ood of Potsdam, and spends the
winter in Berlin.

The castle square is not very good; it is neither large nor regular, and
not even level. On it stands the large church, which is not yet
completed, but promises to be a fine structure. The town is tolerably
large, and has many fine houses. The streets, especially the Nauner
Street, are wide and long, but badly paved; the stones are laid with the
pointed side upwards, and for foot-passengers there is a stone pavement
two feet broad on one side of the street only. The promenade of the
townspeople is called Am Kanal (beside the canal), and is a fine square,
through which the canal flows, and is ornamented with trees.

Of the royal pleasure-palaces I visited that of Sans Souci first. It is
surrounded by a pretty park, and lies on a hill, which is divided into
six terraces. Large conservatories stand on each side of these; and in
front of them are long alleys of orange and lemon-trees.

The palace has only a ground floor, and is surrounded by arbours, trees,
and vines, so that it is almost concealed from view. I could not inspect
the interior, as the royal family was living there.

A side-path leads from here to the Ruinenberg, on which the ruins of a
larger and a smaller temple, raised by the hand of art, are tastefully
disposed. The top of the hill is taken up by a reservoir of water. From
this point one can see the back of the palace of Sans Souci, and the
so-called new palace, separated from the former by a small park, and
distant only about a quarter of an hour.

The new palace, built by Frederick the Great, is as splendid as one can
imagine. It forms a lengthened square, with arabesques and flat columns,
and has a flat roof, which is surrounded by a stone balustrade, and
ornamented by statues.

The apartments are high and large, and splendidly painted, tapestried,
and furnished. Oil-paintings, many of them very good, cover the walls.
One might fill a volume with the description of all the wonders of this
place, which is, however, not inhabited.

Behind the palace, and separated from it by a large court, are two
beautiful little palaces, connected by a crescent-shaped hall of pillars;
broad stone steps lead to the balconies surrounding the first story of
the edifices. They are used as barracks, and are, as such, the most
beautiful I have ever seen.

From here a pleasant walk leads to the lovely palace of Charlottenburg.
Coming from the large new pala