You know, I'd read that Hille letter before, but at the time I didn't quite realize how intertwined the mentions of EC and Keyserlingk are here, ha.
And "don't go near the window" - how would that even work?
Yeah, my immediate response was that this sounds strange and also, how would anybody even know about this, if it's all such a secret. But! This whole thread prompted me to read the two reports written by Hofrat König (undercover Saxon envoy in 1740 (how many of those did they have?), you quoted his Fredersdorf description before), which are also included in the "Spiegel" and one of which is all about Keyserlingk, titled "Report on the character of the current Royal Prussian Favourite, Baron von Keyserlingk, and my secret [not really, since a lot of people knew he was visiting, just saying] conversations with him". König says they met when Keyserlingk visited Dresden (unclear when) and became good friends, and he gives quite a few verbatim and paraphrased quotes, even says he got to read some of Fritz' poetry and letters to Keyserlingk (who also read the poetry to him, ha). So he is someone who could have an anecdote like this from Keyserlingk himself, but he mentions no such thing (at least not in the shortened Spiegel version).
What he does mention is quite interesting, though! According to him, even after Fritz was allowed to invite Keyserlingk to Rheinsberg from 1736 on (after FW wanted to keep them apart before "for various reasons" - not vague at all, König!), FW apparently still kept an eye on them and occasionally gave orders that Keyserlingk should return to his regiment already. As a result, they met in secret and Keyserlingk even came to Berlin incognito (as "von Blanckenau") to spend time with Fritz, up until the end of FW's reign, i.e. during the first months of 1740. So given that, there might be some kind of kernel for the anecdote Mildred found.
After Fritz became King, König describes this as the state of affairs: "Not enough that he [Keyserlingk] has to live at the same place as the King all the time; the King also visits him - as often as his busy affairs allow - almost hourly, so to speak, in [Keyserlingk's] own chambers."
K. became seriously ill quite soon after Fritz became King (in his own words: because he was so overwhelmed by his feelings) and when he was on the mend, König visited him and reported that since Fritz himself was sick as well and couldn't walk and visit himself, messengers came to look after Keyserlingk and to tell him to follow Doctor's orders and to take it easy basically every other minute ("messengers" in this case included people like Jordan and Fredersdorf).
König's description of him: He hops, he dances, he jokes, he laughs, he reads, he writes, he works, he accepts visits, he does serious business, he sings now in French, now in Italian, now in German, he plays the flute, he plays the viola da gamba, he composes music [...], he declaims, he writes now German, now French verses, he draws - and all of this with one another, as it comes to him, without ever going insane or getting tired.
Other tidbits:
- Fritz openly praised K. and mentioned that his perpetual cheerfulness and equanimity got him through the desperate moments of the crown prince years (not quite sure if he means pre-1730 mostly or also post).
- As we know Fritz didn't like smoking and hated the smell of it, but K. was allowed, even after Fritz asked him if he wouldn't give it up for him. (Apparently, he didn't do it while Fritz visited, though.)
- K. was bad with money, so Fritz appointed himself his treasurer and was involved "in the tiniest details" of his life.
- On the other hand - or maybe in the same vein - no politics for Keyserlingk, either. I mean, it's entirely possible K. downplayed his chances because König was quite insistent to further the Saxon cause, but it would certainly be very in character that Fritz told K. to live without any worries and not bother with politics. Keyserlingk is also quoted as saying that one has to be very careful and wait for the right moment if one wants to tell Fritz anything, i.e. one shouldn't come to him with ideas and proposals, but wait until Fritz gets to a topic himself, let him talk and then he'd be much more open to hearing other ideas. Which strikes me as completely on point, as does König's observation that Fritz was very keen on asserting his authority at the beginning and never once giving the impression that he'd be led by anyone. [And IMO, especially not by Keyserlingk, whom he praised openly and had as his favourite friend and who obviously was on people's lists as The Favourite.]
- As I said, Keyserlingk apparently showed König some of Fritz' most tender ["allerzärtlichste"] letters. König quotes one which gives Fritz' opinions on Valori and Rudenskjöld we already knew from his letter to Voltaire on the same subject, but he also mentions several instances where Fritz comes across as rather needy (my words, not his!), i.e. telling Keyserlingk that he should reassure him of his love and friendship more. (If they really didn't get to see each other all that often because of FW, that sure makes sense to me, too.) Finally, König calls K. the "most loved favourite" and also says that Fritz is "in good hands" with him (also in terms of Saxon prospects).
