Naturally, Boswell visits the British envoy and his father's old pal in Berlin. Belle de Zuylen is a Dutch intellectual and writer whom Boswell flirted with when studying law at Utrecht. She flirted back but didn't take him seriously (wise her!), and definitely had no intention of marrying him.
I waited on Mr. Mitchell and found him a knowing amiable easy man. He was very polite. Te talked of Mademoiselle de Zuylen 'Elle a beaucoup d' esprit.' Oui said I trop d'esprit pour les Hollandais. And who was in the room but Mr. Verelst the Dutch envoy! Mr. Mitchell turned it off with a smiling reply. 'Monsieur, c'est un beau compliment que vous faites au Ministre d'Holland.' Blockhead that I was. Let never Man blunder out reflections against any country, when he does not very well know his company.
Joseph Yorke: British envoy to The Hague. Should have replaced Mitchell as British envoy to Prussia mid war, but Fritz wouldn't have it.
July 14: I rumbled in the Journaliere to Berin haivng for company amongst others Mademoiselle Dionsicus, daughter to the cook of Prince Ferdinand of Prussia. I talked words of German to this lass. I dined at Froment's, & after dinner went to Mr. Mitchell's. We talked of Sir Joseph Yorke, whom he calls Sir Joe. I told him that he seemed so anxious lest people should not know that he was Ambassador, that he held his head very high & spoke very little. And as i the infancy of painting people generally wrote 'this is a cow'. So from Sir Joe's mouth commeth a label with these words 'I am an Ambassador'. What a difference between this buckram knight & the amiable Mr. Mitchell.
Post-War, Fritz gave Monbijou to Louise to live in. As Schönhausen was getting renovated, EC is with her sister.
July 15: I dined at Mr. Mitchell's. He has an elegant house and a good table. He is polite and easy. His servants are good people, civil and attached to their master. After dinner, I played at billiards with Mr. Burnet, Secretary to Mr. Mitchell, a very good solid clever young fellow. At six the envoy carried me to Monbijou the campagne of the Princess of Prussia. Here I was presented to the Queen with whom the King has never lived. she has been handsome, and is very amiable, altho' she stammers sadly. I was presented to I don't know how many princes and princesses. I was akward, though not afraid.
Lawyers: Mitchell and Boswell's dad both had studied law, if you'll recall. So had Boswell, though he hadn't been too keen originally, he'd dreamt of being a soldier, romantisizing the profession.
Friday 27 July: I dined with Mr. Mitchell, who always give me agreeable views. He said that in living every man must be his own director; for, our tastes are extremely different. He said if lawyers had a fixed salary, they surely could not drudge as they do. But the little refreshing presents keep them alive. He counselled me much to pursue the law in Scotland as I might by that means attain a useful and honorable station. Yet he owned that some people could not follow that profession. I said nothing but had a secret satisfaction to find that my aversion to the law was not absolutely absurd. At six we got into his excellency's coach. I told him that the Abbé Jerusalem had wished to dispute with the King of Prussia, on Religion. Indeed said Mr. Mitchell they had better save themselves the trouble; for, the King has heard all the Abbés arguments, and the Abbé has heard all the King's, and after they have said a great deal, each will retain his own opinion. Then, Sir, said I, you think truth is at the bottom of the well. Yes, said he, and I suppose will remain there some time. We went to Monbijou and payed our respects at court. Dull enough.
So much for royal glamour. :) (Lehndorff agrees, of course.) The next person we've heard of Boswell meets through Mitchell is Formey, aka the writer of all those Academy obituaries, including Peter Keith's.
I dined at Mr. Mitchell's, where was Mr. Formey perpetual Secretary to the Academy of Sciences at Berlin. He was facetious, but vain. He talked of his books, & he talked of his lectures. He said quand vous entender le tambour a neuf heures au soir, vous pouvez dire Formey ies tdans son lit. He told us Mr. Gualteri a French Minister here was so hypochandriac that he caused tie his legs together at night, lest he should get up, and do himself some mischief. How strange a distemper is this!
In time, Boswell finds out Mitchell can get depressed, too:
September 5: We talked of Spleen. Burnet said that Mr. Mitchell was sadly distressed with it; that sometimes he would sit without speaking a word, & say Well I could not have thought that this could get so much the better of me. All this was really owing to his being costive, to prent which he took every proper method. He had his own box, which was constantly tied behind the coach, and with Mr. Locke's regularity did he attempt the necessary operation.
