uplicate of this, for the convenience of entry and reference." Now, by
all the gilded buttons on the best coat of the British Ambassador, this
is too bad! and I say as much. "You have nothing of this sort in
England, I suppose?" sneers the clerk-policeman. "No, thank Heaven!" I
exclaim, as I rush home once more to obtain the copy of my certificate.
This is item the third. To a Prussian, all this is a mere matter of
course, yet to such a degree does this home interference extend, that the
_porte cochere_ of our grand house, and the door of every other house in
Jerusalem Strasse, is officially closed at nine o'clock in the evening;
and no man can enter his own residence after that hour without first
applying to the police-watchman, who retains in his keeping, literally
and in fact, the "key of the street."

While on my way to Berlin, I had been frequently warned by Germans,
natives of other states, of the boastful and deceptive character of the
Prussians. Such was the general opinion expressed; and although I never
found them deceptive, the epithet of boastful seemed only too truthfully
bestowed. A Prussian is naturally a swaggerer; but then, unfortunately
for other Germans, who are swaggerers too, the Prussian has something to
boast of. He feels and thinks differently to those around him; for, by
the very impetus of his nature, he stands on a higher position. It is
because Prussia has progressed like a giant, while the rest of Germany
has been lagging behind, or actually losing ground, that every individual
in her now large area seems personally to have aided in the work, and
acts and speaks as if the whole ultimate result depended upon his own
exertions. This naturally leads to exaggeration, both in words and
actions, and your true Berliner figures as a sort of Ancient Pistol, with
more words than he knows properly what to do with, and more pretensions
than he is able to maintain. One striking characteristic of the people
of Berlin is the Franco-mania, which prevails among all classes. This
may be the result of the decided leaning towards France and its
literature, which was evinced by their almost idolised king, Frederick
the Great; but one would think that the events of the last war with
Napoleon must have effectually obliterated that. But, no; in their
language, their literature, their places of public amusement, their
shops, and promenades, French words sound in your ears, or meet your eye
at every turn;