The Washington herald., 1912-02-04
FREDERICK DIE GREAT.

a
Verted King Frederick, (the Great Of
\ Prussia from fiute-playing ''fop.p as
his royal father was won't to call him,
from an leffeminite reader Of French
novels, from soldier who from the
viewpoint OF the drII sergeant was a
/ complete failure to the Eseafest milita-y
genius perhaps OF all times, whose tactics
have been the wonder OF generals ever
since, who waged a war OF seven years
duration against the combined forces
Of Austria, France. and Russia, defeat
ing them repeatedly-we have all read
OF Leuthen, Zorndorf. and Rossback-
despoiling the crown of the Hapsburgs
OF one OF its most valuable gems. SiIesia,
and raising his "sandbox"-they called
him sneeringly at the French court and
at the Hofburg In Vienna lie Petit Mar
quis de Brandenburg''-to an allpowerful
ruler
1t was revengel Frederick, the Protest.
ant Hohenzoller, loved Marie Theresa, the
arohduchess and helress 70 the dual
throne OF the Hapsburg. and one Of the
strongest pillars OF the Vatican. But
this Catholic princess. this future EN-
press and representative OF one OF the
proudest ruling houses OF all Europe.
thought otherwise. She, a Hapsburg, an
especial favorite Of the Pope. TO wed an
tunbeliever, and the pretentious little here
tic OF iBrandenburg at that? Not she.
Had she had the good sense to let II go
at that nothing further might have come
from the refusal. But she made fun OF
Frederick, who was but small OF stature,
and this the Hohenzollern never forgave.
Hence the seven years war which
changed the map OF Europe, and the
fearful reign OF the proud Hapsburg En-
press! 80
Prussian historians may scout the idea
| that their country ever was in danger
Of being ruled by a Romanish Hohen-
zollern, but Frederick the Greats own
house physician relates the details Of this
/ story. and he certainly ought to have
known the King better than any one
else at that court.
This is what the doctors memoirs have
disclosed: Frederick, It is believed,
never had a grander idea in all his life
than that Of going to Vienna, embracing
there the Catholic religion, and then mar
rying the Archduchess Maria Theresa
This statement rests upon the words of
two men whom the King honored with
his particular confidence. Both Of them
are dead now"
] This is the story. Had Frederick the
/ Great embraced Catholicism. had he
welded Maria Theresa, there would have
been no seven years war, there would
have been no independent kingdom of
Prussia, and there would have been no
other German empire than the old and
moldy one ruled by the Catholic House
OF HapsDurg. with it's "Rumpf Parlia-
ment,- and there would have been no
Protestant HohenZollern house-the other
two branches, those OF Herbingen and
sigmaringen not having left the Church
OF Rome at the time OF the Reforma-
| tion.
read in the Paris Figaro the other
day this bit Of ''naivete:" Would there
be kingdom OF Prussia to-day II in lsls
| the mighty kingdom Of Poland had fail
ed TO concede to the elector, Johann Sig
smund OF Brsndenburg. the duchy OF
Prussia, her northernmost province
/ washed by the amber strewn shores Of
the Baltic and the "Kurische Ham,
Had the historian Figaro but taken the
trouble or delvIng into the musty tones
OF hlstoey at his command he might
! have been in position TO answer his
| own question in the affirmative. For
neither Johann Sigismund nor Joachim
Friedrich. nor his ancestor, Albrecht the
come the "castellan" Of the German EN-
peror's "burgs" of Auspach and Bel
reuth, and later waE given the ''sandbox''
| Brandenburg, In Lehn, In return for a
| loan Of money to the imperial treasury.
nor any other counts Of ZOllern, were
men 10 leave more than a passing i'm
| preston upon the pages Of history.
Prussia's phenominal future began to
dawn when the son Of Joachim Friedrich
Friedrich Wilhelm. the great eiector,
during the thirty years war Of the Ref
ormation, at the terrible battle of Fehr-
bellin, showed the mettle he was made
| OF, laying the foundation for the fame
| OF the Hohenzollerns, and making Brand
enburg so powerful and so important a
factor in the European politics of the
| middle Of the seventeenth century, that
his son was enabled TO assume the title
or King Of Prussia But even then there
was no territorial ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. This
was TO come through another great
Hohenzollern, King Friedrich II. who, as
stated above, took SIlesia from Austria
and profited by the first partition Of Po-
land
His royal father one DAY caught the
ne'er-do-well reading French books-ab-
solute high treason at the Berlin court
OF the times-and at once ordered tina
oooks-not burned, which would have
been wHsteful-but sold. and pocketed the
ptoeeeos- lnen ne discovered brOcade
dressing gowns and such like effeminite
foppery, and he promptly consigned his
heir to prison and exiled him! To think
that his son. a future King of Prussia,
fop continued a source OF great vexa-
ton to irate Frederick Wilhelm l. He
certainly made the youths life a burden
TO him, and would have rejoiced at his
death. for his younger sons were fine.
manly fellows OF the regular Hohenzol-
lern type
Not that they, one and all, were mis-
taken, for the future victor in scores OF
battles was an effemlnate youth; but II
was his good fortune TO get the right kind
Of jolts 60 make him sit up and take
notice" Nothing but sarcasm and hatreS
could have made him a man determined
to engrave his name with an iron hand
upon the pages Of history. Marie Theresa
furnished the first, and thus created with
In his bosom that hatred which turned
the ease-loving. French novel-readinR
scapegrace into a demlgod OF hate and
revenge. Trivial causes often beget far
reaching effects.
Friedrich II certainly was a war lord
par excellence" and no other Euro
pean nation OF his time could boast an
army that could In the least compare
with his seasoned granzdfers. But II re-
quired he could be adamant. The story
OF the petition of the widow of Mai.
Won Alien Is a byword in Prussia. but
here is one that deals with the noted
Prince Biuecher, the marshal far