History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 06Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 06
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
FIRST, the "Ahlden Heritage" was one cause of disagreement, which
lasted long. The poor Mother of George II. and of Queen Sophie had
left considerable properties; "three million THALERS," that is 900,000
pounds, say some; but all was rather in an unliquid state, not so much
as her Will was to be had. The Will, with a 10,000 pounds or so, was in
the hands of a certain Graf von Bar, one of her confidants in that
sad imprisonment: "money lent him," Busching says, [_Beitrage zur
Lebensgeschichte denkwurdiger Personen_ (Halle, 1783-1789), i. 306, ?
NUSSLER. Some distracted fractions of Business Correspondence with this
Bar, in _Memoirs of Sophia Dorothea, _--unintelligible as usual there.]
"to set up a Wax-Bleachery at Cassel:"--and the said Count von Bar was
off with it, Testamentary Paper and all; gone to the REICHSHOFRATH at
Vienna, supreme Judges, in the Empire, of such matters. Who accordingly
issued him a "Protection," to start with: so that when the Hanover
people attempted to lay hold of the questionable wax-bleaching Count, at
Frankfurt-on-Mayn,--secretly sending "a lieutenant and twelve men" for
that object,--he produces his Protection Paper, and the lieutenant and
twelve men had to hasten home again. [Ibid.] Count von Bar had to be
tried at law,--never ask with what results;--and this itself was a long
story. Then as to the other properties of the poor Duchess, question
arises, Are they ALLODIA, or are they FEUDA,--that is to say, shall the
Son have them, or the Daughter? In short, there was no end to questions.
Friedrich Wilhelm has an Envoy at Hanover, one Kannegiesser, laboring
at Hanover, the second of such he has been obliged to send; who finds
plenty of employment in that matter. "My Brother the COMODIANT quietly
put his Father's Will in his pocket, I have heard; and paid no regard
to it (except what he was compelled to pay, by Chesterfield and others):
will he do the like with his poor Mother's Will?" Patience,
your Majesty: he is not a covetous man, but a self-willed and a
proud,--always conscious to himself that he is the soul of honor, this
poor Brother King!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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