Introduction
Frederick the Great ruled Prussia, in what is now northern Germany and Poland, from 1740 to 1786. He established Prussia as a serious force in European politics, and was justly proud of his troops. His army’s reputation attracted recruits from outside the country, and according to ‘Mr Addison’ (not the essayist of an earlier generation), this brought its own little embarrassments.
FREDERICK,* whose chief pleasure was in the proficiency of his troops in military discipline, whenever a new soldier made his first appearance in the guards, asked him three questions. The first was, How old are you? The second was, How long have you been in my service? (as the guards were recruited out of the flower of the marching regiments); and the third was, If he received his pay and his cloathing as he wished?
A young Frenchman, who had been well disciplined, offered himself to enter the guards, where he was immediately accepted, in consequence of his experience in military tactics. The young recruit did not understand the Prussian language, so that his Captain informed him, that when the King saw him first on the parade, he would make the usual enquiries of him in the Prussian language,* therefore he must learn to make the suitable answers, in the form of which he was instructed. As soon as the King beheld a new face in the ranks, taking a lusty pinch of snuff, he went up to him; and, unluckily for the soldier, he put the second question first, and asked him how long he had been in his service?
* ‘Mr Addison’ possibly hoped that unwary patrons of bookshops would assume he was the famous essayist Joseph Addison (1672-1719). In that case, this Frederick would have been King Frederick I, who died in 1713. However, our ‘Mr Addison’ belonged to a much later generation. He self-published his collection of anecdotes in 1795, and included among them stories from the French Revolution of 1789. This ‘anecdote of the late King of Prussia’ must surely refer to Frederick the Great, who had passed away in 1786.
* That is, German.
Précis
A Frenchman, handpicked for the life guards of Frederick the Great of Prussia, knew no German. His Captain wondered how he would answer the three questions that the king reliably put to every new recruit: his age, his length of military service, and his satisfaction with pay and clothing. At length, he decided to coach him in the appropriate replies. (60 / 60 words)
A Frenchman, handpicked for the life guards of Frederick the Great of Prussia, knew no German. His Captain wondered how he would answer the three questions that the king reliably put to every new recruit: his age, his length of military service, and his satisfaction with pay and clothing. At length, he decided to coach him in the appropriate replies.
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Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, because, must, unless, until, whereas, whether, who.