tradesman, who neither was nor ever had been a
subject either of France or Buonaparte, has been less fortunate.

The Emperor of Russia once more visited Berlin, when the feelings of
Prussia, and indeed of all the neighbouring states, were in this fever
of excitement. He again urged Frederick William to take up arms in the
common cause, and offered to back him with all the forces of his own
great empire. The English Government, taking advantage of the same
crisis, sent Lord Morpeth[55] to Berlin, with offers of pecuniary
supplies--about the acceptance of which, however, the anxiety of Prussia
on the subject of Hanover created some difficulty. Lastly, Buonaparte,
well informed of what was passing in Berlin, and desirous, since war
must be, to hurry Frederick into the field ere the armies of the Czar
could be joined with his, now poured out in the _Moniteur_ such abuse on
the persons and characters of the Queen, Prince Louis, and every
illustrious patriot throughout Prussia, that the general wrath could no
longer be held in check. Warlike preparations of every kind filled the
kingdom during August and September. On the first of October the
Prussian Minister at Paris presented a note to Talleyrand, demanding,
among other things, that the formation of a Confederacy in the North of
Germany should no longer be thwarted by French interference, and that
the French troops within the territories of the Rhenish League should
recross the Rhine into France, by the 8th of the same month of October.

But Napoleon was already in person on the German side of the Rhine; and
his answer to the Prussian note was a general order to his own troops,
in which he called on them to observe in what manner a German sovereign
still dared to insult the soldiers of Austerlitz.

The conduct of Prussia, in thus rushing into hostilities, without
waiting for the advance of the Russians, was as rash as her holding back
from Austria, during the campaign of Austerlitz, had been cowardly. As
if determined to profit by no lesson, the Prussian council also directed
their army to advance towards the French, instead of lying on their own
frontier--a repetition of the great leading blunder of the Austrians in
the preceding year. The Prussian army accordingly invaded the Saxon
provinces, and the Elector, seeing his country treated as rudely as that
of Bavaria had been on a similar occasion by the Austrians, and wanting
the means to withdraw his own troops as the B