A sister of Marie Antoinette; the life-story of Maria Carolina, queen of Naples

Preface

ALTHOUGH the tragic history of the life and death of Marie Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of France, is so familiar to the most casual of readers, many people appear to know nothing whatever about any of her sisters, of whom seven grew up into girlhood and womanhood and several survived her.

Most of these daughters of the Empress-Queen Maria Theresia were pretty and attractive, some were highly gifted and beautiful, but with one exception they were all overshadowed by a fatality which doomed them either to an early death, a disappointed life, or else to sorrows, dangers, and calamities which, as well as the grandeur of their birth, separated them from ordinary women.

That fortunate exception was not Maria Carolina, whose brilliant and eventful career is the subject of this book — the sister who, nearest in age and rank to Marie Antoinette, resembled her in beauty but far surpassed her in talent ; while the magnificent prosperity of the earlier part of her life and the perils and misfortunes which clouded her later vi A SISTER OF MARIE ANTOINETTE

years were only exceeded by the still more lofty position and more terrible fate of the favourite sister whom she strained all her energy to save, and whose murder changed and embittered the rest of her days.

In writing this life of a woman once so widely celebrated, so flattered and worshipped by many, so cruelly slandered by others, I do not pretend by research or discovery to throw any fresh light upon what is already known and recorded concerning her by students and historians. But it appears to me that amongst general readers of the present day, at any rate in England, very little is known about this once famous Queen. Many have no idea who she was at all ; others confuse her in a hazy manner with the upstart interloper who usurped her throne, to whom no woman could be more different in every respect. Even the name of Caroline did not in fact belong to the sister of Buonaparte and wife of Murat, whose baptismal name was Annunziata, and who, besides her utter want of dignity, refinement and good-breeding, was really guilty of the immoralities unjustly attributed to the Queen she had supplanted.

If I had attempted to write a biography claiming to refute the accusations brought against this Queen by those who from political reasons were her bitterest enemies, an entirely different sort of work would have been necessary. It would have required not only careful comparison of the various writers upon the subject, but the examination of numbers of documents in Vienna and elsewhere, with accurate references to and descriptions of

PREFACE vii

them, besides explanations and information as to the character, motives, and credibility of their authors.

All this is to be found in the deeply interesting and instructive works of the compatriot of the Queen, Freiherr von Helfert, from whose important details and circumstantial accounts I have drawn a great part of the information contained in this book, and by which he proves not only the improbability but the impossibility of many of the charges brought against Maria Carolina.

In reading Mr. Jeaffreson's " Queen of Naples and Lord Nelson " I have also benefited by the valuable information derived by the author from his study of the Morrison MSS., corroborating so exactly all that is said by Freiherr von Helfert. Besides these two authors I have consulted the works of General Colletta, MM. Bonnefonds, de Trognon, de Serieys, Swinburne, Miss Cornelia Knight, and other writers. For the part of the book relating to the early life of Maria Carolina and of her parents at the court of Vienna I am chiefly indebted to the Comte de Villermont, M. de Berman, von Vehse, and above all to the splendid and voluminous works of Alfred, Ritter von Arneth, upon the reign of the Empress-Queen, Maria Theresia.

I have to thank Mr. A. M. Broadley for the letters of Ferdinando and Maria Carolina, King and Queen of Naples (pp. 83, 201, 313, 406, 407), for the most interesting picture of the whole of the Austrian court on the occasion of the reception of Ferdinando and Maria Carolina at Vienna, and for the photographs of the portraits of the King and Queen of viii A SISTER OF MARIE ANTOINETTE

Naples and Lord Nelson, the originals of which portraits are in the possession of Mr. Hardy Manfield, by whose kind permission I make use of them.

From the above mentioned materials I have written a life of Maria Carolina, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Naples, which I hope may interest those who are not acquainted with the fuller histories of her life and that of her still more illustrious mother given by the distinguished German authors I have quoted.

In the opening chapters I have described the court of her parents, the Emperor and Empress, the home life and surroundings of the imperial family at Vienna, and the scenes and habits which were so vividly impressed upon the Archduchess during her childhood and early youth, helped to form her character, and always retained the strongest influence over her during the vicissitudes of her brilliant, stormy career.

Of the revolutionary war and important political events in the Two Sicilies it was of course impossible in a book of this kind to give anything but a sketch, the personal history and adventures of the Queen of Naples being the subject which concerned me, and which I have tried to place before my readers.

