. And of course, studying is different from actually being in the loop and getting to act and I can see how Fritz might not have gone for the latter. Still, I'm wondering if some of this was another case of mismatched expectations.
Probably. In essence, AW hoped to be a post-Mondale Vice President, while Fritz was fine with him being a pre-Mondale style Vice President (i.e. not doing anything but cutting ribbons - and in Prussia's case, drilling regiments - in terms of active politics). Given that Fritz also treated FW2 this way, with the result that FW2 was entirely dependent on his advisors when starting his reign. To be fair, this is hardly a Fritz or Hohenzollern- only phenomenon, this inability of a man of power to actually delegate some power to his likely successor so that the sucessor can train. Men (and women) of power were more likely to squash any potential successors than not (see also: Bismarck creating a system that depended on him, or someone like him, keeping the balances, while simultanously not allow any able future potential chancellors to rise, with the result that we got Willy taking over). It's much harder to think of powerful people able to confront their mortality in time to look out and train successors, with the one example of such a great exception I can think of being Richelieu, whose instinct and ambition and hunger for power were certainly not lesser than Fritz' (and Bismarck's, etc.), but who was thoughtful enough to spot young Giulio Mazarini as someone with potential, bring him to France, train him, with the result that when he died, he could ask Louis XIII to appoint Mazarin as PM in his place, thus ensuring a smooth transition of power.
(Fritz to Heinrich, in the 1780s: Richelieu was THE WORST! Stop calling him a great man!)
(By the way, does Ziebura mention a kerfuffle (somebody being indiscreet with information?) happening in late 1742, early 1743?
No. I just checked, and late 1742 is covered by AW getting appointed as Commander of the Spandau-stationed regiment Derschau at the end of November and getting gifted Oranienburg in December.
Huh. Any great ideas?
AW adresses four major subsections: 1. Von der Verwaltung des Staates und der Finanzen . 2. Von der Religion . 3. Über den Hof. 4. Von dem Theater und den Vergnügungen .
The first one includes a reordering of the departments of the general directory responsible for state administration, which consists of four at this point; AW thinks it should be five, with newly acquired Silesia getting an extra one. (Fritz just gave it special status, so it wasn't administred by the general directory.) The ministers of the indidividual departments should be given more responsibility (delegate, Fritz! Delegate! will be a theme of Heinrich's later reform suggestions as well), and while they clearly should be punished severely if they enrich themselves at their province's expense, AW thinks the general salary for the civil servants should be raised to prevent temptation, as it's currently quite miserly. also, ministers in general should be like Louis XIV's minister Colbert, travelling through the provinces and reporting to the King in great detail all the time.
AW also wants to limit the King's authority over trade. Instead, there should be a separate ministry and department for trade, consisting of a "Collegium" with two representatives chosen by the merchants' guilds from each of big Prussian cities plus one chosen representative for the Jews living in Prussia (!) who should each have a seat and a vote, and should supervise the taxing of foreign goods when imported, and prohibit the exploitaton of monopolies.
Finally, AW thinks that if the King insists on leading his armies himself, then he should appoint a prince of the royal family as regent to govern in his absence in war time. HINT. HINT.
The subsection "Religion" is also interesting because it shows that AW in the mid 1740s is still influenced by Dad in this regard more than by Fritz, in that he thinks that since the King is head and protector of the Protestant faith in Prussia, he should attend church services regularly and present a good example to the faithful. Also, while Catholics should be allowed to live in Prussia, they do need special supervision because that faith just is Up To No Good.
