The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-07-30

result: voltaire and Frederick stayed
together eight years and then Woitaire
said he had as soon sit at table OPP
posite q monkey. and went away. I
don't know what became of Bar
barinis but suppose she died of NOR
Prime and cigarettes. Frederick the
Great lived to an old age and died a
suspicious, grouchy, unhappy old
man, loved by no one except his dogs
The park surrounding Sans Souci
palace is a little bit the rnest 1 have
seem It is modelled on Versailles,
near Paris, but is better kept up. Since
France became a republic it has not
been 50 easy to get money to maintain
magnificent park. There are $50
gardeners at Sans Souci. The park
lies on a hillside with the palace at
the top, the slope terraced and covered
with flowers and trees. walks and
drives, statues and fountains. In the
palace are shown the rooms of Vol
taire, the rooms Frederick occupied,
the grand feast room. a. fine gallery of
paintings and statues, most of them
the kind that make Innocent tourists
blush and look the other way. Incl
dentally in one of the gorgeous rooms
is the death bed of another King Fred
erick. forget his number. but he was
relgninR about 1850. He was COM
PEELED by stress of politics to concede
to the people a constitution and a con
gress. which made him so angry that
he went to Sans Souci on a prolonged
champagne drunk, and died with the
delirium tremens. These magnificent
palaces and gorgeous surroundings
might make one think the occupants
had continuous round of pleasure,
but as matter of fact l suppose the
family of the humble gardener has had
more real happiness there in the last
two centuries than the kings and
queens of Prussia.
There are three palaces IN Potsdam-
the town palace or original one the one
At Sans Souci, which Frederick built
for fun, and the largest and finest of all
called the New Palace, which Frederick
built in order to show off After one of
his wars jest was perpetrated at the
court Of France aboJt "tIle pauper king
OF Prussia" It made Frederick 50
wrathy that he built .sse new palace at
a cost of over two million dollars a 4
time when dollars went further than
now. Just where Fred dug up the
money | am not able to state, but I sup
pose he got it by adding q few more
taxes The New Palace is fine struc-
ture ard the present royal family live
there about two-thirds of the year
There are 200 rooms for somebody to
look after. I made a very easy mis-
take. i praised highly the New Palace
and the driver informed me that the
buildings ] was admiring were only the
servants quarters. Such was the fact
for the palace is really a little town of
connected houses and the ones occupied
by the emperor are the finest, of course.
but the ones for the hired help make
anything in the United States look COM
mon.
l was getting tired of palaces by that
time so I enjoyed look at the street
cars-horse cars, if you please in a
royal residence city of 10000 people
And then I thought of the millions and
millions which have been spent and are
being spent in the maintenance of pal
aces and princes and I was mighty glad
that I didn't have TO help pay the bill
except what I contributed as a tourist
about six cents admission fee to each
palace. I am told the government would
not charge admission to palaces and
public buildings except to keep out the
people who would be visiting them all
the time. But the people paid for them
and ought to see them The emperor
gets salary of four and a half mil
lion dollars year and expenses, and he
is a rich man by inheritance. I have no
kick on Emperor Bill. He is all right
So long as the Germans want an en-
peror he is just the man for the place
But they could find plenty Of men in
Kansas who would do just as well and
would be willing to serve at consider
able reduction of salary
". 7. MOI. AN.