This may be called Epoch first, after
that grand Charlottenburg Dinner.
that grand Charlottenburg Dinner.
Thomas Carlyle
256 SHIPWRECK OP DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, [book vH.
April 1730.
Slave Keichenbach at London, when this missive
comes to hand, is busy copying scandal according to
former instructions for behoof of his Prussian Majesty,
and my Bashaw Grumkow; for example:
To the Herr Grumkow at Berlin:
Excellenz Reichenbach loquitur; -- snatched in St. Mary Axe.
London, 10th March 1730. * * "Reichenbach has told his
"Prussian Majesty today by a Courier who is to pass through
"Brussels" (Austrian Kinsky's Courier, no doubt), "what
"amours the Prince of Wales," dissolute Fred, "has on hand
"at present, with actresses and opera-girls. The King of
"Prussia will undoubtedly be astonished. The affair merits
"some attention at present," -- especially from an Excellenz
like me.
[Missive (body of important Grumkow Instructions just
read by us) comes to hand. ']
London, lith March 1730. 'Reichenbach will write by the
'first Ordinary' (so they name Post, in those days) 'all that
'Grumkow orders. Reichenbach sees well, they mean to
'play the deuce here (Jouent le diable a qualre id): butKei-
'chenbach will tell his Prussian Majesty what Grumkow
'finds fit. ' Good Excellenz Reichenbach 'flatters himself
'the King will remain firm, and not let his enemies deceive
'him. If Grumkow and Seckendorf have opportunity, they
copied, we perceive, by Villa; who transmits it to notham's Secretary at
Berlin, with great hopes from it. Letter "unsigned," adds Villa (point
signte). First was transmitted by Townshend. -- Following are transmitted
by Ac. &c. It is in that way they have got into the State-Paper Office, --
as Enclosures in the various Despatches that carried them out to Berlin to
serve as Diplomatic Ammunition there.
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? CHAP, n. ] LANGUAGE OP BIRDS. 257
April 1730.
'may tell his Prussian Majesty that the whole design of this
'Court is to render his Country a Province dependent onEng-
'land. When once the Princess-Royal of England shall be
'wedded to the Prince-Royal of Prussia, the English, by that
'means, will form such a party at Berlin, that they will alto-
'gether tie his Prussian Majesty's hands. ' A comfortable
piece of news to his Prussian Majesty in Tobacco-Parliament.
'Reichenbach will assuredly be vigilant; depend on his
'answering Grumkow always by the first post. '
Continues; -- turning his rook-bill towards Majesty
now. Same date (14th March), same time, place and
bird:
To his Prussian Majesty (from Excellenz Reichenbach).
* * * 'P. S. I had closed this Letter when a person of
'confidence came in' (the fact being, my Grumkow's Missive
of Instructions came in, or, figuratively speaking, my Grumkow himself), 'and undertook to give me in a few days a
'thorough insight into the intrigues which are concealed
'under the sending of this new Minister,' Hotham, 'to Ber-
'lin; which, and how they have been concocted, he says, it
'will astonish me to hear. Of all this I shall immediately in-
'form your Majesty in a letter of my own hand; being ever
'eager to serve your Majesty alone. '
Hotham is now fairly gone, weeks ago; concluded
to be now in Berlin, -- to the horror of both rooks.
Here is a croak from Nosti:
To the Herr Grumkow at Berlin.
London, April 1730. ** "Hotham is no such conjuror as
"they fancy in Berlin; -- singular enough, how these English
Carlyle, Frederic the Great. III. 17
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? 258 SHIPWRECK OF DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, [book vn.
April 1730.
"are given to undervalue the Germans; whilst we in Germany
"overvalue them" (avons une ide'e trop vaste, they trop petite).
'There is, for instance, Lord Chesterfield, passes here for
'a fair enough kind of man (ban homme), and is a favourite
'with the King' (not with Walpole or the Queen, if Nosti
knew it); 'but nobody thinks him such a prodigy as you all
'do in Germany,' -- which latter bit of Germanism is an un-
doubted fact; curious enough to the English, and to the Ger-
mans that now read in extinct Books.
Hotham, as we said, got to Berlin on the 2d of April.
From Berlin comes thereupon, at great length, sordid
description, by Grumkow, of that initiatory Hotham
Dinner, April Third, with fearful details of the blazing
favour Hotham is in. Which his Majesty (when Hot-
ham hands it to him, in due time) will read with pain-
ful interest; asReichenbach now does; -- but which to
us is all mere puddle, omissible in this place.
To which sad Strophe, there straightway follows
due Antistrophe, Reichenbach croaking responsive; --
and we are to note, the rooks always speak in the third
person and by ambiguous periphrasis; never once say
"I" or "You," unless forced by this Editor, for brevity's
sake, to do it. Reichenbach from his perch thus hoarsely
chants:
To the Herr Grumkow at Berlin.
London, Uth April. 'Reichenbach est coup-de-foudri, --
'is struck by lightning, -- to hear these Berlin news;' -- and
expresses, in the style of a whipt dog, his sorrows, un-
certainties and terrors, on the occasion. "Struck with
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? CIIAP. n. ] LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 259
April 1730.
"lightning. Feel myself quite ill, and not in a condition to
"write much today. It requires another head than mine to
"veer round so often (changer sisouvent de systeme). In fine,
"Nosti est au bout de son latin" (is at his wit's end, poor devil)!
"Both Majesties have spoken openly of the favourable news
"from Berlin; funds rose in consequence. New Minister"
(Walpole come to the top of the Firm, Townshend soon to
withdraw, impatient of the bottom) "is all-powerful now:
Otempora, O mores! " "I receive universal congratulations,
"and have to smile" in a ghastly manner. "The King and
"Queen despise me. I put myself in their way last Levee,
"bowing to the ground; but they did not even condescend
"to look. {Notre grandpetit-maitre,' little George, the Olym-
pian Jove of these parts, "passed on as if I had not been
"there. " 'Chesterfield, they say, is to go, in great pomp, as
"'Ambassador Extraordinary, and fetch the Princess over.
"'And'" -- Alas, in short, Once I was hap-hap-happy, but
now I'm miserable!
London, 14fAApril. "Slave Reichenbach cannot any longer
"write secret Letters to his Prussian Majesty according to the
"old strain, of your prescribing; but must standby his vacant
"Official Despatches: the scene being entirely changed, he
"also must change his manner of writing" -- poor knave.
"He will have to inform his Majesty, however, by and by,
"though it is not safe at present," --for example, -- 'That
'his Britannic Majesty is becoming from day to day more
'hated by all the world; and that the Prince of Wales is no
'longer liked by the Public, as at first; because he begins to
'give himself airs, and takes altogether the manners of his
'Britannic Majesty, that is to say of a puppy {petit-maitre);
'let my Amiable' (Grumkow) ' be aware of that' --
Yes, let him be aware of that, to his comfort, --
17*
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? 2 GO SHIPWRECK OF DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT. [bOOKvTI.
