cahn | Frederick the Great discussion post 12

From:

I too am amazed!

I'll start discussion off with a tangential question about Heinrich raiding Fritz's larder: was chocolate manufactured yet in a form that would result in fingerprints? I'm only familiar with it as a beverage in Europe at this early date, which is not to say that it didn't exist.

From:

selenak

The translation selection of Catt's memoirs and diary as well as Lucchesini's diary is edited and published by one Dr. Fritz Bischof in 1885. Bischof points to Koser's epic work in this regard, especially re: Catt's truthfulness or lack of same; he, Bischof, doesn't want to present his readers with Catt's historical novel, so he has only printed those parts of the memoirs that can be traced back to the diary entries, if somewhat more fleshed out, and even then he makes a footnote every time Catt misdates something or puts different entries together. Or changes identities. I hadn't noticed before, but one difference between Fritz telling Catt in the diary about the lead up to the Voltaire-Maupertuis climax between the same story in the memoirs is that in the memoirs, Catt has him send the previous reader, de Prades, after Voltaire to give him the "now listen, no more attacks on Maupertuis, and here's the NDA to sign!", whereas in the diary, Fritz sends... Fredersdorf. Which, you know, makes sense. Fredersdorf apparantly had no trouble showing up at Voltaire's bathtube. What this doesn't tell me, though, is: in which language did Voltaire and Fredesdorf converse? Because while as I said many an entry before, I don't doubt Voltaire did pick up some every day German to order his meals or ask for the way, I doubt it was enough to have the dialogue Catt says Fritz said they had. Did Fredersdorf learn French behind Fritz' back?

Bischof points out that Luccheisini, being a Italian Marchese, was of different social rank than Catt from the get go and hence rates invitations to the fabled Sanssouci suppers in addition to hanging out with the King a deux. Reading the translation, I feel I didn't do too badly going by the footnotes in the original edition. Additional info:

- Lucchesini seems to have really liked Fritz' poetry; at first I thought he was pretending, but then he started to snark about Fritz' utter lack of scientific know how beyond the most superficial level while of course pretending to be an expert, so he has no problem writing down when he disagrees with Fritz on something or thinks Fritz is talking rubbish

- which Fritz does a lot; when Lucchesini calls him out on two stories he tells of the two Medici queens in France, Catherine and Maria, which happen to be utterly wrong (yours truly having occupied herself with both eras somewhat, I'm in a position to know), Fritz defends himself by saying he has super secret sources for both anecdotes and so he KNOWS it's true, which is typical

- contempt for German literature, check, then he adds fine, a beginning has been made, who, asks Lu, and Fritz says "Canitz", a poet in his grandmother's time. Yep, that's the author De La Literature Allemande, alright. I bet he was proud he could at least remember one writer.

- Lu also note that it shows Fritz only knows the great Latin writers like Horace and Cicero in French translations, which can't capture the sheer linguistic beauty of Horace's odes, or the wit of Cicero

- Lu, as opposed to Fritz, and like the Duc de Croy, is actually interested in contemporary exploration and mentions Georg Forster's book on travelling with James Cook (remember #saveJamesCook?) to Tahiti; Georg Forster wrote his travel reports in German, which at leat supports Zimmerman's claim that Lu could read it.

- Fritz' Gluck dislike is based on having the first act of Orphee performed on an arrangement for Cello, piano and violin. That's it. Totally qualifies him.

- lots and lots of positive Algarotti mentions, perhaps Lu reminds Fritz of the last Italian he spend a lot of time with? Anyway, Algarotti is very fondly remembered. The only vaguely critical thing Fritz says is that he tried to please everyone. Otherwise it's praise for his knowledge and memory ("he travelled with his library in his head, always accessible") and his charm all the way.

- if you're wondering how Fritz handles dead Voltaire: Voltaire was the worst! The WORST! Let me read this letter of Voltaire again, and mine to him to you out loud, because there's some fine poetry in it. Also, here's a story of Voltaire being witty. We haven't read Voltaire enough recently. Did I mention he was THE WORST?

- re: Fritz appropriating complete credit for Poland, it did occur to me that 1780/81 was when he and Heinrich had their record one and a half year of not talking or writing to each other. AW gets edited out of the trip to Strasbourg again when Fritz says he was there only with Algarotti.

(BTW, Jessen has a letter from Fritz to Heinrich when Fritz checks out his new territories (won, you know, without a drop of blood) actually containing the phrase "this land, which I received through your hand".)

- at one point they talk about vampires, I kid you not; Fritz of course calls them a total superstition and wonders that there are people who are otherwise sound sceptics who still believe in that stuff, which makes Lu think Fritz might be one of those people after all. (Basis for a vampire AU?)

- no mention of Katte, or Küstrin, even when Fritz is going there; FW mentioned only once or twice, Lu notes that Fritz talks of him with much respect and gives him all the credit for building the basis for his, Fritz' power.

- Fritz the amazingly wrong predicter: future menace ViennaJoe will conquer Rome, make the pope his patriarch and Christianity will splinter even more and decline; England is over and done with, a power on the downward slide ever since the end of the Seven Years War, when Bute, totally bribed by the Austrians (with what money?), stopped subsidizing Fritz and Holderness let himself outnegotiated by the French (this is not how the French would see it)

- seriously, Fritz has not forgiven the English for stopping the subsidies; mind you, the insistence that England is an exhausted and one with power might at least partially hail from them losing to their American colonists, but they also gained Canada from the French, and the British Empire hasn't reached its zenith yet since complete control over India is yet to come; it still shows Fritz has zero idea of non-European politics and economics, and how much Britain florishes based on all the incoming money from the colonies

- I can see why Lu never achieved Catt's popularity, though; not nearly as much personal stories (true or made up), no extreme danger and extreme glory situation as in the 7 Years War, and Lu notes down Fritz repeating anecdotes, as old people do, and holds forth on subjects he's just not informed on.

- nothing homoerotic I could spott, not even in code, aside from the Algarotti and Voltaire stuff.

Edited Date: 2020-02-27 09:53 am (UTC)

From:

mildred_of_midgard

So now that the February busyness is over, you're totally writing a broccoli 5 things, right,

selenak? Or

cahn, you're co-authoring with me? I outlined a plot (I hear that's the hard part!), but haven't been able to produce readable scenes.

It occurred to me that instead of being beaten to death for smuggling in outside produce, we could make this less tragic and more realistic by having Katte decide to sneak into the back of the store to look for unshelved broccoli, and of course get caught, and Fritz could watch him get manhandled and dragged out of the store and banned from setting foot in it, so no broccoli for them.

Who's with me? :D

From:

selenak

Okay, more Pangels, i.e. "Königskinder im Rokoko", because I figured she might actually have some quotes etc. we're not yet familiar with. Which she did. But it's still bizarro world, one to rival Zimmermann's.

Since I summed up Straight!Heinrich and Heinrich/Bentinck!shipper Lehndorff already, it won't surprise you that Fritz himself is of course also utterly heterosexual. The sole person who ever said otherwise, and I mean EVER, was Voltaire. What started Voltaire's grudge against Fritz, we may ask? Well, his scorned love for Ulrike, of course. You see, Voltaire truly fell in love with her, and Fritz firmly in his replying poem rejected this love. In no uncertain terms. And thus Voltaire took the petty, petty revenge of accusing Fritz of gayness and slandering his name ever since.

(Émilie is Madame Not Appearing Or Existing in this volume on Fritz' siblings.) (This despite the fact she shows up in the replying poem written by Fritz.)

The preface already tells us Fritz was the bestest brother ever. He indulged and spoiled his siblings like you wouldn't believe, only beeing firm when the state was at stake (AW) or the other party was being a brat (Heinrich).

Wilhelmine: her section is basically a summary with ample quotes form her memoirs and the correspondance, plus some ambassadorial reports (as from Guy Dickens about the infamous FW beating her up), so not much new there, except two poetry quotes. One is from the poem Fritz wrote to her before her death, and it is touching, and very Rokoko, and very Fritzian. It's basically: "Gods, don't take my sister from me, take my life instead! Preferably, I want us to die on the same day, and buried in the same tomb, so our dust can intermingle and we're never ever separated again." The quote from Voltaire's poem (final version) wants the inscription on her tomb to be "she has loved".

Friederike Luise & Sophie: aka the two with the horrible marriages and sinking into depression. Yeah, that. Depressing and short chapters.

Charlotte: our author's favourite. Equipped with a cheerful temper (one can see why Fritz called her a Harlequin who is great at making people laugh when talking to Mantteuffel), solid head-of-Hohenzollern loyalties (first to Dad, then to Fritz), but enough of a mind of her own to become the first family member interested in German literature; she employs one of our all time great writers, Lessing (he of "Minna von Barnhelm", "Emilia Galotti" and "Nathan the Wise" plays) as a librarian in Wolfensbüttel and does her own translation of Wolff into French. The downside of Charlotte, not counting whether or not she flirted with future Margrave as Wilhelmine accused her of having during the early 30s, is of course her ruthlessness towards her kids. Pangels admires her for sending her sons out like a Spartan mother (they're supposed to be heroic as befits a Hohenzollern or not come back at all), sympathizes with her for disowning Elisabeth, first wife of FWII, and chides Anna Amalia, who apparantly described her Hohenzollern style upbringing in her own memoirs (which I haven't read) as "loveless", hence her determination to raise Carl August (Goethe's bff) differently, as having had no sense of humor.

Ulrike: I mentioned Voltaire the scorned lover, avenging his broken heart by ruining Fritz' reputation. Otherwise, Ulrike is just too honest for own good, hence the sad fallout with son Gustav much later. Otoh, this chapter had some neat and amusing info - Ulrike and Amalie grew up in the same rooms, and Amalie who was probably the most musically gifted other than Fritz & Wilhelmine - though they all liked music - started to hammer on the piano, err, cembalo from toddlerdom onwards which drove Ulrike crazy, and even once Amalie could play, she insisted on practicising endlessly. This had the result that Ulrike became the one sib with an aversion to hearing music until well into her queendom, when listening to a cembalo made her nostalgic. Citation is letters from Ulrike to Amalie, ruefully reflecting on this.

Amalie: Pangels thinks Trenck's is probably a fantasist (remember, this book appeared in the 1970s, so before the letter from Trenck to Amalie was found), though she notes one of Trenck's daughters ended up as lady-in-waiting to Amalie. If Trenck wasn't a fantasist, Pangels thinks he was disgusting because he mentions Amalie helped him out financially in their young days right after saying they wer eeach other's first loves. Also Pangels thinks Trenck was guilty of treason, so had anything coming Fritz was dishing out.

Again, there's a new quote, to wit, one of those things Amalie said that made SD hit the roof in the final year. According to the French envoy (not Valory, his successor), Amalie's comment on the Prussia/Britain treaty in February 1756 was: "Another stroke of genius by my brother which will set the rest of Europe against us." Bearing in mind that the French envoy isn't unbiased, this still sounds like Amalie was a clever woman to me.

AW: gets off better than I had assumed from the Heinrich chapter until the 7 Years War starts. Pangels grants him a good disposition and sincere love of his older brother. If also a regrettable weakness for younger brother Heinrich. Also, new to me fact - AW was the recipient of a dog letter as well! When Biche was pregnant, Fritz wrote in her name to AW, offering him to be the godfather of the pub. What's more, he wrote this letter in German. (!!)Pangels quotes from it. I don't recall it from the Trier archive, btw - victim of algorithm? Or of Preuss' selection?

Starting with the war, the AW characterisation goes as you'd expect from the Heinrich chapter. He makes mistakes, is too proud to admit it was his fault entirely, despite the entire family urging him to reconcile with Fritz, and basically commits suicide by fighting against his doctors and having no more will to live. ("The entire family" is rich. I mean, the sisters did urge him to make the first step because Fritz is King, true. But Heinrich and Ferdinand had a decidedly different opinion.) Pangels, btw, does the same editing/distorting thing Andrew Hamilton did when quoting from Fritz' condolence letters on the subject, picking here a sentence and there a sentence to provide us with loving Fritz and incomprehensible hostile Heinrich.

Ferdinand: "knew his limits", which, I guess, yes. Came this close to being a schemer in his incomprehensible hate-on post AW's death he shared with Heinrich, but, knowing his limits, didn't do anything about other than writing bitchy letters about Big Bro in reply to Heinrich's. Pangels is again full of regret about poor, poor, Fritz, surrounded by such completely unearned vileness when all he ever did for Ferdinand was be nice to him. But probably his early opinion as voiced to Manteuffel was true after all, it's just that Ferdinand didn't have enough initiative to act on his hate. Still, seeing as he was the sole brother with a successful marriage, he must have done something right, she admits.

Extra bonus: Pangels' explanation for the "enstrangement" between EC and Fritz, to be found in the Wilhelmine chapter. Drum roll: EC was taller than Fritz. This couldn't be hid, and thus caused subconscious resentment and aversion. If not for that, they could have been happy. Because Fritz was straight, and good. As opposed to Heinrich, who was straight and bad.

...I feel like sending Eva Ziebura flowers right now. And incidentally, I do judge Pangels in a way I'm not judging Zimmermann, who just amused me. Not least because it takes more than het bias to read the Lehndorff diaries and come up with heterosexual Heinrich and exclusively heterosexual Lehndorff. It takes deliberate, intentional falsification. Good grief, woman, what possessed you - the ghost of Henri de Catt?

From:

selenak

Jessen, as I've found out, may have been published in 1972 in paberback - which is what the ebook version shows - but the original book was published in 1965, which makes the Prussian bias more understandable. I should add that it's more a bias that shows itself by letting out stuff - for example, we get documents about civilians fleeing in the 7 Years War, but solely ones that experience distress from non-Prussian soldiers. No quotes like that from Mitchell's reports about Prussian plunderings in Saxony. And Fritz' histories are always taken at their word.

Otoh, there really excellent original documents on the MT side of things provided as well. Like these letters to Joseph, getting across her personality, the mixture of mother and sharp minded sovereign, and the relationship really well.

From September 14th, 1766, in a letter which obviously isn't just about Joseph:

My dear Son -
(..) be careful to enjoy yourself by making malicious quips. Your heart isn't yet evil, but it will become so. It's high time not to indulge yourself in all the puns, all the witty sayings which only aim at humiliating other people, to make them look ridiculous; this is how you estrange yourself from all decent people and make them believe that humankind doesn't deserve to be respected, even while one has distanced through one's own actions everything which is good until only villains, imitators and flattering admirers of one's own talents are left, and only they are still getting entrance in one's heart.

