of Freystad was entirely consumed by a fire. The town of Feudenthal was totally destroy ed by a fire. In 1765 the Duke of York vifited Berlin. In 1766 the King prefented to several German Princes fuperb fervices of porcelain, made at Berlin, in order to encourage that manufactory. In 1767 the Princefs Wilhelmina was married to the Prince of Orange. In 1772 the King took poffeffion of Polish Pruffia, and dignified his new acquifition by the name of New Pruffia. -He had a private conference with the Emperor at Neifs. In 1773 he took poffeffion of Dantzick. In 1776 the Grand Duke of Ruffia made his public entry into Berlin, on a vifit to the King. His mode of living was regular and uniform. His Majefty, always rofe at five in the fummer, and about feven in the winter. He ufually remained uninterrupted for an hour after he was up, during which time he took his breakfaft; he then received letters, memoriale and other documents, and minuted the answers. From nine to eleven he gave audience to the officers of the flate and his domeftics. After these ceremonies he generally vifited the parade, and gave the word himself; correcting the leaft error in the difcipline, and requiring the utmoft exactness in the exercise From the parade he usually retired to the great hall of the palace, to give public audience to his fubjects, who were always encouraged to prefent their own petitions. And fo ftrictly defirous was his Majefty of doing juftice, that the leaft delay in his executive officers always drew forth his reproof. When he retired from this dispatch of bufinefs, he always bowed in his way through the hall, with the moft courteous attention to the low eft of the affembly. His hour of dining was ufually at half an hour paft twelve. His party was conftantly, when not indifpofed, his own Minifters; thofe from other Courts, and the officers of his firft battalion of guards. His table was eftablished to twenty-four covers for dinner, and eight for fupper, for which his Majefty allowed thirty-three German crowns, or five guineas and a half English money. The dinner time was limited to an hour, after which he rofe, walked for about half an hour with fome of the company, and then returned to his ftudy. He always continued private for about 3 hours after which he was conftantly vifited by his reader, who attended him till feven, when the concert commenced, and lafted till nine. His concert was chiefly com pofed of wind inftruments, and finging He played exquifitely well on the flute, was a good judge of mufic, and extremely nice in his felection of vocal performers. Madame Mara was a difciple of his fchool, befides whom he had three other treble fingers, and a counter-tenor. His fupper was always ferved in at half paft nine, and he was cautious that his pare ties at this repaft never exceeded eight; among whom the moft diftinguished in letters who were at his court always found a place. Voltaire, Algarotti, Maupertuis, Lord Chefs terfield, and others, were of this felection. On the moment the cloth was removed, all reftraint was thrown off, and the bon mots became in circulation without respect to perfon or condition. His fruits and wines were always of the rareft quality, and he was pleafed to fee the bottle go round. Tho' he himself did not drink much, he was particu lar that his company fhould partake of the bottle from which he filled his own glass. His remark was, " it may be poison; but if I lofe my life, I will not lofe my friends.". Voltaire, in reply, once told him-" that for his own part, he wished he was as well qualified to attend his Majesty as Shadrack, Mefheck, or Abednego !?? The King of Pruffia, when in his prime, was five feet fix inches in ftature; by the depreffion of age his Majefty loft part of that height. When of the age of 48 his hair ftill retained a fine dark chefnut colour, which he took a pleasure in dreffing himself, and was always worn in a queue; after this period it gradually became grey. His voice was mufical and articulate, and he fcarcely ever spoke but with a smile. French was his accuftomed language; he spoke it with the utmoft fluency, and more correctly than the German. In his drefs he was extremely regardlefs when out of the field, and never wore a nightgown, nightcap, or flippers, unless when indifpofed. Three times in the year he appeared in a new fuit of the uniform of the first battalion of his guards, which was blue faced with red, and filver Branden. burgs, after the Spanish manner; his waiftcoaft was plain yellow, and point d'Espagne hat and white feather. He was fo attached to boots that he never, even on the public court days, wore fhoes. His late Pruffian Majefty was little lefs diftinguished for his literary than his military talent; In his moft beautiful little tale of "Avarice and Glory," which was fome time printed before he avowed himself its author, (and which gives a fine picture of human life) he introduces himfelf as a fhepherd; but leaving his flocks and the muses, he becomes a foldier. From the field of war, however, he retires to