Subsection "Court", otoh, shows AW unlike Fritz thinks the Queen Regnant (i.e. EC, or in AW's case Louise) should be given a greater budget than the Queen Mother and given preference to her in general, not the other way around. Since AW was not in love with his wife, this is all the more interesting. (It's also one of the very few hints he might have had a bit of a critical opinion of SD at times. Otherwise, like the rest of his brothers, he goes out of his way to make her happy, see also her visit to Oranienburg, the description of which by Pöllnitz Fontane quotes in his "Wanderungen".) AW also thoughtfully allows for the existence of a Maitresse en titre but thinks she, too, should in no way be treated in preference ot the Queen (let alone be given a greater budget.) Also younger sibs Amalie and Heinrich should be given a greater budget each, Fritz. Oh, and no exclusively male court events (like, say, at Sanssouci. Or for that matter the Tobacco Parliament, Dad.) Female courtiers are essential to keep the tone and company refined intead of barack-like.) (BTW, note that Heinrich, despite loathing marriage no less than Fritz and being just as gay, agrees. His little court at Rheinsberg will always include women as well, not just the wives of his boyfriends, either.)
And I think Fritz was torn here as well - demanding freedom to act as souvereign and trying to educate his brothers for example (not to mention his "I know no family in military matters"), but also wanting an easy and fraternal relationship with them, and AW in particular, which he didn't get. I believe that he saw what AW and Heinrich (and even Ferdinand) had with each other and was somewhat envious there - yes, he did have a similiarly close relationship with Wilhelmine, but she was far away and she wasn't a brother - and he might have felt like AW chose Heinrich over him as the person to be close to.
Agreed. (And when I read that teenage Heinrich gets his marching orders before AW does in the Silesian War my own suspicion was that Fritz was trying to play a little divide and rule there, which didn't work if that's what he intended, i.e. instead of resenting Heinrich for being called to join earlier, AW just saw it as judgment on himself.) I think when Fritz started to approach AW in the 1730s, it was from a variety of motives - Grumbkow had explicitly told him the King would like it if he made some efforts with his brothers instead of being just close to Wilhelmine, whom he on the contrary needed some boundaries with; he needed an ally at court and AW was already the family go to person if one wanted something from Dad; having a good relationship with AW might prevent AW being used as a rival successor; but also, he had lived with a close sibling relationship all his life, and he was lonely without one. But the odds were working against him there. I mean, from the quotes I've seen of the 1730s young AW letters, he thought Fritz was the coolest and was happy to help him out. But they didn't see each other that often, and Heinrich was the one AW was actually living with (ditto little Ferdinand, of course), and as Fritz himself would later write re: himself and Wihelmine in those 1758 letters to Heinrich, there's no bond like that of siblings who were raised together. Once Fritz was actually King, the power differential worked as an additional impediment to having a normal fraternal relationship.
In a way, Fritz concluding that AW chooses Heinrich over him and resenting this also echoes FW's idea that his oldest should be closest to him and massive disappointment and resentment when the kid is closer to Mom and Wilhelmine (and, well, everyone showing him affection instead of yelling) instead - I mean, it's hard to see in either case how else it could have gone (unless the prince in question would have been an opportunist craving closeness only to the most powerful person around) given the circumstances, on some level they must have known that, and yet.
, not least because Fritz for one listed "G2 treated FW with contempt" as one of his reasons for starting the First Silesian War in his History of My Time. He even expands on that and says that Uncle George called FW "Brother Corporal" and a "King of Country Roads and the Empire's Arch-Sand-Distributor". I'm really wondering where he got that from.