April 1730.
and still more, and all readers along with him, of what
follows:
'Reichenbach likewise with great confidence informs the
'Greatest Confidant he has in the world' (same amiable
'Grumkow), 'that he has discovered within this day or two,'
a tremendous fact, known to our readers some time ago,
'That the Prince-Royal of Prussia has given his written as-
'surances to the Queen here, Never to marry anybody in the
'world except the Princess Amelia of England, happen what
'will' (Prussian Majesty will read this with a terrible in-
terest! Much nearer to him than it is to us). 'In considera-
'tion of which Promise the Queen of England is understood,'
falsely, 'to have answered that they should, at present, ask
'only the Princess-Royal of Prussia for their Prince of
'Wales,' and let the Double-Marriage be, seemingly, as his
Prussian Majesty wishes it. 'Monsieur de Reichenbach did
'not speak of this to his Prussian Majesty; feeling it too dan-
'gerous just now. --
'Lord Townshend is still at his place in the country'
(Rainham in Norfolk): 'but it is said he will soon come to
'Town; having heard the great news that they had already
'got his Prussian Majesty by the nose. Reichenbach forgets
'if he already told Grumkow that the rumour runs, Lord
'Chesterfield, in quality of Ambassador to Berlin, is to bring
'the Princess Wilhelmina over hither:' --you did already,
poor confused wretch; unusually bewildered, and under
frightful eclipse at present.
Continues after four days:
April 18th. * * 'Lord Stratford' (to me an unknown
Lordship) 'and Heads of Opposition would like to ascertain
'what Hotham's offer to the King of Prussiais. '
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? CiUl'. H. ] LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 261
April 1730.
Truly, yes: they mean to ask in Parliament (as poor
gamblers in that Cockpit are wont), 'And why did not you
make the offer sooner, then? Friendship with his Prussian
Majesty, last year, would have saved the whole of that large
Waterspout about the Meadows ofClamei! Nay need we, a
few months ago, have spent such loads of gold subsidising
those Hessians and Danes against him? The treasures of this
Country go a strange road, Mr. Speaker! What is the use of
our industries and riches? ' Heavens, yes, what! But we con-
tinue to excerpt and interpret:
Reichenbach "has said nothing of this to his Prussian Ma-
"jesty, Reichenbach has not; too dangerous in our present
"downpressed state: -- though amazingly exact always in
"news, and attached to his Prussian Majesty as mortal seldom
"was. Need he fear their new Hotham, then? Does not fear
"Hotham, not he him, being a man so careful of truth in his
"news. Dare not, however, now send any intelligence about
"the Royal Family here; Prussian Majesty having ordered
"him not to write gossip like a spiteful woman: What is he
"to do? Instruct him, 0 my Amiable.
"Know for the rest, and be aware of it, 0 Amiable, that
"Queen Caroline here is of opinion, The Amiable Grumkow
"should be conciliated; and that Queen Sophie and Hotham
"are understood to have been trying it. Do not abandon me,
"O Amiable; nay I know you will not, you and Seckendorf,
"never, though I am a poor man.
"Have found out a curious story, histoire fort curieux,--
"about one of Prince Fred's amourettes. " Story which this
Editor, in the name of the whole human species, will totally
suppress, and sweep into the cesspol, to herald Reichenbach
thither. Except only that this corollary by the Duchess of
Kendal may be appended to the thing:
"Duchess of Kendal,"--Hop-pole Emerila, now gone to
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? 262 SHIPWRECK OP DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, [book TO.
April 1730.
devotion, whom we know, piously turns up her eyes at such
doings, -- "thinks the Princess Wilhelmina will have a bad
"life of it with Fred, and that she 'will need the wisdom of
'"Solomon to get on here. ' Not a good bargain, this Prince
"Fred and his Sister. A dissolute fellow he, not liked by the
"Public" (I should hope). 'Then as to Princess Amelia,
"'she, who was always haughty, begins to give herself airs
"' upon the Prince-Royal of Prussia; she is as ill-tempered as
"'her Father, and still more given to backbiting (plus rail-
"' leuse), and will greatly displease the Potsdam Majesty. '"
These are cheering thoughts. "But what is to become of
"Nosti? Faithful to his Grumkow, to his Seckendorf--to
"his pair of sheep-stealers, poor dog. But if trouble rise; --
"0 at least do not hang me, ye incomparable pair! " --
The Hotham Despatches.
Slave Nosti's terrors, could he see behind the
scenes, are without foundation! The tremendous Hotham.
Negotiation, all ablaze at that Charlottenburg Dinner,
is sunk low enough into the smoking state, threatening
to go out altogether. Smoke there may still be, per-
ceptible vestiges of smoke; which indeed, for a long
time, fitfully continued: but, at the time while Nosti,
quaking in every joint of him, writes these terrors,
Hotham perceives that his errand is vain; that properly
there has as good as extinction supervened. April 3d
was the flame-point; which lasted in its brightness only
for a few days or hours. April is not gone, or half
gone, when flaming has quite ceased, and the use of
bellows, never so judicious, is becoming desperate: and
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? CHAP. II. ] EXCELLENCY HOTHAM PROVES UNAVAILING. 263
mil April 1730.
long before the end of May, no red is to be seen in
the affair at all, and the very bellows are laid down.
Here are the epochs; riddled out of such a mass of
extinct rubbish as human nature seldom had to deal
with; -- here are certain Extracts, in a greatly con-
densed state, from the authentic voluminous Hotham
Despatches and Responses; -- which may conveniently
interrupt the Nosti Babblement at this point.
To my Lord Townshend at London:
Excellency Hotham loquitur (in a greatly condensed form).
Berlin, 12th April 1730. ** "Of one or two noteworthy
"points I have to apprise your Lordship. So soon as his Ma-
"jesty was sober, he found that he had gone too far at that
"grand Dinner of Monday 3d; and was in very bad humour
"in consequence. Crown-Prince has written from Potsdam
"to his Sister, 'No doubt I am left here lest the English
"' wind get at me (de peur que le vent anglais ne me touchat). '
"Saw King at Parade, who was a little vague; 'is giving
"'matters his consideration. ' Majesty has said toBorck and
"Knyphausen, 'If they want the Double-Marriage, and to
'"detach me from the Kaiser, let them propose something
"'about Jttlich and Berg. ' Sits the wind in that quarter?
