John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot) Abbott - History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great.

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Transcribers Note:
Cover created by Transcriber and placed in the Public Domain.

HISTORY
OF
FREDERICK THE GREAT.

FREDERICK THE GREAT. T. 73.

---

HISTORY
OF
FREDERICK THE SECOND,
CALLED
FREDERICK THE GREAT.

By JOHN S. C. ABBOTT,

AUTHOR OF THE HISTORY OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE,
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION,
NAPOLEON AT ST. HELENA, ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

NEW YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE.
1871.

---

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

---

PREFACE.

It is not surprising that many persons, not familiar with the wild and wondrous events of the past, should judge that many of the honest narratives of history must be fictionsmere romances. But it is difficult for the imagination to invent scenes more wonderful than can be found in the annals of by-gone days. The novelist who should create such a character as that of Frederick William, or such a career as that of Frederick the Great, would be deemed guilty of great exaggeration, and yet the facts contained in this volume are beyond all contradiction.

Mr. Carlyle has written the Life of Frederick the Great in six closely printed volumes of over five hundred pages each. It is a work of much ability and accuracy. There are, however, but few persons, in this busy age, who can find time to read three thousand pages of fine type, descriptive of events, many of which have lost their interest, and have ceased to possess any practical value. Still, the student who has leisure to peruse these voluminous annals of all the prominent actors in Europe during the reign of Frederick and of his half-insane father, will find a rich treat in the wonderfully graphic and accurate pages of Carlyle.

This volume is intended to give a clear and correct idea of the manof his public and private character, and of his career. It would be difficult to find, in the whole range of English literature, a theme more full of the elements of entertainment and instruction.

The reader of these pages will be oppressed with the consciousness of how vast a proportion of the miseries of humanity is caused by the cruelty of man to his brother man. This globe might be a very happy home for those who dwell upon it. But its history, during the last six thousand years, has presented one of the most appalling tragedies of which the imagination can conceive. Among all the renowned warriors of the past, but few can be found who have contributed more to fill the world with desolated homes, with the moans of the dying, with the cry of the widow and the orphan, than Frederick the Great; but he laid the foundations of an empire which is at this moment the most potent upon the globe.

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CONTENTS.

Page

CHAPTER I.

PARENTAGE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT.

Origin of the Prussian Monarchy.The Duchies of Brandenburg and Prussia.The Elector crowned King Frederick I.Frederick William.His Childhood, Youth, and Marriage.Birth of Fritz.Death of Frederick I.Eccentric Character of Frederick William.His defective Education.His Energy.Curious Anecdotes.Hatred of the French.Education of Fritz.The Fathers Plan of Instruction

CHAPTER II.

LIFE IN THE PALACE.

The Palace of Wusterhausen.Wilhelmina and Fritz.Education of the Crown Prince.Rising Dislike of the Father for his Son.The Mothers Sympathy.The double Marriage.Character of George I.The King of England visits Berlin.Wilhelminas Account of the Interview.Sad Fate of the Wife of George I.The Giant Guard.Despotism of Frederick William.The Tobacco Parliament.A brutal Scene.Death of George I.The Royal Family of Prussia.Augustus, King of Poland.Corruption of his Court.Cruel Treatment of Fritz.Insane Conduct of the King

CHAPTER III.

THE SUFFERINGS OF FRITZ AND WILHELMINA.

The King an Artist.Cruel Exactions of the King.Conflicts of Etiquette.Quarrel with George II.Nuptial Intrigues.Energetic Action of Frederick William.Marriage of Frederica Louisa.Fritz and his Flute.Wrath of the King.Beats Wilhelmina and Fritz.Attempts to strangle Fritz.The Hunt at Wusterhausen.Intrigues in reference to the Double Marriage.Anguish of Wilhelmina.Cruelty of her Mother.Resolve of Fritz to escape to England

CHAPTER IV.

THE ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE.

Objections to the British Alliance.Obstinacy of the King.Wilhelminas Journal.Policy of Frederick William and of George II.Letter from Fritz.The Camp of Mhlberg.The Plan of Escape.The Flight arrested.Ungovernable Rage of the King.Endeavors to kill his Son.Arrest and Imprisonment of Fritz.Terror of his Mother and Sister.Wilhelmina imprisoned

CHAPTER V.

IMPRISONMENT OF FRITZ AND WILHELMINA.

Spirited Conduct of Fritz.Fortress of Cstrin.Prison Fare.Wilhelminas Captivity.Sad Fate of Doris Ritter.Motives of the King.Doom of Lieutenant Katte.Pathetic Supplications.The Execution.Peril of Fritz.Theology of the King.Letter from Fritz.Sufferings of Wilhelmina.Brutality of the King.Wilhelmina brought to Terms

CHAPTER VI.

THE MARRIAGE OF WILHELMINA.

Wilhelminas Letter to her Mother.Cruel Response.The Court Festival.First Interview with the Prince of Baireuth.His Character and Appearance.Interview between the King and Fritz.The Partial Reconciliation.Divine Decrees.The Kings Sense of Justice.The Kings Discipline of the Judges.Character of Fritz.Wilhelminas Annoyances.Her Marriage.Interview between Wilhelmina and Fritz.The Departure

CHAPTER VII.

THE MARRIAGE OF THE CROWN PRINCE.

Matrimonial Intrigues.Letters from the King to his Son.Letter from Fritz to Grumkow.Letter to Wilhelmina.The Betrothal.Character of Elizabeth.Her cruel Reception by the Prussian Queen.Letter from Fritz to Wilhelmina.Disappointment and Anguish of Elizabeth.Studious Habits of Fritz.Continued Alienation of his Father.The Marriage.Life in the Castle at Reinsberg

CHAPTER VIII.

DEVELOPMENTS OF CHARACTER.

The Castle at Reinsberg.Slender Purses of Fritz and Wilhelmina.Liberality of Fritz.The Ball at Monbijou.Adventures of Fritz and Wilhelmina.Letters.The Interview.Anecdote of the King.Wilhelminas Account of her Brother.Mental and Physical Maladies of the King.Fredericks cruel Neglect of his Wife.Daily Habits of the young Prince.The shameful Carousal

CHAPTER IX.

THE DEATH OF FREDERICK WILLIAM.

Voltaire and Madame Du Chtelet.Letter from Frederick to Voltaire.The Reply.Visit to the Prince of Orange.Correspondence.The Crown Prince becomes a Mason.Interesting Letter from the Crown Prince.Petulance and declining Health of the King.Scenes in the Death-chamber.Characteristic Anecdotes.The Dying Scene

CHAPTER X.

THE ACCESSION OF FREDERICK THE SECOND.

Establishment of the Berlin Academy of Sciences.Religious Toleration.A Free Press.Sternness of the young King.Domestic Habits of the King.Provision for the Queen-mother.Absolutism of the King.Journey to Strasbourg.First Interview with Voltaire

CHAPTER XI.

DIPLOMATIC INTRIGUES.

The Herstal Affair.The Summons.Voltaires Manifesto.George II. visits Hanover.The Visit of Wilhelmina to Berlin.Unpopularity of the King.Death of the Emperor Charles VI.

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