One of these favourites, another greyhound bitch, was taken at the battle of Sorr, when the baggage was plundered by Trenck and Nadasti. Regardless of inferior losses, the king was in the act of writing to Nadasti, to request his bitch might be restored, when the Austrian general, knowing his love for the animal, which was itself greatly attached to him, had sent it back; the bitch, unperceived by the monarch, leaped upon the table while he was writing, and, as usual, began to caress him, at which he was so affected that he shed tears: the day before he had cut off many thousands of men, and charged his dear children to give no Saxon quarter. The only amiable trait in Frederick's composition was of a canine nature: he possessed nothing to attach man to him but his fondness for dogs.

We saw the room where Frederick slept and died: it was plain and simple; and, upon the chimney-piece, was a beautiful antique of Julius Cæsar when a boy. After passing through several handsome rooms, we reached the dining-room. It is well known that Frederick the Great indulged in the pleasures of the table, and that English, French, German, Italian, Russian cooks, were employed in this royal philosopher's kitchen. The apartment of Voltaire, where I could not resist sitting down in his chair before his desk, dotted all over with spots of a pen, more keen and triumphant than the sword, and wondering how such a genius could associate for three years with the crafty, ungrateful, cold, ungenerous, tyrannical, rancorous, and implacable Frederick, who, if he merited the title of Great, had no pretensions to that of Good: that the wit and the sovereign should have differed no one can wonder; but every one must, that they had not quarrelled and parted sooner.

In the life of Voltaire we see the triumph of letters. The late empress of Russia courted his friendship by every touching art which, even from clever women in the ordinary ranks of life, is irresistible: she did nothing without affecting to consult him: she invited him to Petersburg, and placed the model of his house at Ferney in the hermitage. Frederick the Great sought him with avidity, bordering on abject solicitation; but the mean and ungenerous despotism of the sovereign's heart rendered him unworthy the honour of an association, which with equal meanness and harshness he dissolved. Why was Voltaire thus courted by two of the most distinguished potentates of their own, or perhaps of any other age?

Because they knew that the pen of such a genius could give any colour to their actions, and could measure out and extend their fame.

The gardens of Sans Souci appeared to be elegantly arranged; but it was no time to explore leafless bowers and alleys no longer green:

"When icicles hang by the wall,

And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,

And milk comes frozen home in pail."

The facade of Sans Souci, towards the plain, is very elegant; towards the terrace very heavy, where it resembles more a great tasteless green-house than a royal residence. From Sans Souci, we drove through a beautiful park to the new palace, distant about an English mile and a half. After passing two grand lodges and outoffices, connected by an elegant semicircular colonnade of eightyeight columns, we entered the palace, the front of which is adorned with Corinthian pilasters, and the body built with the rich red Dutch brick: the hall was a superb vaulted grotto, formed of chrystals, ⚫ branches of coral and shells, and fountains, arranged with equal elegance and novelty. Respecting the construction of this extraordinary apartment, the king and his favourite architect had a violent dispute; the latter insisting that it should be a vestibule, the former a grotto. The royal disputant of course prevailed, and the architect was so disgusted, that he declined proceeding in the building. It was lucky for him, that the tyrant Frederick had not sent him to the fortress of Spandaw, where so many brave men who had fought and bled for him have been immured for some error in petty punctilio, to meditate on the superiority of grottoes over vestibules: the rest of the rooms are very elegant. Having satisfied our curiosity, we galloped to the little marble palace, about two English miles off, built also by Frederick the Great, of Silesian marble and Dutch brick: I was more pleased with it than with the Petite Trianon at Versailles. The road to the pavilion is lined with small rustic dwellings, surrounded by shrubs for the household: on the left is an extensive and elegant orangerie, in the centre of which is a superb ballroom, lined with mirrors, and opening on either side into alleys of orange and lemon trees: on the right are the kitchens, externally resembling the ruins of an Athenian temple: a lake, lined with ele

gant groups of trees, pleasure-houses, cottages, and mills, washes the terrace of the little palace, the apartments of which are small but singularly elegant, and were adorned with some exquisite antiques. Upon our return to our hotel the clock struck four: just as we had begun to thaw ourselves with some soup, attended, as the Saxon kings of old were, by a wandering harper at our door, just as he had sweetly and wildly run over the first division of a German air, by which time my intelligent companion and I had settled it, that had the palaces been covered with rubies, and the trees of the royal gardens dropped pearls, we should return discontented to Berlin, unless we had beheld the lovely queen of Prussia; in truth, she was the principal object of our excursion: the son of our host ran into the room, to tell us the queen's carriage was just drawn up to the great palace, which our window commanded. From a little private door of this vast pile she descended, leaning upon the arm of a page, and attended by an elderly lady of the court; upon seeing us she stopped, and moved to us in the most gracious and enchanting manner. She is very fair, her face sweet, elegant, and expressive :

Her hair is light, her figure exquisite; and, as she stepped into her carriage, she displayed a foot and ankle which at once convinced us that the most perfect symmetry reigned throughout her frame. Her charms were heightened by her situation; she was expected, in a few days, to augment the illustrious house of Brandenbourg. At a party at the British ambassador's, Mr. Jackson, I was regaled with the most enchanting account of her amiable virtues; but to look at her is sufficient :

"There's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple."

