Carlyle,
Frederick
the Great.
Thomas Carlyle
Nothing, -- except some
"Merino Rams in the interim," gift from the new King
of Spain, I can suppose, which proved extremely useful
* frotest of English Merchants against &c. ("May 1748"), given in Ade-
lung, vi. 353-358.
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? CHAP, in. ] EUROPEAN WAR PALLS DONE. 299
18th Oct. 1748.
in our Wool Industries; "and, from the same polite
"Ferdinand VI. , a Porcelain Vase filled with Spanish
"Snuff. " That was all! --
King Friedrich, let me note farther, is getting de-
cidedly deep into snuff; holds by Spaniol (a dry yellow
pungency, analogous to Lundy-Foot or Irish-Blackguard,
known to snuffy readers); always by Spaniol, we say;
and more specially "the kind used by her Majesty of
Spain," the now Dowager Termagant:* which, also, is
to be remembered. Dryasdust adds, in his sweetly
consecutive way: "Friedrich was very expensive about
"his snuff-boxes; wore two big rich boxes in his pockets;
"five or six stood on tables about; and more than a
"hundred in store, coming out by turns for variety.
"The cheapest of them cost 300 7. (2,000 thalers);
"he had them as high as 1,500/. At his death, there
"were found 130 of various values: they were the
"substance of all the jewelry he had; besides these
"snuff-boxes, two gold watches only, and a very small
"modicum of rings. Had yearly for personal Expen-
diture 1,200,000 thalers" (180,000/. of Civil List, as
we should say); "spent 33,300/. of it, and yearly gave
"the rest away in Royal beneficences, aid of burnt
* Orders this kind, from his Ambassador in Paris, "30th September
1743:" the earliest extant trace of his snuffing habits (Preuss, i. 409). --
Note farther (if interesting): "The Termagant still lasted as Dowager, con-
"suming Spaniol at least, for near twenty years (died, 11th July 1766); --
"the new King, Ferdinand VI. , was her stepson, not her son; he went
"mad, poor soul, and died (10th August 1759): upon which, Carlos of
1' Naples, our own 'Baby Carlos' that once was, succeeded in Spain, 'King
"Carlos III. of Spain;' leaving his Son, a young boy under tutelage, as
"King of the Two Sicilies (King 'Ferdinand IV. ,' who did not die, but had
''his difficulties, till 1825). Don Philip, who had fought so in those Savoy
"Passes, and got the bit of Parmesan Country, died 1765, the year before
"Mamma. "
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? 300 THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
18th Oct. 1748.
"Villages, inundated Provinces, and multifarious Pater-
"Patrice objects. "* -- In regard to Jenkins's Ear, my
Constitutional Friend continues:
"Silesia and Jenkins's Ear, we often say, were the two bits
'' of realities in this enormous hurlyburly of imaginations, in-
"sane ambitions, and zeros and negative quantities. Negative
"Belleisle goes home, not with Germany cut in Four and put
"under guidance of the First Nation of the Universe (so ex-
"tremely fit for guiding self and neighbours), but with the
"First Nation itself reduced almost to wallet and staff; bank-
"rupt, beggared -- 'Yes,' it answers,'in all but glory! Have
'"not we gainedFontenoy, Roucoux, Lauffeld; and strong-
"'places innumerable'(mostly in a state of dry-rot)? 'Did
"' men ever fight as weFrenchmen; combining itwith theatri-
"' cal entertainments, too! Sublime France, First Nation of
"'the Universe, will try another flight (essor), were she
'"breathed a little! '
"Yes, a new essor ere long, and perhaps surprise herself
"and mankind! The losses of men, money and resource
"under this mad empty Enterprise of Belleisle's were enorm-
"ous, palpable to France and all mortals: but perhaps these
"were trifling to the replacement of them by such gloire as
"there had been. A gloire of plunging into War on no cause
"at all; and with an issue consisting only of foul gases of ex-
"treme levity. Messieurs are of confessed promptitude to
"fight; and their talent for it, in some kinds, is very great
"indeed. But this treating of battle and slaughter, of
"death, judgment and eternity, as light playhouse matters;
"this of rising into such transcendency of valour, as to snap
"your fingers in the face of the Almighty Maker; this, Mes-
"sieurs, give me leave to say so, is a thing that will conduct
"you and your Premiere Nation to the Devil, if you do not
"alterit. Inevitable, I tell you! Your road lies that way,
"then? Good morning, Messieurs! let me still hope, Not! "
Diplomatist Kaunitz gained his first glories in this
Congress of Aix; which are still great in the eyes of
* Preuss, i. 409, 410.
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? CHAP, nr. ] EUROPEAN WAR FALLS DONE.
18th Oct. 1748.
some. Age now thirty-seven; a native of these Western
parts; but henceforth, by degrees ever more, the shin-
ing star and guide of Austrian Policies down almost to
our own New Epoch. As, unluckily, he will concern
us not a little, in time coming, let us read this Note,
as foreshadow of the man and his doings:
"The glory of Count, ultimately Prince, von Kaunitz-
"Rietberg, is great in Diplomatic Circles of the past Century.
"' The greatest of Diplomatists,' they all say; -- and surely
"it is reckoned something to become the greatest in your line.
"Farther than this, to the readers of these times, Kaunitz-
"Rietberg's glory does not go. A great character, great
"wisdom, lasting great results to his Country, readers do not
"trace in Kaunitz's diplomacies, -- only temporary great re-
"suits, or what he and the bystanders thought such, to
"Kaunitz himself. He was the Supreme Jove, we perceive,
"in that extinct Olympus; and regards with sublime pity,
"not unallied to contempt, all other diplomatic beings. A
"man sparing of words, sparing even of looks; will hardly
"lift his eyelids for your salce, -- will lift perhaps his chin, in
"slight monosyllabic fashion, and stalk superlatively through
"the other door. King of the vanished Shadows. A de-
"termined hater of Fresh Air; rode under glass cover, on the
"finest day; made the very Empress shut her windows, when"capons: more I remember not, -- except also that he would
"suffer no mention of the word Death by any mortal. * A
"most high-sniffing, fantastic, slightly insolent shadow-king;
"-- ruled, in his time, the now-vanished Olympus; and had
"the difficult glory (defective onlyin result) of uniting France
"and Austria against the poor old Sea-Power milk-cows, for
"the purpose of recovering Silesia from Friedrich, a few
"years hence! " -- These are wondrous results; hidden under
the horizon, not very far either; and will astonish Britannic
Majesty and all readers, in a few years.
"he came
cautiously daring, on boiled* Hormayr, Oesterreichischer Plutarch, iv. (3tea), 231-283.
