* This Edition had come out
last year, famous over the world; and was by and by,
as rumour bore, to be followed by a Virgil done in the
like exquisite manner.
last year, famous over the world; and was by and by,
as rumour bore, to be followed by a Virgil done in the
like exquisite manner.
Thomas Carlyle
15
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? 226 AT REINSBERG. [boOKI.
15th aug. 1738.
snuffled he; with brow blushing slate-colour, I should
think, and gray eyes much alight . And ever since,
for ten months or so, Seckendorf, sealed up in the
Cabbage-market, has been fencing for life with the
Hofkriegsrath; who want satisfaction upon "eighty-six"
different "points;" and make no end of chicaning to
one's clear answers. And the Jesuits preach, too: "A
Heretic, born enemy of Christ and his Kaiser; what is
the use of questioning! " And the Heathen rage, and
all men gnash their teeth, in this uncomfortable
manner.
Answering done, there comes no verdict, much less
any acquittal; the captain and twelve musketeers, three
of them with fixed bayonets in one's very bedroom,
continue. One evening, 21st July 1738, glorious news
from the seat of War, -- not till evening, as the Im-
perial Majesty was out hunting, -- enters Vienna;
blowing trumpets; shaking flags: "Grand Victory over
the Turks! " so we call some poor skirmish there has
been; and Vienna bursting all into three-times-three,
the populace get very high. Populace rush to the
Kohlmarkt; break the Seckendorf windows; intent to
massacre the Seckendorf, had not fresh military come,
who were obliged to fire and kill one or two. "The
"house captain and his twelve musketeers, of them-
"selves, did wonders; Seckendorf and all his domestics
"were in arms:" "Jami-bleu" for the last time! -- This
is while the Crown-Prince is at Wesel; sound asleep,
most likely; Loo, and the Masonic adventure, perhaps
twinkling prophetically in his dreams.
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? CHAP. V. ] VISIT AT LOO. 227
15th Aug. 1738.
At two next morning, an Official Gentleman informs
Seckendorf, That he, for his part, must awaken, and
go to Gratz. And in one hour more (3 a. m. ), the Offi-
cial Gentleman rolls off with him; drives all day; and
delivers his Prisoner at Gratz: -- "Not so much as a
"room ready there; Prisoner had to wait an hour in
"the carriage," till some summary preparation were
made. Wall-neighbours of the poor Feldmarschall, in
his Fortress here, were "a Gold-Cook (swindling Alche-
"mist), who had gone crazy; and an Irish Lieutenant,
"confined thirty-two years for some love adventure,
"likewise pretty crazy; their noises in the night-time
"much disturbed the Feldmarschall. "* One human
thing there still is in his lot, the Feldmarschall's old
GrSfinn. True old Dame, she, both in the Kohlmarkt
and at Gratz, stands by him, "imprisoned along with
him" if it must be so; ministering, comforting, as only
a true Wife can; -- and hope has not quite taken
wing.
Rough old Feldmarschall; now turned of sixty:
never made such a Campaign before, as this of '37
followed by '38! There sits he; and will not trouble
us any more during the present Kaiser's lifetime.
Friedrich Wilhelm is amazed at these sudden cantings
of Fortune's wheel, and grieves honestly as for an old
friend: even the Crown-Prince finds Seckendorf punished
unjustly; and is almost sorry for him, after all that has
come and gone.
* Seckendorfs Leben, ii. 170-277. See Schmettan, pp. 27-89.
15*
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? 228
[book X. J5th Aug. 1738.
AT REINSBERG.
The Ear of Jenkins reemerges.
We must add the following, distilled from the
English Newspapers, though it is now almost four
months after date:
"London, 1st April 1738. In the English House of Com-
"mons, much more in the English Public, there has been
"furious debating for a fortnight past: Committee of the
"whole House, examining witnesses, hearing counsel; subject,
"the Termagant of Spain, and her West-Indian procedures;
"--she, by her procedures somewhere, is always cutting out
"work for mankind! How English and other strangers, fallen
"in with in those seas, are treated by the Spaniards, readers
"have heard, nay have chanced to see; and it is a fact pain-
"fully known to all nations. Fact which England, for one
"nation, can no longer put up with. Walpole and the Official
"Persons would fain smooth the matter; but the West-India
"Interest, the City, all Mercantile and Navigation Interests
"are in dead earnest: Committee of the wholeHouse, 'presided
"by Alderman Perry,' has not ears enough to hear the im-
"mensities of evidence offered; slow Public is gradually
"kindling to some sense of it. This had gone on for two
"weeks, when -- what shall we say? -- the Ear of Jenkins
"reemerged for the second time; and produced important
"effects!
"Where Jenkins had been all this while, -- stedfastly
"navigating to and fro, stedfastly eating tough junk with a
"wetting of rum; not thinking too much of past labours, yet
"privately 'always keeping his lost Ear in cotton' (with a
"kind of ursine piety, or other dumb feeling), -- no mortal
"n<>w knows. But to all mortals it is evident he was home in
"London at this time; no doubt a noted member of Wapping
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? CHaP. v. ] VISIT AT LOO. 229
15th Aug. 1738.
"society, the much-enduring Jenkins. And witnesses,
"probably not one but many, had mentioned him to this Com'
"mittee, as a case eminently in point. Committee, as can still
"be read in its Rhadamanthine Journals, orders: lDieJovis,
'"16? Martii 1737--8, That Captain Eobert Jenkins do
'"attend this House immediately;' and then more specially,
"'17? Martii,' -- captious objections having risen in Official
"quarters, as we guess, -- 'That Captain Robert Jenkins do
'"attend upon Tuesday morning next. '* Tuesday next is
"21st March, -- 1st of April 1738 by our modern Calendar; --
"and on that day, not a doubt, Jenkins does attend; narrates
"that tremendous passage we already heard of, seven years
"ago, in the entrance of the Gulf of Florida; and produces his
"Ear wrapt in cotton; -- setting all on flame (except the
"Official persons) at sight of it. "
Official persons, as their wont is in the pressure of
debate, endeavoured to deny, to insinuate in their vile
Newspapers, That Jenkins lost his Ear nearer home
and not for nothing; as one still reads in the History
Books. ** Sheer calumnies, we now find. Jenkins's
account was doubtless abundantly emphatic; but there
is no ground to question the substantial truth of him
and it . And so, after seven years of unnoticeable
burning upon the thick skin of the English Public, the
case of Jenkins accidentally burns through, and sets
England bellowing; such a smart is there of it, -- not
to be soothed by Official wet-cloths; but getting worse
and worse, for the nineteen months ensuing. And in
short -- But we will not anticipate! ?
* Commons Journals, xziii. (In die bug).
** Com, Tindal (xx. 872), &c.
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? 230 AT REINSBERG. [booKX.
1739.
