000 men, while the main army covered the siege at Berle. 
 Villars intrenched himself strongly between the Canche and the 
 Scarpe, and awaited the fate of the town, which yielded after a siege 
 of thirty-seven days. "While the French were still intrenched, the 
 allies employed the remainder of the campaign in reducing Aire, and 
 St. Venant, and on their capitulation, the troops were dispersed into 
 their winter quarters. Eugene retired to Vienna and Marlborougli 
 to London. The armies on the Rhine maintained the defensive, and 
 on the side of Italy, Count Dauu was defeated in his plans by the 
 energy and skill of Berwick. 
 
 In Spain the allied arms, though at first successful, sustained a 
 terrible defeat. The army of Charles was commanded by the English 
 general Stanhope, and the Austrian marshal Staremberg; and the 
 army of Pliilip by the Marquis of Villadarias. The latter invaded 
 Catalonia, where Charles had maintained himself, and laid siege to 
 Belaquer ; but the allied generals compelled him to raise the siege, 
 and on his retreat brought on an engagement at Almenara. Stanhope 
 led the charge, and routed the Spanish cavalry; and the entire army 
 was alone saved from destruction by the approach of night. Valla- 
 darias retired to Lerida, and thence to Saragossa, whither the allies 
 followed him. The Ebro was passed without opposition, and a bloody 
 battle fought under the walls of the city. The loss of the enemy 
 was very great; the soldiers were disheartened and fled; Philip with 
 the wretched remnant retired to Madrid ; and Charles entered 
 Saragossa in triumph. Staremberg and Stanhope were constantly 
 contesting their superiority, and opposing each other's plans. The 
 former wished to reduce the neighbouring provinces, but the latter 
 declared he would withdraw his troops if Charles did not march at 
 once to Madrid. The king entered the capital, but found it nearly 
 deserted, and the citizens who remained scarcely gave him a forced 
 welcome. While he spent his time in indecision, Pliilip secured the 
 aid of Vendome, the fidelity of his subjects, and the assistance of the 
 grandees, who melted their plate, and armed their vassals to snpporr 
 their sovereign. Catalonia was menaced by the Duke of T\oailles, 
 and Charles was induced to retire thither. The difficulty of procuring 
 supplies caused the troops to separate, and Vendome surrounded 
 Stanhope in the town of Brihucga, who after gallantly resisting the 
 attacks of the whole army for three days, was forced to surrender. 
 Staremberg, when aware of the situation of his ally, assembled his 
 troops and marched to the rescue ; but when on tlie plains of Villa 
 Viciosa, he beheld the defeat of Stanhope, and the advance of the 
 Spanish troops. Both sides fought with the greatest bravery and 
 impetuosity. Staremberg captured part of the enemy's artillery, 
 but lost his baggage, nnd retired in the night to Saragossa. Each 
 
JOSEPH I. 225 
 
 party claimed the victory, which evidently belonged to Staremberg, 
 though the difficulty of his retreat was such that he reached Barce- 
 lona with only 7,000 men of the splendid army which departed with him. 
 
 While these events were transpiring in the west, the emperor was 
 kept in a continual state of alarm by the affairs of Hungary. The 
 victory at Blenheim, and the presence of General Heuster caused 
 Ragotsky to relinquish his plans of attacking Vienna, which he had 
 concerted with the French, and the accession of Joseph introduced a 
 more tolerant and enlightened rule for the unfortunate country. The 
 emperor declared his intention of fulfilling the articles he had sworn 
 to obey at his coronation, and of governing according to the privileges 
 of the country. The partizans of Ragotsky disregarded the peaceful 
 overtures of Joseph, formed a senate or council of twenty-four mem- 
 bers, and entrusted the leadership of the league to Ragotsky. They 
 demanded from the emperor the cession of Transylvania to their chief, 
 the abolition of the hereditary sovereignty, and various privileges. 
 These were refused ; and both parties prepared for war. The insur- 
 gents increased their number to about 75,000 men, secured many of 
 the principal towns in Hungary, defeated the Austrian general in 
 Transylvania, and spread themselves along the frontiers of Austria, 
 Styria, and Moravia. D'Herbeville, who had succeeded Heuster, 
 was commanded to recover Transylvania, and drive out the insur- 
 gents ; and after a series of slight but brilliant engagements, he 
 was enabled to re-establish the Austrian government, A.D. 1705. 
 
 The next year Joseph attempted to win over Ragotsky by offering 
 to him the dignity of a prince of the empire and Burgau, in order to 
 stop the predatory incursions on his frontiers ; but the gallant chief, 
 who appears to have been actuated by the noblest patriotism, refused 
 to become the vassal of an empire from which his country had 
 received such injuries. In 1707, Ragotsky held a diet in the open 
 air, and by the consent of the confederacy, solemnly pronounced 
 Joseph a tyrant and usurper, animated by the innate despotism of 
 the Austrian family. The emperor after exhausting his conciliatory 
 measures, resorted to a vigorous military display. General Heuster 
 was reappointed to the command, and quickly scattered the irregular 
 hordes of the prince. On the 17th of August 1708, he came up 
 with the main torce under Ragotsky, who was investing Trentschen, 
 to open a passage into Moravia and Silesia. The steady and dis- 
 ciplined troops soon threw the bands of the insurgents into confusion ; 
 and after a short contest, the chief fled with a few followers, leaving 
 6,000 men dead on the field and as many captured. Ragotsky was 
 unable to rally his forces to any extent, and the passage of Heuster 
 through the country was triumphant. Town after town rapidly sub- 
 mitted ; the rash attempts of the few brave warriors were frustrated 
 by the imperial troops ; and at last Ragotsky fled to Poland with a 
 saddened and despairing heart. Joseph respected the talents and 
 intentions of the fugitive, and again offered to him the security of 
 the imperial court ; but he refused the friendship of a sovereign 
 against whom he had felt it his duty to rebel. A general peace was 
 arranged at Zatmar in January 1711, which confirmed the privileges 
 
223 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 of the nation, and wanted a general amnesty, the restitution of con- 
 fiscated property, the liberation of prisoners, and the free exercise 
 of the Protestant religion. This peace had scarcely been signed, 
 when the career of the pacific emperor was arrested by death. He 
 was seized with the small pox, which carried him off m the thirty- 
 third year of his age, April 17, 1711. 
 
 The reign of Joseph, though short, forms a brilliant period in, 
 Austrian history. The lustre derived from the great qualities of the 
 generals, who fought the Austrian battles, was increased by the 
 shining talents of the emperor. His appearance was noble and 
 engaging, his countenance beautiful, and his features lit up with 
 intelligence and benevolence. His frame, originally weak and slender, 
 was strengthened by the duties of the camp, and the pleasures of the 
 chase ; and his martial ardour often led him to expose his person 
 before his accession to the throne. He was generous, forgiving, and 
 kind; a devout Catholic, though tolerant towards the scruples of 
 others. He was well versed in literature and science ; spoke, be- 
 sides his native tongue, Spanish, French, Bohemian, and Hungarian ; 
 was master of the Italian dialects ; and wrote Latin with facility and 
 elegance. His only son died when an infant, and his two daughters 
 were distinguished, one as the wife of the King of Poland, and the 
 other as the wife of Charles Albert of Bavaria. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 CHARLES VI. A.D. 1711-17-10. 
 
 CHARLES was indulging dreams of conquest and glory at Barcelona, 
 in the company of his wife Elizabeth Christina princess of Bruns- 
 wick Wolfenbuttel, when the tidings reached him of the death of his 
 brother, which secured to him the whole of the Austrian inheritance, 
 and opened up the prospect of gaining the imperial crown. By the 
 arrangements of Joseph, the empress mother as regent assumed the 
 reins of government, and proclaimed Charles in Hungary, Bohemia, 
 and Austria ; and Eugene took active measures to secure the votes of 
 the electoral college. Charles appointed a council for the direction 
 of his affairs in Spain, and held out the most brilliant hopes to his 
 faithful Catalans. He embarked at Barcelona, and on the 27th of 
 September landed at Genoa, had an interview with the Duke of 
 Savoy near Pavia, hastened to Milan, where he received the joyful 
 tidings of his accession to the imperial throne, and proceeded to 
 Prankfort, and was crowned emperor on the 22nd of December. A 
 perpetual capitulation, confirming the privileges of the Germanic 
 body, and limiting the authority of the emperor, was now ratified by 
 the new sovereign, and became a sine qua non at the coronation of 
 an emperor. He then hastened to Vienna to secure his Austrian 
 
CHARLES VI. 227 
 
 dignities, and was afterwards crowned at Presburg with the usual 
 ceremonies. 
 
 Charles directed his first thoughts to active preparations for 
 carrying on the war with France. The situation of Louis afforded a 
 reasonable hope that one more decisive campaign would complete the 
 series of disasters which had befallen the French arms. The country 
 was in a state of famine; commerce was stopped; the revenues were 
 declining ; the court was divided ; and the people were distracted 
 with fear and distress. The accession of Charles, however, to the 
 imperial throne created a total change in the disposition of the allies, 
 and especially England. The whigs were displaced by the tories 
 under Harley ; the queen transferred her favour from the Duchess of 
 Marlborough to Mrs. Masham ; and the disgrace of the distinguished 
 general was at hand. His last campaign was characterised by the 
 most masterly qualities. Villars had erected a line from Bouchain 
 on the Scheldt to Arras, which he proudly called Marlborough's 
 ne plus ultra ; but the general -easily burst through it, and invested 
 and took Bouchain in the face of a large army. England feared the 
 accession of Charles to so many dignities. She dreaded the revival of 
 the power of Charles V. ; and towards the close of 1711 preliminaries 
 for peace were signed at London, by wliicli Louis agreed to prevent 
 the union of the crowns of Spain and France, to give a barrier to 
 the Dutch, and satisfaction to all the members of the alliance. 
 Marlborough was dismissed by the queen at the commencement of 
 1712, and shortly after was publicly charged in Parliament with 
 peculation. 
 
 Charles took immediate steps to prevent the defection of England, 
 and the treaty with France. Eugene hastened to London to persuade 
 the queen to carry on the war ; but his visits to Marlborough offended 
 her ; and he was represented by the tories as forming a dangerous 
 plot to fire London, seize the queen, and with the aid of Marlborough 
 obtain possession of the metropolis. He retired from the capital in 
 disgust, confident that the influence of Austria in the British Cabinet 
 was at an end. The emperor sent Count Sinzendorf to Utrecht to 
 break off the negotiations which had been commenced; but his 
 energy and skill could not prevent England and France entering into 
 a secret treaty. Charles made great preparations for hostilities, and 
 hoped to be able to gain a victory which, at least, would afford him 
 better terms of peace. 
 
 In the spring of 1712 Eugene took the command of the allied 
 army, and was soon after joined by the Duke of Ormond with the 
 British forces. His efforts were frustrated by the conduct of 
 Ormond, who had private orders neither to risk a battle, nor under- 
 take a siege, but to march to Dunkirk. The greatest indignation 
 pervaded the British ranks ; the soldiers tore their hair, and reviled 
 their general ; the officers sullenly shut themselves up in their tents ; 
 and eacli veteran sighed for the glorious days of Marlborough. The 
 States refused Ormond a passage through Douay and Touruay, and 
 the general seized the towns of Ghent and Bruges in the name of 
 the queen. The allies felt keenly the base desertion of England ; and 
 
 p 2 
 
228 HISTORY or AUSTRIA. 
 
 its effect was soon manifest. Eugene took Quesnoy ; but Villars was 
 enabled to capture the Earl of Albemarle with seventeen battalions, 
 and to regain the ascendancy by the surrender of several town*. 
 The allies gradually forsook the Austrian cause ; the Duke of Savoy 
 and the King of Portugal were won over to Louis ; the Dutch 
 embraced the opportunity of securing the favourable terms offered 
 to them; and on the llth of April 1713 the peace of Utrecht was 
 signed; which received the adhesion of Spain three months after. 
 Charles resolved alone to carry on the war ; but the following cam- 
 paign passed without a general action, and the exhausted state of his 
 finances, and the clamours of the princes induced him to negotiate for 
 peace ; and on the 6th of March 1714 the treaty was signed at 
 Baden. The terms were such as might have been accepted before 
 the outbreak of war. England gained Gibraltar, Minorca, and some 
 American possessions ; Philip retained Spain and the Indies. The 
 emperor received Naples, Milan, Mantua, Sardinia, and the low 
 countries. A long dispute ensued between the Dutch and -the 
 emperor, respecting the Netherlands, which was finally settled in 
 1718 at the Hague, where it was agreed that the Dutch and Austrians 
 should jointly garrison and defend the French frontier fortresses, and 
 that their respective immunities should be preserved. 
 
 The attention of Charles was soon directed to the Turks. They 
 had broken the peace of Carlowitz by declaring war against the 
 Venetians. The princes of Europe became alarmed at their ascendancy; 
 and the Venetians appealed to the emperor as the guarantee of the 
 peace of Carlowitz. The Porte rejected his mediation ; and Eugene 
 passed with a brave and disciplined army to Peterwaradin, where the 
 Ottoman forces were encamped. He immediately commenced his 
 attack, and in a few hours killed the Grand Vizier and 30,000 Turks, 
 took 50 standards, 250 pieces of heavy artillery, and immense booty. 
 The next year 1717 he invested Belgrade, the key to Turkey, wliich 
 was defended by a garrison of 30,000 men. For two months the 
 place resisted his efforts ; and the arrival of a large army to its relief 
 filled the besieged with joy. The Turkish troops came on in the 
 form of a crescent, and shut up the imperialists between the Danube 
 and the Save. Eugene perceived the critical position in which he 
 was placed, and hoped that the want of provisions would compel 
 them to retire. His troops were daily thinned by the fire of the 
 enemy and by disease, and he resolved to risk an engagement 
 to extricate himself from his perilous situation. He left 20,000 
 men to oppose the garrison of Belgrade, and with less than 
 40,000 men ne advanced to storm the intrenchments of the enemy, 
 which were defended by 200,000 men, and a numerous artillery. 
 Nothing could exceed the bravery and the enthusiasm of his troops, 
 who, though impeded by a thick fog, rushed upon the foe with the 
 greatest intrepidity. Eugene, seeing a post less defended than the 
 others, charged sword in hand, and cut down all before him. The 
 intrencluneuts were forced, the cannon turned on the Turks, and 
 the large army completely routed. Belgrade surrendered ; and on 
 the 21st of July 1718 Eugene and the Grand Vizier met at 
 
CHAIILES VI. 2-9 
 
 Passarowitz, and signed a treaty for twenty-five years, by which the 
 Bannat of Temesvar, and the Bannat of Wallachia and Servia, 
 Belgrade, and a part of Bosnia were ceded to Austria. 
 
 Charles had not yet acknowledged Philip king of Spain ; whose 
 ambitious wife Elizabeth Farnese laid claim to Tuscany and Parma, 
 and infused great spirit and activity into Spanish councils by raising 
 Alberoni to the dignity of prime minister. His fears of France 
 aiding Philip were removed by the death of Louis XIV. ; and the 
 appointment of the Duke of Orleans as regent to the weak prince 
 Louis XV. created a breach between the French and Spanish 
 governments. Philip formed a numerous party in Paris, and aspired 
 to the crown, notwithstanding his solemn renunciation of it ; and the 
 Duke of Orleans proposed an alliance with England to maintain the 
 order of succession to the crowns of France and Spain, as settled by 
 the Peace of Utrecht. Charles opposed it at first ; but at length 
 gave his adherence to the quadruple alliance, which was signed 
 August 2nd, 1718, on the promise of the allies to effect the exchange 
 of bardinia for Sicily, for the protection of Naples. Meanwhile 
 Alberoni was actively intriguing among the sovereigns of Europe. 
 He gained Victor Amadeus, duke of Savoy by the offer of the 
 Milanese for Sicily, Peter the Great and Charles XII. by their 
 hatred of George I. of England; he aroused the Jacobites, and 
 fostered troubles among the Protestants in France ; and carried on 
 his intrigues with Ragotsky and the Turks. He dispatched the 
 Marquis de Leda to Sardinia, who soon reduced the whole of the 
 island, and in 1718 invaded Sicily and conquered the principal 
 fortresses except Syracuse. The allies declared the terms of the 
 treaty for which they would contend. Philip was to retain Spain ; 
 Don Carlos, Tuscany and eventually Parma and Placentia ; Sicily 
 was to be exchanged for Sardinia ; and Philip was to give up all 
 claims to the Netherlands, Milan and the Sicilies. Victor Amadeus 
 agreed to these terms, and took the title of King of Sardinia ; but 
 Philip still refused. The Spanish fleet was destroyed by Admiral 
 Byng off Sicily; Marshal Berwick entered Spain; the coasts of 
 Gallicia were ravaged by the English squadrons; Peter the Great 
 was awed by an English Baltic fleet ; Charles XII. died ; and the 
 imperial general Mercy defeated the Spaniards in Sicily, reduced 
 their fortresses, and confined them to the walls of Palermo. The 
 minister of Spain was sacrificed, and Philip on the 25th of January 
 1720 agreed to the terms of the alliance. 
 
 On the 2nd of August 1718, Charles promulgated a new law of 
 succession to the inheritance of the house of Austria, under the 
 name of the Pragmatic Sanction. The family compact of Leopold, 
 confirmed by Joseph and Charles, decreed that the succession should 
 be in favour of the daughters of Joseph, in preference to those of 
 Charles, should both die without male issue. Charles now reversed 
 that, and settled the succession first on his own daughters, then on 
 Joseph's, and afterwards on the Queen of Portugal and other 
 daughters of Leopold. He compelled his nieces to renounce their 
 claim on their marriage with the electors of Saxony and Bavaria, 
 
230 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 and sought to gain by every possible means the guarantee of the 
 European powers to the convention. 
 
 A dispute soon arose between the courts of Vienna and Spain 
 respecting the claims of their respective sovereigns. Charles was 
 unwilling to admit the dignity of Philip, and Philip equally disowned 
 the titles of Charles. Each was reluctant to fulfil the conditions of 
 the Alliance, and almost endless negotiations were carried on. By 
 the talents and intrigues of the Baron de Ripperda, the emperor at 
 length became reconciled to the king of Spain, who was deeply 
 offended at the rejection of the Infanta, the affianced bride of Louis 
 XV., and at England for holding Spanish possessions. In 1725 an 
 alliance was concluded at Vienna between Austria and Spain, which 
 confirmed the articles of the Quadruple Alliance, and contained two 
 secret treaties, one of a commercial character, throwing open 
 Spanish ports to the emperor, establishing an Ostend East India 
 Company, and conferring privileges to Hanseatic towns equal to 
 those which the Dutch and English enjoyed; and the other 
 stipulated for the recovery of Gibraltar, and the amount of force 
 each should furnish. Charles imagined that his alliance with Spain 
 would overawe the neighbouring countries, that France would join 
 heartily in his cause, and England give up Gibraltar without a blow. 
 The demand for the surrender of that fortress was the signal for the 
 commencement of hostilities. George obtained the ready consent of 
 parliament, hastened to Hanover, and in 1725 concluded an alliance 
 between England, France, and Prussia, to which were added the 
 United Provinces, Sweden, and Denmark. Charles vainly boasted 
 that soon England should tremble, and the United Provinces shake 
 with feai- ; and formed a grand confederacy against the Hanoverian 
 allies. He secured Catherine, empress of Russia ; the electors of 
 Mentz, Treves, Cologne, and Palatine; the introduction of a 
 garrison into Brunswick to menace Hanover ; and succeeded in 
 detaching Frederick William, king of Prussia, from the English 
 alliance, and in alluring him by splendid promises of an increase of 
 territory to aid him in the conflict, and to guarantee the Pragmatic 
 Sanction. 
 
 In February 1727 Spain commenced hostilities by the siege of 
 Gibraltar ; Catherine assembled her forces by sea and land ; and 
 Charles collected a large army in the Netherlands to invade 
 Holland. The indignation excited in England united all parties to 
 support the king. Three British squadrons were fitted out ; one 
 awed the Russians in the Baltic, another threatened the Spanish 
 coasts in the Mediterranean, and a third blocked up the Spanish 
 galleons in the Indies. A large army of Danes, Swedes, and 
 Hessians were taken into British pay; and France brought a 
 considerable force to the frontiers of Spain and Germany. These 
 gigantic preparations were frustrated by a series of changes which 
 often thwart the proud designs of men. Catherine died ; Prussia 
 wavered ; the German princes deserted Austria ; the Spanish court 
 was unable to fulfil its promises ; Ripperda was disgraced, and 
 betrayed the secret treaties ; the shameiul venality and duplicity of 
 
CHAKLES VI. 231 
 
 fhe court of Vienna was exposed ; and Charles, humbled and 
 disappointed, sacrificed Spain, by signing the preliminary negotia- 
 tions for peace with England, France, and the United Provinces. 
 Philip, deserted by Austria, saw no other alternative than humbling 
 himself to the allies, and likewise signing the preliminaries. 
 
 Though both sovereigns had agreed to the negotiations for peace, 
 Spain did not raise the siege of Gibraltar ; and the death of George 
 I. and the accession of George II. in England, renewed the hopes of 
 the emperor, that England would prove his friend and ally. Hos- 
 tilities were threatened on all sides. Charles vacillated according to 
 the prospect of success, first towards Philip, and then towards the 
 allies, until the King of Spain, urged on by his queen, demanded a 
 clear statement of the intentions of Charles respecting the marriage 
 of an archduchess with Don Carlos. The answer was not satisfactory, 
 and Philip concluded a separate treaty with France and England at 
 Seville on the 9th of November 1729, in which the allies guaranteed 
 each other's possessions, settled the forces for securing the succession 
 of Don Carlos to Tuscany and Parma, and claimed the introduction 
 of 6,000 Spanish troops into Italian fortresses. Philip revoked the 
 privileges of trade granted to the subjects of the emperor. Charles 
 was very indignant at the manner in which he was treated by the 
 alliance, and resolved rather to stand alone in a general European war 
 than submit. His sanguine nature led him to expect that the dread 
 of Bourbon influence would restrain the British nation, and that 
 Prussia, Russia, and the princes would come to his aid. He had, 
 however, miscalculated his own position, and the disposition of his 
 friends and enemies. Russia could not assist him, Prussia regarded 
 her troops with too great affection to waste them in unnecessary 
 strife ; Sardinia declared for the allies ; and Charles was forced to 
 give up the idea of daring the united armies of Europe. Fortunately 
 the discord and jarring interests of the powers leagued at Seville, 
 enabled him to disunite England from France. Cardinal Fleury 
 laboured to conciliate the two branches of the Bourbons ; the birth 
 of the dauphin banished from Philip all hopes of securing the crown 
 of France ; and Spain declared herself free from all the engagements 
 contracted by the treaty of Seville. Charles made secret overtures 
 to England ; and proposed to sacrifice the Ostend company, and to 
 permit the Spanish garrisons in Italy, if England would guarantee 
 the Pragmatic Sanction. The English ministers feared the recon- 
 ciliation of the Bourbons, and listened to the proposal of the 
 emperor ; and on the 16th of March 1731 the treaty of Vienna was 
 drawn up between Austria and England, by which the propositions 
 of the emperor were accepted, and the Pragmatic Sanction guaranteed. 
 Spain shortly after revoked her declaration against the peace of 
 Seville ; and on the 22nd of July the disputes respecting the Spanish 
 succession were finally terminated in a treaty between Austria, 
 England, Spain, and the United Provinces. 
 
 Meanwhile a most cruel persecution was raised against the peasants 
 of Salzburg by the archbishop, for their adherence to the simplicity 
 of their faith, and their refusal to bend to the shameful corruptions 
 which had spread through all grades of the ecclesiastics. They were 
 
232 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 cruelly beaten, exposed to the cold, and imprisoned in loathsome 
 dungeons. They formed a confederacy, and bound themselves with 
 an oath to lay down their lives rather than deny their faith. The 
 emperor was induced by false representations to proceed against 
 them with the greatest severity. A decree was issued for their sub- 
 mission, and 6,000 men sent to enforce it ; who fell upon the helpless 
 peasants, dragged them from their homes, and plundered their pro- 
 perty. The King of Prussia alone ventured to remonstate with 
 Charles, but without effect. The archbishop resolved to banish the 
 rebels from his dominions. They left their own lands and houses, 
 and emigrated to various parts. Some crossed the sea to America, 
 and others found a refuge in Holland ; but 10,300 settled on the 
 lands granted to them by the King of Prussia near Tilsit. Their 
 children had been inhumanly torn trom them to be educated by the 
 Jesuits, though many managed to break from their instructors, and 
 beg their way to their parents. A similar persecution befell the 
 secret Protestants in Austria. Some were carried to Transylvania, 
 others were banished from the country ; while their wives and families 
 were retained, and compelled to embrace Catholicism. 
 
 The great object of Charles was to secure the succession of his 
 daughter Maria Theresa by means of the Pragmatic Sanction ; and 
 he made every event contribute to the possession of the guarantee 
 of foreign nations. He had already secured Spain, Prussia, Russia, 
 England and Holland ; and employed his influence to secure the 
 consent of the princes. By procuring the settlement of the Protes- 
 tant disputes, which arose from an obnoxious clause in the treaty of 
 Ryswick, he gained the guarantee of the Elector of Hanover, and 
 after great exertion, of the whole of the Germanic princes, except 
 the electors of Saxony, Bavaria, and the Palatine. Saxony and 
 Bavaria protested against it, because of their claim to the Austrian 
 succession through their wives, who were daughters of Joseph ; and 
 Palatine, because the succession of Berg and Juliers had been 
 promised to Prussia on the death of the present duke. France 
 fostered the opposition of these electors, and concluded an alliance 
 with them. 
 
 Charles soon after procured the guarantee of Augustus, king of 
 Poland, by securing his succession to the crown. Augustus II. was 
 rapidly declining in health, and Charles was anxious to place on the 
 throne a prince in whom the crown might be hereditary, and who 
 was free from French influence. Several competitors appeared for 
 the prize, on the death of Augustus ; but they were speedily reduced 
 to two, Augustus son of the deceased monarch, and Stanisfaus Letz- 
 zinski, who had been placed on the throne by Charles XII. of 
 Sweden, when Augustus II. wag forced to abdicate, had occupied 
 the duchy of Deux Ponts till the death of Charles XII., and lived 
 in splendour in Alsace after the marriage of his daughter with 
 Louis XV. Stanislaus, supported by French influence and treasure, 
 was elected by a majority in the diet at Warsaw, notwithstanding 
 the remonstrances 01 Austria and Russia. The disaffected, joined 
 by the army of the czarina, chose Augustus king, and marched 
 towards the 'capital. Stanislaus retired to Dantzic ; the remainder 
 
CHARLES VI. 233 
 
 of Poland submitted to the arms of Russia; and Augustus was 
 crowned at Cracow, and took possession of the throne. 
 
 The interference of the emperor involved him in a war with France, 
 Spain, and Sardinia. He imagined that France would not venture 
 to oppose him, when guarded by the numerous treaties he had con- 
 tracted with foreign powers ; and he little expected that he should 
 be deserted by the sovereigns on whom he relied. England would 
 not involve herself in a foreign war. Holland was secured by French 
 influence. Prussia was jealous of the emperor. Denmark was 
 unable to respond to his wishes. Sardinia, at the very time when 
 Charles was assisting the king to arm his troops and store his maga- 
 zines, was intriguing with Louis, and deceiving the emperor. A 
 grand plan was formed by France to attack Austria in all parts of 
 her dominions. A French army under Villars united with the King 
 of Sardinia, and burst into the duchy of Milan where the imperialists 
 were taken by surprise ; and in less than three months, Mantua alone 
 remained in the hands of the emperor. On the Rhine Charles made 
 active preparations, gathered a large army, and forced the lines of 
 Etlingen to defend the passages of the Rhine. 
 
 Count Mercy was dispatched to Mantua in February 1734, and by 
 a series of brilliant movements drove the French to Parma, and 
 occupied the cities of Guastalla, Mirandola, and Reggio. Villars had 
 retired, and was succeeded by Marshal de Coigny, who took up a 
 strong position near the city of Parma, which he strengthened by 
 deep fosses and intrcnchments. Mercy resolved to storm this 
 encampment, and giving the left column of his army to the command 
 of the Prince of Wirtemberg, marched at the head of his right. 
 The two regiments which first advanced were mown down by the 
 enemy's grape. Mercy was mortally wounded, and his division was 
 thrown into confusion. Wirtemberg rallied them, and again rushed 
 to the attack ; two horses were killed under him, and he was badly 
 wounded ; but the impetuosity of the soldiers caused the French to 
 give w r ay, and after ten hours incessant fighting to retire to Parma. 
 The imperialists were masters of the ground, though they were 
 obliged to quit it, and retire to Reggio. The loss on both sides was 
 very great; most of the distinguished officers had fallen; 10,000 
 men were stretched on the field ; though neither prisoners nor 
 standards were taken. Konigsegg was sent to take the command of 
 the Austrians, and by a bold stroke drove the French from their 
 position on the Secchia with the loss of 2,000 men ; but when he 
 attacked the allied army near Guastalla, he was obliged to retire, 
 after having received and inflicted great loss. The troops were 
 shortly after distributed into their winter quarters. Meanwhile Don. 
 Carlos assumed the government of Parma and Placentia, captured 
 the chief cities of Naples, and secured the conquest of Sicily, except 
 the fortresses of Messina and Syracuse. 
 
 On the side of Germany the campaign was opened with great 
 preparations. The French under Marshal Berwick forced the lines 
 of Etlingen, where the Duke of Wirtemberg was posted ; who retired 
 to Heilbron, and resigned his command to Eugene. The prince had 
 
234 HISTOHY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 remonstrated Avith the emperor against interfering in the Polish 
 election, and did not expect to be able to resist the French with the 
 small disunited and undisciplined army at his disposal. He arrived 
 in time to witness the capture of Philipsburg by the French, which 
 cost them Marshal Berwick, who was killed by- a cannon ball. Still 
 the renown of Eugene's name, and the skill of his dispositions 
 prevented the French advancing into Germany, and making further 
 conquests. 
 
 The emperor was very indignant at the refusal of England to 
 assist him, after the king had even m-gcd him to place Augustus on 
 the throne of Poland. A series of diplomatic correspondence ensued. 
 Eugene, as well as Charles, wrote privately to George ; secret agents 
 were dispatched to arouse the nation, and defeat the pacific measures 
 of the cabinet ; but all that could be extorted from England was the 
 ofl'er of her mediation to procure peace, which after many fruitless 
 efforts Charles consented to accept. England had secretly matured 
 a project with France, in which it was stipulated that Stanislaus 
 should retain the title oT king, but give up the throne, Don Carlos 
 be acknowledged King of the Sicilies, and the King of Sardinia be 
 indemnified with Tortona, and Kovara. The allies, however, were 
 averse to these terms. The French were indignant at Cardinal 
 Fleury for securing no advantage to the monarchy. The Queen of 
 Spain objected to Parma and Tuscany passing out of her family. 
 The King of Sardinia was alarmed at the progress of the Bourbons 
 in Italy. 
 
 War was meanwhile carried on. Stanislaus fled from Dantzic, and 
 passed through the most romantic adventures into Prussia ; and all 
 Poland submitted to Augustus. A dispute arose between Spain and 
 Portugal which threatened hostilities between them. England made 
 great preparation for supporting Portugal; and the emperor gladly 
 accepted the overtures of the Icing to aid him against the Spanish. 
 Parliament, however, still declined to assist the emperor, and 
 dissipated the last hope of receiving succour from the maritime 
 powers. Eugene with an army of only 30,000 men continued to 
 keep the French in check, though their force amounted to 100,000 
 men. In Italy the allied troops were successful in their eiforts ; 
 Don Carlos reduced Messina and Syracuse ; Mirandola capitulated ; 
 and Mantua the last imperial possession was besieged. The attempt 
 of Charles to secure Spain by giving the Archduchess Maria Theresa 
 to Don Carlos was frustrated by the remonstrance of the high-minded 
 princess. She had been betrothed to the Duke of Lorraine ; she had 
 inspired him with the most passionate love, and shared the same 
 passion for him. She dreamed of him bv night, and thought of him 
 by day, and resolved to surrender herself to him alone. She was 
 ultimately married to him at Vienna on the 12th of February, 1730. 
 
 Charles resolved to enter into a secret treaty with France alone, 
 and the preliminaries were signed at Vienna October 3rd, 1735. The 
 war was still carried on without any great event. Mantua was 
 relieved by Konigsegg ; the Spaniards retreated into Tuscany ; and 
 a virtual suspension of arms took place. The difficulties of arranging 
 
CHARLES vi. 235 
 
 a treaty were very great, but were finally surmounted ; and first 
 Prance, then Sardinia, and afterwards the Kings of Spain and Naples 
 signed the treaty, April 21st, 1739. Stainislaus received the duchies 
 of Lorraine and Bar, which were to revert to France after his death ; 
 the Duke of Lorraine gained Tuscany ; Don Carlos was acknow- 
 ledged King of Naples and Sicily ; the King of Sardinia obtained 
 Novara and Tortona, and a few small lordships ; the emperor received 
 Parma and Placeutia; and Prance and Sardinia guaranteed the 
 Pragmatic Sanction. 
 
 In the midst of the negotiations war was raging between the 
 Turks and Russians The czarina Anne, under the pretext of 
 repelling the Tartar invaders, poured an army into the Crimea under 
 General Munich, while another took the town of Azof. The Turks 
 made overtures to the emperor to negotiate for peace ; but he listened 
 to the persuasions of the czarina, and prepared to invade the 
 Ottoman territory adjacent to his dominions. Prince Eugene, the 
 worthy coadjutor of Marlborough, and a consummate general, died 
 in 1736 at the advanced age of seventy -three ; and the command of 
 the army was given to Seckendorf, whom the prince had recom- 
 mended to the emperor as the fittest person for that office. He was, 
 however, a Lutheran, and was regarded by the ministers and chief 
 officers with the greatest jealousy. He repaired to Hungary, where 
 he found the army in a most deplorable condition. The troops were 
 wasted by sickness, and exposure to the weather ; the provisions 
 were very scanty ; and ammunition, artillery and arms were insuffi- 
 cient for the soldiers; the fortresses were dilapidated, and the 
 magazines exhausted. He immediately endeavoured to remedy this 
 forlorn state ; arranged his plans with great skill and ingenuity ; and 
 procured from the emperor the promise that no change should be 
 made in his dispositions without his consent. The council of war 
 assured him an army of 126,000 men, everything necessary, and a 
 monthly sum of 600,000 florins ; but by his greatest exertions he 
 could only raise 26,000 infantry, 15,000 cavalry, and 4000 irregulars, 
 and was disappointed in his supplies. 
 
 The troops assembled at Belgrade in July 1737; and after many 
 delays Seckeudorf prepared to march and invest Widdin. When all 
 his arrangements were made, he was commanded by the emperor to 
 capture Nissa, which completely frustrated his plans. He, however, 
 obeyed ; and though in his march across the mountains and swampy 
 districts, he lost numbers of his men, he succeeded in reducing Nissa. 
 He dispatched Kevenhuller to invest Widdin, and Marshal Wallis to 
 occupy the opposite bank of the Danube ; while he remained at 
 Nissa for further orders. The cabals of his enemies prevented the 
 accomplishment of any enterprise. Seckendorf was recalled to defend 
 the hereditary dominions ; Wallis and Kevenhuller retired before the 
 Turks ; and Doxat the governor of Nissa surrrendered the town to 
 the infidels, for which he was soon after beheaded. The enemies of 
 Seckendorf attributed the failure of the campaign to the general. 
 He was recalled, arrested at his home and impeached ; and though 
 he defended himself with the greatest vigour, and might have cleared 
 
236 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 himself from the charges by producing the commands of the emperor, 
 he was conveyed to the castle of Glatz, and remained a close prisoner 
 during the emperor's lifetime. 
 
 The campaign of 1738 was opened by the Turks in the beginning 
 of March, while the Austrians were disputing, and divided by a 
 factious spirit. The bashaw of "VViddin took the field with an army 
 of 20,000 men, and opened his batteries against Orsova from the 
 north and south banks of the Danube. Charles appointed the duke 
 of Lorraine commander of the forces, and Konigsegg under him ; 
 though he was to follow implicitly the orders which were to be sent 
 him from the council at Vienna. Their clu'ef efforts were to be 
 directed to the relief of Orsova, and the capture of Widdin. The 
 imperialists were sanguine in their expectations. They drove the 
 Turks from their camp at Meadia, and had the satisfaction of seeing 
 them recross the Danube. Their victory, however, was too speedily 
 rejoiced at, and the success was of too transient a nature. The 
 Grand Vizier returned with great secresy, attacked the troops when 
 in the midst of a defile, and resumed the siege operations against 
 Orsova. The duke retired to Vienna, where he incurred the 
 displeasure of the emperor, the clamours of the council, and the 
 indignation of the populace; and with his consort he retired to 
 Tuscany till the storm had blown over. The imperial arms 
 sustained still further disgrace in Hungary. Konigsegg retreated 
 beyond the Danube, and when he heard of the capture of Orsova, 
 took refuge in the lines of Belgrade ; where being hard pressed by 
 the Turks, he retired into the fortified city. The plague decimated 
 the army, and consternation reigned in Vienna. Konigsegg was 
 speedily recalled and disgraced, and Kevenhuller appointed to the 
 command. The season, however, was too far advanced for further 
 operations this year. The Turks retired from Belgrade, and the 
 imperial army went into their winter quarters. 
 
 Marshal Wallis was sent out to retrive the fortunes of the last 
 campaign. In May 1739, he collected the shattered forces at 
 Peterwaradin, and being joined by his auxiliaries, set out to 
 undertake the siege of Orsova. He came up with the Turks at 
 Crotzka, where they were posted in the vineyards and woods, and at 
 once attacked them. His troops, however, were thrown into 
 confusion after gaining a partial advantage, and he retired under 
 cover of the darkness of night to Vinza, where he had previously 
 encamped, and so strongly intrenched himself that the Turks were 
 unable to drive him from his position. The Grand Vizier led his 
 troops to Belgrade, which was speedily besieged. Wallis either 
 feared or was unable to make any diversion in the field, and the 
 governor of the fortress falsely stated that the Avails were so 
 shattered 1hat an assault was hourly expected. Wallis sent an 
 officer to propose terms of peace by the cession of Belgrade; he 
 alarmed the Viennese by his gloomy dispatches, and requested that 
 Schmettau might supersede Suckof. No word can depict the 
 consternation which reigned in the court, the council, and the city. 
 Murmurs and reproaches rose on all sides ; fear seized every heart. 
 
CHARLES VI. 237 
 
 The emperor commissioned count Neuperg to offer Belgrade in case 
 of necessity, and Schmettau to rouse the army, and to prevent the 
 surrender. The genius of the latter general inspirited the garrison ; 
 they drove back the Turks from the front trenches, and would have 
 saved the fortress but for the rashness and incapacity of Neuperg. 
 The count hastened into the Turkish camp to negotiate with the 
 Vizier ; but he was arrested as a spy, and imprisoned till the French 
 ambassador Villeneuve, who was to mediate, arrived. A shameful 
 negotiation was hastily entered into, and the preliminaries drawn 
 out. Belgrade, Szabatch, and Scrvia were to be delivered to the 
 Porte, and Orsova to be retained ; and the Turks were to have 
 possession of one of the gates of Belgrade, till the treaty was 
 concluded. Schmettau was indignant, and urged Neupcrg to object 
 to the occupation of Belgrade, but without effect. Eight hundred 
 Janissaries took possession, and the main armies retired, the Turks 
 towards Nissa, and the imperialists to Peterwaradin. 
 
 The intelligence of this truce threw Vienna into a violent fury. 
 The troops raged against their generals; the populace rose, and 
 assaulted the ministers' houses ; the Jesuits raised a pitiful cry 
 which resounded in all parts ; the ministers blamed Wallis and 
 Neuperg, who stoutly vindicated themselves; and the emperor was 
 so severely agitated that great fears were entertained for his safety. 
 The peace of Belgrade was agreed to by the empress of Russia, 
 though she had gained a splendid victory over the Turks at Chotin; 
 and she was permitted to retain Azof, but had to relinquish her 
 recent conquests. This peace was evidently a masterpiece of French 
 intrigue to reduce the power of Austria; and Villeneuve took 
 advantage of the wretched condition of the finances and the army of 
 the emperor to serve liis country, and boasted that by making the 
 peace of Belgrade he had rendered a more effectual service to France 
 than if he had gained a complete victory. The active agents of it 
 were rewarded in true Austrian manner ; Wallis and Neuperg were 
 arrested and confined during the life of Charles A r l. ; the one at 
 Zigieth, and the other at the castle of Halitz. 
 
 The active intrigues of Cardinal Floury were spread over Europe. 
 No court was free from his spies ; no counsels were unt.inged with 
 his advice; and the apprehensions of England, Holland, and the 
 empire were justly aroused by his warlike preparations. Charles 
 wished to secure an alliance with George II., but French influence 
 thwarted liis proposals, and negatived his efforts. He felt very 
 keenly the powerful hold of the French ; and the agitation of miu'd 
 through which he had lately passed impaired a constitution which 
 had been already shaken by violent attacks of the gout. In October 
 1740 he was seized with an attack, and refused to be deprived of his 
 accustomed exercise of hunting. Cold, damp, and excessive fatigue 
 increased his disorder, and hastened his return to Vienna. When 
 his physician communicated to him the intelligence that a few days 
 alone remained to him, he refused to credit it; but at length he 
 yielded to his decided opinion. He prepared for his dissolution; 
 summoned his ministers, and gave them final instructions ; bid an 
 
233 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 affectionatefarewell to his family, and pressed with excessive tenderness 
 his beloved consort to his heart ; held a long interview with the Duke 
 of Lorraine ; and on the 20th of October 1740, the last male of the 
 illustrious house of Hapsburg, which for more than four hundred years 
 had enjoyed an uninterrupted succession in Austria, passed away. 
 
 Charles VI. does not stand out in bold prominence among the 
 sovereigns of Austria for any commanding talents. He had been 
 educated with great care under Prince Lichtenstein, and was in his 
 youth grave and phlegmatic, and very rarely smiled. He possessed 
 penetration and clearness of perception, was well acquainted with 
 the theory of politics, and aimed at the prosperity and nonour of his 
 kingdom. He, however, was extremely jealous, unbending in his 
 opposition, and fond of flattery. In a licentious age, he was noted 
 for the correctness of his morals, and his attachment to his religion. 
 He fostered the fine arts, welcomed artists and literary men to his 
 court, and highly distinguished Metastasio as the imperial laureate. 
 He greatly improved his dominions by constructing roads, promoting 
 trade and commerce, regulating the courts of justice, and softening 
 the rigorous laws. It was his good fortune to be surrounded with 
 able ministers. His generals had been formed under the skilful 
 tuition of Eugene. Count Staremberg guided the finances witli a 
 masterly hand. Count Sinzendorf was eminently qualified for super- 
 intending foreign affairs by his great talents as a negotiator, and his 
 experience in foreign relations. Bartenstein, however, rose to the 
 greatest importance, and exerted the most potent influence over the 
 emperor. He had risen from an inferior office by his ability for 
 drawing out memorials, and succeeded in gaining the attention of 
 Charles, and exerting such control that though in a subordinate 
 office, the "scribe," as he was contemptuously termed, really swayed 
 the councils of the emperor. 
 
 The Austrian dominions had become the most extensive sovereignty 
 in Europe. Charles in addition to the imperial dignity, was the 
 acknowledged sovereign of Hungary, Transylvania, Bohemia, Austria, 
 Styria, Cariuthia, Carniola, the Tyrol, Milan, and the Netherlands. 
 It is true that some of his territories rather diminished than increased 
 his power ; and the whole population did not amount to more than 
 twenty-five millions. The intrigues of France and the jealousy of 
 the German princes obliged him to keep up a numerous army, far 
 more numerous than his finances could afford. His peace establish- 
 ment was nominally fixed at 100,000 men, and his war at 160,000 ; 
 but it rarely happened that more than half that number could be 
 collected and supplied, as his revenues scarcely exceeded 30,000,000 
 florins, and the exchequer was burdened with the expenses of so 
 many and such extensive wars. He derived very little real advan- 
 tage from his imperial dignity above what the other princes of the 
 confederation enjoyed ; though it cannot be denied the title imparted 
 some dignity and influence to the Austrian sovereign. The neglect 
 of Charles to nominate a successor to the imperial throne during his 
 lifetime involved Europe in a severe and bloody war for the succession 
 to the Austrian dominions. 
 
CIIAIILES TIT. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 CIIAllLES VII. (OP BAVAUIA.) A.D. 
 
