Historical Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 48

[cahn]

Some awesome historical RPF candyheartsex stories for meeeeee (or by me, in one tiny case) with historical characters! I'm just going to note whom the stories are about here. They are all so good!!

Anne Boleyn/Catherine of Aragorn
Frances Howard and Frances Coke (or: James I's court was basically a HOTBED of scandal, omg)

And two that are also historical RPF but also consistent with the Jude Morgan novel The King's Touch, which is an excellent historical novel narrated by James ("Jemmy") Scott, Duke of Monmouth, Charles II's illegitimate son.

Princess Henrietta of England (Charles II's sister and wife of Philippe I duc d'Orleans)
James of Monmouth/William/Mary

Comments

Duc de Richelieu

[mildred_of_midgard]

Not the Cardinal, the Duke, whom cahn can now tell apart from the Cardinal! :)

The Duc de Richelieu is the subject of my latest French-practice biography, which I'm halfway through, and here's what I've learned so far:

His posthumous memoirs are fake, published during the French Revolution (he died in 1788, aged 92), to discredit him and French nobility in general.

When he was six years old, his widowed father remarried a widow. One of the terms of their marriage contract was that the six-year-old future Duc would marry the widow's daughter from her first marriage, who was about a year older than he was. The future Duc de Richelieu was then forced into this marriage when he was not yet 15. He was super unhappy about it, refused to sleep with her, and did his best to have sex with everyone he knew *except* her. Despite this, she is said to have remained faithful to him. (Quoth the biographer, "Despite the fact that he gave her no reason to.")

When he was 15, Richelieu was locked in the Bastille for over a year. Why? Reasons differ as to who pushed for this (his father or Louis XIV) and why (excessive gambling debts vs. flirting too much with the Dauphine), but he definitely had pissed everyone off, to the point where my guess as to the answer to both "who?" and "why?" is: "Why not both?"

The author, who has his moments of humor, says that Richelieu's father, having gambled away an entire fortune in his youth, should have been more sympathetic, but he had become devout in his old age, and did not hesitate to seek (or agree to, depending on which version of the story you believe) an arrest warrant from the king, i.e. one of the infamous lettres de cachet that meant "I'm the king and I can have you locked up whenever I want, for however long I want, without saying why."

Now, you may recall that life in the Bastille could be rough or could be luxurious, depending on how much money and how much prestige your family had. In Richelieu's case, well...you'd think it would be the latter. And it may well have been. He certainly had a servant. But in his old age, he told a friend that his jailer had orders (presumably from his father and/or the king) to let his wife visit him in hopes that he would be desperate enough to have sex with her, and not to alleviate his prison conditions until "she left satisfied." 

Richelieu was not that desperate, though.

But also he got smallpox shortly after entering, so that may have been part of why he couldn't have sex. His old age story may not be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. (There is a lot of that in this book: "So-and-so said Richelieu did X, but that seems unlikely.")
Richelieu also used the time to improve his education, which had been rather lackluster up to this point. He could at least somewhat read Latin now!

After being released, he goes off to war against Eugene of Savoy, distinguishes himself, and things are looking good, but--oh no! Peace is signed and his regiment is disbanded. Now he has no prospect of glory, and financially he's dependent on his tightfisted father. "Fortunately, if one can call it that, the latter died barely a month later."

I'm not enamoured of this author, but like Asprey, he has his moments of humor.

Then Richelieu gets locked in the Bastille for dueling. This is actually Philippe the Regent being nice to him, because otherwise Richelieu was going to be dragged in front of the Parlement of Paris, and this way Philippe took the matter out of their hands and into his own, where he could be benevolent.

Then he ends up in the Bastille a third time for joining one of the conspiracies to dethrone Philippe the Regent in favor of Philip the Frog. Despite the fact that Philippe had been pretty soft on him about the dueling and you'd think Richelieu would owe him one.

By the age of 23, Richelieu had spent over 2 years in the Bastille.

Then he got out and soon after got into a duel with the Duc de Bourbon, who was upset that the Duc de Richelieu was sleeping with his sister. This despite the fact that dueling had landed Richelieu in the Bastille before.

Most of the book so far is a string of Richelieu's affairs. So. Many. Affairs. I mean, this is basically what he's known for, so I'm not surprised, but also...I was hoping his actual biography would have more interesting material than what I'd osmosed from reading about other people. Every occasionally, Richelieu does something other than fuck, like the time he's appointed ambassador to Vienna. He asks Voltaire to be his secretary, something I had forgotten, but Voltaire declines.

In Vienna, Richelieu gets along reasonably well by pretending to be pious, because Charles VI is so pious. But even there, surprisingly little of interest happens, at least as reported by his biographer, who is eager to get back to recounting his affairs upon his return to France. There is a brief comment by the author that it was surprising that so inexperienced a diplomat would be sent to such a sensitive court...but no mention of how diplomacy was often left up to amateurs on the assumption that it didn't require specialized knowledge.

Oh, one time Richelieu gets to administer a province in France, and he does his best to keep the religious tensions and persecution of Protestants down. And it was he who suggested La Pucelle to Voltaire, apparently. So among his good points is not being a religious fanatic, but I'm definitely getting a frat boy vibe from this guy.

Will report if I learn anything interesting in the second half of the book (assuming I finish it, but it's good French practice, if nothing else. I wish Orieux were available on Kindle, sigh.)

Marie Adelaide of Savoy

[mildred_of_midgard]

The one interesting character the Richelieu bio has introduced me to is Louis XV's mother, Marie Adelaide of Savoy. She is presented as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl type, who is free-spirited and cheers an old and depressed Louis XIV up, and everyone at court loves her (especially her husband). Because this is the 18th century, one of her antics involved having an entire conversation with Louis behind a screen, while her maid slipped under her voluminous skirts and administered an enema. Marie Adelaide carried on the conversation with Louis without batting an eye, and when Louis found out later she'd been receiving an enema while talking to him, he thought that was just *hilarious*.

Also because it's the 18th century, though, she has to make it very clear that just because she's unconventional and boundary-pushing doesn't mean she's unchaste. So when the Duc de Richelieu takes the flirting with her a little too far, she immediately makes it clear to the men of her family that this is a major DNW for her and that she did nothing to encourage it. So he gets in trouble, not her.

The whole episode where he's flirting with her gets even weirder when you realize that she's his godmother. That's Richelieu for you.

Her "Hot or Not?" portrait, by Saint-Simon, goes like this:

Very well set brown brown hair and eyebrows, the most expressive and beautiful eyes in the world, few teeth and all of them rotten which she was the first to talk about and make fun of, the most beautiful complexion and the most beautiful skin, small but admirable breasts, the neck long with a hint of goiter which did not suit it badly, a gallant, graceful, majestic posture of the head and the same look, the most expressive smile, a long, round, petite figure; easy, perfect figure, a goddess' walk on the clouds; she pleased to the last degree. The Graces themselves arose from all her steps, from all her manners, and from her most common speeches. A simple and natural air always, naive often enough, but seasoned with wit, charmed, with this ease that was in her, to the point of communicating it to everyone who approached her.

Now, you may not recognize her name, but we've encountered her before. She's the one who, when the French royal family fell like dominoes in the 1711-1715 period, got measles, and her husband loved her so much that he insisted on staying with her and nursing her while she was sick, and not wanting to outlive her when she died, just 26. So he got the measles from her and died 6 days after his beloved wife. Then their oldest son, the new dauphin, died of the same measles less than a month later. Then his two-year-old brother, future Louis XV, *also* got the same measles...and was saved by his governess, Madame de Ventadour, barring the nursery doors and not letting any doctors in. Because it's the 18th century and you're better off *not* listening to the recognized medical experts.

Her father was Machiavellian Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, who married his two daughters off to two of Louis XIV's grandsons: Marie Adelaide to Louis the future dauphin, meaning she would have been queen of France if not for the stupid measles, and Marie Louise to Philip the Frog, making her queen of Spain until her own untimely death at the age of 25 from tuberculosis.

So the one thing I have to thank the Richelieu book for is turning her from a statistic into at least somewhat of a person I can imagine.

Nikolaikirche

[mildred_of_midgard]

Swamped at work but keeping up my Kurrent-reading quotas, and briefly:

I have an answer to how Peter and his younger son Friedrich Ludwig ended up in the crypt they did in the Nikolaikirche! In 1812, Karl Ernst requested to be buried in the same vault with his father, his brother, and various maternal relatives. So there were Knyphausens there! Oriane only ended up in the Parochialkirche because she was a great governess to the queen.

What I don't have an answer to is why Karl Ernst ended up next to his mother in the Parochialkirche instead in 1822. I suspect I'm staring at the answer in a postscript, but his executor's handwriting is...not exactly bad, but he forms certain characters differently than I'm used to, and he's doing a bit of scrawling. I've bookmarked this letter to come back to and sift through character by character, sudoku-style, with the intent of deciphering the postscript properly.

Other instructions: Open his testament immediately. Leave his body lying in bed 24 hours, then 8 days above ground if at all possible (meaning if the weather wouldn't make it decompose at an alarmingly pestilent rate) before being buried. Bury him early in the morning or late in the evening, without ceremony. (Um, I'm remembering that I read through the description of his funeral procession, and I seem to recall there was some ceremony. Ghost!Fritz waves sadly.) No written notification of his death in the newspaper or anywhere else.

Platée

[luzula]

Hello salon, yesterday I watched Platée at the Gothenburg Opera House, which is an opera first performed to celebrate the wedding of Louis, Dauphin of France, son of King Louis XV, to the Infanta María Teresa Rafaela of Spain in 1745 (according to Wikipedia). While I have watched operas before, it is not a genre that I am used to. Thus while I enjoyed the music and the spectacle, I thought the plot dragged agonizingly slow. Voltaire didn't like it, also according to Wikipedia.

Selena, do you have any background for this? The thing that really makes me wonder is that the main character of the opera is an ugly swamp nymph who thinks she's going to get married to Jupiter. And apparently the RL bride was not supposed to be very good looking? How on earth did the writer dare to do such a thing?

Elizaveta Alexeievna (Louise of Baden) I

[aella_irene]

I thought I'd take our adorable teenage bride discussion further East...

So. Louise of Baden, born 1779, granddaughter of the Margrave of Baden and niece of Frederica Louisa of Prussia, also of Wilhelmina/Natalia, first wife of Paul of Russia. All of this makes her a very desirable bride, in the eyes of Catherine the Great, for Paul's son Alexander.

(As Paul had been taken from her to raise, Catherine had taken Paul's first sons. He effectively had two sets of children by his second wife, the ones raised by Catherine, and the ones born after her death who his wife got to raise for herself.)

