prizes, that the English expedition against Carthagena had miscarried. This discouraging news made him sensible of the impropriety of attempting to execute that part of his instructions which regarded an attack upon Panama, in consequence of a supposed co-operation with the British troops, across the isthmus of Darien. He therefore bore away for Acapulco, in hopes of intercepting the Manilla galleon, which he understood was then at sea. Happily for the Spaniards, she had reached that port before his arrival. He endeavoured to intercept her in her return, but without effect. At last, finding himself destitute of every necessary, he sailed for the river Canton, in China, where he arrived, after a long and distressing voyage. Having refitted his ship, and taken in a supply of provisions, he again launched into the Pacific Ocean; and after cruising there some time, he fortunately met with and took the annual ship from Acapulco, on the coast of Mexico, to Manilla, in the island of Luconia, laden with treasure, to the amount of about three hundred thousand pounds sterling, besides other valuable commodities.(1)

Anson went a second time to Canton, where he asserted the honour of the British flag in a very spirited manner, and returned to England by the Cape of Good Hope in 1744, to the great joy of his countrymen, who had heard of his disasters, and concluded that he and all his crew were lost. The Spanish treasure were carried to the tower with much parade; and an expedition, which, all things considered, ought rather to have been deemed unfortunate, was magnified beyond measure. Anson's perseverance, however, deserved praise, and the success of a single ship seemed to point out what might be performed by a stout squadron on the coasts of the South Sea; but the failure of the formidable enterprise against Carthagena was still so fresh in the memory of the nation, that no farther attempt was made during the war to distress the Spanish settlements in America.

I shall here, my dear Philip, close this Letter; as the naval transactions in the European seas, though seemingly connected with the subject, will enter with more propriety into the general narration. The war, occasioned by the death of the emperor Charles VI., must now engage our attention.

LETTER XXVIII.

The general View of the Affairs of Europe, from the Death of the Emperor Charles VI., in 1740, to the Treaty of Dresden, in 1745, and the Confirmation of the Treaty of Breslaw.

THE death of the emperor Charles VI., the last prince of the ancient house of Austria, without male issue, awakened the ambition of many potentates, the adjusting of whose pretensions threw all Europe into a ferment. By virtue of the pragmatic sanction, as well as the rights of blood, the succession to the whole Austrian dominions belonged to the archduchess Maria Theresa, the late emperor's eldest daughter, married to Francis of Lorrain, grand-duke of Tuscany. The kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, the province of Silesia, Austrian Suabia, Upper and Lower Austria, Stiria, Carinthia. Carniola, the four Forest Towns, Burgaw, Brisgaw, the Low Countries, Friuli, Tirol, the dutchy of Milan, and the dutchies of Parma and Placenza, formed that immense inheritance.

Almost all the European powers had guaranteed the pragmatic sanction; but, as prince Eugene judiciously remarked, "a hundred thousand men would have guaranteed it better than a hundred thousand treaties!" Selfish avidity and lawless ambition can only be restrained by force. Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria, laid claim to the kingdom of Bohemia, on the

(1) Anson's Voyage, by Walter. The treasure consisted of one million three hundred and thirteen thousand eight hundred and forty dollars or pesos, with uncoined silver equal in value to forty three thou sand six hundred and eleven dollars.

VOL. II.-Dd

strength of an article in the will of the emperor Ferdinand I., brother to Charles V. Augustus III., king of Poland, and elector of Saxony, exhibited pretensions to the whole Austrian succession, in virtue of the rights of his wife, eldest daughter of the emperor Joseph, elder brother of Charles VI. The Catholic king deduced similar pretensions from the rights of the daughter of the emperor Maximilian II., wife to Philip II. of Spain, from whom he was descended by females; and the king of Sardinia revived an obsolete claim to the dutchy of Milan. The king of France had also his pretensions, and to the whole disputed succession, as being descended in a right line from the eldest male branch of the house of Austria, by two princesses, married to his ancestors, Lewis XIII. and Lewis XIV. But, conscious that such a claim would excite the jealousy of all Europe, he did not appear as a competitor; though he was not without hopes of aggrandizing himself, and of dismembering the Austrian dominions, by abetting the claims of another.