"King has said since, tooneMarschall, a Private-Secretary
"who is in our interest:'I hate my Son, and my Son hates me:
'"we are best asunder; -- let them make him Stalthalter (Vice-
"'regent) of Hanover, with his Princess! ' Commission might
"bemade out in the Princess Amelia's name; proper con-
"ditions fixed, and so on: -- Knyphausen suggests it could be
"done. Knyphausen is true to us: but he stands alone" (not
alone, but cannot much help); "does not even stir in the
"Nosti or St. Mary Axe Affair as yet. "
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? 264 SHIPWRECK OP DOUBLE-MAREIAGE PROJECT, [book TO.
27th April 1730.
Prince Friedrich to be Statthalter in Hanover with
his English Princess? That would save the expense
of an Establishment for him at home. That has been
suggested by the Knyphausen or English party: and
no doubt it looked flattering to his Prussian Majesty
for moments.
This may be called Epoch first, after
that grand Charlottenburg Dinner.
Then as to the Nosti Affair, in which Knyphausen
"does not stir as yet," -- the fact is, it was only put
into Rnyphausen's hands the day before yesterday, as
we soon discover; and Knyphausen is not so sure about
it as some are! That Hotham Despatch is of Wednesday
12th April. And not till yesterday could Guy Dickens
report performance of the other important thing. Cap-
tain Guy Dickens, a brisk handy military man, Secre-
tary to Dubourgay this good while past, "Has duly
"received from Head-quarters the successive Nosti-
"Grumkow Documents, caught up in St. Mary Axe; has
"now delivered them to Knyphausen, to be laid before
"his Prussian Majesty in a good hour; and would fain
"(Tuesday April 11th) hope some result from this step. "
Not for almost a month does Hotham himself say any-
thing of it to the Prussian Majesty, good hour for
Knyphausen not having come. But now, in regard to
that Hanover Statthaltership, hear Townshend, -- con-
densed, but not nearly so much so, my Lord being
a succinct man who sticks always creditably to the point:
To (he Excellency Hotham at Berlin (from Lord Townshend).
London, 21th April. "Yes, you shall have the Hanover
"Vice-regency. We will set-up the Crown-Prince Friedrich
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? CHAP. II. ] EXCELLENCY HOTHAM PROVES UNA VAILING. 265
18th April 1K0.
"in Hanover as desired; but will give the Commission to our
"own Princess, that beingmore convenientfor several reasons:
"Crown-Prince, further-more, must promise to come over to
"England when we require him; item may repay us our ex-
penses hereafter. As to Marriage Portions, we will give
"none with our Princess nor ask any with theirs. Both mar-
"riages or none. " And so enough.
Alas, nothing came of this; Prussian Majesty, in
spite of thrift, perceiving that for several reasons, it
would not do. Meanwhile, Grumkow, we learn from
a secret source,* has been considerably courted by
Hotham and her Prussian Majesty; Queen Caroline
having signified from England, That they ought to
gain that knave, -- what price did he charge for him-
self? But this also proves quite unavailing; never
came to pricing. And so, -- hear Hotham once more:
To Lord Townshend at London (from Excellency Hotham).
Berlin, 18th April. ** "Grumkow is a thorn in my side:
"one would like to do him some service in return. 'Cannot
'"you stop an Original Letter of his'" (we have only de-
ciphered Copies as yet) to that Reichenbach or Nosti, 'strong
enough to break his back? ' -- They will try. Hotham con-
tinues in next Despatch:
Berlin, 22d April. "Dined with the King again; Crown-
"Prince was present: dreadfully dejected, -- 'at which one
'"cannot help being moved; there is something so engaging
"' in the Prince, and everybody says so much good of him. '"
Hear Hotham! Who again, three days after, says of our
Fritz: 'H I am not much mistaken, this young Prince will
* Kotti, suprh (18;li April), p. 261; infrk, p. 269.
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? 266 SHIPWRECK OF DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, [book vH.
18th April 1730.
'one day make a very considerable figure. ' "Wish we could
"manage the Marriage; but this Grumkow, this" -- Cannot
they contrive to send an Original strong enough?
Alas, from the same secret source we learn, within
a week, that Grumkow's back is very strong; the To-
bacco-Parliament in full blast again, and Seckendorf's
Couriers galloping to Vienna with the best news. Nay
his Majesty looks expressly "sour upon Hotham," or
does not look at all; will not even speak when he sees
him; -- for a reason we shall hear. * Can it be thought
that any liberality in use of the bellows or other fire-
implements will now avail with his Majesty? --
Second and last Peep into the Nosti-Grumkow Corre-
spondence caught up in St. Mary Axe.
But at this point let our Two Rooks recommence a
little: Nosti, on the 18th, we left quaking in every
joint of him; -- and good news was almost at the
door, had afflicted Nosti known it. Grumkow's strain
(suppressed by us here), all this while, is in general,
almost ever since the blaze of that Hotham Dinner went
off into repentant headache: "Pshaw, don't fear! " Nay
after a fortnight or so, it is again: "Steady! we are all
right! " Tobacco-Parliament and the Royal Imagination
making such progress. This is still but the third week
since that grand Dinner at Charlottenburg:
* Nosti, infra, p. 268 A 269.
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? CHAP. II. ] EXCELLENCY HOTHAM PROVES UNAVAILING. 267
Md April 1730.
To the Excellenz Reichenbach at London (from Grumkow).
Berlin, 22dApril. 'King wants to get rid of the Princess'
Wilhelmina, 'who is grown lean, ugly, with pimples on her
'face (qui est devenue maigre, laide, couperosee,'*--dog: will
nobody horsewhip that lie out of him! ) -- 'judge what a treat
'that will be to a Prince of Wales, who has his amourettes! '
All is right, Nosti, is it not?
Berlin, April. "King declared to Seckendorf yester-
"day again, He might write to the Kaiser, That while he
"lived, nothing should ever part his Majesty from the Kaiser
"and his Cause; that the French dare not attack Luxem-
"bourg, as is threatened; and if they do --! Upon which
"Seckendorf despatched a Courier to Vienna.
"As to Hotham, he explains himself upon nothing," -- stalks about with his nose in the air, as if there were nothing
farther to be explained. "I spoke yesterday of the Single
"Match, Wilhelmina and Prince of Wales; King answered,
"even of the Single Match, Devil fly away with it! " -- or a
still coarser phrase.
'Meanwhile the Queen, though at the end of her eighth
'month, is cheery as a fish in water;** and always forms
'grand projects of totally ruining Seckendorf, by Knyp-
'hausen's and other help. ' "Hotham yesterday, glancing
"at Nosti no doubt, said to the Sieur de Potsdam" (cant phrase
for the King), 'That great Princes were very unlucky to have
'ministers that durst not show themselves in good society; for
'the result was, they sent nothing but false news and ru-
'mours picked up in coffeehouses. '
* This is one of the sentences Wilhelmina has got hold of (Wilhelmina,
t 234).