 THE great concern which the late emperor had manifested to 
 obtain the guarantee of the European powers to the Pragmatic Sanc- 
 tion, which secured the succession of the Austrian dignities to Maria 
 Theresa his eldest daughter, was rendered fruitless by the appearance 
 of several claimants immediately after the death of Charles. Maria 
 Theresa was in her twenty-fourth year, and possessed a commanding 
 figure, rich mellow voice, fascinating manners, exalted intellect, and 
 talents which eminently fitted her to resist the encroachments of 
 others, and to guard the sacred bequests of her father. Never did 
 the house of Austria demand from its sovereign greater vigilance and 
 wisdom than at this eventful period. The treasury was nearly 
 exhausted ; the army scarcely numbered 30,000 effective men ; the 
 capital was discontented by the pressure of famine ; the government 
 was torn into factions by party spirit and foreign intrigues ; and the 
 flames of revolution were expected to burst out in Hungary and 
 Bohemia in an attempt to regain their lost privileges. 
 
 The first claimant to the Austrian dominions was Charles Albert, 
 the Elector of Bavaria ; who founded his claims on the will of Fer- 
 dinand I. which bequeathed the Austrian dominions to his daughters 
 (one of whom Albert duke of Bavaria had married), and their 
 descendants. He had been corrupted by the pernicious influence of 
 his father, who was entirely under French control, and surrounded 
 with the vices of Paris. After his father's death, he resigned him- 
 self to luxury, to his mistresses, and to his dogs, of which he kept 
 an incredible number. While he was boldly asserting his claim, and 
 securing the aid of France, Maria Theresa was waiting for the 
 acknowledgment of the European sovereigns, who with the excep- 
 tion of Louis professed their readiness to maintain the Pragmatic 
 Sanction. The court of Vienna was meanwhile astonished by the 
 appearance of a new claimant for at least a portion of the Hapsburg 
 possessions. 
 
 Frederick William of Prussia had employed his life in forming a 
 powerful and disciplined army, and securing the prosperity of the 
 kingdom. At his death in 1740, he left to his son Frederick II. 
 thirty million dollars in the exchequer, and an army of 72,000 men. 
 The young king had passed through a severe course of discipline. 
 His stern father had treated him with great harshness. His tutor 
 inspired him with a passion for French literature ; he eagerly devoured 
 the writings of Voltaire, with whom he regularly corresponded, and 
 who made several attempts to initiate him in prose and poetic com- 
 position. His father no sooner discovered his literary pursuits, than. 
 
210 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 he punished him unmercifully with his cane, drilled him rigorously 
 as a soldier, and undertook his education. Frederick was exaspe- 
 rated by the conduct of his father, and attempted to escape; but he 
 was arrested and brought back to the king, who treated him as a 
 deserter, and in an altercation would have killed lum, but for the 
 interference of general Mosel. He was, however, with his page 
 condemned to death, and confined at Custrin to await his execution. 
 He was forced to witness the beheading of his page, and was alone 
 saved from a similar fate by the intercession of the surrounding 
 sovereigns and the queen. He was daily occupied as clerk with the 
 business of the chancery offices, and at length appeased his father by 
 his attention and application to business. After his marriage with 
 the daughter of the Duke of Brunswick, at the stern request of his 
 father, he resided at the castle of Ithcimsberg ; where he surrounded 
 himself with literary men, and divided his attention between political 
 duties, and literary pursuits. 
 
 Frederick resolved to take advantage of the state of Austria to 
 secure the duchy of Silesia; and while he amused the court of 
 Vienna with his assurance of friendship, and promises of assistance, 
 he prepared to invade the province, and to assert some antiquated 
 claim to it, which he had raked up from dusty records. When all 
 his arrangements were completed, he dispatched Count Gotta to 
 Vienna to demand the surrender of Silesia; and threatened to take 
 possession of it hi the event of a refusal. The Duke of Lorraine, 
 on behalf of the Queen of Hungary, returned a dignified and decided 
 refusal. Frederick still attempted to negotiate with the court ; and 
 meanwhile poured his army into Silesia, was joyfully received by the 
 Protestant natives, compelled general Brown to retreat into Moravia, 
 and in less than a month reduced the whole province except Glogau, 
 Breig and Keiss. The queen released general Neuperg from prison, 
 and sent him with a considerable force into Silesia. The state of 
 the roads prevented him passing the mountains of Moravia till the 
 end of March 1741; during which time Frederick had revisited his 
 dominions, captured Glogau, and besieged Xciss. Xeuperg hastened 
 into Silesia in the hope of cutting off the Prussian detachments in 
 detail before they could be collected. He took up his quarters at 
 Molwitz near Brcig, and Avas confident of success, on account of his 
 superiority in cavalry, and the consternation which pervaded the 
 enemy. The activity of Frederick deceived the general. He speedily 
 summoned his forces ; and favoured by a heavy fall of snow, took up 
 his position near Molwitz. The battle commenced on the 10th of 
 April; the charges of the Austrian cavalry dispersed the Prussians, 
 and opened a way through the infantry ; and victory seemed sure to 
 honour Neuperg. The steadiness of the Prussian infantry, however, 
 retrieved the day ; the Austrian ranks were thrown into confusion ; 
 Neuperg was wounded, and unable to restrain the flight of his 
 troops ; and Frederick remained master of the field. 
 
 The news of the defeat of her troops created great alarm in 
 Maria Theresa, and in the cabinet of Vienna. Her expectations of 
 ecciving assistance from the other powers, especially England, 
 
CHARLES VII. 241 
 
 had failed in their realisation; and Philip V. of Spain, the King of 
 Sardinia, and the Elector of Saxony put in their claims to the 
 Austrian dominions. The King of Prussia renewed his demands to 
 the queen through England ; and George II. commanded his 
 ambassador to exert his influence to induce her to cede the 
 possessions to him, and prevent an European war. A long and 
 tedious negotiation ensued between the King of Prussia, the 
 English plenipotentiary, and the court of Vienna, which was ren- 
 dered fruitless by the unbending spirit of Frederick and of Maria 
 Theresa ; and at last the king exclaimed " I am sick of ultimatums. 
 I will hear no more of them ; my part is taken. I again repeat my 
 demand of all Lower Silesia ; this is my final answer, and I will 
 give no other." All hope of a reconciliation was now at an end. 
 
 Frederick entered into a treaty with France and the Elector of 
 Bavaria ; a plan for the spoliation of the Austrian dominions was 
 drawn up; and active preparations were made for a concerted 
 attack. The Elector of Bavaria set out with a French army under 
 Belleisle, captured Lintz, summoned Vienna to surrender, and 
 suddenly turned into. Bohemia to invest Prague. The queen was 
 placed in a most perilous situation ; deserted by her allies, without 
 money, and threatened by a numerous combination. England alone 
 had voted to her 300,000 as a subsidy. In her distress she turned 
 to her Hungarian subjects. The members of the diet were sum- 
 moned ; and she entered the hall clad with deep mourning in the 
 Hungarian costume, with the ancient crown of St. Stephen on her 
 head, the scimitar at her side, and her infant son in her arms. She 
 ascended the tribune; and in a short but thrilling speech made 
 known her distress, and threw herself on their fidelity. The appear- 
 ance of the queen created a powerful impression on the hearts of the 
 assembly. They rose, half drew their scimitars, then thrust them 
 back with violence, and exclaimed "we will die for our queen, 
 Maria Theresa." They hastened to the diet, and voted large 
 supplies of money and men. The nation caught the enthusiasm ; and 
 in a short period the tribes poured in to fight for their sovereign. 
 Vienna was strongly defended, troops were collected from all 
 quarters, and every exertion made to roll back the tide of invasion. 
 
 Meanwhile the allies were divided among themselves by petty 
 jealousies ; and Frederick now dreaded the accession of the elector 
 to Bohemia, which would threaten Silesia; and also feared the 
 overwhelming power of France, if Austria were crushed. He, 
 therefore, commenced negotiations with the queen through England, 
 and succeeded in gaining his demands. Maria Theresa directed the 
 Hungarian forces first to succour Prague ; but the Duke of 
 Lorraine, who commanded the whole army, had the vexation of 
 arriving the day after the capital had surrendered. The elector had 
 made his triumphal entry into the city, been crowned King of 
 Bohemia, and had departed to Frankfort, where he was crowned 
 emperor on the 12th of Feb. 1742, by the title of Charles VII. 
 The Duke of Lorraine turned his forces towards Bavaria ; and 
 while the elector was feasting at Frankfort, the Croats and Pandurs 
 
 Q 
 
2-12 HISTORY OF AUSTPJA. 
 
 ravaged his dominions, and committed great excesses on the 
 peasants. Kevenhuller blockaded Lintz, compelled 10,000 French 
 under Segur to surrender, advanced into Bavaria, and captured 
 Munich. Frederick, with his accustomed versatility, now feared the 
 rising power of Austria, broke off his negotiations, and entered 
 Moravia to repel the Austrians from Bohemia. His movements, 
 however, were skilfully counteracted by the activity of the Austrian 
 generals. Vienna was protected by 10,000 men from Bavaria ; the 
 Hungarian army threatened the safety of Frederick's magazines in 
 Upper Silesia ; and Prince Charles of Lorraine advanced towards 
 him with the main army. Frederick was strongly posted at 
 Chotusitz near Czaslau ; and the Austrians ventured to attack him. 
 The armies were about equal in numbers, and the battle was con- 
 tested with great skill ana bravery ; but after heavy losses on both 
 sides, the Austrians retired in good order, and the Prussians re- 
 mained masters of the field. Both parties were anxious for peace ; 
 and the king concluded a treaty with the queen at Breslau, by which 
 he obtained Upper and Lower Silesia, and the country of Glatz on 
 condition of his neutrality. 
 
 The Austrian arms were now triumphant against the French. 
 Marshals Broglio and Belleisle were driven from their posts, and 
 shut up in Prague ; while the relieving army was kept in check by 
 Kevenhuller. The removal of Sir Robert Walpole from the British 
 cabinet secured the active alliance of England ; the Dutch voted the 
 queen a large subsidy ; the King of Sardinia was gained by the 
 promise of some territories in the Milanese, and checked the French 
 and Spanish troops in Italy; and an English fleet secured the 
 neutrality of the King of Kaples, by threatening to bombard the 
 capital if he interfered. A gleam of hope now brightened the dark 
 prospects of Maria Theresa. 
 
 The French were greatly exasperated at the success of the 
 Austrians. Cardinal Fleury made overtures to the queen for the 
 cessation of hostilities in order to preserve his army which was shut 
 up in Prague ; but she disdainfully rejected his proposals, and pushed 
 forward the siege with great vigour. A grand effort was made to 
 relieve the French. The army of Maillebois, which was stationed in 
 Westphalia, marched towards the Palatinate, united with Seckendorf 
 and the Bavarians, and was still further increased by the army of 
 Saxe ; and at the head of 60,000 men he advanced to Egra. The 
 French in Prague were suffering extremely from the w r ant of pro- 
 visions and from fever, and hailed the approach of their comrades. 
 Prince Charles of Lorraine united with Kevenhuller to check the 
 advance of Maillebois ; and they compelled him to retrace lu's steps, 
 to retire to the Palatinate, and ultimately to relinquish all hope of 
 relieving Prague. The situation of the besieged became every day 
 more distressing ; and the intelligence of the surrender of the place 
 was hourly expected at Vienna. Belleisle deceived the expectations 
 of the Austrians. The severity of the weather, and the impassable 
 state of the country, induced Lobcowitz, who conducted the siege, 
 to relax his efforts ; and Belleisle embraced the opportunity to leave 
 
CHAKLES vii. 243 
 
 the city with 11,000 foot, 3,000 horse, and 30 pieces of cannon in 
 the dead of the night, December 16. He experienced little opposi- 
 tion from the enemy ; but the sufferings of the soldiers were terrible. 
 They slept on the snow and ice, with scarcely any covering ; they had 
 no other provision than frozen bread ; and at every halting place, left 
 heaps of men and oflicers stiffened with the frost. The remaining 
 French troops refused to surrender without the honours of war; 
 and Chevert the commander threatened to fire the city if these terms 
 were not immediately granted. To save Prague, the queen yielded ; 
 and they marched out, and joined their brethren at Egra. 
 
 All Bohemia, except Egra, was now in the hands of Maria Theresa ; 
 and she was crowned with great splendour at Prague. May 12, 1743. 
 She speedily directed her arms to effect the destruction of the 
 French. Prince Charles routed a detachment on the Iser, scattered 
 witli great loss the Bavarian force at Erblach, and compelled Broglio 
 to retreat to the Rhine. The King of England sent a force under 
 Lord Stair to co-operate with the Austrians. On their march alon 
 the Main they were opposed, when near Dettiugen, by a powerful 
 French army under Marshal Noailles ; who by his skilful dispositions, 
 had cut off their retreat, lined the opposite banks with cannon, and 
 threatened the allied army with either an unconditional surrender, or 
 certain destruction. The imprudence of the Duke of Grammont, 
 the marshal's nephew, who crossed the stream to give battle to the 
 enemy, brought on an engagement. The French were driven back 
 with the loss of 5,000 men; and the allied army was enabled to march 
 to Hanau, where its heterogeneous character was soon manifested 
 by disunion and faction. The French were driven out of Egra on 
 the 7th of September ; and the emperor, shut up as a fugitive at 
 Frankfort, deserted by France, and his dominions ravaged by Austria, 
 made overtures to the queen through the Prince of Hesse, and pro- 
 mised to renounce his claim to the Austrian inheritance, and break 
 off his connection with France, if he were restored to his dominions, 
 and his imperial title acknowledged. In Italy the French and 
 Spanish were unsuccessful in their operations; and the King of 
 Sardinia received the possessions which the queen had promised him 
 for his assistance. 
 
 The campaign of 1744 opened with great preparations on both 
 sides. England and France declared hostilities ; and the latter 
 attempted an invasion of Britain, which was defeated by a violent 
 storm. Louis headed 100,000 men in Flanders, and was very suc- 
 cessful in capturing Courtray, Menin, Ypres, and other places. The 
 Austrians, however, under Prince Charles burst into Alsace, and 
 threatened the subjugation of that province. A large army composed 
 of the troops under Marshal de Coigny, the Bavarians under Seck- 
 endorf, and 30,000 men under Noailles from the Netherlands, was 
 collected to drive the prince from the country ; but when he was 
 preparing to detach and defeat them, he was suddenly recallep 
 to drive out the Prussians from Bohemia. The success which hap 
 attended the arms of Maria Theresa aroused the jealousy of many 
 princes, and especially of Frederick king of Prussia. He, therefore, 
 
214 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 secretly signed a convention at Frankfort-on-the-Main between the 
 emperor, France, the Elector Palatine, and the King of Sweden ; and 
 suddenly invaded Bohemia. The Austrians were unprepared to resist 
 him ; and he was enabled to seize Prague, Tabor, Budweis and most 
 of Bohemia, and to reinstate the emperor in the possession of his 
 capital, and the greater part of the electorate. 
 
 The queen acted with becoming spirit and resolution. She recalled 
 prince Charles from Alsace, and repaired to the Hungarian diet at 
 Presburg ; where she roused the spirit of the people, and in a short 
 time raised two armies, one to act immediately with the prince, and 
 the other to be held in reserve. The devastated condition of Bohe- 
 mia prevented Frederick gaining provisions for his army, and his 
 convoys were cut off by hordes of irregulars. The Austrians were 
 joined* by the Saxons ; and the king was driven from post to post, 
 and obliged to evacuate Bohemia with a loss of 20,000 men, and all 
 his baggage and artillery. The arms of the queen in Italy were not 
 successful ; though no permanent results were secured on either 
 side. Prince Lobcowitz drove the Spanish towards Naples ; and 
 when the King of Naples advanced to their assistance, the prince 
 nearly surprised him in his tent, and shortly after went into his 
 winter quarters. The King of Sardinia was hard pressed by the 
 French, and Piedmont was ravaged by the enemy. 
 
 All parties were anxiously expecting the next phase of affairs, 
 when an event occurred which excited the hope of a speedy termina- 
 tion of hostilities. The emperor possessed a delicate constitution, 
 which was weakened by the troubles which had distinguished his 
 reign. He was severely attacked with the gout, which terminated 
 fatally at Munich, Jan. 20, 1745. Charles VII. was a prince of a 
 liberal and amiable disposition. His ambition had been aroused by 
 a more masterly spirit than himself; and his talents were insufficient 
 to uphold the dignity he had grasped. He bitterly regretted the 
 steps he had taken, reproached himself that he had involved Ger- 
 many in a desolating war, and had degraded himself to a state of 
 dependency on French favour ; and with his dying voice he entreated 
 his son to reject the imperial dignity, and to secure the friendship of 
 the house of Austria. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 FRAXCIS I. (or LORRAINE.) A.D. 1745-17G5. 
 
 THE son of the late emperor was easily persuaded to conclude a 
 treaty with the queen of Hungary on the terms which his father had 
 once offered. France naturally wished to sow divisions among 
 the princes, and disunite the allies; and attempted to prejudice the 
 court of St. Petersburg against Maria Theresa. The intrigues 
 
FRANCIS I. 245 
 
 of the king, however, were unavailing ; and he again had recourse to 
 arms. The campaign was opened by vigorous efforts in Flanders. 
 Marshal Saxe invested Tournay with an army of 80,000 men, where 
 he was joined by the king and the dauphin. The allies were com- 
 manded by the Duke of Cumberland ; who, with a force of scarcely 
 50,000 men hastened to the relief of the town. The French took up 
 an advantageous position near Fontenoy, which was strongly defended 
 by nature and by numerous intrenchments. The duke resolved to 
 attack them, and led on his men in person, The English and Hano- 
 verians displayed the greatest intrepidity and firmness; but the 
 Dutch wavered, fled, and exposed them to a tremendous fire on all 
 sides. Cumberland was seen in the thickest of the battle, encouraging 
 his troops. Konigsegg rallied his men, whose impetuous attacks 
 drove the French from their posts, and threw them into confusion. 
 A small battery, however, was brought to play on the British 
 troops ; and after a great portion had been cut down, the duke gave 
 orders to retire ; which they effected in good order. The French 
 were masters of the field ; the allies lost 10,000 men ; and Ghent, 
 Bruges, Ostcnd, Tournay, and other towns submitted to the victors. 
 
 In Italy the Austrian arms also suffered great reverses. The 
 queen failed to reinforce her troops ; and the King of Sardinia was 
 unable to resist the attacks of the French and Spanish, now assisted 
 by the Genoese. The confederates drove the king to the walls of 
 Turin, overran the Milanese, received the oath of subjection from the 
 capital; and in a few months Parma, Placentia, Tortona, Pavia, 
 Cazale and Aste were in the hands of Don Philip, and the fortresses 
 of Alessandria and Milan blockaded. The efforts of the queen 
 against the King of Prussia were also unsuccessful. Since his 
 retreat from Prague, Frederick employed every artifice to represent 
 himself as crushed and desponding, in the hope of surprising the 
 Austrians. He confined his first efforts to skirmishes, and petty 
 engagements, and succeeded in drawing Prince Charles across the 
 mountains at Landshut, where he had placed his troops in such a 
 position that few could be observed. The prince was deluded by the 
 stratagem, and was surprised by an attack on his two wings at the 
 same moment. They had no sooner given way, than the Prussian 
 infantry opened, and a body of horse dashed into the centre of the 
 enemy, and completed the disorder. For seven hours the conflict 
 continued ; Charles retreated into Bohemia, followed by the king ; 
 and the two armies encamped near the Elbe, and were alone separated 
 by that stream. 
 
 Frederick was extremely anxious for peace. His treasury was 
 exhausted, his army disorganised, and his country distressed ; and 
 he made overtures to the King of England, who sent his ambassador 
 to Vienna to request the queen to conclude a treaty with Prussia. 
 The envoy obtained an audience with the illustrious queen; he 
 showed the importance of detaching either France or Prussia, and 
 the impossibility of gaining the former, and hinted at the withdrawal 
 of the annual subsidy she had received from England in case of a 
 refusal. Maria Theresa returned an answer which avoided a direct 
 
24fi HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 refusal; and George II. entered into a secret treaty with Prussia. 
 The tidings of this treaty awakened the jealousy of the court of 
 Vienna. Prince Charles, having received reinforcements, harassed 
 the Prussian army by cutting off the supplies, and forced the 
 king to retire from his position into Silesia; and again the two 
 armies were opposed. Frederick, surprised by Charles, offered 
 battle ; and though his forces scarcely exceeded half those of the 
 enemy, lie defeated his foe in a bloody encounter near the village of 
 Sohr, and gained a fresh trophy with hardly any exertion. The kuig 
 soon after retired to prevent the invasion of the troops of Saxony, 
 with Avhom the queen had formed the bold project of surprising Berlin ; 
 but Frederick anticipated her designs, drove back the Saxons, and de- 
 feated Prince Charles. The Prince of Anhalt opcncdthe way to Dresden, 
 into which the king entered in triumph, and conquered the whole 
 electorate. Maria Theresa now accepted the mediation of England, 
 and on the 25th of December 1745, signed the peace of Dresden. 
 Prussia was confirmed in the possession of Silesia and Glatz ; and 
 Frederick evacuated Saxony, and recognised the imperial dignity of 
 the Duke of Lorraine. 
 
 The imperial diet had been assembled at Frankfort to select an 
 emperor; and the only candidate was Francis consort of Maria 
 Theresa, who was duly elected by the suffrages of the college on the 
 13th of September, and was crowned with great splendour on the 
 4th of the following month with the title of Francis I. The queen 
 was gratified by the union of the imperial dignity with the house of 
 Hapsburg, and testified her joy by her exclamation, " Long live the 
 emperor Francis I.," and by her splendid entertainments and pro- 
 cessions. She reviewed her army at Heidelberg, and presented each 
 soldier with a piece of money in commemoration of the event. 
 
 The English had frequently complained of the treatment they had 
 received, by their allies seldom bringing more than half the stipulated 
 complement into the field. While the Duke of Cumberland was 
 occupied in suppressing the rebellion in Scotland, the French look 
 advantage of the state of affairs in the Netherlands to push 
 forward their successes by capturing Brussels, and the greater 
 portion of the Austrian Netherlands. Prince Charles was 
 unable to check the advance of Saxe. Namur fell into his hands ; 
 and the allied troops were defeated at the battle of llaucoux, whicii 
 terminated the campaign. In Italy the Austrian arms were crowned 
 with far more glory; they retook the greater portion of the con- 
 quered places, and drove the French into Provence. Genoa was left 
 to her fate, and was forced to surrender unconditionally. The city was 
 
 fiven up, with the garrison and all the munitions of war; and Botta 
 ecame governor in the name of the queen. His unheard-of cruelty, 
 oppression, and rapacity aroused the spirit of the inhabitants; and 
 while the English and Austrians were besieging Antibes, the people 
 rose, armed themselves from the military stores, drove out the 
 Austrians with the loss of SOOO men, and assumed their independence. 
 The besiegers were induced to retire from Antibes to retake Genoa. 
 The efforts made to prevent another campaign were frustrated by 
 
FH.YXCIS i. 217 
 
 the jealousy of the belligerents, and the unbending resolution of 
 Maria Theresa ; who was constantly expecting some decisive victory, 
 which would enable her to gain an increase of territory, instead of 
 losing any portion of her present inheritance. The campaign of 
 174J was unfavourable to the allies. The Duke of Cumberland was 
 disappointed in his supplies of men, provisions, and material. To 
 force the neutrality of Holland, the French invaded the Dutch 
 territory ; and the States revived the office of stadtholder, which 
 had been abolished since the death of William III., and called the 
 Prince of Orange to the dignity. His presence, however, did not 
 remedy the defective arrangements of the allies. Marshal Saxe 
 attacked them near the village of Val, where they were posted. 
 The British and Hanoverians sustained the whole force of the action, 
 and behaved in a masterly manner under the galling fire of their 
 opponents; but they had to retire under cover of the British 
 infantry, after inflicting a severe loss on the French. Count 
 Lowendahl was sent with 30,000 men to besiege Bergen-op-Zoom ; 
 which he was enabled to capture through the negligence of the 
 sentinels, and the infirmity of the governor. Admiral Hawke 
 defeated the French navy off Cape Finisterre, and captured six 
 ships of the line. In Italy the siege of Genoa was carried on with 
 scarcely any energy by the Austrians and Sardinians ; but the 
 approach of Bclleisle, who had made himself master of Nice and 
 Yillafranea, caused them to raise the siege and to fall back for the 
 defence of their own territories. 
 
 The allies were sincerely desirous of peace, and resolved to place 
 Maria Theresa in such a position that she must either agree to the 
 terms they were anxious to secure, or continue the Avar without 
 their assistance. While the spirited queen was making the most 
 active preparations for a fresh campaign, and was indulging visions 
 of brilliant success, the conferences which had been opened at 
 Breda, and had been transferred to Aix la Chapelle, commenced the 
 negotiations by the plenipotentiaries there assembled of Austria, 
 England, France, Holland, Spain, Sardinia, Genoa, and Modena. 
 The empress-queen refused to surrender any of her possessions; 
 and in a long and stormy interview with the English ambassador, 
 she stated her determination rather to lose her head than any part 
 of her inheritance. At length, after many disputes, the treaty of 
 Aix la Chapelle received the signature of the different powers at the 
 close of 1743. The election of Francis to the imperial dignity was 
 confirmed, and the Pragmatic Sanction guaranteed. Maria Theresa 
 recovered the Netherlands, gave up Silesia and Glatz to Prussia, 
 yielded Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla to Don Philip, and ratified 
 the concession made to the king of Sardinia. England and Franco 
 for all their expenditure of blood and treasure gained nothing. 
 
 Maria Theresa employed the interval between the peace of Aix 
 la Chapelle and the commencement of the Seven Years' War hi 
 promoting the internal prosperity of the nation. She clearly 
 discerned that the late treaty would be but a temporary suspension 
 of hostilities, and, therefore, prepared to meet the anticipated 
 
245 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 outbreak of war. She investigated and reduced to order her 
 finances ; and increased the revenue six million florins a year, though 
 she had lost Naples, and Silesia a productive province. She raised tTie 
 number of her standing army to 108,000 men ; formed camps in the 
 provinces, which she herself visited, and animated with her bounty ; 
 established a military academy at Vienna; and cultivated most 
 assiduously the science of war. She also revised her ministerial 
 council, where death had entered and removed Sinzendorf, Starem- 
 berg, Harrach, and Kinsky ; checked the insolence and jealousy of 
 Bartenstein, by promoting him to the vice-chancellorship of Bohemia; 
 and raised Count Kaunitz to the dignity of prime minister, who for 
 a period of forty years directed the councils of Austria with his 
 splendid talents, and insinuating address. 
 
 The count was extremely anxious to contract an alliance with 
 France, and for some years had intrigued at the court of Versailles 
 to produce a friendly feeling towards Austria. His efforts were 
 promoted by the misunderstanding which had sprung up between 
 England and France respecting the American colonies, which was 
 afterwards to be settled by the sword ; and also by the disgust 
 which the King of Prussia had manifested at the haughty and 
 overbearing conduct of France. He induced the empress to write 
 a letter to the Marchioness of Pompadour, the mistress of Louis 
 and the real prime minister of France, and gained her powerful 
 influence towards his project. The relation between England and 
 Austria became less amicable, and was weakened by the unjust 
 requirements of each court. George required the empress to drain 
 her hereditary dominions to supply a large force for the defence of 
 the Netherlands and Hanover against the French ; and Maria 
 Theresa expected England entirely to defend the Netherlands, and 
 to assist in the dismemberment of the Prussian dominions. A long 
 scries of tedious negotiations, for which Austria has always shown 
 such partiality, ensued; until George declared that he had had 
 enough of ultimatums, declined to carry on a paper war with 
 Austria, and entered into a treaty with the King of Prussia to 
 prevent foreign troops entering Germany during the American 
 war. 
 
 Meanwhile Kaunitz had prepared a treaty with France, which 
 gained the approval of the marchioness, and through her of Louis. 
 He had great difficulty in securing the consent of the Austrian 
 ministers, and especially of the emperor. Francis declared that an 
 alliance with France should never take place ; but he was at length 
 won over by the empress ; and Kaunitz was empowered to conclude 
 the negotiation. Maria Theresa received the news of the treaty 
 between England and Prussia with some satisfaction, and made that 
 the ground of her contracting an alliance with France, which was 
 fully signed May 1, 1756. The queen promised to defend the French 
 territories if attacked, except during the American war ; and Louis 
 agreed to aid the house of Austria in the event of an invasion. She 
 secured the assistance of the King of Poland, who was also Elector 
 of Saxony, and the Empress of Russia; and assembled two powerful 
 
FIIANCIS I. 249 
 
 armies near Konigsgratz and Prague, while the Russian forces were 
 prepared to advance on Livonia. 
 
 Irederick demanded a declaration of her intentions by these 
 hostile preparations, but the queen returned an evasive answer ; and 
 the king assembled a large force, burst into Saxony, captured 
 Dresden, and blockaded the Saxon troops at Pirna. General Brown 
 was ordered to advance from Prague to the relief of the Saxons, 
 who, after gallantly resisting the attacks of the foe, were forced to 
 submit from want of provisions. Augustus fled to Warsaw ; and 
 Frederick treated Saxony as a conquered province, and appropriated 
 its revenues. The conduct of Prussia stimulated the allies of 
 Austria. His attempt to vindicate his deeds by the publication of 
 papers found in the Saxon archives, failed to conciliate the German 
 princes; who were actively supplied with French gold, and were 
 persuaded that England and Prussia designed to crush their religion, 
 and impose the Protestant faith upon them. France entered warmly 
 into the war ; and at the beginning of 1757 the king agreed to pay 
 an annual subsidy of 12,000,000 florins to the empress, to maintain 
 at her disposal 10,000 troops of Bavaria and Wirtemberg, to send 
 into the field an army of 105,000 men, .and never to cease from 
 hostilities until the queen obtained possession of Silesia, Glatz and 
 Crossen. Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the United Provinces remained 
 neutral ; but Sweden declared for Austria. 
 
 The memorable campaign of 1757 opened with great preparations. 
 France raised two armies on the Rhine ; one under Marshal d'Etrees 
 to act against the Duke of Cumberland, and the other under the 
 Prince de Soubise to penetrate into Saxony. Etrees defeated the 
 Hanoverians and Hessians, drove the duke to Stade, and became 
 master of the electorate ; and the prince penetrated to Erfurt, and 
 joined the imperial army under the Prince of Saxe Hilburghausen. 
 The Swedes burst into Prussian Pomerania ; and the Russians, to 
 the amount of 100,000 men, invaded Prussia and committed great 
 devastation. Frederick poured his army into Bohemia in four divi- 
 sions ; the Prince of Bevern defeated the Austrians at lleichenberg, 
 while the king, uniting with the forces of Schwerin and Prince 
 Maurice, caused General Brown to retreat from Budin towards 
 Prague. Prince Charles of Lorraine took up a strong position near 
 Prague, where he was joined by the retreating Austrians ; and 
 Frederick resolved to attack him before he was succoured by a large 
 force under Count Daun, the son of the celebrated general who had 
 distinguished himself in the Italian wars. For a long time the 
 Austrians defended their posts with great bravery. The troops of 
 Schwerin wavered and retreated, till their heroic general, seizing a 
 Standard, exclaimed " Let the brave follow me," and rushed into the 
 inidst of the Austrian lines, where he was pierced with several balls. 
 The spirit of the Prussians were aroused. Marshal Brown was 
 obliged to leave his division because of his wounds, and the troops 
 gave way. Charles was nearly surrounded ; and at length retreated 
 in good order to Prague. The Prussians purchased their victory with 
 the loss of 18,000 of their best troops, and the bravest of their officers. 
 
230 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 The city wr.s instantly besieged ; 'and 100,000 persons were shut 
 up within its narrow limits without the means of subsistence. They 
 gallantly defended the place, and were animated with the hope of 
 assistance from Dann, who had not joined the main army, and was 
 now gathering reinforcements a few miles from Prague. He delayed 
 his movements till he had collected an army of 00,000 men, drove 
 back the Prince of Bevem sent by Frederick to oppose him, and 
 gave battle near Kolin to the king who had joined the prince to 
 obstruct the march of Daun. The battle was decisive. The Prus- 
 sians fought Avith their accustomed fire; but the Saxon cavalry 
 dashed into their lines, and forced an opening, wliich. was skilfully 
 made use of by Daun. Frederick led his cavalry to the charge 
 seven times, but seeing all was lost, retired with thirty hussars ; and 
 the Prussian army took to flight. The siege of Prague was raised ; 
 and the Prussians retreated towards Saxony and Lusatia. 
 
 The situation of Frederick was gloomy enough to have driven 
 any less daring mind to despair. Silesia was nearly torn from him 
 by the success of Prince Charles ; the French and German con- 
 federates burst into Saxony, and drove Marshal Keith into Leipzic ; 
 and General Haddick penetrated into the mark of Brandenburg, 
 and laid Berlin under contribution. The splendid genius of the king 
 rescued himself from his perilous situation. He collected his forces, 
 hastened into Saxony, delivered Keith, and then advanced to meet 
 Soubise, who had been greatly reinforced. He took up a strong 
 position at liosbach, where his small numbers were defended by two 
 villages, and a steep declivity. The enemy mistook his manoeuvres 
 for a retreat, and carelessly rushed on to intercept him ; when to 
 their great astonishment a furious cannonade was opened, the cavalry 
 dashed into their columns, and the Prussian infantry advanced with 
 rapid and steady step. In less than an hour the enemy fled, leaving 
 4,000 wounded and killed, 7,000 prisoners, G3 cannons, and 22 
 standards in the hands of the king. 
 
 The success of the Austrians m Silesia called Frederick to that 
 part of his dominions. Prince Charles had driven Bevem to 
 Breslau, and after the capture of Schweidnitz by Xadasti, had 
 forced him to abandon Breslau, which fell into the hands of the 
 Austrians. Frederick hastily collected the remains of Severn's 
 army, and advanced to Breslau to risk another engagement. 
 Charles, though entreated by Daun not to act on the offensive, 
 despised the small force wliich the king possessed, issued from the 
 town, and took up a position near Lissa. Frederick displayed the 
 qualities of a consummate general. He made his arrangements to 
 attack the right of the Austrians, to repel which they had drawn up 
 their reserves and strengthened that quarter; when suddenly his 
 troops turned towards the left. The Austrians were deceived, and 
 though they contested each step with great resolution, they were 
 driven from their posts, surrounded by the Prussians, and cither cut 
 down or made prisoners. "While the Prussians lost scarcely 5000 
 men, the Austrians had 7000 killed and wounded, and 20,000 made 
 prisoners. Breslau capitulated, and Sehweidnitz was blockaded by 
 
FR.VXCIS I. 2dl 
 
 Frederick. Tlie allies of the queen were also unsuccessful ; the 
 liussians were forced by want of provisions to retire from Prussia ; 
 the Swedes were driven to the walls of Stralsund ; and the French 
 were kept in check by the Hanoverians. The English expedition 
 against liochcfort was a total failure. 
 
 The greatest exertions were necessary to provide for the next 
 campaign. Maria Theresa had lost more than 80,000 men, who had 
 to bc^replaced by raw recruits ; and her revenues were insufficient 
 to supply fresli baggage, arms, and military stores. Prussia had 
 lost her fine disciplined army ; but she was assisted by a yearly 
 subsidy of 650,000 from England; and the revenues of the 
 king rapidly remedied the calamities of war. Frederick captured 
 Sclnvcidnitz after a long blockade, and marched into Moravia to 
 invest Olmiitz. Prince Charles resigned the chief command to 
 Daun, who judiciously trained his army to the severities of war, 
 before he encountered the Prussians. He harassed the king by his 
 rapid movements, and sent general Laudon to intercept a large 
 convoy of materials for the siege. The king, after losing the 
 greater part of his convoy, raised the siege, and retired to Landshut. 
 He marched against the Russians who were besieging .Custrin, 
 compelled them to raise the siege, and defeated them at the battle of 
 Zorndorf. 
 
 Daun turned towards Saxony in the hope of reconquering that 
 country, where Prince Henry, Frederick's brother, possessed only 
 20,000 men, and had been forced by the imperial army to retire 
 towards Dresden. His movements, however, were frustrated by the 
 sagacity and activity of Frederick. He left a corps under the 
 margrave Charles to cover Silesia, and a body under count Dohna to 
 watch the Russians ; and hastened to relieve his brother. He took 
 up a strong position at Hochkirchen, in sight of the Austrians, and 
 hoped to induce them to risk an engagement. .The Austrians 
 deceived him as to their intentions. He observed them busily 
 occupied in forming redoubts, fascines, and trenches, as if they 
 intended to remain on the defensive ; and resigned himself and his 
 army in security. Daun had projected a surprise ; and on the 
 night of the 13th of October, leaving his fires blazing, and his 
 labourers at work, he formed his army into three divisions, and 
 silently approached the Prussian camp. The divisions under Daun 
 and Laudon burst upon the camp, turned the artillery against them, 
 and dashing amid the tents, put to slaughter the slumbering 
 inmates. The king started with alarm; his hussars rushed out half- 
 dressed, and instantly formed; and Prince Maurice and Marshal 
 Keith attempted to gain the batteries, but failed. Keith was 
 pierced with a musket-ball ; the prince was wounded ; and the king 
 at length descended into the plain, and carried off part of his 
 baggage. The victory filled Yienna with rejoicing, and brought 
 heaps of honours and rewards to the fortunate generals, though it 
 did not lead to any further decisive advantage. Frederick forced 
 general Hersch to raise the siege of Neiss and to retire into 
 Bohemia; and Daun, who had invested Dresden, was obliged to 
 
2o2 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 relinquish it, and allow the king to enter the city. The Russians 
 retreated to Poland, the Swedes to Stralsund, and the confederate 
 army, which had been successfully opposed by prince Ferdinand of 
 Brunswick, into Franconia. 
 
 The belligerents commenced the campaign of 1759 with ardent 
 hopes of success. France entered into a new treaty with Austria, 
 renewed her offers of assistance, and agreed to maintain 100,000 
 men against the King of Prussia. The French under Contades and 
 those under Broglio gained great success; Prince Ferdinand was 
 repulsed at Bergen near Frankfort with considerable loss ; and Cassel, 
 Minden, and Munster submitted to them. The French, however, 
 were defeated in the battle of Minden ; in which the English greatly 
 distinguished themselves, though Lord Sackville, who commanded, 
 was blamed and dismissed for not securing a greater victory. The 
 Russians defeated the Prussians under Wedel in Silesia, and marched 
 on to Frankfort on the Oder, where they were joined by Laudon 
 with 30,000 Austrians. Frederick collected his troops to oppose the 
 united army ; and by a series of bold marches, crossed the Oder with 
 40,000 men to storm the allied camp which contained 80,000, leaving 
 his brother Henry to oppose Daun in Lusatia. The Russians and 
 Austrians occupied a strong position near the village of Cunersdorf ; 
 the heights of which they had strongly fortified, and defended with 
 large batteries. The king attacked the right division with his artil- 
 lery, stormed the redoubts, and after a dreadful slaughter, succeeded 
 in capturing 180 pieces of cannon June 12, 1759. The left, however, 
 remained firm, and his general Seidlitz advised him to be satisfied 
 with his advantage, which would force the enemy to retire during 
 the night. Frederick could not restrain his martial ardour, and led his 
 columns to the attack, followed by the cavalry. The Russians gave 
 way, and abandoned the battery ; and the Prussian infantry advanced 
 to seize the heights, which would have decided the conflict, when 
 Laudon rushed forward, pointed the cannon loaded with grape 
 towards the advancing columns, and swept them away. Still the 
 Prussians came on ; and Laudon charged them with his cavalry, 
 threw them into disorder, and created a panic among them. 
 Frederick had exposed his person in the heat of the action; two 
 horses were shot under him, his clothes were riddled with balls, and 
 his life alone saved by his faithful hussars. At the commencement 
 of the action he wrote a note to his queen stating that the Russians 
 were defeated, and victory was certain ; but at the conclusion he 
 dispatched a few hasty lines saying, " Remove from Berlin with the 
 royal family ; let the archives be carried to Potsdam, and the capital 
 make conditions with the enemy." 
 
 The misunderstandings which arose between Soltikof the Russian 
 commander and Laudon, prevented them following up the defeat of 
 Frederick, which was so complete that he was almost a fugitive. 
 The king, however, soon recovered his spirits, and replaced his 
 army, in a few days he was at the head of 28,000 men to defend 
 his capital ; and by the masterly disposition of his troops prevented 
 the junction of Daun with the Russians, and disconcerted their plans. 
 
253 
 
 The Russians attempted to penetrate into Silesia, but were checked 
 by the rapid approach of the king ; and after suffering great priva- 
 tions, they retired into Poland, and Laudon into Olmutz. Daun 
 turned to Saxony, where the imperial army had invested Dresden, 
 which capitulated after a blockade of twenty-seven days. General 
 Wunsch was advancing to its relief; but being disappointed, he 
 turned to Torgau, where he defeated the imperial army, and captured 
 Wittenberg and Leipzic. Daun took up his station at Dresden ; and 
 the king cut off his convoys, created a diversion in Bohemia, and 
 detached General Fink to occupy Maxen in the rear of the Austrians. 
 Dauu formed the bold enterprise of surprising the Prussians at 
 Maxen, and executed it with such secrecy and success that he com- 
 pletely surrounded the general, and compelled the whole army to 
 surrender themselves prisoners of war. The king, when apprised of 
 the danger of his general, sent Hulsen to his rescue ; but he arrived 
 too late ; and Daun retired to Plauen, where he could succour 
 Dresden if attacked, and also communicate with Bohemia. The 
 king took up a position at Wildsruf, waiting for an opportunity to 
 seize Dresden; and the two armies passed a very severe winter 
 watching each other, and endured great hardships. "They died in 
 their cabins like flies, and this winter campaign cost the king more 
 than two battles ; nor did the Austrians experience a better fate, for 
 contagious disorders broke out in their army, and in the space of 
 only sixteen days they lost 4,000 men." 
 
 llie French army in Westphalia opened the campaign of 1760 
 with 120,000 men. Marshal Broglio advanced into Hesse ; but his 
 general Muy was defeated by Ferdinand at Warburg with the loss of 
 5,000 men; and after a series of slight engagements favourable to 
 Broglio, the French wintered in Hesse and the prince in Munster. 
 The Austrians under Daun occupied the camp at Pirna to watch the 
 movements of the King of Prussia ;- who was greatly distressed for 
 troops, and whose funds were so exhausted that, notwithstanding 
 the large English subsidy, he had recourse to the coinage of bad 
 money to supply the deficiency. 
 
 Laudon quitted Olmutz in April, and burst into Silesia, captured 
 Fouquet with 9000 men when guarding the passes of the Giant 
 Mountains, secured Glatz, and invested Breslau. Frederick 
 was confounded by the news of the capture of his general, and 
 bitterly exclaimed, "Such disasters happen to me alone." He 
 attempted to reach Silesia, but was prevented by the movements of 
 Daun and Lacy ; and he suddenly turned and defeated Lacy, drove 
 away the imperial army from their winter camp at Plauen, and 
 bonibarded Dresden. Daun hastened after the king, reinforced 
 Dresden, cut off the Prussian convoys, and forced Frederick to 
 retire. The king retreated into Lusatia, followed by Daun in 
 advance and Lacy in the rear. Laudon had been forced to raise the 
 siege of Breslau by Prince Henry ; and Dann took up a position 
 behind the Katzback, where he effected a junction with Laudon, and 
 cut off the king from his magazines at Breslau and Schweidnitz 
 and from Prince Henry. The Russians were also assembling 
 
251 IIISTOKY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 on the Oder, and preparing to unite with the Austrians. Frederick 
 resolved to cut nis way through the enemy, and took post 
 at Lignitz. Dann attempted to repeat the surprise at Hochkirchen ; 
 but Frederick perceived Ids designs, and shifted his position to the 
 heights of PfalFendorf, which Laudon was to seize and occupy. Oil 
 the 15th of August, Laudoii advanced, and was received with a 
 galling fire from the Prussian batteries, which threw his troops into 
 confusion; and he was routed by the cavalry with the loss of 10,000 
 men. The wind carried the sound in a contrary direction and 
 prevented Daun hearing the cannonade ; and lie was surprised to 
 find the camp deserted ; but when acquainted with the defeat of 
 Laudon, he recalled his troops, and permitted the Prussians to retire 
 to Parcliwitz. Daun concerted with the Russians an advance on 
 Berlin, which capitulated, but was saved from destruction by paying 
 a heavy contribution. The king hastened to save his capital, and 
 afterwards turned into Saxony. Daun took up his position near 
 Torgau, which seemed almost impregnable, and concentrated his 
 forces to shut up the king in a district where he would be far from 
 his magazines and his supplies. Frederick attempted by various 
 stratagems to draw him from his strong post ; but being unsuccessful, 
 he determined to risk an engagement, November 3rd. He divided 
 his army into two bodies ; one under Ziethen to attack the right and 
 centre, while he led the other through woods to fall on the rear. 
 Daun saw the disposition of the enemy, and ordered his artillery to 
 be brought to the rear ; and when the king came on, the troops were 
 received with a tremendous fire. Three lines were successively 
 swept away ; Daun charged at the head of his troops, and drove the 
 Prussians into the wood, where he received a severe wound ; and the 
 king, wounded also, was obliged to retire. Daun was conveyed to 
 Torgau, rejoicing at his victory ; but in the night, Ziethen, with two 
 brave regiments, seized the heights, turned the batteries against the 
 Austrians, and threw the entire army into disorder. Torgau was 
 abandoned, and all Saxony except Dresden, fell into the king's hands. 
 