CHAPTEK VI.
LAST YEAR OF REINSBERG; JOURNEY TO PREUSSEN.
The Idyllium of Reinsberg, -- of which, except in
the way of sketchy suggestion, there can no history be
given, -- lasted less than four years; and is now
coming to an end, unexpectedly soon. A pleasant
Arcadian Summer in one's life; -- though it has not
wanted its occasional discords, flaws of ill weather in
the general sunshine. Papa, always in uncertain health
of late, is getting heavier of foot and of heart under
his heavy burdens; and sometimes falls abstruse enough,
liable to bewilderments from bad people and events:
not much worth noticing here. * But the Crown-Prince
has learned to deal with all this; all this is of transient
nature; and a bright long future seems to lie ahead at
Reinsberg; -- brightened especially by the Literary
Element; which, in this year 1739, is brisker than it
had ever been. Distinguished Visitors, of a literary
turn, look in at Reinsberg; the Voltaire Correspondence
is very lively; on Friedrich's part there is copious pro-
duction, various enterprise, in the form of prose and
verse; thoughts even of going to press with some of it:
in short, the Literary Interest rises very prominent at
Reinsberg in 1739. Biography is apt to forget the
* Be(C) PBllnitz, ii. 509-615; Friedrich's Letter to Wilhelmina ("Berlin,
S. )th January 1739:" in (Euvre; sxvii. part 1st, pp. 60-61); &o. fta.
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? CHaP. VI. ] LAST YEAR OF REINSBERG. 231
1739.
Literature there (having her reasons); but must at last
take some notice of it, among the phenomena of the
year.
To the young Prince himself, "courting tranquillity,"
as his door-lintel intimated,* and forbidden to be ac-
tive except within limits, this of Literature was all along
the great light of existence at Reinsberg; the supple-
ment to all other employments or wants of employment
there. To Friedrich himself, in those old days, a great
and supreme interest; while again, to the modern Bio-
grapher of him, it has become dark and vacant; a thing
to be shunned, not sought. So that the fact as it stood
with Friedrich differs far from any description that can
be given of the fact. Alas, we have said already, and
the constant truth is, Friedrich's literatures, his distin-
guished literary visitors and enterprises, which were
once brand-new and brilliant, have grown old as a
garment, and are a sorrow rather than otherwise to
existing mankind! Conscientious readers, who would
represent to themselves the vanished scene at Reins-
berg, in this point more especially, must make an
effort
.
As biographical documents, these Poetries and Proses
of the young man give a very pretty testimony of him;
but are not of value otherwise. In fact, they promise,
if we look well into them, That here is probably a
practical faculty and intellect of the highest kind; which
again, on the speculative, especially on the poetical
side, will never be considerable, nor has even tried to
* "Frcderico tranquiUitalem colenti" (Infra, p. 256).
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? 232 AT REHJSBERG. [book X.
1739.
be so. This young soul does not deal in meditation at
all, and his tendencies are the reverse of sentimental.
Here is no introspection, morbid or other, no pathos or complaint, no melodious informing of the public what dreadful emotions you labour under: here, in rapid
prompt form, indicating that it is truth and not fable,
are generous aspirations for the world and yourself,
generous pride, disdain of the ignoble, of the dark,
mendacious; -- here, in short, is a swift-handed, valiant,
sfeeZ-bright kind of soul; very likely for a King's, if
other things answer, and not likely for a Poet's. No
doubt he could have made something of Literature too;
could have written Books, and left some stamp of a
veracious, more or less victorious intellect, in that
strange province too. But then he must have applied
himself to it, as he did to reigning: done in the cursory
style, we see what it has come to.
It is certain, Friedrich's reputation suffers, at this
day, from his writing. From his not having written
nothing, he stands lower with the world. Which seems
hard measure; -- though perhaps it is the law of the
case, after all. "Nobody in these days," says my poor
Friend, "has the least notion of the sinful waste there
"is in talk, whether by pen or tongue. Better probably
"that King Friedrich had written no Verses; nay I
"know not that David's Psalms did David's Kingship
"any good! " Which may be truer than it seems. Fine
aspirations, generous convictions, purposes, -- they are
thought very fine: but it is good, on various accounts,
to keep them rather silent; strictly unvocal, except on
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? CHaP. VI. ] LAST YEAR OP REINSBERG. 233
1739. /
call of real business; so dangerous are they for becom-
ing conscious of themselves! Most things do not ripen
at all except underground. And it is a sad but sure
truth, that every time you speak of a fine purpose,
especially if with eloquence and to the admiration of
bystanders, there is the less chance of your ever making
a fact of it in your poor life. -- If Reinsberg, and its
vacancy of great employment, was the cause of Fried-
rich's verse-writing, we will not praise Reinsberg on
that head! But the truth is, Friedrich's verses came
from him with uncommon fluency; and were not a
deep matter, but a shallow one, in any sense. Not
much more to him than speaking with a will; than
fantasying on the flute in an animated strain. Ever
and anon through his life, on small hint from without
or on great, there was found a certain leakage of verses,
which he was prompt to utter; -- and the case at
Eeinsberg, or afterwards, is not so serious as we might
imagine.
Pine's Horace; and the Anti-Macchiavel.
In late months Friedrich had conceived one notable
project; which demands a word in this place. Did mo-
dern readers ever hear of "John Pine, the celebrated
English Engraver? " John Pine, a man of good scholar-
ship, good skill with his burin, did "Tapestries of the
House of Lords," and other things of a celebrated
nature, famous at home and abroad: but his peculiar
feat, which had commended him at Reinsberg, was an
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? 234
[book X.
AT REINSBEKO.
17S9.
Edition of Horace: exquisite old Flaccus brought to
perfection, as it were; all done with vignettes, classical
borderings, symbolic marginal ornaments, in fine taste
and accuracy, the Text itself engraved; all by the ex-
quisite burin of Pine.
* This Edition had come out
last year, famous over the world; and was by and by,
as rumour bore, to be followed by a Virgil done in the
like exquisite manner.
The Pine Horace, part of the Pine Virgil too, still
exist in the libraries of the curious; and are doubtless
known to the proper parties, though much forgotten by
others of us. To Friedrich, scanning the Pine pheno-
menon with interest then brand-new, it seemed an ad-
mirable tribute to classical genius; and the idea occurred
to him, "Is not there, by Heaven's blessing, a living
genius, classical like those antique Romans, and worthy
of a like tribute? " Friedrich's idea was, That Voltaire
being clearly the supreme of Poets, the Henriade, his
supreme of Poems, ought to be engraved like Flaccus;
text and all, with vignettes, tail-pieces, classical border-
ings beautifully symbolic and exact; by the exquisite
burin of Pine. Which idea the young hero-worshiper,
in spite of his finance-difficulties, had resolved to rea-
lise; and was even now busy with it, since his return
from Loo. "Such beautiful enthusiasm," say some
readers; "and in behalf of that particular demigod! "
Alas, yes; to Friedrich he was the best demigod then
going; and Friedrich never had any doubt about him.
