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From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-10 04:08 pm (UTC)Example: This afternoon the King came to the alley all alone, walked up to where the women were playing, watched them for a good quarter hour, talked to Gen.Maj. Schmettau who was sitting there as well, and then went to walk with Col. Polenz and Keyserlingk for an hour, reading a letter, during which Keyserlingk went to the musicians to tell them not to play now, as the King had a conversation to hold.
As you can see, lots of comings and goings but not much in terms of actual political intel. But even without that, the whole thing is an entertaining read, and the most interesting part to me was Fredersdorf, who is with Fritz in 1744 and in Aachen in 1746.
Now, in 1744, Unger has this to say:
[...] Fredersdorf said that nothing would come of things, until his King were to tip the scales for one side or the other with 30.-40.000 men. Said Fredersdorf isn't, as far as one knows, relevant in these affairs, but since his Master likes him very well and he's connected to the people who could know, one believes he might not be entirely unaware of what one needs to know. The King wants to leave him here to take the waters for a while longer since he came down with a fever, so there might be an opportunity to hear one or two things from him through the known channel [editor's note: unclear what's meant by that].
And what do you know, he did indeed get to talk to Fredersdorf after Fritz left:
This Fredersdorf is the one who layed the groundwork for his current luck in past times at Küstrin. He is rewarded with such trust that everybody seeks to have his friendship. He has a very talented, natural understanding and is needed in everything concerning the personal economy of the King; additionally, he is, together with Minister Bode, in charge of the purse and is always around and with his Master.
Since said Fredersdorf doesn't act superior in his luck and shows a cordial character everywhere, his sentiments seem to be sincere and it's likely that what he lets drop publicly might stem from [...] the King's own thoughts. He assured [us] multiple times that there wasn't anything special planned by his Master this year and that His Majesty would just watch the development of events attentively, and would step in at the right time to not let France play Master in Germany.
Again, this is happening two months before the Second Silesian War and you know what? Me thinks that Fredersdorf outplayed Unger there!
Now, 1746, as I said, Fredersdorf wasn't there, but he still gets mentioned. But first, also travelling with Fritz this time: Heinrich, Rothenburg, and Pöllnitz. The local musicians still aren't allowed to play when Fritz is around and since they only got a very small tip not just from Fritz but also from Heinrich, I'm inclined to think they weren't all that great. (Fritz of course has his own musicians with him anyway, and nobody, not even Heinrich, is allowed in the room when he plays with them in the evening.)
Money quote re: Heinrich: [Walking] the alley, [the King] told the two doctors: Prince Heinrich - who was with them - should take the waters so he could marry, and Pöllnitz so he could pay his debts.
Which, omg.
Right afterwards, the Fredersdorf mention:
Similar jokes happened often and it's usual for the King to be on such footing with his people. Among other things, he ordered that when his dog gave birth three days before he left, the Secret Chamberlain Fredersdorf - who is currently in Aachen for his health - should be notified and send a godfather-letter, with the note that he should visit the dog and her pups soon.
This sounds like the exact same, printed, "godfather-letter" that AW got (in addition to the hand-written one) a couple years later. (Fritz reusing things? I'm shocked.) But still, fascinating that Fredersdorf got one, too, and first. Also, that it's somewhat semi-public - do we have another instance of Fritz talking about Fredersdorf directly?
Now, for the dog, a.k.a. Biche:
This dog was always in the King's bedchamber and when she gave birth, he came and went repeatedly. [Since he had to leave three days later], he left a hunter to take care of her and gave her a pillow from his bed, with the order that as soon as she and her pups could be transported without harming them, they should be carried over the mountains, accompanied by the hunter, and should be treated very carefully.
Aw.
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-10 06:44 pm (UTC)Generally, Fritz was rather secluded and busy in 1744 (which was shortly before the Second Silesian War, not to mention that he acquired Ostfriesland during this period)
And Ulrike's marriage, as we saw! Also, the chronology (which I just updated with Bad Pyrmont dates, thank you), reminds me that June 1744 is also when AW is officially named Prince of Prussia.