** Wilhelmina has this too, in a disfigured state (i. 233).
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? 268 SHIPWRECK OP DOUBLE-MARRIAGE TROJECT, [l! OOK vII.
251h April 1730.
"Coffeehouses? " answers Reichenbach, by and by:
"Reichenbach is in English society of the first distinc-
"tion, and receives visits from Lords and Dukes. This
"all the world knows" -- to be nothing like the case,
as Townshend too has occasionally mentioned.
At any rate, continues Grumkow, "the Queen's Husband
"said, aside, to Nosti's Friend, 'I see he is glancing at Rei-
"' chenbach; but he won't make much of that (cynically speak-
"'ing, ne fera que de Veau clair). ' Hotham is by no means a
"man of brilliant mind, and his manners are rough: but
"Ginkel," the Dutchman, "is cleverer (plus souple), and
"much better liked by Nosti's Master. "
Antistrophe soon follows; London Raven is himself again;
-- Nosti loquitur:
London, 25th April. ** "King has written to me, Ier? nto
"report to him any talk there may be in the Court here about
"his Majesty! My Amiable and his Seckendorf, need they ask
"if Nosti will, and in a way to give them pleasure? " * *
Strophe (allegro by the Berlin Raven or Rook, who has not
yet heard the above); -- Grumkow loquitur:
Berlin, 29th April. ** "Wrong not to write entertaining
"news of the English Court as heretofore. King likes it.
"What you say of the Prince-Royal of Prussia's writing
"to the Queen of England, is very curious; and you did well
"to say nothing of it to the Father; the thing being of ex-
"treme delicacy, and the proof difficult. But it seems likely.
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? CHAP. II. ] EXCELLENCY HOTHAM PROVES UNAVAILING. 269
27th April 1730.
"And I insinuated something of it to his Majesty, the day be-
"fore yesterday" (27thApril 1730, therefore? One momentary
glance of Hansard into the Tobacco-Parliament), "as of a
"thing I had learned from a spy" (such my pretence, O Nosti)
-- spy "who is the intimate friend ofKnyphausen and plays
"traitor: you may fancy that it struck terribly. " Yes! "And
"his Majesty has looked sour upon Hotham ever since; and
"passed above an hour in colloquy with Seckendorf and me, "in sight both of English Hotham and Dutch Ginkel without
"speaking to them.
"It was true enough what Nosti heard of the Queen's fair
"speeches, andHotham's, to the Friend of Nosti. But it is
"all ended: the Queen's, weeks ago, being in vain: Hotham
"too, after some civilities, seems now indifferent. 'Enfin'
"('afin' he always writes it, copying the indistinct gurgle of
"his own horse-dialect) -- 'Afin filouterie tout pure' (whole
"of it thimblerig, on their part).
"Admirable story, that of Prince Fred's amourette" (sent
to the cesspool by us, herald of Reichenbach thither): "let
"his Majesty know it, by all means. What the Duchess of
"Kendal" (lean tall female in expensive brocades, with gilt
prayerbooks, visible in the body to Nosti at that time), "what
"the Duchess of Kendal says to you is perfectly just; and as
"thePrincess Wilhelmina is very ill-looking" (laide, -- how
dare you say so, dog? ), "I believe she will have a bad life
"of it, the Prince of Wales being accustomed to daintier
"meats. Yes truly, she will, as the Duchess says, 'need to
"'be wiser than Solomon' to conciliate the humours down
"there (la has) with the genius of his Prussian Majesty and
"Queen. -- 'As for your Princess Amelia, depend upon it,
"' while the Commandant of Potsdam lives, she will never get
"'hold of the Prince-Royal, though he is so furiously taken
"'with the Britannic Majesties. '"
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? 270 SHIPWRECK OF DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, (book vII.
2d May 1730.
[Continues; in answer to a Nosti "Caw! Caw! "which
we omit. ]
Berlin, 2d May. "Wish you had not told the King so
"positively that the English say, it shall be Double Match or
"none. Hotham said to the Swedish Ambassador: 'Eeichen-
"' bach, walking in the dark, would give himself a fine knock
"'on the nose (aurait un furieux pied denez), when,' or if, 'the
'"thing was done quite otherwise. ' Have a caution what
"you write. "
Pooh, pooh! Hotham must have said "if," not
"when;" Swede is quite astray! -- And indeed we will
here leave off, and shut down this magazine of rubbish;
right glad to wash ourselves wholly from it (in three
waters) forevermore. Possibly enough the Prussian
Dryasdust will, one day, print it in extenso, and with
that lucidity of comment and arrangement which are
peculiar to him: exasperated readers will then see
whether I have used them ill or not, according to the
opportunity there was! -- Here, at any rate, my reader
shall be free of it. Indeed he may perceive, the nego-
tiation was by this time come to a safe point, the Nosti-
Grumkows triumphant, and the interest of the matter
mainly out. Farther transient anxieties this amiable
couple had, -- traceable in that last short croak from
Grumkow, -- lest the English might consent to that of
the "Single Marriage in the mean time" (which the
English never did, or meant to do). For example,
this other screech of Nosti, which shall be his final
last-screech:
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? CHAP. II. ] EXCELLENCY HOTHAM PROVES UNAVAILING. 271
6th May 1730.
London, 12th May. "Lord Townshend alarmingly hinted
"to me: Better have done with your Grumkow-and-Secken-
"dorf speculations: the ill-intentioned are perfectly sure to be
"found out at the end of the account; and their tools will get
"ruined along with them. Nosti endeavoured to talk big in
"reply: but he shakes in his shoes nevertheless; and with a
"heart full of distraction exclaims now, Save yourselves, save
"me! --If Hotham speak of the Single Marriage only, it is
"certain the Prince-Royal must mean to run away," and so
make it a Double one in time.
Yes, indeed! But these were transient terrors. The
day is our own, my Grumkow; yes our own, my Nosti:
-- and so our Colloquy of Rookeries shall be suppres-
sive henceforth.
His Majesty gets sight of the St. Mary Axe Documents;
but nothing follows from it.
We have only to add what Hotham reports (Berlin,
May 6th), That he "has had an interview with his
"Majesty, spoken of the St. Mary Axe affair; Knyp-
"hausen having found a moment to lay it before his
"Majesty. " So that the above Excerpts from St. Mary
Axe (all but the last two) -- the above, and many
more suppressed by us, -- are in his Majesty's hands:
and he is busy studying them; will, it is likely, produce
them in an amazed Tobacco-Parliament one of these
evenings! --
"What the emotions of the royal breast were during
the perusal of this extraordinary dialogue of birds,
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? 272 SHIPWRECK OP DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, [book vlt.