At a guess, FW himself? BTW, FW, no slouch in the insult department, as far as I know returned the favor by referring to G2 as his brother the Petit-Maitre. It's interesting that Hervey, who devotes several paragraphs in his memoirs to G2's loathing for FW, does not include any of these specific insults, though. Their almost duel in 1729 gets blamed on both of them being as bad as each other instead, and on a later occasion, to wit, Philipsburg, we get this gem:
The King's love for armies, his contempt for civil affairs, and the great capacity he thought he possessed for military exploits, inclined him still with greater violence to be meddling, and warped him yet more to the side of war. He used almost daily and hourly, during the beginning of this summer, to be telling Sir Robert Walpole with what eagerness he glowed to pull the laurels from the brows of the French generals, to bind his own temples ; that it was with the sword alone he desired to keep the balance of Europe, that war and action were his sole pleasures ; that age was coming fast upon him ; and that, if he lost the opportunity of this bustle, no other occasion possibly might offer in which he should be able to distinguish himself, or gather those glories which were now ready at his hand. He could not bear, he said, the thought of growing old in peace, and rusting in the cabinet, whilst other princes were busied in war and shining in the field; but what provoked him most of all, he confessed, was to reflect that, whilst he was only busied in treaties, letters, and despatches, his booby brother, the brutal and cowardly King of Prussia, should pass his time in camps, and in the midst of armies, neither desirous of the glory nor fit for the employment; whilst he, who coveted the one and was trained for the other, was, for cold prudential reasons, debarred the pleasure of indulging his inclination, and deprived of the advantage of showing his abilities.
So what Hervey recalls G2 calling FW is a coward, cruel and an idiot, which is both worse and different than "Brother Corporal" and the sandbox of the realm slight Fritz lists, which I find interesting. Now of course it's possible G2 used the milder insults in public (and thus they got reported to FW and after him Fritz via spies) while using the worse insults to interactions with Sir Robert Walpole, his PM, and thus Team Prussia never found out about them. (Walpole telling his ally Hervey but not others.) But it's also possible Fritz himself chose to be discreet in the Histoire.
Biche - I totally forgot to mention that her Austria adventure gets a shout-out!
Awww. You know, "The Adventures of Biche" would actually make a good topic for a children's book, and I'm surprised no one has written one yet, especially in the Fritz adoring 19th and early 20th century. (Or mabe they did, and we just don't know it yet.) This quote is also great because it tells us which servant was in charge of her during the Soor raid.
Of course, now I also can't help recalling that Fritz' (and Heinrich's) laundry was stolen on that occasion as well, hence AW writing to Ferdinand that "the King and Heinrich are wearing my shirts". :)
I feel like this particular bit wasn't Fritz' problem exactly.
No. I just checked, and late 1742 is covered by AW getting appointed as Commander of the Spandau-stationed regiment Derschau at the end of November and getting gifted Oranienburg in December.
Okay. Hm. Fritz at the end of January '43: I wish I could be useful to you. [Now there's a turn-around, that's usually AW's line.] I'm not as vengeful as you think and know to distinguish indiscretion from malice. The only consequence is that one has to beware of people who can't keep their mouth shut and only tell them things everybody already knows. But let's not talk about the past anymore. And then the next letter from May: It was natural that given my honest love for you, I suffered some displeasure this winter, which came from a direction I least expected. But I assure you, everything is forgotten, and you shall never notice any resentment from me towards you as long as you live. Feel free to come here whenever you want. Which kind of sounds to me like someone in AW's circle (I hope not AW himself) might have talked about things they shouldn't have? AW's letters seem to be lost, since Volz doesn't know more either, but I wanted to put it out there in case anyone comes across something in the future. Mysteries in letters are intriguing. (And frustrating.)
AW thinks that if the King insists on leading his armies himself, then he should appoint a prince of the royal family as regent to govern in his absence in war time. HINT. HINT.
Heee.
Also, interesting, because he was so determined to join Fritz in the previous war and not particularly impressed with the "I want to protect you as the heir, so stay in Berlin" argument, but this suggests that he'd be fine with staying at home and not earning military honours as long as he feels like he gets to do something else that's useful. I know you said before that he became rather disenchanted with the whole idea of going to war and this fits right in. (Also fits my impression from his 1756/57 Mina letters that he was very torn - maybe without being quite aware of it - because he really seemed to hate war and like he wanted to be anywhere else, but also felt like he desperately needed to gain honour and usefulness as a commander.)
