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a peace betwixt Prussia and Austria. Neither Frederick nor Maria Theresa, however, were in any haste to conclude peace. Frederick hoped to profit by the engagement of England with the French, and Maria Theresa hung out with some vague hopes of regaining Silesia through the money of England. But Frederick, on the 3rd of June, gained a decided victory over the prince Charles of Lorraine, throwing himself betwixt the Austrians and the Saxons, whom the English subsidy had brought to their aid. In this battle of Hoben Friedberg, the Austrians lost nine thousand men in killed and wounded, and had as many made prisoners. Prince Charles retreated into Bohemia, and was soon followed by Frederick, who fixed his camp at Chlum. Whilst another battle was impending, Maria Theresa, still undaunted, accompanied her husband to the Diet at Frankfort, where she had the satisfaction of seeing him elected emperor of Germany on the 13th of September. From her balcony she was the first to cry "Long live the emperor Francis I.!" which was re-echoed by the acclamations of ten thousand people in the streets. She then hastened to Heidelberg, where she reviewed her army of sixty thousand men, and as she rode by the side of the emperor along the ranks, she raised the enthusiasm of the soldiers by her beauty, her frank demeanour, and by ordering every soldier the gift of a florin. The same month, however, her troops were again defeated by Frederick at Sohr, near the sources of the Elbe. Their defeat this time was owing to their neglect of discipline, and taking to plundering when they should have been fighting. Spite of their being sixty thousand and the troops of Frederick only twenty-eight thousand, Frederick saw his advantage, and snatched a victory from them, to their great amazement. The king of Prussia now offered to make peace, but Maria Theresa rejected his overtures; but another victory over her combined army of Austrians and Saxons, which put Frederick in possession of Dresden, brought her to reason. A peace was concluded at Dresden on Christmas Day, by which Silesia was confirmed to Prussia, and Frederick, on his part, acknowledged the recent election of the emperor Francis. King George had also entered into a secret treaty with Prussia; and Frederick, sending his army into winter quarters in Silesia, returned to Berlin, thence to ponder fresh schemes of aggrandisement.

The campaign in Italy was as successful for the French