For the rest, this heroic idea could not realise it-
* "London, 1737" (Biographie Unitersclle, xxxiv. 466).
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? CHaP. VI. ] LAST YEAR OP REINSBERG. 235
1738.
self; and we are happy to have nothing more to do
with Pine or the Henriade. Correspondences were
entered into with Pine, and some pains taken: Pine's
high prices were as nothing; but Pine was busy with
his Virgil; probably, in fact, had little stomach for the
Henriade; "could not for seven years to come enter
upon it:" so that the matter had to die away; and
nothing came of it but a small Dissertation^ or Intro-
ductory Essay, which the Prince had got ready, --
which is still to be found printed in Voltaire's Works*
and in Friedrich's, if any body now cared much to
read it. Preuss says it was finished, "the 10th August
1739;" and that minute fact in Chronology, with the
above tale of Hero-worship hanging to it, will suffice
my readers and me.
But there is another literary project on hand, which
did take effect; -- much worthy of mention, this year;
the whole world having risen into such a Chorus of
Te-Deum at sight of it next year. In this year falls,
what at any rate was a great event to Friedrich, as
literary man, the printing of his first Book, -- assiduous
writing of it with an eye to print. The Book is that
"celebrated Anti-Macchiavel" ever-praiseworthy Refuta-
tion of Macchiavel's Prince; concerning which there are
such immensities of Voltaire-Correspondence, now be-
come, like the Book itself, inane to all readers. This
was the chosen soul's-employment of Friedrich, the
flower of life to him, at Reinsberg, through the year * (Enure*, xiii. 893-402.
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? AT REINSBERG.
[book X.
1739.
1739. It did not actually get to press till Spring 1740;
nor actually come out till Autumn, -- by which time
a great change had occurred in Friedrich's title and
circumstances: -- but we may as well say here what
little is to be said of it for modern readers.
"The Crown-Prince, reading this bad Book of Mac-
"chiavel's, years ago, had been struck, as all honest souls,
"especially governors or apprentices to governing, must be, if
"they thought of reading such a thing, with its badness, its
"falsity, detestability; and came by degrees, obliquely fishing
"out Voltaire's opinion as he went along, on the notion of
"refuting Macchiavel; and did refute him, the best he could.
"Set down, namely, his own earnest contradiction to such un-
"grounded noxious doctrines; elaborating the same more and
"more into clear logical utterance, till they swelled into a
"little Volume; which, so excellent was it, so important to
"mankind, Voltaire and friends were clear for publishing.
"Published accordingly it was; goes through the press next
"Summer (1740), under Voltaire's anxious superintendence:
"for the Prince has at length consented; and Voltaire hands
"the Manuscript, with mystery yet with hints, to a Dutch
"Bookseller, one Van Duren at the Hague, who is eager
"enough to print such an article. * Voltaire himself, -- such
* Here, gathered from Friedrich'sLetters to^oltalre, is the Chronology
of the little Enterprise:
1738, March 21, June 17, "Macchiavel a baneful man," thinks Friedrich,
"Ought to be refuted by somebody? " thinks he (date not known).
. 1739, March 22, Friedrich thinks of doing it himself. Has done it, December 4; -- "a Book which ought to be printed," say Voltaire and the
literary visitors.
1740, ApriliS, Book given up to Voltaire for printing. Printing finished;
Book appears, "end of Septemberwhen a great chauge had occurred in
Friedrich's title and position.
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? CHAP. VI. ] LAST YEAR OF EEINSBERG. 237
1739.
"his magnanimous friendship, especially if one have Dutch
"Lawsuits, or business of one's own, in those parts, -- takes
"charge of correcting; lodges himself in the 'Old Court'
"(Prussian Mansion, called Vieille Cour, at the Hague, where
"'Luiscius,' figuratively speaking, may 'get an alms' from
"us); and therefrom corrects, alters; corresponds with the
"Prince and Van Duren, at a great rate. Keeps correcting,
"altering, till Van Duren thinks he is spoiling it for sale; --
"and privately determines to preserve the original Manuscript,
"and have an edition of that, with only such corrections as
"seem good to Van Duren. A treasonous step on this mule of
"a Bookseller's part, thinks Voltaire; but mulishly persisted
"in by the man. Endless correspondence, to right and left,
"ensues; intolerably wearisome to every reader. And, in
"fine, there came out, in Autumn next," -- the Crown-Prince
no longer a Crown-Prince by that time, but shining con-
spicuous under Higher Title, -- "not one Anli-Macchiavel only,
"but a couple or a trio of Anti-Macchiavels; as printed' at the
"'Hague;' as reprinted 'at London' or elsewhere; the con-
"fused Bibliography of which has nowfallen very insignificant.
"First there was the Voltaire Text, Authorised Edition, 'end
"'of September 1740;' then came, in few weeks, the Van
"Duren one; then, probably, a third, combining the two, the
"variations given as footnotes: -- in short, I know not how
"many editions, translations, printings and reprintings; all
"the world being much taken up with such a message from the
"upper regions, and eager to read it in any form.
"As to Friedrich himself, who of course says nothing of
"the Anti-Macchiavel in public, he privately, to Voltaire,
"disowns all these editions; and intends to give a new one of his
"own, which shall be the right article; but never did it, having
'' far other work cut out for him in the months that came. But
"how zealous the world's humour was in that matter, no
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? 238 AT REINSBEKG. [book X.
1739.
"modern reader can conceive to himself. In the frightful
"Compilation called Helden-GescldcMe, which we sometimes
"'cite, there are, excerpted from the then 'Bibliotheques'
"(Nouvelle Bibliotheque and another; shining Periodicals of
"the time, now gone quite dead), two 'reviews' of the Anti-
"Macchiavel, which fill modern readers with amazement: such
"a Dotnine dimittas chanted over such an article! -- These
"details, in any other than the Biographical point of view, are
"now infinitely unimportant. "
Truly, yes! The Crown-Prince's Anti-Macchiavel,
final correct edition (in two forms, Voltaire's as correct-
ed, and the Prince's own as written), stands now in
clear type;* and, after all that jumble of printing and
counter-printing, we can any of us read it in a few
hours; but, alas, almost none of us with the least
interest, or, as it were, with any profit whatever. So
different is present tense from past, in all things, espe-
cially in things like these! It is six score years since
the Anti-Macchiavel appeared. The spectacle of one
who was himself a King (for the mysterious fact was
well known to Van Duren and everybody) stepping
forth to say, with conviction, That Kingship was not a
thing of attorney mendacity, to be done under the
patronage of Beelzebub, but of human veracity, to be
set about under quite Other patronage; and that, in
fact, a King was the "born servant of his People"
(domestique Friedrich once calls it), rather than other-
wise: this, naturally enough, rose upon the then popu-
lations, unused to such language, like the dawn of a
* rreuss: (Euvres de Frcdinc, viii. 61-1G3.
