FORE:Voltaire, in his Memoirs, says that he drew up the manifesto for Frederick upon this occasion. ¡°The pretext,¡± he writes, ¡°for this fine expedition was certain rights which his majesty pretended to have over a part of the suburbs. It was to me he committed the task of drawing up the manifesto, which I performed as well as the nature of the case would let me, never suspecting that a king, with whom I supped, and who called me his friend, could possibly be in the wrong. The affair was soon brought to a conclusion by the payment of a million of livres, which he exacted in good hard ducats, and which served to defray the expenses of his tour to Strasbourg, concerning which he complained so loudly in his poetic prose epistle. ¡°You never can believe, my adorable sister, how concerned I am about your happiness. All my wishes centre there, and every moment of my life I form such wishes. You may see by this that I preserve still that sincere friendship which has united our hearts from our tenderest years. Recognize at least, my dear sister, that you did me a sensible wrong when you suspected me of fickleness toward you, and believed false reports of my listening to tale-bearers¡ªme, who love only you, and whom neither absence nor lying rumors could change in respect of you. At least, don¡¯t again believe such things on my score, and never mistrust me till you have had clear proof, or till God has forsaken me, or I have lost my wits.
FORE:The death-scene of the emperor was an event which must interest every reader. Upon his return from a hunting excursion into Hungary, he was attacked, on Thursday evening, October 16th, by slight indisposition, which was supposed to have been caused by eating imprudently of mushrooms. His sickness, baffling the skill of the doctors, increased, and by Saturday night became alarming. On Tuesday it was thought that he was dying. The pope¡¯s nuncio administered to him the sacrament of the Lord¡¯s Supper. His majesty manifested great composure in view of the sublime change before him, and said to one who was weeping at his bedside,
FORE:
THREE:¡°Never mind, sire, God Almighty and we will mend this yet.417 The enemy may get a victory for once, but that does not send us to the devil.¡±
THREE:In his ¡°epistle¡± Frederick had expressed the opinion that428 there was no God who took any interest in human affairs. He had also repeatedly expressed the resolve to Wilhelmina, and to Voltaire, to whom he had become partially reconciled, that he was prepared to commit suicide should events prove as disastrous as he had every reason to expect they would prove. He had also urged his sister to follow his example, and not to survive the ruin of the family. Such was the support which the king, in hours of adversity, found in that philosophy for which he had discarded the religion of Jesus Christ. An extraordinary Interview.¡ªCarlyle¡¯s Sympathy.¡ªTrifling Demeanor of Frederick.¡ªConspiracy in Breslau.¡ªGuile of Frederick.¡ªThe successful Stratagem.¡ªCrossing the Neisse.¡ªThe Co-operation of France.¡ªAnguish of Maria Theresa.¡ªInflexible Will of Frederick.¡ªDuplicity of the King.¡ªThe Surrender of Neisse.