After this long sermon which you will forgive my heart for - I do love you and my countries all too much - I will draw a comparison for you regarding your gifts and indulgences. You are a coquette of the mind, and wherever you think you can find ésprit, you run after it without applying judgment. A pun, a particularly adroit phrase occupies you, you may read it in a book or hear someone say it. Then you use that phrase at the next opportunity, without considering wether or not it really fits, perhaps like your sister Elisabeth with her beauty. She may please the Swiss guard or a prince, she doesn't care and is content and does not want anything else.

As I am closing this letter, I am taking your head with both hands, embrace you tenderly and wish you will forgive me for boring you with such long speeches; only look at the heart which has produced them - I want only for the world to love and esteem you as you deserve. I always remain
your good old mother

This is is one way of saying "Don't be like Fritz, you don't want to pay the human price" without ever mentioning his name. Fast forward to more than a decade later, and Joseph is like Fritz in the worst way, i.e. by invading Bavaria. Here's Mom trying to argue him out of it, on March 14th, 1778, very much belying son Leopold's claim that she was half senile:

The obstacles and dangers which were predictable from the moment things were set in march to Bavaria have now happened and keep piling up. Consequently, I would be unworthy to bear the name of Princess and Mother if I would not act according to circumstance - without considering how far my own existence could be affected. Nothing less than the loss of our House and Empire, perhaps even an upcoming revolt in Europe could be at stake. No sacrifice is too much to prevent this misfortune in time. I'll gladly play the scapegoat, even at the risk of my reputation. May people call me crazy, weak and cowardly - nothing will stop me from tear Europe away from this dangerous position. I don't know a better way of spending the rest of my miserable life. (...)

I must draw a picture of our military and political situation, and I am all the more obliged to do so as anything further will be the consequence of the step I am about to make, which I owe to my conscience, my duty and my love. The King of Prussia's army outnumbers ours by thirty to fortythousand men, especially in the cavalry. His position is far more advantagous, we have to march twice that far in order to get where we would need to get to. He has fortresses, we don't have a single one. We have to protect far stretched countries but we would have to withdraw all the troops form them and leave them unprotected to any invasion or uprising. This is the case with Galizia, in which less than two hundred horses and seven bataillons of old invalids remain. The province is open to anyone, after we hardly got it; it is anything but secured. The spirit of freedom there hasn't been soothed, and the nation has proven that it is determined if anyone fans the flame. The King of Prussia and for that matter the King of Poland and the en tire nation won't hesitate to use their advantage at the first given opportunity, especially since now the law of the strong prevails, and no one will feel it harder than we will.

Hungary, too, is free of troops, and in its close neighbourhood, the war between Russians and Turks will start anew. The Prussian dealings with Constantinople are known, and the latest letter of the King of Prussia don't leave any doubt that he won't leave any method untried in order to put this particular enemy in our backyard, too, who could take whatever he wanted in Hungary, since it is free of troops and fortresses. If our armies stood in Saxony, or even Silesia - which I doubt they would - or in the Upper Palatinate, it would be impossible to bring help to the two large kingdoms of Galizia and Hungary. We would have to leave them to their sad fate, to the whim of a barbaric enemy and to all the devastation which would be the consequence, and would destroy those countries for a generation. I won't even mention our provinces in Italy, the Netherlands and our new possessions in Bavaria. All of these would have to be given up, and where on earth should we take the means from to conduct this horrible war if we have to give up five countries right at the start? Where should the trust come from which would give us allies and financial resources? And why should our own countries trust us any longer if they see they are getting taxed heavily in peacetime for their defense, but are getting given up in the first danger of a war? Of a war which, once we've started it, would now end with our utter ruin, and this downfall would even be the only method to save Europe, and it would be our own fault. It is this which I will never agree to and never give my blessing to, for everything is at stake. Let's not indulge in delusions. Once the sword is out of its sheath, there won't be any time for reconciliation. The well being of thousands and thousands of human beings, the survival of our empire depend on this. After all which I have said I must tell you that I cannot permit myself to act against my conscience and my conviction; this is neither a mood nor cowardice.

Let's just say that after this letter, Joseph should not have been surprised that she went behind his back and reached out to Fritz when he didn't listen. Not, mind you, that she had softened on Fritz as a person. Here's MT, revealing herself to be either a secret Voltaire reader or just by sheer coincidence hitting up on a suspiciously familiar Voltairian phrase. Context: Joseph has sent her a letter from Fritz. Which is handwritten by Fritz, and thus really terribly spelled. Says Maria Theresia, educated by Jesuits:

I confess my weakness: this writing in his own hand when he's surrounded by 40 000 men, (...) sounding like a theatre king or theatre despot has amused me. So this villain is not as versatile as that, and he would, on this occasion, have been in dire need of someone to clean his dirty laundry again.

Edited Date: 2020-02-27 04:21 pm (UTC)

From:

mildred_of_midgard

You mentioned you were starting to like Volz (editor of Lucchesini diary),

selenak, so I decided to do my part as librarian for the salon and look into what else he published. And it was quite a bit! A few struck me as of possible interest to us:

German translation of the Fritz-Wilhelmine correspondence, with bonus letters between Wilhelmine and her parents and one of her sisters. Volume 1, up to 1740, is available online and volume 2 is not, but is at Stabi. I'm not sure how many, if any, Fritz/Wilhelmine letters there are that aren't in Preuss on Trier, but at least they're in German, and like I said, there are some bonus letters. I put volume 1 in the library, but the scan quality is kind of terrible, in that it keeps chopping off the bottom of the page, so Trier might be better.

German translation of the Fritz-AW correspondence, which may have Biche letters, I don't know. Not available online. Stabi.

Sourcebook on Fritz & Trenck to supplement Trenck's memoirs! Not available online. Please to be obtaining. ;) Obviously will not contain the 2008 letter, but who knows what goodies it has.

3-volume bio of Fritz that I've seen cited in various modern bios. Curious if he manages to do better than any of the other 1920s biographers and editors. If we decide we like Volz, I can get this one into the library, but I will need our royal patron's help. I'll let you decide if you think it's worth it, after checking out his other work.

Conversations with Fritz, which looks potentially interesting and is now in the Fritzian library. (Different conversations with Fritz than the Catt+Lucchesini ones!)

Volz is also the guy responsible for all? much? of the political correspondence, which I hadn't noticed.

Not Fritz related, he also apparently put together previously unpublished documents on the Comte de Saint-Germain, who is at least not a boring person!

I obviously can't vouch for any of these, but am curious.

Edited Date: 2020-02-27 05:49 pm (UTC)

From:

selenak

Okay, I’ve alloted myself just two hours per day to spend at the Stabi with Lehndorff, since I need to be doing other tihngs as well, and of course the Stabi is closed at the weekend, but I have to give you now the first installment of the Lehndorff Volume 4 report.

LOL. Our Editor, Dr. K.Ed. Schmidt-Lötzen, says in his preface that while Lehndorff’s diaries post retirement are mainly about his life in the countryside and his estate, our Lehndorff also keeps up an intense correspondence with all the obvious suspects. Editor thanks G. Volz - the very same - for helping him because the excentric ortography of some of those letters, and of the diaries themselves, are a trial, and Volz has gone through the hardcore school of decyphering Fritz letters. Also, our editor doesn’t know whether he’ll live long enough to publish all of Lehndorff’s journals, because looking at all those volumes still ahead, he doubts it. Aw. Editor, some of this material will go up in flames in 1945, so we’re grateful for anything you publish, you’re doing an intense public service, believe me.

Our editor by now is firmly attached to Lehndorff and tells us furtherly in the preface that he thinks Lehndorff would have made a great diplomat if Fritz had chosen to put him into the service (whether in England or elsewhere), and he, editor, can’t understand why Fritz didn’t, unless it was a bias against Lehndorff for being lame. The diaries as preserved in the year 1921 run from April 1st 1750 to October 8th 1806, just a few days before Prussia lost to Napoleon, big time, at Jena.

Now, onwards to what our Lehndorff wrote. Remember, when last we left him, he retired from EC‘s service, said goodbye to Heinrich and went home to Eastern Prussia to his estate Steinort. Which, btw, is in Poland today, along with most other locations I‘ve seen mentioned so far.

In the summer of 1775, there’s gossip in the provinces Fritz is at death’s door and gets wrapped in paper and lead for treatment. Lehndorff, who is corresponding with the capital, thinks it‘s all nonsense and probably inspired by Fritz suffering through a particularly painful attack of gout. Then there‘s this entry. The greatest princess is of course Catherine. The Count of St. Germain is one of the 18th century‘s most successful con men and adventurer‘s, pretending to be immortal. „Mariamme“ is a tragedy by Voltaire about Herod‘s wife.

February 1776: In this time, I make the aquaintance of the famous prince Orlov, the lover of the greatest princess of the world. He arrives in Königsberg under the alias of a Russian major, lodges in the inn „Prince of Prussia“ and remains unrecognized for the entire evening. The next morning, rumor of his arrival spreads, and I meet him at Countess Keyserlingk’s. I liked him a lot. He doesn’t show pride, but a natural behavior, still remembers his old friends and talks about his good fortune with modesty. He shows me the empress’ portrait which is uniquely precious; the painting itself is covered by a flat diamond the size of a dollar. I dine with him, and he shows himself so delighted at finding his old acquaintances again that he’d have liked to stay longer with us, if Prince Lobkovitz, the Viennese envoy at the court of St. Petersburg, hadn’t arrived at the same time. This disturbs him, since he’d wanted to arrive at St. Petersburg before Lobkovitz did, without the Empress knowing about it. He also meets Count Schwerin, colonel in the Regiment Krockow, who has been the cause of his good fortune, and talks with him without restraint.

Staying at Königsberg also allows me to make a charming aquaintance, with the famous Chevalier Sagramoso, the Maltese envoy in Warsaw. (...) He is a polymath with whom I‘ve spent ten agreeable days. He has known the infamous Count of St. Germain pretty well, the one who claims to be eternal and of whom he has told me the following anecdote: At a performance of the tragedy „Mariamme“, he declared he was doubly touched since he had known the amiable princess very well. A lady present who wanted to embarass him adressed him by saying: „Then you probably knew our Lord Jesus Christ as well?“. „Whether I knew him?“ he replied. „Why, so well that I told him after that business in the Temple had happened: My dear friend, this can‘t end well!“ (...)

And we‘re only a few pages into the start of this journal, when guess whose name makes a return appearance:

We talk most of all about the arrival of Prince Heinrich, who will stop in Königsberg on his way to Russia. He has written to me several times, and I could come with him on the journey if I wasn’t worried about leaving my wife, who is pregnant. My dear prince arrives on March 26th. I am endlessly glad to see him again and am always with him. He tells me a great deal strange and extremely interesting things, and I see him part from Königsberg with great regret. A few days later I travel to Steinort, but as I am disturbed by the news that my wife might give birth earlier than supposed, I return to Königsberg on April 28th. My wife immediately takes lodging at my house there, and we await her giving birth until the end of June.

In the meantime, I have made my preparations in order to follow Prince Heinrich to St. Petersburg, my clothes have arrived, and June 9th has been named as the day of my departure. I have received several letters by the Prince which promise me the most pleasing reception, and wherein he tells me there has already been an apartment prepared for me in Zarkoje Selo. But just as I enter the carriage and want to leave, a terrible fever attacks me, and I am -
(This is where the diary book ends, and Lehndorff starts a new volume thusly)

On June 21st at 3 am, my wife gives birth to a daughter in Königsberg most happily. At the same time, I receive a letter from Prince Heinrich announcing he will arrive at Königsberg in the company of the Grand Duke on July 10th. Thus I see myself forced to abandon the plan of a journey to St. Petersburg which I had carried with me through the entire summer. I must admit this is rather painful for me, for I will never have the chance again to get know this country under such pleasant circumstances as they would have been in the company of Prince Heinrich for me. But one cannot fight destiny!

Lehndorff, I dare say your wife would have had something to say about you leaving her just after she’s given birth to go holidaying in Russia with the crush of your life! Though at least she fares better than the other pregnant woman mentioned in these pages. The Grand Duke is Catherine‘s son Paul. Nominally also the late Peter IIII‘s son. Paul is very touchy about the question mark on his paternity and thus is making a point of being as much like (P)Russian Pete as he possibly can, including being a Fritz fan. Prussia cultivates him, of course, since no one has forgotten what it‘s like to be at war with Russians. The following passage also illustrates Heinrich‘s own streak of political ruthlessness, less bloody than that of Fritz but no less cold if needs must. (The need in case being keeping the next Czar in the family.) „We both have the same coldness“, as Fritz would put it.

At July 6th, the serene Prince Heinrich arrives. He shows himself so pleased to see me that I am delighted. We think about a thousand preparations to receive the Grand Duke in the entire country. I am spending the entire day in the company of my adored prince, who tells me a thousand anecdotes about Russia, about the Empress and her entire court which I have to write down at once. The prince was in a very strange situation there. Just after his arrival, he found the Empress full of attitude against us, because the Polish General Branicki has helped Potjemkin to influence her against us. Additionally, he found the Grand Duchess, the sister of our Princess of Prussia, to be dying due to a pregnancy which took a fateful course. For this reason, the Prince spent several days alone without getting to see the Empress. The envoys of other courts were already triumphant and flattered themselves that the prince would not be as successful this time as during his first journey. But then, Prince Heinrich used an opportune moment to get a message through the Empress via General Kaskin to tell her that nothing was more of concern to him than her distress, and that he asked her to use him as she saw fit if he could be of any service to her. Very pleased about the offer, the Empress replies that she appreciates his sincere friendship in her sad situation, and that she asks him to come to her as soon as possible and to take the Grand Duke under his wing, who was wrecked with pain over his dying wife. At once, the Prince follows suit, and he manages to talk the Grand Duke out of the room of the dying woman. He behaves so well that (...) this misfortune is an occasion to win the trust of the Empress and the Grand Duke so thoroughly that even before the later’s wife has expired, there has already been a new spouse arranged, the charming princess of Würtemberg, the great niece of our King and daughter of the most estimable parents of the world. (...) At last after ten days of the most terrible suffering, the unfortunate princess dies without having given birth as the child, a boy, was still attached to her. She bore all the operations with the greatest endurance and died in the same way. (...)
So this entire day passes very agreeable for me; the joy of the prince at my company is so sincere and his conversation is so interesting that the hours pass as in flight. In the evening, he has the kindness to ask me to come with him to meet the Grand Duke the next morning.

