No More Learning

net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP, n. ] DEATH OF (JEORGE I. 91
1727.
cruiting brabbles there had been; severe laws passed
in Saxony about these kidnapping operations: and al-
ways in the Diets, when question rose of this matter,
August had been particularly loud in his denouncings.
Which was unkind, though not unexpected. But now,
in the Spring of 1727, here has a worse case than any
arisen.
Captain Natzmer, of I know not what Prussian
Regiment, "Sachsen-Weimar Cuirassiers"* or another,
had dropt over into Saxony, to see what could be done
in picking up a tall man or two. Tall men, one or
two, Captain Natzmer did pick up, nay a tall deserter
or two (Saxon soldier, inveigled to desert); but finding
his operations get air, he hastily withrew into Branden-
burg territory again. Saxon Officials followed him
into Brandenburg territory; snapt him back into Saxon;
tried him by Saxon law there; -- Saxon law, express
in such case, condemns him to be hanged; and that is
his doom accordingly.
"Captain Natzmer to swing on the gallows? Taken
on Brandenburg territory, too, and not the least notice
given me? " Friedrich Wilhelm blazes into flaming
whirl-wind; sends an Official Gentleman, one Katsch,
to his Excellenz Baron von Sulim (the Crown-Prince's
cultivated friend), with this appalling message: "If
Natzmer be hanged, for certain I will use reprisals;
you yourself shall swing! " Whereupon Suhm, in
panic, fled over the marches to his Master; who bullied
him for his pusillanimous terrors; and applied to Fried- * MUilaii-Lexikon, Hi. 104.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 92 DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT GOING ADRIFT, [book vI.
1727.
rich Wilhelm, in fine frenzy of indignant astonishment,
"What, in Heaven's name, such meditated outrage on
the law of nations, and flat insult to the Majesty of
Kings, can have meant? " Friedrich Wilhelm, the first
fury being spent, sees that he is quite out of square;
disavows the reprisals upon Suhm. "Message misde-
livered by my Official Gentleman, that stupid Katsch;
never did intend to hang Suhm; oh, no;" with much
other correspondence;* -- and is very angry at him-
self, and at the Natzmer affair, which has brought him
into this bad pass. Into open impropriety; into danger
of an utter rupture, had King August been of quarrel-
some turn. But King August was not quarrelsome;
and then Seckendorf and the Tobacco-Parliament, --
on the Kaiser's score, who wants Pragmatic Sanction
and much else out of these two Kings, and can at no
rate have them quarrel in the present juncture, --
were eager to quench the fire. King August let Natzmer
go; Suhm returned to his post;** and things hustled
themselves into some uneasy posture of silence again;
-- uneasy to the sensitive fancy of Friedrich Wilhelm
above all. This is his worst collision with his Neigh-
bour of Saxony; and springing from one's Hobby
again! --
These sorrows, the death of George I. , with anxie-
ties as to George II. and the course he might take; all
this, it was thought, preyed upon his Majesty's spirits;
* In Mauvillon (ii. 189-195) more of it than any one will read.
** Pbllnitz, ii. 254.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? chAp, n. ]
93
DEATH OP GEORGE I.
1727.
-- Wilhelmina says it was "the frequent carousals
with Seckendorf," and an affair chiefly of the royal
digestive-apparatus. Like enough; -- or both might
combine. It is certain his Majesty fell into one of his
hypochondrias at this time; talked of "abdicating" and
other gloomy things, and was very black indeed. So
that Seckendorf and Grumkow began to be alarmed.
It is several months ago he had Franke the Halle
Methodist giving ghostly counsel; his Majesty ceased
to have the Newspapers read at dinner; and listened
to lugubrious Franke's exhortations instead. Did Eng-
lish readers ever hear of Franke? Let them make a
momentary acquaintance with this famous German
Saint. August Hermann Franke, a Lubeck man, bom
1663; Professor of Theology, of Hebrew, Lecturer on
the Bible; a wandering, persecuted, pious man. Foun-
der of the "Pietists," a kind of German Methodists,
who are still a famed Sect in that country; and of the
Waisenhaus, at Halle, grand Orphan-house, built by
charitable beggings of Franke, which also still subsists.
