No More Learning

enough, surely, when the truth of your relation to the
Universe, and the tragically earnest meaning of your
Life, is quite lied out of you, by a world sunk in lies;
and you can, with effort, attain to nothing but to be a
more or less splendid lie along with it! Your very
existence all become a vesture, a hypocrisy and hear-
say; nothing left of you but this sad faculty of sowing
chaff in the fashionable manner! After Friedrich and
Voltaire, in both of whom, under the given circum-
stances, one finds a perennial reality, more or less, --
Belleisle is next; none fails to escape the mournful
common lot by a nearer miss than Belleisle.
Beyond doubt, there are in this man the biggest
projects any French head has carried, since Louis XIV.
with his sublime periwig first took to striking the stars.
How the indolent Louis XV. and the pacific Fleury
have been got into this sublimely adventurous mood?
By Belleisle chiefly, men say; -- and by King Louis's
first Mistresses, blown upon by Belleisle; poor Louis
having now, at length, left his poor Queen to her
reflections, and taken into that sad line, in which by
degrees he carried it so far. There are three of them,
it seems; -- the first female souls that could ever
manage to kindle, into flame or into smoke, in this or
any other kind, that poor torpid male soul: . those
Mailly Sisters, three in number (I am shocked to hear),
successive, nay in part simultaneous! They are proud
women, especially the two younger; with ambition in
them, with a bravura magnanimity, of the theatrical or
operatic kind; of whom Louis is very fond. "To raise
France to its place, your Majesty; the top of the Uni-
verse, namely! " "Well; if it could be done, -- and
quite without trouble? " thinks Louis. Bravura magna-
Carljle, Frederick the Great. VI. 17
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? 258
[book sn.
FIRST SILESIAN WAR.
Jan. 1741.
nimity, blown upon by Belleisle, prevails among these
high Improper-Females, and generally in the Younger
Circles of the Court; so that poor old Fleury has had
no choice but to obey it or retire. And so Belleisle
stalks across the CEil-de-Boeuf in that important
manner, visibly to Geusau; and is the shining object
in Paris, and much the topic there at present.
A few weeks hence, he is farther, -- a little out of
the common turn, but not beyond his military merits
or capabilities, -- made Marechal de France; * by way
of giving him a new splendour in the German Political
World, and assisting in his operations there, which
depend much upon the laws of vision. French epigrams
circulate in consequence, and there are witty criticisms;
to which Belleisle, such a dusky world of Possibility
lying ahead, is grandly indifferent. Marechal de
France; -- and Geusau hears (what is a fact) that
there are to be "thirty young French Lords in his
suite;" his very "Livery," or mere plush retinue, "to
consist of 110persons;" such an outfit for magnificence
as was never seen before. And in this equipment,
"early in March" (exact day not given), magnificence
of outside corresponding to grandiosity of faculty and
idea, Belleisle, we shall find, does practically set off
towards Germany; -- like a kind of French Belus, or
God of the Sun; capable to dazzle weak German
Courts, by optical machinery, and to set much rotten
thatch on fire! --
"There are curious daguerreotype glimpses of old Paris
"to be found in that Notebook of Geusau's,' says another EX-
"cerpt; "which come strangely home to us, like reality at
"first-hand; -- and a rather unexpected Paris it is, to most
* Fastes de Louie XV, i. 356 (12th February 1741).
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? CHAP. VII. ] AT VERSAILLES, BELLEISLE WITH TAPERS. 259
Jan. 1741.
"readers; many things then alive there, which are now deep
"underground. Much Jansenist Theology afloat: grand
"French Ladies piously eager to convert a young Protestant
"Nobleman like Reuss; sublime Dorcases, who do not rouge,
"or dress high, but eschew the evil world, and are thrifty for
"the Poor's sake, redeeming the time. There is a Cardinal
"de Polignac, venerable sage and ex-political person, of
"astonishing erudition, collector of Antiques (with whom we
"dined); there is the Chevalier Ramsay, theological Scotch
"Jacobite, late Tutor of the young Turenne. So many
"shining persons, now fallen indistinct again. And then,
"besides gossip, which is of mild quality, and in fair propor-
"tion, -- what talk, casuistic and other, about the Moral
"Duties, the still feasible Pieties, the Constitution Unigenitus!
