in the morning, and sometimes earlier. He commonly dressed his hair himself, and seldom employed more than two minutes for that purpose. His boots were put on at his bed-side, for he scarcely ever wore shoes. After he was dressed, the adjutant of the first battalion of his guards brought him a list of all the persons that were arrived at Potsdam, or departed from thence, and an account of whatever had Occurred in the garrison. When he had delivered his orders to this officer, he retired into an inner cabinet, where he employed himself in private till seven o'clock. He then went into another apartment, where he drank coffee or chocolate; and here he found upon the table all the letters addressed to him from Potsdam, Berlin, or any other parts of his dominions. Foreign letters were placed upon a separate table. After reading all these letters, he wrote hints or notes in the margin of those which his secretaries were to answer; and then returning into the inner cabinet, carried with him such as he meant to write or dictate an answer to himself. Here he employed himself till nine o'clock with one of his private secretaries. He then returned back again into his former apartment, where he was attended by three secretaries, each of whom gave him an account of what he had done; after which the king delivered his orders to them, with the letters they were to answer. None of these answers, however, were sent off till they had been read, and many of them signed by the king. At ten o'clock the generals who were about his person, whom he was accustomed to send for in their turn, attended him to his closet, where he conversed with them on the news of the day, politics, tactics, and other subjects; and at this time he also gave audience to such persons as had received previous notice to attend. At eleven o'clock he mounted his horse and rode to the parade, where he reviewed

and exercised his regiment of guards; and at the same hour,' says Voltaire, all the colonels did the same throughout the provinces.' He afterwards walked for some time in the garden, with his generals and the rest of the company whom he had invited to dine with him. At one o'clock he sat down to dinner, and his company generally consisted of the princes his brothers, some of his general officers, some of the officers of his regiment of guards, and one or two of his chamberlains. He had no carver, but did the honours of the table himself, like a private gentleman. His table generally consisted of twenty-four covers; and his dinner-time did not much exceed an hour. After dinner he generally conversed with some of his guests for about a quarter of an hour, walking about the room. He then retired into his private apartment, making low bows to his company. He remained in private till five o'clock, when his reader waited on him. His reading lasted about two hours, and this was succeded by a concert, in which he himself was a performer upon the flute, and which lasted till nine. When the concert was over, he was attended by Voltaire, Algarotti, Maupertuis, or some other wits or favourites whom he had invited. With these he supped at half an hour after nine, and his company seldom consisted of more than eight persons, the king himself included. At twelve the king went to bed."

The literary works of Frederick will be at least allowed to shew some industry, when it is stated that they extend, in the most complete edition, to no fewer than twenty-five octavo volumes-quite a wonderful amount of authorship, certainly, for one who led so busy a life, and strikingly illustrative of what may be done by the economical employment even of the merest odds and ends of time; for, compared to the leisure which many a student enjoys, such must

be considered the very few hours every day which were the utmost that Frederick could, by possibility, have given to study. But these works by no means require any apology for their quality on the score of their quantity. They consist of historical, poetical, and philosophical compositions-generally of respectable ability, and several of considerable merit. His poem entitled The Art of War,' his History of his own Times,' that of 'The Seven Years' War,' and his Memoirs of the House of Brandenburgh,' may be especially mentioned as works received into European literature.

It would be easy to select from the catalogue of those who have made the greatest stir in the world, either as conquerors or legislators, or borne the most active and conspicuous parts in any other way in the conduct of human affairs, many other names equally famous in the annals of literature, as in those of war or politics. In former times, indeed, a taste for science or general literature, and a familiarity with it, was somewhat more common among European statesmen, and professional men of all descriptions, than it now is. There is no greater name among those of the statesmen of France than that of the celebrated Duke of SULLY, the writer of the well-known Memoirs, as well as of a variety of other works; and equally distinguished as a soldier, a financier, and an author. This great man used to find time for the multiplied avocations of every day, by the most undeviating economy in the distribution of his hours. He rose all the year round at four o'clock in the morning, and was always ready to appear at the council by seven. His hour of dining was at noon, after which he gave audience to all, without distinction, who sought to be admitted to him. The business of the day was always finished in this way before supper, and at ten he regularly retired to bed. Sully's illus

trious countryman and contemporary, the President DE THOU, affords us another instance of the same sort. During the greater part of his life, De Thou was actively employed, in one capacity or another, in the management of affairs of state; and yet he found time to write one of the greatest and most elaborate historical works in existence, his celebrated 'History of his own times,' extending to one hundred and thirty-eight books, in Latin, beside various poetical pieces in the same language. In our own country, none were ever more mixed up with the political transactions of their times, or led busier lives from their earliest years, than Sir THOMAS MORE, the great BACON, and LORD CLARENDON. And yet these are three of the most eminent writers in our language; and the works of the two latter, particularly, are of considerable extent. We may add to the list the names of JOHN SELDEN and Sir MATTHEW HALE. Both were public men, and necessarily involved in the ceaseless political convulsions of one of the stormiest periods of English history; yet they were two of the most distinguished luminaries both of the law and the literature of their day. Selden's works, embracing many subjects of history, political controversy, and sacred, classical, and English antiquities, have been collected in three large volumes folio. Those of Sir Matthew Hale are also very numerous; and relate to history, divinity, mathematics, and natural philosophy, as well as to several of the most important departments of the learning of his profession. He is said, during many years of his life, to have studied sixteen hours every day. Selden is called the Glory of England by his contemporary, the celebrated Dutch scholar GROTIUS (or Groot), who was himself one of the most remarkable instances on record, of the success with which the cultivation of general lite

rature may be carried on, together with legal and political studies, and even amid the toils and distractions of a public life of unusual bustle and vicissitude. From his sixteenth year, when he first appeared at the bar, till that of his death, at the age of sixty-two, Grotius was scarcely ever released from the burthen of political employment, except while he lay in prison, or, altogether exiled from his country, wandered about from one foreign land to another, in search of a temporary home. Yet, even in these seemingly most unpropitious circumstances, he produced a succession of works, the very titles of which it would require several pages to enumerate, all displaying profound erudition, and not a few of them ranking to this day with the very best, or as the very best, that have been written on the subjects to which they relate. He occupies a respectable place in the poetry of his native language, and a high one among modern Greek and Latin poets. His critical labours in reference to the classical authors of antiquity are immense. In history, beside several other works, he has written one entitled 'The Annals of Belgium,' in eighteen books. Of a variety of theological productions we may mention only his celebrated Treatise on the Truth of Christianity,' one of the most popular books ever written, and which has been translated, not only into almost every language of modern Europe, but even into Greek, Arabic, Persian, and several of the tongues of India. Finally, not to mention his other works in the same department, by his famous treatise on international law, entitled 'On the Law of War and of Peace,' he has established for himself an immortal reputation in jurisprudence, not in his own country merely, but over all Europe, in every part of which the work was received, on its first appearance, with universal admiration, translated, commented upon, and em