 George II. of England died suddenly October 25th, and was 
 succeeded by his nephew George III., who though of a peaceful 
 disposition resolved to continue the war in America, where the 
 English had gained splendid successes, and also on the continent. 
 The court of Spain entered into a secret treaty witli France and 
 Austria; and towards the close of 1701, when she had secured her 
 rich galleons, openly declared war on behalf of Austria. 
 
 Negotiations for peace had been simultaneously carried on with 
 preparations for war; and while the terms were still being discussed, 
 hostilities again commenced. The belligerents, however, were not 
 actuated by the same buoyant hope which formerly animated them. 
 Frederick gave way to despondency, and restrained the bold con- 
 ceptions which had previously assisted him so wonderfully. Laudon 
 imitated the reserve and caution of Daun; the Kussiau generals 
 were swayed by the divided state of opinion at St. Petersburg, 
 where the queen was rapidly sinking, and the heir-apparent Peter 
 was an enthusiastic admirer of Frederick, that they were unwilling to 
 
FEANCIS I. 255 
 
 disobey the queen, or to displease the future emperor. In West- 
 phalia Prince Ferdinand baffled all the efforts of the French to effect 
 a junction with the imperialists in Saxony, and confined them to 
 Hesse. In Pomerania a Russian and Swedish fleet with a body of 
 land forces under Romanzof defeated the Prussians under the Prince 
 of Wirtembcrg, and captured Colberg after a gallant resistance. In 
 Saxony Daun kept Prince Henry in check, and confined his operations 
 to the defence of Dresden. In Silesia Laudon was baffled by the 
 king in his attempts to gain a frontier fortress ; and though he 
 effected a junction with the Russians, and endeavoured to dislodge 
 the king from his strong position at Bunzelwitz, the disunion between 
 them thwarted the plans of the general, and the two armies retired. 
 The king, however, was soon obliged to quit his position from want 
 of provisions, and Laudou embraced the opportunity of seizing 
 Schweidnitz, wliich he effected with the loss of 600 men, most of 
 whom were blown up by the explosion of a mine by a Prussian 
 artilleryman. He was thus enabled to establish his whiter quarters 
 in Silesia. 
 
 Frederick retired to Breslau where he shut himself up to indulge 
 his grief. His veterans had been destroyed, his army was dispirited, 
 his exchequer empty, and -the subsidy annually granted by England 
 was stopped by the new ministry, who urged him to make speedy 
 overtures to the court of Vienna. The king was in a desperate 
 situation. His provinces had been desolated by the enemy ; and he 
 knew not where to find recruits, horses, accoutrements, and sub- 
 sistence. He had to defend his front against the Austrians, and his 
 rear against the Russians ; who had established themselves in the 
 heart of his dominions. One event alone apparently saved him from 
 self-destruction. Elizabeth empress of Russia died January 5, 1762, 
 and was succeeded by her nephew Peter, who had frequently declared 
 he would prove a warm ally of Frederick. He commanded his troops 
 to suspend hostilities, and desert the Austrians ; he entered into a 
 treaty of alliance with the king ; and by his endeavours a treaty of 
 neutrality was concluded between Prussia and Sweden. 
 
 Frederick was aroused by this single gleam, and commenced his 
 preparations with his accustomed energy. In May he confronted 
 Daun near Schweidnitz, and awaited the arrival of the Russians to 
 co-operate with him. In July they united, and the king put his 
 army in motion, and forced the general to shift his position. But 
 suddenly the hopes of Prussia were blasted by the tidings that Peter 
 III. had been beheaded by an insurrection caused by his harshness 
 and innovation, and that his widow Catherine II. had ascended the 
 throne, and commanded the Russians immediately to retire from 
 Prussia. The king prevailed upon the Russian general to delay the 
 announcement three days, and in the mean time he attacked the 
 Austrians, and drove them from their posts ; and while the Russians 
 were marching homewards, he invested Schweidnitz, which sur- 
 rendered after a gallant defence of sixty-four days, and terminated 
 the Silesian campaign. The king hastened into Saxony, whither he 
 was followed by Daun ; but the Austrians were defeated by Prince 
 
236 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Henry at Freiberg, Egra was destroyed, and the country ravaged to 
 tlie walls of Prague. General Kleist had bceu dispatched into 
 Franconia; whose flying corps spread consternation everywhere, 
 levied contributions from the free toAvns and villages, and! forced 
 Nuremberg, Bamberg and other cities to sign a deed of neutrality. 
 Dami unable to prevent these ravages concluded an annistice for 
 Saxony and Silesia. 
 
 The French were defeated at Stolpen by Ferdinand, and before 
 the close of the year, possessed no other place in Hesse but 
 Ziegenhayn, which was nearly invested when hostilities ceased. The 
 declaration of war by Spain did not much assist Austria. England 
 and Portugal defeated her armies, crushed her navy, captured her 
 treasure, and stripped her of the isle of Cuba, and the Manillas. 
 France had experienced a series of misfortunes in her contest with 
 England. She had lost Canada, Louisiana, Cape Breton, the islands 
 in the gulf and river of St. Lawrence, Granada, and other islands ; 
 her commerce had been annihilated ; her navy destroyed, or shut up 
 in her harbours ; and her treasury burdened with debt. She, there- 
 fore, proposed for peace; and England, swayed by the pacific temper 
 of the king and Lord Bute, and the dissatisfaction of the people, 
 eagerly embraced her overtures ; and the four powers England, 
 France, Spain, and Portugal signed the treaty of Eontainebleau 
 November 5, 1762. Maria Theresa was no less anxious for peace 
 with Prussia. Sweden and Russia had deserted her, the princes 
 were failing in their assistance, the resources were nearly exhausted, 
 and the country was desolated by the ravages of hostile troops. 
 She proposed peace to Frederick, who was also favourably inclined ; 
 and after a slight discussion, the treaty was signed at Hubertsburg, 
 a Saxon palace, February 5, 1763, by which Maria Theresa renounced 
 her claim to Silesia and Glatz ; both parties guaranteed each other's 
 possessions, and engaged to restore all places and prisoners taken in 
 the war ; and Frederick solemnly promised to give his vote for the 
 election of the Archduke Joseph king of the Romans. Thus this 
 disastrous Seven Years' War ended, after such a wasteful expenditure 
 of blood and treasure, in placing Germany in the same position she 
 occupied before the outbreak of hostilities. Frederick was able to 
 estimate more truly his own strength, and also that of his rival, and 
 to avoid placing himself in such a critical position as he had during 
 its continuance. 
 
 After the rejoicings, with which the termination of hostilities was 
 celebrated, had subsided, the emperor, whose health was very 
 precarious, procured the elevation of his son Joseph to the dignity 
 of the King of the Romans, at Frankfort May 27, 1764, which 
 peaceably secured the imperial crown to the house of Austria. He 
 repaired to Innspruck to celebrate the marriage of his second son 
 Leopold with Maria Louisa, infanta of Spain. He was then 
 extremely ill, and wished to quit the mountainous regions of the 
 Tyrol. As he was retiring one day from the opera, he was seized 
 with a fit of apoplexy, and expired without a groan in the fifty-eighth 
 year of his age August 18, 1765. 
 
JOSEPH ii. 257 
 
 Francis I. possessed qualities which would have eminently fitted 
 him for an interior station, but disqualified him to sustain the imperial 
 dignity. He was kind, polite, charitable, benevolent, scientific, and 
 careful ; but he seems not to have comprehended the duties which 
 were attached to his exalted position. He was co-regent of the 
 Austrian dominions with his empress ; yet he resigned to her the 
 entire authority, and was satisfied that no weight was attached to his 
 opinion, even when it was formally solicited on important affairs. 
 He regarded himself as subordinate to his consort, and was only too 
 glad to leave to her the honours due to royalty, that he might direct 
 his attention to other matters. The royal historian, Frederick the 
 Great, thus describes him : " The emperor, not daring to interfere 
 in state affairs, amused himself with the transaction of mercantile 
 business. He laid by large sums from his Tuscan estates in order to 
 speculate in trade. He always retained alchemists in his service, 
 engaged in the search after the philosopher's stone, and he attempted 
 by means of burning glasses to dissolve several small diamonds into 
 one large one. He established manufactures, lent money on mort- 
 gage, and undertook to furnish the whole of the imperial army with 
 uniforms, arms, horses, and liveries. In partnership with Count 
 Botta and a tradesman named Schimmelmann, he fanned the Saxon 
 customs, and in 175(5 even supplied the Prussian army with forage 
 and flour." Notwithstanding his weakness, and his numerous 
 infidelities, the empress loved him with a passionate affection, and 
 was plunged into the deepest grief by his decease. She worked his 
 shroud with her own hands, wore mourning till her death, and often 
 descended into the imperial vault which contained his remains to 
 weep and pray, and to stimulate the affection she cherished towards 
 him. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 JOSEPH II. (or HAPSBURG-LORRAINE.) A.D. 1765-1790. 
 
 JOSEPH was in lu's twenty-fourth year when he was called to the 
 imperial throne. Nature had given him an ardent temper, quick 
 apprehension, and good natural talents ; but they were repressed by 
 the uninteresting and absurd teaching of his instructors, who instead 
 of arousing the dormant powers, and creating a thirst for knowledge, 
 only filled the youthful prince with a distaste for learning and 
 science. When the Seven Years' War broke out, his mind was 
 stimulated by the wonderful exploits of the renowned Frederick; 
 but his ambition of serving against the Prussians was checked by 
 his parents, and he yielded himself to indolence lest he should incur 
 their displeasure, in 1763 he had the misfortune to lose his first 
 wife Elizabeth Maria daughter of Philip duke of Parma; and 
 
 B, 
 
258 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 though he married again just before the death of his father, in 
 obedience to the wishes of his parents, he seemed inconsolable for 
 the loss of his first love. On his accession to the imperial dignity, 
 he was appointed co-regent of the Austrian dominions with his 
 mother; but Maria Theresa continued to hold the reins of govern- 
 ment, and till her death in 1780, Joseph entirely resigned to her the 
 administration of affairs. He employed Ids leisure in a manner 
 honourable to an emperor and gratifying to the prince. He journeyed 
 through his dominions without pomp or splendour, visited and 
 inspected naval and military establishments, the arts and manu- 
 factures, courts of justice and charitable institutions. He made 
 himself thoroughly acquainted with the condition of his subjects; 
 aud was to be seen passing from the mansion of the rich to the 
 hut of the peasant, or the rude cabin of the mountain shepherd. 
 He sympatliised with the distresses of the serf, relieved severe cases 
 of want, and won the admiration of all classes by his urbanity, 
 kindness, and generosity. 
 
 Maria Theresa embraced the opportunity which peace afforded 
 her of establishing regulations for promoting the welfare of her 
 subjects. She separated the temporal from the spiritual jurisdiction 
 of the clergy; reformed the abuses which had crept into the church 
 and monasteries ; forbade landed property to be transferred to the 
 church ; and limited the number of monks and nuns. She founded 
 academies for the improvement of the arts and sciences, and raised 
 up numerous schools m her dominions, which were placed under a 
 comprehensive system of popular education. She greatly encouraged 
 the industry of the scholars in sewing, knitting, spinning, &c., so 
 that many of the Bohemian girls were able to earn nearly half a 
 florin a day. She restricted the rights of the chase, and protected 
 the husbandman from injury; encouraged agriculture, and abolished 
 the rural and personal services which the peasants of Bohemia 
 owed to their lords, and commuted them for a sum of money. A. 
 hospital for the small pox, which had proved so fatal to her family, 
 and the marks of which she bore on her person, was established ; 
 literary piracy was forbidden under severe penalties ; and the 
 censorship of the press taken from the clergy, and placed in the 
 hands of a commission of literary men. In her Italian dominions 
 especially she carried out great reforms. In Lombardy the power 
 of the Inquisition was curbed, a fresh valuation of estates was 
 made, an annual budget of the revenue and expenditure presented, 
 the practice of farming the excise to the highest bidder abolished, 
 the rights of the peasantry protected, and the agriculture and 
 commerce of the country promoted. In fact she commenced that 
 system of reformation which was carried to a far greater extent by 
 her son Joseph, though without the sagacity and prudence which 
 distinguished the efforts of the illustrious queen. 
 
 There is one event, however, which remains a stain on her fair 
 memory ; and it will ever be spoken of as a disgrace to Maria 
 Theresa that she shared in the partition of Poland. The cpn- 
 utitution of that unhappy country favoured party factions and foreign 
 
JOSEPH ii. 259 
 
 intrigues.* The influence of Austria had long been maintained in 
 Poland, and had, after the death of John Sobieski, secured the 
 crown to Augustus elector of Saxony, and to his son ; and after his 
 death in 1763, the empress prepared to support his son Christian 
 Frederick; but the prince died, leaving an infant son, and she 
 encouraged his brother Prince Xavier to become a candidate for the 
 elective crown. The nation, however, was disturbed by party 
 factions, and many candidates came forward, among whom were 
 Stanislaus Poniatowski, and Count Braniski. The latter was 
 supported by Prince Radzivil, and the nobles who dreaded foreign 
 influence ; but Stanislaus was supported by Catherine of Russia, 
 who, notwithstanding the efforts of Maria Theresa and France, 
 compelled the diet by her troops to crown him king. He was no 
 sooner seated on the throne than he was anxious to free himself 
 from Russian bondage, and emancipate himself from the thraldom in 
 which he was held by the constitution. His good intentions aroused 
 the opposition of his enemies ; which was secretly fostered by 
 Catherine, who was displeased at his conduct, and by Frederick the 
 Great the ally of Russia, who appeared as the champion of the 
 dissidents against the Catholics. The two parties flew to arms ; a 
 confederation of Catholics seized the fortress of Bar, and was 
 assisted by many of the royal troops ; while the king was dependent 
 on Russian forces, which ravaged the country, committed the most 
 abominable atrocities, and even entered Turkey, which declared war 
 against the czarina in October, 1768. 
 
 Meanwhile the royal philosopher of Sans Souci was devising a 
 plan for the tranquilisation of Poland by gratifying his ambitious 
 desire for Polish Prussia. In 1769 he had an interview with the 
 emperor at Neiss, and attempted to unite the two courts for the 
 interests of Germany ; and in a second meeting at Neustadt, Prince 
 Kaunitz urged the king to join Austria in repelling the encroach- 
 ments of Russia, but Frederick proposed the partition of Poland to 
 compel Russia to yield Moldavia and Wallachia for a share in the 
 spoil. The court of Yienna delayed to return a specific answer, 
 and meanwhile entered into a treaty with the Porte, and agreed to 
 declare war against Russia ; and in return was to receive an annual 
 subsidy, part of which was to be paid when the troops were set in 
 motion, which was speedily effected. Frederick furthered his plans 
 by stimulating Russia against Austria, and Austria against Russia ; 
 and gained their acquiescence in his designs by means of their 
 mutual fears. He dispatched his brother Henry to Petersburg to 
 negotiate a peace with the Turks, who had solicited the mediation of 
 Prussia and Austria ; but Catherine, intoxicated with her conquests, 
 demanded the territory of Azof, the free navigation of the Black 
 
 * The legislature was composed of three parties, king, senate, and equestrian 
 order. The senate consisted of the bishops, governors of provinces and their 
 lieutenants, and the sixteen ministers of state, who were appointed by the king, 
 and were immoveable except by the diet. The equestrian order consisted of 
 nuncios or deputies chosen by the nobles and gentry. 
 
 R 2 
 
2CO HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Sea, the independence of the Crimea, and the possession of Moldavia 
 and Wallachia for twenty-five years. He succeeded, however, in 
 arousing her fears respecting the designs of Austria, and prevailed 
 on her to accept a share of Poland as an equivalent for these pro- 
 vinces. The Austrian army entered Poland, and seized the lordship 
 of Zips, as an ancient dependency of Hungary ; and Frederick worked 
 on the fears of the court of Vienna, as he had done at St. Petersburg. 
 Kaunitz trembled for his French alliance, and was sanguine of lus 
 success, when united with Turkey; but at length the treaty was 
 signed, and each party hastened to seize its prey. 
 
 Poland was in a wretched condition ; the confederates had made 
 great progress, and were animated with a deadly hatred; the king 
 was kept at Warsaw by Russian troops ; and the country was com- 
 pletely ravaged. The three powers published their respective claims 
 to the districts occupied by their troops, and endeavoured to cloak 
 their nefarious acts under the sanction of justice. In vain the king 
 appealed to justice and to foreign powers; the royal robbers required 
 him to summon a diet, which met in April 1773. For some time a 
 true spirit of patriotism pervaded the lower house ; but the nobles 
 were awed bv the presence of three armies, bribes and promises 
 were profusely scattered among^ the needy members, and with a 
 majority of six in the senate, and of one in the assembly of nuncios, 
 the decree sanctioning this act of robbery passed. The king long 
 refused to sign it, and desired an asylum rather than dismember his 
 kingdom ; but the threats of the Russians aroused his timidity, and 
 he signed the fatal deed. Russia seized the whole of Lithuania, 
 Austria Gallicia, and Prussia the rich district of the lower Vistula 
 under the name of Western Prussia. 
 
 Maria Theresa had manifested many qualms of conscience during 
 the transaction ; and said to Kaunitz, who was the active agent in 
 the matter, " In this affair all justice and sound reason are opposed 
 to us ; and I must affirm that never throughout the whole course of 
 my existence have I been so pained, and that I am ashamed to be 
 seen. Let the prince reflect what an example we offer to the whole 
 world by hazarding our reputation and honour for the sake of a 
 miserable bit of Poland." She nevertheless signed the treaty, and 
 her court, with Prussia, even attempted to gain a greater share of 
 the spoil. Stanislaus still retained the title of king over the wretched 
 remnant ; the nobles still had the power of annihilating the decision 
 of the diet by the liberum veto ; but the country sunk deeper and 
 deeper in distress and misery. 
 
 The relations between France and Austria were gradually becoming 
 more distant as the ambition of the latter increased. To bind the 
 two courts more closely the lovely daughter of Maria Theresa, 
 Marie Antoinette had in 1770 been given to the Dauphin, who in 
 1774 ascended the throne as Louis XVI. ; but the extension of 
 Austria's power and influence by the accession of the Polish terri- 
 tory created a suspicious jealousy in France, which was fostered by 
 Vergenncs, the prime minister of Louis. The king saw the neces- 
 sity of retaining Prussia as a counterpoise to Austria ; and his policy 
 
JOSEPH II. 2G1 
 
 was stated in a letter to his minister. " We have nothing at present 
 to do, but to watch carefully, and be on our guard relative to every- 
 thing that conies from the court of Vienna; civility and reserve 
 must be the rule of our conduct." Louis appears also to have 
 cherished great personal dislike to Joseph, and to have feared his 
 despotic and ambitious designs. The emperor also did not conceal 
 his aversion to the French ; though the queen and Kaunitz sincerely 
 desired to unite the nations by the closest ties. The prince dispatched 
 Baron Thugut to France to propose a defensive league against 
 llussia, whose encroachments on Turkey M'ere evident ; but he failed 
 to accomplish anything ; and when the emperor repaired to Paris to 
 visit his sister, and to ascertain the sentiments of France, the most 
 studied reserve on political subjects was manifested. 
 
 Austria had often desired the province of Bavaria, and had more 
 than once offered to exchange a larger and more distant district for 
 that country. The death of the elector Dec. 30 1777, excited the 
 hope of securing the territory. The court of Vienna had anxiously 
 watched the health of the prince, who was without issue, and had 
 prepared to assert her rights to the country. Maria Theresa claimed 
 the greater portion as sovereign of Hungary, and Joseph a few dis- 
 tricts as male fiefs reverting to the empire. The elector was no 
 sooner seized with the small pox than the Austrian troops secured 
 Munich, and occupied the contested districts. The Elector Palatine, 
 the next heir, had been persuaded by Austria to cede Lower Bavaria 
 to the emperor on condition of his providing for his natural son ; but 
 his successor the Duke of Deux Ponts was incited by Frederick of 
 Prussia to oppose the concession ; and the Bavarians were decidedly 
 averse to the Austrian rule. The duke publicly appealed to the diet 
 and to Frederick ; the king entered into negotiations with the court 
 of Vienna ; and each party replied to the questions raised with equal 
 ingenuity and fertility. During these tedious paper controversies, 
 preparations were made for a more deadly contest. The Bavarian 
 and Prussian troops took the field under the command of the aged 
 Frederick; and Joseph, burning with his youthful enthusiasm to 
 engage his rival, placed himself at the head of his troops. The 
 emperor took up a celebrated position at Konigsgratz, and Laudon 
 defended the frontiers of Saxony and Lusatia. Frederick invaded 
 Bohemia, and encamped opposite the emperor, while Prince Henry 
 opposed Laudon. The war, however, was one of skirmishes and 
 foraging ; and Frederick confessed that it brought him more hay 
 than laurels ; while the soldiers called it the " Potatoe war," as their 
 chief occupation consisted in devouring the potatoes which were 
 captured by their parties. Maria Theresa, now grey and declining, 
 dreaded war, and exerted her influence to prevent a collision of the 
 two armies. "When negotiations had been broken off, she dispatched 
 Baron Thugut with a private letter to the king, and entreated him 
 to conclude a peace honourable to botli parties ; but the extravagant 
 demands of Frederick prevented her accepting his terms. Joseph 
 and Kaunitz were indignant at her for renewing the negotiation when 
 they had splendid armies and were sure of victory, and when a 
 
202 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 dignified and firm resolution would cause the king to yield. Fortu- 
 nately for the queen and for Europe, France came to her aid, as much 
 to show respect for the treaty with Austria, as to prevent her aggran- 
 disement by the defeat of the Prussians, and the conquest of Bavaria. 
 Russia also was interested in the settlement of the affair; and 
 though she had promised to aid Prussia in the contest, she was 
 induced to yield to the urgent entreaties of Maria Theresa, and to 
 offer her mediation. Frederick, deserted by Catherine, and opposed 
 by France, relinquished his extravagant demands, and proposed a 
 plan of pacification which he was sure the queen would accept. A 
 congress was opened at Teschen by the plenipotentiaries of the 
 belligerent and mediating powers, of Saxony, the Elector Palatine, 
 and the Duke of Deux Pouts. The intrigues and rash efforts of 
 Joseph threatened to break off the negotiations ; but at length peace 
 was concluded on the 13th of May 1779, when Austria gained the 
 province of the Inn, and relinquished the rest of Bavaria. Maria 
 Theresa was filled with the most profound joy at this termination of 
 hostilities, which prevented so much bloodshed and distress, and 
 repaired to the cathedral in great state to render thanks to God for 
 the successful issue of her efforts. 
 
 The empress-queen had the satisfaction, in the last year of her 
 long and glorious reign, of gaining the empress of Russia, and uniting 
 the two houses in a close alliance. The indignation of the emperor 
 at the conduct of the French increased ; and he strove by every 
 means in his power to weaken, without formally breaking off, the 
 connection of France with Austria. He inveighed against the perfidy 
 of the court of Versailles ; which, while professing friendship with 
 England, was secretly assisting the rebels in the American Avar, 
 and at length openly declared in their favour, and aided them Avith 
 troops. He created a favourable impression in England by his 
 pacific professions, and sought to destroy the influence of the King 
 of Prussia at the courts of London and St. Petersburg. He obtained 
 an interview with the renowned Catherine, flattered her love of 
 adulation, won over her favourite minister Prince Potemkin, resided 
 a feAV weeks in the Russian palace, and conciliated all by his 
 winning address and his graceful deportment. He so captivated the 
 great empress that she declared that Frederick, who had hitherto 
 been attractive in her eyes, was now old and superannuated ; and the 
 influence of Prussia Avas at an end in the Russian court. 
 
 The days of Maria Theresa were drawing to a rapid termination. 
 She had for some time past endured great sufferings, which she bore 
 with resignation and cheerfulness; and her sensitive nature Avas 
 much more keenly affected by the grief of others, than by her OAVH 
 pains. She summoned her numerous children around her, and 
 having partaken of the last rites of the church, committed them to 
 the care of the emperor, and urged them to consider him as their 
 sovereign. " Obey him, respect him, follow his advice, confide in 
 him, love him sincerely, and you Avill secure his friendship and affec- 
 tion." She employed her last moments in explaining the state of 
 affairs to the emperor, and writing letters to Kaunitz to thank him for 
 
JOSEPH ii. 2G3" 
 
 his faithful services, and to the Chancellor of Hungary to testify her 
 gratitude to her trusty subjects for their zeal on her behalf ; and in. 
 a calm and peaceful manner she expired November 29th, 1780. 
 
 The character of Maria Theresa shines forth conspicuously equally 
 as a sovereign and as an individual. She combined private economy 
 with public liberality, dignity with condescension, elevation of soul 
 with humility of spirit, and the virtues of domestic life with the 
 splendid qualities which grace a throne. She possessed a mind 
 capable of grasping the intricate details of government, and of 
 following the mazes of diplomacy; a soul which rose superior to 
 calamity, and scorned to submit to injustice. In a most licentious 
 age, she was distinguished for the purity of her private life ; and she 
 gave dignity to her simple manners by her benevolence, justice, 
 affability, and concern for the poor. Her share in the partition of 
 Poland exposed her to the censure of her enemies ; though they did 
 not condemn the deed more loudly than did Maria Theresa when she 
 reflected on its character. Her death was deeply felt by her loving 
 subjects, and produced a sensation throughout Europe; and her 
 reign is justly considered the most glorious in Austrian history. She 
 was the last sovereign of the direct Hapsburg house, and at her 
 death began the present dynasty of Hapsburg-Lorraine. 
 
 By the death of Maria Theresa, Joseph obtained undivided possession 
 of the Austrian dominions, in addition to his imperial dignity, and com- 
 menced his administration with the most nattering prospects. He 
 swayed the sceptre over a population of twenty-four millions, 
 scattered over a number of provinces which were distinguished by 
 language, customs, religion, and government. He had in many 
 instances showed his determination to reform abuses during the life 
 of his mother ; and when her death removed all fear of opposition, 
 lie began resolutely to carry out his gigantic plans of reform. He 
 abolished the separate jurisdiction of the provinces, and divided the 
 Austrian monarchy into thirteen governments, each of which was 
 subdivided into circles or districts, and the whole placed under a 
 uniform and graduated system of government, political, economical, 
 judicial and military. He abolished feudal vassalage; and substituted 
 a iixed tax in place of the task-works due to the lord, and of the 
 land-tax due to the crown. Reissued in October 1781 an edict of 
 toleration, which secured to all Christians the free exercise of their 
 religion, rights of citizenship, and eligibility to all offices. He 
 granted permission to Protestants and Greeks to build churches, 
 provided there was a population of 3000 resident in any town, and 
 they established a permanent fund for the support of the minister, 
 and the relief of the poor. The Jews were allowed the exercise of 
 all trades, and the right of studying at the schools and universities. 
 While he established the Catholic religion as the religion of the state, 
 he forbade the bishops to carry out any bull, except it was received 
 through the government, reduced the revenues of the bishops, and 
 created new parishes. He suppressed most of the monasteries and 
 nunneries, and retained a few of the inmates for the purposes of 
 education ; and many nuns were reduced to the greatest distress by 
 
204 HISTORY OF AUSTSIA.. 
 
 the small pensions allowed to tlie ejected. He instituted public 
 schools and universities in every province of his kingdom ; formed 
 libraries, observatories, and laboratories, encouraged manufactures 
 and commerce ; dug new roads and canals ; and formed a harbour at 
 Carlobago. He fostered the Hungarian corn trade, and commenced 
 the grand route through the Danube, Black Sea, and Dardanelles by 
 a treaty with Turkey. In his reforms on religion, he sought to 
 reduce it to simplicity by forbidding pilgrimages, and stripping the 
 images and omaments from the churches. He declared marriage 
 to be merely a civil contract, the right of primogeniture nugatory, 
 and prohibited all funeral pomp and procession. 
 
 Such innovations awakened the discontent of his subjects, which 
 burst out in many parts ; the clergy generally protested against the 
 changes; the life of Joseph was endangered at Lemberg, and his 
 name was blackened by scurrilous pamphlets which flew over the 
 country. The pope Pius VI. became so alarmed that he resolved to 
 undertake a journey to Vienna, where, he flattered himself, his 
 eloquence would be able to arrest the dangerous innovations. He 
 was received with every mark of honour. Thousands lined his path 
 to crave his heavenly blessing ; the emperor went out to meet him, 
 and conveyed him to his capital in his own carriage. His mission, 
 however, was a failure ; the emperor was unbending ; the apartments 
 of the pontiff were narrowly watched ; and after spending four 
 weeks in Vienna, the pope retired, humbled and mortified; and 
 Joseph continued his reforms. On his return to Rome, the cardinals 
 bitterly reproached the pontiff, who was persuaded not to recognise 
 the archbishop of Milan nominated by Joseph. The emperor 
 suddenly appeared in Home in 1783, where he was received with the 
 applause of the populace ; and manifested his opposition to the pope 
 by depriving the nuncios of the privileges they had hitherto 
 enjoyed. 
 
 The sanguine and impetuous nature of Joseph involved him in 
 great troubles. He had been unsparing in his invectives against 
 France and the alliance with Maria Theresa; but now to secure the 
 demolition of the Barrier Treaty, he revisited Paris, and rejoiced in 
 the certainty of an alliance with the court of Versailles, which, he 
 said, " will at least continue in force a hundred years." The 
 Barrier Treaty had been during the reign of the queen the cause of 
 endless disputes respecting the repairs of fortifications. The alliance 
 of France \vith Austria rendered the treaty useless while that 
 continued ; but the empress was too prudent to trust the French 
 court, and drive out the Dutch garrisons. Her son was more rash, 
 and had no sooner returned from Paris than he ordered the 
 fortifications of the Netherlands to be destroyed, except Luxemburg 
 Ostend, Namur and Antwerp, and the Dutch to recall their 
 garrisons, which they speedily executed. Not satisfied with this, he 
 demanded that the limits of Austrian Flanders should be restored to 
 what they were in 1664. While negotiations were being carried on 
 at Brussels, Joseph promised to renounce his claims on the condition 
 that the navigation of the Scheldt should be opened, and sent tow 
 
JOSEPH n. 265 
 
 vessels down the river. Kaunitz remonstrated, and said " They will 
 fire upon them ; " but Joseph refused to listen ; and when the 
 minister sent him the tidings of the resistance, he wrote on the 
 dispatches the laconic sentence " They have fired." As France did 
 not assist him, but promised to aid the Dutch, Joseph receded from 
 his demands, and war was prevented by the treaty of Fontaineblcau 
 November 8, 1785, by which the Dutch agreed to give the emperor 
 ten million of guilders as compensation, and to apologise for the insult 
 olfered to the imperial flag. 
 
 Joseph was extremely anxious to keep up the favourable impres- 
 . sion he had made on Catherine of Russia. The two sovereigns 
 corresponded with each other ; and the emperor entered with great 
 zeal into the ambitious designs of the empress. She had procured 
 the independence of the Crimea, as the first step to its subjugation. 
 She availed herself of the decease of the khan to secure the nomina- 
 tion of her creature, who soon after abdicatefl, and ceded that 
 province to Catherine ; and the Russian general took possession of 
 it in her name. The Porte remonstrated, and prepared to resist the 
 encroachment ; and hostilities seemed inevitable. Russia made the 
 greatest preparations. Joseph warmly offered his assistance, marched 
 an Austrian army to the frontiers of Turkey, and remonstrated with 
 the Sultan. Abdul Hamid was obliged to yield ; and in 1784 the 
 Crimea and the Kuban were transferred to Russia. Joseph in return 
 claimed the assistance of Catherine in accomplishing his ambitious 
 projects. He coveted the ultra-Danubian provinces; but was 
 defeated by France, who threatened to stir up enemies on every side. 
 He then turned his attention to the exchange of Bavaria for the 
 Netherlands. The Austrian sovereigns had often desired Bavaria to 
 render their territories more compact. He persuaded the elector to 
 exchange the electorate for the low countries which were to be 
 created into a kingdom with the title of Burgundy ; and Catherine 
 endeavoured to obtain the consent of the Duke of Deux Ponts the 
 next heir. France was gained by the promise of Natnur and Luxem- 
 burg. Frederick of Prussia, however, though now seventy-four 
 years of age, prevented the accomplishment of the scheme. He 
 promised assistance to the Duke of Deux Ponts, persuaded him to 
 appeal to the guarantees of the peace of Teschen, and aroused the 
 subjects in Bavaria and the Netherlands, and the German princes. 
 He formed a Germanic union, which was signed at Berlin July 23, 
 1785, by the Kings of Prussia and Great Britain, the Electors of 
 Saxony and Mentz, the Duke of Deux Ponts, and other princes ; the 
 object of which was to unite the princes to maintain the indivisibility 
 of the Germanic body in general, and of the respective states in 
 particular. The emperor was alarmed at the rising storm ; he gave 
 up his designs, and published a declaration of what his real intentions 
 were. This was almost the last public act of the illustrious 
 Frederick ; and on the 17th of Augu'st 1786, the house of Austria 
 was delivered from its most formidable rival. His character is too 
 well known to need any notice here. He had increased his army to 
 200,000 men, his population by two million souls, and his revenues 
 
2G6 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 to double what they were, notwithstanding the enormous sacrifices 
 he had made to carry on his long; and disastrous wars. 
 
 A great crisis was now rapidly approaching. Philosophy and 
 speculation had turned men's brains, and filled them with vague ideas 
 of freedom, man's rights, and republican governments. In Holland 
 the patriots, or republicans, rose against the authority of the stadt- 
 tholder, and both parties appealed to foreign powers for assistance. 
 Trance aided the patriots ; but her own crippled and embarrassed 
 condition, and the menacing attitude of England caused her to 
 decline a contest ; and the new sovereign of Prussia, Frederick 
 "William, sent an army to the aid of the Prince of Orange, which 
 overran the country, and reinstated the authority of the stadtholdcr. 
 Joseph secretly sheltered the patriots, and embraced the opportunity, 
 when Prussia was thus occupied, of carrying out his plans for sharing 
 with Russia the spoils of Turkey, lie arranged an interview with 
 Catherine, when she was performing her celebrated grand march to 
 the Crimea. The journey was a triumphal procession ; the steppes 
 were peopled, the roads illuminated, and a desolate and inhospitable 
 region made to assume the appearance of luxuriant prosperity. 
 Joseph met the empress at Cherson in May 1787, where a magnificent 
 arch was erected, on which were inscribed the significant words 
 " The way to Byzantium ; " and he accompanied her in her journey 
 through the Crimea and viewed the powerful navy which was then 
 riding safely in the harbour of Sebastopol. 
 
 The Porte anticipated their designs by declaring war against 
 Russia, and a Turkish squadron appeared at the mouth of the 
 Dnieper and bombarded Kinburn. The empress was astonished at 
 the energy of the Turks, and called on Joseph for his promised aid. 
 He intrigued at Constantinople, and dreaded a war when he was 
 threatened with an insurrection in the Netherlands, and distracted 
 by the intrigues of France and Prussia, He accelerated his prepara- 
 tions, moved his troops towards the Turkish frontiers, and even 
 attempted to surprise Belgrade before the Turks had declared 
 hostilities. The Porte in vain appealed to his justice and his gratitude. 
 Joseph declared war against the Turks in February, 1788, and 
 appeared with an army of 200,000 men, and a powerful artillery to 
 co-operate with the Russians against Turkey. Their plans were 
 frustrated by an invasion of the King of Sweden, which called 
 Catherine to defend her capital. Joseph wasted his time in waiting 
 for the Russians : and when the grand vizier appeared with a 
 numerous army, he retreated from Belgrade with a diseased and 
 depressed army, and an exhausted chest. Pestilence alone had 
 carried off 33,000 of his men. The Prince of Coburg, however, 
 succeeded, after a brilliant struggle, in capturing Chotzim; and 
 Laudon, whom Joseph now appointed to command the army in. 
 Croatia, successfully defeated the Turks, penetrated into the heart of 
 Bosnia, and invested and captured Novi. Disasters still befel the 
 emperor. He took up a position at Carausebcs, where the Turks 
 formed batteries on the opposite hills, and attacked the imperial 
 camp. He speedily broke up his camp in dismay. Confusion and 
 
JOSEPH n. 267 
 
 alarm spread through the ranks ; the retreat became a rout ; the 
 emperor was hurried along with the crowd; and the baggage 
 and artillery remained in the hands of the enemy. He retired to 
 Vienna shattered in body and mind, and shut himself up in his palace 
 to brood over his misfortunes and indulge his grief. 
 
 In 1789 the genius of Laudon, and the death of the Sultan, 
 retrieved the honour of the imperial arms. The Prince of Coburg 
 united with 7,000 Russians under the celebrated Suwarof, advanced 
 from Chotzim, and completely annihilated the main army under the 
 Bashaw of Widdiu on the plains of Rimnik. Laudon besieged 
 Belgrade with his accustomed impetuosity, and in the space of one 
 month captured the city and fortress. This victory animated the 
 emperor for a time. He rose from his bed to hear a Te Deum in St. 
 Stephen, and listened to the son^s and rejoicings for his victorious 
 general with mingled feelings of disappointment and delight. His 
 success, however, only raised up more powerful foes against him. 
 The Netherlands were still in rebellion ; Hungary was discontented ; 
 and the maritime powers joined Prussia in concerting a coalition to 
 stop the advance of Austria and Russia. 
 
 The alliance of France, which had dazzled the house of Austria 
 with sucli brilliant prospects, failed at the time of need. A mighty 
 change had been gradually creeping over the kingdom. The corrup- 
 tion and profusion of the court of the late king produced a reaction 
 on the people. A stern, cold, sceptical philosophy penetrated all 
 classes ; the pride and privileges of the nobles galled the people ; the 
 contact in the American war imported a spirit of republicanism into 
 the nation, which at this eventful period produced its bitter fruits. 
 A cry was made for a new order of things. The populace rose, seized 
 the arsenal, stormed the Bastille, and wrung out concessions from 
 the unfortunate Louis. A panic seized the princes and nobles, and 
 they fled from their country. The assembly assumed a permanent 
 position ; the palace was assailed ; the king and queen dragged as 
 prisoners to the capital, and every indignity heaped on the wretched 
 captives. Joseph could never expect assistance from those who were 
 thus insulting his own sister. 
 
 While engaged in his Turkish wars, the emperor was kept in a 
 state of continual alarm by the condition of the Netherlands. The 
 reforms which he had intro'duced into his hereditary dominions were 
 also imposed on this country ; where the government had been con- 
 firmed by the sovereign on his accession, the power of the clergy 
 was unbounded, and the people tenaciously attached to their own 
 customs, religion, and rights. In 1786 he abolished the privileges of 
 the university of Louvain, the honours of which were necessary to 
 qualify for civil and ecclesiastical offices ; and established a new 
 seminary, based on move modern principles, and presided over by 
 learned foreigners. This innovation caused an insurrection among 
 the students, which was put down by military force ; but when the 
 changes in the civil government were introduced, the clergy and 
 people united to resist the inroad on their freedom. Brabant was 
 the first to rebel. Joseph treated the affair with indifference ; but 
 
2G8 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Kaunitz attempted to soothe them with great concessions. On his 
 return from the Crimea, the emperor ordered his troops to march to 
 the Netherlands, under the command of General d' Alton; and 
 appointed Trautmansdorf, civil governor. There was no co-operation 
 between these two persons ; the governor conciliated the people by 
 his clemency and forbearance ; the general boasted that in six M'eeks 
 he would subjugate the Netherlands. 
 
 The natives became disgusted with the duplicity of Joseph. 
 Brabant was ripe for revolution ; and when a detachment of troops 
 fired on the populace who had insulted them, the signal was given 
 for resistance in all the provinces. The republicanism of France had 
 here taken root ; the patriots daily increased in number ; the walls 
 were placarded with addresses, calling the people to execute ven- 
 geance on the oppressor, and gain their freedom. Several skirmishes 
 took place ; and at length Van der Noot, a clear-headed lawyer of 
 Brussels, gained the support of Prussia and Holland. He disciplined 
 the volunteers, distributed arms ancr ammunition among them, and 
 raised a force 10,000 men. His plans were wisely arranged, and well 
 matured; and Van der Mersch, an old imperial commander, was 
 appointed to command the troops. A declaration was published that 
 they renounced their allegiance, and no longer considered Joseph 
 their sovereign. The army commenced its march ; the forts of Lillo 
 and Liefgenshoek on the Scheldt were taken ; Ghent was carried by 
 surprise ; and in a short time all Flanders was in their hands. D' Alton 
 capitulated in Brussels, leaving his cannon, military chest, and stores 
 in possession of the patriots ; and the imperial troops retired into 
 Luxemburg, where General Bender purposed to defend the sole 
 province which adhered to the house of Austria. Joseph received 
 the news of the revolution with extreme distress. He burst into 
 tears ; and when too late sent Prince Cobenzl to revoke his late 
 edicts, and restore their privileges. His overtures were rejected ; 
 the congress was already summoned to form a new constitution ; and 
 on the llth of January 1790 the Netherlands declared themselves 
 independent. 
 
 Nor was tliis the only disturbance created by the reforms he had 
 rashly thrust on his subjects. From all parts of his dominions 
 complaints came pouring in against the innovations. In Hungary 
 the discontent w r as loud and menacing ; the people were exasperated 
 by the irregular levies for the Turkish war ; the nobles by the abro- 
 gation of their privileges. Prussia had stimulated the discontent to 
 increase the troubles of the emperor, and divert his attention from 
 the war. To conciliate the Hungarians he restored their constitution 
 as it was at his accession, and sent back the crown of St. Stephen, 
 with the intention of being crowned by the nobles. The reverence 
 of the people for the ensign of royalty was marvellous. Its passage 
 was far more pompous and gorgeous than that of a conqueror. Buda 
 was illuminated, and the whole nation filled with joy. Joseph did 
 not live to hear the acclamation of his subjects. He had worn out 
 his constitution with his exertion of body and mind. The noxious 
 vapours of the Danube brought on a fever, which left him a victim 
 
LEOPOLD II. 269 
 
 to asthma. The ingratitude of his subjects, who failed to appreciate 
 his reforms and broke out into rebellion, led him to exclaim " I shall 
 die ; I must be made of wood if this does not kill me." He pre- 
 pared for his last moments by receiving the consolations of religion, 
 and continued to the end, amid his excruciating sufferings, to direct 
 the affairs of government. He bade farewell to his family, gave his 
 final interview to Francis his favourite nephew, and died at Vienna 
 February 20, 1790. 
 
 Frederick the Great, in a letter to Voltaire, remarked concerning 
 this emperor, " Educated amid bigotry, he is free from superstition ; 
 habituated to pomp, his habits are simple ; grown up amidst flattery, 
 he is still moderate." He undoubtedly possessed great natural talents 
 and many aimable virtues ; but he was too sanguine in his tempera- 
 ment, and too hasty in his conclusions. He was the advocate of 
 freedom, and wished to present the boon to his subjects ; yet no 
 sovereign could be more despotic in his rule, or absolute in his 
 principles. His plans of reform were comprehensive, and generally 
 just ; out they were not suited to his dominions; nor to the character 
 of his subjects. He was extremely precipitate in all his movements 
 and manifested duplicity and versatility towards all. He himself 
 has depicted his own character in the epitaph he would have engraven 
 on his tomb, " Here lies a sovereign, who, with the best intentions, 
 never carried a single project into execution." 
 
 CHAPTER XVHI. 
 LEOPOLD II. A.D. 1790-1792. 
 
 LEOPOLD was the second son of Maria Theresa and Francis of 
 Lorraine; and as the grand duchy of Tuscany was to remain 
 separate from the hereditary dominions of Austria, he in 1765 took 
 possession of the duchy, and fixed his residence at Florence. He 
 employed his talents in promoting the prosperity of his territory, 
 and had the satisfaction of seeing Tuscany the happiest and most 
 flourishing state of Italy. He exceeded his brother in the wisdom 
 of his reforms, which he introduced with prudence and firmness. 
 He promulgated a new criminal law, which swept away torture, 
 secret trial, and capital punishment. The public courts were 
 invested with great authority, and private jurisdiction abolished. 
 He removed all restrictions on agriculture, suppressed feudal rights, 
 brought large tracts of land into cultivation, which he divided 
 among the poor peasants subject to a small crown rent, and 
 abolished the monopolies and the practice of farming the taxes. 
 His ecclesiastical reforms were extensive and beneficial. He 
 abolished the Inquisition, placed the monks and nuns under the 
 
270 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 jurisdiction of their respective bishops, and reformed their discipline. 
 A grand council of the bishops of Tuscany was held at Florence, 
 \vhere he presented fifty-seven articles for the reformation of 
 ecclesiastical discipline. On the death of his brother Joseph, he 
 transferred Tuscany to his second son, Ferdinand Joseph, and 
 hastened to Vienna to secure the hereditary countries and the 
 imperial crown. 
 