"All this alive, resonant at dinner-tables of Conservative
"stamp; the Miracles of Abbe Paris much a topic there: --
"and not a whisper of Infidel Philosophies; the very name of
"Voltaire not once mentioned in the Reuss section or Parisian
"things.
"There is rumour now and then of a 'Comte de Rothen-
"bourg,' conspicuous in the Parisian circles; a shining mili-
"tary man, but seemingly in want of employment; who has
"lost in gambling, within the last four years, upwards of
"50,000/. (1,300,000 livres, the exact cipher given). This is
"the Graf von Rothenburg whom Friedrich made acquaint-
ance with, in the Rhine Campaign six years ago, and has
"ever since had in his eye; -- whom, in a few weeks hence,
"Friedrich beckons over to him into the Prussian States:
'"Hither, and you shall have work! ' Which Rothenburg
"accepts; with manifold advantage to both parties: -- one
"of Friedrich's most distinguished friends for the rest of
"his life.
"Of Cardinal Polignac there is much said, and several
"dinners with him are transacted, dialogue partly given: a
"pious wise old gentleman really, in his kind (age now
"eighty-four); looking mildly forth upon a world just about
"to overset itself and go topsy-turvy, as he sees it will. His
"Anti-Lucretius was once such a Poem! -- but we mention him
"here because his fine Cabinet of Antiques came to Berlin on
"his death, Friedrich purchasing; and one often hears of it
17*
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? 260
[book Xn.
FIRST SILESIAN WAR.
Jan. 1741.
"(if one eared to hear) from the Prussian Dryasdust in sub-
sequent years. *
"Of Friedrich's unexpected Invasion of Silesia there are
"also talkings and surmisings, but in a mild indifferent tone,
"and much in the vague. And in the best-informed circles it
"is thought Belleisle will manage to have Grand-Duke Franz,
"the Queen of Hungary's Husband, chosen Kaiser, and, in
"some mild good way, put an end to all that;" -- which is far
indeed from Belleisle's intention!
* Came to Charlottenburg, August 1742 (old Polignac had died, Novem-
ber last, ten months after those Geusau times): cost of the Polignac Cabi-
net was 40,000 thalevs (6,000/. ) say some, 90,000 livres (under 4,0001. ) say
others; cheap at either price; -- and, by chance, came opportunely, "a
fire having just burnt down the Academy Edifice," and destroyed much
ware of that kind. Rodenbeck, i. 73; Seyfarth (Anonymous), Getclnchl?
Friedrichs des Andcrn, i. 236.
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? CHAP. Till. ]
261
PHENOMENA IN PETERSBURG.
Jan. 1741.
CHAPTER VIII.
PHENOMENA IN PETERSBURG.
I know not whether Major Winterfeld, who was
sent to Petersburg in December last, had got back to
Berlin in February, now while Friedrich is there: but
for certain the good news of him had, That he had
been completely successful, and was coming speedily,
to resume his soldier duties in right time. As Winter-
feld is an important man (nearly buried into darkness
in the dull Prussian Books), let us pause for a moment
on this Negotiation of his; -- and on the mad Russian
vicissitudes which preceded and followed, so far as they
concern us. Russia, a big demi-savage neighbour next
door, with such caprices, such humours and interests, is
always an important, rather delicate object to Fried-
rich; and Fortune's mad wheel is plunging and canting
in a strange headlong way there, of late. Czarina
Anne, we know, is dead; the Autocrat of All the Rus-
sias following the Kaiser of the Romans within eight
days. Iwan, her little Nephew, still in swaddling-
clothes, is now Autocrat of All the Russias if he knew
it, poor little red-coloured creature; and Anton Ulrich
and his Mecklenburg Russian Princess -- But let us
take up the matter where our Notebooks left it, in
Friedrich Wilhelm's time:
"Czarina Anne with the big cheek," continues that Note-
book,* "was extremely delighted to see little Iwan; buten-
* Suprk, vol. v. p. 265.