Catherine invites both Louise and her sister Frederica to St Petersburg when Louise is 13. Six months or so later, at fourteen, she's engaged to Alexander (aged fifteen), and once she's learnt Russian, converted, and become Elizaveta, they marry. Catherine describes it as "the marriage of Cupid and Psyche“.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth is young, sheltered, and modest, and not ready for the court of Catherine the Great. Worse still, it becomes clear that she and Alexander are not fucking, and this causes Catherine concern. In the end, she sends out her favourites to try and seduce both of them to work out where the problem is. Elizaveta is not receptive to this, and Alexander apparently finds quite how avoidant she is hilarious, writing to friends that she's an angel, and he feels bad for the man who's been trying to seduce her for a year. Sadly, Elizaveta is lonely, writing that "Without my husband, who alone makes me happy, I should have died a thousand deaths".

Finally, Catherine dies, and Paul ascends. And at some point along here, Elizaveta meets Adam Czartoryski.

Adam was brought from Poland as a hostage for familial good behaviour, and tutored alongside Alexander, with whom he was close friends. Such close friends, in fact, that Alexander became theoretically sympathetic to the rights of Poland. He was also close to Elizaveta.

Five years after the wedding, Elizaveta has her first child, a daughter. At the christening, the Emperor Paul says how odd it is for two such fair haired parents to have a dark haired and eyed child, then shrugs and goes on with being an adoring grandfather, even declaring himself her dear protector if anyone dares complain she's not a boy. His wife Maria, on the other hand, does not like Elizaveta and is not fooled.

Alexander is also almost certainly not fooled, but does not care. Unfortunately, it is becoming clear that while Elizaveta is educated, modest, pious and kind, this is not what Alexander likes in a woman.

Finally, when the baby is three months old, Maria Feodorovna sends her aide to the nursery, and has the baby taken to Paul. Elizaveta doesn't want to allow it (the baby has to be taken outside) but doesn't have a choice, and says she's grateful for the Empress's interest in her child.

The baby is taken to Paul's study. Maria Feodorovna and her aide also enter the study. Paul becomes angry, and summons Alexander. The next day, Adam Czartoryski is banished, and Paul loses his affection for Elizaveta, who effectively locks herself in the nursery until, aged fourteen months, the baby dies.

"As of this morning, I no longer have a child, she is dead. Not an hour of the day passes without my thinking of her, and certainly not a day without my giving her bitter tears. It cannot be otherwise so long as I live, even if she were to be replaced by two dozen children."

Paul is also apparently distressed by the loss, but doesn't have long to dwell on it, as he is assassinated eight months later, with Alexander's tacit approval. Elizaveta, who knows about the coup, is there to support him on the night.

Now she's Empress, but her troubles are very much not over, starting with Maria Feodorovna convincing Alexander that she as his mother should take precedence over his wife. I don't know if this took place while she was insisting the blood stained shirt Paul was murdered in be between them at all private meetings. She also refuses to give up her jewels and the charities overseen by the Empress.

Unlike Maria Feodorovna, who spent to the upper limit of her allowance (1 million roubles), Elizaveta took about a fifth, and used about a tenth for herself, spending the rest on largely on charitable works and supporting soldiers. We know this because she carefully supervised the keeping of meticulous accounts.

Karl Ernst's inheritance

[mildred_of_midgard]

So the one thing I'm most interested in, of his possessions, is what happened to Peter's books, as the author of the dissertation says that Knobelsdorff's library disappears after it passes into Peter's hands, although the majority of the titles can be found in the Berlin Stabi, so he concludes that at some point it's likely the books passed into royal possession.

Once I get through these papers, I'm planning on reaching out to the author and letting him know what I found.

For now, as you know, we have an inventory of books in Peter's possession at his death, and I've finally turned up what Karl Ernst did with his books, which I've been looking for since I started going through this collection:

The widowed Countess Schwerin, born Countess Doenhoff, can choose whatever she likes from the collection of paintings, drawings and engravings; likewise, Miss von Bischoffswerder with the book collection. The remainder should be sold to the highest bidder and given to Herr von Kattwitz for his poor institution; but only up to 5000 Reichstaler, in that the surplus belongs to the universal heir(s?), with whom the family portraits--according to a list--should also remain.

Now, what I don't know is how much the collection at Karl Ernst's death in 1822 overlaps with what passed into the Keith family hands in 1752, because I don't know what might have been sold during Peter's or Karl Ernst's lifetimes. As felis found, there was certainly an immediate painting sale.

But this is progress, and Martin Engel may be interested!

Aristotle's Masterpiece (1710)

[luzula]

Cross-posted from my journal:
I referred to this sex and relationship manual in a fic, and so I thought I should actually read it as well. Or rather, I listened to the Librivox version (which I see now doesn't have all of it, but I think I got enough). Wow, parts of this made me feel like the 18th century was so utterly alien: if you want a girl child, drink female mercury. *boggles* Noooo, please don't drink mercury! There was other stuff that was more reasonable--it explains that a virgin might not have a hymen, so a man shouldn't think his wife necessarily had sex with other women before him if she doesn't bleed on the wedding night. Here it is on the clitoris: "The clitoris is a substance in the upper part of the division where the two wings meet, and the seat of venereal pleasure, being like a man's penis in situation, substance, composition and power of erection, growing sometimes to the length of two inches out of the body, but that never happens except through extreme lustfulness or some extraordinary accident."

There's a Q&A about physiology at the end, here's a sample:
Q. Why are women smooth and fairer than men? A. Because in women much of the humidity and superfluity, which are the matter and cause of the hair of the body, is expelled with their monthly terms; which superfluity, remaining in men, through vapours passes into hair.
Q. Why is the milk white, seeing the flowers are red, of which it is engendered? A. Because blood which is well purged and concocted becomes white, as appeareth in flesh whose proper colour is white, and being boiled, is white. Also, because every humour which is engendered of the body, is made like unto that part in colour where it is engendered as near as it can be; but because the flesh of the paps is white, therefore the colour of the milk is white.
(Flowers = menstrual blood. Apparently they thought milk and menstrual blood was basically the same substance?? ...I guess it sort of makes sense in that many people don't have periods while they breastfeed.)
Q. Why is the flesh of the lungs white? A. Because they are in continual motion.
(Uh, what?)
Q. Why are we commonly cold after dinner? A. Because then the heat goes to the stomach to further digestion, and so the other parts grow cold."
(...that's actually kind of right.)

He, too, is Alexander?

[selenak]

Early in Salon, we touched on this a little bit, but listening to the Hellenistic Podcast has reminded me again of both some eerie parallels between Fritz and Alexander the Great in terms of the youthful family drama, though they come with even larger contrasts later on. Leaving aside the whole "Fritz was good, Alexander was a once in several generations talent in terms of military talent" thing.) To wit: both Fritz and Alexander had a difficult relationship with their fathers and were weapons in a marriage war; both fathers were nonetheless quintessential to their later success which could not have happened this way without them - if FW hadn't reformed the Prussian state, invented Prussian mentality, gotten everyone to drink the cool aid and left the country to Fritz with the most modern and best trained army in Europe and a big state treasure, if Philipp hadn't taken a torn and poor Macedon and made it into the superpower of the Balkans and top dog of Greece and left the best army and a treasure, neither "Great" son could have started their reign on an invading the big Empire note.

Now, as mentioned, there are differences. Never mind Murder on the Wusterhausen Express, there's a very good chance Alexander at least knew his father's assassination was coming, and the chances that his mother Olympias was totally innocent are very small. Fritz went out of his way to say nothing negative about FW later in life and to give him credit and praise him in his histories and public pronouncements and what not, whereas supposedly Alexander lost it in a spectacular and lethal fashion when one of his Companions went "FYI, your Dad was awesome and actually more so than you!" on him. While Fritz mourned for beloved friends and Fredersdorf, he never did so on an Alexander-and-Hephaistion level. And of course Alexander actually took the trouble of reproducing and marrying repeatedly, no matter his preferences. And the biggest difference: Fritz got old and while disdaining his successor handed the state over to him in an orderly fashion, Alexander died young and his Empire immediately started to be torn apart by his generals.

My idle question is this: how much of this is nature or nurture?: i.e. if Fritz and Alexander magically changed places as boys...

- does Alex kill FW post Katte? Does Fritz put up with Philipp for longer, especially given he gets to keep Hephaistion?

- Who among the Prussian generals gets speared by Alex during a drunken evening? (Hopefully not Heinrich or Seydlitz...)

- how does Alexander handle the MT situation differently, if he does? Serious marriage proposal after FS mysteriously dies? Silesia is only the beginning and he marches on, ends up as HRE and revitalizes the Empire?

- who becomes Fritz' Voltaire in the ancient world - Aristotle? A Persian writer/philosopher? (Impress the Persians, mock the Persians, beat the Persians...)

- does Fritz ever go to India or does he stop at Babylon?

Karl Ernst

[mildred_of_midgard]

Getting close to the end of the material I'm going to decipher (much of it I've decided isn't worth the effort--this is 1500 pages, remember), and I found one paragraph of slight interest.

One of the Keith cousins from Silesia, granddaughter of one of Peter's siblings, named Amalie, has written to Karl Ernst's heir (one of the Knyphausen cousins) immediately after Karl Ernst's death. One paragraph is easy to sight-read, and she's talking about how she was orphaned and entered the world as a child of 13, father-less and mother-less, without guidance or support, until she thought to turn to her uncle* Karl Ernst in Berlin. "I found a loving welcome and more than a heart used to hardship and deprivation could have imagined."

* First cousin once removed, but she says "thus legally my uncle."

So while this guy who donated to charity annually while living in a rundown house might have given her a warm welcome regardless, I have to wonder if the guy who lost his father at 13 felt an especial sympathy for his orphaned-at-13 niece. Just like Selena thinks Caroline of Ansbach, who had to teach herself to read, felt an especial sympathy for Peter, who had to hide his reading late at night.

The rest of the letter is much harder to read, and I have no immediate plans to decipher it, as not being relevant to my essay, but my guess, based on context, is it includes: "Hey, Mr. Heir of My Uncle Karl Ernst, who was a lovely person who gave me money, can you make sure the money doesn't dry up?" But that's a total guess based on context, as I haven't read any actual words to that effect.

Onwards!

ETA: Ah, there we are! Two months later, she's thanking him humbly and effusively for a gift of 100 Reichsthaler. Called it.

Peter's memoirs - Pre 1730

[mildred_of_midgard]

Okay, modernizing the spelling, squinting at the most indecipherable parts in hopes of an epiphany, and wrangling Google is tedious, and I'm doing it at work amid constant interruptions, so you're going to get his memoirs in a series of small installments. Here's the first installment.

