G E R M A N Y. 
of tlie duchy of Silefia to the 'king of prudi.i. Her 
youth and beauty, however, made a Hnfible inipreilion on 
the liearts of the Hungarians, and induced them to declare 
iinanimoudy in her favour. Accordingly, her generals 
ailed with fuch extraordinary vigilance that the French 
were foon chafed out of Bohemia; George 11 . at the 
head of an Englilli and Hanoverian army, gained the 
famous battle of Dettingen; and Charles VII. was re¬ 
duced to fuchextrejnities, that he would have conclud¬ 
ed a peace with the queen of Hungary upon any terms 
that were not abfolutely injurious to his honour. But 
that princefs imprudently refufed to lifteit to any ac¬ 
commodation, till the king of Prulfia led a numerous 
army into Bohemia, and fubdued the greateft part of 
that kingdom, under pretence of fupporting the impe¬ 
rial dignity. 
Upon the demife of Charles VII. in 1745, and the 
fubfequent election of the duke of Lorraine, confort to 
her Hungarian majcfly, the king of PrulTla afferted, 
that the cmprefs-queen, the emprefs of Rullia, and the 
king of Poland as elector of Saxony, had entered into 
a fecret convention to (trip him of his dominions, and 
divide them among themfelves. On this pretence he 
took up arms againft the king of Poland, defeated his 
troops, chafed him out of Saxony, and held the city of 
Drefden as a legal conquert, till his Britannic majefly 
interfered and negociated an accommodation. By tlie 
fubfequent treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the duchy of Si- 
lefia was guaranteed to Prullia: but, as the emprefs of 
Ruffia happened to coincide in fentiment with the king 
of Poland and the emjrrefs-queen, and as France en¬ 
gaged to fupport their defigns, a frefli war was kindled 
in the empire. 
The king of PrulTia, in 1756, encouraged by the pro- 
mife of an annual fubfidy from the Britifli parliament, 
rufhed like a refiftlefs torrent into Saxony, defeated the 
imperial general at Lowofitz, and again compelled the 
elector to retire into Poland. After this exploit he was 
put under the ban of the empire, and the armies of 
France and RuITia haflened to fupport the imperial 
arms: but, inftead of Ihrinking from the danger, or 
even lowering his pretenfions, the Pruflian monarch 
made fuch exertions as are fcarcely to be paralleled in 
hidory. Having made a frelh irruption into Bohemia, 
he defeated an army confiding of a hundred thoufand 
Andrians, and attacked the city of Prague w'ith a mod 
tremendous artillery ; but jud as he was congratulating 
himfelf on the irrefidible valour of his troops, the 
Andrian general Daun obliged them to raife the (iege, 
and to retreat to Eifnach. The arrival of the Ruffians 
gave a new turn to the afpect of the war; and the po¬ 
litical manoeuvres of count Daun involved his Pruflian 
majedy in many embarraffments, notwithdanding all 
his fplendid victories. A noClurna! attack upon his 
army at Hochkirchen threw his affairs into a mod peri¬ 
lous fituation; and, though he contrived to retrieve 
this misfortune, he was compelled to facrifice Saxony 
for the prefervation of Silefia. It has been judly ob- 
ferved, that few periods of hidory afford fo much room 
for contemplation as this campaign did : —(i x fieges were 
raifed almod at the fame time :—that of Colberg by the 
Ruffians ; that of Leipfic by the duke of Deux-Ponts ; 
that of Drefden by count Daun ; and thofe of Cold, 
Neifs, and Torgau, by the Andrians. 
The king ot Prulfia’s misfortunes now poured in upon 
him from every quarter.. The Ruffians, of whom he 
had formerly entertained too mean an opinion, advanced, 
.tinder the command of count Soltikod', to Silefia, and 
defeated his army with prodigious, daughter; fucceed- 
ing defeats feemed to announce his ruin, and all avenues 
to a pacification were barred agajnfi him. Still, how¬ 
ever, he remained firm and undaunted ; and towards the 
end ot the campaign, he defeated the imperialids in 
Clie battle of Torgau ; but this victory was attended 
*vith po great confequences inhis favour, though it cod 
Voh. Vlii. No. J2J. 
