assistance; had to stave off a Polish War as he could, by fair-
speaking, by diplomacies and contrivances; and died at middle age,
worn down by the sorrows of that sad position.

An idea prevails, in ill-informed circles, that our new Grand-
Master Albert was no better than a kind of cheat; that he took
this Grand-Mastership of Preussen; and then, in gayety of heart,
surreptitiously pocketed Preussen for his own behoof. Which is an
idle idea; inconsistent with the least inquiry, or real knowledge
how the matter stood. [Voigt, ix. 740-749; Pauli, iv. 404-407.]
By no means in gayety of heart, did Albert pocket Preussen;
nor till after as tough a struggle to do other with it as could
have been expected of any man.

One thing not suspected by the Teutsch Ritters, and least of all
by their young Hochmeister, was, That the Teutsch Ritters had well
deserved that terrible down-come at Tannenberg, that ignominious
dismissal out of West-Preussen with kicks. Their insolence,
luxury, degeneracy had gone to great lengths. Nor did that
humiliation mend them at all; the reverse rather. It was deeply
hidden from the young Hochmeister as from them, That probably they
were now at length got to the end of their capability: and ready
to be withdrawn from the scene, as soon as any good way offered!--
Of course, they Were reluctant enough to fulfil their bargain to
Poland; very loath they to do Homage now for Preussen, and own
themselves sunk to the second degree. For the Ritters had still
their old haughtiness of humor, their deepseated pride of place,
gone now into the unhappy CONSCIOUS state. That is usually the
last thing that deserts a sinking House: pride of place, gone to
the conscious state;--as if, in a reverse manner, the House felt