"Religion" is also interesting because it shows that AW in the mid 1740s is still influenced by Dad in this regard more than by Fritz
Yeah, also an impression I got, even with Volz' explicitely editing the topic (but largely on the Fritz side I suspect). There are repeated mentions of AW attending religious events, especially around Lent/Easter, and one time where Fritz point blank tells him that AW can do what he wants, but he, Fritz, is NOT going to attend anything, thank you, because he doesn't believe and doesn't want to be a hypocrite.
You know, "The Adventures of Biche" would actually make a good topic for a children's book,
True. I like that idea!
recalling that Fritz' (and Heinrich's) laundry was stolen on that occasion as well
One reason why I want to know if AW commented on Fritz' choice of example at all. (But as we've established, he hardly would have teased him about it, which is too bad.)
These are indeed intriguing quotes, and I'm tempted to say if an expert like Volz didn't find an explanation, we won't, either, but! Considering no one before us seems to have picked up on Fritz lying to Katte about being pressed to marry an Archduchess, this does not need to be true.
Which kind of sounds to me like someone in AW's circle (I hope not AW himself) might have talked about things they shouldn't have?
Yes, that's what it sounds like to me, too. Now for some speculation about possible subjects. I don't think it can be anything political or military, since AW hadn't been told anything in this regard to begin with, and so his circle couldn't have learned something from him (deliberately or accidentally), either. What was he as of the end of 1742 in a position to know that found its way back to Fritz in the winter causing "some displeasure" but seems to have been sincerely forgiven, given that Fritz does not bring it up in later years as an example of AW wronging him?
Possibilities:
1) The aborted France/Straßburg trip. AW, who had been a member of the party, could have talked to people about it, and given that we've seen he either somewhat exaggarates or was under a mistaken impression about the (not) arrest when writing down the trip for his newborn son in 1744, he might have included this in a story told to his friends, too, who in turn talked about it to someone else. Fritz didn't exactly keep that trip secret, he described it to Voltaire and others in letters, after all, but he might not wanted it to be told in the AW version by people not belonging to his own circle? (Would also provide yet another reason why AW gets edited out years later when Fritz mentions the trip to others.
2) Anything to do with their family horror show of the FW years, possibly something that didn't sound too bad for AW but was to Fritz?
3) Considered by me but regretfully abandoned, because AW wasn't with the army in the summer of 1741 and thus would not have known: the Handsome Hussar Georgii/Frederdorf Temporarily Out of The Tent affair.
4) Possibly something to do with Fritz and EC. it's the date more than anything that makes me wonder, because 1742 is AW's first year of marriage to EC's sister. Yes, the marriage itself is a political arrangement and he'll get more distant, not closer to his wife in time, but in the first year, and before Mina or Sophie von Pannewitz (later Voss) are an issue, and with the "male heirs NOW!" pressure, he must have spent considerable time with his new wife. So maybe they talked about their siblings, and AW said something along the line that he doesn't think (as opposed to what EC still believed) this then new separation was just because of the war but that Fritz really means it to be permanent, or, well, anything, and Louise told this to EC, who was the unexpected corner from which Fritz heard it in the winter?
Also, interesting, because he was so determined to join Fritz in the previous war and not particularly impressed with the "I want to protect you as the heir, so stay in Berlin" argument, but this suggests that he'd be fine with staying at home and not earning military honours as long as he feels like he gets to do something else that's useful. I know you said before that he became rather disenchanted with the whole idea of going to war and this fits right in.
