Going to a spa where you'll be checked up on by a lot of new physicians who aren't under your thumb and thus could blab once you've left and where a certain amount of social interaction with strangers is par the course seems counterproductive?
Point. I was mostly talking in jest, although I do want to point out that Heinrich might not have had the chance to say no, even if he wanted to. And on a more serious note, Heinrich was sick shortly before this - though of course not with an STD - when the Marwitz letters were written. Fritz even mentions to AW that he's glad that "little Heinrich" (!) is doing better and that he hopes his health will finally strengthen - so Fritz still might have thought a visit to Pyrmont would do him good health-wise, Marwitz letters in between or no? Also, I saw that this apparently wasn't the first time Fritz took Heinrich with him on a spa trip, seems like Heinrich was also in Aachen in 1742 (at least if the "Prince Heinrich" is identified as the right one). Attempt at a brotherly tradition? The spy report also mentions that Fritz had him ride in his own carriage when they left, together with Rothenburg and Golz.
Just to make things more confusing, I've now read the text you linked and the quoted spy report says "Prince Wilhelm" at one point
Oh, that's Prince Wilhelm of Hessen-Kassel, who was there as well and invited Fritz a couple of times. The modern-day essay I read has additional research on the two visits and mentions it. It also includes a facsimile of a local newspaper page which gives a list of everyone in Fritz' entourage in 1746 and has Heinrich as well.
But maybe Pöllnitz just ran into Heinrich by accident then and told.
That honestly seems like the most probable scenario to me, because I can't really imagine that Heinrich wasn't aware of Pöllnitz' reputation at that point.
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Point. I was mostly talking in jest, although I do want to point out that Heinrich might not have had the chance to say no, even if he wanted to. And on a more serious note, Heinrich was sick shortly before this - though of course not with an STD - when the Marwitz letters were written. Fritz even mentions to AW that he's glad that "little Heinrich" (!) is doing better and that he hopes his health will finally strengthen - so Fritz still might have thought a visit to Pyrmont would do him good health-wise, Marwitz letters in between or no? Also, I saw that this apparently wasn't the first time Fritz took Heinrich with him on a spa trip, seems like Heinrich was also in Aachen in 1742 (at least if the "Prince Heinrich" is identified as the right one). Attempt at a brotherly tradition? The spy report also mentions that Fritz had him ride in his own carriage when they left, together with Rothenburg and Golz.
Just to make things more confusing, I've now read the text you linked and the quoted spy report says "Prince Wilhelm" at one point
Oh, that's Prince Wilhelm of Hessen-Kassel, who was there as well and invited Fritz a couple of times. The modern-day essay I read has additional research on the two visits and mentions it. It also includes a facsimile of a local newspaper page which gives a list of everyone in Fritz' entourage in 1746 and has Heinrich as well.
But maybe Pöllnitz just ran into Heinrich by accident then and told.
That honestly seems like the most probable scenario to me, because I can't really imagine that Heinrich wasn't aware of Pöllnitz' reputation at that point.