aud, after defending themselves long with great bravery, were obliged to yield. The king, after an ineffectual attack upon Dresden, marched into Silesia followed by the Austriaus. At Liegnitz he found himself between three armies, under Generals Daun, Lacy, and Loudon, number ing about 90,000 men, while his own army amounted to only about 30,000. On the night preceding the 15th of August, Frederick took up a position on the neighbouring heights of Pfaffendorf. Scarcely had he done so when the Austrian army, under Loudon, made its appearance, it having also intended to occupy the same position, and then fall upon the Prussians. The Austrians were greatly astonished to find the enemy before them ; nevertheless, they fought for three hours with great bravery, return ing again and again to the attack, but were at length compelled to retreat with a loss of 4000 killed and 6000 wounded. Daun afterwards came up and made an attack upon the Prussians, but, learning what had happened to Loudon, he withdrew. Frederick now directed his march on Breslau ; and meanwhile the Russians effected a junc tion with the Austrians, and marched on Berlin, which surrendered to them (3d October). A week later, hearing that the king was advancing against them, they left the city and retired into Saxony. Daun had likewise arrived in Saxony, and taken up a very strong position near Torgau. Here the Prussians attacked him with great fury on 3d November. The battle lasted till night without being decisive, and the carnage on both sides was fearful. The Prussians prepared to renew the attack next day, but the Austrians retreated during the night. They lost about 12,000 men killed and wounded, and 8000 prisoners. By this battle Frederick reconquered the greater part of Saxony, and accordingly he fixed his winter quarters there, establishing his headquarters at Leipsic. In 1761 Frederick employed every stratagem to prevent the junction of the Russian army under Buturlin with the Austrian under Loudon. The two armies, however, at length came to gether in the environs of Strigau (12th August), the com bined force amounting to 130,000 men, while the Prussians numbered only about 50,000. The leaders, however, could not agree to a common course of proceeding, and the two armies separated without effecting anything of consequence. The Austrians surprised and took Schweid- nitz (1st October), and the Prussians, after a four months siege, took possession of Colberg (13th December). In Saxony Prince Henry had to retreat before Daun ; but the latter gained no great advantages, and Frederick settled in Breslau for the winter. It seemed as if Prussia must at last yield to her assailants, but this was as far as ever from the king s mind. To add to his difficulties, the subsidies from England w T ere stopped by the earl of Bute after the death of George II. But by the death of the Czarina Elizabeth (5th January 1762) he was freed from one of the most powerful of his enemies ; and her successor, Peter III., not only recalled the army, but delivered up all the Prussian prisoners, and even entered into an alliance with the king. Sweden also retired from the contest, and entered into terms of peace. Frederick was therefore in a better condition to carry on the war vigorously against Austria, and the seventh campaign was marked by a series of disasters to that power. He attacked and overthrew Daun s right wing at Burkersdorf (21st July), gained a victory at Reichenbach (16th August), and took Schweid- nitz after a very gallant defence (9th October). Prince Henry was also victorious at Freiberg (29th October). In the meantime Duke Ferdinand had been during the last three years successfully maintaining the war with the French. Fresh reinforcements and new generals were brought against him, but he could not be crushed ; and, by the victories of "Wilhelmsthal (24th June) and Luttern- burg (23d July), France was brought to agree to peace. Thus Austria and Prussia were left to carry on the war alone ; and the former, though amply provided with troops, was without money to furnish the necessary supplies, while Frederick was ever ready to come to terms on having the possession of Silesia secured to him. Austria found herself obliged to yield this point, and peace was at length agreed to. The treaty was signed at the castle of Hubertsburg, in Saxony, 15th February 1763, and thus ended the Seven 1763. Years War, a war disastrous to all concerned, and which is estimated to have cost in actual fighting men 853,000. It effected no territorial change in any of the countries, but through it Prussia rose to be one of the great powers of Europe. Austria, on her part, had carried on the con flict with remarkable vigour and determination ; her sol diers had displayed great bravery, and some of her generals had shown a military genius not greatly inferior to that of Frederick himself. Maria Theresa now zealously devoted herself to improv ing the condition of her people and country. She estab lished schools, removed feudal hardships, improved the condition of the serfs, reformed ecclesiastical abuses, and fostered industry and commerce. The Emperor Francis died 18th August 1765, and was succeeded by his son, Joseph II., who the previous year had been elected king of the Romans. He also became joint-regent with his mother of the hereditary states. Maria established two collateral branches of her house in the persons of her two younger sons, the Archduke Leopold in Tuscany, and the Archduke Ferdinand, who married the heiress of Este, in Modena. By the first partition of Poland (1772) Austria acquired Galicia and Lodomeria, and in 1777 Buckowina was ceded by the Porte. On the death of the elector of Bavaria without issue, the Emperor Joseph laid claim to his do minions. To this Frederick was opposed, and again took the field against Austria. The dispute, however, was settled without war (1779), Austria being content with the cession by Bavaria of the frontier district called the quarter of the Inn, and one or two others. The empress died 29th November 1780, in the sixty-fourth year of her age and the forty-first of her reign. She was a woman of many and great virtues, with few weaknesses, and effected more for Austria than any of her predecessors. Mr Carlyle says that she was " most brave, high and pious minded ; beauti ful, too, and radiant with good nature, though of a temper that will easily catch fire ; there is, perhaps, no nobler woman then living." At her death the monarchy com prised 234,500 square miles, with a population estimated at 24,000,000, and a public debt of 160,000,000 florins, or 16,000,000. The Emperor Joseph II., whose zeal for reform had in great measure been kept in check during the lifetime of his mother, now felt himself at liberty to give it full scope. He attempted a number of changes, of which several were praiseworthy in their objects, but abrupt and premature in their operation, so that in the end they were productive of evil consequences. He sought to establish a system of central government and uniformity of legislation through out his dominions; enjoined the exclusive use of the German language in all schools, courts of justice, <tc. ; granted free and unreserved toleration to all sects of Christians ; abo lished numerous convents and monasteries ; dismantled various fortresses ; and did away with primogeniture and feudal vassalage. Had his people been ripe for these changes he would probably have been hailed as a reformer of abuses ; but the Austrians were attached to their old usages, and were little inclined for change, while the arbi trary manner in which the improvements were introduced could not fail to provoke discontent. General uneasiness, therefore, began to prevail, which in the Netherlands