And let's not forget, the second Silesian War included the experience (for Fritz, AW and Heinrich at the same time) of nearly dying and seeing Heinrich's page getting his head torn off by a shot that could have easily killed the rest of them as well. There's a big difference between playing soldier because Dad and your entire society has raised you to believe this was the highest purpose for a man and experiencing a war this way. I think AW after the second Silesian War must have lived through an increasing disconnected with the values he was raised with, and even the slightly different ones of Fritz' Prussia (but not different in this key regard), and the increasing realisation that he didn't enjoy war and heroics. Plus there was the inescapable problem that distinguishing yourself militarily was the only option for a prince in Prussia to achieve anything. There wasn't an alternative career available.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Fritz/AW Correspondence
Date: 2021-04-25 06:42 am (UTC)Probably. In essence, AW hoped to be a post-Mondale Vice President, while Fritz was fine with him being a pre-Mondale style Vice President (i.e. not doing anything but cutting ribbons - and in Prussia's case, drilling regiments - in terms of active politics). Given that Fritz also treated FW2 this way, with the result that FW2 was entirely dependent on his advisors when starting his reign. To be fair, this is hardly a Fritz or Hohenzollern- only phenomenon, this inability of a man of power to actually delegate some power to his likely successor so that the sucessor can train. Men (and women) of power were more likely to squash any potential successors than not (see also: Bismarck creating a system that depended on him, or someone like him, keeping the balances, while simultanously not allow any able future potential chancellors to rise, with the result that we got Willy taking over). It's much harder to think of powerful people able to confront their mortality in time to look out and train successors, with the one example of such a great exception I can think of being Richelieu, whose instinct and ambition and hunger for power were certainly not lesser than Fritz' (and Bismarck's, etc.), but who was thoughtful enough to spot young Giulio Mazarini as someone with potential, bring him to France, train him, with the result that when he died, he could ask Louis XIII to appoint Mazarin as PM in his place, thus ensuring a smooth transition of power.
(Fritz to Heinrich, in the 1780s: Richelieu was THE WORST! Stop calling him a great man!)
(By the way, does Ziebura mention a kerfuffle (somebody being indiscreet with information?) happening in late 1742, early 1743?
No. I just checked, and late 1742 is covered by AW getting appointed as Commander of the Spandau-stationed regiment Derschau at the end of November and getting gifted Oranienburg in December.
Huh. Any great ideas?
AW adresses four major subsections: 1. Von der Verwaltung des Staates und der Finanzen .
2. Von der Religion .
3. Über den Hof.
4. Von dem Theater und den Vergnügungen .
The first one includes a reordering of the departments of the general directory responsible for state administration, which consists of four at this point; AW thinks it should be five, with newly acquired Silesia getting an extra one. (Fritz just gave it special status, so it wasn't administred by the general directory.) The ministers of the indidividual departments should be given more responsibility (delegate, Fritz! Delegate! will be a theme of Heinrich's later reform suggestions as well), and while they clearly should be punished severely if they enrich themselves at their province's expense, AW thinks the general salary for the civil servants should be raised to prevent temptation, as it's currently quite miserly. also, ministers in general should be like Louis XIV's minister Colbert, travelling through the provinces and reporting to the King in great detail all the time.
AW also wants to limit the King's authority over trade. Instead, there should be a separate ministry and department for trade, consisting of a "Collegium" with two representatives chosen by the merchants' guilds from each of big Prussian cities plus one chosen representative for the Jews living in Prussia (!) who should each have a seat and a vote, and should supervise the taxing of foreign goods when imported, and prohibit the exploitaton of monopolies.
Finally, AW thinks that if the King insists on leading his armies himself, then he should appoint a prince of the royal family as regent to govern in his absence in war time. HINT. HINT.
The subsection "Religion" is also interesting because it shows that AW in the mid 1740s is still influenced by Dad in this regard more than by Fritz, in that he thinks that since the King is head and protector of the Protestant faith in Prussia, he should attend church services regularly and present a good example to the faithful. Also, while Catholics should be allowed to live in Prussia, they do need special supervision because that faith just is Up To No Good.
