an extraordinary interview.—carlyle’s sympathy.—trifling demeanor of frederick.—conspiracy in breslau.—guile of frederick.—the successful stratagem.—crossing the neisse.—the co-operation of france.—anguish of maria theresa.—inflexible will of frederick.—duplicity of the king.—the surrender of neisse.
gradually the secret treaty which allied france, bavaria, and prussia, and it was not known how many other minor powers, against austria, came to light. two french armies of fifty thousand men each were on the march to act in co-operation with frederick. england, trembling from fear of the loss of hanover, dared not move. the aulic council at vienna, in a panic, “fell back into their chairs like dead men.” the ruin of maria theresa and the fatal dismemberment of austria seemed inevitable.
under these circumstances, the young queen, urged by her council and by the english court, very reluctantly consented to propose terms of compromise to frederick. sir thomas robinson, subsequently earl of grantham, was sent from vienna to breslau to confer with the british minister there, lord hyndford, and with him to visit frederick, at his camp at strehlen, in the attempt to adjust the difficulties. the curious interview which ensued has been minutely described by sir thomas robinson. it took place under the royal canvas tent of his prussian majesty at 11 o’clock a.m. of the 7th of august, 1741.
the two english gentlemen, stout, burly, florid men, were dressed in the gorgeous court costume of those days. each wore a large, frizzled, powdered wig. their shirts were heavily ruffled in the bosoms and at the wrists. their coats, of antique cut, were covered with embroidery of gold lace. their waistcoats hung down in deep flaps, and large buckles adorned their shoes.
frederick was a trig, slender young man of twenty-nine years. he was dressed in a closely-fitting blue coat, with buff breeches and high cavalry boots. he wore a plumed hat, which he courteously raised as the embassadors entered his tent. the scene276 which ensued was substantially as follows, omitting those passages which were of no permanent interest. after sundry preliminary remarks, sir thomas robinson said,
“i am authorized to offer your majesty two million guilders [$1,000,000] if your majesty will consent to relinquish this enterprise and retire from silesia.”
frederick and the british ministers.
“retire from silesia!” exclaimed the king, vehemently. “and277 for money? do you take me for a beggar? retire from silesia, in the conquest of which i have expended so much blood and treasure! no, sir, no. that is not to be thought of. if you have no better proposals to suggest, it is not worth while talking.”
sir thomas, somewhat discomposed, apologetically intimated that that was not all he had to offer.
“very well,” said the king, impatiently; “let us see, then, what there is more.”
“i am permitted,” the embassador said, “to offer your majesty the whole of austrian guelderland. it lies contiguous to your majesty’s possessions in the rhine country. it will be a very important addition to those possessions. i am permitted to say the whole of austrian guelderland.”
“what do you mean?” exclaimed the king, with an air of real or affected surprise. then, turning to his secretary, m. podewils, he inquired, “how much of guelderland is theirs, and not ours already?”
“almost none,” m. podewils replied.
here the king quite lost his temper. in a loud tone and with angry gesticulation he exclaimed, “do you offer me such rags and rubbish, such paltry scrapings, for all my just claims in silesia?” and so he ran on for quite a length of time, with ever-increasing violence, fanning himself into a flame of indignation.
“his contempt,” writes sir thomas in his narrative, “was so great, and was expressed in such violent terms, that now, if ever, was the time to make the last effort. a moment longer was not to be lost, to hinder the king from dismissing us.”
“i am also permitted, sire,” said sir thomas, “to add the duchy of limburg. it is a duchy of great wealth and resources, so valuable that the elector palatine was willing to give in exchange for it the whole duchy of berg.”
“it is inconceivable to me,” frederick replied, “how austria should dare to think of such a proposal. limburg! are there not solemn engagements upon austria which render every inch of ground in the netherlands inalienable?”
“these engagements,” said sir thomas, “are good as against the french, your majesty. but the barrier treaty, confirmed at utrecht, was for our benefit and that of holland.”
278 “that is your interpretation,” said frederick. “but the french assert that it was an arrangement made in their favor.”
