scription appeared in German, " Whilst we smile we mend the manners." All the front of the inside was occupied by the royal box, formed into a saloon, from the centre of the ceiling of which a rich lustre descended, and on each side were alabaster vases. The boxes were neat and well arranged. Over the curtain was a large transparent clock; the players were good; the orchestra very full and fine; and the scenery, particularly the drop, or curtain scene, very beautiful.

The statue of the celebrated general Ziethen, the favourite of Frederick the Great, and one of the greatest and bravest generals of Prussia, is well worthy the notice of the traveller. It is raised in Wilhelm's Platz, or William's Place, upon a pedestal, on three sides of which are basso-relievos, representing the hero on horseback, in some of the most celebrated campaigns, surrounded by an elegant railing: the figure of the general, in his hussar regimentals, is as large as life; his hand is raised to his chin, which was his usual attitude of meditation: it is said to be a strong resemblance, and is a fine piece of statuary. In this little square there are several other statues of Prussian generals, who distinguished themselves in the seven years' war, without any inscription. Upon my German friend enquiring of some of the soldiers, who were standing near us, their names, they told us they knew nothing about them. It is well known, that no living creature is more ignorant than a Prussian soldier.

As we passed to the royal Opera-house, the cavalry were drilling; the wretchedness of their horses not a little surprised me: the same remark applied to those of every other regiment of cavalry which I saw. The Opera-house, which is never open but during the carnival, is a superb and elegant building, raised by Frederick the Great. The audience are admitted gratis, by tickets issued by the king's authority: the pit is allotted to the regiments in garrison, each of which is permitted to send so many men. In the time of Frederick the Great, it was no unusual spectacle to see the wives of the soldiers sitting upon their husbands' shoulders: the internal decorations are, I was informed, very magnificent.

Berlin is justly celebrated for the excellence of its hotels: in my sitting room, looking upon the Linden-walk, I had every article of useful and elegant furniture, my bed-room and sopha-bed and linen were remarkably neat and clean, and both rooms, although the frost was set in with intense severity, were, by means of stoves which are

supplied from the passage, as warm as a summer day. It is a received opinion, that Englishmen are so accustomed to sit by their firesides, that they cannot grow warm unless they see the fire: to this remark I have only to observe, that I partook so insensibly of the atmosphere which pervaded my room, that I neither thought of heat, cold, or fire-places. At breakfast, the rolls, butter, and coffee, were delicious, and the china beautiful. The porcelain of Berlin is very fine, and nearly equal to that of Saxony. In the infancy of this manufactory, Frederick the Great granted permission to the Jews within his dominions to marry, only upon condition that they should purchase a certain quantity of this china; by this despotic policy he soon brought it into repute. At our table d'hote in the hotel, the dinner, with little variation, was in the following order: cold herrings and salted cucumbers, soup, bouilli, ham with sliced carrots, honey and rice pudding, venison and stewed pease. In the streets were groups of female fruiterers, sitting before tubs filled with the finest grapes, and Bergamot-pears, walnuts, &c. From those stands a respectable dessert may be furnished for the value of three-pence, English. Upon the Spree were a great number of boats, completely laden with the finest apples and pears. Living in Berlin is moderate, in the country remarkably cheap. A bachelor in Hesse Darmstadt, and in many other parts of Germany, can enjoy elegant society, have every day a bottle of excellent wine, and keep his horse, for one hundred and twenty pounds per annum.

In the audience-room of the great palace we were shown a chandelier of chrystal which cost 4,2007.; amongst the paintings, which are few, we noticed a portrait of the duke of Ferrara, by Corregio, for which ten thousand ducats were given there is also a beautiful statue of Marcus Aurelius, drawn up from the Tiber about fifty years since; several curious and costly clocks and secretaires of exquisite workmanship and mechanism, one of which, should any one improperly attempt to open it, would betray the robber by a tune similar to that in the academy of sciences in Petersburg: we were also shewn a circular closet in a turret, from whence Frederick, in his latter days, used to contemplate the people in the streets.

The cadet corps is a noble establishment, much resembling those in Petersburg: we attended a parade of about four hundred boys, who, as they were not sized, nor ranked according to age, presented a striking instance of the progress of merit, by displaying mere

"apple-munching urchins" commanding companies of boys bigger than themselves. From the cadet corps we visited an exhibition of the Prussian arts and manufactures, displayed in a suite of rooms: the busts, models, and carpets, were beautiful: some of the drawings were pretty, but the paintings were below criticism, English manufactures are severely prohibited in Prussia,

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CHAP. XXII.

