ere on the lookout for men beyond the usual stature, and on more
than one occasion blood was shed in the effort to kidnap recruits, while
some of his crimps were arrested and executed. More than once Prussia
was threatened with war for the practices of its king, yet so eager was
he to add to the number of his giants that he let no such difficulties
stand in his way.

His tall recruits were handsomely paid and loaded with favors. To one
Irishman of extraordinary stature he paid one thousand pounds, while the
expense of watching and guarding him while bringing him from Ireland was
two hundred pounds more. It is said that in all twelve million dollars
left the country in payment for these showy and costly giants.

By his various processes of force, fraud, and stratagem he collected
three battalions of tall show soldiers, comprising at one time several
thousand men. Not content with the unaided work of nature in providing
giants, he attempted to raise a gigantic race in his own dominions,
marrying his grenadiers to the tallest women he could find. There is
nothing to show that the result of his efforts was successful.

The king's giants found life by no means a burden. They enjoyed the
highest consideration in Berlin, were loaded with favors, and presented
with houses, lands, and other evidences of royal grace, while their only
duties were show drills and ostentatious parades. They were too costly
and precious to expose to the dangers of actual war. When Frederick
William's son came to the throne the military career of the giants
suddenly ended. They were disbanded, pensioned off, or sent to invalid
institutions, with secret instructions to the officers that if any of
them tried to run away no hinderance should be placed in their path to
freedom.

It is, however, with Frederick William's treatment of his son that we
are principally concerned. As the boy grew older his predilection for
the culture and literature of France increased, and under the influence
of his favorite associates, two young men named Katte and Keith, a
degree of licentiousness was developed in his habits. To please his
father he accepted a position in the army, but took every opportunity to
throw aside the hated uniform, dress in luxurious garments, solace
himself with the flute, bury himself among his books, and enjoy the
society of the women he admired and the friends he loved. He was
frequently forced to attend the king's smoking-parties, where he s