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.)
In haste: I am reading all of this and loving it. (It is also a great distraction from the thing that is taking up all my time right now, which is trying to figure out various cancellations, etc.)
I *promise* more later, but I had to comment on this:
I cannot adequately render the emotion that moves inside me, but I am his, utterly and completely.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh Lehndorff, you are the most adorably smitten guy ever, we should all be as lucky to be as adorably and passionately in love as you after thirty years <333333333
we want Heinrich's commentary on Voltaire's memoirs!
Yes we do!! Lehndorff, why are you letting us down like this? :)
It's good that you remember you're a family man and want to be a responsible dad, Lehndorff, we love you for it.
<3
He is a pretty boy, barely twenty four years of age, but who has already had all kind of adventures.
Welp, yeah, sounds like he has been having a good time :P So after all these, er, adventures, he became one of Heinrich's lovers? What happened to him after that?
and even the Queen at last grew more amiable and said as a farewell: „Your departure is our loss.“
So this story, along with your commentary to let me know what was going on and what the deal with Heinrich and Fritz was, is just charming.
It is Kaphengst
LOLOLOLOL Lehndorff, I can see what you are focused on
has been for as long as I can remember the Prince whom I love best.
I commented on this before, but oh Lehndorff, you are such a sweetie. It makes me happy to know with what fidelity and constancy he has loved his Heinrich <33333
we want Heinrich's commentary on Voltaire's memoirs!
Yes we do!! Lehndorff, why are you letting us down like this? :)
Truly. I suppose his inner loyal subject prevented him from doing so, but never mind, Lehndorff, Fritz can take it! Trust us. I should add that at this point, Lehndorff does occasionally wonder who'll read his diaries once he's dead, and for whom he's writing this, and comes to the conclusion that he's writing for future generations of Lehndorffs to whom Fritz & Co. will only be legends, like the people from Louis XIV court are to him when he's reading Liselotte's letters. Perhaps he doesn't want those hypothetical future Lehndorffs and his very real actual kids (who also are bound to have a look at his diaries once he's gone) to know all Prince Heinrich has to add to Voltaire's trashy tell all about Frederick the Great?
Tauentzien: So after all these, er, adventures, he became one of Heinrich's lovers? What happened to him after that?
As Heinrich boyfriends go, he had a pretty good life. For starters, he wasn't a hopeless spendthrift, and like his father a good military man. (Dad Tauentzien the General is the Tauentzien who is included on the Rheinsberg Obelisk.) He also was very career minded. The relationship with Heinrich ended in 1791 when Tauentzien switched from Heinrich's to FW2's personal entourage. (Chronology reminder: Fritz dies in the summer of 1786. Heinrich finds out soon thereafter that FW2 while treating him as dear old Uncle Heinrich has zero intention of letting him play any political role whatsoever and completely freezes him out of government business. Anyone who still wants to advance in the ranks starts to realize this won't happen through Heinrich.) Tauentzien, who'd gone with Heinrich on all his travels through the 1780s - including the second one to Paris just before the Revolution; he was the boyfriend who thought it was funny to coach an actor in Fritz mannerisms and make Heinrich watch the play starring his brother (as mentioned here) - first became FW2s' liason officer to the Austrian army (remember, this was when Prussia and Austria teamed up for the first time to fight the French Revolutionaries in the "avenge the French Royals, let's invade" war, which btw Heinrich was against, and promptly got their backside kicked at Valmy), then FW2's envoy at Catherine's court in Russia. He then took a leave of absence; FW2 died in 1797, FW3 called Tauentzien back to the Prussian army, promoting him to Generalmajor, and as opposed to poor Wartensleben, Tauentzien managed to fight in the Prussian army against Napoleon at Jena and lose without getting blamed for it afterwards. In fairness, this was because he also managed to win on several key occasions in the 1813-1815 wars. He ended up commanding the 3rd Army and in peace time in his old age died as the distinguished Commandant of the Berlin City Garnison; he's buried there.
The child his first wife died giving birth to was a daughter and survived into old age (she died in 1859); he married again in 1787 and had four more children by his second wife, who also was more fortunate in her life expectancy - she outlived him and died in 1840.
He was the last but one of Heinrich's main lovers; after him came the French émigré count who stuck around till Heinrich's death and was described by Fontane so memorably as the last warming beam of the setting sun. (The Comte's wife lived long enough for Fontane to actually have met her and get some stories about Rheinsberg in Heinrich's time from her.)
