February 28th, 1732: FW, with SD present, asks EC's parents for the marriage, then calls Fritz and asks him if he has any objections? Of course Fritz says no, FW tells him to kiss their hands, EC is called and also asked. FW is so enthusiastic that he tells Fritz to kiss EC, which her father stops, and that he wants them to marry the next week, which Fritz manages to stop ("Let's maybe have an engagement first? A little more decency?" - I have a very hard time imagining Fritz calling out FW on lack of decency, though, so I suspect this might be Manteuffel's phrasing, and I'm also wondering who even is his source here. *side-eye*)
Manteuffel about EC, not quite as good at reading Fritz as he thinks, but mostly this made me sad for EC: “The princess does not displease the Prince Royal in any way, as she is nothing less than ugly or unpleasant. She is blonde and quite tall and shapely for her age. She has a beautiful complexion, although still a little blurred by the smallpox spots, large blue eyes and facial features resembling those of her brother the hereditary Prince. Her temper seems sweet and however difficult it may be to judge the character of a girl who finds herself under the iron of a rigorous mother, I believe she is much more inclined to joy than to sadness. It is true that she seems a little shy and embarrassed, but as she is by no means so when she finds herself among people of acquaintance, we must not doubt that she will soon become more daring and freer, when she will have free elbows. She will do very well, the Prince Royal maintaining that he would rather have a wife who made him a cuckold, than to have one who did not know how to keep the conversation going."
Weber: However, the satisfaction which Manteuffel thinks the prince found in the bride appointed for him must have been very temporary; other circumstances and "escapades" of the young prince probably had a disturbing effect. Manteuffel sometimes writes his reports about these with such a slippery pen that we cannot reproduce them here.* *FN: We can also find something similar from later times, especially from 1740 and concerning certain evening parties, called "parties de chauvesouris", which are said to have been very -- colorful.
Me: Noooo. Why are all you guys so easily embarrassed, but then start wars that destroy the primary sources? SIGH.
(Also, I was a bit confused as this point, because I thought that Manteuffel didn't start his regular reports from Berlin until 1734, but Droysen says he split his time between Pomerania, Berlin, and Leipzig between 1730 and 1733, so I guess that checks out?)
Weber says he was also present during the engagement party on March 10th - together with FS and 300 other guests - and reported the looked very subdued and had tears in his eyes when rings were exchanged bit.
EC supposedly told FW early on that Fritz didn't touch her? I'm kind of side-eyeing that as well tbh. On the other hand, we do know that the topic was hot at the end of 1735. Fritz apparently threw a party for EC's birthday on November 8th to smooth things over, but FW still had the new bed made for them (from green velvet), as we have heard before. Manteuffel: "a new conjugal bed will be made for the prince, the former being occupied, it is said, by some Asmodee or spell, which prevents procreation." And later: "The King demanded from his son an oath, that he would live with his wife as a true husband, that he would consummate the marriage, that he would not make a separate bed. The Prince's refusal put the King in such a fit of fury, that the son was forced to retire."
Manteuffel comment when sending a Fritz letter on to Brühl: "The letter [...] does not contain anything important, but I thought I should communicate it to you, because it can be used to show a part of the character of the author, which is to have a lot of spirit and reading, to flatter himself by showing it [se piquer a faire parade], enjoying himself in making people feel he has some, and to be extraordinarily polite in his letters in order to attract reciprocal incense."
On another occasion: "It is a pity that this Prince is surrounded only by young officers, most of them very brainless and ignorant, when he is in his regiment, where he spends most of his time to please the King, his father; it is certain, that if he haunted only wise and intelligent people, he would become one of the beautiful geniuses of his time and would easily correct several small faults, for which he is still responsible both on the side of the heart and on the side of the mind."
He also includes a copy of his own answer, commenting that given all the "douceurs" Fritz wrote him, he gave back in kind. And boy, did he lay it on thick indeed - such a pity that Fritz is destined to become a protector of authors and not an author himself, and what is he going to love outside of himself if he wants to hate all imperfection, etc etc ...
Weber: Alas, all the honey he collected for the Prince didn't agree with Manteuffel, turning sour, as this is what he writes in his next report: "I am delighted that he has come [back to Berlin], this correspondence cost me more trouble than all the others I maintain."
Finally, Manteuffel's self-congratulatory "Europe will thank me for teaching him the right morals once I'm dead, plus four reasons why the crown prince likes me" letter is a thing to behold. (I think Selena and Mildred mentioned most of it before, but I can reproduce it if you want.) I'm sure Europe was very thankful indeed, Manteuffel. :P I'm also not surprised that your relationship with Fritz didn't last long.
