Frederick the Great discussion post 9

[cahn]

...I leave you guys alone for one weekend and it's time for a new Fritz post, lol!

I'm gonna reply to the previous post comments but I guess new letter-reading, etc. should go in this one :)

Frederick the Great links

Comments

A couple of logistics questions

[cahn]

1. Mildred, can I link your Fritzian library at the link post? Wanted to ask before I did that. I guess one needs permission but I could put in a note to ask you about that :)

2. I've been wondering: should we make a DW community? I should say that I definitely do not mind At All hosting it on this DW! (I feel like one of those French salon people :D ) I was just thinking it might make it slightly easier for e.g. other people to find our discussions? (Although I suppose iberiandoctor got sucked in because it's here and not in a community, so there's that :D )

Re: A couple of logistics questions

[mildred_of_midgard]

1. Hmm. I've been thinking about that. If the contents were entirely public domain, I wouldn't mind. But a couple files are not, and I'm iffy. I suppose I could move those into a different folder shared with just you two, and make the rest publicly available (and read-only). It could be like the Hogwarts library, with a restricted section.

(Btw, your links post is missing posts 6-9. I suppose you could just link to the tag now that there is one?)

2. Re the community, I'm leaning toward keeping things here for several reasons:
a) Keeping everything in one place, since we can't import our existing 9 posts.
b) I don't feel like DW communities are so active that a niche topic like this is going to get much more activity than it would get just from the three of us telling our respective followers about it? I could be wrong.
c) We have a really good alchemy and momentum going here that I'm reluctant to mess with, unless there's something specific about this environment that other people are finding a problem. It's really working for me.

But if the team votes for a migration, I will follow you along and may even end up grateful, who knows. :) (I am currently grateful my wife at the last minute talked me out of the place we almost moved to this year and into a different place.)

(I feel like one of those French salon people :D )

I feel like I called you our salon hostess at one point! Or if I didn't, I certainly thought about it. And selenak is obviously our reader, and we have a royal patron. That just leaves me. The librarian? Making information available is turning out to be my superpower. :D

[mildred_of_midgard]

Well, don't leave us alone for a weekend! We missed you! (Your v. secret diary contribution was amaaaaazing, though.)

[selenak]

Seconding this! You are our Madame Recamier, or if we want to stay in Berlin, Rahel von Varnhagen. <3

I'm cool with either a DW community (do we call it Rheinsberg or Cirey?) or you continuing to host; you are the gracious hostess who has to decide, I think. :)

Toppings of all types, continued

[selenak]

Replying to Mildred’s awesome “who’s topping” dissection of our antihero’s love and sex life here.

So: can’t find anything to disagree with re: your reading of the five people in question (and yes, definitely praise kink with Voltaire); the Algarotti/Orzelska parallel in what each experience made Fritz realise works for me, too.

A couple of addendums, though:

1. What, if anything, is going on with the batmen and pages? I know you’ve said in the past that it’s basically just Fritz liking to look and some flirting, and Voltaire certainly insinuates that for all the “harem” taunts there wasn’t much sexual action beyond maybe some petting. But then Voltaire is trash talking at that point and out to hurt. The thing is, though: never mind the power differential with everyone else, it’s really starkest here. And at least according to court gossip as rendered by Lehndorff, who is somewhat more reliable than Voltaire in repeating Fritz related gossip without putting a personal agenda slant on it, the court seems to be under the impression that Marwitz and Glasow were both people Fritz favoured with more than the occasional pinch in the cheek and a reasonable salary. Glasow was at least trusted enough to be made valet post Fredersdorf (though of course without all of Fredersdorf’s other responsibilities) and to come with Fritz on the Netherlands trip. Marwitz was part of a sibling power game with Heinrich, yes, but since he was yo-yoing in and out of favour for a while thereafter, there must have been a bit more attraction? And then of course there’s Trenck, the charismatic nutter. Who did get promoted rather quickly, and punished so much over the top-way that really the only reason why I don’t think Fritz did anything undeniable with him was that Trenck would have been constitionably unable to shut up about it later.

2. I therefore offer the possibility that low sex drive or not, he might have had some fantasies, not related to emotional intimacy - which I don’t think he sought with any of the above, though for as long as it lasted he had some trust in them - which involved having these good looking specimens at his disposal and under his control. Maybe he just orderd them to give him massages, but I do think there may have been something more than looking going on. (Though in deniable, not explicitly sexual ways, because otherwise, see above.)

3. Not completeley unrelated: Heinrich seems to have had a strong sex drive. And that must have felt like the road not taken, occasionally. Now considering FW’s opinion on royals who spend money on “whores” and Fritz’ lording it over Louis XV, I bet Heinrich’s tendency to pick the male equivalent of expensive mistresses, go through major relationship drama and in most cases end in new debts and minus a boyfriend made Fritz feel superior, and it wasn’t like he would have changed places, but... it’s also true that Heinrich‘s guys had a similar profile to those batmen mentioned above. (And of course in at least one case overlap.) (BTW, since we‘re exchanging headcanons: contemporaries were sure that Heinrich‘s boyfriends did the topping, though that might mostly be because he was small and they were tall. Not Potsdam Giant tall, but unsurprisingly all taller than tiny Heinrich. My own assumption is that most of them did top physically and he was into that, but also that he topped emotionally in the majority of cases, not least because while he put up with a great deal from his favourites, he was usually the one who did the dumping. Also because if you‘re involved in an ongoing push-pull emotional power struggle with your brother anyway, you‘re more likely to want to be emotionally in control in your love/sex life.) ETA: isn‘t that called a „pushy bottom“ inn fandom? Sounds like Heinrich to me.

Re: Toppings of all types, continued

[mildred_of_midgard]

1. Voltaire certainly insinuates that for all the “harem” taunts there wasn’t much sexual action beyond maybe some petting. But then Voltaire is trash talking at that point and out to hurt.

Really, though? Because I thought he implied that Fritz was bottoming for his pages, that's what the "secondary role" was all about. At least other historians have taken it that way, have pointed out that he was trash-talking and out to hurt, and have pointed out the hemorrhoids. I mean, insinuating that the king is a bottom, and a bottom for his social inferiors, is WAY more slanderous than insinuating that he pets some pretty boys.

the court seems to be under the impression that Marwitz and Glasow were both people Fritz favoured with more than the occasional pinch in the cheek and a reasonable salary

Wow, a reasonable salary! :P His batman/page/I forget Claus gets included in the list too, especially based on some of the letters to Fredersdorf (if I'm recalling correctly).

I agree gossip had Fritz sexually active, but I think they were overestimating his sex drive. Not least because, as you point out, if Trenck didn't talk, nothing happened for him to talk about, and if it didn't happen with him, it probably didn't happen with the others either. But Fritz reacted similarly to the betrayals or alleged defections of both, and his fantasies may have played a role in the intensity of his reactions.

2. I agree 100% about the fantasies. I didn't mean to exclude that when I said "just likes to look," like the looking was aesthetic or something. I meant in terms of action, there's probably not much more than looking happening.

Inside Fritz's head? The thing about having a low sex drive is that it's not mutually exclusive with having an active sexual fantasy life. And power trips, especially when you have control issues but even when you don't, can feed heavily into sexual fantasies. I absolutely believe Fritz was getting off, figuratively and/or literally, on the idea of having charismatic pretty boys at his disposal.

3. contemporaries were sure that Heinrich‘s boyfriends did the topping

Wait, what? Which contemporaries? Lehndorff (or his sources)? Gossipy sensationalists demand quotes!

My own assumption is that most of them did top physically and he was into that, but also that he topped emotionally in the majority of cases

Makes perfect sense to me and fits pretty well with what I was imagining.

Dueling

[mildred_of_midgard]

Okay, so this happened, and then I produced some crackfic, and then I thought it should go here.

selenak's comment:
What is she fighting for? She wants boring men to leave her alone and let her read books. <3

Best reason to duel ever. And yes, if not for his misogyny and his regarding her as his romantic rival, Fritz could have totally sympathized. Mind you, do we really want to encourage him to fight duels? Émilie might have been content with just disarming her opponent, but Fritz? I fear it would end in him first writing a pamphlet about why duels are old fashioned and stupid, and then proceeding to slicing up the first person who makes the mistake of accepting a challenge.

Trufax: Lehndorff, with the usual WTF? of disbelief while watching as a groundling, notes in the middle of the Voltaire vs Maupertuis (vs Fritz) disaster, that Maupertuis challenged Voltaire to a duel. Not one of wits, a real fencing duel.

My reply:

I fear it would end in him first writing a pamphlet about why duels are old fashioned and stupid, and then proceeding to slicing up the first person who makes the mistake of accepting a challenge.

AHAHAHAHAAAAA *dies*

Are you kidding me? This, I *have* to see! :P

Trufax: Lehndorff, with the usual WTF? of disbelief while watching as a groundling, notes in the middle of the Voltaire vs Maupertuis (vs Fritz) disaster, that Maupertuis challenged Voltaire to a duel. Not one of wits, a real fencing duel.

Yup. And per my secondary sources, Maupertuis was extremely sick and coughing up blood at the time, but he felt he had to defend his honor even though he was in no shape to do so.

...Still not sure he wouldn't have won. Voltaire was no great shakes himself, in terms of physical conditioning or health.

Fritz would attack before the other person was ready, win, then write pamphlets defending himself. When he was invited to be someone's second, he would make an agreement with the opposite side and leave the principal stranded.

Eventually, people would realize that it needed to be three-on-one to counter his double-dealing. After starting the attack on a noncombatant second when nobody was ready, Fritz would spend most of his time trying to keep his opponents from joining forces. Eventually, after everyone was staggering around with blood streaming into their eyes, hardly able to see what was going on, one of his opponents would succumb to her gaping wound. Her second would step in, but so impressed by the fact that Fritz (with Heinrich as his reluctant second, natürlich) was still going, he would start attacking his former allies, shifting the terms of combat to two on two.

At the end of the day, everyone would be carried off the field on stretchers. Fritz would declare victory on the grounds that he was still alive. Nobody would be in a condition to argue. One of his opponents' seconds would come to visit him in the hospital bringing flowers and a get-well-soon card, but would make the mistake of challenging him to a duel later in life.

Fritz and Heinrich would stop quarreling long enough to heave a mutual great sigh and look at each other. "Fine." "Fine."

In unison: "Bring it on, kid."

cahn or iberiandoctor or anyone else who may be lurking, let me know if you need any of the historical parallels made explicit.

Re: Dueling

[selenak]

En garde! Yes, that‘s totally how it would go if Fritz took up dueling.

Re: Maupertuis vs Voltaire, Lehndorff‘s precise entry on April 15th is: Maupertuis‘ folly reaches new heights as he challenges Voltaire to a duel. The later answers through a lovely letter which makes one burst with laughter; it is even more biting than his „Akakia“.

(It should be added that generally, Lehndorff likes Maupertuis better, and certainly thought he was more in the right when the whole disaster gets rolling, but at this point has passed the WTF stage and reached the pop corn munching stage.)

Fritzian library

[mildred_of_midgard]

Okay, if I haven't made any mistakes:

1) You should both have access to the Fritzian Library - Restricted Section.
2) The link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sWCLDZ2X8-jWKK3bYMtfNgbrUGMuYwlp?usp=sharing should work for anyone to view the main library, without having to ask permission.
3) You two (but no one else) should have edit access to the library, in case you want to upload new items or fix any weirdnesses that may be bugging you in the machine-translated correspondence. The one thing I've fixed so far is having Fritz and Suhm walk under the beech trees and elms instead of the beech trees and abalones, lol.

I don't know if you have access to delete, but it goes without saying, I trust you not to. I've created backup copies in a separate, private folder, because accidents happen. (Because Google Drive doesn't make it easy to copy a folder, you may have gotten per-item notifications; sorry for the spam if so.)

My criteria for the Restricted Section are recently published, largely original, monograph-length works. Journal articles, largely unoriginal works (e.g. translations of 18th century documents), or long-ago published works are freely available.

If you run into any permissions problems, let me know. Otherwise, enjoy!

Btw, I did work in a library once, long ago. :) Happy to be royal librarian in our fandom!

Re: Fritzian library

[mildred_of_midgard]

Updates from the royal librarian:

1) Political correspondence to AW, Heinrich, and Ulrike up through September 1761 (1758 for AW, obvs) has been uploaded. After September 1761, it gets a lot trickier.

2) Deleted some duplicate files.

3) Swapped out a nearly unreadable copy of Lavisse's Youth of Frederick for a more readable one.

Enjoy!

Franz Stephan and the Free Masons, continued

[selenak]

Is there evidence that FS was active in the community after that? I know not everyone obeyed the pope, but it would be an interesting bit of characterization if he didn't.

I don't remember from the two MT biographies whether there was something. According to the German language free mason Websites, after his initiation:


During his stay in England, he attended a lodge in Houghton Hall with Grand Master Lord Lovell (between 4 and 11 November), and on Friday, 4 December 1731, he visited the Masonic Lodge in the Devil's Tavern (Devils Tavern near Temple Bar) and received the Master's degree from the Norwich "Maid's Head Lodge" in the country house of the great statesman Walpole in Norfolk. He left England on 9 December.

These are the reliably ascertainable data on the Masonic activity of the Lothringer. The fact that the Hamburg brothers greeted him on the occasion of his imperial coronation with a poem by their brother Alardus is proof that he was honoured as a brother in the circle of brothers. Likewise, that for a long time the English Grand Lodge still issued the health of the brother Lorraine as an official drinking motto. A lodge was also named after him.

What else is reported about his mooring activity is undocumented. He is said to have stopped the Masonic persecutions triggered by the papal cops in Tuscany. He is not mentioned in the files of the Vienna Loge Aux Trois Canons. It probably belongs to the field of invention that he held lodge in the Vienna Hofburg and that Maria Theresa, out of jealousy and female curiosity, had the lodge "Aux trois canons" blown up.

It was repeatedly claimed and also portrayed in a romantic and dramatic way (Sacher-Masoch and others) that Maria Theresa, dressed as a man, had been involved in the lifting of the lodge. The fact that the high dignitaries and officers arrested in this act of violence got away with very light punishment gets attributed to his influence. Maria Theresa knew that her husband was Mason. This has not prevented her from issuing sharp lestes against Freemasonry after the papal decree. Francis of Lorraine is also said to have softened the punishment of Prague's aristocratic and high traitors. Here, too, doubts are justified, because Maria Theresa has also shown leniency in the rebellious Upper Austria with political wisdom without anyone tributing this to either the masons or her husband.

and about the Free Mason in Austria in general.

In 742, the first lodge on Austrian soil, "Aux Trois Canons", began its work in Vienna. The language of the upscale stalls, especially if one had something exclusive and discreet to share, was French: the Trois Canons are not three cannons, but the three rules of conduct that are strongly recommended to every seeker when recording: " Recognize yourself!" - "Master yourself!" - "Refine yourself!"

"Aux Trois Canons" was established in Vienna in 1742 from Wroclaw and after six months already had 49 members. As we can see on the much later painting "Mozart in the Lodge", clergy (here prelate and monk) were quite present at the works - the papal damnation was obviously intended above all to prevent one's own staff from being free-thinking and in-house. religiously tolerant.

Until the end of the century, this threat had had little effect. A number of lodges were built in the cities, but also on many castles such as Rosenau. They did not all belong to the one association that was recognized as "regular" by the Grand Lodge of England. There were established here as in the whole of Europe, different high-degree systems. These are communities that, building on the three Masonic degrees of apprentice, journeyman and master, continued to celebrate the most diverse "deepenings" and "increases" (by title).
In 1776, when the Illuminati wanted to develop the very core of Freemasonry into an order of virtue and reason, with the noble intention of impermeing the whole social and political life ideologically in such a way that no further exercise of power was necessary, the effect was felt. This spirit also extends to Viennese Freemasonry. In that time of the High Enlightenment, the Lodge Zur True Concord under its master of the chair Ignaz of Born formed an intellectual spearhead. Following the example of the Royal Society (which has shaped many London lodges), the weekly 'works' dealt with all sorts of concerns of science, history (including Egyptian mysteries), the state and morality. The intellectual charisma of these lodge meetings was so strong that the Emperor Joseph II, who was inclined to the Enlightenment in itself, but nevertheless absolutist, was prompted to issue a 'patent' in 1785. Freemasonry is not prohibited here, but its independence is so limited that after the merging of the various lodges in Vienna into only two, and the prohibition of all 'angle' and castle lodges as well as all international connections, of the initially about 1000 Freemasons only about 300 remained. Mozart, by the way, remained loyal to the Confederation until his death in 1791. In 1793, the lodges themselves decided to disband.

Rokoko Dragon Sickness or: Better stay away from rings of power as a Hohenzollern

[selenak]

I mean, we've seen Fritz without power and Fritz with power, we've seen Heinrich without power...we haven't seen Heinrich with power, but I'm with Tolkien that handing anyone the Ring of Power and telling them to use it isn't a good idea. "Other self" and all that. Moderately less abusive childhood works in his favor, but that's about it.

Quite. Also, we do have canonical proof of Heinrich doing the same kicking down thing Fritz does in pretty much the same way in one particular regard, i.e. their respective treatments of their wives, i.e. the one people entirely in their social power who also symbolize to them their submission to the King's will in a way they perceive as violation of their personal ives. As Fritz lives with EC for a few years in Rheinsberg in what looks like a good arrangement from the outside - he doesn't ever pretend to be in love with her, but he gives the impression of getting along with her and appreciating her efforts on his behalf towards FW - so Heinrich during the 1750s gives the impression of getting along with his unwanted wife reasonably well - he even shops for her on occasion, they do social events together and otherwise keep out each other's way, while AW and Ferdinand flirt with Mina and thus provide harmless romantic courtship Heinrich won't even pretend to offer but is okay with his brothers offering, though in AW's case this intensifies somewhat to "totally would if she wasn't my sister-in-law". (AW even tells Lehndorff as much when he's got less than a month to live, and that's when he alters his will to "Mina should raise my kids and gets my engagement ring".)

...and in both cases, we get the turnaround after a key event - Fritz ascending to the throne and having no more father to please, AW dying and the 7 Years War experience for Heinrich - to cutting the unasked for wife out of their lives in any way they can, with some thrown in petty cruelty now and then. (EC having to ask whether or not she's allowed to attend events with five courtiers Amalie and Mom go to with 45 - and even when future FW2 gets married to her niece and namesake, she doesn't know whether or not she's allowed to go to the engagement party until literally the evening before because Fritz doesn't bother answering her enquiries and Fredersdorf isn't there anymore to make him -, the infamous "Madame has grown more corpulent" to her in front of everyone after the war, Mina getting her staff exchanged and having to remind Heinrich again and again of her budget when the boyfriends get the money thrown after.)

Of course, other than Mina, Heinrich has a pretty good track record of not punching down as stress relief and trauma dealing, what with the going out of his way to help civilians in occupied territory, treat prisoners well and keep the risks to his own men as low as he can. But that's Heinrich with the ever present example of Fritz to react against, not with a ring of power in his possession and no one above him anymore. I can't make up my mind, btw, as to whether he really wanted to become king. (Well, other than in the case of (not) becoming King of America. I'm still wondering how Steuben was planning to sell that one to Congress if Heinrich had said yes. "Guys, I've just had a vision of the future, and if we don't go for constitutional monarchy, we'll end up with an orange blob as President. So, here's what I'm thinking: how about the cousin of the guy we just got rid of, who has never been here, so won't be partisan, is gay like me, so won't found a dynasty, and who's really into French so might want to change that into our offficial language?

(BTW: not sure how well Heinrich spoke English, if at all, but he read the collection of Lady Mary's letters from Turkey - doesn't say whether in the original English or in translation -, found them lifely and very informative, and reccommends them to Big Brother in one of their old age letters.)

Anyway: so he didn't want to become King of America. Would he have wanted to become King of Poland? Or of Wallachia, which was what Catherine was offering? Since we don't know whether that was her idea or his before she asked Fritz, we'll never know. And with Prussia itself, he definitely had no shortage of ideas of how it should be governed, both in Fritz' day and in FW2's day, but the impression I got was that the role he wanted was Trusted (and listened to) Advisor, not monarch on the throne. I could be wrong, of course.

Re: Rokoko Dragon Sickness or: Better stay away from rings of power as a Hohenzollern

[mildred_of_midgard]

the impression I got was that the role he wanted was Trusted (and listened to) Advisor, not monarch on the throne. I could be wrong, of course.

Yeah, I don't think either Heinrich or Fritz was power-hungry in the sense of being eager to acquire power. Digging through my memory, I'm failing to come up with any evidence that Crown Prince Fritz was in a big hurry to be king and take over ruling, as opposed to for Dad to die so the abuse could stop. When FW did die, Fritz is supposed to have said (to Fredersdorf, I think), "Now the fun times end."