Re Ostfriesland, I see from the article that "the Prussians" were raising questions about whether they actually had to pay the debts of the previous royal house (haha), and also that the Dutch were rather uncomfortable with their new neighbor. I bet!
Again, this is happening two months before the Second Silesian War and you know what? Me thinks that Fredersdorf outplayed Unger there!
Hee. Go Fredersdorf!
Okay, checking Duffy's military bio of Fritz, I see June 5 is when Fritz concludes an alliance with France, but reserves the right to go to war only when he saw fit. Apparently he saw fit by the end of June, when the Austrians crossed the Rhine and threatened to invade Alsace.
Since Unger's letter is dated June 14, it's possible Fredersdorf was telling the truth: Fritz was still planning to bide his time when he was in Pyrmont. In Duffy's words, "but he was very soon overtaken by events." The real action seems to have come end of June to July 12, which was when he made a commitment to the French to go to war.
As you can see, lots of comings and goings but not much in terms of actual political intel.
I am reminded of Fritz writing to d'Argens, "In order to know my secrets, you have to corrupt me personally, and that is not easy."
since they only got a very small tip not just from Fritz but also from Heinrich, I'm inclined to think they weren't all that great.
Hahaha. I'm inclined to agree with you.
This sounds like the exact same, printed, "godfather-letter" that AW got (in addition to the hand-written one) a couple years later. (Fritz reusing things? I'm shocked.)
Thrifty in more than one way, our antihero!
But still, fascinating that Fredersdorf got one, too, and first. Also, that it's somewhat semi-public - do we have another instance of Fritz talking about Fredersdorf directly?
I don't want to say we don't, as I may be forgetting one/some, but certainly few enough that it's definitely been on my radar as a thing that doesn't seem to happen much if at all.
This dog was always in the King's bedchamber and when she gave birth, he came and went repeatedly. [Since he had to leave three days later], he left a hunter to take care of her and gave her a pillow from his bed, with the order that as soon as she and her pups could be transported without harming them, they should be carried over the mountains, accompanied by the hunter, and should be treated very carefully.
Aw.
AWWWWW times one million. Thanks for sharing this!
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-12 06:56 pm (UTC)Okay, checking Duffy's military bio of Fritz, I see June 5 is when Fritz concludes an alliance with France, but reserves the right to go to war only when he saw fit. ...
Since Unger's letter is dated June 14, it's possible Fredersdorf was telling the truth
Ah, okay. I knew that the alliance happened while he was there (and of course the France connection is the main reason for G2 to send a spy in the first place), but not the other details.
Still thinking Fredersdorf was being deliberately cagey (to possibly misleading) while taking care to appear totally cordial and friendly.
(In the 18th century spy movie I was envisioning, he'd figured out Unger's motives for suddenly visiting his father-in-law very quickly of course, so the fever would be faked and he'd hatched the plan - together with Fritz? - to mislead G2's spy. ;))
I don't want to say we don't, as I may be forgetting one/some, but certainly few enough that it's definitely been on my radar as a thing that doesn't seem to happen much if at all.
Yep. And in letters I only recall the List of the Six really.
ETA: that June 1744 is also when AW is officially named Prince of Prussia
I just looked that up, and according to Rödenbeck/Droysen, it's June 30th, and Heinrich gets Rheinsberg two days earlier. Now I'm thinking that both things might have happened because he knew he was going back to war and was a bit more level-headed re: the possible dangers to himself.
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-12 11:17 pm (UTC)Heee, that is a great spy movie! I approve. And the head of Fritz's spy ring should absolutely be able to deceive other spies.
And in letters I only recall the List of the Six really.
Oh, right, the List of the Six! Yeah, there's not much out there. Much like talking about Katte after his death: we've found at least one example, but it's notable by its rarity.
I just looked that up, and according to Rödenbeck/Droysen, it's June 30th, and Heinrich gets Rheinsberg two days earlier. Now I'm thinking that both things might have happened because he knew he was going back to war and was a bit more level-headed re: the possible dangers to himself.
