the general voice of the nation, has
left on his splendid fame. Unhappily for him, he had no opportunity of
displaying his admirable military talents except against the inhabitants
of the British Isles.

While he lived his power stood firm, an object of mingled aversion,
admiration, and dread to his subjects. Few indeed loved his government;
but those who hated it most, hated it less than they feared it. Had it
been a worse government, it might, perhaps, have been overthrown in
spite of all its strength. Had it been a weaker government, it would
certainly have been overthrown in spite of all its merits. But it had
moderation enough to abstain from those oppressions which drive men mad;
and it had a force and energy which none but men driven mad by
oppression would venture to encounter.

It has often been affirmed, but apparently with little reason, that
Oliver died at a time fortunate for his renown, and that, if his life
had been prolonged, it would probably have closed amid disgraces and
disasters. It is certain that he was, to the last, honored by his
soldiers, obeyed by the whole population of the British Islands, and
dreaded by all foreign powers; that he was laid among the ancient
sovereigns of England with funeral pomp such as London had never before
seen, and that he was succeeded by his son Richard as quietly as any
king had ever been succeeded by any Prince of Wales.

FREDERICK, THE GREAT ELECTOR

(1620-1688)

[Illustration: Frederick. [TN]]

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg surnamed the Great Elector,
was the son of the Elector George William. In the distracted state of
Germany, during the Thirty Years' War, and the necessary absence of his
father with the army, the young prince saw but little of the splendor
and indulgences of a court, passing the first years of his life in
retirement with his tutors, who were men of learning and experience, and
with his mother, first at the castle of Litzlingen, in the forests of
the Altmark, and afterward at Custrin. The adventures and the singular
fortunes of the family of his mother (who was sister of Frederick, King
of Bohemia, husband of the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I. of
England), the cruel and barbarous manner in which the war was carried
on, and the dangers to which he and his family were exposed, necessarily
made a deep impression on his mind. At the age of fifteen he was sent to
the University at Leyden, where he especially dev