The news of Hampden's death produced as great a 8 consternation in his party, according to Clarendon, as if their whole army had been cut off. The journals of the time amply prove that the Parliament and all its friends were filled with grief and dismay. Lord Nugent has quoted a remarkable passage from the next "Weekly Intelligencer": "The loss of Colonel Hampden goeth near the heart of every man that loves the good of his king and country, and makes some conceive little content to be at the army now that he is gone. The memory of this deceased colonel is such that in no age to come but it will more and more be had in honor and esteem; a man so religious, and of that prudence, judgment, temper, valor, and integrity, that he hath but few his like behind."

He had, indeed, left none his like behind him. There 9 still remained, indeed, in his party many acute intellects, many eloquent tongues, many brave and honest hearts. There still remained a rugged and clownish soldier, half fanatic, half buffoon, whose talents, discerned as yet only by one penetrating eye, were equal to all the highest duties of the soldier and the prince. But in Hampden, and in Hampden alone, were united all the qualities which, at such a crisis, were necessary to save the state: the valor and energy of Cromwell; the discernment and eloquence of Vane; the humanity and moderation of Manchester; the stern integrity of Hale; the ardent public spirit of Sydney. Others might possess the quali- 10 ties which were necessary to save the popular party in the crisis of danger; he alone had both the power and the inclination to restrain its excesses in the hour of triumph. Others could conquer; he alone could reconcile. A heart as bold as his brought up the cuirassiers who turned the tide of battle on Marston Moor. As skillfu

an eye as his watched the Scotch army descending from 11 the heights over Dunbar. But it was when to the sullen tyranny of Laud and Charles had succeeded the fierce conflict of sects and factions, ambitious of ascendancy and burning for revenge-it was when the vices and ignorance which the old tyranny had generated threatened the new freedom with destruction-that England missed the sobriety, the self-command, the perfect soundness of judg ment, the perfect rectitude of intention, to which the history of revolutions furnishes no parallel, or furnishes a parallel in Washington alone.

1

FREDERICK THE GREAT OF PRUSSIA.-HIS HABITS. -HIS MANNER OF CONDUCTING PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

Frederick the Great of Prussia was one of the most remarkable historical characters of modern times. As a military commander he may be ranked with Napoleon and Marlborough. His successes were generally achieved while contending against resources much more powerful than his own. It was his indomitable energy, as well as his splendid military talents, that paved the way for the present commanding position of Prussia as the leading power in Germany, if not in Europe. The student should read Macaulay's Essay in full, and Carlyle's "Life of Frederick the Great."

FREDERICK had from the commencement of his reign applied himself to public business after a fashion unknown among kings. Louis XIV, indeed, had been his own prime minister, and had exercised a general superintendence over all the departments of the Government; but this was not sufficient for Frederick. He was not

content with being his own prime minister-he would be his own sole minister. Under him there was no room, not merely for a Richelieu or a Mazarin, but for a Colbert, a Louvois, or a Torcy. A love of labor for its own sake; a restless and insatiable longing to dictate, to intermeddle, to make his power felt; a profound scorn and distrust of his fellow-creatures-indisposed him to ask counsel, to confide important secrets, to delegate ample powers. The highest functionaries under his government 2 were mere clerks, and were not so much trusted by him as valuable clerks are often trusted by the heads of departments. He was his own treasurer, his own commander-in-chief, his own intendant of public works, his own minister for trade and justice, for home affairs and foreign affairs; his own master of the horse, steward, and chamberlain. Matters of which no chief of an office in any other government would ever hear were in this singular monarchy decided by the King in person. If a traveler wished for a good place to see a review, he had to write to Frederick, and received next day from a royal messenger Frederick's answer, signed by Frederick's own hand. This was an extravagant, a morbid activity. The 3 public business would assuredly have been better done if each department had been put under a man of talents and integrity, and if the King had contented himself with a general control. In this manner the advantages which belong to unity of design and the advantages which belong to the division of labor would have been to a great extent combined. But such a system would not 4 have suited the peculiar temper of Frederick. He could tolerate no will, no reason in the state, save his own. He wished for no abler assistance than that of penmen who had just understanding enough to translate, to transcribe, to make out his scrawls, and to put his concise Yes and

5

No into an official form. Of the higher intellectual faculties there is as much in a copying machine or a lithographic press as he required from a secretary of the cabinet.

His own exertions were such as were hardly to be expected from a human body, or a human mind. At Potsdam, his ordinary residence, he rose at three in summer and four in winter. A page soon appeared, with a large basketful of all the letters which had arrived for the king by the last courier-dispatches from ambassadors, reports from officers of revenue, plans of buildings, proposals for draining marshes, complaints from persons who thought themselves aggrieved, applications from persons who wanted titles, military commissions, and civil situations. He examined the seals with a keen eye, for he was never for a monent free from the suspicion that some fraud might be practiced on him. Then he read the letters, divided them into several packets, and signified his pleasure, generally by a mark, often by two or three words, now and then by some cutting epigram. 6 By eight he had generally finished this part of his task. The Adjutant-General was then in attendance, and received instructions for the day as to all the military arrangements of the kingdom. Then the King went to review his guards, not as kings ordinarily review their guards, but with the minute attention and severity of an old drill-sergeant. In the mean time the four cabinet secretaries had been employed in answering the letters on which the King had that morning signified his will. These unhappy men were forced to work all the year round like negro-slaves in the time of the sugar crop. They never had a holiday. They never knew what it was to dine. It was necessary that before they stirred 7 they should finish the whole of their work. The King,

always on his guard against treachery, took from the heap a handful at random, and looked into them to see whether his instructions had been exactly followed. This was no bad security against foul play on the part of the secretaries; for, if one of them were detected in a trick, he might think himself fortunate if he escaped with five years' imprisonment in a dungeon. Frederick then signed the replies, and all were sent off the same evening.

The general principles on which this strange govern- 8 ment was conducted deserve attention. The policy of Frederick was essentially the same as his father's; but Frederick, while he carried that policy to lengths to which his father never thought of carrying it, cleared it at the same time from the absurdities with which his father had encumbered it. The King's first object was to have a great, efficient, and well-trained army. He had a kingdom which in extent and population was hardly in the second rank of European powers; and yet he aspired to a place not inferior to that of the sovereigns of England, France, and Austria. For that end it was necessary that 9 Prussia should be all sting. Louis XV, with five times as many subjects as Frederick, and more than five times. as large a revenue, had not a more formidable army. The proportion which the soldiers in Prussia bore to the people seems hardly credible. Of the males in the vigor of life, a seventh part were probably under arms; and this great force had, by drilling, by reviewing, and by the unsparing use of cane and scourge, been taught to perform all evolutions with a rapidity and a precision which would have astonished Villars or Eugene. The 10 elevated feelings which are necessary to the best kind of army were then wanting to the Prussian service. In those ranks were not found the religious and political en