the kingdom of Prussia divided? Describe the two portions.3. Capital of Prussia? What of the city?4. What of Potsdam? Dantzic?-5. What of the inhabitants of Prussia? Schools? 6. What of the Jews? Ancient tribes ?

CHAPTER CXXIII. EUROPE continued.

Prussia.

-History of

1. PRUSSIA was formerly inhabited by a nation called Borussi, who were idolaters, against whom a crusade was carried on by the Teutonic knights. Their grand master, at the time of the Reformation, took the title of Margrave of Brandenburgh, and afterwards of Duke. Prussia did not become a kingdom till the year 1701.

2. Frederic William the First, who ascended the throne in 1713, was a very singular monarch. He used to wear an old blue coat, which was ornamented with rows of copper buttons, reaching from his chin half-way down his legs; and whenever he had a new coat, he made the tailor sew on these same old copper buttons.

3. He prided himself greatly on a regiment of his guards which consisted of very tall men, some of whom were between six and seven feet high. These gigantic fellows were hired from all parts of Europe; and if those whom he wanted from among his own subjects would not come of their own accord, the king made them come by force.

4. Frederic William was in the habit of walking about the streets of Berlin, with a cane in his hand, and if he happened to see any idle people, he would give them a sound threshing, and he treated his own children worse than any one else, frequently starving as well as beating them.

5. When this ill-tempered old king died, his son Frederic came into possession of an enormous quantity of treasure, as well as an army of sixty thousand men. He

soon found uses enough for his money and his soldiers, in a war with Austria, Russia, and France.

6. The war between Prussia and these three powers began in 1756, and was called the Seven Years' War. Saxony and Sweden joined the enemies of Frederic, and at one time he seemed on the point of losing all his dominions; but he was assisted by England, and finally brought the war to an honourable close. He was then the most celebrated sovereign of his time, and is known in history by the title of Frederic the Great.

7. He was almost as peculiar in his dress as his father had been. He always wore a uniform, consisting of a blue coat faced with red, and a yellow waistcoat and breeches, but his clothes were often torn, and generally soiled with snuff. He wore a very large cocked hat, and a long cue behind.

8. When Frederic the Great was grown an old man, he used to sit in an easy chair, wrapped in a large cloak, and appeared to take no pleasure in his palace, or in all the pomp and power of his kingdom. He seemed very sad, and might be heard muttering to himself" A little while longer, and I shall be gone!" He died in 1786, at the age of seventy-five.

9. He was succeeded by his nephew, Frederic William the Second, who reigned eleven years. The next king was Frederic William the Third, the present monarch. He had a large army, and thought himself powerful enough to withstand the emperor Napoleon. But at the battle of Jena, in 1806, Napoleon defeated the Prussian army, and killed or wounded twenty thousand men, and forty thousaud were taken prisoners. Frederic William was then deprived of a great part of his territories. After the battle of Waterloo, and the final defeat of Napoleon, the losses of Prussia were repaired.

10. Frederic William has shown himself sincerely desirous to promote the good of his subjects; he has greatly

exerted himself to diffuse the blessings of education, and he declared that there should be a Bible in every cottage in his kingdom, and I believe that is now the case.

In what wars did he What kingdoms joined -7. What was -8. What of him when he had

QUESTIONS. 1. Ancient inhabitants of Prussia? Teutonic knights? When did it become a kingdom?- -2. What of Frederic William the First ? When did he ascend the throne? Give an account of him. -5. Who succeeded him? engage? -6. What war began in 1756 ? the enemies of Frederic? What was he called?. the dress of Frederic the Great?grown old? When did he die? -9. What two kings succeeded him? What of Frederic William the Third? What took place at the battle of Jena?-10. What of the Prussian king? What took place after the battle of Waterloo? -11. What else can you say of this king?

CHAPTER CXXIV. EUROPE continued.-Chronology of Germany, Austria, Hungary and Prussia.

Charlemagne conquers Germany

Hungary annexed to the German empire by Charlemagne

Switzerland became part of the kingdom of Burgundy

802

804

888

Stephen, the first Christian king of Hungary, begins to reign 997

Bohemia becomes a kingdom

A.D.

William Tell died

1354

Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary, takes Vienna

1485

Louis, king of Hungary, defeated and killed by the Turks- 1526

War between Austria, Russia, France, and Prussia
Francis II. becomes emperor of Germany
Switzerland conquered by the French
Napoleon defeats the Prussians at Jena
Vienna taken by the French

Death of Francis II. emperor of Austria

1756

1792

1. THE Russian empire, like that of Turkey, lies partly in Europe and partly in Asia. The whole of the northern part of Asia belongs to Russia; and this is thinly scattered

Z

over with a great number of different tribes, who chiefly wander about from place to place in search of food for their cattle.

2. Siberia is the name of a large portion of northern Asia. It is a bleak, cold region, the people are poor, and the lower orders of the natives dress in the skins of wild animals, and for the most part live in miserable huts. It is to this country that state prisoners are banished by the emperor.

3. I will now tell you of that part of Russia which lies in Europe. It is a vast territory, and embraces more land than all the other kingdoms of Europe, and the population is not less than sixty millions.

4. You will see by this that the emperor of Russia is a very powerful ruler. He reigns over his subjects according to his pleasure, there being no law superior to his will.

5. He has a great many palaces in different parts of his dominions, but he resides chiefly at St. Petersburg; he has an immense army, and is always surrounded with a great many soldiers.

6. By looking to the map, you will see that Russia in Europe extends from the Northern or Frozen Ocean on the north, to the Black Sea on the south, a distance of nearly two thousand miles; on the east, it is separated from Asia by the Ural Mountains and the river Volga; on the west, it is bounded by the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea, Prussia, Austria, and Turkey.

7. In such a vast territory as this, you may well suppose that the climate is various. Along the borders of the Frozen Ocean, the lakes are covered with ice for nine months in the year. In the middle parts of Russia, the winter is very severe; in the southern parts, the climate is warm and pleasant. Here corn and grapes grow in abundance.

8. The capital of Russia is St. Petersburg, situated on the river Neva, which flows into the Gulf of Finland. It is