 Leopold was in his forty-third year when he ascended the throne 
 of his ancestors. His situation was one of great peril ; he felt the 
 throne tottering under him ; and as he surveyed his territories, he 
 discerned the dangers which threatened their safety. The rash 
 innovations of his brother were producing their sad results. The 
 Netherlands were in open revolt, and had declared their inde- 
 pendence ; Bohemia and Austria were disaffected, and exhibiting 
 signs of rebellion ; Hungary was in a state of fermentation, and 
 growled out that she had no need of an Austrian king. The aspect 
 of the surrounding nations was not more inviting. England had 
 been estranged from Austria by her connection with France. 
 Prussia assumed a hostile attitude, and entered into an alliance with 
 England and the Porte. France was convulsed by the revolution, 
 and would certainly dissolve the treaty of Versailles. Russia was 
 threatened with a mighty combination and was, as well as Austria, 
 engaged in a war with Turkey. The position of the emperor, 
 therefore, demanded the greatest vigilance, dexterity and address ; 
 and he summoned liis energy and talents to secure an honourable 
 peace with Turkey, to pacify his subjects, recover the Netherlands, 
 and gain the friendship of Prussia. 
 
 He immediately opened a correspondence with Frederick William, 
 and offered to conclude peace with the Turks on the terms of the 
 treaty of Passarowitz. He at the same time assembled a consider- 
 able army in Moravia and Bohemia, under Laudon, in case of an 
 attack by Prussia ; and reinforced the Danubian troops, which he 
 entrusted to the command of the duke of Coburg. Orsova was 
 abandoned to its fate; and the Turks drove the Austrians from 
 their lines at Giurgevo. A congress was meanwhile assembled at 
 Reichenbach ; but the negotiations were rendered fruitless by the 
 refusal of the emperor to yield a portion of Gallicia, with which the 
 king of Prussia wished to buy Dantzic and Thorn from Poland. 
 Leopold skilfully opened a secret communication with England, and 
 announced his readiness to conclude a separate treaty with the Porte 
 on obtaining possession of Old Orsova, and a small mountainous 
 district in Croatia along the left bank of the Una, which were 
 necessary to protect his frontiers by the Danube and the Una. The 
 English declared their readiness to accept these terms; and 
 Frederick William, fearing that a treaty would be concluded without 
 his concurrence, and the whole allied force turned against him, 
 agreed to these preliminaries ; and after serious disputes respecting 
 the cession of the territory demanded by Leopold, the treaty of 
 Szistova was signed August 4, 1791 which granted the demands of 
 Austria. England, however, deserted Prussia in an attempt to 
 
LEOPOLD II. 7L 
 
 compel the empress of Eussia to conclude a peace with the Turks; 
 for though Pitt exerted his utmost to preserve Turkey and curb 
 Hussia, his plans were thwarted by the extraordinary measures of 
 his opponent Fox. This ripened the friendship of Prussia into an 
 alliance with Austria, and gained for Leopold the support of the 
 king in securing the imperial dignity. He was unanimously chosen 
 king of the Romans, and on the 9th of October was joyfully crowned 
 at Frankfort by the elector of Mentz. 
 
 Having secured his first object, peace with the Turks, Leopold 
 directed his attention to the pacification of his subjects in his here- 
 ditary dominions. He abolished the land-tax, which was universally 
 detested ; restored the episcopal schools and their revenues ; and 
 gave back to each kingdom, province, and district the form of 
 government which had existed under the reign of Maria Theresa. 
 He removed the restrictions on the importation of foreign commo- 
 dities, extended the edict of toleration, and awakened the gratitude 
 of the Jews by still further encouraging their residence and trade in 
 his territories. By these conciliatory measures he quelled the disaf- 
 fection of his subjects in Austria and. Bohemia. In Hungary he had 
 a more difficult class to deal with, the discontented nobles. They 
 prided themselves on having extorted privileges from Joseph II., and 
 cherished the hope of being able to dictate to Leopold their own 
 terms. He, however, disregarded their lawless addresses, and sum- 
 moned a general diet that he might be crowned king ; a ceremony 
 which had not taken place since the aifecting scene of the coronation 
 of Maria Theresa. The haughty nobles prepared a new capitulation 
 to be signed by the king, which contained their imperious demands, 
 and was presented to him at Vienna. He gave them a dignified and 
 decided refusal. " I will never suffer the rights of succession belong- 
 ing to me and my heirs to be taken into consideration ; I will never 
 acquiesce in any innovation in the military or executive power ; nor 
 will I ever consent to the smallest infraction of the privileges granted 
 to the non-Catholics." He drew 60,000 troops from Moravia and 
 Bohemia towards Buda, and demanded to be crowned at Presburg 
 on the terms signed by his grandfather Charles, and his mother 
 Maria Theresa. On the 10th of November 1790, the king reached 
 Presburg with his five sons, where his presence awed his enemies and 
 animated his friends. He appointed his son Archduke Leopold to 
 the office of Palatine, and said, " I offer you my son as a pledge of 
 my sincere regard, to become a distinguished mediator between us, 
 and to promote our mutual affection." The entire assembly was 
 moved by the affectionate sentiments of Leopold. The croAvn was 
 placed on his head on the 15th ; and he unexpectedly rose, and con- 
 sented to establish a law, compelling every future king to be crowned 
 within six months after his accession. The nation was conciliated ; 
 and the changes introduced promoted the welfare and happiness of 
 the people. 
 
 The Netherlands were in a state of confusion and distress. All 
 classes had united to overthrow the Austrian rule ; but their success 
 soon separated them into factions, each of which claimed the solo 
 
272 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 government. Van der Noot headed one party, which wished to 
 preserve the existing congress ; and Walchiers headed another, which 
 demanded a national assembly after the French model. Both factions 
 appealed to foreign powers; the former to England, Prussia, and 
 Holland ; and the latter to France. England and Holland advised 
 them to return to their allegiance ; but the Jacobins promised them 
 their warmest support, and sent numerous agents to inflame the 
 minds of the people. The troops were also opposed to the congress 
 for refusing to confirm their appointment of Van der Mersch as their 
 general, and for confining him in the citadel of Antwerp. These 
 divisions enabled the Austrian troops in Luxemburg to maintain 
 themselves against the insurgents, and even to recover Limburg. 
 Leopold sent large reinforcements to his army ; and while they were 
 rapidly marching, he made overtures to the rebels, and requested the 
 mediation of the allied powers. A congress was held at the Hague. 
 Austria sent Count Mercy ; England, Lord Auckland ; Prussia, 
 Count Keller ; and Holland Van der Spiegel. The emperor promised 
 to restore the governments of the provinces as they were during the 
 reign of his mother, and to revoke all the innovations of Joseph. 
 Many of the states were inclined to yield at once ; but Brussels sent 
 deputies to claim the re-establishment of the ancient constitution 
 they enjoyed at the commencement of the reign of Charles VI., and 
 a further armistice of eight days. Count Mercy refused their 
 demands, and stated that at the expiration of the time named for their 
 submission, November 21, the troops would move. The time passed ; 
 and the imperial army under general Bender crossed the Meuse, and 
 before the close of the year reduced all the provinces to the Austrian 
 sway. The mediating powers, especially Prussia, were indignant at 
 the haughty bearing of Mercy, and the employment of force ; and 
 were inclined to urge the people not to submit to the proposi- 
 tions of the emperor, but to claim the more ancient constitution, 
 which had been guaranteed by the maritime powers. Leopold, 
 however, refused to yield to the remonstrance of the allies, and 
 confirmed the late privileges of the states without their interference. 
 In Brabant the spirit of revolution was kept alive by the French 
 Jacobins, and was increased by the impolicy of the emperor ; who 
 removed obnoxious members from their seats, and suspended the 
 sittings of the council. The refusal of Leopold to grant to the 
 Netherlands their ancient constitution produced two disastrous 
 results. It threw the country into a state of jealousy and plotting, 
 which the vigorous measures of the government could scarcely 
 repress ; and it deprived Austria of the assistance of the maritime 
 powers in case of an attack by France. 
 
 Nor was such an event unlikelv to occur. In that unhappy 
 country all things were rapidly coming to a crisis. The privileges 
 of the crown were banished; the parliaments were suppressed; the 
 revenues of the clergy were seized ; and the king, queen, and family 
 were shut up in the Tuileries, exposed to insults and reproaches, and 
 forced to acknowledge the revolution. Leopold beheld the situation 
 of his sister with the greatest anxiety, and was appealed to by the 
 
LEOPOLD II. 273 
 
 princes of the German Rhenish provinces to interfere on their behalf, 
 and resist the abolition of all ecclesiastical and territorial rights in 
 their dominions by the French National Assembly, to which they had 
 in vain appealed. As emperor of Germany, he sent a letter to the 
 king, demanding the re-establishment of the rights which had been 
 secured to the German princes by the peace of Westphalia and 
 subsequent treaties ; but the king was forced by the ruling faction 
 to return such an answer to Leopold as would have provoked a less 
 pacific sovereign to commence hostilities. Leopold was extremely 
 careful not to give the democrats any occasion which they might 
 employ against the royal family. He drew out plans to rescue his 
 relatives from their perilous situation, but discarded them through 
 fear ; and hoped that some event would occur to bring about a more 
 favourable state of affairs. 
 
 The failure of the attempt of the king to escape from Paris, and 
 the greater strictness with which he was guarded, aroused Leopold 
 from his apparent indifference. He published July 6, 1791, a solemn 
 appeal to the European powers, demanding the liberation of the 
 king and royal family ; and in the following month met the King of 
 Prussia at Pilnitz to concert measures for stopping the progress of 
 revolutionary principles. His intentions, however, were strictly 
 pacific ; and it required the violent measures of the Jacobins, and 
 their insulting harangues against the house of Austria, to stimulate 
 him to further measures. The reason of his policy is to be found in 
 the critical situation of his sister. She was represented by the 
 democrats as holding a committee of Austrians in the capital, where 
 plans were formed to deliver France to Austria, and place the Haps- 
 burg yoke on the necks of the people. The least provocation, there- 
 fore, might have aroused the fanatical mob to shed the blood of the 
 royal family. He even advised the Rhenish princes to disperse the 
 emigrants, who had nocked thither, and to suspend their military 
 preparations. The violence of the Girondists, now the most powerful 
 party of the republicans, increased, and impelled the country into a 
 war with Austria ; and preparations were made on a large scale. 
 
 Leopold saw that it was now time to take necessary precautions. 
 He concluded an alliance with Prussia, and caused the troops of the 
 Netherlands to enter the electorate of Treves ; which he justified to 
 France by pleading her menacing attitude. The orators of the 
 tribune seized this tempting pretext, and poured out their glowing 
 invectives against Austria. Gaudet roused the assembly to the 
 highest enthusiasm ; and Brissot pointed out the emperor as the real 
 enemy of France. The king was commanded to demand of Austria, 
 whether she would live in peace with France, and renounce all treaties 
 granting to her full sovereignty. Kauriitz replied with dignified 
 calmness, and justified his support of the German states ; and Prussia 
 declared her agreement with the policy of Leopold. A furious 
 storm burst forth in Paris ; the cry of war ! war ! resounded in the 
 assembly and the streets ; the bleeding head of a victim was held up 
 by the mob before the apartments of the queen to represent her 
 brother ; the minister for foreign affairs was dismissed, and sent for 
 
274 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA.. 
 
 trial at Orleans ; and the revolutionists gained a fearful ascendancy. 
 Leopold did not live to see the raging of the tempest. He died 
 after a few days' illness March 1, 1792, in the forty-fifth year of his 
 age. His reign in Austria was too short to display the qualities 
 which had rendered his rule in Tuscany so distinguished. He had 
 hushed the discontent of his subjects, concluded an honourable peace 
 with Turkey, and regained the Netherlands; and was regretted 
 for his impartiality, kindn;--s, aversion to war, and care for the poor. 
 TI is beloved wife survived him but a few months. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 FRANCIS II. A.D. 1792-1806. 
 
 PKANCIS, the eldest son of Leopold and of Maria Louisa of Spain, 
 was born at Florence in 1768, and was early sent to Vienna to the 
 care of his uncle Joseph, where he received the instructions of the 
 ablest masters that could be procured. He especially distinguished 
 himself in administrative science, and readily grasped the intricate 
 details of government. He displayed his military ardour in several 
 campaigns against the Turks, and was pn se it with Laudon at the 
 capture of Belgrade. On the death of Josep'i, he held the reins of 
 government till his father arrived from Tut cany, and rendered him 
 great assistance in restraining the turbulence of his subjects. He 
 succeeded his father in his hereditary dominions, and in July was 
 raised to the imperial dignity by the unanimous voice of the 
 electors. 
 
 The storm which had threatened the short reign of Leopold now 
 burst forth in its full fury. The Jacobins replied to the note of the 
 late emperor in a fierce and warlike spirit ; and an angry correspon- 
 dence ensued. Francis peremptorily demanded the restoration of 
 the rights of the church and of the princes in Alsace. The French 
 assembly refused to grant the demand ; and on the 20th of April 
 the unfortunate Louis was compelled to declare war against Austria 
 in the assembly, which was hailed with applause by the republican 
 party, and voted by the unanimous consent of the members. The 
 Netherlands were assailed by a large French force ; but the troops 
 were led by inexperienced officers, and were easily routed by the 
 small Austrian army retained in the province. The Austrian and 
 Prussian army, under the command of Ferdinand duke of Bruns- 
 wick, meanwhile crossed the Rhine, and established head quarters at 
 Coblentz, whither the emigrants under Conde flocked. A daring 
 manifesto was published by the sovereigns, against the advice of the 
 duke, in which they stated their intention of levelling Paris to the 
 ground, if the French did not yield to their demands. The Prussians 
 despised the vigorous preparations of the republic, and imagined 
 
FRANCIS II. 275 
 
 that the very sight of their veteran columns would terrify the raw 
 conscripts. They expected that the manifesto would awe the 
 parvenus in Paris ; but instead of being terror-stricken, the French 
 were filled with unbounded rage., and vented their fury on the 
 wretched king by tearing him from his palace, and imprisoning him 
 in the Temple. The nation flew to arms to defend their country 
 against the invaders. The allied troops crossed the frontiers, and 
 after many unnecessary delays invested and captured the fortress of 
 Longwy, and procured the surrender of Verdun, which opened up the 
 road to Paris. 
 
 The expectations of the allies, however, were not realised. The 
 people did not rise to welcome them, as it had been foretold they 
 would ; the French troops rebelled against Lafayette their general, 
 who disapproved of the treatment the king had received, and fled 
 from the country ; and Dumoriez, who succeeded him, deceived the 
 duke by pretended negotiations, and gained time to bring up rein- 
 forcements. In vain the King of Prussia advised a speedy march to 
 Paris; the duke still delayed, till a large army opposed him at 
 Yalmy. The king took upon himself to order the Prussians to 
 advance, and seize the heights held by Kellerman, and a furious 
 cannonade was opened on both sides ; but the duke soon after com- 
 manded the troops to retire. Negotiations were entered into ; an 
 armistice was signed ; and the allies retreated, after having lost one- 
 fourth of their army, and abandoned the fortresses they had captured. 
 In the Netherlands the French were defeated by the Archduke 
 Albert near Braille; but the retreat of the Prussians enabled 
 Dumoriez to concentrate his efforts on that country. He gained, 
 November 6, a complete victory over the Austrians at Jemappes, and 
 soon after captured Liege, Antwerp, and the greater part of Flanders. 
 Another French army under General Custine marched to the Upper 
 Rhine, and established itself in Mentz. 
 
 Meanwhile the republicans were increasing their hatred of royalty 
 and their guilt. The National Convention decreed that it would 
 grant fraternity and assistance to all people who wished to recover 
 their liberty ; and denounced as enemies those who still adhered to 
 their sovereign and privileged orders. The land flowed with the 
 blood of the innocent ; and on the 21st of January 1793, the unfor- 
 tunate Louis was sacrificed to the sanguinary cry of the mob. A great 
 coalition was formed among the European powers against France. 
 England eagerly hastened to defend their allies, the Dutch ; and the 
 proposition made in the convention to invade Britain with 40,000 
 men united all parties for the war. France was threatened on every 
 side, and was agitated by a terrible civil strife. The combination 
 against her was sufficient to crush her forces, and capture Paris ; but 
 the allied arms were not guided by wisdom, nor animated with zeal. 
 Austria maintained two large armies, one in the Netherlands under 
 Prince Coburg, and the other on the Upper Rhine under Count 
 Wurmser. The Duke of York with 37,000 English, Hanoverians, 
 and Hessians laid siege to Dunkirk. Dumoriez was dissatisfied with 
 the Jacobin rule, and suffered himself to be defeated at Aldenhoven 
 
 s 2 
 
276 HISTORY or AUSTRIA. 
 
 and Neerwinden, and finally deserted to the Austrians. Valenciennes 
 and Conde fell into the hands of Coburg. 
 
 Disunion, however, soon broke out among the confederates ; the 
 King of Prussia saw with alarm the acquisitions of her rival Austria, 
 and resolved to withdraw from the contest, as soon as he could with 
 any appearance of honour. The French were by no means inactive. 
 The nation was aroused to the highest state of excitement ; volunteers 
 poured in in vast numbers ; generals sprung up with powerful armies 
 as if created by magic ; and in a short time nearly a million soldiers 
 could be enrolled in various parts of the country. The indecision of 
 the allies enabled the French to take the field, and oppose their 
 progress. Houchard attacked the English at Hondscoten with his 
 undisciplined troops, and defeated them by numbers and republican 
 energy. Jourdan drove the Austrian army from the field at Wattigny 
 on the day when the illustrious Maria Antoinette was beheaded ; an 
 act which provoked the cry of vengeance in all parts of the Austrian 
 dominions. These successes, however, were counterbalanced by 
 corresponding losses. Meutz was taken by the Prussians after six 
 months' siege ; General Wurmser with his terrible Croats stormed 
 and captured the Weissenberg lines ; and the Duke of Brunswick 
 defeated the untrained masses of General Hoche at Kaiserslautern. 
 Wurmser and Brunswick united ; but their jealousy destroyed their 
 co-operation. Generals Hoche and Pichegru were ordered by the 
 convention to attack the united forces ; and with a numerous army 
 they defeated them at Worth and Froschweiler, and compelled them 
 to retreat beyond the Rhine, the left bank of which was thus lost to 
 Germany. Brunswick resigned his command to Mollendorf, who 
 distinguished himself at Kaiserslautern by defeating the French May 
 25th, 1794. 
 
 The emperor had watched the progress of his troops with mingled 
 hopes and fears. lie clearly discerned the fatal consequences of the 
 indecision and disunion among the allies, and in the spring of 1794 
 he visited the Netherlands with the intention of heading Ms troops, 
 and leading them to Paris. The favourable opportunity, however, 
 had now passed ; the French had wisely employed the interval in 
 creating large armies ; and the defection of the Prussians caused 
 Francis to be suspicious of his rear. The Austrians, animated with the 
 presence of their king, were victorious in their first attempts ; Catillon 
 witnessed the defeat of the French ; and Landrecis fell into their 
 hands, chiefly by the brilliant charge of the Arckduke Charles at the 
 head of the cavalry, which threw the enemy into confusion. The 
 French rallied ; and having received large reinforcements, stopped 
 the career of Francis. Clairfait was attacked by Pichegru near 
 Courtray ; and being unsupported by the British, was forced to yield 
 to superior numbers. Coburg was opposed by the same general 
 near Tournay, where a long and bloody engagement took place which 
 lasted eight hours. The number of the French enabled the general 
 constantly to bring up fresh troops to withstand the Austrians. 
 Deeds of daring and of heroic resistance were conspicuous ; twenty 
 thousand were stretched on the battle-field ; yet the day was left 
 
FRANCIS II. 277 
 
 undecided. The emperor was discouraged by the resistance of 
 the French, the coldness of the Dutch, and the inactivity of the 
 English ; and after many ineffectual attempts to rally the allies, he 
 retired to Vienna. The Austrian troops were greatly disappointed 
 by his departure ; while the French were animated with national 
 enthusiasm. Jour dan, the favourite republican general, defeated the 
 Duke of Coburg at Fleurus ; and Pichegru conquered the Duke of 
 York at Breda. The Netherlands were pillaged by the French, the 
 fortresses razed, the cities plundered, the republican government 
 established, and in 1795 Belgium was annexed to France. Holland 
 was invaded in the depth of winter, the frozen rivers and canals 
 were speedily passed, the allied troops were driven back, the Dutch 
 were subduea, and Holland was transformed into a Batavian republic, 
 in which everything was arranged after the French model. The 
 land was mercilessly drained of its wealth and its treasures, and 
 groaned under the heavy taxes. 
 
 The French had not forgotten the more distant parts of Austria. 
 The Spanish and Portuguese encountered the republican arms across 
 the Pyrenees ; the Italian princes invaded the Alpine frontiers ; but 
 in Sardinia the French captured Nice at the close of 1792. The 
 Piedmontese were supported by Austrian troops, and kept the French 
 army in check, though no decided engagement took place ; but in 1794 
 the French defeated them, and became masters of the Alpine passes. 
 The next year they were driven from them by the Austrians ; but 
 rally ing 'their forces, they closed the campaign with a splendid victory 
 over the Austrians at Loano, which was gained by Masscna Nov. 23. 
 
 The principal reason for the inactivity of the Prussians was the 
 desire of the king to arrange with Russia the second partition of 
 Poland. While Austria and Prussia were engaged with France, 
 Catherine sent her forces into Poland, declared the constitution, 
 which Frederick William had given to the country, null and void, 
 and took possession of the kingdom. The king hesitated between 
 two modes of action. He feared the ascendancy of Austria on the 
 Rhine, and of Catherine in Poland. He entered into a negotiation 
 with the queen, and stipulated for a considerable share of the spoil 
 as the price of his non-interference. The combined troops instantly 
 took possession of the provinces they claimed. The Poles were 
 aroused by Kosciuszko, who armed his countrymen with scythes, 
 and attempted to restore their ancient constitution and freedom. 
 The hero, however, was defeated by the Russian general Suwarof 
 and taken prisoner, and the scythemen were cut down by the regular 
 troops. Praga and Warsaw were carried by storm, and 18,000 of 
 the inhabitants of every age and sex were put to the sword. Russia 
 took possession of the whole of Lithuania and Volhynia, as far as 
 the Riemen and the Bug ; Prussia of the whole country west of the 
 Riemen, including Warsaw; Austria of the whole country south 
 of the Bug ; and Courland an ancient Polish fief was incorporated 
 with the Russian empire. The consequences of the iniquitous con- 
 duct of Prussia were to be experienced for a long period. Had she 
 warmly united with the allies, and energetically carried on the war, 
 
273 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 no doubt the revolutionary principles, if not crushed, would have 
 been confined to Prance, and Europe would have been spared the 
 desolating ravages of Napoleon. Had she assisted the Poles in their 
 struggle with Russia, she would have preserved a barrier to Russian 
 encroachment, and won the gratitude of an energetic people. She, 
 however, basely betrayed the Poles, deserted the allies, and con- 
 cluded April 5 1795, a treaty with the republic at Basle, by which 
 she confirmed the French in the possession of the left bank of the 
 Rhine. Spain and Portugal also made peace with France ; but 
 Austria still continued the war. Manheim fell by treachery into the 
 hands of the French, before Wurmser could advance to its relief ; 
 but on his arrival he attacked the French forces, and captured general 
 Oudinot ; while his lieutenant cut to pieces a French detachment 
 and saved Heidelberg. Clairfait also quickly marched towards 
 Mentz, wliich was besieged by the French, and in a brilliant charge 
 carried off 138 pieces of heavy artillery. Pichegru, who had been 
 called from Holland to take the command in the Upper Rhine, was 
 driven back to the Vosges ; and Moreau was also defeated by the 
 Austrians at Kreuznach, and again at Meissenheim. Manheim 
 capitulated to the imperialists ; and as the season was far advanced, 
 the troops on each side retired to their winter quarters. 
 
 The scene of the French republican drama had now changed. 
 Parties and factions had succeeded each other with great rapidity. 
 The Girondists, who had risen by the demolition of royalty, were 
 cast down by the Jacobins, headed by Robespierre, Danton and 
 Marat. The reign of terror triumphed for a time ; but at length the 
 three tyrants fell by the hands of insulted justice, and a new consti- 
 tution was given to the unhappy country. The violent party in Paris 
 rose against it ; but fortunately there was one man present capable 
 of resisting the 30,000 national guards. It was Napoleon Bonaparte. 
 He had distinguished himself at the siege of Toulon, and had gained 
 the reputation of a great military officer. To him was intrusted the 
 defence of the Tuileries, where the convention was sitting ; and by 
 his decision and skill, he completely quelled the insurrection in Paris. 
 
 The campaign of 1796 was confined to Germany and Italy. The 
 Archduke Charles commanded the Austrians on the Rhine, where 
 May passed before operations were commenced. Jourdan, after some 
 trifling successes, was forced by Charles to recross the Rhine. 
 Moreau passed the Upper Rhine at Strasburg, defeated the several 
 detachments sent to oppose him, reduced the Swabian circle, and 
 levied a heavy contribution. Favoured by this diversion, Jourdan 
 bombarded Frankfort, pillaged it, and filled the surrounding country 
 with distress by the lawlessness of his soldiers. Charles was unable 
 to resist the two French armies ; he therefore sent Wartensleben 
 against Jourdan, and retreated into Bavaria to draw Moreau after 
 him. Leaving general Lai our .with a small force to keep him in. 
 check at Rain on the Lech, he suddenly rccrossed the Danube with 
 the flower of his army, surprised Jourdan at Ambcrg where the 
 French lost 4,000 men, and completely routed the army at Wurtz- 
 burg. The exasperated peasantry rose, and cut down the fugitives 
 
FRANCIS II. 279 
 
 in their retreat. Moreau meanwhile was hastening towards Munich, 
 which he drained of its treasures ; and contemplated a visit to 
 Vienna, when the tidings reached him of the defeat of Jourdan. 
 He instantly sounded a retreat, which he executed with masterly 
 skill. He defeated the corps of Latour, led the main body of his 
 army through the terrific gorges of the Black Forest, notwithstanding 
 the harassing attacks of the peasantry, escaped the vigilance of 
 Charles, and accomplished his difficult passage across the Khine with 
 little loss. 
 
 The French campaign in Italy was conducted by Bonaparte ; the 
 Austrian by Beaulieu. The genius of Bonaparte was assisted by the 
 incapacity of the Austrian general, who was past service ; but his 
 troops were inferior in number and condition. In April he attacked 
 the lines of the allies, defeated the Austrians at Montenotte, Mille- 
 simo, and Dego, and opened up the road into the plains of North 
 Italy. He then suddenly turned against the Piedmontese, defeated 
 Colfi in several engagements, and exposed the country to his ravages. 
 The court of Turin became alarmed, and concluded a truce with 
 Bonaparte; which was speedily ripened into a treaty with the French 
 Directory, and enabled Napoleon to turn his whole attention to 
 Austria. He tracked out the remains of Beau lien's army beyond 
 the Po, and defeated it at Fombio; then advancing towards the 
 castle of Milan, he stormed the bridge of Lodi, which the Austrians 
 had defended with artillery. The carnage was fearful ; but the 
 daring bravery of Bonaparte and his grenadiers carried it ; and he 
 triumphantly entered into the capital of Lombardy. Mantua alone 
 held out ; and Beaulieu retired to the Tyrol, and made great prepa- 
 rations to defend the last stronghold. Wurmser hastened from the 
 Hhine with 33,000 Austrians ; but he foolishly divided his forces 
 into two companies, which were successively defeated by Bonaparte. 
 He entered Mantua, after Napoleon had raised the siege to attack 
 the second in command general Quasdanowich, whom he drove to 
 the mountains. Wurmser destroyed the French works, and hastened 
 after Napoleon ; but he was defeated at Castiglione, and again at 
 Medola, and retreated to the Tyrol. Having received reinforcements, 
 he again divided his army and issued forth ; but he was followed by 
 the French general, and defeated at Bassano ; and with 16,000 men 
 lie had to cut his way through the French troops, followed day and 
 night by Napoleon, and to shut himself up in Mantua. A third 
 Austrian army was sent into the field under Alvinzi to unite the 
 troops near Verona for the relief of Mantua. Bonaparte was placed 
 in a most perilous situation. He failed to break the Austrian lines 
 at Caldiero, where he suffered great loss ; i'.iul resolved to attack 
 their tlank' at Arcole. A terrible struggle ensued which lasted three 
 days, where Bonaparte lost nearly all his general officers. Alvinzi 
 retired to Vicenza, and after collecting reinforcements again encoun- 
 tered I he French at Rivoii Jan. li<, 1797 ; but was defeated with the 
 loss of 20,000 men. Provera, who was hastening with 5,000 men 
 to the aid of Wurmser, was compelled to surrender to the French. 
 Mantua had been reduced to the last extremity ; the supply even of 
 
280 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 horseflesh was nearly exhausted ; and when further resistance was 
 useless, Wurmser capitulated ; and the French became masters of 
 Italy, Jan. 28, 1797. 
 
 While Bonaparte was exacting a heavy contribution from the 
 pope, as the sole condition of his pontifical existence, Austria 
 exerted her utmost to retrieve her affairs in Italy. The Archduke 
 Charles was recalled from the Rhine to oppose the great general, 
 wlio resolved to cross the Alps, advance to Vienna, and dictate 
 terms of peace under the walls of the city. The Austrian troops 
 consisted of raw recruits, mingled with the wretched remnants of 
 the defeated armies ; while the French were composed of veterans, 
 who had seen distinguished service. Bonaparte crossed the Taglia- 
 mento, and routed the imperialists ; and pushed on Massena to the 
 pass of Tarvis, where the archduke was posted. The conflict, called 
 " The Battle above the Clouds," was long and bloody ; and Charles 
 with a few veterans defended the pass for some time, with the 
 determined courage of Leonidas, against 16,000 French. The Alps, 
 however, were passed ; the French under Jonbert burst into the 
 Tyrol ; and Bonaparte established his head-quarters at Klagenfurth. 
 His position was one of great peril. The natives were hostile, and 
 frequently rose against his licentious soldiers. Discontent was 
 brooding in his rear ; and every step he took carried him further 
 from Ids resources and nearer those of the enemy. He addressed 
 a note to Charles offering on the plea of humanity to conclude terms 
 of peace. It was referred to the cabinet at Vienna, which was in 
 the greatest consternation. The whole neighbourhood was in arms ; 
 the citizens anticipated a terrible siege ; but the peace party was 
 numerous and powerful. Napoleon still advanced towards the city ; 
 and the court, fearing the impetuosity of the general, signed the 
 preliminaries of peace at Lesben on the 18th of April ; and on the 
 17th of October, 1797, the treaty of Campo Formio was concluded. 
 The emperor ceded to France Flanders, the line of the Rhine, and 
 the Lombard provinces which were created into the Cisalpine Re- 
 public; and France gave in return the territory of Venice, which 
 Napoleon had first roused to insurrection, and then conquered by 
 the terror of his name, also the archbishopric of Salzburg, and a 
 part of Bavaria. The exchange was by no means disadvantageous to 
 Austria ; the population of her territories remained the same ; and 
 the provinces gained were nearly equal in riches to those lost, while 
 they possessed the advantage of being contiguous to the hereditary 
 dominions. These concessions were doubtless made to increase the 
 jealousy of Prussia against Austria; as a secret article stipulated 
 that no acquisition should be proposed to the advantage of Prussia. 
 Frederick William, however, boldly took possession of the imperial 
 free town of Nuremberg, and extended his dominions in Franconia 
 and Westphalia, notwithstanding the feeble remonstrance of the 
 imperial diet. The cession of Venice, which had maintained her 
 independence for fourteen hundred years, gave great offence to the 
 French Republic, which desired the prize ; but Napoleon vindicated 
 his policy by saying, " I have merely lent Venice to the emperor, he 
 
FRAN' CIS II. 281 
 
 will not keep her long." The transaction remains a stain upon all 
 who were engaged in it ; " and it is difficult," says Alison, " to say 
 whether the most indignation is to be felt at the perfidy of France, 
 the cupidity of Austria, the weakness of the Venetian aristocracy, 
 or the insanity of the Venetian people." 
 
 The treaty of Campo Formio could not be regarded by the con- 
 tracting parties as anything more than a temporary cessation of 
 hostilities. The views and principles of each were opposed; and 
 the events which were transpiring around showed to Austria the 
 incompatibility of an alliance with Prance. Switzerland was pillaged, 
 and the free cantons converted into a Helvetic republic. The 
 peasantry had been oppressed by the aristocracy, and groaned under 
 their bondage. They turned to the French, as the nobles turned 
 to Austria, for assistance. The French entered their country, and 
 subdued their oppressors ; but their ravages provoked the resistance 
 of the peasantry, which was not subdued till Marshal Soult had 
 swept over the country with a large force. The great barrier, which 
 had protected the Austrian frontier nearest to France, was thus 
 thrown down. French influence was' very powerful in Italy ; and 
 except in Venice and Naples, the republican governments were 
 actively engaged. A general feeling of repugnance, however, 
 towards France was spreading throughout Austria. She became 
 alarmed at the encroachments of the republic, and at the brilliant 
 achievements of Bonaparte in Egjpt, and formed a coalition with 
 England and Russia. The domineering spirit of the French at 
 Rastadt, where a congress was assembled to settle the affairs of the 
 German princes, who were compensated for loss of territory by the 
 confiscation of ecclesiastical property, increased the disaffection 
 towards France. A popular tumult broke out in Vienna ; the palace 
 of Bernadotte, the French ambassador, was assailed ; and the tricolour 
 banner was torn down, and publicly burnt. A murderous assault 
 was made on the French ambassadors at Rastadt. On the renewal 
 of hostilities, they quitted Rastadt, and were intercepted by 
 Austrian hussars in a wood. Two were barbarously mutilated, and 
 the third escaped, though dangerously wounded, April 28, 1799. 
 The Austrian court was anxious to obtain the whole of Bavaria ; but 
 as the elector was unfavourable to the cession, Thugut and Lehrback, 
 the chief in the council, wished to implicate him with France ; and 
 rashly imagined that the ambassadors possessed the necessary docu- 
 ments. They, therefore, ordered their assassination, but were 
 disappointed in their expectations ; for no papers were discovered. 
 
 War had already commenced. Russian troops occupied the 
 Ionian Isles ; and Suwarof united with the Austrians to restore 
 Italy to the emperor. The archduke Charles proposed the invasion 
 of France from Swabia, but the cabinet preferred Switzerland; 
 which was invaded by general Auffenberg. Massena vigorously 
 opposed him, and drove him from the Grisons. Jourdan burst into 
 Swabia, but was defeated by Charles at Ostrach, and Stochach, and 
 would have been annihilated had not the Aulic council foolishly 
 interfered with the plans of the general The Grisons were again 
 
282 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 invaded by Hotze the Austrian general, who defended his posts 
 amid the snowy regions with the greatest bravery ; and in June the 
 archduke joined him, and by their united forces defeated Massena at 
 Zurich, and drove him to Bremgarten. Haddik the Russian general 
 also seized the steep mountain passes of St. Gothard. The soldiers 
 suffered severely in this Alpine campaign ; the cold was intense ; 
 the forced marches were over frozen fields of ice and steep 
 mountains, whither all the provisions had to be convoyed; and 
 numbers fell victims to the severity of the climate and the 
 exhaustion of nature. 
 
 In Italy the French were assailed on all sides, and suffered great 
 losses. On the 5th of April Scherer was defeated by Kray with the 
 loss of 8000 men in the celebrated battle of Maguano; and the 
 arrival of fresh Austrian troops from the Tyrol and Vienna, and of 
 the Russians under Suwarof completely overthrew the power of the 
 Trench in Italy. They were defeated in several engagements ; their 
 general Joubert, was killed in the great battle of Novi; and at 
 length they were driven across the Alps, after suffering terrible 
 disasters. Divisions soon broke out among the allied powers. 
 Suwarof had rendered himself obnoxious to the Austrians, and had 
 awakened the jealousy of England. It was deemed necessary to 
 remove him from Italy; and a fresh plan was drawn out for the 
 prosecution of the war. The brave Russian was ordered to unite 
 his forces with Korsakof in Switzerland, and the archduke to move 
 down the Rhine to co-operate with the English in Holland. Charles 
 in vain remonstrated with the Aulic council, whence the order 
 issued, and pointed out the threatening preparations of Massena. 
 
 The French seized the favourable opportunity presented by the 
 indecision of the allies. The passes of St. Gothard were carried by 
 storm, and the Austrians were driven from the adjacent posts. 
 Korsakof was left without support at Zurich ; for the archduke had 
 departed, and Suwarof was toiling amid the crags of the Italian 
 Alps. Massena shut him up in the town, when an engagement 
 ensued which lasted two days; and the Russian general was at 
 length obliged to abandon his artillery, and with 10,000 men to 
 force his way through the enemy. Suwarof was pressing on towards 
 the French. He impetuously burst through the passes of St. 
 Gothard, scaled almost impassable rocks, dashed through foaming 
 torrents, led his bare-footed soldiers' knee-deep in snow across the 
 pathless mountains, defeated the French who dared to oppose him, 
 and on the 10th of October entered the valley of the Rhine, and 
 terminated this extraordinary march, which had cost him the whole 
 of liis artillery, almost all his horses, and one third of his men. The 
 archduke had* meanwhile taken Philipsburg and Manheim ; but the 
 defeat of the Duke of York by general Brune at Bergen prevented 
 the accomplishment of his plans. He retreated towards the Russian 
 generals, and united with Korsakof and Suwarof. The three leaders 
 passed their time with mutual reproaches; the soldiers were deprived 
 of their supplies by the dishonesty of the purveyors; the czar 
 recalled his troops in disgust and rage ; and the French pressed 
 
THAN CIS II. 283 
 
 on the Austrian rear, and defeated it in several skirmishes at 
 Heidelberg and on the Neckar. These disasters, however, were 
 counterbalanced by the splendid victory gained by Melas over the 
 Trench in their attempt to save Genoa. 
 
 The terrible state of France had been privately communicated 
 to Bonaparte in Egypt by his friends; and after the victory of 
 Aboukir, he resolved to set off to Paris. He left Kleber in command, 
 escaped the vigilance of the English cruisers, landed at Toulon, and 
 hastened, amid the acclamation of the people, to the capital. By 
 the aid of Sieyes and Ducos he succeeded in overthrowing the 
 Directory, Nov. 9, establishing a new constitution, and placing 
 himself at the head of the republic with the title of First Consul. 
 Under his vigorous administration, France once more revived ; order 
 and prosperity appeared in the country. A general desire for peace 
 was expressed ; and in obedience to it he proposed terms to England 
 and Austria, and received with satisfaction the rejection of his 
 proposals. He put an end to the Vendean war by his prudent 
 moderation, and made strenuous efforts to open the campaign with a 
 grand display. He sent Moreau to command the German army, 
 Massena to Italy, and collected an army of reserves apparently at 
 Dijon to co-operate with Massena. Austria renewed her alliance 
 with England, received two millions and a half sterling as a subsidy, 
 and agreed not to conclude a separate peace before Feb. 1, 1801. 
 The Archduke Charles resigned the command of the army to Field 
 Marshal Kray, and was appointed by the emperor governor of 
 Bohemia. 
 
 General Moreau crossed the Rhine, and according to a plan 
 concerted with Napoleon, attacked and defeated the Austrians in 
 various engagements, which compelled them to retire over the 
 Danube, and to occupy the intrenched camp at Ulm. The French 
 general attempted to draw them from this position. He defeated an 
 Austrian corps at Hochstadt, laid Swabia and Bavaria under tribute, 
 and cut off the communication of Kray with the Tyrol. Meanwhile 
 the French army in Italy was restored by the energy of Massena, 
 who held Genoa. The city was besieged by the Austrians under 
 Melas, and blockaded by the English under Lord Keith. The 
 watchfires of the enemy blazed around the city ; the garrison, 
 endured the horrors of famine ; and at length June 5, Massena 
 surrendered with 9,000 men, the shattered remains of l;is fine 
 army. Bonaparte was making strenuous efforts to relieve his 
 general. His operations were conducted with such secrecy that the 
 first tidings of his approach was his presence in Lombardy. He led 
 a powerful force over the Great St. Bernard ; his soldiers dragged 
 the guns, placed in hollow fir trees, over the rugged heights ; and 
 after a terrible march of four days, he joined his other corps, which 
 had crossed the Simplon and St. Gothard, and fell upon the Austrian, 
 flank. The detachments sent out to oppose his progress were 
 defeated ; and the two armies met on the plains of Marengo, June 
 14. For a time the Austrians were successful, and threw the 
 French troops into confusion ; and Melas retired from the field 
 
284 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 exhausted with fatigue, and rejoicing at his victory. The approach 
 of Desaix arrested the defeat of the French, and the rapid charge of 
 a body of horse tore the victory from the Austrians, and created 
 such a panic among them, that the whole army fled, leaving 7,000 
 killed and wounded, 3,000 prisoners, and twenty pieces of cannon. 
 An armistice was concluded next day at Alessandria, and Italy again 
 passed into French hands. The truce was also extended to Germany. 
 
 Peace, however, could not be negotiated ; and hostilities recom- 
 menced in November. Austria made vigorous efforts ; 110,000 men 
 were collected on the Inn; the gallant Kray recalled, and the 
 Archduke John a youth of eighteen entrusted witli the command. 
 He quitted his position on the Inn, and surprised the army of Moreau 
 when marching, and threw it into confusion. Instead of following 
 up his success, he allowed the general to retreat through the thick 
 forest of Hohenlinden, and await the arrival of the archduke. The 
 Austrians advanced through the woods in three columns, with their 
 artillery and waggons. One column was driven back by the French 
 before the others appeared ; and the Austrians, taken by surprise on 
 right, rear, and front, were routed, and left behind them 14,000 
 men, 300 waggons, and 100 guns. The troops were reduced to such 
 a wretched state, that the Archduke Charles, who was sent to retrieve 
 their fortune, shed tears when he beheld their miserable condition. 
 His efforts to reanimate them were unavailing; the soldiers lost 
 heart; his rear was routed with the loss of 1,200 men; and he 
 obtained from Moreau an armistice at Steyer, when the French were 
 within twenty leagues of Vienna, December 25. 
 
 In Italy the Austrians were not more successful. The imperial 
 army occupied a strong position on the Mincio, which was defended 
 by 65,000 men. The French General Brune attacked the Austrians 
 at four points, December 26, and forced them to fall back to the 
 Adige, with a loss of 7,000 men ; where fearing the destruction of 
 the whole army, they obtained an armistice on condition of sur- 
 rendering all the Italian fortresses except Mantua. These disasters 
 which had befallen her troops induced Austria to sue for peace ; and 
 on the 9th of February 1801, the treaty of Luneville was signed, 
 based on the terms of the treaty of Campo Formio. Belgium and 
 the left bank of the Rhine were given to France. Modena was 
 annexed to the Cisalpine republic, Tuscany given to the Duke of 
 Parma, and Venice, with the boundary of the Adige, left to Austria. 
 The Archduke Charles embraced the opportunity to propose some 
 beneficial reforms in the war administ ration ; but his wise counsels 
 were unfortunately not adopted. Francis was forced to sign the 
 treaty not only as sovereign of Austria, but as emperor of Germany, 
 without the concurrence of the electors and states, which legally he 
 had no power to do. He wished to receive the consent of the diet 
 first ; but Napoleon would not grant the time, and insisted on liis 
 immediate signature, and left him to vindicate his assumption of 
 authority as best he could. The diet was aware of his difficult 
 position, and solemnly ratified the treaty of Luneville, because of 
 the extraordinary situation in which he had been placed. 
 
FBANCIS n. 285 
 
 The question of compensation, which had been considered at the 
 congress of Rastadt, was resumed in consequence of the claims of 
 some of the Italian princes ; and was finally settled by a decree of 
 the imperial diet Feburary 25, 1803. The three spiritual electorates 
 Mentz, Treves, and Cologne were abolished, and their positions west 
 of the Rhine included them in the French territory. The archbishop 
 of Mentz alone retained his dignity, and was transferred to Ratisbon. 
 The imperial free cities were deprived of their privileges, except six, 
 Lubeck, Hamburg, Bremen, Frankfort, Augsburg and Nuremberg. 
 The unsecularised bishoprics and abbeys were abolished. The petty 
 princes, counts, barons, and the Teutonic Order were allowed to 
 exist for a short period. Compensation was richly dealt out to all, 
 chiefly at. the expense of the church. Prussia retained the bishop- 
 rics of Hildesheim and Paderborn, part of Munster, and numerous 
 abbeys and free towns in Westphalia and Thuringia. Bavaria, 
 which had lost the Rhenish Palatinate and the province of the Inn, 
 was amply compensated with bishoprics and several towns. The 
 Austrian family was compensated by Ferdinand, the younger brother 
 of the emperor, receiving in exchange for Tuscany, Salzburg, 
 Eichstadt, and Passau; and Ferdinand of Modena, the emperor's 
 uncle, the Briesgau in exchange for his duchy. The diet was 
 completely influenced by France, when the recess, authorising these 
 compensations, was granted. Prussia for her neutrality gained four 
 times more than she had lost. Bavaria was amply repaid for her 
 trifling assistance to the republic. Austria was very little consulted; 
 and had it not been for the bold military interference of the emperor 
 in seizing the possessions claimed, she would have witnessed their 
 appropriation by other persons. 
 
