ng from the field.
Ferdinand claimed the crowns of Bohemia and Hungary, as Louis left no
children, and he was chosen king in both countries; and though he
disowned all other rights to the Bohemian throne than that of the
election, it is certain he never would have been elected by either
nation had he not married the sister of Louis, and had not Louis married
his sister. All these marriages, and other events that carried the power
of the house of Austria to the greatest height, took place only
thirty-three years after the death of Frederick III., and some of his
contemporaries may have lived to witness them all.

The marriages of the house of Austria since the sixteenth century have
not been so important as they were in that century, but they have not
been without influence on events, in exceptional cases. The marriage of
Marie Antoinette and the French prince who became Louis XVI. was
fruitful of results; and the marriage of Napoleon I. and Marie Louise,
by causing the French emperor to rely on Austrian aid in 1813, had
memorable consequences. Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. married Austrian
princesses of the Spanish branch; and the marriage of Louis XIV. and
Maria Theresa led to the founding of that Bourbon line which reigns over
Spain, though the main line has ceased to reign in France. The greatness
of the house of Austria in the seventeenth century is visible only in
Germany, after the death of Philip IV. of Spain. The German Hapsburgs
had a powerful influence in the seventeenth century, playing then great
parts, but often finding themselves in danger of extinction before their
Spanish cousins had run out.[29] They were the rivals of the French
kings of that century, and Louis XIV. was talked of as a candidate for
the imperial throne. The course of English politics had a very favorable
effect on the fortunes of the Hapsburgs, the same conduct that gave
supremacy to Protestantism and constitutionalism in Great Britain
working most favorably in behalf of that family which, for ten
generations, has been identified with everything that is bigoted and
intolerant in religion and politics. James II., after his fall, implored
assistance from the Emperor of Germany, Leopold I.; and, considering
that both were intensely Catholic, his application ought to have been
favorably received; but the reigning Emperor had little difficulty in
showing that it was not in his power, as assuredly it was not for his
interest, to help the exiled