dans sa misère. Elle finissait par lui dire que in her misery. She finished by to him telling that Dieu le bénirait pour cette bonne conduite. God him would bless for this good conduct. Le roi, après avoir lu, rentra doucement The king, after to have read, re-entered gently dans sa chambre, prit une bourse de ducats, et la into his room, took a purse of ducats, and it glissa avec la lettre dans la poche du page. slipped with the letter into the pocket of the page. Rentré dans sa chambre, il sonna si fort, Having gone again into his room, he rang so loud, que le se réveilla, et "Tu page that the page himself woke, and entered. "Thou as bien dormi!" lui dit le roi. Le page hast well slept!" to him said the king. The page voulut embarras

s'excuser.

Dans son

entra.

wished himself to excuse. In his embarrassment il mit par hasard la main dans sa poche, et he put by chance the hand into his pocket, and sentit avec étonnement la bourse. Il la tire, felt with astonishment the purse. He it pulls out, pâlit, et regarde le roi, en versant un torturns pale, and looks at the king, in shedding a torrent de larmes, sans pouvoir prononcer une seule rent of tears, without being able to utter a single "Qu'est-ce ?" dit le roi, parole. Qu'as"What is it?" said the king," What hast Ah, Sire," dit le jeune homme, en se thou?" "Ah, Sire," said the young man, himself précipitant à genoux, " on veut me perdre;4 throwing on his knees,"somebody wishes me to lose; je ne sais ce que c'est que cet argent que I (do) not know what it is that this money which

word. tu ?"3

66

(3.) "What is the matter with thee?"

(4.) Perdre, here means, to ruin.

je trouve dans ma poche." "Mon ami," dit I find in my pocket." "My friend," said Frédéric, " Dieu nous envoie souvent le bien Frederic," God to us sends often the blessing while dormant ; envoie cela à ta mère,

en

salue-la we are asleep; send that to thy mother, salute her et assure-la

part,

de ma que j'aurai with my compliments, and assure her that I will soin d'elle et de toi."

have care of her and of thee."

Ce

exposer

lui

grand monarque n'est pas moins connu par That great monarch is not less known by sa popularité que par ses exploits. Les paysans his popularity than by his exploits. The peasants surtout avaient un accès facile auprès de lui, et especially had an access easy near of him, and pouvaient lui présenter leurs mémoires, ou could to him present their petitions, or to him leurs affaires. On demandait à chaque paysan expose their affairs. One asked to each peasant qui entrait a Postdam, s'il venait pour parler that entered (to) Postdam, if he came (for) to speak au roi, et son nom était écrit sur le rapto the king, and his name was written on the report. Si quelque paysan, qui avait déclaré vouloir port. If some peasant who had declared to wish parler, ne paraissait pas, il faisait aussitôt to him to speak, did not appear, he made immedimonter à cheval un hussard, pour aller ately mount on horseback an hussar, for to go s'informer jusqu'à sept ou huit lieux de disto inquire as far as seven or eight leagues of distance, pourquoi il ne s'était pas présenté, tance, why he himself had not presented, and s'il avait été retenu par la timidité ou par quelque if he had been kept by (the) timidity or by some

lui

et

autre motif de cette nature. Le hussard avait ordre other motive of that nature. The hussar had order de l'encourager à revenir. Le prince étant à of him to encourage to return. The prince being at Sans-Souci, aborda un négociant Hollandais, et Sans-Souci, accosted a merchant Dutch, and lui demanda s'il voulait voir le jardin. "Je to him asked if he would see the garden. le verrais avec

"I

plaisir," dit le négociant, it would see with pleasure," said the merchant, "mais on m'a dit que le roi y était.' "but one to me has said that the king there was.” "Ne vous inquiétez pas," reprit Frédéric, "je vous

"Do not be uneasy, replied Frederic," I you

conduirai."

will lead."

