Lehndorff is still chewing on the Miller Arnold matter and reveals to posterity that Heinrich didn't sit that one out:
April: one writes to me from Berlin that Casot, Bastiani and Luchesini form the King‘s company. The former two are old acquaintances, the last a man of much wit. In this moment, I remember a beautiful action on Prince Heinrich‘s part. When the King has fired Großkanzler Fürst from his position and had ordered Minister Zedlitz to investigate the trial around the Miller Arnold again, people were afraid that Herr v. Zedlitz out of sycophancy would pronounce his judgment according to the wishes of the monarch. But Prince Heinrich stepped towards him and said emphatically: „Sir, now is the time to show mankind you’re a man of honor! If you are afraid to lose your salary, don’t be, I will continue to pay it from now on.“ And thus it came to be that Zedlitz told the monarch that the judgment against the Miller had been fair.
And then it's time for another Rheinsberg visit. Lehndorff's opening paragraph to this one is so lovely and so very him that I'll put it on the end of this post, and you'll see why. Heinrich entertains French visitors, and what should they have brought with them but a copy of Voltaire’s memoirs. Fun times for everyone!
When the Prince after tea has left his guests at the gambling tables, I withdraw with him, Count Podewils and Ludwig Wreech into his room where he reads to us the secret history which Voltaire has written about our King. The anecdotes the Prince adds to his readings are even more interesting than the history itself, which is already interesting in a very high degree. The days are much too short for all my dear Prince has to offer in pleasantries, despite the fact we rarely go to bed before 1 pm.
Look, Lehndorff, if Heinrich can outtrash talk Voltaire‘s trashy tell all, it‘s really irresponsible of you not to write those damn anecdotes down! Never mind Heinrich's commentary on Fritz' account of the 7 Years War, we want Heinrich's commentary on Voltaire's memoirs! Seriously. In other news, Heinrich reading Voltaire's memoirs out loud to Lehndorff has to be the most Hohenzollern experience ever. You can not make these people up.
According to Lehndorff, Heinrich got Fritz‘ permission to finally go to Paris for the first time because Gustav has threatened to visit Berlin again, and Fritz wants to avoid a Heinrich/Gustav clash. Be that as it may: Lehndorff‘s Prince is off to Paris!
August of 1784: I receive a delightful letter from Prince Heinrich, from Geneva. If I wanted to, I could travel to Paris at once, where the Prince is headed to, and where he promises me an apartment and all kind of delights. Surely I would have many of those, since people there will certainly try to honor the Prince in all kind of ways, and I would have my share in these honors. But if I consider I would have to leave my family behind which needs me right now, especially my oldest son, I have to decline, obeying to reason. It is hard for me to make this sacrifice, but the fulfiilment of duty, too, has its satisfaction, and in missing there is reward.
It's good that you remember you're a family man and want to be a responsible dad, Lehndorff, we love you for it. Also, it gives you the opportunity to share some tea with Frau von Katte at Ferdinand's, which is interesting because I had dimly recalled someone - wiki? Fontane? - claims she died in the late 1770s. But here she is, alive and having tea with Lehndorff in 1784.
While Heinrich is having a great time in Hohenzollern dream country, aka Paris, young Tauentzien is back in Prussia, but only temporarily. Time for a Lehndorff pen portrait of the new guy! Complete with pen portrait of the old guy. September 1784: „In the morning, I‘m visited by Tauentzien, who has gone with Prince Heinrich as far as Dijon, and then has returned for the manoeuvres. He‘s on his way back to Paris to Prince Heinrich, and will be returning here after two months. He is a pretty boy, barely twenty four years of age, but who has already had all kind of adventures. A year ago, he married against the will of the King and his parents a young Fräulein von Marschall, who had become pregnant by him. No sooner was the affair settled did she give birth and died. Four years ago, he already had become a father during his stay in Dresden, through a lady in waiting to the Prince Electress of Saxony, which is why Prince Heinrich had removed him from that post. Currently, he’s trying to marry the sole daughter of the famous Monsieur Necker, the richest heiress of Europe. (Mes amies, this is Germaine De Stael, famous writer and wit, and no, Tauentzien does not score there.) This is one of his main reasons for returning to Paris. Considering his pretty face and his vivacity, I understand he’s taken the position with Prince Heinrich which the infamous Kaphengst used to have, who hasn’t been as high in the Prince’s favour since he has abused it. Hardly ever has a man pushed fortune which had almost thrown itself at him so badly away as Kaphengst did. He was an insignificant ensign with the Green Husars, then he was ordered to Prince Heinrich, to command the fifteen Hussars who formed the Rheinsberg guard. The honor to dine at the Prince’s table hadn’t been his yet. However, his beautiful face and his vivacious nature attracted the Prince’s attention, and since at that time Kalkreuth fell into disfavour, Kaphengst got the position as ordonance of the Prince and thus the greatest influence on him. He received an estate for 150 000 Taler as a present and had the Prince’s house, stable and cellar - which he used a lot - at his disposal, and his purse. It is clear that this man has cost his royal highness incredible sums. He caused his lord immense distress through a lot countless stupidities and foolish pranks. And still the later tried to cover all up, regardless on how this put a bad light on his own reputation. Despite all this, Kaphengst has ruined himself in body and soul, now socializes only with scum anymore, and is at a point where he loses his entire possessions. He is a telling example of where a debauched life can lead to. In other circumstances, one has to say, he might have become a gentleman and a good officer. The overabundance of favour and lack of strictness has spoiled him.