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? CHaP. VI. ] LAST YEAR OF REINSBERG. 239
1739.
new day; and was welcomed with such applauses as are
now incredible, after all that has come and gone! Alas,
in these six score years, it has been found so easy to
profess and speak, even with sincerity. The actual
Hero-Kings were long used to be silent; and the Sham-
Hero kind grow only the more desperate for us, the
more they speak and profess! -- This Anti-Macchiavel
of Friedrich's is a clear distinct Treatise; confutes, or
at least heartily contradicts, paragraph by paragraph,
the incredible sophistries of Macchiavel. Nay it leaves
us, if we sufficiently force our attention, with the com-
fortable sense that his Royal Highness is speaking with
conviction, and honestly from the heart, in the affair:
but that is all the conquest we get of it, in these days.
Treatise fallen more extinct to existing mankind it
would not be easy to name.
Perhaps indeed mankind is getting weary of the
question altogether. Macchiavel himself one now reads
only by compulsion. "What is the use of arguing with
anybody that can believe in Macchiavel? " asks man-
kind, or might well ask; and, except for Editorial pur-
poses, eschews any Anti-Macchiavel; impatient to be rid
of bane and antidote both. Truly the world has had a
pother with this little Nicolo Macchiavelli and his per-
verse little Book: -- pity almost that a Friedrich Wil-
helm, taking his rounds at that point of time, had not
had the "refuting" of him; Friedrich Wilhelm's method
would have been briefer than Friedrich's! But let us
hope the thing is now, practically, about completed.
And as to the other question, "Was the Signor Nicolo
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? 240
[book X. 1739.
AT REINSBERG.
serious in this perverse little Book; or did he only do
it ironically, with a serious inverse purpose? " we will
leave that to be decided, any time convenient, by people
who are much at leisure in the world! --
The printing of the Anti-Macchiavel was not intrin-
sically momentous in Friedrich's history; yet it might
as well have been dispensed with. He had here drawn
a fine program, and needlessly placarded it for the
street populations: and afterwards there rose, as could
not fail on their part, comparison between program and
performance; scornful cry, chiefly from men of weak
judgment, "Is this King an Anti-Macchiavel, then?
Pfui! " Of which, -- though Voltaire's voice, too, was
heard in it, in angry moments, -- we shall say nothing:
the reader, looking for himself, will judge by and by.
And herewith enough of the Anti-Macchiavel. Compo-
sition of Anti-Macchiavel and speculation of the Pine
Henriade lasted, both of them, all through this Year
1739, and farther: from these two items, not to men-
tion any other, readers can figure sufficiently how lite-
rary a year it was.
Friedrich in Preussen again; at the Stud of Trakehnen.
A tragically great Event coming on.
In July this year the Crown-Prince went with Papa
on the Prussian Review-journey. * Such attendance on
Review-journeys, a mark of his being well with Papa,
is now becoming usual; they are agreeable excursions,
* "Set out, 7th July" ((Enures, xxvii. part 1st, 67 n).
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? CHaP. VI. ] JOURNEY TO PEEUSSEN. 241
27th July 1739.
and cannot but be instructive as well. On this occa-
sion, things went beautifully with him. Out in those
grassy Countries, in the bright Summer, once more he
had an unusually fine time; -- and two very special
pleasures befel him. First was, a sight of the Emi-
grants, our Salzburgers and other, in their flourishing
condition, over in Lithuania yonder. Delightful to see
how the waste is blossoming up again; busy men, with
their industries, their steady pious husbandries, making
all things green and fruitful: horse-droves, cattle-herds,
waving cornfields; -- a very "Schmalzgrube (Butter-pit)"
of those Northern parts, as it is since called. * The
Crown-Prince's own words on this matter we will give;
they are in a Letter of his to Voltaire, perhaps already
known to some readers; -- and we can observe he
writes rather copiously from those localities at present,
and in a cheerful humour with everybody.
"Insterhurg, 27Ih July 1739 (Crown-Prince to Voltaire). * *
"Prussian Lithuania is a Country a hundred and twenty miles
"long, by from sixty to forty broad;** it was ravaged by
"Pestilence at the beginning of this Century; and they say
"Three-hundred Thousand people died of disease and famine. "
Ravaged by Pestilence and the neglect of King Friedrich I. ;
till my Father, once his hands were free, made personal survey
of it, and took it up, in earnest.
"Since that time," say twenty years ago, "thereis no ex-
"pense that the King has been afraid of, in order to succeed in
"his salutary views. He made, in the first place, regulations
"full of wisdom; he rebuilt wherever the Pestilence had
* BiiscMng: Erdbeschreibung, ii. 1049.
** "Miles English," we always mean, unless . fee.
Cerlyle, Frederic the Great. V. 16
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? 242 AT REINSBERG. [BooK X.
S7th July 1739.
"desolated: thousands of families, from the ends of Europe,"
Seventeen Thousand Salzburgers for the last item, "were
"conducted hither; the Country repeopled itself; trade began
"to flourish again; -- and now, in these fertile regions,
"abundance reigns more than it ever did.
"There are abovehalf amillionof inhabitants in Lithuania;
"there are more towns than there ever were, more flocks than
"formerly, more wealth and more productiveness than in any
"other part of Germany. And all this that I tell you of is due
"to the King alone; who not only gave the orders, but
"superintended the execution of them; it was he that devised
"the plans, and himself got them carried to fulfilment; and
"spared neither care nor pains, nor immense expenditures, nor
"promises nor recompenses, to secure happiness and life to
"this half million of thinking beings, who owe to him alone
"that they have possessions and felicity in the world.
"I hope this detail does not weary you. I depend on your
"humanity extending itself to your Lithuanian brethren, as
"well as to your French, English, German, or other, -- all the
"more as, to my great astonishment, I passed through villages
"where you hear nothing spoken but French. -- I have found
"something so heroic, in the generous and laborious way in
"which the King addressed himself to making this desert
"flourish with inhabitants and happy industries and fruits,
"that it seemed to me you would feel the same sentiments in
"learning the circumstances of such a reestablishment.
"I daily expect news of you from Enghien" (in those Dutch-
Lawsuit Countries). * * "The divine Emilie; * * the Duke"
(D'Aremberg, Austrian Soldier, of convivial turn,--remote
Welsh-Uncle to a certain little Prince de Ligne, now spinning
tops in those parts;* not otherwise interesting), "whom
* Born 23d May 1735, this latter little Prince; lasted till 18th Dec. 1814
(. "danse, mais U tie marche po>>").