“your majesty,” sir thomas rejoined, “by a little engineering art, could render limburg impregnable to the french or any others.”
“i have not the least desire,” the king replied, “to aggrandize myself in those parts, or to spend money in fortifying there. it would be useless to me. am i not fortifying brieg and glogau? these are enough for one who wishes to live well with his neighbors. neither the dutch nor the french have offended me, nor will i offend them by acquisitions in the netherlands. besides, who would guarantee them?”
“the proposal,” sir thomas replied, “is to give guarantees at once.”
“guarantees!” exclaimed the king, scornfully. “who minds or keeps guarantees in this age? has not france guaranteed the pragmatic sanction? has not england? why do you not all fly to the queen’s succor?”
sir thomas, who was not aware of the engagement into which the allies had entered to keep russia busy by a war with sweden, intimated that there were powers which might yet come to the rescue of the queen, and mentioned russia as one.
the king, with a very complaisant smile, said, “russia, my good sir—it is not proper for me to explain myself, but i have means to keep the russians employed.”
“russia,” added sir thomas, with some stateliness of utterance, “is not the only power which has engagements with austria, and which must keep them too; so that, however averse to a breach—”
here the king interrupted him, and with scornful gesture, “laying his finger on his nose,” and in loud tones, exclaimed,
“no threats, sir, if you please, no threats.”
lord hyndford here came to the rescue of his colleague, and said, meekly,
“i am sure his excellency had no such meaning, sire. his excellency will advance nothing so very contrary to his instructions.”
sir thomas robinson added, “sire, i am not talking of what this power or that means to do, but of what will come of itself.279 to prophesy is not to threaten, sire. it is my zeal for the public good which brought me here, and—”
again the king interrupted him, saying, “the public will be much obliged to you, sir! but hear me. with respect to russia, you know how matters stand. from the king of poland i have nothing to fear. as for the king of england, he is my relation. if he do not attack me, i shall not him. if he do attack me, the prince of anhalt, with my army at g?tten, will take care of him.”
“it is the common rumor now,” sir thomas replied, “that your majesty, after the 12th of august, will join the french. sire, i venture to hope not. austria prefers your friendship; but if your majesty disdain austria’s advances, what is it to do? austria must throw itself entirely into the hands of france, and endeavor to outbid your majesty.”
this was a very serious suggestion. none of these sovereigns professed to be influenced by any other considerations than their own interests. and it was manifest that austria could easily outbid prussia, if determined to purchase the french alliance. for a moment the king was silent, apparently somewhat perplexed. he then said,
“i am at the head of an army which has already vanquished the enemy, and which is ready to meet the enemy again. the country which alone i desire is already conquered and securely held. this is all i want. i now have it. i will and must keep it. shall i be bought out of this country? never! i will sooner perish in it with all my troops. with what face shall i meet my ancestors if i abandon my right which they have transmitted to me? my first enterprise, and to be given up lightly?
“have i need of peace? let those who need it give me what i want, or let them fight me again and be beaten again. have they not given whole kingdoms to spain? and to me they can not spare a few trifling principalities. if the queen do not now grant me all i require, i shall, in four weeks, demand four principalities more. i now demand the whole of lower silesia, breslau included. with that answer you can return to vienna.”
“with that answer!” sir thomas replied, in tones of surprise. “is your majesty serious? is that your majesty’s deliberate answer?”
280 “yes, i say,” the king rejoined. “that is my answer, and i will never give any other.”
both of the english ministers, in much agitation, spoke together. the king, impatiently interrupting them, said,
“gentlemen, gentlemen, it is of no use to think about it.”
taking off his hat, he slightly saluted them, and retired behind the curtain into the interior tent.