So much for Kaphengst. This is indeed the year in which Heinrich ends relation for good (after having to sell his paintings to Catherine to cover Kaphengst's debts one last time).
October 1784, this is interesting, de Catt is still listed as one of Fritz’ lectors by Lehndorff who evidently hasn't heard about the firing back in Steinort, or during his occasional trips: „With pleasure, I hear the Abbé Denina talk, who is a scholar of the first rank. He tells us that the King now has four readers, de Catt, the Abbé du Val, who has lately arrived from Paris, and the son of a tailor from Berlin.“ And Luchesini, one might add.
October 29th : Lehndorff becomes a Liselotte fan: For eight days, I read day and night extremely interesting writings of the Duchess de Orleans about the government of her brother-in-law, King Louis XIV, as well as the memoirs of one Count Christoph Dohna about the government of the Great Prince Elector and of King Friedrich I.
Lehndorff spots Voltaire‘s memoirs translated into German in the bookshops and that does shock him, as opposed to hearing them read to him out loud by Heinrich. „It is amazing how much liberty is enjoyed in our country by writers and bookshop owners if such works can be sold in public!“
I'll say. Mind you, not for much longer. Once Fritz is dead, those memoirs so get on the Prussian index and aren't reprinted in Germany again until the 20th century.
Late November: „Finally, Prince Heinrich leaves Paris. To the Prince de Condé, he said: „All my life, I longed to go to France, and for the rest of my days, I shall long to go back there.“ The Queen of France, who has treated him somewhat coldly, did not have public opinion on her side. The affection which was shown to him grew rather from day to day, and even the Queen at last grew more amiable and said as a farewell: „Your departure is our loss.“. The Prince has seen a lot and has always followed the advice of Grimm, a respectable man, who enjoys the Czarina of Russia’s favour.
The Queen is of course Marie Antoinette, loyal daughter to dead MT, who saw Heinrich's visit as a sneak Prussian attack to woo France back from the alliance with Austria. (She wasn't totally wrong in that the letters between Fritz and Heinrich showed that he was supposed to try if he could, but they didn't really expect it, and mainly this was indeed a fun visit.)
November 28th: I go to the Dorotheenkirche to hear M. Sonnier preach. On that occasion, I see the monuments of Mitchell and the Count Verelsts. These were men who played an important role in their day, and now no one talks of them anymore.
But Mitchell's reports live on, Lehndorff, we promise.
December 2nd: I had the great joy of seeing Ludwig Wreech enter. He is well, and has made it through the journey to France and back in one piece. He has left the Prince in Brandenburg in order to come here straight away. His Royal Highness has gone to Potsdam, and has been received by his Majesty with love and distinction. He had sent him his horses and his pages, he rushed into the Prince’s room in order to greet him, in short, he has left nothing out in order to receive him in splendour. He also has gifted him with two pounds of Spanish tobacco and remarked that he’d like to contribute to the Prince’s travelling expenses but that he couldn’t right now, his treasure being exhausted.
