Ich habe endlich gestern die Antwort von der Churmärck.-Cammer auf mein letzteres Anschreiben von 4te. May. a.c. erhalten, welche denn nicht ermangele, mon tres cher Compère, nebst denen gesamm- ten Beylagen zu communiciren, mit bitte, mir alles nach ge- machten Gebrauch wieder zurück zu senden. Es freuet mich, dass Sie dieser Sache wegen aus dem Embarras kommen, und von denen angedroheten unangenehmen Zwangsmitteln verschonet bleiben. Zugleich ist mir angenehm, dass der Herr Graf von Schaff- gotsch sich der Pacht von Kienberg annimmet, und mir zu meiner Consolation die Versicherung giebet, dass Er vor der Riss stehen, auch zu keinen Beschwerden über schlechtes Heu Anlass geben will.
Schreiben Sie mir doch, ob Se. Maj. der König denen Kietzern in Cüstrin wenn Sie Höchstdenenselben Fische gesandt, ein Douceur bekommen haben. Die Küche will mir solches aus einer unzeitigen Freigebigkeit in Rechnung bringen. Ich glaube aber, dass solches zur Ungebühr ge- schiehet.
Die gestern an meine Frau gesandte relation wird mon cher Compère wohl communiciret worden seyn. Heute brennet das Feuer in zwei Orten wieder entsetzlich starck, und mich soll wündern, wie lange die Herrn Präger und die darinn befindliche Troupen dieses Feuerwerckchen ausfallen werden.
Ich habe die Ehre, mit der vorzüglichsten Hochachtung zu verharre, Monsieur et très cher Compère votre tres humble et fiedele Serviteur
je vous rend Grace pour le bon vin, ma femme s'engrisera
Leining
Haupt-Quartier bei Prag den 3ten Junii 1757
Here's "Douceur"! I can find no evidence either in Duden or in my deciphering of handwritten Pfeiffer and Keith documents that it means anything but what it means in English: tip, so if it means "sweet" (which I agree it looks like it does), he must be thinking in French (though even then the singular is weird, at least for modern French--Larousse doesn't have it).
What are the grammatical rules for dates? Everyone abbreviates/scribbles so much I can't decipher with confidence, and my German-fu is weak when it comes to making up the difference.
Yesterday, I finally received the reply from the Kurmärkische Kammer to my last letter of May 4th, and am not neglecting to share it in addition to the collected inserts, mon tres cher compare, so I ask you to send me all of it back once you’ve put it to good use. I’m glad you get out of any embarrassment in this matter, and will be spared any disagreeable threatened forcible means. Additionally, it pleases me that Count von Schaffgotsch will indeed take the lease of Kienberg, and has consoled me by giving me the assurance that he will indeed cope with the danger and won’t give any cause to complaints about bad hay.
Please write to me whether the fishermen from Küstrin* have received any douceurs from His Majesty the King when you had ordered fish to be sent to him. In a liberality, not suited to these times, the kitchen wants to bill me for these. But I believe that this happens inappropriately.
The news I’ve sent to my wife yesterday will have been shared with mon cher compere. Today again there are fires in two places which burn fiercely, and I’d be surprised if the good citizens of Prague and the troops contained within will endure these fireworks for long.
I have the honor of remaining with the deepest respect, Monsieur et tres cher compere,
votre tres humble et fiedele Serviteur
je vous rend Grace pour le bon vin, ma femme s'engrisera
Leining
Headquarters near Prague June 3rd 1757
And yes, "den 3ten" is the correct German here. If he doesn't use "den" and just says (Number), it would be ("Number)er. Also, I'm still amused at everyone's undue optimism that Prague will surrender any minute now. Kolin is just around the corner, guys! Oh, and re: the French sentence - "I thank your Grace for the good wine, my wife will get drunk with it" - would be me interpretation.