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Boswell in Prussia: Meeting Mr. Mitchell
Date: 2020-10-24 03:06 pm (UTC)I waited on Mr. Mitchell and found him a knowing amiable easy man. He was very polite. Te talked of Mademoiselle de Zuylen 'Elle a beaucoup d' esprit.' Oui said I trop d'esprit pour les Hollandais. And who was in the room but Mr. Verelst the Dutch envoy! Mr. Mitchell turned it off with a smiling reply. 'Monsieur, c'est un beau compliment que vous faites au Ministre d'Holland.' Blockhead that I was. Let never Man blunder out reflections against any country, when he does not very well know his company.
Joseph Yorke: British envoy to The Hague. Should have replaced Mitchell as British envoy to Prussia mid war, but Fritz wouldn't have it.
July 14: I rumbled in the Journaliere to Berin haivng for company amongst others Mademoiselle Dionsicus, daughter to the cook of Prince Ferdinand of Prussia. I talked words of German to this lass. I dined at Froment's, & after dinner went to Mr. Mitchell's. We talked of Sir Joseph Yorke, whom he calls Sir Joe. I told him that he seemed so anxious lest people should not know that he was Ambassador, that he held his head very high & spoke very little. And as i the infancy of painting people generally wrote 'this is a cow'. So from Sir Joe's mouth commeth a label with these words 'I am an Ambassador'. What a difference between this buckram knight & the amiable Mr. Mitchell.
Post-War, Fritz gave Monbijou to Louise to live in. As Schönhausen was getting renovated, EC is with her sister.
July 15: I dined at Mr. Mitchell's. He has an elegant house and a good table. He is polite and easy. His servants are good people, civil and attached to their master. After dinner, I played at billiards with Mr. Burnet, Secretary to Mr. Mitchell, a very good solid clever young fellow. At six the envoy carried me to Monbijou the campagne of the Princess of Prussia. Here I was presented to the Queen with whom the King has never lived. she has been handsome, and is very amiable, altho' she stammers sadly. I was presented to I don't know how many princes and princesses. I was akward, though not afraid.
Lawyers: Mitchell and Boswell's dad both had studied law, if you'll recall. So had Boswell, though he hadn't been too keen originally, he'd dreamt of being a soldier, romantisizing the profession.
Friday 27 July: I dined with Mr. Mitchell, who always give me agreeable views. He said that in living every man must be his own director; for, our tastes are extremely different. He said if lawyers had a fixed salary, they surely could not drudge as they do. But the little refreshing presents keep them alive. He counselled me much to pursue the law in Scotland as I might by that means attain a useful and honorable station. Yet he owned that some people could not follow that profession. I said nothing but had a secret satisfaction to find that my aversion to the law was not absolutely absurd. At six we got into his excellency's coach. I told him that the Abbé Jerusalem had wished to dispute with the King of Prussia, on Religion. Indeed said Mr. Mitchell they had better save themselves the trouble; for, the King has heard all the Abbés arguments, and the Abbé has heard all the King's, and after they have said a great deal, each will retain his own opinion. Then, Sir, said I, you think truth is at the bottom of the well. Yes, said he, and I suppose will remain there some time. We went to Monbijou and payed our respects at court. Dull enough.
So much for royal glamour. :) (Lehndorff agrees, of course.) The next person we've heard of Boswell meets through Mitchell is Formey, aka the writer of all those Academy obituaries, including Peter Keith's.
I dined at Mr. Mitchell's, where was Mr. Formey perpetual Secretary to the Academy of Sciences at Berlin. He was facetious, but vain. He talked of his books, & he talked of his lectures. He said quand vous entender le tambour a neuf heures au soir, vous pouvez dire Formey ies tdans son lit. He told us Mr. Gualteri a French Minister here was so hypochandriac that he caused tie his legs together at night, lest he should get up, and do himself some mischief. How strange a distemper is this!
In time, Boswell finds out Mitchell can get depressed, too:
September 5: We talked of Spleen. Burnet said that Mr. Mitchell was sadly distressed with it; that sometimes he would sit without speaking a word, & say Well I could not have thought that this could get so much the better of me. All this was really owing to his being costive, to prent which he took every proper method. He had his own box, which was constantly tied behind the coach, and with Mr. Locke's regularity did he attempt the necessary operation.