HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
the dict, in the name of the French 
emperor, declaring that he nolonger 
acknowledged the existence of the 
Germanic constitution. 
When these arrangements were 
communicated to Prussia, her ac- 
quiescence was purchased by the 
delusive hope held out to her by 
France, of being permitted to form 
a confederation of states in the 
north of Germany under the pro- 
tection of Prussia, as the confede- 
ration of the Rhine’ was under the 
protection of France.* But no 
sooner had Austria submitted to the 
loss of her ancient, imperial dig. 
nity ; and deposited the sceptre of 
the Othos at the foot of the mo- 
dern Charlemagne ; than Prussia, 
whose meanness was despised, and 
assistance no longer wanted by 
Bonaparte, found herself condemn- 
ed to another disappointment, 
aggravated by the reflection, that she 
was indebted for this mortification to 
the want of wisdom and probity in 
her councils, She was told, that 
from deference to England, Bona- 
parte could not permit her to in- 
clude the Hanseatic towns in her 
confederacy, and that he was deter- 
mined to take them under his own 
protection.+ He was not averse to 
her plan of a northern confedera. 
tion; but his regard to justice and 
respect for the law of nations, would 
net allow him to see any compul- 
sion used to make independent 
princes belong to it against their 
* Prussian Manifesto, Oct. 9th. 
167 
will, The wise prince, she was told? 
who governed Saxony, seemed no 
inclined to contract the new obligae: 
tions which Prussia wished to impose 
upon him; and Trance could not 
see him enslaved, or forced to act 
against the interests of his people.t 
The elector of Hesse, another mem- 
ber of the proposed northern con- 
federation, was reminded by the 
French minister at Cassel, of the 
inability of Prussia to do any thing 
for her allies. He was then invited 
to join the confederacy of the Rhine, 
and as an inducement to comply, 
the remaining possessions of the 
prince of Orange, brother-in-law 
of the king of Prussia, were of- 
fered to be transferred to him.— 
And, when he refused these tempt- 
ing proposals, the Rhenish confede- 
ration passed a resolution, by which 
he was cut off from access to part 
of his own states. || 
In the midst of these injuries and 
mortifications, Prussia discovered, 
that France, which had been con. 
tinually urging her to the invasion 
of Swedish Pomerania, had engaged 
to Russia, to prevent her from de- 
priving the king of Sweden of his 
German territories; and that after 
guaranteeing to her the possession of 
Hanover, her faithless ally had ne- 
gotiated with England on the basis 
of the restoration of that electo- 
rate, I i 
To which of these grounds of 
complaint we are to attribute the 
+ Letter from the emperor of the French, to the king of Bavaria, Sept. 27.— 
Prussian manifesto. 
¢ lb.—and letter from the French emperor to the senate, Oct. 9th. —Reports 
from ‘Lalleyrand, Oct. 3 and 6. 
|| Prussian Manifesto. —Circular note of the prince primate, to the confedera- 
tion of the Rhine, Sept. 18, 
4 fy Begs Manifesto, 
4 
M 4 final 