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? 302 THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
13th-16tb July 1749.
Marechal de Saxe pays Friedrich a Visit.
In Summer 1749, Mare'chal de Saxe, the other
shiny figure of this mad Business of the Netherlands,
paid Friedrich a visit; had the honour to be enter-
tained by him three days (July 13th-16th, 1749), in
his Royal Cottage of Sans-Souci seemingly, in his
choicest manner. Curiosity, which is now nothing like
so vivid as it then was, would be glad to listen a little,
in this meeting of two Suns, or of one Sun and one
immense Tar-Barrel, or Atmospheric Meteor really of
shining nature, and taken for a Sun. But the Books
are silent; not the least detail, or hint, or feature
granted us. Only Fancy; --? and this of Smelfungus,
by way of long farewell to one of the parties:
* * "It was at Tongres, or in headquarters near it,
"10th October 1746, -- Battle expected on the morrow"
(Battle of Roucoux, over towards Herstal, which we used to
know), -- "thatM. Favart, Saxe's Playwright andTheatre-
"Director, gave out in cheerful doggerel on fall of the Cur-
"tain, the announcement:
"Demain nous donnerons relachc,
"Quoique le Dirccteur s'cn fdche,
"Vous voir combleroit not desirs:
"On doit ceder lout a la gloire;
"Voun ne songez gu'd la victoire,
"Nous ncsonneonsqu'avosplaisirs. "*
"Tomorrow is no Play,
"To the Manager's regret,
"Whose sole study is to keep you
"happy:
"But, you being bent upon victory,
"What can he do? --
"Day after tomorrow, --
Day after tomorrow,' added he, taking the official tone, 'in
"'honour of your laurels' (gained already, since you resolve
"'on gaining them), we will have the honour of presenting' --
"such and such a gay Farce, to as many of you as remain
"alive! Which was received with gay clapping of hands:
"admirable to the Universe, at least to the Parisian Univers
* Biographic Universale, ziv. 209, ? Fuvarl; Espagnac, u. 162.
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? CHAP, m. ] EUROPEAN WAR FALLS DONE. 303
July 1749 --Nov. 1750.
"and oneself. Such a prodigality of light daring is in these
"French gentlemen, skilfully tickled by the Mare'chal; who
"uses this Playwright, among other implements, for keeping
4'them at the proper pitch. Was there ever seen such radiancy
"of valour? Very radiant indeed; -- yet it seems to me,
"gone somewhat into the phosphorescent kind; shining in
"the dark, as fish will do when rotten! War has actually its
"serious character; nor is Death a farcical transaction, how-
"ever high your genius may go. But what then; it is the
"Marechal's trade to keep these poor people at the cutting
"pitch, on any terms that will hold for the moment.
"I know not which was the most dissolute Army ever seen
"in the world: but this of Saxe's was very dissolute. Play-
"wright Favart had withal a beautiful clever Wife, -- upon
"whom the courtships, munificent blandishments, threaten-
"ings and utmost endeavours of Marechal de Saxe (in his
"character of goatfooted Satyr) could not produce the least
"impression. For a whole year, not the least. Whereupon
"the Goatfooted had to get Lettre de Cachet for her; had to --
"infact, produce the brutallest Adventure that is known of
"him, even in this brutal kind. Poor Favart, rushing about
"in despair, not permitted to run him through the belly, and
"die with his Wife undishonoured, had to console himself, he
"and she; and do agreeable theatricalities for a living as
"heretofore. Let us not speak of it!
"Of Saxe's G eneralship, which is now a thing fallen pretty
"much into oblivion, I have no authority to speak. He had
"much wild natural ingenuity in him; cunning rapid whirls
"of contrivance; and gained Three Battles and very many
"Sieges, amid the loudest clapping of hands that could well
"be. He had perfect intrepidity; not to be flurried by any
"amount of peril or confusion; looked on that English Co-
"lumn, advancing at Fontenoy with its feu infernal, steadily
"through his perspective; chewing his leaden bullet: 'Going
"'to beat me, then? Well --! ' Nobody needed to be braver.
"He had great good nature too, though of hot temper and so
"full of multifarious voracities; a substratum of inarticulate
"good sense withal, and much magnanimity run wild, or run
"to seed. A big-limbed, swashing, perpendicular kind of
"Ifellow; haughty of face, butiollytoo; with a big, not ugly
"strut; -- captivating to the French Nation, and fit God of
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? 304 THE TEN YEARS OP PEACE. [book XVI.
July 1749 --Nov. 1750.
"Wax (fitter than 'Dalhousie,' I am sure! ) for that susceptive
"People. Understood their Army also, what it was then and
"there, and how, by theatricals and otherwise, to get a great
"deal of fire out of it. Great deal of fire; -- whether by
"gradual conflagration or not, on the road to ruin or not;
"how, he did not care. In respect of military 'fame' so-
called, he had the great advantage of fighting always
"against bad Generals, sometimes against the very worst.
"To his fame an advantage; to himself and his real worth,
"far the reverse. Had he fallen in with a Friedrich, even
"with a Browne or a Traun, there might have been different
"news got. Friedrich (who was never stingy in such matters,
"except to his own Generals, where it might do hurt) ispro-
"fuse in his eulogies, in his admirations of Saxe; amiable to
"see, and not insincere; but which, perhaps, practically do
"not mean very much.
"It is certain the French Army reaped no profit from its
"experience of Marechalde Saxe, and the high theatricalities,
"ornamental blackguardisms, and ridicule of death and life.
"In the long-run a graver face would have been of better
"augury. King Friedrich's soldiers, one observes, on the
"eve of battle, settle their bits of worldly business; and wind
"up, many of them, with a hoarse whisper of prayer. Oliver
"Cromwell's soldiers did so, Gustaf Adolf s; in fact, I think
"all good soldiers. Roucoux with a Prince Karl, Lauffeld
"with a Duke of Cumberland; you gain your Roucoux, your
"Lauffeld, Human Stupidity permitting: but one day you
"fall in with Human Intelligence, in an extremely grave
"form; -- and your ielan,' elastic outburst, the quickest in
"Nature, what becomes of it? Wait but another decade;
"we shall see what an Army this has grown. Cupidity, dis-
honestyj floundering stupidity, indiscipline, mistrust; and
"an elastic outspurt (elan) turned often enough into the form
"of Sauve-qui-peut!
"M. le Mare'chal survived Aix-la-Chapelle little more
"than two years. Lived at Chambord, on the Loire, an Ex-
"Royal Palace; in such splendour as never was. Went down
"inarosepink cloud, as if of perfect felicity; of glory that
"would last forever, -- which it has by no means done. He
"made despatch; escaped, in this world, the Nemesis, which
"often waits on what they call'fame. ' By diligent service of
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? CHAP, in. ] EUROPEAN WAR PALLS DONE. 305
4th-10th Supt. 1749.