6tb-13lb May 1730.
which has come to him through St.
April 1730.
Slave Keichenbach at London, when this missive
comes to hand, is busy copying scandal according to
former instructions for behoof of his Prussian Majesty,
and my Bashaw Grumkow; for example:
To the Herr Grumkow at Berlin:
Excellenz Reichenbach loquitur; -- snatched in St. Mary Axe.
London, 10th March 1730. * * "Reichenbach has told his
"Prussian Majesty today by a Courier who is to pass through
"Brussels" (Austrian Kinsky's Courier, no doubt), "what
"amours the Prince of Wales," dissolute Fred, "has on hand
"at present, with actresses and opera-girls. The King of
"Prussia will undoubtedly be astonished. The affair merits
"some attention at present," -- especially from an Excellenz
like me.
[Missive (body of important Grumkow Instructions just
read by us) comes to hand. ']
London, lith March 1730. 'Reichenbach will write by the
'first Ordinary' (so they name Post, in those days) 'all that
'Grumkow orders. Reichenbach sees well, they mean to
'play the deuce here (Jouent le diable a qualre id): butKei-
'chenbach will tell his Prussian Majesty what Grumkow
'finds fit. ' Good Excellenz Reichenbach 'flatters himself
'the King will remain firm, and not let his enemies deceive
'him. If Grumkow and Seckendorf have opportunity, they
copied, we perceive, by Villa; who transmits it to notham's Secretary at
Berlin, with great hopes from it. Letter "unsigned," adds Villa (point
signte). First was transmitted by Townshend. -- Following are transmitted
by Ac. &c. It is in that way they have got into the State-Paper Office, --
as Enclosures in the various Despatches that carried them out to Berlin to
serve as Diplomatic Ammunition there.
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? CHAP, n. ] LANGUAGE OP BIRDS. 257
April 1730.
'may tell his Prussian Majesty that the whole design of this
'Court is to render his Country a Province dependent onEng-
'land. When once the Princess-Royal of England shall be
'wedded to the Prince-Royal of Prussia, the English, by that
'means, will form such a party at Berlin, that they will alto-
'gether tie his Prussian Majesty's hands. ' A comfortable
piece of news to his Prussian Majesty in Tobacco-Parliament.
'Reichenbach will assuredly be vigilant; depend on his
'answering Grumkow always by the first post. '
Continues; -- turning his rook-bill towards Majesty
now. Same date (14th March), same time, place and
bird:
To his Prussian Majesty (from Excellenz Reichenbach).
* * * 'P. S. I had closed this Letter when a person of
'confidence came in' (the fact being, my Grumkow's Missive
of Instructions came in, or, figuratively speaking, my Grumkow himself), 'and undertook to give me in a few days a
'thorough insight into the intrigues which are concealed
'under the sending of this new Minister,' Hotham, 'to Ber-
'lin; which, and how they have been concocted, he says, it
'will astonish me to hear. Of all this I shall immediately in-
'form your Majesty in a letter of my own hand; being ever
'eager to serve your Majesty alone. '
Hotham is now fairly gone, weeks ago; concluded
to be now in Berlin, -- to the horror of both rooks.
Here is a croak from Nosti:
To the Herr Grumkow at Berlin.
London, April 1730. ** "Hotham is no such conjuror as
"they fancy in Berlin; -- singular enough, how these English
Carlyle, Frederic the Great. III. 17
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? 258 SHIPWRECK OF DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, [book vn.
April 1730.
"are given to undervalue the Germans; whilst we in Germany
"overvalue them" (avons une ide'e trop vaste, they trop petite).
'There is, for instance, Lord Chesterfield, passes here for
'a fair enough kind of man (ban homme), and is a favourite
'with the King' (not with Walpole or the Queen, if Nosti
knew it); 'but nobody thinks him such a prodigy as you all
'do in Germany,' -- which latter bit of Germanism is an un-
doubted fact; curious enough to the English, and to the Ger-
mans that now read in extinct Books.
Hotham, as we said, got to Berlin on the 2d of April.
From Berlin comes thereupon, at great length, sordid
description, by Grumkow, of that initiatory Hotham
Dinner, April Third, with fearful details of the blazing
favour Hotham is in. Which his Majesty (when Hot-
ham hands it to him, in due time) will read with pain-
ful interest; asReichenbach now does; -- but which to
us is all mere puddle, omissible in this place.
To which sad Strophe, there straightway follows
due Antistrophe, Reichenbach croaking responsive; --
and we are to note, the rooks always speak in the third
person and by ambiguous periphrasis; never once say
"I" or "You," unless forced by this Editor, for brevity's
sake, to do it. Reichenbach from his perch thus hoarsely
chants:
To the Herr Grumkow at Berlin.
London, Uth April. 'Reichenbach est coup-de-foudri, --
'is struck by lightning, -- to hear these Berlin news;' -- and
expresses, in the style of a whipt dog, his sorrows, un-
certainties and terrors, on the occasion. "Struck with
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? CIIAP. n. ] LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 259
April 1730.
"lightning. Feel myself quite ill, and not in a condition to
"write much today. It requires another head than mine to
"veer round so often (changer sisouvent de systeme). In fine,
"Nosti est au bout de son latin" (is at his wit's end, poor devil)!
"Both Majesties have spoken openly of the favourable news
"from Berlin; funds rose in consequence. New Minister"
(Walpole come to the top of the Firm, Townshend soon to
withdraw, impatient of the bottom) "is all-powerful now:
Otempora, O mores! " "I receive universal congratulations,
"and have to smile" in a ghastly manner. "The King and
"Queen despise me. I put myself in their way last Levee,
"bowing to the ground; but they did not even condescend
"to look. {Notre grandpetit-maitre,' little George, the Olym-
pian Jove of these parts, "passed on as if I had not been
"there. " 'Chesterfield, they say, is to go, in great pomp, as
"'Ambassador Extraordinary, and fetch the Princess over.
"'And'" -- Alas, in short, Once I was hap-hap-happy, but
now I'm miserable!
London, 14fAApril. "Slave Reichenbach cannot any longer
"write secret Letters to his Prussian Majesty according to the
"old strain, of your prescribing; but must standby his vacant
"Official Despatches: the scene being entirely changed, he
"also must change his manner of writing" -- poor knave.
"He will have to inform his Majesty, however, by and by,
"though it is not safe at present," --for example, -- 'That
'his Britannic Majesty is becoming from day to day more
'hated by all the world; and that the Prince of Wales is no
'longer liked by the Public, as at first; because he begins to
'give himself airs, and takes altogether the manners of his
'Britannic Majesty, that is to say of a puppy {petit-maitre);
'let my Amiable' (Grumkow) ' be aware of that' --
Yes, let him be aware of that, to his comfort, --
17*
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? 2 GO SHIPWRECK OF DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT. [bOOKvTI.