In the mean time, Maria Theresa took quiet possession of that vast inheritance, which was secured to her by the pragmatic sanction, She received the homage of the states of Austria at Vienna; and the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia_swore allegiance to her by their deputies, as did the Italian provinces. Possessed of a popular affability, which her predecessors had seldom put in practice, she gained the hearts of her subjects, without diminishing her dignity. But above all, she ingratiated herself with the Hunga rians, in voluntarily accepting the ancient oath of their sovereigns; by which the subjects, should their privileges be invaded, are allowed to defend themselves, without being treated as rebels,

As the ancestors of this princess had ever been backward in complying with such engagements, the early taking of that prudent step was attended with wonderful popularity. The Hungarians, who, after two hundred years spent in seditious broils and civil wars, still bore with impatience the Austrian yoke, submitted with pleasure to the government of Maria Theresa, whom they almost adored, and who was worthy of their warmest regard. Her first care, after conciliating the affections of her people, was to procure for her husband a share in all her crowns, under the title of co-regent: and she flattered herself, that the consequence thus conferred upon the grandduke would soon raise him to the imperial throne.(1) But she had forgot that she was destitute of money; that a number of pretenders, for the whole or a part of the Austrian succession, were rising up against her, and that her troops, though far from inconsiderable, were dispersed over her extensive dominions.

The first alarm was given by a formidable, but unexpected pretender. Frederic III., king of Prussia, had lately succeeded his father, Frederic William, a wise and politic prince, who had, by rigid economy, amassed a prodigious treasure, though he maintained, for his own security, an army of sixty thousand men, which he prudently left his son to employ.(2) "If we may be said to owe the shade of the oak," observes the royal historian, "to the acorn from which it sprung, in like manner we may discern, in the sagacious conduct of Frederic William, the source of the future greatness of his successor."(3)

This ambitious, enlightened, and enterprising monarch, whose character I shall afterward have occasion to develope in describing his heroic achievements, and in tracing his extensive plans of policy, revived certain antiquated claims of his family to four dutchies in Silesia; and, instead of having recourse to unmeaning manifestoes, he began his march at the head of thirty thousand choice troops, in order to establish his right. When he found himself in the heart of that rich province, and in possession of Breslaw its capital, he showed a disposition to negotiate. He offered to supply Maria Theresa, then commonly known by the name of queen of Hungary, with money and troops; to protect, to the utmost of his power, the rest of her dominions in Germany, and to use all his interest to place her husband on the imperial throne, provided she would cede to him the Lower Silesia.

(1) Voltaire. Millet.

(2) Mem. de Brandenburg, tom. ii.

(3) Id. ibid.

That would have been a small sacrifice for peace and security. But the queen of Hungary was sensible, that, by yielding to the claims of one pretender, she should only encourage those of others. She therefore rejected, perhaps too hastily, the offers of the king of Prussia, and sent count Neuperg, one of her best generals, with a strong body of troops into Silesia, in order to expel the invaders. The two armies, nearly equal in numbers, met at Molwitz, a village in the neighbourhood of the town of Neiss, and within a league of the river of the same name. There a desperate battle was fought. The action lasted from two in the afternoon till six in the evening; when the Austrians, in spite of the most vigorous efforts, were obliged to retire under the cannon of Neiss, with the loss of four thousand

men.

This victory, which was followed, though not immediately, with the reduction of Glatz and Neiss, and the submission of the whole province of Silesia, was acquired solely by the firmness of the Prussian infantry, and their celerity in firing, in consequence of a new exercise taught them by their young king. The cavalry were totally routed by the superiority of the Austrians in horse; the royal baggage was pillaged, and the king himself, in danger of being made prisoner, was carried off the field, in the more early part of the engagement. But the second line of infantry stood immoveable; and by the admirable discipline of that body the battle was restored.(1)

The success of the king of Prussia astonished all Europe; and the refusal of Maria Theresa to comply with his demands, which had lately been dignified with the name of greatness of soul, was now branded with the appellation of imprudent obstinacy and hereditary haughtiness :-so apt are mankind to judge of measures by events, and to connect wisdom with good fortune, and folly with disaster!-But, even at this distance of time, when a more impartial judgment may be formed, if the queen of Hungary's resolution was again to be taken, it would be difficult for political sagacity to direct her which alternative to choose. What might have been the consequence of her compliance with the king of Prussia's proposals, it is impossible to say; but we know that her intrepidity of spirit in resolving, at all hazards, to preserve undivided the Austrian succession, exalted her in the esteem of her most natural and powerful allies, who ultimately secured to her the greater part of that succession. It must, however, be admitted, that the successful invasion of the king of Prussia, the unforeseen consequence of her refusal, and an assurance of the support of so powerful a prince, encouraged the court of Versailles in the ambitious project of placing the elector of Bavaria on the imperial throne. The rise of this project deserves to be traced.