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? CHaP. VI. ] JOURNEY TO PREUSSEN. 243
Aug.
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? 226 AT REINSBERG. [boOKI.
15th aug. 1738.
snuffled he; with brow blushing slate-colour, I should
think, and gray eyes much alight . And ever since,
for ten months or so, Seckendorf, sealed up in the
Cabbage-market, has been fencing for life with the
Hofkriegsrath; who want satisfaction upon "eighty-six"
different "points;" and make no end of chicaning to
one's clear answers. And the Jesuits preach, too: "A
Heretic, born enemy of Christ and his Kaiser; what is
the use of questioning! " And the Heathen rage, and
all men gnash their teeth, in this uncomfortable
manner.
Answering done, there comes no verdict, much less
any acquittal; the captain and twelve musketeers, three
of them with fixed bayonets in one's very bedroom,
continue. One evening, 21st July 1738, glorious news
from the seat of War, -- not till evening, as the Im-
perial Majesty was out hunting, -- enters Vienna;
blowing trumpets; shaking flags: "Grand Victory over
the Turks! " so we call some poor skirmish there has
been; and Vienna bursting all into three-times-three,
the populace get very high. Populace rush to the
Kohlmarkt; break the Seckendorf windows; intent to
massacre the Seckendorf, had not fresh military come,
who were obliged to fire and kill one or two. "The
"house captain and his twelve musketeers, of them-
"selves, did wonders; Seckendorf and all his domestics
"were in arms:" "Jami-bleu" for the last time! -- This
is while the Crown-Prince is at Wesel; sound asleep,
most likely; Loo, and the Masonic adventure, perhaps
twinkling prophetically in his dreams.
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? CHAP. V. ] VISIT AT LOO. 227
15th Aug. 1738.
At two next morning, an Official Gentleman informs
Seckendorf, That he, for his part, must awaken, and
go to Gratz. And in one hour more (3 a. m. ), the Offi-
cial Gentleman rolls off with him; drives all day; and
delivers his Prisoner at Gratz: -- "Not so much as a
"room ready there; Prisoner had to wait an hour in
"the carriage," till some summary preparation were
made. Wall-neighbours of the poor Feldmarschall, in
his Fortress here, were "a Gold-Cook (swindling Alche-
"mist), who had gone crazy; and an Irish Lieutenant,
"confined thirty-two years for some love adventure,
"likewise pretty crazy; their noises in the night-time
"much disturbed the Feldmarschall. "* One human
thing there still is in his lot, the Feldmarschall's old
GrSfinn. True old Dame, she, both in the Kohlmarkt
and at Gratz, stands by him, "imprisoned along with
him" if it must be so; ministering, comforting, as only
a true Wife can; -- and hope has not quite taken
wing.
Rough old Feldmarschall; now turned of sixty:
never made such a Campaign before, as this of '37
followed by '38! There sits he; and will not trouble
us any more during the present Kaiser's lifetime.
Friedrich Wilhelm is amazed at these sudden cantings
of Fortune's wheel, and grieves honestly as for an old
friend: even the Crown-Prince finds Seckendorf punished
unjustly; and is almost sorry for him, after all that has
come and gone.
* Seckendorfs Leben, ii. 170-277. See Schmettan, pp. 27-89.
15*
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? 228
[book X. J5th Aug. 1738.
AT REINSBERG.
The Ear of Jenkins reemerges.
We must add the following, distilled from the
English Newspapers, though it is now almost four
months after date:
"London, 1st April 1738. In the English House of Com-
"mons, much more in the English Public, there has been
"furious debating for a fortnight past: Committee of the
"whole House, examining witnesses, hearing counsel; subject,
"the Termagant of Spain, and her West-Indian procedures;
"--she, by her procedures somewhere, is always cutting out
"work for mankind! How English and other strangers, fallen
"in with in those seas, are treated by the Spaniards, readers
"have heard, nay have chanced to see; and it is a fact pain-
"fully known to all nations. Fact which England, for one
"nation, can no longer put up with. Walpole and the Official
"Persons would fain smooth the matter; but the West-India
"Interest, the City, all Mercantile and Navigation Interests
"are in dead earnest: Committee of the wholeHouse, 'presided
"by Alderman Perry,' has not ears enough to hear the im-
"mensities of evidence offered; slow Public is gradually
"kindling to some sense of it. This had gone on for two
"weeks, when -- what shall we say? -- the Ear of Jenkins
"reemerged for the second time; and produced important
"effects!
"Where Jenkins had been all this while, -- stedfastly
"navigating to and fro, stedfastly eating tough junk with a
"wetting of rum; not thinking too much of past labours, yet
"privately 'always keeping his lost Ear in cotton' (with a
"kind of ursine piety, or other dumb feeling), -- no mortal
"n<>w knows. But to all mortals it is evident he was home in
"London at this time; no doubt a noted member of Wapping
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? CHaP. v. ] VISIT AT LOO. 229
15th Aug. 1738.
"society, the much-enduring Jenkins. And witnesses,
"probably not one but many, had mentioned him to this Com'
"mittee, as a case eminently in point. Committee, as can still
"be read in its Rhadamanthine Journals, orders: lDieJovis,
'"16? Martii 1737--8, That Captain Eobert Jenkins do
'"attend this House immediately;' and then more specially,
"'17? Martii,' -- captious objections having risen in Official
"quarters, as we guess, -- 'That Captain Robert Jenkins do
'"attend upon Tuesday morning next. '* Tuesday next is
"21st March, -- 1st of April 1738 by our modern Calendar; --
"and on that day, not a doubt, Jenkins does attend; narrates
"that tremendous passage we already heard of, seven years
"ago, in the entrance of the Gulf of Florida; and produces his
"Ear wrapt in cotton; -- setting all on flame (except the
"Official persons) at sight of it. "
Official persons, as their wont is in the pressure of
debate, endeavoured to deny, to insinuate in their vile
Newspapers, That Jenkins lost his Ear nearer home
and not for nothing; as one still reads in the History
Books. ** Sheer calumnies, we now find. Jenkins's
account was doubtless abundantly emphatic; but there
is no ground to question the substantial truth of him
and it . And so, after seven years of unnoticeable
burning upon the thick skin of the English Public, the
case of Jenkins accidentally burns through, and sets
England bellowing; such a smart is there of it, -- not
to be soothed by Official wet-cloths; but getting worse
and worse, for the nineteen months ensuing. And in
short -- But we will not anticipate! ?
* Commons Journals, xziii. (In die bug).
** Com, Tindal (xx. 872), &c.
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? 230 AT REINSBERG. [booKX.
1739.
CHAPTEK VI.
LAST YEAR OF REINSBERG; JOURNEY TO PREUSSEN.