Subsection "Court", otoh, shows AW unlike Fritz thinks the Queen Regnant (i.e. EC, or in AW's case Louise) should be given a greater budget than the Queen Mother and given preference to her in general, not the other way around. Since AW was not in love with his wife, this is all the more interesting. (It's also one of the very few hints he might have had a bit of a critical opinion of SD at times. Otherwise, like the rest of his brothers, he goes out of his way to make her happy, see also her visit to Oranienburg, the description of which by Pöllnitz Fontane quotes in his "Wanderungen".) AW also thoughtfully allows for the existence of a Maitresse en titre but thinks she, too, should in no way be treated in preference ot the Queen (let alone be given a greater budget.) Also younger sibs Amalie and Heinrich should be given a greater budget each, Fritz. Oh, and no exclusively male court events (like, say, at Sanssouci. Or for that matter the Tobacco Parliament, Dad.) Female courtiers are essential to keep the tone and company refined intead of barack-like.) (BTW, note that Heinrich, despite loathing marriage no less than Fritz and being just as gay, agrees. His little court at Rheinsberg will always include women as well, not just the wives of his boyfriends, either.)
And I think Fritz was torn here as well - demanding freedom to act as souvereign and trying to educate his brothers for example (not to mention his "I know no family in military matters"), but also wanting an easy and fraternal relationship with them, and AW in particular, which he didn't get. I believe that he saw what AW and Heinrich (and even Ferdinand) had with each other and was somewhat envious there - yes, he did have a similiarly close relationship with Wilhelmine, but she was far away and she wasn't a brother - and he might have felt like AW chose Heinrich over him as the person to be close to.
Agreed. (And when I read that teenage Heinrich gets his marching orders before AW does in the Silesian War my own suspicion was that Fritz was trying to play a little divide and rule there, which didn't work if that's what he intended, i.e. instead of resenting Heinrich for being called to join earlier, AW just saw it as judgment on himself.) I think when Fritz started to approach AW in the 1730s, it was from a variety of motives - Grumbkow had explicitly told him the King would like it if he made some efforts with his brothers instead of being just close to Wilhelmine, whom he on the contrary needed some boundaries with; he needed an ally at court and AW was already the family go to person if one wanted something from Dad; having a good relationship with AW might prevent AW being used as a rival successor; but also, he had lived with a close sibling relationship all his life, and he was lonely without one. But the odds were working against him there. I mean, from the quotes I've seen of the 1730s young AW letters, he thought Fritz was the coolest and was happy to help him out. But they didn't see each other that often, and Heinrich was the one AW was actually living with (ditto little Ferdinand, of course), and as Fritz himself would later write re: himself and Wihelmine in those 1758 letters to Heinrich, there's no bond like that of siblings who were raised together. Once Fritz was actually King, the power differential worked as an additional impediment to having a normal fraternal relationship.
In a way, Fritz concluding that AW chooses Heinrich over him and resenting this also echoes FW's idea that his oldest should be closest to him and massive disappointment and resentment when the kid is closer to Mom and Wilhelmine (and, well, everyone showing him affection instead of yelling) instead - I mean, it's hard to see in either case how else it could have gone (unless the prince in question would have been an opportunist craving closeness only to the most powerful person around) given the circumstances, on some level they must have known that, and yet.
, not least because Fritz for one listed "G2 treated FW with contempt" as one of his reasons for starting the First Silesian War in his History of My Time. He even expands on that and says that Uncle George called FW "Brother Corporal" and a "King of Country Roads and the Empire's Arch-Sand-Distributor". I'm really wondering where he got that from.
