ten
o'clock
Like his august grand - uncle , Frederick II. , the king laid down his crown and the splendor of his position at the gates of the small palace of Sans-Souci , and , at this country-seat , consecrated by so many historical recollections , he was not a king , but a man , a father , and a friend . At Sans-Souci his children gathered around him every evening , and , by their mirth and tender love , endeavored to dispel the clouds from the careworn brow of their father ; at Sans-Souci , Frederick William received the small circle of his intimate friends -- there old General von Kockeritz , Field-Marshal Kalkreuth , Count Dohna , Chancellor von Hardenberg , and the few who had remained faithful to him , were allowed to approach without ceremonial or etiquette . Foreign guests and court visitors , however , were never received at the country palace ; he saw them only in the city of Potsdam , where he transacted government affairs . Thither the king repaired punctually at ten o'clock every morning , where took place the meetings of the cabinet , the consultations with the high functionaries , the audiences given to the foreign ambassadors , and the official levees , and there the king took his dinner in the midst of his family and the officers of his court . But as soon as the clock struck seven he entered his carriage without any attendants , and drove out to Sans-Souci . This had been his invariable habit for many years ; and when the inhabitants of the street leading to his country-seat heard the roll of a carriage at that hour , they said as positively as though they heard the clock striking , `` It is just seven , for the king is driving to Sans-Souci . '' The coachman , as was his habit , as soon as the clock struck six , would harness two horses to the plain carriage which the king always used , and generally drove up to the small side-gate a few minutes to seven o'clock .