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh Lehndorff, you are the most adorably smitten guy ever, we should all be as lucky to be as adorably and passionately in love as you after thirty years <333333333
Same! I mean, his early bedazzled entries are very enjoyable to read, too, but everyone is in such a mood when it's young love. But this is Lehndorff decades later, after he's quite clear on Heinrich's darker sides as well, and I don't just mean the tendency to fall for charismatic bastards, but Heinrich's own capacity for pettiness (ask Mina) and carrying a grudge (or, as Lehndorff puts it, "sulking with the Firstborn"). This is Lehndorff who has given up on the idea that Heinrich will ever change and propose monogamous marriage and has managed to build a life for himself at Steinort, with the annual Berlin trip, with his family, that he's content with. And yet, he's still as passionately in love as that.
(What Heinrich felt for Lehndorff remains a mystery. Not least because no one ever published those letters. I mean, evidently, as Mildred put it, Lehndorff did not and could not push those sexual/emotional buttons in terms of powerplay. But otoh, he kept up the relationship and sought out Lehndorff's company again and again throughout the decades when there was absolutely no benefit in it for him, neither when Lehndorff was EC's chamberlain nor in the retirement years, beyond, well, Lehndorff himself. So he must have felt an attachment of whatever nature, and one that lasted through a life time, too.)
I'm just imagining Lehndorff finding out that totally unrelated people in the twenty-first century are reading and adoring his diaries! Would he be pleased or freaked out about that? I imagine a little of both?
The relationship with Heinrich ended in 1791 when Tauentzien switched from Heinrich's to FW2's personal entourage. (Chronology reminder:
Ahahaha. And here I had just replied to your earlier comment that Lehndorff, our sweetie, wouldn't suck up to the person with power over his beloved Heinrich. See, Heinrich, if you weren't so psychologically damaged you could have fallen for someone who truly and demonstrably cared about you! (Though I guess the count seems to have been better, so at least he had someone nice at the end, and I also suppose that Lehndorff may just not have been witty enough to be that person even if he was the nicest of all. One loves what one loves.)
I'd forgotten he was the boyfriend that made Heinrich watch the play with his brother! Heinrich really did pick the jerks, didn't he.
...are there other good stories from the Comte's wife about the Comte and Heinrich?
So he must have felt an attachment of whatever nature, and one that lasted through a life time, too
And that's true, too! My headcanon (do you think that if we all spammed Zeibura that she would tell us something about those letters? :) ) is that Heinrich couldn't ever really fall sexually for Lehndorff in the sense of finding him madly attractive unless he bodyswapped with Fontane but that he did really like him, perhaps found him relaxing (unlike his actual boyfriends!), and was happy to be friends (and occasionally friends-with-benefits) with him. In any case, I am glad that they had each other <3
And yet, he's still as passionately in love as that.
Tauenzien: Fontane expresses the hope that he and Heinrich parted amiably in 1791 and names as an argument that there was still a portrait and a bust of Tauenzien in Rheinsberg - as there was of Antoine Charles Étienne Paul de La Roche-Aymon, the last lover - which Fontane doubts there would have been if Tauentzien just said, cheerio, Heinrich, better prospects beckoning! And in fairness: Tauenzien was a young man, military gifted, who should (and did) have a good career ahead of him, Heinrich had seen what happens when the King doesn't like your favourites (as Lehndorff says, he could sing a song), so when FW2 offered the switch, he might even have said, go ahead, do it. It was a far better ending than what happened to Kaphengst. Or the breakup with Kalkreuth, for while Kalkreuth did go on to have a good career thereafter, the breakup itself was poisonous (remember, this included a desperate Kalkreuth trying to compromise Mina as a way to win back Heinrich's favour).
All this being said, it's still a big contrast to the Comte, because De La Roche-Aymon also went on to have a splendid military career - he earned the Pour Le Merite (aka the medal Fritz had introduced which could be won regardless of social background, whereas the Black Eagle only went to noble folk) for his exceptionally bravery in 1807, i.e. years after Heinrich's death, he left the Prussian Military in order to return to the French Royal one after Napoleon's first defeat in the rank of Generalmajor, and later became a member of the Chambre de Pairs and the Commander of the Legion d'Honnneur in Restauration France. But he still remained with Heinrich until his death, and only then left.
...are there other good stories from the Comte's wife about the Comte and Heinrich?