But once *given* power, Fritz's control issues (plus I think FW's model of kingship, which should not be underestimated, even his political testament is like "Make sure you single-handedly control everything important") take over, and he's not willing to *share* power, or to be especially chill while exercising it. I keep coming back to Tolkien, but this is exactly what he was getting at: easy to avoid acquiring power, very hard to give it up, and equally hard to avoid abusing it.

So how would Heinrich have reacted, in the AU where he's the older brother in 1740, or where Glasow's poisoning attempt is successful and he becomes regent? One wonders.

And yes, Mina is an interesting data point, thank you for pointing that out.

Guys, I've just had a vision of the future, and if we don't go for constitutional monarchy, we'll end up with an orange blob as President. So, here's what I'm thinking: how about the cousin of the guy we just got rid of, who has never been here, so won't be partisan, is gay like me, so won't found a dynasty, and who's really into French so might want to change that into our offficial language?

AHAHAHA, but what's not to like? :D

Legacies

[selenak]

Also worth transporting over from the last post, to recapitulate, FW statements to Hans Heinrich von Katte re: the later's son while Hans Heinrich, after having dutifully notified his sovereign (while crossing his fingers Hans Herrmann has already made it out of there), is petitioning for mercy, as summarized by Klosterhuis and yours truly:

his son is a villain, so is mine; it's not the fathers's fault - first reaction in August

"We are both of us to pity, but if all this blood is no good, one opens a vein. It is not our fault." September 24th, in reaction to Hans Heinrich's petition. At this point, both Fritz and Hans Herrmann are on trial if I remember correctly, this is before the tribunal passes back the responsibility for Fritz to FW.

November, month of Hans Herrmann's execution: I am heartily sorry, but both justice and necessity demand for your son's crime to be properly punished. As the later was an officer of a regiment which is especially attached to my house and still did not hesitate to conspire in plots directed against the country and its people, I was forced to punish him in order that others may not follow his example and commmit similar crimes. I commiserate with you as a father, but hope you will collect yourself as a reasonable man, and will not prefer compassion to justice, to the welfare of the entire country, and to my quiet state of mind.

cahn:
>:( GAAAAAAH FW. Clearly writing REALLY TERRIBLE condolence letters runs in the family. "Sorry I killed your kid, but get over yourself, my state of mind is more important, right? RIGHT??"

mildred_of_midgard:

ZOMMGGG I had missed that! Good catch! Wow. Wow. I think we found the gene for that. :P (...)

But "I gratuitously killed your son in the face of the official verdict and the pleas from other heads of state, but please stop sending me upsetting letters, ffs."

Wow.

selenak: No kidding. It's also incredibly imprinting on Prussian mentality. I mean, Heinrich von Kleist's last drama, Der Prinz von Homburg, just three quarters of a century later, from which I picked the last line as homage in Fiat Justitia" for Katte to say - "Into dust with all the enemies of Brandenburg" - has a plot which is both very specifically Kleist screwed up and Prussian mentality screwed up, directly reflecting FW's legacy. To specify:

Kleist (Prussian noble, very talented, very messed up, will commit a shared suicide not too long after this last drama) has a thing for key events happening when people are asleep:

Kätchen von Heilbronn: Heroine and hero meet each other when heroine is sleep walking and showing up in hero's bedroom.

Die Marquise von O.: Heroine gets nearly raped soldier, saved by officer from rape, faints, a few months later finds out she's pregnant, turns out officer had sex with her while she was subconscious and tried to get himself killed thereafter, being repentant, the two end up married.

Phenthesileia: in a direct reverse to the Greek myth, Phentesieia the Amazon Queen killes Achilles (though she did fall in love with him. Then she starts to eat him with her dogs, I kid you not. "Küsse, Bisse, das reimt sich."

(Young Heinrich von Kleist to middle aged Goethe: Plz stage my play? Goethe: *reads Penthesiliea* Goethe: Nope.)

Prinz Friedrich von Homburg: To quote the wiki summary, slightly adjust by yours truly as there were some mistakes:

Action takes place at Fehrbellin and in Berlin, 1675. The Prince of Homburg, a young officer of the Great Elector (Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg), is exhausted after a long campaign. Walking in his sleep, he puts on a laurel wreath. Several noblemen notice this, and the Great Elector plays a trick on the Prince, which leads him to declare his love for the Elector's niece, Natalie. He is able to take one of her gloves. After waking from his dream the Prince is puzzled by the glove in his hand. When at the next council of war the plans for the next battle are being discussed, and duties are being handed out, the Prince is thrown into confusion by the appearance of Princess Natalie, who reveals herself as the owner of the glove, and he is distracted to the extent that he fails to take on board his orders, which are not to engage the enemy without a direct order to do so. Contrary to his instructions he attacks the enemy at the Battle of Fehrbellin – and wins.
The Elector however is concerned above all with discipline. Regardless of the victory, he has the Prince arrested for disobeying an order and tried at a court martial, where the Prince is condemned to death. He fails initially to grasp the seriousness of the situation, and starts to be truly concerned only when he hears that the Elector has signed his death warrant. The reality of his situation only hits home when he is shown the grave that has been dug for him. In the famous and controversial "fear of death scene" (Todesfurchtszene) the Prince begs for his life, prepared to give up all that is dear to him in return. When the Elector hears of the Prince's reaction, he too is confused, possibly astonished, but claims to have the greatest respect for the Prince's feeling. Instead of simply pardoning him, however, he sets a condition: if the Prince can genuinely call his condemnation unjust, he will be pardoned. The question raises the Prince to a state of enlightenment: he conquers his fear of death and is prepared to "glorify" the sentence by a suicide. It remains debatable whether he really considers his sentence justified. Nor does it ever come to light to what extent the Elector may have planned all this to teach him a lesson.
Meanwhile, Natalie, without a legitimate order, has recalled Kottwitz's regiment to obtain support for Homburg's pardon. In the face of the general pressure now put on him, the Elector now listens to his officers. Kottwitz is of the opinion that what counts on the field of battle is victory, and that there is nothing with which to reproach the Prince. Hohenzollern goes further and attributes the guilt to the Elector, as he caused the Prince's confusion and consequent insubordination by the trick he played on him, and therefore bears the responsibility himself. Finally the Elector asks the officers if they are happy to continue to trust themselves to the Prince's leadership – to which all say yes.
The Prince learns nothing of his pardon, but is led blindfolded into the open air, in the belief that he is about to be executed. But there is no bullet: instead, the niece of the Elector crowns him with a laurel wreath. The prince faints, then awakes to the thunder of canons. To his question whether this is a dream, Kottwitz replies, "A dream, what else" ("Ein Traum, was sonst"). The officers cry "Into dust with all the enemies of Brandenburg!"

(Der Prinz von Homburg: Nein, sagt! Ist es ein Traum?
Kottwitz: Ein Traum, was sonst?
Mehrere Offiziere: Ins Feld! Ins Feld!
Graf Truchß: Zur Schlacht!
Feldmarschall: Zum Sieg! Zum Sieg!
Alle: In Staub mit allen Feinden Brandenburgs!)


Let me add here that Kleist had what historical basis there is for this actually from "Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de la maison de Brandebourg“ by Fritz, but the story Fritz tells of the battle of Fehrbellin 1675 is just that Prince Friedrich von Hessen-Homburg interfered in the battle ahead of orders and won it anyway. Anything else is made up by Kleist. And all this agreeing to your own death and that the monarch who condemns you arguing necessity of state despite everyone else disagreeing, that's definitely the Prussian mentality as formed by FW and continued, if slightly altered, by Fritz.

Re: Legacies

[cahn]

Phenthesileia: in a direct reverse to the Greek myth, Phentesieia the Amazon Queen killes Achilles (though she did fall in love with him. Then she starts to eat him with her dogs, I kid you not. "Küsse, Bisse, das reimt sich."

On one hand, I like the reversal! On the other hand... my takeaway is that Kleist might, uh, need some help. Which is also how I feel about the synopsis of Prinz Friedrich von Homburg, to be honest! Wow. Although it also sounds totally fascinating and some of it is sort of disturbingly resonant with me.

Brotherly Conduct I: The Prelude

[selenak]

Since imo if there's a radio active core at the bottom of the hateship Fritz/Heinrich, it's what happened with AW more than Fritz' behavior in war (though the two are connected), I thought I might present some collected details from the letters Mildred made available and those Ziebura made available. With the Greeks, before every tragedy, there is a farce. The tragedy happens in 1757/1758, the farce happens in the summer of 1749.

In the June of 1749, Fritz has an attack of gout, is in a bad mood. Heinrich's regiment is exercising in Potsdam. Fritz notices that there are some recruits who are short of the minimum height of 5 ft 5 inches. (Feet and inches given in Ziebura, not metres.) Without talking to Heinrich - and thus giving him the opportunity to deal with this himself - he appoints Colonel Kaspar Friedrich von Rohr as new commander with the order "to finally bring order into this sloppy regiment". He accuses Heinrich of not having taken care of his regiment, thus giving his officers the chance to hire unfitting people to fill in for deserters.

"I thought it was fitting to put rules in your regiments because they were getting lost", writes Fritz to Heinrich. " I am not accountable to you for my actions. If I made changes, it was because they were appropriate. You will have to do a lot to change your conduct; but I intend to explain myself another time in this matter. That is all I have to say to you for the present. I am, my brother, your brother."

Heinrich is furious and offers to quit the army. ("Since the last signs of vivacity you've given me, I would act very carelessly if I were to lose sight of you", comments Fritz.)

The entire AW-Heinrich correspondance is lost, but we have the letters from all the brothers to Ferdinand and his to them. Ferdinand writes to AW about this and blames Fritz' mood, says everyone in Potsdam is suffering from it and that several officers have asked for their resignation. He himself is glad he got a regiment in Ruppin and thus can get the hell away from Big Bro. Even Winterfeldt - one of Fritz' favourite generals, later to play an important role in AW's downfall , and otherwise in a state of mutual dislike with Heinrich - in this case was siding with Heinrich because he thought this wasn't about some recruits missing a few inches, it was about Fritz feeling the need to humble his brother.

AW the professional family mediator who until then has had only positive experiences with Big Bro and is Heinrich's favourite brother decides to mediate. Bad idea, AW. He tells Heinrich that even if he feels badly treated, he's the younger, Fritz is King, Heinrich ought to apologize first. Heinrich doesn't think so. Then AW tries Fritz. Surely this is all the work of evil rumor mongers because he can't imagine Fritz wanting to humiliate their brother by transfering the regiment command without even offering the chance to explain, let alone justify. Could not Fritz, the Solomon of the North, give Heinrich the chance to either explain and justify himself or to apologize? (Bear in mind that Heinrich according to Ferdinand has no intention to apologize.)

Fritz is not impressed: The matter with Heinrich, says he, is known to AW only via Heinrich. (Not true, btw, see above re: Ferdinand and Winterfeldt.) "You believe blindly everything he tells you. I hope that at least this time, you'll reduce the marvellous bias you have in his favour somewhat." Heinrich is a slob, and Rohr had to be appointed to clean up the regiment. "Heinrich is your idol, your blind friendship for him doesn't let you recognize his faults. I love him as a brother, but I'd regret it if he doesn't improve in all the regards I've told him about. I was not acting out of an impulse, or to throw my weight around. Only his bad conduct is at fault."

AW replies on July 19th 1749: "I am sad about the unflattering idea you have of your brothers. The portrait you draw of Heinrich is very disadvantagous. You ascribe a character to him which I, for one, never saw him exhibit, and myself you believe to be so limited in my perception as to be blinded and fooled by him. "

Fritz replies the same day: "As you take Heinrich's part, I won't talk to you any further about this. Please understand the things I tell you literally and don't seek for hidden meaning in my simple words."

Not to AW, at any rate. Instead, he orders Heinrich to him to Potsdam. No witnesses to this chat, but the results are reported by Fritz to AW on August 5th, and have ended up in the political correspondance because: "I have news this time which I think will be pleasant to you. Peace has been concluded and ratified between Henri and me."

The conditions for the peace: Heinrich gets his regiment back - and agrees to marry at the King's convenience.

"My dear brother, I am delighted to see you think so wisely about your own interests", writes Fritz.

Now, everybody seems to have something of a point here. I note nobody is disputing a few of the recruits are below minimum height. It's just that everyone but Fritz thinks Fritz took this as an excuse to start a new round of Bringing Heinrich To Heel.

Conversely, he's of course not wrong brother AW is biased in Heinrich's favour and is going to believe Heinrich over Fritz any day of the week. When August Wilhelm, apropos the birth of his oldest son, future FW2, in 1744, writes a "my life so far" summary for himself, his entry for the year of doom 1730 is, wait for it: "My brother Heinrich, who was born in 1726, was given into my steward's care as well, and we were raised together from now on."

(Heinrich joined AW's household in February 1730, i.e. before the flight attempt, but still.

Incidentally we have eight years old AW's letter to father FW about this happy event: "When my dear Papa had left my brother Heinrich came into my room and has learned a bit, too. We are now sleeping together in the same room and are very happy about it. The other morning I got up at eight, my brother at ten, and we both learned, and all of my sisters learned, too. We thank our dear Papa from our hearts for thinking of us...")

But since the whole thing ends in "sloppy" Heinrich getting the regiment back not after rethinking his military behavior but after making promising to marry, which has nothing to do with anything under discussion, Fritz undermines his own case. And as I mentioned elsewhere, it's hard to dispute Ziebura's case that making Heinrich marry is utterly pointless in terms of dynasty - AW has already produced the next Hohenzollern generation - or politics - he'll marry a princess from Hessen-Kassel, a principality with which Prussia is already alligned and which isn't even that rich or important; it can have only two points: a) putting Heinrich through exactly the same thing Fritz was put through, and b) making Heinrich submit to Fritz in a way that he won't ever be able to shake off. (Since princes required the King's permission to divorce.)

Re: Brotherly Conduct I: The Prelude

[mildred_of_midgard]

Wow, this is far more detail than I knew about. Correspondence is so useful! Also, it pleases me to have been able to partially repay you for making so many German resources available to us by making some French resources available to you. :)

That's...a lot of material for your hateship, indeed! Can hardly wait for the fic.

his entry for the year of doom 1730 is, wait for it:

Wait. Are you saying that was the *whole* entry?

Brotherly Conduct II: The Main Act

[selenak]

Okay, now the big one. Just to put things in to perspective: as of early 1756, if you had asked which brother gets along best with Fritz, who of the three younger ones is his favourite, the universal answer by everyone would have been AW. Not just because AW seems to have gotten along with most people, but because, the 1749 Heinrich argument excepted, Fritz didn‘t quarrel with him. The letters are sometimes teasing but without bite and friendly, it at times a bit condescending. When AW on the occasion of the treaty with England seems to have wondered how the rest of Europe will react, Fritz, in full hubris mode, replies:

This year which I expect to have won is worth as much as five of the preceding ones, and, if in the future I can serve as mediator for the belligerent powers, I will have created for Prussia the greatest role that it can play in peacetime; and do you count for nothing the pleasure of stopping the Queen of Hungary, of humiliating, or to put it better, of destroying Saxony, of making Bestushew despair? These are the consequences that a little stroke of the pen will have.

Yes, well. The Diplomatic Revolution happens, also by a little stroke of the pen, France is now Austria‘s ally, and AW dares to wonder whether maybe, just maybe, having so many nations to fight against is a bit dangerous?

My dear brother. If our enemies force us to wage war, we must ask…: where are they? but not…: how many are there? We have nothing to fear, our enemies have more reason to run than us, and, according to the rule of probabilities, we will get out of this trap with all possible honor. Let the women in Berlin talk about sharing treaties ... but, for Prussian officers who fought our wars, they must have seen that neither the number nor the difficulties could have robbed us of the victory; they must think that these are the same troops now as in the last war, that the whole army is more trained in the maneuvers of battles, and that, if we do not fall into very rough blunders, it is morally impossible that we miss our shot. This is a comforting thought, my dear brother, which, I hope, will dissipate the fogs that politicians and political ladies have spread over the city. I embrace you, assuring you of the tenderness with which I am, my dear brother, your faithful brother and servant
Federic.


Naturally, when things start to go wrong, there is one person whose fault it can't possibly be. How much or little AW was at fault for the military disaster to come has been debated ever since it happened. He's written a defense before he died, but had been dissuaded from publishing it mid war. In the end, it wasn't published until the late 19th century, and then it was condemned by patriotic Prussian historians as "one sided" (you think?) and damaging to the memory of the Great King. Among the points of contention: did Fritz give AW clear or conflicting orders - on top of everything else going wrong, several of their letters crossed or were delivered too late - , could AW, given the information he had, have acted differently, did he just let things happen without trying to prevent disaster? Ziebura argued:

The relative immovability of his army wasn't Wilhelm's fault. The King had dumped everything on him which he himself hadn't wanted to be burdened with - canons, pontons and the heavy baggage. Hence, the Prince needed urgently a positive order from Friedrich - what exactly did his supreme commander want him to do? Cover Silesia or remain in Bohemia and protect Zittau, for as things stood, the former and the later were mutually exclusive. (...) If Friedrich and with him later historians blame the Prince of Prussia for his hesitation, his "too long war councils", his indicisiveness, even his phlegma, they should have asked for the reason for his remaining in Leipa. That reason was his incapability to act against the King's explicit wishes and to rely solely on his own judgment. He wasn't the only one finding himself in this position. The Prince of Bevern in Breslau, Schmettau in Dresden and Finck at Maxen had all, by following the King's orders against their better knowledge, experienced a fiacso. They were all punished with disgrace, with a casheering.

The public condemnation of AW and all top officers - except for Winterfeldt, who had been one of the generals with AW on this campaign but was also one of Fritz' most trusted generals and had to read out the points of accusation against the others - as decribed by Fontane you already have read. Remember, Fritz refused to speak to AW on that occason, though according to AW's later defense essay: Shortly after he called General Goltz and told him: "He may tell my brother and all his Generals that if I had done justice, I'd have had beheaded the lot of them."

A stunned AW returns to Bautzen, writing a letter to Fritz not in the Trier file, asking for a commission to be formed to investigate his behavior; he is sure that they will clear his name. What Fritz writes back is this:

You have put my affairs in a desperate situation by your bad behavior; it is not my enemies who will make me lose, but the wrong actions you have taken. My generals are inexcusable, either for having advised you badly, or for having allowed you to make such bad decisions. Your ears are only accustomed to the language of flatterers; Daun didn't flatter you, and you see the aftermath. IN this sad situation it only remains for me to take the most desperate actions. I will fight, and we will all be massacred, if we cannot succeed. I am not accusing your heart, but your inability and your lack of judgment to take the best advantage. I‘m telling you the truth. Who has only one moment to live, has nothing to hide. I wish you more happiness than I had.

Fritz had forbidden contact between AW and Heinrich (or anyone else) at this point. Heinrich ignored this and went to Bautzen along with his AD Henckel through whose war diary we know about this. On this occason, AW showed him all the letters Fritz had written him before and after and gave him a thorough description of the campaign. Heinrich agreed with AW that the King blaming Wilhelm exlusively for the botched withdrawal was not justified. He also supported AW's decision to go to Dresden when he saw how much weight his brother had lost and how miserable he looked.

In Dresden, things didn't get better. Fever, insomnia, throwing up, and increasing desperation. Renewed petitions to justify in front Fritz didn't work.

I do not reply to your letter, my dear Brother, because your head is spinning, and I believe that you wrote it in a delirium of hot fever. I am your faithful brother and servant
Federic

At which point AW asked for permission to return to Berlin. This was about the worst thing he could have done. Writes Fritz:

What, you want to flee, while we fight to keep the state for you and your family? You want to set an example to cowards of the army, who may say: We are only asking for what the Prince of Prussia has obtained? Blush to the bottom of your soul the proposals you make to me; you speak of your honor: it lay in leading the army well and not to lose four battaillons, your magazine and your baggage in one stroke. I willl not entrust you another commando again for as long as I live. (...) But you may remain with the army I lead without your honor being impuned by this. You can, of course, do whatever you want, but you must know that I will deny you as my brother and family if you don't follow the demands of honor, the only one fitting for a Crown Prince!

AW's reply, Dresden 29. August: „My very dear Brother. I am so convinced of my incapacity and of the uselessness of which I could be in the army, since it has pleased you to repeat my faults to me, that I will take good care not to bother you there. However, I cannot deny that it is a very great sorrow to me that my care and my application have been in vain, and that I see myself at my age a useless member of the State, having no other resource than to spend my life in retirement. Notwithstanding this I assure you that, although you condemned me, without hearing me and that you attributed to me perhaps more fault than I deserve, that I will always take part in all that can contribute to the accomplishment of your wishes. I have the honor to be with the deepest respect, my very dear brother, your very humble, very obedient, very faithful servant and brother
Guillaume.