Remember that this copy is a first draft, where he's constantly scratching things out and squeezing in insertions between lines, and there are blotches everywhere, and the handwriting, while far from the worst, is far from the best either. So there are parts where I've made my best guess, and parts where I've got nothing. He's also fond of run-on sentences, which I've split up for readability.

I was born in Pomerania on May 24, 1711 in Poberow, land which belonged to my family, to a father François Henri, who descended from an illustrious Scottish family, which was established in this province. My father married Vigilantia Elisabeth de Woedtke. After my parents had taken care of my education as much as their situation allowed, my father introduced me to King Frédéric William, who took me as a page. In the year 1729 in January the King sent me to Wesel to the Regulation of Dossau as lieutenant and aide major. There happened that same year, in the month of August, a tragic event at the court of King Frederick William, of which the Prince Royal was the subject, of whom/which the most famous pens will be busy writing his history of that time, as well as of his/its [something] one will certainly speak a lot.

Although I had only had an honorable and very justifiable part in this affair, the honor of the times, from which there was everything to fear, obliged me to expatriate myself for ten years, until the King Frederick ascended the throne, and who remembered, even in the first days of his accession, my attachment, and with whose testimony he honored me with an order, to return to my homeland. This order found me in Lisbon, where I had been placed Major of Cavalry since the year 1735, in the Regiment of the Marquis of Marialva.

Some observations:

Yep, he's defensive about 1730, all right. Poor boy.

"Francois Henri" is squeezed as an afterthought above the line, immediately after the words "d'un pere." So that's got to be his father's name. Yet there is not a single other source that gives that as anything but his brother's name.

Keith family genealogy:

Kloosterhuis says Peter's father was Hans Christoph, and that Hans and Vigilantia had 7 children.

Kloosterhuis' source is a genealogy that gives Franz Henrich as the oldest of those children.

Formey says Peter's father was Jean Christoph.

Some genealogies say that Hans/Johann Christoph and Vigilantia had 6 children (4 sons and 2 daughters).

One genealogy seems to say that Franz Heinrich was a son of Johann Christoph, and he ended up a lieutenant in Russian service (the handwriting plus my German may be failing me here, but I'm reading: "hat [außer? unter? feel free to pick a word here that makes sense] den Ehe mit einer von Natzmer gezeugt Franz Heinrich, welchen in Russische Kaiserl. Dienst als Liutenant ge....)." And there's an asterisk next to Johann Christoph's name, so I'm guessing this applies to him, and that he fathered an illegitimate son with an unnamed von Natzmer woman. Feel free to suggest alternate readings.

Some genealogies omit Peter's sister Agnesa Origana.

Not one genealogy or other source I can find agrees with Peter even a little bit.

What gives? What on earth do I put in the essay? Do I have to footnote "You'd think Peter would know his own father's name, but who knows? He already surprised us with 1729, but that seems way more understandable than this."

One thing I'll say is that I have no documentary source--like a church record, although these can be dicey too--only genealogies that were compiled after the fact. Kloosterhuis's source is a few of these error-ridden genealogies. Formey got his Keith family genealogy going back to Scotland from some source that isn't Peter (because Peter doesn't go back any further than his parents), but is probably the same source as Kloosterhuis': one of the family trees that's in the Prussian archives, like the Heroldsamt.

So even though I have like 5 genealogies, 3 in Prussia and 2 in Aurich, that all agree on Jean/Johann/Hans Christoph, it's possible they all go back to the same erroneous source. Though it's weird that the ones in the Knyphausen family that presumably belonged to Karl Ernst would be this wrong...Peter did die when Karl Ernst was young, and I know my great-grandmother Mildred didn't know the names of her maternal grandparents, because her mother died when she was young.

So maybe Peter knows his own father's name, and everyone else is copying off some inaccurate genealogy that confused his half-brother with his father. Weirder things have happened.

But I still wonder about that incredibly specific detail about Franz Heinrich going into Russian service.

Everyone, please tell me if there's another explanation you can think of that makes sense!

Peter's memoirs - Escape!

[mildred_of_midgard]

I have to say, I'm far from fluent in French, and it would really help if I were, but I am *really* noticing the difference between when I tried to transcribe this a year ago and my current effort. Numerous things I had marked with XXXXX are obvious to me now. And funnily enough, I finished my transcription this past week, and I still have a few undeciphered words left. One of these, I was able to decipher just now, based on a word I learned in the last 3 or so days!

Thank you, cahn, for holding me accountable for daily French practice in the last year!

Leaving Wesel on August 6, 1729, I retired to Holland where the Estates General made me the declaration that they did not believe they could provide me with asylum. I spoke to a friend who was General de Köppel to get me a boat to cross to England. I secretly embarked on a fishing boat in Chevelin, to the great chagrin of Monsieur Meinerzhagen, minister of the king, then in The Hague, and of Monsieur Lieutenant Colonel Dumoulin, currently General of Infantry, who had been sent with two other officers in pursuit of me.

Chevelin = Scheveningen, a port near the Hague.

Dumoulin: we have his report to FW on Peter's escape, transcribed by Kloosterhuis. (I also have the untranscribed facsimile, which I am contemplating deciphering. Not that I don't trust Kloosterhuis, but...it would be good practice, if nothing else.)

Fortunately, I arrived on the third day on the coast of England and I set foot on land in a place where people rarely land. There were only three small fishermen's huts or cabins on the shore. I was not inconvenienced by the customs officials. There were none, nor was there anything to inspect. I rented horses to the first post office and continued my journey on horseback to London. The Queen Wife of George Second received me kindly the day after my arrival, she spoke with me for four hours and gave me assurances that she would not abandon me in my situation. And she began the generosity which was natural to her with a pension of £200 a year. A few days after my arrival, Count Degenfeld, Minister of the King of Prussia then in London, had orders to claim me.

We have FW's wanted letter to Degenfeld, which contains the most detailed physical description of Peter we have!

The Queen sent for me to her house to inform me of this and of everything that had happened at the court of Berlin since my departure, which distressed me greatly. At the same time she advised me to choose some other retreat than London, without the knowledge of the King of England, so that he could assure the Minister of Berlin, who received orders every day by post to demand me, that he didn't know where I was. She suggested to me the town of York where few foreigners frequent, or the Kingdom of Ireland. I preferred Ireland both for seeing another kingdom, and because no foreigners frequent this country, so as to better confuse the minister of the King of Prussia.

You chose well, Peter!

Okay, I'm not going to break this next sentence up, just so you can see what his actual writing style is like:

They provided me with horses from the court stables, and they took me along an entirely different route than that of Ireland, and they made me leave the carriage after a few miles on the road, and a German servant of the Queen served as my guide to cross the country on horseback, and continued to run the post with me to Chester, where I embarked for Dublin, where the Queen had given me letters of recommendation to the Secretary of State Monsieur Thomas Tickel, and My Lord Harington received orders from the Queen in my presence before my departure, to inform me regularly of the news of all that passed at the court of Berlin.

Slow down, Peter! Take a deep breath.

Okay, time to decipher his marginal notes. For Köppel, he has what we already knew:

He had been Minister of the Estates General of Holland for several years in Berlin.

And for Meinerzhagen, he has this, which was new (and has several words I can't decipher):

He died the same night he learned I had spent in England. The king having made some [something about finding evidence of embezzlement]. Don Louis da Cunha, ambassador of the King of Portugal, told me in Paris where I passed on my return to Germany that I had Meinerzhagen in my conscience as having been the cause of his death, who had spoken to him on the evening of his death, when he learned of my visit to England.

I think he's saying Meinerzhagen and da Cunha (which Peter spells d'acunha, and which I had to google to get the real spelling) spoke the night of Meinerzhagen's death.

FW - G2 duel

[mildred_of_midgard]

Omg, Selena! I was looking up Meinerzhagen in 1730, to see if he really died that night (inconclusive), and I found a whole book (1912) on the Prussia/Hanover conflict in 1729/1730! ARNETH says SECKENDORFF wrote to Eugene on July 19, 1729 that FW wanted to challenge G2 to a duel! That's the most reliable source we've found! (Though admittedly it doesn't say he *did* get as far as challenging G2 to a duel, close enough.) I have updated rheinsberg!

Selena, the book is less than 200 pages, I've put it in the library, can you give it a skim when you have time and let us know if it contains anything else of interest to salon? Pretty please?

ETA: Aww, I just checked Arneth, and he only cites the letter, he doesn't quote it. Arneth does say what the author of the 1912 book says he says, though. (Any interest in skimming a 3-volume 19th century bio of Eugene, Selena? It might contain other gems like this. :D)

Peter's memoirs - Life in exile

[mildred_of_midgard]

Almost a year had passed since I received nothing but very unfortunate and tragic news. While waiting for better, I spent my time mastering the English language and improving my French and frequented the colleges of Trinity University in Dublin.

But did not formally enroll, or leave any trace that the local historians could find for me.

I have always had a penchant for science and applied it to experimental philosophy. My acquaintances flattered me that I had made progress there. I loved literature, and I then felt the fault of my education. Although I had been made to learn Latin for ten years I had not made enough progress to be able to understand the classical authors in their original languages. I had to be content with the English translations, which are the best, and I found them for all the classical authors.

As I hardly left my room for three years, my body declined, having been accustomed to all kinds of military exercises and hunting with His Majesty the King of Prussia for so many years. I fell very ill. The Queen, always gracious towards me, caused me to return to England, especially since the King of Prussia's pursuit of me had calmed down. Doctors ordered the use of Bath and Bristol baths. My health was restored and I passed for English in the public and frequented all good companies, especially people of letters, whom I always sought out in order to benefit from their instructive conversation.

At that time a quarrel arose between the court of Madrid and that of Lisbon, where the latter was threatened with an invasion by the Spanish. England was asked to send aid to the Portuguese. The English were going to equip a fleet of thirty-seven warships under the orders of Admiral Sir Jean Norris. I had a great desire to educate myself in maritime affairs and learn the naval service. As I perfectly mastered the language of the nation, I flattered myself at least of having an idea of the true duty to serve at sea. I asked the Queen, my patroness, to grant me permission, which she did. She recommended me to the admiral, who engaged me from that day to frequent his house, where I was received by Madame his wife, as well as by him, as a child of the house and as an officer of his fleet.

There are plenty of documents about this expedition in the British archives, but the British archives are expensive like the Danish archives, so I'm holding off until I can go to London.