Contents

PAGE

Preface ........ v

Chapter I

The Archduchess Maria Theresia — Francois de Lorraine — The court of Carl VI. — The French Ambassador — Death of Carl VI. — The war — Flight of Maria Theresia — Rising of Hungary — The monarchy saved — Coronation of the Emperor — The imperial family — An adventure in a vineyard . . . . . .3

Chapter II

The court of Maria Theresia — Kaunitz — The imperial children — Christine and Carl — The Archduchess Marianne — Love-affair of the Archduchess Christine and Albrecht of Saxe- Teschen — Their marriage — The Archduchess Elisabeth — An unwilling Abbess — The Archduke Joseph — Character of the Empress — Her despotic rule — The amusements of the Emperor — His love-affairs and liaisons . . • 14

Chapter III Page

The Empress and her children — Betrothal of the Archduchess Johanna to the King of Naples — Joseph, Carl, and Leopold — Death of Carl — Isabella of Parma — Strange romance of her history — Her marriage with the Crown Prince — Her friendship with Christine — Gloomy presentiments — Death of Johanna — " It is the summons " — Death of Isabella — Unhappy second marriage of the Crown Prince — Marriage of the Archduke Leopold — Death of the Emperor . . 27

Chapter IV

Grief of the Empress — She resumes the government — The Archduchess Josepha — Marriage of the Archduchess Christine — Her favourite daughter — The small-pox again — Death of the Empress Joseph — Recovery of the Empress-mother — Splendid preparations for the wedding of Josepha — In the Capucine church — A terrible calamity — Death of Josepha — Recovery of Elisabeth — The presentiment fulfilled . . . . . .40

Chapter V

Carolina and Antoinette — " You are fifteen years old " — Mother and daughter — Carolina or Amalie ? — The choice of the King of Naples — Unwillingness of Carolina — The Empress insists — Amalie and the Duke of Parma — The Countess von Lerchenfeld — " Love your husband " . . '53

CONTENTS xi

Chapter VI Page

Marriage of Carolina to the King of Naples — Her journey — The Grand-duke of Tuscany — Arrival at Naples — Unhappiness of Carolina — Letters of Leopold to his mother — Of Carolina to her governess — Becomes reconciled to her lot — Her influence over the King — " My wife knows everything" — Fete at Naples — Visit of the Emperor Joseph — The King of Naples and the Duke of Parma . 66

CHAPTER Vn

Popularity of the Queen — Tanucci — The dictation of Spain — Correspondence with the Empress — Birth of an heir — The Queen enters the Council — The lazzaroni — Amusements of the King — His love-affairs — Ambition of the Queen — Her life at Naples — Caserta — The King and the peasant woman — The court of Naples^A court intrigue — The Marchesa di San Marco — The Abbe Galiani — Second-sight — Guarini — Birth of Prince Francesco — Death of the Prince Royal . . . . . .83

CHAPTER Vni

The Queen's Government — Acton — Death of the Empress Maria Theresia — Scandalous reports — Jealousy of the King — Violent scene — Reconciliation — Visit of the Archduchess Christine — Scenes in an earthquake — On board the fleet — Death of the King of Spain — Of two children of the Queen — The eve of the French Revolution — Mme. Le Erun — Journey to Vienna — Death of the Emperor Joseph — Marriages of two daughters of the Queen — Coronation of the Emperor Leopold — Stay in Austria — Rome — Marie Antoinette — Varennes — Escape of the Comte and Comtesse de Provence — The Archduchess Christine ....... 100

CHAPTER IX

PAGE

Return to Naples — Leopold and Maria Carolina — State of Tuscany — Of Naples — The Queen's society — Awakening — Change of policy — The secret police — Warlike preparations — The French Ambassadors at Naples and Venice — Mme. Le Brun — Slanders against the Queen — San Gennaro — Lady Hamilton .... 138

CHAPTER X

Early career of Emma Hart — Arrives at Naples — Her life there — Marries Sir William Hamilton — Prosperous and splendid career of the Queen — The turn of the tide — Death of the Emperor Leopold and of the King of Sweden — Danger to Naples — Disputes with France — The French Ambassador — Evil news from Paris — On the brink of war — A patched-up peace — The Ambassador of the Republic — Threatened bombardment of Naples — Life at Naples — News of the murder of Louis XVL — Outrageous conduct of the French Ambassador — His reception at a fete at court — He is recalled — Attempt to save the Queen and Madame Elisabeth . . . . . .152

CHAPTER XI

The Queen's popularity declines — Her proceedings give offence — The Neapolitans — Faults and virtues of Maria Carolina — Violence and calumnies of her enemies . 172