France had guaranteed the pragmatic sanction of Charles VI., and cardinal Fleury, whose love of peace increased with his declining years, was desirous of preserving inviolate the engagements of his master. But no sooner was it known at Versailles that the king of Prussia had invaded Silesia, than the cardinal found himself unable to withstand the ardour for war in the French councils. This ardour was increased by the battle of Molwitz, and the failure of the English in their attempt upon Spanish America. Assured of the assistance of Spain, which turned a wishful eye on the Italian possessions of the queen of Hungary, the young nobility and princes of the blood, eager for an opportunity of distinguishing themselves in arms, represented to the king, that the period so long desired was now arrived, of finally breaking the power of the house of Austria, and exalting that of Bourbon on its ruins; by dismembering the dominion of Maria Theresa, and placing on the imperial throne, Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria, a stipendary of his most Christian majesty.

The moderation and natural equity of Lewis XV. yielded to arguments so flattering to his pride; and to the count, afterward mareschal and duke de

1) Voltaire, Siècle, de Lewis XV. chap. v.

Belleisle, and his brother the chevalier, the chief inspirers of these violent councils, was committed the execution of that ambitious project. They proposed, that fifty thousand French troops, of which twenty thousand were to be cavalry, should pass the Rhine, and advance towards the Danube, before the beginning of June; that another army, of about forty thousand men, should be formed on the side of Westphalia, in order to keep in awe the electorate of Hanover; and that proper application should be made to the most considerable princes of the empire, corresponding to their several situations, inviting them to concur in the destruction of the house of Austria, and to share in its spoils. A moment was not lost in earrying this plan into

execution.

Meanwhile, the count de Belleisle, being despatched into Germany, in the double capacity of ambassador and general, had concluded a treaty with the elector of Bavaria at Nymphenburg. By this treaty the king of France engaged to assist that prince with his whole force, in order to raise him to the imperial throne; and the elector, on his part, promised, that, after his elevation, he would never attempt to recover any of the towns or provinces of the empire which the French should have conquered; that he would, in his imperial capacity, renounce the barrier treaty, and agree, that France might retain irrevocably whatever places should be subdued by her arms in the Austrian Netherlands. The count de Belleisle also negotiated a treaty between Lewis XV. and Frederic III. king of Prussia, in which it was stipulated, that the elector of Bavaria, together with the imperial crown, should possess Bohemia, Upper Austria, and the county of Tirol; that Augustus III. king of Poland and elector of Saxony, should be gratified with Moravia and Upper Silesia; and that his Prussian majesty should retain Lower Silesia, with the town of Neiss and the county of Glatz.

These treaties were no sooner concluded, than the French forces were put in motion; and Lewis XV. appointed the elector of Bavaria, whom he meant to place in the first station among Christian princes, his lieutenant-general, with the mareschals Belleisle and Broglio to act under him. He at the same time issued a declaration, setting forth, that the troops of the elector of Hanover being in a threatening posture, he, as guarantee of the treaty of Westphalia, was resolved, without prejudice to the pragmatic sanction, to march some troops towards the Rhine, in order to guard the approaching election of an emperor, and to be ready to assist those princes who might call upon him for the execution of his engagements.

