' And Broglio's
troubles
and procedures, as is
"everywhere usual to Broglio, run to a great height in this
"Bavarian Command.
"everywhere usual to Broglio, run to a great height in this
"Bavarian Command.
Thomas Carlyle
" thinks France, whatever Maillebois think.
Witty
Paris, loving its timely joke, calls him Army of Redemption,
"VArmee des Maihurins" -- a kind of Priests, whose business
is commonly in Barbary, about Christian bondage: -- how
sprightly! And yet the enthusiasm was great: young Princes
of the Blood longing to be off as volunteers, needing strict
prohibition by the King; -- upon which, Prince de Conti,
gallant young fellow, leaving his wife, his mistress, and mira-
culously borrowing 2,500/. for equipments, rushed off furtively
by post; and did join, and do his best. Was reprimanded,
clapt in arrest for three days; but afterwards promoted; and
came to some distinction in these Wars. *
The March goes continually south-east; by Frankfurt,
thence towards Nurnberg Country ("be atFiirth, September
6th"), and the skirts of the Pine-Mountains (Fichtel-Gebirge),
-- Anspach andBaireuth well to your left; -- end, lastly, in
the Ober-Pfalz (Upper Palatinate), Town of Amberg there.
Before trying the Bohemian Passes, you shall have reinforce-
ment. Best part of the "Bavarian Army," now under Comte
deSaxe, not under D'Harcourt farther, is to cease collecting
victual in the Donau-Iser countries (Deggendorf, north bank
ofDonau, its headquarter); and to get on march, -- circling
very wide, not northward, but by the Donau, and even by the
south bank of it mainly (to avoid the hungry Mountains and
their Tolpatcheries), -- and, >>t Amberg, is to join Maillebois.
This is a wide-lying game. The great Marlborough used to
play such, and win; making the wide elements, the times and
the spaces, hit with exactitude: but a Maillebois? "He is
"called by the Parisians, 'Vieux Pelit-maitre (dandy of sixty,'
"so to speak); has a poor upturned nose, with baboon-face to
"match, which he even helps by paint. " * * Here is one
Scene; at Frankfurt-on-Mayn; fact certain, day not given.
Frankfurt, "latter end of August" 1742. "At Frankfurt,
"his Army having got into the neighbourhood," -- not into
Frankfurt itself, which, as a Reiclis-Stadt, is sacred from
Armies and their marchings, -- "Marechal de Maillebois, as
"in duty bound, waited on the Kaiser to pay his compliments
"there: on which occasion, we regret to say, Marechal de
* Barbier, ii. 326 (that of Conti, ib. 331); Adelung, &c.
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? 240 ETJBOPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [book XIV.
July--Dec. 1742.
'Maillebois was not so reverent to the Imperial Majesty as
'he should have been. Angry belike at the Adventure now
'forced on him, and harassed with many things; seeing in
'the Imperial Majesty little but an unfortunate Playactor
'Majesty, who lives in furnished lodgings paid for by France,
'and gives France and Maillebois an infinite deal of trouble
'to little purpose. Certain it is, he addressed the Imperial
'Majesty in the most free-and-easy manner; very much the
'reverse of being dashed by the sacred Presence: and his
'Officers in the ante-chamber, crowding about, all day, for
'presentation to the Imperial Majesty, made a noise, and
'kept up a babble of talk and laughter, as if it had been a
'mess-room, instead of the Forecourt of Imperial Majesty.
'So that Imperial Majesty, barely master of its temper and
'able to finish without explosion, signified to Maillebois on
'the morrow, That henceforth it would dispense with such
'visits. Poor Imperial Majesty; a human creature doing
'Playactorisms of too high a flight. He had the finest Palace
'in Germany; a wonder to the Great Gustavus long ago: and
'now he has it not; mere Mentzels and horrent shaggy crea-
'tures rule in Miinchen and it: and the Imperial quasi
'furnished lodgings are respected in this manner! "* -- The
wits say of him, "He would be Kaiser or Nothing: see you,
'' he is Kaiser and Nothing! " ** * *
August 19/A -- September Uth. "Comte de Saxe is on
'march, from Deggendorf; north bank of the Donau, by
'narrow mountain roads; than crosses the Donau to south
'bank, and a plain country; -- making large circuit, keeping
'the River on nis right, -- to meet Maillebois at Amberg; his
'force, some 10 or 12,000 men. Seckendorf, now Bavarian
'Commander-in-chief, accompanies Saxe; with considerable
'Bavarian force, guess 20,000, 'marching always on the left. '
'Accompanies; but only to Regensburg, to Stadt-am-Hof, a
'Suburb of Regensburg, where they cross the Donau again. "
-- Suburb of Regensburg, mark that; Regensburg itselfbeing
a Reichs-Stadt, very particularly sacred from War; -- the
very ReLchs-Zfe commonly sitting here; though it has gone
* Von Loen, Klehie Schriften, ii. 271 (cited in Buchholz, ii. 71). Cam-
pagnes is silent; usually suppressing scenes of that kind.
** "Aut nihil aut Cassar. Ilavarus Dux esse volebat;
"El nihil el Caesar faclus ulrumque simul. " (Barbier, ii. 322. )
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? CHAP. II. ] AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTING. 241
July--Dec. 1742.
to Frankfurt lately, to be with its Kaiser, and out of these
continual trumpetings and tumults close by. * -- "At Regens-
"burg, once across, Seckendorf with his Bavarians calls nalt;
plants himself down in Kelheim, Ingolstadt, and the safe
"Garrisons thereabouts, -- calculates that, if Khevenhuller
"should be called away Prag-ward, there may be a stroke
"doable in these parts. Saxe marches on; straight north-
"ward now, up the Valley of the Naab; obliged to De a good
"deal on his guard. Mischievous Tolpatcheries and Trencks,
"ever since he crossed the Donau again, have escorted him,
"to right, as close as they durst; dashing out sometimes on
"the magazines. " One of the exploits they had done, take
only one, -- in their road towards Saxe, a few days ago:
* * "September 7th, Trenck with his Tolpatcheries had
"appeared at Cham, -- a fine trading Town on the hither or
"neutral side of the mountains " (not in Bohmen, but in Ober-
Pfalz, old Kur-Pfalz's country, whom the Austrians hate); --
"and summoning and assaulting Cham, over the throat of all
"law, had by fire and by massacre annihilated the same. **
"Fact horrible,nearly incredible; buttrue. Thenoiseof which
"is now loud everywhere. Less lovely individual than this"
"Trenck" (Pandour Trenck Cousin of the Prussian one), "there
"was not, since the days of Attila and Genghis, in any War.
"Blusters abominably, too; has written" (save the mark! ) "an
"' Autobiography,' -- having happily afterwards, in Prison and
"even in Bedlam, time for such a Work; -- which is stuffed
"with sanguinary lies and exaggerations: unbeautifullest of
"human souls. Has a face the colour of indigo, too; -- got it,
"plundering in an Apothecary's" (in this same country, if I
recollect): "AchGott, your Grace, nothing of money here! "
said the "poor Apothecary, accompanying Colonel Trenck
"with a lighted candle over house and shop. Trenck, no-
"ticing one likely thing, snatched the candle, held it nearer:
"-- likely thing proved gun-powder; and Trenck, till Dooms-
"day, continues deep blue. *** Soul more worthy of damnation
"I have seldom known. "
"September 19th (five days after dropping Seckendorf),
"Saxe actually gets joined with Maillebois; -- not quite at
* Went, 10th May 1742, -- after three months arguing and protesting
on the Austrian part (Adelung, iii. <i. 102, 138).