My dear brother. It is better to be a useless member in an army than a harmful member. You will do what you want, I don't meddle in your business anymore; but it would be better for you to be in my army, as you have always been there, than to stay in Dresden.

Re: Brotherly Conduct II: The Main Act

[cahn]

Ziebura really is a treasure, isn't she? She was also the one who put us onto the track of Lehndorff, right?

Heinrich ignored this and went to Bautzen along with his AD Henckel through whose war diary we know about this.

:(((((( Good for you, Heinrich.:((((((

I do not reply to your letter, my dear Brother, because your head is spinning, and I believe that you wrote it in a delirium of hot fever. I am your faithful brother and servant
Federic

*facepalm*

My very dear Brother. I am so convinced of my incapacity and of the uselessness of which I could be in the army, since it has pleased you to repeat my faults to me, that I will take good care not to bother you there.

:(((((((( This is just too sad.

FRITZ

Brotherly Conduct III: The Aftermath

[selenak]

At this point, news of the disaster had started to spread out, including to Bayreuth, where Wilhelmine writes to both brothers, trying her best to mediate. But nothing less than accepting complete blame on AW's part would do, and he insists on his innocence. Meanwhile, the French army has reached Thuringia and Fritz has to do something to stop them from uniting with the Austrian army, so he leaves part of the army to cover Silesia and marches with the other part to Leipzig. Despite his bad state, AW goes to Leipzig as well in the hope to finally getting a chance to speak with Fritz. Fritz still won't see him. Heinrich does see him and is shocked by Wilhelm's physical state as well as the mental one. He urges Fritz - who thinks that AW is faking - to send his chief physician Cothenius. At first, Fritz refuses. Whereupon Heinrich writes to Bayreuth and describes AW's illness to Wilhelmine. She writes to Fritz, Heinrich pleads again, and Fritz does agree to let Cothenius see AW. But despite all his siblings begging him to visit his brother, he still refuses to do so.

By now, it's November, and Fritz wins, triumphantly and against all odds, the battle of Roßbach. (See earlier post.) When AW writes to him again because of this, he replies:

My dear brother. I am very much obliged to you for the compliment of congratulations which you have kindly paid me on the occasion of the success of the last battle, and am convinced of the sincerity of your feelings. Do not complain about me, and remember that it is only your extraordinary and, so to speak, reckless behavior that has spoiled everything. I would have liked for your own reputation that, even if you had no command in the army, you would have been at least present at the above battle to share the glory instead of sitting around uselessly.

Heinrich, who had participated in the battle - and was wounded, resulting in fever, so has to recover -, returns to Leipzig and spends the next three week with AW. This will be the last time he sees his brother alive. At the end of the three weeks and Heinrich's return to the army, Fritz permits Wilhelm to go to Berlin, while Heinrich gets entrusted with the supreme command of the Prussian army in Saxony.

From Berlin, he writes to Fritz on January 5th 1758: „My dear Brother. You have assured me that my military lack of competence would be the obstacle that will forever prevent you from entrusting me with the least thing, so I believe, my dear brother, that you will not disapprove that I put the care of everything which concerns my regiments, in the hands of those who command them. Be convinced that I regret my uselessness in the only profession that remains for princes to distinguish themselves! In the unfortunate case that I find myself, I [have] no other choice but to avoid being dependent on you and being in the army. The misfortune which made me lose your esteem, will never erase the attachment that I have devoted to you, and the respectful feelings with which I have the honor to be, my very dear brother, the very humble, very obedient, very faithful servant and brother Guillaume. “

What he hears as a reply is: My dear brother. I received the letter you sent me from the 5th of this month. You must not be very astonished that you do not have my esteem, because the conduct which you held for some time must deprive you of it by necessity, as it deprives you of the esteem of all reasonable people. The role which you play at present in the public can only be very detrimental to you and your reputation. I am all the more angry because I fear that you will make everything worse for yourself in the world around there. I am your good brother
Federic.

AW, who's recovered (or so it seems) from his illness, now has the desperate plan of rejoining to army as a simple soldier to prove he's not deserting the fatherland in the hour of need. Brother Ferdinand is horrified and protests a crown prince of Prussia can't do that:

The whole army knows you and knows about your bravery, which you have proved wherever you were commanded to. Everyone knows you were forced to leave the army. Every officer has understood that you want to return to the army if only it could be done honorably. Everyone misses you.

"Doing so honorably" after the public disgrace would of course mean an equally public restitution. No dice. By the end of February, his sickness returns, fever, aches, shortness of breath. And this time, it doesn't leave again. When he goes to Oranienburg on April 29th, he knows he won't come back. He tries to distract himself via the continued restoration of Oranienburg, but by the end of May, he can't get out of bed again. Amalie has visited intermittently; on May 27th, she doesn't return to Berlin again as earlier, but orders every doctor she knows to come from Berlin. On June 12th, AW dies, at 35th years of age.

And now, as an encore, the full length letter from Fritz to Heinrich about this, to complete why I see all of this - not just the public disgrace, but the year long aftermath, up to said letter - as the radioactive core of his feelings for his oldest brother.

I received very sad and unfortunate news from Berlin: the death of my brother, which I had never expected. I am all the more afflicted by it, since I have always loved him dearly, and since I had to deal with all the sorrows he caused me as a result of his weakness to follow bad advice, and as an effect of his temper, of which he was not always the master. Reflecting on his good heart and his other good qualities, I endured with gentleness many things in his conduct, which were very irregular, and by which he failed in what he owed me. I know the tenderness you had for him; I hope that, after having given friendship and nature the first ventings of your pain, you will make all the efforts of which a strong soul is capable, not to erase from your memory a brother whose imprint must without cease live in your heart and mine, but to moderate the excess of an affliction which could be fatal to you. Think, please, that in less than a year I have lost a mother whom I adored and a brother whom I have always dearly loved; in the critical situation in which I find myself, do not cause me new afflictions by the harm that grief could do you, and use your reason and philosophy as the only remedies to make the evils bearable to us. Think of the state and our homeland, which would perhaps be exposed to the greatest misfortunes, if, in the course of this terrible war, our nephews fell under guardianship; finally think that all men are mortal, and that our most tender bonds, our strongest attachments, do not guarantee us of the common law which is imposed on our species, and that, after all, our life is so short, that it does not even leave us time to grieve, and that, while weeping for others, we can believe without being mistaken that in a little time we will wept for, too. Finally, my dear brother, I neither want nor can elaborate on the sad subject of this letter; I fear for you, I wish you long life and good health, and I wish at the same time that the multitude of your occupations and the glory which you will acquire serve you to distract you from objects which can only pierce your heart, grieve you and bring you down, being with perfect tenderness and esteem, etc.

Re: Brotherly Conduct III: The Aftermath

[cahn]

OH MY GOD

(like, I actually said those words aloud while reading this)

Radioactive, indeed.

That... I...

That letter, of course you guys had shown me excerpts before, but now that you have given me all the context...
I think Heinrich would have throttled Fritz, brother and hateship and other self and all, had they been in the same room when Heinrich had gotten that letter. by which he failed in what he owed me???? I now completely and utterly understand that obelisk, oh my God.

(I will (eventually) write a more coherent response to this, but... I wanted you to have my first stunned response.)

Random things

[mildred_of_midgard]

1) So in looking back through old comments for Rheinsberg material, I noticed selenak quoting a letter from Fritz to Voltaire about Algarotti's 1739 visit to Rheinsberg: "Young Algarotti, whom you know, has endeared himself to me above and beyond. He has promised me to return as soon as possible. We talked a lot about you, about geometry, poetry, all the sciences, also about God and the world. "

Okay, fair, Fritz and Algarotti talked a lot about Voltaire, who's super famous and whom Algarotti has met and stayed at his house.

But then I was like, "Wasn't that quote from the Suhm letters?" And sure enough, Fritz writes to Suhm,

"We have had here Mylord Baltimore and the young Algarotti, both men who, by their knowledge, must reconcile the esteem and consideration of all who see them. We talked a lot about you, about philosophy, about science, about the arts, finally about everything that must be understood in the taste of honest people."

And I had been wondering why "a lot" about Suhm and if that was maybe a mere politeness for "you came up when we talked about Wolff." Because Suhm is just not that famous.

But I just checked the chronology, and yes, Algarotti was on his way back from St. Petersburg to England when he hit Rheinsberg. I knew they were both 1739, couldn't remember if it went St. Petersburg - Rheinsberg, or Rheinsberg - St. Petersburg.

So when Fritz met Algarotti, Algarotti must have just met Suhm at court in St. Petersburg and had him fresh on his mind during their conversation.

I'm also struck by the parallels in the two passages, written about 10 days apart.

2) This hilarious anecdote from Lavisse about tiny terror FW.

From the age of four, he was a formidable youngster. One day, while they were dressing him, he tore a buckle from his shoe, and put it into his mouth. When they wished to take it away from him, he swallowed it. His mother uttered cries that would have "melted rocks"; his father, majestic as he was, came near losing his senses. The physicians, however, prescribed a purgative and the buckle is on exhibition in a glass case, at the Hohenzollern Museum, in Berlin. (Lavisse is writing in 1891.)

Never doing things by halves indeed.

Lavisse also says in this paragraph that it wasn't just George that FW beat up while staying with his grandparents, but the "Prince of Courlande" he had to be pried away from because he had him by the hair and wouldn't let go. Now I have to wonder which prince of Courlande. Future (in)famous de facto ruler of Russia who was 2 years younger than FW? Or some other one?

Re: Random things

[selenak]

Lavisse also says in this paragraph that it wasn't just George that FW beat up while staying with his grandparents, but the "Prince of Courlande" he had to be pried away from because he had him by the hair and wouldn't let go. Now I have to wonder which prince of Courlande. Future (in)famous de facto ruler of Russia who was 2 years younger than FW? Or some other one?


You mean this guy? Sounds about right, seeing that he spent part of his childhood in the Prussia of F1.

Also, lol about tiny terror FW. Clearly, everyone lucked out that him and Peter I weren't quite the same generation and never met as Children, only as adults.

The very similar phrasing: must admit I've done that in some letters, too. Though it does show how highly Fritz thinks of Suhm. Having had a brief glance at the Algarotti letters, I see he also writes to A. about Suhm's death, very touchingly.

Happy Birthday, Heinrich!

[selenak]

Due to Lehndorff constantly marking this day in his diaries, I'm very alert to the date, and thus use it to present you guys with (the core of) the text of Heinrich's speech when in 1791, his Obelisk, dedicated to the Memory of AW and 27 other Prussian heroes screwed over by Fritz, was finished and was officially revealed to the world.

Our intention is to provide the Prussian army with a testimony of gratitude. Following the inspiration of our heart, we want to deliver proof of our respect to those we knew ourselves. So why is Friedrich missing among the number of these well known names? The history the King himself has written of his own life as well as all the praise after his death do not leave anything left for me to say.

But great service, rendered in darkness, is not immune to being deleted by oblivion, and the next generation is missing the record of the deeds of the previous one, the names are lost, and history becomes an imperfect sketch, held together only by flattery and phlegma.
I wish I could give you a painting of these thirteen campaigns! The sad pictures in it are formed by thirteen battles, a lot of meetings, some sieges, numerous violent marches, some nightly ones, fields covered with dead bodies, victories drenched with tears! (…) Friends lost their benefectors, fathers their children. While on the one hand the defenders of the state won, on the other they had to learn of the devastation of their estates, the flight of their wives and children.

Think of the number of enemies, too, and how both the warriors who gave the orders and those who obeyed were forced to follow their genius without neglecting the great rules of war. Think of how the least too slow movement, the least too quick movement could be equally dangerous, (…) that there were armies from all sides to fight, that the Prussians got weaker by the day, that the Generals did not dare to count their numbers anymore, that one had to hurry from one province to the next to save towns and retake fortresses; that in the end, it was to win or to die, and that there has been no war in our time comparable to this one. (…)

But how do monuments serve the dead? Their ashes can no longer be moved by passion. A cold earth keeps from from both love and hate. One owes the comfort of a tender memory to the survivors. The mothers and widows of the departed, orphans who have lost their protectors, sisters who have lost their tenderly loved brothers, and friends who have lost the comfort of friendship; all of them are owed a monument to the people so dear to them, so that looking at it, they can recall the sensations of the past into their souls. (…)

You will, gentlemen, turn your gaze to the central image which has been positioned on top of the monument. The reasons to put it there are the same that caused me to dedicate it to the memory of a brother so very dear to me. It is not enough for me to see merely his name on top of those he had been destined to rule one day. Victory columns get erected to the mighty, even if they do not deserve that honor. Which man of impartial judgment would deny it to the memory of Prince August Wilhelm? I will not exaggarate his virtues and talents just because he was my brother. While he lived into his thirtysixth year, he could not distinguish himself through brilliant deeds. But he had all the virtues of a citizen, without which no true greatness of character is thinkable. Courage, love of humanity, charity and integrity, these were his virtues. Pride and vanity never darkened his good qualities. His mind had been formed through his education; his duties ruled his acts. In his military career, he was honored and loved by officers and common soldiers alike. All who knew him and yet live, especially if they have served with his two regiments, can attest to this. In four battles and five compaigns, he achieved the glory of bravery and intelligence. As Generallieutenant, it was he who made the victory of Hohenfriedberg possible by attacking the Austrians near Guntersdorf. Czaslau, Soor, Lowositz deliver proof of his correct military judgments. In the year 1757, he led an army in the most difficult circumstances. Only let me add that he bore his misfortune with gentleness, modesty and endurance. Only one wish remains for me: may today’s youth follow the example of the virtuous who could unite the qualities of a citizen with the splendid deeds of a hero!

(Linguistic footnote: as Heinrich is holding this speech in French in the year 1791, i.e. with the French Revolution in full swing, the approving use of "Citoyen" is fascinating. I find the English "Citizen" inadequate, I admit; in German you can at least say "Staatsbürger".)

Re: Happy Birthday, Heinrich!

[mildred_of_midgard]

Oh, very nice, thank you! Happy birthday to one of our problematic faves! I would have missed the date if you, O reader of Lehndorff's diaries, had not alerted us to it.

Rheinsberg and the big screw-you-Fritz monument are on my to-visit list for the next time I make it to Germany, provided I have a driver. (I will do my level best to ensure I have a driver, because you know the other places that are on my list. ;))

Katte family trees

[mildred_of_midgard]

In the process of preparing a bunch of Rheinsberg posts, I redid the Katte family trees to incorporate new information. Then I thought I'd better put it here, so new discussion (if any) at least doesn't start over there.

Family trees for the Katte family, annotated with a lot of what we know about the people in them.

1. Katte ancestors

This one shows how Hans Hermann is related to the ancestors whose carvings are on the outside of the church in Wust. (See the Wust picspam.)



If Google is blocking the image from appearing in the post, try this link.

[1] Hans: Or Heinrich. Perhaps Hans Heinrich. Birth and death dates approximate. His carving is on the left side of the church door in Wust. See this picture for the church and this one for the closeup of the carving.

[2] Anna: Her carving is on the right side of the church door in Wust.

[3] Hans: Death date approximate. His carving is on the south side of the church in Wust. See this picture for the wall of the church, and this one for the closeup of the carving.

[4] Hans Heinrich: Biographical entry in Wikipedia, which, however, seems to get the date and location of his death wrong: all evidence points to him dying on May 30 in camp at Gettien, not May 31 at Reckahn. Here is a picture of his tomb in the family crypt, at the church in Wust (pace Wikipedia, which has him buried in Berlin). The Wust picspam has the inscription in full.

[5] Hans Hermann: Biographical entry in Wikipedia, which should be taken with a grain of salt. Fontane, for instance, reports his birthdate as February 21 and cites the church register in Wust. A picture of his simple wooden coffin in the family crypt is here.

For more pictures and details on the church and family crypt in Wust, see this post.

2. Hans Hermann's relationship to Otto von Bismarck

The Katte family seat was in Wust, and the Bismarcks had residences in Schönhausen, only about 9 km away by road and fewer as the crow flies. The Bismarcks and Kattes had numerous intermarriages, being two major noble families of the region. Otto von Bismarck was born in Schönhausen, in a house that has the arms of the Katte family above the doorway and the name of Dorothea Sophia inscribed on the side.



If Google is blocking the image from appearing in the post, try this link.

[1] Dorothea Catharina: A picture of her tomb behind the altar in the church in Wust.
[2] Moritz Hans: Died Jan 24, 1684, according to Wikipedia.
[3] Eva Auguste: Died Jan 26, 1684, according to Wikipedia. I have no proof, but I'm suspicious that her death and her husband's might have been related. It's worth noting that there was a major plague epidemic in Europe from 1679 through 1684, ending in 1683 in Germany. January 1684 is close enough that I wonder if they might both have died of the plague.
[4] Hans Heinrich: Observe that he was only two years old when both his parents died.

3. Hans Hermann's relationship to 'Aunt' Melusine

Melusine von Schulenberg was the mistress of George I. Hans Hermann went to visit her when he was in England in 1722/1723 on the Grand Tour, and again in 1729. We have a quote from a letter from Hans Heinrich to his brother Heinrich Christoph that Hans Hermann was having a fling with Melusine's daughter Petronella in 1729.

As the family tree shows, "Aunt" Melusine is his father's mother's sister's husband's daughter by a second wife, so not related by blood to Hans Hermann.

Neither the genealogy sites nor Wikipedia (which are probably drawing on each other) show Anna Elisabeth and Eva Auguste von Stammer as related, much less sisters, but Klosterhuis, according to selenak's wonderful write-up, says they were. It's very good about sources, much better than the abovementioned sites, and we do know Katte called her "Aunt" Melusine, so I'm going with it.



If Google is blocking the image from appearing in the post, try this link.

[1] Melusine: Biographical entry in Wikipedia.
[2] Petronella: The one Hans Hermann is reported to have had an affair with.
[3] Philip: Yes, *the* Earl of Chesterfield. Biographical entry here.
[4] Philip: The fictional first-person narrator of Michael Roes' Zeithain.

4. Heinrich Christoph's branch

Heinrich Christoph was the older brother of Hans Heinrich and thus the uncle of Hans Hermann. His children are therefore of the correct generation to show up a lot on the fringes of history in our period. For the quotes from Lehndorff on the Katte family, see this entry. In the annotations to the family tree, I will identify which member of the family he's talking about in a given quote.



If Google is blocking the image from appearing in the post, try this link.

[1] Ludolf August: The one who married Lehndorff's cousin whom Lehndorff wanted to marry and stayed friends with all her life. Fontane gives the following account of the marriage (write-up by selenak):

Well, according to Fontane the following happened:

Fritz: *gets to the throne, starts to marry people off (he did this a lot for financial and political reasons, his own opinion on marriage not withstanding*

Kattes: *get offered Demoiselle Rolas du Rosey, rich heiress and cousin to one Lehndorff, for Heinrich Christoph's second son*

Ludolf August, oldest son of Heinrich Christoph: *checks out rich bride, decides to have her for himself*

Another miserable marriage: *gets made*

Not that Fontane says it was miserable; as I said, he didn't have Lehndorff's diaries. Not that Lehndorff was unbiased, given his backstory with her, but I doubt that if his cousin had been wonderfully happy, he'd have invented a bad marriage for her. So anyway, Ludolf August is the husband of Frau von Katte my amiable cousin ("We were meant for each other!"). Fontane says Fritz didn't care which Katte got the rich bride, as long as the family profited. He also assumes it was a happy marriage, but, well, see above.

/End selenak's write-up.

If you look at the chronology, Lehndorff reports being engaged to his cousin in 1751. It was in 1748 (see the annotations to the next family tree) that Hans Heinrich's branch died out and the Wust holdings reverted to Ludolf August. I assume this is why Ludolf August is the first member of Heinrich Christoph's branch to be buried in the crypt in Wust, which previously held only members of Hans Heinrich's branch (now defunct in the male line with the death of the last remaining childless son).

So I imagine that the death of Hans Heinrich's last surviving son may have been responsible for Fritz trying to arrange a good marriage for one of Hans Hermann's first cousin's.

A picture of Ludolf August's tomb in the family crypt in Wust.

[2] Johann/Hans Friedrich: In 1730, he was a captain. During the escape attempt, when Fritz was traveling and Hans Hermann was in Berlin, Johann Friedrich forwarded mail between them. He got suspicious about the amount of activity and reported it to the king. Several of my sources agree that Friedrich wrote a letter to Hans Hermann, but forgot to specify that the recipient Hans von Katte was the one in Berlin, so it went to the Hans von Katte in Erlangen, who forwarded the letter to the King, thus implicating his cousin Hans Hermann in the escape attempt. He was promoted to major in October 1730 as a reward.

During the Seven Years' War, Johann Friedrich negotiated the surrender of Schweidnitz in Silesia. He, along with others involved, was cashiered as a result.