The Idyllium of Reinsberg, -- of which, except in
the way of sketchy suggestion, there can no history be
given, -- lasted less than four years; and is now
coming to an end, unexpectedly soon. A pleasant
Arcadian Summer in one's life; -- though it has not
wanted its occasional discords, flaws of ill weather in
the general sunshine. Papa, always in uncertain health
of late, is getting heavier of foot and of heart under
his heavy burdens; and sometimes falls abstruse enough,
liable to bewilderments from bad people and events:
not much worth noticing here. * But the Crown-Prince
has learned to deal with all this; all this is of transient
nature; and a bright long future seems to lie ahead at
Reinsberg; -- brightened especially by the Literary
Element; which, in this year 1739, is brisker than it
had ever been. Distinguished Visitors, of a literary
turn, look in at Reinsberg; the Voltaire Correspondence
is very lively; on Friedrich's part there is copious pro-
duction, various enterprise, in the form of prose and
verse; thoughts even of going to press with some of it:
in short, the Literary Interest rises very prominent at
Reinsberg in 1739. Biography is apt to forget the
* Be(C) PBllnitz, ii. 509-615; Friedrich's Letter to Wilhelmina ("Berlin,
S. )th January 1739:" in (Euvre; sxvii. part 1st, pp. 60-61); &o. fta.
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? CHaP. VI. ] LAST YEAR OF REINSBERG. 231
1739.
Literature there (having her reasons); but must at last
take some notice of it, among the phenomena of the
year.
To the young Prince himself, "courting tranquillity,"
as his door-lintel intimated,* and forbidden to be ac-
tive except within limits, this of Literature was all along
the great light of existence at Reinsberg; the supple-
ment to all other employments or wants of employment
there. To Friedrich himself, in those old days, a great
and supreme interest; while again, to the modern Bio-
grapher of him, it has become dark and vacant; a thing
to be shunned, not sought. So that the fact as it stood
with Friedrich differs far from any description that can
be given of the fact. Alas, we have said already, and
the constant truth is, Friedrich's literatures, his distin-
guished literary visitors and enterprises, which were
once brand-new and brilliant, have grown old as a
garment, and are a sorrow rather than otherwise to
existing mankind! Conscientious readers, who would
represent to themselves the vanished scene at Reins-
berg, in this point more especially, must make an
effort
.
As biographical documents, these Poetries and Proses
of the young man give a very pretty testimony of him;
but are not of value otherwise. In fact, they promise,
if we look well into them, That here is probably a
practical faculty and intellect of the highest kind; which
again, on the speculative, especially on the poetical
side, will never be considerable, nor has even tried to
* "Frcderico tranquiUitalem colenti" (Infra, p. 256).
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? 232 AT REHJSBERG. [book X.
1739.
be so. This young soul does not deal in meditation at
all, and his tendencies are the reverse of sentimental.
Here is no introspection, morbid or other, no pathos or complaint, no melodious informing of the public what dreadful emotions you labour under: here, in rapid
prompt form, indicating that it is truth and not fable,
are generous aspirations for the world and yourself,
generous pride, disdain of the ignoble, of the dark,
mendacious; -- here, in short, is a swift-handed, valiant,
sfeeZ-bright kind of soul; very likely for a King's, if
other things answer, and not likely for a Poet's. No
doubt he could have made something of Literature too;
could have written Books, and left some stamp of a
veracious, more or less victorious intellect, in that
strange province too. But then he must have applied
himself to it, as he did to reigning: done in the cursory
style, we see what it has come to.
It is certain, Friedrich's reputation suffers, at this
day, from his writing. From his not having written
nothing, he stands lower with the world. Which seems
hard measure; -- though perhaps it is the law of the
case, after all. "Nobody in these days," says my poor
Friend, "has the least notion of the sinful waste there
"is in talk, whether by pen or tongue. Better probably
"that King Friedrich had written no Verses; nay I
"know not that David's Psalms did David's Kingship
"any good! " Which may be truer than it seems. Fine
aspirations, generous convictions, purposes, -- they are
thought very fine: but it is good, on various accounts,
to keep them rather silent; strictly unvocal, except on
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? CHaP. VI. ] LAST YEAR OP REINSBERG. 233
1739. /
call of real business; so dangerous are they for becom-
ing conscious of themselves! Most things do not ripen
at all except underground. And it is a sad but sure
truth, that every time you speak of a fine purpose,
especially if with eloquence and to the admiration of
bystanders, there is the less chance of your ever making
a fact of it in your poor life. -- If Reinsberg, and its
vacancy of great employment, was the cause of Fried-
rich's verse-writing, we will not praise Reinsberg on
that head! But the truth is, Friedrich's verses came
from him with uncommon fluency; and were not a
deep matter, but a shallow one, in any sense. Not
much more to him than speaking with a will; than
fantasying on the flute in an animated strain. Ever
and anon through his life, on small hint from without
or on great, there was found a certain leakage of verses,
which he was prompt to utter; -- and the case at
Eeinsberg, or afterwards, is not so serious as we might
imagine.
Pine's Horace; and the Anti-Macchiavel.
In late months Friedrich had conceived one notable
project; which demands a word in this place. Did mo-
dern readers ever hear of "John Pine, the celebrated
English Engraver? " John Pine, a man of good scholar-
ship, good skill with his burin, did "Tapestries of the
House of Lords," and other things of a celebrated
nature, famous at home and abroad: but his peculiar
feat, which had commended him at Reinsberg, was an
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? 234
[book X.
AT REINSBEKO.
17S9.
Edition of Horace: exquisite old Flaccus brought to
perfection, as it were; all done with vignettes, classical
borderings, symbolic marginal ornaments, in fine taste
and accuracy, the Text itself engraved; all by the ex-
quisite burin of Pine.
* This Edition had come out
last year, famous over the world; and was by and by,
as rumour bore, to be followed by a Virgil done in the
like exquisite manner.
The Pine Horace, part of the Pine Virgil too, still
exist in the libraries of the curious; and are doubtless
known to the proper parties, though much forgotten by
others of us. To Friedrich, scanning the Pine pheno-
menon with interest then brand-new, it seemed an ad-
mirable tribute to classical genius; and the idea occurred
to him, "Is not there, by Heaven's blessing, a living
genius, classical like those antique Romans, and worthy
of a like tribute? " Friedrich's idea was, That Voltaire
being clearly the supreme of Poets, the Henriade, his
supreme of Poems, ought to be engraved like Flaccus;
text and all, with vignettes, tail-pieces, classical border-
ings beautifully symbolic and exact; by the exquisite
burin of Pine. Which idea the young hero-worshiper,
in spite of his finance-difficulties, had resolved to rea-
lise; and was even now busy with it, since his return
from Loo. "Such beautiful enthusiasm," say some
readers; "and in behalf of that particular demigod! "
Alas, yes; to Friedrich he was the best demigod then
going; and Friedrich never had any doubt about him.