*"Kietzern" - it occured to me, and dictionaries seem to confirm it, that he's using an old fashioned word here, which is related to the still in use "Kiez". A "Kiez" used to be indeed a fishermen town, and then the meaning changed, most famously with the Hamburg Kiez of St. Pauli, to a red light district, but that hadn't happened yet, so I think given we're talking about the fish sent to Fritz, Leining wants to know whether the Küstrin fishermen used to get an extra tip from Fritz (!!!) for that one or whether the Kitchen is making that up.
And yes, "den 3ten" is the correct German here. If he doesn't use "den" and just says (Number), it would be ("Number)er.
Thank you!
Oh, and re: the French sentence - "I thank your Grace for the good wine, my wife will get drunk with it" - would be me interpretation.
Google agrees!
A "Kiez" used to be indeed a fishermen town, and then the meaning changed, most famously with the Hamburg Kiez of St. Pauli, to a red light district, but that hadn't happened yet, so I think given we're talking about the fish sent to Fritz, Leining wants to know whether the Küstrin fishermen used to get an extra tip from Fritz (!!!) for that one or whether the Kitchen is making that up.
Oh, that makes sense! I didn't know of this old-fashioned word. So you think in
ob Se. Maj. der König denen Kietzern in Cüstrin wenn sie Höchstdenenselben Fische gesandt, ein Douceur bekommen haben.
the subject of "haben bekommen" is "denen Kietzern", not "Se. Maj. der König"? Or can that sentence somehow mean "have received from His Majesty"? Or did Leining get confused halfway through the sentence and forget the subject came earlier in the sentence and finish it as though the more recent noun was the subject of the verb (something I have done in English)? Because when you originally translated this as "Fritz receiving sweets", that made more syntactical sense of "haben bekommen" that the Kietzern receiving the Douceur, even though it made less semantic sense. The current reading makes more semantic sense (and is how I originally interpreted it when I wasn't reading the syntax closely), but less syntactic sense (to me and my imperfect German).
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timeasmymeasure
Leining to Fredersdorf: Letter 11, take 2
Date: 2024-10-14 03:39 pm (UTC)Ich habe endlich gestern die Antwort von der Churmärck.-Cammer
auf mein letzteres Anschreiben von 4te. May. a.c. erhalten, welche
denn nicht ermangele, mon tres cher Compère, nebst denen gesamm-
ten Beylagen zu communiciren, mit bitte, mir alles nach ge-
machten Gebrauch wieder zurück zu senden. Es freuet mich,
dass Sie dieser Sache wegen aus dem Embarras kommen, und
von denen angedroheten unangenehmen Zwangsmitteln verschonet
bleiben. Zugleich ist mir angenehm, dass der Herr Graf von Schaff-
gotsch sich der Pacht von Kienberg annimmet, und mir zu meiner
Consolation die Versicherung giebet, dass Er vor der Riss stehen, auch
zu keinen Beschwerden über schlechtes Heu Anlass geben will.
Schreiben Sie mir doch, ob Se. Maj. der König denen Kietzern in Cüstrin
wenn Sie Höchstdenenselben Fische gesandt, ein Douceur bekommen
haben. Die Küche will mir solches aus einer unzeitigen Freigebigkeit
in Rechnung bringen. Ich glaube aber, dass solches zur Ungebühr ge-
schiehet.
Die gestern an meine Frau gesandte relation wird mon cher Compère
wohl communiciret worden seyn. Heute brennet das Feuer in
zwei Orten wieder entsetzlich starck, und mich soll wündern,
wie lange die Herrn Präger und die darinn befindliche Troupen
dieses Feuerwerckchen ausfallen werden.
Ich habe die Ehre, mit der vorzüglichsten Hochachtung zu verharre,
Monsieur et très cher Compère
votre tres humble et
fiedele Serviteur
je vous rend Grace pour le bon
vin, ma femme s'engrisera
Leining
Haupt-Quartier bei Prag
den 3ten Junii 1757
Here's "Douceur"! I can find no evidence either in Duden or in my deciphering of handwritten Pfeiffer and Keith documents that it means anything but what it means in English: tip, so if it means "sweet" (which I agree it looks like it does), he must be thinking in French (though even then the singular is weird, at least for modern French--Larousse doesn't have it).