So Lehndorff might not have had the chance to travel with Heinrich to Russia, but he gets to travel with him and Grand Duke Paul through the newly aquired Poland, err, even Easterner Prussia. This, btw, is of additional political importance since the inhabitants of Danzig - Gdansk - used to be HRE subjects, Danzig having been a Free City, and are less than thrilled that they‘re now Prussians. Extra bonus for Lehndorff: he gets to lord it over one of Heinrich‘s exes, to wit, Kalckreuth.

(...) On the 9th, we drive through the most beautiful area of the world to Insterburg, always through arches of honor. (...) About a mile away from Isenburg, I see Lieutenant Colonel Kalckreuth whose anger I can spot on his face, as this is the first time that he, who had once been Prince Heinrich‘s big favourite, will see the later after his disgrace. He has written to the Prince and his royal highness has asked me to tell him that he would not treat him badly, but also that there was nothing left between them in his favor. At last, I arrive in Insterburg, where I enjoy meeting Madame General Platen again. She entertains me with all types of outbursts Kalckreuth has made in her presence.

Life is sweet for Lehndorff. (One hopes also for Mrs. Lehndorff and the baby, still at Königsberg.)

On to Danzig, aka Gdansk:

The way to the town Danzig is beautiful, the view of the gigantic crowd splended; all the public stairs, all windows are full of women wearing their most beautiful dresses who greet us in the most amiable way. This is true in all the suburbs of Danzig as well. One has put up tents and prepared a great picknick for the Prince; but the Grand Duke didn‘t want to have anything to do with this, since he declared he does not want to be polite to people who are unkind to the King of Prussia. He really seems to be that attached to our royal house. As he is greeted by the city council with a speech, he only replies with a bow, while Prince Heinrich takes care to speak with such friendliness with them that they are delighted.

That would be why Paul, once he‘s Czar, will end up just about as popular as his legal Dad. He won‘t end much more happily, too. But for now, all is smiles.

18th July. At 8 am, the entire noble company leaves Oliva, and I have to take leave of my amiable prince who has asked me urgently to come with him till Berlin. But I remain firm! Prince Heinrich now gives me a beautiful gift; he presents me with a box of gold, decorated with emeralds and diamonds. Once all the carriages have left, I am amazed to find myself alone at a place which I had seen overcrowded with people just a moment earlier. Since I had spent the night rather badly in a tiny room, I go to the suit where the Grand Duke has been lodging, lie down on a comfortable chaiselongue and sleep there for three or four hours. Then I take my dinner with the Chamberlain Keyslerlingk and the abbot of Oliva.

Bless. After a few more days in Danzig, he goes back to Königsberg to reunite with Mrs. Lehndorff and the baby. Scheming Kalkreuth continues to be a thing, btw, since he‘s in a mini war with the Platens, and Lehndorff, of course, is Team Platen. (And also Team Muwahaa, Whom Is Heinrich Still Fond of Now, Kalkreuth?) And there I must leave him for the weekend.

From:

selenak

To round off Jessen: he has of course the MT to Joseph quote I worked into my Fritz & MT fanfiction, from 14th Sepember 1766 ("But has this hero who won himself such fame, has this conqueror a single friend? Doesn't he have to distrust the entire world? What kind of life is this, that has humanity banished out of it?").

It also has Joseph's report on his encounter with Fritz in Neisse, wherein he tries to demonstrate to Mom how he's kept his cool, because he's the rational fanboy. The letter is dated August 29th, 1769:

Dear Mother, at last you shall have some disconnected news about my strange journey to Neisse. (...) The King has overwhelmed us with politeness and friendliness. He's a genius and a man who talks wonderfully well, but he doesn't say a word which does not betray the rascal in him. I do believe he wants peace, not out of the goodness of his heart but because he recognizes that he can't win anything by going to war. I've asked him about all kind of things. (...) But I can't possibly tell you all, since we were in conversation for at least sixteen hours per day with each other. (...) Anyway, everything showed his fear of Russia's power, which he also wants to transmit to us. Regarding religion, he was very restrained, even with malicious zingers. He talked with the greatest respect about you, and with much respect of Kaunitz.

(Kaunitz is MT's and later Joseph's first minister.)

Volz, bw, has a more thorough version of Joseph's letter in his "Gespräche mit Friedrich dem Großen", but the Jessen edition is fairly representative for what he says. I must say, all the "I totally saw through Fritz, Mom!...during the sixteen hours per day we talked to each other" cracks me up to no end. (I mean. 16 hours? Per day?)

Incidentally, Fritz had brought Heinrich along on this first trip, but Joseph, unsurprisingly, had only eyes for Fritz. Something else the original documents in Jessen and Volz tell me is that in order to be polite, Fritz and his entourage wore the Austrian white uniforms "to spare the Austrians the sight of the Prussian blue (they) have encountered on the field so often", as one of the Austrian delegation was told, who in his letter snarked, you know, we could have born the sight, and also it wouldn't have showcased the King's tobacco snuff as much as the white uniform did.

BTW, MT also took some tobacco, though not as much as Fritz did. She does, however, mention it in a letter to a female friend as something good for keeping you awake and alert and sends snuff box with the stuff in it. Considering her working schedule had similar hours to Fritz' schedule, this is not surprising. It's a drug for sleepless workoholics, alright. (Neither of them considered smoking it, though.)

And here's the letter I already mentioned to Heinrich. The treaty of the First Partitioning of Poland is dated to March 4th, 1772. On June 12th, Fritz is on a tour through his newly aquired territories to inspect them and writes to Heinrich (sorry about the one somewhat antisemitic crack):

I have seen this Prussia which I basically received from your hand. It is a very good and advantageous aquisition, both for the political position of the state and for our finances. However, in order not to awake too much jealousy I'm telling everyone who wants to hear it that I have only observed sand, fir trees, bracken and Jews on my journey. In any case, this land will cause me a lot of work, too, for I believe Canada to be as civilized as Pommerellen; no order, no districts. The towns are in a pitiable state. Kulm, for example, is supposed to have eighthundred houses, but there are only a hundred standing. (...) As far as the army is concerned, I've found the entire cavalry of this area to be as good as hours. Regarding the infanty, the garnison regiments of the province equal the field regiments. The field regiments here are larger than those of Berlin. But there will have to be some personnel changes for the staff offficers and the subaltern officers. The great mistake in the drilling of the troops consists in them loading badly, don't fall into step easily and don't aim too well. But that can be practiced during the following year, and God willing, the entire army will be on the same level and equally organized next year.

"This Prussia which I basically received from your hand" becomes of course "my property, which I negotiated because I'm just that awesome" later on.

(Fritz: You don't think Heinrich would have gotten anything from anyone if I weren't awesome, do you?
Heinrich: You don't think you'd have gotten anything other than pissing everone else off AGAIN if you' been the one to negotiate, do you?)

Something Mildred alluded to is that MT on the one hand thought this entire Poland partitioning was shameless robbery, which it was, but on the other wanted/accepted her share, which she did. There is a famous but apocryphal quip by Fritz which gets quoted on this a lot, but no one has ever been able to find it in any of his letters or even in his described conversations in other people's memoirs, so biographers were reluctantly forced to admit that it was probably invented after the fact by other people but sounded so much like something he would have said that it stuck. In several variations, this apocryphal quote goes "she cried, and the more she cried, the more she took".

Jessen does have a letter from MT on the subject to one of her younger sons, Ferdinand (yes, she had a Ferdinand, too), dated September 12th 1772:

You will see the entire miserable development of this matter. I have refused it for a long time! Only the blows after blows in the forms of the Turks attacking, the lack of a prospect of getting support from France or England in this, the likelihood of having to conduct a war against both Russia and Prussia otherwise, misery, famine and sickness in my countries forced me to accept these bloody proposals, which throw a shadow over my entire rule. God will make me face my responsibility for this in the other world. I must admit to you that I cannot get over this matter, it lies heavily on my heart, haunts me and poisons my already sad days. I must stop writing about this in order not to get even more upset and not to sink into the blackest melancholia.

I.e. she did rationalize and excuse herself for participating, but it never really worked for her. I already quoted her letter to Joseph on the War of the Bavarian Succession by the time this decade ended, but what Jessen's collection of documents also tell me is that the official peace between Prussia and Austria was made on May 13th 1779, which was MT's birthday.

Jessen also quotes not one but two poems by Matthias Claudius. One is the "Sie machte Frieden" poem I already quoted and translated to you many a post ago after MT's death. The other was written after the war had ended instead of evolving into another 7 Years War, which was what everyone, including MT had been afraid of, and this one was new to me. It goes thusly:

Die Kaiserin und Friederich
Nach manchem Kampf und Siege
Entzweiten endlich aber sich
Und rüsteten zum Kriege

Und zogen mutig aus ins Feld
Und hatten stolze Heere,
Schier zu erfechten eine Welt
Und » Heldenruhm und Ehre « .

Da fühlten beide groß und gut
Die Menschenvater -Würde,
Und wieviel Elend , wieviel Blut
Der Krieg noch kosten würde,

Und dachten , wie doch alles gar
Vergänglich sei hienieden ,
Und sahen an ihr graues Haar . . .
Und machten wieder Frieden .

(The Empress and Friedrich/After many a fight and victory/were at odds again/and armed themselves for war/ They bravely went into the field/and had proud armies/to fight for a world/ and for 'heroic courage and honor'./ Then, both felt good and great/the dignity of being a parent to human kind/and how much misery, how much blood/this war would cost,/ and thought of how everything/was mortal on this plain/and looked at each their own grey hair.../and made peace again.)

Fritz not reading any German literature, I doubt he ever saw it, but MT might have. To repeat the Claudius poem after her death again, since it's very short:

Sie machte Frieden ! Das ist mein Gedicht.
War ihres Volkes Lust und ihres Volkes Segen
Und ging getrost und voller Zuversicht
Dem Tod als ihrem Freund entgegen .
Ein Welteroberer kann das nicht.
Sie machte Frieden !Dasist mein Gedicht.

ETA: And I have made my own rhyming, not prose translation! *shares wit pride*

This is my poem: she made peace!
She was her people's blessing and delight,
went confident, comforted and at ease
To face her death. Her death, and not a fight.
No conqueror of the world can have such release.
This is my poem: she made peace!

Jessen has also the letter from Fritz - to D'Alembert, as it turns out, dated January 6th 1781 (MT having died in November 1780) which has the famous "I was never her enemy" quote in it. Writes he:

And yet, I have regretted the death of the Empress-Queen: she brought honor to her throne and sex; I have gone to war with her, but I was never her enemy. Regarding the Emperor, the son of this great woman: I know him personally; he seemed too enlightened to me to me to make overhasty steps; I esteem him and do not fear him. (...) To give you a proof of just how calmly minded I am, I include a little brochure which aims at showing the flaws of German literature and to explain the means by which it can improve. You will mock the care I'm taking to teach a people which until now has been good at nothing but eat, drink, make love and make war to have at least a little understanding of taste and Attic salt. But a man wants to be useful; often a word falls on fertile soil and bears unexpected fruit.

Yep, he announces his trashing of (unread by him) German literature in the same letter. (Also, Fritz, I thought Joseph "the son of this great woman" was the coming menace of Europe? That's what you've told all your other correspondants, at least.) And Jessen, bless, has the passage in "De La Literature Allemande" which is specifically aimed at Goethe (and Shakespeare, while he's at it). ("Götz von Berlichingen" had been Goethe's first play, and it's indeed blatantly Shakespeare-inspired. It's also to this day fun for 12 years old pupils for containing the line "kiss my ass!") ("Und er sage seinem Herren, er könne mich am Arsche lecken!")

Behold this glorious proof of just how calmly minded Fritz is:

To convince yourself of the utter lack of taste that to this day rules in Germany, you only have to go to the theatre. That's where you see the despicable plays by Shakespeare produced in the German language, see the entire audience swoon at hearing these ridiculous farces which are worthy of a Canadian savage. I call them thus because they go against every rule of theatre. These rules are not random! They are to be found in Aristotle's poetics. There, the unity of time, place and action are prescribed. But the English plays provide an action which takes place through years. Where's the plausibility there? Baggage carriers and grave diggers show up and hold speeches that suit their stations; and then, princes and Queens appear. This strange brewery of the elevated and the low, of slapstick and tragedy is supposed to please and touch people? One may forgive Shakespare such odd abberations; for the birth of the arts was never the time of their maturity. But now, a "Götz von Berlichingen" appears on the stage, a disgusting imitation of those terrible English plays, and the audience applauds and demands with enthusiasm more of these tasteless rubbish. I know, you can't argue about taste. But allow me to tell you one thing: who enjoys acrobats and puppets just as much as the tragedies of Racine just wants to pass time. He prefers something which appeals to his eyes to something which appeals to the mind and to the heart!

German writers of the day: *headdesk, as described in another entry*

(Herder: Go polish your rusty armor, old man. Si tacuisses, philosphus mansisses.)

Jessen also quotes a letter from Goethe to a buddy of his, Merck, like him and most Germans that age a (in Merck's case now former) Fritz fanboy, who asked "OMG, have read what Fritz wrote):

No one should have been surprised by the pamplet of the old King if one knew him for who he actually is. If the audience hears of a hero who has done great deeds, it forms him convenient to the common idea, subtle, high-minded and well educated; in the same way, one assumes a man who otherwise has done much to posses clarity and precision of the mind. One imagines him without bias and actually well informed and educated. This is what has happened with the King; but just as he has done great deeds in his shabby blue uniform and his humpbacked figure, he has forced the events of history by his stubborn, prejudiced and unteachable imagination.

I.e. he could not have done so with with a balanced and fair mindset. Elaborating further on the argument that the very thing which made Fritz great was his imperfection, Goethe replies to yet another correspondant asking him "OMG, have you read that?!?".

There's nothing strange to me about the King mentioning my play unfavourably. A powerful man who rules over thousands with a sceptre of iron, has to find the creation of a free and cheeky youth unbearable. Besides, a tolerant taste can't be the distinguishing characteristic of a King, and would not, had he possessed it, have allowed him to make a great name for himself; I rather think that the great and noble live by exclusivity.

