History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 14Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 14
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
"Accordingly he grumbles, threatens: he has been listening to France,
'Bourbon, how much will you give me, then?' and the answer is such
that he informs the Queen of Hungary and the Britannic Majesty, of
his intention to close with Bourbon, since they on their side will
do nothing considerable. George and his Carteret, not to mention the
Hungarian Majesty at all, are thunder-struck at such a prospect; bend
all their energies towards this essential point of retaining Charles
Emanuel, which is more urgent even than getting Elsass. 'Madam,' they
say to her Majesty, (we cannot save Italy for you on other terms:
Vigevanesco, Finale [which is Genoa's], part of Piacenza [when once
got]: there must be some slice of the Lombard parts to this Charles
Emanuel justly angry!) Whereat the high Queen storms, and in her
high manner scolds little George, as if he were the blamable
party,--pretending friendship, and yet abetting mere highway robbery
or little better. And his cash paid Madam, and his Dettingen mouse-trap
fought? 'Well, he has plenty of cash:--is it my Cause, then, or his
Majesty's and Liberty's?' Posterity, in modern England, vainly endeavors
to conceive this phenomenon; yet sees it to be undeniable.
"And so there is a Treaty of Worms got concocted, after infinite effort
on the part of Carteret, Robinson too laboring and steaming in Vienna
with boilers like to burst; and George gets it signed 13th September
[already signed while Friedrich was looking into Seckendorf and
Wembdingen, if Friedrich had known it]: to this effect, That Charles
Emanuel should have annually, down on the nail, a handsome increase of
Subsidy (200,000 pounds instead of 150,000 pounds) from England, and
ultimately beyond doubt some thinnish specified slices from the Lombard
parts; and shall proceed fighting for, not against; English Fleet
co-operating, English Purse ditto, regardless of expense; with other
fit particulars, as formerly. [Scholl, ii. 330-335; Adelung, iii. B,
222-226; Coxe, iii. 296.] Maria Theresa, very angry, looks upon herself
as a martyr, nobly complying to suffer for the whim of England; and
Robinson has had such labors and endurances, a steam-engine on the point
of bursting is but an emblem of him. It was a necessary Treaty for the
Cause of Liberty, as George and Carteret, and all English Ministries
and Ministers (Diana of Newcastle very specially, in spite of Pitt and
a junior Opposition Party) viewed Liberty. It was Love's last
shift,--Diana having intervened upon those magnificent 'Conferences
of Hanau' lately! Nevertheless Carteret was thrown out, next year, on
account of it. And Posterity is unable to conceive it; and asks always
of little George, What, in the name of wonder, had he to do there,
fighting for or against, and hiring everybody he met to fight against
everybody? A King with eyes somewhat A FLEUR-DE-TETE: yes; and let us
say, his Nation, too,--which has sat down quietly, for almost a century
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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