Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 20
Oct. 19th, 2020 10:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cahnYuletide signups so far:
3 requests for Frederician RPF, 2 offers
2 requests for Circle of Voltaire RPF, 3 offers !! :D :D
(I am so curious as to who the third person is!)
3 requests for Frederician RPF, 2 offers
2 requests for Circle of Voltaire RPF, 3 offers !! :D :D
(I am so curious as to who the third person is!)
Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-10-24 03:05 pm (UTC)Potsdam: July 3rd: At ten (Lord Marischal) carried me to the Parade, which was full of Prussian officers, all bold looking, all gay, all well-dressed. He presented me to the Prince of Prussia, calling me 'd'une tres bonne maison et fort galant homme' . (...) I then waited on Mr. Catt Reader to the King to whom I had a letter from M. de Zuyl He was sick & could not go out with me; but he was civil. I found him dry & even insipid. Madame de Froment & I dined téte á téte, after which we went & were shown the Palace which is magnificent. the King's Concert-Room is very elegant. We looked thro' a glass door & saw his Bedchamber, & a neat little library. All his books were bound in red turkie & handsomely gilt. They made me think of my dear Temple. They would have pleased him much. In the Antichamber were a good many books ,but our conductor would not allow us to lift any of them, for, he said, the King knew the exact place of every one of them. I saw Oeuvres of Voltaire, & a fine quarto edition of the Oeuvres du Philosophe de Sans-Souci. (...) I was in a humour of gallantry tonight. I was pleased with the romantic idea of making love to a Turk. However I talked morality at last & thought myself a Johnson. She seemed too indolent in body & too vivacious in mind to be a very rigid Lady. Besides her ideas were quite different from mine. Her Religion was of a kind very different from mine. Bless me. What are mortals!
Boswell sees Fritz, from a distance, the one way everyone could see him without getting an audience, attending a parade. Note that this was the year when Heinrich pissed him off by not saluting properly.
I rose fresh as a Ro on the Braes of Lochaber. I find that if I had got a Commission in a Highland Corps, I should have been as stout a Donald as the best of them. I waited on my good Lord Marischal, whom I found contented and as cheerful as ever. I then went to the Parade. I saw the King. It was a glorious Sight. He was dressed in a suit of plain blue, with a star, & a plain hat with a white feather. He had in his hand a cane. The sun shone brihgt. He stood before his palace, with an air of iron confidence that could not be opposed. As a loadstone moves needles, or a storm bows the lofty oaks, did Frederic the great make the Prussian officers submissive bend, as he walked majestic in the midst of them. I was in noble spirits & had a full relish of this grand scene, which I shall never forget. I felt a crowd of ideas. I beheld the King who has astonished Europe by his warlike deeds. I beheld (pleasant conceit!) the great defender of the Protestant Cause, who was being prayed for in all the Scots Kirks. I beheld the Philosophe de Sans Souci. I have really a little mind, with all my pride. For I thought one might well endure all the fatigues of war, in order to have an opportunity of appearing grand as this Monarch.
(Boswell will change his mind on this once he comes to Dresden; stay tuned.)
Friday 21 September:
The whim struck me to put on a blue bonnet, and appear quite a Scots Gentleman. I went in this dress to the parade of the Prince of Prussia. The Prince observed me & asked Scott Qu'est-ce que ce petit bonnt que porte ce monsieur la? Scott said: C'est le bonnet que portent les Gentilhommes Ecossois. The poor Prince did not like it much, nor could he think that he was a Lord's son who wore it. No matter - I was pleased, and boldly did I march upon the Parade before the Palace, where I again saw the King. But he did not look towards me. However I was pleased to have shown the first blue bonnet on the Prussian Parade.