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? 262
[book xn.
FIRST SILESIAN WAR.
Jan. 1741.
"joyed him only two months; being herself in dying circum-
"stances. She appointed little Iwan her Successor, his Mother
"and Father to be Guardians over him: but one Bieren (who
"writes himself Biron, and 'Duke of Courland/ being Cza-
"rina's Quasi-Husband these many years) to be Guardian, as
"it were, over both them and him. Such had been the trucu-
"lent insatiable Bieren's demand on his Czarina. 'You are
"running on your destruction,' said she, with tears; butcom-
"plied, as she had been wont.
"Czarina Anne died, 28th October 1740; leaving a Czar
"in his cradle; little Czar Iwan of two months, with Mother
"and Father to preside over him, and to be themselves pre-
"sided over by Bieren, in this manner. * This was the first
"great change for Anton Ulrich; but others greater are
"coming. Little Anton, readers know, is Friedrich's Brother-
"in-law, much patronised by Austria; Anton's spouse is the
"Half-Russian Princess Catherine of Mecklenburg (now
"wholly Russian, and called Princess Anne), whom Friedrich
"at one time thought of applying for, in his distress about a
"Wife. These two, will they side with Prussia, will they side
"with Austria? It was hardly worth inquiry, had not For-
"tune's wheel made suddenly a great cant, and pitched them
"to the top, for the time being.
"Bieren lasted only twenty days. He was very high and
"arbitrary upon everybody; Anne and Anton Ulrich suffering
"naturally most from him. They took counsel with Feld-
"marschall Munnich on the matter; who, after study, de-
"clared it a remediable case. Friday 18th November, Miin-
"nich had, by invitation, to dine with Duke Bieren; Miinnich
'' went accordingly that day, and dined; Duke looking a little
"flurried, they say: and the same evening, dinner being quite
"over, and midnight come, Munnich had his measures all
"taken, soldiers ready, warrant in hand; -- and arrested
"Bieren in his bed; mere Siberia, before sunrise, looming
"upon Bieren. Never was such a change as this from 18tn
"day to 19th with a supreme Bieren. Our friend Mannstein,
"excellent punctual Aide-de-Camp of Munnich, was the exe-
"cutor of the feat; and has left punctual record of it, as he
* Mannstein, pp. 264-267 (28th October, by Russian or Old Style, is
"nth;" we translate, in this and other cases, Russian or English, into
New Style, unless the contrary is indicated).
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? CHAP. VIII. ] PHENOMENA IN PETERSBURG. 263
Jan. 1741.
"does of every thing, -- what Bieren said, and what Madam
"Bieren, who was a little obstreperous on the occasion. *
"What side Anton Ulrich and Spouse will take in a quarrel
"between Prussia and Austria, is now well worth asking.
"Anton Ulrich and Wife Anne, that is to say, 'Regent
"Anne' and 'Generalissimo Anton Ulrich,' now ruled, with
"Miinnich for right-hand man; and these were high times for
"Anton Ulrich, Generalissimo and Czar's-Father; who indeed
"was modest, and did not often interfere in words, though
"grieved at the foolish ways his Wife had. An indolent flabby
"kind of creature, she, unfit for an Autocrat; sat in her pri-
vate apartments, all in a huddle of undress; had foolish
"notions, -- especially had soubrettes who led her about by
"the ear. And then there was a ' Princess Elizabeth,' Cousin-
"german of Regent Anne, -- daughter, that is to say, last
"child there now was, of Peter the Great and his little brown
"Catherine: -- who should have been better seen to. Harm-
"less foolish Princess, not without cunning; young, plump,
"and following merely her flirtations and her orthodox devo-
tions; very orthodox and soft, but capable of becoming
"dangerous, as a centre of the disaffected. As 'Czarina Eli-
"zabeth,' before long, and ultimately as Hnfume Catin du
"Nord,' she --" But let us not anticipate!