Edited Date: 2020-02-29 12:30 pm (UTC)

From:

mildred_of_midgard

About halfway through Blanning, so it's time for another update. Less by way of quotes and more comments here, especially since

cahn is thinking of reading it.

There's a good chapter full of information on the artistic and musical sphere. I'm not the least bit qualified to comment on the music parts, either to spot errors or to spot the interesting parts. But it's the chapter I excerpted heavily from for our "Counterpoint" collaboration, so I highly recommend reading it and letting us know what is interesting or obviously wrong. :)

The section on politics leading up to the Diplomatic Revolution is...interesting. By which I mean certain parts match Fritzian propaganda pretty closely. Which is surprising, from a guy who's pretty damn critical of Fritz's expansionism, foreign policy, tactics, strategy, treatment of civilians, treatment of allies, treatment of friends, treatment of family, treatment of subjects, treatment of employees, inadequate military or political intelligence*, misogyny, anti-Semitism, various hypocrisies, tastes in art, literature, and music, and tendency to hold forth on subjects about which he knows nothing. And probably a bunch of other things I'm forgetting.

* By intelligence I mean "gathering of information about what other people are up to," not "brainpower."

Blanning's not "Fritz never loved anyone except maybe Fredersdorf" deconstructionist guy, certainly, and he has some positive things to say and gives credit where credit is due. I would say he's more demythologizing than deconstructionist. Of all biographers I've seen or that

selenak has reported on, Blanning is probably closest to our salon in terms of both positive and negative opinions. (I'm a little bit more forgiving of Fritz's desire not to attend parties with a wife he was forced to marry in the first place.)

But he's bad about facts, as we've seen, and rereading him, I've spotted a few things that made me raise my eyebrows about the early 1750s.

1) Elizabeth of Russia doesn't control foreign policy, Prussophobe Count Bestushev does (and he controls her completely), and the reason she hates Fritz is that Bestushev makes sure she hears all the misogynistic things Fritz says and none of the good stuff about Fritz.

2) Madame de Pompadour may or may not have any input into foreign policy, as opposed to just being popularly believed to be influential in this domain. (I didn't realize there was any question about this, but Blanning says it's highly debated, and I used to believe that the partition of Poland was totally Fritz's idea, so...maybe? French politics is not something I have any deep knowledge on.)

3) MT totally addresses Pompadour as both "my sister" and "my cousin"! Because Preuss says so! (Blanning has about 50 citations of Arneth in his book, but apparently he missed the memo about this claim being disproved.)

All of these would be totally unremarkable in a "Fritz is the greatest!" bio, but they jumped out at me in Blanning's "Fritz is SO overrated, Heinrich was WAY more awesome" bio. He actually presents (3) in a positive light, evidence that MT was a much better politician than Fritz, but...if it's not true, it's not true.

Oh, he states as fact that Elizabeth married Razumovsky morganatically and had children by him. Like I've said elsewhere, I'm not up on the latest research and where the communis opinio stands on this issue. Not highlighting it as at all questionable jumps out at me, but maybe unfairly. Blanning also describes Razumovsky as an intellectual weakling but a "Hercules of Cythera," citation being the Prussian envoy. I would like a less biased source, Blanning?

Now for some quotes. Take everything with a grain of salt!

Apparently Europe has no clue about Russia in the 17th century:

It was not so long ago that Louis XIV had addressed a letter to Tsar Michael unaware that he had been dead for twelve years.

That would be 1657, per Wikipedia. Citation for this is Anderson, Europe in the Eighteenth Century, 1961. Considering Blanning is the guy who trustingly cites Norman Davies for the "she wept and took" MT quote, this citation doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. But MacDonogh's uncited "There stands one who will avenge me" turned out to be legit, so these things can go either way!

Fritz's prognostication skills are even weaker than usual:

By the beginning of January 1741 Frederick had reached the Silesian capital, Breslau; by 17 January he could claim in a letter to Algarotti that the entire province was his. Only the fortresses of Glogau, Glatz, Neisse and Brieg remained in Austrian hands. The whole affair, he boasted, had cost the lives of just twenty soldiers and two officers.

Final death toll will be in the hundreds of thousands. Blanning uses the very appropriate word "hubris".

This is why I think he would have gone to war without the childhood abuse; the glorification of conquest just has too long and too pervasive a history for someone as ambitious as Fritz, in the environment he grew up in, to resist:

he wrote to Voltaire to describe the privations of campaigning, adding that he would gladly pass them on to someone else “if that phantom called glory did not appear to me so often. In truth, it is a great lunacy, but a lunacy that is very difficult to shed once one is infatuated with it.” Two months later he confessed to his friend Charles-Étienne Jordan: “I love war for the glory.” Even when he wrote his history of the war for public consumption, he acknowledged more than once that the pursuit of glory had been a prime aim.

All FW had to do was glorify military pursuits and hand his army over to Fritz, and I think Fritz would have done the rest. There was no need to go trying to break his will. All you got out of that was an ill-informed anti-German tirade, FW. :P

In a rare moment of defending rather than attacking Fritz, Blanning challenges the traditional view by claiming that it wasn't personal cowardice but poor judgment that led Fritz to leave the field at Mollwitz:

All accounts agree that Frederick himself showed great personal courage in trying to rescue the situation, so much so in fact that his second-in-command, Schwerin, feared for his life and pleaded with him to leave the battlefield for a place of safety. Whether his consent amounted to a flight, as the Austrians— and their historians— claimed afterwards, is doubtful.

I haven't read "all accounts," but given his earlier and later behavior, I actually buy it. Fritz is just too much of a terrier. Just like his escape attempt was more a fight than a flight, I think getting talked into leaving Mollwitz very much went against the grain.

Vaguely misogynistic remark about MT not in Catt, this one from his Histoire de mon temps, which I'm reproducing without checking for context or accuracy:

“An ambitious and vindictive enemy, who was the more dangerous because she was a woman, headlong in her opinions, and implacable… devoured by ambition.”

We still don't envy ambassadors:

So close did Frederick keep his cards to his chest that foreign diplomats could find nothing beyond gossip and idle speculation to send back to their courts. The Austrian ambassador lamented in 1749 that not even the notional foreign minister, Podewils, had any idea as to what his master’s intentions were. Frederick himself was reported to have said that, if he discovered that his own skin knew what he was going to do, he would have it peeled off and thrown away. A royal interview was not only pointless, it also exposed the unwelcome guest to Frederick’s notoriously acid tongue. According to the French envoy, the Duc de Guînes, very few of his intimidated colleagues were brave enough even to ask for an audience at Potsdam.

Fritz has opinions and isn't shy about expressing them:

Although so often described as a Francophile, Frederick in fact had a generally low opinion of contemporary French culture. During the golden age of the mid-seventeenth century, he believed, French writers, led by Corneille and Racine, had produced dramatic works of unsurpassable quality, but since then their star had waned. Dismissing their music as “puerile,” he told Graun to stop composing overtures in the French style. Modern Italian music was mellifluous when sung properly but essentially “stupid.” What Frederick demanded was music in the Italian style but written by Germans. Ascribed to him was the dictum: “The French only know how to write drama and the Italians only know how to sing; the Germans alone understand how to write music.”

Neat little detail if true:

According to the soprano Elizabeth Mara, when the weather was cold, soldiers were drafted into the theater to warm up the auditorium with their body heat.

Fritz is a troll:

More frivolously, the new gallery also gave him the opportunity to indulge his contempt for Christianity, by juxtaposing Carlo Maratta’s Madonna with Guido Reni’s Toilet of Venus. (He played the same sort of trick in the Potsdam Town Palace, where Correggio’s The Repentant Mary Magdalene was placed among a group of erotic fête galante pictures, including Watteau’s Cythera.)

I feel like one of these explanations dates to a different century than the other:

On the eastern side was Mercury, a classical statue inherited from Frederick’s sister Wilhelmine. He was chosen perhaps because he was the god of commerce (among other things) and so implied that the Prussian economy was in good shape, or more likely because he was a beautiful naked youth awaiting the attention of Mars opposite. On Frederick’s death, his heir had the statue removed and it has never returned.

What, thanks to

selenak's write-up, we know to be an oversimplification of the history of the Antinous statue:

It was only after his death that the statue was renamed The Praying Boy and hastily removed to a museum.

He does think it might have been a Katte tribute, though, so props for that.

1734 is the Siege of Phillipsburg, when Fritz met Eugene, famous general and famous open-secret homosexual, whom he admired. Also, other Seckendorff is a gossipy sensationalist:

Christoph Ludwig von Seckendorf wrote in his secret diary for 1734 that Frederick was imitating Eugene’s laconic manner. He also recorded the following conversation: “The Prince of Anhalt-Dessau: ‘Does Your Highness still get an erection?’ Prince Eugene, taking a pinch of snuff: ‘No, I do not get an erection.’

Fritz ships my ship:

The same homoerotic theme could also be found in the two most important paintings commissioned for the New Palace nearby. The first was Pompeo Batoni’s The Family of Darius, which depicts another celebrated pair of male lovers, Alexander the Great and Hephaestion...In Batoni’s version, the intimacy of the relationship between the two men is emphasized by Hephaestion placing his hand on Alexander’s wrist. Commissioned in 1763, it was not delivered until 1775, but such was the importance Frederick attached to it that the allocated space was kept vacant. This was in the Blue Antechamber, which led to Frederick’s apartments.

Supposedly FW used the word "sodomite" of Fritz, but no citation given.

Just me finding the wording amusing here:

Louis XV may have thought that the invasion of Silesia was the act of a lunatic, but Frederick had shown that when madness succeeds, it has to be renamed audacity. Of all those who wanted to see Frederick back where he belonged, in the asylum, Maria Theresa was the most implacable.

I don't even know what to make of the "sleaze" line. Like, whose perspective is that? Not Blanning's, surely. Kaunitz? Fritz? Contemporary French opinion?

In 1750 Kaunitz was sent off to Versailles as Austrian ambassador. There he found a once dominant power whose feet of clay were beginning to crumble. The Peace of Aachen, which handed back all the conquests in India and the Low Countries, had been greeted by French public opinion with consternation and anger: “bête comme la paix” (as stupid as the peace) became a popular simile. As it was believed that the chief minister de facto was the royal mistress, Madame de Pompadour, sleaze was added to incompetence. Just how much influence on policy (as opposed to patronage) she actually exercised has been much debated. In any event, she was a useful whipping girl for all who opposed the apparent incoherence and indecision of royal policy.

Blanning links to this painting of the tobacco parliament, which I hadn't known about. The description underneath the painting is pretty interesting as well.

Note that it's 1737, and Fritz is glad to be well away from the hated tobacco parliament. According to Asprey, Fritz commented that year to Grumbkow that a fitting epitaph for him would be "Here lies one who lived for a year." He moved into Rheinsberg in mid 1736.

I had meant to include this in the last write-up, when I talked about the sensationalist love triangle, but I missed it because it was in an end note. Anyway, Blanning shares our views on gossipy sensationalism and attitudes toward it:

A recent study of Algarotti and Frederick by Norbert Schmitz blithely ignores all the evidence relating to Algarotti’s bisexuality, referring to Hervey only once and then only as a “friend” of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Schmitz also primly observes: “The voyeuristic looking under the bedcovers of prominent people belongs to the province of the tabloid press”

And yet *nobody* seems to hesitate when talking about, say, the mistresses of Charles II.

From:

selenak

So, while even a Closer look doesn't tell me where Hahn got the Story of the handsome hussar, rival of Fredersdorf from, or when this was supposed to have happened, his slim book was worth checking out. For example, re: developing image of Fritz in German historiography. With the occasional look abroad. Should have figured Lavisse wrote after the 1870/1871 Prussian/French War, for example. Hahn plausibly points out that the very positive contemporary image Fritz enjoyed in France among the writers and historians and would continue to enjoy for a quite a while until, see above, had to do first of all with the massive unpopularity of the France/Austria alliance, which was directly blamed for the military defeats (not just the ones in Europe, but those in Canada, the idea being that France could have beaten the British there if it didn’t have to fight Fritz due to the Austrian alliance), and secondly with Fritz‘ cultural and linguistic Francophilia, which, as opposed to his criticism of contemporary France, was published in France a lot. But really the Austria bashing was key, which went in a vicious circle with Marie Antoinette’s rising unpopularity as Queen and her being made responsible for all that was wrong with the French monarchy. Not for nothing was „L’Autrichienne“ meant as a derogatory term.

What Hahn says about Fritz developing from Hero of the Protestant Cause in the 18th to Hero of the German Cause in the 19th, with the rising nationalism adopting him wholeheartedly and filing away anything that didn’t fit (not just the language, but also things like the Saxony invading, the brutal recruitment methods and the coin debasing and forgeries to finance the 7 Years War) was ignored. Hahn points out that when Raumer published the various foreign envoy reports on FW’s court in the 1830s, you’d think people would have eaten it up, but no, hardly a sound, instead, Raumer’s work was almost ignored by historians, because all the entaglements with foreign ambassadors and the descriptions of FW did not fit the 19th century idea of Fritz – and of FW, because the two reconciling and FW having been maybe a tad too strict but really good – was instrumental in any presentation of the story.

All historians until 1918 (obvious date is obvious) using the Prussian state archive had to present their work for censorship before being allowed to publish. Which means anything that does use those archives before 1918 is censored.

Preuß was a teacher, the first to be allowed unlimited access, was not a historian. Historian Leopold von Ranke (grandfather, btw, of Robert (von Ranke-)Graves of „I, Claudius“, „The White Goddess“ and „Goodbye to all thata“ fame) wanted to do the mid century magnum opus, but nope, partly because Preuß was seen as ideologically more reliable. („More patriotic“ being the contemporary term.) So in Preuß, you have for the first time clearly the following narrative which would dominate until the end of WWII

- It’s Prussia’s mission to unify and lead the German nation
- Fritz was instrumental for this by making Prussia a superpower
- For which he had to attack some fellow Germans like the Saxons, and, um, the Habsburgs* but
- The Habsburgs have lost their right to lead the Germans through the 30 Years War and by being Catholic
- As for the Saxons, well, okay, that wasn’t really cooll, but those early sins of Prussian greatness were completely atoned for by the ordeal of getting beaten by Napoleon before beating him
- Seriously, the years of Napoleonic dominance and subjugation are Prussia’s atonment for Saxony and for having fallen into decadence again post Fritz; after this trial by fire, Prussia is reborn, can lead the effort to beat Napoleon (Wellington is thought of by 19th century German historians like Blücher is thought of by to this day British popular historians, i.e., as an afterthought) and continue on its German history mission
- For Prussia = Germany. Or it will be. And for that laudable aim, anything Fritz did was justified.

