Because I would feel like a cruel Royal Reader indeed if I didn't translate it for Mildred, instead of just summarizing it.
I previously didn't dare to protest against the commonly shared tale that (Katte) had been with the King and the Crown Prince in Wesel. But now Landrat Baron v. Hertefeld zu Boetzelaar near Xanten has been kind enough to share with me from the trustworthy narration of his late father the true circumstances of the arrest of the unfortunate Herr v. Katte. I believe my readers will thank me for sharing the both interesting and trustworthy news in this gentleman's own words.
"My father, born in the year 1709, served in the year 1730 with the Gens d'Armes at a Lieutenant, together with his unfortunate friend, Lieutenant von Katte. The later, Lieutenant von Keith and Lieutenant von Spaen were the confidants of the then crown prince, who were meant to support his escape to England. Katte remained in Berlin and was supposed to follow the Crown Prince via Leipzig through the HRE. Keith, who was stationed in Wesel, had the task to prepare the flight. Spaen, then a Lieutenant with the tall guard at Potsdam, knew about the plans but had no active part in them. The escape of the Crown Prince was supposed to happen in the moment when the King departed from Wesel; for as the Crown Prince usually travelled behind the King from their various stops, he would have won a few hours before his escape became known to the King. Katte had taken a leave of absence when the King had departed from Berlin in order to visit the countryside. He delayed his departure to the date when he supposed the King would arrive at Wesel, and the need to repair his carriage kept him a day longer than he wanted in Berlin. At the evening of his departure he met Major v. Asseburg from the Gens d'Armes who told him with a frightened face: "Are you still here? I am amazed!"
Katte replied to him: I travel this very night. Asseburg knew that a courier had brought the news of the Crown Prince's arrest, but he couldn't say more due to the distrust which was then dominating in Berlin. At night, Colonel von Pannewitz, the commander of the Gens d'Armes, received the order to arrest Lieutenant von Katte; he delayed this until morning in the hope Katte would have been escaped by then, then he sent the regiment's AD to him who still found him and brought him the order to immediately report to the Colonel. At 8 o'clock in the morning my father, who had then guard duty, the order to send a subaltern officer and four men to the Colonel's quarters; and at half past 8 Katte was brought in the Colonel's carriage in the company of the AD and the guard to my father in the Gens d'Armes guards house, with the order: he was now responsible for the prisoner with his head, to be transmitted from one officer on guard's duty to the next.
When Katte was transported to Küstrin, my father took leave of him with the words: j'espére de vous revoir bientot; and (Katte) replied: Non, mon ami, le Tyran demande du sang. He gave my father some books as presents in which he'd written his name, as a souvenir, and I still own some of them.
Spaen was arrested the very same day at Potsdam by Colonel von Kneseback. After Katte's death, he was casheered, and brought to Spandau for a yar; immedately after his release, he went to the Netherlands to serve there, and died in the year 1768 at his country estate Bellevue near KLeve, as a Generalmajor in Dutch service. He told everyone that the Crown Prince had planned to go to England in order to marry an English Princess; and that, if Katte had managed to escape, he himself would have lost his head for sure, since the raging King would have demanded another sacrifice. Frederick the Great had done nothing for Spaen after his ascension; but when he travelled to Kleve in the year 1763, he did take lodgings with General von Spaen, was very gracious and confidential towards him, reminded him of stories of their shared youth, but did not mention the year 1730 with one word; which is why General von Spaen used to joke that the King had an excellent memory right up to 1730.
Keith had been in Wesel when the Crown Prince was arrested. The later found means and ways to send a note to him, on which he'd written with a pencil: Sauvez-vous, tout es découvert. Keith recognizes the handwriting, goes to his stable, puts his saddle on his horse himself and under the pretense of a leisurely ride he happily leaves through the Brün Gate, from which he gallops until Dingden, the first village belonging to Münster, one mile away from Wesel; from there, he hurries through upper Wesel county straight the The Hague, where he goes to an ambassador - I forgot whether my father said it was the English or the French ambassador -, tells him of his fate, and pleads for his protection. The envoy promises said protection to him, and escorts him personally to the mansard roof, and orders his valet to serve this gentleman exclusively, and not to tell anyone else that there is a stranger lodging in this house. The envoy advised Keith to go to England and from there to Portugal, where foreign officers were sought after.