It was in this posture of affairs, about a month af-
ter it had begun, that Winterfeld arrived in Peters-
burg; and addressed himself to Miinnich, on the Prus-
sian errand. Winterfeld was Miinnich's Son-in-law
(properly stepson-in-law, having married Miinnich's
stepdaughter, a Fraulein von Malzahn, of good Prus-
sian kin); was acquainted with the latitudes and longi-
tudes here, and well equipped for the operation in hand.
To Madam Miinnich, once Madam Malzahn, his Mo-
ther-in-law, he carried a diamond ring of 1,200/. , "small
testimony of his Prussian Majesty's regard to so high
a Prussian Lady;" to Miinnich's Son and Madam's a
present of 3,000/. on the like score: and the wheels
"Mannstein, p. 268.
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? 264
[bOOK XII.
FIRST SILESIAN WAR.
Jan. 1741.
being oiled in this way, and the steam so strong (son
Winterfeld an ardent man, father Munnich the like,
supreme in Russia, and the thing itself a salutary
thing), the diplomatic speed obtained was great. Win-
terfeld had arrived in Petersburg December 19th:
Treaty of Alliance to the effect, "Firm friends and
good neighbours, we Two, Majesties of Prussia and of
All the Russias; will help each the other, if attacked,
with 12,000 men," -- was signed on the 27th: whole
Transaction, so important to Friedrich, complete in
eight days. Austrian Botta, directly on the heel of
those unsatisfactory Dialogues about Silesian roads,
about troops that were pretty, but had never looked
the wolf in the face, -- had rushed ofi, full speed, for
Petersburg, in hopes of running athwart such a Treaty
as Winterfeld's, and getting one for Austria instead.
But he arrived too late; and perhaps could have done
nothing had he been in time. Botta tried his utmost
for years afterwards, above ground and below, to ob-
struct and reverse this thing; but it was to no purpose,
and even to less; and only, in result, brought Botta
himself into flagrant diplomatic trouble and scandal;
which made noise enough in the then Gazetteer world,
and was the finale of Botta's Eussian efforts,* though
not worth mentioning now. The Russian Notebook
continues:
"Munnich, supreme in Russia since Bieren's removal, had
"wise counsels for the RegentAnne and her Husband; though
"perhaps, being a high old military gentleman, he might be
"somewhat abrupt in his ways. And there were domestic
"Ostermanns, foreign Bottas, La Chdtardies, and dangerous
"Intriguers and Opposition figures, to improve any grudge
* Adelung, iii. n. 289; Mannstein, p. 375 ("Lapuschin Plot," of Botta's
raising; found out, "August 1743;" -- Botta put in arrest, &c. ).
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? CHAP. VIII. ] PHENOMENA IN PETERSBURG. 265
Jan. 1741,
"that might arise. Sure enough, inMarchl741,Feldmar3chall
"Miinnich was forbid the Court (some Ostermann succeeding
"him there): 'Ever true to your Two Highnesses, thoughno
"longer needed;'-- and withdrew, in a lofty friendly strain;
"his Son continuing at Court, though Papa had withdrawn.
"Supreme Miinnich had lasted about four months: Supreme
"Bieren hardly three weeks; -- and Siberia is still agape.