Not beyond some general characterisation, because the anecdotes that have made it into the Wanderungen at least are about herself. (I'll get to that.) Here's how she said the Comte joined Heinrich's circle, as written by Fontane in the Rheinsberg chapters of "Wanderungen":
In 1794 a young, six-foot-tall officer of the darkest color and poorest clothing appeared in Rheinsberg and submitted a letter of recommendation to "Demoiselle Aurore," the actress of the princely court theater already mentioned. The letter contained a request to bring the bearer, the young count La Roche-Aymon, near the prince at an suitable opportunity. Demoiselle Aurore was a real French woman, lively and kind, but also a royalist and inclined to adventure; So she financed a suitable equipment from her own resources, and before a week had passed, the count was in the prince's service. He moved into an apartment in the cavalier's house and took over the command of the forty Leibhusars, who, as more than mentioned, were in Garrison at Rheinsberg as a special Prinz-Heinrichian troop. A short time later he became an adjutant to the prince. Beautiful, agile, amiable, a cavalier in the best sense of the word, he soon entered into a position of trust, and moreover a heartfelt relationship with the prince, which he had not known since Tauenzien. The count appeared to him as a gift from heaven, the evening of his life had come, but lo and behold, the sun before it departed lent him a ray of her happy light again. Count La Roche-Aymon was the Prince's last aide.
Incidentally, also worth exploring: Heinrich's actors at Rheinsberg. There's the tragic one, Blainville, who committed suicide, true, but most seem to have been glad to have found a place to stay, especially when less and less people in Germany wanted to see French plays in French, and going back to revolutionary France wasn't really an option for most of them. One actress, Maria Louise Therese Toussaint, was the daughter of Heinrich's reader and librarian (who is mentioned in Lehndorff's diary entry as reading to him and Heinrich about India while they paint), and had the dubious joy of becoming Mrs. Kaphengst in her second marriage. She'd first been married to a Sieur de Bilguer and become widowed. Speaking of portraits - as she outlived her husband by far - according to Fontane, she, like the Comtesse, made into the second half of the 19th century - she still owned one of Heinrich when she died. Not so much of her husband. Which would argue Mrs. Kaphengst, formerly actress Toussaint, did retain a fond memory of her royal patron. Meanwhile, Demoiselle Aurore still was praised by the Rheinsberg countryside people decades later, too, so Fontane's characterisation of her seems to fit, and one can imagine her taking a look at that handsome young Frenchman in distress and thinking "I know!"
Now, about the Comtesse, who was born Karoline Amalie von Zeuner, lady-in-waiting to one of FW2's daughters. (Fontane says "Princess Wilhelmine", but it can't be Wilhelmine Minor the daughter of AW and sister to FW2, since she was ruling the Netherlands at that point, so this must have been yet another Wilhelmine.) The Comte met her in Berlin in 1795 on the occasion of the Peace of Basel (aka when the allied powers recognized Revolutionary France as a state in its own right and stopped trying to restore the monarchy by invading) and married her; she returned to Rheinsberg with him and became the lady of the manor, much as poor doomed young Mrs. Tauenzien (born Elisabeth von Marschall but named Lisette by Heinrich, according to Fontane) had been. She was a blonde with hair that went to her knees (remember, this was the age where wigs were going out of fashion, another change wrought by the French Revolution) and nicknamed "Princess Golden Hair" accordingly, and between being decades older than the Comte and used to his favourites being married by then, Heinrich was charmed and liked her a lot, too. (Fontane, who met her in her old age when she was an excentric old lady who liked bossing people around still believes that, as he says she was witty, engaging and unabashedly brave. (WHen one of Napoleon III.'s faves showed up to take the estate which Heinrich had left to the Comte and her into his posseession by some legalese twisting, she just laughed at him and send him on his merry way, and despite having technically the law on his side, he caved.) She also liked to cook (as in, personally, not by setting up a menu), which was indeed very excentric for a young noblewoman in the 1790s and was seen contributing to her charm as an original.