a brief account of this interview has been given by frederick,59 and also a very minute narrative by sir thomas robinson, in his official report to his government. there is no essential discrepancy between the two statements. frederick alludes rather contemptuously to the pompous airs of sir thomas, saying that “he negotiated in a wordy, high, droning way, as if he were speaking in parliament.” mr. carlyle seems to be entirely in sympathy with frederick in his invasion of silesia. the reader will peruse with interest his graphic, characteristic comments upon this interview:
“the unsuccessfulest negotiation well imaginable by a public man. strehlen, monday, 7th august, 1741—frederick has vanished into the interior of his tent, and the two diplomatic gentlemen, the wind struck out of them in this manner, remain gazing at one another. here, truly, is a young, royal gentleman that knows his own mind, while so many do not. unspeakable imbroglio of negotiations, mostly insane, welters over all the earth; the belleisles, the aulic councils, the british georges, heaping coil upon coil; and here, notably in that now so extremely sordid murk of wiggeries, inane diplomacies, and solemn deliriums, dark now and obsolete to all creatures, steps forth one little human figure, with something of sanity in it, like a star, like a gleam of steel, sheering asunder your big balloons, and letting out their diplomatic hydrogen. salutes with his hat, ‘gentlemen, gentlemen, it is of no use!’ and vanishes into the interior of his tent.”
the next day the two british ministers dined with frederick. the king was in reality, or assumed to be, in exultant spirits. he joked and bantered his guests even upon those great issues which were threatening to deluge europe in blood. as they took leave, intending to return to vienna through neisse, which281 was held by the austrian army, the king said to sir thomas robinson, derisively,
“as you pass through neisse, please present my compliments to marshal neipperg; and you can say, your excellency, that i hope to have the pleasure of calling upon him one of these days.”
it seemed to be the policy of frederick to assume a very trifling, care-for-nothing air, as though he were engaged in very harmless child’s play. he threw out jokes, and wrote ludicrous letters to m. jordan and m. algarotti. but behind this exterior disguise it is manifest that all the energies of his soul were aroused, and that, with sleepless vigilance, he was watching every event, and providing for every possible emergence.
it will be remembered that breslau, whose inhabitants were mainly protestant, and which was one of the so-called free cities of germany, was surrendered to frederick under peculiar conditions. it was to remain, in its internal government, in all respects exactly as it had been, with the simple exception that it was to recognize the sovereignty of prussia instead of that of austria. its strict neutrality was to be respected. it was to be protected by its own garrison. no prussian soldier could enter with any weapons but side-arms. the king himself, in entering the city, could be accompanied only by thirty guards.
when under the sovereignty of austria, though the protestants were not persecuted, very decided favor was shown to the catholics. but the influence of protestant prussia was to place both parties on a perfect equality. this greatly annoyed the catholics. certain catholic ladies of rank, with a few leading citizens, entered into a secret society, and kept the court of vienna informed of every thing which transpired in breslau. they also entered into intimate communication with general neipperg, entreating him to come to their rescue. they assured him that if he would suddenly appear before their gates with his army, or with a strong detachment, the conspiring catholics would open the gates, and he could rush in and take possession of the city.
but the ever-vigilant frederick had smuggled a “false sister” into the society of the catholic ladies, who kept him informed of every measure that was proposed. at the very hour when frederick was dining with the two english ministers, and making282 himself so merry with jests and banter, he was aware that general neipperg, with the whole austrian army, was crossing the river neisse, on the march, by a route thirty miles west of his encampment, to take breslau by surprise. but he had already adopted effectual measures to thwart their plans.
on the 10th of august there was a magnificent review of the prussian army on the plain of strehlin, to which all the foreign embassadors were invited. during the night of the 9th, general schwerin and prince leopold, with eight thousand prussian troops, horse and foot, arrived in the southwestern suburbs of breslau, and, at six o’clock in the morning, demanded simply a passage through the city for their regiments and baggage, on the march to attack a marauding band of the austrians on the other side of the oder.
the rule, in such cases, was that a certain number of companies were to be admitted at a time. the gate was then to be closed until they had marched through the city and out at the opposite gate. after this another detachment was to be admitted, and so on, until all had passed through. but general schwerin so contrived it, by stratagem, as to crowd in a whole regiment at once. instead of marching through breslau, to the surprise of the inhabitants, he directed his steps to the market-place, where he encamped and took possession of the city, admitting the remainder of his regiments. in an hour and a half the whole thing was done, and the streets were strongly garrisoned by prussian troops. the majority of the inhabitants, being protestant, were well pleased, and received the achievement with laughter. many cheers resounded through the streets, with shouts of “frederick and silesia forever.” all the foreign ministers in breslau, and the magistrates of the city, had been lured to strehlin to witness the grand review.