the cabinet; where, as he emphatically fays, "drunk with power, and involved in fyftem, he fees, confults, and is Convinced of pleafed only with himself. the folly of liftening to the voice of ambiti on, he flies back to his long forfaken cottage, and refumiag his garb of fimplicity, palles 1786. Memoirs of Frederic II. late King of Pruffia, paffes his days in innocence and peace." His A little before the death of the King of Pruffia, Mr. de Hoym, Directing Minifter in Silefia, had given his Majefty an account of his administration, and received his orders for the ensuing year. He ftaid four days at Sans Souci, and before his departure to go back to Breflaw, which took place on the 10th of Auguft, his Majefty informed him, that he could not be prefent this year in Silefia; and he, in confequence charged him to do the honours of the camp, during the continuance of the manoeuyres, and to keep an open table for the officers; for which purpofe he remitted him a confiderable fum. The Prince de Poix, Captain in his Moft Christian Majesty's Guards, arrived in 'the mean time at Berlin, and requested the King in writing, according to cuftom, permiffion to affift at the manoeuvres in Silefia, and to be presented to his Majefty, The firft requeft met not the smallest difficulty; but the Monarch's state of health not permitting him to fee ftrangers, the Prince de Poix could not obtain the fecond. Latterly his Majefty faw nobody, and the only person who kept him company was the Baron de Hertzberg, to whom he did not ceafe to fhew marks of affection, esteem, and particular confidence to his last moments. A few days before his death, his Majefty prefented him with a magnificent fervice of Porcelaine for his table. Two other noblemen, whom he alfo honoured with his friendship, had quitted Sans Souci fome days before his deceafe. One was the Mafter of the Horfe, Count de Schwerin, who went to Brunswick; the other is the Lieutenant General, Count d'Anhats, who is returned to his command in Pruffia. About the fame time he fent for the hereditary Prince, and in the prefence of his Chamberlain, and an old General, who conftantly attended his Majefty during his laft moments, expreffed himself with great firm nefs in the following words: "I have acquired and preferved what will be thought a great dominion by the fword; but I have never fuffered mine enemy to be out of fight. A great General once asked me, why I placed the portrait of my opposer in all my apartments? I told him what Inow tell you, that it was to keep me upon my guard; and I hope, that if the patrimony which you will foon inherit is dear to you, you will find it for your future conduct no unneceffary precept." The diftempers of which his Majefty died 453 were faid to have been the dropfy and lethargy; but he wholly funk under a true decay of nature, which put a period to his life, on the 17th of Auguft, 1786. The will of the late Monarch was opened the day after his decease; it is dated in 1769. The manner in which he has difpofed of his effects is not yet publicly known; however, we hear he has left the Queen a dowry of 10,000 crowns, over and above her other revenues; to Prince Henry 200,000 crowns; to Prince Ferdinand 50,000; to each foldier of the guards two crowns, and to each officer of that regiment a gold medal, ftruck upon one of the memorable victories of the war of feven years. Among other things, the late Monarch has left the Duchefs Dowager of Brunswick, Princefs Amelia, and the Princess Ferdinand, annual augmentations of their incomes; to Prince Henry an augmentation of 6000 crowns; to the reigning Duke of Brunswick a very rich diamond ring; to the Duke Frederick of Brunswick a legacy of 10,000 crowns. The Princes of Heffe Caffet and Orange are alfo included in his late Majefty's will, but in what manner is not known. The funeral took place at Potsdam on the 19th, and his body, according to his own particular defire when living, was not embalmed, but only laid in ftate during the 18th, on which day, upwards of 20,000 people were admitted into the apartment, and by order of the reigning King, the regiment of guards was allo conducted into the room, and not one of those brave fellows could refrain from tears, on beholding the corpfe of the hero who had fo often led them to glory. Having died without iffue, he is fucceeded by Frederic William, now Frederic the 3d, fon of William Auguftus, brother to the late King by the Princefs Louifa Amelia of Brunfwick Wolfenbuttle. Frederic III. was born on the 25th of September, 1744. He married July 14, 1765, firft, the Princess Elizabeth Chriftiana Ulrica, of Brunfwick Wolfenbuttle; and fecondly, on the 14th of July, 1769, Frederica Louifa, of Heffe Darmftadt, and he has iffue by both marriages. The Dominions to which the late King fucceeded were but small to what he left to his fucceffor; at prefent they confifl of the following diftricts: 1. The kingdom of Pruffia, a country in the North of Poland. It formerly belonged to the Teutonic Order: but Albert, Marquis of Brandenburgit, the 