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cahnUnfortunately, there was then at Berlin a King who pursued one policy only, who deceived his enemies, but not his servants, and who lied without scruple, but never without necessity.
(from The King's Secret - by Duke de Broglie, grand-nephew of the subject of the book, Comte de Broglie, and grandfather of the physicist) )
(from The King's Secret - by Duke de Broglie, grand-nephew of the subject of the book, Comte de Broglie, and grandfather of the physicist) )
Henri according to a Scot
Date: 2023-09-21 03:18 am (UTC)William Richardson was appointed British ambassador to Russia in 1768. He published a collection of letters, which I'm guessing was an extremely literary production like Bielfeld's, and not like Mitchell's papers, but I can't be sure. Anyway, here's Carlyle:
It is not true that Friedrich had schemed to send Henri round by Petersburg. On the contrary, it was the Czarina, on ground of old acquaintanceship, who invited him, and asked his Brother's leave to do it. And if Poland got its fate from the circumstance, it was by accident, and by the fact that Poland's fate was drop-ripe, ready to fall by a touch.— Before going farther, here is ocular view of the shrill-minded, serious and ingenious Henri, little conscious of being so fateful a man:— Prince Henri in White Domino "Prince Henri of Prussia," says Richardson, the useful Eye-witness cited already, "is one of the most celebrated Generals of the present age. So great are his military talents, that his Brother, who is not apt to pay compliments, says of him,— That, in commanding an army, he was never known to commit a fault. This, however, is but a negative kind of praise. He [the King] reserves to himself the glory of superior genius, which, though capable of brilliant achievements, is yet liable to unwary mistakes: and allows him no other than the praise of correctness.
"To judge of Prince Henri by his appearance, I should form no high estimate of his abilities. But the Scythian Ambassadors judged in the same manner of Alexander the Great. He is under the middle size; very thin; he walks firmly enough, or rather struts, as if he wanted to walk firmly; and has little dignity in his air or gesture. He is dark-complexioned; and he wears his hair, which is remarkably thick, clubbed, and dressed with a high toupee. His forehead is high; his eyes large and blue, with a little squint; and when he smiles, his upper lip is drawn up a little in the middle. His look expresses sagacity and observation, but nothing very amiable; and his manner is grave and stiff rather than affable. He was dressed, when I first saw him, in a light-blue frock with silver frogs; and wore a red waistcoat and blue breeches. He is not very popular among the Russians; and accordingly their wits are disposed to amuse themselves with his appearance, and particularly with his toupee. They say he resembles Samson; that all his strength lies in his hair; and that, conscious of this, and recollecting the fate of the son of Manoah, he suffers not the nigh approaches of any deceitful Delilah. They say he is like the Comet, which, about fifteen months ago, appeared so formidable in the Russian hemisphere; and which, exhibiting a small watery body, but a most enormous train, dismayed the Northern and Eastern Potentates with 'fear of change.'
"I saw him a few nights ago [on or about New-year's Day, 1771; come back to us, from his Tour to Moscow, three weeks before; and nothing but galas ever since] at a Masquerade in the Palace, said to be the most magnificent thing of the kind ever seen at the Russian Court. Fourteen large rooms and galleries were opened for the accommodation of the masks; and I was informed that there were present several thousand people. A great part of the company wore dominos, or capuchin dresses; though, besides these, some fanciful appearances afforded a good deal of amusement. A very tall Cossack appeared completely arrayed in the 'hauberk's twisted mail.' He was indeed very grim and martial. Persons in emblematical dresses, representing Apollo and the Seasons, addressed the Empress in speeches suited to their characters. The Empress herself, at the time I saw her Majesty, wore a Grecian habit; though I was afterwards told that she varied her dress two or three times during the masquerade. Prince Henri of Prussia wore a white domino. Several persons appeared in the dresses of different nations,— Chinese, Turks, Persians and Armenians. The most humorous and fantastical figure was a Frenchman, who, with wonderful nimbleness and dexterity, represented an overgrown but very beautiful Parrot. He chattered with a great deal of spirit; and his shoulders, covered with green feathers, performed admirably the part of wings. He drew the attention of the Empress; a ring was formed; he was quite happy; fluttered his plumage; made fine speeches in Russ, French and tolerable English; the ladies were exceedingly diverted; everybody laughed except Prince Henri, who stood beside the Empress, and was so grave and so solemn, that he would have performed his part most admirably in the shape of an owl. The Parrot observed him; was determined to have revenge; and having said as many good things as he could to her Majesty, he was hopping away; but just as he was going out of the circle, seeming to recollect himself, he stopped, looked over his shoulder at the formal Prince, and quite in the parrot tone and French accent, he addressed him most emphatically with 'Henri! Henri! Henri!' and then, diving into the crowd, disappeared. His Royal Highness was disconcerted; he was forced to smile in his own defence, and the company were not a little amused.
