I have a theory, based on Crown Prince Fritz' "a soldier but not a mind" judgment on Valory, as to what the problem was - Valory, who was sent as envoy to FW, after all, played up his military credentials in order to make a good impression (he'd been a general), which makes sense if you need to win over a King who prizes soldierliness over everything and who doesn't like the French and accuses them of being effeminate and what not in every other sentence. Now, subsequent years show Valory was very much culturally interested, and he definitely was smart and could be witty, but I bet he kept that hidden when first meeting up with FW, and Fritz judged him by that.
Yes, of course, this must be it! That's what a really good diplomat would do if he could pull it off. (Suhm was notoriously bad at making headway with FW, and finally the Saxons decided to send someone who could join the Tobacco Parliament.)
[ETA: See also Seckendorff smuggling his books in.]
to show them that he can push thriftiness and all the economic virtues even further than the late King, which everyone thought to be impossible.
Superville: I called it!
To remind everyone, Superville on Fritz in 1739:
much wit/spirit/intelligence, but a bad heart and a terrible character. He's suspicious, stubborn, excessive, selfish, ungrateful, vicious, and unless I'm very much mistaken, will someday be even stingier than his father.
And then he got the hell out of Prussia before Fritz could become king!
The sole difference is that the father had a fetish for tall soldiers, and the son just wants good looking ones, and more of them.
That's in Voltaire's memoirs! Now, this could easily be something they both independently observed. Voltaire presents it as a difference, not with emphasis on the similarity (as noted, he never met FW). But, didn't Voltaire stay with Valory for a while around this time? I.e. when he wrote the poem about Algarotti/Lugeac as Socrates/Alcibiades? Might this have come up during their discussions?
Speaking of Lugeac, between Alcibiades hitting on Lugeac and Fritz possibly hitting on Darget (and definitely writing satiric porn about him), I've got to conclude that Valory had a habit of picking hot stuff for his staff. ;)
ETA: no, wait, I misread. This is from the anonymous report, not from Valory's post-coronation report. Hmm.
Berlin, September 1st 1740
And Voltaire doesn't arrive in Berlin until when, October? Too late to be the source, anyway. Hmmm. Could just be independent observations! Though because Voltaire makes memorable remarks and people pick them up and reuse them, I kind of want this one to have originated with him somehow. :P
Not very scientific, I know! But...Wartensleben overhears it in Cleves, conveys it in his report via super-fast courier to Manteuffel, Manteuffel is Anonymous after all? :P
In conclusion: I do suspect Anonyomous is Mantteuffel
Quite possible. Do we know who the Brunswick successor to the recently deceased Stratemann was? It would be interesting to see if we could figure anything out about him and find his envoy reports.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Valory and Mantteuffel
Date: 2021-02-20 02:37 pm (UTC)Yes, of course, this must be it! That's what a really good diplomat would do if he could pull it off. (Suhm was notoriously bad at making headway with FW, and finally the Saxons decided to send someone who could join the Tobacco Parliament.)
[ETA: See also Seckendorff smuggling his books in.]
to show them that he can push thriftiness and all the economic virtues even further than the late King, which everyone thought to be impossible.
Superville: I called it!
To remind everyone, Superville on Fritz in 1739:
much wit/spirit/intelligence, but a bad heart and a terrible character. He's suspicious, stubborn, excessive, selfish, ungrateful, vicious, and unless I'm very much mistaken, will someday be even stingier than his father.
And then he got the hell out of Prussia before Fritz could become king!
The sole difference is that the father had a fetish for tall soldiers, and the son just wants good looking ones, and more of them.
That's in Voltaire's memoirs! Now, this could easily be something they both independently observed. Voltaire presents it as a difference, not with emphasis on the similarity (as noted, he never met FW). But, didn't Voltaire stay with Valory for a while around this time? I.e. when he wrote the poem about Algarotti/Lugeac as Socrates/Alcibiades? Might this have come up during their discussions?
Speaking of Lugeac, between Alcibiades hitting on Lugeac and Fritz possibly hitting on Darget (and definitely writing satiric porn about him), I've got to conclude that Valory had a habit of picking hot stuff for his staff. ;)
ETA: no, wait, I misread. This is from the anonymous report, not from Valory's post-coronation report. Hmm.
Berlin, September 1st 1740
And Voltaire doesn't arrive in Berlin until when, October? Too late to be the source, anyway. Hmmm. Could just be independent observations! Though because Voltaire makes memorable remarks and people pick them up and reuse them, I kind of want this one to have originated with him somehow. :P
Not very scientific, I know! But...Wartensleben overhears it in Cleves, conveys it in his report via super-fast courier to Manteuffel, Manteuffel is Anonymous after all? :P
In conclusion: I do suspect Anonyomous is Mantteuffel
Quite possible. Do we know who the Brunswick successor to the recently deceased Stratemann was? It would be interesting to see if we could figure anything out about him
and find his envoy reports.