April 1730.
and still more, and all readers along with him, of what
follows:
'Reichenbach likewise with great confidence informs the
'Greatest Confidant he has in the world' (same amiable
'Grumkow), 'that he has discovered within this day or two,'
a tremendous fact, known to our readers some time ago,
'That the Prince-Royal of Prussia has given his written as-
'surances to the Queen here, Never to marry anybody in the
'world except the Princess Amelia of England, happen what
'will' (Prussian Majesty will read this with a terrible in-
terest! Much nearer to him than it is to us). 'In considera-
'tion of which Promise the Queen of England is understood,'
falsely, 'to have answered that they should, at present, ask
'only the Princess-Royal of Prussia for their Prince of
'Wales,' and let the Double-Marriage be, seemingly, as his
Prussian Majesty wishes it. 'Monsieur de Reichenbach did
'not speak of this to his Prussian Majesty; feeling it too dan-
'gerous just now. --
'Lord Townshend is still at his place in the country'
(Rainham in Norfolk): 'but it is said he will soon come to
'Town; having heard the great news that they had already
'got his Prussian Majesty by the nose. Reichenbach forgets
'if he already told Grumkow that the rumour runs, Lord
'Chesterfield, in quality of Ambassador to Berlin, is to bring
'the Princess Wilhelmina over hither:' --you did already,
poor confused wretch; unusually bewildered, and under
frightful eclipse at present.
Continues after four days:
April 18th. * * 'Lord Stratford' (to me an unknown
Lordship) 'and Heads of Opposition would like to ascertain
'what Hotham's offer to the King of Prussiais. '
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? CiUl'. H. ] LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 261
April 1730.
Truly, yes: they mean to ask in Parliament (as poor
gamblers in that Cockpit are wont), 'And why did not you
make the offer sooner, then? Friendship with his Prussian
Majesty, last year, would have saved the whole of that large
Waterspout about the Meadows ofClamei! Nay need we, a
few months ago, have spent such loads of gold subsidising
those Hessians and Danes against him? The treasures of this
Country go a strange road, Mr. Speaker! What is the use of
our industries and riches? ' Heavens, yes, what! But we con-
tinue to excerpt and interpret:
Reichenbach "has said nothing of this to his Prussian Ma-
"jesty, Reichenbach has not; too dangerous in our present
"downpressed state: -- though amazingly exact always in
"news, and attached to his Prussian Majesty as mortal seldom
"was. Need he fear their new Hotham, then? Does not fear
"Hotham, not he him, being a man so careful of truth in his
"news. Dare not, however, now send any intelligence about
"the Royal Family here; Prussian Majesty having ordered
"him not to write gossip like a spiteful woman: What is he
"to do? Instruct him, 0 my Amiable.
"Know for the rest, and be aware of it, 0 Amiable, that
"Queen Caroline here is of opinion, The Amiable Grumkow
"should be conciliated; and that Queen Sophie and Hotham
"are understood to have been trying it. Do not abandon me,
"O Amiable; nay I know you will not, you and Seckendorf,
"never, though I am a poor man.
"Have found out a curious story, histoire fort curieux,--
"about one of Prince Fred's amourettes. " Story which this
Editor, in the name of the whole human species, will totally
suppress, and sweep into the cesspol, to herald Reichenbach
thither. Except only that this corollary by the Duchess of
Kendal may be appended to the thing:
"Duchess of Kendal,"--Hop-pole Emerila, now gone to
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? 262 SHIPWRECK OP DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, [book TO.
April 1730.
devotion, whom we know, piously turns up her eyes at such
doings, -- "thinks the Princess Wilhelmina will have a bad
"life of it with Fred, and that she 'will need the wisdom of
'"Solomon to get on here. ' Not a good bargain, this Prince
"Fred and his Sister. A dissolute fellow he, not liked by the
"Public" (I should hope). 'Then as to Princess Amelia,
"'she, who was always haughty, begins to give herself airs
"' upon the Prince-Royal of Prussia; she is as ill-tempered as
"'her Father, and still more given to backbiting (plus rail-
"' leuse), and will greatly displease the Potsdam Majesty. '"
These are cheering thoughts. "But what is to become of
"Nosti? Faithful to his Grumkow, to his Seckendorf--to
"his pair of sheep-stealers, poor dog. But if trouble rise; --
"0 at least do not hang me, ye incomparable pair! " --
The Hotham Despatches.
Slave Nosti's terrors, could he see behind the
scenes, are without foundation! The tremendous Hotham.
Negotiation, all ablaze at that Charlottenburg Dinner,
is sunk low enough into the smoking state, threatening
to go out altogether. Smoke there may still be, per-
ceptible vestiges of smoke; which indeed, for a long
time, fitfully continued: but, at the time while Nosti,
quaking in every joint of him, writes these terrors,
Hotham perceives that his errand is vain; that properly
there has as good as extinction supervened. April 3d
was the flame-point; which lasted in its brightness only
for a few days or hours. April is not gone, or half
gone, when flaming has quite ceased, and the use of
bellows, never so judicious, is becoming desperate: and
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? CHAP. II. ] EXCELLENCY HOTHAM PROVES UNAVAILING. 263
mil April 1730.
long before the end of May, no red is to be seen in
the affair at all, and the very bellows are laid down.
Here are the epochs; riddled out of such a mass of
extinct rubbish as human nature seldom had to deal
with; -- here are certain Extracts, in a greatly con-
densed state, from the authentic voluminous Hotham
Despatches and Responses; -- which may conveniently
interrupt the Nosti Babblement at this point.
To my Lord Townshend at London:
Excellency Hotham loquitur (in a greatly condensed form).
Berlin, 12th April 1730. ** "Of one or two noteworthy
"points I have to apprise your Lordship. So soon as his Ma-
"jesty was sober, he found that he had gone too far at that
"grand Dinner of Monday 3d; and was in very bad humour
"in consequence. Crown-Prince has written from Potsdam
"to his Sister, 'No doubt I am left here lest the English
"' wind get at me (de peur que le vent anglais ne me touchat). '
"Saw King at Parade, who was a little vague; 'is giving
"'matters his consideration. ' Majesty has said toBorck and
"Knyphausen, 'If they want the Double-Marriage, and to
'"detach me from the Kaiser, let them propose something
"'about Jttlich and Berg. ' Sits the wind in that quarter?
