f treachery, for Frederick had
promised to support her. The Battle of Molwitz went against Austria,
and the Empress was fain to offer three duchies of Silesia, but the
King refused them scornfully, saying, "Before the war, they might have
contented me. Now I want more. What do I care about peace? Let those
who want it give me what I want; if not, let them fight me and be
beaten again."

The Elector of Bavaria was within three days' march of Vienna,
proclaiming himself Archduke of Austria. Maria Theresa had neither men
nor money. Quite suddenly she took a resolution and convoked the
Hungarian magnates at Pressburg, where she had fled from her capital.
She stood before them, most beautiful and patriotic in her youth and
helplessness. Raising her baby in her arms, she appealed to the whole
assembly. She had put on the crown of St Stephen and held his sword at
her side. The appeal was quickly answered. Swords leapt from their
scabbards; there came the roar of many voices, "_Moriamur pro rege
nostro, Maria Theresa!_" ("Let us die for our King, Maria Theresa.")

But Friedrich defeated the Austrians again and again in battle. No
armies could resist those wonderful compact regiments, perfectly
drilled and disciplined, afraid of nothing save of losing credit.
Maria had to submit to the humiliation of giving up part of Silesia to
her enemy, while the Elector had himself crowned as Emperor Charles VII
at Frankfort. The English King, George II, fought for her against the
French at Dettingen and won a victory. She entered her capital in
triumph, apparently confirmed in her possessions. But Frederick was
active in military operations and {152} attempted to detach the English
from her. He invaded Bohemia and defeated the imperial generals. He
received the much-disputed territory of Silesia in 1745 by the Treaty
of Dresden, which concluded the second war.

The national spirit was rising in Prussia through this all-powerful
army, which drained the country of its men and horses. The powers of
Europe saw with astonishment that a new force was arraying itself in
youthful glory. The Seven Years' War began in 1756, one of the most
fateful wars in the whole of European history.

France, Russia, and Saxony were allied with Maria Theresa, but the
Prussians had the help of England. Frederick II proved himself a
splendid general, worthy of the father whose only war had wrested the
coveted province of Pomerania from the dou