At a guess, FW himself? BTW, FW, no slouch in the insult department, as far as I know returned the favor by referring to G2 as his brother the Petit-Maitre. It's interesting that Hervey, who devotes several paragraphs in his memoirs to G2's loathing for FW, does not include any of these specific insults, though. Their almost duel in 1729 gets blamed on both of them being as bad as each other instead, and on a later occasion, to wit, Philipsburg, we get this gem:
The King's love for armies, his contempt for civil affairs, and the great capacity he thought he possessed for military exploits, inclined him still with greater violence to be meddling, and warped him yet more to the side of war. He used almost daily and hourly, during the beginning of this summer, to be telling Sir Robert Walpole with what eagerness he glowed to pull the laurels from the brows of the French generals, to bind his own temples ; that it was with the sword alone he desired to keep the balance of Europe, that war and action were his sole pleasures ; that age was coming fast upon him ; and that, if he lost the opportunity of this bustle, no other occasion possibly might offer in which he should be able to distinguish himself, or gather those glories which were now ready at his hand. He could not bear, he said, the thought of growing old in peace, and rusting in the cabinet, whilst other princes were busied in war and shining in the field; but what provoked him most of all, he confessed, was to reflect that, whilst he was only busied in treaties, letters, and despatches, his booby brother, the brutal and cowardly King of Prussia, should pass his time in camps, and in the midst of armies, neither desirous of the glory nor fit for the employment; whilst he, who coveted the one and was trained for the other, was, for cold prudential reasons, debarred the pleasure of indulging his inclination, and deprived of the advantage of showing his abilities.
So what Hervey recalls G2 calling FW is a coward, cruel and an idiot, which is both worse and different than "Brother Corporal" and the sandbox of the realm slight Fritz lists, which I find interesting. Now of course it's possible G2 used the milder insults in public (and thus they got reported to FW and after him Fritz via spies) while using the worse insults to interactions with Sir Robert Walpole, his PM, and thus Team Prussia never found out about them. (Walpole telling his ally Hervey but not others.) But it's also possible Fritz himself chose to be discreet in the Histoire.
Biche - I totally forgot to mention that her Austria adventure gets a shout-out!
Awww. You know, "The Adventures of Biche" would actually make a good topic for a children's book, and I'm surprised no one has written one yet, especially in the Fritz adoring 19th and early 20th century. (Or mabe they did, and we just don't know it yet.) This quote is also great because it tells us which servant was in charge of her during the Soor raid.
Of course, now I also can't help recalling that Fritz' (and Heinrich's) laundry was stolen on that occasion as well, hence AW writing to Ferdinand that "the King and Heinrich are wearing my shirts". :)
Re: Fritz/AW Correspondence
Date: 2021-04-25 06:59 pm (UTC)I feel like this particular bit wasn't Fritz' problem exactly.
No. I just checked, and late 1742 is covered by AW getting appointed as Commander of the Spandau-stationed regiment Derschau at the end of November and getting gifted Oranienburg in December.
Okay. Hm. Fritz at the end of January '43: I wish I could be useful to you. [Now there's a turn-around, that's usually AW's line.] I'm not as vengeful as you think and know to distinguish indiscretion from malice. The only consequence is that one has to beware of people who can't keep their mouth shut and only tell them things everybody already knows. But let's not talk about the past anymore. And then the next letter from May: It was natural that given my honest love for you, I suffered some displeasure this winter, which came from a direction I least expected. But I assure you, everything is forgotten, and you shall never notice any resentment from me towards you as long as you live. Feel free to come here whenever you want.
Which kind of sounds to me like someone in AW's circle (I hope not AW himself) might have talked about things they shouldn't have? AW's letters seem to be lost, since Volz doesn't know more either, but I wanted to put it out there in case anyone comes across something in the future. Mysteries in letters are intriguing. (And frustrating.)
AW thinks that if the King insists on leading his armies himself, then he should appoint a prince of the royal family as regent to govern in his absence in war time. HINT. HINT.
Heee.
Also, interesting, because he was so determined to join Fritz in the previous war and not particularly impressed with the "I want to protect you as the heir, so stay in Berlin" argument, but this suggests that he'd be fine with staying at home and not earning military honours as long as he feels like he gets to do something else that's useful. I know you said before that he became rather disenchanted with the whole idea of going to war and this fits right in. (Also fits my impression from his 1756/57 Mina letters that he was very torn - maybe without being quite aware of it - because he really seemed to hate war and like he wanted to be anywhere else, but also felt like he desperately needed to gain honour and usefulness as a commander.)