Ooh, good catch, good catch! Heinrich went to war with him, as I recall, so that must have been an interesting "Here's my favorite palace, you might die before you ever get to see it," moment. And Luise gave birth to FW2 in September, so on June 30 they would have known she was pregnant, but not that there would be a male heir.
I've updated the chronology with these dates, thank you! (We're getting closer to a day-by-day account of the 18th century, lol.)
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-11 07:30 am (UTC)Also: “made his luck in Küstrin” - on the one hand, hm, points to Küstrin origin tale, otoh, not necessarily, since as we said general knowledge was that Fritz was imprisoned there, and if you only know he met Fredersdorf in 1731, you’d conclude it must have been there.
Fritz took Heinrich with him in May/June 1746? Good grief. That was after the Marwitz letters in February/March that very same year. And if he talks about Heinrich needing to get married just two months later, yikes. No wonder Heinrich gave him the silent treatment. Reminder, this is also the same year where Heinrich will ask for travel permission (for “military education”) in autumn and he and Fritz have the “we share the same coldness” and “if this is love, it must be metaphysical” exchange as a result.
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-11 02:39 pm (UTC)Right? We had to stay 2 years in the fandom before we turned up an example.
hm, points to Küstrin origin tale, otoh, not necessarily, since as we said general knowledge was that Fritz was imprisoned there, and if you only know he met Fredersdorf in 1731, you’d conclude it must have been there.
Exactly, and I think that if they literally met in Frankfurt an der Oder but only interacted after that in Küstrin, even Fredersdorf might have simplified the story when talking casually. Especially knowing that everyone knows Fritz was in Küstrin, but most don't know or care about the one day he spent passing through Frankfurt on his way to somewhere else. I mean, I am the kind of person who will make sure to hit every detail and technicality when telling a story, but I am also the kind of person who
may be spectrum-adjacentmakes other people's eyes glaze over and am trying to train myself out of recounting every technicality.Fritz took Heinrich with him in May/June 1746? Good grief. That was after the Marwitz letters in February/March that very same year.
*jaws drops* Oh good god, you're right.
No wonder Heinrich gave him the silent treatment.
No wonder!
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-12 08:37 am (UTC)If so, though, making jokes about Heinrich needing to marry was very much not the way to go about it*, and I bet for Heinrich, those were the holidays from hell. (And then the musicians were a let down, too.) Incidentally, Pöllnitz being along for the ride would also explain why Heinrich just two years later must have made the mistake of confiding in him, given that Pöllnitz was the one who ratted out Heinrich to Fritz re: Heinrich spending the nights away from his regiment in Berlin in the 1748/1749 crisis. Maybe they'd gotten somewhat close during the holidays from hell?
*unless it wasn't a joke, and Fritz started to get the idea that this would be just the disciplinary measure to tame Heinrich as early as that? Or maybe it started as a joke, he saw Heinrich's reaction and thought, hm, yeah, seems he feels like me about the prospect, which means I should keep this in mind as the ultimate disciplinary weapon...
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-12 07:08 pm (UTC)Hee, or that. Honestly, I'd love to know how that invitation and Heinrich's reaction went.
he even thought that getting Heinrich alway from the rest of the Divine Trio (read: the brothers Heinrich very much prefered) would be conductive to this
I actually re-checked the AW letters, because I recalled that Fritz wrote to him from Pyrmont (about his first brush with gout by the way!) but I didn't recall a Heinrich mention. If there was one, Volz didn't include it. (Which is entirely possible if it was just a greeting or something.)
Maybe they'd gotten somewhat close during the holidays from hell?
My impression was that Pöllnitz was basically a court staple for all of them? I mean he was around during FW's time, part of the Wusterhausen trips where Heinrich would have met him, and just generally ... around? So I don't think it necessarily needed a special trip.
By the way, speaking of other participants of the trip, also there: Ingersleben, a.k.a. teacup guy! Taking walks with Fritz, among other things. (Unfortunately, no names for the pages.)
