History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 10Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 10
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
Many of the Cavaliers, I find, for one thing, were of the Regiment
Goltz; that was one evident economy. "Rittmeister van Chasot," as the
Books call him: readers saw that Chasot flying to Prince Eugene, and
know him since the Siege of Philipsburg. He is not yet Rittmeister,
or Captain of Horse, as he became; but is of the Ruppin Garrison;
Hof-Cavalier; "attended Friedrich on his late Prussian journey;" and
is much a favorite, when he can be spared from Ruppin. Captain Wylich,
afterwards a General of mark; the Lieutenant Buddenbrock who did the
parson-charivari at Ruppin, but is now reformed from those practices:
all these are of Goltz. Colonel Keyserling, not of Goltz, nor in active
military duty here, is a friend of very old standing; was officially
named as "Companion" to the Prince, a long while back; and got into
trouble on his account in the disastrous Ante-Custrin or Flight Epoch:
one of the Prince's first acts, when he got pardoned after Custrin, was
to beg for the pardon of this Keyserling; and now he has him here, and
is very fond of him. A Courlander, of good family, this Keyserling;
of good gifts too,--which, it was once thought, would be practically
sublime; for he carried off all manner of college prizes, and was the
Admirable-Crichton of Konigsberg University and the Graduates there. But
in the end they proved to be gifts of the vocal sort rather: and have
led only to what we see. A man, I should guess, rather of buoyant
vivacity than of depth or strength in intellect or otherwise.
Excessively buoyant, ingenious; full of wit, kindly exuberance; a
loyal-hearted, gay-tempered man, and much a favorite in society as well
as with the Prince. If we were to dwell on Reinsberg, Keyserling would
come prominently forward.
Major van Stille, ultimately Major-General von Stille, I should also
mention: near twenty years older than the Prince; a wise thoughtful
soldier (went, by permission, to the Siege of Dantzig lately, to improve
himself); a man capable of rugged service, when the time comes. His
military writings were once in considerable esteem with professional
men; and still impress a lay reader with favorable notions towards
Stille, as a man of real worth and sense. [_Campagnes du Roi de
Prusse;_--a posthumous Book; ANTERIOR to the Seven-Years War.]
OF MONSIEUR JORDAN AND THE LITERARY SET.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account