"Miinnich being gone to his own Town-Mansion, and Re-
"gent Anne sitting in hers in a huddle of undress; little ac-
cessible to her longheaded melancholic Ostermann, and too
"accessible to her Livonian maid; with poor little Anton
"Ulrich pouting and remonstrating, but unable to help,--
"this state of matters, with such intrigues undermining it,
"could not last forever. And had not Princess Elizabeth been
"of indolent luxurious nature, intent upon her prayers and
"flirtations, it would have ended sooner even than it did.
"Princess Elizabeth had a Surgeon called L'Estoc; aMarquis
"de la Chetardie, a highflown French Excellency (who used
"to be at Berlin, to our young Friedrich's delight), was her --
"What shall I say? La Chdtardie himself had no scruple to
"say it! These two plotted for her; these were ready, --
"could she have been got ready; which was not so easy.
"Regent Anne had her suspicions; but the Princess was so
"indolent, so good: at last, when directly taxed with such a
"thing, the Princess burst into ingenuous weeping; quite
"disarmed Regent Anne's suspicions; -- but found she had
"now better take L'Estoc's advice, and proceed at once.
"Which she did.
"And so, on the morrow morning, 5th December 1741, by
"aid of thePreobrazinsky Regiment, and the motions usual
"on such occasions, -- in fact by merely pulling out the props
"from an undermined state of matters, -- she reduced said
"state gently to ruin, ready for carting to Siberia, like its
"foregoers; and was hereby Czarina of All the Russias, pros-
perously enough for the rest of her life. Twenty years or
"rather more. An indolent, orthodox, plump creature, dis-
inclined to cruelty; 'not an ounce of nun's flesh in her
"composition,' said the wits. She maintained theFriedrich
"Treaty, indignant at Botta and his plots; was well with
"Friedrich, or might have been kept so by management, for
"there was no cause of quarrel, but the reverse, between the
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? 266
[book XII.
FIRST SILESIAN WAR.
Jan. 1741.
"Countries, -- could Friedrich have held his witty tongue,
"when eavesdroppers were by. But he could not always;
"though he tried. And sarcastic quizzing (especially if it he
"truth too), on certain female topics, what Improper-Female,
"Czarina of All the Eussias, could stand it? The history is
"but a distressing one, a disgusting one, in human affairs.
"Elizabeth was orthodox, too, and Friedrich not, 'the horrid
"man! ' The fact is, -- fact dismally indubitable, though it is
"huddled into discreet dimness, and all details of it (as to
"whatFriedrich's witticisms were, and the like) are refused
"us in the Prussian Books, --, indignation, owing to such dis-
"mal cause, became fixed hate on the Czarinas part; and
"there followed terrible results at last: A Czarina risen to the
"cannibal pitch upon aman, in his extreme need; -- 'infdme
"Calin du Nord,' thinks the man! Friedrich's. wit cost him
"dear; him, and half a million others still dearer, twenty
"years hence. " -- Till which time we will gladly leave the
Czarina and it.
Major von Winterfeld had been in Russia before
this; and had wooed his fair Malzahn there. He is
the same Winterfeld whom we once saw dining by the
wayside with the late Friedrich Wilhelm, on that last
Review Journey his Majesty made. A Captain in the
Potsdam Giants at that time; always in great favour
with the late King; and in still greater with the pre-
sent, -- who finds in him, we can dimly discover, and
pretty much in him alone, a soul somewhat like his
own; the one real "peer" he had about him. A man
of little education; bred in camps; yet of a proud na-
tural eminency, and rugged nobleness of genius and
mind. Let readers mark this fiery hero-spirit, lying
buried in those dull Books, like lightning among clay.
Here is another anecdote of his Russian business:
"Winterfeld had gone, in Friedrich Wilhelm's time, with
"a party of Prussian drill-sergeants for Petersburg" (year
not given); "and duly delivered them there. He naturally
"saw much of Feldmarschall Munnich, naturally saw the
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? CHAP, vni. ] PHENOMENA IN PETERSBURG. 267
Jan. 1741.