A reverend gentleman, very mournful of visage, now
sixty-four; and for the present, at Berlin, discoursing
of things eternal, in what Wilhelmina thinks a very
lugubrious manner. Well; but surely in a very serious
manner! The shadows of Death were already round
this poor Franke; and in a few weeks more, he had
himself departed. * But hear Wilhelmina, what account
she gives of her own and the young Grenadier-Major's
behaviour on these mournful occasions. Seckendorfs
* Died 8th June 1727.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? M DOUBLiE-MAURIAGK PROJKCT GOING ADRIFT, [book vI.
1727.
dinners she considers to be the cause; all spiritual sor-
rows only an adjunct not worth mentioning. It is cer-
tain enough,
"His Majesty began to become valetudinary; and the hy-
pochondria which tormented him rendered his humour very
"melancholy. Monsieur Franke, the famous Pietist, founder
"of the Orphan-house at Halle University, contributed not a
"little to exaggerate that latter evil. This reverend gentle-
"man entertained the King by raising scruples of conscience
"about the most innocent matters. He condemned all plea-
sures; damnable all of them, he said, even hunting and
"music. You were to speak of nothing but the Word of God
"only; all other conversation was forbidden. It was always
"he that carried-on the improving talk at table; where he did
"the office of reader, as if it had been a refectory of monks.
"The King treated us to a sermon every afternoon; his valet-
"de-chambre gave out a psalm, which we all sang: you had
"to listen to this sermon with as much devout attention as if
"it had been an apostle's. My Brother and I had all the mind
"in the world to laugh; we tried hard to keep from laughing;
"but often we burst out. Thereupon reprimand, with all the
"anathemas of the Church hurled out on us; which we had to
"take with a contrite penitent air, a thing not easy to bring
"your face to at the moment. In a word, this dog of aFranke"
(he died within few months, poor soul, ce cMen de Franke) "led
"us the life of a set of Monks of La Trappe.
"Such excess of bigotry awakened still more gothic
"thoughts in the King. He resolved to abdicate the crown
'' in favour of my Brother. He used to talk, He would reserve
''for himself 10,000 crowns a-year; and retire with the Queen
"and his Daughters to Wusterhausen. There, added he, I
"will pray to God; and manage the farming economy, while
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP, n. l
95
DEATH OF GEORGE I.
1727.
"my wife and girls take care of the household matters. You
"are clever, he said to me; I will give you the inspection of
"the linen, which you shall mend and keep in order, taking
"good charge of laundry matters. Frederica" (now thirteen,
married to Anspachtwo years hence), "who is miserly, shall
"have charge of all the stores of the house. Charlotte" (now
eleven, Duchess of Brunswick by and by) "shall go to market
"and buy our provisions; and my Wife shall take charge of
"the little children," says Friedrich Wilhelm, "and of the
"kitchen. "*
Poor Friedrich Wilhelm; what an innocent Idyllium; --
which cannot be executed by a King. "He had even begun
"to work at an Instruction, or Farewell-Advice, for my
''Brother;" and to point towards various steps, which alarmed
Grumkow and Seckendorf to a high degree. **
"Abdication," with a Crown-Prince ready to fall
into the arms of England, and a sudden finis to our
Black-Art, will by no means suit Seckendorf and
Grumkow! Yet here is Winter coming; solitary
Wusterhausen, with the misty winds piping round it,
will make matters worse: something must be contrived;
and what? The two, after study, persuade Fieldmar-
* Little children are: 1? . Sophie Dorothee, now eight, who married
Margraf of Schwedt, and was unhappy; 2? . Ulrique, a grave little soul of
seven. Queen of Sweden afterwards; 3? . August Wilhelm, age now five,
became Father of a new Friedrich Wilhelm, who was King by and by, and
produced the Kings that still are; 4*. Amelia, now four, born in the way
we saw; and 5? . Henri, still in arms, just beginning to walk. There will
be a Sixth and no more (son of this Sixth, a Berlin RouS, was killed, in
1806, at the Battle of Jena, or a day or two before); but the Sixth is not yet
come to hand. ** Wilhelmina: ilemoires de Ilareith, i. 108.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 96 D0U6LE-MARRIAGE PROJECT GOING ADRIFT, [book vI.
