STATE IPAPE ^'S^ >^ 



207 



thus his majesty fell into an absolute 

 impossibility of taking any longer 

 that active part from his own 

 means, without utterly ruining his 

 own dominions, and entirely ex- 

 hausting the property of his sub- 

 jects. 



His majesty, however, still re- 

 mained deeply impressed with a pa- 

 triotic hope of being able still to 

 lend help and protection, and that 

 with increased force, to the GLTman 

 empire ; and to be enabled to do 

 this, he entered into a negotiation 

 with the confederate powers, pro- 

 posingcertain arrangements tothem, 

 the principal points of which were, 

 besides the payment of a subsidy to 

 him, a stipulation that the subsist- 

 ence of the greatest part of the 

 Prussian army should be provided for 

 by the empire in gener;'.] ; and that, 

 until a final plan should be con- 

 cluded to this effect, that the six 

 anterior circles of the empire, who 

 lay most exposed to danger, and 

 who reaped immediate benefit from 

 the defence, should be charged pro- 

 visionally with the funiihiung of the 

 same ; and it was also declared to 

 the diet of the empire, and the 

 circles above-mentioned, that in 

 case these frank and free proposals 

 were not acceded to by the em- 

 peror, his majesty would be com- 

 pelled to withdraw the greatest 

 part of his troops, and to leave the 

 empire to its fate. 



Several states have made declara- 

 tions suitable to the pressnig cii- 

 cumstanccs in which they, ai.d the 

 whole empire, were placed ; in 

 particular, his electoral highness of 

 Alentz, full of exalted and patriotic 

 ientiments towards the empire, 

 complied with every requisition re- 

 lative to the subsistcrice of the 

 •Prussian troops wiiicJi depended uj)- 



on him, and summoned an imme- 

 diate congress of the six circles. 

 His majesty entertained a just ex- 

 pectation, that similar good conse- 

 quences would every where have 

 flowed from his patriotic intentions, 

 and his hard-earned merits in his 

 former defence of the whole em- 

 pire. Every retrospect seemed to 

 confirm these hopes : on one side, 

 the past afforded the admonishing 

 picture of the dreadful torrent of 

 an all-subverting enemy ; on the 

 other, the noble and heroic stand of 

 the Prussian army, and the immense 

 sacrifices of the blood of his war- W^ 

 riors, and the treasures of his do- 

 minions, made by the magnanimity 

 of his Prussian majesty. Even then, 

 that army was standing on the banks 

 of the Rhine, the bulwark of the 

 whole empire, and to which the 

 enemy did not dare to penetrate ; 

 but the subsistence of that army, 

 undertaken by the whole empire, 

 was the sole condition under which 

 it could any longer be effective, and 

 vvhicli the physical impossibility of 

 Prussia alone bearing the burden, ' 

 did absolutely oblige Prussiato insist 

 upon. Was it acceded to, then 

 tlie future afforded the consolatory 

 prospect of his majesty acting with, 

 that known alacrity — that well 

 proved fidelity, in the defence of 

 thQ empire, and the protection of 

 its constitution, to the utmost of his -■ 

 power i But every impartial ob- 

 server might have easily anticipated 

 the consequences of the refusal of 

 the re<jiiired subsistence, and the 

 return of the Prussian troops into 

 his majesty's own states. Then v 



might the over-poweriul and deli- 

 rious enemy ravage, uncontroled, m. 

 throughout the empire, and with ^ 

 plundt-ring and murderous haiids, 

 wnbridlcd and unlimited, bear down 



the 



