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 fire-sides, 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 manufac tory, Frederic the Great granted permission to the Jews within his dominions to marry, only upon con dition that they should purchase a certain quantity of this china; by this despotic policy he soon brought it into repute.

In the audience-room of the great palace, we were shewn a chandelier of chrystal which cost 4,200% 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 secretaries of exquisite workmanship and mechanism, one of which, should any one impro perly 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 Frederic, in his latter days, E 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 strik. ing instance of the progress of merit, by displaying. mere "apple-munching urchins" commanding com =panies 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.

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 commo dious than that of Paris. After passing through a country of corn-fields and fir-forests, and some small pieces of ice, 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 phaeton, 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 Frederic's taste, that it was like paying a visit to his spirit. As we proceeded to the gallery of pictures, we passed by his hothouses, 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 precious.

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 Frederic'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 re connoitring 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 churl ish, lay quite still, and scarcely breathed: had he barked, Frederic 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.

We saw the room where Frederic 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 Fre deric 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 Frederic, who, if he merited the title of Great, had no pretensions to that of good.

The façade of Sans Souci, towards the plain, is very elegant; towards the terrace very heavy, where it reë sembles 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 out-offices, connected by an elegant semicircular colonnade of eighty-eight 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 sbells, 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 Frederic 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 grottos 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 Frederic 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 orangery, 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 elegant 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.

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 Buonaparte. 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.

On the 5th 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 Hamburgh diligence, and proceeded in it as far as Grabow, and afterwards travelled post to Husum.

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 soldiers on duty were fine looking fellows; the forces of the duke amount to fourteen hundred men. I could not help smiling when, upon discharging my driver at this town, he presented me, with great ceremony, a government receipt, to shew that he had paid two groschen for permission to pass over a nearer and better road, which led from the country palace of the duke. The Malaga wine, of which a great quantity is brought to this duchy, is excellent and reasonable.

The approach to Lubec was through a noble road, lined with stately lindens, extending four English miles: it was dusk when I entered it, and early in the morning when I left it; but, if I may judge by its