We embarked on the Britannica, which carried one hundred pieces of cannon, the lowest of which was 24 pounds. The crew numbered 900 men. During the trip the admiral saw to the fleet, in all its exercises and appropriate maneuvers, on all occasions. We arrived in Lisbon, where the fleet anchored to await events. It began to deal with Spain, which relaxed a little of its pride, and was gentler than before. After a few months of my arrival, having found the climate pleasant and realizing that sea service was not for me, and that it would be necessary to have been raised in sea service since early youth, and that land service suited me best, I wrote to the Queen to ask her to recommend me to the King of Portugal.

This is Joao V, the guy who liked to have sex with nuns, and whose brother successfully ran away at age 18 and almost ended up king of Poland, and who fathered the adorable moppet, almost-wife of Louis XV.

There was difficulty because of religion, but in these circumstances, the King of Portugal could hardly dispense with regarding the recommendation of the Queen of England. He first placed me captain in his service and took me made Major (the year 1736) of the Regiment of the Marquis de Marialva, although I didn't know anyone other than Monsieu de Merce, Brigadier, and I was the only Protestant in the entire army. As the service did not occupy me much, I had the leisure to learn the language of the country, Spanish, and Italian. As these three languages are very closely related, I learned them quite well, and the little Latin that I had retained from my youth was of great help to me.

Peter's memoirs - Return to Prussia

[mildred_of_midgard]

When the King of Prussia Frederick William died in the year 1740, and I had permission to return to my homeland, I took my resignation from the King of Portugal, and departed on an English liner for Falmouth. From there I went to London, where I stopped to take leave of the court and my friends and His Royall Highness. The Prince of Wales charged me with a commission from England for the King my master.

If that was an actual commission and not just a "congrats on your accession," I can see why Fritz thought the English thought of Peter as half a Brit! (I've always read that as "I, Fritz, think of him as half British.")

Also, I notice a distinct lack of the shippiest passage in Formey, "His presently reigning majesty was kind enough to remember me, and to call me back; I hastened to go and find a Master, to whom I was born, and whom my heart had chosen, as soon as it was able to feel."

I know from other slight differences that this isn't the exact copy Formey was working from, and I deduce that Peter polished this up into at least a second draft, and that that was the one Oriane passed on to Formey. (Hopefully it didn't have as many scratchings out and insertions as this one!)

I passed through France. When I arrived in Paris, Monsieur de Camas, minister of the King, who had gone on a tour to make a verbal report to his Master, returned at that time and urged me very much to leave. The king having asked him if he had any news of me, and if he learned that there was, he was to speak to me about hurrying my trip. So I left after having seen Paris and the surrounding area, the Court at Versailles, and the other royal pleasure houses.

I arrived in Berlin at the beginning of October in the year 1740. The King being at Rheinsberg, I had the honor of notifying His Majesty of my arrival. The response I received was to go to a room in the palace where His Majesty, coming to town the next day, wanted to speak to me. The King arrived and received me very graciously, even with tenderness and kindness. His Majesty returned to Rheinsberg shortly after and ordered me to come there a few days later. The late Colonel Adjutant General of Keyserling spoke to me on behalf of the King: would I be happy to be placed as lieutenant colonel of the army and equerry to the King? I begged him to assure the King that he would be the one to manage me and that I would always be happy with the way that His Majesty would dispose of me. The King told me to thank him publicly, which I did. He ? me and asked me if I was happy. I assured him yes.

The death of Emperor Charles VII caused a war. The King marched into Silesia. I eagerly asked to serve. I'm not on the list, which mortifies me noticeably. I wrote a letter to the King again begging him to allow me to serve. My friends always found this letter too lively and too immoderate. I had time to repent of it afterwards. I occupied myself with reading, while my former comrades acquired the glory of making conquests for the King, whom no one had loved but me as a royal prince...

Mildred: Sight-reading this, my first reading was "whom no one had loved like me," but now that I look more closely, it's "que personne n'avoit dont aimé que moi comme prince,", not what I think I originally read, "que personne n'avoit dont aimé comme moi," and I have a hard time reading that as anything but "whom no one had loved except me."

Someone tell me if you think there's another reading, otherwise...

Wilhelmine: ???

SD, Duhan, Keyserlingk, the list goes on: ??

Doris Ritter: *sob*

Katte: I'm the one who died, you know.

Peter: Look, he cried on my shoulder and said I was the only one who loved him, and that we should run away to England and live happily ever after. Leave me my overwrought teenage memories at least, okay!

Resuming our narrative and the run-on sentence:

...who gave the highest hopes in all the different qualities that make up a great man, worthy to govern a great and most fortunate state since his accession to the throne. The public is witness to it and judges how he uses talents.

[mildred_of_midgard]

The Royal Academy of Sciences did me the honor of choosing me as an honorary member. I was only worthy of it through my love for science.

In the year 1742, I married Oriane Louise Baronne de Knyphausen, eldest daughter of the late Monsieur His Excellency von Knyphausen, Minister of the State and War Cabinet of King Frederick William, and of Louise Charlotte née Baroness d'Ilgen. Providence seemed to want to reward me for the past and the future by this happy marriage which alone constitutes the consolation of my life and its only happiness for the ten years that I've enjoyed the sweetness of the manner of my wife, whose virtues are exemplary, a cultivated expression without any vanity, a right and penetrating judgment modest in everything, and excellent heart. It seems that I praise her while I only speak the simple truth.

There's a marginal note that reads "The portrait that a husband makes can hardly be ____ in this regard." He's changed the word he wants to write there and written over it (not above it, literally overwriting the original word), making it completely illegible. It might be "suspect", but who knows.

Everyone who knows us knows that I believe the truth and that my wife's character cannot be flattered. God has blessed our marriage with two boys

Marginal note: "Charles Ernst Reinhard et Frederic Louis." This is why I believe the rarely ocurring "Peter" in Carl Ernst's name is a mistake by a bureaucrat (including Leining, actually, I think!), since neither Peter nor Carl Ernst ever write "Peter", but only Carl Ernst or Carl Ernst Reinhard.

who contribute, through the hopes they give from their characters and dispositions, to making our lives sweet. We are content in the state of mediocrity and live without envy of anyone's fortune.

We do not deny anyone our support and we are content to lead a frugal life. The president of the Royal Academy of Sciences proposed me to the King and His Majesty approved to replace the late His Excellency Monsieur de Borck in the position of curator of the academy. It is a place of honor that I had not hoped for and as it only deals with economic affairs, I did not hesitate to accept it, being convinced of being able to suffice for the functions assigned to this honorable office.

Marginal note: "in the year 1747, if I'm not mistaken."

You're not, Peter, unlike 1729!

There are a couple other minor marginal notes that are of less interest, but one I forgot to mention in the previous post confirms what Formey said about Peter being about to depart Portugal for Goa in the East Indies when Fritz's summons came. He was going to be ADC to the Comte de Ericeira (he spelled it so differently I had to consult Wikipedia) and a colonel. It would have been a very different life!

And there the memoirs end. I am so delighted that four years ago, when I first reported "...Peter's own memoirs, 'Anecdotes of my Life.' Which, no, I don't know if those are still extant, but I'm guessing no. (Stupid 1945.) Or if so, they're probably unpublished and languishing in some archive somewhere," they ended up being unpublished and languishing in an archive somewhere that I got access to and ended up being able to decipher! \O/ (Thank you so much for the help, selenak!)

Also, my chronologically inclined self is amused:

June 2020: Discovery of Peter's eulogy.
June 2023: Discovery of Peter's memoirs.
Late May 2024: Final decipherment of Peter's memoirs.

Clearly, early summer is a Peter time of year! And as Selena pointed out yesterday, May 24 is his birthday. Happy birthday, Peter! I deciphered your memoirs!

(The essay still needs a bit of tweaking, but we are veeeery close.)

Leining to Fredersdorf: Letter 1, take 2

[mildred_of_midgard]

selenak, you reminded me I was going to make another pass at deciphering the letters to Fredersdorf, with my new and improved decipherment skills a year later. I had some time today, so here's the first one. I'll try to find time to chip away at the others.

If you have time to update your translation while on a train or something, that would be lovely.

Hochwohlgeborner Herr,
Hochgeehrter Herr Geheim Cammerier!

Eu. Hochwohlgeb. habe das glück zu welchen mich
Sr. Mayt. Unser allergnädigster könig er-
hoben, nicht verbergen, sondern vielmehr
aus dero gegen mich alzeit blicken lassen
den freundschaft Notificiren wollen:
das Sr. Mayt. so gnädig gewesen und mich in
Eu. Hochwolgebor. Caracteur zu erheben
gerühet, und zweifle nicht dieselben
werden Theil an diesen meinen glück
nehmen; beklage aber hertzlich und sehe
mit betrübnis die Stunde entgegen
das da dieselben sehr schlecht seyn
sollen, welche mich Eu Hochwohlgeb.
und dero freundschaft entrissen
könte.

Und da die Hof Umstände mich noch nicht
bekand, Eu. Hochwohlgeboren aber als
ein alter practious auf den kleinste
Umstand davon wissen, so schmeichle mich
mit der alten freundschaft, Eu. Hochwohlgeb.
werden die gewogenheit haben, und mich
hiervon das möglichste Licht geben, in
erwartung dessen, habe die Ehre mich
mit fester hochachtung zu nennen
Eu Hochwohlgebohr.

P.S. ich werde in 3 Tagen, die Ehre haben mon tres cher compere
die vollig Relation von der Ursache meines avancement
zu schreiben weil Carl noch CrXX liegt undt nicht determinet
ist ob er wieder Laquay werden soll.

P.S. Da Eu. Hochwohlgeb. bey den jetzigen zeiten Ihren
Secretair Mr Gentze doch nicht nöthig haben,
und den armen Teufel günte versorgt zu sehen
über dem da Er Eu. Hochwgb. Francaisch. Cores-
pondenz geführt, so haben mich Sr. Mayt. an
gerathen einen Menschen hierzu mich an zu
nehmen; als ersuche Eu. Hochwohlgeb. mich
diesen Menschen gütigst zu überlassen.

But what would be really lovely would be:

a) Any idea what the missing letters in "Carl noch CrXX liegt" are? I'm not *sure* of the "Cr", but that looks the most likely. And one of the vowels seems to be a 'u'. Last time you translated the phrase as "still pondering," which makes a lot of sense, but I'd love to have a word and not just a guess from context. If you can't figure it out, I'll screenshot the word and ask felis for guesses based on decipherment + fluent German.

b) Any mistakes that look like they were made by an American and not an 18th century German? Grammatical mistakes like case endings are extremely likely to be me; spellings like "undt", unless I made a typo, are 18th century. (I do know how to spell "und".) And "günte" is [sic]: there are two clearly written characters there, and the first one has a curve over it and the second one doesn't. (Sometimes the curve is over the wrong letter, but it's usually later in the word, not earlier. Which makes sense if you think about finishing the word, then going back--moving your hand all the way back to the 'u' is more effort, at least for a right-handed person.)