And that's why your friends won't introduce you to Fritz, Boswell. Otoh, he gets to hang out with "Blancho", who the footnote tells me is the Swedish Ambassador Karl Julius, Count von Bohlen, and on Tudesday, September 4th, shares this spicy bit of gossip:
He entertained me much; being a fellow of knowledge and clear expression. He said the French music was a contrast to the French temper. The French are gay. their music is grave. A Frenchman never looks so serious, as when he sings a song. He said the King of Prussia had been sadly debauched in his youth: for he sued to go to the common bawdy houses as well as to divert himself with the Ladies of the Court. He is now (said Blancho) quite impotent.
Now I would say that Blancho clearly reads anonymous trashy pamphlets, but if I recall correctly the one in question while drawing the STD in his youth => now has to bottom, not top correlation does not claim brothels as well as ladies of the court for young Fritz. This strictly het version, which is exactly the one Zimmermann will provide after Fritz' death, is also interesting because it's not that Boswell censors himself when there's non-het gossip to be had. Elsewhere, with no Fritzian connection, he notes down that such and such is suspect of having "Italian habits", which the footnote says means "is gay".
On Wednesday, September 26th, Boswell, now in Anhalt, hears the story of Voltaire, Fritz and the laundry, in this form: M. Lestock. Gouv: de Prince spoke well - Le Roi de Prusse venoit un jour. Que faites vous Voltaire? Sire, j'arrange votre linge sale.
Which is a bit different to the version we know, but like the many versions of the last Fritz/Katte exchange, there's a shared core. Since Boswell is currently at a minor German court whose prince (AnhaltSophie's brother, married to Mina's sister and driving her to an early grave) isn't even in residence, it really must have spread far and wide.
When Boswell arrives at Dresden, he is well and truly shocked by the scars from the war, and his Fritz opinion plunges downwards. No more hero of the Protestant faith, for:
Tuesday 9 October:
I strolled about & viewed the city. It is finely built of freestone. It gave me great pain to see the ruins made by the Prussian bombardments. I hated the barbarous hero. He was under no necessity to bombard Dresden. It was from mere spite that he did it.
Re: Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-10-26 02:50 am (UTC)Heee. He's in good company in this opinion!
In the Antichamber were a good many books ,but our conductor would not allow us to lift any of them, for, he said, the King knew the exact place of every one of them.
Headcanon that it's because they would see that most of the pages have been cut out. :P Also headcanon that this is the reason they won't let us into the library at Sanssouci.
Qu'est-ce que
I can't see this now without thinking of little "Quecke". ;)
Now I would say that Blancho clearly reads anonymous trashy pamphlets
If so, I don't know which one! Because we had a whole discussion about why STD + surgery + impotence is in the memoirs but not the 1752 pamphlet. 1764, as of the Boswell diaries, is now the earliest date I'm aware of for this rumor. When betaing the incest porn fic, I told
but if I recall correctly the one in question while drawing the STD in his youth => now has to bottom, not top correlation does not claim brothels as well as ladies of the court for young Fritz.
All the memoirs say is "amours de passade", where the editor translates "de passade" as "of once and away." Which is not an expression I've heard before (lol, ignotum per ignotius), but the internet is telling me "once and away" means "occasionally" in British English.
But, in any case, no, no explicit brothel mentions.
This strictly het version, which is exactly the one Zimmermann will provide after Fritz' death
With the slight difference that Zimmermann says he avoided ladies of the court, at least according to your write-up. But yes, the brothels are clearly already making the rounds in the rumor mill.
When Boswell arrives at Dresden, he is well and truly shocked by the scars from the war, and his Fritz opinion plunges downwards.
Funny, the same thing happened to Andrew Mitchell. Oh, Fritz.
Re: Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-10-26 06:22 am (UTC)With the slight difference that Zimmermann says he avoided ladies of the court, at least according to your write-up. But yes, the brothels are clearly already making the rounds in the rumor mill.
True, not just ladies of the court, though - any "good" woman, because Zimmerann's Fritz is so deeply shocked by what happened to (definitely not a court lady, but a middle class lass) Doris Ritter that from this point onwards, he won't endanger any "good" woman anymore, and it's whores, whores, whores all the way.
