spang without sustaining any loss of importance.

"The retrograde movement of our right wing from Idstedt was covered by repeated charges from the advanced guard, and by the heavy batteries.

"The battle had now continued from daybreak till near 11 o'clock, when the enemy, now no longer pressed on his left wing, concentrated additional forces against the Idstedt position. To oppose this the greater part of the reserve artillery was brought into action, and the most fiercely disputed conflict of the day now took place with artillery. We were in hopes of being able to maintain this position, as the greater part of the 1st brigade firmly kept its ground. But when the report arrived that the enemy were forcing their way across the Treene, and had occupied Schuby, it appeared highly undesirable to allow matters to proceed so far, and about 1 o'clock the resolution was come to to give up the contest, and commence a retreat."

On the 12th of September General Willisen advanced with a strong force upon Missunde, and the detached corps of the Danes which were posted on the south bank of the river Schlei were driven back upon the main body of their army. At the same time the town of Eckenförde was temporarily abandoned by the Danes, who retired to their ships, but on the banks of the Schlei the forward movement of the SchleswigHolstein troops was checked, and a smart cannonade took place for two hours, after which they commenced their retreat, and were seriously harassed by the Danes while they effected the retrograde movement. As soon as the enemy VOL. XCII.

left Eckenförde the Danes again took possession of it, and the hostile armies reverted to their original positions.

The next step of any importance in the war was the attack by General Willisen upon Friederichstadt, which was defended by Colonel Helgesen. The place was regularly invested for a week, at the end of which period, on the 4th of October, an attempt was made to take the place by storm; and the following is the description given by one who was engaged in, and therefore an eye-witness of the attack:-

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At a quarter past 5, when probably the decision had been come to that the storming attack should be undertaken, the cannonade was fiercer than ever; the very earth seemed to tremble under the roar of the heavy pieces. Suddenly the trumpet-signals for the advance were heard on all sides; the drums beat the charge amid the loud hurrahs of the troops. The enemy had throughout the day, as during the previous operations, only fired a gun now and then in reply to our heavy bombardment, and scarcely a man of the Danish garrison was visible the whole time; an ominous stillness seemed to prevail in the town. But as our columns advanced at the pas de charge against the works at the Grave Hof and the Blockhouse, from Seeth and other points, they suddenly appeared in the gardens, on the dykes, and behind the cuttings; in an instant thousands seemed to have risen out of the earth to repel the attack. An unceasing fire of musketry commenced, through which sounded high the whistling of the heavy cannon-balls, the hissing of shells and grenades, [X]

and here and there the sullen roar of an exploding mine. The conflict became terrible; and as night fell was continued by the light from the burning town, which being set on fire was left a prey to the flames, that continually spread wider and wider. Whole square blocks of houses of the regularly built streets we could see catch fire and consume, and the place was soon an ocean of flame. The battle continued to rage wildly for nearly five hours, from 6 till 11 o'clock, and almost wholly in one direction. In the first advance our troops got pretty far forward, but were driven back; the signal to advance was sounded three or four times, and the soldiers formed and went forward again with the greatest courage; but they found behind the works a brave and skilful defence. At last, at 11 o'clock, the signal to retire was given the enemy was too strong; and being covered by the dykes and outer houses and works, could not be dislodged."

The result, therefore, was total failure, and the loss of the Schleswig-Holstein force in the affair was severe. The Stadtholderate immediately ordered an increase of the army by 5000 men, and issued at the same time an address to the German people, in which they said that it was the sacred duty of Germany to send them the aid they required while there was yet time for it."

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On the 23rd of October General Von Radowitz wrote in the name of the Prussian Government to the Stadtholderate at Kiel, offering to mediate between the Duchies and the King of Denmark, and dispatched General Von Hahn to act as the negotiator.

Soon afterwards an Austrian officer arrived at Kiel with dispatches, announcing that unless an immediate cessation of hostilities took place, the Federal States of Germany would put a stop to them by an advance of troops acting under the orders of the Frankfort Diet.

Early in December, General Willisen resigned the command of the Schleswig-Holstein army, and was succeeded by Baron Von der Horst. The reason of this no doubt was disappointment on the part of the Stadtholders at the want of success on his part, and also because Prussia began to feel the scandal which was occasioned by the continuance in command of the army of the Duchies of a Prussian general, after she had formally and deliberately signed a treaty of peace with the Sovereign with whom those Duchies were at In his own account, however, to the army, of his resignation, General Willisen said —

war.

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'The Stadtholders have relieved me of my command. There were conflicting views, and nothing was left for me but to resign. I part from you with the conviction of having done my duty, even in taking this last step. A general in command ought to act only according to his convictions."