If we *can* make these polished and ready for publication (and I'm not guaranteeing anything), I would be very excited. But we'll see how it goes.

ETA: c) It occurs to me that if I want professional-grade, I need to stop doing the thing that drove felis crazy last time, which is using my crutch of treating the line over the Kurrent 'u' (which is there to distinguish it from the 'n') the same as an umlaut. So please correct my umlauts! In both directions: missing and extraneous. My German is mostly passive, in that I can understand it but not reliably figure out how to produce something correct.

Son of ETA: Speaking of not knowing German, last year I reported "Stunde" as "Kunde", because that made more sense to me, but I remember going back and forth, and finally deciding that it was my very first transcription and I probably just had no idea what a 'K' looked like. This time, I spent at least 10 minutes trying to make it "Kunde" (by comparison with other examples of 'St' and 'K'). I failed to convince myself that could be a 'K'. So I'm reporting what my eyes are seeing, which is "Stunde". If "Stunde" actually makes sense, let me know.

Fritz of Wales to G3

[selenak]

As we know, the Hannover Cousins gave the Hohenzollerns a run for their money when it came to dysfunctional father/son relationships, with G1/G2, G2/Fritz of Wales and G3/G4 being the most infamous combinations. From what I heard re: Fritz of Wales and future G3, I had the impression they might be the rare exception, helped do doubt by the fact that Fritz of Wales died just when future G3 was entering his teenage years, i.e. Fritz of Wales missed out on the phase where rebellion against one's parents is most likely. But that was mostly a guess, as I haven't yet read a biography of G3, though I mean to in the long run. The only thing I did know about Fritz of Wales' parenting was that he wanted his kids to speak English first (as opposed to himself) and to garden as a hobby, with each given a bit of land to cultivate (since this became one of G3's big passions, it seems to have worked as intended.

Well, now it turns out there is a great archive which has transcribed and digitized Georgian papers galore - heavy emphasis on G3, but they say there is a bit from G1, G2 and G4 as well. (Am very amused the various subsections bear titles from either Hamilton lyrics or from The Madness of George III (by Alan Bennett, the play) dialogue. Anyway, I've just started to explore, but there is a very touching letter by Fritz of Wales to his son written when future G3 was ten years old. (Fritz of Wales would die three years later and as this letter is a "just in case I'm not around when you reach your majority" thing, might have had an inkling he wasn't the healthiest?). The transcription is here.

Some fascinating details: G1 is referred to by Fritz of Wales as "my Grand-Father, and Best Friend", and the monarch future G3 is supposed to model himself after. Now given that Fritz of Wales actually did see his grandfather during his childhood and youth, as opposed to his parents, when growing up in Hannover because G1 went visiting ever so often, it makes sense they had a relationship, plus G1 did fight for Fritz of Wales' interests when the matter of whether or not to separate Hannover and GB and which son would get what came up. But of course the irony is that part of the reason why Fritz of Wales first had no and then a terrible relationship with G2 and Caroline was G1's fault, it was G1's idea that a seven years old child would be left behind in Hannover, after all. Anyway, this testimony to G1 being a good granddad to a legitimate offspring of his is still remarkable.

Fritz of Wales mentions he gives this letter to his wife, G3's mother, and the mention here and in other parts is always affectionate, so hopefully despite the fact he put her through a ghastly birth to annoy his parents, he otherwise proved to be an okay husband.

Breaking Fritz of Wales' spectacular breakup with Hervey in mind, this passage about friendship is interesting:

Flatterers, Courtiers or Ministers, are easy to be got, but a true Friend is difficult to be found.
The only rule I can give You to try them by is, if they will tell you the Truth, and will
venture for Your Sake that of Your Family or that if Your People (which three things I hope
you will never separate, nor ought they ever to be separate) to risk some moments of
disagreeable Contradictions to your Passions, through which they may lose Your Favour, if
You are a Weak Prince; but will settle themselves firmer in it, if you turn out that man,
which I hope God will make You.

The biggest difference between Fritz of Wales political opinions and those in the political testament of Fritz of Prussia comes when he talks about war:

If you can be without War, let not Your ambition draw you into it. A good deal of the
National Debt must be pay’d off, before England enters into a War: At the same time never
give up Your Honour nor that of the Nation. A Wide and Brave Prince, may often times,
without Armies put a Stop to the Confusion, which the Ambitious neighbours endeavour to
create. Tis not allways Armies or Fleets that will do this. Many times tis done only by the
Weight of his Authority which can be got no other way, than by a Wise Settled and Steady
Conduct.
The unsteady measures, you See, My Son, have Sullied and hurt the Reign of Your
Grandfather. Let your Steadiness retrieve the Glory of the Throne. I Shall have no regret
never to have wore the Crown, if you do but fill it worthily:

Now, quoted at the website's description of the letter already and in line with Fritz of Wales being aware that his German origins and first 20 something years in Hannover will always work against him in the minds of at least some of his British subjects is this:

Convince this nation that you are not only an Englishman born and bred, but that
you are also this by inclination, and that as You will love Your Younger Children next to the
Elder born, so you will all your other Countries, next to England.

But he also pleads for Hannover not to be forgotten:

Be allways kind to the Electorate. Remember your Father, whom you love, was born there,
and was allways vastly beloved, by that poor faithfull People. A particular Mark of which
they gave me, by lending me a very considerable sum to pay off part of my Debt in England;
Which I expect for my Blessing, you will repay, whenever the Crown comes to you,
conformably to what is Solemnly Stipulated in the Instruments I have Signed and put into
the hands of the Creditors. Remember this, my son, and, if possible, pay this Sum within the
year.

Fritz of Wales also thinks that Hannover should be separated (as intended in G1's will which G2 surpressed, to the great ire also of SD, remember) from GB in the long term, i.e. specifically in the case of G3 should be ruled by one of his younger siblings, because:

When England and Hannover are joined together every malevolent Spirit in Europe, that
cannot reach England, ventures to lift up his hands against Hannover: All which will cease
the moment these Countries are separated.

Thinking of the FW/G2 almost duel here, Fritz of Wales? (He either was very recently in GB or was still in Hannover when that started, I believe.) Certainly G2 never got over his suspicion Fritz of Prussia might get grabby with Hannover one day, and there was that RP between Heinrich and AW where Heinrich played Fritz and did just that... Anyway, in rl, Hannover would not get separated from GB until Victoria became Queen, because due to the Salic law she could not become Electress of Hannover, so one of G3's still surviving sons got the job. (And promptly became the most loathed Hannover sovereign in eons by ignoring the constitution and thus incurring the protest of the "Göttingen Seven", including the brothers Grimm.) But all in all, Fritz of Wales comes across as someone who has definite ideas and ideals about how to be King who are anything but silly or frivolous; a counterpoint to his image in vengeful Hervey's memoirs, I'd say.

The letter starts: To my Son George
As I have always have had the tenderest Paternal Affection for You, I cannot give You a
Stronger proof of it, than in leaving this Paper for You in Your Mother’s hands, Who will
read it to You from time to time and will give it to you when you come of Age or when you
get the Crown.

Given that G3 kept the letter (and thus it's in his personal papers), presumably Princess Augusta did just that.

Leining to Fredersdorf: Letter 2, take 2

[mildred_of_midgard]

selenak, I don't know *how* you even managed to come up with a translation as good as you did last time, considering I apparently skipped from one line to the next not once, not twice, but three times! I'm now even more impressed with what you accomplished under those working conditions.

A year later, here's the revised version:

Hochwohlgeborner Herr,
Hochgeehrter Herr Geheime Cammerier!

Da ich mit dem Haüptmann v Oppen bey Visita-
tion das Kammer Diener Glasow Sachen
unter andern auch 1 gantz Neues Petschafft
welches Eu. Hochwohlgeb. zu gehöret gefunden,
so habe auf ordre Sr. Mayt. mit den Haüpt-
mann v Oppen den Glasow Examiniret
wo er dieses Neugestochene Petschafft
herhabe, da war dessen Legitimation
er hätte es unter denen Sachen welche
er Neulich von Eu. Hochwohlgeb. empfangen
gefunden; Da nun Sr. Mayt. gern die
wahrheit hier von wissen wollen,
so habe Ihnen Freundschaftlich bitten wollen
mich ohn beschwehrt mit erstern zu
melden, ob dieselben, eines von dero
Petschaffte verlohren gegangen; das
selbe egalisirt gantz genau mit dem
wo Eu. Hochwohlgeb. die letzte Depesche
an Glasow zu gesiegelt hatten.

In Erwartung einer baldigen Antworts,
habe die Ehre mit der beständigsten
freundschaft zu seyn

Eu hochwohlgeb.
beständig treuer freund undt
Diener

Leining

Lockewitz
der 4te Aprill, 1757

felis, as always, corrections welcomed and appreciated if you have time and interest!

I'm hard at work on the next letter, which is in much worse handwriting.

Meinerzhagen's first report on Peter Keith

[mildred_of_midgard]

Meinerzhagen is the envoy in the Hague. On August 15 (remember Peter deserted Wesel August 6), he writes this letter to FW:

I received His Royal Majesty's most gracious order of the 13th, sent to me by express post from Wesel, concerning the deserter Lieutenant Kait of the Dossowian Regiment, at one o'clock this morning, with the deepest and most humble respect.

Note that "Kait" is a common German spelling of "Keith" in this period. FW will even spell it "Keut" at one point, iirc.

In order to ensure that it was observed most obediently and promptly, I reported to the grand pensionary early this morning and informed him of the matter, and also requested that he direct it so that the lieutenant in question could be arrested if he were to be found in this country.

The grand pensionary was the most prominent Dutch political position during the Stadtholderless periods. The man holding it in 1730 was Simon van Slingelandt.

He then declared that he had no doubt that the States would gladly assist Your Royal Majesty in everything they could.

The States General is both the legislative body of the Netherlands and also the most common way of referring to the Netherlands in our period (I usually translate "Netherlands" and "Dutch" in salon to reduce confusion, but those usually aren't the terms I'm seeing in what I'm reading). I'm actually translating Staaten as States General instead of States right now, for added clarity!

However, since such an arrest could not take place without your order, he did not want to fail to ask this question, by which he wanted to know what this lieutenant had done. and whether it was only a simple desertion, or whether he had committed another crime, because in the former case, the states could hardly be asked to issue an arrest warrant, seeing that the state had no cartel with Your Royal Majesty.

