Page:The Hessians and the other German auxiliaries of Great Britain in the revolutionary war.djvu/65

 Rh “The King of England, who from caprice or obstinacy maintained Bute's system, stiffened himself against the obstacles which arose under his feet. With little consideration for the misfortunes which fell on his people, he became all the more ardent in the execution of his designs; and in order to obtain a superiority of force over the Americans, he had negotiations carried on with all the courts of Germany to obtain what little help they could still furnish. Germany already felt the evil consequences of sending so many of her men into those distant climes, and the King of Prussia did not like to see the Empire deprived of all its defenders, especially in case of a new war; for in the troubles of 1756, Lower Saxony and Westphalia alone had set on foot an army with which the progress of the French had been stopped and disorganized. For this reason he made difficulties about the passage of the troops of the princes allied to England when they had to pass through Magdeburg, Minden, and the district on the Lower Rhine. That was but a weak revenge for the bad attitude which the court of London had assumed towards him concerning the city and harbor of Dantzic. Nevertheless, the king did not care to push matters too far, for long experience had taught him that one always finds a host of enemies in the world, without taking the trouble to raise them wantonly against oneself.”

These troublesome measures of Frederick were but temporary, and in 1778 the business returned to its old channels. The war of the Bavarian Succession had then broken out, and Frederick was inclined to be