** Adelung, iii. a. 258; Guerre de Boheme; &e. *** Guerre de Boheme.
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. VII. 16
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? 242 EUROPEAN WAR NOT ENDINO. [bOOK JOY.
July--Dec. 1742.
"Amberg, but at Vohenstrauss, in that same Sulzbach Coun-
"try, a forty miles to eastward, or Prag-ward, of Amberg.
"Maillebois and he conjoined are between 50 and 60,000.
"They are got now to the Bohemian Boundary, edge of the
"Bohemian Forest (big Bohmiiche Wald, Mountainous woody
"Country, 70 miles long); they are within 50 miles of Pilsen,
"within 100 of Prag itself, -- if they can cross the Forest.
"Which may be difficult. "
Prince Karl and the Grand-Duke, hearing of Maillebois, go to
meet him (September Uth); and the Siege of Prag is raised.
"September Uth, the Besieged at Prag notice that the
"Austrian fire slackens; that the Enemy seems to be taking
"away his guns. Villages and Farmsteads, far and wide all
"round, are going up in fire. A joyful symptom: -- since
"August 13th, Belleisle has known of Maillebois's advent;
"guesses that the Austrians now know it. -- September liih,
"their Firing has quite ceased. Grand-Duke and Prince
"Karl are off to meet this Maillebois, amid the intricate de-
"files, 'Better meet him there than here:' -- and on this
"fourth morning, Belleisle, looking out, perceives that the
"Siege is raised. *
"A blessed change indeed. No enemy here, -- perhaps
"someFestititz, with his canaille of Tolpatches, still lingering
"about, -- no enemy worth mention. Parties go out freely to
"investigate: -- but as to forage? Alas, a Country burnt,
'' Villages black and silent for ten miles round; -- you pick up
"here and there a lean steer, welcome amid boiled horse-
"flesh; you bundle a load or two of neglected grass together,
"for what cavalry remains. The genius of Se'chelles, and
"help from the Saxon side, will be much useful!
"Perhaps the undeniablest advantage of any is this, That
"Broglio, not now so proud of the situation Prag is in, or led
"by the rule of contraries, willingly quits Prag: Belleisle will
"not have to do his function by the medium of pig-driving,
"but in the direct manner henceforth. 'Give me 6 or 8,000
"foot, and what of the cavalry have horses still uneaten,' pro-
"poses Broglio; 'I will push obliquely towards Eger,--which
"is towards Saxony withal, and opens our food-communica-
* Espagnac, i. 115; Campagnes, v. 348.
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? CHAP. II. J AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTINa. 243
July--Dec. 1742.
"tions there: -- I will stretch out a hand to Maillebois, across
"the Mountain Passes; and thus bring a|victorious issue! ' *
"Belleisle consents: 'Well, since my Broglio will have it so! '
"-- glad to part with my Broglio at any rate, -- 'Adieu, then,
"M. le Marechal (and' sotto-voce, 'may it be long before we
"meet again in partnership)! ' Broglio marches accordingly
"('hand' beautifully held out to Maillebois, but not within
"grasping distance); gets northwestward some 60 miles, as
"far as Toplitz" (sadly oblique forEger), -- "never farther
"on that errand. "
The Maillebois Army of Redemption cannot redeem at all; -- has
to stagger Southward again; and becomes an "Army of Ba-
varia," under Broglio.
"September 19th -- October 10th," -- Scene is, the Eger-
Vohenstrauss Country, in and about that Bohemian Forest of
seventy miles. -- "For three weeks, Maillebois and the Comte
"deSaxe, trying their utmost, cannot, or cannot to purpose,
"get through that Bohemian Wood. Only Three practicable
"Passes in it; difficult each, and each conducting you to-
"wards mere new difficulties, on the farther side; -- not sur-
"mountable except by the determined mind. A gloomy bu-
"siness: a gloomy difficult region, solitary, hungry; nothing
"in it but shaggy chasms (and perhaps Tolpatchery lurking),
"wastes, mountain woodlands, dumb trees, damp brown
"leaves. Maillebois and Saxe, after survey, shoot leftwards
"to Eger; draw food and reinforcement from the Garrison
"there. They do get through the Forest, at one Pass, the
"Pass nearest Eger; -- but find Prince Karl and the Grand-
"Duke ranked to receive them on the other side. 'Plunge
"home upon Prince Karl and the Grand-Duke; beat them,
"with your Broglio to help in the rear? ' That possibly was
"Friedrich's thought, as he watched" (now home at Berlin
"again) "the contemporaneous Theatre of War.
"But that was not the Maillebois-Broglio method; -- nay,
"it is said Maillebois was privately forbidden 'to run risks. '
"Broglio, with his stretched-out hand (12,000 some count him,
"and indeed it is no matter), sits quiet at Toplitz, far too ob-
"lique: 'Come then, come, 0 Maillebois! ' Maillebois, -- ma-
* Espagnac, i. 170.
16*
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? 244 EUROPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [bOOKXIV.
July--Dec. 1742.
"noeuvring Prince Karl aside, or Hunger doing it for him, --
"did once push forward Prag-ward, by the Pass of Caaden;
"which is very oblique to Toplitz. By the Pass of Caaden,
"-- down the Eger River, through those Mountains of the
"Circle of Saatz, past a Castle of EUenbogen, key of the
"same; -- and 'Could have done it' (he said always after),
"'had it not been for Comte de Saxe! ' Undeniable it is, Saxe,
"as vanguard, took that Castle of EUenbogen; and, time
"being so precious, gave the Tolpatchery dismissal on parole.
"Undeniable, too, the Tolpatchery, careless of parole, beset
"Caaden Village thereupon, 4,000 strong; cut off our fore-
"posts, at Caaden Village; and -- In short, we had to retire
"from those parts; and prove an Army of Redemption that
"could not redeem at all!
"Maillebois and Saxe wend sulkily down the Naab Valley
"(having lost, say 15,000, not by fighting, but by mud and
"hardship); and the rapt European Public (shilling-gallery
"especially) says, with a sneer on its face, 'Pooh; ended
"then! ' Sulkily wending, Maillebois and Saxe (October 30th
"-- November 7th) get across theDonau, safe on the southern
"bank again; march for the Iser Country and the D'Harcourt
"Magazines, -- and become 'Grand Bavarian Army,' usual
"refuge of the unlucky. " * * *
Of Seckendorf in the Interim. "For Belleisle and relief of
"Prag, Maillebois in person had proved futile; but to Secken-
"dorf, waiting with his Bavarians, the shadow and rumour of
"Maillebois had brought famous results, -- famous for a few
"weeks. Khevenhuller being called north to help in those
"Anti-Maillebois operations, and only Barenklau with about
"10,000 Austrians now remaining in Baiern, Seckendorf,
"clearly superior (not to speak of that remnant of D'Harcourt
"people, with their magazines), promptly bestirred himself,
"in the Kelheim-Ingolstadt Country; got on march; and
"drove the Austrians mostly out of Baiern. Out mostly, and
"without stroke of sword, merely by marching; out, for the
"time. Munchen was evacuated, on rumour of Seckendorf
"(October 4th): a glad City to see Barenklau march off.
"Much was evacuated, -- the Iser Valley, downpartly to the
"Inn Valley, -- much was cleared, by Seckendorf in these
"happy circumstances. Who sees himself victorious, for once;
"and has his fame in the Gazettes, if it would last. Pretty
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? eHAP. II. ] AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTING. 245
July--Dec. 1742.