CHAPTER XII

Return of the French fleet — Treachery of La Touche and Mackau — The Jacobin supper — Conspiracies — Disguised as porters — The secret police — A secret treaty — Capture of Toulon — Alliance with England — Nelson — Splendid reception at Naples — The Queen and Captain Nelson —

CONTENTS xiii

PAGE

Departure of the Agamemnon — The Queen and her daughters — The Princess AmeHe — The murder of Marie Antoinette — The Office for the Dead — The Marchesa Solari — Vows of vengeance ..... 184

CHAPTER XIII

Dark days — Gallant efforts of the Queen — Society at Naples — "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow w^e die" — Earthquake and fearful eruption — Trial of the conspirators — Execution of the leaders — Attacks on the Queen — Friendship with Lady Hamilton ..... 205

CHAPTER XIV

Another conspiracy — Terrible tragedies — State of society in Naples — Prince Caramanico — Attempts to obtain the release of Louis XVII. and Madame Royale — Death of Louis XVII. — Distress of the Queen — The King pays homage to Louis XVIII.— Hunting at Carditello— The fish-market — Shrove Tuesday at San Carlo . . 220

CHAPTER XV

The Queen's justice — An Ambassador of the Republic — Marriage of the Duke of Calabria — A patched-up peace — The battle of the Nile— The English fleet at Naples- Declaration of war — Exciting times— Ferdinand© enters Rome — Disasters and defeats — Approach of the enemy — Horrors and dangers — Preparations for flight . . 235

CHAPTER XVI

Alarming state of things — Escape of the royal family — Terrible storm — Death of Prince Carlo Alberto — Arrival at Palermo — Adventures of Lady Knight and her daughter — Perils and hardships — Palermo — Lovely scenery — Loyal Sicily — Death of the Archduchess Christine — The Parthenopeian Republic — Departure of Caracciolo — The King's warning . 253 xiv A SISTER OF MARIE ANTOINETTE

CHAPTER XVII

PAGE

Preparations for the reconquest of Naples — Ruffo — Calabria — A fearful war — State of Sicily — Travellers in the olden times — The brigands of Sicily — An escort .... 267

CHAPTER XVIII

The King's country house — End of the Parthenopeian Republic — Recovery of Naples — The treaty annulled — Attitude of the Queen — The King returns to Naples — Miss Knight and Lady Hamilton — Capture of the Genereux . . . 286

CHAPTER XIX

Triumphant return of the King — Honours to the Hamiltons — Pardons obtained by the Queen — Her generosity and charities — Depression of the Queen — Sir William Hamilton recalled — Scene with the King — Visits Naples — Leaves Palermo with Nelson— Perilous voyage to Livorno — The battle of Marengo — Dangerous journey to Vienna — Anxiety of the King ...... 308

CHAPTER XX

Arrival at Vienna — Departure of Lord Nelson and the Hamiltons — The two surviving daughters of Maria Theresia — The imperial family circle — Life at Vienna and Schonbrann — The Prime Minister Thugut — The war — Flight of the Grand-duke and Grand-duchess of Tuscany — Treaty of Luneville — Naples threatened — Paul, Emperor of Russia — Naples saved by the Queen — A dramatic concert — The Archduke Anton and Princess Amelie — The Spanish proposals — Terror of Amelie — The Prince of the Asturias chooses Antoinette — A melancholy parting . 323

CHAPTER XXI

Return to Naples — Death of Clementine, Princess Royal- Renewal of influence with the King— Death of the Grand-

CONTENTS XV

PAGE

duchess of Tuscany — More conspiracies — Two Spanish marriages — Isabel, Princess Royal — Threatened dangers — Nelson — The ninety dogs of the King — Unhappy fate of Antoinette, Princess of the Asturias — The King of Spain and the violinist — The Queen of Naples and her daughter-in-law — A dangerous breakfast — Lady Hamilton — Her extravagance and greed for money — Infatuation of Lord Nelson ....... 334

CHAPTER XXII

Threatened dangers — The court of Naples — A fearful earth quake — Le Roi s'amuse — The allied fleet — Surrender of Mack — Trafalgar — Departure of the French Ambassador — Austerlitz — Alarm and perplexity at Naples — Flight of Ferdinando — The Queen and royal family prepare to escape — Farewell to Naples — A perilous voyage — Arrival at Palermo ....... 362

