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LEFT FBEDEBICK II. 208 ritEDEBICK WILLIAM III. reign in 1713, after having married the daughter of the Elector of Hanover, afterward George I. of England. In 1715 he declared war against Charles XII. of Sweden, and in conjunction with Denmark took Stralsund; but on the death of Charles, in 1718, he made peace. The habits of this sovereign were entirely military, and he labored unweariedly to promote the discipline of his troops. One of his strongest peculiarities was an ex- traordinary love for tall soldiers; and in order to procure these sons of Anak he had agents employed in all parts of Eu- rope. He held science and literature in profound contempt; but money he wor- shiped, and men of a military character after his own ideal he respected and en- couraged. The consequence was that he left an abundant treasury and a well- appointed army of 66,000 men. He died May 31, 1740. Frederick II., commonly called Fred- erick the Great; born in Berlin, Jan. 24, 1712, and began to reign in 1740, found himself in possession of a full treasury FREDERICK THE GREAT and a powerful army, which he soon em- ployed in attacking Austria, and con- quering from her the province of Silesia (1740-1742). In 1744 he engaged in a second war with Austria, which was ter- minated in 1745, and left him possession of Silesia. The great struggle of the Seven Years' War bagan in 1756. Prus- sia was now attacked by the Austrians, the Russians, the French, the Saxons, and the Swedes, and her destruction and dismemberment seemed inevitable. Eng- land was her only ally. Prussia went through the struggle and came out tri- umphant. When the peace of Hubertus- burg was concluded in 1763, Prussia did not cede an inch of land, or pay a dollar of money; and from that time forth she was recognized as one of the great powers of Europe. For this glori- ous result she was indebted to her king. Though victorious at Prague, at Ross- bach, and Lissa (1757), at Zorndorf (1758), at Liegnitz and Torgau (1760), he suffered heavy defeats at Collin (1757), at Hochkirchen (1758), at Ku- nersdorf (1759) ; and his lieutenants, with the exception of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, were generally unsuccess- ful. But Frederick's firmness never failed him, even when all hope seemed lost. During his struggles against Aus- tria and France, Frederick was regarded in England and America as the champion of Protestantism and he was called a second Gustavus Adolphus. He ill de- served the title. The disciple of Voltaire, he is supposed to have had no religious faith whatever. He died in the chateau of Sans Souci, near Potsdam, Aug. 17, 1786. Frederick William II., King of Prussia, nephew to Frederick the Great; born Sept. 25, 1744. He succeeded his uncle in 1786, and gave himself up, as he had long done, to low pleasures, wasting his resources on his mistresses and fav- orites. He entered into the Triple Alli- ance in 1788; made an alliance with the Porte; sent an army under the Duke of Brunswick to invade France in 1792; took part in the second partition of Po- land; and made peace with France in 1795. He died Nov. 16, 1797. Frederick William III., King of Prussia, son of the above; born Aug. 3, 1770, commenced his reign in 1797 by maintaining a strict neutrality in the various alliances with and against France, which resulted from the ambiti- ous designs of Napoleon I. In 1805, how- ever, he yielded to the solicitations of Russia, allying himself with the czar against the French emperor. The rapid campaign of 1806, and the defeat of the Prussians at Jena, opened the gates of Berlin to the enemy, in whose hands it remained till 1809. In 1807 the battle of Friedland led to the humiliating peace of Tilsit, by which Frederick lost half his dominions. Restored to his capital, the king diligently endeavored to repair the evils of war; but new disasters over- took him, and his kingdom suffered greatly during the struggle from 1812 to 1814. Forced, in the former year, to contribute a force of 30,000 men to Napoleon's army, he subsequently joined his troops with those of Russia. The allies having triumphed over the French at Leipsic, Frederick William, in 1814, entered Paris with Czar Alexander. He