 The sword could not long remain in its scabbard among the French. 
 England and France, though bound by the treaty of Amiens, were 
 sworn foes ; and on both sides preparations were secretly made for 
 the outbreak of hostilities. A large army under Ney settled the 
 diiferences which had sprung up in Switzerland ; and Napoleon gave 
 to the Swiss a new constitution, and divided the country into nine- 
 teen cantons. England was alarmed at the rapid encroachments of 
 Bonaparte, and declared war against France. He had invaded the 
 territory of Baden to arrest the Duke d'Enghien, whom he shot at 
 Paris without trial ; and he also occupied Hanover with his troops. 
 While a grand coalition was being formed against France, Napoleon 
 induced the senate to elect him Emperor of the French, and to make 
 the crown hereditary in his family; and the nation with a few 
 exceptions submitted to his new dignity. To render his coronation 
 more imposing, and to emulate the glory of Charlemagne, the revival 
 of whose empire was the ambitious dream of Bonaparte, the pope 
 was commanded to appear in Paris ; and the imperial crowns were 
 placed on the head of Napoleon and his empress amid a blaze of 
 splendour. Europe was astonished; and Austria imitated the 
 example of her great rival. Francis recognised the imperial dignity 
 of Bonaparte, and assumed for himself and his successors in the 
 Austrian dominions the title of Emperor of Austria August 11, 1804 
 
286 HISTOKY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 The spring of 1805 was spent by Napoleon in consolidating his 
 power in the republics connected with France. The Grand Pen- 
 sionary was revived in Holland ; and the title of King of Italy was 
 conferred on Napoleon. He repaired to Milan, and amid the greatest 
 splendour placed the iron crown of Lombardy upon his head, 
 pronouncing the traditionary formula " God gave it me ; woe to him 
 who touches it." The ambitious strides of the emperor awakened 
 the indignant fears of England and Austria. An alliance was formed 
 April 11 between England and Russia ; and in a few weeks after 
 Austria and Sweden joined the coalition, on receiving large subsidies 
 of British gold. Prussia retained her neutrality in the hope of gain- 
 ing Hanover; and Baden, Wirtemberg, and Bavaria sided with 
 France. Napoleon projected a descent on England, and assembled a 
 numerous army at Boulogne, and an immense number of gunboats, 
 and armed vessels. The splendid victory of Nelson oiF Trafalgar, 
 which crushed the French and Spanish fleets, averted the danger from 
 the British shores ; and the Danube and Italy became the arena of 
 the conflict. 
 
 Austria rashly crossed the Inn, entered Bavaria, and took post 
 near the Black Forest, before the Russians, who were refused a 
 passage through Prussia, could arrive. Napoleon determined to 
 crush the Austrians before their allies could unite with them. The 
 camp of Boulogne marched quickly to the Rhine; Bernadotte, who 
 was in Hanover, was ordered to cross the Prussian territory even 
 without asking permission, and unite with the Bavarians in the rear ; 
 and other corps were directed to attack the Austrian flanks. On 
 the 13th of October Soult defeated the imperialists at Memniingen, 
 where 4,000 kid down their arms ; and on the 14th Ney attacked 
 their outposts at Elchingen, and completely surrounded the Austrian 
 army. The Archduke Ferdinand succeeded in cutting his way 
 through the enemy with a portion of the cavalry ; but General Mack 
 was forced to surrender himself at Ulm on the 20th with 60,000 
 Austrians. Napoleon could scarcely spare a sufficient number of 
 men to escort this enormous crowd of prisoners to France. General 
 Wernek, who had been detached from Ulm, was also compelled to 
 surrender at Trochtelfingen with 8,000 men. Mack was tried by 
 court martial for betraying the army to the French, and sentenced to 
 twenty years' imprisonment; but there does not appear to be any 
 evidence to convict him of greater crimes than irresolution, and 
 incapacity to cope with Napoleon. 
 
 The disasters which befell the troops of Austria arose chiefly from 
 the direction of affairs by the Aulic council, whose orders the generals 
 were implicitly to obey. While Mack was sent with 80,000 men to 
 oppose twice that number in Germany, the Archduke Charles was 
 ordered to remain on the defensive in the presence of a very inferior 
 force ; and 20,000 men were retained in the Tyrol in useless inac- 
 tivity with no enemy to oppose them. Napoleon marched straight 
 on to Vienna, and sent Ney to the Tyrol against the peasantry, who 
 rose under the Archduke John. After a struggle of three weeks the 
 imperialists were driven from that province by Ney and the Bavarians ; 
 
ii. 287 
 
 the divisions of Jellachich and Prince Rohan, together about 11,000 
 men, were taken prisoners ; Kuffstein capitulated ; and Innspruck, 
 with all its arsenals, was captured. The Archduke John retreated 
 into Carinthia to form a junction with Charles, who after defeating 
 Massena at Caldiero, had hastened from Italy to defend the capital 
 of Austria. Napoleon took up his head-quarters at Lintz, where he 
 received Count Gyulai, who proposed an armistice, which was pre- 
 vented by the exorbitant terms of the French general. The French 
 emperor was threatened with a new enemy in the King of Prussia. 
 The violation of his territory by Bernadotte created a profound 
 sensation in Berlin ; the Emperor Alexander of Russia visited the 
 king and urged him to adopt a manly course, and oppose the advance 
 of the ambitious despot ; and Duroc the French ambassador was 
 dismissed. A convention was signed between the two monarchs, by 
 which they pledged themselves to abide by the treaty of LunevUle ; 
 and Hangwitz was despatched to notify the fact to Napoleon, and to 
 renew the friendship with France on his acceptance of it, but to 
 threaten hostilities in case of a refusal. Before, however, the ap- 
 pointed day arrived, a great change in affairs had taken place. 
 Napoleon pressed forward with nearly 100,000 men ; and the only 
 force which existed between him and Vienna was about 65,000 men, 
 including the Russians under Kutusof. Several severe struggles 
 took place between the advanced French guard, and the Russian 
 rear ; and Kutusof withdrew his whole force to the left bank of the 
 Danube, and broke down the bridge at Mautern, the only one which 
 crossed the stream between Lintz and Vienna. The advanced guard 
 under Murat exposed the next corps under Mortier to the attacks of 
 the Russians, who nearly annihilated his troops, and disconcerted the 
 plans of Napoleon. Vienna, however, was destined to fall. Francis 
 and his court fled; the city bridge, which had been suffered to 
 remain, was seized by stratagem; and Napoleon established his 
 residence at the imperial palace of Schonbrunn, and levied enormous 
 contributions on the inhabitants. His situation, however, was daily 
 becoming more critical. The Russians concentrated their forces in 
 Moravia ; the archduke was rapidly advancing from Italy ; the 
 Hungarians were rising en masse; Prussia was threatening the 
 Rhine ; the British and Hanoverian force was at Bremen ; 10,000 
 Swedes were in Hanover; and the Prince of Hesse Cassel was 
 ready for action. Napoleon determined to strike a decisive blow 
 before the confederates could unite. He selected the field of 
 Austerlitz as the scene of action, and made his dispositions with his 
 accustomed sagacity. He beheld with satisfaction the Russian 
 general falling into the snare he had craftily laid, and exclaimed, 
 " Before to-morrow night that army is mine." He was not deceived. 
 The sun rose on the 2nd of December, 1805, and shone brilliantly on 
 the assembled troops. The French right wavered before the rapid 
 onset of the Russians ; but the impetuous attacks of Soult and Rapp 
 broke the enemy's lines, and threw the army into confusion. 
 
 The victory is justly regarded as one of the most celebrated which 
 the genius of Napoleon secured; but the imperialists were so 
 
2S3 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 prostrated, and Napoleon was so embarassed that a treaty was signed 
 at Presburg December 26th. Austria purchased peace by a grea f 
 sacrifice. Bavaria gained the Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Lindau" Burgau 
 Passau, Eichstadt, Trent and Brixen, besides several lordships, and 
 was formed into a kingdom. THrtemberg also became a kingdom, 
 and gained the adjacent Austrian territories in Swabia. Baden 
 received the Breisgau, the Ortenau and Constance ; and Napoleon 
 added the Venetian territory, Dalmatia, and Albania to his Italian 
 possessions. Austria had to pay a war contribution of four millions 
 sterling. Napoleon soon after withdrew his troops, and passed in a 
 triumphal procession to Paris, everywhere greeted with the acclama- 
 tion of the people ; and the emperor Francis shortly after the peace 
 returned to his capital, and received a hearty welcome from those 
 whom he had forsaken in the time of danger. 
 
 Napoleon carried out another step towards accomplishing his 
 splendid dreams of conquest and glory. He surrounded himself 
 with kingdoms and crowned heads, who were to acknowledge his 
 supremacy and claim his protection. He appointed his brother 
 Joseph king of Naples, his brother Louis king of Holland, and allied 
 his family to the daughters of the houses of Bavaria, Wirtemberg 
 and Baden. All the new princes were his vassals, and acknowledged 
 his authority. "On the 12th of July 1806, sixteen princes of 
 Western Germany concluded, under Napoleon's direction, a treaty, 
 according to which they separated themselves from the German 
 empire, and founded the so-called Rhenish alliance, which it was 
 their intention to render subject to the supremacy of the Emperor of 
 the Erench. On the 1st of August, Napoleon declared that he 
 no longer recognised the empire of Germany ! No one ventured to 
 oppose his omnipotent voice. On the 6tfi of August 1806, the 
 emperor Erancis II. abdicated the imperial crown of Germany, and 
 announced the dissolution of the empire in a touching address, full of 
 calm dignity and sorrow. The last of the German emperors had 
 shown himself throughout the contest, worthy of his great ancestors, 
 and had, almost alone, sacrificed all in order to preserve the honour 
 of Germany, until, abandoned by the greater part of the German 
 princes, he was compelled to yield to a power superior to his. The 
 fall of the empire that had stood the storms of a thousand years \vas, 
 however, not without dignity. A meaner hand might have levelled 
 the decayed fabric with the dust ; but fate, that seemed to honour 
 even the faded majesty of the ancient Caesars, selected Napoleon 
 as the executioner of her decrees. The standard of Charlemagne, 
 the greatest hero of the first Christian age, was to be profaned by 
 no hand save that of the greatest hero of modem times. Ancient 
 names, long venerated, disappear. The holy Roman German emperor 
 passes into an Emperor of Austria, the electors into kings or grand 
 dukes, all of whom enjoy unlimited sovereign power, and are free 
 from subjection to the supremacy of the emperor." * 
 
 * Menzel's Germany, ccliii. 
 
FRANCIS I., EMPEROR. 289 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 FRANCIS I. (EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA.) A.D. 1806-1835. 
 
 THE Rhenish confederation greatly promoted the influence and 
 resources of Napoleon, as each state had to furnish a contingent to 
 assist him in his wars. His name was flattered by poets and 
 historians, and he proudly trampled on the liberties of the people, 
 and the authority of the sovereigns of Europe. Prussia patiently 
 endured his insults until the heroic queen stirred up the people, and 
 forced the king to declare war, into which he rushed with precipitate 
 haste, and paid by the disasters which followed the defeat at Jena, 
 the penalty for his desertion of Austria at a time when his powerful 
 hussars would have rolled back the tide of invasion, and placed a 
 limit to the designs of Bonaparte. Austria could not be persuaded 
 to break up her neutrality ; and while Napoleon was aggrandising 
 his family by raising his brother Jerome to the dignity of King of 
 Westphalia, his brother Joseph from Naples to the Spanish throne, 
 and Murat to the throne of Naples the court of Vienna was 
 
 B'eparing to shake off the Trench yoke from the German people, 
 uring 1806 and 1807 the war department was silently replenishing 
 the arsenals and magazines, the cavalry were remounted, and the 
 infantry remodelled after the French system. On the 8th of June 
 1808, a decree was issued instituting the Landwehr or militia, which 
 was at first fixed at 200,000 men, but was soon after raised to 
 300,000 men for the hereditary dominions alone ; and in Hungary 
 the regular army was increased, and the insurrection or extra levy of 
 80,000 men called out. 
 
 The suspicions of Napoleon were aroused ; and though lulled for 
 a time by the representations of Prince Metternich then ambasadors 
 at Paris, he was soon made aware of the hostile intentions of Austria, 
 returned in haste to Paris, called on the Rhenish princes for their 
 contingents, and flattered them with expressions of his confidence. 
 " No Frenchman " he exclaimed " is among you ; you alone shall 
 beat the Austrians." After vigorous preparations on both sides, 
 Austria, April 8th, 1809, sent her armies into the field. The com- 
 mand was entrusted to princes of the royal blood ; Charles set off 
 for the Rhine, John for Italy, Ferdinand for Poland. No ally came 
 to her aid ; Prussia was neutral, Russia allied to France, England 
 unable to help her on land though powerful by sea. A spirited 
 address was issued to the people to rise, and throw off the despotism 
 of France. " Germans, awake ! shake off your death-like slumber 
 in the arms of infamy ! " Charles was crippled by the conflicting 
 orders from Vienna, and was comanded against his advice, to advance 
 on Bavaria. Napoleon in April 1809 led the Rhenish troops against 
 the Austrians ; but his line was so extended, that had the archduke 
 
 T 
 
290 HISTOKT OF AUSTRIA.. 
 
 pressed forward, he might have inflicted severe loss on the enemy, 
 and perhaps have driven him from the territory. Both armies had 
 imprudently divided, but Napoleon repaired the faults committed by 
 his general Berthier by a series of brilliant engagements ; and in five 
 successive days, from the 19th to the 24th of April, he gained 
 complete victories over the Austrians at Thaun, Abensberg, Landshut, 
 Eckmuhl, and Ratisbon, where he received a musket shot in his foot, 
 which created great consternation among his soldiers. 
 
 His arms, however, in other quarters were not so triumphant. 
 General Hiller was forced to abandon Lintz to the French, but in 
 his retreat he suddenly turned on the Bavarians and Trench who 
 were in pursuit, defeated them, captured three Trench eagles, and 
 then crossed the Danube to effect a junction with Charles, who had 
 retired into Bohemia to collect reinforcements, and save the capital. 
 The Tyrol peasantry rose and expelled the foreigners, except the 
 Bavarian garrison of Kufstein. In Italy the archduke John defeated 
 the viceroy Eugene at Sacile April 16th, with the loss of 4000 killed, 
 4000 prisoners and 15 guns ; but the advance of Napoleon on Vienna 
 caused him to retreat followed by Eugene, who defeated him on the 
 Piave. He then retired to Carinthia, when Charles entreated him to 
 move on to Lintz to cut off the communications of the French in the 
 rear, and to co-operate with the Tyrolese. With the 50,000 men at 
 his disposal he might have createa a powerful diversion, drawn the 
 attention of Napoleon from Vienna, and placed him in a perilous 
 situation ; but the archduke disobeyed his orders, and marched into 
 Hungary. 
 
 Meanwhile Napoleon was rapidly advancing towards Vienna ; the 
 bridge of Ebersberg, defended by Hiller, was carried after a terrible 
 struggle ; the islands of the Danube were stormed ; and a vigorous 
 bombardment commenced, which soon fired the city in various places. 
 The troops perceived the futility of resistance and retired; the 
 authorities capitulated ; and the French entered Vienna the second 
 time, May 13. The Archduke Charles designed to arrive before 
 Vienna in time to engage the French army under its walls, and save 
 the city ; but his march from Bohemia had been retarded ; and 
 when he arrived on the banks of the Danube, he beheld the army of 
 Napoleon stationed on the other side of the stream. Napoleon 
 perceived the danger of his position, and took immediate steps to 
 preserve his retreat after he had attacked the hostile force on the 
 other side. He secured the island of Lobau as a mustering point, 
 from which he threw across a bridge of boats to the Marchfield. 
 Charles allowed him to finish his preparations, and awaited his foe 
 with confidence in his own position, which was well chosen on the 
 woody heights of the Bisamoerg. Massena took up his position at 
 the village of Aspern ; and Charles resolved to attack him at once, 
 before the remaining troops, which were unable to cross because of 
 a rise in the stream, could be conveyed from Lobau. The conflict 
 was terrible ; 80,000 Austrians, including 14,000 splendid cavalry, 
 and 2SS guns attacked the French. Aspern was carried after a 
 dreadful slaughter ; but Lannes retained possession of Essling during 
 
FRANCIS I., EMPEROR. 291 
 
 the night, while some fresh troops crossed the stream. The next 
 day May 22, Napoleon had 70,000 men to renew the combat. Lannes 
 rushed with his fiery valour, and created a huge gap in the Austrian 
 centre ; the ranks wavered ; Charles dashed into the midst, and led 
 them against the enemy ; the dragoons drove back the corps of 
 Lannes ; and the splendid charge of the Hungarian grenadiers 
 completed the rout of the French. They fled to the island of Lobau 
 with the loss of 35,000 men and their brave general Lannes, who 
 was shot when resisting an attack on the bridge. The situation of 
 Napoleon was now desperate ; his bridge of boats, connecting the 
 island with the opposite shore, was destroyed ; and for two days he 
 was cooped up in the island, without provisions and ammunition. A 
 fresh bridge was then formed; and the two armies remained for six 
 weeks watching each other on the opposite banks of the Danube. 
 
 Eugene meanwhile had followed the Archduke John from Italy, 
 defeated the division of Jellachich in the valley of the Muhr, and 
 joined Napoleon at Vienna May 28. John had united his forces 
 with those of the Hungarian insurrection under his brother the 
 Palatine, and Eugene was dispatched by Napoleon to prevent their 
 junction with Charles. A battle was fought on the Raab June 14, 
 in which the archduke was defeated with the loss of 6,000 men ; and 
 the Hungarians retired to Komorn, and John to Presburg. In the 
 north, the Archduke Ferdinand, who had advanced as far as Warsaw, 
 was driven back by the Poles under Poniatowsky, and the Russian 
 auxiliaries, to defend Gallicia which was threatened. The Tyrolese 
 still nobly defended their country against the invaders. The French 
 under Lefebvre and the Bavarians under Deroy invaded the province, 
 defeated the heroic bands, and entered Innspruck. The peasants 
 rose under their gallant leader Hofer, and drove the Bavarians from 
 the country with the loss of 4,000 men ; and in a short time the 
 French were expelled from the Tyrol, and 17,000 of the Austrian 
 prisoners released. 
 
 The great point of attraction for the eyes- of the whole world was 
 the banks of the Danube, where the two illustrious generals were 
 still posted. Napoleon covered Lobau with gigantic works, formed 
 massive bridges across to the islands, and called in his reinforce- 
 ments. He deceived the Austrians by a feint attack near Aspern, 
 and crossed the stream lower down. The Austrians abandoned their 
 intrench in ents, now useless, and took up a strong position on the 
 field of Wagram. The battle commenced July 5, and lasted two 
 days. Napoleon was greatly superior in numbers, and commenced 
 the attack with his centre 100,UOO strong, while Eugene ascended 
 the heights. The Austrians behaved with the greatest bravery ; their 
 
 Sallant leader roused them by his presence ; and they threw the 
 'rench army into confusion at the close of the day. Charles renewed 
 the contest next morning, and anxiously exoected the arrival of John 
 from Presburg. The Saxons in the French centre broke, and were 
 alone arrested in their flight by Napoleon and his guard ; the French 
 left was swept by the Austrian guns, and driven to the Danube ; and 
 from all sides the cry arose " 'ihe bridge ! the bridge ! " At this 
 
 T 2 
 
292 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 critical period the corps of Davoust drove in the Austrian left; and 
 the centre headed by Napoleon advanced amid a shower of cannon- 
 balls. To halt was to die ; to retreat was impossible. The archduke 
 saw the determination of Napoleon, and sounded a retreat, which 
 was executed with such dexterity that the French emperor bitterly 
 exclaimed after the battle, " No results ! neither prisoners nor guns." 
 The loss on each side was great, amounting each to 25,000 killed 
 and wounded. Two hours after the conflict, the columns of John 
 appeared ; but they were now useless, and they returned to Pres- 
 buig. Had they arrived earlier, the defeat of Napoleon would have 
 been inevitable. 
 
 Charles retreated into Bohemia, and took up his position at Znaym. 
 where he routed with great slaughter the French troops who attempted 
 to dislodge him, July 11. An armistice was proclaimed, which was 
 followed after a long and painful negotiation, by the peace of Vienna 
 October 14. Austria purchased peace by the cession of territories 
 containing 32,000 square miles and three million and a half souls. 
 Carniola, Trieste, Croatia, and Dalmatia were given to Napoleon; 
 Salzburg Berchtoldsgaden, the Innviertel and the Hausrukvicrtel to 
 Bavaria, who also retained the Tyrol ; a part of Gallicia to the 
 grand duchy of Warsaw, and part to Russia. The army was to be 
 reduced to 150,000 men, and a war contribution of thirteen millions 
 levied on the provinces. Napoleon before he left blew up the ancient 
 ramparts of Vienna; an act of tyranny which greatly exasperated 
 the citizens. 
 
 The Tyrolese were highly incensed at the conduct of Francis, who 
 had promised that he would conclude no treaty which did not secure 
 to him the possession of the Tyrol, and they refused to acknowledge 
 Bavaria their lord. When the Austrian soldiers quitted the country, 
 Lefebvre re-entered Innspruck with 20,000 men. The patriotic 
 leaders met, and swore to defend their country with their lives ; and 
 the unquenchable spirit of freedom animated the people. A Bava- 
 rian corps was defeated at the bridge of Laditch ; Lefebvre was 
 routed with great loss on the Brenner ; and a decisive battle was 
 fought near Innspruck in which the French lost 6,000 men. Lefebvre 
 evacuated the Tyrol ; and Hofer entered Innspruck in triumph, and 
 became the civil and military commander of the country. The bright 
 days of rejoicing were soon clouded. The Tyrol was invaded in 
 October by three armies on the side of Bavaria, Cariuthia and Italy; 
 and seeing that resistance was useless, Hofer recommended the 
 people to submit. They refused to yield ; and issuing from their 
 mountain fastnesses, they greatly harassed the troops when passing 
 through long defiles. They were, however, forced to surrender ; 
 winter drove them into the plains ; the chiefs fled from their country; 
 and they gradually laid down their arms. Hofer alone refused either 
 to submit or to fly, and was betrayed to the French ; who carried 
 him to Mantua, where he was shot by order of Napoleon. 
 
 Snon after the treaty of Vienna, Count Metternich became 
 minister for foreign affairs, and the leader in the Austrian cabinet. 
 Napoleon, though extending his power and consolidating his supre- 
 
FRANCIS I., EMPEROR. 293 
 
 macy in all directions, still felt the importance of descent and 
 ancestry, in which he was deficient. His empress Josephine had not 
 given him an heir to his vast empire, and for some time past he 
 meditated a divorce. Proposals had been made simultaneously to 
 the courts of St. Petersburg and Vienna ; and, a slight opposition 
 arising from the empress-mother of Russia, an alliance was entered 
 into with Austria ; and the contract was signed Feburary 15, 1810, 
 between Napoleon and the archduchess Maria Louisa. Josephine 
 retained the title of empress, and retired to Malmaison with a 
 pension ; and on the 1st of April the marriage was celebrated at 
 St. Cloud with the greatest splendour. The royal pair visited the 
 Netherlands; and on their return to Paris, a splendid ball was 
 given by the Austrian ambassador Prince Schwartzenberg, when a 
 fire broke out during the festivity. Several persons were injured by 
 the flames and falling timbers ; and among them was the sister-in-law 
 of the ambassador, who rushed into the burning pile to rescue her 
 daughter. In the ensuing year the young empress gave birtli to a 
 prince, Napoleon Francis, who was laid in a magnificent silver 
 cradle, and created King of Home to designate him as heir to the 
 yast dominions of his father. 
 
 Just before the birth of the young prince the financial state of 
 Austria reached its crisis. The resources had been completely 
 drained by the demands of war ; the country was deluged with 
 paper currency; and the nation reduced to a state of insolvency. 
 The demands could no longer be met ; and Count Wallis the finance 
 minister March 15, 1811 reduced the value of one thousand and 
 sixty millions of bank paper to two hundred and twelve millions, 
 and the interest upon the whole of the state debts to one half 
 payable in the new paper issue. This fearful state of bankruptcy 
 was accompanied by the fall of many private firms ; trade was 
 completely at a standstill; and the contributions demanded by 
 Napoleon could not be realised. 
 
 The good understanding, which had hitherto prevailed between 
 the courts of Russia and France, was now broken up ; and the two 
 sovereigns, who had intended to partition Europe between them, 
 engaged in deadly strife. Napoleon declared war against Russia in 
 1812, and assembled an army of half-a-million soldiers to assail her 
 territories, and dictate terms of peace under the Avails of Moscow. 
 This vast force was made up of Germans, Italians, Poles and Swiss, 
 and about 200,000 French. Austria, as well as Prussia, was 
 compelled to furnish 30,000 men under Prince Schwartzenberg. 
 The infatuation of Napoleon procured his ruin; for though he 
 reached Moscow, it was but to behold the ruins of the city, whence 
 he was forced to retreat over snowy steppes, and frozen fields, and 
 to leave his soldiers to perish with hunger and cold. Napoleon 
 himself fled for safety through Germany, and arrived by rapid stages 
 at Paris. 
 
 On the retreat of the French, the Prussian general York signed a 
 treaty of neutrality with Dicbitch the Russian general; and the 
 Austrians were permitted to remain at Warsaw, though Schwartzen- 
 
294 HISTORY OF ATJST1UA. 
 
 berg refused to enter into any stipulation respecting their neutrality. 
 Tiie excitement which prevailed in Prussia was very great, and all 
 parties were clamorous for war against France. On the 1st of March 
 1813 an alliance between Russia and Prussia was signed at Kalisch, 
 and a spirited proclamation issued to the German states. Napoleon 
 created a fresh army of 300,000 men with inconceivable rapidity ; 
 and took the field to crush the insurrection against him, which had 
 spread over all northern Germany except Saxony. Negotiations were 
 commenced by the comts of Berlin and St. Petersburg to gain 
 Austria to their side ; but the cautious policy of Metternich 
 temporised, lest the influence of Russia should preponderate in 
 Germany. "With consummate skill he gained tlie ascendancy over 
 the allies, and employed flattering language towards them ; and at 
 the same he offered his services to Napoleon to mediate a peace. 
 The military resources of the country were also secretly prepared, 
 that he might be ready, when the time had arrived for Austria to 
 act. Hostilities meanwhile began. The French invaded Hamburg 
 and marched to the Baltic ; and Napoleon advanced to Dresden, 
 where the czar and the King of Prussia were ; defeated the allies, 
 after a terrible conflict, at Liitzen ; entered Dresden in triumph ; and 
 engaged his enemies at Bautzen ; whom he defeated after two days' 
 sanguinary fighting, which cost him 20,000 of his troops. Both the 
 combatants were anxious respecting the designs of Austria ; and ail 
 armistice was concluded at Pleisswitz for six weeks, June 4, 1S13. 
 
 Austria again renewed her pacific efforts. On the 27th of June 
 she signed a treaty at Reichenbach in Silesia with Prussia and Russia, 
 by which she bound herself to declare war in case Napoleon rejected 
 the terms she was about to propose to him ; and the next day Met- 
 ternich had an interview with the French emperor at Dresden. The 
 conference was long and stormy. Napoleon met with an equal in 
 the wily count, and refused to yield to his demand for the restitution 
 of the French conquests in Germany ; and even charged him with 
 being bribed by England to declare war against him. A congress at 
 Prague, however, was agreed upon ; but it was merely a subterfuge 
 to deceive the world by an apparent desire for peace. Napoleon 
 was very generous in his concessions, but delayed granting to his 
 ambassador full powers until the termination of the armistice; when 
 the congress was broken up. Austria declared war against France, 
 August 12 ; and thus passed by the diplomatic skill of Metternich 
 from an alliance with Napoleon, the son-in-law of the Emperor of 
 Austria, to neutrality, from neutrality to mediation, and from 
 mediation to active coalition against him. Her position was advanced 
 above the allies who courted her ; the whole of the allied armies were 
 placed under Schwartzenberg, an Austrian general ; and the Prussian 
 and Russian troops accompanied their respective sovereigns to 
 Prague, where Francis entertained them in a most magnificent 
 manner. 
 
 Each party had employed the interval of the armistice in active 
 preparations for the renewal of hostilities. England scattered her 
 gold profusely among the Prussians, Russians, and Swedes ; while 
 
FRANCIS I., EMPEROR. 295 
 
 her chief force under Wellington was engaged in Spain. Napoleon 
 had concentrated his main body, consisting of 250,000 men, around 
 Dresden. Schwartzenberg with a strong army of 190,000 men was 
 to advance through the Hartz mountains to the rear of Napoleon. 
 Blucher with 80,000 was to cover Silesia, or in case of an attack by 
 Napoleon's main army, to retire before it, and draw it further east- 
 ward. Bernadotte, who from a Erench general had become the 
 crown prince of Sweden, was to cover Berlin, and in the event of a 
 victory, to effect a junction with Schwartzenberg in the rear of 
 Napoleon. Wallmoden with 30,000 men was to watch the French 
 general Davoust in Hamburg; Prince Reuss with 25,000 the 
 movements of the Bavarians ; and Hillerwith 40,000 the movements 
 of Eugene in Italy. 
 
 On the advance of Blucher, driving before him the Erench detach- 
 ments, Napoleon set out from Dresden with the flower of his army 
 to oppose him. Blucher cautiously retired before the French general ; 
 and Napoleon soon found out that it was part of a concerted plan by 
 the allies marching towards Dresden, which he had left uncovered. 
 The French commander there retired to the citadel ; and on the 26th 
 of August, Schwartzenberg stormed the city. He had, however, 
 delayed a day too long. ]S apoleon poured his breathless troops into 
 the town ; and the guards, still warm with their forced march, rushed 
 upon the assailants, and drove them from the gates. The next 
 morning Napoleon attacked the left wing of the allies, which was 
 separated from the main body, easily threw into confusion the raw 
 recruits of which it was composed, and burst upon the rear. The 
 allies retreated; and Napoleon remained master of the field with 
 13,000 prisoners, and many guns and standards. Vendamme, who 
 had been sent to seize the passes from Saxony to Bohemia, was taken 
 prisoner with the greater part of his corps; and but for that 
 misfortune, Schwartzenberg's entire army would have been cut off by 
 the French. 
 
 The French were unsuccessful where Napoleon was not present. 
 The gallant army, which he left under Macdonald to retard the 
 operations of Blucher, was defeated on the Katzbach August 26, 
 with an immense loss. Three days before, General Oudinot penetrated 
 to within twelve miles of Berlin, and came suddenly upon the army 
 of Bernadotte ; but was forced to retreat with great loss, and to give 
 up his designs against the Prussian capital. He was superseded in 
 his command by Ney ; and Bernadotte, aware of the character of 
 his antagonist, concentrated his forces to strike a decisive blow. He 
 came up with the French at Dennewitz, and fought a desperate 
 battle, which terminated in the total rout of Ney. The defeated 
 generals retired towards Dresden ; and Napoleon saw the necessity 
 of heading his troops to save his position, which was gradually 
 being enclosed by the allies. The caution of Blucher and Schwart- 
 zeuberg defeated his skilful movements; and Napoleon remained 
 unusually inactive. Blucher crossed the Elbe, joined Bernadotte, 
 and united with the main army. Dresden was almost surrounded ; 
 aud Napoleon resolved to march towards Berlin, and by a bold stroke 
 
296 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA.. 
 
 seize the city. The menaces of Austria, however, aroused the fears 
 of the Bavarians, and compelled them to declare against Prance; by 
 which his retreat across the Rhine was threatened, and he gave 
 orders to march to Leipzic. The allies came up with him on the 
 16th of October, and a terrible conflict ensued. Napoleon's army 
 numbered 140,000 men; that of the allies 230,000. Blucher 
 attacked the north, and the prince the south ; and after a day of 
 incessant fighting, the French were unable to gain any superiority 
 over the allies. Napoleon then offered to evacuate Germany, and 
 retire beyond the Rhine ; but no answer was returned to him. The 
 17th was confined to desultory struggles; but on the 18th, the 
 gigantic conflict was renewed. The earth shook with the furious 
 cannonade; the posts were carried and retaken amid wholesale 
 slaughter ; and at night the French retired to the city. The next 
 day Leipzic was stormed ; Napoleon fled with great difficulty ; and 
 the allies took possession of it. The French lost in three days 
 60,000 men, and the allies 42,000. Blucher pushed after the 
 retreating army, and greatly harassed it ; but the rapidity of the 
 emperor was such that the nying Cossacks were alone able to keep 
 up with the retiring columns. The Bavarians under Wrede blocked 
 up the great road to Mentz ; and the decimated army, now reduced 
 to 50,000 men, made a desperate effort to break through, which they 
 effected with great loss to the enemy. Napoleon stayed six days at, 
 Mentz, to collect his stragglers, then set out for Paris which he 
 reached November 9. Meanwhile the garrisons left behind gradually 
 surrendered. Dresden, Stettin, Torgau, and Dantzic fell into the hands 
 of the allies ; large bodies of French troops became prisoners of 
 war ; and nearly all Germany as far as the Rhine was freed from the 
 power of France. In Italy Hiller was successful against Eugene, 
 and wrested the possessions of the old republic from the grasp of 
 Napoleon. Holland rose en masse and drove out the French from 
 the garrisons ; and the Rhenish confederacy was dissolved. 
 
 Towards the close of the year, Europe was leagued against France, 
 and invaded her territory. Bulow marched from Holland, Blucher 
 from Coblentz, Schwartzenberg, with the allied sovereigns, from 
 Switzerland, while Wellington, whose victories had driven the French 
 from Spain, poured his veterans from the Pyrenees into the southern 
 plains. Napoleon had made vigorous preparations to resist the 
 invaders. On his return to Paris, he laid before the council a state- 
 ment of his losses ; and by his advice fresh taxes were imposed, and 
 a large army voted. His force, amounting to 200,000 men, was far 
 inferior to that of the allies, which, in all parts, numbered nearly one 
 million men. The allies, however, were divided ; the plan of opera- 
 tions was often changed ; and conflicting opinions frequently 
 prevented the concert necessary to success. On the 29th of January 
 1814, Napoleon attacked Blucher, who was posted with 26,000 men 
 at Brienne, where the Prussian general narrowly escaped being taken 
 prisoner ; but he was obliged to retire with the loss of 6000 men 
 from La Rothiere which was assailed by Blucher. Schwartzenberg, 
 who had adopted very lukewarm measures, neglected to advance 
 
VBAXCIS I., EMPEROR. 297 
 
 rapidly, and divided his troops ; and Napoleon relying on the reluct- 
 ance of Austria to push matters to the extreme, again turned against 
 Blucher, who was marching towards Paris. He defeated his several 
 corps as they appeared, and then turned on the advanced guard of 
 Schwartzenberg, and routed it at Nangis, and at Montereau on the 
 17th and 18th of February. Augereau meanwhile attacked the 
 Austrians in Switzerland, and took post at Geneva in the rear of 
 the allies. The eifect of these slight victories was apparent. The 
 allies called in their forces to Troycs, resolved to retreat, and pro- 
 posed an armistice, which Napoleon flushed with success, refused to 
 grant. A congress had been sitting at Chatillon, where negotiations 
 for peace had been carried on ; and the allies were very anxious to 
 secure the terms they had offered ; but Napoleon instructed his 
 plenipotentiary to sign nothing, and made use of the conference 
 merely to gain time. 
 
 Blucher was furious at the intention of the allies to retreat, and 
 with the consent of the emperor Alexander, he resolved to 
 push on to Paris without them. Being reinforced on the Marne by 
 Winzingerode, he marched his army now amounting to 100,000 men 
 to Craone, where he took up a strong position. Napoleon stormed 
 his post with his accustomed energy, but obtained no decisive results, 
 and in his attack on the Prussian general at Laon, he was routed 
 with a heavy loss. Blucher, however, was greatly distressed for 
 provisions, and was obliged to remain inactive. His example induced 
 Schwartzenberg to suspend his retreat, and to advance with cautious 
 steps towards the capital. Napoleon left Marmont and Mortier to 
 oppose Blucher, and having united with Macdonald and Oudinot, 
 came up with the Austrians at Arcis sur Aube, but retreated after an 
 indecisive action, which to him was equivalent to a defeat. He 
 clearly perceived that his efforts against the superior forces of the 
 allies would be unavailing. In Italy the defection of Murat, and the 
 vigour of the English destroyed his influence. In the south, Lyons 
 had been abandoned by Augereau, and Bayonne captured, by 
 Wellington, who drove Soult before him to Toulouse, which after a 
 bloody conllict, was taken on the llth of April. 
 
 Napoleon made one desperate effort to retrieve his fortune. The 
 peasantry in Lorraine were exasperated by the ravages of the soldiers, 
 and rose against them ; and he designed to occupy the fortresses in the 
 rear of the allies, form a junction with Augereau, and cut off their 
 retreat to the Rhine. An intercepted letter made known his intention; 
 and in a council of war the plan of advancing to Paris, though 
 opposed by some, was warmly adopted. Winzingerode was com- 
 missioned to follow Napoleon, and delude him with the idea that the 
 main army was pursuing him, while the allies marched with the 
 utmost enthusiasm towards the capital. They repulsed Marmont 
 and Mortier, who were hastening, by the same road the allies 
 occupied, to join Napoleon ; captured Pacthod with a large convoy ; 
 and on the 29th of March came in sight of the splendid edifices of 
 Paris. The consternation in the city was very great ; the empress, 
 her son, and Joseph ex- king of Spain, retired with waggons laden 
 
2S8 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 with the spoil of Europe ; and the people were anxiously waiting in 
 sullen despair the entrance of the conquerors. On the 30th the 
 cannon roared on the surrounding heights, and after a gallant 
 resistance by the French, the heights of Belleville and Montmartre 
 were carried. The cry " Fire on Paris " rose from all sides ; and 
 to preserve the city the marshals surrendered. Napoleon made every 
 effort to reach the capital in time to save it ; but he arrived at 
 Fontainebleau the morning after the capitulation. The allies entered 
 the city ; the sovereigns of Prussia and Russia were received with 
 rapturous applause ; out the Emperor of Austria remained at Lyons. 
 Napoleon, deserted by his own marshals, was compelled to sign 
 April llth, his abdication of the imperial crown, and to withdraw to 
 the Isle of Elba, which was assigned to him as his residence, with a 
 sufficient income to enable him to retain a body-guard of 400 men, 
 and to live in splendour. A solemn decree was passed calling Louis 
 XVIII. to the throne ; and on the 4th of May he entered his capital, 
 and mounted the throne of his ancestors ; and on the 30th the peace 
 of Paris was signed, by which France was reduced to the same limits 
 as in 1792. 
 
 Paris was the scene of the greatest festivities during the time the 
 allied sovereigns occupied it ; and before returning to Vienna, where 
 a congress was opened September 25th, the emperor Alexander, the 
 King of Prussia, and Blucher were magnificently entertained in 
 England. The celebrated congress commenced its sittings to adjust 
 the claims of the several states ; and, as might naturally have been 
 expected, the discordant elements threatened to divide the con- 
 federates, and to turn their swords against each other. Napoleon's 
 ambition was still insatiated ; and he suddenly quitted Elba, landed 
 on the coast of France on the 1st of March 1815, and in three 
 weeks entered Paris in triumph, The allied sovereigns hushed their 
 contentions, and felt that they must again instantly unite against 
 him, or fall under his despotism. They declared him an outlaw, and 
 bound themselves to bring a million men into the field. A large 
 army of English and Germans under Wellington was stationed near 
 Brussels, and a Prussian force under Blucher at Ligny. Napoleon 
 resolved to attack them before the main army under Schwartzenberg 
 could be brought up; and on the 14th or June he engaged ana 
 defeated Blucher with a great slaughter. Ncy, who had encountered 
 Wellington at Quatre Bras, suffered a severe loss, and retired ; and 
 Wellington took up a strong position at Waterloo, whither Napoleon 
 followed him, after detaching 31,000 men under Grouchy to observe 
 the Prussians. The decisive battle of the ISth of June, crushed the 
 French army, and destroyed the last hope of Napoleon. The deadly 
 conflict lasted eight hours; the daring charges of the French cuirassiers 
 were hurled back by the solid squares of British infantry; and the 
 splendid advance of the whole of Wellington's army drove the 
 French in disorder before it. Blucher and his iron veterans made 
 
 E'gantic efforts to reach the scene of action ; but the difficulty of 
 s march so retarded him, that he did not arrive till the French were 
 retreating. He instantly pursued the fugitives, and cut off very 
 
FRANCIS I., EMPEROR. 299 
 
 many. Napoleon fled with such rapidity that he brought the news 
 of his defeat to Paris, and abdicated in favour of his son. The 
 British entered the capital ; and Napoleon fled to Malmaison, and 
 attempted to emigrate to America. His designs were frustrated by 
 the vigilance of the English ; and he ultimately surrendered himself 
 to Captain Maitland on board the Bellerophon. With the con- 
 currence of the other powers, he was conveyed to the island of 
 St. Helena, where on the 5th of May 1821, the proud and daring 
 spirit of the Scourge of Europe departed. The empress Josephine 
 had died before his return from Elba ; his consort Maria Louisa was 
 created Duchess of Parma, and her son Duke of Reichstadt, and 
 lived at Vienna with the emperor Francis. 
 
 Meanwhile Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law, had atoned for his 
 former desertion in joining the allies after the battle of Leipzic. He 
 created a diversion in favour of Napoleon by advancing against the 
 Austrians in Upper Italy ; but was defeated with a heavy loss at 
 Tolentino, and fled to Corsica. The success of the allies prevented 
 his escape to France, and he returned to Italy with the intention of 
 arousing a popular insurrection ; but he \\ r as seized on landing in 
 Calabria, and \vas shot by order of a Neapolitan court-martial. 
 
 The congress of Vienna renewed its sittings, and at length decided 
 upon the dominions which were to revert to Austria. She received 
 Milan and Venice under the title of a Lombardo- Venetian kingdom, 
 the lllyrian provinces, Venetian Dalmatia, the Tyrol, Vorarlberg, 
 Salzburg, the Innviertel and Hausruckviertel, and the part of Gallicia 
 given up by her at an early period. The duchies of Tuscany, 
 Modena, Parma and Placentia were restored to the collateral branches 
 of the house of Hapsburg. Thus after twenty-three years of warfare, 
 the Austrian monarchy rose stronger than it was before the outbreak 
 of hostilities. The Netherlands were lost ; but the territories gained 
 amply compensated for them, and made the empire more compact 
 and defensible than it was previously. The ancient German empire 
 was not revived, but a Germanic confederation was instituted, 
 composed of thirty-nine states. A perpetual diet, consisting of 
 plenipotentiaries from the several states, was established at Fraiik- 
 fort-on-the-Main, under the perpetual presidency of Austria. 
 
 A great change had passed over the people since the commence- 
 ment of the revolutionary war. The ideas of the French had taken 
 deep root in the German mind, and, in Prussia and Austria, would 
 have burst forth had not the stern rule of monarchy kept them in 
 abeyance. The manifestoes of Austria and her allies had declared 
 their intention to uphold hereditary monarchy, and to crush revolu- 
 tion ; but the progress of Napoleon induced them to change their 
 designs, and to be more anxious to hurl back the spirit of aggression 
 than to check that of "liberty, equality, and fraternity." The 
 people, who beheld their country invaded and their homes desolated, 
 gradually relinquished or suppressed their outcry for freedom in the 
 more urgent desire to be relieved from the presence of so determined 
 a foe as Napoleon. Hence after the peace of Vienna a patriotic 
 enthusiasm burned in the hearts of the nation to advance against the 
 
300 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 foe of their fatherland. The fall of the French empire stimulated 
 the allied sovereigns to resist popular outcries, and to maintain intact 
 their absolute authority. Hence the Holy Alliance was established 
 in 1816 between Russia, Austria, and Prussia to uphold that prin- 
 ciple ; and Prince Metternich laboured with incredible zeal to work 
 out the system which is identified with his name ; to preserve the 
 authority of the sovereign, and to deny all claims of the people to 
 participate in it. At the same time it must be remarked that, when 
 the alliance was contracted, profuse promises were given to the 
 people ; and Austria declared at the congress of Vienna that " the 
 subjects of every German state under the ancient empire possessed 
 rights against their sovereigns which had of late been disregarded, 
 but that such disregard must be rendered impossible for the future." 
 In the second congress the constitutional riglits of the nations were 
 amply discussed; and the result was embodied in the concise 13th 
 article of the confederation viz. "A representative constitution shall 
 be adopted in all the federative states ; " though the other articles 
 bound the states to prevent any attempt by the subjects to subvert 
 the existing order of things. The people were dissatisfied when they 
 found that these promises were not fulfilled ; the spirit of disaffection 
 and sedition was fostered by secret societies, whose primary object 
 had been to arouse the people to shake off the yoke of the French ; 
 and Austria has ever since been threatened with a revolutionary out- 
 break, which has increased, notwithstanding her extensive police 
 force, and system of espionage, and which can only be kept down by 
 the terror of a large military display. During the remaining years 
 of Francis, his affection for his subjects, and his patient attention to 
 their petitions, prevented the outburst ; yet the intelligent observer 
 can detect the working of that revolutionary spirit which at length 
 burst out, and swelled the torrent of popular fury M'hich swept over 
 the nations of Europe in 1848. 
 