? 17n.
shal Flemming over at Warsaw (August the Strong's
chief man, the Flemming of Voltaire's Charles XII. ;
Prussian by birth, though this long while in Saxon
service), That if he the Fieldmarshal were to pay,
accidentally, as it were, a little visit to his native
Brandenburg just now, it might have fine effects on
those foolish Berlin-Warsaw clouds that had risen. The
Fieldmarshal, well-affected in such a case, manages the
little visit, readily persuading the Polish Majesty; and
dissipates the clouds straightway, -- being well re-
ceived by Friedrich Wilhelm, and seconded by the
Tobacco-Parliament with all its might. Out at Wuster-
hausen everything is comfortably settled. Nay Madam
Flemming, young, brilliant, and direct from the seat of
fashion; it was she that first "built-up" Wilhelmina's
hair on just principles, and put some life into her ap-
pearance. * And now the Fieldmarshal (Tobacco-Par-
liament suggesting it) hints farther, "If his Prussian
Majesty, in the mere greatness of his mind, were to
appear suddenly in Dresden when his royal Friend
was next there, -- what a sunburst after clouds were
that; how welcome to the Polish Majesty! " -- "Hm,
Na, would it, then? " -- The Polish Majesty puts that
out of question; specially sends invitation for the Car-
nival-time just coming; and Friedrich Wilhelm will,
accordingly, see Dresden and him on that occasion. **
In those days, Carnival means "Fashionable Season,"
rural nobility rallying to headquarters for a while, and
* Wilhelmina, 1. 117.
** Ibid. i. 108, 109; PSllnitz, 11. 254; Fassmann, p. 374.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP, n. ] DEATH OP OEORGE t. 97
1727.
social gaieties going on; and in Protestant Countries it
means nothing more.
This, in substance, was the real origin of Friedrich
Wilhelm's sudden visit to Dresden, which astonished
the world, in January next. It makes a great figure
in the old Books. It did kindle Dresden Carnival and
the Physically Strong into supreme illumination, for
the time being; and proved the seal of good agreement,
and even of a kind of friendliness between this hetero-
clite pair of Sovereigns, -- if anybody now cared for
those points. It is with our Crown-Prince's share in it
that we are alone concerned; and that may require a
Chapter to itself.
Carlyle, Frederic the Great. 111. 7
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 98 DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT GOING ADRIFT, [BOOK vI.
Jam-Fob. 1728.
CHAPTER in.
VISIT TO DRESDEN.
One of the most important adventures, for our
young Crown-Prince, was this visit of his, along with
Papa, to Dresden in the Carnival of 1728. Visit con-
trived by Seckendorf and Company, as we have seen,
to divert the King's melancholy, and without view to
the Crown-Prince at all. The Crown-Prince, now
sixteen, and not in the best favour with his Father,
had not been intended to accompany; was to stay at
Potsdam and diligently drill: nevertheless an estafette
came for him from the gallant Polish Majesty; -- Wil-
helmina had spoken a word to good Suhm, who wrote
to his King, and the hospitable message came. Fried-
rich made no loitering, -- to Dresden is but a hundred
miles, one good day; -- he arrived there on the mor-
row after his Father; King "on the 14th January
1728," dates Fassmann; "Crown-Prince on the 15th,"
which I find was Thursday. The Crown-Prince lodged
with Fieldmarshal Flemming; Friedrich Wilhelm, hav-
ing come in no state, refused King August's pressings,
and took up his quarters with "the General Fieldmar-
shal Wackerbart, Commandant in Dresden," -- pleasant
old military gentleman, who had besieged Stralsund
along with him in times gone. Except Grumkow,
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CIIA1'. in. ] VISIT TO DRESDEN. 99
Jan. -Feb. 1728.
Derschau and one or two of less importance, with the
due minimum of Valetry, he had brought no retinue; the
Crown-Prince had Finckenstein and Kalkstein with
him, Tutor and Sub-Tutor, officially there.
And he
lodges with old Count Flemming and his clever fashion-
able Madam, -- the diligent but unsuccessful Flemming,
a courtier of the highest civility, though iracund, and "with a passion for making Treaties," whom we know
since Charles XII. 's time.
Amongst the round of splendours now set on foot,
Friedrich Wilhelm had, by accident of Nature, the
spectacle of a house on fire, -- rather a symbolic one
in those parts, -- afforded him, almost to start with.
Deep in the first Saturday night, or rather about two
in the morning of Sunday, Wackerbart's grand house,
kindling by negligence somewhere in the garrets, blazed
up, irrepressible; and, with its endless upholsteries,
with a fine library even, went all into flame: so that
"his Majesty, scarcely saving his chatoulle (box of pre-
ciosities), had to hurry-out in undress;" -- over to
Flemming's where his Son was; where they both con-
tinued thenceforth. This was the one touch of rough,
amid so much of dulcet that occurred: no evil, this
touch, almost rather otherwise, except to poor Wacker-
bart, whose fine House lay wrecked by it.
