History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 21Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 21
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
Sir Robert Murray Keith--that is, the younger Excellency Keith, now
Minister at Dresden, whom we have sometimes heard of--accompanies Conway
on this Tour, or flies alongside of him, with frequent intersections
at the principal points; and there is printed record by Sir Robert, but
still less interesting than this of Conway, and perfectly conformable
to it:--so that, except for some words about the Lord Marischal, which
shall be given, Keith must remain silent, while the diffuse Conway
strives to become intelligible. Indeed, neither Conway nor Keith tell us
the least thing that is not abundantly, and even wearisomely known from
German sources; but to readers here, a pair of English eyes looking on
the matter (put straight in places by the help there is), may give it
a certain freshness of meaning. Here are Conway's Two Letters, with the
nine parts of water charitably squeezed out of them, by a skilful friend
of mine and his.
CONWAY TO HIS BROTHER, MARQUIS OF HERTFORD (in London).
"BERLIN, July 17th, 1774.
"DEAR BROTHER,--In the hurry I live in--... Leaving Brunswick, where,
in absence of most of the Court, who are visiting at Potsdam, my old
Commander," Duke Ferdinand, now estranged from Potsdam, [Had a kind of
quarrel with Friedrich in 1766 (rough treatment by Adjutant von
Anhalt, not tolerable to a Captain now become so eminent), and quietly
withdrew,--still on speaking terms with the King, but never his Officer
more.] and living here among works of Art, and speculations on Free
Masonry, "was very kind to me, I went to Celle, in Hanover, to pay my
respects to the Queen of Denmark [unfortunate divorced Matilda, saved
by my friend Keith,--innocent, I will hope!]... She is grown extremely
fat.... At Magdeburg, the Prussian Frontier on this side, one is not
allowed, without a permit, even to walk on the ramparts,--such the
strictness of Prussian rule.... Driving through Potsdam, on my way to
Berlin, I was stopped by a servant of the good old Lord Marischal, who
had spied me as I passed under his window. He came out in his nightgown,
and insisted upon our staying to dine with him--[worthy old man; a word
of him, were this Letter done]. We ended, on consultation about times
and movements of the King, by staying three days at Potsdam, mostly with
this excellent old Lord.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account