"Step-daughter of the Feldmarschall, a shining beauty in
"Petersburg; Winterfeld himself a man of shining gifts, and
"character; and one of the handsomest tall men in the world.
"Mutual love between the Fraulein and him was the rapid
"result. But how to obtain marriage? Winterfeld cannot
"marry, without leave had of his superiors: you, fair
"Malzahn, are Hof-Dame of Princess Elizabeth, all your for-
"tune the jewels you wear; and it is too possible she will not
"let you go!
"They agreed to be patient, to be silent; to watch warily
"till Winterfeld got home to Prussia, till the Fraulein Malzahn
"could also contrive to get home. Winterfeld once home,
"and the King's consent had, the Fraulein applied to Princess
"Elizabeth for leave of absence: 'A few months, to see my
"friends in Deutschland, your Highness! ' Princess Elizabeth
"looked hard at her; answered evasively, this and that. At
"last, being often importuned, she answered plainly, 'I al-
most feel convinced thou wilt never come back! ' Protesta-
"tions from the Fraulein were not wanting: -- 'Well then,'
"said Elizabeth, 'if thou art so sure of it, leave me thy jewels
"in pledge. Why not? ' The poor Fraulein could not say
"why; had to leave her jewels, which were her whole fine
"fortune, 'worth 100,000 rubles' (20,000/. ); and is now the
"brave Wife of Winterfeld; -- but could never, by direct
"entreaty or circuitous interest and negotiation, get back the
"least item of her jewels. Elizabeth, as Princess and as
"Czarina, was alike deaf on that subject. Now or henceforth
"that proved an impossible private enterprise for Winterfeld,
"though he had so easily succeeded in the public one. "*
The new Czarina was not unmerciful. Miinnich
and Company were tried for life; were condemned to
die, and did appear on the scaffold (29th January
1742), ready for that extreme penalty; but were there,
on the sudden, pardoned or half-pardoned by a merci-
ful new Czarina, and sent to Siberia and outer dark-
ness. Whither Bieren had preceded them. To outer dark-
ness also, though a milder destiny had been intended
* Retzow, Charakteristili dee siebenjdhrigen Krieges (Berlin, 1802), i.
45n.
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? 268
[book xil
FIRST SILESIAN WAR.
Jan. 1741.
them at first, went Anton TJlrich and his Household.
Towards native Germany at first; they had got as far
as Riga on the way to Germany, but were detained
there, for a long while (owing to suspicions, to Botta
Plots, or I know not what), till finally they were re-
called into Russian exile. Strict enough exile, seclu-
sion about Archangel and elsewhere; in convents, in
obscure uncomfortable places: -- little Iwan, after vi-
cissitudes, even went underground; grew to manhood,
and got killed (partly by accident, not quite by mur-
der), some twenty-three years hence, in his dungeon in
the Fortress of Schliisselburg, below the level of the
Ladoga waters there. Unluckier Household, which
once seemed the luckiest of the world, was never known.
Canted suddenly, in this way, from the very top of
Fortune's wheel to the very bottom; never to rise more;
-- and did not even die, at least not all die, for thirty
or forty years after. *
This is the Chdtardie-L'Estoc conspiracy, of 5th
December 1741; the pitching up of Princess Elizabeth,
and the pitching down of Anton TJlrich and his Miin-
nichs, who had before pitched Bieren down. After
which, matters remained more stationary, at Peters-
burg: Czarina Elizabeth, fat indolent soul, floated with
a certain native buoyancy, with something of bulky
steadiness, in the turbid plunge of things, and did not
sink. On the contrary, her reign, so-called, was pros-
* Anton Ulrich, not till 15th May 1775 (two Daughters of hia went,
after this, to "Horstens, a poor Country-House in Jutland," whither Ca-
therine II. had manumitted them, with pension; -- she had wished Anton
Ulrich to go home, many years before; but he would not, from shame). -
Iwan had perished, 5th August 1764 (Catherine II. blamed for his death,
but without cause). Iwan's Mother, Princess Anne, (mercifully) lStU
March 1746. See Russian Histories, Tooke, Casteia, &c. , -- none of which,
except Munnstein, is good for much, or to be trusted without scrutiny.