"At midnight, a spacious hall, of a circular form, capable of containing a vast number of people, and illuminated in the most magnificent manner, was suddenly opened. Twelve tables were placed in alcoves around the sides of the room, where the Empress, Prince Henri, and a hundred and fifty of the chief nobility and foreign ministers sat down to supper. The rest of the company went up, by stairs on the outside of the room, into the lofty galleries placed all around on the inside. Such a row of masked visages, many of them with grotesque features and bushy beards, nodding from the side of the wall, appeared very ludicrous to those below. The entertainment was enlivened with a concert of music: and at different intervals persons in various habits entered the hall, and exhibited Cossack, Chinese, Polish, Swedish and Tartar dances. The whole was so gorgeous, and at the same time so fantastic, that I could not help thinking myself present at some of the magnificent festivals described in the old-fashioned romantes:—' The marshal'd feast Served up in hall with sewers and seneschals.' The rest of the company, on returning to the rooms adjoining, found prepared for them also a sumptuous banquet. The masquerade began at 6 in the evening, and continued till 5 next morning.
"Besides the masquerade, and other festivities, in honor of, and to divert Prince Henri, we had lately a most magnificent show of fire-works. They were exhibited in a wide apace before the Winter Palace; and, in truth, 'beggared description.' They displayed, by a variety of emblematical figures, the reduction of Moldavia, Wallachia, Bessarabia, and the various conquests and victories achieved since the commencement of the present War. The various colors, the bright green and the snowy white, exhibited in these fire-works, were truly astonishing. For the space of twenty minutes, a tree, adorned with the loveliest and most verdant foliage, seemed to be waving as with a gentle breeze. It was entirely of fire; and during the whole of this stupendous scene, an arch of fire, by the continued throwing of rockets and fire-balls in one direction, formed as it were a suitable canopy.
"On this occasion a prodigious multitude of people were assembled; and the Empress, it was surmised, seemed uneasy. She was afraid, it was apprehended, lest any accident, like what happened at Paris at the marriage of the Dauphin, should befall her beloved people. I hope I have amused you; and ever am"—[ W. Richardson, Anecdotes of the Russian Empire, pp. 325-331: "Petersburg, 4th January, 1771."]
Much of this is familiar already, like the fact that he comes across as stiff at first, but okay, the parrot! and also--they made fun of his wig in 1771! Just like we do today in salon! :D :D
They say he resembles Samson; that all his strength lies in his hair; and that, conscious of this, and recollecting the fate of the son of Manoah, he suffers not the nigh approaches of any deceitful Delilah.
Ha, a dig at his sexuality and his wig, all in one go. I like it!
Re "what happened at Paris at the marriage of the Dauphin" (future Louis XVI to Marie Antoinette), a quick Google tells me it was what Guiness still considers the deadliest fireworks accident in world history: there was a large crowd gathered on the Place de la Concorde, some fireworks landed in the crowd, and there was a huge stampede in which many people were killed.
The official death toll was something like 132 or 133, but many people felt it was underestimated, and much higher numbers were given out unofficially. Guinness gives it as 800, but one of the google hits says that even at 133, it would still be a record.
