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FREDERICK WILLIAM IV. 



FREDERICK WILLIAM (OF BRUNSWICK). 



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Broken down by the infirmities of age, Frederick William III. died 

 afUr a hort illnru on the 7th of June 1840. He wai twice married. 

 By hi* firat wife. Louiaa of Meckleuburg-Strelite, he had four sons, the 

 eldmt of whom is the preaent King Frederick William IV., and three 

 danghtera, Hia Mcond wife waa Augutte, oouuteu von Harraob, 

 omUd Prince** of LiegniU, with whom be wai united in 1824 in 

 morganatic marriage, and by whom he had no tone. 



FREDERICK/WILLIAM IV., King of Pruaaia, waa born October 

 15, 1795, and aueceeded hia father on June 7, 1S40. He married 

 Elisabeth Louiaa, daughter of the late Maximilian Joseph, king of 

 Bavaria, on November S9, 1823, bat haa no children. Frederick 

 William received a careful education under the historian Niebuhr, 

 and other of the moat eminent men of Germany, and haa always 

 encouraged literature and the arts. After hia father's death he mode 

 hituaelf popular to a certain extent by conceding some minor reforms 

 and talking of others. On the breaking out of the revolutionary mania 

 in March 1848 however he took a new course. On the 22nd of that 

 month, after some severe fighting between the troops and the citizens 

 at Berlin, the king issued a proclamation in the Gazette, recommend- 

 ing the cordial union of German princes and people under one guiding 

 hand, offering himself to be that guide ; the fusing and dissolving the 

 name of Prussia into that of Germany ; and abolishing the censorship 

 of the press, placing its offences under the ordinary tribunals. The 

 populace assembled in delight ; an accidental quarrel arose with the 

 aoldiery, more blood waa abed, but the king had the prisoner* 

 released, nominated a popular ministry, and proclaimed a general 

 amnesty, and again all was tranquil. He next undertook the protection 

 of Schleswig and Holatein against the Danes, in the name of the 

 Provisional Government of Germany. But after the Constituent 

 German National Assembly at Frankfurt elected* the Archduke John 

 lieutenant-general of Germany, Frederick William's ardour cooled. 

 He refused to give or consent to a constitution fur his own people, 

 saying with a mock sentimentality that he would not have " a piece 

 of paper come between him and hia people ; " and the chief events in 

 his course since have been the intrigues in the German Diet to oppose 

 the superiority of Austria, and the refusal to take any active part in 

 the late content against Russia, though early in the controversy he 

 had declared Ruwia in the wrong for her attack on Turkey. 



Hia nephew, Frederick William, visited England in 1856, as the 

 suitor of the Princes* HoyaL 



KKKUEK1CK AUGUSTUS I., King of Saxony, eldest son of the 

 Elector Frederick Christian, bom at Dresden on the 23rd of December 

 1750, succeeded his father on the 17th of December 1763, under the 

 guardianship of his undo Prince Xavier, till he assumed the govern- 

 ment in 1768. In 1769 he married the Princess Maria Amelia of 

 Deuxponta. He began his reign with a firm resolution, to which be 

 remained faithful under all circumstances and at all times, to do every- 

 thing in his power to promote the happiness of his people. In the 

 whole of his lung reitjn there was no act of despotism, or violation of 

 the rights of others. Averse from innovation, ho undertook nothing 

 through ostentation or mere imitation, but new institutions arose 

 only when he had become convinced of their utility, lie gradually 

 diminished the debts of the country ; and the strict integrity of his 

 administration caused the Saxon fund-, though the interest was low, 

 to be several per cent, above par. He often prevented the country 

 from contracting debt* by personal sacrifices, endeavoured to decrease 

 rather than to raise the taxes, and never suffered his interest and that 

 of his treasury to be opposed to the interests of his subjects. During 

 the dreadful dearth in 1772, 1804, and 1805, and the inundations iu 

 1784, 1799, and 1804, the king gave particular proofs of his paternal 

 care for hia people. Agriculture, the improvement of the breed of 

 cattle, especially of the cheep, made considerable progress, and were 

 encouraged by premiums. The mines, the salt-works, and the forests 

 were improved by careful superintendence and wise laws. Manufac- 

 tures were encouraged ; commerce, which had suffered severely during 

 the Seven Years' War and by the duties imposed during his minority 

 upon foreign good*, became flourishing to a degree hitherto unknown. 

 The army waa placed upon a better footing, excellent institutions 

 were established for the education of officers, and a military penal 

 code was compiled. Extensive support was given to the universities 

 of Wittenberg and Leipzig, the schools of PforU-Meissen and Grimma 

 were reorganised, the seminaries at Dresden and Weisaenfels, the 

 institutions for the sons of soldiers at Annaberg, and the elementary 

 mining-school* iu the Erzgebirge were founded, and the mining-academy 

 at Freiberg better organised. In his legislation Frederick's government 

 appear* in very favourable light. Torture was abolished in 1770; 

 the number of oath* in court* of justice was diminished ; the punish- 

 ment of death restricted and made less cruel Important changes 

 were also msde with respect to several public boards ; salutary police 

 Uws and a general ordinance on guardianship were issued ; orphan- 

 houses, workhouses, dispensaries, Ac, were founded. The spirit of 

 integrity, order, temperance, and fidelity so generally prevailed, that 

 Saxony was eminently distinguished for the morality of it* inhabitants. 

