Frederick now has ten years of peace before him, during which his actions and salutary conquests over difficulties were many, profitable to Prussia and himself.  Frederick has now, by his second Silesian war, achieved greatness; “Frederick the Great,” expressly so denominated by his people and others.  However, there are still new difficulties, new perils and adventures ahead.

For the present, then, Frederick declines the career of conquering hero; goes into law reform; gets ready a country cottage for himself, since become celebrated under the name of Sans-Souci.  General war being at last ended, he receives a visit from Marechal Saxe, brilliant French field-marshal, most dissipated man of his time, one of the 354 children of Augustus the Physically Strong.

But the ten years are passing—­there is like to be another war.  Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, made in a hurry, had left some questions open in America, answered in one way by the French, quite otherwise by English colonists.  Canada and Louisiana mean all America west of the Alleghanies?  Why then?  Whomsoever America does belong to, it surely is not France.  Braddock disasters, Frenchmen who understand war—­these things are ominous; but there happens to be in England a Mr. Pitt.  Here in Europe, too, King Frederick had come in a profoundly private manner upon certain extensive anti-Prussian symptoms—­Austrian, Russian, Saxon—­of a most dangerous sort; in effect, an underground treaty for partitioning Prussia; knowledge thereof extracted from Dresden archives.

IV.—­The Seven Years’ War Opens

Very curious diplomatisings, treaties, and counter-treaties are going on.  What counts is Frederick’s refusal to help France against England, and agreement with George of England—­and of Hanover—­to keep foreign troops off German soil?  Also Kaunitz has twirled Austrian policy on its axis; we are to be friends with France.  In this coming war, England and Austria, hitherto allies, to be foes; France and Austria, hitherto foes, to be allies.

War starts with the French capture of Minorca and the Byng affair, well known.  What do the movements of Russian and Austrian troops mean?  Frederick asks at Vienna; answer is no answer.  We are ready then; Saxony is the key to Bohemia.  Frederick marches into Saxony, demands inspection of Dresden Archives, with originals of documents known to him; blockades the Saxons in Pirna, somewhat forcibly requiring not Saxon neutrality, but Saxon alliance.  And meanwhile neither France nor Austria is deaf to the cries of Saxon-Polish majesty.  Austrian Field-Marshal Browne is coming to relieve the Saxons; is foiled, but not routed, at Lobositz; tries another move, executing admirably his own part, but the Saxons fail in theirs; the upshot, capitulation, the Saxon troops forced to volunteer as Prussians.

For the coming year, 1757, there are arrayed against Frederick four armies—­French, Austrian, Russian, Swedish; help only from a Duke of Cumberland on the Weser; the last two enemies not presently formidable.  He is not to stand on the defensive, but to go on it; startles the world by suddenly marching on Prag, in three columns.  Before Prag a mighty battle desperately fought; old Schwerin killed, Austrian Browne wounded mortally—­fatal to Austria; Austrians driven into Prag, with loss of 13,000 men.  Not annihilative, since Prag can hold out, though with prospect of famishing.