"theDevil, in ways not worth specifying, he saw himself,
"November 21st, 1750, flung prostrate suddenly: 'Putrid
"'fever! ' gloom the Doctors ominously to one another: and,
"November30th, the Devil (I am afraid it was he, though
"clad in roseate effulgence, and melodious exceedingly)
"carried him home on those kind terms, as from a Universe
'' all of Opera. 'Wait till 1759, -- till 1789! ' murmured the
"Devil to himself. "
Tragic News that concern us, of Voltaire and
Others.
About two months after those Saxe-Friedrich hospi-
talities at Sans-Souci, Voltaire, writing, late at night,
from the hospitable Palace of Titular Stanislaus, has
these words, to his trusted D'Argental:
I*'Luneville, 4th September 1749. * * "Madame du Chate-
"let, this night, while scribbling over her Newton, felt a little
"twinge; she called a waiting-maid, who had only time to
"hold out herapron, and catch a little Girl, whom they carried
"to its cradle. The Mother arranged her papers, went to
"bed; and the whole of that (tout cela) is sleeping like a
"dormouse, at the hour I write to you. My guardian angels,
"poor I shan't have so easy a delivery of my Catilina"
(my Rome Saved, for the confusion of old Cr^billon and the
cabals) ! f * *
And then, six days later, hear another Witness present
there:
Luniville Palace, 10th September. "For the first three or
"four days, the health of the Mother appeared excellent;
"denoting nothing but the weakness inseparable from her
"situation. The weather was very warm. Milk-fever came,
"which made the heat worse. In spite of remonstrances, she
"would have some iced barley-water; drank a big glass of it;
t (Enures, lxiiv. 57 (Voltaire to d'Argental).
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. VIII. 20
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? 306 THE TEN YEARS OP PEACE. [book XVI.
x 174S-1749.
"-- and some instants after, had great pain in her head;
"followed by other bad symptoms. " Which brought the
Doctor in again, several Doctors, hastily summoned; who,
after difficulties, thought again that all was coming right.
And so, on the sixth night, 10th September, inquiring friends
had left the sick-room hopefully , and gone down to supper,
"the rather as Madame seemed inclined to sleep. There re-
"mained none with her but M. de St. Lambert, one of her
"maids and I. M. de St. Lambert, as soon as the strangers
"were gone, went forward and spoke some moments to her;
"but seeing her sleepy, drew back, and sat chatting with us
"two. Eight or ten minutes after, we heard a kind of rattle
"in the throat, intermixed with hiccoughs: we ran to the bed;
"found her senseless; raised her to a sitting posture, tried
"vinaigrettes, rubbed her feet, knocked into the palms of her
"hands; -- all in vain; she was dead!
"Of course the supper-party burst up, into her room;
"M. le Marquis duChatelet, M. de Voltaire, and the others.
"Profound consternation: to tears, to cries succeeded a
"mournful silence. Voltaire and St. Lambert remained the
"last about her bed. At length Voltaire quitted the room;
"got out by the Grand Entrance, hardly knowing which way
"he went. At the foot of the Outer Stairs, near a sentry's
"box, he fell full length on the pavement. His lackey, who
"was a step or two behind, rushed forward to raise him. At
"that moment came M. de St. Lambert; who had taken the
"same road, and who now hastened to help. M. de Voltaire,
"once on his feet again, and recognising who it was, said,
"through his tears and with the most pathetic accent, 'Ah,
''' mon ami, it is you that have killed her to me! ' -- and then
"suddenly, as if starting awake, with the tone of reproach
"and despair, 'Eh, mon Dieu, Monsieur, de quoi vous avisiez-
"'vous de lui faire un enfant (Good God, Sir, what put it into
"'your head to -- to --)! "'* --
Poor M. de Voltaire; suddenly become widower,
and flung out upon his shifts again, at his time of life!
May now wander, Ishmael-like, whither he will, in this
* Longchamp et Wagnitre, Memoires sur Voltaire, n. 250, 251; -- Long-
champ loquitur.
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? CHAP. III. ] EUROPEAN WAR FALLS DONE. 307
1748-1749.
hard lonesome world. His grief is overwhelming,
mixed with other sharp feelings due on the matter;
but does not last very long, in that poignant form. He
will turn up on us, in his new capacity of single-man,
again brilliant enough, within year and day.
Last Autumn, September 1748, Wilhelmina's one
Daughter, one child, was wedded; to that young Durch-
laucht of Wurtemberg, whom we saw gallanting the
little girl, to Wilhelmina's amusement, some years ago.
About the wedding, nothing; nor about the wedded
life, what would have been more curious: -- no Wil-
helmina now to tell us anything; not even whether
Mamma the Improper Duchess was there. From Berlin,
the Two youngest Princes, Henri and Ferdinand, at-
tended at Baireuth; -- Mannstein, our old Russian
friend, now Prussian again, escorting them. * The King,
too busy, I suppose, with Silesian Reviews and the
like, sends his best wishes, -- for indeed the Match
was of his sanctioning and advising; -- though his
wishes proved mere disappointment in the sequel.
Friedrich got no "furtherance in the Swabian Franco-
nian Circles," or favour anywhere, by means of this
Durchlaucht; in the end, far the reverse! -- In a
word, the happy couple rolled away to Wurtemberg
(September 26th, 1748); he twenty, she sixteen, poor
young creatures; and in years following, became un-
happy to a degree.
There was but one child, and it soon died. The
young Serene Lady was of airy high spirit; graceful,
clever, good too, they said; perhaps a thought too
proud: -- but as for her Reigning Duke, there was
* Seyfarth, n. 76.
20*
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? 308
THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. " [book xvr.
1748-1749.
seldom seen so lurid a Serenity; and it was difficult to
live beside him. A most arbitrary Herr, with glooms
and whims; dim-eyed, ambitious, voracious, and the
temper of an angry mule, -- very fit to have been
haltered, in a judicious manner, instead of being set to
halter others! Enough, in six or seven years' time, the
bright Pair found itself grown thunderous, opaque
beyond description; and (in 1759) had to split asunder
for good. "Owing to the reigning Duke's behaviour,"
said everybody. "Has behaved so, I would run him
through the body, if we met! " said his own Brother
once: -- Brother Friedrich Eugen, a Prussian General
by that time, whom we shall hear of. * What thoughts for our dear Wilhelmina, in her latter
weak years; -- lapped in eternal silence, as so much
else is.
* Prensa, it. 149; Michaelis, m. 451.