Meanwhile, the King was angry to the utmost degree that Keith had escaped him. At once Colonel von Dumoulin, later General lieutenant von Dumoulin, had to take up the pursuit of Keith, and he was given a letter to the King's envoy at the Hague, which ordered the later to assist Dumoulin in demanding Keith should be surrendered. Dumoulin and Meinertzhagen learned that one day a foreign officer had arrived and had gone to the envoy in question, without ever having been seen again. Their spies told them that in the mansard roof of the envoy's house, light was burning late at night, and that this room had not been used before. From these circumstances they concluded that Keith was hiding at the envoy's, and now their spy didn't let the envoy's house out of his sight. The envoy learned of this and that Keith's habit of reading late at night had given him away.
The following morning, the envoy came to Keith and told him: You are betrayed. Your King has spies after you, so be ready, I'll bring you to Scheveningen today, and everything there is ready for your transport to England. In the evening, he brought Keith in his own carriage to Scheveningen, and gave him letters of reccomendation for London, and didn't leave him until he saw him depart on a fisherman's boat. Keith happily arrived in England, from where he went into Portueguese service armed with reccommendations from the court. A few days later, Dumoulin learned by accident that Keith had escaped. He had gone to Scheveningen in order to see the fishermen arrive and was surprised that they dared to brave the sea in such little boats. One of the fishermen told him: With such a boat, we even make the trip to England; I'm just returning from there, and have transported a foreign officer. Dumoulin demanded a description of the officer, and from the circumstance that said man had been crosseyed, he concluded that it had been Keith.
Keith returned to Berlin in the year 1741, was appointed Colonel lieutenant and Master of the Horse, and became curator at the Academy of Sciences. My father knew Herr von Keith very well, and was told by him the way of his escape. V. Hertefeld."
The Escape Attempt (Nicolai Version)
I previously didn't dare to protest against the commonly shared tale that (Katte) had been with the King and the Crown Prince in Wesel. But now Landrat Baron v. Hertefeld zu Boetzelaar near Xanten has been kind enough to share with me from the trustworthy narration of his late father the true circumstances of the arrest of the unfortunate Herr v. Katte. I believe my readers will thank me for sharing the both interesting and trustworthy news in this gentleman's own words.
"My father, born in the year 1709, served in the year 1730 with the Gens d'Armes at a Lieutenant, together with his unfortunate friend, Lieutenant von Katte. The later, Lieutenant von Keith and Lieutenant von Spaen were the confidants of the then crown prince, who were meant to support his escape to England. Katte remained in Berlin and was supposed to follow the Crown Prince via Leipzig through the HRE. Keith, who was stationed in Wesel, had the task to prepare the flight. Spaen, then a Lieutenant with the tall guard at Potsdam, knew about the plans but had no active part in them. The escape of the Crown Prince was supposed to happen in the moment when the King departed from Wesel; for as the Crown Prince usually travelled behind the King from their various stops, he would have won a few hours before his escape became known to the King.
Katte had taken a leave of absence when the King had departed from Berlin in order to visit the countryside. He delayed his departure to the date when he supposed the King would arrive at Wesel, and the need to repair his carriage kept him a day longer than he wanted in Berlin. At the evening of his departure he met Major v. Asseburg from the Gens d'Armes who told him with a frightened face: "Are you still here? I am amazed!"
Katte replied to him: I travel this very night. Asseburg knew that a courier had brought the news of the Crown Prince's arrest, but he couldn't say more due to the distrust which was then dominating in Berlin. At night, Colonel von Pannewitz, the commander of the Gens d'Armes, received the order to arrest Lieutenant von Katte; he delayed this until morning in the hope Katte would have been escaped by then, then he sent the regiment's AD to him who still found him and brought him the order to immediately report to the Colonel. At 8 o'clock in the morning my father, who had then guard duty, the order to send a subaltern officer and four men to the Colonel's quarters; and at half past 8 Katte was brought in the Colonel's carriage in the company of the AD and the guard to my father in the Gens d'Armes guards house, with the order: he was now responsible for the prisoner with his head, to be transmitted from one officer on guard's duty to the next.
