Poor Lehndorff, his words lost, although I suppose we can't really complain that we don't have a lot left. (Still gonna complain, though.)
What I wish she'd translate and edit are Heinrich's and Ferdinand's letters to Lehndorff.
!! I didn't even know these existed! Yes I enthusiastically agree :D Also I wish we had access to all those Heinrich letters that she had access to and we don't, like the one about the family reunion ending in which parent was worse (which still totally cracks me up).
if you want to be cynical in a Fritzian way, of course this is the future King we're talking about, but at this point Lehndorff has long buried any career ambitions and is retired
Heh, yes. I don't think Lehndorff was really very good at sucking up just for politics' sake (if he were, he would presumably have gone after Fritz harder and Heinrich less, instead of the other way around!)
He just writes about his immortal grudge re: his One Who Got Away
Haha, true. Also I suppose I wrote that replying to the same comment in which he talks about Kaphengst, again :)
Omg, childbirth has a nontrivial risk of hemorrhage (which I know because if she'd lived in the 18th C, one of my friends would in fact probably have died that way, though because of modern medicine it was not a big deal) and they bled her five times too?? Yeah, she must have been extremely tough. Poor MA :( And poor Frau von Tauentzien :((
!! I didn't even know these existed! Yes I enthusiastically agree
I mean, in all fairness, I don't think there can be many of them left, otherwise they'd be listed more prominently in the archive, and if we're in bad luck, they're just notes of the "meet me tomorrow evening in the opera" type, or, conversely, travel descriptions of the "Dear Lehndorff, Russia's great, here's whom I met in St. Petersburg so far, wanna come?" type. But I'd like to know for sure.
He just writes about his immortal grudge re: his One Who Got Away
Haha, true. Also I suppose I wrote that replying to the same comment in which he talks about Kaphengst, again :)
But Kaphengst in his glory days locked himself in with the prince while letting "others" (I wonder whom he could possibly mean?) wait in the antechambre! This totally deserves a grudge!
Lehndorff & Heinrich's favourites in general:
Didn't like: Reisewitz, Kaphengst, Mara, Kalkreuth (though he softened on Kalkreuth enough to somewhat socalize with him in Königsberg now and then during the retirement years).
Was neutral to slightly hostile on: Marwitz.
Did like: Lamberg. (He's consistent there; even the 1752 diary entries where he's simultanously madly jealous say Lamberg is a nice guy.)
Thought that he should have been a favourite, because of loyalty and niceness: Ludwig v. Wreech. Wreech - who was Heinrich's chamberlain, i.e. the same job Lehndorff did for EC - shows up in Lehndorff's entries reapeatedly on the background, usually gets compared to the favourite du jour with the subtext of "if someone, why not this one who is so much more loyal and devoted than X!" and was indeed part of Heinrich's circle through the decades till his death in 1795. What I hadn't known before rereading all the Rheinsberg chapters was that he was in fact the son of the very same Madame de Wreech who FW thought would give him an illegitimate grandson, courtesy of Fritz supposedly having an affair with her in Küstrin, this lady. (No, Ludwig can't be an illegitimate Fritz kid from that time, he was born in 1734.) Fontane also says Ludwig loathed Fritz; whether the two things are connected, who knows. She had five children already when Fritz in later 1731 wrote love poetry for her (for some reason, English wiki only mentions two daughters, while German wiki mentions all seven kids), and Wilhelmine acquired the portrait Pesne painted of her in 1737, which is why it's in the Eremitage in Bayreuth today.
(Ludwig v. Wreech: Fritz wrote love poetry to my mother. Which throughout my childhood we were forced to hear recited out loud, along with her gushing about what a great man he's become. Isn't that enough reason to hate him? Heinrich: You're hired.)
Whatever opinion Lehndorff had of the Comte, I don't know yet, the biographies didn't say.
We do have plenty of Lehndorff interacting Heinrich's wife, though. He correctly never saw Mina as competition (rather the opposite; it was in the year of Heinrich's marriage that Lehndorff went from being a general friend of the Divine Trio to becoming Heinrich's friend in particular, falling in love with him and getting singled out by him), and admired her beauty, poise and conversation. During the 7 Years War, he spent a lot of time with her, not just because of the court evacuations, but he also had no problem cutting ties with her post Kalkreuth disaster, so who knows what he really felt about her. There's one entry after the battle of Rossbach where Lehndorff can't help but roll his eyes in a somewhat exasparated fashion, with the subtext of "if somoene gets to angst about Heinrich, it's me, not you!". Reminder: The battle of Rossbach was a Fritz triumph against the French; Heinrich got slightly wounded by a passing bullet.