Après avoir vu le jardin, le

rien

After to have seen the garden, the négociant voulut donner un pourboire à son merchant wished to give some drink money to his conducteur, qu'il croyait être un des jarconductor, whom he believed to be one of the gardiniers. "Point du tout," lui dit le roi toujours deners. "Not at all," to him said the king still inconnu, "il nous est défendu de unknown, "it to us is forbidden of anything recevoir; si le roi l'apprenait nous serions to receive; if the king it did learn we should be punis." Le Hollandais fit quelques pas, punished." The Dutchman made some steps, et l'on peut juger de son étonnement, lorsqu'il and one may judge of his astonishment, when he eut appris du véritable jardinier que celui had learned from the true gardener that à qui il venait de parler était le roi lui-même. to whom he had just spoken was the king himself.

he

La générosité et la modération de ce moThe generosity and the moderation of that mo

narque ne se démentirent jamais. Faisant

bâtir

narch were always the same. As he was building Sans-Souci, il avait besoin d'un petit champ apSans-Souci, he was in need of a little field bepartenant à un moulin,

longing to a

dont le voisinage mill, of which the neighbourhood était d'ailleurs peu favorable aux méditations was besides little favorable to the meditations roi philosophe. Il fit offrir

d'un

valait.

66

au

of a king philosopher. He caused to offer to the meunier beaucoup au-delà de ce que sa propriété miller much beyond (of) what his property Celui-ci refusa constamment de cewas worth. The latter refused constantly (of) to der sa propriété. Le prince le fit venir, give up his property. The prince sent for him, lui promit, outre un entier dédommagement, un to him promised, beside a full indemnification, a moulin beaucoup plus grand: "Mon grand-père," mill much larger; "My grand-father," répondit l'opiniatre vieillard, a bâti ce answered the obstinate old man, "has built this moulin ; je l'ai hérité de mon père, et mill; I it have inherited from my father, and mes enfants l'hériteront un jour de moi." my children it shall inherit one day from me.” Mais, lui dit le roi, qui voulait éprouver But, to him said the king, who wanted to try la fermeté de son adversaire," Savez-vous que the firmness of his adversary," Do you know that je pourrais avoir votre moulin sans Vous dédomI could have your mill without indemnifying mager?" "Oui," répondit le meunier, "s'il n'y you ?" "Yes," replied the miller, "if there avait pas une chambre de justice à Berlin!" a court of justice in Berlin!" The renvoya en riant, et n'en parla jamais king him sent back laughing, and of it spoke never

was not roi le

Le

depuis ; même le moulin tombant en ruines quelques since; even the mill falling to decay années après, il eut la

some

years after, he had the

générosité de le faire generosity of it making

rebâtir à ses dépens.

rebuild at his own expense.

ner

A

des

ANECDOTE II.

Le Bouffon et le Paysan.
The Buffoon and the Peasant.

fêtes

to

auraient

Un homme extrêmement riche, voulant donman extremely rich, being willing au peuple Romain, progive some entertainments to the people Roman, promit une récompense à tous ceux qui mised a reward to all those who should have quelque chose de curieux à montrer, ou qui pourraient something of curious to show, or who en quelque sorte1 contribuer au divertissement some sort contribute to the du public. Un bouffon se

in

of the public.

could

amusement

présenta,

A buffoon himself presented,

salué

pig:

crut

monta sur le théâtre, et après avoir mounted on the stage, and after to have bowed (to) la compagnie, et fait quelques tours divertissans, il the company, and made some tricks diverting, he se mit à contrefaire le cri d'un petit cochon : himself put to imitate the cry of a little се qu'il fit si bien, que tout le monde that which he did so well, that all the world thought qu'il avait un de caché sous son manteau, that he of them had one of hidden under his cloak, et qu' on le lui fit ouvrir pour voir s' and that people it to him made to open for to see if (1.) "In some measure."

en

(2.) Il se mit, he began.