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? CHAP. IV. ]
309
FRIEDRICH PRINTING HIS POESIES.
1749-1750.
CHAPTEE IV.
COCCEJI FINISHES THE LAW REFORM; FRIEDRICH IS
PRINTING HIS POESIES.
In these years, Friedrich goes on victoriously with
his Law-Reform; Herculean Cocceji with Assistants,
backed by Friedrich, beneficently conquering Province
after Province to him; -- Kur-Mark, Neu-Mark, Cleve
(all easy, in comparison, after Pommern), and finally
Preussen itself; -- to the joy and profit of the same.
Cocceji's method, so far as the Foreign onlooker can
discern across much haze, seems to be threefold:
1? . Extirpation (painless, were it possible) of the
Pettifogger Species; indeed, of the Attorney Species
altogether: "Seek other employments; disappear, all of
you, from these precincts, under penalty! " The Ad-
vocate himself takes charge of the suit, from first birth
of it; and sees it ended, -- he knows within what limit
of time.
2? . Sifting out of all incompetent Advocates, "Fol-
low that Attorney-Company, you; away! " -- sifting
out all these, and retaining in each Court, with fees
accurately settled, with character stamped sound, or at
least soundest, the number actually needed. In a milder
way, but still more strictly, Judges stupid or otherwise
incompetent are riddled out; able Judges appointed,
and their salaries raised.
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? 310 THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
174S>>-1750.
3? . What seems to be Friedrich's own invention,
what in outcome he thinks will be the summary of all
good Law-Procedure: A final Sentence (three "in-
stances" you can have, but the third ends it for you)
within the Year. Good, surely. A justice that intends
to be exact, must front the complicacies in a resolute
piercing manner, and will not be tedious. Nay a jus-
tice that is not moderately swift, -- human hearts
waiting for it, the while, in a cancerous state, instead
of hopefully following their work, -- what, compara-
tively, is the use of its being never so exact! --
Simple enough methods; rough and ready. Needing,
in the execution, clear human eyesight, clear human
honesty, -- which happen to be present here, and
without which, no "method" whatever can be executed
that will really profit.
In the course of 1748, Friedrich, judging by Pom-
mern and the other symptoms that his enterprise was
safe, struck a victorious Medal upon it: "Fridericus
Borussorum Rex" pressing with his sceptre the oblique
Balance to a level posture; with Epigraph, "Emendato Jure. "* And by Newyears-day, 1750, the matter was
in effect completed; and "justice cheap, expeditious,
certain," a fact in all Prussian Lands.
Nay, in 1749-1751, to complete the matter, Coc-
ceji's "Project of a general Law-Code," Projekt des Cor-
poris Juris Fridericiani, came forth in print:** to the
admiration of mankind, at home and abroad; "theFirst
* Letter to Cocceji, accompanying Copy of the medal in Gold, "24th
June 1748" (Seyfarth, n. 67 n. ).
** Halle, 2 Toll. , folio (Preuss, i. 316; see lb. 815 n. , as to the Law Pro-
cedure &c. now settled by Coceeji).
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? CHaP. IT. ] friedrich printing his poesies. 311
1749-1750.
Code attempted since Justinian's time," say they. Pro-
ject translated into all languages, and read in all
countries. A poor mildewed copy of this Codex Fride-
ricianus, -- done at Edinburgh, 1761, not said by
whom; evidently bought at least twice, and mostly
never yet read (nor like being read), -- is known to
me, for years past, in a ghastly manner! Without the
least profit to this present, or to any other Enterprise;
-- though persons of name in Jurisprudence call it
meritorious in their Science; the first real attempt at a
Code in Modern times. But the truth is, this Cocceji
Codex remained a Project merely, never enacted any-
where. It was not till 1773, that Friedrich made
actual attempt to build a Law-Code; and did build one
(the foundation-story of one, for his share, completed
since), in which this of Cocceji had little part. In 1773,
the thing must again be mentioned; the "Second Law-
Reform," as they call it. What we practically know
from this time is, That Prussian Lawsuits, through
Friedrich's Reign, do all terminate, or push at their
utmost for terminating, within one year from birth;
and that Friedrich's fame, as a beneficent Justinian,
rose high in all Countries (strange in Countries that
had thought him a War-scourge and Conquering Hero);
strange, but undeniable;* and that his own People, if
more silently, yet in practice very gladly indeed, wel-
comed his Law-Reform; and, from day to day, enjoyed
the same, -- no doubt with occasional remembrance
who the Donor was.
* See Gentleman's Magazine, u. 215-218 ("May 1750"): eloquent, en-
thusiastic Letter, given there, "ofBarondeSpon to Chancellor D'Aguessau,"
on these inimitable Law Achievements.
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? 312
[book xvi. 1749-1750.
THE TEN TEARS OP PEACE.
Of Friedrich's Literary works, nobody, not even
Friedrich himself, will think it necessary that we say
much. But the fact is, he is doing a great many
things that way! in Prose, the Memoirs of Brandenburg,
coming out as Papers in the Academy from time to
time:* in Verse, very secret as yet, the Palladion ("ex-
quisite Burlesque," think some), the Art of War
(reckoned truly his best Piece in verse): -- and wishes
sometimes he had Voltaire here to perfect him a little.
This too would be one of the practical charms of
Voltaire. ** For though King Friedrich knows and
remembers always, that these things, especially the
Verse part, are mere amusements in comparison, he
has the creditable wish to do these well; one would not
fantasy ill even on the Flute, if one could help it.
"Why doesn't Voltaire come; as Quantz of the Flute
has done? " Friedrich, now that Voltaire has fallen
widower, renews his pressings, "Why don't you
come? " Patience, your Majesty; Voltaire will come.
Nobody can wish details in this Department: but
there is one thing necessary to be mentioned, That
Friedrich in these years, 1749-1752, has Printers out
at Potsdam, and is Printing, "in beautiful quarto form,
with copperplates," to the extent of twelve copies, the
CEuvres (Poetical, that is) du Philosophe de Sans-Souci.
Only twelve Copies, I have heard; gift of a single
copy indicating that you are among the choicest of the
chosen. Copies have now fallen extremely rare (and
* From 1746 and onward: first published complete (after slight revision
by Voltaire), Berlin, 1751.
** Friedrich's Letter to Algarotti ((Euvres, xvm. 66), "12th September
1749. "
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? CHAP. IV. ] FRIEDRICH PRINTING HIS POESIES. 313
1749-1750.
are not in request at all, with my readers or me): but
there was one Copy which, or the Mis-title of which,
as CEuvre de "Poe'shie" du Roi mon Maitre, became
miraculously famous in a year or two; -- and is still
memorable to us all! On Voltaire's arrival, we shall
hear more of these things.