[3] Henriette Catherine: Entertained Lehndorff at Bernhard's wedding.

[4] Heinrich Christoph: Red-headed Staatsminister so disliked by Lehndorff.

[5] Bernhard Christian: The one whom Lehndorff reports sleeping through his wedding night. He would have been 60 years old at the wedding.

[6] Henriette Wilhelmine: She was the half first cousin of her husband (note Bernhard's mother's maiden name).

[7] Dorothea Elisabeth: I have not been able to find a birth or death date for her.

5. Hans Heinrich's branch

I.e., our Katte's immediate family.



If Google is blocking the image from appearing in the post, try this link.

[1]: Alexander von Wartensleben: Field Marshal in the Prussian army. Klosterhuis says that he was a nobleman in the old Baroque style, whereas Hans Heinrich fit the mold of militaristic austerity that Friedrich Wilhelm wanted to shape. It also says that Hans Hermann spent much of his youth with Wartensleben in Berlin, and that his grandfather was thus a formative influence on him. Wartensleben petitioned for Hans Hermann's life, and had to pay the executioner when he was unsuccessful.

[2] Dorothea Sophia: Wikipedia gives her death date as November 5, 1707. The sign on the wall in the Wust crypt gives it as 1706 (no date given). A number of my sources agree that the Wust crypt was built in 1706/1707 by Hans Heinrich to host her tomb after her unexpected death when the existing burial site was full. So 1706 seems likely. Wikipedia gives the birthdate of her youngest child as October 5, 1706.

I am not certain which is her tomb, but my best guess is that it's the full-length one very near to the photographer in this photo, i.e. the one between the one with the partial effigy and the one with a lot of writing. The partial effigy is Hans Heinrich, Fontane tells us that Hans Heinrich was buried with his two wives on either side of them, and if this list has any order to it, then my guess is that it starts on the left, meaning the tombs against the far wall go: son of Hans Heinrich, second wife of Hans Heinrich, Hans Heinrich, first wife of Hans Heinrich, son of Hans Heinrich.

[3] Katherina Elisabeth: Hans Hermann's stepmother. You can see from the dates that she was only eight years older than he was, and her first child was born when he was ten and she was eighteen. I imagine she didn't marry until he was about eight or nine and she was sixteen or seventeen. In his final letter to his father, written just hours before his death, Hans Hermann records that he loved his stepmother as if they were related by blood.

Again going by my deductions described above, her tomb is most likely the blue and white one in this picture, to the left of Hans Heinrich's tomb with the partial effigy.

[4] Friedrich Wilhelm von Rochow: One of Fritz's governors as a teenager. He accompanied FW and Fritz on the trip during which the escape attempt took place, and tried to prevent the escape. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in October 1730 for his role in hindering Fritz's escape.

[5] Elisabeth Katharina: She is described by Lehndorff as having been high and mighty when young, but humble and modest when older and trapped in an unhappy marriage with a lot of children.

[6] Johann Gebhard: Not the same Winterfeld as the one who was a favorite general of Fritz's.

[7] Luise Charlotte: She shared the name of her half-sister who died at age 6 weeks (according to the dates in Wikipedia).

[8] Friedrich Wilhelm: He was killed by his brother in a duel that I have seen described as over the inheritance or over a woman. He died June 27, the day of the duel.

Again going by my deductions described above, his tomb is most likely the one on the far left in this picture, with the candelabra on it.

[9] Friedrich Albrecht: He was killed by his brother in a duel that I have seen described as over the inheritance or over a woman. He died October 14, presumably of wounds sustained during the duel. After he died without issue in 1748, the Hans Heinrich male line died out and the Wust holdings reverted to his cousin Ludolf August. Ludolf would then marry Lehndorff's cousin in or shortly after 1751.

His tomb is most likely the one partially shown in the lower left corner of the frame of this picture, the one with a lot of writing on it. I would love to know what the writing says.

Re: Katte family trees

[selenak]

Because it‘s a small noble European world full of Germans in the 18th century, I just discovered some more cool connections.

In addition to Petronella, Melusine had a younger daughter named Margarethe Gertrud. This daughter was raised by MT‘s father the Emperor into the Reichsgrafenstand - made a countess of the Empire - so she could marry
Albrecht Wolfgang Graf zu Schaumburg-Lippe (despite being a bastard). Alas, she did not grow very old, and he married again. He also had a very famous mistress - the Countess Bentinck, mother of his illegitimate son Charles. She befriended Voltaire, helped beta-reading the Anti-Machiavel and getting it into print, and later showed up in Berlin on Voltaire‘s advice in order to secure Fritz‘ support for regaining her inheritance from her husband. This, as we know, failed as did her efforts to seduce Heinrich, but she provided the court with a lot of lively gossip by her free-spirited carryings on. (And Lehndorff went from scandalized disapproval to befriending her and climbing on top of the Charlottenburg Palace with her.)

Fritz and Wilhelmine Correspondance, Trier Version - I: Greek myths and living Italians

[selenak]

Like I told Mildred elsewhere, I've been browsing through the Trier version of the Wilhelmine letters for letters I didn't know from either the audio version or the excellent travel era website. (Or the Gutenberg German edition of some of Fritz' letters.) (A very few, M., not worth checking out for you.) Overall, as with the other correspondances, it's 70% - 80% Fritz letters, though in this case I know this isn't because Wilhelmine's (after the mid 1730s, when Fritz is out of postal parental control) don't exist as well. The Audio "Solange wir zu zweit sind" puts the emphasis way more on dialogue and thus post mid 30s renders it as a back and thro. And the travel website is of course the best in having all the other family letters as well. Incidentally, Trier guys, never mind Preuss and his editorial choices, I really don't get how you could just include only one of the adorable dog letters - Folichon to Biche - but not Biche's reply. (Though otoh you include Wilhelmine's partner letter in which the dog letter was included, so that's nice.)

Also, I found the Fritz letter replying to Wilhelmine's passionate outburst when she didn't hear from him for a while (the "if you only write "my sister I love you, I love you my sister" it would be enough" one), which the German scholar who included it in her speech had said was unpublished. Well, Fritz' reply is published, so we do have a date. (20th January 1737.)

My dearest sister,
You should attribute my silence only to the lack of news. We lead a life too close for us to learn much from these cantons, and I have reason to believe that if I wrote every day: My dear sister, I love you, or: I love you, my dear sister, such letters would annoy you very much. So do not wish, my very dear sister, with regard to me, to transform you into stone; you would lose too much, and this spirit which I love and which everyone admires is so well housed in your body, that it would be a sin to bring it out. Never measure friendship by the yardstick, and believe me, my very dear sister, please, with all the tenderness, all the attachment and all possible esteem, my very dear sister, etc.

Look, Fritz, I've read your own complaints when someone doesn't pay not enough attention to you and doesn't express enough devotion. Face it, you two have no chill when it comes to that.

(Sidenote: of course they don't. More seriously, I do think it's the result of having had parents who made love to one of them a zero sum game, of having been each other's primary sources for affection in their horrid childhood, Sonsine and Keyszerlingk not withstanding, and SD in regards to Fritz.)

I found an intriguing letter from Fritz in the year 1739. Now I knew from the audio letters that FW's moods went up and down with him in the 1730s as well, though never again as extreme as 1730, obviously. What I hadn't known was that apparantly there was gossip as late as 1739 that FW might consider disowning him in favour of AW. At least that's how I interpret this letter, which is also interesting as it provides us with Fritz' (positive) opinion of young AW in a letter not to AW himself. (And thus probably the real deal.) Bear in mind Wilhelmine hasn't seen kid AW since the awful winter of 1732/1733 family holidays, nor did they correspond; she'll only get to know him again (as a near adult) when Fritz takes him along on the 1740 trip.

My dearest sister,

The share that you take in the sorrows that I suffered consoles me completely. For six weeks I was the object of the King's bitter jokes and the target of his anger. It is very unusual to attack people whose fear and respect deprive them of the freedom to defend themselves and to complain.

(Imagine anyone later to be familiar with King Fritz getting a mighty coughing fit here.)

Such speeches are poisoned by the dignity of the one who speaks, and by the malignant and flattering approval of those who listen, courtiers always more eager to condescend to the feeling of the master than they are attached to frankness and to the truth by defending innocence falsely accused. A conflict of different reasons caused the violent irritation in which the King was against me; I spoke firmly to some people, I wrote truths to others, I threatened those I knew capable of being cowed, and I, if not extinguished, at least dampened the flare-up that was going to come on.

The news you are being told about my brother is not at all founded; it is a city noise, which owes its birth to the empty head of our coffee politicians. Reconciliation with England may have given rise to it; imagination invented the rest. My brother has the best character in the world, he has an excellent heart, a just mind, feelings of honor and is full of humanity; he has the will to do well, which gives me a lot of hope for him. His face conceals nothing, his eyes can not only spell; his manners are ingenuous rather than polite, and in all his maintenance there is a certain je ne sais quoi of embarrassment which does not warn in his favor, but which does not deceive those who prefer the solidity of merit to a brilliant facade. I love him very much, and I can only praise myself for the friendship and attachment he has for me. He does me all the little services he can do, and shows me on all occasions the feelings that are only found in real friends. You can count on what I write to you about him; I write without prevention and without envy what all those who know him particularly will have noticed in him.

Thoughts? I'm always torn on how much or little Fritz in his much, much later behavior was influenced by AW having been FW's favourite. I do believe he tells Wilhelmine what he thinks and feels on that occasion, but if there was talk as late as freaking 1739 about a possible change in the order of succession - no matter how unfounded, which it was, if FW would have done it, it would have been in 1730/1731, not later than that - , it might have sunk into his subconscious. Not to mention that it provides fodder for his life long practice of keeping his potential successors - both AW and future FW2 - away from any serious position of power or involvement in the government.

Lastly: " He does me all the little services he can do" - calming Dad down?

When Fritz invades Silesia for the first time, there's one letter from Wilhelmine where she makes a geek joke that I thought I had to share. cahn, remember, the polar expedition of Maupertuis had had the purpose of proving that the earth flattens on the top - as Newton had proposed - rather than forming an egg-like oval. So Wilhelmine writes:

You must admit that you have benefited marvelously from the lessons of Maupertuis. He rounded up the earth, and you rounded up your country. They say you calculate fairer and easier than him. Would I dare to beg you to communicate to me your method, which would do an unequaled good for our country, and, by flattening it, would more often bring me the happiness of presenting myself to you? However, it is not the mountains that will stop me; no obstacle, however rough it may be, will stop me, as soon as it comes to seeing all that I hold dearest in the world.

On to another matter. Mildred pointed out that Algarotti didn't get to observe the Fritz/Voltaire spectacle with the same popcorn-munching glee as the rest of Europe since Algarotti, unlike the rest of Europe, was in a position called "I could be next". If so, he wouldn't have been entirely paranoid. Here are some Algarotti remarks from Fritz:

in 1747: I have here Algarotti, who finally fixes his condition, and commits to my service. The acquisition is good, and gives me all kinds of amenities for me individually.

Speaks the sultan of his latest concubine. Seems the sultan has also heard Algarotti would have liked to design more statutes for the Queen of Hungary might have made the teensiest weensiest criticism of the Salomon of the North while he was working for the Saxons, but no matter:

I believe, as you say, that envy has bitten Algarotti a little, and that we have magnified or falsified things that he may have said very innocently. He is engaged here as a chamberlain, and I am very happy.

What things, enquiring minds want to know?

Re: Temple of Friendship, that is actually a phrase Fritz uses in a poem he writes to Wilhelmine in the 1730s, which the audio selection had in fact taken its title from "As long as we are two in our temple of friendship". Ten years later, in a letter from July 26th 1749 (sidenote: this is when he engaged in the latest round of Bringing Heinrich To Heel and for the first time arguing with AW for that reason), he names exactly the friendship pairs he'll later put in the temple as being impossible examples. Trier doesn't provide the Wilhelmine letter this is a reply to, and the audio didn't either, so I don't know whether these "sad reflections" were in any context about his simultanous quarelling with the younger sibs, or whether it was caused by Wilhelmine's own situation in Bayreuth (Marwitz was gone, but the Margrave did have the occasional one night stand), or whether the mail simply had been late again.


My dearest sister,
Your letters are so obliging that they fill me with confusion. I am a little surprised by some sad reflections I found there on the subject of friendship, and it seems to me, my dear sister, that these heroes of friendship of which the Fable tells us are only there. There are many capable people in the world; however, this seraglio is mistaken as to demand from them such great proofs as were given by Orestes and Pylades, Nisus and Euryales. You have to take the world as it is. To imagine that virtue divides the inhabitants of the earth is the dream of a Platonic; to suppose that all men are criminals and worthy of being burned forever is to consider the universe as a misanthrope. But to say that the globe we inhabit is a mixture of good and bad things, and that our species is a compound of vices and virtues, is, it seems to me, to see things as they are and to judge them reasonably. We must bear the faults of our fellow men in favor of their good qualities, as we ourselves also need their support on many occasions. When you think that way, my dear sister, you make your life sweeter than when you surrender to sad ideas that always darken over time.... Deign to continue your precious friendship with me, and do not doubt that if I am not quite a Pirithoos, I will do my best at becoming one, in order to convince you of tenderness, esteem and all feelings with whom I am, my very dear sister, etc.

Note: (Theseus and) Pirithous are the only mythological pair named which won't end up in the Temple of Friendshiph at Sanssouci. As with Fritz making himself Pylades, not Orestes in the letter to Suhm, it's fascinating that he names himself Pirithous, not Theseus. Also: the two of them as prisoners in the underworld, having tried to abduct a goddess (until Heracles frees Theseus) is my main association here.

Fritz stays in a mythological mood, it seems. When Wilhelmine announces she's off to be with her daughter (remember, Duchess of Würtemberg, living in Stuttgart, which is also in the Würtembergian part of Swabia) to assist in the birth of her first (and as it will turn out, only) grandchild, he writes back, which is a great example of the type of lighthearted geeky teasing each other these two also engage in between dramatic declarations:

My dearest sister,
I was pleased to receive two of your letters. You are still a deity to me; but as you have so many attributes, I invoke you one day under the name of Minerva, another under that of Calliope; sometimes you deign to manifest yourself as Polymnia, then you show yourself to mortals in the form of Urania; today you will allow me to adore you under the attractions of Lucina. I have no doubt that if you go to Stuttgart, our niece will happily give birth under your auspices. You will gift the newborn child, and it will be the wonder of future centuries. I found in some old book of mythology that Lucina was dressed in a gray linen and white veil. As I imagine that, having its attributes, you will want to follow its uses, I take the liberty to offer you this fabric as the beginnings of our manufacture, and when I address my wishes to the gods, I dare to say to them: Divinities of Olympus, if you deign to favor Swabia with your presence, grant one day the same favors to Prussia!

Re: Fritz and Wilhelmine Correspondance, Trier Version - I: Greek myths and living Italians

[mildred_of_midgard]

Incidentally, Trier guys, never mind Preuss and his editorial choices, I really don't get how you could just include only one of the adorable dog letters - Folichon to Biche - but not Biche's reply.

I immediately thought WHAT? because I was *sure* they had included both. I remembered linking cahn to them, some months ago. Sure enough, they're there, so something about the html tags used must have been different from the normal letters, because they got mangled and truncated by my script. (Notice how letter 207 doesn't have text or a translation at all; the first sign that something is getting stripped that shouldn't be.)

It wasn't the Trier guys' or Preuss's fault! It was my script not being prepared to handle dog letters, lol.

I will get on that pronto. But first I have to finish reading your impressive write-ups.

Fritz and Wilhelmine Correspondance, Trier Version II - OMG Voltaire!

[selenak]

Naturally, she did visit him next once the grandkid was born. Which brings me to the next thematic selection of quotes, with good old Voltaire as the red thread. It occured to me that Wilhelmine was the one person who actually did not just comment on the whole Voltaire disaster but actively tried to mediate when everyone else was popcorn munching or staying out of it. (And she'll keep it up right till her death, since her letters in the final years show she was the one forwarding letters from Voltaire to Fritz and vice versa.) This is as telling about everyone's relationship with each other as the fact Fritz did not bite her head off for this even during the height of the argument. (Only the editor of the Fredersdorf letters does.) Mes amies: Voltaire = the only one of her brother's boyfriends for whom Wilhelmine was willing to play Yenta?

So, it's 1750, Wilhelmine has just returned to Bayreuth from her Berlin trip. Fritz had sent letters (and presents) ahead she found when arriving at Bayreuth. Also, it's carnival season in Berlin, and as we know from Lehndorff, the Divine Trio was busy partying all through said carnival in 1750. Madame de Camas is the trusted lady in waiting of SD who is one of Fritz' favourite people (during the big palace reception after the 7 Years War, he'll embrace her right after the family members). On the more sinister side, Voltaire, not even here a year, is already engaged in shady dealings (trying to swindle the Jewish banker Hirschel):

My dearest brother,
I arrived here at four o'clock, without knowing how I left Berlin. My mind was so busy and so sad on the road that I realized that it was in Potsdam, not in my body; for I had not the least inconvenience, a sign that the vital spirits were far from it. I have found here, my very dear brother, new marks of your kindness. I kissed your dear letter a thousand times. You shower me with so many graces that I no longer know how to show you how deeply touched I am. I'm looking for expressions but can't find any. My heart speaks a language that I cannot express. It is full of you, it owes you everything, and it is entirely yours.

My dearest sister,
What consoles me for your absence is knowing that you are in perfect health and in a good mood, as it seems to me from your letter. (...). Everyone is doing well here; the Queen is holding court today, my brothers are histrioning, I politicize, Voltaire tricks the Jews, Madame de Bentinck pleads, the count her nephew makes nonsense, Madame de Camas has a cold, and the good Montbail repairs the insults to her toilet that the years have made of its outdated attractions. I can only talk to you about such nonsense; my letter smells of carnival.

The financial shadiness is but a prelude. The next year, it's Maupertuis quarrel time. Also, we'll get a reference to the celebrated Castrato singer Salimbeni, who didn't care to be told how to sing by the King of Prussia and moved to Sasony. "Capons" was a nickname for Castrati:

My dearest sister,
I am very sorry that you are given false alarms on my subject. I had some slight ailments this winter; but I am however very happy to have done even better than last year. Voltaire's affair is not yet over. I think he will get away with it; he will have no less spirit, but his character will be more despised than ever. I'll see it when it's all over; but, in the long run, I prefer to live with Maupertuis to living with him. His character is steadfast, and he has more of a conversational tone than the poet, who, if you pay attention, always dogmatizes.

(Read: Dares to claim he's right when he's clearly not, since he's disagreeing with me!)

I am very happy with Carestini, especially the adagio. I am told from Dresden that Salimbeni has even less of a voice than he had here. We'll have to the market for capons, and see if we can find someone who sings well and is instructable. If you are happy with our opera, I will transcribe it and send it to you. I still recommend myself to your precious memory, by assuring you, my very dear sister, that one could not be more than I am, etc.

In 1753, as we know, it's big explosion time. Voltaire leaves Prussia. And looks for a new place to stay. Writes Wilhelmine:

I saw a letter from Voltaire today. He goes to Gotha, where his niece will find him. I doubt he will come here. However, he said he would write from Gotha again. I suppose that perhaps he intends to settle here with his niece, which I will try to elude. The letters he wrote to his friends here (which are written without distrust, and which were only shown to me after strong insistence on my part) are very respectful about you. He gives you the rightful title of a great man. He complains about the preference you have given to Maupertuis, and the prevention that you have against him. He mocks very sharply on the subject of the latter, and I admit, my dear brother, that I could not help laughing when reading the article, because it is written so comically, that we can not remain serious. I will not fail to warn you of all that I will learn from him. My weakness forces me to finish, but never to be with all the respect and tenderness imaginable, my very dear brother, etc.

Does Fritz resent the corresponding with Voltaire, or the interference? (Remember, 1926!Editor imagines him wounded to the core by yet another sisterly betrayal.) He does not. Instead, we get this (since she's also announced she'll come visiting again, remember, the last time had been in 1750, and we're now in 1753. He's at his annual spa visit, which is also what Wilhelmine is doing:

My dearest sister,
I found your dear letter here, on my return from Prussia, and I flatter myself more than ever that your health, my dear sister, will recover. What a joy to see here again a dear friend, a tenderly loving sister, who made me tremble for her health during three years of absence! I await this happy day with real impatience. In the meantime, I will receive here a crowd of foreigners, or rather unwelcome visitors, who are curious to see our camp. I would gladly do without them, but I will have to look good in a bad play; they will be soldiers, and if anything displeases them, I will not have to fear epigrams. You still see me frightened of my adventures with gentlemen of ésprit; but I wiped off some splashes from them on the way, as it happens when we receive blows while trying to separate people who are fighting. I wish you, my dear sister, a happier fate than mine with these gentlemen. I do not believe that you need two to enlighten your mind; they would need your wisdom more. Madame du Deffand never wanted to see Voltaire; they asked her why. \"It is,\" said she, \"that I buy his mind for two florins, and that I enjoy his works without exposing myself to his wickedness.\" I am going to begin the waters of Eger, and I make a thousand wishes so that those which you take will make you all the effect that one can expect from it. You are sure, I hope, that no one is more tenderly interested in it than, my very dear sister, etc.