There was one dramatic invent interrupting this idyll, which was when Heinrich's favourite nephew, Prince Louis Ferdinand went from flirting with the Comtesse to making an unmistakable pass. (Louis: son of brother Ferdinand, would inherit Rheinsberg itself from Heinrich but would die young, in battle against Napoleon in 1806. He was killed by one Jean-Baptise Guindey in personal combat, who got a medal for this but not a promotion, as Napeoleon observed a captured and alive Prince would have been preferable.) Fontane leaves it open how far things went between Louis and the Comtesse, but the Comte callenged Louis to a duel, whereupon Heinrich talked them both down and gave them a "duel = dumb", and "no matter which of you dies, both your reputations would be ruined by such a deed" speech. No duel happened, but things between the Comte and the Comtesse were never quite the same thereafter, and once he returned to France, they lived in separate households. Ototh things between both of them and Heinrich remained harmonious. De La Roche-Aymon wrote military analytical works through his remaining years with Heinrich before resuming his career post Heinrich's death. Writes Fontane:
The Count's critical-military work aroused the interest of his friend and benefactor even more than before, who took part in it in many ways and in the most thorough manner. This friendship lasted until the death of the prince, who wrote the following words down a few months before his death in his Dernières dispositions: »I want to express my gratitude to Count La Roche-Aymon for the tender affection he has given me through all the time when I was fortunate enough to have him near me,” and as is otherwise evident from almost every paragraph of these Dernières dispositions, that the count was the prince's most trustworthy person, the one closest to his heart (in his final years). The prince had chosen it correctly. According to the testimony of all those who knew him, Count La Roche-Aymon combined three chivalrous virtues in an excellent way: courage, loyalty to duty and childlike kindness.
As for the Comtesse, this is the end of Fontane's Rheinsberg chapters:
The Countess, and with that we conclude, was a proud, self-confident woman. She represented the refinement of a time now buried, a refinement that, under certain circumstances, abstracted from the mind and could put its essence into a masterful treatment of the forms. These forms were of the most engaging kind in the Countess, and their appearance corresponded to the judgment I once heard about her: "free, tactful and original at the same time". Ruling and maintaining a large household were her two passions. The more carriages held in the yard, the more comfortable her heart became, and the more lights were on in the house, the brighter sparks sparked her spirit and good mood. Thrifty otherwise and a woman whose account books had to be correct did not scare her from any sacrifice in this regard, the thought hardly touched her that it was a a sacrifice. After the custom of the time when she was young, it looked like a Noah's ark at her home, and from cockatoo down to canaries and squirrels, pretty much everything was found in her rooms. Cats and dogs were, of course, her favorites and were allowed to do anything; an arriving visitor was usually embarrassed where to take a seat, if they could find a free one at all. But with the appearance of the old Countess, everything was immediately forgotten, the disorder no longer mattered, and what had been a nuisance until then became a characteristic ornament. Her speech never stopped, and if Rheinsberg or even "the prince" became the subject of conversation, the hours passed quickly, for herself and for others.
Her death was like her life and had the same Rococo character, as the sofa on which she died or the snuff box that stood in front of her. Her favorite cat, it was said, bit her lip. From this she died (or soon after) in the eighty-ninth year, May 18, 1859.
The last representative of the Prince Heinrich period was buried with her.
I giggled! (I also giggled when you first excerpted that.)
The count appeared to him as a gift from heaven, the evening of his life had come, but lo and behold, the sun before it departed lent him a ray of her happy light again.
I know you've quoted this before, but: awwwwww <333333
one can imagine her taking a look at that handsome young Frenchman in distress and thinking "I know!"
Ha! That is a very cute story. Go Demoiselle Aurore!
WHen one of Napoleon III.'s faves showed up to take the estate which Heinrich had left to the Comte and her into his posseession by some legalese twisting, she just laughed at him and send him on his merry way, and despite having technically the law on his side, he caved.
This is a great story too. She is awesome! And I loved Fontane's last epitaph on her. <3 (Fontane is so cool!)
whereupon Heinrich talked them both down and gave them a "duel = dumb", and "no matter which of you dies, both your reputations would be ruined by such a deed" speech.
He really is, and I am sad not much of his stuff is available in English. Here are two neat articles, though, which at least give you an overview about what there is:
Thank you! That's very useful. It looks like several of the books in the articles are in easily-available Penguin editions (bless you, Penguin!) -- so -- hmm! :)
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.
OMGGGG, we need this! Lehndorff! No Hans Hermann gossip, no Heinrich on Voltaire's memoirs anecdotes...don't you know your duty to posterity?
Heinrich got Fritz‘ permission to finally go to Paris for the first time because Gustav has threatened to visit Berlin again
Love the phrasing here.
wiki? Fontane? - claims she died in the late 1770s
!!! Yes, I thought she had died in 1776! Well. I have added an ETA to the family tree post in Rheinsberg. I'm not redoing the entire family tree until I either have more corrections to make, or I don't have back pain.
He is a telling example of where a debauched life can lead to.
