Kunersdorf, catastrophic defeat that is is, happens. This evidently is when someone in Catt's hearing voices criticism of the King, or several someones, for we get this indignant entry in the diary: Alas! as the great ones are served. We aspire to be with them, we enjoy it. If they demand something painful from us, we get disgusted. I saw this Prince who by himself, by the circumstances, where he is, deserves the most to be cherished, the most capable: and I saw a crowd of ignorant people criticizing all his steps, his camps , its maneuvers, its provisions, its particular conduct; lend him views he didn't have; complain about any preference; I have seen people incapable of acting by the third hand, making them conceive of the most advantageous ideas, pushing themselves, believing themselves to be great men, being mysterious on small objects, indiscreet on important ones.
And also:
Men are strange; they have pleasure in lowering the King, in order to raise the Prince; others vice versa; but are we reasonable? The Prince acts sparingly; but he has to answer, the army is not his. And will we condemn his brother who, master, can do more? and can we not risk a few, to hope to win a lot? By pushing people this way, they are wasted or saved, and, the troops having suffered enough, the campaign does not go so quickly.
There's a Lehndorff mention in the camp gossip! In a masked ball Madame de Bentinck came with lots of currency and portraits. There was M. de Lehndorff, chamberlain of the Queen, in a basin of a balance, in the other a feather which carried it, with this inscription: ›Lighter than a feather;« - by M. Danckelman like Diogenes, with a lantern, with this inscription: ›Hominem quaero.‹ - Maupertuis, who had fallen out with her, said to him: ›People have a false mind and a wicked heart; you, Madame, have a wicked mind and a false heart. ‹
Once Fritz and Catt are reunited, Fritz makes it clear who's the military genius around here by a reminder of his most admired battle, that of Leuthen: When the King left for Leuthen, he wrote to his brother what he wanted to do. ›I will march on them, I will try to get them out, I will beat them. I will besiege Breslau, I will take it. You will say to me: this design surprises you, and you may think that only despair today gives birth to it. I apologize for your mistake.
As you might recall, by the end of 1759, Fritz takes over command in Saxony again, sends Finck to entrap the Austrians against everyone's advice, including Finck's and Heinrich's, and it's a disaster.
In the evening, I was from 3 and a half until 9. He was very distressed, came back to the same idea. - "So I will have brought my misfortune to Saxony!" I tried to distract him, but this image always returned. - »See how unhappy I was: treated harshly by a father, locked up alone for three months in a room; at noon I was brought to eat by a small window, I was given a shirt at the same time, and then I returned the plates of my food. I only had Bossuet on Variants and Basnage. Misfortune has always pursued me; I was only happy at Rheinsberg. Ah, if this peace comes, can anyone blame me for living a little for myself, for withdrawing and living in peace?
He does make peace time plans. These somehow include THE WORST coming to visit again:
"If Voltaire came to see me, it would be rare, and I would prevent any bother." - He made the plan of the building he would like to have. "There would be no vanity, no stools, but each would have armchairs."
Meanwhile, someone keeps being Fritz critical:
This Kalckreuth, adjutant of the Prince, jeers with a sneer: "And here is Silesia lost!" I would punch someone who would tell me, my sister is dead, I have no homeland at all.
If it's any consolation, Catt, we don't know whether Heinrich ever hit Kalkreuth, but he will dump him for Kaphengst at a point when Kalkreuth definitely does not want to be dumped. Prince Ferdinand here is EC's brother, Ferdinand of Brunswick. Catt doesn't say who his source for the following story is:
After Kolin's unhappy affair, which it was believed we could not recover from, Grant came to Henckel, adjutant to Prince Heinrich. The latter announced it to the Prince, who sobbed. He was dispatched to Prince Ferdinand, who was in command; all were in tears. Orders were given to assemble to consult on the retreat. Prince Ferdinand did not say a word and he only wept. - ›This won't do,‹ said the Prince (Heinrich); ›It is necessary to make a decision.‹ It is essential to make yourself known. - ›I can not.‹
›Well‹, dixit princeps, ›I will make a retirement plan.‹ - The King is announced: the Prince goes to meet him, he takes him by the hand, squeezes him; ›Ah, my frater!‹, And he continues. They then enter the room and we sob on both sides. The Prince dixit, quod optimum esset, to make a retirement plan. - "Not possum," ait Rex, "sed crastina die prope meridiem." - ›This hurries!‹ - "Well, do it, mi frater!" - Here it is. - "It will be good, no doubt," said Rex. - The next day the Prince's adjutant was announced to the King, who made the King say if, on leaving, it would not be good to have the march beat and the flags displayed. - »Yes!« - We did it. Marshal Keith was vigorously attacked, he was cannonaded in his tents; but he escaped. Prince Ferdinandus Brunsvicensis in calamitate is admodum sensitilis.