If anyone wants to browse Richardson to see if there are any more good anecdotes regarding the heroes and antiheroes of salon, the volume is now in the Frederician library here.
Re: Henri according to a Scot
Date: 2023-09-21 05:22 am (UTC)Re: Henri according to a Scot
Date: 2023-09-23 01:16 pm (UTC)here is ocular view of the shrill-minded, serious and ingenious Henri
"Shrill-Minded": say what? Because he's Fritz critical? Interesting, btw, that Carlyle knows Catherine's letter to Fritz asking for the permission for Heinrich's trip, but evidently NOT about the fact Heinrich asked her to write said letter once he's safely in Sweden.
Lehndorff: Also, I, too, could be critical of Heinrich, especially about his taste in men, but I would like to offer my characterisation of him during the same era:
Never have there been two men less fitting with each other than the Prince and Kaphengst. The former, all mind, passion and fire, loves a debauched, ignorant man who only loves women and gambling. When they are together, they bore each other. And still of all the men who‘ve enjoyed his favour, this one has evoked the most passion from him, and if the good Prince weren‘t in debts himself now, he‘d probably give as much to Kaphengst as he‘s already given him. I have so often pondered the human mind; my own stands still every time when I see he won‘t be led to reason!
End of Lehndorff diary entry.
So great are his military talents, that his Brother, who is not apt to pay compliments, says of him,— That, in commanding an army, he was never known to commit a fault. This, however, is but a negative kind of praise. He [the King] reserves to himself the glory of superior genius, which, though capable of brilliant achievements, is yet liable to unwary mistakes: and allows him no other than the praise of correctness.
That's interesting, because that was indeed my father's first interpretation of the famous "the only general who didn't commit a fault in the 7 Years war" quote, i.e., that it's only a compliment on the surface but actually a put down, i.e. Heinrich is cautious and avarage, Fritz is brilliant and erratic. I'm not so sure. I mean, absolutely believe that Fritz thought he was the superior military genius, and was more than capable of fraternal disses, subtle and otherwise, but firstly, in the situation where he said the famous quote, he actually did want to pay Heinrich a compliment and was feeling somewhat sentimental and grateful, and secondly, "allows him no other than the praise of correctness" isn't true. He wrote re: Prague "Heinrich has done wonders" in his letters, and in one of their public arguments Henckel von Donnersmark writes about in his diary actually accused him of being too reckless in terms of personal bravery, which is the kind of insult that's definitely also a compliment if you've drunken the Prussian cool aid.
He is dark-complexioned
That's the only bit of physical description actually new to me, and interesting because given all the powder men applied on formal occasions like the ones where the Ambassador would have seen him, that means he really must have been bronzed. Then again, he'd been travelling for months in Scandinavia and Russia, and the former during those months when the sun hardly ever sets.
Re: Henri according to a Scot
Date: 2023-09-23 07:44 pm (UTC)I assume so, yes, admittedly without having read Carlyle all the way through. (Unfortunately, I cannot handle 6 volumes of that writing style. It's like seasoning: only good in small doses.)
That's interesting, because that was indeed my father's first interpretation of the famous "the only general who didn't commit a fault in the 7 Years war" quote, i.e., that it's only a compliment on the surface but actually a put down, i.e. Heinrich is cautious and avarage, Fritz is brilliant and erratic. I'm not so sure.
It could be "I'm still better, but well done," i.e. a sincere compliment of limited force. I mean, Fritz *did* think the big pitched battle was the only way to win a war, so while he might be impressed that Heinrich never gave Fritz the opportunity to scapegoat him, Fritz might also be implicitly reserving the final, highest praise for himself.
He is dark-complexioned
That's the only bit of physical description actually new to me
Yeah, same, and I too was surprised. All those sleigh rides, I guess!
Finally: LOL again at the parrot.
Re: Henri according to a Scot
Date: 2023-09-30 11:13 pm (UTC)Heh, as an older sibling, I'm... gonna say I could totally see how it could be this one :P