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Reports from the Dresden State Archive - Fritz and Manteuffel
Date: 2022-01-09 09:16 pm (UTC)On Fritz marrying EC:
February 28th, 1732: FW, with SD present, asks EC's parents for the marriage, then calls Fritz and asks him if he has any objections? Of course Fritz says no, FW tells him to kiss their hands, EC is called and also asked. FW is so enthusiastic that he tells Fritz to kiss EC, which her father stops, and that he wants them to marry the next week, which Fritz manages to stop ("Let's maybe have an engagement first? A little more decency?" - I have a very hard time imagining Fritz calling out FW on lack of decency, though, so I suspect this might be Manteuffel's phrasing, and I'm also wondering who even is his source here. *side-eye*)
Manteuffel about EC, not quite as good at reading Fritz as he thinks, but mostly this made me sad for EC: “The princess does not displease the Prince Royal in any way, as she is nothing less than ugly or unpleasant. She is blonde and quite tall and shapely for her age. She has a beautiful complexion, although still a little blurred by the smallpox spots, large blue eyes and facial features resembling those of her brother the hereditary Prince. Her temper seems sweet and however difficult it may be to judge the character of a girl who finds herself under the iron of a rigorous mother, I believe she is much more inclined to joy than to sadness. It is true that she seems a little shy and embarrassed, but as she is by no means so when she finds herself among people of acquaintance, we must not doubt that she will soon become more daring and freer, when she will have free elbows. She will do very well, the Prince Royal maintaining that he would rather have a wife who made him a cuckold, than to have one who did not know how to keep the conversation going."
Weber: However, the satisfaction which Manteuffel thinks the prince found in the bride appointed for him must have been very temporary; other circumstances and "escapades" of the young prince probably had a disturbing effect. Manteuffel sometimes writes his reports about these with such a slippery pen that we cannot reproduce them here.*
*FN: We can also find something similar from later times, especially from 1740 and concerning certain evening parties, called "parties de chauvesouris", which are said to have been very -- colorful.
Me: Noooo. Why are all you guys so easily embarrassed, but then start wars that destroy the primary sources? SIGH.
(Also, I was a bit confused as this point, because I thought that Manteuffel didn't start his regular reports from Berlin until 1734, but Droysen says he split his time between Pomerania, Berlin, and Leipzig between 1730 and 1733, so I guess that checks out?)
Weber says he was also present during the engagement party on March 10th - together with FS and 300 other guests - and reported the looked very subdued and had tears in his eyes when rings were exchanged bit.
EC supposedly told FW early on that Fritz didn't touch her? I'm kind of side-eyeing that as well tbh. On the other hand, we do know that the topic was hot at the end of 1735. Fritz apparently threw a party for EC's birthday on November 8th to smooth things over, but FW still had the new bed made for them (from green velvet), as we have heard before. Manteuffel: "a new conjugal bed will be made for the prince, the former being occupied, it is said, by some Asmodee or spell, which prevents procreation." And later: "The King demanded from his son an oath, that he would live with his wife as a true husband, that he would consummate the marriage, that he would not make a separate bed. The Prince's refusal put the King in such a fit of fury, that the son was forced to retire."
Manteuffel comment when sending a Fritz letter on to Brühl: "The letter [...] does not contain anything important, but I thought I should communicate it to you, because it can be used to show a part of the character of the author, which is to have a lot of spirit and reading, to flatter himself by showing it [se piquer a faire parade], enjoying himself in making people feel he has some, and to be extraordinarily polite in his letters in order to attract reciprocal incense."
On another occasion: "It is a pity that this Prince is surrounded only by young officers, most of them very brainless and ignorant, when he is in his regiment, where he spends most of his time to please the King, his father; it is certain, that if he haunted only wise and intelligent people, he would become one of the beautiful geniuses of his time and would easily correct several small faults, for which he is still responsible both on the side of the heart and on the side of the mind."
He also includes a copy of his own answer, commenting that given all the "douceurs" Fritz wrote him, he gave back in kind. And boy, did he lay it on thick indeed - such a pity that Fritz is destined to become a protector of authors and not an author himself, and what is he going to love outside of himself if he wants to hate all imperfection, etc etc ...
Weber: Alas, all the honey he collected for the Prince didn't agree with Manteuffel, turning sour, as this is what he writes in his next report: "I am delighted that he has come [back to Berlin], this correspondence cost me more trouble than all the others I maintain."
Finally, Manteuffel's self-congratulatory "Europe will thank me for teaching him the right morals once I'm dead, plus four reasons why the crown prince likes me" letter is a thing to behold. (I think Selena and Mildred mentioned most of it before, but I can reproduce it if you want.) I'm sure Europe was very thankful indeed, Manteuffel. :P I'm also not surprised that your relationship with Fritz didn't last long.