POTSDAM

DILIGENCE-POTSDAM-SANS SOUCI-VOLTAIRE, AND BOGS

TRA

OF FREDERICK THE GREAT-NOBLE FIRMNESS OF AN ARCHITECTKING AND LOVELY QUEEN OF PRUSSIA-ANECDOTES-FEMALE VELLING HABIT-THE DUCHY OF MECKLENBURG

TO ENGLAND.

SWERIN-RETURN

ON the Sunday after my arrival, namely, the third of November, I seated myself at seven o'clock in the morning, with an intelligent companion, in the Potsdam diligence, a vehicle considerably less commodious than that of Paris: it was without springs, and so villanously put together, that the biting air pierced through a hundred crevices; sliding wooden pannels supplied the place of glasses, and in the back part were two seats, the occupiers of which were separated from each other by a stout iron bar. Our companions, male and female, were clad in their winter dress of muffs and fur shoes. After passing through a country of corn-fields, and fir forests, and some small frozen ponds, at eleven we reached the barrier of Potsdam, which is situated on the river Havel, and is formed into an isle by the adjoining lakes and canals, about sixteen English miles from Berlin.

Having expelled the cold with some soup, we hired a little phæton, and immediately proceeded to Sans Souci, distant about two English miles, which, as well as the neighbouring country palaces, are so much the fruit of the great Frederick's taste, that it was like paying a visit to his spirit. As we proceeded to the gallery of pictures, we passed by his hot-houses, which he cherished with great care. So partial was his majesty to hot-house fruit, that before the buildings were erected, he who would have scantily provided for a gallant officer mutilated in his service, did not hesitate to pay a ducat for a cherry! When he was dying, his pine apples occupied his principal attention.

We entered the picture gallery from the road through a rustic door: this room, two hundred and fifty eight feet long, thirty-six broad, and fifteen high, is supported by Carrara pillars, and is superbly gilded and ornamented. The collection is very select and pre

cious; we principally noticed the Graces, by Dominichino; Vertumnus and Pomona, by Leonardo da Vinci; Titian and his wife, by himself; Danae and Cupid, by the same artist; Venus bathing, by Corregio; three different styles of painting, by Guido; the Holy Family, by Raphael, which cost fourteen thousand ducats; a Cave of Devils, by Teniers, in which his mother and wife are represented as members of the infernal family, his father as saint Antonio, and himself in bonnet rouge, laughing at the group; a Head of Christ, by Vandyke; Ignorance and Wisdom, by Corregio; a Head of Christ, upon leaf gold, by Raphael, for which Frederick the Great paid six thousand ducats; several other paintings by the same great master, upon the same ground; a Virgin and Infant, by Rubens; and several other exquisite works of art. There was once a beautiful little Magdalen here, by Raphael, which Frederick bartered to the elector of Saxony for a troop of horse: this sort of barter seems not to have been unusual. Augustus II, elector of Saxony, purchased forty-eight bulky porcelain vases of Frederick William I, of Prussia, for a fine regiment of dragoons.

From the gallery we ascended a staircase, and entered a terrace, whence a beautiful view of the river, and the surrounding country, lay expanded before us. As we proceeded to the palace, or pavilion, composed of a long suite of rooms upon a ground floor, the tombs of Frederick's dogs were pointed out to us, the only creatures for whom he entertained a cordial affection. It is well known that he indulged the strange belief, that these animals possessed the power of discriminating character, and that he disliked those at whom they barked: most of these canine favourites were honoured with a royal epitaph. It is related, that whenever he went to war, he always carried a small Italian greyhound with him; and that when, in the seven years war, he happened to be pursued by a reconnoitering party of Austrians, he took shelter under a dry arch of a bridge, with his favourite in his arms; and that, although the enemy passed and repassed the bridge several times, yet the animal, naturally churlish, lay quite still, and scarcely breathed: had he barked, Frederick must have been discovered and taken prisoner, and Prussia, in all human probability, would have shared the fate of Poland, and swelled the empires of Russia and of Germany. There is another story told, the authenticity of which is indubitable: Frederick the Great, in his dying moments, expressed a wish to be buried by the side of his dogs.