His enmity was, in like
manner, cool and deliberate; but though cool, it was not insidious,
and though deliberate, not pertinacious.
His mental faculties were slow. He saw little at a time, but that
little he saw with great exactness. He was long in finding the right,
but seldom failed to find it at last. His affections were not easily
gained, and his opinions not quickly discovered. His reserve, as it
might hide his faults, concealed his virtues; but such he was, as they
who best knew him have most lamented.
KING OF PRUSSIA [63].
Charles Frederick, the present king of Prussia, whose actions and
designs now keep Europe in attention, is the eldest son of Frederick
William, by Sophia Dorothea, daughter of George the first, king of
England. He was born January 24, 1711-12. Of his early years nothing
remarkable has been transmitted to us. As he advanced towards manhood,
he became remarkable by his disagreement with his father.
The late king of Prussia was of a disposition violent and arbitrary,
of narrow views, and vehement passions, earnestly engaged in little
pursuits, or in schemes terminating in some speedy consequence,
without any plan of lasting advantage to himself or his subjects, or
any prospect of distant events.
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