as,
therefore, anxious to withdraw from the confederacy, and to oppose the
allies. The queen, as anxious as Frederic to come to an accommodation,
sent an ambassador to ascertain his terms. In laconic phrase,
characteristic of this singular man, he returned the following answer:--

"All lower Silesia; the river Neiss for the boundary. The town of Neiss
as well as Glatz. Beyond the Oder the ancient limits to continue between
the duchies of Brieg and Oppelon. Breslau for us. The affairs of
religion in _statu quo_. No dependence on Bohemia; a cession forever. In
return we will proceed no further. We will besiege Neiss for form. The
commandant shall surrender and depart. We will pass quietly into winter
quarters, and the Austrian army may go where they will. Let the whole be
concluded in twelve days."

These terms were assented to. The king promised never to ask any further
territory from the queen, and not to act offensively against the queen
or any of her allies. Though the queen placed not the slightest
confidence in the integrity of the Prussian monarch, she rejoiced in
this treaty, which enabled her to turn all her attention to her other
foes. The allies were now in possession of nearly all of Bohemia and
were menacing Prague.

The Duke of Lorraine hastened with sixty thousand men to the relief of
the capital. He had arrived within nine miles of the city, when he
learned, to his extreme chagrin, that the preceding night Prague had
been taken by surprise. That very day the Elector of Bavaria made a
triumphal entry into the town, and was soon crowned King of Bohemia. And
now the electoral diet of Germany met, and, to the extreme
disappointment of Maria Theresa, chose, as Emperor of Germany, instead
of her husband, the Elector of Bavaria, whom they also acknowledged King
of Bohemia. He received the imperial crown at Frankfort on the 12th of
February, 1742, with the title of Charles VII.

The Duke of Lorraine having been thus thwarted in his plan of relieving
Prague, and not being prepared to assail the allied army in possession
of the citadel, and behind the ramparts of the city, detached a part of
his army to keep the enemy in check, and sent General Kevenhuller, with
thirty thousand men, to invade and take possession of Bavaria, now
nearly emptied of its troops. By very sagacious movements the general
soon became master of all the defiles of the Bavarian mountains. He then
pressed forward, overcoming all opposition,