34th Great Master, got it made hereditary in his own family, in 1525, on condition that he should hold it as a vaffal to the King of Poland; but Frederic William the Great fucceeded fo well, that the fovereignty of this country was confirmed to him and his heirs by the Polish Ambaffa dors, dors, on condition, that in cafe of the failure of his heirs, it fhould return to the Poles, and be made again a fief of that crown. The country is indifferently fruitful; it has Polish Pruffia on the Weft, Lithuania on the Eaft, the Duchy of Warsaw on the South, the Baltic and Samogitia on the North. The chief towns are Koningfberg, the capital, a large and trading place, Memel, Pilaw, Brandenburgh, Holland Labau. This country is the larger part of Pruffia, being in length 130 miles, and breadth 100. 2. The Electorate of Brandenburgh, divided into, 1. The Old Marck, containing Stendals, Gardleben, Ofterburg, Stoltwedel, Angermund, Perleberg, &c. &c. 2. The Middle Marck, containing, Berlin, Brandenburgh, Spandaw, Frankfort on the Oder, Rippon, Lebris, Furstenwald, Prenflow, and Templin. 3. The New Marck hath corn and pafture. Buno, in his notes on Cluverius, fays, that most of this Marck was fold to the Emperor Charles IV. by Otho of Bavaria, for 200,000 pieces of gold, which Otho afterwards spent in the caftle of Wolfenftein, on a baker's wife whom he debauched.The country is in extent 180 miles long, and 80 broad. 3. Brandenburgh, or Lower Pomerania, 110 miles in length, and forty in breadth. 4. Swedish, or Upper Pomerania, yielded by Sweden to the King of Pruffia, 1720. This part of Swedish Pomerania, which belongs to the King of Pruffia, is 70 miles long and 30 broad. 1 5. The Duchy of Magdeburgh is 50 miles in length, and 30 in breadth. All these countries lie in Upper Saxony, but the following are in the Lower. 6. The counties of Hoenftein and Reinftein;-the first is fifteen miles in length, and Ic in breadth, and the other so in length, and 5 in breadth. 7. The principality of Minden, 25 miles long, and 20 broad. 8. The county of Fecklenburg, 20 miles long, and 10 broad. 9. The principality of Halberstadt is a fruitful country, 30 miles long, and twenty broad. 10. The Duchy of Cleves, a delicious country, lies on both fides the Rhine, and borders on Holland, 40 miles long, and 15 broad. 11. The county of Marck, the largest in Germany, 40 miles long, and 40 broad. 12. The county of Ravensberg, 20 miles long, and 10 broad.: 13. The largeft part of Spanish Guelder land, with the town of Guelders. This coun ty which borders on Cleves, was given to the Kingof Pruffia, in 1733, at the treaty of Utrecht, his Majefty at the fame time reeing all right to the principality of e which he has accordingly done by the treaty of partition made at Dieren, June the 4th, 1632. 14. The larger half of the eftates of King William the Third, of Great Britain, Prince of Orange. By virtue of the juft mentioned treaty of partition between the King of Pruffia and the Prince of Orange, his Majefty keeps the principality of Maurs, bordering on Cleves, in length 10 miles, and the fame in breadth; and the county of Lingen, which is about 15 miles long, and 8 broad. These two countries lie in Weftphalia; but the fol lowing eflates are in the province of Holland, viz. The Bailiwick of Montfort, the lordfhip of Upper and Lower Swalufe, the lordfhips of Naaltwick, Hoenderland, Wateringen, Orange Polder, and Graveland, as alfo the Houfe at the Hague called the Old Court; the palace Houfurdyke, fix miles from the Hague; the town of Gennep on the Meufe; the barony of Herftal on the fame river, two miles below Liege, and alfo of Herma; the lordship of Tournhout in Brabant, adjudged to the King of Pruffia, by the States of that province, anda rent of 7000l. arifing from the tolls and cuftoms on the Meufe. 15. The lordships of Lavenburgh and Butua, in Poland. 16. The Dukedom of Croffen, in Silefia. 17. In Lower Lufatia, the towns of Cotbus, Pretz, Summerfold, Pafkau, Peltzan, and Storkau. 18. The cities of Hall in Saxony, and Lipstadt in Weftphalia. 19. The patronship of the two Proteftant nunneries of Hervorden and Quid inberg; the protectorship of the Imperial towns of Mulhaufen and Northaufen; as alfo the lordships of Schomberg, and fome lands in the counties of Weiffenfelles, Mersbrug, and Numburg; all which was purchased by Frederick the Second from the Elector of Saxony. 20. The principality of Neufchatel, and county of Valingen in Switzerland; they are 30 miles in length, and breadth 15; being adjudged to the King of Pruffia by the States of the county in 1707, on the demife of the Duchefs of Nemours. 