"mucH without stroke of sword, we say, and merely by
"marching: in one place, having marched too close, the
"retreating Barenklau people turned on him, 'took 100 pri-
"soners' before going; * -- other fighting, in this fine'Recon-
"quest of Bavaria,' I do not recollect. Winter come, he makes
"for Maillebois and the Iser Countries; cantons himself on
"the Upper Inn itself, well in advance of the French" (Brau-
nau his chief strong-place, if readers care to look on the
Map); "and strives to expect a combined seizure of Passau,
"and considerable things, were Spring come. " * *
And of Broglio in the Interim. "As for Broglio, left alone
"at Toplitz, gazing after a futile Maillebois, he sends the
"better half of his Force back to Prag; other half he
"establishes at Leitmeritz: good halfway-house to Dresden.
"'Will forward Saxon provender to you, M. de Belleisle! '
"(never did, and were all taken prisoners some weeks hence).
"Which settled, Broglio proceeded to the Saxon Court; who
"answered him: 'Provender? Alas, Monseigneur! We are
"(to confess it to you! ) at Peace with Austria:** not an ounce
"of provender possible; how dare we? ' -- but were otherwise
"politeness itself to the great Broglio. Great Broglio, after
"sumptuous entertainments there, takes the road for Baiern;
"circling grandly ('through Niirnberg with escort of 500
"Horse') to Maillebois's new quarters; -- takes command of
"the 'Bavarian Army' (may it be lucky for him! ); and sends
"Maillebois home, in deep dudgeon, to the merciless criticisms
"of men. 'Could have done it,' persists the Vieux Pelit-maitre
"always, 'had not' -- one knows what, but cares not, at this
"date! --
"Broglio's quarters in the Iser Country, I am told, are
"fatally too crowded, men perishing at a frightful rate per
"day. *** 'Things all awry here, -- thanks to that Maillebois
"and others!
' And Broglio's troubles and procedures, as is
"everywhere usual to Broglio, run to a great height in this
"Bavarian Command. And poor Seckenaorf, in neighbour-
"hood of such a Broglio, hashisadoes; eyes sparkling; face
"blushing slate-colour; at times nearly driven out of his wits;
* Espagnac, i. 166.
** Treatying ever since "July 17th;" Treaty actually done, "11th Sep-
tember" (Adelung, iii. o. 201, 268).
*** Espagnac, i. 182.
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? 246 EUROPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [book XIV.
July--Dec. 1742.
"-- but strives to consume his own smoke, and to havehopes
"on Passau notwithstanding. " -- And of Belleisle in Prag,
and his meditations on the Oriflamme? -- Patience, reader.
Meantime, what a relief to Kaiser Karl, in such
wreck of Bohemian Kingdoms and Castles in Spain,
to have got his own Miinchen and Country in hand
again; with the prospect of quitting furnished-lodgings,
and seeing the colour of real money! April next, he
actually goes to Miinchen, where we catch a glimpse
of him* This same October, the Reich, after endless
debatings on the question, "Help our Kaiser, or not
help? "** has voted him fifty Romer-monate ("Romish-
months," still so termed, though there is not now any
marching of the Kaiser to Rome on business); meaning
fifty of the known quotas, due from all and sundry in
such case, -- which would amount to about 300,000/.
(could it, or the half of it, be collected from so wide a
Parish), and would prove a sensible relief to the poor
man.
Voltaire has been on Visit at Aachen, in the interim, --
his Third Visit to King Friedrich.
King Friedrich had come to the Baths of Aachen,
August 25th; the Maillebois Army of Redemption
being then, to the last man of it, five days across the
Rhine on its high errand, which has since proved futile.
Friedrich left Aachen, taking leave of his Voltaire,
who had been lodging with him for a week by special
invitation, September 9th; and witnessed the later
struggles and final inability of Maillebois to redeem,
* "17th April 1743," Monty os &c. accompanying (Adelung, ill. b. 119,
120). ** Ibid. ill. o. 289.
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? CHAP. II. ] AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTING. 247
Aug. 1742.
not at Aix, but at Berlin, amid the ordinary course of
his employments there. We promised something of
Voltaire's new visit, his Third to Friedrich. Here is
what little we have, -- if the lively reader will exert
his fancy on it.
Voltaire and his Du Chatelet had been to Cirey,
and thence been at Paris through this Spring and
Summer, 1742; -- engaged in what to Voltaire and
Paris was a great thing, though a pacific one: The
getting of Mahomet brought upon the boards. August
9th, precisely while the first vanguard of the Army of
Redemption got across the Rhine at Diisseldorf, Vol-
taire's Tragedy of Mahomet came on the stage.
August 9th, 11th, 13th, Paris City was in trans-
ports of various kinds; never were such crowds of
Audience, lifting a man to the immortal gods, --
though a part too, majority by count of heads, were
dragging him to Tartarus again. "Exquisite, un-
paralleled! " exclaimed good judges (as Fleury himself
had anticipated, on examining the Piece): -- "In-
famous, irreligious, accursed! " vociferously exclaimed
the bad judges; Reverend Desfontaines (of Sodom, so
Voltaire persists to define him), Reverend Desfontaines
and others giving cue; hugely vociferous, these latter,
hugely in majority by count of heads. And there was
such a bellowing and such a shrieking, judicious Fleury,
or Maurepas under him, had to suggest, "Let an
actor fall sick; let M. de Voltaire volunteer to with-
draw his Piece; otherwise --! " -- And so it had to
he: Actor fell sick on the 14th (Playbills sorry to
retract their Mahomet on the 14th); and -- in fact it
was not for nine years coming, and after Dedication to
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? 248 EUROPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [book XIV.
2d-9th Sept. 1742.
the Pope, and other exquisite manoeuvres and unex-
pected turns of fate, that Mahomet could be acted a
fourth time in Paris, and thereafter ad libitum down to
this day. *
Such tempest in a teapot is not unexampled, nay
rather is very frequent, in that Anarchic Republic
called of Letters. Confess, reader, that you too would
have needed some patience in M. de Voltaire's place;
with such a Heaven's own Inspiration of a Mahomet in
your hands, and such a terrestrial Doggery at your
heels. Suppose the bitterest of your barking curs were
a Reverend Desfontaines of Sodom, whom you your-
self had saved from the gibbet once, and again and
again from starving? It is positively a great Anarchy,
and Fountain of Anarchies, all that, if you will con-
sider; and it will have results under the sun. You
cannot help it, say you; there is no shutting up of a
Reverend Desfontaines, which would be so salutary to
himself and to us all? No: -- and when human
reverence (daily going, in such ways) is quite gone
from the world; and your lowest blockhead and
scoundrel (usually one entity) shall have perfect free-
dom to spit in the face of your highest sage and hero,
-- what a remarkably Free World shall we be!
Voltaire, keeping good silence as to all this, and
minded for Brussels again, receives the King of
Prussia's invitation; lays it at his Eminency Fleury's
feet; will not accept, unless his Eminency and my own
King of France (possibly to their advantage, if one
might hint such a thing! ) will permit it. ** "By all
means; go, and" -- The rest is in dumb-show; mean-
* CEuvres de Voltaire, ii. 137, n. ; &c. &c.
** CEuvres de Voltaire, Ixxii. 555 (Letter to Fleury, "Paris,"Aug. 22d")
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? CHAP. II. ] AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTING. 249
10th Sept. 1742.
ing, "Try to pump him for us! " Under such omens,
Voltaire and his divine Emilie return to their Hons-
bruck Lawsuit: "Silent Brussels, how preferable to
Paris and its mad cries! " Voltaire, leaving the divine
Emilie at Brussels, September 2d, sets out for Aix, --
Aix attainable within the day. He is back at Brussels
late in the evening, September 9th: -- how he had
fared, and what extent of pumping there was, learn
from the following Excerpts, which are all dated the
morrow after his return:
Three Letters of Voltaire, dated Brussels, 10th Sept. 1742.