The fallacy of this declaration was obvious to all Europe; yet it did not fail of its intended effect. The king of Great Britain, alarmed for the safety of his German dominions, and finding, after a tedious and fruitless negotiation, that he could not depend upon the support of the Dutch, who were timid and backward, concluded a treaty of neutrality for Hanover; in consequence of which, not only the troops of that electorate, but the auxiliary Danes and Hessians, in British pay, who had been commanded to march to the assistance of Maria Theresa, were ordered to remain in their respective countries; and the embarkation of a body of British troops, collected for the same purpose, was countermanded. A subsidy of three hundred thousand pounds, granted by the British parliament, was however transmitted to the queen of Hungary, and proved a very seasonable supply, in the midst of her multiplied necessities.(1)

In the mean time, the elector of Bavaria, being joined by the French forces under mareschal Broglio, surprised the imperial city of Passau, upon the Danube; and entering Upper Austria, at the head of seventy thousand men, took possession of Lintz, the capital of that dutchy, where he received the homage of the states. From Lintz, several detachments of his troops advanced within a few leagues of Vienna; which, being badly fortified, could make, it was generally thought, but a feeble resistance against the victorious enemy; and many of those who were best acquainted with Germany, and

(1) Smollett.

with military operations, considered that city as already lost. The inhabitants took the alarm, and removed to places of greater safety their most valuable effects. The Danube was daily seen covered with boats, and for this purpose, great part of the suburbs was pulled down; and a summons was sent to Kevenhuller, the governor, to surrender the place.

In this extremity of her fortune, the archduchess, committing her desperate affairs to the care of her husband and her brave generals, left Vienna, and retired to Presburg in Hungary; where, having assembled the states of that kingdom, she appeared before them with her eldest son, yet an infant, in her arms, and addressed them in a speech to the following purport. "Abandoned by my friends, persecuted by my enemies, and attacked by my nearest relations, I have no resource left but in your fidelity and valour. On you alone I depend for relief; and into your hands I commit, with confidence, the son of your sovereign, and my just cause." At once filled with rage and compassion at these affecting expressions of confidence, by so flattering an appeal to their loyalty, and by the appearance of a young, beautiful, and heroic princess in distress, the Palatines drew their sabres, and exclaimed, in a tone of enthusiasm, "We will die for our king,(1) Maria Theresa!" Nor was this a momentary start of passion. While with tears they swore to defend her, they published a manifesto against the elector of Bavaria; and by a solemn act of state, they gave a perpetual exclusion of him and his posterity from the throne of Hungary.

The Hungarian nobility were instantly in arms; and old count Palfy, whom the queen honoured with the name of father, marched to the relief of Vienna with thirty thousand men. Kevenhuller, the governor, had a garrison of twelve thousand: count Nuperg was in Bohemia at the head of about twenty thousand: the grand-duke and his brother, prince Charles of Lorrain, who was the delight of the Austrian armies, commanded another large body; and prince Lobkowitz, count Berenclau, count Traun, and other general officers, were exerting themselves to the utmost in raising troops for the service of their mistress.

These powerful armies, the declining season, and the strength of the garrison of Vienna, induced the elector of Bavaria to moderate his ideas. Instead of investing that capital, he marched into Bohemia; and being there joined by twenty thousand Saxons, he laid siege to Prague. The place was stormed, and taken by the gallantry of the famous count Saxe, natural son of Augustus II. of Poland, who had already entered into the French service, and exhibited, on this occasion, a remarkable instance of his generosity and humanity. He not only saved the town from pillage, but the persons of the inhabitants from any violence or insult. And the elector of Bavaria, having been crowned king of Bohemia at Prague, proceeded to Frankfort, where he was elected emperor, under the name of Charles VII., and invested with the imperial ensigns.

The mareschal de Belleisle, who made a splendid figure at this inauguration, seemed now in a fair way to complete his whole undertaking; more especially as he had found means to engage Sweden in a war with Russia, in order to prevent the empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, from aiding her sister sovereign. But events suddenly took a new direction in Germany, as we shall afterward have occasion to see. In the mean time, we must turn our attention towards the affairs of England; observing, in making this transition, that the war between Sweden and Russia was distinguished by no remarkable event, and soon terminated in an equitable peace.

The intimate connexion between England and the house of Austria, since the revolution in 1688, cemented by the blood spilled during two long and desolating wars, in which the subjects of the two powers had greatly signalized themselves, by opposing the ambition of Lewis XIV., made the people consider this connexion, and not altogether without reason, as essential to the preservation of the liberties of Europe, against the dangerous usurpations

(1) So the Hungarians always call their sovereign, of whatever sex