A double chin? :P
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:
Hmm. I do wonder how reliable our source is on the 1782 date.
Lehndorff spots Voltaire‘s memoirs translated into German in the bookshops
Bit of chronology here: the memoirs were published in French in 1784, and were already translated into English and German by the end of the year. That shows you just how popular they were.
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.
Did not know that!
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.
<333 Aww, Lehndorff.
I suppose his inner loyal subject prevented him from doing so, but never mind, Lehndorff, Fritz can take it!
If Fritz can take Voltaire, Fritz can take Heinrich! Besides, no one's asking you to read your diary out loud to him. Just leave it for us to see in 200 years!
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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.)
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1784
I *promise* more later, but I had to comment on this:
I cannot adequately render the emotion that moves inside me, but I am his, utterly and completely.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh Lehndorff, you are the most adorably smitten guy ever, we should all be as lucky to be as adorably and passionately in love as you after thirty years <333333333
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1784
Yes we do!! Lehndorff, why are you letting us down like this? :)
It's good that you remember you're a family man and want to be a responsible dad, Lehndorff, we love you for it.
<3
He is a pretty boy, barely twenty four years of age, but who has already had all kind of adventures.
Welp, yeah, sounds like he has been having a good time :P So after all these, er, adventures, he became one of Heinrich's lovers? What happened to him after that?
and even the Queen at last grew more amiable and said as a farewell: „Your departure is our loss.“
So this story, along with your commentary to let me know what was going on and what the deal with Heinrich and Fritz was, is just charming.
It is Kaphengst
LOLOLOLOL Lehndorff, I can see what you are focused on
has been for as long as I can remember the Prince whom I love best.
I commented on this before, but oh Lehndorff, you are such a sweetie. It makes me happy to know with what fidelity and constancy he has loved his Heinrich <33333
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1784
Yes we do!! Lehndorff, why are you letting us down like this? :)
Truly. I suppose his inner loyal subject prevented him from doing so, but never mind, Lehndorff, Fritz can take it! Trust us. I should add that at this point, Lehndorff does occasionally wonder who'll read his diaries once he's dead, and for whom he's writing this, and comes to the conclusion that he's writing for future generations of Lehndorffs to whom Fritz & Co. will only be legends, like the people from Louis XIV court are to him when he's reading Liselotte's letters. Perhaps he doesn't want those hypothetical future Lehndorffs and his very real actual kids (who also are bound to have a look at his diaries once he's gone) to know all Prince Heinrich has to add to Voltaire's trashy tell all about Frederick the Great?
Tauentzien: So after all these, er, adventures, he became one of Heinrich's lovers? What happened to him after that?
As Heinrich boyfriends go, he had a pretty good life. For starters, he wasn't a hopeless spendthrift, and like his father a good military man. (Dad Tauentzien the General is the Tauentzien who is included on the Rheinsberg Obelisk.) He also was very career minded. The relationship with Heinrich ended in 1791 when Tauentzien switched from Heinrich's to FW2's personal entourage. (Chronology reminder: Fritz dies in the summer of 1786. Heinrich finds out soon thereafter that FW2 while treating him as dear old Uncle Heinrich has zero intention of letting him play any political role whatsoever and completely freezes him out of government business. Anyone who still wants to advance in the ranks starts to realize this won't happen through Heinrich.) Tauentzien, who'd gone with Heinrich on all his travels through the 1780s - including the second one to Paris just before the Revolution; he was the boyfriend who thought it was funny to coach an actor in Fritz mannerisms and make Heinrich watch the play starring his brother (as mentioned here) - first became FW2s' liason officer to the Austrian army (remember, this was when Prussia and Austria teamed up for the first time to fight the French Revolutionaries in the "avenge the French Royals, let's invade" war, which btw Heinrich was against, and promptly got their backside kicked at Valmy), then FW2's envoy at Catherine's court in Russia. He then took a leave of absence; FW2 died in 1797, FW3 called Tauentzien back to the Prussian army, promoting him to Generalmajor, and as opposed to poor Wartensleben, Tauentzien managed to fight in the Prussian army against Napoleon at Jena and lose without getting blamed for it afterwards. In fairness, this was because he also managed to win on several key occasions in the 1813-1815 wars. He ended up commanding the 3rd Army and in peace time in his old age died as the distinguished Commandant of the Berlin City Garnison; he's buried there.
The child his first wife died giving birth to was a daughter and survived into old age (she died in 1859); he married again in 1787 and had four more children by his second wife, who also was more fortunate in her life expectancy - she outlived him and died in 1840.