frederick had caused signal cannon to be placed at suitable points between breslau and strehlin, which, by transmitting reports, should give him as early intelligence as possible of the success of the enterprise. about noon, in the midst of the grand man?uvrings on the parade-ground, one distant cannon-shot was heard, to the great satisfaction of frederick, who alone understood its significance.
general neipperg had advanced as far as baumgarten when283 he heard of this entire circumvention of his plans. exasperated by the discomfiture, he pushed boldly forward to seize schweidnitz, where frederick had a large magazine, which was supposed not to be very strongly protected. but the vigilant frederick here again thwarted the austrian general. either anticipating the movement, or receiving immediate information of it, he had thrown out some strong columns to reichenbach, where they so effectually intrenched themselves as to bar, beyond all hope of passage, the road to schweidnitz. general neipperg had advanced but half a day’s march from baumgarten when he heard of this. he ordered a halt, and retraced his steps as far as frankenstein, where he had a very strongly intrenched camp.
frederick soon followed the austrians with his whole army, hoping to bring them to a decisive battle. but general neipperg was conscious that he was unable to cope with the prussian army in the open field. for a week there was man?uvring and counter-man?uvring with great skill on both sides, general neipperg baffling all the endeavors of frederick to bring him to a general action.
at length frederick, weary of these unavailing efforts, dashed off in rapid march toward the river neisse, and with his vanguard, on the 11th of september, crossed the river at the little town of woitz, a few miles above the city. the river was speedily spanned with his pontoon bridges. as the whole army hurried forward to effect the passage, frederick, to his surprise, found the austrian army directly before him, occupying a position from which it could not be forced, and where it could not be turned. for two days frederick very earnestly surveyed the region, and then, recrossing the river and gathering in his pontoons, passed rapidly down the stream on the left or northern bank, and, after a brief encampment of a few days, crossed the river fifteen miles below the city. he then threw his army into the rear of neipperg’s, so as to cut off his communications and his daily convoys of food. he thus got possession again of oppeln, of the strong castle of friedland, and of the country generally between the oder and the neisse rivers.
general neipperg cautiously advanced toward him, and encamped in the vicinity of steinau—the same steinau which but a few weeks before had been laid in ashes as the prussian troops284 passed through it. the two armies were now separated from each other but by an interval of about five miles. the country was flat, and it was not probable that the contest which frederick so eagerly sought could long be avoided.
affairs were now assuming throughout europe a very threatening aspect. the two french armies, of forty thousand each, had already crossed the rhine to join their german allies in the war against austria. one of these armies, to be commanded by belleisle, had crossed the river about thirty miles below strasbourg to unite with the elector of bavaria’s troops and march upon vienna. the other army, under maillebois, had crossed the lower rhine a few miles below düsseldorf. its mission was, as we have mentioned, to encamp upon the frontiers of hanover, prepared to invade that province, in co-operation with the prussian troops in the camp at g?ttin, should the king of england venture to raise a hand in behalf of austria. it was also in position to attack and overwhelm holland, england’s only ally, should that power manifest the slightest opposition to the designs of prussia and france. at the same time, sweden, on the 4th of august, had declared war against russia, so that no help could come to austria from that quarter. great diplomatic ability had been displayed in guarding every point in these complicated measures. the french minister, belleisle, was probably the prominent agent in these wide-spread combinations.60
the queen, maria theresa, still remained at presburg, in her hungarian kingdom. the aulic council was with her. on the 15th of august sir thomas robinson had returned to presburg with the intelligence of his unsuccessful mission, and of the unrelenting determination of frederick to prosecute the war with the utmost vigor unless silesia were surrendered to him.
these tidings struck the austrian council with consternation. the french armies were declared to be the finest that had ever taken the field. the prussian army, in stolid bravery and perfection285 of discipline, had never been surpassed. germany was to be cut into four equal parts, and france was to be the sovereign power on the continent.