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-12 11:25 pm (UTC)Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-13 08:08 am (UTC)LOL. Now that's a wicked possibility. Though if my guy Boswell is anything to go by, who got afflicted more than once, if you caught an STD in the 18th century you tried to ascertain you and your doctor were the only ones who knew and withdrew from society as much as possible without looking suspicious to avoid temptation you couldn't follow up on while going through the prescribed cure. 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?
Hee, or that. Honestly, I'd love to know how that invitation and Heinrich's reaction went.
Wouldn't we all. Note to self: write that scene/letter exchange one of these days.
I actually re-checked the AW letters, because I recalled that Fritz wrote to him from Pyrmont (about his first brush with gout by the way!) but I didn't recall a Heinrich mention. If there was one, Volz didn't include it. (Which is entirely possible if it was just a greeting or something.)
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 so I wondered whether the article writer got it wrong and it was AW, but no, the later mentions all say Heinrich, plus the marriage dig wouldn't work with AW who was already married.
My impression was that Pöllnitz was basically a court staple for all of them?
Absolutely, and they must have found him very entertaining, but remember, Fritz writes to Wilhelmine before Pöllnitz visits her in Bayreuth not to trust him with anything important. Hanging out with Pöllnitz isn't unusual for any of the siblings, but entrusting him with something like "I'm illegally here in Berlin" would have been. But maybe Pöllnitz just ran into Heinrich by accident then and told.
re: Ingersleben the Teacup Guy: further giving the lie to the idea Fritz avoided all his 1730 implicated friends like the plague once he was King.
Doris Ritter, whose strolls with Fritz Ingersleben chaperoned: Not a comfort.
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-13 11:31 am (UTC)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
Date: 2021-07-13 03:18 pm (UTC)It's possible. Let's not forget, he also survived the smallpox in the previous year (I think), and thus probably had in general a weakened constitution. Otoh: 1742 and sixteen years old Heinrich strike me as extremely early for Fritz to take him along to the spa (or anywhere else), and so my instinct would be to assume in 1742, it was the Schwedt cousin of the same name (aka Seydlitz' boss and according to Zimmermann the source of bad STD advice).
I do want to point out that Heinrich might not have had the chance to say no, even if he wanted to.
True enough!
Dear Diary: Day 1 of the Trip From Hell, aka holidays with Fritz. When I first was told about this, I said: "But I thought I might have the chance to visit Rheinsberg this year". Says he: "You're going to have the chance to visit it for the rest of your life, you ungrateful brat, unlike me. This year, you're coming to the Spa with me, and if you don't start packing at once, I'm cutting down your budget again." I'm definitely going to write that pamphlet about his Silesian mistakes. Maybe it'll sell enough so I can finally pay some of my expenses on my own.
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-13 04:37 pm (UTC)re: Schwedt cousin - did he get called "Königliche Hoheit" as well? Because see here for the departure note. But even if he did, I think the newspaper would have specified if he was meant, since their readers would have no way to know which one it was then. (Also, didn't Fritz rather dislike him at that point?) Plus, AW and Ferdinand are mentioned here as well, returning to Berlin from Potsdam, but no mention of Heinrich doing the same. That said, it's still possible that Fritz might have left him in Braunschweig to visit Charlotte on the way or something.
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-14 05:55 am (UTC)Good point, because I doubt it. As grandsons of the Great Prince Elector, the Schwedt cousins were princes of the blood, but der große Kurfürst had never been King, so they wouldn’t have a claim on the “royal highness” address, they’d be more likely referred to as “Durchlaucht”. Okay, the departure note of the newspaper convinces me it was indeed Heinrich the brother not Heinrich the cousin. Hmmmm. 1742! Fritz clearly takes his new Head of the Family duties seriously then. I seem to recall 1741 letters on a note of “work harder” and then “good to know you worked harder” - maybe the trip was meant as a reward for getting on with this studies?
1745/1746! Heinrich certainly had a tumultous year, between fighting in the war, getting smallpox, falling in love, getting taunted by Big Brother for it, falling out of love (the first time) with Marwitz at some point later, and then holidays with Fritz….