November 6th. (1757): Our concern is at an end when we hear of the happy battle near Roßbach. It's sunday, I had made Frau v. Häseler - his future mother-in-law, whose daughter he's currently wooing - a visit, and when I want to return to the Queen, I find the streets of Magdeburg so crowded with people that it's hardly possible to get through. Through the help of my elbows, I finally reach the Queen. Everyone is shouting, everyone is embracing each other, in short, there's a great towhowabohu and the most vivid joy. The battle has been won, the French were beaten, the King is well, all this fills us with jubilating happiness. But how great is my surprise when I find the Princess - Mina - in despaire and trying very hard to faint! One had taken all from her that could burden her breath, which is why one sees her billowing bosom undisguised. I keep asking what on earth has happened, and finally I learn that Prince Heinrich has been wounded, and start to tremble. A young Schulenburg who had brought us the news of the battle had told the Princess, whom he hadn't known before, this misfortune without any blandishment, which is why her royal highness found it suitable to fall into the most extreme desparation. The officer was so surprised that he forgot everything. Finally, after many questions from all of us, he remembers that he has a letter written by the King's own hand to the minister Count Podewils with him. Immediately, light is being brought, and now one learns of the advantages the King has scored, and especially that the Prince has been wounded only slightly. After we have shouted this news into the Princess' ears three or our times - and she hears just as well as we do - she regains consciousness, and when she sees the King's handwriting, she assumes her former countenance.
This, like the obituary for Katte's Uncle Wartensleben, is another example of what I mean when I say that Lehndorff in gushing mood is adorable, but Lehndorff in bitching mood is hilarious.
while letting "others" (I wonder whom he could possibly mean?)
Heeee!
(He's consistent there; even the 1752 diary entries where he's simultanously madly jealous say Lamberg is a nice guy.)
<33333 this is why I love Lehndorff :D
(Ludwig v. Wreech: Fritz wrote love poetry to my mother. Which throughout my childhood we were forced to hear recited out loud, along with her gushing about what a great man he's become. Isn't that enough reason to hate him? Heinrich: You're hired.)
lol forever! Clearly Wreech has to show up in some story or another someone might be writing about Heinrich :P :)
After we have shouted this news into the Princess' ears three or our times - and she hears just as well as we do - she regains consciousness, and when she sees the King's handwriting, she assumes her former countenance.
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Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1783
What I wish she'd translate and edit are Heinrich's and Ferdinand's letters to Lehndorff.
!! I didn't even know these existed! Yes I enthusiastically agree :D Also I wish we had access to all those Heinrich letters that she had access to and we don't, like the one about the family reunion ending in which parent was worse (which still totally cracks me up).
if you want to be cynical in a Fritzian way, of course this is the future King we're talking about, but at this point Lehndorff has long buried any career ambitions and is retired
Heh, yes. I don't think Lehndorff was really very good at sucking up just for politics' sake (if he were, he would presumably have gone after Fritz harder and Heinrich less, instead of the other way around!)
He just writes about his immortal grudge re: his One Who Got Away
Haha, true. Also I suppose I wrote that replying to the same comment in which he talks about Kaphengst, again :)
Omg, childbirth has a nontrivial risk of hemorrhage (which I know because if she'd lived in the 18th C, one of my friends would in fact probably have died that way, though because of modern medicine it was not a big deal) and they bled her five times too?? Yeah, she must have been extremely tough. Poor MA :( And poor Frau von Tauentzien :((
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1783
I mean, in all fairness, I don't think there can be many of them left, otherwise they'd be listed more prominently in the archive, and if we're in bad luck, they're just notes of the "meet me tomorrow evening in the opera" type, or, conversely, travel descriptions of the "Dear Lehndorff, Russia's great, here's whom I met in St. Petersburg so far, wanna come?" type. But I'd like to know for sure.
He just writes about his immortal grudge re: his One Who Got Away
Haha, true. Also I suppose I wrote that replying to the same comment in which he talks about Kaphengst, again :)
But Kaphengst in his glory days locked himself in with the prince while letting "others" (I wonder whom he could possibly mean?) wait in the antechambre! This totally deserves a grudge!
Lehndorff & Heinrich's favourites in general:
Didn't like: Reisewitz, Kaphengst, Mara, Kalkreuth (though he softened on Kalkreuth enough to somewhat socalize with him in Königsberg now and then during the retirement years).
Was neutral to slightly hostile on: Marwitz.
Did like: Lamberg. (He's consistent there; even the 1752 diary entries where he's simultanously madly jealous say Lamberg is a nice guy.)