"Religion" is also interesting because it shows that AW in the mid 1740s is still influenced by Dad in this regard more than by Fritz
Yeah, also an impression I got, even with Volz' explicitely editing the topic (but largely on the Fritz side I suspect). There are repeated mentions of AW attending religious events, especially around Lent/Easter, and one time where Fritz point blank tells him that AW can do what he wants, but he, Fritz, is NOT going to attend anything, thank you, because he doesn't believe and doesn't want to be a hypocrite.
You know, "The Adventures of Biche" would actually make a good topic for a children's book,
True. I like that idea!
recalling that Fritz' (and Heinrich's) laundry was stolen on that occasion as well
One reason why I want to know if AW commented on Fritz' choice of example at all. (But as we've established, he hardly would have teased him about it, which is too bad.)
Re: Fritz/AW Correspondence
Date: 2021-04-26 08:51 am (UTC)Which kind of sounds to me like someone in AW's circle (I hope not AW himself) might have talked about things they shouldn't have?
Yes, that's what it sounds like to me, too. Now for some speculation about possible subjects. I don't think it can be anything political or military, since AW hadn't been told anything in this regard to begin with, and so his circle couldn't have learned something from him (deliberately or accidentally), either. What was he as of the end of 1742 in a position to know that found its way back to Fritz in the winter causing "some displeasure" but seems to have been sincerely forgiven, given that Fritz does not bring it up in later years as an example of AW wronging him?
Possibilities:
1) The aborted France/Straßburg trip. AW, who had been a member of the party, could have talked to people about it, and given that we've seen he either somewhat exaggarates or was under a mistaken impression about the (not) arrest when writing down the trip for his newborn son in 1744, he might have included this in a story told to his friends, too, who in turn talked about it to someone else. Fritz didn't exactly keep that trip secret, he described it to Voltaire and others in letters, after all, but he might not wanted it to be told in the AW version by people not belonging to his own circle? (Would also provide yet another reason why AW gets edited out years later when Fritz mentions the trip to others.
2) Anything to do with their family horror show of the FW years, possibly something that didn't sound too bad for AW but was to Fritz?
3) Considered by me but regretfully abandoned, because AW wasn't with the army in the summer of 1741 and thus would not have known: the Handsome Hussar Georgii/Frederdorf Temporarily Out of The Tent affair.
4) Possibly something to do with Fritz and EC. it's the date more than anything that makes me wonder, because 1742 is AW's first year of marriage to EC's sister. Yes, the marriage itself is a political arrangement and he'll get more distant, not closer to his wife in time, but in the first year, and before Mina or Sophie von Pannewitz (later Voss) are an issue, and with the "male heirs NOW!" pressure, he must have spent considerable time with his new wife. So maybe they talked about their siblings, and AW said something along the line that he doesn't think (as opposed to what EC still believed) this then new separation was just because of the war but that Fritz really means it to be permanent, or, well, anything, and Louise told this to EC, who was the unexpected corner from which Fritz heard it in the winter?
Also, interesting, because he was so determined to join Fritz in the previous war and not particularly impressed with the "I want to protect you as the heir, so stay in Berlin" argument, but this suggests that he'd be fine with staying at home and not earning military honours as long as he feels like he gets to do something else that's useful. I know you said before that he became rather disenchanted with the whole idea of going to war and this fits right in.
And let's not forget, the second Silesian War included the experience (for Fritz, AW and Heinrich at the same time) of nearly dying and seeing Heinrich's page getting his head torn off by a shot that could have easily killed the rest of them as well. There's a big difference between playing soldier because Dad and your entire society has raised you to believe this was the highest purpose for a man and experiencing a war this way. I think AW after the second Silesian War must have lived through an increasing disconnected with the values he was raised with, and even the slightly different ones of Fritz' Prussia (but not different in this key regard), and the increasing realisation that he didn't enjoy war and heroics. Plus there was the inescapable problem that distinguishing yourself militarily was the only option for a prince in Prussia to achieve anything. There wasn't an alternative career available.