December 5th Lehndorff’s own reunion with Heinrich goes well, too, and then he has a moment of Schadenfreude when spotting a certain someone:
„In the antechamber I see a personality which illustrates the changeability of all earthly matters to me. It is Kaphengst (...) His health is gone, he has lost his position, and is in the greatest embarrasment. The Prince’s embarassment towards him is even larger. At heart, he still has some fondness for him, but he knows that he has done all for him that he could do, and now sees that he hasn’t managed to make this man happy or reasonable. He had given him the beautiful estate of Meseberg, in the belief of having given him an assured basis of living, and in the hope to enjoy his grateful favourite’s happiness when visiting him now and then. All of this has found a bad ending. He took whores and showed various desires disliked by the Prince, and so these two have tormented themselves through fifteen years. I had seen all of this coming, but I kept my mouth shut, and now this favourite, who outshone all others, who had made everyone wait in the antechambre while he locked himself up with the Prince doesn’t know what to do with himself. (...)
„My dear Prince’s entourage isn’t really satisfied by the visit to France. They claim that the King has been too thrifty. This had annoyed Herr von Knesebeck so much that he left Paris before the prince did. One can see once again how hard it is to make everyone happy. I must say, there’s hardly another prince who is so considerate towards his entourage, and there are still so many displeased and grasping people around him. As for me, I love him for his personality, and I am never happier than when I am with him.“
Lehndorff spends the December with his family in Berlin and with Heinrich. Heinrich reads to him - no more Voltaire, stories of Florian, a dramatist and fable write, and btw, this consistent of the decades reading out loud by Heinrich is another trait shared with the Firstborn. With the December of 1784, this volume, which doesn't have a register, ends, but not this writing-up, because as promised, I'll finish with a Lehndorff entry from June that same year, which this man, now in his 60s, who fell in love with Heinrich as far as I can tell from the tone of his entries on him during late 1751 and through 1752, writes thusly:
June 1784: From there, I hurry home, change my clothing and jump, after I had talked for a moment with my wife and her visitor, into the post carriage. In order to avoid the heat, I drive through the entire night and arrive on the 6th in the evening at Rheinsberg. I always experience a particular sensation whenever I get close to this charming place, when I think of the fact that in an hour, in half an hour, in a quarter of an hour I shall see Prince Heinrich again, who when it comes down to it has been for as long as I can remember the Prince whom I love best. I had all reason to be satisfied with his greeting. I cannot adequately render the emotion that moves inside me, but I am his, utterly and completely. (Ich bin auf jeden Fall ganz sein eigen.)
The Lehndorff Report: 1784
April: one writes to me from Berlin that Casot, Bastiani and Luchesini form the King‘s company. The former two are old acquaintances, the last a man of much wit. In this moment, I remember a beautiful action on Prince Heinrich‘s part. When the King has fired Großkanzler Fürst from his position and had ordered Minister Zedlitz to investigate the trial around the Miller Arnold again, people were afraid that Herr v. Zedlitz out of sycophancy would pronounce his judgment according to the wishes of the monarch. But Prince Heinrich stepped towards him and said emphatically: „Sir, now is the time to show mankind you’re a man of honor! If you are afraid to lose your salary, don’t be, I will continue to pay it from now on.“ And thus it came to be that Zedlitz told the monarch that the judgment against the Miller had been fair.
And then it's time for another Rheinsberg visit. Lehndorff's opening paragraph to this one is so lovely and so very him that I'll put it on the end of this post, and you'll see why. Heinrich entertains French visitors, and what should they have brought with them but a copy of Voltaire’s memoirs. Fun times for everyone!
When the Prince after tea has left his guests at the gambling tables, I withdraw with him, Count Podewils and Ludwig Wreech into his room where he reads to us the secret history which Voltaire has written about our King. The anecdotes the Prince adds to his readings are even more interesting than the history itself, which is already interesting in a very high degree. The days are much too short for all my dear Prince has to offer in pleasantries, despite the fact we rarely go to bed before 1 pm.
Look, Lehndorff, if Heinrich can outtrash talk Voltaire‘s trashy tell all, it‘s really irresponsible of you not to write those damn anecdotes down! Never mind Heinrich's commentary on Fritz' account of the 7 Years War, we want Heinrich's commentary on Voltaire's memoirs! Seriously. In other news, Heinrich reading Voltaire's memoirs out loud to Lehndorff has to be the most Hohenzollern experience ever. You can not make these people up.
According to Lehndorff, Heinrich got Fritz‘ permission to finally go to Paris for the first time because Gustav has threatened to visit Berlin again, and Fritz wants to avoid a Heinrich/Gustav clash. Be that as it may: Lehndorff‘s Prince is off to Paris!