"King has said since, tooneMarschall, a Private-Secretary
"who is in our interest:'I hate my Son, and my Son hates me:
'"we are best asunder; -- let them make him Stalthalter (Vice-
"'regent) of Hanover, with his Princess! ' Commission might
"bemade out in the Princess Amelia's name; proper con-
"ditions fixed, and so on: -- Knyphausen suggests it could be
"done. Knyphausen is true to us: but he stands alone" (not
alone, but cannot much help); "does not even stir in the
"Nosti or St. Mary Axe Affair as yet. "
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? 264 SHIPWRECK OP DOUBLE-MAREIAGE PROJECT, [book TO.
27th April 1730.
Prince Friedrich to be Statthalter in Hanover with
his English Princess? That would save the expense
of an Establishment for him at home. That has been
suggested by the Knyphausen or English party: and
no doubt it looked flattering to his Prussian Majesty
for moments.
This may be called Epoch first, after
that grand Charlottenburg Dinner.
Then as to the Nosti Affair, in which Knyphausen
"does not stir as yet," -- the fact is, it was only put
into Rnyphausen's hands the day before yesterday, as
we soon discover; and Knyphausen is not so sure about
it as some are! That Hotham Despatch is of Wednesday
12th April. And not till yesterday could Guy Dickens
report performance of the other important thing. Cap-
tain Guy Dickens, a brisk handy military man, Secre-
tary to Dubourgay this good while past, "Has duly
"received from Head-quarters the successive Nosti-
"Grumkow Documents, caught up in St. Mary Axe; has
"now delivered them to Knyphausen, to be laid before
"his Prussian Majesty in a good hour; and would fain
"(Tuesday April 11th) hope some result from this step. "
Not for almost a month does Hotham himself say any-
thing of it to the Prussian Majesty, good hour for
Knyphausen not having come. But now, in regard to
that Hanover Statthaltership, hear Townshend, -- con-
densed, but not nearly so much so, my Lord being
a succinct man who sticks always creditably to the point:
To (he Excellency Hotham at Berlin (from Lord Townshend).
London, 21th April. "Yes, you shall have the Hanover
"Vice-regency. We will set-up the Crown-Prince Friedrich
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? CHAP. II. ] EXCELLENCY HOTHAM PROVES UNA VAILING. 265
18th April 1K0.
"in Hanover as desired; but will give the Commission to our
"own Princess, that beingmore convenientfor several reasons:
"Crown-Prince, further-more, must promise to come over to
"England when we require him; item may repay us our ex-
penses hereafter. As to Marriage Portions, we will give
"none with our Princess nor ask any with theirs. Both mar-
"riages or none. " And so enough.
Alas, nothing came of this; Prussian Majesty, in
spite of thrift, perceiving that for several reasons, it
would not do. Meanwhile, Grumkow, we learn from
a secret source,* has been considerably courted by
Hotham and her Prussian Majesty; Queen Caroline
having signified from England, That they ought to
gain that knave, -- what price did he charge for him-
self? But this also proves quite unavailing; never
came to pricing. And so, -- hear Hotham once more:
To Lord Townshend at London (from Excellency Hotham).
Berlin, 18th April. ** "Grumkow is a thorn in my side:
"one would like to do him some service in return. 'Cannot
'"you stop an Original Letter of his'" (we have only de-
ciphered Copies as yet) to that Reichenbach or Nosti, 'strong
enough to break his back? ' -- They will try. Hotham con-
tinues in next Despatch:
Berlin, 22d April. "Dined with the King again; Crown-
"Prince was present: dreadfully dejected, -- 'at which one
'"cannot help being moved; there is something so engaging
"' in the Prince, and everybody says so much good of him. '"
Hear Hotham! Who again, three days after, says of our
Fritz: 'H I am not much mistaken, this young Prince will
* Kotti, suprh (18;li April), p. 261; infrk, p. 269.
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? 266 SHIPWRECK OF DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, [book vH.
18th April 1730.
'one day make a very considerable figure. ' "Wish we could
"manage the Marriage; but this Grumkow, this" -- Cannot
they contrive to send an Original strong enough?
Alas, from the same secret source we learn, within
a week, that Grumkow's back is very strong; the To-
bacco-Parliament in full blast again, and Seckendorf's
Couriers galloping to Vienna with the best news. Nay
his Majesty looks expressly "sour upon Hotham," or
does not look at all; will not even speak when he sees
him; -- for a reason we shall hear. * Can it be thought
that any liberality in use of the bellows or other fire-
implements will now avail with his Majesty? --
Second and last Peep into the Nosti-Grumkow Corre-
spondence caught up in St. Mary Axe.
But at this point let our Two Rooks recommence a
little: Nosti, on the 18th, we left quaking in every
joint of him; -- and good news was almost at the
door, had afflicted Nosti known it. Grumkow's strain
(suppressed by us here), all this while, is in general,
almost ever since the blaze of that Hotham Dinner went
off into repentant headache: "Pshaw, don't fear! " Nay
after a fortnight or so, it is again: "Steady! we are all
right! " Tobacco-Parliament and the Royal Imagination
making such progress. This is still but the third week
since that grand Dinner at Charlottenburg:
* Nosti, infra, p. 268 A 269.
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? CHAP. II. ] EXCELLENCY HOTHAM PROVES UNAVAILING. 267
Md April 1730.
To the Excellenz Reichenbach at London (from Grumkow).
Berlin, 22dApril. 'King wants to get rid of the Princess'
Wilhelmina, 'who is grown lean, ugly, with pimples on her
'face (qui est devenue maigre, laide, couperosee,'*--dog: will
nobody horsewhip that lie out of him! ) -- 'judge what a treat
'that will be to a Prince of Wales, who has his amourettes! '
All is right, Nosti, is it not?
Berlin, April. "King declared to Seckendorf yester-
"day again, He might write to the Kaiser, That while he
"lived, nothing should ever part his Majesty from the Kaiser
"and his Cause; that the French dare not attack Luxem-
"bourg, as is threatened; and if they do --! Upon which
"Seckendorf despatched a Courier to Vienna.
"As to Hotham, he explains himself upon nothing," -- stalks about with his nose in the air, as if there were nothing
farther to be explained. "I spoke yesterday of the Single
"Match, Wilhelmina and Prince of Wales; King answered,
"even of the Single Match, Devil fly away with it! " -- or a
still coarser phrase.
'Meanwhile the Queen, though at the end of her eighth
'month, is cheery as a fish in water;** and always forms
'grand projects of totally ruining Seckendorf, by Knyp-
'hausen's and other help. ' "Hotham yesterday, glancing
"at Nosti no doubt, said to the Sieur de Potsdam" (cant phrase
for the King), 'That great Princes were very unlucky to have
'ministers that durst not show themselves in good society; for
'the result was, they sent nothing but false news and ru-
'mours picked up in coffeehouses. '
* This is one of the sentences Wilhelmina has got hold of (Wilhelmina,
t 234).
