ten by Pere Barre."

"He has written a German history as well as a foreigner could write it,"
said Gottsched. "For this purpose he made use of a Latin work, written
by Struve, in Jena. He translated this book--nothing more. Had Barre
understood German, his history would have been better; he would have had
surer sources of information at his command."

"But Barre was of Alsace, and understood German," said Frederick,
eagerly. "But you, who are a scholar, an author, and a grammarian, tell
me, if any thing can be made of the German language?"

"Well, I think we have already made many beautiful things of it," said
Gottsched, in the full consciousness of his own fame. "But you have not
been able to give it any melody, or any grace," said Frederick. "The
German language is a succession of barbarous sounds; there is no music
in it. Every tone is rough and harsh, and its many discords make it
useless for poetry or eloquence. For instance, in German you call
a rival 'Nebenbuhler,' what a fatal, disgusting sound--'Buhler!'"
[Footnote: The king's own words.--Archenholtz, vol. ii., p. 272.]

"Ah, your majesty," said Gottsched, impatiently, "that is also a sound
in the French tongue. You should know this, for no one understands
better, more energetically than yourself, how to circumvent the
'boules!'"

Frederick laughed; and this gay rejoinder of the learned professor
reconciled him somewhat to his puffed-up and haughty self-conceit. "It
is true," said he, "this time you are right; but you must admit that, in
general, the French language is softer and more melodious!"

"I cannot admit it," said Gottsched, fiercely. "I assert that German is
more musical. How harsh, how detestable sounds, for instance, the French
'amour;' how soft and tender--yes, I may say, how characteristic--sounds
the word 'liebe!'"

"Aha!" said the king, "you are certainly most happily married, or you
would not be so enthusiastic about German 'liebe,' which I admit is a
very different thing from French 'amour.' I am, however, convinced that
the French language has many advantages over the German. For instance,
in the French one word may often suffice to convey many different
meanings, while for this purpose several German words must be combined."

"That is true. There your majesty is right," said Gottsched,
thoughtfully. "The French language has this advantage. But this shall
be no longer so--we will change it! Yes, yes--we will reform it
altogether!"