Before I conclude the story of Frederick the Great I must tell you of another piece of wickedness which he did in the latter years of his life. I have already mentioned the Poles as a Slav race, and have told you that they now live partly in Austria, partly in Germany, and partly in Russia. There is no country of Poland now, but there may be one again when this war is over. In the reign of the English king, Edward III., Poland was an important and flourishing kingdom. Its capital was the old city of Cracow,[35] now in the Austrian province of Galicia.[36] If you were to visit its cathedral church, which stands high on a rocky hill to the south-west of the town, you would see the tombs of many of the Polish kings, patriots, and poets who have made Poland so famous amongst the nations. Amongst them you would see the last resting-place of John Sobieski,[37] who was the noblest warrior of them all. He it was who drove back the Turks from the walls of Vienna and saved Europe from the infidel. In the year 1772 Poland was too weak to defend herself. Her nobles quarrelled fiercely amongst themselves, and the land was torn with disunion and strife. Then the cruel, crafty King of Prussia made an agreement with Russia and Austria, whereby they were to seize part of Poland. This was done, and the three sovereigns, like robbers in a cave, divided the spoils between them. Frederick took a big slice, and so did Russia, while Austria was given Galicia. This was the first mouthful. Twenty-one years later the same three Powers gobbled up poor Poland completely; and now, like the Jews, the Poles have no land which they can call their own. But they still love Poland, and yearn for the day when it will be a kingdom once more. When the present great war broke out, the Czar of Russia sent a message to the Poles saying that if they would help him to win he would set up the old kingdom of Poland again, and let it have a king of its own, under his protection. This was great, glad news to the Poles, and they eagerly agreed to help him. [Footnote 26: _Kī´ser_, a German form of Cæsar, the name given to the Roman emperors.] [Footnote 27: Former duchy of Germany, consisting of what is now Würtemberg Baden, and South-west Bavaria.] [Footnote 28: City of Bavaria, 90 miles north by west of Mūn´ich, the capital.] [Footnote 29: Title given to certain princes of Germany because they had the right to _elect_ the Emperor.] [Footnote 30: Chief town of the province of Brandenburg, 16 miles west of Berlin. It contains a royal palace, and is practically the German Windsor.] [Footnote 31: Born 1795, died 1881. A great writer of history and philosophy. His _History of Frederick the Great_ was begun in 1852, and occupied him for thirteen years, during which he paid two visits to Germany.] [Footnote 32: _Mä-rī´a Ter-e´sa_, Queen of Hungary and German Empress; reigned from 1741 to 1780. She was the mother of Marie Antoinette (_ong-twa-net_), wife of Louis XVI. of France.]