Preuss when publishing Fritz‘ correspondance and literary works in the original French language wasn’t just driven by authenticity. He also thought it was better if the knowledge of these letters and works remained limited, because the population at large would totally get the wrong impression of father-of-the-nation Fritz otherwise. (And while the wealthier educated classes still had French as their first foreign language, the market, the new market for books included all the modestly living or poor or working class citizens who could read, write, count, but certainly not speak French anymore and would misunderstand.)

Hahn says the German translations of said works by Volz et all in the 1880s were severely toned down and censored, both in the blasphemous and the sexual aspects.

Oh, and while there was a translation of Voltaire’s, excuse me, some guys pamphlet and later the memoirs in the year after they first appeared (this was hot stuff) in non-Prussian German states, Voltaire’s memoirs weren’t published again in German until 1921 thereafter.

Every now and then some brave soul published stuff either based on external sources – like the the diary of a Saxon prince – or focusing on aspects of Fritz not fitting with the general image, like Fritz as an art collector (this did not fit because the image was that he lived modestly in a single uniform or two like a common soldier, as opposed to spending a lot of money collecting art even during the 7 Years War), and it always sank with hardly a trace.

Hahn says the Richter edition of the Fredersdorf letters was slightly censored, but he doesn’t say whether he’s basing this on the Burchardt edition (like I said, my quick once over gave me only one letter that I thought was new to me, the one joking about male powers of love being affected by all the wrong medicine), or because he’s read the originals.

Hahn also quotes the MT („would have needed someone to wash his dirtly laundry again“) snark about Fritz‘ hand written letter to say that of course she’s biased as hell re: Fritz, but she’s also a fellow royal of the same era and age, also conducting her (foreign) political correspondance in French, so if she finds Fritz‘ French (and not just the spelling) which on that occasion didn’t get a smoothing by his lectors and secretaries, not up to corresponding standard, she might not be making it up and knows whereof she speaks, so he positions that Fritz‘ elegant French from the Voltaire correspondance as praised by Pleschisnki (he’s read the older translations, too, but prefers Pleschinski’s) really does owe a huge debt to Henri de Catt and successors.
Lehndorff’s diaries (the three volumes of the chamberlain years) are listed in his bibliography as a top source, and Lehndorff described as „EC’s chamberlain and intimate friend of Prince Heinrich“. (Which I note because one odd thing to me when I looked up reviews of the first volume’s republication in 2007 was that not a single review mentions the Heinrich aspect.)

The backlash to all the hero and Prussia worship post 45 is duly covered, though Hahn says East Germany more quickly bounced back than West Germany to something more of a balance, because, well, what remains of Prussia is there.

Hahn’s vote for best general of the 7 Years War goes to EC’s brother Ferd(inand) of Braunschweig.

Hahn points out that the difference in perception of the 7 Years War vs the Silesian Wars within Prussia wasn’t just the length and the number of enemies, it was that Prussia itself hadn’t been touched by the Silesian wars. (Forcible recruitment of Saxons went on there already.) Instant hero worship was far easier if your own territory doesn’t get scorched.

Hahn repeatedly points out Fritz was short sighted (literally, not metaphorically), increasingly so. Valory notices it as early as 1740. There are bills for glasses sold to him in 1747 for the proud sum of 344 Reichstaler, and the glasses preserved go from -2 (the early years) to -7 Dioptrien. (As someone who has -5 and -5,5 herself, I can tell what that means in terms of what Fritz could and couldn’t see.) By 1766, when Fritz was introduced to various Austrian nobles from Joseph’s entourage, he couldn’t tell one from the other when they were standing just two metres or so in front of him.

Since a King whose public image traded on his martial prowess could not wear glasses in public, this was a genuine problem, but on the lighter side, the intense gaze so many visitors describe of Fritz was probably at least partly owed to him trying to see them clearly at all. For fanfiction: Fritz out of public sight needs to wear glasses.

Speaking of Fritz as an art collector: for all that the Pompadour bashing went on till his death, he seems to have been aware of her as a top notch famously exquisite art collector, because when Reinette’s inheritance was eventually sold, his people got instructed to buy it discreetly, and it ended up in his palaces.

Hahn quotes Voltaire re: why Fritz bashes Grandpa F1 so much in the „History of the House of Brandenburg“ - to create the illusion of being an impartial historian.

Poniatowski’s memoirs really bear checking out. Hahn quotes him explaining Fritz‘ survival in the 7 Years War mainly by the plundering of Saxony and the English subsidies, for they, quote Poniatowski in 1771, „made it possible what seemed to be impossible: that a prince elector of Brandenburg could resist for seven years the united countries Russia, Austria, France and Sweden.“ (Love the „Elector of Brandenburg“, elected by Catherine King of Poland.)

And lastly, Hahn on Fritz‘ presentation of his post war alliance with Catherine in the Histoire de mon temps, with subsequent German historians following suit:

„It was typical of him that he emphasized the advantages of the alliance with Catherine, but keeps silent about the burdens of the agreement, especially the pledge of military assistance or the paying of subsidies in the case of war. These mark more than anything else the (im)balance of power between them. His role as a the junior partner of the Czarina remains unmentioned."

From:

ase

Hi Frederick fans!

I am delighted that this fandom exists, and sometimes lurk on the fringes.

I also have a friend who is planning a trip to Germany in late March / early April. She and her husband will be in Trier, Frankfurt, Cologne, Bonn, and Luxembourg.

Are there Frederickan sites, museums, or other points of interest they should visit?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions! They are much appreciated.

From:

selenak

Mes amies, here‘s Lehndorff in the year 1777, demonstrating that age does not wither one‘s inner tendency to draw sparkly hearts one bit:

1777 February 17th

(...) I receive many letters, including one by Prince Heinrich. He writes me that he is quite content about this winter, which passed without a scandal - something of a rarity for Berlin, it is true. As for me, I‘m surprised by myself: I‘m not in a hurry to return to this city at all, where I did spend the majority of my life and where one has courted me with attentions. I feel so comfortable in my solitude that I only want to leave it in order to travel through warm countries. For a few days, I enjoy myself by riding a sledge and by the great scenery offered through the mountains.
After a few days, I receive a letter from Buchholtz, the esteemed secretary of Prince Heinrich and without a doubt the most diligent of his servants. He tells me that the prince has travelled to Braunschweig with Herr v. Knyphausen, but has left Kaphengst behind, since the later has been stopped from travelling by a strong outbreak of the French sickness which he has picked up from German and French drama players. In Magdeburg his royal highness was in danger of getting smashed by a splinter of the great brdige which fell down right next to his carriage. Of course, I was completely shocked by these news and praised God for protecting my dear prince from this accident. But the very next day, I received a letter which still disturbes me. My dear prince has fallen dangerously sick in Braunschweig. He coughes blood and is extraordinarily weak, so it has been assumed that he was in great danger. Fortunately, he was bled at once, otherwise he might have been lost. My position is cruel. If I wasn’t away for more than 70 miles from him, I would have hurried to his side at once! The last few letters have somewhat reassured me, since I was told that he is out of danger now. But I will not rest until I know him to be safely back at Rheinsberg.

On May 2nd, Lehndorff while visiting Leipzig meets the Count of St. Germain himself.

(...)From there, I visit the Count Saint-Germain, who has been known for 50 years now under this name, but currently has assumed the alias of „Welton“, which in the English language meants philanthropist. Of this man, it is claimed that he has been alived since the birth of Christ. He himself doesn’t claim that directly, but he does indicate he has been living for a long time and doesn’t believe he will have to die, and that the people who follow his life plan would at the very least reach a great age. It is certain that he follows a strict diet. He lives with great moderation, drinks only water, never newly opened wine, and only eats a light supper once a day. His conversation is interesting; he preaches solely the virtues of moderation and philanthropy he himself displays. One can’t accuse him of doubletalk there. It is said he’s not as rich anymore as he used to be. In France, in England and in Venice, he used to spend 6000 ducats per annum without anyone knowing where that money came from. Here in Leipzig, people say, he’s lacking funds, but he hasn’t tried to borrow money from anyone yet; instead, he supposedly owns a lot of diamonds. His facial expression is verry high spirited. He talks with enthusiasm and pointedly, but doesn’t suffer counter arguments lightly. He claims to be able to read from anyone’s face whether they are able to understand him or not. In the later case, he refuses to see the person in question again. As for me, I have listened to him with great enjoyment. He seems to feel much friendliness for me, so I’ve spent about 24 hours with him over the last three days. (...)
Some believe him to be a Portuegese Jew, others assume his life to have lasted for a few hundred years now, and believe him to be a dethroned prince. One accuses him to have told people that he was the third son of Prince Rackozy. He thinks he’s a great physicist. Above all things, he’s a doctor and talks a lot about his delicious powder which is to be drunken like a tea. I drank a cup of it. It tastes like anis and leads to increased bowel movement. He keeps preaching about the balance between mind and body; if one observes it carefully, he says, the machine of the body will never falter. Since my earliest youth I have heard tales about this man, and now I’m delighted to have finally met him. (...)
Upon my return to the inn where I’m lodging the most pleasant surprise awaits me any feeling heart can experience. For as I climb up the stairs to the rooms in which so many strangers lodge, a pretty boy steps downwards to me. Even while I ponder who he might be, I’m told he is my son. This child, which has been so thin and worn out that I gave him to Herr Muzelius in Berlin to be cured, and then to Halle in the care of my niece Isenburg, married Countess Schlieben, has changed so much within only six months that I hardly recognized him. I cannot describe my joy. It feels like my soul became one with that of the child - this is how glad I am! No joy in the world can replace such happiness. My heart swam in delight, and yet I could not pronounce a single word. (...) I had dinner with my niece, my wife and my son, and must confess that this meal meant more to me than anyone with the most famous wits.

Awwww. But seriously, for a retired family man, Lehndorff finds an amazing amount of opportunities to make trips to, well...

May 16h: Early I was on my way to Rheinsberg. I couldn’t stand the journey; the terrible sand made me almost melancholic. But when I finally arrived, my joy was all the greater; now, all was forgotten. Rheinsberg is still a place where I have spend many pleasant hours.
At first, we‘re completely alone, the Prince, Kaphengst and myself. Then, Herr v. Stosch arrives. We now make a trip to Meseberg, the beautiful estate which the Prince has bought wiht 130 000 Taler and given to Kaphengst as a gift. The mansion is furnished splendlidly, and this, too, the kind prince has paid for. One could admire him for it if only he would present his gifts according to merit, as opposed to favour. The health of the Prince improves. As we keep talking day in and day out, I always see how clever and gifted the Prince is. One can truly say of him that he is great in great matters, and small in small matters. (...)

June 1st. The Prince of Liechtenstein and Count Colloredo arrive. They are delighted by Rheinsberg and by the Prince. The Empress has explicitly ordered Prince Liechtenstein to go there and congratulate the Prince to his recovery. The King of France has ordered his envoy to do the same. Clearly, the Prince enjoys the respect given to great minds. If only this Prince whom my heart loves so tenderly would try to be as just as he is good and generous, he would be the object of universal admiration. Unfortunately, with him, passion always wins over sentiment. Thus he is able to give Kaphengst an estate for 150 000 Taler, but to refuse a young Wreech who is completely loyal to him 100 Louisdor. His loyalty is known to the prince, but as he is modesty itself, he doesn’t get anything out of it, while the other achieves everything through his impudence. This reminds me that one day, I strongly remonstrated with Mara, a strong favourite of the Prince’s, because he had behaved very impudently towards his Highness. The creature replied to me: „Oh, you don’t know this Prince as I do. If you don’t behave like a bastard towards him, you’re not getting anywhere.“
During my stay at Rheinsberg, I drive a few times to Meseberg, where Kaphengst marries one of his sisters to a Captain Beyer from the regiment Ferdinand. He throws them a princely wedding. Fourteen days, he hosts forty people, which all get supplied through the kitchen and the cellar of the Prince. While his royal highness limits himself to one bottle of Champagne for his evening table, people at Meseberg empty 1900. This favourite costs the Prince more than 10 000 Taler per annum, and that’s without counting the state.

Lehndorff, we knew that about Heinrich. You know that about Heinrich. I’m not expecting psychology on why Heinrich might have imprinted on charismatic bastards for life from you, but after all these decades, are you still expecting him to see the light? In July, Lehndorff is back at home when it’s family reunion time because old Uncle Du Rosey celebrates his 82nd birthday. This reminds Lehndorff:

I would like to add that I felt a certain satisfaction, which of course I did not pronounce out loud, when I saw the same Herr du Rosey in front of me who was 26 years ago my greatest enemy, when I proposed to Fräulein du Rosey. Through her mother, she was my cousin, and very rich, but her family sold her to a Herr v. Katt. All the people who were involved in this and scheming against me back then, I‘ve seen either take a bad ending or have seen them greatly humbled. There’s visible proof that there is such a thing as divine justice; God is just and knows what people deserve!

Nope, you’re still not forgiven, relations and Kattes. In August, he brings his son Karl to Berlin to go to school there, spends a few days in the capital, his wife has another daughter, the kid is duly baptized, and then Lehndorff is off to Rheinsberg again. No Kaphengst for a while, yay!

In the morning, I always take charming strolls with Prince Heinrich. Our conversation is extremely interesting to me, and covers subjects that only a few historians will know about. They will present the fascinating rule of Friedrich completely differently from how it should be written; the most interesting stories will be missed by them. (I dare say, Lehndorff.) They will seek for extraordinary causes for events which were more or less a work of accident as opposed to being the result of careful long term policy. The memorable partitioning of Poland, which people now believe to have been planned by the King throughout his entire rule, it started as a spontanous deal between the Czarina and Prince Heinrich during his first journey to Russia. The goal was to prevent that the House of Austria joined the war in favour of Turkey or concluded an alliance wiht them. This was the true cause for this great partitioning. But one could see from the Russian peace that Austria had already settled things with Turkey; they made deals with both sides.
All the other guests who have assembled in Rheinsberg leave on August 22nd. I have rarely enjoyed eight consecutive days more. Without interruption, there was only pure happiness. The relaxed tone which the Prince has set makes Rheinsberg so charming. Everyone is allowed to amuse themselves according to their taste. While the young people play a lot of games, I take my strolls or withdraw to my room in order to paint. The Prince comes to me, and we chat. Every evening, there’s a theatre play. In the morning, one drives, rides, or walks in the open air. There’s always music. The conversation during meals is always light hearted. One cannot call my stay here anything but enchanting.

