Castle built by Kaiser Karl IV. He died there, 21st September, 1440;
laden tolerably with years, and still better with memories of hard work
done. Rentsch guesses by good inference he was born about 1372. As I
count, he is seventh in descent from that Conrad, Burggraf Conrad I.,
Cadet of Hohenzollern, who came down from the Rauhe Alp, seeking service
with Kaiser Redbeard, above two centuries ago: Conrad's generation and
six others had vanished successively from the world-theatre in that
ever-mysterious manner, and left the stage clear, when Burggraf
Friedrich the Sixth came to be First Elector. Let three centuries, let
twelve generations farther come and pass, and there will be another
still more notable Friedrich,--our little Fritz, destined to be Third
King of Prussia, officially named Friedrich II., and popularly Frederick
the Great. This First Elector is his lineal ancestor, twelve times
removed. [Rentsch, pp. 349-372; Hubner, t. 176.]

Chapter II. -- MATINEES DU ROI DE PRUSSE.

Eleven successive Kurfursts followed Friedrich in Brandenburg. Of whom
and their births, deaths, wars, marriages, negotiations and continual
multitudinous stream of smaller or greater adventures, much has been
written, of a dreary confused nature; next to nothing of which ought to
be repeated here. Some list of their Names, with what rememberable human
feature or event (if any) still speaks to us in them, we must try to
give. Their Names, well dated, with any actions, incidents, or phases
of life, which may in this way get to adhere to them in the reader's
memory, the reader can insert, each at its right place, in the grand
Tide of European Events, or in such Picture as the reader may have
of that. Thereby with diligence he may produce for himself some faint
twilight notion of the Flight of Time in remote Brandenburg,--convince
himself that remote Brandenburg was present all along, alive after its
sort, and assisting, dumbly or otherwise, in the great World-Drama as
that went on.

We have to say in general, the history of Brandenburg under the
Hohenzollerns has very little in it to excite a vulgar curiosity,
though perhaps a great deal to interest an intelligent one. Had it found
treatment duly intelligent;--which, however, how could it, lucky
beyond its neighbors, hope to do! Commonplace Dryasdust, and voluminous
Stupidity, not worse here than elsewhere, play their Part.

It is the history of a State, or Social Vitality, growing f