am I died,
holding the fond belief that his successor had it in his power to
enlarge the little kingdom which the old Elector had handed down with
pride.

{147}

The Crown Prince, Frederick of Brandenburg and Hohenzollern, was born
in the royal palace of Berlin on January 24th of 1712. He was
christened Friedrich "rich in peace"--a name strangely ironical since
he was trained from his earliest years to adopt a martial life. From
the child's eighth year he was educated by military tutors, and bred in
simple habits that would make him able to endure the hardships of a
camp.

The martinet, Frederick William I, laid down strict rules for his son's
training, for he longed to be followed by a lad of military tastes. He
was to learn no Latin but to study Arithmetic, Mathematics and
Artillery and to be thoroughly instructed in Economy. The fear of God
was to be impressed on the pupil, and prayers and Church services
played an important part in the prince's day, of which every hour had
its allotted task. Haste and cleanliness were inculcated in the simple
royal toilette, for Frederick I had, for those days, a quite
exaggerated idea of cleanliness, but he particularly impressed upon
attendants that "Prayer with washing, breakfast and the rest" were to
be performed within fifteen minutes. It was a hard life, destined to
bring the boy a "true love for the soldier business." He was commanded
to love it and seek in it his sole glory. The father returned from war
with the Swedes in January 1716, victorious, and delighted to see the
little Fritz, then of the tender age of three, beating a toy drum, and
his sister Wilhelmina, aged seven, in a martial attitude.

But the Crown Prince began to disappoint his father by playing the
flute and reading French romances. He liked fine clothes too, and was
caught wearing a richly embroidered dressing-gown, to the rage of the
King, who put it in the fire. Frederick liked to arrange his hair in
flowing locks instead of in a club after the {148} military fashion.
"A _Querpfeifer und Poet_, not a soldier," the indignant father
growled, believing the _Querpfeif_, or Cross-Pipe, was only fit for a
player in the regimental band. Augustus William, another son, ten
years younger than Fritz, began to be the hope of parental ambition.
He took more kindly to a Spartan life than his elder brother. There
were violent scenes at court when Frederick the younger was asked to
give up his right to