But just to add on the subject of Voltaire: Speaking of theaters, don't think I told you the hundredth part of Voltaire's villaines; there would be enough to make a sottisier as large as a volume of Bayle. It is a great pity that the great talents of this man are tarnished by the darkest and most perfidious soul, which embittered and spoiled his whole mind!

Poor frightened by gentlemen of ésprit Fritz next has Voltaire arrested in Frankfurt. Voltaire, after getting free, tells all the world about this, including Wilhelmine:

My dearest sister,
Judge the joy I have in seeing your health recover; this is the most enjoyable news I can learn; so therefore, I will have the consolation of seeing you again, my dear sister, in good health.
I saw the letter from Voltaire and from (Madame) Denis; they both lie, and don't blame me justly. Their adventure is very different than they say; but, despite all their wrongs, I gave orders a fortnight ago to let them go. You cannot believe, my dear sister, to what extent these people play comedy; all these convulsions, these diseases, these despair, all that is only a game. I was the dupe in the beginning, but no more in the end. Voltaire dares not return to France; he will go to Switzerland, and wander from country to country. For my part, I don't care about the harm he claims to do me, but I prevented him from doing more, and, for this reason, I made him return my verses and all the letters I gave him. I embrace you a thousand times, my very dear sister, pleading with you never to doubt the tender friendship with which I am, etc.

And just for the record, Sis: Voltaire isn't even that good a writer!

My dearest sister,
I had a double pleasure when I received your dear letter. I see there authentic marks of your recovery and the testimonies of your precious friendship. I make a thousand wishes so that your health recovers perfectly, and that it is the last shock which it has to wipe. I was very surprised to receive Voltaire's book, with a large letter from him; I will have it answered by the abbot, so that I will not commit myself. His book is useful, but dryly written; he took advantage of Father Barre, whom he abridged. If he did not hurry so much in his productions, they would only be better; but I believe that the public will have nothing more than the dregs from his old age. I had fun doing an opera, which I will take the liberty of sending you as soon as it is corrected.

The opera was Montezuma, btw. Back when I first reported to you about Wilhelmine's travel letters, I already told you about her encounter with Voltaire there (coming with telling Fritz Voltaire still loves him, honest, he's sorry!, while Voltaire writes the Margravine paid a visit and is better than her brother, whom she told him is missing him, honest!). At this point, Voltaire and Fritz still only correspond through third parties. This changes in the 7 Years War, not least because Fritz starts with the suicidal letters, and Wilhelmine among other things writes to Voltaire to write a Fritz encouraging letter as fast as he can. (I quoted the letter in question in my post about the Voltaire correspondance. Presumably it's also the one Catt describes Fritz as "devouring with his eyes" when he gets it ("He has not forgotten me!") after one of the usual "Voltaire is scum!" tirades. Writes Fritz in 1757:

I laughed at the exhortations of Patriarch Voltaire; I take the liberty of sending you my answer. As for stoicism, I think I have more than he does, and as for the way of thinking, he thinks like a poet, and I as it suits me in the position where the chance of birth has placed me.

But more Voltaire, please. In conclusion, Wilhelmine: clearly had a good idea about her brother's feelings for Voltaire and need of same.

Re: Fritz and Wilhelmine Correspondance, Trier Version II - OMG Voltaire!

[mildred_of_midgard]

is instructable

Fritz's number one criterion for people he interacted with: will let him tell them what to do and how to do it. Can you say "control issues", Fritz?

"that I buy his mind for two florins, and that I enjoy his works without exposing myself to his wickedness."

Uh huh. Remember that in a few years, Fritz, when you're all "Greetings and letters do not replace Voltaire if one has once has had him in persona" to W's daughter.

Presumably it's also the one Catt describes Fritz as "devouring with his eyes"

Alas, Catt doesn't start working for Fritz until March 1758, so it's a little too late to be the October 1757 one. (We know Fritz did this to like EVERY SINGLE letter from Voltaire, right?)

Also, having gone back and reread your quote from this letter, it looks like Preuss excised the "I, too, would have been in a mood to die when I lost my country because of you and my niece was dragged through the streets of Frankfurt on your orders" bit. Does not make Fritz look good, I guess?

Also, wow that is one shade-throwing, needling letter to talk Fritz out of suicide. "Think of all the awful things they'll say about you after your death, and also remember that you're no angel, and we've all survived *your* mistreatments." It's basically a challenge to live.

...Do you think Wilhelmine anticipated this when she asked Voltaire to write to Fritz?

Fritz and Wilhelmine Correspondance, Trier Version III - Three Funerals and a Wedding

[selenak]

Back to the early 1750s again. The letters I wasn't familiar with already contains a lot of interesting comments about the younger sibs as well as Fritz getting consoled about various losses, including that of poor Biche.

Charlotte comes to town:

I am expecting my sister, the Duke and their eldest daughter, on the 4th of next month. It has been seven years since the Queen saw my sister. It will be a great pleasure to see her again. She runs a small spirit office in Braunschweig, of which your doctor is the director and the oracle. There is something to laugh about when she talks about these matters: her natural vivacity has not left her time to deepen anything; her mind goes continually goes from one subject to another, and dispatches twenty decisions in less than a minute.

One of de Catt's predecessors as reader dies:


We lost poor La Mettrie. He died for a joke, eating a whole pheasant pâté; after having gained a terrible indigestion, it was advised to be made bleed, to prove to the German doctors that one could bleed in an indigestion. It did not succeed; he took a violent fever which, having degenerated into putrid fever, prevailed. He is missed by all who knew him. He was a cheerful, good devil, a good doctor, and very bad author; but, by not reading his books, there was a way of being very happy with them.

What can one say but: Fritz. The next two gentlemen, who die in January 1752, don't get snark about their literary efforts along with the grief. They include the Comte de Rottembourg, Mildred:

O my dear sister! you who have such a tender heart, have mercy on the situation in which I find myself. I lost the Prince of Anhalt, and yesterday Rottembourg just died in my arms. I should respond to the letter you wrote to me; but I can't do it, I only see my pain. All my thoughts are attached to the loss of a friend with whom I lived twelve years in perfect friendship. May heaven save you from these misfortunes and give you only opportunities for joy! I am with all tenderness, my very dear sister, etc


My dearest sister,
If there is anything capable of comforting me, it is the part you deign to take in the painful situation in which I found myself. I confess to you, my dear sister, that I am very much of your feeling, that life is not worth being greatly missed. What is it to live, when we are deprived of all the people with whom we have lived the most, and death always takes away our loved ones? As for me, I admit that I am very disgusted with the stupid character I play; the world is very tasteless to me. You ask me how Rottembourg died? Alas! my dear sister, he is expired in my arms, firm and with heroic indifference. His pains made him cry sometimes: O God! have mercy on me! But no sign of superstition or weakness in his last moments. The Catholic priest arrived; but he expired the very moment, and it was not he who had brought him. The poor deceased held out his dying hand to me, and, barely able to speak, he said to me: "Adieu, Sire; I must leave you, I cannot come back from it." My situation was terrible the first few days. I calmed this first agitation of my mind; but there remains in my soul a background of melancholy that I feel that I will not be able to uproot anytime soon. The least thing that reminds me of this memory is a stab that pierces my heart. I believe that there are only happy people in the world who do not love anyone. I read the third song of Lucretius, and I try to soften my sorrows; but all this does not give me back what could not have been returned to me. I work a lot to distract myself, and I find that the work is what relieves me the most. Do not fear anything for me, my dear sister, I am not good enough to die, and take care of yourself, so as not to make my affliction worse.
I would like the carnival to be over, and I am rolling in my head the way to save myself from it in Potsdam, where I am more to myself, and where I can be melancholy without anyone finding fault with it.
I wish you with all my heart that you are safe from such misfortunes, which, without a doubt, are the greatest in the world for people capable of feeling. All my wishes meet for you, my dear sister; these are the feelings with which I am until the last breath of my life, my dear sister, etc.

This is the same Rottembourg who was friends with Katte, right? Anyway. A word of advance explanation re: "no ceremony" - when a married sister visits "officially", there needs to be a big public reception etc., and these are tiring, as opposed to private reunions. Next, Biche dies (at least that's my interpretation of this letter). Grieving for a dog is something Fritz and Wilhelmine can only do with each other, it seems, for:

My dearest sister,
All your letters redouble the tenderness I have for you; only a real friend can write a letter like the one I just received from you. You enter into my little sorrows, you take part in them, and you sympathize with my sensitivity. It is, in truth, only a dog; but everything you write to me about Folichon is precisely the case where I found myself with Biche. Heaven has given us the same mood and the same heart. I think like you on our reason; I think it is good for society, but very inconvenient for the individual. I am leaving the day after tomorrow for Potsdam, and I cannot hide from you that I feel a secret joy in finding myself in my dear retirement. I rejoice in the pleasure of seeing US together again, like Christians on the jubilee. Come here to see a friend, and, please, be the same with me without constraint and without embarrassment; and if you wish, we will ban any ceremony whatsoever, so that I can enjoy you better. The last times that I had the pleasure of seeing you here are those where I have benefited the most from you; let's start, if you like, where we ended up, and the little time I can have you will benefit me more. Write to me, I pray you, very sincerely on this subject, and do not disguise the bottom of your soul from me, for it will be absolutely what you see fit. I make a thousand wishes for your conservation and for the restoration of your health.

Okay, enough grief. Let's have mutual sibling teasing in a cheerful mode again:

My dearest brother,
I always regret the time I spend without writing to you; it seems to me that it is lost. I would like to be able to show you, my very dear brother, every moment of my life my feelings for you, and to be able to convince you of this. I was deprived of it for a whole week, having had great toothache. I got over it quite comically. I was advised to smoke certain herbs, which first relieved me; but as I had to repeat the same remedy several times, my ladies kept me company, and we all smoked like dragons. You see, my very dear brother, that with my natural courage, my genius for war and this new talent which I have just acquired, I could become a great general. However, I still have a doubt, because I have never found in history that Alexander or Caesar smoked. Anyway, it was predicted to me that I would command an army in the course of this year. I am so proud of this prophecy and so gullible that I only read books that deal with the profession; and to learn tactics well, I arrange pompoms and fanfreluches for the Opera.

Turenne and Condé are legendary military heroes from the age of Louis XIV.

My dearest sister,
I had the pleasure of receiving your letter, where I see that day by day you are becoming a greater captain. If you do not yet surpass Turenne and Condé by your great exploits, you will erase them by a lot of character and charms of spirit, which are much preferable to tricks of the sword. I come back from Berlin, where we celebrated the birth day of our dear mother. We played the Orplée opera. Something will still have to be fixed to make it perfectly perfect. We are starting our exercises here in a few days, which is hardly fun.

Now, while Heinrich agreed to marry in the summer of 1749, the choice and negotiatons etc. took a awhile. Now, it's altar time for Younger Brother, and prepare yourself for a breathtaking way to announce this event from Fritz on May 29th 1752. The Queen, btw, is SD, not poor EC:

My dearest sister,
I give you a thousand thanks for your precious memory; I make a thousand wishes so that you spend your time pleasantly and in good health. My gout was forced to leave me, because we could no longer live together. I have finished my maneuvers in Berlin, and, on taking leave of the Queen, there has been much talk of you there; certainly, my dear sister, you were in good hands, and your modesty would have prevented you from hearing us speak without blushing. I leave the day after tomorrow for Magdeburg, where I will do the same thing as in Berlin, and then I go to Stettin to have my schoolchildren repeat their lesson. You think, my dear sister: My brother is a damn schoolmaster. I agree, but you have to do your job. I am building here like crazy; I enjoy populating the country, not with my offspring, but with foreign colonies. We have to take care of ourselves while we are in the world, and, all weighed, all examined, it is more pleasant and more just to deal with good than with evil. The 20th of the coming month will be the wedding of Monseigneur Henri. I'm not in his confidence regarding his love or his indifference (towards the bride), but I believe that, in all respects, women will do him good. Farewell, my dear and very dear sister.

"Women will do him good" indeed. I had to look up the original for that one, and Fritz writes "la femme", singular. It is still breathtakingly... something. So poor Mina marries into the Hohenzollern family and becomes the first in-law to earn universal approval instead of mockery (as opposed to both Braunschweig sisters and the Margrave).

My dearest sister,
You guessed it, my dear sister, and my thoughts, and the place where I am. Our reviews and our nuptials are over, the nuptials to everyone's satisfaction. Our sister-in-law is a person who must have your friendship; she is the most charming person in the world, pretty, her mind is cultivated; with that, she is attentive and full of decency and good manners. We can congratulate ourselves on this acquisition, and I think you will be happy with it. We will do the same thing, you at the Hermitage and I at Sans-Souci. I wish that the waters will do you all the good imaginable, and while Eger will silence me, I beg you to believe me with the most tender friendship, my very dear sister, etc.

Re: Fritz and Wilhelmine Correspondance, Trier Version III - Three Funerals and a Wedding

[mildred_of_midgard]

This is the same Rottembourg who was friends with Katte, right?

No, different one. I told you they were confusing! Katte's Count Rottembourg is the French Count Rottembourg, who died in 1735 in Paris, having not been in Prussia (to my knowledge) since he obtained his much sought-after release from FW in 1728 and sent to Madrid as envoy instead. This is his cousin (I've seen nephew, but I think that's a mistake) Prussian Count Rottembourg who was beloved by Fritz and died in 1752.

I had this passage about Rottembourg's death in mind when I was telling cahn that Fritz absolutely does not refrain from talking about his griefs, Katte being a possible (but not certain) exception, and also when I was wondering why on earth Fritz can write this about Rottembourg to Wilhelmine and what he wrote about Suhm to Algarotti but nothing about Fredersdorf to anyone.

About Biche, I keep seeing references to a letter from Fritz to Wilhelmine on her death, that goes,

I have had a domestic loss which has completely upset my philosophy. I confide all my frailties in you: I have lost Biche, and her death has reawoken in me the loss of all my friends, particularly of him who gave her to me. I was ashamed that a dog could so deeply affect my soul; but the sedentary life I lead and the faithfulness of this poor creature had so strongly attached me to her, her suffering so moved me, that, I confess, I am sad and afflicted. Does one have to be hard? Must one be insensitive? I believe that anyone capable of indifference towards a faithful animal is unable to be grateful towards an equal, and that, if one must choose, it is best to be too sensitive than too hard.

But I'm not seeing this letter in our library.

On the other hand, I just found yet another error in the Wilhelmine letters, in the form of a letter that didn't get rendered by my script, so sigh. Before you assume Trier/Preuss didn't include something just because it's not in the file I uploaded, always double check the website.

Wow, there is definitely a major bug in the script that generates these letters. This is the second time where I found the entry for a letter duplicated an earlier letter instead of having its own proper text. Very strange.

Anyway, sure enough, the letter where he tells Wilhelmine about Biche's death in late 1751 is in the archive but not in the uploaded file. I'm going to have to dig into this bug and see how many other missing letters I can find.

Meanwhile, I've manually fixed this one and uploaded the revised file to the Fritzian library, so check letters 207ff for the Biche/Folichon letters, and 233 for the death of Biche.

I was advised to smoke certain herbs, which first relieved me; but as I had to repeat the same remedy several times, my ladies kept me company, and we all smoked like dragons.

Haha. I often wonder what these people were smoking, but now I literally wonder what they were smoking! Medicinal cannabis wasn't a thing in Europe yet, or was it?

Fritz and Wilhelmine Correspondance, Trier Version IV - More Things Between Heaven and Earth...

[selenak]

Now, it's philosophy sharing time. Mind over matter: Do we have an immortal soul?

My dearest brother,
My return here, along with my sister's stay in Erlangen, deprived me of the pleasure of writing to you. I found, my very dear brother, your dear letter upon my arrival. The good news you give me of your precious health fills me with joy. I am very much of your sentiment, my very dear brother, and am convinced that our soul is the servant of our body. I feel it every day; my soul (if I have one) is always attached to you, and my miserable body remains here without being able to follow its directions. I constantly curse it for being built of flesh and bone, and not being formed like that of sylphs, which are transported in an instant from one place to another. I have to walk this puny shell for a few hours every day, so that I can then think and reflect. But, despite all my thoughts, I still don't know what I am. I notice, however, that when I suffer the most, I do not feel any harm when I can fix my thoughts on some object which deserves application. It is true that this relief is only momentary, the springs of the machine, weakened by pain, cannot endure a long application; I also realize that often I do not see an object appearing before my sight, and I do not hear a sound striking my ear; I don't think about it or pay attention to it. I conjecture from there that there is only the reflection which prints to me the ideas which are brought back to me by the senses. This conjecture sometimes makes me believe that there is something more in me than my body; but I find, on the other hand, so many contradictions, that I return to the other system. Would you not say, my very dear brother, that I am as good a philosopher as a great captain, and that I had better be silent than talk to you about my hollow dreams? But it is new for you to hear unreason. The conversation between Voltaire, Argens and Algarotti will seem all the more pleasant to you; this letter will serve them as a shadow; you need it in a table. Lest it become Italian and too obscure, I finish by reiterating the tenderness and the deep respect with which I will be all my life, my very dear brother, etc.

My dearest sister,
Your letters, far from boring me, are philosophical instructions from which even philosophers could benefit. If there is a created being worthy of having an immortal soul, it is you, without question; if there is an argument capable of making me lean towards this opinion, it is your genius. However, my dear sister, I prefer to believe that nature has made an exception in your favor than to flatter myself with the same benefit. It is of course that, when we represent to ourselves what we are, without the senses and without the memory nothing remains of what makes us, and this is of course what I count on, looking at the time that I live as the only one destined for me between the eternity of the times which preceded me and that which will succeed me. I know that I was not before I was born, and from the past I conclude for the future. Besides, what good would this part of us survive the other? what would she do? what sauce would we put it in? All these reasons strengthen me in my feeling, and I do not believe that we have anything to complain about to become again what we were. For me, I bless nature to have favored me, by being born with a sister who alone could make the consolation of my life, to have given me parents who are esteemed by their virtues, and not to have been given a worried spirit, difficult to satisfy. (If you say so, Fritz.) Here is my little confession of faith, which resembles neither that of Augsburg, nor the catechism of Calvin. It is not given to everyone to be orthodox, but it is up to each one to follow the laws of nature, and it is, I believe, to this practical philosophy that an honest man owes the most. But I don't know what I want to tell you about my daydreams. You, who can be maintained from cedar to hyssop, and pass from the most sublime philosophy to the history of pompoms, you will forgive me if I brighten up my letter with these trifles that I offer to your toilet ; although great philosopher and great captain, you cannot do without spending an hour a day there, and I flatter myself that, at that time, you will sometimes want to use the necklace that I present to you, making sure that it starts from the principle of friendship and the tenderest tenderness with which I am, my very dear sister, etc.

Necklace: As Lehndorff somewhat snarkily remarked, Wilhelmine liked jewelry. Fritz sent her some with the same letter.

Cothenius is Fritz' doctor, "my sister of Ansbach" is poor Friederike Luise (who in order of birth comes after Fritz), formerly spirited girl braving FW, now locked in a miserable marriage.

My dearest sister,
Your letter takes me from the cruelest uncertainty where mortal can be. I was apprehensive for your precious health. I had dispatched Cothenius to Baireuth, and received no news. Thanks to heaven, you give me yourself, and good ones. If my unhappy machine was not chained here on my galley, I would have flown to you to get me out of worry; but I am less in control of my actions than the smallest individual, and I have to row, since it is my destiny to row. However, I had the consolation of seeing my sister from Ansbach again. Judge the pleasure I felt when I kissed a friend from my childhood, a sister I love dearly, and whom I saw last nine years ago. There were only sad partings in all of this, and these are, I believe, moments to be avoided as much as possible. She will be in Braunschweig today, and I think that around the 7th or the 8th of the coming month, she will be in Baireuth. She will tell you, my dear sister, that we have often talked about you, and that you are loved and adored by the whole family. I find her health bad, and I urged her to consult Cothenius on the way to Baireuth. I dare to beg you to make her remember. She heard Dido's opera and my singers, which amused her. (...)


When singers hired by you dare to praise your arch nemesis, it can only have one reason:

La Astrua says a thousand goods from the Queen of Hungary, and I believe that an egret of diamonds that this princess has given her greatly influences the praise she lavishes on her.

