y the mere presence and presidence of Friedrich Wilhelm in
the business: That there was an inflexible law of discipline everywhere
active in it; that there was a Spartan rigor, frugality, veracity
inculcated upon him. "Economy he is to study to the bottom;" and not
only so, but, in another sense of the word, he is to practise economy;
and does, or else suffers for not doing it. Economic of his time, first
of all: generally every other noble economy will follow out of that,
if a man once understand and practise that. Here was a truly valuable
foundation laid; and as for the rest, Nature, in spite of shot-rubbish,
had to do what she could in the rest.

But Nature had been very kind to this new child of hers. And among the
confused hurtful elements of his Schooling, there was always, as we say,
this eminently salutary and most potent one, of its being, in the gross,
APPRENTICESHIP TO FRIEDRICH WILHELM the Rhadamanthine Spartan King, who
hates from his heart all empty Nonsense, and Unveracity most of all.
Which one element, well aided by docility, by openness and loyalty of
mind, on the Pupil's part, proved at length sufficient to conquer the
others; as it were to burn up all the others, and reduce their sour dark
smoke, abounding everywhere, into flame and illumination mostly. This
radiant swift-paced Son owed much to the surly, irascible, sure-footed
Father that bred him. Friedrich did at length see into Friedrich
Wilhelm, across the abstruse, thunderous, sulphurous embodiments
and accompaniments of the man;--and proved himself, in all manner
of important respects, the filial sequel of Friedrich Wilhelm. These
remarks of a certain Editor are perhaps worth adding:--

"Friedrich Wilhelm, King of Prussia, did not set up for a Pestalozzi;
and the plan of Education for his Son is open to manifold objections.
Nevertheless, as Schoolmasters go, I much prefer him to most others we
have at present. The wild man had discerned, with his rugged natural
intelligence (not wasted away in the idle element of speaking and of
being spoken to, but kept wholesomely silent for most part), That human
education is not, and cannot be, a thing of VOCABLES. That it is a thing
of earnest facts; of capabilities developed, of habits established, of
dispositions well dealt with, of tendencies confirmed and tendencies
repressed:--a laborious separating of the character into two FIRMAMENTS;
shutting down the subterranean, well down and deep; an earth an