Berlin and Sans-Souci; Or, Frederick the Great and His Friends

rows of the world," cried the king, with a ringing laugh; "raise your

of his friends who sat with him at the round table; his eyes dwelt searchingly upon every laughing face, then turned to the garden of Sans-Souci, which sent its perfumed breath, its song of birds, its evening b

g," said the king, "and we

upon the table, and leave the room. Noiselessly and silently this command wa

re is La Mettrie, who only remains here because he is convinced that my Cape wine is pure, and my pates de foie gras truly from Strasbourg. There is D'Argens, who sought safety in Prussia because in every other land in Europe there are sweethearts waiting and sighing for him, to whom he has sworn a thousand oaths of constancy. There is Bastiani, who only remains with us while the Silesian dame

the youngest of us all, and the wisest-the philosopher of Sans-Souci. There

and retires into another castle, God only knows where. We are all equal and wholly sans gene. At this table, there are

Argens has so often spoken to me, and which has seemed to me lik

e in each other. Every one shall relate something piquant and strange of his past life, some lively anecdote,

and watches the moment when she dares lay upon him the mask of weary years through which he has lived and suffered. She has, alas! fastened her wrinkled mask upon my face, but my heart is young and green, and if the wo

ll us of some duchess who placed him upon

jury, the bitterest I ever experien

injury, unless he had revenged

enemy for pastry and

tt

tion, and, in my despair, I might fly to La Mettrie for help. It is well known that

a regular physician," said the

rie, smiling. "The best physician is the greatest quac

he floor; he will tell us of the greatest

d God and the king too little, and the charming Marquise de Villiers and some other ladies of the court too much. Besides these exalted ladies, there was a beautiful young maiden whom I loved-perhaps because she had one quality which I had never remarked in the possession of m

on the tight-rope in this world," said the king. "I should not

fire soon burnt out! Who is responsible? Our fire burned long; but, think you my Phillis, whom I had removed from the tight-rope, and exalted to a dancer upon the stage, was so innocent and naive, as to believe that our love must

The devil's grandmother had also a husband, and

ried, and shrieked, and cast my oaths of constancy in my teeth. I did not die of remor

y the bride, and swore you h

s still beautiful, but quite deaf; consequently her voice was loud and coarse, when she believed herself to be whispering. She invited me to read some selections from my new work in her saloon, and I was weak enough to accept the invitation. I had just completed my 'Brutus,' and burned with ambition to receive the applause of the Parisiennes. I commenced to read aloud my tragedy of 'Brutus' in the saloon of the duchess, surrounded by a circle of distinguished nobles, eminent in knowledge and art. I was listened to in breathless attention. In the deep silence which surrounded me, in the glowing eyes of my audience, in the murmurs of applause which greeted me, I saw that I was still Voltaire, and that the hangman's hands, which had burned my 'Lettres Philosophiques,' had not destroyed my fame or extinguished

in which he reluctantly joined, being com

nt, and I think you must ha

pig's head, or were

nfortunate interruption, hastened after me, and entreated me so earnestly to remain and read further, that I consented. I remained and read, but not from 'Brutus.' My rage made me, for the moment, an improvisator. Seated near to the duchess, surrounded by the proud and hypocritical nobles, who acknowledged Phill

It will be difficult for you, D'Argens,

tune, and his life and adventures have been extraordinary, while I was near

"D'Argens, who believes in nothing, intended

is Gonzago, was his highest ideal. In the extremity of his piety and prudery he slipped into the art-gallery of our eldest brother and destroyed Titian's most splendid paintings and the glorious statues of the olden time. He gloried in this act, and called it a holy offering to virtue. He could not understand that it was

y with folly. He knew well that no one had less reverence for the

nfessions, he will understand the ways of the world better!' The bishop was right. My brother was con

the fanaticism of your brother liberat

done. He therefore proposed to me to consecrate myself to the world, and, instead of praying i

res Juives,'" said the king; "those inspiring letters in which the knight of the c

and idolaters, to see if a man could be truly happy and contented in

h you?" said the Abbe Bastiani- "y

protecting power of the cross than the priest who founded it. Tell us, marquis

mode of worship, before I decided whether I would b

ever been a believer, or made a conve

rstand usury and speculation," said D'Argens, quietly. "Besides, no

ing, "our good marquis

learning to sc

all men imitate, even in their vile passions a

upon his arm. "Do not reply to him; you know that our great poet changes himself sometimes into a wicked

, touched the silver salt-cellar; it fell and scattered the salt

ar. Quick, quick! take each of you a pinch of salt, and throw it upon the burners of the chandeliers; listen how it crackles and splutters! These are the evil spirits in hell-fire, are they not, marquis? Now let each one take ano

have bathed my face have fallen upon my lips, and become crystallized into biting

lancholy, it comes from his stomach. To be gay and cheery, to have your spirits clear and fresh, you have nothing more to do than to eat heartily and have a good digestion. Moliere could not have wr