in this terrible emergence, the queen, resolute as she was, was almost compelled, by the importunity of her counselors, to permit sir thomas robinson, who was acting for england far more than for austria, to go back to frederick with the offer so humiliating to her, that she would surrender to him one half of silesia if he would withdraw his armies and enter into an alliance with her against the french. the high-spirited queen wrung her hands in anguish as she assented to this decision, exclaiming passionately,
“if these terms are not accepted within a fortnight, i will not be bound by them.”
sir thomas hastened back to breslau, and anxiously entered into communication with lord hyndford. the british minister entreated the king to admit sir thomas to another interview, assuring him that he came with new and more liberal propositions for a compromise. the king replied, in substance, with his customary brusqueness,
“i will not see him. i wish to listen to no more of his offers. the sooner he takes himself away the better.”
sir thomas, deeply chagrined, hastened back to presburg. acting in behalf of the english cabinet, he trembled in view of the preponderance of the french court and of the loss of hanover. with the most impassioned earnestness he entreated the queen to yield to the demands of frederick, and thus secure his alliance.
“high madam,” he said, fervently, “at this crisis, alliance with frederick is salvation to austria. his continued hostility is utter ruin. england can not help your majesty. the slightest endeavor would cause the loss of hanover.”
thus pressed by england, and with equal earnestness by her own aulic council, the queen again yielded, though almost frantic with grief, and consented to surrender the whole of lower silesia to frederick if he would become her ally. as frederick had offered these terms, it was supposed, of course, that he would accept them. sir thomas was again dispatched, at the top of his speed, to convey them to the camp of frederick. but the286 repulse of the king was peremptory and decisive. to lord hyndford, soliciting an audience for the envoy, he replied,
“i will not see him. there was a time when i would have listened to a compromise. that time has passed. i have now entered into arrangements with france. talk to me no more.”
sir thomas hastened back to presburg in despair. feeling the “game was up,” and that there was no more hope, he asked permission to return home. the british cabinet was in a state of consternation. france, the dreaded rival of england, was attaining almost sovereign power over the continent of europe. frederick himself was uneasy. he had sufficient penetration to be fully aware that he was aiding to create a resistless power, which might, by-and-by, crush him. sir thomas, in a state of great agitation, which was manifest in his disordered style, wrote from presburg to lord hyndford at breslau as follows. the letter was dated september 8, 1741.
“my lord, i could desire your lordship to summon up, if it were necessary, the spirit of all your lordship’s instructions, and the sense of the king, of the parliament, and of the whole british nation. it is upon this great moment that depends the fate, not of the house of austria, not of the empire, but of the house of brunswick, of great britain, of all europe. i verily believe the king of prussia himself does not know the extent of the present danger. with whatever motive he may act, there is not one, not that of the wildest resentment, that can blind him to this degree—of himself perishing in the ruin he is bringing upon others. with his concurrence, the french will, in less than six weeks, be masters of the german empire. the weak elector of bavaria is but their instrument. prague and vienna may, and probably will, be taken in that short time. will even the king of prussia himself be reserved to the last?”
these considerations probably weighed heavily upon the mind of frederick; for, after having so peremptorily repulsed the queen’s messenger, he sent, on the 9th of september, colonel goltz with a proposition to lord hyndford, which was substantially the same which the queen in her anguish had consented to make. the strictest secrecy was enjoined upon colonel goltz. the proposition was read from a paper without signature, and was probably in the king’s handwriting, for lord hyndford was287 not permitted to see the paper. he took a copy from dictation, which was as follows:
“the whole of lower silesia; the river neisse for the boundary; the city of neisse for us, as also glutz; on the other side of the oder, the ancient boundary between the duchies of brieg and oppeln. namslau for us. the affairs of religion in statu quo. no dependence upon bohemia. cession eternal. in exchange we will go no farther. we will besiege neisse for form. the commandant shall surrender and depart. we will quietly go into winter quarters; and they (the austrians) can take their army where they will. let all be finished in twelve days.”