1o. To Cideville (the Rouen Advocate, who has sometimes
troubled us). * * "I have been to see the King of Prussia
"since I began this Letter" (beginning of it dates, September
"1st). I have courageously resistedkis fine proposals. He
"offers me a beautiful House in Berlin, a pretty Estate; but I
"prefer my second-floor in Madame du Ch&telet's here. He
"assures me of his favour, of the perfect freedom I should
"have; -- and I am running to Paris" (did not just yet run)
"to my slavery and persecution. I could fancy myself a small
"Athenian, refusing the bounties of the King of Persia. With
"this difference, however, one had liberty (not slavery) "at
"Athens; and I am sure there were many Cidevilles there, in-
stead of one," -- He'las, my Cideville I
2o. To Marquis d'Argenson (worthy official Gentleman, not
War-Minister now or afterwards; War-Minister's senior bro-
ther, -- Voltaire's old schoolfellows in the College of Louis le
Grand). ** "I have just been to see the King of Prussia in
"these late days" (in fact, quitted him only yesterday; both of
us, after a week together, leaving Aix yesterday): "I have
"seen him as one seldom sees Kings, -- much at my ease, in
"my own room, in the chimney-nook, whither the same man
"who has gained two Battles would come and talk familiarly,
"as Scipio did with Terence. You will tell me I am not
"Terence; true, but neither is he altogether Scipio.
"I learned some extraordinary things," -- things not from
Friedrich at all: mere dinner-table rumours; about the 16,000
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? 250 EUROPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [book XIV.
ioth Sept. ne.
English landing here (" 18,000" he calls them, and farther on,
"20,000") with the other 16,000 plus 6,000 of Hanoverian-Hes-
sian sort, expecting 20,000Dutch to join them, -- who perhaps
will not? "M. deNeipperg" (Governor of Luxemburg now)
"is come hither to Brussels; but brings no Dutch troops with
"him, as he had hoped," -- Dutch perhaps won't rise, after all
this flogging and hoisting? "Perhaps we may soon get a use-
ful and glorious Peace, in spite of my Lord Stair, and of M.
"van Haren, the Tyrtseus of the States-General" (famed Van
Haren, eyes in a fine Dutch frenzy rolling, whose Cause-of-
Liberty verses let no man inquire after): "Stair prints iMe-
"moirs, Van Haren makes Odes; and with so much prose and
"so much verse, perhaps their High and Slow Mightinesses"
(Excellency Fe'ne'lon sleeplessly busy persuading them, and
native Gravitation sleepily ditto) "will sit quiet. God grant it!
"The English want to attack us on our own soil" (actually
Stair's plan); "and we cannot pay them in that kind. The
"match is too unfair! If we kill the whole 20,000 of them, we
"merely send 20,000^Heretics to -- What shall I say? --a
"I'Enfer, and gain nothing; if they kill us, they even feed at
"our expense in doing it. Better have no quarrels except on
"Locke and Newton! The quarrel I have on Mahomet is
"happily only ridiculous. " * * Adieu, M. le Marquis.
30. To the Cardinal de Fleury. "Monseigneur," * * "to
"give your Eminency, as I am bound, some account of my
"journey to Aix-la-Chapelle. " Friedrich's guest there; let us
hear, let us look.
"I could not get away from Brussels till the 2d of this
"month. On the road, I met a courier from the King of
"Prussia, coming to reiterate his Master's orders on me. The
"King had me lodged near his own Apartment; andhepassed,
"for two consecutive days, four hours at a time in my room,
"with all that goodness and familiarity which forms', as you
"know, part of his character, and which does not lower the
"King's dignity, because one is duly careful not to abuse it"
(be careful! ). "I had abundant time to speak, with a great
"deal of freedom, on what your Eminency had prescribed to
"me; and the King spoke to me with an equal frankness.
"First he asked me, If it was true that the French Nation
"was so angered against him; if the King was, and if you
"were? I answered," -- mildly reprobatory, yet conciliative,
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? CHAP. II. ] AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTING. 251
10th Sept. 1742.
'"Hm, No, nothing permanent, nothing to speak of. ' "He
"then deigned to speak to me, at large, of the reasons which
"had induced him to be so hasty with the Peace. " "Extremely
"remarkable reasons;" "dare not trust them to this Paper"
(Broglio-Belleisle discrepancies, we guess, distracted Broglio
procedures;) -- they have no concern with that Pallandt-
Letter Story, -- "they do not turn on the pretended Secret
"Negotiations at the Court of Vienna" (which are not pre-
tended at all, as I among others well know), "in regard to
"which your Eminency has condescended to clear yourself"
(by denying the truth, poor Eminency; there was no help
otherwise). "All I dare state is, that it seems to me easy to
"lead back the mind of this Sovereign, whom the situation of
"his Territories, his interest, and his taste would appear to
"mark as the natural ally of France. "
"He said farther" (what may be relied on as true by his
Eminency Fleury, and my readers here), "That he pas-
sionately wished to see Bohemia in the Emperor's hands"
(small chance for it, as things now go! ); "that he renounced,
"with the best faith in the world, all claim whatever on Berg
"and Jiilich; and that, in spite of the advantageous proposals
"which Lord Stair was making him, he thought only of keep-
"ing Silesia. That he knew well enough the House of Austria
"would, one day, wish to recover that fine Province, but that
"he trusted he could keep his conquest; that he had at this
"time 130,000 soldiers always ready; that he would make of
"Neisse, Glogau, Brieg, fortresses as strong as Wesel" (which
he is now diligently doing, and will soon nave done); "that
"besides he was well informed the Queen of Hungary already
"owed 80,000,000 German crowns, which is about 300 millions
"of our money" (about 12 millions sterling); "that her Pro-
"vinces-, exhausted, and lying wide apart, would not be able to
"make long efforts; and that the Austrians, for a good while
"to come, could not of themselves be formidable. " Of them-
selves, no: but with Britannic soup-royal in quantity? --
"My Lord Hyndford had spoken to him" as if France were
entirely discouraged and done for: How false, Monseigneur!
"And Lord Stair in his letters represented France, a month
"ago, as ready to give in. Lord Stair has not ceased to press
"his Majesty during this Aix Excursion even:" and, in spite of
what your Eminency hears from the Hague, "there was, on
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? 252 EUBOPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [book XIV.
10th Sept. 1742
"the 30th of August, an Englishman at Aix on the part of Mi-
"lord Stair; and he had speech with the King of Prussia"
(croyez moil) "in a little Village called Boschet" (Burtscheid,
where are hot wells), "a quarter of a league from Aix. I have
"been assured, moreover, that the Englishman returned in
"much discontent. On the other hand, General Schmettau,
"who was with the King" (elderSchmettau, GiaSSarnuel, who
does a great deal of envoying for his Majesty), "sent, at that
"very time, to Brussels, for Maps of the Moselle and of the
"Three Bishoprics, and purchased five copies," -- means to
examine Milord Stair's proposed Seat of War, at any rate.
(Here is a pleasant friend to have on visit to you, in the next
apartment, with such an eye and such a nose! ) * *
"jMonseigneur," finely insinuates Voltaire in conclusion,
"is not there" a certain Frenchman, true to his Country, to his
King, andtoyourEminency, with perhaps peculiar facilities
for being of use, in such delicate case? -- uJe suis" much your
Eminency's. *
Friedrich, on the day while Voltaire at Brussels
sat so busy writing of him, was at Salzdahl, visiting
his Brunswick kindred there, on the road home to his
usual affairs. Old Fleury, age ninety gone, died 29th
January 1743, -- five months and nineteen days after
this Letter. War-Minister Breteuil had died, January 1st.
Here is room for new Ministers and Ministries; for the
two D'Argensons, -- if it could avail their old School-
fellow, or France, or us; which it cannot much.