Moliere's! But we entirely forget that the marquis owes us the conclusion of his story; we left him a Knight of Malta, and we cannot abandon him in this pos

the great mosque at Constantinople, and by my prayers, supported by a handful of gold pieces, I succeeded in convincing the Turk, who had the care of the key to the superb Sophia, that it was not an unpardonable sin to allow an unbe

other Church would thus have lost in the author

the city of Constantinople wo

our beautiful Mohammedan was not then born; the ma

bought, there will be nothing to pay,

g side glance at Voltaire, "you are right; nothing is mor

ussulman," said Algarotti, "and enjoyed the un

hin and overcame me. I was hungry! and as I had expected this result, I had placed a good bottle of wine and some ham and fresh bread in my pocket. I now took them out, spread my treasures upon the floor, and began to breakfast. The Turk looked at me with horror, and he would not have been surprised if the roof of the holy mosque had fallen upon the Christian hound who dared to desecrate it by drinking wine and eating ham within its precincts, both of which were strictly forbidden by the prophet. But the roof did not fall, not even when I forced my Mussulman to eat ham and drink wine with me, by threatening to show myself openly if he refused. He commenced his unholy meal with dark frowns and threatening glances, ever looking up, as if he feared the sword of the prophet would cleave him asunder. Soon, however, he familiarized himself with his sin, and forgot the holy ceremonies which were being solemnized. When the service was over, and all others had left the mosque, he prayed me to wait yet a little longer, and

ure your own eternal happiness. When you come to die, marquis, you

f one of the beasts into which the devils were cast, as is written in the Holy Scriptures.

us now be thoughtful, cast down our eyes, and exalt our hearts. A virtuous man is about to speak: truly virtue is a holy goddess loved by few, to whom few altars are erected, and who has few priests in her service. My Lord Marshal is consecrated to

stern. The words of the king were a reproach, and they felt wounded. Frederick thought not of them; he looked alone upon the noble, handsome f

, or are we too impure and sinful to listen t

life; it lies like an open book before the ey

n how to be faithful to his king in dire misfortune and to the gates of death. Ah, my lord, there are few men like yourself, who can count it as imperi

he great happiness of being near your majesty. But you must not think too highly of my constancy to 'the Pretender;' it was not pure loyalty, and if I carelessly and rashly cast my life upon a wil

us, my lord, why

y influential and powerful families of the court. We met daily; at first with wonder and surprise; then, with deep emotion, we heard each other's voices without daring to speak together; and then, at last, I no longer dared to utter a word in her presence, because my voice trembled and I could not control it. One day, as we sat silently next each other in a large assembly, I murmured in low, broken tones: 'If I dared to love you, would you forgive me?' She did not look up, but she said, 'I should be happy.' We then sank again into our accustomed silence, only looking from time to time into each other's happy eyes. This lasted six weeks, six weeks of silent but inexpressible happiness. At last I overcame my timidity and made known the sweet mystery of my love. I demanded the hand of my Victoire from her father; he gave a cheerful consent, and led me to my beloved. I pressed her to my heart, drunk with excess of

Even Voltaire repressed the malicious jest which played upon

he sent you forth as a man into the world? I th

n naissant, s'ouvr

iait, mon fils,

u'un jour, a vot

pleurs, et qu'on

smile when all others are weeping for you, and no man who has loved can forget you. I am

each other. It seems that to love faithfully and eternally it is only necessary to love truly and honorably, and then to separate. Custom and daily meeting cannot then brush the bloom from love's light wings; its source is in heaven, and it returns to the skies and shines forever and inextinguishable a star over our heads. When I looked again. upon Victoire she had been a long time married, and t

it, my lord,"

ands it, and Voltaire

Mar

sed, and upon whose blooming, perfumed beauty I scarcely dare open my unholy eyes. The fairy tales of my dreamy youth seem now to be true, and I hear a lan

ck in his chair, in a full rich voi

t lance p

t dans mon

rte la

us mes che

s maux qu'a

gnez un

int cueill

'epine a

ires de la Marq

s, you will surely laugh at what I now state. Out of love for my lost mistress, I became a Catholic. I thought that the faith, to which my Victoire offered up her love, must be

whispered

n the cross, and feel strengthened and supported by it. He will not wander in strange and forbidden paths, as w

ow it to the whole world. My beloved's name was V

aire, with animation: "one of the witti

king, thoughtfully. "would you l

for one hour, to s

that we shall

shall bear the marquise my greetings." [Footnote: Lord Mar

rom France to Prussia, and my Lord Marshal Keith is to be ambassador from Prussia to France. All, my lord! how will the noble marquise rejoice when her faithful knight shall introduce to her his most beautiful possession-t

kow, where he commanded as field-marshal, rescued her from the flames, she will find it just and kind that I gave the poor orphan a home and a father. I wish first,

difficult to have this marriage solemnized in Berlin.

s, in faith

Voltaire shall bless this marriage; where fire is worshipped as

jesty, and do not call upon me to play the role of priest even in jest. But why does this happy son of the heathen require a priest? Is not the sungod Ormuzd himself present? With your majesty's permission, we will place the loving pair upon the upper terra

lendid wedding- feast, where costly wines and rich

an in the world if he could thereby spend his whole life in one continuous wedding- feast; but listen, sir, before you