was unworthy of his station, and his severities in Hungary made him
the object of execration. He was narrow, bigoted, and selfish. But he
lived in an age of great activity, and his reign forms an era in the
military and civil institutions of his country. The artillery had been
gradually lightened, and received most of the improvements which at
present are continued. Bayonets had been added to muskets, and the use
of pikes abandoned. Armies were increased from twenty or thirty
thousand men to one hundred thousand, more systematically formed. A
police was established in the cities, and these were lighted and
paved. Jurisprudence was improved, and numerous grievances were
redressed.

Leopold was succeeded by his eldest son, Joseph, who had an energetic
and aspiring mind. His reign is memorable for the continuation of the
great War of the Spanish Succession, signalized by the victories of
Marlborough and Eugene, the humiliation of the French, and the career
of Charles XII. of Sweden. He also restored Bohemia to its electoral
rights, rewarded the elector palatine with the honors and territories
wrested from his family by the Thirty Years' War, and confirmed the
house of Hanover in the possession of the ninth electorate. He had
nearly restored tranquillity to his country, when he died (1711) of
the small-pox--a victim to the ignorance of his physicians. He was a
lover and patron of the arts, and spoke several languages with
elegance and fluency. But he had the usual faults of absolute princes;
was prodigal in his expenditures, irascible in his temper, fond of
pageants and pleasure, and enslaved by women.

[Sidenote: Accession of Maria Theresa.]

He was succeeded by his brother, the Archduke Charles, under the title
of Charles VI. Soon after his accession, the tranquillity of Europe
was established by the peace of Utrecht, and Austria once more became
the preponderating power in Europe. But Charles VI. was not capable of
appreciating the greatness of his position, or the true sources of
national power. He, however, devoted himself zealously to the affairs
of his empire, and effected some useful reforms. As he had no male
issue, he had drawn up a solemn law, called the _Pragmatic Sanction_,
according to which he transferred to his daughter, Maria Theresa, his
vast hereditary possessions. He found great difficulty in securing the
assent of the European powers to this law; but, after a while, he
effected his object. On his d