Oh, wow, that's interesting on at least three counts. That's the earliest reference to the nickname I've seen! It means it wasn't developed after Wilhelmine married and left, but it may have been a recent development that she hadn't gotten used to (since in ~1736 she's still referring to him as Diablotin, and Fritz, who's clearly more used to calling him Diaphane, replies with "Diablotin or Diaphane").
Maybe he did assign it himself!
Also, Suhm as a member of the Antisobriety society, lolsob. I mean, like you say, it makes sense, because if the Saxons and Prussians are setting up a society that's supposed to improve relations between them, I can see why the Saxon envoy can't exactly get out of it.
But November 1728! That's a fascinating date! Because it was October 21, 1728 that Suhm to August reported on the infamous St. Hubertus feast where FW forced Fritz to get drunk, Fritz cried that he loved FW, and Suhm had to help carry him to bed.
And if you've forgotten, this was Suhm's "baptism", which we took to mean his first hunt with the king, and he used that as an excuse to get out of having to drink every time FW took a drink. (Or he says he did; apparently Grumbkow greatly exaggerated his sobriety in his reports. But of Suhm I actually believe he tried to drink as little as possible, unlike Biberius.) And I'm supposed to believe that a couple weeks later he's a member of the Antisobres? More lolsob.
So I'm getting the impression that Manteuffel, who is not a big drinker by nature, is waaay better at adopting a persona for diplomacy's sake than Suhm, who is not a big drinker, but may be a wee bit better at being what we call "diplomatic" in English: phrasing things so as not to give offense. I find this fascinating.
But it still at least suggests that FW didn't trust Suhm and that's why Polenz was deployed in September.
Well, I mean, FW was threatening to hang him in 1727! But admittedly that was for stuff that August and his ministers did, which suggests that FW didn't *like* Suhm at all, but if by 1729, he's specifically suspicious of Suhm's intrigues, that does make sense.
And yeah, I now think Suhm was quietly trying to make the English marriages happen! Which is interesting, because I never see him mentioned in that context.
Or, alternately, no, wait, I have a better idea. The one who suspects him of intriguing with Dubourgay is FW. Maybe Suhm was just averting his eyes a lot because FW was terrifying and Suhm *wasn't* in a position of counter-power due to intriguing (unlike certain people), and that led FW to become suspicious that he was intriguing, because FW's judgment of who's intriguing is exactly like his judgment on who will raise his kids in the FW-approved way! (Admittedly the last one was more a case of him not being able to find anyone because there *was* almost no one, because the FW-approved way died at Leuctra (when the Spartans were defeated by the Thebans in the 4th century BC :P). Joking, but the point is that he was definiteliy not a man of his time).
So, headcanon: poor Suhm is terrified of FW, hates being forced to drink, is deeply in sympathy with abused Fritz but wants Fritz to try to appease FW so FW will let him leave voluntarily, and is secretly hoping the English marriage project pans out but is probably not risking a lot to make it happen, until that last offer to reconcile them (which might have been about avoiding an outbreak of war as much as anything). But it does sound like he's politically more inclined toward England than the Empire (which, remember that Suhm and most of his countrymen are Protestant--Suhm studied in Geneva--even if August and his son converted).
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Re: Le Diable: The Political Biography - B
Date: 2021-03-14 02:28 pm (UTC)Berlin members apparently sent to August in November 1728. Said letter gives a whole list of members and their nicknames beyond the big five, and among them is: "Suhm, surnommé le Diaphane". I had no idea that he was a member - given the political aspect of this Saxon/Prussian society and his position as Saxon envoy, it kind of makes sense, but, aw, poor Suhm - and that the nickname was in use there (which makes me wonder if he chose it himself).
Oh, wow, that's interesting on at least three counts. That's the earliest reference to the nickname I've seen! It means it wasn't developed after Wilhelmine married and left, but it may have been a recent development that she hadn't gotten used to (since in ~1736 she's still referring to him as Diablotin, and Fritz, who's clearly more used to calling him Diaphane, replies with "Diablotin or Diaphane").
Maybe he did assign it himself!
Also, Suhm as a member of the Antisobriety society, lolsob. I mean, like you say, it makes sense, because if the Saxons and Prussians are setting up a society that's supposed to improve relations between them, I can see why the Saxon envoy can't exactly get out of it.
But November 1728! That's a fascinating date! Because it was October 21, 1728 that Suhm to August reported on the infamous St. Hubertus feast where FW forced Fritz to get drunk, Fritz cried that he loved FW, and Suhm had to help carry him to bed.
And if you've forgotten, this was Suhm's "baptism", which we took to mean his first hunt with the king, and he used that as an excuse to get out of having to drink every time FW took a drink. (Or he says he did; apparently Grumbkow greatly exaggerated his sobriety in his reports. But of Suhm I actually believe he tried to drink as little as possible, unlike Biberius.) And I'm supposed to believe that a couple weeks later he's a member of the Antisobres? More lolsob.
So I'm getting the impression that Manteuffel, who is not a big drinker by nature, is waaay better at adopting a persona for diplomacy's sake than Suhm, who is not a big drinker, but may be a wee bit better at being what we call "diplomatic" in English: phrasing things so as not to give offense. I find this fascinating.
But it still at least suggests that FW didn't trust Suhm and that's why Polenz was deployed in September.
Well, I mean, FW was threatening to hang him in 1727! But admittedly that was for stuff that August and his ministers did, which suggests that FW didn't *like* Suhm at all, but if by 1729, he's specifically suspicious of Suhm's intrigues, that does make sense.
And yeah, I now think Suhm was quietly trying to make the English marriages happen! Which is interesting, because I never see him mentioned in that context.
Or, alternately, no, wait, I have a better idea. The one who suspects him of intriguing with Dubourgay is FW. Maybe Suhm was just averting his eyes a lot because FW was terrifying and Suhm *wasn't* in a position of counter-power due to intriguing (unlike certain people), and that led FW to become suspicious that he was intriguing, because FW's judgment of who's intriguing is exactly like his judgment on who will raise his kids in the FW-approved way! (Admittedly the last one was more a case of him not being able to find anyone because there *was* almost no one, because the FW-approved way died at Leuctra (when the Spartans were defeated by the Thebans in the 4th century BC :P). Joking, but the point is that he was definiteliy not a man of his time).
So, headcanon: poor Suhm is terrified of FW, hates being forced to drink, is deeply in sympathy with abused Fritz but wants Fritz to try to appease FW so FW will let him leave voluntarily, and is secretly hoping the English marriage project pans out but is probably not risking a lot to make it happen, until that last offer to reconcile them (which might have been about avoiding an outbreak of war as much as anything). But it does sound like he's politically more inclined toward England than the Empire (which, remember that Suhm and most of his countrymen are Protestant--Suhm studied in Geneva--even if August and his son converted).