CHAPTER XXIII

At Palermo again — Discomforts and hardships — Acton — The Princess of the Asturias — Terrible tragedy — Suspicions of poison — The war in Calabria — Fra Diavolo — Agostino Mosca, the brigand — Conspiracies at Naples — An infernal machine — Admiral Collingwood — The Sicilian farm of the Prince Royal — The Princess Royal — Domestic life of the Queen and her children ..... 378

CHAPTER XXIV

The Princess Christine and the Duke of Genoa — Their marriage — Death of the Empress of Germany — Despair of the Queen— Sicily threatened — The Queen's letters — The son of Egalite — The love-affairs of Princess Amelie — The King refuses consent — The Princess threatens to take the veil — Her marriage to the Duke of Orleans . . . 395 xvi CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXV

My grandmother the Queen of Sicily " — Obstinacy of Maria Carolina — The Duke and Duchess of Orleans — Illness of the Queen — Troubles and difficulties — Lord William Bentinck — Renewed troubles — The Queen leaves Palermo — The King agrees to the regency of the Prince Royal and retires to the country — A last attempt — Return of the King — Failure — Farewell to Sicily .... 408

CHAPTER XXVI

Departure from Palermo — The Queen's journey with Prince Leopold — The Marchesa Solari — Sad recollections — Arrival in Austria — The castle of Hetzenberg — Fall of the Emperor Napoleon — Arrival of the Empress Marie Louise — Her affection for her grandmother, the Queen of Naples — The King of Rome — The Queen's love for him — King Ferdinando orders the Minerva to fetch back the Queen and Prince Leopold — Death of the Queen . . .421

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Maria Carolina Charlotte, Wife of Ferdinando IV., Queen of the Two Sicilies. {Mme, Vigee Le Brun) . . . Frontispiece

Maria Theresia, Empress of Germany, Queen of

Hungary, Bohemia, &c. {Marten) To face page 4

Friederich the Great, King of Prussia

Wenzel Anton, Prinz von Kaunitz

Francois (Etienne), Duke of Lorraine,

Emperor of Germany . • >j » 25

Group of Cavaliers, including the Emperor Joseph II., the Archduke Maximilien, and Albrecht, Duke OF Saxe-Teschen. {Brano) . . „ ,,42

Carlos III., King of Spain. {Mengs) . „ „ 58

I* xvii xviii A SISTER OF MARIE ANTOINETTE

Joseph II., Emperor of Germany, and Leopold, Grand-duke of Tuscany, AFTERWARDS Emperor, 1 782 . To face page 66

Autograph Letter of Maria Carolina, Queen of the Two Sicilies. {From the Collection of MSS. of Mr. A. M. Broadley) . . . • ,, ,, 83

Ferdinando IV. AND Maria Carolina, King and Queen of Naples, and their Family . . . „ ,, 99

Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, Wife of Louis XVI. {'^ Faisant un bouquet^ Mme. Vigee Le Brun^ Versailles) . . . -J) }> 115

Reception of Ferdinando IV. and Maria Carolina, King and Queen OF Naples, at the Austrian Court. (From a print in the Collection of Mr. A. M. Broadley) . . . „ ,,122

La Comtesse de Provence, Wife of

Monsieur, afterwards Louis XVIII. „ ,, 128

Lady Hamilton as "Nature" {Romney) „ „ 153

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xix

Louis XVI. . . . To face page 167

Lord Nelson. {Abbott) . . . „ ,,194

Madame Elisabeth, Sister of Louis

Madame Royale . . . . „ ,, 228

Battle of the Nile . . • n » 244

Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples. (From a print in the possession of Mr. Hardy Manfield. Picture given by Queen to Lady Hamilton) . . „ ,,264

Lord Nelson. {Italiaft Portrait painted at Naples and given by Queen Maria Carolina to Sir Thomas Hardy. From the original now in the possession of Mr. Hardy Manfield, of Portesham) . „ ,,287

Autograph Letter of Ferdinando IV., King of Naples. [From Mr. A. M.

Broadlefs Collection of MSS.) . ,, j? 313

Francis I., Emperor of Austria

{Kupelwieser) . „ ,,324

Princess Ami^lie, Wife of Louis Philippe,

King of France . . • „ »> 332

XX A SISTER OF MARIE ANTOINETTE

Prince Royal of Naples . To face page ^$$

Napoleon Buonaparte, First Consul.

