Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-30
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BOOklOVer

| Inc hohenzOlIernS, whose dynasty
ended with the World War, traced their
ancestry to the Margraves and Electors
| of the Mark of Brandenburg, in North
. Germany. Frederick I, first Hohenzol-
lern elector, was descended from the
Won ZollernS, old Swabian nobility. The
history of this family, which is to a
large extent the history of Germany,
/ Is traced in outline by Herbert Eulen-
berg, German author of democratic
outlook, in his book THE Hohenzol-
lernS." OF the earliest count of these
Swabian zollernS, Herr Gutenberg says,
who Is said to have fallen in battle
in 1061-an end in which, by the way,
no very great number Of his Hohenzol-
lern descendants have emulated him. "
1t was in 1417 that Frederick I, one of
o long line of Margraves of Branden-
burg, was invested at the Council of
Constance as the first elector. Branden-
burg and all other parts of the territory
later organized as modern Germany
were at this time a part of the Holy
Roman Empire. Following Frederick I,
| nine electors led up to Frederick Will
liam l. the Great Elector, whose passive
| concurrence, says Herr Gutenberg, "en-
abled Louis XIV to take and hold
Strassburg and the greater part of
AlSace-Lorraine." Then ruled Frederick
| 49, 40 ClCCCOLS UuI rT6UeTlCh i dS hlI1R
! OF Prussia. He was crowned King of
Prussia in return for the hordeS of
soldiers whom he furnished to the EN-
peror. The second King of Prussia was
Frederick William I, and he was sue
ceeded by Frederick II, the Great.
Frederick the Great was hardened in
youth by the brutal treatment of his
father, whose one object was to train
his son for warlike career The father
could not foresee how dominant a con-
| queror that son was to be when he
snesringly told the boys mother, IF
there were any good in your son, he
would die, but I am quite certain he
Williams brutality toward his son was
accompanied by continual taunts that
had his father treated him with such
contumely, he would have run away a
thousand times over" When Fred
| erick, goaded beyond endurable limits,
did attempt to escape from his fathers
| tyranny, he was arrested, imprisoned,
| tried by court-martial, and was saved
from the death sentence demanded by
his father only by the determined OPP
position Of the court. But Frederick
William could not live forever. and it is
probable that his heir shed no very
bitter tears over his grave. Personally
Frederick the Great was all that his
! father was not-unusually cultured for
his time, romantic, devoted to friends,
humorous, suave, diplomatic-but polit-
lcaIly he might be called ruthless. At
any rate, he wrested Silesia from the
Empress Maria Theresa, invaded Saxony
without the least valid excuse, and EN-
parked upon the Seven Years War,
which, the most costly and useless of
all his wars" left him "shrunken. and
bowed, poor invalid, as grey as his
pet donkeyS at Potsdam." Culturally.
FREDERICK had an aversion for, nav.
active hatred Of. all things German
This was perhaps due to the influence
OF his friend, Voltaire, with whom he
was altogether enchanted on first ac-
qualnIance. He abominated the
"Nibelungenlied," saw in Hans Sachs
nothing beyond an ignorant Shoemaker,
nad no admiration for the paintings of
Durer, and said that Goethe's "CIotz
Won Berlichingen" made him feel sick
He died at hls favorite palace of Sans
Soucl and, contrary to his wish to be
1uried In grave prepared there, was
nurled, ironically, by the side of the
Iatner, whom he had always with such
good reason hated. Succeeding Frederick
the Great came. Frederick William n,
FREDERICK William III and Frederick
william ~. The period of the modern
German Empire is now reached, with
William /.
William ], grandfather of the former
Kaiser, William II, was opposed to the
loea OF German Empire. He nre-
terred the title King OF Prussia" To
MIN the name Emperor" connoted over
lordship; the Kings Of Prussia had for
generations been openly or secretly
hostile to the Emperors of the Holy
roman Empire. 1t was Bismarck who
Orougnt about the uniflcation and the
new title. Only after long and earnest
prayer to God" the first Emperor wrote
TO his wife, did obtain self-command
ana strength to endure the pain of
seeing the PruSSian title supplanted, .
Herr gutenberg remarks that "as wears
went on, William got used, nevertheless.
10 the new arrangements, particularly
as bismarck relieved him of the chief
part OF the work and of the whole dis
gushing ANNOYANCE of dealing with the
HelcnStag. The result was that as En-
peror ne could devote himself as ZEAL
ousiy to military matters as he
had done as King, and those were
the things he chiefly cared about, "
Frederick III, son Of William I and
iatner OF the former Kaiser William IT
lived but 80 days after his ACCESSION
He was dying man when the old En-
psror hnally died at the age of 9I
A!ter all, cannot do away with nv
sell TO please my Son!" Emperor viii
nam USED to say to his wife, and all
attempts TO induce him to abdicate were
futile. At the death of his father after
MS brief, shadowy reign, William II
became Emperor of Germany. The
story OF his dismissal of Bismarck ~
MS coming under the influence of the
Prussian military machine. and of his
part IN the World War, his flight and
exile are all recent history. Herr Eulen-
oerg says OF him: There can be no
reasonable doubt that at the bottom of
MS not very courageous soul he was a
lover OF peace, and he need not have
written as many books as he has done
IN order to convince us of this. What
ne lacked was the rspose of spirit which
tne brave posses as a matter of course,
the compoSure of the man who has
strength within himself" One of the
last chapters of the book is given to
the man who would some time have
been William III, II the World War had
not happened-the former Crown Prince
OF Germany. OF him Herr Gutenberg
says, The Crown Prince was not a
personal coward" and explains his
flight to Holland as due to Van in
superable WEAKNESS of spirit that
rendered him listless, ready to drift eff
1ortleSsly across the frontier"
X X X
"Weathergoose-Wool" Is the enigmatic
title Of Percy Mackaye's recent book of
stories and studies of the people of the
Kentucky mountains. The title story
centers about the superstition of exert
ing an influence, good or evil, upon
another person by means of a puppet
or symbolic figure Another story
"Henty's Hant," recalls various news
paper accounts during the past year or
sn Of auitchcraft s..a SAiaaz E "