The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1875-07-28
MISCELLANY.
rrEDERrcx TEE GREAT.
AND WHY HE WAS CALLED SO.
By AMAsA LORD.

In reading history, the fact becomes appar-
emit that it is not merit so much as snccsss that
makes the military hero and that many men
are called great only because they are great
robbers and murderers. How true the saying
that " one murder makes william while mil
lions make hero. !: This is seen especially In
reading history Of Prussia and the Franco
Prussian duel, by Rev. John 8. G. Abbott
1t contains among other things brief memoir
OF Frederick the Great. Partly in the Lam
guage of MIR. Abbott and partly in our own
we propose in the following pages to trace the
career Of this so-called great man in connec-
ton with sanguinary battles, burning cities
and desolated homes and to show that it Is
career not to b imitated but stunned. II
onIy such acts as he committed make men
great, God grant that We may always remain
little and unknown.
The present kingdom of Prussia is less than
two hundred years old. At the commence
ment of the eighteenth century, there existed
on the southern shores Of the Baltic, the mar
quisate Of Brandenburg, about as large as the
State of Massachusetts, and the small duke
dom of Prussia. The Marquis of Frandenburg
having come into possession of the duchy of
Prussia, succeeded in having the united
provinces recognized as kingdom, with him
self as king, and took the little of Frederick
I. In TIA he died and was succeeded by his
SON, Frederick William /. Previous to his
accession to the throne, Frederick William
had married his cousin, daughter of George,
Elector Of Hanover. who. subsequently be-
came George /, of England. On the oath of
January, 17l2, son was born to them, who
afterwards became Frederick William H., or
Frederick.th Great--great not in wisdom or
goodness, but "great like Caesar, stained with
BLOOD
When Frederick was a boy, he was gentle,
affectionate, fond of music and books, and
chung to his sister Wilhelmina with almost
feminine love-" But be afterwards became
cruel fiend. One reason for this was, that his
father was bloody tyrant, and trained his
son to initiate his conduct. Frederick Will
liam I. was very DESTROYS that his son whom
he called by the diminutive Fritz, should
develop warlike taste, deeming the disposi-
ton which he had exhibited unmanly, and
soon began to despise and hate the child.
Still he resolved to leave no efforts untried to
make soldier of his boy. When Fritz was
six years old, his father organized a company
Of high-born lads to be placed under his CON-
mand as colonel. When he was seven, he
was placed under the care Of tutors who were
directed to press forward his military educa-
ton with the most merciless rigor. Said his
father to them:
"You have, in the highest measure, to
make It your care to infuse into my son a true
love for the soldier business and to impress on
him that there is nothing in the world which
can bring prince renown and honor like the
sword 20 he would be despised creature
before all men, II he did not love it and seek
his sole glory therein"
When the boy had attained his fourteenth
year, his father appointed him captain Of one
Of the companies of the Potsdam Grenadier
guards, composed Of giants, the shortest Of
whom were nearly seven feet high, and the
tallest nearly nine. When he was about
seventeen, he was taken on visit to the court
Of the king of Poland, which, atthe time, was
exceedingly dissolute. He fell before the
great temptations which he there encountered,
and It was fall from which he never re-
covered. His moral nature received a wound
which poisoned all his days. On his return
to Potsdam, where was one of the royal
palaces, his dissipated habits chung to him and
he chose for his companions those who were
in sympathy with his newly acquired tastes
and character.
Frederick William l., the father Of Frede-
rick the Great, was tyrant not only over his
other subjects, but in his own family. He
treated them not merely with abusive
language, but with personal violence. When
| the Crown Prince was eighteen years of age,