Louis Philippe, Dug d'Orl^ans, King

OF France. (Gerard) . • ,, » 4^4

Ferdinando IV., King of the Two Sicilies. (From an original watercolour given by Queen Maria Carolina to Sir Thomas Hardy^ now in the possession of Mr. Hardy Manfield) . . ,, ,,417

PART I

Chapter I

The Archduchess Maria Theresia — Frangois de Lorraine — The court of Carl VI. — The French Ambassador — Death of Carl VI.— The war— Flight of Maria Theresia— Rising of Hungary — The monarchy saved — Coronation of the Emperor — The imperial family — An adventure in a vineyard.

MARIA CAROLINA CHARLOTTE was the thirteenth of the sixteen children born to the Empress Maria Theresia, Queen of Hungary, Bohemia, and the Netherlands, Archduchess of Austria, and the Emperor Franz, or Francois, of Lorraine,^ Grand-duke of Tuscany ; this latter province having been given him instead of his own Lorraine, which he had been compelled to cede to France.

The marriage of Francois de Lorraine with the Austrian Archduchess had been an affair of European importance, and for years the centre and object of intrigues and negotiations. For she was the eldest daughter of the Emperor Carl VI., her only brother had died in infancy, and her father,

^ Though Lorraine was then an integral part of the German Empire, Frangois, who was also Due de Bar, was in tastes, habits, and characteristics a Frenchman. He never spoke German correctly, and during his reign French was as much used as German at the court of Vienna.

finding that he was not Hkely to have any more sons, turned all his hopes and ambition and directed all his energy towards securing to his eldest daughter the whole of the vast succession of the house of Habsburg.

This he at length effected by means of an agreement known as the Pragmatic Sanction, which guaranteed that magnificent inheritance to Maria Theresia. The Milanese, the Low Countries, the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, and all the great Austrian provinces were to pass under her sway ; but it was stipulated that, in order to preserve the balance of power in Europe, the Archduchess should not be married either to any reigning sovereign or to any prince of a powerful governing house.

Under these circumstances it was impossible to find a more absolutely suitable husband for her than Francois de Lorraine.

Although not sufficiently powerful to cause any uneasiness, there was no family more illustrious than that of Lorraine ; Francois was of the same religion as the Archduchess, was only a few years her senior, had an excellent disposition, was extremely handsome, accomplished, and attractive, and he and Maria Theresia were passionately in love with each other.

However, notwithstanding these considerations, his promises to the powers, and his love for his favourite child, the Emperor, weak and vacillating, listened first to one, then to another, and every now and then tormented his daughter by proposing to break off her engagement with Francois and marry her to someone else.

Maria Theresia, Empress of Germany,

Queen of HuNiMRy, Bohemia, etc.

After a portrait by Marten.

face p. 4.

At one time it was Friederich the Great of Prussia, though he was a Protestant, more than half an atheist, and the Archduchess could not bear him ; but fortunately various opportune disclosures respecting his private life and habits put an end to this project.

Another time it was Don Carlos of Spain, and from him Maria Theresia was saved by her mother, the Empress Elisabeth, who interfered at her entreaty, declared that the happiness of her child should not be sacrificed, and used her powerful influence to such good effect that the marriage of the Archduchess and the Grand-duke of Tuscany was at last celebrated with all the pomp and splendour befitting an event of such world-wide importance (1736).

As it has already been said, Franfois de Lorraine was remarkably handsome and fascinating, while Maria Theresia inherited to a great extent the beauty of her mother, the lovely Elisabeth of Wurtemberg, whom she greatly resembled. At the time of their marriage she was nineteen and her bridegroom twenty-eight years old ; they had known each other ever since she was four and he thirteen, when he had been brought to Vienna to be educated.

During the four remaining years of the life of Carl VI., Francois and Maria Theresia lived at the court of Vienna, which at that time was a remarkably dull one, as may be seen from the following letter from the Due de Richelieu, French Ambassador at Vienna, to Cardinal Polignac, French Ambassador at Rome :

" J'ai mene ici a Vienne pendant tout le careme une existence etonnemment pieuse, qui ne m'a pas laiss^ un quart d'heure de liberty. ]e Tavoue franchement, si j'avais prevu la vie qu'un ambassadeur s'amuse a mener a Vienne, rien au monde n'aurait pu me decider a accepter cette mission, ou, sous couleur d'invitations et de ceremonies aux chapelles, les ambassadeurs sont obliges de suivre la cour comme des valets de chambre. II n'y a pas de capucin, si forte que soit sa sante, qui puisse resister a une pareille existence pendant le careme. Pour en donner une idee a Votre Eminence, je suis reste en tout depuis le dimanche des Rameaux jusqu'au mercredi apres Paques, cent heures a I'eglise, a la suite de I'Empereur. Le Comte de Luc, qui a passe dix-huit mois a Vienne, dont neuf ou dix avant de se faire presenter a la cour, et qui s'est fait dire ensuite malade, nous avait cach6 ce tresor de piete, dont j'ai du faire la decouverte a mes depens. ]e dois I'avouer, je m'imagine que le respect pour la Divinite pourrait comporter un peu plus de liberte, et que I'ennui force dont on nous fait ici gracieusement largesse et qu'on ne rencontre a ce point dans aucune autre cour, m'est tellement insupportable que je ne puis m'empecher de dire a Votre Eminence combien j'en suis excede."

