had respect for the institutions
of religion, denounced all amusements as sinful, and read a sermon
aloud, every afternoon, to his family. His son perceived his
inconsistencies, and grew up an infidel. There was no sympathy between
father and son, and the father even hated the heir of his house and
throne. The young prince was kept on bread and water; his most
moderate wishes were disregarded; he was surrounded with spies; he was
cruelly beaten and imprisoned, and abused as a monster and a heathen.
The cruel treatment which the prince received induced him to fly; his
flight was discovered; he was brought back to Berlin, condemned to
death as a deserter and only saved from the fate of a malefactor by
the intercession of half of the crowned heads of Europe. A hollow
reconciliation was effected; and the prince was permitted, at last, to
retire to one of the royal palaces, where he amused himself with
books, billiards, balls, and banquets. He opened a correspondence with
Voltaire, and became an ardent admirer of his opinions.

[Sidenote: Accession of Frederic the Great.]

In 1740, the old king died, and Frederic II. mounted an absolute
throne. He found a well filled treasury, and a splendidly disciplined
army. His customary pleasures were abandoned, and dreams of glory
filled his ambitious soul.

Scarcely was he seated on his throne before military aggrandizement
became the animating principle of his life.

His first war was the conquest of Silesia, one of the richest
provinces of the Austrian empire. It belonged to Maria Theresa, Queen
of Hungary and Bohemia, daughter of the late emperor of Germany, whose
succession was guaranteed by virtue of the Pragmatic Sanction--a law
which the Emperor Charles passed respecting his daughter's claim, and
which claim was recognized by the old king of Prussia, and ratified by
all the leading powers of Europe. Without a declaration of war,
without complaints, without a cause, scarcely without a pretext, from
the mere lust of dominion, Frederic commenced hostilities, in the
depth of winter, when invasion was unexpected, and when the garrisons
were defenceless. Without a battle, one of the oldest provinces of
Austria was seized, and the royal robber returned in triumph to his
capital.

Such an outrage and crime astonished and alarmed the whole civilized
world, and Europe armed itself to revenge and assist the unfortunate
queen, whose empire was threatened with complete dismemberment.