Ha. In another letter, in 1764, he says the same thing, but this time specifies who did the telling: predictably, it was our sarcastic Fritz who said he had no use for children.
And then Hertzberg goes on to say that the Grand Directory proposed Karl as a refendarius (I think that's what Friedrich was when he died), but the final decision was that it wasn't a good fit, because Karl might join the military. Since that would be contrary to Karl's taste and constitution, Karl didn't know *what* he should do. Also his health was getting worse, and Hertzberg says that he fears that the numerous family will die out, "unless you or your brothers marry soon." Interesting that he uses the plural; Wikipedia gives me 3 living brothers at this point: Tido, who I didn't think was in the picture, so given that he's writing to one of the brothers, either Tido *is* in the picture and they know he hasn't married, or there's another brother.
Given that this is just after the 7 Years War, I can well believe no one wants young and untried personnel in the hot seats of France and Vienna. And it's ic for Fritz to phrase it like that.
BTW: Is this Hertzberg the same guy who later will prove Heinrich's doom in the reign of FW2?
Yes, same guy. There's a lot of Heinrich discussion in these letters that I might come back to someday, I just have limits on how much I can decipher at once. (I'm already behind on all my other projects because of how much deciphering I'm doing already!) I think most of the Heinrich discussion is because Dodo Heinrich, Oriane's envoy brother (sent to London during the Seven Years' War), according to Wikipedia, "enjoyed Heinrich's trust," and I see a lot of him spending time at Rheinsberg in these letters. Who knows, maybe there's gossip that we'll find out someday!
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Peter's sons
Date: 2025-01-22 11:59 am (UTC)And then Hertzberg goes on to say that the Grand Directory proposed Karl as a refendarius (I think that's what Friedrich was when he died), but the final decision was that it wasn't a good fit, because Karl might join the military. Since that would be contrary to Karl's taste and constitution, Karl didn't know *what* he should do. Also his health was getting worse, and Hertzberg says that he fears that the numerous family will die out, "unless you or your brothers marry soon." Interesting that he uses the plural; Wikipedia gives me 3 living brothers at this point: Tido, who I didn't think was in the picture, so given that he's writing to one of the brothers, either Tido *is* in the picture and they know he hasn't married, or there's another brother.
Re: Peter's sons
Date: 2025-01-22 12:25 pm (UTC)BTW: Is this Hertzberg the same guy who later will prove Heinrich's doom in the reign of FW2?
Re: Peter's sons
Date: 2025-01-22 12:29 pm (UTC)And it's ic for Fritz to phrase it like that.
Extremely. I suspected it was him.