Theatre: Heinrich employed a troupe of players there - till the end of his life - which in the last fifteen years of same was the sole remaining ensemble of French players regularly performing in any German state. He often was on stage as well, and basically was a producer/director once Blainville had committed suicide (Blainville was the director before that time).

Edited Date: 2020-03-02 04:58 pm (UTC)

From:

selenak

On September 4th, Lehndorff - who is back in the provinces again, and spefically in Glogau - has the opportunity for another scoop, as he meets a couple of former readers:

Here I meet Herr Francheville again, Prince Heinrich‘s former reader, who feels quite comfortable enjoying his big pension, and the famous Abbé Prades, whom the King had had arrested during the war and had banished to Glogau afterwards. He tells me a lot about this story and claims that the true reason had been his many visits to the late Prince of Prussia, who was at odds with the King during that time. (Stern footnote by our editor: De Prades so WAS a traitor, and his punishment lightly. He‘s bamboozling Lehndorff, whose fondness of AW he knows.) We talk a lot about the King travelling to Silesia. I see how the judgment people make about the King depends on the plans everyone has for their future. Some believe that he’s probably been for the last time in Silesia. They claim he is so weak he can’t live much longer. Others are certain he will live for a few years more at the very least. I agree with the later. If this Prince had no more life powers, he would not be able to achieve what he still achieves and to undertake such demanding journeys as the one he makes annually to Prussia and to Silesia. All in all, I consider life under his rule to be pleasant, if one has no special claims. One can live in peace and isn’t exposed to great injustices, which is what counts. I had grown up devoted to him. Hostile circumstances ensured that he did far more evil to me than good, without me having given him the slightest reason to. But heaven has ensured my happiness in other ways, and God knows, there can’t be many subjects who wish him more happiness than I do. (...)

In Glogau, I also see President Cocceji, with whom I used to be friends during my earliest time in Berlin. Due to his marriage with the famous dancer Barbarina, he had to leave the capital. This marriage, which caused him great distress and a position as Staatsminister, and which had cost his parents a part of their fortune, didn’t provide him with the satisfaction he had hoped to achieve through it. She’s still living on an estate near Glogau which she has purchased for herself and doesn’t allow her husband to participate in the great wealth she has accumulated through her career and amours.

Go Barbarina!

Oh God. Lehndorff’s favourite niece, the one who married a Schlieben, turns out to have married a bad egg. He‘s a money wasting spendthrift and lothario. Speaking of the type, by October 23, Lehndorff is back in Rheinsberg again. The current visitor there is the Heriditary Prince of Braunschweig (one of Charlotte’s sons and thus a nephew of Heinrich’s).

He plays with Prince Heinrich the tragedies „Lothar“ and „Oedipus“. Prince Heinrich plays with a devotion, an intensity, a truth which puts him on the side of such men as Baron and Lekain. (Famous actors of the day.) The Heriditary Prince speaks his parts with wit. We have pretty plays of all kinds. It’s amazing in which high degree Prince Heinrich has trained his ensemble to. T’he two operas - „The Queen of Colconde“ and „Alzira“ - which we hear would have been worth being shown on any great stage in the world, both regarding the musical skill and the set decorations. „Alzira“ has been composed by a young man named Orginski. He is a nice man whom the Prince had taken under his wing from an early age and who has excelled in all expectations. He is a philosopher, and what counts more, a decent human being in the youthful age of 22.
Our main topic of conversation is the fight of the Americans. The two Princes are on the side of the colonial rebels; but their conversation often ends as debates usually do when there is a difference of opinion; each retains his own view. (...)
The Prince’s health is well. The exercise of the production of the two playes „Lothar“ and „Oedipus“, which showcased the Prince’s extraordinary gift of declamation to the full - the Heriditary Prince is really his inferior there, despite not without talent - doesn’t tire him at all.

It’s winter time, which means the Lehndorff clan goes to Berlin, where it’s warm.

At Prince Heinrich’s, I meet a very old aquaintance, to wit, Count Lamberg. I knew him as a particular favourite of the Prince’s. He then was toppled by Kalkreuth and left the court in sadness, after having wasted his entire fortune. Now, he has withdrawn to Brunn, where he has married a sister of the Countess Cobenzl, the wife of the current Viennese envoy. This was the reason of his visit to Berlin. He will find everything much changed and especially the court of Prince Heinrich. Lamberg always was a good egg, who in his younger years had a lot of sympathetic qualities. He was always cheerful, if a bit of a spendthrift. This of course leads to having to fight for your existence in old age more often than not.
If I ponder how many men have been enjoying the Prince’s greatest favour and how many during the last thirty years of my relationship with the Prince have tried their best to blacken my name with him, to get rid of me and how this was all in vain and didn’t change anything regarding my relationship with the Prince, I come to the conclusion that honest behavior does pay off, and that a balance will be achieved. One should not attempt to force a decision, better to think everything through ten times and especially never leave a position, even if it seems unbearable, without knowing you are exchanging it for a much better one.
News from England sound quite differently now. There is no doubt anymore, the Americans will free themselves. The entire army of Bourgonynnes has been captured, and Howes is in the greatest distress. This now is the main topic of conversation.

Edited Date: 2020-03-02 05:03 pm (UTC)

From:

selenak

Yes, mes amies, I have in my temporary prosession, as a loan home, the "Trenck and Fritz: The Documents" book by the esteemed Gustav Volz.

This consists of a lengthy text in which Volz skewers Trenck's various claims similar to Koser skewing Henri de Catt, and then of the documents themselves which he refers to in the text already. I only had time to read the text. Overall summary: Trenck is a lying lying who lies, but both Fritz and the Austrians did weird stuff (unmentioned by Trenck) that makes the entire affair even more confusing.

In detail: Volz shows that Trenck's entry in the Prussian army and early promotions by Fritz as reported in the memoirs did not happen; according to the officer's list, he joined the army two years later than he claims to have done (1744 instead of 1742). (Volz also points out that Trenck's claim to have been buddies with Voltaire, La Mettrie and Maupertuis is nonsense, which was guessable. During Voltaire's 1743 visit, Trenck wasn't in Berlin, La Mettrie didn't move to Potsdam until 1745, and Maupertuis in 1748.

Trenck is recorded as being part of the army fighting the second Silesian War on 15th August 1744. He's also participating in the batlte of Hohenfriedberg the next year on June 4th. But before the month of June is over, he gets arrested and locked up in Glatz, where he's recorded as being delivered as a prisoner on June 28th. Which means that his claim to have been with Fritz during the battle of Soor (September 30th) is completely invented.

So is Trenck a liar who had no contact with Fritz at all? This is where it gets intriguing and confusing.

Documented are: order by Fritz on June 28th to the commandant of Glatz, Generalmajor Fouqué, to keep Trenck prisoner, with the added comment in Fritz' own handwriting "be very strict to this scoundrel; he had wanted to become a Pandur at his uncle's."

"Uncle" refers to Cousin Austrian Trenck. Prussian Generalauditor Pawlowsky confirms Trenck is in Glatz because of "illegal correspondance". Now, Trenck does mention (harmless) letters with Austrian Trenck as well as one forgery. We don't have the letters themselves but Volz points to a relation of Trenck's, the brother of his brother-in-law von Meyerentz, who says it happened thusly:

Austrian Trenck writes to Prussian Trenck, offering him to join the Austrian side. Prussian Trenck shows the letter to Fritz. Fritz says to report any further correspondance immediately. More letters arrive, but don't get reported. Fritz has one of his generals ask Trenck point blank whether there were more letters, and, should Trenck deny them, have him arrested at once. Thus it happened, according to the relative.

Trenck tries to flee a couple of times: while the memoirs beef this up, he did try and eventually, one year later (November 1746), succeed. Then on April 12th 1747, Trenck (and Schell, one of the Glatz staff, who let his door unlocked and went with him are condemmed by a war tribunal for desertion in absentia and in effigy (yep, that again, ask Peter). Also the Trenck estate Groß-Scharlach in East Prussia gets confiscated and only returned in 1752 to his brother Ludwig when Ludwig petitions for it.

Trenck, as we know, ends up in Vienna. And now it gets fascinating.

Trenck memoirs: So I met the Prussian Ambassador, Podewils (author of the MT: Hot or Not? report), who told me Fritz was only testing me and would have let me go after a year, and wants me to come back. I said no way, my loyal heart was too mishandled by him. And that was that.

Podewils report dated December 1752, adressed to Fritz: Guess whom I met? Yep, the Trenck boy. He said he only did a runner because he was told you'd have had him locked up for eternity. HE's really really sorry and asks you for a pardon. Also he just inherited 600 000 Taler from Austrian Trenck and if you let him return to East Prussia, he will, of course, bring that money along. If you pardon him, that is.

Fritz to Podewils, dated December 22nd 1752: I had absolutely reason to lock that boy up, but okay, he can come home. I'm just that nice. Provided he stays in East Prussia and never tries to join my army again.

Now this was the first reveal that really stunned me. I mean. Say what? Which other deserter - I mean, Peter Keith excepted - gets offered a pardon and a return by Fritz?

Podewils to Fritz: It's a deal. He's really grateful and says just three or four weeks more to wrap up his business in Vienna, and then he comes home to Prussia.

For reasons Volz can't explain, after all this, Trenck does NOT go home. Instead, he joins the Austrian army, rank of Rittmeister, in the Hungarian Kürassierregiment Cordova.

1749: Renewed and even more strict order to arrest known deserters abroad.

Trenck's mother Maria Charlotte dies in Danzig on December 25th 1753. On June 12th, 1754, the Prussian Resident in Danzig, Reimer, reports to the ministry that former Prussian Cornett Trenck is in town on family business and is mostly seen near or in the residence of Austrian Resident in Danzig, Abramson. He wants to know whether he should ignore Trenck's presence in Danzig or ask the city council of Danzig whether he can arrest him as a deserter.

This is a tricky business, not least because Trenck was now a member of the Austrian army, and Austria & Prussia were at least nominally at peace. Also Danzig = Free City.

Trenck's memoirs: That bastard Abramson and Reimer conspired against me and had me practically kidnapped.

Volz: Did not. Abramson was a total champ for you and did everything in his power to help you. And Reimer went out of his way to handle this delicate situation legally. Fritz was handed Reimer's request for directives on June 27th. On the 29th, Fritz ordered that Reimer was to petition the city of Danzig as discreetly as possible but without delay to hand over Trenck.

July 2nd: official petition by the Prussian ministry to the City of Danzig to hand over the deserter Trecnk, wanted for "enormous crimes" beyond desertion.

Danzig City Council: we're cool with that.

Night from July 5th to July 6th: Trenck gets arrested. However, earlier that same day, Reimer, his wife and his secretary attended a party at the Austrian resident's where they met and talked to Trenck, who had no idea of his impending doom.

Abramson, the Austrian resident, learns from Trenck's servant of Trenck's arrest and immeditely, the same night, writes to the City Representatives, protesting, and asks for Trenck to be handed over to him. This first petition is denied. Abramson writes another one, asking for a delay until the Austrian and the Prussian court can come to terms re: Trenck; supposedly, negotiations have already started. Trenck himself writes a petition dated July 9th to the city officials asking for help and pointing out that the arrest goes against the freeness of the city of Danzig. However, on July 8th, the City Council has already signed off to agreeing to Fritz' extradition request. And it's off with Trenck to Prussia. The Commander of Berlin notifies Fritz on July 22nd that Trenck has arrived, and is told to transport him to Magdeburg immediately. Magdeburg at this point is commanded Generallietenant von Borcke, not, as Trenck claims in his memoirs, by EC's brother Ferd of Braunschweig.

(While he's at it, Volz also skewers the story Trenck tells that evil Austrians have warned Fritz, supposedly visiting East Prussia for military revue reasons, that Trenck was on his way; Fritz wasn't in East Prussia in 1754, and he learned about Trenck's presence in Danzig from Reimer.)

Far from conspiring with the Prussians, the Austrians actually continued to go on the mat for Trenck. No sooner is he in Magdeburg that the official Austrian envoy in Berlin, Count Puebla, officially protests against what's done to Trenck with the Prussian cabinet and says that Trenck having fallen out of favour with Fritz does not justify his arrest and treatment as a criminal. Fritz writes to his ministers to tell Count Puebla he's amazed that Trenck was accepted into the Austrian army to begin with, since a proper war tribunal has condemmed the guy first and made him infamous that way. He also asks that a copy of the war tribunal's judgment against Trenck from 1747should be forwarded to Puebla, which it is.

So far, so Fritzian. And now comes another stunner. On November 1st that same year, Fritz makes a confidential request to the French envoy in Berlin (at this point, it's La Touche) and asks him whether the French government could do him a favour and take a Prussian prisoner of state and transport him overseas to their colonial possession. IN this document, the person in question is described as a young man of noble birth who has behaved badly against Fritz. Fritz wishes him far away from Prussia both due to his, the King's own interests, and those of Trenck's family. However, he doesn't want the guy to remain locked up overseas, far from it, no. The young man in question, says Fritz, knows how to use his sword, he has wit and courage, and could be really really useful if the French take him into their service - but in the colonies. Far from here.

La Touche is down with that, but unfortunately, the ships on which this swashbuckling guy of wit, courage and bad behavior towards his King is to be transported on leave for St. Maurice in January 1755, but the winter in Prussia is so heavy that and early that Trenck can't be transported to France to be put on one of those ships. (Document No. 27.) (By the next year, 1756, the French government isn't in a mood to do Fritz favours anymore, and Fritz dosn't ask anyway.)

At which point, Volz says, yes, reader, I'm confused, too. How come Fritz is offering a pardon in 1750 and demands Trenck's extradition four years later, why, if he has him arrested and brought to Magdeburg, is he then ready to have him shipped off to the French colonies with basically a recommendation letter? But it's not really a paradox, reader: the pardon was offered before Trenck joined the Austrian army. Trenck joining the Austrian army after that one means Fritz would never forgive him again. Handing him over to the French would have meant a face saving way of defusing the diplomatic situation with the Austrian s in 1755, which was tense enough already, that's all.

