What date did he meet EC, does he say? We could try cross-checking to see what Lehndorff was doing that day.
July 15, and we do have the correspondonding Lehndorff entry, which is even referenced in the footnotes. Not least because unbeknowest to Boswell, poor EC was in a dreadful state of anxiety. See, on July 17, the official engagement party for future FW2 and Elisabeth the future MESSALINA was scheduled to happen, and as of two days before, Fritz still hadn't told her whether or not she was invited/supposed to come. (Bear in mind that future FW2 is her sister's son, and Elisabeth is her brother's daughter.) Only late in the afternoon did EC finally get the okay to come to her nephew and niece's engagement party. So while Lehndorff was actually present on that occasion, he was busy sending messages back and thro to the King's household to figure out whether or not the Queen could be at the party, and thus probably did not take particular notice of Mitchell presenting a fellow Scot.
(Heinrich wasn't invited, either, due to having pissed off Fritz with the non-salute. Everyone else - Amalie, Ferdinand & wife, AW's other kids, of course, the remaining Schwedt relations, and all of the surviving Brunswick clan - had been invited eons ago.)
This was also a few days after Fritz had ordered six court ladies, including Lehndorff's Frau von Katte, to show up at Sanssouci for a reception/ball and had them transported back to Berlin in the early morning rather than either have his wife there or let them stay the night.
Travelling in the year 1764 (i.e. bear this in mind - maybe conditions were even worse in 1730/1731, or maybe they were better, what with no recent war) - here I quote from the preface (!):
Private carriages for several passengers could be hired by the well-to-do, as Boswell did for Lord Marischal and his group. Large stage coaches were run by the princes of Thurn and Taxis who had a monopoly protected by the Holy Roman emperors. These Boswell must have taken for longer stretches along major roads. Less well known are the regional coaches he used in Prussia and in Hessen once he travelled on his own. HIs descripton of the cheap public conveyance called the "journalière", which operated between Berlin and Potsdam, emphasizes its primitive construction. NO more than an open cart made of wodden planks placed over wheels, it left its passengers ata the mercy of the elements, even of tree branches at eye level. Worse than this open Postwagen were the vehicles enclosed with leather covers that let in little air and blocked the view to the outside. After Boswell banged his head against the rion rods on the roof of one of these "monstrous machines" which were part of the local "Hessen-Post", he preferred the open conveyances. But gentlemen did not use such vehicles, open or closed. Boswell carefully changed to the more respectable Extra-Post, reserved for one or two passengers, to enter Brunswick "as a gentleman" on his return visit in August. Yet the Extra-Post, more costly than the local coaches, brought new problems with it, since the wheels had to be greased at frequent intervals - an activity reported as "Smear-Gelt" (German: Schmiergeld) in Boswell's expense account. And the Extra-Post could be slower when fresh horses were not available, as Boswell was chargrined to find on his unexpectedly prolonged trip from Dresden to Gotha. The journal, furthermore, vividly shows the deplorable state of the roads, which were usually rough and bumpy. Wrapping himself up in his greatcoat against the cold, Boswell feared that he would be helpless if the coach overturned. When such an accident actually happened, on the way to Kassel, he and the other passengers were left in a ditch, in the dark, and in the rain. Nor was there much choice of routes even between major places. Boswell, having travelled from Leipzig to Dresden, had to return to Leipzig before he could take the main route south to Gotha ,Mannheim and Karlsruhe. A fw days later, in Langensalza, the roads 'overflowed' with liquid mud. Prhaps that was why Boswell accepted an invitation in Langensalza to ride in a coach for even a short distance. Possibly for the same reason, he engaged a sedan chair in Kassel. Safety in the town and city streets were also a concern. IN Bruswick, no one was allowed on the street ata night without a light, as Boswell discovered when he came close to being arrested (undismayed, he considered the experience "an adventure"). In Leipzig, the famous bridge with its elaborate one-way system for pedestrians and vehicles inspired him to write down the regulations for the flow of traffic. And lodgings for travellers varied considerably in quality. They could be pleasantly luxurious, as they were for Boswell in Berlin, but inns en route were often as uncomfortable as the vehicles. On the way to Frankfurt, where he had his worst experience, he lodged in a room with fourteen other adults and three children, though being acknowledged as "Herr Baron von Boswell", he was given the one available bed. On several occasions, seeking better air, Boswell chose to sleep on a bare floor or on straw - even i a stable in spite of the possible danger of being trampled by the horses. Fortunately, he had the courage and resilience required of travellers, especially in the autumn and winter months.
I'll say. For another contemporary source of travelling, might I suggest Lady Mary's Embassy Letters? She does cross the HRE and France en route to Turkey, twice, in 1717 and 1718, which is just a little more than a decade before your planned story. Of course, as a lady and an English envoy's wife she travels in private coach throughout, and also brings with her her own sheets and bed to use in the inns to keep the flees etc. at bare minimum. But she does stay in inns; only if she and her husband stay anywhere longer, as for example in Vienna, do they rent a house, and in Hannover they are staying with friends.
Both Boswell and Boswell's editor provide as much detail on the poc he meets as on the white folks, thankfully. And he doesn't use the term "menagerie" for George Keith's household at all.
Madame d'Argens: both the footnote and the Trier website disagree with her being "forced" to learn; see also Casanova's quite different take on D'Argens and wife a year years later when he meets them in France. Given that Lord Marischal is Boswell's source for this, I suspect Friend of Fritz George Keith was indulging in a very Fritzian take and exaggaration for satiric purposes.