It's noticable now that a lot of the fabled Sanssouci table round is no longer in Sanssouci:

I am reduced to the one of Argens, who, for the most part, stays in his bed; Algarotti made a hole in the moon, Maupertuis is sick, and Voltaire is in Switzerland with Mandrin; which reduces me to myself more than ever. I kiss you a thousand times; my heart accompanies you everywhere.

Just two tidbits from the travel correspondance on Fritz' part:

My dearest sister,
You make fun of me and, with good reason, of the stupid moralizing that I subject you to; but, my dear sister, you find yourself among a gay and mad people who inspire you, perhaps in spite of you, with joyful ideas, and for me, I lead the life that a Carthusian spends in his cell. This, I believe, is what contributes to our different way of thinking.

My dearest sister,
I was quite happy to receive two of your dear letters from Bologna and Venice. I believe that, after having seen Rome, the rest of Italy, although beautiful, is not comparable to it. I am delighted that, in the country of Pantaloni, Algarotti behaved in such a way as to please you. (...) I would have liked the Holy Father to have become your Cicisbeo, my dear sister, in place of Cataneo, who must be a rather annoying fat man. I hope that by the end of this month you will be back from your long journey, and that you will be able to rest on your laurels. This rapprochement will in some way lessen the length of the absence, and I would at least believe I see you half here. Goodbye, my dear sister; take good care of your health, and do me the justice to believe me with the most perfect tenderness, my very dear sister, etc.

Wilhelmine is back in Bayreuth, alright, but there are thunderclouds on the political horizon. We haven't touched on this yet, but of course "the 7 Years War" in English usually means the part where the French and the English duked it out in the colonies. Which was indeeed intimatedly connected to the European version, since Fritz allying himself with England at this very point would greatly contribute to France allying itself with Austria.

My dearest sister,
On my return from Silesia, I was delighted by two of your dear letters. I am delighted to know that you are in good health, and I flatter myself that this will continue despite the winter and the harsh seasons. You show me your fears for the war; but, my dear sister, it is very far from the Ohio river at the Sprée, and from the Beau-Sejour fort in Berlin. I would bet that the Austrians will not soon walk in Flanders. War travels like a great lady; it started in America; now it has arrived in the Ocean and in the English Channel; she has not yet landed, and if she takes to the ground in the coming spring, she could perhaps, for greater convenience, take a litter, so that she will be seen coming from afar; and, after all, one is exposed to so many hazards in the common course of life, that war only adds a little more. We can neither make nor destroy the conjunctures; we politicians are only made to profit if we are wise. Now everything is only thinking here of Ferdinand's wedding; it will be done at Charlottenburg, because the Dowager Queen wished it. I will give parties, and Ferdinand will grow stump; you will see a whole tribe come out of this bridal bed; this is only good, because we do not have too much. I kiss your hands, my dear sister, begging you to believe me with the most perfect tenderness

I remain slightly stunned every time I come across this utter lack of predicting anything accurately at the eve of the worst war of the century until Napoleon shows up.

Now, here's a stunner: Fritz mentioning the rape poem:

I will see what I can do this winter to oblige you; there is, among other things, an epic poem of which Valori and Darget are the subjects; but it is so licentious, and besides so badly hatched, that I do not have the courage to submit it to your examination.

Valori, btw, is the French ambassador, with whom the Divine Trio is very friendly. The philosophical letter by AW from Spandau about shooting at sparrows and war as evil which I quote in my review of the Ziebura AW biography is adressed to him. I had forgotten that he also features in this poem. Meaning: Not content with insulting heads of European states (and their mistresses) on a regular basis, Fritz also at a point when France is at war with England and he makes an alliance with England finds time to write satiric porn involving the French ambassador.

Re: Fritz and Wilhelmine Correspondance, Trier Version V: And in the end...

[selenak]

On to the war. The most important war letters you already know from other posts. Here's the one about AW's original offense:

My dearest sister,
I have had the pleasure of receiving two of your letters today, one of which is from the 16th. The bad behavior of my brother of Prussia forces me to leave Leitmeritz; I hope to straighten out his nonsense, if, humanly, this is possible. You judge very well, my dear sister, of our present situation and of what may result from it for the future. As I have no power over secondary causes, I do not pretend to regulate my destinies; I confine myself to behaving wisely, taking advantage of opportunities, if they present themselves to me, and I am resolved to brazenly confreont all the odds that may happen to me. When a horse has taken the bit to the teeth, it does not see, it knows no more danger. I am very angry, my dear sister, for the repercussions you feel from my misfortune; I dare to predict that it will not remain with you, but that the catastrophe will become general, if fortune is not changed soon. In the end, I laugh at the troops of the Empire, and the French, and the Swedes, and the Austrians, if they wanted to succeed one another; but if I had as many arms as Briarée, I could not be enough to dispatch the reborn hydra which presents itself to me, which multiplies every day, and which besieges me on all sides. I am in the case of a traveler attacked by a large troop of brigands who assassinate him, and who share his remains. When I am assassinated, it will not matter to me that two empresses, a Very Christian King, and I do not know how many great princes, all very just and very religious, have done me this honor. I bet for sure that France will sooner or later repent of the folly and the inconsistency of its present conduct; but all that hardly consoles. It sometimes happens that Madame Justice is seduced and allowed to be deceived; we have examples that she hastily hanged men, whose innocence she later recognized, and made very polite apologies to the widow and the children; but it did not restore life to the dead, and he did not only have the consolation of being informed of her regrets. They will not hang me precisely; but the treatment which is being prepared for me is, in truth, hardly much better. Finally, my dear sister, hanged or not, I will be until the last sigh of my life, with the most tender esteem, etc.

Good. Grief.
This is him after winning Roßbach:

My dearest sister,
Finally, my dear sister, I can tell you some good news. You no doubt knew that the coopers, with their circles, wanted to take Leipzig. I came running, and chased them beyond the Saale. The Duke of Richelieu sent them aid of twenty battalions and fourteen squadrons; they said they were sixty-three thousand strong. Yesterday I went to recognize them, and could not attack them in their post, which made them reckless. Today they marched with the intention of attacking me, but I warned them. It was a gentle battle. Thank God I didn't have a hundred men dead; the only badly injured general is Meinike. My brother Henri and General Seydlitz have slight bruises on their arms. We have the whole cannon of the enemy; their rout is total, and I am in full march to push them back beyond the Unstrut. After so many alarms, behold, thanks to heaven, a favorable event, and it will be said that twenty thousand Prussians have defeated fifty thousand French and Germans. Now I will descend peacefully to the grave, since the reputation and honor of my nation is saved. We may be unhappy, but we will not be dishonored. You, my dear sister, my good, divine and tender sister, who deign to take an interest in the fate of a brother who adores you, deign to participate in my joy. As soon as I have time, I will tell you more. I kiss you with all my heart.

And then AW dies. Here I must say the complete letter is actually better than the quote from it I was already familiar with, which was the "I was right, he was wrong" sentence. (It's still incredibly - err, Fritzian.) To recapitulate: The Margrave hadn't told Wilhelmine about AW's death for fear of what it would do to her, and Heinrich had held back for the same reason. Fritz, assuming she already knows, had written the following letter which the Margrave had withheld but eventually, when she worried about not hearing from Fritz and Fritz was freaking out about not hearing from her, gave her, which meant it was thus she found out:

My dearest sister,
I take advantage of a small moment of leisure to renew to you the assurances of my tenderest friendship. You will no doubt know the misfortune which has just taken my brother of Prussia from me. You can judge my affliction and my pain. He had, indeed, last year, acted very badly towards me; but it was rather at the instigation of wicked people than of himself. However, he is no more, and we lose him forever. O you, the dearest of my family! you who hold my heart most in this world, for the love of what is most precious to you, keep yourself, and may I at least have the consolation of being able to shed my tears in your bosom. Do not fear anything for us and for what perhaps will appear to you frightening; you will see that we will get out of this. As I haven't heard from you for a very long time, it makes me tremble for your days. For God, have a servant write: The Margravine is doing well, or: She was inconvenienced. It is better than the cruel uncertainty in which I find myself. Deign to send me a note, and be sure that my existence is inseparable from yours. I am with the most tender friendship and gratitude, my very dear sister, etc.


I had already quoted from the following letter to you; here it is in full: <

My dearest sister,
I was more dead than alive when I received your letter, my dear sister. My God, your handwriting! You must have come back from the tomb, for surely you must have been a hundred times worse than I have been told. I bless heaven for not knowing, but I beg you in grace to borrow the hand of another to write to me, and not to tire yourself so that it could worsen your illness. What! As sick and infirm as you are, you think of all the embarrassments in which I find myself! In truth, this is too much. Rather think, think and persuade yourself well, that without you there is no longer happiness for me in life, that my days depend on yours, and that it depends on you to shorten or extend my career. Yes, my dear sister, it is not really a compliment that I write to you, but it is the bottom of my heart, it is my way of thinking true and constant, from which I cannot give up. Now see if you will take all possible care of your conservation; only on this condition will I judge your kindness for me and the friendship you have with me. I have a terrible task to accomplish; this is what prevents me from talking longer on a matter with which my heart is filled. You may well believe it, just as no one loves or adores you more than, my very dear sister, etc.

My dearest brother,
It is not the king, it is the friend and the dear brother that I dare to take the liberty of writing. My great weakness prevents me from forming characters and even from writing for a long time. I know, my dear brother, that you desire the heart; mine is all yours, for whom my attachment will only end with my life. I have been in hell so far, more spirit than body. To hide from me the loss we have just endured, the Margrave has kept all the letters that have come from you; I thought everything was lost. I have just received these dear letters, which have appeased the bitterness that the death of my brother caused me, to which I was extremely sensitive. You want, my dear brother, to know news of my condition. I have been, like a poor Lazarus, for six months in bed. I have been carried for eight days on a chair and on a chariot, to make me change my attitude a little. I have a dry cough which is very strong, and which we cannot control; my legs, as well as my hands and my face, are swollen like a bushel, which obliges me to reserve to write to you more interesting things by the following part. I am resigned to my fate; I will live and die happy, provided you are happy. My heart tells me that heaven will still work miracles for you. (...) Forgive, my dear brother, if I finish; my chest is so weak that I can barely speak. My heart would chatter from morning until evening, if it could speak and tell you everything it thinks for the dear brother of whom I will be all my life, with very deep respect, etc.

My dearest sister,
Your man wants to leave; I cannot push him out without giving him this letter again. I asked him about everything he knows and doesn't know; he told me he didn't see you. I beg you, please, if you send someone, ensure that he sees you before you leave; I would believe at least find in his eyes the image of the one my heart adores. Finally, my dear sister, I'm starting to flatter myself on your healing, and this idea puts at least a little balm in my blood. For God, don't deny my hopes; it would be a terrible leap, and those kinds of relapses in grief kill. I will go to dinner tomorrow at Dresden, at my brother Henri's. I'm telling you, my dear sister, a foolishness that has crossed my mind, to amuse you. You will say, while reading it: Ah! how crazy! And I will answer you that when one is not destined in the world to become wise, it is hard lost to claim it, and that since the seven wise men of Greece, there was none more. I kiss you a thousand times; my heart and soul are in Baireuth, at home, and my puny body vegetates here, on the highways and in the camps. (...) Deign to do justice to the feelings of an inviolable tenderness that I have vowed to you to the grave, being, my very dear sister, etc.

Wagner is Wilhelmine's doctor:

My dearest brother,
There is never joy without sorrow in this world; if I had followed my inclination, I would have first witnessed to you myself the joy which your last victory caused me; but two swollen arms and the redoubling of the cough prevented me from doing so. I shudder when I think of the unfortunate situation in which you were before this blow, and of which fortunately I only knew a part. (...) You shame, my dear brother, all those who embrace professions. Wagner was quite surprised to see you shine with the ranks of his colleagues. He had already had the good fortune to follow your ideas, but the illness is furiously tenacious; it must be, since you are interested in it, and it does not change, far from it, for I am weakening day by day more. However, the spirit still remains with me. I am with all the tenderness and respect imaginable, my very dear brother, etc.
P. S. My sister Amélie is happy to have had the pleasure of seeing you. If I were healthy, I would brave the Russians and the pandours. Not being able to prove my zeal for the State and for you in the essential things, as did my brothers, allow me to do it for your pleasures by offering trifles which the sky wants you to enjoy soon!

(Meaning: fruit, which she knew he loved. His next letter, the last one, she didn't receive anymore.)

My dearest sister,
Deign to receive kindly the verses I send you. I am so full of you, of your dangers and of my gratitude, that, awake as in a dream, in prose as in poetry, your image also reigns in my mind, and fixes all my thoughts. May the sky grant the wishes that I address to it every day for your convalescence! Cothenius is on the way; I will deify him, if he saves the person in the world who is most dear to my heart, whom I respect and venerate, and whose I am until I return my body to the elements, my dearest sister, etc.

Mr. and Mrs. King: Fritz - Elisabeth Christine: The Correspondance

[selenak]

The letters to and sometimes from his unwanted wife, in which our antihero comes across as surprisingly three dimensional, i.e. only sometimes a jerk, and at other times friendly; once or twice, even endearing.

Firstly, to end on a positive note, let's get one of the Fritzian speciality condolence letters out of the way.

Madame,
I deplored the death of your brother Prince Albert; but he died as a good man, although he died reckless and without necessity. It has been a while since I warned the Duke of what could not fail to happen; I have often said this to the deceased, but he only followed his own head, and I am surprised that he was not killed a long time ago.
Prince Ferdinand has a bruised knee, but he is going out and doing well. I pity you, Madame, for the sorrow that it is natural for you to feel the death of your loved ones; but these are events for which there is no remedy. I am with esteem, etc

See, if Fritz had died earlier, then we'd have a set up for the perfect Agatha Christie murder mystery. Everyone has a motive! Heinrich is the main and obvious suspect! But really, it was EC!

Except not. I know from Lehndorff's diaries the woman could sometimes lose her temper, but in her few letters towards her husband, she comes across as amazingly sweet-natured. He, in turn, wasn't always like that. Seems they had a regular exchange of delicious fruit grown in their respective residences going, which leads to letters like this:

Madame,
I thank you for the beautiful fruits that you were kind enough to send me. I will eat them to your health, and I count on the fact that that Sans-Souci will not be outdone, and will in turn provide them for Schönhausen. I am with great esteem, etc.
My compliments to Madame Camas.


The most interesting of the not very large collection of letters are those dealing with AW's death. As a reminder, AW was EC's brother-in-law twice over, since he was married to her sister Louise. Who was pregnant at the time of his death with their fourth child.

Sire,
What a sad circumstance makes me take the pen in my hand to tell you of the death of the Prince of Prussia, which happened this morning at half past three in the morning! I offer you my condolences on the death of the prince. First after I learned it, I went here to see how to tell my sister, especially in the circumstances in which she is, so that it does not harm her, and, if it is possible, to keep the fruit she bears. She doesn't know it yet. I recommend her, until she can write herself, to the honor of your good graces and protection, having, after the great loss she has suffered, only you as her support and protector. I'll be at the palace, but my sister doesn't know it yet; the doctor and everything one needs is here. God grant you health, and keep you until the most remote age of human life, for the happiness of your subjects and in particular for that of which all happiness depends on it! I recommend myself in your good graces, and am with the most perfect attachment, complete devotion and all the tenderness imaginable, etc.


Madame,
You have done very well to hide from my sister-in-law the great loss she has just suffered, and I have no doubt that you will use all the circumspection possible to inform her. At the same time, you will say to her that one could not be more devastated by this misfortune than I am, and that I will contribute in all that will depend on me to her happiness, and that by my friendship I will try to soften the heaviness of her loss, as much as such losses can be softened; that I look to her children as my own, and that she can count on me to take the greatest care of them, keeping the image of my poor brother imprinted in the bottom of my heart, where death alone can erase it.
I am, Madame, with great esteem, etc.

As letters from Fritz apropos AW's death go, this one is the least infuriating by far, and the most helpful to the actual recipient.

Sire,
It is with perfect gratitude that I received your letter. Regarding my sister's pregnancy, it is going well, and we have taken every conceivable precaution so that the alteration does not harm her. Doctor and surgeon were there first. She is now halfway there. As my sister is in this state, and besides that in great mourning, I hope that you will allow the Duchess my mother to come to Berlin, and lodge in the castle, and that you will have the grace to give your orders on it. I sincerely promise you that we will not cause the slightest trouble; for myself, I hate it as much as we can hate it, and I have had all my life a horror of it. Surely, I will not do more than is necessary for expenses, and I believe that my mother will be able to content herself with the way I ordinarily live. I avoid all expenses, and cut myself off on everything; but the mourning and the trip never stopped costing me, although everything was done with the greatest economy in the world. You can count on me, you can be sure I will not do anything in the world which you may not like. Your graces and kindness are always too precious to me, and surely it will not be through my fault that I could have the misfortune to lose them; I would not console myself with my life for it, and my conduct is very simple and focused, as everyone can tell you and testify. God grant you health, keep your and give you happiness in all your endeavors! I recommend myself in honor to your good graces and kindness, and remain with the most perfect attachment, complete devotion and all the imaginable tenderness, etc

Madame,
I learned with pleasure the happy deliverance of my sister-in-law. May this child be happier than his uncles!

The plural is interesting here, Fritz. Anyway, he's been in amiable mode towards EC for too long. After she asks him what the newborn kid should be called, we get back to "why is this woman bothering me when I have a war to fight?"

Madame,
As long as my nephew is not called Jacques, Xavier or Joseph, what does it matter? If he was my son, I would call him Charles-Émile; but that is not important. I have the honor to be, etc.

Prince Karl-Emil is is, the only one of the Hohenzollern to be called that. Sadly, he doesn't survive the year. Incidentally, I can guess why not Joseph - MT's son, which is all Fritz knows about him at that point - nor Xavier - very Catholic South German name accociated with Jesuits - but what Fritz' beef with Jacques aka Jakob/James is, I don't know. Not wanting to piss off his one remaining ally the Hannover cousin in England?

Also, Mildred, is there a Charles-Émile/Karl Emil among the boyfriends?

EC's mother dies. Time for a Fritzian condolence letter again. Has he learned how to do it by now?

Madame,
I learned with pain of the death of your mother. I offer you my condolences. She was old and sickly; now, she is sheltered from all the misfortunes that plagues humanity, and however long we live, we take the same path, one a little earlier, the other a little more later. One day we will all be there, when everyone has finished the role they are forced to play in the world.
After all the misfortunes and bad news that have been daily for six years, it is really time that we receive more pleasant ones. I hope this time comes soon, assuring you of all the esteem with which I am, etc.

Granted, if one bears in mind how the deaths of his own loved ones are always a terrible blow that demand universal grief, it's a tad hypocritical, but still, marks for effort, Fritz. You're getting there.

Next: EC has an open leg. This offers our anti hero the chance to a) provide medical advice, and b) write a rare concerned "get well" letter that does not include "live for me!"

Madame,
I was very sorry yesterday to see you in the state you were in. As I judge your illness, I believe that the cause comes from an acrid and corrosive blood. It is imperative that the doctor gives you beverages made of vulnerable herbs and simple, to correct the blood, and then your wound will close soon, and you will be healed. But do not waste time taking this remedy; you have to eat a lot of vegetables, which are all good for the blood, and with this diet I am sure you will heal yourself. But if the doctor doesn't give you these potions, there is a risk that the inflammation will start on your leg overnight, and then the danger could become serious. The advice I give you is crucial for your recovery. Please speak to the doctor; in the meantime, I wish for your recovery, assuring you of the perfect esteem with which I am, etc.

Poor Louise, after her late florishing as the suprise most popular in-law among the entire Hohenzollern clan, dies. Now, since future FW2's first marriage ended and Elisabeth the younger was banished to Stettin, Louise had been raising Elisabeth's and FW2's only daughter Friederike. What shall become of her?

Madame,
I offer you my condolences on the death of your sister and my sister-in-law, whom we have just lost. Her virtue deserves our regrets, but we cannot resuscitate her. There is this poor child who remains of her, who can only find asylum in your home. You would give me great pleasure, if you wanted to take care of her education, as her late grandmother has done so far. You can easily guess the reasons I have for arranging this case. The apartments in the palace will not provide any difficulty, and this can be done under the pretext of your attachment to everything that remains of the late Princess.
I am with all respect, etc.

Note that Fritz does not consider sending little Friederike to her other grandmother, his sister Charlotte. And apparantly nephew FW and wife No.2 aren't an option. "My niece of Holland" is Wilhelmine Minor, AW's now married daughter, his favourite niece.

Madame,
After having carefully examined the palace, there are only the rooms that my niece from Holland occupied that can be given to the little girl; I first have them accommodated for this purpose, and the little girl will be able to move in tomorrow. Those above them would be good as well, but they are cold, and when foreigners of quality come here, we would have to dislodge the little one, which otherwise is not necessary. She can therefore enter it tomorrow. I am, Madame, etc.

