Haha, oh, lol, Carlyle, you never fail to provide entertaining gems even while being infuriatingly unreadable.
So, you know Muller, the pastor at Küstrin? His son got interviewed fifty years later. Carlyle quotes the son:
"'My Father used to say, he found an excellent knowledge and conviction of the truths of religion in the Crown-Prince. [Insert evidence of how devout Fritz was at that point in his life.] Whoever considers this fine knowledge of religion, and reflects on the peculiar character and genius of the young Herr, which was ever struggling towards light and clearness (for at that time he had not become indifferent to religion, he often prayed with my Father on his knees),— will find that it was morally impossible this young Prince could have thought [as some foolish persons have asserted] of throwing himself into the arms of Papal Superstition [seeking help at Vienna, marrying an Austrian Archduchess, and I know not what] or allow the intrigues of Catholic Priests to'— Oh no, Herr Muller, nobody but very foolish persons could imagine such a thing of this young Herr."
So apparently, the marriage project was well enough known that half a century later, some guy who wasn't even there was still trying to convince people Fritz WOULD NEVER.
Me: *is pretty sure Fritz would*
Also: is Carlyle being sarcastic in that last sentence or not? I can't tell without reading him more extensively, and I don't want to read him more extensively. I only cherry-pick from the Fritz bio because it has a gazillion volumes' worth of data.
MT marriage AU
So, you know Muller, the pastor at Küstrin? His son got interviewed fifty years later. Carlyle quotes the son:
"'My Father used to say, he found an excellent knowledge and conviction of the truths of religion in the Crown-Prince. [Insert evidence of how devout Fritz was at that point in his life.] Whoever considers this fine knowledge of religion, and reflects on the peculiar character and genius of the young Herr, which was ever struggling towards light and clearness (for at that time he had not become indifferent to religion, he often prayed with my Father on his knees),— will find that it was morally impossible this young Prince could have thought [as some foolish persons have asserted] of throwing himself into the arms of Papal Superstition [seeking help at Vienna, marrying an Austrian Archduchess, and I know not what] or allow the intrigues of Catholic Priests to'— Oh no, Herr Muller, nobody but very foolish persons could imagine such a thing of this young Herr."
So apparently, the marriage project was well enough known that half a century later, some guy who wasn't even there was still trying to convince people Fritz WOULD NEVER.
Me: *is pretty sure Fritz would*
Also: is Carlyle being sarcastic in that last sentence or not? I can't tell without reading him more extensively, and I don't want to read him more extensively. I only cherry-pick from the Fritz bio because it has a gazillion volumes' worth of data.