Re: Boswell in Prussia: Generalities & George Keith, Lord Marischal
July 15, and we do have the correspondonding Lehndorff entry, which is even referenced in the footnotes. Not least because unbeknowest to Boswell, poor EC was in a dreadful state of anxiety. See, on July 17, the official engagement party for future FW2 and Elisabeth the future MESSALINA was scheduled to happen, and as of two days before, Fritz still hadn't told her whether or not she was invited/supposed to come. (Bear in mind that future FW2 is her sister's son, and Elisabeth is her brother's daughter.) Only late in the afternoon did EC finally get the okay to come to her nephew and niece's engagement party. So while Lehndorff was actually present on that occasion, he was busy sending messages back and thro to the King's household to figure out whether or not the Queen could be at the party, and thus probably did not take particular notice of Mitchell presenting a fellow Scot.
(Heinrich wasn't invited, either, due to having pissed off Fritz with the non-salute. Everyone else - Amalie, Ferdinand & wife, AW's other kids, of course, the remaining Schwedt relations, and all of the surviving Brunswick clan - had been invited eons ago.)
This was also a few days after Fritz had ordered six court ladies, including Lehndorff's Frau von Katte, to show up at Sanssouci for a reception/ball and had them transported back to Berlin in the early morning rather than either have his wife there or let them stay the night.
Travelling in the year 1764 (i.e. bear this in mind - maybe conditions were even worse in 1730/1731, or maybe they were better, what with no recent war) - here I quote from the preface (!):
Private carriages for several passengers could be hired by the well-to-do, as Boswell did for Lord Marischal and his group. Large stage coaches were run by the princes of Thurn and Taxis who had a monopoly protected by the Holy Roman emperors. These Boswell must have taken for longer stretches along major roads. Less well known are the regional coaches he used in Prussia and in Hessen once he travelled on his own. HIs descripton of the cheap public conveyance called the "journalière", which operated between Berlin and Potsdam, emphasizes its primitive construction. NO more than an open cart made of wodden planks placed over wheels, it left its passengers ata the mercy of the elements, even of tree branches at eye level.
Worse than this open Postwagen were the vehicles enclosed with leather covers that let in little air and blocked the view to the outside. After Boswell banged his head against the rion rods on the roof of one of these "monstrous machines" which were part of the local "Hessen-Post", he preferred the open conveyances. But gentlemen did not use such vehicles, open or closed. Boswell carefully changed to the more respectable Extra-Post, reserved for one or two passengers, to enter Brunswick "as a gentleman" on his return visit in August. Yet the Extra-Post, more costly than the local coaches, brought new problems with it, since the wheels had to be greased at frequent intervals - an activity reported as "Smear-Gelt" (German: Schmiergeld) in Boswell's expense account. And the Extra-Post could be slower when fresh horses were not available, as Boswell was chargrined to find on his unexpectedly prolonged trip from Dresden to Gotha.
The journal, furthermore, vividly shows the deplorable state of the roads, which were usually rough and bumpy. Wrapping himself up in his greatcoat against the cold, Boswell feared that he would be helpless if the coach overturned. When such an accident actually happened, on the way to Kassel, he and the other passengers were left in a ditch, in the dark, and in the rain. Nor was there much choice of routes even between major places. Boswell, having travelled from Leipzig to Dresden, had to return to Leipzig before he could take the main route south to Gotha ,Mannheim and Karlsruhe. A fw days later, in Langensalza, the roads 'overflowed' with liquid mud. Prhaps that was why Boswell accepted an invitation in Langensalza to ride in a coach for even a short distance. Possibly for the same reason, he engaged a sedan chair in Kassel.
Safety in the town and city streets were also a concern. IN Bruswick, no one was allowed on the street ata night without a light, as Boswell discovered when he came close to being arrested (undismayed, he considered the experience "an adventure"). In Leipzig, the famous bridge with its elaborate one-way system for pedestrians and vehicles inspired him to write down the regulations for the flow of traffic. And lodgings for travellers varied considerably in quality. They could be pleasantly luxurious, as they were for Boswell in Berlin, but inns en route were often as uncomfortable as the vehicles. On the way to Frankfurt, where he had his worst experience, he lodged in a room with fourteen other adults and three children, though being acknowledged as "Herr Baron von Boswell", he was given the one available bed. On several occasions, seeking better air, Boswell chose to sleep on a bare floor or on straw - even i a stable in spite of the possible danger of being trampled by the horses. Fortunately, he had the courage and resilience required of travellers, especially in the autumn and winter months.
I'll say. For another contemporary source of travelling, might I suggest Lady Mary's Embassy Letters? She does cross the HRE and France en route to Turkey, twice, in 1717 and 1718, which is just a little more than a decade before your planned story. Of course, as a lady and an English envoy's wife she travels in private coach throughout, and also brings with her her own sheets and bed to use in the inns to keep the flees etc. at bare minimum. But she does stay in inns; only if she and her husband stay anywhere longer, as for example in Vienna, do they rent a house, and in Hannover they are staying with friends.
Both Boswell and Boswell's editor provide as much detail on the poc he meets as on the white folks, thankfully. And he doesn't use the term "menagerie" for George Keith's household at all.
Madame d'Argens: both the footnote and the Trier website disagree with her being "forced" to learn; see also Casanova's quite different take on D'Argens and wife a year years later when he meets them in France. Given that Lord Marischal is Boswell's source for this, I suspect Friend of Fritz George Keith was indulging in a very Fritzian take and exaggaration for satiric purposes.