GENTLEMAN's and LONDON MAGAZINE, For JANUARY, 1779. A Sketch of the Life of the Moft Serene Maria Therefa, Emprefs-Queen of Hungary. [With an elegant Engraving of the Empress, and a Medallion of her Daughter, the prefent Queen of France.] THE character of this illuftrious per remarkable transactions of her life, dedicated as it has been to the fervice and the aggrandizement of the Imperial crown, would form an almost inexhaustible subject for the hiftorian and the biographer; but we must content ourselves with exhibiting nly the outline of her picture, which, though in miniature, we truft, will be marked with that strength of refemblance as faithfully to represent the original. Maria Therefa, Emprefs-Queen of Hungary, is eldest daughter to the Emperor Charles VI. who died in the month of October, 1740, leaving the fucceffion to the dominions of the house of Auftria a matter of perplexity and doubt.-Four feveral competitors made known their pretenfions, and a flame was kindled that terminated in a very bloody war, in which many Crowned heads of Europe were concerned, Maria Theresa founded her pretenfions on the law of nature, on the Pragmatic Sanction, and on the guarantee of the feveral princes of the empire. Charles Albert, elector of Bavaria, demanded the fucceffion by virtue of the will of Ferdinand, the firft brother to Charles V. Auguitus III. king of Poland and elector of Saxony, claimed it on the rights of his wife, eldest daughter of the emperor Jofeph;-and Philip V. king of Spain, made pretenfi6ns to the fucceffion from the hts of PuiGent. Mag. Jan. 1779. lip II.'s wife, daughter to the emperor crowned heads was published by memorials in every part of the Chriftian world, and there was not a prince, nor hardly a private perfon, who did not interest himself in the difpute.-Maria Theresa, however, who was, before her father's death, married to Francis-Stephen, duke of Lorrain and grand duke of Tuscany, took possesfion immediately of all the dominions that had been left to her by her father, and re ceived the homage of the ftates of Austria at Vienna on the 7th of November, 1740; Bohemia and the provinces of Italy prefented their tettimonies of allegiance by their deputies; and the particularly gained the affections of the Hungarians by confenting to take the ancient coronation-oath of king Andrew II. made in 1222. She was not crowned till fome months after, yet her authority was not the lefs complete. She had already gained the hearts of the whole nation, by that popular affability which her ancestors had feldom practifed; and fhe had laid afide that ceremonious and faltidious air that is apt to render princes odious, without procuring them any greater refpect.-She admitted to her table all the ladies and officers of diftinétion; the deputies of the itates were at liberty freely to addrefs her; she never refufed audience, nor permitted the moft wretched petitioner to depart from her difcontented. She fer A cured |