 Prince Metternich took precautionary measures to guard against 
 its outbreak in the German states. In 1819 a Federative congress 
 was assembled at Vienna to resist the increasing influence ot the 
 liberals in the provincial diets; and an act was passed in May 1820, 
 the design of which was to exclude the various provincial diets from 
 interfering in the general affairs of Germany, and to increase the 
 power of the princes over their diets by the guaranteed aid of the 
 confederates. During the sitting of this congress the liberal party 
 in Spain revolted against their king Ferdinand VII. ; and their 
 example was followed by the Neapolitans, who were dissatisfied with 
 the conduct of their sovereign. Austria interfered ; a congress was 
 held at Laibach in 1821 ; and the Austrian troops under Frimont 
 entered Italy. The Neapolitans fled without firing a shot ; the king 
 returned to his capital ; and the Austrians left strong garrisons there 
 and in Sicily. Scarcely was that insurrection quelled, before the 
 Piedmontese broke out, seized the citadel of Turin, and forced the 
 king to abdicate. The Austrians united with the royal troops, routed 
 the insurgents at Novara April 8, and restored the king. The 
 Lombardo- Venetian kincdom was threatened with a similar catas- 
 
FRANCIS I., EMPEROR. 301 
 
 trophe. The Austrian government professed to have discovered 
 dangerous plots ; arrests were made ; a periodical called the Conci- 
 liatore was suppressed ; and many unfortunate Milanese pined away 
 and died in the dungeons of Spielberg. 
 
 In Greece a revolution broke out against the Turks, which was 
 secretly fostered by Russia, who meditated ambitious designs on 
 Constantinople ; but the European congress at Verona in 1822 
 condemned the revolt, though it continued till the fatal battle of 
 Navarino, gained by England France and Russia over the Turkish 
 fleet, and the establishment of the Greek kingdom in 1827. The 
 rise of Greece was regarded with great jealousy by Austria ; and her 
 fears were still more aroused by the invasion of Turkey by Russia. 
 In 1828 she united with England in remonstrating with the czar 
 [Nicholas respecting his designs on Constantinople ; but France 
 expressed her readiness to join Russia, and fall upon the Austrian 
 rear if her troops were sent against the Russians. The treaty of 
 Adrianople in 1829 prevented the active interference of Austria, by 
 wliich the czar obtained some important concessions; and among 
 them were the right to occupy the mouths of the Danube, the chief 
 Austrian river, and a protectoral authority over Moldavia and 
 Wallachia. 
 
 The year 1830 witnessed a general outbreak of the revolutionary 
 spirit. In Paris the Jesuits gained great ascendancy, and overturned 
 the constitution. From the 27th to the 30th of July the wildest 
 confusion prevailed ; the people rose in vast masses ; the streets 
 were flooded with blood ; the King Charles X. was dethroned, and 
 Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, raised to the dignity. It was the 
 signal for the discontented throughout the world to rise. The liberal 
 party attempted to overthrow the despotic rule of Ferdinand in Spain. 
 In England the Duke of Wellington was forced to resign his seal to 
 Earl Grey to carry the Reform Bill. Belgium was separated from 
 Holland, and after great distresses received from the mediating 
 powers, England, Austria, Prussia and Russia, Prince Leopold of 
 Coburg as their king. In the minor states of Germany the cry for 
 popular institutions was raised. The Duke of Brunswick was 
 driven from his territory ; the King of Saxony was forced to yield 
 to the fury of the populace ; the Prince of Hesse was frightened 
 into acquiescence with the wishes of his subjects ; and in other 
 small states the revolutionary spirit was rampant. In Austria it was 
 manifested chiefly in the Italian dominions. The system of espionage 
 had produced distrust in the rulers and the ruled, which was secretly 
 inflicting deep wounds in the hearts of the people. In Lombardy, 
 the presence of 30,000 troops kept down all insurrectionary move- 
 ments, and maintained the imperial authority. In Modena the 
 people rose in February 1831, and forced the duke to flee to 
 Mantua ; in Parma, the archduke and ex-empress Maria Louisa 
 were obliged to quit the state ; and in the Papal States the people 
 rose against, the temporal sovereignty of the pope. An Austrian 
 army quickly marched to the aid of the distressed sovereigns ; the 
 Duke of Modena recovered his capital, and hanged the leaders of 
 
302 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 the revolt ; Parma was tranquilised by wise concessions of redress ; 
 and the Holy See was restored to the pope. As soon, however, 
 as the troops were withdrawn, the insurgents rose in the Papal 
 States January 1832, and the pontiff again invoked the aid of Austria. 
 The Austrians entered Bologna, quefled the revolt, and garrisoned 
 the fortresses. The French on this fresh interposition of Austria, 
 immediately sent a squadron to Ancona, landed troops, and seized 
 the town; and for some time a renewal of the ancient Italian 
 conflicts seemed inevitable, and was alone prevented by the prudence 
 of the pope. He consented to the occupation of the town by the 
 French so long as the Austrians held any place in the country ; and 
 the Frencli remained in Ancona, and the Austriaus in Bologna and 
 other towns in Romagna till the autumn of 1838. 
 
 During the remainder of the reign of Francis no important incident 
 in foreign affairs occurred. Towards the end of 1833 he repaired 
 to Miinchen Gratz to meet the King of Prussia, and the Emperor 
 of Russia, and was received with great splendour and festivity. 
 The infirmities of age, however, were fast creeping over him ; his 
 ceaseless toil and anxiety about state affairs had worn out his frame ; 
 and on the 2nd of March 1835, Francis closed his eyes in peace at 
 Vienna, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, and the forty-third of 
 his reign. 
 
 His character has been well spoken of even by his enemies. In 
 his hereditary dominions he was beloved by all, and regarded as the 
 father of his people. He was kind and easy of access, simple and 
 regular in his habits, most assiduous in business, and correct in his 
 conduct. He was thoroughly conscientious, and deemed it his duty 
 to guard with unbending resolution the authority reposed in him. 
 His great failing \vas a want of confidence in himself and in those 
 around him ; and in order to guard against being misled by his 
 ministers, he made it his duty to become personally acquainted with 
 the details of business. As age came on, this suspicious tendency 
 increased ; he toiled still more laboriously, like a chief clerk ; the 
 business of the state was retarded ; and wliDe the age was marching 
 forwards, the emperor and his prune minister were stationary. 
 Many useful improvements, however, were introduced in the latter 
 part of his reign, which promoted the industry and resources of the 
 empire. Two great steam navigation companies were formed ; one 
 sweeping the Danube from Lintz to the Black Sea ; and the other, 
 established by Briick called the Austrian Lloyd's, running between 
 Trieste and Egypt, Asia Minor, and Constantinople. Roads and 
 railways were laid down through the country ; the railway from 
 Milan to Venice was completed, connecting the city with the main 
 land by the magnificent viaduct across the lagunes ; a noble chain 
 bridge crossed the Danube between Pesth and Buda ; and a private 
 railway was established from Debreczin to Pesth. The commercial 
 policy of the emperor was that practised by Colbert, which almost 
 entirely prohibited commerce with foreign countries. This policy 
 was partially abandoned by his successor Ferdinand, when in 1838 a 
 treaty was concluded between England and Austria, which opened 
 
FERDINAND I., EMPEROR. 303 
 
 up the Danube as far as Galatz to British vessels, and all British ports 
 including Malta and Gibraltar to Austrian ships. Francis greatly 
 promoted national education by establishing elementary schools 
 throughout his dominions, and superintending the working of his 
 plans. 
 
 CHAPTEll XXI. 
 FERDINAND I. (EMPEROR OF AUSTRIA.) A.D. 1835-1848. 
 
 FERDINAND, the eldest son of the late emperor, continued the 
 policy of his father. He inherited his zeal for the welfare of his 
 subjects, and his unbending resolution to maintain his authority. 
 His frame, however, was weak and sickly, and prevented him 
 accomplishing the routine of business wluch had become the 
 habitual occupation of Francis. He therefore committed to Prince 
 Metternich much greater power than he before had, though the 
 emperor was averse to any sweeping changes in the machinery of 
 government, which alone would have enabled it to cope with the 
 spirit of the times. 
 
 After he had received the crown of Hungary by signing the usual 
 stipulation, a warm discussion was carried on in the Hungarian diet, 
 whether the new king should be styled Ferdinand I. or Ferdinand V. 
 This distinction was all-important to the freedom of Hungary ; and 
 the treatment she had received from the late emperor made her 
 jealous of her independency as a nation. While the French were 
 successful against Austria, the Hungarians nobly sustained their 
 sovereign by votes of men and money; and in return the nobles 
 requested the emperor to mention in the royal speech certain 
 reforms which they wished to effect, without which notice they were 
 not able to discuss them in the diet. He had successively put off 
 their demands, and had drawn largely upon them for succour, which 
 they willingly granted ; but after the peace of Paris the clamour for 
 reform became louder. The diet, which the king was bound to 
 assemble every three years, was not convoked ; the address of the 
 magnates was not even honoured with a reply; and the king 
 unconstitutionally issued royal edicts to levy imposts, which the 
 officials refused to carry out. Troops were sent into the country to 
 overawe them ; but the resistance they met with induced the court 
 of Vienna to give way, and, after an interval of twelve years, to 
 summon a diet. The attempt thus made to subvert the constitution 
 failed ; and in 1825 Francis solemnly engaged to observe the 
 fundamental laws of the kingdom, never to levy imposts without the 
 consent of the diet, and to convoke the assembly every three years. 
 The design to consolidate and improve the popular institutions of 
 Hungary created great uneasiness in Austria. She fostered a party 
 
301 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 in the diet ; which only made the magnates more strenuous iu tlieir 
 determination to maintain intact the independency of the nation. 
 It was, therefore, important, on the accession of Ferdinand, to show 
 that Hungary was a distinct kingdom, and not merely a province of 
 Austria. 
 
 On the 6th of September, 1838, the emperor repaired to Milan, 
 where he was invested with the iron crown of Lombardy. A 
 general amnesty was proclaimed to political offenders. Confalonieri, 
 and other Italian prisoners were released; the pending state trials 
 v, ere quashed; and the refugees were invited back to their own 
 land, or permitted to reside abroad. This amnesty was doubtless 
 effected by Metternich, who was averse to all harsh measures, and 
 especially to the shedding of blood ; and it is noted as an instance 
 of his compassionate nature, that no political executions took place 
 at his instigation. 
 
 The next year Austria was threatened with a war which might 
 have swelled into vast dimensions. In 1S39 hostilities commenced 
 between the Sublime Porte and the Pasha of Egypt, whose son 
 Ibrahim wrested Syria from Turkey, overran Asia Minor, and 
 threatened the very existence of the Ottoman empire. The great 
 powers, England, France, Austria, Prussia and Russia interfered ; 
 and an Anglo-French fleet swept the Levant to keep the truce 
 which had been agreed upon. The Turkish admiral sailed with his 
 ships to Alexandria, and to avoid the allied navy, placed them in the 
 power of the Pasha. A strong suspicion was entertained that the 
 French government encouraged the Pasha to retain this fleet, which 
 he would otherwise have given up. The other four powers 
 demanded its surrender by a certain day; and as this was not 
 complied with, they signed a convention on the 15th of July to the 
 exclusion of France. Louis Philippe was greatly enraged, and 
 instructed Guizot his minister, to remonstrate with the confederates. 
 An European war seemed inevitable, and was alone prevented by the 
 energy of the allies. The British fleet was reinforced by a few 
 Austrian ships; Alexandria and the Syrian ports were blockaded; 
 and Beyrout was bombarded. The Egyptians suffered great losses, 
 and were everywhere routed ; Acre fell under the heavy cannonade 
 of British war-ships ; Jerusalem once more returned to the Porte ; 
 Mohammed Ali delivered up the Turkish fleet and Syria, and retained 
 possession of Egypt. After a long and tedious negotiation, the treaty 
 of 1841 was signed, and peace was once more preserved. 
 
 The various signs of discontent, which had been manifested during 
 the late reign, were becoming stronger and more visible, and 
 ultimately burst out in four quarters of the empire. The Ruthene 
 peasants in Gallicia were the first to manifest rebellion. At the 
 congress of Vienna, Cracow, with a district containing a population 
 of 120,000 inhabitants, was erected into an independent republic, 
 and the kingdom of Poland incorporated with the Russian empire. 
 In 1831 an insurrection arose in Poland which terminated in the 
 dispersion of the Poles by Russia, and the establishment of a rigorous 
 government. Cracow then became the focus of conspiracies against 
 
FERDINAND I., EMPEROR, 305 
 
 Russia; an army of Russians, Austrians, and Prussians took possession 
 of the city till 1840 ; when seeing all was apparently tranquil, 
 the Austrians quitted their quarters. The troops had scarcely been 
 withdrawn before the conspiracies of the Poles were renewed with 
 great energy. An insurrection broke out in Gallicia in 1846, where 
 the smallness of the Austrian force seemed to promise success. The 
 Polish patriots, however, failed to enlist the sympathies of the 
 people ; the object for which they contended was to establish a 
 Polish dominion instead of an Austrian ; and the peasants preferred 
 the comparatively mild sway of the Hapsburg to the feudal oppression 
 of the Polish noble. The Austrian general was taken by surprise, 
 and the governor was unprepared for the outbreak ; but the peasants 
 rose against the insurgents, slew or took most of them prisoners, 
 burst into the houses of the magnates and searched them ; and ranged 
 over the the country, burning, torturing, and deluging the land with 
 blood. The police incited the peasants to their deadly work, by 
 offering a reward of five florins for every suspected person delivered 
 to them; but at length the fury of the marauders was such that 
 order could alone be secured by calling out a larg^e body of Austrian 
 troops. The governor, however, was grateful ior the assistance of 
 the people ; Szela the leader of the sanguinary bands was thanked 
 and highly rewarded ; and the court of Vienna was lulled into the 
 fatal delusion, that the people everywhere were opposed to revolu- 
 tion, and would assist the sovereign in every outbreak. The 
 intrigues of the Poles brought destruction upon Cracow. Austria. 
 Russia, and Prussia took possession of the republic, and announced 
 that its independence was annulled, and that the city and territory 
 were annexed to, and for ever incorporated with, the Austrian 
 monarchy. 
 
 The day of vengeance was fast approaching ; the atmosphere 
 grew thicker and more oppressive ; the storm was gathering on the 
 horizon; and the anxious statesmen were watching for the first flash 
 which would indicate the nature of the coming struggle. It appeared 
 in the Italian quarter. For the last thirty years the power of 
 Austria in Italy had been paramount. She had listened to the cry 
 of distressed sovereigns, and hastened to their assistance, to crush 
 the efforts of the people, and maintain the existing order of things. 
 Her spies had brought to light secret conspiracies, and her troops 
 .had pounced upon the patriots before they were aware of their 
 march. Fear was, therefore, combined with hatred, and led the 
 reformers to tremble while they denounced. They changed their 
 tactics; and gradually won over the sovereigns of the states to feel 
 the yoke of Austria, and to grant concessions to the people in 
 opposition to the wishes of the protector of Italy. Charles Albert 
 of Sardinia first broke through the trammels of Austria by assuming 
 the tone of an independent sovereign; and his example was quickly 
 followed by the Duke of Tuscany, the pope, and even the King of 
 Naples. Austria beheld these signs of rebellion against her with 
 alarm ; and while the Italians were cautiously deliberating on their 
 plans, she resolved to overawe them by a decisive blow. The pope 
 
306 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 July 6 1S47 issued a decree for the organisation of a civic guard; 
 and the Austrian garrison in the citadel of Ferrara marched into the 
 town, and took possession of it. The pope protested against this 
 invasion of his territory in the strongest terms ; and throughout 
 Italy an outcry was raised against the aggression of Austria. The 
 indignation was so marked that she receded from the step she had 
 taken, and withdrew her troops to the citadel. Her influence was 
 materially damaged by this confession of her weakness; the re- 
 formers everywhere laid hold of the protest of the pope to arouse 
 the enemies of Austria; the pope refused her troops a passage 
 towards Naples; and Parma and Modena alone adhered to her 
 authority. 
 
 Thus "far up to 1848 the Italians had stolen a march upon the 
 authority of Austria, without giving her any opportunity for drawing 
 the sword, and without creating alarm in European nations. In 
 fact they had secured the friendship and support of the chief. Lord 
 Palmerston displayed great zeal for the independence of the Italian 
 states, and frequently remonstrated with Austria; and encouraged 
 the Italian princes to adopt reform as a preventative against revo- 
 lution. Lord Minto even repaired to Italy to assist the princes with 
 his counsels, and to aid them in their reforms. France adopted the 
 policy that England had displayed towards them. Everything thus 
 seemed conspiring to favour the Italians, and to shake the authority 
 of Austria. A series of events, however, occurred which convulsed 
 Europe, and threatened the dissolution of the Austrian empire ; but 
 from which Austria rose witli renewed power, and consolidated her 
 influence in all parts of her dominions. 
 
 The eventful year of 1848 opened with signs of wondrous 
 portent. The revolutionary spirit gave an electric shock, which ran 
 irom country to country, and shook every throne. Italy was already 
 throbbing with intense excitement. Paris, the cradle of strife and 
 centre of revolutionary action, assembled the democratic forces by a 
 reform banquet ; the national guard failed at the crisis ; the Orleans 
 dynasty was overthrown ; and the Red Republicans ruled in France. 
 Prussia caught the infection. Berlin rose in arms; the king 
 hesitated to use stringent measures ; and the monarchy of Frederick 
 the Great was cast down. The petty states of Germany shared the 
 madness ; chimeras of unity and brotherhood dazzled the German 
 mind. Even England was affected by the mania; Chartists held 
 gigantic meetings ; clubs were formed in Ireland ; and the day \vas 
 hailed with enthusiasm when the great Anglican and Hibernian 
 republics should rise, and be allied with the democracy of the world. 
 Austria could not withstand the surrounding contagion ; neither her 
 proud nobility, her sensual people, her colossal army, nor her 
 centuries of glory could resist the fearful stream which was whirling, 
 like a terrible malstroem, over Europe. 
 
 In every part of the empire the provincial estates had for the last 
 few years manifested a spirit of opposition towards the supreme 
 cabinet. The Lower Austrian estates had been petitioned for 
 reforms ; and on the 13th of March 1848, a band of students in the 
 
TEKDINAND I., E1IPEIIOE. 307 
 
 academical costume, accompanied by a crowd of persons, proceeded 
 to the House of Estates in Vienna with a petition. The members of 
 the estates resolved at once to forward it to the palace, and marched 
 in a body to the castle where the cabinet was sitting, followed by 
 the students and the crowd. The patience of the expectants was 
 severely tried ; meanwhile the students harangued the mob, and the 
 people thronged the streets and squares in increasing numbers. 
 The cabinet submitted the petition to the emperor, who returned 
 an answer that he would decide what was best for his subjects on 
 any matter brought before him. The people were not satisfied, and 
 moved about in vast masses in painful uncertainty. The Archduke 
 Albert drew out the soldiers in the streets, where they were insulted 
 and pressed upon by the crowd. No regular fighting, however, 
 occurred; but a few shots were iired by some exasperated soldiers, 
 and seventeen persons were killed. The approach of night increased 
 the terror of the citizens ; and armed robbers and marauders 
 paraded the suburbs. The council-chamber was besieged by the 
 university senate requesting arms for the students, who were willing 
 to shed their blood for the preservation of peace. They were 
 granted ; and soon after an outcry was raised for the resignation of 
 Prince Metternich. The veteran chancellor, who had filled his post 
 with the greatest renown for thirty-nine years, resigned his office, 
 and soon was on his way to London. The people shouted at their 
 triumph ; and witnessed with satisfation many thousand muskets 
 delivered to the students and citizens during the night. 
 
 The next day the national guard was formed amid great applause ; 
 aud when the emperor announced the abolition of the censorship of 
 the press, the crowds flocked to the statue of Joseph II., and 
 fastened a banner, inscribed " Liberty of the Press," to his hand. 
 On the 15th, a proclamation was issued by Ferdinand convoking the 
 estates of the empire on the 3rd of July to arrange a constitution 
 for Austria. The people had thus commenced a glorious revolution ; 
 they had procured arms, and a free press for their opinions, and 
 were promised a popular constitution; and they testified their 
 gratitude to the emperor, when he rode out, by unharnessing his 
 horses, and drawing his carriage through the streets in triumph. 
 There were, however, turbulent spirits who could exist only in strife, 
 and who soon deluged Vienna with pamphlets, in which suspicions 
 were insinuated against the government, and the foundations of 
 morality undermined. Several precautionary measures were adopted 
 to correct the abuse of the free press, and counter-pamphlets flew 
 through the city to destroy the influence of the seditious. The 
 new ministry was formed and announced on the 21st ; but down to 
 the end of March, confusion prevailed in all the offices of state. 
 The ministry was insufficient to cope with the difficult task it had 
 undertaken, and was held up to the ridicule of the citizens. On the 
 1st of April a law regulating the press was published; but the 
 threats of the students induced the minister of the interior, Pillers- 
 dorf, to suppress it before it came into operation; and on the 25th 
 the same minister drew up a new constitution, similar to that of 
 
 u 2 
 
308 HISTORY OF ATJSTKIA. 
 
 Belgium, which was to supersede the convocation of the estates, 
 promised by the emperor on the 15th of March. The announcement 
 of this constitution created great dissatisfaction in the capital. 
 The central committee of the national guard took instant measures 
 to overpower the ministry ; private dwellings were broken into by 
 the mob; the house of the Archbishop of Vienna was assaulted; 
 and Count Ficquelmont was insulted in the streets, and forced to 
 retire from the presidency of the council. Petitions intimidated the 
 prime minister, from whom the central committee extorted the 
 appointment of two new ministerial offices for the management of 
 public works and of trade. 
 
 The authority of the ministers was thus controlled by the dema- 
 gogues, who selected the earliest opportunity for destroying the new 
 constitution. They availed themselves of a disturbance among the 
 national guard, who rushed to the ministerial council to denounce 
 their commander. The committee came to their aid, and demanded 
 redress for them, and an alteration in the elective law. Pillersdorf 
 soothed them with promises, and satisfied the applicants ; but the 
 more violent, headed by Giskra, repaired to the minister's house at 
 night, forced an entrance into his chamber, and compelled him to 
 sign a written promise that the emperor should repeal the constitution, 
 and summon the diet, which should consist of one chamber. "Without 
 consulting his colleagues, the minister hastened to the emperor ; 
 who on the 16th of May issued a proclamation granting the conces- 
 sions to the people. The next day Ferdinand, accompanied by his 
 empress and the members of his family, secretly quitted the palace, 
 and fled to Innspruck. The ministers were unacquainted with his 
 departure ; and announced their astonishment in an official communi- 
 tion to the inhabitants of Vienna. Messengers were dispatched to 
 recall the royal fugitives ; but they refused to return to a capital 
 which was swayed by the clubs, and the mob. The attempt on the 
 part of the temporary ministry to dissolve the academic legion caused 
 an insurrection on the 25th ; the streets were barricaded ; but no 
 fighting took place ; for the ministers yielded to the demands of the 
 rioters, and gave up their designs. A committee of citizens, 
 national guards, and students was formed for the preservation of" 
 peace and order ; which was legalised by the prime minister, and 
 henceforth usurped the authority of the government. 
 
 "\Vhile the election for the coming diet was taking place, Vienna 
 was agitated by the question, whether the emperor would come and 
 open the assembly in person or by a representative. The national 
 guard demanded and received from the imperial arsenal six complete 
 batteries, and made vigorous efforts to defend the freedom they had 
 won. The emperor appointed his uncle the Archduke John as his 
 representative, and authorised him to open the diet and transact the 
 business of the government until he came to Vienna. John was 
 also chosen Vicar of Germany June 29, and set out for Frankfort on 
 the 8th of July ; and after nine days he returned to Vienna. During- 
 ins absence the administration of Pillersdorf was broken up ; and on 
 the recommendation of the city committee, Doblhoff was charged 
 
FERDINAND I., EMPEROK. 309 
 
 by the archduke with the construction of a new ministry. The 
 opening of the grand diet did not take place till the 22nd of July ; 
 but leaving the disputes of that assembly, we will turn to the 
 progress ol the revolution in Bohemia and Hungary. 
 
 The Czechs, or aboriginal Bohemians, had long cherished the hope 
 of transforming Austria into a Sclavonic empire, where they would 
 domineer over the alien races. A club was formed in Prague called 
 the Wenzelbad, from the hotel where they met, for the purpose of 
 promoting the Bohemian language and literature. It now drew out 
 a petition demanding a popular government resident at Prague, and 
 many reforms ; which was carried to Vienna March 20, when the 
 emperor returned an evasive answer The ciu. ns of Prague were 
 dissatisfied; the students imitated the example of those at Vienna; 
 a second deputation hurried to the palace on the 29th ; and on the 
 8th of April the timid ministry granted the constitution demanded, 
 abolished the time-honoured estates in Bohemia, appointed Count 
 Thun governing president, and the Archduke Francis Joseph the 
 lieutenant of Bohemia, an office, however, which he never filled. 
 The Bohemian national assembly commenced its sittings under Thun ; 
 and one of the first acts Avas to appeal to the Sclavonian brethren in. 
 the empire to meet in the ancient city of Prague to consult respect- 
 ing the rights of their race, and to withstand the preponderating 
 influence of the German party at Frankfort. Three hundred 
 deputies responded to the appeal. Prague became the scene of dis- 
 order ; the streets were crowded by Jews and mobs ; and Thuu was 
 charged with favouring the German race. He defended himself with 
 great ability, and established a provincial government for Bohemia, 
 consisting of thirteen members, of which only two were Germans. 
 The Sclavouian congress was opened June 2 with great pomp ; but 
 its sittings were speedily brought to a termination. Prince 
 Windischgratz, who commanded the troops, had taken several 
 precautionary measures against a tumult, which the people discovered. 
 The Wenzelbad petitioned for his removal from the command; the 
 cotton printers held gigantic meetings ; the prince was peremptorily 
 commanded to remove his troops, and a battery which threatened the 
 city. He refused ; his wife was shot at his side by a ball intended 
 for him ; and the signal was given for a bloody combat. The Ger- 
 mans united with the military, and the insurrection raged with fury 
 for five days ; but at length the city surrendered to the prince, after 
 he had bombarded it, and laid much of it in ruins. The Sclavoniau 
 congress was dispersed; the diet was suspended; Prague \vas 
 tranquilised, and remained steadfast to the emperor. 
 
 In Hungary the diet was divided into two parties, the conserva- 
 tive, and those who were anxious to reform their institutions. On 
 the loth of March, a deputation of Hungarian nobles, with the 
 Palatine Archduke Stephen, at their head, presented a petition to 
 Ferdinand in Vienna. The emperor assented to their requests ; and 
 on the llth of April repaired to Presburg to confirm the decrees of 
 the diet. The Aulic chancery was abolished ; a responsible ministry, 
 with Count Louis Batthyany as president and Kossuth finance 
 
810 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 minister, was instituted A perfect equality of civil rights and 
 public burdens among all classes, denominations, and races in Hun- 
 gary, Transylvania, Sclavonia, and Croatia was established ; and 
 religious toleration was granted to all parties except in Croatia. 
 The censorship of the press was abolished ; a national guard formed, 
 and the elective franchise extended. The right of the nobles to 
 exact labour or produce from lands held by the peasantry was given 
 up, on receiving a slight compensation ; and 500,000 peasants were 
 thus invested with the absolute possession of land. Hungary and 
 Transylvania were united, and their diets incorporated. 
 
 The Hungarians hailed these decrees with transports of joy; but 
 the Austrian party determined to foster discontent against the new 
 constitution. The animosity which prevailed among the various 
 races, especially against the Magyar, was stimulated by them. A 
 disaffected party was formed in Croatia, by whose intrigues Jcllachich 
 was appointed Ban of the province, without the consent of the 
 Hungarian government; but the new ministry overlooked the 
 breach of faith, and acquiesced in the appointment. By the 
 i:itrigues of Austria, the Croats, Servians, and AVallaclis were 
 induced to rebel against the Hungarian authority. Jellachich 
 openly organised a revolt, and defended his position by pleading the 
 royal sanction. The emperor summoned him to Innspruck, and 
 published a decree which declared him a rebel, and exhorted the 
 diet to raise an army against him ; and Jellachich continued to urge 
 on the insurrectionists to commit the most horrible devastations on 
 the \infortunate Hungarians. The new national assembly of 
 Hungary was opened at Pesth on the 5th of July by the Palatine, 
 Avho in his opening address condemned the insurrection, and 
 disavowed the acts of Jellachich, and the diet, reposing all 
 confidence in the king, sent a deputation to entreat Ferdinand to 
 repair to Pesth; but he prudently declined. The ravages committed 
 by the Croats increased, and the people were clamorous for arms; 
 but the ministry and the diet adhered to their legal course. Again 
 they besought the king to aid them; and he requested them to send 
 the two chief ministers to Vienna, to concert measures with the 
 Austrian ministry and Jellachich. The Austrian cabinet designed to 
 subvert the constitution of Hungary, and bent all its efforts to 
 secure it. On the 2nd of September La! oar the war-minister 
 assured the diet that he had no connection with Jellachich; yet two 
 days after, the emperor recalled the decree which suspended the Ban 
 from his dignities, when he was encamped on the frontiers of 
 Hungary with a larg'? army. 
 
 Jellachich crossed the Drave with 65,000 men, and continued his 
 course, marked by plunder and devastation, to lake Balaton. The 
 archduke, as superior captain of the Hungarian forces, proceeded 
 towards the rebel; but after inspecting lus troops, he fled to 
 Vienna, and resigned his office. Jellachich advanced with rapid 
 strides, and showed the king's commission ; Batthyany resigned ; and 
 the diet appointed a committee fur national defence. The intrigues 
 of the emperor with Jcllachich were made known by an intercepted 
 
FERDINAND I., EAfPEllOB. 311 
 
 dispatch from the Ban, in which he thanked Latour for the supplies 
 of money and materiel he had sent him. The Hungarian diet 
 printed the document to show the treachery of Austria, and aroused 
 the spirit of the people by circulating it throughout the country. 
 Jellachich with his Croats and several Austrian regiments moved 
 towards Pesth, where the Hungarians seemed quite unprepared to 
 resist him. Ferdinand carried on his apparent affection for his 
 subjects, and appointed Count Francis Lamberg to the command of 
 the Hungarian troops ; but the diet refused to sanction his appoint- 
 ment, and declared him a traitor if he obeyed. While the unfortunate 
 count was passing the bridge towards Buda he was brutally 
 murdered by the infuriated mob. The nation, roused by the 
 eloquence of Kossuth, flocked to Pesth ; Jellachich was defeated on 
 the 29th of September within twelve miles from the city ; and in 
 his flight, his rearguard 10,000 strong, with generals Philipowitch 
 and Roth, surrendered. The emperor now openly declared against 
 the Hungarians. He annulled the decrees of the diet, suspended 
 the civil authorities, and appointed Jellachich, who had retreated to 
 Raab, commander in chief of all the troops in Hungary. Kossuth 
 was called by the nation to the head of the committee of defence, 
 and exerted his powerful talents in providing means for the safety of 
 his country. 
 
 In the Lombar do -Venetian kingdom discontent had long been 
 secretly working against Austria. The Italians could not endure 
 the sight of the foreigners filling the chief offices, for which they 
 were unfitted ; they trembled at the secret police, who invaded their 
 most sacred retreats ; and denounced the conscription for the 
 Austrian army as unjust and tyrannical. The events which had 
 taken place in the other Italian states in 1847 increased the disaffec- 
 tion of the people, and instigated them to adopt the same legal mode 
 of redressing their grievances. The Lombards determined to deprive 
 the government of part of its resources by pledging themselves to 
 abstain from tobacco, snuff, and the lottery ; and they even stopped 
 those persons found smoking in the streets, and requested them to 
 desist. The Austrian soldiers in consequence smoked more fre- 
 quently to show at once their loyalty and their contempt of the 
 Italians. This occasioned many quarrels between the populace and 
 the military, which the soldiers patiently endured till the 3rd of 
 January 1848, when they fell upon the crowd, killed eight persons, 
 and wounded fifty. The government was haughty and overbearing 
 in its conduct. It refused to admit a Lombard deputation, revoked 
 its promises of redress, arrested men of rank and wealth, banished 
 innocent persons from the country, and increased the license of the 
 soldiers by the proclamation of martial law. 
 
 The revolution which had swept over Europe reached the Italian 
 peninsula. On the 18th of March the news was spread through the 
 city of Milan that Vienna was virtually without a government, and 
 the. Austrian bond of union snapped asunder. The city authorities, 
 headed by the mayor and the archbishop, repaired to the govern- 
 ment, and presented a petition praying for a municipal magistracy, 
 
312 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 the election of deputies, the establishment of a civic guard, and the 
 repeal of obnoxious laws. The government refused to yield; and 
 the palace was instantly assailed, the guard disarmed, the governor 
 captured, and the tricolour flag planted where the national ensign 
 floated. Some Croats fired on the people, and shot six; and the 
 tumult Ixvame furious. The town-hall was filled with citizens, who 
 were enrolling the civic guard; and Radetzky ordered a troop of 
 Hungarians to charge the assembly. The doors were barred, but 
 were soon forced open with cannon, and the citizens captured. 
 Meanwhile barricades were rising among the narrow streets, which 
 were so strongly erected that the soldiers were unable to take them. 
 The troops obtained possession of the broadest streets, the palace, 
 cathedral, and the gates, and for five days defended them against the 
 attacks of the populace ; but on the 23rd the insurgents seized one 
 of the gates, and opened a communication with their friends outside. 
 The whole country was rising ; the king of Sardinia had crossed the 
 frontier with a powerful army ; and Radetzky saw that he could no 
 longer hold Milan. He determined to retreat to Verona. He skil- 
 fully drew off his artillery and prisoners, and hurried the disaffected 
 Italian soldiers along with him at the point of the bayonet. His 
 march was extremely difficult; the peasantry of Lombardy rose, 
 seized the Austrian muskets, and harassed his retreat. They came 
 up with his vanguard at Marignano, captured Count Wratislaw the 
 commanding officer, and summoned the entire corps to surrender. 
 The main army of Radetzky appeared ; the slender barricades were 
 blown up with cannon, and the peasants scattered. They returned 
 to the conflict with resolute valour; they impeded his march by 
 breaking down bridges, cutting off scouts, and surprising small 
 detachments ; their unerring rifles picked off the artillerymen and 
 officers ; and they ceased not to press upon the army till the arrival 
 of the King of Sardinia relieved them from their efforts. Radetzky 
 lost 5,000 men, while the loss of the Milanese is computed at 
 only 329. 
 
 The news of the revolution in Vienna produced an insurrection in 
 Venice, simultaneously with that in Milan. On the 17th of March 
 the people clamoured for the release of Manin an advocate, and 
 Tommascs a literary man, who had been imprisoned for advocating 
 the freedom of the press. The doors of the prison were forced open, 
 and the leaders carried forth in triumph, amid the shouts of the 
 people, in which the Italian soldiers heartily joined. The next day 
 the crowds met in St. Mark's place, and were fired upon by the 
 Austrian soldiers, who killed five and wounded the same number. 
 The people fled, and were maddened to revenge ; and the governor, 
 fearing a bloody catastrophe, virtually resigned his authority by 
 consenting to the establishment of a civic guard. The city was 
 tranquil for a few days, while a conspiracy to usurp the government 
 was being matured. Reports were circulated that the Austrian 
 governor of the arsenal, Olonel Marinovitch, designed to blow up 
 the city, and destroy the insurgents ; and a plan was formed to 
 obtain possession of the arsenal, f.he key of Venice, by introducing 
 
FERDINAND I., EMPEEOB,. 313 
 
 the civic guard. The governor was detested by the workmen, who, 
 when aware of the intentions of the people, murdered him, and 
 introduced the guards on the 22nd. Major Bodai ordered a party of 
 marines to resist them ; but they rebelled against him, murdered him. 
 and declared for the republic of Venice. Count Palfy resigned his 
 authority to the military commander Zichy, who immediately delivered 
 up to the municipal authorities the city and its fortresses, 30,000 
 muskets, and the military chest containing more than a million 
 pounds sterling. The Italian soldiers remained in Venice, but the 
 foreigners were transported by sea to Trieste. The ancient republic 
 was revived ; the time-worn standard again floated on the towers ; 
 and a provincial government was established with Manin president, 
 and Tommasso chief counsellor. The Austrian fleet at Pola, how- 
 ever, escaped from the hands of the Venetians. The Italian seamen 
 were unanimously in favour of the republic, and lowered the Austrian 
 flag on many vessels; and the provincial government sent dispatches 
 ordering the fleet at Pola to sail to Venice. They were entrusted to 
 the captain of a steamer which was to convey the ex-governor, and 
 other Austrian officers to Trieste with orders to touch at Pola first. 
 His passengers, however, compelled him to sail to Trieste at on ce, 
 where his dispatches fell into the hands of the Austrians ; who took 
 instant measures at Pola, by means of land batteries, to prevent the 
 sailing of the fleet, and the mutiny of the seamen. Twenty-two officers 
 however, managed to escape, and reached Venice on the 13th of April. 
 
 The fortresses of Verona, Mantua, and Peschiera alone remained 
 to the Austrians. The Dukes of Parma and Modena fled from their 
 dominions ; and Milan became the centre rallying-point for the 
 insurgent troops. The King of Sardinia pressed towards the capital; 
 advanced to within a short distance of Radetzky's army, and per- 
 mitted the marshal to take up a strong position nnder the walls of 
 Verona. The inactivity of Charles Albert enabled Radetzky to 
 procure reinforcements. General Welden with 10,000 men was 
 hastening by forced marches from the Tyrol, and General Nugent 
 with 30,000 men from the IViuli. Very slight efforts were made to 
 check the advance of the troops ; and for five weeks the engagements 
 were confined to daily struggles between the advanced outposts of 
 each army. Instead of attacking the reinforcements in detail, and 
 preventing their junction, the king delayed till the advancing generals 
 had re-conquered the Venetian territory, except the capital. On the 
 6th of May Charles Albert stormed the intrenched camp of Radetzky 
 and was defeated with the loss of 1,500 men ; and he then turned 
 to besiege Peschiera, which surrendered to him on the 30th, and 
 advanced northwards to the shores of Lake Garda. Nugent mean- 
 while had united with Radetzky ; and the brave marshal suddenly 
 issued from Verona, and surprised General Durando at the head of 
 the Roman contingent in Vicenza, who capitulated June 10th, and 
 agreed not to take up arms against Austria for three months. On 
 the same day Charles Albert signed the act incorporating Lombardy 
 with tlic kingdom of Sardinia. - 
 
 The king suddenly turned against Verona in the hope that the 
 
314 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 Austrians were engaged at Vicenza ; but Radetzky had returned, 
 and the Piedmontese were obliged to retire to their lines. The army 
 now numbering 65,000 men occupied a line extending from Mantua 
 to Rivoli ; and the chief force was drawn towards Mantua for the 
 purpose of investing that city. Radetzky made his dispositions 
 with great skill ; and while he excited the sanguine hopes of the 
 king by feigned marches, and a slight victory which General Bava 
 was permitted to gain over the Austrians at Governolo, he secretly 
 crossed the Upper Adige, drove back the Piedmontese, and 
 occupied La Crona on the 22nd of July. The next day the Austrians 
 burst through the line of Rivoli, while another army of 25,000 men 
 attacked the lines of Somma Campagna, where, after a gallant resist- 
 ance on the part of the defenders, they firmly established themselves. 
 Charles Albert was filled with consternation at the rapid successes of 
 the Austrians, and with 30,000 men he advanced to storm the heights 
 near Somma Compagna. The battle commenced on the 26th of 
 July, and lasted twelve hours. The courage of the cdmbatants rose 
 to the highest enthusiasm; the Sardinian battalions rushed to the 
 charge with the greatest impetuosity, and their superior numbers 
 enabled them to maintain the struggle, and perhaps would have 
 secured to them the victory, but for the arrival of Radetzky with 
 20,000 fresh troops from Verona, whose presence animated the 
 soldiers, and gained a splendid triumph. The king retreated to 
 Milan, which he entered on the 3rd of August. The excitement in 
 the city was very profound ; the citizens reared enormous barricades 
 and swore to die behind them ; and Charles Albert promised to risk 
 another battle before the walls of Milan. He, however, secretly 
 entered into a capitulation with Radetzky, which by some means was 
 made known to the inhabitants. Their indignation was unbounded ; 
 the cry of vengeance rose from the infuriated populace ; and it was 
 with great difficulty the king could make his escape and flee to Turin. 
 The Austrians entered Milan without resistance, and Radetzky 
 congratulated his troops on the successful issue of the campaign. 
 " You have marched from victory to victory, and in the short space 
 of a fortnight, advanced victoriously from the Adige to the Ticino. 
 The imperial flag waves again from the walls of Milan, and no 
 enemy any longer treads the Lombardini territory." An armistice 
 was granted to Charles Albert on the 9th of August, which was not 
 broken till the following March. 
 
 The imperial diet at Vienna was incapable of grappling with the 
 difficult task imposed upon it. The electors had returned such deputies 
 as were remarkable neither for intelligence nor courage ; and it is 
 not to be wondered at that their deliberations were directed not so 
 much to the new constitution, as to their own importance and power. 
 The city was in a fearful condition; trade was at a stand-still ; wages 
 were extremely low ; and the sufferings of the people were dreadful. 
 Conflicts were frequent between the soldiers and the mob; which 
 were but partially allayed by government providing public work for 
 the people. The dissolution of the committee of public ont'etv gave 
 great satisfaction to tlic friends of anarchy, which broke out in a 
 
TERDINAND I., EMTEROR. 315 
 
 violent disturbance on the night of the 14th of September. The war 
 office was surrounded by armed bodies of the national guard and 
 academic legion, wearing on their hats a printed bill stating, that 
 " The restoration of the committee of public safety could alone save 
 the threatened liberties of the free-minded citizens of Vienna." 
 The vigorous movements of the military, however, dispersed the 
 crowds, and restored tranquillity to the capital. 
 
 The discontent of the revolutionists reached its climax on the 6th 
 of October. When the emperor, who had returned to his palace at 
 Schoubrunn, issued the proclamation appointing Jellachich com- 
 mander in-chief, he ordered several regiments stationed at Vienna to 
 join the Ban. Among them was the Kichtu battalion of grenadiers, 
 who were unwilling to march on such service, and communicated 
 their dissatisfaction to the division of the national guards and 
 academic legion stationed near their barracks, who resolved to 
 prevent their departure. On the night of the 5th of October, a 
 deputation waited on Count Latour, the war minister, to demand 
 the recall of the order; and on his refusal to comply, instant 
 measures were taken to prevent the march of the troops. The 
 railway was broken up, and a strong barricade erected on the Tabor 
 bridge, across which the troops had to pass. The grenadiers went 
 over to the guards behind the barricade. Troops of cavalry and 
 infantry were brought put to enforce their submission; and 
 artillery was planted against the barricade. The troops, however, 
 were defeated with great loss ; and the insm'gcnts marched into the 
 city, where barricades were rapidly rising. The greatest confusion 
 prevailed among the officials ; the imperial troops were hurled back 
 by the impetuosity of the rioters ; who, infuriated by the bloody 
 conflict, rushed towards the war office. The gates were forced open; 
 the building was entered; and the cry resounded through the rooms, 
 " Latour must be hung." They searched and plundered the apart- 
 ments, dragged the old man from his hiding-place, and led him into 
 the streets ; where he was insulted, brutally wounded in forty -three 
 places, hung up as a target for rifle shots, and horribly mutilated. 
 The faithful troops retreated to the arsenal, followed by the 
 insurgents. The firing on both sides, was fearf. iy destructive, and 
 the building was in flames during the night ; \ ,;t the brave troops 
 refused to yield the stronghold till summonc.L to do so by their 
 commander, Count Auersperg, who had stipulated for their surrender. 
 The national guard and academic legion took possession of the 
 arsenal ; but the mob burst into it, and carried away 200,000 new 
 muskets, and the military trophies and relics which had been stored 
 up for centuries. 
 