I'm leaving the Latin, btw, because it cracks me up. "Well, do it, mi frater!" and all. And here's an FW anecdote from none other than Eichel: The late King, said M. Eichel to me, had brought with him M. de Schumacher, private counselor. - ›I have an important secret to communicate to you, it must not be disclosed. If that happens, one of the three of us will have spoken." Two days after the adviser comes, hears grenadiers talking about this affair; he was surprised, said Mr. Schumacher. He is very worried and surprised. The King said to them: 'How could it be that the affair had transpired? ‹M. Schumacher complained. Councilor Eichel said to him: "Let Your Majesty Remember if he did not speak of it." - "Yes", he said, "I am thick in the head; I told Grumbkow, I had this weakness. ‹-
Grumbkow, not known for his discretion? Tsk.
The two MT mentions are great, and as opposed to the memoirs version, come without "at leaset she hates whores", which makes me wonder whether de Catt isn't the one who has an anti sex worker bias? To recapitulate:
It must be admitted that the Queen of Hungary has talents, that she is capable, that she applies herself; we cannot refuse her, "he said," this justice. "
and
It must be admitted that the Queen's obstinacy and mine do much harm. What a cruel war! We only wreak havoc. "- In the evening, the enemies set fire to the outskirts of Pirna.
As Mildred said, it's the way he equals them both, rather than presenting himself as the menaced party, that makes it feel both honest and poignant.
Still hankering for a "Well done, son" from FW:
He thought he was in Strasbourg with Marshal Daun, who was suddenly transplanted to Charlottenburg, where his father was. There he found old Dessan. - "Did I behave well?" - ›Yes‹, said the King, ›yes‹. - »Well, I'm happy; your approval is worth me better than that of the whole universe. "- The French are announced. - "Should I attack?" He said to Prince Anhalt - and he awoke.
Fritz, somehow I don't think your memoirs will have the wished for effect on your family. Given, you know, Heinrich's copy of it with hand written comments was supposedly so incendiary that it got disappeared from the state archives:
I composed my memories for my family. People will talk a lot about me. It can find out the reasons that made me act. Let the public say what they want! What do I care! It is important to me that my family is happy with me. If I made mistakes, it's because I know what men are like.
And lastly, one more Voltaire statement. Can't tell whether this one is meant as a diss or an endearing story:
Voltaire, on leaving, gave three copies of Louis XIV to the cook and the servants.
Louis XIV = Voltaire's "The Age of Louix XIV", one monumental work in terms of histories because it didn't just focus on the monarch and his battles but tried to draw the picture of en entire era, its culture and society. This was according to Pleschinski the first of its kind and changed the way people thought history could be written. When Fritz, years later, writes "I am content to have lived in the Age of Voltaire", he's also alluding to this work in addition to paying a compliment to his frenemy. (And coining a phrase, as this is what the Age will be called in France.)
But, like I said, I can't tell whether he tells that anecdote to -
a) make a point about writerly vanity - i.e. "Voltaire thinks so much of his work, he even hands out copies to the servants
b) reporting a slight against himself - i.e. "here I was thinking Voltaire giving me copies of his works means he thinks I'm special, but guess what, he even gave them to the staff!"
c) telling an "aw, Voltaire" type of anecdote, i.e. "Look, he's not always a meanie; he did give copies of his masterpiece to the servants as a farewell present".