To which the Cardinal replied :

" En ce qui touche le tableau que vous me faites de la fagon dont vous avez rempli votre devoir de Chretien pendant le careme et la semaine sainte, je ne puis que vous f^liciter d'etre sorti intact de ce penible passage ; peut-etre n'avez-vous jamais tant fait dans votre vie. Pensez done que c'est exactement la meme chose pour un cardinal a Rome. Mais vous me direz sans doute que nous sommes payes pour cela." ^

Such a personality as Richelieu must indeed have found himself out of place in a court thus described, a singular contrast to that of Louis XV. ; and in the answer of the Cardinal one cannot but remark the scarcely concealed amusement with which he had received these lamentations.

^ " I have passed here in Vienna, during the whole of Lent, an extraordinarily pious existence, which has not allowed me a quarter of an hour's freedom. I frankly acknowledge that if I had foreseen the hfe an ambassador at Vienna must amuse himself by leading, nothing on earth would have induced me to accept that position, in which, under pretext of invitations and ceremonies in the chapels, the ambassadors are obliged to follow the court like valets de chambre. There is not a Capucin, however strong he may be, whose health could stand such a life during the whole of Lent. To give your Eminence an idea of it, I spent a hundred hours in church, in the suite of the Emperor, between Palm Sunday and the Wednesday after Easter. The Comte de Luc, who spent eighteen months at Vienna, was not presented at court during the first nine or ten months, and afterwards got himself declared to be ill, concealed from us this treasure of piety which I have had to discover at my own expense. I must say that I think respect for the Divinity might admit of a little more liberty, and the enforced emmi which they so graciously bestow upon us here, and which one does not meet with to this extent at any other court, is so insupportable to me, that I cannot help telling your Eminence how I am annoyed by it."

To which the Cardinal replied : *' With regard to the picture you give me of the manner in which you fulfilled your duty as a Christian during Lent, I can only congratulate you on having come intact out of that painful passage (experience) ; perhaps you have never done so much before in your life. Consider, then, that it is exactly the same thing for a cardinal at Rome. But you will doubtless say that we are paid for that." — " Marie Therese " (Comte de Villermont).

The death of Carl VI. (1740), which placed at the head of the court and country two young, handsome, high-spirited sovereigns, mitigated the asceticism of this regime ; but the troubles and dangers which then arose were for a considerable time so serious as to obliterate all such comparatively unimportant considerations.

Friederich of Prussia claimed Silesia and the Elector of Bavaria the kingdom of Bohemia ; the guarantees of the Pragmatic Sanction were thrown to the winds ; George II. of England deserted Maria Theresia and signed a treaty of neutrality, while France joined with Prussia, Bavaria, and the other powers in their attempt to dismember the inheritance of the Habsbuirg.

The treasury was nearly exhausted, the army weakened and diminished ; the people, overtaxed and poverty-stricken, were breaking into riots in different parts of the country ; the Prussian troops poured into Silesia, Prague fell into the hands of the Bavarians, and Maria Theresia, with her husband, mother, and infant children, fled to Hungary. She appeared at the Diet in Presburg wearing the Hungarian costume, with the sword and crown of St. Stephen, and pointing to her infant son in the arms of his nurse, claimed the protection of the chivalrous nobles of Hungary in an eloquent speech, ending in a passion of tears, which called forth an outburst of enthusiastic loyalty.

All Hungary rose : a hundred thousand men flocked to her standard ; the Hungarian army saved Maria Theresia, Vienna, and the monarchy. ^

* *' Memoirs of the Court and Aristocracy of Austria " (E. Vehse).

Freperick the Great, King of Prissia.

Jo face f>. 9.

MARIA THERESIA AND HER CHILDREN] g

She never forgot it ; then and during her whole Hfe her love and gratitude never failed her beloved Hungary, which had stood by her in her hour of need. Upon her dying bed the name of Hungary was one of the last words she spoke.