Incidentally, other than Orzelska and Wreech, do we know of any noble lady rumor tied to young Fritz?
Funny, the same thing happened to Andrew Mitchell. Oh, Fritz.
Mitchell, of course, experienced it "live", so to speak, which must have been even worse, but he also experienced it after several years of campaigning, which supposedly hardens people.And yet. For Boswell, this and the other reminders of the recent wra, like the destroyed buildings in Wittenberg, were a first, since he was born in 1740, and was a lowland Scot, which means he didn't see such stark visual results of warfare before this journey. He had a glamorized idea of what being a soldier meant until then, too. (One entry I didn't copy was Boswell watching as a soldier gets punished the Prussian way and going !!!!!!) (Not, I hasten to add, that he couldn't have seen the same thing in the British marine, but he wasn't romantisizing sailors before.)
Re: Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-10-29 09:47 pm (UTC)Didn't you say that Ulrike was the one who told him about the Erlangen journalist Gross? And you said she must have quite the spy network? I'm betting she's heard!
True, not just ladies of the court, though - any "good" woman
Right, exactly.
Incidentally, other than Orzelska and Wreech, do we know of any noble lady rumor tied to young Fritz?
Not that I can think of. There was that other lady in Dresden, the one August got him to take in favor of leaving Orzelska alone (until she came to Berlin), but since her name is just given as Formera, I can't tell. The internet is giving me Gräfin Formera, so a countess, but only for recent sources. In lieu of further evidence, I speculate that they're transferring Orzelska's title to her. The only primary source I can find is Wilhelmine, who just says "the beautiful Formera," which made me think she was non-noble, but could go either way. Ah, Carlyle says "Formera her name, of Opera-singer kind," though with no citation given. Atm, I trust Carlyle over the 20th/21st century unscholarly-looking sources that I think are all blindly copying each other.
Other than that...? No, nothing's coming to mind. I'm guessing "Sabine" the alleged local Rheinsberg girl wasn't a noble. Hans Hermann von Katte the daughter of Hans Heinrich disguised as a son? :P (That was one crazy conspiracy theory, btw.)
Re: Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-10-30 06:07 am (UTC)I'm guessing "Sabine" the alleged local Rheinsberg girl wasn't a noble.
Nope. According to the tale the Rheinsberg staff guy spun for the tourists, Fritz was touring the surrounding countryside with Fredersdorf, both of them ravishing country girls, until true love Sabine showed up.
Re: Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-10-26 05:09 am (UTC)I can't deny that it gives me a kick whenever anyone dislikes Catt (which... everyone does? Do we have an example of anyone who liked Catt?) Still mad at him about those memoirs >:(
For I thought one might well endure all the fatigues of war, in order to have an opportunity of appearing grand as this Monarch.
Aw, Boswell. Especially given what comes later <3
However I was pleased to have shown the first blue bonnet on the Prussian Parade.
He is so cute! Like mildred, I see what you mean about him and Lehndorff being a bit alike -- I think part of it is not just that they're both really unselfconsciously curious about everything, although that's part of it -- but also they're both cheerfully unselfconscious in general :D
And I also love about him how he changes his mind unselfconsciously and dramatically about Fritz when he sees Dresden :( <3
Re: Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-10-26 06:39 am (UTC)Fritz, evidently. :) I think Thiebault is also sympathetic (though can't resist adding that he's got a better voice than Catt for reading, and of course notes that Heinrich didn't like him). Lehndorff I seem to recall is Catt neutral, i.e. when he hears about Catt's appointment as Prades' successor, he notes down the story of how Catt met Fritz (i.e. it must have been making the rounds in Berlin/Magdeburg already in 1758, despite Catt being at the front), and in it refers to him as a modest, well educated young man, but that's before he meets him. When he meets him post war, it's just "and then I met the King's reader, Henri de Catt", without saying much of anything else about him.