"Merino Rams in the interim," gift from the new King
of Spain, I can suppose, which proved extremely useful
* frotest of English Merchants against &c. ("May 1748"), given in Ade-
lung, vi. 353-358.
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? CHAP, in. ] EUROPEAN WAR PALLS DONE. 299
18th Oct. 1748.
in our Wool Industries; "and, from the same polite
"Ferdinand VI. , a Porcelain Vase filled with Spanish
"Snuff. " That was all! --
King Friedrich, let me note farther, is getting de-
cidedly deep into snuff; holds by Spaniol (a dry yellow
pungency, analogous to Lundy-Foot or Irish-Blackguard,
known to snuffy readers); always by Spaniol, we say;
and more specially "the kind used by her Majesty of
Spain," the now Dowager Termagant:* which, also, is
to be remembered. Dryasdust adds, in his sweetly
consecutive way: "Friedrich was very expensive about
"his snuff-boxes; wore two big rich boxes in his pockets;
"five or six stood on tables about; and more than a
"hundred in store, coming out by turns for variety.
"The cheapest of them cost 300 7. (2,000 thalers);
"he had them as high as 1,500/. At his death, there
"were found 130 of various values: they were the
"substance of all the jewelry he had; besides these
"snuff-boxes, two gold watches only, and a very small
"modicum of rings. Had yearly for personal Expen-
diture 1,200,000 thalers" (180,000/. of Civil List, as
we should say); "spent 33,300/. of it, and yearly gave
"the rest away in Royal beneficences, aid of burnt
* Orders this kind, from his Ambassador in Paris, "30th September
1743:" the earliest extant trace of his snuffing habits (Preuss, i. 409). --
Note farther (if interesting): "The Termagant still lasted as Dowager, con-
"suming Spaniol at least, for near twenty years (died, 11th July 1766); --
"the new King, Ferdinand VI. , was her stepson, not her son; he went
"mad, poor soul, and died (10th August 1759): upon which, Carlos of
1' Naples, our own 'Baby Carlos' that once was, succeeded in Spain, 'King
"Carlos III. of Spain;' leaving his Son, a young boy under tutelage, as
"King of the Two Sicilies (King 'Ferdinand IV. ,' who did not die, but had
''his difficulties, till 1825). Don Philip, who had fought so in those Savoy
"Passes, and got the bit of Parmesan Country, died 1765, the year before
"Mamma. "
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? 300 THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
18th Oct. 1748.
"Villages, inundated Provinces, and multifarious Pater-
"Patrice objects. "* -- In regard to Jenkins's Ear, my
Constitutional Friend continues:
"Silesia and Jenkins's Ear, we often say, were the two bits
'' of realities in this enormous hurlyburly of imaginations, in-
"sane ambitions, and zeros and negative quantities. Negative
"Belleisle goes home, not with Germany cut in Four and put
"under guidance of the First Nation of the Universe (so ex-
"tremely fit for guiding self and neighbours), but with the
"First Nation itself reduced almost to wallet and staff; bank-
"rupt, beggared -- 'Yes,' it answers,'in all but glory! Have
'"not we gainedFontenoy, Roucoux, Lauffeld; and strong-
"'places innumerable'(mostly in a state of dry-rot)? 'Did
"' men ever fight as weFrenchmen; combining itwith theatri-
"' cal entertainments, too! Sublime France, First Nation of
"'the Universe, will try another flight (essor), were she
'"breathed a little! '
"Yes, a new essor ere long, and perhaps surprise herself
"and mankind! The losses of men, money and resource
"under this mad empty Enterprise of Belleisle's were enorm-
"ous, palpable to France and all mortals: but perhaps these
"were trifling to the replacement of them by such gloire as
"there had been. A gloire of plunging into War on no cause
"at all; and with an issue consisting only of foul gases of ex-
"treme levity. Messieurs are of confessed promptitude to
"fight; and their talent for it, in some kinds, is very great
"indeed. But this treating of battle and slaughter, of
"death, judgment and eternity, as light playhouse matters;
"this of rising into such transcendency of valour, as to snap
"your fingers in the face of the Almighty Maker; this, Mes-
"sieurs, give me leave to say so, is a thing that will conduct
"you and your Premiere Nation to the Devil, if you do not
"alterit. Inevitable, I tell you! Your road lies that way,
"then? Good morning, Messieurs! let me still hope, Not! "
Diplomatist Kaunitz gained his first glories in this
Congress of Aix; which are still great in the eyes of
* Preuss, i. 409, 410.
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? CHAP, nr. ] EUROPEAN WAR FALLS DONE.
18th Oct. 1748.
some. Age now thirty-seven; a native of these Western
parts; but henceforth, by degrees ever more, the shin-
ing star and guide of Austrian Policies down almost to
our own New Epoch. As, unluckily, he will concern
us not a little, in time coming, let us read this Note,
as foreshadow of the man and his doings:
"The glory of Count, ultimately Prince, von Kaunitz-
"Rietberg, is great in Diplomatic Circles of the past Century.
"' The greatest of Diplomatists,' they all say; -- and surely
"it is reckoned something to become the greatest in your line.
"Farther than this, to the readers of these times, Kaunitz-
"Rietberg's glory does not go. A great character, great
"wisdom, lasting great results to his Country, readers do not
"trace in Kaunitz's diplomacies, -- only temporary great re-
"suits, or what he and the bystanders thought such, to
"Kaunitz himself. He was the Supreme Jove, we perceive,
"in that extinct Olympus; and regards with sublime pity,
"not unallied to contempt, all other diplomatic beings. A
"man sparing of words, sparing even of looks; will hardly
"lift his eyelids for your salce, -- will lift perhaps his chin, in
"slight monosyllabic fashion, and stalk superlatively through
"the other door. King of the vanished Shadows. A de-
"termined hater of Fresh Air; rode under glass cover, on the
"finest day; made the very Empress shut her windows, when"capons: more I remember not, -- except also that he would
"suffer no mention of the word Death by any mortal. * A
"most high-sniffing, fantastic, slightly insolent shadow-king;
"-- ruled, in his time, the now-vanished Olympus; and had
"the difficult glory (defective onlyin result) of uniting France
"and Austria against the poor old Sea-Power milk-cows, for
"the purpose of recovering Silesia from Friedrich, a few
"years hence! " -- These are wondrous results; hidden under
the horizon, not very far either; and will astonish Britannic
Majesty and all readers, in a few years.
"he came
cautiously daring, on boiled* Hormayr, Oesterreichischer Plutarch, iv. (3tea), 231-283.
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? 302 THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
13th-16tb July 1749.