but frederick did not seem to think himself at all bound by his treaty obligations with france to refrain from entering into secret arrangements with the foe which would promote his interests, however antagonistic those arrangements might be to his assumed obligations. he was the ally of france in the attempt to wrest territory from the young queen of austria, and to weaken her power. his armies and those of france were acting in co-operation. frederick now proposed to the common enemy that, if silesia were surrendered to him, he would no longer act in co-operation with his ally; but, that france might not discover his perfidy, he would still pretend to make war. the austrians were to amuse themselves in defending neisse from a sham siege until the pleasant weeks of autumn were gone, and then they were to march, with all their guns and ammunition, south to vienna, there to fight the french. frederick, still assuming that he was the ally of france, was to avail himself of the excuse that the season of ice and snow was at hand, and withdraw into winter quarters. such, in general, were the terms which frederick authorized his minister, goltz, to propose to lord hyndford, as the agent of england and austria.
most of our readers will pronounce this to be as unwarrantable an act of perfidy as history has recorded. but, in justice to frederick, we ought to state that there are those who, while admitting all these facts, do not condemn him for his course. it is surprising to see how different are the opinions which intelligent men can form upon the same actions. mr. carlyle writes, in reference to these events:
“magnanimous i can by no means call frederick to his allies288 and neighbors, nor even superstitiously veracious in this business; but he thoroughly understands, he alone, what just thing he wants out of it, and what an enormous wigged mendacity it is he has got to deal with. for the rest, he is at the gaming-table with these sharpers, their dice all cogged, and he knows it, and ought to profit by his knowledge of it, and, in short, to win his stake out of that foul, weltering melley, and go home safe with it if he can.”
while these scenes of war and intrigue were transpiring, no one knowing what alarming developments any day might present, vienna was thrown into a state of terror in apprehension of the immediate approach of a french army to open upon it all the horrors of a bombardment. the citizens were called out en masse to work upon the fortifications. the court fled to presburg, in hungary. the national archives were hurried off to gr?tz. the royal family was dispersed. there were but six thousand troops in the city. general neipperg, with nearly the whole austrian army, was a hundred and fifty miles distant to the north, on the banks of the neisse. the queen, on the 10th of september, assembled at presburg the hungarian parliament, consisting almost exclusively of chivalric nobles renowned in war. the queen appeared before them with her husband, the grand-duke francis, by her side, and with a nurse attending, holding her infant son and heir. addressing them in latin, in a brief, pathetic speech, she said:
“i am abandoned by all. hostile invasion threatens the kingdom of hungary, our person, our children, our crown. i have no resource but in your fidelity and valor. i invoke the ancient hungarian virtue to rise swiftly and save me.”
the queen was radiantly beautiful in form and features. her eyes were filled with tears. the scene and the words roused the zeal of these wild magyar warriors to the highest pitch. they drew their sabres, flourished them over their heads, and with united voice shouted moriamur pro nostro rege, maria theresa—“let us die for our king, maria theresa.” “they always,” writes voltaire, “give the title of king to their queen. in fact, no princess ever better deserved that title.”
289
the queen’s appeal to the hungarian nobles.
between the two camps of the austrians and prussians, south of the river neisse, there was a castle called little schnellendorf, belonging to count von steinberg. it was a very retired retreat, far from observation. arrangements were made for a secret meeting there between frederick and general neipperg, to adjust the details of their plot. it was of the utmost importance that the perfidious measure should be concealed from france. the french minister, valori, was in the prussian camp, watching every movement with an eagle eye. “frederick,” writes carlyle, “knows that the french are false to him. he by no means290 intends to be romantically true to them, and that they also know.”
on monday morning, the 9th of october, 1741, the british minister, lord hyndford, accompanied by general neipperg and general lentulus from the austrian camp, repaired to this castle, ostensibly to fix some cartel for the exchange of prisoners. frederick rode out that morning with general goltz, assuming that he was going to visit some of his outposts. in leaving, he said to the french minister valori, “i am afraid that i shall not be home to dinner.” at the same time, to occupy the attention of m. valori, he was invited to dine with prince leopold. by circuitous and unfrequented paths, the king and his companion hied to the castle.
