He used to wake up late, hold court from bed, invite the Ruspanti in, get increasingly drunk throughout the evening/night, and go to sleep sometime in the wee hours of the morning. I imagine the things that got done happened first thing in the "morning," before he got too drunk. I also suspect there was a lot of delegating; i.e. him making the decision and someone else actually making it happen. So it might not have been all that time-consuming to go, "Yeah, that stupid law? That's revoked. Also the other one. Make it so."
So I found another visitor who saw Gian Gastone in his bedridden years and wrote about it: Pöllnitz, 1731! Furthermore, the exact schedule, down to the hour, given by Acton is in Pöllnitz, as well as the observation that GG dined often alone and always in bed. Now, since everyone agrees bedridden GG's life was pretty much the same for the rest of his life ("The history of one day is the history of a year," in Acton's words), these habits may have been reported in multiple places (and I'm sure they were), but I'm thinking Pöllnitz is one of Acton's sources. Check out the linguistic similarity:
Acton:
The Grand Duke's levee was at noon, when those who had business with him were summoned to his bedchamber. He constantly dined at five o'clock in the evening, and supped at two in the morning. He always ate alone, and generally in bed.
Pöllnitz:
His Levee is not till Noon, and then he sends for such as he has Business with to his Bedchamber...He dines at Five o'Clock in the Evening, and sups at Two in the Morning: He always eats alone, commonly in his Bed.
Pöllnitz also confirms my guess that GG's "productivity" in revoking various laws was mostly a matter of making a decision and then saying "Make it so":
I thought that the Grand Duke would be very much taken up with his Ministers; but I was soon inform'd that he left all Matters intirely to the Management of his Ministers.
The encounter between Pöllnitz and GG has its moments:
Pöllnitz: Well, the Grand Duke is supposed to be completely inaccessible, so I suppose there's no chance I'll ever get to see him. Oh well! I'll go pay my respects to his sister, the Electress.
*As he is leaving the Electress' apartments*
Valet: Sir, the Grand Duke very much wants to see you!
Pöllnitz: Me? No, I'm just a traveling German, he can't possibly want to see me. You must have me confused with someone else!
Valet: No, he definitely said you. You're Baron Pöllnitz, right?
Pöllnitz: Yeeess...but perhaps there is some other Baron Pöllnitz in the neighborhood? I mean, he's impossible to talk to, why on earth would he pick me out of everyone? I just got here the other day!
Valet: No, no, no, I see where you're coming from now, but the impossible to talk to part only applies to Floretines! He likes Germans. Germans are his fave! He developed a taste for them in Prague. Don't worry, you're about 3 times too old for his taste. But for totally platonic reasons, he totally wants to see you. [Okay, the valet didn't say all this, I'm interpolating based on other things Pöllnitz said elsewhere in the text plus things we know. But Pöllnitz definitely took some convincing that he was really the one GG wanted to see.]
Pöllnitz: Oh, okay. If you're sure.
Pöllnitz arriving in GG's chamber: Hmm, there are lapdogs everywhere, his clothes are smeared in snuff, it smells terrible...
[Mildred: Get used to it. It's practice for later.]
GG: Hey, Pöllnitz, how come you didn't want to come visit me? I'm playfully offended. I knew your dad! How are things in Berlin these days? Tell me about all the changes since I was there.
Pöllnitz: Well, let's see, F1 was in charge when you were there, and it's now 1731, meaning FW is hitting his peak, so...how much time you got?
GG: Oh, hey, speaking of the time, I know 2 pm is way too early to be drinking, but I'm an alcoholic, and I've got some awesome alcohol I want you to taste. Have a dram!
Pöllnitz: Thank you, I'm deeply honored, but the thing is, I never drink drams, and-
GG: But it is the age of monarchs forcing visitors to drink! Have a dram. I'll have one too. Have another dram. Have a third dram! I'll match you drink for drink.
Pöllnitz: Mercy, mercy! [Literally: "I was just going to fall at his Knees, and to beg Quarter, when, as good Luck would have it, Joannino [sic!] his favourite Valet de Chambre came in, and whisper'd something in his Ear."]
GG: Okay, you can go, and have fun, but don't leave Florence without saying goodbye. I mean it!
Pöllnitz: And then I went back to my inn and GG had sent me enough food and drink for 3 months. Have fun indeed!
And then the Ruspanti! Allow me to explain the Ruspanti. They are "Pensioners of the Grand Duke," which is a euphemism the likes of which won't be seen again until Peter Keith has to leave his post at Wesel "due to circumstances."
They consist of all Nations, but of Germans more than any other. They wear no Livery, nor are they all clad alike, and they are only known by their Locks, which are always very much curld and powder'd.
Did I mention the Duke likes Germans? Getting to pay him a bedroom visit is
an Honour which the Florentines don't easily attain to, for he seems to be fondest of the German Nation, whose Language he speaks well, and pretends even to know its various Dialects.
Mildred: Hey, that might explain Knobelsdorff getting in as well!]
GG: Okay, come say goodbye!
Pöllnitz: We talked for 3 hours on a thousand subjects, and then I left Florence, where, if the Grand Duke ever had sex, you will not know about it from reading my account. At first Mildred wondered if the editor had done some redacting, but since the book was published in 1737, it seems less likely.
*
If you're inspired to check out Pöllnitz's other travel anecdotes, including his opinions of FW and FW's ministers, volumes 1 and 2 are now in the library.
Btw, note that Pöllnitz was in Italy in 1730-1731, so anything he writes about Katte and 1730 he must have gotten from elsewhere (though he was in Berlin in 1729, so he could just have met Katte), and as we've seen, Wilhelmine must have been a significant part of "elsewhere."
