An army and its stomach

[Joel S. Berson]

At 10/22/2012 10:55 AM, Charles C Doyle wrote:
>A casual reader might miss the reference, but it is not Fredrick
>being quoted there.  Rather, the epithet "our little Friend" almost
>certainly refers to Napolean!  Still, Carlyle was probably quoting
>an aphorism--whether from Napoleanic or oral tradition.

If Napoleon, Carlyle surely was being ironic.  The friend of Britain,
its ally in the Seven Years War, and descendant of its King George I
was rather Frederick.  So -- how tall was Frederick the Great?  Did
he disband the Potsdam Giants because he was overshadowed by them,
rather than because he thought they were too expensive?

:-)
Joel

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