Upon reaching the palace, he stood for a moment upon the grand stairway, and, surveying the thronging thousands, took off his hat and saluted them. This gave rise to a burst of applause louder and heartier than Berlin had ever heard before. The king disappeared within the palace. Where the poor neglected queen was at this time we are not informed. There are no indications that he gave her even a thought. At six o’clock in the evening the whole city was illuminated. Frederick entered his carriage, and, attended by his two brothers, the Prince of Prussia and Prince Henry, rode out to take the circuit of the streets. But the king had received information that one of his former preceptors, M. Duhan, lay at the point of death. He ordered his carriage to be at once driven to the residence of the dying man. The house of M. Duhan was situated in a court, blazing with the glow of thousands of lamps. “It was an affecting sight,” says M. Bielfeld, “to see a dying man in the midst of a brilliant illumination, surrounded by princes, and visited by a triumphant monarch, who, in the midst of the incessant clamor of exultation, sought only to alleviate the sick man’s pangs, participating in his distress, and reflecting upon the vanity of all human grandeur.” The king having taken a tender adieu of M. Duhan, who died the next morning, traversed the brilliant streets of the rejoicing city, and returned to the palace about ten that evening. Frederick now entered upon a period of ten years of peace. [Illustration: FREDERICK AT THE DEATH-BED OF M. DUHAN.] [Illustration: SANS SOUCI.] CHAPTER XXIII. FREDERICK THE GREAT AT SANS SOUCI. Days of Peace and Prosperity.--The Palace of Sans Souci.--Letter from Marshal Keith.--Domestic Habits of the King.--Frederick’s Snuff-boxes.--Anecdotes.--Severe Discipline of the Army.-- Testimony of Baron Trenck.--The Review.--Death of the “Divine Emilie.”--The King’s Revenge.--Anecdote of the Poor Schoolmaster.-- The Berlin Carousal.--Appearance of his Majesty.--Honors conferred upon Voltaire. “Happy the people,” says Montesquieu, “whose annals are blank in history books.” The annals of the nations are mainly composed of wars, tumult, and woe. For ten years Prussia enjoyed peace. During this happy period, when the days and the years glided by in tranquillity, there is little left for the historian to record. Frederick engaged vigorously in repairing the ruins left by the war. The burned Silesian villages were rebuilt; debts were paid; agriculture and commerce encouraged; the laws revised and reformed. A decree was issued that all lawsuits should be brought to a decision within a year after their beginning.