She is very fond of retirement, and devotes herself to the education of her children. As my stay in Berlin was too short to admit of my being presented, I was much gratified in seeing a princess of whom every one speaks with rapture. The manner in which her marriage occurred was interesting: At a grand review, which took place at Francfort on the Maine, monsieur Be thman, one of the richest bankers upon the continent, appeared at the parade, with a

superb equipage: struck with his appearance, the king enquired his name, and monsieur B. was introduced, who invited his majesty to a grand fete he intended giving that evening at his chateau; which invitation the king accepted, and there met the lovely princess of Mecklenburg Strelitz; to look upon and love her were the same.

About eighteen months after their marriage, they paid a visit to monsieur B; and, as they entered the room where their first interview occurred, the king caught his royal bride in his arms, kissed her, and, with tears of sensibility, exclaimed, “It was in this very ❝room, my dear Beathman, that I found the treasure of my happi❝ness." The royal couple are remarkably domestic, and largely taste of those endearing and tranquil enjoyments which are seldom seen in the neighbourhood of a throne.

The great palace at Potsdam, in which the royal family principally reside, has a few elegant state rooms: in one of which was a half-length portrait of Bonaparte. The queen had displayed her taste by decorating one of her little cabinets with engravings from some of the exquisite productions of Westall.

The next morning (Sunday) we attended the two parades, which take place on this day within two hours of each other. I should suppose about ten thousand men were upon the ground; they presented a very noble appearance. The King, attended by several officers, was present. In roving through the city, we observed that its size and buildings resembled those of Berlin, and that it was equally gloomy.

Upon our return, a soldier mounted the coach-box of the diligence at the gate at Berlin, and as we passed close to our inn, we called to the driver to let us out, but the soldier refused, and upon our attempting to get out, jumped down, drew his bayonet, and called the guard, upon which, with some little surprise, we submitted to be taken to the post-house, at the further end of the city, where we were suffered to alight without further molestation. This regulation is a part of the military police of this despotic government, which converts every city into barracks, and palaces into head-quarters. Upon regaining our hotel, cold and hungry, and ordering our dinner, we found that the cooks, it being dimanche, were all gone to the theatre however, one of them was soon found, and our appetites soon satisfied.

On the fifth of November, at eleven o'clock in the morning, as I wished to see a little more of the manners of the people, I mounted the Hamburg diligence, and proceeded in it as far as Grabow, and afterwards travelled post to Husum: this machine was much inferior to its Potsdam brother; it was a leather tilted waggon without springs, filled with rows of seats, separated from each other by iron bars; behind was a basket for hay: there were neither glasses nor wooden pannels in the sides, but two hard leather curtains were dropped and buttoned down, when it rained or was cold. The passengers consisted of two Prussian ladies, a girl servant, an Hungarian officer, myself, and one conducteur, an old wrinkled gentleman of sixty-five at least, who lost all his vivacity when he set down the girl, between whom some tender touches of the hand, and gentle whispers, passed during one of the most bitter nights I ever experienced. The ladies, who were neither handsome nor aged, and were, as I learned, very respectable women, made no hesitation in tying up their garters, sans ceremonie, and, in other matters of travelling comfort, displayed as little restraint as the French ladies. All night, it being dark, and the roads very deep and sandy, we moved at a funereal pace. The next evening I bade adieu to the Hamburg diligence, and having convinced myself of the danger of attempting to push through that spit of Hanover through which the direct Hamburgh road lies, in consequence of the ruffian-like perfidious violation of the law of nations, exhibited in the seizure of our ambassador, sir George Rumbold, at that city; I ordered a stuhl-waggon at Perlberg, and travelled post to Swerin, the capital of the duchy of Meckleburgh Swerin, which commences on this side at Grabow. In this petty state, luxuriant in corn-fields, posting, which constitutes one of the revenues of the duchy, is very dear; for five German miles I paid seven dollars and two groschen. To avoid this extortion, I recommend a traveller to hire a furhman at Perlberg to carry him through to Lubec: he will save considerably by it. A little beyond Grabow I passed a superb country residence of the reigning duke, situated in a beautiful country, and surrounded by a very neat village. Swerin is a large and respectable town, where the inns are very good, and well supplied with French spies. The palace is a vast and very ancient building, forming an oblong square, presenting galleries, balconies, and turrets, without end. The sol