Wait! Zimmermann praises him.(And has heard the VERY VERY SECRET story of Fritz' suicide pills box from him, which only Catt knows, etc.)
He is so cute!
Agreed. By which I mean, I can't help being charmed by Boswell whenever I read one of his journals. And understand why a great many people very different from each other and him were, such as atheist philosopher David Hume, who memorably described him as "a friend of mine, a young gentleman very good-humoured, very agreeable, and very mad". But you can also understand why Burnet wrote to Mitchell that Boswell must not be allowed to meet Fritz. As a reminder, the quote goes: He [Boswell] teases me to get him presented to [the King of Prussia] but I find he makes such absurd Distinctions between Englishmen and Scotchmen (...) that I am certain something very ridiculous would happen on that Occasion. He has told me he must be presented as a Scotchman."
For a James Boswell fanvid, see here.
Re: Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-10-26 10:55 am (UTC):D
I don't know if you know Keith's description of him, in a letter to Rousseau from January 18th, 1765?
Boswell is a man of some position, but full of hypochondriacal and visionary ideas; he has often seen ghosts. I hope he will not fall into the hands of people who will quite turn his head. He was very pleased with the reception you gave him.
(Source, which is the book I mentioned above. It's a direct quote from his letter, therefore hopefully reliable, unlike the narration, which omits the whole journey and simply says that Boswell - the son of his old friend, the Judge, Lord Auchinleck [...], now twenty-four, clever, gay young will-of-the-wisp, [...] despatched by his father to go through a course of two years' study at the Universities of Utrecht and Leyden; but he had broken loose, and was now starting on the "grand tour" in Europe (here) - came to visit in July 1764. And that both Rousseau and Voltaire received Boswell for Milord's sake, which, huh? This book has some protagonist bias.)
Re: Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-10-29 08:39 pm (UTC)Which would be totally consistent with "dry" and "insipid"!
I think Thiebault is also sympathetic
I don't remember, but he's on my list for when I get to French. But this is what you said when we discovered his original (unabridged, unrewritten) memoirs:
Quite. It also, in combination with his diss of Catt's voice, makes me wonder whether it wasn't actually Heinrich so much who disliked Catt but Thièbault, for competitive reasons? Because Heinrich is dead when Thièbault is writing this, and so is Catt, so it's not like either of them could comment on this, and it makes Thièbault look better if he says he was cool with Catt of the bad voice, totally not envious, it was the Prince who had something against him.
But this is all speculation; maybe his sympathy was genuine (except for the snark about his voice).
Wait! Zimmermann praises him.(And has heard the VERY VERY SECRET story of Fritz' suicide pills box from him, which only Catt knows, etc.)
So Zimmermann as a character witness just reinforces my opinion of Catt... ;)
Re: Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-10-31 04:48 am (UTC)Heh. But surely if he were at all interesting Lehndorff would say something about him!
Wait! Zimmermann praises him.(And has heard the VERY VERY SECRET story of Fritz' suicide pills box from him, which only Catt knows, etc.)
LOL! I must admit I am side-eyeing this a little :P
But you can also understand why Burnet wrote to Mitchell that Boswell must not be allowed to meet Fritz.
ahahahaha yes.
That fanvid was a great intro to him! Clearly a labor of love <3
Re: Boswell in Prussia: All Things Fritz
Date: 2020-11-01 03:02 pm (UTC)Side-eye it a lot! We know that lots of people (like Kalckreuth) knew Fritz talked about poisoning himself, even if they presumably hadn't seen the box.
Remember this?
The King had told Prince Heinrich repeatedly that he'd poison himself if the news arrived that the Duke of Bevern was forced to cross the Oder. (...) Returning to the camp I met Cocceji, the AD to Field Marshal Keith, my great friend. I told him the news, and added: "So, how fares Mr. Poison?" Cocceji replied, laughing: "He lost his recipe."