I'm used to seeing "cartel" as an agreement to exchange prisoners of war, but a treaty of extradition to hand over deserters is the same idea.

Although they would do everything that was not contrary to their laws and regulations, and what they could justify doing would be done with all obedience. And he would let me know their resolution after the meeting. I strongly recommended to him again to seek an urgent resolution, so that we could take measures accordingly, but since the States General will not assemble until today's post leaves, I will only be able to receive their resolution this afternoon.

In the meantime, I did not stand still; but sent out people secretly from all over the place to discover whether such a person was staying here or had happened to be here, and I have already discovered that about three days ago a similar person was here in The Hague, wearing a grey suit with silver details,

Didn't Katte's servant say he'd been packing a grey suit, in the trials?

Meanwhile, Fritz: Bright red coat for me all the way!

but that he claimed to be someone called Sparr, that he had been a page to Your Royal Majesty and was now a lieutenant in a regiment garrisoned in Wesel, and that he had also spoken to General Keppel but had given no reason as to why he was staying here. However, I have not yet been able to find out where he is staying, and I have been told that he apparently left again on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. I will have his details ready as soon as I receive the resolution of the States. I will have him followed by various people, namely to Rotterdam and Helvoetsluys, since he must take either one or the other if he wants to go to England or France.

Wrong! He will take a fisher's boat from Scheveningen. Well played, Peter! You fooled your pursuers.

I will also have people in Amsterdam keep an eye out to see if he might be staying somewhere there. I will also do everything I can to achieve His Royal Majesty's most gracious intention and to convey to His Royal Majesty the details of the decision with my most humble submission.

To whom I will remain in deepest submission and firm loyalty for the rest of my life.

I haven't transcribed FW's short but terribly written reply, but I have sight-read what I could, and I'm pretty sure he's saying he's sending Du Moulins to help in the pursuit, and they're to work together, and also, "As to the difficulty that he can't be arrested because he's only a deserter, that's easily lifted, because he's committed the crime of high treason."

I.e., conspiring with Fritz.

There's another report just after Peter escapes to England, which I'm also intending to transcribe. (Meinerzhagen has beautiful handwriting, at least when writing to his monarch. Du Moulins is going to be more of a struggle, and I'm not committed to doing it.)

Leining to Fredersdorf: Letter 3, take 2

[mildred_of_midgard]

Monsieur mon tres cher Amy
et tres chere compere

Ich habe das Vergnügen ihnen das Petschaft so die StiXX
XXuben nach stechen lassen zu über machen. Bringer dieses
der Lieut. v Gartz wirdt ihnen ihre infamien ziemlich erzehlen können.
weil ich wegen dem wirrwar noch nicht so viel zeit habe es zu bapihr
zu bringen, der postmeister ist ein Schürk aber hierin unschuldig
ich habe nach der fredersdorffischen manier welchem ich viele obligation
habe das ich so viel undter der handt von ihme gelernt mit guten und
böse inquerirt bis ich das Lack wornach es gestochen Von Petschir-Stecher
erhalten habe, Sr. Königl Mayt. wolten es Cachee gehalte wissen sonsten
würde, dem Petschir-Stecher den process auch gemacht haben genüg die
Canalien seindt etwas belohnt undt ich dancke gott das ich ihn los
bin, werther freundt helffen sie mir doch mit nachricht, wie sie
es der 24-r gemacht wenn sie die gelder empfangen, und hernach
die rechnungen die bezahlt werden sollen [ein] gebe haben, sie
obligeren undt Soulagiren unsere gnädiger König die Rechnunge
von Michelet haben ich schon erhalten, Es hat mir der Cellermeister groX
geschrieben das Ko[z] Koffe X[y] Schamb. undt Borgon. wein liefern wolte der König
aber will sie nicht haben sondern mon tres cher amy würden mir melden
von wehm die letzere weine wären da solte ich wieder nehme sie wäre
güt, liebster freundt haben sie dann schon St. Michel gesehen undt meine
dücke Trutschel dencken sie welche gnade, Sr. Mayt haben mir aus freyer stücke
gesagt wenn ich zu Haus käme solte ich heurathe und in mai[nd] Haus wohnen
denn Sie kennte mich schon gar zu Lang als eine Ehrliche Kerl welche gnade,
an Madame la Treseriere bitte meine Respect zü versichern ich aber bliebe
Mon tres chere compere
votre tres humble et
fidele
serviteur
Leining

Lockewitz [der] 10te Aprill
1757


As you can see, I could really use some help in a couple places here. "Ko[z] Koffe X[y]" is driving me crazy! Koffe, sure but what is "Koz" and what even is that after the Koffe?



Can people see this image?

Also, as always, if you spot any possible typos or Americanisms that are going to embarrass salon if they make it into print, please speak up! This isn't the final draft, but I want as many eyes on it as possible at as many stages as possible.

Leining to Fredersdorf: Letter 4, take 2

[mildred_of_midgard]

Hochwohgeborene Herr,
Insonders hochzuehrender Herr geheimer-Cammerer!

Es findet sich unter des Glasows zurückgelassene Papieren
eine Rechnung von Messrs Girard Michelet & Comp. a 358r. 20g.
worin unter andern eine Post von 28r. 12g. für eine Kiste
Eaux de Senteur, so Mr. Mettra unterm 29te Aug a. p. von des
Königes Maj. anhero gesandt, befindlich ist. Da mir nun
Gentze gesagt, wie ihm sehr wahrscheinlich vorkomme, dass
diese Post im vorigen Jahre im Monath Septembr a. p. aus
der Königs Chatoulle bezahlet worden: so ersuche Eu. Hochwohlgeb.
die gütigkeit für mich zu haben, und die Chatoulle-Rechnungen
von Monath Septembr a. p. allenfalls auch von denen folgenden
Monathen gütigst nachsehen zu lassen und mir sodenn das
nöthige zu melden. Nachdem damahligen Geld Cours soll die
Summe vor die obgedachte Kiste nur 20rt. ausgemacht haben, welche
auch bezahlet worden. Bey dieser Gelegenheit möchte auch gern wissen
wie weit die Pension des Mr. d'Alembert in Paris an Mrs. Girard
Michelet & Comp. vergütet worden? Ich habe dagegen die Ehre, mit
wahrer Hochachtung zu verharren,
Euer Hochwolgeb.
mon tres chere amy
et compere
votre tres humble
et plus-fidele serviteur
Leining

Lockwitz
den 14te April 1757

As always, German speakers please point out anything suspicious-looking! Like if I wrote "mit wahrer Hochachtung" and you silently corrected it to "mit wahren Hochachtung", let me know! These grammatical endings are often scrawled, and yours truly only has passive knowledge of German and can't reliably supply the correct characters. (Which is why I always write to archives in English, and they reply in German, and we all get by with passive knowledge. But that doesn't work when trying to produce a publication-worthy transcription!)

Hunting Peter Keith: Du Moulin, August 17

[mildred_of_midgard]

I have finished transcribing the Du Moulin and Meinerzhagen reports to FW on the hunt for Peter in the Netherlands. I'm now just reading through Google's translations (because this is about 10k words, and I'm not typing all that), so you should be getting an influx.

It will get more interesting (although it will also get repetitive), but I'm going in chronological order, so the less informative ones come first.

None of these are perfect; Du Moulin's handwriting and spelling are special (I think he's not terribly educated; he spells "wäre" as "wehre", "weg" as "weck", and so on). Educated guesses were made. If I can tell what a proper name is, I've standardized it (e.g. it's never "Keith", almost always "Kait", and it's almost never "Meinerzhagen" when Du Moulin is writing; that's how Meinerzhagen spells it; Du Moulin has like 6 different spellings of it). If I can't tell, I'll signal that.

But I've got the gist for most of these reports!

Your Royal Majesty will no doubt have received a most humble letter from Nijmegen dated the 14th of this month, in which I most obediently reported that I had received news that the deserter Lieutenant Keith had passed through here eight days previously and taken the route to Utrecht, and that at the same time I had taken the route to England. I then set off from there for Utrecht and arrived in Rhenen around 10 p.m., where I had to stay until 3 a.m. (because the ferry to the other side of the Rhine was closed). On the 15th I then traveled to Utrecht without losing the slightest time and arrived there at midday, where I had assumed that Keith (who had posed as a courier on his way to England) had taken the route to The Hague via the Rhine. I followed him straight away and arrived here yesterday morning at half past eight, where I then had myself driven to the inn where I learned that Keith, who calls himself Count von Sparr, had been picked up the previous evening, the day before yesterday, at around 7 o'clock by a chamberlain of General Keppel, and that shortly afterwards two of the English Ambassador Chesterfield's kitchen boys had picked up his full boxes and saddles, and said that they were to be sent to Amsterdam. I also asked the man staying here in the same inn and asked him in detail about other circumstances of his stay with his hired lackey (as he was also supposed to be). He [the lackey] then told me the full story of his [Keith's] conduct, namely that he pretended to be Count von Sparr and said that he was expecting the 9th or 10th. He [the lackey] had to go to all the inns in The Hague every day to find out whether a young Count d'Alberville from Lorraine had arrived, and also to enquire at all the post offices to see whether any letters had arrived for Count Sparr. He also said that Keith had been to see General Keppel in The Hague and also at His Royal Majesty's house in Busch, that he [Keppel] had also had him [Keith] picked up in his carriage for a meal, and other things.

I then went to see Mr. von Meinerzhagen, who told me that he had already received an express post on the 15th from Your Royal Majesty to have this Keith arrested, and that he had already obtained an order to this effect from Mr. Pensionarius, and had made all the arrangements there to have this man arrested on the route to England, Brabant and France, of which he himself will give Your Royal Majesty a most humble report.

In the meantime, most gracious King and Lord, I cannot express enough astonishment at General Keppel's conduct, that he should show so many courtesies to people whom he had never seen other than as a page. Let Your Royal Majesty judge for himself.

I would also like to report here that I have immediately sent Lieutenant Erlach, with a letter from Herr von Meinerzhagen to Brill, and Lieutenant Cordier to Amsterdam with orders to make detailed enquiries about Keith. I will therefore remain here in order to be able to take care of what is required in response to the former's information.

Because Mr. von Meinerzhagen had the idea that Keith might retreat to the Ambassador's Chesterfield today, yesterday evening I posted two lieutenants and two baggage men, given to him by Envoy von Meinerzagen, and one of my people, around the house, so that they would have to patrol the area all night. He also kept two post carriages ready all night.