Trenck in Magdeburg: no tombstone with his name to sit on, says Volz, but his proof for this is just an indignant letter to a newspaper upon the publication of Trenck's memoirs, with the letter writer calling himself "A Brandenburg patriot" who says he was employed in Magdeburg fortress at that time and there was no tombstone.

Trenck then tries to flee a couple of times, and we get documents again, proving a certain Ruckard, who used to be Austrian Trenck's quartermaster with the Pandurs, is sending 1000 Taler bribery money to the guards. However, all of Trenck's escape attempts fail (the memoirs name more than can be proven, but he did, Volz admits, try several times), which leads to the order to have him chained.

Trenck becomes an Austrian-Prussian object of discussion again after the 7 Years War ends, and the peace treaty of Hubertusburg explicitly includes an article offering amnesty to both MT's and Fritz' subjects. There's a note from Vienna to the peace negotiator, Hofrat von Collenbach, that this clause should be extended to Trenck as well. As with Puebla's protest 9 years earlier, Fritz replies he doesn't understand why the Austrians would want to intervene for "a man of that type". (Document No. 36.) Things get moving again when the first Austrian post war envoy, Freiherr von Ried, arrives in Berlin. He asks Graf Finckenstein how to approach the Trenck subject without causing the King's displeasure, but really, MT wants Trenck released. Finckenstein tells him to wait for Fritz moving from Potsdam to Berlin for the carnival and ask nicely then. Ried does so. Fritz points him back to Finckenstein. Finckenstein gets another visit from Ried and asks Fritz himself. Fritz tells Finckenstein fine, but only because MT asked nicely and he wants to do her a favour. Under the condition Trenck never puts his foot on Prussian soil again and is forbidden the Austrians to say anything about Fritz in either written or oral form ever. Exit Trenck from Madgeburg to Prague.

As for Trenck/Amalie, Volz points out Trenck gets the date of Ulrike's wedding festivities (where according to the memoirs Amalie and Trenck met) wrong and that the obvious reason is that he claims a three years love affair when his later entry into the army and the later wedding mean it can't have lasted nearly that long, if it ever did. Volz' main reason for not believing it ever did is that the same royal familiy who even brings up Barbarina in their letters never ever gossips about Trenck, this despite the fact Amalie with her sharp tongue at different points has various other family members very pissed off at her. And yet, never a "remember that Trenck guy?" kind of needling. No one mentions Trenck at all.

He does concide some of Trenck's poetry - yes, he published some - is adressed to Amalie but says this was standard for the day, and Trenck also adressed poems to EC. Yes, one of Trenck's daughters became Amalie's goddaughter, with Amalie accepting godmother status, but the accepting letter was by her secetary, not her. (Remember, Trenck also tried to get Joseph to become his son's godfather and got a "no thanks" letter back.) Lastly, the fact that Trenck in the first volume swears never to reveal the name of his high born lady, and in volume 3, when both Fritz and Amalie are dead, says "it was totally Amalie" makes the claim even less credible. Volz, of course, lives a century before the "great familiarity" indicating letter is found.

In conclusion: we know more than previously, but it's no less confusing. Especially the bit with the pardon and the French overseas handover that almost happened. And the Austrian championing of Trenck (who later did nothing but complain about lack of support from Vienna). So, my current take:

Spy or no spy: must have done some spying, otherwise I really fail to understand why they didn't leave him to rot.

Sex or at least flirt with one or both siblings: could explain the pardon offer. Like I said - who, other than Peter, gets pardoned for desertion from the Prussian army? Yes, Trenck is offering to bring his Austrian inheritance money along, but a few taxes more aren't that crucial, surely.

Edited Date: 2020-03-03 08:56 pm (UTC)

From:

selenak

Unlike certain royal brothers we could name, Lehndorff actually watches Shakespeare (Hamlet) in German in 1778. ZOMG. Likes it, but still thinks French theatre is superior, and all the swooning on the audience’s part not quite justified. And it's a bit strange that there are more and more German language theatres playing this stuff...

1778 starts with worries about Bavaria, since the Prince Elector has just died. Lehndorff, who with his family is in Berlin for the Carneval months, is not happy.

The sudden death of the Elector of Bavaria by smallpox upsets half of Germany. The first few days we spent in great concern. All officers were preparing themselves. All the world expected our army to get marching. One thought that the Emperor would take all of Bavaria. Since, however, the prince elector of the Palatinate has demanded homage as the legitimate heir, things have quieted down. But a certain concern remains, and I watch often enough how the face of Prince Heinrich gets longer and longer, so that I cannot get rid of my worry.(...)

January 18th: The King celebrates Prince Heinrich’s birthday. One dines from golden table wear. In the evening, the King hosts a great ball which he himself attends. But there is a terrible hurlyburly, so no one finds their place at the right table, and it’s even hard to get a glass of water. The people fill all the ballrooms, and it’s tiring and doesn’t allow for a real mood to be enjoyed. The King himself seems to have taken on too much, since he’s sick the next morning, and everyone is very concerned about him. (...)
Prince Ferdinand, too, celebrates a great party on the occasion of Prince Heinrich‘s birthday. Two days later, Kaphengst throws a ball for a hundred people due to the same reason. When the Prince sees the souper, the ball, the waste and the superflousness everywhere, he vents his exasparation with the words: „Since I‘m doing the honneurs for this - i.e. pays for it- you might as well amuse yourself.“ This favour is incomprehensible. I‘ve never seen two characters more different than the Prince and Kaphengst. All the quality is on the side of the former, and yet he’s dominated by the later. (...)

But enough about Heinrich's love life. On to politics!

As he's invited me to supper, I find Prince Heinrich darkly brooding, triggered by the news that the Emperor has taken Lower Bavaria. He wishes our King should try to foil this enterprise through negotiations, instead of reacting beyond measure. For he has said he wants war any price, even if he has to be carried in front of his army. He shared his plans with Prince Heinrich who remains convinced that peace could still be maintained.

The health of the King remains a matter of concern. He is often feverish. On the day after Prince Heinrich’s birthday party, an odd accident happened to the King. When he got undressed, people put his waistcoat and everything else pulled off him near the fireplace. The clothing caught fire, and everything was in flames. But since he only has incompetent footmen around himself, the fire remained unnoticed, and it could have spread, if not for another footman who thankfully woke up and quenched the fire. The King is very angry that his tobacco box, several important papers and especially his spectacles did get burned. To indicate the state of wardrobe of this great man, I shall note that on the next day, he did not have an overcoat to wear; they had to send a messenger on horseback to Potsdam in order to get him such a piece of clothing.

All this, Prince Heinrich discusses with me. He heaps a lot of deserved praise on the Heriditary Prince of Braunschweig, but he says in this war matter he will not argue with the King. I suspect that this Prince, who after all is still in the full vigour of his years, secretly does desire war in order to distinguish himself. He is a man of supreme qualities, and I consider him one of the great minds of Europe and especially admire his calm state of mind. One can’t read from his face that he’s pondering the matters of Europe and is aware of the various agencies of the different courts as usually only a prime minister would be. I don’t say all of this because I love him. This is my sincere, impartial judgment. This estimable prince presents his portrait to me as a gift, which I shall always consider a precious family heritage and will honor as such.

Since Heinrich first will drag out going to the front as long as he can and later will end up after an argument with Fritz stepping down from his command in favour of his Braunschweig nephew, after which the record one and a half years of fraternal silence ensue, I'm not sure that Lehndorff is right about him secretly wanting another war despite of what he says. Though on the other hand, he could be, or at the very least torn. He is restless, he knows he's good at war, and like all of FW's kids, he believes in being useful. Then again, he probably imagines, like MT at the same time in Vienna, what a disaster another bloody war would be for everyone involved and shudders.

Fron Hohenzollern family drama to Lehndorff family drama:

I have a great grief through my nephew Schlieben, who has made such horrendous debts and pulls the most estimable of women into misfortune. (...) One fine morning, as I am sitting in my room, I’m told that my niece if I don’t send her on a journey in the next fifteen minutes will be arrested (for his debts) and brought into the Hausvogtei. The poor woman sees herself forced to leave her home with a bleeding heart. I send her to my wife‘s uncle, Count Schwerin, in Wolfshagen. All happens within the quarter of an hour, but it has so upset me that I haven‘t calmed down yet. I shall not miss naming the man who has done me such service and has informed me secretly of the shame which was supposed to fall on my niece. It is General Ramin, who has acted so honorably. I shall never forget it. And this man was supposed to be malicious! Again a proof one can be entirely wrong about someone. How different acts this hypocritical Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg, whom my mother has clothed and fed when he was Major in the regiment „Lehwaldt“! He, a close relation of my niece‘s, he who always plays the good Christian, he has caused this misfortune.

So: some people actually get out of town when told they should get out of town! Just saying. Lehndorff's niece is back in town next year, unarrested, so apparantly the matter is settled.

May 1778: Lehndorff the aristocrat meets Goethe and Carl August and isn‘t impressed. This is a great passage for illustrating the generational difference and the ongoing cultural shift in the German states, because you can see Lehndorff doesn‘t get that Goethe isn‘t along as his Duke‘s entertainment and really doesn‘t feel obliged to function as such, nor does Goethe see the job of a writer to occupy himself with the history of the House of Weimar. Which of course would have been what favoured court artists in Lehndorff‘s youth would have done. As for some middle class guy (who hasn‘t been ennobled yet by his Duke, that‘s still to come) fancying himself a key part of the government!!!

During the month of May, the Duke of Weimar arrives incognito under the name of Baron v. Altenstein, but the Queen doesn‘t give up until he shows himself in society. I dine with him, Prince Heinrich and Prince Ferdinand. He appears to be a pretty young man, but with an unfriendly trait on his face. With him, he had the famous author of „Werther“ and „Götz von Berlichingen“. Herr Goethe, whom the Duke has made a Councillor. This man now dominates him, after pushing aside the former chief minister, Count Görtz, who has now entered our services. This Herr Goethe sits next to me at dinner. I do my best to carry a conversation, but he seems quite laconic. He probably thinks himself too much a grandseigneur now to be a poet and entertain people. This is in general the mistake educated Germans make: whenever they achieve a certain position, they become insufferably arrogant.
Prince Heinrich asked Herr Goethe whether the Weimar archive didn’t have letters from the famous Bernhard of Weimar. The young Duke claimed they were there, but this great scholar doesn‘t know about them. This makes a very bad impression on me. Since this concerns one of the most glorious parts of the history of the ducal house, he ought to know about them.

Goethe: has zilch interest in Bernhard of Weimar. He‘s got a dukedom to co-govern, masterpieces of German literature to write, oh, and to keep Carl August from joining the Prussian army, which is the main purpose of this Berlin visit. That, and a side tourist trip to Sanssouci.

News from Rokoko Dallas: At the same time, I hear that (Baron Taube) has been commanded to tell the King that the King of Sweden has decided to banish his mother, since he cannot live with her any longer due to their constant arguments, to Stralsund. Their feud was caused by the Queen Mother having urged her other sons to protest when the young Queen of Sweden got pregnant. She claimed the King was impotent and that the child which the Queen was carrrying was from a certain Munk. The Queen-Mother in turn accuses her second son to be the origin of this gossip. Whatever is true about this, the noise caused will resound in all of Europe.
On this occasion, I can’t help but recall what the late Prince of Prussia used to say: „I’m glad my sisters aren’t foreign princesses, for otherwise I’d have gotten in the position of having to marry one of them. This would have been a misfortune since they are all extremely strong willed and argumentative.“ It is true that the widowed Queen of Sweden is an educated woman with wit; but she has a very unruly disposition which has caused her sufferings throughout her life.

News from Paris: For a short time, we stop talking about politics in order to talk about the death of Voltaire. (30. May 1778.) His end was brought about by an accident, for he took a dose of opium which he was supposed to take in ten parts all at once. The opium was sent to him by the Duke de Richelieu who - despite his eighty years being just as flighty as the other - forgot to name the exact dose which Voltaire was supposed to take.

Okay, Lehndorff, that story is one I hadn‘t heard before. Also, the Duc de Richelieu is of course Émilie‘s pre-Voltaire lover whom she remained friends with. I do find it interesting that Prussian gossip about Voltaire’s death picks this, and not the question of whether or not he repented, or his arguments with the priests who tried a deathed confession out of him, which is the direct opposite of the gossip as recorded by the Duc de Croy in Paris. Incidentally, if Voltaire did take too much opium, then, based on the fact he spent the last week of his life in tremendous physical pain, I'd speculate it was quite intentionally (on both his and Richelieu's part).

Lehndorff records the tale of the Miller Arnold, in German, not French, which makes it harder to read (sudden Rokoko spelling and vocabulary is sudden, with Fritz being wrong, and himself deeply shocked.

Throughout 1780: One announces the death of the Empress-Queen as impending, but one also keeps letting our King die, and I see people who don‘t consider the present anymore but live already entirely in the future. Happy the wise man who regards all events with an even mind and doesn’t lose this disposition!

Lehndorff, back in East Prussia now that any danger of war is over, becomes buddies with retired Austrian General Broune whom he meets at Königsberg and who reminds him of George Keith, Lord Merischal. He even warms up to Kalkreuth (!), though doesn't say why, just that they had a nice chat.

Future FW2 travels to Russia to meet Catherine after Joseph‘s journey to Catherine was a success and worried the Prussians who feel the need to send her a royal visitor of their own again. Remember, this is during the big - and last - Fritz-Heinrich non-talking era, so Fritz can't or at any rate doesn't ask Heinrich to go. Lehndorff is still full of love for Crown Prince Jr., whom he meets when future FW2 passes through East Prussia both times en route to and from Russia. But Catherine, our editor notes, wasn‘t impressed by this latest Hohenzollern, compared him to his uncles, and told her court, alluding to the medieval custom of apprentices going on their journeys in order to become masters of their craft: "The apprentice has travel a lot further than that in order to become a master!“

Biggest surprise of this couple of entries: Lehndorff knows about Fritz' spectacles and mentions them casually, so presumably this isn't newas or something lately learned by him. Now, Lehndorff only sees Fritz on court occasions (like Heinrich's birthday party or the party after the 7 Years War or the receptions for Ulrike and Gustav). Fritz can't have been wearing his spectacles then. So does he know via Heinrich? (Just like he knows about the fire?) Or via the staff after 30 years at court?

