414 PALACES AT POTSDAM. 



palace was two or three miles from Berlin, outside the 

 Brandenburg gate. It was built by the King on his 

 marriage with the Princess Sophia Charlotte. The gar- 

 dens in which it stood were prettily laid out, diversified 

 with the windings of the Spree, and several small lakes 

 filled with carp. These carp were trained to come at the 

 sound of a bell, and pop their noses out of the water 

 for crumbs. 



At Potsdam there were four royal palaces, the most 

 noted of which was the celebrated Sans Souci, built by 

 Frederic the Great, in 1745-47. It stood on a terrace on 

 the right of a broad avenue, which ran through the 

 grounds. The grounds and gardens were laid out in the 

 stiff formal French style of the last century ; here em- 

 bowered alleys and cut hedges, there statues of fawns 

 and wood nymphs, and there fountains spouting foam in 

 marble basins. Vines, olives, and oranges grew in hot- 

 houses. At the end of the terrace on which the palace 

 was built were the graves of the great Frederic's favour- 

 ite dogs, and of one of his horses that had borne him 

 through many battles. Old Fritz loved this spot, and 

 just before his death he used to be brought to it in a great 

 arm-chair, to bask in the sun, with his dogs around him. 



In the gardens of Sans Souci stood the Charlottenhof 

 palace, built by Frederic William IV., when he was 

 crown prince. It was in the style of a Pompeian dwell- 

 ing, elegant and tasteful, with beautiful fountains, and 

 an antique altar, and a number of statues and bronzes 

 from Pompeii and Herculaneum. This was the King's 

 favourite residence while at Potsdam, and here Hum- 

 boldt generally resided when he visited him— several 

 rooms being set apart for his exclusive use. 



