Translated from the German of W. D. Von Horn BY GEORGE P. UPTON Translator of “Memories,” author of “Upton Handbooks on Music,” editor “Autobiography of Theodore Thomas,” etc., etc. WITH FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1905 Copyright A. C. McClurg & Co. 1905 Published September 16, 1905 THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A....

Among the famous queens of the world—Catharine II of Russia, Elizabeth, Anne Boleyn, and Victoria of England, Mary Queen of Scots, Isabella of Spain, Louise of Prussia, Marie Antoinette, Marie and Catharine di Medici of France, and others, Maria Theresa of Austria holds a conspicuous place. In statesmanship and patriotism she ranks with Elizabeth and Catharine. As Catharine greatly improved the administration of her Empire, introduced new laws and extended its frontiers, and as Elizabeth’s reign

It would almost seem that the Emperor Charles VI, the father of Maria Theresa, had a presentiment of what was to come, when, directly after his marriage, he obtained from the various states united under his dominion an order of succession called “The Pragmatic Sanction,” [1] which decreed that in case his house should become extinct in the male line, succession to the throne should pass to his female descendants. To make this law binding and legal was such an important matter to him that it may

And yet—! Where the Spree winds along between its sandy banks, a young eagle was beginning his flight toward the sun. Prince Eugene, “the gallant knight,” had seen more clearly than he whose eyes were fixed only on the Pragmatic Sanction. His good counsel had shared the fate of all well-meant advice which earns no thanks and is rarely followed, and there was no one now at the imperial court who had Eugene of Savoy’s far-seeing vision in matters of statecraft. But the eagle had already spread his

Although she had prepared for it carefully, Maria Theresa could not look forward with much confidence to this new struggle, which began in the Spring. Khevenhüller was dead, and she had shed tears of sorrow and gratitude for him, which the brave old soldier had well deserved from his sovereign. She felt the loss of his strong support in this war, upon which France, who heretofore had merely been an ally of the enemies of Austria, had now entered on her own account, in league with Spain. The camp

In Italy, affairs proved even more disastrous. Genoa, which up to this time had remained neutral, now sided with Spain, Naples, and France, so that there was an addition of ten thousand men to the enemy’s forces to be reckoned with when the campaign opened in May. This gave them an army of seventy thousand capable of crushing Austria and its ally Sardinia. The outlook was dark for Maria Theresa when the Dresden Treaty was signed. While on the one hand it brought respite, on the other redoubled v

True to his practice of boldly meeting an impending danger, Frederick preferred to open hostilities himself, rather than leave it to his enemies. Why should he hesitate to kindle the flames of war in the land of so bitter an enemy as the Elector of Saxony (also King of Poland) had shown himself to be? Without any formal declaration having been made, therefore, he proceeded to invade Saxony with an army of sixty thousand men in three divisions. His advance, as usual, was rapid; all places of impo

The campaign of 1759 began with inroads by the Prussians, who committed terrible ravages. Prince Henry of Prussia was ordered to destroy the warehouses and magazines in Bohemia as well as in Franconia, both of which were suffering from depredations he had made with the object of replenishing Prussia’s war coffers. Daun did not take the field until later. He cautiously waited for the appearance of the allies, and besides, it was important to effect the union of Laudon with the Russians. Although

Peace! The joyful cry rang from one end of Maria Theresa’s dominions to the other, and was echoed in her own heart; for, deeply as she grieved over Silesia, now lost to her forever, she must have had a feeling of thankfulness when she thought of those battlefields which had been reddened with the blood of so many thousands of her people. Her deeply religious nature must have prompted the thought: “Since all my sacrifices, all my efforts and exertions have availed nothing toward the restoration o

The following is a chronological statement of the more important events in the reign of Maria Theresa:...

BIOGRAPHICAL ROMANCES TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY GEORGE P. UPTON A new, interesting, and very useful series that will be found especially suitable for school libraries and for supplementary reading The books in this series are translated from the German, because in that country a specialty is made of really desirable reading for the young. Eight titles are now ready and more will follow. Their simplicity and accuracy make them very useful for every school library in the grades. For parents wh