"At any rate," whisper they, "it spites the Queen his Sister!"--and
drag the poor Swedish Nation into a series of disgraces and
disastrous platitudes it was little anticipating. This precious
French-Swedish Bargain ("Swedes to invade with 25,000; France to
give fair subsidy," and bribe largely) was consummated in March;
["21st March, 1757" (Stenzel, v. 38; &c.).] but did not become
known to Friedrich for some months later; nor was it of the
importance he then thought it, in the first moment of surprise and
provocation. Not indeed of importance to anybody, except, in the
reverse way, to poor Sweden itself, and to the French, who had
spent a great deal of pains and money on it, and continued to
spend, with as good as no result at all. For there never was such a
War, before or since, not even by Sweden in the Captainless state!
And the one profit the copartners reaped from it, was some
discountenance it gave to the rumor which had risen, more
extensively than we should now think, and even some nucleus of fact
in it as appears, That Austria, France and the Catholic part of the
Reich were combining to put down Protestantism. To which they could
now answer, "See, Protestant Sweden is with us!"--and so weaken a
little what was pretty much Friedrich's last hold on the public
sympathies at this time.

As to France itself,--to France, Austria, Russia,--bound by such
earthly Treaties, and the call of very Heaven, shall they not, in
united puissance and indignation, rise to the rescue?
France, touched to the heart by such treatment of a Saxon Kurfurst,
and bound by Treaty of Westphalia to protect all members of the
Reich (which it has sometimes, to our own knowledge, so carefully
done), is almost more ardent than Austria itself. France, Austria,
Russia; to these add Polish Majesty himself; and latterly the very