 The diet now usurped the authority of the government. It. 
 declared its sittings permanent, and elected a committee of safety. 
 A deputation from it waited on the emperor, and demanded a new 
 and popular cabinet, the dismissal of Jellachich, the revocation of the 
 edict against the Hungarians, and an amnesty for the rioters of that 
 day. The emperor returned an evasive answer, and early in the 
 morning of the 7th of October quitted lu's palace with his family for 
 
316 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Olmiitz, leaving a sealed proclamation, with instructions to his 
 minister Kraus to read it the next morning. In it he stated that he 
 had done all he could ; he had given up his unlimited authority, been 
 forced to quit his palace, and had again thrown himself on their 
 confidence; but still they were dissatisfied ; the capital was stained 
 with blood ; and he now left it to find means to aid his oppressed 
 people. The diet assumed the executive power, and acted in the 
 emperor's name. Deputations were sent to Ferdinand to request 
 him to come back, or to abdicate the throne ; messages were sent to 
 Coufffr Auersperg, w * 10 was stationed outside the walls, to come in, 
 and also t\Jellachich to retire from Ebersdorf with his Croats ; but 
 both refusecN;o obey the instructions of the diet. The Hungarians 
 who were on the frontiers of Austria, promised their assistance if 
 requested ; but the diet trembled to give its sanction to such a 
 decisive step. 
 
 Meanwhile the emperor was concerting measures to gather a large 
 force, put down the insurgents, and save the capital from the 
 perilous situation into which it had been brought by the weakness, 
 indecision, and duplicity of the Austrian cabinet. He sent forth 
 proclamations declaring war against the rebels, and appointed Prince 
 Windischgriitz commander-in-chief of all the forces, except Radetzky's 
 in Italy, with unlimited power. On the 23rd of October the prince 
 appeared before Vienna with an army of 100,000 men. and ] 40 guns, 
 and summoned the city to surrender within forty-eight hours. The 
 insurgents had made vigorous preparations for the defence. Fortifi- 
 cations were reared and mounted with cannon ; the national guard 
 was commanded by Messenhauscr, an Austrian officer, and the 
 mobile guard by General Bern, a distinguished Polish military man. 
 The time expired ; the prince directed his march towards the city, 
 and after a hard day's fighting, captured the exterior lines of the 
 Leopoldstadt faubourg. The next day was spent in negotiation, and 
 being fruitless, the attack commenced on the 28th, when the city 
 was set on fire in many places. On the following morning a deputa- 
 tion waited on the prince with proposals to surrender; but he 
 refused to abate his demand for disarming the students and work- 
 people, though he consented to suspend hostilities for twelve hours 
 to allow the Viennese an opportunity of deliberating. A council was 
 called ; the desperate condition of the besieged was declared ; and a 
 large majority decided that the defence should cease. This was 
 announced to Windischgratz ; and the disarming of the workmen 
 had actually commenced, when the sound of a brisk cannonade 
 arrested the attention of the city, which was thrown into a state of 
 rejoicing by the intelligence of the long expected approach of the 
 Hungarians. The citizens were again summoned to arms ; and the 
 besiegers renewed the bombardment of the town. 
 
 The Hungarians had long hovered near the frontiers in the expec- 
 tation of being summoned to assist the city. Kossuth joined the 
 army on the 28th, and hearing the distressed state of Vienna, he 
 resolved to advance to its relief. He defeated several scattered 
 detachments of imperialists, and pushed on towards Vienna. 
 
FERDINAND I., EMPEROK. 317 
 
 Aiiersperg and JellacMch had united, and taken up a strong position 
 planted with sixty cannon, which the Hungarians must have passed ; 
 while ten regiments of cavalry were sent to cut off their rear. 
 Gorgei, who was in an inferior rank, pointed out to Kossuth their 
 great clanger; and an instant retreat from the long defile was 
 sounded. The Austrians attacked the fugitives, and drove them 
 into Hungary, and thus disappointed the hopes of the Viennese. 
 
 After the bombardment of the 30th the city again surrendered. 
 The deputation to Windischgratz declared that the greater part of 
 the citizens would surrender unconditionally, but that the more 
 violent party threatened to set the city on fire rather than^ yield. 
 The prince ordered large bodies of troops to enter the faubourgs 
 whose unreserved surrender was indicated by white flags ; but the 
 troops had scarcely made their appearance before their ranks were 
 thinned bv a murderous fire of grape and musketry. This treachery 
 aroused the spirit of the prince ; he ordered the inner city to be 
 bombarded, and three gates to be stormed simultaneously. Flames 
 speedily rose from the imperial library, two churches, and the public 
 buildings ; the troops commenced a deadly contest in the streets ; 
 and before midnight the greater part of ths city was conquered. 
 The conflict raged the next day, and the night had nearly passed 
 before the resistance of the rebels ceased. Windischgratz declared 
 that in consequence of the breach of capitulation, the conditions he 
 had at first agreed to were null and void ; that Vienna \ras in a state 
 of siege ; the academic legion dissolved for ever, and the national 
 guard for an indefinite time ; all newspapers and political associa- 
 tions were suspended, and domiciliary visits to be made for the 
 discovery of concealed arms, &c. Vienna sustained great loss 
 during the bombardment; the lire in the library was fortunately 
 extinguished with little damage; one fine church was nearly de- 
 stroyed ; and property to the amount of one million and a quarter 
 sterling wasted. General Bern fled to Hungary in disguise ; 
 Mcssenhauser and a few distinguished agitators were shot; but 
 many escaped by flight before the city was captured. 
 
 After the subjugation of Vienna, the government conciliated the 
 people, with the exception of the Hungarians, who were warned of 
 the impending fate which the intrigues of Kossuth would bring 
 upon them. A new ministry was formed, of which Prince Felix 
 Schwartzenberg was premier and minister for foreign affairs, and 
 Count Francis Stadion, minister oi the interior. Their principles 
 were unfolded in the premier's speech to the diet November 27, 
 which stated their determination to consolidate the freedom won by 
 the revolution of March, not to attempt the revival of the old 
 bureaucracy, which had swayed omnipotent power over the provinces 
 from one central office, but to develop a system of government in 
 accordance with the spirit and exigencies of the times ; which was 
 to be effected by popular representation of the people, by free 
 communes, and unshackled executive authority. "We desire that 
 form of government whose existence and secure character can be 
 recognised by the monarch, and the representative body of Austria." 
 
318 HISTOIIY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 The emperor Ferdinand had, however, become weary of his 
 dignities, and dissatisfied with the instability of his subjects; and 
 the feeling of incapacity to hold the reins of government under a 
 new order of things induced him to abdicate the throne on the 2nd 
 <:f December, 1S18. His next brother and legal heir Francis Charles, 
 likewise renounced the succession; and Francis Joseph, the sou of 
 the renouncing archduke, was proclaimed emperor by the title of 
 Francis Joseph I. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 FKANCIS JOSEPH I. A.D. 1S4S-1S59. 
 
 FRAXCIS JOSEPH was in his nineteenth year when the abdication 
 of the crown by his uncle, and its renunciation by his father called 
 him to the throne. The position he occupied was one of great peril 
 ;uid demanded the wisdom of long experience to be blend ::d with the 
 enlightenment of the present age, to guide the affairs of an empire 
 which was still throbbing with the cil'ects of revolution. The late 
 emneror had greatly embarrassed himself by oaths which had been 
 violated, and promises which had never been fulfilled; but the new 
 emperor received his dignity without a single shackle, and had a fine 
 opportunity of making such concessions to his people as would have 
 conciliated them, and secured their gratitude. His first proclama- 
 tion announced his resolution to preserve the liberties of his subjects. 
 " We are convinced of the necessity and value of free institutions, 
 and enter with confidence on the path of a prosperous reformation 
 of the monarchy. On the basis of true liberty, on the basis of the 
 equality of rights of all our people, and the equality of all citizens 
 before the law, and on the basis of their equally partaking in the 
 representation and legislation, the country will rise to its ancient 
 grandeur; it will acquire new strength to resist the storms of time; 
 it will be a hall to shelter the tribes of many tongues, under the 
 sceptre of our fathers." The Hungarian diet issued a declaration 
 that they could not acknowledge Francis Joseph king of Hungary, 
 because, according to their constitutional law, no one could be elected 
 to the throne while the former king lived, without the consent of the 
 diet, and because no king could be recognised until he had taken the 
 oath to the constitution, and been crowned. The triumph of the 
 imperial arms over the insurgents at Vienna, and the Hungarians 
 who advanced to their succour, determined the emperor to undertake 
 the conquest of Hungary, annihilate the laws on which this 
 declaration was based, and incorporate it with the empire. 
 
 On the 15th of December 1848 Prince "VVindischgratz commenced 
 the invasion of Hungary. The main army, in three divisions under 
 Jellachich, Simonich and Serbclloni, advanced from Austria ; general 
 
JOSEPH I. 319 
 
 Sclilick from Gallicia ; Dahlen from Illyria; and a powerful force 
 from Transylvania. To oppose this overwhelming invasion, the Hun- 
 garians could bring scarcely 50,000 armed men into the field. The 
 Hungarian army had been hitherto supplied by the government from 
 the arsenal at Vienna; and consequently the supply of arms and 
 ammunition was now very scanty. The indefatigable exertions of 
 Kossuth, president of the committee of defence, remedied the defi- 
 ciency. Powder-mills and factories were established, the church 
 bells melted down, and exchequer notes, chargeable on the crown 
 lands, circulated throughout the country. The imperialists were 
 victorious in their early efforts. The main army advanced rapidly 
 from the frontiers of Austria, captured Oedenburg, Tyrnau and Pres- 
 burg, and drove Gorgei from the strong iutrenchments he had formed 
 at Raab. Jellachich attacked the Hungarians under Perezel at Mor, 
 and after a bloody engagement completely routed them. Gorgei 
 crossed the Danube and entered Pesth January 3 1849. 
 
 The successes of the Austrians filled the Hungarian government 
 with dismay. Already discord and disunion had appeared among the 
 rulers. Gorgei, aware of the feeble force at his command, had urged 
 the civil authorities to remove the seat of government from Pesth to 
 the great central plain bounded by the Teiss, the Maros, and the 
 Transylvanian mountains, as being vastly superior for defence, and 
 for raising and supplying an army. Kossuth rejected his proposal 
 as calculated to damp the ardour of the nation; and between the 
 two leaders there sprang up a bitter hostility which ultimately 
 ruined their country. The diet sent a deputation with Bathyany at 
 its head, to TVindischgratz, in the hope of gaining favourable terms 
 of peace ; but the ex-minister was seized and imprisoned. The 
 government hastily left Pesth for Debreczin, taking with them the 
 venerated crown of St. Stephen, and all the public funds ; and 
 ordered Gorgei to risk a battle before the city, which he was to pre- 
 serve at all hazards, and to secure also a retreat beyond the Danube. 
 A council of war, however, countermanded the order, and instructed 
 Gorgei to march along the left bank of the Danube to draw off the 
 Austrians from Debreczin. Two days after the flight of the govern- 
 ment, Windischgratz entered the Hungarian capital without firing a 
 single shot. 
 
 Gorgei published at Waitzen a declaration stating that the ai'my 
 fought for its king Ferdinand V., and the laws of 1848 ; and 
 advancing with rapid inarches, he came up with a body of Austrians 
 at Schemnitz, from whom he received a severe defeat, January 21. 
 He continued his march towards the Carpathian mountains, and 
 maintained himself with great bravery amid the frozen heights in 
 the county of Zips. His situation, however, was daily becoming 
 extremely perilous, for the Austrians were hemming him in on all 
 sides. His general Guyon carried off the gold and silver stores from 
 the mining districts, and the gunpowder from Neusolil, and hastened 
 after him. On his advance, Guyon was opposed by a division of 
 Schlick's army, which had seized the rugged pass of the Branyiszko, 
 the only road by which the troops of Gorgei could form a junction 
 
320 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 with the army of the Teiss. The Austrians had occupied every point 
 with cannon, which swept every bend of the road. Guyon ordered 
 his men to advance ; and in the dead of the night, they climbed up 
 the steep footpaths, known only to natives, and silently dragged 
 their artillery after them. A single gun announced their arrival at 
 the top, and was the signal for the attack from the valley below. 
 The Austrians gradually relinquished their posts, and fled, after 
 losing one-third of their number, and nearly all their artillery. The 
 road was now open ; the army of Gorgei passed through the defile, 
 and reached Eperics February 6, and opened his communication with 
 the government at Debreczin. 
 
 Meanwhile "Windischgratz advanced towards the Teiss, and 
 stationed a corps under Ottinger at Szoluok ; which by the negligence 
 of the commander was surprised by the Hungarians, and the greater 
 portion cut down or made prisoners. On the advance of a large 
 reinforcement, the Hungarians declined a battle, and retired beyond 
 the Teiss. General Sclilick successfully engaged the Hungarians 
 under Meszaros on the heights of Pareza, but was defeated by 
 Klapka, who had succeeded to the command, and was driven back 
 from the neighbourhood of Tokay to Eperics, whence on the advance 
 of Gorgei, he hastily fled to Kaschau. Klapka followed his foe, and 
 attempted to surround him in the mountain passes ; but Schlick led 
 his troops by narrow paths over frozen tracts, and by a series of bold 
 and rapid movements, ultimately joined the main Austrian army, 
 after losing three-fourths of his men. 
 
 On the Teiss, Perczel was superseded by General Dembinski, a 
 Pole who had highly distinguished himself in the Polish war of 1831. 
 A battle was fought at Kapolna on the 26th of February, in which 
 the Austrians were victorious ; but as the Hungarians were retiring, 
 the Austrian cavalry came up with them at Maklar on the 2Sth, and 
 were driven back with heavy loss. Dembinski continued his retreat, 
 followed by the Austrians, and on the 2nd of March crossed the 
 Teiss at Tisza-Fiired. The next day the officers expressed their 
 want of confidence in Dembinski, and demanded a new commander. 
 Gorgei was appointed by the commissary of the government; but 
 the Pole refused to submit, and was, therefore, arrested by Gorgei. 
 At this juncture Kossuth, with general Vetter and Meszaros war- 
 minister, arrived ; and an investigation of the affair took place, which 
 resulted in the removal of Dembinski, and the appointment of 
 Vetter Commander-in-chief and of Gorgei second in command. 
 
 Operations were now commenced against the Austrians with great 
 energy. "While a strong force was stationed at Tisza-Fiired, Gorgei 
 recrosscd the Teiss, and Vetter advanced against Szolnok. The 
 Austrians had neglected to secure this important place, and were 
 driven from it with the loss of 500 men, and all the materiel of war. 
 Gorgji came up with the enemy at Erlau, and in a brilliant engage- 
 ment he forced the Austrians to flee, and rapidly pursued them. 
 The imperial rearguard vainly attempted to turn the pursuit ; they 
 were defeated and almost annihilated by the victorious Hungarians ; 
 and the army continued its flight beyond Hatvan till it reached 
 
FRANCIS JOSEPH I. 821 
 
 Godollo, the nearest outpost to Pesth. The Austrian right wing 
 commanded by Jellachich was posted at Tapiobicze, and Klapka, 
 who led Vetta's army, resolved to attack him. He crossed the Tapio 
 with his whole army April 4, and fell into an ambush prepared for 
 him by Jellachich. His corps were thrown into the greatest confu- 
 sion, and would have been cut down, but for the timely arrival of 
 Damjanic, who rushed on the Austrians, turned the tide of the battle, 
 and forced the enemy to retire. Klapka pushed on towards Godollo, 
 and came up with Jellachich near Isaszeg, where he occupied a posi- 
 tion which was deemed impregnable, and was defended by 120 guns. 
 The onsets of the Hungarians, and the masterly dispositions of the 
 general prevailed ; and after a bloody conflict, the position was taken. 
 The next day April 6, Gorgei encountered the Austrians at Godollo. 
 The battle was decisive; the Austrians retreated towards Pesth, 
 leaving 3,000 prisoners, twenty-six cannon, seven standards, and 
 thirty-eight wagons of ammunition in the hands of the Hungarians. 
 Windischgratz was recalled, and Field-Marshal Welden appointed in 
 his place. 
 
 The Hungarians were meanwhile victorious in Transylvania. 
 General Bern retreated before the superior force of Puchner till he 
 had organised some of the' wild tribes, and collected an army of 
 20,000 men. He attacked General Gideon, and drove him into the 
 Bukowina. Liiders, the Russian commander in Wallachia, sent, by 
 request of Puchner, 6,000 troops to Hermanstadt, and 4,000 to 
 Kronstadt. When Puchner had retired from the former town, 
 Bern rapidly advanced against it, defeated an Austrian corps in his 
 passage, and drove the Russians from the town. He then turned to 
 Kronstadt, and received the capitulation of the town; and soon 
 made himself master of Transylvania, with the exception of the 
 garrison of Clausenberg, and a few mountainous districts. 
 
 After the victory of Godollo, the Hungarian forces divided ; and 
 one portion was led by Gorgei to the relief of Komorn which was 
 besieged by the Austrians, while the other part under Dembinski 
 remained to watch the movements of the enemy at Pesth. On the 
 8th of April Gorgei set out on his march, and on the following day 
 he stormed Waitzen, which was defended by 12,000 Austrians, 
 carried the town with great gallantry, crossed the river Gran, and 
 advanced to Komorn. The Austrians made vigorous efforts to stay 
 his progress. A large army under Wohlgemuth met him on the 
 19th, near Nagy Sarlo, where a battle ensued which was fiercely 
 contested with equal ability the whole day ; but in the evening the 
 Austrians abandoned their camp, and retreated. The road to 
 Komorn was now clear. Welden had spent his chief efforts in 
 defending Pesth, anticipating that the Hungarians would direct 
 their forces first against the capital. When, however, he saw his 
 communication with Vienna threatened, and relief hastening to 
 Komorn, he evacuated Pesth, and ordered Schlick and Warbna to 
 follow Gorgei, and prevent his success. The step was taken too 
 late. Gorgei had reached Komorn, repulsed the besiegers on the 
 left bank of the Danube, and reinforced the garrison. He bridged 
 
322 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 the stream with great celerity, stormed the intrenchments of the 
 enemy, defeated "Welden ia a bloody battle, pursued the fugitives to 
 Kaab, and at lengui urove tneui across the frontiers into Austria. 
 Temesvar surrendered to Bern, the Banat acknowledged his authority, 
 and the Hungarian rule was recognised everywhere, except in Buda, 
 where 6,000 Austrians still remained in garrison. 
 
 On the receipt of the dispatch of Windischgratz containing an 
 inflated account of the splendid rictory of Kapolna, the emperor 
 issued on the 4th of March 1S49 a charter which proclaimed the 
 indivisibility of the empire, the existence of provincial diets, and of 
 one central chamber at Vienna by which all the affairs of the empire 
 were to be transacted. This act virtually destroved the ancient 
 constitution of Hungary, extinguished its nationality, and reduced 
 it to a mere Austrian province. In reply to this, Kossuth prepared, 
 and the diet sanctioned April 14, a proclamation which excluded the 
 house of Hapsburg-Lorraine from the throne of Hungary, and 
 declared them to be deposed, degraded, and banished for ever from 
 the Hungarian territory. The future form of government was to 
 be discussed ; and till it could be decided, Kossuth was appointed 
 the governing president, responsible to the diet for his acts. This 
 proclamation, however, was not followed by necessary measures ou 
 the part of the military. Instead of following the Austrians, and 
 appearing before Vienna, where they had no force to oppose them, 
 Gorgei marched with the greater part of his army to Buda, and 
 after three weeks' siege, carried the fortress by storm. The Austrians 
 had time to reorganise their army ; the proclamation stirred up 
 numerous enemies in Hungary, and stimulated the activity of the 
 imperial cabinet ; and the spirit of jealousy was rapidly spreading 
 among the Hungarian leaders, and threatened to destroy the 
 effectiveness of the next campaign. 
 
 "While those events were transpiring in Hungary, hostilities had 
 recommenced in Italy. Charles Albert had employed the truce in 
 preparing for the coming struggle ; and on the 12th of March 1849, 
 he gave notice of his intention to renew hostilities on the 20th. 
 Radetzky immediately issued a proclamation to his army, and pointed 
 out their destination in the concluding words of his address, 
 " Forwards soldiers to Turin." He secretly concentrated his corps 
 round Pavia ; and the moment the armistice expired, he crossed the 
 Ticino, without the slightest opposition. The next day he encoun- 
 tered and defeated with heavy loss two Piedmoutese divisions at 
 Mortara ; and on the 23rd brought the main army to an engage- 
 ment at Novara. The Piedmoutese were so thoroughly defeated, 
 that Charles Albert abdicated his throne that night in favour of his 
 son Victor Emmanuel. The next day Radetxsky had an interview 
 with the young king, and agreed to an armistice on condition that 
 20,000 Austrians occupied the country between the Ticino and 
 Sesia, that the fortress of Alessandria be jointly occupied by 
 Piedmontese and Austrians, that the Hungarian, Polish, and 
 Lombard troops be disbanded, the Sardinian fleet recalled from the 
 Adriatic, and negotiations for peace commenced without delay. 
 
PKANCIS JOSEPH I. 323 
 
 Meanwhile Brescia, the second eity in Lombardy, rose, and 
 asserted her independence. The inhabitants were shut up in the 
 town by the neighbouring troops till General Haynau, who had been 
 blockading Venice, arrived with 4,000 men. He gained possession 
 of the gates without a struggle ; but a fearful contest was earned 
 on in the streets. The town was fired ; and the people attempted 
 to flee from the flames by leaping over the walls ; but they were 
 driven towards the gates, where numbers were horribly burned to 
 death. The town was a heap of ruins; all prisoners taken with 
 arms were publicly shot ; and the streets were filled with the charred 
 and mangled bodies of the fallen. The general was thus preparing 
 himself for his shameful brutalities in Hungary at the close of the 
 year. . 
 
 On the capitulation of Milan, Venice revived her republican, 
 government, and elected Manin dictator. All the wonderful changes 
 which had taken place in Italy the desertion of Naples, the Austrian 
 occupation of Tuscany, the French occupation of Rome, the defeat 
 of the Sardinians at Novara, and the withdrawal of the Sardinian 
 navy did not shake her confidence in her position and strength. 
 Though greatly distressed for provisions, she refused to bend to 
 Austria, and prepared to hold out at any cost to the last. On the 
 4th of May Radetzky arrived before Venice, and summoned the city 
 to surrender within forty-eight hours ; and ofl'ered an amnesty to 
 the officers and soldiers, and permission for any one to leave the city. 
 These terms were rejected ; and the siege was recommenced with 
 great vigour. The only fort the Venetians held on the mainland 
 was attacked, and after three weeks' of incessant labour was reduced. 
 Two miles of water now separated the queenly city from her enemies ; 
 and on the 15th the bombardment commenced, but most of the balls 
 and shells fell short. The besiegers attempted to reduce the eity by 
 means of balloons. Five were constructed; and to the car of each 
 were suspended five bombs by copper wire, which when cut fired the 
 fusee by galvanism. The experiment, however, failed; and for a 
 short time an ominous silence reigned. Venice was in a state of 
 famine; starving crowds pressed around the bakers' shops and 
 clamoured for bread ; and the strict blockade by sea and laud pre- 
 vented any supplies reaching the citizens. On the 1st of August 
 Kadetzky again commenced firing from some heavy cannon, and long- 
 ranged guns, by which he was enabled to throw showers of red-hot 
 shot into the city. The destruction of property was terrible ; most 
 of the splendid churches were struck, the palaces on the grand canal 
 were riddled with balls, and the public statues and monuments were 
 thrown down. The citizens still held out, though their wretched 
 provisions were becoming more scanty ; and to add to their sufferings, 
 the cholera broke out among them in its most malignant form, and 
 carried off nearly one hundred daily. On the 14th of August 
 Ptadetzky again offered the same terms of capitulation, but they 
 refused them as before. A few days after, however, they saw that 
 further resistance was useless, and sent a deputation to the Austrian 
 camp with an offer to capitulate. Three days elapsed before the 
 
 x 2 
 
324 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 answer of the prince arrived, during which time the Venetians were 
 kept in a dreadful state of suspense ; but at length Radetzky accepted 
 their submission, and imposed upon them merely the same stipulations 
 as he had before demanded. The firing on both sides ceased ; the 
 republic was broken up ; and the municipal authorities reinstated in 
 their offices. 
 
 The middle of June passed before hostilities were renewed in 
 Hungary. The interval had been spent in the most active prepara- 
 tions. "Russia willingly came to the aid of Austria with 130,000 
 men ; and the emperor had mustered 230,000 soldiers to ravage 
 Hungary. This vast force invaded the country at five points. General 
 llaynau, now commander-in-chief, entered at Presburg; Prince 
 Paskievitch crossed the Gallician frontiers at Dukla, with a Russian 
 corps ; Puclmer, with an Austro-Russian army, entered the north of 
 Transylvania towards Claufenberg ; Liiders entered the south upon 
 Hennanstadt ; and the fifth advanced from Orsova to join Jellachich 
 and his Croats. To resist this overwhelming force, the Hungarians 
 had an army of 45,000 men under Gorgei, 40,000 under Bern hi 
 Transylvania, and 30,000 in the Banat. Kossuth wished to con- 
 centrate all the forces within the Teiss, and act on the advancing 
 columns, or delay the campaign till the noxious marshy fevers would 
 compel the invaders to retire. Gorgei opposed this plan from hatred 
 to Kossuth; and watched for an opportunity of deposing the 
 governor, and betraying Hungary to the Russians. He pushed 
 forward his troops beyond the Waag, and was defeated in several 
 slight engagements ; and on the 20th of June he routed the Austrians 
 at Szerid, but was obliged to fall back to Komoni by the advance 
 of the Russian reserves. The allies marched onwards to Raab, 
 which they carried by storm, and attacked the intrenchments of the 
 Hungarians at Komom. The resistance was very determined. 
 Gorgei fought with great intrepidity, and was wounded by a sabre ; 
 and Hayuau was forced to retire. The Hungarian government 
 forwarded a despatch ordering Gorgei to relinquish his- command, 
 because he had refused to march to Pesth ; but the officers expressed 
 their confidence in him, and in a council of war, declared that he 
 alone should lead them. The government was forced to submit; 
 but had still more incensed the general against them. 
 
 Gorgei wished to unite with the armies in the centre of Hungary. 
 He attacked the Austrian lines, but failed to burst through them ; 
 and he turned towards the Russian forces in the east. He deceived 
 the enemy by his singular marches, gained a splendid victory at 
 Waitzen, burst through the Russian lines, and disappeared among 
 the Carpathian mountains. Though surrounded by enemies, he 
 continued his march with energy and skill. He attacked the Russian 
 positions where they least expected him, flew from mountain to valley 
 with inconceivable rapidity, and caused his very name to be terrible 
 to the outposts He was all the while pondering how he could most 
 signally resent the indignities he had received from the government. 
 1 1 is sole object now appears to have been self -ambition and self-aggran- 
 disement ; and he wilfully neglected opportunities, when he might have 
 
FRANCIS JOSEPH I. 325 
 
 nnlted with the other Hungarian armies, and crushed their common 
 foe. On the 20th of July he was at Pntnok, and Dembinski at 
 Solnock on the Teiss. Paskievitch had advanced to Miskolcz half- 
 way between the two armies ; and the co-operation of the generals 
 woxdd have scattered the Russian army, which was prostrated 
 by sickness, and decimated by cholera. When Gorge! arrived near 
 Debreczin, he despatched a body of 8000 men under Nagy Shandor 
 atjainst the Russians ; and he refused to succour this heroic band, 
 struggling against 80,000 troops, because of his hatred of Nagy 
 Shandor. 
 
 Meanwhile Haynau came up with the army of Dembinski at 
 Szoresy, where after a bloody battle the Hungarians were defeated. 
 Dembinski was ordered to retire to the strong fortress of Arad, and 
 unite with Gorgei, but he retreated to Temesvar. Bern had been 
 forced to evacuate Transylvania, and arrived at Temesvar just before 
 the approach of Haynau and Jellachich. The fatal battle commenced 
 in the morning of the 9th of August. The Hungarians fought with 
 the greatest intrepidity ; the cavalry of Guyon made terrible havoc 
 with the Russians, and drove them back ; and victory seemed sure to 
 honour the Hungarians. The artillery, however, suddenly ceased ; 
 and it was discovered that part of the ammunition had been sent off 
 the previous night to Arad. Prince Lichtenstein, learning the 
 condition of the enemy, charged the right wing; the Russian 
 batteries recommenced their destructive fire ; and the day was lost 
 to Hungary. The army fled in tumultuous haste ; the soldiers 
 became entangled in a dense forest in the night and dispersed ; and 
 in the morning scarcely a thousand men assembled out of the gallant 
 army that had been proudly led into action. The news of the defeat 
 was conveyed to the government at Arad, where Gorgei was 
 intriguing to obtain the governorship, that he might surrender to the 
 Russians, whom he represented as willing to establish a constitu- 
 tional monarchy, and aid them against Austria. He succeeded in 
 his designs. The ministry resigned ; Kossuth abdicated in favour of 
 Gorgei ; the army was disbanded ; and a letter was sent to General 
 Rudiger, stating that he was willing to surrender unconditionally. 
 The preliminaries were signed at Vilagos, August 12, and on the 
 following day 24,000 Hungarian soldiers laid down their arms and 
 144 cannon at the feet of the Russians. The fortresses of Arad and 
 Peterwaradin surrendered at discretion. 
 
 Komorn still held out. Klapka had successfully defeated the 
 besiegers in various sallies ; and on the 1st of August he issued 
 forth with his chief force, routed the besiegers, captured their 
 provisions and ammunition, retook Raab, and scoured the country 
 around. He caused the greatest consternation at Vienna, which was 
 now open to his victorious soldiers ; and on the day before Gorgei 
 surrendered, he was about to invade Styria. The tidings of Gorgei's 
 appointment as dictator recalled him to Komorn, which he stored 
 with abundant provision to resist a siege. It was invested by the 
 whole Austrian force ; and after many debates, Klapka capitulated 
 September 29 on condition that the garrison should be allowed to 
 
326 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 secure their pay, and to retire unmolested. The stipulation was 
 granted, and kept towards the officers, but the soldiers were forced 
 into the imperial ranks. 
 
 The day of vengeance towards Hungary had now arrived. One 
 inducement held out to Klapka to surrender was the promise that 
 the emperor would show clemency to the prisoners, and to the 
 country generally. Haynau, however, could not forego his savage 
 brutality. Hungarian ladies were publicly scourged for their 
 patriotism by being driven between two lines of Austrian soldiers 
 armed with rods. Gb'rgei obtained his pardon at the express desire 
 of Nicholas of Russia, but no mercy was shown to the others. 
 Thirteen generals and field-officers were executed at Arad ; ten 
 ministers and civil rulers atoned for their patriotism by their blood; 
 and more than a thousand grandees perished by Austrian hands. 
 The colonels and majors in the Hungarian army were condemned to 
 imprisonment, or service as privates in the imperial ranks ; and the 
 principal families of Hungary were oppressed by exorbitant fines 
 and confiscations. Kossuth immediately after his resignation escaped 
 into Turkey, and with many other leaders and soldiers, took refuge in 
 Widclin. Russia and Austria demanded the surrender of the refugees 
 by the Porte ; but the sultan, advised by England, refused to comply 
 with the demands. They were, however, removed to Kutayah, 
 where they remained till the middle of 1851, when the United States 
 sent a vessel, with the consent of the sultan, to convey Kossuth and 
 his companions away. Many of the Hungarians voluntarily professed 
 Islamism, and remained in the land of Mohammed. 
 
 Nearly ten years have now passed since Hungary was subdued ; 
 and the condition of the Austrian empire has not materially changed. 
 The promises, with which she lulled her subjects, have been 
 unfulfilled; the constitutional liberty, which was to "restore the 
 country to its ancient grandeur," has existed only in name ; the 
 animosity of the different races and religions is still rampant ; and 
 the disaffection of the people is alone kept down by military terror. 
 After the ravages of the troops, the Hungarian provinces remained 
 in a fearful state ; villages had been nearly depopulated, and fruitful 
 fields devastated ; the men were cut down by the sword, and the 
 women and children roved amid the forests in bands, and dragged 
 out a miserable existence upon acorns and wild roots. The Italian 
 provinces were in as wretched a condition ; and the last sparks of 
 freedom were trampled out with the heavy heel of military despotism. 
 The sword was the only power trusted ; and when the young 
 emperor was once assured by a flatterer that he had the sympathy of 
 the whole world, he drew his sword, and, standing erect, exclaimed, 
 " I need no sympathy. Here 's my sympathy." 
 
 While the revolution was disturbing the Austrian diminions, the 
 German diet at Frankfort was threatening to transfer its perpetual 
 presidency from Austria to Prussia. The furor of the German 
 people for unity and liberty, awakened by the revolution of Paris, 
 wrung out from the members of the diet the convocation of a 
 national assembly to cement the German states into a firm 
 
FKANCIS JOSEPH I. 37 
 
 confederation. The popular party offered the headship to the king 
 of Prussia, who at first refused the honour ; but afterwards, by the 
 advice of general Radowitz, he attempted to gain by diplomacy 
 what he had rejected at the hands of the people, and succeeded in 
 establishing the league of the Three Kings, and convoked the 
 assembly at Erfurt, March 20, 1850. The princes of Germany 
 speedily became alarmed at the increasing power of Prussia, and 
 rewarded her assistance to them in their time of need by deserting 
 the alliance. The diplomatic correspondence between Austria and 
 Prussia was voluminous and complicated; and the former power, 
 advised by Russia, at length boldly summoned the members of the 
 old Germanic confederation to meet at Frankfort, and proceed to 
 business under her presidency. A single event threatened to 
 enkindle the flames of war, and actually brought the Austrian and 
 Prussian armies face to face. The disputes respecting the right of 
 the Hessian parliament to refuse a tax proposed by me government 
 brought the people into collision with their prince and the members 
 of the diet. For a long time they maintained a dignified resistance, 
 and at length sought the aid of Prussia, who possessed the right of 
 marching troops along certain roads within the Hessian territories. 
 The elector fled to the diet for support ; and the federal and 
 Prussian troops confronted each other. The outbreak of a gigantic 
 war was prevented by the surrender of Hesse to the will of the 
 elector. 
 
 Austria was kept in a state of continual alarm by the spirit of 
 disaffection which prevailed in Hungary and Italy. The refugees in 
 England and America corresponded with the patriots, and organised 
 several conspiracies, which the Austrian spies detected before they 
 ripened into open revolt. Kossuth could not forget the cries of his 
 oppressed countrymen ; and Mazzini longed for an opportunity of 
 throwing a firebrand into the cities of Lombardy. An insurrection 
 broke out in Milan, February 6, 1853, when the Austrian sentinels 
 were surprised, and the troops in the arsenal massacred ; but the 
 vigour of Marshal Radetzky and Count Gyulai speedily crushed it. 
 Milan was rigorously oppressed, numbers of the citizens were arrested, 
 and several were shot or hung. In Hungary there was also an active 
 movement to throw off the rule of the Hapsburg. At Komorn the 
 attempt was made by the provost ; but the Austrians promptly dis- 
 covered it, and six hours after, the official paid the penalty of his 
 rashness with his life. In Pesth a general rising of the population 
 was anticipated ; and the garrison and police were armed, and stood 
 ready to crush the first manifestation of disaffection. Numerous 
 arrests were also made in Prague and Moravia. 
 
 An attempt was made in Vienna, February 18, to assassinate the 
 emperor. He was walking on the bastion with General O'DonneD, 
 and halted near the Carinthian gate, when a young man named 
 Libeng, a native of Stuhlwersseuberg in Hungary, came suddenly 
 behind Francis Joseph and stabbed him in the neck with a krge 
 knife. The wound proved to be a very slight one, from the effects 
 of which the emperor rapidly recovered ; but the attempt caused a 
 
328 HISTORY OP AUSTRIA. 
 
 great sensation throughout the Austrian dominions. The assassin 
 boldly stated that he did it to let people see what a Hungarian could 
 do for his country ; and all classes crowded around the emperor to 
 congratulate him on his escape. The excitement against England 
 rose to the highest pitch ; a note was dispatched to the government 
 from Vienna on the subject of giving refuge to political conspirators; 
 and the Austrian aristocracy displayed their hatred of England by 
 refusing to admit an Englishman into their houses. 
 
 Austrian diplomacy found ample scope for displaying its ingenuity 
 during the Russian war. At the commencement of 1853, Russia 
 imperiously demanded from Turkey the protectorate over the Greek 
 Church in the Turkish empire by which the independence and 
 loyalty of a large portion of the sultan's dominions were threatened. 
 The Porte refused the czar's demands ; and in the beginning of July 
 
 1853, the Russians under Prince Gortschakoff crossed the Pruth, 
 and occupied the Moldo-Wallachian principalities. The western 
 powers, England, Trance, Austria and Prussia, unanimously con- 
 demned the aggressions of Nicholas ; and when Russia advanced 
 into the Principalities, Austria concentrated her troops near the 
 Servian frontier. In July the first of several conferences met in 
 Vienna, at which the representatives of the four powers drew up a 
 note as a declaration from the sultan to the czar, that he would 
 respect the treaties which gave protection to the Christian religion. 
 As the note was rendered harmless by its ambiguity, the czar readily 
 accepted it ; but when the sultan accurately defined the sense he 
 put upon the terms, the Russian emperor politely declined the 
 Vienna proposal. 
 
 Great efforts were made to prevent hostilities. On the 20th of 
 September, Francis Joseph met the emperor of Russia and the king 
 of Prussia at Olmiitz, where a congress was held for eight clays, and 
 a new note was prepared by Austria which, however, was rejected 
 by England. War was formally declared by Russia against Turkey, 
 November 11 ; the two armies commenced their deadly struggle ; 
 and the English and French fleets entered the Black sea, January 4, 
 
 1854, and declared war against Russia, March 28. 
 
 Many considerations induced Austria to stand aloof from the 
 Anglo-French alliance. She had not forgotten the treatment her 
 general, Haynau, had received when visiting London, nor the warm 
 reception England had given to the Hungarian patriot, Kossuth. 
 Her gratitude to Russia for the service rendered to her in crushing 
 the revolution of Hungary also induced her to hesitate in throwing 
 her weight into the balance against Russia, and to content herself 
 with employing pacific measures to dissuade the czar from his 
 ambitious designs. So long as the Sulina mouths of the Danube 
 were kept open, and her territories were not threatened, Austria was 
 willing to stand by and witness the spoliation of Turkey. While, 
 therefore, the allies were preparing for war, the emperor Francis 
 Joseph was celebrating his marriage with the Duchess Elizabeth 
 with great splendour at Vienna. 
 
 Austria, forgetting recent differences, entered into an alliance with 
 
FRANCIS JOSEPH I. 329 
 
 Prussia, April 20, 1S54 ; by which the two powers guaranteed each 
 other's dominions from attack, and pledged themselves not to enter 
 into any separate secret treaty with another court. She also took 
 an active part with the allies in diplomatic correspondence, and 
 boldly demanded of Russia the evacuation of the Principalities ; and 
 when Russia demanded of Austria a guarantee that hostilities should 
 then terminate, Count Buol refused to give any stipulation, and 
 insisted on the evacuation as a first condition. The Russians, failing 
 to capture Silistria, were obliged to yield to necessity what they had 
 refused to Austria. 
 
 Austria was very uncertain about the movements of Russia. She 
 prepared for any contingencies which might arise by calling out, 
 May 14, a levy of 94,000 men for the south-east and north-west 
 provinces ; and in the succeeding June, the emperor signed a treaty 
 with Tarkey, undertaking to occupy the Principalities, which the 
 Archduke Albert effected with an army of 30,000 men, and to 
 guarantee their integrity to the Porte. Francis Joseph was still 
 most anxious to avoid hostilities with Russia. His army, amounting 
 to more than 500,000 men already under arms, was draining the 
 resources of his empire ; and a war would necessitate a large increase, 
 and augment the expense considerably. The country was in great 
 distress, the exports were trifling, and most things were 50 per cent, 
 above their usual price, Diplomacy, therefore, continued her fruit- 
 less struggles, and the conferences at Vienna opened in March 1855. 
 The plenipotentiaries, however, could not agree upon the four points 
 demanded by Lord John Russell; and while Austria and Prussia 
 preserved their neutrality, the allies vigorously prosecuted the war. 
 
 Austria was still anxious to find out some plan of securing peace ; 
 and after the fall of Sebastopol in September 1855, she renewed her 
 diplomatic efforts. She ascertained the terms on which the western 
 powers were prepared to treat ; and towards the close of the year, 
 she sent a note to St. Petersburg as a basis of peace, which the 
 emperor accepted. The plenipotentiaries of the powers met in con- 
 ference at Paris ; where, after many sittings, they signed the treaty 
 of peace, March 31, 1856, which was ratified April 27 ; and during 
 the interval between the signing and the ratification, Austria, France 
 and England, distrustful of Russian sincerity, entered into a secret 
 alliance to guarantee the performance of the treaty they had signed., 
 
 In November 1855, the emperor signed a concordat with the pope 
 by which the whole empire was exposed to Jesuitical influence and 
 control. It contains thirty-six articles, and proclaims the ascendancy 
 of the Roman Catholic religion throughout the empire. It gives to 
 the ecclesiastics and laity free communication with Rome, without 
 the intervention of the temporal power ; it invests the bishops with 
 unlimited control over the clergy, schools, teachers of theology, and 
 middle-class schools, and full power to suppress all books they may 
 consider dangerous ; and it revives the terrible ecclesiastical courts 
 for the punishment of the clergy and laity, and for the regulation of 
 marriages. Europe stood amazed at the spectacle of the young 
 emperor thus surrendering his dominions to ecclesiastical rule ; and 
 
'330 HISTORY OF ArSTRIA. 
 
 the Austrian Protestants uttered a cry of alarm at the persecution 
 which they could plainly see awaited them. 
 
 Italy has ever b^eu a source of weakness and fear to the Austrian 
 empire. Since the treaty of 1815, the cabinet of Vienna has 
 rcso'iits'y opposed every manifesta< ; ~n of freedom, whether by 
 Italian sovereigns or their people ; and has marched her armies to 
 overawe the one, and crush down the other. There is not a state 
 which she has not held for some time to uphold the tyranny of 
 despotism. Since the. treaty of Vienna she has thus occupied 
 Piedmont for two years, Naples for five years, Tuscany, Modena, 
 and Parma for six years each, and the Papal States for twenty-five 
 years. Throughout the peninsula, with the exception of Piedmont, 
 her principles have been triumphant ; and the results are seen in the 
 crowded gaols, the exiled families, the blighted fields, and the 
 muffled disaffection of the heavily-taxed and ill-fed Italians. The 
 condition of Sardinia has been long offensive in the eyes of the 
 emperor. He could not forgive her independent conduct in joining 
 the allies and Turkey, while Austria held back through fear, and 
 uniting with France in recommending at the conference of Paris the 
 union of the Danubian provinces ; and his jealousy has been excited 
 by the constitutional freedom which flourishes in the kingdom of 
 Sardinia, and commands the admiration of the liberty-loving Italians, 
 and which he would long ago have trampled upon if Sardinia had 
 not earned powerful support among European nations. 
 
 Austria was opposed to the union of Moldavia and "VVallaehia, 
 because she dreaded the progress of liberal principles in the 
 Principalities. "The world," she said, "does not want a second 
 and modern Sardinia between the Danube and the Pruth and 
 Carpathians " She refused to evacuate them, drained their resources 
 to support her troops, and early in October 1S5G, occupied Galat/, 
 with 4,000 men, and seized the ports of the Danube, and attempted 
 to justify her conduct by pleading the example of Russia in 
 occupying the Isle of Serpents. 
 
 The efforts of the emperor to tranquilise Italy only increased its 
 disaffection, and aroused the free spirit of Piedmont, "VAIien 
 Rndetzky increased the garrisons in Parma to 3,000, and the Lom- 
 bardian army to 120,000 men, Sardinia began to prepare for defence, 
 and voted one million francs to repair tiie fortresses of Alessandria. 
 The emperor visited Italy in November 1856, but he was received 
 with the greatest coolness ; the crowds did not call for his appear- 
 ance 1 ,, nor did the nobility appear to welcome him or grace his 
 court. Even the appointment of the Archduke Ferdinand Maxi- 
 milian in February 1S57, as governor of Lombardy, did not afford 
 much hope to the oppressed Italians. This wise and benevolent 
 prince was greatly opposed to the centralisation of Count Buol, 
 and for some time refused to accept the office, unless reforms were 
 made and privileges restored to the people ; and when he did 
 accept it, he refused to be controlled by the council at Vienna, and 
 received his orders from the emperor himself. The people, however, 
 had no faith in their sovereign, and still manifested their hatred of 
 
FHANCIS JOSEPH I. Sol 
 
 Austrian ride by abstaining from the use of tobacco, and insulting 
 every one found smoking. Sardinia took active measures for her 
 safety, and formed a camp of 20,000 men at Alessandria; and 
 Austria referred in her diplomatic correspondence to the conduct of 
 Sardinia, as a great political grievance, and requested the disband- 
 meut of the camp, the extradition of political refugees, and the 
 demolition of recent fortifications. 
 