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? CHAP. VIII. ] PHENOMENA IN PETERSBURG. 269
Jan. 1741.
perous, though stupid; her big dark Countries, kindled
already into growth, went on growing rather. And,
for certain, she herself went on growing, in orthodox
devotions of spiritual type (and in strangely heterodox
ditto of non-spiritual! ); in indolent m'ansuetudes (fell
rages, if you cut on the raws at all); in perpetual in-
congruity; and, alas, at last in brandy-and-water, --
till, as "infdme Catin du Nord" she became terribly
important to some persons!
At her accession, and for two years following, Cza-
rina Elizabeth, in spite of real disinclination that way,
had a War on her hands: the Swedish War (August
1741 -- August 1743), which, after long threatening
on the Swedish side, had broken out into unwelcome
actuality, in Anton Ulrich's time; and which could not,
with all the Czarina's industry, be got rid of or staved
off; Sweden being bent upon the thing, reason or no
reason. War not to be spoken of, except on compul-
sion, in the most voluminous History! It was the un-
wisest of wars, we should say, and in practice probably
the contemptiblest; if there were not one other Swedish
War coming, which vies with it in these particulars, of
which we shall be obliged to speak, more or less, at a
future stage. Of this present Russian-Swedish war,
having happily almost nothing to do with it, we can,
except in the way of transient chronology, refrain al-
together from speaking or thinking.
Poor Sweden, since it shot Karl XII. in the trenches
at Fredericshall, could not get a King again; and is
very anarchic under its Phantasm King and free Na-
tional Palaver, -- Senate with subaltern Houses; --
which generally has French gold in its pocket, and
noise instead of wisdom in its head. Scandalous to
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? 270
[book xn.
FIRST SILESIAN WAR.
Jan. 1741.
think of or behold. The French, desirous to keepKussia
in play during these high Belleisle adventures now on
foot, had, after much egging, bribing, flattering, per-
suaded vain Sweden into this War with Russia. "At
Narva they were 80,000, we 8,000; and what became
of them! " cry the Swedes always. Yes, my friends,
but you had a Captain at Narva; you had not yet
shot your Captain when you did Narva! "Faction of
Hats," "Faction of Caps" (that is, nigktexpn, as being
somnolent and disinclined to France and War): seldom
did a once valiant far-shining Nation sink to such
depths, since they shot their Captain, and said to
Anarchy, "Thou art Captaincy, we see, and the Divine
thing! " Of the Wars and businesses of such a set of
mortals let us shun speaking, where possible.
Mannstein gives impartial account, pleasantly clear
and compact, to such as may be curious about this
Swedish-Russian War; and, in the didactic point of
view, it is not without value. To us the interesting
circumstance is, that it does not interfere with our Si-
lesian operations at all; and may be figured as a mere
accompaniment of rumbling discord, or vacant far-off
noise, going on in those Northern parts, -- to which
therefore we hope to be strangers in time coming. Here
are some dates, which the reader may take with him,
should they chance to illustrate anything:
"August ill, 1741. The Swedes declare War: 'Will re-
"cover their lost portions of Finland, will' &c. &c. They had
"long been meditating it; they had Turk negotiations going
"on, diligent emissaries to the Turk (a certain Major Sinclair
"for one, whom the Russians waylaid and assassinated to get
"sight of his Papers), during the late Turk-Russian War;
"but could conclude nothing while that was in activity; con-
"eluded only after that was done, -- striking the iron when
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? bOOKViu. ] PHENOMENA IN PETERSBURG. 271
Jan. 1741.