Marechal de Saxe pays Friedrich a Visit.
In Summer 1749, Mare'chal de Saxe, the other
shiny figure of this mad Business of the Netherlands,
paid Friedrich a visit; had the honour to be enter-
tained by him three days (July 13th-16th, 1749), in
his Royal Cottage of Sans-Souci seemingly, in his
choicest manner. Curiosity, which is now nothing like
so vivid as it then was, would be glad to listen a little,
in this meeting of two Suns, or of one Sun and one
immense Tar-Barrel, or Atmospheric Meteor really of
shining nature, and taken for a Sun. But the Books
are silent; not the least detail, or hint, or feature
granted us. Only Fancy; --? and this of Smelfungus,
by way of long farewell to one of the parties:
* * "It was at Tongres, or in headquarters near it,
"10th October 1746, -- Battle expected on the morrow"
(Battle of Roucoux, over towards Herstal, which we used to
know), -- "thatM. Favart, Saxe's Playwright andTheatre-
"Director, gave out in cheerful doggerel on fall of the Cur-
"tain, the announcement:
"Demain nous donnerons relachc,
"Quoique le Dirccteur s'cn fdche,
"Vous voir combleroit not desirs:
"On doit ceder lout a la gloire;
"Voun ne songez gu'd la victoire,
"Nous ncsonneonsqu'avosplaisirs. "*
"Tomorrow is no Play,
"To the Manager's regret,
"Whose sole study is to keep you
"happy:
"But, you being bent upon victory,
"What can he do? --
"Day after tomorrow, --
Day after tomorrow,' added he, taking the official tone, 'in
"'honour of your laurels' (gained already, since you resolve
"'on gaining them), we will have the honour of presenting' --
"such and such a gay Farce, to as many of you as remain
"alive! Which was received with gay clapping of hands:
"admirable to the Universe, at least to the Parisian Univers
* Biographic Universale, ziv. 209, ? Fuvarl; Espagnac, u. 162.
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? CHAP, m. ] EUROPEAN WAR FALLS DONE. 303
July 1749 --Nov. 1750.
"and oneself. Such a prodigality of light daring is in these
"French gentlemen, skilfully tickled by the Mare'chal; who
"uses this Playwright, among other implements, for keeping
4'them at the proper pitch. Was there ever seen such radiancy
"of valour? Very radiant indeed; -- yet it seems to me,
"gone somewhat into the phosphorescent kind; shining in
"the dark, as fish will do when rotten! War has actually its
"serious character; nor is Death a farcical transaction, how-
"ever high your genius may go. But what then; it is the
"Marechal's trade to keep these poor people at the cutting
"pitch, on any terms that will hold for the moment.
"I know not which was the most dissolute Army ever seen
"in the world: but this of Saxe's was very dissolute. Play-
"wright Favart had withal a beautiful clever Wife, -- upon
"whom the courtships, munificent blandishments, threaten-
"ings and utmost endeavours of Marechal de Saxe (in his
"character of goatfooted Satyr) could not produce the least
"impression. For a whole year, not the least. Whereupon
"the Goatfooted had to get Lettre de Cachet for her; had to --
"infact, produce the brutallest Adventure that is known of
"him, even in this brutal kind. Poor Favart, rushing about
"in despair, not permitted to run him through the belly, and
"die with his Wife undishonoured, had to console himself, he
"and she; and do agreeable theatricalities for a living as
"heretofore. Let us not speak of it!
"Of Saxe's G eneralship, which is now a thing fallen pretty
"much into oblivion, I have no authority to speak. He had
"much wild natural ingenuity in him; cunning rapid whirls
"of contrivance; and gained Three Battles and very many
"Sieges, amid the loudest clapping of hands that could well
"be. He had perfect intrepidity; not to be flurried by any
"amount of peril or confusion; looked on that English Co-
"lumn, advancing at Fontenoy with its feu infernal, steadily
"through his perspective; chewing his leaden bullet: 'Going
"'to beat me, then? Well --! ' Nobody needed to be braver.
"He had great good nature too, though of hot temper and so
"full of multifarious voracities; a substratum of inarticulate
"good sense withal, and much magnanimity run wild, or run
"to seed. A big-limbed, swashing, perpendicular kind of
"Ifellow; haughty of face, butiollytoo; with a big, not ugly
"strut; -- captivating to the French Nation, and fit God of
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? 304 THE TEN YEARS OP PEACE. [book XVI.
July 1749 --Nov. 1750.
"Wax (fitter than 'Dalhousie,' I am sure! ) for that susceptive
"People. Understood their Army also, what it was then and
"there, and how, by theatricals and otherwise, to get a great
"deal of fire out of it. Great deal of fire; -- whether by
"gradual conflagration or not, on the road to ruin or not;
"how, he did not care. In respect of military 'fame' so-
called, he had the great advantage of fighting always
"against bad Generals, sometimes against the very worst.
"To his fame an advantage; to himself and his real worth,
"far the reverse. Had he fallen in with a Friedrich, even
"with a Browne or a Traun, there might have been different
"news got. Friedrich (who was never stingy in such matters,
"except to his own Generals, where it might do hurt) ispro-
"fuse in his eulogies, in his admirations of Saxe; amiable to
"see, and not insincere; but which, perhaps, practically do
"not mean very much.
"It is certain the French Army reaped no profit from its
"experience of Marechalde Saxe, and the high theatricalities,
"ornamental blackguardisms, and ridicule of death and life.
"In the long-run a graver face would have been of better
"augury. King Friedrich's soldiers, one observes, on the
"eve of battle, settle their bits of worldly business; and wind
"up, many of them, with a hoarse whisper of prayer. Oliver
"Cromwell's soldiers did so, Gustaf Adolf s; in fact, I think
"all good soldiers. Roucoux with a Prince Karl, Lauffeld
"with a Duke of Cumberland; you gain your Roucoux, your
"Lauffeld, Human Stupidity permitting: but one day you
"fall in with Human Intelligence, in an extremely grave
"form; -- and your ielan,' elastic outburst, the quickest in
"Nature, what becomes of it? Wait but another decade;
"we shall see what an Army this has grown. Cupidity, dis-
honestyj floundering stupidity, indiscipline, mistrust; and
"an elastic outspurt (elan) turned often enough into the form
"of Sauve-qui-peut!
"M. le Mare'chal survived Aix-la-Chapelle little more
"than two years. Lived at Chambord, on the Loire, an Ex-
"Royal Palace; in such splendour as never was. Went down
"inarosepink cloud, as if of perfect felicity; of glory that
"would last forever, -- which it has by no means done. He
"made despatch; escaped, in this world, the Nemesis, which
"often waits on what they call'fame. ' By diligent service of
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? CHAP, in. ] EUROPEAN WAR PALLS DONE. 305
4th-10th Supt. 1749.
