“Do you know about East and West Prussia?”

“Yes, papa; that is the country after which Prussia is called Prussia and after which we are all called Prussians.”

“Very good, very good; a little too much Prussia, but that doesn’t matter.  And do you also know the capitals of the two provinces?”

“Yes, papa; Koenigsberg and Danzig.”

“Very good.  I myself have been in Danzig, and came near going to Koenigsberg, too, but something intervened.  Have you ever heard perchance who it was that finally captured Danzig after the brave defense of our General Kalckreuth?”

“No, papa.”

“Well, it is not to be expected.  Very few people do know it, and the so-called higher educated never know it.  Well, it was General Lefevre, a man of rare bravery, upon whom Napoleon later bestowed the title of Duc de Dantzic, spelled with a final c, in which regard the languages differ.  That was in the year 1807.”

“After the battle of Jena?”

“Yes, it may be put that way; but only in the same sense as if you were to say, it was after the Seven Years’ War.”

“I don’t understand, papa.”

“Doesn’t matter.  I mean, Jena was too long ago.  But one might say it was after the battle of Prussian Eylau, a fearfully bloody battle, in which the Russian Guard was almost annihilated, and in which Napoleon, before surrendering, said to his favorite Duroc:  ’Duroc, today I have made the acquaintance of the sixth great power of Europe, la boue.’”

“What does that mean?”

“La boue means the mud.  But one can express it more strongly in German, and I am inclined to think that Napoleon, who, when he felt like it, had something cynical about him, really meant this stronger expression.”

“What is cynical?”

“Cynical—­hm, cynical—­it is a word often used, and one might say, cynical is the same as rough or brutal.  But I presume it may be defined more accurately.  We will look it up later in the encyclopedia.  It is well to be informed about such things, but one does not need to know everything on the spur of the moment.”

Such was the character of the geography lessons, always ending with historical anecdotes.  But he preferred to begin at once with history, or what seemed to him history.  And here I must mention his pronounced fondness for all the events and the persons concerned in them between the siege of Toulon and the imprisonment on the island of St. Helena.  He was always reverting to these persons and things.  I have elsewhere named his favorites, with Ney and Lannes at the head of the list, but in that enumeration I forgot to mention one man, who stood perhaps nearer to his heart than these, namely, Latour d’Auvergne, of whom he had told me any number of anecdotes back in our Ruppin days.  These were now repeated.  According to the new stories Latour d’Auvergne bore the title of the “First Grenadier of France,”