History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 19Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 19
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
"And that, finally, in 1765, he, as was again suspected at the time,
["Nicolai, Ueber Zimmermanns Fragmente, i. 181, 182, ii. 253, 254.
Sketch of what is authentically known about Bonneville: 'suspected both
of MATINEES and of the Stolen EDITION.'"] he and no other, did write
those MATINEES, which appeared next year in print (1766), and many times
since; and have just been reprinted, as a surprising new discovery, at
London, in Spring, 1863.
"3. Again indubitable, That either after or before those Editorial
exploits, Bonneville had sold the Marechal de Saxe's Plans and Papers,
which were already the King's, to some second person, and been a second
time paid for them. And was, in regard to this Swindling exploit, found
out; and by reason of that sale, or for what reason is not known, was
put into Spandau, and, one hopes, ended his life there." ["Nicolai, UBI
SUPRA;--and besides him, only the two following references, out of half
a cart-load: 1. Bachaumont, MEMOIRES SECRETES, '7th February, 1765' (see
Barbier, _Dictionnaire des Anonymes,_ Matinees), who calls MATINEES
'a development of the IDEE DE LA PERSONNE,' &c. (that is, of your 'DEMON
NEWSWRITER;' already known to Bachaumont, this 'IDEE,' it seems, as
well as the MATINEES in Manuscript). 2. LETTER of Grimm to Duchess of
Sachsen-Gotha [OUR Duchess], dated 'Paris, 15th April, 1765:' not in
printed _Correspondance de Grimm,_ but still in the Archives of Gotha,
in company with a MS. of MATINEES, probably the oldest extant (see,--in
the GRENZBOTEN Periodical, Leipzig, 1863, pp. 473-484, 500-519,--K.
SAMWER, who is Chief MALLEUS of this new London moon-calf, and will
inform the curious of every particular)]."
MATINEES was first printed 1766 (no place), and seven or eight times
since, in different Countries; twice or thrice over, as "an interesting
new discovery:"--very wearisome to this Editor; who read MATINEES (in
poor LONDON print, that too) many years ago,--with complete satisfaction
as to Matinees, and sincere wish not to touch it again even with a pair
of tongs;--and has since had three "priceless MSS. of it" offered him,
at low rates, as a guerdon to merit.
Fact No. 2, which alone concerns us here,--and which, in its three
successive stages, does curiously cohere with itself and with other
things,--comes, therefore, not by direct light, which indeed, by the
nature of the case, would be impossible. Not by direct light, but by
various reflex lights, and convergence of probabilities old and new,
which become the stronger the better they are examined; and may be
considered as amounting to what is called a moral certainty,--"certain"
enough for an inquiry of that significance. To a kind of moral
certainty: kind of moral consolation too; only One individual of Adam's
Posterity, not Three or more, having been needed in these multifarious
acts of scoundrelism; and that One receiving payment, or part payment,
so prompt and appropriate, in the shape of a permanent cannon-ball at
his ankle.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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