Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-10-09
From the Memoirs Of the Queens Of Prussia.
WILLIAM l. OF PRUSSIA'S BEAUTIES.

During his fathers lifetime he had commenced
the formation OF Il regiment Of tall recruits, which
he had been obliged to keep sedulously concealed
from the patcrnal eye, exercising them privately at
Mittenwelpe, and giving orders that, should the
king pay one Of his unirequent visits to that place,
they should instantly conceal themselves, and re-
main pcrduS Till his departure. On Frederick
Williams accession he had felt deeply gr!eyed and
9stonished that the citizens of Berlin should re.
fuse to receive his pet giants into quarters among
them. The great electOr had built a house and
laid out gsrdcrs 10 the Dutch style at Potsdam
these gardens his grandson turned into parade'
grounds, here he established his "blue children,
as they were called, on account of the color of
their uniform. Bielefeld gives a description Of
this regimen; Of colossi. mature" he says, ,'who
has been so lavish to them in one respect, has
been but a niggnrdly step.dame in others. They
had either ugly faces, or crooked legs or some 9th.
err defect" However, Frederick William lavish.
ed enormous sums upon them. Some of the pecu.
liar giants had as much as two forms per day. and
were allowed to carry en- q trade besides. No
sum was considered, by the usually parsimonious
King, too large to 10 paid for a huge grenade. :,
and those potentates who wished to lie on a friend.
ly footing with The King Of Prussia had nothing
to do tut search their dominiOns for the tallest
specimen of humanity cchtained in them. A
present of a recruit of six feet might be counted
on to secure Frederick Williams friendship Of
six feet two, his warmes. alliance and so on in
proportion. The tallest and finest Of these grena
diers was an %Irishmau, by name James Kirkland,
whose procural and transmission from his native
hogs to the parade.ground at Potsdam had cost
Frederick William upwards Of twelve hundred
pounds Sterling. But no one whose stature had
obtained a more than ordinary growth was safe
from the hands of his majesty's recruiters. AT
one time a young man, by name Schindorf, who
bad been diligently prosecuting the study of law
for five years at Halle, disappeared very suddenly
lie was a very tall man the dreaded recruiting
wagon had been seen in the neighborhCod the
combination was easy the deduction certain. The
{ college sent up q remonstrance March 10, 1884
4, upon this misrepresentation of mind TO the mere
purpose of matter. The Kings answer was very
, quickly given in his usual concise style, "Shal
not reason. That is my subject" His passion FOL
. tall soldiers led him 10 wish to raise q race o
largo people. SO as to be able to recruit his great re
/ giment without trouble. One day meeting q very
tall and well'made village girl in the neighborhooC
Of Potsdam, he asked her to take a note, which ht
v wrote on the spot to the captain of his regiment
/ either suspecting something or being in a hurry
II the girl gave the note to a little ole
woman, whom she fell in with. and charged
. her to deliver as directed This note con
IT tanned an order to the captain to have the beare
instantly married to The tallest man in the regi
@ ment, whose nan was specified. On being &C
quainted with his fate, aud introduced to hi
r. bride. the poor young fellow was in despair. Ill
n begged and e%ntreated, fell on his knees and wept
but all to no purpose the Kings will was law
$ and the matrimonial moose was tied. However
i the King, on hearing Of the exchange of bride
A that had been made, allowed the marriage to b
i dissolved.