For the rest, this heroic idea could not realise it-
* "London, 1737" (Biographie Unitersclle, xxxiv. 466).
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? CHaP. VI. ] LAST YEAR OP REINSBERG. 235
1738.
self; and we are happy to have nothing more to do
with Pine or the Henriade. Correspondences were
entered into with Pine, and some pains taken: Pine's
high prices were as nothing; but Pine was busy with
his Virgil; probably, in fact, had little stomach for the
Henriade; "could not for seven years to come enter
upon it:" so that the matter had to die away; and
nothing came of it but a small Dissertation^ or Intro-
ductory Essay, which the Prince had got ready, --
which is still to be found printed in Voltaire's Works*
and in Friedrich's, if any body now cared much to
read it. Preuss says it was finished, "the 10th August
1739;" and that minute fact in Chronology, with the
above tale of Hero-worship hanging to it, will suffice
my readers and me.
But there is another literary project on hand, which
did take effect; -- much worthy of mention, this year;
the whole world having risen into such a Chorus of
Te-Deum at sight of it next year. In this year falls,
what at any rate was a great event to Friedrich, as
literary man, the printing of his first Book, -- assiduous
writing of it with an eye to print. The Book is that
"celebrated Anti-Macchiavel" ever-praiseworthy Refuta-
tion of Macchiavel's Prince; concerning which there are
such immensities of Voltaire-Correspondence, now be-
come, like the Book itself, inane to all readers. This
was the chosen soul's-employment of Friedrich, the
flower of life to him, at Reinsberg, through the year * (Enure*, xiii. 893-402.
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? AT REINSBERG.
[book X.
1739.
1739. It did not actually get to press till Spring 1740;
nor actually come out till Autumn, -- by which time
a great change had occurred in Friedrich's title and
circumstances: -- but we may as well say here what
little is to be said of it for modern readers.
"The Crown-Prince, reading this bad Book of Mac-
"chiavel's, years ago, had been struck, as all honest souls,
"especially governors or apprentices to governing, must be, if
"they thought of reading such a thing, with its badness, its
"falsity, detestability; and came by degrees, obliquely fishing
"out Voltaire's opinion as he went along, on the notion of
"refuting Macchiavel; and did refute him, the best he could.
"Set down, namely, his own earnest contradiction to such un-
"grounded noxious doctrines; elaborating the same more and
"more into clear logical utterance, till they swelled into a
"little Volume; which, so excellent was it, so important to
"mankind, Voltaire and friends were clear for publishing.
"Published accordingly it was; goes through the press next
"Summer (1740), under Voltaire's anxious superintendence:
"for the Prince has at length consented; and Voltaire hands
"the Manuscript, with mystery yet with hints, to a Dutch
"Bookseller, one Van Duren at the Hague, who is eager
"enough to print such an article. * Voltaire himself, -- such
* Here, gathered from Friedrich'sLetters to^oltalre, is the Chronology
of the little Enterprise:
1738, March 21, June 17, "Macchiavel a baneful man," thinks Friedrich,
"Ought to be refuted by somebody? " thinks he (date not known).
. 1739, March 22, Friedrich thinks of doing it himself. Has done it, December 4; -- "a Book which ought to be printed," say Voltaire and the
literary visitors.
1740, ApriliS, Book given up to Voltaire for printing. Printing finished;
Book appears, "end of Septemberwhen a great chauge had occurred in
Friedrich's title and position.
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? CHAP. VI. ] LAST YEAR OF EEINSBERG. 237
1739.
"his magnanimous friendship, especially if one have Dutch
"Lawsuits, or business of one's own, in those parts, -- takes
"charge of correcting; lodges himself in the 'Old Court'
"(Prussian Mansion, called Vieille Cour, at the Hague, where
"'Luiscius,' figuratively speaking, may 'get an alms' from
"us); and therefrom corrects, alters; corresponds with the
"Prince and Van Duren, at a great rate. Keeps correcting,
"altering, till Van Duren thinks he is spoiling it for sale; --
"and privately determines to preserve the original Manuscript,
"and have an edition of that, with only such corrections as
"seem good to Van Duren. A treasonous step on this mule of
"a Bookseller's part, thinks Voltaire; but mulishly persisted
"in by the man. Endless correspondence, to right and left,
"ensues; intolerably wearisome to every reader. And, in
"fine, there came out, in Autumn next," -- the Crown-Prince
no longer a Crown-Prince by that time, but shining con-
spicuous under Higher Title, -- "not one Anli-Macchiavel only,
"but a couple or a trio of Anti-Macchiavels; as printed' at the
"'Hague;' as reprinted 'at London' or elsewhere; the con-
"fused Bibliography of which has nowfallen very insignificant.
"First there was the Voltaire Text, Authorised Edition, 'end
"'of September 1740;' then came, in few weeks, the Van
"Duren one; then, probably, a third, combining the two, the
"variations given as footnotes: -- in short, I know not how
"many editions, translations, printings and reprintings; all
"the world being much taken up with such a message from the
"upper regions, and eager to read it in any form.
"As to Friedrich himself, who of course says nothing of
"the Anti-Macchiavel in public, he privately, to Voltaire,
"disowns all these editions; and intends to give a new one of his
"own, which shall be the right article; but never did it, having
'' far other work cut out for him in the months that came. But
"how zealous the world's humour was in that matter, no
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? 238 AT REINSBEKG. [book X.
1739.
"modern reader can conceive to himself. In the frightful
"Compilation called Helden-GescldcMe, which we sometimes
"'cite, there are, excerpted from the then 'Bibliotheques'
"(Nouvelle Bibliotheque and another; shining Periodicals of
"the time, now gone quite dead), two 'reviews' of the Anti-
"Macchiavel, which fill modern readers with amazement: such
"a Dotnine dimittas chanted over such an article! -- These
"details, in any other than the Biographical point of view, are
"now infinitely unimportant. "
Truly, yes! The Crown-Prince's Anti-Macchiavel,
final correct edition (in two forms, Voltaire's as correct-
ed, and the Prince's own as written), stands now in
clear type;* and, after all that jumble of printing and
counter-printing, we can any of us read it in a few
hours; but, alas, almost none of us with the least
interest, or, as it were, with any profit whatever. So
different is present tense from past, in all things, espe-
cially in things like these! It is six score years since
the Anti-Macchiavel appeared. The spectacle of one
who was himself a King (for the mysterious fact was
well known to Van Duren and everybody) stepping
forth to say, with conviction, That Kingship was not a
thing of attorney mendacity, to be done under the
patronage of Beelzebub, but of human veracity, to be
set about under quite Other patronage; and that, in
fact, a King was the "born servant of his People"
(domestique Friedrich once calls it), rather than other-
wise: this, naturally enough, rose upon the then popu-
lations, unused to such language, like the dawn of a
* rreuss: (Euvres de Frcdinc, viii. 61-1G3.