Thought that he should have been a favourite, because of loyalty and niceness: Ludwig v. Wreech. Wreech - who was Heinrich's chamberlain, i.e. the same job Lehndorff did for EC - shows up in Lehndorff's entries reapeatedly on the background, usually gets compared to the favourite du jour with the subtext of "if someone, why not this one who is so much more loyal and devoted than X!" and was indeed part of Heinrich's circle through the decades till his death in 1795. What I hadn't known before rereading all the Rheinsberg chapters was that he was in fact the son of the very same Madame de Wreech who FW thought would give him an illegitimate grandson, courtesy of Fritz supposedly having an affair with her in Küstrin, this lady. (No, Ludwig can't be an illegitimate Fritz kid from that time, he was born in 1734.) Fontane also says Ludwig loathed Fritz; whether the two things are connected, who knows. She had five children already when Fritz in later 1731 wrote love poetry for her (for some reason, English wiki only mentions two daughters, while German wiki mentions all seven kids), and Wilhelmine acquired the portrait Pesne painted of her in 1737, which is why it's in the Eremitage in Bayreuth today.
(Ludwig v. Wreech: Fritz wrote love poetry to my mother. Which throughout my childhood we were forced to hear recited out loud, along with her gushing about what a great man he's become. Isn't that enough reason to hate him? Heinrich: You're hired.)
Whatever opinion Lehndorff had of the Comte, I don't know yet, the biographies didn't say.
We do have plenty of Lehndorff interacting Heinrich's wife, though. He correctly never saw Mina as competition (rather the opposite; it was in the year of Heinrich's marriage that Lehndorff went from being a general friend of the Divine Trio to becoming Heinrich's friend in particular, falling in love with him and getting singled out by him), and admired her beauty, poise and conversation. During the 7 Years War, he spent a lot of time with her, not just because of the court evacuations, but he also had no problem cutting ties with her post Kalkreuth disaster, so who knows what he really felt about her. There's one entry after the battle of Rossbach where Lehndorff can't help but roll his eyes in a somewhat exasparated fashion, with the subtext of "if somoene gets to angst about Heinrich, it's me, not you!". Reminder: The battle of Rossbach was a Fritz triumph against the French; Heinrich got slightly wounded by a passing bullet.
November 6th. (1757): Our concern is at an end when we hear of the happy battle near Roßbach. It's sunday, I had made Frau v. Häseler - his future mother-in-law, whose daughter he's currently wooing - a visit, and when I want to return to the Queen, I find the streets of Magdeburg so crowded with people that it's hardly possible to get through. Through the help of my elbows, I finally reach the Queen. Everyone is shouting, everyone is embracing each other, in short, there's a great towhowabohu and the most vivid joy. The battle has been won, the French were beaten, the King is well, all this fills us with jubilating happiness. But how great is my surprise when I find the Princess - Mina - in despaire and trying very hard to faint! One had taken all from her that could burden her breath, which is why one sees her billowing bosom undisguised. I keep asking what on earth has happened, and finally I learn that Prince Heinrich has been wounded, and start to tremble. A young Schulenburg who had brought us the news of the battle had told the Princess, whom he hadn't known before, this misfortune without any blandishment, which is why her royal highness found it suitable to fall into the most extreme desparation. The officer was so surprised that he forgot everything. Finally, after many questions from all of us, he remembers that he has a letter written by the King's own hand to the minister Count Podewils with him. Immediately, light is being brought, and now one learns of the advantages the King has scored, and especially that the Prince has been wounded only slightly.
After we have shouted this news into the Princess' ears three or our times - and she hears just as well as we do - she regains consciousness, and when she sees the King's handwriting, she assumes her former countenance.
This, like the obituary for Katte's Uncle Wartensleben, is another example of what I mean when I say that Lehndorff in gushing mood is adorable, but Lehndorff in bitching mood is hilarious.
Re: The Lehndorff Report: 1783
Heeee!
(He's consistent there; even the 1752 diary entries where he's simultanously madly jealous say Lamberg is a nice guy.)
<33333 this is why I love Lehndorff :D
(Ludwig v. Wreech: Fritz wrote love poetry to my mother. Which throughout my childhood we were forced to hear recited out loud, along with her gushing about what a great man he's become. Isn't that enough reason to hate him? Heinrich: You're hired.)
lol forever! Clearly Wreech has to show up in some story or another someone might be writing about Heinrich :P :)
After we have shouted this news into the Princess' ears three or our times - and she hears just as well as we do - she regains consciousness, and when she sees the King's handwriting, she assumes her former countenance.
AHAHAHAHA. omg, yes, this is hilarious <3