* Llmres, Ixxii. p. 568 (to Oideville), p.
Paris, loving its timely joke, calls him Army of Redemption,
"VArmee des Maihurins" -- a kind of Priests, whose business
is commonly in Barbary, about Christian bondage: -- how
sprightly! And yet the enthusiasm was great: young Princes
of the Blood longing to be off as volunteers, needing strict
prohibition by the King; -- upon which, Prince de Conti,
gallant young fellow, leaving his wife, his mistress, and mira-
culously borrowing 2,500/. for equipments, rushed off furtively
by post; and did join, and do his best. Was reprimanded,
clapt in arrest for three days; but afterwards promoted; and
came to some distinction in these Wars. *
The March goes continually south-east; by Frankfurt,
thence towards Nurnberg Country ("be atFiirth, September
6th"), and the skirts of the Pine-Mountains (Fichtel-Gebirge),
-- Anspach andBaireuth well to your left; -- end, lastly, in
the Ober-Pfalz (Upper Palatinate), Town of Amberg there.
Before trying the Bohemian Passes, you shall have reinforce-
ment. Best part of the "Bavarian Army," now under Comte
deSaxe, not under D'Harcourt farther, is to cease collecting
victual in the Donau-Iser countries (Deggendorf, north bank
ofDonau, its headquarter); and to get on march, -- circling
very wide, not northward, but by the Donau, and even by the
south bank of it mainly (to avoid the hungry Mountains and
their Tolpatcheries), -- and, >>t Amberg, is to join Maillebois.
This is a wide-lying game. The great Marlborough used to
play such, and win; making the wide elements, the times and
the spaces, hit with exactitude: but a Maillebois? "He is
"called by the Parisians, 'Vieux Pelit-maitre (dandy of sixty,'
"so to speak); has a poor upturned nose, with baboon-face to
"match, which he even helps by paint. " * * Here is one
Scene; at Frankfurt-on-Mayn; fact certain, day not given.
Frankfurt, "latter end of August" 1742. "At Frankfurt,
"his Army having got into the neighbourhood," -- not into
Frankfurt itself, which, as a Reiclis-Stadt, is sacred from
Armies and their marchings, -- "Marechal de Maillebois, as
"in duty bound, waited on the Kaiser to pay his compliments
"there: on which occasion, we regret to say, Marechal de
* Barbier, ii. 326 (that of Conti, ib. 331); Adelung, &c.
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? 240 ETJBOPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [book XIV.
July--Dec. 1742.
'Maillebois was not so reverent to the Imperial Majesty as
'he should have been. Angry belike at the Adventure now
'forced on him, and harassed with many things; seeing in
'the Imperial Majesty little but an unfortunate Playactor
'Majesty, who lives in furnished lodgings paid for by France,
'and gives France and Maillebois an infinite deal of trouble
'to little purpose. Certain it is, he addressed the Imperial
'Majesty in the most free-and-easy manner; very much the
'reverse of being dashed by the sacred Presence: and his
'Officers in the ante-chamber, crowding about, all day, for
'presentation to the Imperial Majesty, made a noise, and
'kept up a babble of talk and laughter, as if it had been a
'mess-room, instead of the Forecourt of Imperial Majesty.
'So that Imperial Majesty, barely master of its temper and
'able to finish without explosion, signified to Maillebois on
'the morrow, That henceforth it would dispense with such
'visits. Poor Imperial Majesty; a human creature doing
'Playactorisms of too high a flight. He had the finest Palace
'in Germany; a wonder to the Great Gustavus long ago: and
'now he has it not; mere Mentzels and horrent shaggy crea-
'tures rule in Miinchen and it: and the Imperial quasi
'furnished lodgings are respected in this manner! "* -- The
wits say of him, "He would be Kaiser or Nothing: see you,
'' he is Kaiser and Nothing! " ** * *
August 19/A -- September Uth. "Comte de Saxe is on
'march, from Deggendorf; north bank of the Donau, by
'narrow mountain roads; than crosses the Donau to south
'bank, and a plain country; -- making large circuit, keeping
'the River on nis right, -- to meet Maillebois at Amberg; his
'force, some 10 or 12,000 men. Seckendorf, now Bavarian
'Commander-in-chief, accompanies Saxe; with considerable
'Bavarian force, guess 20,000, 'marching always on the left. '
'Accompanies; but only to Regensburg, to Stadt-am-Hof, a
'Suburb of Regensburg, where they cross the Donau again. "
-- Suburb of Regensburg, mark that; Regensburg itselfbeing
a Reichs-Stadt, very particularly sacred from War; -- the
very ReLchs-Zfe commonly sitting here; though it has gone
* Von Loen, Klehie Schriften, ii. 271 (cited in Buchholz, ii. 71). Cam-
pagnes is silent; usually suppressing scenes of that kind.
** "Aut nihil aut Cassar. Ilavarus Dux esse volebat;
"El nihil el Caesar faclus ulrumque simul. " (Barbier, ii. 322. )
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? CHAP. II. ] AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTING. 241
July--Dec. 1742.
to Frankfurt lately, to be with its Kaiser, and out of these
continual trumpetings and tumults close by. * -- "At Regens-
"burg, once across, Seckendorf with his Bavarians calls nalt;
plants himself down in Kelheim, Ingolstadt, and the safe
"Garrisons thereabouts, -- calculates that, if Khevenhuller
"should be called away Prag-ward, there may be a stroke
"doable in these parts. Saxe marches on; straight north-
"ward now, up the Valley of the Naab; obliged to De a good
"deal on his guard. Mischievous Tolpatcheries and Trencks,
"ever since he crossed the Donau again, have escorted him,
"to right, as close as they durst; dashing out sometimes on
"the magazines. " One of the exploits they had done, take
only one, -- in their road towards Saxe, a few days ago:
* * "September 7th, Trenck with his Tolpatcheries had
"appeared at Cham, -- a fine trading Town on the hither or
"neutral side of the mountains " (not in Bohmen, but in Ober-
Pfalz, old Kur-Pfalz's country, whom the Austrians hate); --
"and summoning and assaulting Cham, over the throat of all
"law, had by fire and by massacre annihilated the same. **
"Fact horrible,nearly incredible; buttrue. Thenoiseof which
"is now loud everywhere. Less lovely individual than this"
"Trenck" (Pandour Trenck Cousin of the Prussian one), "there
"was not, since the days of Attila and Genghis, in any War.
"Blusters abominably, too; has written" (save the mark! ) "an
"' Autobiography,' -- having happily afterwards, in Prison and
"even in Bedlam, time for such a Work; -- which is stuffed
"with sanguinary lies and exaggerations: unbeautifullest of
"human souls. Has a face the colour of indigo, too; -- got it,
"plundering in an Apothecary's" (in this same country, if I
recollect): "AchGott, your Grace, nothing of money here! "
said the "poor Apothecary, accompanying Colonel Trenck
"with a lighted candle over house and shop. Trenck, no-
"ticing one likely thing, snatched the candle, held it nearer:
"-- likely thing proved gun-powder; and Trenck, till Dooms-
"day, continues deep blue. *** Soul more worthy of damnation
"I have seldom known. "
"September 19th (five days after dropping Seckendorf),
"Saxe actually gets joined with Maillebois; -- not quite at
* Went, 10th May 1742, -- after three months arguing and protesting
on the Austrian part (Adelung, iii. <i. 102, 138).
** Adelung, iii. a. 258; Guerre de Boheme; &e. *** Guerre de Boheme.
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. VII. 16
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? 242 EUROPEAN WAR NOT ENDINO. [bOOK JOY.
July--Dec. 1742.