"theDevil, in ways not worth specifying, he saw himself,
"November 21st, 1750, flung prostrate suddenly: 'Putrid
"'fever! ' gloom the Doctors ominously to one another: and,
"November30th, the Devil (I am afraid it was he, though
"clad in roseate effulgence, and melodious exceedingly)
"carried him home on those kind terms, as from a Universe
'' all of Opera. 'Wait till 1759, -- till 1789! ' murmured the
"Devil to himself. "
Tragic News that concern us, of Voltaire and
Others.
About two months after those Saxe-Friedrich hospi-
talities at Sans-Souci, Voltaire, writing, late at night,
from the hospitable Palace of Titular Stanislaus, has
these words, to his trusted D'Argental:
I*'Luneville, 4th September 1749. * * "Madame du Chate-
"let, this night, while scribbling over her Newton, felt a little
"twinge; she called a waiting-maid, who had only time to
"hold out herapron, and catch a little Girl, whom they carried
"to its cradle. The Mother arranged her papers, went to
"bed; and the whole of that (tout cela) is sleeping like a
"dormouse, at the hour I write to you. My guardian angels,
"poor I shan't have so easy a delivery of my Catilina"
(my Rome Saved, for the confusion of old Cr^billon and the
cabals) ! f * *
And then, six days later, hear another Witness present
there:
Luniville Palace, 10th September. "For the first three or
"four days, the health of the Mother appeared excellent;
"denoting nothing but the weakness inseparable from her
"situation. The weather was very warm. Milk-fever came,
"which made the heat worse. In spite of remonstrances, she
"would have some iced barley-water; drank a big glass of it;
t (Enures, lxiiv. 57 (Voltaire to d'Argental).
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. VIII. 20
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? 306 THE TEN YEARS OP PEACE. [book XVI.
x 174S-1749.
"-- and some instants after, had great pain in her head;
"followed by other bad symptoms. " Which brought the
Doctor in again, several Doctors, hastily summoned; who,
after difficulties, thought again that all was coming right.
And so, on the sixth night, 10th September, inquiring friends
had left the sick-room hopefully , and gone down to supper,
"the rather as Madame seemed inclined to sleep. There re-
"mained none with her but M. de St. Lambert, one of her
"maids and I. M. de St. Lambert, as soon as the strangers
"were gone, went forward and spoke some moments to her;
"but seeing her sleepy, drew back, and sat chatting with us
"two. Eight or ten minutes after, we heard a kind of rattle
"in the throat, intermixed with hiccoughs: we ran to the bed;
"found her senseless; raised her to a sitting posture, tried
"vinaigrettes, rubbed her feet, knocked into the palms of her
"hands; -- all in vain; she was dead!
"Of course the supper-party burst up, into her room;
"M. le Marquis duChatelet, M. de Voltaire, and the others.
"Profound consternation: to tears, to cries succeeded a
"mournful silence. Voltaire and St. Lambert remained the
"last about her bed. At length Voltaire quitted the room;
"got out by the Grand Entrance, hardly knowing which way
"he went. At the foot of the Outer Stairs, near a sentry's
"box, he fell full length on the pavement. His lackey, who
"was a step or two behind, rushed forward to raise him. At
"that moment came M. de St. Lambert; who had taken the
"same road, and who now hastened to help. M. de Voltaire,
"once on his feet again, and recognising who it was, said,
"through his tears and with the most pathetic accent, 'Ah,
''' mon ami, it is you that have killed her to me! ' -- and then
"suddenly, as if starting awake, with the tone of reproach
"and despair, 'Eh, mon Dieu, Monsieur, de quoi vous avisiez-
"'vous de lui faire un enfant (Good God, Sir, what put it into
"'your head to -- to --)! "'* --
Poor M. de Voltaire; suddenly become widower,
and flung out upon his shifts again, at his time of life!
May now wander, Ishmael-like, whither he will, in this
* Longchamp et Wagnitre, Memoires sur Voltaire, n. 250, 251; -- Long-
champ loquitur.
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? CHAP. III. ] EUROPEAN WAR FALLS DONE. 307
1748-1749.
hard lonesome world. His grief is overwhelming,
mixed with other sharp feelings due on the matter;
but does not last very long, in that poignant form. He
will turn up on us, in his new capacity of single-man,
again brilliant enough, within year and day.
Last Autumn, September 1748, Wilhelmina's one
Daughter, one child, was wedded; to that young Durch-
laucht of Wurtemberg, whom we saw gallanting the
little girl, to Wilhelmina's amusement, some years ago.
About the wedding, nothing; nor about the wedded
life, what would have been more curious: -- no Wil-
helmina now to tell us anything; not even whether
Mamma the Improper Duchess was there. From Berlin,
the Two youngest Princes, Henri and Ferdinand, at-
tended at Baireuth; -- Mannstein, our old Russian
friend, now Prussian again, escorting them. * The King,
too busy, I suppose, with Silesian Reviews and the
like, sends his best wishes, -- for indeed the Match
was of his sanctioning and advising; -- though his
wishes proved mere disappointment in the sequel.
Friedrich got no "furtherance in the Swabian Franco-
nian Circles," or favour anywhere, by means of this
Durchlaucht; in the end, far the reverse! -- In a
word, the happy couple rolled away to Wurtemberg
(September 26th, 1748); he twenty, she sixteen, poor
young creatures; and in years following, became un-
happy to a degree.
There was but one child, and it soon died. The
young Serene Lady was of airy high spirit; graceful,
clever, good too, they said; perhaps a thought too
proud: -- but as for her Reigning Duke, there was
* Seyfarth, n. 76.
20*
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? 308
THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. " [book xvr.
1748-1749.
seldom seen so lurid a Serenity; and it was difficult to
live beside him. A most arbitrary Herr, with glooms
and whims; dim-eyed, ambitious, voracious, and the
temper of an angry mule, -- very fit to have been
haltered, in a judicious manner, instead of being set to
halter others! Enough, in six or seven years' time, the
bright Pair found itself grown thunderous, opaque
beyond description; and (in 1759) had to split asunder
for good. "Owing to the reigning Duke's behaviour,"
said everybody. "Has behaved so, I would run him
through the body, if we met! " said his own Brother
once: -- Brother Friedrich Eugen, a Prussian General
by that time, whom we shall hear of. * What thoughts for our dear Wilhelmina, in her latter
weak years; -- lapped in eternal silence, as so much
else is.
* Prensa, it. 149; Michaelis, m. 451.
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? CHAP. IV. ]
309
FRIEDRICH PRINTING HIS POESIES.