ETA: Though not cited for the passage I mentioned, Pöllnitz is mentioned once in the main text of Acton and is in the bibliography, so he's definitely one of the sources Acton is drawing on.
Pöllnitz and Gian Gastone
So I found another visitor who saw Gian Gastone in his bedridden years and wrote about it: Pöllnitz, 1731! Furthermore, the exact schedule, down to the hour, given by Acton is in Pöllnitz, as well as the observation that GG dined often alone and always in bed. Now, since everyone agrees bedridden GG's life was pretty much the same for the rest of his life ("The history of one day is the history of a year," in Acton's words), these habits may have been reported in multiple places (and I'm sure they were), but I'm thinking Pöllnitz is one of Acton's sources. Check out the linguistic similarity:
Acton:
The Grand Duke's levee was at noon, when those who had business with him were summoned to his bedchamber. He constantly dined at five o'clock in the evening, and supped at two in the morning. He always ate alone, and generally in bed.
Pöllnitz:
His Levee is not till Noon, and then he sends for such as he has Business with to his Bedchamber...He dines at Five o'Clock in the Evening, and sups at Two in the Morning: He always eats alone, commonly in his Bed.
Pöllnitz also confirms my guess that GG's "productivity" in revoking various laws was mostly a matter of making a decision and then saying "Make it so":
I thought that the Grand Duke would be very much taken up with his Ministers;
but I was soon inform'd that he left all Matters intirely to the Management of his Ministers.
The encounter between Pöllnitz and GG has its moments:
Pöllnitz: Well, the Grand Duke is supposed to be completely inaccessible, so I suppose there's no chance I'll ever get to see him. Oh well! I'll go pay my respects to his sister, the Electress.
*As he is leaving the Electress' apartments*
Valet: Sir, the Grand Duke very much wants to see you!
Pöllnitz: Me? No, I'm just a traveling German, he can't possibly want to see me. You must have me confused with someone else!
Valet: No, he definitely said you. You're Baron Pöllnitz, right?
Pöllnitz: Yeeess...but perhaps there is some other Baron Pöllnitz in the neighborhood? I mean, he's impossible to talk to, why on earth would he pick me out of everyone? I just got here the other day!
Valet: No, no, no, I see where you're coming from now, but the impossible to talk to part only applies to Floretines! He likes Germans. Germans are his fave!
He developed a taste for them in Prague. Don't worry, you're about 3 times too old for his taste.But for totally platonic reasons, he totally wants to see you. [Okay, the valet didn't say all this, I'm interpolating based on other things Pöllnitz said elsewhere in the text plus things we know. But Pöllnitz definitely took some convincing that he was really the one GG wanted to see.]Pöllnitz: Oh, okay. If you're sure.
Pöllnitz arriving in GG's chamber: Hmm, there are lapdogs everywhere, his clothes are smeared in snuff, it smells terrible...
[Mildred: Get used to it. It's practice for later.]
GG: Hey, Pöllnitz, how come you didn't want to come visit me? I'm playfully offended. I knew your dad! How are things in Berlin these days? Tell me about all the changes since I was there.
Pöllnitz: Well, let's see, F1 was in charge when you were there, and it's now 1731, meaning FW is hitting his peak, so...how much time you got?
GG: Oh, hey, speaking of the time, I know 2 pm is way too early to be drinking, but I'm an alcoholic, and I've got some awesome alcohol I want you to taste. Have a dram!
Pöllnitz: Thank you, I'm deeply honored, but the thing is, I never drink drams, and-
GG: But it is the age of monarchs forcing visitors to drink! Have a dram. I'll have one too. Have another dram. Have a third dram! I'll match you drink for drink.
Pöllnitz: Mercy, mercy! [Literally: "I was just going to fall at his Knees, and to beg Quarter, when, as good Luck would have it, Joannino [sic!] his favourite Valet de Chambre came in, and whisper'd something in his Ear."]
GG: Okay, you can go, and have fun, but don't leave Florence without saying goodbye. I mean it!
Pöllnitz: And then I went back to my inn and GG had sent me enough food and drink for 3 months. Have fun indeed!
And then the Ruspanti! Allow me to explain the Ruspanti. They are "Pensioners of the Grand Duke," which is a euphemism the likes of which won't be seen again until Peter Keith has to leave his post at Wesel "due to circumstances."
They consist of all Nations, but of Germans more than any other. They wear no Livery, nor are they all clad alike, and they are only known by their Locks, which are always very much curld and powder'd.
Did I mention the Duke likes Germans? Getting to pay him a bedroom visit is
an Honour which the Florentines don't easily attain to, for he seems to be fondest of the German Nation, whose Language he speaks well, and pretends even to know its various Dialects.
Mildred: Hey, that might explain Knobelsdorff getting in as well!]
GG: Okay, come say goodbye!
Pöllnitz: We talked for 3 hours on a thousand subjects, and then I left Florence, where, if the Grand Duke ever had sex, you will not know about it from reading my account. At first Mildred wondered if the editor had done some redacting, but since the book was published in 1737, it seems less likely.
*
If you're inspired to check out Pöllnitz's other travel anecdotes, including his opinions of FW and FW's ministers, volumes 1 and 2 are now in the library.
Btw, note that Pöllnitz was in Italy in 1730-1731, so anything he writes about Katte and 1730 he must have gotten from elsewhere (though he was in Berlin in 1729, so he could just have met Katte), and as we've seen, Wilhelmine must have been a significant part of "elsewhere."
ETA: Though not cited for the passage I mentioned, Pöllnitz is mentioned once in the main text of Acton and is in the bibliography, so he's definitely one of the sources Acton is drawing on.