From:

selenak

Courtesy of Gambitten quoting Voltaire's "I know it is difficult to get out of here, but there are still hippogriffs to escape from Madame Alcine" - which is the Orlando-Furioso (or Händel's opera based on Orlando) referring comparison Voltaire also employs in his memoirs, i.e. Fritz as the bewitching sorceress Alcina - I was reminded that hippogriffs have been returning to pop culture again courtesy of J.K. Rowling using them for Harry Potter. (Sirius Black escapes on one in volume 3.) Which in turn made me wonder: which House for which Frederician contemporary?

The easy ones:

Émilie: Ravenclaw.
AW: Gryffindor.
Ulrike: Slytherin.
Fredersdorf: Hufflepuff.
Franz Stephan: Hufflepuff
Peter Keith: Ravenclaw
Wilhelmine: Ravenclaw, though insisted on being sorted into Gryffindor or Slytherin (whichever it was) to keep Fritz company
Algarotti: Ravenclaw
Trenck: the dumbest Gryffindor. But definitely Gryffindor.
Gustav: the dumbest Slytherin. Seriously.
EC: Hufflepuff
SD: Slytherin

The trickier ones:
MT: Gryffindor with strong Slytherin streak or Slytherin with a strong Gryffindor streak? You decide.
Fritz: Ditto. Bravery, ambition and cunning all dominant traits.
Voltaire: Ravenclaw gone bad or superintellectual Slytherin? You decide.
Katte: Gryffindor. Despite his interest in the arts, I don't see him as a Ravenclaw.
Heinrich: Is Fritz' other self, so, see above.
Joseph: Ravenclaw who thinks he's a Slytherin.
FW: Gryffindor gone bad who thinks he's a Hufflepuff

Other thoughts? contesting opinions?

Edited Date: 2020-03-05 08:01 am (UTC)

From:

selenak

In which we get the answer to the question as to whether Lehndorff has the same taste in men as Catherine the Great!

Because 1781 and 1782 are Lehndorff's years of travelling. As you do, when you're retired. Since he's an East Prussian, there's one obvious destination he hasn't visited yet, except in passing through it. Yep, Lehndorff heads off to Poland. Currently ruled by none other but that enterprising gentleman whose memoirs I'm currently reading, the King formerly known as Poniatowski. It's the lovely month of May, Lehndorff likes Warsaw just fine, though he thinks the palace is a bit too overbudget for the Poles. He successfully angles for an invitation at court.

On the 9th at 10 am, I get presented to the King of Poland. He asks me to join him in his study and greets me with charming amiablity. He is still a beautiful man. He rises from his desk and tells me several pleasantries, while recalling that he has met me thirty years ago in Berlin. The conversation extends for quite a while. Finally, he tells me that he wants to show me his country seat himself. I must admit: even leaving his royal dignity aside, he is the most charming and witty man his kingdom has to offer, and he has a nice figure besides.

See, Lehndorff is deeply appreciative of your legs and hips just as they are, P!

He meets the royal siblings as well, but in this case, Lehndorff clearly thinks the brother on the throne is the one who's hottest. You and Catherine both, Lehndorff, even if she's since moved on. Speaking of moving, Lehndorff isn't the only traveller hitting the road a lot in that year. So does Joseph. Since he's been doing that for a while, loyal Prussians like Lehndorff are starting to get worried. After all, their King has identified ViennaJoe as the coming menace of Europe!

„All the world is talking about the Emperor‘s travels. This prince with his captivating nature developes more and more into a farseeing statesman. While he shows the greatest respect to our royal house at all opportunities, he takes our allies and our influence from us. (...) in short, he does all we used to du until 1756 and we are turning from a first rate to a second rate power again without noticing.“

Not quite. (Speaking as a Southern German, I'm tempted to add "would that it were so", but then I remember that after Joseph and Poldl there came the arch reactionary Franz as Emperor, and that wouldn't have done anyone any good, either.) But it says something about current Prussian mentality that Lehndorff, who isn't gung ho about war, still after decades of Fritz rule has gotten used to the idea that Prussia needs to be the coolest, the most admired, or something is off.

Now, Lehndorff has of course been noticing that Heinrich and Fritz have been at it again ever since the war of the Bavarian succession. Or, as Lehndorff puts it about Heinrich "He has been sulking with the Firstborn". The Firstborn hasn't been seen a lot around anyway, which is worrying. Lehndorff therefore notes with some relief in early 1782:

February 1782: The King has dined this winter at Princess Amalie‘s, at Prince Heinrich‘s and even in great society. He is very well, and has been in a good mood despite the serious matters occupying him and despite his advanced age. Among other things, he said after hearing people talk about a girl who they said had much intelligence and could play the piano very well, then she was bound to be ugly.(...)

Fritz making sexist cracks is Fritz normal, so no more "he's at death's door " stories. And now comes one of Lehndorff's hands-down best pen portraits. Remember EC throwing her fan at Wartensleben? That guy dies. And as much as Lehndorff is fun when gushing, he's just as much fun when he's bitching:

The Queen’s eternal Count Wartensleben has died. He was, in short, a unique creature of his type. For 43 years, he has been at this court, and during these 43 years he didn’t miss executing the duties of his office for a single day. He only left the antechambre of the Queen in order to go to sleep. Despite the two of them living in each other’s pocket for all this time, they were constantly at odds. Never has a soldier guarded his position so well like Count Wartensleben has the Queen’s antechambre. She accused him of interfering in all her affairs, that he was listening at doors, that he was reporting on her to other people, that he even dared once to approach her as a lover. All this has given cause to the most stormy scenes. The queen, who usually is benevolent but also has a touchy temper, sometimes threw napkins at his head. One day, I witnessed an actual battle. Wartensleben made an objection which the Queen didn’t like. At first, she tried to change his mind in kindness. When she didn’t manage to do this, she hit him so heavily with her fan on the shoulder that the unfortunate fan burst into a thousand pieces. Despite such scenes, he remained the one constant inhabitant of the antechambre, for 43 long years. AT noon, he arrived in a carriage with horses which were as old as he was at the palace. The two footmen who were with him then had to inspect the entire palace, all corridors and corners and report to him what was happening. This kept him occupied until 2 pm, which was when the Queen sat down for her lunch. After the meal, he planted himself in the miserable, sleazy antechambre, stole all the sugar cubes from us which we were being given to drink our coffee with and remained there until the arrival of the guests at 7 pm. While everyone was gambling, he slinked away through the corridors, in his younger years in order to seduce the wardrobe ladies, and later in order to spy. He only left the palace after all the candles had been extinguished. Other than the urge to spy, hiis primary motivation was avarice. About a hundred times he has told me that he was saving a lot by not having to heat his room, use any light or furniture. Day after day, he nicked a piece of white bread from the table for his breakfeast the next morning, and he only had made hankerchiefs for the right hand which he needed to walk with the Queen. He was truly the worst of misers. Besides, he was as dull as dirt; he always talked about himself and what was going on in his house. I remember how he told us for eight days about an ulcer his youngest daughter had on her backside. At which point the splendid and witty stewardess of the Queen’s, Countess Camas, who was thoroughly fed up with the story, said: „My dear Count, I know a wonderful way to treat this ulcer.“ Delighted, he exclaimed: „My dear lady, I urge you tell me which it is!“ Quickly, she returned: „Her Daddy has to put his nose into it!“ It has to be said that Wartensleben‘s nose was one of the most impressive which have ever existed.

Like I said: one of Lehndorff's best. (Wartensleben stealing everyone's sugar cubes is my favourite detail.) He's off travelling again, via Silesia and today's Slovakia to Austrian territories and then to Bavaria and Franconia.

First, the cause of so much invasion and counter attack:

June 1782: Silesia shows rests of his former splendor, but in the four years I haven‘t been here, it has gone down with it. The great misery of our fatherland has spread everywhere. All the world is depressed and complains, especially because trade isn‘t going well. I was surprised when I saw at the window of a post station the words inscribed: Better a night in cold Russia than a hundred years in this land of famine.

Then he enters the arch enemy's territory for the first time in his life, when being at the Spa in Kalrsbad.:

„On Sunday the 9th of June I enjoy sitting down at a window and watching the droves of people hurrying towards the various churches. The people have been dressed well, acording to their respective stations, which makes me assume a shared prosperity. But sadly, I have only heard complaints about the terrible changes the Emperor has caused. Especially the high nobility and the clergy is very discontent. HIs Imperial Majesty oppresses and damages them as much as he can. Everyone has tears in their eyes as they talk of the late Empress. The freedom to write against the Catholic religion has been distorted into impudence. At all the bookstores, one sees pamphlets in which complaints against the celibacy of priests, against mass and against all the clerical privileges are made.“

Joseph, we're rooting for you, and it's depressing to know it will all have been in vain, well, a lot of it. Lehndorff now enters Franconia. What's in Franconia? Bayreuth, that's what's in Franconia! So where does a loyal Hohenzollern fan go in the June of 1782?

„From there, I visit the Eremitage, about an hour away from Bayreuth. This is a beautiful palace. I have never seen anything which has caused me as much pleasure to watch. It shows an exquisite, incomparable sense of art. The spirit of the late Margravine, the older sister of my King, can be found everywhere. Especially beautiful to me is the grave of Vergil which the Margravine has had copied exactly as she herself as seen it. There is a grotto theatre here which is unique for its kind. In order to get to the palace, one has to cross the Parnassuss, the mountain of the Muses. I spend four hours in this wonderful place. Sadness fills me as I have to leave it, and have to tell me that so much beauty no longer finds any attention since the serene lady who has created it has gone. Oh vanity of vanities!
The new palace with its grotto and shell decoration in blue and white looks like it has escaped a fairy tale. Further, I visit the new Bayreuth promenade, which has been built under the supervision of Baron Seckendorff, who is the current first minister. I visit the opera house as well. Everything shows its builder’s wonderful taste. But all is dead! It is this which fills me with sadness.

We're with you, Lehndorff. But it's nice that you could see it; I think Fritz never did...

In October, he’s in Dresden: (Herr v. Hallberg) tells me of all kind of love affairs the late Princess Elector (Maria Antonia), who had been a born princess of Bavaria has conducted, worse than Messalina. It is strange that all her children have become very pious pricks since their mother has only been a sacred Venus.

Lehndorff, you should really find another designation for sexually active royal ladies than "Messalina". I'm just saying. Maria Antonia, btw, was MT's and Fritz' pen pal. Travelling through Saxony, Lehndorff uses the time to catch up on his reading:

(...) Through terrible ways, I get to Bautzen, where I stay for the night. Throughout the entire journey, I’m reading J.Jaques Rouseau’s „Confessions“. I can’t praise destiny enough for the fact my health and my eyes are still as good as if I was only 25. Rouseau has written his confessions exactly like everyone should write their life story. It would be the most interesting of all stories, for it is the history of the heart.

It's interesting that Lehndorff turns out to be a Rousseau fan. On the one hand, it's very him - the Confessions are famously emo, and of course shocked because they also (artfully) confessed to dastardly deeds of their author as well - , on the other, Rousseau was of course the literary god of all those revolutionaries currently still being young lawyers but soon ready to storm the Bastille.

Heinrich asks him to come to Berlin. Give you three guesses as to whether he goes. There, Amalie greets him kindly. He also visits EC, his former boss. It‘s November now.

„On Friday, I have lunch at the Queen‘s. AT this court nothing ever changes, the rooms, the tone, the tables are just like in 1747, when I entered this world. One has to respect the Queen, but it isn‘t really possible to love her, though she basically has all that would invite such a feeling, including a winning kindness. However, one never feels at ease in her company, not least because she gets so easily upset about small matters which others would dismiss with a laugh. (...)

I think this, as opposed to Lehndorff's complaints while he was still working for her, can be taken as a fair assessment on his part.

After I have attended the Queen, I drive on to Prince Heinrich. I find he’s better looking than four years ago. He reminds me on the painful moment of our separation when he had to leave for the war. My joy is all the greater to see him now, especially since he is extremely charming to me. Good old Ludwig Wreech I find down with a worrying fever, Kaphengst with a double chin, Knyphausen is doing well, Tauentzien has grown into a man. And now there’s a new favourite. Count Wartensleben, formerly known under the nickname of „Nantchen!“. He’s been entrusted with the business of the princely household and seems to be very esteemed.

Love you noticing Kaphengst's double chin, Lehndorff. One appreciates the little things, eh?

December 10 - 16: I’m still busy making new acquaintances or to refresh old ones. I’m so delighted by Prince Heinrich and his natkure that I can hardly bear to leave him again. The conversation with him is always interesting, and I learn a lot. Sometimes I’m sitting alone with him till 1 in the morning, and if not for having to think of his and my health, I would like to remain until 4 am. No one will ever be quite like him.

You and your sparkly hearts drawing are forever, Lehndorff. Meanwhile, about the main Hohenzollern - and his new reader:

1783 - Januar 3rd: Finally after five years, I see the King agian. He looks extraordinarily healthy, his voice is strong, his face full of grace, so one almost forgets his age. We watch him during his audience for the foreign envoys. It is a pleasure to listen to how he talks to the representatives of different nations, finding a suitable individual tone for each of them. All the more painful it is for us, to see, how rarely this prince graces his subject with a conversation. He himself says he hardly knows anyone in Berlin.
A charming man, the Marchese Lucchesini, an Italian, now belongs to his most trusted circle. I often have heard him mentioned, and was looking forward with the greatest interest to making his aquaintance. Then he lets himself be introduced to me at the opera. He reminds me vividly of Count Algarotti, who used to occupy a similar position in the King‘s life. ONe can call his nature angelic. Despite his position is designed to evoke envy and jealousy, he is still popular everywhere, both with the military and with civilians. This universal esteem is owed to his extraordinary intellegence. He knows a lot, has much wit, and has a very honest nature. Towards the King, he has managed to win his respect like few others, to a degree where the King spares him from being the target of his mockery. Nearly daily, I meet with this man at lunch, and his society is always the greatest pleasure to me.

And this is the quote which drew our attention to the fact there was a fourth Lehndorff diary volume published, mes amies.

Edited Date: 2020-03-06 06:01 pm (UTC)