What are the grammatical rules for dates? Everyone abbreviates/scribbles so much I can't decipher with confidence, and my German-fu is weak when it comes to making up the difference.
E.g. "den 3ten Junii": "Den"? "3ten"? or "3te"?
In the previous letter, "vom 14ten"? "vom 14te"?
Help!
Re: Leining to Fredersdorf: Letter 11, take 2
Date: 2024-10-22 04:46 pm (UTC)Yesterday, I finally received the reply from the Kurmärkische Kammer to my last letter of May 4th, and am not neglecting to share it in addition to the collected inserts, mon tres cher compare, so I ask you to send me all of it back once you’ve put it to good use. I’m glad you get out of any embarrassment in this matter, and will be spared any disagreeable threatened forcible means. Additionally, it pleases me that Count von Schaffgotsch will indeed take the lease of Kienberg, and has consoled me by giving me the assurance that he will indeed cope with the danger and won’t give any cause to complaints about bad hay.
Please write to me whether the fishermen from Küstrin* have received any douceurs from His Majesty the King when you had ordered fish to be sent to him. In a liberality, not suited to these times, the kitchen wants to bill me for these. But I believe that this happens inappropriately.
The news I’ve sent to my wife yesterday will have been shared with mon cher compere. Today again there are fires in two places which burn fiercely, and I’d be surprised if the good citizens of Prague and the troops contained within will endure these fireworks for long.
I have the honor of remaining with the deepest respect, Monsieur et tres cher compere,
votre tres humble et
fiedele Serviteur
je vous rend Grace pour le bon
vin, ma femme s'engrisera
Leining
Headquarters near Prague
June 3rd 1757
And yes, "den 3ten" is the correct German here. If he doesn't use "den" and just says (Number), it would be ("Number)er. Also, I'm still amused at everyone's undue optimism that Prague will surrender any minute now. Kolin is just around the corner, guys! Oh, and re: the French sentence - "I thank your Grace for the good wine, my wife will get drunk with it" - would be me interpretation.
*"Kietzern" - it occured to me, and dictionaries seem to confirm it, that he's using an old fashioned word here, which is related to the still in use "Kiez". A "Kiez" used to be indeed a fishermen town, and then the meaning changed, most famously with the Hamburg Kiez of St. Pauli, to a red light district, but that hadn't happened yet, so I think given we're talking about the fish sent to Fritz, Leining wants to know whether the Küstrin fishermen used to get an extra tip from Fritz (!!!) for that one or whether the Kitchen is making that up.
Re: Leining to Fredersdorf: Letter 11, take 2
Date: 2024-10-22 05:37 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Oh, and re: the French sentence - "I thank your Grace for the good wine, my wife will get drunk with it" - would be me interpretation.
Google agrees!
A "Kiez" used to be indeed a fishermen town, and then the meaning changed, most famously with the Hamburg Kiez of St. Pauli, to a red light district, but that hadn't happened yet, so I think given we're talking about the fish sent to Fritz, Leining wants to know whether the Küstrin fishermen used to get an extra tip from Fritz (!!!) for that one or whether the Kitchen is making that up.
Oh, that makes sense! I didn't know of this old-fashioned word. So you think in
ob Se. Maj. der König denen Kietzern in Cüstrin wenn sie Höchstdenenselben Fische gesandt, ein Douceur bekommen haben.
the subject of "haben bekommen" is "denen Kietzern", not "Se. Maj. der König"? Or can that sentence somehow mean "have received from His Majesty"? Or did Leining get confused halfway through the sentence and forget the subject came earlier in the sentence and finish it as though the more recent noun was the subject of the verb (something I have done in English)? Because when you originally translated this as "Fritz receiving sweets", that made more syntactical sense of "haben bekommen" that the Kietzern receiving the Douceur, even though it made less semantic sense. The current reading makes more semantic sense (and is how I originally interpreted it when I wasn't reading the syntax closely), but less syntactic sense (to me and my imperfect German).