cer and General, and to seek all his
glory in the soldier profession." This is whither it must all tend. You,
Finkenstein and Kalkstein, "have both of you, in the highest measure, to
make it your care to infuse into my Son [EINZUPRAGEN, stamp into him] a
true love for the Soldier business, and to impress on him that, as there
is nothing in the world which can bring a Prince renown and honor like
the sword, so he would be a despised creature before all men, if he
did not love it, and seek his sole glory (DIE EINZIGE GLORIA) therein."
[Preuss, i. 11-14 (of date 13th August, 1718).] Which is an extreme
statement of the case; showing how much we have it at heart.

These are the chief Friedrich-Wilhelm traits; the rest of the document
corresponds in general to what the late Majesty had written for
Friedrich Wilhelm himself on the like occasion. [Stenzel, iii. 572.]
Ruthless contempt of Useless Knowledge; and passionate insight into the
distinction between Useful and Useless, especially into the worth of
Soldiering as a royal accomplishment, are the chief peculiarities here.
In which latter point too Friedrich Wilhelm, himself the most pacific of
men, unless you pulled the whiskers of him, or broke into his goods and
chattels, knew very well what he was meaning,--much better than we of
the "Peace Society" and "Philanthropic Movement" could imagine at first
sight! It is a thing he, for his part, is very decided upon.

Already, a year before this time, [1st September, 1717: Preuss, i.
13.] there had been instituted, for express behoof of little Fritz, a
miniature Soldier Company, above a hundred strong; which grew afterwards
to be near three hundred, and indeed rose to be a permanent Institution
by degrees; called _Kompagnie der Kronprinzlichen Kadetten_ (Company of
Crown-Prince Cadets). A hundred and ten boys about his own age, sons of
noble families, had been selected from the three Military Schools then
extant, as a kind of tiny regiment for him; where, if he was by no means
commander all at once, he might learn his exercise in fellowship with
others. Czar Peter, it is likely, took a glance of this tiny regiment
just getting into rank and file there; which would remind the Czar of
his own young days. An experienced Lieutenant-Colonel was appointed to
command in chief. A certain handy and correct young fellow, Rentsel by
name, about seventeen, who already knew his fugling to a hair's-breadth,
was Drill-master; and exercised t