The Court of Berlin had fled from Potsdam so precipitately that all the
treasures which it contained were left for Napoleon and his army, who
took possession on the 26th of October 1809. Buonaparte visited
Frederick’s tomb; where he found his sword, sash, and the badges of
several orders of knighthood. These he took, saying that he preferred
them to all the treasures of the King of Prussia; that he would send
them to the old soldiers who had served in the Hanoverian campaign, and
direct that they should be placed in the _Hotel des Invalides_, as
memorials of the victories achieved by the grand army, and as evidence
of the vengeance it had taken for the disasters of Rosbach.
[Illustration: NAPOLEON AT THE TOMB OF FREDERICK THE GREAT.]