When Katte was transported to Küstrin, my father took leave of him with the words: j'espére de vous revoir bientot; and (Katte) replied: Non, mon ami, le Tyran demande du sang. He gave my father some books as presents in which he'd written his name, as a souvenir, and I still own some of them.
Spaen was arrested the very same day at Potsdam by Colonel von Kneseback. After Katte's death, he was casheered, and brought to Spandau for a yar; immedately after his release, he went to the Netherlands to serve there, and died in the year 1768 at his country estate Bellevue near KLeve, as a Generalmajor in Dutch service. He told everyone that the Crown Prince had planned to go to England in order to marry an English Princess; and that, if Katte had managed to escape, he himself would have lost his head for sure, since the raging King would have demanded another sacrifice. Frederick the Great had done nothing for Spaen after his ascension; but when he travelled to Kleve in the year 1763, he did take lodgings with General von Spaen, was very gracious and confidential towards him, reminded him of stories of their shared youth, but did not mention the year 1730 with one word; which is why General von Spaen used to joke that the King had an excellent memory right up to 1730.
Keith had been in Wesel when the Crown Prince was arrested. The later found means and ways to send a note to him, on which he'd written with a pencil: Sauvez-vous, tout es découvert. Keith recognizes the handwriting, goes to his stable, puts his saddle on his horse himself and under the pretense of a leisurely ride he happily leaves through the Brün Gate, from which he gallops until Dingden, the first village belonging to Münster, one mile away from Wesel; from there, he hurries through upper Wesel county straight the The Hague, where he goes to an ambassador - I forgot whether my father said it was the English or the French ambassador -, tells him of his fate, and pleads for his protection. The envoy promises said protection to him, and escorts him personally to the mansard roof, and orders his valet to serve this gentleman exclusively, and not to tell anyone else that there is a stranger lodging in this house. The envoy advised Keith to go to England and from there to Portugal, where foreign officers were sought after.
Meanwhile, the King was angry to the utmost degree that Keith had escaped him. At once Colonel von Dumoulin, later General lieutenant von Dumoulin, had to take up the pursuit of Keith, and he was given a letter to the King's envoy at the Hague, which ordered the later to assist Dumoulin in demanding Keith should be surrendered. Dumoulin and Meinertzhagen learned that one day a foreign officer had arrived and had gone to the envoy in question, without ever having been seen again. Their spies told them that in the mansard roof of the envoy's house, light was burning late at night, and that this room had not been used before. From these circumstances they concluded that Keith was hiding at the envoy's, and now their spy didn't let the envoy's house out of his sight. The envoy learned of this and that Keith's habit of reading late at night had given him away.
The following morning, the envoy came to Keith and told him: You are betrayed. Your King has spies after you, so be ready, I'll bring you to Scheveningen today, and everything there is ready for your transport to England. In the evening, he brought Keith in his own carriage to Scheveningen, and gave him letters of reccomendation for London, and didn't leave him until he saw him depart on a fisherman's boat. Keith happily arrived in England, from where he went into Portueguese service armed with reccommendations from the court. A few days later, Dumoulin learned by accident that Keith had escaped. He had gone to Scheveningen in order to see the fishermen arrive and was surprised that they dared to brave the sea in such little boats. One of the fishermen told him: With such a boat, we even make the trip to England; I'm just returning from there, and have transported a foreign officer. Dumoulin demanded a description of the officer, and from the circumstance that said man had been crosseyed, he concluded that it had been Keith.
Keith returned to Berlin in the year 1741, was appointed Colonel lieutenant and Master of the Horse, and became curator at the Academy of Sciences. My father knew Herr von Keith very well, and was told by him the way of his escape.
V. Hertefeld."