1749-1750.
CHAPTEE IV.
COCCEJI FINISHES THE LAW REFORM; FRIEDRICH IS
PRINTING HIS POESIES.
In these years, Friedrich goes on victoriously with
his Law-Reform; Herculean Cocceji with Assistants,
backed by Friedrich, beneficently conquering Province
after Province to him; -- Kur-Mark, Neu-Mark, Cleve
(all easy, in comparison, after Pommern), and finally
Preussen itself; -- to the joy and profit of the same.
Cocceji's method, so far as the Foreign onlooker can
discern across much haze, seems to be threefold:
1? . Extirpation (painless, were it possible) of the
Pettifogger Species; indeed, of the Attorney Species
altogether: "Seek other employments; disappear, all of
you, from these precincts, under penalty! " The Ad-
vocate himself takes charge of the suit, from first birth
of it; and sees it ended, -- he knows within what limit
of time.
2? . Sifting out of all incompetent Advocates, "Fol-
low that Attorney-Company, you; away! " -- sifting
out all these, and retaining in each Court, with fees
accurately settled, with character stamped sound, or at
least soundest, the number actually needed. In a milder
way, but still more strictly, Judges stupid or otherwise
incompetent are riddled out; able Judges appointed,
and their salaries raised.
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? 310 THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
174S>>-1750.
3? . What seems to be Friedrich's own invention,
what in outcome he thinks will be the summary of all
good Law-Procedure: A final Sentence (three "in-
stances" you can have, but the third ends it for you)
within the Year. Good, surely. A justice that intends
to be exact, must front the complicacies in a resolute
piercing manner, and will not be tedious. Nay a jus-
tice that is not moderately swift, -- human hearts
waiting for it, the while, in a cancerous state, instead
of hopefully following their work, -- what, compara-
tively, is the use of its being never so exact! --
Simple enough methods; rough and ready. Needing,
in the execution, clear human eyesight, clear human
honesty, -- which happen to be present here, and
without which, no "method" whatever can be executed
that will really profit.
In the course of 1748, Friedrich, judging by Pom-
mern and the other symptoms that his enterprise was
safe, struck a victorious Medal upon it: "Fridericus
Borussorum Rex" pressing with his sceptre the oblique
Balance to a level posture; with Epigraph, "Emendato Jure. "* And by Newyears-day, 1750, the matter was
in effect completed; and "justice cheap, expeditious,
certain," a fact in all Prussian Lands.
Nay, in 1749-1751, to complete the matter, Coc-
ceji's "Project of a general Law-Code," Projekt des Cor-
poris Juris Fridericiani, came forth in print:** to the
admiration of mankind, at home and abroad; "theFirst
* Letter to Cocceji, accompanying Copy of the medal in Gold, "24th
June 1748" (Seyfarth, n. 67 n. ).
** Halle, 2 Toll. , folio (Preuss, i. 316; see lb. 815 n. , as to the Law Pro-
cedure &c. now settled by Coceeji).
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? CHaP. IT. ] friedrich printing his poesies. 311
1749-1750.
Code attempted since Justinian's time," say they. Pro-
ject translated into all languages, and read in all
countries. A poor mildewed copy of this Codex Fride-
ricianus, -- done at Edinburgh, 1761, not said by
whom; evidently bought at least twice, and mostly
never yet read (nor like being read), -- is known to
me, for years past, in a ghastly manner! Without the
least profit to this present, or to any other Enterprise;
-- though persons of name in Jurisprudence call it
meritorious in their Science; the first real attempt at a
Code in Modern times. But the truth is, this Cocceji
Codex remained a Project merely, never enacted any-
where. It was not till 1773, that Friedrich made
actual attempt to build a Law-Code; and did build one
(the foundation-story of one, for his share, completed
since), in which this of Cocceji had little part. In 1773,
the thing must again be mentioned; the "Second Law-
Reform," as they call it. What we practically know
from this time is, That Prussian Lawsuits, through
Friedrich's Reign, do all terminate, or push at their
utmost for terminating, within one year from birth;
and that Friedrich's fame, as a beneficent Justinian,
rose high in all Countries (strange in Countries that
had thought him a War-scourge and Conquering Hero);
strange, but undeniable;* and that his own People, if
more silently, yet in practice very gladly indeed, wel-
comed his Law-Reform; and, from day to day, enjoyed
the same, -- no doubt with occasional remembrance
who the Donor was.
* See Gentleman's Magazine, u. 215-218 ("May 1750"): eloquent, en-
thusiastic Letter, given there, "ofBarondeSpon to Chancellor D'Aguessau,"
on these inimitable Law Achievements.
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? 312
[book xvi. 1749-1750.
THE TEN TEARS OP PEACE.
Of Friedrich's Literary works, nobody, not even
Friedrich himself, will think it necessary that we say
much. But the fact is, he is doing a great many
things that way! in Prose, the Memoirs of Brandenburg,
coming out as Papers in the Academy from time to
time:* in Verse, very secret as yet, the Palladion ("ex-
quisite Burlesque," think some), the Art of War
(reckoned truly his best Piece in verse): -- and wishes
sometimes he had Voltaire here to perfect him a little.
This too would be one of the practical charms of
Voltaire. ** For though King Friedrich knows and
remembers always, that these things, especially the
Verse part, are mere amusements in comparison, he
has the creditable wish to do these well; one would not
fantasy ill even on the Flute, if one could help it.
"Why doesn't Voltaire come; as Quantz of the Flute
has done? " Friedrich, now that Voltaire has fallen
widower, renews his pressings, "Why don't you
come? " Patience, your Majesty; Voltaire will come.
Nobody can wish details in this Department: but
there is one thing necessary to be mentioned, That
Friedrich in these years, 1749-1752, has Printers out
at Potsdam, and is Printing, "in beautiful quarto form,
with copperplates," to the extent of twelve copies, the
CEuvres (Poetical, that is) du Philosophe de Sans-Souci.
Only twelve Copies, I have heard; gift of a single
copy indicating that you are among the choicest of the
chosen. Copies have now fallen extremely rare (and
* From 1746 and onward: first published complete (after slight revision
by Voltaire), Berlin, 1751.
** Friedrich's Letter to Algarotti ((Euvres, xvm. 66), "12th September
1749. "
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? CHAP. IV. ] FRIEDRICH PRINTING HIS POESIES. 313
1749-1750.
are not in request at all, with my readers or me): but
there was one Copy which, or the Mis-title of which,
as CEuvre de "Poe'shie" du Roi mon Maitre, became
miraculously famous in a year or two; -- and is still
memorable to us all! On Voltaire's arrival, we shall
hear more of these things.