August of 1784: I receive a delightful letter from Prince Heinrich, from Geneva. If I wanted to, I could travel to Paris at once, where the Prince is headed to, and where he promises me an apartment and all kind of delights. Surely I would have many of those, since people there will certainly try to honor the Prince in all kind of ways, and I would have my share in these honors. But if I consider I would have to leave my family behind which needs me right now, especially my oldest son, I have to decline, obeying to reason. It is hard for me to make this sacrifice, but the fulfiilment of duty, too, has its satisfaction, and in missing there is reward.
It's good that you remember you're a family man and want to be a responsible dad, Lehndorff, we love you for it. Also, it gives you the opportunity to share some tea with Frau von Katte at Ferdinand's, which is interesting because I had dimly recalled someone - wiki? Fontane? - claims she died in the late 1770s. But here she is, alive and having tea with Lehndorff in 1784.
While Heinrich is having a great time in Hohenzollern dream country, aka Paris, young Tauentzien is back in Prussia, but only temporarily. Time for a Lehndorff pen portrait of the new guy! Complete with pen portrait of the old guy.
September 1784: „In the morning, I‘m visited by Tauentzien, who has gone with Prince Heinrich as far as Dijon, and then has returned for the manoeuvres. He‘s on his way back to Paris to Prince Heinrich, and will be returning here after two months. He is a pretty boy, barely twenty four years of age, but who has already had all kind of adventures. A year ago, he married against the will of the King and his parents a young Fräulein von Marschall, who had become pregnant by him. No sooner was the affair settled did she give birth and died. Four years ago, he already had become a father during his stay in Dresden, through a lady in waiting to the Prince Electress of Saxony, which is why Prince Heinrich had removed him from that post. Currently, he’s trying to marry the sole daughter of the famous Monsieur Necker, the richest heiress of Europe. (Mes amies, this is Germaine De Stael, famous writer and wit, and no, Tauentzien does not score there.) This is one of his main reasons for returning to Paris. Considering his pretty face and his vivacity, I understand he’s taken the position with Prince Heinrich which the infamous Kaphengst used to have, who hasn’t been as high in the Prince’s favour since he has abused it. Hardly ever has a man pushed fortune which had almost thrown itself at him so badly away as Kaphengst did. He was an insignificant ensign with the Green Husars, then he was ordered to Prince Heinrich, to command the fifteen Hussars who formed the Rheinsberg guard. The honor to dine at the Prince’s table hadn’t been his yet. However, his beautiful face and his vivacious nature attracted the Prince’s attention, and since at that time Kalkreuth fell into disfavour, Kaphengst got the position as ordonance of the Prince and thus the greatest influence on him. He received an estate for 150 000 Taler as a present and had the Prince’s house, stable and cellar - which he used a lot - at his disposal, and his purse. It is clear that this man has cost his royal highness incredible sums. He caused his lord immense distress through a lot countless stupidities and foolish pranks. And still the later tried to cover all up, regardless on how this put a bad light on his own reputation. Despite all this, Kaphengst has ruined himself in body and soul, now socializes only with scum anymore, and is at a point where he loses his entire possessions. He is a telling example of where a debauched life can lead to. In other circumstances, one has to say, he might have become a gentleman and a good officer. The overabundance of favour and lack of strictness has spoiled him.
So much for Kaphengst. This is indeed the year in which Heinrich ends relation for good (after having to sell his paintings to Catherine to cover Kaphengst's debts one last time).
October 1784, this is interesting, de Catt is still listed as one of Fritz’ lectors by Lehndorff who evidently hasn't heard about the firing back in Steinort, or during his occasional trips: „With pleasure, I hear the Abbé Denina talk, who is a scholar of the first rank. He tells us that the King now has four readers, de Catt, the Abbé du Val, who has lately arrived from Paris, and the son of a tailor from Berlin.“ And Luchesini, one might add.
October 29th : Lehndorff becomes a Liselotte fan: For eight days, I read day and night extremely interesting writings of the Duchess de Orleans about the government of her brother-in-law, King Louis XIV, as well as the memoirs of one Count Christoph Dohna about the government of the Great Prince Elector and of King Friedrich I.
Lehndorff spots Voltaire‘s memoirs translated into German in the bookshops and that does shock him, as opposed to hearing them read to him out loud by Heinrich. „It is amazing how much liberty is enjoyed in our country by writers and bookshop owners if such works can be sold in public!“
I'll say. Mind you, not for much longer. Once Fritz is dead, those memoirs so get on the Prussian index and aren't reprinted in Germany again until the 20th century.