The visit lasted till February 12th, four weeks and
a day. Never were such thrice-magnificent Carnival
amusements: illuminations, cannon salvoings and fire-
works; operas, comedies, redoubts, sow-baitings, fox-
and-badger baiting, reviewing, running at the ring: --
7*
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 100 DOUBLE-MATiRIAGE PROJECT GOING ADRIFT, [book VI.
Jan. -Feb. 1728.
dinners of never-imagined quality, this, as a daily item,
needs no express mention.
To the young Soldier-Apprentice all this was, of
course, in pleasant contrast with the Potsdam Guard-
house; and Friedrich Wilhelm himself is understood to
have liked at least the dinners, and the airy courteous
ways, light table-wit and extreme good humour of the
host. A successful visit; burns off like successful fire-
works, piece after piece: and what more is to be said?
Of all this nothing; -- nor, if we could help it, of
another little circumstance, not mentioned by the News-
papers or Fassmann, which constitutes the meaning of
this Visit for us now. It is a matter difficult to handle
in speech. An English Editor, chary of such topics,
will let two witnesses speak, credible both, though not
eyewitnesses; and leave it to the reader so. Babbling
Pollnitz is the first witness; he deposes, after alluding
to the sumptuous dinings and drinkings there:
"One day the two Kings, after dinner, went in domino to
"the redoubt" (ridotto, what we now call rout or evening-
party). "August had a mind to take an opportunity, and try
"whether the reports of Friedrich Wilhelm's indifference to
"the fair sex were correct or not. To this end, he had had a
"young damsel (Junge Person) of extraordinary beauty intro-
"duced into some side-room; where they now entered. She
"was lying on a bed, in a loose gauzy undress; and though
"masked, showed so many charms to the eye that the imagi-
nation could not but judge very favourably oftherest. The
"King of Poland approached, in that gallant way of his,
"which had gained him such favour with women. He begged
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAT. II1. ] VISIT TO DRESDEN. 101
Jan. -Feb. 1728.
"her to unmask; she at first affected reluctance, and would
"not. He then told her who he was; and said, He hoped she
"would not refuse, when two Kings begged her to show them
"this complaisance. She thereupon took off her mask, and
"showed them one of the loveliest faces in the world. August
"seemed quite enchanted; and said, as if it had been the first
"time he ever saw her, He could not comprehend how so
"bewitching a beauty had hitherto remained unknown to
"him.
"Friedrich Wilhelm could not help looking at her. He
"said to the King of Poland, 'She is very beautiful, it must
''be owned;' -- but at the same instant, turned his eyes away
"from her; and left the room, and the ridotto altogether
"without delay; went home, and shut himself in his room.
"He then sent for Herr von Grumkow, and bitterly com-
"plained that the King of Poland wanted to tempt him. Herr
"von Grumkow, who was neither so chaste nor so conscien-
"tious as the King, was for making a jest of the matter; but
"the King took a very serious tone; and commanded him to
''tell the King of Poland in his name, 'That he begged him
"very much not to expose him again to accidents of that
"nature, unless he wished to have him quit Dresden at once. '
"Herr von Grumkow did his message. The King of Poland
"laughed heartily at it; went straight to Friedrich Wilhelm,
"and excused himself. The King of Prussia, however, kept
"his grim look; so that August ceased joking, and turned the
"dialogue on some other subject. " *
This is Pollnitz's testimony, gathered from the whis-
pers of the Tabagie, or rumours in the Court-circles,
and may be taken as indisputable in the main. Wil-
helmina, deriving from similar sources, and equally un-
* Pollnitz, ii. 256.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 102 DOUBLE-MAURIAGE PROJECT GOING ADRIFT. [l! OOK Vt.
Jan. -Feb. 1728.
certain in details, paints more artistically; nor has she
forgotten the sequel for her Brother, which at present
is the essential circumstance;
"One evening, when the rites of Bacchus had been well
"attended to, the King of Poland led the King" (my Father),
"strolling about, by degrees, into a room very richly orna- "mented, all the furniture and arrangements of which were in
"a quite exquisite taste. The King, charmed with what he
"saw, paused to contemplate the beauties of it a little; when,
"all on a sudden, a curtain rose, and displayed to him one of
"the most extraordinary sights. It was a girl in the condition
"of our First Parents, carelessly lying on a bed. This crea-
"ture was more beautiful than they paint Venus and the
"Graces; she presented to view a form of ivory whiter than
"snow, and more gracefully shaped than the Venus de'Medici
"at Florence. The cabinet which contained this treasure
"was lighted by so many wax-candles that their brilliancy
"dazzled you, and gave a new splendour to the beauties of
"the goddess.