He was the last but one of Heinrich's main lovers; after him came the French émigré count who stuck around till Heinrich's death and was described by Fontane so memorably as the last warming beam of the setting sun. (The Comte's wife lived long enough for Fontane to actually have met her and get some stories about Rheinsberg in Heinrich's time from her.)
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh Lehndorff, you are the most adorably smitten guy ever, we should all be as lucky to be as adorably and passionately in love as you after thirty years <333333333
Same! I mean, his early bedazzled entries are very enjoyable to read, too, but everyone is in such a mood when it's young love. But this is Lehndorff decades later, after he's quite clear on Heinrich's darker sides as well, and I don't just mean the tendency to fall for charismatic bastards, but Heinrich's own capacity for pettiness (ask Mina) and carrying a grudge (or, as Lehndorff puts it, "sulking with the Firstborn"). This is Lehndorff who has given up on the idea that Heinrich will ever change
and propose monogamous marriageand has managed to build a life for himself at Steinort, with the annual Berlin trip, with his family, that he's content with. And yet, he's still as passionately in love as that.(What Heinrich felt for Lehndorff remains a mystery. Not least because no one ever published those letters. I mean, evidently, as Mildred put it, Lehndorff did not and could not push those sexual/emotional buttons in terms of powerplay. But otoh, he kept up the relationship and sought out Lehndorff's company again and again throughout the decades when there was absolutely no benefit in it for him, neither when Lehndorff was EC's chamberlain nor in the retirement years, beyond, well, Lehndorff himself. So he must have felt an attachment of whatever nature, and one that lasted through a life time, too.)
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1784
The relationship with Heinrich ended in 1791 when Tauentzien switched from Heinrich's to FW2's personal entourage. (Chronology reminder:
Ahahaha. And here I had just replied to your earlier comment that Lehndorff, our sweetie, wouldn't suck up to the person with power over his beloved Heinrich. See, Heinrich, if you weren't so psychologically damaged you could have fallen for someone who truly and demonstrably cared about you! (Though I guess the count seems to have been better, so at least he had someone nice at the end, and I also suppose that Lehndorff may just not have been witty enough to be that person even if he was the nicest of all. One loves what one loves.)
I'd forgotten he was the boyfriend that made Heinrich watch the play with his brother! Heinrich really did pick the jerks, didn't he.
...are there other good stories from the Comte's wife about the Comte and Heinrich?
So he must have felt an attachment of whatever nature, and one that lasted through a life time, too
And that's true, too! My headcanon (do you think that if we all spammed Zeibura that she would tell us something about those letters? :) ) is that Heinrich couldn't ever really fall sexually for Lehndorff in the sense of finding him madly attractive
unless he bodyswapped with Fontanebut that he did really like him, perhaps found him relaxing (unlike his actual boyfriends!), and was happy to be friends (and occasionally friends-with-benefits) with him. In any case, I am glad that they had each other <3And yet, he's still as passionately in love as that.
<3333333
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1784
All this being said, it's still a big contrast to the Comte, because De La Roche-Aymon also went on to have a splendid military career - he earned the Pour Le Merite (aka the medal Fritz had introduced which could be won regardless of social background, whereas the Black Eagle only went to noble folk) for his exceptionally bravery in 1807, i.e. years after Heinrich's death, he left the Prussian Military in order to return to the French Royal one after Napoleon's first defeat in the rank of Generalmajor, and later became a member of the Chambre de Pairs and the Commander of the Legion d'Honnneur in Restauration France. But he still remained with Heinrich until his death, and only then left.
...are there other good stories from the Comte's wife about the Comte and Heinrich?
Not beyond some general characterisation, because the anecdotes that have made it into the Wanderungen at least are about herself. (I'll get to that.) Here's how she said the Comte joined Heinrich's circle, as written by Fontane in the Rheinsberg chapters of "Wanderungen":
In 1794 a young, six-foot-tall officer of the darkest color and poorest clothing appeared in Rheinsberg and submitted a letter of recommendation to "Demoiselle Aurore," the actress of the princely court theater already mentioned. The letter contained a request to bring the bearer, the young count La Roche-Aymon, near the prince at an suitable opportunity. Demoiselle Aurore was a real French woman, lively and kind, but also a royalist and inclined to adventure; So she financed a suitable equipment from her own resources, and before a week had passed, the count was in the prince's service. He moved into an apartment in the cavalier's house and took over the command of the forty Leibhusars, who, as more than mentioned, were in Garrison at Rheinsberg as a special Prinz-Heinrichian troop. A short time later he became an adjutant to the prince. Beautiful, agile, amiable, a cavalier in the best sense of the word, he soon entered into a position of trust, and moreover a heartfelt relationship with the prince, which he had not known since Tauenzien. The count appeared to him as a gift from heaven, the evening of his life had come, but lo and behold, the sun before it departed lent him a ray of her happy light again. Count La Roche-Aymon was the Prince's last aide.