Late November: „Finally, Prince Heinrich leaves Paris. To the Prince de Condé, he said: „All my life, I longed to go to France, and for the rest of my days, I shall long to go back there.“ The Queen of France, who has treated him somewhat coldly, did not have public opinion on her side. The affection which was shown to him grew rather from day to day, and even the Queen at last grew more amiable and said as a farewell: „Your departure is our loss.“. The Prince has seen a lot and has always followed the advice of Grimm, a respectable man, who enjoys the Czarina of Russia’s favour.
The Queen is of course Marie Antoinette, loyal daughter to dead MT, who saw Heinrich's visit as a sneak Prussian attack to woo France back from the alliance with Austria. (She wasn't totally wrong in that the letters between Fritz and Heinrich showed that he was supposed to try if he could, but they didn't really expect it, and mainly this was indeed a fun visit.)
November 28th: I go to the Dorotheenkirche to hear M. Sonnier preach. On that occasion, I see the monuments of Mitchell and the Count Verelsts. These were men who played an important role in their day, and now no one talks of them anymore.
But Mitchell's reports live on, Lehndorff, we promise.
December 2nd: I had the great joy of seeing Ludwig Wreech enter. He is well, and has made it through the journey to France and back in one piece. He has left the Prince in Brandenburg in order to come here straight away. His Royal Highness has gone to Potsdam, and has been received by his Majesty with love and distinction. He had sent him his horses and his pages, he rushed into the Prince’s room in order to greet him, in short, he has left nothing out in order to receive him in splendour. He also has gifted him with two pounds of Spanish tobacco and remarked that he’d like to contribute to the Prince’s travelling expenses but that he couldn’t right now, his treasure being exhausted.
December 5th Lehndorff’s own reunion with Heinrich goes well, too, and then he has a moment of Schadenfreude when spotting a certain someone:
„In the antechamber I see a personality which illustrates the changeability of all earthly matters to me. It is Kaphengst (...) His health is gone, he has lost his position, and is in the greatest embarrasment. The Prince’s embarassment towards him is even larger. At heart, he still has some fondness for him, but he knows that he has done all for him that he could do, and now sees that he hasn’t managed to make this man happy or reasonable. He had given him the beautiful estate of Meseberg, in the belief of having given him an assured basis of living, and in the hope to enjoy his grateful favourite’s happiness when visiting him now and then. All of this has found a bad ending. He took whores and showed various desires disliked by the Prince, and so these two have tormented themselves through fifteen years. I had seen all of this coming, but I kept my mouth shut, and now this favourite, who outshone all others, who had made everyone wait in the antechambre while he locked himself up with the Prince doesn’t know what to do with himself. (...)
„My dear Prince’s entourage isn’t really satisfied by the visit to France. They claim that the King has been too thrifty. This had annoyed Herr von Knesebeck so much that he left Paris before the prince did. One can see once again how hard it is to make everyone happy. I must say, there’s hardly another prince who is so considerate towards his entourage, and there are still so many displeased and grasping people around him. As for me, I love him for his personality, and I am never happier than when I am with him.“
Lehndorff spends the December with his family in Berlin and with Heinrich. Heinrich reads to him - no more Voltaire, stories of Florian, a dramatist and fable write, and btw, this consistent of the decades reading out loud by Heinrich is another trait shared with the Firstborn. With the December of 1784, this volume, which doesn't have a register, ends, but not this writing-up, because as promised, I'll finish with a Lehndorff entry from June that same year, which this man, now in his 60s, who fell in love with Heinrich as far as I can tell from the tone of his entries on him during late 1751 and through 1752, writes thusly:
June 1784: From there, I hurry home, change my clothing and jump, after I had talked for a moment with my wife and her visitor, into the post carriage. In order to avoid the heat, I drive through the entire night and arrive on the 6th in the evening at Rheinsberg. I always experience a particular sensation whenever I get close to this charming place, when I think of the fact that in an hour, in half an hour, in a quarter of an hour I shall see Prince Heinrich again, who when it comes down to it has been for as long as I can remember the Prince whom I love best. I had all reason to be satisfied with his greeting. I cannot adequately render the emotion that moves inside me, but I am his, utterly and completely. (Ich bin auf jeden Fall ganz sein eigen.)