21. In Africa, on the coaft of Guinea, Great Fredericksburg, which the trading company established at Embden, by the Elec tor Frederick William, caused to be built in 1613, under the direction of Captain Othe Greben, who was fent thither with two men of war. The towns of Aceada and Taccanary have put themselves under the protection of this Pruffian fort, and the inhabitants of the country foon followed their example. The above dominions contain altogether above 800 miles, from the borders of Lithu ania to this fide of the Rhine in the Netherlands. The The religion of Pruffia is, through his late Majefty's wisdom, very tolerant. The ef tablished religions are thofe of the Lutherans and Calvinifts, but chiefly the former; but Papifts, Anabaptifts, and almoft all other fects, are here tolerated. The country, as well as the towns, abounds in schools. His late Majefty of Pruffia, by the affiftance of an excellent Police, has brought the commerce and manufactures of this country to a very flourishing ftate, which is daily improving. The manufactures of Pruffia confift of glafs, iron-work, paper, gun-powder, copper and brafs mills; manufactures of cloth, camblet, linen, fik, ftockings, and other articles. The inhabitants export variety of naval ftores, amber, linfeed, and hemp-feed, oatmeal, fish, mead, tallow, and caviar; and it is faid that 500 fhips are loaded every year with thofe commodities, chiefly from Koning fberg. alteration in dress has taken place fince laft month; though, at a fashionable ball given in honour of the Prince of Wales's birth-day, the ladies chiefly appeared in white muflin, with the Sophia cap, and the plume of three feathers: white tiffany hats with gauze honey-comb, edged with lace, and the three feathers, were alfo very much worn. The bouquets the ladies wore on this occafion were uncommonly large, moftly of natural flowers, and worn in large filver or china fountains, fo very high on the left fide of the bofom, as to fhade a part of the face; the fashionable way of wearing them now in all private polite affemblies. His Pruffian Majefty, by means of the happy fituation of his country, its inland navigation, and excellent regulations, derives an amazing revenue from this country, which about a century and half ago, was the feat of boors and barbarifm. It is faid, that amber alone brings him in 26,000 dollars annually. His other revenues arife from his demefnes, his duties of cuftoms and tolls, and the fubfidies year y granted by the feveral ftates; but the exact fum is not known, tho'. we may conclude that it is very confiderable from the immenfe charges of the late war. The government of Pruffia is by a regency of four Chancellors of State, viz. 1. The Great Master; 2. The Great Burgrave; 3. The Great Chancellor; and 4. The Great Marshal. There are also fome other Councils, and thirty-feven Bailiwicks. The flates confift, 1. Of Counsellors of State; 2. Of Deputies from the Nobility; and 3. From the Commons. Besides these inftitutions his Majefty has erected a Board for commerce and navigation. The regulations of the military department, introduced by the late King, have a wonderful quick operation in forming the troops and recruiting the armies. Every regiment has a particular district, affigned it, where the young men proper for bearing arms are registered; and when occafion offers, they join their regiments, and being incorporated with veterans, they foon become well disciplined troops. ་་ ་ Fashionable Abfurdities in France. From the Cabinet des Modes. IN England, Fafhion, it is true, shifts like the weather-cock, with every breeze; but in France, it keeps one continual whirl, like the fliers of a jack; whatever fcarcity therefore, we may experience in the calmn tranquillity of the fummer season, our restlefs neighbours will abundantly supply us with new modes for our amusement or obfervation, though they have happily ceafed, in a great measure, to be objects of our imitation. For the entertainment of our readers, therefore, we have tranflated from the Cabinet des Modes, published the 15th of this month at Paris, the following curious Effay on the prefent general ftate of Fashions in France. We are at this moment under the immediate influence of that Fashion, whose reign we had predicted on a former occafion; and as we then feared, the ladies have univerfally embraced masculine cuftoms; for they actually wear the habits, and seem, in every point of view, enamoured with the occupations of men with this difference only, that they appear to adopt, with the greatest fondnefs, thofe habits, and thofe manners, which the men feem unanimously to have refigned. The rage for wearing great-coats with three collars having fubfided among the men, the ladies have thought proper to affume them; and now the gentlemen decorate their watches with a fimple ftring, the ladies encumber theirs with an unneceffary profufion of toys. The petit maitres of ftreets of Paris with their hands in their diftinction lounged laft month through the pockets; the ladies now amuse their delicate hands with exercifing a switch, or small cane; they have their hair tied very low, with a catogan, because ours is netted à la Panurge, or put in a queue. But the inroads they are pleafed to make on the men, in point of dress, are not to be be compared to their monopoly of thofe occupations, or ftudies, which were orginally appropriated to the male part of the creation. Formerly, the ladies condefcended