“It stands opposite the palace,” said her brother, “and cost more than any other bronze statue in the world.”

“How did you learn that, Hans?”

“The schoolmaster told us so.  He said, too, that it ought to stir the blood of every true German to look at it.  There the great Frederick sits on horseback, wearing the robe in which he was crowned, and looking out from under his cocked hat with his bright, sharp eyes.  That statue alone is enough to make the soldiers who march past it ready to give their lives for their country.”

[Illustration:  Statue of Frederick the Great.]

“He lived when the different kingdoms were separated from each other, and there was no one ruler over all of them.  I know that,” said Bertha.

“Yes, he was the King of Prussia.  And he fought the Seven Years’ War with France and came out victorious.  Hardly any one thought he could succeed, for there was so much against him.  But he was brave and determined.  Those two things were worth everything else.”

“That wasn’t the only war he won, either, Hans.”

“No, but it must have been the greatest.  Did you know, Bertha, that he was unhappy when he was young?  His father was so strict that he tried to run away from Germany with two of his friends.  The king found out what they meant to do.  One of the friends was put to death, and the other managed to escape.”

“What did his father do to Frederick?” Bertha’s eyes were full of pity for a prince who was so unhappy as to wish to run away.

“The king ordered his son to be put to death.  But I suppose he was angry at the time, for he changed his mind before the sentence was carried out, and forgave him.”

“I wonder how kings and emperors live,” said Bertha, slowly.  It seemed as though everything must be different with them from what it was with other people.

“I’ll tell you about Frederick, if you wish to listen.”

“Of course I do, Hans.”

“In the first place, he didn’t care anything about fine clothes, even if he was a king and was born in the grand palace at Berlin.  His coat was often very shabby.

“In the next place, he slept only about four hours out of the whole twenty-four for a good many years.  He got up at three o’clock on summer mornings, and in the winter-time he was always dressed by five, at the very latest.

“While his hair-dresser was at work, he opened his most important letters.  After that, he attended to other business affairs of the country.  These things were done before eating or drinking.  But when they had been attended to, the king went into his writing-room and drank a number of glasses of cold water.  As he wrote, he sipped coffee and ate a little fruit from time to time.

“He loved music very dearly, and sometimes rested from his work and played on his flute.

“Dinner was the only regular meal of the day.  It was served at twelve o’clock, and lasted three or four hours.  There was a bill of fare, and the names of the cooks were given as well as the dishes they prepared.”