and reverence men of letters. The sons of Apollo and
the Muses, the scholars, the artists and authors, have no more exalted
object than to attain the acknowledgment and consideration of the king
and the hero. Sire, I make you a most profound and grateful reverence.
You have composed a masterly little poem, and when the Cygne des
Saxons shall sing his swanlike song, it will be in honor of the great
Frederick, the Csesar of his time."

"Now, my dear Quintus," said the king, after Gottsched had withdrawn,
"are you content with your great scholar?"

"Sire," said he, "I must sorrowfully confess that the great Gottsched
has covered his head with a little too much of the dust of learning; he
is too much of the pedant."

"He is a puffed-up conceited fool," said the king, impatiently; "and
you can never convince me that he is a great genius. Great men are
modest; they have an exalted aim ever before them, and are never
satisfied with themselves; but men like this Gottsched place themselves
upon an altar, and fall down and worship. This is their only reward, and
they will never do any thing truly great."

"But Gottsched has really great and imperishable merit," said Quintus,
eagerly. "He has done much for the language, much for culture, and for
science. All Germany honors him, and, if the incense offered him has
turned his head, we must forgive him, because of the great service he
has rendered."

"I can never believe that he is a great man, or a poet. He had the
audacity to speak of the golden era of literature which bloomed in
the time of my grandfather, Frederick I., in Germany, and he was so
foolhardy as to mention some German scribblers of that time, whose
barbarous names no one knows, as the equals of Racine, and Corneille,
and even of Virgil. Repeat to me, once more, the names of those departed
geniuses, that I may know the rivals of the great writers of the day!"

"He spoke of Bessen and Neukirch," said Quintus; "I must confess it
savors of audacity to compare these men with Racine and Corneille; he
did this, perhaps, to excite the interest of your majesty, as it is
well known that the great Frederick, to whom all Germany renders homage,
attributes all that is good and honorable to the German, but has a poor
opinion of his intellect, his learning, and his wit."

The king was about to reply, when a servant entered and gave him a
letter from the professor, Gottsched.

"I find, Quintus," said the king, "that my brot