Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/728

 G92 the emperor Joseph II. with the Turks. lie was immedi ately involved in the first of his famous wars with France, in which, till 1795, he had the support of the king of Prussia. In 1794 he himself was with the Austrian army which defeated the French at Tournay; but when fortune turned on the side of France he went back to Vienna. He was compelled, mainly in consequence of the victories of Napoleon, who pressed northward from Italy into Carinthia, to conclude, on the 17th October 1797, the treaty of Campo Formio, whereby the empire lost the greater part of the left bank of the Rhine, and Austria had to give up the Netherlands and Lombardy. Austria received in return Venetia, Friuli, Istria, and Dalmatia. In 1799 war broke oat afresh, the emperor having on this occasion England and Russia as allies. During the first campaign the French were everywhere defeated; but in the following year Napoleon gained the brilliant victory of Marengo, while Moreau was equally successful at Hohenlinden. The shock of these two battles made it impossible for Austria to con tinue the war, and on the 9th February 1801 she concluded t .ie treaty of Luneville, which confirmed that of Campo Formio, besides exacting fresh sacrifices. France now obtained the whole of the left bank of the Rhine. Once more in association with. Russia and England, the emperor began another war with France in 1805. The capitulation of CJlm and the battle of Austerlitz, great as were these disasters, did not make the case of Austria hopeless, for she still had large forces, Russia was willing to continue the war, and the power of France had been seriously crippled at Trafalgar. But Francis was dispirited, and craved peace. On December 25, 1805, was concluded the treaty of Pres- burg, which deprived Austria of Venetia and Tyrol. In 1806, after the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine, lie formally resigned the imperial crown, thus bringing to an end the Holy Roman Empire and the kingdom of Germany. ^Forgetting the true meaning of the word emperor, lie had in 1804 proclaimed himself, as Francis I., here ditary emperor of Austria ; and this title has been retained by his successors. He took no part in the war of Prussia with France in 1806, but after some time began to make preparations for a determined struggle, by which he should regain all the advantages lost in previous wars. The new con flict broke out in 1809, and the whole of Germany awaited the result with intense anxiety. Austria was unfortunate at first ; but the highest hopes were excited by her thorough victory of Aspern. It was followed by the battle of Wagram, which enabled Napoleon to dictate peace from the palace of Schonbrunn, where he had once before taken up his quarters. By the treaty of Schonbrunn (October 14, 1809) he transferred the allegiance of about four millions of Austrian subjects to other rulers ; but as in the follow ing year he married Maria Louisa, the eldest daughter of Francis, it seemed probable that the two sovereigns would in future be on friendly terms. Francis was the ally of Napoleon in his war with Russia in 1812 ; and when, after the retreat from Moscow, France found herself confronted by Russia and Prussia, Austria at first remained neutral, and in the summer of 1813 acted as mediator. In August of the same year she joined the allies; and, like the sove reigns of Prussia and Russia, Francis accompanied his troops in the war which followed. The settlement of Europe which resulted from the final defeat of Napoleon made Francis a more powerful sovereign than he had been at the beginning of his reign ; and from this time forward he lived at peace, except that he had to put down a rising in Lom- birdy in 1821. He was a well-meaning ruler, but had been so alarmed by the successes of the French Revolution that he detested modern ideas of government. The aspirations of his various states for some measure of independence lie regarded as criminal, and in Prince Metternich he found a willing agent for his policy of .stern repression. Thus a. large amount of discontent was excited, which prepared serious, troubles for the emperors who came after him. Francis was married four times, having by his second wife, Maria Theresa, princess of Sicily, thirteen children. He died on the 2d March 1835, and was succeeded by his son Ferdinand. FRANCIS, ST (1182-1226), a well-known saint of the Roman Catholic Church, the founder of the great order of Franciscans, was born at Assisi in the year 1182. His father was a trader in goods which he appears chiefly to have purchased in the south of France, to which he made frequent journeys; and his son was born during one of these journeys, and in consequence received from the grate ful father on his return the name of Francesco. His mother had wished to call him, it is said, Giovanni or John. The youth grew up veiy much like any other boy of his class. He received but little learning from the priest of the parish, and does not seem to have manifested any special love for school instruction. He was by nature a merry-hearted and careless fellow, and developed early an inclination for fine clothes and street amusements with other boys of his class. His parents, indulgent to his gaieties, saw with pride thu higher tastes and bright intelligence of their son, and would sometimes say to one another, &quot; He is like the son of a prince.&quot; The father formed expectations of a, successful courtly career ; but the mother, seeing more into the boy s heart, would say to her neighbours, &quot; If he lives like the son of a prince now, he shall hereafter be a child of God.&quot; Soon a great change came to him. At the age of twenty- five Francis was seized with a severe illness. Reflections came to him on his sick-bed, and he rose from it an altered man. Henceforward, says one of his biographers, &quot; he held that in contempt which he had hitherto held in admiration and love.&quot; The ardour of his natural character flamed forth first in the idea of military dsvotion, and then in a consum ing spirit of self-sacrifice for the good of others. All his love of amusement and worldly display disappeared. He began to speak of poverty as his bride ; and the poor and the sick and the leper became the objects of his peculiar care. He would seek out the lepers, hitherto abhorred by him as by the popular feeling, and kiss them and minister to their wants. He made a pilgrimage to Rome, and in his enthusiasm for poverty flung all he had on the altar of St Peter s, joined himself to a troop of beggars, and gave him self up to a wandering life of almsgiving and charity. His mother guessed something of the feelings that were strugg ling in her son s heart; but his father, not unnaturally, was greatly concerned at his conduct. At List matters came to an open rupture between them ; and the saint s severance of the parental tie for the sake of his divine mission is a significant incident in his career with all his biographers. It happened in this wise. There was an old church or small chapel of the name of St Damian in the neighbour hood of Assisi which had fallen into ruins. The spot was a favourite one with the youthful enthusiast for meditation and prayer ; and one day as he sat in meditation among the ruins he seemed to hear a voice saying to him clearly, &quot; Francis, seest thou not that my house is in ruins ; go and restore it for me.&quot; To hear was to obey. The divine voice, as with some other enthusiasts, seemed to silence every other voice in his heart, even the voice of conscience. He returned home, saddled his horse, took a bale of his father s goods, and repairing to Foligno he sold both hoi&amp;gt;:e and goods, and rushed to the priest of St Daniian with the money to pay for the restoration of the church. The good priest was startled ; his father heard with indignation of liis son s conduct, and at length with blows and curses securely imprisoned him from any further freaks. But his father s harshness overshot the mark. Released by