History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 09Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 09
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
"After this sale, I found myself richer than I had ever been in my life.
The Prince-Royal sent me, almost daily, a groom and led horse, that I
might come to him, and sometimes follow him in his excursions. At last,
he had it proposed to me, by M. de Brender, and even by Prince Eugene,
to accompany him to Berlin." Which, of course, I did; taking Ruppin
first. "I arrived at Berlin from Ruppin, in 1734, two days after the
marriage of Friedrich Wilhelm Margraf of Schwedt [Ill Margraf's
elder Brother, wildest wild-beast of this camp] with the Princess
Sophie,"--that is to say, 12th of November; Marriage having been on the
10th, as the Books teach us. Chasot remembers that, on the 14th, "the
Crown-Prince gave, in his Berlin mansion, a dinner to all the Royal
Family," in honor of that auspicious wedding. [Kurd vou Schlozer, _
Chasot_ (Berlin, 1856), pp. 20-22. A pleasant little Book; tolerably
accurate, and of very readable quality.]
Thus is Chasot established with the Crown-Prince. He will turn up
fighting well in subsequent parts of this History; and again duelling
fatally, though nothing of a quarrelsome man, as he asserts.
CROWN-PRINCE'S VISIT TO BAIREUTH ON THE WAY HOME.
October 4th, the Crown-Prince has parted with Prince Eugene,--not to
meet again in this world; "an old hero gone to the shadow of himself,"
says the Crown-Prince; [_OEuvres (Memoires de Brandebourg),_ i.
167.]--and is giving his Prussian War-Captains a farewell dinner at
Frankfurt-on-Mayn; having himself led the Ten Thousand so far, towards
Winter-quarters, and handing them over now to their usual commanders.
They are to winter in Westphalia, these Ten Thousand, in the
Paderborn-Munster Country; where they are nothing like welcome to the
Ruling Powers; nor are intended to be so,--Kur-Koln (proprietor there)
and his Brother of Bavaria having openly French leanings. The Prussian
Ten Thousand will have to help themselves to the essential, therefore,
without welcome;--and things are not pleasant. And the Ruling Powers,
by protocolling, still more the Commonalty if it try at mobbing, ["28th
March, 1735" (Fassmann, p. 547); Buchholz, i. 136.] can only make them
worse. Indeed it is said the Ten Thousand, though their bearing was so
perfect otherwise, generally behaved rather ill in their marches
over Germany, during this War,--and always worst, it was remarked by
observant persons, in the countries (Bamberg and Wurzburg, for instance)
where their officers had in past years been in recruiting troubles.
Whereby observant persons explained the phenomenon to themselves. But
we omit all that; our concern lying elsewhere. "Directly after dinner at
Frankfurt," the Crown-Prince drives off, rapidly as his wont is,
towards Baireuth. He arrives there on the morrow; "October 5th," says
Wilhelmina,--who again illuminates him to us, though with oblique
lights, for an instant.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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