I can assure Your Royal Majesty by my oath and duty that nothing will be neglected to find this man again. If I had been able to leave Wesel earlier than in the evening on Monday, I would have found certain people still in bed. I beseech Your Royal Majesty most humbly to order me how to behave in the future in the event that Keith has gone to England or France. In anticipation of your most gracious orders, I remain with all possible loyalty and submission,

Du Moulin
The Hague
August 17, 1730

Hunting Peter Keith: Meinerzhagen, August 18

[mildred_of_midgard]

I broke up some sentences, but the baroque German syntax is showing through. There are also, I'm sure, plenty of places where I couldn't be bothered to go through with a fine-toothed comb and fix all the mistakes or clarify all the pronoun antecedents.

The important thing is we can tell what's going on!

Most Serene,
Most Mighty King,
Most Gracious Lord.

To Your Royal Majesty, I sent my most humble report in last Tuesday's post as to how far I was able to execute the most gracious order received from Your Royal Majesty last night concerning the arrest of the escaped Lieutenant Keith.

At approximately 4 o'clock this afternoon, the attached resolution from Holland was presented to you by the Renesse Commission, instructing them, the Chamberlain or Majordomo Binsbergen, to arrest the aforementioned Lieutenant Keith as soon as I arrive wherever he is, and to the best of my ability to keep him in safe custody until you give your further orders.

After receiving this resolution, I immediately sent for the aforementioned chamberlain, but as I did not find him at home and he also lives quite far away from me, it was around 6 o'clock when he came to me, and I then handed him the resolution of the Council, which he promised to execute with all promptitude as soon as I could find out exactly where the aforementioned Keith was staying, so that he could find him.

However, of my spies, whom I had sent all over the city this morning, both in private and other lodgings, to search for a Count Sparr (because I assume from the circumstances that the person who, according to the information I received, was with Baron Keppel under this name, must be this same lieutenant), no one came back with any reliable information.

Then I agreed with the said chamberlain that he should bring the two messengers immediately and be ready with them in his house, so that when the first arrived he could advise me and then come to me.

Then at about eight in the evening I received news from one of my people that the pretender Count Sparr was staying in an inn on the Speu [?] called The Three Swifts, but that it was said at home that he was expecting a gentleman, and that he arrived from there in the evening and intended to leave immediately.

After receiving this news, I immediately sent the chamberlain without further notice to come here, who also came, and when I showed him the place, as well as the person and how they were approaching, so that there would be no mistake, [the chamberlain] went to fetch his two assistants. In the meantime, I sent an authorized person directly to the covered inn to watch on the street in front of the door to see if anyone would come out during this time and which way they would take, in order to warn the chamberlain upon his arrival with his assistants.

After a man had stood guard there for a good quarter of an hour without seeing anyone come in or go out of the house, the chamberlain arrived with his two men, when it was about nine o'clock, and after ordering the men he had with him to take off their badges, which they usually wear, from their chests, and put them in their sacks, he knocked on the door and asked if Count Sparr was at home, making a gesture as if he [the chamberlain] had been told to do so by him himself [Count Sparr], but he [the chamberlain] was told that he [Count Sparr] had left about half an hour ago and had been picked up by Baron Keppel's valet, but would probably be found at his house here in the Haag, not far from this inn.

Then I with the aforementioned chamberlain went straight to Keppel's house and asked for the Baron under a pretext that I had found. A black man opened the door and said that Baron Keppel was not at home but was with Baron Spörcke, the Hanoverian minister.

The chamberlain then came to me and gave me a verbal report of the above based on the information he had found in writing and then went back home with his people, agreeing to be ready all night in case I could get any further news about the person. Since the chamberlain at Baron Keppel's house received the answer that he was with Baron Sporcken, this got me thinking about whether his valet might have accompanied the pretender Count Sparr to the inn in order to be safe there as if he were in the house of a public minister.

For this reason, without wasting a moment, I brought together four men and had them posted from various locations along the canal on which Baron Spörcke's house was located, with orders to keep a close eye on who was going in or out there during the night. And that if they heard anyone stopping, whether on foot or in a chaise, they should run and report to them which street the people coming to the house had taken.

But that the rest of them were to follow the people coming up the street until the chamberlain's assistant had arrived with them.

These men of mine remained at their posts until half past six in the morning, when I sent someone from time to time during the night to find out whether they had heard anything at all, so that we could then take further measurements.

But all night they heard nothing other than that they had heard in the house for a good while on the ??? by Baron Spörcken's servants, and at about 2 o'clock two of them came up on foot and dressed up a little in the empty carriage and went to pick up their masters, without anything else happening the whole night, which then agreed with what others who I had sent out that evening had reported to me, namely that Baron Spörcke had been with the Countess von Wartenberg and Baron Keppel with Lady Albemarle at the assembly, and therefore neither of them could be at home. In addition, I sent someone during the day who is with the servants' families there to find out unnoticed whether any strangers had been staying there, but from his report I had to conclude that no one was in his house.

But after all this happened that same day and the following night, without me being able to make any further discoveries, where this man had previously retreated so that I could have him followed, for which I had carriages ready, I could not send the chamberlain himself to Brill and Hellevoetsluis (as these are the only routes by which he [Peter Keith] can get to England most quickly, from whence he intends to go), but had to keep him [the chamberlain] here by hand in case Lieutenant Keith happened to be here (as was suspected) and had delayed awaiting a convenient opportunity to escape.

In the meantime, I have taken such precautions on the route to England, as letters and orders have been received from the appointed councillors to Mayor Almonde in Briel (who is also the bailiff of the whole country) from the port of Hellevoet-Sluys, where Hellevoetsluis is located, and who is the postmaster there, so that no one can embark on the packet boat (which always leaves from Hellevoetsluis) without giving up his identity.

With this, early in the morning, I dispatched an assistant and appointed bailiff, and gave him a separate letter of recommendation with orders to keep an eye on everything that happens there in Hellevoetsluis, and to keep me informed of everything, including how the orders are executed.

I sent another to Rotterdam with orders to inquire at the ferry there, as well as the bridge-crossing, whether anyone had passed through there during the night, and also to inquire at all the ships moored there whether anyone had embarked or whether a ship had sailed some way away.

The latter man from Rotterdam had already finished his work around evening (after Colonel du Moulin had arrived in the morning), as he could clearly see in advance that none of those who had passed there had any resemblance to the person I was looking for. I received a report from my servants at Brill this afternoon in a letter which I have enclosed in the original, but he arrived in Brill around noon yesterday, handed over the order from the appointed councillors in the appropriate manner and travelled with the gunner and two bailiffs to Hellevoetsluis, where they found the packet boat, just as I had calculated that it could not set sail before 5 p.m. because of the ??, and took care of those who had embarked, among whom there was no one who resembled Lieutenant Keith.

Since all necessary precautions had already been taken on these routes, I discussed with Colonel du Moulin what we could do to uncover where he might have hidden himself here in The Hague, just as we had reason to suspect, and since we received further information from the servant in the inn where the aforementioned Keith was staying, and where Colonel du Moulin had also stayed since his arrival, that Keith's [baggage?] was supposed to have been picked up by two men from the kitchen of Milord Chesterfield and brought to his hotel, we thought we could do nothing better than to keep a close eye on this house and have it observed, and we made all the arrangements for this, so that the two officers and two of my men would position themselves in such a way that they could occupy it from the front and the back, so that in case someone wanted to come out, one of them could run after them and observe their route, two others, however, run after their carriages, which are standing ready, and the servants of the commissioner's council (who are supposed to arrest him) could pursue him.

Our men remained at their posts all night, but did not see anyone, either from the back or the front, and as they could not be sure that the fugitive had not already hidden himself in the house, we discussed together whether it would not be advisable, in order to get even more help from all sides in our discovery, to give the Pensionary Councilor, who had no other idea than that we were dealing with a mere deserter, some information about the importance of the crime of which this man was guilty.

Just as I then went to him according to our agreement, and after he had firmly promised me to keep the secret, I revealed to him in great detail why it was of the utmost importance to Your Royal Majesty that this person should be apprehended, immediately explaining to him how he would oblige Your Royal Majesty even more dearly if he contributed everything possible to this. He then declared with great cordiality that he would not let up in the slightest and would gladly do everything that could be thought of, even if there was a presumption that he had thus carried out the arrest order, since they knew of nothing other than a simple desertion, although this was against the local maxims, rather he would have every means possible used in a crime of high treason to lure the guy in, but he did not know what further precautions could be taken than had already been taken, asking me what else I could give, whereupon I suggested to him whether–as according to all suspicions, the guy might be hiding here and might find an opportunity to escape somewhere else–the chamberlain could act alone here in The Hague, and could be given more assistants, so that if he were exposed, people would be on hand everywhere to arrest him.

And whether he further (because from the report of the chamberlain who administered the exploit, as the report subsequently confirmed, it is clear that Baron Keppel's valet had brought the man, I also learned for certain that the pretender Count Sparre had lunch with Baron Keppel last Saturday and had great reason to believe that he or at least his valet knew where the man had gone) wanted to be kind enough to sound out Baron Keppel himself to see whether he had any knowledge of it and would give information as to where the man had gone or might be staying.

And whether he also wanted to sound out the English Secretary Holtzendorff, who was handling the affairs in Lord Chesterfield's absence, because according to the information the baggage had been brought there, whether the man was hiding there, and if so, persuade him not to protect him any further. He agreed to do both.

Now that I have returned from the Pensionary Councilor, I have considered with Colonel du Moulin whether it might not be useful to get information as soon as possible, or perhaps give an opportunity to get to the bottom of the matter better, to speak to him that same evening, when we sought out Baron Keppel himself the day before yesterday, and to see whether he would give us some information. Just as we did so in order not to lose any time, when we came to him, we told him how we had been informed that his valet had picked up a certain escaped lieutenant of Your Royal Majesty's troops, whom we had orders to arrest, at the very moment when he was about to be arrested and had him taken to his lodgings and taken to another place.

We therefore thought that we should address ourselves to him in the hope that he would be able to give us some clarification on the matter.

Baron Keppel, however, acted completely strangely and claimed to know nothing about the fact that the lieutenant in question had been sought and had escaped, much less that his valet had been there, that someone calling himself Count Sparr who had been a page and was now a lieutenant, had been with him and had eaten with him. He said that he had seen him in Berlin, but without knowing where he had been since then, that he wanted to ask his valet about it and what he could find out from him, so that he could either report it that evening by letter or send the valet to us so that he could examine him himself, which we then accepted. After we had returned home, the valet in question arrived here some time later, to whom we then asked whether he did not know Lieutenant Keith, who had been the page before, and whether he had not come to pick him up from the inn called The Three Swifts the previous evening.