Incidentally, also worth exploring: Heinrich's actors at Rheinsberg. There's the tragic one, Blainville, who committed suicide, true, but most seem to have been glad to have found a place to stay, especially when less and less people in Germany wanted to see French plays in French, and going back to revolutionary France wasn't really an option for most of them. One actress, Maria Louise Therese Toussaint, was the daughter of Heinrich's reader and librarian (who is mentioned in Lehndorff's diary entry as reading to him and Heinrich about India while they paint), and had the dubious joy of becoming Mrs. Kaphengst in her second marriage. She'd first been married to a Sieur de Bilguer and become widowed. Speaking of portraits - as she outlived her husband by far - according to Fontane, she, like the Comtesse, made into the second half of the 19th century - she still owned one of Heinrich when she died. Not so much of her husband. Which would argue Mrs. Kaphengst, formerly actress Toussaint, did retain a fond memory of her royal patron. Meanwhile, Demoiselle Aurore still was praised by the Rheinsberg countryside people decades later, too, so Fontane's characterisation of her seems to fit, and one can imagine her taking a look at that handsome young Frenchman in distress and thinking "I know!"
Now, about the Comtesse, who was born Karoline Amalie von Zeuner, lady-in-waiting to one of FW2's daughters. (Fontane says "Princess Wilhelmine", but it can't be Wilhelmine Minor the daughter of AW and sister to FW2, since she was ruling the Netherlands at that point, so this must have been yet another Wilhelmine.) The Comte met her in Berlin in 1795 on the occasion of the Peace of Basel (aka when the allied powers recognized Revolutionary France as a state in its own right and stopped trying to restore the monarchy by invading) and married her; she returned to Rheinsberg with him and became the lady of the manor, much as poor doomed young Mrs. Tauenzien (born Elisabeth von Marschall but named Lisette by Heinrich, according to Fontane) had been. She was a blonde with hair that went to her knees (remember, this was the age where wigs were going out of fashion, another change wrought by the French Revolution) and nicknamed "Princess Golden Hair" accordingly, and between being decades older than the Comte and used to his favourites being married by then, Heinrich was charmed and liked her a lot, too. (Fontane, who met her in her old age when she was an excentric old lady who liked bossing people around still believes that, as he says she was witty, engaging and unabashedly brave. (WHen one of Napoleon III.'s faves showed up to take the estate which Heinrich had left to the Comte and her into his posseession by some legalese twisting, she just laughed at him and send him on his merry way, and despite having technically the law on his side, he caved.) She also liked to cook (as in, personally, not by setting up a menu), which was indeed very excentric for a young noblewoman in the 1790s and was seen contributing to her charm as an original.
There was one dramatic invent interrupting this idyll, which was when Heinrich's favourite nephew, Prince Louis Ferdinand went from flirting with the Comtesse to making an unmistakable pass. (Louis: son of brother Ferdinand, would inherit Rheinsberg itself from Heinrich but would die young, in battle against Napoleon in 1806. He was killed by one Jean-Baptise Guindey in personal combat, who got a medal for this but not a promotion, as Napeoleon observed a captured and alive Prince would have been preferable.) Fontane leaves it open how far things went between Louis and the Comtesse, but the Comte callenged Louis to a duel, whereupon Heinrich talked them both down and gave them a "duel = dumb", and "no matter which of you dies, both your reputations would be ruined by such a deed" speech. No duel happened, but things between the Comte and the Comtesse were never quite the same thereafter, and once he returned to France, they lived in separate households. Ototh things between both of them and Heinrich remained harmonious. De La Roche-Aymon wrote military analytical works through his remaining years with Heinrich before resuming his career post Heinrich's death. Writes Fontane:
The Count's critical-military work aroused the interest of his friend and benefactor even more than before, who took part in it in many ways and in the most thorough manner. This friendship lasted until the death of the prince, who wrote the following words down a few months before his death in his Dernières dispositions: »I want to express my gratitude to Count La Roche-Aymon for the tender affection he has given me through all the time when I was fortunate enough to have him near me,” and as is otherwise evident from almost every paragraph of these Dernières dispositions, that the count was the prince's most trustworthy person, the one closest to his heart (in his final years). The prince had chosen it correctly. According to the testimony of all those who knew him, Count La Roche-Aymon combined three chivalrous virtues in an excellent way: courage, loyalty to duty and childlike kindness.