Re: Keyserlingk, sensational gossip, and Royal Reader request
And "don't go near the window" - how would that even work?
Yeah, my immediate response was that this sounds strange and also, how would anybody even know about this, if it's all such a secret. But! This whole thread prompted me to read the two reports written by Hofrat König (undercover Saxon envoy in 1740 (how many of those did they have?), you quoted his Fredersdorf description before), which are also included in the "Spiegel" and one of which is all about Keyserlingk, titled "Report on the character of the current Royal Prussian Favourite, Baron von Keyserlingk, and my secret [not really, since a lot of people knew he was visiting, just saying] conversations with him". König says they met when Keyserlingk visited Dresden (unclear when) and became good friends, and he gives quite a few verbatim and paraphrased quotes, even says he got to read some of Fritz' poetry and letters to Keyserlingk (who also read the poetry to him, ha). So he is someone who could have an anecdote like this from Keyserlingk himself, but he mentions no such thing (at least not in the shortened Spiegel version).
What he does mention is quite interesting, though! According to him, even after Fritz was allowed to invite Keyserlingk to Rheinsberg from 1736 on (after FW wanted to keep them apart before "for various reasons" - not vague at all, König!), FW apparently still kept an eye on them and occasionally gave orders that Keyserlingk should return to his regiment already. As a result, they met in secret and Keyserlingk even came to Berlin incognito (as "von Blanckenau") to spend time with Fritz, up until the end of FW's reign, i.e. during the first months of 1740. So given that, there might be some kind of kernel for the anecdote Mildred found.
After Fritz became King, König describes this as the state of affairs: "Not enough that he [Keyserlingk] has to live at the same place as the King all the time; the King also visits him - as often as his busy affairs allow - almost hourly, so to speak, in [Keyserlingk's] own chambers."
K. became seriously ill quite soon after Fritz became King (in his own words: because he was so overwhelmed by his feelings) and when he was on the mend, König visited him and reported that since Fritz himself was sick as well and couldn't walk and visit himself, messengers came to look after Keyserlingk and to tell him to follow Doctor's orders and to take it easy basically every other minute ("messengers" in this case included people like Jordan and Fredersdorf).
König's description of him: He hops, he dances, he jokes, he laughs, he reads, he writes, he works, he accepts visits, he does serious business, he sings now in French, now in Italian, now in German, he plays the flute, he plays the viola da gamba, he composes music [...], he declaims, he writes now German, now French verses, he draws - and all of this with one another, as it comes to him, without ever going insane or getting tired.
Other tidbits:
- Fritz openly praised K. and mentioned that his perpetual cheerfulness and equanimity got him through the desperate moments of the crown prince years (not quite sure if he means pre-1730 mostly or also post).
- As we know Fritz didn't like smoking and hated the smell of it, but K. was allowed, even after Fritz asked him if he wouldn't give it up for him. (Apparently, he didn't do it while Fritz visited, though.)
- K. was bad with money, so Fritz appointed himself his treasurer and was involved "in the tiniest details" of his life.
- On the other hand - or maybe in the same vein - no politics for Keyserlingk, either. I mean, it's entirely possible K. downplayed his chances because König was quite insistent to further the Saxon cause, but it would certainly be very in character that Fritz told K. to live without any worries and not bother with politics. Keyserlingk is also quoted as saying that one has to be very careful and wait for the right moment if one wants to tell Fritz anything, i.e. one shouldn't come to him with ideas and proposals, but wait until Fritz gets to a topic himself, let him talk and then he'd be much more open to hearing other ideas. Which strikes me as completely on point, as does König's observation that Fritz was very keen on asserting his authority at the beginning and never once giving the impression that he'd be led by anyone. [And IMO, especially not by Keyserlingk, whom he praised openly and had as his favourite friend and who obviously was on people's lists as The Favourite.]
- As I said, Keyserlingk apparently showed König some of Fritz' most tender ["allerzärtlichste"] letters. König quotes one which gives Fritz' opinions on Valori and Rudenskjöld we already knew from his letter to Voltaire on the same subject, but he also mentions several instances where Fritz comes across as rather needy (my words, not his!), i.e. telling Keyserlingk that he should reassure him of his love and friendship more. (If they really didn't get to see each other all that often because of FW, that sure makes sense to me, too.) Finally, König calls K. the "most loved favourite" and also says that Fritz is "in good hands" with him (also in terms of Saxon prospects).