"grown cold. A chief point in their Manifesto was the assas-
sination of this Sinclair; scandal and atrocity, of which
"there is no doubt now the Russians were guilty. Various
"pretexts for the War: -- prime movers to it, practically,
"were the French, intent on keeping Russia employed while
"their Belleisle German adventure went on, and who had
"even bargained with third-parties to get up a War there, as
"we shall see.
"September 3d, 1741. At Wilmanstrand, -- key of Wy-
"borg, their frontier stronghold in Finland, which was under
"Siege, -- the Swedes (about 5,000 of them, for they had no-
"thing to live upon, and lay scattered about in fractions) made
"fight, or skirmish, against a Russian attacking party:
"Swedes, rather victorious on their hill-top, rushed down;
"and totally lost their bit of victory, their Wilmanstrand,
"their Wyborg, and even the War itself; -- for this was, in
"literal truth, the only fighting done by them in the entire
"course of it, which lasted near two years more. The rest of
"it was retreat, capitulation, loss on loss without stroke
"struck; till they had lost all Finland, and were like to lose
"Sweden itself, -- Dalecarlian mutiny bursting out ('Ye
"traitors, misgovernors, worthy of death! '), with invasive
"Danes to rear of it; -- and had to call in the very Russians
"to save them from worse. Czarina Elizabeth at the time of
"her accession, six months after Wilmanstrand, had made
"truce, was eager to make peace: 'By no means! ' answered
"Sweden, taking arms again, or rather taking legs again;
"and rushing ruin-ward, at the old rate, still without stroke.
"June 28th, 1743. They did halt; made Peace of Abo
"(Truce and Preliminaries signed there, that day: Peace
"itself, August 17th); Czarina magnanimously restoring most
"of their Finland (thinking to herself, 'Not done enough for
"me yet; cook it a little yet! '); -- and settling who their
"next King was to be, among other friendly things. And in
"November following, Keith, in his Russian galleys, with
"some 10,000 Russians on board, arrived in Stockholm; pro-
tective against Danes and mutinous Dalecarles; staid there
"till June of next year 1744," * Is not this a War I
* Adelung, ii. 445. Mannstein, pp. 297 (Wilmanstrand Affair, himself
present) -- 365 (Peace) -- 373 (Keith's return with his galleys). Comte de
Hordt (present also', on the Swedish side, and subsequently a Soldier of
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? 272
[book xn.
FIRST SILESIAN WAR.
Jan. 1741.
On the Russian side, General Keith, under Field-
marshal Lacy as chief in command (the same Keith
whom we saw at Oczakow under Munnich, some time
ago), had a great deal of the work and management;
which was of a highly miscellaneous kind, commanding
fleets of gunboats, and much else; and readers of Mann-
stein can still judge, -- much more could King Fried-
rich, earnestly watching the affair itself as it went on,
-- whether Keith did not do it in a solid and quietly
eminent and valiant manner. Sagacious, skilful, im-
perturbable, without fear and without noise; a man
quietly ever ready. He had quelled, once, walking
direct into the heart of it, a ferocious Russian mutiny,
or uproar from below, which would have rained every-
thing in few minutes more. * He suffered, with ex-
cellent silence, now and afterwards, much ill usage
from above withal; -- till Friedrich himself, in the
third year hence, was lucky enough to get him as
General. Friedrich's Sister Ulrique, the marriage of
Princess Ulrique, -- that also, as it chanced, had
something to do with this Peace of Abo. But we anti-
cipate too far.
Friedrich's), Memoires (Berlin, 1789), i. 18-88. The murder of Sinclair
(done by '' four Russian subalterns, two miles from Naumburg in Silesia,
17th June 1739, about 7 p. m. ") is amply detailed from Documents, in a late
Book: Weber, Aus Yier Jahrhunderten (Leipzig, 1858), i. 274-279.
* Mannsteln, p. 130 (no date, April -- May 1742).
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? CHAP. IX-1 FRIEDRICH RETURNS TO SILESIA.