Rise of Russia and Prussia 317 evangelical religion, free of all and every incumbrance, to hold and enjoy for themselves and their posterity. We fur- ther ordain that the necessary materials for the cultivation of these lands shall be furnished them gratis. . . . 7. So soon as any of our said French brethren of the reformed evangelical religion shall have settled themselves in any town or village, they shall be invested, without pay- ment of any kind, with all the rights, benefits, and privileges of citizenship enjoyed or exercised by our subjects who live and were born in said town or village. 8. If any of them shall desire to establish manufactories of cloth, stuffs, hats, or other articles, we will not only bestow on them all the necessary permissions, rights, and privileges, but will further aid them, so far as is in our power, with money and requisite materials. 9. Those who wish to settle in the country shall be given a certain amount of land to cultivate, shall be furnished with the requisite utensils and materials and encouraged in every way, as has been done in the case of certain families who have come from Switzerland to settle in our country. • ••••••••••• 11. In every town where our said French brethren in the faith are established, we will support a special preacher and set apart a proper place where they may hold their services in the French language, and with such usages and ceremo- nies as are customary in the reformed evangelical churches in France. 12. As for the members of the French nobility who have placed themselves under our protection and entered our service, they enjoy the same honors, dignities, and preroga- tives as our own subjects of noble birth, and several of them have been given some of the most important offices at our court as well as in our army ; and we are graciously disposed to show like favor to all such of the French nobility as may in future present themselves to us. Given at Potsdam, the 29th of October, 1685. Frederick William, Elector.