As for the Comtesse, this is the end of Fontane's Rheinsberg chapters:
The Countess, and with that we conclude, was a proud, self-confident woman. She represented the refinement of a time now buried, a refinement that, under certain circumstances, abstracted from the mind and could put its essence into a masterful treatment of the forms. These forms were of the most engaging kind in the Countess, and their appearance corresponded to the judgment I once heard about her: "free, tactful and original at the same time". Ruling and maintaining a large household were her two passions. The more carriages held in the yard, the more comfortable her heart became, and the more lights were on in the house, the brighter sparks sparked her spirit and good mood. Thrifty otherwise and a woman whose account books had to be correct did not scare her from any sacrifice in this regard, the thought hardly touched her that it was a a sacrifice. After the custom of the time when she was young, it looked like a Noah's ark at her home, and from cockatoo down to canaries and squirrels, pretty much everything was found in her rooms. Cats and dogs were, of course, her favorites and were allowed to do anything; an arriving visitor was usually embarrassed where to take a seat, if they could find a free one at all. But with the appearance of the old Countess, everything was immediately forgotten, the disorder no longer mattered, and what had been a nuisance until then became a characteristic ornament. Her speech never stopped, and if Rheinsberg or even "the prince" became the subject of conversation, the hours passed quickly, for herself and for others.
Her death was like her life and had the same Rococo character, as the sofa on which she died or the snuff box that stood in front of her. Her favorite cat, it was said, bit her lip. From this she died (or soon after) in the eighty-ninth year, May 18, 1859.
The last representative of the Prince Heinrich period was buried with her.
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1784
I giggled! (I also giggled when you first excerpted that.)
The count appeared to him as a gift from heaven, the evening of his life had come, but lo and behold, the sun before it departed lent him a ray of her happy light again.
I know you've quoted this before, but: awwwwww <333333
one can imagine her taking a look at that handsome young Frenchman in distress and thinking "I know!"
Ha! That is a very cute story. Go Demoiselle Aurore!
WHen one of Napoleon III.'s faves showed up to take the estate which Heinrich had left to the Comte and her into his posseession by some legalese twisting, she just laughed at him and send him on his merry way, and despite having technically the law on his side, he caved.
This is a great story too. She is awesome! And I loved Fontane's last epitaph on her. <3 (Fontane is so cool!)
whereupon Heinrich talked them both down and gave them a "duel = dumb", and "no matter which of you dies, both your reputations would be ruined by such a deed" speech.
See, this is why Heinrich is my favorite <3
Thank you for all this, this was great <3
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1784
He really is, and I am sad not much of his stuff is available in English. Here are two neat articles, though, which at least give you an overview about what there is:
Neglected Books: Theodor Fontane
and
Heroine Addict
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1784
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1784
OMGGGG, we need this! Lehndorff! No Hans Hermann gossip, no Heinrich on Voltaire's memoirs anecdotes...don't you know your duty to posterity?
Heinrich got Fritz‘ permission to finally go to Paris for the first time because Gustav has threatened to visit Berlin again
Love the phrasing here.
wiki? Fontane? - claims she died in the late 1770s
!!! Yes, I thought she had died in 1776! Well. I have added an ETA to the family tree post in Rheinsberg. I'm not redoing the entire family tree until I either have more corrections to make, or I don't have back pain.
He is a telling example of where a debauched life can lead to.
A double chin? :P
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:
Hmm. I do wonder how reliable our source is on the 1782 date.
Lehndorff spots Voltaire‘s memoirs translated into German in the bookshops
Bit of chronology here: the memoirs were published in French in 1784, and were already translated into English and German by the end of the year. That shows you just how popular they were.
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.
Did not know that!
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.
<333 Aww, Lehndorff.
I suppose his inner loyal subject prevented him from doing so, but never mind, Lehndorff, Fritz can take it!
If Fritz can take Voltaire, Fritz can take Heinrich! Besides, no one's asking you to read your diary out loud to him. Just leave it for us to see in 200 years!