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Henri de Catt Unplugged - II
Date: 2020-02-04 05:40 pm (UTC)Alas! as the great ones are served. We aspire to be with them, we enjoy it. If they demand something painful from us, we get disgusted. I saw this Prince who by himself, by the circumstances, where he is, deserves the most to be cherished, the most capable: and I saw a crowd of ignorant people criticizing all his steps, his camps , its maneuvers, its provisions, its particular conduct; lend him views he didn't have; complain about any preference; I have seen people incapable of acting by the third hand, making them conceive of the most advantageous ideas, pushing themselves, believing themselves to be great men, being mysterious on small objects, indiscreet on important ones.
And also:
Men are strange; they have pleasure in lowering the King, in order to raise the Prince; others vice versa; but are we reasonable? The Prince acts sparingly; but he has to answer, the army is not his. And will we condemn his brother who, master, can do more? and can we not risk a few, to hope to win a lot? By pushing people this way, they are wasted or saved, and, the troops having suffered enough, the campaign does not go so quickly.
There's a Lehndorff mention in the camp gossip!
In a masked ball Madame de Bentinck came with lots of currency and portraits. There was M. de Lehndorff, chamberlain of the Queen, in a basin of a balance, in the other a feather which carried it, with this inscription: ›Lighter than a feather;« - by M. Danckelman like Diogenes, with a lantern, with this inscription: ›Hominem quaero.‹ - Maupertuis, who had fallen out with her, said to him: ›People have a false mind and a wicked heart; you, Madame, have a wicked mind and a false heart. ‹
Once Fritz and Catt are reunited, Fritz makes it clear who's the military genius around here by a reminder of his most admired battle, that of Leuthen:
When the King left for Leuthen, he wrote to his brother what he wanted to do. ›I will march on them, I will try to get them out, I will beat them. I will besiege Breslau, I will take it. You will say to me: this design surprises you, and you may think that only despair today gives birth to it. I apologize for your mistake.
As you might recall, by the end of 1759, Fritz takes over command in Saxony again, sends Finck to entrap the Austrians against everyone's advice, including Finck's and Heinrich's, and it's a disaster.
In the evening, I was from 3 and a half until 9. He was very distressed, came back to the same idea. - "So I will have brought my misfortune to Saxony!" I tried to distract him, but this image always returned. - »See how unhappy I was: treated harshly by a father, locked up alone for three months in a room; at noon I was brought to eat by a small window, I was given a shirt at the same time, and then I returned the plates of my food. I only had Bossuet on Variants and Basnage. Misfortune has always pursued me; I was only happy at Rheinsberg. Ah, if this peace comes, can anyone blame me for living a little for myself, for withdrawing and living in peace?
He does make peace time plans. These somehow include THE WORST coming to visit again:
"If Voltaire came to see me, it would be rare, and I would prevent any bother." - He made the plan of the building he would like to have. "There would be no vanity, no stools, but each would have armchairs."
Meanwhile, someone keeps being Fritz critical:
This Kalckreuth, adjutant of the Prince, jeers with a sneer: "And here is Silesia lost!" I would punch someone who would tell me, my sister is dead, I have no homeland at all.
If it's any consolation, Catt, we don't know whether Heinrich ever hit Kalkreuth, but he will dump him for Kaphengst at a point when Kalkreuth definitely does not want to be dumped.