Further military operations, however, became unnecessary, for the Duchies were no longer supported by Prussian volunteers, who were recalled by order of the Government, in consequence of the threatening aspect of affairs at home, as will appear in our next chapter; and before the close of the year the Duchies finally submitted to the authority of their Sovereign the King of Denmark.

still unsettled. The leading feature in the history of the year, is the attempt on the part of Prussia to form a new Bund or Confederation of which she was to be the head, and her obstinate refusal to recognise the legality of the acts, or even continued existence, of the old Frankfort Diet, to which Austria adhered. The ill-concealed ambition of the King of Prussia led to a series of complicated political manoeuvres which were abortive in their results, and which are as uninteresting to the reader as they are embarrassing to the historian. The events which took place in the different German States were so intimately connected together, that it is impossible to disentangle them and present a separate narrative for each king dom. We think, therefore, that the most convenient course will be to embrace them all under the head of Germany, and give a brief account of the series of Parliaments, Conferences, Conventions, and political events, as nearly as possible in chronological order.

The Prussian Chambers met on the 4th of January after their adjournment, and were for some time occupied in discussing the articles of the new Constitution, on several of which the two Houses proposed various amendments.

On the 9th of January a Royal Message on the subject was communicated to the Chambers by the President of the Ministry, Count Brandenburgh He stated that the Crown had in general accepted the amendments of the Chambers, but had thought it necessary to make some modifications in them, and that it entertained the hope of seeing the Constitution definitively established within a

short period, in order that the Sovereign might take the oath to it. The Government hoped also that the people would recognise in the present step a proof of the conscientious adherence of the Sovereign to his promises.

The following are the most important modifications of the Constitution as agreed to by the Chambers :

The 26th article was cancelled. It contained the power of prosecuting the publisher, printer, and distributor of a work when the author of the same was not known.

In article 33 the definition of the army was by the Chambers stated thus:-"The army includes every part of the standing military force and the Landwehr. In case of war the King can, under the provisions of the regular law, summon the whole Landsturm."

Article 35 was cancelled, and, instead of it, an addition to article 104 made to this effect:-"For the preservation of order, a Burgherwehr can be organised, by the resolution of the Communes, with the assent of the Government."

In article 38 was inserted "The creation of fiefs is prohibited. Those now in existence are, according to a future law, to be changed into freeholds. Another law will also render more easy a similar change in the case of family entails, and establish the conditions under which new entails can be established." (By the Constitution, as it stood, entails were unconditionally abolished.)

Art. 42. The Ministers are responsible to the King and the nation.

Art. 49. In case of a dissolution the election for the new Chambers is to take place within

60 days; the Chambers themselves are to be summoned within 90 days.

Art. 60. To this article was added, "Laws relating to the finances (or money bills) are to be first introduced in the Second Chamber."

Art. 63 related to the Upper Chamber; by this article, as amended by the Cabinet, the Upper Chamber was to consist of—

1. The Princes of the Royal House who may be summoned to it by the King.

2. The heads of the princely families of the empire existing in Prussia, and the heads of those families who, according to the law of primogeniture and lineal descent, may be called to a seat and voice in the Chamber by the King. The summons itself will contain the conditions on which the right is exercised. No representatives (or proxies) are allowed, and the right is suspended if the possessor of it is in the service of another German State.

3. Of such members as the King may nominate for life only. Their number cannot exceed the tenth of those created by the preceding articles.

4. Of 60 members elected by 200 of the highest taxpayers in each province by direct election.

5. Of six members elected by the six Universities of Prussia; the right of election is given to the public professors of those bodies.

The whole number of the Upper Chamber, consisting of all the above members, is not to exceed 200.

Articles from 66 to 70 defined the constitution of the Second Chamber. It was to consist of

350 members; the elective districts to be fixed by law; they may consist of one or more circles that contain more than 10,000 inhabitants.

After article 93, the following new article was introduced::

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The Legislature may create a Court of Special Jurisdiction that is to take cognizance of all charges of high treason and offences against the internal and outward security of the State. The law will also define how far the ordinary courts can exercise their jurisdiction over these offences."

Art. 95. The conditions under which the civil and military officers of the State can be prosecuted for exceeding their powers are to be defined by a special law.

Art. 107. The members of both Chambers and the civil officers in the employ of the Government are to take the oath of allegiance and obedience to the King and of a conscientious observance of the Constitution The army will not be sworn to the Constitution.

A Committee of the Second

Chamber was immediately appointed to take into consideration and report upon this Royal Message, and it concluded its labours by accepting some and rejecting others of the Ministerial amendments.

The discussion in the Chamber on the report of the Committee was opened, on the 26th January, by the Minister of the Interior, Baron Von Manteuffel, and, at his suggestion, the amendments relating to the constitution of the Upper House, the abolition of entails, and the taxing powers of the Second Chamber, were postponed to the last. The Chamber accepted the Royal amendments respecting the press, the responsibility of the