"Amberg, but at Vohenstrauss, in that same Sulzbach Coun-
"try, a forty miles to eastward, or Prag-ward, of Amberg.
"Maillebois and he conjoined are between 50 and 60,000.
"They are got now to the Bohemian Boundary, edge of the
"Bohemian Forest (big Bohmiiche Wald, Mountainous woody
"Country, 70 miles long); they are within 50 miles of Pilsen,
"within 100 of Prag itself, -- if they can cross the Forest.
"Which may be difficult. "
Prince Karl and the Grand-Duke, hearing of Maillebois, go to
meet him (September Uth); and the Siege of Prag is raised.
"September Uth, the Besieged at Prag notice that the
"Austrian fire slackens; that the Enemy seems to be taking
"away his guns. Villages and Farmsteads, far and wide all
"round, are going up in fire. A joyful symptom: -- since
"August 13th, Belleisle has known of Maillebois's advent;
"guesses that the Austrians now know it. -- September liih,
"their Firing has quite ceased. Grand-Duke and Prince
"Karl are off to meet this Maillebois, amid the intricate de-
"files, 'Better meet him there than here:' -- and on this
"fourth morning, Belleisle, looking out, perceives that the
"Siege is raised. *
"A blessed change indeed. No enemy here, -- perhaps
"someFestititz, with his canaille of Tolpatches, still lingering
"about, -- no enemy worth mention. Parties go out freely to
"investigate: -- but as to forage? Alas, a Country burnt,
'' Villages black and silent for ten miles round; -- you pick up
"here and there a lean steer, welcome amid boiled horse-
"flesh; you bundle a load or two of neglected grass together,
"for what cavalry remains. The genius of Se'chelles, and
"help from the Saxon side, will be much useful!
"Perhaps the undeniablest advantage of any is this, That
"Broglio, not now so proud of the situation Prag is in, or led
"by the rule of contraries, willingly quits Prag: Belleisle will
"not have to do his function by the medium of pig-driving,
"but in the direct manner henceforth. 'Give me 6 or 8,000
"foot, and what of the cavalry have horses still uneaten,' pro-
"poses Broglio; 'I will push obliquely towards Eger,--which
"is towards Saxony withal, and opens our food-communica-
* Espagnac, i. 115; Campagnes, v. 348.
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? CHAP. II. J AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTINa. 243
July--Dec. 1742.
"tions there: -- I will stretch out a hand to Maillebois, across
"the Mountain Passes; and thus bring a|victorious issue! ' *
"Belleisle consents: 'Well, since my Broglio will have it so! '
"-- glad to part with my Broglio at any rate, -- 'Adieu, then,
"M. le Marechal (and' sotto-voce, 'may it be long before we
"meet again in partnership)! ' Broglio marches accordingly
"('hand' beautifully held out to Maillebois, but not within
"grasping distance); gets northwestward some 60 miles, as
"far as Toplitz" (sadly oblique forEger), -- "never farther
"on that errand. "
The Maillebois Army of Redemption cannot redeem at all; -- has
to stagger Southward again; and becomes an "Army of Ba-
varia," under Broglio.
"September 19th -- October 10th," -- Scene is, the Eger-
Vohenstrauss Country, in and about that Bohemian Forest of
seventy miles. -- "For three weeks, Maillebois and the Comte
"deSaxe, trying their utmost, cannot, or cannot to purpose,
"get through that Bohemian Wood. Only Three practicable
"Passes in it; difficult each, and each conducting you to-
"wards mere new difficulties, on the farther side; -- not sur-
"mountable except by the determined mind. A gloomy bu-
"siness: a gloomy difficult region, solitary, hungry; nothing
"in it but shaggy chasms (and perhaps Tolpatchery lurking),
"wastes, mountain woodlands, dumb trees, damp brown
"leaves. Maillebois and Saxe, after survey, shoot leftwards
"to Eger; draw food and reinforcement from the Garrison
"there. They do get through the Forest, at one Pass, the
"Pass nearest Eger; -- but find Prince Karl and the Grand-
"Duke ranked to receive them on the other side. 'Plunge
"home upon Prince Karl and the Grand-Duke; beat them,
"with your Broglio to help in the rear? ' That possibly was
"Friedrich's thought, as he watched" (now home at Berlin
"again) "the contemporaneous Theatre of War.
"But that was not the Maillebois-Broglio method; -- nay,
"it is said Maillebois was privately forbidden 'to run risks. '
"Broglio, with his stretched-out hand (12,000 some count him,
"and indeed it is no matter), sits quiet at Toplitz, far too ob-
"lique: 'Come then, come, 0 Maillebois! ' Maillebois, -- ma-
* Espagnac, i. 170.
16*
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? 244 EUROPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [bOOKXIV.
July--Dec. 1742.
"noeuvring Prince Karl aside, or Hunger doing it for him, --
"did once push forward Prag-ward, by the Pass of Caaden;
"which is very oblique to Toplitz. By the Pass of Caaden,
"-- down the Eger River, through those Mountains of the
"Circle of Saatz, past a Castle of EUenbogen, key of the
"same; -- and 'Could have done it' (he said always after),
"'had it not been for Comte de Saxe! ' Undeniable it is, Saxe,
"as vanguard, took that Castle of EUenbogen; and, time
"being so precious, gave the Tolpatchery dismissal on parole.
"Undeniable, too, the Tolpatchery, careless of parole, beset
"Caaden Village thereupon, 4,000 strong; cut off our fore-
"posts, at Caaden Village; and -- In short, we had to retire
"from those parts; and prove an Army of Redemption that
"could not redeem at all!
"Maillebois and Saxe wend sulkily down the Naab Valley
"(having lost, say 15,000, not by fighting, but by mud and
"hardship); and the rapt European Public (shilling-gallery
"especially) says, with a sneer on its face, 'Pooh; ended
"then! ' Sulkily wending, Maillebois and Saxe (October 30th
"-- November 7th) get across theDonau, safe on the southern
"bank again; march for the Iser Country and the D'Harcourt
"Magazines, -- and become 'Grand Bavarian Army,' usual
"refuge of the unlucky. " * * *
Of Seckendorf in the Interim. "For Belleisle and relief of
"Prag, Maillebois in person had proved futile; but to Secken-
"dorf, waiting with his Bavarians, the shadow and rumour of
"Maillebois had brought famous results, -- famous for a few
"weeks. Khevenhuller being called north to help in those
"Anti-Maillebois operations, and only Barenklau with about
"10,000 Austrians now remaining in Baiern, Seckendorf,
"clearly superior (not to speak of that remnant of D'Harcourt
"people, with their magazines), promptly bestirred himself,
"in the Kelheim-Ingolstadt Country; got on march; and
"drove the Austrians mostly out of Baiern. Out mostly, and
"without stroke of sword, merely by marching; out, for the
"time. Munchen was evacuated, on rumour of Seckendorf
"(October 4th): a glad City to see Barenklau march off.
"Much was evacuated, -- the Iser Valley, downpartly to the
"Inn Valley, -- much was cleared, by Seckendorf in these
"happy circumstances. Who sees himself victorious, for once;
"and has his fame in the Gazettes, if it would last. Pretty
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? eHAP. II. ] AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTING. 245
July--Dec. 1742.
"mucH without stroke of sword, we say, and merely by
"marching: in one place, having marched too close, the
"retreating Barenklau people turned on him, 'took 100 pri-
"soners' before going; * -- other fighting, in this fine'Recon-
"quest of Bavaria,' I do not recollect. Winter come, he makes
"for Maillebois and the Iser Countries; cantons himself on
"the Upper Inn itself, well in advance of the French" (Brau-
nau his chief strong-place, if readers care to look on the
Map); "and strives to expect a combined seizure of Passau,
"and considerable things, were Spring come. " * *
And of Broglio in the Interim. "As for Broglio, left alone
"at Toplitz, gazing after a futile Maillebois, he sends the
"better half of his Force back to Prag; other half he
"establishes at Leitmeritz: good halfway-house to Dresden.