Prince Ferdinand here is EC's brother, Ferdinand of Brunswick. Catt doesn't say who his source for the following story is:
After Kolin's unhappy affair, which it was believed we could not recover from, Grant came to Henckel, adjutant to Prince Heinrich. The latter announced it to the Prince, who sobbed. He was dispatched to Prince Ferdinand, who was in command; all were in tears. Orders were given to assemble to consult on the retreat. Prince Ferdinand did not say a word and he only wept. - ›This won't do,‹ said the Prince (Heinrich); ›It is necessary to make a decision.‹ It is essential to make yourself known. - ›I can not.‹
›Well‹, dixit princeps, ›I will make a retirement plan.‹ - The King is announced: the Prince goes to meet him, he takes him by the hand, squeezes him; ›Ah, my frater!‹, And he continues. They then enter the room and we sob on both sides. The Prince dixit, quod optimum esset, to make a retirement plan. - "Not possum," ait Rex, "sed crastina die prope meridiem." - ›This hurries!‹ - "Well, do it, mi frater!" - Here it is. - "It will be good, no doubt," said Rex. - The next day the Prince's adjutant was announced to the King, who made the King say if, on leaving, it would not be good to have the march beat and the flags displayed. - »Yes!« - We did it. Marshal Keith was vigorously attacked, he was cannonaded in his tents; but he escaped. Prince Ferdinandus Brunsvicensis in calamitate is admodum sensitilis.
I'm leaving the Latin, btw, because it cracks me up. "Well, do it, mi frater!" and all.
And here's an FW anecdote from none other than Eichel:
The late King, said M. Eichel to me, had brought with him M. de Schumacher, private counselor. - ›I have an important secret to communicate to you, it must not be disclosed. If that happens, one of the three of us will have spoken." Two days after the adviser comes, hears grenadiers talking about this affair; he was surprised, said Mr. Schumacher. He is very worried and surprised. The King said to them: 'How could it be that the affair had transpired? ‹M. Schumacher complained. Councilor Eichel said to him: "Let Your Majesty Remember if he did not speak of it." - "Yes", he said, "I am thick in the head; I told Grumbkow, I had this weakness. ‹-
Grumbkow, not known for his discretion? Tsk.
The two MT mentions are great, and as opposed to the memoirs version, come without "at leaset she hates whores", which makes me wonder whether de Catt isn't the one who has an anti sex worker bias? To recapitulate:
It must be admitted that the Queen of Hungary has talents, that she is capable, that she applies herself; we cannot refuse her, "he said," this justice. "
and
It must be admitted that the Queen's obstinacy and mine do much harm. What a cruel war! We only wreak havoc. "- In the evening, the enemies set fire to the outskirts of Pirna.
As Mildred said, it's the way he equals them both, rather than presenting himself as the menaced party, that makes it feel both honest and poignant.
Still hankering for a "Well done, son" from FW:
He thought he was in Strasbourg with Marshal Daun, who was suddenly transplanted to Charlottenburg, where his father was. There he found old Dessan. - "Did I behave well?" - ›Yes‹, said the King, ›yes‹. - »Well, I'm happy; your approval is worth me better than that of the whole universe. "- The French are announced. - "Should I attack?" He said to Prince Anhalt - and he awoke.
Fritz, somehow I don't think your memoirs will have the wished for effect on your family. Given, you know, Heinrich's copy of it with hand written comments was supposedly so incendiary that it got disappeared from the state archives:
I composed my memories for my family. People will talk a lot about me. It can find out the reasons that made me act. Let the public say what they want! What do I care! It is important to me that my family is happy with me. If I made mistakes, it's because I know what men are like.
And lastly, one more Voltaire statement. Can't tell whether this one is meant as a diss or an endearing story:
Voltaire, on leaving, gave three copies of Louis XIV to the cook and the servants.
Louis XIV = Voltaire's "The Age of Louix XIV", one monumental work in terms of histories because it didn't just focus on the monarch and his battles but tried to draw the picture of en entire era, its culture and society. This was according to Pleschinski the first of its kind and changed the way people thought history could be written. When Fritz, years later, writes "I am content to have lived in the Age of Voltaire", he's also alluding to this work in addition to paying a compliment to his frenemy. (And coining a phrase, as this is what the Age will be called in France.)
But, like I said, I can't tell whether he tells that anecdote to -
a) make a point about writerly vanity - i.e. "Voltaire thinks so much of his work, he even hands out copies to the servants
b) reporting a slight against himself - i.e. "here I was thinking Voltaire giving me copies of his works means he thinks I'm special, but guess what, he even gave them to the staff!"
c) telling an "aw, Voltaire" type of anecdote, i.e. "Look, he's not always a meanie; he did give copies of his masterpiece to the servants as a farewell present".