rince for his residence. He spent happy hours there with famous men
of letters in his circle, for he was actually free now to give time to
literature and science. He corresponded frequently with Voltaire and
became an atheist. He cared nothing for religion when he was king, and
was remarkable for the religious toleration which he extended to his
subjects. But the harsh treatment of youth had spoilt his pleasant
nature, and his want of faith made him unscrupulous and hard-hearted.
He grasped at all he could win, and had every intention of fulfilling
the commands laid upon him by the Testament which his father wrote in
1722 when he believed himself {150} to be dying;--"Never relinquish
what is justly yours."

It was far from his intention to relinquish any part of his dominions,
and, moreover, he set early about the business of conquering Silesia to
add to his little kingdom. Saxony should fall to him if he could in
any wise win it. There was hope in that fine stalwart body of men his
father had so well disciplined. There was courage in his own heart,
and he had been reared in too stern a school to fear hardships.

In 1740, Frederick received his dying father's blessing, and in the
same year the Emperor, Charles VI, left his daughter, Maria Theresa, to
struggle with an aggressive European neighbour. She was a splendid
figure, this empress of twenty-three, beautiful and virtuous, with the
spirit of a man, and an unconquerable determination to fight for what
was justly hers. She held not Austria alone but many neighbouring
kingdoms--Styria, Bohemia, the Tyrol, Hungary, and Carpathia.

Charles VI had endeavoured to secure his daughter's kingdom by means of
a "Pragmatic Sanction," which declared the indivisibility of the
Austrian dominions, and the right of Maria Theresa to inherit them in
default of a male heir. This was signed by all the powers of Europe
save Bavaria, but Frederick broke it ruthlessly as soon as the Emperor
died.

In high spirits Frederick II entered on the bold enterprise of seizing
from Maria Theresa some part of those possessions which her father had
striven to secure to her.

Allies gathered round Prussia quickly, admiring the 80,000 men that the
obscure sovereignty had raised from the subjects of a little kingdom.
France, Spain, Poland, and Bavaria allied themselves with the spoiler
against Maria Theresa, who sought the aid of England. She {151} seemed
in desperate straits, the victim o