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? CHaP. VI. ] LAST YEAR OF REINSBERG. 239
1739.
new day; and was welcomed with such applauses as are
now incredible, after all that has come and gone! Alas,
in these six score years, it has been found so easy to
profess and speak, even with sincerity. The actual
Hero-Kings were long used to be silent; and the Sham-
Hero kind grow only the more desperate for us, the
more they speak and profess! -- This Anti-Macchiavel
of Friedrich's is a clear distinct Treatise; confutes, or
at least heartily contradicts, paragraph by paragraph,
the incredible sophistries of Macchiavel. Nay it leaves
us, if we sufficiently force our attention, with the com-
fortable sense that his Royal Highness is speaking with
conviction, and honestly from the heart, in the affair:
but that is all the conquest we get of it, in these days.
Treatise fallen more extinct to existing mankind it
would not be easy to name.
Perhaps indeed mankind is getting weary of the
question altogether. Macchiavel himself one now reads
only by compulsion. "What is the use of arguing with
anybody that can believe in Macchiavel? " asks man-
kind, or might well ask; and, except for Editorial pur-
poses, eschews any Anti-Macchiavel; impatient to be rid
of bane and antidote both. Truly the world has had a
pother with this little Nicolo Macchiavelli and his per-
verse little Book: -- pity almost that a Friedrich Wil-
helm, taking his rounds at that point of time, had not
had the "refuting" of him; Friedrich Wilhelm's method
would have been briefer than Friedrich's! But let us
hope the thing is now, practically, about completed.
And as to the other question, "Was the Signor Nicolo
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? 240
[book X. 1739.
AT REINSBERG.
serious in this perverse little Book; or did he only do
it ironically, with a serious inverse purpose? " we will
leave that to be decided, any time convenient, by people
who are much at leisure in the world! --
The printing of the Anti-Macchiavel was not intrin-
sically momentous in Friedrich's history; yet it might
as well have been dispensed with. He had here drawn
a fine program, and needlessly placarded it for the
street populations: and afterwards there rose, as could
not fail on their part, comparison between program and
performance; scornful cry, chiefly from men of weak
judgment, "Is this King an Anti-Macchiavel, then?
Pfui! " Of which, -- though Voltaire's voice, too, was
heard in it, in angry moments, -- we shall say nothing:
the reader, looking for himself, will judge by and by.
And herewith enough of the Anti-Macchiavel. Compo-
sition of Anti-Macchiavel and speculation of the Pine
Henriade lasted, both of them, all through this Year
1739, and farther: from these two items, not to men-
tion any other, readers can figure sufficiently how lite-
rary a year it was.
Friedrich in Preussen again; at the Stud of Trakehnen.
A tragically great Event coming on.
In July this year the Crown-Prince went with Papa
on the Prussian Review-journey. * Such attendance on
Review-journeys, a mark of his being well with Papa,
is now becoming usual; they are agreeable excursions,
* "Set out, 7th July" ((Enures, xxvii. part 1st, 67 n).
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? CHaP. VI. ] JOURNEY TO PEEUSSEN. 241
27th July 1739.
and cannot but be instructive as well. On this occa-
sion, things went beautifully with him. Out in those
grassy Countries, in the bright Summer, once more he
had an unusually fine time; -- and two very special
pleasures befel him. First was, a sight of the Emi-
grants, our Salzburgers and other, in their flourishing
condition, over in Lithuania yonder. Delightful to see
how the waste is blossoming up again; busy men, with
their industries, their steady pious husbandries, making
all things green and fruitful: horse-droves, cattle-herds,
waving cornfields; -- a very "Schmalzgrube (Butter-pit)"
of those Northern parts, as it is since called. * The
Crown-Prince's own words on this matter we will give;
they are in a Letter of his to Voltaire, perhaps already
known to some readers; -- and we can observe he
writes rather copiously from those localities at present,
and in a cheerful humour with everybody.
"Insterhurg, 27Ih July 1739 (Crown-Prince to Voltaire). * *
"Prussian Lithuania is a Country a hundred and twenty miles
"long, by from sixty to forty broad;** it was ravaged by
"Pestilence at the beginning of this Century; and they say
"Three-hundred Thousand people died of disease and famine. "
Ravaged by Pestilence and the neglect of King Friedrich I. ;
till my Father, once his hands were free, made personal survey
of it, and took it up, in earnest.
"Since that time," say twenty years ago, "thereis no ex-
"pense that the King has been afraid of, in order to succeed in
"his salutary views. He made, in the first place, regulations
"full of wisdom; he rebuilt wherever the Pestilence had
* BiiscMng: Erdbeschreibung, ii. 1049.
** "Miles English," we always mean, unless . fee.
Cerlyle, Frederic the Great. V. 16
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? 242 AT REINSBERG. [BooK X.
S7th July 1739.
"desolated: thousands of families, from the ends of Europe,"
Seventeen Thousand Salzburgers for the last item, "were
"conducted hither; the Country repeopled itself; trade began
"to flourish again; -- and now, in these fertile regions,
"abundance reigns more than it ever did.
"There are abovehalf amillionof inhabitants in Lithuania;
"there are more towns than there ever were, more flocks than
"formerly, more wealth and more productiveness than in any
"other part of Germany. And all this that I tell you of is due
"to the King alone; who not only gave the orders, but
"superintended the execution of them; it was he that devised
"the plans, and himself got them carried to fulfilment; and
"spared neither care nor pains, nor immense expenditures, nor
"promises nor recompenses, to secure happiness and life to
"this half million of thinking beings, who owe to him alone
"that they have possessions and felicity in the world.
"I hope this detail does not weary you. I depend on your
"humanity extending itself to your Lithuanian brethren, as
"well as to your French, English, German, or other, -- all the
"more as, to my great astonishment, I passed through villages
"where you hear nothing spoken but French. -- I have found
"something so heroic, in the generous and laborious way in
"which the King addressed himself to making this desert
"flourish with inhabitants and happy industries and fruits,
"that it seemed to me you would feel the same sentiments in
"learning the circumstances of such a reestablishment.
"I daily expect news of you from Enghien" (in those Dutch-
Lawsuit Countries). * * "The divine Emilie; * * the Duke"
(D'Aremberg, Austrian Soldier, of convivial turn,--remote
Welsh-Uncle to a certain little Prince de Ligne, now spinning
tops in those parts;* not otherwise interesting), "whom
* Born 23d May 1735, this latter little Prince; lasted till 18th Dec. 1814
(. "danse, mais U tie marche po>>").
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? CHaP. VI. ] JOURNEY TO PREUSSEN. 243
Aug.