the king approaching schnellendorf.
frederick cautiously refused to sign his name to any paper. verbally, he agreed that in one week from that time, on the 16th, general neipperg should have liberty to retire to the south through the mountains, unmolested save by sham attacks in his rear. a small garrison was to be left in neisse. after maintaining a sham siege for a fortnight, they were to surrender the291 city. sham hostilities, to deceive the french, were to be continued until the year was out, and then a treaty was to be signed and ratified.
his majesty pledged his word of honor that he would fulfill these obligations, but declared that, should the slightest intimation of the agreement leak out, so that the french should discover it, he would deny the whole thing, and refuse in any way to be bound by it. this was assented to.
at the close of the business, the king, who had been exceedingly courteous during the whole interview, took general neipperg aside, and, beckoning lord hyndford to join them, said, addressing lord hyndford,
“i wish you too, my lord, to hear every word i speak to general neipperg. his britannic majesty knows, or should know, my intentions never were to do him hurt, but only to take care of myself. and pray inform him that i have ordered my army in brandenburg to go into winter quarters, and break up that camp at g?ttin.”
the reader will bear in mind that the camp at g?ttin, menacing hanover, was acting in co-operation with frederick’s ally, france, and that forty thousand men had been sent from france to the aid of those prussian troops. frederick now, entering into secret treaty with the enemy, while still feigning to be true to his ally, was perfidiously withdrawing his troops so as to leave the french unsupported. his treachery went even farther than this. in the presence of lord hyndford, the representative of england, he informed the austrian general minutely how he could, to the greatest advantage, attack the french.
“join,” said he, “the austrian force under prince lobkowitz in bohemia. fall immediately and impetuously upon the french, before they can combine their forces to resist you. if you succeed in this, perhaps i will by-and-by join you; if you fail—well, you know every one must look out for himself.”
the audacious duplicity of this ambitious young king was still more conspicuously developed by his entering into a secret correspondence with the court of austria, through certain generals in the austrian army. and that he might the more effectually disguise his treachery from his allies, the french, he requested lord hyndford to write dispatches to various courts—292to presburg, to england, to dresden—complaining that frederick was deaf to all proposals; that nothing could influence him to enter into terms of reconciliation with austria. it was to be so arranged that the couriers carrying these dispatches of falsehood should be captured by the french, so that these documents should be carried to the french court.
and, in addition to all this, the more effectually to hoodwink the eagle eyes of the french minister in the prussian camp, m. valori, the following stratagem was arranged. the king was to invite m. valori to dine with him. while at the table, merry over their wine, a courier was to arrive, and with trumpet blast announce dispatches for the king. they were to be delivered to the king at the table. he was to open them before valori, to find that they consisted of a bitter complaint and remonstrance, on the part of the british minister, that the king was inflexible in repelling all advances toward an amicable adjustment of their difficulties, that unrelentingly he persisted in co-operating with france in her warfare against austria. all this farce took place according to the programme. m. valori was effectually deceived.
some of our readers may think that the above narrative is quite incredible; that a young sovereign, who had just written the anti-machiavel, and who knew that the eyes of the world were upon him, could not be guilty of such perfidy. but, unhappily, there is no possible room for doubt. the documentary evidence is ample. there is no contradictory testimony.
general neipperg, in his account of the interview, writes, in reference to frederick: “he is a very spirited young king. he will not stand contradiction; but a great deal may be made of him if you seem to adopt his ideas, and honor him in a delicate, dexterous way. he did not in the least hide his engagements with france, bavaria, saxony. but he would really, so far as i could judge, prefer friendship with austria on the given terms. he seems to have a kind of pique at saxony, and manifests no favor for the french and their plans.”