 A growing coolness had sprung up between Austria and Prance 
 during the year 1858, in consequence of the correspondence which, 
 passed between the two courts respecting Italian reforms, and the 
 threatened occupation of Servia by Austrian troops ; which readied 
 its climax at the levee on the first day of the new year, when 
 Napoleon III. said to M. Hiibncr, the Austrian minister, " I regret 
 that our relations with your government are not so good as they 
 were, but I request you to tell the emperor that my personal feelings 
 for him have not changed." The astonishment, which these words 
 created in Europe, was increased by the speech of the King of 
 Sardinia, January 10, 1859, in which he said, "The political horizon 
 is not clear, but the future must be awaited with firmness. The 
 future cannot fail to be fortunate because the policy of Piedmont is 
 based on justice, and love of its country's liberty. Piedmont is 
 small, but great in the councils of Europe on account of the prin- 
 ciples it represents, and the sympathies it inspires. It respects 
 treaties, but is not insensible to Italy's cry of anguish." 
 
 This "cry of anguish" was resounding from all parts, especially 
 from the Lombardian cities where a great ferment was going on. 
 Before the king uttered his speech, the Austrians had reinforced 
 their garrisons, and revictualed their fortresses, and dispatched a 
 new corps d'armee into Lombardy. The threatening aspect of 
 Austria induced Sardinia to unite herself more closely to Prance by 
 a matrimonial alliance between Prince Napoleon and the Princess 
 Clotilde, the eldest daughter of the king ; and to obtain from the 
 chambers, February 10, a vote of fifty millions sterling for the 
 military defence of the kingdom. " Austria has lately," said Count 
 Cavour, " taken a menacing attitude towards us. It has increased 
 its military forces at Piacenza. It has collected very large forces on 
 our frontiers. Therefore the necessity arises for us to look for means 
 for the defence of the State." The preparations for war were carried 
 on wnth the greatest energy by Austria, Praricc, and Sardinia, 
 notwithstanding each soverign professed the most peaceful spirit. 
 Diplomatic relations between Sardinia and Austria were broken off ; 
 and in Count Buol's letter to the Austrian minister in London, 
 February 25, he justifies the measure by attributing aggressive 
 designs and revolutionary tendencies to Piedmont, as manifested in 
 several inflammatory articles which appeared in the Sardinian press ; 
 and promises that Austria will abstain from hostilities as long as 
 Sardinia keeps within her own borders. 
 
 The threatening state of affairs induced England to interpose her 
 good offices to prevent the outbreak of war, Lord Cowley, British 
 ambassador at Paris, was dispatched to Vienna to confer with Count 
 
332 HISTORY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 Buol, and to endeavour to arrange the differences between the hostile 
 parties. On his return to Paris, he found that secret negotiations 
 had been going on during his absence between France and Russia, 
 which resulted in the proposal by the latter court to hold a congress 
 of the five great powers. This was agreed to ; and during the dis- 
 cussion of the basis on which it should meet, two points arose as to 
 the composition of the congress, and the disarmament of the powers 
 antagonistic to each other. It was at length agreed that, as the 
 congress was to consider the state of Italy, the Italian states should 
 be represented; but the second point remained unsettled. Austria at 
 first demanded the disarmament of Sardinia previous to the congress, 
 which she af terwards modified to a general disarmament ; and France 
 agreed to the principle, but wished to consider its details when the 
 congress had assembled. Meanwhile Austrian troops were pouring 
 into Italy, and the sound of preparation for war was heard in all the 
 Germanic states. France was concentrating her troops at Toulon ; 
 and her battalions were standing ready either to cross the Alps, or 
 to embark for Genoa. Sardinia resounded with warlike preparations ; 
 and Garibaldi was organising a corps of Italian volunteers to avengje 
 the wrongs of his country. 
 
 At length the diplomatic efforts were brought to a sudden termina- 
 tion. The aide de camp of General Gyulai was despatched to Turin 
 to demand from Sardinia the reduction of her army to a peace 
 footing, and the disbandment of her corps of volunteers, and was 
 instructed to wait three days for an answer, and then depart. On 
 the 2Gth of April Cavour returned a dignilicd refusal to the demands 
 of Austria ; and Francis Joseph, in deference to the mediation of 
 England, postponed the declaration of war for three days. France, 
 however, declined the overtures of the British government ; and on 
 the 29th, the Austrians crossed the Ticino. France then hurled her 
 declaration of war against Austria, and her troops crossed Mount 
 Cenis, and poured by thousands into Genoa, whence the railways 
 conveyed them towards Turin and Alessandria to co-operate with the 
 Sardinians. The Italian war commenced. 
 
 The movements of the Austrians were checked by the flooded 
 state of the country ; and after several erratic marches they took 
 up a strong position between the Sesia and the Po, and levied con- 
 tributions on the surrounding towns and villages. Napoleon placed 
 himself at the head of the French army, and Victor Emmanuel took 
 the supreme command of the Sardinians ; and the allied sovereigns 
 established their head-quarters at Alessandria. Skirmishes were 
 frequent between the advanced parties on both sides ; the Sardinians 
 repulsed the Austrians at Valenza, when they attempted to cross the 
 Po, and caused them to abandon Voghera ; and Garibaldi, at the 
 head of his brave volunteers, surprised them at Vercelli, and took 
 four hundred prisoners. 
 
 General Gyulai was very uncertain respecting the position and 
 strength of the allied army. He, therefore, May 20, ordered 
 Gciv-.al Zobel, with 15,000 Austrians, to move towards Montebello, 
 which was held by the Piedmontese, and reconnoitre their position 
 
FRANCIS JOSEPH I. 333 
 
 A bloody encounter ensued. General Forey ruarched to the support 
 of the Sardinians; and after a severe hand-to-hand contest, he 
 succeeded in driving the Austrians from Montebello, which they had 
 taken, and Casteggio. The success of the allies induced the King 
 of Sardinia to attempt to cross the Sesia. The Austrians were 
 strongly intrenched at Palestro; but the impetuosity of the 
 Piedmontese carried the position, after inflicting severe loss on the 
 enemy, May 31. The Austrians, 25,000 strong, attempted to regain 
 the village; but they were driven back with great slaughter, and 
 forced to retreat. 
 
 Meanwhile Garibaldi was threatening the Austrian rear by his 
 rapid and successful movements. He marched towards the Valteline 
 to rouse the population, entered Varese with 6,000 men, where the 
 Austrian garrison had been expelled by the people, defeated the 
 Austrians who opposed him, and triumphantly marched into Como. 
 He attempted to take the fortified town of Laveno, but was obliged 
 to retire by the advance of a superior force ; and after a mysterious 
 disappearance for a few days, he suddenly again appeared to chase 
 the retreating Austrians from Varese. 
 
 The allied sovereigns broke up their head-quarters at Alessandria, 
 and followed the retrograde movements of the Austrians. They 
 crossed the Ticino, and came upon the enemy at Magenta, a small 
 Lombardian town on the high road to Milan. A bloody conflict 
 took place on the 4th and 5th of June at this place, and also at 
 Turbigo, where the Austrians were defeated General M'Mahon, 
 then created Duke of Magenta, turned the tide of victory towards 
 the French, who lost 3,000 killed and wounded, while the Austrians 
 lost nearly 10,000 men. They, however, retreated in good order, 
 evacuated Milan, Pavia and Lodi, and pursued their march along the 
 high road towards the Adda. Milan triumphantly received the French 
 and Sardinian sovereigns. Napoleon ordered Baraguay d'Hilliers to 
 occupy the position of Malegnano, which the Austrians had fortified 
 to cover their retreat. An engagement took place there on the 8th ; 
 and after three hours' hard fighting it was carried at the point of the 
 bayonet. The Austrians still continued their retreat, followed by 
 the allied army. They were completely deceived by the movements 
 of the French ; they abandoned Piacenza, and its gigantic fortifica- 
 tions, and re-organised their army on the banks of the Mincio. 
 
 The disasters of the Austrians created a great sensation in Vienna, 
 and throughout Germany. Count Buol had resigned before the battle 
 of Montebello, and Count Rechberg accepted the vacant post. The 
 officers were clamorous for the dismissal of Gyulai; aud Francis 
 Joseph, accompanied by General Hess, commander-in-chief, set out 
 for Italy to take the command of his army. The troops, however, 
 were unable to withstand the lively assaults of the French, and the 
 rapid onsets of the Italians; and the flames of insurrection were 
 spreading fiercely on all sides. The Lombardian towns had pro- 
 claimed Italian liberty ; the duchies of Parma and Modena were in 
 open revolt ; Tuscany was held by Prince Napoleon, whose troops 
 were advancing on the Austrian left to join the main army; the Tyrol 
 
334 IIISTOKY OF AUSTRIA. 
 
 was tlireatencd by Garibaldi ; Hungary was about to be aroused by 
 the intrigues of Kossuth and his coadjutors; and Venice was 
 threatened by a large number of gun-boats. 
 
 The Austrians made one more effort to retrieve their fortunes. 
 Francis Joseph commanded his army in person ; and after passing 
 the Mincio, he ordered his troops to re-cross the river, and take up a 
 strong position near the village of Solferino, between the- Mincio 
 and the Chiese, June 24. The allies advanced to meet him ; and 
 the two armies, numbering together about 450,000 men, extended 
 their lines nearly twelve miles. The right and left wings of the 
 Austrians were for some time successful, but their centre at 
 Solferino was routed, and their wings were obliged to retire in order 
 that they might not be outflanked. The slaughter was terrific on 
 both sides ; the Austrians crossed the Mincio unopposed by the 
 French; and four days elapsed before the allied army set out in 
 pursuit of the foe. 
 
 Great preparations were made for renewing the contest. Prince 
 Napoleon united his forces with the allies ; Verona was about to be 
 invested, Peschiera besieged, and Venice bombarded ; and all eyes 
 were directed towards the Adige as the place where the Austrians 
 would probably accept another battle, before they took refuge 
 under the guns of the celebrated quadrilateral of fortresses which 
 tlireaten Northern Italy. Both combatants however were afraid 
 to risk further warfare. Napoleon dreaded an extension of the 
 arena of conflict, which his next move would entail, and Austria 
 felt unable alone to grapple with her energetic foe. Europe was 
 taken by surprise when, on the 8th of July, an armistice for 
 five weeks was proposed by Napoleon, and accepted by Francis 
 Joseph ; and was still more astonished to learn that the two 
 emperors had an interview with each other at Villafranca on the 
 12th, when they arranged and signed a treaty of peace, without the 
 intervention of their ministers. The treaty stipulated that the Italian 
 States be formed into a confederation under the honorary presidency 
 of the pope ; that the Emperor of Austria give up his rights over 
 Lombardy to Napoleon, who remits them to the King of Sardinia ; 
 that Austria retain Venctia, and the four celebrated Italian 
 fortresses ; and that the princes of Modena and Tuscany be restored 
 to their dominions. 
 
 "Whether Italy will accept these- conditions, and quietly settle down 
 under the double tyranny of Austria and the pope, exercised by means 
 of a confederate assembly, the, future alone can disclose. At the 
 present moment " Italy's cry of anguish " is still heard, and the 
 lament is expressed that the promises which Napoleon held out to 
 the Italians have been unfulfilled, the hopes which lie enkindled have 
 been blighted, and the pleasing dreams of liberty and nationality 
 which aroused their patriotism have been dispelled by the cold touch 
 of iron-handed absolutism. 
 
 THE END. 
 
I N D E X. 
 
 PACrE 
 
 ABAFFY, Prince . . . 201, 208 
 A riv, sieges of ... 54, 30* 
 
 Adolphus of Nassau . . . 70 
 Adrianoplo, treaty of ... 301 
 Aix la Chapelle, treaty of . ,217 
 Alemanni in Helvetia . .22 
 
 Alaric, king of the Goths . . 23 
 
 Albertl 71 
 
 Albert II 91 
 
 Alchemists .... 150, 197 
 Alessandria, erection of . . 51 
 
 Alva, Duke of 147 
 
 Alliance, the Grand . .203,213 
 Alliance, the Holy . . . 300 
 
 Architecture, rise of Gothic . . 66 
 Arnulf of Bavaria . . . .30 
 Arras, treaty of . . . .102 
 Arts, fine, during Reformation . 19S 
 Asperri, battle of .... 2!W 
 Astrology < 174, 197 
 
 Attila, Chief of the Huns . . 24 
 Augsburg, confession of . . .127 
 Auste.rlitz, battle of ... 2s7 
 Austria, under the Romans, 1 : 
 under the Goths, 26 ; western 
 part of Merovingian kingdom, 
 28 ; Austrasian mayors, SO ; mar- 
 graves, 37 ; separated from Ba- 
 varia, 40 ; created a duchy, 50 , 
 coat of arms, 54; reverts to 
 house of Hapsburg, 68 ; contests 
 with theemperor, 75; dissensions 
 among the princes, 86; gains 
 Bohemia, 91 ; Swiss wars (see 
 Swiss) ; archducal dignity con- 
 ferred, 96, 102 ; modern history, 
 105, et seq.; aulic council, 108. 
 115, 152, 281; Spanish dynasty, 
 111, 121 ; crown declared inde- 
 pendent of pope, 139; Austrian 
 sovereigns (see under their 
 names) ; Jesuits in Austria, 152, 
 329: liberty crushed, 170; con- 
 dition under Ferdinand I [., 186 : 
 Austrian peasants, 195 ; terri- 
 tories gained by Peace of Passa- 
 rowitz, 229 ; Pragmatic Sane- 
 
 PAGE 
 
 tion, 229 ; pains Parma and 
 Placentia, 235 ; extent and con- 
 dition under Charles VI., 238; 
 reforms of Joseph II., 258, 263; 
 contends with French Repub- 
 lic, 274, et seq.; exchange of 
 territories by treaty of Campo 
 Formic, 2SM ; created an empire, 
 285 ; establishes the Landwehr. 
 289 ; loss of territories by peace 
 of Vienna, 292 ; state bank- 
 ruptcy, 293; dominions restored 
 by treaty of Vienna, 299 ; growth 
 of revolutionary principles, 300; 
 interference in Italian states, 
 300, 305, 330; commerce, 264, 
 302 ; revolution of 1848, 306, 
 et seq.; treachery towards Hun- 
 gary, 310; annexation of Hun- 
 g ary, 322; diplomacy during the 
 rimean war, 32S; concordat 
 with Rome, 329 ; Italian war . 332 
 
 BAITXEE, General . . .185, 187 
 
 Barrier treaty 264 
 
 Bartenstein . . . 238, 218 
 Bathori, Stephen .... 14* 
 Bathyany, Count . . . 309, 319 
 Bavaria, ancient inhabitants of . 19 
 Belgium annexed to France . . 277 
 B'-larade, 98 ; besieged by Eugene, 
 228, by Laudon, 267 ; given up to 
 
 Turks 237 
 
 Battles of Acre, 54. 304 ; Aspern, 
 290, Austerlitz, 2S7 ; Belgrade, 
 228; Blenheim, 217; Breitenfield, 
 188; Cunersdorf, 252; Uresden, 
 295 ; Fontenoy, 245 ; Godollo, 
 B21; Hohenlinden, 284; Leipzie, 
 177, 1S8, 296 ; Loai.o, 277 ; Lutzen, 
 179; Malplaquet, 223; JIarengo, 
 283 ; Marsalia, 206 ; Motiacz, 
 124, 209; Molwit?, 240; Mortara, 
 322 ; Nasty Sarlo, 321 ; Nord- 
 lingen, 184, 190; Novara, :>22; 
 Oudenarde, 222 ; Prague, 168 ; 
 1\ amilies, 219 ; Somma Cam- 
 
336 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 pagna, 314; Spiers, 114; Tabor, 
 189; Temesvar, 325; Torgau, 
 254 ; Villa Viciosa, 224 ; Wag- 
 ram, 291; Waterloo, 298; Zirn- 
 dorf, 179; Zusmarshausen . .190 
 
 Belisarius 28 
 
 Bern, General .... 316, 321 
 Bernadotte, French Ambassador, 
 281 ; invades Prussia, 28(5 ; 
 opposes Napoleon . . . 295 
 Blenheim, battle of . . . .217 
 Blucher, General . . 295, et seq. 
 Bohemia, ancient inhabitants of, 
 21 ; rulers. 36 ; Kings of < tto- 
 car, 58, Wenceslaus,69, Rudolph, 
 72, John, 74, Wenceslaus, 83, 
 Sigismund, 90, Albert II., !I2, 
 Ladislaus, 94, Podiebrad, 98, 
 Wladislaus, 100, Louis, 124. 
 Ferdinand I., 124 ; reverts to 
 Austi ia, 102, 124 ; reformation 
 in, 87 ; persecution by Fer<:i- 
 nand I., 133 ; tranquillity under 
 Maximilian .II., 149 ; under 
 Budolph II.. 158 ; Jesuitsin, 162, 
 169 ; rises against Austria, 166 ; 
 crushed by Ferdinand, 169, 175 . 
 incendiarism in, 205 ; devastated 
 by Frederick the Great, 2-13, 
 249 ; revolution of 1848 . . 309 
 
 Boii, the 19 
 
 Botskai, Prince .... 15-1 
 Breitenfield. battle of ... 188 
 Brescia, revolution iu . 323 
 
 Brittany, Aline of . . . .103 
 
 Brnnehilda 29 
 
 Brunswick made an electorate . 213 
 Bucquoy, Count de . . . . 164 
 Buol, Count, policy of . 329, et seq. 
 
 CAJETAN 319 
 
 Calutins, the 'JO 
 
 Calvi nists. the, contests with 
 Lutherans, 144, 149, et seq, ; 
 mode of worship by . . . 196 
 Cambray, league of, 113 ; treaty 
 
 of 124 
 
 i ':uii po Formio, treaty of . .280 
 < apistran, John . . . .97 
 Capuchins . . . 150,174,196 
 Oarlowitz, treaty of . . .211 
 
 Oarlstadt 122 
 
 Catholic church, condition of 64, 196 
 Catinat, Marshal . . . 205. 213 
 Charlemagne, pains Austrasia, 32 ; 
 obtains Lombardy, 33 ; revives 
 the western empire . . .33 
 Charles Albert of Sardinia, . 312,322 
 Charles, Archduke, at I.anducis, 
 276; on the Rhine, 278, et seq.; 
 opposes Napoleon . . . 290 
 Charles Martell .... 30 
 Charles, Prince of Lorraine, com- 
 mands Austrian armies, 242, et 
 seq.; at Fragile .... 249 
 Charles II. of Spain . . .212 
 Charles IV. of Luxemburg . . 79 
 Charles V., early days, 119; crowned 
 emperor, 120; summons diet at 
 
 PAGE 
 
 "Worms, 121 ; wars with Francis 
 1., 124 ; proceedings against the 
 Protestants, 127 ; defeated by 
 Maurice, 135; resigns his crowns 137 
 Charles VI. contends for Spanish 
 crown, 212, 219, 224; succeeds to 
 Austria, 226; war with Turks, 
 223, 235 ; Pragmatic Sanction, 
 229 ; war with France, 233 ; state 
 of Austria under . . . 238 
 
 Charles VII 241 
 
 Charles VIII., of France . 105, 108 
 Christina of Sweden . . 174, 180 
 
 Cilli, Count 93 
 
 Cimbri invade Italy . . .20 
 Cities, free, rise of, 41, condition 
 in thirteenth century, 65 ; at 
 peace of Westphalia . . . 195 
 Clovis, king of the Franks . . 27 
 Cologne, importance of, 65; con- 
 tests in .... 151,161 
 Columbus, Christopher . . 105 
 Concord, book of .... 150 
 Concordat with Rome . . . 329 
 Conde, Prince of ... 190, 200 
 Conrad I., 37 ; II., 42; III., 48; 
 
 IV 61 
 
 Conradin 62 
 
 Councils of Constance, 87 ; Basle, 
 
 90, 93 ; Trent . . . 130, 140 
 Courcy, Enguerrandde . . .81 
 Cracow incorporated with Austria 305 
 Crespi, treaty of . . . .130 
 < Crusaders, the . . 46, 49, 53, 57 
 Cumberland, Duke of . . 215, 217 
 Cuucrsdorf, battle of ... 252 
 
 DAMPIEEE, General . . .161 
 Daun, Count .... 221,22* 
 Dauu, General . . 249, et seq. 
 Diet, constitution of imperial . 194 
 
 Donawerth 153 
 
 Dresden, peace of, 246 ; Napoleon 
 at . .... 295 
 
 ENGLAND assists Maria Theresa, 
 242, et seq., and Prussia, 251; 
 war with French republic, 275 ; 
 subsidises Austria, 283, and con- 
 tinental powers. 294 ; sends Wel- 
 lington to Spain .... 295 
 
 Eperies, infernal tribunal of . 210 
 
 Eugene, Prince, Italian wars, 213, 
 220 ; on the Rhine, 217 ; at Blen- 
 heim, 217 ; relieves Turin, 220 ; 
 siege of Lisle, 222; at Malpla- 
 quet, 223; in London, 227; at 
 Belgrade, 228 ; opposes French 
 in Polish war, 234; death . . 235 
 
 Eytzingen, Ulric . . . .96 
 
 FERT>INAND of Spain . . 105,112 
 Ferdinand I. obtains Austria, 121 ; 
 Bohemia and Hungary, 125; 
 chosen king of Romans, 127: 
 crushes Bohemii, 133; crowned 
 emperor, 139 ; breaks off depen- 
 
INDEX. 
 
 33? 
 
 PAGE 
 
 dency upon pope, 139; cha- 
 racter Ill 
 
 Ferdinand II. deposed from Bo- 
 hemia, 166; dismembers the 
 Palatinate, 170; appoints Wal- 
 lenstein general, 171; intoler- 
 ance, 169, 173 ; contests with 
 Gustavus, 175 ; character . . 185 
 Ferdinand 11 1. continues the war, 
 186 ; defeated in Huneary, 189; 
 peace of Westphalia, 191 ; state 
 of empire under .... 195 
 Ferdinand I. of Austria crowned, 
 303 ; gains Crac.ow, 305 ; revolu- 
 tion under, 33.7, et seq; flies 
 from Vienna, 308 ; abdicates . 318 
 Fleury, Cardinal . . 231-237,212 
 Fontenoy, battle of ... 245 
 France, state of, 105; civil war, 
 146 ; revolution, 272 ; European 
 wars .... 275, et seq. 
 Francis I. of France . .115, 123 
 Francis I. of Lorraine, marries 
 Maria Theresa, 234 ; gains Tus- 
 cany, 235 ; Bohemian war, 2il ; 
 crowned emperor, 246 ; opposes 
 Kaunitz, 218 ; character . . 256 
 Francis II., wars with France, 274; 
 treaiy of Campo Formio, 280; 
 becomes emperor of Austria . 288 
 Francis I. of Austria; war with 
 Napoleon, 290 ; mediates be- 
 tween France and Russia, 291; 
 enters Paris 298 ; character . 302 
 Francis Joseph I. of Austria, suc- 
 ceeds his uncle, 318 ; subverts 
 Hungary, 322 ; attempt to assas- 
 sinate him, 327 ; diplomacy, 32S ; 
 concordat with Rome, 329 ; 
 
 Italian war 331 
 
 Frankfort, Germanic diet at . 299 
 Frederick of Saxony . . . 119 
 Frederick of Saxe Uotha . . 145 
 Frederick Elector Palatine . . 167 
 Frederick I., Barbarossa, crowned, 
 49; at Rome, 50 ; Italian 
 wars . 51,etseq. 
 
 Frederick II. contests with his 
 son, 58 ; Italian wars, 69 ; ex- 
 communicated, 67,59; his cha- 
 racter .;.... 60 
 Frederick HI. contests with pope, 
 94 ; with Swiss, 95 ; with Turks, 
 97, 100; character . . 103 
 Frederick the Great, education, 
 239 ; demands Silesia from Aus- 
 tria, 2W; invades Bohemia, 241: 
 peace of Dresden, 216; Seven 
 Years' War, 249-256; his esti- 
 mate of Francis I., 257 ; of Joseph 
 II., 269; acquires western Prus- 
 sia, 259 ; death .... 265 
 
 Gal ias, Gene, al . . 181, et seq. 
 (Jiiiiicia, given to Russia, 292; 
 
 PAGE 
 
 restored to Austria, 299 ; insur- 
 rection in 305 
 
 Genoa besieged .... 283 
 Germanicus defeated by Armin . 21 
 Germany, condition of in early 
 ages, 1 ; under Saxon emperors, 
 41 ; end of Thirty Years' War, 
 193 ; Roman provinces, 20 ; 
 crown made elective, 38; dis- 
 solution of empire, 288 ; strug- 
 gles for the headship . . 299, 327 
 Ghent, treaty of . . . .148 
 Gibraltar stormed, 219 ; ceded to 
 
 England 228 
 
 Godollo, battle of . . . .321 
 Golden Bui 1,'the .... 80 
 Gorgei, marches to Vienna, 317 ; 
 defends Hungary, 319-322 ; sur- 
 renders to Russia . . .325 
 Goths, ravages of the, 22 ; Aus- 
 tria under 20 
 
 Greek kingdom established . . 301 
 
 Gregory VIL, Pope, 45; IX. . . 67 
 
 Grumback, William . . 1*5 
 
 Guebriant, Marshal . . . 188 
 
 Guelph and Gh'beline, faction of . 48 
 
 Gustavus, Charles . . . 192, 109 
 
 Gustavus, Adolphus, invades Po- 
 
 merania, 175 ; conquers Tilly at 
 
 Leipzic, 177 ; unites with the 
 
 princes, 178; falls at battle of 
 
 Lutzen 180 
 
 HANOVER created an electorate . 206 
 Haps'ourg. house of ... 68 
 Haynau, General, in Brescia. 323 ; 
 
 in Hungary .... 324, 326 
 Heidelberg, catechism of, 144 ; 
 
 alliance of . . . .152,173 
 Heilbron, league of ... 18t 
 Hildebrand . . . 4,1t,etseq. 
 Henry the Lion ... 51, 54 
 Henry I., the Fowler ... 37 
 
 Henry II 41 
 
 Henry III *3 
 
 Henry IV 45,4'J 
 
 Henry V 47 
 
 Henry VI 5i 
 
 Henry VII 7* 
 
 Hochkirchen, battle of . . . 251 
 Hofer, the Tyrolese leader . . 201 
 Hohenlinden, battle of . . 284 
 Holland, independence of, 148. 191 ; 
 
 war with Louis . . 232, et seq. 
 ITubortsberg, peace of . 256 
 Huguenots, the .... 14" 
 H unniades, John . . W,etteq. 
 Hungary, occupied by Huns, 24; 
 the Avars, 30; boundary of, 37; 
 kings of Louis, 82, Sigismund, 
 83, Albert of Austria, 91, 
 Ladislaus, 93, Matthias, 98, 
 Wladislans, 102, Louis, 124, 
 Ferdinand I., 125; reverts to 
 Austrian emperors (see under 
 names) ; devastated by Turks, 
 154 201 ; freedom and constitu- 
 tion destroyed, 208, 210. 318, 322; 
 devotion to Maria Theresa, 41 ; 
 
338 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 discontent under Joseph II., 
 268; struggles lor freedom, 303; 
 revolution in, 810 ; war in, 319, 
 et seq. ; vengeance of Austria . 326 
 
 INTERIM, the 134 
 
 Italy, Austrian influence in, since 
 1S15 . ... . . .330 
 
 Italian war of 1859 . .332 
 
 JELLACHICIT, General, 291 : ap- 
 pointed Ban of Croatia, invades 
 Hungary .... 311, 321 
 
 Jemappes, battle of. . . . 275 
 
 Jesuits, the. in Austria, 150, 186, 
 196, 329 ; in France . . .301 
 
 Jews, the, persecuted, 79, 83, 195 ; 
 protected .... 263,271 
 
 John, Don, of Austria . . . 148 
 
 Joseph I., his education, 218; war 
 in Italy, 220; in Spain, 221, 224 ; 
 in Hungary, 225; death . .226 
 
 Joseph 11., co-regent with Maria 
 Theresa, 258 ; opposes French 
 alliance, 262; his reforms, 25S, 
 263; influence on Catherine II., 
 265 ; contests in Netherlands, 
 267 ; Austria, 268 ; character 
 
 257, 269, 307 
 
 Juliers and Cleves, disputes 
 respecting, 157 ; settled . . 192 
 
 KAUNITZ, Count.appointed prime 
 
 minister, 248 ; divides Poland , 259 
 Klapka, General . . 320, et seq. 
 Knights, institution of . . . 38 
 Komorn . . . 291,321,325,327 
 Konifismark, General 189, 233, 23(5, 215 
 Kossuth arouses Hungary, 311 ; 
 marches to Vienna, 316 ; resists 
 Austria, 319; appointed Go- 
 vernor, 322; resigns, 325; es- 
 capes 3-26 
 
 Kray, Marshal . . . 282,281 
 Kutusof, defeated by Napoleon . 287 
 
 LADISIATJS Posthumus . . 93 
 Latour, Count .... 315 
 Laudon, General, opposes Fre- 
 derick the Great, 251; the 
 
 Turks 266 
 
 Law courts, German . . . 19 1 
 Leipzic, battles of . . 177, 188, 296 
 
 Leo X 118 
 
 Leopold, Count of Austria, 40; 
 
 Duke of Austria .... 54 
 Leopold, I., contests with France, 
 200, et seq.; with Turkey, 201, 
 '203; witli Hungary, 207; with 
 Spain, 211; death . . .217 
 Leopold II., ell'orls to trauquilise 
 his dominions, 270 ; cha- 
 racter 269,271 
 
 Lisle, siege of 222 
 
 Literature, condition of, in middle 
 
 ages, 66 ; after Reformation . 197 
 Loauo, battle of .... 277 
 Lobau, defence of . . 290 
 
 Lodi, 49 ; battle of ... 273 
 Lombardy, ancient inhabitants of, 
 29; Frederick I. in, 50; Fre- 
 derick II. ,59; Henry VII., 74; 
 Frederick 1 1 1., 96 ; Eugene op- 
 
 E oses l lie French, 214; invaded 
 y French and Sardinians, 233, 
 332; annexed to France, 280; 
 Napoleon crowned king of, 286; 
 the Lombardo-Venetian king- 
 dom, :>99; revolution in . .311 
 Lothar, emperor . . . .47 
 Louis of Bavaria, 75; the Pious, 
 
 35; tlm German .... 30 
 Louis XII., 109; XIII., 174, 178, 
 1SS; XIV., his court, 194; ambi- 
 tion, 199, 204 ; war with Spain, 
 200; attacks Holland, 202; Aus- 
 terlitz, 201 ; demands the Pala- 
 tinate, 205; intrigues for the 
 Spanish crown, 212; war with 
 Austria, 213, et seq.; death, 
 229; XV., 229; XVI., 260, 267, 
 
 272 ; XVIII 298 
 
 Louvois, cruelty of ... 205 
 Lubeck, treaty of . . . . 17:5 
 Luneville, treaty of ... 2S4 
 Luther, birth, 118; at Augsburg, 
 119; Wittenberg, 120; Worms, 
 121 ; his tomb . . . .132 
 Lutherans, 122; at Spires, 126; 
 increase in Austria, 141 ; con- 
 tests with Catholics, 143; with 
 Calvinists, 144, 149, et seq.; 
 league against Catholics, 152 ; 
 peace of Westphalia, 192; mode 
 
 of worship 193 
 
 Lutzen, battle of . , . .179 
 
 MAGDEBURG sacked by Tilly . 176 
 Malplaqnet, battle of ... 223 
 lUansfelct, Count . . 164, et seq. 
 M u coiimianni in Bohemia . . 21 
 Aiarengo, battle of . . . .283 
 Maria Theresa, marriage, 234; 
 obtains Austria, 239 ; war with 
 Frederick the Great, 241, et 
 seq.; her reforms, 247, 258; 
 S-jven Years' War, 249-256; par- 
 tition of Poland, 2J8 ; character 262 
 Marie Antoinette . . 260, 272, 276 
 Marlborough, Duke of, contests 
 in Netherlands, 214; Blenheim, 
 217; Ramilies, 219; Ondenarde, 
 222; Malplaquet,223j dismissed 227 
 Mary of Burgundy . . . 101 
 Marsalia, battle of . . . . 200 
 
 Martinuzzi 129 
 
 Massena, General . 277, 230, 2S3, 29u 
 Matthias Corvinus . . . .98 
 Matthias, governor of Nether- 
 lauds, 118; of Hungary, 155; 
 gains Austria, 156 ; crowned 
 emperor, 159; commencement of 
 Thirty Years' War . . .163 
 Maurice, ravages Saxony, 1">1 ; 
 obtains it, 1 >2 ; turns against 
 Charles V., 134; death . .136 
 Maximilian I. secures Burgundy, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 339 
 
 PAGE 
 
 101; contests with the diet, 
 108 ; Italian wars, 111, et seq.; 
 his reforms, 115; character . 116 
 Masimilian II. crowned, 142; tole- 
 ration of, 143. 149 ; war with 
 Turks, 143 ; contest with pope, 
 146 ; with Netherlands, 147 j 
 
 character 148 
 
 Mazarin, Cardinal . . . .188 
 
 Mercy, Count 233 
 
 Merovingian dynasty . 24, 27, et seq. 
 Metternich, prime minister, 293 ; 
 diplomacy with Napoleon, 294; 
 home policy, 300 ; resignation 
 
 and flight 307 
 
 Milan, Frederick I. at, 49, 50 ; con- 
 test for, 95, 109 ; dependent on 
 Austria, 220, 228 ; invaded by 
 Sardinia, 233 ; conquered by 
 Napolecn, 286; reverts to Aus- 
 tria, 299 ; revolts, 311 ; discon- 
 tent in 327 
 
 Mohacz, battles of . . . 124, 209 
 Mohammed II., 97; IV. . . . 200 
 Molwitz, tattle of . . . .240 
 Montecuculi, General, 187, 190, 199, 
 201, 216 
 Moravia, ancient inhabitants of, 
 
 22 ; revolts under Thurn . . 165 
 Mortara, battle of . . . .322 
 Murat, General, 287 ; king of 
 Naples .... 289, 299 
 
 NAGY SAELO, battle of . . .821 
 Nantz, revocation of edict of . 204 
 Napoleon Bonaparte, defends 
 Tuileries, 278 ; first Italian cam- 
 paign, 279 ; appointed first con- 
 sul, 283 ; second Italian war, 
 283 ; beef mes emperor, 285 ; 
 captures Vienna, 287, 290; mar- 
 ries Archduchess Maria Louisa. 
 293 ; invades Russia, 293 ; at 
 Dresden, 295 ; his abdication, 
 298; defeat at Waterloo . .299 
 Napoleon 111. provokes Austria, 
 
 331 ; declares war against her . 332 
 Netherlands, contests with Maxi- 
 milian I., 102; with Philip II., 
 147 ; with Louis XIV., 202 ; with 
 Leopold 11., 272: Charles V. 
 resigns the, to Philip II.; 137 ; 
 condition ur.der Maria Ihereia, 
 
 245 ; thirty year's w ar in 
 Neuperg, Count 
 Nimeguen, troty of 
 
 Nordlingcn, battles of . 
 Ncvara, tattk of 
 Nuremberg, treaty of 
 
 . 187 
 . 237 
 . 203 
 184, ISO 
 . 322 
 . 128 
 
 OEAKGF, Prince of . . . .202 
 Otbo, I., 39 ; II., 40; III., 41; IV. 55 
 Ottocar ol Iohn,ia . 58,62,68 
 Oudenarde, battle of ... 222 
 Oxensticrn, ccnnands Swedish 
 troops, ISO; intrigues with \Val- 
 lenstfin, 181; in. kague with 
 Richelieu 184 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PAPAL influence, 64, 85 ; decline, 
 
 86; character .... 118 
 Pappenheiin, Count . . 176, 180 
 Paris, besieged by allies, 296 ; peace 
 
 of, in 1814, 298 ; in 1856 . . 829 
 Partition treaty . . . .211 
 Passarowitz, treaty of . . .229 
 Passau, peace of ... 135, 192 
 
 Pavia 49 
 
 Paul, Pope, IV 139 
 
 Pepin von Heristal . . . .80 
 Piccolomiui, Octavius . 182, 188, 190 
 Pheasants, treaty of Isle of . . 200 
 Philip, emperor . . . .65 
 Philip II. of Spain crowned, 137 ; 
 
 contests with Netherlands . 147 
 Philip V. of Spain . . . 228, 230 
 Pius, Pope, IV. ,140; VI. . .264 
 Podiebrad, George . . . .94 
 Poland, Russian influence in, 232 ; 
 
 first partition, 258 ; second . 277 
 Prague, city of, 82, 90, 159 ; bloody 
 diet at, 133; revolts, 163; battle 
 of, 168 ; loses its privileges, 173 ; 
 peace of, 184 ; besieged by Ko- 
 nigsmark, 190; by Lobcowitz, 
 242; by Windischgratz . . 809 
 Pragmatic Sanction, the . . 229 
 Presburg, treaty of ... 288 
 Protestants, origin of name, 126; 
 league against Charles V., 127 ; 
 persecution of in France, 130, 
 146; in Austria, 150, 152, 170; 
 in Bohemia, 169, 173; wars with 
 Charles V., 131; rapid increase 
 of in 17th century, 196; perse- 
 cution in Salzburg . . . 231 
 Prussia raised to a duchy, 146; 
 conferred on Brandenburg, 200 ; 
 raised to a kingdom, 213; gains 
 Poland, 2CO, 277 ; strives lor 
 Germanic headship . . . 827 
 
 RADETZKY evacuates Milan, 312 ; 
 defeats King of Sardinia, 814, 
 322 ; besieges Venice . . . 828 
 Rsgotsky invades Bungary . .189 
 E a go( sky, George, . 200,216,225 
 Eamilies, battle of . . . .219 
 P.astadt, ambassadors murdered 
 
 at 281 
 
 Reformation in Bohemia, 87 ; in 
 Germany, 117, et seq; influence 
 
 of 195 
 
 Restitution, edict of ... 173 
 Revolution, French, in 1789, 266, 
 et seq; in 180, 301; iu 1848, 
 3(16; in Germany, 1830, 301; in 
 1848, 06; Austria, in 1830, 301; 
 in 1848, 307; in Bungary, 310, 
 et seq; Italy .... 811 
 Richard Cctur de Lion, captivity 
 
 of 64 
 
 Richelieu, Cardinal . 174, 184, 188 
 Rcskild, treaty of . . . .200 
 Rudolph I. crowned, 67 ; gains 
 
 Auttria, 68 ; his refoims . . 9 
 Rudolph JI. persecutes Protest- 
 ants, 150 ; contests in Geimany, 
 T 2 
 
340 
 
 INDEX . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 153 ; in Hungary, 153 ; with 
 Matthias, 156 ; character . 159, 197 
 Rupert, Bmperor . . . .85 
 Russia, war with Poland, 232 ; with 
 Turkey, 235 ; divides Poland, 
 261, 277; obtains the Crimea, 
 265; assists Austria to recover 
 Italy, 231 ; and Hungary, 321, 
 32 4-, invadsd by Napoleon, 291; 
 Crimean war .... 328 
 Ryswick, treaty of ... 207 
 
 SARDINIA., kingdom of, 2J9; in- 
 vades Milan, 233, 313 ; resists 
 Austria, 305 ; jealousy of Aus- 
 tria towards, 330 ; Italian war . 332 
 Schwartzenburg, Prince . . 293 
 Sclilick, General . . . 319,321 
 Seckendorf, General . . . 235 
 Selim I L, Sultan . . . .144 
 Senones, the . . . . .19 
 Seven Years' War . . . 249-253 
 Sforza, Francis, 95; Maximilian . 114 
 Sigismutid . . . 87, 89 
 
 Sigismund of Transylvania, 129; 
 
 war with Maximilian II. . .Ill 
 Smalkalde, league of ... 130 
 Sobieski, delivers Vienna from 
 
 Turks 209 
 
 Somma Oampagna, battle of . .314 
 Soubise, Prince de . . 219, et seq. 
 Solyman, Sultan . . 124, 128, 14i 
 Spartacus and the slaves . . 20 
 Spinola, General .... 162 
 Spires, vaults of, broken open . 203 
 Spurs, battle of . . . .114 
 Staremberg, Count . 221,221,238 
 Stilieho opposes the Goths . . 23 
 Styria, rise of, 42 ; increase . . 153 
 Swiss cities rise against Austria, 
 72 ; contests with Austria, 75, 79, 
 84,95,109; freedom . . 105,191 
 Suwarof, General . . . .281 
 Szistova, treaty of . . . . 270 
 
 TABOS, rise of, 89; battle of .189 
 Tartars in Europe .... 58 
 Temesvar, battle of ... 325 
 Tescheu, peace of . . . . 262 
 
 Tetzel 118 
 
 Teutonic knights . . . .146 
 
 Teutones, the 20 
 
 Theodoric the Groat ... 26 
 Thirty Years' War, commence- 
 ment, 163 ; state of Germany at 
 
 its close 193 
 
 Thurn, Count, revolts against 
 Austria, 163 ; defeated at Prague, 
 169 ; unites with Gustavus, 178 ; 
 
 captured 181 
 
 Tilly, Count, in Prague, 1;59 ; sacks 
 Magdeburg, 176; at battle of 
 Leipzic, 188; shot . . .178 
 
 Tokoli, Count 203 
 
 Torgau, battle of . . . .254 
 Torstenson, General, defeats im- 
 perialists at Leipzic, 188 ; op- 
 poses Gallas in Denmark, 189; 
 resigns his conunand . . . 190 
 Toulon, siege of . . 221 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Trent, treaty of, 110; councils 
 
 of ... 130, 110, et seq. 
 
 Turenne, General . . . 190, 203 
 Turin besieged by Fremh . . 220 
 Turks appear in Europsj, 92, 97, 
 100, 125; ravago Hua- 
 gary .... 154, 201, 210 
 
 UTRECHT, paace of . . 223 
 
 VARUS 21 
 
 Vendome, General, in Italy, 214, 
 219; at Lislt? . . . .222 
 
 Venice submits to Leopold, 82; 
 war with ;VLasimilian I., 113; 
 ceded to Austria, 230 ; incor- 
 porated in Lombard )- Venetian 
 kingdom, 299; revolts against 
 Austria, 312; besieged by 
 Raletzky 323 
 
 Victor Emmanuel succeeds to the 
 crown 322 
 
 Vienna, chief town in Pannonia, 
 22; an imperial city, 63,81; be- 
 sieged by Austria, 65, 98 ; by 
 Turks, 125, 208; by Thurn, 165; 
 by Torstonson, 189; captured by 
 Napole">n, 237, 292 ; privileges 
 takun from it, 150; treaties of, in 
 1735,231; in 1309, 293; congress 
 of, in 1315, 298; in 1855, 329; 
 revolution in ... 307, 314 
 
 Villars, Marshal, leads French 
 army on the Rhins, 214; at Mal- 
 plaquet 223 
 
 WAGKAM, battle of ... 291 
 Wallenstiein, raises an arrnv, 171 ; 
 war with Dt-nmark, 172 ; dis- 
 missed 174; recalled, 173 ; assas- 
 sinated 182 
 
 Wallis, Marshal, at Belgrade. . 236 
 Warfare, mode of in 16th century 195 
 
 Wartburg 121 
 
 Waterloo, battle of . . . .298 
 Weimar, Duke of Saxe, succeeds 
 Gustavus, 180 ; ravages Bavaria, 
 181 ; defeated at Nordlingen, 
 184 ; attacks Austria . . . 187 
 Wellington, Duke of 295, 296, 298, 301 
 Wenceslaus of Bohemia . . 69, 72 
 Wenceslaus, Emperor . . ,83 
 Westphalia, peace of ... 191 
 William, Prince of Nassau . . 147 
 William III. of England . . 203 
 Windischgratz, Priuco, subdues 
 Prague, 309; bombard* Vienna, 
 316, invades Hungary . 313, et seq, 
 Wladislaus . . . .9 
 
 Worms, edict of . . . .121 
 Wrangel, General . . . .190 
 Wycliffe 87,117 
 
 ZAPOLI, John 125 
 
 Zatmw, treaty of . . . .226 
 
 Zen?is 49 
 
 Zimri, Count . . . .144 
 Zirndorf, battle of . . . .179 
 Ziska, John . . * . . 89 
 
 Zurich 79 
 
 Zusmarshausen, battle of . .190 
 
UCSB UBRMHf 
 
" boo 59 389