"The Authors of this fine comedy did not doubt but the
"object would make an impression on the King's heart; but
"it was quite otherwise. No sooner had he cast his eyes on
"the beauty than he whirled round with indignation; and
"seeing my Brother behind him, he pushed him roughly out
"of the room, and immediately quitted it himself; very angry
"at the scene they had been giving him. He spoke of it, that
"same evening, to Grumkow, in very strong terms; andde-
clared with emphasis that if the like frolics were tried on
"him again, he would at once quit Dresden.
"With my Brother it was otherwise. In spite of the King's
"care, he had got a full view of that Cabinet Venus; and the
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP, in. ] VISIT TO DRESDEN. 103
Jan. -Fcb. 1728.
"sight of her did not inspire in him so much horror as in his
"Father. "*-- Very likely not! -- And in fact, "heobtained
4'her from the King of Poland, in a rather singular way (d'nne
fafnn assez singuliere)," -- describable, in condensed terms, as
follows:
Wilhelmina says, her poor Brother had been al-
ready charmed over head and ears by a gay young
baggage of a Countess Orzelska; a very high and airy
Countess there; whose history is not to be touched, ex-
cept upon compulsion, and as if with a pair of tongs,
-- thrice-famous as she once was in this Saxon Court
of Beelzebub. She was King August's natural daughter;
a French milliner in Warsaw had produced her for him
there. In due time, a male of the three-hundred and
fifty-four, one Rutowski, soldier by profession, whom
we shall again hear of, took her for mistress; regard-
less of natural half-sisterhood, which perhaps he did
not know of. The admiring Rutowski, being of a
participative turn, introduced her, after a while, to his
honoured parent and hers; by whom next -- Heavens,
human language is unequal to the history of such
things! And it is in this capacity she now shines su-
preme in the Saxon Court; ogling poor young Fritz,
and driving him distracted; -- which phenomenon the
Beelzebub Parent-Lover noticed with pain and jealousy,
it would appear.
"His Polish Majesty distinguished her extremely,"
says Pollnitz,** "and was continually visiting her; so
"that the universal inference was" -- to the above un-
* Wilhelmina, i. 113.
** Ucmoiren, II. 261.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 104 DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT GOING ADRIFT, [book vI.
Jao. -Feb. 1728.
speakable effect. "She was of fine figure; had some-
"thing grand in her air and carriage, and the prettiest
"humour in the world. She often appeared in men's
"clothes, which became her very well. People said,
"she was extremely openhanded;" as indeed the Beelze-
bub Parent-Lover was of the like quality (when he
had cash about him), and to her, at this time, he was profuse beyond limit. Truly a tempting aspect of
the Devil, this expensive Orzelska: something beautiful
in her, if there are no Laws in this Universe; not so
beautiful, if there are! Enough to turn the head of
poor Crown-Prince, if she like, for some time. He
is just sixteen gone; one of the prettiest lads and
sprightliest; his homage, clearly enough, is not dis-
agreeable to the baggage. Wherefore jealous August,
the Beelzebub-Parent, takes his measures; signifies to
Fritz, in direct terms, or by discreet diplomatic hints
and innuendos, That he can have the Cabinet Venus
(Formera her name, of Opera-singer kind); -- ho-
ping thereby that the Orzelska will be left alone in
time coming. A "faqon assez singuliere" for a So-
vereign Majesty and Beelzebub Parent-Lover, thinks
Wilhelmina.