mr. carlyle, who, with wonderful accuracy, and with impartiality which no one will call in question, has recorded the facts in frederick’s career, gives the story as it is here told. in the following terms mr. carlyle comments upon these events:
293 “of the political morality of this game of fast-and-loose what have we to say, except that the dice on both sides seem to be loaded; that logic might be chopped upon it forever; that a candid mind will settle what degree of wisdom (which is always essential veracity) and what of folly (which is always falsity) there was in frederick and the others; whether, or to what degree, there was a better course open to frederick in the circumstances; and, in fine, it will have to be granted that you can not work in pitch and keep hands evidently clean. frederick has got into the enchanted wilderness populous with devils and their work, alas! it will be long before he get out of it again; his life waning toward night before he get victoriously out, and bequeath his conquest to luckier successors!”
on the 16th of november general neipperg broke up his camp at neisse, according to the arrangement and, leaving a small garrison in the city to encounter the sham siege, defiled through the mountains on the south into moravia. the prussians, pretending to pursue, hung upon his rear for a short distance, making as much noise and inflicting as little harm as possible. general neipperg pressed rapidly on to vienna, where he was exultingly welcomed to aid in defending the city menaced by the french.
frederick on the 17th, the day after the departure of the austrian army, invested neisse. he had an embarrassing part to play. he was to conduct a sham siege in the presence of m. valori, who was not only a man of ability, but who possessed much military intelligence. feigning the utmost zeal, frederick opened his trenches, and ostentatiously man?uvred his troops. he sent the young prince leopold, with fifteen thousand horse and foot, into the glatz country, many leagues to the east, to guard against surprise from an enemy, where no enemy was to be found. he marked out his parallels, sent imperious summonses for surrender, and dispatched reconnoitring parties abroad. m. valori began to be surprised—amazed. “what does all this mean?” he said to himself. “they have great need of some good engineers here.”
with that vigilant eye upon him, frederick was compelled to some vigor of action. on the night of october 17th he commenced the bombardment. the noise was terrific. it could not294 be prevented but that the shot and shell should do some harm. some buildings were burned; several lives were lost. m. valori, who knew that the result could not be doubtful, was induced to go to breslau and await the surrender. after the garrison had made apparently a gallant resistance, and frederick had achieved apparent prodigies of valor, the city was surrendered on the 31st of october. most of the garrison immediately enlisted in the prussian service.
thus the last fortress in silesia fell into the hands of frederick. there was no longer any foe left in the province to dispute his acquisition. he took possession of neisse on the 1st of november, celebrating his victory with illuminations and all the approved demonstrations of public rejoicing.
map of the second silesian campaign.
on the 4th of november he returned to breslau, entering the city with great military display. seated in a splendid carriage, he was drawn through the streets by eight cream-colored horses. taking his seat upon the ancient ducal throne, he was crowned, with great ceremonial pomp, sovereign duke of lower silesia. four hundred of the notables of the dukedom, in gala dresses, and taking oaths of homage, contributed to the imposing effect of the spectacle. illuminations, balls, and popular festivities, in great variety, closed the triumph.
on the morning of the 9th of november frederick set out for berlin, visiting glogau by the way. on the 11th he entered berlin, where he was received by the whole population with enthusiastic demonstrations of joy. for a short time he probably thought that through guile he had triumphed, and that his troubles were now at an end. but such victories, under the providence of god, are always of short duration. frederick soon found that his troubles had but just begun. he had entered295 upon a career of toil, care, and peril, from which he was to have no escape until he was ready to sink into his grave.
but a few days after his return, lord hyndford, who had followed the king to berlin, met his majesty in one of the apartments of the palace. frederick, struggling to conceal the emotions with which he was agitated, said to him,
“my lord, the court of vienna has entirely divulged our secret. the dowager empress has acquainted the court of bavaria with it. wasner, the austrian minister at paris, has communicated it to the french minister, fleury. the austrian minister at st. petersburg, m. linzendorf, has told the court of russia of it. sir thomas robinson has divulged it to the court of dresden. several members of the british government have talked about it publicly.”
frederick immediately and publicly denied that he had ever entered into any such arrangement with austria, and declared the whole story to be a mere fabrication. having by the stratagem obtained neisse, and delivered silesia from the presence of the austrian army, he assured the french of his unchanging fidelity to their interests, and with renewed vigor commenced co-operating with them in the furtherance of some new ambitious plans.