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-15 05:04 am (UTC)That would be hilarious -- well, at least, for me. For Heinrich, not so much :P
That does sound like an eventful year! And some fraught holidays.
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-15 12:31 pm (UTC)(Note also that this is the exact right length for an article to be in 18th century German and Font of Doom for me to be able to handle it as part of salon. Progress! :))
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-15 04:13 pm (UTC)Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-20 10:57 am (UTC)Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
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Date: 2021-07-15 05:01 am (UTC)omg this is AWESOME, yes please keep going!
I'm definitely going to write that pamphlet about his Silesian mistakes. Maybe it'll sell enough so I can finally pay some of my expenses on my own.
HAHAHAHA omg poor Heinrich :D
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-15 12:31 pm (UTC)What
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-15 04:11 pm (UTC)Day 2: Arrival in Pyrmont. The nightmare continues. Fritz insisted on the local spa doctors examining me first. "Just in case his face doesn't give it away, he's had the smallpox last year," he said. "And I wouldn't be surprised if he's had the other pox as well, given the company he's kept." I kept myself from fratricide by starting to work on my my opus magnum, tentatively titled "The Anti-Fritz". Must remember to steal Voltaire's address from Fritz and ask V. how much Dutch printers demand or pay.
Later that day. At last, a perk! One of the daily rituals involves silent walkings, with intermittent water drinking. For ALL guests. That means Fritz actually has to shut up for at least an hour. And wonder of wonders, he sticks to the treatment.
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-16 04:22 am (UTC)I offered to take the ride with his musicians instead, not least because I was hoping to get an autograph from Salimbeni. You should have seen the royal glare.
LOL! I hear you, Heinrich! (He would have had a much better time, at that! Though maybe would have gotten bored more easily :P )
He snuffed even more tobacco than usual and asked whether I was already over M. since I insisted on smelling like a rentboy on the prowl. I said evidently he knew more about rentboys than I did, given I never had the money to pay for one nor needed to, but that I wasn't surprised at his more extended knowledge in this regard.
OMG THESE GUYS
(it's funny because they SO would have had a conversation like that!)
tentatively titled "The Anti-Fritz".
HAHAHAHA FOREVER
And wonder of wonders, he sticks to the treatment.
Now that is surprising! :D (He doesn't spend the whole time talking about how he has better ideas for treatment? ;) )
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Date: 2021-07-13 05:23 am (UTC)OMG, yeah. Especially given what you say above about it being right after the Marwitz letters, woooooow. ...But I can totally see, as you say, Fritz deciding a Fun Family Vacation would be Just The Thing for Heinrich. He probably thought Heinrich was an ungrateful brat for not appreciating the Fun Family Vacation, too.
(And then the musicians were a let down, too.)
Heh, poor Heinrich!
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-12 06:57 pm (UTC)That was after the Marwitz letters in February/March that very same year
Ahaha, maybe he took Heinrich with him because he'd caught something from Marwitz after all. (Certainly would explain the "so he can marry" comment, if Fritz is speaking from his own - rumoured - experience.) :PP
But yeah, no wonder.
Re: From Pyrmont With Love? Waters, Spies, and Dogs
Date: 2021-07-13 05:17 am (UTC)Again, this is happening two months before the Second Silesian War and you know what? Me thinks that Fredersdorf outplayed Unger there!
Nice!
The local musicians still aren't allowed to play when Fritz is around and since they only got a very small tip not just from Fritz but also from Heinrich, I'm inclined to think they weren't all that great. (Fritz of course has his own musicians with him anyway, and nobody, not even Heinrich, is allowed in the room when he plays with them in the evening.)
As selenak says downthread, aw man, that's got to be disappointing for Heinrich.
Money quote re: Heinrich: [Walking] the alley, [the King] told the two doctors: Prince Heinrich - who was with them - should take the waters so he could marry, and Pöllnitz so he could pay his debts.
Which, omg.
FRITZ!