The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1875-07-28

IA
be epsnly aogsed him ands shsp, adding
mockery 20 his cruelty, said:
6 Had been 90 treated By my father i
would hare blown my brains put. But this
fellow has no honor tslkes all that comes. y
Fritz, goaded to madness, attempted By the
aid Of = friend Lieut.. Katse). to escape to
England. He was arrested. The King In his
rage seized him by the collar hustled him
about, tore out handfdls Of his hair, and smote
him on his face with his cane. He assumed
that his son, being an officer in the army, was
deserter and merited death. He Imprisoned
him in 4 strong fortress to await his trial. He
assailed Wilhelmina with the utmost ferocity,
because she was in sympathy with her broth
or. hope, said be, "to have evidence to
convict the rascal Fritz, and tho wretch
Wilhelmina, and to cut their heads of. =
Kate, " he exclaimed, " Is guilty of his trea-
son. He shall die by the hands Of the heads
man.
A scaffold was erected In the yard Of the
castle, where Fritz then slender, fragile
boy of eighteen, was imprisoned. Katie was
taken to the scaffold ON the death cart. Four
grenadiers held Fritz to the window to COM
pei him to see his friend beheaded. Fritz
tainted as Katte's head rolled from the
scaffold. A similar fate had been designed
for him by his father, but the Emperor Of
Germany and the kings of Poland and Sweden
interfered and his lite was spared.
Such were the influences under which the
character Of Frederick the Great was formed.
On the 9Th Of January, 1888, he was by moral
compulsion married to Elizabeth, daughter Of
the Duke Of Brunswick. She was beautiful,
amiable, accomplished, and of irreproachable
character. But the Grown Prince was cold,
severe and unloving. With undisguised re-
luctance, be took the hand Of his innocent
bride and ever after treated her with the most
cruel neglect.
On the 8ist Of May, TAO, tho career of the
cruel Frederick William I. was ended by
death, and Frederick H., or Frederick the
Great, became King in his place, when he was
just completing his twenty-eight year. His
kingdom was then about as large as the State
at Michigan, and contained population of
two millions two hundred and forty thousand.
He was absolute monarch, restrained by no
constitution or parliament, and soon COM
menced the career of cruelty and blood for
which the training and example Of his father
had fitted him. He regarded his subjects as
60 many cards to be stakes for his success, or
slaves to be sacrificed for his glory. One Of
his first acts was to increase his standing
army to over ninety thousand men and his
first gigantic robbery was soon after COM
nitted.
The sovereign Of Austria, at this timc, was
the young and beautiful Maria Theresa,
daughter of the Emperor Charles vi. The
province of Silesia, lying on the southeastern
frontier of Prussia had belonged to Austria
for more than century and the assent Of
Europe had sanctioned the title. 1t was about
twice as large as the State Of Vermont, and
course Frederick had no just claim to this
province but he was ambitious and determined
to extend his dominions. With no more
justification than has the midnight robber, he
matured his plans with great secrecy -com-
menced his campaign in Neutrality-suspicious.
his army near the frontier of Silesia, and then
without any declaration of war, rushed his
troops across the border and commenced taking
possession of important posts. There were not
two thousand Austrian troops in the province
to oppose him, and in short time the country
seemed subjugated. Within six weeks from
the time Frederick left Berlin, he bad overrun
the whole province and virtually annexed it
to his realm.
But Maria Theresa, as well as Frederick,
regarded provinces as the property of SOW
ereigns and not of the people who inhabit
them, and the chivalric spirit of surrounding
monarchies was enlisted in behalf Of young
queen thus unjustly despoiled of an important
province. She made great efforts to regain
her lost territory, and the king of Prussia
consequently sent an army of sixty thousand
men into Silesia to retain his conquest. A
terrible war was the consequences war in
which nearly all the nations Of Europe became
involved. Millions of money were expended,
hundreds of thousands Of lives were sacrificed
Cities were sacked and villages burned, while
an amount Of misery was spread through
countless homes, which no imagination can
conceive. These wars extended even to the
distant colonial possessions Of the nations en-
gagged In them, and in order that Frederick
might rob neighbor, or in consequence of
his doing SO, black men fought each other OH
the coast Of Coromandel and red men scalped
each other and the colonists in the woods Of
North America.
The "Seven Years. War" was now fairly
commenced. The ambition of sovereigns and
generals led them to disregard alike their own
comfort and that of their troops. They were
goaded forward beneath the blaze Of sum-
mer's sun and through winters storms and
drifts, and freezing gales. The sweep of
maddened armies spread desolation and misery
over Europe. Starving soldiers snatched the
bread from the mouths Of starving women
and children, and houseless families froze to
death in the fields. When the city Of Prague
was besieged during this war, the scenes Of
misery witnessed we're awful beyond descrip-
ton. An incessant storm Of shot and shell
fell on the crowded dwellings,. Conhagra-
tions were continuously bursting forth.
Famine came. Pestilence followed. Demons