HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
the expeditiin to Germany, still 
preserved its general preponderance 
against the coalition. The direétory 
had, previously to the opening of 
the campaign, published to all Eu- 
rope a desire to terminate the war 
Seenaniegnitable conditions; but these 
_ did not appear such to the two re- 
maining powers in alliance against 
the republic. They» weil under- 
stood, that the cession of the Ne- 
therlands would be required, toge- 
ther with the restoration of all the 
conquests made by the British army 
in both the Indies. 
It was to confirm its pretensions 
to these lofty demands, that France 
made those venturous attempts in 
the empire that had almost succeed- 
ed. But the failure did not-induce 
the rulers of the republic to abate 
in their demands, which they sull 
insisted on with as much obstinacy 
as if they had been’ completely suc- 
cessful in those vast enterprizes. 
Austria did not display less reso- 
lution. It relied on that constant 
good fortune which had, in the cri- 
tical occurrences of many ages,never 
permitted it to be reduced to dis- 
‘tress, without finally providing it 
with the means of deliverance. 
Henee, in the midst of difficulties, 
the spirit of that high-minded fa- 
mily, though frequently staggered 
at the reverses that befel it, and 
bending occasionally before unavoid- 
able necessity, still remained un- 
broken, and silently cherished the 
hope, that the hour of prosperity 
would return, as it had so often 
done, and richly repay it for its past 
losses. 
While such ideas were prevalent, 
the court of Vienna felt more indig- 
nation than despondency at the suc- 
cess of the republican arms. The 
. 
[143 
persuasions of a similar kind, that 
were ho less carrent among the peo 
ple of its hereditary dominions in 
Germany, contributed wonderfully 
to animate them in, the defence of 
a family, that seemed, at all times, 
the peculiar favourite of fortune,and 
destined, however. liable to tempo- 
rary depression, ultimately to suc 
ceed against all its enemies; and to 
verify the-epithet, bestowed upon it 
so long ago, of fortunate. 
The inferior sovereigns, and petty 
states of the empire, had, in the 
beginning of the contest between 
the coalition and the republic, wa 
vered ‘in their opinion concerning 
the justice and propriety of requir- 
ing them to join against a people 
that had given them no! provoca- 
tion. Hence flowed those discon- 
tents, and murmurs, against the Im- 
perial mandates, and requisitions, to 
that purpose, which were gradually 
converted into an enmity to those 
that issued them, and into good 
wishes to the cause against which 
they -combated: But this hostile 
disposition had no activity. A long 
and habitual subserviency to the 
politics of the court of Vienna was 
too firmly established among most of 
the secondary princes, and Imperial 
cities, as they are styled,to be shaken 
by transitory events. The court of 
Berlin was more feared than re- 
speéted, and its tergiversation de- 
stroyed all influence but that which 
proceeded immediately from the ter- 
ror of its arms. Thus the Austrian 
interest, though it sometimes fluétu- 
ated, still recovered its influence, 
and the inimical desigfs of Prussia, 
against the lesser states of the em- 
pire, together with the flagitious be- 
haviour of the French, restored, in 
@ great measure, the preponder- 
3 ance 
