were still flashing as those of the hero-king whose look had
disarmed the lurking assassin, and confounded the distinguished
savant in the midst of his eloquence, so that he stammered and was
silent. He was still Frederick the Great, who, leaning upon his
staff, was surrounded by his generals, whom he called to fight for
their fatherland, for Germany!

"Gentlemen," said the king, "I have called you together to announce
to you that we must go forth to new wars, and, God willing, to new
victories. The Emperor of Austria forces me to it, for, against all
laws and customs, and against all rights of kingdoms, he thinks to
bring German territory into the possession of the house of Hapsburg.
Charles Theodore, prince-elector, having no children, has concluded
a treaty with the Emperor Joseph, that at his death the electorate
of Bavaria will fall to Austria. In consequence thereof an Austrian
army has marched into Bavaria, and garrisoned the frontier.--The
prince-elector, Duke Charles Theodore, was not authorized to proceed
thus, for, though he had no children to succeed him, he had a lawful
successor in his brother's son, Duke Charles von Zweibrucken.
Electoral Saxony and Mecklenburg have well-founded pretensions, even
if Zweibrucken were not existing. All these princes have addressed
themselves to me, and requested me to represent them to the emperor
and to the imperial government--to protect them in their injured
rights. I have first tried kindness and persuasion to bring back
Austria from her desire of aggrandizement, but in Vienna they have
repulsed every means of peaceable arbitration. I, as one of the
rulers of the empire (and as I have reaffirmed the Westphalian
treaty through the Hubertsburger treaty), feel bound to preserve the
privileges, the rights, the liberty of the German states. I have
therefore well reflected, and decided to draw the sword--that what