[Footnote 33: _Sīl-ēs´i-a_, since 1742 a province of Prussia in the extreme south-east, between Poland and Bohemia. Most of it is in the basin of the Oder. It is very rich in iron, coal, and metals, and is an important manufacturing region.] [Footnote 34: Now a province of Prussia, stretching from the Netherlands east to the Elbe, and from the North Sea south to Westphalia and Hesse Nassau. It contains the following German ports--Emden, Harburg, Papenburg, and Wilhelmshaven. The town of Hanover, which still contains the favourite residence of George I. and George II., is 112 miles by rail south of Hamburg.] [Footnote 35: _Krā´kō_, the old capital of Poland; stands on the left bank of the Vistula, in the Austrian crown land of Galicia.] [Footnote 36: _Ga-lish´i-a_, crown land of Austria, on the north side of the Carpathians. Its north-west frontier is formed by the Vistula, and the eastern parts are drained by the Dniester, Pruth, and Sereth. The country is rich in petroleum, from which the spirit is made by which motors are propelled. As motors are now so largely used in war, the possession of Galicia is a great advantage to Austria and Germany.] [Footnote 37: _Sō´bē-es´kē_, John III. of Poland; reigned from 1674 to 1696.] CHAPTER IV. THE GREAT WAR LORD OF EUROPE. The noblest street in all Berlin is called the Unter den Linden, which simply means "under the lime trees." In this fine, tree-shaded avenue stands a splendid monument to Frederick the Great, the man who laid the foundations of Prussia by means of force and fraud. His successor, Frederick William II., was a weak man, who squandered the public money on favourites. Under his rule Prussia grew poorer every day; instead of being the best governed state in Europe, it rapidly became one of the worst, and a clever Frenchman at his court declared that no country was nearer to ruin. The army, however, was still kept up in the old way, though it had lost much of its fiery spirit. Frederick William was just as eager for war as Frederick the Great; but he was no general, and when he did fight, was badly beaten. Then, as you will soon hear, he made peace with his victorious foe, and had to give up a part of his country. It was in his time, however, that further slices were taken from Poland and added to Prussia. [Illustration: The Kaiser and his Troops in the Unter den Linden. _Photo, Exclusive News Agency._]