o in fact came in for the whole of modern
Saxony in the end. Much fighting, too, there was with the Archbishops of
Magdeburg, now that the Wends are down: standing quarrel there, on the
small scale, like that of Kaiser and Pope on the great; such quarrel as
is to be seen in all places, and on all manner of scales, in that era of
the Christian World.

None of our Markgraves rose to the height of their Progenitor, Albert
the Bear; nor indeed, except massed up, as "Albert's Line," and with
a History ever more condensing itself almost to the form of LABEL, can
they pretend to memorability with us. What can Dryasdust himself do
with them? That wholesome Dutch cabbages continued to be more and
more planted, and peat-mire, blending itself with waste sand, became
available for Christian mankind,--intrusive Chaos, and especially Divine
TRIGLAPH and his ferocities being well held aloof:--this, after all, is
the real History of our Markgraves; and of this, by the nature of
the case, Dryasdust can say nothing. "New Mark," which once meant
Brandenburg at large, is getting subdivided into Mid-Mark, into
UCKERmark (closest to the Wends); and in Old Mark and New much is
spreading, much getting planted and founded. In the course of centuries
there will grow gradually to be "seven cities; and as many towns,"
says one old jubilant Topographer, "as there are days in the
year,"--struggling to count up 365 of them.

OF BERLIN CITY.

In the year (guessed to be) 1240, one Ascanier Markgraf "fortifies
Berlin;" that is, first makes Berlin a German BURG and inhabited outpost
in those parts:--the very name, some think, means "Little Rampart"
(WEHRlin), built there, on the banks of the Spree, against the Wends,
and peopled with Dutch; of which latter fact, it seems, the old dialect
of the place yields traces. [Nicolai, _Beschreibung der Koniglichen
Residenzstadte Berlin und Potsdam_ (Berlin, 1786), i. pp. 16, 17 of
"Einleitung." Nicolai rejects the WEHRLIN etymology; admits that the
name was evidently appellative, not proper, "The Berlin," "To the
Berlin;" finds in the world two objects, one of them at Halle, still
called "The Berlin;" and thinks it must have meant (in some language of
extinct mortals) "Wild Pasture-ground,"--"The SCRUBS," as we should call
it.--Possible; perhaps likely.] How it rose afterwards to be chosen for
Metropolis, one cannot say, except that it had a central situation for
the now widened principalities of Brandenb