to rival us only in works of wit, leaving their hufbands and their lovers in the indifputed poffeffion of the arts and sciences: but now the female difpofition has taken another bias, and the dry, uncouth ftudies of chymistry, botany, and phyfick, make the principal bafis of their amusements. Perhaps, the fame fpirit of ambition that governed them formerly, infpires them now, though its operations may have taken an irregular turn; and they may labour, by their endeavours, to eclipfe that great circle of learned men, who are looked up to with fuch reverence by mankind, as the publick ftandard of erudition. To thefe abftrufe ftudies, they add thofe of poetry, philofophy, and romance; and, unfortunately for their honour and happiness, the writers of the present day are well calculated to favour fo ridiculous a propenfity: now, alas! when all the world is running mad in the purfuit of knowledge, the reign of letters is no more! The elegant allurements of poetry are deferted, for the heavy ftudy of chymiftry, phyfick, and botany; and the greater portion of mankind feems to neglect a cultivation of thofe agreeable arts which were ufually confidered as the most acceptable to the ladies; our Glucks, Piccinis, Goffees, Sacchinis, and Gretris; with Corneille, Racine, Voltaire, Montefquieu, Rouffeau, and other great men, fhould attract their notice and the faireft members of humanity should not be permitted to fully their lovely figures near the furface of a chymift, or lofe their feeling and fenfibility by the electric machine of a dull phyfician. Let them quietly refign thofe purfuits to the men, the completion of which demands the ftudy of a whole life of anxiety: we do not mean, by thefe remarks, to throw any odium on the dignity of fuch arts, but with only to prove, by the force of reafon and common fense, that fuch ftudies are by no means calculated for the amusement of the ladies, and many of the men only appear to embrace fuch fciences, in compliment to the prevailing attachments of their fair companions. more fufceptible of rapid impreffione, or more wedded to enthufiafm, and more impreffed by fenfibility, than thofe of the men; we cannot think phyfic a proper object for their purfuit: it engroffes all their fpirits, heats their imaginations, and confumes their existence. The first traits of acquired knowledge, infpire the human mind with an irrefiftible paffion to difcover more; this is a truth every where acknowledged, and the ladies will, ere long, have fufficient reason to repent their having made the people of France a people of fcience. It is one of those con fequences, that muft prove advantageous to the reft of the world, and detrimental to themselves; all our gentlemen (inftead of their admired and accuftomed elegance) will enter the receffes of the gay with the penfive heads of philofophers; and the love of knowledge will overthrow the influence of joy. This calamity muft inevitably be realized; for the ladies having publicly embraced and encouraged fo extrinfic a tafte, will find themselves under an obligation to protect it. Nor will circumftances, in future, give them any opportunity to alter fo ab furd a fyftem; for, having fallen in fo completely with the leading prejudices of the men, their affections and habits will be ir remediably confirmed. They will look with pleasure on learned men only, and open their mouths on no other occafions than to develope fciences. Their enquiries will take a new direction, and the affemblies of fafhion will be turned into fo many schools of fubtile and verbofe difquifitions; while the education of the ladies must be new modelled, that they may understand the converfations of each other.The only probable means to defeat so abfurd a measure, would be to introduce pedantry, and oblige men of learning to deliver their fentiments in unwieldy words compofed of numerous fyllables. This ftep may, at firft fight, appear extremely ridiculous; but it must be the force of ridicule alone that will be able to reinftate propriety, and prevent the ill effects of that unhappy mania which at prefent threatens the deftruction of the tender paffion, and all its dependencies. AT (To be Continued.). Anecdote of Voltaire. It should be the peculiar province of the ladies to govern the revolutions of taste, as T the first representation of Merope, the their opinions have ever given laws to audience asked to fee the author. Voltaire fafhion. The happy author, who is fortu was carried into Mad. de Villars's box, and nate enough to adopt their momentary pre- placed between her and her daughter-in-law. judices, is immediately deified by the multi- A voice immediately cried out from the pit, tude: his talents become the criterion of li- " Mad. la Ducheffe de Villar, embrace terary elegance; the ladies protect him, and Voltaire !"-Thousands repeated the words, the men imitate his manner. and the young Duchefs honoured him with a kifs, amidft houts of approbation and applaufe Though it is univerfally admitted that faculties and organs of the ladies are |