503 
him ten thoufand of liis braved troops. The fubfe- 
qnent reduClion of Colberg by the Rulfians, and of 
Schweidnitz by the Andrians, feemed to threaten his 
lad hopes with anniliilation; but at this critical junc¬ 
ture, his mod formidable enemy was removed by death, 
and the new einperor of Ruifia recalled his armies. 
The emprefs-queen dill defired to crudi this enterprifing 
prince, who had incurred her implacable refeniincnt ; 
but as the German princes dil'approved that defign, 
and her generals tedifieda drong repugnance to execute 
her orders, die at length confented to an armidice ; and 
the tubfequent tieaty of Flubertfburg again fecured to 
his Prutlian majedy the potTefiion of Silefia. About 
two years after the conclution of this treaty, the empe¬ 
ror Francis died, in the twenty-firfl year of his reign. 
This prince never appeared to take any thare in the 
concerns of Germany, but fucli as his gratitude to liis 
confort, Ids depcndance upon her for the fupport of his 
imperial dignity, and a liatural regard for his children, 
feemed to dictate. 
Jofepli II. who had been crowned king of tlie Ro¬ 
mans in 1764, tucceeded his father in the empire in 
1765 ; and foon gave tome convincing proofs of his ac¬ 
tivity, by new-modelling the armies, introducing eco¬ 
nomy, and vifiting all the camps which were formed, 
during the fummer, in Boliemia, Moravia, and Hun¬ 
gary. And among many other excellent regulations, 
the emperor fet apart one day in every week for receiv¬ 
ing petitions and complaints from all his fubjeCts, with¬ 
out any dillinCtion of birth or fortune ; a.-id the officers 
of Ills court were exprefsly forbidden to repulfe an}-, 
even the meaned objeCl, who came to implore his pro- 
teClion. “ It behoves me, ((aid he,) to do judice, and 
it is my invariable intention to render it to all the 
world, without refpeCt of perfons.” 
Notwithdanding thefe exertions on the part ot the 
fovereign, and the bleflings of profound tranquillity, 
Germany was, in 1771, doomed to fuft'er mod poignant 
calamities. A feries of unfavourable feafons had occa- 
fioned a general dearth of corn, which was more or le(s 
felt in all the countries of Europe : but in mod parts 
of Germany the fcarclly was fo great, that vad num¬ 
bers of people aClually periffied, and the peafants, in 
many places, were compelled to unthatch their cottages 
to fupply the want of provender for their cattle. The 
.approacli of fummer increaled indead of alleviating the 
public didrels ; for the unufiial quantities ot fnow 
w'hich lay on tlie mountains, being iuddenly melted, 
ruffied in torrents on the level country ; while the over¬ 
flowing of the great rivers, and the continual rains 
which fell from the latter end of May till the middle of 
July, difl'uled on every (ide feenes of confufion, terror, 
and didrefs. Many parts of Lower Saxony, of the old 
march of Brandenburg, and of*the adjacent countrie.'., 
were totally ruined by an inundation of tlie Elbe ; Ham-. 
burg was in a mod critical fituation; and the great 
fuburb lying toward the Elbe was fo completely co¬ 
vered with water, that only the tops of ti.e trees were 
dil'cernihle. 
The princes and dates of Germany made every pof- 
fible exertion to hulli the complaints, and alleviate the 
iniferies, of the people ; but, as the famine was not 
confined to tlie empire, the lupplies which they pro¬ 
cured were very dilproportionable to their benevolent 
delign. A riot happening at Frague in confequcnce ot 
this unfortunate fcarcity, the governor toid the people, 
that if they did not immediately dil'perfe, he would 
order his loldiers to fire upon them ; but this menace 
was fo far from terrifying them, that they replied v/ith 
perfect coolnefs, they (itould look upon the executioa 
of it as a (ignal favour, a fudden death by (fiot being 
much preferable to a lingering one by famine. The 
emprefs-queen, being informed of this tranfaition, burd 
into tears, and lent the unhappy rioters immediate re¬ 
lief. About the fame time a hundred barrels of flour 
6 N were 
