Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-11-13
HOUSE OF HoHENZoLLERN.
Story Of Its Rise from Kingdom to
Empire,


Empire.
Two kings have ruled over Prussia
when Frederick II (the GreaO came to
the throne. The vainglorious Frederick
!, had acquired the title Of king and
prodded the masses into better rudi-
ments of education. Frederick William
|, the most miserly Of monarchs, had
builded military machine with infin-
lite care and labor. In their time, says
the Spokane Spokesman Review, neith-
er had done much to advance Prussia,
but the result Of their efforts gave
Frederick the Great a lever to pry his
way into the first rank of kingdoms.
Before his elevation to the throne
Frederick had been a prince Of small
promise. He took little interest in mill
tary life or affairs of state. He dallied
away his time writing mediocre verse
and aping the school Of philosophers
then powerful in Europe.
But once king he changed. He adopt
ed the economy Of his father without
the miserliness. His hate for the army
turned to passion favoring it. 1t al
most seems that some superhuman
destiny watching over the Hohenzol-
lerns turned the mush Of Prince Fred
erick into the steel of Frederick the
Great.
Frederick's prime ambitions were to
hn he nf ctrio ENra pa
and England respect him as much as
they did each other, and to round out
his dominions. Perhaps, too, there
came to him the first imperial longings
which grew stronger and stronger un-
til William l was crowned at Versail-
les.
Prussia had followed, more or less
servilely, in the wake of imperial Aus
| tria until Frederick the Great. He re-
solved to cut loose from that alliance
and contest with Austria for the lead
| ership of the German states. When the
| emperor Charles VI died he seized ST.
| lesia. Empress Marie Louisa Of Aus
| tria, resisted, but no military or diplo-
matte pressure could force the grim
PruSSian ruler to give up what he had
| taken.
Might was right with Frederick.
France he had a larger and better
army Treaties were less than scraps
of paper" Prussia must rule Ger
many and the end justified the means.
Something of his tenacity penetrated
| the minds of the other monarchs in
| the years following Silesia's seizure,
| and resulted in coalition Of France,
Austria and Russia against him. For
seven years he waged an unequal war
| against three foes, but finally, by trad
| ing and playing with their jealousies
and showing a remarkable determined
ness, he triumphed. SileSSia was Sc
| cured to Prussia.
Prussia was tripped of men and
| wealth when the war ended. But ten
years after the waste it had arisen to
greater numbers and greater wealth, a
| recuperation almost miraculous. Fred
erick continued the game of politics,
| engineering the first division Of Po-
| land, and when he died in 1856. Prus-
sia was paramount in northern Ger
many.
The reigns of Frederick William Ii
and Frederick William Ill were the
black hours in Prussia'S history. The
| first, a nephew of Frederick the Great,
| tried TO continue his predecessors pol
| icy, but lacked the force. Little occur
| red in his eleven years Of rule. Fred
| erick William III was weak in purpose
| and character. Napoleon rose and fell
during his reign. Prussia suffered the
deepest humiliation under him. The
star of the HohenZollern was eclipsed
| by that of Austerlitz.
But in this time, when the Hohen-
zollern prince lacked the ability TO push
| his fortunes upward, Destiny again
stepped in. A ring of advisers grew
up around the king-Stein, Harden
| berg, Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Blucher