Mr. Micromanagement thinking through which rooms are most suitable for a child is oddly...nice. Anyway, EC is not yet done with losing family members. Next, it's the turn of the brother of hers married to Charlotte, "the dear duchess".


Sire,
It is with a heart full of gratitude that I mark my most humble thanks for the gracious attention you have had for me in making me announce with caution the sad news of the death of my dear brother. The part which you take there can be used for my consolation. It is very sad, in the space of two and a half months, to lose a brother and a sister. The dear duchess makes me very sad, knowing the tender attachment she had for my dear brother, and this loss must be very overwhelming. God grant to preserve your days and give you a perfect health, and that you live until the most remote age of the world, for the happiness of all your country, and in particular for her who utterly depends on it, and who is sincerely attached to you, and who is with all the devotion imaginable, etc.

Okay, Fritz. Last chance to write a good consolence letter to EC about a sibling of hers!

Madame,
I rightly feared that the devastation that death has just caused in your family would affect you too deeply, especially because these fatal blows followed each other so closely. But what is left to take? We cannot raise the dead; we can only submit to the eternal order which subjects our friends, relatives and ourselves to the common law. With regard to the Duke, I am convinced that death is a kind of happiness for him, because he was only dragging out the languid remains of his existence; deprived of speech for four weeks, deprived of the action of his arms and legs for a few years, it was dependent on itself, and a spectacle of pity and tenderness for his loved ones. I wish, Madame, that this is the last domestic grief that happens to you, and that the sky watches over your days, being with all possible esteem, etc.

Re: Mr. and Mrs. King: Fritz - Elisabeth Christine: The Correspondance

[mildred_of_midgard]

First: Oh, Fritz.

I'm glad they got to have at least some positive long-distance interactions in the form of exchanging fruit.

Good job improving your condolence letters, Fritz! I'm not sure whether this is a sign of improved skill/emotional maturity or just reflects his differing opinions/lack thereof on the person involved, but nonetheless.

LOL at the Agatha Christie plot. EC would be least suspected but amply motivated! This would be a wonderful reveal.

Also, Mildred, is there a Charles-Émile/Karl Emil among the boyfriends

Not that I know of! I saw this when I was compiling and uploading the letters, and I was hoping you would know what the appeal of this name was all about. I only found one predecessor in the Hohenzollerns, and he doesn't seem like someone Fritz would go for (although an ideal son for FW). I will keep an eye out for possible candidates, though.

but what Fritz' beef with Jacques aka Jakob/James is, I don't know. Not wanting to piss off his one remaining ally the Hannover cousin in England?

Maybe? Total 180 after the war started, if so. And I guess "Jacob" is the eponymous name for the Jacobites, but the claimant who caused the most trouble fifteen years ago was named Charles, and he's still around making occasional noise, so...

I don't know. Fritz's taste in baby names takes me by surprise.

a rare concerned "get well" letter that does not include "live for me!"

Almost certainly, if you ask me, because he's not actually emotionally invested in her living. I suspect his better condolence letters to her are also when he had no emotional investment (unlikely the brother who'd been driving him crazy and he just *needed* to get that rant out of his system to all parties, ring theory be damned).

Mr. Micromanagement thinking through which rooms are most suitable for a child is oddly...nice.

Lol. No coffee bean is too small to be ground!

In addition to all the wonderful content-ful excerpts and summaries you provided, I also wish to present the array of Fritz's excuses for not writing to her, which constitute 15 of 117 of the letters (and don't include the excuses for not visiting her):

I leave you to judge whether, in these conditions, we are able to write long letters.

You will learn by all the news of the day the progress that has been made here, and besides I am led to believe that you do not take much interest in it; so I refer you to public news, begging you to believe me all yours.

I will no longer be able to write to you.

I will only tell you in two words that everything is fine here...I am so overwhelmed with a dreadful headache that it is impossible for me to tell you more.

I don't have time to tell you more.

If I don't write to you often, it won't be my fault, because we have little time traveling.

I have much to do; another time, my letter will be longer.

f I haven't written to you for a long time, it's because I didn't have time for me.

If I hadn't been tired, I would have thanked you myself. However, I will take my time to do it at the first opportunity.

The multitude of cases has prevented me from writing to you so far; It is therefore to take leave of you that I address this letter to you.

I only have time to assure you of my perfect friendship, to tell you that we are all doing very well, and to ask you to return them included to their addresses.

Communication is not yet as free as you think.

I am currently so overloaded with work, that I hardly have a moment left for me; which obliges me to finish my letter.

I would thank you for it in more detail, if the legions of affairs gave me the time.

And of course, the very last letter he wrote to her:

I am very much obliged to you for the vows which you deign to make; but a high fever which I took prevents me from answering you.

De facto unmarried Fritz!

Émilie du Châtelet: Daring Genius of the Enlightenment (Judith P. Zinsser) - general thoughts

[cahn]

General thoughts on this book: I got the impression that Zinsser is a rather more careful writer and historian than, oh, Bodanis. (Disclaimer: I have only read the kindle sample of Bodanis directly, although of course I've referred extensively to mildred's excellent writeup.) She is very careful to distinguish between things that she is taking from primary sources (mostly letters) and things she is totally making up from circumstantial evidence, which are usually clearly marked as such (e.g., "Perhaps she would have..." or "It could have been that...") which I super appreciated. I am, however, not discounting the always-real possibility that she has her own axes to grind that also make her not as reliable a secondary source as she might be. One of her axes clearly is that Zinsser is frustrated by and arguing against previous "standard" bios of Émilie; I'm not sure whether she had a manuscript of Bodanis' book (they seem to have come out the same year) but Bodanis seems to say pretty much all the things she's arguing against. She also includes a lot of cultural and historical context, which was great for people like me who know nothing about the historical period. (At one point she mentions that noblewomen had so much fancy clothing on that they often just... did their elimination where they stood, instead of trying to maneuver over a chamber pot, and servants cleaned it up. Is this true?? And if so, how is it that everyone in fandom doesn't know this??)

Zinsser is unfortunately not super good (it seemed to me) about chronology or signposting what she's going to talk about and where; for example, there's this essay she submitted about fire to the Academy of Sciences that mildred_of_midgard mentioned, which Zinsser mentions fairly early on in passing and then doesn't follow up on for another chapter or two. In the interim I was going "...what?? I really want to know about this!!" and was surprised when it showed up again in much more detail, at that point in proper (I think) chronological context. However, I was very pleased with the biography from my perspective of knowing a little from mildred about Emilie in particular and a lot (relatively speaking) about associated figures of the period.

Also, Zinsser clearly doesn't think much of Voltaire. I must say that she backs this up with quotes (of which one or two in the following) and she certainly convinced me, lol. Relatedly, although as far as I can tell she understands quite well what's going on historically speaking, she's writing a bio of du Châtelet and not of Voltaire, and she will spend a chapter talking about du Châtelet's book on physics and one page talking about Voltaire and Fritz. (Which I thoroughly approve of.) And in general she is way more interested in talking about du Châtelet's accomplishments than about gossipy sensationalism, which honestly I am a fan of (as long as I get some gossip, lol).

General thoughts about Émilie: I get the impression from this book that her real strength was in synthesizing what other people had done into a coherent whole (e.g., her Institutions of Physics textbook, her translation of Newton). Which is really impressive but not the sort of thing people tend to be remembered for (at least, I tend to have stuck in my mind people who have made specific discoveries) so I will grudgingly give history a pass for not really remembering her. (See also: Algarotti, who I think suffers from not exactly the same problem but a related kind of problem, in that the kind of thing he was good at -- being good at lots of things -- is not the sort of thing history tends to remember these days.) That being said, there appears to have additionally been a problem of people attributing all her work to MEN, which is NOT OKAY WITH ME. :)

Émilie du Châtelet: (Judith P. Zinsser) - synopsis

[cahn]

In the following synopsis, "Bodanis" will generally speaking be quotes from mildred's excellent writeup of Bodanis' book :) When I am giving my own opinions (as opposed to what I think are Zinsser's opinions), I will either indicate that it's me, cahn, speaking, or put it in square brackets :)

Bodanis: Young Émilie likes reading books and talking about intellectual matters. Dad encourages her; Mom resents and discourages her. Mom wants to lock her in a convent. Dad manages to keep her out.
Zinsser: Dad wouldn't have had time! He was busy with his job! Also, schooling in a convent for a little while was something everyone did and it wasn't weird or bad. Her mom was probably mostly in charge of her schooling, so probably encouraged her. [One of her cites for this is mom and Émilie arguing over a Biblical point, which is supposed to show that mom was encouraging of Émilie expressing her own opinion. I dunno, though, it could just be that mom was being resentful and trying to prove Émilie wrong? Unsuccessfully, as it turns out. Anyway, I'm not totally convinced by her here, but at least she shows her source, or at least one of them, so we can draw our own conclusions!]

Bodanis: [fencing, card counting stories]
Zinsser: not mentioning fencing or card counting at all. No sensationalistic gossip here! At least, not about non-sex things. Does mention that Voltaire had a whole pile of money (mentions veeeery briefly his government bonds thing, but does not go into detail, which, I guess, this is not a Voltaire bio) and helped the du Châtelets with money; apparently they were not great at not spending less than they eraned.

Bodanis: She ends up married to a decent man who likes having an intelligent wife and is willing to let her do her own thing as long as he can have his own affairs on the side and they don't have to interact much.
Zinsser: This is true, but let me append that this marriage was considered a partnership, especially in terms of raising their children to have good positions in society, and she did a bunch of stuff like have basically power of attorney and arrange sale of properties, etc., and she went to Brussels (later, with Voltaire) to negotiate a settlement over contested properties. Cite: Voltaire letters talking about how much Émilie got done! (Also she wanted her son to learn physics. This is a plot point later on.)

Bodanis:She has a couple kids with her husband, and an affair with a nobleman. It's fun, but she wants more emotional depth. They stay friendly exes.
Zinsser: She was kinda frivolous at this point in her life, I think. Backed up by a reminiscence where she talks about how she was neglecting her genius and understanding. We don't really know why she decided she wanted to study more math. Also, how's this for sensational gossip: Émilie wrote a note saying she wanted to die over this nobleman (who then talked about (a probably made-up story) how he saved her from suicide) and everyone laughed at her and her family was mad at her for being sensationalistic. Have affairs, but don't be in the news about them!

Zinsser:Anyway, one of her sons died and she started getting more serious, so I guess I don't really disagree about her wanting more emotional depth. Then there's Maupertuis! She started studying math with him. Maupertuis was OK at math, I guess, but mostly was in it to be ambitious, and he didn't have the natural talent or interest that Émilie did. Also, there is totally no evidence that he and Émilie had sex! Just, you know, super emo letters, because as we all know from Lehndorff, that century was an emo time! [Zinsser says that Émilie wrote similarly affectionate language to others, but does not give quotes.] Maupertuis's portrait was in her bedroom at the time but that is also totally not evidence!

Me: ...I don't know about that, it seems to me that if you had a portrait of someone in your bedroom --
The ghost of Fritz, in the back: *raises hand*

Zinsser: ANYWAY. Then she and Voltaire were introduced and had extremely spark-inducing intellectual conversations and wrote extremely flirty letters and they were definitely "courting" and in love but there is totally no evidence they had sex at this point either! Voltaire wrote flirty letters to lots of guys! And Émilie was never jealous of any of the guys, except Fritz! So you can't judge by flirty letters.

Let's have a quote showing how much cooler Émilie is than Voltaire: "Clairaut [her tutor after Maupertuis, whom Zinsser likes a lot more, or possibly I just like him a lot more because he seems more interested in math]... wrote to a friend when he first began giving lessons to her and to Voltaire that she was 'altogether remarkable,' while he could not even make the other understand what mathematics was."

Voltaire has a warrant out for his arrest, so Émilie arranges for him to stay at Cirey. Eventually, she shows up there. NOW, FINALLY, I am willing to concede that they definitely had sex. She calls it le paradis terrestre and lots of people show up and hang out and do music and science and math and poetry with them, including Algarotti. [Yes, Algarotti totally appears in this book! And while I was looking up stuff in the book for this writeup, I found that Zinsser says Voltaire also calls him a swan, "Mi caro cignio di Padova."]

Me: Wow!! Wouldn't it be great if I had a place like that where I could talk with people about things I'm interested in or other people have totally gotten me interested in, like history and opera and reading pedagogy, and geek out about things -- oh. :D totally calling DW The Earthly Paradise from now on

Zinsser: Voltaire is the worst! "He repeatedly brought her unwelcome publicity, fears of retribution from her cousin, and ridicule from the wits of the court and the salons." Okay, maybe not on purpose, but COME ON.

Voltaire: Émilie is the best! She is a "lady whom I look upon as a man."
Me: *eyes him dubiously*

Bodanis: when Fritz sends Keyserlingk on a supposedly social visit, Émilie locks away the most incriminating play, and Keyserlingk leaves disappointed.
Zinsser: Ditto.

Bodanis: Meanwhile, the Academy of Sciences is offering a prize for the best submission [on fire]. Voltaire decides to enter.
Zinsser: Probably because he wasn't part of the Académie française because he kept making people angry at him, and was thinking he could slide into it sideways from the Academy of Sciences. Not because he actually liked science.
Bodanis: Émilie will help. ...She sits at her desk late into the night, coming up with a much better submission, because she can already tell Voltaire is not a scientist.
Zinsser: Yep. For instance, they do these experiments where they burn different kinds of things. Some of them lose mass and some of them don't change at all and some of them gain mass. And Voltaire's like, "This clearly shows Newton is right about fire being just like other matter in that it has mass!" And Émilie is all, "My dude, you really suck at drawing conclusions from experiments."

Voltaire: Math is hard!! Science is hard!! Also boring!
Émilie: *rolls eyes*

Algarotti: *writes physics book featuring a marquise who isn't very smart*
Voltaire: Émilie is much smarter than that! You are like a goddess! A goddess who illuminates truth for geniuses like me!
Émilie: Thanks, but I'd way rather be a physicist than a goddess.

Bodanis:Then FW dies! Émilie can't keep Voltaire fully away from Fritz, but she does her best.
Zinsser: Oh yeah, later on I'll mention Voltaire was in Prussia around this time, and Émilie was jealous and worried. Eh, whatever. Who cares what he and Fritz are up to.
I've mentioned before that Émilie wanted to teach her son physics. Couldn't find a good textbook, especially since everyone was still rather confused by momentum and kinetic energy. So she wrote her own! She synthesized Descartes, Newton, and Leibniz together. Kinetic energy is a thing! (Hotly debated topic at the time, and one where she was definitely taking an underdog stance.) By the way she used a French translation of Wolff that Frederick of Prussia sent to Voltaire "made for him by one of his closest intimates at court." [Suhm?? :D]
Also sends Fritz a copy, because Very Proud of this book.
The Secretary of the Academy of Sciences tries to make fun of her and her book. She totally pwns him.
Me: Émilie I <3 you!!

Bodanis: Voltaire and Émilie have another breakup. Émilie has a bit of a breakdown, starts losing money when she gambles, binge eats, stops doing science. :-(
Zinsser: Not sure what you're talking about here? Anyway, it's WAY more interesting to talk about Emilie's translation of Newton's Principia, so I'm gonna do that. It's actually a translation and commentary and expansion. It is AWESOME.
Oh, okay, have some gossip.

Voltaire: I am too old for sexual relationships, being 47 and all, "the twilight of my days." [He lived to be 83.] Nay, I only want pure love unsullied by physical considerations.
Émilie: I'm not really happy about this, but I love you, so, okay.
D, who happens to be walking by at the moment: He means he doesn't want sex with her, huh?
Voltaire: *has affair with niece*
Émilie: ????
Voltaire: Uh, yeah, D was right. I meant I didn't want sex with you. Um. Open relationship?

Then Voltaire gets people mad with him again (this is, as mildred said, a recurring theme) and Émilie decides that Lorraine is a good place to hang out, with deposed Polish King Stanislaus, as in mildred's writeup.

Émilie: And there's this nice guy here, Saint-Lambert, and since Voltaire and I have an open relationship... heeeeey. This guy is pretty great at sex. This is great!
Voltaire: When I said we had an open relationship, that didn't mean YOU were supposed to be having sex with other people!

Bodanis: Things start falling apart between her and her new lover.
Zinsser: I know that's what everyone says, but I've redated the letters, since a bunch of them aren't actually dated and were just kinda mixed up, and with my new redating I postulate that they were just fine, thanks. But can we just talk more about her Newton translation? Cause it's really cool. And then she had Saint-Lambert's baby.

Voltaire: Émilie just had a baby and I wrote a play. I am "one hundred times more fatigued than she."
Me: *facepalm*
Zinsser: I know, right??
Émilie: Well, I may have just had a baby yesterday, but gotta correct those printer proofs of my Newton translation! Not gonna correct themselves, are they!
Five days later: *packages up all her papers*
Six days later: *dies* (probably from a blood clot)
:(

Epilogue:
Voltaire: It's so saaaaad she was so greeeeeeat I'm the saaaaaddest it's all about meeeeee OK gonna go hang out with Fritz now
Saint-Lambert: *quietly has a breakdown and possibly never quite entirely gets over Émilie's death, and seems like he really loved her*
Zinsser: *does not quote Fritz about Voltaire's grieving but clearly kinda agrees with him*

The case of the indiscreet reader (the other one)

[selenak]

Mildred, your putting up the Voltaire in Prussia saga at rheinsberg reminded me of yet another proof Fritz had a type. I mean, we've seen evidence of this already when it comes to his batmen. But checking whether Lehndorff had anything interesting to say about Henri de Catt, I came across this bit about Catt's predecessor:

I had forgotten to mention that the Abbé Prades, whom his majesty always kept with him in the field, has fallen out of favour. He stands accused of having handed over secrets of his master; others say he's simply been indiscreet with the King's works. In short, the King had him arrested after the battle of Roßbach in Leipzig, and some time later he was sent to Magdeburg Fortress, where he still remains. His Majesty took in his place a certain Catt, a Swissman, whom the King has met in a strange manner. When the King was incognito in the Netherlands and was bored on the boat going from Amsterdamm to the Hagues, he found on this ship this Herr Catt with his young pupil. He adressed him and found him to be a man of wit. When now Prades fell out of favour with him, he wrote to Catt that he should come and take Prades' place. The man answered modestly that his Majesty might not find him so much worthy of applause in such a position as he had done on the boat back then. His Majesty, however, insisted. Now he's with the King, and the King is satisfied with him.

Now, German Wiki tells me a bit more about Prades than English wiki does, including this bit: As a lecturer and private secretary to Frederick II, de Prades had a very close relationship with the Prussian king. In his pride on this influence, he dropped the remark "le roi m'a dit" ("the king told me") so often that he was finally called at the court only "l'abbé le roi m'a dit".

At the beginning of the Seven Years' War, de Prades was convicted of espionage for France and imprisoned in Magdeburg in 1757. Diderot and Voltaire were dismayed by de Prade's betrayal of Frederick. Diderot said to his mistress Sophie Volland, "What a reprehensible person!" and Voltaire concluded a reflection on the case in a letter to Frederick II with the words "Oh, best of all possible worlds, where are you!"

(German wiki, you should know that if Voltaire uses this particular quote, he's being sarcastic, not dismayed, but apparantly you don't.)

After the end of the war, de Prades was exiled by Frederick II to Silesia. With more than 30,000 livres, which he had taken from his fellow prisoners during his time in Prison in Magdeburg via gambling and with his church income, he led a comfortable life with his own servants. In 1782 he died in Glogau.

Okay. Several points.

1) Wow, Magdeburg is really getting crowded during the 7 Years War. I guess Prades didn't meet up with Trenck?

2) Just how many people fired/arrested for spying, indiscretion or both do we have now?

3) So Fritz has one lector he was previously very close to imprisoned in Magdeburg for spying & indiscretion....and then, just one month later, he tells the next lector all about the most horrible time of his life (so far)?

*sideeyes Catt again*

ETA: In case you're wondering how Prades got his job in the first place, cahn, German wiki says both Voltaire and D'Argens reccommended him to Fritz. Somehow this does not surprise me in the least.

Re: The case of the indiscreet reader (the other one)

[cahn]

In his pride on this influence, he dropped the remark "le roi m'a dit" ("the king told me") so often that he was finally called at the court only "l'abbé le roi m'a dit".

Heeee!

Voltaire concluded a reflection on the case in a letter to Frederick II with the words "Oh, best of all possible worlds, where are you!"

(German wiki, you should know that if Voltaire uses this particular quote, he's being sarcastic, not dismayed, but apparantly you don't.)

Wait, do we have this letter from Trier? If so, what's the context of the reflection?