** Wilhelmina has this too, in a disfigured state (i. 233).
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? 268 SHIPWRECK OP DOUBLE-MARRIAGE TROJECT, [l! OOK vII.
251h April 1730.
"Coffeehouses? " answers Reichenbach, by and by:
"Reichenbach is in English society of the first distinc-
"tion, and receives visits from Lords and Dukes. This
"all the world knows" -- to be nothing like the case,
as Townshend too has occasionally mentioned.
At any rate, continues Grumkow, "the Queen's Husband
"said, aside, to Nosti's Friend, 'I see he is glancing at Rei-
"' chenbach; but he won't make much of that (cynically speak-
"'ing, ne fera que de Veau clair). ' Hotham is by no means a
"man of brilliant mind, and his manners are rough: but
"Ginkel," the Dutchman, "is cleverer (plus souple), and
"much better liked by Nosti's Master. "
Antistrophe soon follows; London Raven is himself again;
-- Nosti loquitur:
London, 25th April. ** "King has written to me, Ier? nto
"report to him any talk there may be in the Court here about
"his Majesty! My Amiable and his Seckendorf, need they ask
"if Nosti will, and in a way to give them pleasure? " * *
Strophe (allegro by the Berlin Raven or Rook, who has not
yet heard the above); -- Grumkow loquitur:
Berlin, 29th April. ** "Wrong not to write entertaining
"news of the English Court as heretofore. King likes it.
"What you say of the Prince-Royal of Prussia's writing
"to the Queen of England, is very curious; and you did well
"to say nothing of it to the Father; the thing being of ex-
"treme delicacy, and the proof difficult. But it seems likely.
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? CHAP. II. ] EXCELLENCY HOTHAM PROVES UNAVAILING. 269
27th April 1730.
"And I insinuated something of it to his Majesty, the day be-
"fore yesterday" (27thApril 1730, therefore? One momentary
glance of Hansard into the Tobacco-Parliament), "as of a
"thing I had learned from a spy" (such my pretence, O Nosti)
-- spy "who is the intimate friend ofKnyphausen and plays
"traitor: you may fancy that it struck terribly. " Yes! "And
"his Majesty has looked sour upon Hotham ever since; and
"passed above an hour in colloquy with Seckendorf and me, "in sight both of English Hotham and Dutch Ginkel without
"speaking to them.
"It was true enough what Nosti heard of the Queen's fair
"speeches, andHotham's, to the Friend of Nosti. But it is
"all ended: the Queen's, weeks ago, being in vain: Hotham
"too, after some civilities, seems now indifferent. 'Enfin'
"('afin' he always writes it, copying the indistinct gurgle of
"his own horse-dialect) -- 'Afin filouterie tout pure' (whole
"of it thimblerig, on their part).
"Admirable story, that of Prince Fred's amourette" (sent
to the cesspool by us, herald of Reichenbach thither): "let
"his Majesty know it, by all means. What the Duchess of
"Kendal" (lean tall female in expensive brocades, with gilt
prayerbooks, visible in the body to Nosti at that time), "what
"the Duchess of Kendal says to you is perfectly just; and as
"thePrincess Wilhelmina is very ill-looking" (laide, -- how
dare you say so, dog? ), "I believe she will have a bad life
"of it, the Prince of Wales being accustomed to daintier
"meats. Yes truly, she will, as the Duchess says, 'need to
"'be wiser than Solomon' to conciliate the humours down
"there (la has) with the genius of his Prussian Majesty and
"Queen. -- 'As for your Princess Amelia, depend upon it,
"' while the Commandant of Potsdam lives, she will never get
"'hold of the Prince-Royal, though he is so furiously taken
"'with the Britannic Majesties. '"
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? 270 SHIPWRECK OF DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, (book vII.
2d May 1730.
[Continues; in answer to a Nosti "Caw! Caw! "which
we omit. ]
Berlin, 2d May. "Wish you had not told the King so
"positively that the English say, it shall be Double Match or
"none. Hotham said to the Swedish Ambassador: 'Eeichen-
"' bach, walking in the dark, would give himself a fine knock
"'on the nose (aurait un furieux pied denez), when,' or if, 'the
'"thing was done quite otherwise. ' Have a caution what
"you write. "
Pooh, pooh! Hotham must have said "if," not
"when;" Swede is quite astray! -- And indeed we will
here leave off, and shut down this magazine of rubbish;
right glad to wash ourselves wholly from it (in three
waters) forevermore. Possibly enough the Prussian
Dryasdust will, one day, print it in extenso, and with
that lucidity of comment and arrangement which are
peculiar to him: exasperated readers will then see
whether I have used them ill or not, according to the
opportunity there was! -- Here, at any rate, my reader
shall be free of it. Indeed he may perceive, the nego-
tiation was by this time come to a safe point, the Nosti-
Grumkows triumphant, and the interest of the matter
mainly out. Farther transient anxieties this amiable
couple had, -- traceable in that last short croak from
Grumkow, -- lest the English might consent to that of
the "Single Marriage in the mean time" (which the
English never did, or meant to do). For example,
this other screech of Nosti, which shall be his final
last-screech:
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? CHAP. II. ] EXCELLENCY HOTHAM PROVES UNAVAILING. 271
6th May 1730.
London, 12th May. "Lord Townshend alarmingly hinted
"to me: Better have done with your Grumkow-and-Secken-
"dorf speculations: the ill-intentioned are perfectly sure to be
"found out at the end of the account; and their tools will get
"ruined along with them. Nosti endeavoured to talk big in
"reply: but he shakes in his shoes nevertheless; and with a
"heart full of distraction exclaims now, Save yourselves, save
"me! --If Hotham speak of the Single Marriage only, it is
"certain the Prince-Royal must mean to run away," and so
make it a Double one in time.
Yes, indeed! But these were transient terrors. The
day is our own, my Grumkow; yes our own, my Nosti:
-- and so our Colloquy of Rookeries shall be suppres-
sive henceforth.
His Majesty gets sight of the St. Mary Axe Documents;
but nothing follows from it.
We have only to add what Hotham reports (Berlin,
May 6th), That he "has had an interview with his
"Majesty, spoken of the St. Mary Axe affair; Knyp-
"hausen having found a moment to lay it before his
"Majesty. " So that the above Excerpts from St. Mary
Axe (all but the last two) -- the above, and many
more suppressed by us, -- are in his Majesty's hands:
and he is busy studying them; will, it is likely, produce
them in an amazed Tobacco-Parliament one of these
evenings! --
"What the emotions of the royal breast were during
the perusal of this extraordinary dialogue of birds,
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? 272 SHIPWRECK OP DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, [book vlt.
6tb-13lb May 1730.
which has come to him through St.