"'Will forward Saxon provender to you, M. de Belleisle! '
"(never did, and were all taken prisoners some weeks hence).
"Which settled, Broglio proceeded to the Saxon Court; who
"answered him: 'Provender? Alas, Monseigneur! We are
"(to confess it to you! ) at Peace with Austria:** not an ounce
"of provender possible; how dare we? ' -- but were otherwise
"politeness itself to the great Broglio. Great Broglio, after
"sumptuous entertainments there, takes the road for Baiern;
"circling grandly ('through Niirnberg with escort of 500
"Horse') to Maillebois's new quarters; -- takes command of
"the 'Bavarian Army' (may it be lucky for him! ); and sends
"Maillebois home, in deep dudgeon, to the merciless criticisms
"of men. 'Could have done it,' persists the Vieux Pelit-maitre
"always, 'had not' -- one knows what, but cares not, at this
"date! --
"Broglio's quarters in the Iser Country, I am told, are
"fatally too crowded, men perishing at a frightful rate per
"day. *** 'Things all awry here, -- thanks to that Maillebois
"and others!
' And Broglio's troubles and procedures, as is
"everywhere usual to Broglio, run to a great height in this
"Bavarian Command. And poor Seckenaorf, in neighbour-
"hood of such a Broglio, hashisadoes; eyes sparkling; face
"blushing slate-colour; at times nearly driven out of his wits;
* Espagnac, i. 166.
** Treatying ever since "July 17th;" Treaty actually done, "11th Sep-
tember" (Adelung, iii. o. 201, 268).
*** Espagnac, i. 182.
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? 246 EUROPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [book XIV.
July--Dec. 1742.
"-- but strives to consume his own smoke, and to havehopes
"on Passau notwithstanding. " -- And of Belleisle in Prag,
and his meditations on the Oriflamme? -- Patience, reader.
Meantime, what a relief to Kaiser Karl, in such
wreck of Bohemian Kingdoms and Castles in Spain,
to have got his own Miinchen and Country in hand
again; with the prospect of quitting furnished-lodgings,
and seeing the colour of real money! April next, he
actually goes to Miinchen, where we catch a glimpse
of him* This same October, the Reich, after endless
debatings on the question, "Help our Kaiser, or not
help? "** has voted him fifty Romer-monate ("Romish-
months," still so termed, though there is not now any
marching of the Kaiser to Rome on business); meaning
fifty of the known quotas, due from all and sundry in
such case, -- which would amount to about 300,000/.
(could it, or the half of it, be collected from so wide a
Parish), and would prove a sensible relief to the poor
man.
Voltaire has been on Visit at Aachen, in the interim, --
his Third Visit to King Friedrich.
King Friedrich had come to the Baths of Aachen,
August 25th; the Maillebois Army of Redemption
being then, to the last man of it, five days across the
Rhine on its high errand, which has since proved futile.
Friedrich left Aachen, taking leave of his Voltaire,
who had been lodging with him for a week by special
invitation, September 9th; and witnessed the later
struggles and final inability of Maillebois to redeem,
* "17th April 1743," Monty os &c. accompanying (Adelung, ill. b. 119,
120). ** Ibid. ill. o. 289.
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? CHAP. II. ] AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTING. 247
Aug. 1742.
not at Aix, but at Berlin, amid the ordinary course of
his employments there. We promised something of
Voltaire's new visit, his Third to Friedrich. Here is
what little we have, -- if the lively reader will exert
his fancy on it.
Voltaire and his Du Chatelet had been to Cirey,
and thence been at Paris through this Spring and
Summer, 1742; -- engaged in what to Voltaire and
Paris was a great thing, though a pacific one: The
getting of Mahomet brought upon the boards. August
9th, precisely while the first vanguard of the Army of
Redemption got across the Rhine at Diisseldorf, Vol-
taire's Tragedy of Mahomet came on the stage.
August 9th, 11th, 13th, Paris City was in trans-
ports of various kinds; never were such crowds of
Audience, lifting a man to the immortal gods, --
though a part too, majority by count of heads, were
dragging him to Tartarus again. "Exquisite, un-
paralleled! " exclaimed good judges (as Fleury himself
had anticipated, on examining the Piece): -- "In-
famous, irreligious, accursed! " vociferously exclaimed
the bad judges; Reverend Desfontaines (of Sodom, so
Voltaire persists to define him), Reverend Desfontaines
and others giving cue; hugely vociferous, these latter,
hugely in majority by count of heads. And there was
such a bellowing and such a shrieking, judicious Fleury,
or Maurepas under him, had to suggest, "Let an
actor fall sick; let M. de Voltaire volunteer to with-
draw his Piece; otherwise --! " -- And so it had to
he: Actor fell sick on the 14th (Playbills sorry to
retract their Mahomet on the 14th); and -- in fact it
was not for nine years coming, and after Dedication to
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? 248 EUROPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [book XIV.
2d-9th Sept. 1742.
the Pope, and other exquisite manoeuvres and unex-
pected turns of fate, that Mahomet could be acted a
fourth time in Paris, and thereafter ad libitum down to
this day. *
Such tempest in a teapot is not unexampled, nay
rather is very frequent, in that Anarchic Republic
called of Letters. Confess, reader, that you too would
have needed some patience in M. de Voltaire's place;
with such a Heaven's own Inspiration of a Mahomet in
your hands, and such a terrestrial Doggery at your
heels. Suppose the bitterest of your barking curs were
a Reverend Desfontaines of Sodom, whom you your-
self had saved from the gibbet once, and again and
again from starving? It is positively a great Anarchy,
and Fountain of Anarchies, all that, if you will con-
sider; and it will have results under the sun. You
cannot help it, say you; there is no shutting up of a
Reverend Desfontaines, which would be so salutary to
himself and to us all? No: -- and when human
reverence (daily going, in such ways) is quite gone
from the world; and your lowest blockhead and
scoundrel (usually one entity) shall have perfect free-
dom to spit in the face of your highest sage and hero,
-- what a remarkably Free World shall we be!
Voltaire, keeping good silence as to all this, and
minded for Brussels again, receives the King of
Prussia's invitation; lays it at his Eminency Fleury's
feet; will not accept, unless his Eminency and my own
King of France (possibly to their advantage, if one
might hint such a thing! ) will permit it. ** "By all
means; go, and" -- The rest is in dumb-show; mean-
* CEuvres de Voltaire, ii. 137, n. ; &c. &c.
** CEuvres de Voltaire, Ixxii. 555 (Letter to Fleury, "Paris,"Aug. 22d")
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? CHAP. II. ] AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTING. 249
10th Sept. 1742.
ing, "Try to pump him for us! " Under such omens,
Voltaire and his divine Emilie return to their Hons-
bruck Lawsuit: "Silent Brussels, how preferable to
Paris and its mad cries! " Voltaire, leaving the divine
Emilie at Brussels, September 2d, sets out for Aix, --
Aix attainable within the day. He is back at Brussels
late in the evening, September 9th: -- how he had
fared, and what extent of pumping there was, learn
from the following Excerpts, which are all dated the
morrow after his return:
Three Letters of Voltaire, dated Brussels, 10th Sept. 1742.