 Notwithstanding hi* love of peace, he was more than once obliged to 

 take part in the wars of other powers. Than, in 1778, the claims of 

 his mother on the succession of her brother the Elector of Bavaria, 

 made him join Frederick the Great against Austria. The welfare of 

 his country and it* geographical position required him to be united 



witli Prussia, on which account he joined the Fu'rstcnbund. Similar 

 considerations induced him to refuse the crown of Poland , which the 

 Pole* offered to him and his successors in 1791. He took no part in 

 the war against France further than furnishing his contingent as a 

 prince of the empire; and in 1796 he acceded to the armistice and 

 treaty of Neufchatel with France, and stationed a cordon of troops on 

 the line of demarcation, on his southern frontier. He took no p.irt in 

 the new war between Austria and France in 1805 ; but when the 

 German empire was dissolved, on the 6th of August 1 80C, be waa 

 obliged to furnish Prussia with 22,000 men against France. After the 

 battle of Jena, Saxony was abandoned to the French. Napoleon, 

 besides various requisitions, levied a contribution of 25,000,000 of 

 francs, and established a provisional administration of the sequestrated 

 revenues, but allowed the country to remain neutral ; and its fate 

 would doubtless have been very different but for the respect with 

 which the private and public virtues of the king inspired even his 

 enemies. Frederick assisted hia distressed subjects from bis private 

 property, concluded a treaty of peace with Napoleon at Bonn in 

 December 1806, assumed the title of kin?, joined the Rhenish Con- 

 federation, and furnished 20,000 men as his contingent. By the treaty 

 of Tilsit in 1807 he obtained a large portion of Prussian Poland, by 

 the name of the grand-duchy of Warsaw. He was bound to take part 

 with France in its wan, but sent no troops to Spain ; and in tbo war 

 with Austria in 1809 he furnished only his contingent. In 1813 his 

 dominions became the theatre of war. On the entrance of the allie* 

 into Saxony be retired to Plauen, thence to Ratisbon, and thence to 

 Prague ; but the menaces of Napoleon compelled him to return to 

 Dresden ; he afterwards followed Napoleon to Leipzig. That town 

 being taken by the allies after the defeat of the French on the 18th 

 and 19th of October, Alexander intimated to him that he conm 

 him as a prisoner. The act of spoliation which followed is well known. 

 In spite of his remonstrances and representations, and of the high 

 estimation in which his character was held, he was deprived of a large 

 portion of his kingdom, which was given to Prussia under the title of 

 the grand-duchy of Saxony. He returned to his capital on the 7th of 

 Juue 1815, founded, in commemoration of that event, the order of 

 Civil Merit, and devoted all his attention to repair the injuries caused 

 by the war. In September 1818 he celebrated the fiftieth anniversary 

 of his assuming the government, and iu January 1819 that of his 

 marriage. He died on the 5th of May 1827, iu the seventy-seventh 

 year of his age and the sixty-fourth of his reign. 



FREDEUICK AUGUSTUS I. OF POLAND. [AUGUSTUS II.l 

 FREDERICK AUGUSTUS IL OF POLAND. [AUGUSTUS III.] 

 FREDEUICK WILLIAM, Duke of Brunswick, the fourth nd 

 youngest son of Charles William Ferdinand, was born October 9, 1771, 

 and educated for the military profession. In 1786 tho king of 1'ni^ia 

 named him successor of bis uncle Frederick Augustus, duke of Dels 

 and Bernstadt, who died in 1805. He went to Lausanne, spent two 

 years in Switzerland, and on hi return was mode captain in a Prussian 

 regiment of infantry. In 1792 he was with the Prussian army in 

 France, and was twice wounded. After the peace of Basel he obtained 

 a regiment, and in 1804 married the princess Mary of Baden, by whom 

 he had two sous, Charles and William. After ISOti he took part iu the 

 war against France, with all the ardour which the oppression of Ger- 

 many aud his father's unhappy fate inspired. He was taken prisoner 

 with Bliicher at Lubeck. His eldest brother the hereditary duke 

 dying without children in September 1806, and bis two other unmarried 

 brothers having been declared incapable of reigning on account of 

 incurable blindness, he would have succeeded to the government of 

 Brunswick on the death of his father ; but the peace of Tilsit and the 

 will of Napoleon decided otherwise. From that time he lived at 

 Brucbsal, where ho lost his consort in April 1808. At the beginning 

 of the war between France aud Austria, iu 1809, he raised a free corps 

 in Bohemia. After the total defeat of the Austrians, the duke resolved 

 to leave Germany, aud with a corps of 700 cavalry aud 800 infantry, 

 commenced in July that memorable and masterly retreat which 

 him such deserved reputation. After some skirini-hes ho reached 

 Brunswick on the 31st of July, but did not enter the city. There was 

 no time for rest; three bodies of troops, each much more numerous 

 than his own, were advancing against him. On the 1st of August tho 

 \Vustphaliau general Reubel met the duko at the village of Oelper, near 

 I'.rnnswick, and a battle ensued, in which Kcubel's 4000 men not only 

 yielded to the 1500 Bruuswickers, but left the only way open by which 

 they could escape. 



By a series of skilful manoeuvres the duke deceived his pursuers, 

 crowed the Weser, broke down the bridge behind him, and having 

 completely baffled his enemies, reached ElsQeth on the 6th of August, 

 where be took possession of a sufficient number of vessels in which 

 he embarked hi* troops during the night, and on tho 7th in thu 

 morning, hoisting English colours, nailed for Heligoland, where he 

 arrived on the 8th, and on the 10th proceeded with his corps to 

 England. He was received in England with the greatest joy ; his 

 troops were taken into the English service and employed in the 

 Peninsula, where they distinguished themselves. Tho duke had a 

 pension of 60001. a-year granted by the parliament till he returned to 

 his own dominions iu December 1813, where he was received with 

 extraordinary enthusiasm, and with expectations which bo was 

 unhappily unable to fullil. He was one of the most liberal and noble- 