Andrew Hamilton: Rheinsberg

[selenak]

A few remarks on something Mildred uploaded to the Fritzian Library, to wit, Rheinsberg by Andrew Hamilton, two volumes, volume 1 about Fritz, volume 2 about Heinrich, both from 1880.

Now: to me, one of the most interesting things to compare this to are the Rheinsberg chapters from Fontane's Wanderungen, not least because they're both contemporaries (Hamilton read and sometimes quotes Fontane, even), coming, however, to quite different conclusions about some of the cast. (Notably, but not exclusively, Heinrich.)

This is because Hamilton's Fritz is Carlyle's Fritz. Carlyle's biography is the one by far most often quoted, usually with great admiration. Meaning: we're talking about Fritz the Übermensch here, endlessly chill, surrounded by unworthy mortals. (Hamilton near the end uses the brief description Goethe gives about visiting Sanssouci in Fritz' absence; remember, during his one and only trip to Berlin with Carl August, when he sneakily had Carl August having lunch with Heinrich as part of the "keep Carl August out of the Prussian army") campaign Anna Amalia had initiated, all of which also happens in the aftermath of Fritz' anti German literature book. In the original Goethe quote, he simply talks about birds, monkeys and even hearing the dogs bark. He says dogs. "Hunde". There is no reason to assume Goethe is talking about anything but the actual, real life, Frederician dogs. In Hamilton's rendition, the dogs are "miserable curs", and are meant metaphorically as descriptions of the unworthy Hohenzollern siblings critisizing their great and wonderful brother.)

This quote alteration to make a point isn't a single aberration. I mean, I realise Hamilton in 1880 doesn't have access to a lot of the sources published later, such as the Marwitz letters or for that matter Lehndorff's diaries, or the erotic poetry. But even with what he does have access to, such as the Preuss edited correspondance which forms the basis of the Trier archive, the editorializing is amazing. In his account of the AW matter, for example, the following happens:

The King's brothers: are all doom and gloom about the war, working themselves up into a frenzy that Prussia is doomed just because of their general anti Fritz attitude

AW: is like a rabbit in the spotlight unable to do anything because of this defeatist gloom, despite Fritz and Winderfeldt trying their best to advise him and get him going.

Fritz: is strict but fair with the casheering.

AW: goes home in even more defeatist gloom and dies.

(Any intermittent verbal abuse by Fritz via correspondance, or refusal to see AW? Does not happen.)

Fritz: writes lovely, kind letter to Heinrich. (Hamilton quotes only the sentences like "I fear for you, I wish you long life and good health" or "I know the tenderness you had for him", but leaves entirely out anything that makes Fritz sound bad, i.e., the majority of the letter.) Heinrich, in his usual anti-Fritz hysteria, for some reason reacts badly to this kind message. And so forth, and so on.

This is basically how Hamilton presents their entire relationship other than the very beginning when he admits Fritz is a bit strict, in Heinrich's own interest, about Heinrich's sloppy behavior with his regiment. Otherwise, Fritz is endlessly chill and friendly and patient, and Heinrich is mean and petty and hysterical throughout the decades of their relationship.

Hamilton also claims that after their bust up post War of Bavarian Succession and resumption of correspondance one and a half year later, Fritz only writes to Heinrich about literature and history anymore, and no more politics, because Heinrich has clearly disqualified himself as someone who can be trusted with political matters. How he can say this when the Trier correspondance has quite a lot of political post 1781 subjects (Fritz' conviction that Joseph is the coming menace of Europe, debates as to whether or not it's possible to talk the French out of the Austrian alliance when Heinrich in 1784 visits France for the first time, ever rising irritation with nephew Gustav in Sweden) is beyond me, except that it fits with the picture he wants to convey of Heinrich despite having some abilities ruining his own life with his totally unwarranted irrational hate for his brother.

Foreign diplomacy? Eh. Heinrich travelled to Sweden just for family reasons, and then Fritz had to practically force him to go to Catherine next, and then he just got feted there, and fine, he and Catherine got along really well, but politically all the action was between Fritz and Catherine and Heinrich was just sort of there. And later he had to be practically forced to go to Russia again. (Ziebura and Christian von Krockow: quote letters showing that Heinrich, while in Sweden, angled for an invitation from Catherine, Catherine asked Fritz, Fritz couldn't refuse and wrote I am very annoyed that I hadn't heard about the invitation earlier; I could have familiarized you with so many issues before hand..)

Also: Heinrich's entire foreign policy, says Hamilton, can be summed up by "alliance with France" (since comments on Russia and Sweden on his part do not exist in Hamilton's world, neither before nor after Fritz' death), and the sole reason why he was advising this even post revolution was because he was such a Francophile that even a French Revolution was okay by him. Now Hamilton does admit that Heinrich was simultanously very generous to the French émigrés - the royalists fleeing revolutionary France - in need of support and keeping up the interest in and contact with revolutionary France, which lesser beings like myself would interpret as proving an ability to differentiate between support for refugees and discounting the entire republican experiment, something that also fits with Heinrich's attitude re: the overseas former colonies and his reaction when Steuben wants to make him King there. But no, it's all Gallomania by a limited man who could never see the big picture in the way his great brother could.

Now, in the first volume, dealing with Fritz in Rheinsberg, this doesn't matter. Also, Hamilton has a fluent, and often amusing style. Though you may raise an eyebrow or two when he assures us that Fritz totally intended to live happily after with Elisabeth Christine. Yes, he originally objected to the marriage, and may have said something about planning to ditch her, but see, they were so happy in Rheinsberg, and what kind of a bastard fakes that while secretly still planning to ditch his lovely devoted wife? Not the future Überking. Gifting her Schönhausen was just meant as nice present, but Fritz totally was planning to continue living with her as they'd one before, it's just with first all the travelling in 1740, and then the two Silesian wars, he hardly was ever home, and enstrangement happened, and that is why they ended up living apart. But he wasn't planning on any of it in 1740! Or before!

Still: Volume 1 is a highly readable description of Rheinsberg both in Fritz' time and in Hamilton's visit time. There's just the occasional eyeroll inducing observation (Émilie is "greedy and selfish" when keeping Voltaire from Fritz, dontcha know, for example), while otoh there's a lovely write up about Fritz/Suhm (though not as lovely as Mildred's, naturally). It's in the second volume when the 19th century Frederick-the-Great worship truly strikes. And the fascinating thing is: the actual Prussian, Fontane, is way more able to keep a balance here. Now part of this is that Fontane has a softness for supporting characters - hence his rendition of the Katte saga focusing on Katte, not Fritz, and his Rheinsberg chapter having somewhat more Heinrich than Fritz, while the Oranienburg chapter of course is focused on AW - but he likes his Great King as well as the next Prussian and has a lot of Fritz anecdotes sprinkled across all the Wanderungen. It's just that he doesn't like him flawless. So you get this:

AW died...

Fontane: Heartbroken.
Hamilton: In a self induced fog of depression. Which he was in ever since getting command. Got there by incomprehensible doom and gloom caused by anti-Fritzness.

The Obelisk is...

Fontane: since Heinrich's commentary on his brother's memoirs got burned, just this. The voice of his majesty's opposition. I'm translating all the inscriptions, though, to show you how highly Heinrich thought of these people; it wasn't just about his brother(s). The Zieten epitaph is my favourite. And look, there's the inscription where Heinrich, in case any 7 Years War veteran feels left out, says he's just being subjective motivated by friendship, and does not mean to imply other veterans not listed are less heroic. Talk about courtoisie. I *heart* Heinrich.

Hamilton: a gigantic outcry of a warped existence. Okay, yes, he was sorry about AW, but guess what, I'm pretty sure he was even sorrier because he'd hoped Fritz would die in the war and he'd become the power behind the throne to King AW. That's what he was really sorry about. I'm not translating any individual inscriptions except the one about the selection being motivated by personal regard and not meant to put down other veterans as less deserving, because coward much?

Listed Heinrich's boyfriends are...

Fontane: Kaphengst the rough trade and the French comte, also known as "a last sunbeam". Kaphengst: guess some people just fall for their opposites. Am glad the French emigré guy worked out, though!

Hamilton: Just for the record, no one is gay in my volumes. Certainly not Fritz the chill. Heinrich might be, I'm using some coded language here, but mostly these favourites are examples of his inner weakness. Not at all comparable to those wonderful friendships mentioned in volume 1! Warped guy will have his favourites, what can I say. The French comte was sort of okay, though.

Seriously. Theodor Fontane, citizen of Bismarck ruled Prussia-and-Germany, has not only more sympathy for guys with critique for their monarch, who, gasp, might be in the wrong now and then, but also writes with sympathy about m/m "relationships of the heart", as he calls him. Andrew Hamilton, Brit or American (couldn't tell): doesn't quite hero worship on the level of Peter III but definitely subscribes to the "Fritz was right, everyone else was wrong" newsletter, has edited out any and all signs of pettiness or capacity for emotional cruelty from the picture of his hero, and certainly any signs of relationships marked by anything other than fondness and generosity (on the side of Fritz). Meanwhile, Heinrich ends up as the caricature of his brother, after some good beginnings warped into nothing but pettiness and hate. With a very few exceptions, as him being nice to French exiles, but that's just because he's a Gallomaniac. Which brings me to:

"German literature? No such thing."

When Fritz does it, this is....

Tragic, but look, there's that one quote of his from the letter to Voltaire about the dawn of a maybe future great age for German culture. If he'd lived longer, he would totally have changed his mind! How could he not? He was Frederick the Great!

When Heinrich does it, this is...

Typical for his narrow-mindedness. I mean, seriously, the guy lived into the age of Goethe. And did he notice? He did not. Kept playing French plays and reading French books till the end. How ridiculous was that?

In conclusion: read the first volume for your Rheinsberg research, skip the second.

Re: Andrew Hamilton: Rheinsberg

[cahn]

He says dogs. "Hunde". There is no reason to assume Goethe is talking about anything but the actual, real life, Frederician dogs. In Hamilton's rendition, the dogs are "miserable curs", and are meant metaphorically as descriptions of the unworthy Hohenzollern siblings critisizing their great and wonderful brother.

omg. I can just imagine that Fritz himself would be all "uh, why are you being so hard on dogs?? Dogs are awesome!!"

Fritz: writes lovely, kind letter to Heinrich. (Hamilton quotes only the sentences like "I fear for you, I wish you long life and good health" or "I know the tenderness you had for him", but leaves entirely out anything that makes Fritz sound bad, i.e., the majority of the letter.)

*headdesk* THAT LETTER.

Though you may raise an eyebrow or two when he assures us that Fritz totally intended to live happily after with Elisabeth Christine.

Because the One King was so het, yeah, I get it. EC probably just wasn't good enough for him. *facepalm*

I'm translating all the inscriptions, though, to show you how highly Heinrich thought of these people; it wasn't just about his brother(s). The Zieten epitaph is my favourite. And look, there's the inscription where Heinrich, in case any 7 Years War veteran feels left out, says he's just being subjective motivated by friendship, and does not mean to imply other veterans not listed are less heroic. Talk about courtoisie. I *heart* Heinrich.

Aww, I *heart* him too! And you too, Fontane. <33333333 But not Hamilton :P

Peter Keith

[mildred_of_midgard]

Behind on comments, working on manual cleanup, but just wanted to ask our royal reader a quick question: can you check out Lehndorff, volume 2, page 420, and tell me whether Frau von Keith has a son of her own, or whether that's referring to someone else's son, like the frau in the previous sentence?

Because if so, that's the first indication of Peter Keith not having a childless marriage that I've seen. It surprises me all the more because when Peter dies, Lehndorff doesn't mention any offspring (that I can see from glancing at the German), and only refers to Jägerhof as the place where his widow lives.

(In between political correspondence cleanup, working on a post about the Keiths, emphasis on Peter, for Rheinsberg, and I did a more thorough job of searching through Lehndorff this time. Found some new tidbits that I will share soon.)

Also, when Lehndorff refers to the "Königin" when SD is still alive, he's still referring the actual queen and his boss, right, not the queen mother who outranks EC because Fritz?

Bonus points if you can answer a trickier question: when Lehndorff reports deaths during the Seven Years' War, does he somehow signal a difference between people who died military deaths off somewhere in Saxony or Silesia or the like, and people who died civilian deaths at home in Berlin? Because my default assumption would be that Lt. Col. Keith is at war during the Seven Years' War, but one, Lehndorff seems to get the news very quickly, and two, he doesn't seem to signal at all that Peter died in war, and three, he seems far more interested in Peter's academy tenure and the fact that the academy is going to give some kind of recognition than in any military service. Now this may reflect the fact that Lehndorff is a civilian in Berlin and is much more concerned with local events, but still I wonder: did Peter maybe die at home and not at war? (His death is reported in vol. 1, p. 312., if you want to read that account and see if you can glean any clues about location of death.)

Re: Peter Keith

[selenak]

Okay, so: Frau Prinzessin, the princess, without any additional name is always Mina, Heinrich's wife. So, the passage you asked about in context goes:

"On the occasion of the Princess' birthday, the Queen invites the entire town to a ball and a beautiful party. I've just returned from it, and the music is still ringing in my ears. Earlier, I've dined at Princess Amalie's, who celebrated her sister-in-law's birthday. Recently, after she'd dismissed Herr v. Holtzendorff from her services, she has caused Frau v. Keith to provide her (A) with her son (i.e. Frau v. Keith's son) as a cavalier. Eight days later this young man was transferred to the cabinet, and thus she's again without a cavalier. Now she's entrusted herself to a quack whom she believes to be capable of performing miracles for her, because he recently cured a chamber woman of Princess Wilhelmina (Minor)'s from dropsy."

I.e. the son in Question is definitely Frau v. Keith's son. However, whether Frau v. Keith is also Peter's widow is another matter. And no, in the two pages on Peter apropos his dying, there's no mention of a son. Otoh it's mentioned his wife is a born Fräulein von Knyphausen, and the Knyphausens definitely have various Family members at court, so it could be her.

The Queen: Lehndorff usually means EC when speaking just of the queen; if he speaks of both her and SD in one Paragraph, he adds "the Young Queen" or "the reigning Queen". SD is more often the Queen Mother than she is the Queen, but just to make your life more difficult, sometimes she is the Queen, too. (For example when he compares the two to EC's disadvantage after SD's death.) Anyway, if there's just one queen he's referring to in a passage, without any additional Attribute, it's usually his boss.

Peter's place of death: the passage doesn't say, but instinctively I'd vote for "he died at home, not in war", because Lehndorff writes "around this time, Lietenent Co. Keith dies, too". Stirbt, dies, not "fällt" (falls) or "wird getötet ("is killed"), which is what's more commonly used for death in battle. Also worth considering: the description of Peter's career mentions Fritz put him in charge of the administration of Charlottenburg Palace and of the Tiergarten. Since this is at when the war is still going well for Prussia, there is no sign of evacuation, and the court is still in Berlin, which means Charlottenburg isn't going to administrate itself, and the Tiergarten is as popular a Destination for Berliners as ever.

Also worth noting: the immediate next entry for January mentions that all four Hohenzollern Brothers are in Berlin for a quick visit with their mother. This will be the last time SD sees all of her sons together and they see her alive. So if Peter did die in Berlin at the end of December 1756, Fritz might, in fact, have been there - not at his death bed, presumably Lehndorff would have mentioned that, but he could have seen him.

Then again, I could put a far too great importance on the verb "die". Still: for example, when Lehndorff mentions his older brother died in the aftermath of Hochkirch, not at the battle itself, he mentions the cause - "der rote Friesel" - which is a slang term for wound infection, and if he records battle deaths, he usually mentions the battle place in question. Especially if it's someone he has a good opinion of, which certainly is the case with Peter Keith.

Happy Birthday, Fritz! You bastard. (Even towards Katte?)

[selenak]

Today is our antihero's birthday, and today is when I find, I kid you not, an actual, canonical, post Küstrin Katte mention by Fritz. In a letter. To whom, you ask? To good old Grumbkow. The letter is dated October 29th, 1737, and is here. Context: FW seems to have shown dislike towards Mantteuffel (Mildred, explain Mantteuffel). Who, like Grumbkow himself, got money from the Austrians. (For that matter, how Fritz himself at that point.) According to the editior of the Trier letters, Mantteuffel gets the money specifically to spy on Fritz. Fritz then withdraws from Mantteuffel and writes to Dad's good friend Grumbkow:

It seems to me you have some doubts in regards to my political morals in regards to one's behaviour towards one's unfortunate friend. If an honorable man like yourself disapproved, I'd be sad, and this causes me to justify my point of view to you. (...) The respect I have towards the King my father seem to oblige me to not honor persons towards whom he shows disapproval. Such distinctions would damage Count Mantteuffel more than they would be of use to him. It is a fact I have not stopped regarding him as a friend after our correspondance came to an end; indeed I have avoided him out of friendship. You see for yourself how far the anger of the King of England goes when the Prince of Wales supports people who have caused the disapproval of the King. (Remember, the Hannover Georges were just as dysfunctional in their father/son relationships.) You can see how far he goes in his revenge, despite not being a despot and not nearly being as powerful as the King of Prussia. (...)

Incidentallyl, I cannot be accused of cowardice. If Count Mantteuffel was in any real danger, I'd have done anything for him one could for for a friend. You know, Field Marshal, and you are my witness to what I have done for Katte. You know: I did offer my life not once but a thousand times to save his. Despite my and his misfortune, I have never denied him, and while I could complain in some regards about him, I do not believe to have wronged him. I am the same now as I was then, and the sense of honor with which I was born will never leave me for as long as I shall live.

Well! Bearing in mind that this is Machiavellian!Fritz talking to Machiavellian!Grumbkow (whom he still needs but wont waste a tear on once the guy kicks it), how serious are we to take the Katte statement? Because on the one hand, it's liar writing to a liar, but on the other, that sound of "I did much more for X than X did for me, and I'm the one to feel sorry for!" sounds suspiciously familiar... Hans Herrmann, join the club. You can sit down next to Wilhelmine and AW.

Re: Happy Birthday, Fritz! You bastard. (Even towards Katte?)

[mildred_of_midgard]

(Mildred, explain Mantteuffel).

I don't have tiiiiime! You explain Manteuffel.

Sheesh, I'm putting together the Heinrich correspondence, and in comes new comments about Fritz/Katte, combined with all the wonderfulness about Peter Keith that you provided, that I can't just ignore and add to my really long backlog. :PP

Okay, so, Fritz and Katte. I obviously don't know what Fritz has in mind, but I have always suspected Fritz resented Katte trying to talk him out of the escape plan and having to be dragged into it. My headcanon is that at that age, Fritz was going around telling everyone that he needed to get the hell out of there, and consciously or subconsciously, waiting for someone to go "YES, GOD YES, let me get you out of here." And when he didn't get that, he came up with an increasingly emotional and poorly thought out escape plan that everyone knew about, *and* he developed an increasing sense that when it comes down to it, he's on his own. He's got to come up with all the ideas, and at best people might go along with them if he pushes enough, but no one is looking out for him.

Now, god knows, I don't *blame* Katte. Especially since Fritz got into a terrible feedback loop of

Fritz: *proposes bad idea*
Everyone else: *tries to talk him out of it*
Fritz: *hears "Just suck up the abuse for the next however many years or decades"*
Fritz: *comes up with worse idea and is MORE insistent that everyone go along with it*
Everyone else: *panics*

So, no, no one was morally obliged to risk their neck to get him out of a bad situation on their own initiative. But the fact that it was all his idea, I think fed into his control issues and paranoia later in life, and his difficulty getting his needs for emotional topping met.

And then, let's remember that Katte wrote that, "You know, I *did* try to talk you out of it, and also I suggest you be nice to your abusive dad and do everything he says," last letter. Now, even if it's realistically too late for a pardon, Katte might still be hoping against hope; plus I think he's genuinely realized there is no other option that results in Fritz living to see age 19, so I don't blame Katte for that letter. It's quite possible that he was hoping he'd get that pardon, and then he could sit down with Fritz and talk to him and be more supportive and reassuring. But there was no way to be supportive in that letter other than to say "I don't blame you, BUT..."

And whether or not Fritz got, intellectually, that the letter was for public consumption, emotionally, it was his last communication from Katte, and more importantly, he *would* remember Katte trying to prevent him from escaping an abusive hell. Privately. Genuinely.

I don't think he'd be human if he *didn't* have some resentment, along with all the other conflicting and strong emotions he bottled up.

Also, this entire passage strikes me as protesting a lot: it reads like the words of a man who is carrying a horrible, horrible guilt inside and trying to live with himself. For once, it *doesn't* strike me as gratuitous self-pity, though I'm sure he also draws on his self-pitying tendencies to try to cope.

Because on the one hand, it's liar writing to a liar

Which is why "If an honorable man like yourself disapproved, I'd be sad" made me snort.