1o. To Cideville (the Rouen Advocate, who has sometimes
troubled us). * * "I have been to see the King of Prussia
"since I began this Letter" (beginning of it dates, September
"1st). I have courageously resistedkis fine proposals. He
"offers me a beautiful House in Berlin, a pretty Estate; but I
"prefer my second-floor in Madame du Ch&telet's here. He
"assures me of his favour, of the perfect freedom I should
"have; -- and I am running to Paris" (did not just yet run)
"to my slavery and persecution. I could fancy myself a small
"Athenian, refusing the bounties of the King of Persia. With
"this difference, however, one had liberty (not slavery) "at
"Athens; and I am sure there were many Cidevilles there, in-
stead of one," -- He'las, my Cideville I
2o. To Marquis d'Argenson (worthy official Gentleman, not
War-Minister now or afterwards; War-Minister's senior bro-
ther, -- Voltaire's old schoolfellows in the College of Louis le
Grand). ** "I have just been to see the King of Prussia in
"these late days" (in fact, quitted him only yesterday; both of
us, after a week together, leaving Aix yesterday): "I have
"seen him as one seldom sees Kings, -- much at my ease, in
"my own room, in the chimney-nook, whither the same man
"who has gained two Battles would come and talk familiarly,
"as Scipio did with Terence. You will tell me I am not
"Terence; true, but neither is he altogether Scipio.
"I learned some extraordinary things," -- things not from
Friedrich at all: mere dinner-table rumours; about the 16,000
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? 250 EUROPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [book XIV.
ioth Sept. ne.
English landing here (" 18,000" he calls them, and farther on,
"20,000") with the other 16,000 plus 6,000 of Hanoverian-Hes-
sian sort, expecting 20,000Dutch to join them, -- who perhaps
will not? "M. deNeipperg" (Governor of Luxemburg now)
"is come hither to Brussels; but brings no Dutch troops with
"him, as he had hoped," -- Dutch perhaps won't rise, after all
this flogging and hoisting? "Perhaps we may soon get a use-
ful and glorious Peace, in spite of my Lord Stair, and of M.
"van Haren, the Tyrtseus of the States-General" (famed Van
Haren, eyes in a fine Dutch frenzy rolling, whose Cause-of-
Liberty verses let no man inquire after): "Stair prints iMe-
"moirs, Van Haren makes Odes; and with so much prose and
"so much verse, perhaps their High and Slow Mightinesses"
(Excellency Fe'ne'lon sleeplessly busy persuading them, and
native Gravitation sleepily ditto) "will sit quiet. God grant it!
"The English want to attack us on our own soil" (actually
Stair's plan); "and we cannot pay them in that kind. The
"match is too unfair! If we kill the whole 20,000 of them, we
"merely send 20,000^Heretics to -- What shall I say? --a
"I'Enfer, and gain nothing; if they kill us, they even feed at
"our expense in doing it. Better have no quarrels except on
"Locke and Newton! The quarrel I have on Mahomet is
"happily only ridiculous. " * * Adieu, M. le Marquis.
30. To the Cardinal de Fleury. "Monseigneur," * * "to
"give your Eminency, as I am bound, some account of my
"journey to Aix-la-Chapelle. " Friedrich's guest there; let us
hear, let us look.
"I could not get away from Brussels till the 2d of this
"month. On the road, I met a courier from the King of
"Prussia, coming to reiterate his Master's orders on me. The
"King had me lodged near his own Apartment; andhepassed,
"for two consecutive days, four hours at a time in my room,
"with all that goodness and familiarity which forms', as you
"know, part of his character, and which does not lower the
"King's dignity, because one is duly careful not to abuse it"
(be careful! ). "I had abundant time to speak, with a great
"deal of freedom, on what your Eminency had prescribed to
"me; and the King spoke to me with an equal frankness.
"First he asked me, If it was true that the French Nation
"was so angered against him; if the King was, and if you
"were? I answered," -- mildly reprobatory, yet conciliative,
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? CHAP. II. ] AUSTRIAN AFFAIRS MOUNTING. 251
10th Sept. 1742.
'"Hm, No, nothing permanent, nothing to speak of. ' "He
"then deigned to speak to me, at large, of the reasons which
"had induced him to be so hasty with the Peace. " "Extremely
"remarkable reasons;" "dare not trust them to this Paper"
(Broglio-Belleisle discrepancies, we guess, distracted Broglio
procedures;) -- they have no concern with that Pallandt-
Letter Story, -- "they do not turn on the pretended Secret
"Negotiations at the Court of Vienna" (which are not pre-
tended at all, as I among others well know), "in regard to
"which your Eminency has condescended to clear yourself"
(by denying the truth, poor Eminency; there was no help
otherwise). "All I dare state is, that it seems to me easy to
"lead back the mind of this Sovereign, whom the situation of
"his Territories, his interest, and his taste would appear to
"mark as the natural ally of France. "
"He said farther" (what may be relied on as true by his
Eminency Fleury, and my readers here), "That he pas-
sionately wished to see Bohemia in the Emperor's hands"
(small chance for it, as things now go! ); "that he renounced,
"with the best faith in the world, all claim whatever on Berg
"and Jiilich; and that, in spite of the advantageous proposals
"which Lord Stair was making him, he thought only of keep-
"ing Silesia. That he knew well enough the House of Austria
"would, one day, wish to recover that fine Province, but that
"he trusted he could keep his conquest; that he had at this
"time 130,000 soldiers always ready; that he would make of
"Neisse, Glogau, Brieg, fortresses as strong as Wesel" (which
he is now diligently doing, and will soon nave done); "that
"besides he was well informed the Queen of Hungary already
"owed 80,000,000 German crowns, which is about 300 millions
"of our money" (about 12 millions sterling); "that her Pro-
"vinces-, exhausted, and lying wide apart, would not be able to
"make long efforts; and that the Austrians, for a good while
"to come, could not of themselves be formidable. " Of them-
selves, no: but with Britannic soup-royal in quantity? --
"My Lord Hyndford had spoken to him" as if France were
entirely discouraged and done for: How false, Monseigneur!
"And Lord Stair in his letters represented France, a month
"ago, as ready to give in. Lord Stair has not ceased to press
"his Majesty during this Aix Excursion even:" and, in spite of
what your Eminency hears from the Hague, "there was, on
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? 252 EUBOPEAN WAR NOT ENDING. [book XIV.
10th Sept. 1742
"the 30th of August, an Englishman at Aix on the part of Mi-
"lord Stair; and he had speech with the King of Prussia"
(croyez moil) "in a little Village called Boschet" (Burtscheid,
where are hot wells), "a quarter of a league from Aix. I have
"been assured, moreover, that the Englishman returned in
"much discontent. On the other hand, General Schmettau,
"who was with the King" (elderSchmettau, GiaSSarnuel, who
does a great deal of envoying for his Majesty), "sent, at that
"very time, to Brussels, for Maps of the Moselle and of the
"Three Bishoprics, and purchased five copies," -- means to
examine Milord Stair's proposed Seat of War, at any rate.
(Here is a pleasant friend to have on visit to you, in the next
apartment, with such an eye and such a nose! ) * *
"jMonseigneur," finely insinuates Voltaire in conclusion,
"is not there" a certain Frenchman, true to his Country, to his
King, andtoyourEminency, with perhaps peculiar facilities
for being of use, in such delicate case? -- uJe suis" much your
Eminency's. *
Friedrich, on the day while Voltaire at Brussels
sat so busy writing of him, was at Salzdahl, visiting
his Brunswick kindred there, on the road home to his
usual affairs. Old Fleury, age ninety gone, died 29th
January 1743, -- five months and nineteen days after
this Letter. War-Minister Breteuil had died, January 1st.
Here is room for new Ministers and Ministries; for the
two D'Argensons, -- if it could avail their old School-
fellow, or France, or us; which it cannot much.
* Llmres, Ixxii. p. 568 (to Oideville), p.