Thus has our poor Fritz fallen into the wake of
Beelzebub; and is not in a good way. Under such
and no better guidance, in this illicit premature man-
ner, he gets his introduction to the paradise of the
world. The Formera, beautiful as painted Chaos;
yes, her; -- and why not, after a while, the Orzelska
too, all the same? A wonderful Armida-Garden, sure
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP, m. ] VISIT TO DRESDEN. 105
J,in. -Fob. 1728.
enough. And cannot one adore the painted divine
beauties there (lovely as certain Apples of the Dead
Sea), for some time? -- The miseries all this brought
into his existence, -- into his relations with a Father
very rigorous in principle, and with a Universe still
more so, -- for years to come, were neither few nor
small. And that is the main outcome of the Dresden
visitings for him and us. --
Great pledges pass between the two Kings; Prussian
Crown-Prince decorated with the Order of the Saxon
Eagle, or what supreme distinction they had; Rutowski taken over to Berlin to learn war and drill, where he
did not remain long: in fact a certain liking seems to
have risen between the two heteroclite individualities,
which is perhaps worth remembering as a point in
natural-history, if not otherwise. One other small re-
sult of the visit is of pictorial nature. In the famed
Dresden Gallery there is still a Picture, high up,
visible if you have glasses, where the Saxon Court-
Painter, on Friedrich Wilhelm's bidding it is said,
soon after these auspicious occurrences, represents the
two Majesties as large as life, in their respective cos-
tumes and features (short Potsdam Grenadier-Colonel,
and tall Saxon Darius or Sardanapalus), in the act
of shaking hands; symbolically burying past grudges,
and swearing eternal friendship, so to speak. * To
this Editor the Picture did not seem good for much;
but Friedrich Wilhelm's Portrait in it, none of the
* FSrstcr, i. 226.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 106 DOUBLE -MARRIAGE PROJECT GOING ADRIFT, [book vI.
1728.
best, may be of use to travelling friends of his who
have no other.
The visit ended on the 12th of February, as the
Newspapers testify. Long before daybreak, at three
in the morning, Friedrich Wilhelm, "who had smoked
after dinner till nine the night before," and taken
leave of everybody, was on the road; but was astonished
to find King August and the Electoral Prince or Heir-
Apparent (who had privately sat up for the purpose)
insist on conducting him to his carriage. * "Great
tokens of affection," known to the Newspapers, there
were; and one token not yet known, a promise on King
August's part that he would return this ever-memorable
compliment in person at Potsdam and Berlin in a few
months. Remember then! --
As for the poor Crown-Prince, whom already his
Father did not like, he now fell into circumstances
more abstruse than ever in that and other respects.
Bad health, a dangerous lingering fit of that, soon
after his return home, was one of the first conse-
quences. Frequent fits of bad health, for some years
coming; with ominous rumours, consultations of phy-
sicians, and reports to the paternal Majesty, which
produced small comfort in that quarter. The sad truth,
dimly indicated, is sufficiently visible: his life for the
next four or five years was "extremely dissolute. " Poor
young man, he has got into a disastrous course; con-
sorts chiefly with debauched young fellows, as Lieute-
* Boycr, xxxv. 199.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? ciiAp. m. ]
107
VISIT TO DRESDEN.
J72<f.
nauts Katte, Keith, and others of their stamp, who lead
him on ways not pleasant to his Father, nor conformable to the Laws of this Universe. Health, either of
body or of mind, is not to be looked for in his present
way of life. The bright young soul, with its fine
strengths and gifts; wallowing like a young rhinoceros in
the mud-bath: -- some say, it is wholesome for a hu-
man soul; not we!
All this is too certain; rising to its height in the
years we are now got to, and not ending for four or
five years to come: and the reader can conceive all
this, and whether its effects were good or not . Fried-
rich Wilhelm's old-standing disfavour is converted into
open aversion and protest, many times into fits of sor-
row, rage and despair, on his luckless Son's behalf; --
and it appears doubtful whether this bright young hu-
man soul, comparable for the present to a rhinoceros
wallowing in the mud-bath, with nothing but its snout
visible, and a dirty gurgle all the sound it makes, will
ever get out again or not.
The rhinoceros soul got out; but not uninjured;
alas, no, bitterly polluted, tragically dimmed of its
finest radiances for the remainder of life. The distin-
guished Sauerteig, in his Spring- Wurzeln, has these
words: "To burn away, in mad waste, the divine
"aromas and plainly celestial elements from our exis-
"tence; to change our holy-of-holies into a place of
"riot; to make the soul itself hard, impious, barren!
"Surely a day is coming, when it will be known
"again what virtue is in purity and continence of life;
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:16 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hn6m7h Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 108 DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT GOING ADRIFT, [book vI.
1728.
"how divine is the blush of young human cheeks;
"how high, beneficent, sternly inexorable if forgotten,
"is the duty laid, not on women only, but on every
"creature, in regard to these particulars?