To which he replied that he had known Keith as a page in Berlin, and that, without knowing that he was here, he had asked him to go to the inn called The Three Swifts the previous evening. He said that he had gone there and found him; Keith had only told him that he was only here in Holland on business and was leaving for Amsterdam at that exact hour, and therefore did not want to leave without saying goodbye to him first, so he went with him to the house, said goodbye to him a few steps away from the house, and left without knowing where he had gone next. Although we have now turned over the matter in all sorts of ways and pointed out to him the absurdity of trying to make people believe in such stories that contradict all probability, he still refused to let himself be put to anything else and stuck to what he had already told us, without admitting to knowing any more. He said he had been in Amsterdam last week and only returned the evening before yesterday and was not aware (as I also pointed out to him, among other things) that Keith had eaten at Baron Keppel's and had therefore not seen him there. For this reason, we must once again denounce this man, who seemed to have a great arrogance in concealing the truth, and we cannot believe anything other than that, by all appearances, he knows more than he is willing to say.

The pensionary councillor, as he communicated to me yesterday evening when I came to see him again to find out what he had learned from Baron Keppel and Secretary Holtzendorff, had replied in exactly the same way, and Secretary Holtzendorf had testified that he knew nothing of such people.

The pensionary councillor did not seem to be pleased with Baron Keppel's answer about his valet, and did not disapprove of the reasons which I further put to him which augmented our suspicion, which I had urged as strongly as possible, and which I must now take my leave of in the hope that he would come closer to approving the matter.

To be continued, because of character limits...

Hunting Peter Keith: Meinerzhagen, August 22

[mildred_of_midgard]

Since my most humble report, which I made on the 10th of this month and sent by express courier, I have, in accordance with Your Royal Majesty's most gracious orders of the 17th of this month, which were sent to me last Friday at noon, discussed with Colonel du Moulin what measures could be taken to apprehend the escaped Lieutenant Keith, since we have not only kept the people we have constantly at Rotterdam and Brill, at Hellevoetsluis, and other places for this purpose, but also at Mardyck and at Lage Zwaluwe (which is on the usual route to France) to observe him, so that it would have been impossible for him to get through in this way, and we have been constantly keeping a close eye, day and night, on Milord Chesterfield's hotel (which is where we lost the trail of the fugitive), and have posted people everywhere, as I had otherwise discussed things with the aforementioned Colonel du Moulin, and thought it a good idea to reveal our suspicion to Secretary Holtzendorf, who is handling the affairs of the English court in the absence of the Earl of Chesterfield, so that he would not later claim that he had never known that Lieutenant Keith was wanted. When no inquiries were made, we went to the Secretary mentioned above and explained to him in detail how we had been reliably informed that the deserted lieutenant's baggage, after he had fled from the inn, had been brought to his hotel by one of my lord's kitchen servants, and we could not judge otherwise, or the person himself must have retreated there, so that this would undoubtedly have happened without his knowledge. We must trust that a person who had behaved in a highly reprehensible manner towards Your Royal Majesty would not be given asylum in the Earl of Chesterfield's residence, and therefore asked the secretary to make inquiries with the servants and to carry out an investigation. He replied, however, that as far as he knew, everything in the hotel had been quiet and that he had not noticed any disturbance whatsoever. Nor was it his place to do any research or assume any authority over the servants there, other than to carry out his duties in the absence of the ambassador, with which excesses he also rejected our repeated request the following day when he had paid a visit to Colonel du Moulin and myself.

Then Colonel du Moulin went with me that same day to the Pensionary Councilor, whom, after a further compliment of thanks for his demonstrated promptness in carrying out the necessary orders, I sought only to continue his compliance and to arrange everything possible so that the aforementioned lieutenant could be apprehended anywhere in this province. Otherwise, we would like to sound out Lieutenant-General von Keppel again to see whether he could give us some information about the person mentioned, namely where his valet had taken him. Although the Pensionary Councilor promised to contribute everything he could on the first point, he nevertheless attempted to exclude the latter, under the pretext that this renewed attempt would certainly be fruitless, and since von Keppel would without doubt stick to his previous declaration that he had no further knowledge of Keith, we must not insist on it any further, but take our leave of him.

When I went to the sea on the following day, namely on the 20th of this afternoon, with Colonel Du Moulin and the domain councillor Meinerzhagen to Schevelingen, and the latter had the opportunity to make a conversation with some people standing on the shore and to announce their voyage, etc., in order to find out whether any ships had set out for anything other than fishing, he heard from the night watchman there and from others that on Friday morning at about ten o'clock a so-called pinnacle or fishing ship, hired by people unknown to him, had set sail for England, whereupon a young man (whose description was quite similar to that of Lieutenant Keith) who had been brought there from The Hague by three gentlemen, some of whom he believed to be in the entourage of an ambassador, embarked, despite the wind being completely contrary, so that other ships were driven back in the Maas river, but it seemed as if this man must have been in a great hurry. This man could not give any further information, but he offered to take us to the commissioner from whom such ships must be hired, whereupon he accompanied us to the innkeeper in the far Scheveningen where the hunter hangs, where we then questioned the innkeeper in detail, who confirmed everything that had been reported above regarding the ship that had set sail and the person who had gone away, and in response to our further question, he said that he had come from the Hague very early on Friday morning in a hired carriage and was accompanied not only there but even to the ship by three people, among whom were My Lord Chesterfield's steward and a certain wine merchant, the third of whom was unknown to him, but he did not tell us the name of the person who had gone away as commissioner, nor any further particulars, nor did he want to, although he was promised to be compensated for it. He claimed he is not allowed to do this, but perhaps we could find out more about it in the other inn, the one where the falcon hangs, which is where these people had stayed for a while before they came to him.

The following morning I dispatched the chamberlain of the Committee Council to Scheveningen, in order to question the innkeeper in the inn where the hunter hangs, who, upon his return, gave me the verbal report contained in his written report found here; Otherwise, I sent another trusted person to Scheveningen in secret at the same time, to inquire about some circumstances in the inn where the falcon hangs in order to further confirm the matter. He then not only confirmed what had already been said, but also reported that only on Thursday evening two people came up and ran into the landlord, and they wanted to return early the following morning in order to swim in the see, also that they arrived there at four o'clock the next morning with two others in a hired carriage, but instead of swimming, they had taken a pinnacle to England. That when the ship was ready, after ten o'clock, a stranger unknown to him turned up, who spoke Low German, but otherwise looked like Lieutenant Keith according to his description, but who was presented to the commissioner as a steward of the Earl of Chesterfield. His three companions were supposed to have accompanied him up until he embarked on the ship, and they also brought some provisions that had been left behind in the inn. One of the aforementioned companions was the tutor of My Lord Chesterfield, the other a certain wine merchant here in The Hague, named Palairet (who, as I am informed, supplies wine to the Earl of Chesterfield, and has a brother in England who teaches the Duke of Cumberland how to write). He did not know the third, but according to a description it must have been the valet of the Hanoverian envoy Spörcken.

Since, according to the circumstances mentioned, there is no longer any doubt about Lieutenant Keith escape, and since all the measures taken by all our authorities to date, the care taken, and the diligence applied to track him down, have been fruitless, although we firmly believe that he cannot escape us, unless the States of Holland themselves, despite their favorable resolution, connive, or perhaps a foreign minister residing here takes on the accused Lieutenant and obviously wants to protect him, I should not have failed most obediently to submit my most dutiful report to Your Royal Majesty of the most important circumstances (all of the particulars of which can be found in the Protocol of Colonel du Moulin (to which I must most humbly refer for the sake of brevity)), with testimony of my extreme regret, despite Colonel Du Moulin and my making all imaginable precautions.

We have seen our hope of catching the aforementioned Lieutenant Keit thwarted by the obvious protection which he received in the hotel of the Earl of Chesterfield, in that he was accompanied by other servants, as he had a passport as his maitre d'hotel, and even if one had known everything, one would not have been able to touch him or take possession of him. Consequently, it would have been quite impossible for us to prevent this escape, which Your Royal Majesty can assess for yourself, and we will be pleased to explain if, to my greatest annoyance, I do not succeed as I wish and achieve your most gracious intention, and I can assure Your Royal Majesty with the deepest humiliation that I have maintained all possible vigilance diligently and zealously, that we have not rested day or night, and that I will leave nothing to chance in order to achieve the stated goal wherever possible.

I, who remain in the humblest veneration and most constant loyalty throughout my life,

most humble loyalty and most obedient, [something]
du Moulin [who, we have seen, is signing on the late Meinerzhagen's behalf]

Most interesting to me here: Peter speaking Plattdeutsch! He's been stationed in Wesel for all of six months, and I see his linguistic talents are already showing. :D

Hunting Peter Keith: Du Moulin, August 22

[mildred_of_midgard]

I must report to Your Royal Majesty as quickly as possible and with all humility that yesterday evening at 9 o'clock, after I had discussed and agreed with the Envoy von Meinerzhagen what we should do regarding our further procedure for arresting the deserter Keith and his escape, and most humbly reported to Your Royal Majesty by today's post, I went home, and it happened that one of his servants picked me up this around 3 o'clock this morning with the sad news that his master had suffered a stroke and that I should come, the sooner the better, as he would hardly be able to hold out much longer.

I then went there immediately, and on my arrival I found a very sad and moving spectacle, namely a preacher with the whole family kneeling and pleading for the dying father of the house, who then gave up the ghost two hours later. This unexpected and sudden death left the whole house in great dismay.

To Your Royal Majesty I am sending the enclosed report which the late man composed yesterday evening and which I then signed in his place.

It is unfortunately more than certain, most gracious King and Lord, that Keith, with the protection of the English Ambassador's household, plus other help, found a way to escape and crossed over to England.

Your Royal Majesty will hopefully most graciously approve of my having informed the Earl of Degenfield of this, which he can pay attention to in his domain in London.

I would also like to inform you that I have received Your Royal Majesty's most gracious letter from Wesel on the 19th of this month, stating that Lieutenant Katt has also deserted, and that it was received safely yesterday afternoon. I then immediately informed the detached Lieutenant Cordier in Amsterdam of this, with orders to keep a close eye out for him. The late Envoy also wrote to Your Royal Majesty's resident Varyn yesterday afternoon about this, and explained to him the shape and figure of this man, and the same also to the ship's commissioners in Rotterdam and Brill. After sending this, I will go to the Pensionary Councilor and ask him to arrest Katt, and will do everything in my power to get hold of him, but I fear that he will have gone to England via Hamburg.

Finally, I have the honor to remain, with all humble respect, loyalty, and submission until my end,

Du Moulin

If only, Du Moulin. If only.